Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(BRUSSELS) -- Mark Zuckerberg was expected to be in Brussels today to answer some tough questions. The Facebook founder is schedule to meet with members of the European Parliament about his company's use of personal data, privacy limits and the social network's potential influence on elections. Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, said on Twitter Monday the meeting would be live streamed. Zuckerberg was grilled by American politicians last month over similar issues, as well as the company's alleged role in the 2016 U.S. president election. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. 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. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Yes, the decision belongs on the local level No, no one should be able to dictate whether people wear masks Vote View Results London: European officials will land in Australia next month to begin negotiations on a free trade deal, after the EUs governing council gave its long-awaited official authorisation on Tuesday. The council also approved negotiation of a similar deal with New Zealand. They expect the agreement to increase EU exports to New Zealand and Australia by about a third in the long term, through removing customs duties and other barriers. But the council has added a warning that it wants to make sure the deal doesnt compromise its high standards of social and environmental protection, or hurt small and medium sized business. Europe has already signalled that it will want to include protection for its agricultural producers in the deal, particularly by ensuring that the names of traditional European food and drink products (such as wine and cheese) are not used by Australian producers selling into Europe. 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. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, right, shakes hands with Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes. Paraguay opened its new embassy in Jerusalem on Monday local time. Credit:AP Romania, the Czech Republic and Honduras have said they are also considering doing the same. US President Donald Trump's 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. Washington: US President Donald Trump has floated a plan to fine ZTE Corp and shake up its management as his administration considered rolling back more severe penalties that have crippled the Chinese telecommunications company. Trump's proposal ran into immediate resistance in congress, where Republicans and Democrats accused the president of bending to pressure from Beijing to ease up on a company that has admitted to violating sanctions on Iran. Their reaction could complicate Trump's efforts to win concessions from China that would narrow a $US335 billion annual trade gap. Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said US technology companies have been hurt by an April Commerce Department decision that prohibits them from selling components to China's second-largest telecommunications equipment maker. ZTE shut down most of its production after the ruling was announced. Madrid: A Chilean whistleblower who suffered clerical sexual abuse has said that Pope Francis told him in a private conversation that God had made him gay and loved him that way. The Vatican declined to comment on the report but, if confirmed, it would be a striking statement of tolerance towards homosexuality, which the Church has condemned as an immoral disorder if it is actively practised. In interviews with Spanish newspaper El Pais as well as the New York Times and the Associated Press, abuse victim Juan Carlos Cruz said that Pope Francis had told him during a meeting this month: "The fact that you are gay does not matter". Cruz said he told the Pope 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. Maple Gold Completes 22,606 metres of drilling at the Douay Gold Project Posted by Publisher Internet Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (?Maple Gold? or the ?Company?) (TSX-V: MGM, OTCQB: MGMLF; Frankfurt: M3G https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ5Ha9MCkWE&t=3s) has concluded its 2018 winter drilling campaign after drilling 21,122 metres of diamond drilling from 52 holes and 1,484 metres from 57 short top-of-bedrock holes for a total of 22,606 metres. Core sawing and sampling is continuing at the Douay Project site and the Company expects to continue releasing drill results through May, June and July. The Company has released initial results from two target areas within the 6.1 km by 1.8 km Resource Area, including the new Nika Gold Zones in the NW Gap Area and initial results from the south-central Porphyry Zone. The final distribution of drill-hole collars (including the short top-of-bedrock RC drilling) was approximately 40% within and surrounding the Resource Area and 60% for greenfields drilling. However, approximately 70% of total meterage was near the known Resource Area. More specifically, the breakdown of drilling by holes and meterage was as follows (reference Figure 1): Porphyry and Central Zones infill/step-out: 29 drill-holes for 11,735 metres (see press release May 2, 2018 for initial results, additional assays pending) NW Zone and NW Gap Area (including nearby step-outs): 11 drill-holes for 4,528 metres (see press releases April 23, 2018 and May 14, 2018, additional assays pending) NW Syenite and EM conductor targets (greenfields): 5 drill-holes for 1,991 metres (assays pending) NE Syenite Target (greenfields): 7 drill-holes for 2,869 metres (assays pending) RC top-of-bedrock drilling: 57 drill-holes along western and south-central greenfields target areas for 1,484 metres (assays pending) Once all assays have been received, the Company?s geological, structural and mineralization model will be updated. It is also expected that the summer mapping program will begin in early June in the central part of the property; this work will focus on outcrop areas with coincident structural, Remote Spectral Geology, and airborne radiometric and magnetic targets. ? Qualified Person The scientific and technical data contained in this press release was reviewed and prepared under the supervision of Fred Speidel, M. Sc, P. Geo., Vice-President Exploration, of Maple Gold.?Mr. Speidel is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.?Mr. Speidel has verified the data related to the exploration information disclosed in this news release through his direct participation in the work. Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) Maple Gold implements strict Quality Assurance (?QA?) and Quality Control (?QC?) protocols at Douay covering the planning and placing of drill holes in the field; drilling and retrieving the NQ-sized drill core; drill-hole surveying; core transport to the Douay Camp; core logging by qualified personnel; sampling and bagging of core for analysis; transport of core from site to the analytical laboratory; sample preparation for assaying; and analysis, recording and final statistical vetting of results. For a complete description of protocols, please visit the Company?s QA/QC page on the website at: http://maplegoldmines.com/index.php/en/projects/qa-qc-qp-statement About Maple Gold Maple Gold is a well-funded gold exploration company focused on advancing a district-scale gold project in one of the world?s premier mining jurisdictions. The Company?s 370 km? Douay Gold Project is located along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone within the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt in northern Quebec, Canada. The Project has an established gold resource that remains open in multiple directions, with excellent infrastructure and several large scale operating mines within this prolific mining district. Maple Gold is now completing a significant winter drill campaign to expand on the known Resource Areas and test new discovery targets within the Company?s 55 km of strike along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone. For more information please visit www.maplegoldmines.com. ON BEHALF OF MAPLE GOLD MINES LTD. ?Matthew Hornor? B. Matthew Hornor, President & CEO For Further Information Please Contact: Mr. Joness Lang VP, Corporate Development Office: +1 416.306.8124 Email: jlang@maplegoldmines.com In Europe: Swiss Resource Capital AG Jochen Staiger info@resource-capital.ch www.resource-capital.ch NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PRESS RELEASE. Forward Looking Statements: This news release contains ?forward-looking information\ and ?forward-looking statements? (collectively referred to as ?forward-looking statements?) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation in Canada, including statements about the prospective? mineral potential of the Porphyry Zone, the potential for significant mineralization from other drilling in the referenced drill program and the completion of the drill program. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, uncertainties and management?s best estimate of future events. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company?s expectations and projections. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding timing and completion of the private placement. When used herein, words such as ?anticipate?, ?will?, ?intend? and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on certain estimates, expectations, analysis and opinions that management believed reasonable at the time they were made or in certain cases, on third party expert opinions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, and uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual events, results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future events, results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Maple Gold Mines Ltd.?s filings with Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com or the Company?s website at www.maplegoldmines.com. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Sensor data fusion for more reliable intrusion alarm systems Intrusion alarm systems are currently facing a growing number of potential error sources in the environment. At the same time, alarm systems must comply with increasingly demanding legal requirements for sensors and motion detectors. As a future-proof solution, detectors equipped with Sensor Data Fusion technology raise the level of security while reducing the risk of cost- and time-intensive false alarms. This article provides a comprehensive overview of Sensor Data Fusion technology. Anti-masking alarms A cultural heritage museum in the South of Germany for decades, the installed intrusion alarm system has provided reliable protection on the premises. But suddenly, the detectors trigger false alarms every night after the museum closes. The system integrators are puzzled and conduct extensive tests of the entire system. When they finally identify the culprit, its unexpected: As it turns out, the recently installed LED lighting system in the museums exhibition spaces radiates at a wavelength that triggers anti-masking alarms in the detectors. Not an easy fix situation, since a new lighting system would prove far too costly. Ultimately, the integrators need to perform extensive detector firmware updates and switch to different sensor architecture to eliminate the error source. This scenario is by no means an isolated incident, but part of a growing trend. Need for reliable detector technology Legal requirements for anti-masking technology are becoming stringent in response to tactics by criminals The number of potential triggers for erroneous alarms in the environment is on the rise. From the perspective of system operators and integrators, its a concerning development because every false alarm lowers the credibility of an intrusion alarm system. Not to mention steep costs: Every false call to the authorities comes with a price +$200 tag. Aside from error sources in the environment, legal requirements for anti-masking technology are becoming more stringent in response to ever more resourceful tactics employed by criminals to sidestep detectors. Whats more, todays detectors need to be fortified against service outages and provide reliable, around-the-clock operability to catch intruders in a timely and reliable fashion. Sensor Data Fusion Technology In light of these demands, one particular approach has emerged as a future-proof solution over the past few years: Sensor Data Fusion technology, the combination of several types of sensors within one detector designed to cross-check and verify alarm sources via intelligent algorithms holds the keys to minimising false alarms and responding appropriately to actual alarm events. This generation of detectors combines passive infrared (PIR) and microwave Doppler radar capabilities with artificial intelligence (AI) to eliminate false alarm sources without sacrificing catch performance. Motion detectors equipped with Sensor Data Fusion technology present a fail-proof solution for building security Its not about packing as many sensors as possible into a detector. But its about including the most relevant sensors with checks and balances through an intelligent algorithm that verifies the data for a highly reliable level of security. The result is the highest-possible catch performance at the minimum risk for erroneous alarms, said Michael Reimer, Senior Product Manager at Bosch Security Systems. Motion detectors with sensor data fusion Looking ahead into the future, motion detectors equipped with Sensor Data Fusion technology not only present a fail-proof solution for building security. The comprehensive data collected by these sensors also unlock value beyond security: Constant real-time information on temperature and humidity can be used by intelligent systems and devices in building automation. Integrated into building management systems, the sensors provide efficiency improvements and lowering energy costs Integrated into building management systems, the sensors provide the foundation for efficiency improvements and lowering energy costs in HVAC systems. Companies such as Bosch support these network synergies by constantly developing and optimising intelligent sensors. On that note, installers must be familiar with the latest generation of sensor technology to upgrade their systems accordingly, starting with a comprehensive overview of error sources in the environment. Prominent false alarm triggers in intrusion alarm systems The following factors emerge as frequent triggers of false alarms in conventional detectors: Strong temperature fluctuations can be interpreted by sensors as indicators of a person inside the building. Triggers range from floor heating sources to strong sunlight. In this context, room temperatures above 86F (30C) have proven particularly problematic. Dust contamination of optical detectors lowers the detection performance while raising susceptibility to false alarms. Draft air from air conditioning systems or open windows can trigger motion sensors, especially when curtains, plants, or signage attached to the ceilings (e.g. in grocery stores) are put in motion. Strong light exposure directly on the sensor surface, e.g. caused by headlights from passing vehicles, floodlights, reflected or direct sunlight all of which sensors may interpret as a flashlight from an intruder. Extensive bandwidth frequencies in Wi-Fi routers can potentially confuse sensors. Only a few years ago, wireless routers operated on a bandwidth of around 2.7GHz while todays devices often exceed 5GHz, thereby catching older detectors off guard. LED lights radiating at frequencies beyond the spectrum of visible light may trigger sensors with their infrared signals. Regarding the last two points, its important to note that legislation provides clear guidelines for the maximum frequency spectrum maintained by Wi-Fi routers and LED lighting. Long-term security But the influx of cheap and illegal products in both product groups products that do not meet the guidelines continues to pose problems when installed near conventional detectors. For this reason, Sensor Data Fusion technology provides a reliable solution by verifying alarms with data from several types of sensors within a single detector. Beyond providing immunity from false alarm triggers, the new generation of sensors also needs to comply with the current legislature. These guidelines include the latest EN50131-grade 3, and German VdS class C standards with clear requirements regarding anti-masking technology for detecting sabotage attempts. This is exactly where Sensor Data Fusion technology provides long-term security. Evolution of intrusion detector technology Initially, motion detectors designed for intrusion alarm systems were merely equipped with a single type of sensor; namely passive infrared technology (PIR). Upon their introduction, these sensors raised the overall level of building security tremendously in automated security systems. But over time, these sensors proved limited in their catch performance. As a result, manufacturers began implementing microwave Doppler radar capabilities to cover additional sources of intrusion alarms. First step detection technology In Bosch sensors, engineers added First Step detection to trigger instant alarms upon persons entering a room Over the next few years, sensors were also equipped with sensors detecting visible light to catch flashlights used by burglars, as well as temperature sensors. In Bosch sensors, engineers added proprietary technologies such as First Step detection to trigger instant alarms upon persons entering a room. But experience in the field soon proved, especially due to error sources such as rats and other animals, that comprehensive intrusion detection demands a synergetic approach: A combination of sensors aligned to cross-check one another for a proactive response to incoming signals. At the same time, the aforementioned bandwidth expansion in Wi-Fi routers and LED lighting systems required detectors to implement the latest circuit technology to avoid serving as antennas for undesired signals. Sensor data fusion approach At its very core, Sensor Data Fusion technology relies on the centralised collection of all data captured by the variety of different sensors included in a single detector. These data streams are directed to a microprocessor capable of analysing the signals in real-time via a complex algorithm. This algorithm is the key to Sensor Data Fusion. It enables the detector to balance active sensors and adjust sensitivities as needed, to make truly intelligent decisions regarding whether or not the data indicates a valid alarm condition and if so, trigger an alarm. Advanced verification mechanisms The current generation of Sensor Data Fusion detectors, for instance from Bosch, feature advanced verification mechanisms, including Microwave Noise Adaptive Processing to easily differentiate humans from false alarm sources (e.g. ceiling fans or hanging signs). For increased reliability, signals from PIR and microwave Doppler radar are compared to determine whether an actual alarm event is taking place. Additionally, the optical chamber is sealed to prevent drafts and insects from affecting the detector, while the detector is programmed for pet and small animal immunity. Sensor cross-verification Further types of sensors embedded in current and future generations of Sensor Data Fusion detectors include MEM-sensors as well as vibration sensors and accelerometers. Ultimately, its important to keep in mind that the cross-verification between sensors serves to increase false alarm immunity without sacrificing the catch performance of actual intruders. It merely serves to cover various indicators of intrusion. Protecting UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in China Intelligent detectors equipped with Sensor Data Fusion are protecting historic cultural artifacts in China from theft and damage. At the UNESCO-protected Terracotta Warriors Museum site, one hundred TriTech motion detectors from Bosch with PIR and microwave Doppler radar technology safeguard the invaluable treasures against intruders. To provide comprehensive protection amid the specific demands of the museum site, the detectors have been installed on walls and ceilings to safeguard the 16,300-square-meter museum site. To ensure an optimal visitor experience without interference from glass walls and other barriers, many detectors are mounted at a height of 4.5 meters (15 feet) above ground under the ceiling. Despite their height, the detectors provide accurate data around the clock while exceeding the performance limits of conventional motion detectors, which clock out at a mere 2 meters (6 feet) catchment area. Integrated video systems The site also presents additional error sources such as large amounts of dust that can contaminate the sensors, as well as visitors accidentally dropping their cameras or mobile phones next to museum exhibits. To distinguish these events from actual criminal activity, the intrusion alarm system is integrated with the museums video security system. This allows for verifying alarm triggers with real-time video footage at a fast pace: In the case of an actual alarm event, the system alerts the on-site security personnel in the control room in less than two seconds. Added value beyond security Sensor Data Fusion technology provides a viable solution for the rising number of error sources in the environment As of today, Sensor Data Fusion technology already provides a viable solution for the rising number of error sources in the environment while providing legally compliant building security against intruders. In light of future developments, operators can leverage significant added value from upgrading existing systems possibly without fundamentally replacing current system architecture to the new detector standard. Added value how? On one hand, the detectors can integrate with access control, video security, voice alarm, and analytics for a heightened level of security. These synergetic effects are especially pronounced on end-to-end platforms like the Bosch Building Management system. On the other hand, the data streams from intelligent detectors also supply actionable intelligence to building automation systems, for instance as the basis for efficiency improvements and lowering energy consumption in HVAC systems. New backward-compatible detectors Bosch will release a new series of commercial detectors by end of 2021, based on the latest research on risk factors for false alarm sources in the environment and line with current legislation and safety standards. Throughout these developments, installers can rest assured that all new detectors are fully backward compatible and work with existing networking/architecture. With that said, Sensor Data Fusion technology emerges as the key to more secure intrusion alarm systems today and in the future. TriTech detectors from Bosch For reliable, fail-proof alarms the current series of TriTech detectors from Bosch relies on a combination of different sensor data streams, evaluated by an integrated algorithm. These Sensor Data Fusion detectors from Bosch combine up to five different sensors in a single unit, including: Long-range passive infrared (PIR) sensor Short-range PIR sensor Microwave sensor White light sensor Temperature sensor Equipped with these sensors, TriTech detectors are capable of detecting the most frequent sources of false alarms; from headlights on passing cars to a mouse passing across the room at a 4.5-meter distance to the detector. Whats more, TriTech detectors provide reliable performance at room temperatures above 86F (30C) while fully guarding against actual intrusion and sabotage attempts from criminals. Breaking ground on the new boat landing and kayak launch at Rocky Point Community Forest on May 17 are, from left, Kathleen Baxley, Bob Moran, Ervin Blueprint Parker, County Council Member Lillie Jean Johnson, Council Chairman Johnny Morant, Council Vice Chairman Austin Beard, Emma Boyer of the Winyah Rivers Foundation and Parks and Recreation Committee Member Mark Avant. The first flight of a commercial airline was in a Benoist airboat piloted by Tony Jannus. This is part of a SPACE.com series of articles on the Greatest Moments in Flight, the breakthrough events that paved the way for human spaceflight and its next steps: asteroid mining and bases on the moon and Mars. On Jan. 1, 1914, the world's first scheduled passenger airline service took off, operating between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Fla. The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was a short-lived endeavor only four months but it paved the way for today's daily transcontinental flights. The first flight's pilot was Tony Jannus, an experienced test pilot and barnstormer. The first paying passenger was Abram C. Pheil, former mayor of St. Petersburg. Their 21-mile (34-kilometer) flight across the bay to Tampa took 23 minutes. They flew in a "flying boat" designed by Thomas Benoist (pronounced ben-wah), an aviation entrepreneur from St. Louis. A real commercial airline Percival Elliott Fansler, a Florida sales representative for a manufacturer of diesel engines for boats, became fascinated with Benoist's progress in designing aircraft that could take off and land in the water. The two men started corresponding, and eventually Fansler proposed "a real commercial line from somewhere to somewhere else." He proposed that the airline fly between St. Petersburg and Tampa. In 1913, a trip between the two cities, sitting on opposite sides of Tampa Bay, took two hours by steamship or from 4 to 12 hours by rail. Traveling by automobile around the bay took about 20 hours. A flight would take about 20 minutes. Fansler tried to interest Tampa officials in the venture, but they turned him down. He got a better reception in St. Petersburg, enticing several investors. Benoist arrived in St. Petersburg on Dec. 12, 1913, followed by his hand-picked pilot, Tony Jannus. Tony Jannus, pilot of the world's first airline. (Image credit: City of St. Petersburg, Fla.) Daring young man Jannus was already a popular figure in aviation. His dark, handsome looks and daring exploits made him the epitome of the romantic flyer. According to a biography by the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society, "once known as a fearless daredevil and admirer of women, running from angry fathers with pointed shotguns and dating movie stars, Jannus took risks in love and war." Jannus gave flying exhibitions, tested military planes, and flew long-distance airplanes and airboats. He piloted the first tests of airborne machine guns. On March 1, 1912, he carried Capt. Albert Berry aloft to make the first parachute jump from an airplane. By 1913, at 24, he had become one of the principal stockholders in the Benoist Aircraft Company. Flying boats A Model 14 Benoist airboat was shipped to St. Petersburg by train. It weighed 1,250 lbs. (567 kilograms), was 26 feet (8 meters) long and had a wingspan of 44 feet (13 m). It was powered by a Roberts 6-cylinder, in-line, liquid-cooled, 75-horsepower engine. The airplane had a top speed of 64 mph (103 km/h). The hull was made of three layers of spruce with fabric between each layer. The wings were made of spruce spars with linen stretched over them. The plane was built to hold only a pilot and one passenger side-by-side on a single wooden seat. Percival Elliott Fansler, Abram C. Pheil, and Tony Jannus pose before the inaugural flight of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line the world's first airline. (Image credit: City of St. Petersburg, Fla.) Inaugural flight The first flight went off on New Year's Day, 1914, with much pomp and circumstance. About 3,000 people paraded from downtown St. Petersburg to the waterfront to watch as the first ticket was auctioned off. Pheil, then in the warehouse business, won with a bid of $400 (more than $8,500 in todays dollars). Just before the flight, Fansler made a brief speech, saying, What was impossible yesterday is an accomplishment today, while tomorrow heralds the unbelievable, according to the Tampa Bay Times. After several more speeches and many photographs, Jannus and Pheil squeezed into the small wooden seat. As they took off, Jannus waved to the cheering crowd. He flew the plane no higher than 50 feet (15.2 m) over the water. Halfway to Tampa, the engine misfired, and he touched down in the bay, made adjustments and took off again. As the plane landed at the entrance of the Hillsborough River near downtown Tampa, Jannus and Pheil were swarmed by a cheering, clapping, and waving crowd of about 3,500. Pheil went about his business and placed an order of several thousand dollars for his wholesale company. At 11 a.m., Jannus and Pheil flew back to St. Petersburg. The entire trip had taken less than an hour and a half. More than 1,200 passengers The airline made two flights daily, six days a week. The regular fare was $5 per person (about $100 in today's dollars) and $5 per 100 pounds of freight. Tickets sold out for 16 weeks in advance. A second Benoist airboat was added, and flights were extended to Sarasota, Bradenton and Manatee. Tony Jannus' brother, Roger, was the second pilot. The airline operated for nearly four months, carrying a total of 1,205 passengers. Passenger interest declined rapidly when the winter residents began heading back north. On April 27, Tony and Roger Jannus flew their last flight before leaving Florida, putting on an air show over Tampa Bay. The brothers continued to give exhibitions, perform tests of aircraft, and train other pilots. On Oct. 12, 1916, Tony Jannus was training Russian pilots when his plane crashed into the Black Sea. His body was never recovered. Roger Jannus also died while flying. He crashed on Sept. 4, 1918, during air patrols over France. In 1964, the Tampa and St. Petersburg Chambers of Commerce established the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society in honor of Tony Jannus. More Greatest Moments in Flight: The Most Amazing Flying Machines Ever Image galleries: Sally Ride Honored USPS/collectSPACE.com Space exploration and astronomy have been immortalized in stamp form many times over the decades. See photos of of space-themed postage stamps from the United States and around the world here. This Image: The U.S. Postal Service will release a stamp in honor of astronaut Sally Ride - the first American woman in space - on May 23, 2018 in La Jolla, California. Apollo in 2018 USPS/NASA via collectSPACE.com The Engineering stamp in the USPS's STEM Education set features NASA's Apollo command and service modules. Science and Stamps USPS via collectSPACE.com The U.S. Postal Service's STEM Education stamps feature collages composed by illustrator and graphic artist David Plunkert. Star Wars stamps Royal Mail Group "Star Wars" U.K. stamps celebrate the upcoming release of the franchise's latest movies. Pluto - Explored USPS The title of the "PlutoExplored!" stamps is a subtle nod to a 1991 USPS stamp that labeled Pluto "Not Yet Explored." 2017 Solar Eclipse USPS Color-changing ink on this stamp commemorating the 2017 total solar eclipse fades when heat is applied, to reveal a moon over the blotted-out sun. Fred Espenak and the 2017 Solar Eclipse Stamp Fred Espenak New color-changing stamps that celebrate the 2017 total solar eclipse feature eclipse and moon photos taken by eclipse chaser Fred Espenak, pictured above. Stamp Commemorating Cook's Transit Expedition NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Sun-Earth Day A stamp commemorating Cook's Venus transit expedition of 1779. 'The Moon' Stamps USPS U.S. Postal Service art director Greg Breeding designed "The Moon" Global Forever stamp using a photograph of the full moon by Beth Swanson. USPS 'The Moon' Stamp USPS Taken as the full moon rises, the image featured on the U.S. Postal Service's new "The Moon" Global Forever postage stamp captures the brilliant surface of Earth's only natural satellite. Walter Koenig Unveils Star Trek Stamps U.S. Postal Service "Star Trek" actor Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov) gives the Vulcan salute with the U.S. Postal Service's new Trek stamps honoring the TV series' 50th anniversary. The new stamps were unveiled Sept. 2, 2016, at the Star Trek: Mission New York convention. Jupiter (WFC3/UVIS, April 21, 2014) NASA, ESA, and A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center) Jupiter's Great Red Spot the most powerful storm in the solar system is an planetary icon. See photos of the giant storm, which has been shrinking over time, in our full gallery here. This image was released May 15, 2014, which scientists first announced that the Great Red Spot was shrinking. [See full story.] This gallery, first posted in October 2014, was updated with new images on May 22, 2018. Juno View of Jupiter and Great Red Spot NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstad/Sean Doran NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this image of Jupiter on April 1, 2018. Citizen-scientists Gerald Eichstadt and Sean Doran processed data from Juno's JunoCam instrument into this stunning view. Jupiter's Great Red Spot vs. Earth An illustration comparing the size of Jupiter's Great Red Spot to that of Earth. While the reddish-hued storm is massive, it was once much larger. According to observations taken in the 1800s, the Great Red Spot was once about four times the diameter of Earth. Jupiter's Great Red Spot, 1992 to 2017 Z. Levay (STScI)/R. Garner (NASA Goddard) Animation showing Hubble Space Telescope observations of Jupiter's Great Red Spot from 1992 through 2017. Jupiter's Great Red Spot as Seen by Voyager NASA/JPL-Caltech Close-up of Jupiter's Great Red Spot as seen by a Voyager spacecraft. Cassini View of Jupiter's Great Red Spot NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Jupiter's famous Great Red Spot features prominently in this true-color mosaic, which was constructed from images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Dec. 29, 2000, during its closest approach to the giant planet at a distance of approximately 6.2 million miles (10 million kilometers). At the time, Cassini was on its way to Saturn, which the probe reached on July 1, 2004. Juno View of Jupiters Great Red Spot NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Bjorn Jonsson This true-color image shows what Jupiters Great Red Spot would look like to a human observer from the position of NASAs Juno Jupiter orbiter. Citizen scientist Bjorn Jonsson created the photo using data from Junos JunoCam imager. Jupiter's Great Red Spot in layers NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Juno's microwave radiometer instrument provided this look down into Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Each of the instrument's six channels detects microwaves from a different depth within the planet. Jupiter's Great Red Spot Gerald Eichstadt /Sean Doran/NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Citizen scientists Gerald Eichstadt and Sean Doran processed this image of Jupiter's Great Red Spot using data gathered by NASA's Juno spacecraft on April 1, 2018. Jupiter's Great Red Spot Shrinking NASA, ESA, A. Simon (GSFC), M. Wong (UC Berkeley), and G. Orton (JPL-Caltech) The new image of Jupiter, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals that the shrinking of the Great Red Spot is slowing, as well as identifying a rare feature. The image, released on Oct. 13, 2015, was captured on Jan. 19. JunoCam Great Red Spot 2 NASA/SwRI/MSSS/Jason Major This enhanced-color image of Jupiter's Great Red Spot was created by citizen scientist Jason Major using data from the JunoCam imager on NASA's Juno spacecraft. How to Catch a Rocket Launch SpaceX It's not just for the pros: With a little planning and flexibility, anybody can go watch a rocket blast off. This guide goes through each of the three U.S. sites that have rocket launches this summer: Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral in Florida, Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It tells you where to go, what to expect and what launches to watch for this summer. Space.com talked with launch photographer Ben Cooper for the inside scoop on each of the three sites, and also talked with Andrea Farmer from Kennedy Space Center, Keith Koehler from Wallops and Jay Pritchard from Vandenberg. Each site has its own best places to view: Some offer official tours and launch viewing, and others are best experienced from a nearby park or roadside. [Amazing Rocket Launch Photos] When planning to visit a rocket launch, it's important to remember that dates are rarely finalized until a few weeks to a few months before each launch. And planned launches can be called off or delayed due to weather or technical issues, even down to 1 second before launch. So it's important to make flexible plans and to prepare to stay for a few days if you're determined to catch the launch despite delays. The areas open to you may depend on if you're watching a daytime or nighttime launch. Check Space.com's calendar and Spaceflight Now's launch schedule for up-to-date information on when launches will happen, and keep an eye on NASA's and the rocket company's Twitter feeds for additional updates. Online communities discuss the best times and places to view launches, so be sure to look for the most up-to-date information and advice on those sites as well when you're interested in a particular launch site or rocket. And remember to actually watch the launch once you're there, each of the experts told Space.com. Don't be distracted by photography, especially for your first launch viewing. As Vandenberg's Pritchard put it, "If you're going to make the effort to come watch a launch, come and be a part of the environment to do that, and watch the launch. There are million-dollar camera systems that are taking engineering photos to do this get those photos. They will be posted almost immediately." "Don't miss the experience because you're trying to find it in the little digital image on your phone or your camera," he added. "Go and enjoy the show and stand back and wait for the rumble." (Launch schedules updated April 17, 2019) NEXT: See a launch at Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station United Launch Alliance NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, located about an hour away from Orlando, Florida, are technically two separate launch sites in the same location. Combined, the two host several rocket launches throughout the year using SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Atlas V and Delta 4 rockets. The area is called America's Space Coast for good reason: it played host to all five of the space shuttles and launched the Saturn V rockets that brought Apollo astronauts to the moon. (NASA has recently signed over Apollo 11's historic launch pad to SpaceX for that company's upcoming crewed launches, and they've already had their first uncrewed launches from that pad.) Kennedy Space Center offers official viewing for many launches at both sites, which are announced via the center's email newsletter and eventually appear on the center's website as well. Depending on the timing, tickets to the launches are either included in the price of a Kennedy Space Center tour or must be bought separately. The launch-viewing trips always leave from the center's visitor complex and are generally based at the Apollo Saturn V Center or the LC-39 Observation Gantry (which is located at Kennedy Space Center's launch site). Tours from the visitor's complex will also often bring visitors near the launch pad ahead of time to get a close look at the rocket. [Photos: The Kennedy Space Center, NASA's Historic Spaceport] "Depending on the time of day and the launch, it's always different," Cooper said. "But they've been selling tickets to the LC-39 [Observation] Gantry, which is one of the bus stops on the tour, and that generally allows them to get closer than any other location at this point. Especially for an Atlas launch, it's closer than even the media gets." It's also possible to watch the launches from the visitor's complex itself, which is even closer than many of the viewing sites, but trees block out the view of the launch pad. Occasionally, the center will sell tickets to view the launch from the NASA Causeway, Cooper said. That is also a very close view (and is where much of the media watches the launch). All of the center's sites offer live commentary and audio from mission control. One major caveat: As mentioned earlier, launches will sometimes be delayed or rescheduled to occur on different days, and visitors who go out to the site will have to buy new tickets to go out another time, even if the launch doesn't happen. "We've got the closest viewing locations on the Space Coast to see, to hear and to feel these rocket launches as they thunder from the launch pads," Farmer, Kennedy Space Center's public relations manager, told Space.com. "It's a truly amazing experience, and one that I recommend everyone try and do at least once in their lifetime." Viewers can also watch launches from outside locations, Cooper said. The best for Atlas launches is Playalinda Beach, located just a few miles away from the site and open only in the daytime. Other than the ticketed locations and that beach, the next best place is Port Canaveral, right near where the cruise ships are, he said, on Route 401. It's a limited viewing area, and only a certain number of cars can park before it fills up, so it's necessary to get there early. It's the best nonticketed location for night launches. After that, there are areas on Route 528 where it's possible to pull over and watch the launch, and you can go to further away beaches. But the above are the closest public spots you can find. Every launch is different, Cooper said: Check the timing details and the launchpad location each time, but it will always vary based on the rocket and the time of day (and whether Kennedy Space Center is offering a place to watch). NEXT: Upcoming Cape Canaveral Launches Launches: Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station SpaceX Launches are frequently rescheduled, and concrete dates are sometimes not picked until shortly before the launch. So remember to check Spaceflight Now and our calendar for the most up-to-date information. Launch dates are subject to change! April April 26: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Dragon CRS-17 cargo mission to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, at 5:55 a.m. EDT (0955 GMT). Also scheduled to launch in April: A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch three small satellites for the U.S. Air Forces Rapid Agile Launch Initiative (RALI). It will lift off from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. May May 27: SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 rocket to launch the Amos 17 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. June June 27: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite for the U.S. military. Also scheduled to launch in June: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the U.S. Air Force's Space Test Program-2 mission from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. July July 8: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Dragon cargo spacecraft (CRS-18) on a mission to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. July 25: Crew Dragon Demo 2: SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to take its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on board. This will be the Crew Dragon's first test flight with astronauts on board following the uncrewed Demo-1 mission in March. July 25: A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch the second GPS 3 satellite for the U.S. Air Force's Global Positioning System from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. August Aug. 17: The Boeing CST-100 Starliner may launch on its first uncrewed mission, called the Orbital Flight Test (OFT), to the International Space Station. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The mission was delayed from April to no earlier than August. Scheduled for launch in October: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the third GPS 3 satellite for the U.S. Air Force's Global Positioning System from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Scheduled for launch in November: Boeing's CST-100 Starliner will take its first Crew Test Flight to the International Space Station. It will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson, NASA astronaut Eric Boe and NASA astronaut Nicole Mann. NEXT: See a launch at Wallops Island Wallops Flight Facility Orbital Sciences On the eastern shore of Virginia, Wallops Flight Facility is one of the world's oldest launch sites, NASA said, established in 1945. The facility hosts six launch pads and currently acts as the launch site for Orbital ATK's Antares rocket. You can also see launches of smaller, experiment-bearing sounding rockets. "Our launches here at Wallops are open, whether it be a sounding rocket or something like an Antares, the larger vehicles, and all those can be seen from the visitor's center," said Koehler, a Wallops communications specialist. "You can listen to the audio going on in the control room. You can watch the screens that are showing the cameras on the launch pad, and then folks can go right down towards the edge of what we call the marsh [] and you'll be able to see the rocket take off from there. There are no tickets required. It's first-come, first-served," he told Space.com. Wallops Visitor Center offers a map of the viewing-site location and that of two other places from which to watch, the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge and Toms Cove Visitor Center. The map details when the facilities are open and where vehicles are allowed. For big launches, the site can fill up quickly, so you need to get there 2-3 hours ahead of time; for sounding rockets launching outside of the visitor center's normal hours, the center will open only a half hour beforehand. Only a few hundred people watch those launches from the center. [NASA's Wallops Flight Facility: Rocket Launches from Virginia (Photos)] Last summer, the Antares rocket returned to flight after an explosion in October 2014, and you can expect to see a few Antares launches this summer as well. "Antares launches do fill up the entire surrounding area," Koehler warned. "It's going to be a crowd." Most of the area around the facility is private, Cooper said there are houses just a mile and a half (2.4 kilometers) away from the launch pad. He suggested a spot just 1.5 miles away, closer than the Wallops Visitor Center, on Arbuckle Neck Road, but warned that it can fill up. "It's quite a show, but it's also a limited viewing area, so you want to get there early if you want to try for that," Cooper said. "And again, there's private property all around, so you want to be careful about that." A Virginia tourism site lists directions to this location and other potential viewing spots along with the distances away. Sounding rockets go up very quickly, and you need to be looking in the right direction at the right time to spot the launch. To help with that, Wallops' phone app points the direction to the launch pad (the app can be downloaded at the bottom of the launch web page). Antares launches are much louder and slower and at night, the ascent of these rockets can be spotted from the whole Washington, D.C., area. NEXT: Upcoming Wallops launches Launches: Wallops Flight Facility NASA Photo/A. Stancil Launches are frequently rescheduled, and concrete dates are sometimes not picked until shortly before the launch. So remember to check Spaceflight Now and our calendar for the most up-to-date information. Launch dates are subject to change! April 17: A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket will launch a Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, Virginia, at 4:46 p.m. EDT (2046 GMT). Oct. 19: Northrop Grumman will launch the Cygnus NG-12 cargo mission to the International Space Station. It will lift off from Wallops Island, Virginia on an Antares rocket. Late 2019: A Minotaur 1 rocket from U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman will launch a classified spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office Sounding rocket launches are announced on the visitor center site as they come up rather than on a comprehensive list, so check that site if you'll be in the area! NEXT: See a launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg Air Force Base NASA/Randy Beaudoin Vandenberg Air Force Base, in central California northwest of Los Angeles, is a 99,600-acre facility that launches rockets from both its North and South Base. The location allows the base to both launch test missiles over the Pacific Ocean and launch satellites into polar orbit Discoverer I, the world's first polar satellite, launched from the base in 1959. It hosts launches of commercial rockets, including SpaceX's Falcon 9, ULA's Delta and Atlas V, and Orbital ATK's Minotaur, and also hosts test launches of unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. Base access isn't necessary to see Vandenberg's many launches, in fact, "probably the best places to watch launches at Vandenberg are actually off base," said Pritchard, the director of the Vandenberg Space and Missile Technology Center. Rockets launching from the north and south sides of the base will head in different directions, which will affect viewing, he told Space.com. The officially recommended public viewing site is near Vandenberg's main gate, off of Corral Road. Vandenberg's website offers more specific directions. Pritchard also recommended the park at Providence Landing and a mountain road called Harris Grade (which is good for south Vandenberg launches). That site has the added bonus of being above the area's sometimes-dense fog. [Launch Photos: Huge Delta 4-Heavy Rocket Soars with Secret NROL-65 Satellite] Viewers in locations south of Vandenberg, like Santa Barbara, are able to see polar-orbit-bound rockets streaking overhead, Pritchard added. The Vandenberg area is tricky, Cooper said, because of the mountains and frequent fog. "There's really no place you can go where you can see the pads, because it's a mountainous area," Cooper said. "The closest you can get to is Atlas it's even closer than at the Cape, because they keep the road open that runs right outside the gateand the rocket pops up from behind the mountains. It's the same thing with Falcon, Delta wherever you go it will pop up behind the mountains." The road he recommended, W Ocean Avenue, closes at a certain point as it approaches the base, and viewers can pull off to the side to watch. It's also possible to watch from relatively far-away Santa Ynez Peak, and a county park location called Jalama Beach, when the park is open. (Because it's a county park, you have to pay to get in or rent a campsite.) Public areas within sight of the launch can fill up, and Pritchard recommended arriving at least an hour beforehand, especially for locations where you'll have to park and walk further. He said that social media sites like Reddit and Twitter will often have discussions where people share news about the launch and potential sites, and so they can be a valuable resource to plan where to go and when to get there (and to find out when a launch will occur). Be sure to dress warmly, in layers, and bring a camp chair and prepare to meet the other rocket enthusiasts who congregate to watch the base's launches. And again, he warned, be sure to check online resources for updates on the launch times and schedules, which can frequently change. "There are a lot of variables: there are mechanical variables, there are weather variables, and all of those things will change," he said. "Our primary mission is to make sure that we can do this safely, and to make sure it's safe for the community, and we have assured, safe access to space. People get the chance to come out and see this, but understanding that first and foremost we've got to make sure that we can get there, and all the resources are protected still." NEXT: Upcoming Vandenberg Launches Summer Launches: Vandenberg Air Force Base NASA/Bill Ingalls Launches are frequently rescheduled, and concrete dates are sometimes not picked until shortly before the launch, so remember to check Spaceflight Now and our calendar for the most up-to-date information. Launch dates are subject to change! May 16: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Canadian Space Agency's Radarsat Constellation Mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The base's other rocket launches and missile tests are generally announced just three to five days in advance, and can be found by calling the base at 805-606-8263. NEXT: Map and other options Launch Locations & Map by Karl Tate, Infographics Artist If you're planning a spaceport trip or just happen to be passing by these locations, be sure to check launch schedules to see if you'll have the chance to witness a launch. Don't plan a trip based on a firm launch date too far in advance, though as we've already mentioned, launches can be rescheduled for many reasons. And prepare to potentially wait for a few days; launches can be delayed or pushed back based on weather and mechanical concerns. Be sure to dress for the weather, including taking sunglasses and sunscreen for sunnier areas; also bring something to sit on and enough snacks and supplies to last you through a few hours' wait. Different launch-viewing sites have different conditions for instance, at Cape Canaveral's Saturn V Center, you can stay inside until just before the launch, but on a public beach or roadside there may not be anywhere to wait. For launches that are particularly close by, some people like to bring earplugs. But if you plan it right, check the schedule and social media and make it for a launch going off, it can be an extraordinary experience, Farmer of Kennedy Space Center said. "You hear that 321 and you see the engines ignite and smoke from the launch pad, and the rocket begins to lift off. And then, because sound travels more slowly, you eventually start hearing the sounds of the engines, and it just continues to build as you watch the rocket climb into the sky. It's a one-of-a-kind experience." If you're planning a staycation instead, major launches are webcast live via NASA or the individual rocket company, and streamed here on Space.com. And if you do go see a rocket launch and snap an awesome photo, let us know. You can send images and comments on your launch experience in to Space.com in to managing editor Tariq Malik at: spacephotos@space.com. Good luck! Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Paul Sutter is an astrophysicist at The Ohio State University and the chief scientist at COSI science center. Sutter is also host of Ask a Spaceman and Space Radio, and leads AstroTours around the world. Sutter contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Deep in the sun's core, buried under hundreds of thousands of miles of twisting and convecting hydrogen and helium, a nuclear fire rages. At a temperature of over 15 million kelvins (27 million degrees Fahrenheit), the infernal pressures are high enough to squeeze together hydrogen nuclei, forging elemental helium and releasing a tiny bit of energy. Reaction after countless reaction, this energy accumulates and, in the form of photons, makes its way to the turbulent surface. Once free, the photons race through empty space, bathing the solar system in radiance and heat. But they are not alone. The pent-up energies in the heart of the sun drive the surface into a boiling frenzy, and this kinetic turmoil unleashes floods of particles the hydrogen and helium constituents of the sun's coronal atmosphere itself that accelerate outward into space. It's the solar wind. [The Sun's Wrath: Worst Solar Storms in History] Weathering the storm The radiation from the sun, traveling at the speed of light, wins the race against the particles and reaches Earth first. Once it's there, a complicated dance unfolds. Some light bounces off the atmosphere, while some beams are absorbed by the miles and miles of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. Still others make it all the way to the surface. But no matter where the sun's light ends up, its radiance is not distributed evenly. Due to the tilt of Earth, the equator basks in an unfair glow year-round, leaving the poles locked in darkness for alternating halves of each year. Without any other physics, the hot air and water of the equator and the cold air and water of the poles would attempt to equalize themselves, with tremendous north-south winds blasting over Earth's surface and ocean currents racing through the waters, ferrying and redistributing energy as they go. But an effect of our planet's rotation called the Coriolis force turns these straight-line winds and ocean currents into massive gyres, circulation systems stretching across oceans and continents. The sun is the ultimate source of our weather systems, and Earth's rotation makes those systems fantastically complex, with unexpected outcomes, like the gulf stream carrying warm water and air to mainland Europe and even Iceland, keeping them far more temperature than their latitudes would suggest. But the sun, for all its might, is not the only source of heat on the planet. Dante's dream While the Earth doesn't affect our weather, it is hot on the inside, too. The loose cloud of gas and dust that coalesced to form our planet released a huge amount of energy as the cloud collapsed, and despite molding Earth over 4 billion years ago, our planet still retains some of that primordial energy. What's more, Earth formed with a fair amount of radioactive elements, like uranium and plutonium. Most of those metals are buried deep in the core and mantle, and over the eons, they diminish as they decay into lighter elements, releasing heat in the process. These two sources are the primary generators of Earth's internal heat, keeping the planetary hearth warm against the cold vacuum of space. This heat drives our planet's geologic processes: Volcanoes and hot springs are taps into the molten fire under our feet, and the achingly slow grinding movements of the continental and oceanic plates themselves are compelled by Earth's own energies. The heat deep in our planet's core powers something else, too. As Earth formed, the heaviest elements, like iron, sunk inward, and the high temperatures liquefied them, forming a malleable, molten center. The planet's rotation the same one that drives our peculiar weather patterns spins the core as well. This core of charged metals raises a powerful magnetic field, a field far stronger than that of any other rocky world in the solar system yet another reason to count our home as unique. [Shields Up! How the Earth Got a Force Field] Breaking the solar wind While the sun's radiation races to Earth and drives our weather, the comparatively lethargic but still zippy, moving at a speed of over 1 million mph (1.6 million km/h) solar windeventually encounters our world as well. These high-energy particles are perfectly capable of stripping away our planet's thin atmosphere, flinging our helpless nitrogen and oxygen away molecule by molecule, and thus stripping our planet of its security blanket. We think this is what doomed Mars to its dry, frozen, dead fate long ago. But our planet has something that Mars doesn't: its magnetic field. The solar wind is made of charged particles, which interact with the literal force field surrounding our planet. Some particles bounce off completely, careening into entirely new trajectories. Others, the ones with the highest energies, do make it through to the atmosphere and can even reach the surface. But thankfully, those are relatively rare. These charged particles are capable of slicing right through DNA chains, increasing cancer rates. But some solar-wind particles get trapped by the magnetic fields enveloping our world, forcing them to follow the familiar North-South lines, where the particles get dumped into the polar regions of our planet. It's here where the solar wind meets Earth's atmosphere where we get the shimmering green and red effervescent curtains of the aurora. The solar wind particles, guided by Earth's magnetic field, slam into oxygen and nitrogen, temporarily stripping them of electrons and forcing them to glow. It's a pretty sight and the result of a complex interplay between our planet and our nearest star. It's where Earth's magnetic field, powered in part by nuclear fission in our planet's core, meets the solar wind, sourced ultimately by nuclear fusion in the heart of the sun. Learn more by listening to the episode "Why is Iceland so warm?" on the Ask A Spaceman podcast, available on iTunes and on the web at askaspaceman.com. Thanks to the AstroTourists who joined in me in Iceland for the questions that led to this piece! Ask your own question on Twitter using #AskASpaceman or by following Paul@PaulMattSutter and facebook.com/PaulMattSutter. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. The odd shapes of Saturn's inner moons, which resemble objects ranging from ravioli to potatoes, may be due to mergers of tiny moonlets, a new study finds. The new finding may help to explain how moons in general may form, researchers said in a new paper describing the work. The Cassini spacecraft, which studied the ringed planet up close for 13 years, revealed that unlike Earth's spherical moon, the small moons closest to Saturn had strange, irregular shapes. These odd forms range from Pan's and Atlas' ravioli-like shape to Prometheus' resemblance to a combination of Moby Dick, a potato and H. R. Giger's Alien skull. [Cassini Spacecraft Photographs Saturn's Strangest Moons] Saturn's moon Atlas got its flat, ravioli-like shape from the merging collision of two similar-size bodies, according to new research. Here, Atlas is shown mid-collision. (Image credit: A. Verdier) Previous research had suggested ways in which each of these bizarre moons might have formed. However, until now, researchers did not have an explanation that encompassed the whole range of these unusual shapes, study lead author Adrien Leleu, a dynamicist at the University of Bern in Switzerland, told Space.com.Leleu's team ran computer simulations to see how the shapes of Saturn's inner moons might have evolved over time. The powerful effects of Saturn's gravitational pull were a key influence on these simulations. Saturn's mass is 95 times Earth's mass, and Saturn's inner moons orbit the giant planet at a distance of less than half that between Earth and its moon. As such, Saturn's inner moons experience huge tidal forces that can pull them apart, the researchers said. The planet's powerful gravitational pull made it unlikely that Saturn's inner moons formed by gradual accretion of material around a core, "which is the go-to scenario for the formation of celestial bodies," Leleu told Space.com. The strange small moons of Saturn, as imaged by the Cassini spacecraft (top), compared to moons created through simulated collisions. Not only are they similar shapes, but the model suggests why Pan's and Atlas' ridges look different: The ridges are made from smooth material squeezed out from the middle during the merger. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/University of Bern) Instead, the researchers found that Saturn's inner moons likely formed through a series of collisions between tiny moonlets, known as the pyramidal regime formation scenario. "If that is the case and these bodies formed that way, it has important implications for formations of moons in general, because [previous research has shown] that the pyramidal scenario could be at the origin of most of the moons in the solar system," Leleu said. The computer simulations revealed that near-head-on collisions led to ravioli-like flattened objects with equatorial ridges, similar to the shapes of Pan and Atlas. Mergers involving slightly more oblique impact angles resulted in elongated shapes resembling Prometheus. Study co-author Martin Jutzi, also of the University of Bern, had previously found that collisions between comets could lead to bodies with the flattened shapes and equatorial ridges seen on Pan and Atlas. "For bodies such as comets or asteroids, the impact configuration that would form these equatorial ridges have a very low probability of happening," Leleu said. "But the small moons of Saturn are in a very specific environment they are very close to Saturn and its rings, and on almost perfectly circular orbits, and almost all in the same plane." Saturn's large moon Iapetus as observed by the Cassini spacecraft (top), compared to a simulated moon formed by the head-on collision and merging of two bodies, each half the size of Iapetus. (Image credit: Adrien Leleu, Martin Jutzi and Martin Rubin/University of Bern) The computer simulations also revealed the special environment in which Saturn's inner moons exist that makes near-head-on collisions frequent. "We found that 20 to 50 percent of the small moons should display either an equatorial ridge or an elongated shape, while the rest should have more random potato-like shapes," Leleu said. "And this is the case. Considering the six inner moons Pan, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Janus and Epimetheus, the first three display these features, while the others Pandora, Janus and Epimetheus have random shapes." Leleu, Jutzi and their colleague Martin Rubin, also of the University of Bern, detailed their findings online May 21 in the journal Nature Astronomy. Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Like Fox Mulder, I want to believe. I want to believe the conclusions of a new paper that says octopuses are actually space aliens whose frozen eggs first came to Earth aboard an icy meteor. I want to believe that humans, too, are aliens the final descendants of an extraterrestrial virus that crashed to Earth 540 million years ago and sent evolution spiraling into wild new directions. I want to believe that the universe is one giant biosphere, tossing the same building blocks of life from planet to planet in a never-ending game of cosmic hot potato. I want to believe these things because they are cool and fascinating but I probably shouldn't. Because right now, there is still almost no evidence for any of this. And researchers not involved with this study have serious reservations about its conclusion. [7 Theories on the Origin of Life] Still, that did not stop a team of 33 authors from publishing a recent peer-reviewed paper that hypothesized all of these things and more. The paper, published March 13 in the journal Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, had a simple if unusual thesis: The Cambrian explosion that sudden burst of biodiversity during which most modern animal groups first appeared in the fossil record some 540 million years ago was the direct result of an extraterrestrial virus that crashed to Earth in a meteor impact. The new paper revives a controversial theory on the origins of life known as the panspermia hypothesis. First proposed by one of the present study's authors and a colleague in the 1970s, this hypothesis suggests that biological life as we know it did not evolve independently on Earth, but was rather "seeded" from life-bearing comets that pummeled our planet at various times throughout history. These comets could have introduced Earth to novel life-forms that evolved on other planets, including viruses, durable microorganisms like unearthly tardigrades or, as the new study suggests, even fertilized animal eggs from other worlds. The octopus in the room For evidence of the panspermia hypothesis, the authors wrote in their new paper, skeptics need only look to the octopus. Octopuses have complex nervous systems, camera-like eyes and a capacity for camouflage that evolved suddenly and without precedent in their family tree, according to the study authors. The genes for these adaptations, the authors wrote, do not seem to have come from octopus ancestors, but "it is plausible then to suggest [these traits] seem to be borrowed from a far distant 'future' in terms of terrestrial evolution, or more realistically from the cosmos at large." In one theory laid out in the paper, the authors posit that fertilized octopus eggs crashed into the sea aboard an icy comet at the onset of the Cambrian explosion. Another explanation, they propose, could be that an extraterrestrial virus infected a population of early squid, causing them to evolve rapidly into octopuses as we know them today. [Cambrian Creatures Gallery: Photos of Primitive Sea Life] Other researchers were not quick to embrace this theory. "There's no question, early biology is fascinating but I think this, if anything, is counterproductive," Ken Stedman, a virologist and professor of biology at Portland State University, told Live Science. "Many of the claims in this paper are beyond speculative, and not even really looking at the literature." For example, Stedman said, the octopus genome was mapped in 2015. While it indeed contained many surprises, one relevant finding was that octopus nervous system genes split from the squid's only around 135 million years ago long after the Cambrian explosion. Stedman added that, for a virus, such as the RNA-based ones known as retroviruses, to somehow turn a squid into an octopus, that virus would have to evolve on a world where squid were already plentiful. Modern retroviruses have evolved to be extremely specific about which hosts they infect, Stedman said. But a retrovirus from outer space wouldn't have evolved to be specific for Earth-based creatures, and "certainly not specific enough for something like a squid unless you have massive amounts of squids on some planet incredibly close to us that is spitting off all of these meteors. But I think that kind of assumption is highly unlikely," Stedman said. Karin Molling, a virologist at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Germany, echoed this sentiment in a piece of commentary published alongside the new paper. While the new study is "very useful" for thinking about the influence of the universe on our planet in new ways, the findings "cannot be taken seriously," Molling wrote. "There is no evidence for it at all." Originally published on Live Science. The hole in Earth's protective ozone layer that forms over Antarctica each September was the smallest seen since 1988, according to NASA and NOAA. A blockbuster study published in the journal Nature yesterday (May 16) revealed that for the first time since the 1980s, ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have ticked sharply upward in the atmosphere suggesting a new source. Here's the thing though: Not only do scientists have no idea what that new source is, it doesn't make much sense that someone would decide to pump out CFCs again. That's because there are numerous, inexpensive alternatives to CFCs that work just as well. As The Washington Post explained in its detailed report on the study, global CFC production has been near zero since the materials were banned in the 1987 Montreal Protocol. Overall, atmospheric CFCs are still declining, and the ozone layer is still replenishing itself. But the new source has slowed that process significantly, and scientists find the situation completely baffling, said John L. Ferry, an environmental chemist at the University of South Carolina. [Infographic: Earth's Atmosphere from Top to Bottom] Volatile compounds CFCs are molecules made up of carbon atoms linked to chlorine and fluorine atoms, halogen elements that render the molecule volatile but particularly nonreactive, Ferry told Live Science. Volatile chemicals, meaning chemicals that evaporate easily, are important in foaming devices like fire extinguishers and devices that cool air, like refrigerators and air conditioners. "The original refrigerants ... were ammonia or butane," Ferry said. "One of them is very, very toxic ammonia so we needed a replacement that was nontoxic. And the other one was very, very flammable: butane." CFCs were special because they were neither flammable nor reactive enough to be toxic. They were enormously popular, until it turned out that high in the atmosphere they were breaking down. And all that loose chlorine was tearing up the ozone layer, ripping up the chemical bonds of high-flying molecules that protect Earth's surface from ultraviolet radiation. Replacing CFCs was a challenge, Ferry said. Some alternatives turned out to be too reactive, causing cancers and other problems. And there's no single class of molecules that works in every situation in which CFCs were once used. Better alternatives But today, Ferry said, "there's a ton of CFC replacements, just like there was more than one CFC." And, mostly, those replacements do the job plenty well that CFCs once did. That, along with the penalties for using CFCs, makes the discovery of a mysterious new source for one such chemical, CFC-11, particularly confusing. "It just seems like a crazy material to be making on purpose anymore," he said. Neither of the two primary CFC-11 use-cases, firefighting and refrigerators, are at all hampered today by not having the substance, Ferry said. He added that he couldn't think of any special use-case for the chemical for which there isn't already an alternative. So, why would someone start using CFCs again? "That's a hard question," Ferry said. "The trite answer is short-term gain. So, you imagine: What kind of situation would you be in? One that I could imagine would be if you had stocks of CFCs that you stored before the Montreal Protocol but never used." It's feasible that some manufacturer, after time passed, would start using up their stock to cut prices, Ferry said. But the sheer quantity of CFCs involved here, 28.6 million pounds (13 million kilograms) over a period of years, would represent an absolutely massive stockpile. "It seems unreasonable, and makes me wonder about nonstandard stockpiles," he said. The most likely candidate for such stockpiles would be natural ice formations. The world's ice is melting, and Ferry said that melting ice can release trapped chemicals into the air. But it seems unlikely, he said, that there's any ice out there that managed to trap only CFC-11 and not other CFCs. That leaves the bizarre possibility that someone is actively manufacturing and using CFC-11 again, Ferry said. And that CFC factory would be difficult to track down. Given a large enough sample, he said, chemists might be able to analyze the CFC for signatures that would point to its origin. But with the substance loose and mixed up in the atmosphere, the collection task alone would be incredibly difficult, he said. "That said, the analytical chemistry behind this is fantastic, and the people who've worked on this for decades I have a lot of faith in these guys. If it's possible to find the stuff, we'll find it," Ferry said. For the moment, though, the situation is deeply mysterious. "Why would someone set up a factory to do just this when we know the consequences for that are negative? It seems crazy," Ferry said. Originally published on Live Science. ULA says the strike won't affect its operations, including preparations for the July 31 launch of NASA's Parker Solar Probe on a Delta 4 Heavy. ARCADIA, Calif. Striking United Launch Alliance employees will return to work after voting May 19 to accept a revised contract, ending a two-week strike. Nearly 600 members of the Machinists Union, who had been on strike after rejecting ULA's initial contract offer May 6, voted May 19 to accept a revised deal, according to statements from the union and company. The union did not disclose the margin by which the union accepted the revised contract. "The ratification of a new agreement is a huge win not only for Machinists Union families at United Launch Alliance, but also for the U.S. space program and the local economies in Alabama, California, and Florida," the union said in a May 19 statement announcing the contract vote. "The U.S. space program keeps our country safe and this new contract with United Launch Alliance will continue to set the standard in the U.S. space industry." The revised contract addressed several issues that led the union to reject the previous offer. The four-year contract one year longer than the original offer includes increased pay raises. It includes changes in "directed travel" for union employees, including additional hourly pay for those sent from ULA's Decatur, Alabama, factory to launch sites in Florida or California. The revised agreement also makes changes to insurance and pension provisions. "We are pleased that the IAM represented employees have ratified this agreement that is so critical to continuing ULA's success," Tory Bruno, president and chief executive of ULA, said in a May 19 statement, referring to the union by its formal name of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM. "We believe this contract will help secure our place as the go-to provider for launching people and one-of-a-kind payloads into space well into the future." With the contract approved, union members will return to work May 21. The two-week strike did not affect any ULA missions, as its next launch, of NASA's Parker Solar Probe on a Delta 4 Heavy, is not scheduled until the end of July. This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA's GRACE Follow-On Earth-observation satellites and five Iridium Next communications satellites stands atop Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 21, 2018. Liftoff is scheduled for May 22. SpaceX will launch two new Earth-observing satellites for NASA and five commercial communications satellites today (May 22) in a ride-share mission that you can watch live online. NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission and five Iridium Next communications satellites will lift off on a used Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 3:47 p.m. EDT (12:47 p.m. PDT, 1947 GMT). You can watch the launch live here at Space.com and on our homepage starting at 3:15 p.m. EDT (12:15 p.m. PDT, 1915 GMT), courtesy of a NASA TV webcast. The Falcon 9 rocket booster previously launched the U.S. Air Force's classified Zuma mission in January. (That mission was lost, but SpaceX was not to blame for the mishap.) Although the rocket stuck a flawless landing on its last mission, SpaceX does not plan to attempt a landing for this flight. [The Evolution of SpaceX's Rockets in Pictures] The Iridium Next communications satellites that SpaceX is launching with GRACE-FO are the latest in a series for Iridium Communications to build up that company's satellite constellation. The five Iridium Next satellites will join 50 other satellites already in orbit from five previous SpaceX launches (each of which launched 10 satellites). When complete, the Iridium Next constellation will include 75 satellites 66 operational satellites and nine spares. NASA's twin GRACE Follow-On spacecraft (top) and five Iridium Next communications satellites are stacked like a cake before being loaded onto a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for a May 22, 2018, launch into orbit from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. (Image credit: Iridium Communications) GRACE-FO, a joint project between NASA and the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences, will use twin satellites the size of small cars to map changes in Earth's water and ice, such as rising sea levels and melting of the polar ice caps. Unlike most Earth-observation satellites, GRACE-FO won't "use imagers [to] collect light reflected from the surface or the atmosphere," said David Jarrett, GRACE-FO program executive, said at a news conference Monday (May 21). Rather, "the instrument is really the two satellites together as a system" to detect changes in Earth's gravity, he said. The two identical spacecraft will fly in unison, with one trailing the other at a distance of 137 miles (220 kilometers). When they pass over a part of the Earth where the strength of the gravity field either increases or decreases, it will affect the distance between the two spacecraft ever so slightly. So, to obtain information about the distribution of mass below, the GRACE-FO satellites need not look down; instead, they'll only "look" at each other and measure their separation by constantly sending microwave signals back and forth. "If mass changes on the ground like in aquifers, or melting glaciers, or in the oceans and so on you see it immediately in a change which we measure very, very precisely by a microwave tracking system with a precision of about 1 micrometer. That is about one-tenth of a human hair over the distance between Los Angeles and San Diego," Frank Flechtner, GRACE-FO's project manager at GFZ in Potsdam, Germany, said at the news conference. GRACE-FO will spend the next five years mapping Earth's gravity to study the effects of climate change around the world. Visit Space.com today for complete coverage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch for NASA's GRACE-FO and Iridium's satellite constellation. Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookand Google+. Original article on Space.com. The ultraviolet radiation from a nearby supernova may have resulted in changes in life on Earth. Two nearby supernovae that exploded about 2.5 and eight million years ago could have resulted in a staggered depletion of Earth's ozone layer, leading to a variety of repercussions for life on Earth. In particular, 2.5 million years ago, the Earth was changing dramatically. The Pliocene, which was a hot and balmy epoch, was ending and the Pleistocene, an era of repeated glaciation known as the Ice Age, was beginning. Natural variations in Earth's orbit and wobble likely accounted for the change in climate, but the simultaneous event of a supernova could provide insight on the diversification of life during this epoch. This supernova is thought to have occurred between 163 and 326 light-years away (50100 parsecs) from Earth. For perspective, our closest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light-years away. [Proxima b: Closest Earth-Like Planet Discovery in Pictures] Consequences for Earth Supernovae can sterilize any nearby inhabited planets that happen to be in the path of their harmful ionizing radiation. Could nearby supernovae wreak havoc on the existing biology of our planet? One researcher wanted to find out. Brian Thomas, an astrophysicist at Washburn University in Kansas, modeled the biological impacts at the Earth's surface, based on geologic evidence of nearby supernovae 2.5 million and 8 million years ago. In his latest paper, which was published in the journal Astrobiology, Thomas investigated cosmic rays from the supernovae as they propagated through our atmosphere to the surface, to understand their effect on living organisms. Looking at the fossil record during the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary (2.5 million years ago), we see a dramatic change in the fossil record and in land cover globally. Thomas told Astrobiology Magazine that "there were changes, especially in Africa, which went from being more forested to more grassland." During this time, the geologic record shows an elevated global concentration of iron-60 (60Fe), which is a radioactive isotope produced during a supernova. "We are interested in how exploding stars affect life on Earth, and it turns out a few million years ago there were changes in the things that were living at the time," Thomas said. "It might have been connected to this supernova." For example, there was a change in the abundance of species during the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary. Although no major mass extinctions happened, there was a higher rate of extinction in general, more speciation and a change in vegetation. [Supernova Photos: Great Images of Star Explosions] The globally averaged change in ozone density, as a percent difference at 100 years, 300 years, and 1000 years after a nearby supernova explosion. (Image credit: Brian Thomas) Not quite so deadly How would a nearby supernova affect life on Earth? Thomas laments that supernovae often are exemplified as "supernova goes off and everything dies," but that is not quite the case. The answer lies in Earth's atmosphere. The ozone layer protects all biology from harmful, genetically altering ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Thomas used global climate models, recent atmospheric chemistry models and radiative transfer (the propagation of radiation through the layers of the atmosphere) to better understand how the flux of cosmic rays from supernovae would alter Earth's atmosphere, specifically the ozone layer. One thing to note is that cosmic rays from supernovae would not blast everything in their paths all at once. The intergalactic medium acts as a kind of sieve, slowing down the arrival of cosmic rays and "radioactive iron rain" (60Fe) over hundreds of thousands of years, Thomas told Astrobiology Magazine. Higher-energy particles will reach Earth first and interact with our atmosphere differently than lower-energy particles arriving later. Thomas's study modeled the depletion in ozone 100, 300, and 1,000 years after the initial particles from a supernova began penetrating our atmosphere. Interestingly, depletion peaked (at roughly 26 percent) for the 300-year case, beating out the 100-year case. The high-energy cosmic rays in the 100-year case would zip right through the stratosphere and deposit their energy below the ozone layer, depleting it less, while the less energetic cosmic rays arriving during the 300-year interval would deposit more energy in the stratosphere, depleting ozone significantly. A decrease in ozone could be a concern for life on the surface. "This work is an important step towards understanding the impact of nearby supernovae on our biosphere," said Dimitra Atri, a computational physicist at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science in Seattle, who was not involved in the new study. One of the last supernovae known to have exploded in our Milky Way Galaxy was the star that left behind the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant over 300 years ago, which is 11,000 light-years away much too far to have affected Earth. (Image credit: O. Krause (Steward Observatory)/NASA/JPL-Caltech) Mixed effects Thomas examined several possible biologically damaging effects (erythema, skin cancer, cataracts, marine phytoplankton photosynthesis inhibition and plant damage) at different latitudes as a result of increased UV radiation resulting from a depleted ozone layer. They showed heightened damage across the board, generally increasing with latitude, which makes sense given the changes we see in the fossil record. However, the effects aren't equally detrimental to all organisms. Plankton, the primary producers of oxygen, seemed to be minimally affected. The results also suggested a small increase in the risk of sunburn and skin cancer among humans. So, do nearby supernovae result in mass extinctions? It depends, Thomas said. "There is a subtler shift; instead of a 'wipe-out everything,' some [organisms] are better off and some are worse off," he said. For example some plants showed increase yield, like soybean and wheat, while other plants showed reduced productivity. "It fits," Thomas stated, referring to the change in species in the fossil record. In the future, Thomas hopes to expand on this work and examine possible linkages between human evolution and supernovae. The work was supported by NASA Astrobiology through the Exobiology & Evolutionary Biology Program. This story was provided by Astrobiology Magazine, a web-based publication sponsored by the NASA astrobiology program. This version of the story published on Space.com. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission from 2002 to 2016 shows the changing levels of freshwater storage whether it was higher (blue) or lower (red) than the average over the course of the 14-year study. Fresh water is changing around the world, and a new set of NASA satellite observations is helping scientists better understand why. A new study suggests that the changes stem from human activities as well as natural variations in the climate. The data comes from 14 years of observations from the U.S./German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) spacecraft mission. A successor mission called GRACE Follow-On is expected to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than today (May 22) at 3:47 p.m. EDT (12:47 p.m. PDT, 1947 GMT). You can watch it live here on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV. The study, published May 16 in the journal Nature, shows that wet zones on Earth are getting even wetter, while dry zones are drying up, according to a statement from NASA. This is due to many factors, including climate change, how humans use water and natural environmental cycles. Besides the GRACE data, researchers incorporated precipitation data from satellites under the Global Precipitation Climatology Project, imagery from the NASA/U.S. Geological Survey Landsat set of satellites, maps of irrigation, and reports of human activities in mining, agriculture and reservoir operations. "This is the first time that we've used observations from multiple satellites in a thorough assessment of how freshwater availability is changing, everywhere on Earth," Matt Rodell, the team lead and chief of hydrological sciences at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, said in the statement. "A key goal was to distinguish shifts in terrestrial water storage caused by natural variability wet periods and dry periods associated with El Nino and La Nina, for example from trends related to climate change or human impacts, like pumping groundwater out of an aquifer faster than it is replenished." Changes in fresh water, particularly from ice near the poles (such as ice melting due to increasing temperatures), could affect how quickly sea levels rise, NASA officials said. Understanding those changes is also important for predicting the supplies of drinking water and land that is suitable for agriculture. Fresh water on Earth is located in soil, rivers, lakes, groundwater and ice, and changes in its quantities were already predicted by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change models. However, scientists said they would need a longer data set than that of GRACE (which operated from 2002-2007) to see if climate change is responsible for the freshwater changes the twin satellites observed. GRACE calculated the distance between the two spacecraft as they orbited Earth to detect changes in Earth's gravity field below, caused by changes in the distribution of mass across the globe. The satellites also looked at changes in terrestrial water storage. "We examined information on precipitation, agriculture and groundwater pumping to find a possible explanation for the trends estimated from GRACE," study co-author Hiroko Beaudoing, a computer scientist at Goddard and the University of Maryland in College Park, said in the statement. The GRACE data not only shows the effects of climate change, such as on melting ice, but also shows how groundwater levels are sensitive to areas experiencing drought or high rain conditions due to natural cycles in the climate. In southwestern California, for example, groundwater was lost between 2007 and 2015 due to natural water cycles, according to the statement. Less precipitation fell, leading to less snow and surface water, so residents had to use more groundwater to meet their needs. Some zones did not appear to be affected by human activities, such as Africa's western Zambezi basin and Okavango Delta that nourishes wildlife in northern Botswana. Water storage increased every year, on average, by 29 gigatons between 2002 and 2016. But before GRACE's observations, the same region underwent at least 20 years of dry conditions that are attributed to natural environmental cycles. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. SpaceX launched two new Earth science satellites for NASA and five Iridium Next communications satellites into orbit today (May 22). The ride-share mission lifted off on a pre-flown Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 3:47 p.m. EDT (12:47 p.m. PDT, 1947 GMT). "Liftoff for GRACE Follow-On, continuing the legacy of the GRACE mission of tracking the movement of water across our planet," NASA TV's launch commentator Gay Yee Hill announced as the Falcon 9 rocket soared into the sky. "That's a beautiful launch," replied her fellow commentator Sammy Kayali, director for the Office of Mission Safety and Success at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and former deputy manager for GRACE-FO. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches NASA's twin GRACE-FO satellites and five Iridium Next communications satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 22, 2018. (Image credit: NASA TV) For today's launch, SpaceX used the same Falcon 9 rocket booster that launched the classified Zuma mission for the U.S. Air Force in January. Zuma ended up crashing into the ocean instead of reaching orbit, but investigators determined that the Falcon 9 rocket did not cause the accident. After launching Zuma, the booster returned to Cape Canaveral to stick a vertical landing, and SpaceX refurbished it before today's flight. SpaceX did not attempt to land the rocket this time, though. However, SpaceX did attempt to recover the valuable payload fairing, or nose cone, that covered the GRACE-FO and Iridium satellites during launch. The clamshell-like fairing halves were expected to glide back to Earth under a parafoil and be caught by Mr. Steven, a SpaceX recovery boat equipped with a huge net suspended between giant metal arms. But Mr. Steven didn't succeed at catching the payload fairing today. "We came very close. We're going to keep working on that," John Insprucker, a principal integration engineer at SpaceX, said during a live webcast of today's mission. About 12 minutes after liftoff, the rocket's second stage deployed twin satellites for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission into a near-polar orbit. The second stage then ignited its engines once more and headed to a higher orbit to drop off the five Iridium Next satellites. NASA confirmed contact with both GRACE-FO satellites shortly after launch via the McMurdo tracking station in Antarctica. SpaceX confirmed that the five Iridium satellites also deployed successfully about an hour after liftoff. These satellites will join a constellation of 50 satellites owned by a company called Iridium Communications, bringing the total number of Iridium satellites to 55. By the time Iridium Communications completes the constellation, there will be 75 satellites in orbit. The other payload, GRACE-FO, is a follow-on to the original GRACE mission, which mapped Earth's water and ice by measuring changes in Earth's gravity field from 2002 to 2017. GRACE-FO will pick up where GRACE left off to continue studying rising sea levels, the melting of glaciers and polar ice caps and other changes in the distribution of water around the globe. NASA is spending $430 million on the GRACE-FO mission, which is a joint project with the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ). The GFZ has invested another 77 million Euros (nearly $91 million) in the mission, said Frank Flechtner, GRACE-FO's project manager at GFZ in Potsdam, Germany, at a news conference Monday (May 21). "GRACE was really a revolutionary mission for understanding the water cycle, how the climate behaves and the trends taking place over the last 10 or 15 years, and it did this in a very unique way by making measurements of how the mass gets redistributed on the surface of the earth," said Frank Webb, GRACE-FO project scientist at JPL, at the news conference. "We're able to see how water has moved from different parts of the earth by actually measuring its mass, which is not something you see with your eyes. It's something you have to feel with the satellite system," Webb said. To measure Earth's gravity, the two spacecraft will orbit Earth together, with one trailing behind the other at a distance of 137 miles (220 kilometers). Because Earth isn't a perfect sphere and has different features, like mountains and oceans, across its surface, the gravitational pull exerted on the spacecraft is not consistent. When the gravity field changes, the separation between the two satellites changes slightly. The measurement of that change in separation can reveal information about what kinds of features the spacecraft are flying over. The spacecraft measure that change with a microwave tracking system, beaming signals back and forth between the two. GRACE-FO's instruments are so sensitive that they can detect changes "with a precision of about 1 micrometer. That is about one-tenth of a human hair over the distance between Los Angeles and San Diego," Flechtner said. The twin satellites that launched today are almost identical to the two original GRACE satellites, with the exception of one new tool: the Laser Ranging Interferometer. This experimental device serves the same purpose as the microwave instrument, but it's designed to take measurements up to 10 times as precise as the microwave instrument. If the new instrument works out, NASA plans to use it on subsequent GRACE follow-on missions. GRACE-FO is expected to spend the next five years mapping Earth's water. Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Episode 1.01 - 1.07 - Press Release Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE 3 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)On his 80th birthday, media magnate Logan Roy (Brian Cox), whose imminent retirement was thought to be a given, shocks his family by announcing hes staying on indefinitely as CEO of Waystar Royco. The news shatters his son, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), the heir apparent, whos in the midst of negotiating the purchase of a digital-media venture founded by a slick operator named Lawrence (Rob Yang). After an impromptu softball game, tempers flare as Logans other children Roman (Kieran Culkin), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Connor (Alan Ruck) raise objections over Logans intentions, including his desire to change the way his eventual successor will be chosen.Written by Jesse Armstrong; directed by Adam McKay.Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE 10 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)Logans (Brian Cox) incapacitation sets off a heated succession debate among his children, as the board rushes to inform the media about leadership contingencies before the stock market opens. Greg (Nicholas Braun) is tasked with retrieving important items from the Roy apartment. Kendall (Jeremy Strong) makes an impassioned final plea to keep Waystar Royco in the family, and receives sobering news from longtime general counsel Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron) that dampens a moment of vindication.Written by Tony Roche; directed by Mark Mylod.Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE 17 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)With Waystars stock plunging to dangerous lows, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) is confronted with a major crisis involving a secret bank debt. Upset with Marcia (Hiam Abbass) for pulling rank in the Roy apartment, Shiv (Sarah Snook) decides to enlist an old paramour to conduct a background check on Logans (Brian Cox) third wife. Kendall and Roman (Kieran Culkin) attend their first big meeting in their new roles, as do Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and Greg (Nicholas Braun). Kendall tries to convince Rava (Natalie Gold) to give their marriage a second chance, and gets an unexpected reaction to his handling of Waystar from his father.Written by Jonathan Glatzer; directed by Mark Mylod.Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE 24 (10:30-11:30 p.m.)With the companys annual foundation gala fundraiser approaching, and his dad out of the picture, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) polishes up his speech while enlisting an on-air personality from the Waystars ATV Networks to accompany him. Shiv (Sarah Snook) tries to minimize damage from a sordid photo that threatens a clients political future. Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) inherits a virus from his predecessor in the parks and cruises division, and shares a disturbing file with Greg (Nicholas Braun). Logan (Brian Cox) makes a mark on his return to the office. At the benefit, Connor (Alan Ruck) shows why hes better off avoiding stressful situations.Written by Anna Jordan; directed by Adam Arkin.Debut date: SUNDAY, JULY 1 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)After hearing Logan's plan to expand to local TV, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) begins to plot a vote of no confidence against his father. Greg (Nicholas Braun) drives his ornery grandfather, Ewan (James Cromwell), from Canada to New York for a Thanksgiving reunion with Logan (Brian Cox). Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) grows increasingly concerned about the terms of his prenuptial agreement with Shiv (Sarah Snook), and recruits Greg for a clandestine task. The family is surprised by Connor's (Alan Ruck) choice of date at Thanksgiving dinner.Written by Georgia Pritchett; directed by Adam Arkin.Debut date: SUNDAY, JULY 8 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)With the vote of no confidence against Logan (Brian Cox) approaching, Roman (Kieran Culkin) attempts to sway a neutral board member, while Kendall (Jeremy Strong) frantically shores up his "yea" votes. Logan arrives in Washington to meet with the president, but worries he's been snubbed following a last-minute cancellation. After successfully thwarting a potential scandal, Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) introduces Greg (Nicholas Braun) to fine dining, while Shiv (Sarah Snook) explores her options in D.C.Written by Susan Soon He Stanton; directed by Andrij Parekh.Debut date: SUNDAY, JULY 15 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)In an effort to fix his public image, Logan (Brian Cox) agrees to a family therapy session at Connor's (Alan Ruck) New Mexico ranch, intending it to double as a publicity stunt. Lying low, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) spends time with the locals and finds his sobriety tested. Shiv (Sarah Snook) considers putting herself in a precarious situation when Nate (Ashley Zuckerman) pushes her to join the team of Gil Eavis (Eric Bogosian), a potential presidential candidate who goes against everything her father stands for. As Willa (Justine Lupe) spends more time with his family, Connor makes a hard-to-refuse proposal.Written by Lucy Prebble; directed by Miguel Arteta.The series is also available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners streaming platforms.SUCCESSION was created by Jesse Armstrong; executive produced by Jesse Armstrong, Adam McKay, Frank Rich, Kevin Messick, Will Ferrell, Jane Tranter and Mark Mylod. Jesse Armstrong serves as showrunner. First Blood was directed by Mike Barker with the teleplay by Eric Tuchman. The action is centered primarily on the new dynamics in the Waterford household. The flashbacks concern Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) and Fred (Joseph Fiennes). Strahovski and Elisabeth Moss (June/Offred) both give wonderful performances. In fact, you almost feel sorry for SerenaSerena is surprisingly kind to June. June and Serena share an awkward evening. June is surprisingly kind to Serena. June is very surprised.Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) and Fred work together on a project. Aunt Lydia has sympathy for Freds position, but cautions him. Fred is under pressure at work. June has two midnight encounters with Fred. June and Fred have a new secret.Be prepared for some strong language and a heavy dose of irony in the flashbacks to Serena and Fred.Eden (Sydney Sweeney) tries to find her own place. June and Eden have an awkward conversation. Eden may be more dangerous than she looks. Alma (Nina Kiri) makes a statement.The most unsexy foreplay ever followed by the least sexy sex.. Look for a shocking ending! And I know that the music I hear at the end of the episode isn't always what appears in the final version, so I'll spoil the final song because it was awesome (and perfect) - Oh Bondage! Up Yours! by X Ray Spex This baby needs harmony.Get going. You want to help? Help.You scared me.We will not allow a terrorist to silence us.She has a right to speak! This is America!Dont scold or lecture.I cant lose you too.I know what God expects of me.What is her bedtime, anyway?Stop it and be a man.You didnt back down. Youre incredible.It must be hard to leave your family.Maybe we were there at the same time. Serendipity. 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), 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 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/ STAMFORD The South End developer responsible for building a new Charter Communications headquarters at the so-called Gateway site near the downtown train station has cleared final hurdles for a new 14-story glass structure on Washington Boulevard. Zoning Board members voted unanimously this week to approve Building and Land Technologies plan, first broached last year, to build a new Charter headquarters. Most of the changes elicited little discussion from the five-member board, but several members focused on BLTs easement to provide public access to a planned walkway over Mill River. Part of the easement, to replace some 500 feet of Henry Street that ran from Washington Boulevard to the river, could take the form of a handicap-accessible elevator or ramp pending state approvals. If BLT is unable within two years to obtain those approvals, which it needs because the plan links the development to the train station, the developer will send the city $200,000, zoning decided Monday. The city could then garner necessary approvals or amend plans to ensure public access, board members said. Zonings approval was the last needed for Charter and BLT to break ground on the new headquarters at 406 Washington Blvd. Charter has been based at 400 Atlantic St., since it moved in 2012 from St. Louis. The company employs about 1,100 in the state, according to state Department of Economic and Community Development data. Charter officials have said they chose the parcel, where a parking garage now stands, because of its proximity to the downtown Metro-North train station and Interstate 95. The new headquarters would become the first commercial facility with direct access to the stations platform, company officials said last fall. The planned move comes on the heels of a growth spurt for the Fortune-100 company. Since the move to Stamford, it has enlarged its footprint from one floor to eight levels at 400 Atlantic St. To support the new headquarters, Charter is in line to receive from the state a direct loan of $10 million and up to $10 million in tax credits. Additional tax credits would be available if Charter reached certain hiring benchmarks. Charters announcement to create an additional 1,100 jobs shows that our strategic investments are continuing to spur economic growth and create good-paying jobs in the state, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement last fall. We look forward to the continued success of Charter Communications as they grow within the state. Staff writer Paul Schott contributed to this article. barry.lytton@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2263; @bglytton Starbucks, in an effort to walk back from the recent bad press it received, has just made a terrible business decision. Did you catch it? According to USA Today and other reports, the company, in a letter to its employees this past weekend, said that any person who enters our spaces, including patios, cafes and restrooms, regardless of whether they make a purchase, is considered a customer. Starbucks employees were told to follow company procedures for people that are acting in a "disruptive manner," particularly when there's a potential safety concern. The company is also asking its customers to "behave in a manner that maintains a warm and welcoming environment by using spaces as intended, being considerate of others and communicating with respect." Thats fine for customers. But if a guys not buying any coffee how can you call him a customer? Related: The 2 Men Wrongfully Arrested at Starbucks Negotiate for a $200,000 Program to Support Young Entrepreneurs Its a terrible mistake and it should be a fascinating business lesson, not only for the giant coffee chain but for the thousands of smaller, independent coffee shops, merchants and restaurant owners that operate around the country. Why? First of all, consider my local Starbucks (which by coincidence is the one located at 18th and Spruce Streets in Philadelphia, where the now infamous racial incident that occurred last month). I go there all the time. Unfortunately, so do lots and lots of homeless people who sleep the nights in nearby Rittenhouse Square looking to use their bathroom or to get a cup of water. The employees at that location are great -- always providing but then politely moving them along. (Lets please not get into a homeless debate here: Its a terrible and sad problem. But anyone who lives in a city like me knows the best thing to do is to contribute to organizations who can provide food, clothing and medical care for this population.) Related: 3 Lessons from Starbucks' Red Cup 'Controversy' Once word of this new policy spreads -- and it will spread quickly -- my expectation is that this location will be residence for many indigent people...all day long. If you were homeless, wouldn't you do the same? As long as you're "considerate of others" and "communicating with respect" (whatever that means) you can sit there from opening to closing and enjoy warmth, security, a bathroom and as much water as you can drink. It'll be interesting to see the impact this has on all the other customers who use that location as a place to meet friends, study or relax with a latte and a book. My prediction: Bye-bye, Starbucks. Secondly, what will Starbucks do if the policy fails? Has this really been thought through? Was it even tested during this past month? Please, dont ever do this in your business. Yes, we all sympathize with the homeless, but do you sympathize so much that you would sit next to someone whos been living rough (and smells like it) after spending six bucks on a Frappuccino? And what about their employees? Does the company realize just how much more difficult their jobs will become? Will Starbucks lose valuable people due to the added stress from adding policeman and psychiatrist to their already long list of job duties? I think so. Related: How Starbucks CEO Transformed a Small Coffee Bean Store Into a Massively Successful Worldwide Brand There is potentially good news from this decision, particularly if youre one of the thousands of coffee shop, store or restaurant owners around the country. Its quite possible that the influx of homeless or other people who aren't paying but use Starbucks like a bus station waiting room will drive existing Starbucks customers to you. But then again, its possible that the Seattle chain's supposed "benevolence" may force you into doing the same -- or bear the wrath of activist groups, social media trolls and bad headlines. Will this force the many independent business of chains like Subway and Dunkin' Donuts to do the same? Ugh. So lets see how this plays out. Im ready to buy my coffee at any of the dozens of local merchants nearby if my local Starbucks becomes uncomfortable or undesirable. You know what? I should be doing that already. Related: Starbucks Is Now Open for Loitering and It's a Terrible Business Decision Ahora podras usar los banos de Starbucks aunque no consumas The 2 Men Wrongfully Arrested at Starbucks Negotiate for a $200,000 Program to Support Young Entrepreneurs Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved STAMFORD A Norwalk man who admitted to making off with more than $13,000 in a bank robbery will be sentenced to six years in jail. Isaiah Gary, 36, of Commerce Street, pleaded guilty to a second-degree robbery for the 2014 incident at First County Bank on Westport Avenue in Norwalk. Gary, who will be sentenced in July, will also serve four years of special parole once hes released from jail. According to his arrest affidavit, Gary slid a note to the teller, saying dont be stupid. He opened a bag and told the teller: You dont want to get hurt, give me the money, the affidavit said. The teller stuffed the bag with $13,106, but did not include any bait money or strapped cash. But Gary wanted more money, police said. He told the teller, Grab the rest. I see it. The teller then slipped bait money into the bag, police said. Banks record the serial numbers on bait bills to make it easier to track proceeds from a robber. Gary then asked for a lollipop and was given two. After police circulated photos of the suspect, they received a tip later that day from a resident of a Strawberry Hill Avenue apartment building. The resident reported seeing a man resembling the photo in the laundry room shortly after the robbery occurred. Police said they found clothing belonging to the suspect in the laundry room. Investigators also learned Gary had been in TD Bank prior to the First County Bank robbery. He scribbled something on a deposit slip but then left the bank when another customer entered, according to police. Gary was previously arrested for his involvement in a bank robbery that occurred on July 23, 2007 exactly seven years prior to his capture for the First County Bank robbery. He served two and a half years for that robbery. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com I f you thought everyone would be over the royal wedding by now, think again. Three days on and we still found ourselves enthralled by the official portraits, adding dupes of Meghan's wedding dress to our basket and scouring social media for any snippet of the couple's evening party. So far, we have had no luck discovering whether the couple's first dance was definitely to Whitney Houston's hit I Wanna Dance With Somebody, or how we can get our hands on a pair of royal slippers which were given to guests, but, we have found out which scent the couple chose to fill St George's Chapel on their special day. As Meghan Markle and Prince Harry said their vows, not only would they have breathed in the soothing smells of foxgloves, peonies and birch, which were included in the stunning floral arrangements by Philippa Craddock, but also the fresh aromas of trendy Diptyque candles. Royal Wedding 2018: Best Pictures 1 /67 Royal Wedding 2018: Best Pictures Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss on the steps of St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, places the wedding ring on the finger of Meghan Markle Jonathan Brady/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride a horse-drawn carriage after their wedding ceremony Benoit Tessier/Reuters Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images Princess Charlotte and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge leave St George's Chapel after the wedding Jane Barlow/WPA Pool/Getty Images Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland are driven along the Long Walk Yui Mok/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Meghan Markle arriving at her royal wedding ceremony Owen Cooban/MoD/EPA Prince Harry with his brother and best man, the Duke of Cambridge Jane Barlow/PA David and Victoria Beckham attend the wedding Hugo Philpott/WPA Pool/EPA George and Amal Clooney arrive at St George's Chapel Chris Radburn/PA Abigail Spencer and Priyanka Chopra Chris Jackson/Getty Images Patrick J. Adams and wife Troian Bellisario Ian West/PA Marcus Mumford and Carey Mulligan Chris Jackson/Getty Images George Clooney greets Serena Williams as Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre look on Owen Humphreys/WPA Pool/Reuters James Blunt and Sofia Wellesley Hugo Philpott/WPA Pool/EPA Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel Andrew Matthews/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, looks at his bride, Meghan Markle, as she arrives accompanied by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales in St George's Chapel Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry places the wedding ring on the finger on Meghan Markle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk down the steps of St George's Chapel Ben Birchall/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss Ben Birchall/PA Doria Ragland, mother of the bride, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall walk down the steps of St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Windsor Jane Barlow/WPA Pool/Reuters Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex waves from the Ascot Landau John Sibley/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss as they ride in a carriage down the Long Walk after their wedding Yui Mok/WPA Pool/AP 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 Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex wave from the Ascot Landau Carriage during their carriage procession on Castle Hill outside Windsor Castle Reuters Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Princess Charlotte leave St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle after the wedding Andrew Matthews/Pool/Getty Images Meghan Markle walks down the aisle in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA Princess Charlotte waves to the crowd Andrew Milligan/PA Windsor Castle Guards from 1st Battalion Irish Guards play for the crowd Nigel Roddis/EPA Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, walk away from the High Altar toward the West Door at the end of their wedding ceremony in St George's Chapel Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images The Reverend Michael Curry delivered a 10 minute long flamboyant speech Owen Humphreys/WPA/Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for their wedding Dominic Lipinski/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Dominic Lipinski/WPA Pool/Reuters Doria Ragland, mother of the bride during the wedding service Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall wait in the chapel for the wedding ceremony Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry looks at his bride, Meghan Markle, as she arrives accompanied by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales during their wedding Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex kiss on the steps of St George's Chapel Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/Getty Images) Meghan Markle waves to the crowds Matt Cardy/Getty Images Well-wishers line the Long Walk leading to Windsor Castle ahead of the wedding and carriage procession Daniel Leal-Olivias/AFP/Getty Images Well-wishers watch a giant screen broadcasting the wedding ceremony Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images The Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Alastair Grant/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex set off in the Ascot Landau Carriage after their wedding ceremony Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride along the Long Walk in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty Images The Queen and other members of the royal family wave after the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel Andrew Milligan/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk down the steps after their wedding Ben Birchhall/WPA Pool/AP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave after their wedding ceremony at St. George's Chapel Andrew Matthews/WPA Pool/AP Meghan Markle glances back towards her mother, Doria Ragland, as she leaves St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle with Prince Harry Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/AP A woman is painted with a British flag on her face, as they wait at The Long Walk to watch the carriage procession Emilio Morenatti/AP Royal fans wave flags as they wait for the newlyweds to go past after the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Emilio Morenatti/AP Prince Harry looks at his bride, Meghan Markle, as she arrives accompanied by the Prince of Wales in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Owen Humphreys/PA Flowers adorn the front of the organ loft inside St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/Getty Images) Meghan Markle walks up the aisle with the Prince of Wales at St George's Chapel Dominic Lipinski/Pool /Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and the Duchess of Sussex in the Ascot Landau carriage during the procession on The Long Walk after getting married St George's Chapel Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA 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 Royal fans smile on the Long Walk leading to Windsor Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Andrew Milligan/WPA/Getty Images Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Neil Hall/WPA Pool/Reuters 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 ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding in St George's Chape Victoria Jones/PA Prince Harry salutes members of the Royal family as he and his wife Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage after their wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Andrew Milligan/WPA Pol/AP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Dominic Lipinski/WPA Pool/Getty Images Two women wipes their tears when watching Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchange vows on a video screen on the Long Walk Peter Dejong/AP Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex begin their carriage procession in the Ascot Landau Carriage after their wedding ceremony at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle Chris Radburn/AFP/Getty Images The French fragrance brand, which was founded in 1961, supplied a selection of spring-inspired floral fragrances to the couple prior to the day, the final scent being personally chosen by the pair. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex wouldn't be the first royal couple to choose their own scent for their nuptials. Back in 2011, The Duchess of Cambridge decked out Westminster Abbey with Jo Malone candles, which many presumed were her signature Orange Blossom scent. Diptyque's fresh scents weren't only used in the chapel, though. A selection of candles and room sprays were also carefully chosen to scent the spaces where The Duke and Duchess prepared for their memorable day. "We are extremely proud to have been chosen to scent such an important moment for Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex," said Fabienne Mauny, Global Managing Director of Diptyque. "We were touched to have been part of such a significant day, made more special as one of our founders, Desmond Knox Leet, was British. We hope the fragrance contributed to such a memorable day." Although we don't know the exact scent the couple chose, if it is anything like Meghan's simple Givenchy wedding dress, we're guessing it would have been a fittingly subtle, elegant and modern fragrance. G ala night at the Chelsea Flower Show has felt antsy the last couple of years. In what has become the Citys biggest cocktail party, worries about Brexit, then the Election, were a blight on spring spirits. What a difference a year makes. Where once the bankers grimaced about the prospect of exile to Frankfurt or shudder Paris, now its all booming M&A and soaring share prices. That left the chatter moving to other themes, most notably the rumour mill about next years biggest unfilled vacancy the chairmanship of Barclays. Gerry Grimstone, beetling through the Chelsea crowds like Dr Livingstone in the Congo, had been pretty much guaranteed hed be the leading candidate by current chair John Mack the Knife McFarlane. Or so the story goes. The pledge was apparently made on a handshake when Grimstone became deputy chairman. Trouble was, I hear, Mack forgot to tell the board, some of whom were less than impressed at the prospect of looking like they werent in charge. They kicked up a stink, leading to poor old Grimstone quitting his deputy chair and senior independent director roles. Thats ruling yourself out in no uncertain terms. Ouch. So, now whos going to do the job? The likes of Rick Haythornthwaite, outgoing chairman of Centrica, and David Sproul, whose term at the helm of Deloitte ends next year, will make decent chairmen, but not of this systemically important bank. As far as the regulator is concerned, the job needs a banker. That makes filling the role ever harder. One former Barclays type asked the question: whod want it? Plenty like him question chief executive Jes Staleys strategy of building a global investment bank to compete with the Wall Street giants. Their cynicism has a financial backer in the form of activist shareholder Ed Bramsom, meaning whoever takes the chair must have the stomach for fisticuffs. Staley needs a champion prepared to argue his cause against a shamefully shortsighted City culture that is willing to cede investment banking entirely to the American oligarchy. Its true that the Staley plan remains unproven. He has to get return on equity consistently above 10% by 2020 to convince the doubters, and thats far from assured despite beating that in the last quarter. By next year, well have a better feel for whether hes on course. The top dogs at Chelsea may have been shy of throwing their hats into the ring, but hopefully there are others with the appetite for a turnaround scrap. Not to mention the juicy 800,000 salary. Cheekier types pointed out that McFarlane, still evergreen at 70, rather likes the idea of staying on a few more years himself. Im told thats not an option the board is keen to consider. W hat a turn up for the books. First, Hans-Olaf Henkel, one of Germanys leading industrialists and member of the European Parliament, says that Britain quitting the EU is an epic disaster because with us leaving, the last country with common sense leaves the EU. And now Bernard-Henri Levy, the great French intellectual, warns that Europe will collapse if Brexit goes ahead. In a dynamite interview at the weekend, Levy said that the EU will collapse if Britain leaves because it is the brain of Europe, and when the body is deprived of its brain and its heart, its spirit dies. He carried on: Europe is unthinkable without Great Britain. Everyone who reflects deeply about Europe knows that the UK is its beating heart. So disturbed is Levy, that he is writing a play in the hope of changing our minds: Last Exit before Brexit. Phew. If the Royal Wedding didnt a bring a tear to your dry Anglo-Saxon eye, then Levys words would surely do so. How nice to be appreciated, particularly for our brains and heart. Like Levy, Henkel praises our British civilising sensibleness, and the manner in which we brought pragmatism to the EU, helping to shape thinking from the single market to opening up the EUs capital markets to financial services. Behind the scenes, Henkel has been lobbying Berlin and Brussels to come up with a new deal for Britain to keep us in: he calls it the Battle for Britain. The former boss of IBM and the Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie the Federation of German Industry met Theresa May and the Brexit team recently to say that its still not too late to change our mind. A Remainer who should also appeal to Brexiteers, he blames Brussels for Brexit, saying David Cameron was ahead of his time in asking for controls on immigration although he didnt have the cojones to play hard-ball. Now its not just the Visegrad Group the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary that want immigration controls and a stop to further integration, but nearly every EU country including, most poignantly, Italy. Even Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister and longest-serving liberal head of a European government, is increasingly outspoken about how the EU is not an unstoppable train speeding towards federalism, and that France and Germany are not the only EU countries which matter. Could Italys new government be the flash point? The coalition led by Luigi di Maio of MoVimento Cinque Stelle (M5S), together with Matteo Salvinis League, want cuts to immigration and debt forgiveness of up to 250 billion (220 billion) among other demands. Though both M5S and the League have toned down their anti-euro rhetoric for now they demand a monetary union appropriate for the present geopolitical and economic imbalances and consistent with the objectives of the economic union going back to pre-Maastricht days. Thats code for breaking budget and fiscal rules. Dont forget the V in M5S is in upper case because it stands for Vaffa! or F*** off the groups slogan. M5Ss policies may be an intriguing hotchpotch of Left and Right-wing measures but they are united in not liking banks or big business or corrupt political parties and politicians. It may be popular in the UK to describe their policies as populist but thats a facile moniker as their aspirations are more subtle than the criticism implies. How far will Italy push their demands with the EU? Who knows. But what is sure is that the EU ringmasters will not sit comfortably with one of Europes largest economies ripping up the rule-book. Italy is not Greece, where the Germans could turn the money taps on and off. The more pertinent question to ask is why Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel appear so tone deaf to the competing demands for reform. What will make them realise they must change the EUs direction of travel or, as Levy warns, die without us? M ichael Spencer is bowing out as chief executive of Nex Group, the technology group he is selling to Americas CME, with strong trading figures and a swipe at UK politicians. He says the City and the UK can do well post-Brexit, but slammed the lack of attention the financial services sector is getting and said rival nations will plunder London for business. In the year to March, Nex saw revenues up 50 million to 591 million. Profits edged up 3 million to 125 million. It is being sold to derivatives exchange CME for 3.9 billion, a deal that nets Spencer 670 million. He said the obsession in Brexit discussions with the customs union, the Northern Ireland border and manufacturing means the political effort is skewed in the wrong direction. If you were being courteous youd say this was disappointing, if you were being hard youd say it was alarming, he added. He said the negative sentiment around bankers had been unfairly extended to insurers and asset managers. There is the trashing of an entire industry based around the conduct of a small number of individuals, he said. Things are getting ugly at Pets at Home though. Shares are off 8%. The new boss of pet care business is banking on water bottles and paddling pools for pooches to lift sales despite profits taking a hit today. The business, which also offers veterinary and grooming services, saw pre-tax profits fall by 12% to 84.5 million for the year to March 29 as it had to plough more cash into offering cheaper pet food and accessories. Chief executive Peter Pritchard, who took over last month, said: We knew we had to invest and thats exactly what weve done. Revenues were up 7.8% to 898.9 million. Pets at Home expects low single digit profit growth as it continues to curb costs and lends more cash to some joint ventures with vets practices that arent making money yet. We will see more investment this year but nowhere near as much as last year, said Pritchard. Thanks to the heatwave, he added, pet owners flocked to buy cooling mats. T he short story Philip K. Dick forgot to write was the one set in a dystopian future in which the giant corporation that rules the world through its hegemonic grip on information inveigles itself into each citizens life from birth by inserting sensors in babies nappies. No matter. Where the great sci-fi master failed through omission, Alphabet Inc the parent company that owns Google seeks to fill in. In recent days a patent filed in the US has shown that its research company, Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) has been working on smart nappies, which sense when a nappy is full, works out what it is full of, and sends an alert to the users smartphone. For a generation Google has been wiping our arses intellectually; now it seeks to do it for real. Of course, wackiness is in many ways the lifeblood of the inventor. Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison would have been known to history as nothing but a talented painter and a competent telegraph operator had they not been prepared to conceive of things that the world did not know it needed. Nevertheless, there is something faintly troubling about a future in which even changing a babys soggy bottom has been devolved to the great algorithm in the sky. But such are the times. I am as addicted to my iPhone as the next human, and catch myself regularly opening the weather app to see if it is a nice day, rather than looking at the sky. I set the sat nav to guide me on car journeys I have been driving my entire adult life. This is not so much laziness as infantilism: deference to authority trumping faith in my own instincts. So I wonder: were I a new parent again, choosing between the nappy that told me by text that my baby had shat up its back, or the one that stayed mute, can I say that I would not prefer the former? I cannot. Perhaps this is what they call complicity on the part of the victim. Ill join the Tories for a cheeky Nandos My membership of the Conservative Party held briefly in 2010 because I wanted to go raving at the conference after-parties and write about it lapsed ages ago. But I nearly renewed it yesterday, having seen musings from Tory HQ about sorting out free Nandos cards for new members. Sadly, Nandos squashed the rumour faster than you can say: Wing roulette with a side of fino free market liberalism, please. Still, its nice to have discovered the current trading price of my political affiliation: a discounted plate of spicy chicken. Any takers? Im here for the wooing. A female twist to the Hollywood plot This years Cannes Film Festival revealed that a whole host of movies with ass-kicking female leads are being rushed through production by the big studios, led by 355, an expensive spy flick fronted by Penelope Cruz, Jessica Chastain and Marion Cotillard. Others mining a similarly #MeToo seam include The Spy Who Dumped Me and The Hitmans Wifes Bodyguard, which sound promising even if their titles would suggest that Hollywood still feels happiest when it is defining female roles by their relationship to men. Actress Marion Cotillard / AP Be that as it may. The idea is that Hollywood is pronouncing itself reformed by the fact that it has cast women to the fore. The question, I suppose, is whether you really believe that anything has changed. A cynical observer might wonder whether the real motivation for change is suddenly a market for girl power unseen since the Nineties: another trend to be exploited for a profit. Or am I being uncharitable? Children finally learn how to floss My children, in common with all children, are currently obsessed with flossing. I wish I could say that I meant the dental hygiene routine, but no. I refer rather to the dance craze that involves waving ones arms around as though mixing a palette of cement with a Zimmer frame. Like all good crazes, it makes no sense at all. But it is highly addictive and spreading fast. A friend who teaches in a primary school outside London tells me that The kids in my class do it all the time. One has it as a nervous twitch now. Its taking over. W e all know jealousy isnt a particularly attractive quality in a person; in fact, I think its pretty repellent. Unfortunately, Im greener than the Queens suit about the royal wedding, positively envious because it was a sensation, and now I couldnt settle for anything less. How could one live up to that? It was one hell of a holy matrimony and Im not sure Islington Town Hall would cut it now Ive seen that souped-up ceremony. Im convinced that because Meghan and Harry seem so like us that now every unmarried millennial couple will be benchmarking their big day against the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs service. The wedding, otherwise known as #thebesthingtheworldhaseverseen, was a triumph. I adored it all, from the cellists spotty socks to the tender look of love in the couples eyes, the whiteness of her teeth, the timeless elegance of the dress, the James Bond Jag, Bishop Currys feather-ruffling brilliance, Dorias poise and her daughters freckles and you just know the reception went off like a late-night rocket (Mike Tindall and James Cordon were there, after all). Imagine the inebriated squaddies from Harrys regiment with ties around their heads dancing to Whitney? Fantastic! The entire thing was dreamy. A friend was there and she said it was life-changing. I was asked recently why I wasnt married to the father of my child. I dont quite like him enough, I responded, cranking up a smile it was a joke, and a mask for something a little more deep-seated. I am happy for Meghan and Harry and, for the same reasons that we all discussed over Sunday lunch this weekend, their union was unique and special. But when it comes to getting hitched myself, to say Im sceptical about the big I DO would be as understated as Meghans make-up. 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 Having a child with someone is the biggest commitment of all, of course, but the act of telling someone that your heart will always be theirs? Thats a promise I cant possibly make, mainly because I dont know that to be true how could anyone? When youre standing at that altar theres no way you can be 100 per cent, unequivocally, no-bones-about-it certain is there? No way that the Oh God, is this the right thing? doesnt creep in? I dont buy it if you say it doesnt. Maybe Im overthinking it. Perhaps life is just a fairytale after all. Of course it is! said my friend (who gets married in a few months time) as we watched those sweet page boys lifting Meghans train down the aisle of St Georges chapel, but remember that you get married on the day dont think about after that. I suppose he has a point. If you believe too hard in the idea of forever after, perhaps it stops you from finding perfect for now. Royal wedding - the fairytale ceremony in pictures Can Stormzy drum up a crowd for Jezza? Well, you know who your friends are. Poor old Jeremy Corbyns yoof efforts have been thwarted by his main man, Stormzy, who cant make his gig because hes got prior engagements. Next month Corbyn is throwing Labour Live, a day-long music and ideas festival in north London which is reportedly struggling to sell tickets. He has apparently tried to draft in Stormzy, who led the crowds in a chorus of Oh Jeremy Corbyn at Glastonbury last year, to save the event from haemorrhaging 600,000. Grime artist Stormzy (Getty Images) / Getty A have-a-go Michael Eavis, Corbyn is doing what any middle-aged man with a plectrum in his wallet, a guitar in his loo and a love of Bob Dylan would do hes throwing his own summer festival, of course he is! Politicians cant help themselves cut to George Freemans Big Tent Ideas fest for the Tory party last year for a word of warning that white men in a field dancing badly does not a revolution make. As for Corbyns concert, a ticket to Labour Live, which includes gigs and talks, costs 30 if youre earning the London living wage (which works out at about 1,400 a month) or less. So after rent, travel and bills its a toss-up between food for thought, and the weekly food bill, then. So long, Instagram, its been swell (sort of) I think they hate me over there at Instagram HQ. Holding back the verification blue tick like a prize, lording it over me when they know how badly I want one. Plus, I dont want to be an addict. So Im off now. The app is deleted (for the time being) and good news, guys the world is still turning. A week on and Ive realised how needy Id become, desperate to share very funny photos or moments with the world, seeking approval, craving content to graze on, yet never satiated, always starving for gratification. I feel so much better without it now, Im much more myself. N o mightier cosh exists in the uncivil warfare of raw American politics than ordering the President to answer questions that he most ardently wishes to avoid. That is the prospect unnerving Donald Trump and his allies, as Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the inquiry into the Trump teams dealings with Russia before 2016, intensifies. The Presidents fury, unbridled at the best of times, has boiled over in the past few days with a fresh crop of tweets, using capital letters as defensive artillery. I hereby demand, begins one (modesty not being in great supply). Another denounces a Witch Hunt composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats (a reference to the political affiliations of Muellers team). For all the grim excitement unleashed lately by Stormy Daniels, the Presidents potential porn star nemesis, the tentacles of the Russian saga have the greater chance of corroding a chaotic but tough-to-budge presidency. Dealing badly and dishonestly with inconvenient past liaisons is a shabby character trait. Yet Democrats can hardly overlook the fact that it is one shared by Bill Clinton, who nonetheless kept the support of progressives. Hurricane Stormy looks, for now, more like another sleazy embarrassment than an imminent political fatality. Anne McElvoy The tussle over the range of the Russia inquiry and the terms on which the President will be forced to engage with it matter more. They are fast coalescing into the dramatic centrepiece of Trumps first term. Indeed, the volatile karma of the White House is affected on a daily basis by whether Mueller is suffering setbacks (recent legal challenges to its scope and how far its powers extend into investigating family and political friends of Trump) or nearing his strategic aim of securing the co-operation of an unwilling President. The pace, invective and legal wrestling is reaching fever pitch because Mueller is anxious to finish his inquiry by summer an aim which adds pressure on the delayed Trump visit to Britain, scheduled for July 13. The Trump visit is awkward optics for Theresa May but a defensible invitation. It seeks to bind an unreliable partner into solid Nato commitments and nudge along the never-ready US-UK post-Brexit trade deal. And while there is never an easy time for a drop-by from the most divisive figure in global politics, the PM and her officials are devoutly hoping that the Trump ushered into Number 10 is in as calm a mood as the Great Noise-maker can be. As someone close to the visit-planning shudders, they hope for a genial Shrek but fear the imminent timing of the Mueller report might end up with the UK hosting the full ogre. Theres not enough chamomile tea in the world for that. Muellers investigation is a legitimate one, given the evidence of intended Kremlin manipulation and unwisdom of the pre-election Trump squad and business allies in dealings with Russian designates. But it does have weaknesses, which need to be mitigated as far as possible to avoid deepening the corrosive partisanship of the Trump era. One, as Trumps attorney, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, points out, is that its potential scope is dizzyingly wide, which leads to a perception among Trump supporters that it is a come and get him opportunity for political foes. This unwieldy breadth follows from the precedent, established in the Kenneth Starr investigation into Bill Clintons personal conduct and ramifications in the late Nineties. But Muellers team is also heavily comprised of Democrats or Democratic donors (Mueller, however, is a registered Republican). He must, then, take extra care to avoid the impression that his inquiry is timed to affect November mid-term campaigning which in effect begins straight after the summer break. "The PM will hope the Trump ushered into Number 10 is in as calm a mood as the Great Noise-maker can be" Trump has little practical choice but to answer questions about his campaign staffs links to Russia or face the humiliation of a subpoena, which would be risky to contest. This week he is bargaining over how much disclosure will be made of the source of FBI information from inside the election campaign. But when the delaying tactics run out, the President faces an awkward precedent reaching back to the internecine strife of Hamilton, the sequel. In 1807, a chief justice sought to subpoena Thomas Jefferson in the trial of Aaron Burr for treason. Jefferson resisted on the Mark Zuckerberg-ish grounds that he was too busy to travel from Washington to Richmond. Notwithstanding Trumpian chutzpah, a diary-related get-out is not likely to pass muster in 2018 (Jefferson never did appear, but the case produced a precedent that the presidency was subject to subpoena). Several subsequent incumbents have reluctantly provided testimony in legal cases or inquiries. Dragging out the inevitable on that score did not help Clinton, who ended up submitting to a grilling on sexual harassment in the Paula Jones civil suit and a lengthier encounter with Starr. Today, the Trump presidency prides itself on exceptionalism but it cannot simply defy the grinding wheels of inquiries. The best strategy for the Trump legal team is either to delay the report with legal trip wires that would prevent its conclusions being published until after November. That just extends the agony. More likely, as Giuliani a pragmatist, for all his loyalty to Trump suggested at the weekend, it is a hard bargain over the scope of testimony that the President is asked to deliver, short of the humiliation of subpoena and even messier consequences. Already, charges against his former campaign manager Paul Manafort, related to his business dealings with Ukraine, make it likely that former allies will plea-bargain to decrease exposure to jail sentences. So beyond the daily dramas, delays and diversions, Americas leader is facing an inconvenient fact. The Mueller investigation, warts and all, requires more of a response from the President than big-capital tweeting about it. H ow was the railway timetable revolution for you? I was at St Pancras from early yesterday morning right through the peak rush hour to watch the first day of the biggest change in train schedules in years. Yes, some trains were cancelled and some delayed . But what stood out even more was the crowding. Was it worse than normal? Or has the new timetable boosted capacity, as it was supposed to? Time will tell as passengers adapt and more new services are added over the next few weeks. Its certainly a revolution. Years in the planning, almost half of Britains 19,000 services have new times. For many these changes mean more trains and seats, longer trains and more choice on destinations. All of Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express trains routes which carry more than one in five of Britains rail passengers have new schedules. As a result, London, from St Pancras to Blackfriars and beyond, effectively has a new Tube service with trains every few minutes in the peak (shame its not shown on the Tube map, thanks to Transport for London resisting the idea). While not many people may travel all the way from Horsham to Peterborough or Cambridge to Brighton, the links in between to Gatwick Airport and London Bridge are really useful. London Bridge is back on the Thameslink map. So, the intent and the investment are good. While the industry consultation and communication has been adequate, it was always going to be a bit tense on the first full morning. The industry has had trouble doing timetable and driver training planning: too many changes, not enough planners and creaking IT systems. At Transport Focus we criticised the failure to provide timetables 12 weeks in advance last autumn. The industry is still not there yet. And even if they run smoothly, not everyone will be happy with the new routes. Changes affect peoples daily routine. If you travel from Bedford, Luton or Wellingborough, for instance, you have lost out. Peak-time services from Wellingborough to Bedford are now by bus. Some passengers have found that they have to catch an earlier peak fare train, so are paying more. We are calling on train companies to ensure passengers are not out of pocket because of this. Changing times might be pushing people on to different, already busy, services. While an eight-carriage train might have worked in the past, the pressure on the system means 12 carriages are needed. We will keep a close eye on these crowding levels. The new services have to run like clockwork. Yesterday there were lots of staff around and good information at places like Blackfriars but this is no substitute for sticking to the railways basic promise. Run the trains on time. C lowning is an art form that extends well beyond face paint, red noses and water-squirting buttonholes. The circus clown is just one tiny corner of a community of comics using slapstick and physical comedy on stage. In its third year, London Clown Festival celebrates slapstick and buffoonery (thats a technical term) until June 3. Here are a few of the highlights to look out for. Butt Kapinski Butt Kapinski is a private eye investigating a murder, but can only do it with help from the audience. Character comic Deanna Fleyshers interactive show is very much adults only, taking you through a whirlwind of sex, sin and subterfuge. 25 May, The Albany, 240 Great Portland Street, W1W 5QU, thealbanyw1w.co.uk FOC IT UP at The London Clown Festival Scratch Andrea Spisto, who programmes the festival, has teamed up with Kemah Bob from Femmes of Colour Comedy Club, FOC IT UP, for a collaboration of clowning and comedy that centres around the perspectives of people of colour who identify as women, non-binary or feminine. May 28, The Albany London's best comedy clubs and nights 1 /15 London's best comedy clubs and nights The Soho Theatre Sara Pascoes favourite comedy venue, and with good reason: the Soho Theatre is arguably Londons finest place to see both up-and-coming and established acts. Being a theatre, rather than a comedy club per se, expect to see full sets from individuals rather than bills with a few comics. Its three rooms host all sorts of things, from the latest Edinburgh winners to big names road-testing their latest bits. The standard is reliably excellent: even if youve never heard of a comedian, chances are, if theyre playing here, theyll be worth watching. The Comedy Store Another old favourite, the Comedy Store benefits from being built for purpose: no other venue in London suits stand-up quite so well (and the beer isnt too ridiculously priced, either). After starting out above a strip club in Soho, this place made its name throughout the eighties by breaking the pioneers in alternative comedy. Its happy to host mainstream stars these days, and never struggles to draw top acts, but if you can only make one thing, try The Comedy Store Players, old pros whose improvised shows on Wednesdays and Sundays all but guarantee hilarity. Tuesdays The Cutting Edge is best for those who like topical humour. Old Rope at The Phoenix Old Rope is popular with circuit veterans and newbies alike, so the weekly show usually has a mix of big names, comedy veterans and ones-to-watch. Host Tiff Stevenson leads an evening of new material yes, lots of jokes given their test run and its given its name for the noose that hangs over the stage. Ironically, this noose is a bit of a life-saver: if the new act is going badly, comics can grab the rope and fall back on old material. Knock2bag Always top value, the Knock2bag nights offer the chance to indulge in the odder end of the comedy spectrum: expect serious helpings of whimsy, eccentricity and surrealism. If you're looking for something different, this is your place to go. Monkey Business Comedy Club A first-rate comedy club and well worth travelling for. Wed pick the Thursday night over Saturday, but youll get a decent show on either day. Theres a mix of big names and up-and-comers, and host Martin Besserman is a pro wholl keep you laughing in between acts. Of which, theres often as many as twelve a night, so youll get your moneys worth. If one isnt to your taste, another promises a laugh. Banana Cabaret Club The Banana Cabaret Club hosts a lot of top drawer comics, and is well loved in comedy circles in part, because theyve been going a good thirty years and in part because of the man running things, David Vickers, whose had everyone from Eddie Izzard to Stephen K Amos performing. Stars pop-in, and comedy circuit regulars play often, but its also on the finest spots to see new talent . No wonder Marcus Brigstocke name-checked it as his favourite London comedy club. Besides, once the two-hour show is done (typically wrapping up around 11pm), DJs strike up and everyone dances till 2am. Splendid. http://vivivi.co.uk/ Piccadilly Comedy Club Hats off to the Piccadilly for keeping comedy cheap: their shows cost 10 at the most, and they do a meal deal, where you can eat at Tiger Tiger and see the show for 20 all-in. A bargain. Expect a mix of well-known TV regulars alongside the best newcomers on the scene. Line-ups are particularly well thought out here: they dont just sling together anyone, so the nights tend to be uniformly excellent. Leicester Square Theatre The Leicester Square Theatre draws the big names, so expect to see top flight acts: Richard Herring hosts a weekly podcast here on Wednesdays, and the likes of Bridget Christie, Micky Flanagan and Frankie Boyle all make it a stopping point on their tours. That said, check the website for whats upcoming there are chance to see some under-the-radar sets too. Live at Zedel The excellent Brasserie Zedel whose Bar Americain is one of the finest drinking spots in the capital relaunched Crazy Coqs as Live At Zedel last year and following a successful first run, are launching their second season. Besides comedy the standard is usually very decent they also host musical theatre and drag acts. The cocktails are terrific and there's at-table service. Eat in the restaurant beforehand (or after), too: we swung by recently and the food is as good as its ever been. Cheap, too. Happy Mondays This fortnightly show boasts the best new up-and-coming acts in the capital, combined with big name hosts expect the likes of Miles Jupp, Sara Pascoe and Holly Walsh who keep the standard up to scratch. Definitely up to par, somewhere to find your new favourite comedian. Angel Comedy Just how a comedy club should be: small, crowded and above a pub. Best of all, its free, and each night offers something different, from open-mic nights to well-known names giving their latest sets an airing. Check the website for details, but you wont be let down just get down early, as it fills up quickly. Ginglik Comedy Club Following a decade of success in Shepherd's Bush, this comedy club has found a new home at the ever-popular Roof Gardens. Known as 'Jimmy Carr's favourite comedy club', the Ginglik has had everyone from Al Murray to Robin Williams play, and is set for more success. Laugh Out London The likes of Stewart Lee, Reginald D Hunter and Tony Law play these nights, which gives an idea of just how decent they are. Laugh Out London always do a good job of bringing the highlights from Edinburgh festival to town, so take the chance to see who everyones been tweeting about. The 99 Club This Leicester Square club is much, much better than you might expect for a place that continually flyers. A big favourite with the Chortle Awards, it always attracts big names it runs a little like Live At The Apollo but on a smaller scale. There are three acts a night, and shows are fairly priced: some are as cheap as a fiver, though most will cost around 10 - 15. Theyve also got venues in Soho and Covent Garden. Live At The Chapel Bit of a shame that shows here are so few and far between usually about once a month but theres no place more beautiful than the Union Chapel to see comedy in London. The upside is that, with so few performances, they always get the big names headlining, with unfailingly impressive support. Plus theres usually a live band, who are fab. The atmosphere is everything. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire The Porter Cabaret Featuring everyones favourite Shakespeare character and inventor of Knock Knock jokes, the Porter from Macbeth, five clowns present their own mostly improvised interpretations of the drunkard, each trying to ensure they give the most memorable performance. May 31, Mirth, Marvel and Maud, 186 Hoe St, Walthamstow, E17 4QH, mirthmarvelandmaud.com Nina Conti is Monkey Puppetry artist Nina Conti has been working with Monkey for 15 years. Now Monkey has taken over entirely, and Conti finds herself in the role of sidekick. The British Comedy Award winner is a national favourite, commanding stage and screen. Heres a chance to see some of her work in progress before it hits the big theatres. June 1, Mirth, Marvel and Maud Waiting For It with Wild Dandelions Alice Motta and Andrea Spisto of Wild Dandelions collected the material for this show during Edinburgh Fringe, when they walked around with a banner asking: what would you do if you werent afraid? The content is slightly more off the wall, with two scientists on an adventure to a futuristic Latin-American continent in search of it. June 1, Mirth, Marvel and Maud Clowns Without Borders Cabaret Raising funds for refugee children, Clowns WIthout Borders is a charity who use laughter to alleviate the suffering experienced by children fleeing war and disaster. They use clowning and imaginative play to allow the children to experience their childhood, despite the hardship they face. This show features performances from Helen Duff, Ben Targer, Kat Bond, Richard Todd and more. June 1, Mirth, Marvel and Maud Elf Lyons: Chiffchaff Elf Lyons was nominated for best show at last years Edinburgh Fringe. Chiffchaff is an early look at her new show, which she will be taking up to the festival in the summer. This one woman musical about the economy will attempt, with an orchestra and an invisible hand, to make fiscal matters fun. June 2, Mirth, Marvel and Maud I t's currently the Islamic holy month of Ramadan - a period when Muslims engage in fasting, charity and extra acts of worship in order to draw nearer to Allah. For those fasting and praying throughout Islam's special month of Ramadan there are a very specific set of 'salah times' to remember. Muslim prayer times are based on the sun's movement and so, change every day. Since there is a prayer for sunrise and a prayer for sunset, these prayer times also mark the start and end of the daily fast. Those in London can follow the East London Mosque's prayer timetable in order to keep up with the different times throughout the month of Ramadan. You can view these timings below: Yet, these times are accurate for London only. You can view prayer times for other UK cities here. What is Ramadan? Ramadan is held during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It's a time of spiritual reflection, charitable acts and spending time with loved ones. Muslims also treat is as a month in which they can overcome sinful habits. It is also a month when Muslims fast. This means no eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset, which is important during Ramadan as it allows Muslims to devote themselves further to their faith, ultimately becoming closer to Allah, or God. The reason why Muslims fast is because it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, the other pillars being faith, prayer, charity and making the pilgrimage to Holy City of Mecca. Before sunrise, Muslims eat a meal (suhoor) and then another meal (iftar) after sunset. One who is ill, pregnant or travelling does not have to fast. Children and the elderly are also not required to fast during the month of Ramadan. When does Ramadan start this year? This year Ramadan began on the evening of Wednesday May 16 and is expected to end on the evening of June 15. T he son of a millionaire South African property tycoon has been found guilty of hacking his parents and brother to death with an axe in a gruesome attack that shocked the nation. Henri van Breda, 23, also attempted to murder his 16-year-old sister in the horrifying violence at their home in an upscale housing estate in 2015. She was left fighting for her life. Van Breda's trial began more than two years after his parents and older brother were killed in Stellenbosch, a scenic wine-growing town in South Africa. The family had immigrated to Australia but returned to South Africa several years ago. Henri van Breda is led out of the High Court in Cape Town, South Africa, on Monday / AP 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 horrific attack. His parents, Martin and Teresa van Breda, and his older brother, Rudi, died in their home in De Zalze Estate in Stellenbosch. His sister, Marli, aged 16 at the time of the incident, was severely injured. 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. Henri van Breda sits in the dock at the Western Cape High Court / AFP/Getty Images After he shouted for help, 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 that was 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". P olice officers involved in high speed chases are set to receive greater legal protection if they crash under new Home Office plans. The shake-up aims to dispel the "myth" that officers cannot pursue moped riders who are not wearing helmets. Under Government proposals published on Tuesday, laws surrounding the offences will be tweaked to recognise police drivers' high level of training. Policing Minister Nick Hurd said: "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 Government's 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 driver's 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. T he mother of a Grenfell Tower victim told today how she feels a part of me has been ripped out, after losing her daughter without being able to say goodbye. Miriam Lamprell, 79, received a late-night text message from Debbie, 45, hours before the fire started, telling her: Ive got in Mum, alls well, goodnight, God bless. Mrs Lamprell told the second day of the Grenfell Inquiry hearings : I thought, Thats ok, she is safe. I went to bed and got up in the morning and I didnt have a daughter. I am bereft without her. If she had died a normal death I would have been able to hold her, comfort her, and say goodbye. I feel a part of me has been ripped out, and nothing seems worth it anymore. Debbie, who lived on the 16th floor of the tower, was a popular member of Opera Holland Park where she worked every year as the safety officer and Michael Volpe, the operas director, fought back tears as he read out Miriam Lamprells tribute this morning. Im an old woman who has nothing else left, she said. Maybe it has taken the loss of Debbie to realise we werent normal. Debbie was an exceptional, extraordinary person and I was completely blessed to have her as my daughter. The inquiry heard how Mrs Lamprell had encouraged her daughter to seek social housing after she moved out of the family home in Highams Park in Waltham Forest. I was always worried about her living in the bedsits or the studio flats, as she called it, she said. It really was not appropriate for someone in her thirties who worked so hard. The conditions were not good and I used to badger her to put her name down with the council to get somewhere proper to live somewhere safe and decent. Of course, it feels terrible to have done that now. Victims of the Grenfell Tower fire 1 /59 Victims of the Grenfell Tower fire Final death toll: Just some of the victims who were killed in the Grenfell Tower blaze PA Final death toll: Just some of the victims who were killed in the Grenfell Tower blaze Five-year-old Isaac Paulos Family Handout Logan Gomes, who was stillborn after his family escaped from the 21st floor of the Grenfell Tower AP Victoria King, 71, and her 40-year-old daughter Alexandra Atala were among those who died in the blaze PA A photograph of Mohamed Amied Neda as his family were forced to hold a second funeral PA Mary Mendy Maria Del Pilar Burton, who was rescued from the 19th floor of Grenfell Tower, has died seven months on from the blaze Alexandra Atala, 40, the last victim to be named and pictured from the Grenfell fire Metropolitan Police Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi Rania Ibrahim, Fethia Hassan and Hania Hassan PA Raymond Bernard Bassem Choucair and Nadia Choucair PA Sirria Choucair PA Mierna Choucair PA Fatima Choucair died along with five other relatives PA Mariem Elgwahry AP Hashim Kedir, wife Nura and children Yahya, 13, left, Firdaws, 11, and Yaqub, six. Mehdi El-Wahabi, 8, lived on the 21st floor of Grenfell Tower Met Police Ligaya Moore, 79, a Filipino living in the tower Met Police Artist Khadija Saye PA Victim: 12-year-old Jessica Urbano Ramirez was killed in the fire Victim: Farah Hamdan, 31, pictured with her baby daughter Mohamednur Tuccu, 44, and his three-year-old daughter Amaya Tuccu-Ahmedin PA Berkti Haftom, 29 and Biruk Haftom, 12 Metropolitan Police Victim: Sakina Afrasehabi, 65, died in the Grenfell Tower fire PA Fatima Afraseiabi 'Well respected': Grandmother-of-six Sheila Smith was killed in the Grenfell Tower blaze Met Police Hamid Kani was found on the 23rd floor PA Steve Power Mohammed Al-Haj Ali Syrian Solidarity Campaign Denis Murphy PA Young victim: Jeremiah Deen, two, died in the blaze Met Police Zainab Deen Anthony Disson Ali Yawar Jafari PA Nora Huda Kedir Hashim: His wife and their three children died Hesham Rahman PA Gary Maunders PA Ernie Vital and his mother Marjorie PA Amal Ahmedin and Amaya PA Amna Mahmud Idris PA Kamru Miah, 79, who died in the Grenfell Tower fire PA Rabeya Begum PA Mohammed Hamid, 27, died in the fire PA Mohammed Hanif PA Husna Begum PA Fathia Ali Ahmed Elsanosi PA Vincent Chiejina PA Abdulaziz El-Wahabi PA Faouzia El-Wahabi, 41 PA Yasin El-Wahabi, 20 PA Nur Huda El-Wahabi, 16, PA Mehdi El-Wahabi, 8, lived on the 21st floor of Grenfell Tower Met Police Khadija Khaloufi PA Omar Belkadi, 32, and Farah Hamdan, 31 PA Deborah Lamprell Mohammed Al-Haj Ali PA Mrs Lamprell, whose husband Reg died eight years ago, said their daughter was his treasure and revealed that she had been buried next to him. A family of three generations who died in the blaze on June 14 last year and a woman who live-streamed her plight while stranded on the top floor were among the 12 victims due to be commemorated today. Tributes were set to be paid to the Choucair family, including Nadia, 33, her husband Bassem Choukair, 40, their three children Mierna, 13, Fatima, 11, and Zainab, three, and their grandmother Sirria, 60. They were all found on the 22nd floor where they lived. Rania Ibrahim and her two little girls will also be remembered at the hearings at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in South Kensington. The 30-year-old uploaded a harrowing Facebook Live video while stranded at the top of the tower. She was found with her children Hania Hassan, three, and Fethia Hassan, four. Loved ones of Hesham Rahman, 57, who was found dead in the flat where he lived alone, will also pay tribute. Grenfell Memorial at St Paul's Cathedral - In pictures 1 /35 Grenfell Memorial at St Paul's Cathedral - In pictures The Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry attend the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service held at St Paul's Cathedral Getty Images Mourners leave after attending the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral AFP/Getty Images Adele teary eyed and emotional sitting next to Marcus Mumford and Carey Mulligan during the the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral BBC Maria Jafari bereaved daughter, speaking at Grenfell Tower memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral BBC Mourners hold white roses at the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral BBC rince Harry, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Duchess of Cornwall and The Prince of Wales attend the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral PA A banner at Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral in London, to mark the six month anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire PA Mourners arrive at St Paul's cathedral for a Grenfell Tower National Memorial service AFP/Getty Images Firefighters arriving for the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral in London, to mark the six month anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire PA Guests arriving at Grenfell Tower Memorial at St Paul's Cathedral Jeremy Selwyn Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott arriving Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Duchess of Cornwall and The Prince of Wales attend the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral PA A woman appears emotional as she leaves the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral in London, to mark the six month anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire PA People hold photos and flowers as they leave after the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral Jeremy Selwyn People gather on the steps after the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral in London, to mark the six month anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire PA People hold photos and flowers as they leave after the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral Jeremy Selwyn The Duchess of Cambridge leaves St Paul's Cathedral after a memorial service in honour of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire REUTERS Adele leaves St Paul's Cathedral after a memorial service in honour of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire Alan Davidson/SilverHub The Duke and Duchess (left) of Cambridge and Prince Harry (2nd left) attend the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral in London, to mark the six month anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire PA Theresa May arriving at Grenfell Tower Memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral Jeremy Selwyn Sir Martin Moore-Bick, chairman of the Grenfell public inquiry arrives at Grenfell Tower Memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral Jeremy Selwyn Former footballer Les Ferdinand arrives PA Mourners arrive at St Paul's cathedral for a Grenfell Tower National Memorial service AFP/Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry (behind) attend the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral PA The Duchess of Cambridge arrives Jeremy Selwyn Armed policewoman at Grenfell Tower Memorial at St Paul's Cathedral Jeremy Selwyn People arriving for the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral in London, to mark the six month anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire PA Guests arriving at Grenfell Tower Memorial at St Paul's Cathedral Jeremy Selwyn The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry arrive at St Paul's Cathedral for a memorial service in honour of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire Reuters Mourners arrive at St Paul's Cathedral for a memorial service in honour of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire Reuters Grenfell survivors and bereaved familly members attend the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service held at St Paul's Cathedral Getty Images Prince Charles, Prince of Wales arrives at St Paul's cathedral for a Grenfell Tower National Memorial service AFP/Getty Images Mourners arrive at St Paul's Cathedral for a memorial service in honour of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire Reuters Jeremy Corbyn with a mourner at the Grenfell Tower Memorial at St Paul's Cathedral Jeremy Selwyn Members of the public gather outside St Paul's Cathedral ahead of the Grenfell Tower national memorial service Getty Images Survivor Nicholas Burton, who escaped the tower, was also set to speak about his wife, Maria del Pilar Burton, 74, who died in January after suffering trauma in the blaze, becoming the 72nd victim of the tragedy. W hy are there so few women at the very top of the civil service? In the year of renewed focus on the gender pay gap, its perhaps striking to see this imbalance among those who run the country. Since 2001, more than half of civil servants have been women. But out of 18 permanent secretaries today, only five are female. They include Antonia Romeo, right. Permanent secretaries run government departments such as the Treasury and the Foreign Office. And a woman has never been Cabinet Secretary: since 1919, all 16 have been men. Baroness Chakrabarti, former Government lawyer and Shadow Attorney General, left, shares her concern at the discrepancy. Permanent Secretaries represent the leadership of a vital profession comprising more than 50 percent women, she tells us. So having only five out of 18 women at the top table sets a very bad example, especially when there isnt a general upward trend and the high watermark was eight in 2011. So is it government, not the civil service, that is responsible for so few female permanent secretaries? Ministers are heavily involved in appointments and the Prime Minister has always made the final decision. Female representation at the highest levels of the civil service is still significantly lower than in junior ranks, but the permanent secretaries are even more imbalanced. The most recent Institute for Government figures indicate that the most senior ranks of the civil service are 58 per cent male and 41 per cent female, an improvement on 2010 when it was 34 per cent female. But only 28 per cent of permanent secretaries are women. In fact, there are fewer female permanent secretaries today than there were in March 2011 when, briefly, there were eight. Chakrabarti, whose own party has never had a female leader, adds: Ministers and Permanent Secretaries themselves should make parity a priority and its high time for the first woman Cabinet Secretary. Sorrell re-emerges as a wedding guest Martin Sorrell: (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images) / Getty Images Martin Sorrell was a surprise guest at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Rewinding the days events, The Londoner spotted the former WPP chief chatting to Sir Elton John while standing next to David and Victoria Beckham. Sorrell was invited to the event before he resigned from the advertising giant following an investigation into personal misconduct in April. The findings are yet to be made public. Sorrell is said to have been delighted to be the only proper business person there. --- Lady Amelia Windsor, a mere 37th in line to the throne, didnt make the royal wedding guest list, but shes bagged herself a new role based on her lineage. Tatler editor Richard Dennen has appointed the most beautiful royal as online contributing fashion editor. Harriet Verney, of Love magazine, has also been hired. --- Amal Clooney in mustard Stella McCartney was considered best-dressed at the royal wedding. But who was the designer behind her handbag? The human-rights barrister carried a leather box clutch made by her sister Tala Alamuddin, who also makes belts and leather shoulder-sweeping earrings. The younger Alamuddins mantra is: Rise, rock, repeat. Busy Bea heads to Annabels to hang out with Guy and co at Dior bash Olivia Buckingham, Eugenie Niarchos, Princess Beatrice of York and Alice Naylor-Leyland: (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images) / Dave Benett/Getty Images No rest for our tireless royals. On Saturday Princess Beatrice watched her cousin Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle. Last night she was at Annabels attending a dinner thrown by Dior, along with film-maker Guy Ritchie and his wife, Jacqui Ainsley; DJ Lady Mary Charteris; model Alice Naylor-Leyland, her husband Tom; and actress Sadie Frost. Princess Beatrice will be back at St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle in October for the wedding of her sister Princess Eugenie to long-time boyfriend and wine merchant Jack Brooksbank. The princess has said it was a complete surprise when Brooksbank proposed to her beside a lake in Nicaragua. Beatrice and Eugenie usually impress fashion commentators with their choice in wedding hats. Will Beatrice be able to stand alone when her little sister dons a veil and tiara? SW1A Michael Gove and Ruth Davidson helped launch Onward, a Tory think tank, last night. Davidsons speech called for Conservatives to be less dour and was applauded by MPs. Gove said: Spending some time on the same platform with Ruth, I feel rather like Ike to Tina Turner [below]. Ike was, of course, a wife-beater. Onward hopes to attract young people and female voters to the Conservative Party. --- Jacob Rees-Mogg is never without his double-breasted suit. But what does the Tory MP slip into at the beach? We gather its a tailored three-piece linen version, worn every single day of his familys Florida sojourn. Hot. --- A VERY English Scandal, the BBC dramatisation of Liberal politician Jeremy Thorpes rise and fall, is the talk of the bubble, but how accurate is it? One aerial shot, overlaid with 1965, shows Westminster with a clearly visible Portcullis House built in 2001. Quote of the day You would emphasise the distractive impact and not just the destructive impact Tony Blair on how to present Brexit in another EU referendum City women unite B oris Johnson has demanded his own Brexit plane to help him promote the Governments vision of Britains future outside of the EU as he travels around the globe. The Foreign Secretary made the suggestion as he criticised the RAF Voyager jet he shares with Theresa May, senior cabinet members and Royal Family, saying: it never seems to be available. He suggested that its impact as a travelling symbol of the UK is undermined by its drab grey colours as he asked for his very own aircraft on Tuesday night. Mr Johnson acknowledged that taxpayers would baulk at the cost of buying a jet for ministers, but said he thought the spending would be justified if it was not "exorbitant". Boris Johnson dances in the Amazon It comes as he continued to conduct his current five-day tour of Latin America by commercial flights, taking a variety of airlines as he hops from Peru to Argentina and Chile. Prime Minister Theresa May sits with her ministerial case at a desk aboard an Royal Air Force (RAF) / AFP/Getty Images He had to stop off in Madrid to change planes on his Air Europa service from London to Lima, adding five hours to the journey time, because the only direct flight on offer did not fit his schedule. But he insisted it was not his own comfort he was concerned about, using an arcane term for staying overnight as he joked: "We are hard as nails, we Foreign Office types. We don't care about changing planes, we pernoctate on planes." Asked if he would like to have a "Brexit plane", he told reporters: "If there's a way of doing it that is not exorbitantly expensive then yes I think we probably do need something. "The taxpayers won't want us to have some luxurious new plane, but I certainly think it's striking that we don't seem to have access to such a thing at the moment." The Foreign Office currently has use of the Queen's Flight fleet of BAE 146 jets, one of which Mr Johnson used to fly to Moscow before Christmas. He described the 26-seater planes as "superb... masterpieces of engineering", but said they were coming up to 40 years old. Tony Blair's plans for a prime ministerial jet, which has been branded "Blair Force One" for its similarity to the US President's private airliner, were dumped by Gordon Brown as a cost saving measure. David Miliband: Committing to hardest Brexit is 'holding negotiators to ransom' The Voyager began its work transporting VIPs in 2016, after a 10 million refit under David Cameron. But he took only one flight on it before handing over to Theresa May, whose travels have earned it the nickname of the "ThereasyJet". In order to keep costs down, it was announced the 58-seater plane would continue conducting air-to-air refuelling missions for the RAF when not in VIP use, and retained its military livery. Mr Johnson revealed its multiple users mean it is difficult for senior ministers to book when they need it, saying: "What I will say about the Voyager, I think it's great, but it seems to be very difficult to get hold of. "It never seems to be available. I don't know who uses it, but it never seems to be available." And he added: "Also, why does it have to be grey?" Mr Johnson has been a prominent supporter of the campaign for a replacement for the Royal Yacht Britannia. L abour was plunged into a furious row today as a local party chief was suspended for tweeting about a senior female MP being beheaded by Islamist terrorists. Ian McKenzie, chairman of the Lewisham East constituency which is about to stage a key by-election, faces disciplinary action over two misogynistic tweets in which he wrote that Emily Thornberry was too old to be considered a sex slave by Islamic State. In one post from 2016, he wrote that Ms Thornberry, now shadow foreign secretary, was: too old for ISIS. They wont make a sex slave of her. Theyll behead her and dump her in a mass grave. In another message from 2015, he said: Maybe shed agree sex slavery to one man only, provided he didnt sell her on or insist on gang rape. The tweets by local party chief Ian McKenzie Mr McKenzie backed local campaigner Janet Daby who was selected to replace Heidi Alexander MP in next months by-election, fending off bids by hard-left hopefuls in an all women short-list. A former adviser to John Prescott, he was a key figure in the selection battle on Saturday that saw Mr Corbyns left-wing choice for the ultra-safe seat being outvoted Supporters claimed the tweets from Mr McKenzies Twitter account had since been unearthed to discredit him. Left-wing commentator Owen Jones republished the posts on his own account, leading to a frenzied war of words on social media. Ian McKenzie faces disciplinary action over the misogynistic tweets The party today confirmed that the senior Labour activist had been suspended. Mr McKenzie spent this morning tweeting that he had no idea what was happening, before the party officially informed him of the decision in an email sent at 9.25am. He wrote: I now know what the issue is and will clarify my position as soon as I can. Thank you to everyone who is sending private or public messages of support. Mandu Reid, who is running for the Womens Equality Party in the Lewisham East by-election, called the tweets abhorrent. Left-wing activist Aaron Bastani, who had backed one of the other candidates Sakina Sheikh in the selection battle, wrote on Twitter: Personally I dont think that anyone publishing that bile belongs in a progressive party. Rokshana Fiaz, the new mayor of Newham who had recently hired Mr McKenzie as a policy adviser, said he had also stepped down from his role after the comments emerged. She said: I have accepted his decision as being the right one in this instance. The by-election to replace Ms Alexander, who is taking up a deputy mayor of London role with Sadiq Khan, takes place on June 14. T he Prime Minister is facing growing demands from Brexiteers to set a guaranteed end date for an Ireland border backstop that would tie Britain into EU rules after 2020. A chorus of Right-wing ministers and backbenchers say any fallback arrangement must be temporary. Environment Secretary Michael Gove said today it should only be in place for a short time, echoing former leader Iain Duncan Smith who has insisted it should last for only a month or two. In a blunt warning from the partys eurosceptic fringe, Jacob Rees-Mogg accused the Government of showing abject weakness and kowtowing to the European Union in negotiations. He said: I think we need some backbone in these negotiations... I fear we are getting to the point where you wonder if the Government wants to leave at all. The tensions follow Theresa Mays intervention at last weeks war cabinet on Brexit, convincing ministers to back a plan under which the whole of Britain would observe EU external tariffs until new arrangements are in place to keep the Irish border open, potentially meaning alignment with EU rules beyond 2020. Brexiteers fear the measure could become permanent. Downing Street sources insist their fears are misplaced, and it is merely a precaution against delays setting up a new frictionless border system. Mr Gove told Radio 4s Today programme: It means what it says on the tin. That temporary means not permanent. It means for a short period of time. He added: The very nature of a backstop, everyone agrees, is that it should be a temporary infill to bridge the position. On his regular podcast, Mr Rees-Mogg said the transition from 2019 to 2020 was liveable with because it had a clear end point. To go into the negotiations and say to Mr Barnier we will kowtow before you in every way you want if we cannot get ready by the due date ... just encourages him to say kowtow away and make no effort, he said. I think it is a sign of abject weakness. A major London hospital is to use artificial intelligence to cut delays in A&E and ensure the sickest patients are treated as quickly as possible. Data from hundreds of thousands of patients at University College Hospital, in Bloomsbury, will be scrutinised to establish what causes its four-hour emergency target to be missed and medical records will be reviewed to identify the 20 per cent of patients most at risk of deteriorating. University College London Hospitals, one of the NHSs 10 elite Shelford Group trusts, is working with the Alan Turing Institute in Kings Cross to help doctors make decisions that are safer, quicker and more efficient. Professor Bryan Williams, director of the trusts biomedical research centre, said: I cant think of a more exciting time where we have a real opportunity to transform what we do, by grasping some of these innovations. The announcement comes after Theresa May pledged extra cash for AI and said Britons would enjoy an extra five years of healthy life because AI would detect cancer, dementia and heart disease earlier. Workshops will start at UCLH in July to determine how best to analyse the vast amount of data from patients and it is hoped that best practice can be identified within two years and quickly put to use and shared with hospitals. Professor Williams gave an example of a patient arriving in A&E, breathless with chest pains. He said AI could be used to analyse an X-ray within seconds. AI has already been used by Dr Parashkev Nachev at UCLHs National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery to identify patients most likely to miss a MRI brain scan. Professor Williams said: Imagine a world where we could use algorithms to rule out diseases, suggest treatment plans or predict behaviour. B rexit has already left British families 900 worse off even before we leave the EU, the Bank of England said today. Appearing before a committee of MPs, governor Mark Carney said the lost prosperity was revealed in the gap between what households were forecast to earn before the 2016 referendum and what they are getting now. He told members of the Treasury Committee that it was a lot of money. Downing Street responded that the economy had proved incredibly resilient. Average families are losing 'a lot of money,' Mark Carney said The words raised the ominous possibility that the economy could lose more money after the actual departure from the EU in March next year and at the end of the transition period in December 2020. If you map it onto household incomes, real household incomes are about 900 lower than we forecast, which is a lot of money, he said. The governor said the 2016 official forecasts had included gloomy expectations that the European and global economies were relatively weak when in fact they had done well. Nevertheless, the economy today was more than one per cent below where it was despite very large stimulus provided by the Bank of England, fiscal easing by the Government and a global and European economies which were much, much stronger than they were previously. In other developments today, Theresa May is facing demands from Brexit-backers to set a guaranteed end date for an Ireland border backstop / PA He went on: So if you adjust for those factors the economy is about 1 up to potentially 2% lower than it would have been, than one would have expected. Thats a reasonable difference. Answering the question why the economy had lost out, he said: Some of it, and we cant be absolute about it, but some of it is arguably ascribed to Brexit. One of the things weve seen is investment spending has been quite weak given all the positives for investment spending. Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with Mr Carneys assessment that Britons were worse off after the referendum, a Downing Street spokesman said: I would point you to the fact that the economy has remained incredibly resilient continuing to grow over the past five years. C helsea owner Roman Abramovich may be asked to explain the source of his vast fortune before he is granted a new UK visa. The Russian oligarch, 51, has had to apply for a new investor visa after his previous one expired while he was out of the country. New rules introduced in 2015 mean he will have to pass a tougher visa test than before, which includes proving that he made his money lawfully. It comes as the Government is examining investor visas issued to Russians in the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attack and the deterioration in relations with Moscow. Downing Street would not be drawn on the circumstances surrounding Mr Abramovich, stressing: "We don't discuss individual cases." There is nothing to say Mr Abramovich's visa situation, where his renewal application is taking longer than usual, is linked to the strain in relations between Moscow and the West. The Home Office is examining its approach to the Tier 1 investor route - which requires applicants to be prepared to invest 2 million in the UK - following the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March. Visas can currently be rejected if officials believe the applicant obtained money unlawfully or is not in control of funds. There has been a 84 per cent drop in the number of investor visa applications since the rules were updated, the Guardian reported. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "Work is under way in terms of reviewing Tier 1 investor visas. "In 2014-15 we took action to tighten up the Tier 1 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 are undertaking further checks on investors who came to the UK through this route before the reforms were introduced." Then home secretary Amber Rudd was questioned about the investor visa route in relation to Russian applicants when she appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee in March. Asked if the around 700 existing visas for Russian investors would be reviewed, she told MPs: "I have asked my officials to look at what reforms we might continue with and also to take a look at previous ones over the past few years." T he daughters of a woman killed in the Manchester Arena bombing have finally discovered the identity of the policewoman who comforted their mum as she lay dying. Jane Tweddle, 51, was one of 22 people killed during a suicide bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert in May. Two of her three daughters Harriet, 25, and Isabelle, 20 appeared on ITVs Lorraine this morning to discuss their desperate search for the mystery police officer who held their mum's hand before she died. They described the pain of losing their mum, adding: And then we found out there was a young policewoman there and it gave us comfort that she wasn't alone." They were then shocked to be told on live TV that the policewoman had been tracked down. Lorraine Kelly revealed she had sent the girls a letter and would arrange to meet them in private. They discovered the identity of the policewoman on live TV / Rex It said: To Harriet, Lily and Isabelle, I want to start by saying that I can't imagine what you girls have been going through for the past few months since the loss of your mum. "Jane sounded like such an amazing, wonderful, fun-loving lady who would be so proud of you girls right now. "I believe you've been trying to find me now for the past few months - I can understand that's proven difficult but now, with the help of ITV, they've been able to make contact with me. "I've also for the last few months thought about Jane and her family with the hope of finding you and meeting you one day. "I really hope this can be arranged soon as I would be honoured to meet you girls. Lots of love from Jessica Bullough from the British Transport Police." C hildren could be screened from birth to assess their lifetime risk of developing glaucoma after a breakthrough in identifying the genetic risk factors behind the worlds leading cause of incurable blindness. An international study involving Kings College and University College in London identified 133 genetic variants that together predicted the chance of developing glaucoma with 75 per cent accuracy. About 480,000 people in England and millions worldwide have the disease, which is caused by a build-up of pressure in the eye when fluid is unable to drain properly. This can damage the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain. Glaucoma, which can be detected by routine eye tests, has virtually no symptoms in its early stages. It cannot be cured but its progress can be slowed. Risk increases with age and in those with conditions such as diabetes. Todays study was hailed as a major advance in treating glaucoma by opening up the possibility of a DNA screening programme to identify those most at risk. Lead author Dr Pirro Hysi, from Kings College London, said: Knowing someones 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 healthcare resources on those most at risk. Co-author Dr Anthony Khawaja from Moorfields Eye Hospital 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. The research, which also involved Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, studied 140,000 patients whose genetic profiles were held on the UK Biobank and EPIC-Norfolk databases. EPIC-Norfolk was an ageing study into 25,000 people in the county in the Nineties. The researchers compared the DNA scores with eye-pressure readings to assess how likely it was that they would develop the condition. Elevated pressure in the eye seen in glaucoma is created by the continual renewal of fluids within the eye. H undreds of well-wishers across the UK have sent messages of support to BBC newsreader Rachael Bland after she revealed she has incurable breast cancer at the age of 40. The presenter announced this week that her hopes now rest on clinical trials following months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In an emotional blog post, she described the moment doctors told her the devastating news over the phone while she was out with her two-year-old son. "My heart raced as I answered it, knowing a phone call did not bode well, said the 5Live newsreader. "Then came the words, I am so sorry, its bad news. The biopsies have come back showing the same cancer is back and is in the skin. The newsreader was first diagnosed with cancer in November 2016 "I watched my little Freddie innocently playing away in a tyre in the barn and my heart broke for him. "I scooped him up and dashed home and then had to break [my husband] Steves heart with the news that my cancer was now metastatic and therefore incurable." BBC After revealing the news, Bland was immediately flooded with messages of support on social media. If anyone can do this Rachael, you can. Keep kicking it, wrote her 5Live colleague Anna Foster. Matthew Pinsent, an Olympic rowing gold medallist, added that he "loved the blog and all you're doing around this". Another cancer sufferer, Lee Jones said: Be strong, confident and keep on doing the living you are doing. You got this and have a world class team and many admirers right behind you. It's going to work out beautifully. Go team Rachael! Another supporter said: You are inspirational to me and from what I've read of your blogs and interaction here a truly good person. Weather presenter Simon King commented: So sorry to see this Rachael. Beautifully written blog which just shows the strength and positivity you have always had throughout this. Sending best wishes and prayers to you. Bland, who co-hosts the podcast You, Me and the Big C, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2016. She will take part in clinical trials for immunotherapy at the Christie NHS cancer treatment centre in Manchester. In her blog, titled Big C.Little Me, she added: said: "It is a Phase 1b trial so very early in the process and I feel an odd sense of pride that I am one of fewer than 150 people worldwide who will test it. "If it doesnt help me then I hope the data I provide will at some point in the future help others in the same position." She added: "This is the real future of cancer treatment, personalised to the genetics of your tumour which may be totally different to those of someone else with the same type of cancer. T housands came together for a mass sing-a-long in memory of the Manchester Arena attack victims in the city's Albert Square. Around 3,000 choir singers performed at the Manchester Together concert, leading up to 15,000 amateur voices in an evening of solidarity through music. The uplifting event saw people unite to sing four songs, including Ariana Grande's One Last Time, to remember the bombing on May 22 last year. It also featured performances by parents and children who survived the blast that killed 22 and injured hundreds more. People came together to sing four songs in memory of the Manchester Arena bombing victims / Getty Images Chimes rang out across the city at 10.31pm to mark the exact moment the attack was carried out one year ago. Local choirs came together to perform at the concert / Getty Images The night opened with a series of video messages on the big screen from some famous names - including many Mancunians. Thousands packed into Albert Square for the show / Getty Images To loud cheers, Manchester United great Ryan Giggs said: "Manchester is a city of music and is a city of love, and we are sending out love and prayers on this emotional day." Mani from The Stone Roses said: "One voice Manchester. Sing it up." While Liam Fray, of The Courteeners, said: "We are a proud city of love and I will be thinking of each and every one of you on this very emotional and very difficult day." Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /16 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police In other video messages, musician Johnny Marr, formerly of The Smiths, said: "I wish I was with you tonight. "My heart is always going to be in Manchester, always has been and always will be. "I am proud to be a Mancunian. "I am sure it will be an emotional occasion." The Manchester Survivors Choir performs during the 'Manchester Together - With One Voice' / Getty Images Shaun Ryder, of the Happy Mondays, said: "I am thinking of you. In fact I know I love you all big time massive. "I am going to send 0161 love and peace vibes to the world." Speaking on stage, the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Joan Hitchen, said: "Tonight the city of Manchester continues to demonstrate our solidarity to those who were affected by the terrible events of one year ago." She thanked the brave men and women of the various emergency responders who helped "bring our Manchester together again". The audience sings along to Don't Look Back In Anger / Getty Images The crowd responded with huge applause as she said: "Weren't they brilliant?" She went on: "We also stand in solidarity with each other as Mancunians and tonight we are going to show the world that we stand together." The Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Dr David Walker, told the audience: "We are a city of music so it is appropriate that we come together to let our music come to the forefront of who we are. "We are going to hear some fantastic choirs tonight. That is the the way we do things together. 15,000 gathered for the mass sing-a-long / Getty Images "Doing things together makes us stronger and makes us Manchester." Poet Tony Walsh returned to Albert Square where last May he read his poem This Is The Place at the public vigil to widespread acclaim. After an earlier minute's silence, Mr Walsh encouraged the crowd to make a minute's noise for the 22, those injured in the blast, for the first responders, NHS staff involved in the care of those affected and "for Manchester and its spirit and its amazing people". As the crowd of up to 15,000 people responded, Walsh shouted: "This is what love sounds like. You can't stop the sound of love." Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds injured when Salman Abedi detonated a bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena / Getty Images Among those singing were Manchester Survivors Choir whose members were caught up in the blast at the Manchester Arena and joined together musically to help cope with the trauma of May 22. Before they sang Rise Up by Andra Day, choir member Cath Hill told the audience: "We are showing Manchester and the world that we carry on. "It is so important for us to be together. We are here to look after each other, care for each other and to be positive and move forward." The uplifting evening was brought to a close by a 30-minute mass singalong comprising of the 2,800 voices of the various choirs and the many thousands who had gathered. Noel Gallagher, Elbow's Guy Garvey and Gary Barlow gave short video messages ahead of their hits Don't Look Back In Anger, One Day Like This and Never Forget being sang. T he mother of a Manchester Arena bomb victim today insisted love and kindness was the answer to defeating terrorism on the first anniversary of the devastating attack. Figen Murray, whose son Martyn Hett, 29, was among the 22 people killed in the explosion, said the names of the victims would never be forgotten. Manchester was hosting a series of events in memory of the victims of the atrocity, in which Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a homemade device at an Ariana Grande concert. Eight hundred people have suffered physical and psychological injuries, police say. Martyn, a PR worker from Stockport, was a blogger and avid soap fan and friends knew him for his online wit and television appearances on shows including Come Dine With Me. Martyn Hett was a victim of the Ariana Grande concert terror attack at the Manchester Arena / COLLECT Mrs Murray said she would not give in to hatred and fear and rebuked Right-wing extremists who have tried to use her sons death to fuel Islamophobia. She said: Very early on I publicly forgave him [Abedi]. I felt compelled to say it, and to be honest I was never really angry with the guy, because I saw how young he was. Very misguided and foolish [but] he thought he was doing the right thing for his cause. He died, and no one really cares about him. Coronation Street starts at the funeral service of Martyn Hett / PA "I dont even want his name mentioned. He is a nobody as far as I am concerned. Mrs Murray, 57, said she and her elder son Dan Hett, 32, had been abused by internet trolls because of their views about Abedi, who was born in Manchester to Libyan parents. Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /16 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police People say, With that kind of opinion your son deserved to die. If I torpedoed into anger it harms me and sets a bad example for my children. I dont want them to go through life hating and angry and bitter. Isnt that what these people [terrorists] want? The best antidote is love and kindness. She added: Daniel is constantly being attacked by Right-wing extremists, there have been threats. Daniel is trying to say, Dont use my brothers death to instigate Islamophobia. Grieving: A young boy sits next to messages and flowers left in Manchester / PA "All these groups want to instigate fear and I am not going to give them that. Daniel and I go round schools talking to children, to stop anyone else from doing that. Even if we stop one person, that is a success. Today family and friends were heading to the remembrance service at Manchester Cathedral. Later, Mrs Murray, husband Stuart, and children Daniel, Emma, 30, Louise, 20, and Nikita, 17, were holding a private memorial in the local park. M eghan Markles estranged half-sister Samantha Grant has called for her sibling to do the right thing and reunite their family following the royal wedding. Her appeal to get the family back together she said was inspired by Bishop Michael Currys address at Ms Markles wedding to Prince Harry on Saturday. The 53-year-old has since offered to reconcile with her half-sister, the Duchess of Sussex, to bring peace to the family after a decade of estrangement, the Sun reported. Ms Grant, who uses social media under the name Samantha Markle, was without an invite to Meghan and Harrys wedding and watched the ceremony on television from her Florida home. Reverend Bishop Michael Curry delivers passionate speech on the power of love She told the newspaper: I watched the bishop talk about love and unity and forgiveness and I hoped it would strike a chord within Meghan. Bride: Meghan did not invite members of her extended family to the wedding / PA So if that was real and if I were to define a principle to all of this then it would be that we all just work for a peaceful resolution and reunion as a family. 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 added: If she wants to do the morally and religiously right thing then she will and Im open to that. Who is Samantha Grant? All you need to know about Meghan Markle's half-sister Meghans father Thomas, 73, was also unable to attend the wedding after he had heart surgery on Wednesday. Ms Grant called on Harry and Meghan to fly Thomas over to the UK once he is back to full health following the operation so he can fulfil his dream of visiting Buckingham Palace. She told the Sun: I think Meghan and Harry should pick him up in a jet and take him to Buckingham Palace. After all he did miss out on the wedding. Meghan Markle's sister Samantha Grant claims responsibility for their father's 'staged' paparazzi shots P rincess Anne is the hardest working member of the royal family, according to a ranking of the number of official engagements attended. The 67-year-old has worked 75 days so far this year, according to figures from the Court Circular which keeps a record of public engagements attended by the royal family. Prince Edward came in second place having worked 59 days with the Prince of Wales in third place with 52. While the Queen has worked 26 days attending events such as a pop concert marking her 92nd birthday, Chelsea Flower Show and a Commonwealth heads of government meeting. Princess Anne has worked 75 days so far this year / REUTERS During the meeting, Commonwealth leaders formally announced that Prince Charles will become the next head of the organisation. The Prince of Wales' working days include overseas trips to Greece and Australia, where he and the Duchess of Cornwall launched the Commonwealth Games. Loading.... The Duke of Edinburgh also made the list with one appearance at last weekend's royal wedding however the 96-year-old officially retired from formal engagements last August. The Queen has worked 26 days / AFP/Getty Images The Queen said at the time that she supported his decision. The Duke of Cambridge also appeared on the list with 33 days worked so far this year. The supermarket chain will still be taking orders up until 9 July 2018 and while stocks last. However order points in store will be closed immediately. It also says that they will be unable to offer next-day delivery and orders will now take around 2-5 days to arrive. Tesco says anyone who has pre-ordered a game which is set to be released after that date that will be issued a refund. A n archbishop today become the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse. Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson faces up to two years in prison when he is sentenced next month following the verdict at Newcastle local court, New South Wales. Wilson, 67, had pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious crime committed by another person the sexual abuse of children by paedophile priest James Fletcher in the Seventies. Mr Stone told the court that Wilson had concealed the abuse of two altar boys by Fletcher in the Hunter Valley region by failing to report the allegations to police. The judge said he was satisfied that altar boy Peter Creigh had been a truthful and reliable witness. The archbishop was released on bail until sentencing on June 9. Wilson, who is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers disease but maintains that medication has helped his memory, told the court he could not remember Mr Creigh and another altar boy telling him in 1976 that they were abused by Fletcher. The prosecution said Wilson failed to give details to police about a serious crime after Fletcher was arrested in 2004 and went on trial for preying on another boy. Fletcher was found guilty of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in prison of a stroke in 2006. Mr Creigh said he had trusted that Wilson, then an assistant priest, would take action after being told Fletcher had repeatedly abused him in 1971 when he was 10. Mr Creigh said Wilson had a look of horror but failed to act. The other former altar boy said he was 11 in 1976 when he told Wilson in confession that Fletcher had abused him. He said Wilson refused to believe him because Fletcher was a good bloke and ordered him to get out of the confessional box and say 10 Hail Mary as an act of contrition. B arack Obama and Michelle Obama are set to produce films and TV shows with Netflix. Netflix revealed on social media that the pair have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series". It said it would potentially include scripted series, documentaries and features. According to CNN, the first Obama produced series could be rolled out in 2019. In some of the series, the former US president and first lady will feature as hosts or moderators. In a statement, Mr Obama said: 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 share them with the entire world. The shows produced by the Obamas will be available across Netflix's 190 countries. Ms Obama said: 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. Last year the couple signed book deals with Penguin Random House worth more than $60 million (44.6 million). Its said to be a record sum for US presidential memoirs. T he worlds largest amphibian, the Chinese giant salamander, has been pushed to the brink of extinction in the wild, according to a new study. The ancient creatures, which date back 170 million years, have all but disappeared from their traditional freshwater habitats. Their decline has been blamed on their growing status as an exotic delicacy in China. They are routinely harvested from the wild to stock breeding farms before being sold to luxury restaurants. Describes as a living fossil, the Chinese giant salamander is now seen as a global conservation priority. The amphibians date back 170 million years / AFP/Getty Images 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." The Chinese giant salamander is already categorised as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened species. U S President Donald Trump has said his Singapore summit with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un may be delayed. President Trump said the meeting "may not work out for June 12." Mr Trump raised doubts about the session planned for Singapore during talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who came to Washington to urge Trump not to let a rare opportunity with reclusive North Korea get away. "If it doesn't happen, maybe it will happen later," Trump said. Will they, wont they? The much-anticipated summit now hangs in the balance / Getty Images "It may not work out for June 12." Mr Trump was responding to an abrupt change in tone from North Korea. Last week Pyongyang suggested the summit could be cancelled if the secretive state was pushed towards "unilateral nuclear abandonment." Trump's remarks in the Oval Office were the strongest sign from him yet about the possibility of a delay or cancellation of what would be the first-ever summit between the leaders of the United States and North Korea. It was unclear whether Trump was truly backing away from a summit that he is eager to hold or whether he was strategically coaxing North Korea to the table. Questions have now risen over Kim Jong-un's planned meeting with Donald Trump / AFP/Getty Images If the summit is called off or fails, it would be a major blow to what Trump supporters hope will be the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency. Trump reiterated comments from last week, saying Kim would be safe and his country would be rich if he denuclearized. But he cast doubt on the summit, saying there are certain conditions that must be met and if North Korea refuses, then the meeting will not take place. Before seeing Trump, Moon met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton and urged them to speed preparations for the Trump-Kim summit. "We South Korean people ... expect much from you. Please take care of us," Moon said, according to a South Korean government statement, in an apparent joke that nevertheless signalled the importance he places on the Trump-Kim summit. A statement from the South Korean government said Moon sought to counter doubts about Pyongyang's intentions given its history of making promises and backtracking in international talks. "This is the first time ever that 'complete denuclearisation' has been officially pronounced and the negotiation will be conducted with North Korea's top leader who wishes for security of the regime and economic progress, which makes it a different level from previous negotiations," Moon said, according to a government readout. G irls in Sweden who are at risk of being taken abroad for forced marriage or female genital mutilation (FGM) have been advised to tuck a spoon into their underwear as a last-ditch method of alerting authorities to their plight. Katarina Idegard, who is in charge of tackling honour-based violence in Swedens second biggest city Gothenburg, said girls should hide the spoons so that they would be taken off for questioning in private room where they could raise the alarm. The spoons would trigger metal detectors as a last chance to get help, Ms Idegard said. She said: The spoon will trigger metal detectors when you go through security checks. You will be taken aside and you can then talk to staff in private." "It is a last chance to sound the alarm. A woman wears a jersey reading 'No to female genital mutilation' during a demonstration to defend women's rights on International Women's Day in Marseille, southern France, on March 8, 2018 / AFP/Getty Images Ms Idegard also said that a national hotline received 139 calls last year about child marriage or forced marriage, and that activists are encouraging other cities to use the spoon initiative. British charity Karma Nirvana came up with the idea, revealing the tactic had already saved a number of girls in the UK. According to US charity Cares website, 64 million girls are forced into marriage before the age of 18. They also claim that if trends continue, 142 million children will be married by 2020. The charity also revealed that almost 39,000 girls become child brides every single day and are often married to much older men. Forced marriage and FGM are illegal in Sweden, punishable by prison terms. The minimum age required to enter into marriage in Sweden is 18. According to a paper by the Government Offices of Sweden, luring someone to travel abroad with the purpose of forcing them to enter into marriage comes with the penalty of two years imprisonment. In 2016, a father was convicted of forcing his daughter to marry against her will after tricking her into making a trip to Afghanistan. Ms Idegard said a 2015 study found that 38,000 girls living in Sweden may have undergone FGM. The victims included women born in Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Gambia. One well-known case of FGM was that of Yemeni former child bride Nujood Mohammed Ali, pictured top. A man has been arrested after allegedly assaulting two women on a flight and then urinating on the seat in front of him. The passenger, identified by police as Michael Allen Haag, was detained at the arrival gate after landing in Charleston on a Frontier Airlines flight from Denver. Fellow travellers claimed he had been drinking vodka tonics before he grabbed a woman who was sitting next to him, around two hours into the flight. One passenger called Emily told Fox News: I hear a woman scream, If this man f***ing touches me one more time Ill f***ing kill him. Another woman, sat on his other side, claimed he also groped her and asked intimate questions about her sexual habits. Flight attendants then moved the man, described as extremely intoxicated, to an empty row of seats at the back of the plane. The man was photographed urinating onto the seat in front While sat there, he began relieving himself onto the seat in front. Emily, who photographed the incident, said: And I scream, hes f***ing peeing. Hes peeing. Oh my god. And the flight attendant doesnt even acknowledge him at first. Acknowledges me and says you need to calm down and stop cursing, she told KDVR. Haag was taken away from the airport in handcuffs and later charged with interference with crew members and indecent exposure on an aircraft. A mother was left humiliated after a US bakery refused to write a Latin phrase on her sons graduation cake because it thought it was rude. Cara Koscinski asked for Summa cum Laude which translates as with highest distinction to be iced onto a $70 cake for her son Jacob. But she immediately hit problems when entering the text for the cake in an online form on grocery store Publixs website. The website blanked out the Latin word cum, which translates as with, and an error box informed her that profane/special characters are not allowed. Thankfully, an extra box for special instructions allowed her to explain that the wording was a common Latin phrase for high academic honour and not a profanity. She including a link to an explanation of the phrase and assumed the issue was solved. Ms Koscinski explained the meaning behind the Latin phrase in a box for special instructions / Facebook / Cara Koscinski However, when they opened the cake at a gathering of friends and family, it read: Congrats Jacob! Summa --- Laude Class of 2018. In a Facebook post which has been shared hundreds of times, Ms Koscinski wrote: How utterly ridiculous and I will be speaking to a manager for a refund. Shame on you Publix for turning an innocent Latin phrase into a total embarrassment for having to explain to my son and others (including my 70 year old mother) about this joke of a cake. She added that her son, who had graduated from a Christian-based homeschool programme in Charleston, South Carolina, was humiliated in front of his friends. A fter months of speculation, it was a bateau dress by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy that Meghan Markle chose for the ceremony in which she married Prince Harry. For the evening celebrations, however, the Duchess of Sussex opted for a very different style. A high neck, silk crepe dress by Stella McCartney was what she chose to dance the night away, a gown she accompanied with satin Aquazzura shoes featuring blue soles. Naturally, this modern, elegant gown is now a very coveted design, and if you want to get your hands on a similar style, check out the show-stopping high neck gowns below. Galvan Halterneck Gown Available exclusively on Net-A-Porter, this Galvan halter neck gown was inspired by old Hollywood glamour. The elegant figure-hugging silk dress has an additional drape detail at the neck down the back, which acts as a stylish veil-like feature for modern brides. Kin Dress Effortlessly glamorous, this Catherine Deane silk dress has earned its rightful place on our wedding dress wish list. The gown has a stylish halter neck and bow detail that sits elegantly on the nape of your back. 1,100 | Catherine Deane | Buy it now Rosie Assouline Whoopsy Daisy Gown Sure to bring a touch of the drama to your wedding day, this Rosie Assouline dress features voluminous ruffles along the asymmetric ankle-grazing hem. The eye-catching dress would be ideal for post-ceremony celebrations. Guinevere Wedding Dress Direct from the high street, Whistles is offering a party dress not only suitable for your wedding, but one which could act as your summer go-to for years to come. Elegant and modern, this statement dress has a high neck and stylish frill detail, as well as tiered skirt and cut out back. 599 | Whistles | Buy it now Allure Wedding Dress Ensure all eyes are on you with this decadent Amanda Wakeley dress with intricate detailing. The high neck dress features an origami style peplum fold design that creates flattering sculptural panels. Created bespoke for you, this dress is designed to your unique specifications. 1,995 | Amanda Wakeley | Buy it now Silk Georgette Dress With an elegant floral detailing around the halter neck and waistline, this Max Mara dress would be a good summer wedding choice. The gown, which is made of 100% silk, features a flowing skirt that will enable you to party all night long. 1,585 | Max Mara | Buy it now Dalia Dress Made by British designer Andrea Hawkes, the Dalia dress is an elegant find. Made of 100% natural silk, the high neck dress also features a silk lining, and as with all the dresses from this star bridal brand, it's made in London. Price on request | Andrea Hawkes | Buy it now Palm Beach Dress Only launching its bridal range over a month ago, Galvan has quickly become a go-to for stylish brides-to-be this season. We love this modern design with an ultra-feminine high slit and dramatic stripe detail. Price on request | Galvan London | Buy it now Debut Eden Dress The perfect wedding dress doesnt always cost a fortune. Case in point, this ivory halter neck dress available at Debenhams. The dress features a chiffon-embroidered floral bodice and a beaded halter neck. It is also sleeveless and has an open back detail. 110 | Debenhams | Buy it now Nicholas Ruffle Halterneck Dress Follow in the footsteps of Meghan Markle and opt for a less traditional, more party-like dress for the evening part of your wedding. This crepe Nicholas halter neck dress is ideal for the modern bride with its asymmetric ruffle detail from the hem to the waistline, delivering a flattering silhouette. 459 | Harrods | Buy it now Esilda Wedding Dress For a wedding dress fit for a Greek goddess, this dress from Barcelona-born brand Pronovias may just be the show-stopping gown youve been looking for. The ultra-feminine design features a halter neckline with chiffon flower embroidery, that continues around the neck to the trim of the open back. The flattering piece also has a draped sash bodice. Price on request | Pronovias | Buy it now Edna High Neck Dress Whether you are having a more traditional wedding or opting for a ceremony on the beach, this feminine dress brings a touch of summer with its delicate floral embroidery. Enabling you to tap into the bohemian bride trend, the dress has thread-embroidered tulle and pearl appliques. Price on request | Pronovias | Buy it now Gina Georgette Buttercup One of Britains leading bridal designers, Phillipa Lepley creates stunning and elegant couture pieces with her signature fitted silhouette - and the Gina Georgette Buttercup dress is the perfect example of this. The high neck detail is embellished with lace, delivering an ethereal feel with a high fashion twist. Price on request | Phillipa Lepley | Buy it now TFNC Bridal Dress The diverse range of bridal options available on ASOS allows you to find the perfect dress to suit your tastes without having to spend a small fortune. Our favourite high neck dress has to be this stylish option with its delicate lace detail. The dress features a flattering satin belt around the waist that forms a bow at the back of the dress. It also has an open back and high neck. 60 | ASOS | Buy it now Verdict: For an ultra-elegant variation on Meghan Markle's stunning Stella McCartney evening gown, the Galvan halterneck dress from Net-A-Porter has gone straight to the top of our wedding wish list. P atrick J Adams has apologised in a lengthy statement after posting a picture of a woman in an airport who he claims body-shamed the actor and his wife. Former Suits star Adams, married to Pretty Little Liars star Troian Bellisario, posted a snap of a sleeping woman who had called him chunky in a photo of the couple taken at the Royal wedding. Fans of Adams quickly called him out on social media for being a bully and the star later returned to his Instagram account to apologise for what he wrote, alongside an image reading and now for a quick lesson about body shaming, apologizing and media outlets. 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. Sorry: Patrick J Adams posted a long statement on social media (Instagram/Patrick J Adams) Some of the comments on the post instead said I was being a bully and should have taken the 'high road'. 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. The 36-year-old continued: Im no bully. What that woman said to us was offensive and unnecessary but I should have told her she was rude and out of line and left it at that. Royal Wedding 2018: Best Pictures 1 /67 Royal Wedding 2018: Best Pictures Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss on the steps of St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, places the wedding ring on the finger of Meghan Markle Jonathan Brady/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride a horse-drawn carriage after their wedding ceremony Benoit Tessier/Reuters Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images Princess Charlotte and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge leave St George's Chapel after the wedding Jane Barlow/WPA Pool/Getty Images Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland are driven along the Long Walk Yui Mok/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Meghan Markle arriving at her royal wedding ceremony Owen Cooban/MoD/EPA Prince Harry with his brother and best man, the Duke of Cambridge Jane Barlow/PA David and Victoria Beckham attend the wedding Hugo Philpott/WPA Pool/EPA George and Amal Clooney arrive at St George's Chapel Chris Radburn/PA Abigail Spencer and Priyanka Chopra Chris Jackson/Getty Images Patrick J. Adams and wife Troian Bellisario Ian West/PA Marcus Mumford and Carey Mulligan Chris Jackson/Getty Images George Clooney greets Serena Williams as Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre look on Owen Humphreys/WPA Pool/Reuters James Blunt and Sofia Wellesley Hugo Philpott/WPA Pool/EPA Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel Andrew Matthews/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, looks at his bride, Meghan Markle, as she arrives accompanied by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales in St George's Chapel Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry places the wedding ring on the finger on Meghan Markle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk down the steps of St George's Chapel Ben Birchall/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss Ben Birchall/PA Doria Ragland, mother of the bride, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall walk down the steps of St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Windsor Jane Barlow/WPA Pool/Reuters Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex waves from the Ascot Landau John Sibley/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss as they ride in a carriage down the Long Walk after their wedding Yui Mok/WPA Pool/AP 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 Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex wave from the Ascot Landau Carriage during their carriage procession on Castle Hill outside Windsor Castle Reuters Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Princess Charlotte leave St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle after the wedding Andrew Matthews/Pool/Getty Images Meghan Markle walks down the aisle in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA Princess Charlotte waves to the crowd Andrew Milligan/PA Windsor Castle Guards from 1st Battalion Irish Guards play for the crowd Nigel Roddis/EPA Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, walk away from the High Altar toward the West Door at the end of their wedding ceremony in St George's Chapel Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images The Reverend Michael Curry delivered a 10 minute long flamboyant speech Owen Humphreys/WPA/Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for their wedding Dominic Lipinski/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Dominic Lipinski/WPA Pool/Reuters Doria Ragland, mother of the bride during the wedding service Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall wait in the chapel for the wedding ceremony Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry looks at his bride, Meghan Markle, as she arrives accompanied by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales during their wedding Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex kiss on the steps of St George's Chapel Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/Getty Images) Meghan Markle waves to the crowds Matt Cardy/Getty Images Well-wishers line the Long Walk leading to Windsor Castle ahead of the wedding and carriage procession Daniel Leal-Olivias/AFP/Getty Images Well-wishers watch a giant screen broadcasting the wedding ceremony Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images The Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Alastair Grant/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex set off in the Ascot Landau Carriage after their wedding ceremony Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride along the Long Walk in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty Images The Queen and other members of the royal family wave after the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel Andrew Milligan/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk down the steps after their wedding Ben Birchhall/WPA Pool/AP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave after their wedding ceremony at St. George's Chapel Andrew Matthews/WPA Pool/AP Meghan Markle glances back towards her mother, Doria Ragland, as she leaves St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle with Prince Harry Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/AP A woman is painted with a British flag on her face, as they wait at The Long Walk to watch the carriage procession Emilio Morenatti/AP Royal fans wave flags as they wait for the newlyweds to go past after the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Emilio Morenatti/AP Prince Harry looks at his bride, Meghan Markle, as she arrives accompanied by the Prince of Wales in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Owen Humphreys/PA Flowers adorn the front of the organ loft inside St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/Getty Images) Meghan Markle walks up the aisle with the Prince of Wales at St George's Chapel Dominic Lipinski/Pool /Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and the Duchess of Sussex in the Ascot Landau carriage during the procession on The Long Walk after getting married St George's Chapel Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA 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 Royal fans smile on the Long Walk leading to Windsor Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Andrew Milligan/WPA/Getty Images Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Neil Hall/WPA Pool/Reuters 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 ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding in St George's Chape Victoria Jones/PA Prince Harry salutes members of the Royal family as he and his wife Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage after their wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Andrew Milligan/WPA Pol/AP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Dominic Lipinski/WPA Pool/Getty Images Two women wipes their tears when watching Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchange vows on a video screen on the Long Walk Peter Dejong/AP Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex begin their carriage procession in the Ascot Landau Carriage after their wedding ceremony at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle Chris Radburn/AFP/Getty Images Im sorry I didnt. I was too shocked and annoyed and Canadian - so I avoided the confrontation. Again, Im sorry. He concluded his post by urging followers not to talk s*** about others and to deal with settling scores in person, and not on the Internet. Adams, who played Meghan Markles character Rachel Zanes partner Mike Ross in the popular legal drama, attended the Windsor Castle wedding last weekend. I t seems, at first, a little disappointing that Ariana Grande doesnt appear in this moving documentary about the suicide bomb attack at the Manchester Arena a year ago. Twenty-two people died at the end of one of the singers concerts, and her presence at the memorial concert was a powerful symbol of the citys refusal to be cowed by terrorism. She said: You think with time itll become easier to talk about. Or youll make peace with it. But every day I wait for that peace to come and its still very painful. Manchester Arena explosion aftermath - In pictures 1 /35 Manchester Arena explosion aftermath - In pictures Stephanie Brodie and mother Lisa Brodie who were inside the foyer when the explosion happened Jeremy Selwyn Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Police close to the Manchester Arena the morning after a terrorist attack at the end of a concert by Ariana Grande left 22 dead PA Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the media in Downing Street Stefan Rousseau/PA A police officer moves a floral tribute close to the Manchester Arena PA A man embraces a woman and a teenager as he collects them from the Park Inn Hotel where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at the Manchester Arena Getty Images Police forensic officers investigate the scene of an explosion at Victoria Station Getty Images People affected by the deadly terror attack at Manchester Arena look out from a hotel window in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Police stand guard at the scene of a suspected terrorist attack during a pop concert by Ariana Grande in Manchester AFP/Getty Images A flag flies at half-mast from the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Images Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PA Police forensic investigators walk along a bridge linking Victoria Station with the Manchester Arena where a suspected terrorist attack at the end of a concert Ariana Grande PA Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester Ben Birchall/PA The scene at Manchester Royal Infirmary as the death toll from the Manchester bomb attack rose to 22 with 59 injured PA Armed police patrol inside Victoria Station adjacent to Manchester Arena Getty Images A flag flies at half-mast from the Treasury Office in London AFP/Getty Images Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester PA Greater Manchester Police chief constable Ian Hopkins speaks to the media in Manchester where he said that the death toll from the Manchester bomb attack has risen to 22 with 59 injured PA Susan Walton and her daughter Katie who attended the pop concert by US star Ariana Grande pose in Mancheste AFP/Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images A police officer escorts people near to Manchester Arena Getty Images Police stand guard at the scene of a suspected terrorist attack during a pop concert by Ariana Grande in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester PA A man embraces a woman and a teenager as he collects them from the Park Inn Hotel where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at the Manchester Arena Getty Images People leave Victoria Station adjacent to Manchester Arena Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the attack in Manchester Reuters A Union Flag flies above Victoria Railway Station, close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images An ambulance arrives as police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, near the Manchester Arena Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees Vikki Baker and her daughter Charlotte, aged 13, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees Vikki Baker and her daughter Charlotte, aged 13, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images Ariana Grande concert attendees Vikki Baker and her daughter Charlotte, aged 13, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images Home Secretary Amber Rudd arrives for a COBRA meeting in Downing Street Getty Images British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon arrives for COBRA meeting at the Cabinet Office on Whitehall Getty Images Flags fly at half mast above Downing Street, London, after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester PA On reflection, the stars absence doesnt detract from the film. The bombing, as far as we know, wasnt targeted against Grande herself but was an attack on a young crowd, largely female, whose only crime was the fact that they wanted to enjoy themselves and had the freedom to do so. Even that may be to ascribe too much logic to the motives of Salman Abedi, the 22-year-old Manchester boy of Libyan parentage who blew himself up in the foyer. The film is made by Jamie Roberts, who previously made The Jihadis Next Door, exploring Islamic fundamentalism. Mostly, he keeps it simple. Those who were there on the night give their account, and glimpses of the evenings passage from teenage euphoria to hellish nightmare are captured in smartphone videos. Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /16 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police The testimonies of the girls and their parents are heartbreaking. There are some small ironies. The projection of the phrase Not asking for it on the stage before Grande appears is one. The arrival of the horror is delayed by the story of the bombers movements in the days leading up to the attack. He buys a rucksack, some nuts and bolts, and makes a bomb using an explosive nicknamed mother of Satan. It is an unstable material he would have needed some help. He is on CCTV, buying a snack in a Spar. He stays in a flat near the city centre so his journey to the arena is short. In retrospect, he can be seen circling the venue. If we scroll forward to the aftermath, its notable that MI5 had two pieces of intelligence about Abedi. This information remains secret. But the view now is that he should have been stopped when he arrived home from a visit to Libya, where his fundamentalist family live. Also notable is the statistic that out of 20,000 possible candidates for terrorist surveillance, Abedi was one of a handful deemed worthy of further study, and a meeting to discuss his activities was scheduled to take place nine days after he exploded himself. Manchester Arena bombing one year on The urge to find someone to blame is understandable, and the person to blame is Abedi. But beyond that, there are questions about how prepared we are for such man-made disasters. Paramedics arrived on the scene after 12 minutes, but as the foyer was declared a hot zone they were unable to enter it. Casualties were carried out on advertising hoardings and crash barriers taken 60 metres to the entrance to the neighbouring train station. T-shirts were used as bandages. The fire service arrived two hours and six minutes after the blast. They did not take part in the film. Neither did the police. No doubt they have their reasons. If so, we should hear them. Pick of the day Bulletproof - Sky One, 9pm Nick Loves cop action drama picks up the pace with Pike (Ashley Walters) and Bish (Noel Clarke) stumbling into an armed robbery. It seems to be a rule of the Lethal Weapon-inspired show that the moments of amiable banter Walters and Clarke are very good at banter are invariably cut short by a sudden outbreak of fast-paced action. So, a routine surveillance of a car turns into a stick-up, a shoot-out, and then a mystery, when video footage of the robbery shows that the man the cops assumed was the ringleader a blunt criminal called Sharp (Doug Allen) is not involved in the pillaging of the safety deposit boxes. Cop this: Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters / Sky So what was he doing? And why does he make such efforts to slip away unnoticed from the scene of the crime? The investigation involves a shoot-out with some fake sheikhs and a showdown in the woods, which doesnt go the way Pike and Bish anticipated. The action scenes have the intensity of a video game, but the show hangs together on the chemistry of the two leads, ably shepherded by Lindsey Coulson as their Pot Noodle-eating boss Sarah Tanner. Screen time The Split - BBC1, 9pm As it nears its conclusion, Abi Morgan and Louise Ironsides drama about a family of high-kicking yet refreshingly human female divorce lawyers has settled into its groove. Its no longer about the cases they are fighting but the soapy dramas of the three sisters lives. None of them have their problems to seek but the most urgent issues are facing Hannah (Nicola Walker), who is dealing with the news that her husband, Nathan (Stephen Mangan), is on the leaked list of men who logged on to an extra-marital dating website. Nathan says he didnt do anything but the revelation causes Hannah to consider her relationship, while not being quite forceful enough in fending off the attentions of Christie, the continental smoothie. The Split - Trailer - BBC One Food Junkies - London Live, 8pm No matter how warm the temperature, no matter that were edging tentatively towards what is technically known as summer, it is never too hot to have pie and mash. Three of the best pie-and-mash gaffs are reviewed this evening, and thankfully none of them are serving the dish as some kind of a hot milkshake to appease hipster fads. A Royal Scandal - London Live, 10pm There are marriages where the betrothed, sadly, end up living apart rarer are those unions where the couple almost start in separate beds and diverge like estranged tectonic plates from there. A gold standard in loveless relationships was the political union between George IV and Duchess Caroline of Brunswick, portrayed by Richard E Grant and Susan Lynch in this catty docudrama. When they first met, George immediately requested a brandy after his first seconds with his future wife; on his wedding day he turned up drunk and ended up passing out on the floor of their bedroom later that night. George might have detested her but the public didnt, proving to be more popular than the future king. Screen time Manchester Bomb: Our Story - BBC iPlayer Pictured: Erin / BBC / Blakeway North / Richard Ansett A more intimate view of the Manchester bombing can be found in this BBC3 documentary, which follows a number of the girls who survived the attack, exploring the lasting psychological impact. It was the first concert Amelia, 18, had been to without her mum, and she was standing six feet away from the bomber. Her mother now struggles to let her out of her sight. David Bowie and the Story of Ziggy Stardust - BBC iPlayer Another chance to see this 2012 documentary about Bowies most extravagant creation. Jarvis Cocker narrates the story of the strange alien creature first sighted when Countries & Areas Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe Academician Mircea Malita passed away on Monday at 91 years of age. "The noted scholar, writer, diplomat, ambassador, constructor of institutions and charter of great projects used to be the founding president of the Black Sea University Foundation (FUMN) and spiritual patron of the Institute of Political Sciences and International Relations of the Romanian Academy Ion I. C. Bratianu (ISPRI)," a release sent on Tuesday to AGERPRES by the FUMN reads. Academician Mircea Malita was born on 20 February 1927, in northwestern Oradea, followed the courses of several schools and high schools in Oradea, Fagaras, Beius and Bucharest from 1937 to 1945. In Bucharest, he continued his university education at the Faculty of Sciences - the Mathematic Section and the Faculty of Philosophy (1945 - 1949), two domains that have seeded him in terms of character and future prospects. In 1972 he presented his doctoral thesis titled "Mathematic models for negotiations.""His career as a professor, diplomat and essayist was built through small, yet solid steps. Among his first steps are: a participating student in the delegation of the Paris Peace Conference headed by Mihail Sadoveanu in 1949; secretary with the Peace Committee (chaired by Mihail Sadoveanu from 1952 - 1953); director of the Romanian Academy's Library from 1950 to 1956," the source says.Mircea Malita used to be a counselor of the first permanent Mission of Romania to the United Nations 1956 through 1961; a director of the cultural Directorate with the Foreign Affairs Ministry 1960 through 1962; a deputy minister with the same ministry 1962 to 1969; a minister of the Education from 1970 to 1972; a counselor for foreign affairs and minister of state, member of the preparing councils of the UN world conferences on population, science and technology, on development, from 1974 to 1979; ambassador to Switzerland and to the UN (Geneva) from 1980 to 1982 and ambassador to the USA from 1982 to 1984.He delivered international relations courses at the University of Oradea 1990 through 2000, classes and international reunions in Prague, Moscow, London and New York in 1991, classes at the Academy of Economic Studies (ASE) Bucharest and at the National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA), 2000 through 2008.Mircea Malita was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1974, and in 1994 he was elected full member of this forum. He was a charter member of the European Culture Centre in Bucharest, an honorary member with the Rome Club, a member of the Art and Sciences World Academy, a member of the International Academy of Social Perspective, a member of the World Federation of the Study of the Future, a member of the Leonardo da Vinci International Academy in Rome etc. Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu will be invited on 11 June at the "Government Question Time" of the Deputies' Chamber plenary meeting. According to Secretary of the Chamber of Deputies Georgian Pop, the parliamentary group of the People's Movement Party (PMP) requested that Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu be invited on 11 June at the "Government Question Time," for a debate on topical issues of Romania's foreign affairs. The request has been approved by the Standing Bureau. Romania supports Minsk's progress in fulfilling its commitments pledged under the Eastern Partnership, Bucharest taking on an active role in shaping the European policy towards the European Union's eastern partners, Romania's Ambassador to the Republic of Belarus Viorel Mosanu said in an interview to AGERPRES. The Romanian diplomat maintains that after the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea in 2014, the Belarusian authorities' approach as well as certain steps undertaken domestically have proved the interest of the Republic of Belarus for dialogue and cooperation. Even if Belarus continues its integration in structures belonging to the ex-soviet area, such as the Eurasian Economic Union or the Community of Independent States and Minsk's relations with the European partners have also been characterised by strained times, the results of the "critical commitment" policy of the EU towards Belarus are, according to Ambassador Mosanu, very palpable. With regard to the bilateral relations between Romania and the Republic of Belarus, Viorel Mosanu said there are certain discrepancies between potential and reality in the commercial-economic Romanian-Belarusian relations, but there are other domains, especially the cultural, the educational and scientific ones, in which the collaboration between our countries is in full swing, projects in these domains generating "multiple bridges between our peoples."In the interview granted to AGERPRES, Viorel Mosanu is also talking about the collaboration relation that Romania's Embassy in Minsk cultivates among the members of the Romanian-speaking community on Belarusian territory, especially with the nationals from the Republic of Moldova.The diplomat is also referring to the stage of the identification process of the places where Romanian servicemen fallen on Belarusian territory in the last century might be buried and the issues the embassy is facing in this regard. The interview, granted via e-mail, is part of the editorial project #DiplomaticCentennial carried out by AGERPRES throughout the entire year, with an emphasis on diplomatic relations in the context of the celebration of 100 years since the Greater Union. AGERPRES: Mr. Mosanu, you are Romania's Ambassador to this country where, until 2015, the representation was conducted through a charge d'affaires. What triggered the enhancement of the diplomatic representation to Belarus? ' Viorel Mosanu: Firstly, I should specify that I am not the first accredited Romanian Ambassador in Minsk. After the establishment of diplomatic relations, Romania was represented to Belarus, 1993 to 1996, by Ambassador Nicolae Stanea. Afterwards, indeed, the level of our country's representation was reduced, for a long time, to that of charge d'affaires. In 2015, against the backdrop of positive evolution recorded in the relations between the EU and Belarus and the active role assumed by Romania in shaping the European policy towards the EU's eastern partners, there followed the natural decision of the authorities in Bucharest to go back to a higher level of diplomatic representation. Obviously, such a change has not gone unnoticed in Minsk, and has led to a relaunch of the bilateral agenda and to placing bilateral cooperation on an ascending trend. After approximately a year since this decision, the Belarusian part has responded by appointing an own Ambassador in Bucharest, so that at present, the bilateral diplomatic relations are back to normal, providing a good foundation for the entire framework of the relations between Romania and the Republic of Belarus. AGERPRES: At your investiture, you stated that you would strive to reduce the negative balance of the trade balance between Romania and Belarus and advocated for the establishment of a Bureau for the promotion of trade and economic relations between the two countries. What are the results of these steps? Viorel Mosanu: Promoting the economic interests of the Romanian entrepreneurs and of the Romanian state is one of the main objectives of any embassy. Economic diplomacy approaches support the foreign promotion of Romanian business products and services, but they cannot replace its willingness and efforts to enter and grow on foreign markets. In the Romanian-Belarusian commercial-economic relations there is a certain discrepancy between the potential and the reality. I think that we should focus more on mutual knowledge of existing opportunities, but also on diversifying the direct contact between business circles. In recent years, bilateral trade has risen steadily (157 million US dollars in 2017), including Romanian exports, which have practically doubled in the past year, reaching a record figure (43.3 million US dollars in 2017). We are aware, however, that the potential of the two economies is much greater. Our embassy continues to act, as far as possible, in order to identify new opportunities and forms of cooperation. We support the intensification of the direct dialogue of business representatives, both through direct contacts and through the Chambers of Commerce and Industry or local authorities, with whom we try to collaborate as actively as possible. For example, I recently went to the Gomel region, where I discussed with decision-makers, firstly about the prospects for bilateral economic cooperation. We hope that the forthcoming session of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation with Belarus, to be held in Bucharest, will also contribute to the objective of relaunching trade relations. AGERPRES: How do you cooperate with the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Minsk, given that both a smaller Romanian community and a more numerous community of Moldovan citizens live on the territory of Belarus? Do you organize joint events for representatives of these communities? Viorel Mosanu: The Romanian community in the Republic of Belarus is numerically reduced, the embassy's records including about 60 Romanian citizens dispersed on an extended geographical area. The community of Moldovan nationals is much larger, most of them settled in Belarus during the Soviet period, through mixed marriages and professional assignments. The Embassy of Romania cultivates a collaboration relationship with the cultural society "The Moldovans' Community", with which it celebrates annually the tradition of the Martisor. In 2016 we organized together the cultural event "The Day of Romanian Language" and we hope this event will become a traditional one. It goes without saying that all the cultural diplomacy actions of our embassy are honored by diplomats from the Republic of Moldova and active members of the Romanian-speaking community. AGERPRES: This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Great Union. How will you celebrate the Centennial in Belarus? Viorel Mosanu: The actions we dedicate to the anniversary of the Great Union, with a special implication for the Romanian nation, have already begun in Minsk and we intend to extend their area to the Belarusian regions. At the beginning of March, the Embassy participated as a first in the Minsk International Book Fair, where the historical literature occupied a leading position. Also in March, we organized a Romanian-Belarusian literary and musical event, under the auspices of the Centennial. Next, we are preparing a photography exhibition ?100 images for 100 years,' which we plan to open in Minsk on October 31, 2018, and then move it to several regional centers of the country of residence. We are also preparing a Romanian music concert at the Minsk Philharmonic in November, and we are considering the launch, as a first in the Belarusian language, of the history volume by academician Ioan Aurel Pop, "History of Romanians", and we have taken steps to identify the best possibilities for materializing this initiative. AGERPRES: Romania has participated, along other countries, upon Germany's initiative, in events marking the Memorial Day of the Victims of Wars, Terror and Violence. Is it known how many Romanian soldiers are buried in the Memorial Complex in the Tarasovo Cemetery in Minsk? How is the process of identifying places where Romanian troops are likely to be buried in Belarus evolving? Viorel Mosanu: In the Tarasovo-Minsk memorial complex, out of a total of 1098 buried servicemen, 158 are Romanian soldiers who died in Soviet detention during the period 1944-1946. Our Embassy permanently participates in the manifestations honouring their memory. Data provided by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus shows a total of 242 Romanian soldiers that died in Belarus, in 18 localities, mainly in detention camps and hospitals. Unfortunately, the burial places of 84 Romanian soldiers who died in Belarus remain unknown. Our actions for their identification and proper marking continue, but they are hampered by problems with access to archive materials and physical disappearance or alteration of burial sites. The Embassy is currently expanding its study of Belarusian archives by engaging local researchers in the process. AGERPRES: Belarus is part of both the Russia-Belarus State Union and the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union. Both promoted at one point the idea of establishing a single currency: the ruble for the Union of Russia-Belarus, the "altyn" for the Customs Union. What is the official attitude of Minsk towards cooperation within these unions? Viorel Mosanu: Belarus remains a supporter of the ongoing development of the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are also part. Being aware of the opportunities the free markets of goods, services and capital of this Union can offer to the Belarusian export-oriented economy, the authorities in Minsk seem to be the most active in promoting the five countries' goals in this area. The dissatisfaction with the poor implementation of mutual commitments, particularly in the fields of the development of the common energy market, the elimination of non-tariff barriers or checks at the common borders, causes the Belarusian side to openly criticize its partners. Another vector of Minsk's integration policy remains the Commonwealth of Independent States, which, although it has lost of its reach, remains a useful platform for promoting political and economic interest. AGERPRES: Alongside another five states, Belarus is a member of EU's Eastern Partnership. However, relations between Minsk and the EU have witnessed some very tense times. In 2011 Belarus temporarily withdrew from this Partnership to return later, and the EU imposed sanctions against this country, which it subsequently lifted in 2016. In your opinion, how important is, for Romania included, the Republic of Belarus staying in this partnership with the EU? Viorel Mosanu: It is true that over time, Minsk's relations with the European partners have been characterized by various degrees of cooperation: there have been tense periods and moments of restart. Following the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, the approach of the Belarusian authorities - particularly in the context of international efforts to regulate the conflict in Ukraine, as well as of certain steps inside the country - has proved the interest of the Republic of Belarus in dialogue and cooperation. The outcomes of EU's "critical engagement" policy towards Belarus in recent years are tangible: the EU has removed most of the restrictive measures, institutional dialogue has developed, cooperation in various areas has intensified. All this contributes to higher predictability and regional stability. Romania supports the process of engaging in an equal and balanced partnership and we encourage Minsk's progress in fulfilling its pledged commitments, including as far as human rights are concerned. A considerable part of cooperation with the EU is developing within the framework of the Eastern Partnership, which provides an extensive tool for approaching Eastern neighborhood states. Moreover, this program ensures the possibility of a differentiated approach to the partners, depending on the level of ambition, merits and European aspirations. AGERPRES: Belarus gained independence in 1991, after the collapse of the USSR. Despite this, just like in all the other former Soviet republics, there is further a strong Russian influence on this territory. From your experience, how powerful is the influence of the Russian language - this "lingua franca" of the Soviet empire - on the locals? Could this influence be a hindrance to strengthening the independence of Belarus from its eastern neighbor? Viorel Mosanu: By virtue of historical factors, Russian is indeed the language predominantly spoken in the public administration, in the media, in everyday life. The role of Russian in society can also be inferred from the fact that, along with Belarusian, it has the status of official language. The overwhelming majority of Belarusian citizens are, however, bilingual, because Belarusian is a compulsory subject in the school curriculum. Under these circumstances, the process of linguistic emancipation, even if slower than some would like it to be, is a reality. This trend will further develop as an integral part of the natural process of the construction of the Belarusian state. AGERPRES: You have organized and participated in many cultural events in the Republic of Belarus: book fairs, exhibitions, concerts, festivals. I would like to highlight the photo exhibitions showcasing sculptor Brancusi, which are part of a broader project titled "Convergences" under the banner of the campaign "Windows to Romania: Culture, Art, People". What is the contribution of cultural diplomacy to strengthening relations between our countries? To what extent do the cultural actions organized by the Romanian Embassy draw the interest of the nationals? Viorel Mosanu: I think that in this field cooperation unfolds at an encouraging pace. In the general equation of relations between the two countries, cooperation on culture, education, science plays a particularly important role. Projects in these areas generate multiple bridges between our peoples, that are so important in today's world, fraught with crises, tension, mistrust. Therefore, in order attain the most beneficial effects, our embassy is trying to lay a special emphasis on joint projects and on strengthening the bilateral legal framework so as to facilitate these exchanges. There is a real interest of the Belarusian public in Romanian culture and civilization. Here are some examples: Mihai Eminescu's volume of poetry in Belarusian had to be re-printed because the first issue was quickly exhausted; after the extensive sculpture exhibition dedicated to Constantin Brancusi, we were chided for not having extended the opening interval because it could not be visited by all art lovers; the New Wave of the Romanian film is highly in vogue and we constantly receive requests to organize retrospectives and bring Romanian directors to Minsk; the concerts held in the Great Hall of the Minsk Philharmonic, or the Romanian theater performances are fully booked. These are just a few elements that encourage us to continue our cultural diplomacy campaign. The ultimate decision of the future of Republic of Moldova rests on this country's citizens, on Tuesday asserted the Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu, at a debate organised by the National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA). "It's natural that we have a priority preoccupation for the Eastern Partnership with the countries at Romania's eastern borders, but at the same time, it is obviously clear that one of our priorities is the Republic of Moldova, due to several items you are aware of: a shared history, culture, language, even religion. At the same time, one thing needs to be acknowledged. We are not in the situation of the pioneers who were trying to help an old lady cross the street, which she didn't want to," Melescanu said. The Foreign Affairs minister added that Romania can offer support, information, knowledge, programmes for the Moldovan citizens."So, what we can grant is support, information, knowledge, programmes for the citizens but ultimately the fundamental decision of the future of the Republic of Moldova rests on the citizens of Moldova and from this point of view, we are at a particularly special moment. Parliamentary election are due this year and naturally, the guideline of the future foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova will largely depend on these elections' outcome. To us it is a priority, but not in the master-to-student sense, but as from brother to brother, and yet the decisions must be made by the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. What we can do is to support a certain vision and a certain interest of the EU for its enlargement, including towards the East, but that largely depends on what will happen in the respective country: the evolution of democracy, an independent justice, whatever you want, a good governance," the chief diplomat concluded. President Klaus Iohannis declared on Monday that the Government needs to urgently take measures concerning the digitization of the economy and public administration. "The low digitization rate of the economy and public administration is a reality which needs to determine the Government to take urgent measures. We can see in the statistics that we have a high internet speed, which is a good thing, without a doubt. On the other hand, Romanian society is not doing all that well when it comes to digital skills," the head of state said during the "Innovation Labs 2018. Demo Day" event, which took place at the National Theatre of Bucharest. He said that the Government has planned, and it ought to make the right steps towards this direction, for 35 percent of citizens to use the E-govern systems, but pointed out that this seems like an overly optimistic objective, in the context in which the 6 percent milestone has barely been reached.The head of state also talked about the deficit of qualified personnel in the IT sector and the fact that the education system is already outdated by the accelerated dynamic of changes, unable to cover the ever-increasing demand of specialists in this field."The education system needs to rapidly integrate digital education, starting with primary school, in order to improve this situation," Iohannis highlighted.He also showed that this field is facing a lack of predictability, generated by the initiatives and measures, oftentimes uninspired by Government decision-makers."The digital sector is a vital component of Romania's growth model which I wish to promote, a model based on innovation, competitiveness and entrepreneurship," Iohanis added.The President highlighted that the Romanian IT industry has had a sharp development in the past decade, indicating the fact that the IT&C field is rapidly growing, with an yearly average rate of 15 percent, exports registering annual increases of over 20 percent, and currently, this IT segment, along with the field of communication technology, cumulate 6 percent of the GDP."Creative and start-up industries based on modern technology are the cornerstone of a dynamic and competitive economy on a global scale. It is essential that Romania backs the entrepreneurs that develop high-end products in the digital industry," Iohannis added. The drivers of long haul trucks on the outbound to Hungary have to put up with as long as six-hour waiting times, given that heavy traffic restrictions have been set in Hungary on the occasion of the Catholic holiday of Pentecost, the Border Police announced on its website. The waiting time is of 6 hours at the Petea border checkpoint, five and a half hours at the Bors checkpoint, six hours at Varsand and 2 hours at Nadlac. "As a result of the freight traffic restrictions imposed in Hungary between 19.05.2018, 23:00 hrs (Romania time) - 21.05.2018, 23:00 (Romania time), there is an increase in the number of long haul trucks on the outbound at the checkpoints with Hungary. Customs clearance procedures are jointly carried out with the Hungarian authorities, and the Border Police has supplemented their staff to cover all control lanes, but the number of lanes that can be opened is limited by the number of officers deployed by the Hungarian Police. As per the bilateral protocols, the Romanian Border Police can only open control lanes that are also manned by the Hungarian authorities," the Border Police states.More than 2,700 long haul trucks, of which about 2,100 on the outbound alone, have been given clearance since the lifting of restrictions (as of 21.05.2018, 23.00 hrs, Romania time) at the checkpoints on the western border of Romania located in the counties of Arad, Bihor and Satu Mare.The Border Police also mentions that the check time for a truck on the Romanian side is of 2 - 5 minutes on average and that the number of control lanes has been increased on the outbound to five at the Nadlac II checkpoint, three at Bors, two at Varsand, while the Nadlac checkpoint operates just one lane. Measures have also been taken for the efficient management of the situation, specifically for the prevention and combating of illegal cross-border activities. The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported on Sunday that diplomats from the European Union, Russia and China will be meeting in Vienna this week to discuss the next steps to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The report mentioned six things. One, the senior EU diplomat Helga Schmid (a key negotiator of the 2015 pact) will lead the meeting; two, the US will not attend; three, Iran may or may not participate; four, the meeting will discuss a new agreement similar to the 2015 deal, while also limiting Tehrans ballistic missile program and its regional role; five, the new agreement may provide financial aid to Tehran; and, six, diplomats will also discuss EU measures vis-a-vis US sanctions, although these would have at best only very limited positive effects on Irans economy. The meeting follows a series of foreign-minister level consultations amongst the E3 (France, Germany and Britain), between EU and Iran, and between Iran and Russia and China. The media report appeared after the meeting Friday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Sochi and before the forthcoming visit on Thursday by French President Emmanuel Macron to Russia. Meanwhile, the European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Miguel Arias Canete visited Tehran in the weekend and met with Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Quite obviously, the Welt report created a false impression that the 2015 deal is dead and the Plan B to pacify US president Donald Trump is unfolding. Unsurprisingly, Iranian Foreign Ministry lashed out that the Welt report is masterminded by think-tanks of the Zionist media and other anarchists with the aim to create negative atmosphere and to deviate dialogue between Iran and other sides. Separately, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also clarified, On Friday (in Vienna), the joint commission will be held at Irans request, and without the United States, to discuss the consequences of Americas withdrawal, and how the remaining countries can continue their commitment to the deal. On Friday, in a forceful statement, EU foreign and security policy chief Federica Mogherini also asserted that the EU is acting in unity and swiftly to reconfirm our commitment to the continued full and effective implementation of the Agreement and our determination to work with the international community to preserve it, so long as Iran continues to respect its commitments. Significantly, Mogherini described the meeting in Vienna as a new EU/E3 + 2 and Iran format at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers/Political Directors to seek practical solutions in order to maintain and deepen economic relations with Iran. Following the meeting, the EUs 28 foreign ministers will revert to the issue on May 28. The Welt report reflects the uneasiness in Washington that Trumps decision to tear up the 2015 pact has prompted EU to push back at the US. The EU has shown keenness to persuade Tehran to adhere to the 2015 deal. (Merkel also stressed this in Sochi.) Top Iranian officials maintain that although Tehran appreciates the EUs constructive attitude, it is unsure whether the latter is doing enough to ensure that major European companies do not roll back their involvement in the Iranian economy. Only Russia has underscored in practical terms the determination to press ahead with economic and business cooperation with Iran. A major even historic step has been taken for the establishment of a free trade zone between Eurasian Economic Union and Iran, which provides the latter preferential access to a 180-million market. Moscow and Tehran extended their so-called oil-for-goods deal, which jettisons the use of US dollar in bilateral trade. (50 percent of revenues from oil sales will be spent on implementation of various joint projects.) On May 16, Irans Bank of Industry and Mine signed a finance contract with Russias Vnesheconombank for financing a major railway project in Iran electrification of 450-kilometer-long Garmsar-Incheh Boroun Railroad with a credit line worth 1.2 billion euros. Tehrans interest lies in preserving the 2015 deal, but Washingtons determination to destroy the deal is also not in doubt. Trump hopes to position the US to hit Iran as hard as it possibly can by destroying the prospects of any European companies to remain engaged with Iran so as to get rid of the other participants in the 2015 multilateral deal and to force Tehran down on its knees to deal with Washington bilaterally. This may be delusional, but Trump hopes to create a bilateral dynamic between the US and Iran through pressure tactic so that he can get a better, bigger deal to replace the 2015 pact. No doubt, the US was a critical component of the 2015 nuclear deal. Trumps key problem was that it did nothing to fundamentally change the US-Iranian relationship or help the US in security. However, what shouldnt be overlooked is that the businessman-president in Washington also harbors the grouse that the 2015 deal helped only the European and Asian companies to do business with Iran. In these circumstances, the survival of the 2015 agreement seems very difficult, unless what Mogherini calls the new EU/E3 + 2 and Iran format gains traction in real time, while alongside major European capitals also show the political will to assert their business interests in Irans economy, especially in the oil and gas industry, which is what Tehran is seeking. Patrick COCKBURN The Palestinian issue is back on the international agenda more than at any time over the last 15 years. If the move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was intended to demonstrate that the Palestinians were powerless and there was nothing they could do about it, then it has failed. The embassy move, signalling that the US has abandoned even its previous modest restraint on Israeli actions, had exactly the opposite effect to the one intended. The protesting Palestinians and not the celebrating Israelis and Americans became the central feature of the event. Television split screens showed what looked like a Trump campaign rally in Jerusalem side by side with Israeli soldiers shooting dead 62 Palestinians and wounding a further 1,360 in Gaza. Israeli claims that they were defending the fence that surrounds Gaza from an attack by Hamas activists armed with stones and kites were contradicted both by the television pictures and the lack of any Israeli casualties. But such international outrage will dissipate, as it has in the past in Gaza when Israeli forces killed Palestinians in large numbers. The most important question now is how far the Great March of Return of Palestinian refugees from 1948, which has just ended, was a one-off event or the beginning of a campaign of Palestinian civil disobedience. If it is the latter, then we are at the start of what an Israeli paper described as the first act of the Trump Intifada. Israel, the US and Egypt have an interest in containing the aftermath of the killings on 14 May. Minor concessions easing the blockade of Gaza, which is similar to a medieval siege, were reportedly offered to Hamas by Israel, if the Islamic group would call off the protest. Egypt has announced that it will open its crossing with Gaza for Ramadan, which has just begun. Other gains for the Palestinians, aside from temporarily putting their fate back on the political and media map, include focusing attention on the miserable conditions of the 1.9 million people living in Gaza, who are caged in a toxic slum according to the UN Human Rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein. But greater visibility of their miseries does not mean that much will be done to improve matters. The balance of forces is too skewed away from the Palestinians and towards the Israelis for the latter not to feel that they can act with impunity. The Israeli government may not like the bad publicity it has been getting, but it can cope with it so long as it does not go on too long. Daniel Levy, a former Israeli diplomat, peace negotiator and president of the US/Middle East Project, says that if Palestinian protests are not sustained over time, which means ongoing casualties, and broadened geographically beyond Gaza to include the West Bank, Jerusalem and Israel, then the Israeli government can ride this out. He adds that even then, if the demonstrators are to have an effect, they would have to remain unarmed and non-violent. In the past civil disobedience has produced some benefits for the Palestinians: the First Intifada in 1987 led to the Oslo Accords and the much more violent Second Intifada in 2000 led to the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza three years later. But it is doubtful if Palestinian leaders are capable of pursuing such a course themselves or allowing civil activists to do so. The leadership is divided between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, long locked in rancorous rivalry. The PA, in particular, is a moribund political organisation, frightened that protesters might turn against it or provoke Israeli retaliation. Palestinian leadership has always resembled that of the Arab dictators and has always been incapable of mobilising their people. Israel may have done everything to prevent the emergence of a Palestinian state, but, even without Israeli repression, this was hobbled by corrupt and incompetent elites, monopolising power and suppressing dissent. Israel is apparently at the height of its power with carte blanche from the White House to do what it wants. The US blamed Hamas for the Palestinian casualties in Gaza without a word of criticism for Israel. Arab states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE give priority to allying themselves to the US against Iran and are dismissive of the Palestinians plight. But such total endorsement of Israel by the US may not be in the long-term interests of Israel. The embrace of Israel by Trump, the Republicans and Christian Evangelicals alienates Democrats, though this may not count for much. Perhaps more important, American Jews were shocked to see pastors whom they identified as antisemitic bigots playing a leading role in the opening of the US embassy. Lack of any US restraint is attractive to Israels right-wing government, but it will not necessarily do Israelis a lot of good. Israeli governments tend to be overconfident and are prone to overplaying their hand. Their invasion of Lebanon in 1982 turned into an unsuccessful 18-year-long war. A US government purporting to act as mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, though wholly in Israels corner, was arguably more useful to Israel than the US when it makes no such pretence. Arab states may today say positive things about Israel, but their previous opposition was largely rhetorical. For Israel, there are two dangers stemming from Trump: Israel has always wanted to be close to US leaders, but it has never dealt with one as arbitrary, ill-advised and self-willed as this president. Netanyahu has traditionally been cautious when it comes to fighting real wars, though he is always happy to threaten to do so unless he gets what he wants. With Trump in the White House, he may feel that Israel will never be so well placed again and this is the moment to establish facts on the map. A more serious weakness in Israels strategic position in the Middle East is likely to be worsened by uncritical support from Washington. There are 6.5 million Israeli Jews and a similar number of Palestinians between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. All the Palestinians living in Gaza, West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel are under some form of Israeli control. It is a situation that guarantees permanent crisis. Israel has the choice of expelling the Palestinians, subjugating them permanently or trying to find some means of coexisting with them. Mass expulsion is not feasible at this time and a deal on coexistence is unlikely, which leaves permanent repression as the only option. It may be that the protests in Gaza that led to so many people being killed will not turn into a more widespread, non-violent civil disobedience. But neither can Israel turn its superiority of force and even its close alliance with Trump into a permanent victory, because, whatever it does, the Palestinians will still be there. counterpunch.org At the very start of his presidential term, Donald Trump promised to do what no other US president had done despite all their efforts. He said he would find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem and close "the ultimate deal." Donald Trump will unveil his new Middle East (ME) peace plan in mid-to-late June after the end of Ramadan. The exact date for its publication is yet to be announced. Select allies are already being briefed on the elements of the plan. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has confirmed that the initiative is being finalized. The details are not yet known, but it is generally believed that the proposal will suggest recognizing Israel as the Jewish peoples homeland. The Palestinian Authority (PA) will be given limited sovereignty. Its territory will include about half of the West Bank, including the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and the entire Gaza Strip, provided that Hamas agrees to disarm. The Jordan Valley will go to Israel, preserving its security presence along the Jordan River. The Old City will also become a part of Israel. Palestine and Jordan will share religious jurisdiction over Jerusalems mosques. Abu Dis, located in the eastern part of Jerusalem, will become the capital of the PA. Israel will be responsible for the West Bank and the security of the border crossings. A system for compensating Palestinian refugees will be established and managed by the international community. Their right to return will not be recognized. The plan will not be presented as a definitive document, but rather as the springboard for generating the momentum to rush into broader negotiations with the leading Arab actors, such as the Persian Gulf states and Egypt. The expectation is that certain mutually acceptable ideas will be discovered that will get the ball rolling. So the proposal is not a two-state solution, but rather a blueprint offering a smorgasbord of options for further talks. The plan is expected to be rebuffed by the PA amid signs that the US may slash funding for the West Bank and Gaza. The funds are likely to be reallocated elsewhere. Washington and its allies are looking for prominent Palestinians who would agree to back this plan that is certain to face rejection from the president of the PA. Mahmoud Abbas. Progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track is a must; otherwise itll be a tall order to establish an anti-Iranian coalition that includes the leading Arab states. Saudi Arabia and other potential members of such a group cannot openly cooperate with Israel. The Palestinian problem is an obstacle. The US needs to marshal regional support for this plan. Were going to start seeing some very intensive diplomatic efforts, including behind-the-scenes meetings. The plan will be inevitably rolled out at an international conference, probably hosted by a large Arab nation, such as Egypt for instance. As mentioned above, many US presidents have tried to find a solution to the ME conflict. Trumps plan stands out as an initiative not aimed at bringing the two sides to the negotiating table but rather one that exerts pressure to make them accept it. Resolving the Palestinian issue paves the way for uniting a powerful coalition under the US banner. Another hallmark of the plan is the attempt to find an alternative to the current Palestinian leadership. Finding the right people is part of the effort. The US position in the region was weakened as a result of the decision to move the embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Leading the peace process will get the US back onto the field as the leading player and an indispensable nation in the region. With an anti-Iranian coalition in place and moves underway to roll back Tehran, China will suffer and find itself growing weaker. The rise in global oil prices will make Chinese commodities more expensive and thus its exports will become less competitive. The growth of its GDP could slow as a result. Russia has the reputation of being an honest broker in the ME and its regional influence is on the rise. Keeping Moscow out of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiation process is one way to contain it. And in the end, the Palestinians will actually gain nothing. The proposal appears to be highly favorable toward Israel and dismissive of the PA. With Israel retaining control over security almost throughout the Palestinian territory, no full sovereignty is possible. The PAs borders would not be based on the pre-1967 demarcations as the UN resolutions demand. But Sunni Arab states and others would provide enough economic assistance to the Palestinians to make them pliable. Donald Trump likes to make deals. Perhaps he views the Palestinian problem as essentially an economic issue, not a political one. Because of this perspective he has adopted a you make concessions to get economic benefits in return approach. The problem is with the PAs leadership, which is headed by Mahmoud Abbas, its people, and also the Arab leaders who want a real political settlement instead of a trade deal, because they arent going anywhere. Its really hard to imagine the Palestinians taking any offer of limited sovereignty seriously. The Israeli-PA conflict is not a problem to be tackled by a club of the chosen. Any peace effort requires broad international representation. The Palestinian leadership insists that Russia and a number of other states and organizations take on the role of mediating such a multilateral peace process. President Trump proposal hasnt even been made public yet. Nothing official has been heard from Washington so far. But some experts believe that the plan is dead on arrival. Perhaps they have a good reason to think so. The prospects for peace diplomacy between the US and North Korea took a sudden hit after President Donald Trump issued an extraordinary threat to Kim Jong Un. It was in effect a death threat. Trump warned last week that if the North Korean leader does not comply with Washingtons demands for complete denuclearization, then Kim would end up like Gaddafi. Trump added that North Korea would be decimated if it did not give up its nuclear weapons. Arguably, Trumps rhetoric of violence towards another state is a violation of international law and the United Nations charter. It was not the time first time the American president has engaged in criminal intimidation of the northeast Asian nation. Last September, he told the United Nations general assembly that North Korea would be totally destroyed. Yet US news media are spinning the latest row by blaming North Korea for being devious, and backtracking in typical fashion from negotiations, allegedly in order to extract more concessions. US media are ignoring the glaringly obvious fact that Washington is holding a gun to North Koreas head, and in Mafia-style, making an offer it thinks Pyongyang cant refuse. All of a sudden, the much-anticipated summit between Trump and Kim scheduled for June 12 in Singapore has been thrown into doubt. North Korean state media have cautioned that the summit will be cancelled if the US insists on unilateral nuclear disarmament by Pyongyang. The Trump administration responded by saying it is continuing with plans for the Singapore meeting. However, American and South Korean officials are reportedly in a tizzy to ascertain North Koreas position in order to keep the summit on track. No doubt, Trump is anxious not to be deprived of his moment of glory. Two developments have undermined North Koreas willingness to engage with Washington. After the apparent breakthrough of Trump and Kim putting their previous belligerent rhetoric aside and agreeing to hold a face-to-face summit, North Korea has gone cold. Pyongyang has cited the public comments made by Trumps National Security Advisor John Bolton in which the latter said that Washington was looking to the Libya model as a guideline for how it is preparing to deal with North Korea. Bolton was referring to when former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi agreed to unilaterally terminate his nuclear weapons program in 2003-2004 in order to appease the George W Bush administration. It was an audacious reference point by the sinisterly hawkish Bolton given how seven years later, Gaddafis government was overthrown by an illegal US-NATO war which resulted in the Libyan leader being murdered on the streets. North Korea had previously cited the case of Libya and Iraq as examples of how countries without an insurance policy of weapons of mass destruction are liable to be subjected to American regime-change attack. Now with notorious Bush-era regime-change architect John Bolton explicitly referring to Libya as a model on the cusp of supposed diplomatic engagement it is no small wonder that North Korea has decided to snap back. The other development is the going ahead of annual military exercises this month conducted by US forces and their South Korean ally. Currently, both militaries are carrying out Max Thunder maneuvers reportedly involving warplanes and warships near the North Korea border which, as usual, looks to Pyongyang like preparations for invasion. How is that supposed to be confidence-building for North Korea? While warning that the meeting with Trump might not take place, North Korea also abruptly cancelled high-level talks last week with South Korean counterparts, citing the ongoing joint US military exercises as reason for the cancellation. North Korea hit out at South Korea for being foolish and incompetent over the continuation of military exercises. Again, that was another dramatic reversal in diplomacy. Only a few weeks ago, North Koreas Kim held a historic meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae In at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two countries since the end of the Korean War (1950-53). Both leaders vowed a new era of cooperation and their intention to sign a formal peace treaty to finally mark the end of the war. Western media interpretation of North Koreas vacillation is misplaced and unnecessarily cynical. This is not about Pyongyang playing mind games and gouging for concessions, as the media imply. It is simply a reflection of the United States revealing its real and reprehensible agenda of expecting North Korea to unilaterally disarm without any reciprocation from Washington. In short, capitulation and surrender. Added to that demand is the very grave underlying threat of Washington then moving on to regime change when North Korea is deemed safe, that is, defenseless. Trumps keenness to hold a historic summit with Kim is not about seeking a mutual peace settlement. The real-estate-tycoon-turned-president is all about glitzy spectacle and vainglorious success. He has even talked about how he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. Of course, a globally televised handshake with Kim totally plays to Trumps ego and the former reality TV stars craving for ratings. Thats why Trump appeared to slap back Bolton last week by trying to reassure North Korea the US wasnt using the Libya model. But then in the same moment Trump blundered even further by going on to say, bizarrely, that North Korea would end up like Libya if it did not give up its nuclear weapons. The morally decrepit warmonger John Bolton and CIA torture-supporter Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State are very sound reasons for why North Korea appears to be turning its back on proposed talks. With Trump then showing his ignorance and brutish instincts there is even more reason for Pyongyang to be wary. Peace for the Korean Peninsula is a multilateral formula. North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons is only one part of the equation. Another indispensable part is Washington removing its military forces, signing a peace guarantee with Pyongyang, ending its economic warfare, and permitting the two Koreas to pursue reconciliation without interference. But, as noted previously in this column, Washingtons strategic interests in maintaining military force in the Asia-Pacific towards Russia and China are such that it is anathema for the US to agree to a genuine peace settlement in Korea. Beneath the superficial American diplomacy, Washingtons agenda is for North Koreas surrender to Uncle Sam. Telling North Korea to negotiate or else is like holding a gun to its head. No nation with any self-respect would comply. Pyongyang is just right to give Washington short shrift due to the latters bad faith and arrogant ignorance about its obligations. Trumps backsliding on the Iran nuclear deal is another object lesson for North Korea. Ominously, though, Uncle Sam is going to get very nasty after having had his nose tweaked. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed the US President Donald Trump administration for unilaterally withdrawing from the multi-nation Iran nuclear deal. 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 US administrations decision very positive, Erdogan said during an iftar (fast-breaking dinner) for the holy month of Ramadan on Monday. He also slammed countries that have nuclear weapons for threatening the world. 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, apparently referring to the US and the Israeli regime, which possess nuclear weapons but insist that Iran not have access to even civilian nuclear technology. The Tel Aviv regime has never denied that it has hundreds of nuclear warheads, and it has never allowed international inspections of its nuclear facilities. President Erdogan also said that all nuclear weapons had to be flushed out of the Middle East, in an apparent reference to the Israeli regime, as it is the only entity in the region possessing such weapons. Those who have more than 15,000 nuclear warheads are currently threatening the world, referring to the near total number of atomic warheads worldwide, most of them held by the US and Russia. Why are countries with nuclear warheads posing a threat to them? he then asked, in an apparent reference to states such as Iran. Trump withdrew the US from the Iran deal on May 8. He also ordered the re-imposition of anti-Iran sanctions. But US allies France, Germany, and Britain as well as Russia and China have said they will make efforts to save the nuclear pact, working out various means to protect themselves from secondary US sanctions. Relations between NATO members Turkey and the US have deteriorated over a variety of issues recently, ranging from Washingtons policy toward Kurdish forces in Syria to Trumps controversial decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds. Blood of Palestinian kids on US hands Censuring the US embassy move during the Monday event in which all foreign ambassadors to Ankara, except Israels, were invited Erdogan said Ankara would remain determined not to give up on the Jerusalem al-Quds issue and the Palestinian cause. The hands of the US are covered with the blood of Palestinian children, he said. We are determined not to give up on our rights on Jerusalem. We will continue our fight until Jerusalem becomes the home of peace, tranquility, and dignity for all three monotheistic religions, added the Turkish president. We will never leave our first qiblah [the direction toward which Muslims pray] to the mercy of a state which feeds on blood, tears, and occupation for decades, he said, referring to the Israeli regime. Turkey on Friday hosted an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul to discuss the Israeli regimes atrocities against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. During that meeting, leaders of Muslim countries pledged to take appropriate political (and) economic measures against the few countries that followed the US in moving their Israeli embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds. Also speaking in the Monday event was Turkeys Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who condemned the Israeli regimes massacre of Palestinian protesters in Gaza, saying, The slaughter of the defenseless, unarmed people is cruel and brutal violence. The decision of the American administration to move the embassy to Jerusalem is a big mistake and it has a great share in the escalation of tensions of these events [in Gaza], Yildirim said. Addressing the ambassadors of different countries invited to the Ramadan event, Yildirim said it was time to take a stand about the situation in that region. On March 30, Palestinians marched to the fence separating Gaza from Israel at the start of a six-week protest, dubbed The Great March of Return, demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland. Israeli forces used disproportionate force including live fire and massive amounts of tear gas against the protesters. A total of Nearly 110 Palestinians were killed. The violence was particularly intense on May 14, when over 60 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,700 others were wounded by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe). Turkey threatens to ban imports of Israeli goods Meanwhile, speaking on a return flight from Bosnia on Sunday, President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would review its economic ties with Israel after the June general elections and may boycott imports of some Israeli goods over the recent Gaza carnage. Erdogan also expressed hope that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) would enforce its decision to ban products from Israel. In a final communique issued following an emergency meeting in Istanbul on Friday, the OIC called on member states and the wider international community to ban the products of the illegal Israeli settlements from entering their markets, take measures against individuals and entities involved in or beneficiaries of the perpetuation of occupation and settlement regime. Consequently, no product should be brought from there anymore. Naturally, we will assess this situation in the same way, Turkeys Hurriyet newspaper quoted Erdogan as saying. The Turkish president further stressed that Ankara would evaluate its relations particularly economic and trade ties with them (the Israelis). We have an upcoming election. We will take steps in this direction after the elections. China Pledges Tax Support For 'Belt And Road Territories' by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong 22 May 2018 The tax agencies of China and Kazakhstan, with involvement also from the OECD, hosted a three-day tax conference to discuss the provision of capacity building support from China for those countries that will be involved in China's Belt and Road Initiative. It was attended by more than 250 delegates from 49 tax administrations, four international organizations, and five academic institutions. In a statement following the conference, the Chinese tax agency said that even though Belt and Road jurisdictions vary in economic conditions and cultures, they face common challenges. The agency said the conference was an opportunity for tax authorities and businesses to exchange views and discuss the role of effective tax rules and policies in facilitating trade and investment. China pledged its support for countries involved in the initiative and its cooperation in tax matters. According to the Chinese tax agency's statement, delegates agreed that stronger support is needed to achieve better coordination and cooperation amongst tax administrations of Belt and Road jurisdictions. They agreed to enhance cooperation in tax matters. The possibility of long-term tax coordination and cooperation in a more structured and institutional format under the Belt and Road Initiative framework was explored during a side meeting of the conference, the agency added. In its statement, Kazakhstan's Finance Ministry welcomed China's engagement and the announcement of the aforementioned "One Belt, One Way" tax cooperation initiative. The Belt and Road initiative is a Chinese-led strategy to bind the economies and cultures of more than 60 countries by land and sea. It comprises a land-based Silk Road Economic Belt integrating trade and investment in Eurasia and an ocean-going Maritime Silk Road extending to Indonesia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The aim is that by 2050 the Belt and Road region will account for 80 percent of global GDP growth, and three billion more people will be advanced into the middle class. As part of such, China has signed a number of agreements to support other countries to develop tax-privileged economic zones within their territory, as part of its push to further its trade relations along the Belt and Road. In February 2018, the Chinese Govenrment noted that new foreign investment worth USD14.36bn from Chinese firms has resulted in a tax windfall of USD1.14bn for host countries along the "Belt and Road." Another 19 new overseas economic and trade cooperation zones were set up in countries and regions participating in the initiative in 2017, the Government said, and 2,330 new enterprises were established. EU Challenges Hungarian, Italian, Romanian Tax Provisions by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels 22 May 2018 The European Commission has initiated tax infringement procedures against Hungary, Italy, and Romania. The Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Hungary regarding the country's taxation of spirit drinks. The opinion concerns exemptions from the public health tax for fruit distillates, such as the national drink palinka, and for herbal drinks where national production is dominant. Vodka, whisky, gin, and brandy are not exempted and therefore face a higher rate of tax. The Commission said that this regime violates Article 110 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. If Hungary does not act to the Commission's satisfaction within the next two months, it may be referred to the European Court of Justice. The Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to Italy, requesting that it align its rules with the EU's in the case of an excise duty exemption for fuel used to navigate within EU waters. The Commission said that Italy treats chartered pleasure boats as commercial vessels and therefore allows them to benefit from excise duty exemption on the fuel used to power their engines. According to the Commission, this infringes EU tax rules, which do not allow such vessels to benefit from excise duty exemption. The Commission may send a reasoned opinion to the Italian authorities if they do not act within the next two months. Finally, the Commission has requested Romania to align its vehicle registration taxes with EU law. It has sent a letter of formal notice to Romania for what it says is Romania's failure to ensure the full and immediate refund of registration taxes on second-hand vehicles purchased from other EU member states. The Commission said that this infringes EU law because the Romanian rules do not fulfil the principles of sincere cooperation, equivalence, and effectiveness. Romania must act within the next two months, or the Commission may send a reasoned opinion to the authorities. UAE Issues Guidance On Reclaiming VAT On New House Builds by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus 22 May 2018 The United Arab Emirates' Federal Tax Authority has issued guidance on obtaining refunds of value-added tax (VAT) on new homes. Emirati nationals who incur VAT when building a residence for their exclusive use are entitled to a refund of VAT provided the VAT relates to construction costs. An application for refund of VAT should be made online. The first stage involves downloading, completing, and submitting a VAT refund form to the Authority within six months of completion of the construction works. Applicants who are entitled to a refund will be issued with a reference number. Applicants must then submit a VAT refund request, including the reference number, blueprints, and invoices to a verification body accredited by the Authority, with an announcement of such to be posted on the Authority's website. The verification body will then issue a "Verification Report" stating the amount of taxes paid versus the recoverable amount and send this to the Authority. The Authority will then process the final VAT refund request. No fees apply for VAT refund applications. A comprehensive guide on the VAT refund procedure is available in Arabic on the Authority's website. US CPAs Recommend Easing Tax Rules On Partners Of Audited Firms by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington 22 May 2018 The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has recommended that proposed regulations regarding the Centralized Partnership Audit Regime should provide "maximum flexibility" in adjusting the tax attributes of an audited partnership and its partners. Introduced in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, the new regime allows the IRS to audit the firm itself rather than each individual partner, in a bid to streamline the assessment of large partnerships such as private equity firms, hedge funds, and certified public accountants. The proposed IRS regulations, issued on February 2, 2018, provide rules addressing how and when partnerships and their partners adjust tax attributes to reflect audit adjustments under Internal Revenue Code Section 6225 of the Centralized Partnership Audit Regime. According to the AICPA, a partnership is generally liable for the net increase in tax, the "imputed underpayment," resulting from adjustments to items of income, gain, loss, deduction, or credit of a partnership during the year under audit. Under the proposed regulations, when a partnership pays the imputed underpayment, an exclusive list of tax attributes requires adjustment for adjustment year partners. Tax attributes include: the tax basis and book value of a partnership's property; amounts determined under Section 704(c) (which deals with the sharing of income, gain, loss, and deduction with respect to property contributed to the partnership by a partner); adjustment year partners' bases in their partnership interests; and adjustment year partners' capital accounts. The AICPA made the following recommendations related to the proposed regulations, that the IRS should: 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. Update (5/30): Consumer Reports now says the Model 3 has officially earned their recommendation. According to the outlet, Tesla has managed to reduce the vehicle's braking distance from 152ft to 133ft using a software over-the-air update. Tesla is facing more problems with its Model 3, but this time it isnt a manufacturing issue. Consumer Reports has said that it will not recommend the electric sedan due to several issues, the main one being its braking distances. The highly influential magazine said the car braked slower than a full-sized pick-up truck. Tesla estimates that the Model 3's 60MPH to zero braking distance is about 133 feet on average, but the publications tests only came near this distance once. It found 152 feet to be the average stopping distance, which was far worse than any contemporary car tested by the magazine and seven feet longer than that of a Ford F-150 pickup. To make sure the results werent related to the test car, a second Model 3 was put through the same examinations and showed almost identical stopping distances. Consumer Reports was also unhappy with the Model 3 controls, most of which are accessed via the large central touchscreen. "This layout forces drivers to take multiple steps to accomplish simple tasks," it wrote, adding that functions including adjusting the wing mirrors or the AC required interaction with the screen, thereby taking drivers eyes off the road. The outlet also took issue with the stiff ride, unsupportive rear seat and excessive wind noise at highway speeds. Tesla maintains that the Model 3's average braking distance is 133 feet using 18-inch Michelin all-season tires, and as low as 126 feet with all tires currently available. The company argues that Consumer Reports tests were affected by tire and environment temperatures, road surfaces, and past driving behavior. Unlike other vehicles, Tesla is uniquely positioned to address more corner cases over time through over-the-air software updates, and it continually does so to improve factors such as stopping distance, Tesla said. Jake Fisher, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports, suggested that if the braking performance was improved then the car could still earn the magazines approval. Some previous Tesla models havent impressed Consumer Reports, either; the Model X crossover SUV also missed out on a recommendation. Given all the press surrounding it, its easy to be confused. After all, if you believe everything you read, youd think were practically in an artificial intelligence (AI)-controlled world already, and its only a matter of time before the machines take over. Except, well, a quick reality check will easily show that that perspective is far from the truth. To be sure, AI has had a profound impact on many different aspects of our livesfrom smart personal assistants to semi-autonomous cars to chatbot-based customer service agents and much morebut the overall real-world influence of AI is still very modest. Part of the confusion stems from a misunderstanding of AI. Thanks to a number of popular, influential science fiction movies, many people associate AI with a smart, broad-based intelligence that can enable something like the nasty, people-hating world of Skynet from Terminator movies. In reality, however, most AI applications of today and the near future are very practicaland, therefore, much less exciting. Most AI-based activities are still extraordinarily literal. So, if theres an AI-based app that can recognize dogs in photos, for example, thats all it can do. Leveraging AI-based computer vision on a drone to notice a crack on an oil pipeline, for example, is a great real-world AI application, but its hardly the stuff of AI-inspired nightmares. Similarly, there are many other examples of very practical applications that can leverage the pattern recognition-based capabilities of AI, but do so in a real-world way that not only isnt scary, but frankly, isnt that far advanced beyond other types of analytics-based applications. Even the impressive Google Duplex demos from their recent I/O event may not be quite as awe-inspiring as they first appeared. Amongst many other issues, it turns out Duplex was specifically trained to just make haircut appointments and dinner reservationsnot doctors appointments, coordinating a night out with friends, or any of the multitude of other real-world scenarios that the voice assistant-driven phone calls that the Duplex demo implied were possible. Most AI-based activities are still extraordinarily literal. So, if theres an AI-based app that can recognize dogs in photos, for example, thats all it can do. It cant recognize other animal species, let alone distinct varieties, or serve as a general object detection and identification service. While its easy to presume that applications that can identify specific dog species offer similar intelligence across other objects, its simply not the case. Were not dealing with a general intelligence when it comes to AI, but a very specific intelligence thats highly dependent on the data that its been fed. I point this out not to denigrate the incredible capabilities that AI has already delivered across a wide variety of applications, but simply to clarify that we cant think about artificial intelligence in the same way that we do about human-type intelligence. AI-based advances are amazing, but they neednt be feared as a near-term harbinger of crazy, terrible, scary things to come. While Im certainly not going to deny the potential to create some very nasty outcomes from AI-based applications in a decade or two, in the near and medium-term future, theyre not only not likely, theyre not even technically possible. Instead, what we should concentrate on in the near-term is the opportunity to apply the very focused capabilities of AI onto important (but not necessarily groundbreaking) real-world challenges. This means things like improving the efficiency or reducing the fault rate on manufacturing lines or providing more intelligent answers to our smart speaker queries. There are also more important potential outcomes, such as more accurately recognizing cancer in X-rays and CAT scans, or helping to provide an unbiased decision about whether or not to extend a loan to a potential banking customer. Ultimately, we will see AI-based applications deliver an incredible amount of new capability, the most important of which, in the near-term, will be to make smart devices actually real-world smart. Along the way, its also important to think about the tools that can help drive a faster, more efficient AI experience. For many organizations, that means a growing concentration on new types of compute architectures, such as GPUs, FPGAs, DSPs, and AI-specific chip implementations, all of which have been shown to offer advantages over traditional CPUs in certain types of AI training and inferencing-focused applications. At the same time, its critically important to look at tools that can offer easier, more intelligible access to these new environments, whether that be software languages like Nvidias CUDA platform for GPUs, National Instruments LabView tool for programming FPGAs, and other similar tools. Ultimately, we will see AI-based applications deliver an incredible amount of new capability, the most important of which, in the near-term, will be to make smart devices actually real-world smart. Way too many people are frustrated by the lack of intelligence on many of their digital devices, and I expect to see many of the first key advances in AI to be focused on these basic applications. Eventually, well see a wide range of very advanced capabilities as well, but in the short term, its important to remember that the phrase artificial intelligence actually implies much less than it first appears. Bob ODonnell is the founder and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, LLC a technology consulting and market research firm. You can follow him on Twitter @bobodtech. This article was originally published on Tech.pinions. Comcast Xfinity Internet customers now have another option to consider when building out a mesh network. The ISP on Tuesday announced nationwide availability of xFi Pods, small adapters that plug into any electrical outlet and pair with the xFi Advanced Gateway or xFi Wireless Gateway to extend Wi-Fi coverage to hard-to-reach areas of your home. Eric Schaefer, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Broadband, Automation and Communications at Comcast, said their Gateway devices are incredibly powerful but they know some homes have a unique layout or are constructed of materials that can disrupt Wi-Fi coverage in some rooms. Wi-Fi is the oxygen for the digital home, Schaefer said, adding that their xFi Pods can blanket a home with great coverage and are simple to install. Using the xFi mobile app, customers can seamlessly add xFi Pods to their network by following the on-screen prompts. Once setup is complete, you can use the app to view the connection status of all of your Pods, see which devices are connected to the network, set parental controls and more. Of course, if youd prefer to take a less hands-on approach, the xFi Pods can self-monitor their performance and even heal themselves to deliver the best experience. Comcast is currently offering a three-pack of xFi Pods on its website and in Xfinity retail stores for $119 or a bundle of six for $199. The ISP says the smaller bundle is best for alleviating Wi-Fi connectivity issues in homes with three-four bedrooms and multiple stories while the larger pack should be suitable for homes with five or more bedrooms. Its worth noting that this is a one-time purchase; theres no recurring fee to use the xFi Pods. It seems China isn't the only country using facial recognition technologies to track down criminal suspects. According to documents obtained by the ACLU, Amazon is teaming up with police departments in a few key US states -- including Florida and Oregon -- to deploy their own brand of facial recognition tech for law enforcement purposes. This under-wraps technology, dubbed "Rekognition," reportedly contains a library of "tens of millions of faces," which allow it to track "up to" 100 individuals in a given image and analyze their identity. For privacy advocates, this is likely going to come as worrying news. Amazon's Web Services documentation says in "security and safety" applications, Rekognition will make it possible to identify "people of interest." Which individuals may fall under that category is not clarified in Amazon's documentation. ...the Washington County Sheriff's Office has already used Rekognition to reduce suspect identification time from several days down to mere minutes. Interestingly, Rekognition's deployment is not merely a future possibility; it's already occurred on at least one occasion. According to Amazon, the Washington County Sheriff's Office has already used Rekognition to reduce suspect identification time from several days down to mere minutes. "These improvements allow deputies in the field to receive the response to searches in near real time," Sherriff's Office Analyst Chris Adzima said in a statement. "This allows them to get the information they need and take action quickly. Seconds saved in the field can make the difference in saving a life." According to The Washington Post, law enforcement officials currently utilizing this technology aren't breaking the bank to access it. The outlet claims the Washington County Sheriff's office, in particular, only pays between $6 and $12 a month to use Rekognition. A group called Google You Owe Us has filed a class action (also called a representative action in the UK) lawsuit against the search giant for 3.2 billion pounds ($4.29 billion US). The organization is representing 4.4 million iPhone owners in the suit. The filing alleges that Google unlawfully collected peoples personal information by bypassing Apples iPhone default privacy settings. Information collected includes racial or ethnic origins, physical and mental health issues, political affiliations, sexuality, and social class. The plaintiffs claim that the Alphabet subsidiary gathered data through the Safari browser, using a method known as the Safari Workaround. According to Fortune, the technique uses an algorithm that allows developers to bypass Safaris default security settings, which block third-party tracking cookies. However, Google is asking the court to dismiss the case. It claims that there is no evidence that it obtained information through the Safari Workaround or that any information was disclosed to a third-party by such means. It also contends that a representative action is unsuitable for this claim since it is impossible to identify if claimants have been affected by the alleged actions. "The group said that Google used an algorithm that allowed developers to track a users browsing history and collect personal information." Hugh Tomlinson, a lawyer for the group, argues that the unlawful activity was originally exposed in 2012 by a PhD researcher and that at that time Google settled claims in the US for $39.5 million. Tomlinson contends that for this reason, the lawsuit has merit. According to the Independent, Anthony White, a lawyer representing the Mountain View, California company says the groups suit was brought only to pursue a campaign for accountability and retribution against Google. In other words, Google You Owe Us director Richard Lloyd has a personal vendetta against the company. The court should not permit a single person to co-opt the data protection rights of millions of individuals for the purpose of advancing a personal 'campaign' agenda and should not allow them to place the onus on individuals who do not wish to be associated with that campaign to take positive steps to actively disassociate themselves from it. If the court sides with the plaintiffs and awards the full amount asked for, each litigant in the class action would receive around 750 pounds (about $1,000 US). The hearing is expected to last through tomorrow. The Council of Electoral Experts of Latin America (CEELA) sent an observation mission to supervise Sunday's mock elections. | Read More Telstra still is yet to explain the cause of an outage on Monday which left thousands of Australians without phone or data services, as it nears its lowest share price in more than seven years. Telstra is still investigating the main cause of an outage for voice and data services on mobile devices, pointing to a software fault, while more analysts have joined the chorus tipping a dividend cut in the years ahead. An outage for Telstra's mobile customers marks the third major outage in May for the telco. Credit:James Davies A Telstra spokesman apologised for the outage, which started at 10am and disrupted 4G and 3G services, describing it as widespread with a large number of customers facing the disruption. Aussie Outage recorded more than 10,000 incidences on Monday morning, with hundreds of people taking to social media to report their inability to call out. The affected number is likely much higher. Former Pie Face store owner Marion Messih has told the royal commission of being "shattered," when she ended up having to pay off her sister-in-law's debt, due to a loan from Westpac that the financial ombudsman found should not have been granted. The royal commission on Tuesday zeroed in on bank lending to franchisee businesses, via two cases where banks were found to have made unsuitable loans to people buying franchise businesses. Former Pie Face store owner Marion Messih appeared before the royal commission on Tuesday. Credit:Simon Schluter Alongside Ms Messih's case, the commission heard of an ANZ Bank loan to a couple who opened a gelato kiosk in a shopping centre. The business plan relied on them selling about $55,000 a month worth of ice creams. Ms Messih said that in 2012, she quit her job and bought a Pie Face store in a Melbourne shopping centre with her sister-in-law. Their jointly-owned company borrowed $362,000 from Westpac to fund the purchase. 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. A 36-year-old woman is under police guard in hospital after a man was left fighting for his life following being severely burnt in suspicious circumstances in northern Melbourne on Wednesday morning. It is believed the 49-year-old man was asleep alone in an upstairs bedroom of the Macleod home when his wife allegedly walked in and poured accelerant onto him before igniting it. Investigators are yet to confirm the source of the fire. The MFB and paramedics attended the fire at a home on Wattle Drive in Macleod at 5.40am. The director of a Canberra law firm has been ordered to pay a $20,000 fine for failing to pay superannuation to employees. John Nicholl, who is listed online as the managing director of Canberra Legal Group, was publicly reprimanded by the ACT Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal (ACAT) after admitting breaches to superannuation laws. Senior Member Graeme Lunney, SC, fined Mr Nicholl and imposed a number of conditions on his practising certificate, including he hire an accountant to provide monthly compliance reports to the Law Society for one year regarding payment of the superannuation guarantee. "The respondent's practising certificate shall be immediately suspended until he complies with the orders," Mr Lunney ordered. Mr Nicholl was also ordered to pay the Law Society's costs. The Australian National University expects to shatter its own stargazing Guinness World Record on Wednesday, and is urging Canberrans with stars in their eyes to turn their eyes to the sky. The university set the record for the most people stargazing across multiple venues in August 2015, when 7960 people across 37 locations in Australia stared simultaneously at the night sky. ANU astronomy professor Dr Brad Tucker said more than 3100 people had already pre-registered for the ANU location of Wednesday night's Guinness World Record attempt for the most people stargazing across multiple venues. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong Dr Brad Tucker, from the ANU's research school of astronomy and astrophysics, said he expected that mark would be easily eclipsed on Wednesday. "Already, we've got 3100 people signed up for the Canberra event alone, and we have more than 250 sites nationally this time," Dr Tucker said. Former Queensland premier Campbell Newman has taken a swipe at police after a woman was killed by a bus, saying their response created traffic chaos in the city. Ann Street was shut and traffic was diverted onto other city roads after the woman was killed as she tried to cross the road about 7am on Tuesday. Many bus services were delayed due to congestion, with TransLink warning passengers to expect half-hour delays. Credit:Glenn Hunt "There must be a better way for the Qld Police to deal with a tragic pedestrian death than to shut down the entire northern side of Brisbane and create total and utter chaos extending more than 5km from the CBD," Mr Newman tweeted. The tweet was swiftly blasted by other users on the social media site, with a chorus of offended users accusing the former premier of lacking respect and compassion and only being concerned about himself. A 31-year-old Carina woman has been charged over the alleged arson of a police patrol car outside a police station in Brisbanes south early on Wednesday morning. The woman was also charged with the alleged attempted arson of a second police car on Tuesday evening. Police allege on Tuesday evening about 5pm, the woman entered the Carina Police Station car park and poured an accelerant on the ground near a marked police car before running away. On Wednesday morning firefighters were called to Knowsley Street at Greenslopes to find the police car well alight outside Coorparoo Police Station about 6.40am, a QFES 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. It's not often we get the chance to use the tag ''world exclusive'', but when our South Asia correspondent, James Massola, snared the first interview with former Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim just prior to Anwar's release from jail, we took the opportunity. James was somewhat excited by the scoop, and I'm sure he won't mind me sharing the text messages he sent to me. He's got bigger things to worry about now anyway as his wife is about to give birth to twins. "World exclusive baby! First time I've ever been able to say that. Beaten the WSJ, Reuters, BBC, Al Jazeera, the Oz, the ABC ... everyone." He doesn't usually address me as baby, by the way. "I'm more than a little bit excited. I've been sweating on this since Saturday." "Haven't had a day off for more than two weeks but fark it's worth it when you get these sorts of stories." Dramatic footage has been shown in court of an elderly man allegedly blasting a double-barrelled shotgun at a sex worker in broad daylight outside a brothel. Domenico Natale, 88, was on Tuesday committed to stand trial for attempted murder after the woman was shot at as she walked into Romantics in Brunswick about 10am one day last July. Domenico Natale arrives at court on Tuesday. Credit:AAP Vivid CCTV footage of the incident was played when Natale faced a pre-trial hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, showing the street outside the brothel. It shows a man in a suit, allegedly Natale, getting out of an orange sedan with a long gun in his hands before firing two shots while standing in the driveway of Romantics. One of three men accused of killing their housemate called police and told them the alleged victim was in a headlock as a dispute over eviction and rent money at an Airbnb property in Melbourne's south-east turned violent, a court has been told. Officers arrived at the Brighton East house soon after the call to find a man lying in the front yard and three men crouching over him. Ramis Jonuzi. Two police constables told Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday that they saw Ramis Jonuzi lying face down outside a Brighton East house on the night of October 25 last year, as the three men stood upright and began moving away. Mr Jonuzi, 33, could not be revived and died at the scene. Investigators believe he was choked. "We are aware that this will be a very difficult time for our staff and we are working proactively with them to explore redeployment and relocation opportunities at other Healthscope locations," chief executive Gordon Ballantyne said in a statement. Healthscope says it is in the process of contacting patients who are currently at the hospital or have future treatment planned, to try and ensure their care is not impacted. Bernice Hitchins, who had travelled from Drouin to Kew on Tuesday afternoon to attend her first appointment with a specialist at Cotham Hospital, said she was disappointed to hear it would close. She would have to travel see a specialist in future, she said. Im very sad, because to go to the Royal Melbourne is just too far, Ms Hitchins said. Richard and Pat Wood had come from Ferntree Gully for Mr Woods specialist appointment. In future he would have to go into the city or the Epworth for appointments, they said. Health Workers Union organiser Ray Collins said many of the hospitals employees such as cleaners, kitchen staff and administrative staff, had been there so long they had worked under three successive owners. Mr Collins said employees would be offered redeployment or redundancy, but he feared very few were likely to be offered another role within the organisation. Richard and Pat Wood leaving hospital on Tuesday. Credit:Justin McManus He said he had heard rumours in recent months about job losses, but that management had dismissed them. The staff have been worried for months, he said. In the statement, Healthscope said a review of the company's 45 hospitals found its Victorian hospital portfolio had "underperformed relative to the rest of the group". "We conducted an exhaustive evaluation of alternatives but unfortunately it is simply not viable to continue operations into the future," said Mr Ballantyne. Geelong Private Hospital. He said the closure of Geelong Private Hospital reflected a "changed healthcare environment in Geelong and the surrounding region". "Significant new hospital infrastructure has been built in Geelong in recent years and this has led to an oversupply of capacity with intense competition," he said. "Healthscope explored several options including re-purposing or re-developing the hospital, however none of these were viable considering the hospital's current site and services." He said there was also limited potential to redevelop or re-purpose the site of the Kew private hospital to support the delivery of healthcare services going forward. Healthscope chief executive Gordon Ballantyne. Credit:Pat Scala The Victorian branch of the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation, which represents almost 3000 nurses, midwives and carers at Victorian Healthscope sites, has been seeking urgent information about mass redundancies from the company for more than a month. The secretary of the federation's Victorian branch Lisa Fitzpatrick said it would be a tough time for staff. Loading "The closure of these health facilities and the loss of hundreds of jobs are incredibly distressing for our members and their families. This distress has been compounded by rumours that a number of Healthscope facilities are to close," she said. The federation will hold meetings at both hospitals on Wednesday. Healthscope denied its two suitors access to due diligence on Tuesday, saying in a statement its board believed proposals from a BGH Capital Fund-led consortium and Canada's Brookfield Asset Management undervalued the company in various areas. The Melbourne-based company runs 19 hospitals in Victoria, including Frankston Private Hospital, Ringwood Private Hospital, and La Trobe Private Hospital in Bundoora. Health Minister Jill Hennesey blamed the closure on the Liberal partys failure to deliver on an election promise to build a second public hospital in Geelong before the 2010 election. "They broke a promise, signing up to a dud deal that lined the coffers of another private provider that has ultimately caused this hospital to close," she said. Opposition health spokeswoman Mary Wooldridge said she feared the impending closure of the Geelong hospital would put more stress on the public hospital system. Barwon Health is already bursting at the seams, so the Health Minister needs to ensure that the closure of Geelong Private does not result in reduced access or quality of care at the public hospital," Ms Wooldridge said. Barwon Health, which operates Geelong Hospital, has indicated it would welcome applications from Healthscope workers who were made redundant. "We encourage staff affected to apply for positions at Barwon Health when they become available," said director of public affairs and communications Kate Bibby. The Geelong hospital, opened in 1998, has 107 beds and employs 293 people who provide acute surgical, cardiac and medical care. Cotham Private Hospital, opened in 1970, has 60 patient beds and a 12-bed rehab program, and employs 124 people. Some of Victorias leading lawyers have attacked the Andrews governments decision to jail anyone who injures an emergency services worker, accusing Labor of stripping judges of their discretion. The "special reasons" exception which has been used by criminals to avoid jail after attacking police, paramedics or prison or youth justice officers will be narrowed even further so that drugs and alcohol can no longer be used as an excuse. Sentencing Advisory Council chair Arie Freiberg warned on Tuesday that removing exemptions from mandatory sentencing on people who attack and injure emergency services workers would not make the community safer. I think its a measure designed to assuage public concern but might be ineffective, unfair and unproductive, he said. This is an opportunity to put party politics aside and join together for the benefit of WA. Delivering the ASA headquarters to our great State would be something to celebrate, and will bring enormous flow-on effects for WA in terms of innovation and industry. For the time being the agency will be headquartered in Canberra that makes sense, according to Curtin University professor Phil Bland. Professor Bland pointed to the American NASA model, which has its HQ in Washington, DC, while major centres can be found in places like Houston, Texas, and Cape Canaveral, Florida. He touted the benefits of access to intellectual capital in Canberra and proximity to government as reasons it could host the head of the agency, but said there was a great case for having a WA space centre. And Professor Bland would know he heads up the Desert Fireball Network, a project dedicated to studying meteorites and other fireballs in the sky which, among many achievements, made headlines when they tracked a 1.15kg meteorite as it fell to earth, recovering it within days from farmland near Morawa. However, as a senior academic overseas, Professor Bland also contributed to the conversation around the establishment of the UK Space Agency and said there were comparisons between that and the establishment of the Australian counterpart. The goal, Professor Bland said, was to unite academia with industry further reinforcing the benefit of investment in space research. Its just a great intellectual innovation pipeline that feeds into industries, he said. 'The best stargazing country in the world' Broome astronomer Greg Quicke knows a thing or two about our southern skies. Having brought the universe to the Australias loungerooms on ABCs Stargazing Live, the man warmly referred to as Space Gandalf for his flowing hair and beard to match is passionate about people experiencing the mysteries of worlds beyond our own. And he is excited for Australia to have its own space agency. Broome astronomer Greg Quicke is excited about the establishment of the Australian Space Agency. Credit:Twitter The way people think is Australia is big, and I think that suits the whole space ethos, Quicke said. To keep that sort of industry in Australia rather than sending our scientists off overseas to do this sort of thing I think its a great thing to do. As someone who has spent decades sharing his love of the sky with others through Stargazing Live, and his own Astro Tours business, Quicke said the case was strong for WA to host a national space agency. Weve got access to the equator, which makes launch facilities possible and Ive heard of a few different places up in the Kimberley, where I am, touted as being ideal for setting up a launch facility, he said. And weve got the room to do it as well. Australias got some of the best stargazing country in the world. A history of helping make history WA is not a newcomer to the space race in fact, the state has a long history of supporting mankinds quest to learn more about the universe. Perth famously became known as the city of lights when astronaut John Glenn the first American to orbit the earth passed over and saw the city glow as residents turned on their lights at home, waved torches in backyards and parked cars on hills with headlights on full. Up north the Carnarvon tracking station, while now discontinued, played a crucial role tracking NASA's Gemini missions the precursors to the Apollo program that eventually took astronauts to the moon and back. Carnarvon went on to have a hand in the subsequent Apollo and Skylab missions, and the towns Overseas Telecommunications Commission Satellite Earth Station was responsible for relaying the live broadcast of Neil Armstrongs momentous first steps on the moon to Perth TV audiences. The OTC station and its Casshorn antenna can still be found Carnarvon, however it is now home to the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum which astronaut Buzz Aldrin visited on its opening in 2012. In more recent times, the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory has allowed researchers to peer back through the veil of time and shed light on the history of our universe. Next door, the Murchison Widefield Array one of four telescopes soon to be joined together with sites across the globe for the Square Kilometre Array was recently upgraded to provide 10 times the power and search even further into the depths of space. On announcing the upgrade earlier this year, John Curtin Distinguished Professor Steven Tingay said the MWA had already played a role in more than 100 scientific papers and some 5000 citations. And when the first confirmed visitor from outside our solar system streaked past the sun late last year, Murchison once again leapt into action to help track the asteroid dubbed Oumuamua throughout its sojourn. Industry ready for takeoff While the Australian Space Agency is clearly in its infancy, Professor Bland believes there is a great case for the establishment of a centre in WA. He points to achievements like the MWA as well as the New Norcia Tracking Station, which tracked and received data from the European Space Agencys Rosetta spacecraft as examples of our states space infrastructure. And, like astronomer Greg Quicke, Professor Bland sees an opportuntiy for WA to play a starring role in sending rockets skywards. Weve got the potential if we want to go down that road WAs a great location for a launch site, he said. Interest in our states spacegoing potential has already come from overseas, and the announcement of the Australian Space Agency has renewed hopes for a multi-user spaceport in WA. Ukraine submitted a concept proposal to build a spaceport in WA in 2016, flagging potential to construct a multi-user site of about 5000-7000sq km, or a mobile marine platform that would allow rockets to be launched from the ocean. Previously, Ukraine had used the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for its international launches, but that came to an end after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. Mary Jardine Clarke, West Australian European Business Association president and the representative State Space Agency of Ukraine, said the WA government was approached to gauge interest in the construction of a spaceport which could share use with other countries. Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates were flagged as countries which could share use of an Australian spaceport, Ms Clarke said, all with comparable space programs to Australia. Theres a lot of public interest in making this happen, she said, and WA was the most formidable space corridor in Australia. The 2016 proposal was met with lukewarm interest as governments dragged their feet, but Ms Clarke saw potential in Australias new space agency. She agreed a headquarters in Canberra made sense, especially when keeping cyber-security concerns in mind, but hoped state governments would be brought into the fold to capitalise on strong local resources. Ms Clarke pointed to the aerospace defence work at South Australias Woomera site and the propulsion tech centres in Queensland as examples. Let these centres of excellence thrive and bring state governments on board, she said. The population flow between Perth and the rest of WA has fallen to its lowest rate in decades, new analysis of long-term Census data shows. On raw numbers, fewer people are decamping from Perth to the rest of WA than at any time since the early 1980s. As a percentage of Perths population, the outflow has halved. The number of WA people moving to Perth has consistently overshadowed the number of people moving from Perth. But the numbers coming into the city have also fallen from their peaks in the early 1990s. The figures reveal how WAs population flows have changed, as interstate and international migration makes up a bigger percentage of movements. When two massive black holes circle each other and spiral inwards towards their inevitable collision what follows is a ripple in the very fabric of space-time itself: gravitational waves. Because the waves race past earth so quickly tenths of a second scientists need the most accurate and reliable tools available to measure the phenomenon. An artist's impression of two black holes merging. Credit:LIGO This is where University of WA professor David Blair comes in. Professor Blair led a team of researchers to develop methods to control instabilities in the extremely powerful lasers at the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory more commonly known as LIGO and in 2015 their efforts bore fruit. 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. Julie Bishop says she raised with her Chinese counterpart all the reported pressure tactics that Beijing has been using against Australias trade interests and she now expects them to stop. Australias Foreign Affairs Minister also confirmed that the Chinese regime had used the much-anticipated meeting to complain to her about Canberras proposed foreign interference laws. Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi had raised the concern that it was aimed at China, Ms Bishop told Fairfax Media. I assured him that it was not, that it was the sort of legislation a number of other countries have in place as well. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop with State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Buenos Aires on Monday. Credit:Australian Embassy In their meeting that ran for an hour and a quarter on the sidelines of a G20 foreign affairs ministers meeting in Argentina, we talked candidly and openly, Ms Bishop said. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will allow her MPs a conscience vote on the issue of exclusion zones around abortion clinics, increasing the likelihood that the bill will pass through both houses. The premier's decision emerged out of a Coalition partyroom meeting on Tuesday, where government MPs discussed how to proceed with a joint Labor-Nationals bill on safe access zones. The bill, which will be debated in the upper house of Thursday, proposes establishing 150-metre safe access zones around abortion clinics, with penalties including potential jail time for people caught harassing people inside the zones. Gladys Berejiklian will allow her MPs a conscience vote on the issue of exclusion zones around abortion clinics. Credit:Jessica Hromas National MPs will also be entitled to a conscience vote. 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". Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meets Julie Bishop for an "unofficial" meeting on sidelines of G20. Credit:Chinese foreign ministry According to a cool statement from China, released on Tuesday afternoon in Beijing, Foreign minister Wang Yi told Ms 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. Kuala Lumpur: Embattled former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak arrived at the headquarters of the country's anti-corruption commission on Tuesday, under orders to explain a suspicious transfer of nearly $14 million into his bank account. Summoned: former Malaysian PM Najib Razak, centre, arrives at Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Credit:AP The sum is just a fraction of billions of dollars allegedly siphoned from state fund 1MDB, a scandal that dogged the last three years of Najib's near-decade-long rule and was one of the main reasons why voters dumped him in an election on May 9. That shock election result upended Malaysia's political order, as it was the first defeat for a coalition that had governed the south-east Asian nation since its independence from colonial rule in 1957. Washington: A woman was found guilty on 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 $US500 fine, not contact the Cox family, and stay 500 feet (154 metres) away from their home. If she does not comply, she could owe another $US500. Vice President Mike Pence and Chris Cox, right, executive director of the National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action. Credit:AP 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, DC. Washington: US President Donald Trump offered Senator Bob Corker the chance to be the US ambassador to Australia, but the Republican lawmaker, currently chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Monday he turned the position down. "At the end of the day, I just felt like it wasn't the right fit and I still had work to do in the Senate," Corker said in a telephone interview. The United States has not had an ambassador in Australia since September 2016. Australia is an important US partner on issues ranging from China's military expansionism and North Korea's nuclear program to the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan and the absence of such a high-profile representative has been felt in foreign policy circles. Senator Bob Corker. Credit:AP Trump in February picked US Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris to be his top diplomat in Canberra, but instead nominated Harris this month to be ambassador to South Korea, another long-vacant post. NORFOLK, Va., May 21, 2018; The ITS Alpino, a Fincantieri-built frigate sailing under the Italian flag, made landfall in Norfolk. The ITS Alpino, a FREMM-class frigate, is a model of the ship the U.S. Navy is considering for the FFG(X) future frigate program. FREMM frigates are the only ships in the competition that have been proven in combat, having helped to destroy a Syrian chemical weapons facility in April. "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 Justin.Platt@edelman.com. "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 China Cuts Autos and Parts Import Tariffs Beijing, China May 22, 2018; REUTERS reported that China announced it will Import tariffs will be cut to 15 percent from 25 percent for most vehicles from July 1, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday, adding that this was part of efforts to open up Chinas markets and spur development of the local auto sector. A small number of imported trucks are taxed at 20 percent currently. Import tariffs for auto parts would be cut to 6 percent from mostly around 10 percent, the ministry said in a statement. The move will be a major boost to overseas carmakers, especially helping premium brands such as Germanys BMW (BMWG.DE), electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Daimler AGs (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz close a price gap on local rivals. Benefits are huge for our business, especially Infiniti, said a Yokohama-based executive at Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) referring to the Japanese firms premium car brand. Another executive at the firms Chinese joint venture said it was great news but that the biggest beneficiaries would likely be German luxury carmakers, which also include Volkswagen AGs (VOWG_p.DE) Porsche and Audi (NSUG.DE) brands. Complete story Posters in Dublin urging passerby to either vote Yes or No. Photo: Artur Widak/AFP/Getty Images While we face increasing threats to our reproductive rights in the States, pregnant women in Ireland still cant obtain a legal abortion the vast majority of the time. The practice is criminalized even in cases of rape, incest, and fatal fetal abnormalities and punishable by up to 14 years in prison for any person undergoing or administering an illegal procedure. The United Nations has recently denounced the countrys abortion laws as cruel and inhumane. At long last, this may finally change. When Prime Minister Leo Varadkar took office in 2017, he announced that there would be a referendum to determine whether to lift Irelands long-standing abortion ban. On Friday, voters will take to the polls to vote yes to repeal the law, or no to keep it as is. While Ireland awaits a decision in what could be a crucial turning point for reproductive freedom, heres what to know about this fight and what may come next. The current law has been in place for 35 years. Abortion has technically been illegal in Ireland since 1861, as part of the larger Offences Against the Person Act. But in 1983, conservative parties in a move strongly supported by the Catholic Church worked to get an abortion ban enshrined in their constitution. The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution read as follows when it was first passed: The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right. Essentially, this made the life of the woman and her fetus equal in the eyes of the law. Abortion restrictions have loosened very slightly over time. In 1992, two referendums passed to add language to the amendment to clarify that the law could not prevent women from traveling out of the country to get abortions. It also became explicitly legal to obtain and provide information about receiving an abortion abroad. In 2013, Ireland passed an act allowing a woman to get a legal abortion if her life was deemed at risk including by suicide. Protesters at Dublins 2017 March for Choice. Photo: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images Even so, women have found ways to get abortions in Ireland though its difficult, expensive, and theyre not always safe. According to the Ireland Family Planning Association, data from the U.K. Department of Health shows that 168,703 Irish women are recorded as having traveled to the U.K. alone to obtain an abortion between the years of 19802016. As Siobhan Silke of IFPA told the Cut, even more women are likely taking abortion pills they ordered online, which can be highly risky. Girls and women are taking the pills at home alone and not telling anybody. Theyre taking them without medical supervision and abortion pills are generally safe, but they should be taken under medical supervision, she explained. Not only are women and girls taking them at home alone and not telling anybody, theyre not going for check-ups afterwards. Several high-profile, horrific cases have highlighted the desperate need for reformed reproductive rights. There are several instances that have ignited public outcry over the years, including these two prominent ones. First, the X Case in 1992, in which a 14-year-old girl was raped by a family friend. Her family was planning to take her to the U.K. for an abortion and asked authorities if they could test the fetal remains so as to have evidence against her rapist. Instead, the authorities blocked her from leaving Ireland. The Supreme Court eventually ruled in her favor, as evidence showed that she was suicidal, but she ended up miscarrying before the procedure was performed. There was also the tragic 2012 story of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar, who died after a highly painful septic miscarriage. When it became clear that pregnancy loss was inevitable, she requested a termination but was refused on the grounds that a fetal heartbeat could still be detected. (A midwife famously told her Ireland is a Catholic Country by way of explanation.) After seven days, Halappanavar died of cardiac arrest as a result of the septic infection. She was 31. Fridays referendum would not immediately legalize abortion. What a repeal would do is pave the way for new abortion legislation. A proposed bill would allow abortions without restriction for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Women facing serious health problems would have until 24 weeks to terminate a pregnancy; after that time frame, there would need to be a risk to her health or of fatal fetal abnormalities. Medical practitioners would still have the option to conscientiously object. This vote is so important, people are flying home for it. There have been numerous pro- and anti-choice marches and rallies, as well as strong campaigning all around in the lead-up to the vote. But perhaps most telling of this moments significance is that Irish citizens living elsewhere are planning to fly home just to vote for either side. And polls show the yeses leading. The repeal holds a lead in most polls albeit a narrow one. But according to Siobhan Silke, cultural attitudes toward abortion have changed widely in Ireland over time. The word abortion can be spoken out loud now, in a way it really wasnt in the past, Silke said. We are just becoming more understanding and compassionate about other peoples real lives and other peoples real lived experiences. Yemeni tribesmen from the Popular Resistance Committees, supporting forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed President, hold a position during fighting against Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies on June 30, 2017 in the area of Sirwah, west of Marib city. Six soldiers were killed in Yemen on June 29, a military source said, as government forces seek to cement their control over Marib province, east of the rebel-held capital. (ABDULLAH AL-QADRY/AFP/Getty Images) 5 Killed, 20 Wounded by Houthi Missile in Yemen RIYADHAt least five people were killed and 20 wounded by a Houthi missile fired at the Yemeni city of Marib, security and medical sources told Reuters on Tuesday. Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya reported earlier that a Houthi Katyusha missile targeted a residential neighbourhood in city centre of Marib, which falls under control of the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, Hadis government has been battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement since 2015 in a war that has driven the country to the verge of famine. The United Nations says 10,000 people have died in the three-year-old war, and three out of four Yemenis 22 million civilians need relief aid. How state capitalism in hurting both the Chinese people and the communist states trade partners WATCH: Death by ChinaHow America lost its Manufacturing Base By Professor Peter Navarro Navarro currently serves as assistant to the President, Director of Trade and Industrial Policy, Director of the White House National Trade Council Adorable Toddler Has Uncombable Hair Syndrome and Is Nicknamed Einstein 2 by Her Parents An Illinois toddler has been diagnosed with a rare condition that makes her gravity-defying hair literally impossible to tame. At 17 months, Taylor McGowan is one of a handful of children around the world with a known case of Uncombable Hair Syndrome (UHS). It causes the tots bright white hair to stand on end. At first we thought we would just put a bit of water and comb it down, but it pops back up, said the girls mother, Cara McGowan. She said she has tried all kinds of styling products, but nothing can control Taylors messy mane. In total, we have tried all kinds of products, maybe 15 different things. We have tried hairspray, gel, mousse. In the end, we just gave up and dressed her up as Albert Einstein for Halloween, said McGowan. The couple contacted professor Regina Betz at the University of Bonn in Germany, who conducts research into UHS. According to Betzs team at the Institute for Human Genetics, the syndrome is caused by a mutation to one of three genePADI3, TGM3, and TCHH. The defect impairs the interaction of the structural protein that gives hair its shape and strength. This gives hair follicles a triangular, heart or kidney-shaped cross section, resulting in uniquely frizzy hair. Taylor attracts crowds wherever she goes. We are really not able to go anywhere without comments or questions from strangers, some of which are not always kind. Many people will ask if our daughter has stuck her fingers in a light socket or if we have done something with her hair, said McGowan. While most people are friendly, McGowan said she has been accused of bleaching her daughters hair. Most people compliment her, but others wonder if it is bleached or damaged and some people online have asked if she is mixed race or has African-American genetics, said McGowan. She said some comments are downright mean. One day we were at our local pediatricians office and a woman with her daughter started pointing and laughing and saying, Look, how funny her hair looks. It was upsetting. Its a form of bullying. We do hope we can spread a message of awareness for people who are different, Taylors mom said. But the family loves her unique look and have nicknamed her Einstein 2.0 after the scientist, whose shock of static white hair is also rumored to have been caused by UHS. I absolutely love Taylors hair. I personally think it is gorgeous and it matches her personality because she is outgoing and free, McGowan said. Taylor was born with no hair but began sprouting tufts of soft baby fuzz when she was around 5 months old. Rather than falling out and growing back straight and brown, like her parents hair, Taylors bright blond locks grew and grew. Full-time mom McGowan, a former mental health worker, said, At one point we had a chat with my mother-in-law who said, There is a photo on the internet that looks like Taylor.' We laughed and brushed it off and thought, Theres no way our child would have this ultra rare condition,' she said. But we waited for her hair to lay flat and it didnt. Genetic testing revealed that both parents carry a mutation of the PADI3 gene, which Taylor inherited. Since the diagnosis, the couple has started sharing their daughters journey on her Facebook page, Einstein 2.0 UHS Awareness. We want her to know she is beautiful and perfect and that everybody is unique. We want her to embrace it and love herself just the way she is, Taylors mom said. Watch Next: Video of What Georgia Dad Does for His Infant Son Goes Viral Black Woman Pulled Over by Cop for SpeedingCalls His Boss Skinhead After What Cop Does to Her A public official was caught on camera using foul language and calling a police chief a skinhead. Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad, a member of the South Orange-Maplewood School Board in New Jersey, can be can be heard using profanity after being issued with tickets by South Orange police officer Shaun Horst. When Horst tells her she is getting court summons for speeding and not having a valid insurance card, Lawson-Muhammad responds: for me to have to go to court, for me to have to go to court, now you want me to go to court? I dont want to go to court. I have insurance. She explains to the officer that, having just been on the phone with her husband, he was able to send over a picture of the valid insurance card, Horst replied that he cannot void a ticket that has already been written. To this, Lawson-Muhammad says she call Sheenaand your skinhead cop chief, too,which appears to refer to high-ranking town officials South Orange Village President Sheena Collum and village Police Chief Kyle Kroll. In a prior part of the dashcam video, Lawson-Muhammad, who is black, can also be heard telling the police officer that shes scared of cops because you guys hurt black people. At one point, the officer asks her if she needs an ambulance because she appears to be having a panic attack. She responds that she does not, and says, thats an insult, and subsequently uses profanity. Lawson-Muhammad and Maplewood South Orange School Board spokesperson Suzanne Turner did not respond to requests for comment, reports NJ.com. Walter Fields, Chairman of local advocacy group the Black Parents Workshop, condemned Lawson-Muhammads actions via a statement (pdf) on May 16: Ms. Lawson-Muhammad must issue a public apology to this officer. Given the lengths to which efforts are underway nationwide and locally to address the real issue of police brutality against African Americans, it is appalling that this Board Member would conduct herself in this way, he said in the statement. The group called for her resignation from the board. The statement says: The officer should be commended for his professionalism, demeanor and the respect he showed a citizen who immediately tried to use her position to intimidate him. Watch Next: Man Rescues Toddler From Underneath a Train Carriage Only two seconds passed between the girl going under and Pol pulling her to safety. Visitors pass in front of the Chinese telecoms equipment firm ZTE, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on February 26, 2018. (Yves Herman/File Picture/Reuters) China, US Near Deal on ZTE Reprieve; Beijing Cuts Auto Tariffs BEIJINGWashington neared a deal to lift its ban on U.S. firms supplying Chinese telecoms firm ZTE, sources said on May 22. Meanwhile, Beijing announced tariff cuts on car imports, further easing trade tensions between the worlds two largest economies. The reprieve for ZTE, which was hit by a seven-year U.S. ban in April that had crippled its operations, could include China removing tariffs on imported U.S. agricultural products, as well as buying more American farm goods, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters. The sources declined to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Representatives for the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments did not immediately reply to a request for comment. White House representatives also did not immediately reply. ZTE, based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Washington and Beijing stepped back from the brink of a full-blown trade war after talks last week, with the two countries releasing a joint statement promising that China would import more U.S. energy and agricultural commodities. Meanwhile, negotiators are discussing opening Chinas market to more U.S. access and having the regime make commitments to intellectual property protections, according to a senior U.S. official involved in the talks. Amid U.S.-China negotiations, last week President Donald Trump made concessions by promising to help ZTE get back into business, fast. Meanwhile, the steep cut in import tariffs for autos and car parts follows Chinas pledge last month to open its car market, the worlds largest, which also included a timeline to remove long-standing caps on foreign ownership of automotive ventures. Import tariffs will be cut to 15 percent for most vehicles, from 25 percent, beginning July 1, Chinas Ministry of Finance said, a move likely to boost carmakers that ship high-end cars to China, such as Tesla and German giants BMW and Daimler AGs Mercedes-Benz. Tariffs for auto parts would be cut to 6 percent from about 10 percent. Handshake Deal White House advisers have previously said the ban against ZTE was being reexamined, and the firm would still face harsh punishment, including enforced changes of management and at the board level. One source told Reuters there was a handshake deal on ZTE between U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He during talks in Washington last week, which would drop the ban in exchange for China purchasing more U.S. farm products. A second source said China might also eliminate tariffs on U.S. agriculture products it assessed in response to U.S. steel duties, and that ZTE could still be forced to replace its leadership, among other penalties. The ZTE deal, while not yet cemented, was likely to be finalized before or during a planned trip by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to Beijing next week to help reach a broader pact to avert a trade war, both sources said. ZTE, which is publicly traded but whose largest shareholder is a Chinese state-owned enterprise, had been hit with penalties for breaking a 2017 agreement after it was caught illegally shipping U.S. goods to Iran and North Korea, in an investigation dating to the previous U.S. administration. A 2016 report released by a Chinese regime-affiliated think tank found that ZTE purchased 53 percent of chips they used in making their products from American firms, worth $3.1 billion. Chinese officials had made ZTE a key focus of their demands during talks in Beijing this month, threatening to halt talks on broader two-way trade disputes unless Washington agreed to ease the sanctions, sources said at the time. Chinese officials had viewed the U.S. punishment as an attack exposing their countrys dependence on imports of key technologies. Washington and Beijing both claimed victory in trade talks on May 21 as the worlds two largest economies agreed to hold further talks to boost U.S. exports to China. China promised to narrow the $335 billion annual trade surplus it possesses with the United States, but did not specify to what amount, while details and a firm timeline were thin. The Chinese regimes top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, will stop in Washington on May 23 on his way back from Argentina to exchange views on China-U.S. bilateral relations, Chinas Foreign Ministry said on May 22. By Michael Martina. Epoch Times staff member Annie Wu contributed to this report. The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. Foam Spews From Dandenong CreekAuthorities are Still Investigating The content is not available due to expiration. CNN's Will Ripley talks to the media after arriving at the airport to board a plane to North Korea in Beijing, China, May 22, 2018. (Reuters/Thomas Peter) Foreign Media Arrive in North Korea To Witness Nuclear Shutdown BEIJINGAbout two dozen journalists from Western and Chinese news organizations arrived in North Korea on Tuesday to witness the closure of its nuclear test site, an indication that the shutdown will go ahead amid renewed diplomatic uncertainty. North Korea invited a handful of media to witness the dismantling of the Punggye-ri site this week but not technical experts, even though the United States has called for a permanent and irreversible closure that can be inspected and fully accounted for. Isolated North Koreas offer to scrap the test site was seen as a key concession in months of easing tension between Pyongyang and its long-time bitter rivals, South Korea and the United States. However, the improving diplomatic environment has hit a rocky patch, with North Korea threatening last week to pull out of a planned June 12 summit in Singapore between leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump. South Korean president Moon Jae-in was scheduled to meet Trump in Washington later on Tuesday, as U.S. officials try to figure out whether North Korea, which has pursued nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. sanctions, is serious about negotiating a deal on denuclearization. Journalists from the Associated Press, CNN, CBS, Russia Today, and Chinese state media outlets were among those seen checking in at Beijing Capital International Airport to catch the Air Koryo flight to North Korea. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the group had arrived at the airport in the east coast city of Wonsan. Numerous other news organisations, including Reuters, had also sought to cover the shutdown of the Norths nuclear test site but were denied invitations. South Korea expressed regret that its journalists had not been included after earlier being invited. Nonetheless, the government pays due attention to the fact that the Norths pledge to dismantle the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, an initial measure for denuclearization, is proceeding as planned, and expects that such action to lead to the successful hosting of the North Korea-U.S. summit, South Koreas Unification Ministry said in a statement. Last month, Moon and Kim held a historic summit at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two countries. North and South Korea are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. North Korea has rejected unilateral disarmament and given no indication that it is willing to go beyond statements of broad support for the concept of universal denuclearization. It has said in previous, failed talks that it could consider giving up its arsenal if the United States provides security guarantees by removing its 28,500 troops from South Korea and withdraws its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from South Korea and neighboring Japan. By Martin Quin Pollard Watch Next: Trump: My Proudest Achievement Would be Denuclearizing Korean Peninsula Students at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology graduation ceremony in a sports stadium in Wuhan City, in China's central Hubei Province, on June 20, 2017. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) Leaked Document Reveals Informant Culture on Chinas Campuses A leaked document circulating on the Chinese internet recently demonstrates how the Chinese Communist Party stifles dissent in academia and encourages Chinese citizens to inform on each other. The document, a letter addressed from the Party organization of the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law located in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, to Chinas Ministry of Education, described an incident involving a faculty member. According to the document, Di Jiehong, an associate professor who teaches public management at Zhongnan University, gave a lecture on April 25, whereby she expressed criticism toward Chinas constitution, state-owned firms, and the National Peoples Congress, Chinas faux legislature that rubber-stamp-approves the Party leaderships decisions. She also spoke about other countries political systems. Di violated classroom discipline, lectured about wrong views, expressed inappropriate opinions, and created a wrong influence, the document stated. It further explained that a student had questioned Dis points, which led observers to suspect a student in the class had informed on Di. The universitys Party investigation team and discipline commission recommended that Di receive a demerit, be stripped of her Party membership, be transferred to another workplace, and have her teaching qualifications revoked, the document said. The decision was already approved by the schools Party committee, and was in the midst of formal procedures to enact penalties against her. Party organizations are set up in the workplace to ensure staff and workplace decisions toe the Party line, and it is these entities that Di had offended against. Di began working at the university in 2001 and became an associate professor in 2014, according to public records. The hard-lined approach to stamping out criticism of the Communist Party was reminiscent of an internal Party order to university administrators and professors, known as the 7 Dont Speaks, that circulated in May 2013, whereby instructors were prohibited from discussing specific topics in class, including civil rights, freedom of the press, and civil society. Another directive, from the Ministry of Education in October 2014, included a list of prohibitions for institutions of higher educationamong them, having words or actions that go against the Partys path, direction, and policies. Speaking to Radio Free Asia (RFA), former professor at Guizhou Minzu University, Cao Zhenhua, explained that schools typically set up informants among students and faculty, in order to report on any activities or opinions that are critical of the Party or otherwise deemed inappropriate. Each class has one or two students who report on the teachers lessons, and report back to security agents, Cao said. Furthermore, instructors are expected to instill and teach Communist ideology to students, and avoid any topics that conflict with it. To increase monitoring of college instructors, many university classrooms have cameras installed, Cao told RFA. Tan Song, a Chinese professor, spoke about the culture of informing on teachers that is all too common in universities. [Some students] brains are filled with red sentiment. Once they hear words from a teacher that is different from what they were taught, they will instinctually go to report on them. Missouri State Senator Jill Schupp (C) takes a photo with local Falun Gong practitioners after a committee hearing at the Missouri State Capitol on May 18, 2018. (Minghui.org) Missouri State Senate Passes Resolution Condemning Organ Harvesting in China In a unanimous vote of 30 to 0, the Missouri State Senate passed Resolution 28 on May 18, calling on the Chinese Communist Party to end the practice of forced organ harvesting. The resolution, titled Calls on the Chinese Government to end the practice of organ harvesting from prisoners, was sponsored by Sen. Jill Schupp (D) and Sen. Jamilah Nasheed (D), condemns the practice of organ harvesting from prisoners as well as prisoners of conscience, specifically Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a Chinese spiritual practice that grew in popularity during the 1990s. According to official estimates, before the Chinese regime launched a nationwide persecution against adherents of the practice in 1999, between 70-100 million people were practicing Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin, the Communist Party leader at the time, perceived the peaceful practice as a ideological threat to Communist rule, and mobilized the states security apparatus to harass, arrest, and detain practitioners in an effort to eradicate Falun Gong. In the past decade, independent researchers have uncovered evidence of an even darker crime. The Missouri resolution cited an investigative report published in 2016 by David Matas, human rights attorney; David Kilgour, former Canadian Secretary of State for the Asia-Pacific region; and Ethan Gutmann, an investigative journalist, that concluded China had established an industrial-scale, state-directed organ transplantation system, controlled through national policies and fundingwhereby organs are forcibly harvested from prisoners of conscience, most of whom are Falun Gong adherents. Here in the state of Missouri, we cannot stand for these human rights violations, said Senator Schupp, according to a report by Minghui.org, a U.S.-based website dedicated to reporting on the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Im proud to stand with you, and say to the Peoples Republic of China: Do not continue to persecute these [Falun Gong] practitioners. It is not okay to kill people in order to harvest their organs, even when Missourians need an organ transplant, Senator Schupp said. She added, No one wants to be able to survive because someone else is being killed for their organs. The resolution also calls for the medical community of Missouri to educate colleagues about the risks of travel to China for organ transplants. Meanwhile, the Missouri General Assembly, which includes the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, agreed to take measures to deny entry to those who have involved in illegal removal of human tissues and organs and seek prosecution of such individuals. This is not the first the Missouri state government has expressed concerns about organ harvesting in China. Last year, the states House of Representatives passed a similar resolution, Resolution 7, which was sponsored by Rep. Lynn Morris (R), condemning crimes of organ harvesting in China. Rep. Morris believed the passing of Resolution 28 was equally important. According to Minghui.org, he said, We are trying to educate not only the United States and Missourians in the United States, we are trying to educate the world about whats going on with people who practice Falun Gong in China. U.S. Congress also joined in its censure for organ harvesting in China by passing the H.Res.343 in June 2016. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who introduced the Resolution, said Chinas record of human rights violations are well known. It is the horrific treatment of the Falun Gong practitioners, that is particularly egregious, yet does not receive the attention that it deserves, she said. North Korea Shows Nuclear Bomb Site North Korea is getting ready to show the alleged dismantling of a nuclear testing site, according to reports. More than two dozen reporters from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia arrived in the country on Tuesday to witness the planned dismantling of the test site, CBS News reported. CBS said that it is the only U.S. broadcast news network allowed inside the reclusive, communist country to see the shutdown of the Punggye-ri site. On June 12, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump are slated to attend a summit in Singapore. A CBS reporter, Ben Tracy, offered his firsthand account of arriving in North Korea. We have just landed in Wonsan, North Korea. This is on the countrys east coast and as you can see back over here this is a massive and modern airport. They have spent a lot of money here because they are trying to turn this part of North Korea into an international tourist destination, he wrote. He added: The reason we are here is to witness North Korea shutting down its nuclear testing site. That site is in a very mountainous part of the country and we are told we may begin the journey there Tuesday night. The trip will take 11 hours on a very slow moving train, four hours in a bus and then a one-hour hike to the site. We dont yet know if, in addition to journalists, North Korea has invited in any experts to witness what they claim is the closure of this nuclear facility. Meanwhile, Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are set to have a meeting this week to discuss North Koreas intentions during the June 12 summit, Reuters reported. North Koreas push for nuclear weapons has long created tension on the peninsula and antagonism with the United States. Tensions escalated last year as Pyongyang tested missiles believed capable of hitting the United States. Trump said the United States would totally destroy North Korea if necessary and derided Kim as little rocket man before talk of the Trump-Kim summit eased the pressure. 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. One Nation Pulls Support For Turnbull Governments Proposed Corporate Tax Cut SYDNEYAustralias independent One Nation party said on Tuesday it will no longer support the governments proposed corporate tax cut, all but ending Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls hope for a policy victory ahead of a series of by-elections. Turnbulls Liberal-National coalition government had proposed to reduce the corporate income tax rate by 5 percent to 25 percent for all companies by 2026-27. But Hanson said that it will take eights years for the governments corporate tax cuts to come into effect. If you want to help them, then why didnt they address those tax cuts now? Hanson challenged in a press conference in Canberra on Tuesday. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson told The Australian earlier in the day: The people in general dont want it. It has not been well received. The legislation has been stalled in the Senate where the government is in the minority and was struggling to win the support of enough independent lawmakers. I, with my two colleagues, hold the balance of power in the Senate. The people of this country want leadership, they want honest, and they want trust. And I have to do that job. I regret pulling out of this, but considering the budget papers that were handed down, I cannot continue to pass down these corporate tax cuts, Hanson said. PAULINE HANSON ON TAX CUTS | @PaulineHansonOz speaks to the media about @OneNationAus's stance on corporate tax cuts. FULL INTERVIEW https://t.co/6rM3A7foAx pic.twitter.com/flnRwWClp1 Pauline Hanson ?? (@PaulineHansonOz) May 22, 2018 Hanson explained that her change in position on the Coalitions budget was due to concerns that the government was not paying down its massive debt fast enough. Were not addressing the black hole in the budget, and Ive got concerns that were not paying down debt, Hanson told the press. We cannot keep giving away borrowed money to other countries when we cannot look after our own in this country, Hanson said. Politicians are hiding $78b from the national debt by pretending they're off-budget "investments": incl $47b NBN, $6bm Snowy purchase, $10b inland railway, $5b Badgery's Creek Airport & $5b NT Infrastructure. This costs you $2b interest pa plus the inevitable write-downs pic.twitter.com/UrdAxXw9GD David Flint (@profdavidflint) May 6, 2018 Hanson said that she had the utmost respect for Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and although she had yet to speak to him about her partys withdrawal, she knew he would be devastated over this. While she did not blame Cormann for the problems she sees in the budget, she said that colleagues and the government were the ones who had failed to address continued budget spending, skyrocketing electricity prices and high immigration numbers. Ive got people in Australia that are homeless. Ive got businesses and industries shutting down. Unless we actually look at a revenue stream for our country, we will not have the money to provide for future generations, Hanson said. Multinationals must pay the taxes in this country. They cannot rip the guts out of this country with our gas on the north-west shelf without paying the right amount of tax. She said she hopes that the government of the day can [g]et past the short-term vision of handing out lolly-pops and buying votes up to the next election. Decisions have to take us into the long-term, Hanson said. Its about future generations. The opposition Labor Party, The Greens, and several independent lawmakers have said they will not back the bill. Without One Nation and its three votes in the Senate, Turnbulls center-right government is well short of securing enough support for the tax measure, analysts said. The stalled tax legislation is the latest problem facing Turnbull ahead of five by-elections triggered when a group of opposition lawmakers were forced from office after being deemed dual nationals this month. Dual citizens are blocked from national elected office under Australias 117-year-old constitution. The dates of the by-elections have yet to be set but Turnbulls Liberal Party is leading opinion polls in the race for the Queensland state seat of Longman. A victory there would give his coalition a two-seat majority from the current one seat, but analysts said the troubled tax cut and other setbacks limited the impact of a by-election win. These failures build a perception of a prime minister who appears weak and unable to secure reform, said Haydon Manning, a political science professor at Flinders University in South Australia state. By Colin Packham. Additional reporting by Epoch Times staff Watch Next: People Gather to Protest Real Bodies Exhibition in Sydney There is reason to believe that the corpses on display have come from non-consenting Chinese citizens. Psychiatric Drugs for Kids A Big (and Dangerous) Pharma Marketing Push How did the once modest medical specialty of child psychiatry become the aggressive pediatric psychopharmacology we see today? Millions of children who were once just considered too active are now diagnosed with ADHD, conduct disorders, oppositional defiant disorder, mixed manias, obsessive-compulsive disorders, pervasive development disorders, irritability, aggression and personality disorders and given drugs. Children who were once considered shy or moody are now diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, mood disorders, social phobia, anxiety, borderline disorders, assorted spectrum disorders and even schizophrenia. How extreme has the diagnosis of psychiatric illness in children become? In his book Psychiatryland, psychiatrist Phillip Sinaikin recounts reading a scientific article in which it was debated whether a three-year-old girl who ran out in traffic had oppositional-defiant disorder or bipolar disorder. Instead of just being defiant, she might have bipolar disorder which is marked by grandiose delusions that she was special and cars could not harm her said the article. Everyone but the children wins at the pediatric psychopharmacology game that puts children on expensive psychiatric drugsPharma, Wall Street, doctors, insurers, pharmacy benefits managers and Pharmas PR and ghostwriting firms. Researchers, medical centers, clinical research organizations and medical journals also profit through Pharma funding. The only losers at the pediatric psychopharmacology game are kids themselves given a probable life sentence of expensive and dangerous drugs. They are denied the chance to grow up normally and outgrow what are likely minor problems or traits. Like elderly in nursing homes, children do not make their own medication decisions which makes them desirable targets for drug marketers. Few children who are started on psychiatric drugs at a young age graduate to a point where their doctors, parents and teachers pronounce them fine and they are drug-free. Instead they are often given additional psychiatric drugs, which become cocktails, when more symptoms occur. The symptoms are usually attributed to the alleged psychiatric illness not drug side effects and consider proof of the illness. Needless to say, it often will never be known if the child ever needed psychiatric drugs to begin with. Nor is Pharma content with life-long customers started as children. It also operates prescribe early campaigns so that parents put their children on drugs even sooner than they might. One prescribe early campaign for the atypical antipsychotic Risperdal, given to children, uses a macabre abandoned wallet, teddy bear and keys lying on a barren street to imply that a child died because she wasnt given psychiatric drugs soon enough. The ads reposition a drug that was being used too late to achieve its maximum benets, said its advertising agency, Torre Lazur McCann. Benefits for whom we might ask. Drug marketers are also not above using childhood icons. Brand managers for Seroquel, an antipsychotic that competes with Risperdal, considered creating Winnie-the-Pooh characters like Tigger (bipolar) and Eeyore (depressed) to sell Seroquel, according to published reports, at an AstraZeneca sales meeting. Parents say they have seen toys emblazoned with Seroquel logos. The father of pediatric psychopharmacology is considered Harvard child psychiatrist Joseph Biederman credited with ballooning the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children by as much as 40 fold. In 2008, Biederman was investigated by Congress for allegedly accepting Pharma money he didnt disclose and he agreed to suspend his industry-related activities. Biederman headed the Johnson & Johnson Center for the Study of Pediatric Psychopathology at Massachusetts General Hospital whose stated goal was to move forward the commercial goals of J. & J. The center netted a cool $700,000 in one year of operation, according to reports. Biederman remains at Harvard where he is Chief, Clinical and Research Programs in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD. Martha Rosenberg is author of the award-cited food expose Born With a Junk Food Deficiency, distributed by Random House. A nationally known muckraker, she has lectured at the university and medical school level and appeared on radio and television. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Then-Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on March 13, 2015. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images) Trump Hints Obamas CIA Director John Brennan Committed Crime President Donald Trump posted on Twitter a quote that implied former CIA Director John Brennan lied and is fearing criminal charges. The lengthy quote Trump posted on Monday, May 21, came from Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and instructor who guarded presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. John Brennan is panicking, Steve, Bongino told Fox and Friends Steve Doocy on Monday. John Brennan has disgraced himself, hes disgraced the country, hes disgraced the intelligence community. He is the one man largely responsible for the destruction of Americans faith in the intelligence community and in some people at the top of the FBI. 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 Brennan started this entire debacle with Trump. We now know that Brennan had pretty detailed knowledge of the [Steele] Dossier. Ill walk you through this real slow: he knows about the Dossier, he denies knowledge of the Dossier, he briefs the Gang of 8 up on the Hill about the Dossier, which they then use to demand the FBI start an investigation into Trump. It is that simple. This guy is the genesis of this whole debacle. .top of the FBI. Brennan started this entire debacle about President Trump. We now know that Brennan had detailed knowledge of the (phony) Dossierhe 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 Trump further quoted Bongino saying that Brennan is among a small working group of officials from the Obama administration who are worried about staying out of jail. 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 The Steele Dossier, characterized as salacious and unverified by former FBI Director James Comey, was a piece of opposition research put together by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele and paid for by Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. It was heavily relied upon to obtain a warrant to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page several weeks before the presidential election, according to a memo by the Republican majority on the House Intelligence Committee. Top FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) officials authorized the warrant and intentionally withheld from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court that much of the evidence presented in the application was based on the dossier, the memo says. Brennan, however, said he didnt see the dossier until a month after the election. It was in late summer of 2016 when there were some individuals from the various U.S. news outlets who asked me about my familiarity with it. And I had heard just snippets about it. I did not know what was in there. I did not see it unit later in that year. I think it was in December, he told NBC News on Feb. 4. When he was questioned by the House Intelligence Committee on May 23, 2017, Rep. Trey Gowdy asked him, do you know who commissioned the Steele Dossier? I dont, Brennan replied. But the memo states the political origins of the Steele dossier were [at the time of the FISA warrant] known to senior DOJ and FBI officials. Brennan allegedly promoted the dossier to Democratic leaders in Congress during the campaign, according to a Feb. 11 article by investigative journalist and author Paul Sperry citing several Capitol Hill sources. Bonginos mentioning the Gang of Eight, refers to the eight members of Congress briefed on classified intelligence (House and Senate leaders from both parties as well as top House and Senate Intelligence Committee members from both parties). On Aug. 25, 2016, Brennan briefed then-Senate Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid. It was unclear whether FBI officials attended the briefing, a congressional source told Fox News. Two days later, Reid sent a letter to Comey requesting an investigation into Russias meddling in the election, specifically mentioning a claim made in the dossiermeetings Carter Page allegedly had with a Russian official and a top executive of a major Russian oil company in July 2016. Neither meeting has been corroborated. Page denied under oath meeting the individuals. Brennan also testified that the dossier played no role in the CIA-FBI-NSA intelligence assessment, published in a sanitized form on Jan. 6, 2017, that estimated with high confidence that the Kremlin tried to influence the election. [The dossier] wasnt part of the corpus of intelligence information that we had. It was not in any way used as a basis for the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) that was done. It was not, Brennan said. But Sperry reported on May 15 that a two-page summary of the dossier (described as the Christopher Steele information) was appended to the ICA draft and its consideration was part of the overall ICA review/approval process, according to a March 5 classified letter by recently retired NSA Director Michael Rogers addressed to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes. However, there are more crimes connected to the FISA warrant. Specifically, the leaks of the names of Americans, including Carter Page, who were spied on. During his testimony, Brennan acknowledged that the privacy of Americans is to be protectedeven if theyre spied on by the governmentthrough masking of their names. There has to be a justification for unmasking them, he acknowledged. So how do we get from that to names being on the front pages of certain major U.S. newspapers? Gowdy asked. Its an excellent question, Brennan replied. What would be an equally excellent answer? Gowdy said. That somebody violated their oath to protect classified information and violated that oath and shared that information in an unauthorized fashion with members of the media, said Brennan. According to former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova, Inspector General Michael Horowitz has already made criminal referrals to federal prosecutor John Huber, who was appointed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate, among other things, the spying on Page. Criminal referrals have already been made, and I suggest that Mr. Brennanwho loves to make comments about the processget himself a good lawyer, diGenova told Fox News Tucker Carlson on May 17. Epoch Times reporter Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report Watch Next: Majestic Parade in Manhattan Marks 26 Years of Falun Gong Today it is practiced by tens of millions in over 70 countries worldwide. Lifestyle: Strewing: An Easy Way to Add Delight and Wonder to Your Homeschool Woman Shocked After Discovery Made When Visiting Moms Grave on Mother`s Day A Tennessee woman was stunned when she went to visit her mothers grave on Mothers Day only to find the headstone had vanished. Precious Goldsmith said that her mother was buried at Shelby County Cemetery seven years ago and her grave has had a headstone for that entire time. But when Goldsmith went to the grave this past weekend for Mothers Day, the headstone had disappeared. She was here. You can actually see the crease of it, and see how my whole finger can fit through there, Goldsmith told WREG. You know people steal headstones and then flip it over and re-engrave them. It kind of defeats the purpose of coming out here. It makes me made to come out here, because I dont even know who Im grieving or talking to, Goldsmith added. Woman says she cant find mothers headstone at cemetery https://t.co/lc68VsA7RN WREG News Channel 3 (@3onyourside) May 16, 2018 The cemetery is known for allowing people to bury their loved ones for free, but others who have family members buried there admit that due to that allowance, the conditions arent always ideal. Mark Seay, who is in charge of the cemetery, told WREG that what may have happened is that the headstone for the grave was covered by grass and dirt placed there by mowers and the rain. Seay noted that headstones are currently prohibited but ones that are in the ground are allowed to stay. The graves are marked by numbers and he was able to find the number of Goldsmiths mothers grave. Workers at the cemetery have offered to show Goldsmith where the marker number was found. Watch Now: How a Traditional Spiritual Practice Changed the Lives of These People The practice has attracted tens of millions across the world and at its core are just three simple principles: truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. There is a rule of thumb about restaurants that goes always go to a place thats crowded because that is where you will find the best food. That is how I came to have lunch at the Athenian Diner III in Milford. The other Athenian Diners are in New Haven and Middletown. For some reason 75 percent of where I go these days for errands seems to be on the Post Road in Milford. Because I drive there a great deal I always notice the Athenian Diner. It is hard to miss, if only for the fact that it looks like an assemblage of 1950s chrome car bumpers. A big sleek art-deco-ish building that promises everything we love about Greek diners: good value with a bit of luxury thrown in, chandeliers, statues, whatever. More important than the flashy facade is the parking lot is always jammed. Even more important, it is open 24 hours a day. #milford #connecticut A post shared by athina (@athinab123) on Apr 10, 2018 at 9:11pm PDT There is no shortage of Greek diners in Connecticut, and I cant think of a single one I dont like. The food varies place to place, but the ebullient spirit is always the same. Greek diners have huge menus, offering the customer everything from homemade blintzes to prime rib. You can get breakfast anytime of day or night, the service is always fast and you can be sure that you will get a ton of food. No matter what you order, it is going to be an immense portion. I wish I had ordered breakfast, although it was well into lunch hour. The reason is that every plate of eggs or pancakes that sailed by had a mound of great looking hash browns. Dark and crisp, I was more than tempted to walk up to a strangers table and ask for a bite. I ordered randomly, as I often do, but liked the result. Greek diners often have very good Greek food (as well they should), so from that part of the menu I ordered the spanakopita, moussaka and a large Greek salad. The Greek salad was fabulous and contained delicious hunks of soft, brined feta cheese, stuffed grape leaves, big plump olives, anchovies, bell peppers, pickled hot peppers, tomatoes and lettuce. The waitress brought balsamic dressing and also a sprightly green goddess, which had a spring-like taste. yummy goodness A post shared by New England Eats (@newengland_eats) on Jul 26, 2016 at 7:56am PDT Spanakopita is a Greek spinach pie, filled with feta cheese and sandwiched between layers of filo dough. The spinach pie platter also contained a large Greek salad. The moussaka is a lasagna-like layering of baked eggplant, chopped meat, cheese and tomato sauce with a bechamel-like topping. Very hardy, not at all bland, and delicious. All three items were prepared by someone in the kitchen who knew just what notes to hit to make the dish authentic. Greek food is very savory, not highly spiced with heat, but with wonderful hints of cinnamon and oregano. My favorite comfort food is an open hot turkey sandwich. It has been this way since I was in high school, and yes, there were turkeys that far back. This is the least sexy dish a food writer should adore, but anyplace with an open hot turkey on the menu gets my vote. It was just as it should be, slices of plain old white bread formed a bed that slices of juicy turkey sat on. I have a thing about turkey and I am bit of a hard-core fanatic. As much as I like a real, well-roasted bird, I despise deli-turkey, which is some sort of manufactured monstrosity that, if blindfolded, you could not tell it apart from ham. If you order a turkey sandwich on an airline, you will get the ersatz stuff. Greek diners never let me down; they always serve great real turkey, no shortcuts here. The thick yellow gravy came in a separate bowl and the large platter had a ladleful of mashed potatoes. I am a mashed potato snob (in addition to being a turkey fanatic) and regretfully these tasted like reconstituted ones. Show me anyplace in Connecticut (other than the few great Jewish delis) that serve blintzes. The only places I know of are Greek diners. The blintzes came sided by apple sauce and sour cream, and were nicely cooked crepes wrapped around a cinnamon-spiked farmer cheese filling. Three large blintzes was a more than generous serving. One of my favorite things to do at a Greek diner is to peruse the cake and pie case. Pastries that would satisfy Andre the Giant come in a dizzying display. I ordered a slice of chocolate peanut butter cake (which was three normal slices put together) and a gargantuan wedge of very pretty, ivory-colored cheesecake with bright red strawberries. With desserts in Greek diners, I always fall for the most lavish, baroque-looking items. To be honest, I never have more than a bite; they are not the kind of pastries I like, but they are a blast to eat and it seems like the meal has not really ended without one. It is such fun to eat at a Greek diner. You will get plenty of food in a nice clean place. I always love the patriotic pledges on the menus and the waitresses who move as if on roller skates. I see why the Athenian Diner has such a following and the parking lot is always full. Jane Stern, a Ridgefield resident, coauthored the popular Roadfood guidebook series with Michael Stern. Join her each week as she travels Fairfield County finding a great meal in unexpected places for $20 or less. Well before Meghan and Mike Madalon took the first steps in their first dance as a married couple, Teek Eaton-Koch took some important first steps of his own. The sight line had to be good. There was no way he would capture the special moment if Uncle Fred or Aunt Sally were standing in the way. Elbow room, also important. He carved out a space a little larger than an average king-size bed to fit his easel and a couple of tables. By the time the happy couple made their way to the dance floor, Eaton-Koch was ready, paintbrush in hand. I had a great time that night, says Eaton-Koch, a Greenwich artist and illustrator, who, up until then, had never put brush to canvas, live, in the middle of someones wedding. The result? A painting the Mandalons have hanging in their New York City apartment. When the light hits it just right, it shines, Meghan Madalon says of the scene, captured in September 2015. Its truly one of my favorite keepsakes and it takes me back to that moment every time I look at it, which is daily. When it comes to documenting the big day, photos and videos do quite nicely, and the Madalons opted for both. But since she was a girl, Madalon wanted a live painter at her wedding. The couple love art and have collected pieces during trips they have taken together, including their honeymoon, their first trip to Europe and the trip to Charleston, S.C., where they were engaged. These tangible items remind us of these special memories in a way that a photograph on your phone or computer cant, Madalon says in an email. Its something that will always bring us back to that memory. Painters have increasingly been capturing treasured moments at weddings around the country. Couples seeking a more personalized experience and exuberant posts on social media of the fun people have watching these en plein air affairs have fueled the concept. Eaton-Koch never intended to get into the wedding business. He is better known for his award-winning architectural renderings and fine art paintings. But when love calls, its best to answer. Mike Madalon saw him painting outside the Darien train station, months after his engagement to Meghan. He knew about his future wifes aspirations, so he asked Eaton-Koch to paint a watercolor of the couple. It was the coup de grace and brought Eaton-Koch to their wedding in Rye, N.Y. Everyone loved Teek, Meghan says. As people walked into the reception, they could see Eaton-Koch painting the room and gradually filling the canvas with the guests. There was somebody behind him, watching him work, all night long. He added such a sentimental touch to the night. Our guests still talk about it, even two-and-a-half years later. He has yet to do another portrait, but has had a hand in about a dozen other weddings rendered in watercolor and ink. It began when he reconnected with a friend from high school in 2015 at their 10-year reunion. Facing about nine weddings in her future, she wanted a personalized gift for each couple . She knew Eaton-Koch did architectural maps and hoped he could pull together meaningful elements of their lives into a map of their union. Successful in rendering her vision, others found him for save the date cards. One wouldnt use these as a road map, but as a guide to a couples journey. These are far from topographically accurate, but each of them hold important memories for the couple, he says. As for prices, every project is different. (Portraits run upward of $1,000, according to his website.) I try not to make them in an overly complicated style. Its about giving a sense of place and personality. Julia (Wilfert) and Ted Moore not only asked Eaton-Koch for a save the date card with a whimsical and informative map, but also incorporated some images into the celebration. It started as a save the date, but we loved it so much that we asked him to draw other things, says Julia Moore, who grew up in Greenwich and now lives in Virginia with her husband. We had a signature cocktail and he painted that a dark rum Southside and we used other images for the programs. The card is a treasure map of significant places Julias childhood home, First Church (where she went to preschool) and the train she often took on the weekends to escape from New York City, where she lived and worked. He fit everything in, on a small card, in a way that made sense, she says. Its not quite a portrait, but the Moores kept the original card. Its hanging in our house now, she says. Its really a keepsake, something that will be with us forever. Eaton-Koch was pleased to think that his card may have engendered conversations among the guests at the Moores wedding. Had they met at the Old Greenwich Yacht Club? What about Belle Haven? Not everything had to be spelled out. In this digital world, what is important is the personal. The art is still personal, he says. What I am trying to do is tell stories about people whether that is with the weddings work or fine art. The personal story holds great value. chennessy@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @xtinahennessy Technology is a force that is constantly disrupting and reshaping industries with no sign of slowing down. Blockchain is one of the more powerful new technological developments in recent memory, offering industries the ability to make transparent transactions. AI technology, as well, is driving an influx of new applications. As new tools, platforms and technology emerge, it's wise for entrepreneurs to keep their eyes on the industries leveraging them the most. Here are four of them that blockchain and AI are changing rapidly, creating new business opportunities. 1. EdTech As higher education becomes more expensive and advanced training programs become increasingly essential to employee success, many are starting to leverage the flexibility of e-learning. Pursuing education online provides more tailored programs, which can be accessed from the comforts of home and on any schedule. Because e-learning requires a digital exchange of goods -- a credit card payment in return for an instructional video download, for example -- it often needs to be tied to central gatekeepers such as expensive universities or online learning platforms. These companies have the technological infrastructure to support exchanges and provide educational content while taking a cut of revenue. Blockchain, however, allows reliable direct provider-to-consumer transactions. No third-party is required to process or verify a transaction between a blockchain e-learning provider and a remote learner, as blockchain's immutable ledger automatically validates and secures the sale. Blockchain doesn't just have to be a transactional token in e-learning -- it can also incentivize learning. AI Gaming uses blockchain tokens to incentivize participation in educational AI coding courses and as betting stakes when players build competitive AI bots, learning and finessing their AI coding skills. Advanced learners can participate in crowd-sourced AI problems posed by partner companies and receive blockchain token rewards for contributing to a solution. Related: 5 Reasons Machine Learning Is the Future of Marketing 2. MedTech Virtually everyone in modern society doesn't have just one healthcare provider over his or her lifetime. For example, you might see a pediatrician as a child before transitioning to an adult-focused primary care doctor. It's essential for all providers to stay on the same page, with access to medical flies from birth to present. The medical files containing this information used to be stored in paper storage systems within each office. Transmitting medical files required laborious administrative coordination between practices and obtaining documented permission from the patient. Electronic medical records keep the same information as their paper counterparts and in theory, can easily transfer between offices. In practice, however, clashing formats and patient permissions inhibit smooth information flow. There are 26 different electronic medical record systems in use in the city of Boston, for example. Blockchain has the ability to provide a universally accessible and shareable format for storing medical records. One provider would not have to struggle to open or interpret files from another provider. Furthermore, blockchain's transaction ledger provides an ideal way for patients to control and track who has access to their sensitive medical information. Some companies are launching blockchain-based medical record platforms that create one patient-controlled blockchain medical file they can share across providers. Related: Want to Be More Like Amazon? Start By Making Your Startup More Data-Driven. 3. Real Estate Market distortion, monopolies and inefficiencies often ultimately wind up hurting everyday consumers. The U.S. real estate market is a prime example. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is a powerful lobbying group, and according to OpenSecrets.org, they were the second-highest lobbying spenders in the country in 2017, spending about $55 million on local and national efforts to influence policy. They control the majority of the real estate workforce -- approximately 1.3 million members, which is a large percentage of the 2 million real estate licenses currently active in the U.S. This group uses its power to set market conditions, such as high agent fees paid by home sellers. Sellers typically pay around six percent of their home's value in fees, which are divided between the buying and selling agents. Sellers in the U.K., by contrast, typically only pay 1.5 percent. Blockchain has the ability to help consumers regain power over the real estate market. Real estate transactions could rely on the security of blockchain ledger to work outside of powerful groups such as NAR. When traditional lending tightened up regarding investment property lending it created a massive opportunity for non-traditional lending institutions. AI streamlines the qualification process, helping lenders identify qualified buyers and limiting risk, while helping investors quickly secure the funding they need. Related: Top 10 Best Chatbot Platform Tools to Build Chatbots for Your Business 4. Lead Generation Converting leads into customers can be a taxing process requiring marketers to sift through thousands of prospects, hoping that some will convert. Many companies gather potential leads from data provider services, but these lead lists are often full of incomplete or inaccurate information. AI has potential to solve this data quality issue. AI algorithms can rapidly process millions of data points to identify trends and correlations humans would struggle to synthesize. Related: 5 Emerging Technologies for Rapid Digital Transformation Blockchain Is Not Only About Bitcoin 4 Great Industries for Blockchain Advancement and Forward-Thinking Entrepreneurs Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved In January 1998, Corey Dewayne Williams was in the Queensborough neighborhood of Shreveport, Louisiana, when a pizza delivery driver was shot and killed. Williams was an intellectually disabled 16-year-old when the shooting occurred, according to court records. "He still sucked his thumb, urinated himself on an ordinary basis, and regularly ate dirt and paper," his attorneys wrote in a recent court filing. After the shooting, he fled, and when police questioned him about the killing of Jarvis Griffin, the 23-year-old delivery driver, Williams confessed. Then Williams told them he was "ready to go home and lay down," they wrote. He was charged with murder, convicted and sentenced to death before later being resentenced to life in prison. On Tuesday, more than two decades after his arrest, Williams walked free from the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. Williams' freedom came through a remarkable turnabout in which Louisiana authorities, having objected to his petitions in court over the years, reversed course and agreed to a settlement. His case had attracted high-profile support, including from dozens of former federal prosecutors and Justice Department officials - among them Michael Mukasey, the former attorney general - who weighed in earlier this year. Under the terms of the plea agreement, filed in Louisiana state court Monday, his first-degree murder conviction and sentence were vacated. Williams, now 36, instead pleaded guilty to manslaughter and obstruction of justice and was sentenced to time served. "This case, for all involved, for a while, has been a heart-wrenching case," Amir Ali, an attorney with the MacArthur Justice Center, a civil rights law firm that helped represent Williams, said in an interview after a judge approved the agreement. "This was an impossible deal for Corey to turn down. I think given the circumstances, it was the best possible outcome for Corey." Williams' attorneys had petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, and Louisiana's response was due in mid-June. Louisiana authorities ultimately decided to end the case rather than defend it before the high court. In a joint motion filed with Williams's attorneys Monday, James Stewart, the Caddo Parish district attorney, said the state undertook an investigation into the case, reviewing witness statements, transcripts and police reports. They concluded that Williams' constitutional rights "were potentially violated at his original trial," the motion states, and asked the judge to vacate his original conviction and sentence. In response to an interview request, Stewart had his office send a statement from Suzanne Owen Williams, an assistant district attorney, released Monday. "Questions later arose about his case, as well as some legal issues, but today it was all resolved by a plea agreement," she said. Stewart's office also noted that as part of the agreement, Williams agreed to waive appeals along with potential claims of any civil liability. Williams had just turned 16 when Griffin was killed. Griffin had delivered pizzas and returned to his car when someone fired shots at his vehicle, according to a summary of the case from the Louisiana Supreme Court. A bullet perforated both of Griffin's lungs and penetrated part of his heart. After the shooting, someone also took money and pizza from Griffin's car. Police spoke to witnesses and were told that Williams was the shooter, so they arrested him, court records showed. According to Williams' attorneys, after the shooting, Williams ran to his grandmother's house; police found him "hiding under a sheet on the couch," they said. Williams initially pointed at one of the other people present as the shooter. Then, a few hours later, Williams confessed to police. Williams told them he and this other person decided to rob the delivery man, but he opened fire thinking Griffin may have been reaching for a gun, the Louisiana Supreme Court stated. "I'm tired," he then told the officers, his attorneys wrote in a court filing this year. "I'm ready to go home and lay down." False confessions have been a recurring feature in many cases involving people who were convicted of crimes but later cleared. Last year, 139 people convicted of crimes were exonerated, and one in five had falsely confessed, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Williams' legal fight has stretched on while he remained behind bars. In 2002, the Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed Williams's conviction but sent the case back to a lower court to determine whether he could be executed. That same year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia that executing what it called the "mentally retarded" violated the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. A trial court said Williams fit that definition, so he was resentenced to life in prison. Williams' attorneys say the case against him was troubled from the beginning. "No physical evidence" linked him to the killing, they said, adding that Griffin's blood was found on the clothing of the person Williams had initially named as the shooter. Griffin's money and the stolen pizzas were also found near that person's home, they added. They also pointed to other issues, saying that despite the Supreme Court's Brady v. Maryland ruling stating that prosecutors have to turn over evidence material to guilt or punishment, Louisiana authorities provided only summaries of interviews with witnesses rather than the complete interviews. This issue involving Brady was central to the brief supporting Williams' case filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by the former federal prosecutors and Justice Department officials. In their brief, the 44 former officials - appointed by Republicans and Democratic presidents alike - said they feared that "in this case, state prosecutors took an overly narrow view of their Brady obligations." These interviews with witnesses, they argued, showed that Williams may have been set up, and if the interviews were handed over, "there is a reasonable probability that the verdict would have been different," the group argued in their brief. There were numerous issues with the case, including the reliance on Williams' confession, said Mary McCord, visiting law professor at Georgetown University and the former acting head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, who wrote the brief. "I'm a former prosecutor and certainly have relied on confessions in my career," McCord said in an interview. "But this is one reason they should be corroborated by other evidence, because there are a number of reasons confessions can be unreliable . . . and one of the most important reasons is based on intellectual disability of the person making the confession." McCord called the case "a travesty," and said she was glad Louisiana did not fight to keep Williams behind bars. She said the only thing that troubles her about this outcome is that the Supreme Court won't review the case, which may have given further clarity about the type of information that has to be disclosed. Still, she said, that could have kept Williams locked up for years. "This is a young man who's already been locked up for an extended period of time, first on death row for quite some time and thereafter serving a life sentence in Angola, which is a pretty harsh prison environment," she said. A team of attorneys had spent years representing Williams, including Blythe Taplin and Ben Cohen of the nonprofit Promise of Justice Initiative, examining his case, petitioning the courts and working to secure his freedom. The same Louisiana judge who approved the deal freeing him, Katherine Dorroh, had previously rejected Williams' claims of Brady violations. Ali, one of Williams's attorneys, called the case "so clearly a tragedy" and said it was worth accepting the deal - even with the guilty pleas - to free him now. When Williams walked out Tuesday morning, he had spent more of his life locked up than free. "Corey is just the loveliest, warmest human being you would know," Ali said. "He was just over the moon to be able to go home. . . . As you might imagine, after spending 20 years wrongfully behind bars, the prospect of being released is pretty hard to contain." 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 Given Canada's current pride in flaunting its "post-national" diversity, it's easy to forget how overwhelmingly white the country used to be. According to Statistics Canada, as recently as 1981 Canada's visible minority population was a mere four percent - basically an entire nation with the demographics of Vermont. Immigration has since changed things, of course, and there are doubtless many who are wistful euphemistically for the cultural cohesion of that earlier age. Yet even in its epoch of white homogeneity, Canada was a land of tense identity politics, much of which continues to this day. The unprepared may be startled at the degree to which the country remains a minefield of anachronistic white sensitivities. Anthony Bourdain, the celebrity chef behind the marquee CNN program "Parts Unknown," certainly was. As part of a promotional push for an upcoming episode in the province of Newfoundland, the show's official Twitter account casually used the word "Newfies" to describe the province's residents. This was considered tremendously offensive, and after outrage on social media, an official apology was offered. Newfoundland, an Atlantic island housing just over half a million people, is also the country's newest province, having joined in 1949 after spending decades as a semi-independent Commonwealth dominion. A long history of alienation from the mainland has fostered all manner of stereotyping on both sides, and teasing residents - who are overwhelmingly white - for their vaguely pirate-like accents and supposedly "Podunk" lifestyle has been a trope of Canadian life for ages. A certain type of modern Newfoundlander has insisted on interpreting such teasing as bigotry, a conclusion that has in turn been obediently incorporated into Canada's architecture of enforced taboos. In recent years, everyone from Walmart to Pokemon fan artists has been taken to task for using the Newfie nickname, whose purported offensiveness, by some accounts, may be rooted in the history of offensive stereotypes of African Americans. As far as white ego is concerned, however, few communities in Canada can match the sensitivities of the French Canadians, who remain guarded by an extraordinary set of social protections that seems to exist in brazen conflict with the unstratified multiculturalism that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promotes to the world. Though it's hard to imagine in the context of 2018, when French Canadians occupy such an array of high positions in Canadian life, including the office of prime minister, governor general and chief justice, there was a time not long ago when French-speaking Canadians were considered the country's most aggrieved underclass, victims of systemic discrimination in employment and widespread prejudice in broader society. Some audaciously extreme comparisons were made - one of the most influential works of the '60s-era French Canadian resistance movement was a 1968 book by Pierre Vallieres, published in English with the hideously insensitive title "White N------ of America." Yet in the midcentury phase of Canada's super-white era, notions that the unloved French Canadians were indeed roughly equivalent to American blacks stuck, and many of that age's revised, progressive sensitivities about Francophones are still enforced today. Such taboos were not unknown in the United States either, for what it's worth. In 1972, Sen. Edmund Muskie was forced to stage a damaging, tearful news conference after it was alleged that he had used the term "Canuck" - a epithet for French Canadians back then. Though the specifics of Muskie's story seem preposterous today - the Vancouver Canucks are subject to no Redskins-style boycott (at least not yet) - the sentiment has survived. Any English Canadian who offers any substantial criticism of Quebec, as I often do, can expect a deluge of cries of "racist" and "colonizer," given that the French Canadians still insist on conceptualizing themselves as a capital-M minority, even as their privilege grows and distinctiveness fades in a society whose sharpest social tensions have moved beyond competing strains of European heritage. It is indigenous Canadians who today are the out-group subject to the most active efforts of reconciliation, yet rivaling white-centric identities complicate this task, too. Since colonial times, Canada has recognized the existence of Metis people - the descendants of European-indigenous relationships. Initially the identity was considered something narrowly particular, tied to the geography, culture and lifestyle of the Canadian Prairies where Metis families were most common, and fusionist lifestyles were most authentically practiced. Over time, however, as the presence of Indian blood evolved from racial embarrassment to something potentially interesting and exotic, Metis identities started to be expansively and controversially claimed by any otherwise white person willing to make, a la Elizabeth Warren's claim of Native American heritage, a vague assertion of aboriginal background. Census figures for Metis Canadians have exploded in recent years, almost certainly reflecting growing rates of outwardly white Canadians abruptly deciding to lay claim to their indigenous heritage, however distant or poorly documented it may be. In 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that mere "self-identification" as Metis was enough to claim the title - reversing earlier demands for proof of "ancestral connection" and "acceptance by the modern Metis community" - in a ruling that also declared Metis persons legal "Indians" under Canadian law. A potentially awkward future thus looms amid growing national desires to incorporate greater indigenous perspectives into Canadian government and culture. Will the purportedly aggrieved voices of those who are, for all intents and purposes, white, threaten to crowd out those of the more historically - and dare one say, legitimately - marginalized? As a nation historically defined by inter-white cultural and geographic conflict transitions to a new national reality of a more complicated milieu of peoples, that often seems the challenge of Canadian diversity in general. - - - McCullough is a political commentator and cartoonist from Vancouver. WILTON After reaching a private settlement with the town, the parents of a former Miller-Driscoll student have withdrawn a lawsuit that accused a school employee of molesting their daughter. Attorney Paul Slager, who represented the family, declined to disclose how much the settlement was worth, though he noted they were happy to have some closure. The family had earlier offered to settle the case for $4.2 million. The family is satisfied that the settlement reflects a recognition of the seriousness of what happened to their daughter and also the fact that it should have been prevented, Slager said. Pursuant to the settlement, Slager filed to withdraw the suit against the town and its Board of Education at Stamford Superior Court on Monday, May 21, two days before it was scheduled to go to trial. No settlement was filed with the court. In February, Slager requested a continuance of the case, stating that the parties were very close to a settlement a claim echoed by a similar motion filed by the towns attorneys Thomas Gerarde and Krista Winters, of Hartfords Howd & Ludorf, LLC, earlier that month. Though a settlement has been reached, the agreement has not been finalized. Gerard said the settlement is expected to be completed in two weeks, at which point more details will be released. Despite the settlement, Slager said the town has admitted no fault in the incident. The lawsuit, which was filed in October 2015, alleged that former paraprofessional, Eric Von Kohorn, took the 4-year-old girl into a Miller-Driscoll bathroom alone and inappropriately touched, sexually assaulted and battered her, causing visible injury to her genital area. The plaintiffs claimed Von Kohorn, who was recently released from the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution for 18 months on an unrelated charge of second-degree illegal possession of child pornography, admitted to taking Girl Doe alone into the school bathroom and informed another school staff member he was doing so in a report by the state Department of Children and Families. Furthermore, the suit accused the school administration of negligence for not responding appropriately after being informed. The alleged incident occurred on Dec. 21, 2012, and was reported to Preschool Director Fred Rapcyznski on Jan. 3, because the students parents werent able to reach any school officials during the holiday break, according to court documents. Rapcyznski waited four days to report the incident to the Department of Children and Families instead of submitting a report within 12 hours of notification, as mandated, documents state. The state informed the district within a day they would do no further investigation. The Board of Education performed no further investigation and also did not discipline Von Kohorn in any way, despite his violation of policy prohibiting him from taking female preschool students into the bathroom alone, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit further claims the school board instead placed Von Kohorn into another classroom, where he continued to work directly with other Miller-Driscoll preschool students. The towns attorney attempted to have the case dismissed on March 2, but their motion was ultimately denied by state Superior Judge Charles T. Lee. The town attorney could not be reached for comment on the settlement. Slager, who represented the family with colleague Michael Kennedy, also represents a second family who came forward in a lawsuit against the town and Board of Education in October 2016, with allegations that Von Kohorn sexually exploited and injured their 4-year-old son during the 2013-14 school year. That lawsuit claims Von Kohorn brought the fully toilet-trained boy into the bathroom alone and photographed him while his pants were down. This second lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 24, 2018. Includes prior reporting by staff writer Stephanie Kim. COLLINSVILLE After years of touring as an Elvis Presley tribute artist, Collinsville native Bill Cherry has opened a store in his hometown that reflects his interests. Monster Vinyl, a record and collectible shop that combines music with horror, is located in downtown Collinsville at 107 East Main St. The store has been open since April 13. Cherry will have a grand opening and ribbon cutting during the Horseradish Festival, on June 2 at 1 in the afternoon. "I'm looking forward to having a few special guests and a few monsters walking around," he said. The store sells used records and CDs. It also has and sells a large collection of horror movie memorabilia, including posters, masks, and books. "This store is my hobbies brought to the public," Cherry said. "There's a lot more to the story than Elvis Presley. I like music, monsters and horror movies." Cherry said that he had thought about opening a store for a long time. His own collection of music and monster memorabilia is extensive. "It's neat to have collectibles and a collection, but if you don't have anyone to share it with, that's an empty feeling," he said. Cherry amassed much of his collection while touring. "Every chance I got, I'd wander the city or town I was in and check out the music stores and scene. A lot of those stores influenced this place," he said. "This is like a taste of Delmar and the Loop on this side of the river," he said. He already has plans to expand with a recording studio next store to the record store. "We need a recording studio that caters to local talent," he said. "When I recorded, I had to go to St. Louis." "It's been going really well," Cherry said of the store. "We've had a lot of interest. It's a first of its kind, mixing horror and music." The store buys, sells and trades merchandise. "Once the store opened, people started bringing in great things. We don't have to seek it out. We have a lot of traffic coming through. We've had people come by just to take a picture of the sign." Cherry also wants to begin selling art. "I've had local artists bring in samples, and we're looking for a way to bring that to the public. It will be homegrown, all local talent." Cherry began impersonating Elvis at a young age to entertain his mother. "Elvis has been a part of my whole life. My mother was an Elvis fan. She would always sing along with his records," Cherry said. "When I was older, my parents took me to see an Elvis impersonator. I was surprised at the response." Cherry said he realized that what he had been doing for fun and to entertain his mother could become a career. His first public performance was around 1985 or '86, he said. "I went to a competition in Memphis, but I didn't win," he said. In 1995, he stopped competing and performing. He came back for a competition in 2007 that was put on by the estate of Elvis Presley. "That got my attention because it was the estate," he said. "I was working at American Steel as a welder and got laid off, so I really focused on Elvis Presley during the layoff." The competition was global, with several preliminary competitions before the finals in Memphis. Cherry won the preliminary round in Tupelo and went on to win the world competition in Memphis. "I competed against 24 preliminary winners from throughout the world," he said. "I decided not to go back to work after the layoff. Since 2009, all I've done is Elvis Presley." He has always paid tribute to the Elvis of the 1970s. "You see all the rings and the capes and the belts, and that's royalty," he said. "He was pretty much your first glam rock star. He set the bar in a lot of things." After winning the competition, Cherry began performing and traveling. "I've been to Singapore, Italy, Spain, all over Europe, New Zealand, Australia, you name it." He said the most unusual place he performed was probably Qatar. "Elvis is basically a universal language," he said. "It amazes me that paying tribute can take you places that I never got to go," Cherry said. Now that he's opened the store, Cherry plans to continue with his Elvis Presley tribute show, but cut down on appearances. "I want to concentrate on this," he said, noting that in some years, he traveled all but three weeks of the year. Although Cherry said he's amazed at the continuing demand for Elvis, he looks forward to spending more time at home. "Let's face it, Elvis died at 43. You can't do him forever," Cherry said. "I'm from Collinsville. I'm a native here. This is my home town, and this is a new adventure for me." In recognition of National Historic Preservation Month, Edwardsville's Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) will showcase some of Edwardsville's historic buildings in a series of articles during the month of May. . 1019 Ruskin Avenue The Shupack Home . Shortly after the birth of their sixth child in 1911, Abraham and Rebecca Shupack purchased a lot on Ruskin Avenue in Leclaire. Two years later they moved into their new home, a large American Foursquare with a broad front porch, perfect for visiting on summer evenings. Abraham and Rebecca Shupack and their three oldest children, Samuel, Esther and Celia, emigrated from Poland in 1904. After a year in Troy, Illinois, they moved to Edwardsville where the family grew to include three American-born children, Martin, Ansel and Milton. Abraham, known as Abe, first managed a shoe repair shop on Hillsboro Ave., but in 1906 he opened Shupack's Shoe Store on Main Street. When Dr. Roy Barnsback completed construction of his building in 1907, Shupack's was one of the early tenants and would remain at 124 N. Main St. for decades. In the early days there was a shoe repair shop at the back of the store, and at one time in the 1920s Shupack carried a line of clothing, but soon returned to what would be the family's core business: quality shoes with a good fit. It was a two-generation business that was a mainstay of Edwardsville's Main Street for 78 years. All six of the Shupack children eventually went into the shoe business either as retail merchants or sales representatives for shoe companies. Three of the sons worked in Oklahoma and Texas. Sam worked in the St. Louis area for Brown Shoe Company. Esther delayed entering the shoe business. She obtained training as a stenographer, a trade she practiced in state offices in Springfield as well as in Edwardsville. In 1947, she left a job as first deputy in the County Clerk's office to join her sister, Celia, at Shupack's Shoe Store. Celia worked with her father at the Edwardsville store until he died in 1943. She continued to manage the store after his death until becoming partners with Esther in 1947. The Shupacks were one of several Jewish merchants in Edwardsville who were successful entrepreneurs due to a strong work ethic as well as impressive marketing and customer service skills. Together they contributed significantly to the area economy. Marilyn Sulc remembers Abe Shupack always telling customers "Thank you for coming, and I hope you have a good fit." One of their innovations for a perfect fit was the use of x-rays to determine if the shoe fit properly. Of course it has now been determined that this was not a safe practice, but at the time it was revolutionary. Auerbach's Dress Shop, another Jewish merchant, occupied the storefront next door to Shupack's for many years. Edwardsville women could purchase a dress at Auerbach's, then move through the connecting door to Shupack's for matching shoes. The two families were close friends as well. The Intelligencer sometimes ran articles about business closures for Jewish holidays, like this one from September 22, 1922, "Beginning last evening and continuing until sunset this evening, members of the Jewish church the world over observed their New Year's holiday. Those who are attending from this city today and tomorrow: Ike Schwartz and son Harry, and his cousin Izzy Shiffer, Mr. and Mrs. Abe Shupack and family, Mr. and Mrs. M. Goldfried, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Rodenberg, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Maack and Ben Lerner. The Leader Clothing Company and the Oh-Gee Shoe Store were closed all day today." The Shupacks were social people with family and Jewish friends, but generally kept to themselves in the early years. Dolores Rohrkaste, who grew up on the same block as the Shupacks, believes it was to avoid conflict because there were some who were not accepting of their faith. On numerous occasions Rohrkaste invited them to the country club in the 1950s, but they never accepted. It wasn't until years later that she was told how Jews were not welcome there. Rohrkaste greatly admired the Shupack family. When she was older she learned that the Santa who visited her and her sister each Christmas was actually Abe Shupack. (Santa always brought them new bedroom slippers.) Although they didn't fraternize with others outside of business, the Shupaks had many relatives in America, and they often gathered at the house on Ruskin Avenue or the Shupacks traveled to see them. Rebecca Shupak was a Shapiro before her marriage to Abe Shupack. Long after her death, the family all went to Springfield, Illinois, to celebrate the inauguration of Rebecca's nephew, Samuel Shapiro. He became Governor of Illinois when Otto Kerner stepped down in 1968. It was this cousin of the Shupack sisters who proposed legislation in Springfield from a group of Edwardsville merchants to limit the products that the new SIUE Campus Store was allowed to sell. Like most successful businessmen of his time, Mr. Shupack belonged to the Masonic Lodge and his daughters to Eastern Star. Esther and Celia later were active in the Edwardsville Business and Professional Women's Club and the League of Women Voters. The family matriarch, Rebecca, died in 1942. After her death the Shupacks hired a housekeeper to help manage the house on Ruskin. There were three adults in the house, but they all worked long hours. When Abe died in 1943, the three youngest Shupack brothers were all in service for World War II. The Shupack sisters and their youngest brother, Milton, all lived in the house on Ruskin after their retirements. The sisters retired in 1984, but Shupack's Shoe Store remained open under new management for another five years before closing. Celia and Esther died in 1993 and 1995 respectively. The Shupack home remained in the family until 2007 when the last of Abe and Rebecca's children, Milton Shupack, died at the age of 98. . Information for this article was obtained from resources at the Madison County Archival Library, the Madison County Recorder and Probate Offices, Edwardsville Public Library and from residents that knew the family. If you have questions about this article, contact Cindy Reinhardt at 618-656-1294 or cynreinhardt@yahoo.com. Wall Street analysts have given Enel Generacion Chile 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 Enel Generacion Chile wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring View the latest news, buy/sell ratings, SEC filings and insider transactions for your stocks. Compare your portfolio performance to leading indices and get personalized stock ideas based on your portfolio. Stock Ideas and Recommendations Get daily stock ideas top-performing Wall Street analysts. Get short term trading ideas from the MarketBeat Idea Engine. View which stocks are hot on social media with MarketBeat's trending stocks report. 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. China will cut the import duty on passenger cars to 15 per cent, further opening up a market thats been a chief target of the U.S. in its trade fight with the worlds second-largest economy. Chinas finance ministry said Tuesday the levy will be lowered effective July 1 from the current 25 per cent that has been in place for more than a decade, boosting shares of automakers from India to Europe. It was reported last month that China was weighing proposals to reduce the car import levy to 10 per cent or 15 per cent. A reduction in the import duty follows a truce between U.S. President Donald Trumps administration and Chinese officials as they seek to defuse tensions and avert an all-out trade war. This is, without a doubt, positive news, said Juergen Pieper, Frankfurt-based head of automobiles research at Bankhaus Metzler. You cant completely disregard the fact that there are certain imbalances in Chinas favour. This could be a signal that if one side is making concessions, it could lead to the Americans easing some of their pressure as well. Shares of Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors Ltd. and BMW AG posted their biggest intraday gains in more than a month on the news. Beijings finance ministry said the step is intended to help reduce prices and aid competition. The import duty on car parts will also be reduced to 6 per cent. Read more: Airlines caving to Beijing despite White House protest Trumps push to save Chinas ZTE could imperil $150 million for terrorism victims Starbucks to open new China store every 15 hours until 2022 The shift is significant more for its optics than its potential impact, given imported cars made up only about 4.2 per cent of the countrys 28.9 million in automobile sales last year. The latest round of tariff easing is part of a flurry of policy announcements in recent months aimed at demonstrating Chinas commitment to opening the economy -- partly in response to the accusations of protectionism levelled by the Trump administration. Ford and Porsche, maker of the Cayenne and Panamera car models, welcomed the announcement. Chinese customers will have a chance to enjoy an even optimized price and pursue more personalized options when buying a car, Porsche said in a statement. Yet the reduced tariffs will make little difference to certain U.S. automakers. Traditional Detroit brands such as Lincoln and Jeep collectively exported fewer than 100,000 vehicles to China last year. The main reason, said Bloomberg intelligence analyst Kevin Tynan, is that the 25-per-cent tariff the carmakers faced for years forced them to open plants with partners in the country to avoid import taxes altogether. I dont think it changes much, Tynan said in a phone interview. The companies are already established in terms of manufacturing and dealer networks. And 15 per cent is still a significant tariff. Ford Motor Co. did the most exporting among U.S. automakers by shipping almost 74,000 cars to China last year, mostly for its premium brand Lincoln, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. But Toyota Motor Corp. and BMW AG each both almost tripled Fords vehicle imports. Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will enjoy lower tariffs on Jeep sport utility vehicles, although imports have been falling as the company makes more of its models in China. Tesla Inc. will benefit because Chinas government provides incentives to new-energy vehicle buyers, and the electric-car maker relied entirely on imports for the more than $2 billion (U.S.) in sales it generated in the country last year. The Tesla brand ranks second so far this year among U.S. automakers, trailing only Fords Lincoln. Still, both Lincoln and Tesla have plans in the works to manufacture cars in China soon. Ford will introduce a locally assembled Lincoln SUV next year, while Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has said he may announce the location of the companys first car and battery plant in China by the third quarter. Read more about: NEW YORKEnergized by the #MeToo movement, two national advocacy groups are teaming up to lodge sexual harassment complaints against McDonalds on behalf of 10 women who have worked at the fast food restaurant in nine cities. The workers one of them a 15-year-old from St. Louis alleged groping, propositions for sex, indecent exposure and lewd comments by supervisors. According to their complaints, when the women reported the harassment, they were ignored or mocked, and in some cases suffered retaliation. The legal effort was organized by Fight for $15, which campaigns to raise pay for low-wage workers. The legal costs are being covered by the TIMES UP Legal Defence Fund, which was launched in January by the National Womens Law Center to provide attorneys for women who cannot afford to bring cases on their own. The complaints, filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, are being announced on Tuesday, two days ahead of the companys annual shareholder meeting in Oak Brook, Ill. Responding to the claims, McDonalds spokesperson Terri Hickey said there is no place for harassment and discrimination of any kind in the workplace. McDonalds Corporation takes allegations of sexual harassment very seriously and are confident our independent franchisees who own and operate approximately 90 per cent of our 14,000 U.S. restaurants will do the same, Hickey said by email. Read more: Confusion about consent is increasing in the age of #metoo, Canadian survey shows B.C. venue hires consent captain to help prevent sexual harassment, assaults Stories that uncovered Weinstein sexual-harassment scandal win Pulitzer Prize Fight for $15 said the restaurants named in the complaints are run by franchisees, not directly by McDonalds. But the complaints name both McDonalds Corp. and the franchisee part of Fight for $15s effort to hold the company responsible for wage and employment issues at franchised locations. The company claims its franchisees are independent business owners, and that stance has complicated efforts to unionize workers across the entire McDonalds chain. When similar sexual harassment charges were lodged by Fight for $15 workers two years ago, McDonalds promised a review of those allegations. However, Hickey in her new response declined to say whether that review led to any changes of policies and practices aimed at curtailing such harassment. Among the new complainants is Tanya Harrell, 22, of New Orleans, who alleges that her two managers teased her, but otherwise took no action after she told them of sustained verbal and physical harassment by a co-worker. Harrell, who makes $8.15 (U.S.) an hour, says going public with her complaint may be emotionally taxing, but she is proud of her decision. I feel like I have a voice now, she said in a telephone interview. It gives me a bit of motivation and a bit of courage. In addition to New Orleans and St. Louis, charges were filed by workers in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami; Orlando, Fla.; Durham, N.C., and Kansas City, Mo. The new allegations come almost two years after 15 McDonalds workers in Fight for $15 filed a series of sexual harassment complaints against the company. Attorneys for the workers plan to ask the EEOC to consolidate or co-ordinate the newly filed charges, as well as some of the 2016 charges that remain pending. What is different this time, organizers say, is that all of the women bringing charges are represented by attorneys due to the defence funds support. More broadly, the #MeToo movement that exploded last October has emboldened more women to speak out and has prompted some employers to alter their approach to harassment, said National Womens Law Center CEO Fatima Goss Graves. Most companies have a policy saying no sexual harassment, but how do you make that work? she asked. Right now, because of the huge power disparities, its easy to just wait out the complaints and nothing really changes. Eve Cervantez, a lawyer with the San Francisco-based public interest law firm Altshuler Berzon, is working on the new complaints. She says they represent an effort to extend the power of #MeToo to low-wage women whose predicaments have not drawn as much attention as harassment victims in Hollywood, the media and other sectors. The women filing charges want McDonalds to take sexual harassment seriously and enforce its already existing zero tolerance policy, Cervantez said. We think McDonalds can use its power and influence to guarantee a safer workplace for all its employees Fight for $15 is calling on the company to hold mandatory trainings about sexual harassment for managers and employees and to create a safe, effective system for receiving and responding to complaints. As part of the initiative, Fight for $15 said it is establishing a hotline that workers can use to have their complaints reviewed by attorneys. Activists say sexual harassment is pervasive in the fast food industry. They cite a 2016 survey by Hart Research Associates conducted for three advocacy groups which calculated that 40 per cent of female fast food workers experience unwanted sexual behaviour on the job. Read more about: Melinda Gates is enormously wealthy. She is a philanthropist who does good works. She commands attention. She is a role model for women. She also said, not all that long ago in a Time magazine video, that she originally thought that womens issues were the soft issues. And I was just wrong about that. Gates is co-chair, with Canadian ambassador to France Isabelle Hudon, of the Gender Equality Advisory Council, created by the Trudeau government as a foundation stone of this countrys G7 presidency being held in early June in Charlevoix, Que. Trudeau is making a big splash about this, pushing gender equality across not just the obvious themes (economic empowerment), but through a gender-lensed approach to climate change and national security, to name just two. Gender equality has not previously shared G7 centre stage to this degree. The advisory council has the considerable mandate of working to ensure that gender equality and gender-based analysis are integrated across all themes, activities and outcomes of Canadas G7 presidency. It is the pervasiveness of gender equality that Trudeau hopes will make this years G7 summit not only distinctly us, but will travel thematically to future G7s. Think of it as a legacy initiative. We are used to this language here at home. The governments focus on gender-responsive budgeting last February comes to mind. And with each initiative it is important to point out what a poor job Canada has been doing not only in the lofty corporate realm (the representation of women on boards), how slow we have been to act (the gender pay gap) and how lousy we are at simply digging out the facts. I have previously made mention of an IMF survey of G7 and non-G7 nations that have adopted gender budgeting, by example. Canada rated only a limited application grade across such measures as existence of fiscal data disaggregated by gender and specific arrangements for co-ordinating policy decisions on gender related issues. We have much work to do. And data and measurement should come first. There are signals that Gates will be the right person for the task. In a branded content feature in the New York Times paid-for content, in other words the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation published a long feature on the imperative of closing the gender data gap. Quoting United Nations Foundation senior fellow Mayra Buvinic, the piece drives home the point that you cant define policies and measure progress without data as a starting point. Not having data on a certain area, behaviour or society means that you cannot design the right policies, you cannot track progress, you cannot evaluate, Buvinic said. You are basically not accountable. Buvinic is frequently featured as the spokesperson for Data2X, an initiative of the UN Foundation working with academia and the private sector to promote expanded and unbiased gender data collection. Data2X seeks nothing less than a gender data revolution. A common refrain from the group: Without data equality, there is no gender equality. As the Gates-sponsored New York Times piece pointed out, the data gap often starts early. Barriers to birth registrations can impede mobility later, as well as access to health care and other essential services for mothers and children. The gap continues with male-biased surveys that fail to capture womens perspectives, their needs and their economic value. Without accurate global data, the piece continues, theres no way to measure progress toward achieving the goals for gender equality and the global ambition to leave no one behind. Two years ago, the Gates Foundation, Data2X and Global Affairs Canada were among the signatories supporting the acceleration toward gender equality through a UN resolution that specifically underscored the critical importance of gathering high quality, comparable and regular gender- and age-disaggregated statistics. It is gender data that will point out disparities, the resolution found. Good gender data provides the much-needed detail on the disparities that exist between men and women and boys and girls, addresses the existing gaps of inequality, and measures the impact of policy and programmatic interventions. The bottom line: gender data holds power to make the invisible, visible and actionable. That resolution, by the way, was launched at the Women Deliver conference in Copenhagen. Canada plays host to the 2019 Women Deliver conference next spring, in Vancouver. Prime Minister Trudeau desperately wants to be make his mark with equality. We know that. But he would be wise at this juncture to let Gates take at least some of the spotlight. In March, the Gates Foundation announced it will spend $170 million (U.S.) over the next four years to help women exercise their economic power. In a piece for Quartz, Melinda Gates described this initiative as a new focus. Weve been investing in womens health for a long time and seen significant progress. But as I spend more time visiting communities and meeting people around the world, I am convinced that well never reach our goals if we dont also address the systemic way that women and girls are undervalued. The details on that lie in the data. Lets just hope that as the advisory council makes its recommendations, that the data imperative prevails. jenwells@thestar.ca Airline passengers who use social media to vent their rage at being stuck on a tarmac for hours or waiting days for their luggage to arrive may get some apologetic words from the company, but are unlikely to recoup any money for their efforts. Thats because the percentage of Canadians who actually apply to airlines for compensation is in the single digits, something that Jacob Charbonneau hopes to change. The former airline employee is co-founder and CEO of Flight Claim, a Quebec-based company that has helped passengers reclaim $1.5 million in compensation for flight delays, cancellation, lost baggage and overbooking since starting less than two years ago. Charbonneau saw the services potential after helping a colleague fight an airline over a $900 claim. I didnt find that it was fair that people werent able to get the compensation only because theyre not aware of their rights or theyre not aware of how to get that compensation, he said in an interview. There is plenty of untapped potential because less than 5 per cent of Canadian passengers bother to file claims for compensation, Charbonneau said. With Flight Claim, passengers complete an online form and leave the company to handle the rest. Theres no fee, but the company gets paid 25 per cent of the award if it is successful. A similar business model is used by a myriad of competitors that operate abroad under names such as Weclaim, Green Claim, Refund.me, EUclaim and Flightright. While airlines are getting better at managing their fleet, a 5 per cent annual growth of passengers is straining airports, airlines and air traffic controllers, resulting in more delays, cancellations, and the odds of getting bumped, according to Henrik Zillmer, founder of AirHelp, which offers a service similar to Flight Claim. It also takes a 25 per cent commission. Only 15 per cent of global passengers obtain compensation, leaving 85 per cent high and dry, he said. Its very much a secret that the airlines have kept from you that we are now trying to tell all air passengers, he said from New York City. The company says it has helped more than 20,000 Canadians who stumbled upon the service even though it only formally launched in Canada last month. Customers can allow AirHelp to link with their email to automatically monitor if they are entitled to any compensation on flights they have taken. AirHelp sometimes steps in to sue airlines that reject refund applications knowing most passengers will give up and not attempt to force the situation by filing suit within the three-year expiry period, Zillmer said. Gabor Lukacs, founder of advocacy group Air Passenger Rights Canada, says he supports efforts to help passengers get the compensation they deserve, but hes not confident that for-profit companies will bear the expense of helping the more challenging cases that would require litigation. Not all companies are the same in the sense that many of them are just looking for the low hanging fruit, said Lukacs, a mathematician who has gone to court and challenged regulator rulings in the defence of passengers. While online tools or apps can be useful, Lukacs warns passengers not to rely solely on their opinion. His groups website offers free advice and has templates of letters that should be sent to airlines in the case of baggage claims. Its 7,000 members also offer advice based on their own experiences through its Facebook account. We work as a community. Its a non-profit network where we try to give people some guidance on what theyre next steps could be, he said. Lukacs is also unconvinced that passengers will get more money from Ottawas proposed air passenger bill of rights because the yet-to-be-passed bill will relieve airlines from being obligated to pay compensation for maintenance issues that cause delays. The Liberal governments bill is going to double the amount of money passengers are not going to get. Experts suggest that passengers who think they might be eligible for compensation keep documentation on expenses paid, ask for the reason for the flight delay or cancellation in writing, record interactions with airline staff, not accept food vouchers in lieu of claims and not trust advice from airline ground staff who are likely not familiar with the law. In Europe, things are much easier, Lukacs said. But in Canada because you may be facing a high level of burden of proof, you should really document things as meticulously as you can. CALGARYBridget Casey is facing the dilemma so many parents must deal with sooner or later: stay home with the baby or find a daycare and devote more time to her career. However, the finance blogger thinks many people are deciding not to have children at all after crunching the numbers on the cost of daycare. I really think this is putting millennials in an extraordinary financial bind, she said. Young couples are only qualifying for mortgages based on both their incomes. Although parents in Toronto and Vancouver pay more for child care, Calgary is the most expensive city in Alberta. A 2016 survey of Canadas largest cities found that Calgarys median monthly daycare fee for a toddler was $1,050, more than 20 per cent higher than Edmontons median of $835. Cost aside, even getting a child into daycare can be a daunting task in and of itself, because the numbers also show a daycare crunch in Calgary. The provincial government said that, as of March, there was a 97 per cent enrolment rate at 300 daycare programs in the Calgary region. That works out to 18,829 children enrolled in 19,429 spaces. Although that suggests there are 600 free spots in Calgary, those vacancies dont always line up with the communities where theyre most needed. Sarah Falk, registration team leader at daycare and preschool provider Kids U, has worked in child care for over a decade. She said that in a previous job she saw huge waiting lists in the southeast, as young couples and families moved into new communities there. One facility had 600 names on a waiting list. You could go on the waitlist when you peed on the stick, and you could still not get a spot, said Falk. Ive seen that happen. However the desperation of parents seeking a spot could actually contribute to those long wait lists in a vicious cycle. People will just put their name on any list especially in those outlying communities where theres not as much availability, said Falk. They will contact everyone and put their name on every list. The provinces Ministry of Childrens Services said it doesnt keep statistics on wait lists. StarMetro contacted multiple daycares to talk about their wait lists, but none wanted to share those numbers. Martha Friendly, executive director of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, a policy research unit in Ontario, has collected available data on daycares across Canada since the early 1990s. She explained that compared with European nations, or even the U.S. and Australia, Canadas data on daycare availability is lacking. Good data is a really good tool for planning, she said. Its very hard to do that unless you have some decent data; you dont know if theyre being under-serviced. Casey is at the application stage right now and is facing fees to even get on a wait list at just about every daycare she applies to. I spent hundreds of dollars just for the privilege of paying $1,500 a month for daycare two years from now, said Casey. She said the application fees ranged from $50 to $150. When I applied to six places, thats money I could have spent anywhere. I couldve put it in my daughters RESP, said Casey. The practice of charging fees to get ones name on a daycare wait list has been banned by the province of Ontario. A provincial spokesperson said that although Alberta doesnt currently restrict the practice, it is looking at ways to reduce costs for young families and is always looking at other jurisdictions for examples. In a 2017 paper that Friendly co-authored for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, she found that Calgary was the worst city in Canada for charging wait list fees, with 29 per cent of centres charging a fee. She said wait list fees really represent a barrier to care for families in precarious financial situations. If youre poor, you dont have money for a wait list fee, said Friendly. She said the elimination of the fees in Ontario came about after two parents who also happened to be lawyers started to raise the issue with their MPP and the media. After the ban came into effect in 2016, Friendly later discovered through her data collection that some Ontario daycares were still charging wait list fees. She flagged those to the proper authorities. It just goes to show you that policy matters, she said. It makes a difference. Read more about: CALGARYA labour advocacy group is demanding the NDP government strengthen campaign finance rules after discovering a failed city council candidate potentially violated the law. Alex Shevalier, president of the Calgary District and Labour Council, called on the province to grant Elections Alberta the authority to enforce the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) and the power to investigate infractions. Its time to make the Local Authorities Election Act an effective piece of legislation instead of just words on paper, Shevalier said in a statement. Elections Alberta is only responsible for provincial elections and campaigns. Local races are overseen by Municipal Affairs, which has promised to review the legislation this year. Shevalier pointed to Sean Yosts campaign disclosure statement, which shows more than half the contributions raised for his unsuccessful bid in Ward 6 in last Octobers election. The filing shows Yost, who placed a distant third behind rookie Councillor Jeff Davison, spent $118,830 on his campaign and ran a deficit of nearly $13,000. It also shows Yost contributed $64,251 toward his own campaign, exceeding the $10,000 limit allowed under the Local Authorities Election Act. Yost declined to comment for this story. Anyone found guilty of contravening the act could be fined up to $5,000. However, enforcement of the act is left to individual citizens through local police or the Court of Queens Bench. Frankly, whos going to do that? said Shevalier. You need to spend tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours of time for what? A maximum fine of $5,000. Calgarys chief returning officer said candidates are responsible for ensuring they stay within the limit and that shes powerless to enforce the legislation. It is very much the provinces purview, and the mechanism theyve given an elector to challenge somebodys contribution levels is the courts, Laura Kennedy told StarMetro. If he had a surplus from a previous election (campaign) that he carried forward thats not a contribution from him, she added. Theres no record of Yost running for city council before 2017. Critics have long derided Albertas municipal campaign finance rules as being too limited and weak compared to other jurisdictions across Canada. While cities such as Toronto impose spending caps, municipal candidates here are not hampered by spending or fundraising limits and dont have to reveal their donor lists until after the election. The NDP government has promised to amend Albertas municipal election laws and is expected to launch public consultations this summer. We expect municipal campaign finance reform to be a part of legislation this fall, said Lauren Arscott, press secretary for Municipal Affairs Minister Shaye Anderson, in an email. Our review is intended to be comprehensive, and we will evaluate many aspects of the LAEA including portions about campaign finances and disclosure. Read more about: CALGARYThe spectre of a new NAFTA deal, or possibly the end of the North American Free Trade Agreement, is not stopping officials in Montana from trying to strengthen trade with Alberta. Next week, officials with the Great Falls Montana Development Authority (GFDA) will be touring Alberta looking to make connections and grow businesses on both sides of the border. Brett Doney, president of the GFDA, said they call the annual tour their aspirational trip. The province has done so much in looking at food and agricultural processing, said Doney. Its well ahead of Montana in that regard everything from meat and grain and oil seed processing to looking at bio chemicals, bio plastics, bio packaging. One goal during the trip is to show Alberta businesses thinking about expanding into the United States what Great Falls has to offer, but he said its not about poaching businesses across the border. No ones going to move, said Doney. That just doesnt happen. Instead, what they hope to offer is a space for Alberta companies that need a U.S. presence. With a smaller population (about 60,000 people), Great Falls can offer much more affordable space than what one would find in Albertas major cities. Our rail and industrial park, were selling land with rail and all utilities for $30,000 U.S. an acre, said Doney. If youre in Calgary or Edmonton, its a different price structure. Ed Friesen, president and CEO of Friesen Livestock in Medicine Hat, first set up a location in Great Falls in 2001, and next week hes holding the grand opening of an expanded sales and service centre. Despite there being an international border, Friesen said hes better poised to serve the Montana market than many American firms in the same business. For them to ship their products into Montana is a costly thing. he said. Were two to three hours away from most of our customers, so we have an advantage there. According to the province, Alberta averaged $2.46 billion in exports annually to Montana between 2012 and 2016. In 2016, we imported $215 million from the state. The concern is that an end to NAFTA could mean tariffs on certain products, although Friesen notes that tariffs could be used against the U.S. as well. Overall, hes not too concerned about the negotiations. NAFTA is a pretty broad scope, said Friesen. There may be some changes to NAFTA, but I doubt it will negatively affect Canada. Doney said free and open trade over the Alberta-Montana border is absolutely critical. We have many co-dependencies, he said. Particularly in our area with Alberta where we need to make cross border trade easier, not more difficult. Read more about: EDMONTONProfessor, psychologist and bestselling author Jordan Peterson is returning to Edmonton after controversial comments promoting enforced monogamy. The Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium announced Friday that it will host a lecture by Peterson on July 28, as part of his 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos book tour. Peterson, who gained notoriety as a University of Toronto professor after saying he would refuse to use some transgender students proper gender pronouns, previously toured through the Edmonton area in February when he appeared at Sherwood Parks Clarion Hotel and Conference Centre. His February appearance was initially scheduled to take place at the Citadel Theatre. Two transgender women spoke with StarMetro after the February event was announced and expressed concerns that his speech could embolden Edmontonians who hold transphobic views. The theatre cancelled the event before the contract was finalized, with officials saying the Citadel reserves the right to refuse events that are not in keeping with our mandate, values or vision statement. Peterson, who grew up in Alberta, called the cancellation unprofessional, while dozens of his supporters blasted the theatres decision on social media. The lecture was then picked up by the Hyatt Downtown, before being moved to a bigger room at the Clarion Hotel to accommodate 600 people. To counter Petersons message, Progress Alberta organized a dance party on the same night as the lecture to celebrate the LGBTQ community. Peterson has run into several controversies since then. New York Times reporter Nellie Bowles wrote last week that she asked Peterson about the recent Toronto van attack in which Alek Minassian is accused of killing 10 people. Minassian had said online he is part of an incel group and was upset that women would not have sex with him, which some suspect motivated the attack. Bowles reported that Peterson said in response, The cure for that is enforced monogamy. Peterson expanded on his remarks in a blog post Sunday. Frustrated men tend to become dangerous, particularly if they are young. The dangerousness of frustrated young men (even if that frustration stems from their own incompetence) has to be regulated socially. The manifold social conventions tilting most societies toward monogamy constitute such regulation, he wrote. The Jubilee took heat on social media over the weekend after announcing the event, with two Twitter users urging them to cancel it, one calling Peterson a misogynistic fascist. On Facebook, one commenter wrote, I would attend just to scowl at the bs spewed by this man. The Jubilees main theatre holds more than 2,500 people. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster, with prices ranging from $35 to $125. A spokesperson for Peterson said he is on tour in the United States and not available for comment Tuesday. Read more about: Amelia Longo spent four years helping to build a web design firm with values she believed in. She launched a fellowship to train under-represented people in tech and developed ways to make the companys hiring process more inclusive. For a while, Longo, who had bounced around the arts non-profit and tech worlds since graduating from college, thought maybe she had finally found her forever job. But then she realized something had changed. No matter how committed she was to the team and the company, she was unhappy working there. She wanted to do something else, something, shed half-joke, that would more directly help dismantle the racist capitalist ableist heteropatriarchy. So she quit. She gave her boss three months notice, is working on finding her replacement, and did it all without a job lined up, without much more than a plan to just, you know, figure it out. And this was the second time in her 10-year career that she had left a job without anything in place. Declaring this quitting-sans-new-job a bona fide trend is hard to prove there arent the numbers to back that up. but at a time when employee burnout is at a high, more people are freelancing and working in non-traditional work environments, and companies are now built around the idea that everyone is always looking for the next job. Its become common to see Looking for my next opportunity! on LinkedIn and certain corners of the professional world are changing their perspective on the once-taboo resume gap. You are probably rolling your eyes right now (What an exercise in privilege!). Or, you might be nodding your head (Girl, I feel you). You might be a tad envious (If only I could do that ...). Or, maybe you feel a mix of all three. This is, after all, not a thing everyone has the safety net to pull off. But before you hate, read the rest of this article, here is what the trend is not about: quitting on a whim. Although there will always be those who make impulse decisions, the people who are quitting without jobs are doing it in calculated, strategic moves due to emotionally and mentally exhausted states that they say prevent them from searching for other jobs. In a lot of ways, its an act of desperation. But its also a way to take back control. And it reflects a now widely acceptable belief among young professionals that work shouldnt kill you, that it must be meaningful and fulfilling. Abby Mosconi, 34, started suffering from regular panic attacks at her ad agency office and eventually quit. Having been socialized to get on the conveyor belt go to school, get a real job, retire it had taken almost 10 years to realize that wasnt the right path for her. Quitting, she says, was necessary to figuring out how to build a career that made her happy. Umm, can you really do that and not kill your career? asks parents everywhere. It depends. Tessa Dill, a recruiter with Uber, says taking time between jobs is so common in the tech world, especially for those working at Silicon Valley companies who often quit once their stock vests, that from a hiring perspective, a resume gap is no big deal. Jeanne Meister, a partner at HR advisory firm Future Workplace, says shes noticed less of a stigma around being between jobs as long as you can explain the gap. Its often a marker of ambition, Meister said. That ambition and the impatience to see results is a quality of the millennial workforce, according to Northeastern University professor Alicia Modestino, who studies the youth labour market. Other generations played by the rules, Modestino said. Not millennials. Thats in part shaped by the fact that all those rules went away. Ah, the dreaded m-word. Its a loaded term that many associate with other words like irresponsible and entitled. And thats exactly how quitting without a job lined up could be perceived by other companies, said Mikal C. Harden, co-founder of Philly recruiting firm Juno Search Partners. Not to mention, Harden added, that it would put you in a weaker negotiating position when you get that next job. (In the tech sector, Dill pointed out, established companies generally follow salary ranges for specific positions.) You also might not survive the break, Meister cautioned. Brand-name companies are stretching out the recruiting process, so if youre going to go down this route, you have to be aware that if you want your next dream job, it could easily take six months, she said. Ashley Bernard, 27, who in March quit her marketing job at a digital agency because she didnt see a future for herself there, wasnt worried about her negotiating power for her next gig. In fact, it hadnt crossed her mind. Shed take a pay cut if she had to. What was more important was giving herself the time and space to find a job she was passionate about. Meanwhile, shes living off her savings. Although by definition, millennial means you were born between 1981 and 1996, the term tends to conjure up white, college-educated, young professionals. And, for the most part, it is early-career people with degrees who are more likely to quit without anything lined up, Meister said. But other kinds of privileges allow people to take these leaps of faith: savings, freedom from financial responsibilities like taking care of a family, social capital, and confidence in your skills and hirability. Longo talked about how, after the first time she quit without anything lined up, she went to an event at a local theatre and got offered two jobs. It made her realize: I have a deep network. Im a talented person. Im going to land. It also helped that she had gotten a settlement from a bike accident and that her parents live nearby, so if she ever really needed to, she could move in with them. Dave Labold, 31, a former teacher who twice quit without a job because he was so burned out it was affecting his work, survived with odd jobs offered by friends. His housemate, who owned their South Philly home, gave him a pass on rent when things were particularly hard. Then theres the matter of what your parents think, or rather, how honest theyll be about what they think. Bernard, whose mother is an immigrant from Haiti and longtime nurse, burst out laughing when asked about her parents reaction. She was like, But you dont have any money. I was like, I have my feelings and intuition! Bernard said. Her mother eventually came around, but Bernard says she still feels a lot of first-generation American guilt, knowing that shes in a position to do this because of the sacrifices her parents made. Bernard is still early in her quitting process Ask me in a few weeks and my answers might be totally different, she acknowledges but so far, shes felt good about her decision. Longo says, because she is someone who is always working at 100 per cent, she has realized this kind of break is what she needs to figure out her next steps. Mosconi has built a hybrid career for herself doing two things she always wanted to do but never thought she could make a living from: writing and singing. And Labold well, hes still not sure what he wants to do. The career he thought hed have by the time he hit his 30s being a social studies teacher never panned out. Hes working at a Trader Joes right now. But hes happy. Happier than he was. He says this whole process has forced him to rethink some of his assumptions. Life isnt really defined by your work, he said. Im trying to find the other things. OTTAWAThe federal government introduced new family-law legislation Tuesday aimed at helping families settle disputes outside court, encouraging better enforcement of child support and preserving the well-being of children who are caught in the middle. Many of the proposed changes, the first major update to Canadas family laws in 20 years, seek to consider the best interests of children, said Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. The legislation proposes child-focused language, which means replacing terms like custody and access terms that have been known to fuel conflict between parents with parenting orders and parenting time. The government is moving away from terms like shared custody because in some cases, if its not in the best interest of the child, its no longer the goal, Wilson-Raybould said. The government wanted to move away from what some have deemed adversarial language where theres a winner and a loser, to moving towards parenting, orders and parenting time that more specifically address the duties and responsibilities of parents themselves, she told a news conference. The proposed changes would include a list of factors that a court must consider when deciding what would be in the childs best interest, such as the physical, emotional and psychological safety and well-being of impacted kids, among other factors such as linguistic, cultural and spiritual heritage, including Indigenous heritage. Read more: Making family laws easier to navigate Childrens interests must be weighed in international custody cases, Supreme Court says NDP justice critic Murray Rankin said he supports the goals of the family justice bill, particularly the elements that encourage protecting the best interests of affected children and the consideration of family violence in deciding parenting arrangements. The legislation would require courts to take family violence and a number of other factors into account when deciding parenting arrangements. Rankin said he plans to study the bill in detail to determine whether the proposed measures are the best way to reach these goals. The Conservative opposition said it will also review the legislation to ensure its in the best interest of Canadians. Any measure to ease the trauma of divorce for children is a good thing, said Andrea Mrozek, the family program director at Cardus Institute, a faith-based think tank. Mrozek said her organization hears a lot about the best interests of the child, and she wonders how much will change. Neither courts nor lawyers have been ignoring the best interests of children, regardless of what the Liberals are saying, she said. In addition to changes to the Divorce Act, Mrozek said there needs to be a general recognition of the power and importance of marriage, particularly for children. I dont know (that) a bill to change the Divorce Act is going to address what is a cultural matter, and thats the nature we approach marriage today. Wilson-Raybould said the proposed bill would encourage parties to use mechanisms other than the court system, such as family dispute resolution and mediation services a measure welcomed by Mrozek if it means avoiding an adversarial court battle. The proposed amendments will also encourage the parties, where appropriate, to use family dispute resolution options such as mediation or collaborative law to resolve their disputes outside the court, Wilson-Raybould said. Family law professionals play an important role in helping their clients to learn about non-court options. The bill expands duties for regular advisers to helping encourage their clients where appropriate to come to fair and amicable resolutions outside the court room. The proposed measures, she added, would also give courts the option of accessing more information about the income levels of parents. In some cases, Bill C-78 would permit an application to the Canada Revenue Agency when determining the appropriate amount for settlements both in and out of court, and when seeking to enforce child support payments. The proposed legislation would make changes to the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act. Read more about: MEXICO CITYMexican aviation authorities are suspending a Mexican charter company that owned a passenger jet that crashed in Cuba, killing 110 people. The General Directorate of Civil Aviation said Monday in a statement that the decision was made to carry out an extraordinary review to verify whether Aerolineas Damojh is complying with the law. Damojh uses the commercial name Global Air. Authorities also want to compile information to help with an investigation launched by the Cuban government into the cause of Fridays crash. Both Mexico and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board have announced they would send experts to Cuba. Havana has also said that Boeing, which made the airliner in question, is participating. The 39-year-old aircraft was being rented from Damojh by Cuban state-run airline Cubana de Aviacion. Read more: Officials say the Mexican company whose plane crashed in Havana received major safety complaints Three survivors of Cuba plane crash in extremely grave condition Cuban state media report three survivors after jet carrying 114 crashes in Havana Three recent trials in Ontario have been rocked by juror misconduct connected to the internet, reviving concerns about the challenges of ensuring a fair trial in the digital age. Jurors in Toronto, Barrie and Ottawa were discovered conducting their own independent research, despite strict instructions from judges that they were not to use the internet or any electronic device in connection with the case in any way. Because of Canadian jury privacy laws, its impossible to determine if these cases are the exception and whether juries are, as required by law, reaching verdicts based only on the evidence presented in court. But the cases have justice insiders wondering if it is a more widespread phenomenon and if anything can be done, as Ontarios top court put it in 2015, to curb the appetite of jurors seeking online material where there is little quality control over content. In Ottawa, at a just-completed motor vehicle personal injury trial, the plaintiffs raised concerns about extrinsic and erroneous information that made its way into the jury room. How can justice be done between the parties when Google is the judge and the jury, the plaintiffs lawyers, led by Tom Connolly, wrote in a factum filed in court arguing for a mistrial. Read more: Got jury duty? Ontario asks you to serve for below minimum wage and wont pay your expenses Ottawas justice reforms will change how juries are selected, bail is set and trials are held Editorial | Its past time to tackle Ontarios jury problem After eight weeks of evidence, jurors who were not sequestered while deliberating sent a note to the judge asking about a regulation under the Insurance Act, which wasnt introduced during the trial. The foreman, when questioned, admitted he had consulted the internet, and in so doing, brought the wrong law to the attention of the jury, the factum states. The only remedy should be a mistrial, argued the plaintiff. Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland disagreed. In his May 14 written decision, Hackland said that although he shared the plaintiffs concern about the juror engaging in internet research, contrary to my express instructions, he felt his correcting charge was sufficient. To my observation this was a very engaged and diligent jury on the whole and the verdict rendered at the conclusion of this lengthy trial is well supported by the evidence, Hackland wrote. In the two other recent cases, however, mistrials were declared. A Toronto murder trial had to start over after a juror did some online research. Details about the nature of the research remain covered under a publication ban until the conclusion of the followup trial. And a lengthy manslaughter and assault case in Barrie was derailed this month after a juror shared his computer-made crime scene map with fellow jurors and sought information about the trial judge, one of the defence lawyers and the date of surrender of one of the four accused. A retrial in the death of James McCallen, who died after a fight in Bradford, is scheduled for next year. Six weeks down the tubes, said Leo Kinahan, a veteran Newmarket-based defence lawyer who was the subject of the Barrie jurors curiosity. The juror learned Kinahan used to be a cop and shared the information with his fellow jurors, one of whom sent a note informing the judge. Superior Court Justice Guy Di Tomaso didnt pull the plug on the trial because of online searches, finding them relatively innocuous and not enough to give rise to trial unfairness. Instead it was the fact the same juror also visited the crime scene in Bradford and created a map at home on his computer, containing the dimensions and layout of the area and marking in blue lines what he believed to be surveillance camera sight lines. How often jurors conduct their own online searches is impossible to know because, unlike in the U.S., Canadian jurors are prohibited by the Criminal Code from disclosing their deliberations to anyone. I think its still possible for juries to follow the instructions, said Lisa Dufraimont, an associate professor at York Universitys Osgoode Hall Law School. Its just more difficult for people who are used to being connected all the time to actually cut themselves off in that way and not google things as they might normally google. Kinahan isnt sure anything can be done to stop jurors from conducting independent research into a case. He notes Di Tomaso gave a very stern warning to the jury not to do it. If we do come up with a way to police it, I dont think its a country that I would want to live in because it means Big Brother has access to every conceivable thing you do on the internet, he said. Do you want a system where, if they become a jury member, (they) give their passwords to somebody? Nor does he think jurors should be prosecuted for failing to comply with judicial instructions. Di Tomaso told the offending juror his misconduct was condemned by this court, but that was it. Some jurisdictions have gone further. In the United Kingdom, the Juries Act was amended a few years ago to make it an offence for a juror to intentionally seek information relevant to a case. In 2012, a psychology professor who served on a jury in England was found guilty of contempt of court and jailed after conducting research about an accused person. In Australia, some states have enacted legislation prohibiting juror research. But its not something the Ontario government is considering. The presiding judge has full supervisory authority over trial proceedings, including jury trials. If there is an issue with a juror, it is up to the judge to determine next steps, a spokesperson for Ontarios Ministry of the Attorney General wrote in an email to the Star. In 2015, the Ontario Court of Appeal released a decision containing a suggestion on how trial judges can stop the curious from doing research when the jury is not in the courtroom. Judges can add specific examples in the instruction against research, such as telling jurors not to access legal databases. To underscore the point, Justice David Watt wrote that judges could also remind jurors they could potentially be found in contempt of court if they ignore explicit instructions. Osgoodes Dufraimont agrees that instructions to jurors might benefit from highlighting more what theyre not allowed to do, while reminding them their focus must be on the evidence brought out in court. She is unaware of any Canadian examples of a juror charged with contempt of court. And contempt prosecutions, in general, are rare, she said. The threat of contempt is much more useful on a systemic basis than actual prosecutions for contempt. To tell the jurors that it would be contempt of court for them to do the research might have value, even if no prosecutions actually occur. Still, the professor can appreciate the reluctance of courts to appear heavy-handed with people who are performing their civic duty by sitting on a jury. Nobody wants to make criminal prosecutions of jurors who do the wrong thing a regular feature of the criminal justice system, Dufraimont said. That would be a disaster. Thats why beefing up the instructions, in the way cited by the Court of Appeal, might be helpful, she said, without crossing the line of making jurors feel that theyre being punished for participating in the process. OTTAWAA Canadian man who was jailed in Ethiopia for 11 years is calling for an investigation into the federal governments handling of his case, which began as he fled war-ravaged Somalia in 2006 and ended with his long-sought return to Canada last month. Bashir Makhtal made the call for an inquiry on Parliament Hill Tuesday, when he recounted how he endured years of solitary confinement and abuse during his imprisonment in Ethiopia, where he was convicted of terrorism and sentenced to life in jail in 2009. Makhtal has always maintained his innocence, and alleged Tuesday that Canadas consular service missed opportunities to help him as human rights advocates and his family pushed for years to secure his release. Because I could not get help from the Canadian government at the time I needed it, I accepted death, said Makthal, 49. I want to know if the Canadian government knowingly neglected my case. Adam Austen, spokesperson to Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, said in an emailed statement that the government welcomes Ethiopias decision last month to pardon and release Makhtal. Austen said that Freelands parliamentary secretary, Mississauga MP Omar Alghabra, visited Makhtal in Ethiopia and met with him again in Ottawa on Tuesday. He did not say whether the government would consider launching an investigation into Makhtals case. We are always looking for ways to improve Canadas consular services. This includes listening to recommendations on consular services from Canadians who have faced difficulties abroad as Mr. Alghabra is doing today as well as to views from civil society, Austen said. There is nothing more important to this government than the safety and security of Canadians. Makhtal who was born in Ethiopia and moved to neighbouring Somalia when he was 7 emigrated to Canada in 1991, became a citizen in 1994 and lived in Toronto, where he worked as a computer technician for CIBC. He later took a job in Djibouti with his friends clothing company, and frequently travelled between Canada and Africa, he said. He was in Somalia in 2006 when violence in the capital forced him to flee by land to Kenya, where he was arrested at the border on New Years Eve. He initially figured he was being detained for routine processing along with several others, but said that he grew concerned when he was transferred to Nairobi and questioned by agents from Ethiopia a country he hadnt visited since he was a boy. He notified Canadian consular staff in Kenya, who visited him in his cell and wrote a letter on his behalf, he said. But it wasnt enough to prevent him being deported to Ethiopia three weeks later. Makhtal said he managed to get a cellphone from a fellow prisoner to call his wife and lawyer and tell them what was happening, and said he was severely beaten when he initially refused to board the plane that took him to Ethiopia. He was held for long periods of solitary confinement in horrific, inhuman conditions, he said, describing his cell as a small, underground room with a floor that was often wet. He said he was frequently woken in the middle of the night for questioning, alleging officials wanted to turn him into a collaborator against ethnic Somali people in the oil-rich Ogaden region of the country. Makhtals grandfather co-founded the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a group that was formed to push for independence and is considered a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government. In 2009, after two years of imprisonment in Ethiopia, Makhtal was convicted of terrorism for alleged links to the group charges that Makhtal and his family have always denied. Meanwhile, in Canada, his wife and family campaigned for his release, while his lawyer Lorne Waldeman and Amnesty International repeatedly urged Ottawa to intervene on his behalf. In the end, after deals to secure his release failed to materialized under the previous Conservative government, Waldeman said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus involvement in the case was a large factor in securing Makhtals release on April 18. He arrived back in Canada three days later. We are together, and we have to start our life again, Makhtal said, speaking to reporters Tuesday next to his wife, Asiso Abdi. We lost half of our life, he said. Were going to pick up whatever is left over. OTTAWAThe governments proposed new elections rules will be in place for the 2019 election according to the man tapped to be the next chief electoral officer, despite a tight timeline and limited parliamentary debate on those proposals. Stephane Perrault told MPs Tuesday that even though Bill C-76 has yet to face serious scrutiny in Parliament, Elections Canada is working on plans and contingencies to make sure the agency can apply the changes once approved. Perrault acknowledged that it was unusual situation, but required by the short time he has to prepare for the massive undertaking of running a federal election. We do have a bill, and what we are doing which is somewhat unusual is we will start preparation for its implementation anticipating its passage and adjusting as required, Perrault said, who has served as acting CEO since 2016. Because I cannot take for granted that it will pass or that it will pass in the exact state that it was introduced. Bill C-76 passage through the House of Commons is not seriously in doubt given the Liberals majority. But because Elections Canada needs a long lead time to adopt new electoral rules the agency has said they need more than a year the timeline is tight. And despite the Liberals majority government, significant changes to the bill are possible including in the Senate, which has not been shy in altering the Liberal legislation in the past. While serving as acting CEO, Perrault told the House of Commons procedure committee adopting new election rules in time for October 2019 would involve compromises. On Tuesday, as the likely future CEO, Perrault clarified the agency will prioritize whats mandated under C-76, rather than some of the discretionary powers granted to him under the legislation. We will implement this law, Perrault assured the committee. Bill C-76 makes significant changes to how federal elections are run, including introducing new rules for pressure and advocacy groups, and creates a pre-writ period that limits how much parties can spend on advertising in the lead up to an election. It also requires political parties to create privacy policies for how they collect and use Canadians data although it provides few limits and no independent oversight for those policies. Some of the changes reinstating a system of vouching and voter ID cards to establish voters identities, for instance can be adopted fairly easily, Perrault said. Others, like changes to the political financing regime, will take more work. Questions were also raised on Tuesday about how long the Liberals are committing to debate C-76. The government gave notice that it may invoke time allocation a parliamentary tactic that limits the amount of time a bill can be debated. Liberal House Leader Bardish Chagger said the government is not invoking time allocation right now. Hopefully all parties can come together to figure out how much time is needed. For me we always want to have a meaningful amount of debate, Chagger told reporters. Its important legislation but I also need to advance legislation through the House. It has to go back to committee. Nathan Cullen, the New Democrats democratic reform critic, accused the Liberals of threatening to limit debate on significant changes to elections rules something, the NDP pointed out, the Liberals did when Stephen Harpers Conservative government did the same in 2014. Our elections are the very foundation of our democracy, and laws that govern them were not forced through by any government without support and proper debate, Cullen said in the House of Commons. Why wont they work with us, rather than bullying us, because surely Stephen Harper isnt the standard? Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould said she will work with the opposition NDP to encourage more Canadians participating in the democratic process. MONTREALThe Parti Quebecois says it wants a quarter of all new immigrants to the province to settle outside Montreal. Leader Jean-Francois Lisee said today a PQ government would try to reverse the trend that sees 90 per cent of all newcomers to Quebec move to the Montreal area. Quebec selects its immigrants based on a point system and Lisee says a PQ government elected Oct. 1 would offer more points to potential immigrants who qualify for a job outside the metropolis. Lisee adds that newcomers will still be given extra points even if they dont qualify for a job in the outlying regions but show an intention to settle there. Immigration as well as the integration of newcomers is shaping up as a major issue for the fall election campaign. Both the PQ and the Coalition Avenir Quebec say the Liberals policies have led to high unemployment levels among immigrants and a failure of newcomers speaking adequate French. Read more: Quebecs future in flux as six-month countdown to provincial election begins Canada puts asylum seekers to work as system feels pressure Canada clamps down on flagpoling with immigration restrictions at some border crossings Read more about: CALGARY WestJet Airlines Ltd. has resumed contract negotiations with its pilots in Calgary, where the airline is based. Talks between the airline and pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) began Monday and moved from Halifax, where they took place last week, the airline said in an email. Neither side would say if progress has been made. The pilots were legally able to launch a strike last Saturday, but committed not to disrupt passenger travel plans over the Victoria Day long weekend as a goodwill gesture. The union hasnt issued a replacement date for a possible strike while talks continue. We have not received any notification of labour action and remain actively engaged in negotiations, which began again yesterday in Calgary, spokesperson Lauren Stewart said Tuesday. The union tweeted a similar desire to reach the pilots first collective agreement. We are committed to reaching an agreement with management and will be at the bargaining table this week, it said. The ALPA represents about 1,500 pilots at WestJets main service and 500 at its WestJet Encore regional service. WestJet has said its bargaining team is focused on getting a sustainable agreement that benefits our pilots, WestJetters and the company as a whole. The airline has promised to refund tickets if flights are cancelled in the event of a strike. WestJet has said that its bookings have slowed since the union said it would seek a strike mandate, which was supported by 91 per cent of its members. The company warned earlier this month that its revenue per available seat mile will be flat- to negative two per cent this quarter due in part to the possible pilot strike. Chris Murray of AltaCorp Capital said Tuesday that improving market conditions in Alberta should help WestJet, however the Calgary carrier is facing a number of near-term labour and cost issues. The labour strife comes ahead of WestJets planned launch of its Swoop ultralow cost carrier, which has been a source of contention between pilots and the company. Earlier this year, the union won a Canada Industrial Relations Board challenge to the companys proposed policy to offer pilots a two-year leave of absence if they go to fly for Swoop. The ALPA complained that the policy was a significant change in the companys terms of employment and an interference with the unions right to represent the pilots. Read more: WestJet held seat sale with possible strike on the horizon WestJets pilot troubles might be just the beginning of a very bumpy ride Airlines are offering deals, increasing capacity in case WestJet pilots go on strike Read more about: A 31-year-old son of Chinese immigrants has been appointed by council to represent Ward 33 (Don Valley East) for the rest of the year after a vacancy left by longtime councillor Shelley Carroll. Jonathan Tsao, a local resident and former senior adviser to Scarborough Centre MPP Brad Duguid at Queens Park, was chosen by council, with Mayor John Torys support. He was one of 18 candidates vying to fill the job after Carroll earlier resigned her seat to run for the Liberals in the upcoming provincial election. Tsao won with 23 of 41 votes after three rounds of close run-off ballots. The vote came amid controversy as councillors accused Tory of staging a coup to consolidate power in the last months of the council term. Tsao said hes looking forward to ensuring Ward 33 residents continue to be well represented. This is a six-month position so I want to make sure that their voices are heard, said Tsao, who added he comes without an agenda. Its an incredible honour to be the voice of my neighbours. Tsao said he plans to return to his job as the director of strategic relations and communications for Childrens Mental Health Ontario. Carrolls pick, Divya Nayak, was the runner-up, receiving 18 votes. Nayak came second to Carroll in the 2014 election and has worked closely with her office since then on local issues, according to a letter from Carroll to councillors endorsing her for the job. The appointment process began Tuesday morning with the revelation that Torys office had been helping Tsao by providing private contact information for councillors in order to lobby them for the position. Councillor David Shiner, one of Torys hand-picked committee chairs, rose in the council chamber to blast the mayor after he was contacted by Tsao on his cellphone. The individual told me that they had been given my personal number by the mayors office, which should not have been given out, Shiner said. They said that the mayors office had told them to call me. He called it completely inappropriate and demanded a response from the mayor. Tsao, under questioning by councillors, said he was provided some contact information for councillors from the mayors office. Tory told reporters over the lunch break that councillors should have consented to their numbers being given out and that he apologized to Shiner. He did not address a specific question about whether his office was lobbying for Tsao and if it was condoned by him. In the end, Shiner cast his third-round ballot for Tsao. Those supporting Nayak were livid after the vote. I think John Tory staged a coup here and he overturned the person who was most capable, most engaged in the community and most similar to the outgoing sitting councillor who represented this community for 15 years, said Councillor Janet Davis. She called that move arrogant, disingenuous and desperate. Similar outrage occurred last year when council appointed Councillor Lucy Troisi to the seat of the late Pam McConnell. Troisi pledged support to Torys agenda of low taxes and building a Scarborough subway and was supported by many of his allies. Davis accused Tory and those allies Tuesday of consolidating their power for the remaining council meetings. By provincial rules, council can normally choose to appoint a candidate or hold a byelection. But the Municipal Elections Act dictates an appointment must be made if the vacancy occurs after March 31 in an election year. Council is only allowed to leave the seat vacant if the vacancy happens within 90 days of the election, which is Oct. 22. Read more about: For almost a century, the remains of three Canadians killed in the First World War lay buried in an empty piece of land between a hospital and a prison in a small township in northern France. They were discovered in September 2010 when a construction crew started digging. The only clues to the remains identities were buttons bearing the insignia of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces 16th Battalion, and a shoulder badge with the words Canadian Scottish. Now, a seven-year process made possible by historical records and science has told third- and fourth-generation descendants of Pte. William Del Donegan, Pte. Henry Edmonds Priddle and Sgt. Archibald Wilson where their relatives were laid to rest. The three soldiers from Manitoba died during the Battle of Hill 70, which began on Aug, 15, 1917. They were publicly identified on Tuesday. As a forensic anthropologist, its about returning their identities, said Sarah Lockyer. For 100 years they remained faceless and nameless, and now they no longer are, and families can have a place to pay their respects. Lockyer is the co-ordinator for the Department of National Defences Casualty Identification Program, which seeks to identify remains from among the more than 27,000 Canadians killed in the first and second world wars and the Korean conflict who have no known graves. Since 2007, the program has helped identify 28 Canadian soldiers and 19 soldiers from other countries. Lockyer herself has worked on 31 sets of remains since she joined the program in 2016, and has confirmed the identities of six. The process of identifying remains has no time limit, and can be complicated by numerous factors, including how long the body has been buried, and where; what type of soil it was buried in; how much water runs through the soil; and how much vegetation has grown over the site. But first, local police have to rule out the possibility that the remains are the result of a domestic homicide rather than a war death. Only then are they transferred to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission facility in France, where Lockyer begins an anthropological analysis. The first step is to determine the age and height of the soldier, two facts that are listed in every soldiers military file. A historian helps collect information about people who may have served and died in the area. Any artifacts found help narrow this list, as do genealogy, ancestry records and the study of teeth. Mitochondrial DNA from female descendants plays a significant role in identifying human remains. Most human cells contain hundreds of copies of this type of DNA, which is maternally inherited, allowing for forensic comparisons to be made across generations. Catherine Manicom, 60, of Guelph was asked to provide a DNA sample two years ago to help identify Priddle, her great-great uncle. I didnt know him, she said, but Im very honoured and its very emotional to discover family members through this process. Gavin Wood, 74, whose great uncle was Wilson, had to track down his fathers oldest female cousin to provide a DNA sample. She was hospitalized with dementia and Wood didnt know her very well. The only thing I knew was I was named after Gavin Wilson, who died in the war, Wood told the Star from Regina. This whole process was literally finding a needle at the bottom of a haystack, Once the forensic review is done, Lockyer takes her findings to the Casualty Review Board, where some 12 people, including military, forensic, genealogy and teeth experts, along with some civilians, review her work. The group then votes on whether or not the information collected properly identifies the soldier. It has to be a unanimous decision. And in the cases of Donegan, Priddle and Wilson, it was. It goes to show current soldiers if something happened to them, there would be somebody doing everything they could to identify them and give them a proper burial, Lockyer said. Now that they have names, the three Canadian soldiers have histories, too. William Del Donegan was a railway clerk before he enlisted in the forces on Feb. 21, 1916, at age 18. His last living descendants are two sisters in the United States who had never heard of him, one of whom is 100 years old and lives in Virginia. Henry Edmonds Priddle was a Winnipeg broommaker and husband who enlisted on April 1, 1916, at age 31. His nickname was Doc, Manicom said, but she doesnt know why. He was married in 1910 and had a baby that died at 9 days old, she said. Archibald Wilson was one of 11 children. He left Scotland and came to Canada in 1910 with five of his siblings. He was a barber, and hoped to one day own a farm in Manitoba. He enlisted on Dec. 18, 1914, at age 22, and was promoted to sergeant two years later. Two of his brothers one of whom Gavin Wood is named after were also killed in the war, leaving behind their only sister, who was Woods grandmother. All three men fought in the Battle of Hill 70, which was the first major action fought by Canadian soldiers under the command of a Canadian, Sir Arthur Currie. Hill 70 was a strategic, treeless high ground, 70 metres above sea level, that overlooked the city of Lens. At the time, the hill protected the German trenches that ran across the city. Despite 21 German counterattacks, the Canadians took the hill, and kept it until the end of the war. The victory came months after the battle at Vimy Ridge and cemented the reputation of Canadian soldiers as an effective military force on the Western Front. An estimated 25,000 Germans were killed or wounded in the 10-day battle. The Canadians lost around 2,000 soldiers The three men identified Tuesday died on the second day of the assault as their battalion faced a heavy German bombardment. Its highly likely they may have known each other, although we can never know for sure, Lockyer said. Id like to think they did. And now theyll be buried together. Its a nice full circle. For more than 80 years, their names have been written on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, some 15 kilometres away from where their remains were found. While there is no way to sufficiently thank them for their sacrifice, we forever hold them in our memories, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement, paying tribute to the men. They will be buried this August at the Loos British Cemetery in Loos-en-Gohelle, France, where hundreds of other soldiers who died capturing Hill 70 were also laid to rest. You can hardly believe it after 100 years that they can identify the remains and they would throw a fairly significant funeral for the families, said Wood, who will attend the ceremony with his younger brother. Manicom is accompanying her mother to the memorial. Four other descendants, ages 85 to 92, are coming as well relatives Manicom has never met and didnt know about. Its thrilling to be connected with someone you didnt know existed before, she said. Its amazing what DNA can tell you. Millennials may be delaying marriage and taking longer to move out of their parents homes, but when they do, their entry in the housing market is expected to drive up home prices and increase congestion in the suburbs, according to a new report from Ryerson University. There are one million millennials still living with their parents in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and over the next decade, 700,000 of them will be looking to move into their own houses, according to a report released Tuesday. But while millennials those aged 15 to 34 are perceived as the generation stuck in apartments, the bulk are expected to want home ownership and ground-related housing with a backyard when it comes time to buy, the report says. There are, however, many obstacles. A millennials ability to move through the housing cycle is being stifled by high housing costs and precarious employment, said Diana Petramala, a senior researcher at Ryerson Universitys Centre for Urban Research and Land Development. Affordability is out of reach for many millennials, Petramala said. The average income needed to buy a house in the GTHA requires six times more than what millennials make. The report suggests there could be more than 50,000 new millennial households created per year, as they begin leaving their parents homes. Read more: GTA millennials look farther afield after new mortgage rules Millennials rank affordable housing among top concerns for upcoming provincial election, real estate study says Opinion | Teitel: Parents of millennials providing more than financial assistance on home buying That means demand for an already limited supply of homes in the GTHA will increase, putting continued upward pressure on prices over the long term and forcing millennials to take on high debt loads to become homeowners. Millennials will probably have to flee the urban core to find housing they can afford, which will in turn lead to longer commutes and more traffic congestion. Millennials dont seem that different from the generations before them, Petramala said. They have similar spending patterns; they do want equal access to amenities. One way to find spaces for both affordable housing and amenities to cater to this generation is to create more mixed-use communities, Petramala added. That way, the province can also retain members of this growing generation here, as opposed to losing them to cities that can meet their housing demands. But before millennials purchase, they need to leave the nest. The large share of millennials living with a parent also reflects the fact that leaving the family home is getting hard, the report says. Millennials between the ages of 25 and 29 are increasingly living at home: 41 per cent in 2016, compared to 36 per cent in 2006. And while millennials are delaying life events, such as getting married and having children, theyre not forgoing them altogether. Millennials in their early 30s seem to be catching up on family-life goals, the report says. It seems like they are living in apartments as they get older, Petramala said, but thats part of the housing cycle theyre in. Some studies suggest that baby boomers are planning to help nudge their children toward home ownership. According to a recent Sothebys report on generational trends in the housing market cited in the Ryerson University report, 35 per cent of baby boomer households in the GTHA plan to give, or have already given, their children about $50,000 toward a down payment. Its the price they are willing to pay to get their children out of their homes, the report says. With files from Fatima Syed Read more about: Demitry Papasotiriou-Lanteigne was not involved in the murder of his husband, Allan Lanteigne, his lawyer told a jury Tuesday. However, Gabriel Gross-Stein suggested his clients former lover and co-accused, Michael Ivezic, might have had his own reasons, such as jealousy, and taken matters into his own hands without Papasotirious knowledge. Demitry knew nothing of Allans death or Michael Ivezics role in it, Gross-Stein said, noting the crux of the trial is the DNA found under Lanteignes fingernails belonging to Ivezic. Gross-Stein was making his final arguments near the end of a Superior Court murder trial in Toronto that began in November and has gone on much longer than expected. The Crowns theory is that Papasotiriou-Lanteigne, 38, and Ivezic, 57, were jointly involved in the planning and murder of the 49-year-old University of Toronto accounting clerk. He was beaten to death in his Ossington Ave. home in the early evening of March 2, 2011. The motive was a $2 million life insurance policy, the Crown says. Both men have pleaded not guilty to first degree murder. At the time of the killing, Papasotiriou-Lanteigne, a lawyer, was in Greece. Prosecutors allege he sent an email to Lanteigne luring him to the home where Ivezic would be lying in wait, gaining entry from the alarm code and key provided by Papasotiriou-Lanteigne. But Gross-Stein told jurors Tuesday his client gave Ivezic the key months earlier and noted that Ivezic testified he saw the code looking over Papasotiriou-Lanteignes shoulder. Nor did Papasotiriou-Lanteigne have a financial motive to kill Lanteigne, Gross-Stein argued. At the time of the killing, Papasotiriou-Lanteigne thought he was about to collect $600,000 from the sale of a property in Greece. Demitry was going to get a big payout ... you should have a big problem right there with the Crown theory, it doesnt add up, the defence lawyer said. Nor should jurors read too much into Papasotiriou-Lanteigne choosing not to testify. The Crowns case is not worthy of a response, Gross-Stein said. Gross-Stein referred to his client as Papasotiriou Tuesday, while his married hyphenated name has been used throughout the trial. He spent a lot of his closing address reviewing emails Papasotiriou-Lanteigne, while in Greece, sent to Lanteigne, including four written after the murder. They tell you that on March 3rd and March 4th, 2011, Demitry did not know that Allan was dead. And that means that Demitry was not involved in his murder, said Gross-Stein. If it was a clever ruse, it makes no sense that he would also implicate himself with the so-called luring email, he added. Gross-Stein told jurors that when they deliberate, theyll be instructed to consider the co-accused separately, and that Ivezic should be considered first. That is because the Crown has alleged that Mr. Ivezic physically committed the murder and that Demitry helped him. So, if you acquit Michael Ivezic, you will be instructed that you must acquit Demitry. But the reverse is not true. Just because you convict Michael Ivezic does not mean that Demitry is guilty. Far from it, not even close. The trial continues Wednesday. Whenever Kelly Lawless thinks about using drugs, she jingles her house keys. Without a doubt, having my own home, my first home, was and is the strength in my recovery, said Lawless, 48, a former homeless and helpless crack addict. After a 28-year addiction, Lawless is going into her fifth year without using drugs, she told more than 200 leaders from non-profit, labour and social justice groups who packed a recent provincial election gathering at Torontos Church of the Holy Trinity. Thats what housing can do for a person like me, she continued. I needed a sense of community and belonging and I found it through decent, permanent and affordable housing. As Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne, Green party Leader Mike Schreiner and representatives from the Progressive Conservatives and NDP watched from the front row, Lawless and other anti-poverty activists called on all parties to make Ontario a fair and equitable place where everyone belongs. Ontario for All, a coalition of more than 70 organizations, wants the leaders to commit to policies and programs that reduce gender, racial and income inequality, and create pathways to prosperity for almost two million Ontarians living in poverty. Read more: Ontario urged to make ending child poverty an election issue Opinion | Micallef: Upcoming election highlights the fractured nature of Ontario Editorial | Ontario should move quickly on welfare benefits: Editorial Lawless credits affordable housing and the support of addiction counsellors and social assistance workers for helping her escape homelessness, enrol in university and become a powerful advocate for people living in poverty. I truly hope that others are given housing, she said, looking pointedly at the politicians. Because housing transformed my life I have dreams and I have goals and I am fulfilling them. Anti-poverty activists have spent the past 15 years pushing the Liberal government to rebuild Ontarios social safety net after an era of punishing cuts under the previous PC government of Mike Harris. They dread a return to the austerity of the 1990s, when the Harris Tories slashed welfare rates by 22.6 per cent, cancelled the construction of 50,000 affordable housing units and froze the minimum wage at $6.85 an hour for eight years. That is why they are focused on ensuring all parties in the June 7 election continue to strengthen supports for the provinces most vulnerable residents. Pedro Barata, vice-president of United Way Greater Toronto, praises progressive policies under the Liberals, including a provincial child benefit introduced in 2007, anti-poverty legislation in 2008 and a series of minimum wage increases, including next Januarys hike to $15. Full-day kindergarten, introduced in 2010, pumps more than $1.5 billion annually into education for young children, while free college and university tuition for students from low- to moderate-income families helps 220,000 young adults access higher learning, he noted. Changes to Ontarios punitive welfare rules allow people on social assistance who find part-time jobs to keep some of the money they earn, accept financial gifts and build savings, he added. But the most promising development for people in poverty who cycle in and out of welfare from precarious, low-paid jobs is the growth of social programs outside welfare, Barata said. The Ontario child benefit, drug and dental coverage for children, and the promise of a portable housing benefit funded through the federal-provincial housing strategy are helping to build a pathway out of poverty, he said. The nature of the labour market means work on its own is not going to provide that pathway, and that is why these kinds of income security reforms are so important. Andrea Horwaths New Democrats are building on that idea by proposing affordable dental care for all Ontarians in a sweeping $1.2-billion program for about 4.5 million adults and seniors who are without workplace or pension coverage. It would be free for individuals with incomes under $30,000. The Liberals pre-election budget offers a more modest $800-million drug and dental program for working-age adults and seniors not covered by workplace plans, worth up to $700 a year for a family of four. The Greens also support this program. Meanwhile, PC Leader Doug Ford is promising $98 million to help about 100,000 low-income seniors get free dental care through public health units, community health centres, Aboriginal Health Access Centres and mobile public dental buses. Affordable, high-quality child care key to a mothers ability to enter and remain in the workforce and a proven measure to fight child poverty is another social program all parties have addressed in their platforms. Ontario is plagued by long wait lists for licensed spots, fees topping $20,000 a year for infants, and a lack of fee subsidies for low-income children. The Liberals, NDP and Greens are proposing to invest billions of dollars in new licensed spaces and lower parent fees. Meanwhile, the PCs are offering a child-care tax rebate to cover up to 75 per cent of the cost of licensed and unlicensed care, including nannies and babysitting. However, critics have said the tax measure will do nothing to increase licensed spaces or improve quality. With about two million children under age 15 covered by the plan, critics have said, $389 million budgeted for the rebate wouldnt go far. A similar approach informs the Tories response to the minimum wage. A year ago, the Liberals introduced extensive new employment standards legislation, along with a $15-an-hour minimum wage, to better protect low-wage and precariously employed workers. Under the new law, Ontarios minimum wage jumped to $14 from $11.60 in January, and will rise to $15 in January. While the NDP and Greens support the new wage law, the PCs would cancel next years hike and instead eliminate provincial income taxes for minimum-wage workers. Ford says the move would save workers about $800 a year. But many minimum-wage earners dont pay provincial income tax due to basic deductions available to all employees. Although the Ontario Chamber of Commerce decried the minimum wage hike as a job killer that would cripple small business, Toronto jewelry manufacturer and wholesaler Anita Agrawal supports it. I own one of the so-called mom and pop shops you keep hearing about and I can tell you I cant afford to pay people less than the minimum wage, said Agrawal, who employs seven full-time staff at her Best Bargains outlet in Dundas Square. Loyal and trusted staff help her company make money, she argued. And because she pays above the minimum wage, Agrawal said she doesnt have to worry about competitors poaching her best workers. Agrawal, who also teaches international business at Centennial College, sees the effect of low wages and precarious employment on students, especially those who are recent immigrants trying to break into Ontarios job market. Having to work two or three jobs just to make ends meet takes a toll on their physical and mental health, she said. I see it in the classroom. For those out of the workforce, after more than a decade of talk about welfare reform in Ontario, the Liberal budget allocated $2.3 billion over three years to begin a major overhaul recommended last fall by a government-appointed working group of experts, advocates and Indigenous leaders. By embracing most of the working groups 10-year Roadmap for Change strategy, the Liberals say they are committed to simplifying welfare rules, reducing reporting requirements and building a culture of trust and collaboration between recipients and front-line staff. But the Liberals fell short of adopting the working groups recommended rate hikes for the next three years, totalling 22 per cent for people relying on Ontario Works and 15 per cent for those receiving Ontario Disability Support Program benefits. Instead, the budget funds annual increases of just 3 per cent a year, leaving about 950,000 people on social assistance trapped in deep poverty. Ontario currently spends $9 billion a year on the program. Pauline Bryant, 55, struggles to survive on $721 a month the maximum Ontario Works benefit and says the Liberal governments anti-poverty measures are too little, too late. The Toronto woman rents a room in an apartment for $550 a month, which leaves her less than $200 for food and other necessities. It is why she is part of Put Food in the Budget, an advocacy group that has been dogging Wynne and the Liberals to raise welfare rates for a decade. Bryant says she doesnt trust the Liberals and is absolutely worried a PC government under Ford would tear up the few gains that have been made over the past 15 years. We are pleased the Greens are supporting our call for an immediate increase to social assistance in line with what the government is paying people on the basic income pilot project, she said. But nobody votes for them. The pilot project, launched a year ago in three Ontario communities, is testing whether unconditional payments of up to $17,000 a year for low-income adults and up to $23,000 for people with disabilities helps precarious workers and improves health and education outcomes. At least the NDP is supporting the government-appointed working groups call for a 22 per cent increase to Ontario Works, Bryant said. But with Fords PCs leading in the polls, Bryant said she wishes the NDP would talk a little bit louder about poverty. Barata and the Ontario for All coalition hope all parties support the gains and dont take the province backwards. Poverty hurts all of us. It hurts economically in terms of not maximizing peoples potential, he said. It hurts us financially because if you dont invest now, you will pay much more down the line in terms of health care and criminal justice costs. And it hurts everyones quality of life. Share your thoughts Read more about: No striking workers including teachers would be legislated back to work if an NDP government is elected June 7, New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath says. Its a pretty heavy hammer...its very much against our values, Horwath said Tuesday, citing her partys labour roots in a wide-ranging, one-hour session with the Stars editorial board streamed live on the internet, including questions from readers. She also addressed a $1.4 billion error in the NDPs platform, concerns about the partys ability to govern, her plan to buy back Hydro One, standardized testing in schools and lessons learned from Ontarios only New Democrat government under Bob Rae, soundly defeated after one term. The most important piece is that this isnt 1990. Its a completely different environment and this is a completely different election. And Im certainly not Bob Rae, Horwath said. People can read into that what they like. The NDP leader has been gaining momentum in the June 7 election campaign, outpacing Kathleen Wynnes Liberals to grab second place behind Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford in a number of polls. A new Ipsos Public Affairs online poll of 1,000 Ontarians conducted for Global News between Friday and Monday shows Horwath at 37 per cent, Ford at 36 with Wynne at 23 per cent. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The improved fortunes of the New Democrats have put Horwath, her platform and candidates under increased scrutiny from rival parties. Voters seem to be checking her out as an alternative to Ford, who is offering cuts to gasoline and income taxes and unspecified cuts to government spending of $6 billion. Horwath said back-to-work legislation, particularly with public-sector workers, can be avoided with better funding of the education system, for example. If we had been better funding these institutions, we wouldnt have the labour strife that we have, added Horwath, whom the Liberals slammed in a press release Tuesday for blocking back-to-work legislation two weeks ago to end a strike at York University. Read more: As Horwaths poll numbers rise, Doug Ford focuses his attacks on the NDP Opinion | Martin Regg Cohn: The referendum on Andrea Horwaths NDP is just beginning Opinion | Tim Harper: Consigning the Bob Rae monster to the pages of history While no one wants or likes to order parties back to work, the public interest sometimes demands the governments leadership when all else fails, said a statement from the Liberal campaign. Horwath added I cant imagine that there would be a scenario where back-to-work legislation would be used, as Wynnes government did last fall to end a community college strike that put the term at risk for tens of thousands of students. Horwath and her caucus voted against the legislation. The NDP leader who represents Hamilton Centre blamed the government for moves that tightened up funding for colleges and universities and said back-to-work legislation abrogates the constitutional rights of workers to free collective bargaining. In past years, the New Democrats have voted against sending striking TTC workers back to their jobs, but now that the transit agency has been deemed an essential service, Horwath said she would not restore the right to strike. One of the 200 questions received from Star readers zeroed in on the accounting error in Horwaths platform, which involved a $700 million reserve fund counted as revenue instead of an expense. We regret it, absolutely, Horwath replied. What we didnt do is pretend that it didnt happen and what we didnt do is try to spin our way out of it. Horwath, however, did not admit the mistake until Sunday. On Saturday in Thunder Bay she tried to deflect questions on it, saying I dont have specifics. She acknowledged the accounting error will leave people worried about the deficit, which would rise to almost $4.8 billion from a projected $3.3 billion in the first year. Have your say: This makes things a little bit harder than what we had initially anticipated, she acknowledged, promising to forge ahead with her promises such as ending hallway medicine in hospitals. Horwath admitted her plan to buy back the 47 per cent of shares the Wynne government sold in Hydro One, now worth about $6.4 billion, with $248.5 million in annual dividends from the remaining shares is ambitious. Nobody thinks this is going to be easyits not going to be a quick effort, she said. It depends on the share price. She also signalled standardized testing in schools has gone too far and needs to be scaled back because there is too much focus on teaching to the test. Read more about: The long-awaited meeting between the United States and North Korea is likely to occur before the end of May, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Saturday evening during a rally in Washington, Mich. I think well have a meeting over the next three or four weeks, Trump said. It will be a very important meeting. Whatever happens, happens, Trump said of the meeting, noting he may go in and ultimately leave. Im not going to be a John Kerry who makes a horrible Iran deal. Trump said he is hopeful the negotiation will be successful. Were going to be doing the world a big favour, he said. Lets see how it goes. I think well do fine. I think well do just fine. Read More: Trump: North Korea wants meeting as soon as possible CIA director Mike Pompeo's trip to North Korea sets stage for Trump-Kim summit North and South Korean leaders to meet for rare summit in April Read more about: CANBERRAThe director of a seabed hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on Tuesday disagreed with a new books conclusion that the pilot likely flew the plane beyond the search area to deliberately sink it in unexplored depths of the Indian Ocean. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau believes the airliner mostly likely ran out of fuel and crashed after flying far off course en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014. It believes all 239 passengers and crew on board were likely long dead inside a depressurized cabin and cockpit. Search director Peter Foley, who co-ordinated the search on Malaysias behalf, was quizzed by a Senate committee on theories in Canadian air crash investigator Larry Vances new book MH370: Mystery Solved. The book argues that two wing flaps found on islands off Africa in 2015 and 2016 point to pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah performing a controlled ditching outside the 120,000 square kilometres that were scoured by sonar in a $198-million Australian ($191-million Canadian) search that ended in January last year. It says Shahs aim was to keep the plane largely intact so it would disappear as completely as possible in the remote southern ocean. Foley, who said he has read the book, pointed to evidence that the plane was not under anyones control when it hit the water. He said analysis of the satellite transmissions of the flights final moments showed the jet was in a fast and accelerating descent at the end. Debris from within the planes interior found washed up on the west coast of the Indian Ocean suggested significant energy on impact, Foley said. Read more: No sign of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 after new scan, but U.S. company still determined to find it Malaysian government will pay U.S. company up to $70M if it finds missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Families of Flight 370 victims aim to raise $15 million to continue search If it was being controlled at the end, it wasnt very successfully being controlled, Foley said. The flaps werent deployed, he added. The book argues that the two recovered flaps show evidence that they had been deployed as the pilot slowed the plane for a gentle landing on water. Foley said an analysis at the bureaus headquarters in Canberra of the second flap found on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, in June 2016 determined it was probably not deployed. But French authorities prevented an Australian analyst from doing anything meaningful in terms of analysis of the first flap found. That flap, known as a flaperon, was found on the French island of Reunion in July 2015. French authorities are holding the flaperon as evidence for a potential criminal prosecution. Foley said his bureau could not conclude that the flaperon had lost its trailing edge because it was deployed when the plane hit the water. While the bureau has not said who had initially flown the plane off course, Foley said its absolutely evident that someone had, ruling out some mechanical or electrical malfunction. Texas-based technology company Ocean Infinity renewed the search this year on the basis that Malaysia would pay it up $70 million if it could find the wreckage or the planes black boxes. Foley said he still hopes the search will succeed within weeks . If theyre not, of course, that would be a great sadness for all of us, he said. Read more about: HAVANAFor half a century, Fidel Castro seemed to be everywhere in Cuba inspecting factories, farms and offices, expounding to the press and zooming to the scenes of natural disasters to direct the minutest details of the response. His brother Raul was a military man who operated from behind the scenes, rarely making speeches and going weeks without appearing in public, even as he attempted historic reforms of Cubas economy and foreign policy. A month after taking office, the Castros successor as president of Cuba has broken from the immediate past, and made clear to Cubans that he will be operating far more like a conventional modern politician than the spotlight-shy general who selected him or the revolutionary comandante who led Cuba for 47 years before that. Miguel Diaz-Canel, 58, has set a whirlwind pace of public appearances since his first day in office promising improvement in trash pickup and public transportation, inspecting state cafeterias and health clinics, and now acting as the public face of the governments response to the air crash that killed 111 people when a Boeing 737 rented by Cubas national airline slammed into a farm field shortly after takeoff from Havanas airport on Friday. The first image that many Cubans saw of the accident was a photo of a grim-faced Diaz-Canel striding through the wreckage in shirt sleeves. Over the weekend, he made repeated visits to hospitalized patients, grieving family members, forensic investigators and the aviation officials leading the probe of the crash. On Sunday morning, after nearly 48 hours of crisis management, he appeared with helmet-clad emergency workers carrying out a disaster-preparedness exercise for the upcoming hurricane season. I think that amid all the pain and consternation, theres a lot of personal solidarity, and that personal solidarity can be seen in the support being given to the families, and its expressed in the efficiency with which these cases are being attended to, Diaz-Canel told state media after visiting the bereaved. Read more: Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cubas new head of state, inherits significant economic challenges More Black officials in power with new leadership in Cuba Death toll in Cuba plane crash rises to 111 after death of one of three survivors Raul Castro, meanwhile, hasnt appeared in public since last month. Cuban officials said the 86-year-old leader is recovering from a planned hernia operation but is being briefed on the tragedy and offering advice on the governments response. Diaz-Canel is putting himself before the public so the public can see him. Many of the places where hes shown up or the issues hes examined have to do with peoples everyday concerns, said Jose Raul Viera, a retired vice minister of foreign relations. Its putting him in contact with peoples everyday lives. His focus hasnt been ideological declarations, but rather practical things. Diaz-Canel isnt Raul Castro, but he isnt attempting to imitate Fidel either. Like many modern politicians, Diaz-Canels appearances remain tightly managed. Most are covered only by Cubas state-run press, and unlike the voluble Fidel Castro, the president rarely takes questions or breaks from brief prepared remarks. Most Cubans havent heard their president speak more than a handful of times, and rarely saying more than a few sentences. There are no indications yet of how Diaz-Canel will actually administer Cubas stagnant economy and highly controlled single-party state. A month into office, he has held reviews of government performance and programs, but there has been no announcement of any new government policy or presidential decision. Diaz-Canel hasnt even yet appointed his own cabinet, deciding to operate with Raul Castros until July. Still, the change in style has been dramatic. I like seeing him this way, said Adonis Garcia, a 47-year-old state worker. What shocked me was that Id never seen a Cuban president in civilian clothes at the scene of a big event. I was used to Fidel in olive green. Diaz-Canel took power on April 20 in a long-planned handover from Castro, who announced years ago that he would step down after more than a decade as president, which began after Fidel Castro was brought down by illness in 2006. Fidel Castro died in 2016. Unlike the Castros and their cohort of aging former guerrillas who overthrew strongman Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Diaz-Canel made his career in the civilian ranks of the Communist Party bureaucracy, serving as provincial party head, the equivalent of governor, in the central and eastern provinces of Villa Clara and Holguin before being named higher education minister and then first vice-president and Castros presumed successor in 2013. In Villa Clara, he was known for a Cuban version of retail politics, albeit in a system in which the government itself selects candidates for popular ratification, rather than voters selecting between competing candidates. He travelled the capital on a bicycle and accepted visits at all hours at his home and office from residents with complaints or suggestions, according to those who knew him. After assuming the vice presidency, Diaz-Canel became virtually invisible, leading many who knew him to wonder what had happened to the glad-handing bureaucrat from Villa Clara. That question started to be answered when Diaz-Canel began appearing in public every day after becoming president, even dancing on camera with members of a children musical theatre this month. Diaz-Canel has shown an unusual degree of public activities in his first month, unusual for the president of Cuba, but usual for him in his prior positions, said Harold Cardenas, a blogger who was defended by Diaz-Canel in Villa Clara when government officials tried to shut down his site. His appearances on television talking about everyday themes are a demonstration of the political freedom he has to run his own administration, something some had doubted, Cardenas said. On May 11, Diaz-Canel appeared on television discussing rice production with top agricultural officials. Three days later, he reviewed problems in the capital, including the availability of bus stops and improvements in trash collection. The same week, he visited a state-run cafeteria, a plant producing asphalt to fill potholes and an old-age home in the capital, which celebrates the 500th anniversary of its founding next year. Havana will show off its beauty, he said, which is part of that prosperity to which we will aspire and hope will become reality in the shortest time possible. Cardenas warned that along with his new style, Diaz-Canel would also need to start showing results in a country where years of inefficiency, lack of investment and economic underperformance have left services deteriorated, infrastructure crumbling and a population thats increasingly pessimistic and disenchanted. Without steering the economy well, his success can be limited, Cardenas said. Cubans are a people used to personal sacrifice in the name of a cause, but reluctant to sacrifice themselves without clear reasons. Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg left European Union lawmakers fuming over unanswered questions at the end of a hearing that began with a mea culpa for the companys recent privacy woes. At a meeting at the EU Parliament, Zuckerberg repeated what hes been telling every audience recently: that his company didnt take a broad enough view of its responsibility for user data, fake news and foreign interference in elections and that he is sorry for that. But at a session where lawmakers got to ask all their questions in one go at the start, he annoyed them by batting many of them away including on whether people can opt out of advertising and also on whether the U.S. giant is a monopoly that needs to be broken up. Unfortunately the format was a get out of jail free card and gave Mr. Zuckerberg too much room to avoid the difficult questions, said Syed Kamall, a British center-right lawmaker, who attended the meeting in Brussels. The revelations that the data of as many as 87 million Facebook users and their friends may have been misused by Cambridge Analytica has been called a game changer in the world of data protection as regulators seek to raise awareness about how to secure information. While most questions focused on how Facebook cares for users data, Manfred Weber, the leader of the center-right EPP group, and Guy Verhofstadt, a Liberal former Belgian prime minister, raised a potentially chilling point for Zuckerberg should it be split up? Is it time to break Facebooks monopoly because theres already too much power in one companys hands? Weber asked. Can you convince me not to? Zuckerberg didnt rise to the bait, but instead pointed out that the company faces stiff competition. We exist in a very competitive space, he said. The average person uses about eight different tools for communication it feels like there are new competitors coming up every day. Verhofstadt said Zuckerberg now faces a volley of followup written questions from members left feeling shortchanged. He hasnt responded to the questions and to do that there will be a list of written questions in fact all the questions that have been put forward to him today, he said. I think that was the only way because with a written procedure, he cannot escape. European Parliament President Antonio Tajani defended the Facebook chiefs responses. Hes not obliged to come. He responded to our offer of a meeting, he said. It lasted more than an hour and a half. There were a large number of questions and he responded to many of them. Everyone knew he had to leave in a hurry. This wasnt a mandatory hearing. Just over a month after giving an apology for his companys recent mistakes during two gruelling days of U.S. congressional hearings, Zuckerberg had rather less time to respond to members of the EU lawmakers who demanded answers and contrition after 2.7 million European Facebook users were compromised by political data firm Cambridge Analytica. The 34-year-old CEO spent about 10 hours testifying in front of the U.S. Congress in April. Sticking close to his prepared remarks, Zuckerberg began his testimony with an apology similar to the one he offered U.S. lawmakers last month. Its also become clear over the last couple of years that we havent done enough to prevent the tools weve built from being used for harm as well, he said in comments streamed over the internet from the EU assembly. Whether its fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing peoples information, we didnt take a broad enough view of our responsibilities. That was a mistake, and Im sorry. While the European Parliaments powers are limited to scrutinizing draft legislation, its members, along with the European Commission, the EUs executive agency, have used the recent scandal as a reminder of why tough new EU privacy rules kicking in at the end of next week are justified. Tuesdays events had been scheduled to take part behind closed doors. But that plan was torn up following fierce criticism by EU officials such as EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, who is in charge of overseeing the new legislation, which gives regulators the power to levy massive fines for violating tougher privacy principles. Asked whether Facebook is ready for the new rules, Zuckerberg responded that it would be from day one. Read more about: THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDSCalling it a historic step toward justice, the Palestinian foreign minister asked the International Criminal Court on Tuesday to open an immediate investigation into alleged Israeli crimes committed against the Palestinian people. The development was sure to worsen the already troubled relations between the internationally backed Palestinian Authority and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government. Peace talks have been frozen for over four years, and contacts between the two sides are minimal. Speaking to reporters at the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said he submitted the referral to the court during a meeting with the ICCs chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda. The referral sought an investigation into Israeli policies in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip since the state of Palestine accepted the ICCs jurisdiction in 2014, he said. This includes Israeli settlement policies in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as the recent round of bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli fire killed over 100 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border, Malki added. There is a culture of impunity in Israel for crimes against Palestinians, Malki said. This referral is Palestines test to the international mechanism of accountability and respect for international law. The ICC has been conducting a preliminary probe since 2015 into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories, including Israels settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the 2014 Gaza conflict. Tuesdays referral could speed up a decision on whether to open a full-blown investigation that could ultimately lead to the indictment of high-ranking Israelis. The move comes with Israeli-Palestinian relations at their lowest point in years in the aftermath of the U.S. Embassy move to Jerusalem and the recent bloodshed on the Gaza border. Read more: Israel, Palestinians spar over new Jerusalem embassies Trudeau appalled by shooting of Ontario doctor in Gaza, urges investigation Deaths of Gaza children more than just numbers, Canadian UNICEF worker says This is a conduct that requires that we take action and this is why we moved in this regard, said Palestinian Assistant Minister for Multilateral Affairs Ammar Hijazi, referring to recent Gaza violence. Israel has said it was defending its border and accused Gazas ruling Hamas militant group of using the unrest to carry out attempted attacks and of using civilians as human shields. In new violence, the Israeli army said it targeted a Hamas observation post in Gaza with tank fire after a group of militants briefly entered Israel and set fire to an Israeli military post. The army said there were no injuries on the Israeli side, and no additional details were immediately available. In response to Tuesdays move at the ICC, Israel said it took a severe view of the Palestinian request, calling it a cynical and absurd step. It accused the Palestinians of violent incitement against Israel and exploiting women and children as human shields. It also said the ICC had no jurisdiction in the case because Israel is not a member of the court. Israel expects the ICC and its prosecutor not to yield to Palestinian pressure, and stand firm against continued Palestinian efforts to politicize the court and to derail it from its mandate, the Israeli statement said. Israel is not a member of the ICC, but its citizens can be charged by the court if they are suspected of committing grave crimes on the territory or against a national of a country that is a member. The ICC has recognized Palestine as a member state. The ICC is a court of last resort it is authorized to take on cases where national authorities cannot or will not launch prosecutions. Israel says it has investigated actions by its forces during the Gaza conflict, and says it has opened a number of investigations into the latest Gaza violence as well. But critics say the investigations rarely lead anywhere. Israel acts in accordance with independent and thorough judicial review mechanisms, befitting a democratic state, and in accordance with international law, the Israeli statement said. While the ICC can indict suspects, it has no police force and has to rely on co-operation from member states to enforce arrest warrants. Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, said Bensouda, the chief ICC prosecutor, should now take steps to open a formal probe aimed at holding perpetrators of serious crimes to account and ensuring impartial and comprehensive justice consistent with the courts statute. The Palestinians appear to have an especially strong case in the matter of settlements. In 2004, the United Nations highest judicial organ, the International Court of Justice, ruled in an advisory opinion that the settlements breached international law. In late 2016, the UN Security Council also declared the settlements to be illegal. Over 600,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem territories sought by the Palestinians as parts of their future state. Israel captured both territories from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war. Under international law it is illegal to transfer populations out of or into occupied territory. Israel claims east Jerusalem as an inseparable part of its capital though its annexation is not internationally recognized. Israel claims the West Bank is not occupied because it was captured from Jordan, not the Palestinians, and Jordan does not make a claim to the territory. Since the Palestinians never ruled the West Bank, Israel says this territory is disputed and its final status should be resolved in negotiations. It also claims that settlements can be torn down and therefore do not prejudice the final status of the territory. It notes that in the case of Gaza, for instance, it uprooted all settlements there when it withdrew in 2005. Israel also captured Gaza in the 1967 war. While the Gaza withdrawal removed some 8,000 settlers, the much larger population in the West Bank and east Jerusalem would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to move. Read more about: SANTA FE, TEXASAn outgoing and really funny student who blocked the door to try to prevent the gunman from entering the classroom, an exchange student who aspired to work in civil service and a substitute teacher who frequently hosted gatherings were among the 10 people killed at a Texas high school. Family members and friends of the eight students and two teachers fatally shot Friday fondly remembered their loved ones. They used such words as sweet, hardworking and loving. Eight of the 10 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 50 kilometres southeast of Houston. A 17-year-old student, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, is being held on capital murder charges. Here are some of the victims stories: 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. Read more: School shooting that left 10 dead may not bring change to gun-loving Texas ANGELIQUE RAMIREZ The senior pastor at Dayspring Church says Ramirez was a member of the Santa Fe churchs 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 cant process all this right now. JARED BLACK Black turned 17 on Wednesday and was looking forward to a party this weekend at his familys just-purchased, above-ground swimming pool. An older brother, Anthony, from Odesa, Tex., 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 Fishers 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 shell continue making gaming videos because her computer keeps crashing. The day of the shooting, Rodriguez wrote in a Facebook status to love like [youre] 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. Auzstons mother, Nicole Auzston, described Stone as a part of her family. We would have done anything for him, she said. Hes just a great kid. Robert Stone told the AP by phone Saturday that his family was grieving his nephews 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 wasnt 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 cant believe it. Its 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 Pakistans 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. Ive 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. Tisdales house was the centre of family gatherings and she loved cooking Thanksgiving dinner and decorating her house, Olinde said. Olindes fiance, Eric Sanders, said of Tisdale that words dont 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 wouldnt 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 didnt 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. BEIRUTSyrian government forces raised their flag over the Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus on Tuesday as state media promoted what it said was the liberation of the last quarters of the capital from rebels and Daesh militants. Police motorcycles flying the flag roared into what was left of the neighbourhood in a show for state media, and a detachment of soldiers raised the governments standard from the roof of what is now a shell of a building. The ceremonies, broadcast on state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV, were meant to assure residents that Damascus was secure for the first time since protests broke out against Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2011. The government cracked down violently on the demonstrations, igniting the ongoing civil war. Syrias military announced it had recaptured the camp and surrounding neighbourhoods from Daesh (also known as ISIS and ISIL) militants on Monday, bringing the entire capital and its suburbs under full government control for the first time since the 2011. Police officers and soldiers standing in formation in the rubble of the Hajar al-Aswad neighbourhood chanted half-heartedly for the president in what has become a ritual of pageantry after every advance by the government against the crumbling opposition movement and separate Daesh insurgency. But after the ceremony, the soldiers erupted in a cheer and let off bursts automatic gunfire into the air. They promised the cameras they would be heading to Daraa, a city near the border with Israel, which was the first to revolt against Assad in the Arab Spring protests earlier this decade. Daraa remains split between government and rebel control. Read more: Syria says capital is free of militants after Daesh defeated Rebels start departing from Syrias central Homs province Endangered music the focus of Canadian documentary following musicians amid Syrian civil war The battles for Yarmouk and Hajar al-Aswad left both neighbourhoods catastrophically damaged. Yarmouk, once home to about 200,000 Palestinian refugees, was deserted by most of its inhabitants as the government laid siege to it and Daesh militants moved in in 2015. In the last month, the government began bombing the neighbourhood intensively. The advance put the capital out of range of insurgents mortar fire and shelling for the first time in nearly seven years. The Haq news agency, affiliated with Daesh, put out a statement on Tuesday saying the militants left the south Damascus neighbourhoods with their heads high after forcing the government to agree to let them evacuate instead of pursuing a stalemated ground battle. With Irans help, Assads 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 neighbourhoods of the northern city of Aleppo, in Assads 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. Read more about: WASHINGTONPresident Donald Trump laboured with South Koreas Moon Jae-in Tuesday to keep the highly anticipated U.S. summit with North Korea on track after Trump abruptly cast doubt that the June 12 meeting would happen. Setting the stakes sky high, Moon said: The fate and the future of the Korean Peninsula hinge on the meeting. The summit, planned for Singapore, offers a historic chance for peace on the peninsula but also the risk of an epic diplomatic failure that would allow the North to revive and advance its nuclear weapons program. Trumps new-found hesitation appeared to reflect recent setbacks in efforts to bring about reconciliation between the two Koreas, as well as concern whether the self-proclaimed dealmaker can deliver a nuclear accord with the Norths Kim Jong Un. In an extraordinary public airing of growing uncertainty, Trump said theres a very substantial chance the meeting wont happen as scheduled. Seated in the Oval Office with Moon, Trump said Kim had not met unspecified conditions for the summit. However, the president also said he believed Kim was serious about negotiations, and Moon expressed every confidence in Trumps ability to hold the summit and bring about peace. I have no doubt that you will be able to ... accomplish a historic feat that no one had been able to achieve in the decades past, Moon said. U.S. officials said preparations for the summit were still underway despite recent pessimism and privately suggested there would be additional public manoeuvring as both sides seek to maximize their leverage. Both parties to the talks are invested in holding the meeting, with Kim seeing an opportunity for international legitimacy and Trump the prospect of securing Korean stability and perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize. This could be something that comes right to the end and doesnt happen, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. But he added that as of now, were driving on. South Koreas national security adviser put the chance of the summit taking place at 99.9 per cent. Trump suggested that it could be delayed rather than cancelled: It may not work out for June 12, but there is a good chance that well have the meeting. Read more: Trumps push to save Chinas ZTE could imperil $150 million for terrorism victims U.S. has daunting to-do list to prepare for North Korea summit Trump: U.S. not notified about threat of cancelled summit He did not detail the conditions he had laid out for Kim but said if they arent met, we wont have the meeting. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump was referring to a commitment to seriously discuss denuclearization. Skepticism about the Norths intentions have mounted in recent weeks after Kims government pulled out of planned peace talks with the South last week, objecting to long-scheduled joint military exercises between U.S. and South Korean forces. The North also threatened to abandon the planned Trump-Kim meeting over U.S. insistence on rapidly denuclearizing the peninsula, issuing a harshly worded statement that the White House dismissed as a negotiating ploy. Moon sought to project optimism after his meeting with Trump. His spokesman, Yoon Young-chan, told reporters that the two leaders agreed to do their best to ensure the meeting happens on June 12. Yoon said Moon told Trump that the North Korean leader was strongly committed to the meeting and the leaders agreed that any assistance to North Korea would come after complete denuclearization. High-level talks between the North and South would likely happen after June 25. Trump expressed suspicion that the Norths recent aggressive barbs were influenced by Kims unannounced trip to China two weeks ago his second in as many months. Trump said hed noticed a little change in Kims attitude after the trip. I dont like that, he said. The president added that he hoped Chinese President Xi Jinping was actually committed to the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, calling him a world-class poker player. Trump said he was displeased by Chinas softening of border enforcement measures against North Korea. Trump encouraged Kim to focus on the opportunities offered by the meeting and to make a deal to abandon his nuclear program, pledging not only to guarantee Kims personal security but also predicting an economic revitalization for the North. I will guarantee his safety, yes, Trump said, noting that promise was conditioned on an agreement to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization. Trump said if such an agreement is reached, China, Japan and South Korea would invest large sums to make North Korea great. In North Korea itself, foreign journalists arrived to watch the dismantling of a nuclear test site this week in a significant concession before the Trump talks. However, fresh questions were raised Tuesday about the Norths goals and motives, with the disclosure of a Pentagon report to Congress saying that nuclear weapons are central to North Koreas strategic goal of ensuring the perpetual rule of the Kim family dynasty. The report on North Koreas military capabilities was based on an assessment of developments in 2017 and was provided to Congress in April. It was posted online by an anti-secrecy group. Ahead of the North Korea meeting, the president has been almost singularly focused on the pageantry of the summit including the suspenseful rollout of details, senior administration officials said. The White House turned heads this week with the release of a commemorative challenge coin for the summit, featuring profile engravings of Trump and Kim for the peace talks. The White House said the coins were prepared by the White House Communications Agency, a military unit supporting the presidents trip, and not the West Wing. Trump has not been deeply engaged in briefing materials on North Koreas nuclear program, according to three people with knowledge of the White House efforts. They were not authorized to speak publicly. Trump said the long-term status of the peninsula will be up to the North and South, and that the immediate goal for his summit is two successful Koreas. He added that, Ultimately, maybe someday in the future youll go back to one Korea. The two Koreas both seek reunification of the divided Korean Peninsula on their own terms. But any move toward reunification would first likely require a peace settlement to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, which the two Koreas say they are aiming for. Two former Trump administration officials said the high degree of uncertainty surrounding the talks benefits Kim, who stands to gain the most in the form of international legitimacy from a sit-down with Trump. Concrete gains for Trump would be slower to emerge. Denuclearization programs are measured in months, not days, and for North Korea, which has already demonstrated thermonuclear capability, it would likely take years to dismantle and verify that it had abandoned its atomic efforts, should it agree to do so. One official said the priority of the talks in Singapore would be to reach a topline understanding with Kim, with details to be fleshed out later. The best-case scenario, experts said, would mirror the Iran-nuclear agreement that Trump withdrew from earlier this month securing an end to the Norths atomic program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions. Such an agreement could provide Kim more assurances that his leadership would be secure. While public jockeying last week led to speculation about whether the meeting will happen, people close to Trump say he does want it to take place. Victor Cha, a professor at Georgetown University and former White House official, said the best outcome would be good optics, good atmospherics, some broad statements on denuclearization and peace, and some immediate deliverable. He said the worst-case scenario was cancelling the meeting. Read more about: WASHINGTONU.S. President Donald Trump made 25 false claims last week. Nine of them came during the public portion of his meetings with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Nine of them came on Twitter. Trump also made a claim that highlights how he sometimes bends the facts for his own purposes even when he is not saying something that is definitively false. During a speech to the families of police officers who died on the job, Trump told the story of Rogelio Martinez, a Border Patrol agent who died in 2017. Trump noted that Martinez bravely confronted the cartels, the smugglers, the human traffickers, the gangs that threaten our communities. And then, right after that, he said, One night, last November, Agent Martinez died in the line of duty. It was horrific. It was violent. Trump was clearly suggesting that Martinez was murdered by a violent criminal. But that does not appear to be the case. The FBI announced in February that it had found no evidence Martinez was attacked. In an internal memo that month, then-acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection chief Kevin McAleenan told his staff that he believed Martinez fell into a nine-foot-deep culvert, the Washington Post reported. We cannot call Trumps claim false: though it appears likely false, there is no conclusive proof either way. Still, its worth noting. Trump is now up to 1,591 false claims for the first 486 days of his presidency, an average of 3.3 per day. If Trump is a serial liar, why call this a list of false claims, not lies? The answer is that we cant be sure that each and every one was intentional. In some cases, he may have been confused or ignorant. What we know, objectively, is that he was not telling the truth. Read more about: Despite the noise emanating from both the Senate and Jean-Marc Fournier, Quebecs Minister for Canadian Relations, the current debate over whether federal or provincial law should decide if cannabis can be cultivated at home is misleading. Arguments against home growing for safety reasons are thinly veiled attempts at establishing and maintaining a government monopoly on cannabis sales. While federal-provincial tussles are quintessentially Canadian, this debate masks the bigger issue: limiting citizens rights to grow recreational cannabis at home. This right should be upheld at all costs because it makes sense legally and economically. First, a ban on home growing would have serious consequences for Canadian taxpayers. The Allard decision in 2016 set a legal precedent favouring growing cannabis at home. The case found that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that patients have fair access to cannabis, and it found that a licensed-producer-only system did not sufficiently support this. Challenging this ruling will be no small fight. Health Canada has already been under legal attack due to its inability to keep up with the demand for homegrown medical marijuana licenses. With existing delays on this issue in 28 active court cases, it is apparent that Canadians in every province are ready to fight for their right to grow. A prolonged legal battle will fall on the shoulders of already overburdened taxpayers. Despite waits of up to six months for home grow licenses, Canada now has a critical mass of home cannabis growers. The process has been, in aggregate, unbelievably safe and successful. Today, more than 14,000 patients are growing cannabis at home. Most patients grow between five and 15 plants indoors, although some grow more. Expert witnesses in the Allard case testified that this number of plants pose no increased risk of fires or mould, and these experts were right. Part of this is due to the nature of home cultivation and what the average home growing setup looks like. Under the proposed Bill C-45, homeowners will be allowed to grow up to four plants at a time. This is entirely different from a commercial setup that typically has hundreds or thousands of plants. Growing hundreds of any type of plant at home would cause issues. Read more: Halifax cannabis dispensary target of break-in for second time in a week Craft cannabis economy endangered, advocates say Ban on homegrown pot would be paternalistic, former justice minister says More importantly, cannabis is not an easy plant to cultivate. Many who choose to grow at home elect to use systems designed specifically for safe and responsible cannabis growing. All of these systems, including the one our company makes, are FCC approved to eliminate the risk of electrical fire. They also include built-in locks to keep the plants safe from children and pets. Finally, carbon filters remove all odours to ensure that neighbours are happy, and that homes retain their value. Today, grow boxes have become home appliances, and growing cannabis is now as safe and unobtrusive as having a fridge in your kitchen. Finally, there is a question of access due to cost. The government is targeting a cost of $10 per gram of cannabis. Today, however, the average cost across Canada is currently $6.83 per gram. Home growers produce cannabis for around $0.90 per gram. Home growing lowers the costs of cannabis so that it is accessible to individuals at all income levels. Canada is setting a positive example for the world by making cannabis legal in a responsible manner. Including an allowance for home growing is the most responsible thing we can do to ensure that all Canadians have fair access to safe cannabis. Im often asked if attracting new doctors to Ontario is the key to putting an end to wait times and hallway medicine. I reply, Its complicated and it is which proves once again that our health care system is not only inefficient, its downright inexplicable. Consider this: in Ontario, some patients will wait months for a surgical consultation and years for the surgery itself. So imagine their shock when I tell them that not only are there empty operating rooms, but there are surgeons who cannot find work in this province because of government cuts. This is where the anger kicks in. Doctors cant work. Patients cant receive care. Previous investments sit wasted. Wash, rinse, and repeat. This is what happens when government underfunds our health system. How can anyone tell how many more physicians we must recruit, when we dont even use the ones we have? Compared to other countries, Ontario is below average when it comes to the number of working doctors. In fact, there are towns in Northern Ontario where they only have half the doctors they really need, and Indigenous communities are completely understaffed. Yet some new graduates are now unable to find placements coming out of medical school. Last year, there were 68. This year, there are 222. They hang in limbo, unable to take the final step toward becoming a doctor, while patients wait to get care. This is also because of government cuts. Our population is growing older. Right now, one in six Ontarians is a senior. In 20 years, it will be one in four. We all know that as people get older, they have more chronic diseases diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and so on. They need more care. Opposing View: Ontario likely has enough doctors Have your say One in 13 Ontarians has no family doctor. This is a disaster in the making; we saw this back in the Rae Days. Family doctors are uniquely trained to deal with complex, multi-illness patients. They are irreplaceable. They often work in team environments with nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurses, but those teams were also cut by the government. Our health care system is under strain. If the government does not act today, it will force patients into an untenable position down the road. So what doctor would pick our health care system as their destination of choice? A province where funding is clawed back and cut in between election cycles is a tough sell. Not only that, but many of my colleagues feel targeted by the government. Throughout the federal tax changes last summer, Finance Minister Bill Morneau tried to paint doctors as greedy. Meanwhile, the provincial government cut physician funding for six straight years. None of us went into medicine for the money. I became a doctor to help people who were sick and struggling. But I have to pay for my clinic, staff and medical equipment to do my job the job I love, the job that is my calling properly. The inability to provide patients the care they deserve the wait-times, the hallway medicine, the long hours takes its toll on doctors. Its gotten so bad that doctors feel like theyre fighting a battle on two fronts: caring for our patients in their time of need, and pushing back against government cuts to the health care system. We need all hands on deck. We need to put all of our doctors to work. Only then can we figure out how many more are needed. I look at the patients around the province waiting to see a doctor and Im angry. You can draw a straight line from the decisions the government makes to the care patients get. The election campaign is heating up. When the politicians come knocking on your door, ask them how exactly will they help you find a doctor when you need one. How will they help you get the care that you need now, not a year from now? Because for all the election promises and photo ops, Kathleen Wynnes Liberals did not use the word doctor once in their budget. Read more: Ontarios doctors at impasse with province in talks for new contract Ontarios medical regulator cracking down on doctors over offensive cyberbullying Ontario Court of Appeal to decide if names of top-billing doctors will be made public Does Ontario have enough doctors? This question may have a surprising answer for some: yes, we do. How can this be possible when many people dont have a family doctor, or wait days, weeks or even months for a medical appointment? We have more doctors than ever before, but many arent located where we need them and many of them arent practising in a way that addresses the health needs of Ontarians. First, a look at the numbers. Ontario has 220 doctors for every 100,000 people thats up from 203 in 2012. But what does this number mean? Lets unpack the first part the doctor side. A simple head count of doctors ignores where doctors are located. In Ontario and across the country, doctors are poorly represented in rural and remote areas, and this disparity between the health services available to urban and rural patients is larger in Canada than in other countries. In fact, only 8 per cent of doctors provide health services to the 19 per cent of the population thats located in rural areas. Are there enough doctors in rural areas? The answer there may well be no. Head counts also ignore what type of doctors are included. How many are family physicians and specialists and what types of specialist? How do different type of doctors practise? In Ontario, for example, only 70 per cent of family physicians provide comprehensive primary care that is, the front-line health care that Ontarians need most. Opposing View: Ontario doesnt have enough doctors Have your say Now lets unpack the population side, where there is variability as well. We have an aging population yet we have 10 times as many residency positions training spots for new doctors in pediatrics as we do in geriatrics. This results in what we call a skills mismatch. Perhaps are there enough doctors? is the wrong question to be asking. Maybe what we really need to be asking is how can all the health workers in our system better meet the needs of the population. There is a whole health workforce beyond doctors. This broader workforce nurses, midwives, pharmacists and many others undertakes many critically important tasks to meet the health needs of Ontarians. One thing is certain: we arent using their knowledge and skills to the extent we could. Instead, we end up with what we call skills misuse. Skills misuse is an endemic issue. In a recent survey that included Canadian health workers, the OECD reported that 76 per cent of doctors and 79 per cent of nurses reported they had the skills to cope with more demanding tasks. Better using the unique skill sets of doctors by shifting some of their tasks to others, such as nurses, nurse practitioners and midwives, could improve access for Ontarians. There are a number of promising practices of this kind across Canada, which could be considered for expansion. Nurse practitioners can provide primary care and triage patients presenting to emergency rooms, reducing wait times and increasing patient volumes. Physiotherapists can triage patients on wait lists for hip or knee surgery, with similar outcomes to orthopedic surgeons. Access to mental health care can be enhanced through shared-care models involving psychologists and social workers. Shifting tasks may not only be more appropriate, it could help us to achieve important wait time targets in a cost-effective manner. How could this be achieved? We could enable the shifting of tasks among health workers by reorganizing the way they work together and provide their services to the public. Co-locating services and using technology to support shared models of care, for example, may not only improve access, it can also improve physicians working conditions by making exchanges with colleagues possible and reducing on-call commitments. If we reorganize how we provide health care, we could better support the doctors we have. We need to move beyond a debate as to whether we have enough doctors and engage in the much more important and thoughtful discussion of how we must better use all our health workers in a way that is safe, supportive and affordable and provides the best health to all Ontarians. Read more: Ontarios doctors at impasse with province in talks for new contract Ontarios medical regulator cracking down on doctors over offensive cyberbullying Ontario Court of Appeal to decide if names of top-billing doctors will be made public Andrea Horwath is having a moment. Midway through this strange Ontario election campaign, she and the New Democrats are knocking on the door. The latest polls suggest they could well deny Doug Fords Progressive Conservatives a majority or even (gasp!) form government themselves after June 7. This is in part testament to Horwaths success as a campaigner and the NDPs work in crafting a comprehensive, ambitious policy platform. After nine years as NDP leader and with two previous province-wide campaigns under her belt, she is more polished and confident than ever before, as she demonstrated on Tuesday during a meeting with the Stars editorial board. But of course Horwaths rise in the polls is due just as much to Ontario voters marked distaste for the alternatives on offer. Kathleen Wynnes Liberals are stuck in third place, unable so far to get a proper hearing for their considerable accomplishments. And voters are increasingly picking up on the flaws in Fords campaign. His policies dont add up and his PC party is stumbling from one ethical tangle to another. Right now Horwath and the NDP are turning out to be the main beneficiaries of this double disappointment. But with greater success comes greater scrutiny. If Horwath really is a potential premier-in-the-making, voters will quite rightly hold her to a much higher standard than when she was the perennial also-ran. Take, for example, the $1.4 billion math error that popped up in the NDPs platform, a mistake that turns a projected $3.3-billion deficit in the first year of an NDP government into a $4.7-billion hole. Horwath at least made the best of a bad situation by not trying to sugar-coat it. When you make a mistake, fess up to it, she said on Tuesday, which is the best way to put it behind her as quickly as possible. It helps her case that the Liberals plan to run an even bigger deficit and the PCs havent even bothered to figure out what their promises would cost overall. More concerning is Horwaths refusal to contemplate any situation in which an NDP government might legislate a striking union back to work. Its not something New Democrats favour, she told the Star. In the wake of the NDPs refusal to go along with a legislated end to the two-month strike at York University, which is imperiling the school year for thousands of students, thats disappointing. Any government including one formed by the NDP, with its ties to the labour movement is elected to protect the public interest, not just that of a particular group of workers. Ruling out even the possibility of ending a disruptive labour dispute under any circumstances risks feeding the narrative that electing the NDP would effectively mean putting the unions in power. The NDP needs to think more deeply in other areas, as well. On hydro and energy costs in general, it is frankly pandering to voters who want lower prices above all. It isnt putting enough emphasis for our taste on the longer-term issues of environmental health and climate change, which inevitably involve higher costs for everyone. This isnt popular, as the Liberals have found out to their enormous political cost. But its impossible to see how it can be avoided, even if the burden is shared as equitably as possible. Meaningful action to mitigate the effects of climate change will involve changing everyones behaviour, and price signals are by far the best way to make that happen. Promising cheap gas forever may be a vote-winner, but its neither sustainable nor desirable coming from any party. Its been a generation since Ontario voters entrusted the NDP with the keys to Queens Park. Horwath deserves a lot of credit for getting her party in position to take advantage of this moment in the provinces political life, when voters are so disillusioned with the traditional alternatives. But the closer the New Democrats get, the more tough questions they will have to answer. Have your say: Read more about: In the competition for political power, the fight over electrical power never fails to energize an election. Rival parties know how to press peoples buttons, and how to generate powerful myths. Consider the boondoggles of the last few years true or false: We have North Americas highest power rates? Untrue, as Hydro Quebecs annual survey cites higher prices in many U.S. cities. Yet heat or eat resonates as a campaign slogan despite a dramatic 25 per cent drop in rates last year. The Liberals sold off Ontario Hydro, boosting prices for private profit? In fact, Ontario Hydro was dismembered out of existence years ago by a Progressive Conservative government, which split it into Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One. It is only the latter company a regulated transmission utility that the Liberals partially privatized, not the power generation assets. The only certainty is that the polarity of Ontario politics keeps getting reversed. The Tories earnestly claim they oppose privatization, despite laying the groundwork for it when they were last in power, and proposing it again in recent elections. The Liberals, who opposed it in the past, tried it under Premier Kathleen Wynne. Read more: Ontarios (hydro) power and politics More raises at privatized Hydro One turn former Crown utility into bigger lightning rod in election The truth about hydro in Ontario: an updated fact check The sale of half of Hydro One was perhaps Wynnes biggest political blunder. The big winner was New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath, who keeps profiting from Wynnes miscalculation. It didnt hurt that Horwath shrewdly conflated branding and pricing. The vast majority of Ontarians believed Wynne had sold off the generating assets of the old Ontario Hydro the jewels of the Crown corporation, as opposed to mere poles and wires. Voters started to blame rising hydro prices on the sale never mind that most hikes long predate privatization, and that the Ontario Energy Board alone determines rates. Luckily for Horwath, most voters arent paying attention to an implausible NDP promise to buy back all those Hydro One shares for a mere $6.4 billion by magically repurposing a $250-million-a-year dividend stream over eight years (no money down). As my colleague Rob Ferguson has reported, financial analysts put little stock in the chimera that would leave a future Horwath government several billion dollars short. But the politics of privatization pale under the weight of populism. When Doug Ford took over as PC leader, he seized on the outsized pay packet of Hydro Ones new CEO, Mayo Schmidt, mocking him as the Six Million Dollar Man at every campaign stop and stealing Horwaths thunder along the way. That Schmidts money is dwarfed by the more than $20 billion spent on generating electricity, as Fords critics have pointed out, is beside the point, for in the heat (if not light) of an election campaign, politicians know how to harness hydro anger. The Liberals have long defended increased hydro rates by claiming they had to invest heavily in the electricity system after the Tories let it atrophy, leading to brownouts. Boxed in by rising rates, Wynne tried desperately last year to ease public resentment by announcing a 25 per cent reduction, relying on a refinancing scheme akin to a second mortgage. Despite the controversy over Wynnes borrowings, Ford has bought into it (and then some) by promising to retain that 25 per cent reduction and, magically, reduce rates by a further 7 per cent (details to come). Horwath, for her part, has vowed to unwind the entire Liberal refinancing scheme costs to be determined and then come up with her own 30 per reduction in hydro rates instead, details to come (hint: time-of-use pricing will be undone). Remarkably, Wynnes rate reduction scheme moved hydro prices off the political agenda for several months last year until, unexpectedly, Ford seized on the high salary of Hydro Ones CEO and promised to fire Schmidt. Never mind that it requires firing the entire board, which triggers more than $10 million in severance and penalties. Youre fired has a certain resonance these days. Amid the blunders and blunderbuss, the rival leaders can only offer competing panaceas: Ford will fire the Hydro One brass, Horwath will buy Hydro One back, Wynne will borrow more to shrink our bills. None of it adds up. But in their zeal to secure power political and electrical each is taking take the path of least resistance on the campaign trail. Read more about: Pink Floyd and the Clampetts. Rae Days and massive deficits. With Andrea Horwaths NDP showing continued momentum in the Ontario election, is it time again for the Bob Rae monster to burst out of the bedroom closet at night? Will he do an encore as a scary apparition at the stroke of midnight around the spooky electoral bonfire? Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative team are trying to let the Rae bogeyman out of the cage for one more tour. Why not? It has worked before. It was used by Stephen Harper to push back Jack Laytons 2011 Orange Wave at the Ontario border, by Ontario Tories and Liberals to great effect any time a provincial NDP leader so much as showed a pulse, and it was a strong counter-current to Raes attempt to run for permanent leader of the federal Liberals. Read more: As Horwaths poll numbers rise, Doug Ford focuses his attacks on the NDP An NDP government would not use back-to-work legislation to end strikes, party leader Andrea Horwath says Opinion | Martin Regg Cohn: The referendum on Andrea Horwaths NDP is just beginning It has even been used by a federal NDP leader, Tom Mulcair, who told 2015 election audiences that New Democrats could be fiscally responsible with one exception but hes a Liberal. Rae is not the only former NDP premier to be effectively demonized. British Columbia Socreds effectively did the same with the Dave Barrett government of the early 1970s, but that hex, while powerful, did not have the legs of the anti-Rae effort. Mockery, mythology and mendacity have been the hallmarks of those who have practised the Rae voodoo over the years. New Democrats have been reticent to defend the Rae record, and federal Liberals had little appetite for defending his NDP legacy as a potential federal leader. In short, the ghost of Rae as this provinces only New Democrat premier has shown enduring resilience over almost 28 years since his Sept. 6, 1990 election. But we may be witnessing the end of an era in this province. The monster, it would appear, can be put in a historical box, and we can move on. The end of the bogeyman which has been used by all parties to frighten voters by embellishing and embroidering the shortcomings of a government run by an opposing party can end quietly, but this bogeyman does not depart these earthly bonds easily. This year, it is going out with a bit more noise. Its death can be attributed to the simple passage of time. On the day Rae was elected, Horwath was 27 and working at a Hamilton legal clinic, where she advocated for low-income earners, single mothers, injured workers and people with physical challenges . She had yet to start a family. Her son, Julian, would be born two years later. She has no relationship with Rae, and never has. Im not Bob Rae. And this is not 1990, this is 2018, she told the Stars Kristin Rushowy. Any voter under 23 casting a ballot on June 7 was not even born during Raes government, and a huge voting cohort was playing in sandboxes or grappling with Grade 5 math tests at that time. They have no memory of the Rae government. Part of its death can come from the messenger invoking the ghost. Ford and his team of Harper veterans may not have the needed credibility to pass along fright because many voters find them plenty frightening themselves. With the passage of time, as well, has come a more nuanced view of that government, which was born in a global recession and became mired in a national constitutional crisis. Others now look back and acknowledge Rae was ahead of his time in promoting diversity, gender equality and same-sex benefits. He established midwifery in the province and expanded green space in the GTA. Given ongoing issues in todays campaign, one could argue Rae was also ahead of the curve on deficit spending and his opposition to privatizing Ontario Hydro. You could also argue that the Rae government deserved much of the toxicity that has enveloped its legacy. Rae is now a special envoy for the Justin Trudeau Liberals and is remaining above the political fray, but he says he governed during a tremendously challenging period. I remain very proud of my government, he said. We made difficult choices at a difficult time. His treasurer Floyd Laughren was dubbed Pink Floyd after he tried to spend his way out of the deepest recession in half a century, adding $6.7 billion to the provincial deficit in his first budget. Their early foibles earned the government the nickname the Clampetts, a nod to The Beverly Hillbillies, a once-popular television show about country bumpkins who strike oil, move to Beverly Hills and bumble through their days in the big city where they are out of their depth. It, too, drifts in the mist of time. Rae had to jettison a promise of public auto insurance. One of his rookie cabinet ministers resigned in a sex scandal that, as it turned out, involved aspirational sex, but not the actual act itself. Another caucus member posed as a Sunshine Boy in a local tabloid. But this government will always be remembered for its infamous Rae Days, which became for New Democrats what the National Energy Program was for federal Liberals in its Alberta wasteland years. In 1993, with his government drowning in red ink, Rae imposed up to 12 unpaid days a year for public-sector workers earning more than $30,000. He may have saved almost $2 billion, it may have been a program that has been replicated in other Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions, but it sunk Rae politically. Unions that resisted the move had their collective agreements unilaterally opened by a government it had supported and the betrayal ran deep and persists to this day. Rick Smith, the executive director of the Broadbent Institute and former chief of staff to Layton, was involved in those negotiations as a student unionist. It was not an easy time dealing with a government intent on doing this when I was a partisan of that government, Smith said. It was a government, he said, that picked fights with important stakeholders, and the lessons from those mistakes have been taken to heart by provincial NDP governments elected since then. Rae has said his social contract, as he formally named it, aimed to save jobs and have everyone share the pain. Firing a bunch of nurses and teachers, young people, would have been a big injustice, he said recently. The reality is that in Ontario, as many as 20 per cent of the workforce works for the government. And about 70 to 75 per cent of the cost of government is wages. So, if you don't deal with those costs somehow, you're not going to get to a better place. Unions saw it differently and the rupture was complete. When Rae was defeated in 1995, he was left to twist in the wind, the pain of that decision severely limiting any desire among traditional NDP supporters to defend that legacy. Even those sympathetic to him were too busy fighting the policies of the incoming Mike Harris PC tornado. When Rae became a Liberal in 2006, any NDP impulse to defend his provincial government died and the Rae monster continued to grow in stature. This was also a government that did not do a very job of defending itself, said Robin Sears, a longtime party strategist. They accepted the thesis that they were fiscally incompetent, instead of pointing out that they were governing during a crippling recession. It came back to bite Rae himself when he contemplated another run for the Liberal leadership after expertly keeping the party afloat with a strong performance as its interim leader following the 2011 Michael Ignatieff implosion. On the eve of the 2012 Liberal convention, he delivered a full-throated defence of his government to his federal caucus because the Harper Conservatives were preparing to revisit Rae the NDP premier one more time, gathering documents and media reports showing fiscal incompetence, ready to fire on the would be Liberal leadership candidate. "Better a Rae Day than a Harper lifetime," he told the caucus. It didnt work. He stepped aside to allow the ascension of Trudeau. Regardless of his status as provincial bogeyman, Rae has never had any trouble getting elected. He was elected three more times as a federal Liberal and left federal politics (for a second time) of his own accord. Have your say: He has carved out a long career in public service that has included work with tainted-blood survivors and First Nations. He has been called upon by governments to resolve a fishing crisis and study the state of post-secondary education in Ontario. He has helped oversee constitutional negotiations with the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers, presided over an inquiry into the Air India disaster and is now Trudeaus envoy to Myanmar and the Rohingya refugee crisis. Last week, he was honoured with a lifetime achievement award by the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians. For the next two weeks, however, his role will be that of an observer instead of frightening apparition as Horwath becomes the first NDP leader in a generation who can campaign without the weight of the Rae government on her shoulders. Read more about: Video transcript: I loved the mariachi party outside the home of that racist lawyer in New York City. The thing about mariachi is, even if you dont like it, its hard not to feel good when you hear it. That includes the lawyer himself, who yelled at people for speaking Spanish in a restaurant. Canta no llores, they serenaded him. Sing, dont cry. Hed have hated himself as he tried not to smile. Earlier, some protesters had found him and given him a hard time. That was standard tit for tat. But this was light and fun, even as it was pointed and unflinching. All the great leaders in the fight against racism King, Mandela, Gandhi, Malcolm X have said this: do not be consumed by what you despise. It showed how this could become a great moment in the epic struggle over racism in the U.S. Thats because theres no longer a black president. Theres not ever a neutral president. Theres Trump. If they can stick exuberantly with it, in spite of the total lack of support from above, they really will have overcome. Time will tell as the current president likes to say. Oh and I also loved the In-Your-Face-Trump quality. Remember, mariachi bands arent just Hispanic, theyre Mexican! VANCOUVEREthan Peterson is counting down the moments until he can return to his Grand Forks home, which is currently swimming in floodwater. After weeks of extreme flooding in the province, waters started to recede over the long weekend. But many homes in the small city of 4,000 are still submerged. Of the roughly 3,000 people evacuated from Grand Forks, hundreds can now start to return to their homes, according to news releases from the Regional District of Central Kootenay on Sunday and Monday. Peterson told StarMetro on Monday that he keeps returning to the barricade at the bridge to his neighbourhood to inquire when he can walk through his front door and take stock of the damage. I talk to the security and the RCMP and they are telling us it is not a safe zone yet, he said in a phone interview, suggesting it may be in a few days. Hopefully, we can find out soon. He recounted wading through water pooled high in the first floor of his home to gather his belongings just over a week ago, when the Ruckle neighbourhood community braced for a second round of flooding this week. I got what I needed to get out of the house, Peterson said. Compared to so many other people who have lost so much, I feel fortunate. About 300 troops were deployed across the province for disaster assistance, roughly one-third of those to Grand Forks. Floodwaters the worst the city has experienced since 1948 stretched for several kilometres, but the anticipated second wave didnt happen thanks to lower rainfall and cooler temperatures. Its been tough, Peterson said on Monday morning. Given little time to gather his belongings, he grabbed what was most precious, he said, such as his school paperwork and books, along with sentimental items. Everything else is just left behind, all of your clothes and furniture, he said. But Peterson still wasnt sure when he could return. The water has stopped rising, he said, but while the sandbags have been removed, his neighbourhood remained blocked off at time of publication. Sleeping under his parents roof in Christina Lake, B.C., which also experienced heavy flooding, Peterson said hes heard the assessment process for safety and property damage has begun in Grand Forks. The majority of orders across the Boundary were rescinded and rapid damage assessments (would) continue, read a tweet from the district on Sunday evening. On Monday afternoon, the district announced the potential threat of flooding for 230 addresses in Rural Grand Forks had been reduced: Just six addresses from this specific area remained on evacuation order at publication time. Yet all properties remain on alert, and in the event that conditions change an evacuation order may be reissued, according to the release. Meanwhile, the Fraser Valley Regional District continues to monitor the flood and expected the Mission Gauge an indicator measuring the height of the Fraser River to cross six metres this weekend, according to emergency services. That is the height where flooding is considered possible. The provinces River Forecast Centre has issued a high streamflow advisory for the Fraser River, and theres a risk of flooding in low-lying areas that are not protected by dikes, according to the District of Mission website. Staff are currently performing routine dike assessments and inspections, dike maintenance and other flood preparedness activities. The fallout from the flooding, which began May 7, is yet to be fully understood, especially when it comes to infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Disaster financial assistance is available for those who have been affected by the flooding and are deemed eligible, according to a release from the province. For Peterson, getting back home is only the first step of many. Its about waiting till we can assess the damages, he said. We are hoping for the best. Read more about: VANCOUVERB.C. Premier John Horgan remains undeterred by the latest snag in the worsening feud over the Kinder Morgan pipeline with Alberta. A spokesperson for his office said hell still attend the upcoming western premiers meeting in the Northwest Territories on Tuesday and Wednesday despite his Edmonton counterpart Rachel Notley abruptly cancelling her attendance Monday. Hes been planning to go since being invited and thats not changing, a spokesperson in Horgans office told StarMetro by text message Monday afternoon. Premier Horgan is going to be there to discuss a variety of issues like affordability and services that matter to people in B.C., pharmacare being high on that agenda. But Notley called such discussions exceptionally tone deaf in light of Kinder Morgans impending May 31 deadline for B.C. to abandon its opposition to the companys $7.4-billion Trans Mountain expansion, which will triple the flow of diluted bitumen to the west coast from Albertas oilsands. It would be surreal and exceptionally tone deaf for anyone to think we could politely discuss pharmacare and cannabis when one of the players is hard at work trying to choke the economic lifeblood of the province and the country, Notley tweeted Monday afternoon. Despite federal and provincial approvals, B.C.s NDP government which campaigned on using all tools available to stop the pipeline declared no increase in oil flow would be allowed into the province until further environmental study of what happens when bitumen spills into water. Albertas NDP government counters that the regulation is unconstitutional, since pipelines between provinces are in federal, not provincial, jurisdiction. The B.C. Supreme Court has yet to rule in a case testing the provinces jurisdiction. But on Thursday, B.C. threatened to sue Alberta in its own courts after the provinces MLAs nearly unanimously passed a bill allowing Notley to shut off the oil taps to the west to bolster her position. Notley said her deputy premier would stand in for her at the regional leaders conference in Yellowknife. The annual meeting brings together leaders of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C., Nunavut, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. With 10 days remaining before Kinder Morgans deadline, my only priority is to make sure the pipeline gets built, Notley tweeted. Read more about: VANCOUVERMembers of a national grassroots Jewish organization held a memorial on Monday outside the Vancouver offices of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), praying for an end to Israels killings of Palestinians in Gaza in recent weeks. The gathering of roughly a dozen people marked the Shavuot holiday with prayers they said were from the Jewish memorial tradition of Yizkor, and criticized CIJAs support for Israels use of military force against Palestinians. Rabbi David Mivasair, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Canada, lit a candle and described his grief and sadness at the mounting death toll but also his concern that pro-Israeli government organizations dont speak for all Canadian Jews. The organizations that purport to speak for the Jewish community are getting it wrong, he said at the vigil. Theyre not speaking for us, and theyre not speaking for many, many other Canadian Jews. He said CIJAs stance is inconsistent with religious tenets at the heart of Jewish tradition. Tens of thousands of Palestinian demonstrators have gathered periodically along the Gaza-Israel boundary since March 30. Their reasons for protesting include a decision by the U.S. to move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, long-standing Israeli and Egyptian blockades of goods into Gaza, and what they describe as the 70-year displacement of Palestinians from their homes during the creation of Israel. CIJA was not available for an interview by the time of publication Monday, but CEO Shimon Koffler Fogel issued a statement last Wednesday saying Hamas the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza bore direct responsibility for (the) recent violence on the Israel-Gaza border. For Hamas, Palestinian casualties are sickening public relations achievements, he said. Shifting the blame to Israel risks encouraging Hamas to further fuel violence. As of Friday, more than 100 Palestinians including 14 children had been killed and more than 12,000 wounded since demonstrations began, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. But Israeli government officials pounced on a statement by a Hamas spokesperson Wednesday that 50 of those killed were members of the militant Palestinian party fuelling accusations that Hamas is driving its own citizens to the fence as human shields to cover for the delivery of terrorists onto Israeli soil. Outside CIJAs offices in Vancouver, Mivasair argued that Independent Jewish Voices is up against a well-funded, politically powerful publicity campaign in support of the Israeli governments use of violence against Palestinians along the Gaza border. His hope is that growing international attention will unite peace advocates to pressure world leaders to intervene on behalf of Palestinians, he told StarMetro. I think this is a moment where some change can come, Mivasair said. I think theres more awareness, and from the awareness, theres more willingness to engage among people everywhere, including our elected MPs. Also attending the vigil was celebrated Vancouver physician and drug reform advocate Dr. Gabor Mate, who joined in reading aloud 131 names of Gazans killed recently, as well as Stephen Aberle, also a member of Independent Jewish Voices Canada. After years of political wavering over what Aberle called Israels human rights abuses, he told StarMetro, a sea change is now on the horizon. The more you give people facts, the more their awareness blossoms, and the more they start to get pissed off and take some action, he said. I do see change coming, but its slow. Mivasair also led the group in a Kaddish prayer a hymn of praise that he said points to the responsibility each individual has to make Gods love manifest in the world around them. Mivasair told StarMetro he understood the fatigue many Canadians must feel being asked to care about so many hardships worldwide. There are so many crises and so much suffering in the world, he said. You cant do something about everything. But hopefully we, writ very large, can use ... the increased awareness just to move the needle a little bit. Read more about: The United NationsChildrens Fund (UNICEF) is mandated by the UN general assembly to advocate forthe protection of childrens rights, to help meet their basic needs and expandtheir opportunities to reach their full potential. Together with our partners,we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment intopractical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable andexcluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. Uganda BroadcastingCorporation (UBC) is the public broadcaster of Uganda. It was founded as aresult of the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation Act, 2004, whichmerged the operations of Uganda Television (UTV) and Radio Uganda. It startedbroadcasting on November 16, 2005. The Congress' Karnataka president G. Parameshwara will be the deputy chief minister in the JD(S)-Congress coalition government, a party leader said on Tuesday. "Party president Rahul Gandhi has approved the name of Parameshwara for the deputy chief minister post in the coalition government," Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal told reporters in Bengaluru. Parameshwara will take oath after JD(S) legislative party leader H.D. Kumarswamy is sworn-in as the chief minister on Wednesday evening in front of the Vidhana Soudha. The 34-member ministry will have 22 cabinet ministers from the Congress and 12 from the JD(S). "Speaker of the legislative assembly will be from the Congress and deputy speaker will be from the JD(S)," said Venugopal. The speaker and deputy speaker will be named on Thursday and names of the cabinet ministers and their portfolios will be announced after the floor test in the hung house. "A joint coordination committee with members from both the parties will be set up in the next couple of days," added Venugopal. UAE is expected to record a GDP growth of 2.1 per cent in 2018 and 3.9 per cent in 2019, said Moodys in a new report, adding that non-oil growth will recover in 2018-2021, supported by government spending after three years of cuts. The United Arab Emirates' (Aa2 stable) credit profile reflects its financial support from Abu Dhabi, large hydrocarbon reserves and very high wealth levels, the report added. "The UAE's superior infrastructure, very high per capita income and vast hydrocarbon reserves support its creditworthiness," said Thaddeus Best, a Moody's analyst and co-author of the report. "These strengths are balanced against challenges which include limited institutional transparency and the absence of public data around offshore assets and some of the emirates' public finances." Key takeaways: The UAE's very high fiscal strength reflects the country's record of large fiscal surpluses and build-up of very large financial assets in Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund (ADIA). As a result of Abu Dhabi's fiscal consolidation and the recovery in oil prices, Moody's expects the UAE's consolidated government deficit to decrease to 0.8 per cent of GDP in 2018, from an expected 2.3 per cent in 2017. The UAE's consolidated fiscal position shows a diverging path between Abu Dhabi, where broad spending cuts were enacted, and Dubai, which has continued to increase spending ahead of the World Expo 2020. On a consolidated government basis, the UAEs general government debt, at an estimated $85 billion at the end of 2017, was equivalent to 22 per cent of GDP. The majority of the UAE's government debt load is concentrated in Dubai, which as of year-end 2017, stood at estimated $60.8 billion. Moodys estimates Abu Dhabi's debt increased by more than 100 per cent following last year's $10 billion issuance. Among the northern emirates, Moodys estimates Sharjahs direct government debt reached $4.9 billion in first quarter 2018, consisting of market borrowings in the form of three sukuks of $500 million, $750 million and most recently a $1 billion issuance in March 2018. Moodys expects the real estate market to remain subdued as residential rents and sale prices will continue to decline in 2018, due to excess supply and subdued growth. TradeArabia News Service 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 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 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 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' 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 per cent 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. The Pakistani troops on Tuesday violated ceasefire upon the Indian Territory in Jammu and Kashmir's Arnia sector. On a related note, residents of the Arnia sector have migrated to safer places after Pakistan continued to violate ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday. The locals had arranged food for those affected by firing from the other side of the border. Earlier on May 18, Pakistan violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in RS Pura and Arnia sectors, killing a total of five people including one Border Security Force (BSF) jawan and four civilians. The Central government has 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". Union minister Jitendra Singh on Monday said Pakistan was guilty of sacrilege for killing innocent civilians during the holy month of Ramzan. 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. Singh also 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. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisamy said on Tuesday that nine people were killed in "police action" against anti-Sterlite protestors in Tuticorin, and announced a judicial inquiry into the violence. Detailing the events leading to the "unfortunate" deaths, he said the Sterlite protestors took out a procession towards the collectorate, defying prohibitory orders in the area. They not only pelted policemen with stones but also set on fire their vehicles as well as those parked in the collectorate. They hurled stones at the collector's office, he said in a statement. "The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence... police had to control the violence," Palaniswami, who holds the Home portfolio, said. "I was grieved to know nine persons were unfortunately killed in this incident," he said, and expressed his sympathies and condolences for the families of those killed. The chief minister said he has ordered constitution of a one- man commission under a retired high court judge to go into the incident. He also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of those killed, Rs 3 lakh to those seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh for people who suffered minor injuries in the anti-Sterlite protests. He also assured government jobs for one family member of each of those who lost their lives in accordance with their qualifications. The chief minister instructed the Tuticorin district administration to ensure those wounded got good medical treatment. Nearly 5000 people demanding closure of the Vedanta group-owned Sterlite plant went on the rampage over pollution concerns, clashing with police, and setting vehicles and public property on fire. Deaths condoled Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit condoled the death of nine persons in the police firing during the anti-Sterlite protest in Tuticorin. "My condolences to each one of the bereaved families. At this critical hour, I appeal to all sections of society to be calm and help in maintaining the peace in the state," he said in a Raj Bhavan release. The adage that failures can teach many lessons seems quite... A Pakistani delegation raised the issue of India's alleged violation of the Indus Waters Treaty with the World Bank which discussed opportunities within the treaty to seek an amicable resolution, officials said on Tuesday. Yesterday's meeting took place days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 330 MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir, amid protests from Pakistan which claims that the project on a river flowing into Pakistan will disrupt water supplies. Pakistan's Foreign Office had, on Friday, voiced concern over the inauguration of the hydroelectric project, saying inauguration without resolution of dispute between the two countries will tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters 1960 that regulates the use of waters in the shared rivers. "The Indus Waters Treaty is a profoundly important international agreement that provides an essential cooperative framework for India and Pakistan to address current and future challenges of effective water management to meet human needs and achieve development goals," a World Bank spokesperson said. "The meetings are discussing concerns raised by the Pakistan delegation and opportunities within the treaty to seek an amicable resolution," the spokesperson said. No other details about the nature of Pakistani grievances were made available by the World Bank officials. The discussions are scheduled to continue on Tuesday. The Pakistani delegation is led by Attorney General, Ashtar Ausaf Ali. Islamabad had been raising objections over the design of the hydel project, saying it is not in line with the criteria laid down under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between the two countries. But, India says the project design was well within parameters of the treaty. The project, located at Bandipore in North Kashmir, envisages diversion of water of Kishan Ganga river to underground power house through a 23.25-km-long head race tunnel to generate 1713 million units per annum. The Kishanganga project was started in 2007 but on May 17, 2010, Pakistan moved for international arbitration against India under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty. The Hague-based International Court of Arbitration allowed India in 2013 to go ahead with construction of the project in North Kashmir and upheld Indias right under the bilateral Indus Waters Treaty to divert waters from the Kishanganga for power generation in Jammu and Kashmir. The international court, however, decided that India shall release a minimum flow of nine cubic metres per second into the Kishanganga river (known as Neelam in Pakistan) at all times to maintain environmental flows. Pakistan is building a 969 MW Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric project downstream. The Pak Foreign Office in a statement in Islamabad last week said it was seriously concerned about the inauguration of the hydroelectric project. "Pakistan believes that the inauguration of the project without the resolution of the dispute is tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)," it said. "Pakistan reiterates that as the custodian of the Treaty, World Bank must urge India to address to Pakistan's reservations on Kishenganga Hydroelectric Project (KHEP)," the statement said. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has signed a landmark unsecured four-year revolving credit facility with an initial commitment of $480 million and an accordion feature that allows the facility to be increased to up to $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, said a statement. The following banks are involved in the facility in the following capacities: mandated coordinating lead arranger: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait; mandated lead arrangers and joint bookrunners: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, First Abu Dhabi Bank; mandated lead arranger: Noor Bank; global agent and Islamic investment agent: First Abu Dhabi Bank. Firoz Tarapore, chief executive officer of DAE, 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 our franchise, he said. This facility further diversifies our funding sources and adds to the unsecured component of our liquidity profile increasing our unsecured revolving credit facilities to $1,125 - $1,445 million depending on the final committed amount of this facility, he added. 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 per cent to a range of 31 per cent to 34 per cent, Tarapore concluded. Michel Accad, group CEO, 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, it stated. TradeArabia News Service American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at [email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA engages in the traditional banking businesses of retail banking, asset management, private banking, and wholesale banking. It operates through the following segments: Spain, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and Rest of Eurasia. The Spain segment includes mainly the banking and insurance business that the group carries out in Spain. The United States segment consists of the financial business activity of BBVA USA in the country and the activity of the branch of BBVA SA in New York. The Mexico segment refers to banking and insurance businesses in this country as well as the activity of its branch in Houston. The Turkey segment reports the activity of Garanti BBVA group that is mainly carried out in this country and, to a lesser extent, in Romania and the Netherlands. The South America segment comprises of operations in n Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The Rest of Eurasia segment includes the banking business activity carried out by the group in Europe and Asia, excluding Spain. The company was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Read More UAE-based Immensa Technology Labs (Immensa), a leading additive manufacturing (AM or 3D printing) company in the UAE, said it has supplied its game-changing Inventory Digitisation solution to one of the worlds largest construction companies the Consolidated Contracting Company (CCC). Immensas state-of-the-art facility builds and manufactures production quality parts, components and one-off prototypes for customers across a variety of industries. With Immensas solution, the top Greek builder CCC said it is exploring ways to create a digital inventory of its spare parts and components. "If we can get to a point over the next few years whereby a small percentage of our inventory can be digitised the impact will be significant, remarked Engineer Aref Boualwan, who is overseeing some of CCCs President Initiatives within disruptive technology implementation. "What encouraged us to embrace inventory digitisation is simplifying the supply chain and the ability to reproduce items in remote areas when and where it is most needed. Also, Immensas solution has significant environmental benefits as it ultimately reduce the need to transport products across the world," noted Boualwan. "Ultimately, this contributes to reducing the industrys carbon footprint and cuts waste by producing only the exact number of parts that are needed in close proximity to where they will be used," he added. Immensa CEO Fahmi Al Shawwa said the company was delighted to be working with CCC, one of the most respected names in the construction world, to revolutionise the way the industry operates. "Today, it is estimated that the world sits on inventories worth more than $10 trillion at any single point, but if only five per cent of that inventory was converted to digital format, $500 billion worth of products would immediately have a much shorter supply chain that reduces transport, logistics, inventory, and storage costs," noted Al Shawwa. "At Immensa, we believe that supply chains and logistics can be handled virtually, and that 3D printing technology will transform the traditional supply chain as well as the logistics and warehousing industries. We are pleased to be demonstrating the potential of this approach and explore its potential with CCC," he added. Through Immensas Inventory Digitisation solution, parts and components that were traditionally stored in numerous physical warehouses will be converted into a digital format and stored in Virtual Warehouses, said Al Shawwa. Parts will only be produced when required using 3D printing and other propriety processes that reduce the need for companies to carry inventories, he stated. Immensa Technology Labs is at the forefront of applying additive manufacturing services on a mechanical and industrial level in the region and one of a few companies globally that is offering full Inventory Digitisation and Virtual Warehousing services to companies, he added. The company was established in 2016 to provide comprehensive solutions whereby AM can add real value.-TradeArabia News Service Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "What is the experience of businesses that hire refugees?" That's the question that researchers at the Fiscal Policy Institute set out to answer in a new report released Tuesday. They interviewed employers, refugees, agency staff and others in four areas in the U.S. that are major areas of refugee resettlement: upstate New York, Atlanta and nearby counties, eastern and central Nebraska and Phoenix. In New York, they studied Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse. They also used data from the American Community Survey and the Worldwide Refugee Processing System for the report, which was commissioned by Tent, an organization launched by Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya. They found that retention rates among refugee employees tended to be higher, hiring refugees helped companies expand their labor pool and refugee workers improved a firm's culture. Among the 26 companies interviewed by FPI, 73 percent reported a higher retention rate for refugee employees compared to other workers. Figures from several firms that shared internal data with FPI showed that refugees' turnover rate was seven to 15 percentage points lower than for the total workforce. The researchers looked at specific industries, including several that tend to have higher employee turnover. In the hotel sector, the rate for refugees was 29 percent seven percentage points lower than the rate for employees overall. In the meatpacking industry, the difference was even greater: 25 percent for refugees compared to 40 percent for the workforce overall. "Turnover is a significant cost for employers," said David Kallick, deputy director and director of immigration research. Any investments required to help refugees adjust to a company were "more than offset" by the benefits, he added. Companies' efforts to help refugees adjust to life in a new place, including overcoming language barriers and adjusting a company's culture and practices for people with different ethnic and religious backgrounds, seemed to play a role in turnover, researchers wrote. It also expanded the labor pool and helped with recruitment. If a firm works to address some of the challenges facing new employees from the same country or community and these workers have a positive experience, it makes them feel more comfortable and they may recommend other employees. Resettlement agencies and organizations that know a refugee is faring well at a particular company may refer people or assist with services like translation, FPI added. It also makes for better companies. "Employers frequently felt they had learned and grown from the experience of integrating refugees in ways that made them not just better employers of refugees, but better employers in general," FPI wrote. "Hiring with the expectation of teaching workers on the job opened the doors to non-refugee and refugee employees alike, and often also worked better for employers." Companies told FPI that hiring refugees "made managers better managers," Kallick added. Figuring out solutions to address issues for employees of all backgrounds is helpful. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Refugees also "easily pass" background checks and other screening measures and "rarely fail a drug test" because of the federal vetting they go through. They've also helped revive cities like Utica and Minneapolis that have suffered from job and population loss, and people looking for employment shouldn't be worried about the competition, the researchers said. "Refugee resettlement should hardly be seen as a concern for local workers seeking jobs," FPI wrote. "In many instances they play an important role in helping local economies grow." The organization conducted the interviews last year and analyzed the data involved this year. In the current political environment, the contrast between what they heard from employers and employees and some of the current political debates was stark, Kallick said. "It's jarring to see the difference in what it feels like inside companies and what's in the headlines, the constant barrage of problems," he said. miszler@timesunion.com 518-454-5018 @madisoniszler International industry leaders in renewable energy will discuss the industrys transition to storage solutions at at a conference to be held in Australia, said a report. The 2018 Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition will be held on May 23 and May 24 at the Adelaide Convention Centre, in Adelaide. The event will also enable energy industry experts to see first-hand and learn from South Australias expertise in clean energy generation and storage, added The Lead South Australia report. Sam Staples, AES sales manager and conference programme manager, said South Australias ongoing work in the renewable energy sector makes it the ideal location to host the event. He said that Adelaide and South Australia have positioned themselves as national leaders in the push to modernise energy systems through the uptake of clean and efficient technologies. Staples added that the state is well on its way to becoming 100 per cent renewable and energy storage is the key to achieving this benchmark. The conference comes as Adelaide continues to build on its reputation as a global leader in the uptake of renewable energy and storage technology, which has seen the establishment of a number of key infrastructure projects including the worlds largest lithium ion battery built by Elon Musks Tesla in conjunction with French renewable energy company Neoen late last year. South Australian silicon energy storage innovator 1414 Degrees launched an IPO this month that it expects could raise as much as $50 million for its storage technology that delivers an output of heat as well as electric power. German battery and solar energy company Sonnen announced in February that it would move its Australian headquarters to Adelaide where it will also establish a battery manufacturing hub. Renewable sources in South Australia account for almost 50 per cent of the electricity generated in the state, added the report. Schenectady A lone cabin cruiser bobbed at the dock Tuesday under a steady rain as workers moved about the shiny new buildings that make up Mohawk Harbor, Galesi Group's $150 million wager on the future of Schenectady's waterfront. Mohawk Harbor is part of a larger development at the former American Locomotive factory off Erie Boulevard next to the Mohawk River. The $480 million development also includes the adjacent $330 million Rivers Resort Casino. Nearby, the outdoor terrace at Druthers Brewing Company looked ready to receive customers, although there's still finishing work to do in the restaurant itself. It could open as early as late June. The 50 harbor slips are also ready, as is River House, the first apartment building to be completed. Druthers and a wine bar, Shaker & Vine, will occupy the building's first floor. Anthony Graziano, who's developing the wine bar and is president and CEO of New York City and Miami-based Chilled Media LLC, said late Tuesday that work is under way and that he anticipates an opening in October. Two office buildings are starting to fill. 2 Harbor Center has a training facility for the nearby Rivers Casino, as well as an insurance office, and soon the headquarters of the Galesi Group. Ellis Medicine has filed a certificate of need with the state Health Department, requesting approval for a clinic that would offer primary care, urgent care and phlebotomy services. Ellis expects 21,000 patient visits in the first year, growing to 27,400 by the third year of operation. Ellis, which operates a hospital a mile away, will occupy the first floor of 1 Harbor Center,said David Buicko, Galesi's chief executive. The urgent care center will provide a less expensive alternative for patients who don't need emergency care but would have had to seek treatment in the emergency room instead. If they don't have a primary care physician, the visit will also give them the opportunity to connect with one of Ellis' doctors, a spokesman said. Pending regulatory approval, Ellis hopes to have the new center operating by the end of the year. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Buicko said spaces at Mohawk Harbor are filling up, with 80 percent of the apartments leased, and room for three more buildings should the demand be there. A row of townhouses is nearing completion. While there were few people out and about Tuesday, a summer outdoor concert series to begin in mid-June, sunrise and sunset yoga, and fireworks displays are among the activities Buicko hopes will bring more people outside. A week earlier, the harbor was busier as TV reporter Geraldo Rivera docked his boat and John Mallozzi of Villa Cafe delivered pastries. Rivera was heading to Ohio on the day the Erie Canal opened. Mohawk Harbor hopes to tap more canal traffic as the summer approaches. EMPIRE: "THE EMPIRE UNPOSSESS'D" FOX, 8 p.m. Season Finale! As the Empire ownership bid presentation nears, Eddie shows no sign of backing down, and Lucious must make a difficult decision to save the future of the company and his family. SURVIVOR CBS, 8 p.m. Season Finale! The torch goes out on Season 36 as we finally learn which Ghost Island castaway outwitted, outlasted and outplayed the others. NATURE: "THE WORLD'S MOST WANTED ANIMAL" PBS, 8 p.m. Join conservationist Maria Diekmann in the crusade to save pangolins, the most trafficked animal in the world. Learn about these little-known yet highly desired scaly mammals whose basic biology remains a mystery, hampering conservation efforts. STAR: "THIRTY DAYS TO FAMOUS" FOX, 9 p.m. Season Finale! Brandy Norwood returns as Carlotta's sister Cassie, and the rivalry between the siblings comes to a head. Take 3's future as a group is at risk when egos clash. LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: "REMEMBER ME/REMEMBER ME TOO" NBC, 9 p.m. Season Finale! Season 19 comes to an end with two episodes. In "Remember Me," when a young woman (guest star Genesis Rodriguez) takes a man hostage at gunpoint, Benson (Mariska Hargitay) makes a dangerous attempt to defuse the situation. The SVU discovers the shocking motive behind the abduction. In "Remember Me Too," Benson's suspicions about a kidnapping victim (guest star Carlos Miranda) uncovers a dangerous criminal network prepared to silence anyone who gets in their way. NOVA WONDERS: "CAN WE MAKE LIFE?" PBS, 9 p.m. Discover the breakthroughs in genetic engineering enabling scientists to create and manipulate DNA as never before. Explore the promise and peril of CRISPR. Can we cure genetic diseases? Bring extinct animals back to life? Even edit our own genes? THE EXPANSE: "DELTA-V" Syfy, 9 p.m. All eyes turn to the edge of the solar system as a mysterious new presence emerges; Naomi (Dominique Tipper) recommits to her roots; Drummer (Cara Gee) butts heads with a seasoned new commander aboard the Behemoth; a young Belter makes a name for himself. WOOD WORK: "CREATING A FAMILY RETREAT" DIY, 10 p.m. Chip and Joanna Gaines' go-to woodworker has carved out a niche for himself. Fixer Upper favorite Clint Harp headlines his own series and takes viewers inside the Waco, Texas, shop where he finds creative solutions to requests for built-ins, mantels and custom pieces. This week, he creates a pingpong table made from solid ash (with a walnut inlay) for a couple who want to create a fun retreat for their college son's weekend visits. THE SPLIT SundanceTV, 10 p.m. New Miniseries! Set in the fast-paced, emotionally charged world of divorce law, this six-part miniseries stars Nicola Walker (Unforgotten, Last Tango in Halifax) as divorce lawyer Hannah Defoe. The Split explores contemporary marriage and relationships through the personal and professional lives of Hannah and her legal-eagle family. KRYPTON: "THE PHANTOM ZONE" Syfy, 10 p.m. Season Finale! With Brainiac (Blake Ritson) close to taking over the city of Kandor, Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe) realizes that saving his planet means making tough choices possibly at the expense of his allies. COLONY: "HOSPITIUM" USA Network, 10 p.m. Will (Josh Holloway) and Katie (Sarah Wayne Callies) fear they might be in danger when the Resistance camp is put in lockdown. A risky plan makes Broussard (Tory Kittles) question Amy's intentions. Brought to you by the publishers of TV Guide. TV Guide 2018 ALBANY The capital city has joined a growing number of municipalities and states putting a stop to a therapy method that its practitioners claim can turn gay people straight. The Albany Common Council on Monday voted unanimously to prohibit charging individuals for so-called conversion therapy, just weeks before the Albany County Legislature is expected to vote on a countywide ban on the practice when administered to minors. Both bans would impact professionals who charge a fee for the therapy, and slap fines on those who are found to be providing the service. While its unclear if there are any professionals who practice conversion therapy locally, its estimated that 20,000 LGBTQ youths between ages 13 and 17 will undergo the process from a licensed professional before theyre 18, according to a UCLA School of Law study released earlier this year. Another 57,000 youth will receive the treatment through a religious or spiritual advisor, the study said. Researchers also found that about 698,000 LGBTQ adults in the U.S have undergone the practice at some point, with about 350,000 of them experiencing it as adolescents. A push to ban the method was sparked in part by the death of Ohio transgender teen Leelah Alcorn, who committed suicide after being forced into conversion therapy and rejected by her family. Alcorns death struck a chord for Albany resident Alana Klein, who is transgender, and ignited her activism for LGBTQ rights. Trans people have made huge strides in terms of awareness and acceptable, but theres still a long battle ahead, Klein said. I feel if someone is struggling with this, or family acceptance, and they do research for conversion therapy and see areas that banned this practice, that can at least give them hope or an escape route to find a safe environment. Council President Pro Tempore Richard Conti, who is gay, said the bans passage is an important step forward. He recalled how 30 years ago the council defeated legislation that would have prevented discrimination in employment and housing because of someones sexual orientation. The city has come a long way as far as passing progressive legislation in support of the LGBTQ community, and really being at the forefront of safeguarding human rights, Conti said. He said local legislation barring conversion therapy will help bolster support on a statewide level, where officials can regulate medical practitioners. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. New York State in 2016 enacted regulations that prevent health insurers from covering the process for minors in New York, and keeps mental health facilities from subjecting minors to the therapy as well. The notion that homosexuality is a mental disorder and can be "cured" no longer enjoys support in the major medical and mental health professions. The American Psychiatric Association opposes conversion therapy and says it can have harmful effects. Despite medical professionals being largely against the practice, there are those who argue counseling methods should be left up to licensed professionals, and those who say banning the practice violates Christian values. Jay Francis, pastor of Rock Road Chapel in Berne, opposes any ban and says parents should be able to decide whats best for their children. He said some professionals support the practice. Were going to legislate morality rather than leaving it up to the individuals. We dont need a law on every little thing, Francis said. Its a slippery slope. Is the legislature trying to define what is proper counseling and what is not proper counseling? Legislation introduced on the state level would revoke the license of a mental health professional who performs conversion therapy on those younger than 18. It wouldnt apply to non-licensed individuals, churches, organizations or not-for-profits. ALBANY Excelsior College was ahead of its time back in 1971 when it was created to serve adult students through what was then known as distance learning. The school became a pioneer in on-line education and its focus on career skills has since become the norm across much of the nations higher education landscape. But now, Excelsior is trying to reclaim some of that prominence, even as the school has retrenched by shrinking its budget and staff. Last week brought the latest episode with the layoff of 50 staffers the second such cut in two years. The college's staff has fallen from 600 to 450 over the last two years with cuts and attrition. Notably, the schools nursing program, which had been a mainstay, shrunk from 21,000 to 8,000 students between 2015 and 2018. The college was far too reliant on that particular program, said Excelsior's President James Baldwin, the former Questar BOCES director who took the reins at the college as its longtime president, the late John Ebersole, was battling cancer in 2016. The nursing program was downsized in 2016 amid a realization that the admission requirements may have been too lax. To fix that, Excelsior introduced an academic admissions test. The school is still struggling with the nursing program history it is embroiled in a federal class action suit that contends students werent adequately prepared to take the exam needed to become a registered nurse. And the downsizing punched a $40 million hole in revenues, meaning that Excelsiors budget has decreased from more than $120 million in 2017 to $80 million in the upcoming budget year which starts in July. Rather than operating a traditional brick-and-mortar campus with classrooms and professors, Excelsior is a completion college that helps students turn the credits they may have earned in different schools or courses into usable degrees. The college also offers its own on-line courses. It serves about 29,000 mostly adult working students who are scattered across the country and overseas. Only 16 percent are in New York state. About 50 percent are either active duty military or veterans. Phil Hill, a San Jose, Calif.-based consultant who also helps run the e-Literate blog about on-line learning, said Excelsior was unique when it started more than four decades ago. They were pioneers, he said, referring to the college's focus on adult distance learning and degree completion. But he added, the ground has shifted underneath them, as more and more colleges are competing with on-line programs and offerings aimed at adult learners. They no longer have this field to themselves. Hill offered plaudits, though, for Excelsiors willingness to make a sober assessment of its nursing program and to downsize it. To their credit they looked at and said Too many of our students arent getting degrees, " Hill said. Looking ahead, Baldwin said Excelsior is moving away from a dependence on any one offering such as nursing. In addition to nursing, the college offers programs in liberal arts as well as business and technology. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. And Baldwin has streamlined the college's administration. The number of vice presidents at Excelsior has gone from 12 to 7 since 2016, with the aggregate payroll falling from $3,204,966 to $1,883,380, spokesman Michael Leczinski said. More for you Class action claims Excelsior College defrauded nursing students There has been a similar downsizing among assistant vice presidents and associate deans. We've had to make some tough decisions, but our 29,000 students and 170,000 alumni worldwide are depending on us, Leczinski said. On-line schools arent the only institutions facing challenges. Overall, undergraduate enrollments nationwide have been falling steadily, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Enrollment this spring fell 1.8 percent from the same time a year ago, the center found. But in New York, it dropped 4.2 percent, going from 1,077,832 to 1,032,224. Colleges throughout the country have been facing a variety of fiscal issues over the years, Leczinski said. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU ALBANY - Thirteen-year-old Sanari Ismail would rather worry about grades, but instead her anxiety stems from whether she or one of her classmates will be shot. People in my middle school and high school, theyre scared, the Farnsworth Middle School 8th grader said. Theyre afraid to go to school every day because we live with that fear of being shot in school. The latest school shooting at a Houston-area high school has only stoked those fears in students across the Capital Region, and Monday evening dozens of area students and adults gathered at Washington Park in Albany to hold vigil for the 10 people killed and 13 others wounded by an armed 17-year-old student at Santa Fe High School. The Texas school shooting was the nation's deadliest such attack since the massacre in February at a high school in South Florida that left 17 dead and gave rise to a campaign by teens for gun control. The vigil was organized by students in the Albany chapter of March for Our Lives to remember the victims and survivors in the latest mass shooting, while urging attendees to fight for change to address gun violence across the nation. Speakers at the vigil emphasized that the fear and stress children have over the shootings is real and shouldnt be ignored. More people have been killed at schools than those serving in the military so far this year, according to a Washington Post analysis. Its imperative we understand that this nationwide epidemic of gun violence can be stopped, Albany resident Lisa Good said. Its important that our kids be able to go to school and go into public places and have the fear and the concern and the worry about a shooting. When talking about gun violence, a wholistic approach is needed, Good said. We have to care about gun violence from Santa Fe to (Albany's) Arbor Hill, West Hill and the South End," she said. The solution isnt taking away peoples guns, but making sure they dont get into the wrong hands, said Cate Bohn, a leader of Moms Demand Action in the Capital District. We need to come together to change laws and societal norms, said Bohn, a mother of two teens. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. She pointed to a bill in the state Senate that would allow courts to issue "extreme-risk" protection orders to stop someone from possessing or purchasing a firearm if they are found, after a hearing, to be at risk of harming themselves or others. The prohibition would be in place for one year and the respondent would be entitled to a second hearing within that one-year period. Ismail and Shaker High School student Abbi Olivieri said theyre not going to stop pushing for change. Olivieri is inspired to get into politics and advocacy work, anything I can possibly do because I just cant sit here and watch. If youre saying this issue is debatable, I dont want my life to be debatable, Ismail said. I want to be able to go to school and not be shot. GLENS FALLS - Two Glens Falls residents are facing felony charges after cocaine, marijuana, packaging material and $9,000 were found during a drug investigation in Saratoga County. The South Glens Falls Police Department and the county Sheriffs Office Narcotics Unit recently raided 156 Main St. in Glens Falls and seized the money, nine ounces of marijuana and four ounces of cocaine. ALBANY The state's solicitor general, Barbara D. Underwood, was appointed as attorney general during a joint legislative hearing Tuesday that came two weeks after scandal-scarred Eric Schneiderman abruptly resigned in the wake of allegations he abused women. Underwood, who had been serving as acting attorney general, is the first woman to serve as New York's attorney general and will hold the position through the end of the year. Members of the Senate and Assembly gathered in the Assembly's chamber and approved Underwood's appointment in a near-unanimous vote, with several lawmakers taking time to publicly praise her record. "I've served in many roles in government throughout my career. But I believe this job at this moment in history is the most important job I have ever had," Underwood told reporters after her confirmation. The state Constitution requires the Legislature to cast a joint ballot to fill the vacancy in the statewide office. Schneiderman resigned May 8, one day after the publication of an article in The New Yorker in which four women alleged he used physical violence against them. A bicameral, bipartisan vetting committee headed by Democratic Assemblyman Joe Lentol of Brooklyn interviewed 12 candidates last week, but legislative leaders overwhelmingly supported keeping Underwood in the position through the rest of the year. Although Schneiderman's resignation brought wide interest from potential candidates for the legislative appointment, many of them subsequently backed off amid criticism that the selection would be viewed as a backroom deal that could complicate the quest for a full term. New York City Public Advocate Tish James, currently seen as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination to the post, took herself out of the running before the vetting committee met last week. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has disputed the notion that there were talks of a political arrangement and he said the decision was primarily based on the timing of the state Democratic and Republican conventions, which begin Wednesday. The nominations of attorney general candidates for November's general election are scheduled to take place at those events. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "We think this fair. We think whoever the next attorney general, there will be enough of a transition period," Heastie said on Tuesday morning. Many lawmakers noted that keeping Underwood on the job and she made it clear she will not seek election to the office would bring stability to the agency after the tumult of Schneiderman's shocking fall. "The office became open under very painful circumstances, and so having an individual who could have continuity with the office and personnel, was a very important criteria," said Sen. Kenneth P. LaValle, R-Long Island, who served on the vetting committee. Only Brooklyn Assemblyman Charles Barron voted "no," citing concerns with the process. Others approved Underwood's appointment, but also plugged legislation that would enable vacancies for state attorney general or comptroller to be filled through a special election rather than by legislative appointment. Local prosecutors are not making plans to follow New York City's decision to no longer prosecute people who are arrested for publicly smoking marijuana or low-level possession. They said they've been paying attention to the issue but none have made concrete plans to change local enforcement policies. The arrests don't amount to a large portion of the cases they handle and changing enforcement in an upstate New York county is more difficult than in New York City, they say. Albany County District Attorney David Soares said he's preparing to meet with residents throughout the county to gauge public sentiment. In Albany County, some residents may favor a policy similar to New York's, he said. "Those in rural and suburban communities might have a different opinion," he said. Under the city's new policy set to got into effect on Aug. 1, those caught smoking in public or with small amounts of the drug will receive a summons rather than be arrested. The policy does have exceptions for cases that are part of a larger public safety concern. New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance have said the policy change is in part a preparation for the likelihood that the state will legalize recreational marijuana at some point in the future and to deal with stark racial disparities in the citys arrests for low-level marijuana offenses. These arrests waste an enormous amount of criminal justice resources for no punitive, rehabilitative, deterrent or other public safety benefit. And they do so in a racially disparate way that stigmatizes and disadvantages the arrestees, a report by Vances office said. Gov. Andrews Cuomo commissioned a study on legalization earlier this year. Its findings are expected to be released soon. Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said he had canvassed his office on the issue. The county doesnt handle a large amount of cases involving those charges, unlike New York City which handles thousands of them each year, he said. Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove said through a spokesman that his office will continue to enforce the states drug laws. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The states two lowest level marijuana charges are possession of marijuana, which is a violation, and possession of marijuana in the fifth degree, which is a low-level misdemeanor. That includes smoking in public or possessing between 25 grams and two ounces of the drug. According to state Department of Criminal Justice Services statistics, 247 people in the four-county Capital Region were arrested for fifth-degree marijuana possession in 2017. That was a jump compared to the 165 people in 2016. However, those statistics only capture arrests where the marijuana possession county was the most serious charge lodged against a suspect. In Saratoga County, those who are arrested on the misdemeanor charge are often given an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, said Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen. That means if the defendant stays out of trouble for a set amount of time the charge is dismissed. Soares pointed out that changing an enforcement policy in an upstate county would be much more difficult than in New York City. The city has one mayor and one police agency in charge of local law enforcement, unlike the overlapping and multiple jurisdictions of upstate New York counties. Akademik Lomonosov, Russia's nuclear floating power unit (FPU), has been moored in Murmansk, where it was towed from Saint Petersburg to be loaded with fuel. Once loaded with fuel, Lomonosov will be towed to the town of Pevek in Chukotka (Russian Far East) where, upon connection to the grid, it will become the worlds so far only operational floating nuclear power plant and the northernmost nuclear installation in the world, said a statement. It will replace a coal-fired power plant and an aging nuclear power plant Bilibino supplying over 50,000 people with electricity and reducing carbon footprint in the Arctic by tens of thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, it said. En route to Murmansk Lomonosov sailed over 4,000 km and travelled four seas: Baltic, Northern, Norwegian and Barents. In the waters off Norways west coast Lomonosov was visited by Norwegian media and environmentalists, it added. A welcome ceremony took place at the pier of Atomflot (Atomfleet, Rosatoms maritime subsidiary). The ceremony was attended by director general of Russian nuclear group Rosatom Alexey Likhachev; Chukotka region governor Roman Kopin; Murmansk region deputy governor Eugene Nikora; deputy director general of Rosatom Alexander Lokshin; Rosenergoatom director general Andrey Petrov; and Atomflot director general Vyacheslav Ruksha. Likhachev said: We have successfully towed the power unit, not yet loaded with nuclear fuel, to Murmansk and are going to fully launch here this unique project, which was only made possible thanks to cooperation of many companies. Akademic 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 in growing demand in the coming years, he said. 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, he added. Despite criticism by anti-nuclear groups, the floating nuclear power plant project has been welcomed by many environmentalists and green groups as the only feasible way to reduce the Arctics dependency on coal causing millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions and toxic pollution destroying the regions fragile ecosystems. Ben Heard, executive director of Bright New World Organization, said: Its fair to point out that the Arctic is a vulnerable ecosystem. But its greatest vulnerability is to climate change. This power plant is going to replace an existing coal-fired power station and provide zero-carbon electricity generation for 50,000 people. There is literally no prospect of that energy coming from renewable sources in that location. Any organisation citing protection of the Arctic to make blunt objections to this or any other nuclear project has the risks back-to-front and upside-down, he said. The power plant has approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). There is decades of operational experience for reactors in ship-board conditions. With up-scaled production, the potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions with this application is staggering. Remote communities world-wide need affordable, reliable non-carbon energy and this is a way of getting it to them, he added. Nuclear fuel will be loaded into Akademik Lomonosovs reactors in Murmansk in the coming months, said a statement. In 2019 nuclear FPU Akademik Lomonosov is expected be towed to the sea port of Pevek. Average towing speed is estimated at 3.5-4.5 knots. All necessary construction work s to create on-shore infrastructure are underway in Pevek. The pier, hydraulic engineering structures, and other buildings, crucial for the mooring of FPU and operation of a FNPP will be ready to use upon Akademik Lomonosov arrival, it stated. TradeArabia News Service [May 21, 2018] Basware Launches Artificial Intelligence-Driven Virtual Assistant for Procurement ESPOO, Finland, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Basware, the global leader in networked source-to-pay solutions, e-invoicing and innovative financing services, has launched Basware Assistant, a new chatbot feature within its electronic procurement solution today at IOFM's AP & P2P Conference & Expo Spring 2018. The chatbot serves as a virtual assistant, enabling people to more easily find order requests and purchase orders that they have access to. The Basware Assistant uses natural language processing and artificial intelligence to create a new and simplified way for people to interact with Basware's e-procurement solution. They can communicate with the Basware Assistant like they would with a person, to search for orders and purchase requests using vendor and item names, as well as ID and document numbers. By giving people the ability to specify what they are looking, it eliminates the need for having to navigate a series of screens to reach their intended purchase. Through its natural language processing and AI capabilities, the virtual assistant improves system usability, taking another step in streamlining the overall procurement experience. Not only does it help people find purchase orders and order requests more quickly and save them time, it also reduces the training required for new people to buy with Basware. "The best user interface is the one that you don't need to use it just runs in the background," said Bhavin Shah, Director of Product Management for Basware. "This is what Basware is striving to achieve with the Basware Assistant functionality. By predictingwhat people might search for in real-time, and communicating that to them in the way they'd ordinarily speak, the system becomes naturally easy to use. Going forward, we will continue innovating in this area, building on the foundation we've created to add more functionality that contributes to usability." Bhavin continued, "The Assistant's data-driven insights and overall ease of use reinforce that Basware is the easiest, simplest and cheapest way for employees to procure what they need, so they use the application because they want to, not because they have to. This is what will ultimately drive 100 percent user adoption of any procurement technology." Basware is attending the AP & P2P Conference & Expo, where Sami Peltonen, Vice President, Purchase to Pay Product Management will be presenting a session titled "It's Not Magic: How Companies Transformed Their Accounts Payable Departments," on May 21, 2018 at 9:20am EDT. For more information, visit Basware's booth #306 in the exhibition hall. For more information on Basware's procurement functionality, visit the Basware website: https://www.basware.com/en-us/solutions/purchase-to-pay/e-procurement Contact: USA PR Hanah Johnson March Communications +1 617 960 8892 Basware@marchcomms.com About Basware: Basware is the global leader in providing networked source-to-pay solutions, e-invoicing and innovative financing services.?Basware's commerce and financing network connects businesses in over 100 countries and territories around the globe. As the largest open business network in the world, Basware provides scale and reach for organizations of all sizes, enabling them to grow their business and unlock value across their operations by simplifying and streamlining financial processes.?Small and large companies around the world achieve significant cost savings, more flexible payment terms, greater efficiencies and closer relationships with their suppliers. Find out more at www.basware.com. Follow Basware on Twitter: @Basware, join the discussion on the Basware LinkedIn, Basware Facebook and Basware Blog. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/basware-launches-artificial-intelligence-driven-virtual-assistant-for-procurement-300651992.html SOURCE Basware [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Yunqi Partners-invested Start-up Roadstar.ai Announces Company Closes $128 Million Series A Financing, And Road Tests In China And The US Have Been Completed. SHENZHEN, China, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 15, autonomous driving start-up Roadstar.ai announced the completion of its $128 million (RMB 812 million) Series A financing. This round of financing was co-led by Wu Capital and Shenzhen Capital Group. Yunqi Partners, the angel round investor of Roadstar.ai, also followed up with the investment to continue its support for Roadstar.ai. This looks to be the hirtheto biggest Series A fianncing in the autonomous driving industry. With it, Roadstar.ai will become the highest valued start-up in the autonomous driving sector in China, which also firmly establishes its leading position in the global autonomous driving industry. Meanwhile, Roadstar.ai has also officially launched its first-generation autonomous driving product, the Aries, a Level 4 autonomous driving solution which is the first in the world to carry Chinese-made laser radars. Integrating Roadstar.ai's two core technologies HeteroSync and DEEPFusion and delivering the best-ever performance and greater affordability, the Aries will drive Roadstar.ai into the fast lane of commercialized autonomous driving in China. Mr. Ng Yipin, Founding Partner of Yunqi Partners, remarked, "Autonomous driving is a complex and huge systematic undertaking, with very high technological requirements. Roadstar.ai is the first target of investment for Yunqi Partners in the field of autonomous driving. Less than a year after its inception, Roadstar.ai has already completed tests of its autonomous driving vehicles on open urban roads during busy hours in China. This well attests to its tremendous technological strength. Yunqi Partners is optimistic about the quick putting into service of autonomous driving and will continue to invest in this field." At the time of its founding in May 2017, Roadstar.ai received an angel round financing of $10 million right from Yunqi Partners, Green Pine Capital Partners, VENTECH, Glory Ventures and Guibang Capital. In just one year, Roadstar.ai has set up research centers in the Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, attracting top engineers from all over the world. Meanwhile, it has also completed open road tests in both China and the United States. The most powerful Level 4 team of autonomous driving in China In May 2017, three young engineers from the Silicon Valley attracted the attention of Mr. Ng Yipin, Founding Partner of Yunqi Partners. "Though Google and Apple started early in the autonomous driving field, much remains unclear about the commercial use of autonomous driving today. Nevertheless, there is huge room for the development of autonomous driving technology. Yunqi Partners believes that start-up companies still have opportunities. After seeing the multi-sensor fusion solution from Roadstar.ai, we exchanged in-depth views with its team. We further learned that Roadstar.ai's founding team had accumulated rich engineering experience in the cutting-edge autonomous driving industry and that its three founders were once in charge of core business research and development at Google, Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, and Baidu," said Yipin. Mr. Ng Yipin quickly decided to invest in the company after talking with the three young members of Roadstar.i. These three young men were Roadstar.ai's co-founders - Tong Xianqiao (CEO), Heng Liang (CTO), and Zhou Guang (Chief Science Expert). The autonomous driving team which they led was hailed by the media as "the most powerful technological team" in the field. With their practical working experience in the world's top-class autonomous driving companies, they set up Roadstar.ai, aspiring to change people's future travel with the most advanced technologies. In the ensuing year, this young team made great headways: In June 2017, R&D teams were basically set up in both the Silicon Valley and Shenzhen; in July, Roadstar.ai's two core technologies - Heterocycle and DeepFusion, passed algorithm verification; in September, the first open road test was completed in Silicon Valley; in November, night open road test videos were released; in January 2018, on a rainy day, night and peak hour road test results were released, while the first open road test in China was completed during the same period. One year after its founding, Roadstar.ai has already brought home several world-class technology laurels: On CityScape, the industry's most effective vision algorithm performance evaluation dataset for the semantic understanding of urban scenes, Roadstar.ai has earned the well-deserved No.1 ranking in the world. This start-up team of Roadstar.ai, hailed by the media as "the most powerful Level 4 team of autonomous driving in China", is using technology to connect China with the world and the future through autonomous driving. Roadstar.ai's Ultimate Dream Realized: Aries While announcing its financing news, Roadstar.ai also released the Aries, the world's first Level 4 autonomous driving solution equipped with Chinese-made laser radars. "After one year of technology iterations, this is our second-generation sensor fusion platform. The biggest feature of this autonomous driving product is its cost controllability. Compared with the previous generation multi-sensor fusion solution, it has an absolute price advantage. We have given Roadstar's new-generation product the Chinese name of 'Sharp' to describe its core technology and value," said CEO Tong Xianqiao. According to CTO Heng Liang, another major feature of this product is that it can make rational decisions in the highly complex urban environment and integrate the "humanoid strategies" of manned driving society. It can also achieve high-precision driving control, bringing the maximum error down to 5cm on any cured road surface and at any speed Drawing up these two core technologies, the Aries has completed road tests in California, USA and China in the day and night, heavy rain and rainy night environments in the past year. Its 90-minute human intervention-free driving function can fully achieve autonomous driving without manual intervention on trunk roads with busy traffic. In right cornering at a red light, unprotected left cornering, U-turning, lane change and other complex situations, it can drive at a maximum speed at the 60mph speed limit. Roadstar.ai has shown solid technological strength in making rational decisions in the highly complex urban environment and integrating the "humanoid strategies" of manned driving society. In California, it has achieved one human intervention per month on average. In highly complex urban road conditions in China, it has realized hours of driving without human takeover. All those who truly know and have experienced Roadstar.ai's autonomous driving technology greatly marvel at it. "Roadstar.ai's technology has reached a considerable degree of perfection. It is the best autonomous driving car we have taken so far," said President Aoki of Advanced Mobility in Japan. It has been more than 100 years since the birth of the first human-driven car. There is no doubt that it marks a huge change in time and space, drawing the world ever closer. But, driving users do have their hands tied up by cars. They have to waste a lot of time on driving, and fatigue, alcohol and other problems also cause potential driving dangers, changing the fate of many families forever. Roadstar.ai has persistently explored in the autonomous driving field to ensure its pursuit of ultimate safety and comfort technology. They firmly believe that autonomous driving will become an important part of smart cities. It will truly solve the problem of road congestion, reduce the accident rate, free humans of their hands, feet and imagination of future travel, and bring greater safety, convenience and free time to mankind. "In the future, we will also set ourselves to meet even greater challenges and adopt advanced technology to make people's future mobility safer, more comfortable, reliable and intelligent," said Tong Xianqiao. About YUNQI Partners Yunqi Partners (Yunqi) was founded in 2014. Yunqi has billions of RMB under management.Yunqi's team comes from diverse backgrounds including IDG Capital, GGV Capital, Google, Baidu, MSRA, and PWC etc. Yunqi pays close attention to any investment opportunities brought by new technologies, new model-related industrial upgrades, and consumer upgrades. We focus on the investments on Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Big Data, Cloud Computing Services, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Fintech. Yunqi is committed to investing in high-quality start-up companies at early and growth stages. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yunqi-partners-invested-start-up-roadstarai-announces-company-closes-128-million-series-a-financing-and-road-tests-in-china-and-the-us-have-been-completed-300652456.html SOURCE YUNQI PARTNERS [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 21, 2018] Crystal Group Releases White Paper on Engineering Automated Driving Systems for Safety HIAWATHA, Iowa, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Crystal Group, a leading designer/manufacturer of rugged computer hardware, announces the release of a new industry whitepaper, written by Jim Shaw, executive vice president of engineering at Crystal Group, that discusses best practices of engineering autonomous driving systems for safety. Autonomous vehicles (AVs), including fast-growing fleets of self-driving cars and trucks, are poised to revolutionize transportation. The global automotive industry is on the cusp of significant change, enabled by innovative automated driving system (ADS) and autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies in a fast-growing market estimated to reach $7 trillion by 2050; yet, widespread deployment hinges almost entirely on safety. Crystal Group's latest white paper provides insight into how modern autonomous vehicle system designs benefit from reliable, safety-critical electronics built on proven, trusted military and aerospace system engineering standards and practices. Predictable, repeatable performance over time is integral to safety, which in turn builds trust. Automated driving system failures are not an option and must be avoide, using systems specifically designed to be durable, offer high availability, and perform reliably in various operational environments throughout their life cycle. Major automotive manufacturers and top technology firms have already partnered with Crystal Group to tap the company's expertise in and portfolio of rugged and reliable systems for use in autonomous vehicles and automated driving systems. Crystal Group's ruggedization techniques combine to deliver highly reliable systems to boost the safety of virtually any autonomous vehicle application. To date, Crystal Group has successfully passed numerous in-vehicle crash safety tests. Download Crystal Group's white paper, "Rugged by Design: Engineering Automated Driving Systems for Safety" in PDF format at https://www.crystalrugged.com/white-papers/. About Crystal Group Inc. Crystal Group Inc., a technology leader in rugged computer hardware, specializes in the design and manufacture of custom and commercial rugged servers, embedded computing, networking devices, displays, power supplies, and data storage for high reliability in harsh environments. An employee-owned small business founded in 1987, Crystal Group provides the defense, government and industrial markets with in-house customization, engineering, integration, configuration management, product lifecycle planning, warranty, and support services. Crystal Group products meet or exceed IEEE, IEC, and military standards (MIL-STD-810, 167-1, 461, MIL-S-901); are backed by warranty (5+ year) with in-house support; and are manufactured in the company's Hiawatha, Iowa, USA, facility certified to AS9100C:2009 and ISO 9001:2008 quality management standards. crystalrugged.com. 2018 Crystal Group Inc. All rights reserved. All marks are property of their respective owners. Design and specifications are subject to change. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crystal-group-releases-white-paper-on-engineering-automated-driving-systems-for-safety-300652112.html SOURCE Crystal Group Inc. [May 21, 2018] Blockchain Platform XinFin.io Partners With OMFIF for Global Public Investors 2018 Launch SINGAPORE, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- XinFin consorts with OMFIF for GPI 2018 as their official global Technology Partner. XinFin will capitalize OMFIFs institutional network to boost the cognizance of blockchain technology and its potential for infrastructure financing. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/627518/XinFin_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694378/XinFin_Blockchain_Platform.jpg ) OMFIF is a global think tank for central banking, economic policy and public investment relating to central banks, sovereign funds, pension funds, regulators and treasuries- also known as Global Public Investors (GPI), with investable assets of $33.8tn spread across the network. OMFIF focuses on global policy and investment themes and offers insight through Analysis and Meetings. It does economic research on issues relating to member institutions' activities such as monetary and economic policy, regulation and supervision, governance, and asset and reserve management. XinFin as the official technology sponsor will be indulgng with the OMFIF network of top 750 Global Public Investors leveraging it to promote innovative blockchain based technological solutions to improve business process efficiency for the GPIs. XinFin has developed hybrid blockchain technology which combines the best of private and public networks and offers transparency with security for industrial applications. The hybrid network fulfills the necessities of use cases pertaining to governance, remittance, finance and trading to name a few. Through this partnership, XinFin will be contributing to create feasible and viable solutions for the financial sector. The economic studies by OMFIF combined with XinFin's blockchain technology will help create a global consortium of GPIs working towards sustainable infrastructure and a better world. An ecstatic Vice President, Blockchain, Sameer Dharap said, "We will soon be releasing a joint podcast in association with Senior Economist, OMFIF demonstrating how blockchain technology can help global public investors in infrastructure financing and working capital management." About XinFin XinFin is an open source Hybrid Blockchain protocol initiated out of Singapore. XinFin Network[XDCE](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/xinfin-network/) is a utility network that lets enterprises deploy real world applications on Hybrid Blockchain Protocol in a conducive, compliant and regulation friendly environment for diverse use cases in trade, finance, remittance, supply chain, healthcare and other industrial areas to improve business efficiency. The XDC Dev Environment encourages developers to build DAPPs using smart contracts. The XinFin community derives its success from the ecosystem comprising of developers, network utility and long term backers. Follow XinFin on Twitter (@XinFinF), on Telegram (https://t.me/xinfintalk) and on Slack (https://xinfin-public.slack.com/). Contact: Rachna Baruah, rachna@madchatter.in SOURCE XinFin [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 21, 2018] Dublin Start-up Cloud With Me Joins Google Cloud Partner Program DUBLIN, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloud With Me today announced it has joined the Google Cloud Partner Program in a move to simplify cloud adoption for small businesses. Established in one of Europe's leading tech hubs, Dublin-based startup Cloud With Me was founded in 2016. By collaborating with Google Cloud, Cloud With Me aims to make cloud hosting available to more small businesses, making it easier for them to get access to Google Cloud's security benefits and infrastructure services, without the need for a developer on staff. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694439/Cloud_With_Me_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.co/media/694481/Cloud_With_Me_Founders.jpg ) "Our focus is to remove the barriers faced by small businesses, helping them to reach their potential. We're at an incredibly exciting stage. Becoming an official partner of Google Cloud has opened doors for us, and significantly widened our reach," said Gilad Somjen, CEO of Cloud With Me. Cloud With Me attracted 50,000 customers in its first year of operation by eliminating downtime and running through hours of development with a pre-configured automation. While the customer sees a loading bar on their screen, behind the scenes an automation installs a complete server stack, with MySQL, FTP, and a variety of PHP-based addons. The automated installation also includes Nameserver management and a free SSL. "We're confident that Cloud With Me will help to bring mass adoption of cloud services," said Asaf Zamir, CTO Cloud With Me. "Bringing accessible and simple cloud solutions directly to small and medium enterprises helps them to focus on their core business objectives. The collaboration between Google Cloud and Cloud With Me allows SMEs to leave their infrastructure and website hosting to the experts while they build and grow their business," said Yuval Dvir, Head of International online partnerships at Google. For more information visit http://www.cloudwith.me or contact Emma Morris, Business Development Manager of Cloud With Me at emma.m@cloudwith.me SOURCE Cloud With Me [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Priceza's 5 Years Journey in Indonesia and Exciting Activities During Ramadhan 2018 JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Priceza Indonesia, as one of the pioneers of shopping search engine and price comparison platform in Indonesia, is celebrating its 5th anniversary with exciting activities during Ramadhan. Since first launched in Indonesia in the year of 2013 under the Priceza.co.id domain, Priceza Indonesia has established itself as one of the first prospective start-ups, following Priceza's establishment by three computer engineers in Thailand in 2010. The company received their first investment from a Japanese venture capital company, CyberAgent Ventures in 2013. Then in 2016, Priceza received a series B investment from Hubert Burda Media. This demonstrates the high confidence of foreign investors in Southeast Asia's promising business model and Priceza's development over the years. In May 16, 2017, Priceza Indonesia was officially introduced in Indonesia, after a few years operating in the country since 2013. Currently, Priceza has operated in 6 countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Vietnam) and helps to connect thousands of online stores with millions of potential buyers in the region. Priceza Indonesia and its activities Since 2016, Priceza Indonesia has reached 5 mllion visits per month. The figure is growing 50-fold which was initially 'only' at 100 thousand visits per month in 2013. This achievement and growth is not surprising given its current position as one of the foremost Shopping Search Engines in Southeast Asia. Priceza Indonesia is able to do this through various aggressive steps to solidify its position in Indonesia, including promoting many initiatives to held activities and campaigns in Indonesia. In 2015, Priceza Indonesia hosted a Meizu M2 Note Giveaway program, which was one of the most sophisticated smartphones at that time. Then a year later in 2016, Priceza Indonesia held a "Priceza Writers Hunt 2016" campaign to attract talented writers in Indonesia with a trip to Bangkok as the grand price. In 2017, Priceza Indonesia seeks a closer relationship with its contributors through "Intimate Blogger Gathering", which involves leading bloggers. And recently in 2018, Priceza Indonesia is facilitating young Indonesian entrepreneurs to reach their dreams by helding "Priceza Young Entrepreneur Competition 2018" with a grand prize of Rp 25 million. In addition, Priceza Indonesia is actively involved in activities aimed at promoting e-commerce industry in Indonesia. For example through participation in the Festival Belanja Online (FBO), Hari Belanja Online Nasional (Harbolnas), and Ramadhan special campaign titled "Ramadan #BERSAMAPriceza" in 2017. Fun activities during Ramadan 2018 Welcoming the month of Ramadhan, Priceza Indonesia will not miss the opportunity to spoil its users during the period of holy month by offering various programs and interesting campaigns during the period. Priceza Indonesia will hold various activities and quizzes during Ramadhan, with various exciting prizes through its social media accounts. Bayu Irawan, Co-Founder & Country Head Priceza Indonesia responded, "There will be an exclusive program that can only be found in Priceza, so stay tuned. There is an element of surprise. For a reminder, this year is a special moment for Priceza Indonesia, where we celebrate our 5th anniversary." In addition, Priceza Indonesia will give more useful guide articles and interesting tips about Ramadhan. Starting from lifestyle, beauty, health, technology, and more. About Priceza Priceza is a shopping search engine and price comparison platform established in 2010 (in Thailand). Priceza Indonesia was established in 2013 with a total of nearly 5 million users per month. In addition to Thailand and Indonesia, Priceza also operates in 4 (four) other Southeast Asian countries, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam. Priceza helps millions of online shoppers access information to make smart shopping decisions, and connect thousands of online stores with their buyers. Website: www.priceza.co.id Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180521/2138527-1 SOURCE Priceza Indonesia [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Pi DATACENTERS Awarded 'India's Most Promising Brand' at UK Asia Business Summit, 2018, London HYDERABAD, India, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pi DATACENTERS (Pi), India, Asia's Largest Uptime Institute, TIER IV Certified data center and enterprise cloud service provider, based at Amaravati, the new capital of the state Andhra Pradesh, India, has been conferred with the prestigious award of 'India's Most Promising Brand' in a glittering ceremony on 17th May, at the UK Asia Business Summit, 2018, that took place at Congress Hall, Congress Centre, London, UK. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694719/Pi_DATACENTERS_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694721/Kalyan_Muppaneni.jpg ) The selection process saw eminent jury from various walks of the global industry, in collaboration with independent research organization, World Consulting and Research Corporation (WCRC) evaluate nominations, on the parameters of clarity of vision, precision of mission, innovation, brand relevance and customer impact. UK Asia Business Summit 2018 featured close to 100 brands, from across 25 industry categories. The event witnessed participation of global industry leaders, bueaucrats, politicians, celebrities and media from different countries. Lord Raj Loomba - CBE, Lord Swaraj Paul, Lord Karan Bilimoria - CBE DL, Deputy High Commissioner of India and Mr. Dinesh Patnaik from United Kingdom, to name a few. Being awarded 'India's Most Promising Brand 2018' is an appreciation of Pi's indigeneity and innovation. It reflects Pi's relevance in today's ever evolving digital landscape, its customer centricity, niche and the credibility they are constantly establishing in the already crowded, global market place of data center and cloud. Speaking on the award, Mr. Kalyan Muppaneni, Founder & CEO, Pi DATACENTERS said, "This award is a recognition of our commitment towards being the best in the data center and cloud space and the contributions towards Digital India mission. We thank the jury, for this acknowledgement." About Pi DATACENTERS Pi DATACENTERS, Asia's largest Uptime Institute TIER IV Certified, state-of-the-art, greenfield data center organization, is based in the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati. Pi is focused on delivering futuristic data center and cloud solutions riding on disruptive approach to technology, infrastructure and security, of global standards, through its strategic Software Defined Data Centers (SDDC) for customers. The product portfolio @Pi is designed to cater to all major industry verticals across domestic and global markets, through its set of tailored solutions around infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, disaster recovery as a service, enterprise applications on the cloud and hosts of other cloud enabled products and services, riding on Harbour1, Pi's enterprise class cloud platform. The software defined strategic data center provides best in class services coupled with, stringent SLAs at a competitive cost, transpiring to customer's ease of business, quicker time to market, service excellence and user satisfaction, without compromising the value. Pi is ISO 27001 | 20000 | 22301 | 9001 | 14001 certified, PCI DSS, SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPPA compliant, reinforcing its strong operational processes to meet stringent privacy, security, quality and service compliance parameters of the industry. Learn more about Pi at http://www.pidatacenters.com. Media Contact: G Lakshmi Jyothi lakshmijyothi@pidatacenters.com +91-8464863931 Marketing Manager - Industry Relations & PR Pi DATACENTERS [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Razer Core X Unleashes Ultimate Graphics Boost For Laptops: More Space. More Powerful. More Affordable. IRVINE, Calif., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today unveiled the Razer Core X, a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) external graphics enclosure for gaming-grade performance at a new value price. The Razer Core series of external graphics enclosures, including the Core V2 and Core X, are now compatible with Mac laptops with Thunderbolt 3. Razer Core X The new Core X transforms integrated graphics laptops like the Razer Blade Stealth into desktop-class gaming machines by adding an external graphics card. Gamers can also future-proof their gaming laptops or unlock VR-Ready experiences by boosting the performance beyond the current laptop's limits. Designed with a standard Thunderbolt 3 connection, the Core X is incredibly versatile and compatible with Razer Blade laptops and systems running Windows and macOS (specifically, Windows 10 Redstone 1 or later, and macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 or later with compatible AMD Radeon cards). Razer compatible laptops include the Razer Blade Stealth, Razer Blade and Razer Blade Pro (GTX 1060 version). Additional Windows 10 laptops require a Thunderbolt 3 port with external graphics (eGFX) support. Crafted from the ground up, the Razer Core X features an expanded internal design with a wider aluminum shell to accommodate up to 3-slot-wide desktop graphics cards. The Core X supports the latest desktop PCIe graphics cards such as NVIDIA GeForce, NVIDIA Quadro, and AMD XConnect enabled Radeon and Radeon Pro cards. Harnessing the power of these high-performance graphics cards, the Core X accelerates creative workflow and creates a compact work- or battlestation. The Razer Core X embraces plug-and-play capabilities with the Thunderbolt 3 USB-C connection to the laptop. This eliminates the need for lengthy reboots every time the external graphics enclosure is connected. The convenient Thunderbolt 3 connection also yields fast speeds at up to 40 Gbps. The Razer Core X houses a massive 650W ATX power supply to provide adequate power for the latest and future graphics cards. A single Thunderbolt 3 connection to the laptop now provides 100W of power for laptop charging. The aluminum enclosure is designed with open vents and additional desktop cooling to quickly dispense heat and provide optimal thermal performance for gaming sessions or digital currency mining. Physical installation of a desktop graphics card takes seconds with the Razer Core X. Its durable aluminum housing slides open with minimal effort, and the graphics card is secured in place with a thumb screw for a toolless setup. Razer's solution helps future-proof laptops, as graphics cards are easily swappable with new components and graphics as they become available. Razer also announced today the release of the new Razer Blade 15.6-inch gaming laptop featuring Intel's latest 8th-generation, six-core processor and NVIDIA Max-Q graphics. Availability Razer Core X The Razer Core X is now available at US $299 for order today in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany and China, and shipping soon to the Nordics, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. For more information, visit razer.com/core-x Razer Core V2 The Razer Core V2 is currently available at US $499 in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Nordics, China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. For more information, visit razer.com/core-v2 Comparison Razer Core X Razer Core V2 Price $299 $499 Power Supply ATX 650W Slim Form-factor 500W Laptop Charging 100W 65W Max Size GPU 3-slot card 2.2-slot card macOS ? ? USB + Ethernet - ? Razer Chroma - ? Max inner size - Graphics Length: 12.99"/ 330 mm Height: 6.29" / 160 mm Width: 2.36" / 60 mm Length: 11.81"/ 300 mm Height: 5.71" / 145mm Width: 1.69" / 43mm External Dimensions Length: 14.72" / 374 mm Height: 9.06" / 230 mm Width: 6.61" / 168 mm Length: 13.38" / 339.9 mm Height: 8.6" / 218.4 mm Width: 4.13" / 104.9 mm About the new Razer Core X Specifications: Connection to PC Thunderbolt 3 using included 40Gbps cable Compatible Razer Laptops Razer Blade Stealth, Razer Blade, and Razer Blade Pro equipped with Thunderbolt 3. Razer Core X max inner dimensions Length : 12.99"/ 330 mm Height*: 6.29" / 160 mm Width : 2.36" / 60 mm * Height measured from top of PCIe connector to the bottom of the locking pin ramps. System Requirements Windows 10 64-bit RS1 or above with Thunderbolt 3 port Macs running macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 or later. Requires compatible AMD graphics card. See following graphics card compatibility list for Windows 10 and macOS devices. GPU Support (Graphics card not included) GPU Type Up to 3-Slot wide, full-length, PCI-Express x16 graphics card GPU Max Power Support 500 Watts Windows 10 compatible graphics chipsets Qualified NVIDIA GeForce graphics chipsets NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan X NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan V NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan Xp NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Qualified NVIDIA Quadro graphics chipsets NVIDIA Quadro P4000 NVIDIA Quadro P5000 NVIDIA Quadro P6000 NVIDIA Quadro GP100 Qualified AMD Radeon graphics chipsets AMD Radeon VEGA RX 64 AMD Radeon VEGA RX 56 AMD Radeon RX 500 Series AMD Radeon RX 400 Series AMD Radeon R9 Fury AMD Radeon R9 Nano AMD Radeon R9 300 Series AMD Radeon R9 290X AMD Radeon R9 290 AMD Radeon R9 285 Mac compatible graphics chipsets AMD Radeon RX 570 AMD Radeon RX580 AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Vega Frontier Edition Air AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 Input & Output Thunderbolt 3 (for connection to PC) Internal Power Supply 650 W ATX Laptop Power Delivery Up to 100 Watts via USB-C Razer Core Approx. Size 6.61" / 168 mm (Width) x 14.72" / 374 mm (Depth) x 9.06" / 230 mm (Height) Recommended Retail Price: $299 USD Images: Product Images - For digital screens (websites, mobile, social media) ABOUT RAZER Razer is the world's leading lifestyle brand for gamers. The triple-headed snake trademark of Razer is one of the most recognized logos in the global gaming and esports communities. With a fan base that spans every continent, the company has designed and built the world's largest gamer-focused ecosystem of hardware, software and services. Razer's award-winning hardware includes high-performance gaming peripherals Blade gaming laptops and the acclaimed Razer Phone. Razer's software platform, with over 40 million users, includes Razer Synapse (an Internet of Things platform), Razer Chroma (a proprietary RGB lighting technology system), and Razer Cortex (a game optimizer and launcher). Razer services include Razer zGold, one of the world's largest virtual credit services for gamers, which allows gamers to purchase virtual goods and items from over 2,500 different games. Founded in 2005 and dual-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, Razer has nine offices worldwide and is recognized as the leading brand for gamers in the USA, Europe and China. Razer is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 1337). Press Contacts: Americas Kevin Allen Kevin.Allen@razer.com Alain Mazer, Global Director of Public Relations Alain.Mazer@razer.com Europe/Africa Jan Horak Jan.Horak@razer.com China Leonard Le Leanard.Le@razer.com Asia Pacific Raymond Lau Raymond.Lau@razer.com Razer For Gamers. By Gamers. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/razer-core-x-unleashes-ultimate-graphics-boost-for-laptops-more-space-more-powerful-more-affordable-300652296.html SOURCE Razer [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Student startups face-off at Alibaba Cloud-SUSS Entrepreneurship Certificate/Minor - Pitch to Investors SINGAPORE, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Six startups of the Alibaba Cloud-Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) Entrepreneurship Programme will pitch to venture capitalists (VC) and Angel Investors on May 25, 2018. They include companies converting coins into e-education, e-currencies, investing in livestock, designing a single platform for multi-channel e-commerce, automating documentation using blockchain technology and creating blockchain e-learning courses. These aspiring business owners, from the first two batches of the Entrepreneurship Programme, will pass the 40 credit unit module if they manage to convince any of the investors to part with their money. They also stand to receive Alibaba Cloud credits of up to USD30,000 and the best team will meet co-founder of Alibaba Group Mr Jack Ma in Hangzhou at the Alibaba Cloud Conference in October 2018. Details of the prizes: 1. Best team: Alibaba cloud credits worth USD30,000 + 3 VIP tickets worth 1,500 USD each + 3 return flights to Hangzhou 2. 2nd best team: Alibaba cloud credits worth USD15,000 3. 3rd best team: Alibaba cloud credits worth USD5,000 4. All teams: Taobao figurine 5. Direct entry to Create@Alibaba Cloud ASEAN Finals for the winning team 6. Startup conference passes to set up a booth during Alibaba Cloud conference in Singapore for the winning team Some of the startups have already secured seed funding of as much as SGD40,000. The face-off on May 25, in front of a live audience, could mean more funding and opportunities for these ambitious business owners. SUSS Provost Professor Tsui Kai Chong, a keen supporter of entrepreneurship among students, said: "Entrepreneurship develops a new business as well as the person. It is another way of learning." These are the featured startups: Startup Founder Description Unique feature HeyCoins http://heycoins.com/en/ Kenneth Yap B. Finance (Year 4) SUSS HeyCoins collects coins from the general public and converts them into the digital currency that can be used for various purposes, including e-wallets recharge, gift coupons and charitable donations. The company has secured grants from investors including DBS and Hong Kong Government. Overseas investors Orama http://www.orama.sg/ Clinton Li & Mohd Raihan Diploma in Business Information Technology (Year 3) Singapore Polytechnic Orama automates shipping documentation using blockchain technology. The company has secured SGD40,000 worth of pre-seed investment. CombineSell https://combinesell.com/ Amanda Ho B. Supply Chain Management (Year 1) SUSS Loh June Yong B. Business Administration (Year 1) NUS CombineSell is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that automates & simplifies multichannel e-commerce selling processes by aggregating popular online marketplaces into just a single platform. The company has secured SGD40,000 worth of pre-seed investment. Only female co-founder from SUSS Year 1 Livestock Rewards https://livestockrewards.org Feroz Kuthubdeen B. Business (Year 2) SUSS Livestock Rewards is a livestock investment company. Do good and get rewarded. Institute of Blockchain Singapore http://ibs.edu.sg/ Alvin Chua Teck Wei B. Business in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (Year 2) SUSS Lim Simin B. Business Analytics (Year 2) SUSS A Blockchain and EdTech private school with course funding from SkillsFuture Singapore & NTUC's e2i. SkillsFuture LightBeijing https://www.lightbeijing.com/ Delcynia Chan B. Marketing (Year 4) SUSS Charles Chen B. Accountancy and Economics (Year 2) SMU LightBeijing brings online Mandarin tutoring to the modern day learner. Online tutoring Event Schedule 3:00pm-3:30pm | Registration & Networking 3:30pm-3:45pm | Welcome Speeches by SUSS & Alibaba Cloud 3:45pm-4:15pm | Panel Discussion with Investors 4:15pm-5:15pm | Startups Pitch (Part I) 5:15pm-5:30pm | Break 5:30pm-6:15pm | Startups Pitch (Part II) 6:15pm-7:00pm | Dinner & Networking 7:00pm-7:30pm | Final Results & Prize Presentation Tickets to the event are free of charge for SUSS students, faculty and guests. Limited slots are available for guests and visitors. Sign Up at https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/alibaba-cloud-suss-entrepreneurship-certminor-pitch-to-investors-2018-registration-45016000068 Backgrounder Launched in July 2017, the programme is accredited by SUSS and run in partnership with Alibaba's cloud computing arm, Alibaba Cloud. It attracted student entrepreneurs and mentors seeking to develop the next big idea in the technology scene. A total of 40 teams comprising 86 people applied, but only 22 teams of 45 participants were selected for the two intakes. The first intake in July 2017 took in 16 teams of 31 students; and the second intake in January 2018 selected another 6 teams of 14 students. The next intake will commence in June this year. Apart from SUSS students, the programme is open to tertiary students aged 18 and above, and anyone who fulfils academic criteria, such as having two GCE A-level passes or 5 GCE O Levels and an interview. There is no course fee and participants only have to pay an application fee of $64.20 (inclusive of GST). Successful candidates have access to mentorship by Alibaba Cloud, C-level industry experts and advisors. Under the programme, the aspirants also get free access to Alibaba Cloud services, including data analytics and Web-hosting services, and can choose from more than 500 SUSS modules, such as Blockchain Technology and Smart Contract Finance and social media marketing. For more information on SUSS entrepreneurship programmes: http://www.suss.edu.sg/Partnership/Entrepreneurship/Pages/Alibaba-Cloud-SUSS-Entrepreneurship-Certificate-Minor.aspx About the Singapore University of Social Sciences Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) is one of Singapore's six autonomous universities and its mission is to provide lifelong education that equips learners to serve society. Home to more than 15,000 students, SUSS provides an applied education that targets both fresh school leavers and adult learners, with a focus on the social sciences. It adopts a flexible and practice-focused learning approach and offers more than 70 degree programmes in various disciplines. Eligible students taking SUSS undergraduate programmes enjoy government subsidies and access to government bursaries, tuition fee loans and study loans. For more information on Singapore University of Social Sciences, please visit www.suss.edu.sg. SOURCE Singapore University of Social Sciences [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Dubai-based telecom provider du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, has announced the appointment of UAE national Ehab Hassan as chief human resources officer. As a member of the executive management team, Hassan will be responsible for developing and executing the human resources strategy in support of the organisations initiatives and goals, particularly in the areas of succession planning, talent management and training and development. In addition, he will oversee the talent acquisition and employee retention agenda at du. Moreover, Hassan will be tasked with enhancing dus already robust Emiratisation initiatives to meet the companys goals from both a grassroots, and an experienced employee perspective. Osman Sultan, chief executive officer, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) said: In line with the UAEs Emiratisation directive to increase the number of Emiratis in the private sector, du continues to bolster its initiatives to attract UAE nationals to explore prosperous careers in telecommunications. As a senior leader with a proven track record in HR and a wealth of UAE experience, we believe Ehab's expertise will provide strategic leadership to drive talent acquisition and retention, contributing to the growth of du and the industry in the UAE. Hassan joins du from National Bank of Abu Dhabi, where he was the Group chief human resources officer and senior managing director for almost a decade. TradeArabia News Service [May 22, 2018] Star2Star Wins 2018 Visionary Spotlight Award In Two Categories SARASOTA, Fla., May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Star2Star Communications, provider of the Worlds Most Complete Full Spectrum Communications Solution, today announced that they have received the 2018 Visionary Spotlight Award in two categories from Beka Business Media, producers of ChannelVision Magazine. This is Star2Stars fourth year receiving recognition from ChannelVision for their innovation in the communications space. The two categories awarded were for the Channel Program of the Year 2018 and achievement in Unified Communications and UCaaS 2018. The annual Visionary Spotlight Awards competition was created to highlight channel and service provider innovation in communications. The awards honor outstanding products, services and deployments across numerous technology categories. Visionary Spotlight Award winners demonstrate overall innovation in the communications industry, capacity for future-thinking execution, and creativity and feature set differentiation. They also offer channel partners a plethora of opportunities to boost their roles as trusted providers. We are once again honored to showcase so many top innovators and industry visionaries in the channel and communications space, said Berge Kaprelian, president of Beka Business Meia. The caliber of the 2018 nominations exceeded all expectations. This just highlights the rapid acceleration of meaningful, cutting-edge deployments and product/service design and engineering across our industry today. We congratulate Star2Star for this well-deserved recognition. Its an honor to be recognized for two categories very close to our hearts, said Michelle Accardi, President and Chief Revenue Officer at Star2Star. We have invested a great deal in Our Partner Program because we believe that supporting our Partners is our first and foremost priority. We are also thrilled to be recognized again for our contributions to moving the communications industry forward with our innovative technologies. Star2Star is future-oriented and always looking for a way to advance the UCaaS space. About Star2Star Communications Founded in 2006 in Sarasota, Florida, Star2Star Communications empowers global business success with a Full Spectrum Communications Solution. With options ranging from Hosted to Hybrid, Star2Star offers unparalleled value, reliability, quality, and scalability. Star2Star unifies business communications including voice, video, fax, mobile, chat, and presence management. Merged with Blueface, the leading pan-European UCaaS provider, Star2Star possesses a global influence and customer base. Blueface's proprietary cloud voice platform supports businesses of all sizes, ranging from small-to-medium to large enterprises and strategic wholesale customers. Star2Star's award-winning, patented Constellation Network overcomes the reliability and quality limitations of other communications technologies and enables companies to choose the deployment methodology that aligns best with their needs. For businesses who require high-quality voice, redundant networks for continuity, and ultra-reliable communications, Star2Star's Hybrid architecture offers the highest guaranteed SLAs in the industry at an affordable price. Businesses with less complexity, who seek the best communications capabilities for their employees and customers, can consider Star2Star's Hosted solution the optimal choice. With a customer retention rate of 99.85%, Star2Star has been recognized by a multitude of leading analysts. In the past seven years, Star2Star was named to the Forbes Most Promising Companies list, the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 five times, and the Inc. 500|5000 seven times. The company was also named by IHS as a Top 10 Hosted Business VoIP/UC Provider and has been in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for UCaaS, Worldwide for the last four years. Casey OLoughlin coloughlin@star2star.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] CNBC Names Illumio to its 2018 Disruptor 50 List SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Illumio today announced that it has been named to the sixth annual CNBC Disruptor 50 list. The ranked list honors the world's most ambitious and innovative private companies that collectively have the potential to impact multiple multi-billion dollar industries. Illumio was named to the list from more than 980 nominated companies. Illumio is the emerging leader in micro-segmentation, which prevents the spread of cyber threats. The company is solving one of the biggest challenges facing organizations the need to secure their data that resides inside global data centers and clouds environments. Illumio's micro-segmentation software technology enables customers to create 'watertight' compartments that prevent bad actors from accessing sensitive data. With 300 percent year-over-year bookings growth and international expansion in Europe and Asia Pacific to support customer growth, Illumio has consistently attracted recognition for its industry leadership. To accelerate its growth trajectory and meet increasing demand for this technology, Illumio raised $125 million in Series D funding led by J.P. Morgan Chase Asset Management in June 2017. Enterprises such as Morgan Stanley, Salesforce, BNP Paribas, and Plantronics use Illumio. "We founded the company 5 years ago with a mission to enable our custoers to build trust with their customers," said Andrew Rubin, CEO and co-founder of Illumio. "Our inclusion on this list of breakthrough, market-defining companies for the second time is an honor and further validation of Illumio's approach to securing the world's data centers and cloud environments through micro-segmentation." The company was most recently named one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area by Silicon Valley Business Journal and San Francisco Business Times. In November 2017, Andrew Rubin was selected as one of the Goldman Sachs' 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs for the third year in a row. More information about the CNBC Disruptor 50 award methodology can be found here. About Illumio Illumio, the leader in micro-segmentation, prevents the spread of breaches inside data center and cloud environments. Enterprises such as Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, Salesforce, and Oracle NetSuite use Illumio to reduce cyber risk and achieve regulatory compliance. The Illumio Adaptive Security Platform uniquely protects critical information with real-time application dependency and vulnerability mapping coupled with micro-segmentation that works across any data center, public cloud, or hybrid cloud deployment on bare-metal, virtual machines, and containers. For more information, visit www.illumio.com/what-we-do or follow us @Illumio. Media and Analyst Contact illumio@bateman-group.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cnbc-names-illumio-to-its-2018-disruptor-50-list-300652578.html SOURCE Illumio [May 22, 2018] SmartEnergi Launches High-Reliability Backup Electricity Service to Help Businesses and Governments Avoid Critical Interruptions SmartEnergi Corp, a leading developer of innovative energy storage solutions, announced the launch of its SmartEnergi Power Assurance Service (SPASTM), an energy backup and power resiliency service. This subscription-based service provides automated emergency electric power backup supply to help companies, hospitals and government agencies avoid interruption in their critical operations when power outages occur. Businesses, hospitals, and government agencies know that even a short power outage can pose serious safety, security and financial risks. Traditional backup diesel generators are not only noisy and polluting but may not even work when urgently needed due to maintenance neglect. According to the Electric Power Research Institute, backup generators fail 20 to 30 percent of the time, while anecdotal evidence from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Army Corps of Engineers suggests failure rates as high as 50 percent. The SmartEnergi Power Assurance Service has major advantages over other backup technologies: Instant-on reliability. SPAS's unique lithium-ion and flow battery backup technologies and software allows timely monitoring and preventive maintenance, as well as instant failover when disaster strikes. SPAS's unique lithium-ion and flow battery backup technologies and software allows timely monitoring and preventive maintenance, as well as instant failover when disaster strikes. Flexibility. SPAS's clean technology can be installed inside or outside, making it usable in offices or apartment buildings where diesel generators would be impossible to deploy. SPAS's clean technology can be installed inside or outside, making it usable in offices or apartment buildings where diesel generators would be impossible to deploy. Scalability. SPAS can handle both short- and long-term power interruptions, at scales as small as a critical appliance, or as large as a multi-tenant building complex, or a whole city requiring multi gigawatt-hour systems. SPAS can handle both short- and long-term power interruptions, at scales as small as a critical appliance, or as large as a multi-tenant building complex, or a whole city requiring multi gigawatt-hour systems. Lower cost. As a subscription service, SPAS minimizes company capital and maintenance costs, turning power backup into a safe and predictable operating cost. "We designed SPAS to combine reliability and scalability with low operating expense," said CTO and energy storage expert Dr. David Noye. "With SPAS, private businesses, hospitals, and government agencies now have a flexible, faster and cheaper way to achieve electric power resilience to support critical operations when power from the grid is not available." To learn about the benefits of SPAS and how much a company could save, contact SmartEnergi at (404) 736-9373, or sales@smartenergicorp.com. You can also see our introductory video at https://smartenergicorp.com/videos/. About SmartEnergi SmartEnergi Corp is a developer of high-scalability energy storage products, including the SPAS backup and energy storage service. The company also supplies innovative rechargeable solid-state (polymer) lithium-ion cells, as well as innovative binderless electrodes that enable batteries with high, stable, capacity that is reversible, and can simultaneous support fast charging, high power, and long cycle life. For more information, visit www.smartenergicorp.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005250/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] CUJO AI Listed as a Vendor to Watch by Gartner in 2018 Market Insight: Address 3 Critical Security Issues to Differentiate Yourself in the Connected Home Marketing Report We cover the four main principles of home security: prevention, detection, response, and prediction, listed in the report. EL SEGUNDO, California, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CUJO AI, the first artificial intelligence-powered software platform for network operators, was listed as a Vendor to Watch by Gartner in a Market Insight report on critical security issues. Our company covers the four principles to connected home security: prevention, detection, response, and prediction. Gartner is a leading research and advisory company that provides information technology insights to global IT executives. "We feel being recognized by Gartner is a new stepping stone for CUJO AI. Our team is creating an innovative solution that is leveraging artificial intelligence. We are truly pleased to be acknowledged by Gartner and believe our inclusion is due to pushing a new frontier with our technology," said Einaras von Gravrock, the CEO of CUJO AI. In the report, Gartner analyzed the critical security issues that require immediate attention. Since more and more devices are used every day, a comprehensive security system should be in plce. However, a lot of the IoT devices are not secured sufficiently. "CUJO AI provides real-time network analysis and machine learning to identify and prevent anomalies or predict botnet attacks. With our technology, we can solve a critical security issue - the badly protected legacy devices with a long life cycle. For example, coffee machines or smart refrigerators that are not adapted to the current IoT security requirements," said Santeri Kangas, the CTO of CUJO AI. Powered by machine learning algorithms, CUJO AI technology strives to not only protect the connected homes but also to improve the smart living experience. These solutions include security, advanced device identification, easy management, as well as advanced parental controls. Together with real-time protection, CUJO AI creates a seamless and safe environment. Gartner has also recognized CUJO AI as a Cool Vendor in its April 2018 Cool Vendors in IoT Security report that recognizing companies that are innovative, impactful and intriguing. The April 2018 Market Insight: 3 Critical Security Issues to Differentiate Yourself in the Connected Home Market report can be accessed with a Gartner subscription here. Gartner Disclaimer Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be constructed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About CUJO AI: CUJO AI is the leading artificial intelligence company providing network operators AI-driven solutions, including AI security, advanced device identification, advanced parental controls, network analytics, and more. CUJO AI Platform creates intuitive end-user facing applications for LAN and wireless (mobile and public wifi). Each solution can be implemented as a white-label offering. CUJO AI is ISO27001 certified. For more information, please visit www.cujo.com. CUJO AI Media Relations: Eve Masiulyte Email: eve@cujo.com Tel.: 323-284-7216 S: www.cujo.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/692982/logo_black__1_Logo.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Free Web Seminar for Hospitals on Automating Claim Status Follow Up DENVER, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hospitals that are straining to follow up on a mounting volume of outstanding claim balances are urged to register for Recondo Technology's upcoming live webinar, "Drive Cash Flow Improvements by Ending the Claim Status Quo," on Wednesday, May 30th from 10 to 11 am Mountain. Register for the webinar today at: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6658816531300554497 Learn how real hospitals are ending the "claim status quo" Faced with continually adding more full-ime employee hours to make phone calls, send faxes and log into payer websites just to make a dent in an unending stack of claims to follow up on, 33-hospital and health system Avera Health decided to automate the process instead. Hear directly from Mary Wickersham, Vice President of Central Business Office Services at Avera Health on how her team freed up a $2.1M bottleneck by automating claim status follow up. Wickersham will discuss the challenges the business office was facing, and why she determined automation would alleviate the backlog of claims. As attendees will hear firsthand, the results speak for themselves: $ 2.1 million reduction in aged AR accounts over 90 days reduction in aged AR accounts over 90 days 30 percent to 52 percent overall reduction in aged accounts 50 percent reduction in credit balances 26 percent increase in closed claims Additionally, learn how another top hospital system, The Queen's Medical Center, has used claim status automation to reap $5 million in cash flow improvements, including reducing monthly untimely write-offs from $1.5M to $19K, while removing 80 percent of claims from any need of human intervention. If you're a hospital financial professional who is interested in learning how to deploy proven automation tools to boost your organization's bottom line, be sure to register for and attend this free webinar. About Recondo Technology Recondo's cloud-based solutions deliver industry leading automated, accurate, and actionable financial clarity to all participants within the healthcare revenue cycle. Recognized by Black Book Research as one of the top three leaders in revenue cycle management software, Recondo empowers more than 900 hospitals with solutions that connect providers, payers, and patients to ensure proper payments across the care continuum. The company's patented software and expertise streamline operations and allow providers to be paid more, faster, and at a cheaper cost. Recondo brings efficiencies and cost savings to patient access through to payment processinga continuum today where inaccuracy and inefficiencies currently cost U.S. healthcare a staggering $480 billion per year. Learn more at www.recondotech.com. Media contact: Stephanie Janard Amendola Communications for Recondo Technology sjanard@acmarketingpr.com 704.418.9874 View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/free-web-seminar-for-hospitals-on-automating-claim-status-follow-up-300652267.html SOURCE Recondo Technology [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Lumos Data Centers Launches Suite of IaaS Solutions Lumos Data Centers ("LDC"), a division of Lumos Networks and Spirit Communications and a leading co-location and data center solutions provider across the Mid-Atlantic and South-Eastern U.S., is pleased to announce the launch of its upgraded Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platform. Developed after significant investment by LDC and including extensive market analysis and vendor evaluations, the platform leverages industry standard architecture. The design and build was a collaboration of best of breed partners including; NetApp, Cisco (News - Alert) , and Zerto. The services delivered include; Private Cloud Services, Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), and Storage and Backups as a Service. Josh Wolff, SVP of Lumos Data Centers said, "Our customers are looking for ways to deliver services to their customers and employees in a faster, smarter, and more efficient way. The IaaS platform gives our customers peace of mind, being built with a highly available fault tolerant architecture, while residing in our highly available and connected enterprise class data centers." The solution is an ideal fit for companies who have growing compute, data storage and protection requirements, significant compliance requirements, and often times aging hardware. LDC offers a consultative approach to the design and implementation of the solution that best fits the customer's business needs. After recently migrating to the new platform, Todd Alexander, Senior Technology and Infrastructure Manager with Sona Dermatology and MedSpa said, "We approached LDC about refreshing our aging IaaS environment and to look at ways to improve costs and stability with our IT infrastructure. They spared no expense, bringing in a highly skilled set of engineers to plan the migration and design then build out an environment we can grow with for years to come. Their support, dedication and quality of work is exceptional and we consider them a trusted partner." Gartner (News - Alert) estimates that the global IaaS services market will grow over 30% in 2018 and 25-30% in 2019. About Lumos Data Centers Lumos Data Centers (LDC) is a newly formed business unit within Lumos Networks, focusing exclusively on data center services. LDC offers high availability services out of three data centers in Charlotte, NC servicing Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The data center facilities are staffed 24/7/365, SSAE 16 SOC1 and SOC 2 Type II certified, and PCI (News - Alert) DSS and HIPAA compliant. Enterprise services include Colocation, Infrastructure as a Service, Disaster Recovery as a Service, Storage as a Service, and Back Up and Recovery as a Service. LDC acts as a Carrier Hotel, with 12 of the largest carriers in Charlotte having fiber routes and / or Points of Presence (POP), allowing robust options for clients. With direct connectivity from the Lumos Networks and Spirit Communications fiber footprint, along with 12 options for connectivity, LDC is uniquely positioned to offer clients on-net data center and colocation services. About the Combination of Spirit Communications and Lumos Networks The combination of Spirit Communications and Lumos Networks creates a super-regional fiber bandwidth network with over 21,000 miles of fiber and more than 9,000 on-net locations across nine states in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States. The new entity offers a full range of Ethernet, MPLS, dark fiber, advanced voice and cloud services to thousands of carrier, enterprise, data center and government customers. The entity also connects 44 total data centers, including 12 co-location and data centers. More info: www.lumosdatacenters.com, www.spiritcom.com and www.lumosnetworks.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005454/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Agari Unmasks Global Criminal Email Rings in Unprecedented Cyber Probe Agari, a leading cybersecurity company, today announced at the FS-ISAC 2018 Annual Summit a new research report, "Behind the 'From' Lines: Email Fraud on a Global Scale," which provides unprecedented insight into the operations and economics of organized criminal email groups. Among the key findings, nine of the 10 captured organized crime groups operate out of Nigeria, they all leverage a multitude of attack methods, and business email compromise (BEC) is far more lucrative than any other attack. "While much of the high-profile attention paid to email security has focused on nation state actors, the reality is that American businesses are far more likely to be attacked by BEC scammers operating from Africa," said Patrick Peterson, founder and executive chairman, Agari. "The sad irony is that these foreign adversaries are using our own legitimate infrastructure against us in attacks that are far more damaging and much harder to detect than any intrusion or malware." Business email compromise leverages a variety of identity deception techniques, such as display name deception, to bamboozle organizations into making fraudulent payments. Typically, an attacker will impersonate the CEO of a company and request immediate payment to a vendor from its accounting team. In May 2018, the FBI IC3 "2017 Internet Crime Report" indicated that BEC losses increased to $675 million during 2017, more than 300 percent compared to $215 million in 2014. Agari researchers analyzed a variety of email based attacks, including romance scams and rental scams, but even though BEC did not emerge as a trend until 2016, BEC attacks account for 24 percent of all attacks analyzed. BEC attacks produce more victims and result in higher dollar losses than any other criminal email attack. BEC attacks are also ten times more likely to produce a victim if the target answers an initial probe email, such as "Are you at your desk to make a payment?" Agari analyzed 59,652 unique messages accessed from 78 criminal email accounts to produce "Behind the 'From' Lines: Email Fraud on a Global Scale." Key findings from the report include: Nigerian Scammers Target (News - Alert) American Businesses - Nine out of the 10 criminal email groups appear to operate out of Nigeria. Agari has correlated many of these criminal email accounts with social media profiles and other personal registrations, producing a clear picture of their true identities. - Nine out of the 10 criminal email groups appear to operate out of Nigeria. Agari has correlated many of these criminal email accounts with social media profiles and other personal registrations, producing a clear picture of their true identities. BEC Emerges as Most Popular, Most Effective Attack Vector - BEC attacks accounted for 24 percent of all attacks, with 0.37 victims per 100 probes, even though BEC attacks only have an initial response rate of 32 percent. BEC attacks are ten times more likely to produce a victim if the target answers an initial probe, with 3.97 victims per 100 answered probes. Romance scams accounted for 11 percent of all attacks, with 0.13 victims per 100 probes, even though it has a much higher initial response rate of 72 percent. Romance scams are also ten times more likely to produce a victim if the target answers an initial probe, with 1.54 victims per 100 answered probes. - BEC attacks accounted for 24 percent of all attacks, with 0.37 victims per 100 probes, even though BEC attacks only have an initial response rate of 32 percent. BEC attacks are ten times more likely to produce a victim if the target answers an initial probe, with 3.97 victims per 100 answered probes. Romance scams accounted for 11 percent of all attacks, with 0.13 victims per 100 probes, even though it has a much higher initial response rate of 72 percent. Romance scams are also ten times more likely to produce a victim if the target answers an initial probe, with 1.54 victims per 100 answered probes. Romance Scams Break More Than the Bank - Agari lays bare the heartbreaking tale of a Florida woman who exchanged more than 1,500 emails with an email scammer, believing him to be a wealthy expatriate living in Dubai. Over the course of six years, this woman lost more than $500,000 and was forced to sell her home after refinancing it to help pay a variety of fraudulent requests. - Agari lays bare the heartbreaking tale of a Florida woman who exchanged more than 1,500 emails with an email scammer, believing him to be a wealthy expatriate living in Dubai. Over the course of six years, this woman lost more than $500,000 and was forced to sell her home after refinancing it to help pay a variety of fraudulent requests. Man-in-the-Middle Account Takeover (ATO) Targets Real Estate - Agari has identified a sophisticated actor that has compromised email accounts belonging to real estate brokers by sending them malware-infected documents. This master conman leverages these compromised email accounts to conduct ATO-based escrow scams that can potentially bankrupt his targets. Agari has reason to believe this individual, who appears to be operating out of Kenya, may actually be in the United States. - Agari has identified a sophisticated actor that has compromised email accounts belonging to real estate brokers by sending them malware-infected documents. This master conman leverages these compromised email accounts to conduct ATO-based escrow scams that can potentially bankrupt his targets. Agari has reason to believe this individual, who appears to be operating out of Kenya, may actually be in the United States. The Big Business of Email Compromise - Research reveals that criminal email accounts request payment ranging from $1,500 to more than $200,000, with an average request of $35,500. Additionally, Agari has categorized hundreds of bank accounts, social security numbers, passwords and PIN numbers that these organized crime groups have obtained through social engineering, business email compromise and account takeover. "Business email compromise has become a pervasive threat -- it is the most popular, the most effective, and the most damaging of all of the attacks we research," said Peterson. "These organized crime groups will not stop these attacks, but whenever possible, Agari will be there to capture these criminal email accounts, to freeze their mule bank accounts and to pull back the mask of their true identity." Download "Behind the 'From' Lines: Email Fraud on a Global Scale" at https://agari.com/unmasked About Agari Agari, a leading cybersecurity company, is trusted by leading Fortune 1000 companies to protect their enterprise, partners and customers from advanced email phishing attacks. The Agari Email Trust Platform is the industry's only solution that 'understands' the true sender of emails, leveraging the company's proprietary, global email telemetry network and patent-pending, predictive Agari Identity IntelligenceTM to identify and stop phishing attacks. The platform powers Agari Enterprise Protect, which help organizations protect themselves from advanced spear phishing attacks, and Agari Customer Protect, which protects consumers from email attacks that spoof enterprise brands. Agari, a recipient of the JPMorgan Chase Hall of Innovation Award and recognized as a Gartner (News - Alert) Cool Vendor in Security, is backed by Alloy Ventures, Battery Ventures, First Round Capital, Greylock Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Scale Venture Partners. Learn more at http://www.agari.com and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @AgariInc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005332/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Future Facilities to Demonstrate Virtual Prototyping of Edge Data Centers Using Virtual Reality Future Facilities, provider of design and capacity planning software for data centers, announced today that they will be demonstrating their simulation solutions for edge computing at the Connect(x) Connectivity Expo in Charlotte, NC. As the demand for the Internet of Things (IOT) has skyrocketed in the last year with the proliferation of connected devices, automobiles, drones and the demand for low latency on streaming video, so has the demand for edge data centers. During the Connectivity Expo in Charlotte this week, Future Facilities will demonstrate how they're using their Virtual Facility (VF) to enhance design and operations for edge data centers, specifically facilities operated by leading provider Vapor IO which, through its Project Volutus, is building the world's largest network of distributed edge data centers, enabling cloud providers, wireless carriers and web-scale companies to deliver cloud-based edge computing applications via a network of micro data centers. To highlight this, on Wednesday from 12:00-5:00 p.m., Future Facilities' Virtual Reality platform will be on display at the Connectivity Expo, providing show attendees with a virtual tour of an edge data center. Between section A and E of the expo, attendees will be able to experience a virtual reality platform that allows users to walk through the virtual prototype of an edge data center, providing a window into their IT assets, including temperature and airflow distribution within the data center. "Future Facilities is thrilled to be at the forefront of edge data center development," said Robert Schmidt, sales manager, Future Facilities. "Between bandwidth demands and millions of connected devices, operational integrity of edge data centers is of paramount importance and being able to experience a virtual prototype of the operations is key to ensuring this." About Future Facilities For more than a decade, Future Facilities has provided engineering simulation software and consultancy services to the world's largest data center owner-operators and the industry's leading consultancies. With global offices, its software and services are relied on to deliver unique insight into the current and future performance of mission critical data centers. Additional information can be found on the Future Facilities website, on LinkedIn, or by following them on Twitter (News - Alert) @6SigmaDCX. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005761/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Alabama Department of Education Gives Students Free Summer Access to Fuel Education Solutions To keep students actively learning over the summer and to help prevent summer learning loss, the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), with the help of Fuel Education (FuelEd), is launching its sixth annual Alabama Summer Learning Challenge. From May through July, students across the state have free access to two FuelEd online learning tools, Stride, an award-winning digital learning solution that rewards student progress with games, and Big Universe, an online reading literacy platform featuring thousands of eBooks. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005789/en/ Alabama Summer Learning Challenge "The Alabama Summer Learning Challenge is a unique opportunity for our students and their families," said Barbara Cooper, Deputy State Superintendent at ALSDE. "Giving students access to these engaging tools can help prevent summer learning loss, but it is also an advantage for their families. Parents no longer have to scour the internet or bookstores for high-quality content. Thee vetted programs are given to students for free and are accessible anywhere they can get online using their tablets or computers." Stride is an online, adaptive game-based learning platform that inspires students to practice and master concepts in math, reading, language arts, and science. When they answer correctly, students earn Stride "coins" to redeem for Stride games, which motivates students to practice skills throughout the summer and better prepare themselves for the new school year. Stride can also be used during the academic year for assessment and test readiness in the classroom. Built-in benchmark and formative assessments gauge whether students are at grade level for end-of-course and end-of-year tests. Real-time data and in-depth reports help educators track student performance and guide instructional intervention. Big Universe gives students 24/7 online access to a library of more than 13,000 leveled eBooks from well-known publishers. The library has titles addressing a wide range of skills and grade levels, as well as topics tailored to students' interests in order to spark a love of reading. The mobile program has engaging reading practice opportunities, such as read alouds, guided reading, interactive writing, writing workshops, and reading workshops. It also includes integrated tools such as embedded assessments, a student recommendation engine, and analytics to demonstrate reading growth. "Both Stride and Big Universe not only engage students and enable them to take ownership of their learning this summer, but they are also valuable tools for teachers in the classroom come fall. By providing students with access to these tools all summer long, the Alabama State Department of Education is setting their students up for success," said Sean P. Ryan, General Manager of Fuel Education. While Big Universe is a new addition to the Alabama Summer Learning Challenge this year, there was a 55 percent increase in Stride usage from summer 2016 to summer 2017. Last summer, Alabama students answered 6.9 million Stride skills practice questions in math, reading, language arts and science. Parents were impressed with Stride's ability to keep students engaged and gave the following feedback after last summer's Challenge: "My sixth-grader enjoyed Stride, especially the option to play games after some academic work was done, and my second grader liked being able to rack up the gaming points and play for longer periods at times. It really motivated her. Stride became part of their routine. From the parents' side, I enjoyed the interactive educational program. I especially appreciated being able to look at the various levels to see if they were below or on target for their grade." - Tiffani, parent, Auburn, AL "We enjoyed using Stride this summer. My incoming first-grader had a lot of fun with it and really enjoyed earning points to play the games, but also enjoyed answering the questions, much to my surprise. We really appreciated having that resource available." - Anna, parent, Troy, AL To get learn more about the Alabama Summer Learning Challenge or to get started today, visit fueleducation.com/ALSummerLearning. About Fuel Education Fuel Education partners with school districts to fuel personalized learning and transform the education experience inside and outside the classroom. The company provides innovative solutions for pre-K through 12th grade that empower districts to implement successful online and blended learning programs. Its open, easy-to-use Personalized Learning Platform, PEAK, enables teachers to customize courses using their own content, FuelEd courses and titles, third-party content, and open educational resources. Fuel Education serves more than 2,000 school districts, offering one of the industry's largest catalogs of K-12 digital curriculum, certified instruction, professional development, and educational services. To learn more, visit fueleducation.com and Twitter. 2018 Fuel Education LLC. All rights reserved. Fuel Education, FuelEd, Summit, and Stride are trademarks of Fuel Education LLC or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005789/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Tyler Technologies' Student Transportation Solutions Selected for Cooperative Purchasing in Arizona Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL) announced that its student transportation solutions, including Traversa and Versatrans, have been selected for inclusion on Mohave Educational Services Cooperative's list of recommended educational products. Mohave Educational Services Cooperative helps school districts in Arizona fill statewide bids by managing a list of recommended vendors. By including Tyler on this list, Tyler's transportation solutions will be offered for cooperative purchasing without districts having to go out to bid, eliminating the time-consuming RFP process. "We are pleased to be recognized by the Mohave Educational Services Cooperative in Arizona for our student transportation software," said Ted Thien, vice president and general manager of Tyler's transportation solutions. "We look forward to continuing to help Arizona school districts develop and manage routes more efficiently and in a safer way, and we expect to bring these benefits to additional districts because of this cooperative purchasing agreement." Tyler's Traversa and Versarans suites of products deliver intuitive, comprehensive transportation management that is scalable to districts of any size. Tyler Drive, Tyler's revolutionary vehicle-mounted tablet, enhances Traversa and Versatrans with state-of-the-art features, such as audio and visual driver directions, student ridership management, inspection tracking, and smart rerouting for missed stops. Through this distinction, Tyler's solutions can be selected to empower Arizona school districts in the following ways: Allow for seamless interactions between route, vehicle, and student data to create a continuous user experience Offer online and mobile student information portals to keep parents and students informed of bus route changes or other routing alerts Provide fleet maintenance reporting to ensure timely vehicle maintenance and avoid breakdowns Offer simple, intuitive dashboards to decrease training downtime Tyler offers a broad portfolio of school solutions in addition to transportation software, including data analytics, document management, incident management, student information, and financial management. Nationwide, Tyler has nearly 2,000 transportation clients. About Tyler Technologies (News - Alert) , Inc. Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) is a leading provider of end-to-end information management solutions and services for local governments. Tyler partners with clients to empower the public sector - cities, counties, schools and other government entities - to become more efficient, more accessible and more responsive to the needs of their constituents. Tyler's client base includes more than 15,000 local government offices in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and other international locations. In 2017, Forbes ranked Tyler on its "Most Innovative Growth Companies" list, and Fortune included Tyler on its "100 Fastest-Growing Companies" list. More information about Tyler Technologies, headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at www.tylertech.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005108/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Home improvement and lifestyle store Homeworks has just launched its new Ramadan collection across its outlets in Saudi Arabia. The collection features over 1,000 new and exclusive products ranging from cookware, dinnerware, serve ware, home decor and perfect gifts for entertaining family and friends. Ashley Dymond general manager, Homeworks Retail Sales, said: This year weve got everything you need for Ramadan all in one place. Whether youre looking for kitchen essentials, appliances, dinnerware, home decor or even gifting products we have something for everyone with incredible prices across the range. The team has done an amazing job bringing together Ramadan essentials as well as new and exclusive products that you cant find anywhere else. We are excited for the Holy month and are wishing everyone a Ramadan Kareem, he added. The Homeworks collection has new and exclusive must-have products from Luminarc that includes Dinnerware and Dimlaj that includes glassware. Other collection includes coffee sets, crystal serving plates and bowls, cake stand sets and more. Also, kitchenware essentials from the recently launched popular British brand Wilko. The Wilko range provides simple solutions from kitchen essentials including glassware, dinnerware, storage solutions, tools and accessories, cake decorations and bakeware and more that help families get their day-to-day lives sorted from SR1 ($0.2) only. The complete range of the Ramadan products is available across all Homeworks stores in Saudi Arabia. - TradeArabia News Service [May 22, 2018] GDPR Drives Rapid & Accelerating Enterprise Software Trials with EU-Based Organizations for Data443 RALEIGH, N.C., May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc., a leading data security company, announced today that its proof of concept (PoC) sales funnel continues to grow at a rapid pace, especially in the European Union where the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is set to take effect this Friday, May 25. The GDPR brings a new realm of data privacy regulation and potential fines for companies that do not comply. As more businesses understand the impact and potential liabilities of the GDPR, they are seeking solutions that can quickly move forward their ability to respond. Data443s award-winning data classification, governance, and eDiscovery product ClassiDocs is well positioned to provide rapid delivery for clients impacted by the GDPR and similar regulations. A most recent study indicates over half of North American companies have not started any GDPR-related compliance activities whereas many estimates suggest about 80% will be subject to its requirements. The new privacy legislation is expected to result in billions of dollars of fines due to noncompliance. The proof of concepts we have in place continue to grow in count and velocity, said Jason Remillard, CEO and founder of Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. We are finding increasingly urgent requirements for our capabilities and a growing need for even faster deployments. Our hybrid and cloud architecture enable us to deliver PoCs and actual customer deployments sometimes within only a few hours via Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and other vendor platforms. This means customers can be GDPR compliant faster than they think and with no additional outlay for hardware or other components. ClassiDocs directly addresses 12 of the most important GDPR articles, both for reporting and technical controls. This capability enables clients to respond to DSAR demands and at the same time provide an accurate and up-to-date data inventory across their entire data estate, including all end points, any attached or mapped cloud storage, databases, email, structured and unstructured data, and data at rest or in flight. ClassiDocs is the onl product on the market with wide ranging, feature rich capability set. Upon deployment and without specific training, users can: Discover PII, PCI, HIPAA, and Other Confidential Information Report on and Remediate Security Access Controls Respond to DSARs and Remediation Actions, with built in Analytics Comply with 12 of the Most Critical GDPR Articles Data443s ability to quickly deliver ClassiDocs via cloud or hybrid configurations solves GDPR complexity for any organization currently facing the impending deadline without a compliance plan in place. Companies can start a PoC in minutes by clicking this link https://www.data443.com/get-free-online-interactive-demo-team-2/. About DATA443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. DATA443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. (OTCPK:LDSR) enables secure data across local devices, network, cloud, and databases at rest and in flight. ClassiDocs, our award-winning data classification and governance technology, supports over 200 file types and 400 databases with a user-first, user-centric design that speeds ease of use and compliance-policy conformance without training. Data443 delivers classification, discovery, governance, GDPR compliance, and DSAR management coupled with DLP, CASB, SIEM, and cloud solutions to provide user-enabled, governance-enabled, up-to-date security for every data point, every time. Forward-Looking Statements Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. See DATA443 Risk Mitigation, Inc.s filings with the SEC, which may identify specific factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. For Further Information Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/data443Risk Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/data443/ Signup for our Investor Newsletter: https://www.data443.com/investor-relations/ Signup for our Product Newsletter: https://www.data443.com/contact/ Contacts: Main Press Contact: Susan Payne Susan.Payne@data443.com Office: 919.526.1070 Ext. 103 Investor Relations: ir@data443.com Office: 919.858.6542 SOURCE DATA443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Doctor On Demand Surpasses One Million Video Visits Doctor On Demand, the nation's leading virtual care provider, has surpassed one million video visits. Accomplished in just over four years, this industry milestone comes on the heels of the company's recent $74 million Series C financing round. Doctor On Demand continues to experience rapid growth, and is projected to surpass two million video visits by summer 2019. Doctor On Demand provides access to dedicated, board-certified physicians, psychiatrists, and licensed psychologists completely via video. As the first full-service telemedicine provider to offer fully integrated lab services, Doctor On Demand has advanced the range of services treatable via telemedicine, including chronic care management. Doctor On Demand is accredited from three national standard-setting organizations for meeting telehealth and credentialing standards: American Telemedicine Association (News - Alert) (ATA), National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), and HITRUST. "Our mission is to improve the world's health through compassionate care and innovation. We built Doctor On Demand four years ago to provide the easiest, most convenient access to some of the best care in the country," said Hill Ferguson, CEO, Doctor On Demand. "We look forward to continuing to expand our platform capabilities and shape the futureof healthcare." Since launching in December 2013, Doctor On Demand has experienced triple digit year-over-year growth as it continues to transform access to high-quality, cost-effective care. With a satisfaction rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars across the iTunes store and Google (News - Alert) Play, Doctor On Demand has become the virtual care provider of choice for hundreds of enterprise customers, including four of the Fortune 10 companies, and over two dozen health plan partners. Doctor On Demand offers immediate access to board-certified physicians, psychiatrists, and licensed psychologists via smartphones, tablets, or desktop computers. To learn more, visit the Doctor On Demand app or go to www.doctorondemand.com. About Doctor On Demand Doctor On Demand is a nationwide healthcare service that provides video visits with board-certified physicians, psychiatrists and licensed psychologists via smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. Patients download the Doctor On Demand app or visit www.doctorondemand.com, provide a list of their symptoms, and are connected for a video visit within minutes. Prescriptions, if needed, are sent directly to the pharmacy of choice. Doctor On Demand physicians can also order lab work, allowing for the treatment of a broader range of conditions and chronic care management. Through its 5-star rated mobile application and website, consumers can access board-certified physicians in all 50 states with an average wait time of 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Doctor On Demand delivers services through employers, health plans, and directly to consumers. While insurance isn't required, tens of millions of Americans enjoy covered medical and mental health visits. Doctor On Demand is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. To learn more, visit us at DoctorOnDemand.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005863/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Vertafore Doubles Down on Broker, Agency, and Carrier Workflow Efficiency with ImageRight Enhancements DENVER, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertafore, the leader in modern insurance technology, today announced new product releases for ImageRight: Business Process Analytics and Optical Character Recognition (OCR). These cutting-edge technologies automate administrative activities to reduce manual processes and put people back at the heart of the insurance industry. ImageRight is the premier enterprise content management and workflow system developed specifically for insurance. 48 of the top 100 brokers partner with Vertafore for workflow management. Changing consumer demands and new market entrants have created an innovate or die mentality for insurers. In fact, 66 percent of insurance CEOs report increasing pressure on their organization to deliver business results under shorter timelines (PwC). In order to survive and thrive, insurers must adopt solutions that align resources and automate certain tasks to bring efficiency and growth to the business. "At Vertafore, we put our customers at the center of our innovation efforts," said Sharmila Ray, senior vice president of product and strategy at Vertafore. "We've heard from our customers that manual data entry and analysis take significant time, which could be spent buildingrelationships with their customers, so we developed this release that will eliminate that friction, improve overall efficiency, and free up time to grow the business at every level." Vertafore's Business Process Analytics update is available immediately to all ImageRight customers, and the Optical Character Recognition functionality will be available with ImageRight version 6.6. Optical Character Recognition Optical Character Recognition (OCR) digitally extracts, validates, and classifies images of typed or printed text into editable text. It includes full text search and automated redaction recognition. Without OCR, data is transcribed manually from a structured form into another document or database, taking time away from customer calls and opening the possibility for data entry errors. Now with OCR, ImageRight automatically populates data into the correct fields. Additionally, OCR reduces the time between information arrival and when it reaches intended personnel within an organization, thus saving several hours of manual work during the day. "We've used ImageRight over 3 years and it just keeps getting better," said Patricia McQuade, vice president and chief information officer at Moody Insurance Agency. "ImageRight has automated key functions of the business so we can spend less time with the mundane paperwork tasks and more time with our customers." Vertafore's solutions are relied upon by 96 of the top 100 agencies, 80 of the top 100 carriers, and a community of over 500,000 users. To learn more about ImageRight, visit: www.vertafore.com/products/imageright. About Vertafore Vertafore's comprehensive insurance management software solutions allow participants in the insurance distribution channel to adapt to an evolving insurance industry by efficiently scaling their businesses through deeper access to information and insights. The Vertafore platform features fast innovation, partnerships with leading technology companies, and customizable solutions to help companies remain independent during a time of industry disruption. As the leader in modern insurance technology with the largest customer base in the industry, Vertafore connects every point of the distribution channel, from agencies and carriers to MGAs, MGUs, and state governments. For more information about Vertafore, visit www.vertafore.com, read the company's blog, and follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. 2018 Vertafore and the Vertafore logo are registered trademarks of Vertafore. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vertafore-doubles-down-on-broker-agency-and-carrier-workflow-efficiency-with-imageright-enhancements-300652748.html SOURCE Vertafore [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Outreach Secures $65 Million In Series D Funding To Increase Revenue Team Productivity And Return SEATTLE, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Outreach, the leading Customer Engagement Platform, has secured $65 million in Series D financing, more than doubling the company's valuation over its Series C round. The round was led by Spark Capital and includes investment from Sapphire Ventures as well as from existing investors DFJ Growth, Four Rivers Group, Mayfield, MHS Capital, Microsoft Ventures and Trinity Ventures, bringing Outreach's total funding to $125 million. The funding represents another major milestone for the company, following a stellar year in 2017 that saw a doubling of overall customers and more than 100 percent revenue growth. Outreach's Customer Engagement Platform provides the entire revenue team from sales development representative to account executive to customer success manager with a system for managing and automating interactions throughout the customer lifecycle. Outreach also records data about each interaction and uses analytics and machine learning to surface insights and recommendations that drive increased efficiency and effectiveness. "The customer engagement category is experiencing explosive growth, due in large part to high rates of usage, a rarity for enterprise software which is often used as a data repository or even worse, purchased and forgotten," said Manny Medina, CEO and co-founder of Outreach. "Our north star isn't number of customers, it's number of Weekly Active Users. This metric is proof we have created a technology that not only drives revenue, but also is viewed as indispensable to every membr of the revenue team." Outreach's new financing will be used to accelerate product development, with a specific focus on machine learning and extending the platform beyond the sales team to every customer-facing role. Outreach recently announced Amplify, a program that uses machine learning to scientifically test, measure and optimize the performance of sales teams, while also automating non sales-related tasks. The company also hired Pavel Dmitriev, former Principal Data Scientist, Analysis and Experimentation at Microsoft and one of the few world experts in large scale experimentation, to lead its data science team. "Outreach has been instrumental in creating and evolving the customer engagement category, which is growing at an exponential rate," said Alex Clayton, Investor at Spark Capital. "Outreach's technology, approach and leadership team make it poised to capture this multi-billion dollar opportunity and we are excited to have the company as part of our portfolio." "Customer Engagement is a rapidly growing market and Outreach is the dominant player in the enterprise, where they continue to gain momentum," said Rajeev Dham, Sapphire Ventures Partner. "With our deep enterprise relationships and our proven history of taking companies public, this is an ideal partnership. We look forward to joining Outreach on their journey to become the next category-defining software company." Outreach, which has been recognized by Forbes as one of its "Next Billion Dollar Startups", closed FY2018 up 100+ percent and now has 245 employees (doubled FY2018 to FY2019). The company supports more than 2,400 sales teams and 22,000 users worldwide. Outreach was also recently named one of Seattle Business Magazine's Best Places to Work and one of the 50 Highest Rated Private Cloud Computing Companies to Work For by Battery Ventures. About Outreach Outreach, the leading Customer Engagement Platform, manages and automates customer interactions throughout the customer lifecycle, resulting in increased productivity and revenue lift. Thousands of customers rely on Outreach to transform the sales process, drive collaboration across the revenue team, and deliver higher revenue per sales and customer success rep. Outreach is a privately held company based in Seattle, Washington. To learn more, please visit www.outreach.io. About Spark Capital Spark Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in startups led by creative thinkers. It partners with entrepreneurs who make products and services for consumers as well as business people. It has offices in SoMA in San Francisco, Astor Place in New York City, and the Back Bay in Boston. Spark Capital was founded ten years ago. In total it manages five funds with $3B under management. For more information, please visit http://www.sparkcapital.com. Media Contact: Jennefer Traeger Traeger Communications 720-988-6149 jtraeger@traegercommunications.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/outreach-secures-65-million-in-series-d-funding-to-increase-revenue-team-productivity-and-return-300652416.html SOURCE Outreach [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Nearly Two-Thirds of Brands Purchasing Ads Through Programmatic Means Have Fully or Partially Moved the Function in-House, According To IAB Research According to research released today by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and its Data Center of Excellence, 65 percent of brand marketers that purchase digital ads programmatically have either completely moved programmatic buying in-house (18%) or have partially begun the process of internalizing the function, with plans to continue further down the path (47%). Entitled "Programmatic In-Housing: Benefits, Challenges and Key Steps to Building Internal Capability," the report, which includes both a marketer survey and leadership insights, identifies the top brand motivators for taking programmatic in-house: Improved ad performance/ROI Cost efficiency/transparency Better control and management of data and targeting Enhanced real-time optimization capability Full accountability and focus on brand goals In addition, the paper explores hurdles, noting that the programmatic in-housing transition typically requires at least a one-year commitment, complex coordination of partner contracts, staff training, and more. The report taps into industry experts to distill a checklist of critical steps to meet challenges head-on: Conduct an internal assessment, including an evaluation of media performance and cost-benefit analysis Create a ramp-up Practice"data centricity" and integrate multiple data sources Establish a tech stack Attract and retain talent "If brands are going to bring programmatic in-house, they need to understand both the benefits and pitfalls," said Orchid Richardson (News - Alert) , Vice President and Managing Director, IAB Data Center of Excellence. "This research makes it clear that a significant percentage of brands have already moved in this direction-and we can expect that more will follow suit. Coupled with the growing trend of brands embracing direct-to-consumer strategies, this report is very timely. Its expert counsel on what brands need to consider before moving programmatic capabilities in-house will be invaluable." "Programmatic In-Housing: Benefits, Challenges and Key Steps to Building Internal Capability" was published with the support of the IAB Data Center of Excellence and Accenture (News - Alert) Interactive. To download the complete report, please visit www.iab.com/ProgInHouse. Methodology The quantitative results in the research paper are based on Advertiser Perceptions Omnibus Survey fielded in April 2018. One hundred and nineteen U.S.-based brand representatives participated in the survey. The respondents represent media decision makers across all titles and 16 major ad categories. All are qualified as involved in making digital, television, mobile, radio and/or print media decisions. About IAB The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. Its membership is comprised of more than 650 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital advertising or marketing campaigns. The trade group fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing. In affiliation with the IAB Tech Lab, it develops technical standards and best practices. IAB and the IAB Education Foundation are committed to professional development and elevating the knowledge, skills, expertise, and diversity of the workforce across the industry. Through the work of its public policy office in Washington, D.C., IAB advocates for its members and promotes the value of the interactive advertising industry to legislators and policymakers. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City and has a San Francisco office. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005315/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Nova Medical Centers Names Dr. Mark Pucek New Chief Medical Officer HOUSTON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nova Medical Centers, the nation's leading pure occupational medicine provider, announced today that Dr. Mark Pucek has been named as its Chief Medical Officer. Nova Medical Centers operates 48 occupational medicine facilities across Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Indiana and has more than 700,000 patient visits and treats over 40,000 injured employees each year. Nova Medical Centers provides work injury care services, pre-employment testing, drug screens, physical therapy and online medical reporting. "We are honored to have Dr. Pucek join the Nova Medical Centers family. We believe his extensive expertise will further enhance our dynamic executive team and help lead the organization as we focus on providing the best occupational health care services in the nation and help expand our coverage to become a national entity by 2023," said Nova Medical Centers Founder and CEO Dr. Ulf Rohde. Dr. Pucek was previouly with U.S. HealthWorks as their Chief Medical Officer for 4 years and prior to that as their Regional Medical Director for the Southwest and Southeast region for 17 years. Dr. Pucek has been a leader in the occupational health care community for many years with strategic experience in delivery of quality care, improved patient outcomes and implementing business processes and clinical operating procedures to achieve cost containment. Originally from Dickinson, Texas, Dr. Pucek received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston and attended The University of Texas at Austin for his undergraduate studies. "I am extremely honored to be named Chief Medical Officer with an innovative medical organization like Nova Medical Centers," Pucek said. "I look forward to contributing to the growth of the company while focusing on exceptional patient outcomes and Nova's vision of being a national leader setting the standard for occupational health care solutions." About Nova Medical Centers Home of Occuflex : As the largest 100% occupational health provider in the nation, Nova treats on-the-job injuries, conducts pre-employment services and screens, and offers preventative care services. Nova connects with employers to maximize employees' health and get America back to work better and faster. Nova Medical Centers operates 48 occupational medicine facilities across Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Indiana and has more than 700,000 patient visits and treats over 40,000 injured employees each year with an average claim closure rate of 14 days and a 97% same-day return to work rate. Nova Medical Centers provides work injury care services, pre-employment testing, drug screens, physical therapy and online medical reporting. Nova utilizes real-time web-based reporting through its proprietary electronic medical record system, Occuflex, which allows Nova's clients to remain constantly up-to-date with claim status. Nova Medical Centers continues to revolutionize occupational healthcare and strives to provide the best occupational medical services possible. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nova-medical-centers-names-dr-mark-pucek-new-chief-medical-officer-300652720.html SOURCE Nova Medical Centers [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Shark Tank's Daymond John to Keynote ECi Connect Conference 2018 ECi Software Solutions, a leader in cloud-based business management solutions, today announced that Daymond John, star of ABC's Emmy Award-winning TV series Shark Tank, will keynote ECi Connect Conference 2018. The conference-which will draw almost 1,000 small to medium-sized business owners, technology and service providers, software users and IT professionals from around the globe-is now open for registration and will take place at the New Orleans Marriott in the historic French Quarter November 5-7. In addition to his role on Shark Tank, John is widely recognized for his accomplishments as an entrepreneur and branding expert following the success of his groundbreaking lifestyle brand, FUBU. He was named a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship under the Obama Administration and is a two-time New York Times Best Selling Author, most recently for his book Ris and Grind. John remains committed to helping aspiring entrepreneurs, which landed him the affectionate nickname of "The People's Shark." John will kick off Connect Conference 2018 with a keynote address that will provide ECi users with actionable advice for applying the entrepreneurial mindset to their respective organizations. The 2018 conference follows an exciting year of growth for ECi, marked by the addition of five new products to the company's software suite, including Macola, MAX and JobBOSS in the manufacturing sector, MarkSystems for residential homebuilders and developers, and PrintFleet print management solutions for the global imaging industry. As such, attendees will be offered more than 180 breakout sessions geared towards varying levels of expertise (from beginner to advanced) on the technology, trends and insights that matter most in their industries. With access to dedicated experts and customer service representatives from each of ECi's vertical focus areas, attendees will receive tailored tips for leveraging the full scope of their software solutions. "It is a tremendous opportunity to bring our users and industry experts together for another Connect Conference," said Ron Books, President and CEO of ECi Software Solutions. "Not only will attendees receive advice from Daymond John, one of the most well-known entrepreneurs, but they'll also have access to our leadership, customer service and product teams. Additionally, in our Knowledge Center, attendees will be able to meet with our vendors and receive one-to-one assistance in our Tech Lab." To register for ECi Connect Conference 2018 or for more information, please visit the website. Any questions can be addressed to conference@ecisolutions.com. About ECi ECi Software Solutions provides end-to-end business management software and services, focusing on cloud-based technologies. For 30+ years, ECi has served small to medium-sized manufacturing, wholesale/retail distribution, building and construction, and field service organizations. Privately held, ECi headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, with offices throughout the U.S., Canada, England, the Netherlands, and Australia. For information, email info@ecisolutions.com, visit www.ECiSolutions.com or call (800) 959-3367. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005460/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] LogicHub Accelerates Security Operations with RSA Archer Suite Support MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Intelligent security automation solution provider LogicHub today announced new interoperability with RSA Archer Suite to empower Security Operations Center (SOC) teams with features for automating threat detection and response. SOC teams will be able to advance the automated creation, listing, and retrieval of incident tickets within the RSA Archer full suite of risk management solutions. "We're thrilled for this collaboration with RSA Archer, which will further LogicHub's goal to help CISOs imprve their threat detection and response operations," said Kumar Saurabh, CEO and co-founder, LogicHub. The platform interoperability will provide a multitude of benefits to LogicHub and RSA Archer customers. As LogicHub's intelligent flows detect threats and incidents that need to be remediated, the platform is able to create appropriate tickets with all pertinent information for incident investigation and response teams. The automation streamlines operations, which improves SOC efficiency and effectiveness, and simultaneously frees up analyst bandwidth to focus on critical events. "The pace of cyber attacks continues to rise and organizations struggle to keep up. We are excited to have LogicHub join the RSA Ready technology program and certify their interoperability with the RSA Archer platform," said Matt Crawley, Senior Manager, Technology Alliances, RSA Archer". About LogicHub : LogicHub offers the industry's most powerful automation platform for security operations, helping organizations dramatically accelerate every SecOps process from alert triage to incident response to threat hunting. Founded on a singular premise that every threat detection process can be automated, LogicHub empowers security analysts to be an order of magnitude more effective and productive. For more information, visit www.logichub.com. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/logichub-accelerates-security-operations-with-rsa-archer-suite-support-300649584.html SOURCE LogicHub [May 22, 2018] Amerigroup Offers Free Access to 24/7 Behavioral Health Crisis Line and In-Person Counseling for those Impacted by the Tragedy in Santa Fe, Texas Amerigroup, an Anthem, Inc. company, has been a part of the communities we serve in Texas for over 20 years, and our thoughts and condolences go out to those directly impacted by the recent shooting at Santa Fe High School. To support the community, Amerigroup will be offering free access to licensed counselors and therapists via their 24/7 behavioral health crisis line and on-site from 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the American Red Cross Family Assistance Center at Aldersgate United Methodist Church for the victims, families, first responders and any others impacted by the tragic, mass-shooting in southeast Texas. "We are deeply heartbroken by Friday's event at Santa Fe High School and are committed to helping our community heal," said Tisch Scott, Amerigroup Texas President. "We hope that by providing free counseling serice to anyone in need, we can support our neighbors and our community during this difficult time." Amerigroup's counseling services are free and open to anyone needing assistance in the southeast Texas. Individuals who would like to speak with licensed counselors or therapists via a phone session can do so by calling 1-844-405-4300. This crisis line is available from 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, Amerigroup behavioral health case managers, who are licensed counselors and therapists, will be providing free on-site assistance to all this week at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, which is located at 13217 FM 1764 Santa Fe, TX 77510. About Amerigroup Texas Amerigroup Texas helps improve health care access and quality for approximately 850,000 low-income Texans by developing innovative care management programs and services. Members are assured care that is not only accessible, but also accountable, comprehensive, integrated and patient-centered. Amerigroup Texas provides ongoing community relations and outreach to encourage members to become active participants in their health care. Through health education programs, members are empowered to choose and sustain a healthy lifestyle. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005950/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Mist Announces New AI-Driven Wireless LAN for the Palo Alto Networks Application Framework CUPERTINO, Calif., May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mist, the pioneer in self-learning networks powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), today unveiled that the Mist Learning WLAN is part of the Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) Application Framework. With Mists 100 percent open and programmable wireless platform, customers can now combine wireless service levels and location with security profiling and enforcement to deliver unprecedented visibility and control over mobile users, devices and IoT. This furthers Mists vision of using open APIs to automate key IT infrastructure services for ease, scale and functionality. Consuming cybersecurity innovations has become an arduous process. Organizations waste time deploying new sensors every time they want to collect a new piece of data and manage point products, rather than improving security controls to stay ahead of attackers. The Palo Alto Networks Application Framework makes it easy to add new security capabilities quickly and efficiently. The framework extends the capabilities of the Palo Alto Networks Security Operating Platform, with a suite of APIs that developers can use to connect innovative apps with rich data, threat intelligence and enforcement points. Organizations gain immediate security value from apps developed by an open ecosystem of trusted innovators. The Mist Learning WLAN is the first AI-driven wireless and location platform. It delivers unique insight into the Wi-Fi user experience and enables customers to accurately locate mobile devices with ease and scale. The Mist solution is built on an enterprise-scale microservices cloud platform that has full API support across all functions to enable automation. By being a part of the Palo Alto Networks Applications Framework, Mist customers get a secure wireless solution hat sets and enforces policies, monitors the user quality of experience, creates automated workflows, and maps physical location with client experiences and security threats. QUOTES We are pleased to be part of Palo Alto Networks Application Framework as the first AI-driven WLAN. Through integration efforts like this, we can now share critical user, device, application and security information and automate key actions pertaining to wireless security. This takes the industry to the next level and underscores the benefits of AI and programmability across the IT stack. - Sujai Hajela, CEO and co-founder, Mist. - Sujai Hajela, CEO and co-founder, Mist. We are delighted to welcome Mist to the Palo Alto Networks Application Framework developer community. The framework provides our customers with superior security through cloud-based apps developed by innovative security providers, large and small. Together, we are fueling innovation in the cybersecurity market with apps that are built rapidly, engineered on a common framework, and deliver unique value while solving our customers toughest security challenges. - Lee Klarich, chief product officer, Palo Alto Networks AVAILABILITY Mists app for the Palo Alto Networks Application Framework will be available to all customers in tandem with the Application Frameworks availability in August 2018. The Palo Alto Networks Application Framework is targeted for availability in August 2018 and will be available worldwide to customers who have purchased either Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewalls or Traps advanced endpoint protection and the Logging Service subscription. Helpful Links: Mist Website Mist Platform Mist Services Mist LinkedIn Mist Twitter About Mist Mist built the first AI-driven wireless platform, designed specifically for the Smart Device Era. The Mist Learning Wireless LAN makes Wi-Fi predictable, reliable and measurable by providing unprecedented visibility into the user experience and by replacing time consuming manual IT tasks with proactive automation. In addition, Mist is the first vendor to bring enterprise-grade Wi-Fi, BLE and IoT together to deliver personalized, location-based wireless services without requiring battery-powered beacons. All operations are managed via Mists modern cloud architecture for maximum scalability, agility and performance. The Mist team consists of leading experts in wireless, machine learning and cloud, who are responsible for building the largest and most advanced networks in the world. Founded in 2014, the company is based in Cupertino, CA and funded by top investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, GV (formerly Google Ventures), Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Cisco Investments. For more information, visit www.mist.com. About Palo Alto Networks We are the global cybersecurity leader, known for always challenging the security status quo. Our mission is to protect our way of life in the digital age by preventing successful cyberattacks. This has given us the privilege of safely enabling tens of thousands of organizations and their customers. Our pioneering Security Operating Platform emboldens their digital transformation with continuous innovation that seizes the latest breakthroughs in security, automation, and analytics. By delivering a true platform and empowering a growing ecosystem of change-makers like us, we provide highly effective and innovative cybersecurity across clouds, networks, and mobile devices. Media Contact Tanaya Lukaszewski Offleash for Mist (916) 712 - 3791 olmist@offleashpr.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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 [May 22, 2018] Select GCR, Sharing Government Website know-how for maximum contract success CLEARWATER, Fla., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SelectGCR.com, a government contract consulting agency has helped thousands of businesses register and succeed within the federal sector by focusing on the small details and simplifying the process for their clients. "Not only do we complete our client's registrations and help them market to the government, we provide detailed step by step instructions as we go through the process to create a more informed and independent successful client," says Select GCR Owner, Mandy Bortz. When registering for SAM (System for Award Management) Fill out the secondary form if you qualify for a certain socioeconomic status you will now automatically be self-certified. Register your business with www.DSBS.SBA.gov (Dynamic small Business Search) your business can now be selected for no bid contract opprtunities. Select yes when it comes to disaster recovery your business can now be chosen in a time of crisis by FEMA. Register with www.FBO.gov (Federal Business Opportunities) you will now receive daily emails and have searching capabilities for all available contracts. Upload a catalog of your offerings into www.GSAadvantage.gov this website is used by Government buyers to shop and purchase your products and/or services without having to contact you. Set up your profile within www.EBUY.GSA.gov this website will allow you to view all RFI (Request for Information), or RFP (Request for Proposal) that are submitted to your business for opportunities. In most cases your business will only be one of three that is being considered for that contract. Giving you at least a 33% chance to attain that contract. Listed above is just a small sample of some of the steps that individuals are not aware of and skip when registering on their own. Select GCR can help with all registrations, capability statements, CO contact lists, email campaigns, and for an all in one program that helps with everything contracting related check out Select GCR Pro View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/select-gcr-sharing-government-website-know-how-for-maximum-contract-success-300652066.html SOURCE Select GCR [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] New Ink Business Unlimited Card from Chase Offers Simple Cash Back Chase is introducing Ink Business Unlimited today, a new credit card for small business owners with a simple proposition: unlimited 1.5 percent cash back on purchases so business owners have one less thing to think about when running their business. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006011/en/ New Ink Business Unlimited card from Chase (Photo: Business Wire) Chase Ink Business Unlimited rewards business owners on every purchase, with no special categories, no annual fees and no minimum balance to redeem rewards, along with $500 bonus cash back, after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. It was inspired by hundreds of conversations with business owners that are looking for ways to simplify what they can, so they can increase productivity and efficiency to grow their business. In fact, one-in-four small business leaders cite increasing productivity as a top three business challenge, according to the Chase Small Business Leaders Outlook. "Small business owners today are hyper-focused on growing their business and eliminating distractions. We are providing a tool that helps manage cash flow and expenses, in a straightforward way that matches their working style," said Catherine Hogan president of Chase Branded Cards. To help small business owners with expert advice on productivity and making the most of their business, Chase Ink is joining forces with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. Hawk's focus on his craft and making the most of what he masters were critical in building a successful multi-million dollar business, while still allowing him to continue to be active in the sport he loves and give back to the community. Hawk will share his insights during a May 30th "Get Productive with Tony Hawk" Facebook (News - Alert) live stream from New York. Follow @ChaseforBiz on Twitter (News - Alert) for details in the days ahead. "When I reflect on my professional skateboarding and business accomplishments, none of it would be possible without a focused commitment to productivity. It's why I am so excited to share my experience with other small business owners," shared Tony Hawk. The new card rounds out the Ink portfolio, along with Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Cash. Each offers different options that meet the demands of today's business owners. To learn more about the Ink portfolio or to apply for the Chase Ink Business Unlimited credit card, visit www.Chase.com/Ink. About Chase Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.6 trillion and operations worldwide. Chase serves nearly half of America's households with a broad range of financial services, including personal banking, credit cards, mortgages, auto financing, investment advice, small business loans and payment processing. Customers can choose how and where they want to bank: 5,100 branches, 16,000 ATMs, mobile, online and by phone. For more information, go to Chase.com. About Ink Chase Ink credit cards are designed to meet the unique spending and cash flow needs of small businesses. Ink products offer rewards on every purchase, from premium travel rewards to cash back, and other benefits and protections that support small businesses. As part of Chase for Business, Ink customers have access to a range of small business financial solutions, advice and insights to help their business continue to grow. Learn more about Ink at Chase.com/Ink. About Tony Hawk Tony Hawk was 9 years old when his brother changed his life by giving him a blue fiberglass Bahne skateboard. By 14, he'd turned pro, and by 16, he was widely considered the best skateboarder on earth. World Champion for 12 years in a row, Hawk continues to skate demos and exhibitions internationally, making him the most recognized action-sports figure in the world. In 1999, he teamed up with Activision (News - Alert) to create the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game, and later that year at the X Games, Hawk became the first skateboarder to ever land a 900, the holy grail of vert skateboarding. Today, his business skills have helped create a Tony Hawk brand that includes a billion-dollar video game franchise, successful businesses such as Birdhouse Skateboards, Hawk Clothing and the Tony Hawk Signature Series sporting goods and toys. Hawk's fan base numbers in the millions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. He regularly appears on television and in films and hosts a show on Sirius XM radio. His autobiography, HAWK-Occupation: Skateboarder, was a New York Times bestseller. His Tony Hawk Foundation has given away over $5.7 million to 588 skatepark projects throughout the United States. Hawk's foundation helps finance public skateparks in low-income areas in all 50 states and other parts of the world. http://www.tonyhawk.com http://www.tonyhawkfoundation.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006011/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] US Foods Employees 'Spring into Service' to Support Chicagoland Charities US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD) recently concluded its 'Spring into Service' initiative, a five-day company-sponsored event developed to empower Chicagoland US Foods employees to volunteer at local, charitable organizations during the work day. The initiative is part of the company's ongoing commitment to hunger relief efforts. As a result of this years' service, more than 83,500 meals were packaged by hundreds of employees who donated nearly 330 hours of time to organizations in and around Chicago. "At US Foods, we believe in the power of food to give people a chance at a better future. By harnessing the philanthropic passion of our local workforce, we were able to make a considerable difference in the communities where we live and work," said Debra Ceffalio, vice president of corporate communications, US Foods. "We're proud of our colleagues and their achievements." Between May 14 and May 18, employees based at US Foods' headquarters in Rosemont volunteered at organizations throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs whose missions are to eliminate hunger in their communities and provide access tohealthier food. The organizations included Feed My Starving Children, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana, Northern Illinois Food Bank, Growing Home and Operation Gratitude. US Foods is a long-standing supporter of hunger relief. In addition to supporting food banks and other nonprofits through volunteerism, product donations and financial contributions, the company is a Feeding America Mission Partner and has donated more than 79 million pounds of food since 2013. Each year, US Foods also engages employees across the country in the fight to end hunger during national Hunger Action Month in September. To learn more about US Foods' philanthropic efforts, visit usfoods.com. About US Foods US Foods is one of America's great food companies and a leading foodservice distributor, partnering with approximately 250,000 restaurants and foodservice operators to help their businesses succeed. With 25,000 employees and more than 60 locations, US Foods provides its customers with a broad and innovative food offering and a comprehensive suite of e-commerce, technology and business solutions. US Foods is headquartered in Rosemont, Ill. and generates approximately $24 billion in annual revenue. Visit www.usfoods.com to learn more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006017/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Schulte Roth & Zabel Presents Its 6th Annual Private Equity Fund Conference Schulte Roth & Zabel (SRZ) is hosting its 6th Annual Private Equity Fund Conference today in New York. The conference will focus on the issues that are top of mind for private equity funds. Specific topics covered at the seminar include: State of the Industry; Liquidity and Winding Up Issues; Litigation Finance; and Regulatory and Tax. The event is by invitation only. The speakers are SRZ investment management partners Stephanie R. Breslow, Brian T. Daly, Jason S. Kaplan, Omoz Osayimwese, Phyllis A. Schwartz and Joseph A. Smith, structured finance & derivatives partner Boris Ziser and tax partner Elie Zolty. William P. Farrell, Jr., managing director and general counsel of Longford Capital Management, will be the guest speaker. The panel discussions will cover the current state of market practice, recent developments and emerging trends. "We are proud to host our 6th Annual Private Equity Fund Conference, featuring a great lineup of speakers," commented Ms. Breslow, co-head of SRZ's Investment Management Group. "The market is presenting interesting opportunities as well as challenges for private equity managers. At today's conference, we will discuss those key considerations," added Mr. Smith. "We are pleased t provide a forum for these timely discussions featuring veterans of the private equity industry," commented Alan S. Waldenberg, chair of SRZ's Executive Committee. SRZ has a premier funds practice, having served as longtime counsel to leading firms in the private equity space. With a diverse client base, SRZ represents private equity funds running the gamut of investment strategies. The lawyers advise these funds in connection with fund formation, operations, regulatory and compliance, the acquisition of portfolio investments and the implementation of exit strategies, among many other types of matters. About Schulte Roth & Zabel Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP (www.srz.com) is a full-service law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and London. As one of the leading law firms serving the financial services industry, the firm regularly advises clients on corporate and transactional matters and provides counsel on regulatory, compliance, enforcement and investigative issues. The firm's practices include: bank regulatory; bankruptcy & creditors' rights litigation; blockchain technology & digital assets; broker-dealer regulatory & enforcement; business reorganization; complex commercial litigation; cybersecurity; distressed debt & claims trading; distressed investing; education law; employment & employee benefits; energy; environmental; finance; financial institutions; hedge funds; individual client services; insurance; intellectual property, sourcing & technology; investment management; litigation; litigation finance; mergers & acquisitions; PIPEs; private equity; real estate; real estate capital markets & REITs; real estate litigation; regulated funds; regulatory & compliance; securities & capital markets; securities enforcement; securities litigation; securitization; shareholder activism; structured finance & derivatives; tax; and white collar defense & government investigations. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006042/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Vomela/3M Teambuilding Event Results in Donation to the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities The joy of being a kid and being presented with your first bicycle is unmatched. New opportunities appear before you as you gain a new level of independence. Yet many children are unable to experience that joy. A group from St. Paul-based The Vomela Companies and 3M recently took part in a teambuilding experience to help change that reality for a group of students associated with the YMCA of the Greater Twin (News - Alert) Cities. The result of their efforts was a generous donation of six bicycles, helmets, and locks to deserving students in the local community. The event took place in 3M's (News - Alert) Carlton Science Center in Maplewood. Vomela/3M Operations Conference attendees selected a "Bike Build for Charity" program facilitated by Impact 4 Good, LLC. (impct4good.com), a company that runs socially conscious teambuilding programs, to oversee their community service activity. Working in teams, participants competed in a bike themed trivia challenge activity that earned them the materials needed to start building bicycles. Teams also hand-wrote a special "message of encouragement" to accompany each bike. Attendees were given a joyful surprise at the end of the event, as the group of children receiving these bikes came in to receive their new bike in person. Megan Collins, representative from the Y, graciously thanked the group in person for their time and effort in putting together this gracious donation. Kate Whitby, Senior Program Director at the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities, later added, "I cannot thank you enough for the generosity that you shared with our teens last week through the donation of the bikes to our YMCA program participants. These deserving students are each thrilled to have a new bike as well as the accessories and safety equipment. I also want to thank you for the warm welcome that you gave each of our students. They had great feedback on the experience and I know it was special for them to be invited into such a vibrant global corporation right in our own backyard." The Vomela Companies are an interconnected network of graphic specialists providing a broad range of advancing print capabilities. Via our nationwide network, we create a variety of promotional, store decor, event, fleet, and transportation graphics. Vomela employs more than 1,300 people in 23 locations across the U.S. and Canada. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006029/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Robbins Arroyo LLP Is Investigating the Officers and Directors of Ormat Technologies, Inc. (ORA) on Behalf of Shareholders Shareholder rights law firm Robbins Arroyo LLP is investigating whether certain officers and directors of Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA) breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders. Ormat engages in the geothermal and recovered energy power business worldwide. View this information on the law firm's Shareholder Rights Blog: https://www.robbinsarroyo.com/ormat-technologies-inc/ Ormat Shareholders Have Legal Options If you would like more information about your rights and potential remedies, contact attorney Leonid Kandinov at (800) 350-6003, LKandinov@robbinsarroyo.com, or via the shareholder information form on the firm's website. Robbins Arroyo LLP is a nationally recognized leader in shareholder rights law. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits, and has helped its clients realize more than $1 billion of value for themselves and the companies in which they have invested. Attorney Advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006206/en/ [May 22, 2018] Metropolitan State University of Denver Selects YuJa Enterprise Video Platform for Campus-Wide 5-Year Contract SAN JOSE, Calif., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- YuJa Corporation formally announces a partnership with Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver), a public university located in Denver, Colorado. This partnership will replace their Kaltura enterprise instance with the YuJa Enterprise Video Platform. "For about eight years, Metropolitan State University of Denver has used Kaltura to store and deliver audio, video and other media content. Information Technology Services and AHEC's Procurement & Distribution Services recently led a request-for-proposal process required by state purchasing rules. During the RFP process, a group of MSU Denver faculty and staff members evaluated the proposals submitted by six vendors. YuJa, a comprehensive video-management solution, was selected because of its state-of-the-art features and competitive pricing," said Information Technology Services and AHEC's Procurement & Distribution Services in a joint statement. The YuJa Enterprise Video Platform provides a proven, scalable platform that seamlessly integrates with the college's existing SaaS-based Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) to suppor a wide-variety of video-based activities including digital asset management, video hosting and streaming, video capture and recording. In addition, the Yuja Enterprise Video Platform provides alignment with relevant compliance and analytics tracking processes. "Our partnership with Metro State Denver demonstrates the leadership position that YuJa has established in providing higher-ed organizations with effective, proven and scalable video solutions," said Dr. Ajit Singh, President of YuJa Corporation. About YuJa YuJa is a leader in enterprise video solutions. Our products harness the power of video to educate, engage, inspire and collaborate. We serve organizations of all sizes within all sectors including higher-ed, K-12, government and corporate delivering video experiences including lecture capture, live streaming, media management, video conferencing, and immersive social & mobile engagement tools. We have legal headquarters in Delaware, with primary U.S. offices in Silicon Valley, California and Canadian offices in both Waterloo and Toronto. About MSU Denver MSU Denver is a leader in educating Coloradans in university programs particularly relevant to the state's economy and the demands of today's employers. With the highest number of ethnically diverse students among the state's four-year colleges, MSU Denver offers 76 majors plus master's degrees in accounting, business, health administration, teaching and social work. Nearly 20,000 students are currently enrolled at MSU Denver, and 75 percent of the University's 87,000 graduates have remained in Colorado as valuable members of the state's workforce. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/metropolitan-state-university-of-denver-selects-yuja-enterprise-video-platform-for-campus-wide-5-year-contract-300653035.html SOURCE YuJa [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] InfinityQS Honored as Gold and Bronze Stevie Awards Winner in 2018 American Business Awards Program FAIRFAX, Va., May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InfinityQS International, Inc. (InfinityQS), the global authority on data-driven enterprise quality, has won three Stevie Awards in the 16th Annual American Business Awards, the United States premier business awards program. With more than 3,700 nominations submitted from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry, InfinityQS wins solidify the positive impact of its corporate-wide transformations and distinguish the company as an innovation leader across industries. The company was named a winner in the following categories: Gold Marketing Campaign of the Year Bronze Product Management and Development Executive of the Year Bronze Most Innovative Tech Company of the Year Across InfinityQS entries, judges reiterated the importance of the products and services InfinityQS provides to manufacturers, emphasizing the strategic tie-in of market significance from product through marketing and sales to tangible business benefits. They also noted the results achieved by product development, marketing, sales, and customer support. The nominations submitted for the 2018 American Business Awards were outstanding. The competition was intense, and those recognized as Stevie Award winers should be immensely proud of this accomplishment, said Michael Gallagher, President and Founder of the Stevie Awards. The awards will be presented to winners at the gala ceremony at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in New York on June 11. Details about the awards are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA. About the Stevie Awards Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com. About InfinityQS International, Inc. InfinityQS International, Inc. is the global authority on data-driven manufacturing quality. The companys Quality Intelligence solutionsEnact and ProFicientdeliver unparalleled visibility and strategic insight across the enterprise, from the shop floor to the boardroom, enabling manufacturers to re-imagine quality and transform it from a problem into a competitive advantage. Powered by centralized statistical process control (SPC) analytics, InfinityQS solutions provide operational insight to enable global manufacturers to improve product quality; decrease costs and risk; maintain or improve compliance; and make strategic, data-driven business decisions. Headquartered near Washington, D.C., with offices in Seattle, London, and Beijing, InfinityQS was founded in 1989 and now services more than 2,500 clientsfrom the smallest to the worlds leading manufacturersincluding Ball Corporation, Boston Scientific, Graham Packaging, and Medtronic. For more information, visit www.infinityqs.com. Media Contact: Liz Palm DPR Group, Inc. (240) 686-1000 epalm@dprgroup.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Ohio's 529 Plan is Giving Away $529 College Savings Award for 529 Day In honor of National 529 Day, Ohio's 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, will award a $529 college savings award to one lucky student. The give-away began today and will run until Sunday, June 10, 2018. Ohio's 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, along with other 529 plans around the country will celebrate National 529 Day on Tuesday, May 29. 529 Day was created to raise awareness regarding the importance of planning and saving for higher education and how investing in a 529 college savings plan can help make saving for college easier. "Winning a CollegeAdvantage savings award can help jump start a family's plan to save for college," said Tim Gorrell, executive director of Ohio Tuition Trust Authority, the state agency that administers Ohio's 529 Plan. Individuals can enter to win by going to the website for Ohio's 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage.com. No purchase is necessary nd one entry per email address per day is allowed. This sweepstakes is open to anyone in the country 18 years or older. Current CollegeAdvantage account owners are also eligible to enter. The $529 college savings award will be awarded as a contribution to an existing CollegeAdvantage account or can be used to open a new CollegeAdvantage Direct account. May is graduation season, whether it's from preschool, elementary, middle or high school. What better way to say, "congratulations and well-done" than with the gift of higher education. It's easy for family and friends to give the gift of higher education when they use Ugift. It's a seamless process that allows others to donate directly to one's CollegeAdvantage account. If your family and friends are Ohio taxpayers, they, too, can deduct their own contribution from their Ohio taxable income. About CollegeAdvantage Direct 529 Savings Plan: CollegeAdvantage is the Ohio's 529 college savings plan. CollegeAdvantage is administered and managed by the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority, a state agency under the office of the Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education. CollegeAdvantage offers families a tax-advantaged way to save for college by offering a variety of investment options from ready-made, age-based or ready-made, risk based portfolios; to investment vehicles to build a portfolio based on your individual investing preferences; to FDIC-insured banking options. To date, CollegeAdvantage has more than 639,000 active accounts with more than $11.3 billion in assets under management. To learn more about saving for college, go to Collegeadvantage.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006311/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2018] Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. Announces Closing of Public Offering by Selling Stockholders Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE: BOOT) today announced the closing of the public offering of 7,211,813 shares of its common stock held by certain of its stockholders. The selling stockholders include funds managed by Freeman Spogli & Co., which sold all 7,021,771 shares held by them, and certain directors, who sold 190,042 shares (collectively, the "selling stockholders"). The Company did not sell shares in the offering and will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares by the selling stockholders in this offering. Following the completion of this offering, funds managed by Freeman Spogli & Co. do not hold any shares of the Company. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Jefferies LLC acted as underwriters for the offering. This offering was made only by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement forming a part of the registration statement initially filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC (News - Alert)") on November 22, 2017, which has been declared effective by the SEC. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus included in that registration statement, the final prospectus supplement and other documents the Company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company and this offering. You may obtain these documents free of charge by visiting EDGAR on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the related prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained by contacting: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at (866) 803-9204; or Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by telephone at (877) 821-7388, or by email at Prospectus_Department@Jefferies.com. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor will 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 Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. Boot Barn is the nation's leading lifestyle retailer of western and work-related footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The Company offers its loyal customer base a wide selection of work and lifestyle brands. As of the date of this release, Boot Barn operates 230 stores in 31 states, in addition to an e-commerce channel www.bootbarn.com. The Company also operates www.sheplers.com, the nation's leading pure play online western and work retailer and www.countryoutfitter.com, an e-commerce site selling to customers who live a country lifestyle. Information that may be accessed through our websites is not part of, and is not incorporated into, this press release. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements refer to our current expectations and projections relating to, by way of example and without limitation, our financial condition, liquidity, profitability, results of operations, margins, plans, objectives, strategies, future performance, business and industry. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "project", "plan", "intend", "believe", "may", "might", "will", "could", "should", "can have", "likely", "outlook" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events, but not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that the Company's management has made in light of their industry experience and on their perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe are appropriate under the circumstances. As you consider this press release, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the Company's control) and assumptions. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, the following: decreases in consumer spending due to declines in consumer confidence, local economic conditions or changes in consumer preferences and the Company's ability to effectively execute on its growth strategy; the failure to realize the anticipated synergies from the Sheplers acquisition and other risks of integration, to maintain and enhance its strong brand image; to compete effectively; to maintain good relationships with its key suppliers; and to improve and expand its exclusive product offerings. The Company discusses the foregoing risks and other risks in greater detail under the heading "Risk factors" in the periodic reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect the Company's actual financial results and cause them to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Because of these factors, the Company cautions that you should not place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for the Company to predict those events or how they may affect the Company. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update or revise the forward-looking statements in this press release after the date of this press release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006277/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Travelling during Ramadan is becoming increasingly popular amongst residents of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, according to research conducted by the leading travel search website, Wego. The company said that this has been especially true in recent years, as Ramadan has coincided with the peak travel season of school vacations and summer holidays. About two-fifths of Ramadan and Eid trips are planned less than a week in advance by Wego users, said Mamoun Hmedan, Wego managing director Mena region and India. He added that this reflected a growing comfort among Middle Eastern travellers in making impromptu travel decisions. Also, more users than ever before seem to be exhibit a clear preference for travel within the region, with Cairo, Jeddah, and Alexandria receiving maximum flight traffic. Of this sub-set, a significant portion of the traffic can be attributed to Arab expats who travel homewards to spend Ramadan with their family members. And more than half this traveller base tends to book vacations lasting longer than one week, in the regions busiest travel time of the year, Hmedan said. The senior executive said that Wego would continue to use its research to help cater to its ever-evolving customers in the region. Wego travel experts examined trending destinations and travel behaviours across demographics, during Ramadan and Eid al Fitr, to present the following snapshot of the most exciting discoveries: Popular destinations Ramadan is an exciting time to see up-close the Islamic rituals and unique traditions of various Arab cities. As a result, around 75 per cent of Mena users prefer travelling within the region during Ramadan. Cairo, Jeddah, Alexandria, Kuwait, Amman, Dubai, and Istanbul top the list of most flights booked by users in Mena region. Of these, Dubai is considered a constant favourite, being home to a wide variety of some of the most renowned hotels in the world. Travellers in the region also flock to destinations such as Makkah, Al Madinah, and Sharm El Sheikh. Many more Muslims from the region are also seen travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, for business, or to spend Ramadan in their home country. Interestingly, over 14 per cent of travellers from Saudi Arabia also choose domestic flights to popular destinations like Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Abha. At the same time, the most frequented Southeast Asian getaways during this period were the popular Muslim-friendly cities of Jakarta (ranked first), Kuala Lumpur (ranked second), and Manila (ranked third). Trip duration According to the research, 68 per cent of roundtrip flight bookings involved more than a week of stay. Around 15.7 per cent of travellers stay for less than four days, while 16.7 per cent of them stay for four to seven days. A Wego expert said that this behaviour could be attributed to the tendency of Mena residents to make the most of the school summer break, occurring during the same period, for wholesome family getaways. In contrast, during the other months, only 48 per cent of travellers embark on trips longer than a week, while 31 per cent go on trips shorter than four days. Lead time According to Wego, close to 40 per cent of users book their Ramadan trip less than a week ahead, and for a trip duration that is more than a week, users plan the holiday almost one month ahead. The average lead time for making these Ramadan flight bookings is 26 days prior to the date of departure. On the other hand, for the non-Ramadan travel season, flight bookings tend to have a longer lead time of up to 38 days. Also, when travelling as a family, users tend to book their trip much earlier (average of 11 days in advance) than solo travellers, for any time of the year. Booking time After working hours, between 7 pm and 10 pm, is the most active travel booking time across most months of the year. During the Ramadan period, however, the peak hours tend to be from 10 pm and 2 am. Data also indicates that users are actively searching for flights and hotels even as early as 4 am, around the time of suhoor. However, conversion rates at this time of the day end up being relatively lower than peak hours. Understandably, iftar, or 6 pm to 7 pm, is a less active time for travel shoppers. And after iftar, during prayer time (around 9 pm), also sees a drop in booking. - TradeArabia News Service SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Notifies Investors of an Investigation Involving Possible Securities Fraud Violations by the Board of Directors of Netshoes (Cayman) Limited Levi & Korsinsky announces it has commenced an investigation of Netshoes (Cayman) Limited (NYSE:NETS) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws. To obtain additional information, go to: http://www.zlkdocs.com/NETS-Info-Request-Form-6748 or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at jlevi@levikorsinsky.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500, toll-free: (877) 363-5972. Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, California, Connecticut and Washington D.C. The firm's attorneys have extensive expertise in prosecuting securities litigation involving financial fraud, representing investors throughout the nation in securities and shareholder lawsuits. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006375/en/ Updated, 5/22/2018, 9:10am PT: Asus has confirmed that the company is not making any changes to its Arez brand. Updated, 5/22/2018, 7:55am PT: The Asus Arez Twitter account cited in this article has been exposed as a fake account and taken down. As such, there is likely no change to the Arez branding. We have followed up with Asus for more information. Original article, 5/22/2018, 11:10am PT: Asus announced that it would no longer be releasing Arez-branded AMD graphics cards, and that Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand is here to stay. The announcement was quietly posted on the companys Arez brand Twitter account over the weekend, just a few weeks after Nvidia pulled the plug on its notorious GeForce Partner Program, which some pinned as the cause of Asuss (and other OEMs) new all-AMD graphics card branding. The Arez lineup was announced last month, but the new branding will never see the light of day. #ASUS #AREZ is coming to an end, stated the Asus_Arez Twitter feed. #ROG is here to stay. Although Nvidia has maintained that the GPP was intended to keep brands and communication consistent and transparent, some conjectured that the program would place an unnecessary burden on partners to create new brands or face a potential backlash (language in the published GPP materials stated that partners would get early access to our latest innovations, whereas non-partners wouldnt). Several companies have made similar branding changes, with MSI announcing a new AMD-based GPU brand after the GPP was shut down. However, Asus is the first AIB partner to reverse course on the AMD-exclusive branding, and its hard to argue that these changes arent remotely connected by a large, green thread. Treehugger and our third-party partners use cookies and process personal data like unique identifiers based on your consent to store and/or access information on a device, display personalized ads and for content measurement, audience insight, and product development. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Treehugger.com, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, click below. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. List of Partners (vendors) PFAS are a group of thousands of lab-created chemicals in the per- and polyfluoroalkyl group. These organic compounds have been around for decades and have been used around the world for different manufacturing processes. They are made of a chain of carbon and fluorine atoms, which is one of the strongest chemical bonds possible. Known by the ominous nickname forever chemicals, PFAS do not break down and disappear in the environment the way many chemicals do. Because of this, they can last a long time in the soil and water. They eventually make their way into humans, where they have been linked to a variety of adverse health effects. PFOA One of the most common members of the PFAS family is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical that was used to produce polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), also known as Teflon. First discovered at a DuPont Laboratory in 1938, PTFE was initially used by the U.S. military for the isolation and purification of uranium-235 during the top-secret Manhattan Project. Its been used as a coating for cookware, fabrics, surgical implants, and chemical containers because of its non-stick nature and water repellent properties. It also acts as a good insulator, which makes it useful in the manufacture of medical devices and semiconductors. PTFE itself is still used in these products, but PFOA has not been on its ingredient list since 2002, when manufacturers began using a new process that no longer required it. Other companies, however, continued using PFOA until 2006 when the EPA asked eight major companies to work to eliminate PFOA production and use by the end of 2015. Under this stewardship program, the companies agreed to halt the use of PFOA. As of 2016, all eight had stopped producing and using the chemical. But even though companies in the U.S. have phased out PFOA, international manufacturers continue to use it. Those products can still be imported to the U.S. and sold to consumers. The EPA has proposed regulations for imported products that contain PFOA, but regulations arent currently in place. In addition, since these are "forever chemicals," the contamination caused by earlier usage of PFOA still remains in the environment. The same resistant properties that made PFOA so useful in products like fire fighting foam and for industrial processes is the reason it does not break down in the environment. Researchers at The Ohio State University and the EPA found evidence that PFOA from a manufacturing facility in West Virginia had spread through the air and had accumulated in the soil and water in areas far away from the plant. PFOAs persistence is the reason that people are still drinking contaminated water years after it was phased out by manufacturers. In fact, the EPA believes that most people are exposed to PFOA through their water supply, contaminated foods, or by coming into contact with products like carpet, furniture, clothing, food packaging, and cookware that contain it. The CDC found that a majority of the more than 2,000 participants in a nationwide study had PFOA in their blood serum. They concluded that PFOA exposure is widespread in the U.S., although data show that between 1999 and 2014, PFOA levels in blood serum have decreased by over 60%. While the levels of PFOA in humans are decreasing, the health effects of the persistent chemical continue to linger. One study by a team of researchers at the University of California, Johns Hopkins University, and the EPA, found that increased exposure to PFOA during human fetal development was associated with a decrease in birth weight. Other studies have indicated that PFOA exposure through contaminated drinking water may result in negative health outcomes like cancer, liver tissue damage, thyroid problems, and harm to the immune system. Even though studies on the health effects of PFOA are ongoing, the EPA established a health advisory for PFOA in drinking water to protect the public from concentrations high enough to cause health problems. The current maximum limit of PFOA in water is 70 parts per trillion (ppt), and the EPA announced plans to begin regulating PFOA in drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act. PFOS Sviatlana Lazarenka / Getty Images Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) was first produced in the 1940s, and by the 1950s it was being used to make stain- and water-resistant products as an ingredient in 3Ms Scotchguard. It quickly became an important component of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), also known as firefighting foam. PFOS is highly stable because of its strong carbon-fluorine bonds. It does not break down in the environment or when it gets into living organisms. It also bioaccumulates, which means it builds up in living organisms. As it makes its way up the food chain, the amount of PFOS within each level increases exponentially. The organisms at the top of the food chain tend to have the highest amounts of PFOS in their blood and tissue. PFOS was used widely until 2001, when the United Nations introduced a treaty known as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The goal of the treaty was to reduce or altogether halt the production and use of POPs. While the initial treaty did not include PFOS, an amendment was added in 2009 that included the chemical because of its ability to persist in the environment no matter what the condition. In 2006, the EPA asked companies responsible for PFOS to eliminate its production and use. All of the companies had phased out PFOS in their factories by 2016. However, international manufacturers continue to use it, and production of PFOS has increased since then due to the lack of supply from the U.S. Products containing PFOS are still imported and sold in the U.S., though the EPA has proposedbut not yet implementedregulations for imported products that contain PFOS. Like PFOA, PFOS presence is enduring and has been found in surface water and in wastewater effluent. Sewage sludge and sediment also commonly contain detectable levels of PFOS. People that lived near facilities that used or produced PFOS or worked in those facilities had higher blood serum levels of PFOS than those who were not associated in any way with PFOS manufacturing. There is some evidence to suggest that PFOS exposure is associated with high cholesterol and developmental and reproductive abnormalities, and may even cause thyroid hormone disruption. GenX and Other PFAS PFOA and PFOS were the two most widely used types of PFAS chemicals, but theyre not the only chemicals of concern. One of the newest types of PFAS is GenX, the trade name for the process used to make certain nonstick coatings without using PFOA. GenX technology primarily uses HFPO dimer acid and ammonium salt, but its possible that these chemicals arent any better than the ones they replaced. They have been found in drinking water, air emissions, rainwater, and groundwater. Residents of Wilmington, North Carolina, learned of the presence of GenX in their drinking water in 2017 after the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality started investigating the release of chemicals from the Chemours company. The facility, located on the Cape Fear River upstream of Wilmington, had been dumping GenX into the river since 2009. The Chemours company had been disposing of other PFAS chemicals like PFOA since 1980. During its investigation into the illegal dumping, the State of North Carolina collected blood samples from residents around the Cape Fear River and found 10 different PFAS present. Four of the PFAS compounds were unique to the Chemours facility upstream. The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences estimates that there are over 4,700 different kinds of PFAS chemicals, a number that is expected to grow as the industry invents new PFAS formulations. In an international consensus statement known as the Zurich Statement, scientists and policymakers agreed that instead of trying to determine the health and environmental effects of each individual chemical within the PFAS family, research moving forward should be focused on PFAS as a whole and what can be done about it. Because there has been so little research done on a majority of PFAS, there are many unknowns about the possible health and environmental damage these chemicals could be doing. And while PFOA and PFAS have been regulated on some levels, the rest of the PFAS chemicals have no limits on their use and exposure to humans and the environment. List of the Most Common PFAS Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA): Used in nonstick products. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS): Used for water- and stain-proofing fabrics, fire-fighting foam. Perfluoropropanoic acid (PFPA): Chemical reagent. Carboxylic acids and their anions and salts (GenX): Processing aid for fluoropolymers. 3H-Perfluoro-3-[(3-methoxy-propoxy) propanoic acid], ammonium salt (ADONA): Production of fluoropolymers. Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS): Industrial surfactant. Sulfluramid: Pesticide. 8:2 Fluorotelomer alcohol (8:2 FTOH): Stain-resistance. 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (6:2 FTSA): Fire-fighting foam. Hydro-EVE acid: By-product of Nafion manufacture. PFAS in Water The EPA claims that PFAS in drinking water is typically localized and usually the result of contamination from a specific facility that was known to have used or manufactured the chemicals. PFAS can contaminate surface water and well water. The EPA does not, however, say what they mean by localized. And because drinking water is often pulled from surface water at several points along a river system, its possible that drinking water far from the source of contamination can contain significant amounts of PFAS. This was the case for GenX in North Carolina, where the Chemours company dumped the chemical into the Cape Fear River at Fayetteville and it was found in a major drinking water supply nearly 100 miles away. Drinking contaminated water is one of the most common ways people are exposed to PFAS. When ingested, PFAS is absorbed into the blood and tissue and can accumulate over time. Because it stays in the body for such a long time, extended exposure to PFAS can cause it to build up in the body to levels that may negatively affect health. While the health risks of exposure for humans are still not completely clear, researchers are working to discover all of the adverse health effects caused by PFAS. Most of the studies of the effects of PFAS have been done on laboratory animals. But studies done on humans exposed to PFAS have also shown possible links between chemical exposure and health. One of the suspected health effects of PFAS is hormone disruption. Researchers at Harvard University found that patients with higher baseline levels of PFAS in their blood plasma gained more weight back after dieting than those with lower levels of PFAS. Another study linked PFOS and PFOA to decreased average birth weight in babies born to patients with the chemicals in their blood. What Can We Do? Protecting yourself from PFAS can be difficult, but there are some steps you can take to reduce your exposure. Purchasing a drinking water filter is one way that consumers can protect themselves from PFAS. A study out of Duke University found that under-sink dual-stage and reverse osmosis water filters removed nearly all of the PFAS that was present in the unfiltered drinking water. Less expensive filtration options also worked to remove at least some of the PFAS in the water. The FDA still allows the use of PFAS in what they call food contact substances such as non-stick cookware and food packaging. It has determined that there is reasonable certainty that the PFAS in these products will not harm people. By avoiding fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, paperboard containers, and non-stick cookware, you can reduce your chances of PFAS exposure. PFAS may also be in clothing and other products, so reading labels for chemicals used to treat fabrics for water or stain resistance may help you avoid exposure, although most PFAS exposure happens through ingestion and not the absorption of the chemicals through your skin. As more information comes out about the effects of PFAS on human health, its likely that more consumer-friendly regulations will be put in place to help people avoid PFAS in their daily lives. 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. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. 5 years behind bars: Nizam Mohammed, left, is escorted out of the San Fernando High Court yesterday after he was sentenced for the unlawful killing of Stephen Joshua. Joshua died after he was set on fire back in 2008. Photo: DEXTER PHILIP 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... I am a fan of the road trip as well, however, whilst you love driving, you are trying too see too much . You will be really rushing the GOR part. Really rushing it. The Ghan arrive at 1.45 to Alice , so you will have a few hours at most. Its not a town to languish around in at night either. Next day, you pick up your car around 8, You wont get to Yulara until about 1.30 minimum. Whe you say you will do surrounds on Uluru- there aint nothing out there..... You could go to Kings Canyon, but only if you wan to do the 6 km rim walk and its a three hour drive to get to KC one way. Virgin fly out of Alice to Brisbane at 1.40 in the afternoon and they have one direct flight a day. Why dont you fly out of Uluru to Sydney and do a loop in your car from Sydney for a few days. Add time to Australia - you are shortchanging it. Oh nuts. Sorry about that, I thought I was posting in the NYC forum. Thanks!! Interesting - I called Statue Cruises this morning, and they specifically told me that with the Flex Sightseeing pass I could go directly to the security line, it did not have to be exchanged for a ticket and I did not have to stand in the ticket line. I agree, getting there as early as possible is probably key. HOHO bus - well, we've been to NYC many times before, this is not our first trip. My husband heard great things about this HOHO bus from a friend, and thinks it is very worth doing. One of the adults has limited mobility, and we were thinking that this would be a nice way to sit and sightsee at the same time. I totally get traffic, but people watching? no roof so we can see the tops of buildings?? how bad can it possibly be?? This would enable us to see many of the points of interest in a relatively short time (2 hours or so), and much better than if we drive (we will have our car with us, but a 12 passenger van means most folks can't see out the window very well). On the subway will get you from point a to point b, and no doubt we will use that to get places, but we are also interested in seeing Times Square on a drive-by, seeing the Empire State Bldg from the outside, etc. We are not thinking of relying on it for transport, but as a means to see attractions. We'd probably get on at Rockefeller and stay on until Battery Park without getting off. We'd then walk back up to One World Observatory after the statue of liberty. We've also already been to the Statue of Liberty, some of the younger kids haven't. We aren't looking to do a pedestal or crown tour this time.... just the cruise and get off walk a bit, move on. The last time we did it was probably 5+ years ago, in June, and we had no advance tickets just walked up. I don't recall standing in lines for hours, but I also think we went early in the morning first thing. We have not bought the pass yet, but because we are such a large group with many children, it did represent a significant savings to do a pass vs. buying tickets as we went. I will have to revisit the numbers, but the other big advantage was the bus tour which my husband really wants, the pass lets us ride the bus for 72 hours, which we couldn't do if we bought it out of pocket. We used these shuttles between the other airport and Puerto Viejo, they are located in Puerto Viejo: . They do have daily routes to Arenal, etc from S. Caribbean, but not to Liberia, so you might want to contact them by e-mail, like we did, to check. This transportation page was helpful to us to find out the transfer options to/from S. Caribbean- . Try these ppl- or phone Interbus - . It will likely require a change of shuttles, they will advise you. In our experience, attempts to communicate with Interbus shared vans by e-mail were not successful, but once we got through to their local phone # in CR, we could get the Qns answered and did the booking. Since you say you will not have checked luggage, so that wont be an issue. However, normally to be considered in transit and go through the process above, you have to be checked in for the connecting flight - to have a boarding pass to show. Since you say they are separate itineraries, Alaska Airlines wont be able to check you in for the COPA leg. Can you check in for your Copa flight ahead of time online? If so, you should be good to go. If not, I am not sure whether the officials at the transit area will let you through if you just show them your confirmation. Maybe someone at COPA will know. If not, and you end up having to go through the immigration and customs process and check back in outside security, for international flights yoi have to be checked on an hour before flight time. By the way, these days the departure tax where applicable is includedon the ticket. If you are just in transit, it is not applicable. If you ste in CR less than a given number of hours (cant recall if it is 12 or 24) ypu are rxempt. However since you have 2 separate itineraries I suspect that it is already collected on your COPA tickets. -:- Message from Tripadvisor staff -:- This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one. To review the Tripadvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason. Hello, we are a family travelling to Japan in July. We have our JR rail passes and will be flying in and out of Tokyo. After much research we are considering the following itinerary, in this order : Tokyo - 4 nights Osaka - 2 nights Hiroshima - 2 nights Kyoto - 5 nights Tokyo - 1 night We plan to do day trips from both Tokyo (Hakone and Nikko) and Kyoto (Nara) Most itineraries seem to go from Tokyo straight to Kyoto, but I thought it might be good to have our two longer stays at the opposite ends of the trip. Is there a reason why the route we have chosen may not work as well? Any suggestions or opinions are really appreciated. Thanks, Jen I'll just throw this out...you don't say where your hotel is but there's a good reason why I stay in Manhattan or LIC so I can get back to the room easily. Some parts of close in Brooklyn would be fine too, but no way I'd stay way out in the boroughs or in NJ where it might take an hour or more to get to. I almost always return to my room in the late afternoon to refresh, even nap before going back out for the evening. Paying for a short term space sounds expensive. Kenya is a rich country, with myriads of valuable resources and a workforce that is both active and skilled. Notably, all the riches are spread in the 47 counties, and each one of these counties can boast of having developed economically. Geography and availability of natural resources play a huge role in how counties can grow economically. When most people believe that for a county to be rich, there must be tall buildings and clean streets, however, theres more to classifying a county rich than just what you see on the outside. GDP per capita, where the GDP is divided by the population, gives an estimate of the economic well-being of a particular county. Source: Victor Matara Although a report by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics states that the poverty level in Kenya has declined from 29.6% to 19.1%, it also states that the urban hardcore poverty has increased from 7.6% to 8.3%. So, using the GDP per capita, here are the top 10 richest counties in Kenya. Nairobi Its impossible to give a full list of richest counties in Kenya without mentioning Nairobi. Notably, this is the richest county in Kenya. Despite having a large population and a revenue of about sh 1.5 billion, Nairobi has a low GDP per capita of $1,790. This is mostly because its an urban county with nearly zero agricultural activities. However, Nairobi continues to collect the highest amount of revenues from sources such as parking fees, advertisements, and business licenses. Nairobi has the highest overall GDP of $3.4 billion. Source: Softkenya Nairobi is also Kenyas largest city with the highest size of urban population. Nairobi has the highest proportion of youth and over 60% of its population is in the working age group. Kiambu Kiambu is an industrial hub which is where it gets most of its revenues from. From the census data carried out in 2009, Kiambu has a population of 1,623,282 in which most of these people live in urban centers such as Thika, Ruiru, and Kikuyu town. Source: County Government of Kiambu The need to live in Kiambu is also because of its proximity to Nairobi. The fertile land where farmers grow large scale tea, coffee, and other cash crops also plays a big role in faster economic growth for this county. Kiambu is home to some of the highest revenue generating companies including Delmonte Kenya, Kenya Clay Products, Bidco Africa Limited, Kenya Vehicle Manufacturing Limited, Broadway Bakery Limited, Kevian Kenya Limited, and many others. READ ALSO: Who is the richest musician in Kenya now? The booming real estate in Kiambu also contributes to making the county rich.and thats why when it comes to richest counties in Kenya in order, Kiambu County takes the first position. According to research carried out by the World Bank, Kiambu has the highest GDP per capita in Kenya of $1,785. However, in terms of overall GDP alone, Kiambu is the second highest after Nairobi. Nyeri Nyeri is one of the richest counties in Kenya with a per capita GDP of $1,503. A boom of upmarket residential houses and the large-scale coffee farming enables this county to be amongst the list of the top 10 richest counties in Kenya. Nyeri, whose population is 693,558 residents, is also an industrial zone where many companies have put down roots. This includes the Coca-Cola franchise and Mount Kenya Bottlers. Source: YouTube There are also over 28 manufacturing industries that engage in various export trades such as dairy, tea, beverages, and grain processing. While agriculture is the main economic activity, Nyeri also gets its source of revenue from tourist attractions such as Mt. Kenya and the selling of natural resources such as sand and stones. Kajiado The richest counties in Kenya list will be incomplete without mentioning Kajiado County. Kajiado is inhabited by a population of 687,312 residents and its proximity to Nairobi has contributed to its economic growth. The largest land mass for this county is Ngong, and the riches are concentrated in areas that are closer to Nairobi such as Kajiado town, Ongata Rongai, and Kitengela. Source: Spiced Destinations The fact that it also borders Taita Taveta County to the south-east and Tanzania to the south-west helps to increase the business turnaround for the county. The fertile lands and good climatic condition contributes to the high output of farming produce. Kajiado County has five constituencies, and the landmass is about 21,900.9 square kilometers. The GDP per capita of Kajiado County is $1,466 Nakuru Nakuru County is one of the richest counties in Kenya. Other titles that this county can boast of are that its the fourth largest city in Kenya and it borders seven other counties. The county gets its riches from tourist attractions such as the famous Lake Nakuru. The flower farms in Naivasha, Olorgesailie Prehistoric Site, Hells Gate National Park, hot springs, and the diverse wildlife also bring revenue for the county. Source: Wikipedia The two rain seasons create fertile grounds for farming which help boost the economic activity of the people in this county. Naivasha and Nakuru towns are the main sources of revenue for this county. Nakuru has a GDP per capita of $1,413 and it is one of the most populated districts with 473, 288 people. Kwale Located in the south coast of Kenya, Kwale ranks amongst the top 10 richest counties in Kenya because of its high GDP per capita of $1,406. This county borders Taita taveta and Kilifi. Its proximity to Mombasa has helped boost its economic activities. What makes this county one of the richest in Kenya is its fishing activities, mining sector, agriculture, and tourist attractions such as marine and game parks as well as hotels. Source: www.dolficode.com With a population of 649,931 people, this county has one of the largest mineral deposits in Kenya, making it one of the richest counties in Kenya. Laikipia Laikipia is a county within rift valley that has a GDP per capita of $1,226. Tourists and even locals flock in this county to see the Big Five. The county borders six other counties, and its major towns include Nanyuki and Nyahururu. Nyahururu contributes to the countys economic activity because its heavily involved in milk processing. Source: Citizen Digital Additionally, its location along the equator gives Laikipia County favorable climatic conditions for agriculture and pastoral farming. Horticulture and cash crops are in plenty since agriculture is the main economic activity of Laikipia County. Apart from agriculture, the various ranches are a major source of beef. Its diverse wildlife which includes endangered species like the African wild dog and numerous tourist attractions such as Thomson Falls and Ole Pejeta Reserve make Laikipia County one of the top destinations for tourists which add in making this county rich. Laikipia County has a population of 399,227 residents. Murang'a Murang'a is one of the counties in the former central province and has a GDP per capita of $1090. Coffee growing is one of their economic activities that contribute to make it one of the richest counties in Kenya. Murang'a County covers 2,558 square kilometers and most of people in this county engage in agriculture, especially the growing of coffee and tea. As a result, there are more than 6 factories in this county as well as coffee factories such as Kiharu Coffee Factories. Another lucrative agricultural activity that boosts Murang'a's economy activity is macadamia farming. Source: The Star, Kenya Additionally, quarries that generate bricks and building stones are another source of income for the local people. Its close proximity to various counties such as Nairobi and Thika makes the county accessible for trade and tourist attractions. Mombasa Mombasa is one of the top counties with the least dependency ratios and its population is majorly comprised of the youth who are in the working age bracket. However, it also has a poverty incidence of 34.8%. Mombasa gets most of its revenue from the port and tourist attractions. A report by World Bank shows that Mombasa had one of the lowest GDP per capita of $935. Its rich because of tourist attractions, business licenses, and world-class water activities that is a source of fun for both locals and foreigners. Source: Bonfire Adventures The county borders the Indian Ocean to the east which makes fishing one of the economic activities for the locals. New real estate ventures add to the revenue collected by this county. Mombasa is one of the most populated counties in Kenya with 523, 183 people inhabiting the island. With all that Mombasa has to offer, its no wonder it takes a spot in the richest counties in Kenyan ranking. According to research by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 46% of the residents in Mombasa County are working for pay. And since employment and unemployment are the driving forces for boosting economic growth, a 46% earning means that the poverty level for this county is also reduced. Machakos Machakos is a county that is growing rapidly, thanks to numerous investments and alternative business strategies that have enabled it to be on the list of top ten richest counties in Kenya. With a population of 1,098,584, the people of Machakos County are redefining their economic activities and pushing the boundaries of luxury living. The close proximity of Machakos to Nairobi and the good infrastructure are some of the main factors that have made Machakos County to be one of the richest in Kenya. What separates Machakos from other rich counties is that it has the fastest growing middle class in Kenya, a trait that has attracted both local and foreign investors. This has in turn increased the demand for modern houses, which has elevated the real estate sector and caused many businesses to crop up. Source: Kenya Monitor The demand for many business licenses is another source of revenue for the county. With a population of 1,098,584, Machakos County, popularly known as Macha, has a GDP per capita of $913. This county is home to industrial centers such as East Africa Motor Industries, Almak Aqua Drillers, and Coca-Cola Distributors. From the list of richest counties in Kenya, it's clear that the counties that are closer to urban areas and those that practice large-scale farming, especially in the agricultural sector, tend to rank top. Counties that have minimal agricultural activities are considered the poorest in Kenya. Source: Tuko.co.ke Anne Kiguta is a household name in the Kenyan media scene. If it is not interviewing Koffi Annan, then you should remember her as the lady interviewer who sat down with Rev. Jesse Jackson. For one to interview such figures, one would assume that such a reporter is accorded respect in their field. One might begin to wonder, how much is Anne Kiguta salary? How much does this sensational, talented and not forgetting beautiful woman earn? Source: Mpasho Source: UGC Before we get to that, let us first look at Anne Kiguta and who this woman really is including facts about her early life, her career path and also some of her many her achievements. Anne Kiguta biography The first question that comes to mind is, How old is Anne Kiguta? Anne Kiguta was born in the year 1985 meaning she is 33 years old at the moment. Who is Anne Kiguta? This sensation was born as the last born in her family. It is no surprise that she was her father's princess. However, Anne was mostly raised by her sister as her parents were mostly working hard. It was during her early years that Anne showed leadership qualities, preferring to always be the mother in the popular Kenyan childhood game, Kalongo. She was highly assertive and for this reason, she was at loggerheads with her parents on several occasions. The education information available on Anne Kiguta is minimal. She finished her high school education at The Rusinga School which is located in Nairobi. She would later go on to pursue a diploma in Communications, Electronic media and Public Relations at Daystar University. She successfully graduated from the university in 2008. Anne Kiguta career If you are asked to give an example of a person with both beauty and brains in the media business, you can mention Anne Kiguta. Anne is one of the people who started working on her dreams at a very early age. At 18 years, she had already started working as a youth show host. She was the main host of a Hope FM show that was mainly focusing on the youth. She hosted the show for a period of three years, between 2003 and 2006. during her tenure there, she managed to start some broadcasts that got a positive response. The broadcasts were so popular that they still go on air up to this day. Source: Citizentv Source: Instagram In the year 2009, she joined the Standard Media Group as a news anchor and reporter. Anne Kiguta news anchor career was and still is a success story. It was during this time that Anne became a regular face on our television screens. One of her tasks was to deliver real-time news updates on-air. During this period, she managed to interview some of the most influential people in Kenya including the former vice president, Kalonzo Musyoka. READ ALSO: Is TV anchor Anne Kiguta confirming Uhuru's nephew as baby daddy? (VIDEO) She would later, in April 2010, join KTN, Kenya as a senior anchor, current affairs editor. Some of her duties included an advisory role in identifying talent and advising the board of directors on the recruitment of anchors. She also helped train anchors on some important aspects of their work line. She would also be required to plan the continuous news coverage f important events. Some of the important events she covered included the pre-trial ICC cases, the referendum that happened in 2007 and the general election of 2013. she was also mandated to determine the daily news broadcast at KTN by creating daily news agendas. This was achieved by working together with a team of reporters and editors from the different news broadcast stations under the umbrella of KTN including Radio Maisha. This period also saw her given the task of writing weekly columns on different sensitive areas including current affairs, gender and development. Source: Nairobiwire She was the weekly political columnist for the Nairobian. She also hosted various live news segments and also recorded ones like the NewsNight segment that was a weekly show that discussed current affairs and the show State of the Nation that sought to examine Kenya socioeconomic stance. One of her duties included sourcing for stories and conducting interviews. It was during this time that she managed to interview several key figures not only in Kenya but in the world at large. Some of the most notable people she interviewed included Kofi Annan and Rev Jesse Jackson, where she discussed the progress of electoral reforms before the 2013 general elections. Some other notable figures on her interview list include Jeffrey Sachs, Luis Moreno Ocampo and Betsy Myres. In addition to her work experience, Anne Kiguta is also a charitable woman as she has undertaken to participate in several volunteer programmes. Anne Kiguta's volunteer experience In the year 2011, Anne was a Kenya Child Nutrition Advocate. She joined the organization, Save the Children UK as a volunteer. The organization is dedicated to helping save children lives and is has its services offered in over 120 countries. In the same year, she joined the Eve Sister Programme as a mentor. This was an initiative sponsored by the Standard Media Group whose main aim was to offer ordinary Kenyan women the chance to meet with revered women in Kenya who are considered role models. In the year 2013, she volunteered in Africa 2.0 as a mentor. This is a forum where young and emerging leaders from Africa and the diaspora come together to try and brainstorm and find sustainable solutions that will be able to uplift Africans through the development of the continent. Anne is considered a role model for all the Kenyan girls. She is a woman who built her career and started this t the very young age of 18 years and thanks to her skills in leadership, persistence and intelligence, she continues to reach peaks in her career that most girls in Kenya admire. She challenges women to take up roles that were once seen as male-dominated, such as the political reporter's roles. READ ALSO: Anne Kiguta Biography 2017-2018 Anne Kigutas personal life Annes personal life is also an interesting one. She walked out on the father of her first child due to regular beatings by him. The fact that she is a single mother has however not stopped her from pursuing her career. However, her career has also not stopped her from spending time with her children. In an interview, , she stated "So I weigh things and what I can do without, I do without. I dont have to be at every event or buzzing new place or take on every project etc. Ive learnt to differentiate between the temporal and permanent things in my life. My daughter, our relationship- that is permanent. My career is important and deeply fulfilling but not permanent. So the golden rule is never to invest the permanent in the temporary. There are photos shared revealing the fun at Anne Kiguta house where she is seen having fun with her daughters at the time of this interview, she only had one daughter. Now, Anne Kiguta is a mother of three beautiful children. Two of them being twins, a boy and a girl Source: Mpasho There was a fuss about who the father of the twins was, but Anne came out and revealed the father through a happy fathers day tweet. And to the surprise of many, the father was Jomo Gacega, the private secretary to the president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta. Source: Tuko.co.ke There seems to be trouble in paradise. When TUKO.co.ke scrolled through Anne Kigutas Instagram you will notice that she deleted the sweet happy fathers day message she had sent to Jomo Gacega back in 2017. however, judging from the recent Anne Kiguta photos, it is clear that she is not sad as she still puts on a smile. Anne Kiguta Salary For a presenter as talented and respected as Anne Kiguta is, it is no surprise that she is among the top paid presenters in Kenya at the moment. Looking at her career, she has interviewed very prominent personalities. Her command of the English language is also unrivaled and her interviews are very interesting. This is someone who deserves the pay she gets. Her new salary now stands between the range of 600,000-650,000 Kenya shillings. What is Anne Kiguta net worth? The total net worth of Anne Kiguta is still unknown. However, once we get more information, you will be the first to know it! Source: Tuko News - Another 59 National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) employees were summoned for questioning - The officials allegedly conspired to stock up NCPB depots with cheap maize imports from Uganda - They worked with a few unscrupulous traders who sold the cheap maize to the board - Eight of the said traders allegedly pocketed Ksh 1.9 billion in three months -The traders also bought subsidised fertilizer from NCPB and sold it to local farmers at a high price - The expose at cereals board comes hot on the heels of the fresh multi-billion heist at the NYS Forget about the fresh Ksh 9 billion National Youth Service (NYS) heist for now! Another multi-billion corruption scandal has exploded at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) where some Ksh 1.9 billion was allegedly pocketed by a few individuals at the expense of toiling and sweating farmers, who ironically are still owed billions by the government. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens It also emerged the officials allegedly colluded with unscrupulous traders to profiteer from the government's subsidized fertilizer. Photo: The East African. READ ALSO: Nabii David Owuor adaiwa kufanya muujiza mwingine Nyali na kuwaacha wengi vinywa wazi TUKO.co.ke has reliably established several senior officials were on Monday, May 21, sent on compulsory leave as probe into the costly and embarrassing scam at the NCPB kicked off . Among those suspended by the Agriculture Principal Secretary (PS) Richard Lesiyampe was the cereals board CEO Newton Terer who was replaced by Albin Sang. Also sent home were five senior managers drawn from Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret and Bungoma depots according to a report by Citizen TV. READ ALSO: 40 suspects lined up for grilling over alleged theft of Ksh 9 billion at NYS The investigative authorities have at the same time summoned 59 employees of the NCPB believed to must have conspired with the unscrupulous traders to steal from the taxpayers, especially poor local farmers. The officials under investigation allegedly colluded with a few traders to import and stock up NCPB depots with cheap maize from Uganda, even as the government rejected produce from the local maize farmers. The board officials allegedly paid eight traders a staggering KSh 1.9 billion in a span of three months. This amount, the Agriculture Principal Secretary believes, was enough to pay at least 4000 farmers. And it was not just maize farmers who were at pain. READ ALSO: William Rutos empty promises making us poor - maize farmers It also emerged the same corrupt officials colluded with the same unscrupulous traders to profiteer from the government's subsidised fertilizer that was meant to ease burden on the farmers. The traders allegedly bought the subsidised fertilizer cheaply from NCPB and sold it to the unsuspecting local farmers at higher price. Going by the Citizen TV's graft dossier, the traders fetched a bag of fertilizer at KSh 1,500 from the board and sold the same to farmers at between KSh 3,000 and Ksh 3,500. READ ALSO: Ruto orders Agriculture ministry to act swiftly after maize farmers termed him useless Meanwhile, probe into the alleged theft of KSh 9 billion at the National Youth Service (NYS), a youth empowerment programme that has over the years been rocked with mind-boggling graft scandals, is ongoing. Just like in the case of NCPB, senior officials had been sent home to pave way for investigations. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) summoned 40 suspects for grilling over the missing billions. 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. Peter Pepe Interview: From a Conductor to 13.5 Million Business Owner - On Tuko TV Source: Tuko.co.ke - Almost all the suspects named in the multi-billion graft scandals were never jailed - Some of the corruption cases, involving senior state officials, are several years old - The courts cited lack of or insufficient evidence as reason why suspects were let off the hook - The latest to be added to the growing list of mega scams include fresh maize scandal at NCPB On May 20, 2018, another multi-billion graft scandal was unearthed at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). Preliminary investigations revealed some KSh 1.9 billion was pocketed by eight individuals who allegedly conspired with senior NCPB officials to steal from poor local farmers. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens From left, Anne Waiguru, Cleopa Mailu,Evans Kidero and Josphene Kabura. These are some of the individuals who were mentioned in mega graft scandals but were never found guilty. Photo: TUKO. READ ALSO: CEO, 5 top managers suspended over Ksh 1.9 billion heist at the cereals board As was previously reported by TUKO.co.ke, the over a billion shillings NCPB maize scam came hot on the heels of a record-breaking heist at the National Youth Service (NYS). But these two are only the latest in the ever growing list of mega graft cases in Kenya. To recap, below are the top 15 biggest corruption scandals implicating high flying government officials and which were never resolved. 1. The NCPB maize scandal (KSh 1.9 billion) This is one of the latest corruption cases in which KSh 1.9 billion was allegedly stolen in a conspiracy between the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) officials and unscrupulous traders. Several senior officials, including the NCPB's CEO were on Monday, May 21, sent on compulsory leaver to pave way for investigations 2. The first National Youth Service (NYS) scandal (KSh 791 million) The first NYS graft scandal unfolded in 2015 and a number of high profile state officials, including the then Devolution Cabinet Secretary, currently Kirinyaga County Governor, Anne Waiguru, were implicated. In this scandal, KSh 791 million was reported to had gone missing from the youth empowerment progremme. Also mentioned adversely in the 2015 NYS scam was one Josephine Kabura. The suspects were many, but none was convicted. Courts cited lack of evidence as the reason why the suspects could not be jailed. 3. The second National Youth Service (NYS) scandal (KSh 9 billion) The second NYS scam, which is also touted as the biggest in the history of the youth empowerment programme, was exposed by one of the local dailies on May 12, 2018. Initially, KSh 10.5 billion was reported to had been stolen at the NYS, but the figure was later revised to KSh 9 billion. Over 40 suspects were summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for questioning as senior officials stepped aside to pave way for investigations. Investigations on this case are ongoing. 4. The Afya House scandal (KSh 5 billion) The Afya House scandal exploded at the Ministry of Health in October 2016. A leaked internal audit report revealed over KSh 5 billion was allegedly stolen by senior officials at the ministry. Investigations were launched into the alleged heist but no one was jailed or arrested. The then Health CS Cleopa Mailu denied the allegations that billions of taxpayers money got lost. 5. Galana and Mwea Irrigation Scheme scandal (KSh 3.5 billion) The initially well-intentioned multi-billion food security project was hit by graft allegations that saw a number of senior officials of the National Irrigation Board (NIB) sent packing and budget for the project significantly slashed. The NIB came under sharp scrutiny after the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) reportedly discovered the board awarded 15 irregular tenders worth KSh 953 million. With the government having scaled down funding for the project, it eventually collapsed. At the end of it all, the KSh 3.5 billion that was allocated for the Galana project in the 2015/16 budget amounted to nothing. READ ALSO: This Are The Faces Behind 791 Million NYS Scandal 6. Evans Kidero Foundation scandal (KSh 2.7 billion) A non-governmental organization (NGO) linked to former Nairobi County Governor Evans Kidero also made it to the list of corruption scandals in 2016. The NGO was put under investigation after KSh 2.7 billion was allegedly found in its bank accounts. The ex-governor was allegedly hard-pressed to explain where the billions came from. Some sources alleged the cash belonged to the Nairobi County government. 7. The Chickengate scandal (KSh 59 million) Britains Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in January 2016 handed over to Kenya a dossier in which a UK security printing firm, Smith & Ouzman, was accused of bribing IEBC officials to win tender, prior to the March 2013 general elections. The dossier included data used by the British authorities to prosecute directors of Smith & Ouzman for paying out bribes, code-named chicken, amounting to KSh 59 million to the IEBC officials. IEBC's former CEO Jame Oswago and three other suspects were arrested and charged in connection with the Chickengate scandal. Oswago was however later released on bail. 8. The Goldenberg scandal (KSh 100 billion) The infamous Goldenberg saga was a political scandal in the Kenyan government. In this scheme, the government allegedly subsidised exports of gold far beyond the standard arrangements during the 1990s, by paying Goldenberg International, a company owned by billionaire Kamlesh Pattni and ex-Spy Chief James Kanyotu, 35% more than the country's foreign currency earnings. Although the scheme appeared as if it was intended to earn hard currency for the country, it was estimated to had cost Kenya the equivalent of more than 10% of the country's annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Forensic auditor Melville Smith who testified at the Goldenberg Commission of Inquiry that was appointed to unravel the scheme, estimated that the country lost up to KSh 100 billion. 9. The Anglo-leasing scandal The Anglo Leasing scandal was a government procurement facilitated scam. The scandal allegedly started in 1997 when the then KANU government wanted to replace its passport printing system but came to light after revelation by a government official in 2002. The Anglo-leasing scam was one of the many corrupt deals that were inherited from the KANU regime by the subsequent governments. 10. The Eurobond scandal (KSh 215 billion) The Eurobond scandal was exposed by the former prime minister Raila Odinga and later confirmed by the Auditor General, Edward Ouko, who in 2016 claimed KSh 215 billion could not be accounted for. Eurobond was a foreign loan taken by the government to fund mega development projects. The government indeed insisted the controversial foreign loan was used to fund projects under different ministries. Other mega projects and schemes that were also riddled with graft allegations include: 11. The Standard Guage Railway 12. The Laptop tender row 13. The hustler-jet scandal 14. The UKUTABerg scandal 15. The Karen land scam That corruption is one of the biggest threats to Kenya's economic progress is not in any doubt. What remains in doubt is whether or not those who plundered billions of taxpayers money will ever be brought to book. Despite numerous high voltage investigations into the graft allegations which also cost the taxpayers money, nearly all the suspects remain at large. 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.co.ke - The Kapedo conflict border has existed for long but escalated after geothermal potential was discovered - Residents accused leaders with interest in valuable natural resources of fanning violence - The border conflict has led to ugly verbal confrontations between leaders from the two counties - Blood has been shade and millions displaced as the region continuos to be inhabitable Kapedo town in the border of Baringo and Turkana counties is synonymous with ugly and deadly bandit attacks. Both counties have over years claimed ownership of the town situated on a rocky and dry 18 acre piece of land leading to feuds which have become fierce in the recent past. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens The contest for the ownership of Kapedo where over 300 lives have been lost resulted to legal battles in which elders from the Turkana community asked the court to determine whether the town was in Turkana county or not. READ ALSO: Learning, transport and businesses paralysed as banditry attacks increase in Kapedo KDF soldiers on patrol in Nginyang, Baringo County where effects of the conflict over ownership of Kapedo land have spread to. Photo: Daily Nation The court in 2016 stated its hands were tied on the matter directing parties to seek the help of the Independent Electral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). Leaders from Baringo and Turkana have all blamed and accused one another for being responsible of fueling the attacks in order to make Kapedo inhabitable and take it over. READ ALSO: We will not negotiate with criminals - Ruto warns those behind Baringo, Kapedo killings It is time for the court to determine who owns Kapedo and border villages in this region. Turkana is 77,000 square kilometres and the conflicts which we have tried to solve in vain has stalled construction of a geothermal power plant," said Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok as quoted by the Daily Nation on Monday, March 23, 2014. Tiaty MP William Kamket has been in an unending verbal spat with Turkana leaders including Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot and Turkana South MP James Lomenen. David Ekiru from Turkana county explained the border dispute has been there for long but there was no bloody conflict unless in cattle rustling incidents. "Why have the feuds in Kapedo and surrounding areas just flared up in the last five years? Before Kapedo's potential to produce oil, gas and generate geothermal power all communities lived together in peace," said Ekiru. The hot springs in Kapedo have been the only reliable sources of water in the arid area. Photo: Daily Nation He accused leaders from Baringo including a Senato of being behind a scheme to make Kapedo inhabitable for dominant Turkanas in order to take it over. "Why is he (name withheld) interested in a forsaken place called Kapedo now, yet even during the campaigns, he never went there even for five minutes. These leaders want a stake in the geothermal power,. It is not about land any more but resources" said Ekiru. READ ALSO: Kutana na kipusa mokorino mwanamitindo aliyeitikisa anga kwa picha 10 za kunata James Lokwale, another resident of Turkana echoed Ekiru's sentiments, attributing the escalated killings to an expansionist approach by the Pokots of Baringo led by their political leaders. "Kapedo hot waterfalls on Suguta River is one of the contributing factors to the conflict in the area between the Pokots and Turkanas. The government plans to build a huge geothermal plant in the area and everybody wants a piece of the pie. That is the cause of all these killings because currently no cattle are stolen," said Lokwale. One of the hot water falls in Kapedo which is being contested for by Baringo and Turkana counties. Photo: Daily Nation. On Monday, May 22, West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo told KTN News it was clear even to the national government that Kapedo was in Baringo County. "Kapedo is in Baringo radically according to the maps. The national government should however stop pretending all is well and intervene in this situation because you cannot say you are on the throne when your people are fighting and killing one another," said Lonyangapuo. His sentiments were met with immediate rebuke from Turkana residents who questioned his position on the matter in which his county was not party to. Kamket who has been branded the mouthpiece for senator Moi on the other hand has accused Aukot and Lomenen of inciting Turkanas over the position of Kapedo which he claimed is part of Baringo. TUKO.co.ke learnt that Aukot voted in a polling station located in Kapedo/Napeitom Ward which is in Turkana through the Pokot community reiterates the area was hived off by their neighbours. Since Geothermal Development Company announced plans to generate electricity at Nakengere hot waterfalls in Kapedo, the battle for the area escalated. In the past two weeks alone, seven people have lost their lives following deadly attacks from individuals suspected to be from the Pokot community. READ ALSO: Boinett and Matiangi have surrendered Kapedo to bandits - Governor Nanok On Sunday, May 13, three people were killed when attending a mass at Kapedo Catholic church days after four other people were shot dead at Ameyan at the border of Baringo County with tension escalating in the nearby Chesitet area. Nanok has continued blaming the national government's security arm for doing little to restore calm in the area despite the presence of a General Service Unit (GSU) camp in Chesitet. "There is a lot that needs to be done and I am wondering why police cant police hunt down the assailants. Roads like the one from Lokori to Kapedo and Chemolingot are however impassable because of impending attacks and the interior coordination ministry is doing nothing," said Nanok. Source: Tuko.co.ke - The woman said the husband passed on late March 2018 - She did not grieve for long and had a feeling her husband was not gone forever - The woman went into prayer and fasting with pastors and her husband resurfaced - Curious villagers thronged her home but she was reluctant to show where the resurrected husband was A Tanzanian woman has shocked many by claiming she prayed and fasted until her husband who had passed on two months ago resurrected. The woman who claims to have been married to Richard David Tarimo who died on Friday, March 30, said her husband resurrected on Monday, May 21, following her joint prayers with church leaders. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens In an interview with Ayo TV seen by TUKO.co.ke on Tuesday, May 22, the woman from Rombo, Kilimanjaro Province said Tarimo developed breathing complications on Thursday, March 29, and succumbed on the way to hospital. READ ALSO: Controversial prophet David Owuor claims to have turned toxic saline water drinkable in Nyali The Tanzanian lady who claimed she prayed and fasted until her husband who passed on in March resurrected. Photo: Video grab. "My husband developed chest complications that day and our efforts to rush him to hospital did not bear fruits because he died on the way. We took him to the mortuary and interred him the following day," said the woman. READ ALSO: Pasta afurushwa kutoka kwa nyumba ya kipusa usiku wa manane, Embu In a shocking revelation, she said the mound of soil on her husband's grave disappeared seven days after burial on Thursday, April 5, making her suspect he had left the grave in a miraculous way. "I realized the grave had flattened very fast and I felt deep inside my husband was not in there. I commenced a Novena fast prayer session together with my pastors and a revelation came to me that my husband had left the grave," she explained. She said after the prayer and fasting session she began meeting her husband when going about her daily activities but could not get to talk to him because he would disappear in thin air. READ ALSO : Prophet Owuor responds to claims his driver died after seeing him praying to a snake The lady explained she felt her vision was true because some of the neighbours also revealed they had met the man in different social places including drinking joints. The grave where Tarimo had been buried. Photo: Video grab. "I continued praying and yesterday one of the pastors we were praying with brought him home though he looked tired and dizzy so we have not talked. I know there is witchcraft but in this case, I strongly believe it is the works of the creator," she said. Unfazed by the happenings, the youthful woman said she did not fear living again with the man who had passed on about two months ago only to be brought back by the pastors of her church. READ ALSO: Deya back to Kenya over 'miracle cures'? "Things began happening differently concerning the death of my husband from the day of burial when I feel we buried just something else. When the body was brought home, there was grief and pain but when we were heading to the cemetery, my well of tears dried up and grief left me," she added. The woman's narration was echoed by the her brother who told Ayo TV that his brother-in-law had been brought back by the pastors but was wearing different clothes from what he had been buried with. 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. Lady In a Groceries Shop (Animated Video Joke) - on Tuko TV Source: Tuko.co.ke 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. In autumn, Ukraine and Turkey will sign a memorandum of understanding for the exchange of aviation equipment between the two states under simplified procedure. This was reported by the press service of the State Aviation Service of Ukraine. "On May 17-18, 2018, a meeting was held between the representatives of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of Turkey and the State Aviation Service of Ukraine regarding future cooperation in the field of safety of civil aircraft flights and possibility for signing an appropriate agreement between the DGCA and the State Aviation Service. As a result of the meeting, the chairman of the State Aviation Service and the deputy director general of the DGCA signed a record of a meeting according to which both sides determined their intentions in the autumn of 2018 to sign a memorandum of understanding between the aviation administrations of Ukraine and Turkey for the exchange of aviation technology between the two states under simplified procedure in the future," the report reads. The signing of the memorandum will be the first step towards concluding a bilateral aviation safety agreement (BASA), which is necessary for the promotion of Ukrainian aviation products to the Turkish market. ish The stable increase in turnover between Ukraine and Moldova, Ukraine and Italy requires simplification of customs procedures and intensification of efforts to counteract the offences. Acting Chairman of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine Myroslav Prodan said this during the trilateral meeting with Director General of the Customs and Monopoly Agency of the Italian Republic Giovanni Kessler and Director General of the Customs Service of Moldova Vitalie Vrabie in Rome. "Our agencies must effectively meet the new challenges, including in terms of modern management, highly qualified personnel, wide use of IT and the latest technical means of customs control," Myroslav Prodan said. As he noted, the intensified cooperation in law enforcement is the promising area in the customs field for Ukraine, Moldova and Italy. Such cooperation, primarily, implies the exchange of information when moving excisable goods, the exchange of operational feedforward information on possible violations of customs legislation in air transportation, the exchange of information on watercraft, which have recently been actively imported to Ukraine and used in the territorial waters of Italy by Ukrainian citizens, as well as training of cynological teams. According to the data of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, the trade turnover between Ukraine and Moldova and Ukraine and Italy showed a stable trend toward growth over the past years. Thus, just since the beginning of this year, trade with Moldova has increased by 78% compared with the corresponding period last year, while trade with Italy has increased by 30%. In 2017, Ukraine-Italy trade totaled $4.1 billion, 25% up compared with 2016. Since the beginning of 2018, it has amounted to $1.5 billion already. In 2017, Ukraine-Moldova trade totaled $814 million, 54% up compared with 2016. For the four months of 2018, it amounted to $301 million. ol Ukravtodor Chief Slawomir Nowak has said he hopes that the EU will allocate more funds for road repairs in Ukraine in the new budget plan for 2021-2027. Nowak said this in an interview with Ukrinform. "Yes, there are such expectations. I can afford to tell the European partners that the funds that are now being allocated for it are pennies," Nowak said. He recalled that the EU now gives Ukraine 20 million euros for the reconstruction of a ring road around Ternopil, as well as a small amount of funds for other projects. "If we can build a ring road around Ternopil, it's a result, but not a significant one. The conviction of European officials is a task for politicians. For my part, I am also holding active talks with the European Commission, so that the EU, if possible, would allocate some funds for Ukrainian roads as part of EU budget adjustments," Nowak said. He also added: "If the EU wants it, it will find how to allocate funds for roads in Ukraine - directly or through some projects as part of the Eastern Partnership." Novak stressed that Ukrainian roads are an essential element in terms of Ukraine's European integration, as it gives a fantastic and quick effect that influences people's mentality. "No one in Europe needs to be convinced that roads are important. Therefore, in Europe I constantly focus on the fact that this is needed. Secondly, all benefit from this - both Ukraine and the EU," Nowak said. He noted that Ukraine needs not only European grants, but also cheap loans, because the EBRD and EIB credit lines would end in two years. op The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic prepares a program to accelerate the employment procedures for Ukrainians in the country. This was announced by Minister of Labour of the Czech Republic Jaroslava Nemcova, Hromadske reports. According to her, the number of vacant jobs in the Czech Republic has reached a record number of over 260,000. These are primarily nurses, social workers and workers of medium-level technical qualifications, builders. Nemcova visited the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ukraine and the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Lviv to make arrangements for simplification and acceleration of the procedure for obtaining a work permit for Ukrainians. It is expected within the framework of the agreement between the countries that 19,600 Ukrainians will be able to obtain a two-year work permit. ol The Energy and Coal Industry Ministry of Ukraine will cooperate with Japans Toshiba in implementing joint projects in the energy sector. Deputy Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine on European Integration Natalia Boyko and Toshiba representatives reached this agreement at a working meeting, the ministrys press service reports. "Toshiba Energy Systems Company intends to contribute to increasing the capacity of electrical equipment for nuclear power plants, it is interested in using Ukraines experience and implementing joint projects in other areas," reads the report. During the meeting, Toshiba representatives told about company's activities, experience of relations with other international partners and focused on possible areas of cooperation in the Ukrainian energy sector. The parties also noted that the cooperation in the use of nuclear energy will contribute to the stable social and economic development of Ukraine and Japan. iy The Cyprus-Ukraine Business Forum will be held in Kyiv on May 23 under the auspices of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI). The press service of the UCCI told this to an Ukrinform correspondent. "The forum will be dedicated to the further expansion of bilateral business ties and promotion of investment and innovation cooperation in the financial, legal, agriculture and real estate," the UCCI stated. The program of the forum includes thematic sessions: recent achievements in the legal and taxation system of Cyprus, Cypriot foundations, etc. The Cypriot official delegation headed by President of the Cyprus Chamber of Industry Christodoulos Angastiniotis, as well as representatives of the Cyprus business will arrive in Ukraine to participate in the forum. The Ukrainian side will be represented by the leaders of Ukrainian business associations and business representatives. iy The European Court of Human Rights recognizes the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land in Ukraine as a violation of property rights and urges to amend the legislation. This is stated in the press release of the ECHR. "Ukraines absolute ban on buying and selling of farmland has led to a violation of rights. The government should pass a more balanced law," the document says. May 22, the ECHR delivered judgment in the case of Zelenchuk and Tsytsyura v. Ukraine. The plaintiffs residents of Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil, land owners regarded a moratorium on the sale of agricultural land as a violation of the property rights of landowners. The Court observed that after the fall of the Soviet Union Ukraine had mostly distributed farm land to people who had previously worked on collective farms but had introduced, supposedly on a temporary basis, a ban on the sale of such land, known as the land moratorium. "The Court found that the State had not struck a fair balance between the general interests of the community and the applicants property rights," the ECHR press release says. As noted, the Court held that the Government of Ukraine should take legislative measures to ensure the required fair balance for owners of farm land. ol Ukraine is ready to provide any guarantees of the reliability and efficiency of energy transit through the Ukrainian gas transportation system (GTS) and has sufficient reserves to increase it. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said this at a joint briefing with Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid in Kyiv on May 22, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. "We are ready to provide any guarantees of the reliability and efficiency of energy transit through Ukraine. Ukraine has unique capabilities, underground storage facilities, and sufficient reserves to increase transit," Poroshenko said. He said that the Nord Stream 2 issue had been discussed separately and in detail during talks with the Estonian president. "We have clearly emphasized that this project is not an economic project, and it undermines European unity. We have clearly emphasized that today we need to make every effort to stop political projects that destroy the unity of the European Union," Poroshenko said. He also thanked Kaljulaid for "full support" of Ukraine's position on this issue. As reported, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid is on an official visit to Ukraine. op President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid have discussed the implementation of reforms in Ukraine and the support of Estonia for a number of projects in various fields. "The reform program is also being continued effectively. Together with Estonia, we are introducing e-government. The experience of Estonia is extremely valuable and we are very grateful for the transfer of technology that has taken place now," Poroshenko said, the press service of the Ukrainian president informed following a meeting. "We were talking about the fact that we will use the experience of Estonia in reforming the healthcare system, financing e-health. Estonia's participation in the development of software for the rural medicine system and a number of other projects," Poroshenko added. In turn, the Estonian president noted the implementation of reforms in Ukraine. "We continue supporting the reforms that you, Mr. President, your Parliament and your Government continue to implement. You have made a significant progress in many areas - in healthcare and pension reform," Kaljulaid said. ish President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has begun a meeting with President of the Estonian Republic Kersti Kaljulaid, who is on an official visit to Ukraine. As an Ukrinform correspondent reports, the official meeting ceremony has been held on the square in front of the Presidential Administration (11 Bankova Street). Following the talks, the Ukrainian and Estonian presidents will meet with media representatives. iy On May 21-23, 2018, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin is on an official visit to the Republic of Kenya. This is the first-ever visit by Ukraines foreign minister to Kenya in the history of bilateral relations, the press service of the Foreign Ministry reported. During the visit, the minister will hold talks with Kenyas Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amb. Monica Juma, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, leadership of the Parliament of Kenya, as well as other high-ranking officials. Pavlo Klimkin will also join festivities to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Kenya, as well as the Africa Day. In addition, the minister will officially open the Honorary Consulate of Ukraine in Mombasa, give a press conference and a number of interviews for major Kenyan media. Ukraine is doing everything possible to exert pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin, to make him release Ukrainian political prisoners illegally held in Russia. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said this during a joint briefing with President of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "We are doing everything possible to, pardon the expression, put pressure on the Russian President for him to finally give the order, for the process, which we started at the end of last year when we managed to release 74 hostages, to be continued as soon as possible, and for Ukrainian heroes to come home as soon as possible," the Head of State noted, answering the journalists questions. He stressed that the issue of immediate liberation of Ukrainian hostages illegally kept in the occupied territories and of political prisoners held in prisons in the territory of the occupied Crimea and in the territory of Russia was touched upon during all the international negotiations either with European or American partners of Ukraine. ol Estonia supports a position of the Ukrainian side in the issue of deploying UN peacekeeping forces in the entire occupied territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said this during a joint briefing with President of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "We also discussed the implementation of a UN peacekeeping mission under the mandate of the United Nations Security Council. I thank the Estonian president for the full support of the Ukrainian position," Poroshenko noted. He stresses the need to do everything possible to ensure that the agreed draft resolution, which will provide for a mandate of the UN peacekeeping forces for the entire occupied territory, including an uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian border, will become a prerequisite for the implementation of political processes in Donbas. As Ukrinform reported, President of the Estonian Republic Kersti Kaljulaid is on an official visit to Ukraine. ish Estonia supports EUs and NATOs open door policy towards Ukraine and makes practical efforts to implement the reforms necessary for joining these institutions. President of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid said this during a joint briefing with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "The doors of EUs and NATOs membership should remain open for Ukraine, and the ties that exist today between Estonia and Ukraine should leave these doors open and bring your country closer to the European center," Kaljulaid said. Estonian taxpayers allocate more than EUR 2 million annually for various programs in Ukraine, which has always been and remains an important partner for Estonia, the President of Estonia noted. Kaljulaid assured that Estonia would continue to support the reforms carried out by the Ukrainian parliament and government. ol The filmmaker went on hunger strike, demanding the release of all the Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia. Press secretary of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Mariana Betsa says the ministry is considering all possible options for the release of Ukrainian filmmaker, public activist, Oleh Sentsov from Russia's prison. In particular, when answering journalists question at a briefing on May 21 whether it is possible to swap Sentsov for Chief of RIA Novosti's Kyiv office Kirill Vyshinsky, indicted on charges of high treason in Ukraine, she said that such an option is not excluded, the Novoye Vremya weekly reported. Read alsoKlimkin calls on Russia to stop tyranny against Ukrainian hostages "All is possible. I cannot disclose all the details, because if we had announced them in advance, then [Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people] Akhtem Chiygoz and [Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People] Ilmi Umerov would not have been released yet. I can say only that negotiations are underway," Betsa said. She stressed that "all Russian citizens who were detained or convicted in Ukraine are criminals, while Ukrainian citizens, illegally arrested or convicted in Russia, are political prisoners." Russia is blocking all Ukraine's appeals as for providing access to Sentsov. More than 20 such applications have been submitted over the past year, the official said. It was earlier reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine appealed to Russia due to the fact that Sentsov had declared hunger strike on May 14 indefinitely. He went on hunger strike against the actions of the Kremlin, demanding the release of all the Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia. 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. There have been no Ukrainian casualties on May 22. The situation in Donbas escalated in the past day: two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and nine were wounded in action on Monday, May 21. Fighting with Russian-led forces in eastern Ukraine continued along the entire contact line, the press service of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said on Facebook on Tuesday morning. There have been no Ukrainian casualties on May 22. Read alsoRussian-led forces shell Maryinka in Donbas, kill local resident Zhebrivsky The occupation forces attacked Ukrainian troops 53 times in the past day. In particular, 30 attacks were mounted with the use of proscribed 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars. During the day on May 21, the enemy resorted to the offensive to oust the Ukrainian army from the liberated village of Pivdenne, having attacked from three directions. Ukraine's joint forces fired back not to let Russia's hybrid military units force out the Ukrainian army from the advantageous defensive positions. In particular, Ukrainian troops took counter-sniper measures near the towns of Avdiyivka and Maryinka, after which enemy sniper fire was ceased. According to Ukraine's intelligence, 15 enemy troops were eliminated and another 13 were wounded. In the Luhansk sector, Russia's hybrid military forces became active near the village of Troyitske. In the Donetsk sector, escalation was reported near the villages of Zaitseve, Luhanske, Novoluhanske, Mayorsk, Shumy, Zhelezne, Pivdenne, Novhorodske, Novoihnativka, as well as Avdiyivka and Maryinka. Fighting continued in the Mariupol sector where the villages of Chermalyk, Vodiane and Shyrokyne were hot spots. The facility burnt down and collapsed. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have destroyed an enemy position near the village of Troyitske at the Svitlodarska Duha bulge in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian civil volunteer and activist Yuriy Mysyagin wrote on Facebook on Monday evening that Russian-led forces had begun firing on the front-line positions of the 54th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "The K-2 combat group, which is part of the brigade, had to react and its drone took off immediately. The [enemy] position from which fire was opened was identified," the volunteer said on Facebook. Read alsoUkrainian volunteer: Enemy reconnaissance group destroyed at Svitlodarska Duha bulge "The position was completely destroyed by precision fire from three different positions: a BMP-1 [infantry fighting vehicle], ZU-23-2 [a towed 23 mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon] and an anti-tank guided missile, which became a security shot. The facility burnt down and collapsed," Mysyagin added. Earlier on May 21 Mysyagin reported that the Ukrainian military had advanced two kilometers forward in Donbas and mounted news defenses. Union team continues its dominance for Bike to Work Day Acting President Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani Tuesday underscored the need for a joint strategy to counter the narrative against CPEC and China-Pakistan relations as some regional and global players continued to create hurdles in the way of smooth implementation of the CPEC projects by hatching conspiracies ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :Acting President Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani Tuesday underscored the need for a joint strategy to counter the narrative against CPEC and China-Pakistan relations as some regional and global players continued to create hurdles in the way of smooth implementation of the CPEC projects by hatching conspiracies. The Acting President expressed these views while talking to a delegation of Chinese parliamentarians currently visiting Pakistan under the leadership of Kong Quan, Vice Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) here at the President House. He said Pakistan wanted peace in the region and would continue to support all the efforts aimed at peace and stability at regional and global levels.He said that the Belt and Road Initiative and vision of shared prosperity would make Asia an epicenter of socio-economic power. He said the Pak-China friendship stood against all the odds and in the ups and downs. "This uniqueness makes it a cornerstone of our foreign policy and we, as a nation, take pride in our friendship with China," he added. Sanjrani said that friendship between the two countries enjoyed political, institutional and popular support. The Acting President while emphasizing the need for further boosting cooperation, said the historic relationship had entered into a strategic cooperative partnership, which would prove to be an anchor for regional peace and stability. He expressed his satisfaction that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor was progressing smoothly and the project enjoyed across the board consensus on political fronts in Pakistan. He said that Pakistan was faced with problems of unemployment, electricity shortfall and economic crunch due to low industrial growth and CPEC would emerge as a ray of hope for both Pakistan and China. He also appreciated that the CPEC's energy and infrastructure projects were being completed and implemented within the stipulated time. He hoped that work on Gwadar projects, including New Gwadar International Airport and social welfare projects with active Chinese assistance would be accelerated. The Acting President emphasized that Special Economic Zones needed special attention of the Chinese leadership as they played a crucial role in taking the CPEC to the next level. He called for a robust participation by Chinese State Owned Enterprises and private sector in SEZs. He also lauded the Chinese leadership's commitment to all the initiatives aimed at regional prosperity and peace. He conveyed his warmest felicitations to President Xi Jinping on his re-election as president and elevation as "core leader" of CPC. Acting President Sanjrani observed that there was a need to increase exports from Pakistan to China. He also called for maximum participation of Pakistani business community leaders and trade delegates in the international trade exhibition being held in China in November this year. The head of visiting delegation agreeing with the Acting President, assured to take steps for further improving the trade between the two sides. The Acting President also stressed the need for enhanced bilateral linkages and people-to-people contacts and interaction between the political parties, educational institutions, academia, media and young generation. "It is heartening to see strong government to government contacts between Pakistan and China. However, there is a need to enhance and strengthen institutional linkages between the parliaments of two brotherly countries," Sadiq Sanjrani said. He expressed his well wishes to the government and people of China and said that both sides would continue to strive for further consolidating the brotherly ties. "I am looking forward to my visit to China in July 2018 and hope that my upcoming visit to China will further strengthen the existing bilateral parliamentary relations." AJK President Sardar Masood Khan has said that by inaugurating the 330 MW Kishan Ganga Power Plant, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has violated the Indus Waters Treaty and deprived Azad Jammu Kashmir and Pakistan of their precious water sources MIRPUR (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :AJK President Sardar Masood Khan has said that by inaugurating the 330 MW Kishan Ganga Power Plant, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has violated the Indus Waters Treaty and deprived Azad Jammu Kashmir and Pakistan of their precious water sources. President Masood Khan made these remarks while talking to the presidents of the bar associations and the press clubs of Azad Jammu Kashmir on Tuesday. The President said that it was an act of breach of faith because the process for the mediatory decision on the Kishan Ganga project was "paused", as Pakistan had demanded a constitution of a Court of Arbitration while India was insistent on a neutral expert. India has abused this "pause" to accelerate the completion and inauguration of the Kishan Ganga hydroelectric project to give a fait-accompli to the World Bank and Pakistan. It has thus scuttled and made a mockery of the arbitration process. The President said that India uses such arbitration processes as well as its strained relation with Pakistan as a smokescreen to build dams in violation of the Indus Waters Treaty, adding that, earlier India resorted to the same tactics for the Baglihar Dam. President Masood Khan strongly condemned India's water aggression against Pakistan and said it was building a cascade of other dams on the rivers Indus, Neelum, Chenab and Jehlum such as Ratle, Swalkot, Pakal Dul and Bursar, whose cumulative megawattage is not less than 5000 megawatts. Swalkot's capacity alone is more than 1800 MWs. This kind of aggressive and irresponsible dam building will deprive Azad Kashmir and Pakistan of waters for power generation and irrigation, he said. President Massod called on the President of the World Bank to directly intervene and avert this disaster by persuading India to work within the essential cooperative framework given by the treaty. He also asked the World Bank to inquire from India about its breach of trust in completing the project while the mediation was underway on Kishan Ganga and Ratle hydroelectric power projects. (@ChaudhryMAli88) City Police Officer (CPO) Sarfraz Ahmed Falki visited Ramadan Bazaar at Gulgasht Colony to check security arrangments here on Saturday. The city police officer alongwith other senior officers reached the Ramadan Bazaar in the morning. He directed all SPs to visit Ramadan Bazaar on daily basis in their respective areas. MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th May, 2018 ) :City Police Officer (CPO) Sarfraz Ahmed Falki visited Ramadan Bazaar at Gulgasht Colony to check security arrangments here on Saturday. The city police officer alongwith other senior officers reached the Ramadan Bazaar in the morning. He directed all SPs to visit Ramadan Bazaar on daily basis in their respective areas. He said that it was top priority of police to protect lives and properties of masses. He added that tight security arrangments had been made during the holy month of Ramadan in order to avoid any untoward incident. CPO Sarfraz Ahmed Falki also checked rate list and qaulity of food and urged shopkeepers of the bazaar to ensure sale to good quality food at their stalls. Meanwhile, SSP Operations Saifullah Khattak also visited different Ramadan Bazaars to check security arrangments. (@FahadShabbir) Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) Chief Executive Mian Kashif Ashfaq Tuesday demanded the government to pay compensation for the losses of millions of rupees due to burning of shops of furniture retailers in Ferozpur Road, Lahore. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) Chief Executive Mian Kashif Ashfaq Tuesday demanded the government to pay compensation for the losses of millions of rupees due to burning of shops of furniture retailers in Ferozpur Road, Lahore. Mian Kashif Ashfaq regretted that furniture sector in Pakistan is already a neglected one and under this distress situation, when furniture retailers face hardships for running their business, the loss due to the fire mishap could compel them to shutdown their business. Therefore, he asked the concerned authorities to pay compensation to furniture retailers to drag them back from the quagmire of the crisis, a statement Tuesday said. He said the local furniture sector attached great importance to the national economy and could make a substantial contribution of billions of Dollars in exports annually. He said the furniture industry prospered during last decades without any support from the government. However, the industry is still facing problems due to its unorganized structure incurring costs due to inefficiency that can be reduced by bringing the industry to one location. Mian Kashif also urged the government to provide fiscal support for skills training and machinery upgrading to increase export competitiveness of the furniture sector. He also demanded the government to give industrial status to furniture sector besides patronizing to exploit the potential at its maximal level. "To make furniture goods more competitive at the international level the government should revise its taxes and duties on this industry," he added. Furniture testing facilities should be set up to guarantee quality exports that would boost the confidence of international buyers. But most importantly, the government needs to give this sector a most favored industry status. Resultantly, the cost to consumers will fall, thereby stoking demand. This will lead to more demand which will enhance this industrial base, and potentially enhance furniture exports further, he concluded. The Presidency for the Saudi Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has provided as many as 8,700 electric carts and wheelchairs free of charge in the Grand Mosque for the use of old, sick and disabled pilgrims to do their rituals in ease and comfort. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :The Presidency for the Saudi Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has provided as many as 8,700 electric carts and wheelchairs free of charge in the Grand Mosque for the use of old, sick and disabled pilgrims to do their rituals in ease and comfort. The presidency's department of transport services is also closely monitoring the authorized wheelchair pushers to stop any exploitation and manipulation by them. The department has as many as 209 regular and seasonal workers who work in shifts around the clock, Saudi Gazette reported. The carts are being distributed at various points covering all major roads leading to the Grand Mosque. The carts in the western and southern plazas are being distributed at the King Abdul Aziz gate, while pilgrims coming from the northern plazas can take the carts at gate No. 64 and those using the eastern plazas can get these in front of Al-Salam door. More than 300 Saudi youths have been hired to push the wheelchairs, said Director of the department of transport services Saleh Mohammed Ali Hawsawi. He said they are coordinating with the general security responsible for the management of the crowd so as not to obstruct the movement of pilgrims. (@FahadShabbir) The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) Tuesday released 130,300 cusecs water from various rim stations with inflow of 124,100 cusecs. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) Tuesday released 130,300 cusecs water from various rim stations with inflow of 124,100 cusecs. According to the data released by IRSA, water level in the Indus River at Tarbela Dam was 1394.38 feet, which was 14.38 feet higher than its dead level of 1,380 feet. Water inflow in the dam was recorded as 43,200 cusecs while outflow as 50,000 cusecs. The water level in the Jhelum River at Mangla Dam was 1093.10 feet, which was 53.10 feet higher than its dead level of 1,040 feet whereas the inflow and outflow of water was recorded as 36,100 cusecs and 35,500 cusecs respectively. The release of water at Kalabagh, Taunsa and Sukkur was recorded as 75,200, 57,100 and 10,000 cusecs respectively. Similarly from the Kabul River, 29,400 cusecs of water was released at Nowshera and 5,400 cusecs from the Chenab River at Marala. (@FahadShabbir) Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah said on Tuesday that loss of precious lives due to heat wave in Karachi was a very tragic and unfortunate incident. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah said on Tuesday that loss of precious lives due to heat wave in Karachi was a very tragic and unfortunate incident. In a statement here, he said that Ministry of Climate Change took a proactive approach and sent letter to all provinces and federating units in month of April to prepare themselves for any expected issue of heat waves. He further added that rise in temperature and frequency of heat waves in the country demanded comprehensive steps at all level to deal with issue. Ministry of Climate Change issued letter on 6th April 2018 to all provinces and federating units to take safety measures in advance to cope with any predicted heat wave issue. A technical report on Karachi Heat wave June 2015 was also attached with these letters to provide the strategy and guidelines to all provinces and federating units for safety of citizen against heat wave. This report was prepared under the direction of Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan in 2015 when Karachi faced unpredicted phenomenon of Heat wave. This report contains the reasons of heat waves and recommendations to take practical steps against this issue. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Justice Javed Iqbal on Tuesday said that NAB has devised proactive national anti-corruption strategy to root out corruption from the country. "Eradication of corruption is not only our national duty but is top priority of NAB", he said while addressing NAB officers here. He said that NAB has geared up and rejuvenated to nab corrupt, proclaimed offenders and absconders. "NAB officers should double their efforts to eradicate corruption by adopting accountability for all policy across the board," he said. The Chairman said that NAB's prime focus is on cases of cheating public at large by fraudulent financial companies, bank frauds, willful bank loan defaults, misuse of authority, money laundering and embezzlement of state funds by Government servants etc. He said that NAB has established its first state of the Art Forensic Science LAB (FSL) in Rawalpindi having the facilities of Digital Forensics, Questioned Documents and Fingerprint Analysis. The Chairman said NAB has rationalized its workload and timelines have been prescribed for efficient, effective and expeditious disposal of cases putting a maximum limit of 10 months - from complaint verification-to-inquiry-to-investigation and finally to a reference in the Accountability Court. He said that NAB has also introduced Combine Investigation Team (CIT) system in order to benefit from the experience and collective wisdom of senior supervisory officers. "This is not only lending quality to the work but also ensuring that no single individual can influence the official proceedings of NAB" he said. He said that as per the report of Transparency International (TI) of 2017, Pakistan's ranking in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is 116, adding that Pakistan is considered role model in South Asian countries in its efforts against corruption. The chairman said this is a great achievement for Pakistan due to NAB efforts. Besides Transparency International, he said, independent National and International watchdogs like PLIDAT and World Economic Forum have also appreciated Pakistan in curbing corruption. He said that NAB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China to extend cooperation with each other in the fields of anti-corruption. Another Memorandum of understanding is likely to be signed with Malaysia in the fields of anti-corruption and details in this regards are being worked out, he said. (@FahadShabbir) Pakistan needs to generate 1.3 million additional jobs on average every year as the plethora of people attaining the working age most likely to rise from the current 4 million to around 5 million by 2035. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :Pakistan needs to generate 1.3 million additional jobs on average every year as the plethora of people attaining the working age most likely to rise from the current 4 million to around 5 million by 2035. According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s National Human Development Report (NHDR) opined that growth in employment creation is necessary to match the unprecedented number of young people entering the working age. The additional jobs to be created per year were for the next five years, the report added. The report has clearly indicated that current labour force participation and unemployment rates suggest that Pakistan's working age population includes around 3.5 million unemployed individuals. An additional 1.4 million or more people of working age will join the labour force every year for the next five years. At the current participation and unemployment levels and considering the number of retirees, Pakistan needs to create 4.5 million jobs over the next five years (0.9 million jobs annually). The report suggested that the gradual increase in labour force participation rates means added pressure on the labour market with increased demand for employment opportunities. The survey of the report believed that job creation has been relatively fast in Pakistan. A coherent strategy adopted at the provincial and district level across multiple sectors with clear annual targets can help generate 0.9 million jobs a year. It added that the challenge lay in creating jobs that also ensure better living standards. "Expanding the formal sector, supporting entrepreneurship, building the human capital of youth and active labour market policies are key instruments to ensure that the required growth is inclusive and sustainable". Interestingly, there is an exchange between creating limited work opportunities that are high in quality and offering a larger number of jobs that do not meet quality conditions. The report recommended that complete concentration on quality and not on creating enough jobs would be equally problematic while failure to produce additional employment opportunities could lead to 43 million people being unemployed by 2050. "The caseload for Pakistan to create additional jobs is unprecedented. According to estimates, the country needs to generate 0.9 million jobs every year for the next 30 years, without interruption, even to maintain unemployment at the current levels. It is also clear that the country's few urban centres, or any one sector of the economy, cannot create all these jobs. Every sector of the economy and every city, town and village would have to contribute to employment generation to meet the target". The agricultural sector, constituting Pakistan's main source of employment (42.3 percent), has immense potential for employment generation at both the farm and non-farm levels. However, suffering from declining shares in the national GDP and low productivity, this sector will require the right set of investments and policy reforms to improve. Apart from reforms in the traditional farming sector, rural enterprise development has significant potential for employment generation. The report also revealed another key sector of Pakistan's economy, manufacturing, currently absorbs around 15.3 percent of the total employed labour force despite being hindered by energy shortages and the poor law and order situation. The services industry, currently employing 42.4 percent of Pakistan's total employed labour force, is another important sector with great untapped potential. It's some sub-sectors function at a far lower rate than their capacity. The hospitality sector, accommodation and food, directly linked to tourism, accounts for only 1.6 percent of the country's total employment. This sector can contribute significantly to employment generation if supported and promoted with a clear policy direction for employment generation. Sub-sectors of this industry, finance and insurance services, contribute just fewer than two percent to Pakistan's employment, while information and communication contribute less than half a percent. Increasing economic activities and improving access to finance and technology would encourage significant growth and employment creation in these sectors. Overall, with the rapidly growing services sector becoming a major source of jobs in the country, Pakistan must ensure that this sector provides the young with a chance at long-term career progression. According to estimates by International Labour Organization (ILO), unemployment between the ages of 15 and 24 in Pakistan is 10.8 percent. This is higher than other countries in the region, like India, Bangladesh and Nepal although better than Sri Lanka. The report claimed that developing a clear strategy focused on employment generation and implementation is the first step in the necessary task of creating 0.9 million jobs a year in the country of close to 200 million people. (@rukhshanmir) Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul Tuesday discussed matters of mutual interest with the Minister for Defence Production, Barrister Usman Ibrahim in his office at Rawalpindi. RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul Tuesday discussed matters of mutual interest with the Minister for Defence Production, Barrister Usman Ibrahim in his office at Rawalpindi. Dignitaries expressed satisfaction on brotherly relations between the two countries besides the ongoing cooperation in defence technical field. The minister appreciated the extent of cooperation between the two countries and emphasized on importance of continuation and expansion of strategic partnership/collaboration between two countries in other fields as well considering defence industrial/ technical cooperation integral part of Pak-Turkey strategic relationship. They also lauded signing of MoU for purchase of Super Mushshak as an encouraging development in the defence relations between the two countries, said a press release. Both sides also stressed on joint ventures in emerging technologies and opined that investment by private sector companies in these areas would be useful. Minister was impressed with the progress of Turkish Defence Industry. He also mentioned the high quality of Pakistan's Defence Industrial Products. Chile's President Sebastian Pinera named his new ambassador to Argentina on Monday after opposition outrage forced him to back down over the initial choice of his brother for the sensitive diplomatic post Santiago, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :Chile's President Sebastian Pinera named his new ambassador to Argentina on Monday after opposition outrage forced him to back down over the initial choice of his brother for the sensitive diplomatic post. Pinera instead appointed lawyer Sergio Urrejola as ambassador in Buenos Aires. Urrejola "has already received approval" from Argentina's government, Chile's foreign ministry said. The appointment puts a lid on Pinera's first scandal as president since being elected to succeed the outgoing Michelle Bachelet in March. The conservative billionaire announced in April that his brother Pablo would represent Chile in Argentina, a key post given the political and commercial ties between the two South American heavyweights. But outraged opposition lawmakers filed an appeal challenging the legality of the appointment and Pinera was forced to back down, after making an official visit to Argentina at the end of April. Bamako, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd May, 2018 ) :Suspected jihadists have shot dead two elderly men in a village by the Niger river in central Mali, according to multiple sources. "Jihadists arrived in the village of Waaka (on Monday), located in Diafarabe commune... They accused them (the men) of being against the interests of the jihadists," an elected official told AFP. The men were named as 82-year-old Sinaly Sampana and Mare Tereta, both local residents of Waaka village. "The jihadists arrived on a motorcycle, they had weapons," said a villager. "They fired and they left." 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. (@rukhshanmir) 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 Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :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. (@ChaudhryMAli88) A young woman was killed in an "attack" by Sudan's counter-insurgency unit on a Darfur camp for displaced people, Amnesty International said Tuesday, but authorities said she was shot in a clash Khartoum, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2018 ) :A young woman was killed in an "attack" by Sudan's counter-insurgency unit on a Darfur camp for displaced people, Amnesty International said Tuesday, but authorities said she was shot in a clash. Members from the pro-government Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on board five pick-up trucks and armed with machine guns on Monday attacked a camp for internally displaced people in Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur State, the rights group said. "A 22-year-old woman was shot in the head and later died in hospital," Amnesty said in a statement. "Ten others, including children, sustained serious head, neck, arm and leg injuries," it said, adding that the reason for the shootings remained unclear. The authorities in Central Darfur said the incident was the result of a "mistake". "Six vehicles of RSF were travelling from South Darfur to Geneina in West Darfur when they mistakenly went inside an IDP camp on their way," a statement from the Central Darfur government said. "The IDPs clashed with RSF after which the RSF troops fired in the air, and as a result of which one woman was critically injured." Camp residents later demonstrated in front of the government building and clashed with security forces, the authorities said. "Five soldiers and nine civilians were injured in these clashes," it said. Amnesty International confirmed the demonstration and said seven people were arrested by security forces, including a student activist. Amnesty urged the authorities to launch an impartial investigation into Monday's incident. "The victims of this appalling attack were forced to flee from their homes by the violence that has plagued Darfur for years, and this camp was supposed to be a place of safety," it said. An academic adviser will send your invitation to schedule your virtual advising and course registration appointment to your UWSP email account and Navigate app within 3 business days AFTER you sign up for the in-person component above. Armed only with Rosaries, Catholics in 54 cities across Nigeria, Tuesday, have been marching in what is being called the March for Life. The "March for Life" coincides with the burial of 17 parishioners and two Catholic priests slain by suspected herdsmen, in the Diocese of Markudi, on 24 April. Paul Samasumo Vatican city. March for Life Nigerias Archdiocese of Abuja Director of Communications, Fr. Patrick Alumuku has told Vatican News that the March for Life, announced by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria is in solidarity with the two priests and 17 parishioners killed on 24 April as well as many other victims of terrorism in Nigeria. Fr. Alumuku who is the ad hoc Chair of the March for Life in the capital city of Abuja said the two priests, Fr Joseph Gor and Fr Felix Tyolaha were brutally murdered together with parishioners, as Holy Mass was ending, at the St. Ignatius parish of Ukpo-Mbalom, in Benue State. Marching and reciting the Rosary Local Nigerian media report that there was a palpable sense of tension particularly in Benue state where the priests and parishioners were killed. Security personnel have been reassuring residents and say that they have reinforced security. They repeatedly assured that the marchers and the burial site would be safe. Nigerian Bishops told Nigerian Catholics in all cities to come armed only with their Rosary beads and Candles. Bishops denounce insecurity in the Middle Belt of the country Speaking in an exclusive interview, with Vatican News in Rome, a day after the Makurdi attack, four Bishops from the Middle Belt of Nigeria Wilfred Anagbe, CMF of Makurdi Diocese; Peter Adoboh, the Bishop of Katsina-Ala; William Avenya, the Bishop of Gboko and Michael Ekwoy Apochi, the Bishop of Otukpo told Paul Samasumo that terrorists and mercenaries had infiltrated the herdsmen. They described the attacks at the Church as, horrendous, barbaric and satanic. They wondered how such deadly attacks could occur in broad-daylight and culprits never made to account for their actions. Polish Archbishop Marek Zalewski is the new Apostolic Nuncio to Singapore and Pontifical Representative to Vietnam. By Robin Gomes Pope Francis on Monday appointed Polish Archbishop Marek Zalewski as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Singapore who will also be the non-resident Pontifical Representative to Vietnam. Archbishop Zalewski who served as Apostolic Nuncio in Zimbabwe will be based in Singapore. He fills the diplomatic post which had been vacant for 8 months after Pope Francis transferred Archbishop Leopold Girelli as Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine in September 2017. Born in 1963 in Augustow, Poland, Archbishop Zalewski was ordained a priest in 1989. He holds a doctorate in canon law from Romes Pontifical Gregorian University Rome. After entering the Holy Sees diplomatic service in 1995, he has served in Holy See missions in the Central African Republic, the United Nations, Great Britain, Germany, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Zimbabwe in March 2014. Besides his native language, he also speaks Italian, English, French, German and Spanish. Vietnamese Church welcomes appointment Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam has welcomed the new pontifical representative and urged the countrys Catholics to pray for his new mission. "We should thank God, through Holy See representatives, for creating conditions for the church in Vietnam, where religious freedom remains restricted, to be in close communion with the pope, Vatican officials and churches around the world," Archbishop Linh told UCANEWS. He hoped Archbishop Zalewski will improve ties between the Holy see and Vietnam. Archbishop Linh also said he will write to invite the new Vatican envoy to visit Vietnam soon. Holy See-Vietnam relations While Vietnam and the Holy See do not have full diplomatic relations, the Communist southeast Asian nations agreement to let the Vatican name a non-resident papal representative to the country in 2011 was seen as a breakthrough in an ongoing process to normalize relations. The appointment of Archbishop Girelli came after landmark high-level meetings such as Pope Benedict XVI's meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet in 2009 and his 2007 meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. That meeting marked the first time a prime minister from Vietnam's communist government met a pope and top officials from the Vatican Secretariat of State. Talks and relations between the Vatican and Vietnam were further reinforced when Pope Benedict met the head of Vietnam's communist party, Nguyen Phu Trong, and top party and government officials in January 2013. It was the first time a pope had met with the general secretary of the nation's Communist Party. Earlier this year, a Vatican delegation headed by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, the Vatican's Undersecretary for Relations with States, paid a five-day working visit to Vietnam. During the Jan. 16-20 trip, he held meetings with top government officials and bodies. Vietnam still demands that any papal appointment in the country has to be approved by the government. Likewise, working visits by the Singapore-based pontifical representative, also require approval from the government. Return of confiscated Church property is also a thorny issue. Holy See-Singapore relations Meanwhile, relations between the Holy See and Singapore have been far easier. Diplomatic relations established on June 24, 1981, will mark their 37th anniversary next month. Pope Francis on Monday met with members of the Italian Bishops' Conference, sharing with them three of his concerns - Crisis of vocations, Evangelical poverty and transparency, and Reduction and merging of dioceses. By Vatican News Pope Francis on Monday night addressed the Bishops of Italy, who are gathered at the Vatican for the annual meeting of the Italian Bishops Conference (Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, the CEI). In his speech to the Bishops, the Holy Father spoke about several issues he is concerned about, stressing that he didnt want to beat them over the heads, but to share his concerns so that they can be discussed by the ecclesial body. He emphasized that his thoughts were meant to be part of a discussion, with the Bishops responding with their own questions, anxieties, inspirations, and even criticisms It is not a sin to criticize the Pope here! he said. It is not a sin, it can be done. The Pope highlighted three main concerns: the crisis in vocations; evangelical poverty and transparency; and the reduction and consolidation of dioceses. With regard to vocations, the Pope encouraged the Italian Bishops to be generous in sharing vocations, which he described as a gift of faith. Speaking of the need for transparency and evangelical poverty, he reminded them that their conduct with regard to the goods of the Church must be exemplary, as they will one day give an account of their administration. And concerning the reduction and consolidation of dioceses, he said this can and must be done, although with pastoral consideration for all those involved, especially in places where the people feel abandoned. These are my three preoccupations, Pope Francis said, which I wanted to share with you as suggestions for reflection." And a he left them to consider his remarks, he thanked them for parrhesia, their willingness to speak openly and freely. The way Venezuelas Presidential election was conducted which re-elected President Nicolas Maduro for another term as expected has provoked swift reaction and foreseen condemnation from some quarters. The mail opposition coalition refuses to take part in it. by James Blears Fourteen nations including Brazil, Canada and Argentina, have already recalled their Ambassadors from Caracas and more are likely to follow. A fresh round of economic sanctions from the United States, which Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza describes as: "Madness, barbaric and contrary to International law. US Vice President Mike Pence calls the Venezuelan Presidential Election: "A sham and illegitimate." President Donald Trump says: "We call for the Maduro regime to restore democracy, hold free and fair elections, release all political prisoners, ending the repression and deprivation of the Venezuelan People. At the G20 Summit in Buenas Aires British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says: "Venezuela is an absolute tragic story of people being kept hostage to a defunct ideology." But...Russia, China, Cuba and El Salvador disagree, warmly congratulating Venezuela Socialist system and its re-elected President Nicolas Maduro. The Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower will introduce a new gaming pit with six Baccarat tables and a new Asian menu at Roxys Diner on Friday, June 8. A grand opening event will celebrate the new additions, commencing with a traditional Chinese Lion Dance that will make its way throughout the casino starting at 6:08 p.m. The new gaming pit is located near the main entrance across from Roxys Diner, where the new menu will include different variations of Asian cuisine. Among the more than two dozen selections are pan-fried pork pot stickers; shrimp dumpling noodle soup; pan-fried noodles with a choice of chicken, beef, shredded pork and seafood; and Mongolian beef. We are thrilled to expand Stratospheres offerings for our Asian guests; not just in gaming, but in the overall experience, said Stratosphere General Manager Chris Fiumara. In addition to our dining and gaming for our Asian visitors, we have a team in place to ensure they receive exceptional service. On that team is Marianne Tuan, who recently joined the Stratosphere as the propertys new Director of Asian Gaming. Previously with Lucky Dragon, Tuan is a seasoned gaming professional with expertise in working with Asian clientele. The Stratosphere has also retained Jackie Yee, a seasoned Asian gaming executive with 30 plus years experience that has assisted in the development of the new gaming pit. U.S. President Donald Trump said his planned summit with North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un might not take place next month. If it doesnt happen, maybe it will happen later, said Trump. It may not work out for June 12. Trump added, however, Theres a good chance well 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 hes 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, Id rather not say. But he stated that the denuclearization of North Korea must take place. 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, stated Trump 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 that 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 theres a deal made to get rid of Pyongyangs nuclear weapons. If it doesnt work out, he cant be happy, said Trump who recently warned that North Korea would be decimated if it does not agree to give up its atomic arsenal. Moon, who flew to Washington from Seoul to try to convince Trump not to call off next months meeting in Singapore with the Norths 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, declared Moon. The fate and the future of Korea hinge on this, he added. The two-hour talks between Trump and Moon Tuesday marked their sixth meeting, although they have spoken on the telephone numerous other times. 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 follow-up 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 theyll get together and youll 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. U.S. civil liberties groups on Tuesday called on Amazon.com Inc. to stop offering facial recognition services to governments, warning that the software could be used to target immigrants and people of color unfairly. More than 40 groups sent a letter to Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos saying technology from the company's cloud computing unit was ripe for abuse. The letter underscores how new tools for identifying and tracking people could be used to empower surveillance states. Amazon has marketed a range of uses for its Rekognition service, unveiled in late 2016. These include detecting offensive content, identifying celebrities and securing public safety. In a blog post last year, Amazon said a new feature let customers "identify people of interest against a collection of millions of faces in near real-time, enabling use cases such as timely and accurate crime prevention." Customers provide the data for Amazon's tool to search. "Seconds saved in the field can make the difference in saving a life," Chris Adzima, an analyst in the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Oregon, said in the blog post. Freedom from being watched But rights groups say the powerful tool raises concerns. "People should be free to walk down the street without being watched by the government," said the letter to Bezos. "Facial recognition in American communities threatens this freedom. In overpoliced communities of color, it could effectively eliminate it." Amazon has helped various U.S. jurisdictions use Rekognition, said the letter, citing public records obtained by affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union. In Oregon, law enforcement uploaded 300,000 mug shots dating to 2001 into Amazon's cloud and indexed them in Rekognition, according to another Amazon blog post. Rekognition identified four faces with more than 80 percent similarity to an image of an unidentified hardware store thief; a Facebook search subsequently helped with the case, the post said. The City of Orlando Police Department has also used Rekognition, according to Amazon's website. In a statement, Amazon Web Services said, "Our quality of life would be much worse today if we outlawed new technology because some people could choose to abuse the technology." Amazon requires customers to abide by the law and be responsible when using Rekognition, it added. The world's largest online retailer is not alone: Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc.'s Google offer recognition services as well. Identifying faces has become a common feature in consumer products from Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. An Australian archbishop on Tuesday became the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world convicted of covering up child sex abuse in a test case that holds to account church hierarchy that kept silent in the face of an international pedophile crisis. Magistrate Robert Stone handed down the verdict against Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson in Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney, following a magistrate-only trial. Wilson, 67, had pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious crime committed by another person the sexual abuse of children by pedophile priest James Fletcher in the 1970s. He had made four attempts in the past three years to have the charge struck out without a trial. The conviction is another step toward holding the church to account for a global abuse crisis that has also engulfed Pope Francis' financial minister, Australian Cardinal George Pell. Frank Brennan, an Australian Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer and academic, said Wilson had to stand aside as archbishop of the South Australian state capital. "I would think that the mind of Pope Francis at this stage would be that if there be a conviction of a bishop in relation to a failure to disclose abuse in circumstances where the state thought that was criminal activity, then I would think the mind of the pope would be that that doesn't measure up in church terms either and that therefore it would be impossible for someone to remain in the job as a bishop," Brennan said. Brennan said Wilson had complied with the nondisclosure culture of the church in the 1970s. "There's no doubt that Archbishop Wilson in recent years ... has been one of the good guys. He has been one of the bishops in the Catholic Church who have been trying to clean things up," Brennan said. "But this relates to when he was a young priest. Even someone like him who later got it back in those years was so confined by our culture that it would seem there was no disclosure," he added. More prosecutions ahead? Jason Parkinson, a former police detective who is now a Canberra lawyer who specializes in representing victims of clergy child sexual abuse, said he hoped police would now pursue Catholic orders of teaching brothers that responded to families' complaints by transferring perpetrators to other schools. "Hopefully this conviction means that more prosecutions can be launched against the brothers of various teaching orders," Parkinson said in a text message. "These brothers/headmasters should be investigated starting with the ones still in the teaching system." An Australian inquiry into child abuse recommended in December that the Catholic Church lift its demand of celibacy from clergy and that priests be prosecuted for failing to report evidence of pedophilia heard in the confessional. Australia's longest-running royal commission which is the country's highest form of inquiry had been investigating since 2012 how the Catholic Church and other institutions responded to sexual abuse of children in Australia over 90 years. The report heard testimony from more than 8,000 survivors of child sex abuse. Of those who were abused in religious institutions, 62 percent were Catholics. On Tuesday, Magistrate Stone told the court that Wilson had concealed the abuse of two altar boys in the Hunter Valley region, north of Sydney, by Fletcher by failing to report the allegations to police. Stone said he was satisfied that one of the altar boys, Peter Creigh, had been a "truthful and reliable" witness. Wilson was released on bail until he appears at a sentencing hearing on June 19. Prosecutors will argue for a custodial sentence. Wilson's role In a statement issued by the Catholic Church, Wilson said he was disappointed by the conviction. "I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps," he said. Prosecutor Gareth Harrison had submitted that Wilson was involved in a cover-up to protect the church's reputation and that there were doubts about his honesty. Harrison argued that in Wilson's mind, victims came second. Wilson, who is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease but maintains that medication has helped his memory, told the court last month during his trial that he could not remember Creigh and another altar boy telling him in 1976 that they were abused by Fletcher. The court has ruled that Creigh can be named in media reports, but that the second accuser cannot be named for legal reasons. The prosecution argued that Wilson failed to give details to police about a serious crime after Fletcher was arrested in 2004 and went on trial for preying on another boy. Fletcher was found guilty of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in prison of a stroke in 2006 while serving an almost eight-year sentence. Defense lawyers had argued that Wilson could not be found guilty because the case was circumstantial and there was no evidence to prove the archbishop was told about the abuse, believed it was true or remembered being told about it. One of Fletcher's victims, Daniel Feenan, said if Wilson had gone to the police in 1976 the year he was born the pedophile "would never have got to me" and his life would have been very different. The shadow of the Burundian government's 2015 crackdown on political unrest lingers over this capital city. Amid tightened security, residents must keep log books in their homes to track visitors. Security services dropping by can demand to see them and failure to produce them can result in arrest. Irakoze lives in one of the neighborhood where protests erupted three years ago. The 22-year-old has not fled her area, but she has spent much of her time alone. She said the government gave her a notebook two years ago, and she hasn't received any visitors since then because people are afraid. Burundian authorities distributed notebooks to each home, requiring residents to register family members and other visitors. They also must report any visitor to the government's "area chief." Failure to register and report a visitor can be a ticket to jail. Police enforce the regulations with frequent searches, which terrifies Irakoze. She said police forcefully knock on the door, scaring her family and waking children from their sleep. She said the knocking can have an impact even on those who are sick. Sometimes you think you are being attacked by criminals, she said. They come with a lot of force to do their search. Security agencies say that keeping records of people's movements will help them maintain peace and security. Some Burundi residents support the policy. Sixty-eight-year-old Nduwabike Michel said it is good to have the log because no one bothers you and one can live freely without fear. A man who lives in Cibitoke neighborhood, scene of protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza's rule, said police searches are not about improving security but instead are intended to punish people for their political views. He said police don't search areas where there were no protests. The 2015 unrest was sparked by the president's decision to run for a controversial third term. Last week, Burundians approved a constitutional change that extends presidential terms to seven years from five. After Nkurunziza's current term expires in 2020, he potentially could remain in office until 2034. The United States said the process was marred by a lack of transparency and efforts to intimidate the opposition. Canada is rejecting more refugee claims from people who crossed the border illegally as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government seeks to dissuade, block and turn back thousands more, according to new data obtained by Reuters. Forty percent of such border crossers whose claims were finalized in the first three months of this year were granted refugee status, down from 53 percent for all of 2017, according to data provided by Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board. There were no claims finalized in the first three months of 2017. The wave of illegal border crossings started up in January 2017 and ramped up over the summer as many Haitian immigrants in the United States who were at risk of losing their temporary legal status streamed into Canada on expectations that they could find a safe haven. In the months since, thousands of Nigerians have made the same crossing. More than 27,000 asylum seekers have walked across the Canada-U.S. border since President Donald Trump took office, some of whom have told Reuters they left the United States because of Trump's policies and rhetoric toward immigrants. The influx has strained Canada's backlogged system for assisting people seeking refugee status, leaving aid agencies scrambling to meet growing demand for housing and social services. A U.S.-Canadian border pact that turns back asylum seekers at border crossings allows immigrants who cross illegally into Canada outside of an official border crossing to apply for refugee status. Trudeau's government has sought to stem the influx by sending officials to the United States to dissuade Haitians, Salvadorans and others from illegally entering into Canada to seek refugee status. It has asked the United States to amend an agreement between the two nations to make it easier to turn back thousands of illegal border crossers. Like Haitians, thousands of immigrants from El Salvador in the United States have been told that they will lose their temporary legal status. Canada has also sent its immigration and refugee minister to Nigeria, asking the Nigerian government to help discourage its citizens from crossing illegally into Canada to claim refugee status and asking the United States to not grant visas to people who might then go to Canada. Immigration and Refugee Board data shows that while only a small number of border-crosser claims have been processed, acceptance rates are down for all groups seeking refugee status. The success rate is especially low for two of the biggest groups of asylum seekers to enter the country illegally: Haitians and Nigerians, with overall acceptance rates of 9 percent and 33.5 percent, respectively. China said Tuesday it will cut tariffs on most imported cars from 25 percent to 15 percent beginning July 1. The announcement by the country's finance ministry follows a pledge by President Xi Jinping last month to lower the import duties and to ease foreign ownership restrictions for the Chinese auto industry. It also comes after trade talks between China and the United States and an agreement between the world's two largest economies to avoid a trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly mentioned the 25 percent automobile tariff as a key trade barrier, while also calling attention to the U.S. trade deficit with China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday the two countries "made very meaningful progress and we agreed on a framework" to resolve trade issues during recent negotiations, and that China had agreed to buy more American goods to "substantially reduce" the trade gap. 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." Trump says the deal will benefit U.S. farmers. "Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce," he 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!" 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 how China might buy more American goods to reduce the 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 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 United States and China is the fate of ZTE, the giant Chinese technology company that has bought American-made components to build its consumer electronic devices. The United States fined ZTE $1.2 billion last year for violating U.S. 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 United States 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." South Sudan's warring parties are expected to sign a proposal drafted by Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediators that addresses many of the major sticking points that have prevented a peace deal. Delegates from the parties spent five days in intense negotiations in the Ethiopian capital, but had been unable to reach a consensus, which prompted the IGAD proposal. Government and opposition representatives, activists and observers Tuesday signed a document that recommits them to talks about governance issues, including implementing 35 percent affirmative action for women at all levels of government, acknowledging the need for all guns to fall silent, and respecting the cessation of hostilities agreement signed last December. Church leaders had been leading this round of talks in Addis Ababa. Justine Badi, the archbishop of the Anglican Church of South Sudan, emerged from talks Tuesday to say the message to the delegates is simple. "South Sudan Council of Churches urges the parties to cooperate with one another in the spirit of compromise and with IGAD for the sake of the millions of suffering South Sudanese," Badi told South Sudan in Focus. Mabior Garang, who chairs the Communication Committee of the SPLM-In Opposition, told VOA, "We can be hopeful in the little progress we have made." The failure of the parties to reach a deal after several months of negotiations has been seen this week as a major disappointment by many South Sudanese and international observers. Clement Janda, a representative of South Sudanese refugees from Uganda, said the warring parties refuse to put the people first. "The issue of those of us suffering in the refugee camps and those in the IDP [internally displaced people] camps were never an issue in this forum. People are talking about dividing positions, but they are not talking about the suffering of the millions of people in the camps," Janda said. Jon Pen, a civil society activist delegate at the talks, said the lack of pressure from regional and international observers is one reason the parties have failed to sign a deal. He also said there are too many delegates at the talks. "The parties are too many and if there are too many the concessions will take too long to reach. Some of them, I can even describe them [as] nominal, they are not really active on [the] ground," Pen told South Sudan in Focus. Pen also thinks the principals of the warring parties President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar need to be at the talks to tackle some of the toughest issues. IGAD proposal When the parties failed to reach a deal Monday when the talks were scheduled to end, IGAD leaders presented delegates with a draft proposal on security and governance issues. The document, dubbed a "bridging proposal," follows shuttle diplomacy efforts by IGAD leaders over the last 11 months. Under the IGAD proposal, there would be one president and three vice presidents. It also proposed 42 ministers and 15 deputy ministers. The position of president would be designated to the Transitional Government of National Unity. The first vice president would be designated to the SPLM-IO led by Machar, and the second and third vice presidents would be designated to the transitional government and other political entities, respectively. The plan also proposes power-sharing ratios in the national government of 55 percent for the transitional government, 25 percent for the SPLM-IO Machar faction, and 20 percent for other political entities. The transitional parliament would be expanded to 440 lawmakers from the current 400. IGAD has proposed various security arrangements for government and rebel forces. Edmond Yakani, an activist delegate at the talks, said the parties have been given a chance to study the document "and tomorrow come and give a proposal." He said there may end up being a shift in percentages in a final power-sharing agreement. Yakani advised citizens back home to "pray hard. At least tomorrow we may have peace prevail." Preparations are under way for a mass Ebola vaccination campaign in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the Ministry of Health and international aid agencies hold a second day of inoculations in northwestern Equateur Province. The latest World Health Organization estimates report 51 cases of Ebola, including 27 deaths. The World Health Organization said 33 people, most of them front-line health care workers, were vaccinated against Ebola on Monday in Mbandaka, a city of more than one million people. It said a few high-risk people from the community also were vaccinated during the first day of the campaign. More than 7,500 doses of the Ebola vaccine have been shipped to the Democratic Republic of Congo. WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told VOA he expects the campaign to accelerate and ultimately reach thousands of people. He said a lot of work has to be done before this complex operation can hit its stride. For example, he said transporting the vaccines and storing them in freezers in affected areas is a major challenge. "You need to have vaccination teams to be trained so they know exactly what they need to do, how to get a consent, how to define eligibility of a contact and contacts of contacts," he added. "So, all of that has to be done in a very, very short period of time under very difficult conditions." Jasarevic said a team from Doctors Without Borders will begin vaccinations later in the week in Bikoro, the remote rural town in northwestern Equateur Province, where the deadly Ebola virus was discovered two weeks ago. The Ebola vaccine is not licensed, but a major trial in 2015 in Guinea showed it gave a high rate of protection against the disease. A so-called ring vaccination strategy is being applied. It relies on tracing all the contacts and extended contacts of a recently confirmed case as soon as possible. More than 600 contacts have been identified. Several dozen Afghan security personnel have died in several days of heavy fighting with the Taliban in some districts of Ghazni province in Eastern Afghanistan. A Ghazni provincial council official said Tuesday the Taliban have managed to take control of two districts, Jaghatu and Dehak, after fierce fighting last night. Latifa Akbar, a provincial council member, said 20 police personnel, including the district police chief and the police reserve force commander of Dehak died in the fighting. Afghan government only confirmed 12 deaths. Taliban insurgents killed another 20 security forces personnel during fighting in a third district, Ajristan, where the insurgents managed to surround the governors compound Sunday. They were pushed back by the Special Forces deployed to provide reinforcements to the security forces on the ground. A spokesman for the unit involved in the fighting said all government installations were under their control. He also claimed the security forces had killed 10 Taliban in the fighting. Rejecting reports of Taliban takeover of two districts, Arif Noor, a spokesman for the Ghazni provincial governor, said the security forces were still fighting the Taliban even though the police was forced to retreat from its headquarters in both districts. Meanwhile, an explosion in another province, Kandahar, has left at least six people dead and many others wounded. Daud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, said a vehicle loaded with ammunition was found parked in a deserted area of Kandahar's district 14 around noon today. The Afghan intelligence agency (NDS) was trying to figure out how to dispose of it safely when the explosion took place. Doctors at the local Mirwais hospital told VOA on the condition of anonymity that eight security personnel and 21 civilians, including four children, are among the wounded. Most of the victims worked at a car workshop nearby. So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The fighting in Ghazni, a province with a strong Taliban presence, followed days of fighting in Farah province in Western Afghanistan. The top United States military commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, visited Farah on Saturday and tried to reassure the population that Farah will never fall to the Taliban. Ministers of interior and defense, and the head of Afghanistans intelligence agency accompanied Nicholson on this trip. Afghan security forces have suffered heavy losses since the Taliban launched their "al-Khandaq" spring offensive last month. In a briefing to the parliament earlier this month, the Afghan defense and interior ministers and the intelligence chief said hundreds had been killed or wounded in Taliban attacks. However, they told the parliamentarians that Afghan forces had inflicted much heavier casualties on the insurgents and foiled 70 percent of their plans. Last year, Afghan forces suffered unprecedented casualties, reported to be about 10,000 men. Residents of a Florida city were alerted earlier this week about a power outage, as well as zombies. The city of Lake Worth sent out a message on social media that read, "Power outage and zombie alert for the residents of Lake Worth and Terminus. There are now far less than seven thousand three hundred eighty customers involved due to extreme zombie activity. Restoration time uncertain." The city has since apologized. City spokesman Ben Kerr later posted a Facebook message saying officials were investigating the bogus alert and that he wanted to reiterate that Lake Worth does not have any zombie activity currently. Kerr said the power was restored within 30 minutes but did not address what caused the outage. A German court on Tuesday rejected a request from prosecutors to take former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont back into custody pending a decision on whether he can be extradited to Spain. Puigdemont was detained by German police March 25 after crossing the border from Denmark. Spain had issued a European arrest warrant and sought his extradition on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds charges that stem from an unauthorized referendum last year on Catalonia's independence from Spain. He was released April 6 after a German court said it appeared he can't be extradited for rebellion, the more serious of the two charges. But prosecutors in the northern town of Schleswig argued that new information provided by Spanish authorities suggests that would be possible. They cited videos showing violence against Spanish police and said in a statement that "the disturbances were on such a scale that prosecutors believe that he should also be extradited over the accusation of rebellion." The prosecutors argued that the charge is comparable to two offenses under German law treason and breaching the peace. They said that Puigdemont would pose a flight risk and called for him to be taken back into custody. The state court in Schleswig disagreed and rejected the request. Puigdemont remains free with certain conditions, including reporting to police once a week. The separatist politician has been living in Berlin, frequently receiving political allies from Catalonia including his newly elected successor as regional president, Quim Torra. The Schleswig court said it is "still open" when a final decision will be made on whether Puigdemont can be extradited. It said that the prosecutors have yet to submit a formal application to examine whether an extradition is possible. South Africa's investigation into the influential Gupta family has cut a wide swath through the country.The family, which fled South Africa earlier this year, stands accused of high-level corruption going up all the way to the office of former President Jacob Zuma. But their business activities in poor communities have also left deep wounds, residents say. In the dusty town of Klerksdorp, where mining is the main activity, locals say the Gupta-owned Shiva Uranium Mine underpaid and mistreated its some 700 workers. Mine worker Abram Serapelo, 30, said he hasn't been paid on time in months, since the Guptas' India-based bank pulled out of South Africa in February. "We don't know if we are still working, or we still have the job, or if we are safe as workers," he told VOA. Khaya Ngaleka, the regional chairman of the National Union of Mineworkers, said he has heard worrying reports of ill-treatment and poor safety practices at Shiva Mine an indication that even the family's above-board enterprises cut corners. "It's bad conditions, they're underpaid, they're not actually having what other employees in other companies who are doing the very same job are having," he said. Former Shiva Mine worker Job Majelenyane, currently without a job, said he can attest to that, having earned exactly half at the Gupta mine as he did at a competitor, for doing the same job. He said he feels the Gupta family has left the community which depends on the mines for employment in tatters. He criticized them for underpaying workers. "I'm feeling so very bad because of that thing that has given the whole country and the whole community around the mines a whole hell of poverty," he said. Focusing on big crimes Attention naturally centers around the highest-level corruption and around the Guptas' top ally, former President Jacob Zuma. Zuma is dealing with two investigations one into alleged kickbacks on an arms deal that pre-dates the Guptas' arrival in South Africa, the other into his relationship with the Guptas. A top corruption watchdog said it is a complex web that could take years to unravel. Leanne Govindsamy, who heads the legal and investigations team at the Johannesburg-based Corruption Watch, said it's necessary that the full story be told. And "one of the positives of a commission of inquiry, is that it can, in the long run, tell a fuller story, a fuller story than a criminal investigation would reveal." That's little comfort for Serapelo, who said recent police raids on his former employers' luxury home in Johannesburg don't give him much satisfaction. He's more worried about the 11 family members he supports. "Maybe Zuma is going to trial, but the real culprits are not going to trial as we speak," he said, as he prepared to go work the evening shift at the mine. "The Guptas are still free. ... I'm not saying Zuma is a bad person or a good person, but Zuma, he was robbed also, as we were robbed as South Africans." A Honduran drug kingpin will spend the rest of his life in U.S. federal prison for his part in an international drug ring. Sergio Neftali Mejia-Duarte was convicted in January on charges of conspiring to distribute cocaine, knowing it would be smuggled into the United States. U.S. attorneys said Monday's life sentence imposed upon Mejia-Duarte ends the reign of a ruthless, violent and prolific drug trafficker. Prosecutors said Mejia-Duarte is responsible for trafficking at least 20,000 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia and Panama, through Honduras and Guatemala, into Mexico and across the border into the United States. He used boats, helicopters and airplanes, and traveled with heavily armed bodyguards and assassins. U.S. attorneys also said Mejia-Duarte supplied cocaine to Mexico's notoriously violent Sinaloa drug cartel. In a much-anticipated speech, French President Emmanuel Macron presented plans Tuesday to improve health, education, security and infrastructure in France's disaffected suburbs, which have been tinderboxes of unrest and sometimes incubators of radicalism. President Macron laid out a series of concrete, actionable measures for the country's troubled banlieues, or suburbs from more community policing, urban renovation, and educational support, to cutting through layers of bureaucracy, fighting drug dealing, and better communication with local mayors about suspected radicals. Macron said while suburbs were places of talent and promise, they were also places of violence where things were not working and the situation was explosive. He said it was important to invent new methods for turning around the suburbs, and leveling the playing field for their inhabitants, who should be active participants of change. Macron said he wanted banlieue residents to recover their dignity and rights and that their background should not put a brake on their ambitions. He said 1,300 more police would be deployed as part of a revived effort at neighborhood policing. Aan urban renovation initiative would be launched in July, similar to one in the southern city of Toulouse. The low-income, high-crime suburbs around Paris and other French cities are a long-standing problem. In 2005, anger at police exploded into countrywide rioting, and banlieues have sometimes been incubators of radical Islam. Successive French leaders have proposed plans for overhauling them. A number of banlieue mayors hoped Macron would adopt all the measures of a detailed report he commissioned, but that did not happen. The director of a seabed hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on Tuesday disagreed with a new book's conclusion that the pilot likely flew the plane beyond the search area to deliberately sink it in unexplored depths of the Indian Ocean. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau believes the airliner mostly likely ran out of fuel and crashed after flying far off course en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014. It believes all 239 passengers and crew on board were likely long dead inside a depressurized cabin and cockpit. Search director Peter Foley, who coordinated the search on Malaysia's behalf, was quizzed by a Senate committee on theories in Canadian air crash investigator Larry Vance's new book "MH370: Mystery Solved." The book argues that two wing flaps found on islands off Africa in 2015 and 2016 point to pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah performing a controlled ditching outside the 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) that were scoured by sonar in a 198 million Australian dollar ($150 million) search that ended in January last year. It says Shah's aim was to keep the plane largely intact so it would disappear as completely as possible in the remote southern ocean. Foley, who said he has read the book, pointed to evidence that the plane was not under anyone's control when it hit the water. He said analysis of the satellite transmissions of the flight's final moments showed the jet was in a fast and accelerating descent at the end. Debris from within the plane's interior found washed up on the west coast of the Indian Ocean suggested significant energy on impact, Foley said. "If it was being controlled at the end, it wasn't very successfully being controlled," Foley said. "The flaps weren't deployed," he added. The book argues that the two recovered flaps show evidence that they had been deployed as the pilot slowed the plane for a gentle landing on water. Foley said an analysis at the bureau's headquarters in Canberra of the second flap found on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, in June 2016 determined it was "probably not deployed." But French authorities prevented an Australian analyst from "doing anything meaningful in terms of analysis" of the first flap found. That flap, known as a flaperon, was found on the French island of Reunion in July 2015. French authorities are holding the flaperon as evidence for a potential criminal prosecution. Foley said his bureau could not conclude that the flaperon had lost its trailing edge because it was deployed when the plane hit the water. While the bureau has not said who had initially flown the plane off course, Foley said "it's absolutely evident" that someone had, ruling out some mechanical or electrical malfunction. Texas-based technology company Ocean Infinity renewed the search this year on the basis that Malaysia would pay it up$70 million if it could find the wreckage or the plane's black boxes. Foley said he still hopes the search will succeed within weeks . "If they're not, of course, that would be a great sadness for all of us," he said. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak faced questions Tuesday from an anti-graft commission as part of a new probe into a multibillion-dollar scandal involving the country's development fund, 1MDB. Anti-Corruption Commission chief Mohamad Shukri Abdull said at a news conference that he had summoned Najib for questioning, but that he would not be arrested Tuesday. Investigators want to know about a $10 million bank transfer from a unit of 1MDB to Najib's bank account. The transaction is a small part of what the U.S. Justice Department alleges is $4.5 billion Najib helped steal from the fund. Najib has denied any wrongdoing. The scandal played a role in the defeat of his long-ruling coalition in national elections earlier this month that returned former leader Mahathir Mohamad to power. Mahathir pledged to open a new probe into the 1MDB scandal. Shukri also said Tuesday that in 2015, during an earlier investigation into the same allegations, he faced "frightening" harassment and that witnesses were abducted. The Justice Department said in a statement it looks forward to working with Malaysian authorities and is committed to ensuring the U.S. financial system is not threatened by corrupt people who want to hide ill-gotten wealth. The Ebola outbreak that has killed more than two dozen people in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo could be as devastating as the one that hit West Africa several years ago, if left unchecked. But first responders say things are different this time. Thats in large part thanks to a vaccine they couldnt use in late 2013, when Ebola cases were first reported in Guinea. The pharmaceutical giant Merck has shipped about 8,600 doses of its experimental vaccine, V920, to the site of the outbreak in Equateur province. The drug has gone through Phase 3 trials, but has not yet received regulatory licensure in any country. It will be administered in Congo by the World Health Organization, a Merck spokesperson told VOA. Ring vaccination Having an effective vaccine isnt enough, the head of policy and health diplomacy at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Benjamin Djoudalbaye, told VOA by phone from Geneva. V920 isnt designed for mass vaccination. People who have come in contact with a patient must be identified and given the drug. But the difficult part, Djoudalbaye said, is to properly list down all the contacts and press them in such a way that they (understand they) can benefit from the vaccine and it will stop the spread of the disease. The WHO will follow the ring vaccination approach, wherein anyone who has come into contact or may come into contact with an infected person is vaccinated to contain the threat. This could include family members, funeral workers, health workers and others in close contact with a patient. So far, V920 has prevented everyone vaccinated from contracting the virus. In a 2015 trial, none of the 5,837 people who received the vaccine became sick. A Merck spokesperson said in an email that the company plans to file for licensure in 2019, but it has made the vaccine available due to the Congo outbreak. The WHO has requested an additional 8,000 doses, and Merck said it is working to fulfill that request. Spread to neighboring countries? On May 18, the East African Community regional bloc warned its members that the virus could potentially spread from the DRC due to direct flights between the countries and extensive trade relations. Five out of six EAC partner states share borders with the DRC, and all of them maintain close trade relations with high border traffic, the statement alerted. The WHO has not declared a state of emergency, and travel to and from the DRC has not been restricted. But Djoudalbaye, who just returned from the DRC, said there are no sure things in disease control. Its just a matter of lowering the risk as much as possible. The risk zero doesnt exist, he said, That is what we need to have all keep in mind. But strong action from the government can limit the disease from spreading, he added. Djoudalbaye says health officials, NGOs and governments learned many lessons from the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014 and 2015, including the importance of a health-response infrastructure to support rapid intervention. Key to that effort has been the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which opened in early 2017. Existing systems and earmarked resources have enabled a speedy response in the DRC, Djoudalbaye said. After the declaration of the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo on the eighth (of May), by the tenth, we were on the ground. V920 isnt new. A team of scientists led by University of Manitoba researchers Steven M. Jones and Heinz Feldmann invented the vaccine in 2003 at the Public Health Agency of Canada, in Winnipeg. Initial tests showed promise. Just one shot of the vaccine prevented macaque monkeys exposed to high levels of Ebola from getting sick. But development of the drug faltered. Lengthy, expensive clinical trials didnt happen, until the worst Ebola outbreak in recorded history unfolded more than a decade later, in 2014 and 2015. By then, the vaccine had been licensed to Merck, and its effectiveness in humans had been established. More than 11,000 people died in the West Africa outbreak four years ago, and nearly 30,000 cases were recorded, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Trials of V920 in the outbreak region helped reduce the caseload and ultimately stop the epidemic. Ongoing funding Keeping the virus contained and the death toll as low as possible will require ongoing funding, experts say. If funding is cut, it will really be pulling the rug out from under health security. And countries that look to other countries that can help will be left alone again as these things will continue, said Cyrus Shahpar, the director of the Prevent Epidemics team at the Resolve to Save Lives initiative, a New York-based organization working to manage disease threats. The spread hasnt gone away. Obviously we have this new Ebola outbreak, but I think that the memory of what happened in West Africa has kind of waned a bit, and so funding is also starting to wane. And I think its absolutely the wrong thing to do, Shahpar said. At least nine people were killed Tuesday in southern India when police opened fire on protesters demanding the closure of a copper plant. The violence came amid months of protests against the Sterlite copper smelting plant owned by London-based mining giant Vedanta Resources, which demonstrators said polluted the area's groundwater and put local fisheries at risk. The company maintains that it follows environmental standards and has accused vested interests of spreading "false propaganda" about its operations. "The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property,'' Tamil Nadu state Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami said. On Twitter, Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Indian National Congress Party, condemned the use of force as "state-sponsored terrorism." A police officer told the French news agency AFP that attempts by security forces to disperse the 5,000-strong crowd with baton charges and tear gas were ineffective before they opened fire with live ammunition. The plant has been the focus of protests since 2013, when a gas leak sickened dozens of people. The plant was closed in late March by pollution regulators, though it could reopen as early as June 6. Pakistan is set to host an anti-terrorism meeting of a China-dominated regional security grouping Wednesday, where officials from India also are expected to be in attendance. The two-day conference of legal experts is taking place under the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. Critics increasingly see the 8-nation SCO as a counterweight to NATO. "The legal experts will discuss terrorist threats facing the region and ways and means to enhance counterterrorism cooperation between SCO member states," the Pakistani foreign ministry announced Tuesday. The meeting, namely SCO-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Legal Experts (RATS), is the first Pakistan is hosting since it became full member of the organization together with India nearly a year ago. Reports from New Delhi say Indian delegates are planning to attend the Islamabad event, but officials there have yet to confirm it. The Pakistani foreign ministry said Tuesday it is pleased to welcome delegations from SCO member states to Islamabad, but there was no mention whether Indian officials will attend. The meeting comes just weeks after India's Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman confirmed her country would take part in SCO's anti-terrorism military drill to be hosted by Russia in September, where Pakistani troops also will be present. "We are ready to share our experiences in tackling the menace of terrorism through the SCO-RATS," said the Pakistan statement. It reiterated Islamabad's resolve to support SCO's efforts for regional cooperation in fighting terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime. Analysts say India's expected participation in Wednesday's meeting will be a significant step toward easing military and political tensions with Pakistan. Indian and Pakistani militaries have been locked in routine skirmishes along their disputed Kashmir frontier, raising regional tensions. Both sides last week, as has become routine, accused each other of violating a mutual cease-fire in the Himalayan region, prompting skirmishes that officials said killed more than a dozen people, mostly civilians, on both sides. New Delhi has refused to engage in talks with Islamabad until the neighboring country brings to justice militants blamed for terrorist attacks on Indian soil. Pakistan denies any links to cross-border terrorism and says both the countries need to come to the table to defuse tensions and discuss all disputes, including the Kashmir dispute. As the Taliban's fight against Afghan forces continues, and after the group's threat to launch more attacks, some experts offer divided opinions on whether Kabul should hold to its peace offer and wait for a response from the insurgent group. In February, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani offered unconditional peace talks to the Taliban, in addition to a chance to recognize the group as a legitimate political party. After a fierce firefight in western and central Afghanistan, the Taliban warned civilians to stay away from government buildings in the capital city of Kabul as the group was planning to carry out attacks against these targets. "The attacks against [military, intelligence and other important institutions] are part of the Al-Khandaq spring offensive," the Taliban statement issued Monday read. The statement comes months after the group claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Kabul on Jan. 28 that killed more than 100 people. "There is no doubt that the Taliban is not going to talk with the Afghanistan government unless they reach an agreement with Americans first," Waheed Muzhda, a former member of the Taliban, told VOA. "They [Taliban] want to say that the Afghan government is inconsequential and a puppet and its offer is not worth a response," he added. U.S.-based Afghanistan expert Mohammad Jawad Rahimi said expecting a positive response from the Taliban is like building a castle in the sky. "The Afghan government, in cooperation with its international allies, should conduct serious military operations against the Taliban across the country as it would not receive any positive response to its peace offer," Rahimi told VOA. "Recent terrorist attacks show that the Taliban is a proxy of Iran and Pakistan who kill civilians and Afghan and international security forces on a daily basis. The Afghan government should use its diplomatic channels to negotiate with Iran and Pakistan to stop the violence, as these two countries are producing and supporting terrorism in Afghanistan," he said. Both countries deny charges that they are providing support to the insurgent groups in Afghanistan. Former Afghan army general Amrullah Aman said the Taliban is divided into many fractions and some of them are waging war against the Afghan government. "Since [the] Taliban has launched the Omari and Al-khandaq offensives, it shows that the insurgents are on the offensive side and the Afghan government is playing a defensive role. The Afghan government should crack down on those Taliban that resort to violence," Aman told VOA. "The green light from some of the Taliban factions is the reason why the Afghan government still insists on its peace offer." U.S. backs Afghan offer U.S. President Donald Trump's administration reiterated its support for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process. "I think what we want is the Afghan government to take the lead in this," National Security Adviser John Bolton told VOA. "And we will see there if the Taliban and all the various other factions that are involved in threatening the Afghan government are really interested in negotiations that could lead the peace," Bolton said. The re-emphasis from the Trump administration comes at a time when the Taliban seeks to have direct talks with the U.S., which the U.S. rejects. "We and the international community want to see a peaceful end to this conflict, but until that time, we will stay with you if necessary to fight alongside you until we achieve that peace," U.S.-led NATO commander Gen. John Nicholson said last week. Peace offer lives "The peace offer the Afghan government has made is what the Afghan nation seeks. We have voiced for unconditional peace the doors are open to those groups who are Afghans and want to make peace.The Afghan government will fight warmongers," Dawa Khan Menapal, an Afghan presidential spokesperson, told VOA. The Afghanistan High Peace Council (HPC), the body tasked with talking to the insurgents, also claims there is still a possibility of peace talks with the Taliban. "According to the reports we obtained from different sources, including media reports, the Taliban, or the armed opposition leaders, have started discussing how to engage in discussions with the Afghan government," Sayed Ehsan Taheri, HPC spokesperson, told VOA. "The Taliban insurgents increased their attacks, and the group has carried out around 1,000 attacks after the announcement of the Al-Khandaq spring offensive. In response to these attacks, we are conducting up to 20 military operations on a daily basis," Afghanistan's ministry of defense spokesperson Mohammad Radmanish told VOA. Atturahman Saleem, deputy of the Afghan High Peace Council, said that war cannot bring forth peace. When asked whether the council would wait for a Taliban response, Saleem said, "Absolutely. Necessary pressures, military, political and religious, should be built on the Taliban. Sooner or later it will work, and the Taliban would have no other option but to join the peace process." Syrian government forces raised their flag over the Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus on Tuesday as state media promoted what it said was the "liberation" of the last quarters of the capital from rebels and Islamic State group militants. Police motorcycles flying the flag roared into what was left of the neighborhood in a show for state media, and a detachment of soldiers raised the government's standard from the roof of what is now a shell of a building. The ceremonies, broadcast on state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV, was meant to assure residents that Damascus was secure for the first time since protests broke out against President Bashar Assad in 2011. The government cracked down violently on the demonstrations, igniting the ongoing civil war. Syria's military announced it had recaptured the camp and surrounding neighborhoods from Islamic State group militants on Monday, bringing the entire capital and its suburbs under full government control for the first time since the 2011. Police officers and soldiers standing in formation in the rubble of the Hajr al-Aswad neighborhood chanted half-heartedly for the president in what has become a ritual of pageantry after every advance by the government against the crumbling opposition movement and separate IS insurgency. But after the ceremony, the soldiers erupted in a cheer and let off bursts automatic gunfire into the air. They promised the cameras they would be heading to Daraa, a city near the border with Israel, which was the first to revolt against Assad in the Arab Spring protests earlier this decade. Daraa remains split between government and rebel control. The battles for Yarmouk and Hajr al-Aswad left both neighborhoods catastrophically damaged. Yarmouk, once home to about 200,000 Palestinian refugees, was deserted by most of its inhabitants as the government laid siege to it and Islamic State militants moved in in 2015. In the last month, the government began bombing the neighborhood intensively. The advance put the capital out of range of insurgents' mortar fire and shelling for the first time in nearly seven years. The Haq news agency, affiliated with the IS group, put out a statement on Tuesday saying the militants left the south Damascus neighborhoods "with their heads high" after forcing the government to agree to let them evacuate instead of pursuing a stalemated ground battle. 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. The Syrian government denied on Monday it had entered an agreement with Islamic State to evacuate the last of the militant group's fighters from one last area of resistance in southern Damascus. Syrian state media denied it had reached a deal with IS militants, and declared that its control of Al-Hajr al-Aswad and Yarmouk Camp suburbs was a "military victory." The area south of Damascus was the scene of intense airstrikes by the Syrian government to capture the area. The General Command for the Syrian Army made a televised statement Monday, declaring the full seizure of Yarmouk Camp and Al-Hajr al-Aswad neighborhoods, which puts the area surrounding Damascus and its countryside under Syrian government control. "Our armed forces and allied troops accomplished a full seizure of Hajr Aswad and surrounding areas after we got rid of a large number of IS militants and fully secured Al-Hajr al-Aswad and Yarmouk Camp areas," said Ali Maihoob, the spokesperson for the Syrian General Command of the Army and Armed forces. Maihoob added that the military operations will continue until they capture all areas of resistance and secure the country. Yarmouk Camp fell under IS control in March 2015. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor group, said there was a Russian-brokered deal between the Syrian government and IS militants to leave the area. Mattar Ismael, a journalist from southern Damascus, told VOA that the execution of the deal started at midnight Sunday, adding that locals reported seeing a convoy of buses entering the area during the night. Footage circulated on social media showed buses leaving the two suburbs carrying fighters and their families. "Buses carrying families of IS and civilians already arrived to Homs province [in] central Syria, while about 1,000 IS fighters will leave to the Syrian Desert, probably to eastern Deir el-Zour," Ismael said. Previous deals between the Syrian government and different rebel groups were reached, resulting in the evacuation of civilians and rebels from southern Damascus in April 2018. Deals between the government and IS fighters and their families, however, failed. IS fighters decided to remain in the area after the Syrian and Russian officials refused to guarantee that IS convoys heading to east Syria would not be targeted by the coalition's airstrikes. Yarmouk Camp was home to the largest Palestinian diaspora in Syria. It was established for the Palestinians who fled the 1948 war with Israel. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the camp was home to about 160,000 Palestinians before Syria's conflict began in 2011. The Syrian government retaking the area surrounding Damascus and its countryside comes six years after losing its grip over large sections in the region and seven years since the armed clashes began in the area. A new report Tuesday said Islamic State, the Taliban and corrupt power brokers in Afghanistan are making hundreds of thousands of dollars from illegal and abusive mining of talc, almost 80 percent of which is ending up in the United States and Europe. Earnings from illegal talc mining is funding insurgent activities and fueling corruption, undermining the chances of the war-shattered country to ever see stability, warned the report by Global Witness advocacy group. Talc is the common ingredient found in baby powder, cosmetics, paint, paper and plastics. Much of the talc extraction is happening in the mineral-rich volatile eastern province of Nangarhar on the Pakistani border. Taliban insurgents and the Afghan affiliate of IS, known as Khorasan Province, or IS-KP, operate bases in several districts of the border province where satellite photos have shown marks of extensive mining for minerals, noted the report. Afghan talc is transported across the border into neighboring Pakistan, where it is mixed with locally mined talc and then shipped around the world, making up at least 60 percent of Pakistani exports, the report said. Some 40 percent of talc exported from Pakistan goes to the United States, the biggest single market, it added. Afghanistan exported more than 560,000 tons of talc to Pakistan, according to 2016 trade figures cited in the report. "Access to talc mines is also a current source of conflict between the IS-KP and the Taliban already estimated to be making around $300 million a year from Afghanistan's mineral wealth in the mineral-rich Nangarhar province," it said. The report noted that IS is known to have vastly exploited natural resources in Iraq and Syria, and the group now appears to be turning its attention to Afghanistan, particularly the country's talc mines. It said that IS-KP controls a limited amount of territory in Afghanistan, but that includes parts of the country's rich mineral wealth, particularly talc, chromite and marble. While talc may be the least glamorous of conflict minerals, the report said, ultimately much of its value comes from America and Europe. "Consumers and companies in these countries could, therefore, unknowingly be funding the Afghan insurgency," it said. The advocacy group called for Afghanistan and its international partners to prioritize better security around mining, controls on supply chains and reforms to the mining law, "not just for the sake of ordinary Afghans, but to help end a conflict that has gone on too long." U.S. President Donald Trump asked New York state's highest court to delay a defamation lawsuit against him by a former contestant on his reality television show "The Apprentice" who claimed he sexually harassed her. In a filing on Monday, Trump told the state's Court of Appeals that Summer Zervos' lawsuit should be put on hold because a sitting U.S. president is immune from being sued in a state court during his term in the White House. Trump, who has denied Zervos' allegations, is challenging a March 20 ruling by Justice Jennifer Schecter of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan allowing the case to proceed. Saying "no one is above the law," Schecter rejected Trump's claim of immunity over private conduct predating his becoming president. An intermediate state appeals court on May 17 refused to halt Zervos' lawsuit, without ruling on its merits. Trump said that refusal qualified as a "final appealable order" justifying intervention by the Court of Appeals. Zervos' lawyer, Mariann Wong, said, "Defendant has lost his effort to stay this action twice already, and for good reason. No one is above the law. "We look forward to proving defendant lied when he attacked Ms. Zervos for telling the truth about his unwanted sexual groping," Wong said in an email. A preliminary conference before Schecter is scheduled for June 5, court records show. Zervos accused Trump of subjecting her to unwanted kissing and groping after she sought career advice in 2007. She came forward during the 2016 presidential campaign, and Trump called such allegations by women "lies." He also retweeted a post calling Zervos' claims a "hoax." Zervos said Trump defamed her by branding her a liar. She is seeking a retraction or an apology, compensatory damages and punitive damages in her lawsuit. President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday that Ukraine had taken into account most international recommendations in the latest draft law to create an anti-corruption court, which may be voted on by parliament this week. A long-delayed tranche of loans from the International Monetary Fund's $17.5 billion aid-for-reforms program hinges on parliament approving the bill, but it has not been clear if the latest version of the law guarantees the court's independence in line with external guidance. "Yesterday I was happy that the absolute majority of the recommendations of foreign partners including the Venice Commission were taken into account by the decision of the parliamentary committee," Poroshenko told journalists, referring to a leading legal rights watchdog. In recent days, the Ukrainian authorities have been consulting with the IMF and the Venice Commission on the law before a possible final vote in parliament this week, parliamentary Speaker Andriy Parubiy told local media on Monday. Neither the Fund nor the commission have yet said what they think of the latest version of the law, which Ukraine's backers see as a keystone of the country's promised attempt to overhaul the graft-ridden justice system. Delayed implementation of reforms and backtracking on changes to the energy sector have held up the disbursement of international funding that Ukraine needs to help finance peak payments on its foreign currency-denominated debt in 2018-2020. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday "there is no deal" yet to lift the seven-year ban on the sale of American-made components to the giant Chinese telecommunications company ZTE, but that there might be a settlement as part of ongoing trade talks between the world's two biggest economies. Trump told reporters at the White House that he could envision a $1.3 billion fine against ZTE for violating the U.S. ban on trading with Iran and North Korea, the replacement of ZTE's management and board of directors and imposition of "very, very strict security" to prevent the theft of U.S. intellectual and national security secrets. "We caught them doing bad things," he said. Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping asked him to look into the fate of ZTE after the firm said it had to shut its production because the U.S. banned sale of American-made components ZTE uses to manufacture an array of technology products until 2025. Trump said he also heard protests from the U.S. companies selling goods to ZTE. Trump declared he was "not satisfied" with the state of U.S.-China trade talks after last week's negotiations in Washington. China agreed to "substantially reduce" the $375 billion annual trade surplus it has over the U.S. by buying more American goods, but there was no mention of any specific import and export targets in the statement agreed to by the two countries. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is headed to China next week for further trade talks. Trump commented on the ZTE case as U.S. news accounts quoted officials as saying a deal was near. His suggestion of a $1.3 billion fine was slightly more than the $1.2 billion penalty the U.S. imposed last year on ZTE after uncovering its trade ban violations. On Sunday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said, "Do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free. Ain't going to happen." Congressional opposition But some U.S. lawmakers voiced opposition to settling the case. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who lost the 2016 Republican presidential nomination to Trump, contended that Washington had "surrendered" to Beijing. The Florida lawmaker said he would try to block it. "Making changes to their board and a fine won't stop them from spying and stealing from us. But this is too important to be over. We will begin working on veto-proof congressional action," Rubio said on Twitter. Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer said, "The proposed solution is like a wet noodle," contending ZTE's technology devices threaten to steal U.S. national security secrets. Rescuing ZTE Trump last week called for rescuing ZTE "to get back into business, fast." He said "too many jobs in China" were being lost after the U.S. banned the sales of American-made components to ZTE. The U.S. leader said, "Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!" While some U.S. officials said the penalties against ZTE the fine and the ban on sale of U.S. components until 2025 were a law enforcement action, Trump linked the issue to ongoing trade and tariff disputes with China. The two countries over the weekend called off the threat of imposing higher tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's exports while their negotiations continue. Meanwhile, China announced Tuesday that on July 1 it will cut tariffs on most imported cars from 25 percent to 15 percent, still well above the 2.5 percent levy the U.S. imposes on cars imported from overseas. The announcement by China's finance ministry follows a pledge by Xi last month to lower the import duties and to ease foreign ownership restrictions for the Chinese auto industry. Trump repeatedly has mentioned the 25 percent automobile tariff as a key trade barrier between the two countries. On Monday, Trump said new trade between China and the U.S. will especially benefit U.S. farmers. "Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce," he said on Twitter. Senior Trump administration officials warned Congress on Tuesday of ongoing efforts by Russia to interfere in the 2018 midterm congressional elections as the federal government prepares to hand out $380 million in election security funding to states. At a briefing attended by 40 or more members of the 435-member U.S. House of Representatives, the heads of the FBI and the Homeland Security Department and the director of national intelligence told members to urge states and cities overseeing elections to be prepared for threats. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told reporters she agreed Russia was trying to influence the 2018 elections. "We see them continuing to conduct foreign influence campaigns," Nielsen said, but added there was no evidence that Russia had been targeting specific races. Nielsen said DHS was watching other countries that have the capability to influence U.S. elections, including China and Iran. "We need to be prepared," she said. Chris Krebs, a senior cybersecurity official at the DHS, told Reuters in an interview that he expected the $380 million approved by Congress in March to help safeguard U.S. voting systems from cyberattacks to be distributed to states later this week. DHS is assisting 48 states with election security and handed out a chart at the briefing to members seen by Reuters that said states need to have auditable systems; spend time on planning, training and drills; and should "consider investing in full system architecture reviews." Russia among others Representative Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said after the briefing that members were concerned that "not only Russia but possibly other foreign adversaries are now going to start looking at how they can meddle in the midterm elections and we need to be prepared. We were caught off guard last time." U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian leadership at a very high level was involved in the attempt to interfere in the U.S. election in order to boost President Donald Trump's candidacy. Russia has denied interfering in U.S. elections. Several Democrats said after the briefing that they were worried that the federal government was not doing enough to safeguard elections. "I think there is a lot of concern that we are not up to par," said Representative Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat. DHS said in March it is prioritizing election cybersecurity above all other critical infrastructure it protects. The agency has said that 21 states had experienced initial probing of their systems from Russian hackers in 2016 and that a small number of networks were compromised, but that there remained no evidence any votes were actually altered. Representative Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, told reporters after the briefing the federal government should quickly alert states if they learn of election system hacking. He also wants a "real-time communications channel" between the intelligence community and technology companies in order to assure that internet firms are notified if evidence emerges that Russia is creating fake Facebook pages or taking other actions to try to influence the elections. 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 the findings. The FBIs timing has been a sore point for Clinton supporters, who say then-director James Comeys announcement of the new review less than two weeks before the Nov. 8, 2016, election contributed to her loss. The agencys findings affirming its 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 allies say the candidates name could have been cleared much faster if the FBI acted on the emails as soon as they knew of their existence. An inspector general report examining a broad range of FBI actions during the Clinton email investigation will criticize officials, including Comey, for not moving fast enough to examine the email trove and for a weekslong 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 FBIs 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 Trumps 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 FBI actions in the early stages of its 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 Comeys 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 during the course of 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. 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. Attorneys 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 Weiners 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 Weiners computer might connect to ... Hillary Clinton made no sense to me. Comey said it wasnt 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 Clintons 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. Former Local Government Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, who was forced to run for his dear life last November after the Zimbabwe Defence Forces temporarily seized control of all key state institutions before deposing then president Robert Mugabe, has returned home after a six-month self-imposed exile in South Africa. According to the privately-owned Newsday newspaper, Kasukuwere returned home aboard a South African Airways aircraft midday in Harare and was immediately whisked away in a vehicle believed to be owned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). He was questioned by the CID on issues not made public and then set free. Some Zanu PF youth, led by Harare provincial chairperson Godwin Gomwe, staged a demonstration at the airport accusing the former Zanu PF political commissar of corruption. The youth were caught in a video circulating on social media as saying that Kasukuwere allegedly pilfered funds under Zimbabwes indigenization program. The former minister was not available for comment. The state-controlled Herald newspaper quoted Kasukuwere as saying he will stay out of politics and denied reports that he is set to lead the Zimbabwe Patriotic Front linked to former president Robert Mugabe and the so-called Generation 40 (G40) faction of the ruling party, which wanted Mrs. Grace Mugabe to succeed her husband. The Zimbabwe Defence Forces claimed that they wanted to get rid of criminals surrounding Mugabe when they launched what they termed Operation Restore Legacy in November last year that led to the end of Mugabes 37 years in power. Kasukuwere fled to South Africa together with former Higher Education Minister Jonathan Moyo, former Youth Affairs Minister Patrick Zhuwao and several others who were linked to G40. They were outmaneuvered by then Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwas Team Lacoste faction of the ruling party, which wanted him to replace Mugabe. Moyo, Zhuwao and other G40 members are still in self-imposed exile. If you havn't done it yet,to get one of the fastest volcano news online: Satellite image of Langila volcano (image by Google Earth View) Langila volcano stratovolcano 1330 m / 4,363 ft New Britain, Papua New Guinea, -5.53S / 148.42E Current status: minor activity or eruption warning (3 out of 5) Langila volcano eruptions: 2009-2013, 2002-08, 1973-2000, 1971-72, 1970, 1969, 1967-68, 1964-66, 1962-63, 1960-61, 1958, 1956, 1955, 1954, 1942 (?), 1907, 1900, 1890, 1884, 1878 Typical eruption style: explosive Last nearby quakes Latest satellite images stratovolcano 1330 m / 4,363 ftNew Britain, Papua New Guinea, -5.53S / 148.42E(3 out of 5)2009-2013, 2002-08, 1973-2000, 1971-72, 1970, 1969, 1967-68, 1964-66, 1962-63, 1960-61, 1958, 1956, 1955, 1954, 1942 (?), 1907, 1900, 1890, 1884, 1878explosive Background Langila volcano, whose activity record goes back to the 19th century only, is one of the most active volcanoes of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Langila's frequent activity consists typically of mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions, that are sometimes accompanied by lava flows. The volcano consists of four small overlapping cones on the lower eastern flank of the extinct Talawe volcano,- the highest volcano in NW New Britain. The rectangular, 2.5-km-long crater of Talawe has a large gap to the SE; the younger Langila volcano formed NE of Talawe's breached crater. Extensive lava flows have reached the sea from the N and NE flanks of the volcano. Since observations have begun, 3 summit craters have been active. The youngest and smallest of these, with a diameter of 150 m, was formed in 1960. NASA Earth Observatory Explosion of Langila volcano 1985 Stratovolcano 3562 m (11,686 ft)Ecuador, -0.08S / -77.66W(4 out of 5)1541, 1590, 1691, 1748, 1797, 1802, 1843, 1843, 1844, 1856, 1871, 1894, 1898-1906, 1912, 1926, 1929, 1936, 1944, 1955, 1957, 1960, 1972, 1973-74, 1976, 2002 (large eruption), 2004 (Nov) - 2005 (Jan), 2005 (June) - 2006 (March), 2008 (July) - ongoingExplosive and effusive.(5 days expedition to Ecuador to observe volcanic activity from close) If you havn't done it yet,to get one of the fastest volcano news online: One of the most impressive lava dome eruptions in recent years. A new dome formed in the crater lake of Kelut volcano (East Java) in late 2007. Enjoy some unique pictures. Readof people who felt an earthquake in the last week Etna - Europe's largest and most active volcano is a universe in itself. Browse through our collection spanning almost 20 years of eruptions and more. A growing list of photo galleries taking during our expeditions in this fantastic part of the world, full of volcanoes, unspoiled nature and colors. A selection of our most popular trips, which we have been offering and improving over many years now: Stromboli & Etna, Santorini, Java, Ethiopia, Nyiragongo and more. Have a look! Support us - Help us upgrade our services! Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every donation will be highly appreciated. Improved multilanguage support Tsunami alerts Faster responsiveness Earthquake archive from 1900 onwards Detailed quake stats Additional seismic data sources Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: Android | IOS to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world.We need financing to increase hard- and software capacity as well as support our editor team.If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features, write great content, and in upgrading our soft- and hardware, please PayPal or Online credit card payment )., these features have been added recently: 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. TONI&GUY is an international hairdressing company, with salons all over the world. Since its first opening, in London 1963, it has continued to attract cosmopolitan clientele, in search of professionalism and innovative trends. TONI&GUY Rome, has two salons in the heart of the city. One located in Via di Ripetta 133, the other, in Via delle Botteghe Oscure 5. Our studios are both welcoming and stylish, having the perfect balance of professional working space and a relaxed experience for the customer. In addiction to our extensive hairdressing services, we also invite you to relax in our lounge-waiting area, offering complimentary Wi-Fi and self-service bar. Our team of professionals, who are here to take care of you, are frequently involved in international fashion events, and are keen to recommend the contemporary look that best suits you. A small creative corner of the world, in the eternal city. BOOKING ONLINE available : Lunedi -Sabato 10-19 -Roma ,Via delle Botteghe Oscure 5 http://toniandguy.it/salon/roma-botteghe/booking-2/ -Roma, Via di Ripetta 133 http://toniandguy.it/salon/roma-ripetta/booking/ Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: 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. Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. Email address By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy It's very much a varied plethora of openings this week, with youthful escapism in Confidence at Southwark Playhouse, soaring magic in the revival of Peter Pan at Regent's Park and an office-based war of personalities over at the Menier with The Gronholm Method. Ahead of its run at London's Coliseum, Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate also kickstarts its UK tour. Tanya Burr and Rhys Yates rehearse Confidence Helen Murray 5. Confidence Southwark Playhouse, until 16 June Online star Tanya Burr makes her professional stage debut in the 20th-anniversary revival of Judy Upton's Confidence, a '90s coming of age tale set on a sleepy English coastline. Produced by Boundless, who are on a mission to bring new audiences (particularly young people) into the theatre, the piece is directed by Rob Drummer and plays at the Southwark's small space. Oh, and did you spot the life-size picture of Liam Gallagher in the rehearsal room? Guess you'll have to go to find out why that's there... See Confidence in rehearsals Hamnet at the Southbank Centre Dead Centre 4. Hamnet Southbank Centre, 26 to 28 May The story of William Shakespeare's son is a tragic one dying aged 11 while his father was on a lengthy absence in London (effectively abandoning his family) some literary historians see the Bard's loss as a pivotal turning point in his writing career. From the makers of the Fringe First and OBIE Award-winners Dead Centre, this new show about youth and perspective aims to examine Hamnet's life and how it interacts with the most famous play that the boy's name was lent to. Read the Southbank's full 2018 season Laura Pitt-Pulford (Melanie), Greg McHugh (Carl), John Gordon Sinclair (Rick) and Jonathan Cake (Frank) Manuel Harlan 3. The Gronholm Method Menier Chocolate Factory, until 7 July Fans of Mad Men and The Apprentice will be sure to love this UK premiere of Jordi Galceran's office-based drama, translated by Anne Garcia-Romero and Mark St Germain. A cast of four including Laura Pitt-Pulford go head-to-head as a bunch of candidates competing for a job in a high-flying Fortune 500 company in New York. The production has so far been seen in over 60 countries, so it seems only right that it's arrived in the UK. Have a first look at The Gronholm Method Sam Angell (Peter) in rehearsals Johan Persson 2. Peter Pan Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, until 15 June The 2015 Olivier Award-nominated production of JM Barrie's never-ageing boy returns to soar across the leafy canopy of Regent's Park as the Open Air Theatre kicks off its 2018 season. Set during the First World War, the show looks like a vivid and epic reimagining of the classic piece. With As You Like It, The Turn of the Screw and a drag-infused Little Shop of Horrors to follow, the al-fresco venue looks set to have another bumper year. Read set designer Jon Bausor's exploration of the set of Peter Pan Kiss Me, Kate in rehearsals Tom Arber 1. Kiss Me, Kate Leeds Grand, until 26 May then touring It's time to Brush Up Your Shakespeare, as Cole Porter's classic musical comedy Kiss Me, Kate returns in a new revival courtesy of Opera North. Beginning a UK tour at the Leeds Grand (because it's too darn hot to only perform in one city!) ahead of runs in Edinburgh, Ravenna (in Italy!) and at London's huge Coliseum, the production of the classic musical (based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew) has a crack cast including Zoe Rainey (An American in Paris). See Zoe Rainey's favourite showtunes Last chance to see: Nightfall (Bridge Theatre), Nine Night (National Theatre), The Best Man (Playhouse Theatre), The Way of the World (Donmar Warehouse), The Writer (Almeida Theatre) DALLAS Like fax machines and desktop telephones, your individual office workspace may be headed for extinction. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2018 (1238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. DALLAS Like fax machines and desktop telephones, your individual office workspace may be headed for extinction. More than half of corporate execs say they plan to switch to unassigned worker seating for all or some of their employees during the next three years. Instead of having their own desks, workers will grab an empty workstation when they come to the office in the morning. Dont be late to work, or you could wind up sitting by the dumpster. Its just one of the ways employers are shaking up the traditional office environment to cut costs and supposedly increase productivity, according to a new report by commercial real estate firm CBRE. In the past decade, business employers have increasingly shifted from individual offices to open work environments. They usually say the moves are to increase collaboration among workers. But major office users also acknowledge they are slashing real estate costs with these shifts. At a growing number of office centres, including JPMorgan Chases new campus in Plano, Texas, and Liberty Mutual Insurance across the street, many workers dont have assigned desks and keep their personal items in a locker or cabinet when they leave. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "The modern workplace is in a state of transition, as workplace design standards have evolved from traditional layouts with a mix of enclosed and open work spaces," CBRE research analyst Julie Whelan said in the new report. "Managing employees through this change is critical, so that the initiative is viewed as being additive to productivity and wellness instead of a pure cost-cutting measure." The moves, it appears, are only partially to build teamwork and promote employee networking. More than 50 per cent of firms say their primary reason for the office changes is to reduce costs. Only 20 per cent of companies said they are going to the new office environments to promote innovation. And less than a third say the changes are to retain and attract talent something we keep hearing from big corporations. CBRE surveyed mostly banking, finance, tech, telecom and professional service firms about their office plans. Almost half of the companies said they planned to make workplace changes to seek better space utilization. Dallas Morning News For more than 50 years, Ralphs Custom Tailors kept Winnipeggers looking their best. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/5/2018 (1238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. For more than 50 years, Ralphs Custom Tailors kept Winnipeggers looking their best. But now, Raff Cantafio, who took over from his father Ralph in the early 1990s, is eyeing a change at the landmark at Corydon Avenue and Wilton Street. "Weve been a part of the community for all of these years while weve been at that corner. Weve watched the evolution of the neighbourhood, and its time for us to move forward as well," Cantafio said. "Buildings cant last forever. At some point, you have to take a leap of faith and say, Im going to do something different here." In 1956, six years after immigrating to Canada, Ralph Cantafio opened up the neighbourhood tailor shop at 1108 Corydon Ave. Decades later, he passed the family business on to his son Raff. It wasnt until around 2008 that the idea of doing something different with the property came up, Cantafio said. A developer approached the family to see if they would be interested in selling the prime piece of real estate. While the family turned down the offer, the idea of redeveloping the property burrowed itself into Cantafios brain. "At a certain point, I started thinking to myself, Why cant I do that? And then I started seriously looking into it about three or four years ago." In January, the building, which had stood on the corner for more than half a century, was knocked down. Cantafio is redeveloping it into commercial and office space. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jon Blumberg (left) and DJ Trudeau of Monopoly Realty stand outside the former location of Ralphs Custom Tailors on Thursday. The pair are now lining up tenants for the next chapter of the corner lot at Corydon Avenue and Wilton Street. Construction has already broken ground and the multimillion-dollar project could be completed as early as October. The new space will be a three-storey building, but Ralphs Custom Tailors is gone for good. "I think for my dad and my mom, and even for my wife and I, it was bittersweet. But everything is an evolution and its exciting to move onward and upward," Cantafio said. Thats where Jon Blumberg and DJ Trudeau of Monopoly Realty both former customers at Ralphs come into the picture. Theyre in charge of finding tenants for the building and say spaces are already being snapped up. "It was a staple in the community for a very long time. Even for the younger generation, whenever you would ask, Where should I take my suit? The answer was always Ralphs," Blumberg said. "Youd go there and hed measure you up and make sure everything was perfect. And I think hes taking that same strategy here: high-end, attention to detail." Trudeau said theyve already got 50 per cent of the spaces leased out, with a hair salon secured to take over the first floor and a portion of the second. There are still two spaces left to rent out, however, including one with a rooftop patio. The family hopes the building will turn into a new landmark in time, Trudeau said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Its going to be a very eye-catching building. The overall architecture of the building is something a lot of thought went into. I genuinely think people will be proud to have it in the neighbourhood," Trudeau said. "You might drive past and wonder where Ralphs is, but then youll see this beautiful, modern building, which speaks to where things are going in the city, and think, Whats in there?" Cantafio said he hopes the building will be a legacy for his children, the same way his father left him Ralphs Custom Tailors. "I think my dad knows its something thats going to live on. Were still there in the same spot, just in a different capacity, in a different form. But it will live on for my kids now, and thats the legacy we would like to leave for them," Cantafio said. Know of any newsworthy developments in the local office, retail, industrial or multi-family-residential sectors? Let us know at business@freepress.mb.ca. ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @rk_thorpe OTTAWA Federal bureaucrats scrambled to respond to an increase in asylum claimants from the U.S. near the Emerson border crossing in early 2017 as U.S. immigration policy was constantly shifting, hundreds of emails obtained by the Free Press show. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/5/2018 (1238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Federal bureaucrats scrambled to respond to an increase in asylum claimants from the U.S. near the Emerson border crossing in early 2017 as U.S. immigration policy was constantly shifting, hundreds of emails obtained by the Free Press show. Some of the most senior officials working for Public Safety Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP sent emails during weekends and evenings to track the number of claimants crossing into Manitoba and Quebec. They kept an eye on whether officers could keep up and how the media reported the story. John Woods / The Canadian Press In the early hours of a frigid February morning in 2017, eight migrants from Somalia crossed into Canada illegally from the United States by walking down this train track into the town of Emerson, MB. There, they sought asylum at a Canada Border Services Agency. It took Public Safety Canada 50 weeks to provide the emails, which were sent in the first two months of 2017, after receiving a freedom-of-information request. In early December 2016, just a few people had crossed into Manitoba near Emerson. A loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement forbids most people from the U.S. from filing refugee claims at official border stations. So, many made their way on foot across the border near the official crossing. Then, they were able to apply for refugee status. Conservative Ted Falk, who is the areas MP, had raised the issue with Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. "My concern is, in effect, that the (loophole) rewards those who circumvent the port of entry," Falk wrote, making it "unfair to those who try to abide by our laws" and "incredibly dangerous" for those who dont. At first, the number of claims in Manitoba didnt cause concern. There were just 19 in January 2017. But in February, it jumped to 142. While federal authorities in Quebec towns took asylum seekers into nearby buildings, their Manitoba counterparts had to contend with a widespread rural area. They stationed heated vans and medical services nearby to warm the claimants, some of whom had frostbite. Local resources were stretched thin. In a Feb. 15, 2017, letter Emerson-Franklin reeve Greg Janzen requested "immediate attention" and financial help. He wrote that locals "do not have the resources to keep up" with claimants showing up in the middle of the night. Two weeks later, Goodale visited Emerson and announced $30,000 would be given to local firefighters. Around that time, the CBSA noted a 25 per cent jump in refugee claims filed at Emerson from 2016. "Claimants no longer consist of single males from Somalia. Rather asylum seekers from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ghana as well as families," reads an internal slideshow. Meanwhile, officials monitored the fallout of U.S. President Donald Trumps Jan. 27 executive order to restrict immigrants and refugees from seven countries, which had Muslim majorities. Amid the chaos at American airports and challenges being launched at state-level courts, Canadian officials sought answers on how the so-called "Muslim ban" applied to Canadians who held U.S. visas as well as those who had dual citizenship from the affected countries. At a Montreal summit with American counterparts in mid-February, immigration officials got their hands on a draft memo from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that detailed how Trumps order should be put into practice. "The memo also notes a seldom-used provision in the law to return asylum seekers to contiguous territory from which they entered the U.S., namely Mexico, but (it) could also apply to Canada," reads a note exchanged by senior officials. (It appears the U.S. has not done so since then.) U.S. and Canadian border officials discussed ways to improve "radio interoperability," information sharing and coast guard patrols. The number of crossings continued to grow, and by Feb. 22, Goodales staff was warned that the spike in asylum seekers could wear down Mounties and border guards. "If the situation were to continue, RCMP and CBSA officer health could be affected as a result of excessive overtime. In addition, the RCMP estimates that there would be an impact on other more serious criminality given the diversion of resources." The RCMP head for federal policing, Gilles Michaud, put it even stronger in an email a week earlier: "Although we are good to go for a couple of weeks or so, we can not sustain this without having an impact on other (and more) serious criminality and health for our officers." This spring, the federal Liberals allocated $173.2 million to deal with staffing at the border and to help clear a backlog in refugee-claim hearings. The emails also show there was a huge amount of media queries, with scores of bureaucrats asked to pull up data and responses, often in anticipation of reporters questions. At times, officials couldnt compare the number of crossings with data from 2016, due to issues with the CBSAs internal records system. Leading up to Transport Minister Marc Garneaus March 2, 2017, visit to Washington, his departments top civil servant requested talking points on "border crossing refugees," so Garneau could address the issue with media and with his U.S. counterparts. A month earlier, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carrs office made a similar request for talking points, in case journalists asked about crossings during a teleconference from his trade mission in Mexico. On the weekend of Feb. 11, CBSA officers tipped off Goodales office that media were filming the crossings in Quebec. "They filmed a family of three being intercepted. The RCMP have advised us that they will be getting filmed all day and (the) media outlet has advised the same via social media," reads a note from an official, adding that the journalists hadnt violated any privacy rules. By late February, Goodales media team was fielding scores of media queries. Officials seemed perplexed about how to respond to a Feb. 24 question from Reuters, about a security expert who warned that televised images of people crossing on foot "could encourage militant groups to send operatives into Canada to launch attacks." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The emails show a slight gap between Ottawas messaging on asylum claimants and how bureaucrats referred to the issue. The federal Liberals have stressed that people crossed on foot before the Trump administration took office, and have blamed the uptick on false rumours that Canada has a lenient refugee system. But a Feb. 23, 2017, briefing note points out that crossings near Emerson were almost unheard of during winter months, and that "the U.S. political situation may be accelerating this movement." Meanwhile, a question period note prepared for Goodale uses the term "illegal border crossings," though the federal Liberals have insisted on using the term "irregular" migration. Those who dont enter Canada at a border crossing violate federal law, but are shielded from prosecution when they file a quick asylum claim. Lately, Conservative MPs have taken to shouting "illegal" in the Commons each time a minister mentions "irregular" crossings. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/5/2018 (1238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. If youre cooking, theyre coming. Researchers at the University of Winnipeg are hitting the road this summer in a new food truck, inviting Manitobans to hop on board, cook family recipes and be interviewed about the process. "We have people coming aboard the food truck to cook a dish that has meaning to them, and to interview them about their life stories. And were also going off the food truck and interviewing business owners and workers of long-standing food production facilities and food businesses," said Sarah Story, an archivist involved with the Manitoba Food History Project. Principal investigator Janis Thiessen, whos an associate professor of history at U of W and associate director of the schools Oral History Centre, emphasized the recipes dont need to be Michelin-worthy. "It doesnt have to be a good recipe. Were not asking for your tastiest. We want one thats memorable. And one thats memorable may not taste good and were good with that. What we want is food as a trigger for memories and peoples life stories," Thiessen said. The food history project comes on the heels of Thiessens book, Snacks: A Canadian Food History, published in 2017. There, she delved into the makings of iconic grub like Old Dutch Potato Chips, Hawkins Cheezies and Ganong chocolate, and asked why Canadians are loyal to their favourite junk food brands. A deep-dive into Manitobas token foods perogies, Greek chili burgers and grainy goods among them was a natural next step, she said. Thiessen hopes the project will appeal to folks who arent normally gung-ho when it comes to learning about history. The groups website will feature digital storyboards and links to podcast interviews theyve done, among other research thats hopefully not stale. "We wanted to reach those folks and have them accidentally ingest some history and discover that its more nuanced than perhaps theyve been led to believe, and more interesting and more complicated," Thiessen said. "Food is really the hook. We certainly are interested in food dont get me wrong. But even learning about the history of the food, you can also learn about immigration history, government policy, ethnic identity and so many other aspects of history." One of the first podcasts produced (which will go online in the coming weeks) is focused on a local salsa-maker, who makes myriad varieties in his home. On the surface, the podcast is about a very delicious condiment, but as the interview goes on, the story runs deeper. The salsa-maker delves into his story of migration, fleeing El Salvador during its civil war, bouncing around the United States, then trying to make a home in Winnipeg. "Its about salsa, but its also not about salsa," Thiessen said. "Its a story of how do you still (feel) ostensibly or physically safe, but (also) how do you now create a home for yourself? And how do you become Canadian while remaining Salvadoran and navigate all those complexities? Its a great story, beautifully told." Story, the archivist, got involved after taking a food history class with Thiessen a few years back. While studying, she began interviewing perogy producers and is now creating a book based on the history of the delicious dumplings in Manitoba. "Food history is personal and its linked to everything, right? From labour and industry, environment and culture. It is fascinating. And so ever since I took that food history course, I delved right in," she said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Story grew up on a family grain farm in Grandview and is excited to head back to the Parkland region to hear more of its food history this summer. The crew will also visit events in Winnipeg and Steinbach in the coming months. Their first scheduled stop is at the Mennonite Heritage Village from June 17-July 8 in Steinbach. To register to share your food story, visit their website: manitobafoodhistory.ca. Thiessen expects the project to last at least four years and have all its interviews made available to the public through the U of Ws Oral History Centre. "Our hope is to have everything in a central location so folks doing this kind of research whether they be scholars, or whether they be members of the general public with a personal interest, or whether theyre folks in the industry who have a reason for understanding and knowing that this is material available to them," she said. jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @_jessbu OTTAWA A year ago, the Home Hardware store in Churchill was where locals started their household projects. It has since lost 80 per cent of its business, according to co-owner Dale de Meulles. This article was published 22/5/2018 (1238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA A year ago, the Home Hardware store in Churchill was where locals started their household projects. It has since lost 80 per cent of its business, according to co-owner Dale de Meulles. "At this point, maybe people will buy up all the plywood, to board up the homes and businesses," he said. "Everybodys hurting. Im just glad I dont have three kids to feed." Wednesday will mark a year since a catastrophic washout near Gillam cut off the Hudson Bay Railway, severing Churchills lifeline to the south. As May 23 looms, residents are clinging to hope for a return to normalcy, but theyre beat down by sky-high food prices, families moving south and constant promises of a solution on the horizon. "A lot of people are still very depressed; they're not doing that great. A lot of people are still hungry," said Dales wife Rhoda. "We're waiting for hope." The province has put faith in the line being repaired soon. Around February, Travel Manitoba ran a national TV commercial that highlighted the train to Churchill, which it said was a deliberate choice. Marc Gallant / Winnipeg Free Press Files Daryl Adair, owner of Rail Travel Tours, seen in 2002 at Grass River Crossing on a trip from Thompson to Churchill. In Winnipeg, Daryl Adair, owner of Rail Travel Tours, still gets regular calls from people hoping to book tickets this year. They wonder whether the railway will be operating by this falls beluga season. "What do I tell them? We just dont know," said Adair. Now that he has more free time, he keeps abreast of the federal lawsuit, regulatory probe and Ottawas ongoing talks aimed at transferring the railway into local hands. He parses media coverage, politicians statements and even court schedules. And hes not impressed. "The lack of organization by all governments involved is frustrating. The fact its a year shows how poorly the governments are handling it, and its not being prioritized," Adair said. Adairs says that people who left deposits with him last year are increasingly asking for refunds. Churchill Mayor Mike Spence says theres been decent progress in Ottawas negotiations surrounding the railway and port, which it aims to transfer from Denver-based Omnitrax to a local consortium he is co-leading. Theyve ironed out a business plan, and are finally reaching out to Omnitrax about a possible deal. "I'm optimistic it's going to be done; it's just taking longer than we anticipated, or expected, for that matter," Spence said. Dylan Robertson / Winnipeg Free Press FILES Longtime Churchill Mayor Mike Spence says theres been decent progress in Ottawas negotiations surrounding the railway and port, which it aims to transfer from Denver-based Omnitrax to a local consortium he is co-leading. But its too late for Jay Michno, who disbanded his Winnipeg business Arctic Expediting in December. The company used to ship everything from vehicles to chemical compounds from Winnipeg up the railway to Churchill, where barges took it onwards to the 10,000 residents of western Nunavuts Kivalliq region. "Theres no question business has left Manitoba," he said. "It's generally smaller businesses that are being effected." Dylan Robertson / Winnipeg Free Press Files The Churchill Airport, seen here in December 2017, is about six kilomtres from from the town proper. He said Winnipeg businesses who fly up smaller goods are still in business, but that Nunavut companies are now opting for cheaper prices from Montreal whose port seems a lot more reliable. "There's been a lot of trust broken for people in the Kivalliq," said Michno. Hes now pursuing a business degree, and hopes to help re-establish Winnipegs connection with the north. "But we just couldn't wait forever. This has just been going on for so long already, and there seems to be no end in sight." On Wednesday, Churchill residents will hold a rally outside the local train station, to air their frustrations, and look back on what theyve endured. Theyll head to the local theatre for a documentary screening about how the town of 900 has fared. The local school's enrolment now sits at 170, down from 220 a year ago. Even with subsidies, a four-litre jug of milk costs $10.89 at the local grocery store, while a four-pack of tomatoes is priced at $10.59. Residents started buying packaged food online. Earlier this month, an arts and culture group had the comedian Big Daddy Tazz fly up for a performance dubbed "Off The Rails," to bring some levity to the towns woes and take potshots at how both Omnitrax and governments have handled the situation. SUBMITTED Fire destroyed Gypsy's bakery in Churchill early Sunday. The bakery not only served the northern town, but points further north as well. That same weekend, the towns only bakery burned to the ground, cutting off a major gathering point that employed locals who helped feed the town and bake bread flown up to Nunavut. Now the town is relying on packaged bread from down south. Rhoda said the town has been buoyed by donations, and by the pressure other Manitobans have put on politicians. But she says online comments asking why the town wont relocate south have cut deeply. "This is my living; of course Im going to stay here. Where am I gonna go? I cant sell; nobodys going to buy," she said, her voice rising. She pauses. "You have to do one day at a time here; thats all you can do." At Churchills town complex, Claudia Grill helps keep a bulletin board with 30 job postings. From health care to trades and administration, employers are looking for jobs, but they often need to look down south. Raised in the Austrian Alps, Grill came up to Churchill for an 18-month research term in 2010, but fell in love with the towns frontier mentality and open expanses. "Churchill got me hooked, so I decided to come back," she said. "Here it's just open in its mentality, and anythings possible." A month ago, the town hired her as part of the Training to Employment project, an umbrella group that tries to get locals qualified for jobs already available in town, and for industries likely to grow. Alex de Vries / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES A VIA Rail train sits idle at the train station in Churchill in June 2017. "Im trying to build a foundation here for future sustainability and independence," said Grill, who co-ordinates with multiple agenices. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "That's my role; to give confidence in the future that if you work on it, then we can change something and take charge of it." Spence hopes Ottawa and the province take a similar viewpoint. He questions the snowballing costs both levels of government have borne through food subsidies, fuel shipments and bureaucrats work hours. "We can't allow this to continue to drag on, indefinitely." He said getting the railway fixed would be the first step in an economic strategy focused on climate-change research, health care for the north and even more tourism. "People in this community have not given up. Our community is very resilient, and we will get though this." dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca National Australia Bank Limited provides financial services to individuals and businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. It operates through Business and Private Banking, Personal Banking, Corporate and Institutional Banking, and New Zealand Banking segments. It operates through Business and Private Banking; Personal Banking; Corporate and Institutional Banking; New Zealand Banking; Corporate Functions and Other; and MLC Wealth segments. The company accepts transaction accounts, savings accounts, deposit accounts, and term deposits; and specialized accounts, such as foreign currency, business interest, statutory trust, community free saver, farm management, and project bank accounts, as well as farm management deposits. National Australia Bank Limited also provides home loans; personal loans; business loans; vehicle and equipment finance; and trade and invoice finance, as well as business overdrafts and bank guarantees. In addition, the company offers insurance products consisting of car, home and content, landlord, travel, caravan and trailer, life, and business insurance products; and pension, superannuation, self-managed super funds, cash management, and financial planning and advisory services. Further, it provides investment products; credit, debit, and business cards; payments and merchant services; travel services; online and internet banking services; small business services; international and foreign exchange solutions; and industry specific banking services. National Australia Bank Limited was founded in 1834 and is based in Docklands, Australia. Read More BT Group plc provides communications services worldwide. Its Consumer segment sells telephones, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi extenders through high street retailers, online BT Shop, and Website BT.com; and offers home phone, copper and fiber broadband, TV, and mobile services in various packages. The company's EE segment offers 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile network services; broadband, fixed-voice, and TV services; and postpaid and prepaid plans, and emergency services network. This segment also sells 4G mobile phones, tablets, connected devices, and mobile broadband devices from various manufacturers. Its Business and Public Sector segment provides fixed voice, mobility, fiber and connectivity, and networked IT services to retailers, utilities, public sector, healthcare, sports, construction, finance, and educational sectors. The company's Global Services segment offers business communications and ICT services comprising BT Connect, BT Security, BT One, BT Contact, BT Compute, BT Advise, and BT for financial markets. This segment serves approximately 5,500 customers in 180 countries. Its Wholesale and Ventures segment enables communications providers and other organizations to provide fixed or mobile phone services. Its ventures provide mass-market services, such as directory enquiries and payphones; and enterprise services comprising BT Fleet and BT Redcare. This segment also provides broadband and Ethernet, voice, hosted communication, mobile virtual network operator, managed solutions, machine-to-machine, roaming, and media services. The company's Openreach segment engages in the provision of services over the local access network; and installation and maintenance of fiber and copper communications networks that connect homes and businesses. The company was formerly known as Newgate Telecommunications Limited and changed its name to BT Group plc in September 2001. BT Group plc was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides marine transportation, subsea installation, and accommodation support services to exploration and production, oilfield service, offshore construction, and the United States military customers. It operates offshore supply vessels (OSVs), multi-purpose support vessels (MPSVs), and a shore-based facility to provide logistics support and specialty services to the offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry, primarily Gulf of Mexico in the U.S., Latin America, and internationally. Its fleet of U.S.-flagged OSVs and MPSVs support deep-well, deepwater, and ultra-deepwater activities of the offshore oil and gas industry, such as oil and gas exploration, field development, production, construction, installation, well-stimulation, and other enhanced oil recovery, as well as inspection, repair, and maintenance services. The company also provides vessel management services, including crewing, daily operational management, and maintenance activities for other vessels owners. As of December 31, 2018, it owned and operated 66 OSVs and 8 MPSVs. Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Covington, Louisiana. 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 Andeavor Logistics LP operates as a diversified midstream company in the United States. The company's Terminalling and Transportation segment comprises the Northwest pipeline system, including a regulated common carrier products pipeline running from Salt Lake City, Utah to Spokane, Washington and a jet fuel pipeline to the Salt Lake City International Airport; a regulated common carrier refined products pipeline system connecting its refinery to its terminals in Anchorage, Alaska; tankage and related equipment at the refinery; and crude oil and refined products terminals and storage facilities in the western, and southwest and midwestern U.S. This segment also consists of marine terminals in California and Washington; a rail-car unloading and petroleum coke handling facilities; marine terminals; a manifest rail facility; an asphalt trucking operation; a petroleum coke handling and storage facility; asphalt terminalling and processing services; and other pipelines, which transport products and crude oil from its refineries to nearby facilities in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Its Gathering and Processing segment includes crude oil and natural gas, NGLs, and produced water gathering systems in the Bakken Shale/Williston Basin area of the Bakken Region, the Green River Basin, the Rockies Region, the Permian Basin System, and the Four Corners System, as well as crude trucking operations, and gas processing and fractionation complexes. The company's Wholesale segment consists of bulk petroleum distribution facilities and a fleet of refined product delivery trucks. Tesoro Logistics GP, LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Tesoro Logistics LP and changed its name to Andeavor Logistics LP in August 2017. Andeavor Logistics LP was founded in 2010 and is based in Findlay, Ohio. Read More 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 The following companies are subsidiares of Cardinal Health: A+ Secure Packaging LLC, Access Closure, Access Closure Inc., Aero-Med Ltd., Alaris Medical Systems, Allegiance Corporation, Allegiance Healthcare, AssuraMed, AssuraMed Inc., Automatic Liquid Packaging, Bergen Brunswig Corp, Bindley Western Industries, Boron LePore & Associates, Borschow Hospital & Medical Supplies, Cardinal Health 100 Inc., Cardinal Health 104 LP, Cardinal Health 105 Inc., Cardinal Health 107 LLC, Cardinal Health 108 LLC, Cardinal Health 110 LLC, Cardinal Health 112 LLC, Cardinal Health 113 LLC, Cardinal Health 114 Inc., Cardinal Health 115 LLC, Cardinal Health 116 LLC, Cardinal Health 118 LLC, Cardinal Health 119 LLC, Cardinal Health 121 LLC, Cardinal Health 122 LLC, Cardinal Health 123 LLC, Cardinal Health 124 LLC, Cardinal Health 126 LLC, Cardinal Health 127 Inc., Cardinal Health 2 LLC, Cardinal Health 200 LLC, Cardinal Health 201 Inc., Cardinal Health 222 (Thailand) Ltd., Cardinal Health 247 Inc., Cardinal Health 249 LLC, Cardinal Health 3 LLC, Cardinal Health 414 LLC, Cardinal Health 5 LLC, Cardinal Health 6 Inc., Cardinal Health 7 LLC, Cardinal Health Australia 503 Pty. Ltd., Cardinal Health Austria 504 GmbH, Cardinal Health Belgium 505 BVBA, Cardinal Health Canada Holdings Cooperative U.A., Cardinal Health Canada Inc., Cardinal Health Chile Limitada, Cardinal Health Colombia S.A.S., Cardinal Health D.R. 203 II Ltd., Cardinal Health Denmark ApS, Cardinal Health Finland Oy, Cardinal Health Foundation, Cardinal Health France 506 SAS, Cardinal Health Funding LLC, Cardinal Health Germany 507 GmbH, Cardinal Health Germany Manufacturing GmbH, Cardinal Health IPS LLC, Cardinal Health International Philippines Inc., Cardinal Health Ireland 419 Designated Activity Company, Cardinal Health Ireland 508 Limited, Cardinal Health Ireland Unlimited Company, Cardinal Health Italy 509 Srl, Cardinal Health Japan G.K., Cardinal Health Korea Limited, Cardinal Health Malaysia 211 Sdn. Bhd., Cardinal Health Malta 212 Limited, Cardinal Health Managed Care Services LLC, Cardinal Health Medical Equipment Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Cardinal Health Medical Products India Private Limited, Cardinal Health Mexico 244 S. de R.L. de C.V., Cardinal Health Mexico 514 S. de R.L. de C.V., Cardinal Health Middle East FZ-LLC, Cardinal Health Netherlands 502 B.V., Cardinal Health Norway AS, Cardinal Health P.R. 120 Inc., Cardinal Health P.R. 218 Inc., Cardinal Health P.R. 220 LLC, Cardinal Health Pharmaceutical Contracting LLC, Cardinal Health Pharmacy Services LLC, Cardinal Health Poland Spolka z ograniczonaa odpowiedzialnossciaa, Cardinal Health Portugal 513 Unipessoal Lda., Cardinal Health Singapore 225 Pte. Ltd., Cardinal Health Spain 511 S.L., Cardinal Health Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Cardinal Health Sweden 512 A.B., Cardinal Health Switzerland 515 GmbH, Cardinal Health Systems Inc., Cardinal Health Technologies LLC, Cardinal Health Technologies Switzerland GmbH, Cardinal Health U.K. 432 Limited, Cardinal Health do Brasil Ltd., CareFusion, Cirpro de Delicias S.A. de C.V., Convertors de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Cordis, Cordis (Shanghai) Medical Devices Co. Ltd., Cordis Cashel Company Unlimited, Cordis Corporation, Cornerstone Partners G.P.O. L.P., Covidien Manufacturing Solutions S.A., Curaspan Health Group Inc., Denver Biomedical, Dik Drug, EPIC Insurance Company, Emerge Medical, Enturia, Especialidades Medicas Kenmex S.A. de C.V., Futuremed Health Care Products, Gala Biotech, Geodax Technology, Griffin Capital LLC, HLS Freight Services, Healthcare Solutions Holding, Innovative Therapies Inc., Instant Diagnostic Systems Inc., KPR Australia Pty. Ltd., KPR Italia S.r.l., KPR Switzerland Sales Gmbh, KPR U.S. LLC, Kendall Patient Recovery BVBA, Kendall-Gammatron Limited, Kinray, Leader Drugstores Inc., Limited Liability Company "Cardinal Health Russia", Ludlow Technical Products Canada Ltd., MCD, Magellan Laboratories, Marin Apothecaries, MedMined, Medicine Shoppe International Inc., Mediquip Sdn. Bhd., Medtronic - Patient Monitoring & Recovery, Mirixa Corporation, NaviHealth, Nippon Covidien Ltd., One Cloverleaf LLC, Outcomes Incorporated, Owen Healthcare, PCI Pharma Services, ParMed Pharmaceuticals, Pinnacle Intellectual Property Services Inc., Pinnacle Intellectual Property Services-International Inc., Post-Acute Care Center for Research LLC, Pyxis Corporation, Quiroproductos de Cuauhtemoc S. de R.L. de C.V., R Cubed Inc., R.P. Scherer Corporation, RGH Enterprises Inc., RainTree GPO LLC, RainTree Oncology Services, Renal Purchasing Group LLC, Rxealtime Inc., Sonexus Health LLC, Syncor International, TelePharm, TelePharm LLC, The Harvard Drug Group, The Harvard Drug Group L.L.C., Tradex International Inc., Viasys Healthcare, WaveMark Inc., Zuellig Pharma China, mscripts, mscripts LLC, and mscripts Systems India Private Limited. With the votes of the ruling Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian state legislature adopted a new draconic police law (PAG) last week. The law eliminates the principle of the separation of the police and intelligence services and largely abolishes individual liberties such as the inviolability of the home, the right to self-determination concerning ones own data, the right to freedom of movement and establishment, and postal secrecy. In addition, the police are to be equipped with hand grenades and heavy-duty military weapons. Numerous demonstrations throughout Bavaria involving more than 70,000 participants have been held in recent weeks against this massive state attack on democratic rights. The largest rally, in Munich on May 10, attracted nearly 40,000 mostly young people. The CSU and police were surprised by the size of the protest and responded with hysterical attacks in the style of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The Bavarian state interior minister and author of the new police law, Joachim Herrmann, attacked the protesters as naive people who had fallen for the lying propaganda of left-wing extremists. A senior official and member of the Bavarian Police Works Council (Polizeirat) attacked Social Democratic Party (SPD) state legislator Florian Ritter, one of the organisers of the demonstration, on Facebook with the words, People like you should be put away, and threatened he would punch him in the face. The SPD, the Greens and the Left Partythe Free Democratic Party (FDP) is not represented in the Bavarian state legislaturehad only supported the protests after much hesitation. They voted against the law in the state parliament. In other federal states, in which they themselves sit in the government, the same parties are elaborating police laws that resemble Bavarias in every detail. Their opposition in Bavaria is determined by electoral tactics. On the one hand, state elections will take place in Bavaria in the autumn. On the other hand, it serves to blunt the protests and let them run out of steam by orienting them to a lengthy legal process in the Bavarian Supreme Court and Federal Supreme Court. On April 18, Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who until recently was the Bavarian state premier, announced in the Interior Committee of the Bundestag (federal parliament) that he was working on the example of the Bavarian PAG to draft a so-called model police law, which should serve as a template for all other federal states. The new PAG gives the police the following new powers: * They can issue residence bans and orders for German and foreign citizens. They can order that a citizen, for example, no longer be allowed to stay in Berlin or Munich, but has to move to the Bavarian Forest. * Apartments, restaurants, and offices may be secretly bugged and then spied upon indefinitely. * Telephone calls can be intercepted, disrupted and interrupted. * Mail (letters and parcels) can be opened, confiscated and evaluated. * Computer data and stored datawhether on devices or in the cloudcan be extensively and permanently analysed and altered. * Video recordings are to be massively expanded in public places, streets and central buildings such as railway stations and public authorities, and software used for facial and behavioural analysis. * The police can use informants to investigate a persons private circumstances, behaviour, friends and acquaintances without the need for a crime having been committed. * Preventive indefinite detention came into force last summer. It allows a person to be imprisoned due to vague, unproven suspicions of a threatening danger and to prolong this detention on a judges order repeatedly for a further three months without a time limit. Taking a closer look at the new police law, two aspects are striking: Firstly, the powers that the police have had until now only for law enforcement purposesi.e., for the prosecution of suspected offenders following a criminal offence or imminent offenceare to be extended into the area of threats to public safety. However, there is no need for a specific and immediate threat to exist. Vague assumptions of the police or their informants are sufficient to initiate measures and to have these confirmed judicially. The threat assessment is no longer or not only based on situational but personal considerations. In other words, It is no longer about the police becoming active because they want to prevent a concrete event. But it is about doing something, because there is a person about whom more should be learned, according to the Mainz law professor Matthias Backer in the Suddeutsche Zeitung. And it is not just about one person. In general, the police should be able to collect, evaluate and use all data they can get hold of about all persons. This is the reason for the massive expansion of video surveillance, the abrogation of postal secrecy, the possibility of bugging apartments, restaurants, etc., and the deployment of software for facial recognition and behavioural analysis. The content of the new police laws shows clearly that it is not, as the Bavarian state premier, Markus Soder (CSU), claims repeatedly, to protect the population from crime, but to protect the ruling elites and their state from the people. The divergence of incomes and wealth and the return to militarism are incompatible with democratic rights. A small foretaste of the new police powers was recently presented in a case before the Gottingen administrative court. The Gottingen police department responsible for state protection had collected hidden data about people they believed to part of the left-wing spectrum in a huge database. In addition to name and age, the data collected included such information as religion, physical and psychological traits, illness, workplace, and group affiliation, supplemented by numerous photos of acquaintances, friends and family members. The administrative court declared this data gathering illegal for purely formal reasonsbecause there was no data description for the file system, called LIMO (from the German for left-wing motivated). The police then simply claimed that they had already destroyed the data before the court casewithout a written record. The new laws mean such police activities will take on huge proportions and no longer be illegal. The law-governed state is replaced by the police state. Early Wednesday morning, a United States Border Patrol agent detained and questioned two US citizens for speaking Spanish as they were buying groceries at a gas station in Havre, Montana, a city of 10,000 located 35 miles south of the US-Canada border. Shortly after midnight on May 16, Ana Suda and Mimi Hernandez were waiting in line to pay for milk and eggs when they were approached by a uniformed Border Patrol agent demanding to see their identification documents. We were just talking, and then I was going to pay. I looked up [and saw the agent], and then after that, he just requested my ID. I looked at him like, Are you serious? Hes like, Yeah, very serious, Suda told the Washington Post. The agent then took the women outside for questioning, at which point Suda began filming the encounter. In the video posted to Facebook, Suda asked the agent why she and her friend were being targeted. In a display of outright xenophobia and contempt for elementary democratic rights, the Border Patrol agent replied: Maam, the reason I asked 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. When asked whether the women were being racially profiled, the agent reaffirmed the lack of any legal basis for their detention, saying, It has nothing to do with that. Its the fact that it has to do with you guys speaking Spanish in the store, in a state where its predominantly English-speaking. After 35 to 40 minutes of questioning, the agent finally allowed the pair to leave. Suda later told the Washington Post, I was so embarrassed being outside in the gas station, and everybodys looking at you like youre doing something wrong. I dont think speaking Spanish is something criminal, you know? My friend, she started crying. She didnt stop crying in the truck. And I told her, we are not doing anything wrong. Both women are US citizens of Mexican heritage and both were born in the United States. Suda was born in El Paso, Texas, and was raised in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Hernandez was born in central California. Like 40.5 million others in the US, the women primarily speak Spanish at home and among Spanish-speaking friends, though they are also fluent in English. While it primarily works in the immediate vicinity of the US borders with Canada and Mexico, the Border Patrol is authorized to operate up to 100 miles from the border. Within that area, agents have been given broad powers to detain, question, and arrest individuals if they have reasonable suspicion that a crime or immigration offense has been committed. Suda told the Washington Post that she intends to take legal action against the Border Patrol over her detention. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also announced that it is looking into the incident. In a tweet Monday, the ACLU wrote: Speaking Spanish is not a valid reason for Border Patrol to question or detain you The Constitution prohibits all law enforcement agencies, including @CBP, from racial profiling and arbitrary searches and detentions. The detention of Suda and Hernandez comes as President Donald Trump and his administration is actively encouraging right wing and fascistic elements, repeatedly referring to immigrants from Latin America as animals, rapists and smugglers. Notably, the flagrantly illegal detention of US citizens for speaking Spanish is yet another episode in the Trump administrations campaign of terror against immigrant communities which has been met with a complicit silence by the Democratic Party, which is entirely focused on pressuring Trump over supposed Russian meddling in the 2016 election. A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said in a statement that the agency was investigating the incident to ensure that the agent had acted in accordance with proper policies and procedures, adding unironically, [CBP] agents and officers are committed to treating everyone with professionalism, dignity and respect while enforcing the laws of the United States. In reality, CBP has a long track record of disregarding basic democratic and human rights. In one of the most egregious examples in recent years, Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz was acquitted of murder charges in April over the 2012 cross-border shooting death of 16-year-old Mexican citizen Antonio Elena Rodriguez. Swartz claimed his life was endangered by the boy throwing rocks at him from 20 feet below as the agent stood behind an elevated fence along the US-Mexican border. Swartz fired 16 shots into Rodriguez, eight of which hit him in the back during what the officer claimed was an attempted drug-smuggling operation. On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo presented what was billed as Washingtons Plan B following the Trump administrations scrapping of the nuclear agreement reached in 2015 between Iran and the so-called P5+1the US, UK, France, Germany, China and Russia. The thuggish and bellicose address, titled After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy, was delivered to the right-wing Heritage Foundation in Washington. It amounted to a war ultimatum to Tehran, demanding the complete capitulation of the Iranian government in the face of what Pompeo vowed would be the strongest sanctions in history, as well as military pressure on all fronts in the Middle East. The speech was the first delivered by Pompeo since leaving his post as CIA director. That position was filled by Gina Haspel, the former director of a CIA torture site who was sworn in Monday by Trump after her nomination was ratified with key support from Democratic senators. Together with the elevation of John Boltona fanatical right-winger who has repeatedly called for the bombing of Iranto the post of national security advisor, Trump has assembled what amounts to an anti-Iranian war cabinet. The secretary of states address constituted a laundry list of lies and false accusations against Iran, beginning with praise for Israels recent remarkable intelligence operation. This referred to the absurd theatrical performance by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented on the eve of Trumps May 8 decision to abrogate the nuclear agreement. Netanyahu failed to present any evidence that Iran had violated the terms of the nuclear accord. Pompeo placed the entire blame for the crisis in the Middle East on Iran. In reality, the region has been ravaged by a succession of US wars for regime-changefrom Iraq to Libya and Syria. He placed responsibility for the war that has brought Yemen to the brink of starvation on Tehran, even as the US supplies the bombs and military support that enables its key regional ally Saudi Arabia to decimate the country. He added a list of charges that are grounded in fantasy and fabrication, claiming that Tehran is providing sanctuary for leaders of Al Qaedaa movement based on fanatical anti-Shia elementsand attempted to pin the blame for the catastrophic situation in Afghanistan, where the US military has waged a 17-year war, on alleged Iranian support for the Taliban, something for which no evidence whatsoever has been presented. Making a phony and cynical appeal to the Iranian people, he accused Irans government of corruption and diverting hundreds of millions of dollars to military operations. This is from a government in Washington that is beset by innumerable corruption scandals, and which diverts roughly a trillion dollars annually into military spending. Pompeo then delivered a list of 12 demands on what Iran must do. These entail shutting down the countrys nuclear program and halting its development of missiles. They include the withdrawal of all military forces from Syria, the ending of support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and the ceding of any influence in Iraq. Vowing to crush Irans operatives all over the world, the US secretary of state declared, Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East. The demands amount to an ultimatum requiring Iran to cease any role as a regional power and submit to Washingtons unfettered neocolonial domination. The Iranian government issued an immediate rejection of Pompeos demands. The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence, President Hassan Rohani said in a statement broadcast by Iranian media. Who are you to decide for Iran and the world? he added. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi told a press conference in Tehran, No one can force Iran to do anything and Iran will remain in Syria as long as there are terrorist groups in there and as long as the Syrian government wants. He added, Those who have entered Syria without the Syrian governments permission should leave the country, referring to the more than 2,000 US troops that have been sent to occupy the countrys east and its oilfields. Pompeo also left no doubt that Washington intends to pursue its policy of aggression against Iran at the expense of its nominal allies in Western Europe through the imposition of extra-territorial or secondary sanctions. These will penalize any company in Europe or anywhere else in the world that seeks to do business in Iran. We understand that our reimposition 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. Indeed, it imposes economic challenges to America as well. These are markets our businesses would love to sell into as well. This is nonsense. US trade with Iran in 2017 amounted to just $170 million. Trade between the European Union and Iran, on the other hand, amounted to some $25 billion, with a host of major European corporations having struck trade and investment deals in the wake of the 2015 nuclear agreement. While the UK, France and Germany all opposed Trumps decision to abrogate the nuclear agreement and have vowed to support the accord without the US, Iran has demanded that the European Union take concrete steps to assure that the substance of the dealfreeing Irans economy from the effects of crippling sanctions in return for strict limits on the countrys nuclear programis maintained. With the withdrawal of America ... the European political support for the accord is not sufficient, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the EUs energy commissioner Miguel Arias Canete on Sunday. The announcement of the possible withdrawal by major European companies from their cooperation with Iran is not consistent with the European Unions commitment to implementing the agreement, Zarif was quoted as saying. The EU and the major European powers are anxious to prevent Washingtons policies from depriving them of the ability to exploit the potentially lucrative Iranian market. At the same time, European governments, while themselves deeply involved in imperialist operations in the Middle East and engaged in pressuring Iran, fear that the precipitous drive toward war with Iran would have devastating effects, including the driving up of energy costs, the destabilization of the entire region and the resurgence of the flow of refugees. The French energy giant Total has already announced that it will withdraw from a $5 billion deal to develop the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf unless it is granted a sanctions waiver by US authorities. The Danish shipping giant Maersk Tankers said Thursday it would cease its activities in Iran, while German insurer Allianz and the Siemens corporation, which has sold gas turbines to Iran, have also announced that they are closing down their operations there. Airbus, which has already provided jets to Iran under a multibillion-dollar contract, has indicated it is considering compliance with US sanctions. Meanwhile, Chinas state-owned oil company CNPC announced that it is prepared to take over the contract for the Iranian gas field if Total withdraws. China is Irans top trade partner. The Russian government has signaled that it is prepared to incorporate Iran into a free trade zone. While the unilateral US action has brought relations between Europe and America to their lowest point in the post-World War II era, with calls from European officials for an independent policy and a defense of economic sovereignty, the EU and its member states have yet to agree on any concrete policy for defying Washington. Proposals coming out of Brussels reportedly include the continuation of Iranian oil imports by making direct euro-denominated payments to Irans central bank, bypassing the US financial system; paying damages to companies affected by US sanctions; and the retooling of a 1996 blocking statute drafted in response to US sanctions against Iran, Libya and Cuba, which makes it illegal for European firms to comply with extra-territorial sanctions. At the time, the Clinton administration provided relief for European corporations doing business in those countries, rendering the statute moot. There is no indication that the Trump administration intends to provide any such exemptions. This means that, whatever the divisions among the European powers, trade war and political tensions will continue to intensify as the threat of a major new war in the Middle East looms. The author also recommends: For a working-class strategy against the imperialist repartition of the Middle East! [11 May 2018] Nashville, Tennessee is experiencing a massive housing and real estate boom. As a result, the city is increasingly unaffordable for working class families. As many older, smaller homes are being torn down and replaced with homes triple in size and price, current residents of these neighborhoods are being displaced by higher property values and taxes. Like most public housing in the United States, public housing neighborhoods in Nashville are in extreme disrepair due to a decline in funding throughout the last several decades. In a booming city like Nashville, public housing becomes an eyesore which must be removed. As the executive director of the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA), Jim Harbison, told the Tennessean newspaper, By the end of this year, there will not be public housing in Nashville. Thanks to the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, Harbisons prognosis can become a reality. Introduced by the Obama administration in 2012, RAD allows public housing authorities, like MDHA, to convert public housing properties to Section 8 rental assistance programs. This will allow the public housing authorities to take out loans on the equity of the properties, supposedly to perform much needed repairs and remodels. The public housing authorities may choose to retain ownership of the properties or transfer the properties to a private entity. In other words, the RAD program is a deliberate vehicle for the transfer of publicly owned properties into private hands. One such property being revitalized using the RAD program is the Cayce Homes in East Nashville. Located just two miles from downtown Nashville, the Cayce Homes are sitting on prime real estate. Completed in 1941, and not changed much since then, the barrack-style homes currently house around 2,000 low-income residents. The $602 million Envision Cayce plan will increase the number of apartments from 968 to 2,433. This would roughly provide housing for 6,000 residents. Although the city says the current residents will not be displaced, the new neighborhood is being billed as a mixed income development. The National Initiative on Mixed-Income Properties at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland concluded in an analysis of about 260 previously revitalized communities under the US Housing and Urban Developments (HUD) Hope VI program that only about 27 percent of residents returned. A huge contributing factor to this lies in the difference between public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly known as Section 8. With public housing, the homes are owned by the housing authority and the rent is controlled and based on a percentage of income. Section 8 is a voucher program, where tenants pay 30 percent of their monthly income, and the voucher pays the difference up to the market rate of rent. If the rent is more than the market rate, the tenant is responsible for paying the difference. Section 8 tenants can live anywhere as long as the owner of the property accepts the vouchers. HUD is responsible for determining the market rate for an area. According to the HUD web site, the market rate for Nashville is $731 for an efficiency apartment, $816 for a one-bedroom, $1,002 for a two-bedroom, $1,327 for a three-bedroom, and $1,564 for a four-bedroom residence. In 2017, the average price of a one-bedroom apartment in Nashville was $1,373. There is no reason a private landlord would have to charge fair market rate and the landlord could easily charge above that in a hot housing market like Nashville. Although MHDA has not announced any plans to transfer ownership of the Cayce Homes to a private entity, a new school included in the Envision Cayce plan is an indication of how the agency will do business. The Christian-based non-profit Martha OBryan Center was awarded, without formal bidding, the rights to run the Explore Charter School, which will serve the Envision Cayce area. The Martha OBryan Center will pay for the building through fundraising and rent payments, with plans to eventually buy back the facility from MDHA. The school is expected to cost $25 million. However, MDHA will be on the hook if the Martha OBryan center cannot make payments on financing the schools construction. The Martha OBryan Center created some controversy in 2016 when the Tennessean obtained emails from the organizations president and CEO Marsha Edwards, in which she encouraged her staff members to volunteer on the campaigns of school board candidates who were pro-charter school. Federal law prohibits non-profits from getting involved directly or indirectly in campaigns. The Cayce Homes are in severe disrepair and desperately need to be improved for the residents. However, the best way to do this is not through privatization of public housing. Affordable and decent housing is a basic social right, not a luxury. All people deserve safe, affordable, high-quality housing in areas close to their places of work, schools, groceries, hospitals, and other vital public infrastructure. The only way to secure the right to housing is through the democratization and public ownership of social resources by the working class. Above all this requires the socialist reorganization of society to fulfill human need, not the interests of private profit. Using the Socialist Partys (PS) labor law and French President Emmanuel Macrons labor decrees, automaker PSA Peugeot-Citroen and the trade unions are negotiating plans to sack hundreds of workers and boost working times. The unions are isolating workers in Vesoul while organizing a few token protestsallowing PSA to push through deep attacks on wage levels by imposing them one plant at a time. In a communique, the Stalinist General Confederation of Labor (CGT) wrote: Management has just proposed to the trade union organizations, through a local agreement, to go back on the 35-hour work week by augmenting effective labor time by 7.8 percent, going from 7 hours to 7 hours 33 minutes per day, that is 35 hours to 37 hours 45 minutes per week. However, there would only be a 2.8 percent raise in salaries. The corporation announced that its project includes plans for automatic job cuts at the rate of 150 full time workers per year until 2020. A PSA spokesman claimed that PSAs objective is to guarantee the future of the plant in Vesoul that builds and stores car parts, which must continue to transform itself in order to pursue the development of its activities in a particularly competitive environment. According to the CGT, this first attack on the Vesoul site prepares a series of attacks on all of the factories of the corporation. This challenge to the 35-hour workweek at one of Frances largest industrial firms is a message sent to all workers in every enterprise in this country. It added, Faithful to its policies, PSA is losing no time to implement the new laws undermining the collective rights of workers, such as the labor law, which allows for establishing local factory contracts that violate national legislation on the duration of the work week. The CGTs response is entirely bankrupt, however. Having acknowledged that the Macron administration and PSA are pressing forward with plans aimed at industrial workers across France, the CGT is only organizing a small strike at the Vesoul plant by a tiny minority of the work force. On Thursday and Friday, of the over 3,000 workers working at the plant, less than 100 people, including union officials and their political periphery, went on strike. The CGTs remarks are particularly cynical: the union bureaucracies helped approve the labor law and Macrons labor decrees, blocking a struggle against the PS and Macron. Now PSA is using this legislation to press for contracts violating national labor law, like the 35-hour work week. Workers in Vesoul and across France cannot expect anything from the unions, which are helping the government to set up the legal weaponry it needs to destroy basic social rights of the working class. These organizations are seeking to isolate the workers to demoralize them and prevent them from unifying in struggle against austerity with workers across France and beyond. The only way forward for workers is to create their own rank-and-file committees, independent of the trade unions, to wage political struggle against the Macron administration and the European Union. The experience of the 2016 labor law struggle is a bitter warning that the trade unions will only be able to impose defeats on striking workers. The PS government used anti-democratic emergency legislation to ram through the labor law without a parliamentary vote, while using the state of emergency to crush protests against the law. Despite the opposition of over 70 percent of Frenchmen to the labor law, the CGT rushed to end the strikes after PS Prime Minister Manuel Valls threatened to ban all demonstrations. After it backed a Macron vote in 2017, the CGT negotiated Macrons labor law decrees that Macron, PSA and the trade unions are using to slash wages and conditions to rival those of Eastern Europe or Asia in order to guarantee PSAs competitiveness. The new contract being imposed to drastically slash jobs and wages in Vesoul, in particular, emerged from PSA using the provisions for Breaking a Collective Contract (RCC) in the labor decrees President Emmanuel Macron signed into law and promulgated at the end of the year. The end of the 35-hour work week and plans for mass sackings are part of a broad offensive of the Macron government against the working class. With union assistance, the government aims to aggressively restructure class relations, to transfer hundreds of billions of euros from the working class to the bourgeoisie in order to finance tax cuts for the wealthy, to fund Macrons 300 billion euro armaments program, and to boost European competitiveness with trade union assistance. Macrons decrees are now being used to launch this offensive across France. The CGTs cynical and bankrupt maneuvers in Vesoul recall nothing more than those it used to strangle the struggle against the closure of PSAs Aulnay plant and the loss of thousands of jobs. CGT Aulnay delegate and Lutte Ouvriere (LO) official Jean-Pierre Mercier admitted that only 800 of 3,500 workers participated in a union local meeting in which the trade unions announced they had decided not to launch a broader struggle, because we are not strong enough. Like workers in Vesoul today, workers in Aulnay were isolated by the unions and left with only the choice of either joining strike action by a tiny, impotent minority of union delegates at the plant, or doing nothing and aligning themselves with the bankrupt negotiating tactics of the unions. Today, the union bureaucracies are even more hostile to organizing a struggle against austerity at PSA: they fear the broad radicalization that is taking place in the working class internationally, as protests spread across Europe since the beginning of the year. Metalworkers mobilized in strikes in Germany and Turkey, where they obtained a 20 percent raise earlier this year. In the Elysee presidential palace as well as in the union bureaucracies, such an outcome would be seen as an intolerable attack on plans to slash wages and boost Frances flagging corporate competitiveness. This underscores the urgent necessity of a political and organizational break with the unions in order to oppose Macrons illegitimate and pseudo-legal attacks on the working class. Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders held what was billed as a town hall meeting in the US Capitol on Trumps unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. The discussion brought together a number of former State Department officials and think tank academics who, along with Sanders, presented an entirely conventional, pro-imperialist critique of the Trump administrations decision to pull out of the 2015 agreement between Iran, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union, Russia and China that was brokered by the Obama administration. There are bitter divisions within the American ruling class and the US military/intelligence establishment over Trumps move. It is seen by many strategists of US imperialist foreign policy as a reckless action that will further isolate Washington from its nominal allies in Europe, encourage Iran and other regional rivals of the United States to pursue nuclear weapons, and dramatically increase the likelihood of a far wider war in the Middle East. Among these is Trumps own defense secretary, retired Gen. James Mattis, as well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, who recommended remaining within the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. There are also significant US corporate interests that want to gain entry to the Iranian market and access to the countrys vast energy reserves. The Democratic Party, while criticizing Trump for being insufficiently aggressive against Syria and Russia, is generally aligned with this faction of the military/intelligence/corporate establishment. There was nothing in Sanders panel discussion last week that contradicted the general policy line of this faction of American imperialism. The pro-imperialist and pro-Zionist outlook of Sanders and his panelists was demonstrated by their reluctance to address the mass murder of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza just one day before the May 15 town hall event. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump emissaries Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner celebrated the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, Israel Defense Forces snipers fired round after round of live ammunition at Palestinians protesting at the border fence against the illegal move. More than 60 men, women and children were killed and over 3,000 were wounded in a massacre that recalled atrocities such as Amritsar in India and Sharpeville in South Africa. Sanders and his guests did not even raise the Israeli mass killing until more than half way through the hour-long program. The panelists included: * Jon Cirincione, president of the anti-nuclear weapons Ploughshares Fund. He previously served as a staffer for both the House Armed Services Committee and the Government Operations Committee. * Suzanne DiMaggio, a senior fellow at the New America think tank, a Democratic Party-aligned Washington think tank headed by former Obama State Department official Anne-Marie Slaughter. DiMaggio has been intimately involved in US diplomatic intrigues with Iran and North Korea, and acted on behalf of the Trump administration on several visits to North Korea as late as February 2017. * Rob Malley, president of the International Crisis Group, a George Soros-backed transnational NGO with a strong anti-Russian bias. Malley is a former member of Obamas National Security Council, where he headed the Middle East Department. He was personally involved in the drafting of the Iran nuclear agreement. * Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, an American non-profit that promotes a two-state policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She was director of policy and government relations at Americans for Peace Now, and before that she was a US Foreign Service officer in Jerusalem, Tunis and Beirut. Sanders summed up the concerns animating his holding of the panel discussion in a column he published just prior to the event in the Guardian newspaper. He wrote: To be clear, Iran is engaged in a lot of bad behavior, including backing dictator Bashar al-Assads war against the Syrian people, support for violent extremist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine, and human rights abuses inside Iran. However, if we are genuinely concerned about these Iranian policies, as I am, this is the worst possible course. It will make addressing all of these other issues harder. In other words, Sanders, along with the majority of the foreign policy establishment, views the scuttling of the Iran nuclear deal as counterproductive to the goal of subordinating Iran to Washingtons drive for hegemony in the Middle East. The concern that Trumps actions are counterproductive was echoed in the comments of the panelists. Cirincione began the discussion by declaring that Trumps unilateral move had broken the faith of our allies and severely damaged American credibility. If the idea is to have a policy towards Iran that is going to work, theres no way the United States can do that on its own, Malley said, adding that the US was now in the embarrassing position of being opposed by most of the world in its policy toward Iran. Aware of the deep opposition to war within the American population, the panel attempted to present Trumps militarism as an aberration from an otherwise peace-loving US foreign policy. DiMaggio complained that Trumps decision to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and his backing for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus war-mongering against Iran had undermined the United States supposed role of a moderator and an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Cirincione added, If we had just played our normal, historic, moderating role, we might be tamping down instead of pouring gasoline on the fire in the region. Sanders joined in this pacifist posturing, declaring toward the end of the discussion: I think the overwhelming majority of the American people believe that the function of the United States in global politics is to do everything it can to prevent war. Some of the panelists, including Sanders, made mild criticisms of the Israeli governments massacre of Palestinian demonstrators in the Gaza Strip. However, this criticism focused on concerns that Netanyahus calculated policy of mass killing would produce a debacle for the Zionist state. Cirincione worried that the slaughter in Gaza would weaken Israels security in the long run. Friedman, the supposed peace activist, was the most blunt in defending Israels right to oppress and murder Palestinians. She said that Hamas actions gave Israel a sometimes legitimate, sometimes not legitimate excuse to say this is all terrorism, this is an act of war, and under the laws of war we have the right to use lethal force against unarmed people, who are near the fence, which if they were to damage that fence and breach it they could come into Israel and be a threat to us. Neither Sanders nor any of the other panelists challenged this apology for mass murder. Sanders is a longstanding supporter of Israel. In 2014, during the Israeli invasion of Gaza, he voted for a Senate resolution that proclaimed Israel was [defending] itself against unprovoked rocket attacks from the Hamas terrorist organization. When Sanders was challenged by protesters at a town hall meeting in Vermont, he shouted at them to shut up. The most damning exposure of Sanders socialist pretensions is his support for the international war and plunder carried out by the American corporate/financial elite he claims to oppose. During his primary campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, he repeatedly defended Obamas militarist policies in the Middle East and Central Asia. Asked during the campaign if he would, as president, continue Obamas drone assassination program, Sanders replied that he would do that and more. Since the election of Trump, he has fully endorsed the anti-Russia campaign of the Democratic Party, which is aimed at whipping up anti-Russian sentiment to justify a major escalation against that country, leading toward a war between the worlds two biggest nuclear powers. At the same time, his chauvinist trade war policy against China is similarly preparing the way for war against that nuclear power. The author also recommends: Is Bernie Sanders a socialist? 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe The deaths of a former Playboy playmate and her 7-year-old son have been ruled a murder-suicide after the woman jumped with the boy from a New York City hotel on Friday, officials say. A spokesperson for the citys Chief Medical Examiner identified the victims as Stephanie and Vincent Nicolai. Earlier reports used Stephanie Nicolais maiden name, Adams. The mother and child both died of multiple blunt impact injuries, with the child suffering injuries to the head, neck, torso and limbs. Stephanie manner of death was labeled suicide and Vincents was ruled a homicide. Lieutenant John Grimpel previously told PEOPLE the woman jumped from the 25th floor of the Gotham Hotel in Manhattan with the boy around 8:15 a.m. local time. Grimpel said the pairs bodies were found on the second-floor landing of the hotels courtyard. Officials with Gotham Hotel have not responded to a request for comment from PEOPLE. RELATED: Ex-Playboy Centerfold Who Jumped From Building with Son Was Sweet Person, Former Attorney Says In the wake of the deaths, Raoul Felder, Stephanies longtime friend and former attorney, confirmed to PEOPLE that the model was married to Charles Nicolai, of Wall Street Chiropractic & Wellness. Staff at the practice declined to comment on the matter. Felder told PEOPLE that the mother, 47, and Charles Nicolai were engaged in a tough custody battle. An attorney associated with Charles Nicolai did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE. She was a very genuine person. A lovely person and very polite. She was very considerate and sweet, Felder, 81, said, noting that he served as Stephanies attorney up until four months ago. I never saw her unhappy. Something mustve happened in her life, and went haywire. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Sources say Stephanie wanted to take the boy to Europe to visit or live with her new boyfriend. A judge allegedly told Stephanie she could not take the boy outside the country without the courts permission. Story continues However, Felder says the judges decision wouldnt have prompted Stephanie to harm herself or her son. When she left here she was very positive, Felder told PEOPLE of the last time he saw her months ago. Something mustve taken a nosedive in her psyche. The Gotham Hotel, located on East 46th Street about four blocks from Grand Central Station, is a boutique hotel that traces its name to a landmark bookstore that last stood on its location prior to the hotels construction in 2010. Suicide Prevention: What to Know Experts say some common warning signs of suicide include discussing a desire to die or feeling anxious or hopeless, like a burden, or trapped or in pain; withdrawing from others; extreme mood swings, including anger and recklessness; and abnormal sleep patterns (sleeping too much or too little). Many suicides have multiple causes and are not triggered by one event, according to experts, who underline that suicidal crises can be overcome with help. Where mental illness is a factor, it can be treated. Reaching out to those in need is a simple and effective preventative measure, experts say. If you or someone you know is showing warning signs of suicide, consider contacting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK, texting the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or seeking help from a professional. 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." PHOTO: Homeland Security Department Joint Task Force West Director Paul Beeson of the U.S. Border Patrol prepares to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee's Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee, April 4, 2017, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE) 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. "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. Story continues 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. A Colorado man is facing federal charges after he allegedly harassed a female airline passenger and then urinated on the seat in front of him. Michael Allen Haag, of Boulder, was arrested Thursday night after his plane, Frontier Airlines flight 9864, landed in Charleston, South Carolina. He has been charged with a felony count of interfering with a flight crew and a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure, according to the Charleston Post & Courier. An FBI affidavit obtained by The Smoking Gun states that Haag was drinking double vodka and tonics during the flight. Assigned a middle seat, Haag allegedly told a woman sitting next to him he was going to meet up with an old girlfriend in South Carolina and was physically excited. The woman told authorities Haag asked her lots of personal questions and kept staring at her chest and legs. At some point, Haag allegedly started touching a woman seated on the other side of him, prompting her to yell stop touching me and summon a flight attendant. Haag was then moved to a seat in the last row, which he shared with a third woman, identified by Denver station KDVR as Emily. She told the station flight attendants told her she might want to get up just in case he tries to touch you. When Emily took out her phone to snap a picture of the man to show her girlfriends, things got gross. 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. CBS Denver posted a photo that allegedly shows Haag urinating in his seat and hitting the back of the seat in front of him. And I scream, hes f***ing peeing. Hes peeing. Oh my god. And the flight attendant doesnt even acknowledge him at first. Acknowledges me and says you need to calm down and stop cursing, she told KDVR. For all her trouble, Emily says the airline only offered to waive her bag fees and give her a $200 voucher. I think they handled it extremely poorly, she told the station. Someone should have sat with him. Story continues Frontier Airlines did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment, but airline spokesman Richard Oliver released a statement after the incident to CBS Denver. The safety and security of our passengers is our top priority at Frontier, he said. We have been made aware of this situation and are working with the appropriate authorities. Haag was booked Friday at the Charleston County jail but released on his own recognizance later in the day, according to the Post & Courier. If convicted, he could spend 20 years behind bars. Michael Allen Haag. 45, is accused of harassing a woman and urinating on an airline seat during a Frontier Airlines flight from Denver to Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo: Charleston County Jail) Also on HuffPost Robert Predmore Robert Predmore was arrested in September, 2015, after he allegedly broke into a bar to steal alcohol and also pooped on the floor. Katelyn Patricia Felegi Katelyn Patricia Felegi, 18, was arrested in April 2015 after allegedly breaking into and damaging her ex-boyfriend's home. A Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy who was driving Felegi to jail said she allegedly defecated in the back of the squad car. Patricia Ann Jamison Patricia Ann Jamison, 49, was arrested in April 2014 after deputies say she pooped in an elevator at the St. Lucie County Courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida. Gregory Matthew Bruni Gregory Matthew Bruni, 21, became a pooping legend of sorts in January 2013 when he allegedly climbed naked onto a family's home in North Fort Myers and jumped onto the homeowner. He then allegedly ran inside the house, knocking down a TV and spilling the contents of a vacuum on the floor -- which he later drank. Bruni is accused of pooping in two spots on the floor,but not before masturbating in the living room and rubbing clothes belonging to the residents on his face. Brenda Schumann In January 2013, police in Vero Beach, arrested Brenda Schumann, 51, after she allegedly defecated and urinated on the floor of her home after after discovering her husband in bed with another woman. She later told a deputy: "I found him in bed with a naked chick, what was I supposed to do?" Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. The American Idol grand finale aired Monday night, and it was full of surprises! Halfway through the night, Caleb Lee Hutchinson and Maddie Poppe were revealed as the top two finalists. However, Gabby Barrett being eliminated wasn't the big surprise. Before Hutchison and Poppe performed "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" together as the top two, Ryan Seacrest asked Hutchinson if there was a special significance to the song when he sings to Poppe, to which Hutchinson replied, "Well, you know, Maddie is like my best pal, and I've known her since the beginning of Hollywood week. She actually happens to be my girlfriend." The entire audience, including judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, cheered with excitement as everyone was pleasantly surprised by their secret romance. Hutchinson and Maddie's surprise announcement was the sweetest moment of the night, and it made their top two duet even more special. However, while the two both stated that it didn't really matter to them who won, only one could be the American Idol, and that winner is Maddie Poppe! To celebrate her victory, Poppe gave an emotional performance of her new single "Going Going Gone," but struggled to finish the song due to her overwhelming happiness. Luckily, she had some help from her new friends (and boyfriend) as the top ten, and the judges, joined her to celebrate on stage. Stacey Abrams, a Democratic candidate for governor, stood outside her campaign headquarters in Atlanta on Saturday surrounded by her left-wing friends. A banner for the Bernie Sanders-inspired group Our Revolution hung next to her campaign sign, near placards for MoveOn.org and the abortion-rights group NARAL. Join the Resistance, a supporters T-shirt urged. The message from this rally hosted by an array of liberal groups seemed clear: A victory for Abrams in Tuesdays primary would be a victory for the left in the war for the soul of the Democratic Party. But is it really true that the Sanders wing is beating the Clinton wing in the battle for party dominance? Abrams, the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, is a proud liberal, and shes widely expected to win. Yet she insists its not so simple. I was a Hillary surrogate who has hired Obama folks and Bernie folks and Clinton folks, she told me in an interview aboard her campaign bus. In the legislature, she points out, she worked with Republicans on numerous bipartisan initiatives. I am absolutely a progressive, she says, but I would not say that I represent any wing of the Democratic Party except for the Democratic wing. As primaries have gotten under way in recent months, left-wing Democrats have surged past more moderate contenders in contests across the country. In Nebraska, a liberal social worker, Kara Eastman, won a surprise upset against Brad Ashford, a centrist former congressman backed by the Democratic establishment. In Pennsylvania, a Sanders-backed progressive defeated the states incumbent lieutenant governor, and two self-proclaimed Democratic Socialists beat incumbent Democratic state representatives. Candidates running to the left have also prevailed in primaries in Idaho and Oregon. A congressional runoff in Texas on Tuesday, pitting a progressive darling against Washington Democrats chosen candidate, could continue the trend. Story continues These intraparty contests are significant because the quality of the candidates the Democrats nominate will help determine how successful they are in Novembers midterm elections. One recent political-science study found that extreme candidates tend to fare worse than moderates in general elections by a 7-point margin. But for every high-profile liberal success this election cycle, there have been plenty of moderate victories, too. The liberal former congressman Tom Perriello fell far short in his bid for the Virginia gubernatorial nomination, as did former congressman Dennis Kucinich in Ohio; a massive push by national liberal organizations to defeat an incumbent Illinois congressman, centrist Dan Lipinski, was also unsuccessful. In congressional primaries, the center-left group Third Way points out, less than one-third of Our Revolutions candidates have prevailed. I think we need to be careful about overstating this whole progressive vs. moderate fight within the Democratic Party, says the political analyst Amy Walter, who argues that primary voters may be looking less for ideology than for fresh faces, outsiders and women. Its tempting, amid the emergence of the left-wing movement activists call the Resistance, to see a mirror image of the Tea Party that arose after Barack Obamas election in 2008. Just like the Tea Party, the Resistance is fueled by grassroots energy that cant be controlled by a political party, and is sometimes directed at its own side. Both movements are motivated less by policy than by anger at a President its members see as illegitimate. The Tea Party drove the GOP establishment nuts, toppling incumbent Republicans and nominating extreme candidates. It also provided the energy behind 2010s massive Republican wave. And the Tea Party candidates who took on the GOP establishment often differed more in style than in substance with their foes; both sides considered themselves conservative. In Georgia, Abrams is running in the Democratic primary against a fellow former state legislator, Stacey Evans, who argues that shes better positioned to reach out to moderate and independent voters than Abrams. Were running to be governor of Georgia we should be able to talk to all of Georgia, Evans told me at a campaign stop in an urban Atlanta cafe. But in the primary, Evans isnt exactly running to the center; in fact, shes attacked Abrams as being insufficiently progressive. Abrams, she argues, sold out Democrats when she did all those deals with Republicans. This jockeying for the leftist mantle, even in a Democratic primary, is something new, says former Georgia state senator Vincent Fort, an Evans supporter and former Sanders delegate. Ive been around a long time, and this is the first time in the history of this state that Democratic candidates are competing to be the most progressive, Fort told me. Just as the Tea Partys main effect on the GOP was the way it dragged the partys center of gravity to the right, the Resistance may be pulling the entire Democratic Party in its direction. Thai police detained leaders of an anti-junta protest on Tuesday who had tried to mark the fourth anniversary of a coup by marching to Government House, one of the largest acts of dissent since the army grabbed power. Protest leaders flashed a three finger salute as they were led into a police van -- a resistance symbol borrowed by Thailand's anti-coup movement from the Hollywood movie "The Hunger Games". Disquiet with the junta is simmering in Thailand, despite a ban on political gatherings since a coup toppled the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra on May 22, 2014. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who as army chief booted Yingluck's administration from power, has suggested elections will be held in February next year. But the timetable for a return to democracy has repeatedly slipped and patience with his junta is wearing thin among many sections of Thai society. Starting at sunrise, hundreds of student activists and middle-aged "Red Shirt" supporters of the toppled civilian government gathered to march from a university where they had camped overnight to the seat of government. Wielding banners, Thai flags and fans with a cartoon of the premier mocked-up as "Pinocchio", they were stopped by police lines blocking their route. "It is the four-year anniversary of the coup and I think now is the time to change," said Rangsiman Rome, one of the protest organisers. Hours later after five of his co-leaders were detained by police, he and two other core organisers said they would surrender to face charges linked to violating the ban on political protest. "I am well aware of your disappointment but it's the only way to avoid violence," he told a crowd that had held on for an hours-long standoff that included tense scuffles with police. The protest dispersed after the detentions. - Junta fatigue - Addressing reporters, Thailand's gruff premier Prayut was unmoved by the noisy show of discontent with his rule. Story continues "If you ask me, am I in a good mood? I am," he said. "Today is May 22nd and we review what he have done since 2014... there are many things. It is better to give us support." Yet Thailand remains divided. Large sections of society -- including the Bangkok middle class -- have wearied of rule by a conservative military that has intruded into the lives of ordinary Thais whilst overseeing a widening of the kingdom's rich-poor wealth gap. "We want elections. Nothing is being done to guarantee they happen in February," protestor Anuthee Dejthevaporn, 30, told AFP. Prayut, who draws backing from an arch-royalist Bangkok elite, says he was forced to seize power to heal the kingdom's caustic politics and reboot an economy cramped by corruption and protest. But critics say he has done nothing to heal the country's bitter divides, with his regime banning political gatherings of five or more people while silencing criticism with legal charges and tight monitoring of prominent activists. In between, a junta-appointed national assembly has signed off on a new constitution that ties future elected governments to a 20-year plan for the country. The charter also creates an appointed upper house and other checks on the power of future civilian governments, in what analysts say is a brazen assault on the political base of the Shinawatras. Yingluck, her older brother Thaksin or their proxies have won all Thai general elections since 2001. But their governments were hit by two coups and endless legal cases that have seen the siblings flee abroad to avoid jail. TCN News New Delhi: Mohammed Salim Engineer, the Secretary-General of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), has condemned the lynching of Siraj Khan by a violent mob in Satna, Madhya Pradesh. In a statement to the media, the JIH Secretary-General said, We condemn the lynching of Siraj Khan. Media reports suggest that he was mercilessly beaten to death on suspicion of slaughtering a bull. This is absolutely unacceptable and shameful. There must be someone who must be held accountable besides the lynch-mob as there seems to be no end to this series of lynching men from the minority community on charges of slaughtering bovines or possessing beef. Support TwoCircles Engineer further said, The usual modus operandi of those who are supervising these hate crimes from the background is to first kill, then glorify the killers, frame charges against the victims and ensure that there is no condemnation by anyone from the government. This attempt to normalize lynching over the beef issue is most sinister and is extremely damaging for the country. We wish to remind our central as well as state governments of their moral and constitutional responsibility; it is their foremost duty to protect the lives and properties as well as the honor and dignity of the citizens. They must remember that the prayers of the oppressed always invite divine wrath and by condoning such crimes they are turning the public opinion against their non-performance in governance and thus preparing their political oblivion, said Engineer. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has demanded that the culprits of Siraj Khan be awarded the maximum punishment and suitable compensation to his widow and children. The state government must condemn the incident and ensure that no glorification of Sirajs killers take place, said the press statement. Jamaat also appreciated the role of civil society in resisting these lynching incidents and supported the legislation that will put an end to this menace. An asteroid in Jupiters orbit may be the first one known to have come from outside our solar system. If the findings are confirmed, asteroid 2015 BZ509, known as BZ, may give scientists the opportunity to learn more about interstellar objects, or objects from beyond our solar system. The discovery was made by Fathi Namouni, a researcher at Cote dAzur Observatory in France, and Helena Morais, a researcher at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil. The findings were published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. This shows the solar system is home to objects which were born around other stars, Dr. Morais told Scientific American. Thus, matter in other star systems could influence the evolution of our own solar system. The researchers discovered BZ in 2015, according to the BBC. They used a supercomputer to simulate millions of possible orbital parameters to help determine its interstellar origin, according to Scientific American. We had this simulation which uses intense computing to actually trace back in time to where this asteroid was when the planets finished forming, Dr. Namouni explained, according to the BBC. Honestly we didnt have any idea what we were going to find, Namouni continued. The last thing we expected was that BZ has been in its current position most of the time. Part of what makes BZ unique is that the asteroid has a retrograde orbit, which means that it orbits the sun in the opposite direction of most of our solar systems other celestial objects. While BZ matches Jupiters orbit and takes the same amount of time to circle the sun as Jupiter, its orbit moves the other way. We did not expect that the asteroid would remain bound to Jupiter and that it would hang on in there for 4.5 billion years, but it did! Namouni told Scientific American. Since the asteroids orbit was right there as it is now in retrograde and in the same resonance with Jupiter it cant have been born in the solar system. Still, some remain skeptical of BZs potential interstellar origins. For a realistic flux of interstellar material, does capture happen often enough to make the discovery of such an object plausible? Scott Tremaine, an astrophysicist from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and who did not take part in the research, told Scientific American. The possibility that BZ is from outside our solar system does open new chances for exploration: Figuring out where it may have come from and what it is made of. Archbishop Philip Wilson concealed the abuse of two altar boys by failing to report the allegations to police - AAPIMAGE An Australian archbishop has become the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse and faces a potential two years in prison when he is sentenced next month. Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson was convicted in Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney, following a magistrate-only trial. Wilson, 67, had pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious crime committed by another person - the sexual abuse of children by pedophile priest James Fletcher in the 1970s. Magistrate Robert Stone told the court that Wilson had concealed the abuse of two altar boys in the Hunter Valley region, north of Sydney, by Fletcher by failing to report the allegations to police. Mr Stone said he was satisfied one of the altar boys, Peter Creigh, had been a "truthful and reliable" witness. It's a major turning point. It's been very difficult for so many of these witnesses Peter Fox Wilson was released on bail until he appears at a sentencing hearing on June 9. Prosecutors will argue for a custodial sentence. In a statement issued by the Catholic Church, Wilson said he was disappointed by the conviction. "I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps," he said. Prosecutor Gareth Harrison had submitted that Wilson was involved in a cover-up to protect the church's reputation and there were doubts about his honesty. Harrison argued that in Wilson's mind, victims came second. Wilson, who is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease but maintains medication has helped his memory, told the court last month during his trial he could not remember Mr Creigh and another altar boy telling him in 1976 they were abused by Fletcher. The court has ordered Mr Creigh can be named in media reports on his testimony, but the second accuser cannot be named for legal reasons. Story continues Archbishop Philip Wilson concealed the abuse of two altar boys by failing to report the allegations to police Credit: PETER LORIMER /AAPIMAGE The prosecution argued Wilson failed to give details to police about a serious crime after Fletcher was arrested in 2004 and went on trial for preying on another boy. Fletcher was found guilty of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in prison of a stroke in 2006 while serving an almost eight-year sentence. Defence lawyers had argued Wilson could not be found guilty because the case was circumstantial and there was no evidence to prove the archbishop was told about the abuse, believed it was true, or remembered being told about it. Stephen Odgers, defending, urged the magistrate to take into account that in the 1970s a priest having sex with a boy was not considered a serious indictable offence, the legal basis for the concealment charge against Wilson. Mr Odgers told the court the abuse would have been viewed as an act of indecency, not indecent assault, if the victim could not prove he had been forced to perform sex acts. Mr Creigh told the court he had trusted Wilson, then an assistant priest, would take action after he told him Fletcher had repeatedly abused him in 1971 when he was 10. Mr Creigh testified that Wilson had a "look of horror" on his face when told of the abuse. He told the court the clergyman took no action and did not tell police. Archbishop Philip Wilson, centre, heads to Newcastle Local Court Credit: Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP The defence did not challenge Mr Creigh's truthfulness, but raised concerns about the reliability of his memory of what happened in 1976. The other former altar boy said he was about 11 in 1976 when he went to confession and told Wilson that Fletcher had abused him. The witness told the court Wilson refused to believe him because Fletcher "was a good bloke". Wilson ordered the boy to get out of the confessional box and say 10 Hail Mary prayers as an act of contrition, the court was told. Wilson testified last month that he had no memory of seeing the second altar boy at all in 1976 and he would never accuse anyone in the confessional of telling lies. Peter Fox, a former police Detective Chief Inspector, who had previously made public allegations that the church had covered up Fletcher's crimes, said outside court he was "delighted" by the verdict because someone in the church was being held to account. "It's a major turning point. It's been very difficult for so many of these witnesses; I can't tell you how difficult it's been," Fox said. Immigration is a hotly-debated topic around the world, but it turns out that our Solar System is far more welcoming than some of the countries here on Earth. In a new paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, scientists reveal that theyve discovered the first interstellar immigrant: an asteroid called 2015 BZ509. The strange space rock confused researchers for some time due to its peculiar orbit. The object doesnt follow the pattern established by the other objects in the Solar System, and is orbiting the Sun in the opposite direction as the planets. It is in a co-orbital relationship with Jupiter, but because it is orbiting the Sun in the opposite direction that Jupiter is, the two only pass by each other twice every full orbit. With this in mind, scientists set out to determine its origins, eventually reaching the conclusion that the space rock wasnt actually part of our Solar System. Don't Miss: Todays best deals: Roku, Fire TV, $17 Crock-Pot, smart toilet, Apple AirPods, Nest Thermostat, more The asteroid and Jupiter take the same amount of time to complete one orbit around the Sun but one moves clockwise and the other counter-clockwise so they pass by each other twice per each full orbit, Helena Morais, one of the authors of the research, told CNN. This pattern is repeated forever it is a stable configuration in a simplified model with only the Sun, Jupiter and the asteroid. We saw that when we include the other planets it is still very stable, over the solar systems age. Working backwards, the team ran an incredibly deep simulation that included one million asteroid clones to try to figure out if the asteroid could have ended up where it is today from within the Solar System itself or if it arrived here from somewhere else. They studied where each asteroid ended up, finding that the vast majority were either ejected from the Solar System or fell into the Sun. Ultimately, the scientists arrived at the conclusion that in order for the asteroid to exist in its current orbit, it must have been a refugee from another system, arriving here in the Solar System around 4.5 billion years ago. It was likely captured from space, drawn in by the gravity of our system and ending up in a retrograde orbit due to the direction it was headed when it arrived. Story continues Its an interesting discovery with some potentially far-reaching implications. The researchers suggest that the presence of extrasolar asteroids like 2015 BZ509 should be considered when addressing theories of planet formation in the early Solar System. Likewise, now that we have at least one confirmed extrasolar body hanging around in our system, the hunt will be on to find more. BGR Top Deals: Trending Right Now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com Tampa (AFP) - Thousands of bones from boys and men likely killed in a ferocious battle 2,000 years ago have been unearthed from a bog in Denmark, researchers said Monday. Without local written records to explain, or a battlefield to scour for evidence, experts are nevertheless piecing together a story of the Germanic people, often described by the Romans as "barbarians" for their violent nature. Four pelvic bones strung on a stick were among the remains of at least 82 people found during archaeological excavations at Alken Enge, on Denmark's Jutland peninsula, indicating an organized and ritual clearing of a battlefield, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The site, which has been studied since 2009, has yielded the earliest discovery of "a large contingent of fighters from a defeated army from the early first century AD," said the PNAS report. - Well preserved - "The bones are extremely well preserved," co-author Mette Lvschal, of the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at Aarhus University, told AFP. "And you can see stuff that you can normally not see in them, like the gnaw marks of animals and you can see the cut marks from sharp weapons. That is highly unusual," she said. The more than 2,300 human bones were contained in peat and lake sediments over 185 acres (75 hectares) of wetland meadows. Radiocarbon-dating put them between 2 BC and 54 AD. In this era, Roman soldiers were pressing an expansion northward, and around 7 AD, the Romans suffered a massive loss in which tens of thousands of warriors were killed by the Germanic people. "What they do in the succeeding decades is have these military raids in Germania, basically to punish the barbarians for this huge defeat," said Lvschal. "What we actually think we are seeing here could be the remains of one of those punitive campaigns." - Young and old males - Lvschal said the bones appear to be from a "fairly heterogeneous population," with some as young as 13 to 14, and others as old as 40-60. Story continues The bog is estimated to hold the remains of around 380 men who died from combat injuries. "They do not seem to have a lot of healed trauma, from experience with previous battles," she said. "They could have had previously very little experience with battle." The bones show weapon strikes predominantly on the right side, with few injuries around the midsection where the fighters may have been holding shields with their left arms. Experts think the bodies may have been lying on the battlefield for quite some time, possibly six months to a year, because many bones show signs of being gnawed by dogs or wolves. They were stripped of their personal belongings before being deposited into the bog. - Questions remain - Many questions remain. Who was involved in the battle? Was it tribe-against-tribe? Or Germanic fighters against Roman warriors? And what is the meaning of stringing pelvic bones on a stick? "Those four pelvises on a stick could almost point to having connotations to sexual humiliation," said Lvschal. "It seems to have aggressive undertones to it as well. So it has been difficult to say who did it." Archaeologists could also see another telling change in the landscape after the battle. Once a pastoral area including cropland, forest and grassland, it changed dramatically into a densely forested landscape for the next 800 years, said Lvschal. "It suggests that this event had a huge impact on the people who lived there," she added. "There was a large-scale trauma to the community." Los Angeles (AFP) - Two hundred professors at one of California's top universities on Tuesday demanded the resignation of the school's president over a widening sexual abuse scandal involving a campus gynecologist. The faculty members of the University of Southern California (USC) said they wanted to "express their outrage and disappointment over the mounting evidence of president (C.L. Max) Nikias's failure to protect our students, our staff and our colleagues from repeated and pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct." In their letter to the board of trustees, the professors said Nikias had lost the "moral authority" to lead the private institution or to oversee an investigation into decades of alleged sexual abuse by George Tyndall, a gynecologist formerly employed at the school. "USC kept a physician in a position of power and trust who abused that power and trust to sexually assault and degrade women students, targeting for abuse the most vulnerable international and minority students," the letter says. "The university's conduct is as much at issue in this case as the physician's." - Contain fallout - USC has come under seething criticism as it tries to contain fallout from the growing scandal that erupted after the Los Angeles Times detailed how Tyndall was allowed to continue practicing for years despite complaints of misconduct going back as far as the year 2000. The university's board of trustees -- which includes billionaires, real estate developers and Hollywood power players such as Steven Spielberg -- rejected calls for Nikias to step down, saying that while it was "troubled" by the scandal, it fully supported him. "The executive committee of the board has full confidence in president Nikias's leadership, ethics and values, and is certain that he will successfully guide our community forward," a statement said. So far, six women have filed lawsuits against the university and Tyndall, with more expected to follow. Story continues One of the women alleges that Tyndall forced his entire hand and wrist into her vagina while examining her during an appointment in 2003 and made vulgar comments about her genitalia. Another woman details how Tyndall, now 71, groped her breasts and leered at her on what was her first appointment with a gynecologist in 2008. "Reportedly, USC was aware of Dr Tyndall's inappropriate conduct before I was even born," said one of his alleged victims, 21-year-old Daniella Mohaza. The Filipina graduate student at USC told reporters that Tyndall performed a genital exam on her in 2016 without wearing gloves and made inappropriate comments about her ethnicity. - 'Duck and cover' - Tyndall allegedly often targeted minority students -- including many from the university's large Asian student population -- who were not fluent in English or unfamiliar with gynecological exams. The lawsuits claim that the school only launched a probe in 2016 after a supervising nurse upset at USC's inaction reported him to the campus rape crisis center. He was then allowed to "quietly" resign in June of last year. Hilary Schor, one of the professors who drafted the letter asking for Nikias's resignation, told AFP that she was appalled by the university's handling of the case. "The culture of the university is one where the instinct is to duck and cover, to conceal, to make scandals disappear," said Schor, who teaches English, comparative literature and law. She said the scandal was sure to affect the university's reputation and possibly enrolment, especially among international students who make up 25 percent of the 45,500 students. "Nikias has shown no interest in stepping down but at a certain moment, I believe that if not morality, the monetary cost to the institution could be enough to provoke a change," she said. The scandal comes on the heels of another similar case involving Michigan State University, which saw former university doctor Larry Nassar sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for abusing girls and women he treated. Last week, MSU announced a $500 million settlement with victims of Nassar, who also was the doctor for the USA Gymnastics national team. Lawyers familiar with the USC case said it could ultimately prove much bigger than Nassar's given the number of patients Tyndall came in contact with over almost three decades. Tyndall could not immediately be reached for comment, but in previous interviews with the Times, he denied any wrongdoing and said he had "never had any sexual urges" toward patients. The U.S. and China have decided to put the looming trade war on hold after months of talks. Washington will soon reportedly lift its ban on U.S. firms supplying Chinese telecom giant ZTE Corp., and as part of the deal, China will remove tariffs on imported U.S. agricultural products. President Donald Trump touted the benefits of the looming agreement for farmers. Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our farmers can produce, he tweeted on Monday. But there are some caveats. China hasnt committed to a specific amount of purchases. And Chinas alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property hasnt been addressed the elephant in the room. China doesnt want to be locked in After months of negotiations, the U.S. and China hit the pause button on a trade war. (CNBC) China is the second largest market for U.S. farmers, accounting for 14.2% of agricultural exports in the U.S. last year. Agricultural products have been at the center of trade tensions after China announced a tit-for-tat tariff on U.S. soybeans, which has drawn a series of political backlash from farmers in the Midwest. In a statement released Saturday, China promised meaningful increases in United States agriculture and energy exports, but didnt provide any specifics, said Claude Barfield, a former consultant to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). China doesnt want to be locked in. It will seem to be bowing to the president of the United States and theyre very sensitive about that. Farmers could benefit from increased buying interest from China, but Barfield cautions this could also set a bad precedent for other trading partners by allowing politics rather than the market dictate relationships. China is a country that is good at diplomatic tactics and making grand gestures, therefore it could take a long time for it to actually act on its promises. Last year, China agreed to buy 12.53 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans and 371 tonnes of beef and pork from the U.S., the second-largest deal between the two countries. But soybean traders called it meaningless since the agreement was in the form of frame contracts, which are usually non-binding letters of intent to buy at a later date, without formal sales terms. Story continues Farmers, who are worried by Trumps aggressive rhetoric on trade, await more details on that deal and whether China will keep its promise. We applaud the Administrations focus on supporting U.S. ag exports in this framework, but note that there is still an enormous amount of work that must be done to take this agreement from concept to reality and to deliver certainty and stability to farmers and ranchers, Farmers for Free Trade, a lobbying group, said in a statement on Monday. Focus shift: high-tech to soybeans Chinas telecom gear maker ZTE has become a chess piece in trade talks between Washington and Beijing. (CNBC) The U.S.-China trade tension didnt start with soybeans or cotton. Trump has repeatedly taken aim at China for its market protection policies like forced joint ventures and forced technology transfers. Last year, Trump ordered probes into Chinas alleged theft of American technology and intellectual property. USTR concluded Chinese theft of intellectual property costs America between $225 billion and $600 billion annually. It proposed to implement 25% tariffs on certain Chinese products, which drew fierce retaliation from China. But Saturdays statement said little about all this. Barfield thinks the language is very vague about what China is going to do. You cant just leave it with agricultural, because thats not really the center of our difficulties with China, said Barfield, who now is a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. If the administration declares victory to this and goes home, they miss big opportunities. Its easier for China to make concessions by increasing imports, as the worlds second-largest economy the country has been expanding its buying to satisfy the need of the growing middle class. But China has shown very strong resistance when it comes to its technology policies. Proposed tariffs from USTR targets Beijings Made in China 2025 plan, but China warns to fight to the end to defend its national ambition in developing advanced IT products like robotics and aerospace. The U.S. will send delegates to Beijing to work on more details of a trade deal, according to the statement. But before that, Trump has a more urgent matter to deal with North Korea. Trump is scheduled to meet North Koreas Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12. The trade dispute is now on hold because the U.S. needs China to keep diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea ahead of next months summit, wrote Greg Valliere, the chief global strategist at Horizon Investments, in a note on Monday. Krystal Hu covers technology and economy for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter. Read more: How Trump is making your beer more expensive Why the soybean could be Chinas trump card in the trade war Larry Fink on trade: China is our banker Dan Palmer, left. (Photo: Courtesy of Dan Palmer) Dan Palmer, a professional musician, was playing at a charity event back in 2003, when he decided to do a good deed: donate blood at the events mobile clinic. That decision would end up changing and possibly saving his life. So I donated blood, he tells Yahoo Lifestyle. And then six weeks later I received a letter in the mail saying I had hepatitis C and that Im never allowed to donate blood again. The news came as shock, which was quickly followed by fear. It freaked me out, says Palmer, who splits his time between Sacramento, Calif., and Carson City, Nevada. I had friends who had hepatitis C who had been through the old treatment, which had been hellacious, and there wasnt a lot of knowledge [about the disease] with health professionals then. But with no other options, Palmer went through the drug treatment regimen at the time interferon and ribavirin. That treatment was hell, he recalls. For many people with hepatitis C, their journey with the disease ended there, resulting in a cure post-treatment. But for Palmer, it was only the beginning of his long path to regaining his health. Thats because the particular hepatitis C genotype Palmer had genotype 3 is notoriously hard to treat, research shows, and its not commonly found in the U.S. Hepatitis C has seven different genotypes, in fact, with genotype 1 being the most common in the U.S., constituting about 70 percent of all infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although Palmer doesnt know for sure how he became infected with hepatitis C, he believes he contracted it from a former girlfriend. Twelve years after Id broken off a relationship, a girlfriend called me and said that she had [hepatitis C], Palmer shares. Sexual transmission is very rare, so it could have been from sharing a toothbrush or a razor. Doctors didnt know how Palmer would respond to treatment with his particular genotype, and he says he couldnt get into any clinical trials because most were focused on genotype 1. Genotype 3 is not so easy to cure, he says. Story continues After weeks of treatment, Palmer found out that the drug regimen didnt work. His only hope? A liver transplant. After coming close to finding a donor three other times, Palmer finally received a liver transplant in June 2015. But he still wasnt out of the woods. While the surgery replaced his ailing liver, the virus was still in his blood and it soon started to damage his new liver. Six months post-transplant they saw something in my blood work, did a liver biopsy, and discovered I was already at level 2 fibrosis, he explains. There are only four levels, and the fourth is end-stage liver failure. So Palmer was put on a drug treatment regimen again, this time one that included some newer medications. He took the medications for 12 weeks, coping with side effects including nausea, depression, and fatigue along the way. I took my last dose and it was not five minutes later that my phone rang, he recalls. It was my nurse, saying, Weve decided to extend you for another 12 weeks.' Thats because new research showed that a longer course of the medications is best, according to Palmer. So if I had stopped it originally, [the virus] could easily have come back, he says. I dont know where Id be if Id failed that treatment again. That was three years ago and Palmer has had no complications since then. As he puts it, The outcome has been spectacular. He adds: Even my level 2 fibrosis is reverted now. My liver is probably healthy again. I was cured of what would have been a death sentence. Palmer, who is now 56 and is part of the American Liver Foundations national patient advisory committee, has made it his mission to help others ever since. Ignorance is the great enemy, he says. Thats why Ive been so adamant. Ive spoken openly about hepatitis C and my need for a liver transplant and blogged extensively about my journey. Palmer says people with hepatitis C have to be proactive. He also recommends taking a caregiver or loved one with you to every doctors appointment. When you go to see that doctor you need to have a written list of questions you want answers to so you wont forget anything. And two, most doctors see if youre earnest and honest in your quest for information and you dont waste their time, theyll look at your list and say, Do you have any more questions? You can also write down your answers. And if something your doctor says doesnt feel right, Palmer recommends getting a second opinion, along with reaching out to online hepatitis C support groups about what worked for them. If one person can hear this and it helps them go to the doctor or get a second opinion or encourages them to take someone with them to one of their appointments, says Palmer, its a win. May is Hepatitis Awareness Month. Read more about the disease on Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Danica Patricks final racing start will come Sunday in the Indianapolis 500. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) Youre not a real race fan if youve never wondered what a Danica Patrick Lego statue would look like. Patrick was surprised with a Lego statue of herself in Times Square on Tuesday. Patrick was in New York City as part of the media tour for Sundays Indianapolis 500. The race is Patricks final start before she retires. Hanging with Danica Patrick and her Lego doppelganger in Times Square. pic.twitter.com/cNpg186185 Barbara Barker (@meanbarb) May 22, 2018 Oh wow, thats a lot of Legos, Patrick said when the cover was taken off the statue. A LEGO sendoff for @DanicaPatrick in Times Square, ahead of her final competitive race #Indy500MediaTour | @NYDNSports pic.twitter.com/arr3do6ABQ Mark Fischer (@nhlfisch21) May 22, 2018 Patrick is running the Indy 500 for Ed Carpenter Racing and will start seventh. Its her first IndyCar start since the 2011 season finale. That was Patricks final full-time season in open-wheel racing before moving to NASCAR from 2012-17. Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. More from Yahoo Sports: Brandi Chastain plaque looks nothing like her Olympian: USA Swimming covered up sex abuse Spurs abruptly disband female dance squad Dan Wetzel: NBA conference finals arent close, yet you cant turn away Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, Getty Images) WASHINGTON The Democratic Party is in tatters, conservative columnist George Will said on Fox News five days after Donald J. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. The House and Senate remained red too, and there were now 26 states with Republican trifectas, meaning the party controlled both chambers of the state legislature and the governorship. The number of Democratic trifecta states? Just six. They are in danger of becoming, Will said of the Democrats, a regional party. But a year and a half later, Wills prognosis isnt standing up very well. A party supposedly relegated to oblivion in much of the country won a Senate seat in Alabama and the governorship of Virginia, as well as a House seat in western Pennsylvania in a district Trump carried easily. Increasingly, election watchers believe that November could see a Democratic surge that captures one or both houses of Congress. If Democrats pull it off, it would be the last half of the Trump presidency that is left in tatters. Yet tensions remain within the Democratic Party, of both politics and policy. Republicans hope to exploit these divisions in order maintain their control of Washington. If they do so, it will be less because they have offered a coherent vision than because Democrats have failed to settle on a single effective critique of Trump and Trumpism. The various factions of Democrats can get along for the sake of flipping seats, assures Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn. Ellison has the dual roles of vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, making him perhaps Washingtons most visible emissary from the progressive faction to the party mainstream. In an extended interview with Yahoo News earlier this month, Ellison portrayed the Democratic Party as united in its political aims, even as its ideology is increasingly shifting leftward. What Democrats need is to be fiercely in solidarity with each other, Ellison said. We need to embrace the fact that human solidarity is, in fact, resistance. Story continues This conversation took place during the primary season, which does not tend to invite solidarity. On May 15, a fresh round of primary contests saw progressives defeat moderates in Nebraska, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The far left is winning the Democratic civil war, declared a headline in the Washington Post. For Ellison, who was raised in a middle-class family in the Palmer Woods section of Detroit, this is less a battle than an awakening. The electorate is more progressive than the people who represent them, Ellison argues, noting that unlike most of his colleagues on Capitol Hill he is not a millionaire. Consequently, the things that get discussed in Congress are things that well-to-do people discuss. Increasingly, though, a new spate of Democratic candidates is unashamed of embracing nakedly liberal positions. In Pennsylvania, two Socialists won primary races for the state legislature. These were not candidates who espoused a longing for democratic socialism of the Finnish variety but actual members of the Democratic Socialists of America. At the same time, their ideas did not involve storming the Winter Palace, reflecting what have become mainstream liberal positions: universal health care, free universal prekindergarten, taxes on the rich, better pay for the poor. Much of the credit must go to Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who singlehandedly dragged the party in his direction. It was his growing clout within the Democratic Party that elevated Ellison to become deputy chair of the DNC. At the same time, the organization remains stocked with Clinton loyalists: The partys chair, for example, is Tom Perez, who was under consideration as Clintons running mate. We have shifted the mission of the Democratic National Committee, Ellison says confidently, citing the kinds of investments in downballot races that the DNC neglected to make in years past, leading to enormous Republican gains on the state level. This new iteration of the DNC, Ellison promises, is more responsive. I am confident we are on the right track, he says. That track involves pointing out that President Trump presides over what Ellison calls an economy with the worst inequality since the Great Depression. Making that case, he believes, can end the debate about whether Democrats need to appeal to the white working class, which effectively handed Trump the election, and to its traditional base, including people of color. This country is hard on white folks, he says, then adds, but if youre a person of color, its a little tougher still. None of this is to say that the unification of the Democratic Party has been an entirely smooth project. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, for example, has been attacking Houston-area candidate Laura Moser, who is running in the Democratic primary there on Tuesday. That has exposed the very divisions Ellison and others have tried to heal. Ellison acknowledges that the Moser fracas was a mistake for the DCCC. I would not have handled it that way, he says. Trust the voters, right? You cause more trouble for yourself when you pick winners and losers. But he is encouraged by signs that Democratic turnout could reach record levels in November. Ellison says that his own career in politics has taught him that races are not won by those who vote, but by those who dont. Low voter enthusiasm doomed Hillary Clintons chances. To progressives like Ellison, her candidacy was a sign of how troublingly distant the Democratic establishment had grown from ordinary Americans. It shouldnt have been close enough for the Russians to make a difference, Ellison laments. Or Comey. Read more from Yahoo News: President Donald Trump demanded a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into allegations that the DOJ or the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign -- something he suggested was ordered by the Barack Obama administration. Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon to double down on his intentions to investigate reports that Cambridge professor Stefan Halper, 73, was an alleged secret informant who met with Trump campaign advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos dating back to the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. The suggestion by Trump would undermine former FBI Director James Comey's claim that the feds didn't begin investigating the campaign until late July 2016. 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! Trending: In Pictures: Every Best Picture Academy Award Winning Film Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018 "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. This demand follows Trump's Saturday suggestion that, "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!" Story continues Don't miss: 'State of Decay 2' Download Time: When Can You Start Slaying Zombies on Xbox One and PC? RTX2T2TS Reuters 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! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2018 Trump has attempted to link Obama and the intelligence committee to conducting surveillance on his campaign in the past. In 2017, Trump accused the Obama administration of giving the go-ahead on wiretapping Trump Tower during the election season. These accusations by the then-president-elect were not substantiated by evidence and were dismissed as false by former U.S. intelligence chief James Clapper as well as an Obama spokesman. James Comey told the House Intelligence Committee in March that while there was an investigation into Trump's potential Russian ties, he did not know of any such surveillance conduct. "With respect to the president's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets, and we have looked carefully inside the FBI," Comey told the panel. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Donald Trump, the US president, and Moon Jae-in, the president of South Korea, at the White House last June - REUTERS Mike Pence, the US vice-president has warned North Korea not to try to "play" President Donald Trump, who is willing to "walk away" from the negotiating table if his planned summit with Kim Jong-un fails. "It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong-un to think it could play Donald Trump," Mr Pence told Fox News on Monday, adding that the president was not thinking about public relations, but "thinking about peace". Moon Jae-in, South Koreas leader, will meet Donald Trump, the US president, in Washington on Tuesday for talks on how to keep a June Singapore summit with North Korea on track, amid growing concerns that Washington will not be able to strike a deal on denuclearisation. Their meeting had been scheduled for some time, to fine-tune the details of how Mr Trump should approach his June 12 summit with Kim Jong-un. But Mr Moons trip has now evolved into a crisis session after an unexpectedly fractious week during which Pyongyang threatened to pull out of the summit altogether. After months of warm relations between South and North Korea that began with the Winter Olympics, the mood suddenly soured last week when Pyongyang hit out over joint US-South Korean military exercises that it believes are a rehearsal for invasion, calling Seoul ignorant and incompetent". Mike Pence, the US vice-president, has warned North Korea not to 'play' Trump Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg The North abruptly cancelled a high-level meeting with the South on Wednesday and then took aim at John Bolton, the US national security adviser, for suggesting they could follow a so-called Libya model" of denuclearisation. Libya, they retorted, had met a "miserable fate". Analysts have cautioned that invoking memories of Libya, whose dictator Muammar Gaddafi was brutally killed by rebels eight years after he renounced his nuclear programme, will not encourage progress with North Korea. But Mr Pence, in his Fox interview, reinforced the Libya message. "There was some talk about the Libyan model last week, and you know, as the President made clear, this will only end like the Libyan model ended if Kim Jong-un doesn't make a deal," he said. Story continues Despite the tensions, Nam Gwan-pyo, a deputy director at the presidential national security office, told the Yonhap news agency that Tuesdays meeting would play a role as a bridge between the US and North Korea, to ensure the success of the upcoming summit with Kim. The mood has soured between North and South Korea since a successful summit between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in, the South's president, in April Credit: AP/AP They would likely discuss ways to guarantee a bright future for the North when North Korea achieves complete denuclearisation, he added. Mr Moon is also expected to advise the US president on what to expect from Kim, based on his own encounter with him at a summit on the inter-Korean border in April. But Mr Moon may also face tough questions from the US president over whether he and his administration, in their eagerness to make progress with the North, may have exaggerated Kim's willingness to negotiate over the dismantling of his nuclear weapons programme. "It increasingly looks like the Moon administration overstated North Korea's willingness to deal. Moon will probably get an earful over that," said Robert Kelly, a professor of political science at South Korea's Busan university. The Trump administration is also reported to be concerned that Mr Moon may push for a less stringent version of North Korean denuclearisation and could be open to faster sanctions relief. South Korean officials said Mr Moon and Mr Trump would speak to each other alone, only accompanied by interpreters. "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," said one official. The two leaders already spoke for 20 minutes on the phone on Sunday, in their 15th phone conversation since they both took office. Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump are scheduled to hold a summit in Singapore on June 12 Credit: Wong Maye-E/AP The New York Times interpreted the call, just three days before Mr Moon was due to land in Washington anyway, as a sign of Mr Trumps discomfort with North Koreas outburst last week, and his reported concerns that his summit with Kim could turn into a political embarrassment. It emerged on Monday that a White House Military Office coin had already been minted to mark the summit's occasion, showing the busts of Mr Trump and "Supreme Leader" Kim Jong-un. Administration officials told the Times that the president had been surprised and angered by a statement from the Norths chief nuclear negotiator late last week that the country would not trade away its nuclear weapons capability in exchange for economic aid. North Korea's nuclear history: key moments Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that Mr Bolton does not trust that the summit will go well, even though aides have stressed that the president is still committed to go ahead. It doesnt look like they want to denuclearise at all, said an unnamed US official about the North Koreans, echoing long-standing warnings from North Korea experts that Pyongyang will not simply hand over its entire nuclear arsenal, which it regards as a security guarantee, but instead expects mutual disarmament. Many analysts fear that the collapse of the Singapore talks could accelerate military confrontation. Meanwhile on Tuesday, a small group of international journalists travelled to North Korea to cover the dismantling of the country's nuclear test site later this week. The Punggye-ri site will be taken apart to implement Pyongyang's recently announced moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests. It has been welcomed as a positive gesture ahead of the June summit, although experts have cautioned that it is only a gesture, and that it could either be reversed or a new test site could be built. In a troubling sign for the recent conciliatory relationship with Seoul, South Korean journalists were not permitted to join the trip in a sudden U-turn by Pyongyang. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is in Washington Tuesday for a series of meetings with President Trump regarding the upcoming U.S. summit with North Korea which could be in jeopardy following tough new rhetoric from Pyongyang and a new acknowledgement from Trump. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said there was a substantial chance the summit may not work out for June 12, but that a decision would be reached soon. Were moving along. Well see what happens, he said. If it doesnt happen, maybe it will happen later. Trump did not specify the conditions upon which the meeting would be predicated. The meeting between Trump and Moon came one week after North Korea suspended a meeting with South Korea over a joint military exercise with the United States, and threatened to cancel the summit with the U.S. South Korea has been instrumental in urging the two sides to come together. President Moon arrived with his wife to Washington on Monday. He and Trump are scheduled for a meeting and a working lunch before he departs. According to the South Korean Yonhap News Agency, President Moons national security adviser, Mr. Chung Eui-yong, told reporters en route to Washington that South Korea believes there is a 99.9 percent chance the summit will still happen, but they are preparing themselves for a range of possibilities. The comments came before President Trumps oval office remarks, but reveal how the U.S. and South Korea could be on different wavelengths when it comes to the summit. The meetings today, Chung explained, will be candid discussions on how to make the North-U.S. summit a success and produce significant agreements and how to best implement those agreements. An official with the South Korean embassy, characterized the meeting between Trump and Moon as an official working visit to exchange and discuss the two presidents thoughts and visions on the upcoming US-North Korea Summit, according to a report from Yonhap The official also said Trump and Moon could discuss the U.S. forces deployed to South Korea, a point of contention because Trump wants to reduce the number stationed there. Story continues During the meeting in the Oval Office, Moon told reporters he was confident in Trumps peacemaking abilities, and that he the potential to bring prosperity to North Korea. Trump also floated the idea of unifying North and South Korea. Maybe in the future they will go back to one Korea, he said. North Korea said last week that it was considering cancelling the summit with the United States because it felt the U.S. was manipulating them into completely abandoning its nuclear weapon program. We are no longer interested in a negotiation that will be all about driving us into a corner and making a one-sided demand for us to give up our nukes, Kim Kye Gwan, North Koreas first vice foreign minister, said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. The statement came after Trumps new National Security Adviser, John Bolton, compared the situation with North Korea to Libya, whose leader, Moammar Gadhafi agreed to abandon the countrys nuclear weapons program in 2003 exchange for sanctions relief. Eight years later, Gadhafi was overthrown during the Arab Spring in 2011, which undoubtedly sparked fear in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said Kim would be very happy if the negotiations came to fruition. A former North Korean official who defected to South Korea told TIME that members of the North Korean government orchestrating the summit want Bolton off the negotiating team. And the New York Times reported that Trump is increasingly doubting the benefits of meeting with Kim Jong Un following his most recent rhetoric, although Chung, Moons national security adviser, said he was unaware of those feelings. During phone calls between our two leaders or talks between our National Security Councils, I never got such an impression, he told reporters, according to Yonhap. With reporting by Charlie Campbell/Beijing wait read this version South Korean President Moon Jae-in is in Washington Tuesday for a series of meetings with President Trump regarding the upcoming U.S. summit with North Korea which could be in jeopardy following tough new rhetoric from Pyongyang and a new acknowledgement from Trump. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said there was a substantial chance the summit may not work out for June 12, but that a decision would be reached soon. Were moving along. Well see what happens, he said. If it doesnt happen, maybe it will happen later. Trump did not specify the conditions upon which the meeting would be predicated. The meeting between Trump and Moon came one week after North Korea suspended a meeting with South Korea over a joint military exercise with the United States, and threatened to cancel the summit with the U.S. South Korea has been instrumental in urging the two sides to come together. President Moon arrived with his wife to Washington on Monday. He and Trump are scheduled for a meeting and a working lunch before he departs. We speak a lot on the phone, Trump said of his meeting with Moon. This shouldnt be that long of a meeting. Trump said that Moon still did not know if he will have a meeting with Kim after last weeks announcement about suspending the meeting. And he floated the idea of unifying North and South Korea. Maybe in the future they will go back to one Korea, he said. According to the South Korean Yonhap News Agency, President Moons national security adviser, Mr. Chung Eui-yong, told reporters en route to Washington that South Korea believes there is a 99.9 percent chance the summit will still happen, but they are preparing themselves for a range of possibilities. The comments came before President Trumps oval office remarks, but reveal how the U.S. and South Korea could be on different wavelengths when it comes to the summit. The meetings today, Chung explained, will be candid discussions on how to make the North-U.S. summit a success and produce significant agreements and how to best implement those agreements. An official with the South Korean embassy, characterized the meeting between Trump and Moon as an official working visit to exchange and discuss the two presidents thoughts and visions on the upcoming US-North Korea Summit, according to a report from Yonhap The official also said Trump and Moon could discuss the U.S. forces deployed to South Korea, a point of contention because Trump wants to reduce the number stationed there. During the meeting in the Oval Office, Moon told reporters he was confident in Trumps peacemaking abilities, and that he the potential to bring prosperity to North Korea. North Korea said last week that it was considering cancelling the summit with the United States because it felt the U.S. was manipulating them into completely abandoning its nuclear weapon program. We are no longer interested in a negotiation that will be all about driving us into a corner and making a one-sided demand for us to give up our nukes, Kim Kye Gwan, North Koreas first vice foreign minister, said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. The statement came after Trumps new National Security Adviser, John Bolton, compared the situation with North Korea to Libya, whose leader, Moammar Gadhafi agreed to abandon the countrys nuclear weapons program in 2003 exchange for sanctions relief. Eight years later, Gadhafi was overthrown during the Arab Spring in 2011, which undoubtedly sparked fear in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said Kim would be very happy if the negotiations came to fruition. A former North Korean official who defected to South Korea told TIME that members of the North Korean government orchestrating the summit want Bolton off the negotiating team. And the New York Times reported that Trump is increasingly doubting the benefits of meeting with Kim Jong Un following his most recent rhetoric, although Chung, Moons national security adviser, said he was unaware of those feelings. During phone calls between our two leaders or talks between our National Security Councils, I never got such an impression, he told reporters, according to Yonhap. With reporting by Charlie Campbell/Beijing John Feeley, the former United States ambassador to Panama who retired from the post in March, hit out at the man he until recently served: President Donald Trump. In an interview with The New Yorker published Monday, Feeley expanded on the criticisms he directed at the president shortly following his exit in an op-ed for The Washington Post titled Why I Could No Longer Serve This President. Hes like a velociraptor, Feeley told The New Yorker. He has to be boss, and if you dont show him deference he kills you. In resigning, Feeley cited Trumps travel ban, his push to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and the presidents response to deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, as motivating factors. Trending: White Woman Allegedly Pulls Gun On Mexican-American Man For Driving In Her Neighborhood Feeley said that in his first meeting with Trump, in June 2017, the president asked him: So tell mewhat do we get from Panama? Whats in it for us? GettyImages-954184062 RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images The ambassador, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, then outlined the benefits of the U.S.s relationship with Panama, including counter-narcotics work. Trump was then said to have responded by saying who knew? before moving on to extoll the virtues of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Panama City. Don't miss: Marvel Unveils Fantastic Four #1 Variant Covers How about the hotel? Trump was reported to have said. We still have the tallest building on the skyline down there? Feeley specifically criticized the Trump administrations policies in Latin America, including rolling back the easing of relations with Cuba. The rhetoric has had a chilling effect, Feeley said. Latins believe that Trump and his senior officials have no real interest in the region, beyond baiting Mexico and tightening the screws on Cuba and Venezuela. Story continues He added: We have all these ties that bind us: proximity, commerce, shared Judeo-Christian values. But right now, it feels like a market adjustment gone south. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek The royal wedding between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had its memorable moments: From the look on the groom's face when he first spotted Markle down the aisle, to the joyous gospel choir singing "Stand By Me," to Bishop Michael Curry quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And let's not forget every priceless reaction we saw on the faces of the British aristocracy as they witnessed many historic firsts at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on Saturday. But it was the subtle details that made the biggest statements as the new Duchess of Sussex put her feminist stamp on her big day. US actress Meghan Markle (C) walks down the aisle in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on May 19, 2018 during her wedding to Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. (Photo by Danny Lawson / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read DANNY LAWSON/AFP/Getty Images) 1. The Dress The bride worked with British designer Clare Waight Keller, the first female artistic director of the historic French fashion house Givenchy, to create the simple yet stunning white silk gown that she wore down the aisle. "After meeting Ms. Waight Keller in early 2018, Ms. Markle chose to work with her for her timeless and elegant aesthetic, impeccable tailoring, and relaxed demeanor," according to the official press release released by the palace. "Ms. Markle also wanted to highlight the success of a leading British talent." 2. The Vows Markle promised to love and honor Prince Harry but drew a hard line when it came to the word "obey." The feminist princess nixed traditional vows and instead declared: "I Meghan, take you, Harry, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part; according to God's holy law. In the presence of God I make this vow." Amen! 3. The Fanfare For the first time in royal history, a woman trumpeter joined the ranks of the elite Household Cavalry, which played as the bride made her way into St. George's Chapel. As one of six trumpeters who marked the beginning of the celebration, Lance Corporal Kate Sandford, 29, told Good Morning America, "I feel very proud to be picked to perform on the day." Story continues 4. The Date Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot on May 19, the birthday of Queen Charlotte (born Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz) who is believed to be the first biracial British royal. According to the Washington Post, historians say that Queen Charlottewho married King George III in 1761was a descendant of an African branch of the Portuguese royal family. Markle also included nods to her African-American roots on her wedding day by inviting Bishop Michael Curry to deliver a rousing sermon and having the Kingdom Choir gospel choir perform during the ceremony. 5. The New Royal Biography Within hours of becoming the Duchess of Sussex, the Royal Family website run by Buckingham Palace included Markle's new official biography in which she states boldly: "I am proud to be a woman and a feminist." The site also details her work advocating for women around the world with UN Women in 2015 and World Vision in 2016. In 2017, the Duchess visited the Myna Mahila Foundation, which focuses on empowering women through access to menstrual hygiene products and employment opportunities. The non-profit was also selected as one of seven charities that the newlyweds chose to benefit from donations made in honor of the royal wedding. Conakry (AFP) - A former government minister and economist has been named the new prime minister of Guinea by President Alpha Conde, according to a decree read out on state media. Ibrahima Kassory Fofana, 64, was previously responsible for investments and public-private partnerships in the outgoing government, which resigned last week. "The president of the republic, professor Alpha Conde, signed Monday night a decree appointing Mr Ibrahima Kassory Fofana (64 years) as prime minister, head of government", the decree said. He must "propose a new government as soon as possible" in the West African state, it added. Fofana replaces Mamady Youla, who resigned on May 17, two months after the president promised to carry out a "great ministerial reshuffle" following a series of strikes and demonstrations against the official outcome of local elections in February. The vote was the first of its kind since a military dictatorship ended a decade ago. Opposition leaders say the process was unfair and fraudulent. At least a dozen people were killed in post-election protest violence. Last week, opposition parties suspended the street protests, saying the international community had offered to mediate. Fofana, a former political opponent of Conde, has developed a closer relationship with the president in recent years. An economist by training, the new prime minister was a senior government official in the 70s and 80s, including in the area of international cooperation. He also served as the budget and finance minister in the 90s. After a period of voluntary exile, he returned to Guinea and stood as a presidential candidate in 2010 but won only 0.66 percent of the vote. Fox & Friends devoted an entire segment Tuesday morning to scorching former SportsCenter anchor Jemele Hill, the recipient of the National Association of Black Journalists Journalist of the Year award, mocking both Hill and NABJ. Error-laden and lacking in the most basic awareness of journalism, the segment prompted a later correction from the network. After an introduction in which the hosts seemed in disbelief that a critic of a president could in fact win any kind of award, the fun began. I always thought journalists broke stories. She is commentary, and whether you agree with it or not, thats a brand-new nuance to that category, said co-host Brian Kilmeade, apparently unaware that, yes, journalism includes commentary, and believe it or not, theyve given out Pulitzers for that kind of thing since the Watergate era. Lawrence Jones, editor-in-chief of CampusReform.org, joined the panel and noted at least six times that Hill is unemployed, suggesting that a lack of presence on television rendered her an irrelevant figure and a poor role model. Only one problem with that: Hill remains very much employed by ESPN. Moreover and this may come as a shock to Fox & Friends, which has a target audience of exactly one person one becomes a journalist of note precisely by not pandering to exactly what the powerful or the masses want to hear. Jones misstatements were so egregious that Fox & Friends put out a correction several hours later: On the show this morning a guest stated Jemele Hill was unemployed. Correction: Hill is currently employed by ESPN. FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) May 22, 2018 On her personal Twitter, Hill put herself in hot water last year on several occasions, calling President Trump a white supremacist and suggesting that the best way to strike back at the NFL was through boycotts. That last tweet earned her a short suspension. She and ESPN later announced that shed be moving from the 6 p.m. SportsCenter slot to work on The Undefeated, ESPNs site focusing on the intersection of race and sports. Story continues Jemele Hill. (via screen shot) ____ Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook. More from Yahoo Sports: Brandi Chastain plaque looks nothing like her Olympian: USA Swimming covered up sex abuse Spurs abruptly disband female dance squad Dan Wetzel: NBA conference finals arent close, yet you cant turn away Top Republican lawmakers will be allowed to review classified information pertaining to special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation, the White House said, after wrangling to get a hold of documents related to an FBI informant who reportedly spoke to Trump campaign officials. Law enforcement and intelligence officials met with President Donald Trump on Monday and agreed to convene another meeting for the review. 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, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. Mondays meeting, which included Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, focused on congressional requests for documents pertaining specifically to the FBI source. Trump demanded Sunday that the Department of Justice look into whether someone had infiltrated his campaign for political purposes and whether someone within the Obama administration had requested the spying. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said that the Justice Department would expand its inquiry to look into the matter. GOP congressional leaders have been fighting for months to get their hands on documents related to the Russia probe to no avail, making it unclear as to why the Justice Department appeared to cave in this latest instance. Rudy Giuliani, who leads Trumps legal team, told HuffPost on Monday that the president wouldnt agree to an interview with Muellers team without first learning more about the informant. We cant let our guy go in and be questioned without knowing this, Giuliani said. The decision to set up the meeting, Giuliani added, was made by Trump and his White House lawyers. The Washington Post names the informant in question as Stefan Halper, a Cambridge University professor. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal do not name Halper, but report that the informant was sent to speak with several Trump campaign advisers who were found to have suspicious ties to Russia. Story continues Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Photo: Getty Images With summer approaching and skin cancer rates at an all-time high, getting full protection from the sun is crucial. In anticipation, EWG (Environmental Working Group) released its 12th Annual Guide to Sunscreens on Tuesday, outlining the best sunscreen products on the market and warning about potentially dangerous ingredients present in lotions and sprays. The report comes just one week after Consumer Reports released its own analysis, The ABCs of SPF, which explains what common terms on sunscreen labels mean and says which ones are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Together, the two guides form a roadmap for you to stay safe this summer, whether youre basking in the rays or simply going about your business outside. In the interest of simplifying, Yahoo Lifestyle is presenting the five things you need to know (and the eight sunscreens you can buy confidently). Spray sunscreens are potentially less effective and even dangerous. In this years guide, EWG found a 30 percent increase in the total number of spray sunscreens on the market, a number thats more than quadrupled since 2007. The organization views this trend as problematic, citing concerns about both an inhalation risk and the potential inability to provide a thick and even coating on skin. The FDA has issued similar warnings against sprays in the past, specifically regarding how the aerosol can irritate asthma in kids. Like EWG, it recommends opting for lotion-based sunscreen instead of spray. Higher SPF is not necessarily safer and can be misleading. Echoing another concern raised by the FDA in years past, EWG points out that bigger SPFs are not necessarily better, despite popular belief. In 2011, the FDA determined that high SPF claims may be inherently misleading, and proposed to join most industrialized nations in capping SPF values at 50+. But the agency hasnt finalized the rule, and the inflated SPF values for American sunscreens keep climbing, the report reads. Story continues It continues, Many studies have found that people are misled by the claims on high-SPF sunscreen bottles. They are more likely to use high-SPF products improperly and as a result may expose themselves to more harmful ultraviolet radiation than people relying on products with lower SPF values. In 2007, only 10 sunscreens in our guide claimed SPF 70 and higher. This year we found 52 products making such claims, including 13 products advertised as SPF 100 or higher. In the absence of adequate regulations, the organization recommends sticking to sunscreens at SPF 50 or below, and reapplying every few hours. Sunscreen alone doesnt protect against skin cancer. While some may consider sunscreen a magic elixir against deadly cancers like melanoma, EWG points out a stark reality: Even with the most advanced sunscreens on the market, skin cancer rates have continued to soar, tripling in the past 35 years alone. EWG affirms the benefits of sunscreen in protecting from burns, which can contribute to squamous cell carcinoma (the second most common type of skin cancer). But although there is evidence that sunscreen can lower the risk of that kind, there is no evidence that it prevents another deadly form of cancer called basal cell carcinoma. As a result, the organization says it strongly disagrees with the FDA allowing labeling about preventing cancer on sunscreens. We are concerned that this labeling will lead people to rely on sunscreen use alone to mitigate their cancer risk, and that this may backfire, the report warns. People who rely on sunscreens tend to burn, and sunburns are linked to cancer. In other words, the best prevention is to stay out of the sun as much as possible and avoid sunburns at all costs. Photo: Getty Images Try to avoid sunscreens that contain vitamin A. Generally when you see the word vitamin listed on a sunscreen, it seems like an added bonus. But EWG says that with vitamin A and sunscreens, its just the opposite. A study by U.S. government scientists suggests that retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A, may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions when applied to the skin in the presence of sunlight (NTP 2012), the report reads. EWG recommends that consumers avoid sunscreens, lip products and skin lotions that contain vitamin A or retinyl palmitate, which is also called retinyl acetate, retinyl linoleate and retinol. Oxybenzone may be a dangerous ingredient and its found in the majority of sunscreens. A final warning from EWGs report comes about oxybenzone, the main chemical in non-mineral sunscreens (or sunscreens that rely on chemicals to block out the sun rather than minerals like zinc oxide and titanium oxide). The report claims that recent tests have shown the chemical to be dangerous. Oxybenzone is linked to hormone disruption and allergic skin reactions, as well as the bleaching of coral reefs and coral death, EWG writes. This toxic chemical is found in the blood of nearly every American tested for it and has even been found in breast milk. Still, while the chemical may be worth avoiding, the jury still seems to be out on whether its definitively dangerous. The American Academy of Dermatology endorses sunscreens that contain the product, saying that no data shows that oxybenzone causes hormonal problems in humans. The more natural the sunscreen, the better it is for you. On top of these takeaways, the EWG report offers a list of the best sunscreens to buy for different types of users and activity levels. The sections include: Best Beach and Sport Sunscreens, Best Moisturizers with SPF, and Best Scoring Sunscreens for Kids. Here are a few of the top performers in the survey: Best everyday face moisturizer: Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer, All Skin Types, SPF 15 ($12, Target) Best for face: Clinique Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen Fluid for Face ($27.50, Sephora) Best for sports: Alba Botanica Sport Mineral Sunscreen, Fragrance Free SPF 45 ($8.95, Amazon) Best for zinc lovers: Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Dry-Touch Sunscreen SPF 50 ($10.99, Target) Best for sensitive skin: Alba Botanica Sensitive Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 ($11, Amazon) Best for dry skin: Aveeno Protect + Hydrate Lotion Sunscreen SPF 30 ($7.97, Amazon) Best for infants: Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection Sensitive Skin Lotion SPF 50 ($10.89, Target) Best for kids: Banana Boat Kids Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 ($2.99, Walgreens) Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Hillary Clinton cracked on Donald Trump for his alleged connections to Russia. SEE ALSO: Trump's Twitter by the numbers, one year after Mueller's appointment This time, Clinton took a swing at our current president while making a speech at Yale's Class Day, part of the school's commencement weekend. And if Clinton seemed a little more comfortable making the jokes this time, it's because she was on home turf as a 1973 graduate of Yale Law School. As she got her speech started, Clinton noted the students who were keeping up the tradition of wearing "over-the-top hats" to the ceremony. At that point, she whipped out a little prop and delivered that Trump zinger. It's hardly the first time Clinton has cracked on Trump since the 2016 presidential election, including last year's commencement speech at her other alma mater, Wellesley College, when she mocked his inauguration crowd and compared him to Nixon. Oh, and don't overlook that "covfefe" crack at last year's Recode Code Conference. Clinton had plenty of other jokes in her Sunday speech at Yale, including some at her own expense, like the email scandal and the big league flop her campaign had in Michigan. But in case you thought Clinton was the only one relitigating the 2016 presidential election, the guy who won still won't shut up about it, tweeting about Clinton a few times in a Trump Sunday Morning Tweetstorm Rant because time is a flat circle. ...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. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018 If hell is repeating the same event over and over again ad infinitum, then we've been in the sixth circle since November 8, 2016. If Paul Ryan thought his final months as House Speaker would be easy, he was mistaken. Ryan, who is walking away from Congress when his term ends early next year, will have to steer a divided Republican caucus through an internal debate over immigration, where moderates and hardliners alike are battling the Speaker and his Leadership team. On top of that, he has to manage a government-funding deadline shortly that falls shortly before the midterm elections, oversee the ongoing investigation into President Donald Trumps campaign and figure out how to pick up the pieces of a farm bill that failed at the end of last week. If that werent enough, theres this looming question: Who will replace Ryan atop a largely ungovernable GOP conference? And a corollary that many Republicans outside of Congress are asking: Who would want to? With the House majority in revolt, Ryan could only watch powerlessly as an enormous piece of legislation the $867 billion farm bill imploded on Friday. As the vote got closer, he closed his eyes for a beat as he stood in the rear of the House chamber, waving his hand dismissively as if to say he had done his best. Ryan saw it coming, those close to him said. What more could we have done? asks one adviser to House Leadership. Tell me, and well try it next time. In simpler times, it would have been a layup: a bill to aid rural farmers while imposing new work requirements on food stamp recipients. I really thought we had the votes, says one senior Republican aide. I dont know how you can say no to what we offered. But the farm bill fell apart in a stunning 213-198 defeat not just because Republicans didnt care for its content, but also because of what it represented. A bloc of conservative insurrectionaries, led by Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, the House Freedom Caucus chairman, rallied votes against it because it was a piece of legislation they could use to get their way on another matter. Story continues For months, House conservatives have been clamoring for a vote on a hard-line immigration bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and backed by the White House. The bill would reduce legal immigration by roughly 40% and offer no protections for the young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children, known as Dreamers. As such, it would almost certainly never make it through Congress. But that didnt stop these conservatives from using the farm bill vote to spite the leadership for its inaction on immigration. At the same time, moderates and pragmatists on immigration were pushing another immigration measure designed to be more palatable in districts with heavy Hispanic and Latino populations, as well as swing districts where the GOP majority hangs on a knifes edge. We failed to get one, and so were forcing one, GOP Rep. Jeff Denham of California said on CNN about the desire for a debate on the issue. He is among the group of lawmakers looking to defy Republican Leadership and force a floor vote on a bipartisan immigration plan using a parliamentary gambit that could prove embarrassing to Ryan and his team. Such embarrassment would be nothing new. At this stage, Ryan should be planning his exit with an eye toward burnishing his legacy. (The work-requirement component of the farm bill was a piece of his welfare overhaul crusade.) Instead, he is fighting his own restive conference and trying to manage relations with the White Housetasks, those close to him say, that are proving more difficult now that he has made known his plans to leave. Ryans critics, emboldened now that he is heading toward the door and increasing in numbers and volume, say the Speaker is running his own agenda that is apart from the partys base. Meanwhile, the fight to replace him brewing just below the surface is starting to boil, while the midterm elections draw near. Ryan has been warning his colleagues that Democratic enthusiasm is growing. Democrats need to net only 23 House seats in Novembers elections to claim the majority for the first time since 2011, and 47 Republican incumbents in the House including Ryan have already announced that theyre calling it quits, either heading into retirement or seeking other offices. Republicans are bearish on their odds, and all the internal squabbling does little to unite the party behind a message they can sell to voters. Consider the farm bill. The measure was a rare moment of potential achievement that could help Republicans with their rural and suburban bases. The largest piece of the agriculture bill is typically aid for poor people to buy food, a two-for-one proposition to feed the working poor and to indirectly subsidize farmers. Republicans inserted a requirement for those poor Americans to either work 20 hours a week or to be in job-training programs that same amount of time to qualify. That work-requirement proved unacceptable for Democrats, who voted in unison against the measure. Republicans couldnt match their discipline, and defections led the bill to fail. (The temporary political setback may have actually helped Republicans, given the partys base of support is in rural areas and steady jobs are often harder to find there than in cities.) House rabble rousers defended derailing the bill, saying the 2016 election had given them a mandate to crack down on immigrants and immigration. And behind the scenes, some White House advisers applauded these lawmakers pluck. The fight over immigration may play well with the hard-line base of the party, but it doesnt bode well for districts or states with large Hispanic and Latino populations. For instance, GOP Rep. Will Hurd represents a sprawling district in Texas that is about 70% Hispanic. Hurd is among those looking to force Leadership to schedule a floor vote on a bipartisan immigration bill all while running in a district he has twice won by the barest of margins. If Tuesdays runoff goes as expected, Hurd is likely to face Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones, a female Air Force intelligence officer who served in Iraq. At the same time, Ryan and his deputies cannot seem to control a House Intelligence panel that seems determined to give the White House cover. A prematurely released report from the committee indicated members found no evidence of collusion with Russia a conclusion the President heralded wrongly as the final word. On Monday, as he visited CIA headquarters, Trump twice singled out House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes for his work on that verdict. Meanwhile, few lawmakers seem eager to protect Special Counsel Robert Muellers ability to finish his probe, which has secured indictments against 19 people and five guilty pleas stemming from an ongoing look at foreign meddling in the 2016 election. Heeding the White Houses talking points, many rank-and-file Republican lawmakers have Mueller probe a waste of timea stark counterpoint to Ryans position that Mueller should have time to conclude his investigation. Like Mueller, Ryan and his lieutenants are finding that no amount of logic or method can overcome the raw emotion of the Republican majority in the House. If that gut-driven approach to governing continues, however, the caucus may find itself appreciably smaller after the 116th Congress takes power in January. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has touted the swearing-in of President Donald Trumps CIA nominee Gina Haspel as a win for women and Republicans, commenting that Democrats were losing their war against women. The White House press secretary made the comment in a tweet on Monday morning celebrating Haspels appointment. Historic day for our country: swearing-in ceremony for Gina Haspel, the first woman ever to serve as CIA director. Democrats are losing their war against women in the Trump administration, she wrote. Haspel was criticised for her role in supervising a CIA black site that held and interrogated terror suspects, and for her part in an order to destroy tapes of CIA interrogations. Trending: Is ISIS Still Around? Islamic State Leader Is Alive and Plotting a Comeback, Reports Claim Historic day for our country: swearing-in ceremony for Gina Haspel, the first woman ever to serve as CIA director. Democrats are losing their war against women in the Trump administration. Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) May 21, 2018 It is not the first time Huckabee Sanders has accused Democrats of being anti-women by failing to back Haspel for the post. There is no one more qualified to be the first woman to lead the CIA than 30+ year CIA veteran Gina Haspel. Any Democrat who claims to support womens empowerment and our national security but opposes her nomination is a total hypocrite, Huckabee Sanders wrote in a tweet on May 5. Don't miss: Man's Leg Shattered By 'Lava Bomb' Spewed From Kilauea Volcano Stream 2018-05-16T132150Z_1_LYNXNPEE4F125_RTROPTP_4_USA-TRUMP Reuters Not all Democrats opposed Haspels appointment, while not all republicans backed it. Senator John McCain, who was absent from the vote for health reasons, had advised senators to vote against the nomination, while five Democrats voted in favor of Haspels appointment. Story continues Haspel's role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing. Her refusal to acknowledge torture's immorality is disqualifying. I believe the Senate should exercise its duty of advice and consent and reject this nomination," McCain said in a statement reported by CNN earlier in May. Haspel is set to be sworn in on Monday following a 54/45 vote in favour of her appointment. The first ever woman to be appointed to the role, Haspel has a 33-year long career in the agency and was hailed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as the right woman at the right time, The Guardian reported. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Unidentified white woman calls police on black family's barbecue: Twitter/Michelle Dion 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. two weeks ago today a white woman tried to call the police on about 8 black folks barbecuing. Today in that same spot this was the scene pic.twitter.com/ltxzZQe57h carvell (@carvellwallace) May 21, 2018 Footage posted online shows people eating, drinking and chatting at the scene, with music playing and kites flying. 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. Related Video: Outrage at Yale After Police Called on Black Student Story continues For more news videos visit Yahoo View. The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was a beautiful spectacle all around, but one aerial shot of the newlyweds making the rounds on social media was particularly stirring. The photo, from the Sunday Times Twitter account, went viral online, and Press Association photographer Yui Mok shared more about how it came to be. SEE ALSO: Oh HELL YES 'A Christmas Prince' is getting a sequel Mok responded on Saturday to a viral tweet calling his photo "exquisite" and shared that he took it from the roof of Windsor Castle while the couple passed beneath. Thanks, glad you like the photo. It was taken by myself, and I'm a staff photographer for @PA based in the UK. I was positioned on the roof of George IV Gateway of Windsor Castle, and they passed directly beneath me during their carriage procession. https://t.co/hkzViNhSbb Yui Mok (@YuiMok) May 19, 2018 Mok also credited the Press Association photo desk, which quickly edited the raw file as is necessary "on big jobs like this." He also answered questions about what exactly his job entails and the type of camera and lens he used for the photo. Purely coincidental. 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! Yui Mok (@YuiMok) May 20, 2018 He then shared watermarked versions of the original photo and a few more from his personal account, celebrating the royal couple once more. Story continues Love and marriage, love and marriage, Go together like a horse and carriage A view of the happy couple from the top of the George IV Gateway at Windsor Castle. #PrinceHarry #MeghanMarkle #RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/PmSL9E9iud Yui Mok (@YuiMok) May 19, 2018 Iran has rejected its ally Russia's call for all foreign troops to leave Syria, saying it is the U.S. and Turkey who are deployed there illegally and should withdraw their forces. In the wake of a 2011 uprising backed by the West, Turkey and Gulf Arab states, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appealed to Russia and Iran to support his embattled armed forces against rebels and jihadi groups, which have mostly been defeated. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Assad on his victories during a meeting Friday in Sochi and said that all foreign forces should eventually leave Syria, a remark that has opened a rare public rift between Moscow and Tehran. "No one can force Iran to do anything, Iran is an independent country that determines its own policies," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told reporters at a daily press conference Monday. Trending: Intellectually Disabled Man Wrongfully Jailed for Murder Is Freed After 18 Years "The presence of Iran is at the invitation of the Syrian government to fight against terrorism and defend the territorial integrity of Syria, and will last as long as the Syrian government wants Iran to help it," he added. "Those who have entered the country without the consent of the Syrian government must leave Syria." RTX26GX6 Raheb Homavandi/TIMA/Reuters Damascus and Tehran have enjoyed close relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the pro-West monarchy in Iran, and the Islamic Republic's Shiite Muslim leadership offered support to Assad against an uprising that increasingly featured prominent jihadist groups. The U.S., which had been covertly backing Syrian rebels since at least 2012, gathered a multinational coalition to enter the country two years later to battle the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). Russia entered in 2015, supporting Syrian troops and Iran-backed militias with heavy airpower as they fought insurgents and ISIS. Story continues Don't miss: NRA's Oliver North Blames 'Culture of Violence' for Mass Shootings, But Once Promoted Violent Video Game With help from Russia and Iran, the Syrian government has reclaimed nearly every major city in the country and forced anti-government fighters to either reconcile or be displaced to shrinking pockets of control elsewhere in the country. These gains have increased the foothold of groups such as Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement in Syria. Both groups have antagonistic relationships with Israel. Related: U.S. Tells Iran 'You Deserve Better' And Promises Strongest Sanctions in History Suspected Israeli airstrikes have long struck positions held by Iran and its supporters in Syria, but a recent rocket salvo targeting Israeli forces in the occupied Golan Heights was met with the largest Israeli attack on Syria since the two countries went to war in 1973. The U.S. quickly sided with Israel after the aerial assault, while Russia urged both sides to show restraint in an attempt to maintain relations with the two longtime foes and avoid a wider regional war. Most popular: Rattlesnake Falls From Tree and Attacks Kayaker in South Carolina As Syrian, Iranian and various allied militias are increasingly targeted by Israeli and Western airstrikes, the Syrian and Iranian governments have called for the U.S. and Turkey to immediately withdraw their troops. President Donald Trump has also expressed support for leaving Syria, but he and his administration have also indicated a tougher, potentially explosive approach to taking on Iran. RTS1QTD6 (1) INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR/MAPS4NEWS/ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES/REUTERS The flare-up between Israel and its Iranian and Syrian foes earlier this month took place shortly after Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 nuclear deal that was still supported by Iran as well as fellow signatories China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.K. In his first major policy speech, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo justified Trump's decision by saying the agreement did not go far enough to curb Iran's support for militias across the Middle East, and vowed Monday to impose "the strongest sanctions in history" against Tehran. The Pentagon has warned it may even go further. Pentagon spokesman Colonel Robert Manning told reporters Monday that it is "going to take all necessary steps to confront and address Irans malign influence in the region," according to Reuters. "We are assessing if we are going to double down on current actions or implement new actions," he added. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek After Donald Trump announced that the US would unilaterally pull back from the historic 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, Iranian forces in Syria fired rockets into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for the first time. The Israelis retaliated by targeting Iranian forces and positions in Syria. That attack, which killed 23 people, was the biggest Israeli assault on Iranian positions in Syria since the civil war there started in 2011. For a moment, it looked like two of the Middle Easts major political and military players to the verge of a full-scale military conflict. An Israeli-Iranian war could throw the Middle East into one of its most destructive clashes in modern history, one that could polarise the worlds powers, dragging in the US, a reliable ally of Israel, and Russia, Syrias strongest ally and hence Irans strategic ally. And yet, neither has so far chosen to escalate further. Why? For its part, Iran knows that its capacity to strike back is limited. But more than that, the two countries history and military development makes an explosive conflict unlikely. While Israel has openly clashed with its Arab neighbours before notably Egypt, Jordan and Syria it has never engaged in a direct military showdown with Iran. In fact, its easy to forget now that before Irans 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran and Israel enjoyed a close relationship. They were the USs two main Middle Eastern allies, and Iranian oil was delivered to Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Things only changed when the Iranian Shah was ousted in 1979; after that, the revolutions spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, proclaimed Israel a foe of Islam and cut off all ties with it. But then came the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88. This gruelling conflict had a huge impact on Irans military doctrine, and the experience of it underpins the countrys geopolitical and national security concerns to this day. The reality of war with Saddam Husseins Iraq compelled the Iranian government to prioritise a more defensive foreign policy; where it participates in other conflicts, it usually prefers to do so via proxies rather than by direct military action. Story continues As a result, to the extent Israel considers Iran a major existential threat today, its particularly worried about Iranian involvement in other Middle Eastern conflicts. It has more than once fought Irans ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, most recently in 2006. And while the protracted conflict in Yemen, for example, is in many ways a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iranian-backed forces could use Yemeni territory to strike Israeli targets. But even if a conflict erupted on one of these fronts, thered be another calculation to factor in: the two countries very different military assets. Treading carefully The bulk of Irans arms stockpile is domestically developed and manufactured, its own-brand rockets and missiles tested in the field mostly by Hezbollah. But in recent years, Iran has also been procuring weapons and technical expertise from nations antagonistic toward the West: China, Russia, and possibly (in nuclear form) North Korea. Israels main strength is its exceptional military power. Its weapons systems include the Iron Dome and Davids Sling missile defence shields, extremely precise defence tools that can pulverise perhaps more than 90% of hostile missiles in mid-air. Israel also commands air power unrivalled in the Middle East; it recently took possession of the US-manufactured F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which it is augmenting with its own technology. On top of all this, in 2016, the US agreed to increase its military aid to Israel to US$3.8 billion a year until 2028. And yet, Israel too is less than confident about the consequences of an conflict with Iran. However formidable its strategic and technological edge, its still unable to fully mend political and diplomatic fences with many of its Arab neighbours. It lives in hostile surroundings, constantly vulnerable to attack on almost all fronts. A major war with another heavily armed power is the last thing it needs. At arms length One advantage Iran does have is its array of proxies and non-state allies, which allow it to project hard power far closer to Israel than it would want to send regular forces. It has a valuable ally in Hamas, which controls Gaza; in Lebanon, Hezbollah could be prepared to assist if necessary. It could also exploit Sunni/Shia splits across the Middle East to secure the support of Shia volunteer armies. And since Saddam Husseins fall, Iran has been hugely influential in Iraq, which is struggling to establish a political order that can accommodate Shia, Kurds, and Sunnis. Yet even with all this influence at its disposal, Iran would clearly prefer not to end up escalating a military conflict with Israel. Aside from the military implications, to do so would squander what moral and diplomatic support its gathered since the USs withdrawal from the nuclear deal. So for now, both sides are being cautious. Israels recent airstrikes targeted raid on military installations, not individuals an acknowledgement that a heavy casualties might put Iran under pressure to retaliate. Meanwhile, Irans domestic debate on whether and how to respond is still rumbling, with progressives insisting the nuclear deal must be safeguarded while their hawkish countrymen would prefer a more confrontational stance. The government has yet to decide which road to take. But whatever happens in the immediate future, Israel and Iran remain bitter foes, both heavily armed and tied up in a mess of geopolitical interests. Were a war to break out between them, they would gravely damage each other, but neither is likely to rise as the ultimate victor. That both seem to be fully aware of this reality is perhaps the most important thing standing on the way of what could be a true catastrophe. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. The Conversation Syeda Annie Waqar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Baghdad (AFP) - An Iraqi court on Tuesday sentenced a Belgian jihadist, who threatened Europe in propaganda videos, to death by hanging for membership of the Islamic State group. The tough punishment is the latest doled out in the conflict-scarred country to foreigners who flocked to the self-declared caliphate of IS. Tarik Jadaoun -- known by his nom de guerre Abu Hamza al-Beljiki -- earlier pleaded not guilty to a range of terror charges, insisting he had "got lost" and pleading for mercy. In Brussels, the foreign ministry called for the death penalty to be commuted. "We would like the death sentence to be changed to life imprisonment," spokesman Didier Vanderhasselt told AFP, noting that Belgium was opposed to capital punishment. Born in 1988, Jadaoun -- who was captured in ex-IS bastion Mosul in August -- appeared before the Baghdad court dressed in a beige prison uniform with a shaved head and bushy moustache. The hearing lasted for less than 10 minutes, with a judge sentencing him to be "hanged until death". Jadaoun -- who refused to defend himself after the charges were read out -- was immediately taken out of court with his face covered by guards and loaded into a prison van. He now has 30 days to appeal the verdict during which time the sentence should not be carried out. In addition, he was sentenced to three years in prison and handed a fine worth $2,300 (2,000 euros) for illegally crossing the Iraqi border. In a statement released after the sentencing, the Iraqi judiciary described Jadaoun as "among the most wanted foreign terrorists who fought in Syria and Iraq". Jadaoun, who has Moroccan roots, said during a first hearing on May 10 that he was forced by "one of the top IS commanders" to appear in videos threatening attacks against Belgium and France. The footage saw Jadaoun earn the moniker "the new Abaaoud", after his compatriot Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the organisers of November 2015 attacks in Paris. Story continues - 'Nurse' claims - He claimed that he had not been a fighter for IS but was instead in charge of a group of nurses. "I took care of everybody," he told the earlier hearing. Investigators had previously alleged that Jadaoun was in charge of the "cubs of the caliphate" -- about 60 children aged eight to 13 who received intensive fitness and weapons training. There was no mention of these allegations at his trial. In total, Iraqi courts have sentenced to death more than 300 people, including dozens of foreigners, for belonging to IS, judicial sources said last month. Since January, some 100 foreign nationals have been sentenced to death in Baghdad and around 185 to life in prison, officials said. Iraq has previously executed dual nationals accused of belonging to groups including Al-Qaeda, but is yet to put to death any Westerners sentenced over IS links. Thousands of foreign fighters from across the world flocked to the black banner of the jihadists as the group seized swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Their "caliphate" has since been reduced to a rump territory of desert in the east of war-torn Syria. The fate of those who survived ferocious onslaughts by various forces against IS has been a major headache for their home governments, which are often against seeing them return. Israel has become the first country in the world to launch operational airstrikes using the F-35 stealth fighter jet, an Israeli air force commander has claimed. Major General Amikam Norkin told a conference of visiting air force chiefs that the F-35 had been used in two separate strikes on different fronts in recent weeks, The Times of Israel said. Israel is one of the major buyers of the American-made Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighter. Israel received its first fifth-generation warplanes in 2016, and they were declared operational in 2017. Trending: When Does The Bachelorette 2018 Start? Time, Channel and More About Becca Kufrins Premiere GettyImages-630651998 JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images Though the U.S., U.K. and a number of other nations are using the platform, none have so far launched combat airstrikes with the fighter. The Adir aircraft are already operational and flying missions. We are the first in the world to carry out operational strikes with the F-35, Norkin told the air force officials, using the Israeli name for the jet, which means mighty one in Hebrew. He explained, The Israeli air force has twice carried out strikes with the F-35, on two different fronts. He did not specify in which theaters. We are flying the F-35 all over the Middle East, Norkin added. Don't miss: N64 Classic: 30 Games Wed Like to See on the Hypothetical Console Israel has agreed to purchase 50 F-35 fighters in total, which will be delivered in installments until 2024. It is possible Israel will add more F-35 orders and may eventually purchase as many as 100 aircraft. At least nine have been delivered so far. The Adir planes are already operational and flying in operational missions. We are the first in the world to use the F-35 in operational activity IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) May 22, 2018 American F-35s are in their final year of the development phase. Combat testing will begin in September, and full-scale production rollout could begin by the end of 2019. The U.S. has so far ordered 1,763 F-35s across the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps branches, 270 of which are flying. Story continues Israel has recently conducted airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria and militant positions in the Gaza Strip. It is likely that these were the fronts on which the F-35 performed. According to Reuters, the air force is also believed to have flown missions against militants in the Egyptian Sinai and Hamas arms smugglers in Sudan. Most popular: Mini N64 Coming Soon? Nintendo Trademark Applications Hint at New Retro Console Norkin also showed a photograph of two of the aircraft flying over the Lebanese capital of Beirut, in a clear threat to the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group, which has fought Israel in the past and is active in Syria. Some of Israel's airstrikes in the country have targeted weapons shipments believed to be heading to Hezbollah in Lebanon. GettyImages-675792304 JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images One round of recent Israeli strikes were in response to Iranian rocket fire from Syria, which itself came after repeated Israeli attacks on Iranian positions in the country. Norkin said Iran had fired more rockets at Israeli bases on May 10 than the 20 previously disclosed. The Iranians fired 32 rockets, we intercepted four. The rest landed outside Israeli territory, he said. The Israeli air force then hit dozens of targets across the country, in the most extensive Israeli attacks on Syria for several decades. Norkin said that although Syrian defenses fired 100 missiles at the attacking planes, none found their target. In the Gaza Strip, tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been high as tens of thousands took part in large-scale "right to return" protests. Israel claims Hamas and other Islamist groups were using the demonstrations as cover to infiltrate Israel and launch new attacks. As such, the Israeli Defense Forces have targeted Hamas outposts and tunnels. One such tunnel was just feet away from entering Israel, Norkin said. From the air, we destroyed a Hamas tunnel that was dug at a depth of [66 feet], he noted. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Jerusalem (AFP) - The Israeli military has used its newly acquired F-35 stealth fighters in combat, making it the world's first to do so, the air force commander said Tuesday. "The Adir aircraft are already operational and flying combat missions," Major General Amikam Norkin said at a conference in central Israel, using the plane's Hebrew name. "In fact, we have performed the first operational F-35 strike in the world." "We attacked twice in the Middle East using the F-35 - we are the first in the world to do so," he said in remarks quoted by the air force's website, without providing further details. Israel has carried out a number of strikes in Syria against what it describes as Iranian targets as well as on what it says are advanced arms deliveries to Hezbollah. The country has agreed to buy 50 of the American high-tech stealth bombers, which will help it maintain military superiority in the turbulent Middle East, particularly regarding anti-aircraft missile systems in Syria. In December, the air force announced that the nine F-35 jets in its possession at the time were operational. Norkin was speaking at an event marking the air force's 70th anniversary in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, attended by senior air force officials from over 20 countries, the military said. Israel has pledged to prevent its main enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in neighbouring Syria, where Tehran is backing President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Earlier this month, Israel launched a large-scale attack on what it said were Iranian targets in Syria, raising fears of a major confrontation. Those strikes followed a barrage of rockets that Israel said was fired toward its forces in the occupied Golan Heights by Iran from Syria. In his comments on Tuesday, Norkin also made reference to an Israeli strike on missiles Iran had allegedly transported to Syria, without providing a timeframe. "Over the past weeks, we understood that Iran was transporting long-range missiles and rockets to Syria, among which are 'Uragan' missile launchers which we attacked, just north of Damascus," Norkin said. Story continues He then went on to describe the series of events on May 9 and 10. "The Iranians fired 32 rockets. We intercepted 4 of them and the rest fell outside Israeli territory," Norkin said. "Afterwards, we attacked dozens of Iranian targets in Syria." He noted that over 100 ground-to-air missiles were fired at Israeli planes during the attack. The strikes left at least 27 pro-regime fighters dead, including 11 Iranians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Israel has been blamed for a series of other recent strikes inside Syria that have killed Iranians, though it has not acknowledged them. As a result, Israel had been preparing itself for weeks for possible Iranian retaliation. The U.S. Navy littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) underway in the Java Sea near the location where the tail of AirAsia Flight QZ8501l was discovered. Fort Worth was supporting Indonesian-led efforts to locate the downed aircraft. Note the open ste Kris Osborn Security, Detecting torpedoes will naturally reduce risk for other ship assets, such as its vertical take-off Fire Scout drones and small boats, such as its 11-meter Rigid Inflatable Boats, or RIBs. The Navys Littoral Combat Ship: Armed with New Torpedo Defenses The Navys Littoral Combat Ship is now armed with an emerging ship defense soft-kill countermeasure able to identify, track and destroy incoming enemy torpedo fire, Navy officials said. The service plans to outfit its entire LCS fleet with the AN/SLQ-61 Lightweight Tow Torpedo Defense Mission Module (TDMM) as a way to fortify the ships ability to succeed in both shallow water and open or blue water warfare, Navy officials told Warrior Maven. The new TDMM completed two days of at-sea testing several months ago in order to prepare for operational service on LCS ships. This test was highly successful, and this critical torpedo defense for the LCS is ready for integration, Capt. Theodore Zobel, LCS Mission Modules program manager, said in a written statement earlier this year. A technology uses an underwater acoustic projector, attached to a cable dropped from the ships stern to identify acoustic homing and wire-guided enemy torpedoes, service officials described. The digitally-controlled system, traveling underwater beneath the ship, sends out an acoustic ping. In a manner quite similar to radar above the ground, the return signal, or ping, is then analyzed to determine the distance, shape and speed of an approaching enemy threat. Recommended: How an Old F-15 Might Kill Russias New Stealth Fighter Recommended: How China Plans to Win a War Against the U.S. Navy Recommended: How the Air Force Would Destroy North Korea Offered as a lighter-weight alternative to the currently-operational AN/SLQ-25 Nixie, the new TDMM is specifically engineered for smaller warships, such as the LCS, Navy statements said. The addition of this combat technology to the LCS is consistent with the Navys evolving strategy for the ship, which seeks to broaden its mission scope to incorporate a wider range of surface combat possibilities. Story continues While the ship was conceived and developed as a multi-mission countermine anti-submarine surface warfare platform for littoral operations, the Navy is trying to move quickly to further arm the ship for major maritime combat. Given that the LCSs shallow draft enables it to approach island and coastal areas inaccessible to larger, deeper draft ships, adding offensive and defensive weaponry to the LCS gives commanders more options. For instance, as an LCS approaches shallow waters, it may operate in a more autonomous, or disaggregated fashion and, therefore, be unable to rely upon combat protections from nearby larger ships. Accordingly, equipping the ship with torpedo defenses, such as TDMM, would better enable the platform to defend itself while operating independently. This brings the added advantage of reducing risk for other surface combatants, in part because the LCS is designed for high-risk countermine missions in littoral areas, so that larger ships can remain at safer distances without being exposed to mines. The new torpedo defense also changes the equation with respect to the LCSs deep water attack options. The Navy is now moving quickly to arm the ship with an over-the-horizon offensive missile. This weapon is intended to give the shallow draft ship an increased ability to launch blue water attacks against enemy ships or other targets at longer ranges. Just as it does in shallower water, the TDMM brings a substantial combat enhancement to open-water operations, as well. In fact, an LCS is among a group of ships more likely to be more vulnerable to enemy submarines or ship-fired torpedoes. The new TDMM is designed to integrate with the LCSs current anti-submarine mission package. This includes the MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter and several kinds of submarine-hunting sonars, such as a Multi-Function Towed Array. The MH-60 helicopter is equipped with sonobuoys and lightweight torpedoes Detecting torpedoes will naturally reduce risk for other ship assets, such as its vertical take-off Fire Scout drones and small boats, such as its 11-meter Rigid Inflatable Boats, or RIBs. By extension, the Fire Scouts now-operational Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) sensor can work in tandem with the new TDMM to counter enemy submarines. It does not seem beyond the realm of technical possibility for a Fire Scout drone to identify a submarine and connect with the LCSs TDMM. Additionally, the torpedo defenses supplement the LCSs Surface-to-Surface Mission Module, which includes arming the LCS with hellfire missiles by 2020. While not quite the scope of the aforementioned over-the-horizon missile, the addition of hellfire increases the LCSs ability to hit enemy aircraft helicopters, drones, small boats and even some surface ships. Often fired from helicopters, drones and even ground-based Army Multi-Mission Launchers, the Longbow Hellfire can use fire-and-forget millimeter wave radar with inertial guidance; millimeter wave seeker technology enables adverse weather targeting. Hellfires also use semi-active laser targeting. This first appeared in Warrior Maven here. Read full article Rome (AFP) - Italy's president was tasked on Tuesday with deciding whether to approve little-known lawyer Giuseppe Conte as prime minister of a coalition government set up by anti-establishment and far-right groups. The presentation of Conte, 54, for the post takes the parties a step closer to setting up a eurosceptic, anti-austerity government in the eurozone's third-biggest economy. The anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the anti-immigrant League put his name forward late Monday in a bid to end two months of political deadlock. President Sergio Mattarella hosted the speakers of the lower house and the Senate on Tuesday morning to discuss Conte's nomination. He has to agree to the parties' candidate and ministerial team before they can seek approval for the new government in parliament. A spokesman for the president said he would not announce a decision on Tuesday. Italian media said that he could make an announcement tomorrow. - EU warning - Installing a prime minister is a key step in Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio and League chief Matteo Salvini's efforts to set up a joint government. The two groups unveiled their joint policy programme on Friday. As well as planning to speed up expulsion of illegal immigrants, it contains anti-austerity measures including drastic tax cuts, pension reform rollbacks and a monthly basic income. European authorities warned them Tuesday morning to be "responsible" in their budget measures. "The European Commission does not interfere with national policy on principle, but we view it as important that the Italian government remains on course in pursuing a responsible budget policy," Valdis Dombrovskis, the body's vice-president for the euro, was quoted as saying by the German business daily Handelsblatt. Italy's 2.3 trillion euros of debt is 132 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), the highest ratio in Europe apart from Greece. The EU forecasts that Italian public debt will remain at 130 percent of its GDP this year -- more than double the bloc's 60-percent ceiling. Story continues "We can only advise it to stay on course in terms of economic and fiscal policies, to stimulate growth through structural reforms and to keep the budget deficit under control," said Dombrovskis. Hit hard by the 2008 global financial crisis, Italy has one of the eurozone's lowest growth rates. On Tuesday morning, national statistics agency Istat announced a GDP growth forecast of 1.4 percent in 2018. At the end of April the outgoing government estimated 1.5 percent growth for the year. Salvini said on Tuesday that the new government "wants to grow and relaunch Italy, respecting rules and commitments". But he has already reacted coldly to criticism from Brussels. On Monday conservative European People's Party leader Manfred Weber was quoted as saying by German news agency DPA that Italy was "playing with fire" with the coalition government programme. Salvini replied: "Let him think about Germany, and we'll think about Italy". - Necessary authority? - Conte's CV boasts study and research positions at some of the world's most prestigious universities. But some observers expressed concern that Conte would not have the necessary authority, within the government or in external relations. "He's in a very difficult situation because he has to deal with two groups who have formed a difficult compromise," said Franco Pavoncello, a political scientist and president of Rome's John Cabot University. "What remains to be seen is whether he's going to be able to control the various political directions in which this coalition was formed." Di Maio and Salvini are tipped for key ministerial posts in the new cabinet. Left-wing newspaper La Repubblica branded Conte "a prime minister who will not count". "What authority will he have when he goes to meet Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron?" the paper said in an editorial. Yaounde (AFP) - Kidnappings are proliferating in Cameroon's violence-torn English-speaking region, where officials, foreigners and locals alike are finding themselves targeted for abduction. Since anglophone separatists declared independence last October, dozens of people have gone missing -- on average, a fresh case is reported by the local media every week. "At least 50 people have keen kidnapped," Felix Agbor Ngonkho, of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, told AFP. Many more abductions are probably not even been reported, he added. "It has become impossible for a Cameroonian car carrying foreigners or bearing the licence plate of a French-speaking region to travel through the English-speaking regions without being attacked by armed men emerging from the forest," a human rights activist said. Kidnappings, say commentators, have been adopted as a tool for separatists to enforce discipline in anti-government protests and instil fear among French-speaking officials, almost regardless of rank. "The separatists have a guerrilla mentality that involves control of the region and the population," said Hans De Marie Heungoup, Central Africa analyst with the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank. "The kidnappings are part of this logic, a tool to enforce allegiance to those who haven't taken up the separatist cause." The presence of a large English-speaking minority -- about a fifth of Cameroon's population of 22 million -- dates back to the colonial period. It was once a German colony that after World War I was divided between Britain and France. In 1960, the French colony gained independence, becoming Cameroon, and the following year, the British-ruled Southern Cameroons was amalgamated into it, becoming the Northwest and Southwest Regions. For years, resentment built among anglophones, fostered by perceived marginalisation in education, the judiciary and the economy at the hands of the French majority. Story continues Demands for greater autonomy were rejected by 85-year-old President Paul Biya, in power for more than 35 years, leading to an escalation that last October 1 led to the declaration of the self-described "Republic of Ambazonia". - 'Dirty war' - Clashes are now an everyday occurrence, leading to scores of fatalities among separatists and police and military alike. But in what local people are calling a "dirty war," civilians are also suffering badly, at the hands of the security forces -- accused by the US last week of "targeted killings" and the burning and looting of villages -- and of the separatists. In one instance, a teacher was gunned down at a school in the town of Muyuka, in the Southwest Region, when three armed men riding motorcycles fired gunshots as they sped past. Two Tunisians working near Kumba in the Southwest were abducted in late March. One of them was later killed. The following month a group of Western tourists were briefly kidnapped in the same region. Separatist fighters have torched numerous school buildings and early this month kidnapped a priest who was headmaster of a Catholic boarding school. The priest was seized the day after St Bede's College received a televised visit from the regional governor. It was the first time the church had been pulled into the regional struggle. The abducted priest was freed the following day and the Catholic church has called on all parties to avoid "a useless and unwarranted civil war". - Favoured targets - But officials and symbols of Yaounde's centralised power remain the favoured targets for the separatists. Last month, the head of the appeal court in the Southwest Region was kidnapped then released a few days later. Two local officials seized in February in the Northwest Region remain missing. "There are kidnappings for ransom, with the separatists seeking 20,000, 30,000 francs ($35-$54) from the families. And there are others, those they keep," said a local human rights activists who didn't want to be named. Nine employees of a construction company have been missing since December. Only the burned-out shells of the vehicles they were travelling in have been found. "We live with the anxiety. If they have been killed, then let us know so we can mourn. If they are being held captive somewhere, then we want their captors to tell us what it will take to get them released," said Oumarou, a brother of one of the missing men. Lava continued to flow from Hawaiis Kilauea volcano in lower Puna on May 21. Several volcanic fissures reactivated after an explosive eruption at the summit of Kilauea on May 17, causing a continuous lava flow. Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency warned residents in the East Rift Zone of Kilauea to be mindful of volcanic gas, which it said was especially dangerous for elderly people, children and those with respiratory issues. The USGS said it was not yet possible to tell if the fissures would become long-term active vents or would only remain active for a brief period of time before waning. These livestreamed videos show volcanic activity at fissures 17, 18 and 20 in lower Puna. Credit: Honolulu Civil Beat via Storyful Lava News captured the lava from Hawaiis Kilauea Volcano entering the Pacific Ocean on May 20, creating a huge plume of so-called laze, which the USGS says is short for lava haze. The lava traveled from the Leilani Estates to the coast, with part of highway 137 closed off, potentially affecting residents trying to evacuate, Hawaii News Now reported. Credit: Lava News via Storyful Venezuela's President Maduro stands with supporters after the results of the election were released - REUTERS Stepping out in front of the cameras following his election win, President Nicolas Maduro triumphantly waved to what appeared to be an empty plaza. The video circulating on social media after Sunday's election was quickly seized upon by critics as an appropriate metaphor. Mr Maduro cruised to victory in the face of an opposition boycott, earning 68 per cent of the vote; but the vote was marred by high abstention rates of around 50 per cent. On Monday he faced widespread condemnation internally and from abroad as former partners, neighbours and world powers rounded on his stewardship of Venezuela's economic collapse that has left most of the country living in poverty. The Trump administration dismissed the election as a "sham" with Mike Pence, the US vice president, calling it "a further blow to the proud democratic tradition of Venezuela". Maduro victoriously waving to an empty plaza yesterday is the perfect metaphor for the Venezuelan presidential election. His new term ends in 2025. pic.twitter.com/UO8Iwugki3 Hannah Dreier (@hannahdreier) May 21, 2018 Speaking from the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, acknowledged that more sanctions could be necessary. Venezuela is "an absolutely tragic story of a people kept hostage to a defunct ideology, he said. The Lima Group, an organisation of 12 American countries that aims to devise solutions to the Venezuela crisis, promised not to recognise the results and recalled its ambassadors from Caracas for consultations. These elections didnt comply with international standards of a democratic process that is free, fair, and transparent, the group said in a statement. Main opposition parties had called for their supporters to boycott the process as soon as the election date was set, citing a lack of basic electoral guarantees and transparency. Story continues I just decided I wasnt going to fall into their trap again like I had before, said Raquel Hernandez Monday, a longtime opposition supporter. We knew what these results would be from the beginning. Instead of voting, Ms Hernandez spent the day washing clothes and cooking to take advantage since theres water. As part of the countrys ongoing crisis, water shortages and blackouts have become common. Throughout the day photos and videos circulated on Twitter showing empty polling stations and election workers asleep at their desks as most in opposition strongholds seemed to heed their leaders calls for a boycott. Marcos Carbono, a Venezuelan exile, takes part in a protest against Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan presidential elections in Miami, Florida Credit: GASTON DE CARDENAS/AFP Henri Falcon, a former governor who broke with the opposition coalition to take on the president, earned 21 per cent of the vote. In the face of the mounting pressure, Mr Maduro will need to maintain his base at home to prevent upheaval. Polls have shown he maintains roughly 20 per cent support. This revolution cannot be defeated and those elites will never return, said Juan Torres, a government supporter, on Monday. This is an independent Venezuela and not the United States back yard. The cost of coffee has jumped over 16,400 per cent in one year After results were released on Sunday night, Mr Torres blasted pro-government songs in his slum as others in high-rise apartment buildings beat sauce pans in protest. Pro-government gangs known as colectivos took to Caracas streets on motorbikes, revving their engines in opposition majority areas in an apparent warning against anyone considering protesting. Venezuelan citizens living in Colombia protest against the presidential elections Credit: Reuters Mr Johnson, speaking on a tour of Latin America, said a G20 meeting would discuss the Venezuela election and the prospect of sanctions. He also raised concerns that Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, had failed to explicitly condemn the Venezuelan regime. Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak was questioned by anti-corruption authorities Tuesday after his shock election loss, as the top graft fighter revealed he faced threats and a bullet in the post when the old regime suppressed a probe into a massive financial scandal. Najib's coalition suffered a defeat at the May 9 poll, beaten by a reformist alliance led by Mahathir Mohamad, which broke their six-decade stranglehold on power. Mahathir, who first served as premier from 1981-2003 and came out of retirement aged 92 to take on Najib, campaigned on claims that the former leader and his cronies looted sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Billions of dollars were allegedly stolen from the fund in a sophisticated fraud, and used to buy everything from artworks to high-end real estate. Najib and his reviled, luxury-loving wife Rosmah Mansor have had a swift fall from grace. They have been barred from leaving the country, and police have seized handbags, jewels and cash during raids on properties linked to the couple. Public disgust at the corruption allegations swirling around them at a time middle-class Malaysians were suffering due to rising living costs and stagnant salaries was seen as a major factor in Najib's defeat. The ousted leader pushed through a huge media scrum as he arrived at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in the administrative capital of Putrajaya to be quizzed about 1MDB money allegedly ending up in his personal bank accounts. He left after about five hours looking exhausted, and told waiting reporters that officials had "acted professionally" as they took his statement. The questioning is due to continue Thursday. - Wide-ranging probe - The toppled regime went to great lengths to put a halt to scrutiny of the problems surrounding 1MDB, closing down domestic probes, sacking critics from government, jailing those who spoke out, and muzzling the media. New MACC chief Shukri Abdull, a long-time senior figure in the agency who retired but has been brought back by Mahathir, shed tears at a press conference as he told how he came under "tremendous pressure" during an earlier probe into a 1MDB subsidiary. Story continues He recounted how witnesses were intimidated, authorities tried to push him into early retirement, and that he even received a bullet in the post. Shukri said the harassment reached a "very frightening" level and at one point he briefly fled to the United States as he feared arrest. "Our witnesses were abducted. Some of them were questioned by others as to what they revealed to us," he said. "I received a bullet at my home," he added. "I did not even tell my wife and my family, I did not lodge a police report." As pressure mounted, Shukri decided to retire in 2016. - Suspicious transfers - Najib was summoned by the anti-corruption body to give a statement over SRC International, an energy company that was originally a subsidiary of 1MDB. According to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal, 42 million ringgit ($10.6 million) originating from SRC was transferred to Najib's personal bank accounts. It is just one small part in the graft scandal, which is being investigated in several countries. Hundreds of millions of dollars from 1MDB allegedly ended up in Najib's accounts but the ex-leader and the investment vehicle have denied any wrongdoing. At a press conference later Tuesday, new Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said that the previous government had conducted an "exercise of deception" by misleading the public about 1MDB and had misrepresented the financial situation in parliament. He said the finance ministry, which was overseen by Najib, had bailed out 1MDB by helping to service nearly seven billion ringgit ($1.77 billion) in debt obligations since April last year. Mahathir has vowed to fully investigate the financial scandal and on Monday the new government set up a task force headed by high-ranking current and former officials to probe the controversy. By Gina Cherelus (Reuters) - A Maryland police manhunt ended on Tuesday when officers arrested three male teenagers suspected of playing a role in the killing of a female police officer who responded to a burglary report in a Baltimore suburb, officials said. The female Baltimore County officer, Amy Caprio, on Monday had confronted burglary suspects who attempted to flee in a vehicle, sparking a violent altercation that left the nearly four-year-veteran of the force critically injured, police said. Caprio later died of her injuries at a nearby hospital. Sixteen-year-old Dawnta Harris, was arrested shortly after Monday's altercation and was charged as an adult with first-degree murder, Baltimore police spokesman Natalie Litofsky said in a post on Twitter. Harris was expected to appear in court for a bail review later on Tuesday. Heavily armed Maryland police working with dogs had searched through the night for the other three suspects. Local media reports said the fleeing suspects ran the officer over with a vehicle. "There were reports on her being run over or being shot or both, but that will not be confirmed until the autopsy is complete," Baltimore County Police Department spokesman Matt Kuhn said in a phone interview. (Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Bernadette Baum) Meghan Markles official profile debuted on the British Royal Familys website Sunday, highlighting the Duchess of Sussexs keen awareness of social issues and lifelong commitment to charity work and womens empowerment. The American former actor married Britains Prince Harry Saturday in a ceremony at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle that was watched by millions around the world. Her new royal duties will be to support of The Queen, both in the U.K. and overseas, as well as devoting her time to supporting a number of charities and organizations, according to the new profile. The website traces the newest member of the royal familys interest in social action back to her early teens, when she campaigned against sexist language in a television ad and volunteered at a soup kitchen in Los Angeles. These early experiences helped to shape her lifelong commitment to causes such as social justice and womens empowerment, the profile said. Her work as U.N. Womens Advocate, her involvement with One Young World in 2014 and her role as Global Ambassador for World Vision were also featured. I am proud to be a woman and a feminist, the profile read, quoting Markles address on International Womens Day in 2015. As part of her work with World Vision, in 2017, Markle traveled to India and met with the Myna Mahila Foundation, an organization that combats stigma surrounding menstruation by providing women and girls with education and menstrual hygiene products. As many as 23% of Indian girls are thought to drop out of school after they begin their periods, depriving them of employment opportunities and financial independence later in life. The royal webpage linked to an op-ed Markle wrote for TIME in which she reflected on the trip, writing that the pervasive stigmatization around menstruation [perpetuates] the cycle of poverty and [stunts] a young girls dream for a more prolific future. Beyond India, in communities all over the globe, young girls potential is being squandered because we are too shy to talk about the most natural thing in the worldwe need to rise above our puritanical bashfulness when it comes to talking about menstruation, she wrote. Story continues Read more: Meghan Markle: How Periods Affect Potential The Muyrna Mahila Foundation was among the charitable groups chosen by the couple to receive donations made for their wedding. While the About section of the webpage focuses on Markles charitable work, her acting career is mentioned in the biography section. She most notably played the role of Rachel Zane on the series Suits for seven seasons, completing over 100 episodes, the page reads. LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Harry and his wife Meghan on Monday thanked all those involved in their lavish wedding at the weekend as they released official photographs from their big day. Harry and Meghan, now officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, tied the knot on Saturday at Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth's home to the west of London, in a splendid display of British royal pomp and ceremony. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex would like to thank everyone who took part in the celebrations of their wedding on Saturday," Harry's office Kensington Palace said in a statement. "They 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 UK, Commonwealth, and around the world." The couple also issued three official portrait pictures taken by Alexi Lubomirski. One shows the couple pictured in the castle's Green Drawing Room flanked by Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, and Harry's father, the heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles. It also includes the 92-year-old queen and her husband Prince Philip, 96, sitting alongside, together with Harry's elder brother Prince William, his wife Kate and Charles's second wife Camilla. A second has just the couple with the bridesmaids and page boys, including beaming a Prince George and Princess Charlotte, two of William's young children. The third was a black and white picture of the newlyweds taken on the castle's East Terrace. (Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Alistair Smout) Video: Royal Wedding: Inside the Ceremony and After-Party Watch news, TV and more on Yahoo View. Like most grooms, Prince Harry didn't know the full details of his bride's gown, since it was pretty much shrouded in secrecy until the morning of their wedding. Meghan Markle had been working covertly with British designer Clare Waight Keller for French fashion house Givenchy until the wedding day. The British designer became Givenchys first female artistic director last year, Kensington Palace announced Saturday. Clare Waight Keller helped the bride adjust her train and veil as she ascended the steps of St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Saturday. The two had reportedly been meeting in secret since January inside the designers London home. From start to finish, it took 3,900 hours over four months to make the dress. The bride also wowed the world with her veil and 16-foot cathedral length train. Her spectacular veil was embroidered with some very meaningful designs including a California poppy, a nod to her home state. Each flower was embroidered by hand. Workers had to wash their hands every thirty minutes to keep the tulle and silk threads pristine. The wedding shoes are based on a Givenchy refined pointed couture design made of a silk duchess satin. And the blushing bride didn't stick to just one stunning dress. For the evening reception, she changed into a slinky halter neck gown, made from silk crepe, by Stella McCartney. The cost of that gown was $107,000. Meghan Markle stunned the world with her pricey wedding gown Saturday, but you don't have to be a royal to afford one. No price of Markles wedding dress has been officially released, but her Givenchy dress could have costed over $250,000. Wedding gown designer, Hayley Paige, has created numerous elegant looks. She has shared with Inside Edition, showed Inside Edition how a bride can still look regal without breaking the bank. One of Paige's dresses, an off-the-shoulder gown similar to Markle's, retails for $2,000. Paige added a diamond-studded belt and opened the back "to give it a sexiness." Story continues Paige also had a halter neck dress like Markle's McCartney dress, which also retails for $2,000. RELATED STORIES Royal Wedding Gowns Through the Ages: See the Photos Weirdest Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Wedding Souvenirs: See the Photos Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Beam in Official Royal Wedding Portraits Related Articles: By Anthony Esposito MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The chasing pack of Mexican presidential candidates attacked front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in a second televised debate on Sunday without landing major blows in exchanges that often returned to fraught relations with the United States. Leftist Lopez Obrador sought to deflect questions, as he did in the first debate last month ahead of the July 1 election. He stuck to many of his stock responses to defend his sizeable opinion poll lead, rarely rising to the bait and occasionally mocking his rivals. The debate, focused principally on trade, migrants, the Mexico-U.S. border and the fight against criminal gangs, drew several rebukes of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose broadsides against Mexico have stirred widespread animosity. The second-placed challenger, 39-year-old Ricardo Anaya, crossed the stage to address Lopez Obrador face to face in a bid to rile the former Mexico City mayor. But the 64-year-old Lopez Obrador brushed off the attacks, dismissively calling Anaya a "liar and a fraud." "Anaya is a little bum demagogue," Lopez Obrador said, at one point laughingly telling the audience in the northern city of Tijuana he was watching out for his wallet when Anaya approached him to challenge his record as mayor of the capital. Anaya, who is heading a right-left coalition, emerged as the victor of the first debate in some polls. He tried to paint Lopez Obrador as out of touch, ill-informed and beholden to outdated economic models. But Lopez Obrador showed fewer signs of irritation than in the first debate, remaining in good humor and rarely wandering from his script. 'ALLIANCE FOR PROGRESS' Lopez Obrador, who in some polls has a lead of 20 percentage points over Anaya, recycled much of his campaign rhetoric, and pledged to make Trump respect Mexico if he is elected. "I want a friendly relationship with the government of the United States, but not one of subordination. Mexico is a free country, it is a sovereign nation," Lopez Obrador said. "We will not be subject to any foreign government." Lopez Obrador said he would propose an "alliance for progress" that included Mexico, the United States, Canada and Central America to foster job creation, grow the economy and pacify the region. He did not offer details on his plan. In his third tilt at the top job, Lopez Obrador has capitalized on widespread disenchantment with the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) over corruption, rising levels of violence and sluggish economic growth. The PRI candidate, former finance minister Jose Antonio Meade, has struggled to make an impact, and again found himself defending the unpopular government of President Enrique Pena Nieto. Lopez Obrador came close to winning the presidency in 2006 and was runner-up again six years later. This time around, Lopez Obrador has cut a more relaxed figure on the campaign trail, largely avoiding the kind of outbursts that in the past helped adversaries depict him as a threat to the stability in Latin America's No. 2 economy. Despite softening his tone, Lopez Obrador has butted heads with Mexico's business community, calling several tycoons influence traffickers who benefit from corruption. Lopez Obrador has already caused concerns with threats to walk back the liberalization of the country's oil and gas business and to scrap a new $13 billion Mexico City airport. (Additional reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez, Dave Graham and Adriana Barrera; Editing by Sandra Maler and Paul Tait) Mr Pompeo speaking at the Heritage Foundation on Monday: Getty US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has threatened Iran with the strongest sanctions in history and vowed to use all economic and military pressure to "crush" Tehran's 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, 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 UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had both confirmed compliance repeatedly. The deal was not intended to address ballistic missile development. Following that announcement earlier this month, Mr Pompeo has demanded major changes from Iran, and has vowed that the country will not develop a nuclear weapon: Not now, not ever. Mr Pompeo announced a list of 12 requirements that Iran muct meet before any further included many that Iran is highly unlikely to consider. He said Iran must allow nuclear inspectors "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 IAEA has already deemed a closed matter. Video: Pompeo Threatens Iran With "Strongest Sanctions in History" For more news videos visit Yahoo View. During his speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, Mr Pompeo also latched onto one of Mr Trump's main concerns with supporting the nuclear deal - that it did little to curb what the US has called Iran's "destabilising" actions in the region and beyond. Story continues 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 stop 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, which the US considered a foreign terrorist organisation. The United States believe you deserve better. In his first major policy address Mr Pompeo said he will work with the US 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. 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 Pompeo's 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 modernization 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 program. Mr Pompeo has said that those talks which have been in doubt somewhat 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 the deal in the wake of the American's decision, though it remains unclear how European businesses that have made deals in Iran might navigate reimposed US sanctions on the country. The White House dropped a several-hundred-word press release explaining why MS-13 gang members are animals after President Donald Trumps comments about immigrants living in the U.S. illegally sparked a backlash. "Too many innocent Americans have fallen victim to the unthinkable violence of MS-13s animals," the White House release said, in an apparent clarification that Trumps reference to animals was about violent gang members, not undocumented immigrants in general. "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." Trending: Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Warns U.S. Fiscal Outlook Is 'Not Good' Trump gave an ambiguous response to Sheriff Margaret Mims of Fresno County, California, who complained to the president that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were too restricted by rules preventing them from picking up gang members. MS-13 MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images At one point during the May 16 roundtable with California sheriffs on its "sanctuary state" status, Mims referenced MS-13, a Salvadoran crime gang known for its ruthlessness and brutality that operates across the U.S. But Trumps reply, his critics said, gave the impression he was talking about all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, not just violent criminals. We have people coming into the country, or trying to come inand were stopping a lot of thembut were taking people out of the country, Trump said. You wouldnt believe how bad these people are. These arent people. These are animals. Amid the furor over Trumps animals comments, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said he was very clearly referring to MS-13 gang members who enter the country illegally and whose deportations are hamstrung by our laws. Story continues Don't miss: Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker Release Date, New Characters Confirmed Heres the White House release on MS-13 in full. 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. Most popular: Gas Station Owner Caught Withholding Government Money From Pregnant Employee 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 article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Brussels (AFP) - The EU's foreign policy chief warned Monday there was "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed unprecedented sanctions against Tehran following Washington's withdrawal from the pact. Pompeo -- a longtime Iran hawk and fierce opponent of the 2015 agreement -- earlier outlined an aggressive series of "painful" measures designed to hurt Tehran, in his first key address since moving to the State Department from the CIA in April. "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," the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said. In a statement, she stressed "there is no alternative" to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is officially known. US President Donald Trump sparked an international outcry earlier this month when he announced his country would pull out of the landmark accord struck in July 2015 between Tehran and major world powers. His move came despite the fact that the UN's nuclear watchdog, in charge of monitoring Iran's compliance with the deal, has confirmed that Tehran has so far abided by the terms. Trump wants Brussels and others to support his hardline strategy and push for a fresh agreement. "Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East," Pompeo said, outlining 12 tough conditions from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran. But Mogherini called on the US to keep its commitments as part of the agreement signed under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama. "The JCPOA is the result of more than a decade of complex and delicate negotiations, based on dual track approach and therefore the best possible outcome, striking the right balance," Mogherini said. Story continues "This deal belongs to the international community, having been endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. The international community expects all sides to keep the commitments they made more than two years ago." She reiterated that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had confirmed already 10 times that Iran has implemented "all its nuclear related commitments" under the agreement. The re-establishment of the US punitive measures will likely force European companies to choose between investing in Iran or trading with the United States. The EU has been trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, attending the 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. Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas remained in hospital for a third day Tuesday with pneumonia, with a hospital spokeswoman saying there was as yet no timeframe for his discharge. "He is doing fine but still needs to take care," the spokeswoman for the Istishari Arab Hospital near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank told AFP. "Until now there is no news about a timeframe for when he might leave." Pictures and video of 83-year-old Abbas walking around the wards and reading a newspaper were published late Monday, in an apparent attempt to calm rumours that his condition was more serious than reported. Ahmad Tibi, an Israeli Arab member of parliament, said on Twitter he had visited Abbas late Monday. "He suffers from pneumonia and is treated with antibiotics," said Tibi, who is also a doctor, adding he was expected to spend "several more days" in hospital. Abbas was admitted to hospital Sunday with a high fever. Last week, he underwent what was called minor ear surgery. His 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. North Korea may be set to dismantle their nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, but covering the event for foreign journalists wont be cheap. The country is looking to charge $10,000 per reporter for international media companies looking to send journalists to the event, the Korea Times reported Monday. The only exception to this rule will be reporters from neighboring South Korea. CNN, ABC and the Associated Press were among the organizations invited to the site according to the report. Also Read: 'Morning Joe' Mystified by Media Love for Kim Jong Un Sister: 'Completely Mind-Boggling' The deal to dismantle Punggye-ri comes as a trust-building effort by North Korea after months of bombastic threats between it and the United States. During one particularly testy moment, President Trump vowed to reign fire and fury on the country last summer and there were even reports of a possible first strike. For his part, Kim Jung Un warned that he had a nuclear button on his desk and called Trump a dotard. But things have cooled off considerably since then. In addition to Punggye-ri, Kim Jong Un also released three Americans being held in the country, who returned to great fanfare earlier this month. In June, both Trump and Kim will meet in Singapore for a historic summit aimed at achieving a final denuclearization of the peninsula. Related stories from TheWrap: Seth Meyers: Trump 'Sounds Like a Movie President Fighting an Alien Invasion' When He Talks About North Korea (Video) 'Morning Joe': Trump's North Korea Announcement 'Painfully Obvious' Ploy to Distract From Stormy Daniels Colbert Wants to Know How Trump Could 'Go Hard On Peace' with North Korea (Video) VP Mike Pence Savages 'Media Fawning' Over North Korea at the Olympics It turns out Kim Jong Un is still playing hard to get. When South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Washington, D.C., on May 21, only two days had passed since he spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump, in what has been seen by observers as a sign of the alarm felt by both leaders regarding North Koreas threat to cancel the historic summit slated to take place in Singapore on June 12. While Kim pledged a new era of peace at a meeting with Moon and returned three American detainees in a show of good faith, he is apparently infuriated by the tone White House officials are taking toward a negotiation hed hoped would put the powers on a level field. His government nixed May 16 talks with Seoulostensibly over joint U.S.South Korea military exercisesand hours later warned the U.S. we are no longer interested in a negotiation that will be all about driving us into a corner. National Security Adviser John Bolton had particularly enraged North Korean leadership by suggesting the regime should follow the Libya model of nuclear disarmament. It will not have escaped Kim that Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled with Western backing and executed less than eight years after agreeing to abandon his nuclear program. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tried to walk it back, saying there wasnt a cookie-cutter model for talks. But, asked about North Koreas threat to pull out, Trump simply said, Well see what happens. Pyongyangs resumption of rancor means the Singapore summit risks turning into an embarrassment. The former reality-television star has trumpeted progress with North Korea as a counterpoint to his domestic travails. Chants of Nobel! Nobel!suggesting Trump merits the famed Peace Prize for bringing Kim to heelhave followed the President around recent rallies. Trump has separately said that everyone thinks he deserves the award. This makes South Korean officials nervous that Trump may give away too much to clinch a deal. Compounding matters, Trump doesnt think he needs to prepare for the summit, a senior White House official told TIME. And another obstacle to success runs even deeper. The crux of the matter is what denuclearization means: for the U.S., its North Korea giving up weapons in exchange for nonaggression assurances and economic aid. For North Korea, it has always been about dismantling the U.S.East Asian alliance system, removing American troops from South Korea and Japan and dismantling the U.S. nuclear umbrella. These are, and likely always will be, nonstarters for Washington. One former top North Korean official, who has defected to the South and spoke to TIME on condition of anonymity, says Pyongyang wants the hawkish Bolton thrown off the U.S. negotiation team. He added that regime officials who are meticulously planning for the summit are perturbed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeos talk of permanent, verifiable, irreversible disarmament, which appears to go further than the U.N. definition. If North Korea gives the U.S. an inch, it tries to take a mile, says the former official. North Korea believes it had to take action to remind everyone that it is Kim Jong Un calling the shots. Even if a deal is reached, the regime has reneged on previous commitments to denuclearize. That said, the fact that North Korea is fretting over the specific terms of negotiations offers a glimmer of hope that they intend, for the moment at least, to comply. And Kims stated refocus on improving the lives of his 25 million compatriots provides room for the U.S. to dangle economic carrots. We always talk about how North Koreans hedge and cheat, but they always talk about how we democracies throw out the deals made by the last guy, says John Delury, an East Asia expert at Yonsei University in Seoul. Im not sure their goal is just to manipulate Trumps haste. It doesnt solve the ultimate problem. By Christine Kim, Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three weeks before an unprecedented U.S.-North Korea summit is supposed to take place, President Donald Trump will meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday as U.S. officials try to figure out whether Pyongyang is serious about negotiating a deal on denuclearization. Moons White House visit was originally arranged as a meeting to fine-tune a joint strategy for dealing with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but has instead become more of a crisis session after Pyongyang last week threatened to pull out of the planned June 12 summit in Singapore. Moons government led efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea and gave enthusiastic accounts of its encounters with Kim, spurring Trump to accept an offer of a first-ever meeting between U.S. and North Korean presidents. But the White House was caught off-guard when, in a dramatic change of tone, North Korea last week condemned the latest U.S.-South Korean air combat drills, suspended North-South talks and threw into doubt the summit with Trump if Pyongyang was pushed toward "unilateral nuclear abandonment." Trump has insisted he remains committed to the summit, but Vice President Mike Pence warned on Monday that the president was still willing to walk away from the meeting, telling Fox News that North Korea should not attempt to seek concessions for promises it did not intend to keep. Trump has warned in the past that the summit might not take place or that he could walk out if it looked like a deal was not possible. His aides are now looking to Moon to help determine whether Kim is taking a harder line against denuclearization than South Korea had previously communicated to them, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Other U.S. officials have privately expressed concern that Moon, eager to make progress with the North, may have overstated Kims willingness to negotiate in good faith over the dismantling of his nuclear arsenal. Two visits by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the past two months have apparently failed to yield much clarity on Kims intentions. Some in the U.S. government worry that Moon may be prepared to accept a less-stringent version of North Korean denuclearization than Washington wants and could be open to faster sanctions relief for Pyongyang, the officials said. Most analysts say it is unrealistic to believe North Korea will agree to complete abandonment of its nuclear program, which has focused on developing a missile capable of hitting the United States and which Kim sees as crucial to his survival in power. If the summit is canceled or fails, it would be a major blow to what Trump supporters hope will be the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency. The uncertainty comes at a time when Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal has drawn criticism internationally, his moving of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem has fueled violence on the Israel-Gaza border and he is on the defensive over an investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election. TESTING TRUMP? North Korea's warning of a possible withdrawal from the summit is seen as an effort to test Trumps willingness to make concessions on his demands for Pyongyang's denuclearization, the U.S. official said. "Its straight out of North Koreas playbook," the official said. North Koreas condemnation of Trumps hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton, for proposing that North Korea should emulate Libya by abandoning its program of weapons of mass destruction was believed meant to sow divisions within the administration. Despite Trump having contradicted Bolton on the Libya point, there has been no sign of Bolton losing influence. Seoul has been hoping to ensure a successful summit after a historic meeting last month between Moon and Kim produced a declaration of goodwill. But South Koreas role has been brought into question since last week when North Korea's chief negotiator derided Seoul as "ignorant and incompetent." Seoul has refrained from responding. "The heads of South Korea and the United States are expected to discuss measures to guarantee a bright future for North Korea in the case it truly goes through complete denuclearization," said Nam Gwan-pyo, an official at the presidential Blue House. Trump has sought to placate Kim by holding out the possibility of economic development, and he pledged on Thursday that Kims security would be guaranteed in any deal. But Trump has insisted on concrete steps before any easing of sanctions, and warned that failure to reach a denuclearization agreement could lead to "decimation" of Kim's rule. "They are locked into not giving much to the North Koreans early...whereas South Korea probably has a bit more interest in economic incentivization," said Christopher Green, an analyst with the International Crisis Group. "So they need to calibrate between the two of them." China could also be on the agenda. Trump suggested last week that Beijing, which Washington is at odds with over trade, may be influencing North Korea's hardened stance. Beijing responded on Friday that it stands for stability on the Korean peninsula and for settlement through diplomacy. However, Trump on Monday urged China, North Korea's main trading partner, to maintain tight sanctions, tweeting that "the word is that recently the Border has become much more porous." (Reporting By Matt Spetalnick, David Brunnstrom and Christine Kim; Additional reporting by Joori Roh and Josh Smith in Seoul and John Walcott in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken, Alistair Bell and Diane Craft) South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit Washington, D.C., on Tuesday in a bid to ensure that the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un moves forward. Moon, whose country would be highly affected if a conflict were to break out between the U.S. and North Korea, has been a key broker in pushing both sides to come to the negotiating table. The meeting between the two leaders was originally slated to take place in Singapore on June 12. Recently, however, it has looked increasingly likely that the two leaders will scuttle the talks, as the major differences between the two countries positions have become more apparent. The talks with North Korea, at which Trump is expected to discuss North Koreas nuclear program, will be the main issue of discussion when Trump and Moon meet on Tuesday. "President Trump and President Moon will continue their close coordination on developments regarding the Korean Peninsula," a White House statement said earlier this month. "The two leaders will also discuss President Trump's upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trending: Will Trump Be Brought Down By Women, Just Like Italys Berlusconi? The U.S. has urged North Korea to pursue complete denuclearization. But there are fundamental differences between what the Trump administration considers denuclearization and the concessions North Korea is willing to make. North Korea has agreed to halt nuclear and missile testing while it pursues a path to peace, but it also wants to be recognized as a nuclear power on the international stage. Its unclear how the two sides plan to pursue a mutually satisfactory arrangement in the upcoming talks in Singapore. Nevertheless, Moon is expected to use Tuesdays meeting to persuade Trump to remain in the talks, including by appealing to the presidents ego and selling him on the potentially successful outcome of the meeting. Moon will likely attempt to convince Trump that North Koreas tough talk is just for show. Story continues Don't miss: Suspected Panama City Shooter Heard on Camera During Live News Broadcast In March of this year, Moon told White House officials that Kim is committed to denuclearization and understands that joint U.S.South Korea military exercises will continue. But some experts say Moon likely exaggerated Kims willingness to bend. The leaders of both North and South Korea met and issued a joint statement pledging to work toward denuclearization, and Pyongyang also released three American prisoners it was holding in its infamous labor camps. But North Koreas tone quickly became less conciliatory in the face of U.S. military exercises on the Korean Peninsula. Most popular: China Reveals Advanced Military Stealth Tests For First Time Ever, Joining U.S. and Russia In a statement released last week, North Koreas first vice minister of foreign affairs said that North Korea will abandon the planned talks if the U.S. doesnt change the way that it discusses North Korea, and it taunted Trump and national security adviser John Bolton. We have already stated our intention of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and made clear on several occasions that precondition for denuclearization is to put an end to anti-DPRK hostile policy and nuclear threats and blackmail of the United States, the statement from North Korea read. If President Trump follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, he will be recorded as more tragic and unsuccessful president than his predecessors, far from his initial ambition to make unprecedented success. Nevertheless, Trump has not indicated that he is eager to pull out of the talks. In a meeting in the Oval Office last week, Trump appeared willing to give Kim assurances that he could remain in power if he were to give up North Koreas nuclear weapons. Hed be running his country. His country would be very rich, Trump said. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek The Mighty O almost committed a fashion no-no. Many Americanshad a meltdownon Saturday whenOprah Winfrey the States closest thing to an actual queen was revealed as one of theroyal weddings invitees, and stunned in a blush pink dress by Stella McCartney and a vintage Philip Treacy hat. But the wonderful surprise could have quickly gone south if the media mogul had worn what she originally intended to the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs big day. According to an Instagram video she posted Monday, Oprah realized just a day before the nuptials that the beige dress she was planning to wear would photograph too white, causing her to commita huge fashion faux pas for a wedding guest. But being that Oprah isOprah, she was able to get McCartney and her team to pull together a new outfit in a more appropriate shade overnight. Yes,overnight. A post shared by Oprah (@oprah)on May 19, 2018 at 8:42am PDT I would like to thank the Stella McCartney team for working all night long to get this dress finished, she explained in a video posted to Instagram. Because we had Dressgate. Wrong color! Now we got the right color. I think were gonna do OK. But no. Thank you so much for the detail, working all night, to the whole Stella McCartney team. Amen, amen, amen, Stella McCartney team, thank you very much! As if McCartneys team who also designedMeghan Marklesreception gownand Amal Clooneyschic yellow number didnt have enough to worry about during and leading up to the royal wedding! Royal news doesnt stop at the wedding. If you want to continue receiving weekly royal family news after the wedding, subscribe to HuffPostsWatching the Royals newsletterfor all things Windsor (and beyond). This article originally appeared on HuffPost. By Stephanie van den Berg THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki asked prosecutors at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday to launch a full investigation into accusations of Israeli human rights abuses on Palestinian territory, saying the evidence was "insurmountable". Maliki submitted a so-called "referral", giving the prosecutor at the Hague-based court the legal basis to move beyond a preliminary inquiry started in January 2015. The International Criminal Court has the authority to hear cases of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the 123 countries that have signed up to it. Israel has not joined the court, but because the Palestinians have, Israelis could be targeted for crimes committed on Palestinian lands. Israel rejected Tuesday's move as "legally invalid", saying the court lacks jurisdiction because the Palestinian Authority is not a state and Israel abides by international law. "The Palestinians continue to exploit the court for political purposes, rather than work towards resuming the peace process with Israel," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "It is absurd that the Palestinian actions vis-a-vis the court come at a time when the Palestinians continue to incite to acts of terrorism," it said. The court's prosecutors launched an initial investigation into allegations against Israel when the Palestinians first joined the court in 2015. Tuesday's referral allows that probe to proceed to the next stage of a full investigation, without waiting for a judge to give approval. "A referral... does not automatically lead to the opening of an investigation," chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement. "There should be no doubt that in this and any other situation currently before my office, I will always take the decision warranted by my mandate." "REAL EFFECT" Harvard legal expert Alex Whiting, a former ICC prosecutor, said on Twitter that the referral "has a real effect. ..it is much harder for the office of the prosecutor to stay in the preliminary investigation phase for years". Maliki said the request would give prosecutors the authority to investigate alleged crimes starting in 2014 and beyond, including last week's deaths during protests in Gaza. "We believe there is ample and insurmountable evidence to that effect and we believe that proceeding with an investigation is the right and needed course of action," he said. "Through judicial referral we want... the office of the prosecutor to open without delay an investigation into all crimes," he told journalists. The ICC, which opened in July 2002, is a court of last resort, only stepping in when a state is unwilling or unable to investigate crimes on its territory. (Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Toby Sterling; Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in JERUSALEM; Writing by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Gareth Jones) Paris, May 1968 a view from the barricades A police officer confronts defiant students on the Boulevard Saint-Michel during the first day of violent clashes in Paris on May 6, 1968. In all, 1,045 civilians were wounded during what became known as the night of the barricades. (Photo: Goksin Sipahioglu/SIPA) Fifty years ago, as France exploded in mass protests, words scrawled on the walls of the Sorbonne summed up the revolutionary zeal of the time: Run free, comrade, weve left the old world behind! Half a century later, the May 1968 demonstrations that brought millions of idealistic students and striking workers to the streets remain a watershed moment in Frances cultural history. Sexual liberation, artistic creativity and anti-capitalism were the order of the day. For those who were there, it was an unforgettable time. The protests swept through a France that was still ruled by the strict conservatism of Gen. Charles de Gaulle, who was then president and banned the concerts of French rocker Johnny Hallyday for causing scenes of mass hysteria. The aftershocks of the protests would be felt for years to come. (AFP) Goksin Sipahioglu, a Turkish photojournalist and one of the father figures of photojournalism, covered news stories from the 1956 war in the Sinai Peninsula to Maos revolution in China, the Cuban missile crisis, the 1972 Munich Olympics killings, and the Prague Spring and Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. As a correspondent for the Turkish daily Hurriyet, he came to Paris to cover the May 1968 student uprising. While many photojournalists were on the streets, Goksin brought his curiosity, audacity, uncanny anticipation of events, and keen eye to the frontlines to freshly illuminate the quickly unfolding events. He remarked at the time: At first I did not understand what was going on. For hours on the first day of rioting the police allowed the students to do as they liked. The students wrecked everything, ripped up paving stones, chopped down trees, erected barricades, set cars on fire. Later, in a matter of minutes, the CRS [riot police] charged the students. I asked myself, Why hadnt they charged earlier? I soon understood why. The authorities wanted the public to see the devastation. While in Paris, Goksin realized that a network was sorely needed for distribution of news photos, and he founded Sipa Press photo news agency in 1973 with American journalist Phyllis Springer. Encouraging young photographers and giving many their first chance, Goksin created a generation of photojournalists. Story continues Photography by Goksin Sipahioglu/SIPA May 68, photographs by Goksin Sipahioglu, is on view at Galerie Basia Embiricos and Photo 12 Galerie in Paris through May 25, 2018. It was curated by Ferit Duzyol in collaboration with Sipa Press. _____ See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Twitter and Tumblr. By Lesley Wroughton and Parisa Hafezi WASHINGTON/ANKARA (Reuters) - 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 Washington's 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. U.S. 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 speech added to the tension between the two countries, which grew notably when Trump this month withdrew from the 2015 international agreement aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. If Washington sees tangible shifts in Iran's policies, it is prepared to lift 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," 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. The European Union largely dismissed Pompeo's speech and said it remained committed to the full implementation of the nuclear deal. Pompeo took aim at Iran's 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. Story continues Iran's president summarily dismissed Pompeo's 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." A senior Iranian official said Pompeo's remarks showed that the United States was pushing for "regime change," a charged phrase often associated with the U.S. 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 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. Pompeo will have an uphill battle convincing European allies to sign on to the administration's "Plan B" on Iran after its withdrawal from the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). "Secretary Pompeos 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 Irans conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA. There is no alternative to the JCPOA," the EU said in a statement. NAMING NAMES Pompeo said if Iran made major changes, the United States was prepared to ease sanctions, re-establish full diplomatic and commercial relations and support the country's re-integration into the international economic system. Any new U.S. sanctions will raise the cost of trade for Iran and are expected to further deter Western companies from investing there, giving hardliners, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an opportunity to cement their grip on power. Iran's ruling elite are mindful of recent protests sparked by economic hardship, which is, in part, their calculation for working with the Europeans on ways to salvage the nuclear deal. Pompeo's speech did not explicitly call for regime change but he repeatedly urged the Iranian people not to put up with their leaders, specifically naming 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," Pompeo said. Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of the Brooking Institution think tank's foreign policy program, said Pompeo's speech did indeed amount to a strategy of regime change. "There is only one way to read it and that is that Trump administration has wedded itself to a regime-change strategy to Iran, one that is likely to alienate our allies. One with dubious prospects for success," she said. The administration's approach "explicitly puts the onus on the Iranian people to change their leadership or face cataclysmic financial pressure," said Maloney who has advised the State Department on Iran in the Bush administration between 2005-2007. Lebanese analyst Ghaleb Kandil, who has close ties to the pro-Iran Hezbollah group, said Washington's demands have previously not worked. "These are conditions that were tested in previous phases of American pressures, before the nuclear deal, when Iran was in more difficult circumstances than it is in these days, and it did not surrender to these conditions or accept them," said Kandil. Pompeo outlined 12 U.S. demands for Iran including to stop uranium enrichment, never to pursue plutonium reprocessing and to close its heavy water reactor. It also had to declare all previous military dimensions of its nuclear program and to permanently and verifiably abandon such work, he said. 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. Washington's regional allies, the Gulf Arabs and Israel, who were strong critics of the deal, praised the administration's position on Monday. European parties to the nuclear deal - France, Britain and Germany - are working to find a way to keep the nuclear pact in effect after Washington's exit. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Lesley Wroughton and Yara Bayoumy; Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Ankara, Jonathan Landay and Idrees Ali in Washington, Laila Bassam in Beirut, Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem, Dubai newsroom, Francois Murphy and Alastair Macdonald in Brussels; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Alistair Bell) China has launched its Queqiao satellite on the back of a Long March-4C rocket, which blasted of at 5.28 a.m. CST Monday (5.28 p.m. ET Sunday) from the countrys Xichang launch centre. With a name meaning magpie bridge, Chinas National Space Administration (CNSA) hopes the satellite will act as a gateway to the far side of the moon, state news agency Xinhua reports. The country aims to follow the satellite with a lunar rover. If successful, China will become the first nation to land on this elusive region of the moon. The country has even more ambitious space exploration plans. After sending its Change-4 lunar probe to the moon in 2019, the country aims to launch a Mars rover in 2020, Xinhua reported. Trending: Iran Goes Against Russia, Says It's Staying in Syria as U.S. Military Threatens 'New Actions' CNSA has set its sights on asteroids, joining countries including Luxembourg and the U.S. Luxembourg recently announced plans to create a framework for commercial asteroid mining, according to CNBC. China aims to study asteroids around 2022. China is also targeting a Jupiter system mission in 2029, and a manned lunar landing, Xinhua reported. 5_21_Long March-4C Stringer/Reuters Don't miss: Exclusive: Dark Horse Comics Unveils Disney Frozen Cover Art & Official Title China sent two microsatellites up with the Queqiao launchLongjiang-1 and Longjiang-2. These are designed to help scientists probe the very first stars and galaxies. "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," Xinhua quoted Chen Xuelei, a cosmologist with Chinas National Astronomical Observatories, as saying. The far side of the moon, the news agency reports, offers a quieter place to study the stars, shielded from some of the Earths radio interference. Story continues The Long March-4C also carried a Dutch radio antenna, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) reports. This antenna will also probe the early universe. On Earth, ASTRON astrophysics professor Heino Falcke explained, the atmosphere blocks certain radio waves. It is these frequencies in particular that contain information about the early universe, which is why we want to measure them. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek The Most Rev. Michael Curry delivered an impassioned sermon during the royal wedding that referenced slavery, quoted Martin Luther King Jr., and included the traditional African-American spiritual There is a balm in Gilead. But the speech, which got mixed reviews from audience members and on social media, had one main theme: celebrating the power in love. According to Curry, Prince Harry and Meghan Markles passion and love for each other was palpable on Saturday and thats why he went in that direction. You could actually see when they looked at each other that their love was, actually even in that moment, reorienting the world around that love, he said on NBCs Today show. I mean all of the divisions and all of the differences were being crossed, and worlds were coming together, and a new world was being created and thats the power. He echoed that sentiment on Good Morning America, saying, The reality is the love between those two people, between that loyal couple, was so powerful, not only did we all show up, but it brought all these different worlds together. He continued, It brought different nationalities, different ethnicities, different religious traditions, people of all stripes and types, people of different political persuasions. Curry was well aware of how many people were watching him, and even directed his sermon to those beyond the chapel walls. While he admitted he was definitely a little bit nervous at the beginning, he explained that it quickly just turned into a church and I was speaking to a young couple who are in love. Bishop Michael Curry didnt quite believe it when he was invited to speak at the royal wedding. (Photo: Rex) He also described the newly named Duke and Duchess of Sussex as very gracious. So how did Curry land the job in the first place? One of the members of our staff told me the Archbishop of Canterburys office had called, and I said, Get out of here! Is this an April Fools kind of thing? I just didnt believe it, he recalled. Then he had to keep it a secret for two months and even hide it from his wife. Story continues Now that the secrets out, though, hes become extremely popular and even got a spot on Saturday Night Live. Watch the clip below: 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. London (AFP) - Fancy getting your hands on one of the goody bags given to public guests at Saturday's wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle? Well you made need to break the piggy bank. One of the canvas souvenir bags, decorated with the initials of the bride and groom, has already received bids of 50,000 (57,000 euros) on auction website ebay, with two days of bidding still to go. The pack contains a marriage order of service booklet, a commemorative chocolate coin, wedding labelled spring water, a royal wedding fridge magnet and a tub of shortbread, made especially for Saturday's wedding day. Some of the bags given to the 2,640 members of the public lucky enough to receive an invite inside the grounds of Windsor Castle were going for thousands of pounds within hours of being put up for sale online. One of the vendors described the lot as "a piece of history and Royal Wedding memorabilia given to celebrate a very special day." Among the invitees rubbing shoulders with royals and A-List celebrities were 1,200 members of the British public, 200 members of charities supported by the couple, 610 people from the local Windsor community, around 100 students from nearby schools and 530 royal staff. Dubai (AFP) - Saudi authorities have widened a crackdown on women's rights advocates, detaining at least three more activists a month before the kingdom lifts its decades-old ban on women drivers, campaigners said Tuesday. Saudi authorities on Saturday announced the arrest of seven people, mostly identified by rights groups as women who have long campaigned for the right to drive and to end the conservative Muslim state's male guardianship system. Amnesty International told AFP the number of detainees has risen to 10, including at least seven women, while the Gulf Centre for Human Rights and another Saudi activist said the number stood at 12. "Despite international outcry and calls for the release of these activists, they still remain detained for their peaceful human rights work," said Samah Hadid, Amnesty International's Middle East director of campaigns. "Saudi Arabian authorities cannot continue to publicly state they are dedicated to reform while treating women's rights campaigners in this cruel way." The detainees include three generations of activists such as 28-year-old Loujain al-Hathloul -- who was also held in 2014 for more than 70 days for attempting to drive from neighbouring United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia -- and Aziza al-Yousef, a retired professor at Riyadh's King Saud University. Also arrested, campaigners say, was Madeha al-Ajroush, a psychotherapist in her 60s, well known for being part of a group that mounted the first Saudi protest movement in 1990 for the right to drive. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights voiced concern that Hathloul, one of the most outspoken activists, was being held incommunicado, while other campaigners said the detainees were without any access to lawyers and their whereabouts were unknown. Saudi government officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Without naming those detained, authorities have accused them of "suspicious contact with foreign parties", providing financial support to enemies and attempting to undermine the kingdom's "security and stability". Story continues State-backed media branded them traitors and "agents of embassies". - 'No country for bold women' - The crackdown has cast a shadow on the kingdom's much-publicised liberalisation drive launched by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who recently undertook a global tour aimed at reshaping his kingdom's austere image. The self-styled reformer has sought to break with long-held restrictions on women and the mixing of the genders, with the decades-old driving ban on women slated to end June 24. "It is clear that underneath all the PR hype and spin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reforms exclude human rights activism," Hadid said. "We continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all activists still being detained solely for their human rights work." In a scathing statement, the New Yorkbased Committee to Protect Journalists demanded the release of detainee Eman al-Nafjan, a linguistics professor and mother-of-three who ran the popular "Saudiwoman" blog. "Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman recently toured the West to project the image of a modernist and reformer," CPJ deputy executive director Robert Mahoney said in the statement. "But the moment he's back home Saudi authorities revert to old habits -- stifling dissent and detaining critical journalists. Writing about the place of women in Saudi society is not a crime." Those arrested had campaigned for the lifting of the driving ban and also against the guardianship system requiring women to obtain permission from their fathers, brothers, husbands or sons for a host of life decisions. "The kingdom's small community of liberal activists is reeling and struggling to make sense of the events," the Washington-based Project on Middle East Democracy said in a report titled "Saudi Arabia: No country for bold women". "The arrest of so many well-known figures seems an ominous sign that the government is determined to wipe out what remains of Saudi civil society." Paul Allen is campaigning for a Washington ballot initiative to restrict sales of semiautomatic rifles and has donated $1 million to the cause. (AP) Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder who owns the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers, announced on Monday that he is contributing $1 million to support Washingtons Initiative 1639 for gun safety reform. My statement on a gun safety initiative in my home state of Washington: Initiative 1639 is a reasonable and necessary measure that will improve the safety of our schools and our communities, which is why I have contributed a million dollars to the campaign. 1/2 Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) May 21, 2018 For more information, go here. https://t.co/X9Q8gaVbFy Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) May 21, 2018 What is Initiative 1639? Initiative 1639 is a ballot proposal developed by the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, whose stated goal is to end gun violence in Washington. The intent of the initiative is to raise the minimum age to buy semiautomatic rifles and strengthen background check requirements. Per the Alliance for Gun Responsibility: The proposed initiative will address many of the root causes of recent tragedies by raising the age to purchase semiautomatic rifles to 21; creating an enhanced background check system similar to what is required for handguns; requiring completion of a firearm safety training course; and creating standards for secure storage to prevent guns from falling into dangerous hands. The initiatives web site cites some of the multitude of recent U.S. mass shootings, including Sandy Hook Elementary, Las Vegas, Pulse Night Club, Aurora, Colorado and Parkland, Florida as motivation to change the states laws around semiautomatic rifles. The campaign is in the signature-gathering stage with a goal of being put on the November ballot. Allen donated $500,000 to a successful 2014 campaign to expand background checks on gun sales in Washington. More from Yahoo Sports: Favres stunning admission about his addiction battle Serena ran the beer pong table at the royal wedding Currys mom: Son needs to wash mouth out with soap NBA draft prospect: Earth is definitely an illusion This female pilot is using Twitter to call out two sexist passengers. A British aviator who is known online as Charlotte The Pilot hit back at two male passengers whod insulted women pilots on a recent flight: Had such a lovely day flying with an crew. Baffled as to why 2 male pax felt that these comments were nescesarry. I wont make any jokes about female drivers then Are you the pilot? If Id know that I wouldnt have got on Fact is, I can fly an 80m jet, you cant. Charlotte (@pilotcharlotte) May 20, 2018 Baffled as to why 2 male pax felt that these comments were necessary, Charlotte Knowlson wrote, before sharing their sexist remarks about women flying aircraft. Are you the pilot? If Id know (sic) I wouldnt have got on, she writes in a tweet, attributing the quote to one of the passengers. Fact is, she responds. I can fly an 80m jet, you cant. In subsequent tweets, Knowlson revealed her initial response was to be professional, laugh and ask them if they were enjoying the flight. She rethought her stance, however, after a flight attendant expressed her anger. The kind of attitude exhibited by those passengers puts women off pursuing careers in male-dominated industries, she said. Knowlson added that she didnt get where I am today by listening to these kinds of comments. Im not offended, Im not disheartened, she wrote. Im saddened by the fact that this is the attitude some still have and think it is ok to make these comments to women. Check out the full tweet thread here: Being used to this kind of humour, my reaction of course was to be professional, laugh and ask them if they were enjoying the flight. It wasn't unit later when a cabin crew member expressed her anger at the comment that it made me think. Why is this normal? Charlotte (@pilotcharlotte) May 20, 2018 It is this attitude that puts women off and another barrier stopping them from going into male dominated careers. It shouldnt even be a thing!!! I am a pilot he is a pilot. See, there is no difference ..... #pilot Charlotte (@pilotcharlotte) May 20, 2018 I didnt get where I am today by listening to these kinds of comments. Im not offended, Im not disheartened. Im saddened by the fact that this is the attitude some still have and think it is ok to make these comments to women. Charlotte (@pilotcharlotte) May 20, 2018 Knowlson did not say which airline she is affiliated with. She did not immediately return HuffPosts request for comment. Story continues But her tweets about sexism in the industry touched a nerve with her 12,500 Twitter followers. It prompted others to share their own inspirational stories on the social media platform: My BADASS daughter flies this for her weekend job & FW for her day job. VERY proud. I just passed the 30 year mark & still flying so shes got a ways to catch dad! pic.twitter.com/3RvQrky9Lp Kurtis Houk (@KurtisHouk) May 20, 2018 Charlotte tweeted this a couple of days ago. I totally agree with her sentiments. Some of the best and most talented pilots I have ever flown with are women. These outdated views and stereotypes only make the person saying them look bad. Dont let them bother you Charlotte. https://t.co/hErWvOXtCC Captain Dave (@DaveWallsworth) May 21, 2018 My wifes a pilot, every time she flies she gets a well done dear or similar from holidaymakers. None of the troops she flew into Bastion or Kandahar felt the need to patronise her. Dan (@DanoDXB) May 20, 2018 @pilotcharlotte hey Charlotte. Would be proud to have you as my pilot anytime im on a plane. #noteveryoneislikethem casual sexism is not ok. Daniel Buscini (@buscini) May 22, 2018 At 14, my eldest daughter could fly better loops than me. She went on to six years operational flying as a Tornado F3 WSO. Here's a couple of pics. Low level in Scotland, refuelling down in the Falklands. pic.twitter.com/41oh6cigMi James Smith (@c_mperman) May 20, 2018 As a longtime private pilot (who has had several female flight instructors), I'm always glad when I hear a woman's voice saying, "Good afternoon, this is your captain.." Keep it up, and set an example for many more! James Fallows (@JamesFallows) May 20, 2018 I was on an @AirCanada flight not long ago and when I heard the First Officers female voice my heart soared. You dont just make jets fly, you make dreams airborne too. Ruth Mitchell (@drruthmitchell) May 20, 2018 Well, if they don't like women pilots they're free to get off & walk. chiller (@chiller) May 20, 2018 Related Coverage Cycling Magazine Admits Its Sexist Photo Caption Was Totally 'Idiotic' Rapper Interrupts His Own Show To Teach Sexist Fan A Valuable Lesson U.K. Reality TV Contestant Fiercely Shuts Down Co-Stars' Sexist Comments Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Madrid (AFP) - Spanish judges and prosecutors stopped work Tuesday in an unprecedented strike to call for greater judicial independence and better working conditions. Seven associations of judges and prosecutors said in a joint statement they had called the strike to show their "deep discomfort" with the "neglect and abandonment" of the justice system. Around half of Spain's prosecutors and judges took part in the strike, their first joint action, according to organisers. Judges carried out smaller solo strikes in 2013 and 2009. "In Spain people have the impression that the judiciary is not as independent as it should be," Ignacio Gonzalez Vega, the spokesman for Judges for Democracy, told reporters. In recent years the judiciary has been at the heart of Spanish political debates, especially regarding Catalonia's separatist push. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government has gone to court to challenge laws passed by separatist leaders in the northeastern region that it deems unconstitutional. The courts have also blocked attempts by Catalonia's ousted president, Carles Puigdemont, to be re-elected president of the region. Puigdemont is in Germany facing extradition to Spain for "rebellion" over his role in Catalonia's separatist push. He is one of nine separatist leaders charged with "rebellion" over their role in Catalonia's separatist push and who were placed in pre-trial detention by Spain's Supreme Court Catalan separatists have accused the judiciary of doing the bidding of Spanish authorities. The main association behind Tuesday's strike -- which did not specifically mention Catalonia -- called for more investment and staff for the justice system. Prosecutors have "huge workloads", said the spokeswoman for the Association of Prosecutors, Montserrat Garcia, adding Spain unfortunately lacked "a justice of quality". Story continues Justice Minister Rafael Catala said he did not "disagree in principle" with the protesters' demands. He stressed that some measures were already adopted in the government's draft budget for 2018. If the spending plan is approved, Catala has promised to hire 300 judges and prosecutors, and dedicate 130 million euros ($152 million) to improve the judiciary's computer systems. Tensions between Catala and magistrates increased in April after he questioned the competence of a judge who had ruled against convicting five young men accused of gang raping an 18-year-old woman in a high-profile case in Pamplona. Judges' associations demanded his resignation, calling his comments made during a radio interview "interference". Washington Examiner Former President Donald Trump may not be the person who was "pulling the strings" behind a plan hinged on replacing the top Justice Department official with a loyalist willing to carry out a more aggressive strategy to challenge the results of the 2020 election, a Democratic Senate investigator admitted on Sunday. For students across the country, dying in a school shooting is not theoretical. This year alone there have been 22 school shootings where a person was hurt or killed, according to CNN. Following the attack at Santa Fe High School in Texas last week, student Paige Curry told ABC13: "It's been happening everywhere. I've always kind of felt like that eventually it was going to happen here too." The shooting which happened just after the three-month mark of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, FL left 10 people dead. This weekend, teenagers began using the hashtag #IfIDieInASchoolShooting to send a message. They listed milestones they will miss if they're killed in an attack, the desire for their deaths to be politicized, and words of comfort for their loved ones. Andrew Schneidawind, an 18-year-old college sophomore, created the hashtag. "I'm gonna try and get a hashtag trending called # IfIdieInASchoolShooting. If you wanna join, feel free," he wrote. " # IfIdieInASchoolShooting, I will never be able to finish my animated TV series, I'll never be able to see my sister again, and I will have to become a martyr." For Lane Murdock, the 16-year-old student behind last month's National School Walkout, #IfIDieInASchoolShooting speaks to how teenagers are thinking of their own mortality in the wake of Parkland, Santa Fe, and so many other school shootings. "The hashtag for me is a really important way to visualize the mental state of America's youth," she told Refinery29. "We constantly wonder if we will be next. We live in fear, we plan our escape routes. We question our legacies. It's not healthy. The hashtags represents that." Ahead, 15 of the most powerful tweets written by students. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? Lawyer Sort-Of Apologizes For Harassing Latinas At Manhattan Restaurant Stacey Abrams Wants To Be The First Black Woman Governor Angela Bassett Becomes Dr. Angela Bassett After Yale Gives Her An Honorary Degree Employers who stiff their workers or discriminate against them just got a big lift from the Supreme Court, which issued a major ruling Monday making it easier for companies to avoid employee lawsuits. The 5-4 ruling upheld employers use of class-action waivers in arbitration agreements. By signing these controversial provisions, workers give up their right to band together and sue in court for back pay or damages, and are instead forced to take their disputes to arbitrators individually. Arbitration agreements have become a common way for employers to stifle lawsuits that could lead to large plaintiff classes and big payouts. Workers backed by employee groups and labor unions challenged their employers use of these agreements, claiming they ran afoul of the National Labor Relations Act, or NLRA, which guarantees workers the right to join forces in mutual aid and protection. The employer-friendly conservative majority on the court decided against the workers. They ruled that collective bargaining law does not supersede federal law that established the arbitration process, therefore making the class-action waivers in employment contracts legitimate. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion for the conservative majority, saying Congress did not write the NLRA to displace federal arbitration law. 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. The high court has previously ruled that companies can force consumers into arbitration agreements with class-action waivers, which are tucked into the fine print when you buy a plane ticket or sign up for a cell phone. The latest ruling effectively sanctions the use of these waivers in the workplace, a practice that has grown increasingly common over the last two decades. The Supreme Court ruling will have long-lasting implications for workers. Class-action lawsuits are often the most powerful way for employees to secure back pay when their minimum wage or overtime rights have been violated or to secure damages when their bosses run afoul of discrimination laws. Story continues Its harder to pursue these cases as a single worker than as part of a group, which is why employers prefer arbitration. Lawyers can be reluctant to file individual complaints in which the judgments or settlements will be small and not worth their time. Many workers are also hesitant to file their lawsuits as individuals, fearing their employers will ostracize or retaliate against them. In a strong dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called the decision of the majority egregiously wrong. She argued that the rights under the NLRA include the right to pursue litigation collectively, and that an employer-dictated waiver would violate it. Employees rights to band together to meet their employers superior strength would be worth precious little if employers could condition employment on workers signing away those rights, Ginsburg wrote. During oral arguments last year, Justice Stephen Breyer said the case could undermine the entire heart of the New Deal by weakening collective action by workers. According to a report last year from the Economic Policy Institute, an estimated 25 million workers just under one-quarter of non-union employees in the private sector give up their right to join class-action lawsuits as a condition of employment. The report anticipated that waivers would become an even more widespread practice in the event the Supreme Court sanctioned them. The Supreme Court case, National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., consolidated three separate cases involving different employers: the software company Epic Systems, the accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young, and the oil company and gas station chain Murphy Oil. A former Murphy Oil employee, Sheila Hobson, claimed that when she worked at one of the companys retail stores, she and her colleagues were required to do off-the-clock work they werent compensated for. They got together to sue the company for back pay. But when they consulted a lawyer, they learned they couldnt take Murphy Oil to court as a group because they had already agreed to arbitration when they accepted their jobs. The National Labor Relations Board, the independent agency that enforces collective bargaining law, argued that the forced arbitration clause interfered with Hobsons right to join together with other employees to improve their working conditions. The Obama White House agreed, filing a brief with the Supreme Court in support of Hobson. But that was under former President Barack Obama. After President Donald Trump was inaugurated, his administration took the extremely rare step of reversing a previous administrations position on a sitting case before the court. Last June, Trumps acting solicitor general filed a new brief in support of the employers in the case. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Sweden has not gone to war with another country for over two centuries, but that hasnt stopped the government from reissuing an emergency manual from World War II that advises citizens on how best to cope with hypothetical hostilities. The newly updated 20-page pamphlet, entitled Om krisen eller kriget kommer (If crisis or war comes), offers strategies for handling everything from cyber attacks and terrorism to climate change, food shortages and fake news. What would you do if your everyday life was turned upside down? the English language version of the manual begins. Since supplies could run low during a crisis, the leaflet provides checklists of what to stock up on, including mineral water, wet wipes and tinned hummus. It also offers tips on where to find bomb shelters, what to do without access to ATMs, cellphones or the internet, and how to spot propaganda. Very interesting. #Sweden has sent a pamphlet with instructions on how to "be prepared for war" to 4.8million homes. Random quote: "If Sweden is attacked ... we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false." https://t.co/9S5N0OFk2O pic.twitter.com/nK8Q4VWvN5 Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan) May 21, 2018 Although Sweden is safer than many other countries, there are still threats to our security and independence, the brochure says. If you are prepared, you are contributing to improving the ability of the country as a whole to cope with a major strain. The illustrated instructions went online Monday and are being sent to all 4.8 million households in the country in the first such public awareness campaign since 1961. The handbook was last updated for government officials use during the Cold War, according to the Guardian. Story continues The newly minted pamphlets do not specify an attacker, but their release comes amid escalating security concerns following Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014. Sweden has accused Moscow of repeatedly infringing on its airspace and territorial waters claims the Kremlin dismisses as Russiaphobia. Sweden began increasing its military spending in 2016, reversing years of cuts. It also reinstated the military draft last year, citing Russian assertiveness as one of the justifications, and is considering joining NATO. In the event of a heightened state of alert, the pamphlet emphasizes the expectation that everyone can be marshaled for Swedens total defense. If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up, the publication reads. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false. For the first time in half a century, Sweden's government has sent its 4.8 million households a public information leaflet detailing what to do in the event of war, with advice on the threat from cyberattacks, terrorists, and fake news. Om krisen eller kriget kommer (If Crisis Or War Comes) explains what foods are best to stockpile in the event of a breakdown of the country's infrastructure, how to secure access to government communications and how to ensure warmth and a supply of water. It says that citizens between 16 and 70 have a duty to contribute to total defense in the event of a crisis, and may be asked to assist in various ways. Trending: Watch: Man Claims Encounter with Sacramento Police Officer Was Harassment GettyImages-846905552 Getty Images Although Sweden is safer than many other countries, there are still threats to our security and independence, the brochure says. If you are prepared, you are contributing to improving the ability of the country to cope with a major strain. Produced by the Swedish civil contingencies agency, it includes a page of information on spotting fake news and disinformation, noting states and organisations are already trying to influence our values and how we act and reduce our resilience and willingness to defend ourselves. Don't miss: London From the Air: Stunning New Images by Renowned Aerial Photographer Jason Hawkes It is the first time since 1991 that such booklets have been produced in Sweden, when they were distributed to government officials. Similar leaflets were first sent out in 1943, while World War II raged and Sweden remained neutral, and last distributed to households in 1961, during the Cold War. The new booklet details potential threats to information technology through cyberattacks, global crises caused by climate change, and the threat of terrorism. Story continues The warning comes amid provocative displays of military strength by Russia, with military aircraft and submarines encroaching in Swedish territory. Sweden's intelligence chief warned in 2016 of Kremlin efforts to destabilize the country. Most popular: U.S. Military Sends War Ship to Japan Ahead of Trump's North Korea Summit In recent years there has been renewed discussion in Sweden about joining the NATO alliance, and the country has reversed military spending cuts, conducting its largest military exercises in more than two decades in September. The brochure advises citizens to remain steadfast in the event of a national crisis. "If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false," the brochure insists. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek European officials will work with Iran and its allies to maintain as many aspects of the Iran nuclear deal as possible, even without the support of the U.S., a top European Union official said following a meeting with Iranian officials over the weekend. We have to preserve this agreement so we dont have to negotiate a new agreement, Miguel Arias Canete, the European Union commissioner for climate action and energy, told journalists after holding several days of meetings with officials in Iran. Our message is very clear: This is a nuclear agreement that works. On May 8, President Donald Trump decided to end the U.S.'s participation in the Iran nuclear deal, which was signed in 2015 by the administration of former President Barack Obama. Many European officials have since said that the European Union is prepared to uphold their end of the deal despite Trumps decision to abandon it. Trending: Man Falls To His Death Inside Terminal At San Francisco International Airport Nevertheless, the U.S. has said that it plans to impose secondary sanctions on any European companies or banks that continue to do business with Iran. For many companies, the prospect of losing all access to U.S. markets is a daunting one. The French energy giant Total announced last week that it would pull out of a gas deal it signed with Iran and begin winding down its current operations in the country if it did not receive a waiver from the U.S. allowing it to go ahead with the projects. Total had planned to invest at least $1 billion in Irans South Pars gas field. Similarly, Danish and German companies announced that they would begin winding down their business with Iran. Don't miss: Will Barack Obama Prove More Popular Than Donald Trump on TV? We May Never Know In response, Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the support of European officials would be insufficient without the United States, and implied that Europe was not doing enough to preserve the deals benefits for Iran. Iran has been lobbying for the EU to make direct deposits into Irans Central Bank to pay for Iranian oil, Canete said. It is unclear how much benefit such deals would provide if European companies refused to do business with the country. Story continues Russia and China have signaled that they planned to uphold their end of the agreement. But on Monday, newly appointed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized Iran and pledged that the U.S. would impose even stricter sanctions on Iran than before. "This is just the beginning. The sting of sanctions will be painful," Pompeo said during the speech at the conservative D.C.-based think tank Heritage Foundation. "These will be the strongest sanctions in history when complete... Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Angus McDowall BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army has restored control over all areas surrounding the capital Damascus for the first time since early in the seven-year-old war, after pushing Islamic State militants out of a south Damascus pocket, the military said. 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 neighboring 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. (Reporting by Angus McDowall and Lisa Barrington, Editing by Richard Balmforth, Peter Graff, William Maclean) BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha reiterated on Tuesday that a general election will take place in "early 2019 and no sooner" as hundreds of protesters gathered in Bangkok to demand that a vote be held in November. Protesters hoping to march to the prime minister's offices, Government House, set off from Thammasat University early in the day but were blocked by rows of police in black uniforms. The rare protest is also marking four years since Prayuth, then army chief, overthrew an elected government in a May 22, 2014, coup. The military government initially promised to hold a general election in 2015 but has pushed back the date several times. (Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel) Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reportedly ordered his department to outline the case for naming Russia a state sponsor of terrorism in March, after a former Russian spy and double agent was poisoned in the United Kingdom. The departments Bureau of Counter-terrorism went ahead with Tillersons order, but roughly two days afterward the research was halted by Tillersons office, according to a Pro Publica report on Monday citing unnamed department officials. There are a lot of issues that we have to work on together with Russia, a U.S. official told Pro Publica. Designating them would interfere with our ability to do that. Trending: U.S. Coalition: If Iraq Asks Us to Leave, Our Leaders Must Make 'Right Decision' Officials told ProPublica that labeling Russia a state sponsor of terror would interfere with the U.S.s efforts to combat terrorism in tandem with Moscow. Trump fired Tillerson on March 13 after a long period of tension. Trump has taken a softer approach to Russia compared to previous administrations. Unproven speculation has claimed the president has done so due to Putin or his allies possessing damning information on Trump. To date, no such information or reports have surfaced proving Putin has any such dirt on Trump. But Trump has stated publicly that he hoped to build a better relationship between the U.S. and Russia, specifically mentioning terrorism and the ongoing war in Syria. Don't miss: Michael Avenatti Says Law Firm's Bankruptcy is 'Irrelevant,' Not Related to Stormy Daniels Case GettyImages-931515210 Getty Images/Alex Wong Placing Russia on the U.S.s state sponsors of terrorism list would not only endanger relations between the two superpowers but also throw Russia into a group of highly suspect nations. To date, Syria, Sudan, Iran and North Korea are the only countries on the list. North Korea was the last added to the list in November. Story continues While the designation was not made, the Trump administration did join the United Kingdom, France and Germany in condemning Russia for the attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England on March 4. Trump himself called it a very sad situation and it looks like the Russians were behind it. The U.K. determined Russia attacked Skripal with a nerve agent that only could have come from the Kremlin. The 66-year-old Skripal was released from the hospital last week. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek The president has become famed for firing off rambling, inflammatory tweets to his 52 million followers in the early hours which include misspellings, typos and other linguistic errors: Getty Donald Trumps aides reportedly insert grammatical errors into the US presidents tweets in an attempt to mirror his tweeting style. The president has become famed for firing off rambling, inflammatory tweets which include misspellings, typos and other linguistic errors to his 52 million followers in the early hours. But two White House staffers have told The Boston Globe that aides are penning tweets which are indistinguishable from those written by the president himself. The staffers are believed to deliberately adopt symbols of Mr Trumps tweeting such as words which are capitalised for emphasis and fragmented sentences. However, they are not thought to intentionally misspell words or names. While it was long assumed Mr Trump's ostensibly impromptu tweets must be his own handiwork, it is now generally known the mogul-turned-politico does not write all his own tweets. According to the publication, when Mr Trump is not tweeting about a topic himself, aides will provide him with several sample tweets they could send from his account and he will select one and occasionally make edits. The staffers said that if there are photos attached to a tweet or hashtags it was fair to assume it had been tweeted by an aide on behalf of Mr Trump. The president was mocked on Twitter on Saturday after he misspelt his wife Melania Trumps name when welcoming her home from hospital. The First Lady returned to the White House on Saturday from being in hospital for a week after treatment for a kidney condition. Great to have our incredible First Lady back home in the White House, Mr Trump wrote. Melanie is feeling and doing really well. Thank you for all of your prayers and best wishes! The tweet was quickly superseded with another message which spelt the former models name correctly. The world leaders tweets which include misspelled words are usually deleted and replaced with an amended message. Other typos penned by Mr Trump on Twitter include "covfefe" which received worldwide coverage misspelling Barrack Obama's name and numerous other misspellings such as rediculous and politicons. The White House has also issued error-prone news releases. But ironically, during his campaign for president, Mr Trump bragged that he has the best words. Getty 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. 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 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. Story continues 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. 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 By Noah Barkin BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Angela Merkel faces a delicate diplomatic balancing act when she travels to China this week on a visit clouded by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade threats and his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. Germany and China, two exporting nations that run large trade surpluses with the United States, have found themselves in Trump's firing line and are scrambling to preserve the rules-based multilateral order on which their prosperity rests. But while Merkel's hosts may be keen to send a message of total Chinese-German solidarity in Washington's direction, she will want to avoid the appearance of siding too openly with Beijing in a confrontation with Berlin's longtime ally. In reality, Merkel's government shares many of the Trump administration's concerns about Chinese business practices. And so, she will be striving to send a dual message, combining a strong defence of multilateralism with a critical push for Beijing to play fair on trade and investment. "Trump's policies have turned this fairly routine visit to mark the start of the new German government into one of special importance," said Sebastian Heilmann, director of MERICS, a Berlin-based think tank on China. A German diplomat described the trip as a "high-wire act" for the chancellor, who travelled to Washington last month to lobby Trump to stay in the Iran nuclear deal, only to see him withdraw days later and threaten sanctions against European firms that continue to respect it. The trip will be Merkel's eleventh to China since becoming chancellor in 2005. Accompanied by an industry delegation of roughly 20 German executives, she will hold a news conference with Chinese premier Li Keqiang on Thursday before attending a dinner hosted by President Xi Jinping. On Friday, she will travel to Shenzhen for talks with local Chinese officials, before attending the opening of an "innovation hub" hosted by the German chamber of commerce and industry, visiting a Siemens plant and a Chinese start-up. Story continues HEDGE AGAINST TRUMP In Germany, there is growing concern about the role of the Chinese state in the economy under Xi, from a new cyber security law, to the influence of Chinese communist party officials in joint ventures and the "Made in China 2025" initiative which some see as a threat to German manufacturing dominance. Still, with German companies continuing to do a booming business in China, Merkel's government faces internal pressure not to adopt a confrontational stance, as Trump has done by threatening China with billions of dollars in trade tariffs. "Despite the troubles, business is very good for German companies in China," said Hubert Lienhard, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business. "A lot of companies make a significant portion of their revenues there. China is a market that we really need." Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin, said the German government's preference would be to work with the U.S. administration to wring concessions from Beijing on trade and investment. But because a common approach appears impossible under Trump, he said Germany felt a need to "hedge against the worst excesses" of the American president. On a range of important global issues, from climate change and free trade to the Iran deal, Berlin now has more in common with Beijing than it does with Washington. "At a time when the Trump administration does not appear interested in the transatlantic partnership, Europe must look after its own interests," said Michael Schaefer, a former German ambassador to China who is chairman of the BMW Foundation. "Part of this is finding partners that it can work with to defend these interests. China can play a significant role here in a lot of areas." (Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke; Editing by Richard Balmforth) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday urged China on Monday to maintain a secure border with North Korea, pressing Beijing ahead of his anticipated meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month aimed at denuclearization. "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. He did not elaborate on the significance of the North Korea-China border issue in any deal that might be reached on denuclearization. Trump has said his meeting with Kim will take place on June 12 in Singapore. China is North Korea's most important trading partner and it has consistently said it is fully enforcing U.N. sanctions against the North. Speaking in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China had always fulfilled its international obligations, but that as friendly neighbors they, of course, had what he termed normal trading ties. "There is absolutely no inevitable contradiction between these two," Lu told reporters. North Korea last week threatened to scrap the summit with Trump if Washington continued to press for unilateral denuclearization. In response, Trump said that as far as he knew, the meeting was still on track and sought to placate Kim by saying the North Korean leader would be protected as part of any deal. Last week, Trump told reporters at the White House that the Kim was possibly being influenced by China after two recent visits he made there. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Frances Kerry) More than 100 former Turkish military officers have been given life sentences for their involvement in an attempted 2016 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the BBC reports. The failed coup was the most serious attempt to overthrow President Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey since 2003. The 104 defendants received aggravated life sentences, which is one of the harshest penalties given since the coup attempt, Reuters reports. Of 280 people on trial, the court also handed down lesser penalties to 52 other defendants charged with assisting the assassination of the president and membership of a terrorist organization, according to Turkish state media. Erdogan has previously proposed reintroducing the death penalty, which Turkey scrapped in 2004, for coup conspirators, according to the BBC. On the night of July 15, 2016, military officials in Turkey announced that they have taken over the country, as soldiers stormed intelligence facilities and raided the holiday resort where Erdogan was staying. But the president escaped, making an appeal on FaceTime to his supporters to take to the streets. Many complied, and clashes between pro-Erdogan demonstrators and soldiers left at least 260 dead and 2,200 injured. In the aftermath of the coup, Erdogan blamed Fethullah Gulen, an influential Turkish cleric living in exile in the U.S. Erdogan has accused Gulens followers of infiltrating Turkish institutions in an effort to sabotage the state. Erdogan also launched a sweeping purge of state employees, sacking more than 150,000 people including police officers, civil servants and teachers. Some 50,000 people have been arrested, including dozens of journalists and more than 100 media outlets have been shuttered. The following year, Erdogan consolidated his authority with a controversial constitutional referendum that endowed Turkeys president with extensive new powers. Critics called the vote a step towards dictatorship. Twitter bots may have altered the outcome of two of the worlds most consequential elections in recent years, according to an economic study. Automated tweeting played a small but potentially decisive role in the 2016 Brexit vote and Donald Trumps presidential victory, the National Bureau of Economic Research working paper showed this month. Their rough calculations suggest bots added 1.76 percentage point to the pro-leave vote share as Britain weighed whether to remain in the European Union, and may explain 3.23 percentage points of the actual vote for Trump in the U.S. presidential race. Our results suggest that, given narrow margins of victories in each vote, bots effect was likely marginal but possibly large enough to affect the outcomes, according to authors Yuriy Gorodnichenko from the University of California at Berkeley and Tho Pham and Oleksandr Talavera from Swansea University in the U.K. The research comes as members of the U.S. intelligence community allege that Russian hackers tried to sway the 2016 presidential election in Trumps favor in part by deploying Twitter bots, which are programs that control a Twitter account. The president frequently denies that he or members of his team colluded with the hackers, and says he won because he ran a smarter campaign than his Democratic rival. Spread Quickly According to the study, bots tended to influence people most when their message backed up their prior opinion. For instance, Trump supporters tended to react to messages spread by pro-Trump bots. And information reverberated quickly: it was generally disseminated and absorbed among Twitter users in 50 to 70 minutes. The researchers collected data for the study using the Twitter streaming application programming interface, a tool that allows users to collect a random sample of real-time tweets with specified characteristics. The authors identified bots by their unusually large number of tweets, whether they tweeted the middle of the night, and whether they re-posted identical messages, among other criteria. To figure out how tweeting influenced votes, the study authors looked at the share of pro-leave or pro-Trump tweets by geography to check how closely votes were correlated with Twitter activity. They then figured out how much the accounts they defined as bots added to the volume of tweets advocating Brexit or Trump, and extrapolated from there. These two campaigns and subsequent debates about the role of bots in shaping the campaigns raise a number of questions about whether policymakers should consider mechanisms to prevent abuse of bots in the future, they wrote. Americas Next Top Model creator Tyra Banks is famous for her smize. But at Sunday nights 2018 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Banks met a group of stars who made her rethink her belief in the supremacy of her favorite facial expression. Meeting BTS is Better Than Smizing, she captioned an Instagram video. In the video, the world-famous K-pop boy band joins Banks in striking poses full of personality. Clearly, theyre no strangers to hamming it up for the camera. At Sunday nights show, the popular group of seven who are known for their singing, rapping and dancing, besides living up to Bankss standards in posing took home the award for Top Social Artist (for the second year in a row). They also took to the stage to perform their new single Fake Love off of just-released album Love Yourself: Tear, making history as the first K-pop act to perform at the BBMAs. Throughout the evening, the BTS fans in the audience and online went wild for the group, who have developed a loyal following that calls itself the Army and has propelled them to global superstar status. Banks, meanwhile, was living it up at the show, hanging out with BTS, Lil Hank Williams (real name: Mason Ramsey) and more, and generally enjoying being a part of the audience on the night that Janet Jackson won a historic Icon Award and Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato joined together for a duet. The White House has released a commemorative coin featuring the likeness of President Donald Trump and North Korea supreme leader Kim Jong Un, ahead of their landmark meeting next month in Singapore. The White House Communications Agency launched the "trip coin" Monday, according to NBC News' Peter Alexander, who shared images of its front and back on Twitter. The front side shows busts of "President Donald J. Trump" and "Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un" in front of their respective national flags and the words "peace talks." On the reverse side, the White House and Air Force One are seen between the lines "Visit of the President" and "Donald J. Trump." The meeting, scheduled for June 12 in Singapore will be the first ever between a sitting U.S. president and North Korean supreme leader. Trending: 'Mayor Libby Schaaf Act': New Proposal Seeks To Imprison Officials Who Warn Of ICE Raids The White House has released coins in the past, including one for Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia. The latest one comes amid a rare detente between North Korea and U.S.-backed South Korea, but the fragile dialogue between the longtime rivals has been apparently suspended as South Korea pursued air drills with the U.S. North Korea also threatened to cancel the summit with Trump, but U.S. officials cited Friday by The Wall Street Journal indicated that the U.S. agreed not to send nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the joint exercise with South Korea because Pyongyang considers them provocative. Don't miss: Trump Posed in Photo With Pedophile George Nader for $189,000 RNC Donation: Report Related: North Korea Says U.S. 'Has Not Given Up' Plans to Rule World With Military Budget Targeting Russia and China Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has twice visited Kim already and the Trump administration has expressed confidence that North Korea will agree to denuclearize in exchange for peace, but the terms of such an arrangement have not been made clear by either side. North Korea deems its nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles to be vital for deterring a potential U.S. invasion. Story continues North Korea has rejected a so-called "Libya model" championed by national security adviser John Bolton. Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi forfeited his nuclear program in 2003, the same year the U.S. invaded Iraq, in exchange for better relations with the West. In 2011, he was overthrown and killed by a NATO-backed rebellion. His "miserable fate," along with that of late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, was referenced in a strongly worded statement Tuesday by North Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan. Most popular: Kendrick Lamar Accused of Setting up White Woman to Sing N-word Onstage for Publicity Stunt "If the Trump administration takes an approach to the DPRK-U.S. summit with sincerity for improved DPRK-U.S. relations, it will receive a deserved response from us," the statement read, according to the official Korean Central News Agency, using an acronym for North Korea's full title: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "However, if the U.S. is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue and cannot but reconsider our proceeding to the DPRK-U.S. summit," it added. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Jeff Mason and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated a plan to fine ZTE Corp <000063.SZ> <0763.HK> and shake up its management as his administration considered rolling back more severe penalties that have crippled the Chinese telecommunications company. Trump's proposal ran into immediate resistance in Congress, where Republicans and Democrats accused the president of bending to pressure from Beijing to ease up on a company that has admitted to violating sanctions on Iran. Their reaction could complicate Trump's efforts to win concessions from China that would narrow a $335 billion annual trade gap. Speaking at the White House, Trump said U.S. technology companies have been hurt by an April Commerce Department decision that prohibits them from selling components to China's second-largest telecommunications equipment maker. ZTE shut down most of its production after the ruling was announced. "They can pay a big price without necessarily damaging all of these American companies," Trump said. Trump said ZTE may instead face a fine of up to $1.3 billion, new management and a new board of directors, though it was not clear whether he had the legal authority to impose new financial penalties. That drew a quick response from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Some 26 senators, including the chamber's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, and No. 2 Republican, John Cornyn, urged the administration in a letter to keep penalties in place for "serial and pre-meditated violators of U.S. law, such as ZTE." The Senate Banking Committee also voted 23-2 to make it harder for the president to modify penalties on Chinese telecommunications firms, drawing the support of liberal Democrats like Chris Van Hollen and conservative Republicans like Tom Cotton. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is weighing a proposal that would block the sale of ZTE products and those of another Chinese company, Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], until national security officials certify they are safe. It would be added to a defense-policy bill that Congress typically passes each year. Congress last year passed a law that required the administration to impose new sanctions on Russia, though similar action this year could be more difficult as the November elections draw near. According to sources familiar with the discussions, a proposed trade deal with China would lift a seven-year ban that prevents U.S. chipmakers and other companies from selling components to ZTE, which makes smartphones and telecommunications networking gear. In return, China would eliminate tariffs on U.S. agriculture or agree to buy more farm products from the United States. The U.S. Commerce Department imposed the ban in April after it determined that ZTE had broken an agreement after it pleaded guilty to shipping U.S. goods and technology to Iran. The ban has threatened the viability of ZTE by cutting off access to companies that supply 25 percent to 30 percent of its components. Suppliers include some of the biggest U.S. tech companies, including Alphabet Inc's Google, which licenses its Android operating system to ZTE, and chipmaker Qualcomm Inc . The U.S. Department of Defense has also stopped selling ZTE's mobile phones and modems in stores on its military bases, citing potential security risks. NATIONAL SECURITY U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers that the treatment of ZTE was not "a quid pro quo or anything else" related to trade, and said it would not undermine national security. "I can assure you that whatever changes or decisions that are made in Commerce will deal with the national security issues," Mnuchin told a U.S. Senate appropriations subcommittee. Republican Senator Marco Rubio said he thought China had gotten the upper hand in recent negotiations on trade and North Korea denuclearization. "China knows there are those in the administration that desperately want a deal," he said. One sanctions expert questioned whether Trump has the legal authority to impose new fines on ZTE, which agreed last year to pay $1.19 billion, including $890 million in fines and penalties, and an additional penalty of $300 million that could still be imposed. "It looks like this is going to be a case where they'll have some minor tweaks and declare a victory and move onto the next case," said Washington lawyer Douglas Jacobson, who represents ZTE suppliers. (Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld, Diane Bartz, Amanda Becker, Richard Cowan, Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu and David Lawder in Washington and Michael Martina in Beijing; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Chris Sanders, Paul Simao and Lisa Shumaker) A commemorative coin featuring President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been minted to mark a U.S.-North Korea summit next month, even as the meeting itself has been thrown into question. The coin, which was struck by the White House Communications Agency (WHCA), bears Trump and Kims profiles and opposing U.S. and North Korean flags under the heading Peace Talks, Agence France-Presse reports. The coin also describes Kim Jong Un as Supreme Leader. The opposite face depicts Air Force One flying over the White House and the presidential seal with the title Visit of the President. Less than a month to Trump-Kim summit, White House Communications Agency (WHCA) releases its trip coin. This is #74 of 250 made. pic.twitter.com/UTEJg1GyWv Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) May 21, 2018 The WHCA has minted dozens of souvenir coins as gifts to visiting foreign dignitaries and military veterans, and are for sale in the White House gift shop. Deputy White House spokesperson Raj Shah said in a statement that the administration did not have any input into the design and manufacture of the coin, according to AFP. But this coins release awkwardly followed North Koreas threat last week to cancel the historic talks, scheduled for July 12 in Singapore, saying that the country had no interest in one-sided negotiations to force Pyongyang to relinquish its nuclear weapons. Trump sought to defuse those tensions last week, promising that Kim would remain in power should the talks go ahead. The U.S. Navy sent one of its most advanced warships to Japan in the lead up to a planned summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. The guided missile destroyer USS Milius arrived in Japan on Tuesday, as South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrives in Washington to urge Trump to pursue the diplomatic route with North Korea. Nevertheless, experts said the ship could help protect Japan against a ballistic missile strike from its rogue neighbor, since USS Milius is equipped with missiles designed to shoot down warheads. Over the past month, North and South Korea have discussed ways to avoid conflict in the region and denuclearize the Korean peninsula. North Korea, however, is notoriously unpredictable. South Korea has been advocating for North Korea and the U.S. to enter into diplomatic discussions about Pyongyangs nuclear program, and a meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un has been scheduled for June 12. Trending: Who is Evgeny Freidman? Michael Cohen's 'Taxi King' Business Partner May Be Key to Russia Investigation But Pyongyang has cast doubt on whether it will go through with the talks. In a statement released last week, North Korea suggested that it would call off the talks if Trump insists that the country give up all of its nuclear weapons. If the U.S. is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue and cannot but reconsider our proceeding to the DPRK-U.S. summit, North Korean officials said the statement. Don't miss: U.S. Coalition: If Iraq Asks Us to Leave, Our Leaders Must Make 'Right Decision' Trump, meanwhile, recently warned that North Korea would be decimated if it doesnt strike a deal on its nuclear program. With this in mind, some countries have started preparing for the worst. Story continues Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Russia this week, where a contingency plan will be discussed to prepare for the possibility that the U.S.-North Korea summit falls apart. Experts said Russia could also play an influential role in negotiating with North Korea, since Moscow has repeatedly been accused of helping Pyongyang avoid international sanctions. However, Russia will likely balk at the presence of a U.S. warship in Japan. In late 2017, Russian officials accused Washington of violating international arms control treaties by supplying military equipment, including a missile defense system, to Tokyo. It is unclear how the decision to send the USS Milius to Japan will impact Abes meeting later in the week with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wary of any U.S. military presence in Asia. The ship will be stationed at the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Japan. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Buenos Aires (AFP) - Britain and Argentina hope to rebuild their strained relationship by boosting trade ties, and without raising the sensitive issue of the disputed Falkland Islands, their foreign ministers said Tuesday. "It is true that we are doing a great deal together now and we are building a partnership in security, transport, health and technology," British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told a press conference with his Argentine counterpart Jorge Faurie. But asked about the Falklands, known in the Spanish-speaking world as Las Malvinas and over which the two countries fought a war in 1982, Johnson said "our two positions are well known... "But that does not preclude and should not preclude all what we are doing together now to build a partnership... and in the intensifying commercial relationship." "People do not want to go to war," said Faurie. "The Malvinas is a fundamental bilateral issue, but there are also a whole set of areas in which we are interested in rebuilding trust," he said. These include trade and investment, transport, health, cooperation in the Antarctic, as well as projects on education, human rights and gender equality. The war began when troops dispatched by then Argentine dictator Leopoldo Galtieri occupied the archipelago. A British expeditionary force was sent to the islands and recaptured them. - 'Among the first passengers' - Britain refuses to negotiate the status of the islands, as demanded by Argentina, arguing that the nearly 3,000 people living on the islands voted in a referendum in 2013 to remain part of Britain. Faurie expressed his appreciation for the recent identification, with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross via DNA testing, of Argentine soldiers who had been buried in nameless graves in a cemetery of the southern archipelago. Argentina and Britain are also considering adding an additional flight to the Falklands from some point in South America that will include a stopover in Argentina. Story continues "If and when it happens I certainly hope to be among the first passengers on that flight," said Johnson -- the first British foreign secretary to visit Argentina in 25 years. On Sunday, he laid a wreath at a cenotaph in Buenos Aires in honor of the fallen soldiers in the war. Johnson is in the country to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 and as part of a South American tour that began in Peru and will also take him to Chile. The British government of Prime Minister Theresa May is looking to woo countries outside the European Union with which it can forge closer trade ties after Brexit. A meeting between May and Argentine President Mauricio Macri could take place during a G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November. Washington (AFP) - The United States and China have a tentative deal to save embattled Chinese telecom company ZTE, days after the two nations announced a truce in their trade standoff, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The report sparked an immediate negative reaction on Capitol Hill, where top Republican and Democrat senators denounced it. Details remain to be hammered out, but according to the general outlines of the agreement, Washington would lift a crippling ban on selling US components to the company, which in turn would make major changes in its management, executive board and possibly pay additional fines, according to the report. The company had faced collapse due to the US ban, which resulted from its violations of US sanctions against Iran and North Korea. Washington and Beijing on Saturday called a halt to a spiraling trade dispute sparked by US accusations of unfair trade practices and the alleged theft of US technology, suspending plans to impose tariffs on as much as $150 billion in Chinese imports. In a series of tweets, top Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who chairs a key subcommittee on foreign relations, denounced the move, vowing lawmakers would work on "veto-proof legislation" to stop the deal. "If this is true, then the administration has surrendered to #China on #ZTE," Rubio wrote. "Making changes to their board & a fine won't stop them from spying & stealing from us." Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the proposed arrangement would "do nothing to protect American national or economic security and are simply a diversion from the fact that we have lost." - Mnuchin on the Hill - Schumer said in a statement the White House and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had been duped by China. "President Xi has played President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin." ZTE was fined $1.2 billion in March 2017 but last month it was prohibited from receiving needed US parts after the Commerce Department found the company had lied multiple times and failed to take actions against employees responsible for sanctions violations on Iran and North Korea. Story continues Trump has also faced accusations of quid-pro-quo after pledging to soften sanctions on ZTE just days after AFP reported a Chinese state firm would pour cash into a Trump-tied real estate venture. According to media reports, lawmakers were incensed last week by Trump's offer to rescue the company, which came via Twitter in the midst of the China trade talks. The president angrily denied back-pedaling. And in testimony before the Senate on Tuesday, Mnuchin said the administration's primary goal was safeguarding US interests and denied and quid pro quo. "The objective was not to put ZTE out of business. The objective was to make sure they abide by our sanctions programs," said Mnuchin said. "I can assure you anything that they consider will take into account the very important national security issues and those will be addressed." Mnuchin defended the Trump's trade policy, saying he has been "more aggressive than any previous president ever," and is not looking for "short-term gains" but to "create a level playing field and make sure US technology is protected." The administration's trade actions, together with efforts to reduce business regulation and the recent massive tax cut, already are impacting the economy, Mnuchin said. He said GDP "could surprise on the upside very significantly" this year with growth of three percent or more. Many economists see economic growth this year of close to that level, but expect it to slow in 2019 and beyond. Kyle Mizokami Security, And 3 others you need to know about. Why the Glock 21 and HK45 Are 2 of the Best .45 Caliber Guns on the Planet In reality, the Glock 21 is actually one of the best, and most affordable, .45 ACP pistols on the market. The Glock 21 carries thirteen rounds in a double stack magazine that is wider than the 1911but is not uncomfortable to hold. The use of a polymer frame means that despite carrying up to five more rounds than a typical 1911, the Glock 21 fully loaded weighs nearly half a pound less. The Glock is easier to disassemble and clean than the 1911. The .45 Automatic Colt Pistol round, or .45 ACP as it is commonly known, is fairly controversial. Invented in 1905 by prolific firearms designer John Moses Browning, the .45 ACP was the standard caliber of the Colt M1911 pistol, and remains so to this day. A heavy, subsonic bullet, a typical .45 ACP weighs twice as much as the 9mm Luger round and delivers a third more energy. Today, advances in bullet technology means a 9mm round can deliver as much energy as the .45 ACP. Despite this, the .45 ACP is far from dead, as it has also benefited from increased performance. Today there are more choices of .45 ACP pistols than ever before, as almost all gun manufacturers offer their most modern semi automatic handguns in the big caliber. Here are five of the best .45 ACP pistols today. Wilson Combat Tactical Carry Wilson Combat was started in 1977 by founder Bill Wilson, a watchmaker by training. For those that know the platform, thats an appropriate background for a company building custom 1911 handguns. The 1911s early twentieth-century pedigree involves the precise fitment of many small interlocking parts to produce a reliable, accurate pistol. Recommended: We Went Aboard the Most Powerful Aircraft Carrier Ever Built. Recommended: This Is How China Would Invade Taiwan (And How to Stop It). Recommended: The Story of the F-52 Fighter. The Tactical Carry pistol is one of the very best of a crowded field of 1911 pistols and represents the pinnacle of the design. Like all full-size Government model 1911s, the Tactical Carry has an overall length of 8.7 inches, a five-inch barrel, and weighs 45.2 ounces fully loaded. It also has classic 1911 attributes such as a checkered front strap, beavertail safety and a reduced profile grip safety. The Tactical Carry also has a 3.5 to 4.5 pound trigger pull, fiber optic sights for shooting in low light conditions and a one-inch accuracy guarantee at ranges of twenty-five yards. Story continues Ed Brown Executive Carry One of the few 1911 variants that garnered acceptance from the user community is the Commander type pistol. Named after the Colt Commander, a handgun designed for wear by officers, Commanders feature a shorter, 4.25 inch barrel, a reduction of three quarters of an inch over a standard, full size (also known as Government) model. The Commander variant became popular with with those that wanted a 1911 pistol that was lighter and easier to carry concealed. The Executive Carry is an excellent example of the Commander type. Like all 1911s it features a single stack .45 ACP magazine of up to eight rounds, the same as a Government model. The pistol features a bobtail frame and smoothed edges to reduce the changes of the pistol catching on clothing. The Executive Carry also features a matte stainless steel finish and fiber optic sights. Glock 21 The Glock 21 is about as far from the 1911 as one can get in the field of handguns. An Austrian pistol with a polymer frame and modern internal design, the Glock 21 is simply a scaled up version of the original Glock 17 handgun introduced in 1982. Glocks wereand still arederided as Tupperware guns wherein the use of plastics was in some way a fatal design flaw. In reality, the Glock 21 is actually one of the best, and most affordable, .45 ACP pistols on the market. The Glock 21 carries thirteen rounds in a double stack magazine that is wider than the 1911but is not uncomfortable to hold. The use of a polymer frame means that despite carrying up to five more rounds than a typical 1911, the Glock 21 fully loaded weighs nearly half a pound less. The Glock is easier to disassemble and clean than the 1911. Heckler & Koch HK45 The HK45s development can be traced to the original Heckler & Koch USP pistol. Developed in the 1990s as an entry in Special Operations Commands Offensive Handgun Weapon System Program, the USP was adopted by U.S. commandos as the Mark 23 pistol. The HK45 is an evolutionary step forward from the USP, chambered in .45 ACP. The HK45 is 8.03 inches long, has a barrel length of 4.46 inches, and weighs just under two pounds with an unloaded magazine. The pistol features a cold hammer forged, polygonal bore barrel for longevity and accuracy, fully ambidextrous controls, and Picatinny rail for the attachment of aiming lights and lasers. It has a single action/double action operating system and a decocking lever. A major innovation built into the HK45 is a spring operated recoil reduction system, which Heckler & Koch claims reduces recoil by up to 30 percent. Springfield Armory XD45 Mod 2 Service Model Originally designed and imported from Croatia as the HS Produkt HS2000, the Springfield XD45 is available in 9mm, .40 Smith & Wesson and .45 ACP calibers. The XD is a striker fired, double-action only handgun with a polymer frame and metal slide. It has an overall length of 7.3 inches with a four inch, hammer forged steel barrel. Like the 1911 series pistols it has a grip safety to prevent accidental discharge. The XD45s double stack, two-row magazine holds thirteen rounds. At just 1.2 inches, the grip is extremely slender for a double stack handgun and features aggressive texturing. Takedown is a simple matter of clearing the handgun, removing the magazine, flipping a side lever, and sliding the slide to the rear. The XD has a reputation for reliability and durability, and is one of the most affordable option on this list. Kyle Mizokami is a writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and The Daily Beast. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami. Image: Creative Commons. This first appeared last month. Read full article Samuel Ramani Security, Middle East U.S. President Donald Trump signs a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, U.S. May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo An escalation of Iranian belligerence will undercut Saudi Arabias security, as Yemen is likely to be the first area where Tehran will flex its military muscles. Why Saudi Arabia Stands to Lose from Trump's JCPOA Withdrawal President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Trumps decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was immediately condemned by many U.S. alliesparticularly its European alliesbut received enthusiastic support from Saudi Arabia. Shortly after Trumps speech, the Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed solidarity with the U.S. decision and urged the United States to impose stringent sanctions against Iran. As Saudi Arabia remains embroiled in a struggle with Iran for regional hegemony, its support for Trumps decision to withdraw from the JCPOA is unsurprising. However, a closer examination of the implications of Trumps decision suggests that Saudi Arabias jubilation will be short-lived. Trumps withdrawal from the JCPOA could exacerbate latent tensions between Saudi Arabia and its regional allies; and embolden Iran to engage in aggressive policies that undercut Saudi Arabias security and weaken its regional influence. The most immediate concern for Saudi Arabia is that Trumps withdrawal from the JCPOA will weaken the cohesion of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Since the outbreak of the Qatar crisis in June 2017, the GCC has been divided into two blocs over the acceptability of engagement with Iran. The GCCs pro-isolation bloc, which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, believes that Iran is the primary source of instability in the Middle East and that Tehran must be contained at all costs. The GCCs pro-engagement bloc, which consists of Kuwait and Oman, echoes Saudi Arabias concerns about Iranian conduct but believes that selective cooperation and trade with Iran will benefit regional stability. Story continues The chasm in perspectives between these two blocs has been revealed by Saudi Arabia and Kuwaits divergent public statements about Iran and contrasting reactions to the growing Qatar-Iran partnership. While Saudi Arabia has stridently condemned Irans contribution to Iraqs prolonged state of political instability, Kuwait has been reluctant to make sweeping criticisms of Iranian conduct and has praised Irans anti-ISIS efforts in Iraq. Regarding Qatar, Saudi Arabia has viewed Dohas strengthened partnership with Tehran as a justification for a continued blockade against the besieged emirate. However, Kuwait has insisted that the Qatar-Iran alignment should not preclude Dohas normalization of relations with the rest of the GCC. The United States withdrawal from the JCPOA could convince Saudi Arabia to pressure Kuwait and Oman to abandon their links with Iran, as Riyadh might view Washingtons shifting policy towards Iran as an opportunity to strengthen its hegemony over the GCC. After all, Kuwait and Oman are long-standing U.S. allies that are actively involved in mediating regional crises, both countries will be confident in their ability to avoid being punished for trading with Iran and to resist Saudi pressure. If Kuwait and Oman refuse to bow to Saudi pressure, the gap in policies towards Iran between both blocs of the GCC will continue to grow. These divisions could greatly weaken the GCCs effectiveness as a collective security organization. As the recently signed alternative Saudi Arabia-UAE bilateral security pact has been undercut by the UAEs occupation of the Yemeni island of Socotra, an inter-bloc schism within the GCC over Iran could leave Riyadh diplomatically isolated in its own sphere of influence. In addition to undermining the cohesion of the GCC, the increased unpredictability of Iranian conduct associated with a JCPOA withdrawal poses a grave threat to Saudi Arabias security and geopolitical aspirations. As Trumps policies towards Iran have fuelled anti-American sentiments amongst the Iranian public, the political influence of conservative nationalists in Iran who are nostalgic for the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad era of contestation with the West has grown in recent months. The strengthened influence of these hardline factions could convince Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to escalate Irans belligerence to prevent Ahmadinejad and other hardliners from instigating mass protests, like those that broke out in late December. An escalation of Iranian belligerence will undercut Saudi Arabias security, because Yemen is likely to be the first area where Iran will flex its military muscles. Just hours after Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fired missiles into Riyadh, which were successfully intercepted by the Saudi military. This act of belligerence was widely interpreted as a form of retaliation from Iran for Saudi Arabias support for Trumps withdrawal from the JCPOA. As hardliners in Iran, like Qods commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, support an expansion of Iranian military assistance to the Houthis, a realignment of Iranian politics that emboldens anti-Western nationalists could increase the frequency of Houthi missile attacks against Saudi Arabia. As Irans primary objective in Yemen is to raise the costs of Saudi Arabias military intervention to a high enough level that Riyadh withdraws from the conflict, Tehrans strategy in Yemen can be implemented at a relatively low financial cost. This ensures that Iran will remain a thorn in Saudi Arabias side in Yemen, even if the European Union (EU) ultimately accedes to U.S. pressure by suspending many of its pledged investments in the Iranian economy. As the UAE continues to support South Yemeni separatists who seek to overthrow Saudi-aligned president of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and Qatar has provided the Houthis with informal assistance in recent months, expanded Iranian involvement on behalf of the Houthis could tip the balance of power in Yemen decidedly against Saudi Arabia. This scenario would leave Saudi Arabia with the uncomfortable choice between diverting even more financial resources towards a war of attrition that has no certainty of being successful or pushing for a peace settlement in Yemen from a position of weakness. As Saudi Arabia believes that victory in Yemen is essential for its security to be maintained and hegemonic aspirations in the Arabian Peninsula to be fulfilled, Riyadh views a potential escalation of Iranian military involvement in Yemen with great apprehension. The damage to Saudi Arabias security and regional standing will expand further if Iran retaliates against Trumps withdrawal from the JCPOA by reviving its uranium enrichment program. Although Iran has vowed to uphold its JCPOA commitments and all other signatories continue to participate in the agreement, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani also refused to rule out the revival of Irans uranium enrichment efforts. As Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently stated that his country would procure a nuclear weapon if Iran restarted its nuclear program. Thus, the collapse of the JCPOA has led to a revival of speculation about Saudi Arabias nuclear ambitions. This scrutiny comes at an inopportune time for Saudi Arabia, as Riyadh is currently holding negotiations with the United States to gain Washingtons assistance in developing a civilian nuclear energy program. As Saudi Arabia has successfully assuaged the concerns of U.S. policymakers regarding Riyadhs nuclear weapons aspirations by stating that its nuclear energy program is only for peaceful purposes, these negotiations have progressed considerably. A restart of Irans uranium enrichment program would raise alarm bells in the United States about a potential arms race in the Middle East, and could make Washington more reluctant to supply Saudi Arabia with nuclear technology. While Saudi Arabia could still procure support for its civilian nuclear energy program from Russia and China, a withdrawal of U.S. support for Saudi Arabias nuclear energy ambitions would be interpreted by other countries in the Middle East as proof that Riyadh is seeking a nuclear deterrent to counter the Iranian nuclear threat. This perception would almost certainly cause Iran to revive its nuclear program, and could inspire a massive arms buildup across the Middle East. The UAE is also likely to join a Saudi Arabia-Iran nuclear arms race, as it has established the Arab worlds first nuclear energy program. Abu Dhabis potential procurement of nuclear weapons is a grave concern for Saudi Arabia, as a nuclear-armed UAE would no longer be dependent on Saudi Arabia for security and could promote its pro-secular foreign-policy vision in ways that undercut Saudi interests. Although Saudi officials have publicly hailed Trumps decision to withdraw from the JCPOA, the long-term implications of the U.S. abandonment of the JCPOA are bleak for Saudi Arabia. Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal could trigger the emergence of new fault lines within the GCC, complicate Saudi Arabias already narrowing path to victory in Yemen, and provoke a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. The very real prospect of some or all of these outcomes coming to fruition could cause Saudi Arabia to regret its triumphalist reaction to Trumps JCPOA withdrawal decision in the years to come. Samuel Ramani is a DPhil candidate in International Relations at St. Antonys College, University of Oxford. He is also a regular contributor to the Washington Post and The Diplomat. He can be followed on Twitter at samramani2. Image: U.S. President Donald Trump signs a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, U.S. May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo Read full article The morning of May 18, police responded to reports of an active shooter at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas. By midmorning, the suspect, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, had been arrested, and by 3 p.m. EDT, Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed in a press conference the casualties: 10 people dead, and 10 others injured. Pagourtzis was booked into Galveston County Jail on one charge of capital murder of multiple persons and one charge of aggravated assault against a public servant. He has been denied bond. After Pagourtzis was booked, a question popped up: Can the state of Texas execute a minor charged with capital murder? Trending: Flooding and Heat Waves Could Ruin Your Summer Plans. Will the Outdoor Industry Save Them? GettyImages-959948644 Photo by Galveston County Sheriff's Department via Getty Images The age of criminal responsibility in the state of Texas is 17, meaning 17-year-olds are considered adults, not juveniles, in the criminal justice system. Last year, legislation that proposed raising this age to 18 failed to pass the state's Senate, the Houston Chronicle reported. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, there are 10 offenses that can be considered capital murder in the state, including "murder of more than one person during the same criminal transaction." The Lone Star State also "leads the nation in the number of executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976," per the criminal justice department's website. Don't miss: 'Jurassic Park: Danger!' Review: Dino-Sized Fun, With Balance Issues But there are two reasons why, even with this charge, Pagourtzis can't be put to death. Story continues First, according to the Texas Penal Code, "a sentence of life imprisonment is mandatory on conviction of the capital felony, if the individual committed the offense when younger than 18 years of age." Additionally, there's the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roper v. Simmons, which concerned the case of Christopher Simmons, a Missourian who, in 1993 at age 17, was sentenced to death, according to Oyez. Simmons and accomplice Charles Benjamin, as reported by The New York Times, took 46-year-old truck driver Shirley Ann Crook from her home in Fenton, Missouri, tied her up and pushed her off a bridge. Her body was recovered the day after. Both Simmons and Benjamin were found guilty. Most popular: Homo Machina Puzzle Game Takes You on a Beautiful Adventure Through the Body as Imagined by Fritz Kahn After appeals in the Missouri Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in a 5-4 ruling that the execution of minors was "cruel and unusual punishment" and unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Texas executed 13 juveniles before this Supreme Court decision, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that reports on capital punishment. The state, obviously, won't bother seeking a death sentence because it's legally off the table, according to Houston criminal defense attorney Neal Davis. If Pagourtzis is convicted of capital murder, he will be eligible for parole after serving 40 years, Davis said. Why the distinction of capital murder for those under 18? Texans convicted of non-capital murder are eligible for parole after 30 years. Davis thinks the state will seek multiple life sentences. "Given that death is not an option, I would expect the state to not negotiate the case for anything less than a life sentence, particularly given how many innocent children were killed," he told Newsweek. Davis continued, "The jury's only decision is: Is [Pagourtzis] guilty of capital murder? The charging decision is solely in the hands of the state. That's why I don't anticipate that he would have any option except to go to trial and declare some sort of mental insanity." This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Ive always kind of felt like eventually it was going to happen here too I wasnt surprised. I was just scared. These are the words of a student who survived the shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, on May 18. Eight of her classmates and two educators didnt. While the tragic loss of life hurts my heart, it is her words that haunt me. When did we become a country where gun violence and school shootings have become so normal that our children expect them to happen to them one day? Those words that acceptance are the price of living in America. It is hard to feel as if we havent lost interest or, at least, willpower. Ten people killed, in the 22nd school shooting in only the 20th week of 2018, and yet instead of telling us the stories of the lives taken so that we can feel their loss, this weekend the media directed our focus toward the Royal Wedding. Why? Because unlike students being murdered in their American classrooms, a Royal Wedding is a rare event. Gun violence and school shootings were not something that I thought about before five years ago. I remembered Columbine and Virginia Tech, but they seemed like one-time events, never to be repeated. In my privileged white suburban life, I was not actively conscious of the many young people of color who lost their lives every day as a result of gun violence in communities across our country. My eyes were opened to gun violence on December 14, 2012, when I sent both of my sons to school at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and only one son came home. That was the day I truly woke up the day my beautiful 6-year-old boy, Dylan, would never wake up again. After his murder, I helped launch Sandy Hook Promise, making it my lifes mission to prevent senseless gun violence by teaching youth and adults to know the signs of someone at risk of hurting themselves or someone else, and taking action to intervene before violence occurs. Our no-cost programs have saved many lives and have stopped mass shootings. I know we are having an impact Story continues But then another shooting takes place, and I know I must work harder and faster to prevent the next one. Its never fast enough. According to Gun Violence Archive, the Santa Fe High School tragedy is the 1,686th mass shooting since Sandy Hook. No student should have to wonder if let alone when a shooting will happen at their school. No parent should ever get the news the parents in Santa Fe and I did: that our loved ones arent coming back. We must prevent the next tragedy from happening, and that means doing everything we can to pass gun-safety reforms and to rapidly expand gun violenceprevention programs and anonymous reporting systems. Recognizing signs of violence, especially on social media, and reporting on these signs can make the difference between life and death. Contrary to what has been reported, the shooter at Santa Fe High School did show signs online, such as a disturbing image of a knife and handgun atop a mattress on Instagram and a Born to Kill t-shirt on Facebook. Empowering students to take action to help their peers does and will avert school shootings, suicide, bullying and other acts of violence and victimization. These actions have a significantly greater impact than practicing for what to do when danger occurs. We know how to prevent violence. What we collectively lack is the will to make it happen. Since the tragedy in Parkland, more people than ever before are rising to the call to prevent gun violence. Yet only three months later, we face another tragic loss of life in Texas. This cannot stop us. Our resolve must be absolute. In Newtown, we know the price of inaction. We understand all too well how misunderstood or ignored signs of violence, and not reporting those signs, can destroy life. My surviving son, Jake, was in third grade at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the day his younger brother was shot five times and murdered in the arms of his special education assistant. This fall, he will start high school in Newtown. Will my Jake sit in his 9th-grade classroom wondering if he will again hear gunfire killing fellow students and educators down the hallway? Weve taught our children how to run and hide. Instead, lets teach them how to prevent these tragedies from ever happening in the first place. Weve told our children that they are the most important things in the world to us. Lets prove it. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close The US Embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the White Houses official recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital is an impressive diplomatic achievement of the Netanyahu government, and influential Jewish groups likely contributed to the move too. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter But there is another group whose contribution to this move should be recognized and cherished. In fact, it likely wouldnt have happened without that groupAmericas evangelical Christian community. This community, and its influence on the embassy move, have been subject to implicit criticism from Yael Patir, J Streets Israel director. So a few things should be made clear. An evangelical church in New York (Photo: AP) The evangelical Christians are the ones who supported Donald Trump and led to his election victory. The president has an advisory committee of the American evangelical leadership. Vice President Mike Pence is a devout evangelical Christian, and so is US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who has been fighting fearlessly for Israel, and other senior administration officials. The evangelical Christians firm support for Israel guarantees, more than anything else, the advancement and protection of Israels interests in the world power, and therefore in the United Nations and in many other places in the world as well. Today, this support is perceived as obvious, but it definitely should be taken for granted. In the past four decades, I have had the privilege of being one of the main activists working to build bridges of trust and cooperation between the Christian public and leadership, the Jewish people and the State of Israel. In the late 1970s, only few Jews were familiar with this community, and most of them were suspicious of it or disregarded it. On the Christian side, Israel and the Jewish people werent considered a top priority either. President Jimmy Carter, for example, was an evangelical Christian whose views werent pro-Israel. The Christian support for Israel today is the result of decades of PR efforts and education to connect the evangelical community to Christianitys Jewish roots. In the beginning, I had no idea how much this community would grow in numbers and influence. We worked to enlist the Christian leadership to politically support and pro-Israel lobbying, and we later worked to encourage Christian tourism to Israel, which today makes up almost half of incoming tourism to the country. Starting from the 1990s, upon the fall of the Soviet regime and the beginning of the wave of immigration from Russia to Israel, millions of Christians answered the call of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which was published in leading evangelical media outlets and began enlisting in droves, offering financial donations to help the immigration to Israel, contributing to the welfare of the states weakened citizens and strengthening the civil defense system at times of emergency. About a million and a half Israelis and Jews in the Diaspora receive critical aid from the Fellowship every year in the areas of welfare, medicine and more. These projects, which cost billions of shekels, couldnt have existed with the help of millions of Christian donors around the world. These are usually simple people who give from the little they have, believing they should support Israel and the Jewish people. Im mentioning all this to demonstrate those Christians huge contribution to Israel, which isnt duly appreciated. The evangelical public is a strategic asset to Israel on the diplomatic and social level. Evangelical Christians in Macedonia (Photo: AFP) We must remember that the support Israel enjoys today is just the tip of the iceberg, and we must keep reaching out and enlisting more and more communities. Beyond the US, the evangelical Christians are among the fastest-growing religious communities in the world, with some 100,000 believers in china and hundreds of millions in Latin America, Korea and other places. The common denominator between the countries that are following in Americas footsteps, and are expected to move their embassies to Jerusalem too, is their affiliation with evangelical Christianity. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales is a devout evangelical Christian and his voters support Israel for the same reason. In Honduras, which also declared its intention to move its embassy, the evangelical community makes up about 40 percent of the population. But just like the evangelical support didnt come out of nowhere, its continuation isnt guaranteed either. If we want this alliance to be maintained and grow stronger in the future, we must treat it with respect and invest in it. Its time to learn, understand and recognize a contribution that benefits Israel, understand its importance and motives and work to boost it in every way. We should simply recognize the good and say thank you. Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein is the founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Israeli mountain climber Nadav Ben Yehuda was rescued from the Kangchenjunga mountaintopwhich is part of the Himalayas and rises to 8,586 metersover the weekend. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Despite the more than 20 long hours during which Ben Yehuda was deprived of oxygen and the extreme weather conditions he endured, he survived and was rescued while suffering from frostbite on many parts of his body. Nadav ben Yehuda who was rescued from mount Kangchenjunga after presumed dead (Photo: Ben Yehuda family) Due to the fact that many parts of Ben Yehuda's body had completely frozen, he was unable to make a sound or move, leading other fellow mountain climbers who were with him to believe that he had frozen to death and to report him as dead. The next day, however, it turned out Ben Yehuda was alive. Believing that he was on the brink of death, the other climbers had descended the mountain while contending with the rough weather conditions. They assumed Ben Yehuda would not make it through the night, but when came morning they noticed his "body" had moved a few meters and realized he had tried to rescue himself. "During the past 48 hours, word that our Nadav was killed close to the Kangchenjunga mountaintop has gotten out," Ben Yehuda's wife posted on her Facebook page. "He was very close to dying, but Nadav didn't allow himself to and didn't want to become part of the ice, and he survived. Nadav is alive," she added with relief. Ben Yehuda's rescue was carried out by a helicopter, which operated with considerable difficulty due to fierce weather conditions. Nadav Ben Yehudah in 2013 (Photo: Zvika Tishler) Ben Yehuda's mother and wife flew to Nepal Friday and have been by his side in the hospital until now. He is now conscious and has suffered from frostbite on many parts of his body. Ben Yehuda's wife said he lost 17kg during the past month and a half and that he is very weak and recovering. "We'll fly him to receive medical attention in Israel after his condition improves," she added. The Phoenix Insurance Company Ltd. was the one to rescue Ben Yehuda from the 8,200 meters Kangchenjunga top on the India-Nepal borderthe third highest mountain in the world. The minute the company's emergency hot line was notified about his situation, it ordered a helicopter and a rescue team to make their way to Ben Yehuda's climbers group as they attempted to flee the treacherous mountain. Once weather conditions had improved, the helicopter flew to evacuate Ben Yehuda to a hospital in Katmandu. 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. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter 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. Netanyahu, Obama signing defense aid deal (Photo: AFP) 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. "The US administration today is different than the previous one and it is possible to do something on a policy level to change the decision in some way," Opposition parliament member Mickey Levy said. In a meeting of parliament's finance committee, the chairman of the panel, Moshe Gafni, from a party in Netanyahu's rightwing government, called on the cabinet to tell the US administration that the current agreement will cause the Israeli defense sector "unacceptable harm". MK Moshe Gafni (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) According to Defense Ministry economist Zeev Zilber, in addition to the $800 million annually that would be directly diverted from Israeli to US defense firms, the industry would lose another $1.3 billion each year from the knock-on effects of the change. That could threaten 22,000 jobs. The Economy Ministry said the deal could impact as many as 700 small suppliers. Eyal Ben-Reuven, another opposition lawmaker, expressed worry that Israel could lose its ability to act independently in times of emergency, such as if its Iron Dome anti-missille system is needed during wartime. "The most disturbing thing is that the government has no solutions," he said. The Prime Minister's Office was not immediately available for comment. US President Donald Trump is willing to walk away from an unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for next month, US Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday, after North Korea called into question the meeting last week. Pence told Fox News that North Korea should not attempt to seek concessions from the United States for promises it did not intend to keep. 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 US Embassy to Jerusalem. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The incident drew an angry American response and deepened a crisis in relations that has followed the US Embassy decision. Footage of the attack X The State Department said the diplomats were on a visit to promote educational and cultural exchange in the West Bank when they were accosted. 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 US 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 dont need you. Leave Palestine and leave Jerusalem and leave the embassy, said Palestinian protester Muhannad al-Said. This comes just one week after the US Embassy to Israel was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital while Israel cites the Jewish thousands-year old attachment to the entire city as grounds for holding onto the entire city. 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 Six-Day War, is home to the citys most sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites. The Palestinians have severed most contacts with the Americans to protest the move. An Israeli vehicle came under fire near Moshav Na'omi in the West Bank on Tuesday morning, the IDF Spokesman's Office said. No one was hurt. IDF forces were searching the area for the perpetrators. An IDF force fired at a group of Palestinians that had approached the Gaza border fence in the al-Bureij area Tuesday morning. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter According to a Palestinian report, the Palestinians managed to return to the Gaza Strip after trying to vandalize an abandoned IDF post. It was unclear whether they were wounded. Palestinians crossing border fence The Palestinians further reported that IDF tanks fired at a Hamas post in the area of the incident, in northern-central Gaza, likely in response to the infiltration attempt. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said the army had attacked the Hamas post after a number of terrorists who had crossed the border torched a military post. There were no reports of injuries. The IDF said the incident was monitored by a military force as soon as it began. The rules of engagement on the Gaza border have been stepped up in the past month and forces are permitted to open fire at Palestinians trying to vandalize military infrastructures near the fence, even if those Palestinians are unarmed. In a separate incident, a quadcopter launched from Gaza landed in the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council. According to the IDF, "The quadcopter is now being examined." Humanitarian projects to be implemented in Gaza Meanwhile Tuesday, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported that a multilateral international agreement had been reached to create a distinction between the humanitarian situation and the political situation in the Gaza Strip. The agreement will make it possible to carry out humanitarian projects through the United Nations. According to Western diplomatic sources, talks held recently between representatives from the American administration, the UN, Arab states and Western states led to the idea of implementing humanitarian projects in the strip at a cost of $600 million in the next five months. IDF officials have estimated that Hamas will hold the fence protests in abeyance, at least until Naksa Day early next month, when the Palestinians mark the Arab defeat in the Six-Day War. Southern Command officials believe Hamas is at a crossroads and will decide on its next step only after exhausting the "March of Return" plan, initiated and planned by Yahya Sinwar. The Hamas leader in Gaza was the person who decided to lower the flames in light of the Gazans' failure to break through the border fence. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is suffering from a lung infection and could remain in hospital for several days, Palestinian medics and officials said on Monday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Abbas, 82, was admitted to hospital for the third time in less than a week on Sunday in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Doctors initially said that the veteran leader had entered the hospital for medical tests after ear surgery five days earlier. But on Monday night they said he had a lung infection. X "Medical tests and X-rays showed the presence of inflammation in the right lung. Treatment began by giving the necessary medication," Dr. Saed al-Sarahneh, medical director of the private al-Istishari medical centre in Ramallah, told Palestine television. "He is now responding to the treatment quickly and is recovering," the doctor said. The veteran leader allowed himself to be filmed by Palestine television on Monday night, after nearly 36 hours in the hospital. Abbas at the hospital (Photo: Reuters) Abbas did not speak in the brief filmed clip that was broadcast Monday night, and his appearance after two days of rumours appeared to be an attempt to address questions about his health and the future of the Palestinian leadership. Images released by Abbas' office showed him sitting in bed reading a newspaper and walking unassisted through the corridor of the hospital in a blue dressing gown flanked by a doctor, family and aides. After two days of sparse updates from medical officials, a series of long-time associates and colleagues visited Abbas on Monday, emerging to give uniformly upbeat assessments of his condition. Israeli member of Knesset Ahmad Tibi visited Abbas at the hospital on Monday, later writing on his Twitter page that the Palestinian leader was suffering from pneumonia and being treated with antibiotics and his health was "markedly improved." "I walked down the hall with him and we spoke about different political issues. I estimate he will remain in the hospital for a few more days," Tibi wrote. Abbas with sons Yasser and Tareq (Photo: Reuters) Jibril Rajoub, a senior official in Abbas' Fatah party, told Palestine television: "There is a consensus among doctors that the president is out of the danger area and he is well, but he will stay a few more days (in hospital) upon doctors advice." He said that Abbas had breakfasted with his sons Yasser and Tareq, had "responded well" and was now recovering. A heavy smoker, Abbas was hospitalized in the United States for medical checks in February during a trip to address the UN.Security Council. 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." A Palestinian official explained later that "Abbas returned to the hospital due to a spike in his body temperature. The fever was likely the result of an infection that developed in his ear after the operation." A group of roughly two dozen journalists from Western and Chinese news organisations departed for North Korea on Tuesday to witness the closure of its nuclear test site, an indication that the shut-down will go ahead. Pyongyang invited a handful of international media to witness the dismantling of the Punggye-ri site some time between May 23 and May 25 but not technical experts, even though the United States has called for "a permanent and irreversible closure that can be inspected and fully accounted for". Isolated North Korea's offer to scrap the test site was seen as a key concession in months of easing tension between Pyongyang and its long-time bitter rivals, South Korea and the United States. However, the improving diplomatic environment has hit a rocky patch, with North Korea threatening to pull out of a summit meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in Singapore planned for June 12. The son of a Boston police captain pleaded guilty Monday to plotting to use guns and homemade bombs to attack a college campus to support the Islamic State group, three years after his arrest after his father alerted the FBI. Alexander Ciccolo's guilty plea comes a month before he was scheduled to go to trial. He faces 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in September. Ciccolo was arrested in July 2015 after he received four guns he ordered from a person who was cooperating with the FBI. Boston police Capt. Robert Ciccolo tipped off authorities after his son said he wanted to join the Islamic State group. Federal authorities said Ciccolo's case is a reminder that 'homegrown' radicalization remains a threat and that citizens must speak up when they become aware of a potential threat. "Any material support of a terrorist organization threatens our national security, and had Mr. Ciccolo's efforts to advance his agenda not been thwarted by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, countless lives could have been lost in a lethal terrorist attack," Harold Shaw, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston field office, said in a statement. The Israeli Air Force was the first in the world to carry out attacks with the F-35 stealth fighter jet, the IAF commander said Thursday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Speaking to foreign air force commanders at a conference in Herzliya, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin presented a photo of an Israeli F-35 jet circling over Beirut, saying "We attacked twice in the Middle East with the F-35we're the first in the world to do so." Norkin also discussed the Iranian May 10 attack against Israel, saying the Quds Forces fired 32 rockets at Israel, and not 20 as the IDF previously reported, prompting a harsh Israeli response. IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin (Photo: Motti Kimchi) He also said Syrian aerial defense systems fired over 100 missiles at IAF jets as they were attacking Iranian targets in Syria in retaliation. Iranian forces stationed in Syria launched a rocket attack on Israeli army bases in the Golan Heights, prompting one of the heaviest Israeli barrages in Syria since the conflict there began in 2011. The IDF initially said 20 rockets had been fired, noting none of them hit Israeli territory after four were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system and the rest landed on Syrian territory. The attack on the Golan Heights, just past midnight, marked the first time Iranian forces have hit Israel from Syria, where they have deployed along with Iran-backed Shiite militias and Russian troops to support President Bashar Assad in the seven-year-old civil war. In response, the IDF attacked more than 50 Iranian targets in what IDF Spokesman Ronen Manelis defined as "one of the greatest operations of the Israel Air Force in the past decade." According to Manelis, in addition to dozens of Quds Force targets in Syria, the IAF also attacked logistic headquarters, a military camp and intelligence posts. Iranian military installations in Syria attacked by Israel (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) "We checked what the Iranians were doing around us," Maj. Gen. Norkin said in his remarks. "The Quds Forces set up at the T-4 base, which is some 250 kilometers from Israel. From this base they tried to attack using a drone that infiltrated Israel several months ago. After that incident, we identified that they were continuing to store weapons at the base, including aerial defense capabilities that we attacked over the past month." "In recent weeks, we realized Iran had sent missiles and long-range rockets to Syria, including (BM-27) Uragan launchers that we attacked north of Damascus," he continued. Norkin went on to note that "our aerial defense systemsthe Arrow, the Iron Dome and David's Slinghave an 85 percent success rate in interception." Police said Monday evening that a manhunt had been launched for an individual or individuals responsible for graffitiing a courtyard of a Tel Aviv yeshiva with hate-filled slogans, including calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be gassed. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The offensive graffiti was scrawled on the walls of the Bar Ilan Yeshiva on Rothschild Boulevard at the end of last week. Students who arrived back at the Yeshiva on Monday morning after the holiday of Shavuot, found that the area had been completely defaced with violent slogans against Israeli politicians, including Education Minister and Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett. Graffiti calling for Netanyahu's death X Bibi to the gas, was among the slogans sprayed onto the walls, along with Kahane is dead in reference to the late American-born and ultra-nationalist rabbi, Meir David HaKohen Kahane, who served in the Israeli Knesset. Next to the graffiti about Kahane, the vandals asked: What about Bennett? The perpetrators also sprayed slogans offensive to the religious institution of the yeshiva such as There is no God and objected to the Israeli presence in the West Bank, writing: There is no pride in occupation and Free Palestine. Next to the graffiti, the vandals wrote the word Antifa, indicating that it was carried out members of a loose-knit radical movement of anti-fascist militant groups in the United States. The yeshivas director, Rabbi Benny Perel, responded to the incident on his Facebook page, arguing that his institution would have received more compassionate treatment if it has been a mosque. If this was a mosque, the Tag Meir group would come and give me a flower, he said, in reference to the left-wing organization, which was set up to counter the phenomenon of what are known as price tag (Tag Mechir) attacks against Arabs. Hebrew reads: 'Bibi to the gas', 'Kahane is dead and 'What about Bennett?' The (Israeli) president would have delivered a speech to his people, the media would have shown compassion, the Israel Police, the Shin Bet, the Mossadf and the CIA would have dealt with the incident in a dark interrogation room, the Tel Aviv Municipality would have renovated the palce and cleaned it up, but we are a yeshiva, he continued. Speaking to Ynet after the incident, Rabbi Perel said he was considering filing a complaint to the police. However, despite his anger, the political establishment and the Tel Aviv Municipality did issue statements of support for the yeshiva. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) issued her comments on social media. Hate crime calling for the assassination of the prime minister and the education minister on the walls of a school in Tel Aviv, as if nothing has happened in the Israeli media, she wrote on Twitter. There are no notifications and there is no widespread coverage. Why is hate crime only covered when the victims are from the Left?" She asked. Former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon also weighed in on the matter. Incitement is incitement, is incitement! The police must immediately investigate who is responsible for the graffiti against the prime minister and Minister Bennett and bring them to trial. No political dispute justifies hate graffiti and incitement to murder, he wrote. Hebrew reads 'There is no God' The Tel Aviv Municipality denounced the graffiti as a violent and cowardly expression. We also condemn the attack on an educational institution through the vandalism of property, it added in a statement, before extolling the virtues of the yeshiva itself. The Bar Ilan Yeshiva is an institution that educates about values of respect for human beings, humanity and tolerance for all. It is important that point out that we have offered all available help for the schools management and for the Education Ministry. Obviously, the municipality immediately went to the school to remove the graffiti and filed a complaint to the the police. Violence is a fundamental corrosion of democracy. Palestinians opened fire at an Israeli vehicle near the Palestinian village Nu'eima in southern Samaria on Tuesday morning, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said. There were no reports of injuries. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter A number of bullets were found at the scene of the incident in the Binyamin region. Forces from the Binyamin Territorial Brigade launched a search for the perpetrators. IDF forces in Samaria (Photo: Avia Doitch/TPS) In the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, an IDF force fired at a group of Palestinians that had approached the border fence in the al-Bureij area According to the report, the Palestinians managed to return to the Gaza Strip after trying to vandalize an abandoned IDF post. It was unclear whether they were wounded. The Palestinians further reported that IDF tanks fired at a Hamas post in the area of the incident, in northern-central Gaza, likely in response to the infiltration attempt. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said the army had attacked the Hamas post after a number of terrorists who had crossed the border torched a military post. There were no reports of injuries. The IDF said the incident was monitored by a military force as soon as it began. Two Gaza residents were indicted on a series of terror charges on Monday for flying incendiary kites towards Israeli territory and setting fire to a field in Israel. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Ahmed Amawi, 26, and Mu'ataz Abu Eid, 20, were charged with attempted incitement to murder, activity in a terror organization, arson as an act of terror, attempted arson as an act of terror, and armed infiltration, among others. The two also participated five times in "March of Return" Friday protests on the Gaza border, during which they assembled some 30 kites, which they then gave Palestinian rioters, who affixed Molotov cocktails to them. File photo: Palestinian protesters with kite in Gaza (Photo: AFP) According to the indictment, in late April, Amawi flew two incendiary kites towards Israel, both of which crashed in a field on Israeli territory and caused a fire. Amawi "did so knowing the kites could set fire to structures or vegetation and thus cause severe harm to people, and even death," the indictment said. Amawi, a Hamas member, allegedly approached another Hamas member about launching rockets at Israel after the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capitalwhich they did. Field on fire from incendiary kite near Be'eri Forest "In his actions, the defendant assembled kites carrying Molotov cocktails in order to promote the activity of a terror organization and in order to carry out arson, which is an act of terror," the indictment charged. This was done "out of a religious, nationalistic, political or ideological motive, while using weapons and causing serious damage to property, which presented a real possibility of causing serious harm to the body, health or safety of a person, and therefore constitutes an act of terror." Amawi also approached several other Hamas members, planning to infiltrate Israel and set fire to a grove and to military vehicles. And so, in late April, Amawi and Abu Eid, along with a third terrorist, infiltrated Israel late at night, carrying a bottle of gasoline, a lighter, a knife and a screwdriver. The three arrived at a field inside Israel, poured the gasoline and lit it up. On their way to set fire to another field, they were found and captured by IDF soldiers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Tuesday morning to look into his country's economic relations with Israel after the June 24 presidential and parliament elections in Turkey. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Erdogan made the comment while speaking to reporters on a flight from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Turkey. The Turkish leader addressed the issue following a decision made by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to boycott Israeli products. "I hope the organization's member states implement the decision," Erdogan said. "After all, there will no longer be a way to receive products from them. Naturally, we will also assess our relations, mainly the economic and commerce relations, with Israel. We'll take steps after the elections." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Photo: EPA) Erdogan noted that the OIC had pressed the United Nations to establish a peacekeeping force that would protect the Palestinians, like the force that was active in Kosovo and in Bosnia and Herzegovina several years ago. "We believe the establishment of such a peacekeeping force will deter Israel and stop it from firing at UN forces," Erdogan said. Representatives of the 57 OIC member states discussed the riots on the Gaza border last week, which left more than 60 Palestinians dead 'Nuclear-armed states threatening the world' On Monday, Erdogan 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 speaking at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting (Photo: MCT) 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. US 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, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded Iran take additional steps such as pulling out of the Syrian civil war. Iran dismissed Washington's ultimatum and a senior Iranian official said it showed the United States was seeking "regime change" in Iran. The US withdrawal from the nuclear deal comes as relations between NATO member Turkey and Washington have soured over a host of issues, ranging from US policy in Syria to Trump's decision to move the US 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 US administration's decision very positive," Erdogan said. 'Israeli actions would put Nazis to shame' On Friday, Erdogan compared the actions of Israeli troops in Gaza to Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews in World War II. "The children of those being subject to all sorts of torture in concentration camps during World War Two are now attacking Palestinians with methods that would put Nazis to shame," Erdogan said shortly after addressing a rally of thousands of people in support of Palestinians. The international community "must stop watching the massacres from the bleachers" and send "an international peace force to the people of Palestine, who are losing their young children to Israeli terror every day," Erdogan said, comparing the proposed deployment to peacekeeping forces sent to Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s. Erdogan also urged member states and others to prevent Israeli products produced in "illegal Israeli settlements" from entering their markets. Anti-Israel protest in Istanbul The Turkish president's calls were backed by Muslim leaders, who on Friday urged an international force to be deployed to protect Palestinians after dozens of protesters were shot dead by Israeli forces on the Gaza border this week. At a special summit in Turkey convened by Erdogan, they also pledged to take "appropriate political (and) economic measures" against countries that followed the United States in moving their Israel embassies to contested Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, a move they described as a "provocation and hostility against" the Islamic world. Erdogan, who is campaigning for re-election next month, used the summit to verbally attack Israel. He also castigated the United States, saying its decision to move its embassy had emboldened Israel to put down the protests at the border with Gaza with excessive force. Most countries say the status of Jerusalem - a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians - should be determined in a final peace settlement between Israel and Palestinians and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal. The final declaration of the meeting of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation described the killing of 60 Palestinians, protesting the embassy move on Monday, as "savage crimes committed by the Israeli forces with the backing of the US administration." It said the violence should be put on the agenda of the UN Security Council and General Assembly, and called on the United Nations to investigate the killings. The Islamic organization also told its members to fall in line and "commit to voting for our common cause" of Jerusalem or risk punitive measures. Turkey's foreign minister had criticized certain members for voting against, abstaining from or not showing up for a United Nations motion in December - some 128 countries overwhelmingly supported the UN against Washington's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The summit was attended by Jordan's King Abdullah, a US ally whose Hashemite dynasty is custodian of Muslim sites in Jerusalem. Abdullah said the US decision five months ago to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital had "weakened the pillars of peace ... and deepened the despair that leads to violence." Before the summit, Erdogan slammed Islamic countries that failed what he termed "the Jerusalem test," saying "all we Muslims do is condemn" and not unite. Erdogan said Muslim countries were "severe, intolerant and unconscientious" to each other and "toothless and cowardly" to unspecified enemies. He later struck a more conciliatory tone. Erdogan, along with the Palestinian prime minister, was speaking to hundreds of thousands waving Palestinian and Turkish flags at an Istanbul rally dubbed "Curse Oppression, Support Jerusalem." He told the rally that the responsibility to defend Jerusalem lay with them as crowds chanted "Chief, take us to Jerusalem." A populist with roots in political Islam, Turkish Erdogan has described Israel as "terrorist state." The violence in Gaza led to Turkey and Israel expelling each other's senior diplomats this week. Erdogan has also traded barbs on Twitter with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel, however, was the 10th-largest market for Turkish exports in 2017, buying some $3.4 billion of goods, according to IMF statistics. "We have excellent economic ties with Turkey. And these relations are very important for both sides," Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon told Israel Radio on Friday when asked if Israel should break ties with Turkey. The plight of Palestinians resonates with many Turks, particularly the nationalist and religious voters who form the base of support for Erdogan, who has been in power for 15 years. An incident that recently came to light, during which a large vehicle transporting dozens of undercover elite Duvdevan soldiers got stuck in the middle of a hostile Palestinian town in the West Bank, reveals some of the dilemmas and unexpected situations the disguised Israeli fighters have to face as part of their dangerous job. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Details of the incident, which took place seven years ago, were revealed in an affidavit submitted to the Defense Ministry by an ordnance officer who was entrusted with the preparation and maintenance of a special undercover vehicle, which the IDF only had one of at the time. The officer, who was diagnosed with diabetes, sued for disability benefits from the Defense Ministry, claiming he got sick because of the immense pressure he was under at the time. File photo: Undercover Israeli troops (Photo: EPA) The undercover vehicle went into Area A of the West Bank to capture a wanted terrorist who Military Intelligence flagged as planning to carry out a terror attack in the immediate future. "The vehicle was disguised as a Palestinian vehicle, and included special abilities," the former officer wrote in his affidavit. He said the vehicle passed all tests to indicate it was ready, and so the officer gave it the go-ahead to go on a "surgical mission: Go in, grab (the terrorist) and leave without the village becoming aware or waking up from the late night activity." "The activity was covert, and if it had been discovered, it might have endangered state security, our soldiers and citizens. Only the GOC (Central) Command, the sector commander, the unit commander and the force carrying out the mission were aware of the operation, which was done in conjunction with the Shin Bet," the officer explained. In the middle of the night, while the force was making its way to the wanted terrorist's home under the cover of darkness, the vehicle's brakes stopped working. "This means the force was in danger," the former officer noted. "I made preparations to enter the village to extract the vehicle, but I was also aware of the fact I didn't have the ability to do so, because this wasn't a normal military vehicle in regular use in the IDF. The preparation for the extraction of the undercover vehicle was complex and unclear. When I was preparing to head out, I was stressed out and anxious that the fighters might be discovered because of the vehicle's malfunction." "I tried to call a friend who was in the vehicle, but he had reception problems," the officer went on to write. "All I knew was that there was a problem with the brakes, and that they were stuck in hostile territory. I tried to get a rescue team organized. The sun was rising, and our soldiers were in a life-threating situation. The vehicle was stuck inside the village for 3-4 hours, and I was tense and anxious, and I knew that even if I went into the village, I wouldn't be able to extract the vehicle. I looked at the screen showing the force, and prayed to see them moving and leaving the village in one piece." "The other option we had was to tow the vehicle with a power shovel, which would've made a lot of noise, woken up the village and exposed the fighters," he explained. File photo: Undercover Israeli troops (Photo: AFP) In his affidavit, the officer said he felt helpless at that moment. "I was in the midst of a whirlwind. The responsibility was mine. I was scared to death of what might happen if I entered the village and couldn't extract the vehicle. I had thoughts running through my head about the damages that might emerge if the operation was blown and the danger the troops could face. This entire thing was on my shoulders. I felt terrible, a heavy guilt." Eventually, a professional driver who was sent to the scene was able to extract the vehicle from the village. The next day, the ordnance officer was reprimanded by his commanders and an investigation was launched into the incident. But this wasn't the end of it. The force was making preparations to carry out the same mission the next night, and the ordnance officer was once again tasked with preparing the vehicle that would take the troops into hostile territory. He spent the day preparing the undercover vehicle after having not slept the night before. Shortly before heading out, the troops discovered the vehicle's headlights were not working. "This is a unique vehicle, the likes of which doesn't exist in the army, and this means there are no spare parts at hand in the army. Once again something unexpected happened that could render the operation a failure, because of me," the officer wrote. File photo: Undercover Israeli troops "I felt like I couldn't take it, and at night I started looking for an open Home Center (hardware) store in Jerusalem in search of suitable lights. I also removed lights from other vehicles, but they didn't fit. My commanders were very angry at me, shouted at me, (asking me) why I wasn't following instructions, and why I was messing up again," the officer continued. "In the field, soldiers were waiting after receiving confirmation from the Shin Bet about the terrorist's locationbut only if they could leave immediately," he explained. "The GOC (Central) Command was also aware of the screw-up that happened apparently because of me. This is an expensive operation, for which many troops had to be preparedand all of this was on top of the fact that the terrorist was meanwhile walking around free." Eventually, after speaking to other soldiers and officers at base, the ordnance officer learned one of the career soldiers in the unit had an identical private vehicle. The career soldier was called in from home; and the officer removed the lights from the vehicle and installed it in the undercover unit's vehicle. The force headed out two and a half hours late, but was still able to capture the terrorist. File photo: Undercover Israeli troops (Photo: AFP) "I was in a very shameful situation," the officer noted. "I was the commander, and I was responsible for the vehicles, but I didn't know how to extract the vehicle, and I had no experience fixing them. During those two days, I hardly ate, didn't sleep a wink and felt a heavy burden. I was afraid of dismissal and of reactions from my surrounding. Everything I built over five years in the army and three positions I excelled in came crumbling down over 48 hours. I was ashamed and felt that others were disappointed in me." Maj. A., who served in a different combat support position in the same unit, gave his own statement in the suit, saying: "We're sometimes in a state of complete uncertainty and are required to provide solutions fast and in real time. Sometimes the unit switches from complete calm to a state in which all of its members are working at 100 percent." "The night the brakes broke, the officer found himself in a situation he feared his entire career, in a very stressful situation," Maj. A. continued. "This was an extreme incident that doesn't happen very often. When it happens, there's the dilemma of whether to continue with the mission or extract the force from the hostile village at minimum friction. The situation the officer dealt with was unnatural and at high levels of stress. When he has no ability to deal with the problem, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. It offsets one's balance and causes deep mental issues." The Defense Ministry initially rejected the office's suit, but a Rishon LeZion Magistrate's Court accepted his appeal, ruling his diabetes was caused as the result of the stress he experienced in those 48 hours. He was given a 40 percent disability recognition. While this may be one unusual case, commanders of other undercover units revealed that they are constantly required to deal with unexpected delays or issues of this nature, which happen while they're in the middle of a mission in hostile territory. Netherlands' Jewish community and pro-Israel organizations are fuming over an anti-Israeli parody of Netta Barzilai's "Toy" broadcast Saturday during a popular TV-show aired on a public broadcasting channel, which some say contained anti-Semitic overtones. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Performing her rendition of the Israeli winner's Eurovision Song Contest song, the comedian Sanne Wallis de Vries implied during her version on her new show that the USs opening of its new embassy in Jerusalem was yet another way to make money. Sanne Wallis de Vries sings parody of 'Toy' X De Vries sung the chorus against a background of recent violence on the Gaza border during riots that were held the same day as the embassys opening. Other images also featured in the background, with the upbeat song contrasting with images of Israels security barrier, IDF vehicles and scenes from last weeks deadly riots on the Gaza border. In the parody, the words of the song, which focus on female empowerment, were changed to: Look at me, I am such a cute country, World leaders all eat out of my hand I make all fires disappear with a kiss, We are having a party, you wanna come? Soon in the Al-Aqsa mosque, which will soon be empty From Haifa to the Dead Sea, there is kosher food and drink So come and dance with me. Is your country surrounded by rock-throwers? Build walls like Trump dreams about at night and fire rockets at them Look how wonderfully I fire explosives Again, Israel is winning 70 years of this celebration is continuing, look how wonderful it is. I wont allow Palestinians to enter I am a tough dog who chases Palestinians This is my party and this is my time to shine Was your party ruined by extremists? Open another embassy and make more dollars and cents. 'Anti-Semitism has returned to mainstream' Replacing the trademark chicken-clucking during the chorus of Nettas original song, de Vries inserts: with your ka-ching, ka-ching and your ping-a-ping, with your dollars and cents and your funds, with your ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching. The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, (CIDI), a pro-Israel organization, accused de Vries of anti-Semitism by evoking traditional anti-Jewish prejudices by associating Jews with money in the song. The parody also aroused criticism on social media in Holland for the mingling of political and non-political issues. Following the skit, the organization's members confronted the comedian on Twitter and wrote: Hi Sanne, we heard your parody and the Israeli song at the Eurovision with the jokes about Jews and money. How funny! Other Dutch Twitter users expressed their disgust for the comedian in less sarcastic terms. Youre a disgusting person, wrote one of the people after the performance. Now you have really been exposed, wrote another. You dont have the courage to condemn Islam. Is this what my taxes go on? one enraged Twitter user asked. Once again anti-Semitism has returned to the mainstream! How sad, another complained. The Israeli Embassy in Holland submitted a formal complaint to the television station that broadcast the parody. The complaint was sent both to the Dutch Foreign Ministry and to a leading Jewish community organization. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki has arrived at the International Criminal Court to call on prosecutors there to open an immediate investigation into Israel's settlements in the West Bank. According to a Palestinian statement, the so-called "referral" that Malki is handing to the court's prosecutors on Tuesday underscores "that there is sufficient compelling evidence of the ongoing commission of grave crimes to warrant an immediate investigation." The Israeli Embassy in Holland submitted a formal complaint to a Dutch television station Tuesday that broadcast an offensive parody of Netta Barzilai's "Toy", which Jewish groups argued contained anti-Semitic overtones. Performed by comedian Sanne Wallis de Vries in her new show, the version attacked Israel and implied that the US Embassy was opened in Jerusalem as a way of making more money. The complaint was sent both to the Dutch Foreign Ministry and to a leading Jewish community organization. The European Union on Tuesday called on Israel to reinstate the visa of Omar Shakir, the representative of Human Rights Watch in the country, which was withdrawn after Israel accused him of supporting a boycott against it. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Israel withdrew Shakir's visa earlier this month. "The European Union expects the Israeli authorities to reverse their decision, as otherwise Israel would join a very short list of countries which have barred entry to, or expelled, Human Rights Watch staff," the European Union said in a statement. Omar Shakir Moreover, the EU urged Israel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the wounding of Jafar Farah, Director of the NGO Mossawa, the Advocacy Centre for Arab Citizens in Israel, during protests last Friday against Israels handling of riots on the Gaza border earlier in the week. In addition, it will also be important, as supported by the Israeli government, to conduct a swift investigation into circumstances surrounding events last week in Haifa which appeared to result in serious injury of Jafar Farah, Director of the NGO Mossawa, the Advocacy Centre for Arab Citizens in Israel, the statement added. The European Union continues to stand for an open and conducive environment for civil society, within Europe, in Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory and around the world, it concluded. Mossawa Center Director Jafar Farah in court Saturday. The human rights activist said a cop broke his leg on purpose (Photo: Ahiya Raved) During a remand extension hearing at the Haifa Magistrates' Court held Sunday evening, Farah spoke about the circumstances leading to his leg being broken and alleged it was intentionally broken by a policeman after he was arrested at the protest rally. Protests in Haifa (Photo: Gil Nechushtan) "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." A Haifa policeman was questioned under caution following the incident and another policeman gave a testimony at the Police Internal Investigations Department. Israel remains active in Syria even after the recent strike on May 10 in response to rockets that were fired by Iranians at IDF posts in the Golan Heights, a senior Israel Air Force officer said Tuesday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "We can assume that operations have been carried out since the latest strike in Syria, and we are maintaining our freedom of action," he said. "The Iranian resolve in the region continues, and we keep operating and disrupting under the war threshold." Addressing the decision to reveal the strikes carried out by the F-35 stealth fighter jet (Adir), the officer said that "beyond the satisfaction from the Adir's performance and abilities, the perceptual aspect carried a lot of weight too." An Israeli Air Force F-35 jet (Photo: Reuters) The officer spoke at a conference in Herzliya attended by more than 20 air force commanders from around the world. IAF Commander Major-General Amikam Norkin told the Herzliya conference earlier Tuesday, "We attacked twice in the Middle East with the F-35we're the first in the world to do so." He presented a photo of an Israeli F-35 jet circling over Beirut and discussed the Iranian May 10 attack against Israel, saying the Quds Forces fired 32 rockets at Israel, and not 20 as the IDF previously reported, prompting a harsh Israeli response. IAF Commander Amikam Norkin and an F-35 fighter jet (Photos: Shaul Golan, IDF Spokesperson's Unit) He also said Syrian aerial defense systems fired over 100 missiles at IAF jets as they were attacking Iranian targets in Syria in retaliation. "We checked what the Iranians were doing around us," Maj. Gen. Norkin said in his remarks. "The Quds Forces set up at the T-4 base, which is some 250 kilometers from Israel. From this base they tried to attack using a drone that infiltrated Israel several months ago. After that incident, we identified that they were continuing to store weapons at the base, including aerial defense capabilities that we attacked over the past month." "In recent weeks, we realized Iran had sent missiles and long-range rockets to Syria, including (BM-27) Uragan launchers that we attacked north of Damascus," he continued. Norkin went on to note that "our aerial defense systemsthe Arrow, the Iron Dome and David's Slinghave an 85 percent success rate in interception." 'Image of F-35 over Beirut conveys a message to Hezbollah' Major-General (res.) Amos Yadlin, a former Military intelligence director and former head of the IAF Planning Department, told Ynet on Tuesday: "It's only natural that the F-35 Adir jet is taking part in the Air Force's activity against the Iranian entrenchment in Syria." Major-General (res.) Amos Yadlin (Photo: Matan Turkia) Yadlin, a former combat pilot, said that the image presented by the IAF commander "concealed some kind of intentional message to Hezbollah, which is possibility being pressured by the Iranians these days to carry out the operation they failed to carry out, the retaliatory attack against Israel. "This message basically states, 'You are exposed both from an intelligence aspect and from an operational aspect, and we have considerable abilities which you should ponder before launching anything towards Israel." Yadlin added that "the F-35 didn't join the Air Force to appear in the Independence Day parade and in the state's 70th anniversary celebrations, but to carry out operational missions. I assume the activity was against Syria. The advantage of this plane is that the Syrian defense is likely incapable of detecting it. When the Iranians tried to create the retaliatory operation against us, there was a feeling that the planes came out of nowhere." Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, a member of the Political-Security Cabinet, didn't sound too impress by the IAF commander's revelation. "Our main fighter jets are still the F-15 and F-16, because their ammunition carrying capacity is much higher and so is their range. Each plane has its own advantages, but it's nice that Israel made the stealth fighter jet operational too for the first time in the world. I believe our enemies are as afraid of the F-15 as they are of the stealth jets." Human Rights Watch accused Egypt on Tuesday of mass demolition of homes in the Sinai Peninsula, some of which it said might be illegal, as the military fights an Islamist militants insurgency in the remote desert region. The New York-based rights watchdog said demolitions, which have taken place in recent years to create buffer zones on borders such as that with Gaza, had increased significantly. They were also being used to punish suspected militants and their relatives. Egypt's military did not immediately comment on the report. It has rejected previous reports by HRW on Sinai, saying they relied on "undocumented sources". Egypt in February launched a highly-publicized operation against Islamic State militants who have waged years of attacks against security forces and more recently against civilians in which hundreds of people have been killed. The Palestinian foreign minister asked the International Criminal Court on Tuesday to open an immediate investigation into alleged Israeli crimes committed against the Palestinian people. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The step was sure to worsen the already troubled relations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government. Peace talks have been frozen for over four years, and contacts between the two sides are minimal. Speaking to reporters at the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, Foreign Minister Riad Malki said he submitted the referral to the court during a meeting with the ICCs chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda. In April, Bensouda called for an end to violence in the Gaza Strip, adding the Palestinian territories were subject to a preliminary examination by her office and she was monitoring events there closely. Malki's referral sought an investigation into Israeli policies in the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip since the "state of Palestine" accepted the ICCs jurisdiction in 2014, he said. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Palestinian President Abbas and International Criminal Court in The Hague (Photos: EPA, Getty Images, Emil Salman)) This includes Israeli settlement policies in the West Bank and extends its complaint to east Jerusalem, as well as the recent round of bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli fire killed over 100 Palestinians during weeks of mass violent protests along the Gaza border, Malki added. Israel says that its use of force is justified due to the violent tactics employed by the rioters, at least half of whom have been claimed by the Hamas terror group to be members. While the international community has criticized Israel and accused it of disproportionality, the Israeli army cites numerous border breach attempts by armed Palestinians into Israeli territory, along with incendiary kites which are flown into Israel towns from the strip, setting land ablaze in southern towns. There is a culture of impunity in Israel for crimes against Palestinians, Malki said. This referral is Palestines test to the international mechanism of accountability and respect for international law. The ICC has been conducting a preliminary probe since 2015 into alleged crimes in the Palestinian-controlled territories, including Israels settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the 2014 Gaza conflict. Tuesdays referral could speed up a decision on whether to open a full-blown investigation that could ultimately lead to the indictment of high-ranking Israelis. The move comes with Israeli-Palestinian relations at their lowest point in years in the aftermath of the US Embassy move to Jerusalem and the recent bloodshed on the Gaza border. Israel has said it was defending its border and accused Gazas ruling Hamas militant group using the unrest to carry out attempted attacks and of using civilians as human shields. In response to Tuesdays move at the ICC, Israel said it took a severe view of the Palestinian request, calling it cynical and absurd." It accused the Palestinians of violent incitement against Israel and exploiting women and children as human shields. It also said the ICC had no jurisdiction in the case because Israel is not a member of the court. Israel expects the ICC and its prosecutor not to yield to Palestinian pressure, and stand firm against continued Palestinian efforts to politicize the court and to derail it from its mandate, the Israeli statement said. Israel is not a member of the ICC, but its citizens can be charged by the court if they are suspected of committing crimes on the territory or against a national of a country that is a member. The ICC has recognized Palestine as a member state. Public Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (Photo: AFP) While the ICC can indict suspects, it has no police force and has to rely on cooperation from member states to enforce arrest warrants. The Palestinians appear to have an especially strong case in the matter of settlements. In 2004, the United Nations highest judicial organ, the International Court of Justice, ruled in an advisory opinion that the settlements breached international law. In late 2016, the UN Security Council also declared the settlements to be illegal. Over 600,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalemterritories Palestinians say should be part of their future state. Israel captured both territories from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel claims east Jerusalem as an inseparable part of its capital, citing the thousands-year-old connection between the Jewish people and the city. However, its annexation is not internationally recognized. While under international law it is illegal to transfer populations out of or into occupied territory, Israel has long argued that the West Bank is not occupied because it was captured from Jordan, not the Palestinians, and Jordan does not make a claim to the territory. Since the Palestinians never ruled the West Bank, Israel says this territory is disputed and its final status should be resolved in negotiations. It also claims that settlements can be torn down and therefore do not prejudice the final status of the territory. It notes that in the case of Gaza, for instance, it uprooted all settlements there when it withdrew in 2005. Israel also captured Gaza in the 1967 war. While the Gaza withdrawal removed some 8,000 settlers, the much larger population in the West Bank and east Jerusalem would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to move. Nati Rom, a settler from the illegal outpost of Esh Kodesh, is urging Switzerland to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, after the United States, Guatemala and Paraguay all made the move. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Rom's organization Lev HaOlam ("Heart of the World") turned to the Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (EDU)a minor political partyseeking their help in convincing the Swiss government to move the country's diplomatic representation in Israel to the capital. Lev HaOlam bringing petition and care packages to Swiss FM (: " ") X With the help of the EDU, Lev HaOlam submitted a petition to the Foreign Ministry in Bern, demanding to move the embassy. The petition was signed by some 20,000 people. "It's important to understand there are a lot of people who see the great hypocrisy in the treatment of Israel, and they won't have it," Rom said. "They support Israel, and the Lev HaOlam organization meets with them all the time. We hear voices, which are gaining in strength, of citizens from different countries who call for an end to the hypocritical treatment of Israel." Nati Rom (Photo: Lev HaOlam) In addition to the petition, the Lev HaOlam organization also sent the Swiss Foreign Ministry a care package from West Bank settlements, including oil, wine and chocolate. The EDU is a nationalist-conservative party, whose members say it has been working to move the embassy in Israel to the capital since the party's foundation in 1975. The party's core principles are based on the values of the Bible, and the party holds conservative positions on family, society and education. Syrian government forces raised their flag over the Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus on Tuesday as state media promoted what it said was the "liberation" of the last quarters of the capital from rebels and Islamic State group militants. Police motorcycles flying the flag roared into what was left of the neighborhood in a show for state media, and a detachment of soldiers raised the government's standard from the roof of what is now a shell of a building. The ceremonies, broadcast on state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV, was meant to assure residents that Damascus was secure for the first time since protests broke out against President Bashar Assad in 2011. The government cracked down violently on the demonstrations, igniting the ongoing civil war. Syria's military announced it had recaptured the camp and surrounding neighborhoods from Islamic State group militants on Monday, bringing the entire capital and its suburbs under full government control for the first time since the 2011. An Afghan official says that least 16 people, including four security forces, have been killed when a container full of explosives went off in the city of Kandahar. Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor said 38 people, including six members of the security forces, were wounded in the explosion. He added that there are at least five small children among those wounded. Ahmadi explained that Afghan security forces had found two containers full of explosives but when they tried to defuse, the first one detonated and caused casualties. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion. Europe's energy chief will seek to reassure Iran's top ministers on Saturday that the European Union wants to keep trade open despite the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal. Miguel Arias Canete, European commissioner for energy and climate, will meet with five top Iranian minister over two days, including the Islamic Republic's nuclear chief, oil minister and foreign minister. EU leaders have united behind the 2015 accord, with Brussels considering banning EU-based firms from complying with the sanctions that President Donald Trump has reimposed and urging governments to make money transfers to Iran's central bank to avoid fines. But EU officials admit there is a limit to what they can do to parry sanctions as a wave of European companies quit business with Tehran, fearing the global reach of US sanctions. "There is no magic wand beyond trying to offer Iran a bit of reassurance," a senior EU official involved in Iran said. Panamas president said on Monday a 1994 plane explosion in the country that killed 21 people, most of them Jewish, was the result of a terrorist attack and called for the case to be re-opened. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter President Juan Carlos Varela told reporters that Israel provided reports late last year about the plane crash, whose victims included prominent Jewish Panamanian businessmen and which stirred suspicion of hate-motivated sabotage. All of the plane's passengers, including four Israelis and prominent Jewish businesspeople from Panama, were killed in the crash. Valera with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem, last week (Photo: EPA) The 1994 crash came soon after a bomb at a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires killed 85 people, raising concerns that Jews worldwide could increasingly become the targets of militants amid tense peace talks in the Middle East. Varela told reporters he will ask Panamanian and Israeli authorities to reinvestigate the incident. Ive requested the re-opening of the case given intelligence reports that clearly show it was a terrorist attack, he said. The 1994 Panamanian President-elect, Ernest Perez Balladares, said at the time sources close to the investigation told him they believed the apparent mid-air explosion to have been caused by a bomb. Yedioth Ahronoth reported at the time that a Panama government report had concluded that a Hamas terrorists, Ali Jamal, carried out a suicide bombing on the plane using a suitcase filled with explosives. Four-hundred grape vines were vandalized in a Palestinian orchard in what is suspected to be a hate crime near Hebron. Graffiti was also sprayed saying: Enough with the agricultural terror. Security forces opened an investigation into the incident. President Reuven Rivlin met with the EU's envoys Tuesday and spoke about the current security tension in the north and south of the country. "Israel faces a military, political and PR complicated campaign. We face a worrisome reality on our northern border where we are fighting against Iran's attempts to entrench its forces while confronting Hamas's cynical attempts to use demonstrators and breach our (southern) border," Rivlin said. "We'll allow neither Iran nor Hamas to succeed," he added. The Dutch public broadcasting channel that broadcasted the parody of Netta Barzilai's Eurovision winning song "Toy" on Saturday responded to the formal complaint that it had received from the Israeli Embassy in Holland saying the parody is not anti-Semitic. "In Sanne Wallis the Show, events of the past week are discussed in a satirical manner. Last week Israel winning the Eurovision song contest coincided with a flare-up in the conflict in the Gaza Strip," according to the public broadcasting channel's statement. "The parody brings Israel's policy up for discussion and is emphatically not an indictment against the Jewish community." US President Donald Trump met South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday amid concerns that Trump's planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on denuclearization next month might fall apart. Moon's White House visit was intended to be a fine-tuning of the US and South Korean strategy for dealing with Kim at what would be the first-ever meeting between US and North Korean presidents. But the White House was caught off-guard when, in a dramatic change of tone, North Korea last week condemned the latest US-South Korean air combat drills, suspended North-South talks and threw into doubt the summit with Trump if Pyongyang was pushed toward "unilateral nuclear abandonment." Moon and Trump began their meeting shortly after noon EDT (1600 GMT). They also were to have a working lunch. Before seeing Trump, Moon met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton and urged them to speed preparations for the Trump-Kim summit. Some 300 new apartments are put to sale in the settlement of Beit El the West Bank as part of the Buyer's Price programa government-backed apartment purchase lottery that offers land at below market prices for sale to construction companies who vow to offer the future apartments at the lowest possible price. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The plan will be executed after a 10-year stalemate in construction in Beit El and is the biggest marketing move in the settlement since the Buyer's Price program was launched by Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. Beit El settlement (Photo: AFP) The prices of the apartments offered for sale cost 20 percent less than similar apartments offered for sale in the market. The initial price for an 85 square meter apartment will be NIS 584,762, where as the initial price for a 100 square meter apartment will be NIS 676,514, and a 120 square meter apartment will be NIS 798,849. The apartments include a balcony, storage room, and parking. The program's goal is to transform the Beit El's southeast agricultural area to a residential neighborhood as well as unification and re-division of the lands, which will be allocated to building houses, public offices, commercial areas, routes, and a public open space. The plan is to build 296 housing units in five different complexes in Beit El, being the biggest and significant marketing move in the settlements since the program started. In the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim merely 44 housing units went on the market as part of the Buyer's Price program. Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Photo: Motti Kimchi) The Civil Administration's Supreme Planning Council approved last October the marketing of 300 housing unitsa promise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given Rabbi Zalman Melamed and Beit El's settlers five and a half years ago, after Beit El's Ulpana hill's houses demolition. No houses have been built over the past decade within the boundaries of the Beit El Council, despite repeated promises to build new housing units. Kahlon's decision to lead the marketing of the housing units in Beit El coincides with his political positions on Israel's right to annex West Bank settlements, and with the political stalemate in talks with the Palestinians. At least 30 Syrian army troops and Iranian-backed militiamen were killed on Tuesday when Islamic State fighters attacked a military outpost near Palmyra in eastern Syria, a monitor and residents from the area said. They said the militants used suicide bombers and armoured vehicles in the dawn attack near a dam southeast of the ancient Roman city. The attack came a day after government forces drove the jihadists out of their last enclave in southern Damascus after weeks of relentless bombing. Islamic State has twice seized Palmyra during Syria's civil war and destroyed priceless artefacts. A former resident from the eastern Homs countryside near Palmyra who is in touch with local people said the militants had come from hideouts in the vast stretch of desert they once controlled. He said at least 30 soldiers and militiamen were killed. Attorney General Avihai Mendelblit asked Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan on Tuesday to consult him before he begins reviewing the extension of Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh 's tenure or considering possible candidates to replace him, in order to examine possible conflicts of interest of those involved in the matter amid the investigations being held against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Mendelblit's request implies Netanyahu could not be involved in the appointment of a new police commissioner. Police commissioner Roni Alsheikh, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) In a letter sent by Mendelblit to Erdan he said that "I've recently received several inquiries whether the current police commissioner's tenure will be extended or a new commissioner will be appointed." "According to the inquiries the prime minister and other ministers shouldn't be involved in this matter since a conflict of interests is possible in light of the fact they are being investigated by the police (for corruptioned)," the AG said. "In response to questions addressed to you by the media regarding this matterincluding questions that were addressed to you (Monday)you clarified that you had not yet begun dealing with the matter," Mendelblit wrote to Erdan. "Under these circumstances, the claim of conflict of interest is not relevant at the moment. I ask you to consult me before you begin reviewing the matter so I could weigh the conflict of interest's aspects related to the MKs who are being investigated by the police, and to guide you accordingly," he went on to say. General Attorney Avihai Mendelblit (Photo: EPA) Zionist Union's MK Itzik Shmuli who sent the AG a letter regarding the matter said Tuesday "It seems my demand to urgently receive the AG's opinion (regarding the police commissioner appointment) did its part." "As required by both the purity of the procedure and appearances, a full or partial restriction will be imposed on Netanyahu's involvement in appointing the new commissioner," Shmuli added. "It's unacceptable that a prime minister who is up to his neck in investigations and suspicions will be responsible for appointing the authority responsible for seeing the investigations held against him through," he explained. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) In March, Netanyahu was questioned in his Jerusalem's residence for four hours on the Bezeq-Walla! probe (Case 4000). At the same time, his wife Sara Netanyahu was also questioned at the Lahav 433 unit's headquarters. The prime minister's son, Yair Netanyahu, was questioned under caution for the first time at the Israel Securities Authority's offices. State's witnesses Nir Hefetz and Shlomo Filber were at Lahav 433 unit's headquarters during Sara Netanyahu's questioning. Bezeq Majority shareholder Shaul Elovitch and outgoing Bezeq CEO Stella Handler were also questioned that day. The former prime minister's chief of staff David Sharan who is mainly related to the submarines affairCase 3000 arrived as well to the Lahav 433 unit's office to give an open testimony. During the two weeks prior to the questioning, the police took Hefetz's testimony who was the prime minister's associate and his media advisor. He was questioned about the Netanyahu family's ties to the Walla website and the favorable coverage Netanyahu and his family had received in exchange to the alleged enormous benefits that were given to Bezeq that owns the Walla website. The prime minister and his family were then confronted for the first time with Hefetz's testimony and had to provide explanations to their actions. The Public Transportation's Drivers' Organization announced Tuesday a convoy of buses will head to Tel Aviv Wednesday at 10:30 am from Park Afek in Rosh HaAyin. The convoy will go through the Afikim bus company's route 5A on which a bus driver was attacked with pepper gas, as reported by Ynet. The convoy will continue to the government precinct in Tel Aviv. Israels Security Cabinet, a forum of senior ministers headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has begun holding its weekly meetings in a secure underground bunker in Jerusalem, it was revealed Tuesday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The facility, known as the National Management Centre, was first used by the Security Cabinet in 2011 to rehearse a national crisis scenario. It was carved out beneath the government complex in Jerusalem and includes living quarters as well as command facilities. The bunker at the time of its construction Reports of the move come amid a rise in tensions with Iran Israel this month accused Iran of firing rockets from Syria into the Israeli Golan Heights. Israel struck back with its heaviest air strikes in Syria since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Meetings of the Council, hitherto mostly at the prime ministers office in Jerusalem, are already generally held out of the public eye. Cabinet ministers have told us that one of the main reasons for the move is Netanyahus wish to try even harder to prevent leaks and because of fears of spying attempts by hostile foreign parties, Channel 10 said. Syrian antiaircraft fire against Israeli missiles X The group of 11 ministers has already held a small number of meetings at the facility, and three planned weekly sessions, the next of which is scheduled for Wednesday, will be held in the bunker, a media source said. Government officials declined to comment on the reports. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday the United States was still planning for a June 12 summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but he declined to predict whether the summit would actually take place. Pompeo told a news briefing the United States would do what it could to ensure the Trump-Kim talks were a success and that he was "confident we'll get there" in the end. He said China had offered "historic assistance" in pressuring Pyongyang. In this month's edition of Your Investment Property magazine (get your copy here or at your local newsagency) we take a look at the $1M property markets around Australia. The stats were compiled by CoreLogic and Kevin catches up with Cameron Kusher from CoreLogic to discuss the results. You can listen to the interview here:- Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android Transcript: Kevin: An interesting look in the latest Your Investment Property magazine looking at million-dollar properties. My guest on this chat is Cameron Kusher from CoreLogic. Good day, Cameron, how are you doing? Cameron: Im well. Thanks, Kevin. How are you? Kevin: Good, mate. I wanted to bring you into the conversation early because, well, youre much younger than me, but gee, when I was your age thinking about having to pay $1 million for a property was something that was just out there in the ether. But its actually quite common now, isnt it? Cameron: It certainly is, particularly in markets like Sydney and Melbourne, but even at a national level, we are seeing a pretty strong upwards trend in the number of sales over $1 million. Kevin: How many areas are there around Australia where were finding that? Cameron: As I said, its largely in Sydney and Melbourne, but even in markets that have been pretty weak over the last few years like Brisbane, Perth youre still seeing the number of million-dollar sales trend higher in those capital cities, as well. Kevin: Whats been the growth like in those particular areas, Cameron? Cameron: Nationally, weve seen over the 2017 calendar year, 16.1% of all houses and 9.5% of all units selling for at least $1 million, up from 14.8% of houses and 8.1% of units a year earlier. But if we look across the individual capital cities, 49.3% of all houses sold over the year in Sydney were over $1 million, up from 45.4% the previous year, and even looking at the unit market, were looking at 18.8% of all units selling for over $1 million. If we go to somewhere like Melbourne, 28.3% of all houses and 8.3% of all units sold for at least $1 million, up from 23.7% of houses and 7.2% of units a year earlier. Then if we go to a market like Brisbane, were seeing 8.3% of all houses sold for at least $1 million and 3.4% of units. Thats up slightly over the previous year. You can see theres a real rising prevalence of $1 million sales, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. Kevin: Is $1 million the benchmark we should be measuring, or is that increasing? Is it $1.5 million or $2 million now? Cameron: Its obviously dependent on the city youre in. In Sydney, youd say the benchmark is probably more like $2 million. In Melbourne, its probably more like $1.5 million. $1 million is probably a bit more exclusive in capital cities like Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin, and Canberra. But certainly, in Sydney and Melbourne Sydneys median house value is still above $1 million, so youre typically going to be paying at least $1 million anyway. Kevin: What was it like five years ago? Cameron: Five years ago in Sydney, youd be looking at around 20% of all houses sold were over $1 million. In Melbourne, it was about 8%. If we go back to somewhere like Brisbane, youre talking about 3%, so it has increased quite significantly over that period of time. Kevin: There you go. If you have a cool $1 million in your back pocket, there are lots of places for you to spend it around Australia. Cameron Kusher from CoreLogic. Thanks for your time, Cameron. Cameron: Thanks, Kevin. Real Estate Talk the only place where you hear all Australasias leading property experts. News Washington, DC - Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs A. Wess Mitchell will travel to Europe May 22 to May 24. On May 22 he will be in Wiesbaden, Germany. There he will participate in a meeting of U.S. Chiefs of Missions serving in Europe hosted by the United States European Command. Assistant Secretary Mitchell will then travel to Budapest, Hungary, where on May 23 he will meet senior Hungarian officials and representatives from civil society. On May 24 Assistant Secretary Mitchell will be in Bratislava, Slovakia, to hold meetings with senior Slovak officials and representatives from civil society and think tanks. Latest News Washington, DC - Today, I have taken action to prevent the Maduro regime from conducting fire sales, liquidating Venezuelas critical assetsassets the country will need to rebuild its economy. This money belongs to the Venezuelan people. I have signed an Executive Order to prevent the Maduro regime from selling or collateralizing certain Venezuelan financial assets, and to prohibit the regime from earning money from the sale of certain entities of the Venezuelan government. The United States remains committed to the Venezuelan people, who have suffered immensely under the Maduro regime. 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. This order is the most recent in a strong, consistent stream of actions my Administration has taken targeting the Maduro regime. Latest News Washington, DC - Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met with Indian Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh on the margins of the G-20 Summit. The two leaders affirmed the strong U.S.-India strategic partnership and Indias status as a Major Defense Partner of the United States. During the meeting, Deputy Secretary Sullivan and Minister of State 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. Yuma News Yuma, Arizona On Sunday May 20, 2018 just after 11:00 am, a brush fire was reported near Riverside Park, east of the Territorial Prison. Arriving Yuma Fire Department (YFD) personnel found smoke showing approximately mile east of Riverside Park on the south side of the Colorado River. The area was in soft dirt with heavy brush, and a YFD Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) was used to survey the area and deploy personnel in wildland firefighting gear. The Imperial County Fire Department (ICFD) was notified due to strong winds pushing the fire north toward the river. By noon, additional firefighting resources from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other state agencies were requested, with BLM arriving on the scene about 2:00 pm. Work continued throughout the afternoon to contain the fire but, driven by winds, the fire did jump to the north side of the river. Reports of tubers and others floating down the river were received and efforts were made by the Yuma Police Department to stop individuals from putting into the river and warn those already in the water to get out. A citizen already in the area with a boat provided additional assistance to those already too close to the fire. By approximately 4:00 pm additional BLM recourses had arrived and firefighting efforts were mostly involving the north side of the river with the use of crews on the ground, firefighting boats and a helicopter from the Prescott area. By approximately 7:00 pm the fire was dying down, with YFD involvement reduced to a fire-watch on the Arizona side in the event of flare-ups. As of about 7:00 am Monday morning, there was no smoke showing along the river and any further actions were being taken by BLM. In addition to YFD, YPD, ICFD, and BLM, assistance from the Yuma County and Imperial County Sheriffs Offices, AZ State Wildland Superstition Fire Crew, and others were greatly appreciated in effectively and safely dealing with this fire. No injuries or property damage have been reported. Washington: Pakistan has raised the matter of inauguration of the Kishanganga hydropower plant with the World Bank, according to a news report. Pakistans position is that the dam violates the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty and was inaugurated despite Pakistans objections. Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali will lead Pakistans delegation. It will hold three-day talks with the World Bank. Other members of the delegation include Indus Water Commissioner Mehr Ali Shah, Water and Power Secretary Shumail Khwaja and spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Faisal. The agenda of the talks include the height of the Kishanganga dam, its capacity, setting up a court of arbitration to settle the dispute, and Indias counter-demand for an international expert. Speaking on the occasion, Pakistans envoy in Washington, Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said that as a lower riparian country, Pakistan has a right to unfettered access to water that flows into Pakistan from upper riparian areas. Pakistans detailed argument is that under the Indus Water Treaty, no structure can be constructed that will hinder the flow of a river, and the height and storage capacity of any dams on the six Indus rivers has been fixed. Kishanganga damn has greater capacity and height than allowed under the treaty. India, in return, claims that the matter has been fixed. The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on May 19, 2018 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The groom, Prince Harry, is a member of the British royal family; the bride, Meghan Markle, is a celebrated American former actress. The Royal wedding was attended by 600 invited guests, dozens of members of the general public, with an estimated 1.9 billion people watching worldwide across various media platforms. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry exchanging their vows READ ALSO: I wept for weeks after Eazzy left Lynx - Richie's mother speaks in latest video According to international media reports, the new couples after the Royal Wedding celebrated the rest of the day away from the cameras during a private lunch for the invited ceremony guests. Then, there was another private evening reception for 200 close friends and family, hosted by Prince Charles at Frogmore House on the Windsor estate. However, Prince Harry and Meghan are expected to travel home to take up their royal duties following a day that saw them exchange rings, process through Windsor in a carriage and listen to an emotional speech made by Prince Charles. Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has chanced upon a number of photos that prove that Meghan and Harry were truly in love even before their mega Royal Wedding in London. READ ALSO: Akosua Agyapong 'warns' female Ghanaian actresses, musicians 1. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry captured in a hilarious photo 2. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are great sports fans 3. The two 'love birds' share intimacy together 4. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are always happy together 5. Meghan and Harry share some leisure time out 6. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are perfect match 7. Meghan and Harry are loved by all including kids 8. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are mostly together 9. Meghan and Harry mostly walk hand-in-hand 10. Meghan Markle taking a lovely look into Prince Harry's eye Photo Credit: Instagram 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 - Mr Mensah believes that a biased national organiser is not fit to stay in the post - Kofi Adams defends himself saying he is not against the other interested members A former CEO of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Mr Sylvester Mensah says that NDC national organiser Mr Kofi Adams, has lost his legitimacy. Mr Mensah was speaking to Accra-based 3FM. According to Mr Mensah, the actions of Mr Adams does not warrant him being called the party national organiser. The former NHIS boss believes Mr Adams' inability to hide his support for ex-presient Mahama's intentions for 2020, makes the national organiser biased. READ ALSO: Photos of a former student who was arrested after kidnapping two children He said: Well I think Kofi Adams has lost his legitimacy as National Organizer of the party. I think that he has abandoned his job, he has just moved far away from what the demands of the job requires so I dont recognize him in that capacity anymore, even though he is an elected National Organizer. Sylvester Mensah This comes in the wake of Mr Adams' remarks after former President Mahama indicated that he will not disappoint those who call for him to contest. Mr Adams expressed joy at this and said he believed former President Mahama was the NDC's best candidate. Mr Adams has since defended his comments saying his support for Mr Mahama is not a bias towards others. However, this has not gone down well with Mr Sylvester Mensah. Mensah is thought to be one of four other big names willing to contest for the nod to lead the NDC in 2020. Prof Joshua Alabi, Alban Bagbin and Ekow Spio-Garbrah are all reportedly interested. READ ALSO: Necessary to close down the emergency unit for fumigation, says head of 37 hospital Pollster Ben Ephson has suggested that if John Mahama contests, the best chance of defeating him is for all his opponents to join forces. Ephson believes the former president is the most popular person in the NDC. However, Mr Mensah believes that although Ephsons's suggestion was plausible, it was too early to think of that. Check out trending news on 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.com.gh - The president believes the Bank of Ghana has to make regulations to give support to Ghanaian banks. - He says that the domination of foreign banks works against the 'Ghana Beyond Aid' agenda. The Bank of Ghana (BoG) needs to help Ghanaian banks grow and become competitive. This is the charge from the president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo. President Akufo Addo was speaking at the 3rd CEO Summit at the Kempinski Hotel. It was under the theme: Leadership, Innovation and Investment for Business and Economic Transformation. READ ALSO: Ghana is not doing the right things to be self-dependent - Prof Karikari argues The president voiced his concern about the domination of foreign banks in the industry. He explained that such a thing would not actually work for a country that intended to move beyond foreign aid. A banking hall In talking about banking reforms in regulations, President Akufo Addo said he believes the BoG needed to put in place measures to ensure that Ghanaian-owned banks could compete. The president noted that the country's quest to develop was linked to the growth of the banking and financial industry. He pointed out that the people's confidence in the banking and monetary system was necessary for economic development. Mr Akufo Addo expressed his pleasure with the Bank of Ghana's management of recent issues in the country's banking sector. He said the problems caused concerns among a lot of Ghanaians and expressed happiness that things were now under control. READ ALSO: Kofi Adams has abandoned his job to support Mahama - Sylvester Mensah He warned against mismanagement, saying: We cannot afford instability or recklessness in the banking and financial sectors. For any loss of confidence in the banks is bound to have a ripple effect on the stability of the economy as a whole. He continued: It is in all our interests that all financial matters are dealt with professionally and without political interference, no matter how tempting." The meeting brought together stakeholders in capital-intensive industries. Check out trending news on 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 Ghana Ghanaian dancehall artiste, Charles Nii Armah Mensah, known in showbiz as Shatta Wale, loves the spotlight and his latest interview is certain to grab all the attention. The Gringo hitmaker has got his fans talking on social media after posting pictures of an interview he had with Ylenia Citino, who works with the Italian Embassy. In the said post, Shatta Wale appeared to have enjoyed his time with the Political Affairs liaison during that interview which took place on Monday. Shatta Wale and Ylenia Citino of the Italian Embassy READ ALSO: Ebonys replacement flies to South Africa to shoot first music video In a rather complimentary gesture, Ylenia Citino also took to Instagram to describe the interview with Shatta Wale as amazing. She further revealed that she tried to teach the dancehall sensation some lessons in the Italian language Sicilian, adding that the artiste did very good in learning the language. An appreciative Shatta Wale was so much moved by the words of the Italian journalist that he re-posted her message on his own Instagram page. Join YEN on Instagram to be always informed and entertained! He posted a picture together with Ylenia Citino, accompanied by the caption: Earlier today with @ylenia.citino from the Italian Embassy. Regrann from @ylenia.citino - With the amazing #shattawale after the interview I tried to teach him some Sicilian! Did actually very good! It is unclear what the said interview was about, but from Ylenias hashtags, it could be concluded that they discussed a variety of issues including the upcoming Ghana Meets Naija concert. Ghana Trends: Dumelo's Wedding And J.B Danquah Founded University of Ghana: READ ALSO: My life is in danger; they want to kill me - Akua Blakofe 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 John Dramani Mahama is contemplating contesting the 2020 elections. John Mahama has been heard on various platforms stating he will be making known his intention of contesting the elections very soon. In fact, the former president was urged to lead the NDC in the 2020 election. All regional chairmen of the party jointly signed a petition imploring the president to continue his presidential ambition by facing Nana Addo again despite him being defeated in the 2016 elections. READ ALSO: Ebonys replacement flies to South Africa to shoot first music video Despite these positive calls and confidence reposed in him, Mahama also faces opposition from some party leaders political analysts who fear Mahamas return could spell doom for the party. 1. End of his political career: John Mahama has just one shot to either win an election or forever lose his political voice in the country forever. Ghanas political terrain is a very delicate one. Politicians just make the best of opportunities from the least of chances they get. This is the exact reason why Mahama could be risking it all should he subject himself to yet another elections. Ghanaian voters tired of the Mahama factor: Political scientists in Ghana have argued that John Mahama is not the exact preference of the Ghanaian voter. In the realm of voter reactions, it has been shown that Mahama may not be able to win the hearts of Ghanaians as he did in the 2016 elections. 2. Ghanaian voters tired of the Mahama factor: Political scientists in Ghana have argued that John Mahama is not the exact preference of the Ghanaian voter. In the realm of voter reactions, it has been shown that Mahama may not be able to win the hearts of Ghanaians as he did in the 2016 elections. It will be four years since Ghanaians heard of Mahama and it could be a challenge for Mahama catching on. 3. More divisions in the NDC: It was after the defeat of Mahama that the divisions within the opposition National Democratic Congress. Former president Jerry Rawlings has even confirmed this development saying the divisions within the party structure caused the party defeat in the knife-edged elections. There are fears that Mahamas decision to contest the elections this time around could further divide the NDC rather than unite it 4. Loss of relevance and respect: It has been about two years since Mahama became a former president and we have witnessed the commendations he has received from across the world especially the United Nations (UN). This has been seen in his appointment as the leading UN observer in critical elections of Kenya and Sierra Leone. Mahama could be far off dancing in this glory rather than dabbling in a shaky election atmosphere. READ ALSO: 5 Ghanaian celebrities who support homosexual rights That said, it still remains the sole preserve of Mahama to decide whether or not to contest the 2020 elections. Should he win the 2020 elections, Mahama will be the first president in the 4th Republic to have his 8-year administration separated by a 4-year term by a political opponent. Check out trending news on 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 Controversial Ghanaian musician, Charles Nii Armah Mensah, aka Shatta Wale, has disclosed that he and members of his Shatta Movement are ready to promote Kantanka cars. According to the dancehall artiste, it is about time for the whole world to know what Ghana is capable of doing. Therefore, he and his SM fans will embark on an aggressive campaign to promote Ghana Made, Kantanka cars and all other products from the company. The CEO of Kantanka group of Companies, Kodwo Safo Jnr READ ALSO: DJ Switch's mother reveals why she nearly aborted her daughter when she got pregnant Speaking in a Facebook post, the SM boss pledged his full support for Ghanas only Automobile Assembling Company. Please Kantanka Shatta Movement is ready to promote your cars and anything Kantanka, lets make the world know, Ghana y3wor adzi a oye, Shatta Wale wrote. Kantanka Automobile Company Limited is a subsidiary of the Kantanka Group of Companies founded by Apostle Dr. Ing. Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, the Founder and Leader of Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana. The company has over the years launched a number of sophisticated SUVs vehicles onto the Ghanaian market. READ ALSO: 10 photos that prove Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were madly in love even before the Royal Wedding However, the company has launched and have begun mass production of saloon vehicles, Kantanka Mensah, which is ready for market. READ ALSO: I wept for weeks after Eazzy left Lynx - Richie's mother speaks in latest video 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 - A man called Amanor OK, has threatened to sue Ghana National College for negligence - According to him, the school failed to ensure that his asthmatic daughter was adequately protected A man, known as Amanor OK, has threatened to sue Ghana National College (GNC) for negligence. This, he disclosed, was because the schools authorities failed to take proper measures to protect the life of his daughter. Information available to YEN.com.gh shows that his 17-year-old daughter, Ruby Teiko, who was a first year student of the school, lost her life after she had difficulty in breathing. The late Ruby Teiko READ ALSO: FDA issues warning about 6 herbal drugs that could cause death The deceased was an asthmatic patient, and is reported to have complained on two occasions, about the challenges she faces with breathing. These complaints were allegedly made during dorm inspections, but were ignored until she passed out. She was subsequently rushed to the Cape Coast Government Hospital in a taxi, but was pronounced dead on arrival. Amanor OK disclosed that on Saturday, May 19, 2018, he received a call from the Assistant House Mistress to the effect that he needed to rush to the school. He drove to the hospital, only to be informed that his daughter was dead on arrival. Amannor OK said later when he went to the school to collect her daughters items the school authorities didnt even know he had already been to the hospital. Meanwhile, doctors say autopsy report on the cause of death will be ready on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. READ ALSO: Photos of Adom FM's Captain Smart's luxurious home Renovation of Nana Addos GHc9.5m private residence: Use the comments section below to share your views on this story. Do you have a story to share or you have information for us? Get featured on YEN.com.gh. Message us on Facebook or Instagram Source: Yen.com.gh - Bank of Ghana (BoG) says preliminary investigations shows Menzgold it taking deposits without approval - The BoG last year warned the public not to deal with Menzgold The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has threatened to take action against Menzgold after it was found that the gold buying firm has been taking deposits without approval. This was made known by BoG Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, who was speaking at the MPC press conference Monday. BoG governor, Dr. Ernest Addison READ ALSO: Nana Addo meets African music stars as Ghana hosts AFRIMA 2018 calendar unveiling He said the Central Bank will collaborate with the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry to take a final decision on Menzgold. According to him, Menzgold are not licensed to take deposits, but have been acting contrary. What is clear to us is that they have the system that accepts deposits from the public. We are discussing with the Ministry who originally gave them their license," Dr. Addison said. In the latter part of 2017, the Central Bank warned the public against dealing with the gold buying frim. The BoG maintained that Menzgold is not licensed and, therefore, cannot take deposits. Join YEN on Instagram to be always informed and entertained! The Central Bank argued that the company was conducting business contrary to some provisions in the Banks and Specialized Deposit-taking institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930). But Menzgold, at the time, rejected claims that they were taking deposits from the public. The company explained that they were just involved in commodity trading, buying and selling of Gold. However, the latest stance by the BoG has once again raised concerns over the operation of Menzgold in the country. Ghana Trends: Dumelo's Wedding And J.B Danquah Founded Uni: READ ALSO: Shatta Wale wows Italian Embassy in interview 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 News - The school authorities at the Ghana National College have disclosed more details about the death of a first-year-student, Ruby Teiko - According to them, they did their best under the circumstances, but it was of no help The school authorities at the Ghana National College (GNC) have reacted to the news of the death a first-year-student, Ruby Teiko. The headmistress of the school, Juliana Owusu-Ansah stated that they did their best but they could not save her life. "To the best of our knowledge, we did the best we could", the headmistress said, and expressed sympathy for the grieving parents. The late Ruby Teiko READ ALSO: Father threatens to take on Ghana National College as his daughter loses her life The father of the deceased student, Amanor Okine, has accused the school of negligence leading to the death of his daughter. According to him, he is considering a suit because prior to his daughters admission to the school, he provided her medical records which ruled her out of dust-related work. This information was reportedly ignored by the authorities and as such Ruby was compelled to partake in chores done by students. Ruby complained of breathlessness and chest pains during a routine inspection on Saturday, May 19, 2018, and was given first aid. She was then rushed to the hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. READ ALSO: I will beat Diamond Appiah like my child - Afia Schwar declares in a new video Renovation of Nana Addos GHc9.5m private residence: Use the comments section below to share your views on this story. Do you have a story to share or you have information for us? Get featured on YEN.com.gh. Message us on Facebook or Instagram Source: Yen.com.gh The Kyrgyz parliament has started to draft a law on depriving former presidents of immunity in case of committing grave crimes. This law can be applied to the last retired president of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev. The deputies demanded to bring him to justice in the Bishkek thermal power plant case, which also involves former Prime Minister Sapar Isakov and former mayor of Bishkek Kubanychbek Kulmatov. They were summoned twice for questioning to the State Committee for National Security. The parliament of Kyrgyzstan finalized the discussion of the report of the deputy commission to investigate the causes of the accident at the Bishkek thermal power plant and the rational use of the $386 million loan received for its modernization. Kyrgyzstan signed a loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China and signed a contract to implement the modernization of the Bishkek TPP project with the Chinese company TBEA. Work at the station began in 2013. Heat outage in Bishkek in winter were common for 5 years. The citizens waited for the completion of the reconstruction of the station. However, modernization turned into a catastrophic accident, a scandal, and investigations. Last year, in the dead of winter, the Bishkek TPP broke down, leaving the citizens without heat and light for a week. Asked who is to blame, civil activist, expert Adil Turdukulov said that those officials who made decisions are responsible for this. These are the former president Almazbek Atambayev and ex-premier Sapar Isakov. In the days of the accident Isakov said that the situation was the result of "an immense negligence of the TPP employees." A criminal case was opened and the guilty ones were found quickly - according to the decision of the head of government, the heads of the National Energy Holding, OJSC "Electric Stations" and the Bishkek thermal power plant were dismissed. They decided not to make a big deal out of it. A new scandal around the Bishkek TPP erupted after the change of power in the country. On October 15, 2017, presidential elections were held in Kyrgyzstan, which were won by Atambayev's successor, friend and colleague in the Social Democratic Party, former Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov. It was assumed that Atambayev will continue to influence the country's domestic and foreign policies through his protege and thus keep the levers of government in his hands. However, the former president had a disagreement with the president, which led to a change of government and numerous rearrangements in the law enforcement agencies. Zheenbekov distanced himself from Atambayev and now uses any opportunity to further weaken the position of the latter. According to experts, the Bishkek TPP was one of the "suitable reasons" for this. "Today it's a matter of honor for the new president to prove that the government is really fighting corruption and gain even more support from the people. Moreover, President Sooronbai Jeenbekov had another serious reason to completely "free" himself from Atambayev and at the same time bring to justice the previous authorities, which remain powerful political figures," expert Adil Turdukulov told Vestnik Kavkaza. He fully admits that Atambayev may become subject of a criminal procedure in not just the Bishkek TPP case. "Sapar Isakov has been summoned to the National Security Committee. He testified twice. But the goal is not Isakov, but Atambayev. These calls appear to be the "early sign" in the mechanism that will bring Atambayev to justice for other cases concerning customs, smuggling and corruption in general. For example, it is established that about half a billion dollars were received annually by the Manas Transit Center, and only about $30 million was transferred to the budget from there. There is a noticeable shortage of funds in the energy sector, construction and road repair," Turdukulov said. According to him Jeenbekov will be able to systematically withdraw his recent patron, who became a rival, from the political game. Kyrgyz politician Ravshan Jeenbekov said, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, that in the short term the confrontation between Atambayev and Jeenbekov will lead to weakening of the ex-president's position - it may come to the deprivation of presidential immunity and the initiation of criminal proceedings. But in the future, according to him, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, whose name is associated with the split of the elite, may also face problems. "There was a split of the political elite in the country, serious forces were deprived of power. Atambayev went from being the new president's friend became one of his main enemies. And if Jeenbekov does not initiate reforms in the country in the near future and consolidate the leaders around him, then he is in trouble," the politician believes. According to Jeenbekov, the new president is being bailed out by the "negative background of the old president" - corruption, the TPP problems, squandered Chinese loans, personnel policy. But the current agenda of Jeenbekov will not last long. Approximately in half a year the society will strengthen requirements of social and economic character and if there is nothing to show, different variants of development of events will be possible. Professor at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) John Heathershaw believes that the events in Kyrgyzstan fall under the political concept of "consolidation of the new government." "It will become clear later whether it will be an authoritarian regime, or half-authoritarian. The situation will depend on how Atambayev's colleagues will be prosecuted. It is obvious that is a struggle for power between Jeenbekov and Atambayev. I think that it is quite characteristic phenomenon for the countries with an unformed democracy, where the process of transferring power from one president to another is underway," Heathershaw said on the air of Azattyq (Liberty) radio. "Perhaps in their speeches, Europeans sincerely want to adhere to the Iran deal, but they are not able to fulfill it," professor-macroeconomist Wilfried Fuhrmann said, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza "The Pacta sunt servanda principle (Latin for "agreements must be kept") today operates with a reservation "if possible." The call of European politicians to the EU companies to continue to conduct business in Iran, promises to provide them with loans and guarantees, for example, from KfW, as well as provide salvage packages to compensate for the damage caused by sanctions that can be imposed by the US, will remain a policy. French President Macron likes loud speeches and words, but as long as he does not have to answer for them. Such compensation will not be financially viable in an emergency situation, and the threat of its use actually calls for speculation against the euro, threatens with collapsing stock prices with high losses for its owners and the subsequent outflow of capital from the EU to the US (to the delight of the US president) and thus threatens existence of the EU itself. An ideal lever for the US president," the German expert said. According to Fuhrmann, the still open tariff threats of the US, the reality of which are not in doubt by many, can split even the EU countries in a short time. "The United States is not Gulliver, who will let himself to be tied up with many small ropes. Washington is not ready to tolerate even short-term losses. Now they seem to create a hierarchical structure of dependent allied states (with their billionaires) such as Israel and Saudi Arabia," the professor stressed. The analyst believes that the multilateralism tool will no longer function in the traditional understanding of many European politicians. "The US should increase its economic power and self-sufficiency if they do not want to economically depend on such large regions as the EU and China in the long term, and if they do not want to lose their unquestionable dominant role in the world as an economic and military power. But probably it is already too late, given China's developed structures and its position in the China Sea, in the Silk Road areas, etc. In the current conditions of tripolarity (the US, China, Russia), stability should not be expected, like in the case of the Cold War during bipolarity. This was facilitated by many years of the US wars from Afghanistan to Syria and Europe. The "liquidation" of Russia seems impossible and, consequently, it is impossible to return to a new bipolar world architecture with the US and China as poles. The US can definitely turn into a "smaller" pole in the long term," the expert predicts. "Of course, Europe may try to become the fourth geopolitical force, but the disintegration is much more likely here. As long as the EU does not convince the Ukrainian president, billionaire Poroshenko, to give cultural autonomy to ethnic minorities - Russians, Poles and Hungarians, the EU will not be perceived as a guarantor of pluralism and human rights, including the right to self-determination (Catalonia, Kurdistan, etc.), as well as a reliable harbor of values. As long as the EU does not understand that Russia, despite all the differences, should be considered as a partner, Europe is not able to prevent becoming an arena-region for conducting proxy wars itself. As long as such investments as Nord Stream 2 face obstacles of a number of short-sighted countries because of their interest in transit revenues (Ukraine, Poland) and their own pipeline projects (Poland), Europe will play against Russia. Thus, by means of sanctions, it participates in the US policy of maximum pressure, which will continue to provoke an economic collapse of Russia (as it happened with the Soviet Union), or force Russia to choose between two fatal alternatives," Wilfried Fuhrmann believes. "European security and stability can be separated from the situation in the Middle East only if European countries do not interfere in the situation in this region, violating international law. At the same time, European states pursue a policy of fatal errors, cementing Russia's image as an adversary, which has an adverse effect on the West and meets the interests of China. Political and economic "competitive pressure" is growing between the European countries against this backdrop. Of course, politicians resort to diplomatic flattery and express their confidence in friendship and partnership in their speeches. But how can we regard (absolutely wrong in essence) French President Emmanuel Macron's tone and criticism about Germany in his thank-you speech at the international Charlemagne Prize ceremony in Aachen on May 10, 2018? In fact, it was as follows: Germany is not able to "persist in the eternal fetishism of the positive trade balance and budget surpluses," because it is always at the expense of others! Was that not political pressure and preachment on the part of an ambitious European leading power, which wants to win European financial control and wants to please the US president at the same time, despite all the alleged wrangling?" professor Fuhrmann summed up. Oil rose on Monday, lifted by a rally across stocks and other commodities, after the United States said it had put a possible trade war with China on hold. Reuters reports in its article Oil returns to multi-year highs on Venezuela concerns that Brent crude futures were up 35 cents at $78.86 a barrel at 0845 GMT, having hit a high above $80 last week, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 29 cents to $71.57 a barrel. A possible 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, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday, giving global markets a lift in early trading on Monday. Thats the main thing thats driven oil and equity futures. It does for now, in terms of trade wars, put that risk away, Petromatrix strategist Olivier Jakob said. 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. Its worth watching St Petersburg at the end of this week, that could provide the key input for the next few weeks, Jakob said. Saudi Arabian minister of energy Khalid al-Falih and the UAEs Suhail al-Mazroui will attend the St Petersburg Economic Forum this week, along with OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo and corporate heavyweights Bob Dudley and Ben van Beurden, the chief executives of BP and Royal Dutch Shell, respectively. BPs 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 OPECs capacity to boost production to replace potential falls in Iranian supplies due to sanctions. Oil prices are within sight of last weeks November 2014 highs, but many traders and analysts say they believe 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. Fund managers cut their holdings of U.S. crude to the lowest level this year, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday. 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. As CNBC writes in an article "The EUs support for the Iran deal is not sufficient, Tehran says", 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. Bypassing U.S. sanctions Tehran has asked that the EU consider buying Iranian oil in euros and making transactions through its central bank, which would enable it to bypass the U.S. financial system. Since the lifting of sanctions, Iran's oil exports have increased by more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd). About 1 million bpd goes to Europe, while more than 1.5 million bpd is exported to China, India, South Korea and Japan. The EU is reportedly considering measures such as euro-denominated trade with Iran, the opening of new credit lines, applying EU laws that would forbid European companies from observing the U.S.' sanctions, and increased energy cooperation. It also aims to compensate European firms facing sanctions for doing business in the country. The deal's survival, Tehran has said, will depend on the EU's ability to keep its companies engaged in Iran and protect its oil sector from sanctions. In the event that this fails, the country's atomic energy organization has threatened to resume uranium enrichment to approach levels necessary for building a bomb. 'Much more complicated' "The announcement, in cascade, of European companies that will not keep investing in Iran are making the things much more complicated at the moment," the EU's Arias Canete said. Of Tehran's demands, he added that "the EU will consider it." European investment in the Islamic republic, led by Germany, France and Italy, has leapt to more than 20 billion euros since sanctions were lifted in 2016, according to Reuters. More than 10,000 German companies, for instance, are engaged in trade with Iran. Meanwhile, Iran has still not seen the level of investment it was hoping for post-JCPOA, leaving many Iranians dissatisfied with their government. This makes the stakes especially high for President Hassan Rouhani, who is now under intense pressure to deliver on his promises that the deal would herald a major boost for Iran's struggling economy. China will significantly increase purchases of U.S. goods, the White House said as Beijings special envoy at talks in Washington declared a trade war has been averted between the worlds two largest economies. Business-Review reports in its article The trade war is over. Promises made: China will `significantly boost U.S. that a joint statement released by the White House following the talks didnt place a dollar figure on the increased purchases by China, or address a comment by President Donald Trumps top economic adviser suggesting Beijing had agreed to slash its annual trade surplus with the U.S. by $200 billion. Vice Premier Liu He, a special envoy of Chinas President Xi Jinping, told reporters in Washington that talks with U.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven 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. Liu said the two sides agreed to stop slapping tariffs on each other, Xinhua reported. Liu said his trip to the U.S. had been positive, pragmatic, constructive and productive. 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 U.S. agriculture and energy exports, the White House said, adding that the U.S. will send a team to China to work out the details. Trade Deficit 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 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. 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 U.S. by at least $200 billion. The numbers a good number, Kudlow said outside the White House. Final results from Iraqs election confirmed Saturday that an alliance spearheaded by populist cleric Moqtada Sadr has triumphed, but the fiery preacher faces a huge task to form a governing coalition. Sadrs Marching Towards Reform bloc won 54 of the 329 seats in parliament in a major upset at a May 12 vote that saw a record level of abstentions as Iraqis turned their back on a widely reviled elite. The Globe Post reports in its article Winners and Losers of Iraqs Nationwide Election that the nationalist whose Shiite militia battled U.S. troops after the 2003 invasion faces a deeply fragmented political landscape and opposition from key player Iran after he called for foreign influence in Iraq to be cut. Sadr, who has reinvented himself as an anti-corruption crusader in an alliance with secular leftists, is looking to be the kingmaker and oversee the formation of a cross-sectarian, technocrat government from some dozen parties. But negotiations which tentatively began after the vote look set to drag out and it remains far from certain that Sadrs group will claim power after the first vote since the defeat of the Islamic State group. Poised in second place with some 47 seats is the pro-Iranian Conquest Alliance made up of ex-fighters from mainly Shiite paramilitary units that battled IS. The Victory Alliance bloc of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who hoped voters would reward him for seeing off the jihadists, performed worse than expected and was back in third place on 42 seats. Regional Tensions Sadr declared on Twitter that the results showed reform has won and corruption is weakened, but he faces a tricky regional context as he begins coalition negotiations. Writing in The Washington Post Friday, premier Abadi insisted his government would do all it can to ensure that the transition to the next government is conducted in a stable and transparent manner. He called for dialogue to create a new government that must be demonstrably non-elitist (and) representative of the people rather than dominated by one side or denomination. Abadi who came to power in 2014 as IS rampaged across Iraq has balanced off rivals the U.S. and Iran and could still remain in position as a consensus candidate. The protracted horse-trading comes at a time of high tensions after Washingtons withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran and fears of a tug-of-war over Iraq. Even before Sadrs victory was confirmed, Iran had already been convening meetings to try to block him from forming a government. Iran dispatched the powerful general Qassem Soleimani to Baghdad, who has met with several members of Iraqs old guard including Abadi and his predecessor Nuri al-Maliki. According to officials, Soleimani has ruled out any alliance with Sadr, who surprised many last year by visiting Irans regional foe Saudi Arabia as Riyadh seeks increased involvement in Iraq. Soleimanis shuttle diplomacy is aimed at gathering enough parties opposed to Sadr to deny his alliance a governable majority and a route to the powerful position of prime minister though Sadr himself says he is not in the running for the top job. The U.S., which still has thousands of troops in Iraq from the fight against IS, is also looking to push its interests after the vote. Washington envoy Brett McGurk has been meeting with leading politicians in both Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan region to the north. Attracting the Kurds and the marginalised Sunni community will prove important for anyone seeking to come to power, as Iraq looks to carry out the mammoth task of rebuilding after the defeat of IS. Sadr will probably try to form a large coalition, including Shiite parties, potentially involving the list of Abadi, and the Sunnis and Kurds, said Raphaele Auberty, an analyst at London-based BMI research. The Russian State Duma voted for the decree appointing Alexei Kudrin to the position of the head of the Accounts Chamber. "Appoint Alexei L. Kudrin to the position of the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and send this decree to the President of the Russian Federation and to the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation," the document says. Kudrin served earlier as the Finance Minister in 2000-2011 and concurrently held the office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2000-2004 and 2007-2011. He was the chief executive of the Center for Strategic Research since 2016. Speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, the president of the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation, Mikhail Vinogradov, noted that the appointment of Alexei Kudrin as head of the Accounts Chamber is ambivalent. "Alexei Kudrin's work at the Accounts Chamber is more organic than at the Center for Strategic Research or as an author of reforms. In addition, the position of the Accounts Chamber head gives him direct access to President Vladimir Putin and the possibility of serious influence on all key players. At the same time, it is important for Kudrin to demonstrate the ambiguity of his previous work in the Center for Strategic Research, and it can be achived either by giving additional content to the Accounting Chamber's work, or by demonstrating the temporary nature of his stay in this position," he explained. President of the Minchenko Consulting Communication Group, Yevgeny Minchenko, stressed the the discrepancy between the positioning of Alexei Kudrin and his new position in power. "Tatyana Golikova has shown in previous years that the Accounts Chamber can be quite a serious tool, including a public one. On the other hand, this is not quite a place for a person who claims to be an architect of reforms," he explained. "Kudrin's return to power, in fact, changes nothing now. Vladimir Putin repeatedly offered him posts in the executive branch, but it turned out that the pause between Kudrin's resignation from the post of deputy prime minister and the present moment has dragged on. It may therefore be assumed that his appointment as head of the Accounts Chamber is the first step towards Kudrin's smooth return to power. Perhaps in 2-3 years, Kudrin may become deputy prime minister again," Yevgeny Minchenko suggested. President of the Minchenko Consulting Communication Group stressed that Kudrin had to return to the executive bodies, since there is no place for an alternative moderately oppositional loyalist today. "Now that the government is formed and it is already clear that he is not in the presidential administration, it is better for Kudrin to assume at least the post of the head of the Accounts Chamber," the political scientist concluded. On May 17, the State Duma released Tatyana Golikova from the post of the Accounts Chamber chairwoman. President Vladimir Putin has proposed the candidacy of Alexei Kudrin to the State Duma for the position of chairman of the Accounts Chamber. The 17th Summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie will be held in Yerevan on October 11-12, 2018. Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan chaired a consultation yesterday during which the ongoing preparations for the summit were discussed. The PM underscored the need for high-level organizing and holding of this event, press office of the Prime Minister said. "Its an unprecedented event in its scope, in the history of the third republic," Pashinyan said. "We must do everything so that this event be historic, not only for Armenia, but also [for] the International Organization of La Francophonie." Nikol Pashinyan added that regular consultations will be convened toward the organizing of this summit, News.am reported. With the decision of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to impose an embargo on Israeli products, Turkey will also review its economic ties with Israel after the early June 24 elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. "I hope the OIC counties will put the decision of the embargo into practice. After all, there will be no way to get any products from them anymore. Of course, we will assess the situation as well," he stressed. "As Turkey, we will evaluate our ties, particularly economic and trade, with them. We have an upcoming election. We will take steps in this direction after the elections," Hurriyet Daily cited Erdogan as saying. Turkey's president recalled that the OIC had urged the United Nations to establish a peace force to protect Palestinians similar to the one in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina years ago, adding that they had also agreed on an investigation commission. The OIC held an extraordinary summit in Istanbul on May 18 to discuss the recent Israeli violence against Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip. Since rallies in Gaza kicked off on March 30, scores of Palestinian demonstrators have been killed and thousands were injured by Israeli troops deployed along the other side of the border. The forthcoming talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron will not be confined to the Iranian problem, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to speculations by some experts the Iranian theme will be central to the Putin-Macron meeting on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "Iran cannot be the focus of attention at such negotiations," TASS cited him as saying. "There will be bilateral relations and other international problems on the agenda. Reducing the range of questions to be discussed to just one theme would be wrong," the spokesman said. At the same time Peskov remarked that Moscow and the leaders of European countries, including France and Germany "share the understanding of the need for joint work to minimize the negative effects Washingtons pullout from the Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action (JCPOA) has entailed." Macron will pay a two-day official visit to St. Petersburg on May 24-25 at the invitation of the Russian president and attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum as an honorary guest. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed issues of bilateral cooperation in a phone talk today, the Kremlin's press service reported. "Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. Some issues of bilateral cooperation in continuation of the talks held in Sochi on May 14 were discussed," the report says. Russia and Japan have warned they could retaliate against U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium by imposing sanctions worth almost $1 billion combined, filings published by the World Trade Organization showed. Russia said the U.S. plan would add duties of $538 million to its annual exports and Japan put the sum at $440 million, and both said they had the right to impose equal costs on U.S. exports. Neither named the U.S. products that they might target. The documents from Russia and Japan, following similar filings last week by the European Union and China, notified the United States of the cost of its tariff plan, based on 2017 exports, Reuters reported. HA NOI The European Union (EU) market was the largest export market of Vietnamese shrimp in the first quarter of this year, according to Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). In the first quarter, the export value of shrimp from Viet Nam to the EU gained a year-on-year increase of 20.2 per cent to US$742.9 million, including $302.4 million in March, up 25.8 per cent compared to March 2017. Therefore, the EU maintained its position as the largest market for Vietnamese shrimp products, accounting for 18.2 per cent of Viet Nams total shrimp export value in the first quarter. The association said the EU was considered as the "most dynamic" market for Vietnamese shrimp in 2017. In 2018, the shrimp export to this market has maintained an upward trend. Viet Nam has gained by exporting shrimp to the EU, because India, Viet Nams big competitor in the EU market, has faced difficulties in exporting shrimp to the EU market as a result of antibiotic residue testing. India has also faced the risk of banning shrimp exports to the EU, reported Cong thuong newspaper. In addition, Vietnamese shrimp is more affordable than its competitors products and has the advantage of gaining the GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) from the EU that Thailand and China do not have. The Ministry of Industry and Trade said in the time to come, Viet Nams shrimp exports to the EU would see more advantages, once the European Union-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement, which is in the preparation phase, takes effect. As committed, after the agreement comes into effect, Vietnamese goods, including shrimp products, will enjoy special preferential tariffs. However, to promote shrimp exports to the EU in the future, experts said enterprises still need to pay special attention to quality, food safety and origin of raw materials. We are importing shrimps from India for processing, exporting to other markets. Meanwhile, shrimp export to the EU is under strict control of antibiotic residue. Therefore, Vietnamese shrimp exporters should pay more attention to the source of raw materials while exporting to the EU. The association said Viet Nams shrimp export in the second quarter is expected to continue to increase due to an adequate supply of raw materials for processing plants and a stable demand in the world market. - VNS Auto businesses are concerned about Viet Nams future policy orientation with regard to the auto industry, which they think will affect their business strategy. Photo thanhnien.vn HA NOI Auto businesses are concerned about Viet Nams future policy orientation with regard to the auto industry, which they think will affect their business strategy. The concerns were raised after the businesses received a Government document instructing relevant ministries and agencies to build technical barriers to control the quality of imported vehicles. Businesses recommended that the Government maintain stable long-term policies for them to assure future investment in Viet Nam. The request was sent to the Government after an inter-sector auto inspection team worked with 17 auto importers and locally-assembled manufacturers to solve issues while implementing the Governments decree on car manufacturing, assembly, importation and warranty offering - a move that came into effect from January 1, 2018, and tightened car imports. Enterprises must now receive vehicle type approval (VTA) certification when importing cars from the authorities of the importer country. Businesses can be granted VTA certification when importing vehicles from Thailand and Indonesia; however, with vehicles imported from Japan, they cannot obtain it as the Japanese Government doesnt grant such certification for exported vehicles. The enterprises proposed that the Government allow the use of the test report from the vehicle manufacturer. When importing cars from Europe, the auto businesses petitioned the Government to accept certificates of technical safety and environmental protection, provided by the European manufacturers, instead. Europe applies Euro 6 emission standards, whereas Viet Nam applies just Euro 4, thus the vehicles are guaranteed to meet Vietnamese standards. In addition, businesses importing cars said that the inspection and testing procedures for each batch of imported vehicles is time consuming and costly, causing an imbalance between locally produced cars and imported ones. Therefore, they proposed the Government consider reducing the number of samples tested from each batch of cars produced. Regarding locally-assembled production, the auto businesses expected the Government to continue recognising the certificate of components issued in accordance with European Economic Commission without testing or certification in Viet Nam. The investment in new trial roads is time-consuming and costly, they said, because now all automakers have invested in the test track. Based on the recommendations of the enterprises, the inter-sector auto inspection team has directly answered 74 out of 85 queries, the remaining issues will be reported to the Government to consider and remove on a case-by-case basis. Car prices fluctuate After reducing import tax on CBU units to zero per cent from the beginning of this year, the Vietnamese automobile market recorded two companies have been qualified to import cars for distribution at a significantly lower cost. However, due to the scarcity of supply, some firms have increased the price of locally assembled vehicles. According to calculations of insiders, when imported vehicles levied with zero per cent of tax incentives under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, car prices were supposed to decrease by 20 25 per cent compared to that of previous year. However, the Governments Decree 116 issued at the same time required importers to meet several strict conditions that make it difficult to import cars to Viet Nam. The remarkable point of the decree is that the importers must have vehicle type approval (VTA) certification from authorities in exporting countries. From the beginning of the year to date, there are only two companies - Honda and GM - that imported cars to Viet Nam after they gained VTA certification from exporting countries. In March, Honda imported about 2,000 cars in four types including CR-V, Civic, Jazz and Accord. This was also the first batch of cars imported into the country since the import tax rate of autos from ASEAN decreased to zero per cent. In the above four types, the most anticipated one is CR-V, which is priced from VN963 million to VN1.073 billion, close to VN200 million cheaper than the 2017 price. Along with Honda, GM Vietnam recently imported the Chevrolet Trailblazer sport utility vehicle from Thailand, priced from VN859 million to VN1.075 billion. At the same time, the firm announced discounts for this car from VN30-80 million. Unlike Honda and GM, the preferred imported cars such as the Toyota Fortuner, Ford Explorer, Toyota Land Prado and the Ford Ranger were not imported, as importers have not yet completed the procedures according to Decree 116. Cars imported from Europe in general and from Germany in particular, which are subject to a 70 per cent import tax, are also heavily affected by the new regulations of Decree 116. As a result there has not been any model of Audi, BMW or Volkswagen that has been imported to serve domestic consumers so far this year. According to disclosures from a number of enterprises, there werent many cars imported before 2018, as such businesses are trying to complete the import procedures to bring the car to consumers in the beginning of the third quarter this year. The difficulties of importing vehicles to Viet Nam has led to a scarcity of supply, thus companies assembling cars domestically, which are given a 5 per cent reduction to special consumption tax, and enjoy no import duty tax, are beginning to take advantage of the situation by raising prices. In early May, Nissan Vietnam suddenly increased the price of its model Sunny XL by VN10 million, bringing the overall cost to VN438 million. They also increased the cost of the model XV by VN11 million, bringing the cost up to VN479 million. Along with Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors Vietnam also raised the selling price for Outlander 2.0 CVT low-end model in May an additional VN15 million, to a total of VN823 million. Similarly, Truong Hai Automobile Joint Stock Co (Thaco) rose the price of the Kia Cerato 1.6L to VN530 million, a VN5 million increase, and increased the cost of the Cerato 2.0 to VN635 million, a VN6 million raise. It also raised the price of two versions of the Mazda 2 by VN30 million each to VN529 million and VN569 million, respectively. VNS HA NOI Indias trade relations with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam (CLMV) have immense potential to flourish, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung. Hung delivered this remark during the opening ceremony of the fifth India-CLMV Business Conclave in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Monday. Close geographic distance, fast-growing economies and large and young populations have aided trade ties between India and CLMV countries, Hung said. These economies can support and complement each other. India has strengths in capital, technology, new energy, renewable energy, education, pharmaceuticals and hi-tech products, while CLMV countries have advantages in textile and garments, footwear, farm produce, wood, minerals, vegetables and machinery parts. They can also help each other penetrate deeply into larger markets, he added. In his speech at the event, Hung proposed several measures to accelerate economic and trade relations between India and CLMV countries. Among them included improving the transport infrastructure connectivity, with a focus on bettering the connectivity of the northeastern of India and Myanmar two important links to connect India and CLMV countries. Top priority should be given to harmonising trade and investment policies and finance regulations between these four countries and facilitating the exchanges of professionals, he said. Indias trade with CLMV countries has experienced significant growth over the years, from a modest US$460 million in 2000 to $4.97 billion in 2004 and $14.5 billion in 2017. Currently, India is the largest trade partner of CLMV nations in South Asia. However, there remain many challenges that hamper trade relations between India and CLMV nations such as differences in quality of infrastructure, a lack of connectivity, failure to meet demand of each other market and poor cross-border infrastructure. Themed India-CLMV Economic Development: Collaboration for Regional Integration, the fifth India-CLMV Business Conclave is a two-day programme which will consist of sessions discussing manufacturing, agro-forestry-fisheries, IT, education and health care. VNS HA NOI The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has decided to levy import tax on steel produced in Viet Nam using Chinese-origin substrate. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to collect anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) cash deposits on imports of corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) produced in Viet Nam using Chinese-origin substrate at the rate of 199.43 per cent and 39.05 per cent, respectively. CBP will also collect AD and CVD cash deposits on imports of cold-rolled steel produced in Viet Nam using Chinese-origin substrate at the rate of 199.76 per cent and 256.44 per cent, respectively. The cash deposit rates were determined earlier in the AD and CVD investigations on cold-rolled steel and CORE from China. Cash deposits will apply to all unliquidated entries on or after November 4, 2016, the date the inquiries were initiated. Importers and exporters of Vietnamese merchandise produced from substrate originating in Viet Nam or a third country have the option of seeking an exemption from cash deposits by certifying that the substrate originated outside of China, DoC said. It added that shipments of CORE from Viet Nam to the United States increased from US$2 million to $80 million, and those of cold-rolled steel increased from $9 million to $215 million after preliminary duties were imposed on Chinese products in 2015. The inquiries were conducted in response to requests from US domestic producers of CORE and cold-rolled steel, including Steel Dynamics, Inc., California Steel Industries, AK Steel Corporation, ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Nucor Corporation and US Steel Corporation. The DoCs Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing US trade laws and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international law and is based solely on factual evidence. According to Chu uc Khai, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Steel Association, Viet Nams export volume of steel is quite small compared to the USs volume of import. The country last year exported 4.7 million tonnes of steel to foreign countries, earning a revenue of US$3.1 billion. Of this, 567,000 tonnes of steel were exported to the US, occupying 12 per cent of Viet Nams total export. This volume accounted for just 1.67 per cent of the USs steel imports. In 2016, the US imported 31 million tonnes of steel and in 2017, it imported 34 million tonnes, said Khai. VNS Up to 30 flashfloods reportedly occurred in Con River and Chay River in Ha Giang Province between 2004 and 2010. Photo hagiang.gov.vn HA NOI Climate change is damaging production and livestock in the countrys northeast provinces, raising the risks that the poverty rate there could increase in the next few years, according to a new study by scientists of the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences. The study showed that climate change has been causing extreme weather phenomena, including thunderstorms, torrential rain, hail, prolonged heat waves and cold weather, flashfloods and landslides in the provinces for years. For example, extreme cold weather, with temperatures falling as low as 0 degrees, has hit Lang Son Province in several recent years. The storm Ramasun, hitting the East Sea in 2014, brought torrential rains with the rainfall of up to 416mm in the Mau Son area. Up to 30 flashfloods reportedly occurred in Con River and Chay River in Ha Giang Province between 2004 and 2010. In October 2017 alone, flashfloods tragically killed at least 68 people and injured 34 others in the northeastern provinces. Due to the extreme weather phenomena, production activities were badly affected. It is estimated that over 9,000ha of crop have been damaged each year since 2011. The damage is up to billions of ong, the study found. Therefore, local farmers should change the types of trees they grow to better adapt to climate change. They have started to grow cardamom, anise, pear and tangerine in Lang Son Province as well as orange and lemon in Ha Giang Province instead of their usual crops and vegetables. Scientists also pointed out that climate change contributed to outbreaks of disease among animals and poultry. Increasing temperatures, along with the degree of large temperature fluctuations, have caused more animals to experience heat shock. Data from the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said foot-and-mouth disease was believed to appear with higher frequency during 2006-15 than in previous years. In 2008 alone, over 54,000 cows and buffaloes were reportedly killed by foot-and-mouth disease in the provinces due to prolonged cold weather. The impacts of climate change also threaten the cause of poverty reduction in the northern provinces. The north is a unique mountainous region dominated by rivers. Extreme floods and other natural disasters in the area have caused economic losses each year at an estimated rate of 1-1.5 per cent of GDP, scientists said. According to local administrators, severe shortages of fresh water often occur in the four districts of Quan Ba, Yen Minh, ong Van and Meo Vac in the dry season. The various natural disasters have reduced the standard of living for people in the northeast provinces. The local residents have to spend money in stabilising production damaged by natural disasters. The expenses available for medical and educational services are thus also reduced, the study found. How to solve Nguyen Song Tung, vice president of the Institute of Human Geography under the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences, said authorised agencies should help local farmers to apply new models of production to better adapt to climate change, such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) model. SRI is an agro-ecological methodology for increasing the productivity of irrigated rice by changing the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients. Local farmers were also advised to apply bio-pads in husbandry in general and pig-raising in particular, as well as to raise fish in cages in rivers and lakes to gain more income, Tung said. People should grow trees that bring higher economic value, he added. Staff from the local agriculture agency was told to instruct people to fertilise their trees with nitrogenous fertiliser and manure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he added. Local administration was asked to study and implement measures to ensure water security for people who have suffered the most from severe shortages of fresh water in the coming time, he said. If all the methods were efficiently applied, the threat of poverty increasing would also be under control, he said. The northeast region includes the nine provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho, Bac Giang and Quang Ninh, with the total area accounting for 15.3 per cent of the countrys area and the population comprising 9.35 per cent of the countrys total. VNS HA NOI Fly ash from Formosa steel company (FHS) has passed quality assessments and can be used to produce cement, the environment ministry has said. The ministrys response came a few days after media reports that waste from the Ha Tinh-based manufacturer, the one responsible for the devastating 2016 marine ecological disaster in Central Viet Nam, was used in the production of a cement producer without approval from local authorities, raising safety concerns. The reuse of the byproduct from combustion of coal, estimated at 16.4 million tonnes a year, is necessary to offset the environmental impacts of the countrys increasing reliance on thermal power, the Viet Nam Environment Administration (VEA) said. According to reports, Song Gianh Cement JSC in Tien Hoa Commune of Quang Binh Province has acquired Formosa s waste to use as an additive in its cement products. The waste was delivered from Ha Tinh to Quang Binh by the Le Mai Transport and Commerce Ltd Co. However, speaking to Tien Phong (the Vanguard) newspaper, heads of the two companies denied that they brought in waste from Formosa . However, when the newspaper produced videos showing Le Nam trucks going in and out of FHS, Nguyen Van Thanh, director of Song Gianh JSC, responded that Le Nams transport of the fly ash was unauthorised and that his company had told Le Nam that they should not acquire ash from FHS due to sensitiveness surrounding this company, referring to the simmering public anger over the companys past irresponsibility in handling its w a stethe main cause of the massive pollution incident in 2016. Le Thanh Hai, director of the Le Nam transport company, later admitted the company indeed had deployed a few trucks to carry ash from FHS, as ash from the nearby Vung Ang thermopower plant was not sufficient. According to the Quang Binh environment department, Song Gianh JSC had asked the authorities for permission to buy fly ash from FHS, but the department has told the provincial authorities to refrain from giving permission to the company, also because of sensitivities towards Formosa . Carefully regulated VEA said the construction ministrys official dispatch to FHS back in 2017 clearly stated that the Government encourages the use of slag and ash from thermopower generation to produce building materials, as per the Government Decision 452 in April 2017. Experts contended that even though FHS fly ash passed the initial quality test by the environment authorities, this approval couldnt be used as an inherent authorisation for the waste to be sold off, as every batch still needs to be inspected before it may be used for other purposes. In addition, it was alleged that FHS bought coals from a variety of sources and could not ensure consistent quality of coals and the resulting ash. VEA responded that since 2016, Formosa has maintained stable import sources of coal from Russia and Indonesia to operate its three coal-burning electricity generators. The coal was said to be high quality, with high purity and low sulphur content, producing little of the toxic ash. Earlier this year, VEA received the request from Song Gianh to use FHS waste to produce cement, and gave its approval on the condition that the materials must meet current technical demands and that the company has the responsibility to monitor the transport of ash by the Le Nam company. VEA said the reuse of fly ash was always encouraged by other countries, such as Japan and China . Quality ash would reduce the costs of cement while making the concrete stronger, it said. The environment ministry in the coming time will continue pushing for the reuse of fly ash as well as proper inspection of such activities. VNS TIEN GIANG Upgrades to the Cho Gao canal, which connects the southeastern and southwestern regions of Viet Nam, have proven ineffective after just three years of operation, experts say. The upgrading project aims at dredging and expanding the canal to ease traffic congestion and to build embankments along the sides to prevent landslides. The economically critical Cho Gao Canal is the key waterway for transporting goods by ship from HCM City to the Mekong Delta and vice versa. The first phase of the upgrade project was completed and put into operation in the 2013-14 period, at a cost of VN786 billion (US$34.5 million). Tran uc Hai, deputy head of Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, told Tuoi tre (Youth) news paper that the embankment of the canal has already been eroded. He claimed this is because many vessels have been running too close to the embankment in the section of the canal that passes through the Mekong Delta Province of Tien Giang. He also said a number of boats have been docking directly on the embankment. According to Hai, the first phase of the project mainly focused on building the embankment and reinforcing the road, not on expanding the river bed, for an 11-km section of the Cho Gao canal. Because the canal is so narrow, vessels struggle to avoid passing close to the embankment. The embankment should be maintained regularly while in operation, he said. But it hasnt been reinforced since it was handed over to Tien Giang province authorities. Hai said that due to the limited budget, the upgraded canal will only facilitate ships of about 600 tonnes. Ships weighing over 1,000 tonnes must wait for high tide. Further upgrades to accommodate them would be costly and time-consuming, he said. A captain named Chinh said all barges with over 2,000 tonnes in weight had to wait for high tide to pass through. Statistics from the Waterways Traffic Police Department of Tien Giang Province showed that nearly 1,100 vessels pass along Cho Gao canal every day. Due to shallow water, ships often get stuck for almost eight hours at a time. Large-capacity ships must anchor at Tien and Vam Co rivers while waiting for the tide to rise to pass along the canal. The fact that vessels had to wait between three and four hours a day to pass through the canal causes damage to enterprises, said Tran o Liem, chairman of Vietnam Inland Waterways Association, adding that the waiting time was the same as the length of a barge trip to transport goods from My Tho City to HCM City. Constant traffic jams lower enterprises profit, he said. He proposed dredging the canal to ensure smoother traffic flow. Hai from Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration said the above-mentioned problem would be solved when the second phase of the project is completed. The second phase aims to dredge to widen the southern bank of Cho Gao canal to 55m. At that time, big vessels could make use of high tide to operate normally, he said. Costing VN1.3 trillion (US$57 million), the projects second phase will upgrade a 28.6-km section of the canal. It includes dredging the canal and building a stone embankment on the southern side of the canal and roads along its two banks. It was supposed to be carried out in the 2016-2017 period under the build, operate and transfer (BOT) format, but it was suspended due to financial infeasibility under the BOT format. The Ministry of Transport has recently submitted a report to the Government proposing to use an Official Development Assistance loan for inland waterway corridor development projects, including the upgrades to the Cho Gao canal. Once complete, the upgrades are expected to ease traffic along the canal. VNS Local pride: Despite being busy with farming, many households in Phung Cong Commune still spare time to make the rice cake in huge quantities, up to hundreds to thousands of pieces, to sell to traders. VNA/VNS Photo Pham Kien Viet Nam News By Phuong Ha Whoever has tried banh te or banh rang bua (rice cake filled with brown onion) will never forget its delicious taste. Banh te or banh rang bua is a specialty of Phung Cong Commune in the northern province of Hung Yen. Its taste is derived from the sweetness of meat and crispiness of cats ear mixed with the soft and flavourful rice powder. Phung Cong rice cake is so well known in northern Viet Nam that it is not only sold in every small lane and alley of Ha Noi but is also sold abundantly in many rural markets in nearby Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh and Hai Phong provinces. With simple ingredients, the cake can be found in many places in Viet Nam, but gourmets argue that those made in Phung Cong Commune are the best, both in shape and taste. Despite being busy with farming, many households in the commune still spare time to make the rice cake in huge quantities, from hundreds to thousands of pieces, to sell to traders. During leisure after harvesting, the households increase the number of banh te they make, which are not only sold to traders but also in rural markets or village fairs within the provinces, said Nguyen Thi Hai, whose family has made banh te for three generations. The cake is cheap, so it is sold like hot cakes. Many people buy it to gift to the elderly or children. Sometimes I take 500 pieces to the village fair and they are all sold in the middle of the day, she added. Tangy: Banh te can be enjoyed with fish sauce or chilli sauce, a great snack for any hungry stomach. VNA/VNS Photo Pham Kien Snack time: Banh te is a treat for any visitors to Phung Cong Commune in Hung Yen Province. VNA/VNS Photo Pham Kien According to experienced local rice-cake makers, the ingredients must be delicious to make the cake delicious, which is why the process of choosing the rice, meat and spices is crucial. The best rice to make banh te is the aromatic tam xoan or tam thom variety grown in Nam inh Province that has been recently harvested. The rice that has been harvested for too long is substandard as it will have an unpleasant smell. All households in the commune, including mine, making the rice cake must keep their customers trust by never buying cheap, low-quality rice, Hai said. Likewise, the ingredients for the stuffing - mixed lean and fat meat, cats ear, pepper and onion - must be of the best quality. The process of making banh te is quite simple; it is the grinding of rice powder that is complex. The rice, after being soaked in pure limewater for three to four hours, needs to be cleaned thoroughly with fresh water. It is compulsory to grind the rice in a stone mortar instead of using ready-to-use rice powder as it will make the cake hard and not as soft as that made with rice powder ground with water. After the grinding phase, the mixture is poured into a huge pot and heated with light fire to become condensed. The cook must use a large flat chopstick to stir the liquid constantly to prevent the powder at the bottom of the pot from overcooking. After the powder is half-cooked and has condensed, it is placed on a tray to cool off. The stuffing is made with minced and boiled lean and fat meat mixed with sliced cats ear and slightly grilled onion. All the ingredients are minced to small pieces. Before frying, pepper and high-quality fish sauce are added. The amount of sauce added to the mixture is also important as it will decide the taste of the cake. According to Hai, the wrapping phase demands meticulousness and patience, and an experienced cake maker can wrap hundreds of cakes in a day. Phrynium leaf, some 40cm long and 15cm wide, is used to wrap the cake. After wrapping, a handful of rice powder is spread along the leaf. The stuffing is placed right in the middle and the cake is shaped like harrow teeth, or rang bua in Vietnamese, after which the cake is named. The cake is then tied around with nylon or bamboo strings. The final step is boiling or steaming the cake. Boiling is faster, taking some 10 minutes, but steaming helps to preserve the original taste of the cake. Though steaming is more time-consuming, nearly all the villagers opt for this method because it preserves the flavour, glutinosity and strong taste of banh te made in our village, Hai said. Peel off the steaming hot te cake and enjoy it instantly with chilli sauce. The easy-to-make and reasonably priced rural specialty reflects the rural taste of Phung Cong Commune, attracting visitors to try the delicacy. VNS HA TINH A research team of Ha Tinh Museum has discovered a royal decree dating to 1784. The decree was found at the Phan Van family in Tram Bang village in central Ha Tinh Provinces uc Lap Commune. Nguyen Tri Son, director of the museum, confirmed to Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper that the decree was signed on February 26, 1784, the 14th year of King Le Hien Tongs reign. Even after centuries, the document remains intact, measuring 2.1m long and 0.5m wide, with bold, black Chinese characters on a yellow background. The front of the document is decorated in dragon patterns and has a square royal seal with clear date, while the back of the paper is decorated in dragon, phoenix and cloud patterns. The document talks about the promotion of a noted military general, Phan Hang, who used to live in Phung Cong Commune in Nghe An regions Huong Son District (todays uc Lap Commune, uc Tho District, Ha Tinh Province). According to the teams research, Phan Hang directed navy troops to protect the Lords Palace. Due to his contributions, he was promoted to lead the entire military troop under King Le Hien Tong, whose rule is dubbed as Canh Hung reign (1740-1786). VNS QUANG TRI International solidarity activists met in the central Quang Tri province on Monday to discuss the role of public solidarity in boosting peace, security and sustainable development. Delegates from different countries gathered for a three-day workshop to discuss the topic. The workshop is being held by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung and the Viet Nam Peace and Development Foundation from May 20-22. In a keynote message, former State President Nguyen Thi Binh said in todays times, peace did not merely mean the absence of war but also included development. Binh, who is also the chairwoman of the Viet Nam Peace and Development Foundation, underlined that people across the world needed peace for development, liberty and happy life. She also recalled peace and solidarity movements significance in the fight for liberty, independence and development of Viet Nam. However, as wars continue in many regions of the world, participants at the workshop called for stronger cooperation among organisations working for peace. It is hard to have solidarity in the context of extreme nationalism and pragmatism seen around the world, said Pham Van Chuong, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Peace and Development Foundation. He urged activists the world over to work harder for peace. According to Iraklis Tsavavdaridis, executive secretary of the World Peace Council, growing imperialist aggressiveness in the world was posing a new threat to peace and humanity. Together with tensions and regional conflicts, imperialist aggressions are making people suffer, particularly the cases of Palestine, Western Sahara or Cyprus, he said. He added that the council expressed its solidarity to the people in those areas as well as those in Venezuela, Korea and Syria. Liliane Danso Dahmen, director of Rosa Luxemburg Stiftungs South East Asia office, said people in the world needed to fight and stand together for peace and to support struggles for independence and social justice. International solidarity for peace is the foundation to ultimately build an equal and civilised world for all, she said. Earlier on May 20, the international delegates visited National Highway 9 Cemetery to pay tribute to Vietnamese martyrs. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam requests that China immediately stop sending bombers to conduct drills in Viet Nams Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, said the Vietnamese Foreign Ministrys spokesperson, Le Thi Thu Hang. Hang made the statement in Ha Noi on Monday in response to a reporters question regarding the exercises, saying Chinas dispatch of bombers to conduct take-off and landing drills in Hoang Sa has seriously violated Viet Nams sovereignty over the archipelago. The move also runs counter to the Viet Nam -China agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues as well as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China. Chinas acts have also adversely affected negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) between ASEAN and China, and have fuelled tensions as well as caused instability in the region, subsequently hampering efforts to maintain peace, stability and co-operation in the East Sea, she said. Viet Nam has full legal grounds and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes in line with international law, the official affirmed. Viet Nam asks China not to conduct militarisation activities and to seriously respect the countrys sovereignty over the two archipelagoes. It also asks that China observe the Viet Nam-China agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues and the DOC, and create a favourable environment for the maintenance of regional peace, stability and co-operation, Hang said. VNS As the northern and central regions have been sweltering for weeks, hospitals have received a massive influx of patients suffering from heat-related illnesses. Photo hanoimoi.vn HA NOI As the northern and central regions have been sweltering for weeks, hospitals have received a massive influx of patients suffering from heat-related illnesses. Elders and children are among the most vulnerable to the emerging heat-wave. Bach Mai Hospital has witnessed an increase of 30 to 50 per cent of elderly patients hospitalised with chronic diseases. Alongside this it is estimated that the number of children having examinations at the National Childrens Hospital has risen 10 to 15 per cent in the last few weeks. The hospital currently receives up to 3,500 child patients per day, mainly suffering from viral fever, diarrhea and respiratory infections. Some hospitals have become unpleasant places to be due to the overload of people seeking treatment. Patients relatives resting in corridors, on benches or under trees outside the hospital have become common. Suc Khoe& oi Song (Health&Life) newspaper reported that a patient in Bach Mai Hospital has seen everyone is his family fall sick in recent days. It is terrible seeing the hospital stuck with people. Even the parking lot is running out of spaces, he said. Another patient from Nam inh Province said that he came for his health check alone, as he was afraid that his relatives would catch an illness if they came with him. I heard that it would be more crowded during weekends, he added. With the temperature reaching up to 40 degrees Celsius, provinces in the northern and central regions have had to resist the recent hot spell any way they can. Ha Tinh Province Hospital, for example, has been equipped with more chairs, fans, air conditioners, curtains and sunshades in patient rooms. Water fountains have also been set up in the hospitals departments and waiting rooms. Nguyen Thi Hong Vinh from Thach Tien Commune, Thach Ha District, a relative of a patient receiving treatment at Ha Tinh Province Hospital, said that she appreciates the hospitals effort to combat the heat-wave. The hospitals technicians check every fan in patient rooms to make sure they are operating properly. Windows can be totally covered with sunshades to comfort patients during treatment, she said. According to Tran Thi Dung, deputy director of a hospital in Ha Tinh Province, to prevent an overload, doctors and medical staff of the Examination Department are asked to turn up for work 30 minutes earlier than usual to perform tests and give out results as fast as possible. Nguyen Tuan, deputy director of the provincial Department of Health, said that the department asked local medical facilities to stock adequate medicine to ensure a timely response to patients with summer diseases. He also recommended people to plenty of drink water, eat more fruit and sanitise their hands several times a day. Regarding children suffering from fever, it is essential to take them to nearest medical facilities for proper treatment, avoiding use of antibiotics without a doctors recommendation. The Ha Noi Department of Health asked the citys medical facilities to improve their heat resilience and reduce waiting times for patients having examinations and treatment. Hospitals are also required to set up action plans to receive and treat increased cases of infectious diseases such as dengue fever, measles, meningococcal disease or hand-foot-and-mouth disease. VNS There are 49 districts that will not be allowed to send workers to work in Korea this year, reducing nine districts in comparison with 2017. Photo danviet.vn HA NOI Nguyen Van Thang had a dream. A dream that would improve his life, and the life of his family. To achieve it, he had to quit his masonry job and study Korean, because that was where he wanted to work. Born to a family living below the poverty line in central Thanh Hoa Provinces Hoang Hoa District, Thang was forced to quit school to concentrate on earning a living. At 20-years-old he was earning just VN3-3.5 million (US$133-155) per month. It was time for change. And that change meant moving to Korea. But Thangs dream came crumbling down after the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs earlier this month announced that Hoang Hoa District where he lives is among districts that have suspended sending workers to Korea to work. The decision means residents in 49 districts of 12 cities and provinces that have more than 30 per cent of guest workers who do not return home after their contracts expired will not qualify for the programme. It also includes those areas that currently have more than 60 people working illegally in the country. I think the decision was unreasonable, Thang told Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper. It cost me more than VN20 million ($888) to study Korean language for two years. We did nothing wrong but we have to take the responsibility for what those violated workers in Korea had committed. I hope that authorised agencies will look at removing the ban, Thang said. Like Thang, Nguyen Thi Y, from Hoang Hoa District, also dreamed of going to Korea to work but she was now discouraged by the ban. People say that it is not easy to go to Korea to work. Doing a Korean language test is not easy and even if you pass the exam, you may not be chosen. Now the ban for workers in districts with high rate of guest workers who do not return home after work contracts expired reduces the opportunities for workers like me, she said. Y has studied Korean language for two years but she still failed the test. If I could not pass the Korean language test again this year, I will return home to work as a garment worker at a local industrial zone, she told the newspaper. According to the latest announcement from the ministry, there are 49 districts that will not be allowed to send workers to work in Korea this year, reducing nine districts in comparison with 2017. However, the figure is still high, meaning that thousands of workers are unable to work in Korea this year. Deputy director of the ministrys Centre for Overseas Labour Pham Ngoc Lan said a number of localities such as Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Hai Duong and Thanh Hoa still had the highest number of districts that were banned from sending labourers to Korea. It was announced that if the number and the rate of violated guest workers from these localities do not decline by the end of 2018, the ban will continue in 2019, she told the newspaper. According to a representative from the ministry Department of Overseas Labour Management, the department has taken many measures to reduce the rate of guest workers who do not return home after work contracts expired such as increasing information dissemination about abiding by regulations and mobilising their families and local authorities to call them return home. Other measures include requiring workers to pay a deposit of VN100 million ($4,400) before going to Korea, co-ordinating with Korean authorities to increase inspection and supervision and expel illegal workers and stopping recruiting workers from districts with high rate of illegal workers. As one among localities with highest rate of illegal workers in Korea, authorities of central Nghe An Province have also taken many steps to reduce the number of illegal workers in Korea. ang Cao Thang, deputy director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the province was very sorry to have many districts to be banned. Local authorities have co-ordinated with relevant agencies to increase information dissemination for local residents and workers. Many local workers felt it was unfair they could not go to Korea to work because of mistakes caused by other workers, he said. He proposed higher fines for violated workers. Deputy Director of the ministrys Department of Overseas Labour Management Nguyen Gia Liem said the actions of a few had a huge impact. This was a particular concern after the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries to provide more Vietnamese workers in the coming year. As a result, the programme was suspended, he said. However, the rate of Vietnamese workers in Korea not returning home has dropped recently, from 50 per cent in 2000 to 34 per cent at present. Therefore, Korea decided to continue signing the MoU with Viet Nam. Regarding the decision to not allow 49 districts to send workers to Korea, Liem said the ministry was trying to take measures to improve the situation and reduce the number of districts that are banned from sending workers to Korea. VNS THO Can Tho, the biggest and most modern city in the Mekong Delta region, is expected to be a smart city by 2025. At the conference Developing Can Tho to be a smart city in the period from 2016 to 2025 yesterday, Duong The Dung, deputy director of the city Department of Information and Communication, said that the goal of this plan is to improve peoples living and working conditions. A smart city accelerates civic engagement in urban management based on the improvement of competitiveness and socioeconomic development. According to Dung, the plan requires effective communication to improve public services, giving feedback and proposing demands. Urban and social infrastructure planning and investing has to be compatible with the process of developing a smart city. Setting up a standard for public services, specifying policies for public-private partnerships, fostering start-ups and enhancing international co-operation are among solutions that Dung proposed to turn Can Tho into a smart city by 2025. Speaking at the conference, Vo Thanh Thong, head of Can Tho City Peoples Committee, said the conference was an open platform in which experts could share their opinions in implementing a smart city plan, applying smart solutions in management for the citys development. Nguyen Van Thanh, deputy minister of public security, told the Vietnam News Agency that a city turns smart when it can improve the investment environment, manage natural resources and meet security and safety standards. Participants discussed urban management on Phu Quoc Island, which is soon to be Viet Nams Special Economic Zone, and the experiences of Singaporean firms in urban safety, environment, urban planning and digital governance. The conference also witnessed the signing ceremony of co-operation agreement between Can Tho City and Vietnam Posts and Communications Group (VNPT). VNPT will set up a smart city framework system including an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) framework and a smart city solution framework which ensures the smart city solutions of all developers can run on this platform. VNS NGHE AN Four members of a family, including an 18-month-old baby, were struck by lightning on Monday afternoon inside their house in central Nghe An provinces Quy Hop commune. The victims include Sam Thi Nien, 79; Lo Thi ao and Truong Thi Ha, both 21, and 18-month-old Sam Khai Minh. They fainted immediately as lightning struck their house. However, ao regained consciousness soon and called out to neighbours for help. The victims were rushed to Quy Hop Health Centre for treatment. Their condition is stable. In another instance, a 20-year-old man was killed after being struck by lightning on Sunday in Chau Phong Commune as he was sitting in his house and playing games on his mobile phone while it was charging. 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(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. Black Inferiority / Progressive Nationalism Foreign Colonization Is AMERICAN DOMESTICATION RIZZO IS DEAD IN PHILLY. LONG LIVE FRAUD IN THIS GOD FORSAKEN CITY. America: One Big INTEREST ONLY Loan US Government USED Americanized Blacks' To Achieve Its African Goals Why Did You Hear This Admission About The US/NATO Actual Destructive Goals From 'WHITE TRiUMP', While The "We Are In The White House Negroes' Never Pushed President Obama To Admit That The Coup In Libya North Africa WAS NOT A 'Humanitarian Mission', As 'The Black Commander In Chief' Told The World? What Is The 'American Containerized Black' Tribe GIVING UP In The Name Of PROGRESSIVE DISARMAMENT, Which Will Later Be Used Against Them Toward Their Destruction, That Will Be Called 'Social Justice'? A Major Step In Protecting Black Valuables Investmented We Are Now In The "Or Else WHAT" Stage Slavery In Libya North Africa 2017 6 Years After The "Humanitarian Mission" - Not A Peep From "Black Grievance Studies" Professors Perfect 1.0 'Spiritual Whiteness' Is No Respecter Of Skin Color The "Blackest" Moment In American Jurisprudence A Ninja Got Himself Kilt Last Night Few Colonial Subjects Will Ask "Who Were They Fighting Against Between These Two Historical Points" The Qualifications For Admission Have Increased Street Pirate Adverse Community Experience Creator When The Colonizer Becomes Aware Of The Need To Find A NEGRO CONFIDENCE MAN PARTNER The Revenge Of LBJ After MLK "Stabbed Him In The Back" Over Vietnam #BlackLivesMatter Is NOT A GOVERNANCE Movement It Is ONLY A POLIITCAL OPPORTUNISTIC Movement With Up To 75% Of The Homicide Victims In Philly Being Black This Means That About 126 Black People Murdered In 2015 Have Not Triggered More National Awareness Than The Cherry Picked Small Number Of Inductees In The "Black Civil Rights Homicide Victim Martyr Hall Of Fame" That Is Used As A Reference Of The Status Of Black People With Reference To White Americans "#All Killers Of Black People Are Equal Street Pirates" The "#BlackLivesMatter" Movement Must Prove That It Is More Than The 'Ideologically Bigoted' Analog To "Police Racial Profiling" By Eliminating Its Propensity To 'Walk Past Dead Black Bodies That Don't Fit Their Agenda' On Their Way To The Protest Rally On The Downtown Public Square. The Flag Of A New Colonizer Is Hung At Full Staff Sudan - To-Damned-Day The Manifestation Of Progressive Feminism As A Cultural Replacement Download Video: .mp4 CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK UNIVERSITY Agrees With Her Logic As A Logical Extension Of Her "Progressive Fundamentalist"/'Social Justice' Inference BUT It Is An Assault Upon The 'Functional Culture' That Is Needed For The Black Diaspora To Find Its Purpose From "My Queen" To "My Bitch" In A Few GenerationsCONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK UNIVERSITY Agrees With Her Logic As A Logical Extension Of Her "Progressive Fundamentalist"/'Social Justice' Inference BUT It Is An Assault Upon The 'Functional Culture' That Is Needed For The Black Diaspora To Find Its Purpose THE NINJA WHO GOT HIMSELF KILT YOU ARE A WITNESS TO A REVOLUTION IN "HAMSTERDAMN" Thanks To The Progressives I Can Now Breath Getting Your Ass Whipped In Prison Is Not A Choice. Silence In Public Reaction To It Is Kermit Asks That You Be Consistent A Friend Of "Black Community Development" The Capture Of The Assassination Killer Of Kim Jones Of Philadelphia Should Be Top News Among Those Who Value "Black Lives" Maybe You Are Being "Colonized" Today? The Henry Dee & Charles Moore Martyr Hall Of Fame & Last Chance NIT Tournament "Black Consciousness" Is NOT Proven By A Large Headcount A Black Man Seeing Crying In Philly After A Loss At The Hands Of A Street Pirate A Question Of Personal Values And Community Priorities And Black Media Agenda I Want To Be Allowed To Develop Into Maya Angelou Dr King's Pulpit Then And Now The Americanized Negro Has Known No Rivers Beyond The Urban Water Supply Spigot The Fire Hose As A GPS Coordinate Depicting Black People's Coordinates Upon "The Struggle" If After 20 Years Of Observations I Am On To Them, The Fact That The Media Has Been Echoing Them For 50 Years Without Challenging Them About The DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEAST OF THESE UNDER THEIR CARE - Points To A Conspiracy Converting "Safe Passage" From Municipal Street Sign To A Consciousness Within The People The Embedded Confidence Man's Press Agents Blow Smoke Rings As Circular References The SUPERIORITY Of White People's Thoughts Material Access To Consumer Comforts Is Not Indicative Of A Greater Consciousness Mayor Nutter's Lessons Learned Gen Edmund Pettus C.S.A. - Thanks You He Cracked The Code On Black Progressive Outrage In This House We Still Believe In God!!! Tavis-You Blacks Need To Fire The Negro Generals Who Have Failed & Get New Leadership The Inside Threat That Lurks Outside Of The Window Of Community Consciousness My Faith In Institutions That I Once Trusted To Indoctrinate My Children Will Forever Be Shattered Regulatory Capture The Black Racial Services Machine A Miscalculation On The School Busing Program To Social Justice Full Faith And Confidence Of The Office Of The President Of The United States The First Black Man In World History Who Is Able To Execute The Foreign/ Military / Economic Policy In The Name Of The United States Of America And Not Get Arrested In Doing So Because He Runs The Federal Prison System. His Power Is So Venerated That "The Blacks" Have Even Stopped Protesting Against The Actions Of The US Government Because They Fear That Their Outward Expression Of Discontent Against The Government Might Hurt His Chances At Reelection. The First Black Man In World History Who Is Able To Execute The Foreign/ Military / Economic Policy In The Name Of The United States Of America And Not Get Arrested In Doing So Because He Runs The Federal Prison System. His Power Is So Venerated That "The Blacks" Have Even Stopped Protesting Against The Actions Of The US Government Because They Fear That Their Outward Expression Of Discontent Against The Government Might Hurt His Chances At Reelection. Who Diverted The Community's Eyes Off Of The Prize In Pursuit Of Shortsighted Political Gains? As I Increase The Scope Of My Sample For Observation It Is Becoming Clear To Me That The "Machine Effect" In Metro-Atlanta That Distorts And Disrupts The Development Of Black People Is Not A Geographic Phenomenon But Instead Is Rooted In Lack Of Conscious Awareness Beyond One's On Provincial Interests And, More Importantly, The Absence Of A GOVERNING OVERLAY That Can Push Back Against These Misappropriations Of "The Black Community Development Consciousness" NYOil - Ya'll Should All Get Lynched Why Haven't Those Who Claim To MANAGE Your Community Told You The Dimensions Of The Space? The Rabid "Embedded Black Fox Confidence Man" The Mayor Of Philly Learned What The Korean Merchants Already Know A Black Man Is Not Equal Until He Can Commit A "Civil Rights Violation" With His Actions The Elephants In Africa Are Not Republicans Bishop Henry McNeal Turner Obama - The First American President To Bomb Africa w/o Massive Protests From "The Blacks" Prison Radio Speaks To BLAX News A Foreshadowing In "The Motherland" What About All Of The Black Executions That The Police Or The State Did Not "Sponsor"? The Pathway Upon Which The Hijacking Occurs With The Loss Of Black American Consciousness Comes This Detachment With the failure of the institutions within the Black Community to develop ORGANIC COMPETENCIES domestically there is no chance that the interests of the diasporatic Blacks can be protected by American Blacks who are more focused in domestic political affairs. The main utility of this video will be to make the American Negro "angry", increasing his resolve in "VOTING HARDER" as his means of fighting against racism, this according to his present consciousness. :'( The "Mission Accomplished" Banner Hung By The Black Progressive-Fundamentalist A People's Consciousness Fused To An Agenda Not Of Their Own My Relative Ideological Position Malcolm X Called You A "Race Traitor". CF Calls You A "Racial Consciousness Misappropriator"` The "Racial Consciousness Mis-Appropriators Malcolm X Picture On Your Blog" Removal Project Racism Chasing - The Ultimate Hustle The Nationalization Of The Black Community Consciousness The PPP&HWBC Blog Supports The BAOHPEH, Inc Evaluate The Varacity Of The PROCESS Of Judgment Not Merely The Verdict Rendered Community Management 101 Profiles In Community Consciousness Make Black America Happy Once Again When We Were Colored Schuyler And X The 10P's In The Pod Of The Black Establishment Progressive Politicians * Perpetual Protesters (Civil Rights orgs) * Policy Influencers (lobbyist groups, think tanks) * Press Operatives (the Black Press - "The Progressives Town Criers") * Performers (singers, rappers, actors) * Preachers w/ and w/o Pulpits * Public Intellectuals (Humanities Professors) * Public School Teachers * Pro-Union Labor Forces * Posters (Bloggers) (Civil Rights orgs)(lobbyist groups, think tanks)(the Black Press - "The Progressives Town Criers")(singers, rappers, actors) Don't Shoot Me Street Pirate! I Am Attempting To Be A Positive Asset To My Community Will The Black Comunity Recover From The Hijacking Of Its Consciousness? The Use Of "Slave/Jim Crow Images" In Black Political Debate - Evaluate The Agenda The use of "slave imagery" is common in ideological discourse among Black people today. The best way to appraise the veracity of the agenda of the presenter is to distinguish between those images which are used to cajole Black people into "Ideological Unity" versus those images used to bring consciousness to the sad fact that in far too many cases today - the man holding the gun is a Black man, his disturbed consciousness allowed to fester because the balance of our community organizers are focused on external political affairs. They sell us on the notion that when our people assist their political/ideological external partners in their success that these individuals who suffer from BENIGN NEGLECT will be cured - no longer terrorizing us. In the circular reference that is their struggle - the more damaged individuals that matriculate through the local institutions that they now control per their struggle, the louder their call for continued UNITY and redirection lest our community's long time external adversaries start terrorizing us again. They successfully avoid community scrutiny of their stewardship of our key "Human Resource Development" institutions. I Am A Man!! The Photographic Negative Of The Black Progressive Blogs That Focus On What White Folks Are Doing Black Racism And Race Hatred Blog Stuff Black People Don't Like Chicago Lady 216 - The Crisis Of Consciousness WITHIN The Black Community You probably do not have the Flash Player ( Get Adobe Flash Player Here ) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server! Consciousness Mission Accomplished I Support The "Corporate Premise Security Equality Project" New York Times Demographic Mapping The Antidote For Fear And Ignorance Antidote to the use of the tactics of FEAR as propagated by 'confidence men' to prompt a people toward a certain direction that is against their permanent interests is the development within these masses a base of Knowledge. When this knowledge is applied to their daily lives this builds up their Competencies. As a result their "Standard Of Living" is increased toward the a favorable level. Obama Commemorative Plate = "Mission Accompished - An Ensnared Black Community" Black Male Un-Demployment Rates In "Mission Accomplished" Cities The Conflict Between The Civil Rights Pharisees Vs The Neo-Progressive Establishment Players You probably do not have the Flash Player ( Get Adobe Flash Player Here ) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server! From Reactionary Transactionalism To Management Of Our Community Ideologically Polarized Vision Ted Kennedy & Black Independent Consciousenss People Who Aide & Abet Street Pirates Need To Hear These Words & Instead Pursue Absolute Justice THe NAACP & Rachael Maddow See These Guns As INFERIOR To Guns Used By Right-Wing Militias ** No matter how many guns these Street Pirates gather and no matter how many Black people are killed - these "equal human beings" will never been EQUAL in the mind of Civil Rights Pharisees and their White Snarling Fox Liberal co-conspirators because there is no ideological and political advantage in going after them. The Rallo Tubbs Fan Club Blog Archive Those Who Have Their Conciousness Focused "Within The Black Community" Page Views - Last 7 Days Europe and Iran reiterate commitment to JCPOA 21 May 2018 Share 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 10 people were arrested for possession of a controlled substance during seven different traffic stops and field contacts overnight. The arrests took place between 11:45 p.m. and 4 a.m. Monday night into Tuesday morning. An LPD police K9 assisted in two of the stops, and the University of Nebraska Police Department stopped one of the vehicles, leading to two of the arrests. In one of the stops at 11:45 p.m., THC wax, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and LSD were located, leading to the arrest of Emily Earwood, 19, and Hunter Gruber, 20. In another, a field contact was made at 12:50 a.m., and Tyson Youngquist, 25, was found to be in possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and meth. Melissa Craig, 28, and Dylan Whiting, 27, were both arrested during separate traffic stops after officers found syringes containing suspected methamphetamine. Amber Perez, 35, and Thomas Marti, 34, were stopped around 2 a.m., and found to be in possession of meth, marijuana, THC Shatter, and pills. Finally, Shannon Spangler, 40, was arrested during a field contact after officers found a syringe with suspected meth on her. Fancy racing in the beautiful and historic city of Dubrovnik at the the citys first-ever international triathlon on Saturday the 13th of October 2018? Advertisement There are two separate competitive distances available, a sprint and an Olympic. The course includes a swim in the beautiful clear waters of Gruz harbour, some 2km from the Old Town; a flat fast bike ride on closed roads, and finally a flat the run loop within the harbour. Event distances include: * The sprint 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run * The Olympic 1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run Both these distances will be available as relays where 3 people can take part in the individual disciplines. There will also be lots of fun activities on offer, including a pre-race party on the 12th October, a Friday morning warm-up swim by the Old Town walls at Banje Beach, a post awards party on Saturday evening and a spectacular ocean Boat Trip for all competitors and their partners on Sunday morning. Designed with all ages and fitness levels in mind, these activities will provide holidaymakers with a taste of the overall triathlon event, offering families, couples and single people the opportunity to take part as well. Mato Frankovic, Mayor of Dubrovnik says: On behalf of the City of Dubrovnik it is a great pleasure to welcome triathletes from all over the world to our beautiful City. The city of Dubrovnik is systematically investing in sporting events and we are especially interested in promoting sport in the unique setting that is Dubrovnik, Croatias prime destination and UNESCO World Heritage Site. We do hope all the participants will enjoy our city as we are delighted to welcome them. Dubrovnik Triathlon is being organised by Brighton and Hove triathlon Event director, Human Race founder and London 2012 Olympic Triathlon competition manager, John Lunt. This event is a fantastic end of season treat for those triathletes and their partners who have raced hard all season, Lunt said. The weather is always great in Dubrovnik and it will be a fantastic race in an amazing location. The World Heritage site provides an incredible back drop and you will be guaranteed a very warm and friendly welcome in Croatia. We are limiting numbers in year one as the city welcomes a new sport to the city. A brand new website has been launched www.Dubrovniktriathlon.com which has all the details. Accommodation packages, Airport transfers and bike carriage details are also available on the website. Advertisement You can fly to Dubrovnik with Easy Jet Chico, Calif. For the past several weeks the world has been watching the natural disaster unfolding in Hawaii, the Kilauea volcano has erupted. The images coming off the big island are nothing short of dramatic. Like many who are following the events, we here at Action News Now have been watching and wondering if the North State region would see or feel any impacts from the situation taking place in Hawaii, especially given that the Northern California region is home to two volcanos. While looking at the scenes in Hawaii, one is reminded that Mother Nature has the power to serve up special effects far beyond the imagination of the best special effects pros in Hollywood. Chico State Professor of Geology, Rachel Teasdale says the idea that what we are watching is science fiction is only part of the story because what we are witnessing is real science. She calls at eruption and the resulting lava flows spectacular. As a professional who studies the earth; in her case a Volcanologist, she says anytime there is a volcano erupting, she is watching and learning. Action News Now recently spoke with Professor Teasdale to learn more about what impacts, if any, our local region could experience. Professor Teasdale describes the events at Kilauea in a simplified version. She says over the past few weeks, the magma supply in the volcano has been draining out, which manifested as the eruptions we witnessed. She says this is exactly how volcanos should behave. In regards to the large amount of gas seen coming from the earth, she says it is a very real concern in Hawaii but says such gas dissipates as it gets blown across the Pacific Ocean, so she does not believe there is a cause for concern for residents in California. We asked her about our two local volcanoes; Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen and whether we should have any concerns. She said both are monitored regularly by the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) as well as by experts at Chico State University. She says recent information indicates all systems are normal. She says the positive aspect of watching Kilauea, is that residents can now be assured that the scientific information being gathered is helping professional better understand volcanos and geological patterns which would indicate an eruption could be imminent. And that, she says, is not the case right now with either local volcanos. Professor Teasdale says in the unlikely event Mount Lassen were to erupt, she says residents would see something similar to the eruption which happened 100 years ago, in which a large ash columns spewed from the mountain and could be seen for miles. BESSEMER CITY, N.C. (AP) - A man suffering from severe mental illness left a meal with his family and then drove his sport utility vehicle at high speed into the restaurant, killing his daughter and daughter-in-law and critically injuring other relatives, his pastor said Monday. Roger Self had been treated for depression and anxiety that seemed to become more intense in the two and a half months preceding Sunday's deadly crash, said the Rev. Austin Rammell of Venture Church in Dallas, North Carolina. The pastor, who is a close family friend, 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," the pastor said at a news conference. The pastor said Self's judgment had become impaired, but he didn't imagine he would hurt his family. He said his friend may have hoped to die in the crash, and that "It's very possible that Roger imagined in his mind that the best thing for his family is that they all just go together." The crash sent stunned patrons scrambling at the Surf and Turf Lodge, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Charlotte. Self was immediately arrested. Shackled and wearing an orange jumpsuit at a hearing on Monday, he showed little emotion as he asked for a court-appointed attorney and was ordered jailed without bond on two charges of first-degree murder. The Selfs are a family of first responders. His daughter, Katelyn Self was a deputy with the Gaston County Sheriff's Office. She and his daughter-in-law, Amanda Self, an emergency room nurse, were killed as the car rammed through the outside wall. Amanda Self was married to Roger's son Josh Self, a Gaston County police officer. Josh Self and Roger Self's wife, Diane, were in critical but stable condition on Monday, said Rammell, who has been in close contact with the family. A 13-year-old granddaughter of Self's was treated and released from the hospital, police said. At a news conference Monday, officials with the Bessemer Police Department declined to elaborate on Self's mental health. But police spokesman Rob Tufano said evidence gathered so far shows the crash was intentional. "It is abundantly clear that this was not an accident; that this was something Mr. Self had intentionally done," Tufano said. Katelyn Self had arranged Sunday's after-church lunch, inviting her fiance and his parents as well, because she was hoping that her father would feel better if he were surrounded by family, Rammell said. They had ordered drinks and appetizers and were talking and laughing after being seated at a table near the window. The pastor said the family wasn't initially concerned when he got up, figuring he may have been 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. "It was a roller coaster, and in the last few days it went from bad to really bad," he said. Katelyn Self, 26, was a four-year veteran of the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, the sheriff said in a news release. She had worked as a corporal in the jail and was off duty when she was fatally injured. Authorities said the family was requesting privacy and referred any questions to Rammell. Roger Self, himself a former law enforcement officer, ran a private investigations business called Southeastern Loss Management, mostly working 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 didn't elaborate. Rammell, 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." The mission of this church has always been to help others, but Rammell said he needs to learn more about mental illness and the challenges people can face in finding treatment. "This has been a huge lesson for me," he said, later adding: "I think we as a nation are very ignorant about it, and we need to get non-ignorant about it. REDDING, Calif.-- A Redding man is under arrest for allegedly stealing from a Verizon Wireless Store. Redding Police arrested 42 year old Brady Michael Phipps inside of Dick's Sporting Goods. Police say that Phipps stole from the Verizon Wireless Store on Hilltop Drive. Responding officers saw him go inside of Dick's Sporting Goods with the stolen merchandise. He reportedly climbed a ladder, then hid the stolen items in the rafters. Officers say that Phipps then grabbed a bike inside the store and tried to escape. An officer knocked Phipps over as he tried to ride out of the store. The suspect was arrested after a struggle, then booked into the Shasta County Jail. According to Redding Police, this isn't his first run-in with the law. Phipps has been booked into the Shasta County Jail 12 times since 2017. He was last arrested on April 30th when he was found with a stolen car. The stolen items were later recovered at Dick's Sporting Goods. An officer suffered a minor injury and was treated after the arrest. Stay with Action News Now for all of your local coverage. SIGN UP: Get our daily newsletter Rolls-Royce has been selected to supply its MT30 gas turbine to power a new class of frigates for the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF). The selection means Japan is the fifth nation to select the MT30 for a major naval ship building programme. Sam Cameron, Rolls-Royce, Senior Vice President Defence, said: Japans selection of the MT30 is very significant and means that the three largest users of marine gas turbines, have all endorsed the capabilities of the MT30 and selected it to power significant future programmes. The MT30 is the worlds most power dense marine gas turbine in service today, a key feature for naval ships where high power in minimum space, whilst meeting the operational power demands of the future, is essential. The increased demand for power by the worlds navies is a clear trend and for Japan we will deliver a power rating in excess of 40 megawatts, the highest so far for this gas turbine unrestricted by global climate conditions. The power and performance of this modern gas turbine is providing shipbuilders and system designers with new options, choices and the ability to futureproof their latest naval platforms, combined with the additional benefits of through-life power retention with ultra-low on-board maintenance requirements. We have a long and successful history of powering Japans naval fleet which stretches back almost 50 years and our strategic relationship with local partner Kawasaki Heavy Industries has seen us provide more than 200 gas turbines. We look forward to the next chapter in this successful relationship with 30FFM. Construction of the first of the 30FFM class frigates will begin next year, with entry into service expected around 2022. The MT30 recently powered the UK Royal Navys new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth during a programme of successful sea trials. It is also powering the US Navys Freedom Class variant of the Littoral Combat Ship, and their new DDG-1000 destroyers. The Republic of Korea Navys first FFXII frigate, powered by a single MT30, entered service earlier this year and Italy has selected the engine for its new Landing Helicopter Dock programme. By Anne Dachel On May 15, 2018, Northern Irelands Derry Journal ran the story, Autism diagnosis rise among local schoolkids The numbers were shocking and so was the attitude of the reporter. While the school population hasnt increased, the autism numbers continue to soar. The number of school age children diagnosed with Autism and Asperger Syndrome in the Western Trust area has increased by almost 50 per cent over the last five years. It has now emerged that around two in every 100 local children are on the Autism spectrum. The figures are contained new Department of Health report entitled, The Prevalence of Autism (including Asperger Syndrome) in School Age Children, and do not include the number of children currently being assessed. Incredibly, more and more disabled children are not a cause for alarm. The jump in the rate was attributed to increased awareness, according to the Dept. of Health which provided the numbers. The introduction of the Autism Act (NI) 2011 and increased awareness may well have led to a rise the number of assessments and positive diagnoses, its authors state. The only action called for was more services. They also add that the need to develop and improve health and social care services for people of all ages who are affected by autism (including Asperger Syndrome) has been apparent for some time. NEW REPORT: THINGS ARE WORSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND May 18, 2018, Belfast Telegraph: 70% rise in autism among school-age children putting services at 'breaking point' Northern Ireland is experiencing an "autism wave" with one in 34 school-age children being diagnosed with the condition - and an expert says that services are now "at breaking point". Research by the Department of Health shows that 8,442 school-age children were diagnosed with autism in 2017/18, with the prevalence of the condition increasing by 69% over the past five years. In total, 2.9% of schoolchildren here have autism, with children living in urban areas 1.5 times more likely to have the developmental disability. The Belfast Trust has the highest diagnosis of autism and the autism rate in Northern Ireland's most deprived group was 31% higher than the countrywide average. Autism NI CEO Kerry Boyd said that a report commissioned by the Department of Education had warned of an "autism wave" in 2002. She said: "The pressure on autism services is now at breaking point. "In some trust areas, parents are still waiting up to two years on an assessment and support services are few and far between. "Therefore, it is often left to the voluntary sector to fill this void, but due to the level of demand on Autism NI's services, we are already stretched to full capacity. A Department of Health spokeswoman said that they were continuing to see an increase in demand for autism services. A spokesperson for the Education Authority (EA) said it continued to invest in its Autism Advisory and Intervention Service. "Whilst it has seen a rise in the number of children being diagnosed with autism in some areas, EA continues to provide advice and support to schools and parents alongside a training programme. "Pupil interventions and early intervention remain a key aspect of the work of the regional team." No number seems too horrific for experts anywhere. Better diagnosing is still the official mantra used to dissuade people from thinking that something is really wrong with kids today. The really scary thing here is that the rate of one in 34 in Northern Ireland is the exact same rate that researchers recently found in New Jersey. What if this is now the real rate? What if Belfast and New Jersey are doing the best job of better diagnosing? Shouldn't health officials and lawmakers want to address this before things reach the point of no return? Add to the autism rate, the oft-repeated finding that one in 5 children today is mentally ill, and you have a lot of reasons to worry if we have any future at all. Footnote: In a May 17th story in Northern Ireland Newry, readers learned that "currently 24% of enrolled learners" at a local high school are considered special education students. Anne Dachel is Media Editor of Age of Autism. Student Government announced the creation of a program to increase minority enrollment and diversity at UF on May 14. The college readiness program, named Bridges, will work to reach out to minority high school students across Florida interested in attending college. Its meant to bridge the gap between our minority scholars across the state of Florida, said Omarley Spence, a 20-year-old economics senior, former Impact party president and program chair. The program is built to work in three key pieces: engagement, visitation and bringing potential students to campus, Spence said. Bridges will connect with minority student leaders and send representatives to their high schools, sometimes bringing the students to visit UF. Spence said he wanted Bridges to help minority scholars understand the components of the SAT and application essays to make them competitive applicants when applying to college. I think its a great idea, student body president and former Black Student Union executive board member Ian Green said, ...I want to make sure that its a sustainable program that shows visible results. According to a report from UFs Institutional Planning and Research from February 2018, about 57 percent of UFs student body is white. The second-largest demographic are students of Hispanic and Latino origin, who make up about 15 percent of the student population. Spence plans on having the program budgeted by June. Funding is still being negotiated but will come from SG and potentially campus and outside community partners, Spence said. According to Spence, Bridges plans to launch this Fall. Spence and Green hope to see Bridges flourish for the long term. I want my children to attend the University of Florida, as I did and so did my parents, and see they can really feel at home, Green said. Follow Dana Cassidy on Twitter @danacassidy_ and contact her at dcassidy@alligator.org. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now UF Student Body President Ian Green can often be seen sporting a suit, but now graduates in his hometown get to do the same. Green announced via Facebook on Thursday he spent part of his presidential salary on suits for three recent high school graduates in his hometown of Marietta, Georgia. Green has spent more than $200 on suits and plans to continue, he said. Suit recipients belonged to Sons of Zion, a program Green and his father created at their church, he said. The program helps young black men lacking role models find structure. I felt that I could have a greater impact on giving back to my community the community that has helped to shape me to the individual that I am today, Green said. The last Student Government executives to donate their salaries were on the 2015 team, according to Alligator archives. The presidents salary is $10,361.26, SG finance manager Gary Bryant wrote in an email. Greens salary comes from student activity fees. Sen. Branden Pearson (Independent, Lakeside) said the salary has been supported by students. I think that if the Student Body officer has the ability to use that salary to give back, Id really encourage them to do that, Pearson said. Follow Gillian Sweeney on Twitter@gilliangsweeney and contact her at gsweeney@alligator.org. Ian Green Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now A UF graduate became possibly the first woman from Kuwait to pass the February 2018 Washington, D.C., Bar Exam. Accurate records arent kept of nationalities of those who pass. But according to James Klausner, a UF engineering professor, a lack of Kuwaiti women in the field makes it a strong possibility shes the first. Fatemah Albader graduated from UF in 2014 with a double major in political science and public relations. She then went on to get her Juris Doctor from Emory Law in Atlanta and took the bar exam in D.C. in February. She said she always was interested in human rights but was not sure what specific route she wanted to take. Over time, I started publishing articles with law journals around America and I realized that I wanted to help out the people in the Gulf (Cooperation Council), whether Im here in America or in Kuwait, Albader said. I just want to advocate for equal rights for women and Muslims in the Gulf region. For her, coming to America from Kuwait in 2009 was a culture shock, but having her mother with her made the transition easier. The biggest difference was the amount of independence she had when she arrived here, which took a few years for her to get used to. Albaders path is one that is relatively unheard of in Kuwait. While the engineering field is going through a womens empowerment movement, the law field is still male dominated, she said. I want to go back and be a role model for those people, Albader said. I want to show people that they can do it, that they can go out there and become lawyers or law professors. In the future, Albader plans to do work regarding human rights and possibly become a teacher who can speak out to others and motivate them to take action for human rights as well. Albader knows she comes from a place where it is unusual for a woman to be in the law profession, but she hopes her accomplishment can make a difference in Kuwait and the Middle East, she said. Im pretty sure Im the first Kuwaiti woman to even pass the D.C. bar because its not very common there, Albader said. But I want to change that. Follow Bailey Wingate on Twitter @baileywingate1 and contact her at bwingate@alligator.org. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now Im so OCD is a phrase you can hear when someone is tidying up a mess. Or theres calling someone schizo for being all over the place. However, the use of these phrases are something that should fade out of everyday vocabulary. This past semester, I took the class Abnormal Psychology where I learned about mental illnesses. With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, it is important to have discussions about reducing the stigmas surrounding people with mental health issues. It would never be accepted to have someone say Im so asthma when theyre feeling out of breath. Mental illnesses are not adjectives; they are nouns of serious diagnoses that are just as real as a physical illnesses. Mental health issues include anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder or schizophrenia. As a journalist, the Associated Press Stylebook says not to describe an individual as mentally ill unless it is clearly pertinent to a story and the diagnosis is properly sourced. The stylebook implicitly states not to use words like crazy or insane when describing someone with mental health issues. The standard should be no different for daily conversations with friends. Now, with mass shootings, mental health seems to have taken on further stigma. Just because someone is diagnosed as mentally ill does not mean they are inherently violent. In fact, mentalhealth.gov notes the vast majority of people with mental health problems are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. Mental health diagnoses are common. In fact, the National Alliance on Mental Illness notes one in five adults experience it in a year. You can find fact sheets all about mental illness from the National Institute of Mental Health. Often, it is people between 18 and 25 who are diagnosed most prevalently, but they are not as likely to seek treatment according to statistics from NIMH obtained from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Women are also more likely to receive a diagnosis because NIMH says men are often less likely to talk about their feelings and get mental health treatment, which seems to indicate further stigma surrounding men and mental illness. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now There is no shame in needing help or talking about your feelings. On campus, U Matter, We Care and the Counseling & Wellness Center are there for students raising awareness and providing aid to Gators in need. There is also the Disability Resource Center, which can provide classroom aid if needed after a mental health diagnosis. Everyone can be a part of the change that destigmatizes mental health issues and discussions. Sophie Feinberg is a UF journalism junior. Her column comes out Tuesday and Thursday. You might notice something different here. As we continue our evolution, our data and market news is now available through the Fastmarkets platform and a trial of this website is no longer available. Our new delivery solution allows you to access the prices and news that matters most to you in a way that delivers value, quality and a unique, fully customizable view for you. We are working hard to develop an experience that allows you to test drive building your view of our data and news on the new platform. In the meantime, learn more about us through any of the options below. The chair of the Anglican Communions Safe Church Commission, Australian barrister and Senior Counsel Garth Blake, reflects on its latest meeting. The second face to face meeting of the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission has taken place in the South African city of George. The meeting took place against the background of the recent public disclosure of complaints of sexual abuse against clergy in provinces (Southern Africa, Nigeria and Hong Kong) and government inquiries in Australia and England revealing inadequate responses to victims of child sexual abuse by Anglican churches. There is a growing recognition in many provinces that some clergy and lay church workers have used their power to abuse and then to silence their victims, who are mainly women and children. This abuse has taken a variety of forms such as sexual, physical, emotional and / or spiritual. Sometimes abuse occurs though social media. The resulting harm done to these victims and others such as family and church members, is often far reaching, impacting on an individuals view of themselves, their relationships and their faith. Established in May last year, the Commission has 14 members from different parts of the Anglican Communion. Its principal function is to develop guidelines to enhance the safety of all persons especially children, young people and vulnerable adults, within the provinces of the Anglican Communion for consideration by the Anglican Consultative Council at its ACC-17 meeting next year in Honk Kong. Underlying the work of the Commission is the witness of Scripture to Gods love for all members of the human family and the priority given in Jesus ministry to children and the vulnerable of society. The Commission has been giving consideration to a theology of safe church or safeguarding as a foundation for its work. The main focus of this meeting of the Commission was the consideration of draft guidelines which seek to give practical expression to the five commitments of the Charter for the Safety of People within the Churches of the Anglican Communion. The Charter, which was adopted at ACC-15 and reaffirmed at ACC-16, commits to pastoral support where there is abuse; effective responses to abuse; safe practice of pastoral ministry; assessment of suitability for ministry; and a culture of safety. The Commission has heard from survivors of their experience of abuse and the response of the church, so that its work reflects contact with actual human suffering within our Anglican communities. Following this meeting the Commission will be consulting with different parts of the Communion before its third face to face meeting at which its report for ACC-17 will be finalised. Posted on: May 22, 2018 1:52 PM The Anglican Diocese in Jerusalem has launched an emergency appeal for funds to support its al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. The Anglican-run hospital has been overwhelmed by the number of casualties sustained during protests across the Gaza strip this month. Our Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza had been literally working around the clock to serve the wounded from the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip ever since the United States formally opened its Embassy in Jerusalem on 14 May 14, Archbishop Suheil Dawani, the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem and Primate of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, said. The wounded coming to our hospital have no money, but no one is ever turned away. Most of the men, women, and children who are treated at [the hospital] have been injured from live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas intoxication. I appeal to all our friends around the world to give generously to this humanitarian crisis, as we, the Church, the hands of Jesus in this place, respond to this tragedy in love and compassion to the wounded. According to the World Health Organisation, some 2,768 people were injured; 1,357 of them with suffered gunshot wounds, so the immediate need is great. Speaking to the Anglican Alliance, which is helping to co-ordinate the global response to the emergency appeal, the hospitals director, Suhaila Tarazi, described the situation as critical. She said that the death toll in Gaza continues to rise and said that the hospital needs to obtain emergency medicine, medical supplies, and fuel for generators. Ahli needs to support doctors and nurses who are working non-stop to meet the crushing flow of the injured and traumatized. She said that the hospital, as a humanitarian organisation of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, adopts a rights based approach and provides healthcare to the needy without discrimination of faith, gender, social class or political affiliation. The Anglican Alliance urged people to keep the people of Gaza, those affected by the violence, and the staff of al-Ahli Arab Hospital in your prayers at this time, and pray for peace, with justice, in the Holy Land. (ANSA) - Rome, May 22 - Doubts emerged Tuesday about proposed Italian premier Giuseppe Conte's claimed studies in New York, Cambridge, Vienna, Pittsburgh and Malta. The New York Times quoted a New York University spokesperson as saying that Conte's name does not appear in the institution's files as either a past student or a faculty member. The CV of Conte, who the 5-Star Movement and the League have said they want to be the premier of the coalition government they intend to form, on the website of the Italian association of civil lawyers mentions an experience at NYU as part of the "perfectioning" of his studies. The New York Times quoted the spokesman as saying that it was possible Conte had taken part in short courses at NYU, attendance of which does not feature in its archives. Other foreign media on Tuesday raised doubts on Conte's studies in Cambridge and Vienna. Austrian news agency APA and Der Standard said that Vienna's International Kultur Institut, where Conte claimed to have perfected his law studies in 1993, was in fact a German-language school called Internationales Kulturinstitut. Reuters said Cambridge University said it would not answer inquiries, for privacy reasons, about Conte's claim of a course in September 2001 when the university was closed. One source cited by Reuters said the law professor may have taken a third-party institution course and was therefore not on the university's records. Rome's Il Messaggero, meanwhile, said "after New York, also the universities of Malta and Pittsburgh have said (Conte) never taught or studied here". But M5S Lower House Whip Giulia Grillo said Conte remains the premier candidate for the coalition government that populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and anti-migrant and Euroskeptic League hope to form despite doubts over his CV and a connection to the discredited Stamina stem-cell treatment movement. "But of course!" said the MP, adding that she was "upset" about the "character assassination" of Conte after doubts emerged about his alleged participation on courses at foreign universities and amid criticism of his representation of a girl who became the poster girl for Stamina. Anti-migrant Euroskeptic League leader Matteo Salvini said Conte remianed the premier candidate of the League and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and M5S leader Luigi Di Maio had not re-entred the frame as a possble alternative PM. He also said he would like it "very much" if Euroskeptic economist and former minister Paolo Savona, 82, became economy minister. (ANSA) - 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 in 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 opinion 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%. The PD, which slumped to a worst-ever 18% in the general election, is holding there. RABAT - Price hikes on sardines during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan have led consumers to stage a new boycott, which is being widely publicised through social media and the use of hashtags. The protest motto "let it rot" is a take-off on the "let it curdle" slogan already being used against Danone milk processing plants. Online users lament that in a country with 3,500 km of coastline, sardines currently cost 20 dirhams per kilogram (about two euros), when the usual price during the rest of the year is 10 dirhams. A boycott campaign on mineral water, milk, and petrol has already been taking place in Morocco for just under a month. According to the most recent polls, nearly 80% of Moroccans approve of the wave of protests, something completely new for Morocco. Many have already compared the current boycotts to the Hirak protest movement that had taken place in the country's north up until recent months. The boycott campaign is aimed mainly at Siti Ali mineral water, which is selling for six dirhams per 1.5-litre bottle, compared to five dirhams for other brands; Danone milk, which is selling at seven dirhams per litre; and Afriquia petrol, the price of which has nearly doubled in recent weeks, following the price liberalisation on petrol enacted by the government in 2015. According to a national consumer survey, 10% of the most well-off families spend 12 times more than those who are less well-off, and the standard of living of the country's richest five percent is 20 times higher than that of the country's poorest five percent. Half of the richest control 76% of spending power, which is three times higher than the standard of living of 50% of the less wealthy. ATHENS - The Athens Sunday School for migrants has kicked off a funding campaign to search for a new home in an attempt to avoid closure after the building where it is located was sold. The center, which is in Argos Street in the area of Kolonos, has been providing vital learning services and more for refugees and migrants for the last 14 years. As part of a joint initiative promoted by refugees and Greek volunteers, the school offers free Greek-language lessons for migrants and refugees, as well as legal and administrative support. Since its inception, the school has played an active role in refugee and migrant rights and in the movement against racism and xenophobia in Greece. ''After 14 years here through the solidarity shown by the previous owners, we now ask our friends and associates to support us financially to meet the new increased costs we are required to cover and continue to operate from 1 September 2018,'' said a statement from the school's management. ''The Sunday School for Immigrants and the ''End Racism'' movement have always been self-funded and we have never received a single euro from programs of the European Union, government ministries or in any way from the State budget''. Since 2004, the Sunday School for Migrants has given over 6,000 refugees and migrant students lessons in Greek, English, German and IT , with more than 700 solidarity workers (volunteer teachers as well as volunteers in administrative capacities, recreational activities for children, theater, legal help) contributing over the years. The school said it is hopeful that financial support will come. It concluded: ''We are confident that the solidarity movement of the Sunday School for Migrants will continue, and that it will continue to be a joint struggle between locals and refugees for many years to come - with the support of all of us''. Coupons for financial support can be purchased at the School at 145 Argos street every Sunday from 11am until 8pm local time until the end of June. Those wishing to donate can do so via IBAN and Paypal to the following bank account: IBAN GR2501720180005018031163603 (Piraeus Bank), PayPal top right at www.ksm.gr, Tel: 6974486368, email kyriakatiko@yahoo.gr. Morocco rethinking 'zero slums' anti-terrorism plan In 14 years, only 58 cities out of 85 at risk (ANSAmed) - RABAT, MAY 22 - The Moroccan government's plan to rid the cities of its slums, called 'Villes sans bidonvilles' and launched in 2004 following the terrorist attacks in Casablanca, was slated to end in 2012. Instead, 14 years later, only 58 cities out of 85 have been targeted by the clean-up programme that provides for demolishing the most broken-down neighbourhoods and trasferring residents to newly built public housing, as part of a wider programme in the fight against terrorism. The series of suicide bombings that took place in Casablanca on May 16, 2003 alerted the country that it had homegrown terrorists, and the resulting shock was widely felt. The bombings killed 41 people and wounded about a hundred others. The five suicide bombers came from Sidi Moumen, one of Casablanca's most run-down shanty towns, built around a landfill outside of the city of eight million residents. Morocco started the project following the attacks, in order to improve housing conditions and avoid another May 16. Since then, there have been numerous hitches in the plan, in which the 251,000 completed transfers make up less than 66% of the families needing to be transferred. The number of needy families has increased over the last decade, with an additional 120,000, but construction has been unable to keep pace. Social services to accompany the families, which can help with reintegration, haven't been provided either. In addition, the newly built apartments are often located in isolated areas without needed services. This results in a paradox in which the homes are improved, but the area can be even worse than a slum. That is due to its location being too far from the city centre and from hubs of industrial, farming or business activity - conditions which normally lead to the development of shanty towns. The total cost of the operation is 32 billion dirhams (about three billion euros). Moroccan Urban Planning Minister Abdelahad Fassi-Fehri has promised to review the programme, at least on the operational side. Even in the cities where the building plan is currently underway, progress is only at 50% to 75% completion.(ANSAmed). Erdogan to review trade relationships with Israel 'But only following early elections' (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, MAY 22 - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey is ready to review its "economic and commercial" relationships with Israel following Turkey's early elections scheduled for June 24. Erdogan's comments to journalists came following his return from Sarajevo, where he held his only campaign rally abroad. "We will take steps in this direction after the elections," he said. He was referring to the decision taken at the recent extraordinary summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to impose an embargo on Israeli products, the implementation of which, however, remains to be verified. Erdogan also spoke about Israel on Monday evening in Ankara during an "iftar", the communal meal after sundown that breaks the daily fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. At that meal, all ambassadors to Turkey were invited with the exception of Israel, whose ambassador Eitan Naeh left the country last week at the behest of the Turkish government. "We are determined to not give up on our rights on Jerusalem," Erdogan said. "We will never leave our first qiblah [direction towards which Muslims pray] to the mercy of a state which has been feeding on blood, tears and occupation for decades," Erdogan said. He also criticised the US for moving its embassy to Jerusalem, and said the hands of the US are "covered in the blood of Palestinian children".(ANSAmed). ROME - Israel's Ambassador to Italy Ofer Sachs told an ANSA Forum on Tuesday that Hamas has created a state of terror in the Gaza Strip. "The situation in Gaza has become truly dramatic after the takeover of Hamas, which has made many mistakes in the control of the Strip," Sachs said. "Millions of dollars in Gaza have not been invested for the good of the people, but to create a terror country. "Tens of thousands of missiles have been launched against Israel. "Israel wants to prevent the penetration of our country and up to now we have managed to. "What we have not managed to explain is what would happen if the infiltration were successful". Israel rejects Palestinian call for ICC probe Referral not legally valid, foreign ministry says (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, MAY 22 - The referral presented by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday morning is "legally invalid", the Israeli foreign ministry has said. "The ICC does not have jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian question in so far as Israel is not a member of the court and the Palestinian Authority is not a State," read an official statement. Earlier Malki announced that he had asked the ICC in The Hague to open an "immediate investigation" into alleged Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. Israel denounced what it described as a "cynical step", claiming that the Palestinians were exploiting the court for political purposes "instead of working for the resumption of the peace process with Israel". The statement also called Tuesday's request "absurd," accusing the Palestinians of inciting terrorist acts and exploiting civilians as "human shields" in violent attacks against Israel. "Israel expects the ICC and its prosecutor not to yield to Palestinian pressure, and stand firm against continued Palestinian efforts to politicize the court and to derail it from its mandate," the ministry said.(ANSAmed). BRUSSELS - Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki visited the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Tuesday to call on magistrates to open an immediate investigation into Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory, international media reported. According to the Palestinians, "there is sufficient convincing evidence that serious crimes are being committed, enough to justify an immediate investigation". The Palestinian statement said the "referral" delivered Tuesday morning to judges "covers past, present and future Israeli actions in the occupied territory of the Palestinian state, including East Jerusalem". The ICC opened a preliminary investigation in 2015 on alleged crimes in Palestinian territories, including Israel's settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the 2014 Isarel-Gaza conflict. Minster Malki's move could speed up the decision on the possibility of opening an actual full investigation. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Apple is seeking slightly more than a billion dollars in damages, while Samsung wants a figure closer to USD 28 million. Jurors return to a Silicon Valley courtroom Monday to put a price on patented iPhone design features copied by Samsung in a legal case dating back seven years. Jurors return to a Silicon Valley courtroom Monday 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 USD 28 million. The jury has been asked to determine whether 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 isnt saying it isn't required to pay profits, Samsung attorney John Quinn said during closing arguments on Friday. 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 iPhones 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 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 dueling over whether design features such as rounded edges are worth all the money made from a phone. Samsung, which had been ordered to pay USD 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 USD 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 case was inappropriate because it represented Samsungs entire profit from the sale of its infringing smartphones for copying the iPhone's rectangular front face with rounded edges and a grid of colorful 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-Colas 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 USD 548 million penalty knocked down from an original USD 1 billion jury award Samsung was ordered to pay for copying iPhone patents. The government intends to complete the disinvestment process by this year end. Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey on Tuesday said the government could decide against selling state-run Air India if it does not get "adequate" price for it. New Delhi: Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey on Tuesday said the government could decide against selling state-run Air India if it does not get "adequate" price for it. "The government has the right to sale or not to sale Air India if the bid price is found to be inadequate," Choubey told reporters here, even as he expressed confidence that ailing airline will fetch a good price. While the deadline for submission of Expression of Interest (EoI) ends on May 31, the Secretary said the Request for Proposal could be issued after June 15. He said the highest bidder for the airline would be known by the the end of August. But the highest bidder may not be the successful bidder, he said, adding the government intends to complete the disinvestment process by this year end. "Though the transaction advisor (Ernst & Young) will assess the enterprise value, the right price for the airline will be decided by us," he said. Asked about Air India employees union protests against the proposed sale, he said they are conscious of the fact that airlines the worldover have done well after privatisation. Earlier, Choubey had said the disinvestment process in the national carrier has generated a great deal of interest. The government had on March 28 kicked off the disinvestment process of the debt-laden national carrier with the issue of the preliminary information memorandum for the proposed sale of up to 76 per cent stake in it along with management control to private entities. The government also made it clear that it would have the rights of a "minority shareholder" with 24 per cent stake in Air India post disinvestment. The UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar and shared her experience on Instagram. Dhaka: 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 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. Sridevi left the world for a better place in February this year, leaving many heartbroken with the loss. Sridevi left the world for a better place in February this year, leaving many heartbroken with the loss. The actress was attending her nephew Mohit Marwahs wedding in Dubai where the unfortunate happened. The actress is today remembered through her works, as she has been honoured with the National Award for Mom and even won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. Her daughter Janhvi Kapoor, who is soon set to make her Bollywood debut with Karan Johars Dhadak, wore Sridevis saree while receiving the National Award for her late mother. She was accompanied by father Boney Kapoor and sister Khushi Kapoor. A video of her talking to the media after the demise has now gone viral and it is sure to make you nostalgic and miss Sridevi. She said, I think both of us would like to thank the jury for recognising the hard work, perseverance and dedication that my mother has put into this role. It was very special to her and we are very happy that she is being appreciated for it. On Boney Kapoors insistence, she even thanked the Government for the honour to Sridevi. When asked if she misses her mother, Janhvi said I dont want to talk about it and walked away. Watch the video here: With the third season of her American series coming to an end, the actress is looking at scripts in Bollywood. It is a wrap for Priyanka Chopra in Hollywood as she has finished shooting for the third season of the American series Quantico. Now, she is completely focussed on rebuilding her Bollywood career. After signing Ali Abbas Zafars Bharat with Salman Khan, Priyanka has given her nod to feminist filmmaker Shonali Boses next venture, where she will play mother to a specially-abled teenage daughter. Though sources in the know have dismissed reports of Dangal star Zaira Wasim playing the daughter as premature. But, Priyanka looks to be certainly in. A source close to the developments said: Priyanka has seen Shonali Boses earlier work Margarita With A Straw, which focussed on the life and dreams of a specially-abled lesbian woman. Also, playing a mother to a growing daughter is no big deal for the actress. She played a single mother to a young child in Karan Johars Dostana and YRFs Pyaar Impossible. The source further said that Zaira would look somewhat unsuited to play Priyankas daughter. Zaira is a good choice. But may not be as convincing as Priyankas daughter, said the source. Now we hear that Tannishtha is working on her directorial venture. Actress Tannishtha Chatterjee is not from the commercial side of the business; she is known to give some great performances. So be it Parched or Angry Indian Goddesses or her well known act in British film Brick Lane, Tannishtha is one of Indian cinemas global faces. Now we hear that Tannishtha is working on her directorial venture. Sources say that the actress has been working on her script for a while and has also spoken to some of her co-actors to essay the lead role. Tannishtha has a very interesting script and she has approached Nawazuddin Siddiqui for the lead role. The movie is said go on the floors sometime by the end of this year and will see the marquee in the second half of 2019. Tannishtha also wants the film to do the festival rounds before it gets a commercial release, informs a source. But actress is not in a position to confirm anything at the moment. There is nothing concrete to talk about at the moment, is the actress refrain. Sanskriti Media Police said section 144 of CrPc has been invoked in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security as per Madras HC orders. Angered over not being allowed to take out a rally the slogan-shouting protesters forcibly tried to push back the security personnel in riot gear. (Photo: ANI screengrab) Tuticorin: At least 9 people, including a 16-year-old girl died when the month-long protest in Tamil Nadus where agitators are demanding closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit took a violent turn on Tuesday. All the eight bodies of have been taken to Thoothukudi government medical college and hospital. The agitators pelted stones and damaged police vehicles after they were prevented from marching towards the plant. Police barged into a hospital where some of the youth took refugee after hurling stones at the police. However, they escaped by scaling the backside wall. Police said section 144 of CrPc has been invoked in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security to it as per the orders of the Madras High Court. Angered over not being allowed to take out a rally the slogan-shouting protesters forcibly tried to push back the security personnel in riot gear. In retaliation, the security personnel lobbed teargas shells to disperse the protesters. Several vehicles were also set ablaze further escalating tension in the area. Meanwhile, a peaceful demonstration was held near the old bus stand in the town, also demanding the closure of the Sterlite unit and the proposed expansion of the plant. Several shops in this town, Srivaikundam and Oddapidaram remained shut in support of the protest, police said. The district has been witnessing several protests by locals and others against the Sterlite Copper plant here and its proposed expansion. Protesters have alleged that the plant was polluting ground water in their area. Sterlite Copper represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 400,000 tonnes per annum-plant in Tuticorin. (With inputs from PTI) Arvind Kejriwal attacked Baijal saying his decision was completely illegal and asked him to 'follow the Constitution'. The AAP chief said the LG should do something constructive for once, instead of rejecting every proposal of the AAP government. (Photo: File) New Delhi: Citing alleged procedural lapses, Lt Governor Anil Baijal has declared as "invalid" the panel of fourteen lawyers appointed by the Delhi government for appearance in cases before Delhi High Court, in yet another flashpoint between him and the AAP dispensation. A fuming Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attacked Baijal on Tuesday, saying his decision was completely illegal and asked him to "follow the Constitution". The AAP chief said the LG should do something constructive for once, instead of rejecting every proposal of the AAP government. The panel scrapped by the LG included prominent lawyers like Indira Jaising, Rebecca Mammen John, Colin Gonsalves, among others. In his written communication to Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash last week, L-G's Principal Secretary Vijay Kumar said the orders regarding the panel of lawyers had allegedly been issued without obtaining the approval of the Lt Governor. "These (orders) have also not been issued in the manner specified under Section 44 (2) GNCTD Act and have not been authenticated in the manner provided under Section 44 (3) of the said Act...," it stated. Following the direction by the L-G office, the chief secretary has written to principal secretaries and secretaries, stating "Therefore, all concerned may kindly note that the said orders (regarding empanelment of lawyers) of November 29, 2017 and January 18, 2028 have not been validly issued in view of the material infirmities...." The chief secretary has also marked the copy of his order to pay and account offices of Delhi government for further action, resulting in non-payment to these lawyers. The move may trigger another round of tussle between the Delhi government and the Lt Governor's office, which have been at loggerheads on a range of issues since the AAP came to power. "All our advisors reject, all our lawyers reject, CCTV reject, doorstep delivery of ration reject. LG Sahib, do something constructive, everything is reject reject reject? (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted in a mix of Hindi and English. "LG does not have the power to reject any govt proposal. Under constitution, LG can only express his difference of opinion. This rejection is completely illegal, unconstitutional and without jurisdiction. LG shud follow constitution," he said on Twitter. Mr Kumaraswamy will take the oath on Wednesday in front of the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of power. Bengaluru: With barely a day left for his swearing in as CM of a JD(S)Congress coalition government on Wednesday, JD(S) state president H.D. Kumaraswamy, who is now in Delhi, is battling a series of thorny issues on which the stability of the coalition and its future rests. While senior Congress leaders, including party general secretary K.C. Venugopal, said in Delhi that the Assembly Speakers 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. The frontrunners in the Congress for the deputy CM post are KPCC chief G. Parameshwar, a dalit, former water resources minister M.B. Patil and KPCC working president S.R. Patil, who both belong to the dominant Lingayat community. Dr Parameshwar is widely regarded as the first choice for deputy CM, but it remains to be seen if the Lingayats will take kindly to any move to deprive them of the post if the coalition decides to have only one deputy CM and more so when the tallest leader of the community, Mr Yeddyurappa of the BJP, had to make a hasty exit from power a couple of days ago. Mr Kumaraswamy will take the oath on Wednesday in front of the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of power. Reacting to the letter, RSS idealogue Rakesh Sinha said: 'This is a direct attack by the Church on Indian secularism and democracy.' Archbishop of Delhi Anil Couto, in a letter said, 'As we look forward towards 2019 when we will have new government let us begin a prayer campaign for our country from May 13.' (Photo: Youtube screengrab) New Delhi: The Archbishop of Delhi, Anil Couto, in a letter addressed to all churches of the national capital, has asked them to start a campaign of fasting and prayers ahead of the 2019 general elections, citing the "turbulent political atmosphere" threatening democracy and secularism in country thereby kicking starting a political controversy. "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," the Archbishops letter said. According to a report in NDTV, the letter further said, "It is our hallowed practice to pray for our country and its political leaders all the time but all the more so when we approach the general elections. As we look forward towards 2019 when we will have new government let us begin a prayer campaign for our country from May 13..." "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," the letter added. Reacting to the letter, Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said: PM is working towards inclusive growth without discriminating while breaking barriers of religion and castes. We can only ask them to think with progressive mindset. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue Rakesh Sinha termed the move as a "direct attack on Indian secularism and democracy". "This is a direct attack by the Church on Indian secularism and democracy, and this is a direct intervention by the Vatican as these Bishops are appointed by the Pope. Their accountability is not to India but to Pope," Sinha said. "Another big reason for this is after the formation of the Prime Minister Modi's government, church-oriented NGOs, received less money due to stricter laws. The Church organisations used to take this money for a variety of cause but in reality, utilise this only for religious conversions. They want a government to be made so that their conversion business flourishes," Sinha added. Sinha also took to Twitter to vent his thoughts on the matter. Missionaries by meddling in politics giving bad name to Indian Christians. "Conversion Enterprise' is facing threat under nationalist government. cash flow under FCRA is reduced from RS 17773 crores in 2015-16 to 6795 crores in16-17. This had hit them very hard. Prof Rakesh Sinha (@RakeshSinha01) May 21, 2018 BJPs spokesperson Shaina NC told news agency ANI, "It is wrong to try and instigate castes and communities. You can tell them to vote for right candidate or party but to suggest to vote for one party and not another and term yourself as secular versus pseudo-secular is unfortunate." The letter was sent with a prayer that he said must be read at masses on Sunday. However, denying any political motive in the prayer, the Archbishops office said, The Archbishop's letter is not political, neither it is against the government or against the honourable Prime Minister. Misinformation should not be spread. Its just an invitation for prayers, and such letters have been written in the past too, said Robinson, secretary to Archbishop of Delhi. (With ANI inputs) The 42-seater ATR aircraft of the Alliance Airlines touched down at Pasighat airport around 2:15 pm after 1.5-hour journey from Guwahati. Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, will operate flight services on the Calcutta-Guwahati-Pasighat route thrice a week - on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. (Photo: Twitter/@PemaKhanduBJP) Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh on Monday found a place on the aviation map of the country as the state's first commercial flight with Chief Minister Pema Khandu among 25 passengers on board, landed at Pasighat Advance Landing Ground in East Siang district. The 42-seater ATR aircraft of the Alliance Airlines touched down at Pasighat airport around 2:15 pm after 1.5-hour journey from the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport in Guwahati. "Landed safely at Pasighat airport few minutes ago flying from Guwahati on Alliance Air. Proud to be part of this historic moment. I am extremely thankful to PM @narendramodi ji and @MoCA_GoI for connecting Arunachal with airways (sic)," the CM tweeted minutes after landing at the airport. Landed safely at Pasighat airport few minutes ago flying from Guwahati on Alliance Air. Proud to be part of this historic moment. I am extremely thankful to PM @narendramodi ji and @MoCA_GoI for connecting Arunachal with airways. @PMOIndia @BJP4India pic.twitter.com/jRUZWABjmX Pema Khandu (@PemaKhanduBJP) May 21, 2018 He also shared pictures of the aircraft along with its crew on his Twitter handle. Addressing a gathering at Pasighat, Khandu said, "It is a history in making. With this commercial flight, new vistas of economic development have opened in the region. Besides, the flight services will also open up ample opportunities for the tourism industry". Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, will operate flight services on the Calcutta-Guwahati-Pasighat route thrice a week - on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Arunachal has enormous potential for generating hydro-power and producing a wide range of horticultural and agricultural products, but communication has always been a bottleneck in the state, Khandu said. "Now, with the launch of the commercial flight, tourists from other states and foreign countries will be able to visit the picturesque locales of the state," he said. (Photo: Twitter/@PemaKhanduBJP) Expressing hope that the new airport would also open avenues for economic development, the CM said if the decks were cleared for cargo aircraft in the near future, the indigenous products of the state could also be sold to other parts of the country. Khandu also said that another airport at Tezu in Lohit district will be made operational shortly. "Besides, Zoom Airlines is scheduled to introduce its services in the state soon," he added. Arunachal Pradesh has about 120 helipads and 10 advanced landing grounds, built for defence as well as civil purposes. The sources said the Congress leadership would take a call on who would be its deputy chief minister. JD(S) leader and Karnataka CM-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy presents a bouquet to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as UPA chaiperson Sonia Gandhi looks on during a meeting at Mr Gandhis Tughlaq Lane residence in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Karnatakas chief minister-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD(S), who came here Monday for consultations with top Congress leaders ahead of his swearing-in, promised a stable government in Karnataka and a long-term relationship with the Congress, as he invited Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to his oath-taking in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Both are likely to attend the ceremony. Highly-placed sources confirmed that the Congress-JD(S) combine will have a coordination committee to ensure the smooth functioning of the coalition government, and the Assembly Speaker will be from the Congress. The coordination committee will have five to 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 ensure 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 meet in Bangaluru to work out modalities of power-sharing. Only a few ministers are likely to take oath initially on Wednesday along with the chief minister, and other modalities would be worked out in the coming days. However, nominations for the Speakers post will be filed the same day and the Congress has staked its claim to the post, it being the larger party. Mr Kumaraswamy was in New Delhi to express his gratitude to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi for supporting the formation of a JD(S)-led government in Karnataka. Mr Kumaraswamy, who will be sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday for the second time in 12 years, flew into New Delhi on Monday afternoon and began his engagements with a meeting with pre-poll ally BSP supremo Mayawati. The BSP won one seat. Ms Mayawati is alos likely to attend the swearing-in. During his 20-minute meeting with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Mr 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 Gandhis Tughlaq Lane residence. The sources said at the meeting Mr Kumaraswamy promised to provide good governance in Karnataka and said he would seek 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 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 AICCs Karnataka in-charge, was also present at the meeting. After the meeting, Mr Gandhi tweeted: I had a warm and cordial meeting with Mr Kumaraswamyji. We discussed the political situation in Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest. I will be attending his swearing-in ceremony. Mr Venugopal will be travel to Bengaluru and hold a key meeting with Congress legislators on Tuesday ahead of the swearing-in. Insiders say a joint meeting of Congress and JD(S) legislators is also expected to be held on Tuesday. It will also be decided Tuesday if Mr Kumaraswamy will be sworn in alone or a small Cabinet including, the deputy CM, will take the oath. A decision on the Speaker will also be taken Tuesday. There were unconfirmed reports that the coalition government would have 20 ministers from the Congress and 13 from the JD(S), the Congress being the larger party of the two. But not all these ministers would be sworn in initially, many would take the oath later. Sources said while the Congress has mooted two deputy chief ministers, the JD(S) is believed to be not in favour. KPCC chief G. Parameshwara is among the frontrunners for the deputy chief ministers post. Mr 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, some reports said. The Army's 12 Sector officials said that they have no knowledge about the incident. 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. In a video that has gone viral, the passenger can be seen making the proposal using internal announcement system. 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. (Representational Image | File) Indore: 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 said 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". Pregnant women, children and the elderly are more susceptible to the disease as their immunity is low. The rapidly spreading virus has caused the death of three nurses who were taking care of patients in Kerala. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: The deadly Nipah virus outbreak has claimed six lives in Kerala and medical experts are worried at how contagious the disease is. The NiV virus is spread to humans from animals and is carried by fruit bats. The NiV virus is fatal to humans and mammals. Fruit bat. (Photo: File) The rapidly spreading virus has caused the death of three nurses who were taking care of patients in Kerala. Their bodies were cremated immediately by the state health department to avoid contact. Dr Sudhir Kumar, senior consultant of internal medicine, said, The death of the nurses is not shocking as any viral disease is highly contagious and can be expected in the state any time as well. He said measures can be taken up at airports but contracting a cold is common this season and we cannot keep restricting people. It is believed that half-eaten fruits or faecal droppings of bats could be potential carriers of the virus. The cause of the death of the family from Kozhikode who were first affected has been found out to be a well in their courtyard where dead bats were found. The Kerala health department has covered the well. Pregnant women, children and the elderly are more susceptible to the disease as their immunity is low. Any breathlessness or cough that occurs out of proportion to the ones daily routine should be reported immediately, doctors said. The disease was first identified in 1999 and with increased health problems being associated with the virus, doctors state that the strains have since evolved. Dr Rakesh Mayur, a neurophysician, said, The disease causes encephalitis relapse which leads to inflammation or swelling of the brain, which in turn causes death of brain cells. Depending on which part of the brain is affected more, the organs start to suffer. There is no cure for the disease and supportive treatment is provided to patients which makes oxygen critical for treatment. (Photo: File) We try to stop convulsions and provide oxygen to different brain centers to ensure that the patient can survive however most patients end up with rigidity in muscles, paralysis learning disabilities or they go into coma. No vaccine has been developed for the disease and there has not been much research into it. The best that can be done now is ensure that patients wear face masks and maintain proper hygiene measures to ensure that the disease does not spread, says Dr Sudhir. Modi said India and Russia have been friends for a long time and have enjoyed an unbreakable friendship. New Delhi/Sochi (Russia): In a move to cement the decades-old India-Russia strategic ties despite Indias growing proximity to the United States and Russias soft stance towards Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first informal summit in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi on Monday, during which Mr Modi said the strategic partnership between India and Russia had now evolved into a privileged strategic partnership after their extremely productive discussions, which he termed a major achievement. The two leaders discussed major international issues, agreed to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, agreed on the importance of building a multipolar world order, decided to strengthen coordination in the Indo-Pacific region and also agreed to institute a strategic economic dialogue to identify greater synergy in trade and investment. The reference to a multipolar world order at a time of extremely strong Indo-US ties is being seen as a tightrope walk and delicate balancing act by New Delhi on its ties with the US on one hand, and with Russia on the other. Addressing his host, Mr Modi said: We share long-standing ties; we hold bilateral meetings. I would like to thank President Putin for organising this informal meeting and inviting me. This initiative is yet another step in developing our relations. Praising President Putin, he said: Being a real friend, you never forget about me. Last year you invited me to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. It was a great privilege to be invited by you as a guest of honour. I am grateful to you for this. Mr Modi recalled his first visit to Russia with then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001 and said Mr Putin was the first world leader whom he met after becoming Gujarat chief minister. Mr Modi referred to the 93-year-old Mr Vajpayee several times in his opening remarks. While the issue of American sanctions on Russian military exports that has worried countries like India was not mentioned in the statement issued by the external affairs ministry late on Monday night, the issue is likely to have been discussed between the two leaders. India is reportedly interested in acquiring the lethal S-400 missile systems from Russia. Sources had already said before the summit that India would not allow any other country to dictate to it on its defence requirements. The informal summit is being seen to be a clear signal to Washington that New Delhi will not hesitate to acquire crucial weapons supplies from Moscow. On the defence cooperation between the two countries, President Putin said: We have established close contacts and collaboration between our defence agencies. All this is indicative of the high level of strategic relations between our countries. The developments pertaining to the US decision to walk out of the Iran nuclear deal and the situation in Syria are also likely to have been discussed. The statement said the situation in Afghanistan was discussed. While Russia has considerably softened its position towards Pakistan in recent times, the statement mentioned the two leaders were concerned about terrorism and radicalisation and resolved to combat terrorism. In the backdrop of US-Russia rivalry, the Russian and Pakistani positions on Afghanistan are seen to be converging, something that has worried New Delhi considerably. The MEA statement went on: 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... 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. Addressing President Putin, Mr Modi said: Eighteen years ago, you and (then) Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee planted the seeds of strategic Russian-Indian partnership. We can say proudly now that this partnership, the seeds of which you planted, has grown into a huge tree of privileged strategic partnership. It is a major achievement in itself. Mr Modi said India and Russia have been friends for a long time and have enjoyed an unbreakable friendship. Welcoming Mr Modi to Bocharev Creek in Sochi ahead of the delegation-level talks, President 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 defence ministries. Displaying bonhomie and camaraderie, the two leaders also took a boat ride on the Black Sea. Mr Modi thanked Russia for playing a major role in helping India get 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, Mr Modi said. He also congratulated Mr Putin for becoming the President for the fourth time with an overwhelming majority. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted: 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. 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. Displaying immense warmth towards the Russian leader in an address to Russian students later, Mr Modi said: I was with my friend (President Putin) 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. 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, Mr Modi quoted Mr Vajpayee as having said during President Putins visit to India in 2000. He said that it is our pleasure to see that dream and farsightedness of Atal Behari Vajpayee come true. In my political career also, Russia and you (Putin) are very significant... As 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, Mr 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. The Russian President, meanwhile, hailed joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the United Nations, Brics (which links Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the SCO. President Putin also said that last year there had been a considerable increase in mutual trade and this year for the first several months it was an increase of more than 17 per cent. In its chargesheet, filed before a local court, the CBI also named the director of the company Rahul Kothari and former bank officials. New Delhi: The CBI on Monday filed its chargesheet against Rotomac Global Pvt Ltd and its chairman-cum-managing director Vikram Kothari in the Rs 456.63 crore Bank of Baroda fraud case. In its chargesheet, filed before a local court, 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 fraud case. The father-son duo was arrested on February 22 by the CBI after I-T 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 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. A consortium of seven nationalised banks had given loans worth Rs 2,919 crore to Rotomac Global Pvt Limited from 2008 onwards, the CBI FIR had alleged. The total outstanding amount for the company, along with interest and liabilities, was pegged at Rs 3,695 crore, sources said. Kothari, all directors of Rotomac Global Pvt Ltd, had allegedly diverted the loan amount towards purposes other than what they were meant for, sources said. One of the banks in the consortium, the Bank of Baroda, had approached the CBI, requesting an FIR to be lodged against Kothari as it apparently feared that he might leave the country. The CBI had registered a case on February 18, following the complaint. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which also registered a case against Kothari and his family members on the basis of CBIs FIR, will soon file its separate chargesheet against the duo. Gen. Bajwas comments created a flutter due to a perception that the Pakistan Army was not supportive of talks with India. New Delhi: Anything that Pakistan says on peace with India will be accorded serious consideration, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Monday in the backdrop of the Pakistan Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwas statement favouring talks for peace. Any comment on wanting peace will definitely be taken seriously, Ms Sitharaman told reporters on the sidelines of an event on artificial intelligence (AI). Gen. Bajwas comments created a flutter due to a perception that the Pakistan Army was not supportive of talks with India. On the governments decision not to launch any operations in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan, the defence minister said the armed forces will fully honour the decision. 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, she said. Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and Opposition National Conference leader Omar Abdullah welcomed the Centres decision. The first NDA government, headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee, had taken a similar initiative in 2000 by announcing a unilateral suspension of anti-militancy operations in J&K during Ramzan. However, the unilateral suspension of operations managed to last for five months despite almost all militant groups rejecting the government offer. Underlining the need for incorporating AI applications in the Army, Navy and the Air Force, Ms Sitharaman said AI can also be utilised in checking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons as well as keeping a vigil on outer space. The government has set up a 17-member task force on AI to prepare a road map 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. Mr Kumaraswamy said legislators likely to be inducted in the Cabinet would be decided by Wednesday evening. Bengaluru: Five days after Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala invited the Congress-JD(S) coalition to form the government, state JD(S) president H.D. Kumaraswamy and his Congress counterpart Dr G. Parameshwar will take the oath as chief minister and deputy chief minister on Wednesday evening as a galaxy of top Opposition leaders from across the country will gather at the states majestic seat of power, the Vidhana Soudha. After a day of hard-fought negotiations between the incoming chief minister and the Congress quartet, which includes state in-charge K.C. Venugopal, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC chief G. Parameshwar and the partys trusted leader D.K. Shivakumar, the coalition partners have agreed on a power-sharing formula on the eve of the swearing-in. There will be only one deputy chief minister, Dr Parameshwar. The Cabi-net will have 22 Congress ministers, including Dr Parameshwar, and 12 from the JD(S). Congress president Rahul Gandhi has chosen former Speak-er K.R. Ramesh Kumar to take over as the presiding officer of the Assembly for the second time. He was Speaker during the rule of the undivided Janata Dal (1994-99). The post of deputy speaker will be held by the JD(S). The legislators likely to join the ministry will be chosen after the trust vote due on Thursday. Sources in the Congress said that at the meeting held on Tuesday, the Congress leaders heeded the plea of Mr Kumaraswamy to restrict the number of deputy chief ministers to one as more DCMs would be a burden on the government. Speaking to the media soon after the meeting, Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka K.C. Venugopal said the agenda was restricted to a couple of critical issues, as the rest could be discussed by the coalition partners at a later date. Mr Kumaraswamy said legislators likely to be inducted in the Cabinet would be decided by Wednesday evening. His counterpart in the Congress and other leaders would have one more round of discussions on Wednesday on drawing up the final list of candidates to be inducted into the ministry. Answering a question, Mr Kumaraswamy said the coalition partners were not bothered about either black day celebrations or black band protests announced by the BJP leaders. I have not said that I will not waive loans of farmers. The media is saying that I have executed a U-turn on my pre-poll promises. All I have said is that I will discuss all issues with coalition partners before taking a decision. A coordination committee would soon be formed, where implementing manifestos of both parties will be decided. The list of ministers will be finalised by the coordination committee as well, he added. Shah said the to-be-constituted JD(S)-Congress government in the state would be a betrayal of the peoples mandate. New Delhi: Asserting that the Karnataka poll mandate was against the Congress, BJP president Amit Shah on Monday said the JD(S)-Congress combine, which is all set to come to power in the southern state, is an unholy alliance. Mr Shah said the to-be-constituted JD(S)-Congress government in the state would be a betrayal of the peoples mandate, as they had voted out the Congress and even the JD(S) won those seats where it was in direct contest with the former ruling party in the state. The BJP president questioned the fate of the JD(S)-Congress government, saying it is already destabilised with the two parties forced to keep their MLAs locked up in hotels undemocratically. Taking a dig at the Congress over its horse-trading allegations against it, Mr Shah said it was false propaganda by the party (Congress) which had itself sold the entire stable. The BJP emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka. The Karnataka mandate was in favour of the BJP... Even the JD(S) won seats where the BJPs organisation was not strong and its campaign was against the Congress... most of the Congress ministers lost, even the former CM (Siddharamaiah) lost one seat and won the other only by a slender margin... the mandate was totally against the Congress, said Mr Shah. The May 12 Karnataka Assembly polls threw up a hung verdict, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats, but short of a simple majority, and the Congress with 78 and JD(S) with 37 seats. The BJP president said the Congress leaders kept citing the Goa and Manipur examples to stake claim for government formation in Karnataka, but their own leaders were busy relaxing in these states after the poll results rather than approaching the governor. Amid criticism of the BJP for forming the government in Karnataka despite lacking a majority, Mr Shah said the BJP had approached the governor in Karnataka for government formation as neither the Congress or JD(S) had decided to come together by then, and the party had honored the mandate, which was against the Congress. He said if the Congress and JD(S) had not locked up their MLAs in hotels and allowed them to interact with voters, the people would have told them where they have to vote, suggesting that the BJP government would have survived then. Mr Shah said the Congress had found a new way of portraying a defeat as victory and took a swipe at the rival party, saying that he hopes this new definition of victory continues till 2019, as it will benefit the BJP. He also asked the Congress to explain to the people of Karnataka why they were celebrating even when most of their ministers had lost the election. Only the Congress and JD(S) are celebrating, the people of Karnataka are not (celebrating), he said. Mr Shah said the Karnataka mandate was encouraging for the BJP, which had increased both its numbers and voteshare, and took a dig at the Congress by saying that it was now starting to have faith in constitutional bodies like the Supreme Court and the Election Commission, and they even like EVMs, and said he hoped it would continue even when the Congress loses. He also claimed the Congress lawyer lied in the Supreme Court that BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa had sought seven days time from the governor to prove his majority in the House. He also accused the Congress of trying to influence the Supreme Courts decision on Karnataka by releasing fake audio clips of BJP leaders offering bribes to its MLAs. The nurse's death brings the toll to 27, with 49 cases of hemorrhagic fever, of which 22 have been confirmed as Ebola. Dr. Guyauma Ngoyi Mwamba, centre, representative of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Expanded Program on Immunization, is administered with a vaccine during a vaccination campaign in Mbandaka, Congo Monday, May 21, 2018. Congo's 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. (Photo: AP) A nurse became the 27th victim of the deadly Ebola virus in Democratic Republic of Condo, countrys health ministers revealed on Monday. The nurse's death brings the toll to 27, with 49 cases of hemorrhagic fever, of which 22 have been confirmed as Ebola, 21 are probable and six suspected. The country on Monday begun a vaccination campaign in three health zones affected by the deadly outbreak. The nurse died in the town of Bikoro, where the DRC's Ministry of Health first identified cases of Ebola earlier this month. By Thursday last week, the viral hemorrhagic fever had spread to Mbandaka, a northwestern city of 1.2 million people connected to Bikoro via the Congo River. Health officials are worried that Mbandaka's location on the Congo River, a major thoroughfare which makes up the border between the DRC and the Republic of Congo, could see Ebola spread to the capital Kinshasa downstream. In a hopeful sign, two patients who were confirmed as positive for Ebola have recovered, and 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 to launch the vaccination campaign Monday. The vaccine 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. This human impact on wild environments might strongly influence the prevalence of cancer in wild populations. Cancer has been found in all species where scientists have looked for it and human activities strongly influence cancer rate in humans. (Photo: Pixabay) Human activities are changing the environment in a way that causes cancer in wild animal populations, according to a study. "We know that some viruses can cause cancer in humans by changing the environment that they live in - in their case, human cells - to make it more suitable for themselves," said Tuul Sepp, a postdoctoral researcher at the Arizona State University (ASU) in the US. "We are changing the environment to be more suitable for ourselves, while these changes are having a negative impact on many species on many different levels, including the probability of developing cancer," said Sepp. In the study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, the researchers point out many pathways and previous scientific studies that show where human activities are already taking a toll on animals. These include chemical and physical pollution in our oceans and waterways, release of radiation into the atmosphere from nuclear plants, and the accumulation of microplastics in both land- and water-based environments. In addition, exposure to pesticides and herbicides on farmlands, artificial light pollution, loss of genetic diversity and animals eating human food are known to cause health problems, researchers said. "Cancer has been found in all species where scientists have looked for it and human activities are known to strongly influence cancer rate in humans," said Mathieu Giraudeau, a postdoctoral researchers at ASU. "This human impact on wild environments might strongly influence the prevalence of cancer in wild populations with additional consequences on ecosystem functioning," he said. The tablets and the contraband drugs were collected from various parts of the country by this gang and sent abroad. 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. (Representational Image | AFP) New Delhi: 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 3 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. The gang used to collect these drugs in tablet or powder form from various parts of the country. Accordingly, the team swung into action and laid a trap in the parking of customs cargo of IGI Airport, Delhi. New Delhi: Fake medicines worth several crores of rupees were seized following raids at IGI Airport. Four persons were arrested by Delhi police. Police claimed to recover more than 6.5 lakh tablets, 2 kg Mephedrone and 1 kg Methaqualone drugs worth Rs 30 crore on the international market. We have arrested Ashish (29), Asim Ali (23), Parveen Saini (32) and Rajender (26). We have busted an international drug nexus supplying party drugs like Diazepam, Lorazepam, Nitrazepam, Alpraz-olam. The gang used to collect these drugs in tablet or powder form from various parts of the country. These contrabands were supplied to the UK, the US, the UAE and the Middle East countries, said Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, DCP, Special Cell. The DCP said that they have identified the kingpin of this drug cartel, Baljeet Singh. He is living in London. The nexus was being controlled from London. Parveen Saini, one of the key members of the gang, used to look after the supply. The Special Cell, working on busting drug syndicates, found that one Baljeet Singh and Gajender Singh Rathore, living in London, are running a racket. Both are procuring drugs from India. Parveen Saini is the key man and is a residing of Faridabad, the police said. Haryana and operating in Delhi for this syndicate and looks after the network in India, said Yadav.Based on this information, a team was formed to bust the racket. On May 18, the sleuths were tipped off that Saini, tasked with booking the consignment at IGI Airport, will get the drugs. We also found that one Ashish Sharma working as custom house agent will prepare the customs clearance documents for these goods, said Yadav. Accordingly, the team swung into action and laid a trap in the parking of customs cargo of IGI Airport, Delhi. At about 9:30 pm, one Mahindra Champion tempo was identified in the parking. Some cartons/boxes were found unloaded near this tempo and two persons were found pasting some stickers on each carton. They were identified as Asim Ali and Ashish Sharma. Both were arrested. On search of these boxes, huge contraband drug was found in four cartons, added Yadav. The Kolkata Police have seized Fake Indian Currency Notes from 2 persons who were trying to buy materials with it. Two persons were arrested by the STF following seizure of the fake currency from their possession. The counterfeit notes were in the denomination of Rs 2,000. (Representational Image) Kolkata: The Special Task Force of Kolkata Police have seized Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) with a face value of Rs 10 lakh from two persons who were trying to buy materials with it from a central Kolkata shop, police said on Tuesday. The two persons were arrested by the STF following seizure of the fake currency from their possession on Monday, a senior Kolkata Police official said. The counterfeit notes were in the denomination of Rs 2,000. After receiving a call from a shopkeeper in Canning Street area of the city, the STF personnel rushed to the spot and seized the counterfeit notes from the possession of the two persons, identified as Mohammed Abdus Sattar and Azad, the official said. On being questioned, it was found that Sattar was a resident of Kaliachak in Malda district while Azad claimed to be from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, he said. "They will be produced at a city court today. We are trying to find out whether they have links to an international racket across the border. Our investigation is at an early stage," he said. Police on Monday nabbed the accused from his residence in Sonarpur after going through the video footage provided by the woman. "We are looking into the matter and trying to talk to the youth. We are also trying to find out if he was having any mental problem," the officer added. (Photo: Representational) Kolkata: One person was on Monday arrested for allegedly making sexual gestures to a woman shopkeeper in Basdroni area in Kolkata, police said. The accused, a youth in his early 20s, entered the shop in Basdroni's Central Park area on Sunday afternoon, when the woman shopkeeper was alone, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said. "Initially, he started asking about prices of different items and suddenly started making sexual gestures seeing the woman alone. The woman filmed the entire act on her mobile phone," the officer said. Police on Monday nabbed the accused from his residence in Sonarpur after going through the video footage provided by the woman. The accused has been booked under different sections of the IPC. "We are looking into the matter and trying to talk to the youth. We are also trying to find out if he was having any mental problem," the officer added. The victim recently removed one Sachin Gadakh from the group as the latter had left the college, police said. The victim was attacked with a sharp weapon on his stomach, mouth and back. (Representational Image) Mumbai: The "admin" of a group on the popular messaging platform WhatsApp was assaulted at the behest of a member who was agitated by his removal from the group, police said. Ahmednagar-based Chaitanya Shivaji Bhor, 18, was attacked by three persons with a sharp weapon, a senior police official said. The incident occurred at a mess on May 17 night on the Ahmednagar-Manmad road, police said. Chaitanya, a student of the agriculture college at Ahmednagar, had created the group having college students as members. Bhor recently removed one Sachin Gadakh from the group as the latter had left the college, police said. Gadakh was angry and decided to avenge the "insult", police said. On May 17, Sachin's friend Amol Gadakh and two others went to the eatery where Bhor had his meals and assaulted him. Amol attacked Bhor with a sharp weapon on his stomach, mouth and back, police said. Bhor, who sustained serious injuries in the attack, was taken a nearby hospital and was later shifted to Pune, police said. The assailants, who hail from Sonai village in Nevasa tehsil, fled from the spot. After a complaint filed by Bhor, an offence under section 307 of IPC and Arms Act was registered against Sachin Gadakh, Amol Gadakh and two others, Vinod Chavan, Senior Police Inspector of MIDC police station in Ahmednagar, said. The second arrested suspect and the third wanted suspect were to carry out attacks in Mumbai, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, said the officials. Mumbai: Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) officials on Monday claimed that a third youth suspected of undergoing terror training in Pakistan is hiding in Uttar Pradesh. The second arrested suspect, who is from Gujarat, revealed that a consignment was scheduled to be sent from Pakistan to Mumbai via a Gulf country but the investigation was still underway to find out what it referred to. The second arrested suspect and the third wanted suspect were to carry out attacks in Mumbai, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. One of the arrested accused, who is from Mumbai, also underwent a two-week-long arms training in Pakistan. The three suspects locals from Mumbai, Gujarat and UP were provided targets and trained for carrying out attacks, including lone wolf ones. They allegedly also received training in suicide attacks, for which they learned how to make improvised explosives and carry out arson. Following the arrest of Allahrakha Mansuri, a driver from Gandhidham in Kutch, Gujarat, ATS officials learned that a terror consignment was to be sent to India from Pakistan. The same was to be used on the pre-decided targets, officials found. An ATS officer said, We have also found a further chain to the already arrested accused persons. It seems that there are more persons on the list of those who were assigned the mission. Mansuri, a driver by profession, was also in touch with Farooq Devadiwala, the Sharjah-based handler who assisted in terror training of the accused persons. Devadiwala had sent the first arrested suspect and his distant relative, Faisal Hassan Mirza, for terror training in Pakistan. Mirza, an electrician, was in constant touch with Devadiwala. Mirzas role is being investigated and his antecedents are also being checked. Mirza, who was closely associated with Devadiwala, was arrested from Jogeshwari on May 11 in a joint operation with the Kolkata special taskforce. Devadiwala was detained for questioning by authorities in Dubai following Mirza's arrest. Devadiwala's name featured in the Delhi polices special cell investigation into the conspiracy to kill the Shia Waqf board chief in UP. The police arrested three persons in connection with the foiled conspiracy, one of whom had been to Dubai to meet Devadiwala. Their interrogation led to the overseas handler and his terror design. Isolation wards are being set up in hospitals as a precautionary measure. Mumbai: The state government has take proactive measures to tackle the threat of Nipah Virus that has claimed lives of 10 people in Kerala. State health minister Dr Deepak Sawant on Tuesday stated that no cause of Nipah virus has been detected in Maharashtra so far but preventive measures are being taken. Steps such as setting up of isolation wards in civil and state-run hospitals and directing doctors to wear full protective gear if a patient comes for treatment are being taken. Nipah is a newly emerged virus transfers from Bats to animals to humans. There is no vaccine to counter it. The minister said that all hospitals in state have been asked to report to state if they come across anyone with symptoms similar to the Nipah virus or if a patient has recently returned from Kerela. The blood sample and body fluids of person showing symptoms similar to the Nipah virus will be sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology in Pune. A senior railway officer said, We have not received any directive from the state but we are monitoring the situation. Private and state-run hospitals were directed to take preventive measures. State has sent instructions to Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai and all major state-run hospitals to start isolation ward. No patient affected by Nipah virus in Kerala has been found in Maharashtra. There is no need to panic but if any symptoms of this ailment are observed, person should immediately visit doctors, said Mr Sawant. He also addressed a meeting at Mantralaya in this regard today. Principal secretary of health department Dr Pradip Vyas, commissioner of national health mission Dr Sanjiv kumar, DHS Dr Sanjiv Kamble, member of infectious diseases controlling committee Dr Om Shrivastava, additional campaign director Dr Satish Pawar and others, chaired the meeting. Dr Sawant said, The directives to take preventive measures and treatment for this disease are being sent to all the hospitals and dispensaries in the state. Dr Madhav Sathe a senior microbiologist from civic run KEM hospital said, Since there is no Vaccine available for Nipah virus the primary treatment for patients is intensive supportive care and isolation. Dr Ashesh Bhumkar, an ENT specialist said, Any symptoms of fever noted must consult the medico on urgent basis. He added, The likely symptoms of Nipah viral disease are fever, body ache, headache, drowsiness, mental confusion, unconsciousness, etc. If anyone is found suffering with such symptoms, especially, anyone coming from Kerala, he should be immediately directed to visit the doctors at the nearest hospital. According to the infectious diseases controlling committee member, Dr Om Shrivastava, Doctors and health workers should take all steps as per World Health Organization's universal precautions. Avoid eating fruits fallen from trees in fields, or jungles or at other places, and keep the Nipah virus patients in isolation. How does the virus transfer: It transfers from animals like pigs and bats to humans. Likely symptoms of Nipah virus: Fever, body ache, headache, drowsiness, mental confusion,unconsciousness, etc. Natural hosts of this virus are fruit bats Precautions to be taken: Avoid eating fruits fallen from trees in fields, jungles. Avoid drinking toddy brewed in open containers near palm trees. Staying away from an infected person is important. Clean your clothes, utensils and bathroom items like mugs and buckets separately. Who can be affected: The disease can affect those attending the patients including the health workers, and relatives etc. Therefore, such patients are to be kept in isolation Royal fans swoon over snaps of Princess Dianas dashing nephew Louis Spencer at the wedding. From left, Eliza Spencer, Louis Spencer, Victoria Aitken and Kitty Spencer arrive for the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor. (Photo: AP) So Prince Harry has now been officially taken. But royal fans already have their eyes on the new bachelor in town. Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, caught the attention of dozens of viewers at home after arriving at the royal wedding at Windsor Castle on Saturday. Social media users quickly took to Twitter to swoon over Princess Diana's nephew - saying they'll fill the gap left by Harry after tying the knot Meghan. Louis Spencer is the new hot bachelor in town (Photo: AP) Louis, 24, looked dashing as he arrived at the ceremony with his glamorous sisters Lady Kitty Spencer and Lady Eliza Spencer, and mother Victoria Aitken. From left, Eliza Spencer, Louis Spencer, Victoria Aitken and Kitty Spencer arrive for the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor. (Photo: AP) Fans have taken to social media to comment on the young aristocrat saying that they now have their sights set on him. One twitter user wrote, think I'm in love, while another posted, Since I've can't have Harry anymore I now have my eyes on his cousin Louis Spencer. Meanwhile, one royal fan questioned: 'Well, hello Louis Spencer are you single? Call me maybe?' Louis, who will become Earl Spencer following his father's death, is currently believed to be single. The youngest of Earl Spencer's children with first wife Victoria, with his parents divorcing in 1997, the viscount studied at the University of Edinburgh, having grown up with his sisters in Cape Town. Harry remains close to his mother's side of the family and wanted them all to be there for the celebrations. He always visits his cousins when in Cape Town, while Prince William and Kate attended Louiss 21st birthday at Althorp when she was heavily pregnant with Princess Charlotte. To be fair to the critics, the move for the COO, or truce, took almost everyone by surprise. 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. Now that the BJP has been so humiliatingly outwitted, the struggle is over control of the Central government after the 2019 general election. 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. Iranian President quickly dismissed the threats, 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. Washington: 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. Read: Mike Pompeo issues steep demands for nuclear treaty with Iran "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 behaviour 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 behaviour against its neighbours," 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. Read: Netanyahu hails US policy on Iran, calls on world to back 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' Centre 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. The Saudia aircraft was travelling from the Muslim holy city of Medina to Dhaka with 151 people on board, but had to be diverted to Jeddah. Footage posted online showed the plane leaving a trail of flame along the runway as it skidded on its nose before screeching to a halt. (Photo: AFP) Riyadh: A Saudi Arabian Airlines Airbus A330 jet made an emergency landing in the western Red Sea city of Jeddah, injuring 53 people, aviation officials said on Tuesday. The Saudia aircraft was travelling from the Muslim holy city of Medina to Dhaka with 151 people on board, but had to be diverted to Jeddah late on Monday after it suffered a malfunction in the hydraulic system, the kingdom's Aviation Investigation Bureau said. Footage posted online showed the plane leaving a trail of flame along the runway as it skidded on its nose before screeching to a halt. "The passengers were evacuated by emergency slides. 52 of them were slightly injured, while one female passenger suffered a fracture during the evacuation and is now receiving treatment," AIB said in a statement. AIB has launched an investigation into this accident. The aircraft circled over Jeddah for several hours as its landing gear failed to drop, forcing the captain to make the emergency landing, Saudi media reported. In a similar incident in January 2014, a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 767 jet made an emergency landing in Medina, injuring 29 people, according to the aviation authority. 'We call on the entire international community to join this American position,' 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. (Photo: File) Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday 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 on Monday 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. by Peter Hung With an investment of almost US$ 5 billion, China is set to build the Sambor dam in Cambodia. According to experts, it will have a very negative impact on the natural environment and on the Cambodians and Vietnamese living in the Mekong Delta. The great river provides food security to about 60 million people living in the settlements along its course. Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) Vietnamese communities living along the banks of the Mekong River are very concerned about the destructive impact of a new Sino-Cambodian dam on the region's ecosystem. Once completed, the Sambor Dam will be the largest hydroelectric power station on the Mekong River. The latter flows for about 4,350 kilometres and is the second river basin in the world for biodiversity after the Amazon. The Mekong provides food security to about 60 million people living in settlements along its course, which runs from the Tibetan plateau through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to the South China Sea. In the north, China controls the flow of the Mekong waters and has already built eight dams in the upper section of the river and is investing in more than half of the 11 dams planned further south. Chinese companies have invested billions of dollars but have not carried out environmental and social impact assessments. China has compensated its Southeast Asian neighbours with investments and low-interest loans, which have enabled state firms and agencies in Thailand, Vietnam and Laos to benefit from new hydroelectric projects. Cambodia is one of the most active. The governments in Beijing and Phnom Penh have already worked on the Lower Se San Hydroelectric dam, at a cost of US$ 816 million, with a capacity of 400 megawatts. At a cost of almost US$ 5 billion, China is now preparing to build the Sambor Dam in Cambodia. However, according to experts, this dam will negatively impact the areas natural environment and the lives of Cambodians and Vietnamese living in the Mekong Delta. The Sambor Dam was designed by the China Southern Power Grid Company (CSPGC) and will have an unprecedented reservoir of 620 square kilometers. A report released by the US National Heritage Institute (NHI) four days ago notes that it will also destroy the Mekong Rivers species. Indeed, "the Sambor Dam project will bring the great benefits of electricity to Cambodia, but it is also contributing to the destruction of living environment of millions of Cambodians." The US experts have asked the two governments to stop the project but Phnom Penh has not yet responded. The construction of the plant will have dire consequences for Vietnam where millions of people will be affected by the change in the flow of the Mekong. Over the next ten years, the river will change drastically. The lack of a fresh water in the delta will increase salinity levels and the frequency of drought, crippling its agricultural sector. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) has carried out many scientific studies and made several appeals to restrict dam constructions on the river. Its goal is to ensure the sustainable development of all the countries in which it flows. According to the Commission's estimates, the benefits from the Sambor Dam are much lower than the losses it will generate. For many experts, the negative impact on fishing and agriculture and the risk of extinction of many animal and plant species are very high. Some 500 people gathered this morning at Thammasat University for a peaceful march. However, the security forces erected some barriers to prevent them from leaving the campus. Government House and surrounding streets have been declared a no-go zone. Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) Police blocked hundreds of people protesting in the Thai capital to prevent them from marching to Government House to demand that the military government hold a general election by November. About 500 demonstrators gathered at Thammasat University for the peaceful march, standing in a line behind a truck with loudspeakers as police looked on. As soon as they moved, protesters found themselves stuck at a police barricade in front of the university, blocked from leaving the campus. Police declared Government House and surrounding streets a no-go zone for protests organise to mark four years since the coup that toppled the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra on 22 May 2014. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who as army chief overthrew Shinawatra administration, has suggested elections would be held only in February next year. More than an hour after the protest began, both sides remained locked in a stand-off, with police using a sound truck to order the demonstrators to disperse. A minor scuffle broke out when some protesters briefly pushed the police line, but the tensions were soothed after rain fell, prompting protesters to take cover under umbrellas. In recent months, dissatisfaction with the authorities has grown despite a ban on political rallies imposed after the coup. The road to the restauration of democracy has suffered repeated setbacks, and people are running out of patience with the junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), including some former supporters of Prayut. The government has repeatedly put off the general election, which in principle was supposed to take place in 2015. An aggravated penalty regime is foreseen, which provides for imprisonment until death under strict security measures. Erdogan asks to reintroduce the death penalty for the coup leaders. At the bar a total of 280 people, stripped the position of 143. Minor convictions for another 52 defendants for aiding and belonging to terrorist organization. Istanbul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A Turkish court sentenced to life imprisonment (imprisoned until death, under strict security measures) at least 104 former soldiers and officers, for their involvement in the (failed) coup Summer 2016. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently called for the reintroduction of the death penalty for authors and promoters of the coup. According to the Turkish official media, a total of 280 former soldiers appeared before the Izmir courts on the Aegean coast. Of these, at least 52 received minor convictions based on the accusation of "aiding the assassination of the president" and "belonging to a terrorist organization". At least 21 people will have to spend the next 20 years in a cell; are added to these 31 with penalties ranging between seven and 11 years. Finally, the position of another 143 defendants was struck out. Those convicted include the former commander of the Air Force, General Hasan Huseyin Demirarasl, the former Chief of Staff in the Aegean, General Mamdouh Hakbil, Rear Admiral Suleyman Manka and other senior military rankings dismissed and arrested after the coup. Almost two years since the failed coup in Turkey during the night between July 14 and 15 2016, which has facilitated rather than undermined the total dominion of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the campaign of repression launched by the authorities against alleged accomplices or supporters continues. Among the accusations, most often pretentious, the affiliation to Kurdish "terrorist" groups or the belonging to the movement that belongs to the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, in exile in Pennsylvania (United States). According to Erdogan and leading authorities, he is the true mastermind of the coup in Turkey during which 270 people died and thousands were injured. In total, over 50 thousand people have been arrested, over 150 thousand suspended or driven from work, in both public and private sectors. In the first official speech, the new US Secretary of State fixed draconian conditions for a new nuclear agreement with Iran. Teheran responds: working with other partners to find a solution. Israel welcomes the words of the head of US diplomacy. But the European Union wants to preserve trade agreements with the Islamic Republic. Tehran (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A new chapter has opened in the (new) war between the United States and Iran, following the decision by President Donald Trump to cancel the nuclear agreement (JCPOA) and introduce new sanctions. In his first official speech since his nomination to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed the reintroduction of all punitive measures of the past and "the hardest sanctions in history". At the same time he set a number of conditions [which analysts and experts call draconian] for a new nuclear pact with Tehran, including the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria and the end of support for the Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani replied to Pompey's vitriolic words, saying that the United States has no title to decide on the future of Iran. "Who are you to decide on Iran and the world?" said the leader of the Islamic Republic, adding that "today" the states are independent and the era of US hegemony "is over. We will follow our path - he concluded - with the support of the whole country ". A harsh condemnation of Pompey's speech also comes from Tehran's head of diplomacy, Javad Zarif, who rejects the threat of the worst sanctions in history. According to the Foreign Minister, the United States "are regressing into the old habits" of past hegemony; however, the Islamic Republic "is working with other partners" in the nuclear agreement in search of a solution. This is why Zarif went to Brussels in the last few days, the last stop on a journey that touched Russia and China, to save the JCPOA and preserve the beneficial effects of the agreement. This is also explains European Union (EU) decision to revisit a pro-Cuba norm to protect its companies from the "extraterritorial application" of the new sanctions imposed by the White House is to be framed. Among those who applaud the Trump administration's iron-fisted strategy against Teheran, aimed at some sources of "regime change" in Iran, is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Commenting on Pompey's speech, the premier points out that "US policy is correct" to counter "the aggressive expansion" of Iran throughout the Middle East. The Israeli leader, the only nation in the region to possess an atomic arsenal, concludes that Iran "aspires to nuclear weapons" and for this "the entire international community must align" with American positions. Iran is one of the world's leading oil producers, with an annual turnover of billions of dollars. The ayatollah crude oil is one of the sensitive targets of US sanctions. However, it seems at least improbable that nations like Russia, China, India, Turkey are willing to follow the dictates of the White House. And the European Union itself continues to move its pawns to safeguard what remains of the treaty and, as a primary objective, keep strategically important economic and commercial agreements alive for their companies. In this sense we read the words of the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy Federica Mogherini, who yesterday confirmed that "there are no alternative solutions" to the current agreement. Pompey's speech, he added, has not shown "how leaving the agreement has made or will make the region safer". Last year, the Kern River took 15 lives, breaking its record of most fatalities since the 1980s, according to the Kern County Sheriff's Office 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. JERUSALEM (AP) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is alert and making a swift recovery after being hospitalized with a fever over the weekend and should be released within days, an aide and a hospital doctor said Monday. Saeb Erekat said Abbas is in "very good health" after spending several hours visiting the Palestinian leader in a Ramallah hospital Monday. "He's recovering and doctors expect him to leave the hospital within the coming two days," Erekat said. Dr. Said Sarahneh, the medical director of Ramallah's Istishari Hospital, said Abbas had been diagnosed with pneumonia and responded to treatment quickly. Later Monday, Abbas' office released a photo and brief video clip showing him walking in the hospital hallway, dressed in a blue bathrobe and flanked by aides. Another photo showed him sitting and reading a newspaper. The official Wafa news agency said Abbas received phone calls from the Egyptian president and intelligence chief as well as the Qatari foreign minister and secretary general of the Arab League. It was the latest health scare for the 83-year-old Abbas, who has a history of health problems but has never designated a deputy or successor. His sudden hospitalization has revived anxiety over a potentially chaotic or even bloody succession battle that could further weaken the Palestinian cause. Abbas was hospitalized Sunday with a fever, just days after undergoing ear surgery. Palestinian officials on Sunday said Abbas had pneumonia and was on a respirator, receiving antibiotics intravenously. They said he was conscious and lucid. Erekat said Abbas was taking antibiotics and responding well to his treatment. He said they discussed important issues, including the opening of a new Paraguayan Embassy in Jerusalem, which Abbas condemned, and Palestinian plans to submit a new complaint against Israel with the International Criminal Court on Tuesday. 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. 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 Abbas' address to the United Nations Security Council, in which he appeared weak. 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. Erekat declined to discuss the matter on Monday. 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. Uncertainty shrouds the post-Abbas future. Under Palestinian law, the parliament speaker is supposed to take over if the president is incapacitated or dies. But the current speaker, Aziz Dweik, is a member of Hamas. Abbas' Fatah party has argued that since parliament has not functioned in more than a decade, Dweik would not be eligible to lead the Palestinians. A number of top officials in Abbas' Fatah movement head the list of potential successors. Jibril Rajoub, a former security chief, and Mahmoud Aloul, a veteran Fatah leader, are both members of the party's decision-making Central Committee. Abbas' current security chief, Majed Farraj, is another strong contender, with good behind-the-scenes working relations with both Israel and the U.S. Marwan Barghouti, a former Palestinian uprising leader serving multiple life sentences in an Israeli prison, tops public opinion polls. But his incarceration would pose a strong obstacle to him taking office. Israel has ruled out releasing him. Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled rival of Abbas who now lives in the United Arab Emirates, also enjoys some support, but the local leadership opposes him. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. NEW YORK (AP) Farewell tours don't always mean farewell, but are a ripe time for appreciation and appraisal. Paul Simon's concerts and a new biography offer the opportunity for both. Simon's "Homeward Bound" tour began last week in Vancouver and takes him across North America, to Europe and an eventual conclusion with three dates back home in New York City. Simon, who's 76, isn't retiring. He has an album due out this fall and promises he'll still occasionally appear on stage. Since he started writing songs as a teen-ager, it's hard to imagine that impulse shutting off forever. He's done with the idea of long concert tours, though, so if you live in Greensboro, North Carolina, Austin, Texas or Orlando, Florida, and want to see him perform, this is probably it. The death of his lead guitarist and friend, Vincent N'guini, last December influenced his decision to step away, Simon said in a statement when the tour was announced. (He has declined interview requests). "Mostly, though, I feel the travel and time away from my wife and family takes a toll that detracts from the joy of playing," he said. The set list from the tour's opener in Vancouver indicates that he's exploring the breadth of his career from Simon & Garfunkel favorites like "Mrs. Robinson" and "America" to touchstones from "Graceland" and recent fare "Dazzling Blue" and "Rewrite." With a 16-piece band, he often searches for new ways to tell familiar stories. "He was far more a curious musician than a self-congratulatory, self-repeating pop star," wrote Jon Pareles of The New York Times in his review of opening night. Simon's musical restlessness sets him apart from many peers, said Robert Hilburn, author of the just-released book "Paul Simon: The Life." Simon was interviewed by Hilburn for the book. Many of Simon's contemporaries aren't interested in pushing boundaries or have fans who resist if they do. Simon's last few albums have been adventurous, earning him critical and commercial success. Many people forget that Simon spent years as a mediocre writer searching for pop hits until his breakthrough song, "The Sound of Silence," Hilburn said. "Once he became this great songwriter, he realized right away that you're always in jeopardy," he said. "There are always these distractions and temptations. He had this determination and intelligence to know that music is the most important thing that you could never master it and never take it for granted." Hilburn believes that the desire to stretch himself musically was the biggest factor in Simon's break with partner Art Garfunkel in 1970, not the famous prickly relationship between the childhood chums. "If he hadn't left Simon & Garfunkel, he'd have burned out like all the others," Hilburn said. The two are more distant than ever after an unpleasant end to the "Old Friends" tour in 2012, and Garfunkel declined requests to be interviewed for Hilburn's biography. So it would be wise not to expect another reunion soon. For the book, Hilburn pressed Simon to reveal details of the 2014 incident where Simon and his wife, Edie Brickell, were arrested on disorderly conduct charges for a fight at their Connecticut home. Without setting the record straight, it would remain a defining image of their marriage, he argued. Simon refused; instead, a photo of him and Brickell later renewing their vows at their Montauk, New York, home is in the book, standing as Simon's testimony to the endurance of their relationship. Even though two of his three wives Brickell and Carrie Fisher were celebrities in their own right when they were married, Simon has generally been reluctant to feed the media machine. Hilburn believes that has cost him popularity through the years. Instead, people know Simon through his songs, and they're likely to be remembered long after he's gone, he said. In fact, that legacy drives the album he's been working on for release this fall. He records again some of the compositions he's particularly proud of that were lost along the way in terms of public attention. One song on the Vancouver playlist, "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War," is a likely target. Even though Hilburn was the first biographer that Simon cooperated with, they had their clashes. Hilburn wrote that he feared the project was close to breaking down. But ultimately he said Simon kept his word that Hilburn would be the final arbiter of what was written, and gradually opened up. "With all of the success he's had, he still loves it when people love the music," Hilburn said. "He wants people to love the music, not necessarily to like him. But I think if they got to know him, they will get to like him." Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Chevrolet engines have powered some of IndyCar's biggest wins over the last six years. Their drivers have won three of the first five races this season, four straight series titles and claimed the top four starting spots in Sunday's Indianapolis 500. So why is there so much chatter about Chevy vs. Honda in Sunday's race? It's the one mountain Chevy continues to try and conquer. "We have more horsepower at the top end but race running's going to be different because you're not going to be flat out," 2016 series champ Simon Pagenaud said. "You're going to have to manage your tires, you're going to have to lift a lot and reaccelerate, and the Honda is really strong at that. So I think it's going to equalize the race and I think there's a good chance it will show, which is fantastic." Pagenaud knows both engines well. He spent his first four seasons in the series working with Honda teams before switching to Roger Penske's powerhouse Chevy team in 2015. Yet as dominant as Chevy has been over the years outside Indy and as good as Penske's team has been on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile oval, Honda continues to have the upper hand in the 500. Their cars have driven to victory lane 12 times over the past 14 years, including a run of nine straight (six coming when Honda was the series' sole-engine manufacturer). Chevy has two 500 wins since returning to the series in 2012. But the engine battle is becoming far more competitive even at Indy where the disparity from the top qualifier to the last qualifier was cut from 11.083 mph in 2017 to 5.198 mph this year. Drivers have already noticed a difference on the track and casual fans who only watch the 500 might pick up on the changes, too. "It's certainly exciting for the fans, for us, for the teams," said three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, a Chevy-powered driver for Penske. "It's all about the end. Right now, we happen to be competitive so let's see what happens in the race." Last year, Honda grabbed four of the top five spots and powered two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso to the race's rookie of the year award. The problem: Three Honda engines blew during the second half of the race and those still on the track worried they would face the same fate. This year, some of those same questions could return after Marco Andretti blew an engine just hours before the start of the IndyCar Grand Prix. Still, Andretti has been fast and qualified 12th for the race. The new aero kits have drivers complaining about handling and passing on Sunday. Practice and qualifying speeds haven't provided many hints about what to expect, either. The practice session Monday was the first time everybody worked heavily on race setups and attempted to run in traffic. The result: Chevy and Honda each had five cars among the top 10, in practice led by 23-year-old Sage Karam at 226.461 mph in a Chevy. Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2012 series champ and 2014 Indy winner with Andretti Autosport, was third-fastest at 224.820 and No. 1 among the Honda teams. Chevy, however, posted the top three non-tow speeds with rookie Kyle Kaiser leading the way at 221.107. Marco Andretti wound up fourth at 220.407 and was the top Honda car the list. Four-time series champion Scott Dixon has learned not to read too much into all these numbers. The Chip Ganassi Racing star qualified ninth and is one of only two Honda drivers starting in the first three rows Sunday. Last year, Honda took six of the top nine starting spots and had four of the top five cars at the finish line. "I think there's a lot of good Honda cars. Hopefully this one is one of them," the 2008 Indy 500 winner said. "It showed pretty good, I think, in practice. But again it doesn't guarantee you anything. You've got to give it your best, put in the effort and work hard." And hope for the best. "I believe, even last year, even though the Hondas were really strong, we were able to fight in the end," Castroneves said. "It's all about being a good, balanced car." ___ More AP Auto Racing: https://racing.ap.org Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. KINSHASA, Congo (AP) Congo's health ministry announced six new confirmed Ebola cases and two new suspected cases Tuesday as vaccinations entered a second day in an effort to contain the deadly virus in a city of more than 1 million. Dozens of health workers in the northwestern provincial capital, Mbandaka, have received vaccinations amid expectations that some will be deployed to the rural epicenter of the epidemic. Front-line workers are especially at risk of contracting the virus, which spreads in contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, including the dead. "In the next five days 100 people must be vaccinated, including 70 health professionals," Health Minister Oly Ilunga said. "The priority of the government is to ensure that all these brave health professionals can do their job safely." Congo's health ministry said there are now 28 confirmed Ebola cases, 21 probable ones and two suspected. The six new confirmed cases were in the rural Iboko health zone, it said. Of the confirmed Ebola cases, 14 are in Iboko, 10 are in Bikoro where the outbreak began and four are in the Wangata area of Mbandaka. The death toll from hemorrhagic fever stands at 27, with three of them confirmed as Ebola. Two of the Ebola victims were nurses, one in Iboko and the other in Bikoro. "Concerned about Iboko as access remains difficult," Dr. Peter Salama, the World Health Organization's emergency response chief, said Tuesday on Twitter. Roads in the region are unpaved and infrastructure is poor. The WHO said 33 people received the first vaccinations Monday, including a few people in two communities of Mbandaka. More than 7,500 doses are available in Congo, WHO said Monday, and another 8,000 doses will be available in the coming days. Allowing Congolese to watch health officials receive vaccinations is crucial, health worker Ezela Elange told The Associated Press. "Our hope is that ... the sick will heal, the whole province will be healed," Elange said. The vaccination campaign eventually will move to cover the two other health zones where confirmed cases have been reported. A major challenge will be keeping the vaccines cold in this vast, impoverished, tropical country where electricity is patchy. 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. Those who are vaccinated in outbreak areas still will have to strictly follow infection-control measures, especially since the vaccine doesn't protect immediately. It takes a week to 10 days, said Dr. Pierre Rollin, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a veteran of more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks. Rollin warned that the large geographic area between Mbandaka and the remote towns where the outbreak's first cases were reported must be scoured for the infected and the people who have come into contact with them. "Travel from Mbandaka to Bikoro can take four hours to four days" depending on transportation and if it's raining, he said. "Before making any assumption we're going to have to look along this road and all the villages." The U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday said it was contributing another up to $7 million to combat the outbreak on top of the $1 million it committed last week. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Congo warned that the outbreak is far from over. It said it will expand operations for community-based surveillance and safe burials. "The risk of spreading within the country and to neighboring nations remains real," said Dr. Fatoumata Nafo-Traore, IFRC's regional director for Africa. This is Congo's ninth Ebola outbreak since 1976, when the disease was first identified. While all of the outbreaks were based in remote rural areas the virus has twice made it to Kinshasa, the capital of 10 million people, but was effectively contained. Mbandaka is an hour's flight from Kinshasa and several days' travel by barge. 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. ___ Petesch reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press video journalist John Bompengo in Mbandaka and writers Lauran Neergaard and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed. ___ 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. PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was grilled for more than four hours Tuesday over a corruption scandal that could lead to criminal charges against him, while the country's new anti-graft chief said investigations into the case were suppressed by intimidation during Najib's rule. Najib was summoned by Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission nearly two weeks after the defeat of his long-ruling coalition in national elections amid public anger over alleged graft at the 1MDB state investment fund that Najib set up. U.S. investigators say Najib's associates stole and laundered $4.5 billion from the fund from 2009 to 2014, some of which landed in Najib's bank account. New Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said Tuesday that Najib's government had conducted "an exercise of deception" over the 1MDB issue and misrepresented the country's financial situation to parliament. Swarmed by reporters, Najib looked calm and smiled as he was escorted into the commission's offices. He told reporters after he came out that he will return on Thursday to continue giving his statement. New commission chief Mohamad Shukri Abdull said criminal charges against Najib could come "very soon." Shukri led investigations in 2015 of suspicious money transfers into Najib's bank account. But he flew to the U.S. after Malaysia's attorney general, who was planning to press charges against Najib, was sacked and Shukri heard rumors that he himself would be arrested for an alleged conspiracy to topple the government. Najib has denied any wrongdoing since the scandal erupted in 2015. As prime minister, he sacked critics in his government and muzzled the media to try to survive the fallout. "Let the law take its course," Shukri told a news conference. He said the collection of evidence for the domestic money trail has been completed, but that it could take "a long time" to investigate the money trail abroad and talk to witnesses. The findings of Malaysia and U.S. investigations are "almost similar," he said. Najib and his wife were barred from leaving the country after the new government reopened an investigation into the scandal. Police have raided Najib's home and other properties linked to him, seizing hundreds of expensive designer handbags and luggage stuffed with cash, jewelry and other valuables. Finance Minister Lim told a separate news conference that government debt had ballooned to more than 1 trillion ringgit ($252 billion), partly due to the 1MDB saga. He said the finance ministry had bailed out 1MDB by helping to service nearly 7 billion ringgit ($1.77 billion) in debt obligations since April last year, contrary to 1MDB's claim that the money came from its rationalization exercise. Lim said he was shocked to learn that officials from the treasury and auditor general's department were blocked from accessing certain files. He said the ministry was still assessing the full extent of damages and finding ways to resolve 1MDB debts amounting to some 950 million ringgit ($239.6 million) due this year. Malaysia will go through some short-term pain to clean up the 1MDB financial mess, but Lim said it can overcome the crisis, with economic fundamentals remaining strong. New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who had been premier for 22 years until 2003 and was spurred out of retirement by the 1MDB scandal, has vowed there will be "no deal" for Najib, saying he will "face the consequences" if found guilty of wrongdoing. Najib's questioning at the anti-graft agency Tuesday was specifically over why 42 million ringgit ($10.6 million) was transferred into his bank account from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB, using multiple intermediary companies. The money was in addition to about $700 million that U.S. investigators said landed in Najib's bank account. A new attorney general in 2016 cleared Najib of wrongdoing, saying a particular transfer of $681 million was a political donation from the Saudi royal family and that most of it was returned. Shukri said anti-graft investigators were referred to a "questionable prince" from Saudi Arabia who claimed he donated the money to Najib but couldn't produce any supporting documents. He related the pressure he faced in 2015, saying he was threatened as witnesses disappeared. He declined to say who issued the threats. Just a day before Abdul Gani Patail was sacked as attorney general by Najib in July 2015, Shukri said they met and Gani asked him if he was ready for charges to be filed against the prime minister. In an emotional moment, he said he felt guilty for fleeing to the U.S. as his men in the agency were removed or transferred. The U.S. Justice Department said in a statement earlier that it looks forward to working with Malaysian law enforcement in investigating the 1MDB case. "The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that the United States and its financial system are not threatened by corrupt individuals and kleptocrats who seek to hide their ill-gotten wealth," it said. "Whenever possible, recovered assets will be used to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office." Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ANDOVER, Mass. (AP) A prestigious Massachusetts boarding school said an investigation has uncovered sexual misconduct by a Russian language teacher decades ago. John Palfrey, head of school at Phillip's Academy in Andover, said in a letter to students and faculty Monday that an independent law firm concluded that Victor Svec engaged in sexual misconduct toward a student in the 1980s. No further details about the misconduct were provided, and a spokeswoman for the Andover school said she wasn't immediately available Tuesday. The Sanghavi Law Office, which was hired by the school to investigate all claims of misconduct, did not immediately return a phone message. A number listed for Svec's home rang unanswered, and other attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. Svec has been on a leave of absence since the allegation came to light in February and has since retired, Palfrey said. He is barred from campus and all Andover events and will not receive any further benefits from the school, he said. "We are deeply sorry for the harm caused by this faculty member's misconduct," Palfrey said in the letter. "The Board of Trustees and I are grateful that a former student had the courage and will to come forward to recount a painful and traumatic experience that occurred decades ago." The announcement follows other allegations of sexual misconduct by former faculty members revealed by the school in recent years. In 2016, the school alleged that five former teachers engaged in sexual misconduct toward students during the 1970s and 1980s. And last year, the academy said investigators determined there were another four cases of sexual misconduct, three involving former faculty members and one involving a student. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Anatomage Table at St. Petersburg College is the world's first virtual dissection table and features life-size and real-life cases. Technology taking SPC students out of the textbook National University of Health Sciences donated Anatomage Table Students getting more in-depth look at human body "It gives our students a rich understanding of anatomy and physiology and to be able to understand subjects such as pathophysiology, the disease process and be able to see in a virtual-type environment what a cadaver-type experience would be like," said Provost Dr. Eric Carver. Students are excited about the interactive, in-depth technology. "I think it's pretty incredible. It's something that I mean explains the body in-depth," said paramedic student Kevin Fisher. "What it provides for us is more in-depth look at the human body and maybe more hands-on training." "We are soon going to be doing anesthesia and this is new to the dental hygiene program, so this will be great to see the different locations that Im gonna have to insert anesthesia in," said dental hygiene student Tane Rickey. The technology is taking students out of the textbook. "You can take at the very surface level and view the skin all the way down to neurological level and to be able to use all the various body systems in between," said Dr. Carver. "A textbook only gives you sort of that one-dimensional view, but this, you can actually take it, spread it apart, you can rotate it, you can get front, side views, different angles, so they can have a richer experience." The National University of Health Sciences donated the Anatomage Table to SPC. It's currently available to students in the Learning Center and will soon be incorporated into the curriculum. In addition to regarding GPSP Co-Director James Keenan, S.J., as his most influential mentor at Boston College, Reynolds also cites Center for Student Formation Executive Director Michael Sacco: Because of him, I was involved for four years with the Freshman League, a male mentor program and hugely important part of my BC experience. Another mentor, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Biology Danielle Taghian, cemented my interest in biological sciences, trusted me as her teaching assistant, and has done so much to help me realize my capacities as a student. Taghian returns the praise: Reynolds stands out in his efforts to promote and spread compassion, social justice and humanitarian care to those in need." Though he often gets comments on his conflicting majors, Reynolds says they are very complementary. I want to be a physician, and I see compassionate, person-centered medicine as the perfect intersection of biological sciences and theology. These traditions call for practicing accompaniment walking with another in a mutually reciprocated relationship and a preferential option for the poor, which I believe should be incorporate into all forms of healthcare. Im confident that my theology studies will be crucial for my life, both for discerning ethical approaches to dilemmas that are sure to arise as a healthcare provider, and to affirm my lifelong commitment to service. Reynolds deferred application to medical school when he was awarded a 2018 Fulbright research grant to study health care reintegration among former Colombian rebels and displaced persons. He then plans to pursue a dual-degree graduate program in medicine and public health and become a physician who will treat and advocate for vulnerable individuals in Latin America and Africa. What will Reynolds who cites the St. Ignatius statue outside of Higgins Hall as his favorite place on campus miss most about BC? College is special: Youre surrounded by thousands of people your age, all with different passions but an eagerness to learn," he said. Im going to miss above all else the friends Ive made, and the chance to always connect with these people who mean a great deal to me whether its to have intense debates about something in class or a social justice issue, or just to hang out. Rosanne Pellegrini | University Communications | May 21, 2018 Razor Clamming and Traffic Updates for Oregon Coast Published 05/22/2018 at 5:05 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Oregon Coast) Those who love razor clamming will like the latest news from Oregon wildlife officials. Meanwhile, there are some small traffic issues to keep an eye out for. Razor clamming is again open on the central Oregon coast, from Cascade Head (by Lincoln City) to the mouth of the Yachats River. It is still closed for two areas on the southern Oregon coast, however. The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) lifted the ban this week as domoic acid levels have dropped below the alert level. The opening means razor clamming is now doable from the Columbia River to the mouth of the Yachats River and open from the south jetty of the Umpqua River to Cape Arago. The harvesting of razor clams remains closed from the Yachats River to the north jetty of the Umpqua River, and closed from Cape Arago to the California border. This includes all beaches and all bays. Samples of razor clams were collected from Siuslaw Beaches on May 18 with results expected mid-week the following week. If that set tests below the alert level, razor clamming will again be open for almost the entire Oregon coast from the Columbia River to Cape Arago. Mussels, bay clams and crab are open for recreational harvesting along the entire Oregon Coast. Contact ODFW for recreational licensing requirements, permits and rules. As summer traffic to and from the beaches gets underway, there are two traffic issues you may have to look out for. On U.S. 30, there is still work being done around the Clatskanie Bluffs, at mileposts 63.03 to 63.12. The project consists of scaling slopes, removing debris and trees from slopes, and installing wire mesh slop protection. There is also road surface repair in the area, which includes pavement markers. Flaggers will control single lane of traffic during construction when work is occurring as required. Minor delays should be expected when single lane closures are occurring and the public is reminded to drive through the area with caution. One or more lanes may be closed when allowed shown or directed during the following periods and times: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with some exceptions. The project is scheduled to be completed by July 31. In Tillamook, on Highway 101, traffic improvement projects continue, aiming to increase safety and traffic performance in the area which meets up with Highway 6. The project will lengthen the U.S. 101 couplet to the Hoquarton Slough by extending Pacific Avenue north beyond 1st Street and replacing the existing slough bridge with a new four-lane bridge. The new bridge will be up to 5 feet higher than the existing bridge. The project will also widen the travel lanes on Main and Pacific Avenues from 1st to 4th Streets. Turn lanes will be added at key intersections through town. The project also improves the Hoquarton Interpretive Area, and adds gateway elements and downtown beautification. Travelers can expect daytime and night time work and occasional lane closures. Look for construction vehicles entering and leaving the highway. Oregon Coast Lodgings for this - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Paul Schrader is no stranger to battling movie financiers over the final cuts of his films. He has lost that battle before, including when it surrounded the 2014 film Dying of the Light. The difference between the final cut of the film and Schraders cut were wildly different and evoked a very different reaction from the 71 year old writer and director than final cuts had in the past. I never cared that much for the final cut in the past, because you were always dealing with studio heads who were movie peoplethey all liked movies. But now I was dealing with financial people, Schrader said. That was a very, very bad experience. I spiraled into alcoholism and depression, and I thought that was it: The last film in my career was going to be a fiasco. Schrader, however, was not through yet. He created First Reformed, a film that was greeted as Schraders masterpiece and snapped up by A24 when it made its festival rounds in Toronto. The film deals with a pregnant woman named Mary who is being pushed by her radical environmentalist husband to get an abortion as he feels that the world is on the brink of an ecological collapse. Mary seeks council from Reverend Toller, a despondent minister who is at a bit of a loss for how to help her. Like many other films, First Reformed touches on tricky issues, including the nature of faith, the role of capitalism in modern day organized religion and the responsibility of mankind toward nature. Unlike many movies, however, First Reformed does not leave these questions rhetorical but plays out the confrontation between the two sides throughout the movie. Most contemporary movies dont ask you to think; they dont ask unanswerable questions, said Ethan Hawke, the actor who plays Reverend Toller. A lot of filmmakers have an agenda: Theyre trying to convince you to think the way that they think. What [Schrader] is doing is my favorite thing a filmmaker can do, which is present life to you so that you ask yourself these questions. First Reformed appears to have been well-received so far, and Schrader is hopeful that the film will continue to do well. That same feeling I had about Dying of the Lightis this going to be the end?Im having that feeling again, Schrader said. Only now it feels good instead of bad. Alpha and Omega Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Alpha and Omega. This was recorded in Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6; and 22:13. Among the Jewish rabbis, it was common to use the first and last letters of the Hebrew to denote the whole of anything, from beginning to end. Jesus as the beginning and end of all things is a reference to no one but the true God. It is seen especially in Revelation 22:13, where Jesus proclaims that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. One of the meanings of Jesus being the Alpha and Omega is that He is the beginning of all things and will be at the close. A second meaning of Jesus as the Alpha and Omega is that the phrase identifies Him as the God of the Old Testament. We see several references of this in the Book of Isaiah: I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last I am He (Isaiah 41:4). The gates of hell also translated in some versions of the Bible as the gates of Hades is referenced only once in Scripture. This can be found in Matthew 16:18. The passage says, And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Here, Jesus is referring to the building of His church. This is a period when Jesus had not established His church yet. This is actually the first instance of the word church in the New Testament. The word church, as used by Jesus means assembly or the called out. The church that Jesus is referring to as His Church is the assembly of people who have been called out of the world by the gospel of Christ. The actual meaning of the phrase and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it is debated among Bible scholars. Many believe Jesus is referring to spiritual warfare. Jesus is saying something that is clear for the continuation of the community of believers and the success of the message that they have proclaimed. Here the gates of hell or gates of Hades ultimately means the power of Hades. In the New Testament, hell or Hades is the realm of the dead. In this particular verse, hell is characterized as a mighty city with its gates representing the power of death. Here, Jesus is referring to His impending death and the fact that death has no power to hold Gods people captive. While He was going to be crucified and buried, He would rise from the dead and build His church. In this passage, Jesus is reminding us of the fact that the powers of death could not hold Him in. Jesus is declaring that the church can thrive despite these powers. Jesus commanded: All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. God therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20). As followers of Christ, perhaps our greatest good work for which God equips us is to obey the command of Christ to make disciples of all nations referenced in Matthew 28. This command encompasses everything from growing in our walk with Christ, to proclaiming the message of Christ within our own community and to the ends of the earth no matter what forces may be working against us as the church. We seek to live as growing disciples ourselves as we make disciples of others, including sharing the Gospel and, for those who trust Christ, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that Christ commanded. Because we trust God and believe that His Word is true, we not only allow His Word to work in our lives, we also take that Word to the ends of the earth, calling others to faith in Christ. Matthew 28:18-20 is also a reminder that the cost of this discipleship is everything. This will require giving up things in your life that are taking away from your relationship with Christ. This will require you to say no to temptations and things of this world. The Bible talks about the cost of following Christ in detail. We are told in Luke 9:23 (in reference to Jesus) Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. You will face trials, loneliness and suffering but the reward far outweighs the trials, loneliness or suffering you will face during this earthly life. This is the vision Jesus has for the church. The gates of hell are not strong enough to overpower the church of God. The church cant be imprisoned. We know this because Jesus conquered death. The Bible tells us, For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Scripture also says, God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it (Acts 2:24). Romans 6:9 says, We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. Because death is no longer master, death has lost its sting. It can no longer reign over those who belong to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus is saying that the gates of hell will not overcome the church. He is calling the disciples in mission that will bring them into conflict with both political and spiritual forces. These forces will put their lives at risk. But they can be confident in the fact that nothing, not even death, will ultimately overcome the community built on Jesus Christ. There has been a longstanding debate within Christian circles around the use of the Sinners Prayer. Is it biblical? Can saying this prayer lead you to salvation? The Sinners Prayer is a prayer that one prays to God when they acknowledge that they are a sinner and in need of a Savior. Because there is no Sinners Prayer referenced in the Bible, many Christians have been skeptical about its use. The prayer has roots in Protestant Christianity. Evangelists like Billy Graham brought the concept to prominence in the 20th century. Televangelists often asked viewers to pray a Sinners Prayer with them, one phrase at a time, to become a Christian and this prayer led many to accepting Jesus Christ in their lives. The prayer takes various forms. It is a matter of ones personal will, often prayed silently, aloud or read from a model, or repeated after someone who is saying the prayer. One of the earliest proponents of the sinners prayer was American evangelist D.L. Moody connected with the Holiness Movement. An early version of this prayer is found in Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan, published in 1678. This version goes like this: God be merciful to me a sinner, and make me to know and believe in Jesus Christ; for I see, that if his righteousness had not been, or I have not faith in that righteousness, I am utterly cast away. Lord, I have heard that thou art a merciful God, and hast ordained that thy Son Jesus Christ should be the Savior of the world; and moreover, that thou art willing to bestow him upon such a poor sinner as I amand I am a sinner indeed. Lord, take therefore this opportunity, and magnify thy grace in the salvation of my soul, through thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen. Another popular version that Billy Graham shared is written: Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. The first facet of the Sinners Prayer is understanding that we are all sinners. We know from Scripture that we have all sinned and in need of mercy and forgiveness from God. The Bible says, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5-7). This prayer is not only a plea for grace instead of judgment but also a request for mercy instead of wrath. The second facet of the Sinners Prayer is knowing what God has done to remedy our sin. Salvation, commonly referred to as being saved means deliverance or redemption from sin and its consequences. We are told in Romans 5:8 that God demonstrated His love for us through the death of His son, because of our sins. Ephesians 2:5 tells us even though we were dead because of our sins, [God] gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. It is only by Gods grace that you have been saved. In order to receive salvation, we have to be born again. Another crucial aspect of salvation is Gods gift of grace. We are told in Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God. Grace is Gods love in action. Biblical scholar Paul Enns describes grace as the unmerited or undeserving favor of God to those who are under condemnation. Though we are undeserving of grace, God loves us so much that He continues to save us. We needed to be rescued. God made us in His own image. Genesis 2:7 tells us Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. God energized them through His breath. Given man was created in Gods image, we know that they were perfect. But their disobedience showed not only their distrust of God, but their own brokenness. We are similar, being that we are like God, yet ungodly, victims in a world of sin. We are living in a world of lost souls. But God doesnt want this for us. In fact, God rescues us from our sin. To be saved, or born again is to accept the plan of salvation that Jesus offers us. In order to understand salvation, its imperative that you understand the death and resurrection of Christ which points to our salvation. The Son of God was made human, and during His earthly life, he lived a perfect life, and died not because He wanted to but because we needed salvation. He was made to die for us. Amazingly, God raised Him from the dead into new life, and promises to resurrect us when Jesus comes again. The salvation we need is Jesus, and can only be accessed through Him. When one says the Sinners Prayer, they are declaring to God that they rely on Jesus Christ as their savior. Ultimately, saying the Sinners Prayer wont accomplish anything on its own. Saying it alone wont result in your salvation. We can only achieve that through faith in Jesus death and resurrection and becoming born-again. A true sinners prayer only acknowledges what a person knows, believes and understands about their sinfulness and need for salvation. Just about everyone in the Western world envisions a similar image when they picture a wedding. Family and friends are arrayed in neat rows at some scenic location. Bridesmaids in carefully coordinated, if not matching, dresses stand across from the groom in his black tuxedo. The groomsmen stand behind him. They are also in black suits. The bride is walked down the aisle by her father. She is wearing beautiful diamond jewelry with her hair carefully styled. Her dress is floor length and elaborate. It is, of course, pure white. The white dress has become as much a symbol of a Christian wedding as wedding bands and diamond engagement rings, if not more. Does that mean the pure white is a requirement of a Christian bride? Other colored or white-with-color dresses may be less traditional, but are they less Christian?White wedding dresses are often associated with innocence and purity, qualities that some Christians find extremely important in brides. The connection between a white dress and a virgin bride, however, is rather recent.During the Medieval and Renaissance eras, brides never wore white. White was associated with mourning, and when Mary, Queen of Scots, wore white to her wedding in 1559, she was accused of cursing her husband. White was her favorite color, but the supposed curse she brought to her husband was believed to have caused his death a few short years later.In that period, brides would wear richly colored fabrics made of silk, muslin, velvet and fur instead of white. The gowns were layered with jewels and any other obvious sign of wealth that was available. As marriages were most often for political or financial reasons, a brides gown was an easy and common way to show off her familys wealth. In 1468, Margaret of Yorks wedding dress was supposedly so heavy that she had to be carried into the church.In addition to rich fabrics emphasizing a familys affluence, white was simply not practical in early ages. White was all but impossible to keep clean, and the garment would be filthy from drinking, dancing and eating by the end of the wedding. As wedding dresses were worn repeatedly as part of a wifes normal wardrobe, the use of an easily ruined dress was wasteful and foolish.White wedding dresses would not become popular until the middle of the 19th century. Until then, red or blue were the dominant colors used at weddings. Blue was associated with purity and virginity, hence why the Virgin Mary is so often depicted wearing blue clothing. Red, meanwhile, was associated with fertility, and for centuries, the most important aspect of any marriage was the number of children it produced.Considering how many centuries colored gowns had been used, white wedding dresses became the norm almost overnight following the wedding of Queen Victoria in 1840. Victoria deliberately chose to wear white because it would create a more simple dress, a far cry from how brides today subtly compete to have the most elaborate dress. When Victoria married Albert, however, she wanted to say her vows not as a monarch but as a woman in love. As such, she spurred the royal finery and opted for something simple. She chose white satin because it was both simple and would display lace well. Victoria hoped that by wearing handmade Honiton lace from Beer she would help boost the declining lace industry.Rather than focusing on the lace, however, most people zeroed in on the color of Victorias dress. Many of those watching the royal wedding were at first disappointed that Victoria was not wearing the crimson velvet robe of state. The affair seemed underwhelming at the time. A few short years later, though, white was the dominant color of wedding dresses for those who could afford them. A poem in The Farmers Almanac made it clear that white was the only color for brides. Married in White, you have chosen right. Married in Grey, you will go far away. Married in Black, you will wish yourself back. Married in Red, you will wish yourself dead. Married in Green, ashamed to be seen. Married in Blue, you will always be true. Married in Pearl, you will live in a whirl. Married in Yellow, ashamed of your fellow. Married in Brown, you will live in the town. Married in Pink, your spirit will sink. Similarly, Godeys Lady Book declared that custom has decided, from the earliest ages, that white is the most fitting hue, whatever may be the material. It is an emblem of the purity and innocence of girlhood, and the unsullied heart she now yields to the chosen one. History shows this is simply not correct. The trend, however, had been set. Brides wore white.White was later associated with both the white gowns Catholic girls wear on their First Communion and Christening gowns. This only further cemented the idea that white gowns meant innocent brides.This relatively recent tradition, however, is largely confined to Western Christians. Many Eastern weddings use red wedding dresses as red is the color associated with good luck. White, meanwhile, maintains its status as a mourning color. As such, an Indian Christian bride is rather unlikely to walk down the aisle wearing white. Instead, she will probably wear a red sari.Even though white remains the overwhelming norm for wedding dresses in the West, increasing numbers of brides are adding color to their dresses or eschewing white altogether. These weddings, however, are no less Christian simply because the bride walks down the aisle wearing purple. It is the vows and the people who determine if a wedding is a Christian wedding, not the color fabric the bride has chosen to wear. For Immediate Release, May 22, 2018 Contact: Randi Spivak, (310) 779-4894, rspivak@biologicaldiversity.org GOP to Consider Four-lane Highway Through Utah Conservation Area, Tortoise Habitat WASHINGTON The House Natural Resources Committee will consider a bill today to build a four-lane highway through Utahs Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, a vital piece of habitat for threatened Mojave desert tortoises. It would be beyond heartless to punch a four-lane highway into some of the last remaining habitat of this tortoise, said Randi Spivak, public lands director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The bill would set a dangerous precedent and completely renege on Congresss intention to protect these sensitive, magnificent public lands for everyone. If this happens in Utah, it can happen in any state. Congress has designated 34 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land as national conservation areas, which are similar to national parks. These areas are regarded as the crown jewels of BLM public lands and are protected from development for current and future generations. H.R. 5597, sponsored by Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), would undermine the intent of Congress when it designated the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in 2009. Stewarts bill would allow a highway to be built directly through the heart of the conservation area, an unprecedented move that would fragment tortoise habitat. The highway is purportedly to move traffic in and out of the St. George metro area. In 1996 Washington County and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed a habitat conservation plan to help protect the desert tortoise by establishing the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. In 2009 Congress further protected the tortoise when it designated the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, which overlaps with the larger reserve and includes 45,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land. This area contains one of the densest populations of Mojave desert tortoises. Stewart has put the desert tortoise directly in harms way with this destructive legislation, said Spivak. Republicans have been relentless in their attempts to undermine protections for endangered species and industrialize public lands. But theyre completely out of touch with most Americans, who want these places to remain just as they are. Since January 2017 Republicans have introduced more than 120 bills that attack public lands, weaken environmental safeguards on those lands or turn over control to states and local governments. These attacks come despite the fact that the vast majority of voters across political parties support protecting and maintaining forests, national parks, monuments and other public lands and waters. When I grew up, there was never much money in the house. And, with Irish ancestry, I have a fear of poverty in my DNA, which can probably be traced back to the Irish Famine. So, I am careful with money. Screengrab from the ad. I was, for much of the time my own kids were growing up, also a bit of a disciplinarian overly so in many instances, I now realise and it would also irritate me to see their mother spoil them on the odd occasion. That, I believed, would turn them into soft spongers and lay-abouts.Ive met, and worked with, a few of them in my time: the ones with loaded parents, private school educations and the proverbial silver spoon upbringingwho did not believe they had to work for anything.Fortunately and probably thanks to their own efforts, rather than my spare the rod and spoil the child belief both my son and daughter have turned out well. And, interestingly, they are also sensible when it comes to money.So, I must say, I could relate to the new TV ad for investment specialists Allan Gray.The message of the ad is the same, basically, as that of every other long-term financial institution: Patience and discipline will see your money gradually, but inexorably, grow.The challenge for Allan Gray and its ad agency, King James II, was to convey that common message in a way which stands out.The result is a very South African, and very touching, ad.We see a black family over the course of 50 years. A young boy discovers early on that his disciplinarian father always wants a cut of any money he earns whether its carting bricks or selling. As the boy grows up, heads to the big city and gets a job, he continues to send money back home in cash or in postal orders (anyone remember those?)It always seems as though he is giving, giving, giving to the old man. Finally, when his father dies and the formalities are being concluded, he discovers that his father has been keeping a detailed ledger over all the years saving the money, which now goes back to his son. The message is, appropriately, true rewards take time.The ad is beautifully shot, in black and white, by director Pete Pohorsky of Plank Productions and the attention to detail in the clothing, props and locations is impressive, creating a memorable period piece.But the ad goes further than that as all outstanding advertising does by making a social contribution, even though that was not the intent. From my perspective, you cannot watch this ad especially as a white person and deny that black people in this country have had a huge struggle. You are reminded of this in the scene where the dutiful son collects his postal order from the window marked Net Nie-Blankes (Non-Whites Only).At the same time, you are reminded whoever you are of the dignity there is in discipline and working hard values which are sometimes hard to find in todays society.Yet again, the advertising of Allan Gray makes you stop and pause for thought, in so many ways. So Orchids to Allan Gray, King James II and Plank Productions. Its a timely reminder that our ad industry hasnt lost the ability to tell spell-binding talesIf I had a buck for every time some genius has tried to tell me the future of advertising is mobile, I could have bought myself a tropical island. The reality is that a lot of advertising that comes through to your phone is borderline, and even actually, fraudulent. If you have to force something down peoples throats, its an acknowledgment of how ineffective mobile is as an advertising medium.So, everybody reading this will have encountered the spam SMS messages because we all know the biggest dodgy industry in this country is database marketing and the robocall phenomenon. This is where your phone will ring and, hardly have you said good morning than an automated, recorded message starts playing. Thats intrusive marketing at its worst.The latest one to annoy me comes from this phone number 010 590 8977 so if this one ever pops up on your screen, dont answer it.The one which disturbed my day was from an outfit called Doctor, Doctor, offering some sort of assistance for R5 a day. You press 1 and youre automatically signed up. You can press 9 to opt out but you just know that wont work because they system will flag you as a real human being and you will be on a call list for eternity.This number has come up on a few number-tracking sites and the user comments are uniformly angry, and negative. I understand that, because having this is like having burglars bust into your house. I cannot understand why so many big brands FNB and Edgars have been cited by complainants as using this marketing system and number get involved.This actually harms your brand and makes people angry. So Onion to 010 590 8977 please pass this number on to everyone you know and to Doctor, Doctor for using this dodgy service. Earlier this year, Johannesburg residents voiced their outrage over property valuation increases, some of whom had seen values increase between 60 and 500%. The increases, which come into effect in July this year, will not only impact monthly rates bills, but will also influence the cost of other services such as water, refuse removal and electricity. And while Buffalo City residents dealt with slightly less shocking increases (many around 50%), this still resulted in many residents being concerned that they're not going to meet their mortgage repayments. Lodging an objection No late objects accepted Good accounting practice The logical knock-on effect of municipal rate increases is to raise the rentals on investment properties. If this is not possible, the owners net profit will decrease. The value of the property is also impacted in the eyes of lenders, who look closely at the net income of the property when determining the value of their security. For an owner who is hoping to use their property to raise capital for their business, municipal rates spikes - such as we have seen - can be a very serious obstacle in the path of their capital raising plans, explains Gary Palmer, CEO of Paragon Lending Solutions.Although property owners have the right to object to the valuation, the process is not as simple as some think.If the property owner is dissatisfied with the value, they can lodge an objection within 30 days of the date of notice (although the municipalities normally allow for a longer period). Should the outcome of the objection be unsatisfactory, the owner may appeal against the decision, within 30 days of the date of notice of the ruling, explains Natalie Ginsberg of Margin Property Valuation Services.An appeal board hearing is a formal hearing and the owner will be given an opportunity to provide oral evidence, as well as an opportunity to cross examine the municipal valuer. However, the onus is on the owner to prove the municipal valuation is wrong. The owner needs to therefore ensure that the appeal application is well prepared with appropriate motivation.Ginsberg warns that disputed valuations can delay sales of properties since all outstanding rates, including those under dispute, need to be paid in full before a property can be transferred.Whats more, Ginsberg warns that the outcome of some objections, although successful, are not carried through to the next valuation roll and an objection inevitably follows for the same reason when the process is conducted again in three or four years time.Ginsberg says Cape Town owners should receive notices in February 2019 of the new general valuation (market value) of their properties, from the City of Cape Town. Objections will likely be lodged between the months of March and April 2019 and she says, as in the past, no late objections will be accepted and that it is critical that property owners, who do not receive a notice, take steps to ascertain the new valuation.The valuations will be based on market values as of 1 July 2018. Property owners need to be aware of their surroundings and the values of properties from now until the middle of the year. Ideally, residential owners should try and view show houses in their area, keep a note of sales, and note any alterations made to their properties during this time. Having an arsenal of data at your disposal will make it easier when it comes time to object. Professional valuation companies can help you with this, she says.Gary Palmer agrees with the advice, advocating that property owners, especially those who run properties as a business, should be keeping a close eye on valuations in their area. He also believes working with professionals to get an independent valuation from time to time is a healthy business practice.Re-assessing market-related rentals and overheads like rates and taxes allows you to optimise your propertys value. It also allows you to consider other uses for the property based on real data from your neighbourhood and is good accounting practice when it comes to assigning values to the structures on your balance sheet. All of these will be called for when applying for finance if you will be using the property as an asset.Both Palmer and Ginsberg believe the lessons learned from their up-country compatriots could save Cape Town residents significant pain next year.Cape Town property owners have the opportunity to learn from other regions. Doing your homework now could make a real difference. Unwelcome surprises could have a very negative impact and if you dont arm yourself with information now, you will struggle to defend your position next year. More importantly, you will be living with the consequences for the next four years, concludes Palmer. Social media is unique in the history of communication, in that it potentially allows equal exposure to everyone - from David Icke, who believes that an alien-lizard Illuminati runs the world, to web pages devoted to the political philosophies of the "KarJenners" (I had to look that one up). Vitalli Shcherbyna via 123RF Knowing the difference Dealing with a crisis Its all very egalitarian, but in the maelstrom of content, the eloquent and relevant must compete with the asinine and inconsequential. You will, probably sooner than later, find something that induces a tongue-click, a cocked eyebrow or possibly roll your eyes so hard that you can see your cervicomedullary junction where the top of your spine meets your brainstem.Example: Two "radio personalities" recently mocked a politician for describing reading, writing and arithmetic as the three Rs. Arithmetic doesnt start with an r, they brayed. True, but the phrase has been in common use since around 1795. The court of Twitter ruled them worthy of derision.Another recent example for me, anyway was the "twittizen" who described flight attendants as of the skies.(literally, young guards) are essentially ticket-conductors on Cape Towns minibus-taxis, and a quintessential, if raucous part of the citys soundtrack. Seven seconds on Main Road between Cape Town, Mowbray, Claremont and Wynberg, youll have heard them hailing commuters.But whilehave their own skillset, lumping them and flight attendants together is simply inaccurate. The latter may guide you to your seat and has been taught to pass you your drink without spilling it theyve even been trained to deal politely with the passenger who ignores requests on the PA system and keeps his headphones and cellphone on and his tray-table down until instructed otherwise, in person and with direct eye contact by someone in uniform.Doing so, grudgingly and with an air of huffy martyrdom, apparently signifies rugged individualism and sticking it to the man, like surreptitiously untucking your shirt at school. Its mad, bad and dangerous to know, brought to you by Dwayne from accounts receivable in seat 13C (NB: Gluten allergy).But around 90% of flight attendants training deals with saving lives rather than asking "chicken or beef?" or dealing with Dwayne from accounts receivable channelling his inner Lord Byron. They can deliver babies and perform CPR and advanced First Aid. Importantly, theyre trained to stay calm even while passengers succumb to bowel-voiding panic. Their job may include dealing with passengers whose loved one or colleague has a fatal heart-attack while seated next to them.So droll, dismissive terms like trolley-dolly or are not only insulting but inaccurate. When you board an aircraft you place your life as much in the hands of the cabin-crew as in the hands of the unseen professionals at the planes pointy end. In an emergency, the cabin-crew will see you to safety ahead of themselves. The rigour of civil aviation regulations means that emergencies are rare. Travellers may take hundreds of flights and experience nothing more exciting than a bit of turbulence and Dwayne from accounts receivable sighing about having to raise his windows blind for the landing.Perhaps we think that someone is a jobsworth or a petty gauleiter because they insist on such procedures, but the aircrews training for emergencies is repeated until its part of their muscle-memory that runs in the background. Any airline passenger should be glad about that, rather than begrudging such attention to detail.While were discussing professions whose core skill is directly disproportionate to its workload, consider us humble public relations folk. Many are, like me, former journalists and spend a fair chunk of our days turning coffee into copy or creating content in some form. We also devote a portion of our time to consuming media and communicating with those who create that content, but for many of us, 90% of our training or preparation comprises 10% of our work: crisis management.Its what happens when theres a reputational threat that could influence a share-price. It happens when a journalist is being encouraged by a news editor or by the need to feed the news cycle to get a comment and perhaps doesnt understand fully how the right of reply works. Its what happens when a social media user with a grudge against your client, or possibly against the known universe, sets off the hair-trigger lynch-mob hivemind that comprises online debate. Sometimes the risk is real, sometimes its just a passing beef. Sometimes its simply a symptom of an era when sober analysis and lets wait until we have all the facts yields to "This is everything" or "Ill just leave this here" or "x and y are on the same Whatsapp group."Thankfully, working with media is mostly about a professional doing a good, fair job under some pressure and about us trying to do the same. Crises and reputation threats occupy a small portion of your time, but it forms the essence of your skills. Its why real-time simulations and refreshers are important, similar in some ways to those undertaken by aircrews.I doubt Id have the street-smarts to be a, nor the cool composure of the flight attendants managing Dwayne from accounts receivable with such infinite courtesy, while immaculately dressed and groomed, but I can draw lessons from them when not being chicken about dealing with a beef. #AfricaMonth: Sharon Keith on leaving the Coca-Cola high Sharon Keith made a name for herself as marketing director at Coca-Cola Africa, but is now bubbling over with the need to pursue other professional and personal interests. Here, Keith shares top highlights from the first Share-A-Coke campaign to the Rainbow campaign that went on to win both a Gold Cannes Lion and the internal Coca-Cola Bravery Award. Sharon Keith of Coca-Cola Africa. News has just broken that Sharon Keith is leaving Coca-Cola Africa at the end of June after 13 years at the 132-year-old company in total, six of which as business unit marketing director. She shares why it meant so much to win the internal Coca-Cola Bravery Award, the importance of taking a leap of faith and more! Share a top highlight from your time as marketing director at Coca-Cola Africa. Share a top highlight from your time as marketing director at Coca-Cola Africa. News has just broken that Sharon Keith is leaving Coca-Cola Africa at the end of June after 13 years at the 132-year-old company in total, six of which as business unit marketing director. She shares why it meant so much to win the internal Coca-Cola Bravery Award, the importance of taking a leap of faith and more! Which of the numerous awards received for marketing campaigns run over your time at Coca-Cola has meant the most, and why? Which of the numerous awards received for marketing campaigns run over your time at Coca-Cola has meant the most, and why? Talk us through the internal Coca-Cola Bravery Award what it recognises, and what it means to you to have received it? Talk us through the internal Coca-Cola Bravery Award what it recognises, and what it means to you to have received it? We were working with a crazy guy from New Mexico or Arizona or somewhere, who claimed he could produce rainbows, as long as a few ingredients were in place sunshine, water, the right angles and a sprinkle of magic. Sounded quite far-fetched to me. Leigh Andrews' articles About Leigh Andrews Leigh Andrews AKA the Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen , is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews I think probably that first Share-A-Coke campaign. We were dealing with 11 official languages and literally millions of names, and so we worked with the Department of Home Affairs to identify and rank South African first names; overcame the technical difficulties for our packaging by enlisting digital printing facilities, and cast a Hollywood dog to play the lead in our commercial this at a time when dogs were deemed un-African across social media in SA!We then flew the dog, plus an understudy, plus trainers, handlers and the rest of the entourage from California for the shoot such fun! Then we set up the customised vending machines where people could have their own messages and names printed, enabling a number of birthdays, celebrations and even marriage proposals through the mechanic.I still get asked when we will be doing it again!The South African public has repeatedly awarded Coca-Cola favourite brand status in terms of soft drinks, and in many of the years that Ive been around overall favourite brand status across categories and that reminds me of the privilege of working on a brand as special as this.It isnt my brand or the companys brand, it belongs to the people who put their faith and trust in it. And as a custodian of a brand that is 132-years-old, it has been an honour to have contributed in some small way to what that amazing brand stands for in the hearts and minds of the communities we serve.This was awarded to us for the Rainbow campaign celebrating 20 years of democracy in South Africa. This campaign would never have happened at all if it hadnt been for the collective bravery of the company and the folks at FCB Johannesburg.Because we really didnt know if we could conjure up rainbows in the sky at will.Nevertheless, we flew him and his equipment out to SA and promised ourselves that if it was a dismal failure, it would never see the light of day.But it worked, and it was magnificent, and the bravery award acknowledged the fact that sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and try something. No amount of research or risk assessment or hunting for has it been done before would have helped us make a better decision.Heres to all the fizzy success of the future! Contact Keith or Coca-Cola on Twitter for further updates. This company article has been removed. This job expired on 31 May 2018. Got a question or tip? Contact us at bizmojoidaho@gmail.com. POTUS Trump. Lives hate, breathes hate, thinks hate. Photo Gage Skidmore This is what Donald Trump said during a roundtable meeting last Wednesday: We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in and were stopping a lot of them but were taking people out of the country. You wouldnt believe how bad these people are. These arent people. These are animals. As the White Houses continues to stoke fear over immigrants and as President Trump delivers another anti-immigrant stemwinder on Long Island, its again worth remembering the ongoing gulf between the Trump administrations rhetoric and the reality of who they are actually targeting; and its essential to recognize that the White Houses fear-mongering is driven by politics, not the realities on the ground. As Americas Voice Political Director Matt Hildreth puts it: "We should remember that Trumps talk is nothing more than ugly scare tactics aimed to turn neighbors against each other. Trump and the GOP are engaging in a divisive and ugly brand of politics that provides cover for a real life policy agenda that is taking a toll on families and communities across America. Trump style politics dont change the fact that America was founded on an ideal: all people are created equal and should have the chance to build a better life and feel safe, no matter what they look like or where they were born. This kind of fear-mongering has no place in our country. We are better than this." As Dara Lind assessed in Vox of the White Houses ongoing fear-mongering and Trumps dehumanizing comments, The problem with fighting about whom Trump meant when he said what he said is that, on a policy level, what he said does not actually matter. His administration is not focusing on deporting people who have committed particularly heinous crimes, gang members, or people with criminal records. In reality, the administration is targeting, increasingly, long-settled immigrants who are contributors and heads of families not public safety threats. As Elise Foley recently noted in HuffPost assessing the latest ICE statistics, About two-thirds of those arrested by ICE from October 2017 to the end of March had no criminal convictions. This includes immigrants such as Cile Precetaj, a mom from Albania living with her husband and three U.S. citizen children in Troy, MI. A woman with no criminal record, who has been seeking asylum in the U.S. since 2000. As Tresa Baldas of the Detroit Free Press reported: A Troy mother with no criminal record was deported to Albania without being offered the opportunity to say goodbye to her three children or husband, family members say. While a spokesperson for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said ICE notified family members of Cile Precetaj's impending departure and told family members to pack her bags 10 days ago, her husband said that he did not learn that his wife was deported until 4 a.m. Thursday, when she called him from Germany telling him that she was en route to Albania with two ICE agents. My kids are devastated. They cant stop crying, Pete Gojcaj told the Free Press Thursday morning. My children are traumatized. ... "They got on the bus crying," he said, noting he sent them to school to keep things as normal as possible. "They said, 'This is not the government they teach us about in school.'" Follow Frank Sharry and Americas Voice on Twitter: @FrankSharry and @AmericasVoice America's Voice Harnessing the power of American voices and American values to win common sense immigration reform www.americasvoice.org Reciba en su email: noticias de ultima hora, analisis tecnicos o el cierre de mercado Email no valido Nombre requerido Recibira las informaciones mas relevantes del dia en tiempo real Que informacion desea recibir? Noticias de Ultima hora Boletin Cierre de Mercado Boletin analisis tecnico Boletin Fundsnews Debe seleccionar un tipo de boletin Acepto la Politica de privacidad Debe aceptar la politica de privacidad Responsable EMPRESAS DEL GRUPO WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Finalidad La remision de informacion, novedades y promociones Establecimiento o mantenimiento de Relaciones Comerciales. Legitimacion Consentimiento del interesado. Interes legitimo en el desarrollo de la relacion comercial Destinatario Empresas del Grupo WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Derechos Acceso, rectificacion, supresion, limitacion, oposicion y portabilidad Informacion adicional Politica de Privacidad de nuestra pagina Web + INFORMACION Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Like many other industries, print media is being empowered by technology. But also the industry is quickly being replaced by technological innovations that are affecting newspaper sales.Print media houses are currently faced with the conundrum of trying to go digital without necessarily having to ditch their print editions. Latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations of South Africa for the period JanuaryMarch 2018 (ABC Q1 2018) indicate serious decline in newspaper sales. According to the audit, total newspaper circulation increased by 0.8 percent on the previous quarter, but declined by 4.4 percent year on year. Daily newspapers sales declined by 15.7 percent year on year, weekly newspapers by 12.5 percent, weekend newspapers by 9.2 percent, local by 6.0 percent and free newspapers by 1.1 percent year on year. At a WAN-IFRA, Women in News summit held in Nairobi, Kenya last week, newspaper Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors and Editors were advised to craft strategies to use digital media as a source of competitive advantage. The summit attracted participants from Southern, East and Central Africa to explore among others the latest media trends, practical approaches to harness revenue from digital, and, how the industry can deal with gender inequality in the media in all its various forms. With circulation figures from print continuing to decrease and pushing businesses into the digital age, some newspapers try to do both (print and digital), others - are forced to lower costs and go only digital. But one thing is unavoidable newspapers should invest in digital. If you want to change, decide what you want to change, recommended Michael Golden to traditional media houses that are still stuck in protecting their culture. Golden is the president of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and former chairman of the New York Times Company, who implemented and witnessed the newspapers digital migration and its growth. According to Golden for media to successfully migrate to digital there is a need for a change of culture of the company. For instance at the New York Times, every executive was talking about the transition to digital media. This, according to him was a change in thought by executives who for years their business strategies were only designed for print. Digital media offers more engagement with a larger audience and according to Golden this is what most media houses are looking for. We need to develop a larger audience as we move from traditional media to digital media. Lisa MacLeod, Head of Digital at Blackstar Media in South Africa said digital has changed for the better because with print you dont know what your readers want but with digital you know. She revealed that it was painful for them to close the print edition of The Times newspaper, but she acknowledged that their digital audience is bigger than our print edition. Macleod advised that media houses that are pursuing both print and digital editions should come up with different strategies. A blind allegiance to print will have catastrophic results, she warned. Migrating to digital however does not mean its all doom and gloom for the print media. According media houses doing both digital and print such as The Standard Group in Kenya have most of their revenue for the group generated from the print edition. Chris Bishop, founding Editor of the Forbes Africa magazine opined that print media should produce quality stories to survive. If it is good stuff people will still pay for it, said Bishop this week in Gaborone where he was speaking at an event organised by Progressive Institute. Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) President Advocate Sidney Pilane says his party existed within Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) prior to its public announcement in 2010. He has pointed out that people are now vilifying the BMD which has contributed much in the coalition project. The BMD President said people are attacking them because they want them to run away from the coalition because they fear us but we are here to stay. According to Advocate Pilane the BMD was conceptualised when former BDP leader Ian Khama tried to bar Daniel Kwelagobe from contesting the chairmanship of the BDP during the 2009 elective congress in Kanye. At the time President Khama issued a directive that members who were in cabinet should choose between being minister and holding a position in the central committee. Holding both positions was out of bounds, Khama said. Kwelagobe let go of his ministerial position and pursued the party chairmanship. When Khama said he is doing that for effectiveness of the central committee, he was lying he just wanted to consolidate power. He knew most of the BDP members would dump central committee positions for ministerial posts. He wanted to divide them so that he takes control of the BDP support base. That is why Kwelagobe remained and then Secretary General Jacob Nkate dumped the position to remain in the cabinet. Nkate lost grip because he wanted to be in cabinet, now he is nowhere, said the former BDP member and advisor to President Festus Mogae during his office tenure. Advocate Pilane who was addressing BMD members at Big Five Lodge in Mogoditshane where the party was officially formed in March 2010, said Khama tried to lobby Kwelagobe into leaving the chairmanship of the BDP. He said he joined Barata-Phathi in their fight against having Kwelagobe leaving the central committee. We ensured that people he wanted to be in control of the central committee lose elections at the Kanye elective congress. That is why he disappeared from the congress before it even ended, he stated. The Advocate told the gathering that he has never been an enemy of the opposition as people perceive him. This is why in 2009 together with Botsalo Ntuane and Kabo Morwaeng they were suspended from the BDP for calling for opposition to be given some of Specially Elected MPs seat. He revealed that the trio met then Botswana National Front President Otsweletse Moupo and his deputy Olebile Gaborone, Dumelang Saleshando and Taolo Lucas from Botswana Congress Party to discuss the matter. He explained that Barata-Phathi at that time wanted the BDP to have two seats for Specially Elected MP, one for BNF and one for BCP. We were holding such meetings at my house in Phakalane and we had Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services agents following us there for surveillance, said Advocate Pilane adding that BDP Treasurer Satar Dada was sent to them to ask them to confess to this plan which they denied. Unfortunately Gaborone got confused and spilt the beans. That is how we ended up being suspended. Now having fought that much for the opposition why would I now want to destroy it? I am one of the people who worked behind the scenes to ensure that BCP is convinced into coming to the party and join Umbrella for Democratic Change. I spoke to BCP President Saleshando and Chairperson Motsei Rapelana for them to consider joining the coalition and today I am the bad guy. Our colleagues have now joined the enemy to vilify us. People hate us so much. What they are doing to us is nothing because Jesus experienced worst. We are not moved; they hate us because they fear us. They want us to run but that would not happen. Batswana have asked for opposition unity and that is what we are here to give them as opposition parties. People should leave hatred and witchcraft out of the peoples project, said Advocate Pilane. Botswana Federation of Public Parastatal and Private Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) have engaged attorney Nelson Ramaotwana to represent about 65 dismissed Choppies employees in their case against the giant retail store. Choppies workers at Westgate Mall embarked on a strike over salary increment on the 26th of March this year. The Choppies Management did not heed the workers plea, but instead dismissed workers after giving them an ultimatum to return to work within 24 hours. Their employment was terminated last month. BOFEPUSU Deputy Secretary General Ketlhalefile Motshegwa confirmed to this publication that part of the assistance they have accorded the workers include legal representation by Ramaotwana. He revealed that the federation will also be mobilising Choppies workers across the country against acts of unfair labour practices, sheer arrogance and exploitation of workers by Choppies. Choppies is making lots of millions through the hard work of Batswana workers and consumers and yet it pays slave wages to the workers. Choppies also appears to be racially discriminatory as most of its Management is lined with Indians, and Batswana not trusted to be part of Management, yet the Company make huge profits in Botswana more than anywhere in countries of their stores, stated Motshegwa. He said Ramaotwana would be helping the dismissed workers with their appeal and if they are not reinstated they would proceed with a legal suit against Choppies Westgate. In one of the appeal letters seen by this publication written to Chief Operation Officer, the employees acknowledge participating in the strike. The appellant has indicated that following an ultimatum to return to work within 24 hours they did so on the 27th of March 2018. On the 27th of March when I arrived at work it was later announced that management had requested to meet four (4) representatives to discuss modus operandi of resuming work. I am advised that in law once an employee appears at work within the stipulated timeframe of 24 hours, the threat to expel cease forthwith. I was shocked to receive a letter summoning me for disciplinary hearing held on the 25th April 2018, said the employee in the appeal letter. On the grounds of appeal, the workers argue that the employer did not act fairly as some of the employees who participated in the strike were not fired. It is also argued that courts of law have held that an employer must apply the parity principle when disciplining unprotected strikers; if the employer decides to dismiss one striker, it must dismiss them all; conversely, if one strikers action is condoned, the action of all the other strikers should likewise be condoned. The employer failed to observe this time tested parity principle in that more than seventy-three strikers were not cited or summoned for disciplinary hearing; yet they partook in the said strike. They also resumed work with others on the 27th March 2018. Once an employer has issued an ultimatum, it is normally assumed to have waived the right to dismiss the strikers until the ultimatum expires. Common law dictates that once the employer allows the employees to resume, it is assumed that the employer has forgiven them and waives the right to discipline them for the strike, reads the letter. Botswana Editors Forum (BEF) says it has observed the continued hostility by political parties towards the media. BEF has indicated following its call on political parties to declare their stance on laws deemed to be oppressive to the media industry that none has done so. The statement by BEF comes following reports that Botswana Police forwarded the controversial Tholwana Borethe docket to Directorate of Public Prosecution for action. The DPP has revealed that it is currently studying the docket and would decide whether to prosecute or not after assessing the case. BEF had wanted political parties to make their stance known on laws such as Sedition, Media Practitioners Act, National Security and the failure to enact a Freedom of Information law. Our position remains the same as BEF. We have observed that while parties do not want to say out their positions on these laws, increasingly all political parties are growing hostile to the media and getting closer and closer to the ruling BDP and its government, said BEF Chairman Spencer Mogapi in an interview with this publication. Mogapi stated that in the meantime their international campaign continues. He indicated that they continue to appraise their international partners about the state of media in Botswana, the risk faced by journalists as a result of unfriendly laws. We have urged the editors being investigated to continue to cooperate with authorities, Mogapi stated. Botswana Congress Party (BCP) in August last year filed a complaint with the police for investigations and possible prosecution of journalist who knowingly published articles that are false regarding Tholwana Borethe Report. Botswana Police in November invaded media houses and rounded up Editors to question them on alleged false reporting made in their publications. According to the police they were investigating the alleged false reports following a complaint by opposition parties. The meetings were held at Police Headquarters in Gaborone and chaired by Assistant Commissioner Mokuedi Mphathi. Five media houses - Botswana Guardian; Sunday Standard, Business Weekly and Review, Botswana Gazette and Mmegi Newspaper had their editors summoned to Police Headquarters at the government enclave. Attorney Dick Bayford represented the other three media houses while Kgosietsile Ngakaage represented Business Weekly and Review. BCP had complained that reports circulating in the media suggesting that Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) was eavesdropping on their phone conversations was instilling fear. According to information gathered the complainants are not happy that the DISS is interfering in politics. BCP made a report to the police following an alleged conversation recording by DISS between the then BCP Youth League President Tumiso Rakgare and former BCP Secretary General Kentse Rammidi. Dikgosi have raised concern that there is a friction between Customary Law and Common Law which renders them (Dikgosi) inferior. They say because they have not studied law, their powers are always questioned by their stakeholders more especially lawyers. Dikgosi believe they are not allowed to work in their own space as the law prescribes. One major issue is that once a case has been decided by a customary court, instead of following the laid down procedure of being taken to Customary Court of Appeal, some lawyers decide to jump the queue and take it to the High Court. Manyana Senior Chief Representative, Kgosi Kebinatshwene Mosielele stated that Dikgosi preside over 80 percent of cases in the country. He said if Dikgosi were not taking up such cases, magistrate courts could be overwhelmed by cases. Kgosi Mosielele said Batswana prefer customary courts because they are cheap, faster and accessible. People say we cannot try cases because we have not trained in law. But before colonial days Dikgosi were there and dealing with such cases. We are not here as Dikgosi to punish people we are here to reconcile. Of course we are not trained lawyers and there are a few of us who have Diploma in law but we believe with facts being there, deciding a case should not be such a problem. That is why we do not need lawyers at a Kgotla, he said when speaking at Legal Aid Botswana stakeholders forum in Gaborone. Kgosi Mosielele said it is important as stakeholders to work together to ensure justice is served to everyone. Senior Legal Aid Counsel, Mojaki Seope stated that there should not be any friction between the two. She pointed out that if anything the two have to complement each other. Seope explained that 90 percent of cases from customary courts are confirmed by the High Court. It is only a matter of time before Eric Molale- Minister of Minerals, Energy Resources and Green Technology leads the Botswana team to negotiate a new sales agreement with governments long-time partner, De Beers group of companies. Molale is not new to the negotiating table of the sales agreement. He, together with the then minister of Minerals and Water Affairs Dr. Ponatshego Kedikilwe led a strong Botswana team as Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) and Chairman of Debswana in negotiating the current ten year agreement signed in 1st January 2011. Debswana is a 50-50 joint venture between government and De Beers. Anglo American owns 85 percent of De Beers and the remaining is held by Botswanas government. Molale assembled a strong team comprising the then Attorney General Athalia Molokomme, Bank of Botswana Governor Linah Mohohlo, then Permanent Secretary in the ministry of minerals, Boikobo Paya and his deputy Terrence Siamisang. He also roped in Dr. Akolang Tombale and Gabaake Gabaake. The presence of Tombale caused a furore as incumbent De Beers CEO, Nicky Oppenheimer and the then De Beerss legal advisor allegedly opposed his presence, but these attempts were met with equal contempt. The two were reminded that they have no right to determine who has to constitute the Botswana team. The Botswana team worked as a united force and used to meet on their own to determine the way forward as well as decide who amongst them would present a particular issue and that nominated person would enjoy the support from colleagues. The result of the negotiations brought along the best ever terms for Botswana in an agreement that comes to an end in 2010. The practice is that negotiations start in advance in order to avoid any gaps. The contract covered sorting, valuing and sales of Debswanas diamond production. It was also agreed that De Beers will transfer its London-based rough diamond sales activity to Gaborone, underpinning the long-term future of the partnership and transforming Botswana into one of the worlds leading diamond trading and manufacturing hubs. Over and above that, it will see the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) relocate its sights and sales operations - including professionals, skills, equipment and technology - from London to Gaborone by the end of 2013, all of which have come to pass. DTC has since constructed a landmark in Gaborone along the Airport Road. DTC does not only aggregate production from all De Beers mines and its joint venture operations worldwide, and sell to international Sight holders, but houses one of the best and latest diamonds sorting equipment in the whole world. To date DTCB continue to sort and value Debswanas production before selling, it also supports the domestic cutting and polishing industry. Okavango The current agreement led to Botswana Government having its own independent sales outlet which takes 15 percent of the total Debswana diamond and sells them to whoever it deems fit. The deal started with 10 percent of Debswana production and was to increase over a five year period. Negotiations Although a date for the negotiations has not been announced, there is no doubt that they will take place as President Mokgweetsi Eric Masisi has already indicated that he wants a new long-term diamond-sales pact with De Beers when the current 10-year deal expires in 2020 and for more gems to be processed locally. Speaking to Bloomberg, Masisi said the conclusion of an accord is crucial for both Botswana, which relies on diamonds for almost a fifth of its gross domestic product, and for the Anglo American Plc unit that gets about two-thirds of its gems from the southern African nation. Masisi, who is due to contest elections next year, is pushing for the industry to create more jobs and is dead determined that more diamonds be cut and polished in the country. We have had a wonderful relationship with De Beers and we expect that relationship to be even more cemented, Masisi said in an interview Monday in his office in Gaborone. There is a way of actually achieving a win-win for both, and thats what we desire. It remains to be seen whom Molale will pick in his negotiating team this time around besides the obvious picks like the Attorney General Abraham Keetshabe, BoB Governor Moses Dinekere Pelaelo and Permanent Secretary at Minerals, Energy Resources and Green Technology Cornelius Diekop. Umm Omar was eight years old when Irgun and Stern Gang terrorists violently expelled her family from their farm in the village of Jusayr in May 1948 during the creation of Israel. This week, she, along with millions of Palestinians, are marking 70 years since 750 000 indigenous Palestinians were driven from their land to make way for the creation of Israel. For Palestinians, this is the Nakba (catastrophe); for Israelis, it is 70 years of independence. We used to grow wheat. I remember going out with my parents in the wheat fields when I was a little girl. We never saw another happy day after we left, says the 78-year old great-grandmother. The family then fled to al-Majdal, a Palestinian town that is now the Israeli city of Ashkelon. As Zionist terrorists continued to ethnically cleanse Palestinians, the family was forced to move to the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. Her father returned to Jusayr to check on their land. He saw that everything was OK. It was just like we left it. But on the way back, Umm Omars father was killed when he stepped on a landmine planted by Zionist militias. Denied the right to return to their original villages, the refugee camp in Gaza became permanent for Umm Omar and thousands of others. Today, seventy percent of Gazas population are refugees, meaning they or their parents or grandparents fled or were expelled from areas that became Israel - without their permission. They have never been allowed to return, despite United Nations Security Council Resolution 194 guaranteeing them the right to return to their homes. Not surprisingly, the movement to return home has started in the besieged Gaza Strip. Known as the Great Return March (GRM), thousands of Palestinians have engaged in protests at the Israel-Gaza border fence since March 30. Makeshift tents, symbolising the right of return for Palestinian refugees, have been erected 700 metres away from the unilaterally-imposed Israeli military buffer zone. Protesters are also calling for an end to the decade-long Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip that has strangled the economy and life of Palestinians. Since the protests began, 50 Palestinians have been killed and over 5000 injured from Israeli live ammunition and tear gas. There have been no Israeli casualties. With the Great Return March, Palestinians are demanding a life of dignity, explains GRM spokesperson, Ahmad Abu Rtemah. Nothing about life in Gaza is normal. The Nakba is not a just a memory, it is an ongoing reality. We accept that we all must eventually die. But in Gaza, the tragedy is that we dont even get to live, says Abu Rtemah. Its not just Palestinians in Gaza that long to return to their land. Abu Arab was thirteen years old when Zionist forces bombed his familys home in Saffuriya in July 1948. He is now an Israeli citizen, but cannot return to his village located less than two kilometres from Nazareth where he currently lives. As Israeli troops occupied the village, the family was forced northwards towards Lebanon, eventually ending up in a refugee camp there. His father made the dangerous journey back and found the village gone. Saffuriya had been fenced off and declared a closed military zone. Anyone entering risked being shot by Zionist terror groups. We had nothing. Everything had been taken from us, he says. The family hid in a friends house in the nearby town of Nazareth, and eventually settled there. Israel has built an exclusively Jewish community over the village of Saffuriya, and given it the Hebrew name of Tzipori. Where the houses once stood is a pine forest planted by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) an environmentally-friendly way of erasing the Palestinian presence there. The Israeli government refuses to allow Palestinian refugees to return home simply because they are not Jewish. Palestinians are viewed as a demographic threat to the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. This is why Israel has not allowed Palestinians to return to their own homes, and they continue to be forgotten in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. While Palestinians are a threat, Jewish identity is celebrated and welcomed in Israel. For instance, a South African Jew, who has never lived in Israel, can automatically gain citizenship under Israels Law of Return, while a Palestinian refugee whose family lived in Palestine for generations and who still hold the key to their home - is unlikely to obtain even a visitors visa, let alone the right to return there to live. Were not calling for removing anybody from existence or displacing anybody from their place, were simply calling for justice. Our weapons are our rights and UN resolution 194, and were hoping that the international community will recognise our just cause, explains Abu Rtemah. I still hope that Ill die in my home town. I may be using a walker to move around today. But if they told me I can go back to Jusayr, Id run all the way, Umm Omar says animatedly. Abu Arab is equally determined. I am sure one day I will return. If not me, then my son - and if not my son, then my grandson, he says. Like Umm Omar and Abu Arab, the makeshift tents of the Great Return March are standing firm against an Israeli regime that has tried to break the spirit and erase the presence of Palestinians. Seven decades after the Nakba, Palestinians want nothing more than to return to their land and live in dignity. Suraya Dadoo is a researcher with Media Review Network in Johannesburg. Find her on Twitter: @Suraya_Dadoo PANAJI May 21 (PTI): 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. 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. NEW DELHI (PTI): Chief of Air Staff BS Dhanoa on Monday began a four-day visit to Israel 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. If the government does not secure mutually beneficial customs arrangements before the UK leaves the EU in ten months time, Twickenham firm Alsford Timber will have to pay millions more upfront to buy European softwood. That was the message from Alsford Timber, south west Londons largest timber and builders merchant, to Sir Vince Cable MP when he visited the 136-year-old business last week. The Liberal Democrat leader was welcomed by Neil Fuller, Alsfords Manging Director, to see for himself how merchants deliver for their local communities. Growing the market for timber used in new housing and to convert, extend and repair existing homes was top of the agenda. Alsford Timber and its trade body, the Builders Merchants Federation, are concerned that not enough is being done in Whitehall to prepare for a no deal situation - and the impact it will have on prices and supplies of building materials. Concern is focused on Value-Added Tax and the likelihood of having to pay 20% VAT upfront on European timber and other materials. Fuller explained to Sir Vince that the UK is not self-sufficient in timber - 60% of imports come from EU countries like Sweden, Finland and Latvia. Unless Britain secures a mutually-beneficial customs agreement, Alsford Timber will have to pay 20% more for timber because VAT becomes liable to pay upfront before consignments can leave ports. He warned of the serious and immediate implications for cashflow, costs and prices for merchants. Sir Vince, also MP for Twickenham, said: Its great to see an example of business flourishing in Twickenham. Alsford Timber plays a critical role in local house-building, and especially the home repair, maintenance and improvement market in the Borough and beyond. I enjoyed meeting Neil Fuller and the team, and wish Branch Manager Tom Stratford continued success in the coming years. Fuller added: We were delighted to welcome Sir Vince to Alsford Timber and show him how the company has evolved over the past few years. It is always great to have our MP taking an interest in local businesses such as ours. I hope Sir Vince can help us by raising the issue in Parliament and with ministers. Merchants already face significant cost increases due to rising world prices and currency fluctuations involving Sterling. Paying 20% more due to VAT rules is not something we look forward to." The visit was arranged by the BMF as part of its industry and parliament programme, which aims to show MPs how trade essentials and value-added products get from quarries, brickworks, sawmills and factories to where they are needed - and to outline the role, value and importance of merchants in delivering for their communities. 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 New Delhi: Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey on Tuesday said the government could decide against selling state-run Air India (AI) if it does not get adequate price for it. The government has the right to sell or not to sell Air India if the bid price is found to be inadequate, Choubey said, even as he expressed confidence that the ailing airline would fetch a good price. 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 After six billion vehicles sold, Hot Wheels is looking for one more car to race down those plastic orange tracks. And it could be yours. Mattel, the toymaker that owns the Hot Wheels brand, is searching for the best custom car in the United States. The chosen vehicle will be made into a miniature die-cast car to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hot Wheels. The search, called the Legends Tour, is part of Mattels effort to stay connected with Hot Wheels fans at a time when children are gravitating more toward mobile devices and away from traditional toys. The Legends ... 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'. A US Navy veteran who yelled "Get out of my country!" before killing Indian engineer and injuring two others at a bar in City last year, has pleaded guilty to three federal hate-crime charges. Adam Purinton, 53, who is already serving life in prison on a state murder charge, pleaded guilty in US District Court in City on Monday to three federal hate-crime charges alleging that he targeted the men because of their actual and perceived race, colour, religion and origin. He had earlier in March pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of 32-year-old Kuchibhotla and two counts of attempted first-degree murder in state court in the shootings of the Indian tech worker's friend Madasani and a bystander. The US Attorney's Office in had filed charges against Purinton last June. Purinton, a white man, faced a possible death sentence for the federal charges. Under the plea, though, Purinton will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on each of the three counts, with the sentences to run consecutively to each other and to the life term ordered earlier this month in Johnson County, Kansas. "Hate crimes are acts of evil, and the Department of Justice has prioritized their zealous prosecution," said Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio on Monday. In this case, Purinton embarked on a murderous rampage with clear premeditation to kill on the basis of race, colour, religion, and origin, he said. "It was a hate crime, and he is being brought to justice. 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. And this prosecution sends a message across the nation: hate crimes will not be tolerated," Panuccio said. Kuchibhotla's widow, Sunayana Dumala, did not attend the court hearing, but later released a statement thanking federal prosecutors and the FBI. "Today's change in the federal case against the murderer of my husband Srinu is a significant step to putting an end to hate crimes committed against people of colour and from different cultures," she said. "The actions of the court send a strong message that hate is never acceptable." Several weeks before the shooting, Kuchibhotla along with his fellow engineer at Garmin, Madasani was at Austins when Purinton saw them and made a comment to another patron. "Did you see the terrorists on the patio?" Purinton asked. The patron told him they were from and they were not terrorists. On February 22, 2017, the two friends were once again having an after-work drink at the bar when Purinton approached and confronted them. He demanded to know where they were from, then poked Kuchibhotla in the chest, and called him a terrorist. "Get out of my country," he yelled. Bar patrons, including Ian Grillot, asked Purinton to leave and he was escorted from the business by employees. Purinton then went home, changed clothes and got his 9mm semi-automatic handgun. He returned to the bar, covered his face with a scarf to hide his identity and went inside. He then fired eight shots at the two Indian men. Kuchibhotla was hit by at least four bullets. Madasani was shot in the leg. As he fled from the shooting, Grillot ran after him. Purinton turned and shot him. Later, Purinton called a friend and said he was on the run from police because he had shot "two Iranians." Earlier this month, the Johnson County judge had sentenced Purinton to nearly 78 years in prison as part of a plea agreement reached in March. (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.) Gobind Singh Deo, an Indian-origin Sikh politician in Malaysia, has become a cabinet minister, the first member of the minority community in the country's history to be appointed as a minister. Deo, 45, who has been given the communications and multimedia portfolio, is among the two politicians of Indian descent included in the Pakatan Harapan coalition's Cabinet. The other Indian-origin lawmaker is M Kulasegaran from the Democratic Action Party, who has been made the human resource minister. Deo represents Puchong constituency in the and is the son of late Malaysian lawyer and politician Karpal Singh. He was sworn in during a ceremony at the National Palace yesterday after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad included him in the new cabinet. He was first elected as an MP in the 2008 general elections. Deo was re-elected to the lower house, with an increased margin, in 2013 and he again won this year's election with a margin of 47,635 votes. The Punjabi community in the country has hailed the appointment of Deo as the minister. "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, Miri Indian Association president, Councillor Karambir Singh was quoted as saying by the Borneo Post. Malaysia has nearly 1,00,000 Sikh population. The Nipah Virus outbreak in Kerala, which has reportedly taken a toll of at least 10 lives so far, has brought the State under panic. At least eight others have been admitted to hospital with the symptoms of the Nipah Virus, a pathogen that is said to be transmitted through bats and animals. The State government has said that it has effectively curbed the spreading of the disease, while neighbouring Tamil Nadu has urged people to avoid travelling to the area in Kerala where the virus has been identified. Meanwhile, Lini (31), the nurse at Perambra Taluk Hospital whom reports ... A Pakistani delegation raised the issue of India's alleged violation of the with the which discussed opportunities within the treaty to seek an amicable resolution, officials said on Tuesday. Yesterday's meeting took place days after Prime Minister inaugurated the 330 MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir, amid protests from Pakistan which claims that the project on a river flowing into Pakistan will disrupt water supplies. Pakistan's Foreign Office had, on Friday, voiced concern over the inauguration of the hydroelectric project, saying inauguration without resolution of dispute between the two countries will tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters 1960 that regulates the use of waters in the shared rivers. "The is a profoundly important international agreement that provides an essential cooperative framework for India and Pakistan to address current and future challenges of effective water management to meet human needs and achieve development goals," a spokesperson told PTI. "The meetings are discussing concerns raised by the Pakistan delegation and opportunities within the treaty to seek an amicable resolution," the spokesperson said. No other details about the nature of Pakistani grievances were made available by the officials. The discussions are scheduled to continue today. The Pakistani delegation is led by Attorney General, Ashtar Ausaf Ali. Islamabad had been raising objections over the design of the hydel project, saying it is not in line with the criteria laid down under the (IWT) between the two countries. But, India says the project design was well within parameters of the treaty. The project, located at Bandipore in North Kashmir, envisages diversion of water of Kishan Ganga river to underground power house through a 23.25-km-long head race tunnel to generate 1713 million units per annum. The Kishanganga project was started in 2007 but on May 17, 2010, Pakistan moved for international arbitration against India under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty. The Hague-based International Court of Arbitration allowed India in 2013 to go ahead with construction of the project in North Kashmir and upheld Indias right under the bilateral Indus Waters Treaty to divert waters from the Kishanganga for power generation in Jammu and Kashmir. The international court, however, decided that India shall release a minimum flow of nine cubic metres per second into the Kishanganga river (known as Neelam in Pakistan) at all times to maintain environmental flows. Pakistan is building a 969 MW Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric project downstream. The Pak Foreign Office in a statement in Islamabad last week said it was seriously concerned about the inauguration of the hydroelectric project. "Pakistan believes that the inauguration of the project without the resolution of the dispute is tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)," it said. "Pakistan reiterates that as the custodian of the Treaty, World Bank must urge India to address to Pakistan's reservations on Kishenganga Hydroelectric Project (KHEP)," the statement said. The star power of the prince and his bi-racial American actress bride prompted consulting firm Brand Finance to estimate a US $ 1.4 billion (GBP 1.03 billion) positive impact on the British economy due to the royal wedding earlier this week. Of this, a GBP 300 million uplift will come due to enhanced tourism in the UK. GBP 300 million is the gain in public-relations value to Brand Britain as a result of all the hyper coverage related to the royal wedding. A GBP 250 million up-tick is expected in retail and restaurant sales. The fashion industry is expected to gain GBP 150 ... Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard. China will steeply cut import tariffs for automobiles and car parts, opening up greater access to the worlds largest auto market amid an easing of trade tensions with the United States. Import tariffs will be cut to 15 per cent from 25 per cent for most vehicles from July 1, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday, adding that this was part of efforts to open up China's markets and spur development of the local auto sector. A small number of imported trucks are taxed at 20 per cent currently. Import tariffs for auto parts would be cut to 6 per cent from mostly ... Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg apologised to European Union lawmakers on Tuesday for a massive data leak, in his latest attempt to draw a line under a scandal that has rocked the world's biggest social media network. Zuckerberg agreed to meet leaders of the European Parliament to answer questions about how political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly got hold of the personal data of 87 million Facebook users, including up to 2.7 million in the EU. In his opening remarks, Zuckerberg said it had become clear over the last couple of years that we ... CEO on Tuesday apologised again for the massive data breach, this time in front of the European Parliament (EU) leaders. Zuckerberg stressed that the social networking giant is trying to plug loopholes across its services, including curbing fake news and political interference on its platform in the wake of upcoming elections globally, including in India. "Over the last couple of years, we haven't done enough to prevent the tools we've built from being used for harm as well. "Whether it's fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing people's information, we didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibilities. That was a mistake, and I'm sorry," Zuckerberg said while testifying during a round-table with the EU regulators in the Belgian capital. Out of about 2.2 billion users, has 400 million users in Europe and the EU is ready to implement the more stringent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to safeguard people's privacy from May 25. "We're going even further to comply with strong new rules. In addition to GDPR, we're also working to give people important new controls," Zuckerberg said as he was grilled by the EU leaders. would hire 20,000 people to work on safety and security by the end of the year, the Facebook CEO told them, adding that the company plans to employ 10,000 people across 12 European cities by the end of 2018. "There are 18 million small businesses in Europe that use Facebook today, mostly for free," he said, adding that he is committed to Europe. "Ireland is home to our European Headquarters. London is home to our biggest engineering team outside the US and Paris is home to our Artificial Intelligence (AI) research lab. We have data centres in Sweden, Ireland and Denmark," he told the EU leaders. Zuckerberg said that in the wake of data scandal, Facebook has audited thousands of apps and has suspended more than 200 apps from its platform. Appearing before the US Congress in April, Zuckerberg told the lawmakers that his own personal data was part of 87 million users' that was "improperly shared" with the British political consultancy firm. The data was gathered via a quiz app, "thisisyourdigitallife," developed by Aleksandr Kogan, then a psychology researcher with University of Cambridge, and his company Global Science Research (GSR) which pulled out Facebook users' data in 2014-2015. "In 2016, we were too slow to identify Russian interference in the US presidential election. We weren't prepared enough for the kind of coordinated misinformation operations that we're now aware of," he told the EU leaders. Sugar rates as well as the share prices of its makers have started firming up on a buzz that the government is toying with the idea of coming up with a fresh package to support the ailing sugar industry. This incentive may be given so that sugar companies can pay their dues to the farmers. In the spot market, sugar price increased in two days across mandis. Even in the last two days, the shares of sugar firms have headed northward after a long period of underperformance. According to market rumours, the government is considering several proposals which it ... At least three people were killed and 25 others injured after an explosive-laden vehicle detonated in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar city on Tuesday. "The huge blast occurred in Police District 14 of the city at around 12:30 p.m (local time). The whole place has now been sealed off. The blast caused a plume of gray smoke to rise above the scene," an eyewitness told Xinhua news agency. Kandahar governor's spokesman, Daoud Ahmadi said the explosives inside the vehicle went off before they could be defused, TOLOnews reported. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. In the last few months, Afghanistan has seen a spate of terror attacks by the Taliban and Islamic State (IS) groups. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After announcing the addition of Disha Patani to the ensemble cast of Salman Khan starrer 'Bharat', the makers announced that Tabu will also be joining the cast. Director Ali Abbas Zafar took to social media to welcome Tabu, saying, "Finally it's happening , so excited to work with you :) lots of love @tublb :) @Bharat_TheFilm @BeingSalmanKhan @priyankachopra @DishPatani @WhoSunilGrover". Details of Tabu's character have been kept under the wraps. Delighted about welcoming Tabu to the cast, Zafar said, "I've been a huge fan of Tabu's work and always wished to work with her. After several meetings with her, I'm happy it is finally happening with Bharat and am looking forward to the shoot." The film will feature Salman Khan sporting five different looks. The star will also recreate his 'Maine Pyaar Kiya' look. The hit director-actor duo will be marking a hattrick with 'Bharat' after their last outing 'Tiger Zinda Hai'. Produced by Atul Agnihotri's Reel Life Production Pvt. Ltd and Bhushan Kumar's T-Series, the movie is slated to release on Eid 2019. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Arunachal Pradesh's Pasighat has now been put on country's commercial aviation map after carrier Air India for the first time touched the airport here on Monday. The Alliance aircraft, a subsidiary of Air India, flew from Guwahati to Pasighat with Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu as the first passenger. It is for the first time since independence that a commercial flight landed just 300 km away from the Indo - China border. Due to its strategic location, the airport was originally an Advance Landing Ground (ALG) which has mostly been used by the Army or the Air Force. Now, it is open for civil aviation services too. To the passengers, the distance of 650 km between Guwahati and Pasighat will cost around Rs 3,000. Earlier, people had to travel from Guwahati or via Itanagar for almost a day in the hilly terrain to reach the place, which is the headquarters of East Siang district. The flight from Pasighat would reportedly operate to and fro, three times a week. Initially, it would take the Kolkata-Guwahati-Pasighat route on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. A successful test landing of the Alliance aircraft at civil terminal of the Pasighat advanced landing ground was conducted on April 23, 2018. Pema Khandu on Monday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing air connectivity to the state. "Got my @airindiain Alliance Air boarding pass for my flight journey from Guwahati to Pasighat. Will be onboard in few hours. I am totally excited to be part of history - to travel in the first commercial fixed wing flight service to Arunachal. Pasighat I am coming! @PMOIndia," Khandu wrote on Twitter. "Landed safely at Pasighat airport few minutes ago flying from Guwahati on Alliance Air. Proud to be part of this historic moment. I am extremely thankful to PM @narendramodi ji and @MoCA_GoI for connecting Arunachal with airways. @PMOIndia @BJP4India," said another tweet. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Appreciating the supreme sacrifice made by the Border Security Force (BSF) jawans in the line of duty, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that there is no sacrifice bigger than laying down one's life for the nation. Presenting the Police Medals for Gallantry and Meritorious Services to the BSF personnel at an Investiture Ceremony held here on Tuesday, Singh said that the country is proud of the sacrifices made by the Security Forces while defending the country. He said the BSF is not the "First line of defence' but "First wall of Defence". Singh further underlined the role of BSF in defending borders and said, "To defend our borders is our responsibility but responsibilities have no borders." He also lauded the BSF for its role in curbing smuggling and fake currency notes across the borders. " self-esteem is very important for anybody along with personal self-esteem. The self-esteem cannot be compromised when any foreign power tries to disturb peace at our borders. It is India which gave the message of peace to the world and we always aspire to maintain peace with our neighbouring countries but one of our neighbours does everything to disturb peace," he said. He further said that our forces have been restrained not to fire first but in case of any assault they know how to retaliate. The Union Home Minister said the Government is considering giving 'Operational Casualty Certificates' to Paramilitary Forces on the lines of Battle casualties in the Armed Forces which will entitle families of those CAPF jawans who die during border battle or in action against militants or terrorists to several benefits. He also said that a web portal has been launched to redress the grievances of the CAPF personnel. On the occasion, Singh released four books and a postal stamp. Director, IB, Rajiv Jain, former DGs and senior officers of BSF were also present on the occasion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter jets have made combat debut flying in an operation for the Israeli Air Force. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took to Twitter and wrote that its version of the aircraft -- dubbed the F-35 "Adir" -- is already flying in operational missions. "The Adir planes are already operational and flying in operational missions. We are the first in the to use the F-35 in operational activity" The US Air Force became the first military service to declare its version of the F-35 ready for combat in August 2016, CNN reported. The fighter jet has an "extremely" low radar signature which allows it to operate undetected deep inside enemy territory. "We aren't building this aircraft for a fair fight, but to give our customer a decisive advantage," the Jerusalem Post quoted Executive vice president of Lockheed Martin International Rick Edwards as saying. He even went on to say that he was "not at all surprised" to hear that Israel was the first to carry out an operational strike with the F-35 Adir. "I thought it would happen a week after Israel got the jet," Edwards joked. However, the F-35, from the world's priciest military programme, has faced backlash both over cost and combat effectiveness. Built by Lockheed Martin, the planes were purchased as part of the military aid agreement between the United States and Israel. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) South African middle-order batsman Farhaan Behardien is looking forward to continue performing well in domestic circuit in order to once again get the chance to don the green and gold jersey for his national side this winter. This year, the 34-year-old has appeared in just one ODI match during the final match against India in a six-match series , which the visitors went on to win by 5-1. Though Behardien later also appeared in three T20Is against India, he is hoping to continue performing well for his domestic team to book his spot in the South Africa ODI squad. "The key for me is to keep performing for the Titans, because that is always the focus. I would obviously love to get back into Proteas squad, and it will be a massive season of six-seven months domestically," Sport24 quoted the batsman, as saying. It should be noted that Behardien failed to grab the attention of the national selectors, despite having a stellar season for the Titans. However, the middle-order batsman remained optimistic of his chances as he said he would try to build on his 50-over form to put himself in a best position for a call-up. "I would love to continue my T20 form into next season, and also build on my 50-over form. I want to put myself in the best position to be ready if I get the call-up for any of the winter tours," he said. South Africa are slated to play two Tests, five ODIs and a T20I in Sri Lanka, beginning July 4. Following South Africa's tour to Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe will tour to the country for three ODIs and three-match T20I series. Subsequently, South Africa will travel to Australia for three ODIs and one-off T20I match before they will head home for number of Tests and limited-overs fixture against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Smart bicycle sharing platform Mobike announced the appointment of former Ernst & Young (EY) executives - Vibhor Jain as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Sujith Nair as Chief Officer (CBO). The two new appointees will play a pivotal role in driving Mobike's entry and expansion in India across more cities in the next 18 months. Vibhor Jain joins Mobike with more than 16 years of experience in consulting and entrepreneurship. He began his career with global consulting firm Andersen and then joined Ernst & Young. He has led some of the most impactful reform programs working with the Government of India including the Unique ID (Aadhaar) program, National Population Register Program, and Tax reforms. Meanwhile, Sujith Nair brings over 15 years of experience in management consulting and technology sectors. At EY, Sujith successfully led the Smart Mobility practice and has been instrumental in driving growth through model innovation. On a related note, Mobike has over nine million orange bicycles currently operating in over 200 cities across 16 countries and currently provides over 30 million rides every day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and China have pledged to work together to enhance their cooperation on anti-terrorism issues and ensure stable bilateral relations. As per an official press release by Indian embassy to China, the 13th meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Security Council Secretaries is underway, where issues including the regional security and priority of security cooperation among the SCO members were discussed on priority. Chinese State Councilor Zhao Kezhi on Monday met leading officials from six other member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) including India to discuss practical cooperation on law enforcement security. The participants exchanged views on ways to strengthen the SCO cooperation in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational organized crime. On the sidelines of the meeting Deputy national security adviser of India Rajinder Khanna had a one-on-one talk with Zhao where the latter assured the China would work with India to strengthen high-level mutual visits and improve the cooperation mechanisms. While Khanna said India stands ready to work with China to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and enhance cooperation on law enforcement security. The two officials discussed the security situation in Afghanistan as well as other topical issues of regional and international importance. They also reviewed the preparations for the forthcoming SCO Summit in Qingdao on 9-10 June 2018 and the signing of outcome documents in the field of security. The Deputy NSA further reiterated the invitation to the Chinese Minister of Public Security to visit India at an early date. This was India's first official participation in the SCO meeting after gaining full-time membership in the South- Asian organisation in June 2017. As per Xinhua News Agency, Pakistan's National Security Adviser Naseer Khan Janjua also met Zhao as they pledged to counter terrorism. The meeting comes ahead of scheduled annual SCO summit in Shanghai from June 9-10 which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian delegation will be visiting Islamabad on Wednesday to participate in the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Legal Experts (SCO-RATS) meeting. Legal experts from eight-member countries of SCO including China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan along with India as well as representatives of the SCO-RATS Executive Committee will be participating in the meeting. Despite the recent Indo-Pak tensions, India has agreed to visit Pakistan for its first official participation in the international summit. The legal experts are expected to hold discussions on various terror threats facing the South-East Asian region and the ways to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation between SCO member states. This will be the first-ever SCO meeting being held in Pakistan since it became a permanent member of the organisation along with India in June 2017. Pakistan will be also sharing its experiences in tackling the menace of terrorism through the SCO-RATS forum. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian embassy's camp office in Nepal's Biratnagar will soon be shut down and re-located, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday. During his visit to Nepal last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed this decision to Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. The Biratnagar camp office, according to the MEA, was opened in 2008 to deal with the situation arising out of devastating Koshi floods. "The purpose for which this camp office was opened has been fulfilled. GoI (Government of India) had already decided to wind up the Camp Office and re-locate the personnel. This decision was conveyed by Prime Minister Modi to his Nepalese counterpart during his visit to Nepal last week. The PM of Nepal thanked PM (Narendra Modi) for informing him about this decision," MEA's official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. In 2008, Nepal allowed India to set up a temporary field office to issue passes for vehicles to ply Indian roads in the nearby regions after a 17 km stretch of the East-West highway was damaged due to Koshi floods, according to Kathmandu Post. The office initially was set up in Sunsari. It was later shifted to Biratnagar. Currently, it is located at Malaya Road on the Koshi Highway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Income Tax (I-T) Department has unearthed undisclosed cash transaction of more than Rs. 250 crore from the farmhouses located in Delhi and NCR. According to I-T sources, last week sleuths of the IT department searched 22 places under section 132 of IT Act. Eleven business premises were also searched under section 133A of IT Act. These searches were done on two business groups dealing in the farmhouses. These groups were developing and selling farmhouses in the vicinity of flood planes of Yamuna River. More details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Pakistani troops on Tuesday violated ceasefire upon the Indian Territory in Jammu and Kashmir's Arnia sector. On a related note, residents of the Arnia sector have migrated to safer places after Pakistan continued to violate ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday. The locals had arranged food for those affected by firing from the other side of the border. Earlier on May 18, Pakistan violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in RS Pura and Arnia sectors, killing a total of five people including one Border Security Force (BSF) jawan and four civilians. The Central government has 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.) As many as 13 people were injured, including three serious, in Ramgarh sector of Jammu, due to ceasefire violation by Pakistan on Tuesday, said Director General of Police (DGP) of Jammu and Kashmir, Shesh Paul Vaid. "Thirteen civilians injured including three serious in Ramgarh sector of Jammu International Border due to Pakistan firing in Araspura, Arnia, Ramgarh, Samba, Hiranagar sectors. Sad incident, feel bad for the injured. Police assisting in shifting of the injured to the hospital," Vaid tweeted. On Tuesday, Pakistan violated ceasefire in Hiranagar, Samba, Ramgarh, Arnia and Suchetgarh sectors of Jammu. Border Security Force jawans are retaliating immediately. Earlier today, people residing near the border areas in Hiranagar sector were forced to migrate to safe places due to the firing from other side of the border. Pakistan restored heavy shelling on the border of Hiranagar sector and possed extensive loss. Villages like Pansar, Manyari ,Rathua, Bobiya, Muthi Charu and Londi were badly affected due to firing. Following the heavy shelling, the district administration sent a bulletproof vehicle to border village Bobiya and evacuated the people to safe place. On Monday, residents of the Arnia sector in Jammu were forced to migrate to safer places after Pakistan continued to violate ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The resident doctors of Mumbai's JJ Hospital, who had stayed away from work since May 19, called off their strike on Tuesday evening after being assured by the state government that their demands would be fulfilled within next three months. This comes after Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan agreed to fulfill the demands put forth by the protesting resident doctors on Monday. "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. Doctors at the JJ Hospital here held a strike after two doctors were thrashed by relatives of a patient, who died in the hospital premises. 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. The protestors demanded that immediate action should be taken against the attackers and adequate arrangements be made at hospitals to ensure the safety of the staff. The protest was also joined by doctors of Sion Hospital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two Pakistani citizens were arrested in Kabul province on Monday on charges of alleged involvement in terrorist activities. As reported by the Tolo news, Afghan Ministry of Defence issued an official statement informing about army forces from 111 corps in Botkhak district arresting two Pakistani citizens from Peshawar city and one Afghan national from Nangarhar province. The suspects were found with 3kg of ammonium nitrate and other explosive materials, 180,000 Afghanis and Pakistani Rupees, two Pakistani passports, two Pakistani ID cards and five cell phones, the statement read. Involvement of any terror group is yet to be ascertained. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The death toll in Tuesday's car explosion attack in Kandahar has risen to 16, while 38 others were injured, according to media reports. Earlier, three people were killed and 25 others were injured in the car bomb blast, officials said. "The huge blast occurred in Police District 14 of the city at around 12:30 p.m (local time). The whole place has now been sealed off. The blast caused a plume of gray smoke to rise above the scene," an eyewitness told Xinhua news agency. Kandahar governor's spokesman, Daoud Ahmadi said the explosives inside the vehicle went off before they could be defused, TOLOnews reported. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 65 people have died in different areas of Karachi due to heatstroke, Edhi Foundation head Faisal Edhi confirmed. As per a report by local Pakistan newspaper on Monday, out of 114 bodies brought at Edhi's morgue situated in Karachi's Korangi and Sohrab Goth areas in the past three days, 65 died out of heatstroke. Edhi confirmed the most of the heatstroke victims belong to two districts named Landhi and Korangi. Most of the victims are aged between six to 78 years and have died in their homes. The situation was exacerbated by citywide power outages and due to the observance of fast during the holy month of Ramzan. During the fasting period, the practicing Muslims abstain themselves from drinking water for long periods. "People died because they did not get medical help on time," Edhi further said. The Pakistan officials have issued advisories warning people to stay indoors during daytime. Some local media reports quoted Metrological Department saying that Karachi is expected to see an excess of heat until May 23 with the mercury rising up to 40 degrees Celsius as the heat wave surrounds the city. On Sunday, a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius was recorded at 3 pm in Karachi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany launched today their 'Merck More Than a Mother' program in Namibia in partnership with the Chairperson of National Council of Namibia, Hon. Margaret Mensah and the Ministry of Health. Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO Merck Foundation emphasized, "The time is ripe for a shift in mindset around the issue." "Not only husbands mistreat women [due to infertility], mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law can also influence their son or brother to harass his wife because she cannot have children. All this has to change," she said. She added that they not only focusing on the education of adolescence about infertility prevention but also on the training and awareness around infertility and infertility stigma. "What about the present? We are also calling on Members of Parliament to advocate for this in their communities. A little bit of information which takes one minute can save lives, happiness, and can change culture and beliefs around you," Dr. Kelej said. She further said the media could play a crucial role in sensitizing citizens on infertility, its prevention and the role of men and women in the fight. Therefore, we are going to launch media recognition award and media training program to prepare the media to advocate and raise awareness with the aim to break the stigma around Infertility in Namibia. Merck Foundation has appointed Hon. Margaret Mensah-Williams, as the ambassador of 'Merck More Than a Mother' campaign in the Republic of Namibia, to work with Merck Foundation in defining interventions, and to break the stigma around childless women across the country. Together we will transform the lives of unprivileged women, who suffered infertility stigma all their lives," Dr. Rasha'sKelej said. Speaking at the same occasion, National Council Chairperson Margaret Mensah-Williams indicated that infertility is a reality in Namibia and should be addressed. She also said that women who are unable to conceive do not owe anyone an explanation. "Don't care. Shine your shine. You don't owe anybody an explanation. If God decides the time for you to bear a child, you shall bear that child. Don't worry about people when they talk. They talk about us every day. You know what? I don't care. I shine," she said. "Infertility is profoundly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, which is said to have an 'infertility belt' wrapped around its center, the infertility rate is much higher in southern Africa. Particularly in Namibia infertility prevalence rates for some ethnic groups is as high as 32 percent, or one-third of all couples attempting to conceive, which is why initiatives like 'Merck More than a Mother' are significant for Namibia and we are glad to partner with Merck Foundation for this initiative," she explained. She further added, "It is a proud moment for me, to be selected as Merck More Than a Mother ambassador for Namibia. I will work closely with Merck Foundation to break the stigma around infertility at all levels." Merck Foundation through 'Merck More than a Mother' initiative will provide three months to six months clinical and practical training to healthcare providers to create fertility specialists in Namibia. Merck foundation will also provide training for nurses to be fertility counselors. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Daily grocery delivery service platform, Milkbasket, on Tuesday announced the successful closure of USD 7 million in series A funding led by Kalaari Capital with participation from Singapore based BeeNext and its existing investors, Unilever Ventures and Blume Ventures. "Strong founding team, focus towards data-based decision making, operational rigor, and incessant focus on customer delight, backed by a large market opportunity in the grocery space culminated into us leading a USD 7M series A round into Milkbasket," said Vani Kola, MD at Kalaari Capital. "We are very excited to have Kalaari and BeeNext join us in the journey to crack the online grocery space in a sustainable manner. This funding will help us to continue investing in the 3Ts that we hold close to our hearts - talent, technology and territory, and in achieving our vision to create the most convenient grocery fulfilment model for today's busy households," said Anant Goel, CEO at Milkbasket. The company is going to use these funds for further innovations in supply chain efficiencies and last mile logistics, creation of unique customer propositions and delivering exceptional customer experience,. They will also expand into other geographies while penetrating deeper in existing communities. "Our investment in Milkbasket provides us with meaningful participation in one of the fastest growing e-grocery markets globally. We are excited to partner with one of India's best grocery delivery platforms and believe that this investment will accelerate their ability to build scale in India," said Teruhide Sato, founder of BeeNext. "Three unique attributes of Milkbasket that impressed us were; a great founder with a solid team and great execution; a user friendly service suitable for Indian local habits; and highly frequent consumer touch points. Milkbasket instigates a sense of community among users, and there is no doubt that they will become the daily habit of India in a few years," he said. Started in early 2015, Milkbasket revolutionised the online grocery space by introducing an early morning, contactless, micro-delivery model akin to the prevalent newspaper and milk supply chain models in India. Starting with milk and breakfast products, Milkbasket today fulfills the entire grocery needs of a household with a reach of over 40,000 households in 180+ communities in Gurugram. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is set to visit China on a five-day visit beginning June 19. This is Prime Minister Oli's second foreign visit since assuming office on February 15. On May 17, the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu had formally proposed Oli's visit to China. According to Kathmandu Post, apart from Beijing, the Chinese side has proposed that Prime Minister Oli visit both the Sichuan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong toured Tibet in connection to the visit. She met with the Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi in Kathmandu last week to discuss the itinerary and agenda of the visit. During his previous visit to China, Prime Minister Oli signed the Transit and Transport Agreement. A protocol for the deal is due to be signed this time. This Nepal-China visit comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Nepal last week. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Pakistan's prime minister Nawaz Sharif has reiterated that he had never owned properties in London. Testifying before Pakistan's Accountability Court, wherein Sharif, his sons Hasan and Hussain, daughter Maryam, son-in-law Capt (retd) Mohammad Safdar and former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar are facing multiple corruption cases, the former Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) chief on Monday also refuted the money trail linking his son Hussain Nawaz to the apartments. The responses came in reply to the 128 questions put to him. The questionnaire has multiple about four apartments in Park Lane, Avenfield, London, sale proceed of Gulf Steel Mills (GSM), shares of Ahli Steel Mills, investment with Qatari royals, clearance of GSM's liabilities, litigation with Al-Tawfeek Investment and offshore companies Nielson and Nescoll. He said he was neither the real owner of the Avenfield apartments nor were these his benami properties. When asked about the Gulf Steel Mills (GSM) in Dubai, he denied his involvement in setting up the GSM, saying, other than participating in its opening ceremony in 1974, he was never involved in any activity related to the mill. During the questioning session with the judge Mohammad Bashir, the deposed prime minister accused the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) for reporting selective evidence and portions from the witnesses' statements. He also criticised the inclusion of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) in the JIT, claiming that the JIT members are biased. The former prime minister could respond to 55 of the 128 questions. The judge adjourned the proceedings till May 22. The Pakistan Supreme Court, on July 28, disqualified Sharif from holding the office of the prime minister and asked the National Accountability Bureau to file references against the Sharif family in connection with corruption cases against them. On the orders of the country's Supreme Court, the JIT was formed last year to probe the allegations on the Sharif family. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report claiming that a 40-year-old Dalit rag picker in Rajkot district's Shapar village has been flogged to death over collecting scraps in a village. The Commission observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issue of violation of human rights of the victims. Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Gujarat chief secretary to submit a report in the matter within four weeks along with measures taken for relief to the affected families. In the video, which was first tweeted by Gujarat lawmaker Jignesh Mevani, the victim, identified as Mukesh Vaniya, could be seen held to a big door of an auto factory through ropes. Two men, one after the other, then flogged him to death. Vaniya's wife and his acquaintance were allegedly beaten up too, but she somehow escaped and called help, however, by that time it was too late. Following a complaint lodged by the victim's wife, the police had registered an offence of murder and other charges against five unidentified persons under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The incident took place on Sunday when he, along with his wife and an acquaintance, was picking rags around the factory and they had an altercation with the five accused following which the rag pickers were beaten up, in which Vaniya died. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Army and Rangers are now resorting to sinister tactics to deceive the Indian surveillance measures of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Armed Forces, here. It has come out that the Pakistani rangers and the Army along the International Borders (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC) have changed their tactics to not only hoodwink the Indian border surveillance measures but also to target the Indian security forces. The Pakistani troops have started using the thermal camouflage suits/clothing. This clothing suppresses the heat and keeps it trapped inside the suit, thus decreasing the heat signature of the troop. ANI has an exclusive video which shows this. It is to be noted that Indian Army uses the Hand Held Thermal Imagers (HHTI) to keep an eye on the movement of the inimical forces. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the Indian troop to observe the presence of the enemy closely, and thus vulnerability of getting hit by them rises. This was found out when recently the BSF troops were targeted by the Pakistan side, which led to the killing of two BSF jawans. The recent movement and targetting from the Pakistan side, when observed closely, has revealed that the pro-active actions of the BSF have forced the enemy to change its tactics. The sources have revealed that there is a possibility of the Special Service Group (SSG) of Pakistan also using similar sinister tactics. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Days after Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik said that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was not involved in Bofors scam, a petitioner in the case on Tuesday asked the Malik to divulge the names of other accused in the case. "Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik on May 18 said that Rajiv Gandhi was innocent in Bofors scam, but three or four people surrounding him were involved. So I have written a letter to him stating that you should divulge those names in interest," petitioner Ajay Agarwal told ANI. On May 18, the Bihar Governor said that Rajiv Gandhi was a 'good and honest' person and some other Congress leaders were allegedly involved in the case. A Delhi's Court on May 11 heard the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) plea seeking direction to allow a further probe into the Bofors case. The Rs. 64-crore Bofors scam, relating to alleged payment of kickbacks in the procurement of howitzer artillery guns, dates back to 1980s and 1990s, when the Congress was in power under Rajiv Gandhi leadership. The then Central Government had allegedly signed a 1.4-billion dollar defence deal with Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors for the sale of 410 field howitzer guns and a supply contract almost twice that amount. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on late Tuesday midnight after wrapping up his one-day informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia's Sochi. 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. Prime Minister Modi also 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. India and Russia expressed their concern over terrorism and radicalization during the informal Summit. The two leaders also expressed their determination to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The two sides also "noted with satisfaction" the expanding cooperation in the energy sector. The two leaders noted with satisfaction the expanding cooperation in the energy sector and, in this regard, welcomed the arrival of the first consignment of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) under a long-term agreement between Russian gas giant Gazprom and India's state-run gas utility GAIL, next month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a surprising break from the protocol, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday roamed around Shimla's Mall Road area, bought books with his credit card and interacted with the people around. Kovind, who is on a four-day official trip to Himachal Pradesh, took some time off from his busy schedule to roam around in Shimla with his family. After having tea at the Ashiayan Restaurant of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, President Kovind - on his maiden trip to Himachal Pradesh - strolled around the Ridge Maidan and the Mall Road. "Dropped in with my family to a restaurant on Shimla's landmark Ridge. Greeted very warmly by the hospitable staff and fellow guests at the restaurant," Kovind wrote on Twitter. He even took photographs in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and even shook hands with people around, who got enthralled to see the President. "President had tea and snacks at the Ashiana restaurant on ridge. This was an overwhelming experience for the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation," manager of Ashiana Restaurant, BS Aukta, told ANI. During his visit, Kovind also bought books from a local store. "The President has bought two books for himself and 10 books for his grand children for Rs 1600. The two books he bought included one on the Shimla Kalka railway line and another in Hindi of Indian writer, Amar Bharat," Minarva Book Store owner Rahul Aggrwal told ANI. Kovind said that he felt "happy to experience the spreading digital payments culture in our country." Further sharing his experience, Kovind tweeted: "Happy to walk down the iconic Mall Road in Shimla and meet the very friendly local residents and tourists. Paid my tributes to Mahatma Gandhi #PresidentKovind." On Monday, Kovind addressed the 9th convocation ceremony of Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in Solan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The 4th Smart Cities India 2018 expo, co-locating five major verticals that make up our smart city framework - Buildings, Solar, Smart Cities, Transport and Water, begins tomorrow at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu, will be the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony on May 23. CR Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare will be the guests of honour. Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs will deliver the keynote address while H.E. Daniel Carmon, Ambassador of Israel to India, will deliver a special address. Co-organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), the NASSCOM Center of Excellence - IoT and Exhibitions India Group, the three day event at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from May 23-25 offers an ideal platform to make profitable relationships, exchange ideas and enhance know-how. Conveying his best wishes for the success of the expo, M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, wrote: "This incredible initiative will provide a platform for industry professionals to exchange ideas and technological improvements, and will go a long way to serve the needs of the nation. The expo also manifests a multi-pronged strategy of the Indian economy, which is driven by the Smart Cities Mission, and the Digital India and Make in India campaigns, to transform trade and industry into an engine of socio-economic growth." While appreciating the efforts by the organisers to host this event, he hoped that the expo and the conference sessions would help in clearing the roadblocks to smart infrastructure, and strengthens utility-city partnerships through collaboration. Hardeep S Puri, Union Minister of State (I/C) Housing and Urban Affairs, wrote in his message: "Some of the core elements in a smart city include adequate water supply, assured electricity, sanitation including solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, affordable housing, especially for the poor, robust IT connectivity and digitalisation, good governance, especially e- Governance and citizen participation, sustainable environment, safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly." He believed that deliberations at the event will cover all these critical aspects and throw up additional specific ideas which can be considered for implementation. Congratulating the organisers and the participants, Choubey said, "Projects like Make in India, Skill India, Startup India and Digital India are an integral part of our deep commitment to make India healthy and prosperous." Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, reiterated that promotion of solar energy in urban areas indicates the Government's commitment towards clean energy. "Equally important is saving every drop of drinking water. We need to embrace technology in a big way to meet these objectives," he added. Speakers at the conference sessions will cover a wide gamut of areas where city leaders are looking to innovate and improve their citizens' lives. The inaugural conference session, Implementing Smart Cities.. Transforming India for our Citizens, will have plenty of star power on hand to share best practices with all stakeholders. On the eve of one of the boldest and busiest trade shows in the region, participants' excitement levels are also high. Chetan Maini, Co-Founder and Vice-Chairman, SUN Mobility, believes that events like One Mega Event provide a great platform for all stakeholders to collaborate. "We are at the tipping point, and for the country to truly transition to electric mobility, the industry and the government need to work together to build a strong policy and regulatory framework. A framework that is more flexible and technology agnostic will foster innovation in technology and newer models," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korea has declined to accept the list of South Korean journalists chosen to cover the dismantling of its nuclear test site Pyuung Ri between May 23 and 25. As reported by the Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday, the North Korea's recent move has made it hard for South Korean journalists to cover denuclearisation which is supposedly a media event. "We tried to convey the list through the Panmunjom communication channel at 9 a.m. today, but the North declined to accept it," a Korean unification ministry official said on condition of anonymity. As the North declined to accept the list, South Korean media is highly likely to be excluded from covering the event that the North is planning to hold this week. The steps are being taken to close down the Punggye-ri test site, where North Korea carried out six nuclear tests. "It appears to be technically difficult (for the South Korean reporters) to make a trip to the North today," a government official said. "It is regrettable." North Korea announced on May 12 that it will publicly dismantle the test site located in the country's northern region in a ceremony to which media from South Korea, China, Russia, the United States and Britain will be invited to cover. North Korea later invited four South Korean reporters each from a newswire and a broadcasting company for the event to be held from Wednesday to Friday, depending on weather conditions. The site, located in the northeastern region of the North, is where the North carried out all six of its nuclear denotation tests. This comes up after North Korea canceled the high-level talks with South due to the latter's on-going military drills with the United States. The South Korean government further expressed regret over the unilateral decision, urging the North to come out for talks as soon as possible to discuss follow-up measures to the April 27 inter-Korean summit agreement. According to a report, some of the journalists visited the North Korean embassy in Beijing. They considered filing for a visa directly at the embassy but decided to wait for further development between the Koreas. Journalists from the U.S., China, Russia and Britain have reportedly been granted visas and are scheduled to take a chartered North Korean plane on Tuesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah on Tuesday failed to reach a consensus on the name of a caretaker prime minister who would take over the incumbent government by the end of this month. Briefing the media, Shah said that another meeting with Abbasi will take place "either tomorrow or day after" to finalise the caretaker prime minister, Geo TV reported. Shah added that he and Abbasi agreed to spend some more time on the matter so that the finalised name of the caretaker prime minister is recognised by the opposition parties as well. "It would be good for the Parliament if this matter can be agreed upon in [the upcoming] meeting. If not, then [a committee] will be constituted, to which the names will be sent within three days and the majority decision will be [implemented]," he further said. Sources said that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has suggested prominent names for the post like - former Chief Justice of Pakistan (retd.) Nasir-ul-Mulk, former Chief Justice (retd.) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, former Pakistan Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Abdullah Hussain Haroon and former State Bank of Pakistan governors, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar and Dr. Ishrat Hussain. Pakistan's permanent representative to the United Nations Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, as per sources, was missing from the list suggested by the central government. She was earlier touted as among the favourites for the caretaker prime minister's post. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has finalised the names of lawmakers Zaka Ashraf and Jalil Abbas Jilani for the caretaker prime minister. Sources further told Geo TV that Khursheed Shah had informed Ashraf and Jilani regarding the same and have forwarded their names to Abbasi and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari. The PML-N government is expected to conclude its five-year term on May 31, after which the caretaker government will take over to oversee the general elections in the country. According to Geo TV, the caretaker prime minister, whose responsibility is to ensure that the elections are held in a transparent manner, is appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the opposition leader. The political parties in the country present names of three nominees each from which the consensus candidate is appointed as the caretaker prime minister. The Pakistan Election Commission has recommended July 25, 26 or 27 as probable dates for the forthcoming general elections in the country. The election schedule would be issued in the first week of June. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A legal submission has been made to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to save and protect Pakistani Christians from persecution. The submission has been made by the Washington-based American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a Christian-based social activism and watchdog for corruption. In its submission placed before the UNHRC, the ACLJ claimed that, "The Islamic Republic of Pakistan continues to violate the human rights of its religious minorities. Instances of mob violence; police torture; false accusations of blasphemy; rape, murder, and other forms of violence occur on a regular basis. Authorities in Pakistan have shown a continuous inability or unwillingness to protect its minorities from human rights abuses. These aren't isolated incidents. Christians are being specifically targeted." It further said in a statement, which appears on its web site aclj.org, that, "Pakistani Christians are (being) terrorized, tortured, murdered - even sentenced to death - simply because of their faith. The Pakistani government seems unable or unwilling to protect its Christian citizens.. We are asking the world's leaders to take urgent action." It said that churches in Pakistan were being repeatedly attacked and damaged by Islamic-centric mobs, and Christian neighbourhoods were also being attacked. The Pakistani government, it claimed, continues to turn a blind eye, so much so that, "Christians can't even count on the local authorities to protect them." "We are aggressively fighting for persecuted Christians through our office on the ground in Pakistan. We also continue to advocate for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five who we've told you has been sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws for offering a Muslim coworker a glass of water. Pakistan has allowed these easily misinterpreted laws to cause innocent people - particularly Christians like Asia Bibi, and other religious minorities - to suffer and even die," the ACLJ said in its submission to the UNHCR. It described Pakistan's blasphemy laws as being infamous for their scope and brutality. "As a result, the blasphemy laws are easy to misuse and charges often result because of personal vendettas between the parties. Since Pakistan enacted these laws in the 1980s, over one thousand cases have been registered and over forty people are on death row or serving life sentences. Over fifty people have been killed over blasphemy allegations and hundreds are serving or have served prison terms ranging from three to ten years," it said. The ACLJ asked the UNHCR to put pressure on Pakistan to abide by international agreements it has ratified to protect religious minorities. "We must act now to protect our persecuted and dying Christian brothers and sisters. We will continue aggressively to advocate at the U.N. and through our office on the ground in Pakistan, but we need you. Be the voice of Pakistan's frightened and dying Christians," the ACLJ said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The scheduled North Korean-United States summit is likely to get delayed in the wake of recent instances of inter-Korean disagreements. Earlier on Monday (local time) South Korean President Kim Jong-Un arrived in the United States to hold a bilateral summit with President Donald Trump ahead of the anticipated US-North Korean summit. Trump reportedly raised the possibility of delaying the June 12 summit in a meeting with President Kim in the White House. In response to it, Moon had reportedly said that the United States is one-step closer to ensure reunification of the two Koreas as it urged the latter not to call off the summit. In lieu of the delay, the future of the international forum - the peace and future for the Korean Peninsula - also lies in uncertainty. Earlier on May 18, North Korea had threatened to call off the summit with the US due to the latter's on-going military drills with South Korea and also cancelled high-level talks with South Korea due to the same. The high-level talks were meant to take place on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom as a follow up to the inter-Korean summit held last month. As reported by North Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday, military drills called 'Max Thunder' took place between the US and South Korea air forces which had negatively impacted inter-Korean relations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actress Priyanka Chopra, who is also the global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights, on Tuesday urged her fans and followers to care for and support the Rohingya refugees. Priyanka, who is on a field visit in Dhaka, on Monday visited Cox's Bazaar, one of the largest refugee camps in the world, and shared photographs with Rohingya children on Instagram. "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," Priyanka wrote. "And as they finally start to settle and feel a sense of safety, monsoon season looms...threatening to destroy all that they have built so far. This is an entire generation of children that have no future in sight," she added. Priyanka, who had met Syrian refugee children in Jordan last year, says 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," she wrote. Priyanka also shared a video talking about how the refugees had to travel by foot to enter Bangladesh. "Their trip here was filled with many hardships and tremendous danger. Many of them made their journey on foot, walking for days through the hills, then floating across the Naf River or the Bay of Bengal on make shift boats... Many of them injured, pregnant, elderly," she wrote. "Their ordeal did not end here, after entering Bangladesh, they would often have to wait for days, sleeping in the open fields with no food or water, for aid workers to reach them. For a lot of the Rohingya children, this ordeal will leave them scarred, physically and emotionally, for the rest of their lives," she added. Priyanka asked her admirers to help these children "because right now, their future is bleak". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify before the European Parliament to discuss the growing online data-privacy concerns here on Tuesday. As reported by the New York Times, Zuckerberg will discuss the issue of the data breach by data analytics company Cambridge Analytica. It is touted be a closed-door meeting, to be attended by leaders of the various political groups. Leaders of the European Parliament's various blocs and the head of the body's civil liberties committee, which is holding hearings on the ongoing Facebook data breach case, will be the part of the meeting. Data privacy is a major issue among European citizens. The European Union (EU) has been fighting with prominent American tech companies over data privacy for years. The US government and EU were in an open conflict in 2015, when it withdrew a data sharing agreement because of "mass indiscriminate surveillance and interception" of personal data by the US authorities, CNN reported. "The European tradition on privacy is stronger than that in the US, particularly in relation to corporate invasions of privacy, which from a European perspective the US seems to have been notably soft over in the last few decades," said Paul Bernal, senior lecturer in IT and media law at the University of East Anglia. "Some members of the European Parliament are far more expert in the field than those in Washington," he added. The testimony comes three days before tough laws on data protection comes into effect in the EU. Organisations would be fined 4 percent of global turnover if found violating the laws. Zuckerberg will call on the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani and other dignitaries. The social media mogul had been earlier questioned in the joint hearing of the members of the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee at the Capitol Hill over the issue of the data breach in April. During that testimony, he admitted multiple incidents of the data breach as he said that his own personal information has been compromised. Cambridge Analytica is accused of wrongfully accessing the data of over 87 million Facebook users to build political tools which allegedly influenced the US presidential election in 2016. Following the accusations, the firm has shut down its offices all over the world, due to bankruptcy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government is willing to go an extra mile to make trading procedure more seamless and has also started amending the Customs Act to make compliance easier. This was stated by Mr Pranab Kumar Das, Member (Customs), Central Board of Excise and Customs, Ministry of Finance. He stressed on the collaborative role of the government and the industry for improving trade facilitation and ease of doing business in India. Mr Das further said that customs clearances consume only 20% of the total dwell time, while the rest is consumed by other players in the trade ecosystem. He also stated that a gap analysis has been undertaken by the government for complying with Category A commitments ratified by India in the Trade Facilitation Agreement. He encouraged the industry members to apply for AEO status and explained the benefits of the same. He further added that the government has made available 6 PGA testing labs at the ports and is planning to extending this facility for up to 33 testing agencies. Mr. Binoy Kumar, Special Secretary-Logistics, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, explained the role of logistics in trade and said that the government recognizes the importance of logistics in Ease of Doing Business, Make in India as well as in the quest for economic growth, creation of jobs and increasing agricultural income. He said that some segments of logistics such as CFS, ICDs, cold chains, warehouses etc. have been given infrastructure status which is a testimony to the government's commitment to improve trade facilitation. He further added that department has provided inputs to the government for introduction of facilitative measures such as amendments to Customs Act etc. in the budget which would lead to reduction is documentation and further simplify the regulatory mechanisms. He maintained that bringing all stakeholders on a common digital platform will help in enhancing transparency and in reducing dwell time and costs associated with trading. Mr. Milon K Nag, Co-chairman, CII Task Force on Ease of Doing Business, while highlighting the key reforms initiated by the government stated that more trade facilitation reforms are required to reduce the dwell time and the transaction costs of trading across borders. He further added that SWIFT, Integrated Risk Management System and Direct Port Delivery are some of the crucial reforms undertaken by the government. However, there is scope for improvement in areas such as enhancing transparency, maximizing technology and simplification of the AEO procedure, among others, he added. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a first, India received the 1st cargo of UAE crude oil for filling up one of the two Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns built by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd (ISPRL) at Mangalore. Earlier, on 12th May, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and H. E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO from Abu Dhabi jointly initiated the filling of the crude oil carrier vessel MT Inspiration with 2 million barrels of crude oil belonging to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) of UAE. In February 2018, during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to UAE, 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 Mangalore at its own cost. The filling up began with the 2 million barrels reaching Mangalore today. ADNOC will bring additional crude oil and fill up the Mangalore cavern later this year. ADNOC's investment by way of crude oil in Indian SPR facility is the first time that a private foreign entity, is filling up an Indian SPR cavern with crude oil. Government of India under phase I of SPR programme 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). The entire Vishakhapatnam facility and one of the two caverns at Mangalore facility have been filled with crude oil under government funding, the second cavern at Mangalore facility is now being filled by ADNOC of UAE 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. The historic first cargo from UAE for filling up India's SPR facility demonstrates the commitment of both India and UAE in executing strategically important agreements in a time bound manner, thereby, further strengthening the strategic relationship between the two countries, particulary in the oil and gas sector. It is a culmination of the vision of the leaders, HRH the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister Modi to elevate the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership and transform the buyer-seller relations to a two-way investment relations. UAE is the 6th largest crude oil source for India and supplies around 6 % of the petroleum requirement. With the recent acquisition of 10% stake in UAE's Lower Zakhum offshore producing field by Indian public sector oil and gas companies and the investment by ADNOC in Indian SPR facility, the hydrocarbon sector engagements between India and UAE have transformed from buyer-seller relationship to strategic partners in the energy sector. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 28.50 points at the opening bell. Overseas, most Asian shares were trading higher, tracking strong closing in the US market overnight as investors applauded easing trade animosities between the US and China. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly said that bilateral trade talks with China had made very meaningful progress and that it was now up to both parties to implement what had been discussed. Mnuchin said over the weekend that the Trump administration would delay implementation of tariffs on Chinese goods and put the trade war on hold while working out details of a deal between the countries. 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. Closer home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 496.03 crore yesterday, 21 May 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1190.56 crore yesterday, 21 May 2018, as per provisional data. Among corporate news, Bata India, Cipla, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Indian Oil Corporation and State Bank of India will announce January-March 2018 results today, 22 May 2018. Key benchmark indices declined for a fifth straight session yesterday, 21 May 2018, as the political situation in Karnataka left investors uneasy. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 232.17 points or 0.67% to settle at 34,616.13. The Nifty 50 index fell 79.70 points or 0.75% to settle at 10,516.70. 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. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Union Commerce Secretary Ms. Rita Teaotia informed that the government is coming out with an export policy for agro and other such products and asked all the state governments to send their inputs to the Centre as the draft export policy has been put in public domain already. The Commerce Secretary also asked the APEDA to explore the higher possibilities as to how the exports of agri products could be multiplied with sea route. This channel would be cheaper and reduce the exporting cost for the exporters, she felt. The Commerce Secretary elaborated that despite India growing multiple varieties of mangoes yet their exports are confined to only two to three varieties, therefore, APEDA should take initiatives to promote multiple varieties of mangoes so that exports could be accelerated. Ms. Teaotia said that India is the fruit basket of the world and provides a large number of varieties of quality and tasty tropical fruits of large range. She informed that India is the largest producer of the Mangoes in the world which is treated as king of fruits which has made a place of pride in the fruit basket of the country with a production of around 41% of total world production. India grows nearly 1000 varieties of Mangoes across the country and out of these 11 commercial varieties are grown in more than 10 States. With this strength, India exports Mangoes to more than 50 countries and has reached to an export of 52,761 MT MT in 2016-17. She highlighted that export of Agri Products has been the priority of the government. APEDA through Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been instrumental in promoting quality agri-products. As per its mandate, APEDA has provided support for the required Infrastructure across the country in terms of Packhouses with Post-Harvest Treatment facilities and Centre for Perishable Cargo Agro Complex at major Airports. This has helped the industry to increase their exports of quality produce up to a large extent. Considering the requirement of Food Safety and Traceability by importing countries, India has taken number of measures by strengthening the backward linkage in the production supply chain, setting up of required infrastructure in terms of Packhouses and Post-Harvest Treatment Facilities which has enabled to get market access for fruits in various countries in the past, she added. A very good response has been received from State Governments. 13 State Governments like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, UP, West Bengal, Tripura have participation in event. These state governments have organised their participation by display of range of fruits grown in their State on commercial scale. The Central Research Institute, DFRL and Indian Institute of Packaging also joined the event and displayed their packaging developed for fresh fruits and vegetables, he said. According to him, the possibilities are rising for larger acceptability of Indian mangoes and other tropical fruits in large number countries such as Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Iran, Bahrain Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Israel, Thailand, UK, Mauritius, Malaysia, Greece, Egypt and UAE. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 16 people were killed when a vehicle, packed with explosives detonated in the southern Kandahar province on Tuesday, authorities said. Provincial Governor Tooryalai Wesa said that at least 16 people were killed and 38 others wounded in the explosion, Ariana News reported. According to Wesa, the death toll is expected to rise, as most of the injured were in critical condition. No group, neither the Taliban or the Islamic State, have claimed responsibility for the incident. --IANS ahm/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After a few Bollywood films ran into trouble with a section of the Sikhs over the depiction of the community, the Akal Takht on Tuesday announced the setting up of a 'Sikh Censor Board'. The board will have 21 members, including Sikh clergy and experts. Gurbachan Singh, Jathedar (chief) of the Akal Takht -- the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs -- told the media in Amritsar that the board will review movies with content related to the Sikh community and its religious affairs. He said the censor board will ensure that there is no distortion of the Sikh religious affairs and the community is not shown in poor light. Makers of Bollywood film "Nanak Shah Fakir" had run into trouble with the community, after which the Akal Takht banned the film and later even excommunicated its producer Harinder Singh Sikka from the community. --IANS js/tsb/him/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Denver-based Frontier Airlines confirmed that it is investigating the conduct of a male passenger who allegedly touched two women in an unwelcome manner and urinated inside the plane cabin during a flight last week. The incident occurred on May 17 aboard Flight 864 from Denver to Charleston and the local police arrested the man 30 minutes after the aircraft landed, Efe news reported quoting the airline. The flight which left Denver at 3 p.m. lasted for three-and-a-half hours. According to the airline, it had "been made aware of this situation" and is working with the "appropriate authorities" to investigate the man's behaviour. However, it didn't provide any further details about the accusations made by other passengers on the flight, who claimed that he physically and verbally harassed two women and then urinated on the back of the seat in front of him. As stated in the complaint filed against the man, later identified in FBI documents as Michael Allen Haag, he consumed two double vodka tonics during the flight and seemed to be "intoxicated and possibly high", according to a passenger. A female passenger said that the man apparently touched a sleeping woman and then began asking another woman questions about her sex life. She added that the flight crew merely "warned" the man over his behaviour but took no other action to ensure that he did not continue with it following which she decided to start photographing the man. Meanwhile, Frontier spokesman Richard Oliver said, "The safety and security of our passengers is the top priority at Frontier." --IANS and/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have officially sealed a deal with Netflix to produce television shows and films for the streaming service. The deal will give Barack an international television platform during his post-presidency, allowing him to reach millions of people in the US and internationally, reports nytimes.com. The couple has created "Higher Ground Productions", a company to produce content for Netflix, the streaming service 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 announced in a statement on Twitter. The former president has told associates that he does not intend to use the new platform to wage a public campaign against his successor in the Oval Office, or to fight against conservative voices that populate media outlets like Fox News. 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, reports nytimes.com. "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," Barack 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." Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer for Netflix, said the deal will benefit the service's audience. "Barack and Michelle Obama are among the world's most respected and highly recognised 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," he said. --IANS sug/dc/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Unfazed by the fall of its 3-day government last week in Karnataka, a defiant BJP's state unit will protest across the state on Wednesday against the formation of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S)-Congress coalition government, said a party official on Tuesday. "As the Congress-JD-S alliance hijacked the people's mandate and formed an unholy alliance to form a coalition government on Wednesday, we are observing the occasion as the 'anti-people's mandate day' across the state," said BJP's spokesman S. Shantaram in a statement here. State Governor Vajubhia Vala invited JD-S legislative party leader H.D. Kumaraswamy to take oath as the 25th Chief Minister on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. on the grand steps of the state secretariat (Vidhana Soudha) in the presence of national and regional leaders and about an estimated 1 lakh people. "Thousands of our party cadres and functionaries will stage a black flag demo at cities and districts to draw the people's attention to the opportunistic alliance of the duo to keep the BJP out of power," Shantaram noted. Party's state unit President and its three-time Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa will lead the demo at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the city centre at 11:15 a.m. ahead of the oath-taking ceremony in the evening. Party's state unit general secretaries Shobha Karandaleje, Arvind Limbavalli R. Ashok and N. Ravi Kumar, Lok Sabha member from Bengaluru Central P.C. Mohan will be present on the occasion. "We have also decided to boycott the swearing-in of Kumaraswamy and Congress state unit President G. Parameshwara as Deputy Chief Minster as they don't have the mandate or moral ground to form the government," another party official told IANS here. In the May 12 election, voters gave a hung assembly in 222 constituencies, with 37 for the JD-S, including one from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 78 for the Congress and 104 for the BJP, which fell seven less than the 111-halfway mark for a simple majority and passing the floor test. --IANS fb/qd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Catalonia's former leader Carles Puigdemont on Tuesday faced fresh threats of extradition from Germany, where a regional prosecutor's office has requested that he be sent to Spain to face charges of rebellion. The Spanish judiciary had sent new documents to German authorities regarding the charges being issued against Puigdemont, meaning the Schleswig-Holstein regional prosecution has requested that an extradition request issued by Spain be considered again by courts, sources from the prosecutor's office told Efe news. The regional court had previously refused to extradite Puigdemont on rebellion charges and was studying whether to hand him over to Spain to face trial over alleged misuse of public funds. Puigdemont is wanted in Spain for an investigation into possible rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for his alleged role in Catalonia's separatist referendum and subsequent declaration of independence, deemed unconstitutional by the Spanish judiciary. He fled to Belgium before he could be arrested but was later detained in Germany. --IANS mag/soni/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A central team will assess the ecological damage caused by discharge of effluents by a sugar mill in Beas river, whose owners are known for proximity to ruling Congress leadership in Punjab. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday said that the team -- deputed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change -- will make an on-the-spot visit to gauge the ecological disaster that killed fishes and other aquatic life in large numbers, besides polluting drinking water supply to the Malwa region. "I am hopeful that this inquiry will pin down the owner family and lead to initiation of criminal proceedings against them, besides their arrest and punishment," he said in a statement here. Badal had accused the mill owned by the family of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's religious adviser Paramjit Sarna of releasing industrial effluents into the Beas last week, leading to contamination of the river water and death of aquatic creatures. Writting to the Union Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday, demanding criminal proceedings against owners/Directors of Chadha Sugar Mill and Distillery for discharge of effluents into the river, he also accused the state's Congress government of trying to shield the mill owners. "... the grave irony of the tragedy is that it has led to the contamination of sacred Kali Bein, associated with the life of first Sikh master, Guru Nanak Dev ji," he had said. --IANS js/tsb/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rome, May 22 (IANS/AKI) Giuseppe Conte, a law professor picked by Italy's Five-Star Movement and the League party to lead their nascent populist government "does not show up" in New York University's records "as a student or faculty member", a media report said on Tuesday. Conte, a little-known Italian academic and a political novice, lists research at famous universities around the world, including Yale, the Sorbonne in France and NYU, where he said he "perfected and updated his studies" for at least a month each summer from 2008-2012, the New York Times reported. Asked about Conte's experience at NYU, spokeswoman Michelle Tsai said: "A person by this name does not show up in any of our records as either a student or faculty member," according to the New York Times. It was possible that Conte had attended one or two-day programmes for which the school does not keep records, she added. --IANS/AKI vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday issued notice to the Gujarat government over the death of a Dalit ragpicker, who was beaten to death by five men in Rajkot on Sunday. It has given the BJP government four weeks time. The NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of media report that a 40-year-old Dalit ragpicker was beaten to death at Shapar village on May 20, allegedly over the issue of collecting scraps in the area, the NHRC said in a statement. The rights commission issued the notice to the Gujarat Chief Secretary and also asked for a report on the measures being taken for relief to the affected family. Following a complaint lodged by the victim's wife, the Gujarat Police registered a case of murder besides other charges against five unidentified persons under the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issue of violation of human rights of the victims. On Sunday, Mukesh Vaniya, 40, was tied up and brutally thrashed by the factory owner and workers of Radadiya Industries in Shapar-Veraval area of Rajkot district. Vaniya, who was accused of trying to steal from the factory, died late on Sunday. 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 Vaniya was trying to steal from his factory. He and his workers soon caught Vaniya 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 badly injured at the place. Soon Champaben returned with some men and took Vaniya to the Rajkot Civil Hospital where he was declared brought dead. While the police on Monday arrested four persons for the assault on the Dalit ragpicker, the state government promptly announced a financial compensation of Rs 8.25 lakh for the family of the deceased person. 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 mgu/in/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was questioned by anti-graft officials on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the state investment company 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund corruption scandal. Najib was called in to explain how a $10.6 million deposit was made to his personal bank account from SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB, which he had set up in 2009 after taking office, said Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Mohd Shukri Abdull. MACC chief Shukri told reporters that at the moment they only asked Najib to record a statement, not to arrest him, but charges could be filed "very soon", Xinhua news agency reported. He said the anti-corruption agency received new information related to Najib, but declined to elaborate. The investigation into SRC International is a part of large-scale efforts by newly-elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to correct the alleged wrong doings committed by Najib. After taking over as the country's Prime Minister, Mahathir reopened the probe into the 1MDB scandal, the fund from which Najib is accused of siphoning off billions of dollars. He has denied any wrongdoing. Mahathir also set up a task-force, comprised of personnel from the MACC, the Attorney-General's Chambers, Royal Malaysian Police and Malaysian Central Bank. The Malaysian police last week seized a trove of cash, jewellery and designer handbags from several premises linked to Najib, including his private residence and luxury condominiums, as part of the corruption probe. But Shukri did not elaborate on the relevance between the 1MDB investigation and the search, saying it should be answered by the police. He did not specify how long the investigation will last. Shukri, who announced his retirement as deputy commissioner of the anti-graft agency in 2015 and returned as chief commissioner after the May 9 elections, said that he was threatened that he would lose his position if he took part in the investigation. A news report in 2015 claimed that around $681 million had been diverted to Najib's private accounts from 1MDB. However, Najib claimed the money was a donation from a Saudi Arabian prince. The alleged embezzlement and laundering of funds diverted from 1MDB were being investigated in half a dozen countries, including the US, Switzerland and Singapore. The US Department of Justice estimated that the amount diverted from 1MDB was $4.5 billion, of which some $1 billion may have been laundered in the US through the purchase of real estate, yachts, jewellery and works of art. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived at the national anti-corruption body headquarters here on Tuesday to record his statement in a 2015 scandal involving state investment company 1MDB. Razak arrived at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) Putrajaya office around 9.45 a.m. amid tight security, the star reported. He was summoned to assist in the investigation regarding the SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB, which he had set up in 2009 after taking office. It is alleged that he took hundreds of millions of dollars which were siphoned by his associates, Xinhua news agency reported quoting an MACC officer as saying. Razak has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to 1MDB since the scandal erupted in 2015, but he replaced an attorney-general and several MACC officers to shut down an investigation. The Malaysian Police last week seized a trove of cash, jewellery, and designer handbags from several premises related to Razak, including his private residence and luxury condominiums, as part of the corruption probe following the election. Newly elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has vowed to hold Razak responsible if found guilty. --IANS and/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An all-pervading fear on Tuesday gripped scores of residents of border villages in Jammu and Samba districts following indiscriminate shelling on civilian areas by Pakistan Rangers. At least eight civilians sustained injuries in shelling on Tuesday in R.S. Pura and Arnia sectors, police said. Villages close to the International Border in R.S.Pura, Arnia, Bishnah and Ramgarh areas remained on the edge and residents were seen migrating out of these places with women and children. Reports here said around two thousand villagers have already left home and hearth behind, running for safety with their families. Those preferring not to leave their homes and agricultural fields remained indoors as district administration advised them not to venture out of their homes unless absolutely necessary and during emergencies only. Gaping holes in residential houses and shells scattered in agricultural fields bore witness to the destruction caused by cross border shelling. Wheat crop ready to be harvested in these areas is liking to shed grains if the situation continued for another week. Villagers in R.S. Pura area said shells fired by Pakistan rangers have been landing 4 km inside the border thereby endangering lives and properties. Locals say dozens of cattle have perished in Pakistan shelling while private properties have sustained huge damage. Rajinder Singh, District Magistrate Samba told the media that all emergency arrangements for shifting the border residents are in place and if the present situation continued evacuation of civilians would be started. State Education Minister Zulfiqar Chowdhary has said the education of children is the biggest casualty of border tension. The minister said the state government is mulling an arrangement of organizing special schools for the affected children. --IANS sq/ahm/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fortis Healthcare will disclose the outcome of its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Wednesday, a company spokesman said. The EGM, which was held on Tuesday, sought shareholders approval on a resolution filed by a minority shareholders' group to induct and remove certain Board members among other clearances. The resolution sought Fortis' shareholders approval to replace Brian W. Tempest, Harpal Singh, Sabina Vaisoha and Tejinder Singh Shergill from the company's Board. However, Non-Executive Director Harpal Singh and Non-Executive Independent Directors Shergill and Vaisoha resigned on Sunday due to personal reasons. On May 9, the Directors in a representative note told the company's shareholders that changing the composition of FHL's Board at this juncture will add to more "turbulence and ambiguity" for the firm. Besides, the resignation comes after the Board on May 10 decided to recommend the offer of the Munjal-Burman consortium for sale of its business to the shareholders for their approval. --IANS rv/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The tussle between Ghaziabad's Khoda Municipality chairperson and its Executive Officer turned ugly on Tuesday when the chairperson and her representative sought to inspect some files but the official refused, and allegedly threatened them with a pistol, police said. Both parties have lodged complaints with police against each other. Executive Officer K.K. Bhadana, in his complaint, said that Yogesh Bhati, who is the brother-in -law of Chairperson Reena Bhati, barged in to his office when he was attending a meeting in the District Magistrate's office. Informed over phone that Yogesh Bhati wanted to take files, he said returned to office and tried to convince him not to take files, but the representative remained adamant and subsequently police was called and a complaint submitted seeking filing of a criminal case against the persons who entered his office without permission. On the other hand, Yogesh Bhati, in his complaint, alleged that Bhadana, who has been some time in the post, is corrupt and was trying to cover up his misdeeds. As the state's BJP government wants to expose the corrupt practices of officers during the previous Samajwadi Party's rule, he wanted these files to show the official's guilt, but Bhadana took out the weapon to threaten them. He said that not only was the weapon visible in the office's CCTV footage but it was brandished when a police officer was also sitting in the office. Superintendent of Police, City, Akash Tomar said that complaints had been received from both sides. "Our men are inquiring the matter, afterward legal action will be initiated," he said. --IANS sps/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a bid to revive the Patel quota stir, its leader Hardik Patel has invited legislators from the community in the ruling BJP and opposition Congress to attend a Patidar mahapanchayat to decide the future course of action. In letters addressed to state BJP president Jitu Vaghani and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Paresh Dhanani, both Patels themselves, he said: "The Patel community has been fighting for the rights of its future generations since the past three years in the form of agitations and representations. "We (Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti) seek to carry forward this agitation and as part of this initiative have organised a Patidar Nyay Panchayat on May 26 in Dhrangadhra district. "PAAS would like to invite Patel legislators from your party to participate in this Mahapanchayat and it would be imperative for you to come amidst the community and extend your support for the movement." He also said that if they fail to attend, "it would be construed that you are not in support of community's fight for reservation". The reactions to the letter were on expected party lines. While the Congress appeared receptive, BJP's Vaghani was scathing in his reply. "Who Hardik?... I don't know anyone who does not love the BJP. I don't think it is necessary to reply to any Congress stooges who are taking Congress money. We have enough elders within the community who can think good of the community," he told media persons. "The BJP government and institutions have done a lot for our community." On the other hand, Dhanani said: "I have not received any such letter from anyone, but definitely, if the community's problems are redressed through any initiative, I welcome it and obviously will participate. I welcome it if he has invited me individually or generally. Congress as a party will definitely take a decision in the party forum for this." Hardik Patel became the face of Patel quota stir that began in June 2015, demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. --IANS amc/vd/him/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved increased incentives to ASHA workers by doubling the core incentive to Rs 3,000. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, also doubled incentives payable in different identified categories. "In order to support ASHA workers during pregnancy, it has been decided to provide them maternity benefit of Rs 2,000 per month for six months during perinatal period," a statement from the Chief Minister's Office said. "ASHA workers provide a link and help to improve health indices for around 100 lakh plus population living in vast pockets of urban slums and difficult areas, depending upon health indicator, poor sanitation, water supply, prevalent malnutrition, communicable disease burden and an adverse female sex ratio," the statement added. There is one ASHA worker for every 2,000 population (400 households). The ASHA workers are expected to devote at least three to four hours every day for five days a week to their activities, including home visits, attending health and nutrition days and outreach sessions. The Cabinet also approved a Health Department proposal to increase bed capacity of a new hospital at Burari from 200 to 768 beds. According to the information provided by the PWD, 65 per cent of the project work and 85 per cent of hospital structure has been completed so far. "The project was reviewed and it was decided that some structural adjustment is required to accommodate more beds in the new hospital, which will provide healthcare to the residents of north Delhi. "This new hospital is a seven-storey structure. The proposal to have more beds will be achieved with a revised estimate of Rs 265.80 crore instead of Rs 200 crore earlier," the statement added. --IANS nks/tsb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India is poised to join China as the two global leaders in the renewable energy technology-led transformation, a US-based research institute said on Tuesday. India doubled solar installs to 10 GW in 2017-18 and is rapidly up-scaling capacity to strive towards the ambitious and transformational 100 GW of solar by 2022, Director of Energy Finance Studies of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Tim Buckley said. India's "scheme for development of solar parks" is becoming a successful model to attract foreign capital, says the report "Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets". The world's largest solar project to-date at 2,225 megawatt (MW) is under construction at the Bhadla Industrial Solar Park in Rajasthan. This is more than double the largest fully operational solar park in India, that being the 1,000 MW Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh. The year 2017 saw the commissioning of the world's largest floating solar project Sungrow's 40 MW development in Anhui Province in China. But as an illustration of the rapid scaling up of solar, two 150 MW floating solar projects are due for commissioning in China in 2018. Given land constraints, India's new policy target for 10,000 MW of floating solar nationally is a logical and commendable initiative to leverage this new innovation to enhance solar application and value proposition, said the report. The report details some of the world's largest utility-scale, concentrated solar power, rooftop solar, floating solar, solar with battery storage projects, corporate renewable power purchase deals and utilities that lead on the renewable energy front. Bloomberg New Energy Finance reports global solar installations total 98 GW in 2017, 31 per cent more than the previous year. China installed 53 GW in 2017, over half the global total deployed in 2017. "As major corporations sign on to such deals, they continue to look to 'green' their entire supply chains, many of which sit in emerging markets. This activity helps expand access to capital in markets, which is often a key constraint," co-author Kashish Shah said in a statement. India's National Electricity Plan aims to reduce thermal power from 67 per cent of capacity in 2017 to just 43 per cent by 2027. Experts say major solar energy tenders are occurring every week in India at prices now consistently 10-20 per cent below the cost of existing domestic thermal power generation and 50 per cent below new imported coal-fired power. In a major endorsement of India's solar mission, Tata Power this month embraced renewables as the way forward with a $5 billion plan, like the NTPC. "Banks clogged with thermal power plant bad debts won't keep lending to this stranded asset sector; painful for India, but a positive for the transition to renewables," Buckley told IANS. Coal plants by NTPC and Adani are being retrofitted with pollution emissions controls and end of life polluters are being shut, 7 GW in the last two years alone. The largest power plant in India, Adani's Mundra 4.6 GW import coal plant has been turned off since February 2018, unviable to run along with Tata's Mundra 4 GW import coal plant, a $9 billion stranded asset. --IANS vg/and/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said India is safe for minorities and no one is allowed to discriminate on the basis of religion after a letter from the Archbishop of Delhi Archdiocese talked about the "turbulent political atmosphere" in the country. "I have not seen the letter, but I want to say India is one of those countries in the world where no discrimination happens on the basis of caste, religion and faith, and nobody can be allowed to discriminate," he told reporters on Archbishop Anil Joseph Couto's controversial letter. The Archbishop in his May 8 letter asked the priests and churches in Delhi to hold a year-long prayer campaign for the country to protect its democratic principles and secular fabric ahead of the 2019 general elections "when we will have new government". "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." He said they should pray for the country and its political leaders. "As we look forward towards 2019 when we will have new government let us begin a Prayer Campaign for our country," he said in the letter and requested all to observe "a Day of Fast every Friday of the week by forgoing at least one meal" for "spiritual renewal" of self and the nation. The letter also carried a "Prayer for our Nation" that asked for God's blessings to uphold the values of equality, liberty and fraternity, and to protect the integrity of the judiciary, media and institutions from the "infiltration of the evil forces". "This is our cry, Heavenly Father, in these troubled times as we see the clouds eclipsing the light of truth, justice and freedom," read one of the lines in the prayer. --IANS mgu/him/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five police officers, including three Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs), face action following complaint filed by a divorcee in a district court and after the intervention of the Haryana DGP, an officer said on Tuesday. "Sub-Inspector Babu Lal has been suspended while a departmental inquiry has been ordered against the SHO concerned," a senior police officer told IANS. The woman met Haryana DGP B.S. Sandhu, after which action against three Haryana Police Service officers posted as Assistant Commissioners of Police in the area has been initiated, he said. Suman Virk, then resident of a housing society in Sector 57 in Gurugram and presently living in Delhi, had filed a complaint in the Gurugram court to seek an FIR against 14 persons, including senior police officers, doctors and others. Virk had urged the court for registeration of a case dealing with offences of abduction, beating, harassment, fraud, breach of trust, criminal intimidation, conspiracy etc. The complainant said she had approached police in 2016 with a complaint on a domestic matter, but claimed that several ACPs, SHOs and Investigation Officer (IO) of Sector 56 police station did not take any action on her application. On Virk's complaint, Judicial Magistrate (1st Class) Aakriti Verma on May 8 ordered the SHO of Sector 56 police station to registered an FIR and conduct investigation. --IANS pradeep/tsb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress-led UDF on Tuesday heaved a sigh of relief as 'estranged' former ally Kerala Congress-Mani announced support to Congress candidate in the May 28 Chengannur Assembly by-election. "Our party decided to support the UDF candidate. We will make our stand clear at a public meeting at Chenagnnur on Thursday. The decision to support the UDF is for the bypoll only and to protest anti-farmer policy of the Pinarayi Vijayan government," party supremo K.M. Mani told the media here. Mani's decision came after former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, state Congress President M.M. Hassan, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and P.K. Kunhalikutty, the Lok Sabha member of Indian Union Muslim League, held a meeting with Mani at his residence on Monday. Mani's party has a support base of around 5,000 voters in the constituency. Last year, Mani's party severed ties with the United Democratic Front after four decades. His party's six legislators sit as a separate block in the Assembly. The CPI-M too was wooing Mani to join the Left Democratic Front, but the CPI was opposing it. "This decision will not affect our candidate's prospects. Even though Mani's party has decided to support the UDF, we are sure we will get the votes of his party men," Communist Party of India-Marxist State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters. CPI-M legislator K.K. Ramachandran Nair's death in January necessitated the by-election. Counting of votes will take place on May 31. BJP's P. Sreedharan Pillai, CPI-M's Alappuzha District Secretary Saji Cherian and Congress' D. Vijayakumar are in the fray. --IANS sg/tsb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former US Navy veteran, serving life in prison for killing Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and injuring two others at a bar in Kansas city in 2017, has pleaded guilty to hate crime charges. Adam Purinton, 53, admitted on Monday that he fatally shot Kuchibhotla in February 2017 after confronting him and his co-worker Alok Madasani at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, the Kansas City Star reported. Purinton pleaded guilty in US District Court in Kansas to three federal hate-crime charges saying that he targeted the men "because of their actual and perceived race, colour, religion and national origin". American man Ian Grillot, was also wounded having tried to intervene. Purinton called the Indian men "terrorists" and yelled "Get out of my country!", before proceeding with the shooting. He was earlier jailed for 50 years without parole on state murder charges. Federal prosecutors said Purinton targeted the two Indian nationals "because of their actual and perceived race, colour, religion and national origin". Kuchibhotla's widow Sunayana Dumala did not attend the court hearing but later released a statement thanking federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "The change in the federal hate crime case against the murderer of my husband Srinu is a significant step to putting an end to hate crimes committed against people of colour and from different cultures... The actions of the court send a strong message that hate is never acceptable," she said. As part of Monday's plea agreement in the federal case, prosecutors agreed to not seek death sentence for Purinton. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, which is the sentence that the prosecution and defence jointly requested. The judge set sentencing for July 2. "Hate crimes are acts of evil. 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," Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio said in a statement. In March, Purinton pleaded guilty in Johnson County to a charge of first-degree murder as well as two counts of attempted first-degree murder for wounding Madasani and Grillot. Earlier in May, a Johnson County judge sentenced him to life in prison. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday will be used as a "show of strength" of the opposition parties ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in a possible line up against the BJP. But Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao decided to give the ceremony a miss and flew to Bengaluru on Tuesday to meet Kumaraswamy, apparently to avoid being seen in the company of Congress leaders. Prominent leaders of around a dozen political parties including UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, BSP supremo Mayawati, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, DMK leader M.K. Stalin, RLD chief Ajit Singh, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan of Makkal Needhi Maiam are all set to share the dais on Wednesday. Besides these political heavy weights, Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) and Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) are expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony. Striking a different path, Chandrasekhara Rao -- who mooted the idea of an anti-BJP, anti-Congress federal front -- will not be present. The Chief Minister's office in Hyderabad confirmed that Rao will not be able to attend the ceremony due to some official engagements. However, informed sources said Rao did not want to share the dias with Congress leaders and thus met Kumaraswamy a day earlier. Rao has held discussions with some opposition leaders including Banerjee over the formation of the federal front. The effort of uniting the opposition parties gained momentum after Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party cast aside years of differences to come together to defeat the BJP in two crucial Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh - in seats that had been held by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. Kumaraswamy was in Delhi on Monday where he met Congress leaders and 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. Responding to the efforts of the opposition, BJP President Amit Shah claimed that the atmosphere in the country is in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA would retain power with bigger majority than 2014. "What will Mamata Banerjee do in Karnataka and what will Kumaraswamy do in Bengal," Shah said in response to a question on the efforts of Congress-led opposition and added that all these political parties were also against the BJP during the 2014 elections. In an anti-climax to the hectic political developments since the split verdict in May 12 Karanataka Assembly polls, the BJP lost power in Karnataka as Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa resigned on Saturday just before the trust vote, as he did not have the numbers to prove his majority. His resignation paved the way for the formation of a Congress-Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) government headed by Kumaraswamy. The May election in 222 constituencies of the total 224 threw up a hung House, with no party securing majority. Polls in two constituencies were deferred. The BJP won 104 seats, the Congress 78, the JD-S 37, and one each was bagged by the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party, and an Independent. --IANS bns-ms/him/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rome, May 22 (IANS/AKI) A meeting here between the far-right League party leader Matteo Salvini and populist Five-Star Movement head Luigi Di Maio was "calm and constructive", the League said in a statement. Salvini and Di Maio's 90-minute meeting took place "in a canteen in central Rome and lasted about an hour and a half. "Things are moving forward and discussions are centred on the final details ahead of a meeting with President (Sergio) Mattarella," said the statement. "I met Salvini. We are trying to form a government," Di Maio told reporters as he arrived at the Italian lower house of parliament. Di Maio and Salvini on Monday unveiled their pick of a premier to lead their nascent government - little known Italian law professor and political novice Giuseppe Conte - and on Tuesday held a meeting with the academic. It is understood Mattarella has significant reservations about the direction of the planned populist government and on Tuesday he convened a meeting with the leaders of Italy's two houses of parliament. The League and Five-Star issued their joint coalition plans last week which include a 'flat tax', a guaranteed minimum income and cancelling sanctions against Russia. The common agenda rejects European Union austerity and wants to renegotiate Italy's debt, putting Italy on a collision course with Brussels. The two Eurosceptic parties won over half the votes in Italy's inconclusive March 4 national polls that led to a hung parliament. Several previous rounds of talks with Italy's political leaders have collapsed amid a mesh of seemingly irreconcilable demands. Five-Star is the biggest party while the centre-right alliance, led by Salvini, is the largest political bloc. --IANS/AKI vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his scheduled meeting with the top leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un may be delayed. "It may not work out for June 12," Trump told reporters at the White House during his meeting with visiting President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Moon Jae-in, referring to the date of his planned meeting with Kim. North Korea warned last week that Pyongyang would have to reconsider whether to attend the Singapore meeting if the US "only wants to press the North Korea to abandon its nuclear arsenal", Xinhua reported. Pyongyang suspended inter-Korean talks last Wednesday to protest a large-scale US-ROK air drill, and urged the ROK to stop its joint military drills with the US. Both the White House and the US State Department said last week that they will continue to prepare for the meeting between Trump and Kim. --IANS qd/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mexico's civil air authority has suspended the operations of a company that owned the plane which crashed in Cuba killing 111 people. It is the country's deadliest air disaster in 30 years. The charter company, Aerolineas Damojh, had leased the airplane in question to Cuban state airlines Cubana de Aviacion, and is under "extraordinary verification", the BBC reported quoting an official statement as saying on Monday. The crash on Friday killed 110 people immediately after taking off from the Havana airport, while one more died on Monday, bringing the total death toll to 111. The plane was reportedly built in 1979. One former pilot said it had dropped off the radar once earlier, while another alleged that the maintenance was poor, the BBC reported. The General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) statement said the authority will seek information to help the crash investigation, and whether the Mexican company continues to follow regulations. It said Aerolineas Damojh was subject to previous investigations -- in 2010, due to a crash in Puerto Vallarta, and in 2013 following a complaint from an airline pilot. The authority has run "annual checks" on Aerolineas Damojh, the statement read, with the most recent in November 2017, the BBC said. Two women survived the crash -- Mailen Diaz, 19, and Emiley Sanchez, 39 but according to reports they are in critical condition. --IANS and/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday ordered the Excise Commissioner to issue a clarification on the 'ban' on playing recorded music in restobars in the city. A May 16 circular of the Excise Department states: "It is reiterated that the l-17 licensee (restaurants which serve liquor) is permitted only to have live singing/playing of instruments by professionals within his licensed premises. Violation of these rules shall lead to strict action as per law." Following flak from different quarters, Excise Commissioner Amjad Tak on Monday said that the department has "not banned" playing of recorded music in restobars. Tak said that though the circular said "only live singing/playing of instruments by professionals", nowhere did it mention that the recorded music was banned. On Tuesday, referring to the May 16 circular, Sisodia said in his order: "The file was not shown to me before issuing the order. However, I have found that the order was not for imposing any ban of such nature... considering the confusion created by misinterpretation of the order, the Excise Department needs to issue a clarification order with respect to the above." Sisodia asked the Commissioner to submit a "compliance report" by Wednesday. --IANS nkh/tsb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Vice President Mike Pence has warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un not to "play" President Donald Trump if they meet next month. "It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong-un to think he could play Donald Trump," Mr Pence said, according to excerpts of a Fox News interview. Pence also said Trump could walk away from the 12 June summit, BBC reported on Monday. North Korea has threatened to pull out of the meeting after comments by US National Security Adviser John Bolton. The country reacted furiously when Mr Bolton suggested it would follow a "Libya model" of denuclearisation. Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi agreed with Western powers in 2003 to dismantle his programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. Eight years later he was killed at the hands of Western-backed rebels. South Korean President Moon Jae-in plans to meet Trump in Washington on Tuesday to discuss plans for the summit. --IANS pgh/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday issued a notice to Delhi Police seeking a detailed report, within four weeks, in the case of alleged parading of a naked criminal by police personnel in public view here. The commission has taken the suo moto cognizance of media reports and finds right to dignity of the victim has been grossly violated, the notice said. The notice came after a video footage showing the accused wearing just a towel and hanging by the terrace railings from where he attempted to come down using AC beneath him as a support went viral. The man, accused in over two dozen criminal cases, was trying to escape arrest when his towel slipped off. --IANS mg/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nine people, including a girl, died on Tuesday in police firing after the ongoing anti-Sterlite protests turned violent with thousands of people from nearby areas allegedly attacking the District Collectorate demanding closure of the Vedanta Group-run company. In the first major incident of police firing in Tamil Nadu on protesters and resultant deaths, they first fired teargas shells and carried out baton charges to bring the protesters under control but passions were high. Police then resorted to firing as thousands of people gathered in defiance of prohibitory orders on the 100th day of their agitation ever since the company announced the expansion plans of the four lakh tonne per annum Sterlite Copper project and attacked the Collectorate. The area around the Collectorate resembled a battle-zone with the protesters setting vehicles afire and attacking policemen with stones. Plumes of black smoke emanated from the protest site. Police retaliated in a bid to bring the situation under control. Among those who died were identified as Antony Selvaraj, Kandiah, Gladson, Jayaram, Maniraj, Tamilarasan, Shanmugham and Venista. At least 60 people, including policemen and journalists covering the protests, were injured in the clashes. Many of them were admitted to hospitals for treatment as their condition was serious. Among the injured was a 16-year-old schoolgirl who was waiting for her bus when she was hit by a bullet. Opposition parties squarely blamed the State government for the deaths with one of them even demanding the resignation of Chief Minister E. Palaniswamy, who appealed to the people for calm. The Chief Minister, who held a meeting with his ministerial colleagues and top police officials including DGP T.K. Rajendran, said action would be taken against the company. In a statement, the state government said it would respect the wishes of the people and necessary action in the matter. It said around 20,000 people took out a rally against the company and became violent by attacking police and burning police vehicles while storming the Collector's office. As police could not control the crowd, they resorted to a few actions, it said. The statement said the government will take all legal steps in the matter and asked the people to maintain peace. Police from neighbouring districts of Madurai and Virudhunagar was rushed to Thoothukudi to bring the situation under control. According to a police officer on the spot, police swung into action when the protesters torched some vehicles in the area. When tear gas shells and the baton charge failed to disperse the mob, police opened fire to control the situation. The protesters alleged that police had used force without provocation on the peaceful gathering. People in Toothukudi are demanding the closure of Sterlite copper smelting plant alleging that it was polluting the area, and leading to severe health problems among the residents of the locality, besides depleting the water table. Social activists have also joined the protests against the company. Heavy police deployment could be seen in Toothukudi and surrounding areas of the coastal city. Condemning the state government for the police firing that claimed many lives, DMK Working President M.K. Stalin said that police was committing atrocities. Other political leaders have also slammed police and the state government. Actors Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, who recently announced their entry into politics, have also expressed solidarity with the protesters. The TN government must take action over the concerns expressed by the protesters, they said. "The expansion (of Sterlite Copper) should not at all be allowed. If possible, it will be good to close down the (existing) unit," Makkal Neethi Mayyam chief Kamal Haasan said. He said there was no point in putting up a plant near residential and agricultural zone. Rajinikanth, who had some time ago tweeted on the Sterlite protests, said: "One can't understand why the government, which gave the nod for the plant, is not taking any action and is just watching." Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar told reporters in Chennai that the loss of lives was unfortunate in a state known for peace. The Tamil Nadu government also issued a statement in which stated that Sterlite plant was functioning in the state for over 20 years and in 2013 the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had ordered the closure of factory after people complained of irritation in their eyes after emissions from the project. It said in March this year, the company had applied for removal of consent to operate (CTO) for its existing smelter plant. The application has been rejected for want of more clarifications after the state pollution control board found that the factory hs not fulfilled some of the major factors including non-submission of a detailed ground water analysis, action not taken to dispose waste and not building a compound wall to arrest water mixing in the nearby river. --IANS vsc/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The toll due to the Nipah virus (NiP), presently identified in Kerala's Kozhikode and Malappuram, rose to 10 on Tuesday even as the Central and state governments scrambled to contain its outbreak. State Health Minister K.K. Shailaja, who is now based at Kozhikode and shuttling to Malappuram, told the media that till Tuesday, 18 samples have been sent for investigation. "Of these, 12 have been identified - of which 10 sufferers have died and two are serious. The medical professionals are doing their best, even as two patients with this virus passed away today (Tuesday) morning," said Shailaja and added that 11 in Kozhikode are under observation. The virus first claimed the lives of two brothers and their aunt in Perambara near here. Even though Nipah virus, spread by direct contact with infected fruit bats, pigs or from other infected persons, infects both animals and humans, Central Animal Husbandary Commissioner S.P. Suresh, who is part of the Central team here, said that after their examination of animals in the affected areas, no incidence of virus in animals has been identified and instead it is the humans that have been affected. "No domesticated animals so far have been affected. Other aspects should be now probed as this has been now found in only human beings," he said. National Centre for Disease Control Director Sujeet K.Singh, who is also part of the Central team, told the media that all technical assistance and support is being extended by to the state. "With regards to the financial assistance, that is not decided by me. The second team of ours is reaching here tomorrow (on Wednesday) and things are well under control," he said. A team of medical professionals from AIIMS Delhi is expected to arrive here on Wednesday. Meanwhile Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that he welcomed all those medical professionals who are willing to come to the state to take part in controlling this virus. "There was a request from one doctor - Kafeel Khan from Uttar Pradesh - that he wish to serve the people who are suffering in Kozhikode. I wish to state that all professionals with a mind to serve the sufferings are more than welcome and they can get in touch with the Health Department here who will make the necessary arrangements," he said. Meanwhile, the tourism industry represented by the Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI) led by E.M.Najeeb, in a statement issued here, said they wish to convey to all that the concern now projected was larger than the reality. "All the tourist locations and the state in general are safe as usual for holiday activities. Tourism industry partners in the state are more vigilant and equipped to provide a hassle-free holiday to the visiting travellers. The airports, railway stations, hotels and places of visit all are following the right protocols and are free of problems as usual," he said. --IANS sg/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Noted industrialist and founder of Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Ltd (IMFA) Bansidhar Panda passed away at his residence here on Tuesday, said family sources. He was 87. The industrialist was known for his close ties with former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik. Panda is survived by his two sons - Biju Janata Dal MP Baijayant Panda and Subhrakant Panda, and two daughters Paramita Mahapatra and Nita Ganapati. A renowned research scientist who had studied at the Banaras Hindu University, Harvard University and Michigan Technological University, Panda returned from the US and chose Therubali, a remote outpost in the then undivided Koraput district, to embark upon his dream and IMFA came into being in 1961. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik, former Chief Minister Hemanand Biswal, Union Ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan and many others offered condolences to family members. "I am saddened by the demise of Bansidhar Panda ji. He was a true son of the soil and a great contributor in ushering modern industrial revolution in Odisha. Bansidhar ji left an indelible mark in the growth and development of the state. May God give strength to his family to bear the loss," said Pradhan. --IANS cd/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Tuesday petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into Israel's settlement policy on the West Bank and the recent actions of the Israeli armed forces against protesters in the Gaza Strip that killed over 60 people. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki met ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda here, urging him to open an official probe and send a team of investigators to collect evidence in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip in order to build a case against Israel, a spokesperson for the PNA told Efe news. On May 14, Israeli troops opened fire on thousands of Palestinian protesters gathered at the buffer zone between Israel and the Gaza Strip in a mass demonstration, dubbed the "March of the Great Return", symbolizing the inability of many Palestinian refugees to return to their land. The Israeli Army killed at least 61 people, including several children and injured over 2,000 but insisted that the protests were called by the Islamist militant group Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007. It coincided with the opening ceremony of the US embassy in Jerusalem, a controversial move by President Donald Trump given that Palestinians envision East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel since 1967, to be a future capital of the State of Palestine. --IANS ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Domestic air passengers will soon be able to avail refunds, along with additional compensation for delays, lost baggage and some relief from cancellations charges, as the government on Tuesday put in the public domain a new 'passenger charter' for eliciting comments, suggestions before notifying them. Accordingly, the new air passenger charter seeks to amend current norms for charges incurred by travellers on cancellation and rescheduling of air travel, among other things. However, the new compensation structure will apply only if it is found that the flight delay or cancellation was caused by the airline concerned. The new norms are expected to be notified by mid-July after public comments on the draft charter have been sought by the Ministry of Civil Aviation within a month. The 'passenger charter' was withdrawn soon after its release by the ministry in the early afternoon, with officials saying they will issue the draft rules "after correction." A revised statement detailing the provisions under the 'passenger charter' was released later in the evening. As per the proposed passenger entitlement, the charter proposes a 'lock-in period' for 24 hours after booking in which a passenger can "cancel or amend the ticket without any additional charges." Additionally, the draft document prohibits airlines as well as online or offline agents to levy cancellation charges that total to more than the "basic fare plus fuel surcharge". In terms of delays, subject to conditions, "when a flight is expected to be delayed for more than 4 hours" airlines will be mandated to offer an option of full refund. "When delay is more than 24 hours from published scheduled time of departure and involves flight to fly on the next day i.e. beyond 0000 hours, passenger to be offered free-of-charge hotel accommodation (including transfers)," the ministry said. On account of missing a connecting flight on the same PNR (Passenger Name Record) ticket number due to a delay, the charter proposes to fine the concerned airline Rs 5,000 "for a delay of more than 3 hours". Subsequently, if the delay is between 4 and 12 hours, the compensation will be Rs 10,000. A delay of more than 12 hours will lead to a liability of Rs 20,000 per passenger. Besides, passengers would be de-boarded, if the flight is stationed on the tarmac for more than 90 minutes plus with "no possibility of departure in the next 30 minutes". In case of flight cancellations, if the passenger is informed less than two weeks before and up to 24 hours of departure time, then the concerned airline will be asked to offer an alternate flight or to provide a full refund. Further, liabilities for baggage lost, delayed or damaged have been mooted at "Rs 3,000 per kg for loss of baggage, Rs 1,000 per kg for delay and Rs 1,000 per kg for damage of baggage". The draft document also mandates airlines to have seats that are "designated as acceptable for persons with disabilities free of charge, which will remain blocked until close to the time of departure". According to the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, the charter is a part of an overall campaign "#Air Sewa". The campaign has four elements namely -- passenger charter, DigiYatra, AirSewa App and on-board Wi-Fi connectivity -- to broad base and provide world class facilities and amenities to passengers. Apart from the passenger charter, the ministry informed that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will soon be able to give out licenses to airlines and service operators for the commencement of on-board Wi-Fi facility. In addition, the ministry said that technical standards for its DigiYatra initiative which is a choice based -- paperless airport entry and aircraft boarding system -- will be published shortly. "Airports such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Varanasi and Vijayawada will roll-out this programme in phases by January 2019," the ministry said. --IANS rv/ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tripoli, May 22 (IANS/AKI) Libya's ongoing conflict is putting patients' lives at risk and even causing their deaths as hospitals and clinics are bombed, shelled and looted in possible war crimes, the United Nations said Tuesday, warning that the violence is having a "devastating" effect on health care in the country. Medical personnel are also in jeopardy and are being attacked, abducted and arbitrarily imprisoned, according to newly published research by the the UN. "These attacks are a major violation of international law and a tragic disregard of our common humanity. All too often, there is no respect for the sick and no sanctity for those who provide care. This must end," said Ghassan Salame, UN special envoy to Libya and head of UNSMIL. There are numerous instances of patients being denied prompt life-saving care or attacked while getting treatment, according to a paper published on Tuesday by the UN Human Rights Office and UNSMIL. Between May 1, 2017 and May 1, 2018, the UN recorded 36 attacks on medical facilities, personnel or patients, although the actual number is likely to be significantly higher, UNSMIL said. In an especially harrowing incident, on February 18, a woman in labour and her unborn child died when armed men delayed their passage at a checkpoint as they were trying to enter the besieged eastern city of Derna, UNSMIL said. In further horror, the Sabha Medical Centre in southern Libya was shelled or hit by stray bullets 15 times between February and May and in November last year, the Jalaa Hospital in Benghazi saw people shooting in the corridors with AK-47 automatic rifles, UNSMIL reported. Armed groups, including those formally integrated into Libya's ministries, have assaulted, threatened and even unlawfully detained healthcare workers. In one case, a militant reportedly held a gun to a doctor's head, forcing the doctor to resuscitate his mother, UNSMIL said. "Threatening doctors at gunpoint, attacking medical facilities, preventing sick and wounded people from receiving timely treatment - this is utterly shameful behaviour, affecting some of the most vulnerable people in Libya, and the healthcare workers who have the power to help them," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein. "Intentionally directing attacks against medical facilities and personnel, willful killing or harming of sick or wounded people may constitute war crimes," he added. Fighters in Libya seeking preferential treatment for injured members of their armed groups and their relatives are also violating international humanitarian law by insulting, intimidating and physically assaulting doctors and other hospital staff members, UNSMIL said. UN Human Rights Office and UNSMIL urged the warring sides in Libya to do their utmost to prevent, or at least minimize, the impact of hostilities on medical facilities and workers. The paper also called on Libya's UN-backed unity government to take steps to prevent violence, attacks and threats against healthcare providers and punish these crimes by bringing perpetrators to justice. --IANS/AKI vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Assistant Sub-Inspector and two Constables were suspended on Tuesday for assaulting the son and relatives of a BJP Councillor at the Krishna Nagar Police Station in East Delhi, police said. Departmental action has also been started against Assistant Sub-Inspector Subhash and Constables Monu and Amit, a senior officer confirmed. Ronak Maheshwari, a relative of Kanti Nagar's Bharatiya Janata Party Councillor Kanchan Maheshwari, tried to intervene after an accident between a car and motorcycle riders in Krishna Nagar on Monday night led to an argument between the two parties. "After witnessing the argument between women occupants of the car and the bikers, Ronak tried to sort out the issue. One of the bikers, in plainclothes, identified himself as an ASI of Delhi Police and abused him. The ASI then let car occupants go and took Ronak to the police station," Kanchan Maheshwari told IANS. "As Ronak informed his brother, my son Varun and my brother-in-law Deepak reached the police station, the accused policemen took them to a room and assaulted them with belts and batons," the Councillor said. "I called up the Station House Officer of Krishna Nagar police station to intervene but he pretended he was out of station," she said. "I was out from Delhi yesterday (Monday) and sent two Councillors to the police station and informed senior police officers, including Deputy Commissioner of Police Nupur Prasad over the policemen's cruel and inhuman behaviour. The accused stopped only after both the Councillors along with BJP workers gathered outside the police station," the BJP leader said. --IANS sp/tsb/vm (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, who is on a field visit here, has urged the world to care for and support Rohingya refugees, among whom are a whole lot of children who she says are scarred for life because of their ordeal. Priyanka on Monday visited Cox's Bazaar, one of the largest refugee camps in the world, and shared photographs of her experience with Rohingya children, on Instagram. Almost 700,000 refugees have fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar and arrived in Cox's Bazar since August 2017, according to the UN. "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," Priyanka wrote. "And as they finally start to settle and feel a sense of safety, monsoon season looms...threatening to destroy all that they have built so far. This is an entire generation of children that have no future in sight." Priyanka, who had met Syrian refugee children in Jordan last year, says 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," she wrote. Priyanka also shared a video talking about how the refugees had to travel by foot to enter Bangladesh. "Their trip here was filled with many hardships and tremendous danger. Many of them made their journey on foot, walking for days through the hills, then floating across the Naf River or the Bay of Bengal on make shift boats... Many of them injured, pregnant, elderly. "Their ordeal did not end here, after entering Bangladesh, they would often have to wait for days, sleeping in the open fields with no food or water, for aid workers to reach them. For a lot of the Rohingya children, this ordeal will leave them scarred, physically and emotionally, for the rest of their lives," she added. Priyanka asked for helping these children "because right now, their future is bleak". --IANS dc/rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to respond to a plea filed by Youth Congress leader Abid Imitaz Bhat seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the authorities for withdrawing his security cover without any notice. A bench of Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha asked the government to file an affidavit on the claims of Bhat and posted the matter for Friday. Bhat said pursuant to the top court's order, four security guards were provided to him by the state but later the authorities recalled almost all of them. The secretary of the All India Youth Congress said in practical sense, he is left with no security as the security guard is also not willing to travel with him outside Srinagar. Bhat said he was injured in a blast earlier in the locality that has his house and office. Srinagar's Senior Superintendent of Police withdrew the security cover when he was in Delhi, the youth leader said. Advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for the Jammu and Kashmir government, however, told the bench that Bhat was currently in Delhi and security was being provided when he was within the territorial jurisdiction of the state. In March, the Jammu and Kashmir government informed the apex court that it has provided X category security cover to Bhat, after he complained of threat to his life. The court directed the authorities to continue providing security cover unless there was a change in threat perception. In a different petition filed by the leader earlier, the court said he should be given due notice before his security cover is withdrawn. --IANS gt/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korean authorities on Tuesday morning denied permission to South Korean journalists to attend the dismantling of their nuclear base scheduled to take place between May 23-25. Pyongyang had originally invited the South Korean along with those from Russia, the US, the UK, and China, but the South Korean journalists' list was rejected on Tuesday, Efe news reported quoting Seoul's Ministry of Unification. Members of a news agency and a South Korean television network had travelled to Beijing to fly to North Korea from there on Tuesday to attend the dismantling ceremony. The Ministry in a statement said it regretted Pyongyang's decision but despite the setback, it will continue working towards cooperating with Pyongyang and improving US-North Korea ties. The announcement of the closure of the Punggye-ri base came during the inter-Korean summit, when Pyongyang pledged to work towards total denuclearisation, after claiming that it would stop its weapons tests. Pyongyang, which announced that it wanted the closure to be made public with the presence of foreign journalists, has conducted six underground nuclear tests, including the last and most powerful in September 2017. The latest cancellation is a new setback after last week when Pyongyang abruptly suspended a high-level meeting with Seoul after accusing it of holding joint military exercises with the US. Kim Jong-un's regime also said that holding the summit with US President Donald Trump would be uncertain due to the pressure from the White House on the denuclearisation model that it wants to impose on North Korea. --IANS and/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi University law student detained in Semester IV for lecture shortage owing to her pregnancy moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday to seek directions to allow her to write her exams and the apex court is set to hear her plea on Wednesday. The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to grant interim relief to second-year student Ankita Meena to sit in the examinations, saying it needed to go into the details of the matter first. Mentioning it before a Supreme Court bench of Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Naveen Sinha, Meena's counsel Ashish Virmani and Himanshu Dhuper sought urgent hearing of the case and that the student be allowed to sit in the ongoing exams. The bench said it would hear the plea on Wednesday morning. The exam is scheduled in the Wednesday afternoon shift. A single Judge of the High Court last week dismissed her plea for relaxation in attendance norm. On Monday, she approached a Division Bench of the High Court to challenge this order but could not get relief to sit in the examinations. Her counsel raised fundamental questions relating to equality before law and the fundamental right of a woman to procreate. As per the petition, Meena is a regular student studying in law course's Semester IV. She had 86 per cent attendance in Semester III. During Semester IV, she delivered a baby boy on February 2. On that account, she could not attend part of the Semester IV classes, the petitioner averred. On May 11, the DU released a revised list of detainees, who did not have 70 per cent attendance, including Meena's name. --IANS gt/tsb/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed has said that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should not engage in after his disqualification and that he has become the biggest non-state actor in Pakistan. Saeed was talking to the media on Monday after a meeting with Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) party chief Sahibzada Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair in Pakistan's Hyderabad city, the Express Tribune reported on Tuesday. "Nawaz has been disqualified by the apex court. After his disqualification he shouldn't engage in politics," Saeed said. He also commented on the inauguration of the Kishanganga hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir for which Pakistan accused India of violating the Indus Waters Treaty. Islamabad fears the project might reduce the water flow into its territory. Saeed said he had been "cautioning the Pakistani authorities for many years about India's intention to block or reduce river water supply to Pakistan". --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A married man -- the only son of his parents -- killed both with the help of his two accomplices in south Delhi to get hold of their property and to marry his Facebook girlfriend, following which he and one co-accused were arrested, police said on Tuesday. Abdul Rehman, a Jamia Nagar resident and main accused, along with Nadeem Khan, 32, of west Delhi's Nangloi were arrested on Monday after Rehman broke down during sustained interrogation and confessed to his crime. Nadeem was arrested later. One accused Guddu is still at large. Rehman had roped in Nadeem and Guddu with a promise of Rs 2.5 lakh for killing his father Shamim, 55, and mother Taslim Bano, 55, in Jamia Nagar. "During interrogation, Rehman told police that he is already married and used to work at a call centre but left in 2016 due to his drug addiction. He met a girl on 'Facebook', who stayed in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur," Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmoy Biswal said. "Rehman wanted to marry his girlfriend but his parents were against it and advised him to focus on his married life instead. Since he was the only son of his parents, Rehman planned to kill them in order to get their property and jewellery," Biswal said. Police said Rehman along with Nadeem and Guddu smothered Taslim Bano and Shamim on April 28 while they were asleep at their house. After Nadeem and Guddu escaped from the spot, Rehman somehow locked the door from inside and later concocted a story that his parents were killed by robbers, the officer added. --IANS sp/tsb/ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday lashed out at the Samajwadi Party (SP) and accused it of patronising criminals and communal forces when in power in the state. Addressing an election rally in Kairana, ahead of the May 28 Lok Sabha bypoll, Adityanath said the previous SP regime was tainted with the Muzaffaranagar riots and pointed out how criminals were running for their lives under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule. He said that the state government had zero tolerance towards crime and graft and that his government would deal with people and groups who try to disrupt the communal harmony in the state with a firm hand. "Our government is relentlessly working for the welfare of the farmers and the poor... Electricity is being provided for 18 hours and adequate price for their crop is being paid," he said. Stressing that his government had the poor and the marginalised at the centre of its policies, the Chief Minister also announced that the government was going to create three lakh jobs for the unemployed youth of the state. He said that for the welfare of farmers, the licence system for installing sawing machine had been simplified and warned that people who exploit farmers would be sent to jail. The BJP leader said that his government would also ensure early and full payment of the cane growers' arrears. Speaking at the rally, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the government had ensured pothole-free roads, and predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would return to power with a bigger mandate in 2019, winning more than 73 of the 80 parliamentary seats in the state. Voting for the Kairana parliamentary seat in western UP will be held on May 28. The seat was vacated following the death of senior BJP leader and incumbent MP Hukum Singh. The BJP has fielded his daughter Mriganka Singh, and Tabassum Hasan, who though is a SP member is fighting on a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket. After the Gorakhpur and Phulpur experiments, where an alliance between the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led to humiliating defeats for the ruling party, the SP, BSP, Congress, RLD and the Nishad Party have come together to back Hasan. --IANS md/nir/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian animation firm Cosmos-Maya is working with Italy based Rai Ragazzi and Gruppo Alcuni to create a spin-off series of animated Italian movie "Leo da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa". "Leo da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa", a film produced by Gruppo Alcuni, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival also. It premiered in Italy in January, and released last month in Russia and South Korea. The film will open in China next month. Taking this success forward, Rai Ragazzi, Gruppo Alcuni and Cosmos-Maya have come together to co-produce the spin-off "Leo da Vinci" -- a children's cartoon series in Italian which will air on Rai TV, read a statement to IANS. The series will have 52 episodes of 13 minutes each. It tells the story of 15-year-old Leo, who is curious and willing to invent new and unique machines. These he uses to have fun with his friends, Lisa and Lorenzo. He also uses these inventions to keep evil at bay. Blue Pirate, assisted by henchmen Francis and Cicala, are the bad guys in the show. Anish Mehta, CEO at Cosmos-Maya, said: "We brought in the 3D animation revolution in India with 'Motu Patlu' and with each subsequent show, pushed all the envelopes of quality. 'Inspector Chingum', our latest show, which is currently on air has the finest 3-D animation quality for an Indian series. Now with 'Leo da Vinci's global appeal and universal storytelling, we are taking a step forward internationally." Anish says the "pedigree of a major European production house like Gruppo Alcuni and people's familiarity with Leonardo da Vinci and his work will enable the series to have a reach of more than 100 countries. This is what attracted us to this project in the first place". Talking about the spin-off, Sergio Manfio, President and Creative Director of Gruppo Alcuni and director of the series, said: "Leonardo's achievements interest adults more than children. He has done such great things that seem incredible to us. However, to the little ones, who carry with them the gift of imagination, they seem almost normal. "So, we wanted to create something for Leonardo to be accessible to them and then in our film we added pirates, the flight. We wanted to combine fantasy with genius. With Cosmos-Maya's proven track record, we are confident that the series will be a success worldwide." Founded by Indian filmmakers Ketan Mehta and Deepa Sahi, Cosmos-Maya, whose headquarter is in Singapore and India, is known for producing high quality 3D as well as 2D animation content. --IANS sug/dc/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Swedish government is sending an instructional war pamphlet to all 4.8 million households in the country, educating them for the first time in more than 30 years on the perils of war. The brochure, titled "Om krisen eller kriget kommer (If crisis or war comes)", was compiled by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and instructed civilians on what to do if "their everyday life was turned upside down", CNN reported on Tuesday. The pamphlets will be distributed in 13 different languages between May 28 and June 2 during Sweden's Emergency Preparedness Week. The brochure provides information on everything from how to identify fake news and prepare against extreme weather conditions to what to do in the event of terror attacks and military conflicts. The 20-page pamphlet, featuring illustrations of soldiers in the field, people fleeing disaster zones and cybersecurity teams at their computers, was an update on a version first produced during the Second World War and last released in the 1980s. Sweden remained a neutral country during the Second World War and has not been at war for 200 years. The pamphlet's republication came as the security debate on whether Sweden will join NATO intensified following alleged Russian violations of Swedish airspace and territorial waters. Sweden is not a member of NATO, but it has contributed to NATO-led operations and enjoys bilateral ties with the alliance through the Partnership for Peace and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. --IANS and/soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday said he would not be attending the swearing-in ceremony of Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader and Karnataka Chief Minister-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday. "Due to prior engagements, I will not be attending the swearing-in ceremony. I extend my good wishes and congratulations to the JD-S leaders," Rao told reporters in Bengaluru. The Telangana Chief Minister, who arrived in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening, met Kumaraswamy and JD-S supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda at the latter's residence in Padmanabhanagar in the city's southwest suburb. A leader of a regional party like JD-S becoming the Chief Minister indicates the power of regional outfits, said KCR, as Rao is popularly known. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief along with some other party leaders arrived in Bengaluru from Hyderabad in a special aircraft on Tuesday evening. KCR would be returning to the Telangana capital on Tuesday night itself to attend to his engagements, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office said. He was among the invitees for the swearing-in to be held on Wednesday at 4.30 p.m. Kumaraswamy will be sworn in as the Chief Minister by Governor Vajubhai Vala in front of the state secretariat (Vidhana Soudha) in Bengaluru in the presence of several national leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and about a lakh other people. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu are among the other leaders invited by the JD-S state president to take part in the event. KCR, who had declared his party's support to the JD-S ahead of the May 12 Karnataka Assembly election, had appealed to the Telugu people living in Karnataka to vote for the JD-S. This is the second time Kumaraswamy, the third son of Deve Gowda, will be the Karnataka Chief Minister, 12 years after the JD-S formed a coalition government with the BJP on February 4, 2006 and he occupied the office for 20 months. --IANS bha-ms/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Turkish court has sentenced 104 former military officers to life in prison for their involvement in a 2016 coup attempt, state media report. They were given "aggravated life sentences", which come with tougher terms than a normal life sentence, BBC reported on Tuesday. The country's president had previously said he backed reintroducing the death penalty for coup plotters. The failed coup to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan left at least 260 dead and 2,200 injured on 15 July 2016. The Turkish government has since led a crackdown on alleged coup supporters, with the dismissal of more than 150,000 state employees and the arrest of some 50,000 people. Of the 280 ex-military people on trial, the court in Izmir also served lesser sentences to a further 52 defendants. Sitting in Izmir in western Turkey, the court gave 21 people 20 years in prison for "assisting the assassination of the president", while 31 others were sentenced to between seven and 11 years for "membership of a terrorist organisation", state news agency Anadolu reported. President Erdogan had backed reintroducing the death penalty for coup plotters. He also said they should wear Guantanamo Bay-style uniforms. Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004. The Turkish authorities accused a movement loyal to the Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, of organising the 2016 plot. Gulen, who has been in self-imposed exile in the US since 1999, denies any involvement, and Washington has so far resisted calls from the Turkish authorities to extradite him. Rebel soldiers had attempted to overthrow the government overnight and plotters tried to detain Mr Erdogan as he holidayed in an Aegean resort. However, he had left 15 minutes before and the coup was thwarted by civilians and soldiers loyal to the president. A purge followed the coup, in which thousands of public employees from police officers to teachers were sacked or arrested under suspicion of stirring up dissent. Erdogan's critics say he is using the purge to stifle political dissent. --IANS pgh/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US Supreme Court has agreed to look into the so-called immunity provided to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) against harm it may cause to environment through its financing, in this case against the IFC-funded Tata Power Plant in Gujarats Kutch district. The petition has been brought against the plant by local fishermen for environmental violations and destruction of livelihoods. IFC is the private lending arm of the World Bank Group with over 180 member countries. The petition by local fishermen, represented by Earth Rights International and the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, challenges the long held claim of "absolute immunity" of the IFC and other such international organisations from legal scrutiny. In 2017, the US Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit had held that IFC was immune from such litigation under the 1945 International Organizations Immunity Act. The petitioner fishermen and farmers, led by Budha Ismail Jam, have alleged that the coal-fired Tata Mundra Power Plant had resulted in widespread environmental damages and destruction of livelihoods. The Supreme Court's decision to hear their case means it will look at the immunity provided to international organisations "for their harmful conduct, or whether they enjoy the special status above the law that they claim," an EarthRights International spokesperson told IANS. The Washington DC-based IFC Bank has provided financial assistance of $450 million to the project. The US Court of Appeals had ruled last year that the IFC had "absolute immunity" and could not be sued for its role in the Tata Mundra coal-fired power plant for alleged environmental damages and destruction of livelihoods. "International organisations like the IFC are not above the law and must be held accountable when their projects harm communities. The notion of 'absolute immunity' is inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent, and it is contrary to the IFC's 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," Richard Herz, Senior Litigation Attorney at EarthRights International stated. Reacting to the Supreme Court's admission of the case, Jeff Fisher, head of the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, said: "We're grateful the Court has taken an interest in the case and we look forward to presenting argument going forward." --IANS desai/ag/hs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Stating that defence-related sales from the US to India have increased from zero to $15 billion in the last 10 years, US Consul General in Kolkata Craig L. Hall on Tuesday said the US looks forward to jointly develop India's defence infrastructure to further strengthen the ties between the two nations. "The defence sales have increased dramatically from being zero 10 years ago, to $15 billion last year. But to further strengthen our ties we would like to jointly develop India's indigenous defence eco-system which means developing and building materials together. "One such example is the Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) in Hyderabad inaugurated in February last year," Hall said at a session on 'US-India Economic Relations' at the Bharat Chamber of Commerce here. The envoy said Indo-US cooperation on defending counter-terrorism is one of the key pillars of the two countries' partnership. "US defence companies have already invested in India, producing components for complex defence system. The US goal is to seek to partner with India to expand its indigenous defence eco-system as well as enhance inter-operability of the two forces," he pointed out. Talking about possibilities in other sectors, Hall said the US is uniquely positioned to offer India a comprehensive energy partnership, which includes all forms of energy like coal, fuel, natural gas and nuclear and can also provide the technology and expertise to meet the demands of overloaded transmission and distribution to stabilise the power grids here. "The US environmental technology can play a role in tackling India's air pollution, energy efficiency and other challenges," he said. Emphasising that the US is already India's largest and most important trading partner and the country gets a large amount of foreign direct investments from the US, Hall said the bilateral trade has increased from $20 billion in 2001 to $125 billion last year. However, he noted that the trade relationship is obstructed by certain policies of the Indian government including the high tariff rates on US imports items to India, market access restrictions on US-based dairy and poultry items and India's decision to close its legal system to foreign law firms and the educational sector "The US is also concerned about weak protection and enforcement of the intellectual property rights in India. Concerns remain over replications and other challenges to patents, particularly in agro-technology and pharma. "In pharma, the Indian government is setting price ceiling on drugs and medical equipment, which the US regards as a violation of IPR," Hall added. --IANS mgr/ssp/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro is facing an international backlash after winning his second six-year term in a landslide vote marred by an opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging. Fourteen countries including Argentina, Brazil and Canada have recalled their ambassadors from Caracas in protest, BBC reported on Monday. The US has imposed new economic sanctions after Sunday's election. Venezuela is suffering from food shortages stemming from its economic crisis and voter turnout was low. US President Donald Trump called for new elections to "end the repression" of Venezuelans. However Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Maduro on his re-election on Monday, wishing him "success in resolving the social and economic issues facing the country" in a statement. With more than 90 per cent of the votes counted, Mr Maduro had 5.8 million votes, or 67.7 per cent of the total, the electoral council announced. The main opposition candidate, Henri Falcon, stood on 1.8 million votes or 21.2 per cent. The US has imposed new economic sanctions on Venezuela, aimed at preventing its officials from selling off state oil assets in return for kickbacks. 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." US Vice President Mike Pence earlier denounced the election as a "sham" and "illegitimate". The US had already slapped sanctions on Mr Maduro and his senior aides, as well as banned US companies from buying any more debt from Caracas or the state oil company. "The US stands with democratic nations in support of the Venezuelan people and will take swift economic and diplomatic actions to support the restoration of their democracy," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza called the sanctions "madness, barbaric, and in absolute contradiction to international law". Even before the election took place, the US, Canada, the European Union and a dozen Latin American countries said they would not recognise the results. --IANS pgh/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ten persons have so far lost their lives to the Nipah virus in the northern Kerala districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram, health department sources said. They said two more persons, who are suspected to contracted got the virus, have died. However it was yet to be confirmed if their deaths were due to Nipah, they said. The condition of Moosa, whose two sons had died earlier, is very critical and he was on ventilator support, while another person, undergoing treatment for nipha, was responding to treatment as of now, the sources told PTI. Of Moosa's two sons, samples of only one could be sent for testing and it tested positive for the virus, they said. Another woman from the family had also died of the virus. A total of 116 persons, who had come in contact with the some of the infected persons, have been put under quarantine-- 94 in their homes and 22 in various hospitals, the sources said. A 21-year-old student hailing from Malappuram, who had gone to his hometown kozhikode recently, is under observation at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical college hospital. One person is under observation in Waynad. Kerala Health minister K K Shylaja had told reporters earlier in the day that 10 deaths were due to the nipha virus and that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been informed about the outbreak of the virus in Kerala. Union Health Minister J P Nadda said the Centre was committed to extend all support to the state to tackle the problem. Two persons, who had tested positive, had died today. Twentyeight year-old nurse Lini, who passed away yesterday, had also contracted the virus, the minister added. Meanwhile,Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state government was taking all steps to control Nipah virus. "Precautions have to be taken and there is need to be vigilant. There is no need to panic',he said in a Facebook post. The Chief Minister said it had come to his notice that there was a campaign in the social media with regard to the virus, which was causing panic. This was unfortunate, he said and requested everyone to keep away from such campaigns, which would not only create panic, but was also against Kerala's interests. Health Minister K K Shylaja said of the 18 samples sent for testing, 12 tested positive for the virus, of which 10 people died. Seven deaths were reported from Kozhikode and three from Malappuram districts, she said. Shylaja said union Health minister, J P Nadda, who is in Geneva, had called her and enquired about the situation in the state and has promised all help from the central government. An expert team from the National Centre for Disease -Control (NCDC), including its director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh and Head of Epidemiology, Dr S K Jain, are already in Kerala. A high-level team from All India Insitute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, visited Kozhikode Medical college today and gave doctors a protocol to be followed, the minister said. Surveillance has been increased in all districts. The outbreak of the virus is suspected to be from an unused well which was infested with bats and belonged to the Moosa family. 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 16 people were killed and 38 wounded today when a minivan packed with explosives detonated as security forces were trying to defuse it in southern Afghanistan, officials said. Security forces in Kandahar had already cleared the area around a bus station where the van was found, provincial governor spokesman Daud Ahmadi said. "As the security forces were trying to defuse the van, it detonated," said police spokesman Mohammad Qasim Azad. "The latest figures show 16 dead and 38 wounded people brought to the hospital. We still have two ambulances at the site because there might be more people under the rubble," Dr Nehmat Barak, chief of the Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar, said. Ahmadi confirmed the toll, adding that the dead included four security forces personnel. At least five children and 10 members of the security forces were among the wounded. The blast was so powerful that the majority of the casualties were passers-by outside the cleared area. Ahmadi said security forces also found a large container of explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, suicide vests, and ammunition near the site. The terrorists planned to conduct a big attack at end of Ramadan in the city among crowds of people as they went out shopping for Eid... security forces prevented a disaster from happening," one security official told AFP. No group immediately claimed responsibility. The blast comes as the Taliban step up their spring offensive across the war-torn country. Last week the insurgent group attacked western Farah city, but were repelled by commandos backed by the Afghan and US Air Force. Yesterday, the Taliban warned Kabul residents to avoid "military centres" in the heavily fortified city, saying they are planning more attacks in the Afghan capital. A US government watchdog also warned yesterday that upbeat assessments of improving security in the country did not match facts on the ground. The Pentagon's Office of the Inspector General said there were "few signs of progress" in the fight against the Taliban. Top US officials and military commanders insist the Afghan security forces -- which have suffered thousands of casualties and are beset with low morale and corruption -- are now doing a better job of maintaining order. But the Taliban still control swathes of the country and are staging repeated attacks, while the Islamic State group has conducted a series of high-profile suicide blasts in Kabul and elsewhere. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Telangana government has completed works on rejuvenation of 18,000 tanks in the state under its Mission Kakatiya programme, state Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao said here today. "We're working on rejuvenating a total of 65,000 tanks. Under Mission Kakatiya, so far we have completed 18,000 tanks all over Telangana," he said. He was speaking at a convention on 'Rejuvenation of Krishna river' organised by the Telangana Water Resources Development Corporation (TWRDC). Quoting different studies, Rao said ground water level has increased with the rejuvenation of tanks in Telangana. Observing that Maharashtra releases 100 TMC of water, used for electricity generation, into Arabian sea, he said such water can be released downstream for the benefit of lower riparian states, including Telangana. "Maharashtra government is using 100 TMC of Krishna water from Koyna dam for electricity. They are sending that water to Arabian sea. Our request is, if they can release that water into Krishna river, we can generate five times more electricity...," he said. "We can generate the power and with interest we can give it back whenever they require," he said. Speaking on the occasion, noted water conservationist Rajendra Singh suggested formation of certain separate groups for working on conservation of rivers. The separate groups should be made of elected representatives, educational institutions and scientists, he said. He urged the Telangana government to work for rejuvenation of rivers as well. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Thirty bus shelters with modern facilities like air conditioning,Wi-Fi,mobile charging points, ATM, water dispensers and CCTV cameras, among others, will be set up here, Telangana Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K T Rama Rao said here today. He said this after inaugurating the first Grade 1 Advanced Bus shelter at Shilparamam near Hitec city here. The Minister also inspected the baby feeding room, kiosks, and SoS button in the modern bus shelter. The exclusive baby feeding room will facilitate mothers who may have to feed their kids on the go. "This facility is not restricted only to the passengers who throng the bus shelter for boarding a bus. This is meant for mothers who pass by the area also," officials said. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, with a view to build modern bus shelters with high quality amenities under Public Private Partnership framework, had issued notification to construct 826 bus shelters here in four packages (grades) on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis. These bus shelters have been divided into four grades with Grade 1 Advanced Bus shelters, Grade 2- Proficient Bus Shelters, Grade 3 Basic Bus Shelters and Grade 4- Minimal Bus Shelters, GHMC officials said. GHMC has handed over 826 bus shelters close to 400 are existing and another 400 are being newly built to four different agencies on a DBFOT basis through tender process. The Grade 1 bus shelter will have air-conditioned seating area, kiosk, coffee/cool drink vending machines, small food courts, ATMs, separate toilets for ladies and gents and be WiFi-enabled so that people can access internet while waiting for buses. The grade 1 shelters will have CCTV cameras, digital display of bus timings and routes and also bus movements. It will also have provision for installing a ticketing machine. Another feature of this bus shelter is an SoS button which will alert a command centre in case of emergencies. All all new bus shelters will be erected at the new sites and also replace the existing ones with new shelters with modern designs and amenities. The Grade 2 bus shelters which dot the main routes would have a common toilet depending on the space availability and other amenities, while Grade 3 and 4 would be inside colonies. Grade 4 will have only dustbins. Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy, Hyderabad Mayor Bonthu Rammohan, GHMC Commissioner B Janardhan Reddy were among those who were present. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All Assam Students Union (AASU) along with other organisations in the state will launch indefinte protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, to ensure that it is not enacted, AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya said today. The present government in Assam had come to power with the promise to protect the identity and resources of the indigenous people but it not kept it, Bhattacharya alleged while speaking to newsmen here today. He also urged all deputy commissioners and officials engaged in the ongoing updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to ensure that no name of any illegal Bangladeshi were included. A key amendment in the Bill seeks to grant citizenship to people without valid documents from six minority communities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India. It has lead to widespread protests in the North East. A 16-member Joint Parliamentary Committee headed by BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal had visited Assam and Meghalaya from May 7 to May 10 to elicit views from stakeholders on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. Bhattacharya said a 'mass fasting' will be held here from 6 am to 5 pm on May 29, which will be followed by a 'mass satyagraha' at a later date. "We (AASU and other organisations) held a meeting here today with different students, tribal, literary, cultural and other organisations. It was decided that we will jointly agitate against the Bill and will not allow it to be enacted," he said. Serial protests against the Bill will continue in all the district headquarters of the state, he said. "The Bill is absolutely communal and will tarnish the secular image of the country. We cannot allow it to be imposed forcibly on the nation. "We warn both the central and state governments not to impose the Bill and the Assam government in particular should take a cabinet decision, like its Meghalaya counterpart of not allowing the Bill to be imposed upon the state," he added. AASU had lead the six-year Assam Movement against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh which led to the Assam Accord of 1985. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The death toll in a blast in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar has risen to at least 16 dead with 38 wounded, mostly civilians, hospital and provincial figures said today. "The latest figures show 16 dead and 38 wounded people brought to the hospital. We still have two ambulances at the site because there might be more people under the rubble," Dr Nehmat Barak, chief of the Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar, said. The figures were confirmed by the provincial governor's spokesman. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Akal Takht today set up a 'Sikh Censor Board', saying it was "mandatory" for filmmakers now to seek approval from it before making a movie on a subject related to Sikhs and their religion. The move comes after a row over the release last month of 'Nanak Shah Fakir', a film on the first Sikh guru. The Supreme Court had refused to stay the movie's release after the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) approached it. The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, said it set up the "censor board" following a controversy because of "distortion of facts pertaining to Sikh Gurus and Sikh history in movies". In a statement in Amritsar, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said it had been made "mandatory" for very filmmaker to seek the board's approval before making a movie related to the Sikh religion and the Sikh heritage. On the recommendation of this board, the Akal Takht will give its final approval to any of such movie, documentary or animation film. The 21-member board includes Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, members of the SGPC and the Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, and academicians from Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana and Punjabi University Patiala. The film's producer Harinder Singh Sikka recently said the SGPC had initially approved the movie but later changed its decision. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As campaigning in the Lok Sabha bye-election in this communally sensitive constituency picks up, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today said his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav's hands were stained with the blood of victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots. The SP chief doesn't have the courage to come here and campaign. His hands are stained with the blood of Muzaffarnagar riot victims," he said in a meeting at Ambheta in Saharanpur district. The chief minister's reference was to the Hindu-Muslim riots in adjoining Muzaffarnagar district in 2013, when several Muslim families fled their homes. In 2016, there was communal tension in Shamli district's Kairana block with allegations that the threatened Hindus were leaving their homes. Attacking the SP government, Adityanath said, During the previous government, there were no jobs for the youngsters and only a specific community got jobs. We have adopted the practice of taking people from every caste and religion along with us, he said. The May 28 polls are being held to fill the Kairana Lok Sabha seat, spread over Saharanpur and Shamli districts, which fell vacant after the death of BJP's Hukum Singh. His daughter Mriganka Singh is now the BJP candidate, pitted against Rashtriya Lok Dal's Tabassum Hasan who is backed by the opposition, including Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party. The opposition hopes to repeat the shock defeat its joint candidates delivered recently in the bypolls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh. Attacking the opposition, Adityanath said, During elections they get united, because they have nothing to do with development and good governance. All of them are talking about getting united, but the unity is not visible. The SP president is yet to be seen here, as people will question him about Muzaffarnagar riots if he comes here, he said. Today, it is not the traders, farmers or youngsters who are undertaking an exodus. It is the criminals who are doing so or the SP is doing so, he said. The chief minister said the state, which had earlier earned disrepute due to casteism and family politics, now has an agenda revolving around farmers, traders and the youth. The BJP will not allow any injustice to happen to the farmers. A victory for the BJP means a victory for prosperity and development, he said. Also out campaigning today, UP minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary said a BJP win in Kairana, will avenge the loss of Gorakhpur and Phulpur. The revenge for the party's defeat in the bye-elections held in Gorakhpur and Phulpur will come from Kairana. This is no ordinary election, Chaudhary said at a meeting in Shamli's Bhaiswal village. The entire reputation of western UP is at stake, and it is a curtain-raiser for the 2019 Lok Saba polls, he added. He said Mriganka Singh's victory will be a true tribute to her father who had worked hard to ensure reservation for the Jats. A farmer wants a leader who is honest and is of good character. These were the qualities of Chaudhary Charan Singh. And today, both these qualities can be seen in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he said. During the meeting, a farmer sought the minister's comment on the delay in paying farmers who had sold sugarcane to the mills. The minister said the dues accumulated from the time of the past governments had been paid out, and the rest will be settled soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police probing the last month's killing of a woman anganwadi worker allegedly by naxals in Chhattisgarh's Kondagaon district today arrested a suspected Maoist supporter, an officer said. "Sudan Mandavi (30) was picked up from Kohkadi village under Mardapal police station limits of the district by a team of local police," Kondagaon Additional Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Nag told PTI. He was allegedly part of the Maoist squad that had killed local anganwadi assistant Parvati Korram (20) on April 21 in Kohakawadi village on suspicion of being a police informer, the officer said. Mandavi was one of the key associates of naxal leader Raiju Lohar, the main accused in Korram murder case, he said, adding that Mandavi was assigned the task of passing on information about the movement of security forces in the area. Efforts are on to trace the other accused in this connection, Nag added. As per the complaint lodged by the victim's father on May 1, naxals had stormed inside their house on April 21 night and checked his daughter's mobile phone during which they found the ring tone of Chhattisgarh police stored in it, he said. Naxals had also accused the deceased anganwadi worker of working at the behest of police and delivering messages of police to children at the anganwadi, he said. Subsequently, naxals and their supporters allegedly dragged the woman outside the house and strangulated her in front of villagers. They hanged her body from a tree near the house. Before fleeing the spot, naxals had warned Korram's family members against approaching police, the officer said, adding that the ultras asked Korram's kin to tell people that she had committed suicide. However, the incident came to light on April 29 when a police team was carrying out a search operation in that area. Police suspect that naxal leader Lohar and some local Maoist supporters, besides others were involved in the brutal killing, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The months-long protest demanding closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit here took a violent turn today with agitators pelting stones and toppling police vehicles after they were prevented from marching towards the plant. Police said section 144 of CrPc has been invoked in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security to it as per the orders of the Madras High Court. However, angered over not being allowed to take out a rally, the slogan-shouting protesters forcibly tried to push back the security personnel in riot gear. They then started hurling stones at police and also overturned a vehicle after which the security personnel lobbed teargas shells to disperse them, they said. While more than 20 people suffered minor injuries in stone-pelting incident, some vehicles were set on fire, leading to tension in the area, they added. Meanwhile, a peaceful demonstration was held near the old bus stand in the town, also demanding the closure of the Sterlite unit and the proposed expansion of the plant. Several shops in this town, Srivaikundam and Oddapidaram remained shut in support of the protest, police said. The district has been witnessing several protests by locals and others against the Sterlite Copper plant here and its proposed expansion. Protesters have alleged that the plant was polluting ground water in their area. Sterlite Copper represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 400,000 tonnes per annum-plant in Tuticorin. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu tonight said he would attend the swearing-in ceremony of H D Kumaraswamy as Karnataka Chief Minister in Bengaluru tomorrow. "I will go to Bengaluru and speak to leaders of all regional parties to muster support for securing special category status for AP," Naidu announced at a public meeting in the port city of Visakhapatnam. He said the Telugu Desam Party played a crucial role in forming the United Front government at the Centre in 1996 and making H D Deve Gowda the Prime Minister. Naidu said they would exert pressure on the Centre with the support of regional parties for according special category status (scs) for Andhra Pradesh. "We have been fighting with the Centre over this. You people are fighting here and our MPs are fighting in Parliament. They will continue the fight in the next session of Parliament as well," he added. The TDP supremo slammed the BJP for "betraying" the state by not implementing its promise of granting SCS and also not implementing the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Several MLAs from the Muslim community, cutting across party lines, today protested against the alleged involvement of Shiv Sena party workersand police personnel in the Aurangabad riots. These legislators claimed that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis did not meet them despite giving an appointment. Fadnavis, however, told PTI that the legislators had not sought his appointment in advance, adding that he has asked them to meet him either tonight or tomorrow. Samajwadi party MLA Abu Asim Azmi, Congress MLAs Amin Patel, Abdul Sattar, Aslam Shaikh and Malegaon Central MLAAsif Shaikh, MIM's Waris Pathan and Imtiyaz Jaleel were among those who sat on the steps of Mantralaya, the state's secretariat, in protest. "We wanted to apprise the Chief Minister of the situation in Aurangabad. He had asked all the legislators to meet him at 12:30pm. Despite the MLAs coming from different places, we were told that he was busy with official work," SPMLA Abu Azmi told PTI. Azmi added that the legislators had come with video recordings of the riots which clearly show that, along with Sena leaders, some police officers had also instigated the riots. Azmi demanded that the families of those who died in the riots be given Rs 50 lakh as compensation while those who were injured be paid Rs 1 lakh. He also demanded that those whose properties had been destroyed in the riots be rehabilitated and adequate compensation be provided to them. MIM MLA Imtiyaz Jaleel questioned why no action had been taken against police personnel who are seen in the video grabs instigating violence. "We demand that they be suspended immediately and booked under relevant sections of the IPC. Action shouldalso be taken against the Shiv Sainiks who were part of the riots," he said. Jaleel further said the Chief Minister has asked the protesting legislators to meet him at Varsha, the chief minister's official residence, tonight. Responding to charges levelled by the Opposition MLAs, Fadnavis said, "They did not inform me that they were coming and I was not in my (Mantralaya) office when they had come. However, I informed them that they may come tonight or tomorrow." Two persons were killed and more than 60 were injured in clashes between groups of two communities over illegal water connections in Aurangabad, about 350 kilometres from Mumbai, on May 11. Around 100 shops were set on fire and more than 40 vehicles destroyed in the violence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Australian investigators today defended their findings that missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was out of control when it plunged into the ocean, despite renewed theories that a rogue pilot ditched the plane. The Boeing 777 -- which vanished in March 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing carrying 239 passengers -- has not been found despite an extensive search led by Australia in the southern Indian Ocean and a continuing private search commissioned by Malaysia. The failure to find the plane has fuelled theories which differ from the conclusions of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which led the first search, that the jet was making a high-speed out-of-control descent when it hit the water. The theory that a rogue pilot deliberately ditched the jet -- landing it in a controlled way on the ocean surface -- was revived in a new book released this week by former Canadian air crash investigator Larry Vance. Vance has also asserted that there were failures in the ATSB-led probe, leading to what he believed were the wrong conclusions about the end-of-flight scenarios. The ATSB's chief technical officer Peter Foley, who was the MH370 search head, defended its conclusions, saying investigators had explored all the expert advice and analysis they were provided with. "I can say with great confidence... that we considered every piece of evidence that we had at the time in an unbiased fashion," Foley told a parliamentary hearing in Canberra, adding that he had already read Vance's book. "We have quite a bit of data to tell us that the aircraft, if it was being controlled at the end, it wasn't very successfully being controlled." Foley said a key piece of evidence was from the right outboard flap, which was found off Tanzania in June 2016. This showed the flap was mostly liked in a retracted position and therefore not configured for landing when it smashed into the ocean. Analysis of MH370's last transmission by an Australian defence agency suggested that it was triggered by fuel exhaustion, a scenario that was less likely to have occurred if a pilot had planned to ditch the aircraft, Foley added. Investigators have so far confirmed that three pieces of debris washed up on western Indian Ocean shorelines -- including the one off Tanzania -- came from MH370. The current hunt, which was commissioned by Malaysia on a "no find, no fee" basis, is just north of the former search zone and is likely to end by mid-June. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi Police today arrested the son of one of the owners of a firecracker factory in outer Delhi where 17 people were killed in a massive blaze earlier this year, the police said. A fire had broken out in the storage unit on the ground floor of the two-storey building in Bawana on January 20 and had engulfed the entire structure. Of the 17 killed, 10 were women. A man and a woman were also injured in the incident. Police had arrested two co-owners Manoj Jain and Lalit Goyal in connection with the incident and later also arrestedSurjeet Goyal and Girish Rathore, their partners in another factory in Bawana. The crime branch today arrested Jain's son Rinku (25) after they found that he was also responsible in the incident. He was produced before a city court that sent him to a judicial custody, the police said. A couple of people alleged that Rinku locked the factory from outside and fled from the spot. However, the police said that they have found no evidence to substantiate the allegations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rajeev Singhal has become the new Managing Director of debt-laden Bhushan Steel Ltd which has been acquired by Tata Steel through the insolvency process. According to the information on Bhushan Steel's website, its new Board comprises a Managing Director, one Independent Director and three Non-Executive Directors. While Krishnava Dutt has been appointed as an Independent Director, Anand Sen, Shuva Mandal and Dibyendu Dutta are company's new Non-Executive Directors. Sanjib Nanda is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the recently acquired entity and Ujjal Chakraborti is its Chief Operating Officer (COO). O P Davra is the Company Secretary. "All appointments are with effect from May 18, 2018," a company official said. The person also said that no on-roll employee of Bhushan Steel has been asked to leave the company after the acquisition. On May 18, Tata Steel -- which had won the bid for Bhushan Steel in a insolvency process -- completed the acquisition of controlling stake of 72.65 per cent in the debt-laden firm. "...settlement of the amounts equivalent to Rs 35,200 crore towards financial creditors of BSL is being undertaken as per the terms of the resolution plan and corresponding transaction documents," the Tata Steel had said in a statement. 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP MLA Anita Lodhi has allegedly received an extortion call demanding Rs 10 lakh, police said today. The MLA from Dibai area told the police that she received six messages demanding the ransom on May 19, they said, adding a case was registered at Indira Puram Police Station. The sender disclosed his identity as Ali Budesh Bhai from Dubai and threatened to kill her three family members if she failed to arrange the money within three days. Lodhi said the matter has been brought in the knowledge of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and he has assured her to provide stringent security. The cyber crime cell is probing the case, SSP Krishna said, adding that security at her residence has been beefed up. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The body of a eight-year-old boy was found in a jungle near his house in Bankura district two days after he went missing, police said. Superintendent of Police, Sukhendu Hira said the boy was missing since Sunday. His father Dil Islam Khan had lodged a complaint at Taldanga police station yesterday against six persons alleging that they were involved in the kidnapping of his son. The SP said the Khatra sub-divisional police officer is supervising the case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Noting that law colleges meant exclusively for women students in and around the city deserved all the assistance from the authorities, the Bombay High Court has directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to conduct inspection and related formalities, without further delay, of one such proposed college in Thane. A bench comprising justices B R Gavai and Bharati Dangre was hearing a petition filed by the Bombay Public Trust which has proposed to start a law college for women in Thane. The petitioner told the bench that while the state government had already approved its proposal, and the university concerned had also granted it the requisite permissions, the BCI was refusing to conduct an inspection of its premises to certify the infrastructure and law course that it will offer to the students. The BCI on the other hand, told the court that one of its rules mandated that colleges seeking permission and certification from BCI must either own the premises on which the college was proposed to be set up, or, that they must secure it through a leave and license basis for a minimum period of 10 years. In the present case, the BCI said, the leave and licence for the existing plot in Thane was only till December. The petitioner however, told the court that the existing college building was a temporary one and that it was constructing a permanent campus on another plot nearby. This construction work, the petitioner said, will be completed before December. At this, the bench noted that the BCI was delaying the inspection unreasonably. "The petitioner had applied to the competent authority for starting a law college, which is exclusively for women. It is not in dispute that this is the only law college exclusively for women outside Greater Mumbai," the bench said. "In this background, we find that the approach adopted by the Bar Council of India is totally hyper technical. When the petitioner is intending of having a law college, which is only for women, rather than rendering a helping hand the Bar Council appears to be acting as a hindrance in establishment of the said college," the bench said. "No doubt that the Bar Council of India would have supremacy in matters of legal However, at the same time, it cannot totally ignore the permission and affiliation granted by the State Government and University respectively," the bench said. It directed the BCI to comply with a previous direction of the High Court asking it to conduct the requisite inspection. The bench also directed the petitioner to submit an undertaking before the court stating that the construction of the new campus will be completed before December 2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired from an integrated test range in Odisha's coastal Balasore district for the second consecutive day today, validating its strike capability, the defence ministry said. The missile was launched from a mobile autonomous launcher at 11.45 hours and it successfully flew in its pre-set trajectory "fulfilling its mission objectives", the ministry said. "Through this launch the critical indigenous components including fuel management system and other non-metallic airframe components have qualified to form part of the missile," Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of BrahMos Sudhir Mishra said. Brahmos is a joint venture between India's DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia. It has a maximum speed of Mach 2.8 to 3, and it is believed to be the one of the world's fastest cruise missiles currently in operational use. It was successfully test-fired yesterday from the integrated test range as part of service life extension programme. The life extension trial of BrahMos was conducted from a static inclined launcher, proving the efficacy and longevity of the system. During today's launch, the major sub-systems manufactured indigenously under the 'Make in India' initiative were tested, defence sources said. BrahMos has emerged as the ultimate weapon of choice in modern warfare with its unmatched speed and precision, they said. DRDO Chairman S Christopher congratulated the team involved in successful flight test, calling it a major milestone in the indigenisation of the BrahMos system. The scientific advisor to the Defence Minister and DG (Missiles & Strategic Systems) G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the scientists for successfully developing the multiple sections of BrahMos and proving them in the mission. The defence ministry said the missile has established itself as a major force multiplier in modern-day complex battlefields with its "impeccable" land-attack and anti-ship capabilities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dr Kafeel Khan, who was arrested after the death of several children at a Gorakhpur hospital last year, has volunteered to work with Nipah virus patients in Kozhikode, an offer accepted by the Kerala government within hours. Khan, who is now out on bail, is among the nine accused in the BRD Medical College case in which several children died last August after an alleged shortage of oxygen cylinders. The Uttar Pradesh doctor made his offer on Twitter as Kerala reported today that 10 people had died in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts due to the outbreak of Nipah, a virus hosted by fruit bats. Khan got a call from the Kerala chief secretary, saying Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had accepted his request. Vijayan said the government was happy to welcome doctors like him to work in the state. "There are several doctors who serve in the medical field without any concern to their life and health. I am seeing Khan as one among them," the chief minister said. Vijayan asked health workers who want to work in Kerala to get in touch with the Kozhikode Medical College superintendent. "Arrangements of my lodging and boarding will be made by the Kerala government. I am very happy that I got a chance to serve there," Khan said in Gorakhpur. Kafeel was in jail for seven months before being granted bail. "When I was in jail, the people of Kerala backed me on social media and after being released from the jail, I stayed for three days in Kerala," he said. In his Facebook post, Khan had requested the Kerala chief minister to allow him "to save innocent lives." He also praised Lini Puthussery, the nurse who succumbed yesterday to the virus. "After sehri n fajr namaz was trying to sleep but couldnt. Disturbed with increase no of mortality due to Nipah Virus (NiV) infection n rumors spreading on social media platforms," he tweeted. "I request Kerala chief minister Mr Pinarayi Vijayan to allow me to serve at Calicut Medical college to save innocent lives, he said. Sister Lini is a inspiration and I am more than willing to sacrifice my life for the noble cause. May Allah give me the strength/knowledge and skill to serve Humanity, he wrote. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP president Amit Shah today dismissed Rahul Gandhi's claim that the government wants to appoint officers of RSS's choice in central services, saying he cannot help if the Congress chief sees the Hinduva organisation in everything. He was responding to Gandhi's tweet in the wake of a proposal seeking to bring in major changes in the allocation of services to candidates who clear the all-India examination. It reveals Modi's plan to appoint officers of RSS's choice into the central services by manipulating the merit list using subjective criteria, instead of exam rankings, Gandhi claimed. "Tell me where the RSS comes in this? The examination will continue as it does now, there will be no arbitrary control over who will pass it. It is about evaluating performance in training. It is anyway a suggestion and no decision has been taken? Where does the RSS come in this? He sees the RSS in everything. What I can do," Shah told a press conference. He was asked to comment on Gandhi's tweet. The BJP chief also made light of the opposition's likely show of unity during the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka tomorrow. To a question about comments of his rivals that it will help create an atmosphere in the opposition's favour, he said the political environment is very much in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When bugles for the Lok Sabha elections are sounded, people will vote one-sidedly in Modi's favour, he said. Shah reiterated his claim that the BJP will come back to power with more number of seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Asked about the rising prices of petrol and diesel, he said the government at the highest level is concerned about it and it will come out with some mechanism in a few days to deal with the issue. To a question about controversial comments made by a Jammu BJP leader against the state's chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti, he said he was not aware of what was said and his party's spokespersons will respond to it later. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A CBI team today recorded the statement of former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi at her residence here in connection with an alleged money laundering case involving a cooperative bank in which a huge amount of old high-value currency notes were deposited after demonetisation. The four-member CBI team reached Rabri Devi's 10, Circular Road residence around noon and left after about 20 minutes. Her husband and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, who is out on provisional bail in fodder scam cases, was also inside the bungalow. Rabri Devi had received a CBI notice a few days ago. The agency wanted to record her statement in connection with the money laundering case against the Bihar Awami Cooperative Bank, the family's close aide RJD National General Secretary and MLA Bhola Yadav told reporters outside the bungalow. The Bihar Awami Cooperative Bank is headed by Anwar Ahmed, a close confidant of Prasad. Ahmed's culinary skills had earned him the sobriquet of "kebab mantri" when the RJD supremo was the chief minister in the 1990s. The CBI case pertains to alleged conversion of black money into white through the bank by depositing a huge amount of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes which were invalidated on November 8, 2016. Bhola Yadav said she also produced before the CBI officials her income tax returns and all necessary documents which "satisfied the team", and it left without speaking to any other member of the family. While Prasad is serving sentences in a number of fodder scam cases, Rabri Devi and her children, including RJD heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, have been named in FIRs registered by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in railways hotels-for-land scam. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fair trade regulator CCI has approved the German giant Bayer's proposed USD 66 billion acquisition of US-based biotech firm Monsanto, subject to certain modifications to the long-pending deal. The approval to the deal, announced in September 2016, assumes significance in the wake of Monsanto facing opposition from various quarters within India over promotion of genetically modified crops, as also over royalty and patent issues. The clearance from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is one of the several regulatory approvals required by Bayer in various countries to close the deal. Announcing its approval today, the CCI tweeted that it has cleared "acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer AG, subject to compliance of certain modifications". Mergers and acquisitions beyond a certain threshold require approval of the CCI. India is one of the 30 countries whose approval is needed for the merger of worldwide operations of the two companies. The major approvals still required are from the US Department of Justice as also regulators in Canada and Mexico. After getting the CCI nod, Bayer said in a statement that the CCI has conditionally approved its proposed acquisition of Monsanto. "Obtaining clearance from the CCI is another milestone towards the global acquisition of Monsanto. The combination brings together two different, but highly complementary businesses," Bayer said. The acquisition of Monsanto will create a global leader in agriculture with a broad portfolio, providing superior product offerings and tailor-made solutions to farmers across all crops, in all geographies, the German chemical and pharma firm said. In January, CCI had launched a public consultation process to determine whether the merger between the global giants, to create the world's largest seeds and pesticide firm, will have any adverse impact on competition in India. In India, both entities have presence in production and sale of vegetable seeds, cotton seeds as well as in production and sale of non-selective herbicides, according to that public notice. Both the companies have presence in India, with the US firm selling genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds in the country for more than a decade. Bayer group is present in India since 1896 and it has two divisions -- crop science and pharmaceuticals. The group has one listed entity in India -- Bayer CropScience Ltd that posted a revenue from operation of nearly Rs 3,000 crore last fiscal. Bayer India had an annual revenue of 600 million euros (about Rs 4,700 crore) in 2017, Richard van der Merwe, the senior Bayer representative, South Asia, had said in January this year. Monsanto would add seed business to Bayer's already significant crop science and pharmaceutical business in India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To ensure better price to farmers, the Centre today unveiled a model law on contract farming and services not only in agriculture crops but also in livestock, dairy and poultry products. The draft Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (promotion and facilitation) Act 2018 seeks to keep the contract farming/services contracts outside the ambit of respective Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act of the states, which will help buyers save 5-10 per cent on their transaction cost. It also provides for setting up of a dispute settlement authority and imposition of penalties for breach of contract. "Now, the ball is in the court of states, who have to adopt the model law and implement it at the earliest for the benefit of farmers," Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said after releasing the model law here. The government's aim is to double farmers income by 2022. The reforms in the marketing and other areas are being taken, keeping this objective in mind, he added. Over a dozen state agriculture ministers and officials were present at the event. Two Ministers of State for Agricutlure Parshottam Rupala and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also attended the function. Contract farming is a pre-production season pact between farmers (either individually or collectively) and sponsors. "Apart from providing for contract relating to marketing, the Model Act also enables entering into services contracts all along the value chain including pre-production, production and post-production," Chairman of the Committee on Doubling Farmers' Income and CEO of National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) Ashok Dalwai said. The contracted produce is to be covered under the crop / livestock insurance in operation. Among other key features, the model law provides for setting up of a state-level board and constitution of a committee or officer at district/block/ taluka level for online registration and recording of the contracts to ensure effective implementation. "No rights, title ownership or possession of the land will be transferred or vested in the contract farming sponsor," according to the draft. It also has a provision to ensure buying of entire pre-agreed quantity of one or more agri produce, livestock or its product of contract farming producer as per the contract. Also, it aims to promote Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs) and Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) to mobilise small and marginal farmers to benefit from scales of economy in production and post-production activities. FPO and FPCs can be a contracting party if so authorised by farmers. The draft law also provides for Contract Farming Facilitation Group for promoting contract farming and services at village and panchayat level. Presently, contract farming is being promoted through the APCM Act 2003. However, it did not pick up at the ground level due to conflict of interest of contract farming sponsors and the APMCs which were the designated registering, agreement recording and dispute settlement authority. As a result, contract farming has been in practice in small scale in some states like Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Since Indian Contract Act of 1872 treated two parties to the agreement as equals, it was not conducive for agriculture and hence a model law was framed considering farmers as weaker vis-a-vis the sponsor company following the Budget 2017 annoucement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump said today that he was "little surprised" at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's "different attitude" after his second meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi and Kim met in the northeastern city of Dalian in an unannounced visit by the North Korean leader on May 8. Trump said the meeting between the two leaders was not a great meeting as there has been a change in North Korea's attitude after that. "I think that President Xi is a world class poker player. I probably maybe doing the same thing that he would do. But I will say this, there was a somewhat different attitude after that meeting, and I'm a little surprised," Trump told reporters at the White House. "Now maybe nothing happened, I'm not blame anybody. But I'm just saying maybe nothing happened and maybe it did. But there was a different attitude by the North Korean folks after that meeting. So I don't think it was a great meeting," Trump said. Nobody knew about the meeting and all of a sudden it was reported that he was in China a second time, he said. "The first time everybody knew about, the second time was like a surprise. And I think things changed after that meeting. So I can't say that I'm happy about it," Trump said in presence of South Korean President Moon Jae-in. He also asked Moon for his views on the Xi-Kim meeting. "Now President Moon may have a different opinion, I'd like to have your opinion on that. What you thought of the second meeting with President Xi, what is your feeling? You may have an opinion," Trump asked. "I don't want to get him in trouble, he lives next to China. You know, he's not too far away," he said. "The second meeting I think there was a little change in attitude from Kim Jong-un", he said. "Hope that's not true, because I have a great relationship with President Xi. He's a friend of mine, he likes me, I like him. I mean that was two of the great days of my life being in China. I don't think anybody's ever been treated better in China in their history," he said. "It was an incredible thing to see. We built a very good relationship, we speak a lot. But there was a difference when Kim Jong-un left China the second time. And I think they were dedicating an aircraft carrier that the United States paid for," Trump said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China is calling for "concrete actions" from Australia to improve relations following tensions over Beijing's anger with political moves by Canberra. The terse remarks by Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Tuesday followed a meeting between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop that produced markedly different responses from the sides. Lu quoted Wang as telling Bishop that Australia needed to "take off tinted glasses (and) see China's development from a positive perspective" if it really wanted to get ties back on track. Bishop for her part described the meeting, held in Argentina, as "very warm and candid and constructive." China is Australia's most important trading partner but diplomatic ties have suffered over a range of issues, including proposed legislation to ban foreign interference in Australian (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Slamming a report about large-scale mining by China at the Arunachal Pradesh border, official Chinese media here today questioned the report's motive while hoping that India would not be "provoked" by it and blight the progress achieved at last month's Wuhan summit. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on Sunday reported that China has begun large-scale mining operations Lhunze county under its control adjacent to the border with Arunachal Pradesh where a huge trove of gold, silver and other precious minerals valued at about USD 60 billion has been found. The report also claimed that China is rapidly building infrastructure to turn the area into another South China Sea-like scenario. It is to be hoped that India will not be provoked by this report, lose focus on the big picture of the relationship between Beijing and New Delhi and get off the track of Sino-Indian cooperation, the Global Times tabloid daily, known for its abrasive commentaries against India, said in an editorial today. The editorial titled, 'Dodgy report disturbs Sino-Indian ties' said, the report poked a sensitive spot in Sino-Indian ties but severely lacked factual evidence". It also said the Chinese expert quoted by the Post told the Global Times that he did not mention the South China Sea at all in his comments. Terming the report as coarse, the editorial said it attracted widespread attention from Indian media on Sunday. Since the paper quoted people familiar with the project as describing China's move as a part of an ambitious plan by Beijing to reclaim South Tibet, relevant stories from Indian media were full of vigilance," it said. But to many Chinese people, their first impression is that the report is not credible, given the vague facts, the geopolitical point quoted by a geologist and the denial by the expert, it said and questioned the motive saying that it is aimed at seeking to disturb Sino-Indian ties. "The report was bound to make waves. Lhunze county is not a disputed region. Whether or not there are mining operations there falls entirely within China's sovereignty. The Sino-Indian border dispute is different from the South China Sea issue and so it is quite farfetched to compare the two, the editorial said. It also said after the Dokalam standoff, Beijing and New Delhi increased their strategic communication and coordination in the border areas. "After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Wuhan last month and his meeting with his President Xi Jinping, the two sides achieved major progress in strengthening mutual trust. Both countries have no intention of provoking border disputes and China is unlikely to kick-start an aggressive plan on territorial issues, it said. The two governments, not the media, should take the lead in solving border disputes, as the latter can easily mislead public sentiment. Negotiations should be conducted by the two countries' professional diplomatic and security teams, which should present a solution acceptable to both parties and the two nations' societies, it said. The daily also quoted experts alleging that Western countries are trying to create discord between India and China. The 'groundless hype' reflected the fact that some Western powers are constantly sowing discord between China and India, and using Delhi as a pawn on the frontline challenging Beijing," Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of International Relations told the daily. The South China Sea disputes to a great extent were created and intervened in by powers from outside the region, said Qian Feng, a researcher at the Chinese Association for South Asian Studies in Beijing. "China and India, although they have border disagreements, are addressing such disputes through direct negotiations and making sure such issues won't undermine normal ties," Qian said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Restrictions on all roads in Secunderabad Cantonment were today lifted following an order from the Defence ministry. According to a defence release, a meeting was convened by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with MPs and elected Vice Presidents of all 62 Cantonment Boards on May 4, on issues relating to Cantonments. A detailed review was undertaken by the ministry on various issues, in particular those relating to closure of roads in the cantonments, it said. Based on the review, as a first step, it has been decided to reopen all closed roads in the cantonments immediately, the release said. "The issue of closure of individual roads will be reviewed de novo, in conformity with the provisions as laid down, and any closure of roads to be undertaken, will be done only after following the due procedure," it said. A simplified detailed standard operating procedure would be shortly be issued to jointly address the needs of the local public and the military establishment. "Accordingly, the Local Military Authority on receipt of written instructions has implemented the same in Secunderabad cantonment and lifted restrictions on all roads from 6 am today," the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has asked state government officials to make a comprehensive master plan to develop the Tripurasundari temple in Gomati district, an official release said. "The temple development plan must be undertaken with a vision of developing Mata Tripura Sundari Temple as a world class pilgrimage centre in North East India," Deb told officials of the temple trust at a meeting yesterday. The chief minister approved the formation of two sub-committees of the trust the Temple Development Committee and Finance & Audit Committee. He also cleared the formation of an 11-member executive committee of the trust, with the district magistrate and collector, DFO, Gomati and SDM, Udaipur as members, the release said. The Central government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has championed the cause of pilgrimage tourism in the country through its 'Prasad' and 'Swadesh Darshan' schemes, it said. The Tripurasundari temple in Udaipur is one of the 51 'shaktipiths' of the Hindus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Spot power price touched 5-year high of Rs 11.41 per unit at IEX today, which experts attributed to aggressive bidding by captive units following government's decision to ramp up coal supplies to power plants. The government decided last week to augment coal supplies to centre/ state power plants and independent power producers (IPPs) from May 19 to June 30 to overcome shortage of the dry fuel and check power crisis. The decision was taken in a joint meeting of power, coal and railways ministries on May 17, 2018. "The government is ramping up coal supplies to power plants at the cost of captive power producers. This is one of the main reasons for price touching a peak of Rs 11.41 per unit in day ahead market today at IEX," Indian Captive Power Producers Association(ICPPA) Secretary Rajiv Agarwal told PTI. He further said: "If somebody is running continuous process-based industry like aluminium, then he cannot wait for power supply. They are required to arrange power for their businesses." Power sector has been witnessing coal shortage since last year, resulting in surge in spot prices to as high as Rs 10.80 per unit in September 2017. In October, the government said the issue of coal supply to power plants is being addressed in a co-coordinated manner by the ministries of power, coal and railways. According to an expert, Rs 11.41 per unit is a five-year high rate of power at Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) which is mainly triggered by government's decision to stop supplies to captive power producers till June 30. However, the average spot power price was Rs 6.28 per unit at IEX. The expert said spot power price went up by Re 1 to Rs 1.25 per unit last week mainly due to outage of transmission line in north India due to storm warnings, which resulted in lower import (or availability) of power from other regions. He further said the sudden surge in tariff at the exchange can be attributed to aggressive bidding by captive power producers in day ahead market trade. ICPPA wrote to the Prime Minister's Office and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal yesterday, highlighting its woes. It urged for resuming coal supplies to captive plants, which have been set up by various industries like steel, cement and aluminium to meet their own demands. The new adhoc decision without any advance notice would bring industry to a standstill, the association wrote. It pointed out that captive plants have signed legally binding long-term fuel supply agreements with Coal India and abrupt stoppage of supplies would bring the industry to a grinding halt and result in millions of job losses. ICPPA also claimed that captive producers just got 12 per cent out of total rake sanctioned to them in 2017-18. The association said the government should avoid such adhoc decisions and bring in a system of giving advance notice to the industry for making alternative arrangements. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today alleged irregularities in publication of Urban Renewal Plans (URPs) for cluster development and blamed the Shiv Sena-ruled civic body. "For the reasons best known to the Sena, the party showed an undue haste in passing the URPs by ignoring various mandatory requirements," alleged Thane city and district unit Congress president Manoj Shinde. He said the Sena and the TMC (Thane Municipal Corporation) administration are responsible for these "irregularities". Leader of Congress in TMC Vikrant Chavan said the party would launch a protest against the URPs. Civic commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal had in March presented 43 URPs before political leaders and the media. The cluster development scheme aims at all-round development of the city by improving road network, increasing open spaces, green zones and civic amenities. The first phase of the scheme is expected to take around 15 years for implementation. The project aims to construct 23,000 colonies in the city. Shinde alleged sections 31 (1) and 37 (1) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act have not been adhered to and the approval of the TMC general body was not taken before publication of the URPs. The state government had issued a notification dated July 5, 2017 sanctioning the scheme, which was to be approved by the general body in due course after consulting various stake-holders, he said. "However, on April 27, 2018, the corporation came out with a notification and an advertisement announcing implementation of the scheme. There is a disparity between the proposed areas to be allotted to the slum dwellers and those residing in the dangerous buildings under the scheme," he alleged. He said the areas under forest cannot be included in the scheme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress has joined hands with Naga People's Front (NPF) to put up a joint fight against the ruling People's Democratic Alliance (PDA) in the May 28 bypoll to the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland. The bypoll was necessitated after Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) leader Neiphiu Rio, who is now the chief minister, resigned as a Lok Sabha member on February 16. The PDA, which has the NDPP and the BJP as it major constituents, has fielded former minister Tokheho Yepthomi from the seat. The Congress, on the other hand, vowed to back NPF candidate C Apok Jamir. Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) President K Therie, during a programme at Pfutsero in Phek district yesterday, said his party has full faith in Jamir. "As our primary concern is to save Nagaland from communal forces, we agreed in principle to support Apok Jamir in this 2018 Lok Sabha by-election. We hope he will live up to the expectations of the party and uphold the principles of secularism and liberal democracy," Therie, who shared a dais with a host of NPF leaders, said. Terming the BJP-NDPP alliance as "unholy marriage, Therie also said that "fanaticism is at its peak" in India and and "cows are placed above humans." "All secular-minded political parties must join hands to defeat those who try to impose Hinduism. The BJP is confusing the mindsets of the youngsters with their Hindutva policies," he said. The Congress is a party that "upholds secularism and democratic norms and is strictly against the policies of the BJP's Uniform Civil Code, he asserted. "Nagas should not to take this BJP and its alliance partners lightly. It could lead to serious ramifications on the Naga society in particular and the whole nation in general in the coming years," the NPCC president iterated. Jamir, who was also present at the programme, appealed to the electorates to vote for him in the bypoll. "Your one precious vote will determine our future, that one vote to show that we are all Nagas" he added. Reacting to Therie's allegations, BJP spokesperson K James Vizo today said the Congress is leveling charges on the saffron party "out of desperation". "It is a known fact that the Congress has been facing defeat everywhere. The people are rejecting Congress because it failed to deliver on all fronts. The party does not have any agenda of their own and that is why it is attacking the BJP," Vizo added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has requested union textiles minister Smriti Irani to consider refunding the embedded tax ranging from 4-5 per cent on the industry, as it would fill the gap between reduced drawback and rebate on state levies. The AEPC also requested the minister to raise the issue of Free Trade Agreement with the commerce ministry for further growth of exports since the competitive countries were enjoying the duty-free status, vice-chairman of the council, A Sakthivel said in a press release. Sakthivel, who met Smriti yesterday at her office in New Delhi, thanked her on behalf of the apparel industry for her support and efforts to revive the industry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi court today sought the response of the city police on an application by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking a copy of a video and his statement recorded by the probe agency on May 18 in connection with the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash in February. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal issued a notice to the Delhi Police and directed the investigation officer (IO) and the DCP to file a response to Kejriwal's plea by May 29. It also directed the IO to be present before the court. In his application, moved through advocate B S Joon, Kejriwal said that after the proceedings on the day, the police made a statement before the media that Kejriwal had evaded certain questions by not giving proper answers, which was "fully incorrect". "The conduct of the police before the media gives an indication that the police can go to any extent to frame him or any other member of the AAP by tempering with the said statement/CD," the application said, adding that he was entitled to get a copy of the statement and the CD. The Delhi Police had on May 18 questioned Kejriwal for over three hours in connection with the alleged assault on Prakash. Police sources had said some questions put to Kejriwal included the decision to convene the late night meeting with Prakash, the sequence of events that led to the assault and the trigger for the incident. During investigation, the police had found that the assault was pre-planned and Kejriwal's private secretary Bibhav Kumar had directed a party volunteer to call the MLAs. Prakash was allegedly assaulted during a meeting at Kejriwal's official residence on February 19. The police said the chief minister was present when the alleged assault took place. Kejriwal had agreed to join the probe yesterday following a notice by the Delhi Police on May 16. The police have already questioned 11 AAP MLAs present at the chief minister's residence for the meeting. Two of the party MLAs -- Amantullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal --were arrested in the case. Last month, Kejriwal's private secretary Bibhav Kumar and a party volunteer Vivek Kumar were also questioned in connection with the case. Kejriwal, his former advisor V K Jain and Sisodia were also present at the meeting. Jain was also questioned in the case. On February 23, a police team had examined the CCTV system installed at the chief minister's residence in the Civil Lines area and seized the hard disk. The forensic report on the hard disk is still awaited. The alleged assault on the chief secretary had triggered a bitter tussle between the Delhi government and its bureaucrats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Health-technology startup CureFit today said it has inked deal with Oaktree Capital Management under which Fitness First, chain of fitness centres, will become a part of the Bengaluru-based firm's platform. Founded in 2016 by Myntra co-founder Mukesh Bansal and former Flipkart executive Ankit Nagori, CureFit operates its own chain of fitness centres under 'Cult.Fit' and also focusses on mental fitness (through Mind.fit), healthy food (Eat.fit) and primary care (Care.fit). "As a part of the transaction, Fitness First will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cult.fit, while Oaktree will get minority stake in CureFit. The transaction is expected to be completed in the next few weeks," Nagori told PTI. Oaktree will invest additional capital in the consolidated business. Nagori said Fitness First has 10 premium fitness centres in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai with 10,000 members. The combined entity will have 50 centres in 4 cities with about 40,000 members. "There are significant synergies in our business models and the combined entity will offer a compelling health and fitness offering to customers across the cities...This partnership will put Cult on track to become the largest fitness service provider in the country," Nagori said. He added that the partnership will provide access to premium customers and also allow it to take its offerings like Mind.fit and Eat.fit to a large user base. Talking about expansion plans, Nagori said the company intends to have 100 centres with about one lakh members by the end of this year. "Both Cult.fit and Fitness First are cash flow positive business and operate on high margins. We are looking at strengthening our operations and by the end of 2019, we plan to have a presence across cities like Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad," he added. Nagori said the company will invest about USD 20-25 million over the next 15-18 months towards capital expansion. CultFit has raised about USD 45 million in equity funding and USD 15 million in debt till date. Its investors include Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures and UC-RNT fund (a University of California and Ratan Tata's RNT Associates joint venture). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A debt-ridden businessman allegedly shot dead his wife and two daughters at his residence here in the early hours today, a police official said. The family members apparently had an argument over sending one of the daughters abroad for higher studies following which the incident took place, he said. Dharmesh Shah, 50, who runs a construction business, first killed his wife Amiben using his licensed pistol at their flat in 'Ratnam Tower' building in the posh Judges Bungalow area. He then shot dead his two daughters -- Heli (24) and Khushi (18) -- with his another 12-bore gun, Assistant Commissioner of Police S N Zala told reporters here. Shah then called the police control room and his relatives to inform about the incident. He remained at his house till the police and others reached the spot, he said. "Shah was into construction business and had a debt of around Rs 15 crore. His family was unaware of it," Zala said. As per preliminary investigation, last night, there was some heated argument between the family members over sending Shah's elder daughter to Australia for higher studies, for which they required Rs 70 lakh, he said. Since Shah was already in debt, he might have objected to it, which possibly led to the confrontation between the family members, the official said. "When his family members were asleep, Shah first killed his wife using his pistol. He then killed both the daughters using his 12-bore gun. He fired one round at his wife and two rounds each at his daughters," Zala said. On getting information about the killings, top city police officials rushed to the spot. Shah was arrested under charges pertaining to murder and was being questioned, the police official added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi's Archbishop Anil Couto has kicked up a storm with his remark that a "turbulent political atmosphere" posed a threat to India's democratic principles and secular fabric, a charge rejected by the government which today said the comments reflected his "prejudiced" mindset. Couto had written a letter to all parish priests and religious institutions in the Delhi archdiocese a few days before the May 12 Karnataka elections, calling for a "prayer campaign" ahead of the 2019 general elections. The archbishop, who also asked Christians to fast every Friday "for the nation", today clarified his letter had nothing to do with the Narendra Modi government. While Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said India did not discriminate on the basis of religion or sect, his ministerial colleague Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi asked the archbishop to come out of his "prejudiced" mindset and asserted that minorities had progressed at a fast pace under the current government. Couto's comments were criticised by the BJP, with party president Amit Shah stressing that it was "not appropriate" to polarise people around religion. The archbishop later clarified his comments were not aimed at the government. "What I said is spend time once a week for our nation and especially because elections are coming and government concerns all of us. So it is not in any way pertaining to the government of Narendra Modi," Couto said when asked about the letter. Union Minister of Tourism K J Alphons said the remarks were "unfair" to the government and "godmen" should stay away from The archbishop, in his letter, said, "We are witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere, which poses threat to democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution and the secular fabric of our nation." Referring to the 2019 general elections, Couto asked for a "prayer campaign" for the country from May 13 to mark a period significant for the Christian community. "It is our hallowed practice to pray for our country and its political leaders all the time, but all the more when we approach the general elections. As we look forward towards 2019, when we will have a new government, let us begin a prayer campaign for our country from May 13," the letter read. It also asked for organising a eucharistic adoration every Friday in all parishes and religious institutions, specifically to pray for the nation. The prayer format states: "May the ethos of true democracy envelop our elections with dignity and the flames of honest patriotism enkindle our political leaders." It also seeks to "protect" legislatures as place of discerning minds, raising judiciary as the hallmark of integrity, prudence and justice and keeping print, visual and social media as the channels of truth for edifying discourses. Reacting to Couto's comments, Naqvi said the Modi government had worked for "development without discrimination". "The prime minister's commitment to development without discrimination should be seen. As long as you have a prejudiced mind, you cannot look at this progress," Naqvi said. He claimed the safety and security of minorities had been strengthened under the government, while the Home Minister said India did not discriminate against anybody on the basis of religion or sect. "All I can say is that India is a country where there is no discrimination against anyone on the basis of caste, sect or religion. Such a thing cannot be allowed," Singh said. Speaking to reporters, Shah stressed that polarising people around religion was "not appropriate". On Opposition leaders N Chandrababu Naidu and Mamata Banerjee supporting Couto, the BJP president said, "It is very obvious that our rivals will support such a statement. If somebody speaks about defeating us, it is natural that they will support him." Minister Alphons said Couto's was an isolated voice. "Spoke to Cardinal Gracias (Archbishop of Bombay Oswald Cardinal Gracias) and top bishops. They strongly agree with the prime minister. There are isolated voices who don't like the Prime Minister," he said. Another Union Minister Giriraj Singh tweeted, "The church receives its orders from Italy and the dictate (fatwa) for support to the pseudo secular comes from Pakistan. The day is not far when Hindus will realise this and will give a befitting reply to those (voices)." CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said Couto was calling people for a prayer and saying that the values of the constitution of secular democracy had to be protected. "His spokesperson has also said that the call for this annual prayer has always been given. For the minorities in India, the only guarantee they have is the Constitution that promises them equality," he said. Amid reactions to his letter, Couto said every government that came to power should protect the rights and freedom of the people. "Elections concern us. Therefore when we talk, we talk about the elections because the government concerns us. We cannot be apart from the government. We pray that we have such a government that cares for the freedom of the people, rights and welfare of the Christian of community," he said. Father Robinson, secretary to Couto, said the letter was issued on May 8 and had already been read out at all the parishes. "This is a two-week old letter. It invited people to pray for the elections, country and all the political leaders. There is nothing wrong in it," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi Cabinet today approved to increase the bed capacity of an under-construction hospital in Burari to 768, which would be a modern, green building equipped with the latest facilities. The Cabinet, in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, also approved doubling of financial incentives for ASHA workers. "The Cabinet approved the department of health's proposal for the revised estimate of Rs 265.80 cr for increasing the capacity to 768 beds from the earlier proposal of 200 beds at the under-construction new hospital at Burari," according to a statement released by the city government. According to the information provided by the public works department (PWD), 85 per cent of the hospital structure has been completed so far, it said. "The project has been reviewed and it was decided that some structural adjustment is required to accommodate more number of beds in this new hospital, which will provide health care to the residents of Delhi," the statement said. The new hospital would be a seven-storeyed structure and the latest proposal of having 568 more beds will be achieved with a revised estimate of Rs 265.80 cr instead of Rs 200 cr estimated earlier. "Salient features of the under-construction building include a barrier-free environment to cater to the needs of physically-challenged persons for which specific changes in building designs have been done. "The modern building with all the latest facilities would be energy-efficient and is a green building aimed at reducing the dependence on electric lighting and air-conditioning. Approximately 1,700 posts will have to be created for making this new hospital functional," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress workers led by the party's Delhi unit president Ajay Maken took out a cycle march at the India Gate, protesting the hike in fuel prices. Maken said that prices of petrol and diesel were not hiked by the Modi government in view of the Karnataka elections. "The Modi government did not hike the prices of petrol and diesel till the Karnataka elections were over to impress the voters, but now the prices are hitting the roof due to daily increase," he said. The march started from Rajpath and passed through Man Singh Road to India Gate circle, with Congress workers on cycles raising slogans against the hike in fuel prices. Maken said that during the Congress rule, on May 23, 2013, a litre of petrol cost Rs 63.09 while the diesel price was at Rs 49.69 per litre in Delhi. On May 21, 2018, the price of a litre of petrol in Delhi was Rs 76.57 and that of diesel was Rs 67.82. "The Modi government does not have any logical answer for the steep hike in the prices of petrol and diesel," he said. He alleged that the price hike was "intended" to benefit the oil companies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Income Tax Department (ITD) has unearthed black money of over Rs 215 crore after it conducted multiple raids over the weekend against two real estate groups who were selling land and farm houses on the Yamuna plains to high-end investors in the national capital, officials said today. Sleuths of the Delhi investigation wing of the department searched and surveyed a total of 33 premises of the two property developers, whom they did not identify. They said the two developers largely dealt in cash while cracking these deals and thus evaded income tax along with their clients, who are now under the ITD scanner. The modus operandi undertaken by the developers, sources said, was to file their IT returns based on the sale of the property on actual circle rates but the actual transaction was priced "much higher." "The difference between the circle rate and actual rates was settled in cash which represented the unaccounted and undisclosed income of the sellers," a senior official said. He added that this technique was being used by the promoters of the real estate business and their clients for many years to hide their "true income" from the tax department. The department is now scrutinising the list of the wealthy and high-net worth individuals who were investing their black money into these land and farm house investments in the Yamuna plains in the national capital region. The total undisclosed cash transactions detected during these raids stands at Rs 215 crore, they said. The department, they said, will file tax evasion prosecution compliance against these people and will also separately prosecute them under the IT laws that bans accepting a cashamount of over Rs 20,000 for selling an immovable property and this violation attracts a 100 per cent penalty on the amount of tax evaded. Also, holding cash of over Rs 2 lakh is now banned and hence the department will penalise the erring assessees for this violation too, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Commerce Ministry's investigation arm DGAD has said it is terminating its anti-dumping probe into import of a Chinese chemical used in dye industry. The move comes following domestic industry's request to terminate the probe in the imports of 'Meta-Phenylene Diamene-4-Sulphonic Acid' from the neighbouring nation. The probe was initiated by Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) on January 24 on complaints by domestic players including Chamunda Industries, Matrushakti Industries and Varahi Intermediates. "In view of the request of the three petitioners and the provision in Rule 14(a) of the anti-dumping rules, the authority hereby terminates the present anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of 'Meta-Phenylene Diamene-4-Sulphonic Acid' originating in or exported from China," DGAD said in an order. Domestic industry has cited various reasons for its request to terminate the probe. They say their customers are not happy with them and are upset with their decision to seek anti-dumping duties and they do not wish to spoil relationship with their customers. Besides, they say the entire process is quite time consuming. DGAD however noted that the reasons cited by the domestic industry for termination of the petition appear to have little merit. But it said Rule 14(a) of the anti-dumping rules does not grant any discretion to DGAD in the matter of termination of probe, once the domestic industry files a written request for termination of the investigation. Anti-dumping duties are levied to provide a level playing field to local industry by guarding against cheap below-cost imports. Increasing imports and dumping of goods from China have always been areas of concern for Indian companies. India's exports to China were only USD 10.2 billion in 2016-17 but imports aggregated to USD 61.3 billion. Imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissible under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime. Both India and China are members of the Geneva-based body. (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 directed the departments concerned to strictly adhere to the timeline of 96 hours for the disposal of complaints received on the 'Harpath App', a portal on which people could give information to the government about the condition of roads. The state government is committed to make Haryana a pothole-free state, he said while presiding over a meeting to review the functioning of the 'Harpath App' here. Public Works (Building and Roads) Minister Rao Narbir Singh and Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain were also present in the meeting, an official release said. The chief minister said that the concerned departments should immediately undertake the complaints received on the app and redress the same within the prescribed time-frame. This, he said, would not only help in providing the facility of smooth roads to the people but also further enhance their faith in government functioning. Five departments -- Public Works (Building and Roads), Urban Local Bodies, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB), Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) and Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) are involved in the construction and repair of roads in the state. While reviewing the condition of roads in the rural areas of the state, the chief minister directed the HSAMB to take effective measures for further improving the quality of roads. He said that quality checks should be got conducted by the board on a regular basis to maintain the quality of rural roads. It was informed in the meeting that out of the 21,500 complaints received on the 'Harpath App' since its launch in September 2017, of which over 70 per cent complaints have been redressed while 29 per cent complaints have been rejected. The concerned departments have to undertake all complaints pertaining to the roads except for roads under litigation and private roads, it was informed in the meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP chief Amit Shah today projected the Modi government's drive to cover villages with large Dalit and tribal population with its seven key welfare schemes as a success that benefitted 1.28 crore people and announced that it aimed to include all villages under these programmes before the next Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a press conference in which he gave details of the beneficiaries of the seven schemes, which include providing LPG cylinders, electricity connection, LED bulbs and life insurance among other benefits to the poor, under the recent Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, he also asserted that the government will cover 65,000 villages by August 15 this year. There will be no home in these villages where there is no electricity, bank account or LPG cylinder, he said. Under the campaign, which was held between April 14 and May 5, over 16,850 villages were covered, he said claiming that there is no family which did not benefit from the drive. For the first time in 70 years, the poor in the villages saw the government reaching their doorsteps, he said, noting that all party MPs, MLAs and organisational leaders spent a night in these villages and 1,200 central government officials also did the same. He said that the welfare schemes was "cent per cent success". "For the first time after independence a government has worked to make over 16,000 villages problem-free. It will continue to do that," he said. Though he insisted that this government drive should not be linked to elections, the exercise is seen to be aimed at maximising the BJP dispensation's connect with the rural poor, especially those coming from the backward sections of society like Dalits and tribals, before the next Lok Sabha polls. Asked about the Dalit issues, Shah said these villages had over 40 per cent of population from the community. Now the government and the BJP would ensure power connection, LPG connection and opening of new bank accounts and full coverage of all other welfare schemes in 45,000 villages of the 115 most-backward districts in the country by August 15, 2018, he told reporters. Under the campaign, which had started from Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary on April 14, Shah said as many as 3,68,978 programmes were held which benefitted 1.28 crore people. "We have done complete coverage of these over 16,850 villages with these 7 schemes. There is not a single person in these villages whom these schemes have not reached. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given this biggest tribute to Ambedkar," he said. Over 10.93 lakh families were given LPG cylinders, 5.02 lakh families got electricity connections, over 20 lakh Jan Dhan bank accounts were opened, more than 25 lakh LED bulbs were distributed and 16.14 lakh people got life insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh, Shah said, giving details of the benefits. "These villages had this feeling of development reaching them for the first time in 70 years," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special court here today discharged the family members of Congress leader Kripashankar Singh in a disproportionate assets case. Singh, a former Maharashtra minister who was the main accused in the case, was discharged earlier in February after the probe agencies failed to get sanction to prosecute him. Singh's family had filed an application that there could not be a case against them since the main accused had already been discharged, their advocate K H Giri said. "The family members stated that they were not public servants, neither was there any independent charge against them. They were only co-accused and the charges were through Singh. Since Singh has been discharged, there cannot be a case against them," Giri said. Special Judge D K Gudadhe considered their application and discharged them, the lawyer said. Those discharged include Singh's wife Maltidevi, his son Narendra, daughter Sunita, and son-in-law Vijay Kumar. A social activist had filed a complaint against Singh with the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) as well as a PIL in the Bombay High Court in 2014, alleging that Singh had amassed wealth which was disproportionate to his known sources of income. In April 2015, the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police had filed a chargesheet against Singh and his relatives. After inquiry, the ACB and EOW had concluded that the assets held by Singh were disproportionate to his income. The probe authorities had sought government sanction to prosecute him when he was an MLA in 2014 but it was denied two times by the Governor. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The fate of the much-awaited June 12 Singapore summit between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un loomed large as the US President met his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in at the White House today. As he welcomed Moon in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that it will be great if his meeting with Kim takes place as scheduled, but if did not, that took was fine. "We're moving along. We'll see what happens," Trump said in response to a question. Trump and Kim are scheduled to meet in Singapore on June 12. However, North Korea has threatened to cancel the meeting over a joint US-South Korea military exercise. The US has said it was going ahead with the preparation. "If it doesn't happen, maybe it will happen later...You never know about deals...I've made a lot of deals. You never really know," Trump said. At one point he said that it may not work out for June 12. "You will know soon, Trump told reporters about the summit. He declined to say whether he had spoken to Kim. "They're hardworking, great people," he said of North Koreans. "He will be extremely happy. He will be very happy" he said of Kim and if the deal works out. Earlier, Moon's national security advisor Chung Eui-yong told reporters that there were 99.9 per cent chances for the summit to happen. "We believe there is a 99.9 per cent chance the North Korea-US summit (set for June 12 in Singapore) will be held as scheduled. But we're just preparing for many different possibilities," Chung told reporters. "We're trying to understand the situation from the North's perspective," he said when asked about changes in North Korea's rhetoric. The two leaders were scheduled to have a candid conversation in multiple settings including over lunch at the White House - on how to make the North-US summit a success and produce significant agreements and how to best implement those agreements, Chung said. "South Korea and the US have been sharing every bit of information and have remained in close coordination with each other," Chung said. "We've had various working-level discussions on how to steer North Korea in a direction that we want, and I expect (Moon and Trump) will have great talks this time," he added. Chung denied the New York Times article reporting that Trump is now doubting the advisability of the June 12 summit. "During phone calls between our two leaders or talks between our National Security Councils, I never got such an impression," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The White House said today 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 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. During a meeting 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, "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 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 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court today asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to file an affidavit on a plea by a Youth Congress leader, who has claimed that the security provided to him was withdrawn by the authorities without notice. The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha and the lawyer representing Abid Imitaz Bhat, who is a national secretary of All India Youth Congress, sought initiation of contempt proceedings against the authorities for withdrawing his security without giving him any notice. Advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for the Jammu and Kashmir government, countered the petitioner's submissions and said he was currently in Delhi and security was being provided when he was within the territorial jurisdiction of the state. The bench asked the state to file an affidavit in this regard and posted the matter for hearing on May 25. In March, the state government had informed the top court that it has provided X category security cover to Bhat, who has complained of threat to his life. The court had directed the state to continue to provide security cover to him unless there was a change in threat perception and said the state government should give due notice to Bhat before his security cover was withdrawn. In his fresh plea seeking contempt action against the J and K authorities, Bhat has claimed that pursuant to the apex court's order, four security guards were provided to him by the state, but later almost all of them were recalled. "In practical sense, the petitioner is left with no security since the security guard is also not ready and willing to travel along with him outside Srinagar," the plea said, alleging that Srinagar's senior superintendent of police withdrew the security when he was in Delhi. The petitioner has claimed that he was injured in a blast earlier in the locality where he has his house and office and security was provided to him by the Jammu and Kashmir Police after considering the threat perception. The state had told the apex court that the high-level Security Review Coordination Committee (SRCC) had taken a decision to provide X-2 level security cover, which comprises one personal security officer round-the-clock with Bhat. The X-2 level is one of the sub-categories of the X level security. The SRCC, which comprises senior officials of the state and the Centre, assesses the threat perception and level of security cover required for citizens, including VIPs. Bhat had initially moved the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the state to provide security to him and his family members on the ground that he faced threat to his life. The high court had summoned the chief secretary of the state after its counsel had failed to inform the court about the next date of meeting of the high-level SRCC. The J and K government had later moved the apex court challenging the orders of the high court summoning the chief secretary. The apex court had on February 12, stayed two orders of the Delhi High Court summoning the chief secretary of state in the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu today said states need not worry about the probable recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission as there would be no discrimination of any sort. The Commission would give its report only after due consultations with all states, he said, adding that its Chairman N K Singh assured him that past performance of the states would be duly recognised. The Vice-president's remarks assume significance in the light of the recent concerns raised by some states and union territories over the terms of reference of the Commission. A conclave of Chief Ministers and Finance Ministers of various states held in Amaravati on May 7 noted that the ToR of the 15thFinance Commission "posed a threat to the economic independence of the states" and made a strong pitch for assured devolution (of funds) rather than discretionary devolution. The conclave strongly opposed the ToR saying it reflected the Centre's "discriminatory" attitude towards the states. A delegation of finance ministers subsequently met President Ram Nath Kovind and submitted a memorandum seeking amendments to the ToR. The Vice-President, who visited Andhra Pradesh after a gap of several months, laid the foundation-stone for the construction of National Institute of Disaster Management at Kondapavuluru village near here. The Vice-President referred to the 15th Finance Commission issue during his address and said he had "detailed consultations" with the Commission Chairman and members. Naidu said "Some states, who were successful in population control, fear that the Commission recommendations may put them at a loss. There are many apprehensions from other states as well. But, at the end of my consultations (with the Commission Chairman and members), they told us that there is no question of north or south or east or west.Such discrimination will not be there." As Vice-President and Chairman of the Council of States, Naidu said he told them two things--states which are performing better should not be penalized and two implementation of reforms should be encouraged. They assured him that past performance would be recognized and given special support, Naidu said. The terms of reference of the Commission were "only guidelines" and the Commission would decide on the final award after due consultations with all states, he added. "So, states need not panic or have any apprehensions," he asserted. Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, Machilipatnam MP K Narayana, state minister for Law Kollu Ravindra and others attended. The National Institute of Disaster Management, which covers the southern states, is being set up in accordance with the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. The Centre has released Rs 37 crore for the first phase of works that are expected to be completed in a year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A fire broke out at the Okhla landfill site in south Delhi today, a Delhi Fire Service official said. The incident was reported at 12.43 pm after which eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was doused by 5.15 pm, , the official said. The massive dump in south Delhi was commissioned in 1996. "In south Delhi, 3,500 MT of waste is generated daily. And, 56 per cent of the solid waste is processed. The Okhla site has not only become an eyesore but, many of the garbage truck drivers have lost lives, over the last few years," according to a senior SDMC official. The city has two other landfill sites, Ghazipur in east Delhi and Bhalswa in north Delhi, both commissioned in 1984. Environmentalist Anumita Roychowdhury said such landfill site are not only a threat from fire incidents but also from pollution perspective. "Spontaneous fire at these sites keep happening, small or big. But, the burning also produce noxious gases and therefore that is another health risk," she said. "But, more than managing these landfill sites, our policies should be, as globally is being done, is to go for a zero landfill policy and, instead recover and recycle and contribute to the circular economy," said Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Centre For Science and (CSE) here. Incidentally, bot the South an East Delhi Municipal Corporations have joined hands with experts from IIT-Delhi to stabilise the landfill sites in their areas. "We need to go for systemic solutions instead of just symptomatic solutions," Roychowdhury said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five people, including a 70-year-old woman, were injured as Pakistani Rangers today fired mortar shells on forward posts and villages along the International Border (IB) in the Jammu region for the eighth day, officials said. Hundreds of panic-stricken villagers fled their homes and took shelter either at houses of their relatives or at relief camps set up by the government. Educational institutions in the affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir remained closed. Four people -- Kaushalya Devi (70), Madan Lal Bhagat (48), Des Raj (52) and Thudu Ram (65) -- were injured in the firing in Jammu district's Arnia and RS Pura sectors, the officials said. They said that 22-year-old Aman Singh of Bobiyan village was injured in Paksitani mortar shelling in Kathua district's Hiranagar sector. The firing from across the border was intense. Dozens of villages along the IB were hit by 80 mm and 120 mm mortar shells. This led to a fire breaking out this morning at Jora Farm, a hamlet of milkmen, the officials said. Two dozen kullas (grass-cum-mud houses) were gutted in the fire, they added. The fire was put out by fire and emergency services personnel who despite the shelling managed to reach the hamlet, the officials said. Firing stopped at most of the places in the afternoon, but was still going on intermittently at a few places in Samba district, they said. Earlier in the day, a senior BSF official said that the firing and shelling continued unabated throughout the night and spread to all sectors along the border from Akhnoor to Samba. Pakistani Rangers suffered several casualties with a number of their bunkers getting hit during the skirmishes in prompt retaliation by the Border Security Force (BSF). "It has been learnt that one of the injured Rangers has been shifted to the Lahore hospital, while two others are being treated at a local hospital," the official said. Firing from the Pakistan side intensified over the past two days with villagers living close to the border escaping amid mortar shell explosions, officials said. Several houses were damaged, they said, adding that the number of houses damaged due to shelling is being ascertained. Inspector General of Police, Jammu, S D Singh Jamwal said police parties have been deployed and they are helping people to shift to safer places from the affected areas. Jammu Divisional Commissioner Hemant Kumar Sharma said relief camps have been set up at safer places all along the border, especially in the worst hit R S Pura and Arnia sectors. Hundreds of people have reported at these camps, set up in educational institutions and other government buildings, Sharma said. He said adequate facilities are available at these camps so that the displaced people do not face any problems. Schools vulnerable to Pakistani shelling have been closed along the border as a precautionary measure, Sharma said. The latest round of shelling started on May 15 when the BSF foiled two infiltration attempts by Pakistan-backed infiltrators in the Samba sector and intensified a day after Pakistan"pleading" with the force to stop firing after being pounded with heavy artillery that left a trooper dead across the border on May 20. So far seven people, including two BSF jawans and an infant, have been killed and 18 others injured in Pakistani firing. Jammu and Kashmir 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 a total of 39 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured. Meanwhile, opposition National Conference today expressed concern over the border shelling and called for peace. "Bullets and shells are causing enormous human sufferings and this has to be stopped by working towards heralding peace and adhering to the ceasefire agreement, Provincial President, Youth National Conference, Ajaz Jan said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five recruits of the militant outfit NDFB(Sonbijit) were arrested when they were on their way to Myanmar for training, a police official said. "Four men and a boy were apprehended as they were about to go by train to Dimapur in Nagaland and thereafter to Myanmar", Kokrajhar Superintendent of Police Rajen Sing said yesterday. Their interrogation is on, the SP said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over seven lakh foreign tourists arrived in India in April 2018, registering a growth of 4.4 per cent over last year, the Tourism Ministry said today. The ministry compiles monthly Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and FTAs on e- Tourist Visa on the basis of information received from Bureau of Immigration (BOI). "FTAs in April 2018 were 7,49,477 as compared to 7,17,899 in April 2017, registering a growth of 4.4 per cent," a statement released by the ministry said. FTAs during January-April 2018 were 38,76,021 as compared to 34,98,969 in the same period last year, registering a growth of 10.8 per cent. The percentage share of FTAs during April 2018 among the top 15 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (24.32 per cent) followed by the USA (11.21 per cent), the UK (9.14 per cent), Sri Lanka (3.48 per cent), Australia (3.33 per cent) and Malaysia (3.06 per cent). The percentage share of FTAs in India during April 2018 among the top 15 ports was highest at Delhi Airport (28.75 per cent) followed by Mumbai Airport (14.46 per cent), Haridaspur Land Check Post (11.40 per cent) and Chennai Airport (7.44 per cent). In April this year, a total of 1,57,094 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 1,14,469 during the month of April, 2017, registering a growth of 37.2 per cent. "During January-April 2018, a total of 9,18,792 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 5,81,783 during January-April 2017, registering a growth of 57.9 per cent," the statement said. Most e-Tourist Visa during this period was availed from the UK (16.3 per cent), followed by the USA (11.0 per cent), China (5.8 per cent), Australia (5.5 per cent), France (5.3 per cent) and Thailand (4.3 per cent). The top 15 ports in tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa during April 2018 were from New Delhi Airport (46.2 per cent), Mumbai Airport (17.4 per cent), Bengaluru Airport (6.8 per cent), Chennai Airport (6.1 per cent), Dabolim (Goa) Airport (4.5 per cent) and Kochi Seaport (4.4 per cent). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was being questioned today by anti-corruption police about a graft scandal that could lead to criminal charges against him. He was summoned nearly two weeks after the defeat of his long-ruling coalition in national elections, a loss partly due to public anger over alleged corruption at the 1MDB state investment fund that Najib set up. U.S. investigators say Najib's associates stole and laundered USD 4.5 billion from the fund, some of which landed in Najib's bank account. Swarmed by reporters, Najib looked calm and smiled as he was escorted into the agency's building. Najib has denied any wrongdoing since the scandal erupted in 2015. He sacked critics in his government, including a deputy prime minister and the attorney-general, and muzzled the media to try to survive the fallout. Najib and his wife have been barred from leaving the country after the new government reopened an investigation into the case. Police have raided his home and other properties linked to him, seizing hundreds of expensive designer handbags and luggage stuffed with cash, jewelry and other valuables. A government official has said Najib could possibly be detained after giving his statement to Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission. Abdul Kadir Jasin, a spokesman for a new government advisory council, said over the weekend that an investigation had already been conducted but was suppressed by Najib while he was in power. Najib's questioning at the anti-graft agency was specifically over why 42 million ringgit (USD 10.6 million) was transferred into his bank account from SRC International, a unit of 1MDB, using multiple intermediary companies. The money was in addition to about USD 700 million that U.S. investigators said ended in Najib's bank account. A new attorney general in 2016 cleared Najib of wrongdoing, saying a particular transfer of USD 681 million was a political donation from the Saudi royal family and that most of it was returned. But new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said investigations showed the wrongdoing at 1MDB were more serious than expected. Mahathir said former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail had told him he was preparing to press charges against Najib when he was abruptly sacked in 2015. Mahathir, who was premier for 22 years until 2003 and was spurred out of retirement by the 1MDB scandal, has vowed there will be "no deal" for Najib and he will face the consequences if found guilty of wrongdoing. The current attorney general has been put on leave and Abdul Gani was appointed as a member of a new task force investigating the state fund. The U.S. Justice Department said in a statement that it looks forward to working with Malaysian law enforcement in investigating the 1MDB case. "The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that the United States and its financial system are not threatened by corrupt individuals and kleptocrats who seek to hide their ill-gotten wealth," it said. "Whenever possible, recovered assets will be used to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Regulator Sebi is probing suspected insider trading by some institutional investors and other regulatory lapses at Fortis Healthcare amid a takeover battle and boardroom upheaval at the hospital chain, officials said. Apart from the Sebi probe that also includes investigation into suspected disclosure lapses, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and registrar of companies are also looking into alleged financial irregularities at Fortis and other promoter group entities including Religare, they added. Fortis is in the midst of a heated takeover battle with five entities bidding for the company along with a upheaval at the boardroom, wherein several directors have been stepping down. There were five suitors in the race for Fortis, including TPG-Manipal combine, Malaysia's IHH Healthcare and KKR-backed Radiant Life Care, which gave binding offers. However, China's Fosun Healthcare did not make a binding bid for the company. Besides, three directors have already resigned ahead of a shareholder vote on Tuesday to decide their future. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had first begun the investigation in February following reports that financial irregularities emerged at Fortis. The company was asked to furnish information and documents sought by the regulator. The development came against the backdrop of reports that Fortis' promoters -Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh - took at least USD 78 million (Rs 550 crore) out of the company without any board approval about a year ago. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four Pakistani ringleaders of a major human trafficking gang were sentenced to a year in jail each followed by deportation by a Sharjah court for bringing 35 compatriots for begging in the UAE, according to a media report today. The Sharjah Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced the four yesterday in the case, considered to be first he first of its kind in the UAE, the Gulf reported. Presiding Judge Mahmoud Abkar sent the four Pakistanis to jail for one year each followed by deportation. They were accused of forcing 14 physically challenged people into begging. The anti-human trafficking team of Sharjah Police arrested the gang members after they received an information that the suspects had brought 35 Pakistani men and women to the UAE and were forcing them to beg. During the raid, police discovered that the 35 victims, who had been brought to the UAE from Pakistan to beg, were kept in inhumane conditions, the report said. The case, considered to be first he first of its kind in the UAE, was filed against the suspects in accordance with to UAE's anti-human trafficking law. Police investigations revealed that the head of the gang had brought the people of determination from different parts of Pakistan for forcing them into begging in the UAE. In April, Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, had praised the efforts exerted by law enforcement agencies to uncover this case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot would visit Hyderabad in the last week of this month to discuss the party's preparations for the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, besides organisational issues. The former Rajasthan Chief Minister, who coordinated the party's strategy in Karnataka after the Assembly polls, along with Ghulam Nabi Azad, would also deliberate on "empowering" leadership in the reserved constituencies, Telangana Congress spokesperson Sravan Dasoju said. Congress, the main opposition in Telangana, took up a 'bus yatra' recently to highlight the alleged failures of the TRS government. It hopes to come to power in the state after the 2019 Legislative Assembly elections. Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha constituencies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Goldman Sachs Foundation, in partnership with Coursera, has launched an online education program to further its 10,000 Women initiative to provide female entrepreneurs with a world-class business education and a global peer-to-peer network. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, is a global initiative that fosters economic growth by providing women business owners around the world with a business and management education, mentoring and networking opportunities, and access to capital. The initiative was launched in 2008. This is a question of opportunity, not capability, and this partnership with Coursera allows us to expand 10,000 Women to reach those entrepreneurs we haven't been able to before, John F W Rogers, Chairman of the Goldman Sachs Foundation said in a release. The course is free and open to all learners. Women business owners with at least three employees and USD 50,000 in annual revenue are eligible to receive a certificate upon completion. Participants in the course will be supported by a network of fellow students and alumni that will provide real-time support, mentoring and group learning across a number of technologies and channels. Exponentially scaling this program with our platform will allow many more women to develop the skills, credibility, and networks needed to execute on their ideas. said Leah Belsky, VP Enterprise Development at Coursera. The initiative was founded on research conducted by Goldman Sachs, the World Bank and others, which suggests that such an investment can have a significant impact on GDP growth. 10,000 Women has reached more than 10,000 women through the in-person program, where 70 per cent of graduates report higher revenues and nearly 60 per cent create new jobs, the release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar today claimed JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda does not have any problem with a Congress MLA becoming deputy chief minister in the coalition government of the two parties. "I have been given to understand in the media that he (Deve Gowda) has no issues with a Congress MLA becoming the deputy chief minister. He has left the decision to us (Congress) and his son H D Kumaraswamy," Shivakumar told PTI in an interview. The names of G Parameshwara, Shivakumar and S R Patil are doing the rounds for the deputy chief minister's post. Shivakumar has emerged as a key man in the political drama that preceded the formation of Congress-JD(S) alliance as he was entrusted with the task of keeping his party flock together from 'poaching' attempts by the BJP before the floor test on May 20. The MLAs were camped at a resort on Bengaluru city outskirts and shifted to Hyderabad under the supervision of Shivakumar, whose hostility to the Gowda family is well known but has now buried the hatchet. To a query, Shivakumar said senior party leaders including AICC General Secretary in Karnataka K C Venugopal will soon sit with chief minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy to finalise issues regarding cabinet formation and contentious deputy chief minister's post. "Venugopalji has just returned from Delhi. The senior party leaders will soon sit with Kumaraswamy and his leaders to deliberate on cabinet formation and deputy chief minister's post," he said. Shivakumar said he is unsure of what position he is going to get, whether KPCC president or a minister's post, but would be patient to hear from the high command. Asked why should the Congress not press for proving majority soon after Kumaraswamy takes oath as chief minister, he said there are no fears of cross-voting. In fact, party MLAs are keen on participating in the floor test as soon as possible so that they start their work in their constituencies, he said. On doubts being raised on Congress-JDS coalition completing its five-year term, he said it is going to be tough, but things have to be sorted out in the name of secularism and the nation. "If Kumaraswamy and I do not work amicably, then it will be hard to run the government smoothly," he noted. Meanwhile, JD(S) leader and former minister Basavaraj Horatti said the party does not have any issues with the Congress holding one or two deputy chief ministers posts. "The Congress can have one or two deputy chief ministers. We do not want to interfere in their affairs. We do not have any issues. Even Deve Gowda is not opposed to it. He has already made the statement," he said. The BJP is creating confusion as it was "desperate" to grab power after failing to muster support to prove its majority in the state assembly, Horatti alleged. It is the 'handiwork' of the BJP to 'spread lies and plant stories' about Deve Gowda opposing the idea of a Congress MLA becoming the deputy chief minister, he said. Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to form the government after former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa resigned ahead of facing floor test in the House on May 19. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed has reached out to Pakistan Muslim League-Functional president Pir Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi and sought his party's alliance with Milli Muslim League (MML) in Sindh province for the upcoming elections. Saeed has already started campaigning for the MML with an eye on the general elections in Pakistan expected to be held on July 27. He is currently on the visit of Sindh province to explore chances of political alliance for his MML which is yet to be registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). He held a meeting with Rashdi, a spiritual leader of the Hur in Sindh province, yesterday and sought PML-F and MML alliance in Sindh province for forthcoming general elections. PML-Zia head Ijazul Haq, a son of slain military ruler Gen Zia-ul Haq, was also present in the meeting. A source privy to the development told PTI that the meeting agreed that the three parties PML-F, PML-Z and MML would explore the possibility of seat-adjustment in Sindh. They also agreed that the like-minded parties should contest the election jointly to avoid division of the their vote bank. "Saeed said that since his organisations - JuD and Falahai-i-Insaniat (FIF) had done an extensive social work in Sindh especially during floods the people have a soft corner for them and they will vote for MML," the source said. Earlier, Saeed held a rally on the platform of MML in Haroonabad, Punjab, some 400-km from Lahore. The interior ministry had opposed enlisting of the MML as a political party arguing it's an offshoot of the JuD which is banned under a UN resolution. 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 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.) Alleging that Khattar government was not sincere towards fulfilling their demands, agitating sanitation workers will beat utensils and blow conch shells outside the residences of ministers, MPs, MLAs and BJP leaders in Haryana. Piles of garbage has piled up at several places across the state as the standoff between the striking employees and government continued for the 14th day today. The Union leaders claimed that government was indulging in pressure tactics to force them to end their agitation, but they resolved to continue till their demands were met. "As the government appears to have gone into deep slumber, we have decided that on Wednesday and Thursday, the striking workers and others who are supporting our agitation, will gather outside the residences of Ministers, MLAs, MPs and other senior functionaries shortly before sun rise. "We will beat utensils and blow conch shells so that this government wakes up from slumber," Haryana Nagar Palika Karamchari Sangh president Naresh Shastri said. The government is not sincere to resolve the issue. The BJP has gone back on its own promises which it had made at the time of the polls and failed to fulfil demands, he said. "We are compelled to resort to agitation method as we are left with no other choice," he said. A big protest rally was held in Gurgaon today as the agitation of the sanitation workers has drawn countrywide support, he said. "The government is not willing to listen to us. They are trying to force us to withdraw our agitation with threats like ESMA. "They are also claiming that they have deployed additional workforce at their disposal to clean the towns, but situation on ground tells a different tale as piles of garbage have collected and situation may turn into an epidemic, for which government will be responsible," he said. Shastri claimed that power and transport department employees too have come out in their support and they too may go on token strike in days to come. The talks between the state government and the representatives of the striking employees on the past two occasions have failed. The Safai Karamcharis have been on strike for the last two weeks protesting in support of their various demands. The major demands of the striking employees include regularisation of the contractual employees, minimum salary of Rs 15,000 per month for Safai Karamcharis, implementation of cashless medical facilities for contractual employees, increasing allowances of both permanent and contractual employees, risk allowance and better safety equipment for those engaged in cleaning sewers. In the wake of indefinite strike by sanitation workers, Chief Secretary D S Dhesi, had last week directed senior officers in the districts to ensure cleanliness in cities by working in close coordination with one another. Dhesi had earlier said the state government has accepted main demands of the striking safai karamcharis. Such arrangements should be made for the disposal of waste as to ensure that there is no pile of waste left causing fear of outbreak of any disease, he had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today sought the response of the Delhi government and a former BJP councillor on a plea by a TV journalist challenging the proceedings against him in a criminal defamation case for allegedly airing libellous Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva issued a notice to the complainant, who had filed the defamation case against Rajdeep Sardesai, who was then heading the IBN18 Network, and listed the matter for hearing on September 19. The court also granted journalist exemption from personal appearance before a Dwarka trial court for a hearing in June. Advocates Saif Mahmood and Mrinal Bharti, who appeared for Sardesai, sought quashing of the January 8 order of a sessions court which had set aside a previous decision of a magistrate discharging him in the defamation case. The counsel sought the high court's direction to reaffirm the magistrate's December 2013 order by which the journalist was discharged in the case on the ground that no offence was made out against him. They also said if the sessions court's order was not stayed, it would cause unnecessary harassment to the journalist. The defamation complaint was filed in the trial court in December 2011 against six persons, including Sardesai, following allegations that they defamed the complainant Ajit Kumar Tokas by initiating a sting operation in which reporters posed as builders with hidden cameras intended to and hereby allegedly exposing illegal construction in municipal ward Munirka of which Tokas was the then BJP councillor. It claimed that the reporters posed as builders approached the complainant with hidden cameras to allegedly expose and trap him who they assumed was corrupt and involved in such irregularities. It alleged that the sting was carried by an agency named 'Cobrapost', which worked for channels such as CNN-IBN and IBN-7. The sting operation was telecast from December 6, 2011 to December 8, 2011. It said not only this was broadcast through their channels, it was also disseminated through their website. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A division bench of the Kerala High Court today set aside a single bench order which had directed the police to book Syro-Malabar Catholic Church head Cardinal George Alencherry and three others over alleged irregularities in land deals in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Antony Dominic and Justice Dama Seshadri Naidu, said the single bench order "suffers from legal infirmity and deserves to be set aside". The court said complainant Shine Varghese from Cherthala, who had sought criminal action against the Cardinal and others, had failed to avail alternative remedies including approaching a magistrate court. The division bench issued the order in response to a plea by the Cardinal against the single bench order. The court said the impugned judgement seems to have heavily relied on the diocese's enquiry report and concluded prima facie, though that a cognisable offence is made out. "But regrettably, it has missed out on the fundamental jurisdictional issue. It has failed to notice the unseemly haste Shine showed: no sooner had he submitted his complaint, than he rushed to the court in 24 hours (after filing the police complaint)," the court said. The court, however, said, "If there be truth in what they allege, the long arm of the law will surely reach whatever recess the crime lurks in. Their swift race to the High Court alone do we interdict here...nothing more". The single bench had recently passed the order to register a case on the petition filed by Varghese. The petitioner had moved the court, saying the Ernakulam central police had not lodged a First Information Report (FIR) on his complaint against the Cardinal and others over the land deals. Besides Alencherry, the others against whom the complaint was lodged are priests Joshy Puthuva and Sebastian Vadakkumpadan and middleman Saju Varghese. Following the single bench order, the police had registered a case against them. The petitioner had sought the registration of an FIR for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and cheating against the Cardinal and the three others in sale of land worth crores of rupees belonging to the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese. Alencherry, who is also the major archbishop of the archdiocese, is the first accused in the case, the police said. They were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 120b (criminal conspiracy). Moving the division bench against the single bench order, the Cardinal had said the property transactions the archdiocese had were not in conflict with the applicable laws of the land or canon laws. Under the canon law, the archbishop has the power and authority to administer properties of the archdiocese. Cardinal Alencherry had also claimed that the writ petition was disposed of by the single bench without issuing any notice to the respondents and serving a copy of the plea. An opportunity to file a counter affidavit was denied, he said. "This tantamounts to violation of natural justice as well as the applicable rules," the Cardinal had submitted. The complaint was filed last month after a church committee, which probed alleged irregularities in financial and land transactions of the archdiocese, said it found numerous instances of violation of canon and civil laws and recommended necessary action against those responsible. The six-member inquiry committee had also said that Cardinal Alencherry "seems to have fully known and involved" in the alienation and purchase of lands by the archdiocese between April 1, 2015 and November 30, 2017. The panel, comprising priests, was appointed by Alencherry, who is also Major Archbishop of the archdiocese, after some priests and faithful accused him of selling prime land of the archdiocese for "a very low price." The Syro-Malabar Church has over 30 dioceses in the country and four outside -- in the US, Canada, Australia and Britain -- serving over five million faithful. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A JD(S)-Congress coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy will be sworn-in tomorrow in Karnataka at a ceremony attended by a galaxy of opposition leaders and chief ministers, a development that could plant a seed for a broad-based anti-BJP platform before the Lok Sabha polls next year. Karnataka Congress president G Parameshwara will be sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister, AICC general secretary in-charge of the state K C Venugopal said. Congress's Ramesh Kumar, a former minister, will be the next Speaker, while the Deputy Speaker's post will go to the JD(S), Venugopal told PTI. The Congress would have 22 ministers and JD(S) 12, he said, adding they would be sworn in after the floor test slated for Thursday. Kumaraswamy will be the second chief minister to take oath in Karnataka within a week, after BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa stepped down without facing the floor test on May 19 in the face of imminent defeat. The JD(S)'s chief minister-designate said portfolio distribution will be discussed the day after tomorrow and a coordination committee will be formed to facilitate smooth functioning of the coalition. Kumaraswamy, the third son of JD(S) supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, will be administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala at 4:30 pm in front of Vidhana Soudha, seat of the government in Bengaluru. A huge stage has been erected in front of the majestic stone building for the ceremony where a host of national and regional leaders are expected to be present to send a message across to the BJP over the shape of things to come in 2019. Government officials and sources in the JD(S) said Congress president Rahul Gandhi, his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Chandrababu Naidu, Arvind Kejriwal and Pinarayi Vijayan, her counterparts in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Kerala, are among those likely to be present. So would be CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, one of the most vocal votaries of an anti-BJP alliance, Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah. BSP chief Mayawati and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, who have formed an alliance in Uttar Pradesh would also attend the ceremony. DMK leader M K Stalin, who was also expected to be present in order to show the burgeoning opposition consolidation against the BJP, has cancelled his Bengaluru visit and would instead head for Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu where nine people were killed in police firing today. It will be Kumaraswamy's second term in office. He had earlier headed the JD(S)-BJP coalition government for 20 months between February 2006 and October 2007. Managing the contradictions in the coalition may not be a smooth sailing for the 58-year-old leader after the JD(S) and Congress fought a bitter electoral battle in the state, particularly the old Mysuru region. Kumaraswamy himself conceded today that running the coalition government for the next five yearswill be a "big challenge" for him. The first task for him would be a smooth expansion of his Council of Ministers, as the Congress would want to have a big share in the ministerial pie as it has more than double the number of MLAs JD(S) has. The Congress has 78 lawmakers in the Lower House against 37 of the JD(S). A section of Lingayat MLAs of the Congress wanted a person from their community to be the deputy chief minister as Kumaraswamy belongs to another politically influential caste Vokkaliga. However, Rahul Gandhi approved the name of Dalit leader G Parameshwara for the post, Venugopal said. D K Shivakumar, another Vokkaliga leader of the Congress, who emerged a key figure in keeping the party MLAs together before the trust vote, was also a contender for the deputy chief minister's chair but the party high command opted for Parameshwara. The BJP, which is the single largest party with 104 MLAs in the 224-member Assembly whose effective strength is 221, would not allow Kumaraswamy to have a smooth running. The BJP has dubbed the Congress-JD(S) alliance as "unholy", and claimed the government will not complete its full term. The saffron party has decided to boycott the oath- taking ceremony, and will observe "anti-popular mandate day" tomorrow to protest the formation of the coalition government. Senior BJP leaders would hold a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi's statue here, while its workers in black attire will hold demonstrations in districts, state BJP general secretary C T Ravi told reporters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese telecom firm Huawei's smartphone brand Honor today announced entry into sub-Rs 10,000 handset segment to push up its market share, following its strategy to be among top 3 players in the country in a year. Huawei India's consumer business group vice president for sales, P Sanjeev said the company has adopted 'India first' strategy to achieve its global target of being among top 3 brands by 2022. "India is the only market which is growing at very fast speed. This year we expect smartphone users in India to be at least about 340 million. China is declining. If Honor wants to be among top 3 brands by 2022, India strategy is a key for us. If we have to reach top 3 soon, we have to go for sub-Rs 10,000 segment in India," Sanjeev said. He said that more than 50 per cent of smartphone users in India are in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment. "It was tough decision to price the smartphones at Rs 8,999 but we wanted to give this big market access to Honor phones as we want to be among top 3 smartphones in India in a year. We have not compromised on design. These phones come with both dual camera, both face unlock and finger print sensor," he added. Fluctuation in rates of dollar, increase in import duty on mobile phone components have impacted prices of phones, he noted. "To support Honor be among top 3, our Chennai production capability has been growing at 700 per cent. We are already among top 5 smartphones brands in India as per January-March 2018 sales figure. For both Huawei and Honor, outside China, India production has been most successful. From July-August, we will be making over million units per month," Sanjeev said. Honor has registered 4 per cent smart share, as per its internal estimates and also survey by Counterpoint Research. "In online smartphone segment, Honor share is 39 per cent within Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 price segment. Honor 9 Lite and Honor 7x have received good response in the market. Honor 9 Lite is our first model which recorded sales of over 1 million unit in India," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Haryana Police today arrested a wanted criminal carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, a police spokesperson said. The accused, Surender alias Sunder, a member of Shanidev alias Kuki gang, allegedly involved in several cases of murder, attempt to murder, robbery and also had cases against him under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, for the last 10 years, the spokesperson of the Haryana Police Department said here. The spokesperson said that a police team had also seized a country-made pistol from his possession. He said that during patrolling in the area of police station Beri in Jhajjar district, the police had got an information that a wanted criminal, carrying an illegal weapon, was roaming in the area with an intention to commit a crime. The team immediately rushed near bridge of drain number 8 on Beri-Dubaldhan road to nab him. After seeing the police, he tried to escape, but was arrested. The accused is a native of Halalpur village, Sonipat, now residing at Swantra Nagar, Narela, Delhi. He was produced before a court in Jhajjar from where he was sent to judicial custody. In a separate case, a police team of Nuh arrested a proclaimed offender who was wanted in at least 18 cases of crime. The accused, carrying a reward of Rs 25,000, was identified as Sokin alias Sunda, a resident of Salaheri in district Nuh. He was arrested wanted in several cases of attempt to murder, robbery, loot, hurt and others since 2005, the spokesman said. Sokin was also wanted in some cases registered under the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) registered at different police stations of Nuh, Rewari, Dharuhera, Manesar, Tauru, Sohna and Gurugram, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Jackie Shroff, who ruled the silver screen in the '90s, says he realised he had become famous when megastar Amitabh Bachchan's children came up to him for an autograph. The 63-year-old actor said he was shooting in Chennai and Bachchans had booked an entire top floor of a five-star hotel he was also staying in. "I asked the waiter what time does he (Bachchan) come, because I really wanted to meet him. But I find his kids coming to take my autograph. I said, 'Wow, here I am waiting to see Bachchan sir and his kids want my autograph!' I realised then that I had become famous," Shroff said. Coming from a chawl in South Mumbai, the actor said he never thought he would become an actor but his father, an astrologer, always believed that he was destined for better things in life. "My father said that I will be an actor but I scoffed at him. I wondered, 'How can a boy from Teen Batti (Mumbai) become an actor?' I went to a hotel to become a chef and then tried becoming a flight attendant but no one took me. "I then worked in a travel agency and got into advertising and modelling after someone spotted me. So I started doing ads. I did 'Charminar' ad, because of which I got two films. Dev Anand saab gave me my first film and then I got "Hero". The actor said thanks to his background, he did not fear failure because he "never had anything to lose". "I used to live in Teen Batti. We used to have a queue for the washroom, what did we have? A cot, that too for 'aai-baba'. We slept on the floor. So what came to me, has been more than enough." Shroff will next be seen in "Phamous", directed by Karan Lalit Butani. The film, also starring Jimmy Sheirgill, Kay Kay Menon and Pankaj Tripathi, is set in Chambal with a power struggle between four principal characters forming the crux of the story. The film releases on June 1. "I was bowled over by my character and the way Karan (director) saw me in the film. I can work with both the old, revered filmmakers and new directors. It is amazing how they see me in their world and then I adapt accordingly," Shroff said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Suspended IAS officer Nirmala Meena was today sent to judicial custody by a court here, a senior Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) official said. She was produced in the court today after completion of her police remand, DIG (ACB) Ajaypal Lamba said. Nirmala Meena had surrendered before the bureau on Wednesday after the Supreme Court rejected her anticipatory bail plea on May 10. The then District Supply Officer (DSO) of Jodhpur, Meena had been suspended after the ACB had registered a case of alleged irregularities in distribution of wheat. She was wanted for alleged irregularities in the distribution of 35,000 quintal wheat meant for below poverty line (BPL) families. Meena had allegedly sold the wheat to private flour mills as the DSO, Jodhpur, in March 2016. It was a scam of nearly Rs 8 crore, according to the bureau. "Though, largely she remained non-cooperative in the interrogation, but whatever, she said was adequate to support our case against her," Lamba said. On the basis of her interrogation, the then deputy commissioner (food and supplies) Mukesh Meena, was also interrogated for two days, he said. "But no incriminating evidence has surfaced against him, Lamba said, adding that he would be interrogated further in connection to the case. He, however, admitted to have received a demand of additional 35,000 quintals of wheat from Jodhpur, the officer said. The bureau has arrested three people, including Nirmala Meena, in this case and the fourth accused, an official of the department, Ashok Paliwal, is at large. Besides, Nirmala Meena, the two other persons arrested by the bureau , are a contractor Suresh Upadhyay and owner of a flour mill, Swaroop Singh, who allegedly had connived with her in siphoning off 35,000 quintals. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The degree to which India and the Indian firms will cooperate with the Trump administration's reimposed sanctions on Iran is not certain, a Congressional report has said, asserting that New Delhi does not agree with the US that the Tehran has violated the nuclear deal. According to the independent Congressional Research Service report, India, like the European Union nations, does not agree with the American assessment that Iran has violated the nuclear deal from which the US has now withdrawn. "The degree to which Indian firms and the government of India will cooperate with reimposed US sanctions is not certain. As do the EU countries, Indian leaders assert that Iran did not violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and sanctions should not be reimposed on it," said the report on the Iranian nuclear deal from which President Donald Trump announced the US' withdrawal early this month. As America withdrew from the JCPOA, Trump also announced that the US sanctions against Iran would kick in, as a result of which any country or companies having trading relationship with Iran would be subject to secondary sanctions. As of now, India is the second largest buyer of Iranian oil after China. India's purchase of Iranian oil is estimated to have nearly doubled from 320,000 barrels per day on an average in 2011 to 620,000 in April 2018, the report said. China with current estimates of an average 700,000 barrels per day is the largest buyer of Iranian oil. In its latest report prepared for lawmakers, the CRS notes that India implemented UN-mandated sanctions against Iran and generally cooperated with multilateral efforts to use sanctions to achieve a nuclear agreement with Tehran. "During 2010-2016, India's private sector described Iran as a 'controversial market' a term used by many international firms to describe markets that entail reputational and financial risks," it said. In 2010, India's central bank ceased using a Tehran-based regional body, the Asian Clearing Union, to handle transactions with Iran. In January 2012, Iran agreed to accept Indian currency rupee to settle 45 per cent of its oil sales to India, which Iran mostly used to buy Indian wheat, pharmaceuticals, rice, sugar, soybeans, auto parts and other products. "India reduced its imports of Iranian oil substantially after 2011, reducing its purchases to six per cent of its oil imports by 2013, down from over 16 per cent in 2008. India incurred significant costs to retrofit refineries that were handling Iranian crude," it said. However, since the JCPOA oil imports rebounded to levels well above those of 2011, the report said. Indian firms ended or slowed work on investments in Iranian oil and gas fields during 2012-2016, but reportedly resumed work after sanctions were lifted. After international sanctions were lifted, India reportedly also paid Iran the USD 6.5 billion it owed for oil purchased during 2012-2016, it said. The report said in 2015 India and Iran agreed that India would help develop Iran's Chabahar port that would enable India to trade with Afghanistan unimpeded by Pakistan. "With sanctions lifted, the project no longer entails risk to Indian firms involved. In May 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Iran and signed an agreement to invest USD 500 million to develop the port and related infrastructure. Construction at the port is proceeding," it said. The reimposition of US secondary sanctions will likely harm Iran's economy, but the degree to which it does so will depend on the extent to which foreign governments and companies cooperate with the reimposed sanctions, the report said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian delegation will be among those attending an anti-terrorism conference being held here under the banner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Pakistan's Foreign Office said today. Pakistan will be hosting its first SCO meeting, since the country along with India became a member of the organisation in June 2017. Experts from the eight SCO member states - China, Kazakhstan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan - as well as representatives of the SCO-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) will participate in the three-day meeting beginning tomorrow, it said in a statement. The legal experts will discuss the terror threat faced by the region and ways and means to enhance the counter-terror efforts. "The Pakistan government is pleased to welcome delegations from the SCO member states," it said. The FO said that it supports SCO's efforts for regional cooperation in fighting terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime. "We are ready to share our experiences in tackling the menace of terrorism through the SCO-RATS," according to FO. India's presence at the meeting assumes significance since it had boycotted the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit here in 2016 citing continuing support to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan. SAARC Summits are usually held biennially hosted by a member state in alphabetical order. The member state hosting the summit assumes the Chair of the Association. The last SAARC Summit in 2014 was held in Kathmandu. The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to "prevailing circumstances" and stepped up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. Nineteen Indian soldiers died in the attack. The summit was called off after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet. Maldives and Sri Lanka are the seventh and eighth members of the initiative. The ties between India and Pakistan nose-dived after Pakistan-based terror groups carried out a series of attacks in India in 2016. India responded to the attacks by carrying out a surgical strike inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in September 2016. The death sentence handed down to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan in April last year caused a further deterioration in ties. India has been maintaining that it will not engage in talks with Pakistan unless it stops cross-border terrorism. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 15-year-old Indian-origin boy has been missing from his school in central England after he was reportedly accused of cheating when he scored top marks in an exam paper. Abhimanyu Chohan went missing from King Henry VIII Independent School in Coventry on Friday after he scored 100 per cent marks in a mock test and was worried about getting into trouble. "Officers are concerned for his welfare after he disappeared from school, just before 8.30am on Friday. We are appealing for any dog walkers, horse riders or members of the public out enjoying the warm weather to keep an eye out in rural and quiet areas as it's thought Abhimanyu could be taking refuge there," West Midlands Police said in its appeal this week. "Abhimanyu is not in any trouble, we just need to know he is safe," it adds. The boy is described as 5ft 11ins tall, with short black hair and brown eyes. He is of a medium build and it is thought he could be wearing a navy-blue Nike t-shirt and khaki or beige chinos, with Puma trainers. According to the police appeal, he could also potentially be in part of his school uniform, which includes black trousers, black shoes and a black blazer. According to local media reports, CCTV footage from a petrol pump in the city captured him walking with his rucksack. "We just want him back safe, this is so unlike him. He's a bit of a high flyer, he's a smart kid but he's not street wise," said his 46-year-old father Varinder Chohan. "We're worried he may have thought he was in trouble because he got top marks on a mock exam paper I think he just panicked and took off but it's been four days now and we are worried sick," he said. Abhimanyu's mother Navneet, 43, was the last one to see her son as she dropped him off at the school gates last Friday. "Police said maybe he is having time for himself and wants to clear his head," she told 'Coventry Live'. Relatives have been joined by friends and neighbours to help search for the missing teenager. His aunt, Manjit Sahota, said the family just want him back "safe and sound" and that they "love him so much". In a statement on King Henry VIII School's official Facebook page, head-master Jason Slack said: "We are all concerned about Abhimanyu's whereabouts and his safety and the school is working closely with the family and the police to locate Abhimanyu as quickly as possible. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A group of inmates lodged at the central jail here today protested against a search operation launched by the jail authorities for recovery of mobile phones, forcing the police to deploy extra force outside the prison to prevent any untoward situation. Around five to seven prisoners in barrack number eight protested against "frequent" searches by the jail authorities to recover mobile phones from the inmates. "When the search operation was being carried out, half a dozen prisoners protested against it. They raised slogans against the jail authorities for carrying out frequent search operations," Gurdaspur SSP Harcharan Singh Bhullar said, adding that the situation was brought under control. "Three mobile phones were found during the search operation," he said. The police said extra force was deployed outside the jail premises to deal with any emergency. Bhullar said a case would be registered against those who tried to disrupt the search operation and from whom the mobile handsets were recovered. The jail authorities have so far seized 18 mobiles from the prison during the past 20 days. Notably, last year around 150 inmates, including hardened criminals, of the Gurdaspur jail had run amok. They had made the jailbreak bid by breaking portion of the outer wall of the jail, which was thwarted by the police. The inmates also broke locks of jail barracks, besides destroying CCTVs, mobile jammers and setting ablaze the quilts and furniture. Violence had erupted in the Gurdaspur jail after two groups of under trials clashed with each other. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cautioning that protecting the was of "utmost importance", Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governor E S L Narasimhan today said the only inheritance the children sought was a clean He was speaking at the national-level celebrations of the International Day for Biodiversity (IBD) 2018 at the Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University auditorium in Hyderabad. The IBD 2018 was celebrated all over the country today under the theme of "Celebrating 25 years of action on biodiversity". The celebrations were organised to mark the 25th year of the Convention on Biological Diversity coming into force. An official statement said Narasimhan highlighted that India had been conserving its rich biodiversity for ages. "We worship trees, animals and rivers, because we want to protect them. The celebration today reminds us to go back to our roots to conserve the nature in our traditional ways. For us in India, it is not the 25th year of conservation, as we should be celebrating thousands of years of conserving the nature and living in harmony," the statement, quoting Narasimhan, said. He also cautioned that protection was of utmost importance today, "as the only inheritance our children seek from us is a clean environment for good health", the statement said. Telangana Environment Minister Jogu Ramanna underlined the efforts of the state to conserve biodiversity, while highlighting the effective functioning of the Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the community level. Additional Secretary, Union Environment Ministry, Arun Kumar Mehta, pointed out that India had contributed significantly towards achieving the global "Aichi Biodiversity Targets 11 and 16". However, he also cautioned that the continuing loss of species might lead to the sixth mass extinction. Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DACFW), S K Pattanayak, highlighted the high production of foodgrains, fruits and vegetables in the country. He referred to biodiversity as the fundamental substratum upon which India's food security stood. Chairperson, National Biodiversity Authority, B Meenakumari, highlighted that conserving biodiversity was for securing our own future. "Our actions can be small, yet significant, towards conservation of biodiversity," Meenakumari said. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director Marina Walter, in her address, highlighted that conservation of biodiversity in India would have a global impact and it would be central to the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to food security, health, livelihood security, poverty alleviation, among others. The IBD 2018 celebrations were organised by the Union Environment Ministry, in coordination with the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and the Telangana State Biodiversity Board. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than two dozen pro-government forces based in Syria's desert died in a surprise Islamic State group attack today, a day after the jihadists' ouster from the outskirts of Damascus, a monitor said. "At least 26 regime soldiers and allied forces were killed in an IS attack at dawn today, against one of their posts in the Syrian Badiya," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Among them were Iranian militiamen, said the Britain-based monitor. The Badiya is a vast desert region stretching from central Syria to the eastern border with Iraq, where IS still holds small pockets. Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the attack hit a small base east of Palmyra, the famed ancient city that Islamic State (IS) has overrun twice in Syria's war. "It began with a car bomb targeting regime forces that set off clashes that are still ongoing," he said. Five IS fighters were also killed. "IS fighters launched their attack from a pocket they control in the Badiya, and which was the destination for IS fighters evacuated from southern Damascus on Sunday and Monday," Abdel Rahman added. Syria's government yesterday seized a southern pocket of the capital from IS, announcing that the regime was back in full control of Damascus and its outskirts. The Observatory, as well as a military source close to the regime, said the capture came after IS fighters were bussed out of the zone to desert territory. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A proposal by the JNU to introduce a course on "Islamic terrorism" has not gone down well with Islamic outfit Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind which has threatened a legal action and the CPI(M) condemned it saying it is an attempt to communalise the varsity's syllabus. The JNUSU has also condemned the recent move of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, while the ABVP called it a proud moment for the varsity. The Delhi Minorities Commission has sought an explanation over it from the JNU. Taking note of reports about the proposed course, the commission has asked the university registrar to explain on what basis the course on "Islamic terrorism" is being started by the varsity. "This ill conceived decision would hurt the feelings and sentiments of not only the Muslims but all those people who believe in respecting all the religions as the true mark of a civilized society. "I urge you to reconsider the decision specifically linking Islam with terrorism and suspend this move for the wider interest or we will be compelled to take legal recourse," Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind General Secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani said in a letter to the vice chancellor of the JNU. The CPI (M) politburo in a statement said, "This BJP government continues to attack institutions of higher and research in the country with its ideological project of replacing the study of Indian history with Hindu mythology. Efforts are on now to communalise the syllabus in the central university". "The JNU academic council, despite wide opposition to it, has proposed to introduce a course on Islamic Terrorism. This will play havoc with the country's unity and integrity. "The wide spread notion is that if at all such a course has to be introduced it should be on 'religious fundamentalism' not specifically targeting any one religion," the statement added. The JNU Academic Council "passed" a proposal to set up a Centre for National Security Studies under which there would be a course on "Islamic terrorism", said a professor who attended the meeting last week. The proposal has also been condemned by the JNU Students Union (JNUSU). "This is spreading hatred against one religion so a university doing this is unbecoming of an educational institution of this stature," JNUSU Vice President Simone Zoya Khan said. The ABVP unit of the varsity, however, defended the move saying, it is a "proud" moment for the JNU as it is the first university to introduce such a course. "First of all we need to understand the Islamic terrorism conceptually. This can happen only by introduction of a course on Islamic terrorism at Centre for national security JNU. It's a proud moment for entire country because no one have ever introduced this type of course," ABVP's Saurabh Sharma said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Normal functioning of courts in the winter capital of Jammu was today affected as lawyers stayed away to protest heavy shelling by Pakistan along the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC) in which seven people, including an infant, died over the past week. The Jammu High Court Bar Association unanimously decided to suspend the work for the day to lodge protest against the unprovoked and indiscriminate Pakistani firing and the subsequent casualties and miseries to the border residents who have been forced to migrate for their safety, a spokesman of the association said. The work in the high court and its subordinate courts, tribunals and commissions was badly affected due to the suspension of the work by the lawyers, the officials said. The association held a meeting in the high court complex, condemning the Pakistani shelling and expressed solidarity with the border residents. Vice president of the Association, Sachin Gupta, who chaired the meeting, said India is trying to make peace with Pakistan but the latter does not want peace and resorts to unprovoked firing on civilians every now and then. "During the holy month of Ramzan when the centre has announced unilateral ceasefire, the Pakistani side resorted to shelling and firing on our border villages in which precious lives have been lost and many rendered injured," he said. Gupta said the killing of an eight-month-old boy along the LoC in Pakistani firing yesterday was against humanity and "such act of cowardice cannot be justified even by Pakistan". Expressing concern about the safety of border residents, he said many of them have fled their homes and have taken shelter in relief camps. "The main livelihood of the residents of the border villages is agriculture and related activities are severely affected as the livestock are being slaughtered and humans cannot venture out of safe zones due to indiscriminate firing and shelling by Pakistan," he said, demanding adequate compensation to the affected families. He said the education of children is severely affected as schools remain closed and people live in fear for their lives. Jammu and Kashmir 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. Today, two persons, including a 70-year-old woman, were injured as Pakistani Rangers opened fire and lobbed mortars along the IB in the state, triggering panic among border residents and forcing many to take shelter in government-run camps. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Resident doctors of the state-run J J Hospital here called off their strike after the Maharashtra government assured them of fulfilling their demands. The doctors were on a strike since May 19 after two of their colleagues were allegedly assaulted by the relatives of a patient following her death while undergoing a treatment. The striking doctors demanded sufficient security in the hospital to protect them against any outrage by patients' relatives. "Our main concern is security of doctors which has been assured of and we have decided to resume duty," said Dr Akash Mane, General Secretary, Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD). Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan met with the dean of J J hospital and the officers of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER). He also met a delegation of the protesting doctors. "We have decided to beef up security and some staff is deployed in the hospital. An alarm system will be set up inside the hospital wards so that doctors can seek protection. The resident doctors can use it. I am happy that doctors have resumed duty," the minister said. The doctors had earlier said they would not resume work unless security personnel were deployed inside the hospital. They said that hospitals were provided security guards following similar incidents earlier, but these personnel were manning the entrances. Two resident doctors, including a woman, of the J J Hospital, located in south Mumbai's Byculla area, were allegedly assaulted by the relatives of Zaida Sanaullah Sheikh (45) after she died while undergoing a treatment there. The accused were identified as Mohd Altaf Anulahak Shaikh (32), Sony Sanahullah Shah (23), Rihan Sanaullah Shah (22) and Salima Khatun Sanaullah Shah (20). The police had registered a case under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Service Act, 2010, and arrested four people in connection with the incident. They were later remanded to judicial custody till May 31. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former minister Sham Lal Sharma has resigned from the post of senior vice president of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC). Sharma's resignation has created uproar in the political circles of the state. "I have resigned from the post of the senior vice president. I would continue to work as a soldier and member of the party," Sharma said while addressing a meeting paying tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at the Congress office here yesterday. As per sources he has resigned in protest against the JKPCC chief G A Mir's failure to address Jammu issues, particularly with regard to the party in the region. Sharma has forwarded his resignation to the All India Congress Committee president Rahul Gandhi and the JKPCC chief Mir as well. However Mir said that he has not yet got the resignation letter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Donald Trump today suggested that his historic summit with Kim Jong-un "may not work out" even as he asserted that the North Korean leader was "serious" about denuclearisation. Trump met his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in at the White House as the fate of the much-awaited June 12 Singapore summit between him Trump and Kim loomed large. As he welcomed Moon in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that it will be great if his meeting with Kim takes place as scheduled, but if did not, it will take place later "We're moving along. We'll see what happens," Trump said in response to a question. "There's a very substantial chance that it won't work out. That doesn't mean that it won't work out over a period of time, but it may not work out for June 12," Trump said in the Oval Office where he hosted Moon. Trump and Kim are scheduled to meet in Singapore on June 12. However, North Korea has threatened to cancel the meeting over a joint US-South Korea military exercise. The US has said it was going ahead with the preparation. "You will know soon," Trump told reporters about the summit. "If it doesn't happen, maybe it will happen later...You never know about deals...I've made a lot of deals. You never really know," Trump said. Trump said he believed Kim was "serious" about denuclearization as he aims to push ahead with the Singapore summit. "I do think he is serious. I think he is absolutely very serious," he said, but declined to say whether he had spoken to Kim. "They're hardworking, great people," he said of North Koreans. "He will be extremely happy. He will be very happy" he said of Kim if the deal works out. Earlier, Moon's national security advisor Chung Eui-yong told reporters that there were 99.9 per cent chances for the summit to happen. "We believe there is a 99.9 per cent chance the North Korea-US summit (set for June 12 in Singapore) will be held as scheduled. But we're just preparing for many different possibilities," Chung told reporters. "We're trying to understand the situation from the North's perspective," he said when asked about changes in North Korea's rhetoric. The two leaders were scheduled to have a candid conversation in multiple settings including over lunch at the White House - on how to make the North-US summit a success and produce significant agreements and how to best implement those agreements, Chung said. "South Korea and the US have been sharing every bit of information and have remained in close coordination with each other," Chung said. "We've had various working-level discussions on how to steer North Korea in a direction that we want, and I expect (Moon and Trump) will have great talks this time," he added. Chung denied the New York Times article reporting that Trump is now doubting the advisability of the June 12 summit. "During phone calls between our two leaders or talks between our National Security Councils, I never got such an impression," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The swearing-in of JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy as Karnataka Chief Minister tomorrow would signal the formation of a "secular" and anti-BJP front in the country, Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said today. The former Union Minister said the expected presence of a galaxy of opposition leaders at the oath-taking ceremony in Bengaluru is "really a forerunner meeting" towards building such a front. "All opposition, many of whom have not joined together at any time earlier....first time they are joining together... it signals the formation of anti-BJP, and positively for secular front in the country," the former Karnataka Chief Minister told PTI. According to him, the coming together of the Congress and JD(S) in Karnataka is a "land-mark" and a "good beginning" towards consolidation of political forces against the BJP. "This is the beginning of decline of the graph of NDA, more particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi", Moily claimed. "This is the emergence of an era of consolidation, era of secularism". He said in the recent Assembly elections in Gujarat, as well as the just-concluded one in Karnataka, there was total absence of Modi wave. "If Modi wave was there in Karnataka, this could not have been the figure (election results). The very fact that the BJP scored the same percentage of votes as in 2008, even when Modi was not present, goes to show that Modi wave did not matter. There is no relevance", Moily said. "In any election to come in other States, it will be fought on level-playing ground and without Modi wave," he said. On whether the Congress is ready to play second fiddle in States where it's not strong in next year's Lok Sabha polls, Moily said what is important is Modi and BJP "should go in 2019 and democratic and secular forces should emerge." As for several Prime Ministerial aspirants among the anti-BJP parties, he said every thing, including PM candidate will "evolve" and there is no difficulty at all. "This kind of emerging wave against the BJP, for evolution of democratic and secular forces, cannot stopped at all by any forces," Moily claimed. He also hit back at the BJP for terming the JDS-Congress coalition as an "unholy alliance." "They had also joined hands with JDS (in the past), was it unholy? They had 24 political parties (in NDA) when (Atal Behari) Vajpayee was Prime Minister, was it unholy? it's (like) devil quoting scripture," Moily added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cyber security firm Kaspersky has detected a new Android malware that takes control of users device by hacking routers and directs user to genuine looking websites created by it to steal their details. The malware supports content in 27 languages, including Hindi, Chinese, Arabic, Bulgarian and Russian, according to a statement issued by Kaspersky. "Kaspersky Lab's findings indicate that the attackers behind Roaming Mantis seek out vulnerable routers for compromise, and distribute the malware through a simple yet very effective trick of hijacking the DNS settings of those infected routers," the company said. DNS converts name of websites into digital addresses and helps them connecting with servers on which websites are hosted. The Russian cyber security firm, however, has not been able to find method which the malware uses to hack routers but said that once the malware successfully hijacks the DNS, any attempt by users to access any website leads them to a genuine-looking URL with forged content coming from the attackers' server like page requesting user to download latest version of chrome browser for better experience or update for any other social media app to add new features etc. "The Roaming Mantis malware checks to see if the device is rooted and requests permission to be notified of any communications or browsing activity undertaken by the user. It is also capable of collecting a wide range of data, including credentials for two-factor authentication," the statement said. Most of the credit card companies use two-factor authentication to complete transaction, which includes one-time password to user on their mobile phones for verification. "The malware included support for four languages: Korean, simplified Chinese, Japanese, and English. The attack range has now been extended, supporting 27 languages in all, including Polish, German, Hindi, Arabic, Bulgarian and Russian," it said. The Kaspersky Lab researchers on April 16 reported on a new Android malware distributed through a domain name system (DNS) hijacking technique and targeting mainly smartphones in Asia. The researchers found that even after four weeks the threat continues to evolve rapidly and has now extended its target geography to include Europe and the Middle East, adding a phishing option for iOS devices and PC crypto-mining capability. Kaspersky Lab's initial research uncovered around 150 targets, mainly in South Korea, Bangladesh, and Japan, but it also revealed thousands of connections hitting the attackers' command & control servers on a daily basis, pointing to a far larger scale of attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad, serving sentences in fodder scam cases and out on provisional bail, left for Mumbai tonight to undergo treatment for heart-related problems. The former Bihar chief minister, who has been granted a six-week bail by the Jharkhand High Court, reached the Jay Prakash Narayan Airport here on a wheelchair. He will be accompanied to Mumbai by RJD leader Bhola Yadav. Prasad (69), who had undergone a bypass surgery a few years ago, has sought an appointment with renowned heart surgeon Ramakant Panda at the Asian Heart Institute, sources close to his family said. From Mumbai, the RJD chief is scheduled to leave for Bengaluru for consultations with experts at the GBS Global Medical Institute for kidney-related problems. Prasad suffers from many ailments, including high blood pressure and diabetes. The former Bihar chief minister has been in jail since December 23 last year, after being sentenced in a fodder scam case. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to jail in two more fodder scam cases. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lawmakers in the US are having discussions on the potential impact of a new law under which any significant purchase of military equipment from Russia would attract American sanctions, an influential US senator said today. Senator Tim Kaine, who is on the both Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee, said sanctions like Countering America's Adversaries through Sanction Act (CAATSA) would drive friends and allies away and give adversaries a chance to come together. Signed into law by President Donald Trump in August 2017, the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanction Act or CCTSA imposes sanctions on a country or utility for any significant purchase of military equipment from Russia. "We worry about it (CAATSA) will drive our allies away and also we give adversaries reasons to come together," Kaine told PTI. Kaine said both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are working to bring in the necessary reform in CAATSA. "We are starting to talk about CAATSA reforms both in the armed services and the foreign relations committees, he said, but quickly added that it is premature to say what will happen. "But we're having the discussion about the application of CAATSA now and how it would punish potentially punish allies of ours," Kaine said. Responding to a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi having informal summits with the presidents of China and Russia, he said it "does not worry" him. "Of course, they are going to talk to great nations that are in their neighbourhood. Of course, they will," he said. "I continue to believe this administration understands how important the US India relationship is. I don't mind criticising President Trump. But on US-India relationship, I do know that they view it as very important," Kaine said. "They understand the importance of the relationship. I mean, they definitely do," said the Senator from Virginia, who was vice presidential nominee of the Democratic party in the 2016 presidential elections. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The metallic smell of gunpowder lingered in the air and thick clouds of smoke belched from the charred houses in the Jorafarm hamlet, razed to the ground in the relentless firing by Pakistan before residents could have their Sehri - pre-dawn Ramaz meal. "What Sehri? We are alive because we fled our homes in the dark. When it was time for Sehri, we watched our hamlet being torn down by Pakistan," Jallan Din Gujjar, a resident of Jorafarm said. Pakistan today rained down mortars on the "hamlet of Gujjar milkmen", located around 400 metres from the border. The shells blew their kullas (mud houses) to smithereens, turning the hamlet into a huge heap of debris, said one of the residents. Din, who returned to the hamlet in the R S Pura sector to rescue his horses, said the border dwellers "live in the shadow of death". "We are lucky to have escaped the brutality. We have taken refuge in a government building at some distance from the hamlet," another resident said. Pakistani troops have been targeting border outposts and hamlets closed to the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, triggering panic among residents. A large number of people have fled their homes due to the shelling along the IB in the Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts. More than 100 families reside in the Jorafarm hamlet, which is famous for its milk products. This is the fourth time Jorafarm has borne the brunt of Pakistani shelling in recent years. On January 20 this year, hundreds of kullas were ravaged and a huge number of bovines killed in Jorafarm in firing by Pakistan. At least six people were injured and more than 30 mud houses destroyed in another incident of cross-border firing in September, 2017. Mohammad Akram and his two-year-old son were killed in Jorafarm in Pakistan shelling in 2014. Shelling and firing are now the norm for the Gujjars of this border hamlet. Year after year they painstakingly build their mud-and-grass houses only to be reduce to rubble. Blood-splattered compounds, smashed window panes and demolished roofs are all that are left of houses in border hamlets in the Arnia and R S Pura sectors. Farmlands have craters due to mortar bombs and have turned into live minefields. Seven people, including two Border Security Force jawans and an-eight-month old infant, have been killed in ceasefire violations in the past one week. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump said today that at the request of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the US was looking at sanctions against the Chinese telecom giant ZTE. He was responding to questions on the criticism by his political opponents on his decision asking the Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to review the sanctions against ZTE. "As far as ZTE is concerned, the president (Xi) asked me to look into it and I am doing that. And don't forget, for the ones that say 'Oh maybe Trump is getting a little bit easy', ZTE, we closed it. It wasn't another administration. It was this administration that closed it," Trump told reporters at the White House. "It's a phone company. A very large phone company. But it's also a phone company that buys a large portion of its parts that make up these phones that are sold all over the world, from American companies," Trump argued. "So when you do that, you're really hurting American companies also. I'm looking at it. But we were the ones that closed it. It wasn't done by previous administrations, it was done by us. So we'll see what happens," he said. Trump said that as a favour to the Chinese president, he is taking a look at it. "A lot of the stories on trade were incorrectly written. I don't like to talk about deals until they're done. So we'll see what happens," he said. The deal that finally emerges may be a much better deal for the US, Trump said. "There is no deal. We will see what happens. We are discussing deals. We're discussing various deals," he said. "We can do a 301, where we don't need China, where we can just say, 'Look, this is what we want. this is what we think is fair'. That's always a possibility, if a negotiated deal doesn't work out," he warned. "We lost USD 500 billion a year for many years. Then it varied from USD 100 billion to USD 500 billion. When you're losing USD 500 billion a year, you can't lose in terms of a negotiation. It's really easy to win," he said. Trump said he wanted this the deal to be a great deal for both the US as well as China. "I want it to be a very good deal for China too, if that's possible. It may not be possible," he said. Averting a trade war, China and the US struck a deal on Monday under which Beijing will "significantly increase" its purchases of American goods and services to reduce the whopping USD 375 billion trade deficit with Washington. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today came out in support of the Delhi archbishop, who has stated in a letter that a "turbulent political atmosphere" posed a threat to India's democratic principles and secular fabric, saying whatever the religious leader has said "is a fact". Anil Couto, the archbishop of Delhi, in the letter to all parish priests and religious institutions in Delhi archdiocese has also appealed to the followers of his faith to launch a "prayer campaign" ahead of the 2019 general elections. Without advocating any candidate or party, he has urged all priests to "pray for the country" ahead of the 2019 polls. "I think whatever he has said was correct. It is a fact," Banerjee, who has often criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre, told reporters at the state secretariat here. "We have great regard and respect for all communities, caste and creed. We respect all archbishops in the country," she added. Her support for the archbishop came shortly after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi said India does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion or sect. Singh said such things will never be allowed in the country. "I have not seen the (archbishop's) statement verbatim but all I can say is that India is a country where there is no discrimination against anyone on the basis of caste, sect or religion. Such a thing cannot be allowed," Singh said. Couto's letter was dated May 8, days before the Karnataka assembly elections on May 12. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 65-year-old woman was beaten to death by her elder son over a property dispute in northeast Delhi's Khajuri Khas area, police said today. Amit Gautam rained blows on his mother Shukla Devi at their residence following an argument over a property matter on May 17. The younger son of the woman, Ajit, rushed her to a hospital where she succumbed to injuries yesterday, the police said. The accused son has been arrested, they said. Ajit told the police that Amit was upset with his mother over the sale of a property in Khajuri Khas area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ministry of External Affairs has asked Indore district authorities to show Geeta, a deaf and mute girl who returned to India from Pakistan in 2015, the 25 marriage proposals it has short-listed for her, an official said today. Geeta was found alone on board the Samjhauta Express in Lahore when she was seven or eight years old. After a Facebook advertisement seeking a match for her, 50 men had sent marriage proposals. Of these, the MEA has found 25 proposals fit for her after scrutiny, district panchayat chief executive officer Neha Meena said. "The district administration has been asked to arrange a meeting for Geeta with the men so that she can make a choice," she added. She said the bio-data and pictures of the 25 men will be shown to Geeta. A social activist, Gyanendra Purohit, had put up a post on Facebook on April 10 seeking marriage proposals from "good and smart deaf" men above the age of 25 for Geeta. Geeta is staying in a facility run by Muk-Badhir Sangathan, an NGO, in Indore. The Madhya Pradesh government's social justice department is her caretaker. So far more than 10 couples from different parts of India have claimed that Geeta is their missing daughter, but none of them have been able to establish the claim. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A second meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Shah to finalise the name of the caretaker premier ended inconclusively today as they failed to agree on a candidate for the post, according to media reports. The current government led by Abbasi's Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz (PML-N) is set to end its five-year term on May 31. The general election is expected to be held in the last week of July. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) yesterday forwarded a report to President Mamnoon Hussain, suggesting that he could choose either July 25 or July 27 as the day of the polls. The caretaker prime minister will lead the interim set-up and attend to day-to-day matters of governance. Abbasi and Shah met earlier on May 18 but the that too remained inconclusive as both sides failed to finalise a candidate before Abbasi left for Turkey. Another meeting will be held with Prime Minister Abbasi tomorrow or on Thursday after to finalise the caretaker premier, Shah, who is from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) told the media after the meeting, which took place at the PM House. Shah said no consensus could be reached during the meeting. "The prime minister said that the names forwarded by our side are good, but so are the names forwarded by their side," Shah said. "The government has not insisted upon any name as yet," Shah was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper. "We would try to finalise a name," he said. "If the matter is not settled in tomorrow's meeting, the decision may be taken to a parliamentary committee," Shah said, explaining that both sides will suggest two names each to the parliamentary committee which will then decide the matter. If the committee also fails to come to a decision, the matter will be referred to the ECP, which will then have the prerogative to choose any one of the six nominated candidates. The PML-N and the PPP had reached an understanding to delay announcing the names of the caretaker set-up probables and keep their discussions under wraps as long as possible to avoid unnecessary debate in the media. The PPP and the PML-N have repeatedly expressed the desire that they want to announce the name of the caretaker prime minister with consensus and do not want to see the matter getting referred to the ECP. Ousted former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif is not in favour of appointing a retired justice or bureaucrat as the caretaker premier, and hence Prime Minister Abbasi asked for more time on the matter, Geo TV reported. Although the government and opposition remain tight-lipped about the matter, names of Maleeha Lodhi, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and Dr Ishrat Hussain have been doing the rounds as candidates expected to be elevated to the slot of the caretaker Prime Minister, the Express Tribune reported. Shah has hinted at getting elevated a 'female PM', giving rise to speculation that the name of Lodhi, Pakistan's top diplomat at the United Nations, may have been agreed upon. Another female candidate whose name is under consideration is that of former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Shamshad Akhtar, the report said. The government had proposed names of former secretary of Election Commission of Pakistan Ishtiak Ahmad Khan and former Chief Justices of Pakistan Jawad S Khawaja and Anwar Zaheer Jamali, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To mark four years in office, the Narendra Modi government plans to hold a series of media events in the coming days to publicise its achievements. At least four Union ministers are likely to hold press conferences in Delhi between May 24 and May 28 to highlight the key policy initiatives of the government, sources said today. The ministers may also interact with Op-Ed columnists separately to give its side of narrative ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, they said. Besides mega events in Delhi, regional press meets are also being planned in 40 cities, between May 29 and June 3, to showcase the government's achievements of the past four years. As of now, press conferences in Delhi have been planned for May 24, 25, 27 and 28, the government sources said. Last year, too, the government had planned similar events. The ruling BJP had organised presentations by key ministers to highlight the government's achievements. Modi took over as prime minister on May 26, 2014. The theme of the celebration would largely be the pro-poor initiatives of the government, such as Ujjawala Yojana, Saubhagya Yojana, and the Prime Minister Awas Yojana. Social media, including blogs, would also be used to reach out to the people to showcase the government's achievements. For the third year anniversary, the BJP had planned 'Modifest', to celebrate the government's achievements. The event was held across several cities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina will address the convocation at the Visva-Bharati University and hold bilateral talks there on May 25, official sources said. The two leaders will also inaugurate the Bangladesh Bhavan at the university. Hasina will arrive in Kolkata on the morning of May 25, sources at the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission said. She would then leave for Santiniketan in West Bengal's Birbhum district, about 160km from the state capital. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will also attend the programme at the university founded by Rabindranath Tagore. Modi, the chancellor of the university, will inaugurate the Bangladesh Bhavan with Hasina and hold a bilateral meeting there, the sources said. The prime minister is the university chancellor. The last time a chancellor was present at the convocation at Visva-Bharati was in 2008, when Manmohan Singh was the prime minister. There has been no convocation in the central university for the past four years, officials said. After the events in Santiniketan, Hasina is scheduled to leave for Kolkata, where she is likely to visit Jorasanko Thakur Bari, Tagore's ancestral home in north Kolkata, an official said. On May 26, Hasina will visit Kazi Nazrul University in Asansol in West Burdwan district where she will be conferred with an honorary D.Lit. Banerjee will be the chief guest at the convocation in the university. On her return to Kolkata, Hasina is likely to visit Netaji Bhavan, the ancestral home of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, in south Kolkata. "In Kolkata she is likely to visit both Jorasanko Thakur Bari and Netaji Bhavan," the official of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata said, adding that the dates were to be finalised. She will return to Dhaka on the evening of May 26. The Bangladesh Bhavan at Santiniketan will house a library, a state-of-the-art archival centre and a seminar hall, besides a sprawling space for cultural get-togethers. Apart from the literary works of Tagore, the centre will also showcase books and photographs on the Bangladesh Liberation War and India's role in it. Sabujkali Sen, officiating vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati, said the programme would be a historical one for the university, which would welcome the dignitaries with the traditional rituals of Santiniketan. A large delegation of people from Bangladesh, including media persons, would accompany Hasina, university sources said. It was not confirmed whether the university's highest award 'Desikottama' would be conferred at the convocation. An official of NBCC, which constructed the Bangladesh Bhavan, said the building combined tradition and modern facilities. "Everything has been made keeping in mind the Santiniketan flavour. The socio-cultural features of Bangladesh have been merged with it," the official said. A Visva-Bharati official said the central university would gift a replica of the first edition of Rabindranath Tagore's 'Gitanjali', which was published in 1912 in London, among other souvenirs to Modi. Sheikh Hasina would be gifted a set of 'Rabindra Chitrabali' -- Tagore's paintings in four volumes -- along with other gifts. Banerjee would be presented with a set of 'Rabindra Chitrabali' along with Tagore's photographs and a bilingual edition of 'Gitanjali', the official added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union minister Ramdas Athawale said today that there was no question of Rahul Gandhi becoming the prime minister after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the "Modi wave" is likely to continue for another 10-15 years. Taking a dig at Gandhi's remark that if the Congress emerges as the single-largest party after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls he would become the prime minister, Athawale said there was no question of that happening. "Modi wave will sweep all elections in future because he believes in taking along all sections of society," the Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment said. Pitching for giving quota to people in general category on lines of SC-ST and OBC quota, he said the reservation percentage should be increased from 49.5 to 75 per cent to include castes which do not fall into creamy layer category. He said he was in favour of people getting reservation benefits in promotions, for which the Centre will soon bring in a legislation. He said BSP chief Mayawati should support the BJP if she wants to do something for Dalits. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal today issued notice to the resolution professional (RP) and Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Bhushan Steel over the plea filed by its operational creditor L&T. NCLAT also impleaded Tata Steel, whose bid for the debt ridden firm has been approved, as party over L&T plea seeking to recover Rs 900 crore. "Let notice be issued to CoC and RP. File their replies by May 28," said the NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya. The bench has directed that the matter be listed on May 30 for next hearing. It has also directed the engineering and construction major to file certified copy of NCLT order. On May 15, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had approved the resolution plan submitted by the RP of Bhushan Steel, which has found Tata Steel as the highest bidder. The CoC had approved Rs 32,500 crore deal along with 12.27 per cent equity in the company offered by Tata Steel. During the proceedings, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for L&T submittee that in the operational creditors are getting nothing from Rs 32,500 crore offer from Tata Steel. "Though RP admits our claims of Rs 500 crore but we woule get nothing," he said adding " Rs 32,500 crore would be swallowed by the banks." Earlier, on May 15, while approving Tata Steel bid, NCLT had dismissed the plea of L&T seeking higher priority in recovery of loan and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A plea alleging threat to wildlife especially to the swamp deer due to human intervention in the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary has prompted the National Green Tribunal to seek response from the Centre and UP government. A bench headed by Acting NGT chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim issued notices to the Ministry of and Forests, National Board for Wildlife, National Biodiversity Authority, Uttar Pradesh government and UP State Biodiversity Board while seeking their reply before July 23. The tribunal was hearing a plea field by advocate Gaurav Bansal seeking protection and restitution of the biodiversity and ecosystem of the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary. Bansal, in its petition has stated that recently the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has done a survey of the sanctuary which found that wildlife including swamp deer is fighting for its existence. According to the plea, WII in its report has also stated that due to high human presence and forest fire, endangered species like swamp deer, hog deer and Gangetic grasslands were facing difficulties in survival. "The applicant has learnt from the red list of threatened species generated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural resources published on January 10, 2015 that the population of swamp deer (Barasingha) is assessed as vulnerable because the estimated total population lies between 3,500 and 5,100 animals and also its protection status is not secure. "It is pertinent to mention here that the report generated revealed the important fact that the species of swamp deer is assumed to decline by at least 10 per cent over 24 years due to habitat conversion and degradation," the plea said. Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over an area of 2,073 sq km along the banks of Ganga in five forest divisions --Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Meerut, Hapur and Amroha. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Gujarat government over an incident in which a Dalit man was allegedly beaten to death in a factory compound near Rajkot district's Shapar town. The NHRC, in a statement, said that it had issued notice to the state's chief secretary and had called for a report on the matter within four weeks, along with measures taken to provide relief to the affected family. A Dalit ragpicker, Mukesh Vaniya (35), was allegedly beaten to death, and his wife assaulted, on May 20 by five people in the factory compound, including the factory owner. They suspected that Vaniya and his wife were stealing scrap. A video of the incident -- purportedly showing two people taking turns to beat Vaniya with a stick while another person holding him by a rope tied to his waist -- had gone viral on social media. The police arrested the five people based on the video, a police official had 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. A delegation of Congress leaders, including state unit president Amit Chavda, state in-charge Rajiv Satav and its Scheduled Caste Cell convener Ravindra Dalvi, met Vaniya's family at their native Parnara village in Surendranagar district and presented Vaniya's wife a cheque of Rs 1 lakh. Talking to the media, Chavda and Satav alleged that the BJP government in Gujarat had failed to stem the atrocities being committed on the Dalit community. "The number of cases have seen a steady increase. The government, instead, is shielding the perpetrators," they alleged. "Dalits are not feeling safe in the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. The government makes false promises in the wake of such incidents but no leader from the ruling party meets families of the victims," they said. The opposition party demanded that the state government provide the deceased's wife 5 acres of cultivable land, a house, as well as make arrangement for the treatment of a disease related to the liver she is suffering from. Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani said the incident was more "dangerous" than the Una incident in which seven Dalits were flogged by a group of cow vigilantes in July 2016. "I strongly condemn the incident in which a Dalit man was cruelly beaten to death. In my view, this incident is much more dangerous than the Una incident. While in Una, the victims were beaten and abused, here a man was killed," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said today nine people were killed in "police action" against anti-Sterlite protesters in Tuticorin, and announced a judicial inquiry into the violence. Detailing the events leading to the "unfortunate" deaths, he said the protesters took out a procession towards the collectorate defying prohibitory orders in the area. They not only pelted policemen with stones but also set on fire their vehicles as well as those parked in the collectorate. They hurled stones at the collector's office, he said in a statement. "The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence... police had to control the violence," Palaniswami, who holds the Home portfolio, said. "I was grieved to know nine persons were unfortunately killed in this incident," he said, and expressed his sympathies and condolences for the families of those killed. Palaniswami said he has ordered constitution of a one- man commission under a retired high court judge to go into the incident. The chief minister also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of those killed, Rs 3 lakh to those seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh for people who suffered minor injuries. He also assured government jobs for one family member of each of those who lost their lives in accordance with their qualifications. The chief minister instructed the Tuticorin district administration to ensure those wounded got good medical treatment. Nearly 5000 people demanding closure of the Vedanta group-owned plant today went on the rampage over pollution concerns, clashing with police, and setting vehicles and public property on fire. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nine people were killed in police firing after protests for the closure of Vedanta group's Sterlite Copper plant over pollution concerns turned violent in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin, with the police action drawing opposition criticism. Chief Minister K Palaniswami confirmed reports about the death of nine people in "police action", while reports claimed many, including policemen, were injured in clashes. Governor Banwarilal Purohit condoled the deaths. Palaniswami announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of the deceased, and ordered judicial inquiry into the violence. The protests were going on in Tuticorin for over three months now, but violence erupted today with agitators fighting pitched battles with police, prompting it to open fire. Palaniswami said in a statement in Chennai that the protesters took out a procession towards the collectorate in defiance of the prohibitory orders clamped in the specific area in Tuticorin. Hurling stones and setting government vehicles and public property on fire, the agitators went on the rampage in the town, about 600 km from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. Police said nearly 5000 protesters gathered near a local church and insisted on taking a out a rally to the district collectorate after they were denied permission to march to the copper smelter plant. Initial pushing and shoving soon led to violent clashes, after agitated locals began hurling stones at police and overturned a vehicle. Security personnel used batons and burst teargas shells to break up the protest. Many were injured in stone-pelting by the agitators, who also set some vehicles on fire. Windscreens of some government cars were smashed and bank premises were attacked by the rampaging mobs. As the violence spiralled, police opened fire, killing nine people. "The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protestors resorted to repeated violence... police had to control the violence," Palaniswami, who holds the Home portfolio, said. Reinforcements have been rushed from neighbouring districts to Tuticorin to assist the local administration in restoring normalcy. Some senior officials have also been despatched from Chennai to the strife-torn town to assess the situation and take measures to restore calm, sources said. Meanwhile, an official release said about 20,000 people took out a procession towards the district collectorate and the copper plant, demanding its permanent closure. The government, underlining its "pro-people commitment", said further legal action would be taken, "respecting" their feelings. "The Tamil Nadu government requests the people to accept this (assurance) and maintain peace," it said. The statement said the plant was in operation in Meelavitan in Tuticorin for the past 20 years. Following a gas leak in March 2013, the then chief minister the late J Jayalalithaa, ordered its closure, following which the company moved the National Green Tribunal. With the tribunal overturning the government order, the state moved the Supreme Court against it, and the petition was now pending there, it added. It said the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had earlier this year rejected Sterlite's application seeking renewal of consent to operate the plant over non-fulfilment of green norms, including those related to disposal of copper waste and effluents. The company later moved the Appellate Authority and the next hearing is slated for June 6, it said. DMK Working President and Leader of Opposition, MK Stalin, slammed the "inhumane" firing on protestors. In a statement, he demanded an inquiry by a sitting high court judge, besides a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of each of those killed. The government committed a "Himalayan blunder" by handling the protest with "guns and teargas shells," he said, adding at least a minister accompanied by the district collector should have spoken to the agitators. He called for the removal of state police chief TK Rajendiran. Stalin, who was to attend the swearing-in ceremony of JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy as Karnataka chief minister tomorrow, said he has cancelled his Bengaluru visit, and would head for Tuticorin to take stock of the situation. MDMK founder Vaiko likened the incident to the British era Jallianwala Bagh massacre, while the CPI(M)'s state unit demanded the chief minister's resignation. Opposition parties including PMK, DMDK, Congress, and the MNM slammed the violence and police action, while actor Rajinikanth, who is slated to launch his political party, held the government responsible for the deaths. Stalin and MNM founder Kamal Haasan demanded permanent closure of the plant. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Twelve persons have so far lost their lives in Kerala since the outbreak of Nipah a fortnight ago in the northern kerala districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram, with 10 of them testing positive for the virus. Health department sources said two persons suspected to have contracted the virus have died, but it was yet to be confirmed if these were due to Nipah. The condition of Moosa, whose two sons had died earlier, is very critical and he was on ventilator support, while another person, undergoing treatment for nipha, was responding to treatment as of now, the sources told PTI. A total of 116 persons, who had come in contact with some of the infected persons, have been put under quarantine-- 94 in their homes and 22 in various hospitals, the sources said. A 21-year-old student hailing from Malappuram, who had gone to his hometown Kozhikode recently, is under observation at Thiruvananthapuram Medical college hospital. One person is under observation in Waynad. Kerala Health minister K K Shylaja had told reporters earlier in the day that 10 deaths were due to nipha virus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been informed about the outbreak of the virus in Kerala, she said. Union Health Minister J P Nadda said the Centre was committed to extend all support to the state to tackle the problem. Two persons who had tested positive had died today. Twenty eight-year-old nurse Lini, who passed away yesterday, had also contracted the virus, the minister added. Of 18 samples sent for testing, 12 tested positive for the virus, of which 10 people died, she said. Seven deaths were reported from Kozhikode and three from Malappuram districts. Shylaja said the Union Health minister, who is in Geneva, had called her and enquired about the situation in the state and promised all help from the central government. An expert team from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), including its director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh and Head of Epidemiology, Dr S K Jain, are already in Kerala. A high-level team from All India Insitute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, visited Kozhikode Medical college today and gave doctors a protocol to be followed, the minister said. Surveillance has been increased in all districts, she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the wake of Nipah virus claiming 10 lives in Kerala, the Goa government today said there was nothing to worry about in the state, but measures were still being taken to prevent its possible spread. "As of now there is no alert issued for Goa by any agency, including the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), whose team is in Kerala assessing the ground-level situation," Dr Utkarsh Betodkar, State Surveillance Officer of Directorate of Health Services, told PTI. He said there was no need to panic as ithas not affected the entire state of Kerala, but only a specific area of Kozhikode. The Nipah virus has so far claimed 10 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala, while the condition of two persons undergoing treatment for the viral disease is said to be critical, the Kerala government has confirmed. According to Betodkar, the Goa government was not taking any chances and has already contacted Manipal Centre for Virus Research (MCVR) to assess the situation. Responding to a question, the officer said there was no need to screen the tourists arriving from Kerala. "Screening of the tourists or visitors can happen only when there are specific guidelines issued by the Centre. Right now, there are no such guidelines," he said. Fruit-eating bats are the primary host of the Nipah Virus, which can cause disease in both animals and humans. So far, there is no vaccine against the virus, which was first identified in 1998 in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra Public Health Minister Dr Deepak Sawant today said that the state did not have any patient having symptoms similar to the kind caused by the Nipah virus. The virus, presumed to be spread by bats, has so far claimed the lives of two people in the southern state of Kerala. "Not a single patient in Maharashtra has been found having symptoms similar to the Nipah virus infection," Sawant said. He said that instructions had been given to hospitals in the state to keep an isolation ward ready as a precautionary step. The minister said that hospitals have been asked to report to the state government if they come across people who were showing symptoms similar to the Nipah virus and had also visited or recently returned from Kerala. Private hospitals have been told to inform the state government about such instances and also shift the patient to a government hospital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Predicting a Karnataka-like situation in Odisha in the 2019 Assembly polls, Union Minister Jual Oram today said the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the opposition Congress may enter into a "tactful understanding" to keep the BJP out of power. The Congress, however, refuted Oram's claims and said it was the saffron party that was looking forward to a reunion with the BJD before the elections. In Karnataka, the Congress forged an alliance with the JD(S) to form government as the BJP, which emerged as the single largest party in the state elections, fell short of majority. The Union tribal affairs minister, during an interaction with the reporters at the party's state headquarters, said the statements issued by the BJD and the Congress after the Karnataka polls indicated that they have decided to join hands in Odisha. Earlier too, the Congress had bailed out the BJD in times of crisis, Oram, who is also the BJP MP from Sundergargh, alleged. "In 2009, when the BJP had pulled out of the coalition with the BJD in Odisha, the Congress did not demand President's Rule in the state as they wanted to bail out Naveen Patnaik-led government." The Union minister also alleged that BJD MP Soumya Ranjan Patnaik would act as a bridge between Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik, who happened to be his elder brother, and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Refuting Oram's claims, the OPCC president said the BJD and BJP may have a secret nexus, which other parties may not be aware of. "The fact that Naveen Patnaik is not attending Karnataka Chief Minister's oath-taking ceremony tomorrow shows the two parties are hand-in gloves with each other. All chief ministers of non-BJP states will be attending the event," he said. BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra, on his part, said Jual Oram's statements indicated that the BJP leaders were in a state of shock after Karnataka results. "Chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik had made it clear on earlier occasions that the BJD maintains equal distance both from the BJP and the Congress," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As oil prices rise, Moody's Investors Service said state-owned oil producers and Ltd face increasing risk of the government once again requiring them to share the fuel subsidy burden. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Ltd (OIL) had for more than 13 years paid as much as 40 per cent of the under-recoveries arising from fuel retailers selling petrol, diesel, cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene at a government-mandated price, which was way below the cost. This subsidy sharing ended in June 2015 with global oil prices plummeting. But the risk of them being asked to once again bear a part of the subsidy is looming with the recent rise in international oil rates, Moody's said in a report today. "Because of the government's widening fiscal deficit, and OIL could be asked to bear part of the Indian government's fuel subsidy for oil, if prices stay above USD 60 per barrel for the fiscal year ending March 2019," Moody's Senior Vice President Vikas Halan said. Moody's said the government could intervene to address record high prices of petrol and by reducing the excise duty on these products, especially if oil prices stay high. These taxes makeup over 20 per cent of the retail selling prices and were increased in 2016 when oil prices fell. and OIL, it said, have not contributed to fuel subsidies since June 2015, but have in previous years paid for over 40 per cent of the country's annual subsidy bill. "The net impact of the subsidy sharing will be manageable for ONGC and OIL, even if the two companies are required to bear the entire shortfall between budgeted and actual amounts for the fiscal year ending March 2019," Halan said. The government freed petrol price from its control in June 2010 and in October 2014. It now provides a limited subsidy on LPG and kerosene. Even on LPG, the government from August 2017 stated to raise per cylinder selling price in steps, allowing for a maximum price increase of Rs 4 per bottle per month to gradually eliminate the subsidies. As a result, the LPG selling price increased to Rs 491 per cylinder in April 2018 from Rs 445 a cylinder in June 2017. Moody's said if ONGC and OIL are obligated to contribute the entire subsidised amount exceeding the government's budgeted figure for 2018-19 fiscal, such a requirement would constrain their net realised prices to USD 52-56 per barrel, which is only marginally lower than or equal to the USD 56 for fiscal 2018. It estimated that fuel subsidies could total Rs 340 billion to Rs 530 billion in current fiscal, the highest since fiscal 2015, assuming Brent crude oil prices average USD 60-80 per barrel. The government has budgeted for Rs 250 billion of fuel subsidies in 2018-19, leaving a shortfall of Rs 90-280 billion, which could be met by ONGC and OIL entirely, or in part, if the government increases the budget allocation for these subsidies. As for the oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), Moody's says that these companies have been asked to share less than 1 per cent of total fuel subsidies since fiscal 2012, and it is unlikely that the proportion of such costs will rise. On the issue of price deregulation, Moody's says the government is unlikely to reverse fuel pricing deregulation because it remains committed to reforms. It noted that most petroleum products are sold at market-linked prices in India, except liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene. An extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of cash-strapped Fortis Healthcare was held at Air force Auditorium this morning to vote on a call for removal of four directors given by two institutional investors. Three directors -- Lt Gen Tejinder Singh Shergill, Harpal Singh and Sabina Vaisoha -- out of the four, have already resigned and only Brian Tempest continued to be on the board at the time of voting. According to people aware of the proceedings, Tempest read out the agenda before the proceedings. The outcome of the voting is awaited. While seeking removal of the four directors, National Westminster Bank Plc as trustee of Jupiter India Fund and East Bridge Capital Master Fund, had also sought appointment of Suvalaxmi Chakraborty, Ravi Rajagopal and lndrajit Banerjee to the company's board as new independent directors. The two institutional investors, which together hold 12.04 per cent stake in Fortis Healthcare, had demanded removal of the four directors last month alleging that they failed to work in the interest of all shareholders, particularly in their handling of the hospital chain's proposed sale. The board of Fortis on May 10 in a 5-3 decision opted to go with the offer from Munjal-Burmans combine, which offered to invest Rs 1,800 crore. There were five suitors in the race for Fortis, including TPG-Manipal combine, Malaysia's IHH Healthcare and KKR-backed Radiant Life Care, which gave binding offers. China's Fosun Healthcare did not make a binding bid for the company. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Pakistani court today issued notice to authorities after a Sikh leader filed a petition urging the court to direct the government to release funds to build a crematorium for the community in the provincial capital so that they can cremate their dead instead of burying them. Sikh community leader Babaji Guru Gurpal Singh, through his lawyer, submitted the writ petition in the court last week, saying the provincial government had allocated Rs 30 million in the 2017-18 budget to build the crematorium for the Sikh community and a graveyard for Christians in the city. However, the government has yet to release funds for these projects nor has it made any plans for these projects. Additional Advocate General, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Qaiser Khan informed the Peshawar High Court bench that the differences among the Sikh community members were the main hurdle in building crematory ground, claiming that the government has already taken measures to provide facilities to Sikhs. Justice Mussarat Hilali said that the court would retrieve the withheld money for minorities if the government failed to facilitate it for minorities. The court also summoned the Auqaf Department administrator and Town I nazim on May 31 and adjourned the hearing. Singh said that about 60,000 Sikhs live in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, including 15,000 who live in Peshawar alone. Despite that, there is no crematorium where Sikh mourners can carry out the last rites of their loved ones. "Against their religious teachings, they are forced to bury dead one," Singh wrote in his petition, adding that the nearest crematorium is located near Attock, 45 kilometers away from Peshawar. Although the Attock crematorium is intended to primarily serve the Hindu community, it is also used by the Sikh community. While cremation is culturally imperative for Sikhs and Hindus, the cost is a major prohibitive factor for them since many middle and low-income members of the community cannot afford the high costs of cremation. "We are grateful for such a facility," Singh said, adding, "But for the poor members of the community, they cannot even afford to transport the funeral." The petitioner asked the court to direct the government to select a suitable spot to build the crematorium near Peshawar and set up a modern facility, keeping in view the environmental requirements and concerns, so that the community can perform the last rituals of their loved ones without any problem. The petitioner also claimed that the KP government had allocated millions of funds for establishment of a crematory ground and Christian cemetery, but officials in the Department of Auqaf and Religious Affairs were employing delaying tactics in utilization of these funds for the purpose. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Twenty civilians were injured as Pakistani troops shelled Indian villages with mortar bombs by targeting hamlets and border outposts (BoPs) in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts along the International Border (IB) in the Jammu region for the eighth day today, prompting a strong and effective retaliation by the BSF. Hundreds of panic-stricken villagers fled their houses and took shelter either at the houses of relatives or relief camps set up by the government at safer places. All educational institutions in the affected areas remained closed. "The Pakistan Rangers indulged in heavy and indiscriminate shelling of mortar bombs and firing of small arms and automatic weapons tonight, targeting villages in the Ramgarh and Samba sectors," a police officer told PTI. Fifteen persons -- 13 in the Ramgarh sector, two in the Samba sector -- were injured in the firing and shelling in Samba district, he said, adding that of them, 11 were sent to the GMC Hospital in Jammu, while the remaining four were admitted to hospitals in the district. Earlier, five persons were injured in Pakistani shelling in Jammu district. While Kaushalya Devi (70), Madan Lal Bhagat (48), Des Raj (52) and Thudu Ram (65) were injured in the Arnia and R S Pura sectors of Jammu district, Aman Singh (22) of Bobiyan village was injured in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district, officials said. They added that the firing from across the border was intense as 80 mm and 120 mm mortar shells hit dozens of villages, including Jora Farm -- a hamlet of milkmen -- in the morning. However, emergency services personnel managed to reach the villages along the IB here, despite the shelling, the officials said. They added that the firing had stopped at most of the places in the afternoon, but was still going on intermittently at a few places in Samba district. Earlier in the day, a senior (BSF) official said the firing and shelling had continued unabated throughout the night and spread to all the sectors -- from Akhnoor to Samba -- along the border. He added that the Pakistan Rangers suffered several casualties with a number of its bunkers getting hit during the skirmishes. "It has been learnt that one of the injured rangers has been shifted to a Lahore hospital, while two others are being treated at a local hospital," the official told PTI. As the firing from the Pakistani side intensified over the last two days, the villagers living close to the border escaped amid mortar shell explosions, which caused massive damage to a number of houses, the officials said, adding that the exact number of houses damaged was being ascertained. Inspector General of Police, Jammu, S D Singh Jamwal said police parties were deployed and they were helping the people shift to safer places. Divisional Commissioner (Jammu) Hemant Kumar Sharma said relief camps were activated at safer places all along the border, especially in the worst-hit RS Pura and Arnia sectors. Hundreds of people had reported at these camps, set up in educational institutions and other government buildings, Sharma said. He added that adequate facilities were available at these camps, so that the displaced people did not face any problem. All schools vulnerable to Pakistani shelling have been closed along the border as a precautionary measure. The latest round of shelling had started on May 15, when the BSF foiled two infiltration attempts by Pakistan-backed infiltrators in the Samba sector, and intensified after Pakistan "pleaded" with the BSF to stop firing, after being pounded with heavy artillery that left a trooper dead across the border on May 20. So far, seven persons, including two BSF jawans and an infant, have been killed and 18 others injured in the Pakistani firing. Jammu and Kashmir 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 so far this year, which have left 39 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured. Meanwhile, opposition Conference (NC) today expressed concern over the shelling and called for peace along the border. "Bullets and shells are causing enormous human sufferings and this has to be stopped by working towards heralding peace by adhering to the ceasefire agreement," Ajaz Jan, provincial president, Youth Conference, said. Legal experts from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states, including India, will gather here tomorrow to discuss the terror threat faced by the region and ways and means to enhance the counter-terror efforts. The Foreign Office said that this will be the first ever that SCO meeting was being held in Pakistan, since the country became a member in June last year. Experts from the eight Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states--China, Kazakhstan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan, as well as representatives of the SCO-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) will participate in the meeting, to be held between May 23 and 25, it said. "The Pakistan government is pleased to welcome delegations from the SCO member states, it said. The FO said that it supports SCO's efforts for regional cooperation in fighting terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime. "We are ready to share our experiences in tackling the menace of terrorism through the SCO-RATS," according to FO. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 65 people died of heatstroke in Pakistan's Karachi city over past three days during the Holy month of Ramazan, media reports said, amid fears the death toll could rise as the temperatures soar. The temperature hit 44 degrees Celsius yesterday and the heatwaves coincided with the month of fasting when most of the Muslims do not eat or drink during daytime. Nearly 114 bodies were brought to the Edhi Foundation's morgues in Karachi's Korangi and Sohrab Goth areas in the past three days, out of which at least 65 had died from heatstroke, Faisal Edhi, who runs the foundation, was quoted as saying by the Dawn The Foundation operates morgues and an ambulance service in Pakistan's biggest city Karachi. Most of the citizens who died from heatstroke were residents of Landhi and Korangi, Faisal said. He added that most heatstroke victims had died at their home. The ages of people who succumbed to the ongoing heatwave in Karachi varied from six to 78 years, he said. "People did not get medical help on time, which resulted in their death," he said. Highlighting the magnitude of the crisis caused by the severe heat, Faisal said that the morgue in Korangi receives around 10-11 bodies per day. However, since Saturday evening, the morgue had received 34 bodies, while the morgue in Sohrab Goth had received 30 bodies. However, Sindh Health Secretary Fazlullah Pechuho rejected the notion that any of the deceased died due to heat stroke in Karachi, the report said. "Only doctors and hospitals can decide whether the cause of death was heat stroke or not. I categorically reject that people have died due to heatstroke in Karachi, Pechuho said. Meanwhile, Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar urged residents to stay indoors during the day to avoid heatstroke. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Suits" star Patrick J Adams has apologised for posting an unflattering photograph of a woman who, he says, body-shamed him at an airport while he was returning home after attending the royal wedding. Adams shared a photograph of a woman sleeping in a chair next to him with this caption: "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." Social media users called out Adams for being a bully but the actor said he was simply trying to put a face to the person who so casually criticised him and his wife. He later removed the picture and apologised. "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!)," he wrote. "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... I'm no bully. What that woman said to us was offensive and unnecessary but I should have told her she was rude and out of line and left it at that. I'm sorry I didn't. I was too shocked and annoyed and Canadian so I avoided the confrontation. Again, I'm sorry." The actor and his wife, Troian Bellisario, were in the UK to attend the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, his former costar from legal drama "Suits". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's Cabinet was today informed that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan will have the same rights as enjoyed by the citizens of the other four provinces after the devolution of powers under a reform package, a move seen as Islamabad's efforts towards incorporating the disputed region as its fifth province. Pakistan has bifurcated occupied Kashmir into two administrative parts - Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Gilgit-Baltistan was treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan till now. Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are the four provinces of Pakistan. "It (Cabinet) was also informed that with the devolution of greater administrative and financial powers to the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan, all the rights will be available to the citizens in Gilgit-Baltistan as available to the people in other provinces of Pakistan," according to an official statement. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, was also informed that Gilgit-Baltistan Council will be retained as advisory body towards the functions of the Federal Government. A committee headed by deputy chairman Planning Commission Sartaj Aziz prepared the package and it was already approved by the cabinet and National Security Council. China's controversial USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through the disputed region. It is believed that China's concerns about the unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to change its status. Media reports had earlier said that Pakistan plans to elevate the constitutional status of the region to provide legal cover to the CPEC. India has protested to China over the CPEC which passes through the disputed region. India maintains that any possible attempt by Pakistan to declare the Gilgit-Baltistan region, bordering the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as the fifth province is "entirely unacceptable". Earlier, officials said that President Mamnoon Hussain is expected to endorse the reform package. They said that President Hussain will issue a notification to enforce the reform package for which the prime minister has also sent his recommendations. So far there was no confirmation about issuance of the notification. The Gilgit-Baltistan government promulgated the Gilgit-Baltistan Order-2018, which replaced the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order of 2009. Dawn reported that under the new order, all powers exercised by the Gilgit Baltistan council, including passing legislation regarding mineral, hydropower and tourism sectors, have been shifted to the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. Gilgit-Baltistan Adviser on Information Shams Mir said that under the reforms, all federal taxes had been suspended. Now the Gilgit-Baltistan people had all rights enjoyed by the people of four provinces of Pakistan, he added. Gilgit-Baltistan Law Minister Aurangzeb Khan said all powers exercised by the four provincial assemblies under Schedule IV of the Constitution of Pakistan had been entrusted to the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. They said the chief judge of the Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court would be a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the name of the Gilgit-Baltistan chief court had been changed to the high court and the number of judges had been raised to two on the demand of the lawyers' community. They said the last empowerment order guaranteed only 17 basic rights and that too were limited only to Gilgit-Baltistan, but now in light of the Gilgit-Baltistan Order-2018, a citizen of the area could demand his or her rights at any corner of Pakistan and had access to all apex courts of the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the government to permit the outgoing committee of the Press Council of India (PCI) to continue till the newly constituted 13th panel is established and starts functioning. Justice Rajiv Shakdher has sought the response of the Centre and the PCI on the plea filed by a journalist. The plea has also sought direction to the Centre to notify the newly selected members of the PCI in terms of 13th committee and publish the gazette notification in this regard. It further sought a direction that the meeting being held by the PCI chairman without the requisite quorum be declared null and void. The plea by Anil Kumar Sharma sought that the government be directed to permit the functioning of outgoing PCI committee, which was constituted for the period of 2014-17, as the new committee has not been notified owing to the stay granted by the high court in a related matter last month. It claimed that the PCI chairman continued to hold meeting with the handful members who are nominated by the government. The petitioner's advocate Vijay Kumar Sharma said that the court has listed the plea for July 30 along with the pending petition by the Indian Newspapers Society (INS) against rejection of nomination of Hormusji N Cama, owner of Mumbai Samachar weekly and a member of the INS, in the category of medium newspapers. The court had in April stayed the decision of the PCI insofar as it relates to rejecting the nomination of Cama. Sharma, in his plea, claimed that after the selection of the committee in March which was signed by the members and their organisations, there was no occasion to raise any objection in the selection but the INS raised the objection and filed a petition in the high court challenging the March 20 decision. The plea said that as a result of the stay order of the court, the committee was unable to function. It said no meeting should have been held by the chairman without completing the quorum of less than 11 members. In the earlier petition, filed by INS, it has alleged that the PCI chairman misread the provisions of the Press Council Act and "wrongly exercised" its power in rejecting the nomination. Claiming that the decision was "perverse", the INS said the council's decision should be set aside as it was "bad, illegal and void". According to the Press Council Act, the council shall consist of a Chairman and 28 other members. The chairman had said that the nomination of the editors among working journalist categories did not contain twice the number of members to be nominated. INS has said in the petition that Cama was a member of the PCI in its 12th term and was seeking nomination to the council in the 13th term. The INS, which comprises owners of big, medium and small newspapers in India, has sought a direction to the PCI chairman to recall and set aside the March 20 decision and forbear from taking any steps in furtherance of the decision. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special CBI court today took cognisance of the second chargesheet filed in the Rs 12,636-crore PNB fraud case and ordered the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, a key accused. The second chargesheet has been registered for a total amount of Rs 7,080.86 crore, covering 142 letters of undertaking (LOUs) and 58 foreign letters of credit (FLCs). It names 16 entities and individuals, including top PNB officials. The chargesheet names managing director of Gitanjali group Mehul Choksi, former PNB managing director and CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian and two serving executive directors of PNB, Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan, and PNB deputy manager Gokulnath Shetty among others. Along with Anathasubramanian, who was the managing director and CEO of PNB from August 2015 to May 2017, Sharan and Rao were charged under section 409 (criminal breach of trust) and section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act for causing wrongful losses to the bank and criminal breach of trust of the public. A CBI officer said the issuance of NBW would allow the CBI to approach the Interpol for issuing a Red Corner Notice against Choksi as well as Nirav Modi, his brother Nishal and an executive of the Nirav Modi Group, Subhash Parab. Yesterday, the court passed an order for the issuance of an NBW against Nirav Modi, his brother Nishal and Parab on a similar ground. According to the chargesheet, during the period from 2015 to 2018, Choksi and top officials of Gitanjali Gems entered into a criminal conspiracy with Gokulnath Shetty, then deputy manager of PNB Brady House branch, and other accused bank officials to defraud the bank by fraudulently issuing Letter of Undertaking and Foreign Letter of Credit through three companies, Gitanjali Gems Limited, Gili India Ltd and Nakshtra Brand Ltd. This was done by dishonestly misrepresenting and submitting documents to banks and misappropriating the funds of the bank, the chargesheet said. They committed an offence of cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct by abuse of official position by a public servant, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Odisha Police today said it is probing the complaint about a suspected honour killing of a minor girl in Cuttack district. After registering an FIR on the basis of a villager's written complaint about the incident in Aanla village in Niali block, Cuttack Sadar Police has launched an investigation into the matter, a senior police officer said. "A 17-year-old fatherless girl was suspected to have been murdered by her other relatives on Saturday, and the body was secretly cremated without informing the police or any other villagers," said Cuttack Rural SP Madhav Chandra Sahu. Police are questioning the girl's paternal uncle, two cousins and other villagers in this connection. "With the help of scientific team, we have collected the remains of the deceased from the crematorium ground," Sahu said, adding, the girl's mother is a mental patient. Police said prima facie, it appears to be case of murder and attempt to erase evidences. According to villagers, the girl was in a relationship with a local youth, and her paternal uncle's family was averse to it. "We are investigating into this aspect also. But till now, the allegations have not been substantiated," the SP said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat arrived here on a four-day Bihar visit, opposition RJD-Congress alliance accused him of creating communal tension in the state even as the ruling BJP-JD(U) alliance leaders countered the allegations as "vote bank politics". Bhagwat arrived in the Bihar capital by air this afternoon and drove straight to the RSS office in the city's Rajendra Nagar area from where he was scheduled to leave for Nawada, about 120 kms from Patna. Bhagwat will attend RSS's Shiksha Varg programme in Nawada, during which he will interact with students from various educational institutions in the age group of 15-25, and apprise them about the activities of the Sangh, a senior functionary said. He is scheduled to return to Patna on May 25. Commenting on the visit, RJD spokesperson and MLA Ejya Yadav alleged Bhagwat heads an organisation involved in many communal riots and swords were distributed among rioters during his last visit to the state and it remains to be seen whether he was planning to get "guns and tanks" supplied to this cadre this time. He remarks were in reference to the communal conflagration that had erupted in several districts of Bihar in March this year around the Ram Navami festival when large processions were taken out wherein some youths had raised slogans carrying swords. Senior Congress leader and MLC Prem Chandra Mishra demanded a ban on Bhagwat's entry into Bihar, saying it is not a mere coincidence that the entire state was rocked by communal riots after the RSS chief's last visit to the state. Mishra said Bhagwat is scheduled to spend three days in Nawada, which was one of the districts rocked by sectarian clashes, and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should take note and act on this. Hitting back at the opposition, Union minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh -- the party's MP from Nawada -- said Bhagwat heads an organisation which has "no parallel when it comes to making sacrifices in national interests". Singh said those opposing Bhagwat's visit are "merely interested in vote-bank politics". JD(U) spokesman Ajay Alok also said that those making a hue and cry over the RSS chief have never cared about the minorities and have treated them just as "vote banks". Alok said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is sensitive towards maintaining harmony and the opposition "does not need to lecture" the government. Since, July-end last year, Bihar has a JD(U)-BJP coalition government headed by Nitish Kumar, after he left an earlier alliance with RJD and Congress. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Thai police blocked anti-junta protesters from marching to Government House toto mark four years of military rule, one of the largest acts of dissent since the army grabbed power. Hundreds of student activists and middle-aged 'Red Shirt' supporters of the toppled civilian government wielded banners, Thai flags and fans with a cartoon of the premier mocked-up as "Pinocchio", as they massed at a police blockade obstructing their progress to the seat of government in Bangkok. Disquiet with the junta is simmering in Thailand, despite a ban on political gatherings since a coup toppled the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra on May 22, 2014. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who as army chief booted Yingluck's administration from power, has suggested elections will be held in February next year. But the timetable for a return to democracy has frequently slipped and patience with his junta is wearing thin among many sections of Thai society. "It is the four-year anniversary of the coup and I think now is the time to change," said Rangsiman Rome, one of the protest leaders. "We don't want to protest. It's hot, it's tiring. But we have no choice to make them listen to us." He said the protest was drawing inspiration from the shock election victory in early May of Mahathir Mohamad in neighbouring Malaysia that turfed the authoritarian incumbent, Najib Razak, from office. Protesters camped out overnight at Thammasat University, the historic heart of Thailand's pro-democracy movement and the scene of numerous bloody crackdowns by a military that has dominated Thailand's Street protests have a long history in Thailand, with rallies often carefully choreographed to avoid direct confrontation with authorities. The junta's number two, Prawit Wongsuwan, told reporters the protesters "cannot march" to Government House, and a police spokesman said any protester breaching the blockade outside it could face six months in jail. "If they decide to use force against us, there is nothing we can do," protestor Anuthee Dejthevaporn, 30, told AFP. "We want elections. Nothing is being done to guarantee they happen in February." Four years after the coup, Thailand remains divided. Large sections of society -- including the Bangkok middle class -- have wearied of rule by a conservative military that has intruded into the lives of ordinary Thais whilst overseeing a widening of the kingdom's rich-poor wealth gap. Prayut, who draws backing from an arch-royalist Bangkok elite, says he was forced to seize power to heal the kingdom's caustic and reboot an economy cramped by corruption and protest. Yingluck, her older brother Thaksin or their proxies have won all Thai general elections since 2001. But their governments were hit by two coups and endless legal cases that have seen Yingluck and Thaksin flee abroad to avoid jail. Prayut has banned political gatherings of five or more people and silenced criticism with legal charges and tight monitoring of prominent activists. In between, a junta-appointed national assembly has signed off on a new constitution that ties future elected governments to a 20-year plan for the country. The charter also creates an appointed upper house and other checks to the power of future civilian governments, in what analysts say is a brazen assault on the political base of the Shinawatras. Prayut has been busily courting one-time Shinawatra allies in their northeastern heartlands. It is unclear how much electoral loyalty the family's party -- Pheu Thai -- still commands, with the star siblings Thaksin and Yingluck overseas and unable to galvanise supporters on the ground. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The months-long protests for the closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit in Tuticorin over pollution concerns turned violent today, with agitators fighting pitched battles with police, prompting it to open fire in which a man was killed, officials said. Hurling stones and setting government vehicles and public property on fire, the agitators went on the rampage in the town, about 600 km from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. Police said nearly 5000 protesters gathered near a local church and insisted on taking a out a rally to the district collectorate after they were denied permission to march to the copper smelter plant. Initial pushing and shoving soon led to violent clashes, after agitated locals began hurling stones at police and overturned a vehicle. Security personnel used batons and burst teargas shells to break up the protest. Many were injured in stone-pelting by the agitators, who also set some vehicles on fire. Windscreens of some government cars were smashed and bank premises were attacked by the rampaging mobs. As the violence spiralled, police opened fire, killing a man. Unconfirmed reports, however, put the death toll at three. Meanwhile, a state minister said though the government appreciated the sentiments of the protesters, police firing had become "unavoidable". "Entering the collector's office and (perpetrating) violence is not acceptable.... (police) firing became an unavoidable," Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar told reporters in Chennai. He said Chief Minister K Palaniswami was "concerned " over today's incidents and discussed the matter with officials. Reinforcements have been rushed from neighbouring districts to Tuticorin to assist the local administration in restoring normalcy. Some senior officials have also been despatched from Chennai to the strife-torn town to assess the situation and take measures to restore calm, sources said. TV visuals showed buildings and vehicles being set ablaze, as protests threw normal life out of gear. DMK Working President MK Stalin condmened the police action, saying the state government should have sorted out the issue earlier through talks with the protesters. "Since the government did not take any steps in this regard, the people launched today's massive rally....police attacked people indiscriminately and opened fire on them which is condemmnable," Stalin, also the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, told reporters in Chennai. MDMK founder Vaiko, who led many anti-Sterlite protests, denounced police action, calling it "codemnable", and flaying the AIADMK government for it. Opposition PMK, DMDK and MNM, besides Dravidar Kazhagam also assailed the government over the issue. Following a Madras High Court directive, the district authorities had issued prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC, barring assembly of more than four people in and around the Sterlite plant. Meanwhile, a peaceful demonstration was also held near the old bus stand in Tuticorin, demanding the closure of the Sterlite unit and against its proposed expansion. Several shops in Tuticorin, besides Srivaikundam and Oddapidaram remained shut in support of the protest, police said. Locals have alleged that the plant was polluting ground water in their area. Nearly 3000 police personnel have been deployed under four Additional Superintendents of Police and 13 Dy SPs to bring the situation under control, official sources said. Anti-riot personnel on Vajra and Varun vehicles were moving in the town. Jayakumar said that the AIADMK government under the late J Jayalalithaa had moved the Supreme Court against a green tribunal order allowing the plant to function, and the petition was pending there. The minister said the government had not given the licence for expansion of the plant. "There is no support by the AMMA government to any project that is not desired by people," he said. Sterlite Copper is a unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 400,000-tonne per annum capacity plant in Tuticorin. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Punjab government has proposed to rejuvenate 'Budha Nallah', which carries untreated effluents, including industrial waste and passes through Ludhiana, at a cost of Rs 955 crore, a senior official said here today. The local government department is in the process of framing a plan to rehabilitate and rejuvenate the highly polluted 'Budha Nallah', which was once a perennial stream flowing into Sutlej and a source of fresh water for Ludhiana, the official said. "The indicative cost of the project cost is Rs 955 crore for the rejuvenation of the Budha Nallah and out of which about Rs 550 crore will be contributed by the Centre under the Smart City and Amrut schemes and the rest by the state," he said. 'Budha Nallah' is a seasonal tributary of Sutlej which emanates from the confluence of the Kum Link drain and the Neelon drain near Ghumait village and Kum Kalan and flows in an east-west direction south of the Sutlej river. It runs almost parallel to the Sutlej through most of Ludhiana district and ultimately merges with the river at Walipur Kalan in the north-western corner of the district. 'Budha Nallah' carries about 327 million litres per day of sewage and 200 MLD of industrial effluent, out of 688 MLD of human and industrial waste water generated in the city. The project involves sewage interception and treatment, industrial effluent interception and treatment, course strengthening, landscaping and area development, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pressure is mounting on member countries including India for early conclusion of proposed free tarde pact, RCEP, government sources said. Trade ministers of 16 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries will meet on July 1 in Tokyo to take stock of the negotiations. Talks for the pact had started in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh in November 2012. "There is a pressure to conclude the negotiations at the earliest. Lot of issues are yet to be ironed out in areas like goods and services," said a source. The mega trade pact aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights. In the recently concluded 22nd round of negotiations in Singapore, issues were raised about the slow pace of talks. RCEP bloc comprises 10 Asean members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six FTA partners - India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The talks have dragged on as the member countries want an agreement over removal of customs duties on maximum number of products traded between them. However, countries like India have certain reservations on this as the grouping includes China, with which New Delhi has huge trade deficit. Indian industry and exporters are apprehensive about the presence of China in the grouping. They have stated that lowering or eliminating duties for China may flood Indian markets with Chinese goods. Besides, countries like India want greater liberalisation in the services sector trade, which is a key component in the domestic economy. Some experts have warned over the impact of the trade agreement on India's trade. Biswajit Dhar, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University is of the view that India should be very cautious about this pact because the kind of market access and tariff cuts RCEP countries are demanding including in agriculture sector, it would be difficult for India to sustain in the long run. India's trade deficit with China stood at USD 51 billion in 2016-17. India wants certain deviations for such countries. Under deviations, India may propose a longer duration for either reduction or elimination of import duties for such countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Ram Nath Kovind today said 'Dev Bhumi' Himachal Pradesh has proved as a "blessing" for him as he was nominated as the presidential candidate of the NDA, twenty days after he returned from Shimla. Kovind, who was the governor of Bihar then, said he reached the highest office due to "blessings from Dev Bhumi". Speaking at a civic reception hosted by the Himachal Pradesh government at Peterhoff here, he noted that Rashtrapati Bhawan was the symbol of democracy. He also asked the Himachalis to make it a point to visit the president's official residence whenever they come to Delhi. I have old association with Himachal. I had gone to Kullu-Manali to attend a function for the first time in 1974 and those memories are still alive," Kovind said, adding that he chose to wear a Himachali cap during the Republic Day celebrations this year. The president also paid tributes to martyrs from the state who laid down their lives for the country, including Ram Singh Pathania, first Paramvir Charka awardee, Major Somnath, Captain Vikram Batra, Saurabh Kalia and Sanjay Kumar. We can never forget these heroes," the president said. He presented a 'Brick' to Sanjeev Rana of Bilaspur for construction of Martyr Memorial under 'Ek Eint Shaheehdon ke Naam' (one brick in the name of martyrs) programme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today sought the response of local authorities and the AAP government on a PIL initiated by it taking cognisance of a letter received from senior lawyers and retired judges complaining of illegal encroachments near south Delhi's Neeti Bagh area. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar took suo motu cognisance of the joint letter sent by former attorney general and senior advocate Soli Sorabjee, retired Supreme Court judge S C Agarwal, retired Delhi High Court judge M L Varma, Congress leader and senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand. The court directed local authorities, especially the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, to carry out physical inspection of the area within a week and file a report in four weeks thereafter. With the direction, the bench listed the matter for further hearing on July 20. In their letter they have claimed that traffic jams, illegal encroachments, unauthorised parkings and various other activities near their area, Neeti Bagh, was impeding the family life of all the residents there. In their plea for judicical intervention, they have sought directions to authorities to stop a juice shop and other vendors as well as a taxi stand there from encroaching upon public land. They have also alleged that the nearby land was being used in an unhygienic manner by the juice shop operators as well as other vendors and shops located there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP leader and advocate Ajay Agrawal, who has been pursuing the Rs 64-crore Bofors pay-off case in the Supreme Court and trial court, today wrote a letter to Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik urging him to reveal names of Congress leaders involved in the politically-sensitive scam. Malik, who was appointed as governor by the BJP-led NDA government last year, had on May 18 praised Rajiv Gandhi at a function in Patna and said that the former prime minister was a "good and honest" person and some other Congress leaders were involved in the Bofors scam. He, however, had not named anybody. In his letter to the governor, he said if Malik knew anything about the scam then he should give all the information. 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. Agrawal had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli against the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sarman Singh was today appointed as the director of the All India Institute of Medical Science in Bhopal, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. He is at present professor head of clinical microbiology and molecular medicine in the AIIMS here. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post till November 8, 2021, the date of attaining 65 years age, the order said. The move comes as two medical students of the AIIMS Bhopal had embarked on a foot march on May 3 to protest the vacancy of the top post there. The institute is functioning without a director since 2015. Sant Guru Prasad, former president of the AIIMS Students Union, Bhopal and fellow medical student Chandan Aryan reached Mathura. "The appointment of the director is a big relief for us and scores of other students. We have been demanding that the post of director and other vacancies in Bhopal AIIMS are filled up at the earliest. We will meet concerned authorities in Delhi in some time to press for our other demands," Prasad told PTI. He alleged that the absence of a full-time director was hampering the progress of the institute as those appointed on a temporary basis avoided taking decisions due to the fear of stoking a controversy. Prasad, a resident of Nalanda in Bihar, said besides the director, the institute had 135 faculty members against a sanctioned strength of 305. "Out of a total strength of 700 senior residents, just 130 are working at the AIIMS, Bhopal. Only 403 out of 960 beds are operational, which comes to around 40 per cent," he claimed. The acting director of the institute, Nitin M Nagarkar, however, denied the charges levelled by Prasad and said that a section of students who had supplementaries in some subjects were behind the protest. A supplementary exam is a form of further assessment offered to students who have not satisfied the passing criteria set by the educational institution for a particular course. Prasad had called Nagarkar's accusations as "totally untrue". The AIIMS Bhopal is one of the seven apex health care institutes established by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY). These institutions are being established by an Act of Parliament on the lines of the AIIMS in New Delhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bizzare but true!! A lawyer had to knock the doors of the Supreme Court to seek a direction to his client, the Rajasthan government, to clear his bills totalling Rs 48 lakh pending since 1994. A bench of Justics N V Ramana and S Abdul Nazeer came to his aid and directed the state government to pay Rs 48.01 lakh to lawyer Aruneshwar Gupta within four weeks. The top court had appointed senior advocate Shekhar Naphade as an amicus curiae to assist it and find out the actual outstanding professional fees of Gupta, who used to represent the state government at various courts of law. "I, therefore, recommend to this court that Gupta is entitled to receive a total sum of Rs 48.01 lakh only. I am further of the view that no advocate should claim interest on bill amounts, especially in the case of bills relating to the Government. Therefore, I am not inclined to recommend grant of any interest," Naphade, in its report, suggested to the court. Accepting the report, the bench ordered, "We direct the counsel appearing for the state of Rajasthan to pay the entire amount, as aforesaid, within a period of four weeks from today to Aruneshwar Gupta, the learned counsel." The bench also proposed that a fee of Rs 2.5 lakh be given as fees to Naphade. However, he refused to accept the fees and rather suggested that the amount be paid to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for welfare of lawyers. "Naphade is not ready to receive the amount and suggests that the said amount may be given to the Supreme Court Bar Association for the welfare of its members. "Accordingly, we direct the learned counsel for the State to pay the said amount to the SCBA for welfare of its members," the court said. Though lawyers, representing private parties, usually charge fees in advance, the advocates, who appear for government departments, raise the bills which are cleared later. Gupta had raised 57 bills for the period he had appeared as an advocate for Rajasthan but these were not cleared. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court today granted interim protection from arrest till June 1 to actor-turned-BJP leader S Ve Shekher, against whom a case was lodged for sharing a Facebook post allegedly containing derogatory references to women scribes and the media. A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha also issued notice to Tamil Nadu seeking its reply on the plea filed by Shekher, who has challenged the May 10 order of Madras High Court dismissing his petition seeking anticipatory bail in the case. The bench, while posting the matter for further hearing on June 1, said no coercive action should be taken against Shekhar till then. An FIR was registered against Shekher by the Cyber Crime cell for alleged offences under various sections of the IPC, including insult intended to provoke breach of peace, gesture and words intended to insult the modesty of a woman and under provisions of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act. He has claimed in his plea that he was not the author of the Facebook post and was not aware about its contents when he forwarded it after receiving it from one Tirumalai Sa. He has also said that he had removed the post after he came to know about its content. "I am no way connected to the said message, which was simply forwarded by me without reading the contents of the message only on the bona fide impression and over-confidence," he had said in his plea filed in the high court. He had claimed in the high court that the case was lodged against him by making baseless allegations and there was no iota of truth in it. He had also said there was no intention on his part to defame or hurt anyone. Journalists had condemned and staged protests against Shekher for the post, which he had later deleted. The post had made alleged insinuations against the media and women journalists following the "patgate" row involving Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit. The 78-year-old governor had last month patted a woman journalist on the cheek, apparently seeking to avoid answering a question she had asked. The governor had later apologised to the women scribe. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court will hear tomorrow a plea by a second-year law student of Delhi University (DU), who could not regularly attend classes due to advanced stage of pregnancy, seeking relaxation in attendance and permission to appear in the ongoing fourth semester LLB exam. The matter was mentioned today before a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha which fixed it for hearing tomorrow. A single judge bench of the Delhi High Court had recently refused to grant any relaxation in attendance to student Ankita Meena saying even though there may be a justification for her inability to attend classes of IVth semester of LLB course, the relief sought by her cannot be granted in the light of the provisions of Rules of Legal Education of the Bar Council of India (BCI) and earlier decisions of the high court. The student had sought a direction to DU to permit her appear in the IV semester LLB examination which commenced on May 16. Following the single judge's order refusing to grant her relief, the student had approached a division bench which had yesterday sought the response of DU on her plea. In her plea in the high court, she had said she could not meet the requisite 70 per cent attendance criteria due to her pregnancy. Her lawyer had submitted before the single judge bench that the woman was a diligent student who had been attending her classes regularly, and it was only due to her health issues faced during pregnancy and the birth of her child that she was unable to attend classes in the IVth semester. She had relied on an ordinance of a chapter of DU that "in the case of a married woman student who is granted maternity leave, in calculating the total number of lectures delivered in the College or in the University, as the case may be, for her course of study in each academic year, the number of lectures in each subject delivered during the period of her maternity leave shall not be taken into account." The plea was opposed in the high court by the university before the single judge on the ground that LLB degree course was a professional course and mandated regular attendance of lectures. The varsity's counsel had argued that the court has consistently held that the students who do not attend the stipulated percentage of lectures, are not eligible for enrolment as members of the BCI and hence, the university was justified in detaining the petitioner in the IVth semester. The single judge, in its order, had noted that the issue has been considered and decided by a division bench of the high court which had held that maternity leave cannot be put in a different compartment for the purposes of relaxation of attendance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reversing a five-session slide, benchmark Sensex rose over 35 points to end at 34,651.24 in see-saw trade today as participants accumulated recently beaten down auto, metal, banking and realty stocks. Asian markets ended mixed following a good show by US stocks as investors applauded easing of trade tensions between the US and China. The 30-share Sensex opened in the green and hit a high of 34,754.60, but witnessed bouts of volatility. It finally settled at 34,651.24, showing a gain of 35.11 points, or 0.10 per cent. The index had lost 940.58 points in the previous five sessions as investors rushed to unwind bets following post-poll instability in Karnataka amid discouraging global cues. The broader NSE Nifty, after shuttling between 10,558.60 and 10,490.55, finished the day at 10,536.70, showing a gain of 20 points, or 0.19 per cent. SBI rose 3.69 per cent despite the lender today posting a standalone net loss of Rs 7,718 cr in Q4 on mounting bad loans. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases worth Rs 1,190.56 crore while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 496.03 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Infosys chief executive Vishal Sikka, who quit in August last year after a protracted row with the company's founders, received Rs 12.92 crore remuneration for 2017-18. He had received Rs 16.01 crore in 2016-17, according to the company's annual report for last fiscal, ended March 31. Sikka had resigned as CEO and Managing Director effective August 18, 2017 and as Executive Vice Chairman effective August 24. According to the report, Sikka's remuneration for 2017-18 included "USD 0.25 million (approximately Rs 1.60 crore) and USD 0.21 million (About Rs 1.34 crore) as part of 90 days base pay in lieu of notice and variable pay, respectively for fiscal 2018 on account of resignation". Additionally, it said, "remuneration for fiscal 2018 includes Rs 6.78 crore on account of exercise of 70,772 RSUs (restricted stock options)". Salil Parekh, who joined Infosys in January this year as the CEO and Managing Director, received a remuneration of Rs 3.98 crore. Infosys Chief Operating Officer UB Pravin Rao saw his remuneration going up by 5 per cent to Rs 8.22 crore last fiscal, from Rs 7.80 crore in the previous year. While he had stepped into the interim role after Sikka's resignation as the company conducted the search process for the CEO role, Rao's salary had remained unchanged. CFO MD Ranganath saw a 68 per cent hike in remuneration for last fiscal to Rs 7.98 crore, from Rs 4.75 crore in 2016-17. Ravi Venkatesan, who quit Infosys Board earlier this month, had seen his remuneration increase by 38 per cent to Rs 1.43 crore. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw drew a remuneration of Rs 1 crore as director on Infosys Board. Nandan Nilekani, who was brought on Infosys Board on August 24, 2017, has voluntarily chosen not to receive any remuneration for his services rendered to the company. "We have gone through turbulence, but the resilience of the company has shone through and we are now in a very safe and stable place. The strategy refresh we undertook in the last six months has clearly outlined the way forward for us," Nilekani wrote in the report. He added that Infosys has a strong execution leadership team in place to steer the company towards its goals. Former General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer David Kennedy, who also quit last year, took home salary of Rs 7.75 crore, including a severance pay of Rs 6 crore. Mohit Joshi (President) saw his remuneration increase by 52 per cent to Rs 10.31 crore. Ravi Kumar S (President and Deputy COO) and Rajesh K Murthy (President) took home Rs 9.54 crore and Rs 9.58 crore respectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six persons, who allegedly cheated job-seekers by promising them jobs in SBI, Income Tax, Railways and other government departments, have been arrested here, police said today. The gang members hailing from different districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were led by P Venkatesh and allegedly cheatedover 50 unemployed youth on the pretext of providing jobs after collecting money from them, a police release said. The gang members were nabbed from different locations of the city. The release said Rs 12 lakh, fake appointment orders of SBI, Income Tax Department, Railways and National Rural Health Mission were seized from the possession of the accused. The "fraudsters" had set up a job consultancy firm 'MVM Technologies' and promised the job-seekers jobs in government departments, it said. They demanded Rs 10 lakh and took advance amount ranging between Rs 3 to Rs 4 lakh from each candidate, police said. After taking the money, they conducted "interviews" in the visitors lounge of Income Tax Offices in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Cochin, Kolkata, New Delhi. For SBI 'Interviews', they selectedthe State Bank of India at Gunfoundary here, the release said. They also prepared fake appointment letters and started fake SBI learning centres in different states. The candidates lodged complaints after they realised that they were cheated, police said. Venkatesh cheated them of Rs one crore and he spent it lavishly by touring Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives, the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Smaller towns will drive the growth of the luxury car market in the country, according to BMW Group India president Vikram Pawah. The premium car brand is also focusing on emerging towns, opening outlets in Ranchi, Aurangabad and Madurai recently, Pawah told PTI here today. It also plans to open dealer outlets in a majority of seven cities it plans to expand by the end of 2018, he added. "Smaller towns are the future of the (luxury car) industry. We are clearly seeing growth coming from these emerging towns, which is why we are reaching out to these towns more and more," Pawah, who was in the city for the opening of a new dealer showroom said. The industry will get a fillip with the government focusing on infrastructure development in emerging towns, he added. "Out of the seven outlets planned for this year, most will come from emerging towns," he further said. Pawah also called for "rationalisation of tax structure" for the growth of luxury car segment in India, saying tax structures for the segment is much higher here compared to other markets. While referring to GST as a "fantastic" initiative, he expressed dissatisfaction on the way it was implemented. "I am hoping the final aim of GST is to look at uniform tax rates...We hope at some point we will start looking at the category of cars as cars. If that happens, we will surely see people like you and me able to get these (luxury) cars much easier," he further said. He stressed that rationalisation of the tax structure in line with international norms will help in growth of this market. BMW India launched nine products at this year's, and showcased seven products to be launched this year. The company is looking to clearly create a new segment, or redefine values of the existing segment to expand the market, Pawah said. The company is set to launch its two-wheeler brand, 310 R and 310 GS by the second half of this year, and expand dealer network for BMW Mini, its premium small car brand, from five to seven by year end, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today accepted the resignations of BJP MPs B S Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu following their election to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Lok Sabha Secretariat sources said. Yeddyurappa and Sriramulu represented Shimoga and Bellary seats in the Lok Sabha, respectively. The two BJP leaders had tendered their resignations after declaration of the Karnataka Assembly poll results. Yeddyurappa, who was the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP, won from the Shikaripura assembly seat with a margin of over 35,000 votes. Sriramulu had contested from Badami and Molakalmuru, but registered victory from the latter. The BJP won 104 seats in the Karnataka Assembly polls securing the pole position, while the Congress and the Janta Dal Secular bagged 78 and 37 seats respectively. However, Yeddyurappa resigned before the floor test on May 19, following which Governor Vajubhai Vala invited H D Kumaraswamy to form the government. Kumaraswamy, who will lead the JD(S)-Congress alliance in the state, will be sworn in as the chief minister of the state tomorrow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The mortal remains of Army subedar, who died of injuries sustained in a fire incident in Kashmir, were consigned to flames today with full military honours in Nagaur district of Rajasthan. Subedra Abdul Sattar suffered 50 per cent burn injuries in the fire incident in Kashmir on May 12. He was first admitted to the military hospital in Srinagar and then referred to the military hospital in Delhi where he died on May 20, according to defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha. The funeral took place in Nagaur. He was given the guard of honour by the army and Rajasthan Armed Constabulary, the spokesman said. Rajasthan Transport Minister Yunus Khan and other public representatives and officers also paid him homage. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A suicide attack today against a checkpoint in eastern Libya killed at least two militiamen loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar, a security source said. The attack south of the city of Ajdabiya comes after the Islamic State group claimed a string of deadly assaults against roadblocks run by Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA). In another incident armed men also stormed another checkpoint some 150 kilometres away and kidnapped one of the militiamen deployed at the location, the militia security source said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either of Tuesday's attacks. Libya has been wracked by chaos since a 2011 uprising that toppled and killed its long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with two rival authorities vying for control. Haftar supports an administration based in the east of the country. A UN-backed unity government based in the capital has struggled to assert its authority outside the west. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jet Airways today admitted before the Delhi High Court that two of its pilots, suspended by the aviation regulator DGCA for allowing unauthorised entry into the cockpit during a flight, had taken simulator training and one of them also undertook flying duty on one occasion. The admission on affidavit is contrary to the airline's earlier oral denial of the allegation that its suspended pilots undertook flight training and duties during the suspension period. The airline, in its affidavit filed before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar, has said that the two pilots were allowed to take simulator training due to misinterpretation of an internal e-mail by the carrier's Training and Planning Department. One of the two pilots undertook flying duty also due to the misinterpretation of the e-mail. While taking on record the affidavit by Jet Airways, the court allowed the petitioner's oral plea to make the two pilots and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) a party in the matter. The bench also directed the DGCA to indicate its stand on the issue and listed the matter for further hearing on August 29. Jet's reply came in response to an application by a journalist, Rajneesh Kapur, alleging that the airline had cleared the two suspended pilots for flight duties in contravention of the order of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The application was moved in Kapur's main petition, filed through advocate Nikhil Borwankar, alleging that Jet Airways was flouting national and international flight safety regulations by allowing unauthorised persons to travel overseas by "masquerading" as crew on a "general declaration". The court, while making the MHA a party in the matter, sought its stand on the issue raised in the main petition regarding alleged misuse of "general declarations". The petitioner has claimed that the general declaration, which is a declaration of the passengers, air crew and cargo, being ferried on an international flight by the flight operator, allowed people "to avoid obtaining a visa and pass undetected into foreign territory". In support of his allegation, the petitioner has cited a January 2018 incident in which a Jet Airways cabin crew member was arrested by the Department of Revenue Intelligence for possessing contraband foreign currency worth over Rs three crore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The NDMC is "examining" the directions issued by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to cancel the licence of hotel Vivanta by Taj-Ambassador Hotel in Lutyens' Delhi, after the DPCC found "certain violations" in the operating norms during a recent inspection, officials today said. A team of the DPCC had conducted an inspection at the posh hotel on May 9, days after three men had died of inhaling toxic gases after being trapped inside a sewage treatment plant (STP) of the prime commercial property. "During the inspection, we had found certain violations in the norms, which need to be adhered to retain the licence to operate. So, we have sent directions to the the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to cancel the licence of the hotel," a senior official of the DPCC said on condition of anonymity. Besides, it has also directed the civic body to disconnect the electricity and water supply, unless corrective measures are taken for fixing operation of their STP. A senior official of the NDMC, when contacted, told PTI: "We are examining the order and will take further action in accordance with the norms." A hotel spokesperson, however, said, they have taken steps as advised. "Pursuant to the notice received we were advised to install an alternative treatment plant. This has subsequently been installed and specific approvals are awaited. We will continue to cooperate with the authorities," a Vivanta Ambassador spokesperson said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Muslim clerics in ex-Soviet Tajikistan have advised workers building what will become the world's tallest hydroelectric dam not to observe Ramadan, echoing comments from the country's secular authoritarian ruler. A spokesman for the religious affairs committee told AFP by telephone today that the fatwa (directive) "was issued primarily for the safety of workers engaged in construction" of the Rogun dam. "They work at a great altitude in difficult conditions, as well as underground," said the spokesman. The Rogun dam is a signature project of President Emomali Rakhmon and its Italian contractor is in a race against time to get the first unit online by November. Rogun, which at 335 metres will become the world's tallest dam, is a USD 4 billion project that Rakhmon views as vital to lifting Tajikistan out of poverty. Earlier this month Rakhmon said that "fasting without thinking about tomorrow" is "not the quality of a true Muslim". Ramadan, one of Islam's most revered holidays in which Muslims around the world fast from dawn until dusk, began last week and ends on June 14. Authorities in the Central Asian nation have struggled to keep up with a religious revival following independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, clamping down on headscarves and long beards in recent times. Rakhmon, a former collective farm chairman, also exhorted agricultural workers not to spare energy needed for sowing the fields in the coming weeks during his speech. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after the slaying of a Baltimore County, Maryland, police officer, and three other suspects are still being sought, police said today on Twitter. The Baltimore County Police and Fire Department tweeted that the teen was arrested shortly after the female officer was fatally injured yesterday. The police tweet did not explain the delay in announcing the teen's apprehension. The teen's name was not immediately released. Police said he is awaiting a bail hearing. Meanwhile, police backed by aircraft and trained dogs continued scouring a greater Baltimore suburb for three other suspects. Baltimore County Police Cpl. Shawn Vinson said Monday evening that the enormous manhunt was continuing unabated in the suburban community of Perry Hall, Maryland, where witnesses reported hearing a pop before seeing a Jeep run over the officer yesterday afternoon. The officer, who wasn't immediately identified, was bleeding badly from significant injuries and was pronounced dead after being rushed to a hospital. Vinson said investigators have recovered the suspects' abandoned Jeep, but police declined to confirm whether it was used to injure the officer. Relatives of the officer, who would have been on the force four years by July, have been notified. Tony Kurek told The Associated Press his adult son was outside in the family's yard Monday afternoon in the northeast Baltimore County community when the son saw the officer with her gun drawn, confronting the occupants of a Jeep. "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, leaving the officer down and bleeding. Logan Kurek, who is a volunteer firefighter, said he heard his younger brother "frantically screaming" and ran outside to perform CPR. Vinson said the officer went to investigate a call about a suspicious vehicle when she encountered at least one suspect and was "critically injured." He added that the confrontation may have stemmed from a burglary in progress, noting one home on the block had damage to a patio door. "What exactly happened, we are not sure yet until an autopsy is performed," Vinson said at a conference Monday. He said he had no information about whether she had fired her own weapon. He added that a homicide investigation has been opened. Officers were searching for suspects "who we believe are armed and dangerous," Police Chief Terrence Sheridan said. Events began unfolding last afternoon in the leafy neighbourhood of single-family homes. It was then that 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. "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 kept on alert status for hours, with students and teachers told to stay in their school buildings as police continued a search for the suspects. By last evening, parents were allowed to come to the schools to pick up their youngsters. School officials tweeted overnight that all Baltimore County public schools would open on time today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jharkhand unit of the BJP today claimed that several saffron party workers from West Bengal have taken shelter in Sahibganj district of the state to escape "bullying" by the Trinamool Congress. The TMC activists are exerting pressure on the BJP workers, who won the recent rural polls in pockets of West Bengal, to join them, Praveen Prabhakar, the state unit spokesman of the saffron party, said in a press release today. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is "frustrated" with the "growing popularity" of the BJP, he alleged. "Banerjee has no regards for democracy or humanity. Over 150 BJP supporters from West Bengal were forced to take shelter in Jharkhand's Sahibganj district after they received threats from the TMC workers," Prabhakar added. The TMC leaders, when contacted, said they were not aware of the allegations leveled by the Jharkhand unit of the BJP and refused comment on the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu today asked the Centre to increase the supply of coal to make thermal power stations in the state attain full capacity. State electricity minister P Thangamani, who met the union minister of coal, railways and finance Piyush Goyal in New Delhi, requested him to supply the required coal through seven additional goods trains. Thangamani said 72 tonnes of coal a day were required to meet the production of thermal power stations in the state. "As per the agreement with Coal India, coal was supposed to be supplied through 16 trains. But, it is being sent through 13 trains," he said. The minister requested Goyal to allot additional coal to enhance the production capacities of North Chennai Thermal Power Station (2x600 MW capacity) and Mettur Thermal Power Station (of 1x600 MW). Chairman and managing director of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd, Vikram Kapur was also present at the meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and other member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) have discussed ways to strengthen cooperation within the grouping in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational crimes. Deputy National Security Adviser Rajinder Khanna, and Pakistan's NSA Nasser Khan Janjua, along with top security officials of the SCO member countries concluded their two-day meeting here today. The security officials met ahead of the SCO summit in the Chinese city of Qingdao to be held on June 9-10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to take part in the summit. It will be first summit of the SCO after India and Pakistan were admitted into the bloc last year. The SCO, in which China plays an influential role, is also comprised of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. Khanna, who is also the cecretary of the National Security Council secretariat today called on Chinese President Xi Jinping along with other secretaries of the national security councils of the other nations attending the meeting. At the meeting, the participants exchanged views on ways to strengthen SCO cooperation in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational organised crime, a press release from the Indian Embassy here said. They discussed the security situation in Afghanistan as well as other topical issues of regional and international importance. They also reviewed the preparations for the Qingdao summit and the signing of outcome documents in the field of security, it said. Yesterday, Khanna held talks with Chinese Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi during which they discussed security and law enforcement cooperation between the two countries after the Wuhan summit between Modi and Xi. The informal summit between Modi and Xi was held in the Chinese city of Wuhan last month during which the two leaders had overarching discussions on issues related to both countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Iran deal was "terminated" as it was one of the "worst deals" in history, the White House said today, asserting that US President Donald Trump will ensure that Tehran has no path to nuclear weapons. The White House remarks came a day after the US threatened to apply "unprecedented" financial pressure on Tehran if it does not give up its reported goal of developing nuclear weapons and alleged destabilising behaviour in the region, including supporting terrorist groups. President Trump "will ensure Iran has no path to a nuclear weapon", White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a tweet. "The Iran deal was one of the worst deals in history and didn't guarantee the safety of Americans. That's why President Trump 'terminated' it," Sanders said. Trump pulled America out the deal early this month. In his first major foreign policy speech yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought the support of European allies and other global partners and friends, including India, yesterday. 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. He said Iran must stop uranium enrichment and never pursue plutonium reprocessing including closing its heavy water reactor. Iran must end support to Middle East terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Pompeo said. He said that Tehran must also end its military support for the Houthi militia and work towards a peaceful political settlement in Yemen. 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. 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.) Two Nigerian nationals and an Indian woman were arrested from Bengaluru for allegedly cheating a 23-year-old engineering graduate from Hyderabad of over Rs 5.7 lakh on the pretext of providing him a job in a mining firm in Australia, police said today. Police seized two laptops, 14 mobiles phones, six passports and other material from the trio. Police identified those behind the racket as Uchenna N, Ekene Collins (both Nigerians), Afreen Mehmood Shaik and her absconding husband. The complainant had put his resume on a job site and the accused lured him with a job in a mining firm in Australia, Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat said. They prepared fake and fabricated appointment orders and Australian work permit visa, among others. The man deposited over Rs 5.70 lakh in different bank accounts as directed by the accused, the Commissioner said. During the course of investigation, their hideout was identified at Bengaluru and a police team arrested them yesterday and brought them to Hyderabad today, police said. They have been remanded to judicial custody. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two Bangkok-bound passengers were today arrested for carrying undisclosed foreign currencies worth Rs 46 lakh at the Kolkata airport, a senior officer of the Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs said. Acting on a tip-off, the Customs officials searched the checked-in baggages of two passengers and recovered Euro 55,000 concealed in pointed gourds (parwal), the officer said. The Customs officials then physically searched both the passengers and recovered USD 5,000 from their possession, he said. The total seizure was worth Rs 46,71,500, the officer said, adding both the passengers have been arrested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two shepherds, sleeping in a barn with their flock of over 250 sheep, were killed in a village near here while their friend, who was with them, was grievously injured, police said today. Arjun Balmiki (75) and Raj Kumar Balmiki (43) were killed in Pindarsi village, 20 km from here, last night, police said. Sandeep Kumar (27), who was their guest, was seriously injured, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gurmail Singh said. Several sheep were found dead on a railway track about 500 yards away from the village. It is suspected the sheep were crushed to death by a train that crossed the area at about 2 am, the DSP said. According to preliminary investigation, it appears to be a case of theft as many sheep are missing, Superintendent of Police (SP), Kurukshetra, Abhishek Garg added. Police are looking for clues and waiting for Kumar to recover to record his statement. He is undergoing treatment at Kurukshetra's LNJP Hospital. Garg said that the Government Railway Police (GRP) had been informed as the site where the incident took place comes under their jurisdiction. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today paid tribute to an Army jawan who was badly injured during an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district last month and died later. Naik Deepak Nainwal, who hailed from Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, succumbed to his injuries recently. The chief minister laid a wreath on the slain soldier's body at his Harrawala residence here and offered a government job to one of his dependents as per their educational qualification. He also assured full support to the bereaved family. BJP legislators Ritu Khanduri and Munna Singh Chauhan also paid tributes to theslain jawan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UN is violating press freedom by blocking access to Taiwanese journalists trying to cover the world body's major health meeting, Taipei's health minister said today. "Denying the freedom of journalists to cover the meetings of the World Health Assembly is a violation of their freedoms," health and welfare minister Chen Shih-Chung told AFP. "In any international democratic society this kind of action is not acceptable at all," he said. His comments came after Taiwan yesterday launched a global appeal to be granted access to the World Health Organization's main annual meeting, after tensions with China led to its exclusion for a second straight year. China sees self-governing democratic Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification and has used its clout to diminish the island's presence on the world stage since Beijing-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen took power in May 2016. Last year was the first time in eight years that Taiwan was not granted access as an observer to the World Health Assembly (WHA), which opened its 71st edition in Geneva yesterday. The UN says that since Taiwan is not recognised by the General Assembly, it cannot allow Taiwanese passport holders to enter UN premises and also cannot accredit journalists working for Taiwanese organisations. The WHO meanwhile has explained that it is not in a position to invite Taiwan to attend or to provide special accreditation to Taiwanese journalists to cover the WHA until a "cross-straits understanding" with Beijing is restored. A number of Taiwan's diplomatic allies have written to the WHO urging the island's admittance while 172 members of the US Congress last week signed a petition calling for Taiwan to regain the "observer" status it held from 2009 to 2016. But Chen warned that the lack of access to the WHA and the ban on Taiwanese journalists reporting on the event could lead to "information gaps" in how to prevent the spread of global diseases that could have "grave consequences". "Excluding the 23 million Taiwanese from the WHO system is really very ironic, given that the theme of this year's WHA is universal health coverage," he said. Yesterday's opening WHA day, there was a brief discussion on Taiwan but the issue was not included on the agenda. Alex Azar, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, told the assembly today that this decision was "disappointing". "It is difficult to reconcile our shared concern over cross-border infectious diseases with excluding representatives of the 23 million people of Taiwan from this gathering," he said. China's foreign ministry has said the island was only able to attend the WHA from 2009-2016 because the previous Taipei government had a consensus with Beijing that there is only "one China". But since Tsai of Taiwan's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party came to power, she has refused to acknowledge that principle. Chen suggested today that the WHO should stand up to China. "I think WHO should have more real courage and should translate that courage into action in the interest of protecting global health," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Uttar Pradesh cabinet today accepted state madrassa board's proposal to teach English and Hindi languages besides Urdu in the Islamic institutions. The decision in this regard was taken at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here this evening. The cabinet also approved the proposal of following NCERT syllabus and books in the madrassas, an official spokesman said here. Subjects like Hindi, English, Science, Mathematics and Social Science would be introduced in the curriculum, the official said. The state madrassa board in a meeting with the government on May 15 had suggested that all Islamic institutions should teach English and Hindi languages along with Urdu. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India's relationship with Russia and China will have no bearing on the strategic partnership with the US, a senior BJP leader has said, underlining that New Delhi follows a de-hyphenated foreign policy that makes its ties with one country "independent" of another. BJP general secretary Ram Madhav asserted that India continues to strive to strengthen ties with the US. "Regional demand that we build strong bilateral relations with important powers in the region, some of them happen to be having difficulties with the US. But, that will not have any bearing on our relationship with the US," Madhav said, apparently referring to the US sanctions on Russia. He was responding to questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's informal summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month and Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday. "Look in the last three-four years, you must have noticed we have followed what we call as de-hyphenated foreign policy," he said. A de-hyphenated foreign policy means that India would pursue its relationship with different countries independent of their relationship with any third country. "India is pursuing the de-hyphenated policy. We have certain regional imperatives that command us to establish relationship with powers of different poles in the region. But that does not affect the larger issues like US India bilateral relationship," Madhav said in response to a question. US President Donald Trump had signed a law, The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act', CAATSA, imposing sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea. The Section 231 of CAATSA mandates secondary sanctions on those who conduct significant transactions with the Russian defence and intelligence sectors. Madhav was here in the American Capital over the weekend to be address the New India event of the Overseas Friends of BJP to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the NDA government on Sunday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Expressing grave concerns over the human rights situation in Pakistan's Sindh province, a US lawmaker has condemned alleged assault on families of disappeared persons during a hunger-strike in the province. In a statement, Congressman Brad Sherman strongly condemned an incident that occurred last week, when Pakistan's security forces allegedly assaulted the families of disappeared and missing persons who were on a hunger strike in protest of these disappearances. "I express my grave concerns about the human rights situation in the Sindh province of Pakistan, with special reference to enforced disappearances of persons at the hands of Pakistani security agencies," Sherman said. The daughters and wives of the disappeared persons were on a 72-hour hunger strike in front of the Press Club at Karachi that began on May 20. During their non-violent protest, Pakistani security forces or their agents assaulted two daughters of the disappeared Hidyat Lohar (an elementary school headmaster who was taken away in April 2017 in front of school children) and two daughters of Khadim Arijo (a civil servant missing since April 2017). Security forces also reportedly detained about five of the nonviolent activists, though it seems they have been released, he said. "It is crucial that Pakistan immediately cease these and other related human rights violations in the Sindh province. Pakistani security personnel and others involved in the enforced disappearances should be held accountable," Sherman said. He urged the US State Department and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well as US ambassador in Pakistan, to take up this issue with the civilian and military leadership of Pakistan. "Our ambassador to Pakistan must receive guarantees from the Pakistani government regarding the protection of human rights defenders and of those who advocate for Sindh's missing persons. It will be even more significant to set up a bipartisan fact-finding mission to probe enforced disappearances and related killings in Sindh," Sherman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hitting out at the Archbishop of Delhi over his letter cautioning against threat from "turbulent political atmosphere" in the country, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad today termed it as a "direct attack by the Church on India's secularism". VHP's international working president Alok Kumar also alleged that it was a direct intervention of the Vatican, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, and an attempt to divide India on the basis of religion. "This is a direct attack by the Church on India's secularism and democracy... This is a direct intervention by the Vatican as these Bishops are appointed by the Pope. Their accountability is not to India, but to the Pope," Kumar said. He was speaking to reporters during his maiden visit to the city after being elected to the post last month. The Archbishop of Delhi, Anil Couto, has written a letter to all parish priests and religious institutions in the Delhi archdiocese, in which he said a "turbulent political atmosphere" in the country posed a threat to India's constitutional principles and secular fabric. In the letter written few days before the May 12 Karnataka elections, he has appealed to followers of his faith for a "prayer campaign". Reacting to the letter, the VHP leader asked, "What would happen to the secular fabric and the unity of the country if Muslim, Hindu and leaders representing other religions start writing such letters?" On the Ram temple issue, Kumar expressed hope that the Supreme Court will give a "favourable judgement". "The SC is treating it as a land dispute. I am confident that the Supreme Court will give a positive decision in favour of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. But if the court gives an adverse ruling, then the VHP leaders would meet and decide the future course of action," he said. "We have merit in our case and we hope to win. But assuming that there is an adverse order, people of this country will ask the government to legislate," Kumar said adding that the verdict is likely to be pronounced in July as arguments from both the sides are over. Kumar also said that the Supreme Court's judgment on SC/ST Act caused discontent among the members of Scheduled Castes. "I believe this Act should not be diluted. I am satisfied that the government has opted for a review," he said. On the upcoming movie titled "Loveratri" to be made under the banner of Salman Khan Films, he said, "The film is set against the backdrop of Navratri, a Hindu festival, and the name distorts its meaning...We will not allow its exhibition in the cinema halls in the country. We don't want the sentiments of Hindus to be hurt." He said, "We have been working on several issues since 1964 (the VHP was formed), such as social harmony, establishing family values, Ram temple...they all continue to be relevant.""Priorities might have changed. Right now, our priority is to work towards social harmony. We are pained how the situation is being exploited by certain groups," he added. "VHP is a separate body, not affiliated to the BJP or any other political party. But we are wedded to the idea of welfare for all communities irrespective of their caste and creed," he said. Kumar, who took over from Pravin Togadia, also said the exit of his predecessor will not affect the organisation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The "admin" of a group on the popular messaging platform WhatsApp was assaulted at the behest of a member who was incensed by his removal from the group, police said. Ahmednagar-based Chaitanya Shivaji Bhor, 18, was attacked by three persons with a sharp weapon, a senior police official told PTI. The incident occurred at a mess on May 17 night on the Ahmednagar-Manmad road, police said. Chaitanya, a student of the agriculture college at Ahmednagar, had created the group having college students as members. Bhor recently removed one Sachin Gadakh from the group as the latter had left the college, police said. Gadakh was angry and decided to avenge the "insult", police said. On May 17, Sachin's friend Amol Gadakh and two others went to the eatery where Bhor had his meals and assaulted him. Amol attacked Bhor with a sharp weapon on his stomach, mouth and back, police said. Bhor, who sustained serious injuries in the attack, was taken a nearby hospital and was later shifted to Pune, police said. The assailants, who hail from Sonai village in Nevasa tehsil, fled from the spot. After a complaint filed by Bhor, an offence under section 307 of IPC and Arms Act was registered against Sachin Gadakh, Amol Gadakh and two others, Vinod Chavan, Senior Police Inspector of MIDC police station in Ahmednagar, said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wildlife experts today provided tips to people involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of snakes and to reduce risks for the rescuers. The experts at a workshop said snake rescue is the first line of defence to reduce human-snake conflict and will also help reduce human casualty. The two-day workshop was organised by the Wildlife Trust of India and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) at Manas National Park in Assam from May 19. It was done as part of the formation of the Indian Snake Rescuers Network (ISRN), which falls under the aegis of the Emergency Relief Network (ERN) Project of IFAW-WTI, The workshop was attended by 20 participants from various districts of Assam and included individuals, NGO representatives, Forest Department staff and two staff members from the Ecological Task Force (ETF) of the Army based in Kokrajhar. Soham Mukherjee from Ahmedabad, WTI's Wildlife Enforcement said "Snake rescue is one of the most prevalent wildlife related work being undertaken in India. However, many of the individuals involved in it are either ill-equipped, ill-trained or lack the information and learning flow to carry this out ethically and scientifically". This type of workshop and constitution of a network will not only improve the situation but also generate a lot of information on the quantum of such rescues being done in North-east India, he added. Topics such as basic taxonomy of snakes; handling, capture and transport of snakes; legal considerations relevant to snake rescue; snake-bite management, were discussed in the workshop. Bhaskar Choudhury, WTIs Head Veterinarian (North East) and Head of the IFAW-WTI Greater Manas Conservation Project said, "The workshop was held with the objective of educating the snake rescuers of the State. Fortunately, we found that Assam rescuers are better off than others in terms of detrimental and unscientific practices while rescuing snakes". "We have trained a core team of students, enthusiasts and sensitised citizens in practising a scientific approach to rescue and rehabilitation of snakes in the State", Choudhury added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The condition of a patient who underwent a successful heart transplantation here yesterday is stable and his medical parameters are satisfactory, a senior doctor at the medical centre where the surgery took place said today. Dilchand, a 39-year-old man from Jharkhand, received a heart harvested from a youth who was declared brain dead yesterday in Bengaluru following an accident on May 19. "Our transplant recipient is stable and continues to progress well. He is alert and has been taken out of assisted ventilation. All medical parameters are satisfactory," a senior doctor at the private hospital here told PTI. The patient's family visited him this morning, he said. Dilchand suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy which reduced the pumping ability of his heart and was on the wait-list for an organ since January 2017. The organ, harvested from a 21-year-old youth, was airlifted from Bengaluru to Kolkata yesterday. The police created a traffic-free green corridor so that the organ could reached the hospital at the earliest. A two-hour-long operation was conducted for the transplant. The Bengaluru resident's family members agreed to donate his heart after they were counselled on organ donation following which a cardiac transplant team harvested the organ and airlifted it to Kolkata. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than 40 railway projects are currently underway in the northeast region which will add 5,158 km-long tracks on completion, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said today. Flagging off the second service of Humsafar Express at Agartala railway station here jointly with Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA government is very keen to develop the northeastern states and working for it. A total 43 railway projects are currently on in the region for which Rs 90,000 crore had been allotted. On their completion 5,158 km railway line would be added in the northeast, he said. The train, which was flagged on January 5 plies between Agartala and Bangalore Cantonment once a week. With the introduction of the second service the train will be available twice a week now. Gohain said, "The central government has also sanctioned a project for electrification of all lines." On development of railway services in the region, he said Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura and Manipur are connected with the railways and work is now underway in Mizoram and Nagaland. He also said railways development work was in progress at Meghalaya since the Conrad Sagma government came to office. The minister of state said work on the Rs 3,451 crore 112-km broad-gauge line from Agartala to Sabroom in South Tripura district is underway and when it is commissioned Chittagong Port in Bangladesh would be only 90 km away from the nearest station. Gohain said the Agartala-Akhaura rail link would connect India and Bangladesh via Gangasagar railway station near the international border in West Tripura district. "It is one of the most important projects going on and is being implemented at a cost of Rs 968 crore," he said, adding it would connect Chittagong Port in Bangladesh. Speaking at the function, Deb requested the minister to double the frequency of the Rajdhani Express and the Tripurasundari Express. He said Tripura would soon become the gateway to the Northeast. A bridge is under construction over Feni river which would connect Bangladesh at Sabroom in South Tripura district. "We will have direct connectivity with Chittagong port (in Bangladesh) after the completion of the bridge. Goods can be brought at much cheaper rates compared to the 2,500 km long route from Haldia port (in West Bengal)," he said. Deb said his government would work to develop Tripura using its natural resources like gas and produces like tea, jackfruit and pineapple. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "I am almost on the way...You should look after our children well," was the heart-wrenching message from a dying nurse in Kerala who succumbed to the rare Nipah virus infection. The emotional message scribbled by 28-year-old Lini Puthussery in a brief note in Malayalam to her husband Sajeesh minutes before she died yesterday has gone viral in the social media, leaving people teary-eyed. A nursing assistant with the Perambra Taluk Hospital in Kozhikode, Lini got exposed to the 'deadly' virus while treating affected patients. Besides her husband, who works in Bahrain, Lini leaves behind two sons aged five and two. In the letter to Sajeesh, Lini expressed her pain and anguish that she could not see him again. She also requested her husband to take care of their children and take them to Bahrain with him. "I am almost on the way. I do not think I can meet you. You should look after our children well," she had said. After consulting the family, authorities cremated Lini's body. This was done as a precautionary measure to ensure that the virus, if present, did not spread further. After coming to know of Lini's health, Sajeesh had come home two days ago. Nipah virus has so far claimed 10 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala while the condition of two undergoing treatment is said to be critical. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to Facebook to mourn the death. The loss of Lini, who had sacrificed her life for nursing a patient, is a grief for all of us. Lini's sacrifice is incomparable. It is painful that Lini met with this tragedy while she was sincerely doing her duty. We, the people of the state, share the pain and loss of Lini's family, friends and colleagues," Vijayan wrote. The natural host of the Nipah virus (NiV) virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus. There is no vaccination for the virus which has a mortality rate of 70 per cent. Health officials said they had found mangoes bitten by bats in a home where three people died of the suspected infection, according to a report. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Zambian national was arrested for allegedly possessing 'ganja' and other intoxicants pills, police said today. James Zimba, a resident of Republic of Zambia, was arrested yesterday at a police check post near Maheru village -- where he was residing in a rented accommodation-- 7 km from Phagwara city, Chaheru police post incharge Baljinder Singh said today. Around 86 grams of contraband and 56 capsules and tablets were recovered from Zimba's possession, the police said. The arrest was made under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. According to the police, Zimba studied at the Lovely Professional University (LPU), Chaheru, but after completing his course he decided to stay back in India as his visa was valid till July this year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Vibhuti Sharma(Reuters) - Consumer Reports said Tuesday it will retest brakes on Tesla Inc's new Model 3 sedans after Chief Executive Elon Musk promised a software update, but the potential hit to sales from the magazine's negative review weighed on Tesla shares. A review by the influential magazine on Monday said the car, despite many positives, had "big flaws," including braking slower than a full-sized pickup truck. That criticism adds to headaches for Musk, already facing pressure over a series of crashes, production issues, and the company's finances."If Tesla can update the brakes ... By Tom SimsFRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank investors, fed up with a languishing share price and dwindling revenue, will call on its leaders to deliver quicker results at this week's annual general meeting.Chairman Paul Achleitner and newly appointed chief executive Christian Sewing are expected to provide further details of the loss-making bank's refocused strategy at the gathering of up to 4,500 shareholders in Frankfurt on Thursday.Deutsche Bank has said it will scale back its sprawling global investment bank and lean more heavily on retail banking and asset management, following months ... By Nidhi Verma and Sudarshan VaradhanMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country's top refiner, will turn to its traditional oil suppliers, mostly in the Middle East, if U.S. sanctions against Iran result in supply disruptions, its head of finance said.U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month pulled out of a 2015 international nuclear pact with Iran, and said he would impose sanctions on Tehran - and companies that continue to work with it - unless it curbed its influence in the Middle East. Other signatories of the pact - France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China - said they ... By Vibhuti Sharma(Reuters) - Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has sought to play down a report identifying "big flaws" in its Model 3 sedan, admitting there is a braking issue with the vehicle but saying it will be fixed with a software update within days.Responding to a review by influential U.S. magazine Consumer Reports which stopped short of recommending the car, Musk said in a round of tweets late on Monday that the magazine's tests - which used two separately-sourced vehicles - had been of older versions of the car that had already been improved upon.The issue, which ate into ... Calgary Herald Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Calgary Herald, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Sign Up By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Calgary Herald Headline News will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again | BY Ricki Green | Forty Winks has unveiled a new advertising campaign to reinforce its new brand positioning Serious About Sleep, developed by AJF Partnership. The positioning is built on the insight that people are simply not getting enough sleep. In fact, one in every four Australians are lacking in sleep, which inhibits their ability to perform. The benefits of a good nights sleep are incredible and include improved judgement, immunity, energy, memory and even attractiveness. The new brand films celebrate sleep, without actually showing anyone asleep. Instead, we see some of Australias most breathtaking locations under peaceful starry night skies. These star-filled skies, together with a new illuminated type treatment, distinctive male voice and stirring music score, form a suite of new Forty Winks brand assets. The campaign, which includes a 90 second online film, a 60 second regional cinema spot and multiple 30 and 15 second brand TVCs, aims to elevate the importance of sleep for all Australians. Says Alex DAmico, head of marketing, Forty Winks: Forty Winks has been helping Australians get a better nights sleep for 34 years and our new Serious About Sleep brand positioning reinforces our category leadership as sleep experts. We want Australians to wake up to how important sleep is and rely on Forty Winks to help them find the right bedding solution so they can get the best nights sleep. As a house of brands, we have a significant range of bedding solutions, coupled with a 100-store network; our highly trained and experienced staff are well placed to help all Australians choose the right bed to maximise support and comfort to ensure the best sleep quality. Says Andrew Foote, ECD, AJF Partnership: We are very proud of this campaign, which launches a long-term brand platform that will cement Forty Winks position as Australias premier sleep experts. A national conversation around the importance of sleep is well overdue, and we believe that Serious About Sleep will help Forty Winks wake Australians up to the benefits of sleep for all of us. The through-the-line campaign continues with TV sponsorships, website redesign, social media, radio, regional cinema, in-store POS and digital display. AJF Partnership Executive Creative Director: Andrew Foote Creative Director: Glenn Dalton Senior Art Director: Ed Carveth/ Sharon Little Senior Copywriter: Sandra Galiazzo Group Account Director: Penny Watson Account Director: Emma Whiteley Account Manager: Matilda Widin TV Producer: Erica Frick Strategy: Pieter-Paul von Weiler, Lani Cush, Hayley Read. Production Company: Resolution Design Director: Tim Dyroff Executive Producer: Christine Koole Producer: Richard Haltsted Post Production: Resolution Design Music Composition: Sonar Music Composer: Antony Partos Producer: Sophie Haydon Sound Production: Production Alley Forty Winks David Edwards CEO Alex DAmico Head Of Marketing | BY Ricki Green | Sarah Chatfield, hailed as a new heroine of the directing world has signed with Sedona Productions for representation in Australia and New Zealand. Chatfield works across commercials, fashion films and music videos, with her films described as moving seamlessly between polished glamour and raw cinematic naturalism. Clients such as Adidas, Nike, Credit Suisse and Yves Saint Laurent have all tapped Chatfields unique talent to direct branded content and commercial pieces, including multiple projects honoured with award nominations and wins. Hailed as a new heroine of the directing world by iD Magazine, Chatfield has had her fashion film work screened in museums and galleries worldwide, as well as featured in publications such as Vogue, Dazed & Confused, Creative Review, Campaign, Creativity, 10 Magazine, Shots, and Showstudio. She has collaborated with a wide range of musicians, athletes and celebrity talent, including Lily Allen, Roger Federer, Lykke Li, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Recently, she travelled to South Africa to shoot a series of launch spots for the new Unilever brand Love Beauty and Planet. Says Kim Wildenburg, managing director, Sedona: Ive been a great admirer of Sarahs work for a while now. Her unique visual style and cinematic sensibility is the perfect compliment to Sedonas roster and Im thrilled to have a strong female director come on board. To view Sarahs reel, click here. | BY Ricki Green | If you were faced with the choice of staying in an abusive home, or sleeping on the street, which would you choose? This is the central question being posed by the St Vincent de Paul Society and its new winter campaign created by its new agency Marlin Communications. Too many Australians are facing homelessness as a result of poverty, domestic violence and other factors. Vinnies aims to raise $6 million dollars to help provide housing assistance, everyday essentials like food and clothing, case management and ongoing support to build a brighter future for people in desperate need this winter. 2018 marks a new phase for Vinnies. After a competitive pitch, Marlin was given responsibility for a series of new national fundraising appeals. The Vinnies Winter Appeal is the first campaign to build on a new strategic approach one that refuses to paint beneficiaries as victims, but shows the core difficulty being faced by so many vulnerable children, women and men in Australia they simply dont feel like they have another option. As Jenny, the focus of the Winter Appeal asks, where do you go when theres nowhere to go? Marlin Communications has created an integrated campaign which presents the dramatic reality of life faced on the brink of poverty. Jenny has to choose whether she and her family should stay home, where she is abused by her husband, or risk danger and hunger on the street where more impossible choices await them. Do you choose food over medicine? Do you pay bills instead of buying school shoes? These are the questions that poverty raises in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians each year. Marlins TVC and online film brings the viewer face to face with the emotional reality that Jenny faces because of poverty. The direct mail campaign helps the donor go deeper into her story and puts the focus on them asking them directly What would you do? By asking the donor to answer these impossible questions for themselves, Vinnies is helping all Australians empathise with the lived reality of homelessness and poverty which are so often invisible. Documentary photographer and filmmaker David Maurice Smith filmed and shot the campaign through Flint Sydney. Says Catherine Braybon, national marketing, Vinnies: Women like Jenny arent victims, they are truly resilient people facing impossible choices. Client: St Vincent De Paul Society National Marketing: Catherine Braybon Agency: Marlin Communications Creative Director / Writer: Clayton Thomas Art Director: Sarah Hipsley Creative Strategy Director: Dan Geaves Account Manager: Jasmine Coronado Photographer: David Maurice-Smith Notice for the Postmedia Network This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Sanibel Community Churchs H2O Student Ministries High School group will celebrate the end of the school year on May 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. with a group night at the beach. The evening will include beach volleyball, songs by the fire, and roasting hot dogs and smores. The students will challenge the leaders to a game of volleyball, plus a guys verses girls challenge. It will wrap up with acoustic songs by the fire and time for students to unwind, chat or make summer plans. Open to the public, high school students are invited to bring items to create smores. H2O Student Ministries is a youth program for sixth- through 12th-graders that meets on Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m. for middle-schoolers and from 6 to 8 p.m. for high-schoolers, as well as on Sundays from 11 a.m. to noon at Sanibel Community Church, at 1740 Periwinkle Way. All students on the island and surrounding communities are welcome. For more information, call 472-2684 or visit http://www.sanibelchurch.com>www.sanibelchurch.com. Photo: Contributed I attended a TEDxYouth event on May 17. Twelve incredible youth, aged 11-17, presented their ideas. One of them was my 12-year-old son, Caden. What a stinker to have such an opportunity! I walked out of there more than a proud papa. I had been touched by the incredible youth and the ideas they presented. And inspired by their calls to action. One spoke about setting incredibly grand goals, and going after them. A particular passion of mine about road safety was rekindled: that piece I write about from time to time about hand-held versus hands free cellphone use. I shared my passion with Caden in the spirit of that TEDx evening. He had taken it as a given that talking on a cellphone while driving is a bad thing, but I explained the science of it to him anyway. That drivers talking on cellphones see (their eyes open, looking out the windshield) but fail to process up to 50 per cent of whats right in front of them. It has something to do with how our brains work, I explained. We confidently think we can multi-task. But neuroscientists say that our brains can focus on only one thing at a time. Rather than two, parallel focuses, our brains are really flipping back and forth between the two tasks. And the flipping away from the driving task leads to missing things even though our eyes are wide open, looking out the windshield. We dont realize its occurring. We travel thousands of kilometres, chatting on the phone here and there, with nothing bad happening. From time to time, we will miss a turn off or arrive at a destination not remembering how we got there, but we chalk that up to being forgetful. Our confidence builds. As does our dependence on that cellphone. Its Russian roulette with a thousand chamber revolver. Sooner or later the 1 in 1,000 odds will add to rising car crash statistics. I told Caden he was only three years old when the first cellphone law in British Columbia was enacted on Jan. 1, 2010. A law that made things worse instead of better. Our government knew the science, I told him. They cant hide from their own, internal Discussion Paper published in 2009 that includes this passage summarizing the science: In both simulated and real driving environments, the use of electronic devices has been shown to result in crashes and near misses. Drivers fail to process approximately 50 percent of the visual information in their driving environment when they are using electronic communication devices. Evidence also concludes that there is no difference between the cognitive diversion associated with hands-free and hand-held cell phone use. And they knew what might happen if they did something so moronic as a partial ban, directed only at hand-held use: Legislation that bans only hand-held cell conversations conflicts with the research that has consistently found no difference in the degree of distraction between hand-held and hands-free cell conversations. As a result, these laws may not provide the expected benefits and may even generate harmful indirect impacts such as a false sense of security for those who talk on hands-free devices while driving. Caden immediately understood that concept, that banning only hand-held use would automatically send the loud and clear message that hands free was safe. Safety conscious drivers, who up until 2010 had been leaving their phones alone, were led to believe they could safely use a cellphone while driving if they simply spent the money on hands-free technology. The predictable result was more, instead of less, cellphone use behind the wheel. Sure enough, I told Caden, a downward trend in car crash numbers coincidentally ended in 2010. Then a plateau. And after 2013, a steady increase. I told Caden that Im jumping out of my skin to share this story with British Columbians. Maybe if I recorded a compelling video, like a TED talk. Maybe if I did a stunt like walk to Vancouver and back until that video got a million views. Maybe then British Columbians would demand a change in the law to ban all cell phone use while driving. My sons a bright one. How long does it take to walk to Vancouver? he asked. That doesnt really matter, Caden. I would walk back and forth until I reached my goal. By the end of the evening he was in tears. If Daddy spends his time walking to and from Vancouver, he worried, whos going to pay the mortgage? Hows that for dashing my TEDx inspiration! Perhaps my unbridled passion can go too far. Or should I follow through with the faint hope that the government will listen and fix what they broke in the first place? Photo: Contributed A Penticton classical guitarist will be sharing some Spanish flavour during a performance in Cawston. On Friday, May 25, William Leggott will be playing some folk tunes from Southern Spain at the Cawston United Church Chapel. He will be joined by flamenco dancers. The show begins at 7 p.m. Friday, and tickets are $15 at the door. Advance tickets are available at the Cawston Marketplace and Westland Insurance in Keremeos. Chelsea Powrie A Penticton artist wants to help people get over their fear of painting and simply create art through her new YouTube channel. Jenny Long of Long Gallery on Main Street has created two episodes of what she hopes will be a continuing series of "how-to" painting videos, in which she demonstrates techniques and how to work with various tools. "It was inspired by Bob Ross and his joy, utter joy, of painting," Long said. "That instructional idea where it's step by step where you just show people the medium." Long enjoys mixing paints to create new colours. She claims she wasn't really a painter until she started embracing the abstract side of art, thanks to some instructors in college. She also hopes her videos will be fundamental enough that anyone can paint along with her and learn something. "I show you the colours, I show you the tools, and I produce a painting in that small amount of time, so you can too," Long said. Her videos are under 30 minutes, and feature Long creating a complete piece. Long's YouTube channel, titled "No Lines," can be found here. Photo: The Canadian Press China's ambition to soft-land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon later this year faces considerable challenges, but if successful would propel the country's space program to the forefront of one of the most important areas of lunar exploration, experts say. China hopes to be the first country to complete such a landing. On Monday, it launched a relay satellite to facilitate communication between controllers on Earth and the upcoming Chang'e 4 mission. The moon's far side is also known as the dark side because it faces away from Earth and remains comparatively unknown. Creating the ability to explore the far side of the Moon is an impressive achievement, John M. Logsdon of George Washington University's Space Policy Institute said in an email. "Spacefaring countries around the globe are focusing a great deal of attention on lunar exploration, and this far side capability, if it comes into being, will put China in a leading position with respect to that objective," Logsdon said. However, getting the relay satellite into the proper position will be tricky and marks only a first step in pulling off the landing, he said. "Doing things in space, especially at a far distance from Earth, remains hard, so success is far from assured, Logsdon said. A far side soft-landing would be a "world historical first," said Bernard Foing, head of the European Space Agency's International Lunar Exploration Working Group, which has collaborated with the Chinese program. That would offer a "deep science opportunity to study the far side," which has a different composition from sites on the near side, where previous missions have landed, Foing said. However, he too warned of the difficulties ahead, saying it would be a "great challenge using the relay orbiter for control and data." Such a communications relay link is needed for communication with a spacecraft on the far side because the moon's rocky bulk would otherwise block contact with Earth. China previously landed its Jade Rabbit rover on the moon and plans to land its Chang'e 5 probe there next year and have it return to Earth with samples the first time that would be done since 1976. China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, making it only the third country after Russia and the U.S. to do so, and has put a pair of space stations into orbit. Photo: The Canadian Press Federal prosecutors filed court documents Monday in which an Alaska man agreed to plead guilty to a Florida airport shooting rampage that killed five people in exchange for a life prison sentence. The agreement says that Esteban Santiago, 28, will plead guilty to 11 of the 22 counts against him in the attack that also left six wounded. Prosecutors reached a deal with Santiago's defence lawyers not to seek the death penalty in exchange for the guilty plea. Instead, Santiago would serve a life prison sentence plus 120 years, according to the documents, and will waive his right to appeal the sentence. The deal is expected to be finalized Wednesday in Miami federal court before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom. The mentally troubled Santiago, of Anchorage, Alaska, acknowledged in the document that he flew on a one-way ticket from Alaska to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport with a 9mm handgun in a checked weapons box in on Jan. 6, 2017. Santiago loaded the gun in a bathroom and came out firing, emptying two ammunition clips before lying on the floor and surrendering to police. Fifteen bullet casings were recovered. "He recounted how he entered a stall, removed the gun from the box, loaded it, and put it in his waistband," prosecutors wrote of Santiago's confession to investigators. "He confessed that, after he left the men's restroom, he shot the first people he encountered." Santiago, an Iraq war veteran who has been diagnosed as schizophrenic, initially told the FBI he was acting under some form of government mind control. Then, he changed his story to claim that he shot his victims in support of the Islamic State extremist group, but no ties to terrorist groups have been found. Since his arrest, Santiago has been treated for his mental illness and his attorneys have repeatedly said he is competent to understand the legal proceedings. Prior to the shooting, he was briefly treated at an Anchorage mental institution after showing up at the local FBI office claiming to be hearing voices, then released with no restrictions on owning a gun, authorities have said. The statement of facts filed Monday signed by Santiago and his attorneys lays out in detail the actions Santiago took that day, as well as a few new pieces of evidence. For instance, the document states that Santiago researched the layout of the Los Angeles International Airport three days before flying to Florida, but does not indicate why he did that or why he ultimately chose Florida. Photo: Contributed The director of a seabed hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on Tuesday disagreed with a new book's conclusion that the pilot likely flew the plane beyond the search area to deliberately sink it in unexplored depths of the Indian Ocean. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau believes the airliner mostly likely ran out of fuel and crashed after flying far off course en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014. It believes all 239 passengers and crew on board were likely long dead inside a depressurized cabin and cockpit. Search director Peter Foley, who co-ordinated the search on Malaysia's behalf, was quizzed by a Senate committee on theories in Canadian air crash investigator Larry Vance's new book "MH370: Mystery Solved." The book argues that two wing flaps found on islands off Africa in 2015 and 2016 point to pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah performing a controlled ditching outside the 120,000 square kilometres that were scoured by sonar in a $150 million search that ended in January last year. It says Shah's aim was to keep the plane largely intact so it would disappear as completely as possible in the remote southern ocean. Foley, who said he has read the book, pointed to evidence that the plane was not under anyone's control when it hit the water. He said analysis of the satellite transmissions of the flight's final moments showed the jet was in a fast and accelerating descent at the end. Debris from within the plane's interior found washed up on the west coast of the Indian Ocean suggested significant energy on impact, Foley said. "If it was being controlled at the end, it wasn't very successfully being controlled," Foley said. "The flaps weren't deployed," he added. The book argues that the two recovered flaps show evidence that they had been deployed as the pilot slowed the plane for a gentle landing on water. Foley said an analysis at the bureau's headquarters in Canberra of the second flap found on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, in June 2016 determined it was "probably not deployed." But French authorities prevented an Australian analyst from "doing anything meaningful in terms of analysis" of the first flap found. That flap, known as a flaperon, was found on the French island of Reunion in July 2015. French authorities are holding the flaperon as evidence for a potential criminal prosecution. Photo: David Sitar UPDATE 8:40 a.m. Traffic is still backed up on the west side of the William R. Bennett Bridge. A couple of vehicle incidents caused delays and back-ups heading east over the bridge. Castanet readers now indicate that traffic is backed up from every possible artery that feeds onto the bridge and traffic is backed up to the Canadian Tire in Westbank. ORIGINAL 7:15 a.m. Traffic on the bridge in and out of Kelowna being impacted by a couple of incidents this morning. One caller just indicated he saw a pickup truck towing a trailer heading into Kelowna when the trailer appeared to bounce off the hitch causing a collision near the middle of the bridge. The caller also indicated there was an incident that was just being cleared off which was heading west. Driver's indicate traffic is backed up past Westside Road and appears to be crawling along as of 7 a.m. Photo: Jeff Fink More bear sightings around Kelowna, Jeff Fink sent us this photo of what appears to be a young brown bear taking a break in the Upper Mission area by Uplands Drive not far from Cedar Creek Park. There have been numerous sightings around the valley and in particular near Cedar Creek Park. You are advised to give bears a wide berth and to keep your garbage in an enclosed space until garbage day in order to keep bears at bay. Photo: Google Maps Don't forget that construction is underway on Highway 33 south of Kelowna today. Crews are working on a stretch of Highway 33 8 kilometres south of Kelowna so the road will be reduced to single-lane alternating traffic from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 22. Photo: John Elemans Summer is almost here, but it looks like the warm weather has brought the wildlife out. John Elemans sent us this photo he took while out walking Monday near the Mission Creek Mountain Bike Skills Park near Springfield Road. Elemans says, "I saw this rattlesnake about 50 feet from the Mission Creek Mountain Bike Skills Park yesterday. It crossed the path right in front of me. People using the park or paths should be extra careful." The Northern Pacific Rattlesnake is the only rattlesnake found in British Columbia and one of only three remaining rattlesnake species in all of Canada. Best to give these snakes a wide berth and keep your eyes open when out walking or hiking. Photo: Filmmaker Zack Embree There isn't a corner of the country that, at the very least, hasn't heard of Kinder Morgan the company that is behind the massive Trans Mountian Pipeline expansion project. From protests on Burnaby Mountain to a war of words between the premiers' of B.C. and Alberta, the proposed project has in many ways divided the country. Kinder Morgan has set a deadline of May 31 to receive assurances it can proceed without delays, suspending all non-essential activities and related spending on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. The company says its decision is based on the British Columbia government's opposition to the project, which has been the focus of sustained protests at its marine terminal in Burnaby, B.C. In Vernon, a filmmaker will be presenting his perspective on Kinder Morgan and its proposed pipeline on the deadline date, May 31. Directly Affected: Pipeline Under Pressure will be playing at Vernons Schubert Centre 7 p.m. "Directly Affected weaves together the stories of people impacted by the Trans Mountain Pipeline Project, the broken National Energy Board review process used to approve the pipeline, Canadas commitments at the Paris Climate Talks and the innovators working towards the low-carbon economy." Vancouver filmmaker Zack Embree says there's a growing storm of opposition from all walks of life and confusion over Prime Minister Trudeaus climate plan. "How can Canada expect to reduce carbon emissions while at the same time build a major oil pipeline?" Embree, who recently returned from screenings with MPs in Ottawa and Toronto, will be on hand for the screening in Vernon to introduce his film and answer questions afterwards. Everyone is welcome to attend this important community screening sponsored by the Sustainable Environment Network Society. Tickets, ($10 and $5 for students and seniors) will be available at the door. with files from the Canadian Press Photo: CTV News A Vernon bride lost her mother just hours before her wedding was set to take place. Ann Wittenberg, a government worker from Ottawa, travelled to Tofino, to see her daughter Victoria Emon get married. CTV News is reporting that Wittenberg and her other daughter went surfing just hours before Victoria's wedding. Wittenberg ended up underwater near Long Beach. A group of people pulled her to shore, where she died. Victoria went ahead with her wedding on Sunday afternoon, saying that is what her mother would have wanted. She thanked everyone who rushed to her mother and sisters aid on the beach. I am so grateful for everyone that helped her out of the water, Victoria said. (And) for everyone that prayed for her, especially to the girls that took care of Rachel. Police said foul play is not suspected. - With files from CTV Vancouver Photo: David Ogilvie Emergency crews responded to a collision near the intersection of Bartley Road and Byland Road in West Kelowna. Dave Ogilvie tells Castanet that a smaller silver vehicle was involved in a collision at the intersection, traffic is backed up in that area. The collision is one of several incidents this morning. There were two collisions on the bridge which caused serious delays this morning. Photo: Contributed A former Kelowna resident has been charged with fraud in connection with two fundraising scams. Krysta-Lyn Williams, 30, who now lives in Calgary, has been charged with fraud over $5,000 after it was discovered she was attempting to raise funds, claiming she had cancer. Calgary police say they were tipped off about an online raffle set up to assist with healthcare costs related to the bogus cancer diagnosis. The raffle was for two $8,000 WestJet gift certificates. Police investigators were able to determine Williams' medical records did not show a diagnosis of cancer, and that the raffle prize was false. The raffle raised $10,000, while a corresponding GoFundMe campaign raised about $6,800. Photo: The Canadian Press UBC Okanagan researchers have developed a faster test for cannabis quality. With the coming legalization of cannabis, producers are increasingly looking for quick and accurate means of determining the potency and quality of their products. Researchers at UBCs Okanagan campus developed a new method of measuring phytocannabinoids the primary bioactive molecules in cannabis that will lead to faster, safer and more accurate information for producers, regulators and consumers. There is growing demand on testing labs from licensed cannabis growers across the U.S. and Canada, says Matthew Noestheden, a PhD chemistry student under Prof. Wesley Zandberg at UBCO. "Traditional tests can take upwards of 20 minutes to perform, where we can do it in under seven. It will save a great deal of time and money for producers with enormous greenhouses full of thousands of samples requiring testing. Most people are familiar with THC as the primary bioactive compound in cannabis. But in reality, there are more than 100 different phytocannabinoid variants, many with their own unique biological effects, says Noestheden. The problem is that its very difficult to differentiate between them when testing cannabis potency. The research team overcame the problem by using high-pressure liquid chromatography, which isolates each phytocannabinoid to measure them independently. The results are important for determining the safety and authenticity of cannabis products. Chantelle Deacon "I have to be a spectator in my life now." At a press conference held on Tuesday morning, Melissa Verleg pleaded for her life back. The Vernon mother of two wants to live a normal life, but after being forced off the prescribed drug she was taking, called Orkambi, her life has spiralled downhill. Verleg suffers from cystic fibrosis and needs the medication to sustain a normal quality of life. "I have made hundreds of requests to talk to Mr. Dix, he does not return my phone calls, emails or Facebook messages," she said. Up until Jan. 20, Verleg was covered by her husband's medical through his job but the insurance company has since taken Orkambi out of their policy. The drug rings in at a hefty $250,000 per year and the government will not pay for it. "There are a few people around in both Alberta and B.C. that have received compassionate coverage for Orkambi from the company, unfortunately, Melissa is not one of them," said Eric Foster, Vernon-Monashee MLA. "Last September I met with the minister of health and he wasn't very helpful at the time." "Vertek has given compassionate coverage to a lady in Victoria who is in the same boat as Melissa and a lady in Alberta, which is great, but the issue is they won't give it to Melissa because they don't feel she is sick enough yet." Verleg fought back tears while she explained her situation. She doesn't want to be almost dead before she is able to get the life-saving drug. Since her final dosage of the drug in January her lungs have already started deteriorating. "I can not clean my house, I can not play with my children. We went camping this weekend, I couldn't ride a bike with them," Verleg said through tears. "I just really wish that Vertek or Mr. Dix is listening and that they are willing to step out of the process in this extraordinary case and give me my life back." The makers of Orkambi applied for the drug to be approved in Canada, but the approval could take years. "Basically I'm just in limbo here waiting for someone to help me or to get sick enough that I need a double lung transplant, there are no alternatives." Verleg hopes that Orkambi provides her with compassionate coverage or that NDP Health Minister Adrian Dix can fund and fast-track the drug. In an earlier interview with Castanet, Dix said he spoke with Verleg last year and appreciates the impact not having the drug is having on her life. Dix noted Vertex brought Orkambi to the common drug review in 2016 and 2017 which is standard practice but it was rejected three times because Vertex could not bring all of the evidence for why it should be listed. Then Liberal Minister of Health Terry Lake refused to allow the drug in B.C. Since becoming health minister, Dix said he and his staff have done what they can to get the drug listed. We made a real effort to convince the company of the need to re-apply and I'm happy so say they have agreed to do that, said Dix. They are going to present their evidence in front of the common drug review, but that doesn't guarantee that the drug will be approved. "The minister of health, Adrian Dix, or Vetek the company and I've had a lengthy conversation with, both could fix this with the stroke of a pen," said Foster. "I just feel that one of them could help me live a normal healthier life," Verleg said. Photo: Contributed The 60-year-old woman accused of several arsons in Armstrong has been released on bail. Crown council confirmed Colette Leneveu was released and will next appear in court June 7 for the purposes of arraignment. Some details are under a publication ban. Leneveu was arrested in March following a string of deliberately set fires in quiet Armstrong neighbourhood. 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... Deputy Jeff Talbot, public information officer for the Washington County Sheriff's Office, said the program was not operating in the shadows and had been the subject of several news local stories. He pointed out that jail booking photos are already public, and that the software simply allows officers to scan them instantaneously and in real-time, and compare them against footage of actual suspects, which is a valuable contribution to public safety. "Our goal is to inform the public about the work we're doing to solve crimes. It is not mass surveillance or untargeted surveillance." 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. "The administration has done an about-face in its approach on trade with China," said Scott Kennedy, an expert on Chinese business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He added: "China has been let off the hook, and although 'reforms' are coming, they are likely to be modest, gradual and incremental. All the while, the party-state will continue to fully draw on all of its industrial-policy tools to promote Chinese national champions at home and abroad." FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb had expressed reservations about the "right to try" drug bill last fall, saying it could undermine the agency's authority. But on Tuesday, Gottlieb he tweeted that he was ready to implement it. (Toya Sarno Jordan / Bloomberg) "For more than a year and a half, Mr. Kushner has removed himself from the operations and direction of Cadre," Kushner's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in an emailed statement. "Like many others, he is merely a passive investor, and has not taken part in any negotiations for any investments. His passive investor relationship with Cadre was reviewed and approved by the Office of Government Ethics when he entered government and part of his ethics agreement which was written and reviewed by outside attorneys and with which he has complied with every provision." Though Bud Light still the nations largest selling beer by a mile is down more than any of the other top brands, Anheuser-Busch clearly still sees opportunity in the brand. For the last 10 years, it has used the Bud Light name to roll out a series of line extensions: Bud Light Lime, Bud Light Lime-a-Rita (which has segued into all sorts of ridiculous additions, including Coco-Nut-Rita, Water-Melon-Rita and Grape-A-Rita), Bud Light Apple and now Bud Light Orange. Not much changed in the revisions except for the ending. Without giving it away, Schraders narrative leaves Rev. Toller at a life-or-death crossroads. I gave the script to (New York Film Festival director and former film critic) Kent Jones, a friend of mine, and asked him what he thought of it. And he said, Oh, you went for the Diary of a Country Priest ending. I thought you were going for the Ordet ending. Bressons film is a dying fall; Dreyers reaches for a transcendent miracle. There were only three possible endings, according to Schrader the third being what he calls the Antonioni Zabriskie Point apocalypse, things blowing up, blowing up, blowing up. Ultimately he went with well, youll see. At 30 minutes, the five movements could have been pruned by about 10 minutes (especially the uneventful slow movement), for all the allusive subtlety and ingenuity with which Adams interweaves the intense, stratospheric bravura of Karen Gomyo (the terrific violin soloist for whom the concerto was written) with the twitchy rhythmic exchanges from his colorful mini-orchestra. Even so, he merited the extended ovations he got as he joined Gomyo, Salonen and the other musicians at the end. How to recognize the condition. There is no short, simple test for POCD. Typically, a series of neuropsychological tests are administered before and after surgery - a time-consuming process. Often, tests are given one week and again three months after surgery. But the tests and time frames differ in various studies. Studies also define POCD differently, using varying criteria to assess the kind and extent of cognitive impairment that patients experience. Tucked into the federal budget law Congress passed in February was a provision that significantly expands the use of telemedicine long a hyped health care reform, and now poised to go mainstream within five to 10 years. "There's much broader recognition of the benefits," said Mei Wa Kwong, executive director of the Center for Connected Health Policy, a research group that promotes telemedicine in Sacramento, Calif. "The law is the latest to make telemedicine more accessible. But we still have a ways to go before most consumers are aware of the option." The new law allows Medicare to cover telemedicine services for people who have had a stroke and those who get kidney dialysis, either at home or at a dialysis facility. It also permits Medicare Advantage Plans private plans that enroll a third of Medicare beneficiaries to offer telemedicine as a covered benefit. Separately, as of Jan. 1, Medicare began allowing doctors to bill the government for monitoring certain patients remotely using telemedicine tools for example, tracking heartbeat and rhythm, blood pressure and blood glucose levels. In the easiest-to-understand example, a patient is in one location and has an e-visit with the doctor in another location. They are connected via a secure video link. Proponents say that more sophisticated monitoring is on the horizon and that virtual encounters will become more commonplace. As acceptance and adoption of telemedicine expands, so does coverage. All private health plans, Medicare, state Medicaid programs and the Department of Veterans Affairs now cover some e-visits albeit with restrictions. More health centers and hospitals are launching virtual health centers. And websites offering virtual "doctor-on-demand" services are proliferating. Concerns exist, however. Doctors worry that they may get paid less if insurance reimbursement is lower for e-visits than in-person appointments, or that e-visits could undermine the doctor-patient relationship by reducing valuable face time. They point out that for some ailments, like strep throat, it's best if doctors or other health providers see the patient. Health economists, meanwhile, are concerned that e-visits could add to costs rather than constrain them if, for example, doctors and patients abuse e-visits by scheduling them unnecessarily because they are quick and easy. Also, insurers may be motivated to push doctors to do more e-visits instead of in-person visits to save money. And for some people, access to proper equipment or internet access can be difficult. "The potential for abuse is there," says Dr. Robert Berenson, a Medicare expert at the Urban Institute. "We will need to prevent gaming and misuse of the system. But, generally, helping people avoid unnecessary doctor's office and hospital visits is a good thing, if we do it right." Here's a briefing on telemedicine basics: Q: Are e-visits available from most hospitals and doctors? A: Not yet. But access is increasing. Ask your doctor, clinic or hospital. In some cities, medical centers are setting up telehealth "hubs" to handle patients. For example, Penn Medicine in Philadelphia launched its Connected Care center in February with 50 full-time employees, 24/7 access to care and a program to treat chronically ill patients at home. Some of the center's e-visit services are open only to Penn Medicine employees, but other services are available to anyone, with a focus on residents of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, said Bill Hanson, vice president and chief medical information officer at Penn Medicine. Similarly, Mercy Virtual in Chesterfield, Mo., a St. Louis suburb, serves patients throughout the Midwest, and those treated at Mercy Health's network of 44 hospitals in five states. Launched in 2015, Mercy Virtual provided care to 750,000 people in 2017 with a team of 700 doctors, nurses and support staff. Other medical centers with virtual health programs include Avera Health based in South Dakota; Cleveland Clinic in Ohio; Dignity Health in San Francisco; Intermountain Healthcare in Utah; and Kaiser Permanente, a managed-care health system in California and elsewhere. Kaiser Permanente reported last year that 21 percent of its 110 million patient interactions in 2015 were e-visits. Officials there predict that by 2020 e-visits will exceed in-person visits. (Kaiser Permanente is not affiliated with Kaiser Health News, which is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.) Q: What restrictions do health plans, Medicare and Medicaid put on e-visits? A: Health plan coverage varies, but most private insurers cover e-visits, and 34 states and the District of Columbia require that they do. A few states still require that a patient relationship be established with an in-person visit before the provider can bill for an e-visit. Check with your insurer about its policies. Medicare's coverage of e-visits is more restrictive. First, e-visits must take the place of an in-person visit. Second, with exceptions allowed under February's budget law, Medicare largely restricts e-visits to those that occur in rural areas that have a shortage of doctors and/or hospitals. And third, most e-visits can't occur when the patient is at home. They can be done from a variety of other locations, such as a rural health clinic, a dialysis center or skilled nursing facility. A bill in Congress would loosen that restriction. In contrast, almost all state Medicaid programs cover e-visits in the home. But restrictions still apply. For example, only 22 states cover remote patient monitoring for Medicaid enrollees. The Telehealth Resource Centers, a federally funded organization promoting telemedicine and providing consumer information, has detailed explanations of e-visit restrictions and limitations. Q: Do I need special computer equipment? A: No. E-visits and other forms of telemedicine are done over commonly available computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones and are typically encrypted to protect privacy. Specialized equipment is usually needed for remote monitoring, such as blood pressure or heart rate. One vexing barrier: broadband availability in rural areas. Also, millions of low-income and older Americans still lack Wi-Fi in their homes. Q: What services can I get through telemedicine? A: Most e-visits are for primary care or follow-up services, such as assessing symptoms or checking on people who have had a medical procedure. But a growing number no one keeps national statistics cater to people with chronic conditions who are being monitored at home, said Kwong. Dermatology e-visits are becoming especially common. You can send a close-up photo of a skin rash, mole or other problem for an immediate assessment. Psychotherapy by e-visit is also expanding. Sometimes an e-visit may provide an initial medical assessment for an injury, wound or illness that is clearly not life-threatening. Some cities are testing ambulance services that use telemedicine to triage whether people need a trip to the hospital. Q: Will I save money if I do an e-visit instead of going into the doctor's office? A: E-visits are generally less expensive than a trip to the doctor, but you may not see the difference if your insurance covers both with only a small copay or no copay. If you have a large deductible, however, an e-visit may mean you pay less out-of-pocket for that encounter. Some states require insurers to make equal reimbursements for in-office and telemedicine consultations on simple matters. Q: Are there downsides or risks with telemedicine and e-visits? A: There's no evidence so far that your risk of being diagnosed wrongly or treated inappropriately is any greater with an e-visit compared to an in-person visit. Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. It was 1988, and Laurie Dann opened fire at Hubbard Woods School, killing an 8-year-old boy and injuring five other children, part of a violent, daylong rampage that ended after Dann walked into the family home of Phil Andrew, 20 years old at the time, and held him hostage, along with his parents, for hours. As police closed in on the house, Dann shot Andrew in the chest before killing herself. To understand why this wedding was of interest to many African-Americans, you would have to know the importance of breaking through barriers, regardless of where they are. The duchess has broken through yet another, and as a result has a powerful platform from which she can speak. And the wedding itself spoke volumes. Godinez, who is being held without bond, was accused of shooting the undercover agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the early morning hours of May 4 as the agent and several colleagues attempted to change out a tracking device on a vehicle in the 4400 block of South Hermitage Avenue. "The health and safety of our students is the district's top priority, and earlier today school officials contacted CFD after the smell of gas drifted into the gym as a result of work being being done at a location near the school, CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton said in a statement. Several students and one staff member were transported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution and all have been released. The school was given the all clear from CFD after no elevated gas levels were detected." U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez ordered the 23-year-old Henderson who was accused of posing as Christian Banks when buying the Taurus handgun held without bond for the time being, saying she was very concerned about the allegations raised by prosecutors. The judge said she was also troubled that Henderson was accused of running the trafficking scheme while out on bond on pending state weapons charges. Another hearing on Hendersons continued detention was slated for June 5. In exchange for Penns cooperation, prosecutors have agreed to drop the first-degree murder charge he faces and recommend a sentence of 20 years in prison for armed robbery, Penn confirmed from the stand. He must serve just half of that sentence and will get credit for the 3 years he has already spent in jail. I think whenever you have a four-year degree, it is a commitment you have put forth both financially and through your dedication and hard work, he said. And if you want to be here as a Chicago police officer, I think that degree goes a long way to showing what kind of person you are, to put that kind of effort into your education just to be here. She led community people to get involved, moms and dads that cared about a better Edgewater and really charted a course for where we are as a community today, Osterman said. The work she did to get people involved, to get them to commit to a neighborhood, really had lasting roots to where we are. I have never taken any action to interfere with your outside employment, and I have never directed anyone else to do so, Madigan wrote to Cassidy. I have no idea why you feel that I am somehow retaliating against you as a result of your criticisms, particularly given that I agreed to your requests for an outside counsel and an independent review. "My guess is they're not documented, so my next call is to ICE to have each one of them kicked out of my country," he said. "If they have the balls to come here and live off my money - I pay for their welfare. I pay for their ability to be here. The least they can do - the least they can do - is speak English." Trump denies having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. But she and her publicity-friendly attorney have pressed their case in courtrooms in Los Angeles and in New York, as well as on Twitter, claiming that Cohen's campaign-era non-disclosure agreement to keep Clifford from discussing the alleged 2006 affair with the then-reality TV star is invalid. Although the White House and Trump administration agencies have generally accommodated reporters at public events, journalists protested last year when the White House barred reporters from several news organizations from an informal briefing. CNN, the New York Times, Politico, the Los Angeles Times and BuzzFeed were excluded from the meeting with then-press secretary Sean Spicer, who handpicked representatives from several conservative outlets. Time magazine and AP boycotted the meeting in protest of the exclusion of other news outlets. When I was 4 years old, I was taken away from my parents. We were refugees from Vietnam, fleeing the end of the war in 1975. With 130,000 other Vietnamese, we were put into refugee camps. To leave, we needed American sponsors, but no sponsor was willing to host my entire family. One took my parents, one took my 10-year-old brother and one took me. Memory for me begins here, howling with fear and pain as I was taken from my mother, too young to understand that I would be returned to her in a few months. But it isnt free. Cook County taxpayers in Boykins district and especially the hardest-hit areas of south Cook County are paying a disproportionate share of property taxes to sustain this government. They are bus drivers and mom-and-pop shop owners and home heath care workers and day care providers and others who work long hours for little pay. That pay is precious. Government should treat it as such. Not by instituting soda taxes. But by insisting on financial discipline. Smartphones are so ubiquitous that we take them for granted. But their capabilities would have staggered the imaginations of people who lived just a few decades ago. The wealth of information they offer to users is matched by the immense trove of information they compile about users where they went, whom they called or texted, what websites they perused, even how many steps they took. But the informant apparently was not implanted in the campaign. Identified by the Post, The Wall Street Journal and other media as Stefan Halper, an American who teaches at the University of Cambridge, he is a well-connected veteran of past Republican administrations. He was sent by FBI agents to talk to Trump campaign advisers only after the bureau received evidence that the campaign aides had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign. As in the past, the parade will step off at 9:30 a.m. May 28 at Arlington Heights Village Hall, 33 S. Arlington Heights Road, and then head west on Sigwalt Street to Dunton Avenue, turn north on Dunton to Euclid Avenue and then west on Euclid before ending at the Memorial Park at Fremont Street and Chestnut Avenue. A post-parade ceremony also is planned, officials said. Playoff baseball returned to the South Side for the first time since 2008, and a packed house of 40,288 black-clad fans was there to greet the Chicago White Sox. What those fans got was an epic game that went on and on and on and on, just like the lyrics of their favorite Journey song. Advance tickets are $30 for reserved seating and $25 for general admission. Tickets the day of the event will be $37 for reserved seating and $30 for general admission. Even though the emerald ash borer already has done most of its damage to ash trees on public land in the Barrington area, officials in some villages again are starting up programs to keep the pesky beetle at bay. Back then, only a few houses were in view from what was then known as Thornton Station, but that whistle stop soon would become the catalyst for the village of Homewood, which now has nearly 8,000 homes. What we need both in research and in prenatal care and postnatal care is for physicians to understand what we at the Black Womens Health Imperative call the lived experiences of black women because we dont just show up. Were pregnant. Well get prenatal care, and everything will be fine. Clearly the systems of care delivery have to account for the effects of being a black woman in society on pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes and our maternal health. We need to train doctors and nurses and midwives on what to look for and consider in the practice of care. We must urge Congress to take more meaningful action to improve maternal outcomes for black women and all women. The Momma Act is a crucial step toward that goal. Dillard was found lying next to the parked car. There was blood on his seat, the center console and the back seat. There also were 40-calliber bullets inside and outside of the vehicle, prosecutors said. Police on Friday noticed a Chevolet Tahoe with two people inside parked for a long period of time in a business parking lot in the 11200 block of 159th Street and set up surveillance, according to the release. Police learned the registered owner of the vehicle, which had Pennsylvania license plates, had prior contacts with police in several states for drug distribution, according to police. We will work closely with the police to review safety and security protocols, address what led up to this disturbance and address any potential safety concerns so we are able to ensure that all safety and security measures are in place, he said. Clements was shot March 12 after Elgin police pulled her over on westbound Interstate 90 near Elgin. Officers spent more than hour trying to persuade Clements to leave her SUV when the 32-year-old Elgin woman set her vehicle on fire and exited with a knife in her hand, according to police reports. She was shot three times by Lt. Christian Jensen and later died at an Elgin hospital. The workers had a compelling story to tell, and a lot of them have worked here for 10, 15 and 20 years. The job itself requires a lot of dedication, she said. Religious leaders have always had an impact on strikes and lockouts, and these jobs are important. Were talking about people whose lives are in trouble and people who want to see those lives turned around and experience a transformation. U46 CEO Tony Sanders said he is not opposed to Breakfast After the Bell, but the program is not cost neutral as they had been led to believe by the state. Also, when the district had the program, some schools ran into problems managing the waste that was generated and preventing classroom disruptions because the breakfast was served during school, he said. "You're probably saying to yourselves, 'That's a lot higher number than he just mentioned,'" Wieteska said to trustees. "But that is every single accident. IDOT only takes the most serious but we respond to all of them. Our most serious crashes are from east-west traffic. We're not seeing that problem for north-south." Kiraly added that he did not know the exact figure of how much sales tax revenue the store generated for the village, but said, I know it is not unsubstantial. Village officials also explained why water may have been bubbling out of the ground in two prominent locations. They noted the water moving up was due to the installation last year of larger storm sewers near Park and Madison avenues that were configured to redirect excess water out of private property and back into the streets, where it can more easily be contained. The restaurant has a lot of regulars, with some customers visiting the restaurant three to four times a week, Liagridonis said. The co-owners said they know their regular customers either by name or by order. Formica, who lives in Grayslake, has said that the board approved the first addendum to allow for more flexibility. The board also decided to reconsider the need for a 1959 ordinace that requires the village manager to live in Glenview, said Village President Jim Patterson. At the time, it was really important for me to file a police report because my personal information is there, Plascencia said Monday. (What) if somebody went and doctored my resume, my application or anything and put it on internet, and said, well, the one they have at the district office (is wrong)? All kinds of thoughts were going through my head. A man convicted of murdering his mother-in-law in the 1990s and then acquitted of the crime after spending two decades in prison will be back in a DuPage County courtroom as he seeks a ruling that could lead to about $200,000 in compensation from the state. Both men then rummaged through the pedestrians pockets and stole about $60 in cash, police said. The men then entered an older brown Buick that was last seen driving east on Chicago Avenue, police said. The audit documented cases of younger students placed in a school outside District 64 where data does not consistently seem to have been reviewed or interventions attempted or adjusted. Decisions should not be made in haste, should be backed by data that is reliable and valid, while reflecting the input of the whole team. This includes the input of those staff members who work directly with the student rather than solely district office coordinators or directors of special education. The IP address related to the downloads was tracked to Benders home address, according to the release. With a search warrant, investigators found more than 5,500 images and 1,900 videos of children and infants being sexually exploited, abused, tortured and raped, the release states. State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, said the legislature did approve the use of cannabidiol, or CBD, oil for use by children with epilepsy, but it has little if any THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and that use fits within federal guidelines. Let me get this straight During the campaign, the FBI has reason to believe the Trump campaign people might be linked to Russian meddling, so they investigate. Trump finds out about this now and he is so irate at the FBI for doing their job? But hes not irate at the potential collusion? Members of that organization made a presentation to the board about what it meant to be a member of various marginalized racial, economic, sexual or gender-based groups, as part of a project they created and displayed at the Winnetka campus. Hayes said students in the group had wanted to do a project of this type before the graffiti incidents, but that the incidents spurred them to complete it. By Amber Liu, Senior Manager, Corporate Accounting Services Environmental protection is a growing priority for Chinas government, which has increasingly been punishing firms that are noncompliant with environmental laws. As a result, some companies are facing spiraling operational costs due to disruption of supply chains and more stringent environmental compliance requirements. Businesses in heavily polluting industries, such as ceramics, papermaking, printing and dyeing, cement, and electroplating, have at times been requested to escalate anti-pollution measures and production techniques. Failure to do so within a designated time frame directly leads to penalties from environmental regulators and reduction or suspension of production. In some cities, local governments have reclassified the nature of land from industrial land to residential land, and have moved highly-polluting plants outside of city centers to protect the residential environment. In such cases, manufacturing companies may be confronted with production scale cut-downs, or relocation to other areas with more moderate local policies, or even hold plans to move production lines to Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam. From a legal point of view, there are two main ways to relocate a company in China: Physically move the company to another location and modify the business address, including an address change within the same city or across cities; Close the company and open a new one, and move all assets, labor, and operations to the new company and location. Cross city relocation through address modification sometimes may interrupt the operation of the company, as during the relocation, tax registration with the old city needs to be cancelled and there could be a period of time before tax registration in the new city is ready. An alternative way to relocate a business is to open a new company while keeping the old company operating until the new one is ready. RELATED: Chinas Most Polluted Cities What it Means for Business When a company is closed, all of its assets should be disposed and all liability should be settled. Some companies that hold land and buildings, however, may experience huge pressure from the taxes incurred by sale of the land and buildings. Taxes involved in asset sales during a company closure will usually be value added tax, consumption tax, enterprise income tax, and land appreciation tax. Due to the rapid growth of the real estate industry in China over the past decade, the value of land and properties has increased several times over, which leads to a high land appreciation tax when the properties are sold. Land appreciation tax is levied on paid transfer of state-owned land use rights, buildings, and structures on that land. Calculation of land appreciation tax is based on the appreciation amount gained by the taxpayer, and should be levied in accordance with a four-step progressive tax rate based on the percentage by which the appreciation amount is in excess of the amount of deducted items. Land appreciation tax rates in China are as follow: Under any of the following circumstances, land appreciation tax shall be exempted: Where a taxpayer has built a normal standard housing unit for sale and the appreciation amount does not exceed 20 percent of the deductibles. The definition of normal housing is determined by the local government. 2. The real estate is expropriated or recovered pursuant to the law due to national development requirements, i.e. implementation of urban plans or state construction requirements. Aforesaid implementation of urban plans shall mean circumstances where the relocation is ordered by the government as a result of reformation of old cities or enterprise pollution or disruption (referring to excessive discharge of gaseous waste, sewage, waste residue, and noise that affect living conditions of urban residents) and relocated in accordance with the approved urban planning. Aforesaid state construction requirements shall mean circumstances where relocation is required so as to implement construction projects approved by the State Council, provincial Peoples Government, and the relevant ministries and commissions under the State Council. Where the taxpayer has to relocate and transfer the real estate due to the implementation of urban plans or state construction requirements, the transfer of real estate shall be exempt from land value-added tax according to this rule. 3. Where one party contributes land and one party contributes funds and both parties cooperate in the construction of buildings, there will be a temporary exemption from land value-added tax if the completed buildings are allocated for each partys own use in accordance with their respective contributions. 4. An individual who transfers residential housing shall be exempt from land value-added tax. 5. The mutual exchange between individuals of their own residential houses will be exempt from land value-added tax upon verification by the local taxation authority. 6. Other situations approved by the tax authority. Tax Compliance Services from Dezan Shira & Associates Taxpayers qualified for land appreciation tax exemption are required to submit an application for the tax exemption to the taxation authority in the place where the real estate is located. Subject to examination and approval by the taxation authority, the taxpayer shall be exempt from land value-added tax. In order to optimize the market environment for mergers and reorganizations of enterprises, in 2015 the government issued some special policies for enterprises that are restructuring, which entitled companies to the land appreciation tax exemption in certain situations. On May 22, the Ministry of Finance announced to the public that these policies will be extended to December 21, 2020, and applied retrospectively from January 1, 2018. The extension of the land appreciation tax exemption will reduce the burden on companies that must restructure during this period. A new book which explores how China should maintain and improve its relationship with the rest of the world has been published in Beijing. At the book launch for "Re-globalization: When China Meets the World Again" held in Beijing on May 17, the author Wang Dong said that the globalization will not diminish, but rather enter a new stage. Wang Dong is the executive deputy director of the Institute for China-U.S. People to People Exchange at Peking University and the secretary-general of Pangoal Institution, a leading China-based public policy think tank. He is co-author of the book with Cao Dejun, a PhD student from the School of International Studies of Peking University. According to the Social Sciences Academic Press, since the reform and opening up, China has made remarkable achievements in development and the rise of China will surely lead to a new round of globalization. When China, as a rising power, meets the world again, the old form globalization must expand and upgrade, to usher in the "re-globalization" process. In this context, this new book has received great attention from political and academic circles in China. The book creatively and systematically develops the theoretical framework of "re-globalization," and profoundly explains the relationship between China and the world in the future, providing theoretical support for China's peaceful rise, and fills in the cognitive gap between China and foreign countries, the publisher said, adding that the book has made predictions and visions for a great many issues involved in "re-globalization." "Western countries once thought that globalization is nearly dead, and the world will once again get back to an order dominated by geopolitics. Although overall geopolitics has a tendency to return, globalization will not perish, but will enter a new stage," Wang Dong said. According to Wang Dong's analysis, this new stage refers to the reform of the process of globalization by emerging countries represented by China, and the effects of model upgrading of such reform and the effects of its expansion. "First, it is not about 'winners take it all' any more, but about various countries shaping and formulating rules together," he stated, "Second, upgrade and expand the old globalization system; Third, this process is 're-globalization' rather than 'new globalization.' China does not seek to 'start anew' or overthrow the existing system, it wants to reform and upgrade the current system. Fourth, it develops in an inclusive, shared, consultative, win-win, and balanced manner." Wang said that the book theoretically discusses the rationality and legitimacy of China's provision of public products as an emerging power and analyzes China's practical role in promoting a new round of economic globalization by looking at the Belt and Road Initiative, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Alibaba Group's global innovations, and the innovative experiments on China's free trade zones. The book eventually offers a road map of a long-term vision for China to lead the "re-globalization" strategy. The publisher told China.org.cn that the English edition of "Re-globalization: When China Meets the World Again" will be published this year. Li Yanling, a director of the international branch of the Social Sciences Academic Press, believes this book has both academic and social value and will help change the bias against China of the Western world. 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. U.S. media reported on Monday that the United States and China have "agreed on the broad outline of a deal" to settle the issue of Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE. A report of the Wall Street Journal quoted the people with knowledge of the matter as saying that the details "are still being hammered out." If an agreement is reached on the issue, the U.S. government will remove the current ban on U.S. companies selling components and software to ZTE, the report said. However, the possible relaxation of the ban by the U.S. side will have to pass U.S. national security reviews, it added. Also on Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that "the intent was not to put the company (ZTE) out of business." U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the ZTE case, was reportedly scheduled to go to Beijing next week. You are here: China Prosecutors in east China's Jiangsu Province on Monday filed a public interest litigation against a local resident who defamed a firefighter who died battling blaze. This is the first litigation of its kind following adoption of a national law to protect the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs in April. The law took effect on May 1. The man, surnamed Zeng, circulated incorrect information on social media on May 14, defaming Xie Yong, a firefighter who died on duty on May 12, according to prosecutor of Huai'an City. Police detained Zeng on May 15, and a prosecutor filed a case for investigation on May 17. On May 3, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) stressed the importance of filing public interest litigation cases against activities defaming heroes and martyrs. The SPP also asked procuratorates nationwide to handle a series of typical cases in order to set up precedents, and educate the public. In another case in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a man has been detained for 10 days for defaming martyrs online. The man, surnamed Jiang, posted comments defaming Dong Cunrui and Huang Jiguang, both well-known war heroes, on Sina Weibo on May 17, said the public security bureau of Yinchuan, capital city of Ningxia. The posts were reported to the police by Weibo users. The local police put Jiang in detention for 10 days and fined him 500 yuan (78.3 U.S. dollars). A manager from one of the China's major industrial investment companies lost his job after wildlife preservation volunteers discovered that he had eaten pangolin meat in Vietnam. Shen Jianping, a deputy manager of Yintai Group's Hangzhou branch and manager of the company's investment center, issued an apology via social media. "It was a foolish mistake caused by my indifference to endangered animals, lack of common sense and ignorance of laws and regulations," he wrote. In the posting, Shen also said that it was his first trip, and a private one, to Vietnam, during which he attended a friend's dinner party in Danang last week. Pangolin and civet meat were served, Shen said, adding that he thought it was legal in Vietnam. He posted pictures of the meal online and recommended fried rice with pangolin blood, which he liked most. His posting was then reported by a volunteer from the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation. The pictures have since been deleted. The company dismissed Shen immediately, in accordance with relevant laws and the company's internal regulations, according to an announcement released by the group on Sunday. The company said it has launched an internal investigation to find out whether other employees have acted against wildlife or environmental protection, either during or after work. The company promises to strengthen its staff training on the environment with the help of the Yintai Foundation, which was founded by Yintai Group's CEO Shen Guojun in 2014 and is dedicated to philanthropic causes, including ecological preservation. Pangolins, which are native to Southeast Asia and Africa, are protected at the national level in China. They are also protected in Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora clearly prohibits any international trade involving pangolins. "Pangolins are listed in Appendix I in the Convention, which means they are extremely endangered, primarily because of illegal trade," said Wu Shibao, a wildlife conservation specialist at South China Normal University. "Many experts want to upgrade the species to first-class protected wildlife in China." In recent years, China has intensified its investigations of illegal pangolin hunting and cut off pangolin smuggling channels in the country. The wildlife protection law enacted in January 2017 strictly prohibits consumption of wildlife. Volunteers are active online and offline to raise public awareness about the need to protect the mammal and prevent any trade or killing. According to a report on pangolins in 2018 from TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network, China and the United States have been the most common places for illegal trade in pangolins over the past six years. China used to be the largest destination for pangolin scales, while the United States was the primary destination for smuggled pangolin body parts. Many people regard an exquisite profile picture as essential to making a good impression on social media, which is increasingly pervasive in everyday life. A photo studio in Zhengzhou, the capital city of China's central province of Henan, recognized a business opportunity there and launched a social media profile photo service last March. The service, first introduced as a giveaway, offers square-format close-ups taken in their studio, which are suitable to be used as profile pictures on QQ, WeChat and other social media platforms. Kai, the studio owner, said the service mainly targets young women born in the 1990s, who have brought a boom in business. However, the offering has recently shown signs of decline, as many consumers wanting a profile picture find the price of 199 yuan (US$31) a little high up against the prospect of getting a free one. According to the owner, it takes no more than 20 minutes to shoot a standard profile photo priced at 100 yuan (US$16), while taking a more customized picture that meets individualized demands requires at least an hour. Kai insisted that the price is reasonable and said the studio also plans to upgrade their service to expand the market. Instead of delivering overly-retouched or artsy photos, the service aims at providing people with pictures that present a natural and positive self-image for the purposes of building social networks, the owner explained. An international youth forum promoting creativity and heritage protection along the Belt and Road route kicked off in Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan, on May 22. About 100 people from 51 countries, including UNESCO staff and foreign diplomats, attended the Changsha International Youth Forum on Creativity and Heritage Along the Silk Road. The attendees held discussions on the current state of cultural heritage protection, as well as various innovations on cultural products. "More than half of the world's population now lives in urban areas, a figure that is expected to climb to 70 percent by 2050," Marielza Oliveira, director of UNESCO Beijing Office, said at the forum, adding that creativity is essential to the successful future development of Chinese cities. In her speech, Oliveira encouraged young people to see the world with an attitude of appreciation, mutual learning and sharing to promote cultural exchange and co-existence. Nigel Ayre, councilor and executive member for culture, leisure and tourism in York city, the U.K., echoed Oliveira's comments. Speaking on his experience in the cultural development of York, Ayre highlighted the importance of creativity in York's future development, and that collaboration is needed between sectors, institutions, disciplines and citizens. In an effort to provide practical support to the city's creative industries, the York government established more incubator space in the city to develop new ideas and retain talent. In addition, the city set up business boot camps to connect students with employers and provide appropriate business skills, Ayre said. In 2017, Changsha became the first Chinese city to be recognized as a UNESCO Creative City in media arts, thanks to its long history and rich cultural resources. As the host of the youth forum, the city is also positioning itself as a key location in China's Belt and Road Initiative. According to the organizers, the forum aims to promote cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development, and provide a platform for the youth from the countries along the Belt and Road routes to strengthen cultural exchange. During the two-day forum, participants will listen to academic reports, hold symposiums, and visit the Yuelu Academy and other cultural heritage sites in Changsha. Netflix(NEW YORK) -- Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have inked a multiyear deal with Netflix, the streaming service announced Monday. According to a tweet from Netflix, the Obamas will produce films and series for Netflix, which could include scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features. Netflix did not elaborate on the terms of the agreement. "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," former President Obama said in a statement obtained by The Chicago Tribune. "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." Added his wife, Michelle Obama: "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 Michelle Obama. "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." This is not the first deal the Obamas have signed since they left the White House in early 2017. That February, Penguin Random House announced that the company would publish books by both Barack and Michelle Obama. Though Penguin Random House did not provide details of their contract with the Obamas, it has been reported that the rights were reportedly purchased for $60 million. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Nepal has been widely known to the world as the country with the tallest peak, Mount Everest, and as the birthplace of Buddha. Now it has a new identity, as Nepali communists have proved that they can rise to power through elections and pursue reforms essential for creating a welfare state. Their achievement became possible after the unification of two of the country's big communist parties, the Communist Party of Nepal Unified MarxistLeninist and the Communist Party of Nepal Maoist Center, to create the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN). The newly formed CPN now commands an absolute majority at the federal, provincial and local levels of government. It has become the largest communist party in South Asia, and the third biggest in Asia generally, after the Chinese and Vietnamese communist parties. On May 17, the two parties announced the unification and designated two chairmen of the party, Prime Ministers Khadga Prasad Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, both of whom were the heads of the dissolved parties. Justifying the provision of two chairs, Oli said, "We are not driving a tempo," referring to a small vehicle typically used in parts of Asia for transport. "Flying a jet plane needs two pilots." The unified party has adopted Marxism-Leninism as its guiding principle, pledging to establish a socialist-oriented "people's democracy." Based on collective leadership, it has followed a Leninist method of organization known as "democratic centralism" to run the giant party composed of cadres and leaders from diverse backgrounds. In the 441-member central committee, the Unified Marxist-Leninist and Maoist Center factions hold 241 and 200 seats, respectively. Its six-point joint unification declaration says that the party will establish its superiority through peaceful competition and commit to the supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law, an independent judiciary and a guarantee of human and fundamental rights. It vows to bring about socio-economic transformation to promote democracy and safeguard nationalism, and ensure social justice and the dignity of the people. The unification has taken place as the world is marking Marx's bicentenary and showing renewed interest in his thought following the severe crisis of corporate-led capitalism. The resounding success of the Nepali reds is seen with awe and surprise at home and in the region. This has rekindled the people's hope that the country will be free from its prolonged transition, and focus on rapid economic growth. The two parties had competed at the polls held last year on the planks of stability, prosperity, good governance and nationalism, and secured a sweeping mandate. While unleashing a "left wave" across the country, the unification has guaranteed the full term of the Oli government in office. This is perhaps the biggest gain of the unity, given that no government has completed its full tenure in the last seven decades. The communist government is in a better position to take a stance on territorial integrity and sovereignty, as the meddling by foreign powers has badly weakened the sovereign power of the state. The CPN has stated that it pursues independent foreign policies guided by the U.N. Charter, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence outlined between China and India in 1954, and nonalignment values. The left administration is poised to develop cordial ties with neighbors and the international community based on mutual equality, respect and benefit. These parameters underpin the foreign policy vision of a new government that has maintained balanced relations with both neighboring China and India. It seeks to reap an economic advantage from the two nations as the Nepali people's aspirations for development have soared, owing in part to the tall electoral promises of the political parties. Meanwhile, China has hailed the unification of the two parties and reiterated that it is ready to deepen beneficial cooperation with Nepal. At a press conference in Beijing on May 18, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that his country welcomed the merger of the two parties and hoped that Nepal could achieve its national development goals at an early date. Oli is embarking for China next month and expected to focus on the implementation of bilateral agreements signed with it in the past. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also visiting Nepal by the end of this year. The visits of the top leaderships of both countries will cement their diplomatic, economic and cultural relations. 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. 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. Flash Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday rejected the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's threatening remarks as "absurd and interventionist." In a statement, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said that the United States seeks to distract the global attention from its "illegal moves" concerning Iran's nuclear deal by threatening and insulting the Iranian nation. Despite the United States, Iran has been bound to its international obligations, the statement said. The existing problems in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Palestine and Afghanistan are the results of the U.S. policies in the region, therefore, "the Americans are not entitled to influence Iran's policies in its own region." "Over the past four decades, the Islamic republic has resisted the U.S. and its allies' plots and has turned out victorious," he said, adding that likewise, the Islamic republic will abort the U.S. hostile policies in the future as well. Iran preserves the right to legally sue the United States over its illegal measures and threats, he stressed. Pompeo said on Monday 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. Flash 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. By Rejoice Xu, China Aviation Daily | May 22, 2018 Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) publicized the newly revised International Air Traffic Rights Resources Allocation and Use Management Methods on May 14, mainly focusing on the resources of international flights for domestic airlines. The new version opens and regulates a series of international air traffic resources, especially navigation rights. It is not easy to open new international air routes, considering the cost and various restrictions. To fly overseas, international air traffic rights are necessary, which are divided into 9 categories. Before, the industry followed the rule of " one long-haul international air route for one carrier." For instance, after China and America signed the international air traffic rights, only Air China runs the Beijing - San Francisco route, i.e. the market excludes other competitors. Hence, instead, Hainan Airlines opened Beijing - San Jose route, an airport in San Francisco Bay Area. The new rule classified international air traffic resources and listed explicit requirements for the qualification of carriers. Meanwhile, it will expand the allocation principle of several long-haul international air routes, in a bit to allow new airlines to join the market. Specially, the international air routes have been divided into First Class and Second Class. The first class will not limit the numbers of carriers and operating flights for one route, mostly suitable to routes flying to the countries which have opened a lot air traffic rights for China, like America, Britain, Singapore and so on, while the second class includes routes to the countries where air traffic rights for China are limited, such as those in Oceania and so on. For some long haul air routes in the second class, there will be one more carrier running, since new competition mechanism will be introduced. In the meanwhile, the new rule also defined the qualification for new comers, which will be evaluated comprehensively by 4 indexes, namely, consumer benefit index, hub development index, resource utilization rate index and enterprise operation quality index. The carriers that failed the four factors will not be allowed to join the market. Besides, the rule explained the air traffic rights planning and allocation of Beijing's new airport, temporary called Beijing Daxing International Airport. The main base airlines will be China Eastern Airlines Group and China Southern Airlines Group, which will transfer all of their international flights from Beijing Capital International Airport to the new airport in four years since the new airport starts to work. In terms of air routes, Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport share one waypoint, that is to say, the air route starting from both airports to one destination abroad will be seen as one route. The current running International Air Traffic Right Allocation and Use Management Temporary Method was formulated in 2009. Instead of open, transparent and unified principles of international air traffic rights allocation, mostly the distribution of resources is decided by CAAC, in order to avoid over competition in low-profit air routes. As a matter of fact, most international air routes are not so profitable, due to the high cost of jet fuel in long distance travelling and the expenditure in large aircraft purchase, in addition to the competition from international airlines. This month, American Airlines announced that it will suspend Beijing - Chicago route in October 22, a route that has been run for over 8 years, because of fierce competition. Besides American Airlines, there are 2 more airlines that are currently running this air route, American United Airlines and Hainan Airlines. Thus, there are 3 flights per day direct flying from Beijing to Chicago. In a bit to take over the market, Hainan Airlines' price used to be 1/3 of American Airlines. In recent years, Chinese international air routes have been increasing in quite a rapid rate. According to data from Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA), there were 24 intercontinental air routes between 2007 and 2013 and the amount increased up to 78 from 2014 to 2018. The number of international air routes trebled in 5 years. Not only did the largest three airlines facilitate their international network layout, but also some medium-sized airlines, like Tianjin Airlines and Lucky Air, affiliated to Hainan Airlines Group, Sichuan Airlines and Xiamen Airlines are eager to join the market. The new added air routes are mostly in second-and-third-tier cities, where the large amount of government subsidy attracts airlines to keep opening new international air routes. " Presently, over million or even 100 million government subsidies mainly aim at international air routes in second-and-third-tier cities every year. It is positive for a second-or-third-tier city to have direct flights to America and Europe when it comes to propaganda or foreign investment", said Qi Yaoming, spokesman from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. However, issues have come up on whether the scale of local government's subsidy is reasonable or not, for airlines possibly will stop the air route if profit falls when the subsidy stops. Also, it is essential to take airports' slot resources into consideration. Though the new rule bestows new entrants to have air traffic rights, airports' allocation of departure and landing could not be so available. The slot resources should be negotiated by carriers, airport and civil aviation departments. New air routes have been surging these years, so the new comers may not have a good slot for their flights, which will influence the sales of ticket as well. It is necessary to mention that the new rule has not fully opened the rights for long haul international air routes. Mainly focusing on the newly opened air routes, the new rule states that merely one carrier is allowed at least within 3 years, which is a guarantee to maintain profit for the new routes. Fingerprint Cards AB, which provides fingerprint censors for more than smartphone models, is delving into new domains from automobiles to contactless payment cards in a bid to contain revenue slumps from the stagnant smartphone market and falling smartphone prices. To boost growth, the Swedish biometric authentication provider is looking to have iris, facial and other biometric modality-based solutions account for 10 percent of its sales by 2020, said its CEO Christian Fredrikson. Of the 700 million units of capacitive smartphone and tablet fingerprint sensors (excluding that of Apple's) last year, Fingerprint Cards accounted for 40 percent on the level of original equipment manufacturer, a great majority of which being Chinese companies including Huawei and ZTE. Kazakhstan expects the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Qingdao to fortify regional stability and contribute to creating a peaceful environment for future development, a senior Kazakh official said on Monday in Beijing. "We are very positive about the Belt and Road Initiative and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," said Kairat Kelimbetov, former Kazakh vice-prime minister and now governor of the Astana International Financial Center. It was convenient for members to manage areas such as security and border controls from the outset of its establishment, and the organization itself was a milestone to achieve regional stability and peace, he said of the SCO. Vice-President Wang Qishan will attend the 22nd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia and visit Belarus from Thursday to May 29, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Monday. The visit is Wang's first since he was elected vice-president. He is also a member of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. While attending the forum, Wang will exchange with Russian leaders in-depth views on bilateral relations and talk about major issues that concern both nations, Lu said at a news briefing. As this year marks the 15th anniversary of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership, Singapore will continue its commitment to promoting friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation between the organization and China, said Stanley Loh, Singaporean ambassador to China. Loh made the remarks on Saturday when attending a forum hosted by Western Returned Scholars Association and the Charhar Institute. Singapore took the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, and the country has coordinated between China and ASEAN. Loh added that Singapore believes the Belt and Road Initiative can help meet the region's vast infrastructure needs. Loh mentioned that Singapore was an early supporter of the initiative and among the first developed countries that joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, adding that there are four potential areas for further cooperation between China and ASEAN. "First of all, we can reduce financial risks and push forward the application of Chinese renminbi," Loh said. "At present, most infrastructures projects in the region are settled in US dollars, while we think the use of RMB still has great potential." Loh said as the second-largest offshore RMB clearing center outside of China, Singapore is working to strengthen ties with China and other countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to speed up the construction of projects and reduce financial risks, a safeguard that using RMB would provide. "Second, we should link the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road more closely," Loh said, adding that it should not be two separate routes but a continuous passage. He said Singapore has established a direct and substantive line linking the land and maritime silk roads. It is a rail-sea route that allows cargo to be shipped directly from Chongqing through the Qinzhou Port of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to Singapore. Advantage in shipping Singapore can also extend its shipments to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, he said. Through this route, the journey has been shortened from three weeks to one week, which can also help reduce logistics costs, Loh added. Thirdly, according to Loh, as many countries are involved in the plan, there will be considerable differences in politics, economies and cultures. As both Singapore and China attach great importance to cooperation within the initiative, the two countries can work together, for example, to provide joint training for other countries' officials so as to make the third country more familiar with the projects. Last but not least, he said, with the number of cross-border infrastructure projects increasing, commercial disputes will inevitably increase, and Singapore's legal system can help resolve such issues. "With the efforts of all sides, the relationship between China and ASEAN will continue to strengthen and usher in a new golden age for China-ASEAN relations," he said. panmengqi@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily 05/22/2018 page12) Z-Park stars in China high-tech expo ( chinadaily.com.cn ) Updated: 2018-05-21 The Zhongguancun Innovative and Entrepreneurial Achievement Exhibition kicks off on May 17. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] A show of entrepreneurial innovations took the main stage on May 17 as the 30th anniversary of Zhongguancun Science Park (Z-Park) coincided with this year's China Beijing International High-Tech Expo (CHITEC). In the China International Exhibition Center, some 125 Zhongguancun-based companies and 284 market-oriented technologies were on display. Under the theme of "Technology drives smart life, innovation creates fresh impetus", the expo was designed to publicize the brand of Z-Park through eye-catching exhibits distributed in six independent areas. The AI Interaction Area presents a one-of-a-kind show of revolutionary breakthroughs in frontier domains, such as AI technology, big data and virtual reality. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] The Life Experience Area allows visitors to check out smart home devices and services based on internet information. These demonstrated creations will reshape our daily lives in the long run. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] The Environment and Agriculture Area combines green energy with modern agriculture, suggesting a bunch of integrated solutions for low-carbon development and modern agriculture. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] The Health Management Area introduces a great deal of customized healthcare services and portable medical devices by simulating a scenario of community health. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] The Innovation and Incubation Area shows Z-Park's outstanding achievements in incubating technology-intensive startups and building business-friendly ecosystems. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Organizers said the expo, which started on May 17 and ended May 20, demonstrated the key role being played by Zhongguancun Science Park in power-housing China's technological innovation. 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. 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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 @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-heart-valves-market/#ulp-4H8Z4LpNMLEuOnnx The heart valves market is categorized as following- 1. Product type Stented Tissue Heart Valves Stent-less Tissue Heart Valves 2. Valve type Aortic Tissue Valves Mitral Tissue Valves 3. Harvesting Autograft Homograft Heterograft 4. End-users Hospitals, clinics and ambulatory surgical centers. Free TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-heart-valves-market/#ulp-c654SbFYO64MsOhu 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 @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-heart-valves-market/#ulp-14mlyhjMGhVjZqa3 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 @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-heart-valves-market/ About Precision Business Insights Precision 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 2NX Email: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.com Toll Free (US):+1-866-598-1553 Website @https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com LONDON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --A nChain Group, the leading blockchain research and development group, has closed deal terms to acquire a majority stake in HandCash.A HandCash is a Bitcoin Cash mobile wallet which uses near field communication (NFC) technology to make it as easy for users to send Bitcoin Cash to someone as if they were handing cash.A The deal was made through nChain Group's investment entity, nChain Reaction Ltd. HandCash was co-founded in Spain by Alejandro Pascual Agut and Rafael JimAnez Seibane. With NFC technology, the mobile application allows mobile wallets to complete instant transfer of Bitcoin Cash funds with each other through "contactless" means once users' mobile devices are in close proximity to each other (similar to contactless credit card and Apple Pay functionality). HandCash co-founder Alex Agut explains:A "Bitcoin was conceived to be peer-to-peer electronic cash.A We wondered why Bitcoin was not being used like cash.A That gave us the idea to create a wallet application that allows you to send Bitcoin in a way that resembles handing someone cash, by merely placing a sender's mobile device close to the recipient's device.A That's why we named our project HandCash.A We also knew the application could only work on Bitcoin Cash, with its low fees and instant confirmations." HandCash also makes it easier to send Bitcoin Cash without having to ask for a complicated receipt address or even a QR code, as most current Bitcoin applications require.A Instead, users can identify and send funds to each other using "handle" names.A In addition, users can keep their funds safe with easy ways to back up their wallets on the cloud or inside any NFC chip. HandCash also supports growth of Bitcoin Cash for merchant payments, with plans to create easy "contactless" payment mechanisms at the retailer point-of-sale. Its anticipated payment features will ignite greater merchant adoption of Bitcoin Cash. HandCash co-founder Rafa Seibane remarks: "In addition to financial investment, nChain will provide us access to its research, intellectual property and deep Bitcoin Cash expertise.A We believe this technical support will give HandCash advantages in becoming a leading Bitcoin Cash wallet and payment system." nChain Group CEO Jimmy Nguyen comments: "For Bitcoin Cash to grow, user interfaces need to become better and easier to use.A We are impressed with HandCash and its vision for simplifying the Bitcoin Cash transaction process to a contactless approach.A nChain is thrilled to support HandCash on its journey to make Bitcoin Cash wallets and payment systems easy to use around the world, and to ignite global adoption of Bitcoin Cash." nChain's deal with HandCash follows just days after the May 15, 2018 protocol upgrade for the Bitcoin Cash network.A This recent upgrade implements two key changes: Increasing the default size of blocks on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain from 8MB to 32MB; and Restoring certain OP_Codes for advanced functionality. The BCH 32 MB default block size is significantly larger than Bitcoin Core (BTC)'s small 1 MB block.A This larger block size allows BCH network capacity to be over 8 million transactions per day, which is more than PayPal processes.A A This ensures usage of BCH can rapidly grow while maintaining the capacity needed to process greater transaction volumes, at fast speeds, but keeping fees very low.A A The upgrade validates HandCash's vision in creating its wallet product for Bitcoin Cash.A Website:A nChain.com Twitter:A @nChainGlobal ABOUT NCHAIN GROUP: The nChain Group is the global leader in research and development of blockchain technologies.A Its mission is to enable massive growth and worldwide adoption of the Bitcoin network - focusing on Bitcoin Cash as the true Bitcoin.A The nChain Group includes these business units:A 1) nChain Limited a a blockchain research and development service provider in London, United Kingdom; 2) nChain Holdings Limited a a intellectual property holding and commercialization company; 3) nChain Reaction a an investment entity which supports ventures that have Bitcoin Cash products or applications; 4) nCrypt a a Bitcoin wallet and exchange in Canada; and 5) BMG Operations a a Bitcoin Cash mining operation. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694400/nChain_HandCash_Logo.jpg A Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Glioblastoma multiform is the high-grade glioma and potent malignant brain tumor that affects glial cells. Glioblastoma multiform contains the complexly differentiated neoplastic astrocytes which are the subtype of central nervous system. Glioblastoma multiform is different from the anaplastic astrocytoma due to the presence of hyperplastic blood vessels and necrotic tissue. The glioblastoma multiform is diagnosed by using the imaging modules namely, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Computed Tomography (CT). Glioblastoma multiform is classified into two types namely, gliosarcoma and giant cell glioblastoma. Gliomas are the tumors emerge from glial cells and might occur in brain or the spinal cord. The common symptoms observed in the patients suffering from glioblastoma multiform include nausea, headache, seizure, memory loss, and hemiparesis, among others. The global glioblastoma multiform treatment market is growing at a significant CAGR due to increase in the geriatric population, and changes in the lifestyle. The increase in alcohol consumption, a rise in malaria prevalence, and the increase in the incidence of seizures are the key factors driving the global glioblastoma multiform treatment market. In addition to that, increased R & D in gene therapy, molecular biotechnology for the treatment of CNS associated disorders, urgent need of alternative treatment procedures due to the resistance of glioma cells to conventional therapies are anticipated to boost the glioblastoma multiform treatment market. However, major restraints of the glioblastoma multiform treatment market are current treatment therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy does not prevent tumor recurrence that causes death in glioblastoma multiform patients. Similarly, high expenditure for the genomics-based research, less number of drugs available in the market, and the high cost of treatment are expected to hinder the glioblastoma multiform treatment market growth. Free sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-glioblastoma-multiforme-treatment-market/#ulp-4H8Z4LpNMLEuOnnx The global Glioblastoma multiform treatment market is divided into following categories- 1. Drug type Temozolomide Bevacozumab carmustine Radiosensitizers Others 2. End-users Hospital, retail and online pharmacies Free TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-glioblastoma-multiforme-treatment-market/#ulp-c654SbFYO64MsOhu And lastly on the basis of geographical regions, the glioblastoma multiform treatment market segmented into following regions- North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. North America dominates the glioblastoma multiform treatment market followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. North America region growth is attributed to increase in the prevalence of glioblastoma multiform disease (According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2011, approximately 22,000 adults in the U.S. were diagnosed with primary malignant tumors of the brain and spinal cord out of which gliomas accounted for the highest rate of incidence), investments in research and development, and increasing CNS cancers in aging population. Companys betting heavily on research activities due to lack of drugs to treat glioblastoma multiform in the market. Similarly, National Brain Tumor Society, Brain Tumor Foundation of Canada, and American Brain Tumor Association are the health organizations engaged in raising awareness about glioblastoma multiform leads to the growth of glioblastoma multiform treatment market. Europe glioblastoma multiform treatment market revenue growth is driven by increase in geriatric population, change in lifestyle and increase in research and development activities by various pharmaceutical companies. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market due to improved healthcare infrastructure, and rising awareness of glioblastoma multiform treatment. Furthermore, extensive use of genomic profiling in bioinformatics technology by the research and development firms in Asia-Pacific region is expected to drive the treatment market for nervous carcinoma by discovering the new drug targets. Ask Analyst for Full Information about this report @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-glioblastoma-multiforme-treatment-market/#ulp-14mlyhjMGhVjZqa3 Some of the key players in glioblastoma multiform treatment market are Merck & Co Inc. (U.S.), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. (Israel), Arbor Pharmaceuticals LLC. (U.S.), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. (India), F. Hoffmann-Le Roche Ltd. (Switzerland), Abbvie, Inc. (U.S.), Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (U.S.), Exellixis, Inc. (U.S.), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (U.S.), AstraZeneca (U.K.), GlaxoSmithKline plc. (U.K.), CANbridge Life Sciences Ltd. (China), Apogenix (Germany), Pfizer, Inc. (U.S.), and Vascular Biogenics (Israel) to name a few. In 2015, CANbridge Life Sciences acquired license for to develop, manufacture and commercialize Apogenixs APG101 onco-immunotherapy in glioblastoma for China. Increase in prevalence of brain tumors (According to U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) glioblastoma multiform is considered as the most aggressive form of brain cancer with 15.4% of all primary brain tumors and about 60% 75% of all astrocytoma) driving the growth of glioblastoma multiform treatment market. Moreover, various drugs under clinical trials like CDX-110 (manufactured by Celldex Therapeutics) (Phase 3) and DCVax (Northwest Biotherapeutics) (Phase 3) expected to fuel growth of glioblastoma multiform treatment market. Rising product approvals from USFDA also expected to drive revenue of glioblastoma treatment market. For e.g. in 2005, USFDA approved Temozolomide (Temodar) capsules, developed by Schering Corporation (Merck & Co., Inc.) to treat newly diagnosed patients with glioblastoma multiform disease associated with radiotherapy and then as maintenance treatment. Similarly, entry of generics into the market also increases the growth of glioblastoma multiform treatment market. For instance, in 2013, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. entered the market with the generic version of Temozolomide. Get access to full summary @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-glioblastoma-multiforme-treatment-market/ Union rights Build the movement The Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) last week dropped charges of the serious criminal offence of blackmail against two Victorian construction union officials. The charges were yet another attempt to criminalise legitimate trade union activity which has served workers well for many decades. Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus said, I welcome the withdrawal of these charges they should never have been laid. Govt after more blood The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union has already paid around $10 million in penalties and damages in relation to alleged blockades and boycotts against the concrete company Boral during its dispute with construction giant Grocon. But the Turnbull government was not satisfied with that. It wanted more blood, the blood of individuals, by seeking heavy personal fines or jail sentences with the charge of blackmail. Union secretary John Setka and assistant secretary Shaun Reardon faced up to 10 years in jail if convicted. They had been living with this cloud over their heads since they were charged in 2015 under section 87 of Victorias Crimes Act. Their families had also experienced considerable pressure. The allegations of blackmail arose out of a dispute with construction company Grocon and a blockade of concrete deliveries by Boral over the appointment of union occupational health and safety representatives at Grocon building sites. Case collapses It became clear to the court when the evidence in the committal hearing was presented that there was no case to meet the requirements of the legislation to be convicted of blackmail. The legislation requires that the unionists made unwarranted demands with menaces. One Boral executive told the court that the mood of the meeting between CFMEU officials and Boral executives where the threats had allegedly been made was calm, it was pleasant ... There was no overt aggression ... . Another Boral executive admitted that he did not view the comments as threats at the time. It is highly questionable whether the charges of blackmail, a serious criminal offence would stand up to a legal challenge as it was in relation to an industrial dispute. This is covered by the Fair Work Act and the Act setting up the Australian Building and Construction Commission. The attack by the government and employers arises out of the discredited Heydon Royal Commission that was nothing short of a political witch-hunt against trade unions, the CFMEU in particular, and their officials. The Royal Commission, in which the normal rules of evidence did not apply, was an $80 million splurge of taxpayers money used to vilify and smear the reputations of union officials and trade unions. The blackmail charges arise out of it. The class conscious construction division of the CFMEU that has consistently fought for its members was the principal, but not the only, target of this expensive exercise conducted by Justice Heydon. A number of trade unions have called for the repeal of these and other laws that are aimed at outlawing the right to fight. Their repeal is long over-due. It is not acceptable for any government to attack the elected representatives of working people in order to advance their political agenda, McManus said. John Setka and Shaun Reardon have stood up for working people in the Victorian construction industry. They stood up for safety in an extremely dangerous industry. And for doing that they have faced unwarranted and discredited criminal charges. Working people deserve answers about how this happened. McManus also said she rejects the criminalisation of industrial disputes and that the charging of Setka and Reardon is out of step with industrial law in democratic countries. In a media release last year, she commented that, Right now, we are seeing widespread abuse of our industrial laws by employers who are stealing money from the pockets of working families or seriously exploiting temporary visa workers. Disregarding our laws that protect working people has become a business model for too many employers. On one hand we see the leaders of working people being pursued and dragged through the court for standing up for working people, on the other we see the Turnbull government ignoring daily abuse of working people by some employers. It was a great opportunity for Labor leader Bill Shorten to defend trade union rights and trade unions. Instead, Shorten responds by saying he will not protect lawbreakers within the trade union movement. It is clear that Labor has no intention of abolishing the Fair Work Act and other repressive, anti-union laws, let alone legislating for the right to strike. According to the draft policy document for the upcoming National Conference of the ALP, paid union officials face fines of up to $216,000 if they act in a way that materially prejudice the interests of the union or its members. In other words if their actions result in a fine or damages payment. The draft policy may also be referring to Labors plans to give the Australian Securities and Investments Commission the power to investigate serious contraventions of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act as if trade unions were corporations and union officials were paid executives on multi-million dollar salary packages. The draft policy also states: Labor will abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission. They said that last time, but all they delivered was slightly revamped legislation giving the Australian Building and Construction Commission a new name, bringing it under the Fair Work umbrella and restoring fines to the same level as in other industries. Act now for real change Relying on the battery of union-bashing laws to be repealed and replaced by democratic legislation recognising basic trade union rights and freedoms requires a lot more than a swing back to Labor in Parliament. Only the strength of a mass campaign of democratic and left and progressive forces outside of parliament can achieve this. Such a movement cannot be built overnight. If the union movement is to survive the current offensive then it will require maximum unity of all trade unions and strong relations with and support from the community. The independence of trade unions is an important part of this struggle by those who are on the side of the working class. The CPA supports this struggle for unity and the rights of workers to form unions. We campaign for: Independent trade unions Legalisation of the right to strike Rights for workplace union representatives Union representatives on company boards elected by the workers Union run labour hiring halls and an end to labour hire companies Allow and protect rights to collective bargaining Full inspection rights to workplaces for union officials. If you would like to join us or become a supporter, then call your nearest CPA contact (details on website) or phone the CPA on 02 9699 8844 or send an email to the CPA, info@cpa.org.au. We look forward to hearing from you! Editorial Powerhouse to the people The NSW Coalition governments appalling decision to relocate Sydneys famous Powerhouse Museum sets an extremely dangerous precedent for Australias state governments. The decisions principal beneficiaries would be big property developers. Relocation would free up the 2.6-hectare harbour-side site just west of the city for massive redevelopment, as former Premier Mike Baird declared gleefully in 2016. Current Premier Gladys Berejiklian recently made vague suggestions about retaining a powerhouse presence at Ultimo, or converting the building to a theatre for Broadway musicals or fashion displays. But the Coalitions track record indicates clearly that the site would be redeveloped as high-rise apartments offering spectacular harbour views for billionaire owners. Redevelopment would inevitably involve the loss of all or part of the historically significant parts of the original building, which is on the Register of the National Trust, and demolition of the Museum extension which won the 1988 Sulman award for architecture. Building an additional museum at Parramatta is fully justified. But the Powerhouse is the only museum of its type in Australia. Its a major attraction for tourists and Sydneysiders, adults and children. Its central location at Ultimo offers maximum accessibility for all visitors, and it should stay where it is. Relocation would strip the Museum of an essential element of its cultural significance, not only because the building is historically important in its own right, but also because the building and the artefacts enhance interpretation of each other. The Ultimo Power Station generated power for Sydney trams and represented state-of-the-art technology when it opened in 1899. The Musee dOrsay in Paris, formerly a railway station, and Londons Tate Modern, formerly a power station, are magnificent examples of the reuse of industrial buildings, but both now exhibit fine art. In contrast, the Powerhouse Museum buildings and the artefacts they display share a common interpretive theme of technological development. The relocation proposal is adamantly opposed by the National Trust. Last week museum conservation specialist and former Power House Museum trustee Kylie Winkworth commented bitterly: The Powerhouse Museum ... has brought joy and wonder to millions of visitors ... No government anywhere in the world has closed a major state museum to move it out of the city to a less accessible location ... [or] ... forced a major museum to give up its historic site, with purpose-designed infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities. ... This is shameless asset stripping of cultural infrastructure, land and buildings that belong to the people of NSW, held in trust for current and future generations. .... ... Everyone supports the claims for an iconic state museum in Parramatta. But the government cant explain why a new museum in Parramatta must entail closing the Powerhouse at Ultimo. ... Where is the cultural equity in spending $1.2 billion on a new museum in Parramatta, just 23 kilometres from the city, for no net cultural gain, without a plan for museums in the rest of western Sydney and NSW? Just 10 percent of the cost of moving the Powerhouse would build 12 new regional museums at a cost of $10 million each. The Ultimo Powerhouse was closed in 1961 when Sydneys vast, highly efficient tram network was decommissioned, an act that benefited the auto industry but not public transport passengers. Ironically, the NSW government has now been forced to build a new tram network to overcome chronic traffic congestion, but its still building the nations biggest new toll road system, which will feed even more vehicles into the city. Hydrologist John Macintosh, adviser to the inquiry into Queenslands fatal Grantham flood, said the relocated museum would be at risk from once-in-20-year floods, and that the buildings bulk and riverside location would heighten the risk of inundation and drownings. The NSW Labor opposition is said to be reviewing its initial support for the proposal. And so it should! Relocation would involve spending $1.2 billion of taxpayers money ripping one of the nations greatest museums out of its historic context, in order to allow some profit-hungry billionaire developer to acquire the site, probably for 20 percent of the cost of the Museums relocation. Thats an act of corruption on a monumental scale. The people of NSW must force the government to reverse its decision to relocate the Powerhouse Museum, or the floodgates will open for similar actions in every city in Australia. Battle lines drawn Wintawari Guruma people take on Fortescue Metals The fight to save Ice Age relics from a present-day mining venture in the Pilbara region of Western Australia is heating up. Mining giant Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), supported by WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt, have squared off against the Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation (WGAC) and 23,000 years of history. Spear Valley, a place considered sacred to Eastern Guruma people. The opponents are locked in an ongoing battle over just three kilometres of a 130-kilometre railway that would extend the mining operations of billionaire mining magnate Andrew Twiggy Forrests FMG. The dispute revolves around Spear Valley, a place considered sacred to Eastern Guruma people, who have pleaded with Fortescue not to proceed with state government approvals to destroy sites in the valley, but rather move the three kilometre stretch elsewhere. WGAC argues that Spear Valley features rock shelters, wall niches and rock art that recent archaeological studies have dated back to at least 23,000 years. During negotiations over the railway route, WGAC director Tony Bevan has accused FMG of one-way consultation, and the ministers office of ignoring submissions for further assessments of sites earmarked for destruction. Mr Bevan maintains that, while WGAC was working under a state government permit to assess the significance of Spear Valley, Mr Wyatt approved the destruction of the very sites being examined. Commonwealth review WGAC responded by lodging an application to the Commonwealth for a review, prompting the appointment last month of a Melbourne-based barrister to examine the process and report back to federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg. The application requires Frydenberg to decide if the site destruction approvals contravene the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984. Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation chairman Glen Camille said the application was made after the WA government outsourced its responsibility to protect unique Aboriginal heritage to FMG. Mr Wyatt described Mr Camille as being petulant. Away from the media front, the Supreme Court of Western Australia has also been tasked with determining the legality of the ministers decision after WGAC lodged an application for a judicial review into the approval. A court decision is still forthcoming. Despite the ongoing controversy over the railway route, FMG has moved ahead with plans for its $1.5-billion Eliwana iron ore project that the proposed railway would service. Last week, applications were lodged with the WA Environmental Protection Authority to build accommodation, access roads, an airstrip and water pipelines at the Eliwana site, which is west of FMGs existing Solomon Hub operation. Fortescue has also sought approvals for two worker camps, access roads, water pipelines and two bridges crossing existing rail and road. FMG chief executive Elizabeth Gaines last month said the mining company had worked closely with the Eastern Guruma people to secure heritage approvals for the railway. We remain optimistic that through ongoing engagement important cultural heritage can be managed appropriately, while also increasing economic opportunities for Eastern Guruma people, she said. Eastern Guruma people obviously disagree, and are now waiting for the verdict of not only the WA Supreme Court, but also the federal government. Koori Mail First Peoples have come last in the latest budget Federal Treasurer Scott Morrisons 2018-19 budget has come under fire for neglecting lndigenous people, being racially discriminatory and allocating nearly $50 million towards a Captain Cook memorial. However, federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion said First Australians would benefit from a stronger economy, more jobs and guaranteed essential services. We are delivering tax relief to hard-working Australian families, guaranteeing the essential services in health, education and community safety that all Australians rely upon, returning the budget to a credible trajectory to surplus, while setting the stage for a return of business confidence and the jobs boom, he said. We are also ensuring that First Australians have their fair share of this economic success. Western Australian Labor Senator Pat Dodson told the ABC that, from a First Nations perspective, the budget was unimaginative and disastrous. The whole approach of this government is neglectful of First Nations people in the remote areas, he said. Discarded Overall, its a bit like being a kid whos in a foster home watching all the other kids get a present off the Christmas tree and being left to pick up the glittering wrappers and hopefully play with the busted toys once they have discarded. The National Congress of Australias First Peoples said the budget had once again failed to significantly address many of the key concerns of Indigenous communities, organisations, and peoples. First Peoples have come last, they said in a statement. The governments priority for First Australians focuses primarily on economic prosperity. While many would welcome this outcome, the governments roadmap to accomplishing this prosperity is fanciful, incoherent and sorely lacking in the detail necessary for success. The federal governments decision not to renew the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Housing, which expires in June, was criticised by the WA and Queensland governments, Congress and Senator Dodson. While Indigenous Australians living in remote areas of the Northern Territory are set to benefit from a $550 million funding boost from the federal government, other states and territories missed out. WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt said there had been a belligerent refusal to engage with the state government about renewing the agreement for WA, which itself spends $100 million a year on remote housing. The Commonwealth government has provided $550 million to the Northern Territory the other state that has the big demand is of course WA, so that is a huge failure, he said. He said it was the single biggest issue facing regional and remote WA, and transitional funding should at least be provided. The budget included wage subsidies for 6,000 jobs in remote areas as part of reforms to the Community Development Program (CDP), a work-for-the-dole scheme. Racial discrimination The ACTU said the wage subsidies to the racially discriminatory CDP were grossly inadequate. ACTU national campaign coordinator Kara Keys said vaguely-worded changes in the budget suggest that CDP will move to the same demerit system used by metropolitan work-for-the-dole schemes but there was no explanation of how this will reduce the appalling rate of financial penalties which have been the hallmark of the CDP to date. The Turnbull government has monetised the exploitation of marginalised Indigenous communities because it thinks there will be no political consequences, she said. We are determined that there will be severe consequences for this unconscionable conduct. Minister Scullion needs to scrap this discriminatory program and focus on the economic autonomy and the dignity of paid work in remote communities. Anything other than the abolition of this program is unacceptable. Congress pointed out that $50 million had been allocated for the memorialisation of the 250th anniversary of Captain Cooks voyage to Australia. Whilst gaining pockets of local support, this appears a controversial investment in the Treasurers own electorate, they said. Our preference would be to redirect these funds into community based Closing the Gap initiatives to address the negative impacts of the European invasion of Australia. Koori Mail A place to call home A letter to the editor Dear Editor, Carly and I have been fighting for social or community housing now for over eight months after we found out our current private rental lease was not going to be renewed. We lodged an application with SAHT (SA Housing Trust) around June 2017 and we were placed on the most urgent category due to circumstances of the time which were: Carly suffers a severe physical disability of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) which is progressive and worsens with age resulting in increasing physical disability and premature death. She has already hurt herself due to the stairs in our townhouse and our son will be crawling very soon which is a risk to him. We have a 10-year-old in our care from Carlys previous relationship. We were a family at risk of homelessness and were only a couple of weeks away from living in my car. The search We are a low-income family with Carly only receiving DSP [disability support pension] payment and I was working fulltime as a twilight taxi driver. I was fully aware getting social housing was going to be an uphill battle so when I applied I also reached out for support from the Minister and Members of SA Parliament. I wrote letters to our local Member for Davenport, Sam Duluk (LNP), Member for Goyder, Steven Griffiths (LNP), Member for Fisher, Nat Cook (ALP) and Zoe Bettsion, the Minister for Social Housing explaining our circumstances and urgent need. All Members of Parliament wrote a letter of support to the Minister Bettsion and there was a Minister Review of Application. I was happy to hear we had been granted Category 1 as I knew people on Category 2 and 3 just didnt ever get housing but we were told by SAHT staff we would be waiting up to five years and then put me in touch with the private rental officer to help us in finding a private rental. I told SAHT I did not want another private rental but SAHT pressured us into looking for one as it was unlikely wed receive public housing before our current tenancy ended. The reason I was hesitant about private rental, is due to Carlys previous landlord, who had done nothing to accommodate her physical disability. Mounting difficulties Our previous landlord had attempted to commit bond fraud by claiming fraudulent damages to steal my bond. There is also the unlikelihood of finding a rental that would accept our family dog who is very much loved and part of our family unit. Financial hardship caused in covering commercial rent with other bills when our only income at the time was my unreliable taxi takings and Carlys DSP payments from Centrelink. The insecurity of private rentals and how difficult it is for us to move house due to being on a low income, having young children and Carlys disability which affects her mobility. Difficulties we face accessing private rentals as many landlords do not wish to rent to low income families as we pose a greater risk to the return on their investment. I reached out a second time to Minister Bettsion and Members of Parliament with emails, phone calls and in office visits requesting support that we could be housed sooner based on our needs and special circumstances of Carly having a high-risk pregnancy while suffering a major physical disability. It did appear to work as the team leader of SAHT at Marion had promised we had been fast tracked and if a suitable property came up it would be offered to us but it was unlikely to happen before our current lease ended so we should still search for a private rental. SAHT really had us believing any private rental would be for the short term as by the time the lease was going to end a suitable public or community house would be found. Living in the car Based on the information given by SAHT staff that any private rental would only be for the short term we signed a lease for a town house in Darlington. It was not suitable and we could only barely afford the rent but it was the only property we had been offered and we could make do with it for the short term so we accepted. We were also only a week away from living in my car parked on the street so our choices were very limited. After three months in the townhouse I again contacted SAHT staff at Marion to be updated on the progress of our public housing but the staff denied any promise of our application being fast tracked and that the waiting time for housing was up to five years. It was now clear to me staff at SAHT had deliberately misled us and just told me what I wanted to hear so I accepted the private rental and I stop initiating Minister Reviews and making requests for public housing. I later found out the Private Rental Officer felt the townhouse was unsuitable and expressed this to the team leader, but SAHT still allowed me to sign the lease with the knowledge that we would be in an unsuitable property for many years. I was never told by SAHT we could spend many years in the townhouse before public housing became available even when SAHT was fully aware that could be the case. If I had been aware, we would never have accepted this lease. Misled I again contacted Minister Bettsion and explained SAHT had deliberately misled us and ask for the Minster to intervene and investigate why we were misled. I also asked the staff if Minister Zoe Bettsion was personally aware of our situation and I was promised she was. Minister Bettsion even recognised my face when I bump into her in the hallway to her office as I been active on her Facebook page so I do believe she is aware of our matter. Shortly after contacting the Minister I again contacted the team leader of the Marion office to clarify what was happening with our public housing application. I was promised that she was keeping an eye out for a suitable property and if one was found she would contact me, but added it would not happen overnight. Over the following weeks I kept in regular contact with the team leader asking for updates until she stopped answering or returning my calls. I also kept in regular contact with the minsters office, and I complained to them that my calls were not been returned by SAHT. I was finally contacted by the replacement team leader at Marion who asked for time for him to discuss our case with other staff Members as he was unaware of anyone looking out for a property for us. He contacted me at a later time to inform me our case was being treated as normal Category 1 and nothing was being fast tracked due to our special needs and circumstances. He again reminded me the waiting time for housing was up to five years. After another complaint to the Minister SAHT changed their position that they were keeping an eye out for a property but that our case was being treated like every other Category 1. The comment did not make sense to me and it was clear they were just covering themselves and had deliberately misled me. I fully believe they were again telling me what would make me happy so I would stop making noise and halt my campaign. The team leader had no intention of making any effort to look for a suitable property. She just wanted me to stop calling the minster. I once again sent an email to the Minister informing the office of our situation but this time I requested a meeting with Bettsion to discuss our case who declined but did give SAHT direction to arrange a meeting with the director of the Southern Area of SAHT. The minsters office also said they enquired if SAHT had acted properly with our case and were satisfied they had. In reality, there had been no review but the Ministers office has sent correspondence asking SAHT if the case had been handled properly and SAHT had stated they had. The outcome of that meeting with the director of the Southern SAHT was as following: There would be an investigation in to why staff misled us; The Director admitted our need was sufficient and my requests were reasonable; Due to high demand and low public housing stock they were unable to offer me any property any quicker regardless of the urgency of our need; Wait time for housing is up to five years; They would look into back-dating our application to when we first applied for public housing which was both in our teens, so possibly 1999. We were encouraged to look for a more suitable private rental and SAHT offered to assist with financial aid. This mean moving again once public housing is offered. Decades wait Both Carly and I applied for public housing in our teens. I know I personally applied for public housing in 1999 and Carly states she first applied when she was 16. We are both in our mid 30s now and have never received any public housing. SAHT has a policy of once in a while sending out a letter for contact to peoples last known address and if the applicant fails to respond they are removed from the list. Both Carly and I failed to receive this letter and therefore were unable to reply, resulting in us both being removed from the list. Many years ago I contacted SAHT about this and they said I would need to make a new application and start from the bottom of the line again. I did make a new application but was again removed for the same reason years later. What the SAHT does not know when the first letter was sent in 2000 is that I was suffering an anxiety disorder and had a number mental health in-patient admissions. I failed to respond to the second one as was battling anorexia nervosa and I was severely underweight for long period of time. Each time SAHT sent a letter for contact it was not sent to my current address and I was not in frame of mind to understand the importance of the letter. Thankfully, I am recovered today from anorexia nervosa and to a lesser degree from the anxiety disorder. I have also found better employment as a fulltime bus driver on Adelaides public transport network. This is a huge improvement as I was once claiming a DSP pension for my mental health problems. I voluntarily surrendered my DSP in 2011 as I wish to work and contribute to my ability. Carlys Myotonic Dystrophy is progressive and will worsen in future years as there is no cure or effective treatment for MD1. In future years her mobility and muscle strength will continue to decrease and she will be at risk of cardiovascular disease. Most patients from MD1 will have a premature death. Family I cannot express how important public housing is for our family. I am working six days a week most weeks driving a bus simply so we can keep up with bills. I have barely anytime to play with my baby boy as my work day often means I leave home at 5:30 am and am not home until after 8 pm. The time I do spend at home I am forced to spend sleeping as I am so tired from the days driving which on average in 8 to 10 hours behind the wheel (between commercial and personal driving). Its common that I am a victim of verbal abuse by passengers and the risk of assault is very real. Public housing would offer our family that long term security and be life changing for us. It means I could work less hours and be home more (which I do not spend sleeping). It would also mean my family would enjoy the benefits of my hard work because at the moment nearly half the money I earn is spent on rent and what is left goes towards the other bills. I can promise I will continue the fight with the SAHT and the SA government for public housing. What I believe is most scary is if a special need family like us cannot receive public housing what hope does a normal working class family have? The truth is none. I want to offer our story to demonstrate the need for more investment in public housing and place more pressure on the SA government to recognise our special needs and provide housing in a reasonable time frame. I also want to debunk the common public belief that people needing public housing are only the unemployed and homeless. I have a full-time job and the lack of public housing is hurting working families like ours. I am not lazy and I cannot just work harder to solve our problems as some people keep telling me. I also like more time to be more active in the Party as I feel the CPA is the only hope for working class people. My family has certainly been abandoned by the ALP. Kind regards. Matt & Carly Illegitimate usurper Between March 30 and May 11 Israeli forces shot dead more than 40 unarmed Palestinians and wounded over 2,000 during the Great March of Return protests in Gaza. On May 14 alone, in protests coinciding with the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers killed a further 58 Palestinians and wounded nearly 2,800. Palestinians have not been the only target. On April 12, a senior Israeli official, housing minister Yoav Galant, again called publicly for Syrias President Bashar al-Assad to be assassinated, a call he first made last year. On May 10, Israel attacked what it claimed were Iranian missile launchers inside Syria, a sovereign state, in the latest of more than 100 such attacks on targets in Syria over the past few years. Such words and deeds enacted and expressed with impunity, unhindered by international sanction or even rebuke represent the swaggering arrogance of a state that neither respects nor observes law or retribution. Israel today has one of the worlds strongest militaries, some of the globes most advanced drone technology and is among the worlds top exporters of weapons. It enjoys the support of all Western states, especially the US, and has made significant political inroads into Africa, India, and to a certain extent, China. Its military, economic and political power has never been so great. A trauma Certainly, no such thought was in our minds as we fled our homes during the Nakba of 1948. Mine was an ordinary family with ordinary lives until we found ourselves one day catapulted into a nightmare with no end. As children, we were three siblings, who did not understand why we had to leave all that was familiar and made up the life we knew our house, our school, our family dog. My memories of that time, fragmented as they are, are all of fear and anxiety, reflecting the feelings of my parents. Like all Palestinians at the time, we believed that we would soon return, when things settled down. The idea that we were losing everything we possessed to make way for a people alien to us so they could find refuge in the homes we had vacated was preposterous and unthinkable. We fled to Damascus first and then to London. The view my parents clung to was that our exile was temporary and we would soon be back. But as the years passed the hope faded and then turned into an ideal we aspired to but feared would never be realised. I used sometimes to wonder what the Jewish immigrants who were settled in our house in Jerusalem did with our belongings. Did they throw them away or keep them? And did they feel anything about the family whose place they had so obviously taken? Hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians like us must have had the same thought. In the first years after the Nakba, Palestinians did nothing but struggle to survive. It was a trauma of a severity still unappreciated to this day, a time of sadness and loss. We were defeated and friendless until the rise of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the resurrection of the Palestinian national movement. There then followed a heady period of hope and self-assertion. It reached its zenith in the late 1970s, but Israels invasion of Beirut in 1982 led to a decline in the Palestine Liberation Organisations fortunes, and the Oslo accords of 1993 compounded that decline. The last 20 years of Palestinian history have been punctuated by Palestinian uprisings and brutal Israeli repression, while Israels colonisation has continued relentlessly. The Palestinians have been unable to stop it, their leadership divided and weak. An unstoppable wave Today the Palestinians, who were a homogeneous society when I was born, are fragmented: nearly five million live under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza; some 1.5 million are second-class citizens in Israel; there are over three million refugees in Arab countries registered with the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, and an unknown number of exiles further afield. Meanwhile, Israel, to us an illegitimate usurper and standing affront to all that was decent, has only grown in strength and international acceptance. Its defeat, economically prosperous as it is and basking in American adulation, seems far away. Maintaining an optimistic outlook in the face of Israels blanket impunity is a difficult challenge. A disinterested observer of this scene in 2018 might well conclude that the Palestine cause is hopeless. But that would be wrong. While Israel has been consolidating its power, the Palestinians, in their different locations, have been increasingly asserting their existence and right to resist. It is as if they have awoken from a long torpor. The last decade has seen an extraordinary revival of national consciousness. Each locality where Palestinians live has developed its own form of resistance activity, whether inside Palestine or out. The boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is but one of these. A ferment of creativity in Palestinian art, literature and culture has taken hold, and political activism has assumed new forms. This wave, which is now unstoppable, draws on the young, a generation of fresh, committed supporters of the cause of their parents and grandparents. Seeing this in action has been the most uplifting experience of my life. It has infused new energy into a cause that may have faltered from time to time, but never died. The Electronic Intifada Big Oil in Canadas tarsands TORONTO: It was high drama when centre-left Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) Premier Rachel Notley drew out her pistols against British Columbia NDP Premier John Horgan, calling on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government for back-up. The public was told this western was all about the national interest, and that was the reason the PM had to call the two Premiers down to Ottawa for a talking-to. It turns out the talking-to was mostly directed at Horgan, who formed a government after promising to stop the Trans Mountain Pipeline from being built to deliver bitumen from the Alberta tarsands to deep-sea tankers on the British Columbia coast. Premier John Horgan formed a government after promising to stop the Trans Mountain Pipeline from being built. Notley also got a talking-to however, for stating Albertas position represents the national interest. Only the federal government represents the national interest, Trudeau said, while hitching onto the Notley campaign and trying to get into the drivers seat, with Jason Kennys United Conservative Party of Alberta in hot pursuit. A provincial election is set for spring 2019 in Alberta, and the parties in the legislature all want to be first in defending the multi-national oil companies. Who will put up the most public money to guarantee huge profits to corporate shareholders? Meantime, Texas-based Kinder Morgan, which will make billions from the pipeline, gave Canadian federal and provincial governments until May 31 to stamp out opposition, or else. The problem for the federal Liberal Party under Trudeau is that the opposition also includes Indigenous Peoples across Canada, along with environmentalists, scientists, and climate change experts, and a majority of Canadians concerned about climate change and Canadas huge carbon footprint a big part of which is the Alberta tarsands. These are the people Trudeau promised to listen to over the Big Money voices of the energy and mining companies. This opposition is active and organising on the ground, with protests, police, and arrests filling up the 6 oclock news slot. A bad picture for the PM, who is still trying to rescue the remains of his promises to Indigenous Peoples for nation-to-nation relations, sovereignty, reconciliation, and mutual respect. Not to mention Quebec, which is also looking for a nation-to-nation relationship with the federal government, for sovereignty, and recognition of its national right to self-determination. Both Trudeau and Notley know that mining bitumen and transporting it in pipelines is a bad idea, that filling deep-sea tankers and ships with it for export is another bad idea. But their governments and their election campaigns are financed by powerful multi-national corporations which make and break governments around the world all the time, including in Venezuela and the Middle East right now. Theyre putting the pressure on Canada too, with Kinder Morgan threatening to pack up unless the federal government shakes a leg and declares war on the pipelines widening list of opponents. Notley, and then Trudeau, responded by offering billions in public funds (federal and provincial) to keep the bitumen flowing and the pipeline afloat. The biggest assist has been given by Albertas social democratic NDP government, terrified by the prospect of being abandoned by Big Oil in Alberta, also known as Texas North, with an election ahead. That raises the question of the federal NDPs position on the pipeline. Federal leader Jagmeet Singh speaks about democracy being a wonderful thing, with two NDP Premiers each keeping their promises to constituents. Singh has not spoken out against the pipeline, and avoided the recent protests when in Vancouver. What will his position be in the federal election? What will it be in Parliament? In point of fact, nobody speaks for the public interest in Parliament today, with the possible exception of Green Party leader Elizabeth May, who was arrested at the pipeline protests in Burnaby that Singh didnt attend. The problem with May is that working people cant count on her party to defend their interests outside of environmental issues. And even there, the Greens support the development of alternative or green energy within the framework of for-profit corporate ventures, and not in the framework of public ownership and control of all energy and natural resources which is in the national interest. This unholy alliance of Liberal, NDP, and Conservative parties striving to meet the demands of the oil companies over wide public opposition says a lot about the current composition of the Canadian Parliament, and also why Trudeau was so fast to drop electoral reform from his list of promises after the last election. The next federal election in Canada is 18 months from now. Voters need to remember what happened this year when, in the name of the national interest the three biggest parties in Parliament knifed the real interests of Canada and its people, conceding even more power to the multinational oil cartels. In the meantime, most of the necessary participants needed to build a broad coalition of forces against the dictatorship of Big Oil are amassing in the struggle ahead against pipeline construction. Whats missing is the labour movement, confused perhaps by the corporate threat to existing jobs and the promise of future employment. But labours participation is vital to the whole struggle: for good jobs, for the environment, for Indigenous rights, and for unity of the labour movement across Canada. A movement like that, aimed to curb corporate power and put the needs of people and the planet ahead of corporate profits, could set the agenda for the 2019 federal election. What a victory that would be for the nations and peoples of Canada and beyond. Peoples Voice Creating revolutionary mass media in a social-media world The purpose of our meeting today is precisely to ensure that literature and art fit well into the whole revolutionary machine as a component part, that they operate as powerful weapons for uniting and educating the people and for attacking and destroying the enemy, and that they help the people fight the enemy with one heart and one mind. The point of this article is to start a discussion, to act as a jumping-off point, rather than to provide any definitive answers. What would left-wing mass media look like? Many ideas have been proposed in Ireland in recent years. In his Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art (Selected Works of Mao Zedong) in May 1942, Mao posed two main questions in attempting to answer this: Who are artists and writers dealing with? and How do writers and artists serve them? In answering the first question, Mao looked at three groups: The enemy, our allies in the united front, and our own people; the last are the masses and their vanguard. Mao argued that a different approach was needed for each group: the enemy needed to have their duplicity and cruelty and the inevitability of their defeat pointed out; allies need both support and criticism; while all work should provide education and boost morale in the workers class. Lenin puts this idea succinctly in Party organisation and party literature when he says that art should serve ... the millions and tens of millions of working people. The second question, How do we serve our class? is the thornier issue and the one that requires some debate. Mao hits the heart of this debate when he asks, Should we devote ourselves to raising standards, or should we devote ourselves to popularisation? He provides quite a dialectical answer to this question: the answer, of course, is both. We must provide direction to our class, but we must also learn from our class. To paraphrase Lenin in What Is to Be Done? we must go to where our class is. This provides a good template with which to analyse the modern media. With issues regarding Facebooks increasing censorship of left-wing pages and platforms, it can be tempting to abandon social media or to grow defeatist. But this impulse must be resisted: the social media are where our class are, and, to quote Lenin again, we must go among all classes of the population, as theoreticians, as propagandists, as agitators, and as organisers. There is a constant tendency to defeatism on some aspects of the left. With the rise of the alt-right on-line and the success of vulgar reactionaries, there are often calls such as Why are there no left mass media in the on-line world? But to ask such a question is to ignore the material realities that privilege such messages over ones that would necessarily bring our class into conflict with those who control the information sources. We need to do more than just ape the style and vernacular of the right. Such a thing would not provide the revolutionary sustenance necessary for our class. We must instead create a new, revolutionary aesthetic by which to share our educational message in a way that is accessible to our class. The reason the form common to right-wing media works for a right-wing message is that those two things are sympathetic. We must create our own. If we ignore the forces of the ideological state apparatus or hegemony we fall into the trap that the right is setting for us: failing to provide the necessary analysis to our class. Remember that every media organisation, old or new, has a class character. But this is no modern phenomenon. Mao wrote of the revanchist media in 1942: Reactionaries have money, and though they can produce nothing good, they can go all out and produce in quantity. With the advent of the internet, I dont believe there has ever been a period in history when it was easier to gain access to Marxist analysis, nor has there ever been such a volume of it. What may be missing, though, is a form of media that does what Mao said was necessary: simultaneously uplifts and popularises. Many of the left media on line do one or the other. We see great works of analysis that wither and die on obscure blogs, and similarly we see podcasts that earn millions of dollars a year but parrot the most superficial horse-race analysis of political talking heads. We need to provide more than This is good because it is socialist or This is bad because it is neo-liberal. We need to provide an education in the Marxist-Leninist mode of thinking, so that the workers class can decide for themselves if something is good, or indeed if it is socialist. The second issue is that the message of Marxism-Leninism is, by its nature, less passive than the right wing. We cannot tell people to concentrate on self-improvement, to read more books and the world will be a better place by magic. To become active in the party, in the trade unions, to educate yourself on economics and social theory those are the demands of Marxism-Leninism, and this will always be a harder sell than 12 happy thoughts to get you through the day. But these things are surmountable, as they have been in the past. What it requires is a level of ingenuity and communication that will bring the works of Marx, Lenin and Connolly alive in a 21st-century context. But that means using every tool at our disposal, and social media are a very large part of it. Lenin, again in Party organisation and party literature, described the ideal characteristics of literature as a free literature, because the idea of socialism and sympathy with the working people, and not greed or careerism, will bring ever new forces to its ranks. It will be a free literature, because it will serve not some satiated heroine, not the bored upper ten thousand suffering from fatty degeneration, but the millions and tens of millions of working people the flower of the country, its strength and its future. It will be a free literature, enriching the last word in the revolutionary thought of mankind with the experience and living work of the socialist proletariat, bringing about permanent interaction between the experience of the past (scientific socialism, the completion of the development of socialism from its primitive, utopian forms) and the experience of the present (the present struggle of the worker comrades). That should be the aspiration. Socialist Voice (CP of Ireland) Culture & Life The poison gas conspiracy Farah Notash, of the Vienna-based World Anti-Imperialist Front, commenting on the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government, points out that the creation of the UN Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was an advanced humanist step taken to protect nations against a weapon of mass murder, but ... for some time the world has been witnessing the misuse of this ban by the imperialists. They misuse this ban when they want to expand their domination by cheating and lying. Farah notes that aggression by imperialism against countries in the Middle East on the pretext that the target countries have used or possess chemical weapons started in 2003 with Tony Blairs strident accusations against Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Those weapons of mass destruction turned out to be bogus, but Iraq was destroyed anyway. Since then imperialism has refined and enhanced its propaganda campaign on this theme, cleverly achieving added verisimilitude by introducing poison gas into the arsenals of US-sponsored terrorist outfits the Free Syrian Army and Daesh/ISIS. Farah notes that these Islamist proxy armies used their chemical weapons many times, but whenever they did the imperialist media delivered a co-ordinated campaign widely condemning the Syrian government for it, baldly announcing that the Syrian government had misused chemical weapons against its own people. And then they used the notoriously compromised humanitarian organisation the White Helmets to fabricate evidence to back up their assertions. Despite the White Helmets being thoroughly discredited, the USA used their testimony to justify attacking the main Syrian airport with 59 rockets. During the first week of April, the imperialist powers were desperately seeking to extricate the remnants of their Islamist proxies who were facing complete destruction at the hands of the Syrian Army. Russia endeavoured to bring hostilities to an end, by allowing Islamists to leave the area under an agreement brokered by President Putin himself. On April 9, East Goutha was totally freed from the Islamists. However, Russias efforts to de-escalate the conflict did not suit the long-term plans of imperialism. British, US and French plans in the Middle East depend on not just continuing conflict in the region but significantly ramping up that conflict. All three imperialist powers have provided military and financial help to the Islamists to keep them in the fight, while US surrogate Israel weighed in by attacking Syrias T4 airport. Then, right on cue, just two days before by the Syrian governments army completely freed Douma near Damascus from Islamists, a chemical attack was reported on the city. Defying all logic, imperialisms spokespersons rushed to accuse the Syrian government, despite the fact that the Syrian governments chemical weapons were destroyed under international supervision. The Syrian Army perhaps is the one organisation with the least reason to resort to anything that might provide the imperialist powers with an excuse to open further hostilities. Nevertheless, entirely as anticipated, US President Trump promptly began ranting that he would make a hell out of Syria. The French President Macron insisted that he had evidence that sarin gas had been used, but he could not give out details! However, that did not stop him from asserting that Syrias President Bashar Al-Assad should be punished for it! And British PM Theresa May naturally rushed to agree. Her intelligence services probably initiated the chemical weapons scenario in Syria in the first place, and she is desperate to improve her poll prospects by emulating Margaret Thatcher over the Falklands war. In fact, General Igor Konoshenkov, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Defence, announced on April 12, that Russia had considerable evidence of chemical cooperation between the Islamists and the UK. This co-operation was the source of the attack in Douma its aim was to provoke (or at least provide an excuse for) the USA to attack Syria. The imperialist powers are not a homogenous grouping; they are rivals as well as allies. Britain still clings to its past glories as a Great Power and tries unashamedly to manipulate the others. On April 12, for instance, US Defence Secretary James Mathis, apparently declining to be led by the nose by Britain, announced that there was not enough evidence to prove the use of chemical weapons in Douma. And even if there was evidence it could not be proven who had used them. There were no more findings after Mathis announcement of a lack of evidence, and the April 13 consultation of France, the UK and the USA on attacking Syria brought no further evidence. Nevertheless, they clearly agreed that an attack was in their class interests, for in the early hours of April 14 Syria was attacked by the USA, France and the UK. The modern version of old-fashioned gun-boat diplomacy; the kind of diplomacy Donald Trump just laps up. Although Trump boasted that not a single missile was shot down during the attack on Damascus, other more reliable sources report 75 out of 130 missiles were destroyed before reaching their targets. And many of the US missiles targeted places that had earlier been evacuated. Nevertheless, there was inevitably considerable destruction. The USA and Britain, with the eager support of France, have effectively crippled Iraq, which prior to the Western invasion had been exploring the potential for establishing an independent oil market free of US dollar domination. They also destroyed oil-rich Libya, formerly a leading non-aligned state. Russia is determined that this destructive pattern cannot be allowed to continue. It is dedicated to supporting Syria. As has been increasingly evident over recent years, imperialists are no longer able to do whatever they want. They know it now. Their cosy image of a unipolar world with the USA on top of it has gone for good. Despite their domination of the bourgeois mass media, propaganda stunts like the poison-gas conspiracy are less and less likely to succeed. And the people will eventually be the victorious ones. After Rogue One gave us a fresh-faced cast of new heroes (then bumped them off one by one like a goddamn Agatha Christie novel), we're getting the first Star Wars spinoff to focus on an Original Trilogy character. And it's not a Skywalker like Luke, Leia, or one of the many bastard children Darth Vader presumably sired throughout the galaxy, but rather lovable scoundrel Han Solo. Yup, thanks to some dumb cartoon font, Lucasfilm is somehow able to sell the origin story of a straight-up drug runner to kids all over the world. Solo: A Star Wars Story is here to teach us all about how Han first hooked up with Chewbacca, met Lando Calrissian, and won the Millennium Falcon -- then seemingly spent the next decade slathering its pristine white interiors with buckets of Wookiee feces. Lucasfilm Lucasfilm "WHY DID YOU DRINK THE BLUE MILK IF YOU'RE LACTOSE INTOLERANT?!" *Chewie groans* But why Han? It's not just this spinoff; Han Solo has somehow become the defining character of a series unofficially dubbed "The Skywalker Saga." When George Lucas first conceived of a sequel trilogy, he envisioned an older Luke as the "Obi-Wan-type character," which seems like kind of a no-brainer. But when The Force Awakens rolled around, the filmmakers shuffled Han into the Obi-Wan slot. He takes a young hero under his wing, inappropriately drags them to a filthy dive bar, and eventually dies while the hero watches in horror. Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Occasionally, someone hits the genetic lottery and they become superhumanly good at things like running, memorizing, or not dying from frostbite. However, "extraordinary" doesn't always mean "awesome." Sometimes being genetically special results in a lifetime of bad juju, ranging from the merely annoying to the downright deadly. Forget Jubilee, these people would make the worst real X-Men. 5 Super Hearing, But Only For Yourself Stephen Mabbutt is one of very few people to suffer from the hilarious last name "Mabbutt." Oh, and he suffers from superior canal dehiscence syndrome, which might be even worse. This incredible power manifested when Stephen was in his 50s. At first it was nothing but a dull pain in the side of his head, then slowly, his hearing started to fade ... until it came back with a vengeance. We don't mean to imply he could hear quiet sounds over vast distances. That might actually be useful. He could only hear himself -- just super, super loud. The worst part about this syndrome, aside from everything, is being able to hear "all the interior sounds of the body very loudly," according to expert Dr. Martin Burton. At its worst, Mabbutt could hear the sounds of his own eyeballs moving around in his head, which is something that only happens to the rest of us when we are extremely high. Fancy a fashionable pied a terre in the heart of London, but cant afford the seven-figure sum it would take to secure even a small flat in SW1? No problem. Despite the fact that the average property price in Westminster is north of 1.5million, you can still find a funky little pad conveniently situated for Downing Street and the River Thames. Get yourself down to the underpass which links the Tube station with the Palace of Westminster, pitch a tent and hang up a Do Not Disturb sign. Dont worry, no one will attempt to move you on. Youre entitled to claim squatters rights and, if youre lucky, benevolent passers-by may chuck a few coins into your sleeping bag as they make their way in and out of work. Regular readers will recall the story I brought you in February about the corpse discovered in the subway between the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Underground station. It turned out the deceased was an Angolan paedophile who had twice been deported from Britain but managed to waltz back in using a Portuguese passport, thanks to EU freedom of movement rules. A homeless person asks passers-by for money near the Palace of Westminster in London Instead of wondering how the hell he came to be not just in the underpass, but also in this country illegally, politicians and the soppy Left-wing commentariat went into hand-wringing overdrive. Jeremy Corbyns staff laid floral tributes and opportunist Labour MPs attempted to blame the Government for this convicted sex criminals demise. I should have rushed down there with a few Portashrines from the lock-up, complete with teddy bears and petrol station flower arrangements. Im surprised they didnt have a minutes silence before Prime Ministers Questions. Still, you would have thought that after cloaking themselves in the pious glow of bogus compassion, MPs might have taken steps to stop people sleeping rough on their doorstep in future. Far from it. For the past few weeks, a couple have been living, on and off, in the same subway, just yards from the reception desk and the security checkpoint. The man and woman, who could be in their 20s, 30s or 40s (its difficult to tell through the filth), sound as if they come from the North-East of England. They arrived with sleeping bags and subsequently put up a tent. Their turf is marked by empty wine bottles and an acrid smell of stale urine since they chose to use the subway as a toilet rather than take advantage of the public conveniences a few yards away in the Tube station. They frequently shout abuse at staff going to and from their offices in the Palace of Westminster and have been known to copulate noisily, oblivious to the sensibilities of passing pedestrians. On one recent morning, at around 9am, a female Commons employee observed the woman performing what is traditionally described in family newspapers as a sex act on her male companion. Who said romance was dead? Complaints have been made to the authorities, but nobody wants to know. Another member of staff, who understandably wishes to remain anonymous, told me that even though the couple are clearly visible from the reception desk, security guards say they are not their responsibility. The Serjeant At Arms office at Westminster didnt respond and the British Transport Police at the Tube station said it was a matter for the Met. Eventually, an officer from Scotland Yard did get back to one of the complainants but said there was nothing the police could do because the couple werent doing anything illegal and, anyway, it was their home. Run that by me again. Apparently, having sex in public is no longer considered to be an offence, provided it takes place in a sleeping bag or tent even if situated in a public thoroughfare. Nor is screaming abuse at people going about their lawful business, urinating in public or scattering bottles on the pavement considered worthy of the constabularys valuable time. And since when has a sleeping bag in a subway been classified as somebodys home, entitling them to the same privacy rights and protections as Howard and Hilda living in a three-bed semi in suburbia? Quite apart from the fact that having drunken vagrants cluttering up one of the busiest entrances to Parliament is not a good look by any stretch of the imagination, there really is no reason for anyone to sleep in the subway, darling. There will, of course, always be those who fall through the cracks. But thats no excuse. Tens of millions of pounds have been spent on providing the homeless with a roof over their heads. As recently as last December, 18 charities along with the Mayor Sadiq Khan launched a high-profile initiative under the banner No one needs to sleep rough in London. Khan himself said: One person sleeping rough is one too many. Quite. So how come this particular couple appear to have licence to set up home in a busy pedestrian underpass outside the Houses of Parliament and are free to behave as they please? A number of councils are now cracking down on rough sleeping, drinking in public and aggressive begging. Not before time. Offenders face fines and possible jail sentences. The Palace of Westminster in London which has homeless people living nearby You wont be surprised to learn that The Guardian yesterday worked itself up into a front-page tizzy of righteous indignation over this callous victimisation of vulnerable people. One dopey bird from what used to be called the National Council for Civil Liberties wailed that people were being fined for being poor. No, theyre not. Theyre being fined for being a bloody nuisance. Why should staff and visitors to Westminster have to negotiate a river of urine and a pile of empty wine bottles simply to get into the Houses of Parliament? My informant tells me that the police now say they will liaise with homeless charities to see if the problem can be resolved. But even if the couple are allocated room in a shelter, theres no guarantee that they will stay there. Whats to stop them returning to the underpass? After all, the dead Angolan child molester had been living in a hostel run by a local church, but decided he was happier dossing down on the streets. Compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves is all very well. And Ive always been a supporter of the Big Issue. But this is just plain crazy. How the hell did we end up tolerating vagrants setting up home, drinking cheap wine from bottles, fornicating loudly and abusing passers-by just a few yards from the entrance to the Mother of Parliaments? Lets hope they accept a permanent place in a homeless shelter. If not, a well-aimed fire hose should do the trick. Bible-bashing Episcopalian Bishop Michael Curry reminded me of the fire-and-brimstone preacher played by the late Godfather of Soul, James Brown, in the Blues Brothers movie. It only needed Harry and William to dance down the aisle dressed up as Jake and Elwood. Someone should have given Her Maj a tambourine. The appearance of the Kingdom Choir, singing Stand By Me, helped complete the brief transformation of St Georges Chapel, Windsor, into a Deep South tabernacle. As a life member of the Stand By Me Club, I was delighted with their performance. They are immediately rewarded with honorary membership. All you have to do to join is stand up and sing Stand By Me in public. Bible-bashing Episcopalian Bishop Michael Curry reminded me of the fire-and-brimstone preacher played by the late Godfather of Soul, James Brown, in the Blues Brothers movie Its one of the great soul anthems, written by Ben E King, who had a hit with it, and the legendary duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote for everyone from Elvis to The Drifters. So its a pity that the flunkey who compiled the Order of Service at the royal wedding couldnt get Stollers name right, spelling it Stroller, with an R. Thats no way to treat genuine rocknroll royalty. Bishop Curry should bring hellfire and damnation down upon the head of whoever screwed up. The Tories have been considering handing out discount cards for restaurants like Nandos in an attempt to attract new members. Talk about desperate. Naturally, no one bothered to ask Nandos, which immediately distanced itself from the scheme. Any association with the Conservatives is likely to result in a brick through the window. But whatever possessed them to think offering cut-price chicken was a surefire recipe for boosting their support? Why dont they try something a little more imaginative, such as cutting taxes and delivering the proper Brexit 17.4million people voted for, instead of squabbling like spoilt schoolgirls. Enjoyed The Suns front-page headline on Saturday over a picture of a beaming Meghan Markle: Im Getting Harryed In The Morning. Just as well Harry wasnt christened Roger. Getting ready for a big night out usually involves washing your hair, putting on some make-up and donning your best dress. But when it comes to Ladies Day at Aintree, the glamour stakes rise and for many women - including mother-daughter duo Mel, 44, and Ell, 18, from Liverpool - that means pulling out all the stops to ensure they look their best. Keen to impress, the pair, who feature in new BBC Three series Beauty Blowout, head to the city's Vogue Hair and Beauty Salon to have joint non-surgical procedures. Married Mel, who owns her own cleaning business, was concerned about her sagging chest after breastfeeding three children, while her daughter Ell, a student, wanted a bottom lift. 'People have a manicure before their holidays, why not have a boob lift to make you feel extra confident?' Mel said to FEMAIL. Mother and daughter Mel and Ell are best friends and love to do every thing together - including going to the salon The two women lay side by side as they get their procedures at the salon ahead of their glam makeover The procedure involves cups placed over the breast which creates a vacuum to boost the area Beauty Blowout: The Races documents the run up to one of the biggest days in the North West's social calendar, Ladies Day at the Grand National, Aintree. It follows some of the UKs best face and body specialists as they help both female and male clients get race-day ready with a range of beauty and body boosts everything from Botox and fillers to non-surgical bum lifts and breast enhancements. Mel opted for a bust-boosting treatment called cupping, which combines the traditional principle of the practice with a vacuum suction, intense pulse light therapy (IPL), and radio frequency massage. WHAT IS A NON-SURGICAL BREAST LIFT? Cupping, which combines the traditional principle of the practise with a vacuum suction, intense pulse light therapy (IPL), and radio frequency massage The suction causes the muscles below the breast to contract and strengthen and may cause the breasts to appear firmer while the muscles remain tight. Over the course of treatments, the muscles will gain a more permanent state as they become stronger and more toned, leading to a fuller appearance on the surface/ Advertisement 'I breastfed three children and now I feel like they are not as firm as they once were, so for me a little lift would be really nice,' she said. 'I really couldn't believe how much fuller my boobs felt afterwards, they looked plumper, felt firmer and more uplifted.' The suction cups stimulated her breasts to give them a temporary boost, which she was told would last for around three to four weeks before another treatment would be needed. Meanwhile Ell settled for her own bum-lift, a procedure that uses technology that stimulates the fat in the bottom to achieve a 'plumping' effect. Ell told FEMAIL that her busy lifestyle as a student, in addition to working weekends as a restaurant hostess, means she doesn't get to spend as much time getting ready to go out with her mum as she'd like. 'We cherished every moment together whilst we were filming in the salon,' she said. 'After filming for the show weve both realised that we need to make more time for each other and have treatments together more often.' The duo told how neither of them have considered any form of cosmetic surgery before, and said they are both confident in the way they look, with Ell only spending 60 getting her hair done every six weeks while Mel just has an occasional trim. 'I feel like nowadays people do feel pressured to look good when theyre going out,' Ell said. Mel wants to perk up her sagging breasts and goes for non-surgical breast lift at Vogue Beauty Salon in Liverpool The pair are just many of clients that come through the salon for treatments on the day of Aintree Mel opted for a bust-boosting treatment called cupping, which combines the traditional principle of the practise with a vacuum suction, intense pulse light therapy (IPL), and radio frequency massage She was thrilled with the results afterwards telling FEMAIL: 'I really couldn't believe how much fuller my boobs felt afterwards, they looked plumper, felt firmer and more uplifted' 'Mum and I are quite confident people so we dont so much feel pressure to look good, but obviously we want to look different to how we look on a normal day [at the races] so we do put effort into our hair and makeup. 'However, the procedures we had on the show boosted our confidence from 0-100. The teen added: 'Mum felt so confident with how her breasts looked when we went out, especially in the dress that she wore. Just as I felt really confident with my bum after I had my bum lifted.' The duo are just two of the many clients that come through the doors of Vogue Salon in search of a wow factor ahead of race day. Ell gets a non-surgical bum-lift which uses technology that stimulates the fat to plump it Ell wanted to boost her bottom and saw a huge difference from before and after the procedure She said that 'non-surgical procedures are a really good way to have a quick transformation for an event or even just a night out, without having to get fillers or go under the knife' Jules Allen, who is the 'boob specialist' at the salon says: 'The only way you used to be able to transform yourself was through surgery, now you dont need to. It [the non surgical lift] pulls up the breast and gives us the shape and will help them rise up.' Another mother, Carly, said she hated her saggy boobs, typically uses home-made beauty treatments to stay looking her best, but visited the salon as a treat. When youre a mum you have to put all your money into your children so I think these do it yourself kind of things and these old fashioned remedies do help,' she says. After having previously used a vibrating bra that she bought for 20 online as a way to firm her bosom, Carly was thrilled with the results of the non-surgical breast lift. They havent been this perky since I was 21,' she said. 'It might only last three weeks but I cant wait to come back and get it done again. Its like going to the hairdressers and getting your hair done - but its getting your boobs done as well.' Beauty Blowout: The Races is available to watch now on BBC Three and iPlayer The heartbroken mother of Manchester bombing victim Martyn Hett says she already knew her son was 'no longer with us' hours before police confirmed he had not survived. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline on the first anniversary of her son's death, Figen Murray, 57, says she 'suddenly' realised she could no longer feel her son's presence, as initial reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena emerged on May 22 last year. Figen, whose son was among 22 people killed by an improvised bomb detonated as crowds poured out of an Ariana Grande concert, recalled: 'I knew that evening he was no longer with us. Call it mother's instinct. 'I had a really close bond with him and I just suddenly became aware that I could not feel his presence anymore.' Scroll down for video Mother's instinct: Figen Murray, 57, says she 'suddenly' realised she could no longer feel her son's presence as reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena emerged on May 22 last year 'Heartbroken, not angry': Figen (pictured with Martyn) will be thinking of her son on the first anniversary of his death. She tells MailOnline why she doesn't feel anger towards her son's murderer Much loved: Martyn's death sent shock waves around the world, not least because the popular Coronation Street fan had a huge social media following and had appeared on reality shows Martyn's death sent shock waves around the world, not least because the popular Coronation Street fan had a huge social media following and had appeared on reality shows including Come Dine With Me and Tattoo Fixers. His funeral at Stockport Town Hall was attended by the cast of his favourite soap and included tributes from stars including Mariah Carey, Jason Manford and Nick Grimshaw. 'We have been told that Mariah struggled to put the message together as she was so very upset,' Figen said. The 29-year-old PR manager from Stockport was about to embark on the trip of a lifetime to the US when he was struck down in the Islamist-inspired attack last year. And Figen says Martyn's huge friendship circle has been a great source of comfort in the months since his untimely death. Martyn pictured shortly before his death. The popular 29-year-old had friends all over the world, as Figen explains: 'We lost our son but gained many sons and daughters' Martyn with his sister Nikita. Figen said: 'His close friends have now become our close friends. We support each other through our grief' Figen picks up an Attitude Pride Award awarded to her son posthumously in July last year with (L-R): daughter Nikita Murray, Martyn's partner Russell Howard, and daughter Louise Murray Figen, whose son was killed by a bomb detonated as crowds poured out of an Ariana Grande concert, recalled: 'I knew that evening he was no longer with us. Call it mother's instinct' Speaking about her response to Martyn's death, Figen said: 'It was an immediate decision not to hate and not to be angry. I will never play to the hands of monsters who want to create anger, hate and chaos. I will not give them that' 'We lost our son but gained many sons and daughters,' she explained. 'His close friends have now become our close friends. We support each other through our grief. 'We did not realise just how many lives he touched until after his death. I had over 2,000 messages on my phone alone from all over the world. 'These were people who never met him but who were following him on social media and some of them were helped by him without him even realising.' Figen, who is mother to Daniel, 33, Emma, 30, Louise, 20 and Nikita, 17, says she has been feeling 'anxious' in the run-up to the anniversary of her son's death and is not planning on doing any further interviews this week. She told MailOnline: 'I want to remember Martyn as I knew him and will be spending the day with loved ones.' Keeping busy: Figen has been visiting schools to talk to young people about what happened and how it has changed her family. She says she refuses to be consumed by hatred To mark the first anniversary since the Manchester bombings this week, Figen and her family plan to release two balloons with the names of the 22 bombing victims written on them Figen taken part in a short film alongside Mike Haines (left), whose younger brother David was kidnapped and murdered by Daesh terrorists in Syria in 2014 Figen and her family plan to release two balloons with the names of the 22 bombing victims written on them. She added: 'The balloons will be decorated with 22 bees and have 22 flower balls attached so that hopefully, wherever they land wildflowers will grow.' The grieving mother has also taken part in a short film alongside Mike Haines, whose younger brother David was kidnapped and murdered by Daesh terrorists in Syria in 2014. Together, the pair reflect on how they have tried to make something positive out of their own personal tragedies. Since losing his brother, Mike has gone on to visit more than 100 schools across the UK seeking to empower youngsters to stand up to all forms of hatred, division and extremism. Tribute: Martyn's His funeral at Stockport Town Hall was attended by the cast of his favourite soap and included tributes from stars including Mariah Carey and Jason Manford Martyn's family members, including brother Dan Hett (far left) carry his coffin at his funeral last summer. Tributes poured in from people and celebrities from all around the world What happened on the night of the Manchester attack? Twenty-two people were killed and over a 100 injured when a bomb went off in the foyer of the Manchester Arena on May 22 last year. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated his home-made device at 10.31pm as 14,000 people streamed out at the end of an Ariana Grande concert. Officers from British Transport Police were on scene one minute later and declared a major incident by 10.39pm. However, a recent report found that a mix-up between police and the fire and rescue service meant the valuable assistance of fire crews was delayed by two hours and six minutes after the bombing. Two weeks after the attack, Ariana Grande organised a One Love Manchester benefit concert to support the victims of the bombing. Advertisement Like Mike, Figen has slowly been visiting schools to talk to young people about what happened and how it has changed her family. She has also been resolute in her decision to take a higher path and not be consumed by hatred. She told FEMAIL: 'It was an immediate decision not to hate and not to be angry. I will never play to the hands of monsters who want to create anger, hate and chaos. I will not give them that. 'I found very early on that the best way to respond and to cope, is with love, kindness and forgiveness. 'The way Manchester, and the whole country responded after the attack, is evidence that love will always be stronger than hate. Martyn was a huge Coronation Street fan and his coffin was adorned with the faces of characters from his favourite soap - as well as his cat, Emily Bishop Speaking about her son's funeral, Figen said: 'We have been told that Mariah [Carey] struggled to put the message together as she was so very upset' People queue at Stockport Town Hall Plaza ahead of Martyn's funeral. It was so full, some people gathered outside and watched the service on a large screen instead 'I will be going into schools, colleges and beyond to talk to people so we do whatever we can to stop this happening again. If I can stop one person, then I will feel I have made a difference.' Figen also refuses to utter bomber Salman Abedi's name, saying: 'I refuse to use his name. He does not deserve the air time, or to have his photo appearing anywhere. 'He is nobody to me. It is the people who died that deserve their names being remembered. 'I am heartbroken, but I am not angry. He was stupid, misguided and naive enough to believe that what he was doing was for his faith. He wasted his life in an act that in no way represents Islam.' If you were affected in any way by a terrorist attack last year, emotional and practical support is available for you. Visit victimsofterrorism.campaign.gov.uk and mikehaines.globalactsofunity.com/ to find out more A mother-of-one made $3,000 in the space of year simply by renting out her two-year-old son's used belongings. Eva Wintersberger, 34, from Melbourne, refuses to sell Max's baby paraphernalia as she hopes to save them for her future children. So, to cash in on them in the meantime, the savvy mum launched Tree Hut Village - a platform where parents can rent out their unused baby items to other parents. 'One day we went to Hamilton Island and I wanted to hire from a local person because I didn't want to take my pram,' she told FEMAIL. 'I just connected with someone online and I thought it would be really great if people could do that themselves so they didn't have to spend hours and hours trying to find someone to rent from.' Eva Wintersberger, 34, from Melbourne, doesn't want to sell Max's baby paraphernalia as she is hoping to have more children in the future who could make use of them It was when Ms Wintersberger was on maternity leave she decided she wanted to bring this idea to life, so found a developer she could use. When the site went live she also made the decision to rent out four items herself, which saw her reap thousands of dollars within 12 months. 'I hired out a Baby Zen Yoyo pram, a Bugaboo pram, a travel cot and a car capsule,' she said. 'It is a premium stroller that can cost $700 so many people hire it out and then they end up telling me they want to buy it from me.' It was when Ms Wintersberger was on maternity leave she decided she wanted to bring this idea to life, so found a developer she could use EXAMPLE OF COSTS Baby Bjorn Travel Cot - $15 for one day - $45 for seven to 13 days Babyzen Yoyo+ Pram - $26 for a day - $110 for seven to 13 days Chicco Keyfit Plus Capsule - $30 for one day - $45 for seven to 13 days Bugaboo Cameleon 3 Pram - $20 for one day - $80 for seven to 13 days Advertisement Ms Wintersberger plans to hire out these products until a new baby comes along, which is when she will stop renting them out so she can use them. Once she and her growing family are finally done with them she will sell them through the website. 'The main thing that I find amazing, which I would have loved to have when I was pregnant, is that you can try these products before you buy,' she said. 'Ordinarily you can't do that. You can wheel a pram around at the shop but you can't see if it will fit in your car or your cupboard at home but if you rent an item, you can do that.' Ms Wintersberger found that the best way to make money off the items she put up was to price them competitively. 'I found if I made my items a little bit cheaper, people hired them more often,' she said. 'For the Yoyo pram I put it up as $80 a week and I estimate that from a rental place it would be almost double.' Ms Wintersberger plans to hire out these products until a new baby comes along, which is when she will stop renting them out so she can use them Once her and her growing family are finally done with both the Yoyo pram and Bugaboo pram she will sell them through the website The car capsule is another item that Ms Wintersberger is currently renting out When it comes to uploading a product on the site a simple algorithm does all of the hard work for you. 'We have a guidance table that shows how much you should charge. You need to consider whether it is a premium item and how much it cost you, and then you figure out the minimum amount of money you want and the algorithm will figure out how much you should charge,' she said. At the moment Ms Wintersberger has two of the four items being rented. One is going to a mother who is visiting Melbourne and needs a pram, the other is for a person in Japan. Ms Wintersberger shared the cost breakdown of the Bugaboo Cameleon 3 Pram (left) and the Chicco Keyfit Plus Capsule (right) The mother-of-one also shared the breakdown of the Baby Bjorn Travel Cot (left) and the Babyzen Yoyo+ Pram (right) In just over a year, Tree Hut Village has 3,000 users across Australia and 1,000 listings of premium baby items. The business also won the Digital Innovation Award at the 2017 Ausmumpreneur Awards. 'My friends say to me "remember in May last year you had just started and in June you were featured on Channel 9 but you had under 500 users? Look at you now",' Ms Wintersberger told FEMAIL. 'But I can't say it's been easy, it has definitely been hard to get ourselves to where we are now.' Ms Wintersberger found that the best way to make money off the items she put up was to price them competitively Ms Wintersberger's aim when starting Tree Hut Village was to help other families with the rising cost of raising children, while also being sustainable. It's no surprise this was her aim, as the figures published today by the Australian Institute of Family Studies this year showed that the weekly costs of raising a child range from $140 for unemployed families and $170 for low-paid families. While at the lower unemployed standard, the weekly costs of raising two children is $280 per week, or $140 a week per child. 'For a small business feedback is really important and the comments we've received from customers have been great,' she explained. 'We have a lot of parents letting us know that Tree Hut Village has allowed them to buy new baby stuff with the money they've made or that they don't need to stress about trying to find a pram or cot.' Many design houses clamour to be associated with the cream of the A-list, while others align themselves with the millennial stars of the moment such as Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner. But Dolce & Gabbana has pursued a very different strategy by courting the new generation of young royals and high society beauties to represent the brand. Princess Diana's niece Lady Kitty Spencer topped the best dressed lists at the royal wedding over the weekend, dazzling in a green floral dress from the Italian fashion house after modelling for the brand on several occasions. And while Lady Amelia Windsor wasn't on the guest list, it's likely she too would have turned up in head to toe D&G having also being enlisted as a model by the brand alongside Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece. While the Duchess of Cambridge is never going to be seen on the catwalk, she's also given the brand her tacit seal of approval by introducing several of its pieces to her wardrobe when she started wearing more high end designer labels two years ago. According to celebrity stylist and designer Lucas Armitage, it's a clever strategy by the brand that adds a touch of gravitas that other brands can't compete with. 'I think maybe they have noted a decline in people responding to celebrities and favouring more traditional role models,' he explained. Lady Kitty Spencer was hailed as one of the best dressed guests at the royal wedding in her green Dolce & Gabbana dress Princess Diana's niece modelling for the brand during Milan Fashion Week in September 201 A very aristocratic front row! Lady Violet Manners, Lady Alice Manners, Lady Eliza Manners, and Lady Kitty Spencer at Milan Fashion Week in February 2018 'They previously used a lot of celebrities to front the brand, but the strategy seems to have changed in favour of enlisting royalty. 'Fashion has always held up a mirror to society. It's well documented that in times of austerity hemlines shorten. 'I feel D&G have noted a shift in attitudes to the royals and our reignited love of everything regal.' At Saturday's royal wedding, Lady Kitty Spencer was a walking advert for D&G in its Alta Moda green corset dress made of wool-crepe with hand-painted floral motifs, paired with orange shoes and a velvet bag. Amelia Windsor, who has been dubbed the world's most beautiful royal, has been courted as a muse by D&G. She modelled for the brand at their Milan Fashion Week show in February 2017 When the Duchess of Cambridge started embracing more high end brands, D&G won a coveted spot in her wardrobe. Left: On a visit to Kelowna University in September 2016 and at Royal Ascot in June 2017 She has taken to the catwalk for the brand several times despite not being traditional model material. Her royal counterpart Lady Amelia Windsor, 22, the granddaughter of the Duke of Kent who is 36th in line has also become a muse for the brand, appearing in ad campaigns alongside Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece. The New York based student, 21, is the daughter of Crown Prince Pavlos, whose father is the exiled King of Greece. One of her brothers is Prince William's godson. Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, the daughter of Crown Prince Pavlos appeared on the catwalk for D&G at Milan Fashion Week in February 2017 and again in June 2017 Eliza Manners (left) and her sisters Alice and Violet (right), the daughters of the Duke of Rutland at the D&G Secret & Diamond Show Lady Violet Manners walks the Dolce & Gabbana Italian Christmas catwalk show at Harrods in November 2017 The girls come with impeccable royal pedigree but are far enough removed from the throne that they have the freedom to model and accept gifts of clothing. As well as the young royals, the brand has also aligned itself with high ranking members of the British aristocracy. Violent and Alice Manners, the very glamorous and well connected daughters of the Duke of Rutland, have also hit the catwalk for the brand. Octavia Spencer has revealed how a conversation about the pay gap left Jessica Chastain 'shocked' to learn that actresses of color do not earn as much money as their white counterpartsand led them to join forces in the fight for equal pay. The Shape of Water star, 45, recounted the discussion on Monday during an interview for the Today show. Jessica, 41, is an outspoken feminist who has long campaigned to defend actresses' rights. However, Octavia explained that when she and Jessica started talking about the gender pay gap, she told her former The Help co-star that they needed to have a 'deeper conversation' about the topic in order to acknowledge that race, too, plays a part in pay disparities. Scroll down for video Talk: Octavia Spencer has revealed Jessica Chastain (pictured in January) was 'shocked' to learn that actresses of color do not earn as much money as their white counterparts '[Jessica]'s always been at the forefront of the movement about pay parity,' Octavia told Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie during Monday's broadcast. 'And I talked to her and I said "Well, Jessica, I'm glad that we're having this conversation, but we have to have a deeper conversation." And then I told her what it was like for women of color and she was quiet. 'I said, "You know, I understand that white women want to make what white men make, but women of color don't even make what you make." And she really... was very shocked.' Octavia went on to praise Jessica's reaction to their conversation, which came as part of her work as a producer. 'As a friend you want your friend to say I'm with you, but as a producer she really did more than I've known,' Octavia added. 'We pitched a project that she came up with to several studios and everybody wanted it, and part of the bargaining was that we would be paid as equals. 'We were having that national conversation and I thought, "I need to introduce this into the narrative so that we know the way forward." I am a beneficiary of Jessica doing the right thing.' Discussion: Octavia (pictured in March) said she and Jessica were having a conversation about the gender pay gap when she told her they needed to have a 'deeper talk' about race Praise: In an interview on the Today show on Monday, Octavia said Jessica did 'the right thing' by insisting they both be paid equally for an upcoming project While Octavia didn't discuss her and Jessica's upcoming movie in detail, she said both of them would be working on the movie this winter. Octavia first revealed earlier this year how Jessica helped her obtain five times her salary as the two worked together. 'About 15 months ago, Jessica Chastain contacted me and said, "I want us to do a comedy,"' she told a panel at the Sundance Film Festival, according to People. 'I'm like, "Yeah!" She called me six months later, which would have been last March, and we were talking about pay equity with men and women. She was like, "It's time that women get paid as much as men.' I'm like, "Yeah Jessica, it's time!" We were dropping F-bombs and getting it all out there.' She added: 'And then I said, "But here's the thing, women of color on that spectrum, we make far less than white women. So, if we're gonna have that conversation about pay equity, we gotta bring the women of color to the table." And I told her my story, and we talked numbers, and she was quiet, and she said she had no idea that that's what it was like for women of color.' Octavia said she 'loves' Jessica for 'walking the walk' and 'actually talking the talk'. 'She said, "Octavia we're gonna get you paid on this film. You and I are gonna be tied together. We're gonna be favored nations, and we're gonna make the same thing,"' Octavia recounted in her January talk. 'Fast forward to last week, we're making five times what we asked for.' Team: 'As a friend you want your friend to say I'm with you, but as a producer she really did more than I've known,' Octavia said of Jessica (pictured with her in a file photo) Viola Davis referenced Octavia as she spoke out against the pay gap in an interview with Net A Porter in March this year, telling the platform: 'If Caucasian women are getting 50 per cent of what men are getting paid, we're not even getting a quarter of what white women are getting paid. 'We don't even get the magazine covers white women get. And that is not speaking in a way that is angry. They deserve everything they get paid. 'Nicole Kidman deserves it. Reese Witherspoon deserves it. Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Frances McDormand But guess whatI deserve it too. So does Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, Halle Berry. We've put the work in too.' Viola, 52, also praised Jessica's decision to insist she and Octavia be paid equally. Duo: Octavia (pictured with Jessica in January) first revealed earlier this year how Jessica helped her obtain five times her salary as the two worked together 'I dont want to tell anyone what to do,' she added, 'but I think Jessica Chastain did a really boss move with Octavia Spencer by saying Octavia's got to be paid the same as her. She actually upped Octavia's quote for that movie because she took a salary cut. 'I think Caucasian women have to stand in solidarity with us. And they have to understand we are not in the same boat. Even a lot of female-driven events in Hollywood, like power luncheonswhich I've been to, and are awesome by the waythere will be 3,000 women in that room and five of them are women of color. And it's by invite! So, you're not even inviting us.' Octavia appeared on the Today show on Monday to promote her new film, A Kid Like Jake, in which she plays an educator who encounters a four-year-old child grappling with gender identity. In the film, Jake loves princess costumes and fairy tale movies. His parents, played by Claire Danes and Jim Parsons, embrace their son's tastes at home, but when the time comes to get Jake into a New York City primary school, the pair struggles with how they want to present their son to the world. 'Even though I'm not a parent, I realized there's a lot of parents who are facing this in their household,' Octavia said of the movie, 'and it's just a way to open dialogue so that children can be in an environment where they can blossom.' A thread inviting women to share the terrifying ordeals they've been subjected by men they've rejected has gone viral. Taking to Twitter, young adult fiction author Elizabeth May, who is originally from California, but now resides in Edinburgh, Scotland, wrote: 'Hi ladies! RT if you've have had a frightening response from a man when you've rebuffed, rejected, or otherwise ignored his advances. If you feel comfortable enough to share your experience in the comments, I want to hear you.' And with over 19,000 followers, Elizabeth's tweet quickly went viral as hundreds of women flocked to the comments section to share their scary stories. Support: Taking to Twitter, YA author Elizabeth May has invited women to share the terrifying ordeals they've been subjected by men they've rejected in the past Viral: The tweet has since gone viral and over 800 women have taken to the comments section to share their harrowing stories Sharing her story, @AlexLHardaker wrote: 'Too many to count. 'Some of the worst ones were when I worked at a bar during uni, it was usually men twice my age, and I didn't get to work behind the relative safety of the bar because I had to sell shots on a tray, my manager told me, "Just let them touch you, you'll sell more"'. For @gayleenfroese, the workplace also proved to be a hazardout place in her teens. 'Working at a library, age 16, I got in the elevator with my male coworkers,' she wrote. 'They stopped the elevator & said, "We could rape you here & there'd be nothing you could do about it." 'FEMALE manager's response later: "What do you want me to say? Don't get in the elevator with them."' @TinyWriterLaura shared a similarly horrifying story, writing: 'Working at a pub just out of uni. 'One guy who worked there mistook my friendliness for romantic interest. After repeated refusals for dates he started getting in my way behind the bar, grabbing my arse in front of customers & touching me constantly despite me telling him not to.' 'It came to a head when, after I'd told him not to speak to me again because he was freaking me out, while i was working & he wasn't he followed me into the cellar while I was getting ice and trapped me, begging me to date him and kissing down my neck. It was terrifying,' she added. Another recalled how a taxi driver thought she was interested just because she was being friendly, and asked her to perform a sex act on him. One woman rejected a man in her book club and tried to let him down gently by saying she was too busy with work to date. He told her she was too focused on her career and after she turned him down several more times, he wrote to her father to ask him to convince her to go out with him. Unhappy hour: One woman detailed an experience she had while working as a bartender during college Underage: Another woman shared how she was harassed by one of her male co-workers while working in a library aged 16 Just friend: This woman revealed what happened when she told a man she just wanted to be friends Playground abuse: One woman recalled a period of harassment when she was aged 11 or 12 Threat: Another woman shared how her first boyfriend used to threaten to kill himself if she broke up with him Physical: This woman shared how a man at the mall forcibly scrawled his phone number on her hand Twitter user @britnidlc shared her horrifying ordeal that featured someone in her college: 'I turned down a guy at a party in college by mentioning my bf was in the next room. The next weekend my bf was away & dude followed me into a bathroom & blocked the door & said, 'where's your boyfriend now, bitch?' And @RoseTintMyWorId revealed a similar story about unwanted advances, even as a 10-year-old child. 'Had guys follow me home, right up to my front door. First time this happened I was about 10 years old? Now it's guys you make small talk with on a night out, who believe they're entitled to something as a result,' she wrote. Multiple women described being harassed by men who catcalled to them from their vehicles and were then followed and shouted at by them for refusing to engage. Twitter user @britnidlc shared: 'I declined to give my phone number to a guy who pulled up alongside me in his car (I was walking) and he proceeded to drive alongside me for the next four blocks yelling obscenities and threats at me.' And @loveheylola had a similar experience: 'I got home from work at 2 am. A guy stopped his car in the middle of the street to "hey baby" me. I ignored him and started walking away fast. I didn't want him to know which house was mine. He backed up his car and followed me. I ducked down an alley. He followed.' She continued: 'I ended up running into a neighbors yard and basically hiding in a bush until he went away. Oh - and the whole time he's yelling "where are you going? I just want to talk to you!"' Elizabeth has since taken to the micro-blogging site a couple more times to praise the women for coming forward. 'Still doing my best to read. Your stories are important. You are important,' she wrote. 'I have to work now, but thank you for sharing your stories with me, and for the supporting comments, too. I'm trying to put together my thoughts. I have so many. But first: thank you.' Nightmare: This woman shared details about how a former friend threatened her when she didn't respond to his advances Violent: One woman recalled how a guy in her high school told her she was 'top of his list for people he'd kill if he shot up the school' No consent: Another woman detailed a horrifying experience featuring her best friend's partner Too many to mention: Another woman on the thread alluded to just two of the countless violent experiences she's had Unrelenting: For one woman, a married man couldn't accept that she wasn't interested anymore, even though he wouldn't get a divorce A Missouri hairstylist has created a color trend of her own with the 'Magic Eye Hair' that has left people hypnotized. Kristina Cheeseman, 30, a hairstylist based in St. Louis, posted her psychedelic dye job on Instagram and people were instantly taken with the amazing color that looks like it could be photoshopped. This color has been pegged the 'Magic Eye Hair' because it gives the appearance of an optical illusion that almost hypnotizes anyone who stares to long at it. Hypnotizing: Kristina Cheeseman , a hairstylist in St. Louis, Missouri, posted a picture of'Magic Eye Hair' that looks like an optical illusion Colorful: The hairstylist is known for her colorful artist work on hair, including this look where the neon color extend down the roots 'I used Rebecca Taylor's new color line, Trillion Tones, to create this look,' Cheeseman told Allure. 'It's unique, as in it's the first hybrid color to exist. I custom mixed the purple, blue, yellow and pink shades to create my rainbow.' To get the mind-boggling look, Cheeseman first bleaches the hair to get it to a shade where it will accept the colors. But she told the beauty magazine that she prefers to call that stage 'lightening' since it sounds less harsh on the hair. She then individually paints each rainbow throughout the hair with color combinations she mixed herself. 'I made my own colors using sorcery. Haha, just kidding, with primary color pigments,' she joked in an Instagram video showing the bizarre look. 'This is a combination of Permanent and Semi permanent colors I custom mixed.' She went on to say that the look gave her an opportunity to truly feel free as a hairstylist to artistically create the look. Bright: To prep the hair, Cheeseman will lighten (or bleach) the area to prepare it for color. Pictured is her 'Prism Roots' design Captivating: Cheeseman calls herself a 'hair artist' on her Instagram bio because of the creative designs she can create with dye Stunning: It is recommended for people who receive these types of dye jobs to wash their hair minimally in cold water for it to last longer Once the hair is colored, it is important that the client has a routine in place to keep the dye from washing out too quickly. Cheeseman recommends washing the hair minimally in cold water and using a cleansing conditioner to keep the optimum amount of color. The hairstylist does other psychedelic color combinations besides the 'Magic Eye Hair' look. Her Instagram features crazy dye jobs including one she calls 'Prism Roots' where a rainbow extends down the top part of the client's head. Another one called 'Holograph Roots' shows neon colors extend down the hair in an iridescent fashion. Cheesman labels herself as a 'hair artist' - a title she has definitely earned - because of her unique designs she creates herself using dye. A baby girl has been nicknamed 'Einstein 2.0' due to a rare condition which makes her bright white hair stand permanently on end - just like the scientist's messy 'do. Taylor McGowan, 17 months, is one of only a handful of kids around the world with a known case of Uncombable Hair Syndrome. It causes her bright white hair to stand on end despite efforts by her parents Cara and Tom McGowan - who both have straight brown hair - to brush and style it. Scroll down for video Rare: Taylor McGowan, who is 17 months old, was diagnosed with Uncombable Hair Syndrome Wild: The syndrome causes Einstein-like hair where it is permanently bright white and stands up in all directions The adorable tot attracts crowds wherever she goes and former mental health worker Cara, 32, says she is stopped 'nine or ten times' on a trip to the shops. While most people are friendly, Cara says she has been accused of bleaching Taylor's messy mane and asked whether she 'stuck her fingers in a light socket'. But the family love her unique look and have nicknamed her 'Einstein 2.0' after the scientist, whose shock of static white hair is also rumored to have been caused by UHS. Full-time mom Cara, who lives in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, said: 'At first we thought we would just put a bit of water and comb it down, but it pops back up. 'I didn't want to put a bunch of chemicals on her hair and I had read that aloe vera gel would act like hair gel. We tried that several times to no avail. 'In total we have tried all kinds of products, maybe 15 different things. We have tried hairspray, gel, mousse. 'In the end we just gave up and dressed her up as Albert Einstein for Halloween. 'She doesn't really enjoy bows or having her hair braided so we have chosen to allow it to be wild and free.' Cute: Taylor's mom, Cara, said people have accused her of bleaching her daughter's hair Adorable: The syndrome is found in only about 100 children in the world She added: 'We are really not able to go anywhere without comments or questions from strangers, some of which are not always kind. 'Many people will ask if our daughter has stuck her fingers in a light socket or if we have done something with her hair. 'My answer is, "No, she was born that way." 'Most people compliment her, but others wonder if it is bleached or damaged and some people online have asked if she is mixed race or has African American genetics. 'Sometimes it's difficult. We want to engage with the public but we also want to live a normal life and be able to shop without being stopped nine or ten times. 'One day we were at our local pediatrician's office and a woman with her daughter started pointing and laughing and saying, "Look, how funny her hair looks." 'It was upsetting. It's a form of bullying. We do hope we can spread a message of awareness for people who are different. 'I absolutely love Taylor's hair. I personally think it is gorgeous and it matches her personality because she is outgoing and free.' Mini-me: The family from Chicago, Illinois, dressed Taylor up as Einstein for Halloween as a homage to the scientist who she resembles with the hair Bright white: Taylor started to grow tufts of hair when she was five months old Taylor was born with no hair but began sprouting tufts of soft baby fuzz when she was around five months old. Rather than falling out and growing back straight and brown, like her parents' hair, Taylor's bright blond locks grew and grew. Full-time mom Cara, a former mental health worker, said: 'At one point we had a chat with my mother-in-law who said, 'There is a photo on the internet that looks like Taylor.' 'We laughed and brushed it off and thought, 'There's no way our child would have this ultra rare condition.' 'But we waited for her hair to lay flat and it didn't.' In, Cara and Tom, 32, contacted Professor Regina Betz at the University of Bonn in Germany, who leads the research into UHS. According to Prof Betz's team at the Institute for Human Genetics, the syndrome is caused by a mutation to one of three genes - PADI3, TGM3 and TCHH. A smart look: The little girl's bright white locks are frequently compared to that of physicist Albert Einstein, who is believed to have also had the condition Smile: Cara said that Taylor didn't start growing hair until she was five-months-old. The hair first grew in tufts before it went bright white and frizzy The defect impairs the interaction of the structural protein that gives hair its shape and strength. This gives hair follicles a triangular, heart or kidney-shaped cross section, resulting in uniquely frizzy, gravity-defying hair. Genetic testing revealed that both Cara and Tom, who is a director of supply chain logistics, carry a mutation of the PADI3 gene which Taylor inherited. Since the diagnosis, the couple have started sharing their daughter's journey on her Facebook page, BabyEinstein2.0. Cara said: 'My husband and I both have straight brown hair. Never in our wildest dreams did we have a condition like this. 'We had never heard of it before or dreamed that there could even be such a thing. 'We want her to know she is beautiful and perfect and that everybody is unique. 'We want her to embrace it and love herself just the way she is.' Speaking in 2017, Prof Betz said: 'In total there are 100 cases reported to date in the world but there may be many more which have not been reported.' The natural look: Five-year-old Evelyn Cubbedge, of Lawtey, Florida, was also born with the ultra-rare condition Uncombable Hair Syndrome Late start: Evelyn didn't have any hair when she was born, and the strands didn't even appear until she was about ten months old Evelyn Cubbedge, of Lawtey, Florida, is another child who has Uncombable Hair Syndrome. The five-years-old's straw-like blonde locks naturally stand up and never grow long enough for her to need a haircut. Suffering from the same condition that Albert Einstein was believed to have, strangers say that the girl looks like the 19th century scientist and often ask if she was electrocuted. While her mom Nicole, 34, gets frustrated with the rude comments, she feels like they are overshadowed by the many compliments her daughter receives. The mother tries putting Evelyn's hair in a pony tail with hairspray, but even that doesn't keep it from sticking up for long. Nicole, a cake decorator, said: 'People are always touching her hair and telling her how beautiful it is. 'Sometimes people make ignorant comments and it's just like, 'Why would you say that?' Another angle: The straw-colored strands naturally stand straight up, and usually don't grow long enough to need to be cut Serious style: Evelyn's mother Nicole, 34, claims that strangers often compare her to Einstein, and have even asked if she has been electrocuted Evelyn understands that her hair is different than everyone else's, so for the most part it doesn't bother her. Once in a while, she gets upset that she isn't able to have a longer hairstyle like other girls in her school. Nicole said: 'She's starting to realize the difference between her hair and everyone else's, but it doesn't phase her much. 'Sometimes she sees the other girls' hairstyles and wishes that hers could look the same.' Evelyn did not have any hair when she was born and her straw-like strands didn't start growing in until two months before her first birthday. Her mother explained: 'She was bald as a baby and her hair didn't even start growing until she was about ten months old. 'From the first day that it grew in, it just stuck straight up and she didn't have a full head of hair until she was two years old.' For the time being, Evelyn's family is going to keep her hair as is. Nicole said: 'It's what makes her unique. We're not going to do anything about it unless it bothers her more as she gets older.' A girl's adorable tweet about her dad's hot dog stand has gone viral after she asked the to public help promote his business. Dedicated daughter Maddi from Oklahoma City who goes by @duhitzmaddii on Twitter, took to the micro-blogging site to post several pictures of her dad's hot dog stand and plead for some social media support. 'Guys, my dad literally loves cooking so much, & owning this business means the world to him. His food is seriously amazing & he makes a lot more food than just hot dogs lol, i dont have many followers so this wont get much exposure but if you see this plz Rt it!' she wrote. Dedicated: A girl named Maddi from Oklahoma City has taken to Twitter to plead for social media support for her dad's hot dog stand Winner: Describing his food as 'amazing', Maddi also won people over on the Twittersphere by sharing pictures of her dad's delicious looking food Big plans: Although her dad is currently operating from a food cart at weekends only, Maddi also explained that his dream is to open a restaurant Picture perfect: People have been flooding to the comments section to offer their support and compliment Maddi's dad on his food Posting another picture of a hot dog, she shared: 'This is our classic Chicago dog , it looks a little messy but thats how we like it ! A little side note, my dad is from Chicago, so everything is pretty authentic!' She also explained that although her dad was operating out of a food cart for now, their goal is to open a restaurant. 'You guys are really helping us get there, thank you so much!!!' she added. With over 90,000 retweets, 126,000 likes and 700 comments, the tweet has resonated with a vast number of people who are willing to do what they can to support Maddi and her dad. Twitter user @colbert1988 wrote: 'If I ever do I'll look for your dad's cart, wish him nothing but success and hopefully it leads to a restaurant of his own'. A sentiment shared by @its_simplyRuss who typed: 'Them 2 dogs you posted looking mighty delicious. I'm far away but I wish you guys great success. You got my RT.' And @EvrybdyLvsSteve shared: 'This is awesome. I dont know your dad, but Im proud of that dude for doing what hes passionate about and rocking it! This is awesome'. Authentic: She also explained that her father who is from Chicago also sells a classic Chicago dog Support: With over 90,000 retweets, 126,000 likes and 700 comments, the tweet has resonated with a vast number of people Family affair: Jackie Garza, 18, from Texas also took to Twitter to try help save her father's Texas bakery after he was going to be forced to shut down in the wake of Hurricane Harvey Success: The video of her dad making Mexican pastries got over one million views And Maddi sweetly added: 'Guys this means so much to me, I love my dad so much, like really, him & my mother mean the world to me & they get along so well while doing this & ive never seen my dad so happy, thank you'. However, she's not the first adoring daughter to try and drum up support for a family business on Twitter. Jackie Garza, 18, from Texas was desperate to help save her father's Texas bakery after he confessed that he was going to be forced to shut down his business due to declining sales in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. She sent out a tweet on December 6, 2017, along with a video of her dad, Trinidad Garza, making handmade pan dulce at the La Casa Bakery and Cafe in Houston and it blew up instantly, eventually saving her dad's business. Not only did the Latina's original message get over 750 replies, almost 67,000 retweets, and over 61,000 likes, the video of her dad making Mexican pastries got over one million views. The fridge can be a minefield of old and fresh ingredients with no real way of knowing where everything is. Usually, adults place their dairy products in the door (like milk, cheese, singular eggs and sauces) with the middle left for raw and cooked meats, dips, yoghurt, vegetables and some fruits. In a bid to make things easier, one mum decided to turn a simple pack of three containers into a storage device in her fridge - and she wasn't the only one with the idea. Scroll down for video In a bid to make things easier in the kitchen, one mum decided to turn a simple pack of three containers into a storage device in her fridge - and she wasn't the only one with the idea Posting to the Kmart Mums Australia group the mother outlined how the different shapesd containers could be used to your advantage Posting to the Kmart Mums Australia group the mother outlined how the different shapes could be used to your advantage. 'Just love this pack of three containers. Two different packs with different shapes. Air tight. I love shopping now to fill them. Everyone can see the food and nothing gets pushed to the back,' she explained. 'Easy food for the kids to reach with the cut up fruit and salad at the front. I also cut my garnish up ready to go. Even cheese with out being wrapped stays fresh. And shallots still crisp for ages. Before long the post was attracting a mammoth number of comments, many of which were agreeing with the layout They can also be used to stack dry goods in the pantry and can easily be washed in the dishwasher 'Condiments in side of door. Can be easily stacked for more food. Plus I love seeing what we have and I chop up my veg like broccoli, cauliflower etc ready to go so it saves time.' Before long the post was attracting a mammoth number of comments, many of which were agreeing with the layout. 'I put paper towel on the bottom of mine... I've had mine since July last year and I still love them,' a different mother added, showing off her fantastic fridge display. The containers can be purchased in a pack of three for $8 (which works out being less than $3 per unit), but are currently sold out in many of the major stores One woman in Queensland posted a screenshot of her search online, which showed that her surrounding six stores didn't have them in stock They can also be used to stack dry goods in the pantry and can easily be washed in the dishwasher. 'I love these. I've just redone my cupboards with them. They just need labels now to make them pretty,' someone else said. The containers can be purchased in a pack of three for $8 (which works out being less than $3 per unit), but are currently sold out in many of the major stores. But on the Kmart website it does say a fresh batch of tupperware will be arriving soon One woman in Queensland posted a screenshot of her search online, which showed that her surrounding six stores didn't have them in stock. But on the Kmart website it does say a fresh batch of tupperware will be arriving soon. 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 on Monday. His radio partner, Jackie 'O' Henderson, played his rant back to him before asking callers on their radio station KIIS 1065 what their main office gripes where. Turns out the smallest things have been annoying co-workers for awhile now. His radio partner, Jackie 'O' Henderson, (pictured) played his rant back to him before asking callers on their radio station KIIS 104.1 what their main office gripes where Lauren, who is a manager at a pharmacy, spoke about her frustration surrounding 'pension day'. 'They're waiting at the door at 7.59am with their walking frames and list of medications they need. They're so persistent saying they can't have generic brands because they're 'allergic' to it. But when the meds are $2 cheaper suddenly it's fine,' she explained to the shock jock. Meanwhile Kelsey, who is a hairdresser, said each time she reached for the hairdryer to style her client's hair the cord was always tangled. 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 on Monday While this may seem like a 'first world problem' of sorts, the young woman admitted it looked quite unprofessional in front of their paying customers. The correct technique for tying up the cord is around the heaviest part of the dryer, she told Kyle and Jackie. Mel was in a food-related predicament at her law firm, with the overlords cracking down on what could and couldn't be eaten out of the biscuit jar. 'They buy a packet of those assorted biscuits that everyone likes. So I was always putting the Monte Carlo's and chocolate chip cookies out first - because everyone likes them the best,' she said. Mel was in a food-related predicament at her law firm, with the overlords cracking down on what could and couldn't be eaten out of the biscuit jar Most annoying office habits revealed * Talking loudly on the phone or using speaker phone to the annoyance of everyone else. * Sharing TMI (too much information) about personal things. * Asking for help with the same tech problems again and again, instead of simply taking the time to learn to do it properly. * Walking into meetings late, so that things have to be repeated. * Leaving messes in the break room or other common areas and not cleaning them up. * Writing passive-aggressive signs or post-its and leaving them around the office, instead of just speaking to someone to address an issue. Advertisement 'But our bosses where sick of all the other ones going to waste so they said we have to eat all the biscuits out of the packet before opening a new one.' There was a brief debate about what quantified as the 'worst' biscuits - arrowroots and shortbread - before everyone in the studio admitted they liked Iced Vovo's the best. For receptionist Sarah it's her seat in the office building that's the problem. After 2pm and the sun falls, it streams directly into her eyes at the desk - partially blinding her every day. She cheekily said she uses patients that come into what could presumably be some kind of dental surgery to block the sun. For Anna, who works in a corporate building in an agile working environment, the two lifts she has to take to get down to her locker every time she needs something are becoming unbearable. For receptionist Sarah it's her seat in the office building that's the problem But because she doesn't technically 'own' a desk on her floor, this is the only area she can store her things. And finally, Jodie told the radio hosts every clock in her office and on the computers is a different time, making it very difficult to schedule meeting rooms. A teenager who once tipped the scales at 16st finally feels confident enough to pursue a stage career after losing nearly 5st and winning a national award. Charlotte Randall, 19, from Worthing in West Sussex, always dreamed of studying performing arts at university but feared that she'd spend her life confined to 'big girl' roles. Following her weight loss, she's been named Slimming World's Young Slimmer of the Year 2018 and says her confidence has grown immeasurably, meaning she's ready to take centre stage at last. Charlotte Randall says she finally has the confidence to pursue acting roles after going from 16st (left) to 11st Charlotte says: 'My weight held me back a lot in my college studies. 'I was always the shy one hiding at the back in baggy clothes, and I'd never put myself forward for roles. Now I attend extra dance lessons outside of college and even had the confidence to take part in a dance competition recently.' The 5ft 10in part-time student, who also works in retail, says she was always the biggest and tallest in her class throughout primary and secondary school. However, it was in her teenage years that she really began to worry about her weight after she gained 4st 7lbs in 12 months when she met her partner of two years, Scott Miller. Charlotte (pictured during a performance when she was larger) gained 4st 7lbs in 12 months after meeting her partner Scott But since joining Slimming World Charlotte shed over a third of her body weight in just a year She says: 'I gained the weight so quickly that I had stretchmarks all over my body. I was so embarrassed and ashamed. Hating my body absolutely consumed me and I'd spend hours looking up ways to lose weight online. 'I didn't like eating in public because I thought people would think I was greedy, so would often starve myself all day and only eat when I got home and was alone or with just my boyfriend.' Charlotte suffered numerous embarrassing incidents because of her weight, too, including her trousers ripping in public and being given a seatbelt extension on a rollercoaster at Thorpe Park because the belt couldn't close over her size-18 frame. Secretly Charlotte, who is a vegetarian, tried fasting, shakes and other quick fixes to slim down. However, everything she tried left her feeling so hungry that she'd soon give up, and she usually ended up gaining more weight than she lost. After booking a holiday abroad, Charlotte was so worried about feeling uncomfortable on the beach that she confided in her mum Petula Bladen, who was a member of Slimming World, about the way she was feeling and agreed to join her at their local group. Charlotte admitted that when she was bigger she would avoid eating in public as she thought people would think she was 'greedy' Charlotte says: 'It was really hard for me in the beginning because I was only 17 and the youngest in the group. 'I was embarrassed because I felt that I shouldn't have let myself get to this point at such a young age. I shouldn't have worried though because everyone was so friendly. 'Now I absolutely love going to Slimming World every week and I really enjoy hearing how everyone else has got on. 'My Consultant Robyn has been amazing too I like that she doesn't just talk to us about food, she really cares about why losing weight is so important to us. It's not just about how we look but how we feel too.' While Charlotte has lost 4st 10lbs, dropping from 15st 10lbs to 11st and a size 18/20 to a 10/12, she says it's the change on the inside that's most dramatic. Not only is she more confident in her singing, dancing and acting, she also feels more comfortable talking to people, doesn't hate looking in the mirror anymore, enjoys going out with Scott more and loves shopping. The teen has now been named Slimming World's Young Slimmer of the Year Charlotte has also conquered her fear of activity: 'I used to hate anything sporty because it would make me red and sweaty and I was too ashamed of my size to go to a gym I thought everyone would stare or laugh at me, but now I've joined a gym and I love it. It makes me feel strong.' Her weight loss has inspired others too, with Charlotte's brother James, 20, joining his mum and sister at Slimming World and between them they've lost a total of nearly 13st. Charlotte says: 'Wednesday night is our family night now. We go to Slimming World and then we have a healthy meal together. I love it. 'People are always amazed at how much I eat now and I've definitely learned that following a healthy and balanced plan is a much better way to lose weight than starving myself. 'I used to work in a fast-food restaurant so I'd often snack on junk food, which made me feel sluggish and bloated. Now I snack on fruit and love cooking homemade curries and stir-fries. 'I have so much more energy, and I'm achieving my goals without feeling hungry or guilty about what I'm eating.' Since being named Slimming World's Young Slimmer of the Year 2018, Charlotte hopes to motivate lots more people, especially young people. She says: 'Being overweight as a young person can be very difficult and something I wish no one had to go through, so if I can inspire just one person to make a change I'll be very happy. 'Losing weight isn't a fix for all of life's problems, but it's a great start and losing weight has certainly changed things for me and my family.' CHARLOTTE'S DIET BEFORE Breakfast: No breakfast Mid-morning: Crisps Lunch: Fast food meal Mid-afternoon: Chocolate bar Dinner: Takeaway pizza Evening: More chocolate Advertisement At 49, she's barely aged a day since finding fame as Rachel in Friends, and now Jennifer Aniston was revealed the affordable secret that keeps her looking youthful. Opening up to wellandgood.com about her morning routine, the actress said that she keeps things very simple by washing her face with soap and water and applying a day cream with SPF. However, the real trick isn't what she puts on her face but what she drinks for breakfast as she adds a collagen supplement to her morning smoothie. 'Theres a collagen peptide that Ive been loving,' she explained. 'Ive been seeing a difference. 'My nails are stronger and theres a healthier how do you explain it? A glow. Its sort of that working from the inside-out thing.' The star's choice of supplement, Vital Proteins, is surprisingly affordable starting at just $15 (11). Jennifer Aniston, 49, reveals that she swears by a collagen peptide supplement in her morning smoothie to keep her glowing The star, pictured in 1998, has barely aged a day since she shot to fame as Rachel in Friends Jennifer's favourite supplement is surprisingly affordable at just $15 (11) from Amazon The fitness fanatic also swears by yoga and transcendental meditation but has previously insisted she would never touch Botox. In an interview with Bobbi Brown she opened up about the pressure on women in Hollywood not to show any signs of ageing. 'I think what I have been witness to, is seeing women trying to stay ageless with what they are doing to themselves,' she explained. 'I am grateful to learn from their mistakes, because I am not injecting s*** into my face. Do collagen supplements work? Collagen gives our skin elasticity while replacing dead skin cells, but stores of the restorative protein deplete as we age. Collagen supplements claim to boost the skin's production. They typically contain small collagen fragments peptides and amino acids which are easily absorbed by the small intestine and distributed throughout the body via the bloodstream, where they remain for up to 14 days.' There are some studies that do show an improvement to skin with the supplementation of collagen. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study on over 100 45- to 65-year-olds, researchers concluded there was a significant reduction of eye wrinkles in those who took a collagen supplement (called Verisol) daily for eight weeks, compared to those who took a placebo. And the effects continued four weeks later. A similar study assessing 'skin elasticity, skin moisture, transepidermal water loss and skin roughness', found positive results, and a significant increase in 'collagen density, skin firmness and nasolabial fold depth' with the daily use of Pure Gold Collagen for 60 days. Advertisement 'I see them and my heart breaks. I think, "Oh god if you only know how much older you look." 'They are trying to stop the clock and all you can see is an insecure person who wont let themselves just age. Jennifer is currently single after splitting from her second husband Justin Theroux late last year. The former couple announced their split in February after more than two years of marriage. Jenniger split from her husband Justin Theroux late last year after a seven year relationship At the time of Jennifer and Justin's break up, it was reported the actress' dislike of New York City' may have played a role in her split. On Thursday the couple confirmed they separated after seven-and-a-half years together, and preferences for which coast to settle down together 'doomed their marriage' according to Page Six. The LA-based actress, 49, tried to move into her 46-year-old husband's Greenwich Village pad, but 'couldn't deal with the pokey apartment' reported the source. The McCorquodales Sarah and Neil McCorquodale Lady Sarah McCorquodale, 63, is the eldest of the Spencer children. She dated Prince Charles in 1977 and introduced the royal to her youngest sister. She married Neil McCorquodale, a farmer and former officer with the Coldstream Guards, in May 1980. The couple have three children and two grandchildren. Close: Sarah McCorquodale, pictured, used to accompany her sister to royal events Emily McCorquodale Emily McCorquodale, 34, is the eldest of the McCorquodale brood. In 2003, aged 19, she was diagnosed with cancer while studying at Leeds Metropolitan University but was later given the all-clear. In 2012 she married husband James Hutt, whom she met on a blind date, in a ceremony in Lincolnshire, which was attended by Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The couple have two children, Isabella, three, and Henry, two. Returning the invite: Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge all attended the wedding of their cousin, Emily McCorquodale and James Hutt in 2012, pictured George McCorquodale Like Harry, George McCorquodale, 33, inherited the ginger Spencer curls. He is said to enjoy a close relationship with his cousins after joining them for family holidays on Necker, Sir Richard Bransons private island. Prince Harry was guest of honour when George married Bianca Moore, at Netherwood in KwaZulu-Nata, South Africa, in August 2016. Celia McCorquodale Bride-to-be: Celia, in her late 20s, announced her own engagement last November Celia, believed to be 28, made headlines in 2012 with an album of photos that showed her partying with friends at Leeds University. Celia will soon be following her cousin down the aisle. She announced her engagement to George Woodhouse on 13 November 2017. The Fellowes Family ties: Lady Jane Fellowes, 61, is Diana's elder sister. One of her godparents is the Queen's cousin, the Duke of Kent Lady Jane and Lord Robert Fellowes Lady Jane Fellowes, 61, is Diana's elder sister. One of her godparents is the Queen's cousin, the Duke of Kent. She is married to Robert Fellowes, a former Private Secretary to the Queen and first cousin of Ronald Ferguson, the father of Sarah, Duchess of York. In June 1999, Robert Fellowes was granted a life peerage as Baron Fellowes, of Shotesham in the County of Norfolk, after first being knighted as Sir Robert Fellowes. The couple have three children and four grandchildren. Laura Fellowes Laura, 37, is very close to William and Harry and is one of Princess Charlotte's godparents. She married equity analyst Nick Pettman in 2009 in Snettisham, west Norfolk, where her parents live in an old rectory. William and Kate were both guests. Laura writes fiction under the name Mave Fellowes her nickname is Mavis and has sons. Alexander Fellowes Alexander known as Beetle to friends is a 35-year-old investment banker. He married Alexandra Finlay at the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster in September 2013. Prince Harry attended the wedding. Alexander and Alexandra have two children, Robert, three, named after his grandfather, and 18-month-old Rose. Guest of honour: Harry was among the congregation when his cousin Alexander Fellowes married Alexandra Finlay in London in September 2013, pictured Eleanor Fellowes Eleanor Fellowes, 32, keeps a relatively low profile and is rarely seen at public events. She is believed to work as a probation officer and has published articles on issues relating to her profession. The Spencers Charles Spencer and Karen Gordon Charles, 53, the 9th Earl Spencer, is the most high profile of Princess Diana's siblings. In his eulogy at Diana's funeral, the journalist and broadcaster criticised the Royal Family and the Press on their treatment of his sister. In 1989 Spencer, then known by the courtesy title of Viscount Althorp, married his first wife, Victoria Lockwood, in Great Brington, Northamptonshire. The couple, who divorced in 1997, had three daughters and a son. Father-of-seven: Earl Spencer with wife Karen, with whom he has a daughter, five In December 2001 he married Caroline Freud, former wife of Matthew Freud. The couple had two children together, Edmund and Caroline. They divorced in 2007. Spencer married his current wife, Canadian-born philanthropist Karen Gordon, in June 2011 at the family seat of Althorp House. They have one child together, Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer, named after his sister. The couple reside at the Spencer ancestral seat, Althorp House, which he inherited on his father's death in 1992. Lady Kitty Spencer High-profile: Lady Kitty, pictured at an event last week, is an established fashion model Lady Kitty Spencer, 27, has forged a successful career as a model, most notably appearing in campaigns for Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana. The socialite, who is signed with Kate Moss's former modelling agency Storm, is a regular fixture at the world's hottest parties and is sure to cause a stir at the Royal Wedding. She is regarded as one of the most eligible young women on London's social scene, having split from her property tycoon boyfriend at the start of the summer. Lady Kitty grew up in South Africa and is now based in Fulham. Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer Lookalikes: Ladies Amelia and Eliza, 25, with their elder sister Kitty, 27, at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011. All three are expected to attend Twins Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia, 25, share their elder sister's good looks but keep a much lower profile. Like their sister, the twins were raised in South Africa and attended university in Cape Town. In 2011 Lady Amelia appeared in a South African court accused of assaulting a man on crutches in McDonald's. She was cleared of all charges. Louis Spencer Louis, 24, is the fourth child and eldest son of Earl Spencer and will therefore inherit his father's estates and title ahead of his elder sisters. He studied at Diocesan College in Cape Town and later enrolled at the University of Edinburgh. Heir: Louis Spencer, 24, pictured in 2014, will inherit his father's estates and title Edmund and Caroline Spencer The Vanity Fair report makes no mention of Edmund and Caroline Spencer, Charles' children from his second marriage, receiving an invite to the royal wedding. As Edmund, 14, and Caroline, 12, are still young, they perhaps wouldn't attend the late-night after-party. Lady Charlotte Spencer Lady Charlotte Diana, five, is Earl Spencer's youngest child and his only one with third wife Karen. Like her half-siblings Edmund and Caroline, Lady Charlotte is not named in the Vanity Fair report and would be unlikely to receive a late-night party invite because of her age. Irish people living abroad have started jetting in from across the world ahead of Friday's referendum on abortion. Returning emigrants have shared their emotional accounts of why they're #hometovote on social media, with some travelling from as far afield as the US, Vietnam, Dubai and Bali. Friday's referendum will offer voters the first opportunity in 35 years to change the 8th amendment to the constitution, which only allow abortion if the mother's life is deemed to be in danger - forcing thousands to travel to the UK every year. The polling average has narrowed since the start of the year, with many voters still saying they are undecided, although the Yes camp has retained a healthy lead in recent surveys. While voters on both sides are returning, those supporting the 'yes' campaign have dominated #hometovote posts on social media. One woman posted a selfie on the plane from Bangkok, while Ciaran Gaffney said he was making the 13 hour flight from Argentina because it wasn't a patch on the one hour trip to the UK so many Irish women have been forced to take. Ciaran Gaffney said he was making the 13 hour flight from Argentina to stop the 'cowardly act' of forcing Irish women to travel to the UK for abortions This Irish woman was travelling all the way back from Thailand for Friday's referendum Ais Mullins was returning from New York to try to stop Irish women being denied 'basic human rights' 'Let's stop this cowardly act of exporting this issue to our neighbouring countries,' he said. Ais Mullins, who was flying in from New York said she was determined to vote because 'in Ireland we deny people who can become pregnant basic human rights. A woman called Libby shared the view from her flight to Ireland from London, saying: 'Too many women have seen this sight for the wrong reasons.' Similarly, when the country held a referendum on gay marriage in 2015 when a spontaneous influx of voting emigrants came home to have their say. Three friends wearing Repeal jumpers were among the hordes of returning emigrants Some citizens have returned to Ireland to canvas for a yes vote, even though they can't take part in the polls themselves Only those who have been away from Ireland for less than 18 months are eligible to vote, but even those who can't join in the polls are returning home to help with canvassing. Others who can't take part have taken to social media to ask undecided voters to #bemyyes 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 this week revealed that at 47 per cent, those supporting the legalisation of abortions for pregnant women up to 12 weeks only had a narrow lead. Earlier this week, the parents of Savita Halappanavar who died when she was denied an abortion appealed for voters to think of their daughter. The Indian dentist suffered septic shock during a miscarriage but was refused an abortion because a foetal heartbeat was present. Royal biographer Andrew Morton believes that the royal wedding has already helped Meghan Markle to establish her unique role within 'the Firm'. He said that Saturday's nuptials - which saw millions around the world tune in to watch the former Suits actress and Prince Harry tie the knot - had the new Duchess of Sussex's 'signature' all over it, and showed her for who she is - 'thoughtful and considered'. Mr Morton, who learned about Meghan's life while researching the book he has published about her, said that she now had the ability to make a positive change in the royal family. 'She is using the glass slipper to smash through the glass ceiling, it is a post-modern fairytale,' he said on Loose Women on Tuesday. Andrew Morton appeared on Loose Women where he discussed the royal wedding and the affect Meghan Markle has had on the royal family The writer said that he believed Meghan had been able to mark her role in the royal family and would be able to make a change The writer said he was confident that Prince Harry's marriage would last. 'You can tell this a couple very much in love and it will last, and Diana would be thrilled,' he said. Commentators have speculated at length about the nods to Harry's late mother contained in Saturday's ceremony, but Morton is not convinced. He said: 'Diana didnt have an awful lot to do with her wedding, with this it has Meghans signature all over it.' He said that the elite Hollywood guest list was Meghan's way of surrounding herself with supporters, adding that he didn't think that the former actress had met talk show host Oprah, but that she was part of a special, modern version of a 'medieval court', the members of whom she could rely on for help with future endeavours. 'For me she was bringing her court in like medieval times, like bringing in all the knights, she was bringing in the big hitters from Hollywood.' The royal biographer shared his own views on Meghan and how she will be able to use her fairytale romance Andrew said the couple, who were wed on May 19th at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, would definitely last Asked by Loose Women panellist Janet Street Porter about whether Meghan, who already has her own page on the royal family's website which describes her charity work and feminist credentials, could really make a difference, Andrew said she could. 'Its what I call the Markle paradox. We all watched the wedding, not because of who she was but because of the man she was marrying. 'He was there by deeds of birth. It's not because she has achieved anything or he has achieved anything, it was by birth. 'Yet at the same time she is using that opportunity, as it were, she is being the Cinderella who arrived at the ball with the glass slipper. 'Now she is using the glass slipper to smash through the glass ceiling, it is a post-modern fairytale.' Journalist Andrew Morton got the scoop of the century when he wrote a biography on the Princess of Wales, Diana: Her True Story in 1992 The writer (left) got to know Meghan's character while researching his new book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess Andrew said previously that he expected Harry and Meghan to bring a baby into the world soon. 'I think that even before Meghan has learned how to spell Leicester and Torquay she'll be starting a family,' Mr Morton told the Daily Star Sunday. 'She's not really going to be available for working for the Royal Family on a full-time basis until she's 40, I'm sure.' The biographer, 65, who was rushed to hospital last week after fainting, thinks Harry, 33, is keen to start a family after playing uncle to his brother's three children. Mr Morton told the paper the royal couple won't waste any time starting a family because they're both from 'broken homes'. Loose Women airs weekdays on ITV at 12.30pm She spent Monday visiting a water project before having lunch with the president of the Domincan Republic. And yesterday Queen Letizia of Spain continued her two-day solo tour of the Caribbean island with a visit to a banana plantation in Azua. The 45-year-old consort, who rarely puts a sartorial foot out of place, wore a pretty floral ensemble for the occasion, teamed with a pair of cream wedges. Scroll down for video On Tuesday Queen Letizia of Spain was seen visiting a banana plantation in Azua during her four-day visit to the Caribbean island Letizia, who married King Felipe VI of Spain in 2004, stunned in the understated black jumpsuit adorned with flowers as she enjoyed the sunny walk to the cooperative. The piece fell to her ankles revealing a glimpse of her nude skyscraper wedges which boasted delicate ankle straps. Keeping her jewellery to a minimum, Letizia wore small stud diamond earrings and her hair in a casual centre parting. The 45-year-old royal, who never puts a sartorial foot out of place, slipped into a floral ensemble for the occasion, oozing casual chic for the outing Letizia, who is mother to Princesses Leonor, 12, and Sofia, 10, completed her look with a touch of mascara and coral lip gloss. Yesterday, she kicked off her tour by visiting a water distribution project in the Monte Plata Province. The former journalist 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 locals affected by the project, as well as workers from the Spanish cooperation project. Letizia, who married King Felipe VI of Spain in 2004, wore an understated black wrap dress embellished with flowers as she enjoyed the sunny walk to the cooperative The piece fell to her ankles revealing a glimpse of her nude skyscraper wedges which boasted delicate ankle straps Keeping her jewellery to a minimum, Letizia wore small stud diamond earrings and her hair in a casual centre parting Queen Letizia of Spain continued her two-day solo tour of the Caribbean island on Tuesday with a visit to a banana plantation in Azua Later on she arrived for lunch with the President of the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo and his wife Candida Montilla de Medina at the Presidential Palace. Over the years Letizia, a former newsreader, 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. A reality star sparked an online debate about food hygiene after sharing a video of McDonald's workers not wearing gloves - but the lack of hand protection is perfectly legal. Scotty T, 30, who rose to game on MTV's Geordie Shore, shared a video he filmed of bare-handed workers at a McDonald's with his 1.82 million followers, asking: 'Do staff not wear gloves??' Some branded it 'disgusting,' but others were quick to point out that there is no legal requirement to wear gloves when handling food in the UK. Some McDonald's workers in fact do wear gloves when handling raw food, but others wash their hands every 30 minutes to prevent contamination, a spokesman confirmed. Scotty T questioned why McDonald's workers were not wearing gloves at one branch - but there's a logical explanation for it Scotty T sparked a debate after filming workers without gloves - but workers do not have to wear gloves when handling food under UK law and it's not standard practice at McDonald's Some of his followers branded the reality star a 'snitch' for filming the unidentified workers at the unknown branch of McDonald's. However some seemed to share his dismay at the workers' lack of gloves, with one describing the lack of protection as 'grim'. But former workers highlighted that stores separate teams and allocate some to taking orders at the till and taking money, and some to handling food. On the McDonald's website, a statement reveals there is a system of 'colour-coded gloves' which are worn when staff handle raw food. It adds: 'In addition to this, food handlers wash their hands with an antimicrobial soap at least every 30 minutes or whenever their hands could have been contaminated.' Twitter users waded in, including former McDonald's workers, to explain why the staff were not wearing gloves. Some branded Scotty T a 'snitch' Under UK law, workers who handle food do not have to wear gloves. One Twitter user pointed out that wearing gloves can actually be less hygienic because some believe it means they can touch anything without having to clean their hands. Scotty T may have been shocked at the lack of gloves but it's standard practice at McDonald's for workers to wash their hands regularly instead Alexis Harrow, who called himself a 'three-year McEmployee veteran' said: 'You only have to wear gloves when handling eggs/raw meat/Ice at Mcdonalds.' Another wrote: 'No, they have to wash their hands every half hour.' On its website, McDonald's UK states: 'At McDonald's we use a system of colour-coded gloves to avoid bare hand contact with raw foods and to handle some ready-to-eat food items. 'All cooked meat and other fried products are only handled using dedicated tongs or scoops and the only items handled with bare hands are the bread, cheese and salad ingredients when preparing and assembling the burgers. 'We also have separate teams allocated to serving customers and handling money from those that are preparing food. 'In addition to this, food handlers wash their hands with an antimicrobial soap at least every 30 minutes or whenever their hands could have been contaminated. The utensils used for food preparation are cleaned and sanitised at least every four hours.' A McDonald's spokesman said: 'Food safety and hygiene standards are of the utmost importance in our restaurants and our crew are trained to follow strict food preparation and hygiene procedures. 'Our crew do not use gloves, other than for handling raw food. There is no legislation in the UK requiring gloves to be worn and, after careful consideration, we believe the best hygiene standards are achieved through thorough and regular handwashing. 'Our employees regularly wash their hands and we also have dedicated job roles with those serving customers and handling money separate from those preparing food.' Sit up straight and stop slouching while you stand! That has been the mantra for generations of children and adults alike. And theres now a plethora of products said to help you achieve that perfect posture from inserts you put on your chair and insoles for your shoes, to zappers in your clothes that beep if you slouch. Most people think of good posture as being beneficial for their back. Keep moving! It's not how you hold yourself, but how long you stay in a single position But, according to some experts, there is no such thing as the perfect posture and, whats more, the latest studies suggest posture wont actually protect against aches and pains. What matters is not posture, but that you keep moving. Lots of the research that links posture and pain is poor there is no real evidence that poor posture will cause long-term problems, says Ashley James, a spokesman for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and an occupational health physiotherapist, who is researching the workplace causes of lower back pain. Its just not as much of a problem as we think it is. Look at the population as a whole everyone has slightly different posture, but not everyone is in pain. Even slouching is OK: theres no link between sitting slouched and developing back pain. Anyone who thinks bad posture will hamper them should take a look at athlete Usain Bolt, who has scoliosis, an excessively curved spine, and still manages to be the fastest man in the world. Colin Natali, a highly-revered consultant spinal surgeon at the Lister Hospital in London, agrees: There is a lot of rubbish talked about posture. People look at those with a lack of lordosis the natural C-shaped curve in the upper back or neck and they say thats a form of bad posture: it isnt. That will be there from childhood. And someone doesnt develop disc degeneration or a collapsed spine because of their poor posture thats going to happen anyway. Indeed, scientists have struggled to show a link between posture and pain. In a 12-week study published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders in 2016, a group of 60 people were given movement sensors that measured the curvature in their spine and the movement in their pelvis as they did five tasks. The researchers found no correlation between their posture and their chance of having lower back pain. Assessing someones posture is essentially flawed medicine, anyway, says Ashley James, as it is only a snapshot of whats going on. In a 12-week study published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, researchers found no correlation between their posture and their chance of having lower back pain What does matter, he says, is not how you hold yourself, but how long you stay in a single position. That determines whether your posture will give you aches and pains. Its not the posture, its just spending too long in the same position. This would apply even if you stood with a perfect ramrod-straight back. In other words, to prevent back pain, keep moving: the body is geared to keep us moving and tells us when to do so. This protective mechanism consists of nerve endings called nociceptors, which react to pressure and other inputs such as heat. If you sit in one position for too long, nociceptors detect the pressure and prompt messages to be sent to the spinal column and brain that mean you feel uncomfortable, says Ashley. Its this prompt that explains why we shift about in our chair or wriggle its our body getting us to move before we experience pain from being in the same position for too long. Everyone has a different threshold for this but thats why when, if not before, you feel uncomfortable, you should get up and move around. He adds: The trouble is that people ignore the bodys prompts that tell them to move in order to avoid causing pain. I have a note on the side of my computer that says: Move. But some experts say there may be some benefit from sitting up straighter as we get older. If you are 17 and slouching, you are unlikely do yourself any harm, says Philip Conaghan, a professor of musculoskeletal medicine at the University of Leeds. But when you get older especially in your 60s and beyond your muscles are losing strength, so sitting up straight may help to work your spinal muscles. PAIN? AVOID 'BACK-STRENGTHENING' EXERCISES When backache strikes, the advice is now unequivocal: keep moving. But physiotherapist Ashley James says there is one part of the body not to work on at this time the group of muscles people often think will improve their posture, the core muscles around the abdomen, back and pelvis. Core strength is beneficial, but it is not a golden bullet for back pain, he says. In some cases, it can delay recovery. Thats because after an injury or strain, muscles in the back tense or switch on a bit more its the bodys protective mechanism to protect it from further damage. Thats why you walk stiffly. If you then do core work, you may switch on those painful muscles more, which will increase that poor movement and may make things worse, he adds. So core work is good as a prevention to help protect the back from damage, but not as a treatment. Advertisement Even then, he says, its general activity levels that are key. Keeping active will maintain your muscle strength and that is most important for mobility and reducing aches and pains. Posture may have little impact on your long-term chance of developing a bad back, but it does seem to have a bearing on mood. Its common for depressed patients to present with a despondent posture they have stooped shoulders and their head down, says Dr Cosmo Hallstrom, a spokesman for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and a psychiatrist in private practice in Chelsea. Just looking at someones posture can help determine if they are depressed, he explains. Part of the diagnostic process is not just evaluating what patients say, but also looking at their body language. You can have a reasonable idea of someones mood as they walk in the door. Its part of depression to want to hide away, become introspective and stay at home, not interacting with people posture is an extension of that. And he adds that holding yourself in an unnatural, stooped way may lead to aches and pains that exacerbate the depression. It becomes a vicious circle. Research has shown changing posture can improve mood. A study published in the Journal of Behaviour Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry in 2017 found when patients with depression were asked to modify their posture, their mood improved. Researchers asked 61 people with depression to give a speech, either sitting as normal or putting their shoulders back (which were then secured in place with tape). The words they used and the manner of their speech was then assessed. Those with corrected posture seemed less tired and more enthusiastic they spoke more words, indicating that they felt more alert, and they used fewer singular personal pronouns such as I, signalling that they had less self-focus. They displayed less anxiety, too. Why posture might have this effect could be as simple as making people feel better about themselves, which, in turn, may trigger the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain. One of the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy a form of talking therapy used to help those with depression is that if you do things you associate with not being depressed, you become less depressed, says Dr Hallstrom. So, if you slouch and have a depressed manner and you alter your posture and make an effort to look up and keep your shoulders back, it should be associated with an improvement in your mood. He adds: Making an effort to keep your head up and your shoulders back wont cure your depression, but it may play a part in improving it simply by improving how you feel about yourself and the way you present yourself to the world. Ten people are thought to have died in an outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in India. Five people are confirmed to have died from the disease, which is carried by fruit bats, and tests are being done on a further five suspected victims, Indian health officials said today. The incurable virus can be caught from pigs or by people eating fruit or drinking palm wine contaminated by infected bats. It can also be transmitted between people. Officials are warning people about eating fruit they find outdoors, and mangoes bitten by bats were found in the home of three family members who died. Nipah has killed more than 260 people in Malaysia, Bangladesh and India in the past 20 years, according to the World Health Organization. The first known outbreak, in Malaysia in 1998, killed more than 100 people after they contracted the disease from infected pigs. Health authorities across the state are on high alert and have set up medical camps and a control room to tackle the emerging situation. Scroll down for video More than 90 people have been quarantined and nine hospitalised in an outbreak of the Nipah virus, which kills 70 per cent of people who become infected The new outbreak is happening in the state of Kerala in southwest India previous cases have largely been confined to the north-west of the country. Three members of the same family died in Kozhikode (pictured), and bitten mangoes and dead fruit bats were found in a well in their home More than 90 people are in quarantine, nine have been admitted to hospital and more are suspected to have been killed by the virus. Nipah virus is fatal in 70 per cent of cases it causes flu-like symptoms and fever which can progress to swelling in the brain and coma. Lini Puthussery, 31, a nursing assistant and mother-of-two, has been called 'heroic' by authorities after she died after treating an infected patient. Her body was cremated quickly, before her family had a chance to visit, because of fears of the virus spreading. Ms Puthussery's death takes the death toll to ten people, The Times of India reported this morning. The Nipah virus was first discovered in 1998 during an outbreak in Malaysia, and outbreaks have since happened in Singapore, Bangladesh, India and Australia. Heartbreaking note from dying nurse Kerala state's chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, said Puthussery's 'selfless service will be remembered'. In a heart-rending final note Ms Puthussery left for her husband she said: 'I don't think I will be able to see you again. Sorry. Please take care of our children.' This is the first time there has been an outbreak in Karala, a state in southwest India, but there have been past outbreaks elsewhere in the country and in Malaysia and Bangladesh. Despite media reports that ten people have died, officials told AFP final tests had not been completed on more than five deaths. Nine people have been admitted to hospital with symptoms resembling the virus, and one of the nine has tested positive for Nipah. Nipah an 'urgent threat to humanity' The Nipah virus was named by the World Health Organization as one of the ten viruses which pose the most urgent threat to humanity, and are likely to cause an epidemic. The WHO is calling for more research into the lethal virus, for which there is currently no vaccine. People are advised to prevent infection by avoiding infected people or animals, and not drinking date palm sap or palm wine stored openly near palm trees. They should also be cautious about eating fruit found outdoors. Fruit bats are thought to be the primary host of the disease, and to pass it on to pigs, fruit and tree sap, which can then infect people Three members of the same family have died of the virus. Bitten mangoes and dead bats were found in a well in their home in the Kozhikode district, about 750 miles south of Mumbai. U.V. Jose, district collector of Kozhikode, said all government and private hospitals were working in close coordination. 'Health staff are visiting individual households giving them specific instructions including about eating fruits from outside and other precautions,' he said. The neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu has stepped up surveillance in border districts, fearing the spread of Nipah. The virus was first identified during an outbreak in Malaysia in 1998, when over 100 people were reported to have died and one million pigs had to be put down. WHAT IS THE NIPAH VIRUS? The Nipah virus (NiV) is a type of henipavirus, which are naturally held in fruit bats. The virus can cause illness in pigs and humans, and can be spread to humans from animals, infected food and other people with the virus. Symptoms may appear between five and 14 days after becoming infected, and can last up to two weeks. They include: fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation and mental confusion. Symptoms may progress to a coma, and some patients have breathing problems. The virus is thought to be fatal in around 70 per cent of cases. There is no vaccine or cure, but patients may receive supportive treatment to relieve symptoms. Nipah virus infection can be prevented by avoiding exposure to sick pigs and bats in endemic areas and not drinking raw date palm sap. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advertisement That outbreak spread to Singapore, and there have since been human cases in Bangladesh, India and Australia. No cure for the coma-causing virus Nipah virus symptoms which can include fever, headache, drowsiness and confusion usually appear between five and 14 days after contracting the virus and may last for two weeks. However, in serious cases people can progress into a coma within 24 hours of symptoms starting, and some people have breathing problems. There is no treatment for the virus so people receive supportive care to try to relieve their symptoms. Research should be fast-tracked, WHO says Earlier this year, the Nipah virus was included in a list of pathogens for which the WHO says research should be fast-tracked. It was named as one of ten killer viruses that pose the most 'urgent' threat to humanity, as revealed by concerned experts. Ebola and Zika, which both have caused brutal pandemics in the past four years, were named amid fears they could strike again. For the first time ever, 'Disease X' - representing a pathogen currently unknown to scientists - was mentioned by the WHO. Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever, which kills 40 per cent of those it strikes and was recently spotted in Uganda, made its way onto the list. Officials are also concerned about Marburg virus, considered to be one of the most deadly pathogens in existence. It also rocked the African nation in November. The other five lethal diseases mentioned on the list of needing urgent action include: Lassa fever, MERS, SARS, Nipah virus and Rift Valley fever. A mother is devastated after losing her 'mermaid' baby just minutes after she gave birth. The unnamed baby, whose sex was unclear due to its fused legs and 'missing genitals', had a rare condition known as sirenomelia or 'mermaid syndrome', which has no known cause. Disksha Kamble, 25, gave birth naturally on Monday morning at a government-run hospital in Beed in Maharashtra, western India. Mrs Kamble had undergone just one scan during her eight-month pregnancy and therefore only learnt about the baby's condition when she first saw it after giving birth. Her husband Nanoba Kamble, 32, a daily-wage labourer, said: 'My wife and I are shattered with the loss of our child. We have never seen or known a baby like this.' Mermaid syndrome is thought to affect one in every 60,000-to-100,000 births. An unnamed baby, whose sex was unclear due to its fused legs and 'missing genitals', died within minutes of being born with a rare condition known as 'mermaid syndrome' The baby's parents Disksha and Nanoba Kamble (pictured) are 'shattered' by their loss X-rays taken after the baby died show the 'fin-like mass' that developed in the place of legs WHAT IS MERMAID SYNDROME? Sirenomelia, also known as mermaid syndrome, is an extremely rare disorder that causes partial or complete fusion of the legs. It affects one in between 60,000 and 100,000 births. Sufferers may also have gastrointestinal complications and the lack of, or underdeveloped, kidneys. Its cause is unknown. Most sufferers die as newborns due to lung complications and heart defects. Treatment involves surgically separating the legs. Source: National Organization for Rare Disorders Advertisement 'The baby could not survive more than 15 minutes' Mrs Kamble arrived at the hospital with her husband after experiencing labour pains early on Monday morning. The couple lost a child three years ago but have since had a healthy daughter. Dr Sanjay Bansode, a gynaecologist at the hospital, was shocked to discover the baby came out weighing just 3.19lbs with 'fins'. He said: 'It is an extremely rare condition. The mother had arrived at 7am in the morning and by 9am she had delivered the child through natural birth. 'We were anticipating a head or legs but a strange "fin-like" mass came out. 'Everyone of us were shocked to see the baby. My students had never seen something like this before. 'The baby not only had legs fused together and missing genitals but also had other internal anomalies like renal and lungs deformity. 'The baby could not survive more than 15 minutes.' Due to the baby's mother having just one scan, she was unaware of the infant's disorder Its parents, who struggle to make ends meet, are 'devastated' after their baby was born a 'fish' Gynaecologist Dr Sanjay Bansode (pictured) said it could not survive more than 15 minutes This is due to the baby suffering 'internal anomalies like renal and lungs deformity', he said 'Our baby was born like a fish' Speaking of seeing his child for the first time, Mr Kamble said: 'I saw the child after delivery and was shocked to see it had no legs. It was very tiny and the legs were fused. 'We are daily wage labours and somehow make our ends meet. 'After we lost our first child within a day of her birth we went for ultrasounds during our second pregnancy and only went for it once this time. 'We were told the baby had some issues but it was too late and we were prepared for everything. 'But we are devastated and cannot believe how and why our baby was born like a fish.' Bumped elbows and grazed knees are a normal part of growing up for most children. But for two year-old Hayden Esser a rare genetic condition known as 'butterfly disease' means his skin can tear and blister at the slightest touch. Hayden has dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (EB), an incurable condition which causes fragile blistering skin. Sufferers' delicate skin is likened to a butterfly's wings. His father Brandon, 36, spends an hour and a half every morning wrapping Hayden in bandages to cover up the blisters and protect him from further injuries. Despite the constant injuries his parents say Hayden, from Sedalia, Missouri, has a smile on his face every day. Simple activities such as playing with toys or picking up a bottle can cause Hayden's skin to blister, but his parents hope he will be able to start pre-kindergarten soon. There is no cure for EB and treatment is based on relieving symptoms. Scroll down for video Hayden Esser's 'butterfly disease' means skin all over his body is extremely prone to tearing The debilitating genetic disorder means Hayden's father, Brandon, 36, spends an hour-and-a-half every morning covering his son in bandages to try to protect his skin Hayden's skin is particularly prone to blisters in warm weather so his parents try to keep him out of the sun and keep the temperature in the house at 20C. Even eating solid food damages his throat EB also means most foods damage his throat and oesophagus so the 12kg (28lb nearly two stone) toddler has to get his nutrients from baby formula and make up for lost calories with chewy cookies and mashed potato. But even holding the bottle to drink the formula causes his hands to blister. Despite the severity of the blistering, Hayden stays happy and positive for the most part, his parents Brandon and Nicole, 29, say. Hayden's parents Brandon and Nicole (pictured) say that despite the painful and limiting disease he manages to stay positive and 'have a smile on his face every day' Mr Esser, who left his job as an auto parts manager to care for him, said: 'He'll be playing with a small toy and all of a sudden, the skin will come off his hands. 'Sometimes his skin will tear just from me picking him up. 'Eating is a big problem. He has to stay away from most foods because they tear up his esophagus. 'I spend an hour and a half removing his bandages and putting on new ones every day. Sometimes it's hard to get him to sit for that long because he's only two years old.' A rare, debilitating condition Epidermolysis bullosa in general is rare affecting approximately one in 50,000 people, and the form Hayden has is not the most common. The incurable condition only affects one in every 50,000 people, and Hayden's form of the disease is not the most common. Treatment relies on relieving patients' symptoms The lifelong condition dramatically increases the risk of skin cancer and sufferers' life expectancy is just 30 years. But Hayden's parents are hopeful he can try to lead a normal life. They are going to try sending the toddler to pre-kindergarten next year, but understand that homeschooling might be necessary. Hayden's parents hope he will be able to go to school, and will try to send him to pre-kindergarten soon, but accept they may have to homeschool him 'He has a smile on his face every day' Mr Esser said: 'The doctor has said that he is getting all of the nutrients with the formula and that he is at a healthy weight. 'We are going to let him decide if he wants to start eating more foods, but if he damages his esophagus too much, it will need to be dilated. 'He's one strong kid. He has a smile on his face every day, with the exception of when something out of the ordinary happens. 'He hasn't gone to school yet, so we'll have to see if it's something he can do. 'We want him to be able to join in with all the other kids, but if it winds up being too dangerous we'll have to take him out.' Condition will worsen as he gets older Something else the parents are prepared for is the worsening of Hayden's condition. They expect that as he gets older his fingers and toes will fuse together, a symptom that occurs as patients get older. Even eating solid food can damage Hayden's throat and oesophagus, so the two year-old mostly eats baby formula, plus some chewy cookies and mashed potato for extra calories EB affects skin all over patients' bodies and, although there is no cure, one expert says a lot of research is being done and scientists are 'closer than ever' to improving wound healing Mr Esser anticipates that he and his wife will have to care for the toddler for the rest of his life. He said: 'He's most likely going to wind up in a wheelchair and require full-time care. 'While I do want him to outlive us, I don't know who would be around to continue caring for him.' Dr. Lara Wine Lee, an expert dermatologist at the Medical University of South Carolina, says the condition reduces a person's quality of life. Dr Lee said: 'It can shorten lifespan and diminish the quality of life in every way possible. It can cause a lot of pain and a lot of troubles with movement, especially with eating. Hayden's father, Brandon, 36, says he and his wife will probably have to care for their son for his whole life 'It is very difficult for them to be independent. They usually need a lot of help with bandage wrapping and feeding themselves. 'There is no cure, but there are a wide range of wound care treatments available. 'There is a lot of research going on and doctors are working towards clinical trials. 'We're definitely closer than we've ever been to finding more treatments and products that will improve wound healing. An 18 year-old woman from Shropshire is being kept alive by a life support machine after a what she thought was a cold turned out to be life-threatening sepsis. Whitney Martin, a waitress from Telford, Shropshire, is battling for her life in an induced coma after she became deathly ill overnight. She was rushed to hospital when symptoms worsened, after which her heart stopped twice and doctors discovered she has sepsis and heart disease. Whitney's mother, Suzanne Burford, 38, has quit her job as a carer to be by her daughter's side at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester. 'It has just been a living hell and every mother's worst nightmare,' Ms Burford said. But the family are hopeful Ms Martin will make a full recovery after her heart started to beat on its own again which the doctors say is 'a small miracle' and she has been taken off one of the two life support machines. Whitney Martin, 18, was due to start a job as a waitress in a local pub the day after she was taken ill Ms Martin thought she simply had a cold when she was left bed-ridden with flu-like symptoms around three weeks ago. But she was rushed to Princess Royal Hospital in Telford after her condition worsened and her illness began attacking her vital organs on May 4. Ms Burford said: 'It was usual flu-like conditions such as tiredness and being hot and cold and we thought she was just being a bit of a drama queen. 'She was a fit and healthy girl and we never expected what was to come next. 'On the Friday her blood pressure was too low and her temperature was sky high I took one look at her and knew I had to get her to a hospital.' Within 24 hours medics wanted to transfer Ms Martin who had been due to start a job as a waitress at a local pub to a hospital in Birmingham because they thought she might die. Ms Martin pictured with her mother, Suzanne Burford, who has quit her job as a carer and is living in a bungalow on the hospital site to be near her daughter Her family said Ms Martin was a 'fit and healthy girl', and the sudden illness was a total shock However, there were no beds available so she was sent to Manchester, where she was taken straight into intensive care and put onto two life support machines because her heart was failing. Ms Burford added: 'Her heart stopped twice. She technically died twice on the operating table and she only had a 50/50 chance of survival. 'But they did an incredible job and she was put on two life support machines and placed into an induced coma.' Sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, is a rare but serious complication of infections, and if untreated can lead to fatal organ failure. There are around 123,000 cases of sepsis a year in Britain, and about 37,000 people die of the condition. Anyone can develop the infection but those with weak immune systems, serious illnesses or wounds, are more at risk, as well as people who have just had surgery and the very young and old. Ms Martin is showing signs of recovery and doctors said it was 'a small miracle' that her heart had started to beat on its own again without the help of life support but she remains in critical condition Ms Martin is now in an induced coma and relying on a life support machine to breathe for her. She has been diagnosed with myocardiopathy a condition which causes the heart muscle to become enlarged or rigid, making it less able to pump blood. She was placed in a BiVAD machine, an implantable pump designed to help the heart function better when both sides of the heart are failing. She was also hooked up to an ECMO machine, which uses an artificial lung to oxygenate the blood outside the body. Although Ms Martin's condition remains life-threatening, her family remain hopeful she can pull through after she started showing signs of recovery this week. Ms Martin lives at home in Telford with her mother, her brother Luis, 20, and her mother's partner Kevin, 42 Ms Burford, who lives at home in Telford with her daughter, her son Luis, 20, and her partner Kevin Davidson, 42, is now living in a bungalow on the hospital site. She said: 'Whitney is now off one of the machines after her heart started working independently of the BiVAD machine, which the consultant had said is a small miracle. 'We are just hoping for the best now, she has picked up but I could still potentially be here another six, nine or 12 months until after Christmas they are telling me. 'The doctors and nurses have just been amazing and I cannot thank them enough for what they have done for Whitney so far. 'We are just praying she carries on fighting because we've always said Whitney cannot live without me and I can't live without Whitney - she is my little mini me.' Sepsis can be treated in hospital and many people make a full recovery and, although cardiomyopathy cannot be cured, treatment can control symptoms and complications. Ms Martin, pictured with brother Luis, 20, was 'so young and full of life,' her grandmother has said. The family are now 'living day by day' Ms Martin's grandmother, Wendy Burford, added: 'As a family we're living day-by-day as everything is now down to chance. 'It has been such a shock to everyone as Whitney was so young and full of life. We are remaining hopeful that Whitney will pull through and wake up soon. 'Her mother, Susan, has been so strong throughout it all. 'She's had to give up her job in order to care for and visit Whitney in hospital. Manchester is quite a way and affording to travel on a regular basis is tiring and very expensive.' In people with sepsis the body attacks its own organs and tissues. Symptoms include slurred speech, shivering, confusion and severe breathlessness. It can occur in both children and adults and can be life threatening when left undetected. A major London hospital has unveiled plan to replace A&E doctors with robots. From diagnosing cancers to prioritising patients, the AI technology aims to reduce waiting times and ensure critical cases are treated sooner. University College London Hospital (UCLH), in Bloomsbury, London, will pioneer the technology in a bid 'to make services safer, quicker and more efficient.' Professor Bryan Williams, director of research at UCLH's NHS Foundation Trust, claims AI could almost instantly assess a patient in A&E who is breathless and needs an X-ray. This crucial time-saving step may allow patients in life-threatening conditions to be fast tracked for immediate treatment. Scroll down for video A London hospital will use AI technology to replace A&E doctors. The technology will streamline the NHS, reduce waiting times and ensure critical cases are recognised (stock) Hospital reached eight-year low for waiting times Announced this week, the initiative is a partnership between UCLH and the Alan Turing Institute. The first project will focus on improving the hospital's A&E department, which is failing to meet government waiting time targets. In March, only 84.5 per cent of its patients arriving in A&E were seen within the target four hours. This eight-year low is the worst since records began in 2010. In March, only 84.5 per cent of its patients arriving in A&E were seen within the target four hours. This eight-year low is the worst since records began in 2010 'AI will revolutionise healthcare' Professor Williams said the hospital's A&E wait times are an 'indicator' things are wrong throughout the NHS trust chain. He added: 'A&E is a barometer of how the rest of the hospital, and indeed, the wider system is working. 'I can't think of a more exciting time where we have a real opportunity to transform what we do, by grasping some of these innovations. 'The NHS routinely collects data that is analysed to develop research, track performance and measure outcomes but we could do so much more with the information we collect. 'Imagine a world where we could use this data to develop algorithms to rule out diseases, suggest treatment plans or predict behaviour.that is more than possible with the wealth of data we have available.' 'Our performance this year has fallen short of the four-hour wait, which is no reflection on the dedication and commitment of our staff,' said Prof Marcel Levi, UCLH chief executive. '[It's] an indicator of some of the other things in the entire chain concerning the flow of acute patients in and out the hospital that are wrong.' Sir Alan Wilson, chief executive of the Alan Turing Institute, said: 'We believe that data science and AI will revolutionise healthcare.' Although the implementation of AI will make some doctor actions redundant, the goal is to complement, rather than replace, medical experts with the technology. University College London Hospital (UCLH), in Bloomsbury, London, will pioneer the technology in a bid 'to make services safer, quicker and more efficient' (stock) WHY ARE PEOPLE SO WORRIED ABOUT AI? It is an issue troubling some of the greatest minds in the world at the moment, from Bill Gates to Elon Musk. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk described AI as our 'biggest existential threat' and likened its development as 'summoning the demon'. He believes super intelligent machines could use humans as pets. Professor Stephen Hawking said it is a 'near certainty' that a major technological disaster will threaten humanity in the next 1,000 to 10,000 years. They could steal jobs More than 60 percent of people fear that robots will lead to there being fewer jobs in the next ten years, according to a 2016 YouGov survey. And 27 percent predict that it will decrease the number of jobs 'a lot' with previous research suggesting admin and service sector workers will be the hardest hit. As well as posing a threat to our jobs, other experts believe AI could 'go rogue' and become too complex for scientists to understand. A quarter of the respondents predicted robots will become part of everyday life in just 11 to 20 years, with 18 percent predicting this will happen within the next decade. They could 'go rogue' Computer scientist Professor Michael Wooldridge said AI machines could become so intricate that engineers don't fully understand how they work. If experts don't understand how AI algorithms function, they won't be able to predict when they fail. This means driverless cars or intelligent robots could make unpredictable 'out of character' decisions during critical moments, which could put people in danger. For instance, the AI behind a driverless car could choose to swerve into pedestrians or crash into barriers instead of deciding to drive sensibly. They could wipe out humanity Some people believe AI will wipe out humans completely. 'Eventually, I think human extinction will probably occur, and technology will likely play a part in this,' DeepMind's Shane Legg said in a recent interview. He singled out artificial intelligence, or AI, as the 'number one risk for this century'. Musk warned that AI poses more of a threat to humanity than North Korea. 'If you're not concerned about AI safety, you should be. Vastly more risk than North Korea,' the 46-year-old wrote on Twitter. 'Nobody likes being regulated, but everything (cars, planes, food, drugs, etc) that's a danger to the public is regulated. AI should be too.' Musk has consistently advocated for governments and private institutions to apply regulations on AI technology. He has argued that controls are necessary in order protect machines from advancing out of human control Advertisement 'Machines will never replace doctors' Professor Marcel Levi, UCLH chief executive, told The Guardian: 'Machines will never replace doctors, but the use of data, expertise and technology can radically change how we manage our services for the better.' John Radcliffe hospital, Oxford, is using an AI 'doctor' to quickly and accurately diagnose heart disease. Cardiologists can tell if there is a problem from the timing of heartbeat in scans. Professor Paul Leeson taught the AI system how to recognise heart disease by feeding it 1,000 heart scans of patients from the last seven years. Information about whether the patient went on to develop heart problems was also provided. The AI software used this information as a baseline to predict and diagnose the scans of new patients. It is only being used to provide recommendations to doctors, which they can then follow up with their own diagnoses. The technology has already been tested in six cardiology units and the results of a study are due to be published later this year. Support for vaccinations among Americans has fallen 10 percent in the last 10 years, a new survey has found. Most Americans, especially children, get recommended vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the number who are confident in their importance has decreased. About 70 percent said common vaccines, such as for polio and measles, are 'very important', found the poll from Research America and the American Society for Microbiology. This is down from 80 percent who gave the same answer in November 2008 Additionally, only 71 percent of participants said it was 'very important' to have their children vaccinated, a drop from 82 percent in 2008. Support for vaccinations among Americans has fallen 10 percent in the last 10 years with 70 percent saying common vaccines, such as for polio and measles, are 'very important' Mounting distrust has led some parents to not immunize their children, in turn leading to outbreaks of diseases not seen in years, such as measles, whooping cough and mumps When those surveyed were asked how confident they were in the current system for evaluating the safety of vaccines and recommendations for when they should be given, 45 percent said they were 'somewhat confident' and 32 percent said 'very confident'. While the number of those 'very confident' remained the same from 2008, it fell for those 'somewhat confident', which had stood at 53 percent. Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research America, said she doesn't see the results as evidence that people opposing vaccines but rather that they have doubts and questions about them. According to the CDC, more than 90 percent of children under age three have been vaccinated for polio, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), Hepatitis B and chicken pox. And more than 80 percent have received Haemophilus influenzae, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and pneumococcal infection vaccines. However, mounting distrust has led some parents to not immunize their children, in turn leading to outbreaks of diseases not seen in years, such as measles, whooping cough and mumps. According to the CDC, more than 90 percent of children under age three been vaccinated for polio, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), Hepatitis B and chicken pox But only 71 percent of participants said it was 'very important' to have their children vaccinated Experts say that, as diseases have become less common, people don't remember a time from before vaccines were commonplace. 'Because we don't frequently see these diseases anymore, we don't perceive the risk of not getting vaccinated,' says Julie Bettinger, a vaccine safety scientist at BC Children's Hospital, told Today's Parent. 'But the diseases we developed vaccines for - like polio, which killed or crippled thousands of children - were selected precisely because they're so severe.' Despite only less than one percent of children under age two not receiving any vaccinations, public health officials have warned that inoculations not only protect individuals but the community as a whole in what is known as 'herd immunity'. This occurs when the vast majority of a community - between 80 and 95 percent - becomes immune so that, if a disease is introduced, it is unable to spread. Therefore, those who are unable to be vaccinated, including the ill, very young and very old, are protected. Only 45 percent said they were 'somewhat confident' in the current system for evaluating vaccination safety and 32 percent said they were 'very confident' Experts say that, as diseases have become less common, people don't remember a time from before vaccines were commonplace Vaccine skeptics don't just lie among fringe groups but also in the highest offices of power. President Donald Trump has tweeted more than 20 times about how there is a link between vaccines and autism, a claim that has been debunked by scientists. In regards to the vaccination schedule, Trump has stated that he would prefer 'smaller doses over a longer period of time'. In January 2017, he met with Robert F Kennedy Jr, son of former US Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, who has advocated that parents should choose whether or not they want their children immunized. Kennedy told reports at the time that he had been asked to chair a commission to review vaccine safety. But in February, Kennedy told The Guardian he hasn't heard from the White House in six months and there has been 'zero progress' - implying the administration has abandoned its plans for the committee. Elderly patients are being discharged from hospital with potentially-lethal cocktails of drugs. Pensioners are often prescribed up to nine different treatments which can cause severe side-effects when combined. These include dizziness, heart problems and kidney damage and in some cases may prove fatal. Pensioners risk medical problems following their discharge from hospital after Researchers from Brighton and Sussex Medical School and Kings College London found a third of pensioners suffered medication harm as a result of the drugs they were given but 52 per cent of the complaints suffered could be prevented. The elderly are often prescribed statins, blood pressure pills, treatments to prevent bone thinning and iron supplements. In the largest study of its kind, researchers monitored the progress of 1,280 patients in the eight weeks after they were sent home from hospital. A total of 37 per cent of patients suffered some form of medication harm of which 81 per cent were deemed to be serious. Four of the patients, who had an average age of 82, even died. The researchers calculated that the cost of medication harms to the NHS was almost 400million a year, due to patients being readmitted back to hospital. Dr Nikesh Parekh, clinical research fellow in geriatrics at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, criticised todays over-medicalised culture. He said: There was a time when medicines were used symptomatically. But weve moved into an era of chronic use of medicines without strong evidence of benefit. Dr Nikesh Parekh, pictured, of Brighton and Sussex Medical School said people are being 'over medicated' without strong evidence of benefit The average patient on our cohort was on nine medicines. Thats significant. We dont know how these are all interacting with each other. But we do know that over an eight-week period following hospital discharge, this is causing one in three harm. The research, published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, also found that 11 per cent of incidents were caused by patients not taking the drugs as prescribed. One died from a stroke because they stopped taking the blood-thinning drug, warfarin. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK said: Modern medicines bring huge benefits and are essential in helping people stay well. However this report is also a shocking reminder that medication needs to be carefully managed, especially when someone is taking several different ones. The Department of Health and Social Care said it was accelerating the rollout of a system to monitor higher risk prescribing, and deploying clinical pharmacists to GP practices and care homes, to improve medicines safety. Virgin Media has been overcharging customers early termination fees on contracts for its broadband, phone and telephone services, Ofcom has provisionally concluded. The watchdog launched a formal investigation into the telecoms giant last summer into the fairness of its terms and conditions - specifically its charges for ending a contract early - after receiving scores of complaints from customers. The probe included circumstances when customers had to end a contract because they were moving home into an area Virgin Media doesn't supply. Overcharging: Ofcom has provisionally concluded that Virgin Media has been unfairly charging customers a termination fee. Pictured, a Virgin ad with Usain Bolt and David Tennant Ofcom said it had 'reasonable grounds to believe' that Virgin contravened rules by setting and charging customers early termination fees which were too high - they are often set at 240. It also added that Virgin required customers moving house to an area within its network to sign up to a new fixed term contract or pay the fees and failed to take action to ensure that its conditions and procedures for contract termination did not act as disincentives to its customers against changing provider. It also believed Virgin failed to publish clear and up-to-date information about the early termination fees on its website. The investigation looked at the charges over the period between September 1 2016 and September 11 last year. Ofcom said it aimed to reach its final decision by the end of summer. All providers must ensure that their conditions or procedures for customers wanting to terminate a contract do not act as a disincentive for switching provider. Complaints surfaced on various forums from Virgin Media customers who had been charged into the hundreds of pounds in early disconnection fees after signing up to set term contracts, but later finding they needed to move house part way through the agreement. This is Money has also received dozens of complaints in recent years about unfair termination fees. Josh Green was moving home when Virgin told him because it didn't serve his new area, he would be required to pay a termination fee. Furthermore, this week, we have been contacted by a reader who has been hit with a 240 termination fee because Virgin doesn't serve the area he is moving to. He says he has been happy with the service and would have continued with Virgin. He says he signed a new 12 month contract with Virgin Media a month ago but told staff on the telephone he was moving house. He claims they never asked where he was moving to check whether they supplied that area - and as a solution, have offered a 40 discount, still meaning a fee of 200. HIT BY A TERMINATION FEE? Have you been hit by an unfair termination fee by Virgin Media, or another telecoms firm? Get in touch: editor@thisismoney.co.uk Virgin runs its own cable network, which means that customers can only take their contracted service with them if their new house is also connected. An Ofcom spokeswoman said: 'Having assessed all available evidence, we have reasonable grounds to believe that Virgin Media has broken our rules by overcharging people wishing to leave their contracts early. 'Virgin Media now has an opportunity to formally respond to our provisional decision. We will take any further representations the company makes into account, before making our final ruling.' A Virgin Media spokesman said: 'We have received Ofcom's provisional findings and we will now review them thoroughly. 'We make it clear to customers that early disconnection fees can apply and we also offer 30-day rolling contracts for those that do not want to sign up for a minimum period, such as 12 months, and need more flexibility.' Nationwide Building Society saw a slump in mortgage lending and lower profits last year as it faced 'fierce competition' from rivals. The building society also sounded a warning that it expects a subdued housing market to make things challenging over the coming year. Mortgage lending fell by 34 per cent to 5.8billion in the year to 4 April, from 8.8billion the previous financial year, partly because of a previously planned reduction in buy-to-let lending following last year's tax changes. That contributed to a decline in bottom line profits, which fell by 7.3 per cent to 977million. This is the second year running that Nationwide has posted falling profits. 'Fierce competition': Nationwide BS saw a 34% decline in net mortgage lending The mutual's chief executive Joe Garner said it expected the mortgage market to remain 'extremely competitive'. 'We anticipate modest growth in our core product markets, reflecting the outlook for the economy as a whole,' he added. 'With employment growth expected to slow and pressure on household budgets fading only gradually, mortgage lending is likely to rise at a fairly pedestrian pace.' Savings deposits also grew more slowly, up by 3.5billion against growth of 5.8billion the previous year. But it said it continued to try to remain competitive, giving members a 560million boost by offering better rates, fees and incentives. Chief financial officer Mark Rennison said: 'Nationwide continues to trade strongly in spite of intense competition in our core markets, in a number of cases choosing to protect value for members through more competitive pricing rather than taking the opportunity to enhance margin.' The lender forecast UK economic growth to remain modest at between 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent over the next two years. Looking ahead, the lender said it was doing a review of its operations and planned to invest more in technology. It also intends to expand into business banking if it wins some of the funding set aside by Royal Bank of Scotland to boost competition in the market. RBS has been asked by the government and the European Commission to hand out the funds as compensation for its 45.5billion bailout during the financial crisis. The mutual also revealed it will launch a retirement interest-only mortgage this year. Penny Wong allegedly took Budget papers from a secure lockup ahead of the official release time, before refusing to come out when security arrived to claim them back. Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen and Labor MP Jenny Macklin were accused of being 'argumentative' with staff at the same lockup - before Senator Wong arrived and allegedly took the budget books, The Daily Telegraph reported. The two ALP members were reportedly prevented from leaving the official lockup with the papers in tow at 7pm, half an hour before the strict embargo was lifted. Three female officials are said to have reported Mr Bowen and Ms Macklin to senior Treasury staff over the confrontation. Scroll down for video Labor Senator Penny Wong is accused of taking confidential Budget documents before Treasury deadlines Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen was accused of being 'argumentative' with Treasury members of staff just half an hour before Senator Wong turned up to take the documents Jenny Macklin (centre) was accused by three members of Treasury staff of being 'confrontational' when speaking to them with Mr Bowen Security teams were called in but the politicians defended themselves, saying the government was breaching protocol by not allowing them to take the documents 30 minutes before the deadline - as they claimed they had done before. Senator Wong reportedly then turned up and took the documents before returning to her own office. She then allegedly refused to come out when the head of Treasury Security arrived to retrieve the documents. A spokesman for Senator Wong told Daily Mail Australia she was never asked to come out of her office. Government sources familiar with the heated conversation in the Opposition lockup claimed Mr Bowen and Ms Macklin's conduct towards the young women was 'unwarranted'. Treasury was trying to enforce strict rules that the Budget is embargoed until 7.30pm and no one can leave the lockup zone with the documents until then. MPs have permission to leave at 7pm to attend Parliament, but according to these Treasury rules they cannot take their documents with them. Ms Macklin is understood to have told the officials: 'I know the rules.' Labor rejects that Senator Wong, Ms Macklin or Mr Bowen behaved in anything other than a polite and respectful manner. When Senator Wong slipped out of the lockup with the Budget papers at around 7pm, the Treasury Security head went to her office to retrieve the documents. Mr Bowen argued that the government had acted against convention in not allowing them to take the documents Treasury would not comment on whether it had launched a formal investigation into the security breach. Speaking outside Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday morning, Mr Bowen described the allegations as 'just wrong' and labelled the accusations as a 'desperate attempt at a distraction by the Government'. 'Senator Wong did not smuggle out the Budget papers from the Budget lock up. She carried them out under her arm as she was entitled to do, as every Member of the Opposition has done for as long as anybody can remember,' he said. 'It is the case that Treasury officials stopped Jenny Macklin and I and asked us to leave the Budget papers behind. 'This was the first time this has ever happened and we did question that decision but the conversation was respectful, the Treasury officials were doing their job.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Senator Wong and Ms Macklin for comment. Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy (pictured) received racist mail in the post Labour MP David Lammy who spoke out against the Windrush scandal has received racist abuse in the post telling him him should 'paddle back to n*****land and eat a banana'. The racist card was sent to the Tottenham MP's constituency office unsigned. Lammy, who has a history of outing abusive trolls on social media, took to Twitter to post a photo of the card sent to him by an anonymous member of the public. 'Love to receive fan mail,' he wrote. 'Whoever wrote this and sent it to my office and was too cowardly to even sign their name on it, can you at least please note that I was born in the Whittington Hospital, North London, N19.' 'And if you think that this will scare me into silence, it won't.' Lammy has been outspoken on issues such as the Grenfell Tower fire and critical of the current Conservative government. The card itself was emblazoned with the words 'It's Party Time' and carried a picture of a monkey wearing a party hat a badge saying 'Go banana'. The abusive card (pictured) was posted to Lammy's office and was unsigned Only last month he received an abusive letter branding him 'vile' and telling him to 'go back to the country of your forbears'. This is despite him being born in north London. The letter, sent in late April, read: 'For God's sake man stop your vile and obscene speeches knocking this country down. 'Be grateful that we have taken you in as a black man and given you a life here, as we have done for all those black people who came to live here. 'Be grateful man for the country that gave you a life and stop knocking it. Otherwise, go back to your country of your forbears and lets be rid of you.' It added: 'If you cannot say good about us, then go back, it's as simple as that.' Addressing Mr Lammy as Dave the card drew comparison between the politician and a monkey The Labour MP also tweeted out that letter, pointing out that he was born in Archway, north London. Lammy said: 'I have just received a letter telling me to be 'grateful' as a black man for all 'we have done for those black people who came to live here' or 'go back to where ever you came from'. 'I was born in the Whittington Hospital the son of Windrush migrants. And I will speak for them.' The barrage of hate comes in the wake of the Windrush scandal which saw Amanda Rudd resign as Home Secretary. Mr Lammy has led the condemnation of ministers for the scandal, which has seen immigrants lose their jobs, homes and pushed to the brink of suicide. The letter was sent on April 16 - the same day Mr Lammy made a speech in the House of Commons on the fiasco branding it a 'day of national shame'. And he blamed Theresa May for the scandal, saying it was a direct result of her policy of introductory a 'hostile environment' for illegal immigrants when she was Home Secretary. Jeffrey Grenier, 25, from Manchester, New Hampshire pleaded guilty to felony theft on Monday and was sentenced to a year in jail for stealing from a GoFundMe page A man has been sentenced to jail after he admitted that he stole money from a GoFundMe page set up to pay for the funeral expenses of a stabbing victim in New Hampshire. 25-year-old Jeffrey Grenier from Manchester pleaded guilty to felony theft on Monday and was sentenced to a year in jail, according to WMUR-TV. The fund raised more than $6,000 for Sabrina Galusha, who was stabbed to death last year. Prosecutors said Grenier took $5,000 out of the account to buy a car. Grenier's defence attorney Brian Lee told the court that his client was dealing with 'depression and anxiety in a very difficult and hostile work environment'. 'He made a terrible decision,' Mr Lee said. Mark Galusha, the victim's father, said the family was satisfied with the sentence. Grenier also was ordered to pay back the money. Mr Galusha also said in court that 'the deception was inexcusable'. 'We tried to work very kindly with this gentleman and he just lied to us all the way through,' he said. Sabrina Galusha was fatally stabbed in Concord on the evening of May 30, 2017, outside Penacook Place Apartments at 36 Pinehurst St, according to the attorney general's office A spokesman for GoFundMe says it has compensated the family for the funds they were supposed to receive from the original campaign. Sabrina Galusha was fatally stabbed in Concord on the evening of May 30, 2017, outside Penacook Place Apartments at 36 Pinehurst St, according to the Concord Monitor citing the New Hampshire attorney general's office. The father of teen who died in a car crash in April took his son's girlfriend to her high school prom so that she wouldn't miss out on the event. It was supposed to be Carter Brown putting on the corsage and doing funny poses in photos with his date for senior prom. His father, Robert Brown, instead took his place, one month after the Pennsylvania teen died in a car crash. Scroll down for video Robert Brown (pictured) took his late son Carter Brown's girlfriend Kaylee Suders to her high school prom one month after Carter died in a car accident on the way home to surprise her Sunder said that she had not planned on going to the prom after Carter died, but that she changed her mind once Robert asked if he could take her so she wouldn't miss the event Robert took Carter's girlfriend, Kaylee Suders, to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania's James Buchanan High School event Saturday, because he said he knew his son would've still wanted Suders to go to the prom. Carter was heading home from Indiana State University April 15 to surprise Suders, his girlfriend of more than a year, when his car crossed into the opposite lane and was struck head on. The 19-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. Suders said she didn't want to attend prom after Carter's death, but changed her mind when Robert, who had permission from the school, asked to accompany her to the event about a week after the accident. Carter's mother, Kelly Brown (center), said that Sunders (left) is part of the Brown family Before going to the prom, Sunders and Robert went to dinner at the same T.G.I. Friday's where Suders and Carter went on their first date Sunders and Carter had been dating for more than a year. Carter was driving home from college when his car crossed into the opposite lane and was struck head on 'My son was a sweet, caring kid, and Kaylee is very sweet, too, and she is a part of our family,' Robert told the Centre Daily Times. 'When the passing topic of prom came up, I kept thinking my son would want her to go. That prompted me to get the ball rolling.' 'I didn't have to think about it,' she said. 'I definitely said "yes."' The pair celebrated the event with a dinner beforehand at the same T.G.I. Friday's where Suders and Carter went on their first date. Robert's wife, Kelly, said the whole experience speaks to how much Suders is still part of the family. Toys R Us has launched a fire sale after falling into voluntary administration just months after the US and UK retail giant's collapse. There has never been a better time to score massive savings on children's products and toys with scooters for just $20 from $25, $150 slashed off car seats and 25 per cent off Lego. Savings range from 20 - 60 per cent, with a number of 'buy one get one free' deals running for water bottles and plastic Tupperware. The store has launched a fire sale which includes half-price lego and big savings on children's products There has never been a better time to scoop up massive savings on children's products and toys with scooters for just $20 Play Doh sets are being advertised at just $14.99 and some children's play sets a remarkable $10. Dolls, action figures, stuffed toys and sport balls have been massively reduced as the 'ultimate destination for kids, big and small' prepares to be taken under independent management. 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. Featured savings on selected Lego sets are advertised at 25 per cent off (pictured) Now is the time to shop for Christmas stocking fillers like fidget spinners which will set parents back only $4.99 Toys R Us Australia has launched their fire sale which includes discounts as much as $150 off car seats The company operates 44 retail stores across Australia and employs about 700 permanent staff. 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. Toys 'R' Us announced in March it would sell or close all of its U.S and UK stores 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. Toys R Us biggest bargains: An impressive 25 per cent saving on selected Lego sets Fidget spinners will set parents back only $4.99 A trendy scooter is just $20 An award-winning car seat has dropped from $684.96 to $519.96 Play Doh sets for just $14.99 Advertisement '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. 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. An elderly couple who were together for over 60 years died just hours apart on the same day. On May 14, New Zealand couple Peter and Ruth Bedford passed away just nine hours apart. Mr Bedford was 86 and Mrs Bedford was 83. New Zealand couple Peter (pictured right) and Ruth Bedford (pictured left) died just nine hours apart on May 14, after being married for over 60 years following their 1957 marriage In his youth, Peter emigrated to New Zealand as a '10 pound pom' and met Ruth, from Wellington, at a dance in Auckland. The couple wed on December 30, 1957 and were inseparable for over 60 years. The pair moved to Kaikohe in 1980. Ruth worked as a law clerk and Peter was employed as a caretaker at the Northland College, working until he was 80 years old. Mr and Mrs Bedford enjoyed bush walking, music and concerts together. 'It's good they went together,' daughter Caroline Bedford told Stuff NZ. 'They would have been completely lost without each other.' The devoted couple moved to Kaikohe, New Zealand in 1980 and are survived by three children and two grandchildren (stock image) Peter Bedford was admitted to hospital on Saturday evening. 'I think Mum decided he wasn't coming back,' said Caroline. 'She died at 10am on Monday morning and I got a message to Dad. He followed her about nine hours later,' said Caroline. Granddaughter Cadence Bedford, 31, told the New Zealand Herald that her grandfather was admitted to hospital on Saturday evening. 'It's good they went together,' daughter Caroline Bedford told Stuff NZ . 'They would have been completely lost without each other' (stock image) 'We had a feeling she [Ruth] decided he wasn't coming back,' she said. Cadence Bedford said that it was 'a beautiful thing' for her grandparents to pass away on the same day. The couple are survived by three children, Michael, Simon and Caroline, and two grandchildren. Their funeral will be held in Kaikohe on Wednesday. A woman who was tricked out of thousands of dollars after she received a fake call from somebody pretending to be from the tax office has spoken out about how you can avoid the scam. Mona Jafari was convinced she had received a call from the Australian Tax Office. The IT specialist said she was left a voicemail claiming she owed a huge tax debt and her passport had been frozen. Scroll down for video Mona Jafari (pictured) was convinced she had received a call from the Australian Tax Office and her passport had be frozen 'This is Edward Hoffman, the very second you receive this message just give me a call back,' the voicemail said. The call suggested a deal could be struck - if she paid $3,000 immediately, everything would be fine. 'I said to myself, "wow I feel like a criminal",' she told Seven News. Ms Jafari followed the prompts left on her voicemail and transferred $3000 to what she believed was an ATO account. Ms Jafari said the debt would be cleared if she paid $3000 immediately to a particular account linked with the 'Australian Tax Office' It wasn't until the scammer called back claiming she needed to transfer more, it clicked something was wrong. After being fooled by the fraudsters, Ms Jafari has warned others to just hang up the phone. 'Hang up the phone and find the number and call back,' Ms Jafari said. After being fooled by the fraudsters, Ms Jafari has warned others to just hang up the phone and not hand out any personal details According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investment scams are the most effective claiming more than $64 million, while dating and romance scams come second at $42 million. Latest figures from the ACCC have suggested each successful scam claims $6500. While other Australians have lost over a million to the fraudsters. Successful scammers have been known to hide behind a trusted source such as the Australian Tax Office. Last year Australian's lost $340 million to scammers, $40 million more than 2016. Experts from the ACCC advise to never give out personal information, financial bank account information or credit card information. Rules on police chasing crooks are being changed to give officers more confidence to pursue violent moped criminals who throw off their helmets. Ministers want to smash the myth that officers cannot chase helmetless riders in case there is an accident and the thugs are killed or suffer major injuries. Police Minister Nick Hurd acted amid concerns police were finding themselves in the dock over high-speed chases as they can be prosecuted for dangerous or careless driving like any other motorist. This motorbike gang was seen riding around London attempting a smash and grab in Knightsbridge Under Government proposals published today, the rules will be tweaked to recognise police drivers high level of training. It comes after the Daily Mail highlighted how gangs of masked thugs as young as 14 use stolen scooters for their speed and manoeuvrability and because police are often reluctant to give chase. Last year, 23,500 scooter-related crimes were committed in London an average of 64 a day. Police claim they are hindered by current rules which state they can chase marauding moped and motorbike gangs only if the safety risk to the crooks is proportionate to the crime. Officers are following an unwritten health and safety rule that means their career is at risk if they endanger thugs. A scourge of pavement pirates on bikes have threatened shoppers with machetes, ram-raided stores for jewellery and designer goods worth millions, and hurled acid. Mr 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. Under existing laws, all the emergency services are exempt from speed limit, traffic light and sign violations when on a 999 call. However, for other road traffic laws they are treated the same as members of the public, including the law on careless and dangerous driving. CCTV footage shows a moped-riding gang using a battering ram to smash their way into one Three store It means that a police pursuit driver chasing a criminal who was involved in an accident would face the same test as a motorist driving to the supermarket for a pint of milk were they careful and competent? Even if they escape prosecution, officers can be investigated for gross misconduct and sacked. Police who have faced charges after pursuing moped criminals sometimes have to wait years before having their names cleared. New laws would require an officer to drive to the standard of a careful and competent police driver of a similar level of training and skill. They will also be given greater protection if they use tactics such as hard stops, where drivers halt a suspect vehicle. The north London borough of Islington has had 3,587 moped crimes this year, with adjoining boroughs of Camden and Haringey experiencing almost 9,000 Ministers believe the changes should cover police response driving, such as when officers are called to a terrorist incident, as well as pursuits. There were around 10,000 police pursuits and 500,000 response drives in England and Wales in 2016-17. The Government is also proposing to make clear in law that a suspect is responsible for their own decision to drive dangerously and blame should not be attached to the pursuing officer. Police Federation spokesman Tim Rogers said: 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. Last year four officers were cleared of gross misconduct over tthe death of Henry Hicks, 18, after his stolen scooter crashed into cars in London as he was being followed by police cars in 2014. He was found with seven bags of skunk cannabis. Ice, cocaine, steroids, white powder and nearly $800,000 in cash have been seized by police during dramatic raids in Sydney's south-west. Strike Force Boorara detectives investigating the supply of 'ice' and cocaine executed four search warrants with help from local police. Police raided a home in Kingsford and found one kilogram of cocaine, $760,000 cash and drug equipment. Police raided three homes in Sydney where they found all the drugs, cash (pictured), white powder and drug equipment Police found a kilogram of cocaine and $770,000 in Kingsford in Sydney's South Police seized a hydraulic press, white powder, more than $15,000 cash, mobile phones, documents and clothing at homes in Mascot and Rosebery At separate homes in Mascot and Rosebery, police seized a hydraulic press, more than $15,000 cash, mobile phones, documents and clothing on Thursday, May 10. Details of the raids were released on Tuesday. Police executed search warrants 45 minutes later at Rockdale and Pagewood properties and found 30 MDA tablets, steroids, cannabis, cash and mobile phones. Two men were arrested at properties in Rosebery and Mascot and taken to local police stations. Strike Force Boorara detectives investigating the supply of 'ice' and cocaine in Sydney's Eastern suburbs executed four search warrants with help from local police A 22-year-old man was charged with two drug offences, participating in a criminal group and contributing to criminal activity A 22-year-old man was charged with two drug offences, participating in a criminal group and contributing to criminal activity. He was granted conditional bail to appear at the Downing Centre Court on Thursday June 14. A 26-year-old man was charged with three drug offences and 'knowingly directing activities of a criminal group. He was refused bail to appear at the same court on Thursday July 12. Police and detectives are continuing to investigate. A Republican senator who once questioned the president's 'stability' and called his White House an 'adult day care center' was still attractive enough to the Trump administration to be offered a post-retirement job of ambassador to Australia. He said no. Trump extended the gig to Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, but the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Monday he turned the position down. 'At the end of the day, I just felt like it wasn't the right fit and I still had work to do in the Senate,' Corker said in a telephone interview. Scroll down for videos Sen. Bob Corker turned down an offer to be the U.S. ambassador to Australia after crossing swords with President Donald Trump for much of last year Despite blasting 'Liddle' Corker as a lightweight who 'couldn't get elected dog catcher,' Trump wanted to send him to Canberra Corker's anti-Trump bluster reached its zenith last year when he mocked the White House as 'an adult day care center' Corker slammed Trump last August following the president's divisive comments in the wake of a race riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, saying that the commander-in-chief had 'not yet been able to demonstrate the stability, nor some of the competence, that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful.' By October the president was claiming Corker 'begged' for a re-election endorsement and wanted to be secretary of state, but that his pleas fell on deaf ears. Weeks later, when Corker suggested he might vote against a broad tax cut package favored by the White House, Trump mocked the diminutive lawmaker as 'Liddle Bob' and called him 'incompetent' before claiming he 'couldn't get elected dog catcher in Tennessee.' Corker didn't take it lying down. 'It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning,' he tweeted. Trump gave as good as he got, claiming the 'incompetent' Corker begged for his re-election endorsement and then announced his retirement when he refused The United States has not had an ambassador to Australia, a key U.S. ally in the Pacific, since September 2016. The country is an important U.S. partner on issues ranging from China's military expansionism and North Korea's nuclear program to the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan. Trump in February picked U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris to be his top diplomat in Canberra, but instead nominated Harris this month to be ambassador to South Korea, another long-vacant post. Corker, 65, has announced his intention to retire from the Senate when his second six-year term ends in December. A former businessman and mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Corker has had an up-and-down relationship with Trump. He campaigned with the then-Republican nominee in 2016 and was considered a potential vice president or secretary of state. He claimed he and Trump have reconciled, and they speak regularly. Corker said he still has work to do in the Senate: 'Right now we're kind of sprinting toward the finish line, if you will.' He said Trump offered him the position three or four weeks ago. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Corker said he has never been to Australia, but added: 'Everything I know about it is spectacular,' and praised Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, with whom he has worked. He said he was open to serving in another 'challenging' position at some point, if the opportunity arose. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to make their first official visit to Australia by the end of the year with a tour of country towns...including Bathurst. Prince Harry and his glamorous new wife Meghan are reportedly scheduled to stop in the New South Wales central west town and a Hunter Valley vineyard. The NSW government is already liaising with Kensington Palace in London about a regional itinerary, after the glamorous couple make an appearance in Sydney at October's Invictus Games for injured servicemen and women, News Corp reports. Scroll down for video The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to make their first official visit to Australia by the end of the year with a tour of country towns Prince Harry and his glamorous new wife Meghan are reportedly scheduled to stop over at Bathurst, in the New South Wales central west, and a Hunter Valley vineyard Bathurst, 200km west of Sydney, is a former gold and coal mining town with 35,000 people that famously produced a train driver turned Labor prime minister, Ben Chifley, during the 1940s. Located on the western side of the Blue Mountains, it is also home to Charles Sturt University, whose graduates include television personality Andrew Denton and Sydney breakfast radio queen Amanda Keller. Every year, the town's Mount Panorama raceway attracts crowds from across Australia for the Bathurst 1000 touring car race, which was where the late Peter Brock became a household name, winning the event nine times during the 1970s and 1980s. The V8 Supercars race is scheduled to be held in the first week of October 2018, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due to visit the town. Full security planning is already underway, as the royals make plans to visit Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga at the end of the year. The NSW government is already liaising with Kensington Palace about a regional itinerary, after the glamorous couple make an appearance in Sydney at October's Invictus Games Palace aides are promising that the second half of this year will be 'incredibly busy' with official visits. The couple have already announced that they are delaying their honeymoon to return to work the week after their nuptials. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge waited three years to visit Australia as a married couple, with Prince William and his wife Kate touring Down Under in April 2014 when Prince George was almost nine months old. Prince Harry looks set to visit country towns in NSW which his older brother didn't get around to seeing with his wife Kate four years ago as they stopped over in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Uluru and Adelaide. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, in April visited Wagga Wagga in south NSW, en route to the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Prince Harry and Meghan's visit to Bathurst would arguably be the most anticipated royal visit to the New South Wales central west since Full security planning is already underway, as the royals make plans to visit Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga at the end of the year, with an October stop in the Hunter Valley However, the Duke and Duchess's visit to Bathurst would arguably be the most anticipated royal visit to inland NSW since 1992, when the Queen and Prince Philip stopped over in Dubbo to inspect the Taronga Western Plains Zoo. The Duke of Sussex's father, Prince Charles, was recently nominated at the next head of the Commonwealth, so it is hoped Harry and Miss Markle will boost the popularity of the royals in a country where many voters are in favour of a republic. A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said they had a packed itinerary for the end of 2018. 'They are already planning for all the work thats happening in the second half of the year which is going to be incredibly busy,' he said. The only major barrier to the October trip will be if the couple, who have made no secret of their desire to start a family, find themselves expecting. A paramedic has penned an emotional letter calling for stronger laws to protect emergency services workers. Stacey Heaney, an advanced life support paramedic from Melbourne, spoke out about being ambushed by a knife-wielding man and warned violence is increasing. Ms Heaney said she shared the Facebook post about the incident, which happened a year ago in Tarneit in the city's western suburbs, in the hopes of changing laws. Stacey Heaney (pictured), an advanced life support paramedic from Melbourne, told of being ambushed by knife-wielding attacker, and warned violence is increasing A paramedic has penned an emotional letter (pictured) calling for stronger legal protection of emergency services workers Ms Heaney said she shared the Facebook post about the incident, which happened a year ago in Tarneit in the city's western suburbs, in the hopes of changing laws (pictured is an ambulance with a message protesting attacks on paramedics) During her four years as a paramedic Ms Heaney has been verbally abused, threatened and even spat on, but the attack changed her view of her job, she said. 'It was a dark winter night and my partner and I were called to assist an intoxicated person lying in a street,' Ms Heaney wrote. 'We parked our truck and began walking towards the patient when a bystander frantically ran down the street screaming "it's a trap leave now they attack emergency services all the time!! They have a knife!!" 'At that point the patient jumped up and started charging us trying to punch me in the face.' The letters were written amid public outrage about two women who successfully appealed jail terms for viciously bashing a paramedic in 2016 (pictured is Amanda Warren) Drunk mothers Amanda Warren, 33, and Caris Underwood (pictured), 20, had their jail terms quashed last week and were given community correction orders instead Ms Heaney and her partner were forced to hide in their truck while waiting for police to save them from the assailant, who was trying to break inside. The man was never charged, Ms Heaney said, because the paramedics were not hurt and the incident was a 'regular occurrence'. 'This is just one of the many stories of violence we face in our workplace which is happening more frequently,' Ms Heaney wrote. 'That is why proper laws in place is so important to me and my colleagues so that it acts as a deterrent. Ms Heaney's letter followed a similar post a day earlier by Steff Dewhurst (pictured), who told about being attacked and subjected to vile rape threats by a patient 'With recent events I fear these assaults will increase as the courts do not protect us. 'It is not okay to assault emergency services! Time to open up communication about how to protect emergency services!' Ms Heaney's letter followed a similar post a day earlier by Steff Dewhurst, who told about being attacked and subjected to vile rape threats by a patient. The letters were written amid public outrage about two women who successfully appealed jail terms for viciously bashing a paramedic in 2016. Drunk mothers Amanda Warren, 33, and Caris Underwood, 20, had their jail terms quashed last week and were given community correction orders instead. In response to the outcry over the County Court decision the Victorian government has proposed a reworking of mandatory sentencing laws, The Australian reported. In response to the outcry over the County Court decision the Victorian government has proposed a reworking of mandatory sentencing laws (pictured is an ambulance with a message protesting attacks on paramedics) Attacks on emergency services workers will be reclassified to require custodial sentences. The move came after Police Association of Victoria boss Wayne Gatt and Steve McGhie, the Ambulance Employees Association of Victoria head met premier Steve Andrews. The proposed laws would see those who assault emergency services workers given a mandatory six-month sentence, even if they were drunk or on drugs. Mr Gatt said confrontations between the public and emergency services were increasing, and more needed to be done to protect them. 'There's only so much governments can do, people have to take personal responsibility for their actions and that is what this is about,' he said. Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle as she married Prince Harry on May 19 Her Majesty, like the Lord, works in mysterious ways. You would never catch her expressing an opinion in public but she has her own way of making her views clear. So it is perhaps no coincidence that the Queen saw fit to confer upon Meghan Markle the title of Duchess of Sussex on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Harry. After all, there is no better county in Britain more suited to this most politically correct of new royals. It plays host to Brighton and Lewes, spiritual homes to those members of the liberal intelligentsia for whom Hampstead and Islington have become a trifle too reactionary. So what better title to confer on the couple who have just staged the most woke wedding in royal history. For those unfamiliar with this fashionable expression, woke denotes a person whose sensibilities are perfectly attuned to the modern way of thinking. That is to say, someone who is rigorously respectful of individuals life choices and cultural traditions, scrupulously virtuous in both thoughts and deed and who sees each new day as an opportunity to spread the gospel of inclusivity and diversity. Its fair to say that the Royal Family has never been terribly woke. Injustice Sound asleep and snoring loudly might be a better way to describe their general attitude to political correctness, especially in the Duke of Edinburghs case. But Meghan and Harry are here to change all that, and their wedding was only the beginning. Less than 24 hours after saying her wedding vows, a biography of the Duchess of Sussex was put up on the royal website, underlining the selfless nature of her existence and her burning desire to oppose injustice in all its forms. Above all, it cites her keen awareness of social issues and tells us she is proud to be a woman and a feminist. It also speaks of her lifelong commitment to social justice and womens empowerment. These are all deep preoccupations in the mind of the new duchess, the website informs us. But then we kind of knew that already, did we not? After all, Meghan and Harry seem to have spent the entire period of their engagement proselytising on such right-on issues. Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, center, in Windsor Castle surrounded by their little loved ones. (From left 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 Meghan Markle's official page launched on the Kensington Palace website says she will continue with her charity work And for anyone who had not yet cottoned on to Meghans Mission, Saturdays wedding ceremony will have made it crystal clear. There was the invitation to a former gang leader among 2,000 ordinary guests invited to the wedding itself. And there was the request that instead of wedding gifts, donations could be given among other worthy recipients to a charity that empowers women in urban slums. Meghan and Harrys big day was, as much as anything, an exercise in making sure the entire world knew exactly how much they cared about everyone as well as each other. Everything about it was scrupulously politically correct, from the hand- embroidered flowers on her veil (representing all 53 countries of the Commonwealth) and the choice of a non-polluting electric battery-powered car (albeit worth a very uninclusive 350,000) in which Harry drove them to the after-party at Frogmore House, to the dress itself, a 200,000 creation designed by the first British woman to head a Paris couture house. Even the flowers were locally sourced. As if that werent enough, Meghan took herself down the aisle (an audacious look-at-me move which is apparently a feminist triumph), succumbing only briefly to tradition to take Prince Charless arm though note that he was not giving her away and wrote and delivered her own speech at the reception. But perhaps the strongest statement of all was the people in St Georges Chapel, the guests and performers. The American preacher Michael Curry who, with his iPad and Episcopal passion, blew away the cobwebs; the brilliant young cellist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who held us all spellbound during the signing of the register; the wonderful Kingdom Choir gospel ensemble, led by Karen Gibson. An official photograph released by Kensington Palace shows Meghan and Harry surrounded by their loved ones, including the Queen and Prince Philip Admire Not to mention all the representatives from various charities espoused by the royal couple. And then the celebrities, there for their roles as charity do-gooders as much as their glamour: David Beckham, Oprah Winfrey, Elton John, Amal Clooney. Everywhere you looked, a festival of diversity and inclusivity, not a note out of place. It was perfect. Almost too perfect, some might say. Because for all the gushing tributes, there was something just a little ostentatious about all the sincerity. Dont misunderstand me: I think that Harry and Meghan make a wonderful couple, and I am sure they will bring nothing but benefit to the Royal Family. And I admire their commitment to doing good in the world. But sometimes one gets the sense that they are ever-so-slightly just a little bit pleased with themselves, a little too keen to convey their selfless dedication to those less fortunate than they are. To be fair, this is a common affliction of the modern age. The days when royals such as Princess Anne just went off quietly and got on with their charity work without really mentioning it to anyone apart from the odd horse are, sadly, long gone. And it is hard to imagine a future monarch behaving like the Queen, full of warmth and generosity towards her subjects, yet at the same time able to maintain that all-important mystique that still surrounds the monarchy and makes it so compelling. For all the positives of Harry and Meghans all-star union, this is my one worry. That in seeking to show the world what a wonderfully modern couple they are, they will unintentionally undermine the institution of monarchy and risk turning the whole thing into a circus of virtue-signalling. And the problem with that is that it becomes less about the people they wish to help, less about the causes and issues that Meghan is so passionate about and all about them. Already with the wedding, I couldnt help feeling that there was a sense that it was as much engineered to cast the couple in a certain beatific light as it was to honour those involved. There is no question that, as royal weddings go, this broke all the moulds in terms of overcoming barriers of class and race. Feminist and activist Meghan Markle will not stop her charitable work when she begins royal duties, she confirmed Elitist At the same time, though, it also felt strangely elitist, as though they were simply replacing one exclusive club the aristocracy with another, Hollywood celebrity. The trick to any kind of modernisation is being able successfully to blend the old with the new without alienating either. To understand how and when to respect certain traditions and not to be subversive just for the sake of it. There is a lot about the Royal Family that remains sacred to the people of Britain, however irrational that can sometimes seem. Let us rejoice at the evolution of monarchy; but lets also not turn it into a glorified lifestyle blog for guilt- ridden millennials. It is wonderful that Meghan and Harry have such a shared passion for doing good in the world. And I have no doubt that, together, they will prove to be a great force for change. I just wish they would be a little less #MeToo about it all. A trial of a young man accused of rape has dramatically collapsed after it emerged that police had not examined 30,000 Facebook messages linked to the alleged victim. It is the latest in a series of scandals in which defence lawyers in sex cases have allegedly been unable to access vital evidence that could help clear their client. The man, named only as Cameron, had been accused of rape and five counts of sex with a girl under 16. He was 19 when he was charged, in 2015. He had met the alleged victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, through Facebook. The trial collapsed in January and yesterday the Crown Prosecution Service conceded there would be no reasonable prospect of a conviction. The young man was yesterday found not guilty by Judge David Ticehurst in a brief hearing at Taunton Crown Court. A young man accused of rape, known only as Cameron (pictured), has been found not guilty after the case collapsed when police failed to investigate 30,000 Facebook messages linked to the alleged victim It came after police admitted the alleged victims Facebook account contained 30,000 messages which had never been properly investigated. They were only found in a review of the case by Avon and Somerset Police. Last night, Channel 4 News reported that efforts to get the prosecution to disclose them all were stonewalled. Police and prosecutors have a duty to disclose evidence that might either assist the defence case or undermine the prosecutions case. But a series of recent scandals have involved claims that this failed to take place. After delivering his verdict, Judge Ticehurst reportedly described the young mans ordeal as another example of these nondisclosure cases. Last night, Cameron told Channel 4 News he lost his job as a result of the allegations and spent a torturous three years waiting for his name to be cleared. He said: Im still shocked but also [feel] relief, that... I can actually now move on with my life. Ive been waiting for almost two years and nine months now to actually have this resolved and all this time Ive known I was innocent but the whole time Ive felt like Ive been treated like I was guilty until I was proved innocent. It opened my eyes up to a whole new world of whats wrong with the whole system. It was shocking to find they could miss something that large. Asked if he ever had sex with the girl, he said: I did not, no, not even, no sexual contact at all with the person and that again baffled me as to why these allegations were being made. Id never had that sort of contact with her. It worries me that this has happened before and ... people have gone to prison that were innocent. His defence solicitor Ian Kelcey told Channel 4 News: I believe our criminal justice system is in a state of utter collapse.We are running Russian Roulette with defendants going to court and not knowing whether the matter has been robustly investigated or not. That is simply not right. He added: The CPS had only seen four of the total 30,000 messages. They claim the complainant only handed them over late in the day. In my opinion, I dont think they ever asked for them. Judge David Ticehurst, pictured, reportedly described the young mans ordeal as another example of these nondisclosure cases after finding him not guilty at Taunton Crown Court The number of prosecutions that have collapsed due to disclosure errors has soared by 70 per cent in the past two years. In December, student Liam Allens trial collapsed after texts emerged from the alleged victim in which she told a friend the sex wasnt against my will. In January, Oxford student Oliver Mears, 19, was cleared of rape after spending two years on bail, with police facing fierce criticism for the delay in handing over evidence. In the same month, the CPS said they were reviewing every rape and serious sexual assault case in England and Wales, after a series of collapsed trials. They led to accusations that Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders was more interested in convictions than in people being tried fairly. Last month she announced she would be standing down after the Government declined to extend her contract. Avon and Somerset police and the CPS told Channel 4 news it was only during a review of the case in January that the complainant disclosed additional evidence to them. Superintendent Marie Wright said: This case involved an allegation of rape from a woman towards Cameron Rafferty which allegedly took place in 2013/14. Following a thorough investigation, a postal requisition for the charging of Mr Rafferty was authorised by the CPS on March 30 2017 for him to appear at Yeovil Magistrates Court on May 3 2017. During a review of the case, on January 28 2018 the victim disclosed additional evidence that involved some 30,000 private messages on a social media account. Following an extensive examination of these messages, new evidence emerged that was disclosed to the CPS, who decided based on this new information that a successful prosecution was no longer viable and as such offered no evidence at a hearing today (May 21) at Taunton Crown Court. We will always carry out thorough reviews of our cases at any stage if needed and take any further action when necessary. A CPS spokesman said: Further evidence was provided to the police by the complainant. The trial was adjourned so this further evidence could be investigated by the police. This material had not previously been seen by either the police or the prosecution. Following a review of the new evidence, it was determined there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.' Shoulders slumped and shuffling, and clutching a plastic bag marked 'personal possessions', this is Meghan Markle's father pictured two days after the Royal Wedding as he returned home from hospital. DailyMail.com's exclusive photos were taken in his adopted hometown of Rosarito, Mexico, where he has been recovering from what he revealed to be a heart operation. Thomas Markle Sr had initially hoped to make the ceremony, which took place on Saturday morning, but made the decision to stay home shortly after suffering a heart attack two weeks ago. He said at that time that he did not want to cause his daughter any further embarrassment, with DailyMail.com revealing just one day prior that he had been paid to stage photographs with an agency. On his way home from the hospital, Markle Sr stopped off at a Starbucks drive-thru and could be seen holding a Frappuccino with whipped cream and chocolate on the top. This despite the fact that the 73-year-old was returning home from what he says was a heart procedure to insert three stents. Scroll down for video Shoulders slumped and shuffling, and clutching a plastic bag marked 'personal possessions', this is Meghan Markle's father, Thomas Markle, pictured two days after the Royal Wedding as he returned home from hospital DailyMail.com's exclusive photos were taken in his adopted hometown of Rosarito, Mexico, where he has been recovering from a heart operation Thomas Markle Sr had initially hoped to make the ceremony, which took place on Saturday morning, but was forced to pull out after allegedly suffering a heart attack last week He returned to his San Antonio Del Mar property Monday - driven in by a different friend, single mom Lori Davis, 38, with whom he has previously been pictured enjoying a dinner date At one point, Markle Sr surprisingly stopped at a Starbucks drive-thru and appeared to walk away with a Frappuccino (pictured) in hand, with whipped cream and chocolate on the top, despite having heart surgery last week On Wednesday, he was admitted to hospital for an operation to insert three stents and as a result, is likely to have to take blood-thinning medication for the rest of his life. Since being released from medical supervision, Markle Sr has been staying with friends in a different gated compound a few miles from his home. Markle Sr was previpously photographed by DailyMail.com at a McDonald's drive-thru two days after he said he had suffered a heart attack picking up two Happy Meals and a chocolate milkshake covered with whipped cream around lunchtime. A few hours later, Thomas was spotted again as he pulled into a KFC near the Mexican border for dinner, grabbing himself a bucket of chicken for dinner. The night prior he was seen getting a Yoohoo and some Gas X at a 7-11 in San Diego. This despite the fact that he is now claiming to have suffered a heart attack just two days prior to his back-to-back fast food feasts. Drive thru: Markle was previously seen grabbing a frozen beverage with whipped cream at McDonalds two days after he said he had a heart attack (above) Shake it up: He was also seen picking up a Yoohoo (above) the day after he said he suffered a heart attack He returned to his San Antonio Del Mar property Monday - driven in by a different friend, single mom Lori Davis, 38, with whom he has previously been pictured enjoying a dinner date. His return home came days after Meghan walked down the aisle in a spectacular Givenchy dress - accompanied for part of it by her new father-in-law Prince Charles. Her yoga teacher mother Doria Ragland, 61, was the only member of the newly minted Duchess of Sussex' family to attend the wedding and was seated alone. Markle Sr is understood to have watched the ceremony, which took place at 4am Pacific Time, on TV later pronouncing it 'joyful and emotional' in an interview with his favored media outlet, gossip website TMZ. The former lighting director added: 'My baby looks beautiful and she looks very happy. I wish I were there and I wish them all my love and all happiness.' In a second interview with the same outlet, he revealed he had texted his daughter to tell her he loved her before the ceremony and said he regretted not being able to go. He told TMZ: 'The service was beautiful and it [is] history. I will always regret not being able to be there and not being able to hold my daughter's hand.' On Wednesday, he was admitted to hospital for an operation to insert three stents and as a result, is likely to have to take blood-thinning medication for the rest of his life. Because of the surgery Markle Sr missed out on walking his daughter down the aisle on Saturday His return home came days after Meghan walked down the aisle in a spectacular Givenchy dress - accompanied for part of it by her new father-in-law Prince Charles (pictured) Markle Sr is understood to have watched the ceremony, which took place at 4am Pacific Time, on TV later pronouncing it 'joyful and emotional' The former lighting director added: 'My baby looks beautiful and she looks very happy. I wish I were there and I wish them all my love and all happiness' Markle Sr also slammed his son and eldest daughter Thomas Jr, 51, and Samantha Grant, 53, saying they 'should just shut up about everything'. On Monday, Meghan's estranged half-sister Samantha called on the duchess to 'do the right thing' and reunite their family in the wake of the royal wedding. She also called on Prince Harry to fly Markle Sr over once he is back to full health in order that he is able to fulfill his lifelong dream of visiting Buckingham Palace. Last week he blamed his health problems on their constant carping in the media and said he had been forced to take valium to deal with the heartache caused by their attacks on Meghan. Meghans's yoga teacher mother Doria Ragland (pictured), 61, was the only member of the newly minted Duchess of Sussex' family to attend the wedding His ex-wife Roslyn, 72, has also hit out at their behavior, telling DailyMail.com she 'chewed out Tom for making us look like a bunch of hillbillies'. She also described estranged daughter Samantha as 'an embarrassment' to the family and said she needs to 'get some dignity'. Markle Sr is now expected to keep a low profile at his single-story home north of Rosarito while he recovers from his operation and the fallout from the fake pictures scandal that emerged just over a week ago. The Mail on Sunday expose included CCTV footage of Markle Sr colluding with Los Angeles-based photographer Jeff Rayner, 44, to stage 'candid' pictures of him looking at Meghan's photo on the internet. Friends told DailyMail.com he had been left 'embarrassed' by the incident. As a result of the scandal and his subsequent health problems, he is still to meet new son-in-law Prince Harry, 33, although he is thought to have spoken with the royal by phone. Markle Sr revealed earlier this week that he plans to travel to London later this year to meet the royals after failing to make the wedding. His experiences in the UK will be in stark contrast to Rosarito, where he has lived since relocating from Los Angeles on his retirement in 2011. The border town, which has a population of approximately 70,000 people, sits eight miles south of San Diego and is notoriously crime-plagued. Meghan's estranged half-sister Samantha Markle (left) called on the duchess to 'do the right thing' and reunite their family in the wake of the royal wedding. She also called on Prince Harry to fly Markle Sr over once he is back to full health so he can visit Buckingham Palace Instead of focusing on the Royal Wedding, headlines in the local papers last week noted that Baja California has already experienced 1000 murders in 2018 alone. Another reported the discovery of a man's mutilated body inside a tamale van left in nearby Tijuana's Zona Norte district which sits beside the US border crossing at San Ysidro. His home, in a large expat complex called San Antonio del Mar, sits on a clifftop overlooking a trash-strewn beach butting onto the Pacific. An open sewage pipe spills directly into the water, creating a filthy brown slick that extends out past the rocks into the ocean. The compound has cobbled streets and a motley collection of houses, with architectural styles ranging from ultra-modern boxes to rambling Tuscan style properties in a rainbow of bright colors. Four miles away is the Papellon Shopping Mall where Markle Sr does his bi-weekly grocery run at the huge Walmart supermarket and a branch of Home Depot where he was recently photographed purchasing a toilet. He is also understood to occasionally frequent expat bar Plan B and a cafe called Coffe House, both of which are less than a mile from his home. Plan B owner Chris Larsen said he had considered throwing a royal-themed celebration but told DailyMail.com that his license wouldn't allow him to open the bar at 4am. In the early hours of Saturday morning, as the wedding got underway in Windsor, the streets of Rosarito were totally deserted but for a stray dog seen loping down main drag Benito Juarez. Markle Sr revealed earlier this week that he plans to travel to London later this year to meet the royals after failing to make the wedding 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 Even late-night drinking establishments such as Acua Baja Bar & Mar were empty, with the popular party spot shutting at its usual time of 3am instead of extending its hours. Markle Sr later told TMZ that he had watched the ceremony from his hospital bed but his neighbors in Rosarito appeared not to have tuned in, with every home dark as the wedding began. Other members of the Markle clan also viewed the ceremony on TV with Roslyn telling DailyMail.com she got up at 3am to see the celebration. Roslyn, who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said: 'Meghan looked wonderful and I thought her dress was classically beautiful. Doria looked proud and lovely.' She said former husband Markle Sr would have been 'a bit tearful' as he watched the ceremony and added: 'I'm sorry that her father missed out on this joyous occasion. I know he was watching and was a bit tearful but he was very proud.' Her two eldest children, neither of whom were invited to the wedding, also watched proceedings from afar and both cashed in. Samantha was at home in Ocala, Florida, with an Australian TV crew and is understood to have been paid around $25,000 to appear. Tom Jr, meanwhile, was in the UK as the paid guest of a tabloid newspaper. Catherine Downey thought only the most vulnerable in society were targeted by phone thieves posing as a bank A few weeks ago, I broke down in sobs in front of my bank manager. Other customers eyed me curiously as the blood pounded in my ears and nausea crept over me. I had just been told I was 2,000 overdrawn, despite having transferred 4,000 into a new account the day before. No, I wasnt coming to terms with having indulged in a sudden spending spree. I had been scammed. Its not just pensioners and the vulnerable who fall victim to scammers these days. I am neither gullible nor a Luddite. Im a middle-aged mother-of-three who considers herself to be sassy and alert. I thought I would always be safe from such cons: I know not to give bank details over the phone and scoff at emails purporting to be from HMRC or Paypal, with links to get your refund now. But what my experience shows is that we all need to be aware that things have moved on from phishing the term for when criminals use fake email or bogus websites. Weve since had Smishing (SMS phishing via text messages) and were now on to Vishing phone calls where fraudsters impersonate bank staff so plausibly they are able to talk you into transferring money into their account. Officially known as Authorised Push Payment fraud or APP, this is how my money ended up being transferred into a random Barclays Bank account, now empty. APP is one of the fastest growing types of fraud. There have been 19,370 reported cases in the past six months, with an estimated 101.2 million transferred to fraudsters in that period. With APP, the average loss to an individual is around 3,000, although these figures are just the tip of the iceberg, as many people dont even report it because they fear they will be ridiculed or dismissed as stupid. The sad fact is, defrauding people like me and you is big business. According to one fraud analyst: These people work for large organisations in an office like yours, with a photocopier in the corner and a plant on their desk. Theyre trained in how to use sophisticated psychological techniques to exploit consumers and are completely heartless and they are always one step ahead of the banks. Not long ago, I was cooking supper for my teenagers when I received an automated text saying a new phone number had just been registered with my NatWest online account. Five minutes later, the bank rang. The 0345 number that came up on my mobiles display was the main switchboard number for NatWest I had it saved in my phone a while ago so I could be sure. We suspect some suspicious activity on your account and I need to check a couple of things with you, said the lady who introduced herself as one of the NatWest fraud investigation team. She sounded a bit like my mum, very well spoken and with a tone that was concerned, yet calm and professional. Weve noticed a direct debit has been set up for John Lewis for 1,150 and one with the mobile phone network GiffGaff for 45. Ms Downey was left 2,000 overdrawn after she transferred a huge chunk of money to fraudsters who pretended to be protecting her bank account. However, they already had access to her statement and the mother gave over no details, she revealed My heart began pounding. No, I hadnt set them up, I gabbled. Weve noticed an IP address from Bristol has logged into your account a few times today. Was it you? No it was not, I said, worried but also relieved that my bank was on the case. Four years earlier Id been scammed when someone got hold of my bank details possibly by intercepting a statement and set up a banking app in my name, using their own phone number. Whoever it was then told the bank they had lost the bank card and needed to get cash out, so they were given a four-digit code. The fraudster then used the four-digit code instead of a bank card to withdraw money from a branch in North London. I had 2,000 taken out of my bank account 500 a time over four days in this way. NatWest refunded me on that occasion, but now it sounded like the fraudsters were back. I switched off the hob and gave the lady my full attention. Im aware many emails and phone calls are from scammers and so usually ignore them, but as it says on NatWests own website: If we hold your mobile number, we will send you an SMS to confirm some activities on your account and check that it was you that made the transaction or changed some of your information . . . If we suspect or become aware that your account may be subject to fraud, we will attempt to contact you. This was my follow-up call from the bank after that preliminary SMS warning wasnt it? Its usually at this point in the story that friends ask: But why did you give her your account details? And this is the strangest thing about it: I have never given my account details on the phone to anyone. The woman knew all my details already. At no point did she ask for my account number, sort code, even my name. The only thing she asked was for the first and third letter of my password just as any bank does during a phone call. She was already in my account, looking at my transactions. Theres one payment to DVLA at the end of December was that you? Yes. Theres a direct debit going out to Wealden Leisure, and I can see 10 was taken out of a cashpoint in central Brighton yesterday. Thats fine, that was me, I told her, but as ever I wanted to err on the side of caution. Sorry, but can I just check this is NatWest Im talking to? Of course, she said calmly. We always advise people to call the number on the back of their bank card. Ill call you back in five minutes. So I rang the number on the back of my bankcard from my landline, which corresponded to the number shed phoned me from, and got though to the familiar NatWest switchboard welcome message informing me that due to the high volume of calls, I could be kept waiting longer than usual. Was this deliberate? Did the fraudster know Id be too impatient to wait? Had I stayed on the line and spoken to an advisor, perhaps the scam would have unravelled. That said, there are cases of fraudsters intercepting such calls. Fraudsters are becoming extremely efficient at scamming money out of innocent people Five minutes later, she rang and talked me through what NatWest could do to keep my money safe. We were on the phone for 15 minutes as I set up a new safe NatWest holding account under her instruction. I was then given my new sort code and account number and went online to transfer 4,000 into this new account under my name while she remained on the line. I know some of you will be rolling your eyes at this point, but when you are in no doubt you are talking to your bank, you behave exactly as you would if you were in a branch talking to a bank employee face to face. Crisis averted! I posted on Facebook later that evening. Watch out people, my bank account nearly just got scammed again . . . NatWest onto it immediately, phew! How wrong I was. When I went into my branch on the Monday, the cashier frowned as she stared at her screen and shook her head. There are no notes on your account, she said. Youve made a large transfer but no new account has been set up. Youre overdrawn by 2,000. Thats when the bank manager took me aside to explain and I began to feel like an utter fool. According to fraud expert Gary Hemming, commercial lending director at ABC Finance, I shouldnt have been so hard on myself. He says: These days the scripts are incredibly well-honed as they are usually used by career fraudsters, so predicting whether its actually your bank youre speaking to or a fraudster is almost impossible. Banks have the technology to stop almost all financial fraud, so now the focus is on fooling the account holder: fraudsters circumvent the systems to attack the weakest link, which is the consumers themselves. Writer Catherine Downey has told how she was so convinced by the woman calling her she even took to the internet to praise her for help.. before being told in her bank it was all a con Looking back, the woman I spoke to must have been working from a sophisticated script based on the bona fide NatWest advice and information you can find on its website. Even the background noise was exactly the same as when I talk to my bank. Perhaps she had worked for a bank before apparently its a career history of many fraudsters. The woman had also created a situation where I felt that I was the one in control. At no point had I revealed any details about my account or myself. In fact, Id been the one who asked if my account could be frozen so no money could be taken out. Id been the one who asked if I could open a new account. Or had I? I began to wonder if Id somehow been hypnotised: it was preferable to believing that I had authorised a transaction and been tricked. It wasnt long before my distress was cloaked by anger. I had fallen victim to a modern type of bank robbery. Where was the security I had been assured by NatWest after the first fraud? Id feared it would only be a matter of time before it happened again, but NatWest had assured me my account was safe and it would never happen again. But was the woman part of the same criminal network that had cracked my account the first time? Tex messages and emails can 'phish' for information in a person's phone while fraudsters call and pretend to work for the bank And why had my bank processed such a large transfer so quickly without question, and so soon after a fraudulent attempt to register a different phone number with my account? As for that text, no one can tell me if it was really from my bank or the fraudsters. At my local branch, I got differing verdicts. I complained to NatWest, who washed their hands of the matter immediately. We are not refunding the money to you as you made the transaction yourself we cannot be held liable for this and we will not be in the position to investigate this issue further. I complained to Barclays the account where my money ended up. The account into which you transferred money has now been closed . . . no funds were remaining . . . Barclays is unable to return any money to you. Where a payment has been authorised by the account holder, there is no legal obligation on the bank to reimburse. The sense of a giant buck being passed persisted and I contacted the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), from whom I am still waiting to hear. I wont hold my breath. A recent investigation by Channel 4s Dispatches found that some FOS staff with inadequate understanding of financial products were finding in favour of the banks, without even reading case files. Some financial industry experts believe British-based banks are lagging behind their international competitors when it comes to security, leaving UK bank customers more at risk of fraud. Why arent they doing more to educate their customers? I had no idea phone numbers could be spoofed to look as though they are coming from a bank, for example. Sure, the information is out there, but only if you deliberately set aside time to find it. Ive since spoken to others whove been similarly frauded. All sensible, intelligent, clear-minded people, just like me. Federica Pluchino, 44, a carer who lives in Southwick on the South Coast, lost 3,500 when she made a transfer from her bank account, believing she was speaking to someone from Barclays. He was an absolute master! she says. My husband was right next to me he didnt think there was anything strange about what I was doing as it was the banks responsibility to keep my money safe. Of course, I can see now I was taken in, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Ive been a loyal Barclays customer for 22 years and Id never heard of this type of fraud until it happened to me. I consider myself tech-savvy and well-educated. Thankfully. Barclays reimbursed me and even paid me compensation. Catherine Downey was told at her bank she had been the victim of fraud after she was duped setting up a new account and transferring cash Others have been less fortunate.Hugh Milsom, 64, a funeral celebrant who lives in Swindon with his wife Erica, lost 7,800 when he believed he was talking to a NatWest employee when he was called one Saturday. I have a degree, I worked in technology for 30 years and pulling the wool over my eyes is quite difficult, or so I thought, he says. But my complaint was rejected as Id been tricked into giving my PIN and authorising the transfer. There are various ways the instances of fraud could be reduced. An automatic 24-hour delay on bank transfers would mean the majority of scams could be prevented, while the introduction of a confirmation of payee system would massively decrease the number of APP scams. The more I looked into fraud, the darker the picture became. Yes, Id lost 4,000 but some people had transferred their life savings into fraudulent accounts. Im trying to come to terms with the fact that I may never get my money back. Ive now ditched online banking although with banks driving customers online by closing branches, I dont know how much longer this will last. Meanwhile, Ive made it my mission to warn everyone I know or meet about my experience. I dont think people realise the true extent of this epidemic. The Manchester suicide bombers brother could escape British justice by refusing to face trial here, senior Libyan sources said last night. Hashem Abedi, 21, is accused of playing a key role in the attack, which one year ago today killed 22 people including seven children. He is said to have helped brother Salman, 22, buy materials for the device he detonated at a pop concert on May 22. For months the UK has been locked in a dispute with Libyan militia over plans to extradite him from Libya where he is being held. But now a senior source in the office of Libyas Attorney General has said Abedi could object to the extradition and request not to be moved. Hashem Abedi (pictured), 21, is accused of playing a key role in the attack, which one year ago today killed 22 people including seven children They said that if Abedi, a British citizen, has also kept his Libyan citizenship, they would have to consider such a request under Libyan law. The source told the Mail: It is important to note, if the accused has objections to being handed over to Britain and requests not to be handed over, then under Libyan law his request must be considered. The comments raise the prospect of Abedi blocking attempts by the British Government for him to face trial in the UK. MPs last night reacted with fury, saying this would be an insult to the victims and their families. Last night Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, said: I am clear that he was brought up in the UK and this is a crime that happened here, so it is essential he is extradited and tried in the UK. Security minister Ben Wallace said Britain was determined to do everything in our power to ensure those responsible were brought to justice in the UK. He added: This was a callous and evil act and the victims and their families deserve and demand justice. Tory MP Jack Lopresti said: The idea that somebody implicated in a heinous act of terror here in Britain should have the right to determine the location of his own trial is completely outrageous, and an insult to the victims, their families and loved ones. Tory MP Bob Seely, a member of the foreign affairs select committee, said: He needs to face a transparent and fair trial here, where he has been accused of committing these appalling crimes, and found innocent or guilty based on the evidence. Avoiding trial here appears to be an act to avoid facing the accusations against him. Im sure that the Government will be fighting hard to get him here. Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said: It is not very convincing to have a trial in Libya for a crime committed in Manchester. It would be incredibly complicated and unnecessary. Hashem Abedi is being held at a prison in Libyan capital Tripoli. Greater Manchester Police issued a warrant for his arrest in October. They believe they have enough evidence to charge him with the murder of 22 people, the attempted murder of others who were injured and conspiracy to cause an explosion, it is claimed. Hashem is said to have helped brother Salman (pictured), 22, buy materials for the device he detonated at a pop concert in Manchester on May 22 last year There are fears if he was prosecuted in Libya his evidence may be inadmissible in British courts if he had been tortured, for example. This would make it harder to bring to justice others believed to have helped Salman Abedi. Detectives know the two brothers travelled together to Libya from the UK in April last year. Hashem then stayed in Libya, their parents country of birth, while Salman returned to the UK to carry out the atrocity. Hashem was arrested in Libya shortly after the suicide attack at the Ariana Grande concert in May. Asadiq al-Sour, Libyas chief investigator in the case, said Hashem was suspected of having helped his brother and of collecting materials for the attack. Both were born in Manchester and went to school there. Sources in Libya said the issue of extradition was still under review pending verification of Hashem Abedis legal citizenship status. The source from the Office of the Attorney General said his case was still being investigated. Theresa May, who will take part in a memorial service to the victims today, last night paid tribute to the citys resilience and said the sickening act had failed to break our resolve. In an article for the Manchester Evening News, the Prime Minister said the attack was designed to strike at the heart of our values and our way of life with the aim of breaking our resolve and dividing us. It failed. For such appalling acts of wickedness will do nothing but strengthen our resolve and defeat such twisted ideologies and beliefs, she said. The resilience and determination shown by Manchester in the 12 months since is a testament to that. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson, the most senior Catholic official in the world to be charged with covering up child sexual abuse, has been found guilty. Magistrate Robert Stone told Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday Wilson had concealed the abuse of two altar boys in the NSW Hunter region by paedophile priest James Fletcher by failing to report the allegations to police. Mr Stone said he was satisfied one of the altar boys, Peter Creigh, had been a 'truthful and reliable' witness. In a statement issued by the Catholic Church, Wilson said he was 'disappointed' by the decision. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson (pictured, centre, outside court on Tuesday) faces a maximum two years' jail after he was convicted of concealing the abuse of altar boys during the 1970s 'I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps,' he said. Prosecutors successfully argued Wilson covered up the abuse of four boys by now-dead paedophile priest James Fletcher (pictured) in the NSW Hunter region Prosecutor Gareth Harrison had claimed Wilson was involved in a cover-up to protect the church's reputation and there were doubts about his honesty. Mr Harrison argued that in Wilson's mind victims came second. Wilson, 67, who is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease but claims medication has helped his memory, told the court during his landmark magistrate-only trial he could not remember Mr Creigh and another altar boy telling him in 1976 they were abused by Fletcher. The prosecution argued Wilson failed to give details to police about a serious indictable offence after Fletcher was arrested in 2004 and went on trial for preying on another young boy. Fletcher was found guilty in December 2004 of nine counts of child sexual abuse. He died in jail of a stroke in January 2006. But the defence claimed Wilson was not guilty because the case was circumstantial and there was no evidence to prove the archbishop was told about the abuse, believed it was true or remembered being told about it. Victim Peter Creigh embraces family members outside the Newcastle Court on Tuesday Archbishop Philip Wilson is pictured (left) arriving at Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday Defence barrister Stephen Odgers SC urged the magistrate to take into account that back in the 1970s a priest having sex with a boy was not considered a serious indictable offence. He said it would have been viewed as an act of indecency, not indecent assault, if the victim could not prove he had been forced to perform sex acts. Mr Creigh said he had trusted Wilson - then an assistant priest - would take action after he told him Fletcher had repeatedly abused him in 1971 when he was 10. Mr Creigh claimed Wilson had a 'look of horror' on his face when he told him, but the clergyman took no action and didn't it to police. Peter Creigh said he went to see Wilson at the presbytery of St Joseph's East Maitland Catholic Church (pictured) in 1976 to tell him about what Fletcher had done to him five years earlier Prosecutors successfully argued Wilson (pictured centre) covered up the abuse of altar boys by now-dead paedophile priest James Fletcher in the NSW Hunter region The defence did not challenge Mr Creigh's truthfulness but raised concerns about the reliability of his memory of what happened in 1976. Another former altar boy, who can't be named, said he was about 11 in 1976 when he went to confession and told Wilson that Fletcher had abused him. The witness said Wilson refused to believe him because Fletcher 'was a good bloke' and ordered him to get out of the confessional box and say 10 Hail Marys as an act of contrition. TV presenter Dale Winton will be laid to rest at a 'non-religious' Humanist memorial service attended by friends including Christopher Biggins and Gloria Hunniford later today. The Supermarket Sweep star passed away in April at his home in north London, two years after he revealed he was battling depression. The TV giant, who died aged just 62, revealed in his final TV interview in 2016 he revealed he could not meet anyone to spend his life because he spent too much time chasing 'mean and nasty' men. TV presenter Dale Winton will be laid to rest at a 'non-religious' Humanist memorial service today (pictured in 2016) The Supermarket Sweep star passed away in April at his home in north London, two years after he revealed he was battling depression He said: 'Nobody wants a camp, over 60-year-old man. I can't go on dating sites. I'm quite well known so the minute you see the picture it's desperately unattractive to another gay man to find a guy in showbusiness on there'. He added: 'It's time I went from troubled boys to nice guys'. Christopher Biggins, 69, told the Mirror: 'It's terrible. He was 62, he should never have died. It's awful.' Gloria Hunniford, 78, will also be attending the service. The UK Humanist organisation confirmed said: 'We're very proud to be giving the humanist funeral of a national treasure, Dale Winton. 'He was loved so much and by so many - and tomorrow his loved ones will be celebrating the life he led and the positive impact he had on their lives.' The service will begin at 1pm at Old Church on Marylebone Road in central London. Christopher Biggins, who will be attending the service, said: 'It's terrible. He was 62, he should never have died. It's awful' (pictured: a bouquet of white roses outside Dale's former home) Advertisement Throngs of Japanese men and women have taken to the streets in their underwear to show off their full-body, Yakuza-style tattoos at one of Tokyo's most popular festivals. The Sanja Matsuri festival, in the north Tokyo suburb of Asakusa, sees close to two million people taking to the streets in an annual celebration of the founders of the local Sensoji temple. Each year, a parade of parishioners carries portable shrines or 'mikoshi' through the neighbourhood for the three-day-event, which dates back to the Edo period. The Sanja Matsuri festival, in the north Tokyo suburb of Asakusa, offers a rare glimpse at the full-body, Yakuza-style tattoos worn by many in attendance Throngs of Japanese men and women took to the streets in their underwear to show off their tattoos during the festival Legions of stoic men lined the streets sporting dazzling tattoos that are often associated with the Yakuza: Japan's notorious organised crime syndicate Despite being one of the city's more traditional festivals, Sanja Matsuri has a reputation for rowdiness and provides a rare chance for otherwise disparate sections of society to mingle and interact. Among them are legions of stoic men and women sporting dazzling tattoos that are often associated with the Yakuza, Japan's notorious organised crime syndicate. The Yakuza's ornamental tattoos often cover the entire body from the wrists to the ankles and up to the collar, where they abruptly stop - allowing the gang members to conceal the elaborate designs beneath their clothing. There was no such discretion in play at Sanja Matsuri, as the men walked the wide open streets in little more than sumo underwear and sandals. The Yakuza's ornamental tattoos often cover the entire body from the wrists to the ankles and up to the collar, where they abruptly stop: allowing the gang members to conceal the elaborate designs beneath their clothing Many have stripes of untouched skin running down the middle of their torso, thus allowing them to unbutton their shirts in day-to-day life There was no such discretion in play at Sanja Matsuri, as the men walked the wide open streets in little more than sumo underwear and sandals Many had stripes of untouched skin running down the middle of their torso, thus allowing them to unbutton their shirts in day-to-day life without giving away the tattoos - or any criminal implications that might be associated with them. Heavily tattooed women, too, took to the streets in their undergarments to put their body art on full show. Being tattooed is considered a rite of passage for the Yakuza, with images of samurais, dragons and koi fish among some of the more popular designs. Yakuza-style tattoos do not typically curry favour in most tiers of Japanese society, however, with many public baths or 'onsens' banning tattoos altogether in an attempt to dissuade gang members from attending. The Sanja Matsuri festival and parade, which takes place on the third weekend of May every year, is intended to bring luck, blessings and prosperity to the area of Asakusa and its inhabitants. Yakuza tattoos do not typically curry favour in most tiers of Japanese society, with many public baths or 'onsens' banning tattoos altogether in an attempt to dissuade gang members from attending The Sanja Matsuri festival and parade, which takes place on the third weekend of May every year, is intended to bring luck, blessings and prosperity to the area of Asakusa and its inhabitants The former Playboy model who jumped to her death from the 25th floor of a Manhattan hotel pushed her seven-year-old son out of the suite before taking her own life, police have said. New York City investigators announced the results of autopsies performed on Stephanie Adams, 46, and her son, Vincent. While Stephanie Adams death was ruled a suicide, the official cause of Vincents death is homicide, the New York Daily News reported on Monday. Both mother and son died Thursday from multiple blunt impact injuries. The incident happened at the Gotham Hotel, located at 16 46th Street, near Fifth Avenue. A room at the Gotham goes for $900 a night. Former Playboy centerfold Stephanie Adams, 46, and her seven-year-old son Vincent (pictured above in 2012) died Friday morning. Adams pushed her son out the 25th floor window of a Manhattan hotel before taking the plunge herself Adams, left and right in 2006, was Playboy's Miss November in 1992 Adams was married to the boy's father, Manhattan-based chiropractor Charles Nicolai, and were in the midst of an intense custody battle. A lawyer for Nicolai said last week that his client was in a 'total state of shock' after Thursday's tragedy. William Beslow told the New York Post that the 47-year-old wealthy chiropractor is distraught. 'H'es numb, as one would expect,' Beslow said, adding that Vincent was the 'center' of Nicolai's life. A friend of Nicolai described him as 'an amazing, caring father' and said he does not know how Nicolai will deal with the tragic loss. 'I can remember him talking about when his son first learned to read. He was a very excited father, very proud,' the friend said. 'I do know that he was very distraught and very saddened by the breakup of (his) marriage.' A bell captain, who said his name is Shaun, told the Post that he suspects Adams pushed her young child out the window. 'I suspect the boy went first. The mother just tossed the child out first, then followed him. (Guests) said they heard a light sound first, then a heavier sound,' he said. 'I'm still shook up about it.' It didn't appear Adams had left a suicide note. The mother and son checked into the Gotham Hotel around 6pm Thursday. The two jumped from the 25th floor penthouse before 8:30am Friday, using a window at the rear of the building. They landed on a second-floor balcony and were both pronounced dead at the scene. In the afternoon, investigators removed the boy's body from the hotel Investigators are seen loading the boy's body into a can for transport A close friend told the New York Post that she was distraught that her ex wouldn't let her take her son to Europe for the summer. Her boyfriend has homes in Spain and London. Nicolai, who owns Wall Street Chiropractic & Wellness, has visitation rights, and petitioned a judge on Wednesday not to let his ex leave he country. The judge sided with him, and Adams was ordered to turn her son's passport over. 'All I want to do is take my son and get away from this nightmare for a few days,' Adams told the Post after the Wednesday hearing. 'But they won't let me.' Their relationship was so bad that the former couple reportedly conducted their custody exchanges at a police precinct in Tribeca. 'It ensures no violence takes place,' a friend told The Post in March. A hotel worker said the mother and son jumped from a window of the 25th floor penthouse, landing on a second-floor balcony at the rear of the building. The front of the building pictured later Friday, with media gathered outside The mother and son were pronounced dead at the scene. Above, the hotel pictured on Friday Adams' friend who spoke to the Post after her death said he doesn't know why she was in the hotel, saying she has a residence in lower Manhattan. 'This is really stunning. She loved that child,' he said. 'This boy was her whole life, this is terrible.' He says she loved her son so much that she homeschooled him to spend more time with him. 'The child I can't imagine she would do that,' he said. 'She was so close to that child, she wouldn't even let the child go to school. People have these lives you don't even know about. I didn't see suicide.' He said he was shocked by her death, but also revealed he had told her she could get help for her emotional problems recently. When she jumped, Adams, left, was locked in a bitter custody battle with her ex, chiropractor Charles Nicolai, right Adams was also awarded $1.2million from the NYPD, after suing the department over a 2006 incident in which she was thrown to the ground by a cop who falsely claimed she pulled a gun on him. Adams and her ex were also sued in 2013 by Dilek Edwards, a former massage therapist in Nicolai's office. Edwards told the Post that she would receive texts from Adams saying she was 'NOT welcome any longer' at her husband's practice' and to 'stay the f*** away' from him and her family. Edwards said she was let go after Nicolai claimed his then-wife was 'jealous' of 'too cute' Edwards. The lawsuit was initially thrown out, but later restored by an appeals court who said Edwards could sue for gender discrimination. Edwards said her relationship was 'purely professional' with Nicolai and she has know idea where Adams got her 'absurd suspicions' from. She added that Nicolai would tell her their sessions 'had to be secret' because if his wife heard about them 'she can create some scenarios'. Adams says she was raised by two of her aunts, who were both models, and decided to follow them into the industry at the young age of 16. In November 1992, she was the centerfold for Playboy, at the time claiming to be the first openly lesbian Playmate. But she claims on her website to have dated several famous men including Elite modeling founder John Casablancas, Calvin Klein supermodel Ted Stephenson, and Robert De Niro. She met her husband on Match.com and the two were engaged in 2009. Adams was the one who filed for divorce last year. Adams' friend said that she had hired a string of lawyers to deal with her divorce and custody battles, going through four in this year alone. During their marriage, cops responded to a domestic dispite call at the couple's residence, and cops had to separate the fighting couple. And six months ago, Nicolai was accused of knowingly feeding his son food that would cause an allergic reaction. NYPD crime scene investigators brought evidence bags to the scene on Friday Cops carried large bags into the hotel Friday morning, as investigators looked through the scene Officers in dress uniforms stood guard outside the hotel Friday morning The Medical Examiner's vehicle was also seen on the scene Friday around noon Nicolai's lawyer did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the case. A receptionist who answered the phone at Nicolai's office said he would not comment and was unreachable. Adams and Nicolai had been in 'a very tough custody case,' said Raoul Felder, a divorce lawyer who represented her for a time. The standoff was contentious enough that the former couple handed off their son to each other at a police precinct, an arrangement that's unusual but not unheard of, Felder said. Felder said he had been friends with Adams for 20 years but stopped representing her in the divorce case a couple of months ago. Still, 'she was never depressed while I knew her. She had certain problems, but depression wasn't one of them,' Felder said. Felder recalled her as 'sweet and ultra-polite' - she always called him 'Mr. Felder' despite their long friendship. She would sometimes stop by his office to say hello, bringing her son, who loved to play with a Superman statue in the office, Felder recalled. And she routinely sent him birthday cards, until his birthday passed this month without one. Above, a view inside the Penthouse suite at the Gotham Hotel, where the mother and son were staying Adams also founded a new age skincare line called GODDESSY Organics. On the website, she claims to be the author of two dozen metaphysical books, astronomy calendars and tarot cards - and describes herself as a 'generational occultist, psychic and spiritualist'. She also claims to be a direct descendant of two presidents, with a European royal lineage. 'According to her Playboy pictorial, Adams is the direct descendant of two U.S. presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, later discovering that her lineage also traces back to the House of Plantagenet, Charlemagne, and Merovingian Dynasty,' the website reads. The biography goes on to say that Adams dedicates 'most of her time investing in Fortune 500 companies, enabling her to become a self-made millionaire before the age of 30'. 'Now Adams has decided to dedicate most of her time towards business, philanthropy, and developing as much of a private life as she can possibly have,' she writes on the site. Adams (pictured left and right) was also awarded $1.2million from the NYPD after a 2006 incident in which she was thrown to the ground by a cop who wrongly claimed she pointed a gun at him The Gotham Hotel, where the penthouse goes for more than $900 a night, said that police were investigating the situation and refused to comment further. The scene outside the hotel was pretty quiet Friday morning. Just a handful of police officers were inside the building, speaking with staff. The bodies have not yet been removed from the premises. Initial reports stated that the child was a baby, less than a year old, but police later corrected that initial misunderstanding. For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or click here For confidential support on suicide matters in the UK, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here This is the moment a giant centipede takes on a large snake in a ultimate battle to the death. Posted on to Live Leak, the three-minute video shows the pair fighting on the ground in Vietnam. In the rare footage, the pair wrestle each other, attempting to bite, pin down and ultimately claim their momentary nemesis. This is the moment a giant centipede wrangles with a large snake in a ultimate battle to the death While the snake wraps his strong body around the massive centipede, the arthropod manages to secure its many legs on to the python. Just as the snake adjusts its jaw to go in for the kill, the centipede fights back flipping the snake over onto its back. The pair twirl in to a pretzel-like shape, twisting and turning until the snake loses the strength and ferocity to fight. As the centipede takes the upper hand in the battle, it clenches tighter on to the body of the snake. As the centipede takes hold of the battle it clenches tighter on to the body of the snake The white underbelly of the slithering reptile shows as the centipede crawls on top and appears to be gnawing at the snakes neck. As the snake twitches in the final moments the centipede can relax, having won nature's unlikely battle. Comments on the video detail the bizarre battle and joke 'never bring fangs to a leg fight'. 'Giant centipede? Now there's something else to add to my nightmares,' one person wrote. 'The first time I ever rooted for a snake,' another said on the video, while another viewer commented 'Looks like the centipede is the champ'. Daniel Borden, 19, of Ohio entered an Alford plea Monday to a charge of malicious wounding in the attack on DeAndre Harris A third man has been found guilty in the beating of a black man who was left severely injured the day of a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Daniel Borden, 19, of Ohio entered an Alford plea Monday to a charge of malicious wounding in the attack on DeAndre Harris. The plea means Borden did not admit guilt but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. The attack on Harris in a parking garage Aug. 12 by a group of men was captured in photos and videos widely shared online. Borden's plea follows the conviction of two other men - Alex Michael Ramos, 34, and Jacob Scott Goodwin, 23. A fourth man, Tyler Watkins Davis, 49, is awaiting trial. The jury in the Ramos case has recommended six years in prison. Jurors who convicted Goodwin recommended a sentence of 10 years in prison. The attack on Harris in a parking garage in Charlottesville on Aug. 12 by a group of men was captured in photos and videos widely shared online Harris was one of the members counter-protesting at the white supremacist rally 'Unite The Right,' when a group, including Borden, approached him and one person began clubbing him with a pole Harris was one of the members counter-protesting at the white supremacist rally 'Unite The Right,' when a group, including Borden, approached him and one person began clubbing him with a pole. In the photo of the attack, captured by photographer Zach D. Roberts, the furious man is shown gripping the stick in his hand as Harris kneels hunched on the ground helplessly. Harris was left with eight stitches in his head, a broken wrist, lacerations and a chipped tooth from the onslaught. Borden, a white supremacist, has been obsessed with Nazis since his junior year of high school, the New York Daily News reported. In 2012, one of Borden's middle school classmates told police Borden held a knife inches from his face, drew swastikas and called him 'Jew Boy' because he had a big nose, Cincinnati station WCPO reported. Alex Michael Ramos (left), 34, and Jacob Scott Goodwin (right), 23 were convicted for their roles in the attack on Harris Borden also reportedly claimed he was a member of a gang called Brothers of Confederacy. After he was attacked and treated at a nearby hospital, Harris told The Root: 'Me and about five of my friends were out protesting. We thought (the racists) left, but at one point they came back.' He said he and his friends did not initiate physical violence towards the rioters. 'Everyone was exchanging words with the group, but then the KKK and white supremacists just rushed us,' he said. The controversial rally took place right outside the Charlottesville Police Department, which was shown in images from the deadly event. 'No police were there to help me at all,' Harris revealed, while adding he was shocked the event was not shut down sooner. 'I think for them to be allowed to come here and protest is really crazy. How do you expect the KKK to come to your city to protest, and them not be violent?' he said. 'I understand everyone is entitled to their freedom of speech, but the government and the mayor made a bad business move. It's only caused havoc in your own city. It's crazier that people have the hatred in their heart to want to kill black people.' Deandre, an aspiring musical artist, moved to the city of Charlottesville two years ago when he began working as an instructor for a special education program. Harris said he and his family are seeking a possible lawsuit against the perpetrators. A family tragically torn apart after their mother died and their father abandoned them, has been reunited for the first time in 76 years. In 1942, mother-of-six Elizabeth Irvine died from tuberculosis, leaving behind six children. Shortly afterwards her youngest daughter Ruby died and the remaining five children were abandoned by their father and then taken into care. One of her sons named Tom was placed into a Church of Scotland children's home in West Lothian, along with brothers Frank Ian and Jim. Betty, now 83, was sent to a separate home in the town. Tom, now 84, returned to Dumfries to live with his grandmother when he was 15. But Jim and Frank, who are now 78 and 80 respectively, were later sent to Australia under the Child Migrant Scheme in their early teens to work on farms. The siblings attempted to keep in touch after being torn apart but found it was difficult to reunite as a family. The Irvine family back together after 76 years apart (clockwise from top left) Frank, Betty, Tom, Ian and Jim Ian - who died over 10 years ago at the age of 68 - and Betty, managed to find their way back to the town they grew up in once they were old enough and raised families there. But after not sleeping under the same roof for 76 years, the family finally reunited at Telford Manor House and Mews at Beattock in Dumfries and Galloway for Tom's 84th birthday on May 19. Tom thought that he would never see his brother Jim ever again after waving goodbye to him before his move to the other side of the world. He said: 'Yes, of course, I've missed them. 'It's quite emotional actually. I still can't believe it. It was brilliant, we had a great time. 'Such a special occasion and this is the first time we have been together since 1942. It's a memory I will never forget. We will be very close now. 'I remember putting Jim in the bus and I thought I would never see him again. 'I just wanted to see them.' The Irvine family back together after 76 years apart (clockwise from top left) Frank, 80, Tom, 84, Jim, 78 and Betty, 83, Tom travelled to Australia in 1985 to visit Jim but the whole family have not been together at the same time, until this past weekend, and had only kept in touch by writing letters. Tom went on to be an apprentice plumber, served with The King's Own Scottish Borderers during his national service, and retired after working at Imperial Chemical Industries. And on the other side of the world, Frank ended up getting married and owned a farm. For Tom's birthday, he brought his sons David and Glen with him. Jim joined the Australian Navy, got married and had two children which he brought to the occasion alongside granddaughter Alicia for the weekend's celebrations. Tom explained: 'Previously Frank had come to visit but I flew out to Australia to be reunited with Jim. Thirty years I never saw him. 'It's just so nice to see them all.' Paul Jordan, 54, of Ffordd Siabod, Felinheli, Gwynedd, was jailed for 14 years today for stabbing his wife to death over the 'delusional' belief she was having an affair A BT worker and former school governor who stabbed his wife to death over the 'delusional' belief that she was having an affair was jailed for 14 years yesterday. Paul Jordan, 54, of Ffordd Siabod, Felinheli, Gwynedd, had become obsessed with the belief that his wife, Elizabeth Jordan, was cheating on him. Caernarfon Crown Court heard that in the week leading up to the murder, Jordan had called 'Quickie Divorce' but later drove home and stabbed the 53-year-old care worker through the heart. The couple met in their late teens and had lived in Ireland before moving to the Bangor area. The defendant had a long-standing drink problem but held down a good job. Their daughter Clare Jordan told the court her late mother was an 'amazingly caring and loving' woman and the defendant had been a 'brilliant' dad. Jailing him for life, Judge Rhys Rowlands told Jordan, who showed no emotion, that their children's loss was 'profound'. He said: 'There was a significant degree of premeditation on your part, the attack was planned. You left home intending to attack your wife.' Their son, Paul Jordan, said his father wasn't 'inherently evil' but he couldn't face speaking to him. Paul added: 'I still haven't heard the truth from him. Why did he do it? I may never believe any account he gives to me.' Jordan remained silent throughout his trial and did not give evidence. He had believed his estranged wife was having an affair although there was no evidence to support this. A psychiatrist said he had a severe mental illness. After the sentencing Jordan's family said: 'There is no verdict that a jury can decide upon or sentence that a judge can pass that can ever be called justice in these circumstances. 'There are simply no winners. We will never be able to bring mum back but we will always have our amazing memories of her and pray that she can now finally rest in peace.' Google has been accused of letting users look up the identity of rape victims. Searching online for details about attackers in prominent cases can return the names of their victims or accusers. The identities of vulnerable defendants who have been granted anonymity by a court may also be revealed. The problem is caused by Googles related search and autocomplete function. It will suggest the names of victims because it has logged popular searches for information around those names. Searching online for details about attackers in prominent cases can return the names of their victims or accusers because of Google's related search functions Maria Miller, who is chairman of the Commons women and equalities commission, told The Times: Google has to operate within the law of the UK if that means they have to change how their search engine operates, then so be it. Labour MP Jess Phillips said the technology was turning rape and abuse victims into click-bait and a rape charity said that fear of exposure could stop victims coming forward. Fay Maxted of the Survivors Trust said it was beyond shocking that Google is facilitating access to the names of victims. Police and the courts have been urged to inform the technology giant in cases where a victims anonymity is breached. Lifelong anonymity is granted to complainants and victims of sexual offences, even if the accused is acquitted. Maria Miller (left) said Google had to operate within UK law even if that meant changing its search engine, while Jess Phillips (right) said abuse victims were becoming 'click-bait' Breaching these orders is a criminal offence and comes with a fine of up to 5,000. Nine people have been convicted for posting names on social media in recent times. A Google spokesman said: We dont allow these kinds of autocomplete predictions or related searches that violate laws or our own policies and we have removed the examples weve been made aware of in this case. We recently expanded our removals policy to cover predictions which disparage victims of violence and atrocities, and we encourage people to send us feedback about any sensitive or bad prediction. A heartbroken mother is leading a class action against misdiagnosing doctors after her daughter died from cancer despite being told a lump in her breast was 'nothing to worry about'. Amy Jensen died at the age of 30, two years after she was misdiagnosed by a doctor who wrongly told her the lump in her breast was not cancerous. Eight months after her misdiagnosis, Amy got a second opinion and learnt she had advanced breast cancer. Scroll down for video A heartbroken mother is leading a class action against misdiagnosing doctors after her daughter Amy Jensen (pictured) died from cancer despite being told a lump in her breast was 'nothing to worry about' Amy's mother Leigh Jensen said she would never forget the moment she learned of her daughter's diagnosis. 'I rang and she said "I'm in the doctor's surgery right now and he's told me I've got breast cancer",' Mrs Jensen told Seven News. Amy started treatment immediately, but died just three days after she married her partner. The 30-year-old's death left her grieving husband and family devastated. Mrs Jensen believed her daughter's chance at survival would have been much greater if she was diagnosed correctly the first time and had started treatment eight months earlier. Amy's mother Leigh Jensen (pictured) said she would never forget the moment she learned of her daughter's diagnosis Amy died just three days after marrying her partner, leaving the 28-year-old devastated Mrs Jensen is now leading a group of women in a class action against misdiagnosing doctors and clinicians. She is joined by Dianne Dickenson, who was misdiagnosed herself. Mrs Dickenson was told her breast screen was clear, before discovering the result was wrong 15-months later. She underwent a mastectomy and began treatment, but was left with serious health issues, Seven News reported. Mrs Dickenson urged women, and men, to 'seek another opinion' to avoid finding themselves in a similar situation. Many sperm donors choose to keep their identity a secret. But not Clive, a former maths teacher who has fathered 65 children - and aims to soon hit 100. Like most white van drivers, Clive is a delivery man. But the nature of his packages are somewhat out of the ordinary, reports The Sun. Clive (pictured) has fathered 65 children - with 14 more on the way - and hopes to reach 100 The married 62-year-old delivers sperm - his own - to willing recipients free of charge. He happily gives up whole days to drive from his family home in Burton, Staffordshire, to wherever he is needed. On arrival, Clive parks in a nearby street before climbing into the back of his van. There he fills a syringe with his product before clambering out and ringing on the recipient's doorbell. A tip, he says, is to keep the donation in the crock of your arm so as to keep it warm. He then usually engages his recipient in a few second of idle chit chat before jumping back in his van. Often, he says, they are nervous, and this helps to put them at ease. 'I know this is probably unusual but for me, by doing it in the van there is far less involvement, less emotional attachment,' he says. Since his adventures in donation began he has fathered 65 - with another 14 on their way. His goal, he says, is to hit 100. The ex-teacher's home life is remarkably normal. He has three children with his wife and nine grandchildren. Clive, one of four donors featured in a new documentary by Channel 4, Super Sperm Donors, tries to keep his distance, both physically and emotionally. Her often engages in some lighthearted email dialogue before the handover but tries to keep face-to-face transactions short and to the point. However, because Clive is not offering his sperm via a Government-approved Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority-licensed clinic he is at risk of being deemed a legal parent. Interestingly, he believes his van will mitigate any claims he is anything more than a simple donor. Clive told The Sun: 'I also know, technically, if any of the ladies ever wanted to report me to the Child Support Agency in the future, they could nail me for 18 years for child payments. Clive took the dive and became a sperm donor in 2013 (stock image) 'This has never happened but it is another reason why I use my van.' But why go to the risk of fathering so many, for such little gain? 'I am so proud to have fathered 79 children. I love the joy it brings,' he says. 'So many people say, 'Thank you so much, Clive, you really have changed our lives'. Clive took the dive and became a sperm donor in 2013. But the idea first sparked in his head as long as a decade ago when he read the stories of others. He visited a clinic but they refused his sperm on the grounds he was too old to donate. At 62, Clive is well above the suggested age of 35 (when sperm count often begins to drop). His response was to place an advert of Facebook in which he was clear about his lifestyle - he enjoys mountain biking - and medical condition (he has no long term problems). He also provides paperwork of STI checks for anyone who asks. In response to his social media ad Clive was inundated with responses from female recipients. He says: 'About two thirds of the people I have helped are same-sex couples. The others are heterosexual couples and a few are single ladies.' Jared Kushner's former Harvard classmates have heaped scorn upon him in their 15th Anniversary Report, savaging President Donald Trump's son-in-law for his role at the White House. Ben Wikler, a fellow member of the Class of 2003, shared the brutal excepts from the class report on Twitter ahead of the 15th Reunion, scheduled for later this week in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Kushner has not publicly RSVP'd to the reunion, and did not contribute to the class report, intended as a way to share life updates. 'I, for one, am actually glad that our Class of '03 finally has a real, live fascist among us. Who says Harvard isn't diverse!' wrote Jon Sherman, a lawyer for the Fair Election Center. Jared Kushner's (above) former Harvard classmates have heaped scorn upon him in their 15th Anniversary Report ahead of the class reunion this week Kushner is seen in 2003, the year he graduated Harvard, speaking at Chabad House at Harvard Kushner has not publicly RSVP'd for the Class of 2003 reunion, scheduled for this week. Pictured: The gates of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts 'I've always wanted to meet someone who is as unfamiliar with the principles of democratic self-government or the history of twentieth-century ideologies that resulted in mass slaughter as he is with how to grow a beard,' Sherman wrote. 'Poor dude - probably just wishes he could walk around New York again without anyone calling him a traitor or collaborator.' According to Wikler, the Washington director for progressive policy advocacy group MoveOn, Kushner himself did not contribute to the class report. But other classmates had plenty to say about him in their own contributions, particularly about the fact that Kushner was accepted to Harvard following his real estate mogul father's multi-million dollar donation pledge. 'In future, I hope Harvard shows better standards in its fundraising and admissions, if only because Kushner has caused so many Harvard graduates to waste precious time and money combating his family's terrible agenda,' wrote Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a theoretical physicist and cosmologist. 'That's money we might have donated to Harvard, and time we might have spent doing notable, prize-winning work.' Classmates had plenty to say about Kushner, particularly about the fact that he was accepted to Harvard following his real estate mogul father's multi-million dollar donation pledge One unidentified classmate submitted a simple haiku: 'Real tough world right now Our classmate really involved??? Get out of here now' Other entries were in no mood for jokes. 'Mostly, I feel low-grade, constant horror as I watch attacks on refugees, minorities, my most at-risk patients, women's rights, and the environment, and new threats of nuclear war,' wrote one classmate who said her grandparents were Holocaust survivors. She continued: 'Our classmate Jared Kushner surely knows that climate change is real, and yet he watches as regulations are dismantled daily. Shame on you, Jared Kushner.' A female politician was heckled by an ABC studio audience for declaring women needed to work harder and stop being bitter if they had failed to get promoted in the workplace. First-term Victorian Liberal senator Jane Hume told the Q&A program that women, being half of the population, needed to stop thinking of themselves as a minority. 'I really dislike being patronised as if I am a minority,' she said. Scroll down for video A female politician was heckled by an ABC studio audience for declaring women needed to work harder and stop being bitter if they had failed to get promoted in the workplace The 47-year-old Melbourne-based senator, who is opposed to gender quotas, stirred up the Monday night audience when she suggested women needed to get by on their abilities instead of demanding special treatment. 'We are capable of anything but we are entitled to nothing,' she said. 'We have to work for what we want and for women that don't get there, the trick is work that little bit harder. 'Don't get bitter, get better. Work hard. Nothing that is worth getting doesn't come without hard work.' First-term Victorian Liberal senator Jane Hume (left with philosopher Peter Singer) told Q&A women, being half of the population, needed to stop thinking of themselves as a minority The discussion became tense when Senator Hume suggested an African schoolgirl from Melbourne, Sarah Ador Loi (pictured), could join the Liberal Party and be mentored Senator Hume's call for women to work harder antagonised the Q&A audience, where 41 per cent of the studio spectators identified as either Labor or Greens voters, compared with 32 per cent who declared themselves as Liberal or Nationals supporters. The panel discussion took a tense turn when Senator Hume, a former banker, suggested an African schoolgirl in the audience from Melbourne's western suburbs, Sarah Ador Loi, could get ahead if she joined the Liberal Party and was mentored. Macquarie University research fellow Randa Abdel-Fattah hit back by referencing the senator's skin colour. 'Spoken like a white, female politician,' she said as she sipped on a glass of water. The Muslim academic, who grew up in Melbourne, suggested Sarah would not have the same connections to become a politician as someone who came from the wealthy suburb of Toorak. The discussion had also focused on how just 21 per cent of federal Liberal Party politicians were women, compared with 44 per cent in the Labor Party, which has had gender targets since the mid-1990s. Residents of a Florida city received a surprising text alert during a power outage on Sunday - warning them to watch out for zombies. A fan of the undead appeared to hijack the emergency alert system to entertain themselves at 1.41am on Sunday. 'Power outage and zombie alert for residents of Lake Worth and Terminus. There are now far less than seven thousands three hundred and eighty customers involved due to extreme zombie activity. restoration time uncertain,' it read Terminus is a direct reference to a fictional location in the popular AMC show The Walking Dead, which at one point was the stronghold of a cannibalistic cult before it was overrun by zombies, or 'walkers,' in Season 5. Blame it on the undead: Residents of Lake Worth, Florida, on Sunday received alerts saying the city has been hit by a power outage 'due to extreme zombie activity' Lake Worth - population 34,900 - is best known for hosting a popular annual Finnish heritage festival and the largest Octoberfest in the region Lake Worth city spokesman Ben Kerr later posted an update in a Facebook group dedicated to the community saying officials were investigating the bogus alert and that he wanted to 'reiterate that Lake Worth does not have any zombie activity currently,' as Palm Beach Post first reported. Kerr says 7,880 customers lost power during Sunday's outage, but it was restored within 30 minutes. He did not mention what really caused the incident. Lake Worth - population 34,900 - is best known for hosting a popular annual Finnish heritage festival and the largest Octoberfest in the region. The mother of a three-year-old child who swallowed a $1 dollar coin has warned other parents to be 'vigilant'. Toddler Bronte Read was rushed to hospital on Monday after ingesting the coin at her home in Mackay Queensland. Parents waited an agonising 25 hours before she went into emergency surgery after being flown to Townsville Hospital from her home-town. Mother Kate Hull told the Daily Mercury surgeons had to push the money down her daughter's stomach to remove it. Three-year-old Bronte Read was rushed to hospital after swallowing a coin. An X-Ray of the coin trapped in her body is pictured 'They had to push the money down into her stomach, then get the forceps down to get it back up out through her mouth,' she said. Ms Hull warned other parents to be 'vigilant' around their kids to avoid a similar experience. 'We really would hate for another family to go through what we have,' she said. Ms Hull warned other parents to be careful around their kids and ensure their kids do not swallow a coin. Mackay Base Hospital doctor Andrew Giles told Daily Mail Australia children have swallowed batteries, wire, glass beads, zippers and drink can tops. 'Every year more than 40 children are seen for accidental swallowing incidents at Mackay Base Hospital,' he said in a statement. 'Objects children have swallowed include batteries, Lego, wire, glass beads, coins, a zipper pull and ring top off a drink can.' Dr Andrew Giles told Daily Mail Australia its 'normal' for kids to swallow objects so there is no room for complacency from parents He warned it is common for kids to swallow objects and said it is the job of parents to protect them. 'While the majority of objects pass through a child without complication there is no room for complacency. 'The important message is it is normal behaviour for a small child to put something into their mouth and to eat it. Thats why its the job of adults to keep them safe.' Charlize Theron will play Megyn Kelly in a film about Roger Ailes' downfall from Fox News, it has been revealed. Jay Roach will direct the ensemble piece, which will track Kelly's rise at Fox News and the storm of sexual harassment allegations that led to Ailes' ouster as chairman of the company, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Theron will portray Kelly's career at the network, where she started as a legal correspondent in 2004 and rose up to host her own primetime show. Charlize Theron (left) will play Megyn Kelly (right) in a film about Roger Ailes' downfall Fox News anchors Chris Wallace (left), Megyn Kelly and Brett Baier (right) are seen at a Republican presidential debate in 2012. Now Charlize Theron is set to play Kelly The new film will reportedly track Ailes (above) through his downfall amid harassment claims Kelly was reportedly pressured to publicly defend Ailes in 2016, when former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit, leading to his resignation. Kelly did not come to Ailes' defense, however, and in her book released months later she revealed her accounts of him sexually harassing, making lewd remarks and even trying to grab and kiss her in his office. Ailes died in May 2017, and denied the allegations. Megyn Kelly (left) poses with Kathy Lee Gifford during the royal wedding festivities Kelly is seen on the set of The Kelly File in 2013. She left Fox News in 2017 to join NBC Charlize Theron is seen in her new film, Tully, a comedy in which she plays a struggling mother of two who is pregnant with an unplanned third child The new film is said to be an ensemble piece, focusing on Ailes as well as Carlson, former anchor Greta Van Susteren, owner Rupert Murdoch and fired host Bill O'Reilly. Currently in theaters is Theron's film Tully, a comedy in which she plays a struggling mother of two who is pregnant with an unplanned third child. Kelly departed Fox News in January 2017 to join NBC, where she is reportedly being paid between $15 million and $20 million. A woman who stabbed her cousin after she borrowed her $184,000 Mercedes, told Triple Zero she was tending to her wounds when she was really cleaning the bloodied knife. Katherine Abdallah was found guilty in December at her retrial of the manslaughter of her 21-year-old cousin Suzie Sarkis who died in 2013. The 36-year-old did not react as she was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday to a maximum nine years behind bars with a non-parole period of six years and nine months. Scroll down for video Katherine Abdallah pictured as she emerges from a prison vehicle at the Supreme Court of NSW for her sentencing hearing in Sydney, Tuesday The pair had been fighting over Abdallah's new $184,000 Mercedes before she armed herself with knives and killed her relative at her Brighton-Le-Sands townhouse on February 9, 2013. Abdallah initially told officers the culprit was a fat, tall Lebanese woman with a tattoo on her hand before claiming self-defence once CCTV footage was found. She also lied to a triple-zero operator saying she was applying pressure to the wound when she was in fact carefully cleaning the two knives. Katherine Abdallah (right) was found guilty in December at her retrial of the manslaughter of 21-year-old Suzie Sarkis in 2013 The night before the death Abdallah told police 'she's going to be in serious trouble when I get her' for driving the car without permission and damaging the front wheel. 'You guys will probably be called back,' she added in what proved to be an eerily accurate prediction. Justice Julia Lonergan said Abdallah betrayed the loved ones of Ms Sarkis, whom she had once called her 'baby sister'. 'This terrible crime has torn the family apart,' she said. Justice Julia Lonergan said Abdallah betrayed the loved ones of Suzie Sarkis (pictured), whom she had once called her 'baby sister' The pair had been fighting over Abdallah's (pictured) new $184,000 Mercedes before she armed herself with knives and killed her relative at her Brighton-Le-Sands townhouse on February 9, 2013 The court had previously heard the grieving brother of Ms Sarkis had to visit her grave on his wedding day last year so she could be part of the celebration. 'I don't understand how a person could do this to her family,' the victim's sister Christine Sarkis told a March sentence hearing. 'Is that person full of jealousy, is that person full of hatred or are you simply evil?' Abdallah originally faced a murder trial but was found guilty of the less serious charge of manslaughter and jailed in May 2015 for at least eight years and three months. Later that year she successfully challenged her conviction and was ordered to face a second trial. She was released on bail in February 2016. Sister of Suzie Sarkis, Christine Sarkas speaks to the media outside the Supreme Court of NSW in Sydney, Tuesday 'I don't understand how a person could do this to her family,' the victim's sister Christine Sarkis (pictured) said Sister of Suzie Sarkis, Christine Sarkas outside court on Tuesday after Abdallah was sentenced to jail The doctor of a councillor on trial for indecent assault has been asked to measure the length of the accused's penis using a wooden ruler. The bizarre case is reaching its second day at the Wellington District Court and the accused has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of indecent assault. Kapiti councillor David Scott, 71, is accused of pressing himself against a Kapiti Coast District Council employee as she was talking to the mayor at a morning tea in April 2017, the New Zealand Herald reported. In New Zealand's Wellington District Court (pictured), the doctor of a New Zealand Councillor on trial for indecent assault has been asked to measure the length of the accused's penis using a wooden ruler According to Stuff NZ, the woman gave evidence before a Wellington District Court jury on Monday. 'I felt a touch on my right hip as if someone was asking me to move so I moved, about half a metre, then the hand came back and I felt a man's body rubbing along the left-hand side of me and another hand grabbed my other hip, gripping me very tightly,' she said. 'The bit that was pressing into me was four or five inches,' she said. It was reported that she looked back at Mr Scott following this alleged interaction. 'I was quite disgusted ... the mayor asked me what was wrong. I said it was that man and that he was disgusting. Scott then walked off without a word,' she said. She rejected suggestions that the item could have been a wallet, phone or insulin kit, rather than male genitalia. The trial is to hear a single charge of indecent assault after it was alleged that a Mr Scott (pictured) pressed his genitalia into a Kapiti Coast District Council employee as she was talking to the mayor at a morning tea in 2017 (stock image) According to reports, Mr Scott said that he underwent an adult circumcision in November 2016 which would have made any contact in his pelvic region extremely painful. His GP Dr Bernard Cammack acted as a Crown witness and testified that he treated Mr Scott multiple times between the start of December 2016 and the date of the alleged indecent assault. However, he said that in this time he made no notes about Mr Scott's penile operation. During the cross examination, defence lawyer Mike Antunovic asked Dr Cammack to measure the length of Mr Scott's penis in a different room. The length of this measurement are suppressed. It was reported that Mr Antunovic also asked another witness to measure Mr Scott's wallet which was about four and a half inches long. According to reports, the woman also told the jury about a previous interaction with Mr Scott where he saw her eating sausage rolls at the morning tea and said that women should be eating salad. A tenant who illegally sublet his apartment on Airbnb and made more than $12,450 has had to hand over the profits to his landlord. The apartment, in New Zealand's capital Wellington, was sublet at least 54 times over a six month period. The tenant had signed a lease agreement that stated the property could not be sublet to Airbnb and similar platforms without the landlord's written consent. Keith Powell of Nice Place Property Management was asked to investigate on behalf of the owners who are based in the United States. The apartment (pictured), in New Zealand's capital Wellington, was sublet at least 54 times over a six month period After being contacted about the issue, the tenant left the property - claiming it was unsafe due to the 2016 earthquakes. 'It's unusual to see the Tenancy Agreement explicitly state that sub-leasing on Airbnb is prohibited,' Powell told stuff.co.nz. 'So, finding that in just six months the tenant had done so on at least 54 separate occasions, missed rent, installed a dead bolt on the door and then disappeared, you've got to wonder what was going on.' Morrison Kent Lawyers representing Powell argued that it was unreasonable to allow the tenant to profit from the breach of the agreement. As well as the Airbnb profits the tenant was ordered to pay unpaid rent, damages for abandonment, sub-leasing and replacing locks, and for door replacement. 'Being able to recover the profits from the sub-leasing activity sets a precedent, meaning there is now a legal basis for seeking that the profits be paid to an aggrieved landlord where a tenant sublets their rental property in breach of the tenancy agreement,' said Shehan Gunatunga from Morrison Kent Lawyers. A tenant who illegally sublet his apartment on Airbnb and made more than $12,450 has had to hand over profits to the landlord (stock picture) A former live export industry boss who falsified documents that led to 22,000 Australian sheep being brutally slaughtered in Pakistan will be sentenced in Perth. The 2012 shipment of sheep had been rejected by Bahrain due to disease fears but Garry Robinson's falsified paperwork prompted Pakistani authorities to accept them. When they found out about the deception they clubbed and cut the throats of the sheep, and masses of the injured and dying animals were buried alive. A former live export industry boss (pictured) who falsified documents that led to 22,000 Australian sheep being brutally slaughtered in Pakistan will be sentenced in Perth A former live export industry boss who falsified documents that led to 22,000 Australian sheep being brutally slaughtered in Pakistan will be sentenced in Perth (stock image) Robinson, who at the time was export manager for Wellard Rural Exports, was charged with intending to dishonestly influence a commonwealth public official in the exercise of the official's duties. Robinson has worked for companies including Emanuel Exports and Livestock Shipping Services. He is currently commercial livestock sales manager with Harmony Agriculture and Food Company. Pictured is live export transport ship, Bader lll, leaving Inner Harbour Port Adelaide on April 28, 2018 Robinson (pictured, centre), who at the time was export manager for Wellard Rural Exports, was charged with intending to dishonestly influence a commonwealth public official in the exercise of the official's duties 'With the exciting opportunities for our industry evident in so many places,' his biography reads 'I am pleased to be part of a team that has both the practical and strategic skills to make things happen'. Robinson's sentencing comes amid an unprecedented level of calls to ban live exports. The court hearing takes place a day after New South Wales rural-based Liberal MP Sussan Ley introduced legislation to phase out the sheep trade to the Middle East over five years. The furore was sparked last month when footage of 2400 sheep dying in filth and extreme heat on an Emanuel Exports journey on board the Awassi Express in August was broadcast. Robinson's (pictured, right) sentencing comes amid an unprecedented level of calls to ban live exports Telstra has blamed software failure for a nationwide outage which affected millions of customers. Frustrated customers were unable to access the mobile network on Monday as an outage left people unable to make phone calls. Telstra network head Mike Wright said a 'software fault' was to blame for the network failure. It comes in the midst of an advertising campaign which promotes Telstra's allegedly widespread mobile coverage - comparing it to the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Scroll down for video Telstra's network failure comes in the midst of an advertising campaign which promotes the telco's allegedly widespread mobile coverage Telstra has blamed a software failure for a nationwide outage which affected millions of customers 'The network is designed to switch over to standby hardware which it did but what happened was a second fault in the failover mechanism that isolated our 4G customers from our network,' Mr Wright told ABC Radio Melbourne. The switchover led to a flood of data on to Telstra's 3G network, which exceeded its capacity. In a statement, Telstra said they are still investigating the cause of the software fault. 'We are working closely with our technology vendors on the specific element of software which triggered the issue. 'Our teams have worked around the clock to restore services and to investigate why the redundancy in our network did not prevent customer impact, for which we are deeply sorry. 'We will continue to closely monitor network stability and performance. Outage maps showed massive numbers of reports in all major Australian cities on Monday, and a spike in problems beginning just before 8am. According to Telstra, the fault began about 10am after 'key network equipment' failed Telstra has not confirmed how many customers were affected by the outage Telstra network head Mike Wright said a 'software fault' was to blame for the network failure According to Telstra, the fault began about 10am after 'key network equipment' failed. Mr Wright said there is no evidence that the network had been hacked, and that patches will be introduced to stop the fault from occurring again. Telstra has not confirmed how many customers were affected by the outage. The network failure comes as Telstra advertises the strength of its network, saying it has 'more coverage than [the] Royal Wedding'. A photo of the billboard was shared on Instagram by Brown Cardigan, with the caption 'highly debatable'. CNN anchor Don Lemon has repeated his belief that President Donald Trump is racist. Lemon made the remark during an interview for Showtimes The Circus, which aired this past Sunday. Lemon was asked by host Mark McKinnon about Trumps attacks against reporters. While the president has been known to go after CNN, McKinnon noted that Trump very rarely mentions specific reporters. Don Lemon says Donald Trump, who once called the CNN anchor a lightweight and dumb as a rock, says the president is racist. Lemon made the remark during an interview for Showtimes The Circus, which aired this past Sunday. He is seen left with The Circus host Mark McKinnon Trump gave an interview to Lemon in 2015 (above) after the San Bernardino massacre One of the few names at CNN to be mentioned by Trump is Lemon. Hmm, Lemon said. Why do you think? Why do you think? When McKinnon said Trump goes after people who bother him or threaten him, Lemon disagreed. 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. Ironically, Trump gave an interview to Lemon in 2015 during which he denied he was a racist, according to The Wrap. 'I am the least racist person that you have ever met,' said Trump, who at the time was the frontrunner in the race for the Republican nomination. 'I am the least racist person.' Even though Trump has said that he doesnt watch CNN, the president watches every night, Lemon told Showtime. Lemon then considered the reason that Trump doesnt attack MSNBC as often as he does CNN or The New York Times. 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]. My feelings about this president have been known. Ive said it on the air. I think that he is racist, Lemon said. Trump is seen at the White House on Monday Trump has attacked Lemon by name in his tweets (like the one seen above) Last year, Trump referred to Lemon as 'the dumbest man on television' Trump has also called Lemon a 'lightweight' who is 'dumb as a rock' Trump has launched Twitter tirades at MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of Morning Joe. Last month, he lashed out at Maggie Haberman of the Times after she wrote a story he did not like. In one tweet, Trump even referred to Lemon's CNN colleague, White House reporter Jim Acosta, as 'crazy Jim Acosta.' After McKinnon reminded Lemon of a 2016 tweet in which Trump called him dumb as a rock, Lemon replied: Whatever he says, its the opposite. Dumb people dont usually do two hours a night of primetime. The CNN primetime star said that Trump and his administration are factually challenged. This is not the first time that Lemon has called Trump a racist. Meanwhile, a photo surfaced on social media showing Lemon partying in the Hamptons with Michael Avenatti, the attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels In January, the CNN anchor blasted the president for his remarks in which he labeled Haiti, El Salvador, and Africa as s***hole countries. That night, Lemon began his broadcast, saying: The president of the United States is racist. Those comments are frankly disgusting, Lemon said. Theres other language I would like to use, but we are on television. But you know what? Theyre not shocking. Not even really surprising, because this is who Donald Trump is. This is what he thinks. Meanwhile, a photo surfaced on social media showing Lemon partying in the Hamptons with Michael Avenatti, the attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels. Daniels is suing Trump to free herself from a non-disclosure agreement she signed to prevent her from talking about an alleged affair they had over 10 years ago. Avenatti has been a frequent guest on both CNN and MSNBC. He has also been interviewed by Lemon. The revelation that Daniels was paid $130,000 by Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, before the 2016 elections has led to a criminal investigation against Cohen. The girlfriend of a triple killer who hacked his South African family to death and then denied he was the axe-murderer sobbed in court as he was found guilty of the slaughter. Former Perth student Henri van Breda, 23, and lover Danielle Janse van Rensberg, 22, looked nervous and held hands as they arrived for the judge's verdict on the long-running murder trial. Van Breda, 23, had claimed a masked intruder killed his 21-year-old brother Rudi and wealthy parents Martin, 54, and Teresa, 55, and butchered his sister Marli at their South Africa home in January 2015. Henri claimed he fell unconscious and survived. But Judge Siraj Desai swept his argument aside on Monday, finding him guilty on three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of misleading justice. In his corner: Henri van Breda and clutched the hand of his girlfriend Danielle Janse van Rensberg ahead of the judge's ruling at the Western Cape High Court this week A happier time: van Breda and Ms van Rensberg met at 'chef school' in 2016. She has been a close supporter of his throughout the murder trial Two years ago, Miss van Rensberg told a magazine she believed he was innocent of the crimes 'After considering all the evidence, the result is inescapable... that the accused was the perpetrator of the crime is the only reasonable conclusion,' Desai 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 hand-cuffed from behind and tried to say a few words to his sobbing girlfriend before he was led into the basement of the court from the dock. Miss van Rensberg watched much of the trial from the back of the courtroom. The couple have been living together in recent years since meeting at a cooking school in February 2016. In an extraordinary interview that year, Miss van Rensberg said she believed he was '100 per cent' innocent.' But now he could face a life sentence behind bars for each of the murder offences. 'CONVINCED OF HIS INNOCENCE': LOVER'S EXTRAORDINARY SPRAY Front page news: Henri van Breda and Danielle Janse van Rensberg in South Africa's YOU magazine Triple murderer Henri van Breda's lover told one of South Africa's biggest selling magazines he only 'wants justice for his family'. Two years ago, Danielle Janse van Rensberg took to the pages of YOU magazine to defend her then murder-accused boyfriend. 'Anyone who spends a day with him (Henri) will realise he couldn't do such a thing,' Miss van Rensberg said. 'I believe in his innocence 100 per cent.' She revealed she only learned of the allegations against him about a month before he was charged with murder. When he talks about his family he gets emotional but hes doing well,' she told the magazine. Hes strong, really very strong. Hell often bring up his family and talk about his brother especially. He only remembers the good.' Advertisement Van Breda was emotionless in court as he was found guilty of murder, plus counts of attempted murder and 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 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 In his court 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 killing. '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. 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 moved to Australia many years ago before returning to South Africa in 2014. 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 - 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 refugee with epilepsy has died at Australia's Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea after leaping from a bus. The deceased man, a Muslim Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, was being transported from the compound to accommodation in the town centre at the time of his death shortly before 11am local time. Journalist and Kurdish refugee Behrouz Boochani said the man with a long history of epilepsy. A refugee with epilepsy has died at Australia's Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea after leaping from a bus 'Apparently he jumped out of the moving bus and was face-planted into the ground after he was hit by the wheels,' he tweeted today. Papua New Guinean police told the ABC his body had been taken to hospital as they interviewed other refugees and asylum seekers who witnessed the tragedy. Mr Boochani said he was returned to Manus Island two years ago after going to Australia for treatment. 'He was suffering for a long time,' he said. 'The refugees are deeply saddened by the news of another death.' The deceased man, a Muslim Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, was being transported from the compound to accommodation in the town centre at the time of his death He blamed the Australian authorities for ignoring the sick refugee's medical needs. 'All of us knew him and we were aware of his illness,' Mr Boochani said. 'He occasionally used to pass out and needed urgent medical treatment. 'But the Australian immigration chose to ignore him.' The man was the seventh asylum-seeker or refugee to die at Manus Island since it re-opened as a detention centre in 2012. The death toll included in 2014 a 24-year-old Iranian, Hamid Kehazaei, who had sought medical treatment at the detention centre's clinic for an infected wound. An inmate jailed for 20 years for the murder of a pizza deliveryman has been freed after his attorneys accused prosecutors of withholding 'staggering' evidence of his innocence. Corey Williams, now 36, took his triumphant first steps as a free man outside Louisiana State Penitentiary on Tuesday morning - after a judge agreed to overturn his 2000 murder conviction. In a plea deal with Caddo Parish prosecutors on Monday, Williams agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter and obstruction of justice charges in return for having his murder charges vacated. He was freed from Louisiana State Penitentiary this morning. Corey Williams, 36, has finally been freed (pictured taking his first steps of freedom outside the Louisiana State Penitentiary) decades after he was wrongly convicted of murdering a pizza deliveryman Williams (accompanied by his lawyer, left) walks through the entrance to the jail after accepting a plea deal with Caddo Parish prosecutors, where he agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter and obstruction of justice charges in return for having his murder charges vacated 'Moments ago, I had the honor of walking Corey Williams out of prison,' defense attorney Amir Ali tweeted along with a picture of the newly released Williams outside of jail. 'He spent the last 20 years there, after being wrongfully convicted as a 16 year old child. 'Prosecutors convicted Corey for a murder he didn't commit. They withheld evidence of his innocence, including statements by witnesses that Corey couldn't have been the one who committed the crime. This was about convicting SOMEONE for the tragic crime, without regard to who. 'We can all live with a freer conscience knowing that, finally, Corey has return home to his family.' The deal comes several weeks after Williams' attorneys asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case and reverse his 2000 murder conviction. A group of 44 former prosecutors and Justice Department officials, including former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, signed a brief in support of a petition by Williams' lawyers. But nonprofit criminal justice outlet, Marshall Project, believes it's a raw deal. 'By pleading guilty he forgoes the chance to seek compensation from the state and will have a conviction on his record as he beginsat the relatively young age of 36to chart a post-prison life for himself. 'His lawyers may have felt that getting Williams quickly out of prison, where he reportedly has been bullied because of his disabilities, was more important than ensuring he might one day seek compensation from a state unlikely to grant it.' Ali praised Caddo Parish District Attorney James Stewart Sr. 'for taking a hard look at what happened in Corey's case and agreeing to his release.' Williams, who is is mentally disabled, confessed after a lengthy interrogation with police Williams was an intellectually disabled 16-year-old when police arrested him in the January 1998 shooting death of Jarvis Griffin, who was killed and robbed while delivering a pizza to a Shreveport home. 'Twenty years ago, Corey went outside to hang out with friends. It has taken him 20 years to make it back home,' Ali said in a statement. 'No one can give Corey that time back. But with Corey's immediate release, we end this horrible tragedy.' Suzanne Williams, a prosecutor assigned to Williams' case, didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday. Before the shooting, Williams was hospitalized for extreme lead poisoning, still sucked his thumb and frequently urinated on himself, according to his lawyers. A district court judge overturned Williams' death sentence in 2004 on the basis of his disabilities. Williams' lawyers said there wasn't any physical evidence linking him to the killing. Witnesses saw several older men steal money and pizza from Griffin and saw Williams running from the house alone with nothing in his hands after the shooting, according to his lawyers. One of the older men, Chris Moore, was the only witness who identified Williams as the shooter. Fingerprints found on the murder weapon belonged to one of the other older men, and the victim's blood was found on clothing worn by a third older man, according to Williams' lawyers. 'Moments ago, I had the honor of walking Corey Williams out of prison,' defense attorney Amir Ali tweeted along with a picture of the newly released Williams outside of jail Police officers found Williams hiding under a sheet on a couch at his grandmother's house. He initially denied killing Griffin but changed his story after police questioned him through the night. 'His confession was brief, devoid of corroborating details,' his lawyers wrote in their March 2 petition to the Supreme Court. 'Having just assumed responsibility for a homicide, Corey told the officers, 'I'm tired. I'm ready to go home and lay down.'' Williams' lawyers say his conviction was based primarily on that confession and the testimony of Moore. Only after Williams' trial did his attorneys obtain recordings of witness interviews pointing to his innocence. The withheld recordings showed police had suspected the older men were plotting to frame Williams for the killing, according to Williams' lawyers. Prosecutors denied violating their duty to disclose evidence favorable to Williams. Dale Cox, Caddo Parish's former acting district attorney, said in a 2015 court filing that Williams hasn't proved the recorded witness statements contained 'exculpatory' evidence or that withholding them deprived him of a fair trial. 'The State presented to the jury a confession that was wholly corroborated by eyewitness testimony,' he wrote. Cox, who once told a reporter he believes the state needs to 'kill more people,' personally prosecuted one-third of the Louisiana cases that resulted in death sentences between 2010 and 2015, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. In a 4-2 vote last October, the Louisiana Supreme Court refused to hold a hearing on Williams' claims. His attorneys asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review that decision, but the court hadn't acted on the request prior to Monday's plea deal. A court filing accompanying Williams' guilty plea on Monday says prosecutors could have presented evidence that Williams was present for Griffin's shooting and 'aided and abetted' the killing. A man has threatened to burn all Centrelink offices down if the Government doesn't ban the cashless welfare card. The angry man told the agency to 'abandon the cards' and 'stop treating people like animals' in a twitter post on Monday night. Cashless card recipients receive 80 per cent of their social welfare payment by the card and cannot use it to buy alcohol, gamble, or withdraw cash. He pledged to burn down every single Centrelink office if the card is not banned. Scroll down for video A man has threatened to burn all Centrelink offices down if the Government doesn't ban the cashless welfare card 'Abandon the cashless cards and fix your processes, stop treating people like animals,' he said. 'I swear to God I'll burn all your offices down if you don't get this right.' Centrelink hit back, warning the recipient they take threats 'very seriously'. 'We take threats seriously and are concerned about the comments you've made,' the agency posted on Twitter. 'I swear to God I'll burn all your offices down if you don't get this right' he threatened the social welfare agency 'Our department delivers payments in line with the policy set by a number of government departments and the relevant legislation. He continued his rage with a series of posts complaining about having to apply for 20 jobs per month. 'Whoever introduce this 20 jobs per month plan...fire him or her,' he said. 'I'm joking.. but put them down on the side so they can learn to respect people.' Recipients of the cashless card are unable to use the payment on the card to buy alcohol, gamble, or withdraw cash Recipients of the card receive only 20 per cent of their payment in the bank, and the rest on the card. The cashless card applies to Centrelink recipients in Ceduna, South Australia, the East Kimberley and Goldfields region in Western Australia. A spokesperson for the Department of Human Services said Centrelink has no tolerance for anti-social behaviour. 'We take threats, including those made on social media, very seriously,' she said in a statement. 'Following an incident, the department reviews what servicing arrangements may be appropriate for the person concerned and this may include liaising with authorities if required. 'The safety and well-being of our customers and staff is our most important priority but we will not be commenting further on this specific incident.' A spokesperson for the Department of Social Services said independent research had shown positive results in Ceduna and the East Kimberley with less drinking, gambling and drug use. A carpenter threatened to rape a policeman's wife and daughter after assaulting two officers and smashing the windscreen of a patrol car at his own birthday drinks, a court has heard. David Sikais, who has 'F*** the police' tattooed across his abdomen, had summoned mates to a party at Darlinghurst in Sydney's inner-city on Sunday afternoon, the day before his 27th birthday. 'Sunday birthday session arvo till late??,' Sikais wrote on Facebook last Thursday. 'Whose keen bit late notice but the unplanned nights are always the best.' On Sunday at 3.39pm he followed up with this message: 'What time is it??? PARTY TIME.' Five hours later Sikais was in police custody, having allegedly assaulted two officers, punched in the windscreen of a patrol car and resisted arrest. Police successfully applied for carpenter Daivd Sikais to be refused bail when he faced court on Tuesday after a birthday drink he arranged on Sunday ended with him in police custody Stevie Bamford was with David Sikais when he was arrested at Darlinghurst on Sunday night. Bamford was once jailed in Thailand for 15 days after falsely accusing a driver of raping her David Sikais pictured mucking around with police outside Manchester's Old Trafford stadium Five hours before he was arrested on Sunday night David Sikais was inviting friends to party Sikais, who was with his sometime model girlfriend Stevie Bamford, was eventually arrested after allegedly spitting at police. Central Local Court heard on Tuesday he then told a male officer: 'I will rape your wife and your daughter. You wait until I get out of here. I will hunt you down and I will kill you.' Police had been called to an address in Hills Street about 8.30pm after reports of 15 to 20 partygoers fighting. The court heard that Sikais had been asked to leave but continued fighting, fell to the ground, got up and jumped onto the bonnet of a marked car. It is alleged he then punched in the windscreen. Once subdued, Sikais was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital 'due to his level of drug intoxication', according to a police statement. David Sikais, who has been charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest as well as threatening to rape an officer's wife, has 'F*** the police' tattooed across his abdomen Central Local Court heard David Sikais, 27 employed two workers at a carpentry business When he appeared in Central Local Court on Tuesday carpenter David Sikais said he would defend all the charges he was facing including assaulting police, affray and resisting arrest He was released from hospital on Monday and taken to Surry Hills police station where he was charged with two counts of assaulting police, three counts of resisting arrest, intimidating police, affray and offensive behaviour. The court heard Sikais was already on two good behaviour bonds, one for assaulting police and another for destroying property. His solicitor said Sikais, from Hurlstone Park in Sydney's inner-west, had been a carpenter for 10 years and two men working for him were in court as support. His criminal record had begun in January 2017 and he was seeing a psychiatrist. On Sunday night Sikais had been in the company of Stevie Bamford, who pleaded guilty the next day to assaulting police. Sometime model Stevie Bamford was fined $800 for assaulting police on Sunday night Police allege David Sikais was intoxicated when he allegedly assaulted two officers on Sunday David Sikais has 'Winx' tattooed on his right middle finger, having backed the champion mare to win the 2016 Cox Plate. Sikais bet $6,000 for a $11,400 return The interior design student from Maroubra, who is the daughter of rugby league great Peter Tunks, was fined $800 and put on an 18-month good behaviour bond. Bamford suggested when she faced Central Local Court on Monday she had been coming to the aid of Sikais when she accidentally scratched a sergeant's neck. The 26-year-old spent 15 days in a Thai jail in 2012 after falsely accusing a tuk tuk driver of raping her in Patong. Magistrate Robert Williams said each of the charges Sikais faced carried a prison sentence and it was 'highly likely' he would go to jail if convicted. Mr Williams said the police case was strong and Sikais represented an unacceptable risk to public safety if granted bail. Sikais, who the court heard intended to defend the charges, had his case adjourned until May 25. Upon Sikais being refused bail one of his supporters yelled 'Love you Dave'. Sydney carpenter David Sikais was already on a good behaviour bond for assaulting police Case closed: Sidney Kilmartin, 56, was sentenced on Tuesday to 25 years in prison for mailing a fatal dose of cyanide to a suicidal Englishman in 2012 A Maine man was sentenced on Tuesday to 25 years in prison for mailing a fatal dose of cyanide to a suicidal Englishman, which the victim used to end his own life. Sidney Kilmartin, 56, learned his fate four years after he was arrested for sending the poison to Andrew Denton of Hull, England. The case raised several legal questions, including whether the act of mailing a fatal substance to a suicidal person was tantamount to murder. The Windham, Maine, resident, was found guilty in 2016 of mailing injurious articles resulting in death and witness tampering in a case that frequently was delayed in court. His lawyer, Bruce Merrill of Portland, said he would appeal both the conviction and the sentence. Investigators charged Kilmartin with advertising and mailing a substance he said was cyanide to several suicidal people. It was really Epsom salt. But the investigators found Kilmartin sent the real thing to Denton after Denton had threatened to report the fraud, and the Englishman used it to kill himself on New Year's Eve in 2012. He was 49 years old. A court affidavit said Kilmartin obtained the cyanide by posing as a jeweler to persuade a California distributor to ship him 100g of the lethal chemical for $127.56. Andrew Denton (pictured), 49, took the cyanide and was found dead in his Hull, England, home on New Year's Eve in 2012 Judge John Woodcock expressed sympathy for Kilmartin, who himself has attempted suicide in the past, once intentionally overdosing on antipsychotic medication and drinking antifreeze. But the judge added that Kilmartin's fraud and role in Denton's death represented an 'appalling moral vacuum' worthy of stiff punishment. 'Not merely illegal - they were perpetrated in a moral black hole,' Woodcock said. 'Just an unimaginable moral black well that these actions took place in.' Kilmartin, who wore an orange prison jumpsuit and spoke only to address the judge, faced a maximum sentence of life in prison. Merrill had said in an earlier sentence hearing that he felt a fair sentence would range from zero to 20 years because of Kilmartin's history of mental illness. ilmartin obtained the cyanide by posing as a jeweler to persuade a California distributor to ship him 100g of the lethal chemical (stock photo) Kilmartin and Denton were 'kindred spirits' who related to each other because they were both suicidal, Merrill said Tuesday. He said the two communicated in a chatroom about the most effective way to take the cyanide, a highly toxic, colorless salt. 'Two very ill, depressed people talking about the best way to take potassium cyanide,' he said. 'Not the kind of conversation people normally have.' US Attorney Halsey Frank said during Tuesday's sentencing that Kilmartin deliberately took advantage of depressed people for his own gain. He described Kilmartin's actions as 'killing someone to obstruct justice while taking advantage of vulnerable people.' A transgender woman charged over the death of her older boyfriend had allegedly been in a violent relationship with the man she is accused of killing. Jade Walker, 31, is accused of breaking into the home of her older boyfriend Gilbert Caetano, 51, about 1.10am on Sunday, and fatally bludgeoning him to the head. Ms Walker, who is the older sister of Manly rugby league star Dylan Walker, has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated breaking into a dwelling. Friends of Ms Walker told Daily Mail Australia the couple had been in a long term relationship and claimed that it was 'volatile and violent'. Scroll down for video Jade Walker (pictured), 31, has been charged with allegedly killing her older boyfriend Gilbert Caetano on Sunday morning. Friends of Ms Walker have revealed the relationship was 'volatile' Mr Caetano (pictured) died after allegedly being bludgeoned in his parents Sydney home 'She's been through a lot there is another side to this which will eventually come out,' one friend of Ms Walker said on Tuesday. At her family home in Botany, in Sydney's south, family friends said her mum was too distressed to talk about her daughter's alleged violent relationship with Mr Caetano. 'She doesn't want to comment, there might come a time when she does but she is still trying to come to terms with it now,' a family friend said. Police have also taken an AVO out against Ms Walker - under her given name Brodie Walker - on behalf of Mr Caetano's mother Cristina. It is understood Mrs Caetano was home at the time of the alledged attack. While Ms Walker remains in custody until she faces court next week, friends posted messages of support on her social media accounts. 'Try keep ya head up boo luv ya', one friend wrote. Ms Walker, who transitioned to a female several years ago, has regularly posted on social media about how proud she is to be transgender. '#transgender #transisbeautiful,' she posted to her Instagram account. Mr Caetano is understood to have been celebrating his father's 80th birthday on Saturday night, just hours before his death. Ms Walker (far right), the older sister of rugby league star Dylan (centre), was charged with manslaughter and aggravated break-in over Mr Caetano's death Police have also taken an AVO out against Ms Walker (pictured) - under her given name Brodie Walker - on behalf of Mr Caetano's mother Cristina Under the standard terms of the AVO, Ms Walker can not go within 500 metres of the Brighton-Le-Sands address where Mr Caetano died. Ms Walker was refused bail during a brief appearance in Sutherland Local Court this week, with police alleging she made 'admissions to the offence' during interviews. She will return to the court next week for a mention hearing. At the Mascot hair salon where Ms Walker worked, staff declined to comment. 'We don't want to talk about it,' a staff member said. On Ms Walker's social media accounts, she describes herself as transgender. '#transgender #transisbeautiful,' she posted to her Instagram account. On Sunday morning his heartbroken daughter Jessica Caetano told media outside the Brighton-Le-Sands home that she knew little of her father's girlfriend. Mr Caetano's heartbroken daughter Jessica (left, pictured with her mother and Mr Caetano's ex-wife) told media outside the Brighton-Le-Sands home where he was killed that her father 'did not deserve this' On Ms Walker's social media and Instagram accounts, she describes herself as transgender 'I don't really know the full story but she's been around for a while,' Ms Caetano said of her father's lover. Neighbours claimed they heard a woman yelling at the house on General Holmes Dr, followed by a 'loud bang'. Ms Caetano said her father 'was a kid at heart' and her family was left shattered by his death. 'The best way to describe him is probably a kid at heart... a fun, loving and caring person,' Jessica said, with her mother and Mr Caetano's ex-wife by her side. 'I don't think he deserved this at all.' Police were called to the home at 1.10am on Sunday where they allegedly found Mr Caetano unconscious and attempted to revive him, but were unsuccessful. Neighbours claimed they heard a woman yelling at the house (pictured) on General Holmes Dr, followed by a 'loud bang' Manly Sea Eagles released a statement on Monday afternoon saying they would be supporting Walker's family throughout the legal proceedings. 'Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have been advised today of a serious legal matter involving a close family member of NRL player, Dylan Walker,' the statement read. 'The Club's focus during this challenging period... is on fully supporting Dylan and his family.' Walker suffered a serious eye socket injury during Manly's clash with Melbourne on Saturday night - just hours before the alleged incident involving his sibling. There is more evidence of President Donald Trump's alleged crimes than there was during Richard Nixon's time in the White House, George W. Bush's chief ethics lawyer has said. Richard Painter, a former Republican who is now running for a Senate seat in Minnesota as a Democrat, told CBS News there is 'far more evidence of abuse of power and obstruction of justice' against Trump than there ever was against Nixon. Nixon was forced to resign in 1974 after it was learned he was involved in covering up crimes connected to the Watergate burglary. Richard Painter (left), a former Republican who is now running for a Senate seat from Minnesota as a Democrat, said there is 'far more evidence of abuse of power and obstruction of justice' against Trump than there ever was against Nixon. President Trump is seen right Painter said it's up to Congress to put a check on Trump, whose alleged crimes he says pale in comparison to Watergate. 'We're well beyond that point and yet the House and the Senate won't do anything at all,' the former White House ethics counsel said. Painter says there is 'very strong evidence' that Trump violated the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution which bars members of the federal government from receiving gifts from foreign countries. Maryland and the District of Columbia are suing Trump for allegedly violating the Constitutions 'emoluments' clause that bars U.S. officials from accepting gifts or other payments from foreign governments without congressional approval. The same clause also bars the president from receiving gifts and payments from individual states. Trump has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that the president has 'absolute immunity.' He says that Trump's travel ban potentially violates the First Amendment of the Constitution. Nixon was forced to resign in 1974 after it was learned he was involved in covering up crimes connected to the Watergate burglary. He is seen above giving a farewell speech at the White House on August 9, 1974 The First Amendment prohibits Congress from promoting a religion over others. Critics of the travel ban say it is really a 'Muslim ban' and is therefore unconstitutional. 'Going after President Trump's abuse of power and violations of the constitution needs to be the number one priority,' Painter said. The president instituted a travel ban on a number of Muslim-majority nations which Trump claims pose a security risk to the country. The ban has been challenged in the courts. Painter slammed Trump, saying his behavior was 'unprecedented even in the most conservative circles of the Republican Party.' He said that Democrats need to be more vocal in calling out Trump. 'I think this president is a great risk to our democracy and he has shown that since he was elected,' Painter said. He said he believes that both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence should be removed from office. Painter also said that Trump's 'abuse of power in office, his violation of the constitution, his rhetoric...borders on fascist.' Painter was the chief ethics lawyer for the Bush administration from 2005 until 2007. He is now running for the Senate seat vacated by Al Franken, the Democrat who resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. Franken was replaced by the current senator, Tina Smith. A father accused of intentionally ramming his car into a restaurant where his family was eating brunch, killing two of them, has appeared in court, as new details emerge about the events leading up to the tragedy. Roger Glenn Self, 62, said little on Monday afternoon and showed little emotion when he appeared before a judge in Gastonia, North Carolina on two charges of first-degree murder in the crash the day before. Two were killed in the horror car rampage at the Surf and Turf Lodge in nearby Bessemer City. They were Self's daughter Katelyn Self, who was a Gaston County sheriff's deputy, and his daughter-in-law Amanda Self, a nurse who was married to a police officer. He faced a judge for the first time as it was revealed that Katelyn had arranged for them to eat brunch together, in a bid to cheer him up. Roger Self is escorted into the courtroom during his first appearance hearing at the Gaston County Courthouse, in Gastonia, North Carolina on Monday afternoon Self said little except to request a court-appointed attorney. Bailiffs wore officer-down mourning bands over their stars in honor Corporal Katelyn Self, who was killed Killed: Daughter Katelyn Self (left with fiance) and daughter-in-law Amanda Self (right with husband and kids) were killed when Roger Self drove his car into a restaurant The white SUV is seen being removed from a large hole in the side of the Surf and Turf Lodge Self, a former Gastonia police officer who now works as a private investigator, told the judge he would like a court-appointed attorney, and was ordered to remain in jail without bond. He wore an orange jail jumpsuit and his hands were shackled to his sides. Two full rows of Self's family and friends showed up to witness the appearance. Nine bailiffs with the Gaston County Sheriff's Department looked on during the proceedings, all wearing officer-down mourning bands over their stars in honor of one of Sunday's victims. On Sunday, before the deadly crash unfolded, the family had just come to the restaurant from church service, where they filled up an entire pew, their pastor said. Roger Glenn Self, 62, was charged with first-degree murder on Sunday in North Carolina Rev. Austin Rammell of Venture Church told reporters that Roger Self had been struggling with severe depression and anxiety for 10 weeks, and had asked his police officer son to take his guns away. 'His family and close friends have intensely labored to try and get Roger help. We all feel a level of guilt,' said Rammell. 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. Katelyn Self had arranged Sunday's after-church lunch, inviting her fiance and his parents as well, because she was hoping that her father would feel better if he were surrounded by family, Rammell said. They had ordered drinks and appetizers and were talking and laughing after being seated at a table near the window. The pastor said the family wasn't initially concerned when he got up, figuring he may have been 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. 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 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 on Sunday 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 Gaston Gazette. '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 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. Chinese prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against an individual who is accused of slandering a late fireman deemed as a martyr. The individual, identified only by the surname Zeng, is said to have made 'defamatory' and 'truthful' speeches on social media against firefighter Xie Yong. Xie, 21, fell to his death from a high-rise building while trying to put out a fire on May 12 in Huai'an, eastern China's Jiangsu Province. Firefighter Xie Yong fell to his death this month while trying to put out a fire in Huai'an, China The 21-year-old has been declared a martyr by the Chinese authority one day after his death This is the first such case since the country has adopted a law in April that bans the defamation of heroes and martyrs, state media said. According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xie plummeted 19 storeys after suffering from smoke while attempting to save civilians from a burning building. He had apparently offered his respirator to a comrade in need, said Xinhua. Xie died after resuscitation failed and was declared a martyr one day later. Zeng reportedly started to spread malicious rumours about the Xie on May 14 in chatting groups on WeChat, a popular Chinese messaging app similar to Whatsapp. Xie Yong's colleagues mourned his death during his funeral on May 14 in Huai'an, China Another WeChat user, identified by the surname of Wang, was detained and fined for defaming the late firefighter. The picture shows Wang being questioned by the Huai'an police Before Zeng, another WeChat user, identified by the surname of Wang, had been detained and given a 1,000 yuan (116) fine after making 'extreme' and 'insulting' speeches against late firefighter Xie. It's said that Zeng carried on making defamatory claims after being warned to stop by 'the others'. He was detained by the local public security bureau on May 15. According to People's Daily, late firefighter Xie's family decided not to sue Zeng for defamation. Therefore, the People's Procuratorate of Jiangsu Province filed a lawsuit Zeng on May 21, demanding Zeng stop the 'harming behaviour immediately' and make public apologies through media to eliminate the ill effects. China's President Xi Jinping has ushered in several laws in the name of protecting China and the ruling Communist Party from perceived threats both internal and external China's President Xi Jinping has ushered in several laws in the name of protecting China and the ruling Communist Party from perceived threats both internal and external, as well as presiding over a crackdown on dissent and free speech. The law on the protection of heroes and martyrs was passed on April 27 and became effective on May 1. The law makes it illegal to 'misrepresent, defame, profane or deny the deeds and spirits of heroes and martyrs, or to praise or beautify invasions,' state media said in a summary when it was introduced. Anyone infringing it faces punishment in line with the law and may be investigated for criminal responsibility. The Communist Party has long kept a tight grasp on its history, bolstering its legitimacy with tales of heroes and martyrs who gave their lives to the party's causes. Disputing party history and questioning the deeds of heroes have already landed some historians in court. It has been claimed that President Donald Trump's embattled longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen sent The Onion a cease-and-desist letter in 2013. The Onion's editorial board said on Monday that it had recently discovered the email demand sent on January 24, 2013, addressed to then-CEO Steve Hannah but which had apparently gone overlooked. Although the publication is known for its pranks and satirical posts, the Onion published an image of the full email, and said through a spokesman that it is authentic. 'I can confirm the email itself is the real deal. From Michael Cohen to our press email address in 2013,' company spokesman Michael Ford said in a statement. It has been claimed that President Donald Trump's embattled longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen sent The Onion a cease-and-desist letter in 2013 Cohen, in a sharply worded tweet, insisted the Onion's account of the letter was 'not real!' but did not offer specifics. The cease-and-desist letter pertains to a fake column that pretends to be written by Trump and titled 'When You're Feeling Low, Just Remember I'll Be Dead In About 15 Or 20 Years.' 'Let me begin by stating the obvious... that the commentary was not written by Mr. Trump.Secondly, the article is an absolutely disgusting piece that lacks any place in journalism; even your Onion,' Cohen allegedly wrote. The letter then demands that the 'disgusting piece' be removed from the Onion's website, and further demands an apology be issued and that Cohen be contacted to discuss the matter. Cohen has been known to take an aggressive stance with journalists on behalf of Trump in the past, threatening them with lawsuits. The letter concerned this fake column which falsely claimed to be authored my Trump In the spirit of transparency, here is Mr. Cohens letter, printed in full: https://t.co/uPnzZYUtyZ pic.twitter.com/HWAhxudr2d The Onion (@TheOnion) May 21, 2018 'We read the email, and given Mr. Trumps ascension to the presidency since its writing, we want to apologize for the delay and would be delighted to meet with Mr. Cohen in personat the White House, perhaps?' the Onions editors wrote in a public response. 'While it is generally not our policy to let outside forces affect our editorial decisions, the opportunity to gain a direct line to the president clearly presents a special case,' the response continued. 'We would be more than willing to accommodate Mr. Cohens wishesprovided we get something in return, of course. A quid pro quo, if you will,' the editors continued in the Onion's classic satirical voice. 'We implore Mr. Cohen to meet with us without delay. We are happy to schedule around his upcoming court appearances,' the editors wrote. A Colorado hunter tried to bribe Zimbabwean officials with at least $5,000 to let him illegally kill elephants inside a national park and import the ivory tusks to the United States, prosecutors have said. Prosecutors in Colorado said Hanno van Rensburg, the owner of a South African hunting company, took a hunting party to an area around Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe to hunt elephants in 2015. The Colorado hunter shot one elephant that did not die. The group then tracked the animal into the national park but could not find it, according to prosecutors. Colorado hunter, Paul Ross Jackson (pictured in 2006), allegedly tried to bribe Zimbabwean officials with at least $5,000 to let him illegally kill elephants inside a national park and import the ivory tusks to the United States, prosecutors have said Prosecutors in Colorado said Hanno van Rensburg, the owner of a South African hunting company, took a hunting party to an area around Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe to hunt elephants (file image) in 2015 An indictment unsealed last week said van Rensburg and the hunter bribed government officials with at least $5,000 to let the party shoot other elephants inside the park. Zimbabwean law does not allow hunters tracking a wounded animal inside the park to hunt other wildlife. Someone in the group shot and killed a different elephant. Prosecutors said van Rensburg conspired with the client from Colorado to export ivory from the animal, falsely claiming that the hunter was a resident of South Africa and that the elephant was not shot inside a national park. In 2015, US law banned importing the body parts of African elephants killed for sport in Zimbabwe. However, the Trump administration announced two months ago that requests to import elephant trophies would be approved on a 'case-by-case basis'. Van Rensburg, 44, also is charged with violating a broader US law that makes it illegal to transport or sell wildlife killed in violation of any foreign law. Officials said van Rensburg has not been arrested. An arrest warrant filed with the court orders 'any authorized law enforcement officer' to take him into custody. The charges include wire fraud, conspiracy and violating the Endangered Species Act. 'The US Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners work together to support global efforts to protect threatened and endangered wildlife from illegal poaching,' US Attorney for Colorado Bob Troyer said. '(Fish and Wildlife Services) and our prosecutors did an extraordinary job investigating this case.' An indictment unsealed last week said van Rensburg and the hunter bribed government officials with at least $5,000 to let the party shoot other elephants inside the park. Jackson (left) was not named in the indictment But prosecutors announced in April that Jackson (left) had reached a plea agreement after being charged for violating the Endangered Species Act for shooting and killing an elephant in Zimbabwe Van Rensburg did not respond Monday to an email sent to an address listed on his company's website. The hunter from Colorado who paid van Rensburg more than $39,000 to guide him on a hunt for elephants was not named and a spokesman for Troyer's office declined to identify the hunter. Prosecutors announced in April, though, that Paul Ross Jackson of Evergreen had reached a plea agreement after being charged for violating the Endangered Species Act for shooting and killing an elephant in Zimbabwe. The months, locations and initials of the hunting company owner - H.V.R. - in Jackson's plea agreement mirror those in the indictment against van Rensburg. According to the US Department of Justice, Jackson gave instructions to have the elephant exported to South Africa, where he hoped to sell in foreign commerce 26 and 27 kilogram ivory tusks. The months, locations and initials of the hunting company owner - H.V.R. - in Jackson's plea agreement mirror those in the indictment against van Rensburg Jackson (center), 63, was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and agreed to provide the Fish and Wildlife Service with all documents on any hunts outside the US. He and his wife Nicole, 59, (left) have been seen posing alongside numerous animals they've killed on hunts When the government of Zimbabwe initially blocked Jackson's effort to export the elephant to South Africa, on the grounds that he lived in Colorado and not South Africa, the defendant worked with others to try to obtain documentation that he was a resident of South Africa. Jackson, 63, who is a property investor, was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and agreed to provide the Fish and Wildlife Service with all documents on any hunts outside the US. He was also ordered to transfer the elephant's tusks back to the Zimbabwean government. Jackson and his wife Nicole, 59, have been seen posing alongside numerous animals that they have killed on different hunting trips. One of those photos shows the couple side-by-side with a dead Central African Giant Eland. Another sees them smiling with the carcass of a Western Savannah Buffalo. The number of people diagnosed with flu has tripled since last year as a full-scale epidemic hits the country. So far this year 4,315 people just in Queensland have been diagnosed with the virus despite many Australians rushing for vaccinations. Figures show that 100 more people have been diagnosed with the flu in May this year when compared to last year, according to the 2018 Queensland Health's Influenza Surveillance Report. Scroll down for video The number of people diagnosed with flu has tripled since last year as a full-scale epidemic hits the country (stock picture) Reports show that this is over a hundred more than the flu cases in May last year, causing growing concern over this year's flu season. However, Queensland Health added that the increased numbers of testing could likely be the reason as to why reported flu cases have grown significantly at this time of the year. Queensland Health also reports that it has released new flu testing technologies in at least 15 Queensland hospitals in order to address the health concern. The new flu testing technologies have also been reported to deliver results in at least 30 minutes in order to ensure an early diagnosis and faster treatment of flu patients. Queensland Health releases weekly reports on influenza cases and compiles them every year. Influenza cases in Queensland tend to peak between May and October during Australia's winter season. Last year, Queensland Health's Influenza Surveillance Report showed that there were 56,094 influenza cases, with 6,070 Australians hospitalised, along with 753 people in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The 2017 flu season is known to be one of Queensland's worst flu records. A pensioner who fell ill on a round-the-world trip with his wife has sent an insurance company a record $220,000 bill. Jeffrey Yates, 71, was celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife in Italy when his health took a turn for the worse. The elderly man fell ill with Legionnaires' disease, pneumonia and emphysema when he arrived in Italy, news.com.au reported. Jeffrey Yates (pictured) who fell ill on a round-the-world trip with his wife has sent an insurance company a $220,000 bill His dream trip had started in Dubai before he travelled to Athens, cruised to Barcelona before arriving in Italy. He claims he racked up the massive bill at a specialist hospital, including 16 days of intensive care. 'Within three days they'd dropped us off in Naples to see a specialist hospital, which led to 16 days in intensive care,' he told the publication. Mr Yates mostly took out insurance to protect his wife (pictured) but ended up claiming a massive bill himself 'All up, I was out of action for 47 days. After all was said and done, the total came to well over $220,000...it was an extremely difficult situation.' His claim to InsureandGo Australia was the highest received by the company in 2017. He warned others to consider taking insurance to ensure they don't get caught out. 'It's not something you think about, especially given how quickly those transportation and hospital bills can add up,' he told the publication. The company has also received claims of $150,000 from a 76-year-old man who had a spinal injury fall in China, and a $144,829 bill from a man holidaying in Indonesia. Daily Mail Australia has contacted InsureandGo for comment. Pauline Hanson has accused a Malaysian-born Labor senator of 'playing the Asian card' after she took offence at a senior cabinet minister joking she was channelling the One Nation leader. Penny Wong, a senior Labor frontbencher who has an Asian father, clashed with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann during a parliamentary estimates hearing today in Canberra. The Liberal minister joked the Malaysian-born Opposition senator was 'channelling Pauline Hanson', who has called for a dramatic cut to Australia's immigration rate. Penny Wong, a senior Labor frontbencher who has an Asian father, clashed with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann during a parliamentary estimates hearing today in Canberra Senator Wong immediately took offence and cited Senator Hanson's maiden speech to parliament in 1996 where the former Ipswich fish-and-chips shop owner declared Australia was 'in danger of being swamped by Asians'. 'Actually, that's a little offensive. She thinks people like me were swamping Australia,' Senator Wong said. 'We don't channel Pauline Hanson. You're the ones who cozy up to her and let her write tax policy and government policy. 'Don't tell me I channel Pauline Hanson. I find that personally offensive. 'You should withdraw it. Someone Asian. "You're channelling Pauline Hanson?".' The Liberal minister joked the Malaysian-born Opposition senator was 'channelling Pauline Hanson', who has called for a dramatic cut to Australia's immigration rate Senator Hanson hit back at Penny Wong, telling Sydney radio 2GB presenter Ben Fordham the Labor politician was the one playing the race card. 'She finds it offensive? What a load of hogwash,' the One Nation leader said. 'I've heard her comments on the floor of parliament aboutmany different issues and she's playing the Asian card, she's playing the female card and I'm sick and tired of it.' Senator Hanson hit back at Penny Wong, telling Sydney radio presenter Ben Fordham the Labor politician was the one playing the race card Senator Hanson described Senator Wong as a 'great actress'. 'This is a great performance on her part,' she said. Ben Fordham, who occasionally fills in as a Today show presenter on the Nine Network, said Senator Wong had displayed 'poor form'. 'Penny, you are not a protected species,' he told his 2GB listeners. 'Youre one of 226 politicians who sit in parliament and everyone has to be tough enough to handle the heat.' Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson was in Downing Street today for a meeting of the PM's political Cabinet Ruth Davidson attended Cabinet today - after delivering a withering verdict on Theresa May's dour and joyless' Tories. The Scottish Conservative leader was in Downing Street for a political meeting of the PM's senior team. But the session could have been slightly awkward after Ms Davidson - often tipped as a future leader - demanded the government ditch its 'authoritarian' image to win over younger voters in a speech last night. The warning - at the launch of a think-tank in parliament - came with the anniversary of Mrs May's disastrous snap election approaching. It saw the PM stripped of her overall majority after being branded the 'Maybot' during a bungled campaign. Tory strategists have become increasingly alarmed at the party's reliance on older supporters and failure to win over ethnic minorities. While the Tories have around 125,000 members, Labour has well over 500,000, giving them a crucial advantage in swing seats. Fewer than one-in-five ethnic minority voters backed the party last June, and just 9 per cent of those aged 25 to 39 said they vote Tory next time round, according to research. Speaking at the Onward launch in parliament, Ms Davidson said: 'Sometimes as Tories we just look a bit dour. 'We look a bit joyless, a bit authoritarian sometimes. We don't get to win if we start hectoring the people we need to vote for us.' She added: 'When you do it with a smile, they actually get behind you.' Ms Davidson is often championed as a future Tory leader, after dramatically reviving the party's fortunes north of the border. The dozen new MPs in Scottish constituencies was essential for Mrs May to hold on to power after the election. Ms Davidson's humour and lively style has won her legions of fans, and put Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on the back foot. The 39-year-old - often tipped as a possible successor to Theresa May - announced last month that she partner Jen Wilson will be welcoming their baby in the autumn after undergoing IVF. She posted a photo on Twitter of the couple beaming alongside their cocker spaniel, Wilson, with the message: 'Our little family of three is becoming four...' Ms Davidson made clear last night that radical changes were needed to fend off a challenge from the Left. A Tory idea of winning over young people with a Nando's discount card was humiliatingly snubbed by the restaurant chain yesterday. The bizarre move had been floated by senior Conservatives as part of efforts to broaden the party's appeal. Sources suggested members could be offered a discount card for outlets including Nando's as a way to draw people on. However, the restaurant chain made clear it would not agree because it had 'no political affiliations'. Ms Davidson suggested foreign students could be taken out of migration figures an idea that has been dismissed by Mrs May (pictured giving a speech at Jodrell Bank yesterday) Liam Fox and Liz Truss were among the senior ministers arriving for Cabinet in Downing Street this morning Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom, who has been embroiled in a major row with Speaker John Bercow, was at Cabinet today Ms Davidson spoke of her personal 'hurt' at the Windrush scandal, and called for an overhaul of the government's approach to immigration. She suggested foreign students could be taken out of migration figures an idea that has been repeatedly dismissed by Mrs May. Ms Davidson said public debate about immigration had been much too 'judgemental' in the past. 'I think there's lots of different questions that we can ask, but we need to do it in a way that is open and that is positive and is in a kind of non-judgemental way, and sometimes in the past it's been far too judgemental,' she said. Environment Secretary Michael Gove (left) and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson were also at the Cabinet meeting this morning A former midwife has pleaded not guilty to two counts of manslaughter relating to the deaths of two babies in the first prosecution of its kind. Lisa Barrett faced the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday for the unrelated deaths in 2011 and 2012, 9 News reported. Baby Tully Kavanagh died in October 2011. The second second baby, who can't be named for legal reasons, in 2012. Their deaths were declared as major crimes in 2013 by police. Former midwife Lisa Barrett (pictured) has pleaded not guilty to two counts of manslaughter relating to the deaths of two unrelated babies during home births in the first prosecution of its kind. Prosecutors allege the deaths were a result of Barrett failing to properly supervise the home births. Barrett's lawyers initially launched a bid to have crucial evidence for the prosecution dismissed prior to trail, but recently abandoned the application. An inquest in 2012, the South Australian Deputy Coroner Anthony Schapel found that Tully Kavanagh would have survived the birthing process had it occurred at a hospital. An inquest in 2012 by the South Australian Deputy Coroner, Anthony Schapel, found that Tully Kavanagh would have survived the birthing process had they been in a hospital. Magistrate Elizabeth Sheppard continued Ms Barrett's bail and she will appear before the Supreme Court in June Furthermore, Mr Schapel said his findings the case was similar to the deaths of two other babies that died during home births in which Barrett also supervised, however, neither of those deaths are subject to charges. Barrett was granted bail in 2017 on the conditions that she not make any contact with witnesses in her case and not to engage in any activities related to home births. including being present for any. Magistrate Elizabeth Sheppard continued Ms Barrett's bail and she will appear before the Supreme Court in June. Dr Vaishnavy Laxman, 43, pictured outside the GMC in Manchester, had been nearing the end of a 24 hour shift when she should have given the 30-year old patient an emergency Caesarean section - but instead opted for a natural birth A senior NHS gynaecologist accused of causing an unborn baby to be accidentally decapitated inside his mother's womb cried as she told a disciplinary tribunal she may have tried 'too hard' to complete a successful delivery - but denies misconduct. Dr Vaishnavy Laxman, 43, had been nearing the end of a 24-hour shift on the maternity unit at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee when she should have given the 30-year old patient an emergency Caesarean section because the premature baby was in a breech position. But she instead attempted to carry out the delivery naturally - and tragedy struck when the doctor urged the patient to push while herself applying traction to the baby's legs. The manoevre caused the infant's legs, arms and torso to become detached leaving the head still in his mother's womb. Two other doctors subsequently carried out a C-section on the woman to remove the infant's head. It was 're-attached' to his body so his mother could hold him before she said goodbye. It is claimed the mother was not even in established labour at the time. At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, consultant Laxman wept as she gave evidence about the procedure - but claimed the baby would have died anyway even if a c-section been carried out. She said: 'I was trying to deliver a live baby, I was trying really hard, possibly too hard. I did not intend to harm mum or the baby. I am distraught at the outcome and I am very sorry it did not come out the way I meant it.' The tragedy occurred on March 16 2014 whilst Laxman was working at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee with a team of other doctors. Ninewells Hospital in Dundee where the woman, 30, went to have her baby delivered when she went into premature labour The woman's waters had broken early at 25 weeks and upon examination her unborn baby was found to have a prolapsed cord, was in a breech position whilst the mother's cervix was around 4cm dilated. The cervix should be 10cm when fully dilated. Laxman had started work at 8.30am the previous day and went home at 6pm for five hours before returning to the hospital at 11pm. She was told about the patient at 2am and was subsequently paged at 8.30am to take a look at her when her condition became more critical. She told the tribunal: 'The plan was for the baby to be delivered by a Caesarian section and I went down to the labour suite to discuss the situation. I spoke to the patient saying I was sorry for the rush and and I remember saying the baby was quite small and I was going to examine her. 'When I examined the patient I found that the uterus was quite small and I found the cervix was about 4cm dilated. I asked the patient to push to see if I could deliver the baby vaginally and I remember going through various options available with the patient. 'I remember thinking should I try to deliver this baby. I still believed we had a very good chance of having the baby using other options than a c-section but we had to act fast. 'I thought with a c-section we might not have a live baby and it would have been a difficult procedure. This was her first pregnancy and she had a ruptured membrane. I thought it was possible to deliver the baby vaginally and I asked mum to push. 'The bottom of the baby came out quite easily and when this happened I thought it was going to be possible. I started to encourage the patient to push. Whilst she was pushing I applied some traction to the baby's feet so I could deliver the baby. She was doing well. 'After two to three pushes the baby's bottom had been delivered all the way up to its chest. After that there was some difficulty in delivering the arms. The arms were behind the baby's neck. I tried a manoeuvre to release the arms. I lifted the baby's head and rotated the body 90 degrees to tether the arm and then rotated 180 degrees to tether the other arm. 'The arms were then delivered and I went to deliver the baby's head, I was trying to flex the baby's head but I didn't feel the baby move and the cervix started to close. I tried to deliver a couple of times and asked for help. I said it was head entrapment by the cervix.' Laxman said she to tried to cut the cervix but the incision had no impact. She added: 'The patient was quite distressed by this point and she was verbally in pain. I remember her saying 'you need to stop, you can't carry on' and she was given general anaesthetic. 'We made another cut to the cervix and I used my index finger to flex the baby's head to deliver the baby was using traction to deliver the baby. But at some point between the general anaesthetic and the decapitation, the baby died - I'm not sure when. 'I was told the neck was tearing and that's when I knew the baby had died.' Under cross examination she said: 'During the course of my training I delivered a lot of babies in the UK and India. Some in breech positions, some with prolapsed cords, some as premature babies. I did have experience with this. But I have never had everything with one patient before, it was a lot of complications. 'The plan was, if we could keep the baby from being born rather than delivering by c-section but this is when the cord prolapsed. I just wanted this baby out the quickest way possible. 'I knew the baby's head would struggle to get through the cervix, this was a critical issue. But the cord had to be protected, if the cord was compacted the baby would have suffered from a lack of oxygen. 'I knew the cervix was really tight. I made a few movements to get the body out. After this the baby's head was trapped. That's when the cervix was clamping around the baby's head. 'I asked the patient to push but the cervix wasn't dilating anymore. The first few pushes saw the baby's body come out quite easily. I remember thinking the uterus was quite small and the baby was quite small but I thought the cervix would dilate more. 'The baby's body and bottom was delivered without an issue but when trying to deliver the head, the cervix just clamped on the neck after the body had been delivered. I've never had this happen before. I thought the cervix would dilate quickly to deliver and I thought I was going to be able to deliver the baby vaginally. 'I wanted to do what was best for Patient A and the baby and give the baby the best possible chance of survival. The c-section would have been technically difficult and we didn't have much time. 'I agree I should not have persisted with my hands over the period of time when I knew the head was stuck with head entrapment. I wish that stopped at some point before the decapitation could happen. 'It was a very small baby, very fragile, so I didn't apply too much force. Too much force over a period of time probably would have led to the decapitation. When the head was entrapped I should have desisted with my hands to keep trying to deliver the baby. I don't think a c section would have given us a live baby. 'Over a period of time I did apply traction. I think I should have stopped trying to deliver the baby, I should have stopped. But nobody told me the baby had died until it was decapitated. If I was doing it again, and I knew what I knew back then, I think I still would have made the same decision, but I would have stopped trying to deliver the head sooner.' Laxman denies misconduct. The hearing continues. Israel has become the first country to used F-35 stealth fighter jets in combat, the country's air force chief said on Tuesday. Major-General Amikam Norkin said Israel is operating the fighter planes 'all over the Middle East' and have used them in attacks on two different fronts - believed to be Syria and Lebanon. Maj. Gen. Norkin claimed that the planes had come under fire in Syria, but had been able to avoid '100 ground to air missiles'. Fighter jets: Israel has become the first country to have used the U.S.-made F-35s, saying it had been in combat 'on two fronts' and had avoided dozens of missiles in Syria He made the remarks in a speech to the chiefs of 20 foreign air forces convening in Israel this week. According to quotes posted by the IDF's official Twitter account, Maj. Gen Norkin said: 'The Iranians fired 32 rockets, we intercepted four of them and the rest fell outside Israeli territory. F-35A Lighting II Developed by: USA Flown by: USA, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Korea Program cost: $406billion to date Unit cost: $94.3million per fighter Length: 50ft Height: 14ft Wingspan: 35ft Weapon payload: 18,000lb Armaments: One 25mm GAU 22/A cannon, capable of firing up to 4,200 round per minute Two AIM-120C/D air-to-air missiles Two 2,000-pound GBU-31 JDAM guided bombs Advertisement 'In our response attack, more than 100 ground to air missiles were fired at our planes.' He also displayed a photograph of an Israeli F-35 overflying Beirut, local media said. Maj. Gen. Norkin was referring to an attack on the Israel-occupied Golan Heights earlier this month, during which Iranian-made rockets were fired from Syria. Israel's subsequent strikes against Iranian targets inside Syria were reported to be the most extensive since the two countries signed a disengagement agreement after the October war of 1973. Israel and Iran have been coming into increasing contact in Syria, with the Jewish state saying it is trying to combat Iranian influence in the region. The Israeli military accuses Iran of moving medium-range rockets and launchers into Syria, which could be used to strike Israel. It also accuses Iran of attempting to fly drones over its territory, saying that several have been shot down. Showing off: An Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet flies during an aerial demonstration at a graduation ceremony for Israeli Air Force pilots in southern Israel in December In February and Israeli F-16 fighter jet was shot down over the Golan Heights as it returned from a bombing run in Syria. Manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp, the F-35 is also known as the Joint Strike Fighter and, in Israel, by its Hebrew name 'Adir' (Mighty). Israel was the first country outside the United States to acquire the F-35. In December 2016, it received the first two planes out of an order of 50. According to Israeli media, at least nine have been delivered so far. Israel says it has carried out scores of strikes in Syria against suspected Iranian emplacements or arms transfers to Hezbollah guerrillas in neighbouring Lebanon. Its air forces is also widely believed to have operated over against Islamist militants in the Egyptian Sinai and Hamas arms smugglers in Sudan. A British mother locked up in Iran amid claims she is a spy has pleaded with a judge to free her so she can have a second child 'before it is too late'. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 39, from London, was arrested in Iran with daughter Gabriella in 2016 and is currently serving a five-year sentence. But on Saturday she was taken back to court and accused of spreading propaganda against Iran's Islamist regime, which could see her jailed for another 16 years. 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 dual British-Iranian citizen 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.' Speaking to Sky News, she added: 'There is something called clemency. Give me that for the sake of my baby. She hasn't seen her father for over two years now. 'I would ask the judge today to close this new case and give me parole, so that I can go home and have another baby and have a normal life.' But Mr Ratcliffe said: 'She was told by Judge Salavati to expect that she will be convicted.' 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. '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.' 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. Speaking on a visit to Buenos Aires, Foreign Secretary Boris 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. 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 '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.' The couple's daughter Gabriella is seen wearing a pinafore made by Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe from the wool left behind by released prisoners 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'. '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.' Women are now able to log and locate their experiences of harassment and assault to help warn others. The breakthrough interactive mapping technology is a stark reminder of the fear women face on a daily basis and identifies the safest - and most dangerous - spots in Australia's busiest cities. Girls as young as eleven have taken to recording incidents of harassment, catcalling, assault and stalking particularly around the city's public transport hubs. A new interactive mapping technology allows women to detail the location, time and nature of harassment in an effort to identify the safest - and most dangerous - spots in Sydney The new interactive mapping technology is a stark reminder of the fear women face on a daily basis and identifies the safest - and most dangerous - spots in Australia's busiest city The idea was a collaboration between global girls' rights group Plan International, Crowd Spot and Melbourne's Monash University. A report released by the group found half of Australian women felt unsafe at night. 'The streets of Sydney are our domain. Here, we should feel welcome, valued, safe and included,' the Free To Be website reads. Since launching in April last year, close to 3,000 women have added to the map. One woman writes: 'Man in a green hoodie sat almost on top of me waiting for a train at Kings Cross station. He kept staring at me and followed me to Town Hall station where I changed platforms. He persistently stood uncomfortably close to me and then followed me on a second train to Wynyard station.' The project aims to empower women to feel safe, asking: 'Do you really feel like you have a say in your own city?' 'This is your chance. The people who make decisions about our city will see your stories, your experiences and your ideas for change. 'Where in Sydney do you feel safe, happy and like you belong? What about places you feel unsafe, or where you get harassed or made to feel uneasy or excluded? Tell us about it.' 'If you're a girl there are so many checks and balances you have to have in place before you go out,' Sherry-Rose Watts of Plan International explained. 'You have to ask yourself 'what am I wearing? Where am I going? How and I getting there? Who am I going with? 'Guys don't have to ask themselves these questions, they don't have to worry about what they're wearing or where they're going. 'It's not liberating for young women.' Women's experiences are kept anonymous and the idea is simple: 'bad spots' are identified by sad faces and 'good spots' by happy faces Women's experiences are kept anonymous and the idea is simple: 'bad spots' are identified by sad faces and 'good spots' by happy faces. Clusters of 'bad spots' were prevalent around public transport routes, with Central bus station, Central Station, St Peter's Station, Blacktown Station and Parramatta Stations all repeatedly identified as high risk areas. Circular Quay, Central Park, and University campus' such as UNSW and Macquarie were identified as safe and comfortable areas. The project initially trailed the idea in Melbourne where they found Flinders Street Station, Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street to be the most identified areas of assault. The project initially trailed the idea in Melbourne (pictured) where they found Flinders Street Station, Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street to be the most identified areas of assault 'We know that Sydney is a fantastic city and one of the safest in the world, but even so, it could be improved by acknowledging street harassment is a problem that really needs to be addressed,' Plan International Australia's CEO Susanne Legena told news.com.au. 'Bystanders need to do better, too Like any form of sexism, a culture shift is required so that this behaviour is never encouraged and that it's not seen as normal or acceptable,' she added. Data obtained up until May 28 will be analysed by Monash University. Clusters of 'bad spots' were prevalent around public transport routes, with Central bus station, Central Station, St Peter's Station, Blacktown Station and Parramatta Stations all repeatedly identified as high risk areas One of the most recognized trial lawyers of all time, Jose Baez, has confirmed he has been hired to defend Rose McGowan from a drugs charge. McGowan was charged after police alleged that small bags of the drug were discovered in a wallet she left behind at Washington Dulles International Airport in January, reports TMZ. The actress among dozens of woman to come forward and accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault has previously denied the felony drug possession charge, claiming she had been framed as five hours had passed between the time she left the plane, and cleaning staff found the wallet. Jose Baez,above, right, has confirmed he has been hired to defend Charmed star Rose McGowan in her cocaine possession case Jose Baez tweeted it was an 'honor' to confirm that he is now representing Rose McGowan. Calling her a 'hero', he added that she is 'anxious for everyone to know the truth' Rose McGowan was charged with felony cocaine possession after police officers allege that several small bags of coke were found in a wallet she left behind at Washington Dulles International Airport Now she has hired Jose Baez, the brash attorney won acquittals for Casey Anthony, and Aaron Hernandez in his double murder case. Mr Baez has been referred to by Associated Press as one of the most recognized defense lawyers in the US, particularly in relation to high-profile cases, for example while defending Casey Anthony. Anthony was found not guilty of killing her daughter Caylee in 2011 after a two-month trial that enraged the nation. The two-year-old girl went missing in June 2008 and her skeletal remains were later found in a bag near her home in December of that year. During that trial Fox News commentator Geraldo Riviera used the nickname Juanie Cochran for him, comparing him to the late Johnnie Cochran, the flamboyant lawyer who helped win acquittal for O.J. Simpson. But he was also ridiculed by a prosecutor in the case as a wonderful salesman. Ex-NFL star Hernandez was found not guilty of a double murder. The former New England Patriots tight end was accused of shooting two men in 2012 after one of them accidentally spilled a drink on Hernandez at a Boston nightclub. In relation to McGowan's case, Mr Baez told TMZ: I think shes absolutely 100 per cent innocent in this case, and were looking forward to showing that in a court of law. Shes absolutely 100 per cent determined to clear her name. After the story was published he later tweeted: Its my honor to confirm this. I am proud to know heros [sic] such as Rose McGowan, who is anxious for everyone to know the truth.' The Baez Law firm, in a statement issued on behalf of the outspoken star, said it prided itself on being 'aggressive' in its representation of clients, and even completes its 'own forensic testing for our clients'. Casey Anthony, above, right, stands with her attorney Jose Baez during her sentencing hearing on charges of lying to a law enforcement officer at the Orange County Courthouse July 7, 2011 A desperate search is under way for a grandfather-of-ten with dementia who hasn't been seen for three days. Ian Collett, 65, left his home in Canning Vale, Perth, about midday on Saturday. His panicked wife Deborah said she believes he went for a walk but got disorientated. Ian Collett, 65, has been missing from home in Canning Vale, Perth since midday on Saturday Mrs Collett (centre), who went for a walk to find her husband with no luck, said he is a fit man who walks two or three times a day Three hours later, the father-of-four was picked up by security cameras at a 7/11 sipping a McDonald's drink and wearing a coat that wasn't his. Nobody knows how he got to the convenience store more than 20km from home. Mrs Collett, who went for a walk to find her husband with no luck, said he is a fit man who walks two or three times a day. But she fears his feet will be very sore and said he struggles to express pain. Speaking at a news conference, Mrs Collett said her husband is wearing an alert bracelet with the word 'dementia' written on it along with her contact details. 'We just want him back we miss him,' she said. The search team includes 40 police and Mounted officers and Airwing officers, along with 50 SES personnel. Crews focused their search for the grandfather in Armadale, particularly along Albany Highway and police are requesting drivers who passed the area at 5.53pm on Sunday to check their dashcam footage. Police are urging people in Byford, where Mr Collett was least seen on Saturday at 4.30pm, to check their properties and their sheds to see if he is resting there. Mrs Collett (left) said her husband is wearing an alert bracelet with the word 'dementia' written on it along with her contact details Police in Ireland are investigating whether a married father-of-two shot dead after murdering a student was a serial killer. Mark Hennessy, 40, was killed by officers hunting for missing Jastine Valdez, 24, near Dublin on Sunday before her body was discovered on Monday. Investigators believe Hennessy, a surveyor, kidnapped Miss Valdez at random, strangled her, dumped her body, then phoned his wife to confess 'I've done something awful' as police closed in. Garda sources told the Irish Times that Hennessy's DNA profile will now be checked against historic and recent disappearances to see if he is a serial killer. Mark Hennessy, 40, is believed to have kidnapped and strangled student Jastine Valdez, 24, on Saturday. Police are now checking his DNA against past cases to see if he is a serial killer The Vanishing Triangle cases, a series of disappearances in the 1990s around Leinster, are being looked into by police. The missing women include Fiona Pender (left), Deidre Jacob (centre) and Annie McCarrick (right) As part of that review, officers will reexamine the infamous Vanishing Triangle cases of the 1990s, where a series of young women disappeared without trace over the course of five years, to see if Hennnessy could be responsible. The victims include Fiona Pender, Deirdre Jacob, Annie McCarrick, Jo Jo Dullard, Fiona Sinnott, Eva Brennan and Ciara Breen. Jo Jo Dullard also disappeared without a trace in 1995 while hitchhiking home. Her case is among those being reviewed Hennessy would have been aged just 16 when the first victim, Annie McCarrick, disappeared in 1993, but her case is still being included in the review. Hennessy's profile will also be checked against DNA evidence collected in the murder of Raonaid Murray, 17, who was killed in south Dublin in 1999, the Times says. Officers will also check to see if Hennessy could be responsible for any recent or historic unsolved sex crimes. Hennessy has two infant children, the youngest aged just eight months old, and has a previous conviction for assault. He was also in the process of being prosecuted for a drink driving charge when he was shot dead. Neighbours recalled Hennessy as 'a quiet man' from a 'well-respected family' and said they could not believe he would be a killer. 'He was a normal fellow. He would say hello as he passed. You would never suspect anything,' one neighbour said. Officers discovered Miss Valdez's body hidden in thick gorse near Puck's Castle on Monday after being led to the area by sat nav data downloaded from the car Hennessy was driving, the Irish Mirror reports. A bloodstained note was found in the car, which Hennessy was driving just before he was shot, and is now being examined. Some outlets suggested the note helped police to find Miss Valdez's body while others reported it was a suicide note. The gardai have not commented. Fiona Sinnott (left), Eva Brennan (centre) and Ciara Breen also went missing in the 1990s and Hennessy's DNA is being examined to see if he was responsible, it is reported Police discovered Miss Valdez's body hidden in thick gorse in the Puck's Castle area of Dublin on Monday, three days after she went missing Gardai say her body was dragged across open ground before being hidden in the gorse and it took an hour for officers to hack a path to it Miss Valdez, a student at Tallaght IT, was last seen walking near her home in Enniskerry around 6.30pm on Saturday. She had just got off a bus when witnesses reported seeing her being forced into a black Nissan Qashqai which then sped away. Miss Valdez's family called officers later that evening to report her missing leading to a massive search operation being launched. Investigators now believe Miss Valdez was strangled within 45 minutes of being kidnapped before her body was dragged to the location where it was found. Hennessy is then thought to have spent the evening drinking in pubs around Ballybrack, where he is originally from. 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. Hennessy was tracked to an industrial estate in south Dublin on Monday before being shot by police. It is thought he called his wife to confess to Jastine's murder before being killed A bloodstained note was found in the Nissan Qashqai that Miss Valdez was bundled into (pictured) and it is now being forensically examined The car was then reported in south Dublin, where the confrontation with armed police took place. Just before being shot, Hennessy is understood to have phoned his wife and told her: 'I've done something awful.' Hennessy reportedly slashed at himself with a knife before lunging at officers, who shot him in the head and arm. A police watchdog, the Garda Siochana Ombudsman's Commission, is investigating the shooting and the police force referred all queries to the Commission. Investigators have not managed to establish a link between Hennessy and Miss Valdez and say they are still treating the attack as random. Miss Valdez was from the Philippines but had moved to Ireland to study, following in the footsteps of her parents who had relocated to the country some time earlier. She was living in Bray at the time she was killed and last night 200 people attended a candle-light vigil in her memory. Outreach Ireland, a group who work with the Filipino community in Ireland, have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to support the family of Ms Valdez. The page says: 'The Valdez family have lost their only child, they are facing a situation that no person on this earth should have to face. 'Any and all funds raised on this page will go directly to the parents of Jastine Valdez to help them in the weeks and months ahead.' The 12 North Korean waitresses who defected from China two years ago were tricked into doing so by their manager who was working as a spy for Seoul, the man himself has claimed. When the dozen women defected in April 2016, Pyongyang insisted that they had been kidnapped, while Seoul insisted that they had defected of their own free will. Now, Heo Gang-il, the manager of the North Korean restaurant in Ningbo where they worked, claims he lied to his staff and blackmailed them into following him to the South. New claims: This handout photo from South Korea's Unification Ministry shows the North Korean waitresses at an unknown location shortly after defecting Heo also claims he had attempted to defect on his own, but that he had been threatened by Seoul intelligence officers that they would report him as a spy to North Korea if he did not bring the restaurant staff with him. 'Their attitude changed suddenly, telling me if I don't bring the workers with me, they will report me to the North Korean embassy and have me killed,' he said according to CNN. Heo told JTBC television he had been recruited by Seoul's National Intelligence Service (NIS) in China in 2014. Fearing exposure in 2016, he asked his NIS handler to arrange his defection. At the last minute the minder told him to bring his staff too. 'The 12 waitresses did not know where they were going,' Heo told JTBC's Spotlight, one of the South's top investigative current affairs programmes. He said, Heo said: Seoul has always claimed the women defected voluntarily, while Kim Jong-Un and Pyongyang has said they were kidnapped, which the manager's story now appears to be backing up 'I told them we were relocating,' he said. The women only realised their final destination when they arrived outside the South Korean embassy in Malaysia. When they hesitated to enter the building, one of them told the show, 'manager Heo threatened us, saying he will tell security authorities that we watched South Korean TV dramas and we would be executed, or exiled into provinces and our families would also be affected'. 'Thinking back, it was all nonsense but back then, I had no other choice,' she said. 'If it was possible for me to go home even now, I would like to return to the bosom of my mother,' she said. Campaigners were outraged. Lawyers for a Democratic Society, an influential group of human rights lawyers which has unsuccessfully been seeking to interview the waitresses, called for a thorough investigation of what they branded a 'heinous crime committed by the NIS'. Those responsible should be given 'stern punishment' and 'the waitresses must be allowed to return home and reunite with their families', it said in a statement. Big cash flow: Businesses established by Pyongyang abroad - including North Korean restaurants like this one in Shenyang, China - are a crucial source of foreign exchange The group's arrival in the South in April 2016 made headlines as the largest group defection for years, while Pyongyang waged a vocal campaign through its state media demanding their immediate return. After four months of acclimatisation education - standard for defectors - the women were released into society, but their whereabouts were kept secret by the NIS and they had made no public comments until the television show late Thursday. Seoul's unification ministry, which handles relations with the North, said the facts needed to be established. 'There are some new allegations by the manager and some waitresses about how they came to the South and whether they came here on their free will,' a spokesman told journalists. 'There is need to verify their allegations,' he said, adding the ministry had been unable to contact the 13 itself and relied on information given it by the NIS. An NIS spokesman said the agency had no immediate comment on the report. Sceptics suspect the defection may have been staged by the government of now-disgraced conservative president Park Geun-hye in an effort to sway voters ahead of parliamentary elections. Park, 66, who was removed from office over a massive corruption scandal last year, was convicted of multiple criminal charges including bribery and abuse of power and sentenced to 24 years in prison at a trial last month. The four Brits who started a massive fire at a Magaluf hotel after trying to give a sleeping pal a rude awakening by burning his feet using a lighter and aerosol have been named. The tourists were named locally as Brandon McCahill, 21; James Brown, 21; Lauren Smith, 19; and Georgia James, also 19. It was not initially clear whether they had intended setting light to the BH Mallorca Hotel or started the fire during a drunken prank. Two floors of the hotel had to be evacuated - and seven tourists trapped on balconies rescued by firefighters - after the fire broke out around 8pm on Sunday. The damage caused by the blaze has been estimated at around 125,000. Two rooms were totally destroyed and the operation to put the fire out lasted for about an hour. Brandon McCahill (right) and James Brown were named as two of the British tourists involved Footage from the scene shows smoke billowing out of the front door of the affected apartment Brandon is a keen amateur footballer from Consett, County Durham, now thought to be living in Newcastle. The left-footer is the star of several YouTube videos where he can be seen showing off his skills on an indoor five-a-side pitch as well as outside on a full-size pitch. He describes himself on social media as single and admits to being a fan of LADbible. One of his recent Facebook posts, titled 'Ahhh living the life' shows a man lying face-down on the floor with his bare bottom exposed and his trousers round his ankles. James Brown, known to friends as Jay, is also believed to be from the same town in County Durham as Brandon. Footage from the scene showed terrified Brits running for their lives as thick black smoke and flames engulfed one of the apartments. Holidaymakers could be heard screaming to others 'Get out' over the sound of breaking glass. No one was badly hurt in the drama, although several people including three Civil Guard officers had to be treated for smoke inhalation. Firefighters, who used extendable ladders to bring several holidaymakers to safety, have been praised for their speedy actions. A spokesman for the Civil Guard, in a statement confirming the arrests of the four Brits, said: 'Firefighters, local police and Civil Guard were mobilised on Sunday evening. 'Once they reached the hotel they saw flames leaping from one of the rooms via the balcony and saw the blaze was affecting other parts of the complex. 'Realising the lives of people staying at the hotel were in real danger, more than 100 guests in the block affected by the fire were evacuated. Flames can be seen licking up the side of the building and reaching as high as the veranda above The BH Hotel Mallorca is a popular choice with British holidaymakers and is rumoured to have sustained around 125,000 worth of damage 'Civil Guard investigators began probing the case of the fire. 'After interviewing several witnesses they discovered that in the room where the fire started there were two women and three men, that one of them was asleep and that the other four were bothering him using a lighter and an aerosol on his feet. 'Specialists from the Civil Guard Criminalistic Laboratory subsequently confirmed the fire had been started and situated the seat of the fire at the end of the mattress. 'The fire completely destroyed one room and affected others. 'Experts are still evaluating the cost but it will be in excess of 200,000 because of the repair work, cleaning and losses that will be caused by rooms being out of action and possible compensation that will need to be paid to those holidaymakers affected by the fire.' 'They are thought to have been messing around with an aerosol and a lighter.' A source close to the ongoing criminal investigation into the blaze said the British women weren't staying in the room where the fire started, It is thought they met the men in Magaluf and didn't know them before they arrived. All four Brits were due to be hauled to court on Tuesday. Nuclear weapons experts are outraged that North Korea's test site will be destroyed before any independent evidence can be obtained, comparing it to letting 'people trample around a murder scene'. Foreign journalists from the US, China, and Russia have today arrived to watch the promised demolition of the Punggye-ri site, despite no international inspectors or scientists having been allowed access. Nuclear scientists and North Korea experts are critical of the decision, saying it will destroy evidence before it has been gathered, and will leave the world none the wiser about the extent of tests carried out by Kim Jong-un's regime at Punggye-ri. Bad move: Experts are critical of North Korea's decision to let journalists cover the destruction of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, pictured in April 2017 'It's kind of like a murder scene where they let people like you and me trample around in it, it's the same concept,' Bruce Bechtol, a professor of political science at Angelo State University who has authored several books on North Korea, told CNN. 'The North Koreans have conducted all these tests here, every single weapons test, so if they let experts in to look at these tunnels before they let anyone else in that would be potentially for us an intelligence boon,' he said. The contingent of reporters departed on a charter flight from Beijing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN which is part of the group. Moon to meet Trump South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday ahead of Trump's summit with Kim Jong Un. Moon is expected to use the meeting to keep the summit on track, after North Korea threatened to pull out earlier this month. The regime said it was unhappy with hardline rhetoric coming from Washington and joint US-South Korean military drills. Trump's aides will quiz Moon on whether North Korea will be taking a harder stance over denuclearization than they were previously told. The destruction of Punggye-ri was proposed by Kim as a goodwill gesture ahead of his talks with Trump Advertisement They will cover the demolition of the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site inside a mountain in the northeast of the country, which is scheduled to take place between Wednesday to Friday, depending on the weather. Pyongyang announced earlier this month that it planned to 'completely' destroy the facility by blowing up the test site's access tunnels, a move welcomed by Washington and Seoul. The decision came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared the country's nuclear force complete and said it had no further need for the complex Experts are divided over whether the move will render the site useless - previous similar gestures have been rapidly reversed when the international mood soured. 'Frankly a nuclear test site can be easily reassembled,' Kim Hyun-wook, an expert at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, told AFP. 'But still, by dismantling it, North Korea is showing its willingness to not conduct nuclear tests at least for a while and signaling it has sufficient number of nuclear weapons,' he added. Yang Moo-jin, from the University of North Korean Studies, said it was significant Pyongyang wasn't using the site's destruction as a 'bargaining chip' with the United States ahead of the planned June 12 summit in Singapore between Kim and US President Donald Trump. Foreign journalists prepare to leave for North Korea at Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday CNN's Will Ripley arrives at Beijing airport to board a plane to North Korea to witness the nuclear test site's planned demolition 'This move testifies sincerity in the North's commitment to defusing tension through negotiations,' he said. Punggye-ri has been the site of all six of the North's nuclear tests, the latest and by far the most powerful in September last year, which Pyongyang said was an H-bomb. Dialogue brokered by South Korea has seen US-North Korea relations go from trading personal insults and threats of war after that test to planning for a summit. But the meeting has already hit diplomatic bumps. Washington says it wants to see the 'complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation' of the North. Pyongyang abruptly threatened to pull out of the summit last week and cancelled talks with the South, accusing Washington of cornering it with a unilateral demand for denuclearisation. The hardened rhetoric left US officials scrambling to work out whether the summit would take place. South Korea's president Moon Jae-in flew to Washington this week and will meet Trump later Tuesday in an attempt to put the detente back on track. North Korea says it has developed missile technology that can deliver a nuclear weapon to the United States Observers will be watching the nuclear test site destruction ceremony closely for any clues to the North's mood. Pyongyang previously said South Korean journalists would be allowed to attend this week's ceremony. But the North refused at the last minute to accept a list of South Korean journalists. Sceptics warn that Pyongyang has yet to make any public commitment to give up its arsenal and has a history of going back on its word. In 2008 the regime blew up a cooling tower of its atomic reactor at Yongbyon, the facility that produced the plutonium that allowed North Korea to carry out its first successful nuclear test. That ceremony was also held with much fanfare, complete with international invited journalists, and was heralded as a mark of Pyongyangs commitment to denuclearisation talks. The following day then President George W. Bush lifted some sanctions. But when talks collapsed the Yongbyon cooling tower was quickly rebuilt and the reactor restarted. In the intervening years, with diplomacy going nowhere, North Korea went on to test five more nuclear devices and develop missiles it said was capable of reaching the United States. Brian McCarthy, 46, was duped in the fallout of an IT meltdown that left customers unable to access the TSB's online banking A TSB customer had 16,000 siphoned from his account by conmen as he was kept on hold for hours trying to alert bank bosses. Brian McCarthy, 46, was duped in the fallout of an IT meltdown that left millions of customers unable to access the TSB's online banking last month. The father of two said he was phoned by a 'respectable sounding' man who asked him to disable his online privileges due to 'unusual activity' on his account. He was promised he would be phoned back with new passcodes later that day, at which point he suspected something was not legitimate about the call. And within an hour he noticed that money was going out of his account without his permission and immediately phoned his bank and police. But by the time he managed to get through to TSB's fraud department, some 16,000 had been emptied from his savings through nine different transactions. The brazen fraudsters then tried to repeat the stunt days later by appearing to use an official banking telephone number known as 'spoofing' the number and using it to contact Mr McCarthy again. Luckily alarm bells rang immediately and he avoided any further losses. But by the time Mr McCarthy managed to get through to TSB's fraud department, some 16,000 had been emptied from his savings through nine different transactions Mr McCarthy last night said the under-fire bank needed a top-to-bottom review of the situation. He added: 'This is an utter disgrace. How many old age pensioners are going to fall victim to this? 'I've been on the phone for 16 hours since last Tuesday trying to get through to the fraud department. I know they are in meltdown and I'm not the only one it has happened to but it's not acceptable at all.' Mr McCarthy, who runs an offshore supplies business in Aberdeen, is the sole breadwinner for his partner Gita Petersone and two children Jessica, 5, and 18-month-old Jordan. Due to his accounts still being frozen, he has had to rely on the goodwill of others to get him through the past week. He said: 'I don't ever borrow money from anyone but I've had no choice. People, including my business partners, have been very understanding.' This is an utter disgrace. How many old age pensioners are going to fall victim to this? Brian McCarthy TSB says the second call Mr McCarthy received, which appeared to be from a genuine number used by the bank, was an example of identification 'spoofing'. It involves fraudsters using technology to change the number that appears on the caller ID. A spokesman for the bank said: 'TSB's telephone system has not been hacked. We provide advice on our website to ensure that customers are aware that whenever they receive a call from TSB, they would never be asked to hand over sensitive information such as their PIN, password or full memorable information.' TSB also confirmed that work is ongoing to resolve the remaining issues from the IT problems first experienced last month. Police are also investigating Mr McCarthy's case. Detective sergeant Stuart Murray said: 'A genuine bank will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, full password or to move money to another account. 'Only give out your personal or financial details to use a service that you have given your consent to, that you trust and that you are expecting to be contacted by.' Kayla Irizzary being arrested after the police set up a meeting with her in the early hours A woman who trolled a police about getting away from the law is now behind bars. Kayla Irizzary was a passenger in a car that was stopped by officers from the Moses Lake Police Department, Washington state. While the driver Giovanni Powell, 27, was arrested for driving with a suspended license, officers let Irizzary go because they had no legal reason to detain her. But a subsequent search of the vehicle found the 19-year-old's ID along with a pistol, heroin and her paperwork from the last time she was released from jail. In the meantime, Irizzary got on MLPD's Facebook page and bragged about getting away with it. The force explained what happened next: 'You may recall that last week, we shared a story about Kayla Irizzary, a 19 year old woman who was contacted as a passenger on a traffic stop. 'As our officers had no legal reason to detain her, she was released from the scene. 'A subsequent search warrant on the vehicle revealed a purse that contained her identification and a pistol, which Irizzary is not eligible to possess as she is a prolific felon. 'Officers were not able to immediately re-locate her and arrest her. 'Irizzary got on MLPD's Facebook page and was bragging about getting away, which we believe is the number one killer of criminal karma that there is.' Irizzary was a passenger in a car being driven by Giovanni Powell, who was arrested for driving while suspended. Moses Lake Police Department say they used social media to set up the meeting The police issued an appeal on Facebook for the whereabouts of Irizzary (left) and then when she was apprehended (right) She commented several times on the post, including once to say, 'Here's a hint of where I'm at: Not in jail.' The force said they were not able immediately arrest her so they set up a meeting using social media. 'This morning about 2:30 am, officers using covert investigative techniques set up a meeting with Irizzary, ironically enough using social media. 'Irizzary showed up, and when she realized she had been set up, made a run for it on foot. 'She was caught in about four steps and booked into the Grant County Jail on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of heroin. Both charges were from the original incident.' Officers summed up their view of the whole episode with the words: 'What social media giveth, social media taketh away.' In the event of a zombie apocalypse sweeping across the nation, Sydney would fall in a matter of days but Darwin would actually have a decent chance of survival, new research has shown. In collaboration with the makers of State of Decay 2, Melbourne University's Centre for Disease Management and Public Safety, has created a Zombie Survival Index - measuring which cities would fall first in Australia and New Zealand. The index measures how well residents from the various cities would handle if there is an outbreak of zombies. In a zombie apocalypse Perth would fall first while Darwin would be the most likely city to survive The majority of people surveyed said they would sacrifice a neighbour to save their pet Factors include how locals from each city claim they would act to how quickly the disease may spread due to geographical location and number of ports. The 2,000 people surveyed were asked how likely they'd be to care for strangers, avoid detection and where they'd hide, or flee to. Perth would be the fastest to succumb, with nearly 100,000 people infected in the first four days. Meanwhile, residents in Darwin would be most likely to survive, with the flesh-eating disease spreading at half the speed of the west coast. The safest cities after Darwin are Queenstown in New Zealand, then Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Auckland claims the title of the most dangerous city over the two countries should an outbreak occur. As the apocalyptic peril sweeps across the country any charitable feelings to fellow countrymen quickly dry up. Hospitals were listed as the most popular place to hide out during an outbreak of the flesh eating disease Perth would be the fastest to succumb, with nearly 100,000 people infected in the first four days It's every person for themselves, as only 32 per cent of Australians said they would invite a fellow resident to take shelter in their home, in the event an outbreak. Most respondents admitted they would sacrifice a neighbour to the walking dead over their family pet. Overall Australians were quite pessimistic about the countries chances should an outbreak occur. Residents in Sydney were the most confident that they would survive an outbreak Sydney-siders were the most confident, with 40 per cent of residents believing they had what it takes to survive. Though it seems that confidence may be misplaced as one local told Daily Mail Australia that when the walking dead come calling their plan was to: 'Lock myself in the cellar at the Courty and wait for it to pass while I drink it all,' 'I'd go down to Bundeena and hide in the forest and try not be killed by zombie Ivan Milat,' said another. 'I'd head to the Blue Mountains, raid the Blackheath pastry of all it's pies and hide in the forest,' added another. The safest cities after Darwin are Queenstown in New Zealand, then Melbourne, Sydney and Perth 'I'd grab a canoe and go to Shark Island,' said another, perhaps more sensible survivor. Professor Greg Foliente of the Centre for Disaster Management and Public Safety said the best chance for surviving as a country would be to contain it quickly. 'Our best chance of survival would be to contain an outbreak early by overpowering and removing zombies from the streets while they were still few in numbers,' he said. 'We would have the best chance of survival if the outbreak began in Darwin, with its isolated location restricting its ability to travel easily, coupled with 50 per cent of residents claiming they would take arms to defend themselves against the walking dead the highest in the country.' The vast majority of Britains beaches are contaminated with plastic pellets which can be harmful to wildlife and sea creatures. The nurdles have been discovered on 93 per cent of beaches, research shows, with the worst one in Fife where 450,000 pellets were found. The study has led to renewed calls for the Scottish Government to impose new regulations on manufacturers to crack down on the problem. The nurdles have been discovered on 93 per cent of beaches, research shows, with the worst one at North Queensferry (pictured) in Fife where 450,000 pellets were found Alasdair Neilson, of environmental charity Fidra, which carried out the research, said: Its shocking to see how prevalent nurdles are across the UK coastline. While parts of industry have cleaned up their act, it is clear the status quo cant solve this issue. For nurdle pollution to be eliminated, responsibility and transparency is needed right across the supply chain. During the charitys Great British Nurdle Hunt, volunteers found the worst problem was on the Forth near the Grangemouth refinery, with the 450,000 nurdles discovered on a beach at North Queensferry. The study has led to renewed calls for the Scottish Government to impose new regulations on manufacturers to crack down on the problem Other problem spots included Boness, near Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, and Gullane in East Lothian. Nurdles were found as far west as the Isle of Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, and as far north as Collieston, Aberdeenshire. The UK processes around 3.3million tons of plastics a year, almost all in nurdle form. The pellets are easily spilt during handling and, if not cleaned up, can end up down drains, in waterways and at sea. The UK processes around 3.3million tons of plastics a year, almost all in nurdle form Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, who has been leading the campaign for tougher Government regulations, said: These plastic pellets are polluting our beaches and the scale of the issue is quite staggering. We need to see clear action from the Government to tackle plastic pollution, including potentially legislation to compel industry to take part. We must not sit back and wait for someone else to clean this problem up. Dunfermline and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman, who attended the nurdle hunt at North Queensferry, said: It shows just how big this problem is to find so many at a single location. A spokesman for Grangemouth petrochemical complex operator Ineos said its zero pellet loss strategy had seen investment in equipment, training and awareness for employees, as well as mitigation measures to deal with any spills. DAILY MAIL LEADS CAMPAIGN AGAINST PLASTIC WASTE The Daily Mail's Banish the Bags campaign led to the Government introducing a 5p charge per carrier and an astonishing 85 per cent reduction in their use. The newspaper has also lobbied successfully for bans on microbeads and other single-use plastic items. Last week the Daily Mail's Great Plastic Pick Up saw a 12,000-strong army of volunteers led an unprecedented three-day drive to clear plastic pollution from our streets, beaches and green spaces. Advertisement He said: We have pledged our support and signed up to Operation Clean Sweep, an international programme to reduce pellet loss. As a responsible operator we regularly review our operations. Our commitment to the highest standards of health, safety and environment underpins all of the work we do at Grangemouth. The Scottish Government said: We are working with the plastics sector and relevant bodies to identify how to protect our marine environment from nurdle loss. The plastics industry has developed a scheme to reduce nurdle loss and it is encouraging that many producers have committed to this, although this report shows there is a clear need to do more. Fidra and its volunteers deserve great credit for their work to highlight this problem. A Brisbane landscaper fined $756 for flipping the bird at Malcolm Turnbull has hit back at the government after a senior cabinet minister accused him of being a liar. Nick Gordon was taken to a police watch house on Thursday last week after he did a one-finger salute at the prime minister at Brisbane's Carindale Hotel. During a fiery parliamentary hearing in Canberra on Tuesday, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann accused Mr Gordon, also know as Bluey, of being untruthful when asked by Labor senator Kimberley Kitching if Mr Turnbull had barged in at the bar. Scroll down for video A Brisbane landscaper fined $756 for flipping the bird at Malcolm Turnbull has hit back at the government after a senior cabinet minister accused him of being a liar Nick Gordon was taken to a police watch house on Thursday last week after he did a one-finger salute at the prime minister at Brisbane's Carindale Hotel 'Youre making the mistake of just accepting without question the assertions that were made,' Senator Cormann said after suggesting 'he would say that'. Mr Gordon told Daily Mail Australia he was sunburnt after working a long day and had consumed four beers when he flipped the bird at the prime minister. 'He made it clear he was going to get served first and when I was getting served, the prime minister came along with his bouncers and he just jumped in front of me and got served,' he said. The 26-year-old landscaper doesn't regret being fined $756 for public nuisance, which is triple the amount previously reported in the media. During a fiery parliament hearing in Canberra today, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann accused this man, also know as Bluey, of being untruthful The senior Turnbull Government minister questioned the truthfulness of Bluey after Labor senator Kimberley Kitching (pictured) asked if the PM had pushed in at the bar Mr Gordon, who had been at his local hotel playing the poker machines, said the 'most powerful man in Australia' had been 'disrespectful'. 'If that's how Australian politics is going to act, Australia is going downhill very fast,' he said. He also accused Finance Minister Mathias Cormann of picking on an ordinary worker who often worked 10-hour days. 'Well, if the Liberal Party have a big go at me, they can go ahead,' he said. 'I'm just a normal Australian citizen that works five to six days a week. 'I pay my taxes. I'm a small one getting picked on by the big one.' A Go Fund Me page has so far raised $866 to pay his fine, leaving enough cash for Bluey to shout several rounds of beer for his mates A Go Fund Me page has so far raised $866 to pay his fine, leaving enough cash for Bluey to shout several rounds of beer for his mates. Former Labor senator Sam Dastyari on Sunday 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. 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. The director of a seabed hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on Tuesday disagreed with a new book's conclusion that the pilot likely flew the plane beyond the search area to deliberately sink it in unexplored depths of the Indian Ocean. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau believes the airliner mostly likely ran out of fuel and crashed after flying far off course en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014. It believes all 239 passengers and crew on board were likely long dead inside a depressurised cabin and cockpit. Search director Peter Foley, who coordinated the search on Malaysia's behalf, was quizzed by a Senate committee on theories in Canadian air crash investigator Larry Vance's new book 'MH370: Mystery Solved.' Scroll down for video Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 went missing on March 8, 2014 after going hundreds of miles off course Australian Air Force soldiers taking part in search operations on March 20 two weeks after its disappearance The book argues that two wing flaps found on islands off Africa in 2015 and 2016 point to pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah performing a controlled ditching outside the 46,000 square miles that were scoured by sonar in a $150 million search that ended in January last year. It says Shah's aim was to keep the plane largely intact so it would disappear as completely as possible in the remote southern ocean. Foley, who said he has read the book, pointed to evidence that the plane was not under anyone's control when it hit the water. He said analysis of the satellite transmissions of the flight's final moments showed the jet was in a fast and accelerating descent at the end. Debris from within the plane's interior found washed up on the west coast of the Indian Ocean suggested significant energy on impact, Foley said. 'If it was being controlled at the end, it wasn't very successfully being controlled,' Foley said. 'The flaps weren't deployed,' he added. The book argues that the two recovered flaps show evidence that they had been deployed as the pilot slowed the plane for a gentle landing on water. Foley said an analysis at the bureau's headquarters in Canberra of the second flap found on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, in June 2016 determined it was 'probably not deployed.' A Royal Australian Air Force pilot searching for debris using his binoculars in the cabin of his plane But French authorities prevented an Australian analyst from 'doing anything meaningful in terms of analysis' of the first flap found. That flap, known as a flaperon, was found on the French island of Reunion in July 2015. French authorities are holding the flaperon as evidence for a potential criminal prosecution. Foley said his bureau could not conclude that the flaperon had lost its trailing edge because it was deployed when the plane hit the water. While the bureau has not said who had initially flown the plane off course, Foley said 'it's absolutely evident' that someone had, ruling out some mechanical or electrical malfunction. Texas-based technology company Ocean Infinity renewed the search this year on the basis that Malaysia would pay it up $70 million if it could find the wreckage or the plane's black boxes. Foley said he still hopes the search will succeed within weeks. 'If they're not, of course, that would be a great sadness for all of us,' he said. Some experts say the pilot (pictured) 'was killing himself' and took the aircraft to the most remote place possible so it would 'disappear' Boeing 777 pilot and instructor Simon Hardy took 60 Minutes inside MH370's final moments through a series of flight simulations to prove it was not an accident It has previously been claimed that the pilot managed to evade radar for hours to ensure the plane was never found in a pre-meditated murder suicide plot. One panel of experts appearing on talk show 60 minutes agreed that the probability of it being an accident was 'one in a trillion' and that pilot captain Zaharie Amad Shah 'deliberately' brought down the plane. Former Australia Transport Safety Bureau head Martin Dolan said: 'This was planned, this was deliberate, and it was done over an extended period of time.' According to Simon Hardy, a Boeing 777 pilot and instructor, Captain Zaharie avoided detection of the plane by either Malaysian or Thai military radar by flying along the border, crossing in and out of each country's airspace. 'As the aircraft went across Thailand and Malaysia, it runs down the border, which is wiggling underneath, meaning it's going in and out of those two countries, which is where their jurisdictions are,' Mr Hardy said. 'So both of the controllers aren't bothered about this mysterious aircraft. If you were commissioning me to do this operation and try and make a 777 disappear, I would do exactly the same thing. 'As far as I'm concerned, it's very accurate flying because it did the job and we know, as a fact, that the military did not come and intercept the aircraft.' Toys 'R' Us is now forcing customers to spend equivalent amounts to redeem their gift cards after going into voluntary administration on Monday. The company operates 44 retail stores across Australia and employs about 700 permanent staff. The business is looking toward recapitalisation of the Australian business and one of those ways is requiring customers to spend the equivalent amount of their gift card, the company admitted on social media on Tuesday. Scroll down to video After going into voluntary administration on Monday, Toys 'R' Us is now forcing customers to spend equivalent amounts to redeem their gift cards There are 44 Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us outlets across Australia as well as a distribution centre in Sydney, with 700 staff 'All Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us stores will remain and continue to trade while they urgently explore options for a stand-alone sale or recapitalisation of the Australian business,' the company said on Facebook. 'Gift cards and vouchers will be honoured provided customers spend an additional equivalent amount in store (in other words, to utilise a $100 gift card or voucher in full, customers must spend at least an additional $100 in store). 'Gift vouchers will not be honoured online'. Consumers were quick to take to social media and vent their fury over the unfairness of the decision. One mother posted on the Toys 'R' Us Facebook page slammed the decision as disgusting saying that the gift cards have already been paid for. 'I have a $300 gift card. When purchasing this card for my kids I gave you $300,'she wrote. 'Now you're telling us we need to spend another $300 to be able to use a $300 gift card that we have already paid you for!!!' 'This is disgusting!! When we purchased the card you didnt tell us any of this information. Your company was happy to receive our money with no hesitation yet now you want us to spend more to be able to use what is correctly ours already. 'What a JOKE!!!' 'Deceitful and dishonest. No wonder you're going out of business,' a father wrote. Consumers were quick to take to social media and vent their fury over the unfairness of the decision One user suggested that if he 'had the guts to do it', he would purchase $50 worth of items and give Toys R Us the gift card instead of money. 'Actually, you know what I would want to do and if I had the guts I would do it. Just say I had a gift card for $50, I would get $50 dollars worth of stuff take it to the counter with my gift card and if they refuse because I didn't spend another $50 I would give them the card and walk out the store with the $50 worth of stuff. they cant call the police because I "stole" it because technically I didn't steal a thing,' they wrote. According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) consumers are given different options in regards to when the gift card retailer goes out of business. However, as Toys 'R' Us is only in voluntarily administration and still operating, consumers could register as an unsecured creditor. This will then involve an insolvency process, which will help determine whether or not customers receive a full or partial refund, or no refund at all. Advertisement Gloria Hunniford said she will always remember Dale Winton's 'tan and his humour' at the late TV presenter's star-studded funeral. Ms Hunniford joined famous faces including David Walliams, Anthea Turner, Martine McCutcheon and Matt Lucas for the funeral, which saw comic Jon Culshaw perform a hilarious Winton impression. Winton's friend Dame Barbara Windsor could not be at the service, after it emerged she has Alzheimer's, but mutual friend Christopher Biggins said she 'would have been here if she could'. Mr Biggins said: 'She's got Alzheimer's and she gets confused, and I think it would have been too confusing today, but I know her thoughts and love will be with him and all of his family, and everybody.'. Supermarket Sweep star Winton died in April and was laid to rest following a 'non-religious' service at a church in centralLondon today, on what would have been his 63rd birthday. An order of service for the funeral, held at One Marylebone, reveals that Walliams gave a reading, as well as former EastEnders star McCutcheon. Winton's godsons Josh, Ben and Louis Linsey also gave a tribute. Mr Winton's white coffin, covered with a beautiful large display of white roses, was carried from a hearse into the venue, followed by members of his family. The coffin of TV presenter Dale Winton, who was found dead at his home in north London last month, is carried into a memorial service in his memory this afternoon David Walliams gave a reading at the service, as well as former EastEnders star Martine McCutcheon Comedian David Walliams and TV presenter Anthea Turner were among the celebrities at a service in memory of Dale Winton Martine McCutcheon read What Should Life Be? at the service. Vanessa Feltz (right) arrived with her partner Ben Ofoedu Gaby Roslin was among the host of famous faces at the funeral, at which Jon Culshaw did an impression of Winton Comedian Matt Lucas was also at the service, as well as Piers Morgan. Dale regularly appeared on Matt Lucas' BBC comedy show Come Fly with Me Gloria Hunniford was among the celebrities at a 'non-religious' humanist memorial service for TV legend Dale Winton today Claire Sweeney and the boy band Blue both performed, while comedian Jon Culshaw also gave a tribute. Blue performed their hit, One Love, while Ms Sweeney sang Alfie, recorded by Cilla Black in 1965, and Going Back by Dusty Springfield. Walliams, a close friend of Winton's, read If You Go, also recorded by Springfield, while McCutcheon read What Should Life Be? Comic and impressionist Jon Culshaw said there was 'a great sense of celebration' in the service, during which he gave a reading while doing an impression of Winton. He told the Press Association: 'I was asked to speak, and to have sections where I would take on Dale's voice, and at first I said, "are you sure?" And his friends and family said, "yes, of course - to hear his voice, that's really what we want". 'So I wrote a verse and there were certain moments in it where I could do that, where it felt like a natural way to do it.' Culshaw added that he will remember Winton for his 'generosity, his warmth and his wit'. 'When he appeared, there was no denying it, everybody was happier instantly. Everybody would smile hugely, and he made that happen by just being there. It was just like magic, I always describe it as like turning on the lights, and what a light.' Comedian Matt Lucas is seen leaving the service while Martine McCutcheon hugs another mourner after the service Lee Ryan, Anthony Costa and Duncan James from the boyband Blue leave the service after performing to the congregation David Walliams hugs another mourner as celebrities leave the funeral of Dale Winton in central London this afternoon David Walliams and other mourners leave the church in Marylebone this afternoon. Guests said it was 'a good send-off' Matt Lucas leaves the service this afternoon, at which Winton's close friend Dame Barbara Windsor could not be present After the funeral, Piers Morgan said the service was 'incredibly moving' and that it was what the late TV presenter 'would have wanted'. Morgan said: 'I think Dale would have loved it. There were some lovely musical performances, Blue were great and Claire Sweeney, and all the addresses - there were a lot of them - they were all very different and very moving.' The Good Morning Britain host said a reading by Winton's three godsons 'brought a tear to everyone's eye'. Morgan said he shed a tear when the godsons were talking, adding: 'I've got three sons who are a little bit older than them and to have that kind of profound effect on boys of that age is quite an unusual thing, and they were all clearly very, very close to him. 'They got quite emotional, we all got quite emotional - the whole thing was perfectly pitched, beautifully organised, perfect casting, just as Dale would have wanted. And I think he'd have looked down and thought 'they did me proud'.' Claire Sweeney - who sang Cilla Black's classic Alfie - arrived for the service with panto star Christopher Biggins Duncan James and Simon Webbe were seen arriving. The group Blue performed their hit One Love at the service Blue's Antony Costa was seen arriving at the memorial service ahead of his band's performance of its famous hit Anthea Turner said the service was 'the most beautiful hour-and-a-half' and that 'Dale was there'. She added, of Winton: 'He would have been chuffed to have seen us all there. 'It was very emotional, but it was beautifully produced and polished. You wouldn't normally say that but in this instance it's worth saying, and the people who put it together did the most magnificent job. 'I'm truly glad I was there.' Turner joked that Winton would have perhaps liked there to be 'more champagne' at the service, but that 'he would have been very pleased'. Gloria Hunniford said that she will always remember Winton for 'that tan, of course', as well as his 'humour, because he was always very bright'. Speaking after the funeral, she said it was 'a really sad day, but a really bright, sunny day that he would have loved'. Veteran radio DJ Tony Blackburn and journalist Garry Bushell joined other famous faces at the ceremony today Left: Journalist-turned-TV presenter Matthew Wright. Right: Former football star Greame Souness Former football player and manager Greame Souness - who struck up an unlikely friendship with Dale - was at the ceremony Ms Hunniford said she felt particularly sad when she saw the coffin leaving the church, adding: 'You sort of instinctively want to go and touch the coffin, or say something, but you can't break out of that set-up.' She said: 'A lot of people paid their respects. I think, when you get a shock when somebody dies suddenly and they are so young, the first thing you feel is, oh gosh I never got to say goodbye. 'And that's why today was very special. We all got a chance, in our own ways, to say our own small goodbye to Dale.' Hunniford said that a reading by Winton's godsons was 'utterly superb', and added: 'The sentiment was fantastic and you can just tell that, although Dale never had children of his own, that he was really gorgeous to his godchildren and very hands-on, so that was lovely to hear.' Anthea Turner was among a host of TV stars who attended the Old Church on Marylebone Road this afternoon Former Eastenders star Martine McCutcheon will read at the service, while Claire Sweeney and boy band Blue will perform Former Brookside actress Claire Sweeney is among a number of celebrity performers at the 'non-religious' ceremony Tony Blackburn said that the funeral was a 'good send-off' for Winton. He said: 'It was a lovely ceremony, it was really lovely. 'He was a lovely guy, I knew him very well and it was very sad. He should still be here. I will remember him as being a nice person. Blackburn added: 'I went round to his house. Actually, to be honest with you, it's because of him that I have a projection unit at home. He had a television in practically every room - which I've got - but he had a great big projection unit at home, and I went out and bought a better one. 'And he came around to me and saw I'd got a better one, so he bought another better one. But I'll always remember him as a very nice guy, very lovely.' Vanessa Feltz said that Winton was 'a really adorable person' as she spoke after the funeral, which she said was a humanist service. The broadcaster told the Press Association: 'He was extremely generous and funny and very, very kind. He's really, properly missed. 'He had a public persona and a public role and everybody knows about that, but as a friend and a real individual, he was extremely nice and kind, and just a lovely adornment to everyone's lives.' Humanist funeral are described as a way of giving a fitting tribute to people who have lived without religion Winton's white coffin, covered in a huge display of white roses, was carried into the church by pall-bearers this afternoon Winton was found dead at his home in north London on April 18. Following his death, Walliams described him as 'the best company, always outrageous & hilarious', adding: 'He adored being in show business & loved meeting fans.' A beautiful display of white roses was placed on the coffin as it was carried into the church ahead of the memorial service Mark and Sarah Linsey, friends of Mr Winton, whose friendship he described as 'one of the richest relationships in my life' Mr Winton's family and godsons walked behind the coffin into the church shortly after 1pm this afternoon Ms Feltz said the service was 'really very moving, very heartfelt, very beautiful, with those magnificent white flowers on the coffin and in the church', and that the church was 'absolutely packed, there wasn't a seat to be had'. 'I think he would have loved it, he'd have really enjoyed it,' she added. 'There were lots of jokes and lots of funny memories, and the music was all his favourite songs. It was just a shame that he wasn't there.' Winton had moved into the house in Totteridge about three weeks before he died, his neighbours said. His death is being treated by Scotland Yard as unexplained but not suspicious. The North London Coroner's Office has released a statement on his death, which reads: 'The investigation into the death of Dale Winton is being undertaken by the North London Coroner's Service and is awaiting the outcome of further enquiries. An inquest has not been opened at this time.' The TV personality became a household name with game shows such as Supermarket Sweep and National Lottery show In It To Win It Supermarket Sweep, which saw contestants run around a mock-up shop collecting shopping items, was a hit in the 1990s and was later revived. The Supermarket Sweep and National Lottery presenter died aged 62 at his home in north London, two years after he revealed he was battling depression Speaking after the today's service, Christopher Biggins said the actress may have found the send-off too difficult A bouquet of white roses has been laid outside the former residence of Mr Winton, who died last month In 2016, Winton opened up about his battle with depression, triggered by a break-up. 'Listen, there are worse things in the world - but I had depression and I didn't realise,' he told Loose Women. 'I had a bad break-up and then I had health issues.' He revealed he could not meet anyone to spend his life because he spent too much time chasing 'mean and nasty' men. He said: 'Nobody wants a camp, over 60-year-old man. I can't go on dating sites. I'm quite well known so the minute you see the picture it's desperately unattractive to another gay man to find a guy in showbusiness on there'. He added: 'It's time I went from troubled boys to nice guys'. Ahead of his funeral, Humanists UK organisation confirmed said: 'We're very proud to be giving the humanist funeral of a national treasure, Dale Winton. 'He was loved so much and by so many - and tomorrow his loved ones will be celebrating the life he led and the positive impact he had on their lives.' From DJ to household name: How Dale Winton - famed for his tan and flamboyant demeanor - rocketed to fame as Supermarket Sweep host to become a nation's favourite Dale Winton, the popular gameshow host perhaps best known for Supermarket Sweep, has died at the age of 62. He was a household name in the mid 1990s and early 2000s while fronting shows such as Supermarket Sweep and The National Lottery : In It To Win It, but had kept a low profile in recent years. Winton was born in Marylbone, London , in May 1955 to Gary and Sheree, an actress. Winton became a household name when he appeared in TV game show Supermarket Sweep His parents divorced when he was 10 and his father died three years later on Winton's bar mitzvah. Just days after he turned 21, Winton discovered his mother, who he adored, had died after taking an overdose. His career in showbusiness began when he worked as a DJ on the London club scene before he moved into work in radio and television. His big break came with Supermarket Sweep, which saw contestants racing around a supermarket collecting items. He went on to present the National Lottery draw, rubbing shoulders with some of showbusiness's most famous faces How Dale Winton became close to football hardman Graeme Souness Dale Winton had an unlikely friendship with Liverpool and Scotland hard man Graeme Sounness and his wife Karen Read Dale Winton had an unlikely friendship with Liverpool and Scotland hard man Graeme Souness. The friends met in a London restaurant after Dale flirted with the former footballer's wife Karen. Dale shouted across to Mrs Souness 'You're gorgeous, you are' before turning to her husband and saying: 'And so are you'. Graeme would later appear on his mockumentary wedding to Nell McAndrew where he was Dale's best man and organised his stag do. Later explaining what their relationship was like Dale said: 'It's great. People always do a double take when I -camp-as-Christmas Dale - walk into a restaurant with the hard man of football and Karen. 'Having had so many hard knocks himself in life, Graeme is a brilliant people manager. 'And because he isn't in the same business as me he is able to bring a completely fresh perspective to my problems. I love asking him for advice'. Advertisement He hosted the show from 1993 to 2001, and was involved in a 2007 reboot. From there, Winton moved onto prime-time shows including The National Lottery's In It To Win It and went onto host his own Christmas specials as well as celebrity guest shows. In his 2002 autobiography he came out as gay. In recent years the once prolific star disappeared from TV screens and in an interview earlier this year he claimed he was keeping a low profile after undergoing several rounds of surgery. In 2015 he sparked concern after failing to attend the funeral of Cilla Black, who was one of his closest friends. Just days after he turned 21, Winton discovered his mother, who he adored, had died after taking an overdose. A year later, he appeared on TV's Loose Women and revealed he had been secretly battling depression after going through a difficult break up. He told the show: 'I should have taken myself off the TV but I didn't. Listen, there are worse things in the world - but I had depression and I didn't realise. 'I always thought, 'get over yourself'. But my mum died of it. It exists and anybody out there who has had it knows it exists. I didn't want to put one foot in front of the other but for a couple of really good friends.' Earlier this year he was back on our screens, hosting Dale Winton's Florida Fly Drive on Channel 5. However, only one episode aired in February after the network decided not to show the remainder of the series following the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The other episodes were due to air in June, Channel 5 said. Jeremy Corbyn faced fury from Labour MPs today for allowing Ken Livingstone to resign rather than expelling him from the party over anti-Semitism. The MPs' anger was fuelled as the ex-mayor of London hinted he could still make a comeback despite last night's surprise decision. Mr Livingstone finally quit Labour after more than two years of storms over his Hitler rants - but he remains unrepentant about claiming the Nazi dictator allied himself with Jews before 'going mad' in the Holocaust. Mr Corbyn was under fire today for not acting himself as demanded by leading Jewish groups. Instead, he last night paid tribute to his friend and said he was 'sad' at Mr Livingstone's decision but accepted it was the 'right thing to do'. Ken Livingstone (file image) finally quit Labour after more than two years of storms over his Hitler rants - but he remains unrepentant about claiming the Nazi dictator allied himself with Jews before 'going mad' in the Holocaust Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in London on Saturday) has faced repeated demands to kick his old ally out of Labour but always insisted party rules must be followed Mr Livingstone risked further antagonising his critics by suggesting he could even apply to rejoin the party if the left broke the grip of the right which, he said, still dominated the party's disciplinary machinery. 'It depends on how long I live, doesn't it? We will come back and talk about it in a couple of years,' he told Sky News. Backbencher Wes Streeting, who has been at the forefront of the campaign against anti-Semitism in Labour, said there must be no way back for the former mayor. '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,' he said. Fellow MP Ruth Smeeth, however, said the party should have acted years ago to remove Mr Livingstone following a series of alleged anti-Semitic incidents. 'Ken Livingstone's behaviour has been grossly offensive to British Jews,' she said. 'The truth is that Ken's 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.' Tory deputy chairman James Cleverly (file image) said Mr Corbyn should have kicked Mr Livingstone out of his party Following Mr Livingstone's new comments, Tory deputy chairman James Cleverly said: 'Ken Livingstone has really let the cat out of the bag now. Not only has he repeated his view that Hitler supported Zionism but he's admitted that Jeremy Corbyn and him have never disagreed on anything and share all the same views. Ken Livingstone's resignation from Labour in full In a statement on his website tonight, Ken 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. 'We live in dangerous times and there are many issues I wish to speak up on and contribute my experience from running London to, from the need for real action to tackle climate change, to opposing Trump's war-mongering, to the need to end austerity and invest in our future here in Britain. '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 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. 'Under Labour's new General Secretary I am sure there will be rapid action to expel anyone who genuinely has antisemitic views. '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 Jeremy's policies. 'I am therefore, with great sadness, leaving the Labour Party. We desperately need an end to Tory 'rule, and a Corbyn-led government to transform Britain and end austerity. I will continue to work to this end, and I thank all those who share this aim and who have supported me in my own political career.' Advertisement 'No wonder Corbyn is breaking his promise to deal with racist antisemitism in his party and refused to ask Ken to quit the Labour Party. 'The Jewish community are right to say enough is enough but while Corbyn is in charge of the Labour Party it seems likely that Labour will remain a safe space for antisemitism.' Mr Livingstone's current suspension was the second handed down to him over a series of bizarre rants about Hitler and Zionism. Mr Livingstone has always insisted that he said Hitler had supported Zionism at one time, not that Hitler was a Zionist. Expelling Mr Livingstone over the jibes was a key demand of leading Jewish groups, who insisted it would be a crucial symbol of Mr Corbyn's commitment to tackling anti-Semitism. The row is thought by many in Labour to have cost the party the chance to seize Barnet Council for the first time ever at the local elections earlier this month. In his statement last night, 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.' The Labour veteran insisted he still did not accept the allegation he had brought the party into disrepute with his actions or that he was anti-Semitic. But he added: '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. 'Under Labour's new General Secretary I am sure there will be rapid action to expel anyone who genuinely has antisemitic views. '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 Jeremy's policies. A number of Labour MPs tweeted to welcome Ken Livingstone's exit from the party today London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: 'Let's hope this draws a line under this issue and Labour will continue to focus relentlessly on making sure there is no place in our party for anyone with anti-Semitic views.' Labour MP Stella Creasy slammed Mr Livingstone over his continued refusal to apologise. 'I am therefore, with great sadness, leaving the Labour Party.' What are the anti-Semitic incidents in Labour that have reached a crisis under Corbyn's watch? Jeremy Corbyn defended an artist who painted an anti-Semitic mural in 2012, questioning why the offensive art should be removed He was a member of a Facebook group which was awash with anti-Semitic rhetoric, and he has described anti-Semitic groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah as 'our friends' The Labour leader stood by when a speaker disrupted the launch of his party's anti-Semitism policy by accusing a Jewish MP of colluding with the press Labour has still failed to expel former London mayor Ken Livingstone, two years after he claimed Hitler supported Zionism. He has still not apologised Delegates at last year's Labour conference complained of a 'witch hunt' against anti-Semitism and heard from a speaker who said it was legitimate to question the Holocaust The problem is so rife in the party the Jewish Labour Movement has had to hold training sessions for party members on how not to be anti-Semitic Labour members and councillors have shared disgusting messages and images on Facebook describing Jewish people of controlling world capitalism and being to blame for the policies of the Israeli government The party is failing to deal with a huge backlog of complaints and has failed to expel people even though they have committed offences such as referring to Jewish people as Yids Corbyn ally Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, has dismissed anti-Semitism claims as 'mood music' spread by Blairites. Labour's new general secretary Jennie Formby was accused of recruiting a party member suspended for saying Hitler was a Zionist god. Advertisement Mr Corbyn said: 'Ken Livingstone's resignation is sad after such a long and vital contribution to London and progressive politics, but was the right thing to do.' Following the resignation, Conservative MP Michel Fabricant told MailOnline: 'Amazing that he regards the normal Labour Party as being 'right wing elements'. 'I would just call them 'sensible elements'. 'Just shows how far to the left - far from decency - many in the Labour leadership have become.' As recently as last week, Mr Livingstone threatened to sue Labour if it expelled him over the row. Appearing on TalkRadio, Mr Livingstone claimed shadow attorney general Shami Chakarabarti might be condemning him because she mistakenly thought he had said 'Hitler was a Zionist' rather than 'Hitler supported Zionism'. He told presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer: 'Basically I have been retired for the best part of the last six years. 'And the reason, well one reason I wasn't expelled, I made it absolutely clear, if I am expelled I go to court and you haven't got a chance of winning a court case in which you expel someone for stating historical fact but you don't expel those Labour MPs who then lie and say I said Hitler was a Zionist.' Speaking on Sky News earlier this month, Mr Livingstone admitted that the row over his remarks could have been 'damaging' to Labour - but only because of 'smears' that he had stated Hitler 'was a Zionist'. He insisted it was a historical fact that there was a 'deal done' between the Nazis and Zionists in the 1930s. Hitler had wanted to eject Jews from Germany, and Zionists wanted to set up a state in Palestine, he said. 'They collaborated,' Mr Livingstone said. 'They didn't like each other but they collaborated to do that.' Asked whether his insistence on linking Hitler to Jewish nationalists had contributed to Labour's failure to gain in places like Barnet, Mr Livingstone said: 'If anybody believes I said Hitler was a Zionist, yes. 'That has been very damaging.' A Turkish restaurant has been accused of sexism for displaying a job advert that said: 'waitress wanted.' The sign stuck to the window of the Mira Restaurant in Cardiff has been branded 'completely out of touch.' Jamie Matthews, 34, photographed the notice printed on a piece of A4 paper, declaring: 'Waitress wanted, apply inside.' Communications worker Mr Matthews called out the restaurant on Twitter and claims it is only through people speaking out that others will learn it is 'not acceptable'. The sign (left) stuck to the window of the Mira Restaurant in Cardiff (right) has been branded 'completely out of touch' He uploaded the picture on social media and wrote in the post: 'Well Mira restaurant in #Canton #Cardiff don't seem to have caught up with this century #everydaysexism.' Mr Matthews, from Cardiff, said: 'I took a photo of it because I was quite shocked. 'It immediately caught my eye. I thought oh my God, waitress? That's a bit strange and a bit specific. It seemed a bit odd to me. 'You'd never get away with that with equal opportunities employment. 'I can only guess but it's a small restaurant and so I wouldn't have thought it's to address a gender imbalance. Jamie Matthews, pictured with his dog Rocco, said he was 'quite shocked' when he saw the ad He accused the restaurant of 'everyday sexism' when he uploaded an image of the notice on Twitter 'It's probably more a stereotype that waiting staff are women and that means waitresses. 'I would have thought that stereotype would offend people. There is a huge imbalance in the restaurant industry when it comes to chefs as a lot of chefs are men and a lot of waiting staff are women. 'That's the traditional imbalance there, which obviously is also going to affect the gender pay gap aswell. 'I think to see an ad for 'waitresses' is just reinforcing this gap. This was why I called them out online. 'I definitely think it's important that people speak out when they see things like this. I think it needs to be called out when you see it.' Government guidelines state that employers must not state or imply in a job advert that they would discriminate against someone. The gov.uk website reads: 'It is against the law to treat someone less favourably than someone else because of a personal characteristic, eg religion, gender or age. 'Discrimination can include not hiring someone. You must not state or imply in a job advert that you'll discriminate against anyone.' While Mr Matthews' initial shock was over gender stereotypes, he also believes the advert discriminates against any men who might have applied for the role. He said: 'There might be men in the area looking for work in that industry as a waiter too. In my opinion in 2018 you shouldn't advertise any role specific to a gender. 'Every role should be open to every gender and that's the way we want to be and the way we should be. 'To have a job advertised for one particular gender just seems completely out of touch in 2018.' Mira Restaurant failed to respond to requests for comment on the issue however a manager said that they had since hired someone for the role. Advertisement This is the hilarious moment a brazen butterfly steals a kiss from a frog before clambering on top of it and taking a break on its head. Freelance photographer Kurit Afsheen captured the meeting between a dumpy tree frog and an African queen butterfly outside his home in Tangerang Baten, West Java, Indonesia. In the remarkable pictures, the two creatures can be seen sharing what looks like a kiss before the butterfly starts crawling all over it. The 39-year-old said: 'I think this is the story of a butterfly who wants to make friends with frogs. 'I spent about an hour taking a picture of the frog as it climbed along the twig about a metre from the ground. 'I was surprised when a butterfly landed and crawled on the frog for about ten minutes. 'I think the image was very cute.' Native to Indonesia and Australia, dumpy tree frogs, also known as white's tree frogs, live in rain forests and other tropical wooded areas. The butterfly can be seen crawling along the branch very slowly towards the unwitting tree frog who stares at it head on The butterfly appears to give the tree frog a kiss as it approaches the amphibious beast who does not appear to move despite the attention The frog seems irritated but not enough to shake it off and the insect crawls up its back without too much resistance The frog stretches out its body along the branch as the butterfly creeps slowly forward - coming to rest right on top of its face A former Hells Angels enforcer and his Instagram model girlfriend have been arrested after a police raid on their home. Ben 'Notorious' Geppert, 26, is accused of harassment, a drug offence and domestic violence while Allaina Vader, 27, has been charged with assault. She allegedly bit a 40-year-old stranger's face and stomped on her head in a road rage dispute in the Gold Coast last Wednesday. The couple are now in custody and will face Southport Magistrates Court tomorrow. Ben 'Notorious' Geppert (left image), 26, is accused of harassment and a drug offence, while Allaina Vader (left and right), 27, is charged with assault and traffic offences A former Hells Angel enforcer and his Instagram model girlfriend (pictured together) have been arrested after police raided their home Vader (left and right with Geppert) allegedly bit a 40-year-old stranger's face and stomped on her head in a road rage dispute in the Gold Coast last Wednesday The couple are now in custody and will face Southport Magistrates Court tomorrow. Pictured: Vader A Queensland Police spokesman told Daily Mail Australia: 'A 26-year-old Robina man has been charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, drug and domestic violence related matters. 'A 27-year-old Robina woman has been charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.' Using a carriage service to menace and harass means harassing someone with phone calls or texts or via social media. A screengrab from the Ben Geppert's Instagram video in which he appeared to brandish a gun Police last raided Geppert's home in April after he brandished what appeared to be a gun in a brazen social media post. The former bikie uploaded a video to Instagram which appeared to show him holding a black gun marked 'self loading pistol US Army Model'. Police raided his Gold Coast home with a warrant to find a black 45 calibre revolver. The bikie taunted officers after they found nothing, saying on Instagram: 'Thanks for coming and ruining my Sunday and not finding anything. You dogs will never get me.' Weapons experts told The Courier-Mail the gun was fake. Bond University criminologist Terry Goldsworthy told the publication social media is a very useful tool for police investigating bikies. He said: '[Bikies] are leaving a digital footprint that big that law enforcement would be blind to miss it. I'm sure they're looking at it and collating intelligence.' It comes after the criminologist claimed that traditional bikies would be 'highly embarrassed' by Geppert's public social media feud with Brett 'Kaos' Pechey, ex-Bandidos West End president. Bikie enforcer Ben Geppert (pictured with his model girlfriend) taunted police who raided his home after he brandished what appeared to be a gun in a brazen social media post Geppert (left) has been in a public social media feud with Brett 'Kaos' Pechey (right), ex-Bandidos West End president In February, former Hells Angels enforcer Geppert - who made headlines after being booted off Hamilton Island by police while on holiday - attacked Pechey in a lengthy Instagram post. The 26-year-old bikie called Pechey, 31, a 'dog' and accused him of 'talking to the task force' (the police), just weeks after the pair met through their Instagram-famous girlfriends, who are cousins. In a post to his online story, Geppert showed an image of Pechey's Instagram account with the words 'weak dog' written across it. He later wrote: 'Kaos you weak boneyard dog... don't hide behind me for protection. Ya know where I live so come be a man.' Glamorous: Geppert's girlfriend Allaina Vader (right) boasts a total of 158,000 followers Tony Blair (pictured in London today) insisted he was not told about the ordeal suffered by Abdul Hakim Belhaj until after he left No10 Tony Blair today denied he knew about the case of a Libyan dissident kidnapped and tortured by Muammar Gaddafi after an 'MI6 tip off' in 2004. The former prime minister insisted he was not told about the ordeal suffered by Abdul Hakim Belhaj until after he left No10 in 2007. He also hinted that there is far more to the story than has been revealed publicly, and refused to make a personal apology. But Mr Blair said he was 'content' with the decision by ministers to say sorry and pay out 500,000 after years of legal wrangling. Earlier this month Theresa May apologised to Mr Belhaj and his wife Fatima Boudchar over claims that Britain was involved in their rendition to Libya 14 years ago. MI6 has been accused of helping the US snatch Mr Belhaj and his wife, who was pregnant at the time, in Thailand and return them to the Gaddafi regime. Mrs May said the couple had suffered 'appalling treatment', and Ms Boudchar accepted a 500,000 payout. Mr Blair, who stood down as PM in 2007, said he had not been aware of the incident while in power, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'This has been subject to a long legal process. 'I have gone along with what the Government's done, which is issue the apology, I didn't actually know myself about this case until after I left office.' Pressed on whether he would give a personal apology to the couple, Mr Blair merely stressed that he was 'sorry for any mistreatment that's been given to people'. 'How on earth would you ever justify that?' he added. Abdel Hakim Belhaj served as the Libyan rebels' Tripoli military commander after being freed from the Gaddafi regime The former PM said: 'And, by the way, let me make one thing clear because sometimes people say, you know, I was sort of ambivalent on the use of torture - I have always been wholly and 100 per cent in all circumstances opposed to the use of torture. 'And I have made that clear, publicly, privately in any conversation I have ever had within government.' Mr Blair added: 'This case wasn't brought to my attention, but... there's a lot of things in this case, some of which have been out in the media, some of which have not. 'It's not something I dealt with myself when I was in government. I think that's all I can say.' Amnesty International UK's Head of Policy and Government Affairs, Allan Hogarth,renewed calls for a judicial inquiry. 'We shouldn't accept attempts to draw a line under the involvement of UK officials in these horrors,' he said. 'For years successive governments have tried to keep this case behind closed doors and eventually shut it down, apparently fearful of what evidence of the UK's complicity in kidnapping and torture might emerge. Mr Blair met Gaddafi in a tent outside Tripoli in 2004 (pictured) as he tried to restore relations with the rogue state 'We will be watching to see what comes out of the Intelligence and Security Committee's long-awaited report next month, but that secretive process cannot be enough.' Tory former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind has led calls for a parliamentary inquiry into what involvement Mr Blair, and senior ministers at the time, had in the incident. Mr Belhaj, a Libyan national and opponent of Gaddafi, and his wife had attempted to take a commercial flight from Beijing to London using fake passports. But they were instead deported by the Chinese authorities to Kuala Lumpur where they were detained. It is alleged MI6 became aware of their detention and reported their whereabouts to the Libyan intelligence services, a plan which led to them being tortured in Bangkok and held against their will in Libya. Ms Boudchar was held until June 2004 while Mr Belhaj was incarcerated for six years until March 2010. A senior Iranian military commander poured scorn on U.S. threats to tighten sanctions saying the Islamic Republic's people would respond by punching U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the mouth. Pompeo said on Monday Washington would impose new penalties if Tehran did not make sweeping changes, including dropping its nuclear program and pulling out of the Syrian civil war. Two weeks after President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran, his administration has threatened to impose 'the strongest sanctions in history,' setting Washington and Tehran further on a course of confrontation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US impose will new penalties if Tehran did not make sweeping changes, including dropping its nuclear program and pulling out of the Syrian war 'The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this and they will deliver a strong punch to the mouth of the American Secretary of State and anyone who backs them,' said Ismail Kowsari according to ILNA. 'Who are you and America to tell us to limit the range of ballistic missiles? 'History has shown that with the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, America is the top criminal with regard to missiles,' he added. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the branch of the Revolutionary Guards that carries out operations outside Iran's borders, was singled out by Pompeo as a top troublemaker in the Middle East. Kowsari, deputy commander of the Sarollah Revolutionary Guards base in Tehran said, said that the Iranian people back Soleimani. 'Soleimani is not a single person. The great people of Iran support him,' Kowsari said. Ismail Kowsari said history has shown America is a 'top criminal' and Iranian people will ' deliver a 'strong punch to the mouth of the American Secretary of State' Separately, Iran's government spokesman said that the plan outlined by Pompeo would exacerbate the public's hostility to the United States. 'Do the Americans think that the silk glove that they've taken out and the iron hand that they've extended to the people, a hand that's backed by Israel and the [Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization], will make Iranian people think that America wants democracy?' Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said on Tuesday, according to state media. The Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) is an exiled Iranian armed opposition group which has called for the overthrow of the Iranian government for decades. John Bolton, the U.S. national security advisor, has been a supporter of the MKO, which the Iranian government sees as a terrorist group. A soldier who went to fight in Iraq on his 18th birthday took his own life after developing post traumatic stress disorder following his time on the battlefield. Kevin Williams died aged 29 after he was found hanging in a stairwell outside his home in Basildon, Essex, in March. Mr Williams, who served in The Royal Green Jackets, had suffered flashblacks and said he felt 'pretty much useless' as he struggled to adapt back to civilian life after his time in the military. Kevin Williams, a former soldier who once met the Queen, took his own life after developing PTSE following his return from Iraq Mr Williams signed up for the Army when he was 16. He was one of the youngest soldiers to fight in Iraq and was part of Operation Telic 9, which saw some of the toughest fighting and involved 46,000 personnel at its peak. In 2006, he met the Queen when his unit The Royal Green Jackets was being absorbed into The Rifles. Speaking at the time he claimed to be more worried about meeting the monarch than heading to Basra. Mr Williams signed up for the Army when he was 16 and flew to Iraq on his 18th birthday He was discharged from the army after failing a drugs test when he was 22 and spent some time on the streets. However, the veteran was getting help from charity Combat Stress before his death and hoped to work as an electrician. In a short documentary recorded before his death he said: 'Returning to civilian life was a big shock. 'The skills I learnt especially being in the infantry regiment was all combat based, so civilian life doesn't have any combat. I was pretty much useless. 'Not too long after coming back from Iraq I just felt sad all the time, I lost a friend out there and I didn't really grieve till I got back. 'I didn't know how to handle normal everyday tasks, having that soldier's mentality it makes you think you are stronger than this, you are better than this. I was diagnosed with PTSD by a charity called Combat Stress.' His sister, Katherine, said: 'He would talk about his problems at times, but it was very hit and miss. 'Sometimes you could be having a good time with him and then something could trigger it. 'A loud noise could go off and then you could see his mind shut down. All he could talk about then was the war.' He struggled to adapt to civilian life and had flashbacks from his time on the battlefield The coroner heard a note was found in his home following his death. Kevin's sister, Jennifer Williams, said in a statement: 'Kevin's death was a shock to us all and despite the pain of a great loss, we feel it would not be classed as a surprise. 'I think Kevin intended to take his own life and he was obviously upset that his mother was unwell.' Giving her verdict of suicide, coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray said: 'I have come to the very, very sad conclusion that Kevin intended to take his own life. 'I am sure beyond reasonable doubt that he took a telling action knowing it would result in his death.' His sister said he often talked about the war and would react to loud noises Addressing his family she added: 'It's quite clear he was much loved and that shines through by you being here and Jennifer's letter.' After the inquest, Mr William's father Robbin and uncle Ralph said in statement: 'Kevin was much loved by friends, family and comrades. 'The family would like to say a big thank you to all that attended Kevin's funeral.' Combat Stress chief executive Sue Freeth said: 'Every veteran's death is a tragedy, and our heartfelt condolences go out to Mr Williams' family. 'Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a very serious mental health condition that affects a small but significant number of veterans.' Commenting after his death, a MoD spokesman said: 'We are committed to tackling the stigma of mental health, and have launched our mental health and wellbeing strategy alongside partnering with the Royal Foundation to improve our mental health services. 'We have spent 20 million this year on mental health services and encourage anyone who is suffering to come forward to access the care and help they deserve. 'We take the mental health of our veterans extremely seriously and work tirelessly to ensure they receive the care they deserve. 'We are committed to tackling the stigma of mental illness and last year launched a partnership with the Royal Foundation to improve training and education, alongside a range of other support available through the Veterans Gateway.' For confidential support on suicide matters, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here. Danny Pearce was allegedly stabbed to death in South East London for his 7,000 Rolex A moped-riding mugger stabbed a stranger to death for his 7,000 Rolex in front of his girlfriend, a court has heard. Jordan Bailey-Mascoll, 25, was allegedly one of two men who murdered Danny Pearce, 31, as he left Oliver's jazz club in Greenwich, South East London. Bailey-Mascoll and his accomplice were driving around on a moped, targeting people with expensive watches, Woolwich Crown Court heard. One of the balaclava-clad killers was armed with a long 'particularly gruesome' hunting knife and the other with a gun. When Mr Pearce refused to hand over his Rolex he was shot at, chased down the street, then cornered and knifed to death, jurors heard. Mr Pearce suffered multiple stab wounds to his neck and chest during the attack at 12.15am on July 15 last year and died at the scene. Louis Mably, prosecuting, said: 'These men were armed looking for watches to rob. Unfortunately, they were not going to let anyone stand in their way. 'Jordan Bailey-Mascoll was one of the two men on the moped who brutally murdered Danny Pearce, a total stranger, on the streets of Greenwich. 'They had weapons so if anyone stood up to them, they had the means necessary to get a wristwatch from someone's body. 'One of them had a hunting knife, a particularly gruesome weapon to be carrying on the streets. What's clear is these two men were acting together. 'They arrived together, confronted him together and were both armed but it is only Jordan Bailey-Mascoll on trial today.' Mr Pearce and his girlfriend Stephanie Holland were returning to his car on King William Walk after a night out with another couple in Greenwich. Bailey-Muscoll and his accomplice spotted Mr Pearce's expensive Rolex watch which was clearly visible, the court heard. CCTV images show Mr Pearce walking down the street with his girlfriend and two friends The video then shows the moped riders travelling past Mr Pearce in the other direction, around two minutes before the attack took place in Greenwich The moped passenger can be seen walking around a petrol station before the incident The two alleged killers - both wearing balaclavas and crash helmets - are said to have confronted Mr Pearce and told him to hand over his Rolex. Police released this image of the Rolex watch which was allegedly taken The court was told that when he refused they brandished their weapons, causing Ms Holland to shout 'run.' The moped driver then began firing shots at the couple and the passenger gave chase, it is claimed. Mr Pearce had numerous 'scuffles' with the two men on the street before he was eventually cornered on the steps of a house, the court heard. He was allegedly stabbed by both men repeatedly to 'vulnerable' areas around the neck, chest, head, arms and legs. Ms Holland grabbed the watch and threw it at the killers in a desperate bid to stop the brutal attack, the court heard. They then allegedly fled the scene on the moped but the incident was captured on CCTV across the street. A specialist emergency doctor arrived on the scene after paramedics realised Mr Pearce wasn't breathing. Mr Pearce (pictured) had numerous 'scuffles' with the two men on the street before he was eventually cornered on the steps of a house, the court heard He attempted a number of procedures to revive him but pronounced him dead at the scene at 5am. But a quick-thinking passer-by had noted down part of the moped's numberplate and it was linked to a string of similar robberies in the area. Bailey-Mascoll is also accused of carrying out one of those wristwatch muggings on July 11. In that attack Jolyon Atkinson was robbed of his Lars & Jensen timepiece by a pillion passenger on a moped wielding a large knife in Surrey Quays. Bailey-Mascoll's DNA was later found on the moped and he was said to own a set of spare keys. Police tried to arrest him in Catford on August 23 but he is claimed to have got away after threatening officers with a large knife. He was finally arrested on September 18 after allegedly trying to escape out of a window. Bailey-Mascoll, of no fixed address, denies murder, possession of a firearm, possession of an imitation firearm and robbery. The trial continues. The mother of poisoned ex-spy Sergei Skripal has made a dramatic appeal on Russian state-run TV to be allowed to speak to her son over the phone. Yelena Skripal - who will be 90 next month - claims the UK has been stopping her from speaking to her son, who was discharged from hospital last week. Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned using nerve agent Novichok in his adopted home town of Salisbury, Wiltshire, in March. In the interview, filmed in her home, Mrs Skripal says; 'I have not seen my son for 14 years. 'I want to meet him. I want to clasp my son firmly to myself, to my heart. I am 90 years old. I do not represent any danger to anyone, to anyone at all. She accuses the UK of preventing Skripal from contacting his family in Russia, adding: 'Please, allow me to make just one phone call with my son. 'But why don't they allow him to phone. Why? What is the reason? 'After all, when he was at home we used to talk every week. And now for some reason, we are not allowed to talk. 'I ask for him to be allowed to talk to me.' Plea: Sergei Skripal's mother Yelena - who will be 90 next month - went on Russian state TV to claims she has been prevented from speaking to her son Begging: The Russian TV segment sees the elderly Mrs Skripal ask to be allowed to talk to her son over the phone Poisoned: Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned using nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in March, but have both been discharged from hospital She pleaded for Skripal's niece, Viktoria, also known as Vika, 45, to be allowed to travel to Britain to see the former spy. Viktoria has been twice refused visas by the UK government. 'Everything is very complicated in life. I beg of you to allow us to talk on the telephone and allow Vika to go there to see him. Family: Skripal with mother Yelena at a family gathering in 2004 'I weep everyday. I am waiting for a message from my son.' At one point in the TV broadcast she is seen using a sheet to wipe away a tear. Viktoria, who is carer for the pensioner at her home in the Russian city of Yaroslavl, was in the Let Them Talk studio in Moscow. She was shown crying as Mrs Skripal spoke. She was seen holding a placard with the words written in red: 'Let a mother speak with her son.' Viktoria had earlier staged a one-woman protest outside the British embassy in Moscow over the refusal to grant her a visa. The show also heard calls for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry to intercede in the case. The Russian government has claimed it had nothing to do with the poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury in early March. Memories: Sergei skripal is pictured with his daughter Yulia and his late son Alexander Throwback: Skripal, right, poses with his parents in Russia as a young man Family snap: Skripal as a teenager with his mother, right, and father, left and grandparents It has accused British or American intelligence of carrying out the poisoning. And Moscow has further accused the British of 'abducting' Sergei and Yulia Skripal, not allowing them to talk to either Russian diplomats or their family. Sergei Skripal was detained in 2004 ands accused of spying for Britain while he was an agent for the GRU, Russian military intelligence, where he held the rank colonel. His espionage continued after he retired from the GRU. He was sentenced to prison but pardoned by then president Dmitry Medvedev in 2010 and swapped with glamour agent Anna Chapman who had been arrested by the FBI. Yulia spent several years living in Britain before returning to Russia, was released from hospital on April 11. Sergei left hospital last Friday more than two months after the poisoning, which Britain blamed on Moscow. The case sparked a diplomatic crisis that saw Russia and the West expelling dozens of diplomats in tit-for-tat moves. School teacher Sophie Whitehouse is on a mission to combat student loneliness with a campaign 'You Can Sit With Me' A school teacher's mission to end loneliness among students began with just one email. Sophie Whitehouse said she came up with the 'You Can Sit With Me' campaign, which aims to help end bullying in schools, after she received an email from a distraught Year 11 student. 'We'd lost a child to bullying and the cruelty of social media', she told Daily Mail Australia. Ms Whitehouse said after chatting to the student she came up with the idea of using yellow wristbands to help children identify peers who will be inclusive and safe, without the fear of rejection. The tactic is now used by 750 schools across Australia and the globe. Scroll down for video School teacher Sophie Whitehouse's (pictured far right) campaign uses a yellow wristband which she described as 'a life-changer for some kids' The bright yellow wristbands (pictured) help other children identify peers who will be inclusive and safe, without the fear of rejection 'A highly visible yellow wristband is a life-changer for some kids,' she said. 'We have made huge technological advances ... but we still have the problem of isolation in the playground,' she said. Student ambassadors wear the wristbands to let other students know they're approachable. 'The child will be welcome, no questions asked ... no matter their age, race, or gender,' Ms Whitehouse explained. 'The child will be welcome, no questions asked ... no matter their age, race, or gender,' Ms Whitehouse explained With over twenty years of experience teaching in Australian and international schools, Ms Whitehouse (centre) decided to launch a campaign to combat student isolation and loneliness A number of high profile Australian media identities such as Manu Feildel (pictured left), Jessica Rowe, and Peter Overton, have become involved in the cause Individual schools take the initiative as to who they decide will be ambassadors. These ambassadors are chosen based on their willingness to be open, kind and inclusive to all students. 'Wristband-wearers are taught how to look out for a child that might be isolated,' Ms Whitehouse said. A number of high profile Australian media identities such as Manu Feildel, Jessica Rowe, and Peter Overton, have become involved in the cause. The campaign hopes to teach children tolerance and kindness, but also resilience and act as an icebreaker to potentially start new friendships. Ms Whitehouse told Daily Mail Australia she hoped every school would be a 'You Can Sit With Me' school. The not-for-profit campaign distributes 100 per cent of its funds to the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation and has also partnered with R U OK Day. This June 01 will mark the second You Can Sit With Me Day. More information is available on the campaign Facebook page. The purpose of the campaign is to teach children tolerance and kindness, but also resilience and act as an icebreaker to potentially start new friendships A man wanted in relation to the alleged abduction of a boy, 12, handed himself into police on Tuesday. Yu 'Sunny' Zhang went to the Cabramatta Police Station in NSW on Monday after police released his picture to the public and asked for help trying to locate the 20-year-old. Earlier the same day, police said they were trying to locate Mr Zhang in relation to the alleged abduction of a Gold Coast schoolboy. 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. 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 The boy was located the following day in the northern New South Wales town of Grafton. Zen Jie Zhang, 53, has already been charged in relation to the mater with kidnapping for ransom, extortion, torture, assault occasioning bodily harm and deprivation of liberty. Yu Zhang is his son, according to the Courier Mail. Detectives from the Gold Coast are expected to travel to Sydney tomorrow to seek his extradition. '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 earlier this week. '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.' European Parliament interrogation of Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg descended into farce as he was able to dodge answering straight questions. An odd hearing format, requested by the social media mogul, saw MEPs ask questions all at once and Zuckerberg respond to them at the end. This meant by an hour into the 90-minute hearing in Brussels on Tuesday they were still asking and he was yet to answer a single question. Scroll down for video European Parliament interrogation of Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg descended into farce as he was able to dodge answering straight questions An odd hearing format, requested by the social media mogul, saw MEPs ask questions all at once and Zuckerberg respond to them at the end Then since so many questions had been asked he was able to give vague answers and not answer any point specifically with little chance for follow up. Several indignant MEPs tried to get their questions in at the end but were cut off by European Parliament president Antonio Tajani as time was up. The Facebook chief promised to respond to the questions he hadn't addressed in writing - before exiting Parliament leaving behind an unsatisfied huddle of MEPs. Zuckerberg's refusal to answer a straight questions, along with the format that enabled him to do so, prompted widespread criticism. 'Today's pre-cooked format was inappropriate & ensured #Zuckerberg could avoid our questions,' Guy Verhofstadt, one of the MEPs at the hearing, said afterwards. 'I trust that written answers from Facebook will be forthcoming. If these are not accurately answered in detail, the EU competition authorities must be activated and legislation sharpened.' Several indignant MEPs tried to get their questions in at the end but were cut off by European Parliament president Antonio Tajani (right) as time was up Damian Collins, chair of the British Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, said: 'What a missed opportunity for proper scrutiny on many crucial questions raised by the MEPs. 'Questions were blatantly dodged on shadow profiles, sharing data between WhatsApp and Facebook, the ability to opt out of political advertising and the true scale of data abuse on the platform. 'Unfortunately, the format of questioning allowed Mr Zuckerberg to cherry-pick his responses and not respond to each individual point. 'I echo the clear frustration of colleagues in the room who felt the discussion was shut down. 'It is time that Mr Zuckerberg agreed to appear in front of the DCMS committee to provide Facebook users the answers they deserve.' Mr Tajani (left) cut indignant MEPs off and said Mr Zuckerberg was free to leave as the session was over and their time was up Mr Zuckerberg told EU lawmakers he was taking steps to prevent a repeat of a massive breach of users' personal data in a scandal that rocked the social network giant. He acknowledged his platform had failed to get to grips with data protection and the spread of fake news but attempted to reassure MEPs that he is committed to tackling the issues. The Facebook founder admitted he is an 'arms race' to prevent political interference from 'adversaries' who use AI tools to spread misinformation during elections. Mr Zuckerberg also denied Facebook was a monopoly, but did accept some kind of regulation was inevitable. He admitted during the hearing that in the past two years Facebook executives haven't done enough to 'prevent these tools from being used for harm', in regards to the spread of fake news and political interference. 'This goes for fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing people's information. We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility,' he said. 'That was a mistake, and I'm sorry for it.' Mr Zuckerberg arrives at the European Parliament to answer questions about improper use of customer data In response to questions about whether Facebook ought to be broken up, Zuckerberg said the question was not whether there should be regulation but what kind of regulation there should be. 'Some sort of regulation is important and inevitable,' he said. He declined to answer when leading lawmakers asked him again as the session concluded whether there was any cross use of data between Facebook and subsidiaries like WhatsApp or on whether he would give an undertaking to let users block targeting adverts. Despite pledging to grill Mr Zuckerberg, EU lawmakers failed to land a telling blow over the course of 90 minutes. Mr Zuckerberg's appearance in Brussels comes three days before tough new EU rules on data protection take effect. Companies will be subject to fines of up to four percent of global turnover for breaching them. Mr Zuckerberg leaves after only giving vague answers and not answering any point specifically with little chance for follow up by MEPs, thanks to the hearing format As he got up to leave, one MEP tried to get his question about whether Facebook will commit to separating data from WhatsApp and Facebook answered. Two others then repeated their questions on if Mr Zuckerberg would promise the ability to opt out from targeted advertising. But Mr Tajani cut them off and said Mr Zuckerberg was free to leave as the session was over and their time was up. 'He's not obliged [to come here], he's not a European citizen,' he said, explaining his actions in a press conference after the hearing. He said the question period lasted a long time and Mr Zuckerberg had to leave right after. Mr Zuckerberg took questions in turn from each of the MEPs. Among the questions asked were: Q: Is Facebook a monopoly in need of regulation and is the data breach scandal 'the tip of the iceberg'? Zuckerberg said the question was not whether there should be regulation but what kind of regulation there should be. 'Some sort of regulation is important and inevitable,' he said. Later adding: 'There were a number of questions about regulation The question is, what is the right regulation,' 'The important thing is to get this right, to make sure that we have regulatory frameworks that protect people, are flexible, don't inadvertently prevent new technologies such as AI from being able to develop, and don't prevent a student in their dorm room, like I was, from being able to develop the next great product.' Q: Is Cambridge Analytica an isolated case? Can you guarantee that another scandal will not happen in three, six, nine months' time?' German MEP Manfred Weber asked, and continued: 'Did you personally make the decision in 2015 to not notify your users?' Zuckerberg replied: 'The good news with Cambridge Analytica is that the changes we made back in 2014 would prevent it wouldn't be possible for an app developer to get access to that level of data. 'But because there were a lot of apps using the data in 2014, we think it's good to go back and investigate the apps that got access to a lot of data before we locked down the platform. I do anticipate that there are going to be other apps that we'll find that we want to take down. 'This is part of our shift towards not just trying to manage the system reactively. Now what we're doing is taking a much more proactive approach. We are going through and investigating ourselves up front.' Zuckerberg pledged to keep investing in Europe as he made the latest stop on a tour of contrition over the Cambridge Analytica scandal that began in the US Congress in April Q: Will Facebook promise systematic transparency on all electoral campaigns and what is being done to prevent the spread of fake news? 'This is one of our top priorities: making sure we prevent anyone from trying to interfere in elections, like Russians were trying to in 2016,' said the Facebook boss. 'We will never be perfect on this. Our adversaries - especially on the election side - people who are trying to interfere who have access to some of the same AI tools that we will. 'It's an arms race and we will need to constantly be working to stay ahead.' He insisted Facebook faced competition from 'new competitors coming up every day' and while it attracted 6% of global advertising, 'clearly advertisers also have a lot of choice'. He also laid out the three categories of why fake news had been so proliferate in recent elections. He said: 'The first is spam. The way you fight this is the same roadmap that companies have used to fight email spam: you take away the way to make profit. 'The second category is fighting fake accounts. We took down about 580m in the last quarter. 'The last category is people who are well-meaning but just happen to share something that is provably false. We don't want to be in the position of saying who is true or false we work with third-party fact-checkers, and we're public about who they are, and if they say the story is provably false, we peg something to that and try to show it less.' Q: How will Facebook tackle the issue of online bullying, hate speech and abuse? 'Our policy has been to have someone flag things for us to look at reactively. Now, here in 2018, we have the ability to get more AI tools to be able to flag more content up front. 'So if you look, for example, at terror content, one of the things I'm proud of is that our systems can now flag 99% of the Al-Qaeda and ISIS content before anyone else flags them to us.' The company has also worked, he says, to improve its response to suicide and self-harm on Facebook Live, getting the response time down to 10 minutes. 'We'll never be perfect on this. Our adversaries, especially on the election side, will have access to the same tools we do. But our vision is moving from one of reactive management to us more proactively flagging things.' An army of fake Zuckerbergs march on EU Parliament ahead of the CEO hearing on Tuesday Q: Facebook paying taxes and it's future in Europe Zuckerberg stressed the importance of Europeans to Facebook and said he was sorry for not doing enough to prevent abuse of the platform. 'We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility. That was a mistake and I am sorry for it,' Zuckerberg said in his opening remarks. 'Facebook has always paid taxes in all the countries where we have operations set up, and we invest heavily in Europe. We have two data centres, and we're building another one in Denmark. 'We're making significant investments, to contribute to the innovation and job growth here as well.' Also in his opening remarks, Zuckerberg stressed Facebook's commitment to Europe, where it will employ 10,000 people by the end of the year, he said. 'I believe deeply in what we're doing. And when we address these challenges, I know we'll look back and view helping people connect and giving more people a voice as a positive force here in Europe and around the world,' he said. Q: Is Facebook an open platform for ideas and does it have a political bias? 'We are committed to being a platform for all idea - one where people can use our service and share political ideas across the spectrum and a exchange a wide range of political discourse.' Adding: 'We have never and will not make decisions on what content is allowed or allow ranking on the basis of political orientation.' Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook has suspended 200 apps from its platforms as it investigates third-party apps that have access to large quantities of user data. Cambridge Analytica and its British parent, SCL Elections Ltd, have declared bankruptcy and closed down. In what has proved to be a more pointed series of questions that those submitted during his appearance at the US Congress in April, one German conservative lawmaker asked Zuckerberg why Facebook should not be broken up as a monopoly and demanded to know who the company's rivals in Europe were The Facebook chief's grilling by the European Parliament was live-streamed to the public after he staged a U-turn on Monday and agreed to a webcast, in a further bid to limit the fallout from the data scandal. Angry EU lawmakers had objected to initial plans for it to be held behind closed doors. The questioning is proving to be more pointed than when Zuckerberg appeared in front of senators in the US. Manfred Weber, the German MEP for Lower Bavaria, said he 'will not back down until we get plausible answers' ahead of the grilling. The Facebook chief's grilling by the European Parliament is being live-streamed to the public after he staged a U-turn on Monday and agreed to a webcast, in a further bid to limit the fallout from the data scandal Some lawmakers previously told the Wall Street Journal that they will suggest Facebook split off some services that don't comply with EU regulations. Others said they planned to ask about monetary compensation for EU users whose data was caught up in the scandal. Jan Philipp Albrecht, a German lawmaker, said he planned to grill Zuckerberg on how Facebook will meet new privacy laws coming into effect this week. Facebook admitted 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 Silicon Valley giant has told the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, that the personal data of up to 2.7 million Europeans may have been sent inappropriately to Cambridge Analytica, which has since filed for bankruptcy in the US. The hearing comes three days before the EU introduces sweeping new personal data protection rules, which the Facebook chief says he now welcomes. 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 model globally. Heartbreaking photos show the deep wounds left by a nylon cord which was tangled around a sea lion's neck for over a month before it was cut away. The injured animal was first spotted by residents in the Chilean port of Caldera back in April - but was not taken in for treatment until a month later after it was sighted a second time. The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service eventually managed to track down the beast and remove the man-made wire which had left severe abrasions on its skin. Vets said the creature was slowly suffocating when they found it and needed life saving treatment before it could be released back into the sea. Scroll down for video The animal could be seen with deep cuts from where the cord had been slicing into its neck for weeks The sea lion was spotted by residents in Caldera, Chile with the cord around its neck (right) Vets worked quickly to free the struggling animal from the cord and managed to remove it entirely - although it quickly became clear it had suffered a lot of pain. Marine biologists gave the stricken animal a dose of painkillers and released it soon after. In a heartwarming display, footage shows a dozen rescuers using wooden shields to form a tunnel to guide the sea lion back into the ocean. Under the effects of painkillers, the cumbersome mammal waddles along the path created by the wooden shields. At one point, the large mammal flops to the ground to have a rest and needs a kindly slap on the behind to get it going again. Head of the rescue Mauricio Ulloa told local media: 'It was not an easy operation as the sea lion was very active. 'It kept trying to run away and it was difficult to approach it.' After vets sedated the animal they managed to remove the cord and give it some painkillers In a moving display, vets used shields to shepherd the sea lion back into the ocean after giving it life-saving treatment A Florida crime scene technician has been arrested for stealing drugs from the deceased. Christine Rollins, 41, was arrested on Friday after an investigation showed that she had been stealing narcotics of dead people from the evidence building of the Escambia County Sheriff's Office. The woman has been charged with trafficking hydrocodone, trafficking oxycodone, petty theft, and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, according to the sheriff's office in a Facebook post. The woman has been charged with stealing oxycodone and other drugs of the deceased from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office's evidence building in Florida Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan has ordered that Rollins be fired from her job. Rollins appeared in video court at the Escambia County Courthouse on Monday, according to WEAR-TV. She will make her first court appearance on June 8. She has worked at the Escambia County Sheriff's Office for 13 years. Due to her affiliation with law enforcement, Rollin's mugshot is not available to the public under Florida law. Saudi Arabia is holding and interrogating at least 10 women's rights activists - seven women and three men - without any access to lawyers, according to people familiar with the arrests. The detentions are seen as a culmination of a steady crackdown on perceived critics of the government and come just a month before the ultra-conservative kingdom is set to lift the world's only ban on women driving. People familiar with the arrests say the activists were allowed just one phone call to worried relatives a week ago, and that one of the women has been held entirely incommunicado. The sweep began a week ago, on May 15, when police detained the 10 in the capital, Riyadh, and transferred them to the city of Jiddah. Their exact whereabouts now are unknown. Saudi media say the arrests were carried out by forces from the Presidency of State Security, a body that reports directly to the king and crown prince. Loujain al-Hathloul is said to be among the ten arrested in Saudi Arabia. The activist in her late 20s is among the most outspoken women's rights activists in the kingdom. She was previously detained for more than 70 days after she attempted to livestream herself driving in 2014 In this March 29 photo, Aziza al-Yousef drives a car on a highway in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of a campaign to defy Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving. Aziza is also said to have been arrested. She is a retired professor at King Saud University, a mother of five and a grandmother of eight Activists told the AP that seven of those detained were involved in efforts to establish a non-government organization called 'Amina' that would offer support and shelter to victims of domestic abuse. They had recently submitted their request to the government to establish the NGO. The arrests cast a pall over recent social openings being pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including a historic decision to lift the world's only ban on women driving on June 24. Amnesty International says Prince Mohammed's promises of reform 'fall flat amid the intensifying crackdown on dissenting voices in the kingdom.' 'His pledges amount to very little if those who fought for the right to drive are now all behind bars for peacefully campaigning for freedom of movement and equality,' said Samah Hadid, Amnesty's Mideast director. Who are the arrested activists? LOUJAIN AL-HATHLOUL The activist in her late 20s is among the most outspoken women's rights activists in the kingdom. She was detained for more than 70 days after she attempted to livestream herself driving from neighboring United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia in 2014. She was detained by Saudi authorities as she attempted to cross the border and referred to an anti-terrorism court on charges of criticizing the government online. She was later released without trial. Activists say al-Hathloul was arrested again in June of last year in connection with her advocacy. Activists say al-Hathloul was then stopped by authorities in Abu Dhabi, where she was residing, and transferred to Saudi Arabia earlier this year where she's been under a travel ban since March. Al-Hathloul attended a humanitarian summit in Canada in 2016, where she was photographed in Vanity Fair magazine with former American actress Meghan Markle, who wed Prince Harry over the weekend. Loujain al-Hathloul stopped by authorities in Abu Dhabi and transferred to Saudi Arabia earlier this year where she's been under a travel ban since March, activists say AZIZA AL-YOUSEF A retired professor at King Saud University, al-Yousef is a mother of five and a grandmother of eight. Although she hails from a conservative tribe with links to the royal family, she is among the most prominent women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia. In 2016, she delivered a petition signed by thousands to the royal court calling for an end to guardianship laws that give male relatives final say over a woman's ability to marry or travel abroad. She has worked for years assisting women fleeing abusive marriages and homes. She also defied the kingdom's ban on women driving on several occasions. 'This is a good step forward for women's rights,' al-Yousef told The Associated Press last year when the kingdom announced that women would be allowed to drive. However, she cautioned it was just 'the first step in a lot of rights we are waiting for.' Saudi activist and campaigner Aziza al-Yousef is said to be one of the arrested activists EMAN AL-NAFJAN An assistant professor of linguistics and a mother of three, including a toddler, al-Nafjan runs one of the first English blogs on Saudi Arabia. She describes the 'Saudiwoman' blog as an effort to counter the many non-Saudis and non-Arabs 'out there giving 'expert' opinions on life and culture' in the kingdom. Al-Nafjan has protested the driving ban, including publicly driving in the capital, Riyadh, in 2013 as part of a campaign launched by women's rights activists. She has worked closely with al-Yousef and other women's rights activists to help domestic abuse victims and bring attention to repressive guardianship laws. In recent years, she has been cautious about voicing her opinion on Twitter out of concern over a growing crackdown on rights advocates. She was among dozens of women who were warned by the royal court last year to stop speaking with the press or voicing opinions online. Eman al-Nafjan runs one of the first English blogs on Saudi Arabia and protested the driving ban MADEHA AL-AJROUSH A psychotherapist in her mid-60s, al-Ajroush runs a private therapy practice in the capital, Riyadh, which specializes in gender orientation, according to activists. She helped initiate a nationwide program in Saudi Arabia to provide support for domestic abuse victims and train police and courts on how to receive and treat such victims. A longtime advocate of women's rights, she took part in the kingdom's first driving protest in 1990 and subsequent campaigns to end the ban on women driving. She has faced years of harassment by authorities, including house raids, travel bans and being fired from her job. Last year, al-Ajroush told the AP after women were promised the right to drive: 'I had no idea it was going to take like 27 years, but anyway, we need to celebrate.' Madeha al-Ajroush is said to be one of the detained women. She helped initiate a nationwide program in Saudi Arabia to provide support for domestic abuse victims and train police and courts on how to receive and treat such victims AISHA AL-MANA Like al-Ajroush, the 70-year-old al-Mana took part in the kingdom's first driving protest in 1990, in which 47 women were arrested. She also took part in driving protests in 2011 and 2013. She is director of Al-Mana General Hospitals and the Mohammad Al-Mana College of Health Sciences. She completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in the U.S. in sociology. In 1980, she became one of the first Saudi women to obtain a Ph.D., also in the U.S. from the University of Colorado. In 2016, she established a scholarship program for Saudi women to study global health at her alma mater. She also established a $2 million endowment to support Saudi and Arab women at the American University of Beirut who are studying advanced degrees in nursing and health sciences. Activists say she suffered a stroke last year and are concerned for her health while in detention. Aisha al-Mana previosuly took part in the kingdom's first driving protest in 1990, in which 47 women were arrested IBRAHIM AL-MUDAIMIGH Al-Mudaimigh is a lawyer who defended al-Hathloul during her detention in 2015 for attempting to cross the UAE-Saudi border while driving. He has supported human rights defenders in court and offered legal representation to activists in the kingdom. He's also represented Waleed Abulkhair, a human rights lawyer now serving a 15-year sentence who'd represented Raif Badawi, a blogger who was publicly flogged in 2015 and is serving 10 years in prison. Activists say al-Mudaimigh, who ran his own practice, was one of the few lawyers in Saudi Arabia willing to defend human rights activists since others have either fled or been detained. HESSAH AL-SHEIKH A longtime women's rights activist who took part in the kingdom's first driving protest in 1990, al-Sheikh is a professor at King Saud University and volunteers with Saudi-based charities focusing on women and children. She hails from the prominent Al Sheikh family who are descendants of Sheikh Mohammed Ibn Abdul-Wahhab. His ultraconservative teachings of Islam in the 18th century are widely referred to as 'Wahhabism' in his name. She co-authored a 100-page study that was published this year by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in partnership with Rutgers University, examining Saudi women's advocacy since 1990. The study says questions remain over whether new policies will lead to real changes in how women's lives are governed in Saudi Arabia. The study notes that international media exposure 'can be a protective shield against severe punishment for active engagement in women's causes.' Hessah Al-Sheikh is a professor at King Saud University and volunteers with Saudi-based charities focusing on women and children WALAA AL-SHUBBAR Activists say al-Shubbar, in her late 20s, works as a nurse in the capital, Riyadh. She has been active in calling for an end to guardianship rules and appeared on Arabic news programs to discuss issues of patriarchy in the kingdom. In an interview previously aired on France24, al-Shubbar is quoted as saying that in Saudi society 'men are viewed as superior to women, and men are seen as capable of achieving anything and a woman is not.' MOHAMMED AL-RABAE Al-Rabea is a writer and an activist in his 20s who has organized discussion groups about philosophy and social issues. He worked with some of the activists to push for greater women's rights. ABDULAZIZ AL-MESHAAL The Gulf Center for Human Rights describes al-Meshaal as a businessman and philanthropist who was listed as a board member in an application by activists to the government to establish a non-governmental organization called 'Amina' to protect women survivors of domestic violence. Advertisement The crackdown is happening as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pledged $100 million to a World Bank fund for women entrepreneurs, which President Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, has publicly supported. The Saudi crown prince has openly courted Trump in an effort to counter regional rivals like Qatar and Iran. When the kingdom issued its royal decree last year announcing that women would be allowed to drive in 2018, women's rights activists were contacted by the royal court and warned against giving interviews to the media or speaking out on social media. Following the warnings, some women left the country for a period of time and others stopped voicing their opinions on Twitter. In recent weeks, activists say dozens of women's rights campaigners have also been banned from traveling abroad. Several of the recently detained women are seen as icons of the Saudi women's rights movement and had called for an end to guardianship laws that give men final say over whether a woman can marry, obtain a passport or travel abroad. Their movement was seen as part of a larger democratic and civil rights push in the kingdom. The arrests cast a pall over recent social openings being pushed by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including a historic decision to lift the world's only ban on women driving on June 24 Their advocacy, though tempered in recent years due to fear of arrest, represented one of the last remaining spaces of activism in the kingdom, where all protests are illegal and where all major decisions rest with King Salman and the crown prince. Over the past years, authorities have steadily cracked down on human rights defenders, including some dozen members of the now dissolved Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights, known by its Arabic acronym HASEM. The group's founding members are serving lengthy prison terms under a sweeping anti-terrorism law dating back to 2014, which defines acts as vague as 'defaming the state's reputation' as terrorism. The Interior Ministry has not named the 10 arrested but said they are being investigated for communicating with 'foreign entities,' working to recruit people in sensitive government positions and providing money to foreign circles with the aim of destabilizing and harming the kingdom. Pro-government media outlets have splashed some of the women's photos online and in newspapers, accusing them of being traitors and of belonging to a 'spy cell'. The pro-Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported the group is being investigated for 'using human rights as a pretext to violate the country's systems.' Legal experts have been quoted in state-aligned newspapers as saying the group could face up to 20 years in prison, and, although unlikely, charges of treason, which carry the death penalty. Rights activists, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, say Loujain al-Hathloul, Aziza al-Yousef and Eman al-Najfan - three well-known Saudi women's rights activists- are among the 10. They say Madeha al-Ajroush, Aisha al-Mana and Hessah al-Sheikh - all in their 60s or 70s- are also among the 10 detained. The three took part in the first women's protest movement for the right to drive in 1990, in which nearly 50 women were arrested for driving and lost their passports and their jobs. Some of the arrested women are professors at state-run universities. The arrests have stunned even 'the government's most stalwart defenders,' Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi wrote in an opinion piece for the Washington Post. He says the message from the arrests is clear: 'No independent voice or counter-opinion will be allowed. Everyone must stick to the party line.' Khashoggi, who fled Saudi Arabia during the start of a wave of mass arrests in the kingdom last year, wrote: 'We are expected to vigorously applaud social reforms and heap praise on the crown prince while avoiding any reference to the pioneering Saudis who dared to address these issues decades ago.' Last year, Prince Mohammed oversaw the arrests of dozens of writers, intellectuals and moderate clerics who were perceived as critics of his foreign policies. He also led an unprecedented shakedown of top princes and businessmen, forcing them to hand over significant portions of their wealth in exchange for their freedom as part of a purported anti-corruption campaign. Activists say lawyer Ibrahim al-Mudaimigh, who represented several human rights defenders at great personal risk, is also among those detained. He defended al-Hathloul in court when she was arrested in late 2014 for more than 70 days for her online criticism of the government and for attempting to drive from neighboring United Arab Emirates into Saudi Arabia. Reality TV star Kurtis Hartman has been spared jail for posting a revenge porn image online from a sex video he made with his ex-girlfriend. The Ex On the Beach contestant uploaded the explicit picture after a Twitter spat saw her accuse him of being a drug dealer. Hartman claimed a former flatmate was responsible for posting the image on his account after he left his iPhone at home while he went to the gym. But he was convicted of disclosing a private sexual image with the intent to cause distress after a trial at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court. The Ex On the Beach contestant, pictured arriving at court (left) and right, uploaded the explicit picture after a Twitter spat saw her accuse him of being a drug dealer Former gay porn star Hartman, who starred on this year's series of the MTV dating show, was supported by friends and family as he was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months. He has been ordered not to contact the victim directly or indirectly for two years and to delete any private images of his ex-partner. The victim is a would-be actress and believes the picture tweeted by the 22-year-old Ex On the Beach star last September has ruined her chances of success. District Judge Susan Williams told Hartman: I cannot begin to think what the complainant felt when she realised that you had sent this image out on Twitter. Hartman (pictured) was supported by friends and family as he was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months Hartman starred on this year's series of the MTV dating show Acts between those in intimate relationships in the privacy of their own home are personal, intimate, and private. It was vindictive, vicious and calculated to humiliate and it did. There is a streak of controlling and bullying behaviour in you. Sabrina Farhan, prosecuting, said Hartman and the complainant were in a relationship. During the course of that relationship it is accepted that both parties recorded an intimate sexual video. The victim accepted that she had been sent a copy of the sex video from Hartmans phone but denied ever sending it on to anyone else. Ms Farhan added: The defendant and the complainant were having an argument on Twitter. During the course of that argument the defendant sent a text message to the complainant threatening that unless she deleted those tweets the next tweet he would post will ruin her. Hartmans message stated: What you on about drug dealer? I would delete that tweet if I were you or the next tweet will ruin you. He added: Bitch dont talk about me like you know me, you are a fan. Hartman then put up the picture of the naked victim in which her face was clearly visible. Hartman denied posting the image on his Twitter account and told the court he had left his iPhone at home in the kitchen while he went to the gym Ultimately the picture is deleted after two hours on Twitter. Both the complainant and the defendant are in the public, Ms Farhan said. The complainant has a large group of children who follow her on Twitter. The actress fought back tears as she told the court: I was immediately shocked. I was just gob-smacked that he had done it. I started thinking about all the consequences this was going to have. I was just so angry. Considering I want to be an actress, I could not get a job. I have not told my agent. If anyone else told them they would probably drop me. I just couldnt do my chosen career. Hartman denied posting the image on his Twitter account and told the court he had left his iPhone at home in the kitchen while he went to the gym. He claimed his flatmate Will posted the image before heading to Dubai, leaving him with rent and bills to pay. Asked if he posted the picture Hartman replied: I disagree with that, I dont like the fact that this has happened and that my name has been thrown into the mix with this. I have been worried. I have been battling depression and suicidal thoughts. I deeply feel sorry for the complainant. I had a lot of love for the girl, and I would never wish that on anyone. All I can do is deny that I was the one who posted it. When he was arrested the police asked if they could download his phone data but he refused, telling them it had been destroyed in a car crash when he was the passenger. Hartman, of Saltash, Cornwall, denied but was convicted of one count of disclosing a private sexual image with the intent to cause distress. The offence carries maximum sentence of two years imprisonment. Hartman was also ordered to pay 735 in costs and not to contact the complainant. A gunman accidentally shot himself while climbing over a fence after attempting to kill his ex-girlfriend's new lover, reports claim. Graphic photos showed Anibal Fernandez lifeless draped over a fence in the town of General Pinedo, Argentina, after the horrific incident. Local media suggested that Fernandez had gone to the home of ex Carina Carabajal, with a .22-caliber rifle with the intention of confronting her new lover Daniel Campos who had been living there. He was said to have burst into the property and shot Mr Campos four times in the arms and chest after a heated argument. Shocking photos from the scene show Fernandez draped over the top of the metal fencing outside his ex-girlfriend's home. A rifle is seen on the floor But when he tried to flee the scene, Ms. Carabajal reportedly heard a gunshot outside the building and rushed out to find Fernandez's lifeless body perched on top of the metal fencing with a pool of blood below. Fernandez was said to have died instantly but Mr Campos miraculously survived after being rushed to the local hospital for treatment. Mr Campos remains in the Las Brenas Hospital where he is recovering from his wounds. Police at on the scene set up a cordon around the gruesome scene and screened the remains from public display. The case is under investigation by the police force of the nearby city of Las Brenas. Argentinian police set up a cordon around the incident and tried to screen his body from public view A politician from President Putin's United Russia party has been praised on social media after he slapped a schoolboy who insulted him. Andrey Odintsov, deputy of Lesnoy, had been visiting a secondary school's stadium in Eldigino, in the Pushkin district of Moscow when two boys were making noise from the stadium benches as he was checking the work of contractors. Displeased with the lack of respect shown by the pupils, Odintsov challenged their behaviour to which one replied 'so, do you hit me now? You'll find yourself behind bars.' Video footage, captured by a fellow student, then shows Odintsov, who has a black belt in karate like president Putin, leaning over the two boys before slapping one in the face. The boy reported the incident to a teacher and Odintsov was called to the principal's office where he was asked to explain his behaviour. The 33-year-old, who has a degree in teaching, reportedly refused to apologise for striking the teenager that he 'knew how to deal with young people.' Andrey Odintsov is the deputy of Lesnoy in the Moscow district. The 33-year-old reportedly has a degree in teaching Andrey Odintsov can be seen leaning over the schoolboy after he reportedly was being noisy as he was doing an inspection of the stadium The boys parents have reported the incident to police and are preparing to take legal action but local media reports that if Odintsov is prosecuted he will only get a 30,000 RUB fine or 361. Bizarrely, social media users have praised the politician for his actions with one saying : 'I wouldn't be surprised if the kids were swearing and he punished them for it. I doubt an adult man would do such a thing for no reason.' 'Evgeniy Kalinin' also commented: 'If everything really happened that way, I'm for the politician. Kids these days have no respect for adults. They might have deserved it.' Like President Putin, the politician is said to have a black belt in karate. Local media reports that if he is prosecuted he will only get a 30,000 RUB fine or 361 And 'Evgeniy Kalinin' wrote: 'If everything really happened that way, I'm for the politician. Kids these days have no respect for adults. They might have deserved it.' United Russia has reportedly suspended Odintsov for the incident with United Russia Press Service General Council Andrey Turchak saying: 'It is unacceptable for an adult to act in such a manner, especially for those representing authorities.' 'Odintsov's behavior went against principles of education. This is not the kind of language one ought to be using when addressing the youth.' John Bercow is facing a probe by the Commons watchdog after refusing to apologise for allegedly calling Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom a 'stupid woman'. Tory MP James Duddridge has asked the standards commissioner to investigate whether the Speaker's behaviour brought parliament into disrepute. Mr Bercow has been accused of branding Mrs Leadsom a 'stupid woman' during an off-mic rant while presiding over the Commons last week. He told the House yesterday that he had used the word 'stupid' in a 'muttered aside' during a row over business scheduling, and regarded Mrs Leadsom as a very 'able' minister. However, he stopped short of apologising and insisted he would continue to speak out frankly when he felt ministers were behaving badly. The defiant intervention in the House risked inflaming the row threatening to force him out of his job. John Bercow (pictured in the Commons last night) is facing the threat of a standards probe into his alleged 'stupid woman' jibe at a senior Tory Minister Mr Bercow was accused of branding Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom (pictured last night) a 'stupid woman' and 'useless' last week 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'. Downing Street said today that Theresa May agreed with Mrs Leadsom that all MPs deserved to be treated with 'courtesy and respect'. The claims about the Speaker's conduct last week provoked fury from Tory MPs, who were already demanding he 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. However, some Opposition MPs seem to have been wavering. Foreign Office minister Harriet Baldwin has 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'. In the Commons last night, Mr Bercow conceded 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.' In his letter to the Commissioner, Mr Duddridge said he believed Mr Bercow's actions breached the Commons' 2009 code of conduct, which states: 'Members shall at all times conduct themselves in a manner which will tend to maintain and strengthen the public's trust and confidence in the integrity of Parliament and never undertake any action which would bring the House of Commons, or its Members generally, into disrepute.' Tory MP James Duddridge has asked the standards commissioner to investigate whether the Speaker's behaviour brought parliament into disrepute Mr Duddridge has been calling for Mr Bercow to abide by his pledge to stand down by June 22. Foreign Office minister Harriet Baldwin seemed to back calls for the Speaker to quit yesterday The Rochford and Southend East MP wrote: 'We cannot let the current situation of intimidation and bullying from such a senior figure whom we should look to set an example and act as arbitrator. 'The perpetrator cannot be allowed to have so much power over the House, its members and staff who work in the Commons. It is essential that the Speaker steps aside from chairing and participating on all matters related to bullying.' He also asked for a call to evidence over 'intimidating behaviour which I and other members have witnessed repeatedly over the years'. The Commissioner's office confirmed it had received a complaint and she would 'consider whether the matter is within her remit and, if it is, whether there is sufficient evidence to justify beginning an inquiry'. A spokeswoman for Mr Bercow declined to comment. 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. 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 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. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, had asked for permission to investigate whether the Speaker had brought the House into disrepute. 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.' At the funeral of Terry Jones, his Monty Python co-stars had sent a floral tribute bearing his immortal Life Of Brian line 'Not the Messiah, just a very naughty boy', while his wife Anna Soderstrom spoke of his 'good-natured and generous' character. After the service last February, the mourners retreated to a nearby pub in North London for a small wake, where Anna, then 36, allowed herself a moment to reflect on the five years she had spent helping to care for her ailing husband as he succumbed to the ravages of dementia. Terry's death at the age of 77 had left a gaping hole in her life, and that of their ten-year-old daughter Siri, but at least they would be financially secure. At the wake, a woman came up to speak to her. Anna was expecting condolences, but the stranger turned out to be a lawyer representing Terry's ex-wife, Alison Telfer, delivering the stinging news that she and the comedian's two grown-up children would be contesting Terry's will. Choking back tears as she recalls that moment, Anna says: 'Terry had been dead for only a matter of days, he had just been cremated. It shocked me.' (Pictured top left, Terry Jones and Anna, bottom right, Terry and his first wife Alison, right, Anna.) An experimental vaccine has been shipped into the Democratic Republic of Congo to stem the tide of the Ebola outbreak gripping the country. Health workers in the DRC have begun an widespread immunisation campaign in an effort to stop the disease in its tracks as 27 people have already died from the current outbreak. The experimental vaccine proved effective when used in limited trials during the epidemic which struck West Africa in 2014-16. Health workers were among the first to receive the vaccine on Monday and it is now being distributed among the families of those who have already died from the illness. Scroll down for video A health worker preparing a potentially life-saving Ebola vaccine in Mbandaka, Congo on Monday Health workers administering the vaccine to other volunteers so they will be able to give it to members of the public without fear of infection The WHO has this week begun administering vaccines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, starting in the north-western city of Mbandaka, a provincial capital with a similar population to Perth or Adelaide. The initial targets of the vaccination program are health workers and family members of the deceased, and more than 4,000 doses have already been shipped to the country from WHO headquarters in Switzerland. The WHO admits the fact the ebola outbreak has spread in the past two weeks from a remote part of the country to an important administrative centre is cause for concern. But, speaking from Geneva, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasaravic told The Signal the initial response to the outbreak had been as good as could be expected. 'One of the big differences is that West African health systems had not known ebola epidemics before,' Mr Jasaravic said. 'You had health workers who were not trained to deal with the ebola virus, and those health systems were also very weak. 'And really from day one they have started to coordinate all the partners to make sure all pieces are carried out as fast as possible.' WHO workers preparing a public vaccination centre in the Congolese city of Mbandaka for treatment As the WHO shipped out the initial run of 4,000 doses - hundreds of people waited eagerly at pop-up health centres around the city Two more people were said have died from Ebola and seven new cases were confirmed in DRC on Tuesday alone. Officials also said the crisis was being made worse by local traditions such as eating monkey meat. But locals in the provincial town of Mbandaka said they would not be put off their food by the warnings. 'Despite your Ebola stories, we buy and eat monkey meat,' said one woman named Carine, a mother of eight children. 'We have eaten that since forever. That is not going to change today. Health officials are particularly concerned by the disease's presence in Mbandaka, a crowded trading hub on the Congo River with road, water and air links to Congo's capital, Kinshasa. Two officials at an Australia embassy in South Africa have reportedly been sacked amid a probe into allegations Nigerian nationals paid bribes for visas. At least 21 Nigerians received Australian student visas, which a high-level investigation said were 'tainted by the corrupt conduct of the department officers', according to The Herald Sun. The two Australian High Commission officials were fired after a joint investigation by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) and the Immigration Department, the publication reported. An alleged visa scam was operating from the Australian embassy in South Africa (pictured) The alleged scam involved criminals paying corrupt officials for Australian visas for Nigerian nationals. Officials were accused of bypassing mandatory checks and granting visas within days to people deemed by Australia as high-risk. The 21 visas were processed between February and April last year, according to a recent Administrative Appeals Tribunal document. They were 'identified by the department as being tainted by the corrupt conduct of the department officers,' the AAT decision read. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and a delegate for Home Affairs cancelled the visa of one Nigerian student because they believed it to be fraudulent but the ruling was overturned As part of the tribunal, a report was provided which analysed 13 applications of Nigerian students that were approved by the allegedly corrupt officers. One student, who is suspected of entering on a dodgy visa, was told by a delegate for Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton that her visa would be cancelled. But Ogochukwu Concilia Odinkaeze narrowly avoided deportation after AAT deputy president Jan Redfern and AAT member Dr Colin Huntly overturned the decision to cancel her visa. Mr Dutton's delegate said that an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the granting of Ms Odinkaeze's visa had been conducted. They stated that Ms Odinkaeze did not know she was in Australia on an shonky visa. 'I have considered Ms Odinkaeze's claims that she is unaware of such fraudulent conduct and applied for the visa on her own merits,' the delegate said in a statement. Two Immigration Department officials have been fired as a result of the investigation 'The evidence that the ground for cancellation exists was provided by reliable verifiable sources.' The delegate also told the tribunal that had she applied through the appropriate channels her visa 'would not have been granted.' 'Relevantly, Ms Odinkaeze is not the subject of this analyse but her application is one of 21 Nigerian student applications processed in the period of February, March and April 2017 that was identified by the department as being tainted by the corrupt conduct of the department officers,' the AAT decision said. Brussels laid down the gauntlet to Britain on trade today - as it launched talks on a deal with Australia and New Zealand. The EU said the decision to begin formal negotiations showed that the bloc was 'open' to the world and a pact would be 'win win' for all sides. Officials hope a trade deal will add around 10billion to the GDP of EU states - although there is set to be fierce haggling over food and agricultural goods. The move will increase the pressure on the UK, as ministers have vowed that freedom to forge our own trade links will be one of the main benefits from Brexit. The EU's top trade official Cecilia Malmstrom (pictured) welcomed the talks mandate claiming a trade deal would be 'win-win' Cabinet big beasts including Liam Fox and Boris Johnson have championed stronger ties with Australia and New Zealand, repeatedly visiting the countries and talking up the chances of a quick deal. The start of trade talks was signed off by a gathering of EU ministers today after a protracted 'scoping' period. The EU's top trade official Cecilia Malmstrom welcomed the mandate claiming a pact would be 'win-win'. 'Starting these talks between likeminded partners sends a strong signal at a time where many are taking the easy road of protectionism,' she added. A statement from the EU made clear the emphasis would be on industrial and manufacturing sectors. There will be strong resistance from European farmers to allowing unfettered access for meat and dairy products from the southern hemisphere. 'The mandates do not envisage full liberalisation of trade in agricultural products, which are foreseen as benefiting from specific treatment,' an EU statement said. Bulgarian finance minister Emil Karanikolov, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, said: 'Today's decision to open trade talks with Australia and New Zealand is... a reminder to the world of the EU's commitment to openness, free trade and global cooperation.' Earlier this week the US ambassador to London said Britain would be at the 'front of the line' for a trade deal after Brexit. Cabinet big beasts including Boris Johnson (pictured on a visit to Australia last year next to counterpart Julie Bishop) have championed stronger ties with southern hemisphere states after Brexit 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'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.' Some of the more conservative members of the House of Representatives are set to demand that the Justice Department launch a second special counsel investigation to examine its own potential wrongdoing including whether the FBI abused its authority to obtain wiretap warrants against Trump campaign aides. Three members of the House Freedom Caucus will introduce a 12-page resolution on Tuesday calling for a new probe to run in parallel with one led by Robert Mueller, who is looking into Russia's attempts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. They also want an accounting of how the FBI ended its investigation into then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's personal email server, a home-brew device that held classified documents but was unsecured. Fired FBI director James Comey could see his reputation in worse tatters if a second special counsel were to dig into Russia probe surveillance abuses Three conservative members of Congress want a new investigation into FBI misconduct one that would have the power to subpoena people and file criminal charges Hillary Clinton opponents want to know more about how the FBI decided to close its investigation into the private email server she used while serving as secretary of state House Freedom Caucus co-founders Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida will put their names on the resolution, along with caucus chairman Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, according to the Fox News Channel. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Monday that he will press the DOJ's inspector general to look into claims that the FBI, then led by James Comey, deployed Bureau resources to spy on the Trump campaign in 2016. But a special counsel would have greater power to hold the DOJ to account by subpoenaing witnesses and documents, and could file criminal charges against anyone accused of wrongdoing. The agency's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, told Congress last week that a draft of his report on the Clinton probe is sitting with the DOJ and FBI for review. House Freeom Caucus members (l-r) Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows and RonDeSantis want to pressure the Justice Department to appoint a second special counsel Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Monday that he will tell the DOJ's inspector general to dig into claims the FBI used informants to spy on the 2016 Trump campaign That report is expected to savage Comey for not acting fast enough to clear Clinton in the email case. He famously threw the election campaign into chaos by announcing in its closing days that the FBI had reopened its investigation in light of emails located on a laptop belonging to Anthony Weiner, a serial sexter whose wife was Clinton's deputy campaign manager. 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 her name could have been cleared much faster if the FBI acted on the emails as soon as they knew about them. Horiwitz also said in March that his office would be examining claims that the FBI and DOJ used unverified anti-Trump opposition research materials, paid for by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, as part of their justification for surveillance powers against Trump aide Carter Page. The law professor set to become Italy's new Prime Minister has been accused of inflating his academic CV, after it emerged that several universities where he claimed to have studied had never heard of him. Giuseppe Conte, 54, has been put forward by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and far-right League to lead their new coalition government. Conte, who has no political experience and is little-known to the public, claims to have spent time at numerous foreign institutions, including Cambridge University, Sorbonne in Paris and Yale and New York University in the U.S. Above the law: Giuseppe Conte, 54, set to be the new Italian Prime Minister, claims to have studied at Cambridge and NYU, but neither of the universities have any record of him Conte has taught law across Italy and has a full professorship in Florence, and while he does not have a PhD or a Masters degree, he has contributed to dozens of legal publications. His CV posted on the parliament website claims that Conte studied at NYU for 'for periods of not less than a month' every summer from 2008 to 2012. However, an NYU spokeswoman said no person by the name of Giuseppe Conte could be found on their records. 'A person by that name does not show up in any of our records as either a student or faculty member,' the spokeswoman told The New York Times. She added he might have attended one- or two-day programmes, for which there were no records. A Cambridge University source said they had not found any trace of Conte studying at the institution, concluding that he may have taken a course held by a third party Cambridge University declined to comment on whether Conte had studied there, as he claimed, in September 2001 - a month when the university is normally closed for the summer break. A university source said they had not found any trace of a visit, but said the professor might have attended a course prepared by a third party. The Sorbonne said it was reviewing its records to see what research Conte might have carried out. Conte himself has made no comments regarding the claims, but 5-Star issued a statement saying he had never claimed to have followed any specific course or to have received a masters degree from the universities. 'Conte, like any researcher, went abroad to study, to deepen his knowledge, to perfect his English legal language skills,' the party said. 'So the international press and the Italian press are going wild over presumed qualifications that Conte has never claimed to have.' Leader of Italy's populist Five Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, left,, shakes hands with Giuseppe Conte, as Di Maio presents his would-be cabinet team 'If he didn't study at NYU, what guarantees are there that the rest of the CV is right? To start with a lie is certainly not the best way to be presented to the head of state as a possible premier,' said Michele Anzaldi, a lawmaker with the centre-left Democratic Party. President Sergio Mattarella was asked to appoint Conte as Prime Minister yesterday, after 11 weeks of negotiations between 5-Star and the League party. However, instead of endorsing Conte immediately, Mattarella has said he will be seeking further consultations before making an announcement - as the President is not obliged to appoint the leading parties' choice. There was no immediate word on when Mattarella might make his next move and decide on whether or not Conte will be the new Italian prime minister. A businessman had sex with a dog and knowingly infected a woman with HIV, a court heard today. Francisco Navarro-Ramos allegedly violated the dog in 2014 and slept with the woman between June 2016 and February 2017. The 53-year-old was arrested at his business in Rozelle, inner-west Sydney, in March. A businessman had sex with a dog and knowingly infected a woman with HIV, a court heard today (stock image) He was on Tuesday remanded in custody at Central Local Court on one charge of bestiality and one charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent against a woman, reported news.com. He was also charged with possessing unlicensed ammunition which police found when they arrested him. Navarro-Ramos is being held in Silverwater maximum security prison until his next court appearance on June 19. He did not apply for bail. An anti-abortion campaigner has interrupted an event held by pro-abortion politicians in Dublin as Ireland prepares to vote on whether to legalise the operation. Tim Jackson, an activist who attended the event as a member of the press, heckled politicians including minister for heath Simon Harris as he posed for a picture. Mr Jackson asked Mr Harris if he would resign in the event of a No victory, before shouting: 'Are you in favour of killing innocent human beings?' Tim Jackson, an anti-abortion activist, heckled pro-abortion politicians at a campaign event held in Dublin on Tuesday Mr Jackson asked minister for heath Simon Harris (centre) whether he was 'in favour of killing innocent human beings' during the outburst Attendees then began clapping to drown out Mr Jackson's questions, before he added: 'Can you continue clapping for the killing of Irish children?' He also asked whether it is just to kill a human being, and said: 'Does anyone want to vote for a politician's right to life?' Mr Jackson was subsequently asked to leave the event at the Davenport Hotel. Ireland's abortion referendum: Fast facts When is the vote? Friday, May 25 What is the vote about? Voters are being asked whether they would like to repeal the eighth amendment to the Irish constitution 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 abortions up to 12 weeks. Voting No will keep the law as it is. Who is winning? Latest poll shows 47 per cent for Yes, 37 per cent for No, 11 per cent undecided, and 6 per cent would rather not say Advertisement Mr Harris, who had been expected to take questions from the media, also left following the outburst. Earlier he had thanked colleagues from across the political spectrum for working together in the interests of women. He said: 'For far too long we have buried our heads in the sand in this country, we have ignored the reality of crisis pregnancy and this resulted in at least nine women every single day having to leave this jurisdiction to access healthcare abroad. 'It has resulted in at least three women every single day having to take the abortion pill on their own, without any medical supervision. 'We cannot continue to ignore realities.' Ireland is due to vote on Friday in a referendum which will ask whether the country wants to repeal the eighth amendment to the constitution. The amendment holds that an unborn child has as much right to life as the mother carrying it, effectively making abortion illegal in most cases except where there is a substantial risk to the mother's life. If the Yes campaign wins then the government is proposing to change the law to allow abortion up to 12 weeks, where there is a risk to the health of the mother. Ireland will vote on Friday over whether to repeal article eight of the constitution, which effectively bans abortion except in cases where the mother's life is at risk Repeal campaigners had been looking set for victory but last-minute gains by the opposition have left some fearful of defeat Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who used to be a doctor, has thrown his weight behind the Yes camp. He told the Irish Mirror that his opinion was shaped by watching women whose baby had a fatal foetal complication forced to carry the child to term, despite the fact that it was already dead or would not survive long after birth. 'That certainly felt wrong, he said. No campaigners argue that changing the law will see thousands more terminations per year in Ireland. Since 1983, when the eighth amendment was passed, it is estimated that 200,000 women have travelled from Ireland to the UK to have an abortion. This is the shocking moment onlookers try to save a boy who is bitten in the leg by a pit bull in Chongqing, China. The four-year-old was caught up by the crazed dog with a chain tied to a tree when he walked past a pet shop last weekend. Onlookers and the pet owner joined forces to pull the dog away and take the child to a chair before sending him to a hospital, reported Chongqing Evening News. A four-year-old boy in southwest China is mauled by a pit bull as it pounces and bites in his leg Onlookers join forces as they desperately try to separate the crazed beast from the boy Police issued a statement confirming that a four-year-old boy, known by his surname Wu, was attacked by a pit bull outside a pet shop at Dazu district. Mobile phone footage taken by onlookers, shows the 31-year-old pet shop owner, Mr Li, grappling with his pit bull while desperately trying to free the boy from its sharp teeth. The boy was pushed onto the floor as the dog bit onto his right leg and refused to let go. Mr Li can be seen pulling his dog's head away from the boy and put a short stick close to the dog's mouth. Doctors found several small holes bleeding from his right leg. A police statement mentioned that the boy only suffered minor injuries. The boy is sent to the hospital right after where doctors treat the bite wounds on his right leg According to Regulations of Chongqing Municipality on Dog Management, Mr Li was given a 500 yuan (58) and a verbal warning. He also agreed to pay for the boy's medical expenses including physiotherapy if needed. Pit bull is listed as a banned dog in the UK and it is against the law to own one in the UK, according to GOV.UK. It is possible to get an unlimited fine or be sent to prison for up to 6 months (or both) for having a banned dog against the law. The dog will also be destroyed. A 60-year-old man was found dead at his home on Tuesday, prompting a homicide investigation. Police were called to the Queens Park property, in Western Australia, at about 10.15am. A man aged in his 30, who is believed to be the dead man's son, was taken into custody by police, according to Perth Now. Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a 60-year-old man at his Queens Park (pictured) property Officers said the man, who is under police watch at a hospital, is assisting them with their inquiries. The daed mans neighbours told the publication they heard yelling at the house but did not realise anything was wrong until police had swarmed the street. One person claimed loud arguments were not uncommon at the house. Investigators examined the property for several hours, including a Holden Commodore in the driveway that had blankets hung over the windows. The dead man's son is believed to have been staying at the house for the past six weeks. No one has been charged and police are still investigating the cause of death. A frantic manhunt is underway for two escaped murder suspects who broke out of jail on Saturday and remain on the run three days later. Curtis Green, 20, and Tyshon Johnson, 27, remain at large after escaping from Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Detention Center in South Carolina at 9.38pm on Saturday. They were able to overpower a prison guard along with dozens of fellow inmates after a brief electrical shortage freed them from their cells by opening the automatic doors. Two cells were opened and the men were among nine who tried to escape. It is not clear if it was a glitch or if the prisoners orchestrated the power outage themselves. As guards struggled to regain control of the jail, Green and Johnson fled on foot. Curtis Green, 20, (left) and Tyshon Johnson, 27, (right) escaped from jail in South Carolina on Saturday and are on the run. The pair were being held on separate murder charges They used their blankets to climb over the electrical barbed wire and have not been seen since they ran into the woods which surround the facility. Other inmates have since told police that the pair were plotting their escape for days and that they planned to go to Florida if they ever made it out, Live 5 News reports. Christopher Boltin, a third inmate who fled with them has since been recaptured after stealing a car with his father, Hoyt, who was helping him from the outside. They have both been charged and are in custody.. Green and Johnson were both in custody on separate murder charges and were both awaiting their next court dates. Johnson was accused of fatally shooting a man at his home in 2011 as part of an armed robbery, while Green is accused of shooting dead a man whose car he was trying to steal in 2015. The inmates escaped by throwing their blankets over the barbed wire fencing which surrounds the Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Detention Center and then running into the woods nearby Christopher Boltin (left) also escaped from the jail. Once outside, his father Hoyt (right) helped him by stealing a car. The pair have both been arrested Neither has been convicted. After the power outage on Saturday, another six inmates tried to jump the fence at the jail but were unsuccessful. Police say they stole the officer's mace and 'mauled' him as he tried stop them from escaping. It is the second time in a year that an inmate has been able to escape from the old-fashioned jail. Police have not limited their search to any one area and say the pair of escaped inmates are likely armed and dangerous. They are asking any member of the public who sees them not to approach but to call authorities instead. International troops have arrived for the Australian Defence Force's annual trilateral exercise event, Exercise Southern Jackaroo. The event, which is held from May 18 to June 2, involves US Marines, US Army, Japanese Ground Self Defence Force and Australian troops. Exercise Southern Jackaroo's aim is to expand on strong relationships and exchange combat techniques between the troops. International troops have arrived for the Australian Defence Force's annual trilateral exercise event, Exercise Southern Jackaroo The event involves US Marines, US Army, Japanese Ground Self Defence Force and Australian troops Exercise Southern Jackaroo's aim is to expand on strong relationships and exchange combat techniques between the troops The training area is built to replicate a real-life combat scenario and includes the 3rd Brigade Headquarters of the Australian Army's 1st, 2nd and third Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment. There is also a medical facility which will look after any troops who are injured in the training exercise. Major Roland Spackman Brigade Major of the 3rd Brigade said the American forces brought different tactical approaches and weapons systems, Townsville Bulletin reported. 'They get to experience our vehicles and weapons and we get to learn from their own tactics, techniques and procedures,' he said. Learning each other's techniques helps the troops have a common understanding of the tactics which would be used. 'It's good to forge some social ties across nations,' Captain Lachlan Joseph told the publication. 'So we've been sharing food and having conversations and learning about each other's equipment capabilitieslearning about each nation achieves a mission.' The training area is built to replicate a real-life combat scenario and includes a medical facility Major Roland Spackman Brigade Major of the 3rd Brigade said the American forces brought different tactical approaches and weapons systems A young mother-to-be was ferociously stabbed to death with a screwdriver by a schizophrenic who she had allowed to stay in her home. Ella Parker, 29, who was five months pregnant, lost nearly all the blood from her body as Ryan Blacknell stabbed her 33 times in her Milton Keynes home, which she was decorating in readiness for the arrival of her baby son. Blacknell was today ordered to be detained at Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital indefinitely. It will require the approval of two psychiatrists and the Secretary of State before the 24-year-old can be released. A judge has now demanded an investigation into how Blackwell was allowed walk out of a mental health centre 'because he feared to patients were going to eat him'. Ryan Blacknell (left) discharged himself from a mental health centre in Milton Keynes before going to the home of 29-year-old Ella Parker (right) and savagely murdering her and her unborn child Ella Parker, 29, who was five months pregnant, lost nearly all the blood from her body as Ryan Blacknell stabbed her 33 times in her Milton Keynes home (pictured) Blacknell had originally been charged with Ella's murder but his guilty plea to her manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility was accepted. As he was sentenced at Luton Crown Court today it was revealed Blacknell's mother had called the police and a mental health triage team after she found him 'rambling about dinosaurs' and holding a large knife at the flat they shared. In a recording made by his mother, Blacknell could be heard saying: 'I know what happens in the afterlife. You know what happens.' After showing the recording to police and the mental health team on December 4 last year, Blacknell was taken to the Campbell Centre in Milton Keynes. He stayed overnight but signed himself out on December 5 because he was 'scared that the other inmates would eat him if he stayed another night', and was reported missing. Upon leaving Campbell House, Blacknell stayed with Ms Parker and her brother Tim, who had known his sister's killer since nursery school, the court heard. Both their parents had died some years earlier and Ms Parker worked in a local supermarket, where she was popular among staff and customers. Blacknell discharged himself from a mental health centre two days before the savage attack Alan Blake, prosecuting, said: 'Ryan Blacknell took Ella's dog for a walk and returned about 10am. Between 11 and 11.50am, she made calls and sent messages to friends. The last message she sent was at 11.45. Ms Parker worked in a local supermarket, where she was popular amongs staff and customers 'CCTV shows Blacknell left around 12.40.' After killing Ms Parker, Blacknell changed his clothes before going to several pubs throughout the day and drinking beer. He then visited a friend at the local YMCA, telling him: 'Everything is a bit mad at the moment. This is probably the last time you are going to see me.' He handed himself into police the next day, telling them he had committed a crime. A neighbour found Ms Parker's body in her hallway and a post mortem examination revealed she had been stabbed some 33 times in the back of the head and neck with a semi-blunt object, with some of the wounds up to eight centimetres deep. One of the puncture wounds cut her carotid artery. A red-handled screwdriver was found in the kitchen of the flat with Ella's blood on it. Expert forensic psychiatrist Seena Faze said Blacknell was suffering from schizophrenia or a schizophrenic disorder, and would be a danger to society were he released. Police at the scene of the murder last December, where Ella was found in her hallway A member of Ella's family said: 'Ella was looking forward to having a family of her own. She would have made a superb and proud mother' A member of Ms Parker's family provided an impact statement on behalf of the family, 16 of whom were in the court today. In an impact statement read out to court, Vivienne Parker said: 'We as a family have found it difficult to put our feelings into words something so tragic and unnecessary. It is extremely difficult. We worry about how she suffered when she died. 'Her kind nature appeared to be her downfall. She had taken a killer into her home out of the goodness of her heart. 'Ella was looking forward to having a family of her own. She would have made a superb and proud mother.' Professor Fazel said the nature of the acute psychotic illness Blacknell was suffering from meant his ability to form a rational judgment and exercise self control was impaired. He said at one time Blacknell had worked in an aerosol factory and that could have triggered the symptoms of his illness, as well as the breakdown of his relationship with his girlfriend. Blacknell had originally been charged with Ella's murder but, because of the findings the psychiatrist who had assessed him, his guilty plea to her manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility was accepted. Ella is pictured right, with a friend Judge Richard Foster, passing sentence, said he hoped there would be a full investigation regarding The Campbell Centre and its decision in early December not to take further steps to ensure 'this very sick man who was clearly a danger to the public' had not remained there. He added: 'This case is tragic and may have been avoidable. Ella was a happy and vivacious women, five months pregnant and enjoyed her day decorating her home. 'Her life was tragically brought to an end by a very sick man. 'I hope the family know that this is one of the most powerful orders the court can make. He may never be released and if he is, it will be under the most stringent of conditions.' Detective Inspector Stuart Blaik of the Major Crime unit said: 'Ella was in the process of rebuilding her life following the recent loss of her parents and grandparents and was looking forward to the birth of her child. 'A thorough investigation has been conducted with the support of Ella's family and friends.' Blacknell was sentenced under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act. A refugee who died after leaping from a bus in Papua New Guinea had a history of violent behaviour, government sources have alleged. Salim Kyawning, a 51-year-old Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, was being transported from the compound to accommodation in the town centre on Manus Island when he opened the door and jumped out, the Refugee Action Coalition's Ian Rintoul said. Most asylum-seekers on Manus believed the man's death was a suicide, according to a statement from the coalition. Mr Kyawning, who was severely mentally ill and epileptic, had more than 60 incidents involving aggressive behaviour, assault or use of force logged with authorities, government sources told The Australian. The refugee who died after leaping from a bus at Australia's Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea was a 'troubled and aggressive man' with a history of alleged violent behaviour, reports have said The man allegedly tried to punch and strangle a female doctor with a plastic bag at a Manus Island clinic last year, according to a medical incident report seen by The Australian. Mr Kyawning allegedly pushed the woman into a room and needed to be restrained by another medical officer after noises could be heard of the female doctor fighting the man off. He was arrested and charged by Papua New Guinea police, but the case was dismissed in court. Mr Kyawning was the seventh asylum-seeker to die on Manus since Canberra's offshore detention regime began in July 2013, in addition to three others who died on Nauru over the same period, Mr Rintoul said. Journalist and Iranian Kurdish refugee Behrouz Boochani said Mr Kyawning 'was suffering for a long time,' over a post he shared on Twitter. 'The refugees are deeply saddened by the news of another death. 'Two years ago he was sent to Australia for medical treatment, but they sent him back to Manus again without providing him with medical treatment.' Journalist and Iranian Kurdish refugee Behrouz Boochani (pictured) said Mr Kyawning 'was suffering for a long time,' over a post he shared on Twitter Barrister Greg Barnes said due to the fact Mr Kyawning was never convicted in a court of law, he should retain the presumption of innocence. 'As a lawyer, I take the presumption of innocence seriously and I don't buy into character assassination when people have died,' he said. 'The Australian government is to blame for putting these men there, the Australian government is to blame for the bleakness of the situation, and the Australian government is to blame for having a gross lack of mental health facilities. 'If you treat people badly, irrespective of where it may be, you can expect that human beings have a breaking point.' Ian McKenzie (pictured), chair of the party in Lewisham, posted the tweets about Ms Thornberry as he condemned the party leadership for being willing to negotiate with the terror group Labour today suspended one of its local chiefs for jibing that ISIS would behead Emily Thornberry rather than make her a sex slave. Ian McKenzie, chair of the party in Lewisham, posted the tweets about Ms Thornberry as he condemned the party leadership for being willing to negotiate with the terror group. Referring to the impossibility of compromising with ISIS, Mr McKenzie wrote in 2016: 'Emily Thornberry is too old for ISIS. They won't make a sex slave out of her. They'll behead her and dump her in a mass grave.' Critics complained it was inappropriate to make light of a senior politician being murdered. After being suspended by Labour today pending an investigation, Mr McKenzie issued a statement apologising but insisting his remark was 'taken out of context'. The messages surfaced this week after Mr McKenzie fought a bitter row with Momentum Corbynistas over the selection process in Lewisham East. Labour moderates were seen as having emerged victorious after securing Janet Daby as the prospective candidate to succeed Heidi Alexander. In his statement, Mr McKenzie - a former aide to Tony Blair - said his tweets were trying to 'show the absurdity of negotiating with these murderous misogynistic barbarians'. 'The tweet does that. I wasn't advocating sex slavery, but condemning it,' he said. Mr McKenzie said in 2016 Mr Corbyn had been hinting that he wanted to negotiate with Isis, and Ms Thornberry had voiced support. 'Emily Thornberry is at an age at which she would be selected by ISIS to be killed. I said so,' he said. 'I stated a fact that is disputed by no-one. I did not advocate, nor joke about, Emily Thornberry's killing, but the very opposite. My tweet was a deadly serious condemnation.' Mr McKenzie said in 2016 Mr Corbyn had been hinting that he wanted to negotiate with Isis, and Ms Thornberry (pictured) had voiced support The messages surfaced this week after Mr McKenzie fought a bitter row with supporters of Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) over the selection process in Lewisham East He added: 'I do not believe that ISIS should kill Emily Thornberry, or kill anyone, and believe it is very clear I have never said I did. 'I'm truly sorry that I caused this to happen. I hope that this unfortunate conflagration can be swiftly ended and that I may be able to go back to doing what I do best: asking people to vote Labour.' A Labour spokeswoman said: 'The Labour Party takes all complaints of abuse and discrimination extremely seriously. More than 11 million people have been blocked from taking the train or plane in China because they were regarded as untrustworthy by the society. The ban has been imposed as a punishment after the individuals apparently performed poorly according to a social credit system China is building. The social system gives citizens scores based on their daily behaviour, and this could range from their bank credit to their social media activities. Over four million people in China have been banned from using high-speed trains (file photo) They have to opt for the slow trains as a punishment for their bad social credit (file photo) In short, everyone is expected to behave according to the social norms and rules deemed acceptable by the ruling Communist Party; otherwise restrictions would be imposed on their daily lives, such as choosing their means of transport. With a tagline of 'once discredited, everywhere restricted', it has vowed to punish unreliable citizens in as many ways as possible. As of the end of April, a total of 11.14 million Chinese people have been blacklisted from buying flight tickets and 4.25 million have been banned from buying high-speed train tickets - instead they would have to opt for the slow trains. The figures were announced last week by China's National Development and Reform Commission during a briefing on the development of the country's social credit system. Meng Wei, the spokesperson of the Commission, said the reward and punishment from the social credit system were gradually expanding. In addition, 11.14 million Chinese people have been blacklisted from flying (file photo) While the punishment was given examples, the reward was not specified. China plans to complete building the national social credit system by 2020 after having started out in 2014. It's currently being rolled out in 12 trial cities, including populous provincial capitals like Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu and Suzhou. While the citizens financial credit would be supervised by banks, their online behaviour is due to be tracked by China's main technology companies, such as Tencent and Alibaba which owns substantial amount of personal data through their social media apps and e-commerce websites. Once built, the national system could determine how easy a citizen could rent a flat, buy travel tickets or pay for a cup of tea. So far, one of the most popular social credit raters is an app called Sesame Credit. Sesame Credit gives users a three digit score based on their purchasing and spending habits The app, developed by a financial firm affiliated to Alibaba, is one of the eight organisations approved by China's central bank to provide private credit scoring. It gives the user a three digit score ranging from 350 to 950 - the higher the better - by evaluating their purchasing and spending habits through the data owned by Alibaba. A good score means that the owner could potentially book hotel rooms without paying deposit or being allowed to use self-service vending machines. Nearly 300 million people have used Sesame Credit, according to latest statistics. However, critics have voiced concerns over China's social credit system, claiming it's a way for the government to invade citizens' privacy and restrict their freedom. Cheng Xiaonong, a US-based Chinese economist, told Radio Free Asia that banning people from travelling in a certain way is a 'misuse' of the social credit system. Cheng said if a person has behaved unreasonable on a plane, the airline could blacklist him or her in the future; but to restrict that person solely based on a low social score is not reasonable. And according to Human Rights Watch, a Chinese lawyer named Li Xiaolin was barred from buying a plane ticket in 2016 because a court had found his apology to be 'insincere'. Commenting on the case, the non-profit human rights organisation said: 'Chinese government authorities clearly hope to create a reality in which bureaucratic pettiness could significantly limit people's rights.' Although China hopes its social credit system could be be implemented in 2020, it remains unclear who would manage the system and how could citizens dispute scores. A three-year-old boy had to be rescued from a dairy farm when he became trapped inside a 10-feet deep manure pit that worked like quicksand. The boy was at a farm in Philadelphia around 6.30pm on Saturday when he became stuck inside the pit, which ran underneath the large barn housing dairy cows. Emergency crews arrived at the scene but were unable to immediately reach the frightened boy because of the 'thickness of the manure'. So instead the crew focused their efforts on ventilation and making sure the boy remained calm and stayed still. Scroll down for video A three-year-old boy had to be rescued from a Philadelphia dairy farm when he became trapped in a 10-feet deep manure pit (pictured) that pulled him in like quicksand The boy was at the farm around 6.30pm on Saturday when he became stuck inside the pit, which ran underneath the large barn housing dairy cows (pictured) 'The manure is kind of like a quicksand, the more you move, the more you sink,' Honey Brook Fire County Deputy Chief Jake Bailey told WPVI. '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.' Heavy rain also initially impeded efforts as a fire engine became stuck in the mud. An emergency team that specialized in confined agricultural rescues was then called in to help. Emergency crews arrived at the farm (pictured) but got stuck and were unable to immediately reach the frightened boy because of the 'thickness of the manure' Baseboards were prepared to help the crew safely reach the boy and two rescuers in dry suits and rope harnesses were then sent down into the manure pit. The rescuers were able to crawl across the plywood and reach the boy. They then placed him in a stretcher to help remove him from the pit. Emergency crew members said the boy was awake and crying during the rescue. The boy was decontaminated and assessed before being taken to a local hospital. He suffered minor injuries and is expected to be okay. Emergency personnel and equipment were also decontaminated following the successful rescue. Israel Espiricueta, 41, was arrested in February for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman who had passed out in his bar A Texas bar owner has been charged with sexual assault after being filmed allegedly attacking a woman by laying her out across the bar after she had passed out drunk. Israel Espiricueta, 41, is accused of starting his attack in The Library, his bar in Fort Worth, after allowing the woman to come in for a drink after hours on December 23, 2017. According to charging documents, after letting her in and giving her alcohol, Espiricueta 'positioned' the woman 'across' the bar to have sex with her. He then took her in his car to a hotel where, she said, he raped her while she was unconscious and forced her to perform oral sex on him. When the woman woke up later that morning, she said there was blood all over the sheets and Espiricueta joked that it looked like he had 'murdered her'. The woman went to police the following day. Espiricueta was arrested in February and was released from custody after posting bail soon afterwards. Details of his alleged crime emerged on Tuesday in police documents obtained by DailyMail.com. Those documents describe how the woman arrived at the bar at 2am. She was let inside because she was friends with several of the employees. After taking a seat at the bar, the woman claimed Espiricueta said they should 'get a hotel room' together. She told him she would go along to a hotel with the rest of the group to continue the party but that she was not interested in going alone with him, the police report claims. She continued to drink and blacked out while still in the bar slumping over onto her forearms at 5.22am. As she lay motionless, he 'took photos and videos of her while others poked her face', according to the police report. The others gradually dispersed and at around 6am, Espiriecueta was filmed trying to get the woman on to her feet. She could not stand upright and was 'limp', according to two police officers' description of the footage. The attack started at The Library bar in Fort Worth, Texas, after the woman showed up at 2am on December to drink after hours with some of the staff. According to police officers who viewed surveillance footage from the night in question, Espiricueta raped the woman after bending her over the bar at 6am Espiricueta then brought her to her feet once again and bent her over so that her upper half was slumped over the bar, according to the document. He grabbed her by the waist and began having sex with her, it claims. 'During this action, the victim remained motionless, lying in the same position that the suspect had placed her in,' the police report read. The alleged victim had no memory of them having sex in the bar when questioned by police. Instead, she said the next thing she remembered after passing out in the bar was waking up in a pickup truck which he was driving. He took her to Hampton Inn Suites where the pair were filmed on another set of surveillance cameras entering the lobby at 6.25am. She crashed onto a couch in the lobby, unable to stand, while he paid for the room and got the key. The woman was sitting at the bar (above) but at around 5.22am, slumped over and rested her head on her forearms to fall asleep. After the 6am attack by Espiricueta, he drove her to a hotel nearby where she was seen on separate surveillance cameras crashing onto a couch in the lobby before being taken to a room Once in the room, she said he forced her to perform oral sex on her. The woman did and then blacked out again, the police report claims. When she woke up again later, Espiricueta was having sex with her and asking her to tell him that she loved him, it is claimed. He is alleged to have said: 'Tell me you love me. I want to hear you say it.' The pair then fell asleep and woke up to find the bed covered in blood. That is when he allegedly remarked; 'Boy, it looks like I murdered you last night.' She reluctantly agreed to leave the hotel with him because he told her he would take her to where her car was, she told police. Once she had reclaimed it, the woman reported the incident to police and went to hospital where doctors found she had numerous tears and abrasions on her genitalia. Espiricueta has not commented on the allegations against him. Donald Trump's administration considered slapping Russia with a state sponsor of terror designation over a nerve gas attack on a former double agent living in the U.K. Then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ordered a review of Russia's status then called the operation off days later, ProPublica reports. A U.S. official told the investigative news outlet that Tillerson backed away from the action because 'there are a lot of issues that we have to work on together with Russia.' 'Designating them would interfere with our ability to do that,' the person said. Trump's administration considered slapping Russia with a state sponsor of terror designation over a nerve gas attack on a former double agent in the U.K. just days before Rex Tillerson was fired The United States and Russia have had an especially tumultuous relationship since the 2016 election. President Trump has continued to rely on Moscow, however, for support in the war on terror. Russia has also been a reliable vote on the United Nation's Security Council when it comes to reigning in North Korea. Trump began to harden his views on Putin, though, after an assault on an ex-spy living in the U.K. in March But U.S. intelligence officials say the Kremlin was behind a plot to meddle in the presidential election that brought Donald Trump to power and have charged that Russia has been interfering in other elections abroad. Russia's incursion into Ukraine and ensuing violence was also part of the consideration to put it on the terror-sponsor list, ProPublica said, citing the 2014 downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight by Russian separatists. Once in office, Trump was slow to deride Russia, saying multiple times that he believed that Moscow was involved in election meddling but no one could be sure. A year after the election Trump was still questioning whether the Kremlin was directly involved in the campaign to undermine American democracy, telling reporters after a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the sidelines of an Asian summit that ex-KGB spy says his country didn't do it. The former businessman who once appeared on the same episode of 60 Minutes as Putin took the stance that it would be better to have a working relationship with the Russian government than to constantly assault it. His soft stance on Russia fueled attacks that the Trump campaign, or at least its associates, were part of the election disruption plot that the president has said is a 'hoax' and 'fake news.' He's endlessly called a government investigation into allegations of collusion between his campaign and Russia a 'witch hunt' and demanded that the Justice Department bring an end to it. Trump began to harden his views on Putin after the assault on an ex-spy living in the U.K. in March. The poison gas attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter that British authorities have credited to Russia resulted in the expulsion of more than 100 of Moscow's diplomats throughout the West that host countries, including the U.S., said were undercover informants. Russia's decision to side with Bashar al-Assad following a chemical weapons attack in Syria had Trump warning Putin that there would be serious consequences for his actions. Russia's decision to side with Bashar al-Assad following a chemical weapons attack in Syria had Trump warning Putin that there would be serious consequences for his actions The U.S. readied new sanctions on Russia for the egregious attack on women and children, but Trump had second thoughts and at the last minute pulled back. Now, ProPublica reports that Tillerson ordered a recommendation for the highest level of sanctions on Russia just before he was dismissed by Trump. The designation for Russia as a state sponsor of terror would put the nation on the ultimate U.S. blacklist. ProPublica reports that the review was, however, abandoned days later. No new sanctions were put on Russia in the end for either the poison attack in the U.K. or the gas attack in Syria. If Trump did revisit a state sponsor of terror designation for Moscow, it would not only prohibit the nation from engaging in arms deals with the U.S., it would ban certain forms of commerce with Russia and place tight restrictions on companies that do business with the Kremlin. The only other countries on the banned list are Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. A domestic dispute in Rochester, New York, ended with a woman pointing a gun outside of her window at her ex-boyfriend and police officers after they told him he was allowed to break into the home. Rochester Police Officer Korey McNees told the unidentified man it was his legal right to kick in a door or break a window to retrieve his belongings from the home he shared with his former girlfriend, Catherine Bonner. The boyfriend in question is not being identified because there are allegations of domestic violence for which he was not criminally charged. A domestic dispute in Rochester, New York, ended with a woman pointing a gun at her ex-boyfriend and police officers after officials told him to break into the home The boyfriend in question is not being identified because there are allegations of domestic violence for which he was not criminally charged He wanted to reclaim his small refrigerator, air conditioning unit and gift cards, however Bonner had changed the locks. The incident took place November 13. After hesitating for more than 20 minutes, the boyfriend eventually took the officer's advice and broke a window, reported WGRZ. His ex-girlfriend pointed a 9mm rifle out of the window. She now faces criminal charges and has been accused of menacing a police officer. The dramatic altercation escalated quickly with police yelling at her, 'ma'am put the gun down,' while they called for backup. After a while two police officers simultaneously shouted at her 'show us your hands.' One of the officers eventually broke down the door and entered the house. He can be heard saying: 'You better stay down. You better stay on the ground. Show me your hands now! Hands out to your side. Do it now!' His ex-girlfriend pointed a 9mm rifle out of the window. She now faces criminal charges and has been accused of menacing a police officer The evening before November 13, Bonner and her boyfriend had a violent dispiute, causing him to leave the home and drive away. She accused him of running over her foot and breaking it, however he argues she ran into the car as he was driving off. A relative of Bonner called 911 and police allegedly responded and spoke with her. Then on November 13, the boyfriend returned to reclaim some items he had left at the home. He was unable to enter because the locks had been changed and Bonner refused to let him in. The man then called police and McNees and another officer arrived at the home. The police concluded that the man was a resident of the house and had been staying there with Bonner, however, the home was actually owned by her mother. Bonner's attorney, David Pilato, says the evidence from the case should be suppressed because he claims the officer's actions were clearly unconstitutional. However, prosecutors argue that Bonner had no cause or right to point the rifle out the window. McNees defended his actions arguing that both police policy and state law supported his advice. He testified that 'he's been trained on this and he has been doing this for 17 years.' He testified that he knew from his training that there is a New York law stating that 'if you live somewhere for 10 consecutive days, you're allowed to gain entry into your own home.' However, in March the department issued a policy bulletin telling officers that, when responding to a civil domestic incident when one party is locked out of a home, they 'will not advise citizens that they have a right to "break in" to the residence, or that (police) members will stand by while he or she does.' They said by encouraging someone to break in it 'can possibly create a violent confrontation' between the individuals. A gang who kidnapped a South African teenager from a playground at the weekend have demanded a ransom in bitcoin cryptocurrency worth about $123,000, police said Tuesday. The 13-year-old boy was taken in the eastern province of Mpumalanga while he was playing with friends near his home and was driven away by captors in a car. 'We are investigating a case of kidnapping that happened on Sunday in Witbank (town),' police spokesman Leonard Hlathi told AFP. A gang which kidnapped a 13-year-old South African boy at the weekend left a note demanding ransom money paid in Bitcoin, police have said 'There was a demand that was made that the parents should deposit cash in bitcoins,' he said, declining to give further details. Local media said the ransom note was left at the scene. 'We demand ransom of 15 bitcoins to be paid into the below bitcoin wallet address to secure your child's safe release -- non negotiable,' read the reported note. This case appears to be the first ransom demand in South Africa made in virtual currency. In March, US hackers demanding a ransom payable in bitcoin attacked computers of the Atlanta city government in the southern state of Georgia. Police in South Africa, where violent crime is common, have reported a recent rise in kidnappings, although it is often wealthy business people who are targeted. Police are investigating a bizarre incident where a tourist was attacked by a 'jealous' husband after catching his wife walking with him after a night out. The violent brawl was witnessed by a number of onlookers on Preah Norodom Boulevard in Cambodia at 6am local time. Witness accounts say the holidaymaker had been walking through the red light district red light district with a woman in the early hours of Saturday morning. It was said that the woman had an argument with her husband and went out partying. The woman's husband was said to have spotted her walking with the western man and accused her of cheating on him before throwing several punches at her. The tourist steps between them to protect the woman but is the subject of the vicious attack himself as the Cambodian man throws a barrage of punches at him. The violent brawl took place in Cambodia's red light district after a husband spotted his wife walking home from a night out with another man The fight, which lasted several minutes, shows the trio embroiled in a nasty scuffle which saw two of them fall into parked motorbikes and the woman hitting her husband with her handbag. The fight unfolded in front of dozens of people outside the Pontoon nightclub where Cambodian prostitutes look for western tourists. The violent brawl starts as the husband attacks his wife in the street, the western tourist tries to intervene but becomes embroiled in the nasty scuffle Police are now investigating the incident and are interviewing the unnamed participants. Phnom Penh police chief, General Chuon Sovann, said that after seeing the video clip he ordered an inquiry to identify all of the perpetrators. He added: 'I ordered district police to handle this case yesterday after I saw the video clip.' Stacey Abrams, a Democratic candidate for Georgia, could have become the first black female governor the US has ever had if she hadn't lost to Brian Kemp in the 2018 mid-term elections. Typically a Republican-controlled state, black women represent Georgias third largest voting bloc and with Hillary Clintons endorsement of Stacey Abrams, she was thought to have a significant chance. Instead, she was defeated 50.5 per cent to 48.6 percent. She's now challenging the loss, saying it was unfair to call the race with only 97 per cent of precincts reporting. Stacey Abrams declined to concede to the projected winner, Brian Kemp. 'I'm here to tell you tonight that votes remain to be counted,' she said. The Georgia race garnered some media attention with Republican candidate Senator Michael Williams pushing the idea of touring the state with a deportation bus. But who is Stacey Abrams? Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams participating in a debate here Who is Stacey Abrams? Born Stacey Yvonne Abrams in December 9, 1973 in Madison, Wisconsin, she was raised in Gulfport, Mississippi and her family later moved to Atlanta, where her parents became Methodist ministers. During her time in high school, she worked as a typist for a congressional campaign and was then hired as a speechwriter at the age of 17, because of the edits she made while typing. Stacey Abrams education Stacey earned a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1995 from Spelman College in Georgia and worked in the youth services department for Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson. After interning at the Environmental Protection Agency, she studied public policy at the University of Texas and earned her JD from Yale Law School. Abrams has worked as a tax attorney at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan in Atlanta and was appointed as the Deputy City Attorney at the age of 29. She also co-founded and served as the senior vice president of the financial services firm, NOW Corp. She also founded a childrens beverage company called Nourish, is CEO of legal consulting firm Sage Works and, under the pseudonym Selena Montgomery, has written many romantic suspense novels and has sold more than 100,000 copies. Stacey Abrams, Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives From 2007, Abrams became the first woman to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly and the first African American to lead in the House of Representatives. As Minority Leader, she worked with Republican Governor Nathan Deals administration to reform the HOPE Scholarship Program and co-sponsored the legislation that preserved the initiative by decreasing the scholarship paid to Georgia students, as well as funding a low-interest loan program. Stacey Abrams seen here announcing she has qualified to run for governor in Atlanta in 2018 Despite having similar policies, as Vox explained, the difference in the policies of Stacey Abrams and Stacey Evans comes down to their different handling of the HOPE Scholarship Program. This dispute has several ins and outs, but the basic shape of things is that Deal proposed swinging cuts to the program that once guaranteed free in-state tuition to any Georgia high school graduate who maintained at least a B average. Abrams cut a deal with Deal that reduced the extent of the cuts but still pared back the program substantially. Evans stood strong in opposition, Vox reported. Georgia Primary 2018 Stacey Abrams ran for Governor of Georgia in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election and she was up against Stacey Evans in the Democratic primary in what was been dubbed the war between the two Staceys. Both Staceys had similar policies on health care, education and their opposition to President Donald Trump. The Democrat representative for Georgia was announced on May 22, 2018, in an attempt to damage Republican control over the state. Despite Georgia being far from a swing state, Hillary Clinton was close to winning in the state during the 2016 election, more so than Ohio or Iowa, and this gave the Democratic Party hope of electing a governor there for the first time since Roy Barnes in 1998. This being an important election, it garnered media attention along with GOP contender Michael Williams breaking news with his idea of touring Georgia with a deportation bus. But he was unlikely to make it to the runoff election in July 24, with the Republican nomination thought to be won by Casey Cagle or Brian Kemp. Stacey Abrams polls Polls conducted during the primary election for FOX 5 Atlanta revealed Stacey Abrams was leading the race for the Democratic nomination for Governor with 58.2 per cent, with Stacey Evans at 19 per cent and 23 per cent left undecided. Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Evans seen here participating in a debate Casey Cagle is in the lead for the Republican nomination at 30.5 per cent, with Brian Kemp in second place with 19.5 per cent. Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp received the nominations. The two faced off in the 2018 mid-term election on Tuesday. The race was called early with 97 per cent of precincts reporting. Brian Kemp was touted as the winner with 50.6 per cent of the vote to Stacey Abrams's 48.5 per cent, according to Fox News. Brian Kemp Vs Stacey Abrams Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams went toe-to-toe during the 2018 mid-term elections on Tuesday. The race was called early with 97 per cent of precincts reporting and Brian Kemp was named the winner. Stacey Abrams refused to concede to Brian Kemp, claiming it was unfair to call the race without all the votes counted given how close the race was. When Brian Kemp was dubbed the winner, he led Stacey Abrams 50.6 per cent to 48.5 per cent. She said in a speech: 'Tonight we have closed a gap between yesterday and tomorrow, but we still have a few more miles to go. 'Across our state, folks are opening up the dreams of voters in absentee ballots, and we believe our chance for a stronger Georgia is just within reach.' 'But we cannot seize it until all voices are heard.' She continued: 'And I promise you tonight, we're going to make sure that every vote is counted.' Stacey Abrams accused Brian Kemp of voter suppression, saying: 'I'm not going to name names, but some have worked hard to take our votes away.' Stacey Abrams endorsements Hillary Clinton endorsed Stacey Abrams as the Democratic candidate over former state representative Stacey Evans and said: A Yale educated attorney, Abrams is the only candidate with bold new plans to ensure Georgians have access to good jobs, quality public schools, affordable child care and higher education. Abrams has also been endorsed by Bernie Sanders, who said that she had real solutions that will help the lives of working people in Georgia. Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris have both also endorsed Stacey Abrams. There was at least one additional 'informant' who tried to infiltrate Donald Trump's presidential campaign, it was revealed by a former aide on the campaign who has long ties to Russia. New York-based political consultant Michael Caputo, who was a communications adviser to Trump during his presidential bid, made the startling revelation on 'The Ingraham Angle' on Fox News Monday night. He also charged the FBI was not the only agency under President Barack Obama involved in spying on Trump's presidential bid. And, he vowed, people would be wearing 'orange suits' when the truth comes out. Former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo, pictured here from his May 1 testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, said there was an additional 'informant' planted into Donald Trump's campaign President Donald Trump, pictured here at a dinner with former and present governors Monday night, demanded the Justice Department investigate his claims his campaign was 'infiltrated.' 'Let me tell you something that I know for a fact. This informant, this person that they planted, try to plant into the campaign,' Caputo said, 'he's not the only person that came at the campaign and the FBI is not the only Obama agency that came at the campaign. I know because they came at me.' Caputo said he's working with his attorney to get clearance to reveal 'the truth' about this and when it happens Obama Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and other aides will be jailed. 'This is just the beginning,' he said. 'And I will tell you, when we finally find out the truth about this Director Clapper and the rest of them are going to be wearing some Orange suits.' Caputo lived in Russia for two decades but says he has no knowledge of any connections or contacts between the Trump campaign and agents of Moscow. He did not offer any additional details on his claims of a second informant. Caputo left the Trump campaign in June 2016 after he reacted too gleefully to the news that campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had been fired. He tweeted, 'Ding dong the witch is dead,' with a link to a YouTube video of the famous Wizard of Oz tune. He subsequently resigned. He later got massive media attention after he told CNN in February Russia did interfere in the election although he then tried to cast the actions as part of meddling that goes both ways. 'No doubt. I believe that Russia interferes in all the elections of, lets say the security council for the United Nations,' he said. But then he tried to shift the discussion from Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election to the United States. 'We also do things to manipulate elections overseas. I was sent to Russia by the Clinton administration to get involved in their elections,' Caputo said. But his explosive charge of an additional informant follows reports that Cambridge professor Stefan Halper was an FBI informant who approached Trump campaign advisers Carter Page, George Papadopoulos and Sam Clovis about any potential ties to Russia. The charge that there was an additional informant in the Trump campaign follows reports that Cambridge professor Stefan Halper was an FBI informant who approached Trump aides about any potential ties to Russia Trump, smelling blood in the water, demanded on Sunday the Justice Department investigate his allegation that the FBI, under Obama, 'infiltrated or surveilled' his 2016 campaign. The DoJ directed its Office of Inspector General 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 president's call came after multiple reports that the FBI had sent an informant to speak with campaign advisers about matters related to possible Russia ties. Several reports identified Halper as the informant. He met with several campaign aides during the 2016 contest, it has been revealed. During one dinners, Halper asked Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser to Trump, whether he was involved in Russian hacking of Democratic emails, The Daily Caller reported. Papadopoulos' boozy chat with the top Australian diplomat in London helped kick off the Russia probe. Halper met with him several times during the campaign. Clovis was the co-chair of Trump's campaign and had coffee with Halper to discuss China, according to Clovis' attorney. 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. 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, 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. Halper also had his name put forward by Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro during the transition to join the administration, Axios reported Monday. Navarro, 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's contact 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. Jacob Rees-Mogg slammed 'religious bigotry' over his hardline stance on abortion and gay marriage today. The Tory backbencher said his Catholic views should not bar him from achieving high office. But he also risked a fresh backlash by branding the number of abortions happening in the UK 'terrifying' and a 'tragedy'. Mr Rees-Mogg has been tipped as a future Conservative leader after building up a cult following for his 'Young Fogey' style and traditionalist outlook. On the BBC's Daily Politics programme today, Tory backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg said his Catholic views should not bar him from achieving high office Devout Catholic Mr Rees-Mogg has repeatedly come under fire for his opposition to abortion, even in cases where women have been raped But the devout Catholic has repeatedly come under fire for his opposition to abortion, even in cases where women have been raped. He was also against the introduction of gay marriage. The issues were raised again as Mr Rees-Mogg appeared on the BBC's Daily Politics programme today. What is the teaching of the Catholic church on the issue of abortion? The teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on abortion has been consistent for nearly 2,000 years. It maintains that abortion is a grave sin comparable to murder. Catholic doctrine says that a foetus has life and a soul from the moment of conception, and that no one has the right to take that life away. This applies even when the pregnancy is a result of rape. Roman Catholic opposition to abortion has been the guiding force behind much of the pro-life movement which has resisted the spread of legalised abortion and euthanasia over the past 50 years. Those who undergo or procure abortion face excommunication a ban from attending church and receiving sacraments. The election of Pope Francis in 2013 raised hopes among Catholic liberals that the Vatican might shift to a less restrictive position. Francis corrected this in 2014, calling abortion a horrific symptom of a throwaway culture. Advertisement As they discussed the upcoming referendum in Ireland on abortion, Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson said his opinions were 'extreme'. 'I think it is time that we recognise that women don't take this decision lightly,' she said. Mr Rees-Mogg said it was 'terrifying' that more than 100,000 abortions were carried out in the UK last year. 'Most of those were not the hard cases,' he said. 'The issues of rape or incest. They were abortion on demand.' He added: 'I believe that life begins at the point of conception... that has always been the policy of the Catholic church.' Earlier, presenter Jo Coburn asked whether Mr Rees-Mogg thought his views would be a 'barrier' to rising through the ministerial ranks. He replied: 'Why do you pick on this view of the Catholic Church, and say you can't hold these views in modern politics? 'You're saying that tolerance only goes so far, and that you shouldn't be tolerant of the teaching of the Catholic Church. 'So isn't this stretching into religious bigotry?' Mr Rees-Mogg added: 'What's so important is that I should be honest with voters about my views and make no bones about the fact that I'm a practising Catholic and I believe in the teachings of the Catholic Church.' Pushed on whether he wanted to change the law on issues like gay marriage and abortion, Mr Rees-Mogg said: 'The law is not going to change. The issue is actually about what society thinks.' 'It is one of the great tragedies of the modern world and it would be a wonderful thing if society came to a different view on abortion.' Starbucks has revealed guidelines to deal with drug dealers and disruptive guests after customers raised concerns that their new bathrooms-for-all policy will turn the shops into a refuge for addicts and the homeless. The coffee chain announced on Saturday it would allow people to sit in its cafes and use its bathrooms - even if they don't buy anything - in the wake of a huge backlash last month after two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia store when one asked to use the bathroom before making a purchase. But the bathrooms-for-all policy was met with dismay by some customers who feared it could attract an unsavory element. Scroll down for video Starbucks has revealed guidelines to deal with drug dealers and disruptive guests after customers raised concerns that their new bathrooms-for-all policy will turn the shops into a refuge for addicts and the homeless (Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz announced the policy on Saturday) 'It sounds like Starbucks is turning their stores into homeless shelters,' Ron Raduechel, a 64-year-old retired supply chain executive from Waukesha, Wisconsin, told the Wall Street Journal, adding that they would no longer go to the coffee chain. Addressing the concerns, Starbucks issued guidelines to deal with guests who become 'disruptive'. New procedures being rolled out state that managers and baristas should first ask a fellow employee to verify that a certain behavior is disruptive and if it is, respectfully request that the customer stop. Donte Robinson (left) and Rashon Nelson (right) were waiting for a potential business partner when the store's manager called police and they were arrested Disruptive behavior can include drug or alcohol use, smoking, sleeping, talking too loudly, playing loud music and viewing inappropriate content. Starbucks have also set out guidelines as to when staff should call 911, such as if someone is selling drugs. The policy comes as the international coffee chain walks a fine line between keeping a welcoming, inclusive attitude, and ensuring its cafes remain safe and making a profit. That balancing act became more precarious after the incident last month when video of police being called on two innocent black customers ignited a racial firestorm. Friends Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, both 23, had been waiting for a potential business partner to discuss real estate development when one of the men asked to use the bathroom and was knocked back. Minutes after the pair had sat down at the coffee shop, the manager called the police and had Robinson and Nelson arrested. The incident caused a huge backlash towards the company, prompting CEO Kevin Johnson to fly to Philadelphia to personally apologize to both men. The arrests sparked fury and the CEO of Starbucks responded saying it will close its locations for one afternoon for racial bias-awareness training The manager who called police was also fired. Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz later announced that Starbucks was changing its bathroom policy and would allow people to use its restrooms even if they don't buy anything. He said he didn't want the company to become a public restroom, but felt employees can make the 'right decision a hundred per cent of the time,' if that choice is removed at the store level. Schultz said the coffee shop previously had a 'loose policy' that only paying customers could use the bathrooms, but that it was up to each store manager to decide. 'We are committed to creating a culture of warmth and belonging where everyone is welcome,' Starbucks said in a statement. Earlier this month, Nelson and Robinson settled with Starbucks for an undisclosed sum and an offer of a free college education. Separately, they reached a deal with Philadelphia for a symbolic $1 each and a promise from city officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs. Starbucks plans to shut down more than 8,000 of its U.S. stores on the afternoon of May 29 to instruct 175,000 employees how to better recognize unconscious bias. A pregnant US Army veteran from The Bronx lost her unborn baby and was left clinging to life after police say her live-in boyfriend stabbed her dozens of times in the torso during an argument overnight. The victim, named by neighbors as 30-year-old Liv Abreu, suffered at least 30 knife wounds to the torso during a violent altercation with her boyfriend, Oscar Alvarez, inside their apartment on Walton Avenue at around 12.30am on Tuesday, police said. Despite her injuries, Abreu, who was 26 weeks pregnant, was able to stagger up the stairs while bleeding profusely and called for help from a neighbors apartment. Mom-to-be stabbed: Liv Abreu, 30, was 26 weeks pregnant with her first child when police say her boyfriend stabbed her 30 times during an argument on Tuesday, killing the unborn baby Grisly scene: Abreu suffered 30 wounds inside her apartment on Walton Avenue during a fight with her boyfriend, Oscar Alvarez,, but was able to stagger up the stairs to a neighbor's unit and call for help First responders transported Abreu to Lincoln Hospital, where her baby was pronounced dead. She was listed in critical but stable condition as of this morning. The New York Daily News reported, citing unnamed sources, that the 30-year-old Alvarez fled the scene in Abreu's 2004 Jeep Cherokee SUV after the stabbing, but turned himself in to police at 4am. The boyfriend allegedly claimed that the attack that killed Abreu's baby was an accident. It was not clear whether or not he was the father. Alvarez was taken in for questioning and charges against him were pending. Abreu was a former paratrooper in the US Army. She earned a degree in political science in 2012 from the City University of New York and served as a spokesperson for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Abreu was a former paratrooper in the US Army. Both she and her boyfriend worked at a T-Mobile store in Manhattan (pictured in a company shirt, right) Both she and her boyfriend worked at a T-Mobile store in Manhattan, where she was a retail manager. A neighbor said Abreu was excited about her pregnancy, and a super in her building told NBC4 the mom-to-be had only recently said how she wished her mother, who died last year, had lived to meet her baby. The young couple had lived in the building near Yankee Stadium for about a year, and most neighbors told ABC 7 NY they saw no signs of domestic violence, but one resident said that in recent months, a woman's screams would echo through the building, and she believes it might have been Abreu. A highly anticipated classified congressional intelligence briefing about the integrity of U.S. elections turned into a non-event on Tuesday morning when a large majority of lawmakers decided they had better things to do. Democratic Minority Whip Steny Hoyer unwittingly showed his notes to photographers on the way out, disclosing that he had written down: 'Russia, China, Iran hackers generally can invade our electoral infrastructure.' The topic has become a political hot potato with congressional midterm elections looking less than six months away, and amid ongoing probes into Russia's interference with the presidential contest in 2016. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats invited each of the 435 members of the House of Representatives. All of them will stand for re-election in November, but fewer than 100 showed up, according to reporters on the scene. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen joined other officials in delivering a classified House members-only briefing on election security at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, but a large majority of members skipped it All 435 members of the House of Representatives will stand for re-election in November, but few showed up to learn what's being done to ensure the elections are free and fair House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer wote down part of what Director of National intelligence Dan Coats said: 'Russia, China, Iran hackers generally can invade our electoral infrastructure' House Speaker Paul Ryan was in attendance, but other federal lawmakers from both sides of the aisle seemed content to ignore the chance for an unvarnished brain-dump from the Trump administration about what's being done to prevent a repeat performance. 'Pretty poor showing at classified election security briefing for members of congress this morning,' tweeted MSNBC reporter Garrett Haake. 'Attendees say perhaps 40-50 members showed up. Russian interference?' Speaking to reporters afterward, House Homeland security Committee chairman Rep. Mike McCaul shrugged off the lack of interest among his colleagues. 'Well, it was at 8 a.m.,' he said. Hoyer held his notes from the classified session under his arm on the way out, unwittingly letting news photographers see part of them Members of Congress happily showed reporters the unclassified handouts they received in Tuesday's briefing Politico journalist Kyle Cheney was astounded, asking on Twitter: 'Fair question for the ~300-350 lawmakers who blew off this AMs election security briefing with DHS and FBI: What were you doing instead?' Those who were there were given leave-behind materials about cybersecurity in elections. Several showed them to reporters. It would be highly unusual for classified briefers to leave classified documents with lawmakers in a group setting. In a joint statement, the three briefing officials said that they had 'sought to enlist Congress help in working with state and local election officials' in order to ensure that U.S. elections are free from outside influences. Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, shrugged off the low attendance on Tuesday saying the 8:00 a.m. start time was the reason In addition to Nielsen, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats (left) and FBI Director Christopher Wray (right) briefed the lawmakers who decided to come Reporters who did show up at 8:00 a.m. took note of the low attendance Following an Oval Office meeting Monday with FBI and Justice Department leaders, the White House said that Chief of Staff John Kelly would '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.' It's unlikely that Tuesday's briefing is the same event the White House promised, however, since it was originally scheduled last week but postponed. Kelly's meeting is expected to focus on congressional demands for Justice Department documents related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. In particular, House Republicans want to see a memo drafted by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that laid out the permissible scope of what Mueller may investigate. A mother who was going to feed her young baby broccoli was horrified after discovering it was crawling with hundreds of insects. Sheetal Sawant, 32, had ordered the broccoli with her online shopping from Tesco and was about preparing it when she noticed the infestation. She said: 'I was making purees for my baby daughter, who is a few months old and was just starting to wean. Sheetal Sawant, 32, had ordered the broccoli with her online shopping from Tesco and was about preparing it when she noticed the infestation Hundreds of the bugs were pictured inside the brocolli, which Ms Sawant claims was delivered from Tesco 'At first I noticed a few bugs on the broccoli and on the kitchen counter, so thought I'd just wash the broccoli and that would be enough. 'But as I started washing it, more and more bugs started falling out. Frankly it was enough to make my skin crawl - it was just horrifying.' Ms Sawant, from London, continued: 'By now they were crawling all over my sink and kitchen counter, which had the other vegetables on. 'I couldn't just bin the broccoli either as I was worried the bugs would get out and get into everything. 'So I filled the sink with boiling water and dunked in the broccoli with bugs and all. Ms Sawant said the bugs were 'crawling all over my sink and kitchen counter, which had other vegetables on' Shocking picutres show hundreds of the tiny grey insects clinging to the broccoi and swirling in Ms Sawant's sink 'That allowed me to finally get a good look at the broccoli, which was just packed with these tiny grey bugs under the florets and between the stems 'I had to throw away the food on the kitchen counter and start again.' Shocking pictures show hundreds of the tiny grey insects clinging to the broccoli and swirling in Ms Sawant's sink. Professor Jim Hardie, director of science at the Royal Entomological Society, said the insects looked like aphids. 'The cabbage aphid and another four species of aphid love broccoli so its not unusual to find them,' he said. The bugs are renowned for causing damage to crops by feeding on plant sap and transmitting plant diseases. When Ms Sawant contacted Tesco to complain about the infestation, she was offered a 30p refund for the cost of the broccoli although was not offered a replacement. The bugs are renowned for causing damage to crops by feeding on plant sap and transmitting plant diseases She said: 'I thought it was a little bit cheeky. They couldn't send anybody over with a replacement for the broccoli - I was cooking and I needed it. 'I had just done a shop the day before and wasn't planning another shop for two weeks.' She added: 'I'm just surprised that a big supermarket like Tesco could let something like this happen, they should have checked beforehand. 'Had I not looked, I could have cooked the broccoli and given it to my baby which would have been terrible.' Tesco have been contacted for comment. An Alabama doctor accused of prescribing drugs that killed a former guitarist for rock band 3 Doors Down has been acquitted. Dr Richard Snellgrove was found not guilty by a jury on Monday after he was tied to the 2016 death of rocker Matthew Roberts. Snellgrove had been indicted on 13 counts of unlawful distribution of drugs and health care fraud in relation to Roberts' death. Prosecutors said Snellgrove prescribed drugs to Roberts even though he knew the guitarist struggled with addiction. Dr Richard Snellgrove was found not guilty by a jury on Monday after he was tied to the 2016 death of rocker Matthew Roberts who died from a prescription overdose in a Wisconsin hotel Snellgrove's lawyer, Dennis Knizley, said the physician's actions were reasonable and prosecutors targeted the physician because Roberts was famous. Knizley said text messages introduced by the defense at trial showed that Roberts was seeking illegal drugs in addition to medications he got from Snellgrove. The defense argued that alone showed Roberts' death couldn't be hung on Snellgrove. 'He was obtaining and abusing street drugs at the same time he was obtaining drugs and to a certain degree deceiving Dr. Snellgrove,' Knizley said on Tuesday. A spokesman for US Attorney Richard Moore did not immediately return an email seeking comment. Roberts was a founding member of 3 Doors Down when the rock group began in 1996 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He co-authored the band's hit song 'Kryptonite,' which in 2001 was nominated for a Grammy award for best rock song. Roberts left the band after its 2012 European tour, checking into rehab the same year. Roberts, who was a founding member of 3 Doors Down, was found dead in August 2016 in a hotel hallway in West Bend, Wisconsin Roberts (third from right) was a founding member of 3 Doors Down (above) when the rock group began in 1996 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast He was found dead in August 2016 in a hotel hallway in West Bend, Wisconsin, where he had gone to perform a charity concert. Snellgrove had treated Roberts as early as 2005, and prosecutors argued that the doctor had prescribed escalating amounts of medication in a way that was imprudent. Knizley described his client as a 'good person and a good doctor' and said the federal prosecutor had 'wrecked' his reputation and medical practice. US District Judge Kristi DuBose on Thursday had dismissed four of the charges against Snellgrove relating to prescriptions he wrote to Jeremy Ryals, Roberts' roommate and cousin. Prosecutors had alleged that Snellgrove knew the drugs were really for Roberts, but Knizley said prosecutors never proved those claims. Jurors began deliberating on the remaining counts on Friday after a two-week trial. Roberts' family is also suing Snellgrove, Rite Aid Corp and others in a civil lawsuit in state court in Alabama. That case was stayed pending the outcome of Snellgrove's criminal case. Pictured: Beaming Mr and Mrs Richards pose with their favourite brand of mushy peas and a glass of champagne after scooping 1million on lottery scratchcards A couple won 1million on a lottery scratchcard after they stopped off at the supermarket to buy mushy peas for Sunday lunch. Housewife Sophie Richards, 25, ran out their favourite treat for Sunday lunch and asked husband Will to pick up a pack on his way home. Will Richards, 32, bought five lucky dips at the supermarket and was stunned the next day when he discovered he's won a million. The father-of-three said: 'I would never have bought the lottery tickets if Sophie hadn't run out of mushy peas. 'I was out at work when she sent me a text message telling me which brand to buy.' Mr Richards was out the next day when he scanned the tickets on his mobile phone and the million pound raffle winner started flashing. He drove home to the couple's home in Swansea, South Wales, to break the news face-to-face to Sophie who was busy in the kitchen. The father, who runs a wrestling memorabilia company, had tears in his eyes as he told Sophie: 'We are millionaires!' He was excited he couldn't face eating his Sunday lunch and the lucky mushy peas ended up in the bin. The couple met when they both worked at an Asda supermarket in Swansea - in twist of fate Will bought his winning ticket from Asda in Cardiff. Will Richards, 32, bought five lucky dips at the supermarket and was stunned the next day when he discovered he's won a million They were both planning how to spend their winnings yesterday with Will upgrading his 10-year-old Range Rover with a newer one. He said: 'I'm shrewd with money so I'll be buying a second-hand one.' The couple are planning to take their children, a boy and two girls, aged five, three and four months, on a trip to Disney, Florida next year. And Mr Richards has already booked to go to Wrestlemania in New York next year. But after picking up their winnings at a presentation in the Towers Hotel, Swansea, their first spend was fish and chips for the family, with lashings of mushy peas. Mrs Richards said: 'I love them - I do mushy peas for every Sunday lunch. 'We were having lamb and I was preparing the veg for the next day when I looked in the cupboard and saw we had run out. 'They have to be made in the old fashioned way, like my grandmother taught me, steeped in boiling water. 'I sent Will a text to pick up a pack on his way home - it was such a simple thing but it has changed our lives forever. 'Thanks to those peas we are now minted!' A lottery spokesman said: 'Running out of peas was a stroke of luck for Will and Sophie but they deserve it - they are a lovely couple.' A firefighter abseiled two floors down to save a teenage boy who stood dangerously at a 16th floor ledge in south-eastChina. The 14-year-old boy threatened his step-father to commit suicide after being banned to play video games. He refused to be saved and attempted to jump off the building when the firefighter grabbed him and brought into the balcony. The 14-year-old is hanging onto a handrail at the edge of his balcony at 15th floor high in China (left). One fireman decided to scale from the 17th floor carefully to safe him (right) The boy, whose name has not been revealed, was standing at the edge of a balcony at 160ft high in Quanzhou, Fujian Province at 6:30am on May 22. Quanzhou Luojiang firefighters were sent to the scene as some tried to talk to the boy while setting a safety cushion on the ground floor, reported China News. The boy's mother, aunts and other relatives were called to the scene to persuade the boy to quit. Footage taken by neighbours shows a firefighter abseiling down from the 17th floor and stretching his arms to grab the teenager. The teenager refused to cooperate as he tried to jump and left his leg dangled in midair. The 14-year-old struggles to listen and attempts to run away from to another side (left). The boy is seen dangling dangerously at about 160ft above ground (right) Firefighter and police officers drag the boy into the balcony after the swift rescue SWAT police officers helped to drag the boy back into the balcony. It's believed the boy did not sustain any injuries. The incident is currently undergoing investigations. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details Advertisement Hooded youths dressed in black with ski masks and balaclavas smashed windows and threw bottles at police during chaotic protests in Paris. At least 100 youths forced their way to the front of a public sector union demonstration in the French capital on Tuesday afternoon. Police charged the mob and used tear gas, water cannons, and their batons to isolate them from the peaceful protests against planned labour reforms. Hooded youths dressed in black with ski masks and balaclavas smashed windows and threw bottles at police during chaotic protests in Paris At least 100 youths forced their way to the front of a public sector union demonstration in the French capital on Tuesday afternoon A riot police officer detains a youth during a demonstration in Paris, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. French public services workers have gone on strike as part of their protest a government plan to cut 120,000 jobs by 2022 Youths throw items to riot police officers during scuffles with police forces during a demonstration in Paris A man is detained by riot police officers during scuffles with police forces during a demonstration in Paris There was such mayhem that public service protesters had to suspend their march until police brought the situation under control. Several protesters were arrested and though photos from the scene showed some bleeding from their heads, no injuries were reported. Air traffic controllers and street sweepers to librarians, teachers, and even police officers joined other public service workers in strikes across France. They called reforms and plans to cut 120,000 jobs by 2022 by President Emmanuel Macron an 'attack' against civil services and their economic security. A riot police officer aims a rubber projectile gun at youths as officers fought to isolate them from the peaceful deomstration Youths were kept at bay by tear gas and eventually the mayhem was cleared and the march could proceed Masked youths used huge walls of cardboard as a shield against police and lit their way through the tear gas with flares Police charged the mob and used tear gas, water cannons, and their batons to isolate them from the peaceful protests against planned labour reforms Black-clad youths charges through a cloud of smoke towards police positions during the chaotic riot There was such mayhem that public service protesters had to suspend their march until police brought the situation under control It was the third day of strikes protests since Macron was elected pledging to reduce public spending, trim jobs and reform large parts of the vast French state. Police officers furious about attacks on their pensions were among the 16,400 protestors taking part in the 'Day of Rage'. In scenes that would be illegal in Britain, police vehicles took part in a go-slow demonstration on roads around Paris during the Tuesday rush hour. Off-duty officers also joined a mass march in the city, while their working colleagues tried to maintain the peace during protests that are notorious for descending into violence. Youths clash with police who used batons to subdue them during fierce riots on Tuesday afternoon Several protesters were arrested and though photos from the scene showed some bleeding from their heads, no injuries were reported A member of the black-clad mob is knocked to the ground and surrounded by police as one of several arrested Police charged the mob with btons drawn and used riot shields to deflect bottles and debris thrown at them Police drag away one rioter still hiding his face with a mask and hoodie and shields his eyes with goggles Like other public sector workers, the police were furious that their 'special' pension regime was threatened by President Macron. It allowed some officers to retire at 52, on 75 per cent of their working salaries, with 57 the statutory age for leaving. 'The job of the police is atypical and dangerous,' police trade unionist Jean-Claude Delage said, defending the pensions, and other favourable working conditions. 'We pay a heavy price for doing a job for 24 hours a day, suffering woundings and deaths.' When uniformed French officers took part in protests about increasingly dangerous working conditions in 2016, the then Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve branded their behaviour illegal. 'Demonstrating with police cars and revolving blue lights is not in conformity with the code of ethics of the police in France,' he told parliament. Chaotic streets scenes in Paris as the mob rushed ahead of protesters to clash with riot police Youths face riot police officers during scuffles with police forces during a demonstration in Paris Riot police officers spray gas at photographers caught in the crossfire during scuffles part of a demonstration in Paris Despite this, there were no attempts on Tuesday to stop officers taking part in the mass protest. Strikes affected schools and daycare centres, flights and some energy infrastructure. Public transport was also disrupted as some workers took part ahead of the next round of two-day strikes at national rail operator SNCF starting late on Tuesday. 'It's a message in defence of public services, which is to say a different conception of French society than that held by the president,' CGT union leader Philippe Martinez said at the march in Paris. It was the third day of strikes protests since Macron was elected pledging to reduce public spending, trim jobs and reform large parts of the vast French state A rail worker holds a flare during protests as air traffic controllers and street sweepers to librarians, teachers, and even police officers joined other public service workers in strikes across France. Students of the Paris Tolbiac university join civil servants as they called reforms and plans to cut 120,000 jobs by 2022 by President Emmanuel Macron an 'attack' against civil services and their economic security Rolling demonstrations and strikes were organised against President Macron's reforms, which he said would make France more competitive and business-friendly. He was slashing public spending, getting rid of civil service jobs, and making it easier for firms to hire and fire. All unions in France called for strikes on Tuesday, including walk-outs at schools, kindergartens, and colleges - the first time they all cooperated in 10 years. 'This shows how high the stakes are,' FSU union leader Bernadette Groison said. Demonstrators carry a banner 'Macron No' during a demonstration in Paris among the 16,400 protestors taking part in the 'Day of Rage' President Donald Trump wants New York's highest court to delay a defamation suit filed by a former 'Apprentice' contestant who accused him of unwanted groping and kissing. Trump's lawyers filed notice late Monday that they're asking the state Court of Appeals to freeze Summer Zervos' suit while a lower appellate court considers Trump's request to dismiss it or postpone it until after his presidency. The president has denied Zervos' claims. Summer Zervos (right), a former contestant on 'The Apprentice,' is suing Donald Trump for defamation, but the president's lawyers say he can't be sued in a state-level court while he's in office Zervos, pictured for former lawyer Gloria Allred, has accused Trump of unwanted groping and kissing; the president has branded her a 'liar' and said her claims are 'a hoax' Zervos' lawyer, Mariann Wang, noted Tuesday that Trump has lost bids so far to delay the case 'and for good reason,' she said. 'No one is above the law,' Wang said in a statement. She said that she believed the 'sound reasoning' behind the denials so far would prevail. Zervos, a California restaurateur, appeared in 2006 on Trump's former reality show, 'The Apprentice.' She says he made unwelcome advances when she sought career advice in 2007. Zervos was among more than a dozen women who came forward late in the 2016 presidential race to say Trump had sexually harassed or assaulted them. Trump denied all the claims, saying they were '100 percent fabricated' and 'totally false' and his accusers were 'liars.' He specifically contested Zervos' allegations in a statement and retweeted a message that included her photo and described her claims as a 'hoax.' Zervos' suit argues Trump defamed her by calling her a liar. She says his words hurt her reputation, harmed her business and led to threats against her. She's seeking a retraction, an apology and compensatory and punitive damages. Trump's attorneys have said his remarks were 'non-defamatory opinions.' President Trump declared April was National Sexual Assault Awareness Month despite having 15 different women lodge harassment allegations against him A Manhattan judge ruled in March that the case could go forward. Last week, a mid-level appeals court turned down Trump's bid to halt information-gathering in the case while appeals judges weigh his argument that a private citizen can't sue a sitting president in a state court. Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz said last week there was 'no valid reason' to reject the request. Zervos' lawyers have issued subpoenas seeking a range of information about Trump's behavior toward women, including any Trump campaign documents concerning any woman who accused him of inappropriate touching and any unaired 'Apprentice' footage that might feature Trump discussing female contestants in a sexual or inappropriate way. Theresa May faced a blunt threat from Brexiteers today as a senior MP openly questioned whether she 'really wants to leave' the EU. Jacob Rees-Mogg launched a savage attack on the Prime Minister for 'kowtowing' to Brussels in negotiations. He accused the government of 'preparing for failure' by making concessions over staying tied to the EU customs union. He also challenged Mrs May over fears about Brexit triggering the break-up of the union, saying if she believes the people of Northern Ireland want to merge with the Republic she has a duty to call a referendum. Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured in London today) has launched a savage attack on the Prime Minister for 'kowtowing' to Brussels in negotiations Mrs May has been fighting to defuse Eurosceptic fury at 'backstop' plans to keep Britain tied to the customs union to avoid a hard Irish border. The Prime Minister said yesterday that 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. 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 on a podcast for the ConservativeHome website today, Mr Rees-Mogg said the government was being 'weak' by 'preparing for failure two and half years before the point at which they ought to be ready'. 'To go into the negotiations to say to Mr Barnier, 'we will kowtow before you in every way you possibly want if we cannot get everything ready by the due date' encourages him to say, 'just kowtow, I'm quite happy'. And make no effort to come to a sensible agreement,' he said. 'I think it is a sign of abject weakness.' Theresa May, pictured at the memorial for the anniversary of the Manchester arena bombing today, is struggling to contain Tory infighting over Brexit Mr Rees-Mogg added: 'If we say to the EU our backstop position is that will be the vassal state, why should the EU make any effort to make any arrangement other than for us to be anything other than for us to be a vassal state?' The Tory MP, who heads the infuential ERG group of Eurosceptics, said Mrs May must make clear that the UK will only pay the divorce bill if it gets a trade deal. 'The money is our strongest card, and it seems at the moment to have been given away without anything in return,' he said. 'I fear we're getting to the point where you wonder whether the Government really wants to leave at all.' Mr Rees-Mogg also referred to reports that Mrs May was concerned that the government might lose a referendum on reunifying the island of Ireland. 'If the PM really believes that a border poll would against the Union, then the PM's secretary of state has a legal obligation to call that poll,' he said. 'It is quite extraordinary that Downing Street has set this hare running. It seems very unlikely with all the polling evidence.' Former Trump campaign cochair Sam Clovis said his conversation with a suspected FBI informant during the campaign was like two academics sitting in a 'faculty lounge' and that he believes investigators were trying to build an 'audit trail.' Clovis made his comments on an Iowa talk radio program, where he threw out the theory that the informant was trying to create a trail of information that could later be used to justify a federal surveillance warrant. 'The meeting was very high level. It was like two faculty members sitting down in the faculty lounge talking about research,' Clovis said while filling in for the 'Simon Conway Show,' CNN reported. 'They were trying to literally plant evidence or create an audit trail that would lead investigators on something. Then they would have justification to go back for their ... warrants and all their other things,' he said. Sam Clovis described his meeting with an FBI informant to 'two faculty members sitting down in the faculty lounge; 'There was no indication or no inclination that this was anything other than just wanting to offer up his help to the campaign if I needed it.' Clovis described the way the informant, reported to be Cambridge professor Stefan Halper, tried to work his way through the Trump campaign staff. He said he and Halper chatted about China policy not Russia. The met at the DoubleTree hotel in Arlington, Virginia just outside Washington. 'He had met with Carter Page, he used that as the bona fides to get an appointment with me,' Clovis said. 'And then I think he used my meeting as a bona fides to get a meeting with George Papadopoulos,' he said, referring to the Trump foreign policy aide who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. News of Clovis' description of the meeting came as President Trump railed that there were 'spies' in his campaign. Sam Clovis, a former member of the Trump campaign, arrives on at the U.S. Capitol December 12, 2017 to appear before a closed meeting of the House Intelligence Committee Clovis said the informant was building an 'audit trail' to try to get a FISA warrant. Carter Page, Global Energy Capital LLC Managing Partner and a former foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump, makes a presentation titled ' Departing from Hypocrisy: Potential Strategies in the Era of Global Economic Stagnation, Security Threats and Fake News' during his visit to Moscow 'A lot of people are saying they had spies in my campaign. If they had spies in my campaign that would be a disgrace to this country. That would be one of the biggest insults that anyone's ever seen,' Trump fumed at the White House Tuesday. Clovis suggested the source, who he didn't name, was trying to create an 'audit trail.' 'The thing that's unsettling to me' is the sources effort 'to establish an audit trail from the campaign or somebody associated with the campaign, back to those Clinton emails -- whether or not they existed, we don't know,' he said. 'The FBI and the Department of Justice, they were attempting to create something that did not exist and there was no evidence that it existed, to create an audit trail that would lead investigators on something. Then they would have justification to go back for their FISA warrants and all their other things,' Clovis said. Stefan Halper has been identified as the government informant. Congressional Republicans are demanding information about him and his activities, as Trump battles the Russia probe 'If they had spies in my campaign that would be a disgrace to this country,' said Trump on Tuesday He said the meeting seemed innocuous and was mainly about China. Clovis was a political scientist and Stefan Halper, the suspected informant, has penned books on China. 'I didn't have any notes on the meeting because there must not have been anything substantive that took place. Because it was nothing new,' Clovis said. 'It was an academic meeting. It was not anything other than him talking about the research that he had done on China. That was essentially what the discussion was about. We already had a lot of China people involved.' He said of the alleged informant: 'That person had nothing to do with the campaign. They were not part of the campaign.' The page has reached over $100,000 in donations from over 3,000 strangers from around the world A teacher killed in the Santa Fe school massacre, who was working two jobs to try and pay for her husband's medical treatment, may have saved his life in her death. Donations have skyrocketed to a GoFundMe page for William Tisdale whose wife Cynthia, 63, was killed on Friday. Substitute teacher Tisdale was one of 10 killed by teen gunman Dimitrios Pagourtzis. She was in Santa Fe High School that day working to raise money for stem cell medical treatments for her husband's lung disease. Their son, Recie Tisdale, set up the crowdfunding page for his father back in March, but with the media attention in the aftermath of the shooting, the page has reached over $100,000 in donations from over 3,000 strangers around the world over the past week. 'We are still in such disbelief that anything good can come out of such a horrific event,' Recie wrote on the GoFundMe page. 'My mom always made good come out of bad situations though and this is no different for her. The amount of love and generosity our family and father is receiving is unimaginable. We don't know how to put it all into words but thank you doesn't give it enough justification.' Cynthia Tisdale was killed during last week's school shooting in Texas. Her husband of 47-years, William Tisdale (pictured together) suffers from lung disease William and Cynthia's son Recie set up a GoFundMe page (photo from the page of William with his grandchildren) in March to help the family pay their dad's medical bills The heartbreaking original post on the GoFundMe page quotes Cynthia's husband talking about how he wants the stem cell treatments for his lung disease so he can continue to live for his wife of 47-years. 'I've never had to ask for help and I'm embarrassed to do so now. With the procedure I have a chance for more time with your momma (my wife of 47 years), my children, and my wonderful grandchildren who I so much want to see grow up as much as possible. I fear without this I won't make it to see 2019.' Recie is a detective with local law enforcement. He identified his mother's body at the scene of the shooting last week. '(Cynthia Tisdale) worked at the school not out of necessity but for the love of teaching and helping others,' her son, Recie Tisdale Jr. of the League City Police Department, told WFAA-TV. 'To know my mom was to know a person who lived to help those in need. We all loved our mother very much.' The body of Cynthia Tisdale, 63, who was one of 10 people slaughtered on Friday at Santa Fe High School, was identified by her son, who is a detective with a local law enforcement agency Tisdale, a teacher who worked two jobs to help pay medical expenses for her terminally ill husband, is being hailed as a hero after she was gunned down in Friday's massacre (seen above on Friday) When initial reports said that two of those killed were teachers, Recie said he knew his mother was one of the fatalities since his father was unable to reach her. 'Once the scene was somewhat secure I was contacted by my father who could not reach my mom,' Recie said. 'I knew that two female teachers had been killed along with several students. 'Not long thereafter I determined that one of the teachers was probably my mother. 'It was very hard to go from assisting others to being horribly affected by this tragic event. 'There are no words to explain how saddened my entire family is for all those involved. 'Our prayers and thoughts are with everyone affected.' Pagourtzis, 17, a student at the school, is being held without bail. Friends and relatives described Cynthia Tisdale as a kind, caring person. She is survived by her husband, their four children, and eight grandchildren Cynthia Tisdale was planning to relocate to Rio Grande Valley with her husband for retirement. She is seen above with her daughter, Autumn, in this family photo Friends and relatives described Tisdale as a kind, caring person. She is survived by her husband, William Recie Tisdale, 67; their four children; and eight grandchildren. 'Cynthia is a very kindhearted person,' her brother-in-law, John Tisdale, told The Monitor. 'She was looking forward to retiring and just being a fulltime granny or grandmother. 'She was really attached and close to her children and grandchildren, and that was really her life and joy.' They also listened to news reports hoping that her name was not mentioned among the victims. 'All during the day we were concerned,' John Tisdale said. 'I was trying to get reports on whether she had been located or not. 'You got faith that they'll find her somewhere, and that perhaps she was one of the ones who was wounded and taken to local hospitals, but when it's evident it could be her you're just living on hope. 'Then it became apparent that she was one of the two teachers that had died.' Cynthia was planning to relocate to Rio Grande Valley with her husband for retirement. 'All during the day we were concerned,' John Tisdale (seen right with his wife, Pamela) said. 'I was trying to get reports on whether she had been located or not.' On Facebook, John Tisdale posted a message from his niece, Autumn Tisdale, who mourned her mother. The message was attached to a screen shot of a phone call from a mother with a message not to take those conversations for granted 'Since my brother has been very ill the last couple of years, she was a very excellent caregiver and she worked two jobs for extra income to help,' John said. 'She worked at the school and a second job as a server at night at an Italian restaurant chain.' On Facebook, John posted a message from his niece, Autumn Tisdale, who mourned her mother. The message was attached to a screen shot of a phone call from a mother with a message not to take those conversations for granted. 'I'm not one of many words but my mom always was! My mom Cynthia Tisdale posted this and I thought thank goodness that's not me,' the post read. 'I won't feel that for many more years. I am at a loss for words all I want to do is get that phone call where she chews me out for being at the softball Fields all day and night long, working out in the heat and not taking enough drinks, or for not being able to get the stains out of my kids clothes. 'My favorite phone calls were when we just talked and she just went on and on and I just agreed with her as she talked. 'I didn't think she was my best friend but now I know I was wrong she was my best friend and now all the things I would need to tell her I can't anymore. 'All I want to do is give her a hug and kiss and tell her how much I love her again! 'I love u so much Momma! The words I miss u don't do justice to what I'm feeling!' Cynthia was also a churchgoing woman who is being mourned by fellow parishioners. 'My stepmother, Cynthia Tisdale was the substitute teacher that was killed today in Santa Fe,' her stepdaughter, Shannon McCoy, wrote on Facebook page of the First Baptist Church of McAllen. 'We are on our way to Houston. 'Please remember the family during this very difficult time. I know today didn't catch God by surprise. 'He is still in control. I am praising Him on credit for the way He will be glorified through this senseless mess.' Cynthia Tisdale is seen above teaching at Santa Fe High School in this undated file photo Teachers are being made to fill in over 1,000 questions about the progress of their students every five weeks under a new system that will assess how children 'express feelings and needs.' The new Assessing Literacy and Numeracy (ALAN) program is 'over the top,' according to NSW Primary Principals Association executive Rob Walker. Mr Walker told the Daily Telegraph some schools had been forced to hire relief teachers just to enter data. Huge workload: An example of criteria for speaking indicators Teachers are being made to fill in over 1000 questions about the progress of their students every five weeks under a new system that will assess how children 'expresses feelings and needs' The process involves grading every K-2 child on 791 literacy and 307 numeracy indicators every five weeks. A spokesperson for the program said it will 'help track students movement along the literacy and numeracy continuum.' Teachers will need to fill out an online form marking each child on listening, speaking phonics, grammar punctuation and interaction. The Assessing Literacy and Numeracy program is being implemented at 661 schools across NSW this year. The questionnaire software, called PLAN 2, will be available to all teachers by the end of 2018. A spokesperson for Education Minister Stokes said PLAN 2 is just one way the department is hoping to improve the learning experience. 'The Department is always looking at better ways to help students and support teachers,' the spokesperson said. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the NSW Department of Education for comment. The Boy Scouts will ensure that condoms will be made 'readily and easily accessible' at its global gathering this summer, it has been revealed. Rules now require that the host organization of the World Scout Jamboree provide condoms at a 'number of locations' for staff and participants during the event. Leaders of the participating organizations must also communicate the policy to their 'participants, unit leaders, and contingent staff', the mandate requires. The 24th World Scout Jamboree will be held in the mountains of West Virginia from July 21 to August 1, 2019. Condoms will be made 'readily and easily accessible' at the upcoming World Scout Jamboree (pictured are the Scouts from America at the 2007 Jamboree in England) Rules now require that the host organization of the World Scout Jamboree provide condoms at a 'number of locations' on the event's site for staff and participants. Pictured are Scouts from South Africa and other countries at the 2007 Jamboree It will be the first time the jamboree is held by three national scout organizations - Scouts Canada, Asociacion de Scouts de Mexico, and the Boy Scouts of America. This jamboree will also be the first time women and those in the LGBTQI community will be allowed to attend the event with the Boy Scouts of America. Leaders of the participating organizations must also communicate the condom policy to their 'participants, unit leaders, and staff' The condom mandate was actually made in 2016, following the 2015 World Jamboree in Japan. A World Jamboree is held every four years and it appears the World Scout Committee modified the guidelines in anticipation of the 2019 event. International members of the Girl Guides or Girl Scouts, as they are known in the US, have been allowed to attend past jamborees if their national association had an arrangement with the World Organization of the Scout Movement. But it is expected that girls will make up 'half of all participants' attending the 2019 World Scout Jamboree, according to the organization. While the changes to the World Scout's health policy were made in 2016 they were reportedly just recently released in an email, according to Charisma News. The condom mandate (pictured) was actually made in 2016, following the 2015 World Jamboree in Japan A World Jamboree is held every four years and it appears the World Scout Committee modified the guidelines in anticipation of the 2019 event Guidelines also permit that 'consideration shall be given to the various cultures and beliefs present' when distributing information onsite about condom availability. Drugs - including marijuana, cocaine, opiates, and other 'psychoactive substances' - are banned from the event. Alcohol will also not be made available in the 2019 event, Andy Chapman, Vice Chairperson of the World Scout Committee, told DailyMail.com. The World Scout Jamboree is meant to be a 'celebration of cultural exchange, mutual understanding, peace, and friendship', according to an announcement on the event's Facebook page. Members of the Girl Guides or Girl Scouts have been allowed to attend past jamborees if their national association had an arrangement with the world organization The 2019 theme is 'Unlock a New World', which is meant to reflect the 'new adventures, cultures, and friendships that will be shared by Scouts from around the world during the event'. It was revealed just weeks ago that the Boy Scouts of America would be changing its name to reflect that girls and those in the LGBTQI community can now join its ranks. The Boy Scouts will now be known as Scouts BSA, a change that will take effect next February. Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh said many possibilities were considered during lengthy and 'incredibly fun' deliberations before the new name was chosen. 'We wanted to land on something that evokes the past but also conveys the inclusive nature of the program going forward,' he said. 'We're trying to find the right way to say we're here for both young men and young women.' It was revealed just weeks ago that the Boy Scouts would be changing its name to reflect that girls and those in the LGBTQI community can now join its ranks The parent organization will remain the Boy Scouts of America, and the Cub Scouts - its program for seven to 10-year-olds - will keep its title, as well. But the Boy Scouts - the program for 11 to 17-year-olds - will now be Scouts BSA. The organization has already started admitting girls into the Cub Scouts, and Scouts BSA begins accepting girls next year. Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh (pictured) said many possibilities were considered during 'incredibly fun' deliberations before the name was chosen The program for the older boys and girls will largely be divided along gender-lines, with single-sex units pursuing the same types of activities, earning the same array of merit badges and potentially having the same pathway to the coveted Eagle Scout award. Surbaugh said that having separate units for boys and girls should alleviate concerns that girls joining the BSA for the first time might be at a disadvantage in seeking leadership opportunities. So far, more than 3,000 girls have joined roughly 170 Cub Scout packs participating in the first phase of the new policy, and the pace will intensify this summer under a nationwide multimedia recruitment campaign titled 'Scout Me In.' The name change comes amid strained relations between the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America. Girl Scout leaders said they were blindsided by the move, and they are gearing up an aggressive campaign to recruit and retain girls as members. 'The Boy Scouts' house is on fire,' the Girl Scouts told ABC News in a statement. The name change comes amid strained relations between the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America 'Instead of addressing systemic issues of continuing sexual assault, financial mismanagement and deficient programming, BSA's senior management wants to add an accelerant to the house fire by recruiting girls.' Among the initiatives is creation of numerous new badges that girls can earn, focusing on outdoor activities and on science, engineering, technology and math. The organization is expanding corporate partnerships in both those areas, and developing a Girl Scout Network Page on LinkedIn to support career advancement for former Girl Scouts. 'Girl Scouts is the premier leadership development organization for girls,' said Sylvia Acevedo, the Girl Scouts' CEO. 'We are, and will remain, the first choice for girls and parents who want to provide their girls opportunities to build new skills...and grow into happy, successful, civically engaged adults.' Flotation aids that have helped save the lives of scores of Syrian refugees as they fled to Europe are being used to kick start new careers for their former wearers. Five thousand life jackets have been given a new lease of life by being transformed into useful laptop cases, shopping bags, accessories and even clothes in the Netherlands. Life jackets worn by Syrian refugees have been made into various items, after 5,000 of the buoyancy aids were bought over to the Netherlands One of the student workshops in the Netherlands: life jackets worn by Syrian refugees as they crossed into Europe are now providing jobs for their former wearers As a result of so many displaced people making the risky journey by sea, there was a massive surplus of life jackets that were worn on the crossings Since the Syrian civil war officially began on March 15, 2011, more than 5.6 million Syrians have fled the country as refugees, according to World Vision figures. It is believed that about one million displaced Syrians are in Europe alone. As a result of so many displaced people making the risky journey by sea, there was a massive surplus of life jackets that were worn on the crossings. On the tiny Greek island of Lesbos, there were hundreds of thousands of the bright orange safety items left behind. Rather than throw the buoyancy aids out, social enterprise Makers Unite has helped up-cycle them into something useful. As a result, about 70 refugees have been helped establish careers in the Netherlands, as they are involved in making and selling bags and other items. Rather than throw the buoyancy aids out, social enterprise Makers Unite has helped up-cycle them into something useful A laptop bag is among the wide array of items the life jackets are transformed into when the refugees work in conjunction with local residents On the tiny Greek island of Lesbos, there were hundreds of thousands of the bright orange safety items left behind This includes 13 who are working as tailors to create the bright new products. Selling their products across the world, Makers Unite hope to make something more positive out of the masses of life jackets left behind. The organisation said that carving out such a career, makes our newcomers aware of their needed talents. We believe trust between newcomers and locals is sparked, and dialogue is started by making things together. And creating new objects helped others to get to know the person behind the title of refugee. The sales of our products provide working opportunities to our participants and fund our social inclusion program,' it added. The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday blocked The Associated Press and at least two other news organizations from attending a national summit on harmful water contaminants. The meeting, convened in Washington by EPA chief Scott Pruitt, was open to invited media only, EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said. Wilcox said there was no room at the event for an AP reporter. Some other news outlets were allowed to cover the meeting, and a portion of it was livestreamed. The environmental-focused news organization E&E News confirmed to the AP that reporter Corbin Hiar was kept out of the meeting. A CNN reporter also was prevented from attending. Another scandal: Now Scott Pruitt's security guards are accused of grabbing and pushing a female reporter who asked to see a public affairs official The summit was on a class of chemicals present in dangerous amounts in many water systems around the country. Pruitt told about 200 people at the meeting that dealing with the contaminants is a 'national priority.' An AP reporter attempted to attend the meeting but was told she was not the invitation list. When the reporter asked to speak to an EPA public-affairs person, security guards grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her out of the EPA building. AP's executive editor Sally Buzbee said: 'The Environmental Protection Agency's selective barring of news organizations, including the AP, from covering today's meeting is alarming and a direct threat to the public's right to know about what is happening inside their government. 'It is particularly distressing that any journalist trying to cover an event in the public interest would be forcibly removed.' CNN said in a statement that its reporter also was turned away from covering the event 'after multiple attempts to attend.' The summit was supposed to be about how dealing with a slate of toxic chemicals contaminating some drinking water systems around the country is a national priority. Pruitt, who drew scrutiny from lawmakers after EPA emails released this month showed that the agency had intervened in the publication of a new government study on the contaminants, convened what he called a national summit on the chemicals. The chemicals are as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl. Used in some nonstick coatings, in firefighting foam and elsewhere, the chemicals can cause developmental defects and other health problems. Authorities say the contaminants are present in dangerous levels in some water systems, including several near military bases and industries. Pruitt drew questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers last week after emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed an unidentified White House official calling a pending federal toxicological report on the chemical a 'potential public-relations nightmare.' The emails also revealed EPA officials intervening in the release of the study, which remains unpublished. Politico first reported on the emails. Pruitt, formerly the Republican attorney general of Oklahoma, invited what the EPA said were 200 people to Tuesday's Washington session on the chemicals. The people attending represented states, tribes, the chemical industry and other sectors, along with some environmental representatives. 'It's clear this issue is a national priority,' Pruitt said, opening the session. He pledged to start work toward establishing a legal maximum limit for the contaminants in drinking water systems. Protestors at a Senate hearing Wednesday morning called on EPA administrator Scott Pruitt to be fired over the multiple scandals at his agency. The EPA would reach out to communities with drinking water contaminated by the chemicals over the summer, agency officials said. The EPA is 'very focused upon action,' Pruitt said. 'We want to hear from all of you as we take the next step.' Environmental groups and some lawmakers have accused Pruitt of meeting more often with industry representatives, conservative political groups and lobbyists than with ordinary people affected by dangers that the EPA regulates. His security issues however have become his Achilles heel. A damaging internal email showed that Pruitt encouraged his motorcade to use flashing lights and sirens to move him quickly through Washington D.C.'s heavy traffic. Pruitt's motorcade used its sirens to move him quickly when he was running late, such as when he had dinner plans at Le Diplomate, an expensive French restaurant, according to reports. An internal email from then-EPA special agent Pasquale 'Nino' Perrotta indicating EPA administrator Scott Pruitt wanted his motorcade to use flashing lights and sirens. Pruitt is facing dozens of investigations about his time in office, ranging from the cost of his security detail, thousands of dollars spent on first-class travel, the pay raises given to aides, the installation of a $43,000 soundproof phone booth in his office, and the cheap rent of a condo he received that is tied to lobbyists. Sen. Tom Udall, a Democrat who has called on Pruitt to resign, asked him about reports he liked his motorcade to use the vehicles' flashing lights and sirens to cut through traffic. 'There are policies in place regarding the use of lights' and those were followed, Pruitt said. But Udall asked him repeatedly if he encouraged the action. 'I don't recall that happening,' Pruitt said. Udall then disclosed an internal email from then-EPA special agent Pasquale 'Nino' Perrotta indicating Pruitt wanted the sirens used. The email, sent in February 2017 shortly after Pruitt was confirmed, had the subject line 'Lights and Sirens.' It added 'Btw - Administrator encourages the use.' Perrotta also wrote the agency's justification for Pruitt's first-class travel. He later resigned. Additionally, a U.S. senator blasted Pruitt for flying first-class because of security reasons, saying no one 'knows who you are.' Pruitt's team claimed the administrator needed heavy security protection because of death threats. But Patrick Leahy, also a Democrat, blasted the agency chief for claiming he needed first class travel for security reasons, saying it was 'silly.' 'What a silly reason you had to fly first class,' Leahy said. 'Nobody even knows who you are.' The EPA administrator used a defense he has used in other appearances before lawmakers. He blamed staff and processes for allowing some of incidents to take place. 'I would not make the same decisions again,' he said. Pruitt also revealed under questioning that he has set up a legal defense fund. And he was asked about a report an aide helped Pruitt find a new place to live. He called the aide 'a longtime friend' who used her 'personal time' to help him. He noted he did not pay her for this service. 'Then that's a gift, that's a violation of federal law,' Sen. Tom Udall said, noting that subordinates of federal officials are prohibited from providing free services. The White House is confident President Donald Trump's iPhone is secured after a report revealed fears it could be hacked or used for surveillance because of its lack of security features. Trump went months without having security checks done on his mobile devices, Politico reported, which he frequently uses for calls and to tweet. 'The White House is confident in the security protocols in place for the President's use of communications devices,' a senior White House official told ABC News. 'The president has accepted every device and process related to mobile phones recommended by White House Information Technology,' the official said. Trump, like many Americans, is tied to his cell phone. He uses the mobile devices for his prolific Twitter posts. Also he's known to call friends -- and the occasional reporter -- whenever he wants to have a chat. The president so loves his iPhones, he has two of them. President Donald Trump's iPhone could be hacked or used for surveillance because of its lack of security features, it was revealed. Trump is pictured here using his iPhone aboard Air Force One during a January flight to Philadelphia. President Trump uses two iPhones -- one for calls and one for Twitter -- but his reluctance to hand them over for security checks has led to concerns they could be hacked. Trump uses two iPhones, Politico reported, and has rebuffed his staff's attempts to strengthen security their security measures, saying it's 'too inconvenient' to hand them over, an aide said. But the White House aide disputed this, telling ABC News: 'The call-capable phones are seamlessly swapped out on a regular basis through routine support operations.' Trump's Twitter phone doesn't have to be changed out as much because of what it's use for. 'Because of the security controls of the Twitter phone and the Twitter account, it does not necessitate regular change out,' the official said. One of the phones is used for calls and the other only has the Twitter app and a handful of news sites. The devices are issued by White House Information Technology and the White House Communications Agency, an office of military staff that oversees White House telecommunications. MR PRESIDENT, COVER YOUR CAMERA UP An expert has shown that when an app has permission to access the camera, once opened it can take photos and videos of the user at any time. The iPhone gives no indication that the camera is being used or that the photos are being uploaded to the internet. The only safe way to protect yourself is using camera covers, which can be bought online. A simple sticky note or piece of blu-tac will also work. You can also revoke camera access for all apps and always use the built-in camera app to protect yourself. Advertisement Trump has gone as long as five months without having a security check performed on his phones, it was reported. It is unclear how often the devices, which are essentially used as burner phones, are swapped out. Changing out the devices would slow down the president's ability to tweet. And he likes to have his phone time. In fact, 'executive time' on his schedule has been reported to be his chance to watch TV, phone a friend, and tweet away. And Trump is not the only president who wanted to stay mobile on his time frame. President Barack Obama waged a vicious war to keep his blackberry at his side. But it only allowed him to email a limited number of aides. When he sent his first tweet as president, he had to borrow an aide's phone to do it. Obama also handed his blackberry over every 30 days to be examined for hacking and other suspicious activity, an Obama administration official told Politico. A senior West Wing official told Politico of Trump's phones that the call-capable phones 'are seamlessly swapped out on a regular basis through routine support operations. Because of the security controls of the Twitter phone and the Twitter account, it does not necessitate regular change-out.' President Trump is not the only president who wanted to stay mobile. President Barack Obama waged a vicious war to keep his blackberry at his side and seen with it here in January 2009 outside of the Oval Office. But the call capable phone has a mic and camera while Obama's did not. There is a risk hackers could use those to track Trump's moves. The GPS device is disabled on his phones. The White House official told ABC News that comparisons between Trump and Obama's phones are unfair given how quickly technology changes. 'Due to inherent capabilities and advancement in technologies, these devices are more secure than any Obama era devices,' the official said of Trump's iPhones. Trump, who doesn't use email, repeatedly slammed Hillary Clinton's use of a private email servers, saying it was vulnerable to hacks. 'It's believed that no less than five foreign intelligence agencies successfully hacked into Hillary's illegal insecure server. In other words, Hillary's corrupt criminal scheme put the safety of every American family in danger; that's what's happened,' he said in November of the 2016 campaign. The number of the president's phone changes often and aides close to him carry a secure phone for sensitive conversations. White House chief of staff John Kelly has cracked down on personal cellphone use, banning them from the West Wing in January, citing security risks. Obama told Jimmy Fallon in 2016 when he got an upgraded phone it had no fun features and he revealed then-first lady Michelle Obama carried three devices. 'This is a great phone, state of the art, but it doesn't take pictures, you can't text, the phone doesn't work, you can't play your music on it,' Obama said he was told when he got his new one. 'So basically, it's likedoes your 3-year old have one of those play phones?' He added: 'I've been seeing Malia and Sasha doing all this and Michelle's got three of them, she's texting and all this.' Shocked commuters waiting on the platform for the train in Cape Town South Africa could not believe their eyes when their train pulled in with two carriages belching out thick smoke and flames. People panicked fearing the 08:30 service Metrorail train which had stopped at Retreat station this morning with two carriages on fire was about to explode and ran in all directions to reach safety. Those already on board piled off with many jumping even before the train had stopped at the platform. These are the shocking scenes as a train in Cape Town, South Africa caught fire at the station Firefighters had to wait for the power to be switched off from overhead lines before they could tackle the blaze. Metrorail workers separated the burning carriages from the rest of the train Firefighters who had raced to the scene had to wait for the high voltage overhead electricity supply to be turned off before they could fight the flames but managed to quickly contain it. Nobody was believed to be injured but forensic experts are sifting through the wreckage of the two destroyed carriages for evidence of arson or to discover how the fire was started. Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott said:'All commuters on board have been evacuated and no injuries have been reported. At the moment it is too early to determine the cause. 'Our teams assisted in separating the burning carriages from the rest of the train to contain the damage and when the overhead electric was off the fire brigade quickly extinguished it'. She said that the initial two carriages on fire were completely gutted and an adjoining carriage at each end were smoke damaged but would be able to return to service after cleaning. The cost of the damage was as yet unknown but rail services in the area had to be shut down for over two hours but one of the lines through the station has now been reopened to trains. A City of Cape Town fire service spokesman Theo Layne confirmed the fire was out. Retreat resident Wardah Wilson told News24 that she was waiting for her 08:30 train when she noticed that the train pulling into the station had a huge plume of smoke coming from it. She said:'I realised it was burning and I called security and he got help. I could feel the heat of the fire on the platform. Security evacuated the area then emergency services were on scene'. According to Metrorail the fire was out less than an hour after the train arrived at Retreat station. Metrorail suffers regular arson attacks on its trains in Cape Town with dozens being burnt out each year often by fed ip commuters just angry because services or late or have broken down. Victoria Beckham has unveiled her floral display outside a top London restaurant but can you spot the difference? Celebrity haunt Scott's in Mayfair is known for its al fresco dining style, potted plants and greenery. And today the former Spice Girl hoped to show off her design after revealing her green-fingered contribution to the floral display. The seafood eatery has trumpeted a number of collaborations with floral-enthused fashion houses in the past, including Dior and H&M. Spot the difference: Victoria worked alongside London floral designer Flora Starkey to create the Scott's x Victoria Beckham terrace, which will be on display for one month Can you tell the difference? A picture of Scott's taken in 2013 shows very similarly greenery outside the restaurant but without Posh's white flowers In a breathy statement today, Beckham said she was 'thrilled' with the alterations to Scott's restaurant, which include the addition of white flowers and floral arches. She praised florist Fiona Starkey, describing her as having an 'amazing ability to transform space'. Trilling about the design, the mother-of-four told Vogue: 'It's very English and seasonal; I'm so thrilled with it.' It is not known if or how much Beckham was paid for the contribution which was officially launched today with a breakfast event at the London haunt. She told the magazine: 'I know Scott's have never opened their doors for breakfast before, so I feel really honored that they're doing so for me, and just thrilled that we could bring three exciting, British brands together for this moment.' Suits you, Victoria! Posh Spice framed her face with her huge retro sunglasses and loose strands of her brunette locks which had come undone from her low bun Ladylike looks! Bringing a feminine feel to her suit, the singer exuded elegance in her cream crisp blouse worn open at the top with a golden pendant hanging around her neck This is the first time she has been spotted in public since Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding on Saturday, where she was teased on social media for her less than impressed expression on the way to St George's Chapel. Speaking to the Evening Standard, Beckham described Harry and Meghan's wedding as 'very real, very honest' - as well as praising the bride's Givenchy gown as being 'perfect'. She said the new Duchess of Sussex looked 'absolutely beautiful' in her 200,000 gown by Clare Waight Keller - following speculation she might have been given the huge job of designing the dress. The former Spice Girl said: 'It was such a beautiful, incredible wedding. It was just the best day. 'Meghan seems like a genuinely lovely woman, who really loves him. It felt very real, very honest.' The mother-of-four also addressed criticism that she wore navy again on Saturday, having worn the same colour at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding back in 2011. She described it as a 'huge relief' she wasn't pregnant for her second royal wedding, having been nearly seven months with daughter Harper for Kate and William's big day, adding that she 'love[s] a bit of navy'. Victoria chose a midi dress featuring split sleeves from her Pre-Spring/Summer 2019 collection for the ceremony on Saturday. A commemorative coin that a military agency issued in advance of the president's summit with Kim Jong-un is stirring controversy. The coin refers to Kim as the 'Supreme Leader' of North Korea and shows him facing off against President Trump at the upcoming Singapore summit. Kim has been threatening to call off the meeting, and President Trump today said, 'There's a very substantial chance it won't work out.' Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer meanwhile said that Kim's 'face has no place on this coin' that also features Trump. 'I urge the White House to take Kim off the coin,' he said. A commemorative coin that a military agency issued in advance of the president's summit with Kim Jong-un is stirring controversy. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer meanwhile said that Kim's 'face has no place on this coin' that also features Trump. 'I urge the White House to take Kim off the coin,' he said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders explained Tuesday that White House has no control over the coins that are issued by the former military signal corps outfit, now known as the White House Communications Agency, despite its formal name White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders explained Tuesday that White House has no control over the coins that are issued by the former military signal corps outfit, now known as the White House Communications Agency, despite its formal name. 'This is not something the White House has anything to do with. We don't have any input on the design, the process, this is a standard procedure by the White House Communications Agency,' she said, 'made up exclusively of career military officials and these coins are designed and done by that organization.' Her deputy, Raj Shah, similarly told the wire service AFP in a statement: 'The White House did not have any input into the design and manufacture of the coin.' 'Since 2003, White House Communications Agency members have ordered a limited number of commercially designed and manufactured souvenir travel coins for purchase,' he said. '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.' Nonetheless, Schumer issued a demand on Twitter on Tuesday that the White House remove Kim from the commemorative coin. 'I urge the White House to take Kim off the coin. Challenge coins are a time honored tradition and certainly appropriate in this situation, but Kim Jong Uns face has no place on this coin,' the Democratic leader said. 'He is a brutal dictator and something like the Peace House would be much more appropriate.' Peace House is in the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. The prospective summit would not take place there. It's due to take place in Singapore at an as of yet unnamed location. President Trump was hedging his bets on Tuesday that the Kim summit would move forward at all, telling reporters as he greeted the South Korean president, 'We'll soon know.' Trump in the Oval Office told journalists asking about the June 12 summit minutes later, 'Were moving along. Well see what happens. There are certain conditions we want to happen. I think we'll get those conditions. He added, 'And if we don't, we won't have the meeting.' 'If it doesnt happen, maybe it will happen later,' Trump said. 'Maybe it will happen at a different time.' South Korea's Moon Jae-in and Trump were meeting today at the White House for a round of talks that were expected to decide U.S. the future of the sit-down. The New York Times reported Sunday that Trump was considering backing out of the face-to-face talks that could turn into an embarrassment for him. Trump is said to have surveyed aides the optics of Kim's own threats to cancel the June 12 meeting with Moon in a weekend phone call. Chung Eui-yong, national security adviser to Moon, told reporters en route to Washington that he was not only on the call 'no such thing happened' and he is '99.9 percent' sure the meeting in Singapore will move forward. 'We have perceived none of that,' Chung said of reported nervousness on the part of the U.S. Trump in the Oval Office told journalists asking about the June 12 summit minutes later, 'Were moving along. Well see what happens. There are certain conditions we want to happen. I think we'll get those conditions Trump said Tuesday for the first time that the summit could happen, just at a later date. 'It may not work out for June 12,' he said. He said that he doesn't 'want to waste a lot of time' on talks and suspects that Kim doesn't either. The U.S. president also said that he believes that Kim's surprise visit to Beijing in early May prompted the North Korean dictator to play chicken. Trump said his trip to Beijing last year was 'two of the great days of my life.' 'I don't think anybody's ever been treated better in China in their history.' But he said his counterpart in China, Xi Jinping, 'I think that President Xi is a world-class poker player.' 'I think there was a little change in attitude from Kim Jong-un. So I don't like that,' he said. 'I can't say that I'm happy about it,' he said of the unexpected talks between Xi and Kim Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also told DailyMail.com on Monday morning that for now the summit is still on. 'I don't think the president gets cold feet about anything, so I think as the president has said, right now it's still on, if that changes, you'll find out about it,' he said in response to reports that Trump is the one who could back down. Chung meanwhile told South Korean press, 'I listened in on the telephone conversation between the two heads of state, and no such thing happened.' In an interview on Monday that aired in full during Fox New's 'The Story with Martha McCallum,' Vice President Mike Pence said, 'The president remains open to a summit taking place, and well continue to pursue that path even while we stand strong on the objective of denuclearization and extreme pressure campaign thats underway today.' 'We offered concessions to the North Korean regime in exchange for promises to end their nuclear weapons program, only to see them break those promises and abandon them,' Pence asserted. 'It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong-un to think he could play Donald Trump.' Kim has been taunting the U.S. since last week over annual military exercises on the Korean Peninsula that are conducted in conjunction with South Korea. The joint exercises were a condition of talks, however the North is now using them as a cudgel. The isolated regime also took issue with past statements that Trump's new national security adviser, John Bolton, about denuclearization, leading the U.S. president to provide assurances last week that Kim would not be ousted if he abandons his nuclear weapons program. Kim has been taunting the U.S. since last week over annual military exercises on the Korean Peninsula that are conducted in conjunction with South Korea. The joint exercises were a condition of talks, however the North is now using them as a cudgel. The isolated regime also took issue with past statements that Trump's new national security adviser, John Bolton, made Trump told reporters last Wednesday as the news made its way to the White House that North Korea had not notified the United States of an intent to call off the summit nor had it iterated the demands that appeared in state-run media directly to the administration. Asked if the summit would move forward then, he said, 'We'll have to see.' The president has said that he will not budge on denuclearization of the peninsula, another facet of the meeting that Kim is now refusing to agree to. 'I do think he's serious. I think he would like to see that happen,' Trump said of the matter on Tuesday. 'I think he's absolutely very serious, yes.' Trump hosted Moon at the White House for talks in advance of the summit that was hanging by a thread. The two leaders spoke on the phone over the weekend, as well. The president is said to have pressed Moon in the call on North Korea's comments in public that the summit may not happen and Pyongyang's commitments privately that Kim will attend the summit in Singapore, although Chung denied those reports. Asked last Thursday if Kim is now the one in the driver's seat on the summit, Trump's spokeswoman said he's absolutely not. 'Nothing could be further from the truth,' Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. 'But theyre the ones that extended the invitation; weve accepted it. If they want to meet, were happy to do that. If they dont, as the President has said, well see what happens. But were going to continue the maximum pressure campaign in the meantime.' President Trump has had a fairly muted response to North Korea's posturing. Despite repeated claims that he wouldn't be afraid to walk away from the conversation if it's not a fruitful one, he has refrained from pulling the plug. 'I think that we'll probably have a very successful meeting,' he said last Thursday as Kim was threatening to walk away. Trump said: 'My attitude is whatever happens happens. Trump observed last Thursday, as he did today, that Kim, perhaps, 'spoke with China and changed his mind' about a summit. The president admitted that Kim's visit to Beijing last week on Tuesday was 'a little bit of a surprise' to the Trump administration. But he said of the mood swings, 'I want to give everybody the benefit of a doubt.' In her only on-camera briefing with press since North Korea made the threats, Sanders said, 'If the North Koreans want to meet, well be there. And at this point, there is not a lot of change beyond that, and certainly not in our process.' She told a reporter who asked 'what game' North Korea is at, 'Youd have to ask North Korea what game theyre playing. I can tell you what were doing, and were continuing to move forward in preparations.' Mnuchin on Monday declined to go into further detail to the DailyMail. The White House has remained publicly optimistic that a sit-down will take place between President Trump and Kim, in spite of the flare-up in hostilities. If doesn't, the U.S. says it will keep its choke hold on North Korea's economy. North Korea first said that it objected to joint military exercises the U.S. and South Korea were conducting, warning that it would not sit idly by while the countries rehearsed their invasion. It then blasted the U.S. for what it called a 'hostile policy, nuclear threats and blackmail' and went after Bolton in a second statement threatening to call off the talks between Trump and Kim. The deputy foreign affairs minister rejected the United States' terms of nuclear abandonment, shunning the 'complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization' of the Korean Penninsula and the 'total decommissioning of nuclear weapons, missiles, biochemical weapons.' He explicitly took issue with the U.S. position of 'abandoning nuclear weapons first, compensating afterwards' saying the proposed terms are 'essentially a manifestation of awfully sinister move to impose on our dignified state the destiny of Libya or Iraq which had been collapsed due to yielding the whole of their countries to big powers.' Trump said he was willing to go 'onto the next step' if Kim backs away from the summit. He also said he was willing to guarantee that Kim would stay in power if he agrees to give up his nuclear ambitions. 'I'm willing to do a lot... He'll have protections,' Trump said. 'The best thing he could do is make a deal.' Providing assurances to Kim, Trump said that the deal he intends to make with North Korea would keep the dictator in power. He said that Kim wouldn't be ousted like Libya's Muammar Gaddafi was after he voluntarily dismantled his nuclear program in order to normalize relations with the U.S. 'In Libya that deal was decimated. There was no deal to keep Gaddafi,' he said. 'The Libyan model was a much different model. We decimated that country. We never said to Gaddafi, "Oh, we're going to give you protection. We're going to give you military strength. We're going to give you all of these things." We went in and decimated him, and we did the same thing with Iraq.' With Kim it would be 'something where he'd be there, he'd be running his country. His country would be very rich,' Trump said. 'If we make a deal, I think Kim Jong-un will be very, very happy,' he said. A school caretaker who recognised a newspaper photo of a sex attacker as the man who abused him as a child, killed himself after giving evidence in court, an inquest heard today. Jeff Harris lived with aftermath of the abuse by his neighbour - known as the Rev. Haynes - for more than 40 years before seeing a police mugshot of a convicted paedophile and realised he was the man who sexually molested him as a boy. Mr Harris, aged 56 years, contacted the police and Haynes, already in prison for the previous sex assaults, was charged with new sex offences. However, giving evidence in crown court about what happened to him as a child caused him to spiral into depression and he hanged himself at home several months later. Jeff Harris, left, took his own life several months after he gave evidence against his former neighbour Terry Haynes, right, who abused him as a boy more than 40 years ago He was not given the support even a child victim would have received, leading the coroner to criticise the crown court system. Mr Harris was found dead by his wife Elaine when she returned from work to their home. She also discovered a short suicide note saying simply: 'I'm so sorry.' The school caretaker recognised his abuser, Terry Haynes, when a previous case was reported in the media and he bravely took the decision to go to the police. Haynes had already been sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2014 after he was found guilty at Oxford Crown Court of 12 counts of rape, 11 counts of indecent assault and one attempted rape. This was when Mr Harris recognised Haynes and, following a trial at Reading Crown Court in 2017, Haynes was convicted of a further one count of gross indecency with a boy and eight counts of indecent assault with a boy. Haynes, also known as Rev Haynes, formerly of Wooton, Bedfordshire, was handed a further six years in prison to run consecutively with the time he was already serving. However, the inquest heard how this court case sent victim Mr Harris into a downward spiral of depression that he had previously suffered from and three months later, he took his own life. Haynes was jailed for eight years following his conviction at Reading Crown Court in 2017 of one count of gross indecency and eight counts of indecent assault. Mr Harris came forward to police after he saw Haynes convicted of 12 counts of rape in Oxford Crown Court in 2014 Claire Serle, a manager at the school he worked, gave the inquest in Oxford more evidence on the effect the court case had on Jeff Harris and that he had needed time off work which was granted. She said: 'He was made to stand in the witness box and was made out to be liar, the barrister ripped him to pieces. Jeff said that if he was a child he would have had support, but as he was an adult he did not get this. 'His wife knew but I don't know if she knew everything. I think the court case was the start of the decline. 'He was having sessions with a counsellor and these went okay. But he and the counsellor acknowledged that it would take a while to get better.' Ms Serle was due to call Jeff Harris the day he killed himself but the first time she rang he said it was not a good time and then after that she could not get through to him until a paramedic answered later that afternoon. His wife of 28 years, Elaine Harris, giving evidence through a statement, said: 'He had been sent off work for 21 days due to depression. He was in the process of getting help but had been told it would take longer than five to six weeks. 'He was suffering from depression related to historic sexual abuse. 'I returned home at 2pm and when I tried the front door it was locked, so I went around the back to the spare key.' Ms Harris then described how she saw her husband hanging after she entered the house. Oxfordshire Assistant Coroner, Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, said it was a shame that the court process did not offer Mr Harris enough support. 'It is very regrettable that with the court process, someone in this position is not supported. Going through these events, even if not being cross-examined, of course makes you relive them. 'I am very sorry indeed he was not offered any support. I think it has raised a significant issue that someone with this issue was left without support.' The coroner concluded a verdict of suicide after the school caretaker was discovered on February 2 at his home address in Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Baker at first blamed a pet dog for the bite marks, then accused Stratton of causing the injuries to the toddler Baker's three-year-old son was hospitalized in Kentucky last week with human bite marks and drugs in his system, including methamphetamines and pot Dawn Baker, 36, and her boyfriend James Stratton, 35, charged with wanton endangerment and abuse abuse A couple from Kentucky have been arrested on charges of child abuse after the woman's three-year-old son was hospitalized with human bite marks all over his body and multiple drugs in his system. Dawn Baker, 36, turned herself in to the Franklin County Sheriffs Office on Sunday and was booked on charges of first-degree wanton endangerment and first-degree criminal abuse. The following morning, police in Frankfort arrested her boyfriend, James Bruce Stratton, 35, on the same criminal counts. Couple charged: Dawn Baker (left), 36, and her boyfriend James Stratton (right), 35, have been charged with wanton endangerment and abuse abuse after Baker's son was found with drugs in his system and covered in bite makrs Baker's three-year-old son (pictured with his biological father) was hospitalized last week suffering from neurological issues caused by exposure to marijuana and methamphetamines The case began unfolding last week when investigators say Baker and her mother took her three-year-old son to the emergency room at Frankfort Regional Medical Center to have him treated for multiple bruises - including a hand print on his bottom - and bite marks that were determined to be human. The child had enlarged pupils and was acting agitated, according to an arrest warrant. Tests later showed the toddler had methamphetamines and marijuana in his blood stream, reported The State Journal. According to the warrant, Baker tried to blame the bite marks on a pet dog, but then changed her story and accused her boyfriend of inflicting the injuries on the boy, who had been in Strattons care between May 12 and May 14. She offered no explanation for the child's exposure to the drugs, which caused him to suffer from neurological problems. Excuses: Baker (pictured during her pregnancy in 2014, left) at first claimed her son was bitten by a dog. She later accused her boyfriend of injuring the toddler During a subsequent interview, Baker reportedly admitted to hitting her son 'too hard' on his rear, reported the station WDRB. The 36-year-old mother remained in the Franklin County Regional Jail on $20,000 bond on Tuesday. The young victim's biological father, Ernest King, tells LEX18 it was not the first time he has seen injuries on his son's body. A New York judge has ordered a 30-year-old man to move out of his parents' home - after the couple tried and failed for months to get their deadbeat son to fly the coop. At a Tuesday hearing, which lasted about 30 minutes, New York State Supreme Court Judge Donald Greenwood sided with Mark and Christina Rotondo of Camillus, New York. The couple have been trying to evict their unemployed only-son Michael for months because he refuses to pay rent or contribute in any way around the house. Michael argued in court on Tuesday that legal precedent allowed him six months notice before his parents could kick him out. The judge pointed out another case that nullified that previous decision, and called six months an 'outrageous' amount of time to ask for. Michael responded that it was 'outrageous' to evict him. He left court frustrated, refusing to speak to his parents and saying he didn't think the judge read the case fully, according to CNY Central. He says he will appeal the decision. 'I am just so outraged,' he DailyMail.com outside of court on Tuesday, adding that he has been taunted by conservative groups for being a 'liberal millennial'. He also said his parents don't provide food or do his laundry for him. Scroll down for video Michael Rotondo, 30 (pictured in court on Tuesday above), was ordered on Tuesday to move out of his parents home His parents,Christina and Mark Rotondo, are pictured on the right. They say they have been trying to kick him out of their house for months Michael left court in a huff on Tuesday, vowing to appeal the judge's decision The Rotondos say their son has been living with them for the past eight years, without paying rent or contributing in any way The judge tried to convince Michael to come to an agreement with his parents on his own, but when he refused, he ordered him out of the house. He also ordered adult protective services to investigate. Greenwood asked the couple to come up with an eviction order that he would sign. It was not decided in court on Tuesday how long Michael would be given to move out. But since he plans to appeal, he'll likely be able to stay in the home until the appeal is decided anyway. The couple's lawyer said he;d like to get an eviction notice that would be enforceable by the sheriff. It's unclear if Michael has ever lived outside of his home. Public records connect him to two other Syracuse-area homes, where he is said to have lived between 2008 and 2010, when he would have been 21 to 23 years old. His parents home is owned by his mother, who bought it in 1988. The four-bedroom home is worth an estimated $218,000 according to Zillow. The couple have written five letters to their son over the past three months, informing him that he must leave the home The couple are now trying to get their son kicked out of their home through an ejectment proceeding In his letter, written on February 18, the couple offered some advice to their son to help him find a new place to live On March 5, the couple threatened that they would 'take any appropriate actions necessary to make sure you leave the house as demanded' The most recent letter regarded Michael's car, which they say they want off their property Over the past three months, the Rotondos have given their son five written notices to move out, but he has ignored their orders. They initially tried to get him evicted, but learned that since he is a family member, he would have to be removed from their home through an ejectment proceeding. In a response to his parents' court filings, Michael - who turns 31 in July and is acting as his own lawyer - says his parents have not given him a reason why he is being kicked out, or enough time to find a new place. He claims in his response that in the eight years he has lived with his parents, he 'has never been expected to contribute to household expenses, or assisted with chores and the maintenance of the premises, and claims that this is simply a component of his living agreement'. He also cited a court precedent which says that he needs six months notice to be kicked out through an ejectment action. In a redacted filing, Michael also said he runs his own 'successful' business, calling it 'the overwhelmingly superior choice for the economic well being over the working of a full-time job'. The Rotondos first asked their son to leave in a letter written on February 2 His father wrote that 'after a discussion with your Mother, we have decided that you must leave this house immediately'. They gave him 14 days to vacate, saying he 'will not be allowed to return'. Michael is pictured outside of court on Tuesday. He claims to run his own business but his parents say he is unemployed 'We will take whatever actions are necessary to enforce this decision,' the letter read. When he had not moved out two weeks later, his parents followed up with another letter, telling him he had been 'evicted'. 'You have heretofore been our guest and there is no lease or agreement that gives you any right to stay here without our consent,' they wrote. They then gave up another 30 days to leave. The couple wrote a third letter five days later, offering Michael $1,100 to find a new place to stay and some advice on how to get a new apartment - such as selling 'any weapons you may have' for rent money. FAILURE TO LAUNCH SYNDROME According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly one in three millennials are living with their parents - a situation that has coined it's own term, 'failure to launch' Failure to launch isn't a diagnosable mental health illness, but it describes a commonaility among millenials who find it hard to start their adult lives. There are many reasons why this happens, from economic reasons to poor work ethic and low self-esteem. Failure to launch appears to impact men more than women, many of whom are not taught the sort of skills needed to live alone - such as cooking, cleaning and laundry. In extreme cases, children can become depressed and start abusing drugs and alcohol if they find a lack of job prospects and continue to have to live at home. This can make it even harder for them to fly the coop in the end. Dr. Michael Ascher, a clinical associate in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote an article about the issue for the Huffington Post in 2015. Dr. Ascher said parents can help their failure to launch children by giving them responsibilities, hiring a life coach to help them with achieve their goals, getting them a therapist and buying medications to help with any anxiety or depression they might have. Advertisement 'There are jobs available even for those with a poor work history like you. Get one-- you have to work! 'If you want help finding a place your Mother has offered to help you,' the letter reads. On March 5, the couple wrote a fourth letter saying they 'have seen no indication that you are preparing to leave'. 'Be aware that we will take any appropriate actions necessary to make sure you leave the house as demanded,' they wrote. Their most recent letter was written on March 30, concerns Michael's car, offering him money to fix it so that it can be taken off their property. 'I feel bad for both of them, because hes not learning anything by staying at home and hes just wasting their time and money,' one neighbor said, according to WRAL. Michael appears to be no stranger of the civil court system. Last year, he filed a lawsuit against a local Best Buy for discrimination, saying he was fired because he couldn't work Saturdays due to a court visitation schedule. He is seeking nearly $340,000 in damages, pay and attorney's fees from the big box store. In a separate case, he claimed his rights to due process were violated in family court, but that case was thrown out in November of last year. A self-styled Utah prophet has been jailed for at least 26 years after he was accused of secretly marrying young girls because of his beliefs in polygamy and doomsday. Samuel Shaffer, 34, was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to child rape and abuse charges. He was charged after police raided his remote desert compound in Utah in December that was built to house an upstart group called Knights of the Crystal Blade. Shaffer and a friend formed the group based on arcane Mormon ideas that have long abandoned by the mainstream church. Samuel Shaffer, 34, was sentenced in Utah on Tuesday to between 26 years and life in prison after pleading guilty to child rape and abuse charges. He is pictured above in February Four girls, including Shaffer's two daughters, were found during the raid hidden in 50-gallon plastic water barrels and an abandoned trailer near the makeshift compound made of shipping containers about 275 miles south of Salt Lake City. Shaffer and his friend believed they each were married to two young girls, prosecutors said. He was charged after police raided his remote desert compound in Utah in December that was built to house an upstart group called Knights of the Crystal Blade Child kidnapping and additional abuse courts against Shaffer were dropped when he pleaded guilty in an agreement that kept the girl from having to testify. Shaffer tried to withdraw from the deal at one point but a judge denied the move. He also faces child bigamy, child kidnapping and other charges in Sanpete County, where prosecutors say the men conducted secret marriages they thought were ordained by God before they decamped to the compound. His fellow self-styled prophet, John Coltharp, 34, is also facing child bigamy and other charges there. Authorities believe the two men each held the title of prophet at different points, Coltharp most recently. Each man secretly married two girls, ages four through eight, prosecutors have said. Each man married a relative of the other, according to court documents. Shaffer (left) and a friend John Coltharp, 34, (right) formed the group based on arcane Mormon ideas that have long abandoned by the mainstream church Four girls, including Shaffer's two daughters, were found during the raid hidden in 50-gallon plastic water barrels and an abandoned trailer near the makeshift compound (above) Authorities say the two older girls were sexually abused by the two men, but it doesn't appear the two younger girls were. The charges were filed after sheriff's deputies descended on the rural Iron County compound with helicopters and dogs after the mother of two of the girls reported them missing, along with two of her sons. The men had taken the children there months before in preparation for an apocalypse or in hopes of gaining followers. The boys were found in the makeshift compound, but it took police another day to find the girls in the barrels and trailer. After Shaffer told police where to find them, the children were treated successfully for the effects of cold and symptoms of dehydration. Building a team of foreign policy advisors was all in a day's work for the Trump campaign. Former campaign co-chair Sam Clovis, just off a tour at the Agriculture Department where his nomination to be the agency's top scientist collapsed, says he hurriedly assembled the eight-person team that continues to bedevil Trump to this day under a tight 24-hour deadline. He did so at the direction of the president's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, primarily as a way to get the media 'off our backs' after Trump's nine months as a candidate. 'I was the person in the middle of March who was asked by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump to put together the national security advisory committee for the campaign,' Clovis said on WHO in Iowa, where he filled in for host Simon Conway. HARD DAY'S WORK: Sam Clovis said he was given 24 hours to build Trump's team of foreign policy advisors 'I was given about 24 hours to do that. And I did. I pulled it together. I brought eight people into that particular group,' he said. Among them were Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, Carter Page, who was under scrutiny for his Russia ties, and Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, who was fired as Trump's national security advisor and also pleaded guilty to lying. The move was entirely driven by optics the need to demonstrate that Trump had advisors, after letters from top members of the national security establishment publicly warned their colleagues against joining in with Trump. 'We were scrambling to try to get the press off of our backs because they were attacking us because we had no advisory capacity on foreign policy or on national security. Simply wasnt there, but we did not have the manifestation that typically comes about in a regular campaign,' Clovis told the audience. The purpose was to get the press 'off our backs' about not having advisors Clovis said on radio TEAM-BUIDLING EXERCISE: Clovis says Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner asked him to pull the team together He mentioned the letters, saying signatories 'were out there attacking us on that we didnt know anything about foreign policy.' 'So there was an urgency in putting this team together. And so we went with what we had,' he said. Clovis said former Sen. Jeff Sessions, now the attorney general derided by Trump, 'chose to be the chairman of that group.' They all met once in March of 2016 inside the luxury hotel in Washington, D.C. still under construction. Donald Trump tweeted out a photo of their one and only meeting. LOCATION, LOCATION: Paul Manafort (right) got brought in because he was 'lurking' around the campaign. 'He actually lived in Trump Tower,' said Clovis Clovis couldn't help putting in a plug for his old boss. 'And by the way If you haven't been there and you go to Washington, you owe it to yourself to go. It's one of the most beautiful facilities in the city. You have the opportunity to go,' he told listeners. It was at that meeting that Papadopoulos floated the idea of Trump meeting with Russian leaders suggested by his contacts. 'There was nothing in there talked about any discussion that was brought up about Russia there was a cork put in that instantly. There was no discussion about that,' said Clovis. With the meeting done, it was Mission Accomplished. 'That group of people was never brought back together again. We didn't need to, because we had solved the problem of getting the press off of our backs,' Clovis said. Clovis said no one 'was ever told to associate with contact or meet with the Russians' then quickly came up with one example. 'At no time during the campaign did anyone, other than that ill-fated meeting in June in Trump Tower with Don Jr and Jared and Paul Manafort,' he allowed. 'That is the only meeting that was of any consequence other than what would typically happen during a campaign where people on the campaign might meet with embassy staff and it was simply a get-acquainted issue.' He said he met with British, French, Italians, Australians, and South Koreans, and disclosed all his meetings. Clovis said Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner tasked him with building the foreign policy team. He said he has turned over 1,000 emails to investigators Clovis also recounted the point in the campaign when Paul Manafort, who is now facing criminal indictment as the FBI rifles through his pro-Russian Ukrainian political connections, got brought in to the campaign. He said the Republican National Committee was 'looking for a little bit more sophistication dealing with delegates.' But he had a different explanation for how Manafort got the job of campaign chair. 'Manafort had been lurking around the outside of the campaign for some time. He actually lived in Trump Tower. And so he was brought into the fold,' he said. Clovis noted he has testified before special counsel Robert Mueller, a grand jury, and two congressional committees. 'This is the first time that I have been able to sit in a venue and express this story to anyone,' he said. 'This is a cathartic experience for me. Im allowing myself to unburden this story because its been pent up and held in me for a very long time,' Clovis said. Donald Trump on Tuesday floated a plan to fine ZTE Corp. as much as $1.3 billion and shake up its management, as U.S. lawmakers vowed to keep sanctions that crippled the Chinese telecommunications firm. Trump said he could envision 'a very large fine' of 'more than a billion dollars. Could be a billion three.' Speaking to reporters at the White House about ongoing trade negotiations with China, the president said there was no deal with Beijing. In addition to the fine, Trump said ZTE should come under new management and name a new board of directors. Donald Trump floated a plan Tuesday to fine Chinese smartphone maker ZTE Corp. as much as $1.3 billion in response to its illicit business that violated international sactions against Iran The company is banned for seven years from buying American-made microchips and other components, effectively grinding its operations to a halt He also insisted that as a condition of reopening at full strength, the firm would have to guarantee it would purchase a minimum fixed percentage of its device components from American companies. News reports have outlined a proposed trade deal with China being negotiated by the White House, which would lift a seven-year ban that prevents U.S. chipmakers and other companies from selling components to ZTE. The company is China's second-largest maker of smartphones and telecommunications networking gear. In return, China would eliminate tariffs on U.S. agriculture or agree to buy more farm products from the United States. But at present 'there is no deal,' the president insisted. 'We will see what happens. We are discussing deals. Were discussing various deals.' Republicans and Democrats in Congress are accusing the president of bending to pressure from Beijing to ease up on a company that has admitted to violating sanctions on Iran. Their reaction could complicate U.S. efforts to win trade concessions from China to narrow a $335 billion annual trade gap. China desperately wants ZTE to resume business at full strength and has expressed a willingness to import American agriculture products as a sweetener to get Trump to relent 'The proposed solution is like a wet noodle,' said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a new York Democrat. He accused Trump of jeopardizing national security for what he described as minor trade concessions. Schumer, speaking before Trump detailed his latest thinking on ZTE, added that the possible remedies floated earlier by the Trump administration were inadequate. The Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday also approved an amendment in an overwhelming 23-2 vote that would block Trump from easing sanctions on ZTE until he certifies to Congress that the company is complying with federal laws. The U.S. Commerce Department imposed the ban in April after it determined that ZTE had broken an agreement after it pleaded guilty to shipping U.S. goods and technology to Iran. The ban has threatened the viability of China's second-largest telecoms maker by cutting off access to companies that supply 25 percent to 30 percent of its components. Suppliers include some of the biggest U.S. tech companies, including Alphabet Inc's Google, which licenses its Android operating system to ZTE, and chipmaker Qualcomm Inc . President Xi Jinping's country sent $375.2 billion more in goods to the U.S. last year than it imported in the other direction ZTE last week said it had suspended its main operations. The U.S. Department of Defense has also stopped selling ZTE's mobile phones and modems in stores on its military bases, citing potential security risks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers that the treatment of ZTE was not 'a quid pro quo or anything else' related to trade, and said national security concerns would be taken into consideration. 'I can assure you that whatever changes or decisions that are made in Commerce will deal with the national security issues,' Mnuchin told a U.S. Senate appropriations subcommittee. Republican and Democratic lawmakers said they were looking at ways to block any possible changes. 'We will begin working on veto-proof congressional action,' Republican Senator Marco Rubio said on Twitter. Lawmakers are considering several possible options and aim to act 'soon,' said Dick Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat. The Senate Banking Committee voted 23-2 on Tuesday to adopt a measure that would make it harder for the president to modify penalties on Chinese telecommunications firms. It was added to legislation that would tighten oversight of foreign direct investment. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is weighing several possible changes to a defense-policy bill that would also keep up the pressure on ZTE. One proposal would block the sale of ZTE products and those of another Chinese company, Huawei Technologies, until national security officials certify they are safe. Another proposal would require the director of national intelligence to consider the security implications of any changes to the ZTE ban, while a third would require reports on quid pro quo offers between the U.S. and Chinese governments over any possible plan. Advertisement Millions of Britons are set to flood the roads this Bank Holiday weekend amid a sweltering 86F (30C) heatwave with thunderstorms crashing in from Europe across the South of England. Meteorologists at the Met Office say areas in the South East could be double the usual temperature for this time of year, with the mercury hitting near-record levels on Bank Holiday Monday. Britons basking in the warmer temperatures have been warned to plan ahead as Network Rail upgrade plans will see 400 sets of works taking place across the country over the late May Bank Holiday weekend. Brits have already been enjoying the pleasant weather at Weymouth in Dorset yesterday, with warmer conditions to come Roads are set to be packed with Brits heading off to the beach or away on weekend breaks (Pictured: Weymouth yesterday) Londoners took advantage of the warmer temperatures to take boat trips along the Serpentine in Hyde Park yesterday A man walked along the beach as the sun set behind the Burbo Bank wind farm near New Brighton in Merseyside yesterday Others were pictured sunbathing in Hyde Park yesterday where Londoners basked in 73F (23C) heat No trains will be calling at Swindon station between Saturday and Monday, and buses will replace trains between Lancaster and Glasgow and Edinburgh. There will also be no trains between Romford and Upminster over the weekend, or between Barking and Liverpool Street, meaning the roads on certain routes will be far busier than usual as Britons rush off on weekend breaks. Areas across Britain have already been enjoying the warmer weather, with Porthmadog in Gwynedd experiencing the hottest UK temperatures yesterday, basking in 77F (25C) heat - warmer than some Mediterranean sunspots. A Met Office spokesman said: 'The average temperature for this time of year is 15C (59F). Currently, temperatures are averaging 20C (68F) and are only going to get warmer this weekend. Rail improvement works from May 26-28 Engineering work at Birmingham New Street all day on Saturday and until 10am on Sunday, meaning there will be no trains between Birmingham New Street and Coventry. Trains between Birmingham and Leicester, Nottingham, and Sheffield/Newcastle and beyond will be diverted and take up to an hour longer than usual. There will be no trains calling at Swindon station from Saturday to Monday. Rail replacement buses will run between Lancaster and Glasgow and Edinburgh on Saturday and Sunday. Advertisement 'The maximum temperature ever for the end of May bank holiday is 32.8C (91F), which came in Horsham, Sussex, on May 29, 1944.' They added the record was not likely to be beaten this weekend. On Saturday, temperatures in the south will be in the mid 20s, with London expecting to be around 77F (25C), while across the rest of the country it'll be slightly cooler, in the low 70s F (low 20s C). With wind coming from the North East, Scotland is set to sit around the 18 degree mark at the start of the weekend. In Birmingham the heat will build from 64F (18C) on Friday to 79F (26C) on Bank Holiday Monday, while in Newcastle they will start around 57F (14C), rising to 68F (20C). There is a risk of thunderstorms in the build up to Bank Holiday Monday, with the south east and south west most likely to be hit. The effect would be lower temperatures later on over the weekend. Although May has seen above-average temperatures, early predictions suggest more unsettled weather is on the way and the mercury will drop to expected levels throughout the month. Some people made the most of the warm weather to jog outdoors in London's Hyde Park yesterday The sun sets behind the wind farm near New Brighton in Merseyside yesterday, with temperatures peaking at 73F (23C) Londoners used the warmer than usual weather to sit outside on deckchairs at Hyde Park yesterday These two pooches enjoyed a soak in the sea as they played with their owner on Weymouth beach in Dorset yesterday President Donald Trump vented about government 'spies' inside his campaign hours after meeting with top law enforcement officials and said it would be 'illegal' if there were any. 'A lot of people are saying they had spies in my campaign. If they had spies in my campaign that would be a disgrace to this country. That would be one of the biggest insults that anyones ever seen,' Trump fumed. He spoke after meeting with deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray following his Sunday tweets demanding an investigation. 'A lot of people are saying they had spies in my campaign,' Trump said Tuesday, venting about a suspected FBI informant He described the meeting as 'routine' although critics say it constitutes a breach of the role of the executive into law enforcement authority. Republicans are demanding documents and want to reveal the FBI informant who reached out to several Trump campaign officials. Trump is blasting the move, which his allies are using to go after special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. 'It would be very illegal aside from everything else. It would make probably every political event ever look like small potatoes,' Trump said. 'I hope there werent frankly,' he said. 'It would be very illegal aside from everything else. It would make probably every political event ever look like small potatoes,' Trump said Then he made a likely reference to Cambridge University professor Stefan Halper, who made contacts with Trump aides George Papadopoulos, Sam Clovis, and Carter Page during the campaign. Papadopoulos had met with an Australian diplomat and told of being offered dirt the Russians had on Hillary Clinton. He earned thousands in government contracts. Trump spoke after academic Stefan Halper was identified as an FBI informant who met with members of his campaign staff 'But some man got paid based on what I read in the newspapers some person got paid a lot of money,' said Trump. 'Thats not a normal situation the kind of money youre talking about.' 'I think the dept of justice wants to get down to it and I can tell you Congress does,' Trump said, saying chief of staff John Kelly was meeting with lawmakers and will be able to 'open up' documents. 'If they had spies in my campaign during my campaign for political purposes, that would be unprecedented in the history of our country,' Trump said. He declined to express confidence in Rosenstein when asked. A member of MS-13 nicknamed 'Animal' who earned full membership into the ultra-violent gang by killing a 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts announced that 23-year-old Joel Martinez, a native of El Salvador who lived in Boston, learned his fate on Tuesday. Martinez will be subject to deportation after serving out his sentence in federal prison, followed by two years of probation. He pleaded guilty in December 2017 to a racketeering conspiracy, which included the September 20, 2015, slaying of 15-year-old Irvin Javier de Paz Castro on Trenton Street in East Boston. Scroll down for video Headed for the cage: MS-13 gang member Joel 'Animal' Martinez, 23 (left), was sentenced on Tuesday to 40 years in prison in the 2015 stabbing death of 15-year-old Irvin Javier de Paz Castro (right) A screenshot from CCTV footage shows Martinez armed with a knife on the day he stabbed Castro three times in Boston as part of his initiation into the violent gang Prosecutors say Martinez acknowledged being associated with MS-13 and bragged about the stabbing in a secretly recorded conversation, saying: 'He stared at me and he asked me if I was going to, if I was going to stab him. I told him, "Yes, the Mara rules you."' 'Mara' is shorthand for Mara Salvatrucha, which is the full name of the ruthless gang. After Martinez knifed Castro three times, killing him, he was 'jumped in' and made a 'homeboy,' or full member of MS-13s Eastside Loco Salvatrucha clique during an initiation ceremony that was secretly recorded by undercover agents. When a prospective member is 'jumped in,' members of the MS-13 clique beat the new member with their hands and feet while one of the leaders of the clique counts aloud slowly to thirteen. Martinez's defense lawyer argued for a more lenient sentence, saying that his client was forced to join MS-13 in order to protect his family members from possible retribution. Martinez was arrested as part of Operation 'Mean Streets' targeting MS-13's netwrok Donald Trump has made the fight against the largely Hispanic MS-13 gang one of the centerpieces of his domestic policy. Last week, Trump stirred up controversy when he called MS-13 gang members who illegally cross the border into the US 'violent animals'. The comment uttered during a White House roundtable discussion on immigration was initially taken out of context, leading congressional Democrats to believe that the president was referring to all immigrants. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later stated the president was 'very clearly referring' to members MS-13 and accused 'the media and liberals' of defending the violent gang. 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. Thie White House's website returns a single result to people searching for the word 'animals,' and it's this statement about MS-13 'I referred to MS 13 Gang Members as "Animals," a big difference and so true. Fake News got it purposely wrong, as usual!' On Monday, the Trump administration doubled down on the president's previous remarks by publishing 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.' Police are still searching for a missing mother-of-three more than a week after she didn't show up to collect her children from her ex-husband on Mother's Day. Joleen Cummings, 34, was last seen leaving her job at Tangles Hair Salon in Fernadina Beach, north of Jacksonville, about 5pm on May 12, according to Action News Jax. On Monday, police searched the hair salon where she worked, CBS reported. Scroll down for video Joleen Cummings was last seen leaving her job at Tangles Hair Salon in Fernadina Beach, north of Jacksonville, about 5pm on Saturday In an emotional Facebook post Sunday, Cummings' mother said it has been a week since her three kids have seen their mother. On Monday she added that there would be a candlelight prayer vigil for her daughter at 7 pm at the Journey Church of Yulee. 'There has been a public outcry to help find my daughter. If you really care and want to help, please come pray with us to bring Joleen a Mother, Sister, Daughter and Friend home!' she wrote. Cummings' ex-husband reported her missing May 13 after she didn't meet him at a nearby Winn-Dixie to pick up their children the day before. She told clients she planned to spend Mother's Day, which was also her birthday, with her children on Sunday. Officers found her gold 2006 Ford Explorer abandoned in a nearby Home Depot car park but have not announced any other leads. Just days before she vanished, Ms Cummings had such a huge fight with her ex-boyfriend Jason Gee that neighbors called police. Just days before she vanished, Ms Cummings had such a huge fight with her ex-boyfriend Jason Gee that neighbours called police The screaming match started as Ms Cummings didn't want Gee to stay in her house as he was wanted for a probation violation. A neighbor told News4Jax they often fought but this time was worse as the screams were louder and her children were present. 'She was more frantic. I think it was because her kids were there. I don't know if they were there for any other fights, but this one, she was more frantic,' they said. Ms Cummings told police her ex-boyfriend broke things inside the house during the argument. Officers found her gold 2006 Ford Explorer (centre behind white car) abandoned in a nearby Home Depot car park but have not announced any other leads Gee ran when police arrived and was later arrested and held without bond as a person of interest in Ms Cummings' disappearance. Friends were convinced the doting mother would never abandon her children, despite her ex-husband telling police she had run off before. 'We are all very worried, it's just so out of character for her to disappear. Her life was those children, and I refuse to believe she just took off,' her boss Jim Simmons told Action News Jacksonville. Cummings is 5ft 2in weighing 160 pounds with blue eyes and blonde hair, and has used the last name 'Jensen' in the past. Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that he's not happy with the pace of his administration's progress resolving trade disputes with China, even after hs Treasury secretary said over the weekend that a potential future trade was 'on hold' because of 'meaningful progress.' Asked if he was pleased with the most recent round of talks between Washington and Beijing, the president said, 'No, not really. I think that they're a start, but we need something.' The president cast previous administrations as guilty of 'dereliction of duty' for allowing China and other countries 'to take advantage of us on trade.' President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office that he's not happy with the pace of progress on trade negotiations with China President Xi Jinping's country sent $375.2 billion more in goods to the U.S. last year than it imported in the other direction Chinese competitors of U.S. companies have 'made a fortune, I mean a transfer of wealth like nobody has ever seen in history,' he said. 'So no, I'm not satisfied, but we'll see what happens. We have a long way to go.' The Trump administration moved the ball forward stepwise this week when China promised to reduce import tariffs on automobiles, a small push in the right direction for American commerce. Sitting next to South Korean President Moon Jae-In before a meeting to hash out details of a planned nuclear weapons summit with North Korea, the president said Tuesday that he's growing impatient, aware that the passage of time favors the status quo. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had said on 'Fox News Sunday' that a contemplated trade war with China is 'on hold' after 'meaningful progress' was made in talks Trump has a good rapport with Xi but is frustrated by losing more than $1 billion in commercial advantage to China every week America's Chinese trade deficit in goods came to $375.2 billion dollars last year. Including both goods and services, that number swelled to $556 billion. 'You're talking about billions of dollars a week, okay?' Trump said. 'So when they say, "Oh, let's meet in a couple of weeks," oh, that's $2 billion, right?' 'You know, I view it that way. We're talking about billions of dollars a week that we suffer. We lose. And so we're looking to go quickly.' The administration has won concessions from Beijing on car import tariffs but China is nowhere near reducing the annual trade deficit by $200 billion as Trump has demanded The president has demanded a $200 billion cut in the trade deficit by the year 2020, threatening a round of punitive tariffs if Beijing doesn't comply. China has agreed to move in Trump's direction but hasn't set any targets. Stocks gave back earlier gains Tuesday after the president said he wasn't happy with the talks and expressed reservations about whether the North Korean meetings, scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, will move forward. A Montana woman has been attacked by a grizzly bear in the Cabinet Mountains, just months after landing her dream job studying the animals. Amber Kornak was working alone near a stream for the US Fish and Wildlife Service on May 17 when the bear approached her from behind and mauled her. She was 'lucky to have survived' and suffered two skull fractures and severe lacerations to her head, neck, and back, her friend Jenna Hemer wrote on a GoFundMe set up to help cover Ms Kornak's medical costs. The 28-year-old seasonal field assistant was able to reach her bear spray as she was attacked and stop the predator. Wildlife researcher Amber Kornak was mauled by a grizzly bear while working in Montana's Cabinet Mountains last week The 28-year-old had just landed her dream job researching the predators specifically. Pictured: A grizzly bear in Montana's Cabinet Mountains (stock image) Ms Kornak suffered two fractures on her skull and severe lacerations to her head, neck, and back With the bear finally gone, Ms Kornak then hiked two miles back to her car and drover herself to find help. She was flown out to Kalispell Regional Medical Center. 'Once arriving at the hospital, she endured four grueling hours of surgery to remove bone fragments and clean wounds to her brain,' Ms Hemer wrote. 'Metal plates and screws were placed on her skull and drains were placed in her brain to relieve brain swelling and drain fluid. The lacerations to her scalp, neck, and back were also [cleaned].' While Ms Kornak's condition is now stable, she remains in intensive care so doctors can monitor her for possible seizures and signs of infection. Ms Hemer said while her friend is passionate about all wildlife, it has been a longstanding dream of hers to work specifically with grizzly bears - and while Ms Konak is staying positive, it would be a while before she'd be able to return to the mountains. 'She's obviously passionate about all wildlife, but her dream and her primary focus was to work with grizzly bears,' Ms Hemer told Associated Press. 'Last I spoke with her was yesterday and she's making great strides but it's going to be a long recovery.' Her friend Jenna Hemer said Ms Kornak was lucky to survive the surprise attack (pictured: Ms Kornak with her father) She was mauled while working alone near a stream in Montana's Cabinet Mountains (stock image pictured) The wildlife enthusiast was able to stop the attack with bear spray, and then hiked on her own for two miles before driving to find help Ms Kornak was working on a genetic study that requires collecting grizzly hair samples. The hairs can be found on trees or other objects that grizzlies rub against, and are used to analyze the animals' DNA. Officials speculated that noise from nearby Poorman Creek may have allowed the animal to close in on Kornak without her noticing. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Jennifer Strickland said the field assistant had been following correct protocol at the time of the attack. There is no formal rule about government workers travelling alone in bear country, Strickland said. But experts say traveling in groups of three or more dramatically decreases the chance of an attack. The Cabinet Mountains are home to an estimated 50 grizzlies, protected across the region as a threatened species under federal law. The range also has black bears, typically a less aggressive species. Officials have not said which type was responsible for the attack that remains under investigation by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. She was airlifted to hospital, where she remains in ICU while doctors monitor her for possible seizures caused by injury to her brain Advertisement Molten lava from the erupting Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii's Big Island crept onto a geothermal power plant on Monday, as workers rushed to shut down the facility 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. Crews worked into the night to cap the 11th and final well at the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) plant, which provides about 25 percent of the Big Island's power. Governor David Ige revealed on Tuesday morning that the closest lava front was about 100 yards from the plant as officials feared it could trigger the release of deadly hydrogen sulfate gas. An aerial view of a massive surface flow entering the sea at Malama Flats, leaving a stretch of Highway 137 cutoff at both ends in Pahoa, Hawaii, on May 22 A home bursting into flames as it is consumed by lava in Pahoa, Hawaii on May 22 as lava flows down a street An aerial view of fissure eruptions near the Puna Geothermal Venture facility, and homes in the Lanipuna Gardens and Leilani Estates subdivisions in Pahoa, Hawaii on May 22 As fissures erupt it is producing flows that stretch to the sea, consuming everything in its path in Pahoa, Hawaii on May 22 An aerial view of a Puna Geothermal Venture warehouse structure being consumed by flows from a reactivated fissure 6 in Pahoa, Hawaii on May 22 An aerial view of a massive river of lava cutting a swath through a forest and highway as it flows into the sea at Malama Flats in Pahoa, Hawaii, on May 22 Molten lava from the erupting Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii's Big Island crept onto a geothermal power plant (pictured) on Monday, as workers rushed to shut down the facility to prevent the uncontrollable release of toxic gases 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 'It's not easy to predict where it's going to go, and when it's going to get there,' Tom Travis, of Hawaii Emergency Management, told CBS News. Flammable liquids have already been removed and the wells have been filled with cold water, but won't be plugged until Tuesday. A worst-case scenario could be catastrophic if lava hits one of the wells. 'There's a steam release, many chemicals, but primarily hydrogen sulfate, a very deadly gas,' Travis said. The PGV plant has been closed since shortly after the eruptions began on May 3 and some 60,000 gallons of the flammable chemical pentane used in the plant's turbines have already been relocated. The PGV plant has been closed since shortly after the eruptions began on May 3 and some 60,000 gallons of the flammable chemical pentane used in the plant's turbines have already been relocated Crews worked into the night to cap the 11th and final well at the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) plant, which provides about 25 percent of the Big Island's power Steam and volcanic gases rise as lava enters the Pacific Ocean, after flowing to the water from a Kilauea volcano fissure PAHOA, HI - MAY 22: People ride a tour boat to view Kilauea volcano lava entering the Pacific Ocean at dawn, as a steam plume rises, on Hawaii's Big Island on Monday Noxious clouds of acid fumes, steam, and fine glass-like particles billowed into the sky as lava poured into the ocean The state said last week it was pumping cold water into the wells and would cap them with iron plugs. Two separate lava glows are currently threatening the site. One of the flows inched onto the property before stalling on Monday while another reactivated, according to Hawaii News Now. Officials have said that evacuations may be necessary if the hydrogen sulfide is released. 3 miles to the east of the plant on the coast, noxious clouds of acid fumes, steam and fine glass-like particles billowed into the sky as lava poured into the ocean from two flows cutting across Highway 137, one of the main exit routes from the eruption zone. This has raised concerns over another threat, a cloud of toxic gas known as laze. Laze - a mash-up of lava and haze - forms when molten, 2,000-degree F magma, hits the cool Pacific waters. It is potentially deadly if inhaled and killed two people when a lava flow reached the coast in 2000. This has raised concerns over another threat, a cloud of toxic gas known as laze. Laze - a mash-up of lava and haze - forms when molten, 2,000-degree F magma, hits the cool Pacific waters The temperature change causes a chemical reaction resulting in small explosions that send hydrochloric acid and tiny particles of volcanic glass into the air 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 Kilauea volcano began erupting more than two weeks ago sending lava flows tearing through dozens of structures and homes The temperature change causes a chemical reaction resulting in small explosions that send hydrochloric acid and tiny particles of volcanic glass into the air. 'If one were to be near the laze, because of the various acids, it would be corrosive to the eyes, the nose and respiratory tract, and the skin,' said Dr Alvin Bronstein from the Hawaii State Department of Health. Photographs show 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. Photographs show 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 Dramatic photographs capture the billowing clouds created as a wall of 2,000-degree material continues to push into the sea Emergency responders on the Big Island have begun to hand out face masks to protect residents from potentially toxic fumes 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. Another hazard was the potential for methane gas explosions as searing lava neared pockets of rotting vegetation, igniting traces of the flammable gas given off by the decay. 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 'These are quite a big hazard in vegetative areas and the explosions can occur well away from the lava flow itself,' said USGS geologist Janet Babb. Geologists say Kilauea's eruption, which has already produced around two dozen lava-spewing fissures, has now entered a more violent phase, in which larger volumes of molten rock are oozing from the ground and traveling farther than before. Over the weekend, the first major injury occurred when spattering molten rock shot out of a fissure and hit a man in the leg, shattering it. At least 44 homes and other structures have been destroyed in the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens area of the Puna district and more than 2,000 people have evacuated their homes. 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 Brittany Kimball watches as lava erupts from a fissure near Pahoa, Hawaii on Saturday. Officials have warned that lava flying through the air from cracks in the Earth can weigh as much as a refrigerator and even small pieces can be deadly A fountain of lava approximately 10 metres high shooting out from the southern side of the erupting volcano on Tuesday morning A rediscovered archive of Royal correspondence from the first Duke of Marlborough has revealed Sir Winston Churchill's ancestor was as skilled in the dark arts of politics as he was on the battlefield. The documents, several of which have been transcribed for the first time, show how the great military leader John Churchill gained favour with no fewer than three English Kings, an English Queen and even the French King he famously defeated. The charters and appointments held in the archives at Blenheim Palace demonstrate how he expertly navigated the ruthless world of court politics. The First Duke of Marlborough, pictured, was Winston Churchill's grandfather Among the rediscovered archive is this letter from Queen Anne banishing the Duke This letter from Queen Anne to the Duke allowed him to wear the Order of the Garter sash The 1st Duke acquired hero status by overseeing the defeat of Louis XIV in the War of the Spanish Succession following his triumph at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Yet, a document found in the archive at the palace he was gifted by the nation after his great triumph reveals Louis XIV made him commander of a regiment three decades earlier. The 1st Duke went with the English troops sent in December 1672 to assist Louis XIV against the Dutch and distinguished himself at Maastricht. In recognition of his sterling efforts, he was appointed colonel of the English regiment by Louis XIV in 1674 and served with distinction at Entzheim. The 1st Duke used his diplomatic skills and tactical acumen to win support from the warring monarchs of the era. This is a letter of appointment to the Duke came from Charles II Here the Duke receives a letter of Commission from Louis XIV of France in 1674 In 1685 the Duke was appointed Lord of the Bedchamber by James II - an important post He was appointed to Brigadier of the Foot by Charles II in 1678 and promoted to Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Dragoons by his successor James II in 1684. Later on, he was appointed as General & Commander in Chief to William II and Queen Anne granted him permission to wear the Star of the Garter during his victorious European campaigns in 1702. Catholic James II was deposed by William and Mary of Orange, who were Protestants, but one thing they had in common was their backing for the Duke. Winston Churchill, pictured, was born at the Duke's home of Blenheim Palace His ancestor Sir Winston Churchill, who himself was born at Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, Oxfordsihre, applied many of the lessons he learnt from the 1st Duke to his own struggles against Hitler. Dr Alexa Frost, archivist at Blenheim Palace, said: 'These unique documents reveal clearly the extraordinary skills and adaptabilities of the First Duke which allowed him to not only survive but thrive in one of Europe's most tumultuous periods to become arguably Britain's greatest military tactician. 'To both serve under, and then mastermind the total defeat of, the King of France within an illustrious military career spanning nearly three decades is nothing short of miraculous and demonstrates the genius of John Churchill. 'To be able to study the original charters and appointments which trace the rise of the First Duke and inspired Sir Winston Churchill offer a tangible link to the past and two of the most momentous periods in British history. James Falkner, a leading authority on 18th century warfare and the author of several books on the First Duke including The War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1714, said the 1st Duke's 'greatness' was incomparable. He said: 'Amidst the shifting, even dangerous, politics of the time, with Royal favour bestowed or withdrawn seemingly at will, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, from 1702 onwards not only conducted the foreign affairs of Great Britain almost alone, and at a time of great national peril. 'But, he simultaneously defeated the renowned Marshals of France on repeated occasions in open battle, and humbled the power of Louis XIV, the Sun King. 'Other great men may flit briefly across the stage, but nothing to match the Duke of Marlborough has been seen before or since.' Missing CDC worker Timothy Cunningham was found dead on April 3 after being missing for more than six weeks. His death has been ruled a suicide A Centers for Disease Control employee whose body was found in a river six weeks after he went missing, has been ruled a suicide. Timothy Cunningham's body was recovered from the west bank of the Chattahoochee River in northwest Atlanta on April 3 - more than six weeks after he disappeared. Fulton County chief medical examiner Dr. Jan Gorniak said Tuesday that 35-year-old's death was a suicide by drowning. There also was evidence that the epidemiologist had used marijuana but that was not a contributing factor in his death. His disappearance sparked a huge manhunt and a flurry of conspiracy theories although the CDC were quick point out he did not work in a classified department. Cunningham had been missing since February 12, when he left work at the Atlanta CDC early, telling co-workers he was feeling ill. His family reported him missing on February 16 after going to his home and finding his belongings and vehicle there. The CDC worker, who was a jogger, was found wearing a running suit and had crystals in his pocket, which he liked to collect. Fishermen first discovered Cunningham's body and called authorities, fire-rescue department spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said. Satfford, who noted that the body was found in an area authorities had searched in February without finding anything. Cunningham's body was recovered from the west bank of the Chattahoochee River (pictured) in northwest Atlanta on April 3 Cunningham is pictured above with his parents, Terrell and Tia-Juana Cunningham The site where the body was found was not far from Cunningham's house, in a spot where rescue crews had to use boats and special equipment to reach it because it was in difficult terrain in a 'remote area not easily accessible.' The decomposing body was positively identified using dental records, Gorniak said. Last month, more than 500 people gathered for his memorial service at Morehouse College chapel in in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents, Terrell and Tia Cunningham, were among those in attendance. Cunninghams parents told investigators at the time that their son had not been diagnosed with depression, but was suffering from mood swings. Cunningham, 35, was an epidemiologist at the Atlanta-based federal agency. He left work early on February 12 and his family reported him missing four days later when they went to his home and found his belongings, vehicle and dog there. Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday for the memorial service of Timothy Cunningham, a CDC employee who went missing in February after leaving the office because he felt sick When Cunningham first went missing, there were reports that he had recently been turned over for a promotion. But the CDC issued a statement saying that wasn't true and that Cunningham received an 'exceptional proficiency promotion' in July, and was promoted to the position of commander - an early promotion reflecting his excellence as an employee. Still, those who knew Cunningham said he was struggling. Cunningham's mother, Tia-Juana Cunningham, told the Today show in February that her son sent her a mysterious text message the morning he went missing. At 5:21am, he sent her a text asking 'are you awake?' His father also said he was dealing with issues at work and in his personal life. 'I will say that we, as a family, were aware of some personal issues that were going on with Tim. There was also some work issues that had occurred,' Timothy's dad, Terrell, said. The day before his disappearance, he also called his sister who said he sounded different. The 30-year-old man who garnered national attention for his refusal to move out of his parents' home has spoken out to detail his troubles with his folks. On Tuesday, a judge ordered Michael Rotondo to move out of his parents' home in Camillus, New York, where he has been living rent-free for nearly a decade. In an interview with DailyMail.com after the hearing, Michael said that his issues with his parents, Mark and Christina, are tied to his custody battle over his son. Michael says he lost custody of his son, whose age he wouldn't disclose, back in September. The boy now lives with his mother full time, who Michael says he was never married to, or in a relationship with. He says he immediately filed an appeal as a 'poor person' so that his court fees could be waived going forward. But he says his parents complicated matters when they said he needed a job and health insurance if he was to continue living with them. Scroll down for video Michael Rotondo, 30, spoke with DailyMail.com after he was ordered out of his parents' home by a judge in Onondaga County, New York court on Tuesday His parents,Christina and Mark Rotondo, are pictured on the right. They say they have been trying to kick him out of their house for months The Rotondos say their son has been living with them for the past eight years, without paying rent or contributing in any way Michael refused, saying that his job at the moment was getting his son back. When they offered to pay for his health insurance, Michael explained that he couldn't take that money because it would compromise getting the 'poor person' status. Shortly after, he says his parents stopped providing food for him, and cut off his cellphone. They also said he couldn't use the laundry machines in the house anymore. His parents also went to court to try to get visitation of their grandchild. Michael says it was two days after that hearing that he got his first letter, in which his parents said they had 'decided that you must leave this house immediately'. The went on to send him four more letters, but Michael refused to budge. Michael says his troubles with his parents are connected to the custody battle over his son Michael, seen leaving court on Tuesday, lost custody of his son last year but wouldn't say why Michael says he hasn't always lived at home. He says about eight years ago he lived in an apartment for a year and a half. He says it was around that time that he became a father. He eventually moved back in with his parents though when he lost his job ( When asked where he was working at the time, Michael said he didn't 'want to disclose' his work history. DailyMail.com did discovered that he used to work at a Best Buy, and that he is suing the company for discrimination, saying he was fired when he said he couldn't work Saturdays since that is when he had visitation with his child. He is seeking nearly $340,000 in damages, pay and attorney's fees from the big box store. He said he went to college, but didn't finish his degree. He started off studying engineering at Onondaga Community College, but switched to business when he 'couldn't hack the math'. The couple have written five letters to their son over the past three months, informing him that he must leave the home The couple are now trying to get their son kicked out of their home through an ejectment proceeding In his letter, written on February 18, the couple offered some advice to their son to help him find a new place to live On March 5, the couple threatened that they would 'take any appropriate actions necessary to make sure you leave the house as demanded' The most recent letter regarded Michael's car, which they say they want off their property Michael also wouldn't go into detail about how he lost custody of his son, but insists he is a 'great father' and that the court ruling was 'unreasonable'. The judge in that case said he could see his son, but only in therapeutic environments. And the boy's mother has to approve. Michael said he doesn't think his son is 'better off in any way' over the decision. DailyMail.com tried to reach out to Michael's parents on Tuesday, but whoever was at the home hung up the call. FAILURE TO LAUNCH SYNDROME According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly one in three millennials are living with their parents - a situation that has coined it's own term, 'failure to launch' Failure to launch isn't a diagnosable mental health illness, but it describes a commonaility among millenials who find it hard to start their adult lives. There are many reasons why this happens, from economic reasons to poor work ethic and low self-esteem. Failure to launch appears to impact men more than women, many of whom are not taught the sort of skills needed to live alone - such as cooking, cleaning and laundry. In extreme cases, children can become depressed and start abusing drugs and alcohol if they find a lack of job prospects and continue to have to live at home. This can make it even harder for them to fly the coop in the end. Dr. Michael Ascher, a clinical associate in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote an article about the issue for the Huffington Post in 2015. Dr. Ascher said parents can help their failure to launch children by giving them responsibilities, hiring a life coach to help them with achieve their goals, getting them a therapist and buying medications to help with any anxiety or depression they might have. Advertisement In court on Tuesday, Michael argued that there was a legal precedent that his parents had to give him six months notice in order to kick him our. The judge said that precedent had been overturned in another case, and said six months was an 'outrageous' amount of time to ask for. Michael responded that it was 'outrageous' to evict him. The judge also ordered adult protective services to investigate. Michael left court frustrated, refusing to speak to his parents and saying he didn't think the judge read the case fully, according to CNY Central. 'I am just so outraged,' he said outside court, adding that he has been taunted by conservative groups for being a 'liberal millennial'. It was not decided in court on Tuesday when Michael must be out of the house. But he says he plans to appeal, so any enforceable order likely won't be written until that case is over. His parents home is owned by his mother, who bought it in 1988. The four-bedroom home is worth an estimated $218,000 according to Zillow. Over the past three months, the Rotondos have given their son five written notices to move out, but he has ignored their orders. They initially tried to get him evicted, but learned that since he is a family member, he would have to be removed from their home through an ejectment proceeding. In a response to his parents' court filings, Michael - who turns 31 in July and is acting as his own lawyer - says his parents have not given him a reason why he is being kicked out, or enough time to find a new place. He claims in his response that in the eight years he has lived with his parents, he 'has never been expected to contribute to household expenses, or assisted with chores and the maintenance of the premises, and claims that this is simply a component of his living agreement'. In a redacted filing, Michael also said he runs his own 'successful' business, calling it 'the overwhelmingly superior choice for the economic well being over the working of a full-time job'. Michael is pictured center right with his parents and sister in happier times The Rotondos first asked their son to leave in a letter written on February 2 His father wrote that 'after a discussion with your Mother, we have decided that you must leave this house immediately'. They gave him 14 days to vacate, saying he 'will not be allowed to return'. 'We will take whatever actions are necessary to enforce this decision,' the letter read. When he had not moved out two weeks later, his parents followed up with another letter, telling him he had been 'evicted'. 'You have heretofore been our guest and there is no lease or agreement that gives you any right to stay here without our consent,' they wrote. They then gave up another 30 days to leave. The couple wrote a third letter five days later, offering Michael $1,100 to find a new place to stay and some advice on how to get a new apartment - such as selling 'any weapons you may have' for rent money (he later said he took that money and used it for expenses). 'There are jobs available even for those with a poor work history like you. Get one-- you have to work! Rotondo's son is pictured left and right. He lost custody last year 'If you want help finding a place your Mother has offered to help you,' the letter reads. On March 5, the couple wrote a fourth letter saying they 'have seen no indication that you are preparing to leave'. 'Be aware that we will take any appropriate actions necessary to make sure you leave the house as demanded,' they wrote. Their most recent letter was written on March 30, concerns Michael's car, offering him money to fix it so that it can be taken off their property. 'I feel bad for both of them, because hes not learning anything by staying at home and hes just wasting their time and money,' one neighbor said, according to WRAL. Michael appears to be no stranger of the civil court system. In a separate case, he claimed his rights to due process were violated in family court, but that case was thrown out in November of last year. Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing Stormy Daniels, defaulted on a personal payment to the IRS and one of his two law firms failed to pay the government $1.3 million it had withheld in payroll taxes, it emerged Tuesday. The disclosures emerged as a federal judge in California ordered a law firm in which Avenatti is the 'managing member and majority equity owner' to pay $10 million on Tuesday to a lawyer who claimed that the firm had misstated its profits and that he was owed millions. The judgment came after Jason Frank, who used to work at Eagan Avenatti, alleged that that the law firm failed to pay a $4.85 million settlement he had reached in December. He said in court papers that the settlement was personally guaranteed by Michael Avenatti, who has garnered national attention as the attorney for Daniels, the porn actress who is suing President Donald Trump following an alleged 2006 affair. Failed to pay: An assistant U.S. attorney revealed in a a Los Angeles court that Michael Avenatti had not made a payment last week and had agreed to personally pay a total of $2.4 million in taxes and charges Client: Michael Avenatti has become one of the country's highest-profile attorneys by representing Stormy Daniels in her legal fight against the president and Michael Cohen, Trump's attorney 'At this point, that's what's appropriate,' Judge Catherine Bauer said of the $10 million award, according to the Los Angeles Times. Frank did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment. He had worked at Avenatti's firm under an independent contractor agreement and was supposed to collect 25 percent of the firm's annual profits, along with 20 percent of fees his clients paid, according to court documents. He resigned in May 2016 after alleging that the firm didn't pay him millions of dollars that he was owed, misstated the firm's profits and wouldn't provide copies of tax returns and other financial documents. During Tuesday's hearing, assistant U.S. attorney Najah Shariff said Avenatti had not made a payment that was due last week for unpaid taxes as part of the agreement that was reached in January. Court records show Avenatti had personally agreed to pay about $2.4 million in back taxes, interest and penalties. $1.3 million of that figure was payroll taxes which Eagan Avenatti had withheld from employees but not turned over to the IRS, the Los Angeles Time disclosed. It said he blamed the issue on a payroll company, which he did not name. The paper said that Avenatti had been due to pay just over $440,000 last week but had failed to pay and that federal authorities would file a motion demanding payment. Avenatti had paid $1.5 million of the $2.4 million already, the court heard. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, said lawyers from that office represent the government in bankruptcy court when there's a debt to a government agency, like back taxes or unpaid student loans. Avenatti told The Associated Press that he would not discuss 'irrelevant nonsense' and wouldn't answer specific questions about the case. Court documents show Avenatti is the 'managing member and majority equity holder' of Eagan Avenatti and 'solely owns and controls' another firm, Avenatti & Associates, which represents Daniels. He told the Los Angeles Times that it was 'purposely confusing me with a separate legal entity that has no role in the Daniels case'. However the newspaper said it had emails from him about the Daniels case from an Eagan Avenatti email address and with an Eagan Aveantti signature. DailyMail.com also has email messages relating to the Daniels case from an Eagan Avenatti address. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and has sued to invalidate the confidentiality agreement she signed days before the 2016 presidential election that prevents her discussing it. She's also suing Trump and his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, alleging defamation. More than three in five students offered places at Oxford this autumn are from state schools for the first time in the universitys history. The proportion of state-educated pupils to win places for 2018 is at a record high a five percentage point jump to 63 per cent. In addition, almost one in five students at Oxford are now from ethnic minorities, following a four percentage point rise over the past five years. It follows a drive by the elite institution to admit a more diverse range of youngsters in a bid to show it is promoting social mobility and to throw off allegations of racism. Theresa May an Oxford geography graduate has urged universities to do more to help left behind communities, and those that fail can be penalised financially. The proportion of state-educated pupils to win places at Oxford (pictured) for 2018 is at a record high a five percentage point jump to 63 per cent For the first time, Oxford is today publishing comprehensive data on the demographic make-up of the students it is choosing to admit. It shows a steady rise in the proportion of state school pupils from 2013 when they made up only 56.8 per cent and last year, when they made up 58.2 per cent. In a foreword to the data report, university vice-chancellor Louise Richardson said she realised more needed to be done to make admissions fairer. She said: It is a picture of progress on a great many fronts, but with work remaining to be done. Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, a social mobility charity, said: Over the last 20 years, Oxford has made significant progress in access. State school students made up less than half of undergraduates in the mid-90s. But while it is good to see Oxford making progress on widening access, much more needs to be done. The best universities like Oxford should give poorer kids a break in admissions by taking account of their social background. Two rapists who lured a medical student into a laneway where they raped and sexually assaulted her until she bled will be sentenced on Wednesday. Ryan David George and Jack Scott Turner Winship were found guilty on Tuesday of the April 2011 rape by a Brisbane District Court jury. The woman, who cannot be identified, was targeted by the men who noticed she was drunk and staggering towards a bus stop in the inner city suburb of West End. Two rapists who lured a medical student into a laneway where they then raped and sexually assaulted her until she bled will be sentenced on Wednesday (pictured is Scott Jack Turner Winship) George and Turner Winship began talking to the woman, who was on her way home after a night out with friends, before manoeuvring her into the dark alley. Both men pleaded not guilty to raping the woman, but did not deny having a sexual encounter in the laneway. During the trial Turner Winship told the court he and his friend had engaged in consensual sexual acts with the woman, claiming she had enjoyed the experience. 'It was just a fluid sort of thing,' Turner Winship said. 'She was enjoying herself.' Afterwards the pair walked off to meet friends at a nearby pub, later bragging of a sexual encounter in an alley. The woman was found stumbling from the laneway with blood on her lower thighs and hands. Ryan David George and Jack Scott Turner Winship were on Tuesday found guilty by a Brisbane District Court jury (pictured is the court) The court heard she sought help from a man who described her as 'out of it' and bleeding. 'She said "these guys are trying to hurt me",' prosecution witness Michael Hayward said. He ran to catch up with them and chatted briefly, he said. When questioned about their boasts about the incident, Turner Winship admitted telling Mr Hayward about the sexual encounter, followed by friends at the pub. 'We had a sexual encounter, so yeah we told our friends about it,' Turner Winship said while being questioned by the Crown prosecutor. 'We had no reason to not tell anyone.' George and Turner Winship will be sentenced on Wednesday. Top intelligence agency officials will brief Republican lawmakers on Thursday on a confidential FBI source who acted as an informant on the Trump presidential campaign. Congressmen Devin Nunes and Trey Gowdy will get a look under the hood of the classified information, the White House said Tuesday, after a subpoenaing the documents pertaining to the information. FBI Director Chris Wray, DNI Director Dan Coats and DOJ official Ed O'Callaghan will provide the briefing that uninvited Democrats are slamming as partisan. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders defended the invitation list during her daily news conference, saying that Democrats making the complaints now 'never asked' for the information. The meeting comes at the direction of the president, who on Monday ordered it to be handled by John Kelly, the White House chief of staff. Scroll down for video Top intelligence agency officials will brief Republican lawmakers on Thursday on a confidential FBI source who acted as an informant on the Trump presidential campaign. Congressmen Devin Nunes and Trey Gowdy will get a look under the hood of the classified information, the White House said Tuesday Trump also demanded that DOJ probe his claims that a mole infiltrated his ranks expressly to spy on his associated during the campaign, and the White House, in an unusual announcement on Monday, said that the independent executive agency would comply. Democrats quickly attacked the White House on Tuesday for the coordination. They were especially angry that an invitation to the Capitol Hill briefing went only to Nunes and Gowdy, the top-ranking Republicans in the House's Russia probes. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that the meeting shouldn't be taking place at all --- and definitely not in a partisan setting -- while Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff called it a 'serious abuse of power' that shouldn't be tolerated. 'The White House has directed the Department of Justice and FBI to hold a partisan briefing on information the President wants given to his allies in Congress, and ultimately to his legal defense team. No Democrats allowed,' Schiff in a statement said. 'This is a serious abuse of power. There is a bipartisan mechanism for highly sensitive discussions that might implicate intelligence sources and methods,' he said. Schumer said in a statement echoed his comments. 'The only thing more outrageous than this meeting occurring at all is the fact that its now partisan. It is crystal clear that Chairman Nunes intent is to interfere with the investigation, and Speaker Ryan is allowing it to happen,' Schumer huffed. On Thursday, the White House distanced itself from criticisms that it was interfering into an independent probe by announcing that no one from Trump's staff would attend the session. Sanders said Kelly 'was charged with coordinating and making sure it took place' but wouldn't be a part of it. She denied that the White House was 'brokering a deal' between DOJ and Capitol Hill, in response to the charges. Rather, she said, it was helping to 'coordinate a meeting and help Congress receive information that they've requested.' 'To my knowledge, the Democrats have not requested that information. So I would refer you back to them on why they would consider themselves randomly invited to see something they've never asked to,' Sanders stated. LET US IN! Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that the meeting shouldn't be taking place at all --- and definitely not in a partisan setting Schumer had said prior to Sanders' daily briefing, where she revealed the list of invitees to the meeting, that there should be one Democrat for every Republican lawmaker that would be included. 'If Chairman Nunes is there, Schiff should be there,' he told CNN. 'It should be bipartisan.' Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN that he and Republican Chairman Richard Burr had declined to attend similar briefings in the past because of the potential that FBI sources and methods will leak out of it. 'Chairman Burr and I have been pretty clear that we don't think that information should even be shared with us,' Warner said. The Virginia Democrat said, 'We've turned down the opportunity to have that kind of briefing, because, because of the threat of leaking. 'Because there are other bodies on the Hill that get information, and very quickly afterwards that information appears in the press. We wanted to make sure that weren't going to be subject to any, even those kind of allegations.' Trump has been venting about rumors that there were government 'spies' inside his campaign for days and said Thursday it would be 'illegal' if there were any. 'A lot of people are saying they had spies in my campaign. If they had spies in my campaign that would be a disgrace to this country. That would be one of the biggest insults that anyones ever seen,' Trump fumed. Trump told journalists during an Oval Office sit-down with South Korea President Moon Jae-in, 'It would be very illegal aside from everything else. It would make probably every political event ever look like small potatoes.' 'I hope there werent frankly,' he added. Sanders said in a Monday afternoon statement that after a meeting with Trump at the White House that 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. Her announcement followed a meeting between Trump, his FBI director, the deputy attorney general and the director of national intelligence that afternoon. 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. The longtime partner of Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty to tax evasion potentially putting added pressure on Cohen, who is facing criminal investigation. Evgeny A. Freidman, a Russian immigrant known as 'the Taxi King' and went into the taxi business with Cohen, avoids jail through the deal. He could have been facing 100 years in prison if convicted. Instead, he gets five years probation and pleaded guilty to evading $50,000 in taxes but must assist prosecutors. His deal was reported by the New York Times. Cohen has previously blamed his tax problems on 'Taxi King' Evgeny Freidman, (pic on June 3, 2009) whose associates control the lawyer's 17 companies Freidman was disbarred and charged with neglecting to pay $5 million in taxes owed. He faced four counts of fraud which each could have brought 25 year jail sentences if convicted. Officials said the taxes are from 50-cent Metropolitan Transportation Authority surcharges between 2012 and 2015. 'The 'Taxi King' built his empire by stealing from New Yorkers - pocketing money that should instead have been invested in our transportation system,' said State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman after he was charged. Freidman was arrested in June and charged with taking part in that alleged crime. He owned hundreds of the New York City-issued medallions - another term for permits - that allow yellow cabs to operate. The offense he pleaded guilty to was a far smaller crime a single count of evading only $50,000 worth of taxes. The judge overseeing the case said Freidman would face five years of probation if he fulfills the terms of his agreement. The plea to a lesser charge is a possible indication the authorities valued whatever information he may have. The move puts additional pressure on Cohen, who some Trump advisors have predicted will himself give in to pressure and cooperate with investigators in the southern district of New York. Special Counsel Robert Mueller referred his case there before the FBI conducted raids on Cohen's home and office. Cohen owes New York nearly $54,000 in unpaid cab medallion taxes, amid claims the FBI seized records relating to his taxi empire during raids on his office and hotel room. Evgeny Friedman is Michael Cohen's (pictured) partner in the taxi business Evgeny Friedman is Michael Cohen's (pictured) partner in the taxi business Cohen and his Ukraine-born wife, Laura, 48, own at least 32 yellow cab permits and are required to hand over 50 cents to the state for each journey, with the money funding public transport. But this has not happened for many of medallions - another name for permits - that Cohen owns, leading to an unpaid bill of $53,836, according to New York State's Department of Taxation and Finance. The deal would require him to cooperate with state and federal prosecutors. Prosecutors are already combing through Cohen's financial records, including big payments he got from major firms as he touted his access to President Trump after the elections. Also under the microscope is his $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who signed a nondisclosure agreement and claims she had an affair with Trump. The president revealed last week on his financial disclosure that he 'reimbursed' Cohen for expenses related to a payment of up to $250,000. Cohen is under investigation for possible bank fraud. He has said he took out a home equity loan in order to make the payment to Daniels, which he executed through a Delaware LLC he set up in October of 2016, weeks before the presidential election. Cohen is known as a 'fixer' for Trump, and assisted him on an array of deals, including a plan to build a Trump Tower Moscow that never got off the ground but that Cohen discussed with Russian officials even during Trump's run for office. He's also regularly threatened lawsuits against those who pose a challenge to Trump and has worked with tabloids to kill unfavorable stories about Trump. President Trump bristled following the targeting of his longtime lawyer and campaign confidant. The president called the April federal raid on Cohen's office 'an attack on our country and what we all stand for.' He said agents 'broke into' Cohen's Manhattan office, although the FBI acted under legally authorized search warrants. 'This is the most biased group of people. These people have the biggest conflicts of interest I've ever seen. Democrats all, just about all,' Trump said, although Mueller himself is a Republican. Trump later praised Cohen during an interview on 'Fox & Friends.' He said Cohen - whom he called a 'good guy' - was being investigated over his own business dealings. 'Let me just tell you that Michael is in business,' he said. 'He's really a businessman at fairly big businesses, I understand. And I don't know his business but this doesn't have to do with me. Michael is a businessman. He's got a business. He also practices law. 'I would say probably the big thing is his business and they're looking at something having to do with his business. I have nothing to do with his business. I can tell you he's a good guy.' 'Today, the 'Taxi King' admitted that he built his empire by stealing from New Yorkers,' said New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood. 'Freidman pocketed money that should have provided much-needed investment in our transit system and he'll now have to pay back every cent. Our office will continue to hold accountable those who cheat the system.' According to the AG and the acting taxi commissioner, Freidman and his business partner stiffed taxpayers out of the 50 cent 'MTA tax' assessed on each ride. 'During this four-year period, these taxicabs provided millions of rides to millions of New York City passengers. The vast majority of those rides were subject to a 50-cent New York State Tax known as the MTA Tax, which was automatically collected from passengers as part of their fare,' according to the joint statement. 'Instead of remitting that tax to the DTF as required by law, Freidman and [Taxiclub Management CFO Andreea] Dumitru allegedly orchestrated a scheme to withhold that money by improperly filing returns, failing to file returns, failing to remit the tax on filed returns and by filing falsified returns which underreported the true number of taxable rides. Through this scheme, Freidman and Dumitru allegedly withheld nearly $5 million in taxes from the State of New York that had been collected from passengers.' Meghan Markle dreamed of becoming President Who would have thought just a couple of years ago that Prince Harry would marry a minor actress from the U.S. television series Suits? Yet I hear the Royal Wedding could be just the start of an even bigger Anglo-American drama. Meghan Markle is said to have told a former close associate that her ultimate ambition is to be president of the U.S. The conversation apparently took place after Meghan began her romance with Prince Harry. Meghan was quite clear that she wanted to be president one day, the source claims. It may sound fanciful, but the new Duchess of Sussex has held the ambition since she was a little girl. In 2015, she reportedly told the journalist Piers Morgan that she had not always sought showbusiness success. As a kid, I wanted to be either the president or a news broadcaster like you, she told him. The actress married Prince Harry after meeting him in London in 2016. She has now become the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle is expected to become a British citizen but she has harboured dreams of becoming President of the US Meghan is still a U.S. citizen because the process to become a fully-fledged Briton is expected to take three years. She is expected to retain her U.S. citizenship, as dual citizenship is permitted. Presidential candidates must be U.S. citizens. Meghan has cultivated a warm friendship with former U.S. president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, while chat show host Oprah Winfrey, who is one of the most influential women in America, was given a prime seat at St Georges Chapel Windsor, opposite the Royal Family. A royal historian says Meghan would find it difficult to enter U.S. politics while still married to Harry. It is a pretty strong rule that members of the Royal Family keep out of politics, he says. The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding But Harry could, of course, give up official royal duties. His mother, Princess Diana, was said to have considered moving to America. And the claim appears to have caused consternation at Kensington Palace yesterday, with the Duchess giving her official spokesman permission to take the unusual step of issuing a public denial. This conversation you describe with an associate is fictitious, the spokesman insisted. I am, though, not the only one to hear rumours that Meghan still holds political ambitions. Former Times editor Sir Simon Jenkins says: Her friends and associates affirm that she is a political animal. Such is her fame, she could perfectly well follow a route taken by a certain Ronald Reagan. She might lead for the Democrats against a Republican Ivanka Trump. All I can say is, why not? Meghans best friend is Jessica Mulroney, whose father-in-law, Brian, was prime minister of Canada for nine years. Meghan has strong political views and attacked Donald Trump in 2016 for being divisive and misogynistic. She might have to reach an accommodation with her new chum George Clooney, who is said to hold political ambitions of his own. Perhaps he could be her running mate. This is the horrifying moment a sledgehammer-wielding driver got out of his vehicle and smashed the window of another man before he attacked him with it. The dangerous incident happened Tuesday in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Another man, who wished to remain unidentified, shared footage with DailyMail.com and believed the attack followed a dispute the two had prior. The man said the incident took place in the parking lot of his business, which is at the dead end of a street. This is the moment an enraged driver attacked another man with a sledgehammer on Tuesday The attack happened Tuesday in Port Richmond of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The sledgehammer-wielding man smashed the driver's side window several times 'The driver of the Kia Sportage probably didn't realize (the street was a dead end) when he pulled into the parking lot,' the individual wrote in the email. In the video, the victim in the attack is seen when he pulled into the parking lot in his gray SUV. The other man then sped quickly into the lot after him and parked close behind his car. The man in the red pickup hurried out of his truck with the sledgehammer in hand, as the man in the SUV appeared to back his vehicle up in attempts to drive off. The sledgehammer-wielding man in neon yellow took the tool and slashed the driver's side window several times. The victim appeared to be badly hurt and was seen leaping after hopping out of his SUV When the victim got out of the car and leaped away, the sledgehammer-wielding man slashed him in the back The victim then attempted to leap out of the passenger's side of the gray SUV, as it the SUV was still in drive. The victim, in a sky blue shirt, appeared to be badly hurt and was seen leaping and holding his leg and arm. The man with the sledgehammer afterward followed him as he limped and proceeded to hit him in the back with it. After the victim fled in his SUV, the man attacking him then slashed the back of his SUV, as the man drove off in the SUV. The crazed man in the red truck then hopped inside and drove off afterward. President Donald Trump's legal team is trying to cut a deal on the president's potential interview with special counsel Robert Mueller's team, pushing to keep any of Trump's actions after he won the presidency off the table. Their move to keep the focus on the presidential campaign means Trump's time in the Oval Office would not be tarnished in the possible sit-down. An interview deal would also keep Trump from being questioned on whether or not he obstructed justice in his time as president. Investigators are said to be interested in cross examining the president about former FBI director James Comey's claim that Trump asked him stop looking into his first National Security Adviser Michael Flynn - a charge Trump denies. President Trump's legal team is trying to cut a deal on the president's potential interview with special counsel Robert Mueller's team, pushing to keep any of Trump's actions after he won the presidency off the table. Special counsel Robert Mueller is said to want to determine whether or not Trump obstructed justice as president. Comey's firing and Flynn's hasty departure - he only served 24 days in the job and quit after reports surfaced that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his communications with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the U.S. - led to questions about whether Trump hampered the investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election. Trump's lawyers are also discussing a combination of in-person and written answers, according to CNN, which reported the deal making endeavor. Trump's attorneys are trying to avoid any in-person questions about obstruction of justice. They argue Trump could not have obstructed justice by firing Comey because the President has the authority to fire anyone he wants. Mueller's office didn't comment to CNN on the negotiations are ongoing. Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani told the New York Times last week a sit down between the president and Mueller's team could occur around the Fourth of July. The president is known for being unpredictable and it would be hard for his team to know what he might say during a sit-down. The New York Times reported in April Mueller had a long list of questions for the president, including what he knew about any interactions between Kislyak and Flynn, and one of the special counsel's goals was to determine whether or not Trump obstructed justice. Giuliani also told the Times Mueller's team should finish up their probe of Trump's actions by Sept. 1 so it wouldn't harm the Republican Party at the ballot box in the November election. A source told CNN everyone on Trump's team believes 'there should be no bombshells before an election.' The president went on a prolonged Twitter rant about the investigation on Sunday, asking when it was going to 'STOP.' He has long claimed he is the victim of a witch hunt. Mueller, a registered Republican, was appointed by Republican deputy attorney general Rob Rosenstein to investigate Russia's actions in the presidential election. Since the investigation began, Mueller has built a criminal case against Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort while former Trump deputy Rick Gates struck a plea deal in March in addition to agreeing to testify. The investigative team has issued indictments that have covered 19 people and three businesses. Additionally, Flynn and Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos pled guilty to making false statements about their contacts with Russians to investigators. A Texas mother is recovering at home nearly a week after her ex-husband stormed into her house and killed their three children and her boyfriend - before turning the gun on himself. Amanda Simpson was released from Medical City Denton, a hospital spokeswoman said Tuesday. The 29-year-old mother-of-three was shot in the shoulder during Wednesday's deadly murder-suicide when her ex-husband, Tyler painter, fatally shot their children and Simpson's boyfriend. Amanda Simpson (pictured with her kids) was released from the hospital nearly a week after her ex-husband shot and killed their three children and Simpson's boyfriend Simpson's ex-husband, Tyler Painter (pictured with his kids), shot and killed himself after murdering his family and another man Simpson's boyfriend, Seth Richardson, was also killed in the deadly rampage Painter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chin. Authorities said Painter, who divorced Simpson in 2017 after five years of marriage, stormed into her Ponder home around 8:30am and shot the young kids. He then shot Simpson and her boyfriend, Seth Richardson. The children - Odin Painter, 8; Caydence Painter, 6; and Drake Painter, 4 - were pronounced dead at the scene from multiple gunshots, the Dallas Morning News reports. Richardson and Painter were found dead in a bedroom of the home. Simpson was the sole survivor of the attack and was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Shortly after the massacre, the devastated mother posted three Facebook Live videos from her hospital bed blaming the judge who oversaw her divorce from Painter. She said she warned a judge that her ex-husband was 'unstable' when he tried to commit suicide last year. 'I made it very clear to the judge that he was mentally unstable. And they didn't listen,' Simpson said in the video. Simpsons three kids are pictured from left to right: Caydence, Odin and Drake. Authorities said the children died from multiple gunshot wounds Amanda Simpson is the only survivor in the deadly murder-suicide. The 29-year-old was shot in the shoulder Simpson sobbed from her hospital bed as she recounted how she warned a judge last year that her husband was dangerous The night before the bloodbath, Simpson said that her ex-husband called her and asked to get back together, but she turned him down. The judge who handled Simpson and Painter's divorce released a statement denying that mental health issues were ever brought up as a concern. 'The parties, in their Mediated Settlement Agreement, denied any family violence and mental health issues,' Judge Nancy Berger wrote in a statement, according to WFAA. Simpson, crying in another Facebook Live video, said she now has to bury her three children. 'I just wanna say I'm mad at the judge ... I don't have my babiesthey were my everything, my purpose to breathe,' she said. 'I've relived it over and over and every time I close my eyes, I see my babies I see them dead. Every time I close my eyes, you don't want to know what I see.' Simpson's Facebook videos were eventually removed by family members and the account was temporarily disabled. A GoFundMe page was also set up to help the grieving mother with funeral expenses. More than $9,000 has been donated so far. Richardson's mother, Angie, told WFAA that her son had been in a long-distance relationship with Simpson. Richardson, who had two daughters of his own, had traveled down to Ponder to see Simpson. He had been at her house only a few hours before Painter's deadly rampage, Angie said. 'He really was innocent in all this,' she told the outlet. Simpson and her ex-husband Justin Painter are pictured above. Simpson said she warned a judge that Painter was mentally unstable The shooting happened around 8:30am Wednesday morning, at Simpson's home in Ponder, Texas 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. 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. Advertisement It has been described as the 'holy grail' of shipwrecks containing one of the most valuable hauls of treasure ever lost at sea. Named the San Jose, the 18th-century Spanish galleon was found three years ago off the coast of Colombia. Now new details have emerged about the discovery of the shipwreck, which contains 12.6 billion ($17 billion) worth of treasure. According to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the San Jose was located by an underwater autonomous robot. The REMUS 6000 - which also helped find the wreckage of Air France 447 in 2011 - used sonar to find the San Jose in more than 2,000 feet (600 metres) of water. The institution said it was keeping its involvement in the discovery quiet out of respect for the Colombian government. The exact location of the shipwreck currently remains a secret due to a legal dispute regarding who owns the wealth of treasures on board. A Spanish galleon laden with treasures worth 12.6 billion ($17 billion) that sank to the bottom of the Caribbean 300 years ago was found using an autonomous robot, researchers have revealed. Pictured is a photo by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution showing ceramic jars and other items from shipwreck The 62-gun, three-masted galleon, went down on June 8, 1708, with 600 people on board as well as a treasure of gold, silver and emeralds during a battle with British ships in the War of Spanish Succession. The San Jose was transporting the booty back to Spain to help finance its war of succession against Britain. The ship was found submerged off the coast of Baru in what is now Colombia, near the Rosario Islands. It was discovered in 2015 by a team of international experts, the Colombian Navy and the country's archaeology institute. 'We've been holding this under wraps out of respect for the Colombian government,' said Rob Munier, WHOI's vice president for marine facilities and operations. The treasure has been the subject of legal battles between several nations as well as private companies. Several weeks ago, UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, called on Colombia not to commercially exploit the wreck, whose exact location remains a state secret. Pictured are the cannons from the 300-year-old shipwreck of the Spanish galleon San Jose on the floor of the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Colombia. The Massachusetts-based WHOI was invited to join the search because of its recognised expertise in deep water exploration The 62-gun, three-masted galleon (pictured), went down on June 8, 1708, with 600 people on board as well as a treasure of gold, silver and emeralds during a battle with British ships in the War of Spanish Succession WHAT WAS THE SAN JOSE GALLEON AND WHY DID IT SINK? The San Jose was a 62-gun, three-masted galleon that went down on June 8, 1708, with 600 people on board. It was one of many Spanish galleons that made trips between Europe and the Americas between the 16th and 18th Century. When it sank, the San Jose was transporting plundered gold, silver, emeralds and other precious stones and metals from the Americans back to Spain. This wealth was helping finance Spain's war of succession against Britain. The ship gained a reputation as the 'holy grail' of shipwrecks and was carrying one of the most valuable hauls of treasure ever lost at sea - worth around 12.6 billion ($17 billion). It was found submerged off the coast of Baru in what is now Colombia, near the Rosario Islands by a team of international experts, the Colombian Navy and the country's archaeology institute. Why did it sink? The San Jose was tracked down 16 miles (26km) off Cartagena by English Commodore Charles Wager from the Royal Navy on 8 June 1708. A fight ensued, known as 'Wager's Action'. Sources say that Wager initially planned to take control of the Spanish ship's crew and cargo. However, the powder magazines on San Jose detonated, destroying the treasure-laden ship before it could be captured. Most of the 600 souls aboard perished when the vessel sank. The British prevented the Spanish fleet from transporting the gold and silver to Europe in order to fund further war efforts but the loot would have been vast if they had managed to capture the ship. Advertisement The San Jose was located by an underwater autonomous vehicle (pictured) operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) back in 2015 As for the treasure, that remains on the sea bed - for now. The Massachusetts-based WHOI was invited to join the search because of its recognised expertise in deep water exploration. The institute's autonomous underwater vehicle, REMUS 6000, helped find the wreckage of Air France 447 in 2011, which crashed in 2009 several hundred miles off the coast of Brazil. It was REMUS 6000 that in November 2015 took some side sonar images that found the San Jose in more than 2,000 feet (600 metres) of water. The vehicle descended to 30 feet (9 metres) above the wreck to take several photographs, including some of the distinctive dolphin engravings on the San Jose's cannons, a key piece of visual evidence. These new details about the discovery of the San Jose were released on Monday with permission from the agencies involved in the search, including the Colombian government. WHY DID SPANISH GALLEONS SAIL BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE AMERICAS? Between the 16th and the 18th Century, at the height of its Empire, fleets of Spanish galleons made countless voyages between Europe and the Americas. They transported European goods to Spanish colonies in the Americas before being loaded up with plundered gold, silver, emeralds and other precious stones and metals to be taken back to Spain. Two fleets of between 30 and 90 vessels would sail from Seville to the American colonies every year. One, the Flota de Nova Espana, would leave every springtime for Vera Cruz, in what is now Mexico, with ships detached to the West Indies and Honduras on the way. Between the 16th and the 18th Century, at the height of its Empire, fleets of Spanish galleons made countless voyages between Europe and the Americas The other, the Esquadron de Terra Firme, would set sail in August for Cartagena, in modern day Colombia, and Porto Bello (now Portobelo), on the Atlantic coast of Panama. After wintering in the Americas, both fleets would meet at Havana the following spring and return to Spain together, under the protection of warships, known as galleons. A change of strategy was implemented in the 17th century, however, when all treasure from the New World started to be transported in the galleons themselves. Military muscle was needed to defend against attacks from Britain's Royal Navy, which tried to capture the vessels as a way of cutting off Spain's war finances. The San Jose was tracked down 16 miles off Cartagena by English Commodore Charles Wager (pictured) The treasure ships were also under serious threat from pirates. So many seabound brigands were operating in the period that it has since been dubbed the 'Golden Age of Piracy'. Britain, the Netherlands and France, all hostile to Spain, hired pirates to plunder Spanish galleons in the Caribbean Sea. These pirates, called privateers, also joined forces with local raiders from Jamaica, Tortuga and Hispaniola in the Caribbean, who were known as buccaneers. This combination of hostile forces led to the sinking of more than 1,000 Spanish galleons and merchant ships off the coast of Colombia during three centuries of colonial rule. The sinking of so many Spanish ships left vast sums of treasure lying on the seabed, with some archaeologists estimating the total value of such wrecks to be worth tens of billions of dollars. The San Jose was tracked down 16 miles off Cartagena by English Commodore Charles Wager. Wager was a British Admiral and First Lord of the Admiralty between 1733 and 1742. He was heavily involved in the development of new bases in the Caribbean, and in December 1742 was appointed Treasurer of the Navy in the British Government. Wager is said to have been living at Stanley House, Chelsea, when he died, peacefully, in May 1743 at the age of 77. The former British Admiral was buried in the north cross of Westminster Abbey. He later had a monument erected in his honour with the inscription 'The destroying & taking the SPANISH GALLEONS A.D. 1708'. Advertisement 'The wreck was partially sediment-covered, but with the camera images from the lower altitude missions, we were able to see new details in the wreckage and the resolution was good enough to make out the decorative carving on the cannons,' said WHOI engineer and expedition leader Mike Purcell. 'It was a pretty strong feeling of gratification to finally find it,' said Mr Munier, who was not at the site but learned in a phone call from Mr Purcell. 'It was a great moment.' Back in 2015, sonar images revealed bronze cannons made specifically for the ship, arms, ceramics and other artefacts. It was REMUS 6000 that in November 2015 took some side sonar images that found the San Jose in more than 2,000 feet (600 meters) of water. Pictured are tea cups at the wreck site A newly released gridded mosaic of images taken by the REMUS 6000 shows the complete wreck site. The San Jose was the subject of a legal dispute between Colombia and Sea Search Armada (SSA) The treasure has been the subject of legal battles between several nations as well as private companies. Pictured is a pot found at the site Mr Santos, the Colombian president, said it was 'one of the greatest - if not the biggest, as some say - discoveries of submerged patrimony in the history of mankind'. The San Jose was the subject of a legal dispute between Colombia and Sea Search Armada (SSA), a U.S.-based salvage company. The SSA said in 1981 it had located the area where the ship sank. The company and the government agreed to split any proceeds from the wreckage, but the government later said all treasure would belong to Colombia, a view that was backed by a US court in 2011. Few government spokespeople will be able to speak further on the galleon until more investigations are completed, Mr Santos said. It was unclear how much of the body of the ship remained and whether it would be brought to dry land. The world's first shipborne nuclear power plant has arrived in the Arctic from Russia ahead of its first mission. Carrying two nuclear reactors, the 70 million ($94 million) behemoth will provide electricity to an isolated Russian town across the Bering Strait from Alaska. The state company behind the plant, called the Akademik Lomonosov, says it could pioneer a new power source for remote regions of the planet. But green campaigners have expressed concern about the risk of nuclear accidents, with Greenpeace denouncing it as a 'floating Chernobyl' and 'nuclear Titanic'. Scroll down for video The world's first shipborne nuclear power plant has arrived in the Arctic from Russia ahead of its first mission. Pictured is the plant as it began its journey to the Arctic port of Murmansk from St Petersburg, where the facility was built Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, which developed the facility, said that it docked at the Arctic port of Murmansk on Saturday. The plant was built in St Petersburg before it was towed to Murmansk in a journey that took three weeks. In Murmansk it will take on board a supply of nuclear fuel. It will then will be towed to the town of Pevek in the Far Eastern region of Chukotka, separated from the US state of Alaska by the 86-km (53 miles) wide Bering Strait. Akademik Lomonosov will provide power to 100,000 people there for up to five years starting in summer 2019. The plant will replace a coal-fired power plant and an aging nuclear power plant supplying more than 50,000 people with electricity in Chukotka, Rosatom said. The 21,500-tonne plant is 470 feet (144m) long, 98 feet (30m) wide and 33 feet (10m) high, needs a crew of 69 to operate it, and provides 70 megawatts of electricity. The plant was built in St Petersburg and has now been towed to Murmansk where it will take on board nuclear fuel. It will then will be towed to the town of Pevek in the Far Eastern region of Chukotka, separated from the US state of Alaska by the 86-km (53 miles) wide Bering Strait Carrying two reactors, the 70 million ($94 million) behemoth will provide electricity to an isolated Russian town across the Bering Strait from Alaska. Pictured is the vessel in St Petersburg last month IS RUSSIA'S SHIPBORNE NUCLEAR PLANT A 'FLOATING CHERNOBYL'? Russia has developed a shipborne nuclear reactor to power a remote town in the Arctic, but green campaigners have called it a 'floating Chernobyl'. Activists have expressed concern about the risk of nuclear accidents and the plant's susceptibility to tsunamis and cyclones. But Rosatom, the state-run company behind the project, says campaigners lack any evidence to back up their claims. Greenpeace worries the reactors will endanger the environment, but nuclear-powered vessels have cruised the seas since the mid 1950s. Russia has developed a shipborne nuclear reactor to power a remote town in the Arctic, but green campaigners have called it a 'floating Chernobyl' The US Navy has more than 80 nuclear-powered warships, including aircraft carriers and submarines. Russia has its own nuclear-powered fleet that includes icebreakers that are designed to power through icebergs while carrying nuclear reactors. However, experts have expressed concerns that if a leak did occur, containment would be extremely difficult. Land-based reactors are housed in huge domes of reinforced concrete with walls up to four feet (1.2 metres) thick. 'So if you have a massive pipe break, all that material would be contained within that vessel, within that containment building,' Dale Klein, former head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under President George W. Bush told the Verge. This would be far too heavy for a mobile power plant, meaning designers would have had to be careful. The small plants were designed to make it possible to supply electricity to hard-to-reach areas of Russia. They can operate non-stop without the need for refueling for three to five years Klein said: 'What sort of scenarios are you planning for? What kinds of pipes might break, and how would you make sure the reactor shuts down and is cooled safely?' Asked if he thought calling the plant a 'floating Chernobyl' was fair, Klein said: 'No, not at all. Its just a scare tactic ... it has no basis in science.' He added that security could pose a risk. Aircraft carriers and submarines are typically docked in highly secure facilities. 'Theres a lot of military security, and a lot of other kinds of detection systems so you can know if anybody is trying to do mischief,' he said. 'So if you go into just a normal civilian area, then how do you prevent a terrorist, for example, trying to come in to do damage to that facility? So the security would be a challenge.' Advertisement About 45,000 tons of fuel or diesel oil will not have to be used as a result of the plant, according to its manufacturer. Rosatom has long planned to launch the sea-borne power units, which, with their mobile, small capacity plants, are best suited to remote regions. It says they can help the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. The small plants were designed to make it possible to supply electricity to hard-to-reach areas of Russia. The state company behind the plant, called the Akademik Lomonosov, says it could pioneer a new power source for remote regions of the planet They can operate non-stop without the need for refueling for three to five years. Environmental protection groups, including Greenpeace, have sent a letter to Rosatom boss Alexei Likhachyov demanding strict adherence to safety standards and saying they were watching the floating facility's development 'with great concern'. The letter calls for full and unrestricted regulatory oversight by the Russian nuclear regulator and an international study into the environmental impact before the reactors are loaded with fuel and tested. 'Nuclear reactors bobbing around the Arctic Ocean will pose a shockingly obvious threat to a fragile environment which is already under enormous pressure from climate change,' Jan Haverkamp, nuclear expert for Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe, said in a statement last month. 'The flat-bottomed hull and the floating nuclear power plant's lack of self-propulsion makes it particularly vulnerable to tsunamis and cyclones.' The 21,500-tonne ship was pulled through the Baltic sea and around the tip of Norway to Murmansk, a city of 300,000, to be loaded with fuel WHAT IS RUSSIA'S FLOATING NUCLEAR POWER PLANT AKADEMIK LOMONOSOV? Akademik Lomonosov is a 70 million ($94 million) floating nuclear power plant built by Russia to fuel entire towns. The 21,500-tonne plant is 470 feet (144m) long, 98 feet (30m) wide and 33 feet (10m) high. It needs a crew of 69 to operate it, and provides 70 megawatts of electricity or 300 of heat through two KLT-40S nuclear reactors. The plant was built in St Petersburg and arrived at the Arctic port of Murmansk on May 19 where it will take on board a supply of nuclear fuel. Akademik Lomonosov is a 70 million ($94 million) floating nuclear power plant built by Russia to fuel entire towns. Pictured is the plant in St Petersburg where it was developed and constructed From here it will be towed to the isolated Russian town of Pevek across the Bering Strait from Alaska where it will begin operations next year. It will provide power to 100,000 people for a period of three to five years. The plant will replace a coal-fired power plant and an aging nuclear power plant supplying more than 50,000 people with electricity. Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, which developed the facility, says it could pioneer a new power source for remote regions of the planet. Campaigners have raised concerns over the risk of accidents, with Greenpeace labelling it a 'floating Chernobyl' and 'nuclear Titanic'. Advertisement The plant was built in St Petersburg before it was towed to Murmansk in a journey that took three weeks. In Murmansk it will take on board a supply of nuclear fuel The ship's owner Rosatom hit back, claiming Greenpeace lacked evidence to back up its claims. 'Greenpeace hasn't presented any meaningful scientific evidence of any unaddressed risks or any shortcomings of the design which is based on a tried and tested technology with an impeccable track-record,' it said. 'Their attitude towards nuclear power has been widely criticised by independent scientists as patently biased and hardly scientific. About 45,000 tons of fuel or diesel oil will not have to be used as a result of the plant, according to its manufacturer OKBM Afrikantov 'FNPP features the most cutting edge safety and security systems and is expected to be one of the safest nuclear installations in the world.' Russia has at least another seven floating nuclear reactors planned and China is working on building its own to launch in 2020. Other countries like Algeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Argentina have shown interest in hiring ships that could become available as more are built. They are considered very effective for generating electricity in remote areas and can be moved on if not required, or be used to power desalination plants. Floating reactors are considered very effective for generating electricity in remote areas and can be moved on if not required, or be used to power desalination plants While fears have been raised over potential environmental impacts, nuclear-powered vessels have cruised the seas since the mid-1950's. The US Navy has more than 80 nuclear-powered warships, including aircraft carriers and submarines Russia has its own nuclear-powered fleet that includes icebreakers that are designed to power through icebergs while carrying nuclear reactors. However, experts have expressed concerns that if a leak did occur, containment would be extremely difficult. Rosatom has long planned to launch the sea-borne power units, which, with their mobile, small capacity plants, are best suited to remote regions. In this image workers admire the view from on board the ship as it is towed out of the harbour Land-based reactors are housed in huge domes of reinforced concrete with walls up to four feet (1.2 metres) thick. 'So if you have a massive pipe break, all that material would be contained within that vessel, within that containment building,' Dale Klein, former head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under President George W. Bush told the Verge. This would be far too heavy for a mobile power plant, meaning designers would have had to be careful. Klein said: 'What sort of scenarios are you planning for? What kinds of pipes might break, and how would you make sure the reactor shuts down and is cooled safely?' Asked if he thought calling the plant a 'floating Chernobyl' was fair, Klein said: 'No, not at all. Its just a scare tactic ... it has no basis in science.' He added that security could pose a risk. Aircraft carriers and submarines are typically docked in highly secure facilities. 'Theres a lot of military security, and a lot of other kinds of detection systems so you can know if anybody is trying to do mischief,' he said. 'So if you go into just a normal civilian area, then how do you prevent a terrorist, for example, trying to come in to do damage to that facility? So the security would be a challenge.' Google and Microsoft have exposed a computer chip flaw that could leak data from everything from your smartphone to your baby monitor. The companies disclosed a newly-found variant of the Spectre and Meltdown chip flaws yesterday, potentially leaving millions of computers and mobile devices at risk. Hackers could exploit the vulnerability to trick computers and other gadgets into revealing sensitive information stored on their memory systems. The latest bug is the fourth Spectre-like flaw to be uncovered by researchers since the first was revealed in January. Experts at Microsoft and Google said they had already worked with chipmakers to develop fixes for the vulnerability, which should roll out in the coming weeks. Scroll down for video Google and Microsoft have exposed a computer chip flaw that could leak data from everything from your smartphone to your baby monitor. Hackers could exploit the vulnerability to trick computers and other gadgets into revealing sensitive information (stock image) As with other Spectre-like flaws, the new bug is linked to 'speculative execution' in Intel, AMD and Arm chips, which power hundreds of millions of devices worldwide. Speculative execution is a key part of modern high-end computing in which the CPU predicts what might be required of it in the immediate future. This clever technique allows the CPU to begin completing some tasks before you've even triggered them, drastically speeding up your device's performance. Spectre flaws reveal otherwise-secure data by tricking the processor into divulging the information it uses to predict your next move. This lets hackers potentially fool error-free applications into giving up secret information. The new Spectre variant is similar to the first and third versions of the bug, meaning many of the patches developed for these flaws should also work for the new one. The companies disclosed a newly found variant of the Spectre computer chip (stock) flaw, potentially leaving millions of devices at risk. Experts at Microsoft and Google said they had already worked with chipmakers to develop fixes for the vulnerability WHAT IS 'VARIANT FOUR' OF THE SPECTRE FLAW? Google and Microsoft have uncovered a new version of the 'Spectre' computer chip flaw that left hundreds of millions of devices exposed when it was disclosed by Google Project Zoo researchers in January. Like with other spectre variants, the new flaw is embedded into 'speculative execution' in Intel, AMD and Arm chips. Speculative execution is a key part of modern computing in which your computer predicts what might be required of it in the immediate future. This clever technique allows the CPU to begin completing some tasks before you've even triggered them, which improves device performance. Spectre flaws reveal otherwise-secure data by tricking the processor into divulging the information it uses to predict your next move. This lets hackers potentially fool otherwise error-free applications into giving up secret information. Advertisement As a result Intel, which worked with Microsoft and Google to expose the flaw, said it is classifying so-called Variant Four as medium risk, though the company has also released a new patch despite this safety net. Intel said in a statement: 'To ensure we offer the option for full mitigation and to prevent this method from being used in other ways, we and our industry partners are offering an additional mitigation for Variant 4, which is a combination of microcode and software updates.' Intel's Leslie Culbertson, general manager of Product Assurance and Security at Intel, added: 'I continue to encourage everyone to keep their systems up-to-date, as it's one of the easiest ways to ensure you always have the latest protections.' As with other Spectre-like flaws, the new bug is linked to 'speculative execution' in Intel, AMD and Arm chips, which power hundreds of millions of devices worldwide (stock) The company is making the update opt-in as it could slow chips down by as much as eight per cent, it said. It added it will release the new patch over the coming weeks and had already made it available to manufacturers and software vendors like Microsoft. In a blog post, Microsoft researchers warned that although patches were already in place, hackers could still use the vulnerability to steal data. WHAT ARE THE MELTDOWN AND SPECTRE DESIGN FLAWS? Security researchers at Google's Project Zero computer security analysis team, in conjunction with academic and industry researchers from several countries, exposed the two flaws in January. Meltdown, which is specific to Intel chips, lets hackers bypass the hardware barrier between applications run by users and the computer's memory, potentially letting hackers read a computer's memory. It was first discovered by Project Zero in June last year, when expert Jann Horn found that passwords, encryption keys, and sensitive information open in applications that should have been protected could be accessed. Meltdown and Spectre could let cyber criminals steal data from nearly every computing device containing chips from Intel, AMD and Arm, putting billions of people worldwide at risk of being hacked A second bug, called Spectre, affects chips from Intel, AMD and Arm. This lets hackers potentially trick otherwise error-free applications into giving up secret information. Project Zero disclosed the Meltdown vulnerability not long after Intel said it's working to patch it. Intel says the average computer user won't experience significant slowdowns as it's fixed. Advertisement They said: 'An attacker who has successfully exploited this vulnerability may be able to read privileged data across trust boundaries. 'At the time of publication, we are not aware of any exploitable code patterns of this vulnerability class in our software or cloud service infrastructure, but we are continuing to investigate.' Arm, another computer chip developer affected by the flaw, said most of its processors were not affected by the variant. 'It is important to note that this method is dependent on malware running locally,' the company said in a post. An AMD security expert also warned users to update their systems and said an AMD-specific fix was being developed by Microsoft. The original Spectre flaw was uncovered alongside a second CPU flaw called Meltdown by Google's Project Zero researchers in January. The vulnerabilities exposed hundreds of millions of chips from the last two decades to hackers. While they were quickly patched experts have remained braced for other versions or 'variants' of the major flaws to arise as hackers and security researchers raced to find additional vulnerabilities. In January, Arm CEO Simon Segars predicted that a flaw similar to Spectre would pop up again. Amazon is drawing the ire of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other privacy advocates after an investigation found that it has been marketing powerful facial recognition tools to police. The tool, called 'Rekognition', was first released in 2016, but has since been selling it on the cheap to several police departments around the country, listing the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Oregon and the city of Orlando, Florida among its customers. The ACLU and other organizations are now calling on Amazon to stop marketing the product to law enforcement, saying they could use the technology to 'easily build a system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone'. Amazon is drawing the ire of the ACLU and other privacy advocates after an investigation found that it has been marketing powerful facial recognition tools to police Police appear to be using Rekognition to check photographs of unidentified suspects against a database of mug shots from the county jail. But privacy advocates have been concerned about expanding the use of facial recognition to body cameras worn by officers or safety and traffic cameras that monitor public areas, allowing police to identify and track people in real time. Amazon offers the technology to law enforcement for just $6 to $12 a month. The tech giant's entry into the market could vastly accelerate development of the facial recognition systems, the privacy advocates fear. And it could have potentially dire consequences for minorities who are already arrested at disproportionate rates, immigrants who may be in the country illegally or political protesters. 'People should be free to walk down the street without being watched by the government,' the groups wrote in a letter to Amazon on Tuesday. 'Facial recognition in American communities threatens this freedom'. Privacy activists are asking Amazon to stop marketing a powerful facial recognition tool to police, saying law enforcement agencies could use the technology to 'easily build a system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone' Amazon offers the technology to law enforcement for just $6 to $12 a month. So far, it counts the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Oregon and the city of Orlando as customers Deputies in Oregon had been using Rekognition about 20 times per day - for example, to identify burglary suspects in store surveillance footage. Last month, the agency adopted policies governing its use, noting that officers in the field can use real-time face recognition to identify suspects who are unwilling or unable to provide their own ID, or if someone's life is in danger. 'We are not mass-collecting. We are not putting a camera out on a street corner,' said Deputy Jeff Talbot, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. 'We want our local community to be aware of what we're doing, how we're using it to solve crimes - what it is and, just as importantly, what it is not.' It cost the sheriff's office just $400 to load 305,000 booking photos into the system and $6 per month in fees to continue the service, according to an email obtained by the ACLU under a public records request. Facial recognition is used by many technology companies, but activists say Amazon's system could lead to dangerous surveillance powers for law enforcement Amazon Web Services did not answer emailed questions about how many law enforcement agencies are using Rekognition, but in a written statement the company said it requires all of its customers to comply with the law and to be responsible in the use of its products. The statement said some agencies have used the program to find abducted people, and amusement parks have used it to find lost children. British broadcaster Sky News used Rekognition to help viewers identify celebrities at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle last weekend. Last year, the Orlando, Florida, Police Department announced it would begin a pilot program relying on Amazon's technology to 'use existing City resources to provide real-time detection and notification of persons-of-interest, further increasing public safety.' While the Seattle Police Department bars officers from using real-time facial recognition in body camera video, privacy activists are concerned that a proliferation of the technology could turn the cameras into tools of mass surveillance HOW DOES FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY WORK? Facial recognition software works by matching real time images to a previous photograph of a person. Each face has approximately 80 unique nodal points across the eyes, nose, cheeks and mouth which distinguish one person from another. A digital video camera measures the distance between various points on the human face, such as the width of the nose, depth of the eye sockets, distance between the eyes and shape of the jawline. A different smart surveillance system (pictured) can scan 2 billion faces within seconds has been revealed in China. The system connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets. The military is working on applying a similar version of this with AI to track people across the country This produces a unique numerical code that can then be linked with a matching code gleaned from a previous photograph. A facial recognition system used by officials in China connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets. Experts believe that facial recognition technology will soon overtake fingerprint technology as the most effective way to identify people. Advertisement Orlando has a network of public safety cameras, and in a presentation posted to YouTube this month , Ranju Das, who leads Amazon Rekognition, said Amazon would receive feeds from the cameras, search them against photos of people being sought by law enforcement and notify police of any hits. 'It's about recognizing people, it's about tracking people, and then it's about doing this in real time, so that the law enforcement officers ... can be then alerted in real time to events that are happening,' he said. The Orlando Police Department declined to make anyone available for an interview about the program, but said in an email to The Associated Press that the department 'is not using the technology in an investigative capacity or in any public spaces at this time.' 'The purpose of a pilot program such as this, is to address any concerns that arise as the new technology is tested,' the statement said. 'Any use of the system will be in accordance with current and applicable law. We are always looking for new solutions to further our ability to keep the residents and visitors of Orlando safe.' Amazon's Rekognition program with police also drew sharp criticism from users on Twitter, who said it could have nefarious consequences. Clare Garvie, an associate at the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University Law Center, said part of the problem with real-time face recognition is its potential impact on free-speech rights. While police might be able to videotape public demonstrations, face recognition is not merely an extension of photography but a biometric measurement - more akin to police walking through a demonstration and demanding identification from everyone there. Amazon's technology isn't that different from what face recognition companies are already selling to law enforcement agencies. But its vast reach and its interest in recruiting more police departments to take part raise concerns, she said. 'This raises very real questions about the ability to remain anonymous in public spaces," Garvie said. Google has been on the hot seat in recent weeks after it revealed a new technology called 'Duplex' where its AI assistant is capable of making real phone calls, raising ethical questions in the process. But it appears that Google isn't the only Silicon Valley giant dabbling in this technology. Microsoft has been showing off a similar product, dubbed Xiaoice, that can call you up and hold a natural conversation in real-time. However, it can only speak Chinese for now. Scroll down for video Microsoft has been showing off its conversational artificial intelligence chatbot, called Xiaoice. It can only speak in Chinese but has become wildly popular in recent months Xiaoice has been in development for many months, but Microsoft revealed a demonstration of the chatbot's 'full duplex voice sense' at an event in London on Tuesday, according to the Verge. Microsoft researchers said Xiaoice reached 'full duplex' in April, which means that it can 'communicate in both directions simultaneously,' similar to a telephone call. It also means that the chatbot can predict what the other person in the conversation might say next -- a skill set that's 'not yet common in chatbots,' Microsoft said. A new video shows off Xiaoice's conversational abilities, not unlike the demo at Google's annual I/O developers conference. The chatbot calls a user's phone and says: 'Hello, this is Xiaoice. Are you feeling less stressed now? I was worried about you.' As the user replies that they're feeling better, the chatbot makes human-like noises to signify that it understands, such as 'Mmm' and 'Hmm'. Xiaoice then says that it's 12am, adding: 'You need to get some sleep now.' 'Do you want me to set up a wake-up call tomorrow morning?' She asks if the user wants to set an alarm for their usual time of 8:30am, to which the user agrees. Xiaoice tells the user that she will give them a wake up call at 8:30am and before hanging up, thoughtfully informs the user of some bad weather in their area. 'Oh, one more thing,' she says. 'There will be strong wind tonight, so don't forget to close the window before you go to sleep'. Xiaoice has been in development for many months, but Microsoft revealed a demonstration of the chatbot's 'full duplex voice sense' at an event in London on Tuesday According to Microsoft, the firm has mostly been using Xiaoice to conduct text conversations, but it's recently expanded to call people on their phones Both Xiaoice and the user then end the call. According to Microsoft, the firm has mostly been using Xiaoice to conduct text conversations, but it's recently expanded to call people on their phones. However, unlike Google's Duplex, Microsoft's Xiaoice won't make calls on the user's behalf; instead, it will call you just to chat. 'One of the things we started doing earlier this year is having full duplex conversations,' Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on Tuesday, according to the Verge. 'So now Xiaoice can be conversing with you in WeChat and stop and call you' 'Then you can just talk to it using voice', he added. Google has been on the hot seat after it revealed a new technology called 'Duplex' (pictured) at its annual developer conference in Mountain View, California earlier this month WHAT CAN XIAOICE DO? Xiaoice is an artificial intelligence software developed by Microsoft. To achieve a 4.32 score in linguistic naturalness, compared to the 4.76 score of a human voice, developers equipped the AI with breakthrough Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology. Using deep learning techniques through Smart Cloud and Big Data, Xiaoice will be able to analyse weather data while giving a live broadcast. She will even have 'emotional computing' technologies, which will allow her to make emotional comments. At first, the technology was restricted to text conversations only. But Microsoft has since expanded Xiaoice's capabilities to be able to conduct conversations over the phone in real time. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explained that Xiaoice can begin conversing with a user in WeChat, then stop mid-conversation and call the user. Xiaoice only communicates in Chinese, but Microsoft is expected to develop an English-language version soon. Advertisement So far, Xiaoice has made a million calls to users, racking up more than 30 billion conversations via text that are about 30 minutes long each. It also counts more than 500 million users in Japan, China, the US, India and Indonesia. Over time, Microsoft hopes that it can further improve the technology to seem even more natural. Reducing things like the lag time between interactions can make conversations seem more human-like, Microsoft said in a recent blog post. 'This is the art of conversation that people use in their daily life,' said Li Zhou, Microsoft's engineer lead for Xiaoice, in a post. '...Because its very natural, it makes the user feel very relaxed,' he added. Microsoft expects to develop an English-language version of Xiaoice soon, according to Venture Beat. Its no wonder the EmDrive has come to be known as the impossible engine such a device would be able to generate thrust without using a propellant, giving it potential to revolutionize space travel. But, as it seems to defy the laws of physics, scientists havent quite managed to bring the concept to fruition. While some researchers have claimed to make headway in the last few years, including a team from NASA and another from China, the experiments have been plagued by inconsistencies and results that cant be explained. Now, physicists from Germany have put the concept to the test as well, and their findings suggest the real explanation for the phenomena observed in prior studies may be far more mundane than expected. Scroll down for video Physicists from Germany have now put the impossible engine concept to the test as well. The researchers built their own prototype devices to replicate the two thrusters and, they uncovered a few issues According to the new paper, interactions with Earths magnetic field may be responsible for the thrust observed in the controversial experiments. In the study, presented this week at the Aeronautics and Astronautics Association of Frances Space Propulsion, researchers from Technische Universitat Dresden discuss their SpaceDrive Project, which aims to explore both the EmDrive and the Mach-Effect Thruster. These are the two most prominent candidates in the race to develop the impossible engine. The first concept uses microwaves in a truncated cone-shaped cavity that is claimed to produce thrust, the authors explain in the paper. Although it is not clear on which theoretical basis this can work, several experimental tests have been reported in the literature, which warrants a closer examination. The second concept is believed to generate mass fluctuations in a piezo-crystal stack that creates non-zero time-average thrusts. The researchers built their own prototype devices to replicate the two thrusters and, they uncovered a few issues. With the EmDrive, the team found that changing the direction of the thrust had no effect on the level of the thrust. This was even the case when these changes should have resulted in zero thrust, they note. WHAT IS THE EMDRIVE? The concept of an EmDrive engine is relatively simple. It provides thrust to a spacecraft by bouncing microwaves around in a closed container. Solar energy provides the electricity to power the microwaves, which means that no propellant is needed. The implications for this could be huge. For instance, current satellites could be half the size they are today without the need to carry fuel. Humans could also travel further into space, generating their own propulsion on the way. Its no wonder the EmDrive has come to be known as the impossible engine such a device would be able to generate thrust without using a propellant, giving it potential to revolutionize space travel. A prototype is pictured But when the concept was first proposed it was considered implausible because it went against the laws of physics. Its allegedly fuel-free nature also means the drive may directly contradict the law of conservation of momentum. It suggests it would produce a forward-facing force without an equal and opposite force acting in the other direction. Advertisement This clearly indicates that the thrust is not coming from the EmDrive but from some electromagnetic interaction, the researchers wrote. Although we used twisted or coaxial cables as much as possible, some magnetic fields will eventually leak through our cables and connectors. With the Mach-Effect thruster, they noted similar effects, again indicating there must be some electromagnetic interaction or thermally induced center of mass shift that is making any real thrust value. Though they may not bring us any closer to actually achieving the impossible engine just yet, the findings could help future experiments weed out errors that have not previously been accounted for. First measurement campaigns were carried out with both thruster models reaching thrust/thrust-to-power levels comparable to claimed values, the authors wrote. However, we found that e.g. magnetic interaction from twisted-pair cables and amplifiers with the Earths magnetic field can be a significant error source for EMDrives. Advertisement If you're a stressed worker looking for a holiday rental to nurse you back to a positive state of mind then look no further than the manor house that was the childhood home of Florence Nightingale. The Grade II listed Lea Hall in Matlock, Derbyshire, can accommodate up to 20 guests for just 65 per person per night. The imposing building dates back as far as the 17th century and is where the famous nurse lived with her family after they relocated to England from Florence in 1821. Lea Hall in Matlock, which was the childhood home of Florence Nightingale, is available as a holiday rental The current owners have lovingly restored the property to how it would have looked in the 1700s and retained many of the original features. Upon arrival at the property, guests will find a charming entrance hall complete with a flagstone floor. There is also a wood-burning stove in the sitting room while the dining room boasts a large chandelier and open fire. The kitchen is equipped with all the mod cons such as a microwave, dishwasher and fridge-freezer and there's an impressive library, too. The current owners of Lea Hall have lovingly restored the property to how it would have looked in the 1700s and retained many of the original features. Pictured is one of the sitting rooms Another of the sitting rooms inside the manor house. It is a Grade II-listed building and costs 65 per night per person Upon arrival at the property, guests will find a charming entrance hall complete with a flagstone floor and wooden staircase The sleeping arrangements, meanwhile, are eye-catching. There are five double rooms on the first floor and a further five on the second floor, each coming with their own en-suite bathroom. Some have the luxury of four poster or canopied beds and all come complete with LCD TVs and iPod docks. The parish of Dethick, Lea and Holloway is steeped in as much history as the beautiful manor and Lea was even recorded in the Doomsday Book, then as Lede. The large dining room, which features a grand fireplace and chandeliers, has a table that can accommodate all 20 guests It is believed that Florence stayed at the hall while the nearby residence of Lea Hurst was constructed for her parents Lea Hall was acquired by local farm worker Thomas Nightingale in 1707 before he passed the property on to his son, Peter, who was the great uncle of Florence Nightingale. The Nightingale family continued to live at Lea Hall until the late 1800s and retained the property until 1922. It is believed that Florence stayed at the hall while the nearby residence of Lea Hurst was constructed for her parents. There are five bedrooms on the first floor and another five on the floor above. All come with an en-suite bathroom Another one of the manor's bedrooms. The famous nurse lived with her family at the property after they relocated to England from Florence in 1821 The Nightingale family lived at Lea Hall throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and retained the property until 1922 One of the en-suite bathrooms in the manor. It has been lovingly restored by its current owners The beautiful house is in the parish of Dethick, Lea and Holloway, which is steeped in as much history. Pictured is another of the bathrooms The Lady with the Lamp: Florence Nightingale became an icon of Victorian culture Florence is generally considered the founder of modern nursing and she came to prominence during the Crimean War, where she served as a manager and trainer of nurses. She gained her reputation while organising care for the soldiers during the conflict. She eventually became an icon of Victorian culture. For more information see the property on cottages.com. Lea Hall is also surrounded by a beautiful garden. It was acquired by local farm worker, Thomas Nightingale, in 1707 before he passed the property on to his son, Peter, who was the great-uncle of Florence Nightingale Advertisement A new series of jaw-dropping aerial images show cities in a different light, with their complex layouts captured in intricate detail. Australian photographer Andrew Griffiths, 41, uses helicopters to take his mesmerising shots, with his most recent outing taking place in London. The cameraman told MailOnline Travel that he spent three weeks in the British capital, working around the weather and with air traffic controllers so he could access airspace high above the bustling metropolis. Griffiths said: 'In the end we were very lucky to sneak into a number of areas normally not accessible to helicopters.' His images of London show the bright city lights twinkling beguiling at night, with traffic snaking around the banks of the River Thames. Griffiths, who boasts more than 680,000 followers on Facebook and 44,000 followers on Instagram, also took breathtaking photos of New York, Sydney and Brisbane using the same technique. Scroll down to take a very fanciful flight over some of the world's top tourist spots... A new series of jaw-dropping aerial images show cities in a different light, with their complex layouts captured in intricate detail. Above, the Sydney Opera House can be seen in the bottom right hand corner in this stunning photo Australian photographer Andrew Griffiths, 41, uses helicopters to take his mesmerising shots, with his most recent outing taking place in London. Above, the River Thames snaking through the British capital The cameraman often has to spend extended periods of time in cities, working around the weather and with air traffic controllers to access restricted airspace. Above, the extra bright lights of Times Square in New York can easily be spotted The sheer size of Manhattan's Central Park can be seen in this photograph, with the green space dominating the upper half of the city The Gold Coast's long sandy beaches are seen in all their glory in this sunset shot taken by Griffiths With over 20 years of experience, Griffiths is recognised internationally as one of the world's most respected aerial photographers This shot of Brisbane in Australia shows it coming alive at night, with the bright city lights twinkling This sunset shot of Manhattan shows the Hudson River and the East River snaking around it, with neighbouring boroughs sprawling beyond In this dramatic shot, Griffiths captures a lightning bolt striking New York, with angry-looking clouds looming This stunning shot shows the mesmerising Financial District in New York from above, with dozens of skyscrapers jammed in Griffiths works all hours of the day to get the perfect shot. Above, a golden haze descends over Manhattan at sunset Parents who take their children out of school for a cheaper getaway are paying up to 739 more for their holiday compared to two years ago, a new investigation has found. Holiday prices have inflated by as much as 32 per cent for term-time holidays, meaning savings made by travelling off-peak are being squeezed - but are still substantially less than in the official school holidays. Of the four popular destinations analysed it is the holiday island of Tenerife that has seen the highest price hike since 2016, with the average family trip increasing by 32 per cent from 2,299 during term time in 2016 to 3,038 in 2018. Parents who take their children out of school for a cheap getaway are paying up to 739 more for their holiday compared to two years ago. Pictured is Tenerife, which has seen the highest price hike The research was carried out by travel currency experts FairFX, which looked at 350 package holidays from four holiday operators to four destinations - Majorca, Tenerife, the Costa del Sol and the Algarve - flying from seven UK airports in 2018 and 2016. The prices were based on a seven-night trip for a family of four, two adults and two children aged five and seven. The analysis showed the cost of holidays during term-time are rising at a faster rate than trips taken in the official school holidays. On average, the cost of term-time holidays have increased by 21 per cent over the last two years, compared with an 11 per cent increase in the cost of holidays taken during the official summer break. Trips to the Costa del Sol during term time have gone up by 16 per cent while trips during the school summer holidays have seen a two per cent price increase over the last two years, the research found. The research was carried out by travel currency experts FairFX, who looked at 350 package holidays from four holiday operators to four destinations flying from seven UK airports in 2018 and 2016. However, while looking into the cost of holidays in 2018, families travelling abroad this year face paying an average of 22 per cent extra for a holiday taken within the summer break, compared to the same package holiday just two weeks earlier within term-time. FairFX found that prices shot up by an average of 22 per cent for trips departing the weekend of July 28 compared to trips leaving two weeks earlier on July 14. These price hikes mean families face paying nearly 650 extra on average for holidaying during the official summer break in some instances. On average, the cost of term-time holidays have increased by 21 per cent over the last two years, compared with an 11 per cent increase in the cost of holidays taken during the official summer break Also, the investigation found big differences for the same holidays on the same days departing from different UK airports. A seven-night all inclusive break to the Holiday Village Tenerife in Playa de la Arena, Tenerife, with First Choice was 70 per cent more equivalent to 1,834 extra in price from Glasgow compared to Leeds when departing on July 15. And another seven-night half-board break with TUI to the Delphin Azul Hotel in Majorca was 63 per cent higher - 1,175 - from Birmingham compared to London Gatwick departing on July 14. Overall, Leeds Bradford Airport proved to be the best value regional airport, with an average trip costing 2,367 compared to Cardiff at 3,252, equivalent to 27 per cent less. Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO of FairFX, said: 'Our latest investigation reveals that holidaymakers are still very much at the mercy of travel providers who are putting families in a difficult financial situation when it comes to taking their children on holiday outside of term time. 'Even those who are at liberty to travel during school term without incurring penalties are also vulnerable to price hikes.' An airline has launched a new feature on its website that allows holidaymakers find their next vacation destination based purely on temperature. Norwegian is now allowing customers to choose from one of 40 destinations on how hot or cold they'd like their holiday to be. The airline's new digital map automatically filters out destinations based on the desired temperature at the time of travel. The route map on Norwegian's website, which allows customers to select destinations based on temperatures Users can select a temperature range in the filter menu that ranges from minus 15 degrees Celsius to over 30 degrees Celsius. The route map also supports temperatures in Fahrenheit. Thomas Ramdahl, chief commercial officer at Norwegian, said: 'We're delighted to be the first low-cost carrier in the UK to allow consumers to choose from destinations based on their preferred temperature. 'By investing in enhancing our website, our new digital route map can not only make our expanding global network and lowest fares more visible to customers but also makes it much easier to decide where to fly with us next.' But it is not just temperature that customers can use as a filter. From London Gatwick, the airline serves destinations in the Arctic Circle as well as cities in warmer climes Locations can also be singled out using budget limit and the type of destination. Norwegian is now Europe's third largest low-cost airline and flies to destinations in Europe, USA, Asia and South America using 'brand new, modern, fuel efficient aircraft'. The airline's international growth has included the launch of the UK's first nonstop low fare flights to Buenos Aires and Singapore, which have joined the airline's expanding number of flights to 11 US cities. From London Gatwick, the airline serves destinations in the Arctic Circle including Tromso, Norway, and Rovaniemi, Finland, in the winter. Cities in warmer climates year-round include Austin, Tenerife and Fort Lauderdale (Miami). She's expecting her first child with former NRL star Alex McKinnon, 26, in October. And on Monday, Teigan McKinnon, 24, proudly showed off her baby bump as she celebrated the 20 week mark of her pregnancy. Taking to Instagram, the proud mum-to-be posted a snap while sitting on the floor in tea-cup printed pyjama pants. Scroll down for video Bumping along nicely! Alex McKinnon's pregnant wife Teigan shows off her baby bump... as she prepares to welcome her first child with the wheelchair bound former NRL star Smiling and holding up her grey-hued tank top to showcase her sweet bump, Teigan captioned the post: 'Cant believe we are 20 weeks pregnant this week!' Gushing over her growing belly, she added: 'Reality is setting in that your growing away in my belly.' Having made the announcement that the two were expecting a baby girl in late April, the brunette beauty went on to write: 'This little girl has been kicking away the last few days. Baby joy! Teigan also took to Instagram stories to share a snap of her belly while standing side on 'We even got a show on Saturday night with little pokes coming out of my belly.' Teigan also took to Instagram stories to share a snap of her belly while standing side on. Taken in her walk-in-wardrobe and in front of a full-length mirror, Teigan wrote: '20 weeks today! How time has flown.' Baby on board: In late March, both Alex and Teigan announced they were expecting their first child after tying the knot in an intimate ceremony in October last year 'We are the size of a small rock melon,' she added. In late March, both Alex and Teigan announced they were expecting their first child after tying the knot in an intimate ceremony in October last year. At the time, the two shared a candid photograph holding a picture of the ultrasound, revealing the baby will be due in October 2018. In 2014, Alex was left paralysed after a shocking on-field incident caused a spinal chord injury. His promising career was cut short following the accident and he proposed to his now wife from his hospital bed just days later and vowed to be on his feet when they married, despite being diagnosed a quadriplegic. Alex had previously open about his hopes of having a baby, despite the horrific game accident which left him in a wheelchair. One of the first things Alex wanted to know after the accident was whether we could have kids one day, because he didnt want to miss out on that, Teigen (nee Power) said after the incident. 'So we went to see a fertility specialist and it seems theres a great chance, because he still creates sperm. The inspiring young man was left in an induced coma for three days after suffering a catastrophic tackle in round three of the 2014 NRL season in a match against Melbourne Storm. When he finally woke he was warned he may never walk or even stand again but after 10 months of intense rehabilitation, he showed the power of determination to defy the odds. They're busy filming the second season of HBO's Big Little Lies. And although known for their turbulent on-screen mother-daughter relationship, Reese Witherspoon and Kathryn Newton, 21, looked every bit friendly on Monday. Taking to Instagram, the 42-year-old was seen posing alongside her co-star ahead of filming a scene. Scroll down for video Filming continues: Although known for their turbulent on-screen mother-daughter relationship in Big Little Lies, Reese Witherspoon, 42, and Kathryn Newton, 21, looked every bit friendly on Monday 'Back on set with my girl @kathrynnewton! #BigLittleLies,' she captioned the sweet shot. Reese wore a navy blazer and pants for the shot. She completed her look with black stiletto heels. Mother and daughter duo: 'Back on set with my girl @kathrynnewton! #BigLittleLies,' she captioned the sweet shot Cashing it in: It has been reported that stars and executive producers Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman will be making $1 million each per episode in season two Playing the character of Madeline Martha Mackenzie, her makeup was kept luminous and completed with a pink lip. Kathryn looked every-bit Reese's teenage daughter. She dressed down in a grey sweater and blue denim jeans. Newcomer: After raving reviews, HBO signed the show for a second season - revealing Meryl Streep had also joined the cast She's back! Academy Award winner Laura Dern will also be returning and reprising her role as Renata Klein The Lady Bird actress had her long locks styled into loose waves and sported well defined brows and rosy red cheeks. After raving reviews, HBO signed the show for a second season - revealing Meryl Streep had also joined the cast. Returning cast members include Nicole Kidman (Celeste Wright), Shailene Woodley (Jane Chapman), Laura Dern (Renata Klein) and Zoe Kravitz (Bonnie Carlson). According to Deadline, the second series will explore Bonnie's guilt as she struggles with murdering Alexander Skarsgard's character Perry Wright. While few details are known about the second series, Big Little Lies promises more lies that threaten to destroy friendships and marriages as well as parenting. The series followed the seemingly perfect lives of school mums Madeline, Celeste, Jane (Shailene Woodley) and Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz) in the lead up to the murder. The trio return: While few details are known about the second series, Big Little Lies promises more lies that threaten to destroy friendships and marriages as well as parenting The official log reads: 'The subversive, darkly comedic drama Big Little Lies will explore the malignancy of lies, the durability of friendships, the fragility of marriage and, of course, the vicious ferocity of sound parenting. 'Relationships will fray, loyalties will erode...the potential for emotional and bodily injury shall loom.' Production on season two of Big Little Lies has been underway since March 2018 and the actors got to work on shooting scenes in the spring. It has been reported that both Reese and Nicole who also serve as executive producers will be making $1 million per episode. They were rumored to be dating after spotted spending time together back in 2016. And Laura Dern certainly looked thrilled to see Common at the screening for their film The Tale at the Landmark theater in Los Angeles Monday. The Twin Peaks talent, 51, wrapped the recording artist, 46, in a loving hug as she charmed in a polka dot Rodarte frock with ruffles galore at the For Your Consideration affair. So nice to see you! Laura Dern certainly looked thrilled to see Common at the screening for their film The Tale at the Landmark theater in Los Angeles Monday Laura beamed while talking to Common, throwing her curls over her shoulders as she laughed. The rapper/poet/actor looked sharp in a double breasted blazer and patterned shirt, smiling as he caught up with his pal. But it was the Big Little Lies actress's look that really turned heads. Her Rodarte number had a sheer bodice which offered a flirty look at a black camisole underneath while tiers of ruffles made up the care-free skirt. Ruffling collars: The Twin Peaks talent charmed in a polka dot Rodarte frock with ruffles galore at the For Your Consideration affair That look! The starlet offered up a flirty look over her shoulder Fancy free! The Big Little Lies beauty's Rodarte number had tiers of ruffles making up the care-free skirt Sharply dressed: Rapper/poet/actor Common looked great in a double breasted blazer and patterned shirt, smiling as he caught up with his pal Laura rounded out the ensemble with brocade pumps and a number of earrings adorning her lobe. Playing up her baby blues, the mother-of-two added a hint of smokey shadow and framed her eyes with a dash of kohl. While there were whispers Laura and Common were seeing each other around the time The Tale was shooting in 2016, the rapper made it clear he was single when asked about their friendship at a 2016 screening of Barbershop: The Next Cut. 'Laura and I did a movie together. It was a great experience. She's just my friend,' he explained. Feeling good: Laura beamed while talking to Common, throwing her curls over her shoulders as she laughed What a beauty: Playing up her baby blues, the mother-of-two added a hint of smokey shadow and framed her eyes with a dash of kohl Strong survivor: Laura joined forces with director/writer Jennifer Fox at the screening, who based the film on her own experience with childhood sexual abuse Mother figure: The talented Ellen Burstyn, who plays Jennifer's mother Nettie, was also there, looking great in an eclectic sweater and scarf Common wasn't the only one Miss Dern was happy to see at the event. She joined forces with director/writer Jennifer Fox at the screening, who based the film on her own experience with childhood sexual abuse. The survivor and filmmaker looked fierce in a red suit as she posed next to Laura, who plays Fox as and adult and actress Isabelle Nelisee, who plays her at age 13. The talented Ellen Burstyn, who plays Jennifer's mother Nettie, was also there, looking great in an eclectic sweater and scarf. What a time to be alive: Inside the screening the Wild At Heart actress talked about how the #MeToo movement has made it 'an extraordinary time' to share stories like director Fox's Through the ages.. The survivor and filmmaker looked fierce in a red suit as she posed next to Laura, who plays Fox as and adult and actress Isabelle Nelisee, who plays her at age 13 Playing his part: Common plays Martin, Laura's on screen partner and the character Jennifers fiance Just friends: While there were whispers Laura and Common were seeing each other around the time The Tale was shooting in 2016, the rapper cleared up confusion, saying 'Laura and I did a movie together. It was a great experience. She's just my friend,' around same time Inside the screening there was a panel discussion with the cast, where the Wild At Heart actress talked about how the #MeToo movement has made it 'an extraordinary time' to share stories like director Fox's. 'What's extraordinary about this time, in terms of sharing your story at this time, is also that we all are considering together how we've normalized behavior to ourselves, as a community, as a culture,' she told audiences, according to Variety. 'We took blame, and we were silenced by our own cultural shaming. We had decided, because culture told us, that you are quiet about those things because if you're the one that speaks up, you're the one that loses.' The time is now: 'What's extraordinary about this time, in terms of sharing your story at this time, is also that we all are considering together how we've normalized behavior to ourselves, as a community, as a culture,' Dern told audiences Speak up! 'We took blame, and we were silenced by our own cultural shaming. We had decided, because culture told us, that you are quiet about those things because if you're the one that speaks up, you're the one that loses' Justice for all: 'This zeitgeist has also said that there is restorative justice here,' Laura continued about the #MeToo movement's effect on culture 'This zeitgeist has also said that there is restorative justice here,' Laura continued. 'There's reward in being a witness to something and using your voice, sharing your experience when you see multitudes of people come forward. 'That has really changed the conversation, that there is therefore less fear through a piece of art that you make to all have conversations together and hopefully allow it to be the groundbreaking time we all so desperately need.' The Tale was released in January and HBO and is available to stream now. Sam Armytage's Royal Wedding coverage may have ended last week but her time in London is far from over. As rival network journalists like Karl Stefanovic and Georgie Gardner were forced to fly home and get back to work, Sunrise's Sam enjoyed some leisure time on Monday. With Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr filling in back home, Sam relaxed while dining at celebrity hotspot Cecconi's, located in the affluent area of Mayfair. Scroll down for video Perks of the job! Sunrise's Sam Armytage (L) enjoys leisure time at a fancy restaurant in London after the Royal Wedding as rival Today stars Karl Stefanovic (pictured right at Sydney airport on Monday) and Georgie Gardner are forced to return to work The TV star feasted on mouthwatering cuisine at the fancy eatery and made sure to document her experience by sharing envy-inducing snaps on Instagram. While Sam's work trip appears to be ending on a high note, it seems to be quite the contrary for rival Today stars Karl and Georgie. The Channel Nine stars looked strained and cranky on Monday, after wrapping up their coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding last week. Sightseeing: Sam has been documenting her time in London by sharing fun-filled snaps on Instagram Fine dining: The TV star feasted on mouthwatering cuisine at a fancy eatery and made sure to document her experience by sharing envy-inducing snaps online High spirits! While Sam's work trip appears to be ending on a high note, it seems to be quite the contrary for rival Today stars Karl and Georgie It's also been claimed that they began sniping at each other the minute cameras stopped rolling. Karl was allegedly 'furious' that he had to play 'second fiddle' to his Today co-host Georgie 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. Tensions? Karl was allegedly 'furious' that he had to play 'second fiddle' to his Today co-host Georgie 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 Nathalie 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 Nathalie 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: 'There's absolutely not a shred of truth to this story so we won't be commenting.' A representative for Channel Seven has been contacted for comment. He was previously accused of getting Botox by Bachelor In Paradise viewers. And while Michael remains tight-lipped on the injection rumours, he did proudly flash his new $22,000 veneers on Saturday. Donning a sharply tailored tuxedo, the 37-year-old reality TV star triumphantly showed off his smile in the photo shoot for Vogue Dental Melbourne. Scroll down for video Putting his money where his mouth is! Michael Turnbull proudly flashed his new $22,000 veneers while posing in a sharply tailored tuxedo in Melbourne on Saturday No doubt feeling confident after his cosmetic dental work, Michael looked every inch the alpha male in his dapper ensemble. He paired his suit with a white shirt that offered a glimpse of his chest tattoo, and completed the look with patent leather loafers. Earlier this year, Michael sparked rumours he had undergone Botox injections after showing off his suspiciously wrinkle-free complexion on Bachelor In Paradise. He knows the drill! The 37-year-old reality TV star triumphantly showed off his new smile Groomed to perfection: No doubt feeling confident after his cosmetic dental work, Michael looked every inch the alpha male in his dapper ensemble Viewers were quick to scrutinise Michael's appearance, after fellow contestant Florence Alexandra quizzed him about his age-defying skin. 'Oh, my God, you look so good,' Florence said after learning Michael was 37. 'What's your secret?' Michael responded sheepishly: 'Um... sunscreen, I think.' But fans weren't exactly convinced, with one tweeting: 'Whats your secret? Botox. Lots and lots of Botox.' Casual look: Michael later changed into his favourite quilted jacket during the photo shoot Age-defying: Earlier this year, Michael sparked rumours he had undergone Botox injections after showing off his suspiciously wrinkle-free complexion on Bachelor In Paradise A similar post read: 'Michael, that is way too much Botox or you have your own Facetune personal filter permanently implanted over your face.' 'Am I the only one who thinks Michael looks so much worse since all the Botox?' asked another viewer. Despite the fan speculation, it is unclear if Michael has actually used Botox before. Meanwhile, Michael made headlines on Monday after responding to a Woman's Day article that accused him of trying to stage paparazzi photos with Alex Nation. 'What's your secret?' Viewers were quick to scrutinise Michael's appearance, after fellow contestant Florence Alexandra quizzed him about his age-defying skin Oh, dear! Meanwhile, Michael made headlines on Monday after responding to a Woman's Day article that accused him of trying to stage paparazzi photos with Alex Nation Michael told Daily Mail Australia he was not intending to stage paparazzi photos and slammed the former Bachelor winner for selling 'his private messages to the media'. 'It's disgusting Alex would send someone's private messages to the media and make false claims to the media just to make a few dollars,' he said. 'At no stage did I mention staged pap photos.' Michael added: 'I asked her for a photo shoot as it was for a photo shoot I needed for some branding, not for media. 'I think it's very ironic she is the one who sent my screenshots to the media. That's embarrassing for her.' She's been keeping a low profile since welcoming her second child in January. And Laura Haddock was spotted enjoying a rare night out on Monday, attending the Annabel's x Dior dinner in London in style. The actress, 32, looked incredible in a cream silk dress with a floor-skimming skirt and a pretty red floral print. Night on the town: Laura Haddock was spotted enjoying a rare night out on Monday, attending the Annabel's x Dior dinner in London in style The new mother - who also raises a two-year-old son named Pip with her Hunger Games actor husband Sam Claflin - exuded elegance as she left the upmarket venue. She completed her attire with a pair of cream heels and a quirky yellow shoulder bag, adding a fashionable twist to her look. Laura wore her hair pulled back in a low bun, keeping her make-up fresh and radiant. Her husband Sam broke the news of their new arrival during an interview with Chris Evans on his Radio 2 Breakfast Show at the time. Striking: The new mother - who also raises a two-year-old son named Pip with her Hunger Games actor husband Sam Claflin - exuded elegance as she left the upmarket venue Baby joy: Laura has been keeping a low profile since welcoming her second child in January He announced: 'Ive had one! Well my wife had one! A second addition.' Chris said: 'Congratulations. Three weeks old now? Congratulations my friend, You seem glowing.' Sam replied: 'Its happy news. Shes very new and shiny. I however am not.' Fellow guest Geri Horner then brought up a conversation which happened that morning, before they were live on air. She said: 'She peed on you this morning. Thats what you said earlier. Its changing nappies!' Striking: Laura wore her hair pulled back in a low bun, keeping her make-up fresh and radiant Sam laughed and said: 'Whoever told you that girls dont wee as much as boys is an absolute liar.' Geri seemed rather pleased that the Hollywood star was doing his bit and said: 'I absolutely love that hes changing nappies!' Chris said: 'Dont tell Horner anything as she tells everyone. Shes the worst secret keeper in the world.' Meanwhile, Laura found the perfect way to announce the birth of her first baby when she walked the red carpet at the Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica in 2016 and was demonstrably sans bump. 'She's new and shiny': Sam Claflin told Radio 2's Chris Evans in January that wife Laura had given birth to their second child - but they have not revealed a name The couple met in 2011 and it was love at first sight for Sam, who said in October 2015: 'My wife, Laura, is undoubtedly my best friend. We met at an audition for My Week with Marilyn and there was an instant spark. 'We found out we had the same agent and then bumped into each other the next morning at [a London Underground] station. 'I didn't know anything about her other than that her name was Laura, she was very attractive and she seemed lovely. But I went home, woke my friend up at 7am and said, "I just met the girl I want to marry. I love this girl like, I love her. She's perfect."' And, like a fairytale for the digital age, Laura later tracked Sam down on Facebook, four months after their first meeting. They wed in 2013 and actor Sam said told The Edit: 'Getting married was easily one of the greatest achievements of the past 12 months.' Last year, Sam revealed that becoming a father has made him a better actor. Speaking to NW about his role in period drama My Cousin Rachel, he said after his wife Laura Haddock gave birth his perspective changed. Love: Laura and Sam married in 2013 and he said at the time: 'Getting married was easily one of the greatest achievements of the past 12 months' He said: 'Now that I'm a father, I feel like I've got an emotional depth greater than, say, two years ago.' Sam also revealed to the publication that he has become more mature since welcoming his son into the world - something that reflected in the roles he was being offered. 'What's great about where I am now is that I'm starting to get scripts for older men. I'm ready to explore that.' In a 2016 interview with Red Magazine, Sam said he was intensely private when it came to his son. 'We're purposefully shying away from posting pictures of the baby,' he told the publication. 'I dont want to force my child into a world that he may or may not wish to go into. He might want to be a banker and change his surname for all I know,' Sam continued." He has taken over Stephen Bear's hosting role on Just Tattoo Of Us. And fans flocked to Twitter on Monday night to praise Scotty T's hosting talents alongside Charlotte Crosby after series three premiered. Impressed viewers labelled the former Geordie Shore star as 'much better' than Stephen as they went on to dub the show much more enjoyable as a result. Impressed: Fans flocked to Twitter on Monday night to praise Scotty T's hosting talents alongside Charlotte Crosby after series three of Just Tattoo Of Us premiered For the first two series of Just Tattoo Of Us, Charlotte was joined by her ex-beau Stephen Bear. And now Scotty has replaced Bear - much to the delight of viewers. Fans flocked to Twitter to express their delight over Scotty's presenting skills in comparison to Bear: 'Scotty T is so much better than Bear man! #JustTattooOfUs #MTV.' 'Well done and shows so much better .. more natural and Northern x.' 'More natural': Impressed viewers labelled the former Geordie Shore star as 'much better' than Stephen as they went on to dub the show much more enjoyable as a result Former flame: For the first two series of Just Tattoo Of Us, Charlotte was joined by her ex-beau Stephen Bear 'What an absolute legend weve got back on TV!! to the past and to the future couldnt of got anyone better than Scotty.' 'Ohhhh I've missed you on my tv farrrrrr better then bear and better looking too @ScottGShore #JustTattooOfUs.' '@ScottyGShore is so much better on #JustTattooOfUs than that numpty who was on before! '@ScottyGShore first time Ive watch #JustTattooOfUs because of scotty t. Should of been there from the start.' 'Couldn't have got anyone better': Scotty has replaced Bear - much to the delight of viewers 'Can finally watch #JustTattooOfUs again now our girl @Charlottegshore has finally got the legend @ScottyGShore in and not that other f****** melt 'I LOVE#JustTattooOfUs and lovin @ScottyGShore better than bear b***end.' This comes after Charlotte was seen arriving back toLondon'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: This comes after Charlotte arrived back to London's Gatwick Airport on Monday, where she was collected by Scotty 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. Speaking of the new series of Just Tattoo Of Us, 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. 'It's like we're twins!' Charlotte also spoke highly of her co-host Scotty She is in the middle of divorcing her husband of nine years, Alan Halsall. And Lucy-Jo Hudson will be drawing on her personal experience as she steps into the role of newcomer Donna-Marie on Hollyoaks. The former Coronation Street actress, 35, will arrive in the village with her son Romeo seeking to hide her 'heart-breaking past'. Lucy-Jo Hudson will be drawing on her personal experience as she steps into the role of newcomer Donna-Marie on Hollyoaks A source told The Mirror: 'Lucy will play a reckless woman desperately trying to hide a heart-breaking past.' The soap star is said to have a fractured relationship with her son, played by Owen Warner, as he tries get-rich-schemes to help his rebellious mother. Lucy is said to be throwing herself into work in the wake of the split after bagging her new role. Emotional: The former Coronation Street actress, 35, will arrive in the village with her son Romeo seeking to hide her 'heart-breaking past' Her new job comes after she confirmed her split from Alan - with whom she has daughter Sienna - in a statement earlier this month. She said: 'I can confirm that Al and I are in the process of divorcing. 'We remain friends and devoted Mummy and Daddy to our daughter Sienna. We would appreciate privacy so that we can focus on Sienna's continued happiness.' The pair first split in 2016 after seven years' of marriage and 10 years together. Break-up: Her new job comes after she confirmed her split from Alan in a statement earlier this month pictured in February 2013) However, they reconciled just a few weeks later and insisted they both wanted to save their marriage. In a statement at the time, Lucy-Jo said: 'Al and I did keep talking through our four months apart and recently we started spending times trying to work things through together, as we know we both want to save our marriage. Love, Lucy-Jo.' Meanwhile Alan, 35, who has played Tyrone Dobbs on the soap for 20 years, is said to have joked that he is having a mid-life crisis in the wake of the split, reports The Sun. Family: The couple devoted parents to their only daughter Sienna-Rae A source told the website: 'It's very amicable but they've decided to go their separate ways. 'Alan's been joking that he's having a mid-life crisis and he went and treated himself to a brand new car five days ago. It's a difficult time for both of them. 'They're devastated the marriage is over but have vowed to stay friends. They still really care for each other.' Deleted: Amid the holiday snaps, Lucy-Jo has been busy trawling through tweets from December 2016 and May and June 2017 to delete any mention of Alan The insider added Alan has splashed out on a 35,000 Mercedes convertible, after reportedly telling friends he wanted to treat himself to a Harley Davidson. They said the actor was referring to Wild At Heart star Lucy as his 'ex-wife' and joking about having a mid-life crisis, but appeared to be in good spirits. Lucy last posted a photo of her husband to social media in June 2017, to honour him on Father's Day. She wrote: 'Happy Father's Day to my man, @alanhalsall..... without doubt the kindest and funniest daddy Sienna could wish for. We love you more than you know. Thankyou for always making us smile each and everyday.' The actress has also deleted all her tweets to her estranged husband after he enjoyed a boozy lads' holiday in Spain following their split. She not only took home a Billboard Music Award but blessed fans with two performances on Sunday night. But it appears as though Camila Cabello may have pushed herself a little too hard, revealing on Monday that she headed straight to the hospital following the show. Crediting dehydration and a low grade fever as the cause, the 21-year-old confirmed that she would have to pull out from the Seattle leg as a support act of Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour on Tuesday night. Scroll down for video Not feeling well: Camila Cabella has revealed that she was hospitalized for dehydration and a fever on Sunday night and would not be performing as a support on Taylor Swift's Reputation Tour in Seattle 'So yesterday after my performance at the billboards, i was feeling really sick and ended up in hospital to get checked out,' she wrote on Twitter. They ran losts of tests and everything is fine, but the diagnosis was basically dehydration and I also have a low grade fever -the doctors have told me I really have to get rest otherwise i won't get better.' 'So unfortunately I won't be able to perform my set during the Reputation tour in Seattle tomorrow. I'm so sorry to let you guys down and I promise to I will make it up as soon as I can!' she continued. Needs to rest: They ran losts of tests and everything is fine, but the diagnosis was basically dehydration and I also have a low grade fever -the doctors have told me I really have to get rest otherwise i won't get better' Tour mates: Camila has been playing as an opening act for Taylor Swift on her Reputation stadium tour Camila went on to say that her poor health was a wake-up call and she would be taking better care of herself from now on. She also thanked her fans for their ongoing support - referencing the fact that it's been one year since she first released music as a solo artist. And Sunday was quite the night for the star, reuniting for the first time with Fifth Harmony ex-band-member Normani Kordei at the awards ceremony. Too much? Camila not only took home a Billboard award but blessed fans with two performances on Sunday night Reunited! It appears as though all the bad blood has been swept under the rug with Camila Cabello reuniting with Fifth Harmony's Normani Kordei at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday The pair who haven't been photographed together since Camila left the girl group in December 2016 surprised fans with the union. The reunion photos saw Normani wear a sheer halter neck dress that showcased her ample cleavage. The frock was cinched in at the waist and sported an incredibly high slit. Friends again? The pair who haven't been photographed together since the 21-year-old left the girl group in December 2016 surprised fans with the union The split: Camila and Normani made up the five members of girl group Fifth Harmony before the Cuban born beauty (right) departed the group in 2016 to embark on a solo career Stunner: Camila opted for an all black ensemble of a lace top with form-fitting pants - the same outfit she was seen performing in Camila opted for an all black ensemble of a lace top with form-fitting pants - the same outfit she was seen performing in. Her hair was tied back into a high pony-tail with her bangs left out and framing her face. And like Normani, the Cuban-born songstress put on quite the show on Sunday night. Camila first debuted her latest track Sangria Wine alongside Pharrell Williams. New music: Camila first debuted her latest track Sangria Wine alongside Pharrell Williams In her element: The Cuban-born songstress put on quite the show on Sunday night And staying on stage, the beauty went on to please crowds with her hit single Havana. Along with various female dancers in similar shiny ensembles, the stunner showcased her raunchy dance moves. Camila went on to take home the Billboard Chat Achievement Award where Normani was seen clapping for her as she accepted the honor. Crowd favorite: And staying on stage, the beauty went on to please crowds with her hit single Havana Claire Danes stars in the new independent film A Kid Like Jake. On Monday, the 39-year-old actress attended the movie's NYC premiere in a stunning strapless, black dress and gold heels. A Kid Like Jake is a story of gender identity that follows two parents as they learn to cope with the fact that their son doesnt assume the typical gender norms. Leading lady: Claire Danes stars in the new independent film A Kid Like Jake Showtime: On Monday, the 39-year-old actress stunned in a strapless, black dress and gold heels at the movie's NYC premiere The parents in the film are played by Claire and Jim Parsons. While Jake is played by a young boy named Leo James Davis. Supporting players include Priyanka Choprawho plays a neighbor and friendand The Shack's Octavia Spencer. 'I don't pick roles, I pick projects that resonate with me and deal with real world issues,' Spencer told IndieWire in an interview. 'I was really taken with the idea that this is occurring in so many families and they don't know what to do and we hadn't seen it explored on film and it was so beautifully articulated.' The film, which hits select theaters June 1, was directed by Silas Howard and adapted from a screenplay by Daniel Pearle. Mom and dad: A Kid Like Jake is a story of gender identity that follows two parents as they learn to cope with the fact that their son doesnt assume the typical gender norms. The parents in the film are played by Claire and Jim Parsons Accidents happen: Parsons, who is recovering from a recent fall on Broadway, arrived to the screening with cane in hand and a boot on his right foot Parsons, who is recovering from a recent fall on Broadway, sauntered into the screening with a boot on his right foot and a cane in hand. Guests toasted the film sipping on Ruffino wines that was poured at the premiere. Just a week ago, the 45-year-old actor tripped and fell during his show The Boys In The Band. He was otherwise dressed superbly in a brown suit and pink tie. Rising star: Jake is played by a young boy named Leo James Davis Supporting role: Octavia Spencer looked lovely in a lace, fuschia dress Octavia Spencer was also in attendance. The 45-year-old actress looked lovely in a lace, fuschia dress and sparkling sandals. Meanwhile, little Leo Davis stole the show in salmon colored jeans, a black blazer, and loafers. Chopra was not present due to a pre-planned UNICEF trip to Bangladesh. Say cheese: Little Leo Davis stole the show in salmon colored jeans and loafers Blac Chyna was defended by an insider who claimed she was constantly supportive of her late assistant Lorena 'Patty' Hernandez. 'Chyna's been constantly and steadily involved and supportive financially, from the very beginning,' a source told People in an article on Monday. 'She's had [Hernandez's] kids at the house. She's just been an amazing person all the way through this, there's no doubt about that,' the insider added. Constantly supportive: Blac Chyna, shown last week in New York City, was constantly supportive of her late assistant Lorena 'Patty' Hernandez Hernandez was taken off life support on Wednesday after being pronounced brain dead two days earlier, according to a report by The Blast. She had been in hospital since suffering a brain hemorrhage in January at a beauty salon in Encino, California owned by Chyna, 30. Hernandez suffered a stroke in 2017 but was still able to work, helping Chyna with her clothing line and day to day responsibilities. Family made the decision to take Hernandez off of life support after she was pronounced 'brain dead' following her third brain bleed. In hospital: Patty was taken off life support last week after being pronounced brain dead Updating people on their GoFundMe page, the family last week wrote: 'Hello Everyone it is with a heavy heart that I would like to share that this morning May 14 Patty was pronounced Brain Dead after a 3rd bleed and will have to be disconnected. We ask you keep our family in prayer during this difficult time.' Hernandez died aged 34 and was survived by three children. Doctors advised Hernandez not to work after her 2017 stroke, but she refused to provide for her three children. Mother of three: The mother of three kept working against the advice of doctors to provide for her three children She was reportedly pregnant with her fourth child when she suffered her stroke, but refused to terminate her pregnancy. Hernandez's pregnancy was terminated in December 2017, however, after suffering a brain bleed, according to her GoFundMe page. Her family reportedly was preparing to sue the ex of Rob Kardashian, according to Page Six, alleging Chyna of 'abusing [Hernandez] and 'not providing her with worker's compensation.' Fundraising page: A fundraising effort was launched to help Patty and her family The insider told People that Hernandez had 'been in a coma for a long time' and hadn't 'woken up or spoken, blinked or moved or been responsive'. The sourced added that 'last year was when everyone grieved this'. The insider said her death wasn't 'like a fresh scab' while adding that Hernandez 'was a very nice lady'. Claire Danes got confronted by anti-fur protesters while promoting her film A Kid Like Jake at Vulture Festival in New York Sunday night. After the Homeland star was called out by a woman for wearing fur, she responded saying: 'I literally don't recall if I ever wore fur.' But the demonstrators then appeared to produce pictures of the Romeo + Juliet actress, 39, wearing a fur-trimmed jacket, leaving Danes unable to find words. Scroll down for video Rude interruption: Claire Danes got confronted by anti-fur protesters while promoting her film A Kid Like Jake at Vulture Festival in New York Sunday night Standard issue? It's worth noting that long, down jackets are often provided on set for actors while shooting in the cold It's worth noting that long, down jackets are often provided on set for actors while shooting in the cold. Claire looked visibly shaken, grimacing as an animal activist shook a piece of fur trim in the star's face. 'No human being should ever, ever wear real fur. Shame on you for what you do.' 'I literally don't recall if I ever wore fur,' replied the actress/wife of Hugh Dancy, who donned a silk wrap dress for the screening. Her reaction: Claire looked visibly shaken, grimacing as an animal activist shook a piece of fur trim in the star's face It's alright: Co-star Jim Parsons tried to comfort Claire by putting a tender hand on her shoulder Here we go again: Sometime after the first protester was escorted out by security several other people began yelling at Danes Co-star Jim Parsons tried to comfort Claire by putting a tender hand on her shoulder. Sometime after the first protester was escorted out by security several other people began yelling at Danes. 'Claire Danes should be ashamed of herself for supporting the bloody fur industry!' another voice bellowed from the edges of the audience. Then a small group stormed the stage with handmade signs that appeared to feature pictures of the actress wearing animal trimmed jackets. 'Shame on you!' One protester shouted from the edges of the audience 'Claire Danes should be ashamed of herself for supporting the bloody fur industry!' Doesn't ring a bell... 'I literally don't recall if I ever wore fur,' replied the actress/wife of Hugh Dancy, who donned a silk wrap dress for the screening A member of the audience tweeted about the bizarre experience, writing: ' I came to NYC for the Vulture festival. I saw Claire Danes and Jim Parsons together (they're starring in a movie.) 'At the beginning of the talk THREE women in succession shamed her-yelling that she wears fur (she was not for the festival,)' adding that security then escorted them out. The group, while identified themselves as Total Liberation New York, has targeted stars like Amy Schumer and Kim Kardashian both in person and on their social media in the past. A Kid Like Jake premiere June 1 2018. Johnny Depp searches for Notorious BIG's killer in the forthcoming feature film City of Lies. The first trailer for the biographical crime thriller hit screens Monday, and features the 54-year-old actor combing the streets of Los Angeles as he searches for an answer to one of music's most memorable murders. Forest Whitaker, 56, is along for the ride as a journalist who teams up with the grizzled L.A.P.D. veteran. Scroll down for video On the hunt: Johnny Depp searches for Notorious BIG's killer in the forthcoming feature film City of Lies Unsolved: The first trailer for the biographical crime thriller hit screens Monday, and features the 54-year-old actor combing the streets of Los Angeles as he searches for an answer to one of music's most memorable murders Back at it: Forest Whitaker, 56, is along for the ride as a journalist who teams up with the grizzled L.A.P.D. veteran Taking place 20 years after the grizzly murder of the famed rapper, Depp stars as retired real life police officer Russell Poole. The two minute and 34 second video begins with Biggie, real name Christopher Wallace, walking out of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, only moments before he is gunned down in his SUV. '20 years ago you were the lead detective on the Biggie Smalls case, right? The voice of Whitaker asks Depp. 'Why is this case so important to you?' True crime: Taking place 20 years after the grizzly murder of the famed rapper, Depp stars as retired real life police officer Russell Poole Can't forget: '20 years ago you were the lead detective on the Biggie Smalls case, right? The voice of Whitaker asks Depp 'A murder like that only goes unsolved if the police don't want to solve it,' responds Depp. From there it's all yellow tape, corruption, police raids, and the asphalt-covered City of Los Angeles playing its complex self. 'Based on a true story,' the film follows Poole who is still trying to crack the open case 20 years after the Ready to Die rapper's murder. Grim truth: 'A murder like that only goes unsolved if the police don't want to solve it,' responds Depp Based on a true story: From there it's all yellow tape, corruption, police raids, and the asphalt-covered City of Los Angeles playing its complex self Crack the case: 'Based on a true story,' the film follows Poole who is still trying to crack the open case 20 years after the Ready to Die rapper's murder 'In search of the truth, the two team up and unravel a growing web of institutional corruption and lies. Relentless in their hunt, these two determined men threaten to uncover the conspiracy and crack the foundation of the L.A.P.D. and an entire city,' adds the trailer's synopsis. The film was originally titled LAbyrinth, and is based on Randall Sullivans non-fiction book LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal. City of Lies hits theaters on September 7th and is directed by Brad Furman, who previously helmed Los Angeles murder-mystery the Lincoln Lawyer. Name change: The film was originally titled LAbyrinth, and is based on Randall Sullivans non-fiction book LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal Another look: Numerous television series and documentaries explored the rappers' tragic end Ready to die: Most recently, USA's Unsolved, which hit television screens in February, explored the unsolved case If all this sounds familiar, it's because numerous television series and documentaries explored the rappers' tragic end. Most recently, USA's Unsolved, which hit television screens in February, explored the unsolved case. Gillian Jacobs stars in the new Netflix original film IBIZA. On Monday night, the 35-year-old actress flaunted her enviable figure in a floral-print dress at an NYC special screening of the upcoming romantic-comedy. She was joined by her two co-stars: SNL alum Vanessa Bayer and 2 Dope Queens' Phoebe Robinson. Leading lady: Gillian Jacobs stars in the new Netflix original film IBIZA Jacobs looked flawless in her corset-inspired, floral dress that was belted at the waist. The Pittsburgh native wore her hair in soft curls and walked the red carpet in nude heels. Her glam included a muted pink lip and rosy cheeks. Dressed to impress: On Monday night, the 35-year-old actress flaunted her enviable figure in a floral-print dress at an NYC special screening of the upcoming romantic-comedy Dazzling: She accentuated her flawless complexion with a swipe of berry lipstick Wow factor: She looked absolutely fantastic at the gala event Threes company: Gillian was joined by her two co-stars 2 Dope Queens' Phoebe Robinson and SNL alum Vanessa Bayer Stepping out: Gillian and director Alex Richanbach posed together on the carpet Turning heads: Gillian was spotted all smiles just ahead of the event IBIZA follows Harper, played by Gillian, who goes on a work trip with her two best friends. While in Spain, Harper meets a DJ who sends her head spinning. The three gal pals then travel to IBIZA to play matchmaker and chaos ensues. 'It's really a movie about female friendship the movie is about three [women] going on an adventure, and we had an adventure ourselves,' Jacobs told Refinery 29. 'I had such an incredible time working with Lauren Kahn, who wrote the film and Phoebe and Vanessa.' Strike a pose: SNL's Vanessa Bayer arrived to the premiere in a ruffled, lavender dress Fashion forward: The comedy queen teamed her look with a pair of metallic silver heels LBD: 2 Dope Queens' Phoebe Robinson showed out in an off-the-shoulder mini-dress Camera ready: Co-star Richard Madden, who donned a Giorgio Armani suit for the occasion, joined Phoebe, Gillian, and Vanessa on the carpet Dapper: Richard Madden steps out in a stylish Giorgio Arman suit All smiles: The Scottish actor posed for a photo with the film's director Hanging out: (L-R) Humphrey Ker, Augustus Prew, Alex Richanbach, Phoebe Robinson, Gillian Jacobs, Vanessa Bayer, Lauryn Kahn, Richard Madden , and Kevin J. Messick posed at Netflix's Ibiza Premiere at AMC Loews Lincoln Square She added: 'We shot in Serbia and Croatia, and I've never shot in either of those countries before. We got to be all up and down coastal Croatia, which is so unbelievably beautiful. I got to live in Belgrade for five weeks and get to know the city.' But now Netflix is under fire for filming in Croatia rather than Spain itself. According to MixMag, the Spanish government is suing Netflix for not including authentic footage of the Mediterranean island. The film will be available on Netflix starting May 25. Posing up a star: Ibiza star Humphrey Ker and his wife Megan Ganz posed for photo RHONY: Luann de Lesseps and Ramona Singer walked the red carpet Feeling floral: Writer Lauryn Kahn stepped out in a floral midi dress Fast friends: Phoebe and Vanessa posed alongside RHONY's Dorinda Medley Having fun: Humphrey Kerr and Augustus Prew The cast: [L-R] Phoebe Robinson, Gillian Jacobs, Vanessa Bayer, Richard Madden Girls only: [L-R] Phoebe Robinson, Lauryn Kahn, Dorinda Medley, Vanessa Bayer and Gillian Jacobs Party time: The cast and the director hung out at the after-party at Hudson Terrace She played drug trafficker Griselda Blanco in her latest project Cocaine Godmother. And Catherine Zeta-Jones certainly looked intoxicating as she arrived at the Robin Williams Theater in New York to discuss the riveting Lifetime movie on Monday. The Welsh beauty, 48, sauntered into the SAG-AFTRA sponsored affair wearing a form-fitting lace look which hugged her every curve in black and gold fabric. All eyes on you! Catherine Zeta-Jones turned heads in a form-fitting lace look while attending an event at the Robin Williams Theater Monday Sheer sleeves flashed just enough skin while a tight black slip showcased her bombshell figure. Elevating her look another degree, the wife of Michael Douglas wore gold peep-toes that played off the metallic details in her dress. Diamond encrusted hoops and a leather clutch brushed with a hint of gold paint acted at the perfect accessories along with a giant diamond ring from her hubby. She styled her raven tresses sleekly, letting them cascade down her back. Perfect fit: Sheer sleeves flashed just enough skin while a tight black slip showcased her bombshell figure A bit of glitz: Diamond encrusted hoops and a leather clutch brushed with a hint of gold paint acted at the perfect accessories Gold standard: Elevating her look another degree, the wife of Michael Douglas wore gold peep-toes that played off the metallic details in her dress The Chicago actress went for a bold beauty look, framing her dark eyes with sienna eyeshadow with a hint of ruby shimmer. Inside the event, she sat down with author Christian Blauvelt to talk. She explained what it was like playing the role of the cartel queen Blanco, who was said to be responsible for the murders of over 200 people during her time trafficking drugs for the Medellin Cartel. Talking about her infatuation with the role during an interview at Deadline's The Contenders Emmys event earlier in the day, saying she 'relished' in playing such a complicated character. What an experience! Catherine said she 'relished' in playing such a complicated character Talking in out: Inside the event, she had a discussion with author Christian Blauvelt to talk Opposites attract! 'This character is the polar opposite of what I believe in morally and how I would want to live one's life,' Zeta-Jones explained to the panel 'Fascinating': 'There's something fascinating about her when you think of her as a woman in that workplace,' she continued about the cocaine smuggler 'This character is the polar opposite of what I believe in morally and how I would want to live one's life,' Zeta-Jones explained to the panel. 'There's something fascinating about her when you think of her as a woman in that workplace,' she continued about the cocaine smuggler. Cocaine Godmother initially premiered on Lifetime in Fall of 2017 and is currently gunning for recognition ahead of Emmy nominations, which come out in July. She's the controversial new Bachelorette who has been keeping a low profile since being sensationally accused of cheating on her ex-boyfriend. And Ali Oetjen looked rather downcast on Tuesday, when she was seen taking a solitary stroll along the River Torrens in Adelaide. Spotted in the early hours of the morning, the 32-year-old fitness trainer appeared to have little to smile about ahead of her reality TV comeback. Scroll down for video Taking it in her stride? Bachelorette Ali Oetjen looked downcast while taking a lonely stroll in Adelaide on Tuesday, as Network Ten stands by her despite Grant Kemp's cheating allegations The former Bachelor contestant bundled up in white hooded top, which she paired with light blue tracksuit trousers. Ali styled her hair in a scruffy ponytail and finished off her look with grey sneakers. She was periodically seen checked her iPhone, which she clutched in her left hand for the duration of the stroll. Is everything OK? Spotted in the early hours of the morning, the 32-year-old fitness trainer appeared to have little to smile about ahead of her reality TV comeback Following her announcement as Bachelorette, Ali has faced public scrutiny over claims she cheated on her ex Grant Kemp while staying at his house in March. Earlier this month, Grant claimed on The Kyle & Jackie O Show that Ali had only been staying with him in Los Angeles for a matter of days before she was unfaithful. The American firefighter alleged that the couple had returned to his home with several other friends after visiting a nightclub. Bombshell: Following her announcement as Bachelorette, Ali has faced public scrutiny over claims she cheated on her ex Grant Kemp (pictured) while staying at his LA home in March Grant claimed that, at around 2:15am, he briefly left the house to greet other guests and was gone for just 'five minutes'. Upon returning to his house with a friend, Sabrina Jaragosky-Hicks, they apparently walked in on Ali 'hooking up with' a male house guest. Despite the extraordinary allegations, Network Ten has continued to stand by Ali and it is believed The Bachelorette will begin production in the coming months. Melissa George, 41, has reflected on finding her dream home in Paris following her bitter custody dispute with ex-partner Jean David Blanc. In a heartfelt Instagram post shared on Monday, the Logie award-winning actress told fans she feels proud of the home she has built for their two young sons Raphael, four, and Solal, two. She also shared an interior snap of the home which she moved into after her 2016 split from French entrepreneur Jean. 'I created a space that makes our spirits soar': Melissa George shares an interior snap of the home she built after her bitter custody dispute with ex-partner Jean David Blanc Standing strong: Despite her struggles, Melissa told fans she is finally content in Paris with her sons 'The agent said 'come with me' she opened the door to my home and I fell in love,' Melissa said. She added: 'In two months I created a space that makes our spirits soar.' While many celebrities enlist the help of interior designers, the former Home And Away star decorated the home herself with '18th century desks and tables' from 'antique markets' and 'the streets.' Motherhood: The former Home and Away star said she feels proud of the home she has built for their two young sons Raphael, four, and Solal, two. Melissa is pictured with her ex-partner and their two young sons before their split, at Nice airport on May 11, 2016 It comes after she recently posted an inspirational message about single mothers in honour of Mother's Day. She wrote: 'Single mummas... there will always be support and love and father figures where you least expect. Taken today with my sons.' Melissa accompanied her post with a black and white photograph of her son's hands pressed against the hands of an unknown male. 'There will always be support, love and father figures where you least expect': It comes after she recently posted an inspirational message about single mothers in honour of Mother's Day Addressing her highly-publicised custody dispute, she told Whimn last year: 'My heart is with my children and that's where I have to be right now. 'I have the personality where I make the most of everywhere I am. I don't want to live being forced to stay somewhere and not really maximising any element of joy in that place.' Melissa also told Vogue last month: 'It's almost like when life beats you down, you get more humble, more calm, reflective. There's peace in it. So I'm looking forward to the next chapter. Maybe love.' In early 2017, Melissa and French entrepreneur Jean David Blanc were convicted of assaulting each other following an alleged domestic dispute in 2016. Jean David later said in a statement: 'Regarding the supposed violence against Melissa George, I strongly contest it and have thus filed an appeal against the judgment, which is not final.' STATEMENT FROM JEAN-DAVID BLANC I wish to answer once and for all to the inaccurate information given by Melissa George. The Paris' Court decision consisting of a shared custody of our young children was based on very long and various social workers investigations as well as psychologic examinations. This decision was ruled by the Judge who considered only the best interest of our children. That does not prevent Mrs George from working, as she's free to come and go to sets all over the world as she always did. As regards to our children's interdiction to leave French territory without my prior authorization, this decision, also ruled by the Judge, is the result of Melissa George's attempt to secretly leave the country with our children without my consent ... Regarding the supposed violence against Melissa George, I strongly contest it and have thus filed an appeal against the judgment, which is not final. I have always maintained that I had been attacked first and was only trying to protect myself. Melissa George was found guilty and charged for these offences. Advertisement During an interview with Sunday Night in March, Melissa claimed Jean had become emotionally and physically abusive during their five year relationship- allegations he strongly denies. The AlloCine founder first met Melissa in 2011 at a BAFTA after-party. They began a relationship in 2012. The former couple welcomed their first child, son Raphael, in February 2014 and a second son, Solal, in November 2015. Melissa was previously married to Chilean film director Claudio Dabed. It seems Sam Frost's Home And Away character Jasmine Delaney has well and truly moved on from hunky policeman Colby Thorne. The Summer Bay beauty, 29, was spotted enjoying a passionate smooch with her new on-screen beau Jake Ryan this Monday as they filmed a racy date-night scene at Sydney's Palm Beach. Dressed to the nines in an off-the-shoulder top and skinny jeans, Sam was seen tenderly embracing actor Jake, who plays the show's resident bad-boy Robbo. Scroll down for video Colby who? Sam Frost, 29, was spotted enjoying a passionate smooch with her new on-screen beau Jake Ryan this Monday as they filmed a racy date-night scene at Sydney's Palm Beach She completed her look with a pair of nude stiletto pumps and a metallic clutch bag. At one point, Jake confidently placed his hands on Sam's pert posterior while staring deeply into her eyes. Sam reciprocated the amorous gesture by lovingly stroking his face with one hand and gripping his arm with the other. Can't fight the moonlight! Dressed to the nines in an off-the-shoulder top and skinny jeans, Sam was seen tenderly embracing actor Jake, who plays the show's resident bad-boy Robbo Intimate: At one point, Jake confidently placed his hands on Sam's pert posterior while staring deeply into her eyes Later the duo were filmed in the throes of deep conversation; barely breaking eye-contact throughout the titillating scene. Joining them were co-stars Ashleigh Brewer and Tim Franklin, whose characters also appeared to be an item as they strolled arm-in-arm. While Ashleigh is yet to feature on the show, her character Chelsea Campbell is rumoured to be the ex-girlfriend of Tim's character Colby. Double date! Joining them were co-stars Ashleigh Brewer and Tim Franklin, whose characters also appeared to be an item as they strolled arm-in-arm Up close and personal: Later the duo were filmed in the throes of deep conversation; barely breaking eye-contact throughout the titillating scene Sam and Jake are believed to be good friends outside of the show - with the actor reportedly giving Sam tips on how to deal with the pressures of fame. 'Jake has been giving Sam advice on how to deal with the negativity, which comes with starring on such a huge show,' a source told Woman's Day last October. The insider added: 'They often catch up off screen and really make each other laugh.' 'They often catch up off screen and really make each other laugh': Sam and Jake are believed to be good friends outside of the show - with the actor reportedly giving Sam tips on how to deal with the pressures of fame Last July, Channel Seven made the announcement that Sam would be joining Home and Away as a permanent cast member. Producers insisted the former reality TV star had blown them away with her audition, but the decision was nonetheless controversial. Some fans even accused the long-running show of stunt casting. Natural talent? Last July, Channel Seven made the announcement that Sam would be joining Home and Away as a permanent cast member A new trailer of Love Island has dropped ahead of the raunchy reality dating series set to take screens by storm on Sunday. And just five days out from the premiere episode featuring Sophie Monk as host, viewers have been given a glimpse into the Spanish island's poolside villa where debauchery is set to take place. Honing in on the luxurious seaside view located on the Spanish Island of Majorca, the teaser offers glimpses of crystal-clear waters surrounding the filming location. Five more sleeps! An all-new Love Island trailer drops as Australia prepares for the most RAUNCHY reality show ever, revealing snippets of the luxury Spanish villa The short clip also features glances of the resort, where the 10 genetically-blessed singletons are set to get racy and raunchy. In one image, an infinity-style pool is seen, surrounded by lush greenery at the villa's complex. Another brief snap shows a different pool featuring fairy lights, while outdoor tanning beds are seen surrounding the luxurious vicinity. Ready to sizzle: In one image, an infinity-style pool is seen, surrounded by lush greenery at the villa's complex Margaritas required: The short clip also features glances of the resort, where the ten genetically-blessed singletons are set to get racy and raunchy The full cast was revealed in a sizzling teaser clip on Sunday. Featured in the never-before seen footage, a selection of the ten cast members spill on what they're hoping to find on the party island. In the clip, busty beautician Natasha, 24, reveals: 'I'm looking for a guy that puts me on a pedestal and thinks I'm number one.' Island goals: In the clip, busty beautician Natasha, 24, reveals: 'I'm looking for a guy that puts me on a pedestal and thinks I'm number one' The beauty salon owner has previously insisted that her striking features are all natural and that she has only had her breasts augmented. Topless waiter Eden, who previously admitted to having 'hooked up' with a slew of girls including a bride-to-be on a boat, also shared what he's looking for on the island. 'I'm looking for a girl with some good looks,' he shared. Eden previously revealed he can't recall the number of people he's slept with, revealing to NW: 'I stopped keeping a tally [of girls I've slept with] at 100, but let's just say it's high up there. I'll never go back to their place though - I hate that.' Also divulging on his handy trick to avoid being stuck with consistent bedding laundry, he boasted: 'I just put a towel down on the couch - it's very handy. The couch has seen some things.' In just over a week, the fifth season of their critically acclaimed television show is set to air on Netflix. But Jason Bateman, 49, and Will Arnett, 48,'s Monday came crashing to a halt when they were involved in a taxicab accident in New York, New York. Luckily, the Arrested Development stars escaped from the wreck unscathed. Car crash: Jason Bateman, 49, and Will Arnett, 48,'s Monday came crashing to a halt when they were involved in a taxicab accident in New York, New York TMZ reported, the actors 'and 2 other people were cruising in a taxi van near Madison Square Park, when their driver rear-ended a sedan in front of them. We're told cops were called, but no one was transported to the hospital.' 'Law enforcement sources say the driver of the black Ford sedan claimed to have suffered some back pain as a result of the collision -- but otherwise, seemed fine,' stated the outlet. Adding, 'We're told Jason and Will also went uninjured, and even stuck around to talk to the police.' Doing fine: Luckily, the Arrested Development stars escaped from the wreck unscathed No injuries: TMZ reported, the actors 'and 2 other people were cruising in a taxi van near Madison Square Park, when their driver rear-ended a sedan in front of them. We're told cops were called, but no one was transported to the hospital' Bateman and Arnett both star in Arrested Development, which is set to release its fifth season to Netflix on May 29. The first half of the new season, consisting of eight episodes, will be available that date, with the next eight set to be available later in 2018. The show has been with the streaming giant since 2013 when it aired the series' fourth season. Everything will be fine: 'Law enforcement sources say the driver of the black Ford sedan claimed to have suffered some back pain as a result of the collision -- but otherwise, seemed fine,' stated the outlet Both stars currently appear on two other hit Netflix shows as well. Bateman plays the lead, produces, and also directed multiple episodes of crime drama Ozark, which was created by Bill Dubuque. Arnett voices BoJack Horseman in the eponymous animated show, which has brought the streaming giant a slew of awards. T.I. shared multiple videos of himself calling out Houston's and one of their security guards on Monday night. The 37-year-old rapper took to Instagram to condemn the restaurant as well as a guard, who he alleged went into the women's bathroom and dragged a customer out, through the restaurant, and into the bushes outside the front door. The Atlanta-native also shared two videos of the incident he discussed that show a woman being held down against her will outside an unidentified structure, and it appears she is having her arm held behind her back. Using socials: T.I. shared multiple videos of himself calling out Houston's and one of their security guards on Monday night Video evidence: The 37-year-old rapper took to Instagram to condemn the restaurant as well as a guard, who he alleged went into the women's bathroom and dragged a customer out, through the restaurant, and into the bushes outside the front door In the second two clips shared to his Instagram, two of the woman's friends yelled at the security guard, telling him to let her go before he gets arrested. One friend stated that she is calling the police, while the security guard said he was 'detaining' the woman. Another individual heard in the videos insists that the woman is 'assaulting an officer.' The alleged incident occurred in Atlanta, Georgia Hands off: In the videos that contain the Ant-Man actor's commentary on the situation, he stares into the camera and reminds the security guard, 'You don't put your hands on no woman, you ain't no police' Against her will: The Atlanta-native also shared two videos of the incident he discussed that show a woman being held down against her will outside an unidentified structure, and it appears she is having her arm held behind her back STOP: In the second two clips shared to his Instagram, two of the woman's friends yelled at the security guard, telling him to let her go before he gets arrested Call the cops: One friend stated that she is calling the police, while the security guard said he was 'detaining' the woman T.I. also shared images of the woman's alleged injuries, which featured bruising across her face and thighs and cuts on her knee. The rapper captioned the photos, 'Absolutely UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR!!!! ACCOUNTABILITY IS MANDATORY!!!! U WILL PAY FOR THIS!!! COWARD!!!!' He also claimed that the young woman had 'felony charges filed against her by the Atlanta police department.' Injuries: T.I. also shared images of the woman's alleged injuries, which featured bruising across her face and thighs and cuts on her knee Black eye: The rapper captioned the photos, 'Absolutely UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR!!!! ACCOUNTABILITY IS MANDATORY!!!! U WILL PAY FOR THIS!!! COWARD!!!!' Bruising: He also claimed that the young woman had 'felony charges filed against her by the Atlanta police department' Calling out: He also called out the guard, saying, "I need to see you! Come do me like that!!" In the videos that contain the Ant-Man actor's commentary on the situation, he stares into the camera and reminds the security guard, 'You don't put your hands on no woman, you ain't no police.' He also called out the guard, saying, "I need to see you! Come do me like that!!" This is a different Houston's than the rapper organized a boycott against last year after a staffer threw out a table of black female guests. T.I. had worked closely with restaurant's ownership to improve relations, before lifting the ban, but that location has since closed. Meanwhile in L.A.: T.I. was in Los Angeles on Monday night and seen dining at Craig's Restaurant T.I. was in Los Angeles on Monday night and seen dining at Craig's Restaurant. He donned a red Los Angeles Angels cap, grey shorts, and a grey sweater. He added a pair of slightly darker shoes and through a bag across his body to complete the ensemble. She's been enjoying some downtime since attending an array of glitzy Hollywood events earlier this month. But Selma Blair proved she can do casual chic just as well as red carpet glamour as she headed out to buy a coffee in Los Angeles on Monday. The actress, 45, opted for a light pink shirt and cropped flared jeans with a frayed hem as she grabbed her caffeine fix for the day. Stylish: Selma Blair proved she can do casual chic just as well as red carpet glamour as she headed out to buy a coffee in Los Angeles on Monday The Hellboy star seemed to be in high spirits during her outing, as she went make-up free to showcase her naturally beautiful features. The mother-of-one teamed her comfortable attire with fuchsia pink loafers, which had yellow tassels on the front. Selma sheltered her eyes from the Californian sun with a pair of aviator shades and wore her light brunette locks loose around her shoulders. The Cruel Intentions star kept her accessories to a minimum by wearing a silver necklace and an oversized watch, as she carried a large green handbag slung over one shoulder. Looking good: The actress, 45, opted for a light pink shirt and cropped flared jeans with a frayed hem as she grabbed her caffeine fix for the day There was no sign of the mystery man that the actress has been seen with twice during the past week. Selma seems to have split with Dead Ant director Ron Carlson as both have wiped each other from their respective Instagram accounts, and they haven't been pictured together since December. The actress had previously been dating the single father as far back as February 2015. But the true love of the pair's life is Selma's son Arthur Saint, six, from her two-year relationship with fashion designer Jason Bleick, which ended in 2012. Low-key: The mother-of-one teamed her comfortable attire with fuchsia pink loafers, which had yellow tassels on the front Blossoming romance? There was no sign of the mystery man the actress has been seen with twice during the past week The beauty has candidly discussed the difficulties she previously faced while juggling her career duties with being a single mother to her child. She told US weekly in November last year: 'I did not have a support system. I was an older, tired, single mom. 'I shut myself off from everyone, and it wasnt until I accepted some help that I could just flourish as a mom.' The mother-of-one has had a stellar acting career ever since she made her screen debut back in 1995 on the television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete. She dazzled the red carpet in her exquisite vintage look earlier in the evening. And Katie Holmes, 39, continued to wow the style brigade as she left the American Ballet Theatre Spring gala in New York Monday night alongside her daughter Suri, 12. The Batman Begins actress looked effortlessly chic in her pale green knee-length look as she left the annual fundraiser at the Metropolitan Opera House hand-in-hand with her lookalike daughter. Scroll down for video Like mother, like daughter: Katie Holmes, 39, continued to wow the style brigade as she left the American Ballet Theatre Spring gala in New York Monday night alongside her daughter Suri, 12 Her 3D embellished floral frock was embroidered with tiny pale blue flowers and green leaves which glittered as she sashayed down the venue's steps. Equipped with a boat neckline, Katie's look cinched in her narrow waist before falling out in full skirt that fell to just below the knee. The Dawson's Creek star went bare-legged in nude heels which added inches to her statuesque frame. She wore her hair styled with an off-center parting and tucked behind one ear, showcasing her floral-themed diamond earrings. Green with envy: The Batman Begins actress looked effortlessly chic in her pale green knee-length look Charming: Her 3D embellished floral frock was embroidered with tiny pale blue flowers and green leaves which glittered as she sashayed down the venue's steps Stylish duo: : She left the annual fundraiser at the Metropolitan Opera House hand-in-hand with her lookalike daughter Following in her mother's fashion footsteps, Suri looked positively darling in her floral ankle-length dress. Katie's mini-me complemented her charming vibrant ensemble with a pink leather cross body bag and gold ballerina pumps. The Batman Begins actress began dating Scientologist movie star Tom Cruise in 2005, and seven weeks into the relationship, they were engaged. Their wedding was held at the Castello Orsini-Odescalchi in Bracciano, Italy, in November 2006, and seven months their daughter, Suri, was born. Family affair: Following in her mother's fashion footsteps, Suri looked positively darling in her floral ankle-length dress as Katie's mother Kathleen joined them Picture perfect: Inside the venue, Katie and Malcolm Carfrae posed together Fashion fiend: The Dawson's Creek star went bare-legged in nude heels which added inches to her statuesque frame In 2012, Katie filed for a divorce that was finalised only 10 days later, retaining primary custody of Suri, although Tom was granted visiting rights. Ron Miscavige, father of Scientology leader David Miscavige, told MailOnline in 2016 that Katie's misgivings about Scientology - including the effect it could have on Suri - contributed to her decision to leave Tom. Katie and actor Jamie Foxx only publicly became an item late last year, though there had been speculation they were a couple since 2013. There was a swirl of rumours that Katie's divorce agreement prohibited her from publicly dating anyone for five years after the split with Tom. Vintage darling: Her sleeveless pale green frock was embroidered with tiny pale blue flowers and green leaves and had a bateau neckline and full skirt that fell to just below the knee Mane attraction: She wore her hair styled with an off-center parting and tucked behind one ear, showcasing her floral-themed diamond earrings Lorraine Kelly has defended Patrick J Adams after he apologised for lashing out at a woman who 'fat-shamed' him at the airport. The TV presenter, 58, said she thought the Suits actor 'was quite right' to a share an unflattering picture with an audience of 2.1million, publicly shaming the woman who said he looked 'chunky' at the Royal Wedding. 'Did you see the state of her?' Lorraine coldly asked on her ITV breakfast show on Tuesday morning. Is that wise? Lorraine Kelly (left, talking to Ross King, right) backed actor Patrick J Adams on Tuesday, after the Suits actor posted an unflattering of a woman who fat-shamed him at the airport on Sunday 'I think hes quite right,' she told Ross King, defending the actor's decision to post an equally bad picture of the stranger, which showed her face. 'I think it was horrible of that women to do that! And did you see the state of her? Thats a cheek - that's ridiculous. I think people are really mean.' She added: 'That's fine, if youre perfect and you look flawless - like nobody is - then you can say what you like about other people Thats really bad.' Annoyed: Patrick J Adams has since apologised for 'any sense of being a bully or lashing out' that he too had inflicted Apology: In a lengthy statement, the Suits star, 36, said he swiftly took the post down Her point seemed ill-advised, since Patrick felt compelled to publicly apologise for any offence he caused, afterwards. In a lengthy statement, the Suits star, 36, took the post down on Monday night after realising 'any sense of being a bully or lashing out felt wrong'. 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!) 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' Having her say: Lorraine weighed in on the situation following a formal public apology from Patrick '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.' The actor added that after his actions had hit the headlines, he wanted to have his say on the matter. The apology came after he shamed the fellow airport passenger for suggesting that he looked 'chunky' in his morning suit at wedding of his Suits co-star Meghan Markle to Prince Harry on Saturday. The Canadian actor, who attended the nuptials with his wife Troian Bellisario, then uploaded a shot of her sleeping on hisInstagram, which has 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 inside 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.' 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 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.' While another follower shared: 'So rude! You both looked great! Someone's jealous they didn't get to go.' Happily ever after: On Saturday, Meghan Markle tied the knot with Prince Harry at Windsor Castle She has failed to find romance since her relationship with TOWIE's Jon Clark came to an end, despite appearing on Love Island. But Chloe Crowhurst didn't let her romance woes trouble her at the poolside in Barcelona, Spain over the weekend. Looking sensational in sequins, the dumped Love Islander, 21, exhibited her desirable curves in her shimmering bikini. Sexy in sequins: Love Islands Chloe Crowhurst displayed her curves in a shimmering sequined bikini during Barcelona getaway over the weekend Chloe's eye-popping cleavage threatened to spill out of her halterneck bikini top thanks to its skimpy string design. Tied with delicate bows at her hips, the reality star ensured eyes were cast over her incredibly slender waistline during her poolside walk. Later taking a perch on the edge of the poolside which put her posterior on display in her sparkling briefs, Chloe dipped her long legs into the cool water. Feeling hot, hot, hot: Tied with delicate bows at her hips, the reality star ensured eyes were cast over her incredibly slender waistline during her poolside walk Keeping it cool: The dumped Love Island star readjusted her tiny briefs to ensure she didn't suffer a fashion faux pas Sensational in sequins: The golden-haired beauty tossed her golden locks back and she seductively ran her fingers through her tresses to ensure she looked glamorous Famed for her heavily made-up looks, it is no wonder Chloe kept up her glamorous appearances with sleek straight locks and bold make-up choices. Fresh from her trip to Cyprus just weeks earlier in May, the Love Island star continued to top up her glowing tan under the Spanish sun. Chloe was flying solo during her break as she put her romantic woes to one side after enduring her tumultuous romance with Jon Clark. Sizzling: Later taking a perch on the edge of the poolside which put her posterior on display in her sparkling briefs, Chloe dipped her long legs into the cool water Bust-ing out: Chloe's eye-popping cleavage threatened to spill out of her halterneck bikini top thanks to its skimpy string design Glamorous as ever: Jon Clark's ex-girlfriend wore her golden locks in a poker straight fashion which tumbled down to her waist Turning heads: Famed for her heavily made-up looks, it is no wonder Chloe kept up her glamorous appearances with sleek straight locks and bold make-up choices Cheeky side: The social media guru splashed water onto her envy-inducing body to ensure she kept cool in the sweltering climes of the Spanish sunshine The TOWIE hunk revealed he has found love again with Tayla Ling following the dramatic fall-out of his split from Chloe. It comes after Chloe accused Jon of cheating on her throughout their relationship, claiming he slept with 15 women in a series of scathing tweets. Chloe first posted a cryptic tweet to fans that read: 'I love you, he says whilst s******g another bird,' followed by a laughing cry emoji. After ten minutes of fans wondering what (or who) she was talking about, the Essex beauty cleared up the speculation by writing: 'Yes. This is about @jbclark_' with a blushing face emoji. Taking the dive! The Love Island star dived into the pool Sunny spot! Fresh from her trip to Cyprus just weeks earlier in May, the Love Island star continued to top up her glowing tan under the Spanish sun Moving on: Chloe was flying solo during her break as she put her romantic woes to one side after enduring her tumultuous romance with Jon Clark One fan then replied in a now-deleted post, saying: 'You went on Love Island while in a relationship with him you've got some nerve.' Chloe and Jon had a rocky relationship over the span of a year, with their romance originally ending when Chloe headed into the Love Island villa in June. What followed was a very public war of words between the former couple, with Jon also clashing with Celebrity Big Brother star Calum Best, who he thought had been dating Chloe. The couple did eventually rekindle their romance, following Jon's split from TOWIE co-star Lauren Pope, though they split again in November. Heartache: The TOWIE hunk revealed he has found love again with Tayla Ling following the dramatic fall-out of his split from Chloe On the lookout: Chloe is yet to find love again since her split from The Only Way Is Essex hunk Fame: It's been a year since the rising starlet found her feet in the limelight following her short-lived appearance in the Love Island villa She gave birth to her second child just five months ago, but Katie Piper was drawing attention to her super-slim waist on Tuesday. Dressed in a heavenly lace midi dress, the 34-year-old accentuated her slim figure with a narrow waistband and a ladylike layered tulle skirt. The mum-of-two was joining stylish star Lisa Snowdon for a lunch at Japanese fine-dining restaurant Kiru in Chelsea. Heavenly: Katie Piper looked gorgeous in a tulle dress as she attended the launch of KIRU Japanese restaurant on Tuesday in London Katie was dressed for the springy weather with her shoulders bare in a plunging neckline. She added pastel pink shoes to perfectly complement the ensemble and her hair looked perfectly coiffed for the occasion. TV presenter Lisa was similarly embracing spring in her floor-sweeping red maxi dress. Stylish turnout: Lisa Snowdon (left) joined Katie at the stylish lunchtime launch party Summer-ready: TV presenter Lisa looked ready for summer in a red maxi dress The patterned garment skimmed over her model figure and elongated her frame as the hemline skimmed the floor. The restaurant lunch attracted a host of stars, including Jackie St Clair and Camilla Kerslake. Contemporary eatery Kiru is just off the King's Road, overlooking quaint Chelsea Green. Floral fancy: Jackie St Clair looked gorgeous in a pretty nude dress adorned with colourful blooms Jackie's nude-coloured dress was adorned with beautiful floral embroidery, offset by her green bag. Meanwhile, Camilla - the fiancee of England rugby captain Chris Robshaw - turned heads in a bright, citrus shade. Her calf-length dress also featured a scene-stealing plunging neckline with a bow just below her cleavage. She documented the pressure she felt to breastfeed on her reality series Born In Chelsea. And now Binky Felstead has hit out at a breastfeeding charity on social media after the organisation used the hashtag 'breast is best' on a Twitter post which the reality star insisted puts pressure on new mothers. The 27-year-old, who welcomed her daughter India in June 2017, previously appeared on Lorraine last summer and revealed that she didn't 'feel comfortable' nursing in public. Hitting out: Binky Felstead has hit out at a breastfeeding charity on social media after the organisation used the hashtag 'breast is best' on a Twitter post which the reality star insisted puts pressure on new mothers Following her candid admission, Binky took to Twitter and retweeted Breastmates post which asked their followers to share their breastfeeding stories before finishing with '#breastisbest'. The fashionista, who bottle feeds her daughter, was clearly upset with the hashtag and wrote alongside the retweet to her 791,000 followers that the final addition puts pressure on new mothers. She wrote: 'I dont think its fair to state "breast is best" when fed is best. Think there is a lot of pressure on new mums as it is and dont think that "#" helps at all..'. Speaking about her own experience resonated with her followers who praised her for suggesting that 'fed is best' while they shared their personal experiences about breastfeeding and why it didn't work for them. Breastmates is a network of free breastfeeding support groups held across the UK which holds informal drop-in groups, run by mums. Comfortable: The 27-year-old, who welcomed her daughter India in June 2017, previously appeared on Lorraine last summer and revealed that she didn't 'feel comfortable' nursing in public 'Pressure': The fashionista was clearly upset with the hashtag and wrote alongside the retweet to her 791,000 followers that the final addition puts pressure on new mothers Responding to her online commentary, Breastmates have now apologised for the tweet and insisted that they didn't mean to cause an offence. Chair of Breastmates Catherine Bertenshaw said: 'Breastmates would like to apologise for causing any offence with the phrase "breast is best". 'As an organisation we completely agree with Binky Felstead that this phrase is not helpful and can cause many problems for parents. Adding: 'Unfortunately the tweet was published by a new volunteer who now understands why this term is no longer used by us or any other health organisation in this country.' Discussion: Last August, Binky appeared alongside Tamara Ecclestone, who breastfeeds her four-year-old daughter Sophia, on Lorraine to discuss the topic of breastfeeding and the pressures new mothers face Last August, Binky appeared alongside Tamara Ecclestone, who breastfeeds her four-year-old daughter Sophia, on Lorraine to discuss the topic of breastfeeding and the pressures new mothers face. Speaking to stand-in host Christine Lampard, Binky explained: 'Ive never had to get my boob out in public before and when I have done Ive had people staring at me and the odd look is "put it away". 'That makes me very flustered, it creates a lot of people staring. Theres a lot of pressure.' Binky added that the problem wasn't just confined to strangers, but other mothers, as she said: 'You get many mothers shaming. Each to their own. For me I cant always breastfeed as I have a very hungry baby so have to use bottles but that opens me up to..' Experience: Speaking to stand-in host Christine Lampard, Binky explained: 'Ive never had to get my boob out in public before and when I have done Ive had people staring at me and the odd look is "put it away" She previously documented her struggles deciding whether to breastfeed her first child in public as she attempted to unwind at the hairdressers on her reality show Born In Chelsea. In the episode of the E4 show, the reality star admitted that she felt 'uncomfortable exposing herself' before heading to a back room to feed her daughter, who she welcomed with partner Josh 'JP' Patterson, in the jam-packed episode. Binky was filmed nervously prepping her bag for the day out, which saw her throw the likes of nipple cream and diapers into her bag. Treating herself to a hair appointment, the beauty had panic written all over her face when little India began wailing at the top of her lungs. Document: She previously documented her struggles deciding whether to breastfeed her first child in public as she attempted to unwind at the hairdressers on her reality show Born In Chelsea Darling: In the episode of the E4 show, the reality star admitted that she felt 'uncomfortable exposing herself' before heading to a back room to feed her daughter, who she welcomed with partner Josh 'JP' Patterson 'Breastfeeding in public makes me uncomfortable,' Binky told the camera, before adding: 'The thought of exposing myself kind of freaks me out.' With India refusing to stop crying, a hairstylist offered her a back room to breastfeed. Binky then used the private moment to expand on how she felt: 'Because I'm still new to this, I'm nervous doing it in front of people. 'But when more time goes on it'll be like, whatever. As long as I have something over my boob, then it'll be okay,' she stated, before adding: 'Maybe just go out with this over boobs.' She later told the camera: 'I hope it gets easier and I just need to man up. But right now it just makes me feel a bit flustered.' They are the loved-up actors who met on the set of Australian soap Home And Away. And Rebecca Breeds, 30, and Luke Mitchell, 33, seemed as smitten as ever on Tuesday while they enjoyed a fun break away in Switzerland. The couple looked blissfully happy as they posed for a picturesque photo by a lake in Lugano, where they enjoyed a romantic meal in a stylish restaurant which Rebecca described as 'heaven.' Holiday bliss: Former Home and Away stars Rebecca Breeds and Luke Mitchell looked more loved up than ever on Tuesday as they enjoyed a romantic break away in Switzerland The actress put on a stunning display in a white and blue halterneck gown, as she pulled her tresses back into a tight ponytail and styled a few locks in front of her face. Making sure to glam things up for their date night, Rebecca brushed on mascara and light touches of pink lipstick to highlight her pretty features. Meanwhile, Luke looked ruggedly handsome as he sported a cropped blond beard, and he flaunted his muscular physique in a white long-sleeved top. Having fun: The couple have been exploring Switzerland for the past few days, enjoying the lavish sunshine and trekking through the mountains which left Luke 'speechless' The couple have been exploring Switzerland for the past few days, enjoying the lavish sunshine and trekking through the mountains which left Luke 'speechless.' They even went on a walkway which was built into the mountain, and featured a dramatic drop which Rebecca didn't seem to enjoy. Luke and Rebecca began dating in 2009 after meeting on the set of Home and Away, where they later became love interests on the show. Great view: Luke looked ruggedly handsome on the romantic getaway Luke proposed in 2012 before the lovebirds tied the knot a year later at a ceremony in New South Wales' Kangaroo Valley. A move to Los Angeles to further their careers followed in 2013, with Rebecca securing notable roles in Pretty Little Liars and The Originals while Luke has appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and The Tomorrow People. Luke also took on the role of emerging villain Roman in the NBC drama Blindspot in 21016, and he is currently still wowing viewers as the charismatic antagonist. She has been enjoying a sun-soaked breakaway with her new man following her bitter divorce from her ex-husband James Stunt. And Petra Ecclestone, 29, showcased her off-duty style as she strolled around Beverly Hills with beau Sam Palmer on Monday. The socialite showcased her casual fashion sense as she donned a pair of lose-fitting cream joggers which shrouded her slender pins for the outing. Stepping out: Petra Ecclestone, 29, showcased her off-duty style as she strolled around Beverly Hills with beau Sam Palmer on Monday The blonde beauty teamed her low-key trousers with a cropped white T-shirt which she sported under a grey marl hoodie with fleece lining. Working her blonde locks into a chic top knot, she strolled along the pavement in a pair of snakeskin Gucci Princeton loafers while sipping on a beverage. The mother-of-two kept her accessorises to a minimum for their laidback afternoon as she draped a mixed print leather backpack over her shoulder and sported a pair of reflective shades. Complementing Petra's low-key appearance, Sam slipped into a pair of black denim jeans and grey Reebox hoodie. Low-key: The socialite showcased her casual fashion sense as she donned a pair of lose-fitting cream joggers which shrouded her slender pins for the outing They are in the thick of the early stages of a sizzling romance after just seven months of dating each other as Petra continues to put her divorce behind her. While no details of the divorce settlement were released, Petra and her ex-husband James Stunt reached an agreement back in October last year. It was reported that James signed a 16 million prenuptial agreement, with Petra also awarded sole custody of the couple's three children in January. The former flames were married in an extravagant 12 million wedding ceremony at a castle in Rome, Italy, in 2011 but the couple were divorced just six years later. Then: While no details of the divorce settlement were released, Petra and her ex-husband James Stunt reached an agreement back in October last year (Pictured together in 2014) During their marriage, the pair splashed out 100 million on a Chelsea mansion and a further 158 million on a 123-room home in Los Angeles. Petra has found love again with Sam, who is friends with her sister Tamara's husband Jay Rutland. Its very early-on dating, the heiress told Mail On Sunday's YOU magazine in a recent interview. The whole thing is quite strange because my life didnt pan out the way I expected it to. I thought I wasnt the type who believed in divorce. 'I go to church and I got married thinking I would be with that person for the rest of my life. But things happen for a reason and, whatever that reason is, Ive now got my three kids. He was was seen mingling with a host of celebrities and British Royals on Saturday, when he attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's high-profile wedding. But James Corden, who was seen making his way into Windsor Castle's St. George's Chapel with wife Julia Carey by his side, has revealed that he almost interrupted the extravagant nuptials at a key point in the ceremony, thanks to his pesky allergies. Speaking on his return to The Late Late Show in Los Angeles on Monday night, the 39-year-old comedian explained that while he found the newly minted Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding 'beautiful', his need to sneeze became a grave worry. Scroll down for video Close call: James Corden has revealed that he came close to ruining the Royal Wedding, which he attended with his wife Julia Carey at Windsor Castle's St. George's Chapel on Saturday He said: 'Here's the thing, the worst part of the ceremony for me was there was flowers everywhere, the most beautiful flowers you've ever seen. 'I get quite bad allergies if I'm in close proximity to flowers so for a lot of the ceremony I just needed to sneeze.' He then reenacted his attempts to suppress his sneezes as he sat in the church among the likes of David and Victoria Beckham and Sir Elton John. Tying the knot: The TV personality was among several celebrities who were in attendance to watch Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot Flowers: However, the abundance of flowers decorating the chapel triggered James's allergies He recalled: 'Right at the point when the Archbishop was saying, "If anyone knows of any reason that these two should not be married..." I was thinking, "Please don't sneeze", and I had to do one of those internal sneezes.' 'I think I got away with it,' the Buckinghamshire-raised TV personality said, after demonstrating how he kept his sneeze from being audible to attendees. James, who has known Harry for seven years and served as a compere at the newlyweds' wedding reception, went on to gush about the ceremony: 'It was gorgeous the whole affair, it was happy, it was joyous, it was uplifting. Suppressed: On returning to the Los Angeles set of The Late Late Show on Monday, James revealed that he was able to successfully suppress his sneezes during the ceremony Laughter: He drew laughter from the studio audience as he reenacted his attempts to hold back from sneezing as he sat among the hundreds of well-heeled wedding guests The host with the most: The 39-year-old also served as a compere at the wedding reception 'It was Britain at it's finest, a picture perfect day, Windsor Castle, six hundred guests, 30,000 flowers or as Elton John calls it, a Thursday. He was there, he performed some songs in the afternoon which was wonderful.' During his recap on the proceedings, James also jokingly took a jab at Hollywood actor and Nespresso ambassador George Clooney, who attended the star-studded celebrations with his glamorous lawyer wife, Amal. He said: 'George Clooney was there so congratulations Meghan and Harry on your brand new Nespresso machine, I imagine that's what he got him.' Celebration: Locals and tourists gathered on the streets of Windsor as the couple tied the knot He has been portraying a difficult male rape story line on the beloved ITV soap in recent weeks. So it is no wonder Coronation Street's Jack P. Shepherd was keen to blow off steam with a boozy pub session at Manchester's Media City on Sunday. Joined by co-star and roommate Colson Smith, the actor, 30, was seen indulging in a luxurious bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal champagne - which costs a whopping 250 at the media hub's Alchemist Bar. Relaxed: Coronation Street's Jack P. Shepherd enjoyed a boozy pub session at Manchester's Media City on Sunday - amid his harrowing male rape story line on the soap Life of luxury: Joined by co-star and roommate Colson Smith, the actor, 30, was seen indulging in a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal champagne - which costs a whopping 250 Jack looked in high spirits as he enjoyed a few drinks with his pals in the Manchester sunshine, during a break from filming. Clad in a plain black shirt, the actor appeared completely relaxed as he laughed animatedly with Colson - who plays Craig Tinker on the soap - and tucked into a few al fresco pints. As the festivities got into full swing however, the boys were then seen treating themselves to a lavish bottle of Cristal - which costs a whopping 250 at their bar of choice. Having a ball: Jack looked in high spirits as he enjoyed a few drinks with his pals in the Manchester sunshine, during a break from filming Catching up: Clad in a plain black shirt, the actor appeared completely relaxed as he chatted and laughed with Colson - who plays Craig Tinker on the soap Summer vibes: The trio enjoyed a number of al fresco drinks in the Manchester sunshine Clearly excited by their choice of fizz, both Jack and Colson were quick to share snaps of the famous gold bottle on their social media pages. Posting a photo of the Cristal logo and himself pouring the alcohol out to his friends, Jack simply wrote: 'It's Sunday innit' (sic), while Colson added 'Sunday funday' to his own followers. Following their afternoon of indulgence, Jack and Colson later moved to The Dockyard Bar nearby for their final pints of the day - taking the empty bottle with them. Going for it: As the festivities got into full swing however, the boys were then seen treating themselves to a lavish bottle of Cristal champagne Check us out: Clearly excited by their choice of fizz, both Jack and Colson were quick to share snaps of the famous 250 bottle on their social media pages End of the week treat: Posting a photo of the Cristal logo and himself pouring the alcohol out to his friends, Jack simply wrote in the caption: 'It's Sunday innit' The boys no doubt took the champagne back to the quay-side apartment they share close to the Corrie set. Jack revealed he had moved in with Colson and musician Bolt back in January, after splitting from his fiancee Lauren Shippey in October. The pair were together for sixteen years, and share two children together - son Reuben, five, and daughter Nyla Rae, nine. Jack appeared to be enjoying his break from filming on the Cobbles, amid his character David Platt's harrowing male rape story line. Next stop: Following their afternoon of indulgence, Jack and Colson later moved to The Dockyard Bar nearby for their final pints of the day Souvenir: However they took the empty champagne bottle with them, as a memento of their luxurious afternoon Taking a break: Jack appeared to be enjoying his break from filming on the Cobbles, amid his character David Platt's harrowing male rape story line (pictured on the soap on 2016) Despite the difficult scenes, Jack recently revealed he is glad the soap decided to take on the story line, as it has had a powerful effect on viewers. Speaking on Monday's This Morning alongside co-stars Catherine Tyldesley, Lucy Fallon and Nicola Sharp, he said: 'It was definitely right to do it. 'When people first heard they werent convinced. They said it was too dark and shouldnt be shown on TV, but its been handled very carefully so think people have changed their minds. 'Over next few weeks David will make a decision how he deals with Josh, what hes gonna do and whether hes gonna tell his family or the police, or take matters into his hands really.' Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were criticised by This Morning viewers for 'glossing over' the one year anniversary of the Manchester bombings. On May 22 of last year, a terrorist detonated an explosive device as fans were leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester - killing 22 people and injuring more than 500. Yet the one year anniversary of the tragedy was not mentioned until an hour and a half into Tuesday's episode, leaving fans outraged by the short tribute. Lashed out: Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were criticised by This Morning viewers on Tuesday for 'glossing over' the one year anniversary of the Manchester bombing After returning from an advert break, Phillip announced: 'Theres one very important anniversary that we wanted to mark today, the Manchester attack at the Ariana Grande concert a year today. Holly went on to read Ariana's Twitter tribute, 'Thinking of you all today and every day. I love you with all of me and am sending you all of the light and warmth I have to offer on this challenging day'. Holly added: 'And that goes for both of us and the whole team on This Morning. Were sending all our love and best wishes to Manchester today'. The midday tribute by the presenters was the first mention of the bombings, before which viewers had witnessed a debate on potty training, The Speaksman curing a woman with a phobia of coffee, and a discussion about the Royal Wedding cake. Tribute: After returning from an advert break, Phillip announced: 'Theres one very important anniversary that we wanted to mark today, the attack at the Ariana Grande concert' Taking to Twitter to voice their shock, viewers wrote: 'With a measly 30 seconds devoted to the anniversary of the Manchester Terror Attack my feelings about this programme have been reinforced. Its just one long promo for ITV and its sordid reality shows and ordinary people dont matter anymore.#ThisMorning 'Shame on Holly & Smugfield-the mention of Manchester bombing anniversary was obviously an afterthought. #ThisMorning'; 'Wow they finally mentioned the Manchester attack- for all of 2 seconds. There's no doubt in my mind that it was only mentioned because of our tweets- no way was that short mention preplanned and wouldn't of happened if the team weren't on top of social media #ThisMorning' 'Wow, only took them a few hours to FINALLY acknowledge the Manchester attack, and it was what, not even 5 minutes?? Wow, this show should be ashamed of themselves, I actually feel so sorry for the families affected by this tragic event #ThisMorning'; 'Ugh. Afterthought much #Manchester #ThisMorning'. Kind words: Holly added 'And that goes for both of us and the whole team on This Morning. Were sending all our love and best wishes to Manchester today' Angered: The one year anniversary of the tragedy was not mentioned until an hour and a half into Tuesday's episode, leaving fans outraged by the short tribute 'Now I come here just to rip the p**s but the fact they have completely glossed over #Manchester is actually awful. @thismorning should be ashamed #ThisMorning'; 'On a real, its the year anniversary of the Manchester attack. And #ThisMorning are chatting about potty training. Wtf '@thismorning You seem to have forgot there was an awful attack in Manchester a year ago. #ThisMorning #Shameful'; '#thismorning pretty much disgusted that there is no mention of the anniversary of the Manchester terror attack on the programme today.' 'Very poor that this morning hasnt opened today by marking the one year anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing. Instead they are taking about POTTY TRAINING!!! #ThisMorning'. Emotional: On Monday Holly and Phillip interviewed two of the victims from the bombing and British Transport Police dog Mojo and his handler, PC Phil Healy Incredulous: The midday tribute by the presenters was the first mention of the bombings, before which viewers had witnessed a debate on potty training and the Royal Wedding cake Shocking: On May 22 2017, Ariana Grande's Manchester show of the Dangerous Woman tour was targeted by an ISIS bomber following the concert (pictured at the benefit concert in June) One viewer, however, noted that Holly and Phillip had spent time discussing the Manchester Bombings during Monday's episode of the show as they interviewed two of the victims and British Transport Police dog Mojo and his handler, PC Phil Healy who worked through the night searching for more bombs. They wrote: '#ThisMorning The Manchester Arena bombing was covered yesterday. They had Lucy Jarvis and Millie Robson on talking about their recovery and a policeman who was there too. Millie's mum set up charity #BeeHappy2gether'. A spokesperson for This Morning told MailOnline: 'This Morning covered the Manchester attack in full items on Friday and Monday to allow victims and those involved the opportunity to be on the sofa then be free to travel back to the city in time for todays remembrance.' Sipping away: Elsewhere in the show, Holly and Phil had been guzzling cocktails Sweet treat: The pair had also been eating a recreation of the Royal Wedding cake On May 22 2017, Ariana Grande's Manchester show of the Dangerous Woman tour was targeted by an ISIS bomber following the concert. Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi, a British-born extremist of Libyan descent, killed 22 people at the concert and injured hundreds more. It was in Manchester that Abedi became radicalised in 2015 and on the night of the terrorist attack, he detonated a bomb device as concert-goers began leaving Ariana's concert in Manchester Arena. They had a very public row on their way home from their romantic holiday to Marbella. Yet, Gemma Collins, 37, and James 'Arg' Argent, 30, proved their relationship was back on track as they held hands and smiled at one another as they attended a soiree in Kent. TOWIE star Gemma dazzled in a sheer lace gown which flashed her black underwear and showcased her curves with aplomb. Loved-up: Gemma Collins, 37, and James 'Arg' Argent, 30, proved their relationship was back on track as they held hands and smiled at one another as they attended a soiree in Kent Leggy lady: The reality star showed off her tanned pins in a semi-sheer lace gown as she strutted her stuff Gemma's seductive plunging look highlighted her ample cleavage and teased at her black bra while she strutted her stuff into the venue. The head-turning ensemble also featured a daring thigh-high slit that flashed her pins and displayed her high-waisted underwear. Keeping to her glamorous display, she worked her peroxide blonde locks into a bouncy curl which highlighted her statement drop-earrings. Gemma complemented the look with a dramatic smokey eye and nude lip while she arrived to the venue in her red strappy heels. Strike a pose: TOWIE star Gemma dazzled in a sheer lace gown which flashed her black underwear and showcased her curves with aplomb Making a statement: Gemma's seductive plunging look highlighted her ample cleavage and teased at her black bra while she strutted her stuff into the venue Work it: The head-turning ensemble also featured a daring thigh-high slit that flashed her pins and displayed her high-waisted underwear Glam: Keeping to her glamorous display, she worked her peroxide blonde locks into a bouncy curl Glittering: She accessorised her skin-flashing look with a pair of statement drop-earrings Following Gemma's fashion lead, James donned his trademark black cardigan, white shirt and bow-tie combination with a pair of suit trousers. Looking happier than ever, the pair beamed as they walked hand-in-hand to the bash and got their photo taken. Gemma and Arg's united front came after they spotted having a heated row in London's Southend Airport last week, with a video obtained by The Sun showing Gemma grabbing Arg's arm. All in the details: Gemma complemented the look with a dramatic smokey eye and nude lip Red hot: She arrived to the venue in her red strappy heels Snap happy: While sipping on a glass of bubbles, Gemma took a selfie of herself Cheeky: She flashed her pert posterior in the sheer number Picture perfect: She boasted a natural golden glow Nailed it! She showcased her hot pink manicure While it's not clear what the tiff was about, Gemma begs her boyfriend to talk to her, but he's not having any of it as he shouts back and tries to get away. A source told MailOnline shortly afterwards: 'Things are fine between the two of them - they have their ups and downs like any other couple.' During their romantic trip away to Marbella, the bubbly blonde and her man had showed off their golden tans as they wrapped their arms around each other while cooling off in the pool. Gemma wrote in a caption alongside the snap: 'Weve had the most amazing holiday I love you so much @real_arg #specialmemoriesmade.' Dapper: Following Gemma's fashion lead, James donned his trademark black cardigan, white shirt and bow-tie combination with a pair of suit trousers Delighted: Looking happier than ever, the pair beamed as they walked hand-in-hand to the bash and got their photo taken United: Gemma and Arg's united front came after they spotted having a heated row in London's Southend Airport last week Heated: A video obtained by The Sun showed Gemma grabbing Arg's arm Moving on: While it's not clear what the tiff was about, Gemma begs her boyfriend to talk to her, but he's not having any of it as he shouts back and tries to get away It was the couple's first break away together since they went official following on their epic romance in March. Gemma's launched her new swimwear campaign with Boohoo last week and the Boohoo x Gemma Collins Australian campaign is the second that the reality star has done with the fashion brand. Posing in Essexs holiday hotspot of Marbella, Gemma looked stunning as she displayed her curvaceous figure in an array of striking swimwear. In true GC style, the star talked to the brand about her influences, and said: 'If there was a soundtrack to sum up my life it would have to be Glam by Fergie. G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S- Glamorous! Thats how I like to live my life.' 'Fine': A source told MailOnline shortly afterwards: 'Things are fine between the two of them - they have their ups and downs like any other couple' Sun-soaked: During their romantic trip away to Marbella, the bubbly blonde and her man had showed off their golden tans as they wrapped their arms around each other while cooling off in the pool Breakway: It was the couple's first break away together since they went official following on their epic romance in March New venture: Gemma's launched her new swimwear campaign with Boohoo last week and the Boohoo x Gemma Collins Australian campaign is the second that the reality star has done with the fashion brand Fashion: Posing in Essexs holiday hotspot of Marbella, Gemma looked stunning as she displayed her curvaceous figure in an array of striking swimwear And of her shoot in Spain, Gemma said: 'As you all know, Im the Queen of Marbs so filming here has made it extra special. 'What I love most about boohoo is that they go up to a size 24, they are always on trend - it fits amazing and makes you feel amazing.' Gemma was also keen to give some heartfelt advice to her fans, as she told Boohoo: 'The life advice I live by is dont ever let anyone tell you your hair is too big, thats so negative you dont need people like that in your life! 'And secondly dont let anyone put you down. You know youre amazing you have to tell yourself that every day and positive vibes always.' Soundtrack: In true GC style, the star talked to the brand about her influences, and said: 'If there was a soundtrack to sum up my life it would have to be Glam by Fergie. G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S- Glamorous! Thats how I like to live my life' She's the former Bachelor contestant who proudly flaunts her figure on social media. And on Tuesday, Noni Janur revealed the secret to maintaining her healthy lifestyle, while working 10-12 hour days at her full-time job. The 26-year-old told Daily Mail Australia she relies heavily on pre-prepared meals by YouFoodz to keep her health and fitness goals on track. 'I've always been confident. I honestly don't even look at the scales': Bachelor babe Noni Janur reveals what she eats to maintain her enviable physique The reality star is adored by her followers for unapologetically showcasing her gym-honed physique in scantily-clad bikinis and ensembles. 'I've never been one to care about what other people think - I've always been confident, whether it be 10 kgs heavier, I honestly don't really look at the scales or body in a way of weight,' Noni said. Earlier this year she clapped back at trolls who were criticial of her nude beach photos, writing: 'Little reminder for the body shamers out there. Luckily I love my body and words don't really affect me. But not everyone is as thick skinned as me.' 'Im always on the go and generally don't have time to cook. It's really helped me lead a healthier lifestyle and saved me so much time': The 26-year-old relies heavily on pre-prepared meals by YouFoodz to keep her health and fitness goals on track, eating both lunch and dinner from the meal company Routine: Making sure to get the most out of her day, Noni has made it a routine to hit the gym every morning before work Meanwhile, the busty brunette said packed lunches have become essential to her busy working schedule, as she often doesn't get a traditional lunch break. Making sure to get the most out of her day, Noni has made it a routine to hit the gym every morning before work. She says she makes herself eggs on toast with avocado after working up a sweat, but that's the extent her cooking seems to extend these days. 'I normally eat a Youfoodz meal for lunch and dinner... I work 10-12 hour days, if I don't eat YouFoodz It's likely to be something not as healthy,' Noni confessed. 'I've never been one to care about what other people think': Noni clapped back at trolls who were critical of her nude beach photos earlier this year, telling them she loved her body Noni became a YouFoodz ambassador last year, and swears by the fresh meal company: 'Im always on the go and generally don't have time to cook. It's really helped me lead a healthier lifestyle and saved me so much time.' The swimwear designer is currently dating former Bachelorette star Samuel Johnston, who resides in the US. The pair appear to have thrived in their long-distance relationship, with Noni travelling to Los Angeles regularly to see her beau. The pair famously found love on last year's season of The Bachelor. And while Matthew 'Matty J' Johnson and Laura Byrne will celebrate their one-year anniversary on Wednesday, they initially struggled to agree on the date. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia earlier this month, the Sydney-based marketing manager said the pair had adopted an unusual approach to picking when they would celebrate their future anniversaries. Scroll down for video EXCLUSIVE: 'When did it actually, officially begin?' Former Bachelor Matty J reveals the date he and girlfriend Laura Byrne agreed would mark the start of their loved-up relationship 'Everyone always asks whats your actual anniversary and we decided not long after the finale,' Matty said. 'It's also the thing of where do you start dating someone, when did it actually, officially begin?' Matty said, adding they thought the finale was fitting. However, while they hoped to use the filming date of the romantic finale as the start of their relationship, Matty admitted the pair found it difficult to pinpoint the date. 'We decided not long after the finale': Matty J said they hoped to use the filming date of the romantic finale as the start of their relationship, but couldn't determine exactly when the date occurred (Pictured: Bachelor finale) 'My lucky number is 23, so we felt like 23 was a nice number': Matty confessed the reason for their May 23 anniversary was because they couldn't pinpoint the date and 23 was his favourite number 'It was a few days afterwards and we were kind of like when was the actual finale and trying to figure it out and my lucky number is 23, so we felt like 23 was a nice number,' Matty confessed as the reason for their May 23 anniversary. At the time he was planning a trip to Bali with Laura, which he joked: 'It's kind of funny timing... I can now claim the Bali trip as being for our anniversary.' Not long after the couple celebrate their one-year anniversary, Laura and her three-legged pooch Buster will move in with Matty J in his Bondi abode. 'I kind of got my way': Matty J revealed the couple had decided to live together in his Bondi abode, after weighing up whether they should move into Laura's Rushcutters Bay apartment He cheekily revealed earlier this month that he 'kind of got my way' when the pair were considering moving in together when their separate leases were ending. 'Its a nice little bit to look forward to, we were always umming and ahhing if I would move to Rushcutters Bay or she would move to Bondi and the way its worked out, we decided Bondi,' Matty J said. The pair will move in together in June. The film is expected to be released precisely one year from now. And Keanu Reeves was pictured filming exhilarating gunpoint scenes for John Wick 3: Parabellum in Manhattan's Wall street area this week. Just this week, the release date was announced including new castmembers, which include former Bond Girl Halle Berry. Scroll down for video Tense: Keanu Reeves (left) returns as John Wick in new scenes from John Wick 3: Parabellum, which were filmed in Manhattan in the early hours of Tuesday Keanu will revive his role of the hitman in the Chad Stahelski-directed thriller, which is due out in 2019. A wanted man, John Wick is seen dragged to the floor by main villain Zero (Mark Dacascos). The actors were seen facing-off at gunpoint in dramatic scenes filmed in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Dragged out: The actor is pictured lying on sidewalk while he's threatened by his nemesis Threatened: Zero is seen pointing a gun directly at John Wick in the latest scenes In the first film, ex-hitman John came out of retirement to track down the gangsters that killed his dog. In the 2017 sequel, he returns to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, but discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life. It's believed that hitman John will find himself on the run again in the forth-coming film. Confirmed: Halle shared a post confirming the release date of - and her part in - the third John Wick film on Monday In shape: The former Bond Girl (left) was seen shaping up for the film role in an Instagram post last week Yet actor Keanu won't be the biggest star of this film, because former James Bond actress Halle has confirmed her part in the franchise. She let the news slip in an Instagram post, featuring a card that said: 'See you in a year, Mr Wick.' The 51-year-old actress has reportedly signed up to the forthcoming movie alongside Anjelica Huston, Asia Kate Dillon, Mark Dacascos, and Jason Mantzoukas, but details about their characters are being kept under wraps, according to Variety. Man down: John is believed to be on the run in the third installment Still fighting: Keanu looked like he was badly injured, but wasn't down and out Low point: It looked like John had met his maker when he came face-to-face with a gun The synopsis reads: 'John is on the run for two reasons: he's being hunted for a global $14 million dollar open contract on his life, and for breaking a central rule: taking a life on Continental Hotel grounds.' John's victim is believed to be a member of the High Table who ordered the open contract. 'John uses the service industry to stay alive as he fights and kills his way out of New York City,' the synopsis continues. Dragged out: The actor was forced to roll around on the wet streets in his suit Under siege: John is a wanted man, following the death of one of the High Table Gunpoint: John's arch nemesis Zero seemed to have the upper hand Under cover: Zero was dressed in black clothing, so that he could not be spotted Meanwhile, director Chad Stahelski previously revealed his ambitions for the new film, saying it will be more 'intricate' than the earlier installments. He said: 'We want, not so much to go bigger on the third one, but to show you more of the intricacies of the world. 'I feel like there are all these different subtleties that I skipped over in number two, that I'd like to go back to on [chapter three] and show you the inner workings of different parts of New York.' Breaking from character: Between scenes, the two actors got on like a house on fire Having a laugh: The tension soon subsided when they shared a laugh Between scenes: The actors were trying to stay in character on the set In the damp: Keanu was thoroughly soaked by his altercation in the rain Having a laugh: Keanu entertained the cast following his tense scenes She has been mercilessly ribbed by cruel trolls for her boob job. But Chloe Ferry brushed off their scathing words when she proudly showed off the results of her surgery, during romantic break in Dubai via Instagram on Tuesday. The reality star, 22, flaunted her surgically-enhanced cleavage in her blue bikini as she posed without her beau Sam Gowland after hinting he should propose soon. Eye-popping! Chloe Ferry displayed her surgically-enhanced cleavage and bandages in a scanty bikini during Dubai getaway with Sam Gowland via Instagram on Tuesday Chloe's bandages were visible thanks to her scanty halterneck top as she continues to heal from her breast augmentation operation which took place in April. Posed from the poolside at FIVE Palm Jumeirah, the Geordie Shore star looked relaxed as she topped up her tan the latest in her slew of snaps from her getaway. The television personality has admitted to spending 50,000 on cosmetic surgery in the past to sculpt her look. Displaying the results of her recent boob and nose job in her sunny Instagram, it is believed the MTV star splashed out a further 15,000 on her quest for perfection. Recovery: Chloe's bandages were visible thanks to her scanty halterneck top as she continues to heal from her breast augmentation operation which took place in April Cheeky! Just hours before her latest snap, Chloe was as subtle as a gun when she hinted she would like a diamond ring from Sam for her upcoming birthday on August 31 Just hours before her latest snap, Chloe was as subtle as a gun when she hinted she would like a diamond ring from Sam for her upcoming birthday on August 31. Accompanied with a ring and monkey covering its eyes emoji, Chloe wrote: 'Birthday is coming up @SamGowland123.' Reality worlds collided when Sam broke up with his former ladylove Georgia Harrison after leaving the Love Island villa last year and set his sights on Chloe. Going strong: Reality worlds collided when Sam broke up with his former ladylove Georgia Harrison after leaving the Love Island villa last year and set his sights on Chloe Chloe's latest Instagram shortly follows her social media rant where she launched a vicious attack on trolls after they branded her boobs 'wonky'. She angrily typed: 'Some of the nasty comments I get on my social media photos are disgusting from other girls! No wonder people are so insecure these days !!!!' 'Why is your left boob square and the other is round???' One troll wrote, leading the troops on social media. 'Very odd boobs.' Another added: 'Dem boobs are wonky'. They are known to have a close bond, and often document their days out together on social media. And Brooklyn Beckham paid tribute to his father David once again on Tuesday, after he treated him with an extravagant sushi dinner in Tokyo, Japan. Taking to Instagram, the 19-year-old shared an array of snaps from triple Michelin star restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro - and revealed the meal had been a sweet surprise from his father in the caption. 'The most amazing dinner': Brooklyn Beckham paid tribute to his father David on Instagram on Tuesday, after he treated him with an extravagant sushi dinner in Tokyo, Japan The first image saw the father-son duo sat at the counter of the famous restaurant, while chef Jiro Ono prepared the dishes behind the bar. Posing beside their own palette fresheners, chopsticks and a variety of sauces, the pair beamed with excitement as they prepared to experience the famous Japanese delicacy. Satisfied after their meal, the pair then posed with the chef himself in a second snap - with Brooklyn thanking his dad in the caption, for one of the best meals of his life. Luxurious: The 19-year-old shared an array of snaps of himself and David dining at the triple Michelin star restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro, alongside chef Jiro Ono (right) The restaurants and its legendary chef were the subject of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a critically beloved 2011 American documentary film He wrote underneath the photo: 'Wow.. my dad promised me he would bring me here, and today he surprised me with the most amazing dinner ever. Thank you very much Jiro son', followed by a love heart emoji. Sukiyabashi Jiro is known to be one of the best restaurants in Tokyo, with an impressive three Michelin stars, and Barack Obama as a fellow fan. With only ten seats, the eatery serves a set 20-piece sushi tasting menu, which costs in the region of 200 per person. The restaurant, which is located in a Tokyo subway station, and its legendary chef were the subject of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a critically beloved 2011 American documentary film. It seems only Brooklyn has joined his father in Japan, as his mother Victoria was spotted heading for lunch in Mayfair on the same day. Back to business: It seems only Brooklyn has joined his father in Japan, as his mother Victoria was spotted heading for lunch in Mayfair on the same day The designer, 42, turned heads in an emerald green suit as she enjoyed breakfast at Scott's, before paying a visit to her flagship Dover Street store. David and Victoria appear to be resuming their working commitments, after spending their weekend at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Smartening up for the occasion, the former Spice Girl stunned in a sleek navy midi dress and orange heels, while her husband accompanied her in classic morning dress. However, both faced criticism from viewers at the event - with David slammed for chewing gum in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, while Victoria was mocked for her 'miserable' expression in front of cameras. While Brooklyn did not attend the nuptials, he jetted back to London last week after another term of studying photography in New York. Meghan Markle's half-sister Samantha Grant has certainly been vocal in the media in the past year when it comes to the topic of her estranged sibling. And now, in her first interview since the wedding, Samantha says she has 'the right' to share her memories and photos of Meghan, but does regret the title of her book, The Diary Of Princess Pushy's Sister. The 53-year-old spoke to Australian radio station 2DayFM, telling hosts Em, Grant and Ed, 'I do regret the title of my book.' Right to speak: In her first interview since the wedding, Samantha Grant says she has 'the right' to share her memories and photos of Meghan Markle The former actress added, however, that she does not feel she's unfairly made money off her sister's back. 'It's not off her, it's off my personal photos that I was in, so if they're my memories, my life experiences, my photos, I certainly have more right to make money off them than any journalists,' she told the radio hosts. The mother-of-three added, 'It's not cashing in, to share fond feelings and memories. 'Here's what's fundamentally wrong - if family and friends don't make money, the journalist and tabloids are going to make money and they have less right.' Her memories too: 'If they're my memories, my life experiences, my photos, I certainly have more right to make money off them than any journalists,' she said The mother-of-three added: 'It's not cashing in, to share fond feelings and memories' The 53-year-old did admit however: 'I do regret the title of my book' which is titled The Diary Of Princess Pushy's Sister Pressed on how much money she had made giving interviews, Samantha declined to give a sum but said it was 'not much'. 'I still don't have a wheelchair-accessible house so it's not that much,' she told the radio hosts, before adding a hint as to how much she does in fact charge. 'Just to give people a snapshot of how it really was, if I do one interview and they pay me $1500, (then) 10,000 publications will copy that,' she said. Tuning in: Samantha went on to reveal that she watched Meghan and Harry's wedding on television at home in Florida Samantha went on to reveal that she watched Meghan and Harry's wedding on television at home in Florida, and admitted she hopes that Meghan will take a phone call from her once she returns from her honeymoon with Harry. She said: 'When things settle down I will hopefully be able to share with her my wishes and the gift that I got for her. I think that everything will come full circle.' The estranged sibling however admitted she doesn't have Meghan's phone number and would have to ask their father, Thomas Markle, to provide it for her. Samantha concluded: 'I will probably arrange her number from my father.' Christy Turlington Burns let her natural, ageless beauty shine through while strolling through Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood with a gal pal on Monday. The Every Mother Counts CEO easily defied her 49 years while wearing a blue, belted chambray shirt-dress, black leather backpack, and b&w-striped flats. Then on Tuesday, the Bloomingdale's brand ambassador wished fellow nineties supermodel Naomi Campbell a happy 48th birthday with a retro snap of the pair modeling together. Scroll down for video Out and about: Christy Turlington Burns let her natural, ageless beauty shine through while strolling through Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood with a gal pal on Monday Messy updo: The Every Mother Counts CEO easily defied her 49 years while wearing a blue, belted chambray shirt-dress, black leather backpack, and b&w-striped flats 'Happy Birthday Omi! Hope this is your best year yet,' Christy - who boasts 897K social media followers - wrote on Instagram. 'This photo is from your earliest days in NYC before you moved into Grand Street. by @toscanioliviero (I think) for American Elle Magazine at Appolo Studios on Broadway in 1987.' During their hey-day, Turlington and the British DNA Model used to be known as the 'Big Six' alongside Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, and Linda Evangelista. It was 53-year-old Evangelista who famously told Vogue in 1990: 'We have this expression, Christy and I. We don't wake up for less than $10K a day.' 'Hope this is your best year yet!' On Tuesday, the Bloomingdale's brand ambassador wished fellow nineties supermodel Naomi Campbell a happy 48th birthday with a retro 1987 snap of the pair modeling together 'We don't wake up for less than $10K': During their hey-day, Turlington and the British DNA Model used to be known as the 'Big Six' alongside Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss (not pictured), Claudia Schiffer, and Linda Evangelista Filled in: On May 8, the California-born beauty accepted Naomi's lifetime achievement award at the Black Alumni of Pratt's Creative Spirit Scholarship Benefit Gala when she couldn't attend The NYU grad said onstage Manhattan's Park Hyatt: 'When a sister calls and asks you to stand in her shoes, you say yes, and so I am here' On May 8, the California-born beauty accepted Naomi's lifetime achievement award at the Black Alumni of Pratt's Creative Spirit Scholarship Benefit Gala when she couldn't attend. 'When a sister calls and asks you to stand in her shoes, you say yes, and so I am here,' the NYU grad said onstage Manhattan's Park Hyatt - according to Page Six. Christy and her husband Edward Burns - who met at a Hamptons party in 2000 - will impressively celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary on June 7. Turlington and the 50-year-old SAG Award nominee are the proud parents of 14-year-old daughter Grace and 12-year-old son Finn. He attended the Royal Wedding last weekend to watch former co-star Meghan Markle wed Prince Harry. Yet it was back to reality for Gabriel Macht as he jetted into Toronto on Tuesday to film Suits, where he plays lead role Harvey Specter. Looking in good spirits as he strolled through the terminal, the 46-year-old actor opted for a low-key look as he touched down in Canada. Working hard: He attended the Royal Wedding last weekend . Yet it was back to reality for Gabriel Macht as he jetted into Toronto on Tuesday to film Suits, where he plays the lead role Concealing his face, the star donned a brown flat cap with his oversized glasses. Keeping his colour scheme neutral, the star teamed a navy crew neck jumper that he teamed with jeans whilst he slung a khaki bag over his shoulder. Gabriel was not joined by his wife Jacinda Barrett on the flight, who also attended the Royal Wedding and had stolen the show in a plum figure hugging dress and a matching fascinator. Cute couple: Gabriel was not joined by his wife Jacinda Barrett on the flight, who also attended the Royal Wedding and had stolen the show in a plum figure hugging dress and fascinator All-smiles: Looking in good spirits as he strolled through the terminal, the 46-year-old actor opted for a low-key look as he touched down in Canada Her frock featured pleated details on her shoulders, as well as a triangle cutout at the top of her cleavage. The bodice of her dress showcased her slender figure, which then flowed out to a pleated mid-length skirt. She teamed the look with a pair of black heels and accessorised with a matching maroon clutch and a broach on her left. Meanwhile, Gabriel looked dapper in a tailored three piece suit. Kind words: Following the celebrations, Gabriel took to Instagram to share a sweet message to the newlyweds as he wished the pair a lifetime of happiness together and children Following the celebrations, Gabriel took to Instagram to share a sweet message to the newlyweds as he wished the pair a lifetime of happiness together and children. He wrote: 'Congrats to Meghan and Prince Harry on your nuptials. Enjoyed meeting many of your family and friends and an incredible honour to be a part of the whole celebration. 'May your journey together be full of love and children. Cheers!' The hotly-anticipated Love Island Australia is due to hit TV screens this Sunday. Ahead of the show's release, host Sophie Monk has opened up about just how raunchy the new series is going to be. Speaking to NW magazine, the 38-year-old explained the fundamental concept behind the sizzling dating show. 'I love watching the sex scenes!' Sophie Monk spilled about Love Island Australia's raunchy moments in a new interview with NW magazine 'It's Big Brother meets a lot of sex,' Sophie said, before admitting: 'I love watching the sex scenes.' And the former Bachelorette star confirmed that the bedroom antics will not be censored by Channel Nine - admitting that she's 'proud' of TV executives for pushing the boundaries. Sophie teased: 'Australia always tends to be safer, but not now - you can see everything.' 'You can see everything': The 38-year-old admitted that she's 'proud' of TV executives for pushing the boundaries when it came to the naughty scenes Five men and five ladies will be entering the luxurious villa on Spain's 'party island' Majorca - with the full cast being revealed in a promo clip last Sunday. Back in December, Sophie announced that she would be hosting the brand new series of Love Island Australia. 'I'm super excited to get to Spain and see Love Island unfold,' Sophie told Nine. X-rated: The former Bachelorette star confirmed that the bedroom antics will not be censored by Channel Nine She added: 'The cast are the hottest human beings I've ever seen in my life. 'I'm going to have to strap down my muffin top with a few pairs of Spanx!' Fans were excited, to say the least. Here come the Aussies: The full cast, made up of five women and five men, was revealed last Sunday ahead of Love Island Australia's premiere at the end of this week 'Very excited! I watch the UK one religiously so Im looking forward to the Aussie version with you as the host,' one fan wrote on social media. 'Cannot WAIT!' another commented. 'I'm obsessed with the glorious trash that is Love Island!' Love Island Australia premieres on Sunday 27 May at 8.30pm on 9Go and 9Now. Professor Green has taken a scathing swipe at his ex-girlfriend Fae Williams, by claiming she's 'downgraded' by moving on to a new romance with Dan Crowe. On Tuesday afternoon, 34-year-old Green took to Instagram to share a screenshot from a video originally posted to Fae's own social media account, which showed the tattoo artist downing a cocktail in one go as they vacationed in Ibiza. The rapper, who was previously married to erstwhile reality TV star Millie Mackintosh, captioned the mean-spirited post: 'When your ex downgrades... Ive really gotta stop giving birds careers, means you bump into em once youve dumped em.' [sic] Scathing remarks: Professor Green has taken a jab at his ex-girlfriend Fae Williams by claiming she's 'downgraded' with her new boyfriend. Pictured in February 2018 Adding insult to injury, he even directly tagged tattoo artist Dan in the post, which garnered more than 8,000 likes in less than three hours and received a resoundingly positive response from his followers, who dubbed him a 'legend' and 'savage'. So far, neither Fae nor Dan have responded to Green's dig, as they continue to soak up the sunshine on the Balearic island with a group of pals, including Made In Chelsea star Jess Woodley and friend Charlie Barker. Green's eyebrow-raising social media post comes weeks after he wrote a lengthy diatribe on break-ups - despite insisting it's not about his exes. Mean-spirited: The rapper shared a screenshot of Dan Crowe alongside a mean-spirited caption, in which he vowed that he will 'stop giving birds careers' The musician wrote his first column for The Book Of Man about the painful stages of splits, just days after his relationship with girlfriend Fae ended. Green spoke about the sex drying up in relationships, and how break ups involve 'stuffing your noses full of cocaine,' drinking yourself stupid and 'shagging your way out' of getting over it. Professor Green's recent ex Fae was said to be 'in the process of moving out' of his London home last week, and his latest column speaks volumes about what he could be experiencing. He talks about stalking his exes online, and speaks of an 'ex shaped void' as he describes the 'sh***y emotions' men typically experience in break ups. Clip: In the brief video, shared to Fae's Instagram Story, Dan is seen holding a full cocktail glass Drink: After encouragement from the person filming, presumably Fae, he gulps down the drink Gulp: After downing the entire drink in one go, he is seen struggling to keep it all in his mouth 'Do you message her or not? The ex,' he asks. 'Even if youve made the decision, or it was a mutual decision to break up (its never quite mutual), theres still an ex-shaped hole in your life; a void that you have to fill. 'You could message her, telling her youll change every behaviour thats been pushing her away now that you realise shes serious about leaving but will you?' He describes posting pictures that feature girls to make 'her really jealous' and partying until you make new friends to have inevitable 'sex you won't remember'. '[But] Come downs make it a lot harder to control impulse and also make sadness feel more like impending doom. Or doom. Its like grieving, only different, because its not the death of a person youre mourning, its the death of something.' Separation: Professor Green's split with first wife Millie Mackintosh (here in May 2015) in 2016 was also a bitter pill to swallow Professor Green talks about past lives with girlfriends saying that nights in bed become 'more Netflix than Chill' because 'the sex stopped ages ago'. He even recounts a dramatic experience of an ex throwing scissors at him when she told her she'd drunk too much - even though he insists that any resemblance with his own experiences is down to 'coincidence'. Model Fae and hitmaker Green split two weeks ago after 18 months together, reportedly on 'good terms'. It was his first long-term relationship since the demise of his marriage to Made In Chelsea star Millie. Sources claimed the end to his three-year union with Millie was particularly sad for Green, who wanted to children, but their fiery arguments became too much to bear. 'It's really sad for Stephen because he's a lovely and sensitive guy who will make a great dad one day,' a source told The Sun at the time. 'They loved each other but would have these crazy explosive rows.' The couple married in 2013 at Babington House, Somerset, in a celebration attended by Lily Allen and other Made In Chelsea stars. Has she moved on? Pro Green spoke about all of the 'sh***y emotional' stages men experience during break-ups Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett let out a laugh as she made her way through the bustling JFK Airport terminal after landing in New York on Tuesday morning. The Australian actress - who relies on stylist Elizabeth Stewart - easily defied her 49 years in a chic white pantsuit, black blouse, matching lace-up shoes, and a leather handbag. The Cannes Jury President wore black-framed glasses over her make-up free face and her blonde bob was a bit messy from the flight from France. Good mood: Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett let out a laugh as she made her way through the bustling JFK Airport terminal after landing in New York on Tuesday morning Cate's sighting came just as Giorgio Armani Beauty announced she was the cosmetic company's first global beauty ambassador, after having been the face of Armani's Si fragrance since 2013 - according to WWD. 'When I emerged from drama school with my very first paycheck, I bought an Armani suit, which I still have and still wear!' Blanchett told ELLE Canada back in 2013. Warner Bros. teased the first trailer and behind-the-scenes footage of the Thor: Ragnarok star as Kaa the snake in the motion-capture and live-action Jungle Book reboot, Mowgli. Relies on stylist Elizabeth Stewart: The Australian actress easily defied her 49 years in a chic white pantsuit, black blouse, matching lace-up shoes, and a leather handbag Globetrotter: The Cannes Jury President wore black-framed glasses over her make-up free face and her blonde bob was a bit messy from the flight from France 'She is a true representative of the values and aesthetic of the brand': Cate's sighting came just as Giorgio Armani Beauty announced she was the cosmetic company's first global beauty ambassador, after having been the face of Armani's Si fragrance since 2013 'Kaa, who's played brilliantly by Cate Blanchett,' director Andy Serkis said in the featurette. 'She is an ancient soul of the jungle, but one that can see that the world is changing.' The adventure fantasy non-musical - hitting US/UK theaters October 19 - also stars Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys, and Freida Pinto. 'You are something the jungle has never seen': Warner Bros. teased the first trailer and behind-the-scenes footage of the Thor: Ragnarok star as Kaa the snake in the motion-capture and live-action Jungle Book reboot, Mowgli Hitting US/UK theaters October 19! The adventure fantasy non-musical also stars Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys, and Freida Pinto But first, fans can next catch the three-time Golden Globe winner as Lou (Sandra Bullock's partner-in-crime) in Gary Ross' star-studded heist movie Ocean's 8, which hits US theaters June 8 and UK theaters June 18. On the personal front, Cate has four children - sons Dashiell, 16; Roman, 14; Ignatius, 10; and daughter Edith, 3 - with her husband of 20 years, playwright Andrew Upton. Chef Gary Mehigan has revealed that Prince Charles' wife Camilla was the driving force behind the royal's appearance on MasterChef. 'She's a massive MasterChef fan,' he told the Herald Sun on Tuesday, but added that His Royal Highness left the cast of chefs jittery. 'We were nervous as hell, not so much meeting him but realising how important that function was,' Gary, 51, confessed to the paper. Scroll down for video Behind it all: Chef Gary Mehigan has revealed that Prince Charles' wife Camilla was the driving force behind the royal's appearance on MasterChef Nervous! 'She's a massive MasterChef fan,' he told the Herald Sun on Tuesday, but added that His Royal Highness left the cast of chefs jittery The pair met after the Prince of Wales invited MasterChef contestants to cater a reception for 150 guests at the Royal Flying Doctor Service base in Darwin. 'It appealed to his sense of raising the profile of the Northern Territory and Aboriginal communities and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. So you put those things together with Camilla as a MasterChef fan (we got the) nod of approval,' Gary said. Fellow chef and judge George Calombaris had previously echoed Gary's statements. The show's judge, 39, confessed that the 70-year-old 'absolutely adores' the Channel 10 cooking programme and even prefers it to the original English version. Big deal! 'We were nervous as hell, not so much meeting him but realising how important that function was,' Gary, 51, confessed to the paper 'His wife Camilla is a massive fan and loves MasterChef,' George said on the Kyle and Jackie O show . 'She loves the Australian version. She absolutely adored it, I think it must have been Matt and Gary's posh English accents that did it!' he joked. George added that Prince Charles is 'very encouraging to all the contestants' and has a favourite dish - roast chicken. Also keen: Fellow chef and judge George Calombaris had previously echoed Gary's statements George previously told the Daily Telegraph that Prince Charles' debut was a 'wonderful and surreal' experience. Due to his interest in the environment, the Queen's eldest son was reportedly most keen on trying dishes featuring Indigenous ingredients. This resulted in an array of eclectic dishes being served up, such as wallaby tartare with quandong chutney, cucumber, zuccini and green ants as well as kangaroo with Davidson plum jam. The surprise cameo will air on upcoming episode in the current series of the show. Manchester: The Night Of The Bomb (BBC2) Rating: Amazing Spaces Special: 24-Hour Build (C4) Rating: How DAMNING that neither Greater Manchester Police, nor the citys Fire And Rescue Service, was willing to participate in a documentary investigating last years terrorist atrocity that claimed 22 blameless lives at a pop concert. Manchester: The Night Of the Bomb (BBC2) included testimony from the handful of brave British Transport Police officers who battled to save lives in the aftermath, from the security forces who admitted they had missed crucial warning signs and even from the cowardly killers schoolteachers. But no explanation was forthcoming from two of the emergency services that could have done most to impose order and evacuate the wounded in the minutes after a home-made device was detonated. Families are consoled by emergency services after the Manchester Arena terror attack in May 2017 Police and fire crews were ordered to hang back, with paramedics, until the scene of carnage in the foyer of the Manchester Arena had been swept for secondary bombs. No blame belongs to individual officers. The courage of Britains police and firefighters is beyond question. Its the culture of red tape protocols and health-and-safety edicts that is responsible that and the inability of those at the top to admit their mistakes. This programme, marking the first anniversary of the attack, wasted little time on the contemptible killer. He was a drug user and an inadequate, filled with bitterness because young women ignored him. Nothing about him was noteworthy, except that he was born and educated in Manchester a fact that still defies comprehension. All that was good about the documentary came from the children caught up in the bombing, some of them surviving serious injuries. Every one was able to describe how excited they had been before the concert by Ariana Grande, and what a thrilling evening it was. One girl told of her amazement and delight when the star saved her new hit for the shows finale. These were children protected by their innocence, able to separate the magic of the performance from the horror of what followed. That clear-eyed innocence also captured vivid impressions of the bombing itself. Emilia, 12, remembered the naive thoughts that rushed through her head when she saw her older sister lifted off her feet by the blast: I thought shes maybe jumped or shes got superpowers to go that high. But I could see on her face, it wasnt even an expression it was just pure shock. Their love and courage is the lasting legacy of this hateful attack. As for lessons learned, well have to wait for the top brass to accept some culpability. A far more trivial type of denial afflicts architect George Clarke. He just cannot bring himself to confess when one of his bright ideas turns out to be idiotic. This time, on Amazing Spaces Special: 24-Hour Build (C4), the boisterous designer and his excitable builder mate Will were determined to erect a house in a single day and night beside a Snowdonia lake honouring a Welsh tradition called ty unnos or one-night house. Amazing Spaces Special presenter George Clarke is determined to build a house in one day They cheated somewhat, using pre-constructed timber A-frames for the cabins wooden skeleton and transporting the slate with motorised barrows. The weather didnt help, though, with gale force winds and torrential rain. But the truly daft notion was to try to create a cascade of water across the doorway of the house, by diverting a spring into a perforated metal gutter. It wasnt so much a waterfall, more a noisy series of dribbles. Did George not think that North Wales was already wet enough? They've been close pals for years and regularly share the screen together. And Holly Willoughby reunited with her best friend Fearne Cotton to film for Celebrity Juice, posing up a storm outside the London studios together. The This Morning presenter ditched her usual daytime TV look in favour of an edgier ensemble, showing off her legs in leather shorts. Joining forces: Holly Willoughby reunited with her best friend Fearne Cotton to film for Celebrity Juice, posing up a storm outside the London studios together Holly dressed her look down with a simple black T-shirt, accessorising with white cowboy boots and a circular pendant. Fearne opted for a casual khaki jumpsuit, worn belted at the waist and set off with pointed leather boots. The presenters joined forces with co-host Keith Lemon and a host of famous faces, including Love Island presenter Caroline Flack. Stylish: The This Morning presenter ditched her usual daytime TV look in favour of an edgier ensemble, showing off her legs in leather shorts All together: Also completing the show's line-up were Stirling ,Caroline Flack,Joel Dommett, Keith Lemon, Lisa Stansfield and Mark Wright (from left to right) Fabulous in florals: Caroline looked lovely in a cold-shoulder red floral sundress Funny guys: Comedians Joel and Iain brought some laughs to the panel Meanwhile Holly and Phillip Schofield were criticised by This Morning viewers for 'glossing over' the one year anniversary of the Manchester bombings. On May 22 of last year, a terrorist detonated an explosive device as fans were leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester - killing 22 people and injuring more than 500. Yet the one year anniversary of the tragedy was not mentioned until an hour and a half into Tuesday's episode, leaving fans outraged by the short tribute. Lashed out: Meanwhile, Holly and Phillip Schofield were criticised by This Morning viewers on Tuesday for 'glossing over' the one year anniversary of the Manchester bombing After returning from an advert break, Phillip announced: 'Theres one very important anniversary that we wanted to mark today, the Manchester attack at the Ariana Grande concert a year today. Holly went on to read Ariana's Twitter tribute, 'Thinking of you all today and every day. I love you with all of me and am sending you all of the light and warmth I have to offer on this challenging day'. Holly added: 'And that goes for both of us and the whole team on This Morning. Were sending all our love and best wishes to Manchester today'. The midday tribute by the presenters was the first mention of the bombings, before which viewers had witnessed a debate on potty training, The Speaksman curing a woman with a phobia of coffee, and a discussion about the Royal Wedding cake. Tribute: After returning from an advert break, Phillip announced: 'Theres one very important anniversary that we wanted to mark today, the attack at the Ariana Grande concert' Taking to Twitter to voice their shock, viewers wrote: 'With a measly 30 seconds devoted to the anniversary of the Manchester Terror Attack my feelings about this programme have been reinforced. Its just one long promo for ITV and its sordid reality shows and ordinary people dont matter anymore.#ThisMorning 'Shame on Holly & Smugfield-the mention of Manchester bombing anniversary was obviously an afterthought. #ThisMorning'; 'Wow they finally mentioned the Manchester attack- for all of 2 seconds. There's no doubt in my mind that it was only mentioned because of our tweets- no way was that short mention preplanned and wouldn't of happened if the team weren't on top of social media #ThisMorning' 'Wow, only took them a few hours to FINALLY acknowledge the Manchester attack, and it was what, not even 5 minutes?? Wow, this show should be ashamed of themselves, I actually feel so sorry for the families affected by this tragic event #ThisMorning'; 'Ugh. Afterthought much #Manchester #ThisMorning'. Kind words: Holly added 'And that goes for both of us and the whole team on This Morning. Were sending all our love and best wishes to Manchester today' Angered: The one year anniversary of the tragedy was not mentioned until an hour and a half into Tuesday's episode, leaving fans outraged by the short tribute 'Now I come here just to rip the p**s but the fact they have completely glossed over #Manchester is actually awful. @thismorning should be ashamed #ThisMorning'; 'On a real, its the year anniversary of the Manchester attack. And #ThisMorning are chatting about potty training. Wtf '@thismorning You seem to have forgot there was an awful attack in Manchester a year ago. #ThisMorning #Shameful'; '#thismorning pretty much disgusted that there is no mention of the anniversary of the Manchester terror attack on the programme today.' 'Very poor that this morning hasnt opened today by marking the one year anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing. Instead they are taking about POTTY TRAINING!!! #ThisMorning'. Emotional: On Monday Holly and Phillip interviewed two of the victims from the bombing and British Transport Police dog Mojo and his handler, PC Phil Healy Incredulous: The midday tribute by the presenters was the first mention of the bombings, before which viewers had witnessed a debate on potty training and the Royal Wedding cake Shocking: On May 22 2017, Ariana Grande's Manchester show of the Dangerous Woman tour was targeted by an ISIS bomber following the concert (pictured at the benefit concert in June) One viewer, however, noted that Holly and Phillip had spent time discussing the Manchester Bombings during Monday's episode of the show as they interviewed two of the victims and British Transport Police dog Mojo and his handler, PC Phil Healy who worked through the night searching for more bombs. They wrote: '#ThisMorning The Manchester Arena bombing was covered yesterday. They had Lucy Jarvis and Millie Robson on talking about their recovery and a policeman who was there too. Millie's mum set up charity #BeeHappy2gether'. A spokesperson for This Morning told MailOnline: 'This Morning covered the Manchester attack in full items on Friday and Monday to allow victims and those involved the opportunity to be on the sofa then be free to travel back to the city in time for todays remembrance.' Sipping away: Elsewhere in the show, Holly and Phil had been guzzling cocktails Sweet treat: The pair had also been eating a recreation of the Royal Wedding cake On May 22 2017, Ariana Grande's Manchester show of the Dangerous Woman tour was targeted by an ISIS bomber following the concert. Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi, a British-born extremist of Libyan descent, killed 22 people at the concert and injured hundreds more. It was in Manchester that Abedi became radicalised in 2015 and on the night of the terrorist attack, he detonated a bomb device as concert-goers began leaving Ariana's concert in Manchester Arena. She's currently in Wyoming while her husband Kanye West records several new albums. But on Tuesday, Kim Kardashian shared a full nude photo of herself to promote her latest fragrance, KKW Body. The 37-year-old entrepreneur flaunted her famous hourglass curves in the snap, although she carefully covered her chest and her lower body with her arms. Not shy: Kim Kardashian shared a full nude photo of herself to promote her latest fragrance, KKW Body; she posted the image to her Instagram on Tuesday The mother of three posted the revealing photo to announce her KKW Body restock, which is available to purchase online. Her KKW Body fragrance bottle is shaped like her body; earlier this month she released snaps of the process as molds were taken of her nude form. Hours earlier, Kim shared the secret her incredibly toned body on her website. She revealed in a post titled What To Eat Before And After A Workout on KimKardashianWest.com that she eats carbs, despite the myth that it can cause you to gain weight. Absolute perfection: Hours earlier, Kim shared on her website the secret her incredibly toned body; the beauty flaunting her body during her April trip to Turks And Caicos Wow: Her KKW Body fragrance bottle is shaped like her body; earlier this month she released snaps of the process as molds were taken of her nude form Curves: The mother of three posted the revealing photo to announce her KKW Body restock, which is available to purchase online The brunette beauty, who works with trainer Melissa 'Mel' Alcantara, said that she eats 'simple carbs, like sweet potatoes, and small amounts of fat and protein, like chicken.' Kim added in the post that you should consume vegetables with your meals to 'to help effectively break down and absorb your protein, fat and carbs.' The gorgeous businesswoman noted that processed foods should be avoided, and one should focus on eating food with nutritional value, like sweet potato for example. Kim posted an adorable image of her son Saint, two, cuddling his little sister Chicago, four months, on Tuesday morning. Kim and Kanye, 40, are also parents to four-year-old daughter North. So cute: Hours earlier, Kim posted an adorable image of her son Saint, two, cuddling his little sister Chicago, four months Happy family: Kim and Kanye, 40, are also parents to four-year-old daughter North; North with little brother Saint In the snap, Saint looked sweet in his teal Mickey Mouse patterned pajamas while Chicago donned a onesie. Kim captioned the post: 'Sometimes we all need hugs.' The beauty has been keeping a low profile while spending time in Wyoming as Kanye works on his new albums. Earlier this month, the stunner wowed in a gold Versace gown for the Met Gala in New York City, although Kanye did not attend the event with her. Views: The beauty has been keeping a low profile while spending time in Wyoming as Kanye works on his new albums She's become a staple on any famous catwalk. And Kendall Jenner showed off her money-making figure while leaving the Greenwich Hotel on Tuesday afternoon in New York. The 22-year-old stunner opted to keep covered in a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier sweater as she left the trendy Lower Manhattan area. Scroll down for video Freedom: Kendall Jenner showed off her money-making figure while leaving the Greenwich Hotel on Tuesday afternoon in New York Her endlessly long legs were completely covered in a pair of stone-wash grey jeans, worn high upon her hips. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star sported a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier turtleneck sweater, which featured red and white stripes along her arms. A black leather belt wrapped around her slender waistline to match a pair of short-heeled booties. Walk it out: The 22-year-old stunner opted to keep covered in a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier sweater as she left the trendy Lower Manhattan area Casual: Her endlessly long legs were completely covered in a pair of stone-wash grey jeans, worn high upon her hips Kendall kept things casual for the afternoon out, with a pair of dark sunglasses hiding her nearly makeup-free face. She carried a black Prada bag in one hand as she adjusted the waistband of her retro-inspired denim trousers. Her short, raven-colored tresses were worn straight past her shoulders with a distinct part down the middle. Later in the day, she took to Instagram to show off an entirely new outfit, complete with tall black suede boots and a vibrant long-sleeved dress. Chic: The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star sported a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier turtleneck sweater, which featured red and white stripes along her arms Bright: Kendall kept things casual for the afternoon out, with a pair of dark sunglasses hiding her nearly makeup-free face Strike a pose: Later in the day, she took to Instagram to show off an entirely new outfit, complete with tall black suede boots and a vibrant long-sleeved dress She's back in the Big Apple after a whirlwind trip to France where she partied with the stars during the celeb-filled Cannes Film Festival. Her trip to the French Riviera comes shortly after she spoke to ELLE about the arrival of her sister Kylie's daughter Stormi in a new interview with the magazine, admitting it still feels 'weird' her younger sibling, 20, is now a mother. Kylie welcomed her baby daughter with boyfriend Travis Scott in February, announcing the news with a sweet video after months of speculation about her pregnancy. Kendall confessed: 'Its obviously a bit weird that your little sister is having a baby before you. I didnt expect it to happen like this. But its beautiful.' He's well acquainted with playing criminals as the star of Sons Of Anarchy. So Charlie Hunnam took perfectly to the role of Parisian safe-cracker in the based-on-true-story thriller Papillon, which dropped its first theatrical trailer Tuesday. In the 1930s set film, the English gent, 38, forms a curious bond with counterfeiter Louis, played by Rami Malek, when he's sent to the notorious Devil's Island prison colony in French Guiana after being framed for murder. Scroll down for video Stranger than fiction! Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek star opposite each other in the historical thriller Papillon, which released its first theatrical trailer on Tuesday The clip begins in chaos when Charlie's character Henri Charriere, nicknamed Papillon, is pulled from bed to be arrested and thrown into jail. There he meet's Rami's character Louis Dega, who he is told is a 'millionaire' by other prisoners, making him an easy target to the criminals. Seeing an opportunity, Papillon offers to protect the bespectacled counterfeiter. They strike a deal, where Dega agrees to give his new bodyguard money to escape. Rude awakening: The clip begins in chaos when Charlie's character Henri Charriere, nicknamed Papillon, is pulled from bed to be arrested and thrown into jail C'est la vie: His decadent life as a safe-cracker in the underbelly of Paris come to a screaming halt after he's framed for murder Now that's rich: While locked up he meet's Rami's character Louis Dega, who he is told is a 'millionaire' by other prisoners Never coming back: In the 1930s set film, the English gent is sent to prison and later the notorious Devil's Island after being framed for murder Seeing an opportunity, Papillon offers to protect the bespectacled counterfeiter. Trust: 'Keep me alive. I'll underwrite any escape you can arrange,' he tells Charlie's character 'Keep me alive. I'll underwrite any escape you can arrange,' he tells Charlie's character. He proves his word is good, as the next scene shows Charlie pummeling into someone who threatened his charge while Rami ominously adds: 'Something tells me you can be quite savage.' After arriving to a remote prison camp, an entire ocean away from their native France, the safe-cracker discovers escaping will be much harder that he thought. But he's not deterred, telling a fellow prisoner 'There always a way.' Bloodshed: He proves his word is good, as the next scene shows Charlie pummeling into someone who threatened Dega That's gonna hurt: Rami ominously adds: 'Something tells me you can be quite savage' Thank you: He knows that Papillon meant what he said after he puts his life on the line for Louis Harsh tactics: Solitary confinement is just one of the ways they try to break Papillon Though the conditions of the camp are brutal, filled with scenes of violence and danger, they continue to search for a way out. They try to make it through the thick of the jungle and across the desolate ocean, to no avail, receiving harsh punishment for the failed bids for freedom. After exhausting all of his options, Papillon finds himself exiled to Devil's Island. 'Strange things happen there,' he's told as a swirl of lurid hallucinations take the screen. Figuring out a plan: Though the conditions of the camp are brutal, filled with scenes of violence and danger, they continue to search for a way out You okay buddy? Life in shackles affects the duo in different ways Land or sea: They try to make it through the thick of the jungle and across the desolate ocean, to no avail, receiving harsh punishment for the failed bids for freedom Try, try again: It seems that the men will stop at nothing to reclaim their freedom, even if it means dying in the process 'If I ever get out, I'm gonna live a different kind of life,' Hunnam's character says as the clip comes to a close. The based-on-a-true-story tale has been adapted for Hollywood before. A 1973 version, also based on Charriere's autobiographies Papillon and Banco, starred Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman and was written by Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr. People are strange: 'Strange things happen there,' Papillon is told as a swirl of lurid hallucinations take the screen A change is gonna come: 'If I ever get out, I'm gonna live a different kind of life,' Hunnam's character says as the clip comes to a close Here we go again: The based-on-a-true-story tale has been adapted for Hollywood before with stars Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman leading a Dalton Trumbo-penned script In addition to Charlie and Rami, the film also stars Yorick Van Wageningen, Roland Moller, Tommy Flanagan, and Eve Hewson. Papillon first premierd at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017. The film, which is being distributed by the esteemed Bleecker Street productions, is planned for wide-release August 24. Things have not been easy for new parents Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Jen Harley. They had a nasty breakup in early May that included accusations of infidelity and drug use. The timing was awful: they had just welcomed their daughter Ariana Sky in late April. But then they got back together in mid May for 'the sake of the child.' Now it appears as if the stars are on the outs again as on Tuesday UsWeekly reported they have split for the second time. No more hugs: Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Jen Harley have split for the second time since welcoming daughter three weeks ago, according to UsWeekly; seen in 2017 Newborn baby: They welcomed daughter Ariana Sky on April 30 'They had a big fight the other day and are done for now,' a source told the site. 'Its going to keep changing every day.' Their relationship has been explored on his hit TV series Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. They started dating in July 2017, five months after he split from Khloe Kardashian's best friend Malika Haqq. And Jen became pregnant soon after. Bonding time: The Jersey Shore star and Ariana seen in an Instagram photo shared on May 16 But when she was seven months along, it seemed as if he had cheated on her during an episode of Jersey Shore. They were last seen together in early May at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas where he wore a shirt that said 'No Regrets.' Later he took to his Instagram Stories to share two videos of Harley and Ariana Sky sleeping. Can't contain himself: On Monday he took to social media again to share videos of the new mother snoring 'Sounds like a bear having a orgasm,' he wrote before adding that he's always told that he snores. He also referred to Jen as a dog. 'I feel like she's the dog,' he captioned on one video. The Instagram fight they had earlier this month was so vicious that it gained national attention. 'Note to self, can't turn a natural born HOE, into a HOUSE WIFE, if u find them in the gutter than leave them in the gutter,' began Ronnie. Before the storm: The two seen in Miami when she was heavily pregnant with Ariana Firing back on Instagram Stories, Jen wrote: 'Can't turn a coke head into a father! Yeahhh Buddy!' But the public humiliation didn't stop there with Ronnie progressing to poll his 1.3 million audience. 'If your significant other keeps sex videos of their ex, shouldn't they show enough respect to delete them, esp after being in a new relationship for over a year?' But the public fight escalated further the following day when an intense Instagram LIVE video led to a physical altercation. In the clip Ronnie dared Jen to zoom into his phone, which he claims contained explicit content of her, before the two appeared to tussle over the phone. An insider later told In Touch that Ronnie was pushing for a paternity test. They revealed they felt nervous ahead of playing their show in London for the first time in five years. But Rolling Stones had nothing to worry about as they took to the stage for their No Filter tour at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night. With the crowd warmed up by none other than Liam Gallagher, Mick Jagger, 74, and his band sent fans wild as they performed all their greatest hits. Rolling Stones had nothing to worry about as they took to the stage for their No Filter tour at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night Showing off his quirky sense of style, Mick opted for a space age metallic jacket with a red stripe design and black jeans. The Satisfaction hitmaker looked sprightly as he pranced around stage, pulling some of his signature moves, while Keith, 74, Ronnie, 70, and Charlie, 76, worked their musical magic. Mick had the audience in the palm of his hand as he belted out their songs. Putting on a show: With the crowd warmed up by none other than Liam Gallagher, Mick Jagger, 74, and his band sent fans wild as they performed all their greatest hits Trendy: Showing off his quirky sense of style, Mick opted for a space age metallic jacket with a silk polka dot shirt underneath Icon: The Satisfaction hitmaker looked sprightly as he pranced around stage, pulling some of his signature moves True legends: Keith, Ronnie and Charlie proved they have still got it as they worked their musical magic on their guitars and drums After London, the group will storm the stage imminently at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, the Principality Stadium in Cardiff and London's Twickenham Stadium. They will then fly to Berlin, Marseille, Stuttgart, Prague and Warsaw to finish off their European tour in style. Ahead of the tour, Mick said: 'This part of the No Filter tour is really special for the Stones. We are looking forward to getting back on stage and playing to fans in the UK and Ireland. Rock and roll: Jagger, whose career has spanned five decades, is known for his distinctive voice and has been described as 'one of the most popular and influential frontmen' Adrenaline-rush: Ronnie Wood looked in the moment as he strummed on his guitar Feeling the music: Mick stomped his feet to the beat of the music during the high-octane show 'It's always exhilarating going to cities we havent played for quite a while and also some new venues for us like Old Trafford and The London Stadium.' Although the band haven't toured in the UK since 2006, they headlined at Glastonbury and the BST Festival five years ago. There is nothing stopping the four-piece, who have a combined age of 293 and embarked on their first British tour in 1963. Back where they belong: After London, the group will storm the stage imminently at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester No rest for the wicked: After touring the UK, they will then fly to Berlin, Marseille, Stuttgart, Prague and Warsaw to finish off their European tour in style Poignant: Ahead of the tour, Mick said: 'This part of the No Filter tour is really special for the Stones' First show in five years: He added: 'It's always exhilarating going to cities we havent played for quite a while' Apprehensive: Despite the band's nerves, Mick soon got into the flow of their show Giving it his all: The singer certainly put on an animatedly display as he encourage the crowd to sing Getting off to a flying start: The Rolling Stones are playing their first of three shows in the capital at the London Stadium Happy to reunite: Keith and Ronnie beamed as they strummed on their guitars Onwards and upwards: Band manager Joyce Smyth said ahead of the show: 'There is no reverse gear for this band, its onwards and upwards and pushing forwards the whole time' The band's manager Joyce Smyth told Music Week: 'When you want to keep going, you keep going. 'There is no reverse gear for this band, its onwards and upwards and pushing forwards the whole time.' Meanwhile, Liam Gallagher he took to the stage as a support act. The Oasis frontman, 45, dedicated their iconic song Live Forever to Manchester, putting on a stellar performance in memory of the 22 victims who were killed in the suicide bomb attack in Manchester, one year on from the tragedy. Putting on a show: Liam Gallagher was back on UK soil as he took to the stage as a support act Liam, who made a surprise appearance at Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester concert last year, told the crowd, 'This if for everyone in Manchester. Sing along if you know the words'. Serenading the audience, he showed off his musical talent by employing the use of maracas while singing into his microphone. Liam, who was clad in a navy raincoat, indigo jeans and white trainers, is the first act to open for the band on their eight UK shows, with Florence & The Machine and The Vaccines set to support later this month. Moving: The Oasis frontman, 45, dedicated their iconic song Live Forever to Manchester, in memory of the 22 victims who were killed in the suicide bomb attack in Manchester last year Crooner: The star showed off his musical talent by employing the use of maracas while singing into his microphone Casually-clad: Liam was clad in a navy raincoat, indigo jeans and white trainers for his high-octane performance Exciting: He has spent the past month in America working on the follow-up to his debut LP As You Were Iconic: The Wonderwall singer is one of the most recognised faces in British music Charisma: The Oasis star pulled out all the stops as he used his Mancunian charm to serenade the crowd Well-known lothario Hugh Grant, 57, who is soon to tie the knot for the first time with TV producer Anna Eberstein, reveals he really threw himself into the kissing scenes in A Very English Scandal, in which he plays Jeremy Thorpe and Ben Whishaw his lover Norman Scott. He said: 'Ben and I just went for it. I got 'pash rash' from his beard. I loved him. Everything I've been in with Ben this, and Paddington 2 my characters are either trying to get passionate with him or kill him.' Hugh Grant plays Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal alongside Ben Whishaw as Norman Scott Wintour's girl hits a hot spot for her hen do American Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintours daughter Bee Shaffer, 30, let her hair down at her hen party. Ahead of her wedding to photographer Francesco Carrozzini, son of the late Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani, she and pals including Glee star Dianna Agron and former Barclays boss Bob Diamonds daughter, Nell, headed for Mexico. As well as going fishing and watching the Royal Wedding, they were given matching Juicy Couture tracksuits though as this snap shows, Bee, who works in theatre production, seemed happier in a bikini. Bee Shaffer, 30, during her hen party break in Mexico in which her friend went fishing and enjoyed the beach Ex-Strictly Brendan bites back Axed Strictly Come Dancing star Brendan Cole put on a show of marital harmony at the launch of the Chelsea Flower Show as he playfully pretended to bite his wife, Zoe Hobbs. Zoe, who has two children with Brendan, apparently read him the riot act after he was photographed a fortnight ago getting intimate outside a London club with Jenna-Lee James, a 41-year-old backing dancer. I was innocent, he protested. Being a dancer Im just a tactile person. It looked worse than it was. Its disgusting. I think there are jealous people out there. I love my wife and she loves me, and we are tight. Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey got more than he bargained for when he acted in a smoking scene with real-life marijuana afficianado Snoop Dogg on the Florida set of Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum. 'He Snooped me,' the 47-year-old father-of-three said on Monday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! 'I'm not quite sure what we did that night. There was a scene where I'm going to Snoop's [character Marlon] because I've got writers block and Snoop has the magic weed. So I went to the prop man to make sure I have the prop weed, which is like crushed oregano.' Scroll down for video '#thebeachbum is almost finished!' Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey got more than he bargained for when he acted in a smoking scene with real-life marijuana aficionado Snoop Dogg on the Florida set of Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum (editing room pictured May 15) The 47-year-old father-of-three said on Monday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live: 'He Snooped me. I'm not quite sure what we did that night' The Dark Tower actor recalled: 'So we get in the scene, it's about a six-minute scene. We pass back and forth and all of sudden at the end he goes, "Yo Moondog [my character's name], that ain't prop weed, that's Snoop Weed." 'And I was like, "Oh you son of a gun." The next nine hours were a lot of fun but I don't think we used one word in the English language.' Matthew called the 46-year-old Grammy nominee (born Calvin Broadus) a 'prince of a man' having also guest-starred on the April 15th episode of Snoop Dogg presents the Joker's Wild on TBS/TNT. McConaughey might act innocent, but in 1999 the Dazed & Confused alum was famously arrested by the Austin Police Department for marijuana possession and resisting transportation. The Dark Tower actor recalled: 'We pass back and forth and all of sudden at the end he goes, "Yo Moondog [my character's name], that ain't prop weed, that's Snoop Weed." And I was like, "Oh you son of a gun." The next nine hours were a lot of fun but I don't think we used one word in the English language' Guest star: Matthew called the 46-year-old Grammy nominee (born Calvin Broadus) a 'prince of a man' having also appeared on the April 15th episode of Snoop Dogg presents the Joker's Wild on TBS/TNT Busted! McConaughey might act innocent, but in 1999 the Dazed & Confused alum was famously arrested by the Austin Police Department for marijuana possession and resisting transportation Oops! According to the Smoking Gun, the free-spirited, bongo-beating Texan spent nine hours in Travis County Jail before posting $1K bond and later a $50 fine for disturbing the peace According to the Smoking Gun, the free-spirited, bongo-beating Texan spent nine hours in Travis County Jail before posting $1K bond and later a $50 fine for disturbing the peace. For the Hollywood late show appearance, the former Delta Tau Delta frat brother changed out of his khakis and sneakers in favor of a more sophisticateddark grey suit. Meanwhile, Matthew's wife Camila Alves was back in Austin preparing a charity lemonade stand with their three children - son Levi, 9; daughter Vida, 8; and son Livingston, 5. Drab to fab! For the Hollywood late show appearance, the former Delta Tau Delta frat brother changed out of his khakis and sneakers in favor of a more sophisticated dark grey suit She has certainly come a long way since being crowned Miss Universe Australia. And Jesinta Campbell was reminded of her pageant days on Tuesday when she spent a night at her parents' house. The former David Jones ambassador, 26, was surprised to discover her mother and father had decorated their spare room with her old runway photos. Scroll down for video 'This gave me a much needed laugh!' Jesinta Campbell reminisced about her pageant days on Tuesday after learning her parents decorated their spare room with her Miss Universe photos Sharing a short video to her Instagram Story, the catwalk queen offered her fans a glimpse of her bedroom for the night. Sitting on top of a low bookcase was a collage of three photos of Jesinta from her early modelling career. The pictures included Jesinta wearing a bikini, her onstage at the Miss Universe 2010 competition in Las Vegas and a headshot. 'This is the spare room. At least they're proud!' Sharing a short video to her Instagram Story, the 26-year-old catwalk queen offered her fans a glimpse of her bedroom for the night Blast from the past! Sitting on top of a low bookcase in the spare bedroom was a collage of three photos of Jesinta from her early modelling career Jesinta captioned the clip: 'Nothing like staying the night at mum and dad's... this is the spare room. At least they're proud!' 'This gave me a much needed laugh today,' she added. Growing up on Queensland's Gold Coast, Jesinta began her path to stardom by winning Miss Universe Australia in 2010. Throwback snaps: The pictures included Jesinta wearing a bikini, her onstage at the Miss Universe 2010 competition in Las Vegas and a headshot (pictured) She later placed third in the global competition. In the last eight years, Jesinta has swapped pageant runways for high-end brand endorsements and glossy magazine covers. She has also joined the ranks of AFL WAGs, marrying Sydney Swans player Lance 'Buddy' Franklin in November 2016. She's become a cosmetics mogul and even launched her own lingerie line. And Rihanna looked every inch the boss as she posted a scintillating video via Instagram on Tuesday. The 30-year-old pop sensation rocked a sheer black top that left little to the imagination as she opted for the bunny filter on her social media account. Scroll down for video Teacher's pet: Rihanna looked every inch the boss as she posted a scintillating video via Instagram on Tuesday Daring to impress, the Umbrella songstress put her ample cleavage on full display in the see through number. Her trademark raven tresses were left long and loose as they cascaded over her petite shoulders. The natural stunner looked adorable with the rabbit ears and nose as she demonstrated her new cosmetics line. The new collection - playfully titled Beach Please - aims to get women ready for summer with bold colours and shimmery finishes. Savage: The 30-year-old pop sensation rocked a sheer black top that left little to the imagination as she opted for the bunny filter on her social media account Impressive: Daring to impress, the Umbrella songstress put her ample cleavage on full display in the see through number Hair story: Her trademark raven tresses were left long and loose as they cascaded over her petite shoulders She wrote: 'The rest of the #BEACHPLEASE collection drops on May 21st! #KILLAWATTFOILS, and limited edition lip luminizers and eye shimmers! Aooooww.' Rihanna fans are now able to recreate her look with the metallic pink Lip Luminizer and the marigold / fuchsia shade of highlighter she used in the video. Other products from the daring collection include two dual-ended liquid eye shimmers called Island Bling - referencing her Caribbean roots. And there are six new lip luminizers which come in sets of three, and three new foil shades of the popular Killawatt highlighters in unconventional colours such as mint green. Sensational: The 30-year-old pop sensation rocked a skimpy black dress that left little to the imagination as she showed off her pretty pins Pretty face: Rihanna has unveiled her summer Fenty Beauty collection There will also be new holographic lip glosses in metallic shades plus eyeshadow in muted jewel tones such as shades of mocha, rose and pearl. The campaign images also feature the Fenty body Lava and Fairy Puff - which were released ahead of the new collection - because they can be used to fake a summer glow and Rihanna previously spoke about her nostalgic inspiration behind the products. Mogul: She also has a sexy lingerie line that has come out this month. She has modeled the black bustier with garter belt She explained: 'Inspiration behind the body lava for me, I always used to go to the Caribbean, in Barbados where I am from, and every time I would sit there and [mix] body glitter makeup with oil and [eye] shadows I crushed up and pigments and I would just blend it all up to make this glowy thing and I'd have to keep it in a plastic cup the whole trip. 'I always thought I could never find the perfect body makeup so I made my lava, and it is glorious.' She also has a sexy lingerie line that has come out this month. She has modeled the black bustier with garter belt. And she also slipped into a pink number with red thigh highs. Pretty in pink and red: And she also slipped into a pink number with red thigh highs Her high-flying social life landed her a spot on Made In Chelsea. And Georgia Toffolo hit the town once again as she headed on a night out in Mayfair with Emily Blackwell. The reality star, 23, put on a leggy display in a pastel pink mini dress as she strutted alongside her pal. Letting her hair down: Georgia Toffolo hit the town once again as she headed on a night out in Mayfair with her pal Emily Blackwell Georgia dressed in her favourite colour for the night out, slipping her petite frame into the perilously short A-line dress which featured a raw-hem neckline. Teaming the look with blush pink wedges and a nude shoulder bag, the I'm A Celeb queen styled her blonde hair in glamorous waves. She complemented her radiant complexion with bronzed eye-shadow, blush-swept cheeks and a glossy pink lip. Flirty: The reality star, 23, put on a leggy display in a pastel pink mini dress as she strutted alongside her pal Georgia dressed in her favourite colour for the night out, slipping her petite frame into the perilously short A-line dress which featured a raw-hem neckline Heading home: Georgia left Sexy Fish after dark on Tuesday night Girls' night out: The beauty looked giddy following a girls' night out Emily also showed off her lithe limbs as she slipped into a pinstriped mini dress and a cosy green cardigan. The Made In Chelsea star, who has been linked to Love Island's Chris Hughes in recent weeks, finished off her outfit with patent black boots and two gold necklaces. Last week, Emily appeared to reunite with former flame Chris as they were spotted arriving back at his hotel after spending the evening together in London. Understated: She teamed the look with blush pink wedges and a nude shoulder bag Brunette beauty: Emily also showed off her lithe limbs as she slipped into a pinstriped mini dress and a cosy green cardigan Glowing: The I'm A Celeb queen styled her blonde hair in glamorous waves and complemented her radiant complexion with bronzed eye-shadow, blush-swept cheeks and a glossy pink lip Chris , 24, recently declared himself as 'single' but stayed incredibly close to the Made in Chelsea beauty, 21, following a cosy lunch with fellow TV personality Georgia. Meanwhile, Georgia has said dating is off the cards because she's worried about being 'pre-judged' before she's met a new suitor. Despite enjoying a dinner date with a handsome mystery man last week, she told The Sun: 'I worry now that before going on a date that I've already been pre-judged before they've even met me.' The Made In Chelsea star, who has been linked to Love Island's Chris Hughes in recent weeks, finished off her outfit with patent black boots and two gold necklaces 'I'm very fortunate with what I've got in the diary at the moment, but there are massive drawbacks. 'So at the moment I'm still single and very happy and not looking for anyone at the moment.' Glamorous lifestyle: The pair appeared in high spirits as they strutted down the streets of Mayfair Heading home: The girls were catching up over a few cocktails Australia is free to stop any detained asylum seekers relocated to New Zealand from hopping over the Tasman, New Zealand's immigration minister says. Australian Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo had on Monday left the door slightly ajar to one day accepting New Zealand's long-standing offer to take in 150 detainees from Manus Island and Nauru as refugees - but with a caveat. "Unless and until that question of on-travel can be addressed and resolved ... once we're in a position to do that, it might be more possible to take up that offer," he told a Senate committee in Canberra. On Tuesday, New Zealand Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said Australia was free to keep the asylum seekers from travelling across the ditch if it wanted. "Ultimately, responsibility for who can come into any sovereign nation is the responsibility of that nation," he told reporters in Wellington. "It's over to Australia to determine who can and cannot come into their country." If Australian authorities moved to ban the detainees from travelling across, New Zealand's offer would still remain on the table, he said. The federal government has consistently declined to offload the refugees, fearing the country's visa-free travel entitlements to Australia will be used as a marketing tool by people smugglers. Labor has urged the government to take up the offer, arguing the travel entitlements can be amended and are not an insurmountable hurdle. The party's newest MP, Ged Kearney, used her first speech in parliament on Monday to call the indefinite detention on Manus and Nauru "racist dog whistling" and "shameful". The New Zealand offer has been on the table since 2013. An Adelaide clergyman could face jail time if found guilty of concealing historical child sex abuse in the NSW Hunter region. Archbishop Philip Wilson, who is the most senior Catholic official in the world to be charged with the offence, is due to learn his fate in Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday following a magistrate-only trial. He is accused of covering up the abuse of four boys by pedophile priest James Fletcher during the 1970s and faces a maximum two years in prison if convicted. Wilson has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and claims to have no memory of a 1976 conversation he had with Peter Creigh, one of the alleged victims. Prosecutor Gareth Harrison in April said the archbishop wanted to protect the church's reputation and absolve himself of guilt as a "cat on a hot tin roof". "The accused was part of an entrenched, toxic culture," Mr Harrison said during his closing address. The defence argues Wilson is not guilty because there's no evidence to prove the archbishop was told about the abuse, believed it was true or remembered being told about it. An 88-year-old man accused of trying to shoot dead a sex worker at a Melbourne brothel, before shooting himself in the stomach, will face court to determine if he should stand trial. Domenico Natale was charged with attempted murder after he allegedly tried to shoot the woman at the Romantics adult business at Brunswick in July. She was uninjured. But Natale shot himself in the stomach during his arrest on July 21. The octogenarian is due to return to Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday for a pre-trial committal hearing. The defence has previously said Natale may have been seduced by the sex worker through her text messages before the incident. "There's an element of seduction on the part of the sex worker," defence lawyer John O'Sullivan told the court on January 30. A forensic psychiatrist has cleared Natale of mental impairment and fitness-to-plead issues. The original Snowy Hydro scheme was built by 100,000 foreign workers, but it's expected version 2.0 will be significantly Australian made. The best people in the world are needed to build the second version of the scheme, which is unlike anything else in the world, project boss Paul Broad believes. Contractors won't be required to hire Australians first or use apprentices, but Mr Broad expects a significant number will hire Australians. Most of the 250 current workers come from local communities, Australian engineers working overseas have been recruited home, and businesses are looking to relocate closer to the site to bid for contracts, the project's managing director and chief executive told a Senate hearing on Tuesday. But he doesn't see it as a negative if foreign workers are needed. "We brought over 100,000 people here to build the original scheme; I think we're a better society for having brought them here," Mr Broad said. The entire project includes drilling 48km of new tunnels on top of the original 225km built between 1949 and 1974. Further major expansion is also being considered. If existing base-load power plants including Liddell, Vales Point and Eraring all close by or around 2030 and are replaced by gas or renewables, Snowy 2.0 would reach its capacity. The business, to be wholly Commonwealth-owned from July, is looking down the track to Snowy 3.0 or Snowy 4.0 which could add 6000MW of additional storage capacity. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson is "disappointed" at being found guilty of concealing child sexual abuse during the 1970s in the NSW Hunter region. Magistrate Robert Stone handed down the verdict against the high ranking Catholic cleric in Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday following a magistrate-only trial. In a brief statement, Archbishop Wilson said he would now consider the reasons for the magistrate's ruling. "I am obviously disappointed at the decision published today," he said. "I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps." The clergyman is the most senior Catholic official in the world to be charged and convicted of such an offence. Peter Dutton did not receive any specific advice from his department before claiming Melbourne residents were afraid to dine out at night for fear of African gangs. Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo said he provided the minister with information about patterns of crime, but not about eating at restaurants in Melbourne. "Not in relation to threats to dining, no. I took that to be a figure of speech by the minister," Mr Pezzullo told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Tuesday. A man extradited from Western Australia has been charged with aggravated indecent assault of a 12-year-old girl as she travelled with her family on a Sydney train on New Year's Day. The 34-year-old was arrested in Perth in late March and extradited to NSW the same day where he was charged in relation to the alleged offence on a train trip from Central station to Granville, police said. He was refused bail on Friday ahead of another hearing at Parramatta District Court on June 28. Labor wants to know when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull knew big banks were charging fees to dead customers. The banking royal commission has uncovered horrific cases of financial abuse, but Treasurer Scott Morrison in April said: "They are not things that the government was not aware of." Labor senator Kimberley Kitching wants the prime minister's department to reveal exactly when he was told about the cases. "Is it true the prime minister knew the Commonwealth Bank was charging fees to dead customers while he was rejecting the need for a royal commission?" Senator Kitching asked in a Senate committee on Tuesday. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the government decided to clean up the industry instead of having a royal commission. But he added the coalition had since changed its mind and acknowledged it should have called the inquiry earlier. 14:03 | Tayacaja (Huancavelica region), May. 22. "This is a responsibility of the State. We have to make every effort to gradually improve the quality of public education ," he expressed. A former live export industry boss who falsified documents that led to 22,000 Australian sheep being brutally slaughtered in Pakistan will be sentenced in a Perth court. The shipment of sheep in 2012 had been rejected by Bahrain due to disease fears but Garry Robinson's falsified paperwork prompted Pakistani authorities to accept the animals. When they found out about the deception, they clubbed and cut the throats of the sheep and masses of the injured and dying animals were buried alive. Robinson, who at the time was export manager for Wellard Rural Exports, was charged with intending to dishonestly influence a commonwealth public official in the exercise of the official's duties. He has worked for companies including Emanuel Exports and Livestock Shipping Services and is currently commercial livestock sales manager with Harmony Agriculture and Food Company. His biography reads: "With the exciting opportunities for our industry evident in so many places, I am pleased to be part of a team that has both the practical and strategic skills to make things happen". Robinson's sentencing comes amid an unprecedented level of calls to ban live exports and a day after NSW rural-based Liberal MP Sussan Ley introduced legislation to phase out the sheep trade to the Middle East over five years. The furore was sparked last month when footage of 2400 sheep dying in filth and extreme heat on an Emanuel Exports journey on board the Awassi Express in August was broadcast. The killer of a north Queensland mother who was shot dead in her Whitsundays home more than two decades ago remains on the loose and police are appealing for help in solving the cold case. Dorothy Britton, 48, was found dead at her Airlie Beach address with a gunshot wound on March 7, 1996 and the state government is offering a $250,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction. Homicide detectives believe those responsible for the murder remain on the run and are calling on witnesses to come forward. The NSW Greens have described proposed laws to protect brumbies in the state's national parks as "bizarre" and will oppose the legislation. Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Sunday announced the state government would introduce legislation to parliament prohibiting the culling of the wild horses, as well as recognising their heritage value. But the Greens say the introduced species is wreaking havoc in NSW national parks and the wild horses must be removed. "The Greens will not support legislation for brumbies to permanently stay in the Kosciuszko National Park. This is quite frankly a bizarre idea," Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi said in a statement on Tuesday. The Greens believe the horses should be removed in a "humane and non-lethal manner". A man who assaulted a constable in Toowoomba before speeding across a footpath and four lanes of highway to escape is being sought by Queensland Police. The man punched the officer several times in the chest in the car park of the Harlaxton Hotel early on Saturday morning, but he escaped, police said on Tuesday. CCTV footage of the man wanted in relation to the attack has been released, with police describing him as aged in his 20s, around 183cm tall, with black hair and brown eyes. More than half of the one million jobs created over the past five years under the Abbott and Turnbull governments is due to migration, given the jobless rate has barely changed, an inquiry has heard. Malcolm Turnbull and his senior ministers loudly trumpeted reaching the jobs milestone last week, describing it as an excellent outcome for Australian workers and families. Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo noted well-over 50 per cent of country's population growth was driven by migration over that period. "It would be passing strange to think that your population is being driven in part by migration, but your jobs growth isn't," Mr Pezzullo told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Tuesday. "It would be illogical to think they were operating in different directions." While employment has increased by more than one million since the coalition came to power in September 2013, the jobless rate is practically the same at 5.6 per cent. Canterbury veteran Josh Morris has been ruled out for up to two months due to a knee injury with the silver lining being he will receive a Bulldogs farewell. The Bulldogs said on Tuesday the former NSW and Australian representative had torn the lateral ligament in his left knee during Sunday's NRL loss to Cronulla. There were fears Morris would be ruled out for the rest of the year, a blow which would have almost certainly meant he had played his last game for the club. He and brother Brett are off contract at the end of the year and with the club facing a salary cap squeeze next year, they concede they will have to find new homes. Morris was injured in the 25th minute after Sharks centre Jesse Ramien fell on him in a tackle. He played on but did not return after halftime. NSW government MPs will be allowed a conscience vote on a bill proposing "safe zones" around the state's abortion clinics. The legislation, introduced to parliament last week, would create a 150-metre exclusion zone around abortion clinics and make it an offence to film staff and patients without their consent. The bill was co-sponsored by Labor's Penny Sharpe and Nationals MP Trevor Khan. AAP understands government MPs were told on Tuesday during a joint party meeting they would be given a conscience vote on the bill. Ms Sharpe said she was "very pleased". "It gives me confidence the bill will pass both the upper house and lower house," she told AAP. Under the laws, anti-abortion protesters caught intimidating staff or patients could be fined $5500 or jailed for six months for a first offence. Repeat offenders could be fined $11,000 or jailed for 12 months. It's understood the upper house will vote on the bill on Thursday, before going to the lower house in June. The closure of a Geelong hospital that employs almost 300 staff is because there are too many private services in the region, Victoria's Health Minister Jill Hennessy says. Private hospital operator Healthscope rejected two competing takeover proposals that it said undervalued the company and announced it would close Victoria's Geelong Private Hospital and Cotham Private Hospital, in Kew. "Unfortunately what we've seen in Geelong is the result of over-investment in private hospital services in this region," Ms Hennessy told reporters on Tuesday. The jury in the trial of two Brisbane men accused of raping a drunk medical student in a dark alley has retired to deliberate on verdicts. Ryan David George and Jack Scott Turner Winship pleaded not guilty to the April 2011 rape and Brisbane District Court jurors heard they were "jovial and cavalier" after the alleged attack. There was no dispute the men were in the alley with their alleged victim, or that Winship sexually interacted with her, but the question of consent would be central to the jury's deliberations, the court has heard. A deliberately lit fire on Manus Island has caused significant damage to an accommodation block housing failed asylum seekers. The blaze took 75 minutes to bring under control after it was started at Hillside Haus in Lorengau on Sunday afternoon. Australian Border Force deputy commissioner Mandy Newton said the extent of the damage remained unclear. "However, early indications are that the whole building is impacted and is now unserviceable," Ms Newton told a Senate estimates hearing on Monday night. "It's not completely destroyed but we think there are issues associated with the electrics throughout the whole building area - so it is predominantly in the area of the kitchen facilities." Nobody was injured in the blaze. "The department was advised that the fire appeared to have been deliberately lit and an investigation by PNG authorities is taking place," Ms Newton said. Detainees were offered alternative accommodation - predominantly at the East Lorengau Transit Centre - but the ABF said some men had refused to leave Hillside Haus. "I understand that, at the moment, not all of the non-refugees have chosen to move from the current accommodation," Ms Newton said. Greens senator Nick McKim raised reports suggesting some men from Hillside Haus had gone to the transit centre on Sunday night but were turned away, with local police called to remove them. Ms Newton said the reports were contrary to information provided to the department, with the ABF advised there was ample accommodation available at the transit centre. The group tasked with drawing up the government's cornerstone energy policy may not have the resources it needs to get the job done in time. The government expects the National Energy Guarantee to be ready for approval by state and territory ministers by August. But the Energy Security Board may be struggling with the tight time frame. Quizzed in a Senate hearing on Tuesday, energy department deputy secretary Rob Heferen denied reports the board was significantly under-resourced, but raised timing as a potential problem. Greens senator Richard Di Natale raised a report by the Australian Financial Review claiming the board sent stakeholders a letter about needing "significant additional resources" to deliver the plan by August. Mr Heferen said the board was resourced properly and didn't know why the comments, attributed to ESB deputy chairwoman Clare Savage, had been made. "I had a conversation with her yesterday. We've discussed resources. It might be a time-frame issue," Mr Heferen said. The letter was reportedly sent to stakeholders including the Australian Industry Group and Origin Energy, which have a stake in the outcome of the guarantee. Government minister Simon Birmingham said the board would effectively manage any conflict of interest. PAULINE HANSON ON CORPORATE TAX CUTS "Tax rate cuts are not the answer." - February 7 "One Nation will be supporting the government's corporate tax cuts." - March 26 "Let's pass these company tax cuts." - March 27 "While One Nation have shown its support for reducing company tax to 25 per cent, banks should not receive the benefit of these cuts until customers who have suffered are compensated." - April 23 "Considering the budget papers that were handed down, I cannot continue to pass these corporate tax cuts." - May 22 Native title will be granted to several Central Australian Aboriginal groups in an area where there are plans to build a massive salt mine and waste storage site. Members of the Imarnte, Titjikala and Idracowra groups will be awarded native title over a 3,244 sq km area by Federal Court Justice Natalie Charlesworth at a special sitting of the Federal Court at the Maryvale cattle station on Wednesday. The native title holders will have recognition of their right to hunt and gather on the station, protection of sacred sites and cultural activities and ceremonies but they cannot veto private company Tellus' mine plans. "This determination will also give them the right to negotiate about exploration and mining activities on their land, for example the salt mine and hazardous waste storage facility in the determination area," the Central Land Council's manager of native title Francine McCarthy said. The closest Aboriginal community Titjikala is about 15km away and there is opposition from some residents worried that toxic waste could poison water sources, including the Finke River. However the native title holders can negotiate compensation, community development projects and jobs as part of an indigenous land use agreement. Tellus' plans include shipping the salt to Asian customers and storing a variety of waste in the holes it digs, including equipment, electronic archives and paper and waste from the mining industry. The salt deposit is 18km wide and the mine could have a life of 500 years, according to the company. The Maryvale cattle station has a chequered history for local descendants, with anthropologists recording frequent violence between "pastoralists and the indigenous land owners who resented their intrusion and kidnapping of local women", Ms McCarthy said. In the 1860s, the party of explorer John McDouall Stuart - after whom the central Australian Stuart Highway is named - wrote in a diary that it shot at three armed Aboriginal men who allegedly threatened their expedition in the area. The critically endangered Leadbeater's possum is being "monitored into extinction" while logging continues in its habitat, Greens senator Janet Rice claims. Senator Rice took government officials to task in a Senate hearing on Tuesday over delays in emergency intervention, first demanded in 2015 and then in 2016. The intervention plan is still in draft form and expected to be finalised in December. The possum, native to forest areas north-east of Melbourne, was listed tenth on the Zoological Society of London's list of mammals on the brink of extinction this year. "That's right up there with species like the Black Rhino," Senator Rice said. The possum is currently listed as critically endangered but a biodiversity conservation official said its habitat is in a regional forestry agreement area. Environment department deputy secretary Dean Knudson said the delays were the result of wanting to make a well informed and appropriate decision. He said the Victorian government had put in place steps to protect the species and those steps were being considered with the latest science. But Senator Rice accused the department of "monitoring the Leadbeater's possum to extinction". "You've got logging continuing while these processes continue and the science is clear," Senator Rice said. The possum was thought to be extinct until 1961. Lleyton Hewitt will look to help fine tune Nick Kyrgios's grass court game this season as he pairs with Australia's top men's player for the doubles event at Queen's. While question marks remain over Kyrgios's participation at the French Open next week, he is scheduled to play both singles and doubles at the key Wimbledon lead-in next month. Kyrgios was slated to play doubles with American Jack Sock at the Lyon Open on Tuesday, his first match since losing in the quarter-finals of the Houston event more than five weeks ago. He had returned to Australia for treatment on an elbow injury before heading to Europe. Hewitt, who officially retired after the 2016 Australian Open, has popped up with a number of his compatriots on the doubles court since giving singles away. The 37 year-old has paired with the likes of Jordan Thompson, John Peers, Sam Groth and Alex de Minaur. It will mark only the second time that Hewitt and Kyrgios have played together at a tournament. The other was in Montreal in 2015. Hewitt has also taken a wildcard entry in the doubles tournament at the Surbiton Trophy earlier in June where he'll team up with another Australian, Alex Bolt. The Liberal party has chosen its candidate for the upcoming by-election in Longman with Trevor Ruthenberg to contest the seat. The former state MP will go up against Labor's Susan Lamb who is fighting to reclaim the Queensland seat after she was booted from parliament over her dual citizenship. Mr Ruthenberg, who is chief executive of the not-for-profit Mosaic Foundation, believes its a clear choice for voters, with his party offering responsible management of the economy compared to Labor's plans to impose higher taxes. A teenager has escaped from a juvenile correctional facility in the NSW Riverina region. Ayeden Jones, 17, escaped the Wagga Wagga facility about 5.30pm on Tuesday with police failing to find him after searching the nearby area, NSW Police said in a statement. Jones, who has blond hair and a thin build, was last seen wearing a maroon jumper and dark grey tracksuit pants with police saying he may be heading to the Lake Illawarra area. Anyone who sees him should not approach but call triple-zero or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. A fungus commonly found in soil will be tested by Queensland researchers in their search for environmentally friendly solutions to pest problems plaguing the state's banana industry. James Cook University scientists will study the Beauveria bassiana fungus, known to infect and kill tiny insects that feed on leaves and developing bananas. The insects, known as rust thrips, cause a rust-coloured scarring that becomes more obvious as the banana grows. "Rust thrips don't affect the eating quality of the banana, but they cause them to be downgraded and sell for less," Dr Tobin Northfield said. The study, which is expected to be wrapped up by the end of next year, will determine whether the fungus can be used as a biopesticide against the insects. A NSW prison officer has told a corruption inquiry he warned his colleagues "that's enough" as they continued to wrestle an inmate subjected to unwarranted force. Wesley Duffy was one of several guards present in a cell at Lithgow Correctional Centre when the alleged incident happened in February 2014. Appearing before a corruption inquiry in Sydney, Mr Duffy recalled warning his colleagues "that's enough" when two of them - Terrence Walker and Elliot Duncan - continued to wrestle the man, despite his acquiescence. The Independent Corruption Against Corruption is investigating allegations the officers later lied in official reports, deleted CCTV and planted drugs to justify a cell search. An official report about the incident, which left the inmate with a black eye, bruising to the mouth and injured ribs, said he tripped and fell on a toilet while trying to flush contraband. Mr Walker has admitted the report was "all lies" and also claimed Mr Duffy was excluded from the collusion because other guards anticipated he would want to be honest. Mr Duffy said he distanced himself from the group when he realised they were submitting false statements. The inquiry before Commissioner Stephen Rushton SC continues. Gold Coast detectives are expected to travel to Sydney to extradite a man allegedly involved in the abduction of a schoolboy from outside his family's Gold Coast home. The 12-year-old was walking from school to his family's Mudgeeraba home on May 11 when a bag was placed over his head and he was bundled into a car. He was found the next day in Grafton in the company of 53-year-old Zheng Jie Zhang, who has since been charged with six offences including kidnapping for ransom. Police believe Zhang's 20-year-old son, Yu Zhang, also known as Sunny, was involved in the abduction. The 20-year-old on Tuesday voluntarily attended Cabramatta Police Station in Sydney's southwest and was arrested, Queensland Police said. Gold Coast detectives are expected to travel to Sydney on Wednesday to seek his extradition to Queensland on Thursday. The nurses' union is set to meet with Victorian workers facing the sack over coming weeks, with the closure of two hospitals in Melbourne and Geelong. Healthscope says it will close the Cotham and Geelong private hospitals over the next four weeks because "it is simply not viable" to keep them running. About 400 staff work across the two facilities, with the bulk at Geelong and approximately 100 at Cotham, in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Kew. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation says the decision affects at least 200 nurses and is "incredibly distressing for our members and their families". It plans to meet with nurses at the two hospitals on Wednesday. The Geelong site is owned by Barwon Health, which also provides public services at the facility. Health Minister Jill Hennessy says Barwon Health will continue to operate from the site and staff cut from Healthscope can apply to work in the public system. "Unfortunately what we've seen in Geelong is the result of over-investment in private hospital services in this region," she told reporters on Tuesday. The Labor Andrews government has not ruled out taking over the Geelong facility entirely. In a statement to the ASX, Healthscope said it Victorian hospital portfolio had been underperforming. "We conducted an exhaustive evaluation of alternatives but unfortunately it is simply not viable to continue operations into the future," chief executive Gordon Ballantyne said of the Geelong and Melbourne facilities. Healthscope added that the closures would be phased in over the next four weeks to "minimise disruption for patients and doctors". Fellow crossbench MP Bob Katter will join Rebekha Sharkie on the campaign trail in Mayo ahead of the upcoming federal by-election for the Adelaide Hills seat. Mr Katter and Ms Sharkie will head to Yankalilla and Strathalbyn on the Fleurieu Peninsula on Wednesday for a series of community events. She's bidding to be returned in Mayo after being forced to resign over the citizenship saga. Ms Sharkie says since being elected in 2016 she's forged strong relationships with other crossbench MPs including Cathy McGowan, Andrew Wilkie and Mr Katter. "We have different views and don't always vote along the same lines but what we do share is a passion for our local communities, the tenacity to fight for the people we represent and a deep respect for each other as independent political voices," she said. "I have enormous respect for Bob. "We have worked together on issues such as protecting the reputation of Australian beef, putting Australian jobs first and stopping overseas countries from profiting from fake Aboriginal art." Malcolm Turnbull's company and personal income tax cut plans look to be in trouble. The prime minister was forced to defend his 10-year business tax cut plan in parliament on Tuesday after Pauline Hanson withdrew her One Nation senate team's support. Senator Hanson reeled off a number of reasons for reneging on an agreement while saying she felt the government had not addressed a "black hole" in the budget. With other crossbenchers and Labor opposed to the plan, the government needs Senator Hanson and her two One Nation colleagues' votes to help secure the package. Parliamentary debate also started on the government's seven-year personal income tax plan, the cornerstone of this year's budget. Labor wants the bills split so it can support the reductions that are due to start on July 1 because it still has reservations about a proposed reduction in 2022 and 2024 in the absence of further details. The government has repeatedly said it wants the package passed in full. The opposition supports the reduction of up to $530 a year under a new low and middle-income tax offset and the lifting of the 32.5 per cent tax bracket from $87,000 to $90,000, both starting on July 1. One Nation does not support the personal income tax cut in 2024 either, saying Australians needs their tax cuts now. The Greens won't support any income tax cuts or Labor's compromise and instead want the money invested in the nation's public services. NSW detectives have charged two more men over the 2015 conspiracy to murder former bikie figure Ricky Ciano on the Central Coast. Ciano's body was discovered in a BMW on the side of a road in Oberon in the central tablelands on Valentine's Day 2017 more than a year after the 35-year-old survived an attempt on his life in 2015. The attempt came after he severed ties with the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang. A now 29-year-old man was charged over the alleged conspiracy to murder Ciano at a home on the Central Coast on August 17, 2015. On Tuesday, two men aged 25 and 29 currently serving time at prisons in Newcastle and Goulburn were charged with conspiring and agreeing to murder. They appeared at local court and will reappear at Burwood Local Court on June 7. An identity theft syndicate in Sydney has been dismantled with three men being charged with 80 offences for stealing the details of 200 people to defraud more than a million dollars. Three properties in Kingsford, Rhodes and Waterloo were searched on Tuesday morning following a two-year investigation. Police allegedly found high-end designer apparel, electronic equipment, mobile phones, SIM cards, computers, MDMA tablets, credit cards, notes and approximately $10,000 in cash. A 28-year-old man was charged with 63 offences. He was refused bail and is due to appear at Waverley Local Court on Wednesday. A 45-year-old man has been charged with four offences and given conditional bail to appear at Burwood Local Court on June 18 while a 37-year-old man on 10 charges was given conditional bail to appear at Burwood Local Court on June 25. Slated changes to NSW electoral funding laws have been branded "bizarre" and akin to "match-fixing" by groups from across the political spectrum. Both unions and the Greens have taken umbrage with different aspects of the government's plan to overhaul electoral funding, to be debated in parliament on Wednesday. The proposal leaves massive discrepancies in local government spending caps, the Greens say, with political parties banned from spending more than $30,000 in the City of Sydney but in neighbouring Woollahra the limit is $150,000. While a political party cannot spend more than $30,000 in Campbelltown, it can spend $120,000 in the Northern Tablelands shire of Walcha. This amounted to about 21 cents per enrolled voter in Sydney but more than $52 per voter in Walcha. Greens MP David Shoebridge described the laws as "ill thought out and random". "The government's model is, to say the least, bizarre and the difference across the local government sector produces irrational outcomes," Mr Shoebridge told AAP. The proposed laws will also prevent third parties acting in concert six months out from an election. Unions believe the change will kill properly-resourced cross-movement campaigns - including that against WorkChoices and Last Drinks, against alcohol-fuelled violence. Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey said the government was paranoid and afraid of criticism. "These laws will prevent civil society banding together and amplifying its voice against the din of conservative governments and deep-pocketed corporates," he said in a statement to AAP. "This is the political equivalent of match-fixing and anyone with an interest in free speech and robust debate should be concerned." The proposed laws would also cap electoral spending by third-party campaigners at $500,000. The existing limit is $1.2 million. The NSW government has been contacted for comment. Pauline Hanson has taken a swipe at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's better half in a stoush over Australia's immigration rate. Lucy Turnbull, the head of the Greater Sydney Commission, told The Daily Telegraph that Sydney was far from full, drawing the ire of Senator Hanson, who withdrew support for the government's tax plan over immigration concerns. "She's got her standard of living and way of life but many Australians don't have that. I don't think she's in a position to say whether Sydney is full or not full," Senator Hanson told Sky News. Four teenagers have been arrested after a police pursuit in Melbourne's south overnight. The males allegedly stole cigarettes from two supermarkets and were spotted in a stolen car in Cranbourne about 12.20am on Wednesday but the car failed to stop. A short time later, two of the teens fled the car in Hampton Park and were chased by police on foot before being arrested. The car drove off and was pursued by police to Keysborough, where the other two teens were arrested just before 1am. A Noble Park boy, 15, a Clayton South teen, 19, a Seaford boy, 17, and a 16-year-old from Keysborough are being questioned by police. Malcolm Turnbull insists Australia has a "good, frank" relationship with China, after the Chinese Foreign Minister urged Australia to be more positive. Foreign Minister Wang Yi had talks with Julie Bishop on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Argentina on Tuesday morning and said the relationship "encountered some difficulties". "If Australia sincerely hopes that the relations between the two countries will return to the right track ... they must break away from traditional thinking, take off their coloured glasses, and look at China's development from a positive angle," Mr Wang said, according to a translated press statement. His statement quoted Ms Bishop describing recent negative Australian media reports as inaccurate and not reflecting the Turnbull government's position. Beijing is especially cranky about Australia's proposed foreign interference laws. "We have a good, frank relationship with China, it's a very strong one," Mr Turnbull told reporters on Wednesday. "You could not imagine modern Australia without the 1.2 million Australians of Chinese heritage." Mr Turnbull said every country around the world understood that Australia has a free media. "That's the nature of our democracy ... everyone around the world understands that," he said. "We have a vibrant parliamentary democracy, where people give speeches and have robust debates." Ms Bishop insists she had a warm and positive discussion with Mr Wang but the tone of his statement was less enthusiastic. Their hour-long sit-down canvassed security, trade and economic issues, as well as North Korea and the South China Sea. "It was very warm and candid and constructive," Ms Bishop told ABC radio on Tuesday. Mr Wang told Ms Bishop he was looking forward to hosting her for their annual talks, to be held this year in Beijing. Ms Bishop acknowledged countries don't always see eye-to-eye, but said Australia's relationship with China is strong. Last week, Chinese communist party mouthpiece The Global Times said Australia-China relations were "among the worst of all Western nations". Gymnastics Australia has joined with a child safety advocate in a bid to keep young athletes safe from sex abuse. The new partnership with Bravehearts, announced on Wednesday, aims to protect children by providing training, education and cultural reform to Gymnastics Australia at all levels, from management, to staff, parents and children. "Gymnastics Australia have taken a leadership role in becoming Australia's first national sporting body to implement child safe steps on a national scale," Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston said. The steps are in line with recommendations from the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse. The Observer's culture blog One May 21, 1861, Henry David Thoreau passed through Ann Arbor on the Michigan Central Railroad. The poet and naturalist didn't disembark (he was en route to Minnesota), but in his journal, he jotted down a few observations: Detroit to Chicago. Very level to [Ypsilanti], then hilly to Ann Arbor, then less hilly to Lake Michigan. All hard wood or no evergreen except some white pine, when we struck Lake Michigan, on the sands from the lake partly & some larch before. Phlox varying from white to bluish & painted cup: deep scarlet & also yellow ? or was this wall flower? All very very common thru' Michigan & the former, at least, earlier. An Amtrak rider today would see the same landscape, but our springs come earlier. By now, the phlox has blossomed and faded. Thoreau returned home in Concord, where he died of tuberculosis the following May. He was forty-four. US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin says US not worried about a NAFTA deal deadline 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 Sunday. 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 I've 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 that's what we are focused on," he said. On Friday, Trudeau said he was "feeling positive" a deal would be reached, saying, "It's 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. Syrian soldiers flash victory signs in a street of Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp on May 21, 2018 after the army announced it was in complete control of Damascus and its outskirts for the first time since 2012 after ousting IS jihadists from the area 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." Damascus: IS jihadists evacuate 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 - After weeks of a devastating battle with IS jihadists the Syrian army says it is now in complete control of Damascus and its outskirts including the southern district of Hajar al-Aswad 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. 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". A member of the Syrian government forces sits in front of the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Hajar al-Aswad area on the southern outskirts of Damascus on May 21, 2018 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. Territorial disputes over the South China Sea have been brewing for years and China, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia have also made competing claims to waters believed to have significant oil and natural gas deposits 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. Ibrahima Kassory Fofana has been named Guinea's new prime minister A former government minister and economist has been named the new prime minister of Guinea by President Alpha Conde, according to a decree read out on state media. Ibrahima Kassory Fofana, 64, was previously responsible for investments and public-private partnerships in the outgoing government, which resigned last week. "The president of the republic, professor Alpha Conde, signed Monday night a decree appointing Mr Ibrahima Kassory Fofana (64 years) as prime minister, head of government", the decree said. He must "propose a new government as soon as possible" in the West African state, it added. Fofana replaces Mamady Youla, who resigned on May 17, two months after the president promised to carry out a "great ministerial reshuffle" following a series of strikes and demonstrations against the official outcome of local elections in February. The vote was the first of its kind since a military dictatorship ended a decade ago. Opposition leaders say the process was unfair and fraudulent. At least a dozen people were killed in post-election protest violence. Last week, opposition parties suspended the street protests, saying the international community had offered to mediate. Fofana, a former political opponent of Conde, has developed a closer relationship with the president in recent years. An economist by training, the new prime minister was a senior government official in the 70s and 80s, including in the area of international cooperation. He also served as the budget and finance minister in the 90s. After a period of voluntary exile, he returned to Guinea and stood as a presidential candidate in 2010 but won only 0.66 percent of the vote. A man holding his phone walks past an Apple shop in Beijing Jurors return to a Silicon Valley courtroom Tuesday to deliberate for a second day about whether Samsung should pay Apple a billion dollars for copying iPhone design features. Apple is seeking slightly more than a billion dollars in damages in the seven-year-old legal battle, while Samsung wants a figure closer to $28 million. The jury has been asked to determine whether 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. 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. 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. Determining whether those iconic iPhone design elements are essentially 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 dueling over whether design features such as rounded edges are worth all the money made from a phone. Samsung 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 case made its way to the US Supreme Court, which ruled in 2016 that the South Korean consumer electronics giant 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 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. Demonstrators display cartoons portraying Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha as Pinocchio during a protest at Thammasat University in Bangkok Thai police blocked anti-junta protesters from marching to Government House on Tuesday to mark four years of military rule, one of the largest acts of dissent since the army grabbed power. Hundreds of student activists and middle-aged 'Red Shirt' supporters of the toppled civilian government wielded banners, Thai flags and fans with a cartoon of the premier mocked-up as "Pinocchio", as they massed at a police blockade obstructing their progress to the seat of government in Bangkok. Disquiet with the junta is simmering in Thailand, despite a ban on political gatherings since a coup toppled the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra on May 22, 2014. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who as army chief booted Yingluck's administration from power, has suggested elections will be held in February next year. But the timetable for a return to democracy has frequently slipped and patience with his junta is wearing thin among many sections of Thai society. Demonstrators gather near a police barricade outside Thammasat University during a protest to mark the fourth year of junta rule in Bangkok "It is the four-year anniversary of the coup and I think now is the time to change," said Rangsiman Rome, one of the protest leaders. "We don't want to protest. It's hot, it's tiring. But we have no choice to make them listen to us." He said the protest was drawing inspiration from the shock election victory in early May of Mahathir Mohamad in neighbouring Malaysia that turfed the authoritarian incumbent, Najib Razak, from office. Protesters camped out overnight at Thammasat University, the historic heart of Thailand's pro-democracy movement and the scene of numerous bloody crackdowns by a military that has dominated Thailand's politics. Street protests have a long history in Thailand, with rallies often carefully choreographed to avoid direct confrontation with authorities. - Junta fatigue - The junta's number two, Prawit Wongsuwan, told reporters the protesters "cannot march" to Government House, and a police spokesman said any protester breaching the blockade outside it could face six months in jail. "If they decide to use force against us, there is nothing we can do," protestor Anuthee Dejthevaporn, 30, told AFP. "We want elections. Nothing is being done to guarantee they happen in February." Four years after the coup, Thailand remains divided. Large sections of society -- including the Bangkok middle class -- have wearied of rule by a conservative military that has intruded into the lives of ordinary Thais whilst overseeing a widening of the kingdom's rich-poor wealth gap. Prayut, who draws backing from an arch-royalist Bangkok elite, says he was forced to seize power to heal the kingdom's caustic politics and reboot an economy cramped by corruption and protest. Yingluck, her older brother Thaksin or their proxies have won all Thai general elections since 2001. Police have blocked anti-junta protesters from marching to Government House But their governments were hit by two coups and endless legal cases that have seen Yingluck and Thaksin flee abroad to avoid jail. Prayut has banned political gatherings of five or more people and silenced criticism with legal charges and tight monitoring of prominent activists. In between, a junta-appointed national assembly has signed off on a new constitution that ties future elected governments to a 20-year plan for the country. The charter also creates an appointed upper house and other checks to the power of future civilian governments, in what analysts say is a brazen assault on the political base of the Shinawatras. Prayut has been busily courting one-time Shinawatra allies in their northeastern heartlands. It is unclear how much electoral loyalty the family's party -- Pheu Thai -- still commands, with the star siblings Thaksin and Yingluck overseas and unable to galvanise supporters on the ground. A meeting between US President Donald Trump, left, and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-In could decide whether the US president's much-vaunted summit with the North's leader Kim Jong Un goes ahead Donald Trump holds a high-stakes meeting with South Korea's president at the White House Tuesday, talks that could decide whether the US president's much-vaunted summit with the North's leader Kim Jong Un goes ahead. Moon Jae-in jets into Washington on a mission to salvage a rare diplomatic opening between the US and North Korea that is in trouble almost before it begins. Trump had agreed to meet inscrutable "Supreme Leader" Kim in Singapore on June 12, but the first-ever US-North Korea summit is now in serious doubt, with both sides expressing reservations. South Korea -- worried about Kim's bellicose weapons testing and Trump's similarly bellicose warnings about a looming war -- was instrumental in convincing the two Cold War foes to sit down and talk. Moon sent his own national security advisor to the White House in March, carrying an offer of talks and word that North Korea may be willing to abandon nuclear weapons, an enticing prospect. Trump surprised his guests, his own aides and the world by summarily accepting the meeting, seeing an opportunity to "do a deal" and avoid military confrontation. Pyongyang is on the verge of marrying nuclear and missile technology allowing it to hit the continental United States with a nuke, a capability Washington sees as wholly unacceptable. Since then, there has been a landmark series of intra-Korean meetings, two trips to Pyongyang by Mike Pompeo -- first as CIA director then as America's top diplomat -- and three American citizens have been released from the North. But after several Trumpian victory laps, North Korea's willingness to denuclearize is now in serious doubt. Earlier this month, North Korea denounced US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment" and cancelled at the last minute a high-level meeting with the South in protest over joint military drills between Seoul and Washington. Trump responded by saying the meeting may or may not take place. Vice President Mike Pence warned in an interview on Monday night that there was "no question" that Trump would be prepared to walk away from the talks with Kim if it looks like they won't yield results and that the president was not just after a public relations triumph. Pence said that both the Clinton and Bush administrations "got played" by North Korea when Washington previously tried to get Pyongyang to denuclearize but the current administration would not make the same mistakes. "It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong Un to think he could play Donald Trump," he told Fox News. - 'We'll see what happens' - Trump also surprised many by offering Kim an upfront security guarantee, allowing him to stay in power, and suggested that Kim's apparent about-face may have been at the behest of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. "It could very well be that he's influencing Kim Jong Un," Trump said, citing a recent meeting between the pair, their second in a month's time. "We'll see what happens." Analysts saw North Korea's perceived slow peddling as evidence of what they feared all along, that Pyongyang may have been playing for time -- hoping to ease sanctions and "maximum pressure" or of South Korea overtorquing the prospects of a deal. "The current episode of tension reflects a wide and dangerous expectation gap between the United States and North Korea," said Eric Gomez of the CATO Institute. "Denuclearization is not off the table for the North, but it expects the United States to end the so-called 'hostile policy' as a precondition for denuclearization." It is far from clear what that means concretely, but it could include the forced withdrawal of 30,000 US troops from the Korean peninsula. With just weeks to go and little clarity on what will be discussed or what happens if talks fail, some Korea watchers predict fireworks during Trump's talks with Moon. "It increasingly looks like the Moon administration overstated North Korea's willingness to deal. Moon will probably get an earful over that," said Robert Kelly of Pusan National University. Yonhap news agency quoted a Blue House official as saying Moon would "likely tell President Trump what to expect and what not to expect from Kim." One in five women who have been pregnant in South Korea have had an abortion, but only one percent said they had a legal reason to terminate the pregnancy A decades-old abortion ban that activists say endangers women -- even if it is only sporadically enforced -- will be challenged in South Korea's supreme court this week. Along with Ireland, which holds a referendum on reforming strict abortion laws on Friday, South Korea is one of the few industrialised nations where the procedure is illegal except for instances of rape, incest and when the mother's health is at risk. Women who terminate a pregnancy face a fine and a year in jail, while doctors who carry out terminations can get up to two years behind bars. In reality, the 1953 law rarely results in prosecutions. But there are growing calls for change as activists argue criminalisation leaves women vulnerable to unsafe procedures and the changing whims of politicians as well as blackmail from their partners. "It's anachronistic," Kim Dong-sik, a researcher at the state-run Korean Women's Development Institute, told AFP. "We are still stuck in 1953." Calls to repeal the law have gained traction in recent years with more than 230,000 people signing a petition to legalise abortion last year. On Thursday the Constitutional Court is due to review a challenge from a doctor who was prosecuted for performing nearly 70 abortions. But opposition is staunch in a country that remains conservative towards female sexuality and highly influenced by evangelical Christianity. Historically, enforcement of the law has been patchy as South Korea morphed from an impoverished nation to one of Asia's wealthiest economies. "The country has a history of tacitly encouraging abortion and contraception when it needs to reduce population, and when low birthrate became an issue, it clamped down on abortion," said Jay Kim, from the non-profit advocacy group Womenlink. In the 1960s when South Korea was poorer, Kim said, abortion buses roamed the streets as authorities fretted about overpopulation and pushed a semi-official "one child per family" policy. - Underground doctors - The court hearing on Thursday comes a day before Ireland holds a referendum on whether to repeal its even more restrictive abortion ban that forces women to head overseas to terminate unwanted pregnancies. In contrast, abortions are commonplace and obtainable in South Korea. A survey conducted by the Korean Women's Development Institute last month found one in five women who have been pregnant have had an abortion. Only one percent said they had a legal reason to terminate the pregnancy. In these instances, women need "proof" that they were raped, or -- in the case of their health being at risk -- need permission from their partner. The procedure must be carried out within the first six months of the pregnancy. Abortion laws The ban also increases health risks, with women forced to seek surgery from underground physicians and unable to claim reimbursement on their health insurance. "They have to sign a contract saying they won't hold the doctor responsible for any legal matters or complications," explained Yoon Jung-won, an obstetrician at Green Hospital in Seoul. The law also means the vast majority of terminations are carried out surgically, Yoon added, at a cost of around $5,550, despite the availability of less invasive options. "It's been 30 years since abortion pills were invented but they have yet to be introduced (here)," she said. Many women also live in fear they might be reported to the authorities by their partners after break-ups. - Religious opposition - South Koreans are deeply divided over the issue, with religious groups leading the charge against overturning the ban. A group of university professors -- mostly devout Catholics -- filed a petition last month demanding the ban remain in place. "There is nothing in the world that comes before the life of a human being," they said. South Korea is home to multiple megachurches, many of them evangelical and deeply influenced by anti-abortion campaigns in the United States. In 2012, the Constitutional Court dismissed a case challenging the law. Ireland holds a referendum on Friday on whether to reform its strict abortion laws The judges were split and for a law to be determined unconstitutional, it needs a majority of six justices on the nine-member bench. But activists who favour changing the law know they now have a rare opportunity. The court, now under a more liberal government, boasts a string of new justices while several judges -- including its chief justice -- have publicly shown a willingness to reconsider the law. Even if the bid fails, rights activists say there are steps the government can take to ease the burden on women who fall pregnant. Lawyer Lee Han-bon says authorities could start by raising the welfare single mothers receive. "It's unfair to legally punish women for making the hard choice of terminating her pregnancy when not a penny is provided for single mothers," he said. Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak had to navigate a media scrum when he arrived at the anti-graft agency for questioning over a massive financial scandal Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak was questioned by anti-corruption authorities Tuesday after his shock election loss, as the top graft fighter revealed he faced threats and a bullet in the post when the old regime suppressed a probe into a massive financial scandal. Najib's coalition suffered a defeat at the May 9 poll, beaten by a reformist alliance led by Mahathir Mohamad, which broke their six-decade stranglehold on power. Mahathir, who first served as premier from 1981-2003 and came out of retirement aged 92 to take on Najib, campaigned on claims that the former leader and his cronies looted sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Billions of dollars were allegedly stolen from the fund in a sophisticated fraud, and used to buy everything from artworks to high-end real estate. Najib and his reviled, luxury-loving wife Rosmah Mansor have had a swift fall from grace. They have been barred from leaving the country, and police have seized handbags, jewels and cash during raids on properties linked to the couple. Public disgust at the corruption allegations swirling around them at a time middle-class Malaysians were suffering due to rising living costs and stagnant salaries was seen as a major factor in Najib's defeat. The ousted leader pushed through a huge media scrum as he arrived at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in the administrative capital of Putrajaya to be quizzed about 1MDB money allegedly ending up in his personal bank accounts. He left after about five hours looking exhausted, and told waiting reporters that officials had "acted professionally" as they took his statement. The questioning is due to continue Thursday. - Wide-ranging probe - The toppled regime went to great lengths to put a halt to scrutiny of the problems surrounding 1MDB, closing down domestic probes, sacking critics from government, jailing those who spoke out, and muzzling the media. New MACC chief Shukri Abdull, a long-time senior figure in the agency who retired but has been brought back by Mahathir, shed tears at a press conference as he told how he came under "tremendous pressure" during an earlier probe into a 1MDB subsidiary. No caption He recounted how witnesses were intimidated, authorities tried to push him into early retirement, and that he even received a bullet in the post. Shukri said the harassment reached a "very frightening" level and at one point he briefly fled to the United States as he feared arrest. "Our witnesses were abducted. Some of them were questioned by others as to what they revealed to us," he said. "I received a bullet at my home," he added. "I did not even tell my wife and my family, I did not lodge a police report." As pressure mounted, Shukri decided to retire in 2016. - Suspicious transfers - Najib was summoned by the anti-corruption body to give a statement over SRC International, an energy company that was originally a subsidiary of 1MDB. According to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal, 42 million ringgit ($10.6 million) originating from SRC was transferred to Najib's personal bank accounts. It is just one small part in the graft scandal, which is being investigated in several countries. Hundreds of millions of dollars from 1MDB allegedly ended up in Najib's accounts but the ex-leader and the investment vehicle have denied any wrongdoing. At a press conference later Tuesday, new Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said that the previous government had conducted an "exercise of deception" by misleading the public about 1MDB and had misrepresented the financial situation in parliament. He said the finance ministry, which was overseen by Najib, had bailed out 1MDB by helping to service nearly seven billion ringgit ($1.77 billion) in debt obligations since April last year. Mahathir has vowed to fully investigate the financial scandal and on Monday the new government set up a task force headed by high-ranking current and former officials to probe the controversy. Nearly 100 people are in quarantine in southern India after coming into contact with the deadly Nipah virus A deadly virus carried by fruit bats has killed at least five people in southern India and more than 90 people are in quarantine, a top health official said Tuesday. Other deaths are suspected to have been caused by Nipah virus and authorities have ordered emergency measures to control the outbreak. "We can confirm that five people have died from the Nipah virus," Kerala state health surveillance officer K.J. Reena told AFP. Media reports said 10 people had died but officials told AFP final tests had not been completed on other suspicious deaths. Nine people have been admitted to hospital with symptoms resembling the virus, which the World Health Organization says is fatal in 70 percent of cases, Reena added. One of the nine has tested positive for Nipah. "We also traced 94 people who had come in contact with the ones who died and they have been quarantined as a precaution," Reena added. There is no vaccination for Nipah, which has killed more than 260 people in Malaysia, Bangladesh and India in outbreaks since 1998. The WHO has named Nipah as one of the eight priority diseases that could cause an epidemic, alongside Ebola and Zika. The virus induces flu-like symptoms that lead to an agonising encephalitis and coma. Three members of the same family are among the fatalities. Dead bats were found in a well of the family's house in Kozhikode district, previously known as Calicut. - Heroic nurse - A nursing assistant who died after treating Nipah patients has been hailed as a hero by authorities. Mother-of-two Lini Puthussery was cremated even before her family members could bid a final goodbye because of fears the virus could spread. In a final note she scribbled in a hospital isolation unit, Puthussery urged her husband to take care of the children. "I don't think I will be able to see you again. Sorry. Please take care of our children," she said. Kerala state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that Puthussery's "selfless service will be remembered". Health authorities across the state were on high alert, setting up medical camps and a control room to tackle the emerging situation. Kazhikod is the epicentre of the deadly Nipah outbreak U.V. Jose, district collector of Kozhikode, said all government and private hospitals were working in close coordination. "Health staff are visiting individual households giving them specific instructions including about eating fruits from outside and other precautions," he told AFP. The neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu has stepped up surveillance in border districts fearing the spread of Nipah. 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 a first outbreak was reported in 2001. In 2004, humans became infected with Nipah after eating date palm sap that had been contaminated by fruit bats. Armenias stance on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has not changed, Tigran Balayan spokesperson of the foreign ministry, said at a press briefing on May 22. May 22, 2018, 13:05 Armenia remains advocate of exclusively peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict MFA spokesman STEPANAKERT, MAY 22, ARTSAKHPRESS:The Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be settled exclusively through peaceful means based on the proposals of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, as well as in the conditions of respecting the agreements reached after the April aggression, the foreign ministry spokesman said. Commenting on the meeting of the Co-Chairs with the Armenian leadership scheduled in June, Tigran Balayan said there is no clarification yet over the date of the meeting. The dates are being clarified. We will inform in case of reaching a concrete agreement. There is no agreement on the meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, he said. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on May 15 met with Azerbaijani foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov and informed that they expect to meet with the Armenian leadership in June. The Punggye-ri site pictured in April 2017 Foreign journalists headed to North Korea on Tuesday to witness the promised destruction of its nuclear test site, a move seen as a goodwill gesture before a planned summit with the United States. Dozens of reporters from China, the United States and Russia departed on a charter flight from Beijing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN which is part of the contingent. It showed the journalists board a small plane emblazoned with the North's flag. The journalists will cover the demolition of the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site inside a mountain in the northeast of the country, which is scheduled to take place between Wednesday to Friday. Agence France-Presse and some other major media organisations were not invited to cover the event. The North has staged all six of its nuclear tests there beginning in 2006. The latest and by far the most powerful in September last year was said by Pyongyang to have been a hydrogen bomb. The North previously said South Korean journalists would be allowed to attend this week's ceremony, as part of a series of ice-breaking diplomatic moves following a summit between the two country's leaders last month. But Pyongyang refused at the last minute to accept a list of South Korean journalists. It has railed against the ongoing "Max Thunder" military aviation exercise involving the United States and South Korea, calling it "an act of provocation." Pyongyang has also threatened to cancel a summit between US President Donald Trump and its own leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12, despite weeks of tentative rapprochement. The North has accused the US of cornering it with a unilateral demand for denuclearisation. At an indecency trial in Wellington the judge allowed a doctor to measure the defendant's penis after his accuser gave evidence relating to size A man had his penis measured in a New Zealand courthouse on Tuesday after the woman accusing him of indecent assault gave evidence about the size of his member, reports said. David Scott, an elected councillor from Kapiti, near Wellington, has pleaded not guilty to rubbing his genitals against a female council staffer at a function last year. The woman said the object she felt touch her back was four to five inches (10-12 centimetres) long, the stuff.co.nz news site reported. In a highly unusual move, judge Peter Hobbs then allowed Scott's doctor to take the 72-year-old to the court's holding cells to measure his penis with a wooden ruler. Hobbs suppressed the resulting measurement from public disclosure, Radio New Zealand reported. Scott's defence argues that the complainant, who has not been named, felt his wallet accidentally touch her as he moved past. But the accuser said the offending object pressing into her back could not have been a wallet, phone or insulin kit, and was in fact male genitalia. The trial continues. Bangladesh has been struggling to control a huge surge in methamphetamine crossing its southeastern border from Myanmar, where cheap pills are manufactured in enormous quantities Bangladesh police on Tuesday shot dead nearly a dozen more alleged drug dealers officials said, as its no-holds barred offensive drew accusations of murder from rights groups and opposition parties. At least 33 people have been gunned down in late-night shootouts since Bangladesh declared an all-out war on drugs a week ago. The country has been struggling to contain a surging trade in illegal drugs, most notably methamphetamine pills known as "yaba" that are being sold by the hundreds of millions. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed to fight the "drug menace" with the same intensity as a previous campaign that pursued homegrown militants and left dozens of Islamic radicals dead. Police said four "top drug dealers" were gunned down in the rural districts of Comilla and Nilphamari, and seven more were killed elsewhere in Bangladesh. But the country's main opposition party the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said one of its student activists, Amjad Hossain, had been unjustly targeted in one of the sweeps. Police in the northern district of Netrokona told AFP that Hossain was a prominent dealer facing 13 charges related to drugs and violence. "He was illegally murdered in cold blood," BNP spokesman Rizvi Ahmed told AFP. The opposition welcomed the push against drugs, Ahmed said, but feared the crackdown could also be used as a "witch hunt against anti-government activists" before a general election in December. Rights activists also described the killings -- all conducted late at night -- as questionable and showing disregard for the court system. "Drug dealing is a heinous crime. Yet everyone has the right to stand before a court for trial rather than being a victim of these incidents," activist Nur Khan Liton told AFP. Thousands of alleged dealers have been arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion, the same elite police unit that spearheaded the push against extremists which ended with at least 80 alleged militants dead. 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 in a single haul. The government on Monday seized the Yarmuk Palestinian camp and adjacent neighbourhoods of Tadamun and Hajar al-Aswad, putting Damascus fully under its control for the first time since 2012 Syrian police deployed across devastated districts in southern Damascus on Tuesday, according to state media, a day after the government captured the area from the Islamic State group. The government on Monday seized the Yarmuk Palestinian camp and adjacent neighbourhoods of Tadamun and Hajar al-Aswad, putting Damascus fully under its control for the first time since 2012. On Tuesday, police units entered Yarmuk and Hajar al-Aswad and planted the two-star Syrian flag there, state television reported. It broadcast images of security forces atop a pockmarked multi-storey building in Yarmuk where they had hung the national flag. They had also plastered pictures of President Bashar al-Assad and his predecessor and father Hafez. Other police officers gathered in the ravaged streets below and fired in the air in celebration. "The police are present round-the-clock," said one officer interviewed on the state broadcaster. "Special units are deployed across the camp to help any civilians and protect their belongings," he said. It also showed footage from Hajar al-Aswad of a convoy of police cars and motorcycles making its way through dusty streets lined with crumbling buildings. There were no civilians in sight. Yarmuk, Hajar al-Aswad and the nearby district of Tadamun all lie in a southern pocket of Damascus that had escaped regime control for several years. The government began losing its grip on parts of the capital in 2012, just one year after the conflict in Syria erupted. But it has made a comeback this year, with Assad using a mix of military pressure and evacuation deals to flush rebels and jihadists out of Damascus and its outskirts. His troops and allied Palestinian fighters turned their sights on Yarmuk and the other IS-held parts of the capital last month. IS overran Yarmuk in 2015, but the massive Palestinian camp had already been ravaged by years of rebel infighting and government attacks. Syria's army announced it had seized Yarmuk from IS on Monday. Several sources, including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a military source close to Damascus, said the capture came after a negotiated withdrawal of IS fighters. The government has denied such a deal. An undated photo released by the Iraqi judiciary on January 23, 2018, shows Belgian jihadist Tarik Jadaoun An Iraqi court on Tuesday sentenced a Belgian jihadist, who threatened Europe in propaganda videos, to death by hanging for membership of the Islamic State group. The tough punishment is the latest doled out in the conflict-scarred country to foreigners who flocked to the self-declared caliphate of IS. Tarik Jadaoun -- known by his nom de guerre Abu Hamza al-Beljiki -- earlier pleaded not guilty to a range of terror charges, insisting he had "got lost" and pleading for mercy. In Brussels, the foreign ministry called for the death penalty to be commuted. "We would like the death sentence to be changed to life imprisonment," spokesman Didier Vanderhasselt told AFP, noting that Belgium was opposed to capital punishment. Born in 1988, Jadaoun -- who was captured in ex-IS bastion Mosul in August -- appeared before the Baghdad court dressed in a beige prison uniform with a shaved head and bushy moustache. The hearing lasted for less than 10 minutes, with a judge sentencing him to be "hanged until death". Jadaoun -- who refused to defend himself after the charges were read out -- was immediately taken out of court with his face covered by guards and loaded into a prison van. He now has 30 days to appeal the verdict during which time the sentence should not be carried out. In addition, he was sentenced to three years in prison and handed a fine worth $2,300 (2,000 euros) for illegally crossing the Iraqi border. In a statement released after the sentencing, the Iraqi judiciary described Jadaoun as "among the most wanted foreign terrorists who fought in Syria and Iraq". Jadaoun, who has Moroccan roots, said during a first hearing on May 10 that he was forced by "one of the top IS commanders" to appear in videos threatening attacks against Belgium and France. The footage saw Jadaoun earn the moniker "the new Abaaoud", after his compatriot Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the organisers of November 2015 attacks in Paris. - 'Nurse' claims - He claimed that he had not been a fighter for IS but was instead in charge of a group of nurses. "I took care of everybody," he told the earlier hearing. Investigators had previously alleged that Jadaoun was in charge of the "cubs of the caliphate" -- about 60 children aged eight to 13 who received intensive fitness and weapons training. There was no mention of these allegations at his trial. An image grab taken from an AFPTV video shows Belgian jihadist Tarik Jadaoun being escorted out of court after his trial in Baghdad on May 22, 2018 In total, Iraqi courts have sentenced to death more than 300 people, including dozens of foreigners, for belonging to IS, judicial sources said last month. Since January, some 100 foreign nationals have been sentenced to death in Baghdad and around 185 to life in prison, officials said. Iraq has previously executed dual nationals accused of belonging to groups including Al-Qaeda, but is yet to put to death any Westerners sentenced over IS links. Thousands of foreign fighters from across the world flocked to the black banner of the jihadists as the group seized swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Their "caliphate" has since been reduced to a rump territory of desert in the east of war-torn Syria. The fate of those who survived ferocious onslaughts by various forces against IS has been a major headache for their home governments, which are often against seeing them return. An Iranian man checks a newspaper in Tehran on May 9, 2018 a day after the US pulled out of the nuclear deal While some US officials hope their increasingly aggressive measures could trigger some kind of new Iranian revolution, they are unlikely to get much take-up at Tehran's Tajrish bazaar. The overriding response to Monday's threat-laden speech by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was one of weary apathy. Not one person approached by AFP over several hours at the upmarket bazaar in northern Tehran had seen the speech. When its key points were relayed to them, it was generally seen as the same angry rhetoric they have been hearing from the United States for decades. "Americans think they own the world. They want to decide for other countries as they wish," said Omidi, a retired man, shopping at the bazaar. "They want to have everything. They want to have even more nuclear energy and atomic bombs than they have now. And they want the countries that oppose them to have nothing," he added, indignantly. Pompeo's threat to "crush" Iran with sanctions has sparked widespread fears, particularly among anyone with a business linked to the outside world. But sanctions are also familiar in Iran, and many remained defiant. "There have been sanctions over the last 30 years," said Musavi, a government employee. "If it was going to have any effect, it would have affected us over the last 30 years. Iran has never paid attention to sanctions and has stood on its own feet," he added. "America has proven for the last 40 years that it is hostile towards us," said Chegini, a street seller. Pompeo said he wanted a new deal with Iran, but his 12 demands on ending Iran's regional interventions and missile programme are considered a non-starter by the government, particularly in the way they were presented. Iranians shop at the Tajrish bazaar in Tehran on June 7, 2016 "Trump's secretary of state is 40 years behind the times. The Iranian nation had the revolution so that no one can tell them what to do," said Eshagh Jahangiri, Iran's first vice president. "Trump's administration will eventually have to come to terms with the reality that Iran... must be spoken to with the language of courtesy and logic and not with the language of threats," he wrote on Twitter. On March 2, jihadists carried out a coordinated attack in central Ouagadougou, targeting the country's military headquarters and the French embassy Three suspected jihadists were killed and one was captured Tuesday in a pre-dawn raid by security forces on a house in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, the defence ministry said. A member of the special gendarmerie unit which carried out the raid died of his wounds, and five other people -- four gendarmes and a civilian -- were injured, it said in a statement. An AFP reporter saw two corpses in front of a suburban house and a third in a courtyard. Police found six assault rifles, explosives and detonators, military clothing, mobile phones and SIM cards, and a notebook with writing in Arabic, the statement said. Burkina Faso is in the grip of a three-year-old jihadist insurgency that has killed scores of people and driven thousands from their homes. A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation lasted from 3am to 7am. Local resident Issiaka Ilboudo, who lives opposite the house on the southwestern rim of Ouagadougou, said there had been "intense gunfire". "It was around 3am that we heard noise, it was people running on the roofs of the houses," Ilboudo said. "We then heard shooting, which sometimes lasted 30 or 45 minutes, then stopped and resumed." Another resident, Pascal Lengani, said the house had been newly built and put up for rent last July, but nobody in the neighbourhood knew the inhabitants or had any idea how many lived there. Many attacks in the insurgency have targeted security forces and officials on the border with Mali. Tuesday's operation came eight days after the assassination of the prefect -- the state's paramount representative at local level -- in Oursi, a town in the far north near the Mali frontier. In April, the authorities in the eastern and northern border regions arrested around 100 people and seized explosives. Ouagadougou has come under attack three times. In January 2016, jihadists attacked the Splendid Hotel and a cafe, leaving 30 dead, around half of them foreign nationals. In August 2017, two young gunmen opened fire on people at a Turkish restaurant just metres (yards) away from the Splendid Hotel, killing 19 people, at least eight of them foreigners. On March 2 this year, jihadists attacked the country's military headquarters and the French embassy, in a coordinated operation claimed by an organisation calling itself the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM). Eight soldiers and eight assailants were killed, and 61 soldiers and 24 civilians were injured, according to an official toll released three days later. A government source told AFP that there were strong suspicions that "army infiltrators" had tipped off the assailants. Former US president Jimmy Carter says Donald Trump should be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize if he manages to forge peace with North Korea Former US president Jimmy Carter said Donald Trump should be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize if he manages to forge peace with North Korea. "If President Trump is successful in getting a peace treaty that's acceptable to both sides with North Korea, I think he certainly ought to be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize," Carter said in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday. "I think it would be a worthy and a momentous accomplishment that no previous president has been able to realize," the 93-year-old former president said. At the same time, Carter said he believes Trump delivered a "damaging blow" to Middle East peace by moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The former president (1977-1981), who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, has issues with Trump on a number of other fronts. "I'm not here to criticize, but I think that, you know, telling the truth is one of the basic moral values that's important (in a president)," Carter said. "And obeying the law is an oath that all of us take before we assume public office. "I think the president ought to tell the truth. I think the president ought to be for peace. I think the president ought to treat everybody equally," he said. "So, equality and peace and the truth, and I'd say basic justice, are some of the moral values that I think every person should have." As for North Korea, Carter said "we've done everything we could to destroy the economy of North Korea, and every North Korean knows that. "The North Korean people ought to be treated with respect, and I think that the embargo that we've enforced on them has basically hurt the people who are already suffering under a brutal dictatorship, and has not hurt the leaders of North Korea very much," he said. Carter, who has offered to serve as an envoy to North Korea, said "I think that the next mediator, next negotiator -- maybe President Trump, I hope -- will reassure them that we're willing to give up some of those things -- the threat of attack on them and to lift the embargo. "That would be a cheap price, in my opinion, to pay for a cessation of their nuclear program," he said. Trump is scheduled to hold a landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un in Singapore on June 12, but Pyongyang has recently threatened to pull out over US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment." The shootings in Tamil Nadu caused immediate outrage. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress party, said it was "state sponsored terrorism" Indian police on Tuesday killed 12 demonstrators after opening fire on thousands of people demanding the closure of a copper factory due to pollution concerns, a police officer said. Protesters rampaged for hours in the southern state of Tamil Nadu calling for the closure of the plant owned by British-based mining giant Vedanta Resources. "We have confirmation of 12 people being killed in police firing. We fear the toll may rise," the officer told AFP from the state capital Chennai. An unknown number of protesters were injured in the skirmishes, he said. Some 20 police were also injured in the clashes in Tuticorin, about 600 kilometres (375 miles) south of Chennai. The shootings caused immediate outrage. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress party, said it was "state sponsored terrorism". Protesters stormed the office of the top local administrator and set it ablaze after they were denied permission to hold a rally at the smelting plant. The police officer said efforts to disperse the 5,000 strong rock-throwing group through a baton charge and tear gas volleys failed. Police then fired live ammunition, he added. Another officer said more than 110 vehicles were burnt during the disturbances that lasted nearly four hours. Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami ordered an inquiry into the shootings but defended the police. "The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence... police had to control the violence," he said in a statement. The families of each victim would be offered one million rupees ($14,700) compensation, he added. - Controversial factory - Residents have been protesting for months against the plant run by a Vedanta subsidiary, Sterlite Copper. Environmentalists and locals allege the plant is contaminating water resources, a charge denied by the company. The protests have intensified after Vedanta, owned by an Indian billionaire but with its head office in London, sought to expand the plant. The plant -- which is currently non-operational -- has a 400,000-tonne annual capacity. It was shut briefly after an alleged gas leak in March 2013 that left hundreds with breathing difficulties, nausea and throat infections. India's federal green court allowed it to be reopened. The company maintains that it adheres to environmental standards and accused vested interests of spreading "false propaganda" about its operations. Tamil Nadu is one of India's most industrialised and prosperous states and similar protests over environmental concerns have turned deadly. Tuticorin witnessed violent demonstrations in 2012 over a nuclear power plant in neighbouring Kudankulam district that left one person dead. Thousands of protesters blocked roads to prevent supplies reaching the Russian-built plant, concerned about safety standards. One of the plant units is operational. In 2016, the Indian arm of global consumer goods giant Unilever settled a 15-year-old suit with hundreds of its former employees over mercury contamination at a thermometer factory in Kodaikanal. The factory was shut in 2001 after it was found to have disposed mercury waste with following proper protocol. The Pacific Ocean is a treasure trove of islands, hiding an abundance of precious resources. Cloaked in hardwood forests, rich veins of copper, bauxite and gold lie in its earth and rare mineral deposits sit buried in its sea floor. Voices from the Pacific need lifting to overcome the tyranny of distance and ensure that businesses operating in the region respect human rights. Unseen and unheard, the voices of Pacific island communities on the frontline of deforestation, irresponsible mining and seabed exploitation are being overlooked and human rights abuses are going unchecked in remote rural regions. Previously untouched, many Pacific island countries are poised to experience escalating exploitation by foreign-owned companies headquartered in Australia, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. Without regard to international rules requiring respect for human rights in business, this threatens the sustainability of life in the Pacific for future generations. Revenue streams from natural resources are a key source of actual, and potential, income for many Pacific nations. Cash flows from natural resource extraction can be directed to improving schools, infrastructure and health services, aiding development and relieving poverty and inequality. Many Pacific countries are well placed to fund fairer societies. And yet, in much of the region, its people face seemingly insurmountable challenges to ensure they receive a fair share of sovereign wealth for themselves, and their children. Their inheritance is being chopped-down, dug-up and shipped-off at an alarming rate. States keen to attract overseas investment often unwittingly welcome irresponsible companies with open arms, grateful for injections of foreign capital into struggling agrarian economies burdened by debt. Local laws may be conveniently forgotten. Those charged with protecting the local people and enforcing regulation repeatedly turn a blind eye, sometimes colluding directly with the very companies they are employed to control. The activities of foreign-owned extractive companies can be hugely damaging to local communities, with few benefits flowing. Mining operators are shipping tonnes of earth wholesale, to be processed offshore. Logging, another high-risk sector, occurs both legally and illegally. Licences, often obtained in highly questionable circumstances, have led to widespread deforestation in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Deforestation rates in both these nations are amongst the highest rates globally, fuelling an international trade in illegal timber. Corrupt practices further diminish the rule of law, impeding equitable profit-sharing between companies and customary landowners. Local communities are inadequately equipped to counter these challenges. To access the internet, a villager in the Solomon Islands may spend six long hours in the back of a truck travelling along poor roads. Or a week by ferry to reach the capital on erratically scheduled passenger ferries to check the progress of a complaint at the police or Ministry of Forestry. This is no match for the satellite dishes and instant access to Honiara officials enjoyed in the logging camps. Seabed mining, we are told, will happen many kilometres offshore, well away from local communities and fish stocks. Its impacts, say the mining companies, will harm neither the people, nor their food supplies. Those who depend upon the Pacifics blue economy have a different perspective. They have seen the results of the exploratory testing and the clouded water it creates. When the mining company divers come, they fear for their futures and those of their children. Once mining licences are granted, they believe the damage caused by exploratory drilling will be replicated on a grand scale, polluting Pacific waters, destroying fish stocks and harming life along the shoreline. A bonanza of exploitation is underway in the Pacific. The voices of affected communities, often isolated by great distances and limited means of communication, are going unheard. They have been overlooked by the rest of the world and abuses are going unchecked. A unique capacity-building program on business, human rights and the sustainable development goals held earlier this month in Suva aimed to challenge this reality. Organised by the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs, Citizens Constitutional Forum, the UNs Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, UNSW Institute for Global Development and the Diplomacy Training Program, the event brought together participants, representing civil society in eight Pacific countries. The pilot training and research program was developed to equip Pacific communities with tools to address the challenges of unchecked economic encroachment into their lands and lives. Building awareness of the UN guiding principles on business and human rights is an urgent priority in the Pacific given impacts of mining, logging, palm-oil and seasonal labour migration schemes, said Sara Bulutani Mataitawakilai, chief executive officer of the Citizens Constitutional Forum. It is a small drop in a wide ocean, but ideas, like ripples, can spread far and wide. As the human rights of communities are increasingly impacted by new and developing business activities across the Pacific, its people need supporting so that when they speak-out, their voices are heard far and wide, and reach the places where action can bring change. With stakeholders working together communities, governments, the UN and business itself a fairer pattern of economic development can be achieved in the Pacific. International rules oblige companies to respect human rights. Governments should promote these rules and Pacific communities have a right to expect they will be implemented. Local communities and their advocates need greater access to international frameworks and mechanisms such as UN and OECD complaints procedures, as well as to local, regional and international civil society networks. Distances may be great, but Pacific voices deserve to be heard and need elevating to global platforms. In this way, communities can be supported in their efforts to achieve stable, sustainable growth that will protect the futures of those that follow. As they say in Pacific, We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we keep it for our children and return it without injuries. The hole left in the ceiling of a home in Riyadh caused by debris from falling shrapnel from Yemeni rebel missiles that were intercepted over the Saudi capital in March The US Treasury blacklisted five Iranians who allegedly supplied ballistic missile technology to Yemen's Huthi rebels Tuesday, a day after Washington warned Tehran it faced the "strongest sanctions in history." The Treasury said the five placed on its sanctions list were linked to an operation by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to support Huthi attacks on cities in Saudi Arabia, which leads the Gulf coalition fighting the Yemeni rebels. According to Riyadh, the Huthis have launched more than 130 ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia since 2015, many of them intercepted by anti-missile defense systems. In November last year they launched a missile which reached Riyadh, and the attacks have increased this year. Iran has denied supplying missiles to the Huthis, while the group has insisted that they developed the missiles themselves. But the United States says it has irrefutable evidence of Iran's involvement. Actions by the Revolutionary Guards "have enabled the Huthis to launch missiles at Saudi cities and oil infrastructure," said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in a statement. "The United States will not tolerate Iranian support for Huthi rebels who are attacking our close partner, Saudi Arabia. All countries in the region should be on guard to prevent Iran from sending its personnel, weapons, and funds in support of its proxies in Yemen," he said. Four of the five men hit with sanctions, which aim to lock them out of the global financial system, are senior officials in the Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Forces Al-Ghadir Missile Command. The fifth was linked to a Revolutionary Guards unit responsible for researching and developing ballistic missiles. Over the last two weeks, the US Treasury has stepped up sanctions targeting Iran, and especially the Revolutionary Guards, in the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Tehran that it was facing a tougher sanctions regime than it ever experienced as Washington pressures Tehran to disengage from regional hot spots like Syria and Yemen and to stop exporting its ballistic missile technology. "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," said Pompeo. Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla -- whose widow Sunayana Dumala is pictured at his February 2017 funeral -- was shot dead in Kansas in a crime that caused shockwaves around his home country A US man, already sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for shooting dead an Indian immigrant, has for the first time admitted that he was motivated by hate. Adam Purinton entered a guilty plea to federal hate crime and firearms charges Monday in the Midwestern state of Kansas, bringing an end to a case that caused international outrage and seemed to confirm fears of increasing racial animus in the United States. The 53-year-old agreed to request a life sentence without parole during his sentencing in federal court on July 2. On separate state murder charges, Purinton had already been sentenced in early May to life in prison, with parole possible in 50 years. Purinton engaged in a racial slur-filled attack last year against two Indian immigrant men at a bar and restaurant in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe. He shot both men, killing one. "In this case, the defendant embarked on a murderous rampage with clear premeditation to kill on the basis of race, color, religion, and national origin," Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio said in a statement. With his guilty plea, Purinton admitted to the facts of the case as asserted by prosecutors. On February 22, 2017, 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla and his friend Alok Madasani met at Austins Bar and Grill, which they regularly frequented. The two friends, who were aviation systems engineers for GPS manufacturer Garmin, were targeted by a drunken Purinton. He poked Kuchibhotla in the chest, called him a "terrorist" and shouted "get out of my country," before he was thrown out by other patrons. Purinton returned about 30 minutes later with a semi-automatic pistol and fired eight shots at the two men, killing Kuchibhotla and wounding Madasani. Bystander Ian Grillot also was wounded when he ran after the gunman. Purinton was captured later in the day after boasting that he had "killed some Iranians," federal prosecutors said. The shooting came one month after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, and triggered shockwaves overseas amid concerns of rising racial prejudice following his divisive election campaign. Israel's Netta Barzilai performs on stage a festive welcome concert in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on May 14, 2018 after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon Feathers are flying in the free speech-friendly Netherlands after Israel's embassy Tuesday complained about a Dutch parody of Netta Barzilai's winning Eurovision song, calling the home-grown version "in bad taste" and "disgraceful". Dutch actress and cabaret artist Sanne Wallis de Vries performed her own version of Barzilai's catchy tune "Toy" on her Saturday night show on national television. She dressed in a similar multicoloured kimono to Netta and copied the same wacky clucking sounds and chicken-like dance moves that won Barzilai the top honours on May 12. But instead of Netta's #MeToo-inspired song, the Dutch lyrics carried a heavy political message with videos of Palestinian protesters and Israel's border walls forming the backdrop to her performance. "Look at me I'm a loving little country, world leaders bravely eat from my hand, with a kiss I put out every fire," De Vries' sang to the tune of "Toy". "Look how beautiful when I drop some bombs. Again oh yes, Israel wins. For 70 years now, this party's been going on," she continued. But some critics including the Israeli government said her lyrics bordered on being anti-Semitic with references to "kosher sates" and Jews "cashing in" on the relocation of embassies to Jerusalem, triggered by last week's move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv. "It was not only biased against Israel, it included unfortunately also some anti-Semitic hints like mocking kosher food or referring to money in the old anti-Jewish way," the Israeli foreign ministry said in a letter, excerpts of which were seen by AFP. "Showing sad and depressing videos in the backdrop of the Israeli Eurovision winning song was not only in bad taste, but it was wrong and disgraceful," added the letter, which Israel's foreign ministry said was sent to the BNNVARA broadcaster and copied to the Dutch foreign ministry. Reacting to the outcry, BNNVARA told the NOS Dutch public broadcaster that the parody was not meant to be anti-Semitic. "In the Sanne Wallis show happenings of the past week are discussed in a satirical way," it said. "The parody questions Israel's policies and is in no way an indictment of the Jewish community," BNNVARA said. De Vries declined to comment, the NOS added, while the Dutch foreign ministry could also not be reached for comment. More than 30 activist groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union urged Amazon Tuesday to stop providing facial recognition technology to law enforcement, warning that it could give authorities 'dangerous surveillance powers.' The organizations sent a letter to Amazon after an ACLU investigation found Amazon had been working with a number of US law enforcement agencies to deploy its artificial intelligence-powered Rekognition service. 'Rekognition marketing materials read like a user manual for authoritarian surveillance,' said Nicole Ozer of the ACLU of California. 'Once a dangerous surveillance system like this is turned against the public, the harm can't be undone.' Privacy activists are asking Amazon to stop marketing a powerful facial recognition tool to police, saying law enforcement agencies could use the technology to 'easily build a system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone' Amazon offers the technology to law enforcement for just $6 to $12 a month. So far, it counts the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Oregon and the city of Orlando as customers Facial recognition is used by many technology companies, but activists say Amazon's system could lead to dangerous surveillance powers for law enforcement A letter to Amazon chief Jeff Bezos was signed by groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Data for Black Lives, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Human Rights Watch. 'Amazon Rekognition is primed for abuse in the hands of governments,' the letter said. 'This product poses a grave threat to communities, including people of color and immigrants, and to the trust and respect Amazon has worked to build.' Amazon is one of many companies in the US and elsewhere which deploy facial recognition for security and law enforcement over the concerns of civil liberties activists. Some research has indicated that such programs can be error-prone, particularly when identifying people of color, and activists argue these systems can build up large databases of biometric information which can be subject to abuse. HOW DOES FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY WORK? Facial recognition software works by matching real time images to a previous photograph of a person. Each face has approximately 80 unique nodal points across the eyes, nose, cheeks and mouth which distinguish one person from another. A digital video camera measures the distance between various points on the human face, such as the width of the nose, depth of the eye sockets, distance between the eyes and shape of the jawline. A different smart surveillance system (pictured) can scan 2 billion faces within seconds has been revealed in China. The system connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets. The military is working on applying a similar version of this with AI to track people across the country This produces a unique numerical code that can then be linked with a matching code gleaned from a previous photograph. A facial recognition system used by officials in China connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets. Experts believe that facial recognition technology will soon overtake fingerprint technology as the most effective way to identify people. Advertisement In China, authorities have created a digital surveillance system able to use a variety of biometric data - from photos and iris scans to fingerprints - to keep close tabs on the movements of the entire population, and uses it to publicly identify lawbreakers and jaywalkers. The ACLU released documents showing correspondence with police departments in Florida, Arizona and other states on Rekognition, which operated by the Amazon Web Services unit of the US tech giant. The US activist groups say a large deployment by Amazon, which is one of the leaders in artificial intelligence, could lead to broad surveillance of the US population. 'People should be free to walk down the street without being watched by the government,' the letter said. 'Facial recognition in American communities threatens this freedom. In overpoliced communities of color, it could effectively eliminate it. The federal government could use this facial recognition technology to continuously track immigrants as they embark on new lives.' Amazon did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on the letter. On its website, Amazon pointed out that Rekognition, which uses computer vision technology to identify people and objects, can be used to locate missing persons or filter explicit content in data apps and social media. The program can also be used to identify celebrities and to analyze emotions from facial expressions for retail stores. A 2016 study by Georgetown University researchers found that one in two US adults, or 117 million people, appeared in a law enforcement facial recognition database, with most of those undisclosed and unregulated. The researchers said that widespread use of facial recognition risks eroding constitutional guarantees against unreasonable searches. 'Police use of face recognition to continuously identify anyone on the street - without individualized suspicion - could chill our basic freedoms of expression and association, particularly when face recognition is used at political protests,' the report said. Palestinians have been angered by the recent US decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem The Palestinian foreign minister on Tuesday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) "to open an immediate investigation" into allegations of war crimes and apartheid against the Palestinian people. Amid rising tensions with Israel, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki met for an hour with the ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the tribunal in The Hague, "to refer the situation in Palestine" to her office. It was an "important and historic step" for the Palestinian people "who have suffered for generations the consequences of crimes committed with impunity by Israeli officials", he told reporters afterwards. The ICC launched a preliminary probe in 2015 into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and the Palestinian territories, in the wake of the Gaza war. Despite a visit to the region, the tribunal has yet to move to the next stage and open a full-blown investigation which could possibly lead to charges being brought. Bensouda said however in a statement that it had "made important progress". Maliki insisted there was "insurmountable" evidence of crimes, adding those "responsible ... must be held accountable for their actions without further delay". The meeting at the ICC comes after more than 60 Palestinians protesting the US decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem were killed by Israeli fire last week. Maliki said the Palestinian move was "due to the intensification of the rate and the severity of the crimes against our people", including the targeting of "unarmed protestors in the Gaza Strip". The Palestinian referral highlighted the issue of settlements, which the delegation termed in a statement "the single most dangerous threat to Palestinian lives and livelihoods". Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki speaks to the press following talks with the ICC prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague "Israel maintains, expands and protects the settlement regime by committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people," the statement added. Amid much controversy, the Palestinian Authority joined the ICC in January 2015 signing up to the Rome Statute, which underpins the world's only permanent war crimes court. - 'Violence must stop' - Israel is not a member of the ICC however, and the Israeli foreign ministry on Tuesday said it "takes a severe view" of the referral, which it called "a cynical step without legal validity". "The ICC lacks jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian issue, since Israel is not a member of the court and because the Palestinian Authority is not a state," the Israeli ministry added in a statement. It called on Bensouda "not to yield to Palestinian pressure" and to deny "Palestinian efforts to politicise the court". Bensouda confirmed she had received the referral and said in her statement she had "to consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice" in deciding what to do. It is the eighth time a state party to the court has directly referred a situation to her, she said, warning that a direct referral "does not automatically lead to the opening of an investigation." Social-economic data on the Gaza Strip (UN report July 2017) But she highlighted it would mean she will not have to ask for the judges' permission if she decides to investigate what would be the most complex and high-profile conflict the tribunal has ever probed. Rights groups urged Bensouda to take up the challenge and move to the next step. "The recent killings in Gaza only underscore the importance of the ICC prosecutor acting to address the pervasive climate of impunity in Palestine," said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch. Bensouda vowed last week that she was watching the unrest in Gaza closely and would "take any action warranted" to prosecute crimes. "The violence must stop," she told AFP. Lieutenant General Scott Miller (R) has for two years headed up the secretive Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) The Pentagon is set to nominate a special operations soldier as the next commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, a military official told AFP on Tuesday. "We anticipate there's an announcement coming" that Lieutenant General Scott Miller has been nominated for the role, the official said. Miller, 57, has for two years headed up the secretive Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and has lengthy experience working with some of America's most elite fighters. If confirmed by the Senate, Miller would take over from General John Nicholson, who is rotating out of his post after a two-year deployment. According to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported Miller's selection, he was a captain overseeing a group of Delta Force commandos in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. That incident was made famous by the book and movie "Black Hawk Down." Miller's deployment to Afghanistan, which would see him promoted to four-star general, comes at a time when local security forces are still struggling to contain a resurgent Taliban and the Islamic State jihadist group has conducted several high-profile suicide attacks. Currently, there are about 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan, providing the main component of the NATO mission there to support and train local forces. Some of the US forces are involved in counterterrorism operations, particularly against the local IS group. In a statement, the Pentagon said: "We have nothing to announce at this time. We do not discuss internal deliberations." Nurses working with the World Health Organization (WHO) prepare to administer vaccines at the town all of Mbandaka on May 21, 2018 during the launch of the Ebola vaccination campaign African health authorities said Tuesday they are preparing to send anthropologists to Democratic Republic of Congo to ensure a vaccination campaign against a deadly Ebola outbreak runs smoothly. "If we do not handle communication well, the vaccination programme may suffer," John Nkengasong, head of Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), told reporters in Geneva. "So we are also assessing how in the next two weeks or so to deploy anthropologists to support the vaccine efforts," he said. His comments came a day after the Congolese government began using a prototype vaccine as part of a bid to contain and roll back the outbreak that has killed 27 people. So far, there have been 51 cases since the outbreak was declared on May 8, it said. Of these, 28 cases have been confirmed, 21 are probable and two are suspected. 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. The outbreak began in rural northwestern DR Congo in a remote location called Bikoro. Last Thursday, a first case was reported in Mbandaka -- a city of around 1.2 million people that lies on the Congo River, where it is a transport hub to Brazzaville and Kinshasa downstream and to Bangui, upstream. "We continue to be very concerned," Nkengasong said. He said Africa CDC was in the process of deploying 25 epidemiologists to the affected areas to assist the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and others trying to stem the outbreak on the ground. He said China's CDC had also said it would send five staff, and the US CDC had also indicated it was prepared to send in staff to help. But he acknowledged it remained unclear whether people on the ground would follow instructions on how to best protect themselves and others against the deadly virus. Nkengasong said Africa CDC was closely following how people reacted to the vaccination efforts to determine how many anthropologists were needed. "We will be looking ... especially based on what we learn from the first week of vaccination what numbers will be appropriate," Nkengasong said. During the deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak, which killed more than 11,300 people in three West African countries from 2013-2015, an initial lack of understanding of cultural norms by the first responders fuelled suspicion on the ground. Many people refused to follow best-practice instructions for reining in the outbreak. "We are dealing with human behaviour," Nkengasong said, adding: "that is why we think that having anthropologists associated with Africa CDC's response is very critical." Believing Ebola is a curse some victims in DR Congo are refusing help in medical centres, instead turning to churches or pastors who claim they have healing powers Health workers fighting Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo have run into an invisible but powerful hurdle -- a belief system that deems the disease to be a curse or the result of evil spirits. Some people are refusing medical care and turn instead to preachers and prayers to chase away the threat, they say. The pastor of an evangelical church last Wednesday died several days after he "prayed" for an Ebola victim who went to him for help, a doctor said. "Some sick people believe that the Ebola epidemic comes from sorcery -- they refuse to be treated and prefer to pray," said Julie Lobali, a nurse on the front line against the DRC's ninth Ebola outbreak. She is working in a hospital in Mbandaka, a port city on the Congo River in northwest DRC where the first urban case was reported last Thursday. Since the outbreak was declared in the remote area of Bikoro on May 8, 51 cases of Ebola have been reported with 27 deaths. One superstition that has become prevalent in the city, she says, is believing that Ebola began in Bikoro as "a curse on those who ate stolen meat" -- a wild animal hunted in the countryside. Blandine Mboyo, who lives in Mbandaka's district of Bongondjo,told AFP "a hunter put a curse on the village because his big game was stolen." "This curse is so powerful because it hits those who ate this meat, having heard about the theft or having seen the stolen animal," added Nicole Batoa, a local vendor. Another resident, Guy Ingila, observed that officials have said on the radio "this disease is incurable... It's because it's about witchcraft.". For doctors and health officials these beliefs raise serious concerns, complicating efforts to contain and roll back the deadly Ebola virus. In Geneva on Tuesday, African health officials said they were preparing to send anthropologists to the DRC to help with an Ebola vaccination campaign. A prototype vaccine will first be given to frontline health workers and then to people who have been in contact with Ebola cases. "If we do not handle communication well, the vaccination programme may suffer," John Nkengasong, head of Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), told reporters in Geneva. "So we are also assessing how in the next two weeks or so to deploy anthropologists to support the vaccine efforts." - 'Bad spirits' - in DR Congo, as elsewhere in Africa, disease and death are often not looked on as natural phenomena. "So many deaths is a sign of a curse and can only have been provoked by a bad spirit," said Zacharie Bababaswe, a Congolese specialist in cultural history, explaining people's perceptions of Ebola. Before the expansion of evangelical churches in the country, Bababaswe says many Congolese would go see the witch doctor or village healer for treatment. Today there is still widespread superstition -- but, since the 1980s, it has taken a different form, with some people turning for help to a church or a pastor who claims to have healing powers. Two people infected with Ebola from Bikoro went to the churches rather than a medical centre for help, local witnesses said. Another patient, who had been hospitalised in Mbandaka, left the medical centre to seek out a local healer, they said. To brake the spread of Ebola, "we have to convince villagers that the disease is not a curse," said Bavon N'Sa Mputu, an elected official from Bikoro, pointing to the key role that churches can play. Hosting South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House, Donald Trump did little to quell speculation about his historic first summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un US President Donald Trump warned Tuesday his landmark summit with Kim Jong Un may be delayed, but insisted the North Korean leader is "serious" about denuclearization. Hosting South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House, Trump did little to quell speculation about the wavering prospects of a historic first summit between US and North Korean leaders. "It may not work out for June 12," Trump said of the Singapore meeting, adding in a now familiar non-committal riff: "if it does not happen, maybe it will happen later." "There are certain conditions we want to happen. I think we'll get those conditions. And if we don't, we won't have the meeting," he said. Politically, Trump has invested heavily in the success of the meeting, so most US officials, as well as outside observers, privately expect it will go ahead. But as the date draws near, Trump's divergence from his top aides, the differences between the two sides and the astronomically high stakes are coming into sharp relief. Success could lead to peace on the Korean peninsula and end the threat of a nuclear conflagration. Failure could all but destroy hopes of a peaceful solution to the crisis. "You never know about deals," Trump said. "I've made a lot of deals. You never really know." North Korea's willingness to denuclearize -- the very basis for the talks -- was recently plunged into doubt when the government denounced US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment." Pyongyang also canceled at the last minute a high-level meeting with the South in protest over joint military drills between Seoul and Washington. Despite the North's move, Trump said he believes Kim is willing to give up nukes. "I do think he is serious. I think he is absolutely very serious," the US president said. He suggested that the North Korean leader's apparent about-face may have been at the behest of Chinese President Xi Jinping. "There was a difference when Kim Jong Un left China the second time," Trump said. "There was a different attitude after that meeting and I was a little surprised. "And I think things changed after that meeting so I can't say that I am happy about it." And Trump again raised the prospect of a windfall for Kim if he mothballs weapons programs. The North Korean leader "will be extremely happy" if the deal works out, Trump said. "He will be very happy." - Rescue mission - Moon's trip to the White House represented an effort to salvage the rare diplomatic opening. The dovish Moon deployed a tactic frequently used by foreign leaders who meet this most mercurial of presidents: flattery. "Thanks to your vision of achieving peace through strength as well as your strong leadership," Moon said in the Oval Office, "we find ourselves standing one step closer to the dream of achieving denuclearization on the Korean peninsula." "All this was possible because of you, Mr President," Moon added, taking pains to stress the concrete results of diplomacy so far -- most notably the release of three US prisoners from North Korean jail. Trump praised his guest, but also indicated that a separate, second round of high-level talks between Moon and Kim may also be on ice. "Right now, he doesn't know whether or not he has a meeting," Trump said of Moon. South Korea -- deeply worried about Kim's bellicose weapons testing and Trump's similarly aggressive warnings about "fire and fury" -- was instrumental in convincing the two Cold War foes to sit down and talk. Moon sent his own national security advisor to the White House in March, carrying an offer of talks and word that North Korea may be willing to abandon nuclear weapons, an enticing prospect. Trump surprised his guests, his own aides and the world by summarily accepting the meeting, seeing an opportunity to "do a deal" and avoid military confrontation. Analysts saw North Korea's perceived slow peddling as evidence of what they feared all along, that Pyongyang may have been playing for time -- hoping to ease sanctions and "maximum pressure," or of South Korea over torquing the prospects of a deal. "The current episode of tension reflects a wide and dangerous expectation gap between the United States and North Korea," said Eric Gomez of the CATO Institute. "Denuclearization is not off the table for the North, but it expects the United States to end the so-called 'hostile policy' as a precondition for denuclearization." It is far from clear what that means concretely, but it could include the withdrawal of 30,000 US troops from the Korean peninsula. Trump has been similarly unclear about his own policy. He indicated the United States may not demand North Korea give up its nuclear program before getting sanctions relief -- a sequencing he said was a fatal flaw of the Iran nuclear deal he scrapped. "It would certainly be better if it were all in one. Does it have to be? I don't think I'm going to totally commit myself," Trump said. Pyongyang is on the verge of marrying nuclear and missile technology ,allowing it to hit the continental United States with a nuke, a capability Washington has said is wholly unacceptable. Administration officials refused to speculate on when Trump would make a decision on the summit. "We are prepared," said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying Trump had asked them to follow through with preparations. "I'm not a betting man. I wouldn't care to predict whether it would happen, only to predict that we'll be ready in the event that it does." The UN says Myanmar's army crackdown amounted to "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya, with soldiers and vigilante mobs accused of killing civilians and burning down villages. But the Rohingya militants have also been accused of abuses Rohingya militants massacred Hindu villagers during last year's uprising in Myanmar's Rakhine, Amnesty International said Wednesday in a report that sheds fresh light on the complex ethnic rivalries in the state. The killings took place on August 25, 2017, the report said, the same day that the Rohingya insurgents staged coordinated deadly raids on police posts that tipped the state into crisis. Myanmar's military responded to the insurgent raids with harsh reprisals that forced some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims out of the mainly Buddhist country where they have faced persecution for years. The UN says the army crackdown amounted to "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya, with soldiers and vigilante mobs accused of killing civilians and burning down villages. But the Rohingya militants have also been accused of abuses. Those include the mass killing of Hindus in the far north of Rakhine, where the military took reporters -- including AFP -- to witness the exhumation of putrid bodies from a shallow grave in September. The militants, known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), denied responsibility at the time. A policeman stands guard near the dead bodies of Hindu victims at Ye Baw Kyaw village, in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state in September 2017 But Amnesty International said Wednesday that a new investigation had confirmed the group killed 53 Hindus "execution-style" -- mostly children -- in the Kha Maung Seik village cluster in northern Maungdaw. "Accountability for these atrocities is every bit as crucial as it is for the crimes against humanity carried out by Myanmar's security forces in northern Rakhine state," said Tirana Hassan, crisis response director at Amnesty International. - Victims rounded up - Citing interviews with eight survivors, the rights group said dozens of people were rounded up, blindfolded and marched out of town by masked men and Rohingya villagers in plain clothes. "They slaughtered the men. We were told not to look at them... They had knives. They also had some spades and iron rods," 18-year-old Raj Kumari told Amnesty. A Myanmar border guard walks near a mass grave discovered in violence-wracked Rakhine state in September 2017 He said he hid in the bush and watched as his father, brother and uncle were killed. The report said that in a separate village nearby called Ye Bauk Kyar, 46 Hindu men, women and children disappeared on the same day. It cited information from local Hindus who believe they were killed by ARSA. While Rakhine was home mainly to Buddhists and Muslims before the crisis, it also has a small but longstanding Hindu minority -- many of whom were brought in by British colonisers looking for cheap labour -- as well as several other smaller ethnic groups. "The killers fled to Bangladesh, there are many witnesses but we have not had any justice," Hindu community leader Ni Maul told AFP from Rakhine state. "People have less interest in these killings," he added, compared to reporting on the atrocities against the Rohingya. Myanmar has faced a flood of international condemnation for its persecution of the Rohingya, who are stateless and have been targeted by bouts of communal violence. The government denies any widespread abuses and has accused rights groups of a pro-Rohingya bias, while highlighting the suffering of other ethnic groups swept up in the violence. "It is important that the international pressure on Myanmar won't favour ARSA's actions," government spokesman Zaw Htay told AFP when asked about the Amnesty report. But David Mathieson, an independent analyst, said the report should strengthen the argument for Myanmar to allow independent investigations into the crisis. Authorities have severely restricted media access to the conflict zone and barred UN investigators from entering the country. "Failing to grant access to humanitarian aid workers and researchers and journalists will continue the official culture of denial, which has zero credibility in the eyes of the world," he told AFP. In order to maintain this blog I have to pay for its upkeep including a hosting company, support services, virus and other malicious hackers. If you appreciate what I write please make a donation. Five women have filed lawsuits against the University of Southern California and gynecologist George Tyndall, with more expected to follow Two hundred professors at one of California's top universities on Tuesday demanded the resignation of the school's president over a widening sexual abuse scandal involving a campus gynecologist. The faculty members of the University of Southern California (USC) said they wanted to "express their outrage and disappointment over the mounting evidence of president (C.L. Max) Nikias's failure to protect our students, our staff and our colleagues from repeated and pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct." In their letter to the board of trustees, the professors said Nikias had lost the "moral authority" to lead the private institution or to oversee an investigation into decades of alleged sexual abuse by George Tyndall, a gynecologist formerly employed at the school. "USC kept a physician in a position of power and trust who abused that power and trust to sexually assault and degrade women students, targeting for abuse the most vulnerable international and minority students," the letter says. "The university's conduct is as much at issue in this case as the physician's." - Contain fallout - USC has come under seething criticism as it tries to contain fallout from the growing scandal that erupted after the Los Angeles Times detailed how Tyndall was allowed to continue practicing for years despite complaints of misconduct going back as far as the year 2000. The university's board of trustees -- which includes billionaires, real estate developers and Hollywood power players such as Steven Spielberg -- rejected calls for Nikias to step down, saying that while it was "troubled" by the scandal, it fully supported him. "The executive committee of the board has full confidence in president Nikias's leadership, ethics and values, and is certain that he will successfully guide our community forward," a statement said. So far, six women have filed lawsuits against the university and Tyndall, with more expected to follow. One of the women alleges that Tyndall forced his entire hand and wrist into her vagina while examining her during an appointment in 2003 and made vulgar comments about her genitalia. Another woman details how Tyndall, now 71, groped her breasts and leered at her on what was her first appointment with a gynecologist in 2008. "Reportedly, USC was aware of Dr Tyndall's inappropriate conduct before I was even born," said one of his alleged victims, 21-year-old Daniella Mohaza. The Filipina graduate student at USC told reporters that Tyndall performed a genital exam on her in 2016 without wearing gloves and made inappropriate comments about her ethnicity. - 'Duck and cover' - Tyndall allegedly often targeted minority students -- including many from the university's large Asian student population -- who were not fluent in English or unfamiliar with gynecological exams. The lawsuits claim that the school only launched a probe in 2016 after a supervising nurse upset at USC's inaction reported him to the campus rape crisis center. He was then allowed to "quietly" resign in June of last year. Hilary Schor, one of the professors who drafted the letter asking for Nikias's resignation, told AFP that she was appalled by the university's handling of the case. "The culture of the university is one where the instinct is to duck and cover, to conceal, to make scandals disappear," said Schor, who teaches English, comparative literature and law. She said the scandal was sure to affect the university's reputation and possibly enrolment, especially among international students who make up 25 percent of the 45,500 students. "Nikias has shown no interest in stepping down but at a certain moment, I believe that if not morality, the monetary cost to the institution could be enough to provoke a change," she said. The scandal comes on the heels of another similar case involving Michigan State University, which saw former university doctor Larry Nassar sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for abusing girls and women he treated. Last week, MSU announced a $500 million settlement with victims of Nassar, who also was the doctor for the USA Gymnastics national team. Lawyers familiar with the USC case said it could ultimately prove much bigger than Nassar's given the number of patients Tyndall came in contact with over almost three decades. Tyndall could not immediately be reached for comment, but in previous interviews with the Times, he denied any wrongdoing and said he had "never had any sexual urges" toward patients. Poverty, unemployment and hunger are some of the main issues driving children to join armed groups in DR Congo, according to War Child The majority of children who join armed groups in Democratic Republic of Congo increasingly do so "voluntarily" because of a lack of alternatives, international charity War Child said Tuesday. There has been a steady drop in the number of child soldiers forcefully recruited by guerilla groups since the 2012 departure of notorious rebel leader Joseph Kony, the organisation said in a study presented in Kinshasa. "The recruitment of children, even if not forced, nonetheless appears to arise less out of a desire (to join) than a choice made within a limited set of socio-economic options," said War Child, which supports and protects children around the world affected by conflict. The "voluntary" adherence to armed rebellion is "a last resort" for children, particularly in the North and South Kivu provinces where dozens of militia groups are fighting for control. Poverty, unemployment, hunger, and violence are some of the main issues driving children to join militia groups in those regions, the study said. War Child noted that DR Congo's military had "improved" its fight against rebel groups in recent years. Last year, the UN removed the country's army from its annual blacklist of national militaries recruiting child soldiers. But it also warned that the number of child soldiers recruited "by armed groups and militia is on the rise again" due to a recent flare up in regional conflicts, filling the void left by Kony. For three decades, the self-styled prophet and his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has cut a swathe of murder, mutilation, rape and abduction across central Africa. The LRA has slaughtered more than 100,000 people and kidnapped 60,000 children since it was established by Kony in northern Uganda in 1987, according to the United Nations. Wanted on war crimes charges, Kony fled from Uganda to DR Congo more than 10 years ago, before heading to the Central African Republic in late 2012. Saudi women check out cars at an automotive exhibition for women in the Saudi capital Riyadh on May 13, 2018 Saudi authorities have widened a crackdown on women's rights advocates, detaining at least three more activists a month before the kingdom lifts its decades-old ban on women drivers, campaigners said Tuesday. Saudi authorities on Saturday announced the arrest of seven people, mostly identified by rights groups as women who have long campaigned for the right to drive and to end the conservative Muslim state's male guardianship system. Amnesty International told AFP the number of detainees has risen to 10, including at least seven women, while the Gulf Centre for Human Rights and another Saudi activist said the number stood at 12. "Despite international outcry and calls for the release of these activists, they still remain detained for their peaceful human rights work," said Samah Hadid, Amnesty International's Middle East director of campaigns. "Saudi Arabian authorities cannot continue to publicly state they are dedicated to reform while treating women's rights campaigners in this cruel way." The detainees include three generations of activists such as 28-year-old Loujain al-Hathloul -- who was also held in 2014 for more than 70 days for attempting to drive from neighbouring United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia -- and Aziza al-Yousef, a retired professor at Riyadh's King Saud University. Also arrested, campaigners say, was Madeha al-Ajroush, a psychotherapist in her 60s, well known for being part of a group that mounted the first Saudi protest movement in 1990 for the right to drive. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights voiced concern that Hathloul, one of the most outspoken activists, was being held incommunicado, while other campaigners said the detainees were without any access to lawyers and their whereabouts were unknown. Saudi government officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Without naming those detained, authorities have accused them of "suspicious contact with foreign parties", providing financial support to enemies and attempting to undermine the kingdom's "security and stability". State-backed media branded them traitors and "agents of embassies". - 'No country for bold women' - The crackdown has cast a shadow on the kingdom's much-publicised liberalisation drive launched by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who recently undertook a global tour aimed at reshaping his kingdom's austere image. The self-styled reformer has sought to break with long-held restrictions on women and the mixing of the genders, with the decades-old driving ban on women slated to end June 24. "It is clear that underneath all the PR hype and spin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reforms exclude human rights activism," Hadid said. "We continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all activists still being detained solely for their human rights work." In a scathing statement, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists demanded the release of detainee Eman al-Nafjan, a linguistics professor and mother-of-three who ran the popular "Saudiwoman" blog. "Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman recently toured the West to project the image of a modernist and reformer," CPJ deputy executive director Robert Mahoney said in the statement. "But the moment he's back home Saudi authorities revert to old habits -- stifling dissent and detaining critical journalists. Writing about the place of women in Saudi society is not a crime." Those arrested had campaigned for the lifting of the driving ban and also against the guardianship system requiring women to obtain permission from their fathers, brothers, husbands or sons for a host of life decisions. "The kingdom's small community of liberal activists is reeling and struggling to make sense of the events," the Washington-based Project on Middle East Democracy said in a report titled "Saudi Arabia: No country for bold women". "The arrest of so many well-known figures seems an ominous sign that the government is determined to wipe out what remains of Saudi civil society." Mourners visit a memorial in front of Santa Fe High School, where eight children and two teachers were killed in the latest example of the mass shootings that have become a pervasive part of American life Texas Governor Greg Abbott met Tuesday with experts and politicians to discuss how to prevent school shootings, five days after a teenage gunman killed 10 people at a high school in the southern US state. Abbott, a Republican, focused the first of three "roundtable sessions" on school safety. Over the next two days, gun regulation, mental health issues and victims' needs are also on the agenda. The talks came in the aftermath of Friday's massacre at Santa Fe High School that killed eight children and two teacher in the latest example of the mass shootings that have become a pervasive part of American life. "Whether you are Republican or Democrat... the reality is that we all want guns out of the hands of those who will try to murder our children," Abbott, who is up for re-election in November, said at the start of the session. "The question is what are we -- the leaders of Texas -- going to do to prevent this from happening again." Twenty-three people were invited to the first of the three closed-door meetings, including politicians from both parties, education and public safety officials, and experts on building design and arming teachers. "The only thing we want to hear about is: what are your ideas," the governor told the gathering in opening remarks before journalists were ushered out. After 17 people were shot dead at a Parkland, Florida high school in February, lawmakers in that southeastern state approved new, albeit limited, gun restrictions. Some Parkland students, who have led a grassroots movement to toughen gun control laws, have expressed their support to students in Santa Fe -- a rural community about 35 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of Houston. But Texas is not expected to follow Florida's path in passing new legislation. Gun ownership can be a point of pride for many in the Lone Star State, and even some Santa Fe High School students have spoken out against linking the shooting to the need for more gun control. "I don't think guns are the problem. I think people are the problem," 16-year-old student Alex Carvey told NBC News. Mourners visit a memorial in front of Santa Fe High School, where eight children and two teachers were killed in the latest example of the mass shootings that have become a pervasive part of American life Texas Governor Greg Abbott met Tuesday with experts and politicians to discuss how to prevent school shootings, five days after a teenage gunman killed 10 people at a high school in the southern US state. Abbott, a Republican, focused the first of three "roundtable sessions" on school safety. Over the next two days, gun regulation, mental health issues and victims' needs are also on the agenda. The talks came in the aftermath of Friday's massacre at Santa Fe High School that killed eight children and two teachers in the latest example of the mass shootings that have become a pervasive part of American life. "Whether you are Republican or Democrat... the reality is that we all want guns out of the hands of those who will try to murder our children," Abbott, who is up for re-election in November, said at the start of the session. "The question is what are we -- the leaders of Texas -- going to do to prevent this from happening again." Twenty-three people were invited to the first of the three closed-door meetings, including politicians from both parties, education and public safety officials, and experts on building design and arming teachers. "The only thing we want to hear about is: what are your ideas," the governor told the gathering in opening remarks before journalists were ushered out. Among the ideas that emerged during the meeting were to institute a statewide monitoring program of students' social media activities and "assistance teams" to help identify troubled children, according to The Dallas Morning News. - 'People are the problem' - After 17 people were shot dead at a Parkland, Florida high school in February, lawmakers in that southeastern state approved new, albeit limited, gun restrictions. Some Parkland students, who have led a grassroots movement to toughen gun laws, have expressed their support to students in Santa Fe -- a rural community about 35 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of Houston. But Texas is not expected to follow Florida's path in enacting new gun restrictions. Gun ownership can be a point of pride for many in the Lone Star State, and even some Santa Fe High School students have spoken out against linking the shooting to the need for more gun control. "I don't think guns are the problem. I think people are the problem," 16-year-old student Alex Carvey told NBC News. In recent days, Abbott has focused his remarks on addressing mental health challenges and arming school personnel. Texas's conservative and powerful lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, suggested after the shooting that school buildings may need fewer entrances and exits, and that violent video games may be partly to blame. Patrick, who sets the agenda in the state's senate, attended the roundtable meeting. Santa Fe was still reeling from the attack. Local police allowed students and staff to come back to campus for the first time to retrieve belongings such as backpacks and cars. One of the 13 people injured, a police officer who confronted suspected gunman Dimitrios Pagourtzis, remained hospitalized in critical condition. Meanwhile, Pagourtzis's father told The Wall Street Journal newspaper that he suspected his 17-year-old son had been bullied in school. "I believe that's what was behind" the shooting, Antonios Pagourtzis told the newspaper. Legislatures in 38 US states have already passed similar right-to-try laws allowing for experimental treatments to be given outside of clinical trials to people who are too sick, young, old or far away to participate The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to expand terminally ill patients' right to try experimental drugs not yet approved by US authorities, a controversial move that enjoys support from President Donald Trump. The federal Right to Try Act, which cleared the Senate last year, passed the House on a 250-169, band now heads to the White House for Trump's signature. Legislatures in 38 states have already passed similar laws allowing for experimental treatments to be given outside of clinical trials to people who are too sick, young, old or far away to participate. The bill that cleared Congress would lay out a "right to try" law on a national level. It was a long time coming for the bill. The Senate passed it last August, and an attempt by the House to greenlight its own version stalled. Eventually, the chamber passed it in March. But when the Senate made clear it would not negotiate new text, the House backtracked and passed the Senate version Tuesday without changes. The law allows patients who have exhausted all treatment options approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to try experimental drugs, so long as such drugs have successfully completed initial safety steps in clinical trials that show they are not toxic or life-threatening. House Republican Michael Burgess, a licensed physician, noted that innovate treatments at doctors' fingertips might offer "a second chance at life" for some of these patients after "everything else has failed them." "Why do you not want to allow these patients to exercise their right to fight for their future?" Trump in January appealed to lawmakers to pass the measure, saying desperately ill Americans deserve a chance to try new therapies. But doctors and groups representing patients with rare diseases say a law would create false hope. Today, doctors can already ask pharmaceutical companies to give them an experimental drug for compassionate use, as long as the medicines have completed initial clinical trials. Every year, about a thousand patients take advantage of this expanded access program offered by the FDA. It's unclear how many drug companies comply. But the FDA approves patient requests for such treatment in 99 percent of cases, usually in a matter of days. Under the new law, the FDA would no longer have authority to approve or deny patients, but would simply be notified, particularly in case of serious adverse events. Critics of the law say it exposes patients and their families to dangerous risks. "This gives open license to snake oil salesmen," Democrat Jan Schakowsky said on the House floor. The bill "exposes far more patients to serious risks through a dangerous and unnecessary pathway for experimental treatment." GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - A 20-year-old Palestinian is in critical condition Sunday after publicly setting himself on fire but his motives remain unclear with family believing he was despairing over Gaza's dire living conditions and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the territory, alleging personal problems. Suicide is strictly forbidden in Islam and cases are rare in conservative Gaza but dozens were reported last year. Several cases of self-immolation have also been reported in Gaza over the past years. This was the first time, however, that one was filmed and posted online. In the brief nighttime clip, Fathi Harb is already ablaze in front of a residential building. Onlookers rush to put out the fire with rugs and water. Majda, the young man's mother, told The Associated Press Sunday that a day earlier her eldest son had said he was going to collect a payment. But half an hour later police came to her home saying he was in hospital after having set himself ablaze. On Sunday, Fathi was unconscious and connected to breathing tubes at the intensive care unit of Gaza city's Shifa hospital. Majda said she doesn't know for sure what led Fathi to hurt himself. She said he was expecting his first child soon and felt helpless due to the harsh economic situation in Gaza. "What can a man do when his wife is giving birth and he has no money for a doctor, diapers and milk?" she said. Fathi was a laborer who sought any job that paid, his mother said. He had worked as a waiter at a wedding and was on his way to collect his wages, about $14, when he set himself on fire. The head of the hospital's burn unit, Nafez Abu Shaban, said Fathi has second and third-degree burns over almost half of his body and has also suffered serious injuries from smoke inhalation. "He is in a very risky, critical condition," said Abu Shaban. Gaza has been under blockade by Israel and Egypt since Hamas took over the territory in 2007. The blockade has devastated Gaza's economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day. Moreover, the tap water is undrinkable and rising unemployment is at 45 percent. Israel says the restrictions are crucial to prevent Hamas, a militant group sworn to Israel's destruction, from acquiring weapons. Critics say the blockade is tantamount to collective punishment of Gaza's 2 million people. Hamas, which rules Gaza with a tight fist, has mostly denied political or economic motivation behind recent suicides. Hamas police were quoted in Palestinian media blaming "internal family problems" for the incident. Furthering the misery is the internal Palestinian feud between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas. Palestinians have been split since the Hamas takeover, with Hamas ruling Gaza and Abbas governing parts of the West Bank. Repeated reconciliation attempts have failed. Abbas has tried to squeeze Hamas financially hoping to force it to cede power. Measures have including cutting salaries of his employees there. One of those affected is Walid, Fathi's father. Earlier this week, Majda, Fathi's mother, went to the bank hoping to withdraw money from her husband's account. "It was in the minus. I found out we owe money to the bank," she said. Meanwhile, Walid, was able to make a rare crossing into Egypt to accompany another son, 14-year-old Arafat, who is seeking treatment there for wounds sustained by Israeli fire in recent violence along the Gaza border. The mass border rallies are aimed in part at breaking the blockade. Fathi's grandfather, Said, blamed the blockade and also the Palestinian divide for "killing the dreams of youths like Fathi." CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A multinational company that develops and builds equipment for military use worldwide is choosing Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as its U.S. headquarters. Revision Military will be opening its offices at Pease International Tradeport. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu says the move proves that New Hampshire's business climate is improving. The company's CEO says it will be looking to hire dozens of engineers, technicians, manufacturing experts and program managers in the area. The company employs over 400 people and has locations across the globe. THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) - Greek authorities charged four men Monday over a weekend mob attack on the 75-year-old mayor of the country's second-largest city, carried out in an apparent venting of nationalist sentiment. The suspects, aged between 17 and 36, were formally accused of grievous bodily harm and breach of the peace over Saturday's attack on Yiannis Boutaris. The mayor of Thessaloniki required hospital treatment after being thrown to the ground, kicked and punched by about 12 people during a ceremony honoring Greek victims of mass killings by Turks during World War I. The trial of the three adults will be held on Wednesday, after their lawyers requested a two-day deferral to better prepare the defense. The 17-year-old will appear before a court for minors, but no trial date has been set for him. One of the suspects allegedly told police he was angry at a recent statement by Boutaris, a liberal centrist, favoring friendlier relations with Turkey. Another two have apologized, telling police that they were carried away by the behavior of the rest of the crowd. Prosecutors are also carrying out a separate investigation into whether charges can be brought against so-far unidentified individuals for instigating the attack. CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - A former Lake County Sheriff's Department official has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during a public corruption investigation that led to the conviction of former Sheriff John Buncich. The Post-Tribune reports that former Deputy Chief Dan Murchek appeared Monday in U.S. District Court. The 57-year-old Murchek was indicted in April. He had planned to run for sheriff in the northwestern Indiana county. But authorities say he was recorded soliciting illegal campaign contributions from tow truck operators, including one who was an FBI informant. He later denied to the FBI that he received the illegal contributions. Buncich was found guilty last August of soliciting and accepting campaign contributions from the same tow operators in exchange for more towing work. He is serving a 188-month prison term. WASHINGTON (AP) - Leaders of warring House Republican factions searched for an immigration compromise Monday as some conservatives warned of consequences for Speaker Paul Ryan if he allowed party moderates to push a bipartisan bill through the chamber without strong GOP support. The talks occurred as centrist Republicans remained five GOP signatures away from being able to force party leaders to hold votes on a series of immigration bills. Should they succeed, it would launch a process in which the likely outcome seemed to be passage of a middle-ground measure backed by a handful of Republicans and all Democrats. Ryan has said he will avert that outcome, though it's unclear how, and many conservatives consider it intolerable. Conservative and moderate GOP leaders negotiated privately over ways to win centrist support for a conservative-backed measure that for months has floundered short of the 218 Republican votes it would need for House passage. They discussed changes that would help young "Dreamer" immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children and immigrant farm workers stay longer in the U.S., said one lawmaker who described the private discussions on condition of anonymity. Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, smiles before the vote on the House farm bill which failed to pass, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, May 18, 2018. Leaders of warring House Republican factions searched for an immigration compromise on May 21 as some conservatives warned of consequences for Speaker Paul Ryan if he allowed party moderates to push a bipartisan bill through the chamber without strong GOP support. The talks occurred as centrist Republicans remained five GOP signatures away from being able to force party leaders to hold votes on a series of immigration bills. Should they succeed, it would launch a process in which the likely outcome seemed to be passage of a middle-ground measure backed by a handful of Republicans and all Democrats. Ryan has said he will avert that outcome, though it's unclear how, and many conservatives consider it intolerable. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The effort to find GOP unity seemed uphill on an issue that has divided the party for years. But the alternative seemed unpalatable for many Republicans, who fear that the centrists' effort will force GOP lawmakers to take divisive election-year votes unless leaders figure out how to head them off. The conservative bill would currently reduce legal immigration, clear the way for construction of President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico and let Dreamers stay in the U.S. for renewable three-year periods. All Democrats oppose the measure and it would have no chance of clearing the more moderate Senate. Monday's negotiations came three days after bitter Republican divisions over immigration caused an unrelated farm bill to crash. Members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus helped caused the agriculture measure's defeat after refusing a leadership offer for a vote on the conservative immigration bill in June, which they said was too late. Some members of the Freedom Caucus suggested it would be time for Ryan to step down should moderates prevail. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., said it would cause "a lot more disgruntlement" if the moderates prevail, adding, "People in my district want him to go, now." "If we run an amnesty bill out of a Republican House, I think all options are on the table," said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the group, when asked if Ryan should remain as speaker if the moderates' effort succeeds. Ryan is not seeking re-election to the House but has repeatedly said he will serve the rest of this year as speaker. Many conservatives say legislation protecting immigrants in the U.S. illegally from deportation is amnesty. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the Freedom Caucus leader, said he does not think Ryan should vacate his post if the moderates succeed. But he said House passage of a middle-ground measure would have a "devastating effect" on the GOP because it would "depress anybody who feels like the Republican Party needs to be strong on immigration." Other Republicans said it seemed unlikely Ryan would abandon his post. They said others - including Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., seen as the likeliest successor - so far lack the GOP votes they'd need to win the job. Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., a Freedom Caucus member, said Ryan has made good on his word to conservatives not to bring up an immigration bill unless it had support from most Republicans. "We just want him to hold true," Brat said. "It's best for stability" for Ryan to stay, said moderate Rep. Ryan Costello, R-Pa. The moderates need 218 signatures - a House majority - on a petition to force votes on immigration bills, a rarely used procedure. With all 193 Democrats expected to sign, the moderates need five more than the 20 signatures they already have. If they succeed, a vote could occur no earlier than late June. ___ AP congressional correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - From the day of his arrest in 1994 for fatally shooting three people, Kevin Keith has proclaimed his innocence. He pointed to alibi witnesses who placed him elsewhere, an alternative suspect and a host of inconsistencies in the evidence against him. Keith's arguments did not stop his conviction and death sentence for killing two women and a 4-year-old girl in what prosecutors said was retaliation for his arrest in a northern Ohio drug sweep. In 2010, then-Gov. Ted Strickland commuted Keith's sentence to life without parole, citing questions about the evidence and a "troubling" failure to investigate other suspects. Still fighting, Keith, now 54, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant him a new trial based on evidence never heard by a jury. Keith's lawyers say the personnel file of a state forensics investigator who worked on his case contains allegations she had a habit of providing police departments answers they wanted in cases. FILE - This July 14, 2010, file photo, shows Kevin Keith, who is on death row at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown, Ohio. Keith, an Ohio inmate who has long maintained his innocence in the 1994 slaying of three people is asking the U.S. Supreme Court for a new trial based on evidence never heard by a jury. Lawyers for Keith say the personnel file of a state forensics investigator who worked on his case contains allegations she had a habit of providing police departments answers they wanted in cases. (Shari Lewis/The Columbus Dispatch via AP) Attorneys for Keith, who is black, also say the file shows the investigator was mentally unstable and used racial slurs against co-workers. This evidence, attorneys argue, is among several allegations uncovered years later that a jury never heard, including: - An alternative suspect's statement he was paid to "cripple" the informant responsible for the drug raid just weeks before the shootings. - Documents showing the same suspect was known during crimes to wear a mask similar to the one Keith was alleged to have worn that night. - The location of a bullet casing used to implicate Keith may have been wrong. "There is no way what he got in 1994 is anything close to a fair trial," said Rachel Troutman, supervising attorney of the State Public Defender Office's death penalty division. Killed in the shootings were Marichell Chatman, 24; her 4-year-old daughter, Marchae; and Marichell's 39-year-old aunt, Linda Chatman. Richard Warren, Marichell Chatman's boyfriend, survived his injuries and fingered Keith as the shooter. Keith's attorneys say he was led by investigators to improperly identify Keith. Two children survived: Linda Chatman's niece, 6-year-old Quanita Reeves, and nephew, 4-year-old Quinton Reeves. The prosecution says a jury already heard much of the information and came to its own conclusion, one upheld by dozens of courts over the years. "There is overwhelming evidence of guilt in this case," said Matthew Crall, the elected prosecutor for Crawford County, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Columbus. The Supreme Court is expected to decide on Thursday whether they will hear Keith's arguments, with an announcement next week. Both sides know it is a long shot: the court takes a fraction of such petitions. Keith also has cases pending in lower courts. At the heart of Keith's latest arguments is the personnel file of Michele Yezzo, a now-retired forensics analyst with the state Bureau of Criminal Identification. Keith's attorneys first learned of the file two years ago. Yezzo's "findings and conclusions regarding evidence may be suspect. She will stretch the truth to satisfy a department," according to a 1989 memo in the file. Yezzo also had a reputation of giving police answers if they "stroke her," according to an investigator's handwritten notes elsewhere in the file. Prosecutors say lower courts properly ruled nothing in Yezzo's personnel file would have made a difference in the outcome. They also say Yezzo was placed on administrative leave until she met with a counselor about her interactions with colleagues, but that was unrelated to her proficiency as an analyst. They also say Yezzo provided key evidence favoring Keith, that footprints from the scene did not match his shoes. Strickland, a Democrat, stopped short in a recent interview of saying Keith is innocent. But there is no question he deserves a new trial based on problems with the defense, prosecution and investigation, the former governor said. "Certainly the way I view this case now, it would have been tragic if Ohio had taken this man's life," Strickland said. ___ Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus. BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Union expressed doubt Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump will accept an offer of trade talks and other incentives to permanently exempt the bloc from punishing tariffs on steel and aluminum exports next week. In March, Trump imposed tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on imported aluminum, but granted the 28 EU countries an exemption until June 1. He also temporarily excluded big steel producers Canada and Mexico, provided they agree to renegotiate a North American trade deal to his satisfaction. Should a permanent exemption be granted, the EU stands ready to deepen trans-Atlantic energy cooperation, notably on liquefied natural gas, improve reciprocal market access for industrial products and work together to reform World Trade Organization rules. European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom, left, talks with Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto during an EU foreign affairs council on trade at the Europa building in Brussels on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) "Is this going to be enough? I'm not sure frankly," Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told reporters in Brussels after discussing the tariffs with EU ministers. "There have been signals from the U.S. that the exemptions will not be prolonged. So either they will be imposed on us the first of June, or there will be other sorts of limiting measures," Malmstrom said. She did not elaborate on what those measures might be. Malmstrom pointed out that she and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross speak about the problem several times a week, but she conceded that "the final decision on this will be made personally by the president." Convinced that the U.S. move breaks global trade rules, the EU has drawn up a list of "rebalancing" duties worth some 2.8 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to impose on U.S. products if it is not permanently exempt. It has vowed not to negotiate under threat. "The moment the threat is lifted, we are ready to talk," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. The EU, the world's biggest trading bloc, rejects Trump's argument that the tariffs are needed to protect national security. Most EU countries are U.S. partners in NATO. "We think that they are not legitimate, and they go against the WTO," Malmstrom said. German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said Tuesday's meeting sent "a signal of the determination and unity of the EU: we want to defend and strengthen free, fair and rules-based trade in the WTO framework." "But we are also holding out our hand for dialogue. It is now up the U.S. to take that hand and avoid an escalation that would damage everyone. We are offering the U.S. talks with us on various trade issues, on mutual market access for industrial goods or on energy questions." ___ Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report. Dutch Trade Minister Sigrid Kaag, right, talks with Germany's Economic Affairs Minister Peter Altmaier during an EU foreign affairs council on trade at the Europa building in Brussels on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom, right, talks with Greece's Secretary General for Economy, Development & Tourism Ilias Xanthakos during an EU foreign affairs council on trade at the Europa building in Brussels on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) MOSCOW (AP) - Russian state TV has interviewed a woman it claims to be the mother of a former Russian spy poisoned in Britain. Sergei Skripal was discharged from a British hospital last week more than two months after he was poisoned with a nerve agent. His daughter, who was also poisoned, was discharged last month. The Skripals have been taken to an undisclosed location and have not been seen in public. FILE - In this Tuesday, March 6, 2018 file photo, Police officers stand outside the house of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal who was found critically ill Sunday following exposure to an "unknown substance" in Salisbury, England. UK hospital on Friday, May 18, 2018 has announced ex-spy Sergei Skripal has been discharged, more than 2 months after poisoning with nerve agent. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, file) Russia's Channel One on Monday showed an interview with the woman it said was Sergei Skripal's mother. The woman said she has not talked to her son since he was hospitalized and appealed for British authorities to allow Skripal to give her a call. "I haven't seen my son in 14 years. I want to meet him, I want to hold him tight close to my heart," the woman said in the interview, wiping away tears. "I'm 90, and I don't pose a danger to anyone." Skripal's mother has not spoken in public before, and the British authorities have never mentioned her. The Russian embassy last month mentioned that Skripal's cousin takes care of his elderly mother. Skripal is a former Russian intelligence officer who was arrested in 2004 and convicted of spying for Britain before coming to the U.K. as part of a 2010 prisoner swap. He had been living quietly in the English city of Salisbury, 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of London, when he was poisoned. The woman purported to be Skripal's mother said she used to talk to her son every week on the phone. She appealed for the British authorities to let her speak to her son and to allow Skripal's cousin Viktoria, who was previously denied a UK visa, to visit him in Britain. ___ This story has been corrected to say the Russian embassy has mentioned Skripal's mother before. NEW DELHI (AP) - The archbishop of New Delhi has waded into Indian politics, urging Catholics to pray for democracy and marginalized people ahead of national elections next year, bringing a quick rebuke from the ruling party. India is "witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere which poses a threat to the democratic principles enshrined in our constitution and the secular fabric of our nation," Archbishop Anil Couto wrote in his May 8 letter, which was sent to all the city's churches. He included a prayer to be read during Masses that asked "May the ethos of true democracy envelope our elections with dignity." The prayer also called for marginalized people to be "brought into the mainstream of nation-building." FILE - In this April 3, 2015 file photo, Archbishop of Delhi state Anil Couto reads from a holy book during a service on Good Friday at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi, India. The archbishop of New Delhi has waded into Indian politics, urging Catholics to pray for democracy and marginalized people ahead of national elections next year, bringing a quick rebuke from the ruling party. India is "witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere which poses a threat to the democratic principles enshrined in our constitution and the secular fabric of our nation," Archbishop Couto wrote in his May 8, 2018 letter, which was sent to all the city's churches. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File) Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Tuesday that he had not seen the letter, but that "India is one of those countries where minorities are safe," NDTV television reported. Christians make up just 2 percent of India's population, which is overwhelmingly Hindu but has a sizable Muslim minority. Church leaders normally avoid getting too deeply involved in politics, but attacks on minorities have risen since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came to power in a landslide election victory in 2014. Modi and his party are hoping for re-election in the 2019 vote. ATLANTA (AP) - In Georgia's gubernatorial primary, Democrats elected a woman who could become the first black female governor in American history, but no Republican candidate gathered more than 50 percent of the vote - so the top two face a July runoff. Stacey Abrams secured the Democratic nomination, becoming the first woman to do so. She will face either Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle or Secretary of State Brian Kemp. Their GOP runoff is scheduled for July 24. Abrams beat former state Rep. Stacey Evans in a race featuring two former legislative colleagues tussling over ethics accusations and their respective records on education In this May 20, 2018, photo, Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams participates in a debate against Stacey Evans in Atlanta. In Georgia, black women will likely factor into one of the country's marquee political contests. The Democratic race for governor features two women, and candidate Abrams is running to become the first black woman ever elected governor in America. (AP Photo/John Amis) Abrams campaign was plagued by allegations of ethics violations, including that she reimbursed herself money from campaign accounts without record and that she used campaign resources to promote book sales from which she personally profited. She has denied the allegations. Abrams got a last-minute boost with an endorsement -- in the form of a 60-second robo-call -- from Hillary Clinton. In the Republican race, Cagle and Kemp beat three GOP rivals in a race characterized by strong support for gun rights and tough talk on immigration. The field was all white men: former legislators, officeholders and businessmen, some with decades of political experience and others positioning themselves as outsiders challenging the establishment. Cagle garnered national headlines in February when he threatened to kill a tax break benefiting Delta Air Lines, one of Georgia's largest employers, for ending a discount program for members of the National Rifle Association. Kemp garnered strong criticism - and national headlines - with a series of campaign ads including one where he says he has a big truck, "Just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take 'em home myself." In the ballroom of a downtown Atlanta hotel, Abrams thanked supporters and outlined her vision for the future. She drew loud and sustained applause when she told the crowd, "We can repeal campus carry and we can expand HOPE," referring to a law that allows guns to be brought onto college campuses and a popular scholarship program. Abrams said: "We are writing the next chapter of Georgia's future, where no one is unseen, no one is unheard and no one is uninspired." Cagle and Kemp, meanwhile, showed no signs of slowing down and pivoted directly to talk of the runoff. In Athens, Kemp told supporters, "We have created that grass-roots game in all 159 counties that has worked so hard for us tonight," as he laid out his strategy for defeating Cagle. At Cagle's gathering in Gainesville, he told the crowd: "It's great to come in first place. We've got a lot more to be done." "We are right where we need to be in terms of this runoff," Cagle said. The candidates are vying to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Nathan Deal, who has held the office since 2011. ____ Associated Press writers Kate Brumback in Atlanta, Jeff Martin in Athens, Jonathan Landrum in Gainesville and Alex Sanz in Johns Creek contributed to this report. ____ Sign up for "Politics in Focus," a weekly newsletter showcasing the AP's best political reporting from around the country leading up to the midterm elections: https://bit.ly/2ICEr3D Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican primary candidate for governor, talks with supporters during an election night results party Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis) Republican candidate for Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle alongside his wife Nita take the stage to speak to supporters during an election-night watch party in Gainesville, Ga., Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Todd Kirkland A supporter holds a sign during an election-night watch party for Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Mia Lei from Oakland, California chose Freedom Parkway and Boulevard to campaign for Gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams on Tuesday May 22, 2018. Lei joined other Californians who came to Atlanta to campaign for Abrams. Voters across the state are reported to their regular precincts to decide on candidates for governor, Congress and statewide races in the Democratic and Republican primaries. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Supporters react during an election-night watch party for Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Voters cast their ballots at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Ga., Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (Joshua L. Jones/Athens Banner-Herald via AP) Voters cast their ballots at Chase Street Elementary for Georgia's primary election in Athens, Ga., Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (Joshua L. Jones/Athens Banner-Herald via AP) James Jordan votes in Georgia's primary election at the Chickamauga Civic Center on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Chickamauga, Ga. In Georgia's gubernatorial primaries Tuesday, Democrats were guaranteed the party's first female nominee for the office while the Republican contest centered largely on who loved guns the most and was toughest on immigration. (Doug Strickland/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP) Mia Lei from Oakland, California chose Freedom Parkway and Boulevard to campaign for Gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams on Tuesday May 22, 2018. Lei joined other Californians who came to Atlanta to campaign for Abrams. Voters across the state are reported to their regular precincts to decide on candidates for governor, Congress and statewide races in the Democratic and Republican primaries. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) In preparation for election day Tuesday, Jonathan Taylor, right and his dad, David Taylor haul voting equipment into the polling location at St. Mark United Methodist Church Monday, May 21, 2018 in Augusta, Ga. (Michael Holahan /The Augusta Chronicle via AP) /The Augusta Chronicle via AP) The 1956 Georgia state flag is displayed in a frame as George Farr votes at the Chickamauga Civic Center on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Chickamauga, Ga. In Georgia's gubernatorial primaries Tuesday, Democrats were guaranteed the party's first female nominee for the office while the Republican contest centered largely on who loved guns the most and was toughest on immigration. (Doug Strickland/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP) BOSTON (AP) - A prestigious Massachusetts boarding school said an investigation has found a longtime Russian language teacher engaged in sexual misconduct toward a student in the 1980s. Victor Svec, who worked at Phillips Academy in Andover for nearly four decades, has been barred from the campus and will not receive further benefits as a result of the findings by the independent law firm, the school announced Monday. Svec took a leave of absence in February when the allegation first surfaced and then retired this month in the midst of the investigation. "We are deeply sorry for the harm caused by this faculty member's misconduct," John Palfrey, head of school, said in a letter to students and faculty . "The Board of Trustees and I are grateful that a former student had the courage and will to come forward to recount a painful and traumatic experience that occurred decades ago." A number listed for Svec's home rang unanswered, and other attempts to reach him on Tuesday were unsuccessful. Tracy Sweet, a spokeswoman for Phillips Academy, declined to provide further details of the misconduct, saying the school wants to respect the privacy of the victim. Sweet said the investigation into Svec was "as thorough as possible," but encouraged anyone with a concern about possible misconduct to come forward. She said the school will look into all matters. The Sanghavi Law Office, which was hired by Phillips Academy to investigate all claims of misconduct, did not immediately return a phone message Tuesday. Monday's announcement follows other allegations of sexual misconduct by former faculty members revealed in recent years by Phillips Academy, also known as Andover. In 2016, the school alleged that five former teachers engaged in sexual misconduct toward students during the 1970s and 1980s. And last year, the academy said investigators determined there were another four cases of sexual misconduct, three involving former faculty members and one involving a student. ___ Follow Alanna Durkin Richer at http://twitter.com/aedurkinricher . Read more of her work at http://bit.ly/2hIhzDb . CHVRCHES, "Love Is Dead" (Glassnote Records) In one of those divine twists, two very different artists are offering songs titled "God's Plan" this year. You probably know the one by Drake. But there's also one by the Scottish synth pop group CHVRCHES. It may not top the Billboard Hot 100 but it's still a great, hypnotic gem. "God's Plan" is part of the sonically bright but thematically still gloriously dark "Love Is Dead," the trio's third album. Those thick, suffocating blankets of synth from 2013's "The Bones of What You Believe" have been hacked away, offering a cleaner, lighter and, yes, more commercial sound than even their 2015 breakthrough "Every Open Eye." This cover image released by Glassnote Records shows "Love is Dead," a release by Chvrches. (Glassnote Records via AP) But CHVRCHES have always deceived, offering 1980s-influenced pop with depth. Lyrically, the band is at its best here, exploring man's inhumanity to man while still making high-energy songs. Nowhere is that more evident than on the synthesizers-and-drum-fueled "Graves," with the punch-in-the-gut lyrics: "They're leaving bodies in stairwells/and washing up on the shore/You can look away, while they're dancing on our graves." CHVRCHES - Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, and Martin Doherty - have gotten producing help this time, a first. Nine of the 13 tracks were produced by Greg Kurstin, who has worked with everyone from Halsey and Adele to Sia and the Foo Fighters. Many of his songs seem to flirt with bubblegum pop if you're not paying attention. The best song on the album is the first single, "Miracle," the only tune on the album produced by Steve Mac. It begins with Mayberry's airy, angelic voice - "Careful what you wish for," she sings - before gradually taking the listener into heavier, distorted terrain. Other standouts include the throbbing, almost Taylor Swiftian "Get Out" and the gauzy "My Enemy" featuring Matt Berninger of The National, their voices melding nicely. The album ends with "Wonderland," a perfect summation of CHVRCHES: a crisp poppy delight with the whiplash lyrics: "We live in a wonderland," Mayberry sings, before adding: "Like blood isn't on our hands." ___ Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) - A Burkina Faso official says three extremists and one member of the security forces have been killed during an effort to dismantle an Islamic extremist group's operation in the outskirts of the capital. Security Minister Clement Sawadogo says four members of the security forces and two civilians were also wounded in the shootout that began early Tuesday morning. He says the fighting lasted for six hours in Rayongo outside Ouagadougou. Sawadogo says the extremists are linked to the deadly March 2 attack against the French Embassy and army headquarters in Ouagadougou. He says one extremist has been arrested and 30 others have been brought in for questioning. Weapons were seized including AK-47s, grenades, truck-mounted machine guns and bomb-making materials. MILAN (AP) - A law professor put forward as Italy's next premier faced suspicions Tuesday that he overstated his academic credentials, including referring on his resume to seven summers of studies at New York University that turned out to involve only having library privileges there. The 12-page resume covering the years since Guiseppe Conte earned his law degree from Rome's Sapienza University in 1988 includes entries for time spent at an array of top universities in the United States, Britain and France, without specifying the courses or areas of research he undertook. The curriculum vitae states that Conte, 53, "stayed" at Paris Sorbonne University in 2000 and Cambridge University's Girton College in 2001 for scientific research. The resume also states he "perfected and updated his studies" at New York University during the summers of 2008-2014. In this photo taken on Thursday, March 1, 2018, Giuseppe Conte smiles during a meeting in Rome. Italy edged toward its first populist government Monday as the eurosceptic 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League indicated a 54-year-old law professor with no political experience as their candidate for premier. Neither 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio nor League leader Matteo Salvini named Giuseppe Conte in brief remarks to reporters after leaving a closed-door meeting with President Sergio Mattarella in what could be final consultations before forming a government 11 weeks after elections left Italy with a hung parliament. But, in a breach of protocol, Di Maio identified Conte to reporters outside the Quirinale presidential palace and posted his name on the movement's popular block. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) In a statement Tuesday, New York University said records showed that Conte had "no official status" at the school, but "was granted permission to conduct research in the NYU Law library" during the same years listed on his resume. University spokeswoman Michelle Tsai added that Conte also "invited an NYU Law professor to serve on the board of an Italian law journal." Conte did not respond Tuesday to the speculation he padded his official resume, which was submitted to the Italian parliament in 2013. The 5-Star Movement, one of the populist forces that proposed the University of Florence professor without political experience as premier, offered a vigorous defense. Conte "never boasted" of holding degrees from foreign universities, but "stayed abroad to study, enrich his knowledge and perfect his juridical English. For a professor of his level, the opposite would have been strange," the movement said. Cambridge declined to confirm an affiliation with Conte, citing privacy, and the Sorbonne didn't immediately respond to queries. The resume also says Conte studied at the International Kultur Institut in Vienna in 1993. No school responding to that name could be located in Vienna, but a language school called the Internationales Kulturinstitut declined to comment, citing privacy issues. Conte's CV further notes that he taught a course in European contract and banking law at the University of Malta during the summer of 1997. The University of Malta said Tuesday it has no record of Conte "ever forming part of the resident academic staff," but added that "he may have been involved in lecturing duties during short courses organized in the summer of 1997" by a now-defunct foundation that worked with the university. Analyst Wolfango Piccoli, co-founder of Teneo Intelligence, said he didn't expect an exaggerated resume to necessarily affect Italian President Sergio Mattarella's deliberations over whether to formally tap Conte to form a government. "Embellishing resumes is sport in Italy," Piccoli said, adding that "only an academic would have a 12-page CV." Political observers in Italy think a bigger issue for Conte is persuading the president he would have the independence to lead a coalition government composed of the 5-Stars and the anti-immigrant League, and not just be an executor of the populists' wishes. The 5-Stars began circulating Conte's name as a possible Cabinet minister several months ago, but he never participated in the elections or in the drafting of the government program he would be expected to carry out as premier. He surfaced as a possible candidate to lead the Italian government after 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini agreed over the weekend not to fight each other for the job. Paola Lucarelli, a professor of business law at the University of Florence, where Conte currently teaches, said Conte would bring to a new government "his ability to mediate, a gift that maybe is not very common in politics." Conte also has solid institutional Catholic credentials. He taught at the Vatican-affiliated LUMSA university in the mid-1990s and has close ties with Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, one of the behind-the-scenes power brokers in the Italian church and at the Vatican. During his university years in Rome, Conte lived at the Holy See-affiliated Villa Nazareth, a residential college that provides low-income students with a place to live in the Italian capital while they pursue their studies. Conte was precisely the type of motivated but economically disadvantaged Italians that Villa Nazareth sought out, said Nicholas Cafardi, a canon lawyer at Duquesne University, which has an exchange program with Villa Nazareth. "He's a 'pull-himself-up-by-his-bootstraps' type," Cafardi said. "He's gotten where he is today because of very, very hard work." While at Villa Nazareth, Conte became friends with Silvestrini, the cardinal who runs the residence, and then went on to become one of his lawyers. Cafardi said he met Conte in 1992 when Silvestrini and Conte visited the United States to set up a fundraising foundation, since disbanded, for Villa Nazareth. "He's a great guy," Cafardi said. "I feel like he's walking in the lion's den with Salvini and Di Maio, but we'll see." ___ Nicole Winfield in Rome, Francesco Fedelli in Florence, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Jill Lawless in London and Stephen Calleja in Valletta, Malta, contributed to this report. FILE -- Feb. 27, 2018 file photo showing Giuseppe Conte, in Rome. Conte is mentioned by Italian media as a leading candidate to become a new Italian government premier. (Angelo Carconi/ANSA via AP) Five-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio, center, is chased by journalists as he arrives at the lower chamber in Rome, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. The prospect of a populist government in Italy has spooked European partners and investors who fear its euroskeptic, budget-busting program could shake the region's cohesion and undermine its growth. Rival populist forces - the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and right-wing League - each squeezed their often competing agendas into the government program. (Angelo Carconi/ANSA via AP) Lower House Speaker Roberto Fico, center, is escorted as he leaves after consultations with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Mattarella has to decide whether to accept the 53-year-old academic Giuseppe Conte, with no political experience, whom 5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini have chosen to head what they hope will be the country's first populist government. (Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP) Senate President Maria Elisabetta Casellati, left, smiles as she leaves after consultations with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Mattarella has to decide whether to accept the 53-year-old academic Giuseppe Conte, with no political experience, whom 5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini have chosen to head what they hope will be the country's first populist government. (Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP) Five-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio talks to journalists as he arrives at the lower chamber in Rome, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. The prospect of a populist government in Italy has spooked European partners and investors who fear its euroskeptic, budget-busting program could shake the region's cohesion and undermine its growth. Rival populist forces - the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and right-wing League - each squeezed their often competing agendas into the government program. (Angelo Carconi/ANSA via AP) WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The Latest on the preliminary hearing for a California man accused of making a hoax call that led to police fatally shooting an unarmed man in Kansas. (all times local): 11:45 a.m. A judge has found probable cause for a California man to stand trial on allegations he made a hoax call that led police to fatally shoot an unarmed man in Kansas. Tyler Barriss, left, appears before Judge Bruce Brown Tuesday, May 22, 2018 in a preliminary hearing in Wichita, Kan. Barriss is accused of calling police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a Wichita home. The person who called said he shot his father in the head and was holding his mother and younger brother at gunpoint in a closet in the house in Wichita. Police went to the house where they thought the crime was occurring, and an officer fatally shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch after he opened the door. (Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle via AP) Twenty-five-year-old Tyler Barriss is accused of calling police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a home in Wichita, Kansas. Police stormed the address and an officer shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch at his front door. Barriss faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, giving a false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer. Barriss engaged in "swatting," a practice in which someone makes a false report to get emergency responders to an address. Wichita police officer Justin Rapp testified that he was assigned to provide cover for responding officers. Rapp says he fired one shot because he feared Finch was reaching for a firearm. Barriss will be arraigned June 29. ___ 10:50 a.m. A detective says a California man confessed after his arrest to making a hoax call that led to police fatally shooting an unarmed man in Kansas. Los Angeles Detective Edward Dorroh testified Tuesday in a preliminary hearing for 25-year-old Tyler Barriss in Wichita. Barriss is accused of calling police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a home in Wichita, Kansas. Dorroh told the court he asked Barris whether he knew the risks of making such calls. Barriss replied that he couldn't deny he knew the risk. Barriss told Dorroh that the "worst outcome happened. It is just so unfortunate." 12:01 a.m. A California man accused of making a hoax call that led to police shooting an unarmed man in Kansas is returning to court, where a judge is set to decide if there is enough evidence to put him on trial for involuntary manslaughter. Twenty-five-year-old Tyler Barriss is accused of calling police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a Wichita home. A police officer fatally shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch after he opened his door. Barriss' preliminary hearing is Tuesday before Judge Bruce Brown in Wichita. Barriss also faces charges of giving a false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer. The shooting drew attention to "swatting," a practice in which a person makes a false report to get emergency responders to descend on an address. Tyler Barriss appears before Judge Bruce Brown Tuesday, May 22, 2018 in a preliminary hearing in Wichita, Kan. Barriss is accused of calling police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a Wichita home. The person who called said he shot his father in the head and was holding his mother and younger brother at gunpoint in a closet in the house in Wichita. Police went to the house where they thought the crime was occurring, and an officer fatally shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch after he opened the door. (Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle via AP) Wichita Police officer Justin Rapp describes the night he shot Andrew Finch on his front porch during in a preliminary hearing for Tyler Barriss, Tuesday, May 22, 2018 in Wichita, Kan. Barriss is accused of calling police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28 to report a shooting and kidnapping at a Wichita home. The person who called said he shot his father in the head and was holding his mother and younger brother at gunpoint in a closet in the house in Wichita. Police went to the house where they thought the crime was occurring, and an officer fatally shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch after he opened the door. (Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle via AP) /The Wichita Eagle via AP) KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The U.S. Labor Department has filed a rare lawsuit seeking to overturn a Kansas City-area Teamsters election and force a new vote under federal supervision. The lawsuit raises concerns over how ballots were collected from members of Teamsters Local 41 and a Facebook post that might have influenced the election, The Kansas City Star reported . Local 41 President Ralph Stubbs and his slate of candidates won re-election in November over two rival slates, each of which protested the election. Washington brought only four such lawsuits last year out of 87 election complaints that the Department of Labor investigated, according to the Association of Union Democracy in New York. The government reached an agreement with unions 20 times last year and the Department of Labor determined 63 times that a new election was not warranted. The lawsuit noted that a union member supporting Stubbs posted a message to the group's informational Facebook page that supported his candidacy. Another problem occurred when a company contracted by the union incorrectly printed the ballot return envelopes, which caused many ballots to be returned to members, according to the lawsuit. That caused 163 ballots to come in after the Nov. 16, 2017, election cutoff date. The Teamsters trial board investigated after complaints about the ballots and the Facebook post and found no "inference of fraud" or evidence that it influenced the election. Stubbs won by 222 votes, and the 1,905 ballots received were similar to previous elections, the council said. The Labor Department is seeking to void the last election and have the Teamsters conduct a new one at its own expense. The case was assigned to an outside mediator, according to a court filing. A message left Tuesday seeking a response from Teamsters Local 41 was not immediately returned. ___ Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com HAVANA (AP) - For half a century Fidel Castro seemed to be everywhere in Cuba - inspecting factories, farms and offices, expounding to the press and zooming to the scenes of natural disasters to direct the minutest details of the response. His brother Raul was a military man who operated from behind the scenes, rarely making speeches and going long stretches without appearing in public, even as he attempted historic reforms of Cuba's economy and foreign policy. A month after taking office, the Castros' successor as president of Cuba has broken from the immediate past, and made clear to Cubans that he will be operating far more like a conventional modern politician than the spotlight-shy general who selected him or the revolutionary comandante who led Cuba for 47 years before that. FILE - In this May 1, 2018 file photo, Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel holds a national flag while watching the May Day parade file past at Revolution Square, in Havana, Cuba. A month after taking office, the Castros' successor as president of Cuba has broken from the immediate past, and made clear to Cubans that he will be operating far more like a conventional modern politician than the spotlight-shy general who selected him. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan, File) Miguel Diaz-Canel, 58, has set a whirlwind pace of public appearances since his first day in office - promising improvement in trash pickup and public transportation, inspecting state cafeterias and health clinics, and now acting as the public face of the government's response to the air crash that killed 111 people when a Boeing 737 rented by Cuba's national airline slammed into a farm field shortly after takeoff from Havana's airport on Friday. The first image that many Cubans saw of the accident was a photo of a grim-faced Diaz-Canel striding through the wreckage in shirtsleeves. Over the weekend, he made repeated visits to hospitalized patients, grieving family members, forensic investigators and the aviation officials leading the probe of the crash. On Sunday morning, after nearly 48 hours of crisis management, he appeared with helmet-clad emergency workers carrying out a disaster-preparedness exercise for the upcoming hurricane season. "I think that amid all the pain and consternation there's a lot of personal solidarity, and that personal solidarity can be seen in the support being given to the families, and it's expressed in the efficiency with which these cases are being attended to," Diaz-Canel told state media after visiting the bereaved. Raul Castro, meanwhile, hasn't appeared in public for more than a week, after a May 8 appearance with the U.N. secretary-general. Cuban officials said the 86-year-old leader is recovering from a planned hernia operation but is being briefed on the tragedy and offering advice on the government's response. "Diaz-Canel is putting himself before the public so the public can see him. Many of the places where he shown up or the issues he's examined have to do with people's everyday concerns," said Jose Raul Viera, a retired vice minister of foreign relations. "It's putting him in contact with people's everyday lives. His focus hasn't been ideological declarations, but rather practical things." Diaz-Canel isn't Raul Castro, but he isn't attempting to imitate Fidel either. Like many modern politicians, Diaz-Canel's appearances remain tightly managed. Most are covered only by Cuba's state-run press, and unlike the voluble Fidel Castro, the president rarely takes questions or breaks from brief prepared remarks. Most Cubans haven't heard their president speak more than a handful of times, and rarely saying more than a few sentences. There are no indications yet of how Diaz-Canel will actually administer Cuba's stagnant economy and highly controlled single-party state. A month into office, he has held reviews of government performance and programs but there has been no announcement of any new government policy or presidential decision. Diaz-Canel hasn't even yet appointed his own cabinet, deciding to operate with Raul Castro's until July. Still, the change in style has been dramatic. "I like seeing him this way," said Adonis Garcia, a 47-year-old state worker. "What shocked me was that I'd never seen a Cuban president in civilian clothes at the scene of a big event. I was used to Fidel in olive-green." Diaz-Canel took power on April 20 in a long-planned handover from Castro, who announced years ago that he would step down after more than a decade as president, which began after Fidel Castro was brought down by illness in 2006. Fidel Castro died in 2016. Unlike the Castros and their cohort of aging former guerrillas who overthrew strongman Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Diaz-Canel made his career in the civilian ranks of the Communist Party bureaucracy, serving as provincial party head, the equivalent of governor, in the central and eastern provinces of Villa Clara and Holguin before being named higher education minister and then first vice president and Castro's presumed successor in 2013. In Villa Clara he was known for a Cuban version of retail politics, albeit in a system in which the government itself selects candidates for popular ratification, rather than voters selecting between competing candidates. He traveled the capital on a bicycle and accepted visits at all hours at his home and office from residents with complaints or suggestions, according to those who knew him. After assuming the vice presidency, Diaz-Canel became virtually invisible, leading many who knew him to wonder what had happened to the glad-handing bureaucrat from Villa Clara. That question started to be answered when Diaz-Canel began appearing in public every day after becoming president, even dancing on camera with members of a children musical theater this month. "Diaz-Canel has shown an unusual degree of public activities in his first month, unusual for the president of Cuba, but usual for him in his prior positions," said Harold Cardenas, a blogger who was defended by Diaz-Canel in Villa Clara when government officials tried to shut down his site. "His appearances on television talking about everyday themes are a demonstration of the political freedom he has to run his own administration, something some had doubted," Cardenas said. On May 11, Diaz-Canel appeared on television discussing rice production with top agricultural officials. Three days later he reviewed problems in the capital, including the availability of bus stops and improvements in trash collection. The same week he visited a state-run cafeteria, a plant producing asphalt to fill potholes and an old-age home in the capital, which celebrates the 500th anniversary of its founding next year. "Havana will show off its beauty," he said, "which is part of that prosperity to which we will aspire and hope will become reality in the shortest time possible." Cardenas warned that along with his new style, Diaz-Canel also would need to start showing results in a country where years of inefficiency, lack of investment and economic underperformance have left services deteriorated, infrastructure crumbling and a population that's increasingly pessimistic and disenchanted. "Without steering the economy well, his success can be limited," Cardenas said. "Cubans are a people used to personal sacrifice in the name of a cause, but reluctant to sacrifice themselves without clear reasons." _____ Andrea Rodriguez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mweissenstein In this May 19, 2017 handout photo provided by the Cuba News Agency, ACN, Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, center, visits with family members of passengers who perished in a Boeing 737 that plummeted into a farm field shortly after taking off from the airport in Havana, Cuba. Diaz-Canel has set a whirlwind pace of public appearances since his first day in office, promising improvement in trash pickup and public transportation, inspecting state cafeterias and health clinics, and now acting as the public face of the government's response to the May 18th air crash. (Agencia Cubana de Noticias via AP) FILE - In this May 18, 2018 file photo, Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, third from left, walks through the wreckage of a Boeing 737 that plummeted into a farm field with more than 100 passengers on board, in Havana, Cuba. Diaz-Canel has set a whirlwind pace of public appearances since his first day in office, promising improvement in trash pickup and public transportation, inspecting state cafeterias and health clinics, and now acting as the public face of the government's response to the air crash. (AP Photo/Enrique de la Osa, File) FILE - In this March 16, 1959 file photo, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro (seated above numbers 732) rides in a public bus from the presidential palace to the University of Havana stadium for the second half of a two part address. Castro seemed to be everywhere in Cuba, inspecting factories, farms and offices, expounding to the press and zooming to the scenes of natural disasters to direct the minutest details of the response. (AP Photo, File) FILE - In this Feb. 13, 1961 file photo, Prime Minister Fidel Castro cuts cane with thousands of other volunteer workers in Cuba. For half a century Castro seemed to be everywhere in Cuba, inspecting factories, farms and offices, expounding to the press and zooming to the scenes of natural disasters to direct the minutest details of the response. (AP Photo, File) FILE - In this Nov. 2, 1983 file photo, Cuban President Fidel Castro offers a hand to an injured Cuban returning from Grenada to Havana, Cuba. For half a century Castro seemed to be everywhere in Cuba, inspecting factories, farms and offices, expounding to the press and zooming to the scenes of natural disasters to direct the minutest details of the response. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi, File) FILE - In this April 19, 2018 file photo, Cuba's outgoing president Raul Castro walks down a set of stairs as new President Miguel Diaz-Canel applauds at the National Assembly in Havana, Cuba. Raul Castro was a military man who operated from behind the scenes, rarely making speeches and going weeks without appearing in public, even as he attempted historic reforms of Cuba's economy and foreign policy. (Adalberto Roque/AP File) HOUSTON (AP) - Jury selection has started in Houston in the capital murder trial of a Jordanian-born man accused in two slayings driven by his daughter's decision to marry a Christian. Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the 2012 shooting death of a 30-year-old Iranian women's rights activist, Gelareh Bagherzadeh. She was best friend of Irsan's daughter, Nesreen, and encouraged her to marry Coty Beavers, a Christian. The 28-year-old Beavers was killed 11 months later. Irsan, a conservative Muslim, also is accused of involvement in his death. Potential juror questioning is expected to take weeks. The Houston Chronicle reports opening arguments are scheduled for June 25. Authorities have said both slayings were motivated by the 60-year-old Irsan's ire over his daughter's conversion to Christianity and marrying Beavers. ___ Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on sentencing for a man in the killing of a South Carolina police officer (all times local): 12:55 p.m. A 47-year-old banking industry worker will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing a police officer during an ambush in South Carolina. Christian McCall pleaded guilty to murder and several other charges in York County. His defense lawyer says McCall was drinking more than a gallon of whisky a week and snapped into his military training of kill-or-be-killed the night of Jan. 18 after he beat his wife, grabbed weapons, ammunition and a first aid kit and headed to the woods. Solicitor Kevin Brackett says McCall twice ambushed officers, wounding three and killing York County Sheriff's Det. Mike Doty. McCall stood up from a wheelchair and apologized to Doty, the wounded officers and their families. He said he wants to spend the rest of his life doing as much good as he can. ___ 11:05 a.m. A man who ambushed four police officers in South Carolina, killing one of them, has pleaded guilty to murder as part of a deal which spares his life. Christian McCall quietly admitted to the Jan. 16 shooting in York County on Tuesday. He was waiting to see if the judge would accept the negotiated sentence of life without parole. Solicitor Kevin Brackett says McCall first hid and shot an officer tracking him with a dog after his wife called 911 and said he beat her, then ran away. Brackett says a few hours later, McCall hid under a deck and shot three officers trying to find him. York County Sheriff's detective Mike Doty was killed. Before the shooting, McCall was a 47-year-old with a successful career in the banking industry. MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian nuclear-powered submarine successfully test-fired four intercontinental ballistic missiles on Tuesday, the navy said. The navy said the submarine, named Yuri Dolgoruky after the medieval prince who founded Moscow, launched the Bulava missiles in a single salvo from a submerged position in the White Sea. The navy said the mock warheads the missiles carried reached their practice targets on the opposite side of Russia - the Kura shooting range on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. The exercise marked the first simultaneous launch of four Bulava missiles, which can carry multiple nuclear warheads and has a range of up to 9,300 kilometers (about 5,770 miles.) FILE - in this file photo taken on Thursday, July 2, 2009, the Russian nuclear submarine, Yuri Dolgoruky, is seen during sea trials near Arkhangelsk, Russia. The Russian navy says one of its nuclear-powered submarines has successfully test-fired four intercontinental ballistic missiles in unison on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 from a submerged position in the White Sea. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File) The Bulava has been commissioned by the Russian navy after a long cycle of development. Russian officials said the missile has quicker start than its predecessors, helping it dodge missile defenses. The Yuri Dolgoruky is one of the three new Borei-class submarines the Russian navy has. Another five such submarines are under construction to gradually replace some of the older Soviet-built ones. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Tuesday that relations with Argentina will continue to grow despite the nations' dispute over the Falkland Islands. Argentina lost a 1982 war with Britain after Argentine troops invaded the South Atlantic archipelago. Argentina still claims the islands that it calls the Malvinas. Britain says the Falklands are a self-governing entity under its protection. "Our two positions on the sovereignty issue are well-known," Johnson said during the first visit by a British foreign secretary to the Argentine capital in more than 20 years. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson attends at a press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) "But that does not preclude and should not preclude all that we are doing to build partnerships in the areas that we have described, and in intensifying commercial relations." In a breakthrough after decades of tense relations, both nations agreed to identify the remains of Argentine soldiers. They also agreed in 2016 to lift some restrictions on the extraction of natural resources, shipping and fishing industries in the Falklands, and increase the number of flights between the islands and South America. Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said in a joint press conference with Johnson that the flights are still being reviewed by both countries. He said that so far, five companies - two in Chile, two in Brazil, and one in Uruguay - have offered to provide the service. It would include a stop in Argentina. Johnson praised the initiative. "I can certainly say that when it comes to the flights issue, I'm grateful to the government of Argentina about the progress that has been made on that issue," he said. "We seem to be making a lot of progress. If and when it happens, I certainly intend to be among the first passengers on that flight." In all, the war claimed the lives of 649 Argentines and 255 British soldiers. A forensic study led by the International Committee of the Red Cross identified the remains of 120 Argentine soldiers last year after a multinational team of experts exhumed the remains. Relatives of the soldiers traveled aboard flights earlier this year to the remote cemetery in the South Atlantic where until now, the gravestones of their loved ones read: "Argentine soldier known only to God." __ Associated Press writer Luis Andres Henao contributed to this report. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson talks at a press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson talks to Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie during their joint press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) BANGKOK (AP) - Myanmar's army was not the only group that slaughtered civilians in the country's volatile west last year, Amnesty International said in a new report accusing ethnic Rohingya insurgents of massacring dozens of Hindus during an escalation of a long-running communal conflict in Rakhine state. The London-based rights organization said it had investigated the widely reported killing of dozens of minority Hindus on Aug. 25 in a village called Ah Nauk Kha Maung Sei and concluded Rohingya militants were responsible. Claims that the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA, had carried out a massacre there were first made by the government and security forces just hours after it occurred. It was the same day Rohingya militants attacked 30 police posts and an army base in the volatile region, provoking a bloody army counter-offensive that eventually drove nearly 700,000 Rohingya civilians into Bangladesh. FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2018, file photo, Hindu refugees stand outside their make shift shelters at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh. Amnesty International said Wednesday, May 23, 2018, that Myanmar's army was not the only force that has slaughtered civilians in the country's volatile west. In a new report, the rights group accused ethnic Rohingya insurgents of carrying out at least one brutal massacre of minority Hindus when the long-running conflict in Rakhine state exploded last year. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File) At the time, Myanmar officials said they had discovered two mass graves containing dozens of bodies, and that around 100 Hindus were missing in all. The story, though, became controversial after survivors who reached Bangladesh gave conflicting testimony to reporters, with some blaming ethnic Rakhine Buddhist locals instead. Amnesty International said the findings in its report released Wednesday were based on "a careful review of evidence" that included the testimony of dozens of people and imagery analyzed by forensic pathologists. "Our latest investigation on the ground sheds much-needed light on the largely under-reported human rights abuses by ARSA during northern Rakhine state's unspeakably dark recent history," said Tirana Hassan, the group's crisis response director. "Accountability for these atrocities is every bit as crucial as it is for the crimes against humanity carried out by Myanmar's security forces," Hassan said. While nobody knows for sure how many people were killed in Rakhine state since August - the government generally prohibits independent reporting from the area - the vast majority of those who died are believed to be Rohingya killed by security forces. The aid group Doctors Without Borders estimates at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed during the first month alone. ARSA could not be reached for comment on the Amnesty International report. A once-active Twitter account attributed to the group has not tweeted since January. In its report, Amnesty International said that Rohingya militants, clad in black and wielding guns and swords, attacked the Hindus in Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik around 8 a.m. on Aug. 25. It's unclear why, but some suspect the militants believed the Hindu community sympathized with the predominantly Buddhist government's anti-Rohingya stance. Amnesty International said the fighters blindfolded their victims and marched them away before executing 53 of them, including men, women and children. When the army launched its ferocious counter-attack, many survivors ended up fleeing into Bangladesh along with the insurgents. There, ARSA members threatened witnesses and told them to say Rakhine villagers were responsible, Amnesty International said. After the survivors returned to Myanmar in October, however, they "unambiguously asserted that Rohingya, believed to be ARSA fighters, were responsible." Amnesty International said the changing testimony was "largely explained by the pressures and threats to personal safety that they faced while in Bangladesh." The group said it also based its determination on other evidence, including consistent descriptions witnesses gave of the attackers and forensic analysis of 31 photographs of exhumed bodies. The group said 46 Hindus in the neighboring village of Ye Bauk Kyar disappeared the same day and are believed to have been killed. And on Aug. 26, it said ARSA fighters killed six Hindus in Myo Thu Gyi. David Mathieson, a former human rights researcher who is now an independent analyst based in Myanmar, said the Amnesty International findings confirm reports of ARSA's brutality. "That doesn't justify in anyway the government's massive response that drove out nearly 700,000 Rohingya. It doesn't excuse it at all, but it does put another layer of complexity into the violence over the past year," he said. FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2018, file photo, a Hindu refugee stands outside her makeshift shelter with her children, near Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh. Amnesty International said Wednesday, May 23, 2018, that Myanmar's army was not the only force that has slaughtered civilians in the country's volatile west. In a new report, the rights group accused ethnic Rohingya insurgents of carrying out at least one brutal massacre of minority Hindus when the long-running conflict in Rakhine state exploded last year. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File) Birthday wishes Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun. Happy Birthday Wishes CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Nicolas Maduro expelled the top U.S. diplomat in Venezuela and his deputy Tuesday for allegedly conspiring against the socialist government and trying to sabotage the weekend presidential election. "The empire doesn't dominate us here," Maduro said in a televised address, giving charge d'affaires Todd Robinson and his deputy, Brian Naranjo, 48 hours to leave the country. "We've had enough of your conspiring." Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have mounted following Maduro's victory in presidential election Sunday, a vote that the White House and others have branded a "sham." Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro greets guests after receiving from the National Electoral Council, CNE, a certificate declaring him the winner of the presidential election, during a ceremony at CNE headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) Maduro said in his speech that Robinson and Naranjo, whom he referred to as the head of the CIA in Venezuela, both personally pressured several anti-government presidential aspirants not to compete in the race. Despite widespread discontent over Venezuela's economic collapse, most opposition parties decided to boycott the election after officials blocked their most popular leaders from competing against Maduro. Maduro also accused the Trump administration, which toughened financial sanctions on his government Monday, of seeking to escalate "aggressions" against the Venezuelan people. U.S. officials have also said the administration might consider imposing oil sanctions on Venezuela. "The dominant and decisive reason why the opposition progressively withdrew from the elections was the decision by the extremist U.S. government to not validate or legitimize a presidential election that they knew fully was going to be won in any scenario by the candidate of Nicolas Maduro," Maduro said. Anticipating likely reciprocal expulsion by the Trump administration, Maduro hours later gave a new job to Carlos Ron, who had been serving as his top envoy to Washington. Ron was named deputy foreign minister in charge of relations with North America. Robinson was travelling in Venezuela's western state of Merida when he learned through social media of Maduro's order, according to a local radio broadcast of him speaking at an event. Robinson said he and his deputy "strongly reject the accusations." "This is my first visit but it won't be my last visit to Merida or to Venezuela," he said. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert in Washington echoed Robinson's words during a briefing with reporters, saying that U.S. officials consider them "false allegations." In his long career, Robinson, a career diplomat, has worked in Colombia, Bolivia, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. He earned a reputation for speaking out as ambassador to Guatemala and several times faced calls there for his expulsion. He has been similarly provocative in his short stay in Caracas. Days after landing in Caracas in December, he posed for pictures next to a statue of independence hero Simon Bolivar in a pro-government plaza and called Maduro's constitutional assembly "illegitimate." He has also made several forceful calls for the release of U.S. citizen Joshua Holt, who has been jailed for more than two years without a trial on weapons charges. Last week, Robinson rushed with cameras in tow to the foreign ministry to demand information about Holt after the Utah native appeared in a video from jail saying his life had been threatened during what the U.S. Embassy deemed a prison "riot." Robinson said nobody in the Venezuelan government would met with him, but socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello denied the snub, accusing the diplomat of staging a "show" But despite the frequent clashes, Maduro had seemed little inclined to declare Robinson persona non grata, as he and his mentor, the late Hugo Chavez, did several times previously to U.S. diplomats. Last month, Maduro even welcomed Robinson to the presidential palace for a private meeting with visiting U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. He also dispatched a trusted aide, Delcy Rodriguez, the head of the constitutional assembly, to meet with Robinson at his residence. Venezuela and the U.S. haven't exchanged ambassadors since 2010, so Robinson, while preserving his ambassadorial rank, was serving as chief of mission at the hilltop embassy in Caracas. Naranjo, his deputy, is one of the most senior State Department officials working on Venezuela, having served previously in Caracas when Chavez first ran for president in 1998. Patrick Duddy, the last U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, who himself was briefly expelled by Chavez in 2008, said the U.S. is not alone in rejecting Maduro's election as illegitimate and harshly criticizing the government for destroying the economy. "They're looking to blame someone," said Duddy, now director of Duke University's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. "As it has so often been in the past, the target of their efforts is the United States." ___ Associated Press writer Scott Smith contributed to this report. FILE - In this March 14, 2018 file photo, United States Charge d'Affaires Todd Robinson attends the inauguration of a culture center that will facilitate study abroad opportunities for Venezuelan youths, in Lecheria, Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 that he is expelling Robinson, the top U.S. diplomat in Venezuela and his deputy for allegedly conspiring against his government. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File) Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro holds up a National Electoral Council, CNE, certificate declaring him the winner of the presidential election, during a ceremony at CNE headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) A supporter holds a painting depicting Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and the late President Hugo Chavez outside the National Electoral Council in Caracas, Venezuela, where the Maduro was officially declared the winner of the presidential election, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States and China are working toward an agreement that would ease U.S. sanctions that were imposed on ZTE Corp. and let the Chinese telecommunications giant stay in business. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the deal might require ZTE to revamp its board and to pay a fine of $1 billion or more. The ZTE talks occur after the U.S. and China over the weekend suspended plans to impose tariffs on as much as $200 billion in each other's goods, pulling back from the brink of a trade war. China on Tuesday made a conciliatory gesture by cutting the tariff on imported vehicles to 15 percent from 25 percent, effective July 1. FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2014, file photo, people gather at the ZTE booth at the Mobile World Congress, the world's largest mobile phone trade show in Barcelona, Spain. Chinese telecommunications company ZTE has halted its main operations after U.S. authorities cut off its access to American suppliers as President Donald Trump steps up pressure over trade and technology issues with Beijing. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File) In the face of congressional criticism, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday denied that the U.S. is offering relief for ZTE in exchange for trade concessions. "This is not a quid pro quo or anything else," Mnuchin told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. The Commerce Department last month blocked China's ZTE from importing American components for seven years, accusing it of misleading U.S. regulators after it last year settled charges of violating sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The ban was a virtual death sentence for ZTE, which relies on U.S. parts. "The objective was not to put ZTE out of business," Mnuchin said. "The objective was to make sure they abide by our sanctions program." On Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats alike criticized the administration for seeming to go easy on a company that had violated U.S. sanctions. Citing media accounts about ZTE talks, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida tweeted: "If this is true, then administration has surrendered to #China and #ZTE. Making changes to their board & a fine won't stop them from spying and stealing from us." "Putting our national security at risk for minor trade concessions is the definition of short-sighted," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tweeted at Trump. "This the exactly the type of deal you'd have called 'weak' or 'the worst deal ever' before you were @POTUS." On the eve of talks last week with a Chinese trade envoy, Trump barged into the ZTE case by tweeting that he was working with President Xi Jinping to put ZTE "back in business, fast" and save tens of thousands of Chinese jobs. He later tweeted that the ZTE talks were "part of a larger trade deal" being negotiated with China. On Tuesday, Trump said a resolution of the ZTE sanctions would also help U.S. companies that supply the Chinese firm: ZTE "can pay a big price without necessarily damaging all these American companies ... you're talking about tremendous amounts of money and jobs to American companies." Amanda DeBusk, a former Commerce Department official who chairs the international trade practice at the law firm Dechert LLP, said it's not unusual for governments to use sanctions against foreign companies as leverage in trade negotiations. But it's usually done behind closed doors. "What's different is the way it's all been done in public, on Twitter," she said. "It's hanging out there for everyone to see." ___________ AP Writers Darlene Superville and Zeke Miller contributed to this report. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A federal transportation panel on Tuesday recommended to states that all new large school buses be equipped with both lap and shoulder seatbelts, which the board chairman called a "tried and true" safety protection. The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates transportation disasters, approved the recommendation Tuesday in Washington. The board also recommended requiring collision-avoidance systems and automatic emergency brakes on new school buses. The recommendations, which aren't binding on government agencies or the transportation industry, came just days after a school bus collided with a dump truck in New Jersey, killing a student and teacher. FILE - In a May 17, 2018 file photo, emergency personnel examine a school bus after it collided with a dump truck, injuring multiple people, on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive, N.J. The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday, May 22 recommended to states that all new large school buses be equipped with both lap and shoulder seatbelts, which the board chairman called a "tried and true" safety protection.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) Chairman Robert Sumwalt said the board's last recommendation about school seatbelts, made in 2013, was that states consider them, which he called "sort of weak." He said it's time for the agency to take a hard stance. "I think that that's the right stance, and I feel like we as an agency have tiptoed around that for a long time," Sumwalt said. Eight states already require some kind of seatbelts on larger school buses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. New Jersey requires lap belts on its larger buses. But the NTSB is also suggesting that it and three other states that use lap belts - Louisiana, Florida and New York - also install shoulder belts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which creates regulations for school bus safety, already had required some kind of seatbelt for smaller school buses in all states. But the administration hasn't embraced requiring seatbelts on larger buses. Instead, the agency says children on larger school buses are protected by strong, closely spaced seats with seatbacks that absorb energy during crashes. The administration points to a strong safety record for school buses, saying students are 70 times more likely to get to school safely on a school bus instead of car. At least 29 states introduced school bus seatbelt legislation last year, but big cost estimates have tripped up lawmakers in several instances. The NTSB's recommendations are contained in a report on two deadly school bus crashes in November 2016, one in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the other in Baltimore. For the Chattanooga crash, in which six school children died, the board concluded that the lack of lap-shoulder seatbelts contributed to the severity of the crash. But a Tennessee bill to require seatbelts in new school buses has failed twice since, due in large part to the estimated $12.9 million more in annual costs to school districts and $2.2 million in yearly state costs. Gov. Bill Haslam has approved $3 million in grants that school districts can seek if they want seatbelts on new buses. Authorities say Johnthony Walker, then 24 years old, was speeding when he crashed his school bus on a winding Chattanooga road. He faces a four-year prison sentence on criminally negligent homicide charges. The federal panel found Walker had two prior bus crashes and unsafe driving complaints, including intentionally causing students to fall over to make them behave on the bus. The panel said he was talking on his cellphone when the bus crashed in 2016. The board also laid blame on the contract bus company, Durham School Services, for lack of driver oversight, and Hamilton County Department of Education for not following up on issues raised about Walker. In the Baltimore crash, driver Glenn Chappell had no children on board when he rear-ended a car and hit a transit bus, and Chappell and five people on the other bus died. The safety panel's presentation said Chappell was likely incapacitated, given his history of seizures and penchant for not disclosing his health complications. The panel said Chappell regained his commercial license with fraudulent documents, despite losing it multiple times due to traffic violations, criminal activity and the seizures. The board also noted that part of the crash's probable cause was inadequate driver oversight by the bus company, AAAfordable LLC, and Baltimore City Public Schools. "In concrete terms, neither of these drivers should have been behind the wheel," Sumwalt said of both the Chattanooga and Baltimore crashes. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Family and friends of a 15-year-old boy killed in a crash last year in South Dakota are criticizing a judge's decision to temporarily release the teen convicted in his death so he can attend his high school graduation. Alex Lingor, 17, of Sioux Falls, has been granted a furlough from the Minnehaha County Juvenile Detention Center so he can receive his diploma from Roosevelt High School on June 3, the Argus Leader reported . Second Circuit Court Judge Bradley Zell granted the furlough last week for a few hours on graduation day, the newspaper confirmed. Lingor pleaded guilty to manslaughter, aggravated assault and possession with intent to distribute marijuana in the death of Kareem Cisse last year. Lingor was driving a truck and forced a sedan off the road during a chase in February 2017. Cisse was a passenger in the sedan and died when it crashed. More than a dozen people opposed to the furlough protested outside the Minnehaha County Administration building Monday. "It's not right," said Andre Jordan, a family friend of Cisse who coordinated the demonstration. "(Kareem's mom) is still grieving. It's like a spit in her face." Jordan plans to march near the building every day until the school district's graduation day, he said. Sioux Falls School District DeeAnn Konrad said that the district "is aware of the concern and continues to look into the matter." "Kareem didn't get to graduate," said Jordan Randle, who attended Roosevelt High School at the time of the crash. "I came out here because he deserves justice." Lingor's attorneys declined to comment on the pending case. Lingor is slated to be sentenced in June. ___ Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two-hundred professors signed a letter demanding that the president of the University of Southern California resign amid allegations that USC failed to properly respond to complaints of misconduct by a gynecologist who worked at a student health clinic for 30 years. The letter addressed to USC trustees asserts that President C. L. Max Nikias has lost the moral authority to lead the university and its investigation into institutional failures, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. An Associated Press email requesting comment from the president's office was not immediately returned. People enter the University of Southern California's Engemann Student Health Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Four former USC students have sued the school and an ex-campus gynecologist who they accuse of sexual battery and sexual harassment. The civil lawsuit filed Monday, May 21 in Los Angeles alleges Dr. George Tyndall forced the plaintiffs to strip naked and groped them under the guise of medical treatment for his sexual gratification. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) Board of trustees Chairman John Mork released a statement saying its executive committee strongly supports Nikias. The gynecologist, Dr. George Tyndall, denied wrongdoing in interviews with the Times. He didn't return phone calls and it wasn't known Tuesday if he has an attorney. Dr. George Tyndall routinely made crude comments, took inappropriate photographs and forced plaintiffs to strip naked and groped them under the guise of medical treatment for his "sexual gratification," according to civil lawsuits filed this week. The latest complaint announced by attorney Gloria Allred was filed Tuesday on behalf of Daniella Mohazab, a USC student seeking a master's degree in communications management. Mohazab said Tyndall saw her at the clinic in 2016 for an STD test. Tyndall made comments about her Filipina heritage, including telling her that "Filipinas are good in bed," according to court documents. The suit accuses him of not using gloves during an exam during which she felt uncomfortable. "I am still in shock that USC had heard about Dr. Tyndall's inappropriate conduct and allowed him to continue practicing," Mohazab said at a press conference. Allred also read a statement from an unnamed former USC student who claims Tyndall took photographs of her during an exam in the early 1990s. The woman said she complained to the director of the health clinic and notified the USC women's advocacy office. "Assuming these allegations made by witness Jane Doe are true, USC was told as early as 1991 about Dr. Tyndall's sexual misconduct," Allred said. At least a half-dozen other women have sued the university alleging misconduct by Tyndall. The complaints accuse the university of failing to properly respond to complaints about Tyndall. USC said in a statement that it was aware of the lawsuits. "We are focused on ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and providing support to those affected," the statement said. ___ Follow Weber at https://twitter.com/WeberCM People enter the University of Southern California's Engemann Student Health Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Four former USC students have sued the school and an ex-campus gynecologist who they accuse of sexual battery and sexual harassment. The civil lawsuit filed Monday, May 21 in Los Angeles alleges Dr. George Tyndall forced the plaintiffs to strip naked and groped them under the guise of medical treatment for his sexual gratification. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) CAIRO (AP) - An Egyptian military court has sentenced a freelance journalist who reported on the Sinai insurgency to 10 years in prison on terror-related charges. The Cairo military court on Tuesday convicted Ismail Alexandrani of spreading false news and joining an outlawed group, without identifying it. The verdict can be appealed. Alexandrani was detained in 2015 upon his return to Egypt after delivering a presentation on Sinai militancy in Berlin. He worked for several news outlets in Egypt. Egypt has heavily restricted media access to the northern Sinai, where it has struggled to combat an Islamic State-led insurgency that has carried out attacks across the country. Egyptian authorities have jailed several journalists as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent, and have passed vague laws criminalizing the dissemination of "false news." WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) - A former financial services executive has pleaded guilty in the 2016 death of his estranged wife, a prominent doctor, in their suburban New York home. Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. announced Tuesday that Julius Reich has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Dr. Robin Goldman, a pediatrician, was stabbed multiple times as she took a shower. She still shared a Scarsdale home with Reich while they were getting a divorce. The prosecutor says the victim's adult children expressed a "strong desire" to "avoid the trauma of a trial." MOSCOW (AP) - Separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine say an accidental grenade explosion on a bus has killed one teenager and wounded three others. Rebel military spokesman Ruslan Yakubov said in a statement carried by the Donetsk News Agency that the grenade was in a rucksack belonging to one of the boys when it went off on Tuesday. It wasn't immediately clear where the boy obtained the grenade; eastern Ukraine is awash in weapons after four years of fighting between the rebels and Ukrainian forces. Yakubov says the teen victims are between the ages of 14 and 16 and were heading home from school when the explosion rocked the bus in the city of Debaltseve. The Ukrainian conflict erupted after Russia's annexation of Crimea and has killed more than 10,000 people since April 2014. ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The parents of slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin say The Weinstein Company owes them at least $150,000 for optioning the rights to their book in order to make a yet unaired television series based on their son's legacy. Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin filed court papers last week in the company's case in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware. The television series has been filmed and they are owed fees for "executive producer services," the parents said in the court filing. If the television series airs, the parents will be owed further money, the court filing said. FILE - In this Friday, April 20, 2018, file photo, Trayvon Martin's parents, Tracy Martin, left, and Sybrina Fulton, attend the Tribeca TV screening of "Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story" at BMCC Tribeca PAC, during the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Martin and Fulton say The Weinstein Company owes them at least $150,000 for optioning the rights to their book in order to make a yet unaired television series based on their son's legacy. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) The court filing also said the deal includes an option for the studio to purchase movie rights to their book, "Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin," though that hasn't been exercised yet. Earlier this month, a judge said she would approve a private equity firm's purchase of the studio. The company was forced into bankruptcy by the sexual misconduct scandal that brought down Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in 2012 as Martin walked home from a convenience store in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman was acquitted. Martin's death became a rallying cry for millions of black Americans seeking justice for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen. Like Martin's parents, several dozen actors, writers, producers and companies have filed court papers saying The Weinstein Company owes them money. Those claims will be addressed at a hearing in Delaware next month. MILAN (AP) - The Latest on the law professor picked to be Italy's next premier (all times local): 9:45 p.m. New York University says the Italian law professor tagged to be Italy's next premier had no official status at the university - despite an entry on his resume suggesting otherwise. In this photo taken on Thursday, March 1, 2018, Giuseppe Conte, right, shakes hands with leader of the Five-Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, during a meeting in Rome. Italy edged toward its first populist government Monday as the eurosceptic 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League indicated a 54-year-old law professor with no political experience as their candidate for premier. Neither 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio nor League leader Matteo Salvini named Giuseppe Conte in brief remarks to reporters after leaving a closed-door meeting with President Sergio Mattarella in what could be final consultations before forming a government 11 weeks after elections left Italy with a hung parliament. But, in a breach of protocol, Di Maio identified Conte to reporters outside the Quirinale presidential palace and posted his name on the movement's popular block. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) University spokeswoman Michelle Tsai said in a statement released Tuesday that University of Florence law professor Guiseppe Conte had obtained permission to use NYU's law library during the period listed on his official resume. The 12-page resume Conte submitted to the Italian parliament in 2013 said he "perfected and updated his studies" at NYU during the summers of 2008-2014. Tsai said in the statement: "While Mr. Conte had no official status at NYU, he was granted permission to conduct research in the NYU law library...and he invited an NYU law professor to serve on the board of an Italian law journal." Conte's resume contains multiple references to time spent at elite foreign universities without specifying courses or areas of study. ___ 7:45 p.m. Italian media outlets are scrutinizing the 12-page resume of University of Florence law professor Guiseppe Conte for signs the man nominated by two rival parties to be premier might had embellished his credentials. The resume covering the years since Conte earned his law degree from Rome's Sapienza University in 1988 includes references to stays at an array of top universities in the United States, Britain and France, without specifying what studies he had undertaken. The resume says Conte "stayed" at Paris Sorbonne University in 2000 and Cambridge University's Girton College in 2001 for scientific research. The resume also said he "perfected and updated his studies" during stays at New York University of at least a month during the summers of 2008-2012. Cambridge declined to confirm any affiliation, citing privacy, and the Sorbonne and New York University didn't immediately respond to queries. ___ 5:45 p.m. Italy's 5-Star Movement is defending Giuseppe Conte, tapped to become the country's next premier, against reports accusing him of overstating his affiliations with elite international universities in his resume. The movement said in a statement Tuesday that Conte, a law professor picked to head Italy's first populist government, "had never boasted" of degrees abroad but had "stayed abroad to study, enrich his knowledge and perfect his juridical English." They said reports otherwise indicated fear for the changes coming under a 5-Star government with the right-wing League. Conte, 53, is currently a professor at the University of Florence. He graduated with a law degree from Rome's Sapienza University. He hasn't made any statements since the two parties identified him as premier candidate, a role that must be approved by Italy's president. In this photo taken on Thursday, March 1, 2018, Giuseppe Conte smiles during a meeting in Rome. Italy edged toward its first populist government Monday as the eurosceptic 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League indicated a 54-year-old law professor with no political experience as their candidate for premier. Neither 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio nor League leader Matteo Salvini named Giuseppe Conte in brief remarks to reporters after leaving a closed-door meeting with President Sergio Mattarella in what could be final consultations before forming a government 11 weeks after elections left Italy with a hung parliament. But, in a breach of protocol, Di Maio identified Conte to reporters outside the Quirinale presidential palace and posted his name on the movement's popular block. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) FILE -- Feb. 27, 2018 file photo showing Giuseppe Conte, in Rome. Conte is mentioned by Italian media as a leading candidate to become a new Italian government premier. (Angelo Carconi/ANSA via AP) Five-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio, center, is chased by journalists as he arrives at the lower chamber in Rome, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. The prospect of a populist government in Italy has spooked European partners and investors who fear its euroskeptic, budget-busting program could shake the region's cohesion and undermine its growth. Rival populist forces - the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and right-wing League - each squeezed their often competing agendas into the government program. (Angelo Carconi/ANSA via AP) Lower House Speaker Roberto Fico, center, is escorted as he leaves after consultations with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Mattarella has to decide whether to accept the 53-year-old academic Giuseppe Conte, with no political experience, whom 5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini have chosen to head what they hope will be the country's first populist government. (Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP) Senate President Maria Elisabetta Casellati, left, smiles as she leaves after consultations with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Mattarella has to decide whether to accept the 53-year-old academic Giuseppe Conte, with no political experience, whom 5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini have chosen to head what they hope will be the country's first populist government. (Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP) Five-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio talks to journalists as he arrives at the lower chamber in Rome, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. The prospect of a populist government in Italy has spooked European partners and investors who fear its euroskeptic, budget-busting program could shake the region's cohesion and undermine its growth. Rival populist forces - the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and right-wing League - each squeezed their often competing agendas into the government program. (Angelo Carconi/ANSA via AP) MINSK, Belarus (AP) - Belarus has named a new ambassador to Sweden, turning the page on a six-year rift that followed a Swedish advertising agency's air drop of teddy bears bearing messages about human rights. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko emphasized the importance of ties with Sweden while naming the new ambassador. The envoy, Dmitry Mironchik, said Tuesday his appointment marks "the official end of the Ice Age in relations between Belarus and Sweden." Belarus expelled the Swedish ambassador and recalled its envoy from Sweden after the Studio Total advertising agency air-dropped hundreds of parachute-wearing teddy bears holding the human rights messages. The July 2012 stunt came amid Western criticism of Belarus' rights record. Ties between Belarus and the West have improved since Lukashenko's government released political prisoners and the U.S. and the European Union lifted some sanctions. PAHOA, Hawaii (AP) - The glowing lava was extinguished as it met the water with the hiss of a million steam irons. An otherworldly cloud flourished from the fizzle, rapidly expanding outward and upward, morphing into different shapes. It smelled like burnt matches from the sulfur dioxide. After a stomach-churning 90-minute boat ride in rough waters Sunday, we had arrived where the tongue of molten rock from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano took its steamy last breaths of fire into crashing waves. Passengers were warned they could get injured on the choppy seas and were offered refunds if they had second thoughts. I was on the boat as a working photographer for The Associated Press, so I popped two pills to prevent sea sickness and wrapped my two cameras in plastic. FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, Joe Kekedi takes pictures as lava enters the ocean, generating plumes of steam near Pahoa, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) The boat lurched and swayed and the constant spit of surf made it feel I was drinking salt water. It was raining at the start of the ride, but the skies turned blue as we motored toward the drier side of the island. Even with the clearing skies, our destination did not come into view until we closed in. I've covered many wildfires in the West where plumes rise for thousands of feet and the sun appears pink through the smoke. They make for dramatic images and remarkable sunsets, but I had never seen anything like this. While Hawaii Island features five volcanoes, with the highest, Mauna Kea, reaching nearly 14,000 feet (4,265 meters) above sea level and sometimes capped with snow, Kilauea is far less prominent. But because it's been active since 1983, the volcano's fiery flow of lava into the sea has been a popular cruise destination for photographers and tourists. Before getting on the boat, I had tried to get access close to the action on land without putting myself in imminent danger. The most frightening moment wasn't seeing spurting lava or smelling the noxious fumes, but getting lost trying to hike into the closed Leilani Estates neighborhood through a tangled mess of trees and vegetation under dark jungle-like canopy. I stumbled on logs and obstacles hidden by rotting leaves, falling a half-dozen times before turning around and receiving well-earned mockery from locals. Despite the setback, I was rewarded with many views of nature's forces. I stood atop hardened lava that had swamped a road, leaving only a short section of double-yellow lines exposed. Molten magma, some still glowing red, had piled up nearly as high as tree tops on one road, making me feel like a tiny, powerless creature. I contemplated stepping across a fissure in a road in Leilani, but had second thoughts after peering into the dark chasm that appeared to go to the center of the Earth. This is what it would be like if hell opened up, I told myself. The boat provided a completely different perspective. We had been at sea for a while when the captain pointed in the distance and said the clouds ahead were, in fact, steam from the river of lava flowing into the ocean. As we came close, the boat slowed and we could hear the sea sizzling as a giant white sulfurous plume boiled into the sky. One of the most arresting scenes didn't make a picture at all and came not from Kilauea's spasms, but as I turned to see my fellow passengers silently slack-jawed at Mother Nature's overwhelming power. During this impromptu moment of reflection, the roughly two dozen passengers put down their cameras and stared in awe. It seemed out of sync with the universal urge these days to document everything from the mundane to the sublime. Then instinct kicked in and passengers began shooting video and snapping selfies. In the 30 minutes or so that we puttered about just beyond the cloud, I shot 858 frames at high speed to prevent motion blur. About half were marred by the boat's constant sway and wobble that left them with a crooked horizon. Among the few keepers, though, will be the image I still have in my mind. I hope not to lose that. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: Associated Press photographer Jae C. Hong has spent much of the past few weeks in Pahoa, Hawaii, documenting the explosive eruption of the Kilauea volcano. He recounts a rough and awe-inspiring trip on a bobbing boat to make images of the sizzling sea. Associated Press writer Brian Melley in Los Angeles assisted in writing this story while Hong is in the lava zone. ___ Follow AP's complete coverage of the Hawaii volcano here: https://apnews.com/tag/Kilauea FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, plumes of steam rise as lava enters the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, people watch a plume of steam as lava enters the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, lava flows into the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, plumes of steam rise as lava enters the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) FILE - In this May 18, 2018 file photo, Peter Vance, 24, photographs lava erupting in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii. While Hawaii Island features two massive volcanoes, with the highest, Mauna Kea, reaching nearly 14,000 feet (4,265 meters) above sea level and sometimes capped with snow, Kilauea is far less prominent. But because it's been active since 1983, the volcano's fiery flow of lava into the sea has been a popular cruise destination for photographers and tourists. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) - It was the million dollar tip authorities had been waiting for. Well, technically it was a 17th-century gold bar, worth half a million dollars, that a tipster told Crime Stoppers about. Authorities on Monday praised the tip in 2015 that revived a cold case and led them to arrest Jarred Goldman and Richard Johnson, who await sentencing for theft in July. The tipster identified Goldman from video surveillance. The gold bar was recovered from the 1622 wreck of a Spanish galleon off the Florida Keys. Weighing 74.85 ounces and valued at $556,000, it disappeared from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in 2010. In this May 15, 2018 photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Jean-Lumarque Estime, left, and his daughter Linda Porsha Estime, examine gold artifacts from two Spanish shipwrecks while visiting the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Fla. On Wednesday, May 16, 2018, a Federal jury concluded that Jarred Alexander Goldman was guilty of conspiracy and theft of a gold bar similar to ones in the case. Another man, Richard Steven Johnson, has already pleaded guilty. The two men stole the bar from the museum in 2010 and are to be sentenced July 23. (Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP) Authorities say Goldman stood guard while Johnson lifted the bar from its display case. The FBI recovered only a fragment. NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A federal judge on Tuesday sided with a transgender teen in Virginia who claims a school board violated his rights when it banned him from using boys' bathrooms. U.S. District Court Judge Arenda Wright Allen declined the Gloucester County School Board's request to dismiss the case filed by former student Gavin Grimm, writing that the board's policies "singled out and stigmatized Mr. Grimm." The judge in Norfolk ordered lawyers for both sides to schedule a settlement conference in the next 30 days. In a brief statement, the school board said it continues to believe that its handling of the matter "fully considered the interests of all students and parents in the Gloucester County school system." Joshua Block, an ACLU attorney representing Grimm, said Grimm is seeking nominal damages from the school board and the admission that its bathroom policy was illegal. "Maybe the school board will give up at this point or maybe they'll want to keep appealing," Block said. "But I do know that Gavin has, from the beginning, been so dedicated to this because he's wanted to make sure other kids are protected." The case has continued on a circuitous path well after Grimm's graduation in June 2017 from Gloucester High School, which is about an hour east of Richmond. A different federal judge initially sided with the school board in 2015. Then an appeals court ruled in Grimm's favor, citing a directive issued by the Obama Administration that said students can choose bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. The U.S. Supreme Court backed out of hearing the case after the Trump Administration pulled back that guidance. Grimm's case was sent back to U.S. District Court. In her 30-page opinion, Wright wrote that Grimm's lawyers successfully argued that the school board violated his rights under the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause as well as federal Title IX protections against gender-based discrimination. She wrote that the board's argument "rings hollow" that it was protecting students' privacy rights, including Grimm's. The judge noted that other courts have since made similar conclusions. She also noted that since Grimm filed his suit, his state identification card and his birth certificate now list him as being male. PHOENIX (AP) - U.S. Senate candidate Joe Arpaio has repeatedly pledged his unwavering support for President Donald Trump, but the divisive retired sheriff is unwilling or unable to elaborate on the president's policies. Arpaio declined at a news conference Tuesday to explain how Trump's earlier plan to impose tariffs on Chinese imports would affect Arizona residents and whether the withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal would make Americans less or more safe. Instead, he focused on his loyalty to Trump, who nine months ago pardoned Arpaio's criminal contempt-of-court conviction for intentionally disobeying a judge's order in an immigration case. Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio arrives Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at the Arizona Secretary of State's office in Phoenix to turn in petition signatures in his bid to appear on the ballot in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. The Republican lawman's campaign says it turned in 10,000 signatures on Tuesday so he can compete in the GOP primary on Aug. 28th. (AP Photo/Matt York) "I am not a 'yes man,' but I do support the majority of his policies, his agenda, and I'm going to continue doing that," Arpaio said. He was unable to name any Trump policies he opposed. The 85-year-old lawman, who lost his 2016 re-election campaign to a little-known Phoenix police sergeant as his legal problems mounted, spoke to reporters Tuesday before handing in petition signatures needed to compete in the Aug. 28 Republican primary in the race to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake. Arpaio faces U.S. Rep. Martha McSally and former state Sen. Kelli Ward in the GOP field. In his 24 years as metro Phoenix's sheriff, Arpaio wasn't known for immersing himself in the policies and inner workings of his office and often prided himself on farming out those details to his underlings. Now, Arpaio is facing tough questions about the details of his beliefs. Those questions led to tense exchanges between Arpaio and reporters shortly before he turned in the signatures. Asked to say how the tariffs threatened by Trump would affect Arizona residents, Arpaio said only that he wants products to be made in the United States and doesn't believe the approach to tariffs would hurt the state. He also was asked whether he knew what a tariff was. "I know what tariffs are, but I'm not here to do a history - to educate you on what a tariff is," Arpaio said. Similarly, he declined to say whether the Iran nuclear deal would make the United States safer. "I don't have all the foreign information," Arpaio said. "You expect me to know everything. I am not in the Senate yet." Arpaio, who was known for launching dozens of crackdowns on immigrants as sheriff, bristled when asked about taxpayers' rising bill from his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. Taxpayers in Arizona's most populous county have shelled out nearly $88 million over the last five years to cover legal and compliance costs in a racial profiling lawsuit that focused on his immigration patrols. Arpaio lost the case, and a judge ordered a massive overhaul of the agency. The cost to taxpayers is projected to reach $120 million by summer 2019. Arpaio rejected suggestions that he is to blame for the unexpected costs that arose from his patrols. He blamed the costs on the U.S. judge who ruled that Arpaio's officers had racially profiled Latinos in the patrols and found that the sheriff had ignored his order to stop the tactic. "It's not my fault. I am not guilty," Arpaio said. ___ Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://bit.ly/2GGWEPO. Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at the Capitol in Phoenix prior to turning in petition signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State in his bid to appear on the ballot in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. The Republican lawman's campaign says it turned in 10,000 signatures on Tuesday so he can compete in the GOP primary on Aug. 28. (AP Photo/Matt York) Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at the Capitol in Phoenix prior to turning in petition signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State in his bid to appear on the ballot in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. The Republican lawman's campaign says it turned in 10,000 signatures on Tuesday so he can compete in the GOP primary on Aug. 28. (AP Photo/Matt York) Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio arrives Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at the Arizona Secretary of State's office in Phoenix to turn in petition signatures in his bid to appear on the ballot in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. The Republican lawman's campaign says it turned in 10,000 signatures on Tuesday so he can compete in the GOP primary on Aug. 28. (AP Photo/Matt York) Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at the Capitol in Phoenix prior to turning in petition signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State in his bid to appear on the ballot in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. The Republican lawman's campaign says it turned in 10,000 signatures on Tuesday so he can compete in the GOP primary on Aug. 28. (AP Photo/Matt York) Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at the Capitol in Phoenix prior to turning in petition signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State in his bid to appear on the ballot in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. The Republican lawman's campaign says it turned in 10,000 signatures on Tuesday so he can compete in the GOP primary on Aug. 28. (AP Photo/Matt York) Between the 16th and the 18th Century, at the height of its Empire, fleets of Spanish galleons made countless voyages between Europe and the Americas. They transported European goods to Spanish colonies in the Americas before being loaded up with plundered gold, silver, emeralds and other precious stones and metals to be taken back to Spain. Two fleets of between 30 and 90 vessels would sail from Seville to the American colonies every year. One, the Flota de Nova Espana, would leave every springtime for Vera Cruz, in what is now Mexico, with ships detached to the West Indies and Honduras on the way. Between the 16th and the 18th Century, at the height of its Empire, fleets of Spanish galleons made countless voyages between Europe and the Americas The other, the Esquadron de Terra Firme, would set sail in August for Cartagena, in modern day Colombia, and Porto Bello (now Portobelo), on the Atlantic coast of Panama. After wintering in the Americas, both fleets would meet at Havana the following spring and return to Spain together, under the protection of warships, known as galleons. A change of strategy was implemented in the 17th century, however, when all treasure from the New World started to be transported in the galleons themselves. Military muscle was needed to defend against attacks from Britain's Royal Navy, which tried to capture the vessels as a way of cutting off Spain's war finances. The San Jose was tracked down 16 miles off Cartagena by English Commodore Charles Wager (pictured) The treasure ships were also under serious threat from pirates. So many seabound brigands were operating in the period that it has since been dubbed the 'Golden Age of Piracy'. Britain, the Netherlands and France, all hostile to Spain, hired pirates to plunder Spanish galleons in the Caribbean Sea. These pirates, called privateers, also joined forces with local raiders from Jamaica, Tortuga and Hispaniola in the Caribbean, who were known as buccaneers. This combination of hostile forces led to the sinking of more than 1,000 Spanish galleons and merchant ships off the coast of Colombia during three centuries of colonial rule. The sinking of so many Spanish ships left vast sums of treasure lying on the seabed, with some archaeologists estimating the total value of such wrecks to be worth tens of billions of dollars. The San Jose was tracked down 16 miles off Cartagena by English Commodore Charles Wager. Wager was a British Admiral and First Lord of the Admiralty between 1733 and 1742. He was heavily involved in the development of new bases in the Caribbean, and in December 1742 was appointed Treasurer of the Navy in the British Government. Wager is said to have been living at Stanley House, Chelsea, when he died, peacefully, in May 1743 at the age of 77. Tesco is to remove best-before labels from nearly all its own-brand fruit and vegetables in a bid to cut food waste. The supermarket giant says shoppers often find themselves confused by the difference between best-before and use-by dates meaning perfectly edible food can often be thrown away. In recent poll by the National Federation of Womens Institutes (NFWI), less than half of people asked knew the meaning of best before, which indicates that food might not be at its optimum quality after this date, but is still safe to eat. Nearly 70 Tesco lines, of products including apples, potatoes, tomatoes and lemons, will be included in the scheme (PA) Use-by labels are used where there is a safety risk if the product is eaten past this date. According to waste reduction body Wrap, two million tonnes of food is wasted each year in UK homes due to it not being used in time, with a third of this waste blamed on how shoppers interpret date labels. Mark Little, Tescos head of food waste, said: We know some customers may be confused by the difference between best-before and use-by dates on food and this can lead to perfectly edible items being thrown away before they need to be discarded. We have made this change to fruit and vegetable packaging as they are among the most wasted foods. Many customers have told us that they assess their fruit and vegetables by the look of the product rather than the Best-before date code on the packaging. Were removing Best Before dates from nearly 70 fruit and veg products to help reduce #foodwaste #notimeforwaste Tesco News (@tesconews) May 21, 2018 David Moon, head of business collaboration at Wrap, added: This change by Tesco provides a good opportunity to learn about the customer response, and we anticipate Tesco will share their findings. With all fresh produce, appropriate storage including use of the refrigerator is essential in giving the customer more time to use their food, so clarity of storage advice on pack and in-store will be vital. Nearly 70 Tesco lines, of products including apples, potatoes, tomatoes and lemons, will be included in the scheme. Detectives are hunting for a man suspected of carrying out a series of sexual assaults on teenagers on board buses in north London. Scotland Yard said the same suspect was believed to have been responsible for at least five offences on crowded services between January and March. In the first alleged incident on January 25, an 18-year-old woman was assaulted while standing up and later sitting down on a route 279 bus. The suspect had boarded at about 6.30pm at Tesco Ponders End and got off at Angel, Edmonton. Police are appealing for help to trace this man (Metropolitan Police/PA) Two 14-year-old girls were also attacked on the same route in separate incidents on the mornings of January 29 and February 21. On the first occasion, the suspect had boarded at about 7.20am, and the schoolgirl was assaulted while on the bus between Scotland Green and Enfield Highway while in the second incident, the teenager was targeted while standing up, having boarded at Nightingale Road at about 7.45am. On March 12, a 15-year-old girl was the victim of an assault on a route 34 bus between Cambridge Roundabout and Green Lanes after 8am. Appeal to trace man after sexual assaults on board buses #Enfield https://t.co/ObknxSoBkK pic.twitter.com/YkNbwjJyqZ Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) May 22, 2018 In a fifth alleged incident, at just before 9am on March 15, the suspect was on a route 102 bus and was said to have been touching himself while watching a 17-year-old girl. The Metropolitan Police said the suspect had short black hair and a thin beard along his jaw, and was wearing a two-tone padded blue jacket and blue jeans. An image has been released of a man they would like to trace in connection with the investigation. Detective Sergeant Edward Coleman said: We know of at least five offences committed by the same suspect on crowded buses. We would like to hear from anyone who may know this mans identity. We also want to hear from anyone who may have been the victim of a sexual assault while travelling on a bus. Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting reference CAD 2343/12Mar or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. American bishop Reverend Michael Curry said he thought his invite to the royal wedding was an April Fools joke. The preachers passionate 14-minute sermon was one of the stand-out moments of Saturdays ceremony. Entitled The Power of Love, it was the most tweeted-about moment of the day, according to Twitter. 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. But Rev Curry said he thought the invitation to speak at Harry and Meghans wedding was a prank. He told ITVs Good Morning Britain: I thought somebody was doing an April Fools joke on me. I just didnt in my wildest imagination The bishop said he had no idea his speech had caused such a stir, adding: When I sat down from the sermon I remember thinking to myself, I hope that was OK. Turning to the newlywed couple, Rev Curry added: Theyre going to work to make this world better and empowering women is one of the ways we do that. A German court has rejected a request from prosecutors to take former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont back into custody pending a decision on whether he is to be extradited to Spain. Puigdemont was detained by German police on March 25 after crossing the border from Denmark. Spain had issued a European Arrest warrant and was seeking his extradition on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds charges that stem from an unauthorised referendum last year on Catalonias independence from Spain. Carles Puigdemont addresses the media during a news conference in Berlin (Markus Schreiber/AP) Puigdemont was released on April 6 after a court said it appeared he cannot be extradited for rebellion. But prosecutors in Schleswig said on Tuesday that new information provided by Spanish authorities suggests that would be possible, and called for Puigdemont to be rearrested. A state court in the northern town rejected the request. The International Criminal Court has been asked to open an immediate investigation into alleged Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. Palestinian foreign minister Riad Malki said he submitted the referral to the court during a meeting with the ICCs chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, in The Hague on Tuesday. Mr Malki said the complaint seeks an investigation into Israeli policies in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem since the state of Palestine joined the ICC in June 2014. He said this includes Israeli settlement policies as well as the recent violence in Gaza, where Israeli fire killed over 100 Gazans during protests along the Israeli border. Mr Malki said: There is a culture of impunity in Israel for crimes against Palestinians. This referral is Palestines test to the international mechanism of accountability and respect for international law. The ICC has been conducting a preliminary probe since 2015 into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories. It includes Israels settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the 2014 Gaza conflict. The new request comes with Israeli-Palestinian relations at their lowest point in years in the aftermath of the US embassy move to Jerusalem and the recent bloodshed on the Gaza border. Israel has said it was defending its border and accused Gazas ruling Hamas militant group using the unrest to carry out attempted attacks and of using civilians as human shields. A Palestinian protester near the Gaza Strips border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan (Adel Hana/AP) In response to Tuesdays move at the ICC, Israel said it took a severe view of the Palestinian request, calling it a cynical and absurd step. It accused the Palestinians of violent incitement against Israel and exploiting women and children as human shields. Israel also said the ICC had no jurisdiction in the case because Israel is not a member of the court. Israel expects the ICC and its prosecutor not to yield to Palestinian pressure, and stand firm against continued Palestinian efforts to politicise the court and to derail it from its mandate, it said. Israel is not a member of the ICC, but its citizens can be charged by the court if they are suspected of committing crimes on the territory or against a national of a country that is a member. The ICC has recognised Palestine as a member state. While the ICC can indict suspects, it has no police force and has to rely on co-operation from member states to enforce arrest warrants. Scores of schools across Scotland will share 50 million in funding as the Scottish Government continues efforts to close the educational attainment gap. Education Secretary John Swinney stressed that reducing the gap in performance between youngsters from deprived communities and their better-off counterparts was still the defining mission of the government. Nine local authority areas as well as 74 schools in a further 12 councils will share 50 million in funding in 2018-19. The Scottish Government has pledged a total of 750 million to tackle the attainment gap through its Attainment Scotland Fund. Delighted to set out the next stage in our investment to close the poverty-related attainment gap on a visit to @clydebankhigh - one of many schools with imaginative approaches to transforming the lives of young people. https://t.co/Jv3fbTUDua John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) May 22, 2018 The latest funding round will see more than 8 million go to schools in the Glasgow City Council area while North Lanarkshire will receive almost 7.5 million, with over 6 million going to help pupils in Dundee. Mr Swinney said: Improving the education and life chances of our children and young people is the defining mission of this government. Central to this is the Scottish Attainment Challenge which is supporting hundreds of schools to develop approaches to improve literacy, numeracy and health and well-being that raise attainment and help close the poverty-related gap. Mr Swinney announced the funding allocations on a visit to Clydebank High School in West Dunbartonshire one of the nine council areas receiving a share of the cash. John Swinney with pupils Paige Dunlop and Michael Irwin at Clydebank High School (Andrew Milligan/PA) The area has already benefited from 13.8 million of funding in the past four years as part of the scheme, with Mr Swinney saying this was starting to make a real impact and that children were making significant progress. He added: A recent evaluation of the fund found that three-quarters of school heads believe the attainment gap has started to close and almost all expect progress in the next five years. Nine councils across Scotland will receive 43 million, with money going to Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire. In addition, just over 7.1 million is going to 74 schools spread across Aberdeen, Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Lothian. The Princess Royal has once again topped a list of days worked by members of the royal family with the Duchess of Sussex appearing for the first time. Anne, with her reputation for no fuss and strong work ethic, has worked the most number of days so far this year 75 followed by the Earl of Wessex with 59 and the Prince of Wales on 52. The figures, covering January 1 to May 22, are derived from the Court Circular, the official daily record of public engagements attended by the royal family. (PA Graphics) Meghan will make her first appearance in Tuesdays circular, as she is due to attend her inaugural engagement as a member of the monarchy with new husband Harry, a celebration of Charless charitable work and his association with military units. Harry did not wait until the couple were married to introduce the duchess to royal engagements, but these events were not listed in the official record as Meghan was not a member of the monarchy. Meghan and Harry during their first royal engagement together, a visit to Nottingham last November (Joe Giddens/PA) After the couple announced their engagement on November 27, they carried out 16 days of royal engagements together, starting with a visit to Nottingham last year and ending with a series of Anzac Day commemoration events in London in April. Highlights from Charles and Camillas year include official overseas trips to France and Greece, and a visit to Australia, where the prince launched the Commonwealth Games. Since the start of the year, the Duke of Cambridge has carried out 33 days of engagements, the Duke of York 31, Duchess of Cornwall 30, and the Queen 26. The Duchess of Cambridge, whose son, Prince Louis, was born on April 23, went on maternity leave a month ahead of the birth and is caring for her family. The Duke of Edinburgh is listed once for his attendance at the royal wedding but Philip has effectively retired from public duties. Number of days spent on public engagements during 2018: Princess Royal 75 Earl of Wessex 59 Prince of Wales 52 Duke of Sussex 34 Duke of Cambridge 33 Duke of York 31 Duchess of Cornwall 30 Queen 26 Duchess of Cambridge 22 Duke of Edinburgh 1 Duchess of Sussex 1 Ireland goes to the polls on Friday for a referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment of the Irish constitution which restricts access to abortion. Here are the answers to some key questions on the issue. What is the Eighth Amendment? It is a clause in the constitution which was written after a previous referendum on the issue in 1983 recognised the right to life of the unborn child. It protects the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn and effectively prohibits abortion in most cases. Among its supporters are the Catholic church, which remains a strong presence in Ireland, though diminished from its heyday. Young people are amongst the most enthusiastic proponents of repeal. Irish woman who travelled for an abortion: Abortion is not cool. Choosing to have an abortion does not feel liberating or empowering. Abortion should not be encouraged by a slogan on a jumper https://t.co/CcUazuhgOl #8thref #8thAmendment LoveBoth (Official) (@lovebothireland) May 22, 2018 What effect has it had? In 1992, women were officially given the right to travel abroad, mostly to the UK, to obtain terminations. Pro-repeal campaigners said almost 170,000 have done so. The Irish Governments deputy premier, Tanaiste Simon Coveney, has argued that effectively left Britain deciding the law for Irish women around the procedure and it was time to take back control in Ireland. A mourner marks the anniversary of the death of Savita Halappanavar, who died after she was denied a medically recommended abortion following a miscarriage (Niall Carson/PA. What about the women who stay in Ireland? The campaign to liberalise abortion gathered momentum after an Indian dentist, Savita Halappanavar, died in hospital in Galway aged 31 when she was refused an abortion during a miscarriage. Her husband, Praveen Halappanavar, said she repeatedly asked for a termination but was refused because there was a foetal heartbeat. Health service reviewers later identified failings in her care. Did anything change? In 2013 legislation was amended to allow terminations under certain tightly restricted circumstances the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act. When doctors felt a womans life was at risk due to complications from the pregnancy, or from suicide, they were permitted to carry out an abortion. It followed a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that terminations were permitted where the mothers life was at risk. That regime has prompted uncertainty, proponents of repeal said, with the medical profession facing possible prosecution and up to 14 years imprisonment if they wrongfully carry out an abortion. Was that concession enough for those seeking liberalisation? Not according to the women who were still travelling to the UK in their droves for procedures. Among them were Amanda Mellet and her husband James, who took their case to the UNs Human Rights Committee. The Committee called for reform to give women greater rights and said the ban on abortion caused cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In 2016, for the first time in its history, the Irish State compensated a woman, Mrs Mellet, for the trauma caused by forcing her to travel to Britain for an abortion. What approach did the Government adopt? It established a public advisory body, a Citizens Assembly, which recommended introduction of unrestricted access to abortion. Because of the Eighth Amendment, a public poll was needed before new laws could be passed, and earlier this year the countrys Housing Minister, Eoghan Murphy, set the date for the abortion referendum as Friday May 25. The Government has published draft legislation to be introduced if the amendment is repealed which would allow relatively free abortions, subject to consultation with a medical professional and after a short waiting period, up to 12 weeks after gestation and up to 24 weeks with restrictions. If, after 12 weeks, a womans life is threatened or there could be serious harm to her health two doctors will consider whether to allow the procedure. Terminations will not be carried out after the foetus becomes viable, following 24 weeks of pregnancy. A 50 million cash pot aimed at helping efforts to reduce the educational attainment gap could end up instead paying to simply maintain basic services in Scotlands schools, Labour has claimed. Education Secretary John Swinney came under fire from opposition MSPs after he said reducing the gap in performance between youngsters from deprived communities and their better-off counterparts is the defining mission of the Scottish Government. Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said swingeing cuts to council budgets imposed by SNP ministers meant local authorities could be forced to use the 50 million to maintain basic services. Scottish Greens accused the Scottish Government of announcing the same pot of money over and over again. The claims were made after Mr Swinney confirmed nine local authority areas as well as 74 schools in a further 12 councils will share 50 million in funding in 2018-19. The move is part of the the Scottish Governments efforts to tackle the attainment gap using its 750 million Attainment Scotland Fund. Delighted to set out the next stage in our investment to close the poverty-related attainment gap on a visit to @clydebankhigh - one of many schools with imaginative approaches to transforming the lives of young people. https://t.co/Jv3fbTUDua John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) May 22, 2018 The latest funding round will see more than 8 million go to schools in the Glasgow City Council area while North Lanarkshire will receive almost 7.5 million, with over 6 million going to help pupils in Dundee. Mr Swinney said: Improving the education and life chances of our children and young people is the defining mission of this government. Central to this is the Scottish Attainment Challenge, which is supporting hundreds of schools to develop approaches to improve literacy, numeracy and health and well-being that raise attainment and help close the poverty-related gap. Mr Swinney announced the funding allocations on a visit to Clydebank High School in West Dunbartonshire one of the nine council areas receiving a share of the cash. The area has already benefited from 13.8 million of funding in the past four years as part of the scheme, with Mr Swinney saying this was starting to make a real impact and children were making significant progress. He added: A recent evaluation of the fund found that three-quarters of school heads believe the attainment gap has started to close and almost all expect progress in the next five years. Nine councils will receive 43 million, with money going to Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire. John Swinney with pupils Paige Dunlop and Michael Irwin at Clydebank High School (Andrew Milligan/PA) In addition, just over 7.1 million is going to 74 schools spread across Aberdeen, Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Lothian. Mr Gray said: Any funding to try and close Scotlands shameful attainment gap is, of course, welcome. But the reality is the SNPs swingeing cuts to school budgets mean this money is often being used to simply maintain basic services rather than improve attainment. Rather than making a song and dance of distributing money that has already been announced, John Swinney would be better off getting his government to properly fund our schools in the first place, so this funding is genuinely additional. Scottish Green education spokesman Ross Greer said: John Swinney is becoming well practised in the art of announcing the same pot of money over and over again. It is always welcome to see funding distributed to schools but this 50 million package is not new. It is simply the latest instalment of the Attainment Challenge Fund first announced in 2016 and trumpeted multiple times since. Reannouncing the same money doesnt reverse the cuts to core school budgets over the last decade. Residents and tourists have flocked to an outlying Hong Kong island to celebrate a local bun festival despite recording-breaking heat. The festival features a parade with children dressed as deities floated on poles. Villagers perform a lion dance during a parade in front of the bun towers on the outlying Cheung Chau island in Hong Kong (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Later on Tuesday, contestants were to take part in a bun-scrambling competition. They will race up a 46-ft bamboo tower to snatch as many plastic buns as possible. Buns that are higher up are worth more points. It is one of the oldest and most colourful festivals in Hong Kong and started about 100 years ago after a deadly plague devastated the island. A child dressed in a traditional Chinese costume floats in the air at the Bun Festival (Kin Cheung/AP) Villagers built an altar in front of the Pak Tai temple imploring the deities for help and used white steamed buns as offerings to drive away the evil spirits, according to local tradition. The bun-snatching contest on the island of Cheung Chau was cancelled after a bun tower collapsed in 1978, injuring 100 people. Officials revived the tradition in 2005, part of an annual bun festival, this year with improved safety measures. Workers built a sturdier tower and bun snatchers received mountaineering training. The continuing dispute about the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands should not get in the way of Britain building deeper commercial links with Argentina, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said. Mr Johnson was speaking after talks with his Argentine opposite number Jorge Faurie, at the end of a three-day visit which has seen him become the first UK Foreign Secretary to go to the South American state for 25 years. Standing alongside Mr Johnson in the San Martin Palace, Mr Faurie made clear that Buenos Aires was not backing down on its claim to the islands Argentina knows as Las Malvinas, and suggested it still wanted negotiations with Britain over sovereignty. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson with his Argentinean counterpart Jorge Faurie in Buenos Aires (Stefan Rousseau/PA) But Mr Faurie said that the government of President Mauricio Macri wanted to rebuild mutual trust with the UK, more than 30 years after the 1982 war. Mr Johnson said: Our two positions on the sovereignty issue are well known, but that doesnt preclude and shouldnt preclude all we are doing together now to build a partnership and an intensifying commercial relationship. Mr Faurie said that talks during Mr Johnsons visit bear testimony to the wealth and richness of our bilateral relationship and to the possibility for the creation of trust without in any way undermining our positions or sovereignty claims, which hold valid for Argentina based upon the historic titles. Asked whether the Falklands could ever again be the pretext for war between the two countries, Mr Faurie said: The UK, which throughout its history has been involved in many armed conflicts on a tragic scale in the history of mankind you are well aware of the fact that going to war is not the best scenario. Boris Johnson laid a wreath commemorating the fallen on both sides of the Falklands Conflict at a memorial to the Argentine war dead in Buenos Aires (Stefan Rousseau/PA) He added: Each of us is aware of the respective positions we have with regard to the sovereign titles we believe we hold regarding Malvinas. That is one aspect of our bilateral relations but not the only one. In addition to that which is a fundamental aspect there is a whole set of areas and subjects for co-operation in relation to which we want to rebuild trust. I think there [is a] general positive backdrop when it comes to the negotiation over sovereignty. Mr Faurie said Argentina was very satisfied with the support the UK offered with the identification of the remains of troops killed in the Falklands War. And he said plans were well under way for a new air link between the island and the mainland with layovers in Argentina, with bids in from airlines in Chile, Brazil and Uruguay. Mr Johnson said he hoped to be one of the first passengers on the new flights. When it comes to the flight issue, we seem to be making lots of progress and if and when it happens, I certainly intend to be one of the first passengers on that flight, he said. Apparently realising how difficult that might be to arrange, he hastily added: I dont want to be the very first, but I will try to do it soon as I can, given my other very heavy commitments as Foreign Secretary. Donald Trump has said his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may not work out for June 12 and could be delayed. Mr Trump is talking with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House for consultations ahead of the summit in Singapore. He said he does not like the change in attitude he has picked up from Mr Kim, and that he detected a shift after the North Korean leader and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for a second time in China. Mr Trump said he hopes China is not influencing Mr Kim. The White House meeting is happening as efforts to build peace between the two Koreas have hit a setback. President Donald Trump meets South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the White House (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) North Korea pulled out of planned peace talks with South Korea last week, objecting to long-scheduled joint military exercises between the US and the Republic of Korea forces. North Korea has also threatened to abandon the planned Trump-Kim meeting over the US insistence on denuclearising the Korean Peninsula. Mr Moon opened the talks with Mr Trump saying that the fate and the future of the Korean Peninsula hinges on the Singapore summit. He said he believes Mr Kim is serious about the talks and urged him to seize this opportunity. Earlier, Mike Pence said no concessions have been offered to North Korea in the run-up to the summit. The US vice president told Fox News Radio that it would be a mistake for the North Koreans to think they can play Mr Trump. Mr Pence said both the Clinton and Bush administrations had been played by the North Korean government. We offered concessions to the North Korean regime in exchange for promises to end their nuclear weapons programme, only to see them break those promises and abandon them, he said. He said the US remains open to the summit, and noted that the invitation to meet originated with the North Korean leader. Britain is set to bake again this bank holiday weekend with temperatures rocketing to 30C (86F). Meteorologists at the Met Office say areas in the south east of England could be double the usual temperature for this time of year, with the mercury hitting near-record levels on bank holiday Monday. The average temperature for this time of year is 15C (59F), said a Met Office spokesman. Currently, temperatures are averaging 20C (68F) and are only going to get warmer this weekend, they added. Looking ahead through to the weekend: High pressure Plenty of warm and dry weather ...but a risk of thundery downpours pic.twitter.com/zxFm3fyEmf Met Office (@metoffice) May 22, 2018 The Met Office spokesman said: The maximum temperature ever for the end of May bank holiday is 32.8C (91F), which came in Horsham, Sussex, on May 29 1944. They added the record was not likely to be beaten this weekend. On Saturday, temperatures in the south will be in the mid-20s, with London expecting to be around 25C (77F), while across the rest of the country itll be slightly cooler, in the low 20s. With wind coming from the North East, Scotland is set to sit around the 18 degree mark at the start of the weekend. Britons enjoyed the hottest early bank holiday weekend on record earlier this month (Yui Mok/PA) In Birmingham the heat will build from 18C (64F) on Friday to 26 (78.8F) on bank holiday Monday, while in Newcastle they will start around 14 degrees (57F), rising to 20 (68F). There is a risk of thunderstorms in the build-up to bank holiday Monday, with the south east and south west most likely to be hit. The effect would be lower temperatures later on over the weekend. Leading doctors have expressed their disappointment over the food industrys lack of progress in reducing sugar in popular childrens foods. As part of a Government drive to curb soaring levels of childhood obesity, retailers, manufacturers, restaurants, cafes and pub chains were asked to cut 5% of sugar by August 2017. But a new report by Public Health England found that for retailers own brand and manufacturer branded products there has been only a 2% reduction. Overall, officials called on the food industry to cut sugar in in popular childrens products by 20% by 2020. But the PHE report, which analysed the progress in the year after the Governments childhood obesity plan, found that chocolate, biscuits and puddings have shown no reduction in sugar. Sugar content in puddings has actually increased. Some leading medics questioned the voluntary approach for encouraging industry to cut sugar. And the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health described the results as hugely disappointing. A third of children are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school, according to official figures. PHE said it recognises there are more sugar reduction plans from the food industry in the pipeline and that some changes to products took effect after the first year cut-off point. Duncan Selbie, PHE chief executive, told the Health and Social Care Select Committee that the organisation had struggled to be disappointed because it is such early days. And the health bodys chief nutritionist Dr Alison Tedstone told the group of MPs that it was a glass half full report. But former Labour health minister Ben Bradshaw asked: You say it is too early but why did you set a one year target which has been failed miserably? Some would say the original target was unambitious. What would it take for you to be disappointed and do something towards these manufacturers? Mr Selbie said he hoped to see progress accelerate before a similar report is published next year. And he said that he believed the 20% reduction by 2020 could still be met. Public Health Minister Steve Brine added: The results are of the first year, they are not where we want them to be, but I think it is early days. He also promised a second chapter to the Governments childhood obesity plan, which would set out ambitious action plans. If we dont tackle obesity now the number of obese adults in England could almost double by 2030 #ChildhoodObesity pic.twitter.com/uifdhjWR04 Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) August 18, 2017 The PHE document shows that only three categories of products yogurts and fromage frais; breakfast cereals; sweet spreads and sauces have reached the ambition to reduce sugar by 5%. Meanwhile sugar in drinks subject to the sugar tax has reduced by 11% and average calories per portion by 6%, PHE found. PHE has also published new guidelines for the drinks industry to reduce the amount of sugar children consume through juice and milk-based drinks. Reducing sugar in childrens diets can improve their oral health. Find out more about our sugar reduction programme https://t.co/HWqzeeLqmR pic.twitter.com/qMLHDp7a8x UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) September 29, 2016 Commenting on the report, Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: These results, whilst hugely disappointing, show that industry can reformulate but must do better. The 5% reduction target for the first year has only been met by three food groups, which doesnt bode well for meeting the 20% target by 2020. .@PHE_uks sugar reduction programme is a key part of our work to tackle childhood obesity https://t.co/djsRRrHtMG pic.twitter.com/9hblQkwnVb Kevin Fenton (@ProfKevinFenton) November 1, 2016 At best, this is industry being slow to react, at worst, and in reality, it seriously calls into question industrys engagement with the voluntary approach. Professor Dame Parveen Kumar, chairwoman of the science committee for the British Medical Association, added: These figures show a very disappointing lack of progress in tackling the massive problem of childhood obesity. What this proves is that relying on manufacturers to voluntarily reduce the amount of sugar in their products is a false economy, and change will only come through a mandatory approach backed up by regulation. With the UK displaying the highest levels of obesity in western Europe, with one in three children overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school, the government should do everything in its power to tackle this issue, and must think long and hard about making reformulating unhealthy food mandatory. But Tim Rycroft, director of corporate affairs for the Food and Drink Federation, said: In some categories we have always said that sugar reduction would be particularly challenging. Nonetheless many of those categories have made good progress in reducing calories. As PHE correctly point out, reformulation takes time it cant happen overnight. Sugar reduction has considerable technical challenges; sugar plays a variety of roles beyond sweetness in food including colour, texture and consistency. It is for these reasons that we have long said that the guidelines are ambitious and will not be met across all categories or in the timescale outlined. Detectives in Ireland are trying to piece together a murder suspects last night alive amid claims he went out socialising hours after abducting and killing a student. Mark Hennessy, 40, was shot dead by a Garda officer south of Dublin on Sunday night, a little over 24 hours after he is suspected of kidnapping and murdering 24-year-old Jastine Valdez in an apparent random attack in Co Wicklow. A body believed to be that of Ms Valdez was discovered in thick undergrowth in the Pucks Castle area of Co Dublin on Monday afternoon. Gardai investigating the killing issued a fresh appeal for information on Tuesday, urging anyone who might have seen father-of-two Hennessy, from Bray in Co Wicklow, out in pubs and restaurants on Saturday night. Gardai are looking to speak to any persons who may have observed suspicious activity in the area of Puckscastle Lane & Kiltiernan Lead Mines, Rathmichael, from 6pm last Saturday 19th May 2018 to 8pm Sunday 20th May 2018. Anyone with information, contact Bray GS (01)6665300 An Garda Siochana (@GardaTraffic) May 21, 2018 Ms Valdez, an accountancy student originally from the Philippines, was last seen being bundled into a Nissan Qashqai SUV (reg 171 D 20419) thought to be driven by Hennessy near her home in the village of Enniskerry on Saturday evening. The suspect was shot dead by an officer in a confrontation on Sunday evening after gardai traced that Nissan to the Cherrywood business district south of Dublin. The Garda appeal came as an online initiative to raise funds for Ms Valdezs family exceeded 50,000 euro in less than 17 hours. On Tuesday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described her death as senseless and brutal. On Tuesday evening, hundreds of people attended a vigil in Enniskerry to remember the murdered student. Members of the local Filipino community were among those who gathered to pay tribute to Ms Valdez and pray for her family at the solemn event. Gardai described Hennessy as 176 cm (5ft 9in), of slight build and balding. He was wearing a dark coloured t-shirt, blue jeans and grey runners during the time period in question. Flowers on Pucks Castle Lane in Rathmichael, Co Dublin (Donall Farmer/PA) We would particularly like to speak with people who were in the Dalkey, Killiney, Ballybrack, Sallynoggin, Cherrywood and Rathmichael areas, said a Garda spokesman. The car may have stopped at restaurants, cafes, petrol station shops or bars in those areas. If you travelled in this part of county Dublin between Saturday and Sunday evenings and you have a dash cam fitted please contact us and make the footage available to investigators. Irelands police watchdog, the Garda Siochana Ombudsmans Commission, is investigating the incident that led to Hennessy being shot dead. The fundraising campaign was launched by Outreach Ireland, an organisation that works with the countrys sizeable Filipino community. Gardai in the Pucks Castle area after a body was found in the search for missing Jastine Valdez (Donall Farmer/PA) The appeal stated: Jastine Valdez was an only child taken from her parents at the age of 24 in the most unimaginable circumstance. Born in the Philippines she came to Ireland to study and to join her parents who are now naturalised Irish citizens. Both parents work and are active in the community. This page was set up to facilitate all of those who wish to offer support and sympathy to the family of Jastine Valdez following her devastating death. The Valdez family have lost their only child, they are facing a situation that no person on this earth should have to face. They are parents saying goodbye to their child. It added: Any and all funds raised on this page will go directly to the parents of Jastine Valdez to help them in the weeks and months ahead. US President Donald Trump has suggested that a planned historic meeting with North Koreas Kim Jong Un could be delayed. Theres a very substantial chance that it wont work out for June 12, he said. Mr Trump raised the possibility that the meeting could be pushed back during a White House meeting with South Korea President Moon Jae-in, trying to co-ordinate strategy as concerns mounted over ensuring a successful outcome for the North Korea summit. Donald Trump with South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the Oval Office (Evan Vucci/AP) He told reporters: If it doesnt happen, maybe it happens later, reflecting recent setbacks in efforts to bring about reconciliation between the two Koreas. The North pulled out of planned peace talks with the South last week, objecting to long-scheduled joint military exercises between US and Republic of Korea forces. And the North threatened to abandon the planned Trump-Kim meeting over US insistence on denuclearising the peninsula. There are certain conditions that we want, Mr Trump said on Tuesday. He added that if they were not met, we wont have the meeting. He declined to elaborate on those conditions. Mr Trump said theres a very substantial chance that the meeting will not take place on June 12. That doesnt mean it wont work out over a period of time, he said. But it may not work out for June 12. But there is a good chance that well have the meeting. Mr Moon said in the Oval Office that the fate and the future of the Korean Peninsula hinged on the talks, telling the US president that they were one step closer to the dream of a denuclearised Korean Peninsula. Mr Trump said he had noticed a little change in Kim Jong Uns attitude after Kim took a second trip to China this month in the run-up to the summit. I dont like that, Mr Trump said. Mr Trump said he hoped that Chinese President Xi Jinping was committed to the goal of denuclearising the Korean peninsula, calling him a world-class poker player. But he said he was displeased by Chinas softening of border enforcement measures against North Korea. Mr Trump encouraged Mr Kim to seize the opportunity for the meeting and to make a deal to abandon his nuclear programme, pledging not only to guarantee Mr Kims personal security, but also predicting an economic revitalisation for the North. I will guarantee his safety, yes, Mr Trump said, if Mr Kim agreed to complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation. He said if an agreement was reached, China, Japan and South Korea would invest large sums to make North Korea great. Rafael Benitez is convinced the Liverpool side which will head into Champions League final battle with Real Madrid on Saturday is better than the one he led to glory in 2005. Benitez is still revered on the red half of Merseyside after guiding his team to a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over AC Milan in Istanbul at the end of a game in which his side had trailed 3-0 at half-time. That night, skipper Steven Gerrard inspired a remarkable fightback, but the Spaniard believes Jurgen Klopps men have more weapons at their disposal with Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane among the ranks. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard (second right) and team-mates with the Champions League trophy (Phil Noble/PA) He said: I think this one is better. We achieved what we achieved they talk about the Miracle of Istanbul but this team is better. If we talk about the money spent, my budget was 20million 20 million. The value of this team is so much higher. We had Stevie, of course, also some players with experience and quality, (Xabi) Alonso and (Didi) Hamann. We had players who worked very hard, we had a good balance. This team also has good balance, but the three players up front can make a difference on their own. We had one player who maybe he could make a difference on his own, and here they have three. The team spirit, the intensity could be more or less the same because its the Liverpool way, but what they have today is more quality, especially up front. Real Madrid has the experience and the quality to match them, but Liverpool can do it. They have the intensity and the quality, the passion, the desire. Liverpools surge to this seasons final has inevitably rekindled memories of their heroics 13 years ago, when they defied the odds to claim a fifth European title on a night when fortune eventually favoured them. Benitez said: People say we were lucky in the final, but were we lucky in the earlier rounds when we beat Chelsea and Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen? We were a little bit lucky against the best team in Europe at that time, but we had also done well. Benitez had already tasted success by the time he arrived at Anfield in June 2004, winning two league titles and the UEFA Cup with Valencia, but adding the Champions League to his curriculum vitae catapulted him to a new level. He said: To win the league with Valencia in Spain after 31 years changed my life. To win the UEFA Cup with Valencia changed my life, it changed everything. But to come to England and win the Champions League with a different team was massive. It changed everything. Just how much his life would change was brought home to him within hours when a security guard barred his path as he tried to usher friends into a post-match celebration. He said: A friend I was with turned to him and said, Do you know this man, do you know who this man is? He is God. ANKARA, May 21 (Reuters) - The Iranian Foreign Ministry has denounced U.S. 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 U.S. 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. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Andrew Roche) The Cabinet has approved a 12.5% bus fare hike with the fare Rs.12 for the first segment of the journey with effect from midnight, Deputy Minister of Transport Ashoka Abeysinghe said. He told the Daily Mirror that the approval was granted on the condition that there would be no bus fare increases for the next two years. Inter-Provincial Private Bus Association (IPPBA) President Sarath Vijitha Kumara said the approved fare increment was more than enough than IPPBA demanded. We had requested 15 percent fare increment, but 12.5 percent is more than enough. We are having a discussion this evening with the Deputy Transport Minister Ashoka Abesinghe and there we will show the actual price increment we requested, he said. Lanka Private Bus Owners' Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne said the increment would lead to a total collapse of the private bus sector and the National Policy on Bus Fare Increment had totally collapsed. This is only a short-term benefit. In the long-term we will lose, he said. The condition on not increasing the bus fare for the next two years will increase the loss. Now we have to stay calm whatever happens to the private bus service. This is what the other private bus associations tried to get. Now we all finish, he said. Meanwhile, All Ceylon Private Bus Owners' Federation (ACPBOF) Secretary Anjana Priyanjith said, that the Association would be meeting with the Transport Deputy Minister this evening and after the meeting, it would announce its decision. (Chaturanga Samarwickrama) Video by Sanjeewa Parking of vehicles in a busy city like Colombo isnt easy. People have got used to a parking fee being collected manually when parking their vehicles. Charging of this fee is done by municipality workers or authorized private personnel. Municipality employees, in green uniforms and private employees in orange uniforms, have been engaging in collecting parking fees within the city. The revenue generated through charging of fees, goes to the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). However, it is learned that some issues have emerged in this regard like parking attendants having the habit of stealing money and taking money without issuing a ticket. It is also said that these parking attendants have difficulties in carrying a lot of money and as a result are inconvenienced. Motorists are also complaining that the parking attendants are over charging them. These issues have made the CMC to think of ways to resolve these issues. Accordingly, the CMC initiated a programme during the tenure of former Colombo Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil (2016) to introduce parking meters within the Colombo Municipality. The project was launched in view of minimizing traffic congestion and also to put an end to errant parking and carry out a proper procedure when collecting fees. The Gazette notification issued on July 26, 2017 in this regard, specifies that the project was launched to make provisions for the parking of vehicles, prohibit unathorised parking, provide places for parking, impose a parking fee and establish procedures in apprehending defaulters within the administrative limits of the Colombo Municipal Council. Parking meters and charges It was decided to fix the parking meters along the Galle road from Galadari roundabout up to Wellawatta city limits, Duplication Road and all by roads and connecting roads as per the provisions of Municipal Council ordinance and by-law and regulation. One hundred (100) meters have been set up within the city, each of which has the capacity to charge fees for 20 slots. Accordingly, Rs.10 will be charged from motorbikes per hour, Rs. 20 from three-wheelers, Rs. 30 from vans and Rs. 50 from buses and Lorries. Tenders for the Private Public Partnership were called for by the CMC in January 2016 due to the high cost of implementing the project. Accordingly, the tender for the pilot project was awarded to a private company named Tenaga Carparks (Pvt) Ltd, which received the authority to conduct the project, the first of its kind, in Sri Lanka. The tender for the Smart parking for Smart City was granted for eight years with the cost of implementation borne by the project company, during which earnings are to be divided at a percentage of 40: 60. Thus, forty percent of the income is given to the Municipality, while the company takes the balance. The project was scheduled to commence on 2016 January 01. Until the parking meters were installed, parking wardens were deployed on a temporary basis during the first six months. (From 2016 January 01 to July 01) Promises to upgrade the facility Traffic Engineer at the CMC Manjula Udalamaththe told the that people have the option of paying by cash or the mobile app (Tenaga Park Smart app) or smart parking cards. Since the Central bank of Sri Lanka hasnt given the approval yet for the card system, the smart parking card system isnt available. But we are hoping to establish a card payment option at the site, Udalamaththe said. It is true that the project does not provide every facility. The main issue highlighted by the users is that they dont receive a balance if there is any in return and also the fact that coins cant be loaded. We have discussed the issues with the private company and would provide maximum facility to users in the future, Udalamaththe added. It was stipulated that if a person fails to pay the relevant fee within the first hour of parking, he has to make a payment as a fine. It is learned that people have been complaining that the fine imposed due to this delay is unfair. After considering the above fact that the fines are unfair, the incumbent Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake instructed CMC Commissioner on May 18 to suspend all fines charged in connection with the parking meters. Mrs. Senanayake confirmed issuing such a directive via a tweet. The charging of fines would be halted temporarily until necessary amendments are made. It isnt suspended forever. We will charge fines in a way that wouldnt burden people, Udalamaththe said. Although the project was launched with all good intention, there have been constant complaints from the general public that they arent aware of such parking meters and how they are operated. Exorbitant fine The Mayors instructions came after several motorists publicly complained that they had been slapped with exorbitant fines. The authorities were forced to take note after the recent incident where a man who failed to pay a parking fee of Rs.30 at a parking slot in Wellawatte, was fined Rs.10,120, after a lapse of 13 days. The man had parked his car in Wellawatte on April 25 and had forgotten to pay the fee of Rs. 30 via a machine placed near the parking slot. The person hadnt been aware that the payment should be done via a machine. When he found that there was nobody to collect the payment, he had left the place without paying the fee, which was calculated at a rate of Rs. 30 per hour. After 13 days, he had been informed by the relevant institution that he had to pay a fine of Rs.10, 120 as he had neglected to pay the necessary amount. The man had paid the due amount accordingly. This incident reflects that people have little knowledge about these machines an how to operate them properly. That is the very reason to suspend all fines charged relating to parking meters. It was a reasonable decision. But citizens must now see whether this whole process would be beneficial to the whole society. Meanwhile, a director of the Tenaga Carparks (Pvt) said that the company would always consider the welfare of the people and added that if any shortcoming occurs in terms of the parking meter machines, they would upgrade the facility. Earnings are to be divided at a percentage of 40: 60 There has been criticism over our mobile app not operating at times. But I say with responsibility that it is functioning fairly well and all those are rumours that are being spread to discourage the work done by our company, the director said. We admit the fact that the balance of payments is not paid in return. It is a known fact that the balance isnt paid at any parking meter machine in the world. But we are doing our level best to introduce a system to recover the balance payment soon, he said. He said that the majority of people (2800-3000) use the meters to make their payments. A few people (4%) use the mobile app to make payments. This incident reflects that people have little knowledge about these machines Chairperson of the Centre for Environmental Justice, Mechanical Engineer Ravindranath Dabare told the that the parking meter project wasnt successful and wasnt operating properly. If its to be effective, it should be approved by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA). The project should come under the supervision of the CAA. It seems that the existing project isnt functioning in a proper manner, Dabare said. It is true that the project does not provide every facility It wont work effectively as long as the project is merged with a private company. A project like this should be handled by a Governmental body whose objective is the welfare of the general public, Dabare added. This article aims at providing assistance to the people to make them fathom the comprehensive idea behind these machines and the process of using them. The main grievance of the people is that they have little knowledge of these machines. As this is a positive move by the CMC, we would like to educate our readers as to how their meters operate. The Hindu: Its Goas loss and Sri Lankas gain as far as Telugu tourist flow to the island nation is concerned. More and more Casino-bound tourists from the Telugu States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are flying to Sri Lanka. Strict rules over night parties in Goa and favourable environment in Sri Lanka are said to be the reasons behind the new trend. The tourist flow from the Telugu States to Sri Lanka has seen over five-fold jump last year, according to SriLankan Airlines Manager Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Chammika Iddagodage. We had over 7,000 flyers from both the Telugu States during 2016. The tourist numbers went up to over 35,000 during 2017-18. Considering increase in traffic, we introduced new flights. Interestingly, several of these flyers used to frequent Goa for casinos and night life, Iddagodage told The Hindu. To accommodate the new traffic, the airliner is even planning to launch new larger flights shortly. We have flights with 150-180 seat capacity so far. We may go in for bigger flights with 300-seat capacity, added Iddagodage. As a matter of fact, the government in Goa had clamped down on late night parties, liquor consumption in public, illegal gambling and drugs a year ago. Considering inconvenience to senior citizens and students, the police have been given strict instructions to implement the law. The new developments seem to be not very encouraging to the casino-bound tourists from the Telugu States. We go for a holiday to have a free environment. The new rules in Goa were not an issue but make us explore other destinations. We found Sri Lanka an awesome place, said Pradeep from Vijayawada. The alliances forged by the market players such as hotels, casinos and airliners are also making travel to Sri Lanka affordable, said The Kingsbury Hotel Group Sales and Marketing Manager Lakshmi Jaliyagodage. We have a tie up with Ballagio Casino and SriLankan Airlines, which often come up with exciting packages with low pricing. This apart, of late, wedding tourism from India is evolving as a big industry here. The high-net-worth individuals are seen arriving here in chartered flights for family weddings, Jaliyagodage said. The Sri Lankan tourism industry finds the Telugu States so important that they arrange special shows by Bollywood celebrities in places such as Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, etc. to incentivise the existing customers and attract new ones. Oops....! We couldn't find that... 404 error Unfortunately the page you were looking for could not be found. It may be temporarily unavailable, moved or no longer exist. Check the URL you entered for any mistakes and try again. Alternatively, search for whatever is missing or take a look around the rest of our site. This article refers to the article published in the Daily Mirror titled Govt. to introduce online property registration service published on April 11, 2018. (http://www.dailymirror.lk/148557/Govt-to-introduce-online-property-registration-service) According to this newspaper article, the government is introducing an online property registration service with the aim of moving up the Ease of Doing Business Index of the World Bank in 2019. This is a very important and necessary step for Sri Lanka. However, we must not ignore the fact that the integrity of the electronic register depends on the validity of thousands of notarized documents that are lodged daily at the registry to alter data of the e-Registry; the ownership details of existing owners [ transfers, mortgages, leases etc] It need not be mentioned that all such notarised documents must be free of forgery or fraud. In Sri Lanka land fraud is extremely pervasive. Therefore we need to be more receptive to the place we occupy in the Global Fraud Index - [G F I]. This is a very important and necessary step for Sri Lanka. However, we must not ignore the fact that the integrity of the electronic register depends on the validity of thousands of notarized documents that are lodged daily at the registry to alter data of the e-Registry; the ownership details of existing owners [ transfers, mortgages, leases etc] The e-Register operates with a new law that does not permit landowners easy access to court if their ownership is affected by fraud or forgery. The law which was practised in developing countries for over 150 years known as title registration has been introduced to Sri Lanka to operate with the electronic register. All landowners must be receptive to the operation of Act 21 of 1998, which introduced this law under Bim Saviya/ Title registration. The main principle under the law is that it does not permit judicial intervention to adjudicate matters relating to fraudulent transactions entered in the E register . For example Arjuna was the registered owner of a plot of land . His signature was forged by a fraudster and land was sold to David. Davids name gets registered as the new owner in the e- register. Arjuna has no right to access court to get relief. [Section 33 of Act 21 of 1998. ] It is undeniable that Title registration Act 21 of 1998 [Bim Saviya] law inherently and necessarily includes a risk the risk is that the title can be defeated by a fraudulent transaction which once registered gains priority and eliminates the previous registered owner. The person defrauded is left to seek financial compensation from an Assurance Fund . The e-Register is considered a conclusive register, works on the principle of indefeasibility of title. This saves a person who is buying and mortgaging land the trouble and expense of searching the register to investigate the history of an owners title. The downfall for Sri Lanka is to let the electronic conveyancing process to be implemented by those who have no formal legal training of the deed and the title registration systems. The World Bank mentioned in their report No. ICR0000190 Implementation completion and results Report of March 22, 2007. Report said ----that The Project failed to deal with titling of land parcels where there was uncertainty about existing rights.. Report expressed the need for research. Daily news staff writer in New York, in the USA demonstrates the speed of registering forged documents in the e-Register. (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/90-minutes-daily-news-steal-empire-state-building-article-1.353477 ) The story written by William Sherman a Daily news staff writer in New York shows how an important building such as the Empire State Building can be stolen in 90 minutes with a sale document with forged signatures via the e-Register. The Daily News NY prepared a bogus sale documents to transfer the Empire State Building by forging the signatures of the owner of the Empire State Land Associates and transferred the property to Nelots Properties LLC. (Nelots is stolen spelled backwards). The land registry overlooked the identity of the notary and the witnesses and registered the deed . This was laughable as the notarys name was given as the famous bank robber Willie Sutton, the original King Kong star Fay Wray was given as a witness. The sale was registered in 90 minutes, a speed that is expected from the Electronic register. By this experimental transaction the Daily News demonstrated the weakness of the law relating to identification and verification of owners. Who bears the loss for title theft under title registration system and electronic register? The US system had not changed to title registration. Therefore, the register was rectified and the owners name, Empire State Land Associates was entered back into the register. If this took place in Sri Lanka under the Act 21 of 1998, the owner would have no right to access court and Nelots Properties LLC could remain the owner. In such a scenario, the true owner of Empire State Land Associates may receive compensation to the value decided accordingly from an Assurance Fund. The Assurance Fund is a Statutory Assurance Fund which provides a new scheme for landowners to obtain monetary compensation for the loss of land rights. All lands are insured without a premium under this system. Judicial errors in interpreting law under title registration/ Electronic register The Judiciaries of developing countries that recently introduced the law are trying to cope with law on Title registration, Sri Lanka has not had this experience yet . The first judgment relating to rights under the electronic register was delivered by the judiciary of Malaysia where a fraudulent deed was registered displacing the true owner. The Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia had to deal with the restrictions placed on the Judiciary in a the classic case in Adorna Properties Sdn Bhd v Boonsom Boonyanit[2001] 2CLJ 133 Azrin Hafiz / Sept 2012 - Jan 2013. The judge held in favour of the registered owner Adorna Properties, the company that registered the land forging the owners signature, displacing the rightful owner Boonsom Boonyanit from the electronic register . This came as a shock to the landowners of Malaysia and the lawyers . The first Federal court decision is an eye opener for Sri Lanka and highlights the pitfalls faced by bona fide owners under title registration system. The decision of this case continued for 10 years, where landowners of Malaysia had to lose their land rights to fraudulent owners until it was overruled after 10 years . International treatises introduce e-Registration and new laws [Bim Saviya] There should be willingness by those who make the major changes to Property Law to research and introduce the ancillary laws that are essential to support the changes. Sri Lanka unfortunately had not introduced the practices and laws that are governing Solicitors, Notaries and Registries of countries which operate these systems successfully [Australia, New Zealand, UK etc] The Information Communication Agency , Survey Department and the Land Registry had concentrate on identifying and surveying land according to high tech methods. Other nations have simultaneously adopted high tech methods to record the identity of owners of lands, to protect the integrity of the e-Register . Land Registry in India - the finger prints being taken to verify and identify the owner before land transactions are registered Mobile alert Land registry sends mobile alerts to owners before registering in the e-Registry similar to bank transactions. What can be done by land owners and purchasers to protect their land right? When ownership enters the computer, be cautious! 1 Obtain a title report from your notary, if extracts are damaged get them reconstructed, register the names of all the heirs if the owners are not living this is essential as the legal checking process of ownership rights to enter the owners names to the electronic register is not administered by those with a knowledge of property law and conveyancing in Sri Lanka. 2 Retain the original deeds and the old original paper documents after the registration in the E register. 3 Obtain an extract from the land registry with the final entry after the ownership is recorded in the electronic register. If you are buying land, the Title registration law may grant relief to protect your rights if you have the following documents, if you become a victim of fraud or forgery. 1 A sale takes place under the new system with the Notary perfecting forms which are statutory forms, deeds are not executed . Once the form is accepted by the Registrar the owner will receive a computer print out depicting the ownership in lieu of a deed. Request a copy of the form which the Notary submitted to the registry as the computer printout does not contain all the information relating to the sale of the land, such as the consideration paid, signatures of owner and buyer etc, to protect your rights against fraud. (The Prevention of Frauds Ordinance requires all notarised documents to be in duplicate) 2 Identify the owner when purchasing land, if a fraudulent entry enters the e-Register the onus is on you to prove that maximum due diligence was used to purchase the land from the genuine owner. Take a photograph, retain identity verification documents of the owner witnesses and brokers, obtain full names, ID numbers of those who participated in your transaction, obtain their personal addresses, home addresses telephone numbers and keep a photo identity of the owner. The e-Register is considered a conclusive register, works on the principle of indefeasibility of title. This saves a person who is buying and mortgaging land the trouble and expense of searching the register to investigate the history of an owners title Some may argue that seeing and recording the owners ID is sufficient. This is not. Land transactions require the same bar for identifying owners which is high in the banking Insurance passport sectors. Identification checks carried out by Sri Lankan banks today comply with all the Know Your Customer Rules prescribed by the Central Bank, which are not optional. The banks retain all the documents of identity for future reference. 3 Be present at the time of signing documents, obtain receipts for money paid . 4 Powers of Attorney: Personally contact the owner before buying land. Committee appointed by Ministry of Justice to amend Notaries Ordinance The committee recommended bio-metric methods and the retention of photographs at the time of signing documents by Notaries in order to identify the parties who sign as owners and witnesses. In Sri Lanka there is in some quarters a social mind block that fingerprinting is a regression to the colonial times when illiterates were required to provide their fingerprints. This misconceived notion prevented, the electronic revolution for identifying parties to land transactions and the amendment to the Notaries Ordinance. ''WE WANTED TO CONDUCT THIS TEST SECRETLY" It was last February that the story of 53 tea factories, which allegedly adulterate tea with sugar during production, was revealed. The raids on these tea factories had been carried out by the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB). The Minister of Plantation Industries of Sri Lanka Navin Dissanayake said that any culprits found guilty would be punished severely. This was revealed through Sathya Gaveshana ( Exploration into the truth) an expos article which appeared in our sister newspaper ..Lankadeepa. But, the SLTB has to now check whether it adhered to the proper procedures when doing its research. When it comes to regulations relevant to the tea industry, why does the SLTB, being the legal authority, become so powerless? This weeks exploration is about the much talked about story in the tea industry. This investigation, that was done under the leadership of the former SLTB Chairman Rohan Pethiyagoda, is the first of its kind in the history of Sri Lanka tea. However, he retired from service one month after this investigation; termed as High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The position he vacated was filled by Lusil Wijewardena, no stranger to the tea industry. He was entrusted with the task of taking action against the allegations levelled against the 53 tea factories. But there emerged another problem because the alleged factory owners stand was that they arent guilty. Minister Dissanayake said no quick decisions could be made and it would take about three months before arriving at a conclusion They have taken steps to challenge the investigation, said to have been done in keeping with a pure scientific method. The minister in charge later afforded an opportunity to the factory owners to express their views. Accordingly, the minister had a discussion on March 29 with the these tea factory owners and the officers of the SLTB. As a result, these factory owners got the opportunity to express their views in writing. But the SLTB encountered an unexpected situation; they had to verify the outcome of the investigation they had already carried out. In the meantime Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian Sunil Handunnetti made a written request to Minister Dissanayake to publish the relevant list of factory owners alleged to have adulterated the tea during manufacturing. His request was to reveal at least the names of 27 factory owners among the 80 factories who have produced tea by reasonable means. When inquired by journalists, a senior officer of the SLTB said that it was not possible to reveal the names of those concerned because no final decision had been arrived at thus far. However, Pethiyagoda, who was in the forefront of this investigation, is no more with the SLTB. The tea board does not seem to be interested in the relevant research methodology as well. When journalists made inquiries in this regard, Minister Dissanayake said no quick decisions could be made and it would take about three months before arriving at a conclusion. This scenario highlights a negative aspect associated with the tea board. The SLTB has a research institute as well and should be in a position to take responsibility with whatever activities it carries out. The counter allegations made by these factory owners have been aimed at distorting the truth. If this is how the SLTB takes responsibility its no shock to see that Ceylon tea has become a subject of controversy. When it comes to the tea industry there are many processes which are connected to it. For instance a number of activities such as tea production, export, brokerage, import and packing are involved in the tea industry. In the event of stemming a defect associated with any process, it is inevitable that the entire tea industry will be affected adversely. Given the present crisis it seems that contributions have been made by the tea plucker to the labourer to intensify the problem in the tea industry. The Tea Small Holders Association claims that it is dumped in a chaotic situation when there is a tug-of-war between the SLTB and the tea factory owners. According to them, the main reason for this competition in the market is that despite there being an increase in the number of tea factories it has not been in proportion with the production which has remained low. In reality it is the tea small holders who are in danger because they have to see to the welfare of 2 million dependents. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the authorities to take note of their grievances. There are various differences of opinion among the business community and the groups who are connected to this industry. These differences were highlighted in the media. However much of these differences are associated with wrong opinions, which have led to arguments. The best example for this is the tea board of neighbouring India. The Tea Board of India (TBI) acts as a facilitator to help people identify real tea from the tea that has been adulterated with colouring. In this aspect the TBI adheres to a rigid policy. Various strategies have been introduced to identify the real products. These strategies not only help the consumer to avoid buying bogus products but also assists the authorities to nab the culprits. They publish newspaper advertisements in this regard. India in comparison to Sri Lanka reveals the truth about the team thats produced in her country. India makes it a point to make it known to consumers that the future of a tea brand depends solely on honesty and trustworthiness. It was last year that the tea industry in Sri Lanka celebrated its 150th Anniversary. But, the negative news about the defects in the islands tea has spoiled the anniversary celebrations. Sri Lanka should not forget that it is facing a challenging situation when other players in the tea market like Kenya and India are doing well. Sri Lankan tea is bought by countries like Russia, Iraq and Iran. It is not very healthy for the SLTB to take such an irresponsible stand because there are so many dependents. It should reveal the truth about the wrong doing of the factory or otherwise accept defeat. If this isnt done it is the Ceylon Tea brand name thatll suffer because as of now the countrys tea is termed impure. This is a time when the entire tea industry must remember that old Sinhalese saying, an act of washing clothes and dipping them again in muddy waters. Cultivators are in trouble - Kularatna Association of All Ceylon Tea Development Small Tea Estates Alliance Chairman K.L. Kularatna said that tea is presented to the world saying its Pure Ceylon Tea. It will damage to the reputation of tea. This is an industry which paves the way to earn the living of 2 million people. There may be only six hundred factory owners. They are engaged in unnecessary competition to earn profits. Now they have a harvest of about three to four hundred kilos from each acre. This is not sufficient. Factories are increased while the production of tea is going down. Then the tender leaves are not sufficient to meet the capacity of the factory. Then they make various methods to increase production. Small tea owners are doing this for their living. We are in trouble due to the work of this small group. Most of the investors are local people who have invested more money on this tea industry.Tea factory owners can change this business, but we cant do it. We are experiencing a major crisis. We wanted to conduct this test secretly The following are excerpts of an interview done with the former Chairman of Sri Lanka Tea Board Rohan Pethiyagoda. Q What sort of test was conducted by SLTB in connection with blending tea with sugar? The issue of tea being mixed with sugar has been prevalent for sometime. I thought of a new method to verify the truth of this charge in a quick way without waiting for the processing of the black tea. Various properties of sugar are subject to several chemical changes during heating. Any difference detected in the tea leaves during the process of drying, after grinding, proves that the tea has been mixed with sugar. But some were of the view that this test could be done only with black tea and it didnt surface in the mind of anyone that this test could be easily done at the factory premises. When tea leaves are put in water before they are put in the oven at the factory, the tea begins to dilute and will taste sweet, if sugar has been added. This is a simple and easy method of testing whether there is sugar in tea. Q But the alleged factory owners maintain that sugar, to a certain degree, is an inherent property of tea itself. How do you explain this view? Its true that sugar is naturally found in tea leaves and also in other kinds of leaves. But this sugar is present in fructose form and includes glucose and sucrose. This is less than one percent of the sugar which is produced by the leaf itself. However there is no possibility of increasing this minute degree of sugar during the drying and grinding stages. We deployed them in groups of two according to the list of factories. Instructions were given to take samples and transport them in cabs while keeping the mobile phones off. What was happening was not known to them - Rohan Pethiyagoda Q There is another allegation that this test has been conducted without the direct involvement of SLTB.Your comments. We wanted to conduct this test secretly. We didnt even use the SLTBs vehicles as drivers would come to know about our task. This would have made the factory staff take every precaution to stop their misconducts. I made arrangements to bring the relevant officers to the auditorium of the Tea Research Institute in Kottawa, Galle by inviting them to a so-called farewell party on my retirement from the SLTB. We deployed them in groups of two according to the list of factories. Instructions were given to take samples and transport them in cabs while keeping the mobile phones off. What was happening was not known to them. If they had known about our purpose their abuses in the processing of tea would not have been detected. Q Why is sugar added in the processing of tea? Ferrous sulfate, potassium permanganate, sodium hydroxide and sugar are added to give a black colour to the tea. Black tea is expensive and Arabian countries prefer this type of tea. Normally processed tea is grayish in colour. The other thing is that sugar helps in the process of fine grinding. The third factor is the weight. A kilo of sugar costs only Rs.100 while a kilo of tea is Rs 600-700. Q Some accept that they mix sugar with tea and also argue that there is no harm in this blending process. A scientist at the Tea Research Institute (TRI) in 1971 prescribed as acceptable a small amount of sugar to be mixed with the tea. This was included in a research paper. However some factory owners have taken it as a recommendation of the TRI. There are easy and profitable ways of manufacturing tea. But it should comply with the legal requirements.We assure the quality of our tea when dealing with the international market. If the real sate of our tea is revealed it will badly affect the produce from Sri Lanka. Other main exporters like India and Kenya follow strict procedures in the operating of their tea industries. The mixed tea tends to develop a certain fungus three months after the tea auctions and becomes unsalable. These factory owners should realise that they are causing a bad global impression when they do this to our tea. Q TRI is preparing to do a review of this particular test. Do you agree to such a review? For our tests we brought down samples of withered tea leaves and leaves of the later stages to Colombo. These samples were brought by the tea inspectors employed under the Commissioner of Tea. They were sealed and signed samples and were also given to the factory owners to avoid any possible disputes.Therefore the allegation of blending tea in Colombo is not true. There was transparency when these tests were done. If there is any suspicion a sample could be retested. Private Tea Factory Owners Association behind issue Following are excerpts of an interview done with a factory owner who is shrouded in allegations. Q What happened really? That is the general methodology used by SLTB. We are harassed first and then slapped with a fine of Rs.50,000 or 100,000. The factory owners pay the fine because they cant bear the oppression. The SLTB is an institution where bureaucracy reigns supreme. The main question is whether they have done this to stop the malpractices in the tea industry or whether their aim is to be in the good books of the Minister. Even the officers of the SLTB arent aware of this methodology. Opinion is divided within the SLTB itself. Q But, hasnt it been proved that tea is adulterated with sugar? The sugar level in the tea may fluctuate due to the climate, fertilizer and manner in which tea leaves are plucked. It is practically difficult to prepare a baseline. On the other hand, the chemical composition in tea differs from the places where the leaves are plucked. Tea leaves are put into the dryer after 2 hours of withering and rolling. No recent study has been done in this regard. The SLTB proved that the glucose content is more in the rolled leaf than in the withered one. These claims arent scientific because the carbohydrate content increases as soon as the leaf is put in the roller. The HPLC methodology is only a reading. The SLTB should get involved in this and find out whats happening. There is a big problem of labour in Sri Lanka - A factory owner Q More or less, sugar in the tea may appear as fructose and glucose whereas there may be a slight presence of sucrose. Do you support the argument that there is no reason to increase the natural sugar content while drying and grinding tea leaf? That is wrong. There is ample evidence of research to prove it. This person who is making this claim has no knowledge about botany. If that is so, this person should do a research and prove it. Really, the former chairman wanted to show that he is a big shot. Q Do you accept the suggestion that the sealed tea sample test can dispel doubts? That is useless. For instance the average value of blood samples should be known to see whether there is dengue. Comparisons are done like that. Here, there is no average value to be compared. What are here are his dimensions. That is not a definition. Q Are there people who adulterate tea with sugar? Yes. We have to find out why do they do so? The quality of the Sri Lanka tea is gradually declining. The SLTB should get involved in this and find out whats happening. There is a big problem of labour in Sri Lanka. The people in the past plucked tea leaf every five days. Later these figures changed from seven to ten days. If mature leaf is adulterated with sugar then it will become wet. When we get 25 kgs. of plucked tea leaves by paying 6 dollars, the countries like Kenya pay 1 dollar and get 60 kgs of plucked leaves. It is useless boasting about Ceylon Tea without having a means to survive. The SLTB is an institution where bureaucracy reigns supreme. The main question is whether they have done this to stop the malpractices in the tea industry or whether their aim is to be in the good books of the Minister. - A factory owner Q Do you say that there is no problem in mixing tea with sugar? Really, there is no problem. Even though sugar is mixed, it will not remain as we boil the tea in a high temperature. For instance, this is not an act similar to mixing brick dust with chili powder. On the other hand, all types of chemicals are sprayed in the growing process until the tea leaves are brought to the factory after plucking. If there is nothing like that there is no need for the tea board to intervene. It is the Brahman caste or the Private Tea Factory Owners Association which is behind this. In the chairmans factory, 15,000 kgs of tea is not produced per month. Their factories are closing down on a daily basis. They who are unable to face the competition and are trying to close the biggest factories in Sri Lanka. Q What did you demand from Prime Minister? To start a scholarly discussion including the tea board and factory owners. We also asked to conduct a research with the Tea Research Institute. Now there are bogus tea plants all over Sri Lanka. The Tea Board must be committed to start genuine tea nurseries. But, they do not address these real problems. It is baseless to make allegations - Ranasinghe Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association Chairman Harith Ranasinghe said that if sugar is mixed with tea, the weight and color change resulting in extra profits. Then they can overcome others. Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association is not going behind anyone. The Minister was informed in one voice by the Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association to inquire into this as it is a disgrace to the name of Sri Lanka Tea, if such a things are happening, he said. Methodology needs to be examined - Edirisinghe Tea Commissioner E.A.J.K Edirisinghe said that all 53 factories have already submitted reports on the production process of their factories. They are now being studied by the Tea Board. Their main concern is about the methodology applied by the Tea Board in the testing process. Therefore we are now reviewing our testing methodology. If you could take a subway from the suburbs in Boston, where I live, to downtown in 10 minutes, that improves your life over sitting in a traffic jam - Noam Chomsky What the skyline of Buthgamuwa road offers to viewers these days is only second to Colombo 1 in terms of the number of high rising buildings. This otherwise laid back largely neglected neighbourhood of Kotte no doubt is fast becoming the New York of Sri Lanka with the mushrooming of apartment complexes along the meandering Diyawanna lake. The government decision to release Buthgamuwa land to real estate companies has seen an unlimited number of construction related vehicles including containers and cement mixing machines running down the narrow two lane road of Buthgamuwa. The traffic flow is often stopped by the workers whenever these huge vehicles carrying construction hardware enter the sites. The latest to add to the number of sites is a Sri Lanka-China joint venture with 242 apartments which has already given the area a mini-Beijing look with the high Chinese presence. This unfolding phenomenon has seen the land value of the otherwise run down Buthgamuwa reaching dizzy heights. However, it looks as if the authorities have overlooked one of the most critical factors in development roads, when releasing the land to real estate companies thus introducing an unexpected influx of population to the area. The two-lane Buthgamuwa road, which has only one track for Colombo-bound traffic, reports the worst traffic snarls in Colombo suburbs as of now. Some days it takes nearly 30 minutes to travel even the last leg of two km before it joins Colombo-bound Kotte traffic. The Rajagiriya flyover no doubt has benefited the Kotte residents. However what the authorities have overlooked was that with the opening of the flyover, the number of entry points to Kotte road for the Colombo-bound Buthgamuwa motorists have been reduced to one. Until then they enjoyed two entry points - one next to the filling station at Rajagiriya and the other from Buthgamuwa crossroad at the HSBC Junction in Kotte. Both these have now been scrapped and the only entry point the Colombo-bound motorist has today is the one under the flyover. No doubt the present traffic system at Rajagiriya Junction is methodical however, it has been created at the cost of the peace of mind and traffic time of the Buthgamuwa motorist. The reduction of entry points has come at a time when the completed apartment complexes are being released to the use of buyers and more high-rise buildings under construction. Widening of the road giving at least two lanes for the Colombo-bound traffic appears to be a solution. However another and perhaps the more logical option could be to link Perera Mawatha near the bridge to Rajagiriya at a point passing the flyover junction. In fact constructing a road linking Buthgamuwa and Cotta Road would have been a better logical idea than the Peliyagoda-Rajagiriya phase of the new flyover that the government is currently working on. After all Buthgamuwa Road is taken by motorists from Kohilawatte, Kotikawatte, Gothatuwa (IDH), Kalapaluwawa, Himbutana and Angoda all densely populated areas with tens of thousands of vehicles already plying down the roads and thousands more to join with the completion of the rest of the apartment complexes. However, the best solution for traffic snarls in Colombo suburbs, not only for Buthgamuwa but for all other areas, would be a sophisticated rail system covering all the suburban areas of Colombo city so that as in Japan the middle class would swap their cars for trains. These should be connected with shuttle bus services to office areas. Till this becomes a reality, the government should offer an interim solution to Buthgamuwa motorists without delay. This item is available in full to subscribers. Attention subscribers We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription. If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site. If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account by clicking here. Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing. Jewelry designer Lisette Polny, creator of Zofia Day jewelry, found herself in the spotlight after she designed special 14-carat keepsake bracelets for royal bride Meghan Markle to give to her best friends at her wedding. Courtesy of Zofia Day / Becca Batista Encinitas jewelry designer Lisette Polny wasnt at the royal wedding, but her jewelry played a key role. Meghan Markle presented six of her best friends plus her new sister-in-law, Kate Middleton a delicate, custom-designed 14-carat gold bracelet as a keepsake. Called the Kensington bracelet, it was designed by Polny at Meghans behest. While they havent met, Polny is a longtime friend of one of Meghans best friends, Benita Litt, of Los Angeles, who sat next to Meghans mother during the ceremony. Litts young daughters, Remi and Rylan, Meghans goddaughters, were petite bridesmaids Saturday. Polny who named her company Zofia Day after her grandmother and daughter, Zofia, 4 also designed two gold necklaces for each of the bridesmaid/flower girls: a simple gold heart and a diamond-studded bow. This simple 14-carat yellow gold Kensington bracelet was designed by Lisette Polny for Prince Harry's bride, Meghan Markle, to give to her best friends as a wedding keepsake. Markle discovered the Encinitas designer about two years ago and wears her jewelry. Courtesy By Monday, Polny had received 490 orders from all over the world for the Kensington bracelet, which retails for $450. People magazine interviewed her for its post-wedding issue. She says the bride owned about six of her pieces prior to the wedding. Meghan wore a pair of Zofia Day Dash Ear Studs on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine last year. In fact, she made a news splash this past January when she appeared with Prince Harry in Cardiff, Wales, wearing mismatched earrings a Gabriela Artigas-designed shooting star on her left ear and a Dash Ear Stud on her right ear. During her second official post-engagement appearance with Prince Harry earlier that month, Meghan sported a simple 14-carat diamond-pave bar ring ($750 retail) on her right hand, also from Zofia Day. Its a subtle, timeless style, explains Polny. She tries to keep prices competitive so everyone can get something special for themselves that will last forever. I am so grateful and so lucky, Polny says of the reaction. The fact that this is happening to me is overwhelming. Her jewelry is sold by about 20 boutique retailers, including Tucci in Solana Beach and Del Mar, and on her Zofia Day website. I designed a special wedding piece for Meghan, adds Polny, 37, who started her home-based business as a hobby so she could spend more time with her daughter. She hasnt received permission to discuss that piece yet, but expects to soon. Meanwhile, Litt wore numerous Zofia Day designs rings, three bracelets and bangles and a hammered gold cross necklace to various wedding events last weekend, including a tea with Queen Elizabeth. Polnys sister, Julie Zozaya, is the longtime owner of Julies Beachwear in Del Mar. Kiltoy Realty has hand-picked three new restaurants to join Carmel Valleys incoming One Paseo development, including Joe & The Juice, a juice bar and cafe that serves freshly prepared juices, shakes, coffee and sandwiches; The Butchery, a full-service butcher shop for high-quality meats, artisan cheeses, craft beers, and wines; and North Italia, a modern Italian neighborhood restaurant. An energy shake from Joe & The Juice pairs raspberry, banana and almond milk. Courtesy Located on the corner of Del Mar Heights Road and El Camino Real, the mixed-use One Paseo will bring shops, restaurants, apartments, offices and public gathering spaces.The first tenants of the retail portion plan to be open by the first quarter of 2019. The first residential move-ins could also occur in the first quarter next year. The newest announced tenants join a lineup that includes Shake Shack, Tender Greens, International Smoke and more. Our original goal was to create a dynamic mix of dining options from fast-casual to sit-down restaurants that will give the community a selection of great choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner, said Nelson Ackerly, senior vice president of Kilroy Realty. We could not be happier with the restaurant tenants who have joined the One Paseo communitysome are local favorites, and several are internationally-recognized eateries. Other tenants that have been announced include Tocaya Organica, Sweetfin Poke, Ways & Means Oyster House and Parakeet Cafe. In the next few months, we look forward to announcing an exciting mix of retail tenants and programming that complements this mix of restaurants, Ackerly said. Founded in Copenhagen in 2002 by CEO Kaspar Basse, Joe & The Juice has more than 70 stores worldwide, incuding a spot in West Hollywood. The shops specialize in high- quality, natural, and organic ingredients in its freshly prepared juices, shakes, coffee, and sandwiches in a fun, artsy environment. A feast of meat at The Butchery. Bob Hodson Photography The Butchery has three Orange County locations, all stocked with the highest quality beef, pork, poultry and cheeses sourced from the finest farms, ranches, and purveyors. Selections can be hand-cut to order and specialty meats such as dry-aged beef and wagyu, as well as exotics like bison and venison are also offered. The Butchery also serves up locally-made sausages, ground beef prepared in house, its popular chips and salsas, and a vast selection of high-end wine and craft beers. North Italia is the modern Italian, neighborhood restaurant from the Fox Restaurant Concepts, the group behind Flower Hill Promenades Flower Child. The North culinary team starts from scratch to create Italian favorites and seasonal dishes every day. The restaurant aims to be a great spot for friends and family. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Subscriber content preview SEATTLE Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the city has launched a new national search for a permanent director of the Seattle Department of Transportation. Scott Kubly, the previous head, resigned in December and is now chief programs officer for LimeBike. Goran Sparrman has been serving as SDOT's interim director since Jan. 5. . . . We could be running against Neil Gorsuch for the next 50 years The theft youre most likely to experience is wage theft. And Neil Gorsuch just made it more likely that it will happen to you and youll never be able to recover your losses. Slates Mark Joseph Stern: 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. This is a blow to workers rights thats almost impossible to minimize. Researchers at the Economic Policy Institute estimated that low-wage workers in the United States lost more than $50 billion to all forms of wage theft in 2016. Even when they arent stolen, wages have sagged against other other leading indicators for decades, especially CEO pay. We are in the midst of de-industrialization due to globalization and technology that only promises get worse as our biggest companies utilize fewer and fewer employees, innovation wipes out whole industries and fifty years of effective conservative politicking continue to decimate the power of labor in favor of capital. To put this in environmental terms, this isnt like Trump pulling out of the Paris Accord. This is like Trump being elected and staying in power to implement a polluters agenda for the next 40-50 years, which is how long you can expect Gorsuch to be on the Supreme Court, along with any other Court appointments this president makes. There has been a War on Work that has been waged for generations, one that favors corporations over workers, investors over employees and inheriting over earning. And the result is an economy where top 1 percent soak up all of the gains and use that to do things like donate $24.6 million to the GOP in the midst of the tax code being rewritten, likely in exchange for taxpayer-funded paybacks that will deliver multiples on that investment. Instead of doing anything to help secure the 200 million or so of course who see a future where even full-time employment is an artifact of the past, were seeking to add to the 43 million who already live in poverty tens of millions more who have been doomed to a live where their boss can steal their wages with little fear of ever being stopped. Fighting the War on Work is a lot like fight climate change in that both are fights for survival and both are fights that have immediate rewards, regardless if you buy into the predictions of horrors we may not live to see. Robots may never take our jobs and Florida may never be swallowed by the sea but an empowered working class is the only way to fight our freedom from another Gilded Age just as sensible steps to fight carbon pollution make healthier and less dependent on some of the most malignant forces in the world. Thats why its important to see every potential Democratic 2020 front-runner backing Senator Senators Workplace Democracy Act, a package of overdue labor reforms: The bill would allow employees to form a union by a majority sign-up process, rather than an election (which proponents say heightens the risk of employer meddling); require companies to negotiate with a new union within 10 days of receiving a request; mandate that workers in every state pay some dues to unions that represent them; and expand the laws definition of employer, a hotly debated term as the countrys contractor workforce expands. These are all needed steps to fight the War Against Work, but the most simple premise Democrats need to be fighting for is that your employer doesnt have the right to steal from you, no matter what Neil Gorsuch, in his stolen seat, says. Unfortunately, this is a message that may need to be repeated over and over again for years, if not decades. 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The event will target the world's top 500 companies, leading industrial conglomerates and internationally well-known enterprises to start projects on the island or establish headquarters or regional headquarters in Haikou, capital of Hainan, or Sanya, a holiday resort city at the southern tip of Hainan, said government officials at a news conference on Sunday in Haikou. Hainan Vice-Governor Peng Jinhui said the promotion event will welcome investment in the development of a headquarters economy, service agencies, industrial park construction platforms and industrial projects. "Key areas set for enticing investors include tourism, high-efficiency tropical agriculture, medicine and healthcare, modern financial services, new and high-technologies, convention and exhibition, ocean economy, infrastructure, revitalization of rural areas and protection of the ecological environment," Peng said. The initiative, which will continue to late August, is one of the measures announced to implement the requirements set by the central government to welcome investors from around the world to participate in the building of Hainan into an international pilot free trade zone. Last month, while celebrating the 30th anniversary of Hainan's designation as a province, the central government unveiled plans to transform it into a pilot international free trade zone and gradually explore building a free trade port with Chinese characteristics. "The 100-day event to attract investors does not mean we will no longer invite any investment in the future. Introducing outside investment will be a perpetual task and a crucial element to ensure the successful development of the Hainan pilot free trade zone (port), which presently does not have a well-developed economy," Peng said. He said the city governments of Haikou and Sanya are drafting incentive policies for enterprises and international organizations that will build general or regional headquarters on the island. The province will create a better environment for business people and enterprise innovation, and it will further advance construction of infrastructure on the island, he said. On May 13, Hainan announced a plan to woo a million talented individuals from home and abroad, offering them preferential policies including loans and free housing. Hainan has recently issued a large number of measures aiming at making solid progress in building the China (Hainan) Pilot Free Trade Zone and free trade port with Chinese characteristics and exploring a new open economic system. By San Diego Union Tribune , May 18 , 2018 It was just after 9 p.m. on April 27 when Border Patrol Agent Jamie Renteria spotted a group of 18 people walking north from the fence demarcating the international border between the U.S. and Mexico in an area called Goat Canyon. Within a few minutes, Renteria had arrested all of them 13 from Honduras, one from Guatemala, one from Mexico and three from India. A few hours earlier a second, smaller group of seven was arrested by another agent not too far away. Read More: Join us - become an Elderado today at: LarryElder.com Follow Larry Elder on Follow Larry Elder on Twitter "Like" Larry Elder on Facebook Are Gaza Gunmen "Protesters"? NY Times Refuses to Say | Main | Distorted History at Christ at the Checkpoint 2018 May 22, 2018 Iran is Funding Hamass Violent Protests at the Border, Media M.I.A. The Islamic Republic of Iran is behind the recent Hamas-orchestrated violent demonstrationsdubbed the March of Return?at the Israel-Gaza border, according to Israeli authorities. Yet many major U.S. news outlets have failed to report Tehrans role. Israels domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, stated: From the information we have, it appears Hamas is encouraging and sending protesters to the border fence in order to carry out violent acts and damage security infrastructure. In addition, it was found that Iran is providing funding to Hamas in order for it to carry out these violent activities along the Gaza Strips border fence.? As CAMERA has detailed (see, for example Palestinian Nazi Flags and Hamas Talking Points,? JNS, April 26, 2018) Hamas and other U.S.-designated terrorist groups have been organizing the demonstrations, interspersing armed operatives among civilians being used as human shields. Most of those killed in the demonstrations by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been linked to terror organizations. Hamas is one of many terror groups funded by the Islamic Republic, which the U.S. State Department has listed as the leading state sponsor of terrorism. The group has long supported Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and others participating in the March of Return.? Like Hamas, Irans ruling theocrats have called for Israels destruction and genocide of the Jewish people. Iranian-backed groups have also recently offered 100,00 U.S. dollars to blow up the recently opened U.S. embassy in Jerusalem ("Iranian Group Offer $100,000 Reward for Bombing U.S. Jerusalem Embassy," Newsweek, May 15, 2018). Major U.S. news outlets, including The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, USA Today, and others, have ignored the Shin Bets statement about Irans role in the march.? By contrast, The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post each filed reports detailing the comments by Israeli officials. The press has largely failed to provide unbiased, balanced and accurate coverage of the Hamas-led demonstrations, which have been ongoing since late March 2018. Many journalists have omitted or minimized Hamass role and ignored readily available photographic and video evidence showing armed terrorists attempting to infiltrate and bomb Israels sovereign border. Both The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others, have continued to refer to protesters? killed by the IDF long after Hamas itself has acknowledged that many of them were terrorists. A state-sponsor of terrorism has been identified as supporting what the media has, in Orwellian fashion, termed non-violent? and organic protests.? And the press cant be troubled to report it. Posted by SD at May 22, 2018 02:48 PM Sadly the NY Times, CNN, BBC, AP and AFP are silent on this Hamas death cult funded by Iran. Yahya Sinwar, the Gaza-based head of Hamas. Sinwar told Al Jazeera that the sacrifice of? Palestinian children would serve as an offering for Jerusalem and the Right of Return.? He also said that Hamas was prepared to sacrifice that which is most dear to us the bodies of our women and children? to achieve its goals. Posted by: BarryRosen1 at May 24, 2018 02:18 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Paris Jackson fires back at online haters accusing her of not supporting her aunt, Janet Jackson. The 20-year-old advises people to mind their own business. Mind Your Business Janet Jackson received the Billboard Icon Award on Sunday night, with some of her most famous family members spotted in the audience, cheering her on. Noticeably absent on the big night was her niece, Paris. The daughter of Michael Jackson was watching the show at home, but that didn't make her less proud of her aunt, whose barnstorming performance and acceptance speech were among the highlights of the show. Paris took to Instagram to congratulate her aunt. She also included a message in her Story for those criticizing 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. As amazing and as s***ty as things can be, it is no one's business but ours," she advised. Just Like Everybody Else Paris went on to note that she understood certain people felt a connection to the Jacksons, and a need to be involved, due to her father's legacy. She also acknowledged that she grew up in the spotlight, which heightens that feeling of connection. "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," she said. The 20-year-old pointed out that every family has their difficulties, but just because her family's issues are made public doesn't make them any different. Nor does it negate their right to privacy. "Every life has their own s*** to deal with. We ain't inferior or superior to y'all. We're all f***ing 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," she finished. Making It Clear Paris is not shy about tackling drama online, taking to Instagram following a report from Page Six that suggested she was in the midst of a meltdown. She shared an Instagram video joking that her therapist thought the whole thing was funny, and suggesting any family members worried about her should speak to her directly rather than going to the press. Her grandmother Katherine Jackson, brother Prince Jackson, and aunt Rebbie Jackson were all in attendance when Janet accepted her award Sunday. Paris referred to Prince as somebody who isn't worried about her, because they talk all the time. Paris is no stranger to controversy, having been linked to fellow model Cara Delevigne previously. She also called out fans online for editing her photos to lighten her skin. This Page Is Under Construction - Coming Soon! Why am I seeing this 'Under Construction' page? Failte Ireland today announced a new nine-month Step Change programme for Food Networks from Kerry, Sligo and Wexford to improve the impact of visitor experiences locally through food. The new programme, which kicked off at the Savoy Hotel in Limerick will help the Food Networks, which promote food and tourism packages in their local areas, to play an enhanced role in tourism in their region. Through the initiative announced today, networks will receive a food focused visitor evaluation of their destination, participate in a number of structured development workshops and connect with other food network leaders to share best practise and new insights around experience development. Sinead Hennessy of Failte Ireland said that the initiative is initially designed to focus the energy of the three food networks, Taste Kerry, Sligo Food Trail and Taste Wexford, towards having an increased tourism and visitor impact support and will be gradually rolled out to other Food Networks throughout the country. She said: We know that high quality local experiences are a major contributor to a visitors holiday satisfaction - creating positive memories and return visits and Irelands Food and Drink offering has a leading role to play in delivering these great experiences. The role of effective local food networks in tourism is vital as they show the considerable gains that can be made when visitors are placed at the centre of activities, linking food with the local culture, all whilst strengthening and sustaining local food enterprises. This Step Change Programme has been developed to support Food Tourism Networks that want to scale up the efforts in tourism to deliver a world-class, connected destination offering that is consistent and profitable. Lorraine ODwyer, from Gallivanting Tours in Irelands Ancient East, attended the programme for Taste Wexford. She said: I am delighted to be part of this Step Change programme. The practical format allows us to evaluate how visitors experience the food offering in Wexford and the critical factors that need to be developed to ensure we stand out a destination with great food and drink experiences. Wexford is currently known for its potatoes and strawberries, but on the ground we know there is a lot more to Wexfords food story and its time the rest of the world discovered it! John Harty, of Taste Kerry along the Wild Atlantic Way commented: As a chef its great that Failte Ireland recognise the importance of gastronomy and the synergies between food and tourism. Food networks can play a key role in establishing Ireland as a destination that is recognised for great food and drink. Taste Kerry are delighted to be actively involved in this development programme and look forward to bringing the network to the next level. Teresa Cawley-Krebs of Cawleys Guest House along the Wild Atlantic Way and attending the programme for Sligo Food Trail commented: As with all Food Networks, you are only as good as your weakest link and for Sligo to stand out in an international marketplace we must continue to innovate in order to add value to our offering. There is a fantastic energy around food and drink in Sligo and it is good to step out of the operation to look at how our development work impacts a visitors satisfaction on holiday. I am delighted to work with Failte Ireland to bring Sligo Food Trail to the next level. Ramping up the visitor experience is important as food and drink play a substantial part in helping to generate and sustain economic opportunity and development by increasing visitor numbers, dwell time, spend and satisfaction in visited areas. There have been many strides in recent years in increasing quality and depth of Irelands food and drink offering - now including over 2,400 restaurants, over 40 food festivals, 160 farmer markets, 40 cookery schools and 27 active food networks as well as 18 whiskey distilleries (10 with visitor centres) and more than 60 microbreweries and 7,000 pubs. Notes: Taste Kerry is an organisation that promotes food and drink in Kerry. While promoting food tourism and encouraging new visitors to the Kingdom, Taste Kerry also adopts a distinctively original approach by bringing together all aspects of the food industry to encourage inter-county trade and promotion of food tourism across the county. Taste Wexford is the experiential side of Wexfords food and drink offering opened to all visitors to explore and taste. County Wexford has a bountiful of food and drink producers, heritage sites, farmers markets, and great food speciality stores, cafes, restaurants, B&Bs, guesthouses and hotels that support and use Wexford produce on their menus. Sligo Food Trail has over 60 members who range from restaurants, cafes, artisan food producers and suppliers, hotels, guesthouses, festivals and providers of out-door experiences. All of these people have come together and built a comprehensive all round food tourism package in county Sligo. Jump to top A delegate evaluating the eating quality and colour of yellow alkaline noodles made with Australian wheat at the Australian Wheat Seminar in Taipei, Taiwan. TAIWAN could emerge as a significant market for Australian wheat, as awareness of the quality of local grain grows among local flour millers. Currently Taiwan averages about 230,000 tonnes in Australian wheat imports each year, worth about $80 million. Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) chief executive officer Richard Simonaitis said nearly half of this was used for noodles mainly yellow alkaline and white salted noodles and there was room to grow this market segment. We know our customers like Australian wheat because of its low moisture content, white bran coat and high flour yield, Mr Simonaitis said. These qualities result in noodles with excellent colour and texture which is why Australian wheat is so well suited to a wide range of noodles. AEGIC took this message directly to Taiwanese flour millers as part of an Australian Wheat Seminar in Taipei, presented in conjunction with Austrade. Held early last week, it was the fourth in a series of similar AEGIC events in Taipei in recent years and was attended by around 70 delegates, including all the major flour milling companies of Taiwan. Mr Simonaitis said the seminar focused on communicating the suitability of Australian wheat classes Australian Prime Hard and Australian Hard for noodles and Chinese wheat flour based products such as dumplings and steam buns. Taiwan is an important and growing market for Australian wheat, and we expect the excellent relationship between the Australian wheat industry and the Taiwan flour milling industry to continue, he said. The Australian wheat industry is committed to continual improvement to meet customer needs. AEGIC and other organisations are well-placed to work with Taiwanese flour millers to help maximise the value of Australian wheat. Mr Simonaitis was joined in Taipei by AEGIC wheat quality technical markets manager Larisa Cato, who presented a technical overview of Australian wheat. Last week, Ng Lap Seng, a billionaire real estate developer from Macau, was sentenced to four years in federal prison for bribing two UN bigshots. Macau, like Hong Kong, is a Special Administrative Region of China. The bribe takers in Ngs case were Francis Lorenzo, a former UN Ambassador from the Dominican Republic, and John Ashe from Antigua and Barbuda. Ashe first served at the UN as the Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda, and later as 68th President of the UN General Assembly. Lorenzo pleaded guilty to taking bribes. Ashe was also charged but died before his trial started. In another recent case, a China-born woman named Julia Vivi Wang pleaded guilty to FCPA offenses. She also bribed Ashe, sending him at least $800,000, according to her plea. Ng, from Macau, wanted support from Ashe and Lorenzo for a conference center there. Wangs bribes to Ashe were intended to help land projects in Antigua. At least three other China-born defendants pleaded guilty in the Ng case, either for helping move bribe money, pay the bribes, or cover them up. In November last year, the DOJ unsealed an indictment in a China-linked bribery plot hatched in the halls of the United Nations, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim. The alleged mastermind was Patrick Ho Chi-ping. He served as Hong Kongs Secretary for Home Affairs from 2002 to 2007 and now heads an NGO funded by a Shanghai-based, government-linked China energy company. Ho has pleaded not guilty and is headed for trial. He allegedly bribed Sam Kahamba Kutesa. The DOJ didnt name Kutesa. But the indictment described an Ugandan official who recently completed his term as the President of the UN General Assembly. Kutesa fits that description. (The UN was in the background of another recent FCPA enforcement action. Last year the brother and a nephew of former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon were charged with trying to bribe a Qatari official to finance the sale of a high-rise building complex in Vietnam. The nephew, Dennis Bahn, pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan. Ban Ki-moon, a Korean, hasnt been charged in the case and, so far, no one from the UN is implicated.) None of these cases on their own prove Chinese authorities are targeting the UN with bribery. And none of the defendants appear to have direct links to government bodies in China. The bribe givers could have been acting independently and on their own. But the alleged fact patterns concerning Ng, Wang, and Ho are remarkably consistent. Individuals with apparent high-level commercial contacts in China or one of its Special Administrative Regions allegedly networked with UN officials and bribed them, in return for their support for big projects that would likely be backed by China-linked investors. Why target the UN for bribes, if thats what happened? Are UN officials particularly vulnerable to corruption? Are appointed officials, often from less developed countries, given too much concentrated power? Do they feel somehow protected by the UN structure, and less likely to be caught? Is there a culture of corruption at the top of the UN? Is there an expectation of bribery in the minds of those looking to buy illegal influence, and those willing to sell it? Does the UN lack institutional controls that would prevent or detect corrupt patterns of behavior? Are UN whistleblowers unwilling to come forward because they fear retribution? Does business at the UN happen too often behind closed doors, where the public and press cant see it? Again, theres no direct evidence that we know of that China officials have somehow targeted top people at the UN for bribery. But three recent cases have more than a few alleged facts in common. So theres a reason to ask: Is the Chinese government or elements within it intentionally targeting UN officials with bribery in order to obtain or retain business or gain an unfair advantage? ___ Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. In the next few weeks suppliers and contractors of PEMEX, Mexicos state owned oil company, will be required to submit information on the existence and state of their compliance programs. Many of the regional and local companies working with PEMEX could have difficulty meeting this new requirement and will have to undertake significant efforts to continue working with the Mexican oil giant. This new requirement is the result of a compliance overhaul at PEMEX. Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, now Secretary of Finance and Public Credit of Mexico, committed to enhancing compliance during his tenure as CEO of PEMEX (2016-2017). The effort was funded in part by a grant by the USAID, which financed consulting, legal and related expenses. The current PEMEX CEO, Carlos Trevino Medina, continued the project. For PEMEX contractors and suppliers, a newly automated process (Procura) will award points for a robust compliance program. PEMEX has benchmarked global best practices, in part by using information provided by multinationals about their compliance programs. PEMEX has also adopted a Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct and a series of specific policies, and is working in their implementation. It addresses gift-giving, for example, by requiring all gifts to be delivered to a centralized reception area, and returned to senders if not permitted under Mexican law. Companies doing business with PEMEX will need to examine their current compliance programs and undertake necessary upgrades. ______ Luis Danton Martinez Corres, pictured above, is a partner leading the corporate governance and compliance practice of the Mexico-based law firm, Ritch Mueller. He previously served as head of legal and trustee services of Nacional Financiera, S.N.C., a leading Mexican development bank. Hes also admitted to practice in New York. He can be contacted here. The UK Serious Fraud Office said Tuesday it has brought more charges against two individuals already facing trial as part of the Unaoil investigation. Basil Al Jarah and Ziad Akle were both charged last week with conspiracy to give corrupt payments. The payments were intended to secure the award of a contract worth $733 million to Leighton Contractors Singapore PTE Ltd., the SFO said. The contract was for a project to build two oil pipelines in southern Iraq. Leighton Singapore is a subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Ltd. Leighton Holdings, based in Australia, changed its name in 2015 to CIMIC Group Limited (ASX:CIM). In 2014, a report said leaked internal emails from Leighton Holdings warned that a $24 million facilitation payment linked to a 2010 Iraq contract would attract attention from auditors. Other emails talk about plans by senior employees to make payments to friends in the Middle East and to inflate and backdate contracts to win work in Iraq. Last week, Al Jarah and Akle were charged with two offenses of conspiracy to give corrupt payments, the SFO said. The charges were brought under the Criminal Law Act of 1977. Both are scheduled to appear in Westminster Magistrates Court in London on May 23. Akle, 43, was Unaoils territory manager for Iraq. He lives in London Al Jarah, 69, was Unaoils Iraq partner, the SFO said. He lives in Hull (England). Al Jarah is represented by Brown Rudnick. Akles lawyers are from White & Case. The SFO Tuesday thanked the Australian Federal Police for the assistance it provided in connection with our investigation. * * * The SFO first charged Al Jarah and Aklethem in November 2017 with conspiracy to pay bribes to help Unaoils client SBM Offshore NV win contracts in Iraq. That same month, the SFO also charged two former SBM executives with allegedly funneling bribes to officials in Iraq through Unaoil. Paul Bond and Stephen Whiteley were both charged with conspiracy to make corrupt payments to secure contracts in Iraq for Unaoils client SBM Offshore. Bond, 66, was formerly a Senior Sales Manager with SBM Offshore. He lives in France. Whiteley, 63, was formerly a Vice President with SBM Offshore. He was also Unaoils General Territories Manager for Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Angola. He lives in Aberdeen, Scotland. The alleged bribery happened between June 2005 and August 2011, the SFO said. Netherlands-based SBM provides floating production systems for the oil and gas industry. In the United States, SBM Offshore paid a criminal penalty of $238 million in late 2017 to resolve FCPA offenses in Brazil, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, and Iraq. Two former former SBM executives pleaded guilty in the U.S. to bribing officials at Brazils Petrobras and two state-owned energy firms in Africa. * * * A report in March 2016 by Fairfax Media and the Huffington Post said Unaoil paid bribes on behalf of large companies in the oil and gas sector. Monaco-based Unaoil has denied the allegations. The SFO said Tuesday its Unaoil investigation is ongoing. ____ Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. Following the release of her second historical novel, Virgin to Victoria, Trisha Hughes shares the top 10 things you should know about Queen Victoria: Trisha Hughes Queen Victoria ruled the largest empire in history for 63 years, becoming the longest reigning British Monarch to date until her death in 1901. Queen Elizabeth II has since superseded that milestone. No one ever imagined that one day Victoria would be the queen. Her father was not the first son of a king. He was the fourth and this made her 6th in line. The honor was thrust upon her by a succession of unfortunate coincidences including the death of Princess Charlotte during childbirth, King George IVs only child, the death of two elderly uncles with no legitimate children and her father being lucky enough to persuade her mother to marry him, despite being a middle-aged bankrupt prince. Queen Victoria belonged to the Hanover dynasty, which succeeded the Stuart dynasty after the death of Queen Anne who had suffered 17 pregnancies, with no surviving children. When it became apparent that Anne would be having no more children and would not live much longer, Parliament began a frantic search through the Stuart family tree looking for a Protestant candidate that was more suitable than the Catholic descendant of James II, James Francis Edward Stuart living in Italy. The name Sophia, Electress of Hanover finally popped up as the granddaughter of James I through his daughter Elizabeth. Victorias grandfather was George III, nicknamed Mad King George and as such, Parliament watched Victoria and her furious temper tantrums closely, fearing that royal madness was hereditary. Recently, King Georges condition is believed to have been porphyria, a disease from which the Stuarts suffered as far back as James I. The day of her coronation did not go off without incident. Her archbishop jumbled his lines, one of her lords tumbled down the steps when he approached to kiss her hand and she would have noticed her prime minister half-stoned on opium and brandy. Her ruby coronation ring had even been jammed on the wrong finger. There was a very complicated German connection that ran through Victorias veins. With both sets of parents and grandparents being German, it is understandable that she felt German despite being born in Kensington. In the future though, there would be a tragic failure for her grandchildren to understand each other. It destined these two nations to explode on the battlefields during the First World War as the biggest family squabble of all time. Over the course of her 21-year marriage to her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, they raised nine children. She is called the Grandmother of Europe because in just a couple of generations Victorias descendants were spread across the continent. Her 42 grandchildren could be found in the royal families of Germany, Russia, Greece, Romania, Sweden, Norway and Spain. Her grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm, reportedly remarked that had his grandmother still been alive, the First World War may never have happened. Her life was rocked by the death of her beloved husband who died at the age of 42 on 14th December 1861. Following his death, Victoria retreated from public life, adopting elaborate mourning rituals that rapidly became obsessive. She mourned her husband for the rest of her life. It is believed that Victoria was a carrier of hemophilia, a disease that affects the bloods ability to clot, and had unwittingly introduced the rare inherited disease into her bloodline. Both the Russian and Spanish royal family would be severely affected and her son Leopold died through related injuries after a fall. During the course of her 63-year-long reign, Victoria came out unscathed from at least six serious attempts on her life, some of which were terrifyingly close calls. Virgin to Victoria is a powerful retelling of the history of the British monarchy, beginning with Henry VIIIs daughter, Elizabeth I, as she comes to the throne. Its available to buy from Amazon, The Book Guild and all good bookshops. Avicii's family have announced that his funeral will be a "private" affair. Avicii The Swedish-born DJ - whose real name is Tim Bergling - was found dead in his hotel room in Muscat, Oman, on April 20, at the age of just 28. Since the tragic news emerged, Avicii's fans and music peers have showered him with tributes and there has been interest in the plans for his funeral. Now, his family have released a statement confirming that he will be laid to rest in ceremony attended by his close relatives and friends. The statement read: "There have been many inquiries regarding the funeral arrangements for Tim Bergling, known by music fans as Avicii. The Bergling family has now confirmed that the funeral will be private, in the presence of the people who were closest to Tim. They kindly ask media to respect this. There is no additional information forthcoming." Following the death of the 'Wake Me Up' hitmaker the Oman police department found "no criminal suspicion" relating to Avicii's death and two post-mortem examinations were conducted, with authorities ruling out foul play. At the end of April, his family released a statement which seemingly confirmed the EDM star had taken his own life. It read: "Stockholm, 26 April 2018 "Our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions. An over-achieving perfectionist who travelled and worked hard at a pace that led to extreme stress. "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 was not made for the business machine he found himself in; he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight. "Tim, you will forever be loved and sadly missed. The person you were and your music will keep your memory alive. "We love you, Your family [sic]" Avicii retired from performing in 2016 citing health issues as his reason for calling time on his shows. He had been battling with acute pancreatitis - which is a potentially life-threatening inflammation of the pancreas - due in part to excessive alcohol consumption, and had his gallbladder and appendix removed in 2014. Camila Cabello has been hospitalised for dehydration. Camila Cabello The 'Havana' hitmaker was forced to cancel her opening slot at the Seattle date of Taylor Swift's reputation tour on Tuesday night (22.05.18) after she fell ill. She shared in a statement posted to her Twitter account: "So yesterday after my performance at the billboards, i was feeling really sick and ended up in the hospital to get checked out. They ran a lot of tests and everything is fine, but the diagnosis was basically dehydration and I also have a low grade fever - the doctors have told me I really have to get rest otherwise I won't get better - so unfortunately I won't be able to perform my set during the Reputation tour in Seattle tomorrow. I'm so sorry to let you guys down and I promise I will make it up as soon as I can." Camila will have been gutted to miss her supporting slot on Taylor's Seattle tour date as she previously revealed she has an "intense gratitude" towards Taylor. Camila posted on Twitter: "what was going through my mind at this moment: I remembered when i came to school one day (I think I was in 9th grade but could be wrong) and my friend Mariana had just seen Taylor on the speak now tour and told me she touched her hand and i was like when am I ever gonna be able to afford to go to a Taylor swift concert and touch her hand during speak now, and I just had a moment of "if you would've told me then what was gonna happen I wouldn't have believed it" and I had such an intense gratitude for everything I'm experiencing right now. I love you @taylorswift13 and @charli_xcx (sic)" Donald Glover "stopped talking to friends" to avoid letting slip 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' spoilers. Donald Glover The 34-year-old actor - who plays Lando Calrissian in the movie - was worried about revealing too much about his role and so opted to cut off his pals so he didn't overshare. He told the New York Post's Page Six column: "I stopped talking to friends. I had a friend who's super into 'Star Wars and I think it was out that I auditioned and he was already like, 'Oh my God, you're Lando,' before I'd gotten the part. I guess lying to friends was the hardest part. I told my dad immediately. I know i wasn't supposed to, but i told him immediately just because it was a big deal to him. He's a huge fan and Lando was, like, my first toy he gave me. It was just a big deal." Meanwhile, Donald previously insisted he would "love" to play Lando Calrissian again for his own spin-off movie. When asked about getting his own film, Donald shared: "It would always be fun to be Lando again. I would love to do it again. It's really fun. The movie, I feel like, is wide open. This part of the universe without the ... I feel like with the Skywalkers, it's hard, because it's almost like the Bible. There's a story that you have to tell, and the lineage of that family. "I feel like out here its like, yeah, we're just like husters and gamblers and space pirates, essentially, so you can do a lot more and have a lot more fun. And I like those movies a lot. I like the comedy of them, the silliness and also the adventure. I think it would just be fun to do." Forget Bigger is Better when it comes to lip-filler, there's a new lip trend in Tinsel Town and this one champions the less is more approach. Fashion and Beauty on Female First For years celebrities having been modelling over-lined lips or having copious amounts of filler injected in their quest for the Holy Grail; that Angelina Jolie esque pout. More often than not, the end result is less than natural looking. Doctor Zoya Diwan of celebrity clinic - Trikwan Aesthetics, notes we have seen so many patients whose lips have been over filled. The lips end up looking shapeless, and swollen which is not a good look and can even be painful. Dr Sanjay Trikha adds Now that the more natural lip look is coming into fashion, hopefully we will see less of that excessive look Indeed it seems the tide is finally changing with the queen of Insta-pouts; Kylie Jenner sporting noticeably slimmer lips of late. The reality star even stated that her filled lips had looked too big in the past and seems to be happy with her newly downsized lips. The trend for a more subtle lip look has taken off this side of the pond too with British celebrity doctor duo Doctor Zoya Diwan and Doctor Sanjay Trikha creating their hugely popular Cupids Bow treatment to meet the demand for more subtle looking yet shapely lips. Here are the top ten things you should know about their new filler technique which is said to be making waves in the industry for ensuring the dreaded trout pout is a thing of the past. 1.) The treatment is titled the Trikwan Cupids Bow Treatment due to the fact that filler is carefully placed along the Cupids bow or v-shape area of the mouth. The doctors say that the aim is to enhance the peaks of the lips and overall shape of the mouth for a pretty rather than obvious tweak. 2.) The specialist injection technique came about after Taylor Swift and Rihannas shapely lips became the top celebrity lip look requested at the Trikwan Aesthetics clinic. Both pop divas sport a naturally overt Cupids Bow area, rather than overly plump lips, hence a focus on building shape in this area of the mouth during treatment. 3.) In contrast, previous years saw the most requested look on stars such as Kylie Jenner, Angelina Jolie and Rosie Huntington-Whitely who are better known for their pillowy pouts rather than the shape of their lips. 4.) With the treatment taking off in the UK, and after being highlighted in Vogue as one of the best new beauty treatments on the aesthetics scene, the doctors have reported patients coming as far afield as New York to visit the Harley Street clinic to have their lips enhanced. 5.) Another area of focus for the treatment which has been over looked in the past are the Philthrum columns. Philthrum columns are the lines that follow the nostrils to the tops of the Cupids Bow peaks. When enhanced, these columns reportedly give a pleasing yet natural look to the mouth area. 6.) Part of the reason the doctors decided to focus on building volume in the philthrum columns came after they studied various face tweaking apps and makeup tutorials. The doctors noticed that the philthrum columns were being enhanced through use of highlighting and shading and were able to recreate this look through clever contouring of cleverly placed filler for a more permanent result. 7.) The treatment uses a type of lip filler which can last up to 12 months. In the past many fillers would typically last up to 6 months, however the filler can be dissolved on request. 8.) The treatment involves little down time, as initially swelling goes down after 24-72 hours. However the doctors take care to note that any aesthetic treatment should be taken with due cares and insist on a consult prior to the procedure to ensure that best results are achieved. 9.) While not completely painless, the treatment uses a fair amount of numbing cream to ensure those with even the most needle phobic, feel more at ease, plus the fillers themselves have local anaesthetic within them. 10.) The doctors have reported a wide range of customers requesting the treatment, with the oldest being a new grandmother at 60 To learn more about the treatment visit trikwan.com. Prices for the Cupids Bow treatment start from 220. OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- A 26-year-old Ocean Springs man is in jail after narcotics agents raided his home and found marijuana growing. According to Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell, agents from the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team raided a home Monday in the St. Andrews community southeast of Ocean Springs. What they found inside the home of Joseph Cameron Hines at 816 Lemon St. were marijuana plants with an estimated street value of several thousand dollars, Ezell said. Investigators were able to track Hines through the internet, which he used to buy all the materials needed to grow the marijuana plants. Hines has been charged with cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana while in possession of a firearm, and two counts possession of a controlled substance. He remains in the Jackson County Adult Detention Center awaiting an initial court appearance. The South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team is comprised of officers from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, and the police departments from Ocean Springs, Gautier, Pascagoula and Moss Point. Anyone suspecting illegal drug activity is asked to call the task force at 228-769-3302. Biffy Clyro would like to collaborate with Kurt Cobain's daughter Frances Bean Cobain. Biffy Clyro MTV Unplugged The 'Many of Horror' hitmakers were huge fans of the late Nirvana frontman - who tragically took his own life on April 5, 1994 aged just 27 - who influenced a generation of people with his grunge rock band. Biffy's Simon Neil and twin brothers James and Ben Johnston watched back clips of the 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' group's iconic 'MTV Unplugged' performance in 1994, ahead of their own 'Unplugged' show last November at London's Roundhouse. And the band's drummer Ben has revealed they'd love to work with Frances, who recently teased her first song on social media, after her mother Courtney Love told them her 25-year-old daughter loves their music at an awards show. Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, Ben said: "Working with Frances would be a massive honour. "I think it was back at one of the NME or Q Awards and we bumped into her mother and she cornered us and said, 'oh, my daughter is a huge fan of your band.' "We were like, wow, heart in mouth type stuff, the actual spawn of Kurt Cobain likes your band. "That is quite an incredible thing to hear. But of course, we would be extremely open to that." The Scottish rockers found it a real pinch yourself moment being asked to relaunch the popular acoustic show and can't wait to recreate their intimate Roundhouse performance at their 'MTV Unplugged' live shows this September, including a date at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall on September 24. Ben said: "To be alongside bands of that size - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Oasis - so many incredible artists have done 'MTV Unplugged' over the years. "What a moment to get to do that as well. "It was just out of this world. I am still elated from doing it." 'Biffy Clyro: MTV Unplugged' premieres Friday 25th May at 9pm, on MTV Sparks have more fun "musically" now than they did in their heyday. Sparks The pop rock duo - comprised of brothers Ron and Russell Mael - returned to the UK top 10 last year with their 23rd album, 'Hippopotamus', which entered the chart at number seven. Keyboard player Ron says that on reflection the 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For the Both Of Us' hitmakers prefer the music they are making now than in the 70s. In an interview with The Times newspaper, he admitted: "I can't say it wasn't fun in the 70s having screaming people in the audience. "Musically, though, it is more fun now. The fact we are still here, it's beyond surreal." The pair will head back into the studio after they complete their current UK tour, which concludes at Bournemouth's International Centre on May 28, to work on their 24th record, and Russell admits it will be hard work topping their last album. He said: "When you have done something that was really well received, it's a challenge to follow it up." However, Ron insists that they no longer mark their success on chart positions. Joking about not having to return to his former employment as a record label delivery boy for a liquor company in a while, he said: "Well, I haven't been a delivery boy for quite a long time. "And in some ways the situation is quite liberating. "Because when the do-or-die about something being a hit single is gone then it isn't chart weekend that will decide whether your career is happening or not." Before releasing their album, 'No. 1 in Heaven', in 1979 in collaboration with disco producer, Giorgio Moroder - who is renowned for his work for the likes of Kylie Minogue, Donna Summer and Britney Spears - which saw them head in a synth-pop direction, Sparks came close to giving up on music. Their record prior to that in 1977, 'Introducing Sparks, was a commercial failure and panned by critics, however, they don't let stuff like that worry them now. Ron said: "We had never had that sort of success, admiration, adulation. "So when that cools off a bit you think, 'is that it? Is that us over?' "Now we don't worry about little nicks that happen along the way. "We feel we can fight through them, but at the start you don't know what the story is going to be." Netflix will continue on with their true crime original shows this year with the release of 13-part documentary series, The Staircase. The real-life courtroom thriller will showcase the workings of a high-profile murder trial, examining contemporary American justice and bringing the compelling case of Michael Peterson a crime novelist accused of killing his wife after shes found at the bottom of their homes staircase to the streaming platform. The first trailer for the series has been released this week, and you can check it out below: The documentary series comes from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, who was granted unprecedented access to the case immediately after Kathleens death in her mansion, in North Carolina. With cameras on hand to capture each moment of Michael Petersons story, from his arrest, to the verdict, and taking in intimate details from his defence team, family, and Michael himself, this is a look into one of the most famous criminal cases America has ever seen. This is a series that has hit the small screen before, but this time round, Netflix have gotten their hands on three new episodes that are set to air alongside the original. The Staircase comes to Netflix across the globe on June 8, 2018. by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category HON. PM BAINIMARAMA AT THE FIJI-EU POLITICAL DIALOGUE Cabinet Members;The Head of the European Union Delegation for the Pacific, Ambassador Julian Wilson;Delegates of the European Union;Members of the Diplomatic Corps;Distinguished Guests;Ladies and Gentlemen.Bula Vinaka and a very good morning to you all.Im delighted to be here this morning at this Third Fiji-European Union Enhanced Political Dialogue as this event returns to Suva following our second dialogue in Brussels in 2016.As you know, this years dialogue was initially scheduled for 2017, but that was quite a busy year for us, as we hosted the first-ever UN Conference on Oceans last June and presided over the COP23 negotiations this past November. So we appreciate that weve been able to move this important event into 2018. And, on behalf of every Fijian, allow me to welcome you all to Fiji, especially those who are here for the first time, and we very much hope that you enjoy your time here with us.We in Fiji are proud of every relationship we share with the member countries of the European Union; relationships that have transformed the lives of Fijians and Europeans alike. And we recognise this event as a powerful tool in strengthening those relationships, and in finding new ways we can make life better for people here in Fiji, in the EU, and everywhere around the world.We have a number of cooperative agreements in place with the EU, along with other bilateral arrangements with its member states. Taken together, those arrangements impact nearly every aspect of our national development. On top of that, thousands of Europeans visit Fiji every year and many of our sporting stars compete in European countries. Fiji and the EU, together, have made the world a safer place, through UN Peacekeeping, cooperation in combatting cybercrime and thwarting transnational criminals, and on many of the great issues of our time, Fiji and the EU member countries have spoken together, with one voice, to rally the world to action.So while we may be on opposite ends of the globe, we share profound and impactful friendships. And already in 2018, weve taken those relationships to new levels.Earlier in the year, we appointed two Honourary Consuls in Estonia and the Netherlands, and we are looking to expand our diplomatic presence in other Member States. Just this month, here in Fiji, we hosted the first-ever Franco-Fiji Business Dialogue. And on the global stage, Germany not only played host to the COP23 negotiations in Bonn, Germany, but they, along with all of the EU, have been hugely supportive of our COP23 Presidency and our critical campaign to fully implement the Paris Agreement and raise the ambition of the Nationally Determined Contributions. We also enjoyed the support of the EU in our co-hosting of the UN Conference on Oceans, alongside the Government of Sweden, in New York last year.This years political dialogue is particularly important, as it will lay the groundwork for our Ministerial meeting in Togo later this month. There, we will propose a new arrangement between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, and Fiji is a proud founding member of the ACP Group.In the upcoming negotiations, Fiji will be pushing for an even greater focus on sustainable, resilient development, and space for accommodating developing and climate-vulnerable small island states, increasing regional trade and integration, and making development financing more accessible.The Fijian economy is on track to record its ninth straight year of economic growth, the longest sustained period of growth in our post-independence history. On the back of our economic success, weve increased disposable income and our foreign reserves; weve grown tax revenue while also making our tax regime fairer, more transparent and more efficient; and weve welcomed stronger and increasing business activity that has dropped unemployment in Fiji to the lowest rate recorded in 20 years. We are also very proud that even as weve invested heavily in infrastructure and capital development, even as weve adapted our climate-vulnerable economy, even as weve expanded the safety net of social welfare in Fijian society, and even as weve come to the immediate aid of Fijians impacted by severe weather, weve actually seen a sharp decrease in our debt to GDP ratio.Ive said it many times before, it takes more than luck and good fortune to grow an economy and then keep it growing year after year. It takes vision, it takes sound financial management, and it takes unrelenting political will. Particularly for a developing nation like Fiji, which is removed from large markets, we need to be innovative in how we pursue development. We need to think outside of the box, and find ways to attract new business and industries and incentivise investment into our country. And weve put in place a wide range of tax incentives and economic policies that have positioned our economy to welcome new industries and generate new sources of economic activity.However, as weve seen, all this development can be wiped out by one single climactic event as seen in Cyclone Winston, where one third of the value of our GDP was wiped out within 48 hours. So, despite our strong economic growth, we are still vulnerable and fragile because we are not close to large markets, are comparatively isolated, do not have the economies of scale to attract large private sector investment and are vulnerable to increased climactic events. Therefore, we as a nation need to provide innovative financial and economic initiatives to attract investment, to give jobs and sustained livelihoods to our people. . We need to provide education; and we have to give our people access to basic utilities such as water, electricity and transportation.We must fulfil not only the civil and political rights, but also the economic, social and cultural rights of our people. Our development partners need to also understand this and give us the assistance and, at the very least, the space to do so.Despite the challenges, we must continue to strengthen the traditional pillars of our economy which includes modernising our sugar cane industry, an industry that supports the economic well-being of over 200,000 Fijians.Last year saw the expiration of EU production quotas, leading to an increase in EU sugar production and a decline of sugar prices. Since then, we have been working with buyers to secure new markets for Fijian sugar, securing a profitable future for the industry. And I hope that the EU will work to maintain the stability of their sugar market to keep suppliers on an equal playing field.Of course, we are deeply appreciative of the financial assistance granted by the EU in assisting my Government in making the Fijian sugar cane industry more competitive and giving our cane farmers easier access to sugar mills through the upgrading of cane roads. But given there is nearly 30 million dollars in assistance that remains undisbursed, we are hoping to see those funds released throughout this year. Our cane farmers are very hard-working people, and I, along with every one of them, are keen to see those funds put to good use as quickly as possible.Ladies and gentlemen,Our economic success is also owed, in a very big way, to the health of our democracy and the strength of the Fijian Constitution, which have empowered our people and unleashed our national potential. And four years on from our first genuine parliamentary election, the Fijian people have seen for themselves the strength of our democracy, the fierce independence of our institutions, and theyve seen that their voices and their votes for the first time matter equally in Fijian society.Fiji has already ratified five of the nine major human rights conventions, and weve secured parliamentary approval for the ratification of another two of the instruments just last week, setting the stage for the ratification of seven this year, with further plans to secure approval for the remaining two conventions in 2018.This year, we also will be holding our second general elections. And, as was the case in 2014, those elections will be conducted by the independent Electoral Commission and the Fijian Elections Office with its mandate to ensure that the outcome will reflect the will of the Fijian people.As a democracy, and as an equal partner to our friends in the EU, it is unfortunate that we still find ourselves discussing the issuances of visas for Fijians travelling to EU member countries. Three years ago, we raised this issue with the EU, yet today we cant report that any progress has been made. In fact, I believe we are only one of two Pacific island countries whose citizens are not granted visas on arrival throughout the EU.The strength of any serious partnership is built on a foundation of fairness, dignity and equality. So, again, we ask that this dialogue advance the issue of visa issuance for the Fijian people.So, needless to say, there are a lot of opportunities to make our partnership stronger and more effective. What is also quite clear is that this year, yet again, will be a busy one for Fiji.We still hold our Presidency of COP 23, following the successful negotiations in Bonn last year. I was just in Bonn again this month for another series of climate meetings where we continued our campaign to complete the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement, and worked to ensure that the Talanoa Dialogue leads to more ambition in our climate action plans. And we are steadily preparing for our handover of the Presidency to Poland, in December of this year, at COP24, where the Talanoa Dialogue will be a centrepiece. Not only that, but Talanoa dialogues will soon be taking places in nations around the world, including within the EU.Our COP 23 Presidency is one of those great examples that shows how the friendships in this room can change the lives of every person on earth for the better. When we work together, we can achieve tremendous good for our peoples and for our planet. And regardless of the challenges we have yet to face, I know we can all agree that the best course of action will always be Fiji and the European Union working together for the good of our nations and for the good of every global citizen.I very much look forward to the outcomes of this discussion.Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you. Algaia, S.A., a Paris, France-based biomarine company, raised 4M in equity funding. Main shareholder Maabarot Products made the equity investment. The company intends to use the funds for further expansion of its production facility and innovation center located in Saint-Lo (Normandy-France). Led by Fabrice Bohin, CEO, Algaia works with local fishermen to harvest brown algae just a few kilometres from its plant in Brittany, France, to ensure a constant fresh local supply of seaweed biomass. The new production unit will expand the companys portfolio beyond traditional seaweed extracts, adding functional liquid products for Ag-tech market. Algaia is ISO 9001 and FSSC 22000-certified, its product lines are kosher and halal certified. FinSMEs 22/05/2018 When Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick responded to a school shooting in his state by calling on schools to reduce entrances as a safety measure , advocates of stricter gun laws panned his comments online. To avoid talking about the role guns played in the shooting at Texas Santa Fe High School , in which 10 people died and 13 others were injured, the Republican state official was calling for door control, they argued. But limiting and fortifying entrances to schools has been a school safety best practice since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., part of a broader strategy of designing schools to promote visibility of doorways and hallways and to limit access, especially to student-filled areas, like hallways or classrooms, experts said. The arguments that followed Patricks statements echoed a greater chasm in the debates that have intensified since the Feb. 14 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Should concerns about students safety be addressed through broader efforts, like gun control and mental health initiatives, designed to prevent violent acts from happening in the first place? Or should schools regard some violence as inevitable, preparing for the unlikely worst-case scenario through physical safety measures? Is there a middle ground? Patricks comments to the media came hours after a student used a shotgun and a handgun, apparently legally purchased by his father, to open fire in an art classroom at Santa Fe High School. The student was confronted by two armed school police officers, officials said, and he later surrendered to law enforcement. Officials said he apparently brought the weapons into the school under a long trench coat he was known to wear, and Patrick said schools need to do more to monitor entrances, perhaps even staggering student start times so that they can come into school through a single door monitored by law enforcement. 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, Patrick said in a news conference, adding that schools dont have not enough guards to monitor every doorway. Were going to have to be creative. Were going to think outside of the box because, from what we know, this student walked in today with a long coat and a shotgun under his coat. Its 90 degrees. Had there been one single entrance possibly for every student, maybe he would have been stopped. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, plans to hold discussions on school safety this week in which school design and security measures may be among the topics of discussion. School shootings are statistically rare worst-case scenarios, but they are often the focus of discussions about student safety. Several previous school shootings have caused schools to rethink entrances, typically as part of a greater safety strategy. After the Columbine shooting, architects began emphasizing clear sight lines between a schools front office and its entrances. After a gunman shot through the glass at the entrance to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., school safety consultants recommended schools apply a shatter-resistant film to front windows to slow access for would-be intruders who try to break them. After the Parkland shooting, many wondered how the school could have better secured entrances to its multi-building campus, particularly at the end of day, as it opened gates to prepare for student drivers to leave its parking lot. And investigations that have followed several lesser-known school shootings have determined that gunmen gained access through exterior doors that were propped open in violation of safety protocols. Designing Schools for Safety Architects who design school buildings with safety in mind say entrances are important, but no single factor or policy is enough to keep a school safe, particuarly in a violent situation. And schools should avoid measures that have a bunker-like feel that can cause distrust between adults and students and actually make them feel less safe, they said. No single design solution is going to prevent school shootings or even tragedies within a school, said Karina Ruiz, a Portland, Ore., architect and vice chair of the American Institute of Architects committee on architecture for education leadership group. It has to be a comprehensive approach, both to the design problem and to the larger issue as well. In a position paper it developed after the Parkland shooting, the committee recommends clear sightlines to parking lots from administrative offices, glazing windows with film, enhancing passive supervision by designing interiors that allow adults to very easily see large swaths of hallways and classroom entrances from one vantage point, and, yes, limiting building access to a single entry point with a sallyport design. But physical safety measures should not be so severe that they make a school feel like a prison, Ruiz said, and schools still need to ensure proper training for both adults and students so that other exterior doors, needed for fire safety, arent left open. Rather than hardening schools through aggressive physical security measures as many have proposed since the Parkland shooting, the committee proposes softening school environments through unobtrusive safety measures that promote a sense of well-being for students and encourage healthy relationships within a school. That sort of design can help serve as a preventive factor as well, Ruiz said. Research shows that school shooters often discuss their intentions beforehand, and that students are more likely to seek help for themselves or others if they believe that they can trust adults and that their concerns will be taken seriously. While we believe the safety and security of students, educators and administrators on school campuses are of paramount importance, it is our responsibility as architects, however, to serve as a counterpoint to some of these hardening tactics, the position paper says. We cannot let fear dictate design or advocate for designing our schools to resemble prisons. Our schools and communities deserve more from us. It is important to create spaces that are warm and welcoming to students, educators and communities. We often work with schools, districts and colleges to balance the need for safety and security with a strong desire for flexibility, collaboration and connection. Some schools have managed such a balance. The $50 million redesigned Sandy Hook Elementary School, for example, balances features such as low-profile security cameras at its entrances and a fortified main entrance with a design that includes plenty of art and natural light. Such designs are often best accomplished during new construction, architects say. But many schools also factor safety and school climate into their priorities when they overhaul existing buildings. The average school building is 44 years old , a statistic included in a 2017 Education Week special report about school facilities , and the average building has gone 12 years since a major renovation. But school design on its own is not enough to make students safe, the architects committee wrote in its statement. And some schools that have been targets of violence had already done much to harden their buildings. Through policy, practice, and design, schools should promote social and emotional growth in students to reduce bullying and social isolation for students that can be contributing factors to violent behavior, the statement says. The architects also called for improved access to mental health and new gun laws, echoing calls from an interdisciplinary group of researchers earlier this year. Although it is an uncomfortable and often controversial topic, no conversation about school safety and security can be complete without addressing the issue of gun ownership and safeguards, the statement says. Top photo: Santa Fe High School students, parents and the community observed a moment of silence outside the school on May 21.Texas Governor Greg Abbott 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 Bottom photo: A rendering of the new Sandy Hook Elementary School--Svigals + Partners Related reading on school shootings, school safety: Follow @evieblad on Twitter or subscribe to Rules for Engagement to get blog posts delivered directly to your inbox. Okera (previously known as Cerebro Data), a San Francisco, CA-based data management company, launched out of stealth mode with $12m in Series A venture capital funding. The round, which brings the total amount raised to date to $14.6m, was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Felicis Ventures and Capital One Growth Ventures. In conjunction with the funding, Ethan Kurzweil, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, and Wesley Chan, Managing Director at Felicis Ventures, joined Okeras Board of Directors. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate operational growth. Led by Amandeep Khurana, co-founder and CEO, Okera provides the Active Data Access Platform, which sits in between large data lakes and analytics tools and frameworks as an enterprise-wide platform that facilitates the provisioning, access, governance and auditing of data across multi-cloud, multi-data format and multi-tool environments. Customers include Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries. FinSMEs 22/05/2018 The deadly school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas last week claimed the lives of two educators, in addition to eight students. Media reports have identified the victims, who were killed by a 17-year-old male student. This was the 13th school shooting since the beginning of the year. (For more details, here is Education Weeks on-the-ground reporting from the aftermath of the horrific event .) Glenda Ann Perkins was everyones favorite substitute teacher, as one sophomore at the school told the New York Times . She was known among students as Grandma Perkins because of her sweet nature, students wrote on Twitter. The Daily Mail spoke to 15-year-old student Shelby Sosa, who said Perkins saved her life by pushing her out of the path of bullets . Perkins was substituting in the gym that morning, and when the fire alarm went off, the class exited the gym and headed down the school hallway. Then, they heard gun shots, and Perkins yelled for the students to run. Shelby told the Daily Mail that she had stopped at the end of the hallway to see if her friend had made it to safety. Perkins shoved her out of the doorway seconds before a gun was fired, and the bullet hit Perkins. Shelby said Perkins last word was to her students: Run. This extraordinary woman pushed a student out of the way to protect them & took the deadly bullet that ended her life. Please dont forget her name. Do not ever forget what she did. Do not let her legacy die. Glenda Ann Perkins was a selfless, heroic savior. #RememberAnnPerkins pic.twitter.com/agLbO9v70e -- Lydia Swartz (@lemonylyd) May 20, 2018 Perkins left behind a husband and a daughter. In a statement, her relatives shared what Perkins would have wanted to say, had she survived the shooting: We know Ann would want the students and faculty of Santa Fe High School, to whom she lovingly dedicated so much of her time, to remember to keep their hearts open, to discuss their feelings with family members, friends, and counselors in order to successfully conquer this tragedy, they said. Words cannot express how much we will miss our Ann, who was an amazing and devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, the family continued. , 63, was also a substitute teacher. At the time of the shooting, she was working as a teachers aide in the art room. She started substitute teaching because she loved to help children, her son told the Washington Post . She didnt have to do it. She did it because she loved it. Tisdale was a mother of three and a grandmother of several children. Her brother-in-law said she had planned to retire and be a full-time grandmother, according to the New York Times. Her husband of 47 years has a fatal lung disease, and Tisdale was working two jobs to pay for his medical bills, according to the family . In addition to working at the school, she was a server at a local restaurant, her brother-in-law wrote on Facebook. He added that Tisdale never complained and was tireless in making sure her family was cared for. Tisdales nieces fiance, Eric Sanders, said of Tisdale that words dont explain her lust for life and the joy she got from helping people, according to the Chicago Tribune. While waiting for news of Tisdale on Friday, niece Leia Olinde spoke with Education Week, saying she supports training and arming teachers to cut down on gun violence in schools. You will have a much better response time, Olinde said. (Texas officials, including the governor, are calling for more armed teachers .) After the shooting in Parkland, Fla., earlier this year, teachers across the country were both sombered and inspired by the acts of heroism by the three educators who were killed protecting students. News of school shootings tends to force teachers to imagine what they would do in an active-shooter situation, educators sayand those concerns are amplified during lockdown drills , which have become more unsettling in recent years. How can I tell [my students] that while Id move mountains for them, I know my body is just as feeble against bullets as theirs? opinion blogger Christina Torres wrote after Parkland . How do I explain to them the fact that this is the new normal of the society that they are growing up in, no matter how horrifying I may think it is? How do I admit to them that, as much as I love them, I dont know how to protect them from this? Education Week reporter Arianna Prothero reported from Santa Fe. First image: Television newscasters prepare to give updates near a memorial in front of Santa Fe High School on May 20 in Santa Fe, Texas, where a student shot and killed eight classmates and two teachers. Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP Second image of Cynthia Tisdale via Twitter . . (). , , . . ... 220518MASIU HAPPY WITH HIGH COMMISSIONER VISIT New Dawn FM News The member for South Bougainville in the Papua New Guinea National Parliament and Deputy Opposition leader, TIMOTHY MASIU last week praised the High Commissioner of Australia to Papua New Guinea, BRUCE DAVIES and his delegation for spending few days in South Bougainville. Speaking at the dinner he hosted for the delegation in Buin, MR. MASIU said this was the first time for Buin and South Bougainville to host to a delegation in Buin town. He said many similar visits by VIPs just stay for few hours and travel to Arawa and Buka for accommodation. MR. MASIU said that this was a sign of confidence by the Australian team that Buin is a safe place to visit despite of negative comments by people as a place where there is no rule of law. He said during the time the Australian High Commissioner was visiting Buin there was also the circuit of the National Court hearing cases in Buin. MR. MASIU said that although the High Commissioner did not make any commitment he has seen for himself what South Bougainville needs at this time. Ends After a contentious and outrageous season, ABCs American Idol revival came to a close and finally crowned its winner. However, with every happy fan of the first place winner, there were a number of fans upset that their pick didnt win. The two-hour finale packed performances from the judges, a slew of stars and, of course, the three remaining contestants, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Gabby Barrett and Maddie Poppe. After weeks of singing their heart out and climbing to the top of the ladder for Americas vote, only one of the fan-beloved contestants could win. In the midst of all the songs and celebration, host Ryan Seacrest gathered all three on stage for the first elimination of the night. First he named Hutchinson as safe. After some nail-biting and tension, he was forced to inform Barrett that her journey on the Idol stage had come to a close. While fans of Hutchinson and Poppe breathed a sigh of relief, fans of Barret took to Twitter to voice their displeasure at the show that axed their artist of choice. Who cares about American Idol now because Gabby should have won, one user wrote. Not only is American Idol rigged but Gabby not winning is the biggest upset of 2018, another angry user posted. I dont understand how Gabby didnt win American Idol and Im actually really annoyed right now about it.. Still hoping to hear her on the radio someday, another posted. While many were bitter that Gabby didn't win, the night took a positive turn as remaining contestants Hutchinson and Poppe revealed to the American public that they're dating. Still, despite the romance, fans had their alleginces and voiced them on Twitter once Seacrest gathered the happy couple again on stage to announce Poppe as ABC's first American Idol. Some fans even went as far as to call the whole show rigged in ABC's hands. "Honestly... before this episode began, I was completely okay with Maddie Poppe winning. But now? Now it's just ruined because it was very obviously staged with her and Caleb," one user wrote of the surprise announcement. "American Idol is rigged," another remarked. "Good ole fashioned screw job on @AmericanIdol I am not happy," wrote one. "Now we all know Caleb should have won.. I'm so disappointed in America's vote," another noted. "So once again tonight proved American Idol is just a popularity contest....." another said. 220518MOMIS SAYS ABG PRIORITY NOW IS THE COMING REFERENDUM New Dawn FM News The ABG President Chief DR.JOHN MOMIS last week told the visiting Australian High Commissioner to PNG, BRUCE DAVIES and his delegation plus the ABG Ministers, Members and the people of South Bougainville that ABG has its priorities as the date for the referendum nears. Speaking at the Opening of the Double Classroom and a Teachers house at Buin Primary School, President MOMIS said certain things can wait after the referendum but not the preparation for the coming Referendum. He said that Bougainville desperately needed funds to fast-tract outstanding issues to make sure all Bougainvilleans are ready and united to go for the vote in 2019. President Momis said that the tactic that the National Government is playing to withhold funds entitled to Bougainville under the Bougainville Peace Agreement was not helping Bougainville at all. He called on the people of Bougainville to remain united and not involve in issues that could divide the people during referendum vote next year. President MOMIS said that UNITY was Bougainvilles most powerful bargaining power when negotiating the final status of Bougainville after referendum. Ends Actress Asia Argento condemned NBC News for shutting down Ronan Farrows reporting on Harvey Weinstein despite overwhelming evidence that the Peacock Network could have outed the now-disgraced Hollywood mogul months before he was eventually exposed. NBC has claimed that Farrows reporting, as presented to them, was not up to snuff but the celebrity scions work ultimately appeared in the New Yorker and won the coveted Pulitzer Prize while helping launch the #MeToo movement. Farrow has said he will finally tell his side of the story in an upcoming book but Argento, who has accused Weinstein of rape, thinks NBC should look conduct its own probe. Note to @NBCNews: perhaps you should be investigating why NBC news shut down @RonanFarrows story, in spite of overwhelming evidence, Argento wrote Monday. The actress recently delivered an emotional speech at the Cannes Film Festival in which she opened up about her allegations but NBC News managed to upset Argento when covering her powerful moment. In 1997, I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes. I was 21 years old, Argento said at the close of the annual festival. This festival was his hunting ground He will live in disgrace, shunned by a film community that once embraced him and covered up for his crimes. NBC News published a story on its website about Argentos speech and included a comment from Weinsteins attorney, who called the relationship consensual and said it occurred before she worked on the film "B. Monkey" with Weinstein, so the actress took to Twitter to express her displeasure. Note to media: stop asking Spa Boy or his representatives for comment every time you write an article about me or my fellow survivors. Rape and sexual assault is the only violent crime where the media plays this stupid charade, she tweeted with a screen shot of the NBC story. Argento continued with a follow-up tweet: You dont ask a sociopath to comment, because the sociopath will lie. Consensual relationship, my ass. I was raped by this monster, dammit. AFTER I had shot B. Monkey. Stalked and sexually-harassed for years. Enough! #BelieveWomen. NBC News has been engulfed in a series of public relations debacles related to various forms of sexual misconduct. Top level executives reportedly are embarrassed by the way NBC News Chairman Andy Lack has handled the scandals and are looking to replace him as a result. The tipping point appears to be the negative public reaction to the internal report released last week that declared NBC News management was completely oblivious to former Today star Matt Lauers sexual misconduct. The Lauer review was headed by NBCUniversal General Counsel Kim Harris, as opposed to a white-shoe law firm, despite numerous calls for an outside investigation which has of late been de rigueur for other news organizations dealing with sex harassment. In addition to the Lauer scandal and the network passing on Farrows Weinstein expose, NBC News was also criticized for sitting on the Access Hollywood tape of Donald Trump making lewd comments about women. Earlier this month, Lacks leadership at NBC was subjected to a devastatingly harsh column in the Washington Post by former New York Times ombudsman Margaret Sullivan. Something is wrong at NBC, and by the traditional standard that the person at the top sets the tone and bears ultimate responsibility, its hard to absolve NBC Chairman Andy Lack, Sullivan wrote. The networks credibility is on the line. NBC News did not immediately respond when asked for comment on Argento's remarks. The New York Times issued four different corrections to an antagonistic, failed hit piece on Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz, who once opposed President Barack Obama's Iran nuclear pact. The embarrassing article falsely claimed that Dubowitz paid himself nearly twice as much as his think-tank peers; that the FDD is linked to Israels Likud Party; and that a Republican donor with financial ties to the Emirates provided $2.7 million to fund an anti-Qatar conference. None of those things are true. The Times issued a lengthy correction explaining that a board of directors determined Dubowitzs compensation, which is on par with other think-tank leaders; that the FDD is not directly involved with the Likud Party; and that donor Elliott Broidy gave $360,000 for the conference. What's left after the corrections is a dispatch about a think-tank exec with no genuine public-policy power who originally opposed the Iran deal, thought he could convince Trump to mend it without ending it, and is now getting flak from fever-swamp leftists who didn't like his original opposition, Media Research Center contributing editor Tom Blumer wrote. Why was this even a story in the first place? Blumer pointed out that, in addition to the four errors, it is hard to ignore the hostility that Times international diplomacy reporter Gardiner Harris apparently has toward Dubowitz and the FDD. The May 13 piece headlined, He Was a Tireless Critic of the Iran Deal. Now He Insists He Wanted to Save It, mentions Dubowitz wears tailored French suits and keeps his curly hair just so. Who except an angry, jealous, agenda-driven reporter would care about tailored French suits and keeping his curly hair just so? Media Research Center contributing editor Tom Blumer Blumer asked, Who except an angry, jealous, agenda-driven reporter would care about tailored French suits and keeping his curly hair just so? The FDD is a non-profit group that bills itself as a non-partisan group with a mission to promote pluralism, defend democratic values and fight the ideologies that drive terrorism. Dubowitz, the groups leader, was a robust adversary of Obamas Iran nuclear deal back in 2015 but tried to save portions of it before President Trump announced that the United States would pull out. Harris apparently isnt a fan of Dubowitzs evolving position, as he attacked the FDD leader with a plethora of misinformation. MRC's Blumer wrote that the piece is uniquely embarrassing because of the sheer volume of embarrassing gaffes in addition to how easy it should have been for his editors to catch them. The entire correction states: An article on Monday about Mark Dubowitz, the chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and his perspective on nuclear negotiations with Iran referred imprecisely to Mr. Dubowitzs salary as compared with those of leaders of other Washington think tanks. Mr. Dubowitzs $560,221 compensation in 2016 was determined by the foundations board of directors and is commensurate with the average annual salary of other think-tank leaders in Washington in recent years. It is not nearly twice as much as the salaries of his counterparts. The article also inaccurately linked the foundation to Israels Likud party. While the think tank does align with some of Likuds positions, it is not directly involved with the party. The article also referred imprecisely to the funding of conferences held by the foundation and the Hudson Institute. While Elliott Broidy provided $2.7 million in funds for consulting, marketing and other services, the foundation says it received only $360,000 from Mr. Broidy for one conference. Rapper Kendrick Lamar called out a white fan on Sunday for not skipping the N-word in one of his songs after inviting her on stage to rap with him. The woman was among the lucky fans who knew all the words to Lamars 2012 track M.A.A.D City and were invited to come up on stage and rap with during the final day of the Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama, Billboard reported. WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE So he starts the track and she gets to the first N-word of the song and she doesnt say it, so I breathe a sigh of relief, wrote one festival-goer who apparently witnessed the incident. But then she gets to the next one and she belts that s--- out like its her own name. It has never felt more gratifying to boo someone than when we collectively booed [the woman] off the stage, the Twitter user added. Some in the crowd could be heard calling the fan expletive names. Lamar cut off the woman. You got to bleep one single word though, he said. The fan apologized. She was given another chance but faltered and mixed up the rhythm and wording. Many on social media celebrated Lamars decision to call out the woman for using the N-word. So glad I was able to witness such a historical event, wrote one user on Twitter. What can I say, we love a king, wrote another user. But others said it was unfair for the rapper and the crowd to turn against her as she merely tried to sing the actual lyrics of the song. I honestly feel so bad for her because if artists dont want us saying certain words, then dont put it in your songs for the entire public to hear, one woman wrote on Twitter. He got mad because someone sang the lyrics to the song he wrote? After he pulled her on stage? Sounds stupid, said another user on Twitter. MSNBC star Joy Reid is set to co-host a town hall event on racism as questions about homophobic comments on her pre-fame blog remain unaddressed by the embattled Peacock Network. This shows MSNBC is doubling down on Joy Reid and making clear that her questionable claims about old postings aren't that important to them, NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck told Fox News. Conservative commentator Carmine Sabia told Fox News that the move reeks of hypocrisy. She gave a half-hearted apology for the homophobic rants in her past, where she did not even acknowledge that she said what she said, and now she is going to preach to America about discrimination? It is ridiculous, Sabia said. She gave a half-hearted apology for the homophobic rants in her past, where she did not even acknowledge that she said what she said, and now she is going to preach to America about discrimination? It is ridiculous." Conservative commentator Carmine Sabia Last month, Reid kinda-sorta admitted to writing homophobic slurs that shed previously insisted were the work of diabolical hackers. After days of speculation about her future, the AM Joy host addressed the situation during the April 28 episode of her show that airs every Saturday and Sunday morning. I genuinely do not believe I wrote those hateful things, Reid told her viewers, adding, "The person I am now is not the person I was then." Reid got emotional on the air and admitted it seemed unlikely she was hacked, but that she didnt recall making the offensive remarks, for which she apologized anyway. MSNBC and NBC News faced an onslaught of criticism for remaining stone silent about Reids controversial past, which included homophobic digs at the networks biggest cash cow, Rachel Maddow -- who is openly gay. Reid will now join Chris Hayes as co-moderators for MSNBCs town hall event Everyday Racism in America, which will explore the current state of race relations in America, according to a press release distributed by the network. It will be broadcast at 9pm May 29 from Philadelphia. Its absolutely laughable for Joy Reid to host a town hall on racism while failing to account or be held accountable for her own bigotry, conservative strategist Chris Barron told Fox News. Politcal commentator Britt McHenry told Fox News the move is stunningly tone deaf, especially since her past narrow-mindedness was exposed so recently. "To just gloss over her homophobia and then blatant lies to cover it up, hardly demonstrates fair treatment and ethics." Political commentator Britt McHenry Its one thing if they tried to trot her out six months from the controversy, where at least some time had elapsed. But to just gloss over her homophobia and then blatant lies to cover it up, hardly demonstrates fair treatment and ethics, McHenry told Fox News. Reid apologized last year when homophobic comments she made prior to landing a gig at MSNBC were unearthed by a Twitter user and reported by Mediaite. But in April, Mediaite reported that Reid originally blamed an unknown, external party for a newly uncovered batch of anti-gay comments that popped up on archived images of her old blog. Reids hacker claim fell apart and was mocked by critics, but MSNBC kept her on the air throughout the entire ordeal. Reid even told Mediaite that she had notified federal law enforcement officials of the breach, but eventually admitted there was no evidence to back up her story. The slurs on Reids old site also include comments about lesbian hair, numerous attempts to expose closeted gay men, calling homosexual sex gross, assumptions that gay men prey on young boys and an assortment of jabs at Maddow, whom she allegedly called at the left-most end of the political spectrum. Prominent LGBTQ organization PFLAG National rescinded its Straight for Equality in Media award to Reid amid the scandal. It is unbelievable that MSNBC would continue to trot her out given the multiple preposterous stories she has told to avoid simply saying - I wrote these things, I believed these things, I was wrong, Barron said. Mediaite columnist Joseph Wulfsohn told Fox News that the town hall could be a bit awkward on the heels of Reid's latest controversy but he feels the network is ultimately to blame. Whats more remarkable is that MSNBC is willing to allow a prominent host from their network to lie to the American people about her old blog being hacked and not face any sort of repercussions, Wulfsohn said. Even if she has evolved on LGBT issues, her credibility as a cable news host -- despite her loyal following -- is tarnished and so is the NBC brand. MSNBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Prince Harry may be officially taken, but there is still hope for those wanting to become part of a distinguished British family. Harry's 24-year-old cousin, Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, is single and still very much on the market. On Saturday, late Princess Diana's nephew attended his cousin's wedding to American actress Meghan Markle alongside sisters Lady Eliza and Lady Kitty Spencer and their mother, Victoria Aitken. There was no date in sight, People reported. And while the young Spencer isn't exactly next in line to the royal throne he is the son of Earl Spencer, Princess Diana's younger brother he is next in line to earldom and would inherit his father's title. In addition to his good looks and nobility, the young aristocrat was a scholar at the University of Edinburgh and is often seen attending society events in London. Back in 2015, Spencer was snapped hanging out with rap diva Nicki Minaj. At the time, Minaj shared a photo of the two on her Instagram page with the caption, Check out our wedding photo. No honestly it was such an honor to have you guys." Along with Spencer's immediate family, Diana's siblings were all in attendance this past weekend at the royal wedding. Diana was honored in several ways during the ceremony, from Markle's forget-me-not wedding bouquet, which was Diana's favorite flower, to the touching reading delivered by the late princess' sister, Lady Jane Fellowes. Harry and Markle also chose the hymn "Guide Me, O Thy Great Redeemer," to be sung at their nuptials, which was the hymn sung at Diana's funeral. A South Carolina grocery store censored the words "Summa Cum Laude" on a cake that was requested for a home-school graduate, a woman claimed Monday. Cara Koscinskis son Jacob graduated from a Christian-based home-school program Saturday, but when she decided to order a cake through the Publix website she was told that profane language was prohibited, WCIV-TV reported. She said she clarified her order with special instructions. MAN STRIPS DOWN ON ROOF OF WENDY'S, HAS STANDOFF WITH COPS The website had censored me," Koscinski said, adding that she included a link to another website where the term "Summa Cum Laude" was defined. Koscinskis husband later picked up the cake from the West Ashley supermarket, but didnt know the bakers had omitted the word Cum with hyphens. The cake experience was kind of frustrating and humiliating because I had to explain to my friends and family what that meant. And they were giggling uncontrollably. At least my friends were, Jacob Koscinski told the station. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS A manager apologized and offered a refund for the cake, according to WCIV-TV. The family said they were looking forward to their son attending Wingate University in the fall. A mom has told of her guilt after her newborn daughter developed cancer in the womb and was forced to undergo grueling chemotherapy at just 14 days old. Just two weeks after she was born, little Annaleise Sisneros was hooked up to machines and surrounded by up to 20 doctors as she was treated with heavy-duty drugs. Heartbreakingly, the tiny babys hair even fell out a side-effect of her chemotherapy. Annaleise, now nearly 9 months old, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a blood cancer that's rare in kids, in August of last year. Doctors initially thought her raised, red rash was allergies, but following blood tests her parents were given the devastating cancer diagnosis. BABY DIAGNOSED WITH 'MERMAID SYNDROME' DIES MINUTES AFTER BIRTH It is likely it developed in the womb, her parents said. We assumed she developed it in the womb, as she had the bumps when she was born," Brandy Sisneros, the girl's mom, said. "So we are assuming she had it while I was pregnant." But [when I was expecting] they didnt catch anything or see anything out of the ordinary," the 25-year-old from New Mexico said. "They dont know how she got it. No one knows why it happened it is just one of those things. Annaleise is one of the youngest cancer sufferers in the world, but is now happily in remission. Sisneros said she felt guilty for her daughter's diagnosis. I blamed myself," she said. "Maybe it was something, a chemical I was using. Once youre pregnant everything you expose to yourself you expose to a baby. The full-time mom, who has two older daughters, Aalyiah and Aubrianna, both six but not twins was delighted to fall pregnant with Annaleise. And when she arrived, weighing 7 pounds, everything seemed mainly normal. But there were a couple of spots, like bumps, that were not very concerning, she said. Then, about five days afterwards, she got these blisters. They were kind of like chicken pox. They were bruise-colored. And a few of them started coming from underneath the skin to above the skin. RARE BAT VIRUS KILLS AT LEAST 10 IN INDIA AS OFFICIALS SCRAMBLE TO CONTROL OUTBREAK Taken to Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, N.M., doctors said it could be an infection or cancer. The next morning they said it was leukemia and they were trying to figure out what kind, Sisneros said. A few days later, in August when Annaleise was just only days old - she had a Broviac tube fitted. This is a central line catheter which allows for long-term access to blood and for chemotherapy drugs to be fed directly into her. She was also given blood transfusions to ensure her white blood cell count was low enough for chemotherapy to be effective and safe. Then, at two weeks old, chemotherapy started. The treatment was supposed to last for 10 days but on day eight Annaleise became critically ill. The dosage was adjusted for her age and weight. She was doing really, really good," Sisneros said. "The chemo was supposed to be 10 days but on her eighth day she went into a critical condition." The doctors had to stop the chemo and put her on a breathing tube," she said. "They had to give her loads of medicine. At one point she had 20 machines feeding into her." They had to put another line in through the groin area," she said. There was a risk she would lose her toes or whole leg. She was pumped with so many fluids she was swollen; she was really puffy. For around a week she was in a critical condition but Annaleise pulled through and started to recover. After four more rounds of increasingly high dosages of chemotherapy, further blood tests were taken and in October the family was told the treatment was working and she was in remission. Now she is back home and we are so proud of her," Sisneros said. "During chemo, they gave her medicine to keep her comfortable she wasnt strong enough to take a bottle. It took a toll on her; you could tell when she wasnt feeling good." She would get her blanket and put it over the head," she said. "But, even during the worst periods, didnt really cry. Shes a superstar. This article first appeared on The Sun. Health officials in India are on high alert for a rare deadly virus spread by fruit bats that can cause flu-like symptoms and has already killed at least 10, with more than 40 others in quarantine. There is no vaccine for the Nipah virus, and treatment typically consists of supportive care. The outbreaks first death occurred on Friday in Kerala, a state in South India on the Malabar Coast. As the news spread, many residents swarmed local hospitals out of fear that they had contracted the deadly disease.Coast. The virus, first detected in Malaysia in 1998, is spread through infected bats fluids or an infected patients body fluids. It has an average fatality of around 75 percent, and symptoms include body aches, fever, vomiting and even encephalitis. Those who recover from the virus may be prone to relapse. This is a new situation for us, the states health minister, K.K. Shailaja, told Reuters. We have no prior experience in dealing with the Nipah virus. We are hopeful we can put a stop to the outbreak. CONGO TO BEGIN VACCINATING AGAINST EBOLA AFTER NEW CASES IN MAJOR CITY In addition to the 10 fatalities, two patients who tested positive for the virus are being closely monitored. One of the victims, Lini Puthussery, a nurse, likely contracted the virus while caring for an infected patient, The Times of India reported. India has sent a team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to investigate the outbreak, while officials in the worlds second most populous country scramble to contain it from spreading further. Since all the contacts are under observation and steps to avoid exposure through animal vectors have been taken, there is no reason for people to panic, the agency said. However, health experts stressed the importance of early detection and infection control. DOZENS HOSPITALIZED AFTER ALLEGEDLY INGESTING K2 IN BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOOD It will not spread like wildfire because it is not airborne, but it can be risky if they dont follow proper infection control procedures, Dr. D Himanshu, of King Georges Medical University in Lucknow, told Reuters. Investigators reportedly are zeroing in on a specific well in Kerala that the victims drew water from. Samples from bats found in the well were sent to laboratories to be screened for the virus, Reuters reported. Kerala officials are also expected to issue a travel advisory for the region. India has suffered two outbreaks of the virus in the last decade, accounting for 50 fatalities, according to the World Health Organization. Reuters contributed to this report. A group of congressional Republicans plans to introduce a resolution Tuesday calling for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate alleged misconduct at the FBI and Justice Department. The resolution is backed by Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus as well as two of the group's co-founders -- Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. Fox News has learned the 12-page resolution will ask a second special counsel to probe matters related to three topics: The ending of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's personal email server, the progress of the Trump-Russia investigation from its origins through the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel, and abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) during the warrant application process. The resolution is expected to say that a second special counsel would have greater autonomy to investigate those issues than the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General. Last week, Inspector General Michael Horowitz told lawmakers that he had completed his draft report on the Clinton investigation and submitted it to the DOJ and the FBI. In March, Horowitz said he would also look into allegations that 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. At the time, Horowitz said his office would look at those claims as well as communications between Steele and DOJ and FBI officials. Over the weekend, the Justice Department announced it had asked the watchdog to expand that investigation by examining whether any improper politically motivated surveillance of the Trump campaign in 2016 took place. Fox News' Mike Emanuel and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. 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. Rio 2016 Olympic champions Brazil are in Kraljevo, Serbia, for the opening weekend, where they also get to play Germany and Rio 2016 silver medallists Italy. Serbia and Iran before the second of two friendly matches in Kraljevo in preparation for the start of the VNL. And reigning world champions Poland host a pool of their own in Katowice - exactly where they won that world trophy four years ago - featuring Canada, Korea and Russia (with all four teams moving to Krakow on Saturday and Sunday). France, winners of the last FIVB Volleyball World League, last year, also host a pool in Rouen, with Australia, Iran and Japan. The hosts have secured their place in the Final Six as hosts of the event in Lille. And in Ningbo, China entertain Argentina, Bulgaria and USA. The four pools of the opening weekend: Pool 1 in Rouen: France, Australia, Iran, Japan. Pool 2 in Ningbo: China, Argentina, Bulgaria, USA. Pool 3 in Katowice & Krakow: Poland, Canada, Korea, Russia. Pool 4 in Kraljevo: Serbia, Brazil, Germany, Italy. Quick links: FIVB Volleyball Nations League Website Men's teams Schedule Competition information Tickets Poland lost in Katowice to Canada in their latest friendly as both sides prepare for the start of the VNL. The world's top sixteen teams are on the starting line ahead of the launch this coming weekend of the inagural 2018 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League. Another California city has joined the fight against the state's sanctuary city laws, which limit local authorities' ability to investigate illegal immigrants' status and communicate with federal immigration officals. Carlsbads City Council voted 4-1 Monday to support the Trump administration's lawsuit against the state's pro-illegal immigrant sanctuary city policies, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Carlsbad is located near San Diego, where the all-Republican Board of Supervisors also voted in April to support the federal government's legal action. The U.S. Justice Department sued California in March over its interference with federal immigration policies, which Carlsbad officials said is endangering the public. I cannot see the difference between a sanctuary state and a secessionist state." Retired Marine Glenn Bernard Our laws are becoming more difficult to enforce, said Mayor Matt Hall. It takes many agencies working together to keep us safe. Councilwoman Cori Schumacher, the lone dissenter on the council, decried the vote as "purely political" and "divisive," according to local reports. Some citizens urged the council to avoid the temptation of "intolerance and bigotry," while others voiced support for the federal government. I cannot see the difference between a sanctuary state and a secessionist state, retired Marine Glenn Bernard said, according to the Tribune. SEVERAL CALIF. CITIES FIGHT BACK AGAINST 'SANCTUARY' LAWS Multiple other local city or county councils have voted to join the Trump administrations lawsuit or fight the state's policies in other ways. The Los Alamitos City Council, for example, voted 4-1 in March to opt out of Californias sanctuary law. That same month, with a unanimous vote of 3-0, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to join the Justice Departments lawsuit against California. And after a heated meeting, the Escondido City Council voted 4-1 in April to support the lawsuit with a legal brief. Huntington Beach's City Council, meanwhile, voted 6-1 that month to file its own lawsuit against the state of California over its sanctuary laws, calling the policies a constitutional overreach. President Trump has repeatedly torn into Democrats who back sanctuary cities, saying their priority is to protect criminals, not law-abiding Americans. At least one additional government "informant" attempted to infiltrate the Trump campaign under President Barack Obama, former Trump campaign aide Michael Caputo revealed exclusively on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" Monday night. "Let me tell you something that I know for a fact," Caputo told host Laura Ingraham. "This informant, this person that they tried to plant into the campaign -- and even into the administration, if you believe Axios -- he's not the only person who came at the campaign. And the FBI is not the only Obama agency who came at the campaign. "I know because they came at me," Caputo added. "And I'm looking for clearance from my attorney to reveal this to the public. This is just the beginning." Axios has reported that the suspected FBI informant in the Trump campaign was recommended for a senior post in the Trump administration. JUDGE NAP'S $64,000 QUESTION ON INFORMANT IN TRUMP CAMPAIGN "When we finally find out the truth about this, Director Clapper and the rest of them will be wearing some orange suits," Caputo told Ingraham, referring to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. "This is just the beginning." Former Trump aide Michael Caputo The "informant" approached several Trump campaign officials in 2016, including Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, according to multiple reports. The New York Times reported that the "informant" approached Papadopoulos with an offer of money to write an academic paper about energy in the eastern Mediterranean region. Over drinks one evening at a high-end London hotel, he asked Papadopoulos if he knew anything about Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election, the paper reported. According to The Times, Papadopoulos replied he had no insight into the Russian campaign, despite being told months earlier that the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton in the form of thousands of her emails. Trump said Sunday hed formally seek a Department of Justice probe into whether government agents surveilled the campaign for political purposes, and whether any such demands came from the Obama administration. "Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president," Trump tweeted 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!" The DOJ soon afterward assigned its internal watchdog to review those claims. Trump also met Monday afternoon with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Out of that meeting, the White House announced that top DOJ officials would meet with congressional leaders about classified information theyd been seeking in connection with the Russia case. The FBI and Department of Justice will brief lawmakers Thursday on classified material they have requested relating to the FBIs actions during the 2016 campaign, the White House announced Tuesday. The announcement followed revelations that an FBI informant had contacts with members of the Trump campaign. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that the meeting, set up by Chief of Staff John Kelly, would take place on Thursday. Trump met Monday with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray to discuss the expansion of the DOJ inspector generals investigation to include irregularities with the FBI or DOJs tactics concerning the Trump campaign, Sanders said Monday. The Thursday meeting will include FBI Director Wray along with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., Director of Intelligence Dan Coats and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Ed OCallahan. Although Kelly is setting up the meeting, he is not attending. Sanders did not say what documents they would be viewing. Earlier Tuesday President Trump expressed anger at revelations that an FBI informant was in touch with three Trump aides -- Sam Clovis, Carter Page and foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos -- during the campaign. If they had spies in my campaign ... for political purposes, that would be unprecedented, President Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Tuesday, calling it a disgrace. WEB OF INFORMANT CONTACTS WITH TRUMP CAMPAIGN EXPANDS, FUELING GOP PRESSURE ON FBI On Sunday Trump demanded an investigation following initial reports about the informant, leading the DOJ to direct Inspector General Michael Horowitz to investigate whether agents surveiled the campaign for political purposes, and if they were instructed to do so by the Obama administration. On Monday, Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo told Fox News there might be at least two informants and said that he was also approached. Let me tell you something that I know for a fact, Caputo said on The Ingraham Angle. This informant, this person that they tried to plant into the campaign ... hes not the only person who came to the campaign. And the FBI is not the only Obama agency who came at the campaign. Caputo added: I know because they came at me. And Im looking for clearance from my attorney to reveal this to the public. This is just the beginning. Fox News John Roberts, Brooke Singman and Gregg Re contributed to this report. A Republican U.S. congressional candidate is facing backlash after a video surfaced of him saying displaced Puerto Ricans shouldnt be allowed to vote in Florida. Ward was asked for his response to Puerto Ricans who have recently moved to Florida both temporarily and permanently since Hurricane Maria devastated the island in September 2017 and have requested more help. In response, Ward said, First of all, I dont think they should be allowed to register to vote. Its not lost on me that I think the Democrat Party is really hoping that they can change the voting registers in a lot of counties and districts, and I dont think they should be allowed to do that, Ward said at the Mount Dora Republican Club forum. We should be looking to put the Puerto Ricans back in their homes, he continued. So the idea that they can come to the mainland United States -- I dont necessarily have a problem with that, but I think we should be thinking about it in terms of getting them back home and providing the capital and resources to rebuild Puerto Rico, which I honestly think is where they belong. Wards comments were made at an April event, but his opponent, former state Rep. Fred Costello, only recently published them to YouTube. Ward clarified his remarks to the Orlando Sentinel on Tuesday, saying he was talking about Puerto Ricans who are only temporarily in the state -- not ones who are seeking refuge in Florida on a more permanent basis. Puerto Ricans are American citizens, and if theyre going to be permanently living here in Florida, of course they can register and be welcomed into the community, he said. But still, Ward is facing fallout from the video. State Rep. Bob Cortes, a Republican, announced his endorsement of Costello on Tuesday, saying, Sadly, his primary opponent has made it clear he does not believe Puerto Ricans should be allowed to exercise their rights as American citizens. This is an outrage, Cortes said. No candidate for office in this great country should be so woefully ignorant of the Constitution and the rights it protects for American citizens. Electing a candidate like that is dangerous and would be a disservice, not just to the Puerto Rican Americans he would disenfranchise, but to all freedom-loving Americans. In Florida, all citizens who live in the state are allowed to vote, per the Division of Elections rules, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. University of Florida economists estimated about 50,000 Puerto Ricans had come to Florida by December, the Orlando Sentinel previously reported. During the forum, Costello said he understood Puerto Ricans have moved to Florida to provide for their families and if they want individual liberty and personal responsibility and equal opportunity, we the Republican Party need to show them why were the party that they need to gravitate to. Ward and Costello, along with veteran Michael Waltz, are battling for the GOP primary for Floridas 6th congressional district to replace Rep. Ron DeSantis, a Republican running for governor. Ward is a Navy veteran who served as part of Operation Desert Storm, according to his campaign website. Following his service, he became a businessman and investor, his website states. Although the felony invasion of privacy charge against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has been dropped, the woman who accused the Republican of sexual misconduct is standing firm in her story. In an interview with KSDK-TV Monday night, the unnamed woman said although its difficult for her to talk about what she said happened between the two, she stands by what she told the state House committee about her encounters with Greitens. She added that she's not lying and hopes to heal. The woman accused Greitens of inviting her to his house, blindfolding her, taping her hands to pull-up rings, pulling down her pants, kissing her without her consent and taking a photo of her. Youre not going to mention my name. Dont even mention my name to anybody at all, because if you do, Im going to take these pictures, and Im going to put them everywhere I can. They are going to be everywhere, and then everyone will know what a little whore you are, she claims Greitens told her. Greitens was initially charged with felony invasion of privacy and booked in February. He has denied the salacious allegations against him, but he did admit to having an affair with the woman. A photo has not been obtained by the lawmakers on the committee nor by the prosecutor in the criminal case. The only ethical thing I felt I could do was to tell the truth. Earlier this month, prosecutors dropped the felony invasion of privacy charges against him but said they plan to refile the case. Since then, Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker has been named the special prosecutor to handle the investigation into Greitens invasion of privacy charge, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. EXPLAINED: MISSOURI GOV. GREITENS ACCUSED OF VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, BLACKMAIL The womans accusations became public after her then-husband secretly recorded his wife admitting to the extramarital affair with Greitens in March 2015. I didnt want this. Im not out to get anyone -- not the governor, not my ex-husband, the woman told KSDK. I really was just trying to live my life. She said she felt like a punching bag and stressed she hasnt been paid or sought out by any political party to share her story. The woman said she continued to see Greitens briefly after the alleged incident because she felt so awful about myself. I wanted to forget whatever happened. I didnt want to believe that actually happened. The second he denied the things that were the most hurtful, the most difficult for me to now have to relive ... I just realized now I have this decision, she said of Greitens. The only ethical thing I felt I could do was to tell the truth. The unnamed woman also apologized to Greitens wife. I would absolutely apologize. I shouldnt have been involved with him. I should not have gone into her home. I know that, she told KSDK, her voice breaking. Greitens said the affair was a deeply personal mistake that happened before he was elected governor. In their report, House investigators said the found the woman to be an overall credible witness. Ever since she lost the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton has repeatedly blamed her defeat on the FBIs decision to reopen the probe into her email use after messages were found on the laptop of confidante Huma Abedins estranged husband. But now that laptop and those emails are back in the spotlight, this time causing problems for FBI leaders as part of a forthcoming inspector general report. The probe is expected to fault bureau officials for sitting on those emails in the first place. The finding underscores how the laptop continues to play a recurring part in the Clinton case saga, haunting everyone from the Democratic nominee to the FBI officials who examined it. This, as Abedin herself hits the social circuit. She was seen in recent weeks living it up at glitzy events including a Metropolitan Museum of Art gala and a bash at the home of Vogue boss Anna Wintour. Meanwhile, she's divorcing her husband, ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, who is serving a 21-month prison sentence for sending lewd photos to a teenager. It was the probe into those lewd messages that led agents to uncover the laptop in the fall of 2016, discovering Clinton emails that Abedin had forwarded her husband. Then-FBI Director James Comey notified Congress in late October that he was revisiting the probe less than two weeks before the election, having announced in July that he would not recommend charges over Clintons use of a private email server when she served as secretary of state. But according to the Associated Press, Justice Department IG Michael Horowitz is expected to criticize the bureau for not moving fast enough to examine those messages. 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 Washington Post first reported in January that Horowitz was looking at whether McCabe wanted to avoid acting until after the election. McCabe was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month after Horowitz concluded he had lied to the FBI and to Comey about his leak to the press about the investigation into the Clinton Foundation. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis. in March wrote to the DOJ in March demanding answers about the FBI's timeline. The IG report is likely to once again draw scrutiny to the bureau and the handling of the emails. After the State Department released emails found on the laptop in January, Trump said Abedin had disregarded basic security protocols, demanding jail and for the Deep State Justice Dept to act. Comey, meanwhile, continues to be a punching bag for Clinton, among the many factors she's blamed for her loss. But for the letter he wrote on October 28, I would have won, Clinton said last month. When [pollster] Nate Silver and others went back and looked at all of the polling, [it was] the single event that changed peoples votes. In his book released last month, Comey wrote that he learned in early October that Weiners laptop may hold a connection to the email probe, but that it wasnt until the morning of Oct. 27 when FBI officials asked his permission to seek a warrant for the Clinton emails. Comey would announce on Nov. 6 that we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton. 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. Fox News' Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Republican lawmaker on Monday proposed a measure that would imprison government officials up to five years for obstructing the enforcement of federal laws. The Mayor Libby Schaaf Act was introduced by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, and named after the Oakland mayor who earlier this year tipped off residents of an incoming crackdown on illegal immigrants by federal authorities. 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. It shall be unlawful for any officer, employee, or agent of a State or political subdivision thereof to obstruct, hinder, delay, or otherwise impede the enforcement of the laws of the United States, or to attempt to do so, the text of the bill reads. Shaaf in February used social media to warn the public about upcoming ICA actions. Following the backlash, she stood behind her decision, despite claims from federal immigration authorities that hundreds of criminal illegal immigrants escaped capture as a result of her actions. "It is Oaklands legal right to be a sanctuary city and we have not broken any laws," Schaaf said in a statement at the time. "We believe our community is safer when families stay together." OAKLAND MAYOR CONSULTED WITH ILLEGAL-IMMIGRATION ACTIVISTS BEFORE TIPPING OFF ICE RAID Kings proposed measure comes amid the showdown between officials in California and federal authorities. President Donald Trump met last week with California Republican lawmakers and law enforcement officials who pushed back against the states sanctuary laws that limit cooperation with immigration authorities. Trump mentioned Schaaff by name, urging Attorney General Jeff Sessions to consider charging her for obstructing justice. You talk about an obstruction of justice, I would recommend that you look into obstruction of justice for the mayor of Oakland California, Jeff, he said. The Oakland mayor fired back against criticism of her conduct, penning an article in The Washington Post saying shes not guilty of obstruction of justice. "I wanted to make sure that people were prepared, not panicked, and that they understood their legal rights," Schaaf wrote. The New York legislature on Tuesday appointed Barbara Underwood to replace disgraced Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in the wake of his sudden resignation earlier this month over allegations of abuse. It is a tremendous honor and I pledge to serve the people of the Great State of New York with honesty, integrity, and all of the skills I have acquired during decades of public service, Underwood said in a statement. Underwood, who has been serving as acting attorney general, becomes New Yorks first female attorney general. She has previously worked as New Yorks solicitor general. Under state law, the full legislature is required to vote on the attorney general's replacement should the job become vacant. The role will be temporary: Underwood, a Democrat who has worked in the attorney general's office since 2007, says she doesn't intend to run for the job this November. Democrats will nominate their candidate for attorney general at this week's state convention on Long Island. There are plenty of other Democrats interested in seeking a four-year term as attorney general. In addition to the other 11 applicants interviewed last week, the candidates include New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of the Hudson Valley, and Leecia Eve, a former adviser to fellow Democrats Hillary Clinton and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Schneiderman's resignation came a day after The New Yorker reported the allegations of abuse leveled by four women who had dated him in recent years. He was expected to win easily in November in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2-to-1, but his hopes for a third term started crumbling when the magazine posted its article online the evening of May 7. He announced his resignation just hours later. Fox News Tamara Gitt and The Associated Press contributed to this report. An Oregon high school is being sued for refusing to let a student wear a pro-Trump border wall T-shirt to class. Liberty High School senior Addison Barnes told Fox 12 Oregon he was asked to cover up his Donald J. Trump Border Wall Construction Co. shirt or go home. The shirt also features a 2016 Trump quote: The wall just got 10 feet taller. Barnes, 18, said he opted to go home after briefly covering up. His absence was treated as a suspension, which was later rescinded. I have my First Amendment and its not right what theyre doing, he told the station. Barnes told KGW-TV that his school tolerates other political views without a problem. BOXER WEARING 'AMERICA 1ST' BORDER WALL TRUNKS CRUMBLES AGAINST MEXICAN OPPONENT I had a teacher who had a pro-sanctuary-city poster in her room which was up all year, yet as I wear a pro-border wall shirt, I get silenced and suspended for wearing that, he told the station. The Portland Federal Court lawsuit, which was filed Friday, says that Barnes wore the T-shirt to school earlier this semester on a day his People and Politics class was going to discuss immigration. The lawsuit says a teacher and a student took offense to the shirt and KGW reports that others did, too. "This school is very Latino-populated," senior Mark Guzman told the station. He said the shirt "offended a lot of people. In the hall, kids would ask me if I'd seen it." The lawsuit asks a judge to uphold Barnes First Amendment rights to wear the shirt to school, as well as nominal damages. Fox 12 reported that a spokeswoman for the high school said the lawsuit was being reviewed and declined to comment. Michelle Bartsch-Hackley and Kimberley Hill combined for 38 points as the United States turned on the power to beat Pool 5 hosts Japan 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-23) in the inaugural women's FIVB Volleyball Nations League on Tuesday.Utilising their height advantage at the net, the two American heavy hitters dominated in attack, with Bartsch-Hackley scoring 21 points and Hill finishing with 17 as Team USA chalked up an 11th consecutive win over Japan, dating back to 2011.The Americans, ranked No.2 in the world, were even more dominant in defence, outscoring Japan 12-2 in blocking, led by Lauren Gibbemeyer, who was an almost impenetrable presence at the net, collecting a game-high seven blocks.While the sixth-ranked Japan could not match the USA in defence, they did marginally outpoint them in spikes, with 10 players registering at least one kill.Yuki Ishii led the way for Japan with 13 spikes from 28 swings while Mami Uchiseto and the left-handed Mari Horikawa had six each.With the win, the USA improved to 3-1 in the tournament after hosting Pool 3 last week while Japan dropped to 1-3 with the loss after an entertaining match for the crowd at Sky Hall Toyota.The USA took control of the match right from the outset with Bartsch-Hackley and Hill leading the attack and Gibbemeyer frustrating the Japanese hitters with her extended reach.Kelly Murphy (7 points) and Rachael Adams (4 points) were also prominent before the Japanese started to find some inroads in the third set with captain Nana Iwasaka (4 points) and Risa Shinnabe (4 points) spotting some holes in the American defence.Japan led by three points late in the set but the visitors kept chipping away and inched past right at the end to win in straight sets.Japan's next match is against Belgium on Wednesday while the USA faces the Netherlands, the only unbeaten team in the competition. Paul Ryan is facing renewed Republican pressure to promptly step down as House speaker after last week's failure to pass a massive farm bill amid disagreements on immigration. The Wisconsin Republican announced in April he wouldnt seek re-election in the fall but intended to remain as speaker through his current term. He was immediately beset by speculation that he would become a lame-duck leader and face a behind-the-scenes power struggle to replace him. Assurances from his top two lieutenants -- Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Whip Steve Scalise -- that they full support Ryan largely quieted that chatter at the time. But after Ryan was unable to muscle the GOP-sponsored farm bill through the House last Friday and faced an uprising in ranks over immigration, pressure has mounted anew for him to surrender his speakership before the midterm congressional races are in full swing. White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney acknowledged this past weekend that he talked with McCarthy about Ryan's situation, bringing the internal debate into public view. "I've talked with Kevin about this privately but not as much publicly, Mulvaney said at a weekend event hosted by The Weekly Standard. Mulvaney suggested an early speakership vote would also force Democrats to vote for or against their leader, Nancy Pelosi, as an added benefit. Wouldn't it be great to force a Democrat running in a tight race to have to put up or shut up about voting for Nancy Pelosi eight weeks before an election? Mulvaney said at the event. That's a really, really good vote for us to force if we can figure out how to do it." Republicans have been vilifying and running against Pelosi, D-Calif., ever since 2008. Theyve made her leadership and speakership a central issue in numerous congressional campaigns, arguing she represents the ideals of coastal, elitist liberals while eschewing the economic needs of Middle America voters. Republicans successfully used that strategy last year in a special House race for a GOP-held seat in suburban Atlanta. Roughly nine months later, Democrat Conor Lamb won a Republican-held seat in suburban Pittsburgh on a platform that included his non-support for Pelosi remaining as the top House Democrat. Despite the potential side benefit of pressuring Democrats over Pelosi, Ryan -- a powerful fundraiser -- insists hes staying. So far, there isnt a formal move to push him out early. And right now, nobody appears to clearly have enough votes to replace him. He tried again Tuesday to end talk about a leadership change, suggesting such a move would only be disruptive. We all agree the best thing for us is to complete our agenda, Ryan said at his weekly press conference. He also saw some support Tuesday from rank-and-file GOP House members including Mike Simpson, R-Idaho. Ryan does not need to step down, he told Fox News. He is doing a fine job. Were in the majority, and we need to start acting like were in the majority, not the minority. There are no barnacles on the speakers boat. He will be speaker until November, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., told Fox News. Any speakership race would likely feature McCarthy and Scalise, but some conservatives have also urged Freedom Caucus member Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to run. McCarthys office has insisted there is no speakers race, though the California Republican and Trump supporter appears to have positioned himself for another run at the post -- it's just a matter of when. McCarthy dropped his 2015 bid to replace former House Speaker John Boehner because he clearly didnt have the votes. Whether he has them now -- including from the conservative House Freedom Caucus -- remains uncertain. McCarthy said Tuesday that reports the White House wants him to promptly replace Ryan are untrue. The congressman, notably, attended a private dinner with Trump over spring recess, was among the first guests to arrive at the presidents state dinner last month and was recently spotted walking along the Georgetown waterfront with top White House adviser Stephen Miller. Trump -- who recently referred to McCarthy as my Kevin -- is at least publicly keeping out of the leadership race talk. Whether his influence would matter is also unclear. Fox News is told that the presidents decision wouldnt be enough to tilt the race. Democrats, meanwhile, are looking to net roughly two-dozen seats to take control of the House in the midterm elections. But if Republicans hold the House, their members will vote again in January to elect a new speaker. So if an interim speaker were to be tarnished by immigration and government spending issues, theres a possibility an outside candidate could arise in January. This strategy gives us two bites at the apple, said one source, suggesting a vote over the summer and then another one in January. The prospect of forcing Democrats into an uncomfortable vote regarding Pelosi also could remain appealing for Republicans. A vote for House speaker this summer would almost certainly bring the Pelosi issue onto the campaign trail, putting moderate Democrats running in critical Midwestern and Southern districts in a tough spot. The 78-year-old Pelosi just days ago said that she intends to compete again for a leadership post, regardless of whether Democrats retake control. Pelosi lost 63 votes in her own leadership election after Democrats failed to win the House in 2016. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, a former rival, told Fox News months ago he wont challenge Pelosi a second time for her post. But a poor showing by her in a potential speaker vote in the middle of the session could give energy to moderates and others who think shes stuck around too long. Democrats chances of flipping a Republican seat in South Carolinas historically red 5th District took a major hit after court documents emerged Monday saying candidate Archie Parnell abused his ex-wife in the 1970's. The stunning revelation has swiftly led to calls from his own party for the Democratic congressional candidate to withdraw from the race. This is truly a sad situation," DNC Associate Chairman Jaime Harrison said on Twitter, urging Parnell to withdraw. The publicity today must be devastating for his former wife & his current family. The court documents detailing the abuse pertain to divorce records and were first obtained by The Post and Courier. The Plaintiff is informed and believes that she is entitled to an absolute divorce on the ground of physical cruelty, the documents state. They say that on an October morning in 1973, Parnell's wife Kathleen was with friends at an apartment when Parnell, then a college student, force(d) his way into the said apartment by breaking out the glass door with a tire iron, after being locked out for the protection of the plaintiff. The records go on to describe Parnell entering the apartment and repeatedly striking his wife, causing an acute physical injury. 'The contents of the court documents were chilling.' Parnells former campaign manager Yates Barody Later that night, Kathleen was allegedly beaten again. She later filed a restraining order against her husband until their divorce was finalized in 1974. The records say the relationship of both parties deteriorated by reason of certain difficulties and differences caused by the defendants unwarranted accusations against the Plaintiff. Even Parnell's former campaign staffers have turned on him since the documents' release. He should drop out immediately, said John Kraljevich, Parnells social media director until March, when he resigned to run for the state House. Parnells campaign manager, Yates Barody, said she saw the documents Thursday and formally resigned after finding out about the candidates past. The contents of the court documents were chilling, and once I saw them, I knew Archie was not someone I could continue to support personally or professionally, Barody told Fox News. South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson also said in a statement: In light of this sad revelation, Archie Parnell has no choice but to withdraw from the race for the 5th Congressional District. His actions, though long ago, directly contradict the values of the Democratic Party. Parnell did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Parnell faces three other Democrats in the June 12 primary and, until now, had been considered the favorite, after losing to Republican incumbent Rep. Ralph Norman during last years congressional special election by less than 3 percentage points. The U.S. Justice Department sued California over its alleged interference with federal immigration policies and its gotten some support from the states own municipalities. Multiple local city or county councils have voted to join the Trump administrations lawsuit or fight the state's policies in some way. Californias so-called sanctuary laws limit police cooperation with federal immigration authorities a move passed by the nations largest state to resist increased efforts to deport people living in the country illegally and to stop President Trumps plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The sanctuary policy, pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown and the states Democratic-controlled legislature, has received some backlash at the local level. Read on for a look at some of the cities and counties that have joined the Trump administrations efforts to deem Californias law unconstitutional. Los Alamitos The Los Alamitos City Council voted 4-1 in March to opt out of Californias sanctuary law. It voted again in April to opt out as the city's law requires the council to have a second reading of the measure before approving it. The adopted ordinance said state laws may be in direct conflict with federal laws and the Constitution. It said it finds that it is impossible to honor our oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States if it did not opt out of the policy. Mayor Troy Edgar, a Republican, told Fox News the policy is a huge overreach. Los Alamitos is able to opt out of the law because it is a charter city. Hesperia With a 3-1 vote, the Hesperia city council voted in March to join an amicus brief with the Trump administrations lawsuit against California, the Desert Dispatch reported. We are not anti-immigrant there is no one on this Council thats anti-immigrant, Councilman Paul Russ said, according to the newspaper. But for immigrants, wed like to see it done legally. I can also say without a doubt that we are anti-criminal. Its not about the immigrants, its about the criminals in the community. Orange County With a unanimous vote of 3-0, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted in March to join the Justice Departments lawsuit against California. This legislation prevents law enforcement from removing criminals from our community and is a threat to public safety, Supervisor Shawn Nelson said. The county previously made efforts to further comply with federal immigration authorities by publishing the release dates of inmates online. Mission Viejo In March, the Mission Viejo City Council voted to support the Los Alamitos City Councils decision to opt out of the states sanctuary policies and join an amicus brief in support of the federal governments lawsuit against the state. Of the sanctuary laws, the city council said it believes this legislation is a threat to both local control of businesses in the state and the individual liberty and public safety because it prevents law enforcement from performing their duties as necessitated by local circumstances. Huntington Beach Huntington Beach City Council voted 6-1 in April to file its own lawsuit against the state of California over its sanctuary laws, calling the policies a constitutional overreach. Mayor Mike Posey said his could become the first city to sue the state itself. Escondido After a heated meeting, the Escondido City Council voted 4-1 in April to support the Justice Departments lawsuit with a legal brief. This is the right thing to do. I was elected mayor to keep the Constitution, uphold the Constitution and keep our community safe," Escondido mayor Sam Abed told Fox News. I am committed to do that and that is what the council did today. The county Board of Supervisors will vote on a similar brief later in April, according to KSWB-TV. Fountain Valley After an assist from U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., the Fountain Valley City Council voted 3-1, with one abstention, to file an amicus brief in support of the Trump administrations challenge to Californias law, the Orange County Register reported. The council voted to support a legal brief after Rohrabacher offered to raise or provide the funds to do so. Aliso Viejo The Aliso Viejo City Council voted 4-1 on April 4 to join a lawsuit against the state of California over its sanctuary laws, KCBS-TV reported. We had a robust discussion and Im proud of my colleagues for their stamina and attention through 6.5 hours of testimony, Aliso Viejo Mayor Dave Harrington said in a statement. We did the right thing. Orange After a heated meeting, the Orange City Council voted in April not to comply with the states sanctuary laws, KCBS-TV reported. Newport Beach In a unanimous vote, the Newport Beach City Council decided to join the Trump administrations lawsuit. The vote, held in a closed session, allows the city to support the lawsuit, including, but not limited to an amicus brief, said Deputy City Manager Tara Finnigan, KCBS-TV reported. Councilman Scott Peotter told Fox News the vote wasnt about immigration but illegal alien criminals. Westminster In April, the Westminster City Council voted 3-1 to join the Trump administrations lawsuit against the state, KABC-TV reported. San Juan Capistrano The San Juan Capistrano City Council voted 4-1 to condemn California's sanctuary laws, the Orange County Register reported. Mayor Sergio Farias, who voted against it, said that he is the "mayor of everyone who calls San Juan Capistrano home, regardless of their legal status." San Diego County The all-Republican San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted in April to support the Trump administration's lawsuit against California, 3-1. The county is expected to file an amicus brief soon. It is the biggest county thus far to back the lawsuit. Santa Clarita After debating until 1 a.m., the Santa Clarita City Council voted in May to join the Trump administration's legal fight against the state's sanctuary policies. All five of the city council members voted to create a brief in support of the federal government, KHTS radio station reported. Carlsbad In a 4-1 vote, Carlsbad's City Council voted in May to support the Trump administration's lawsuit. Our laws are becoming more difficult to enforce, said Mayor Matt Hall. It takes many agencies working together to keep us safe. Fox News Paulina Dedaj, Lukas Mikelionis and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Throughout the first year of his presidency and even as he campaigned for the office President Trumps rhetoric regarding North Korea has been harsh. He warned earlier this year that Americas nuclear capabilities were much bigger [and] more powerful than that of the Asian nation. And at the end of 2017, Trump designated North Korea a state sponsor of terror again a classification that came with additional sanctions. On the heels of a planned, historic summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trumps tone softened, saying great progress has been made. But Trump ultimately cancelled that meeting, citing "open hostility" from North Korea. From agreeing to meet with Kim to dubbing him Little Rocket Man, heres a look at what Trump has said about North Korea and its leader over time. Back together again After meeting with a North Korean official in the White House for more than an hour, Trump announced the June summit with North Korea is back on. We'll be meeting on June 12 in Singapore," the president told reporters after the meeting. Let's call the whole thing off Trump announced on May 24 that he has decided to pull out of the June summit with North Korea. "We were informed that the meeting was requested by North Korea, but that to us is totally irrelevant," Trump said in a letter to Kim. "I was very much looking forward to being there with you. Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting." "You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used," Trump said. "I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately, it is only that dialogue that matters. Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you," he added. "In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated." Deal or no deal? After speaking with the South Korean president amid threats from the rogue regime to cancel talks, Trump suggested the historic summit between him and Kim might not happen after all. If it doesnt happen, maybe it will happen later. You never know about deals. Ive made a lot of deals, Trump said on May 22. You never really know. It may not work out for June 12. Trump said he wants the Korean peninsula to be denuclearized in an all in one manner. I can guarantee Kims safety. He will be safe. He will be happy, Trump said. His country will be rich. Trump also said hes noticed a change in Kims attitude recently. I cant say that Im happy about it, he added. Save the date Trump officially announced that he would meet with Kim in Singapore on June 12. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace! Trump said in a tweet. The announcement came hours after Trump and the first lady welcomed the three Americans freed from detention in North Korea at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland early on May 10. After Trump met with the three men, he publicly thanked Kim for releasing the prisoners. Were starting off on a new footing, Trump said. Positive gesture of goodwill In announcing that a date and place has been set for his much-anticipated meeting with Kim, Trump also confirmed three American prisoners have been released. The three Americans Kim Dong Chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak Song are returning to the U.S. with newly-confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump said in a tweet. The president confirmed the three men are also in good health. WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORIC SUMMIT BETWEEN TRUMP, KIM JONG UN White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Trump appreciates Kim Jong Uns action to release these American citizens, and views this as a positive gesture of goodwill. Another American detainee, Otto Warmbier, died in June 2017 after he was released back to the U.S. with severe brain damage. Good relationship formed Trump has confirmed that CIA Director Mike Pompeo his pick to lead the State Department secretly met with Kim in April and a good relationship was formed. He said the meeting went very smoothly. The president also disclosed that the U.S. and North Korea have held direct talks at extremely high levels in preparation for the summit. Kim will do what is right After Kims first reported visit to China, Trump said there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity. For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility, Trump said in a March tweet, adding that he is looking forward to his upcoming meeting with the North Korean leader. He also gave North Korea the benefit of the doubt earlier that month, saying he believes the country will abide by its pledge to suspend missile tests. When Trump delivered a speech in Pennsylvania, the crowd booed the mention of Kim, but the president stopped them. No, it's very positive ... no, after the meeting you may do that, but now we have to be very nice because let's see what happens, let's see what happens, Trump said. Invitation accepted Trump accepted an invitation from Kim to meet, the White House said. While a time and place has yet to be determined, the two leaders are expected to meet by June. The invitation to convene was extended by Kim. Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached, Trump said on social media. Meeting being planned! The deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the World. Time and place to be determined, he later said. Possible progress As North Korea is reportedly willing to negotiate its nuclear weapons, Trump cautiously acknowledged possible progress. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned, Trump said on Twitter. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction! At a later White House news conference, Trump said he believed North Korea, which has a long history of deception and threats to target U.S. cities with nuclear missiles, is sincere. We have come certainly a long way, at least rhetorically, with North Korea, Trump said. Of the possibility for peacefully resolving the nations deep differences, he said: Itd be a great thing for the world, would be great for North Korea, it would be a great thing for the peninsula. But well see what happens, Trump said. Spirit of the Olympics At the conclusion of the 2018 Winter Olympics, North Korea sent the U.S. a message through South Korea, saying it has ample intentions of holding talks with America. During a meeting with the nations governors at the White House in February, Trump said those talks will only occur under the right conditions. The administrations position has been that North Korea must get rid of its nuclear and missile programs first before any talks can take place. Relationship status: Its complicated In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump reportedly said he probably has a very good relationship with North Korea. Trump also suggested that he is open to diplomacy with the country hes spent years criticizing, the newspaper reported. I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised, Trump said. The Wall Street Journal released the audio and transcript of the interview after Trump denied making the comments. 'Success for the world' Trump told South Korea that he would be open to talks with its northern neighbor under the right circumstances, the White House said. Trump also took credit for the talks between North and South Korea ahead of next months Winter Olympics. At a January Cabinet meeting, Trump said it was his administrations pressure on North Korea that caused the rogue nation to negotiate with the South. "Without our attitude that would have never happened," Trump said of the inter-Korean dialogue. "Who knows where it leads. Hopefully it will lead to success for the world not just for our country but for the world, and we'll be seeing over the next number of weeks and months what happens." Whose button is bigger? After Kim warned Trump about North Koreas nuclear capabilities, Trump hit back on social media, arguing that his Nuclear Button is bigger [and] more powerful. North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the 'Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times,' the president tweeted. Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works! Kim previously warned the U.S. should know that the button for nuclear war is on my table. The entire area of the U.S. mainland is within our nuclear strike range, he said. The United States can never start a war against me and our country. Good news or bad news? Trump insinuated at the start of the new year that sanctions and additional pressures are having a big impact on North Korea. Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea, Trump said. Kim now wants to talk to South Korea for the first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not we will see! In his tweet, Trump was seemingly referring to the recent, dramatic escape of at least two North Korean soldiers across the heavily militarized border into the southern country He also alluded to Kims recent comments indicating he would send a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be hosted in South Korea. Trump also took credit for the talks between North and South Korean leaders. With all of the failed experts weighing in, does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I wasnt firm, strong and willing to commit our total might against the North, Trump said in a Jan. 4 tweet. Fools, but talks are a good thing! 'Sick puppy' While giving a speech on tax reform at a Missouri event in November, 2017, Trump digressed from the topic to call the North Korean leader a "sick puppy." His comments drew hoots from the crowd. State sponsor of terror Trump re-designated North Korea a state sponsor of terror on Nov. 20, 2017, citing its support of international terrorism, including assassinations on foreign soil. During a Cabinet meeting, Trump announced the designation came along with new sanctions on the murderous regime as part of the administrations maximum pressure campaign in dealing with North Korea. He said these sanctions will be the highest level of sanctions on the North. North Korea was on the list but was taken off by the Bush administration in 2008. Why can't we be friends? In a series of tweets while in Vietnam, Trump said he doesn't know why the North Korean dictator would "insult" him. Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me old, when I would NEVER call him short and fat? Trump said. Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen! The comment came after Kim referred to Trump's speech in South Korea as reckless remarks by an old lunatic. 'Dont try us' In Asia, Trump issued a stern warning to North Korea, saying it would be a fatal miscalculation for the country to attack the U.S. or an ally. This is a very different administration than the United States has had in the past. Do not underestimate us. And do not try us, Trump said during an address at South Koreas National Assembly. North Korea has interpreted Americas past restraint as weakness, Trump said. 'Lets make a deal' While on his Asia trip, Trump implored North Korea to come to the table for talks on its nuclear weapons program. Trumps request for North Korea to make a deal was in stark contrast to his previous hardline rhetoric when it comes to the rogue nation. "It makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and make a deal that is good for the people of North Korea and for the world," Trump said during a news conference alongside South Korean president Moon Jae-in in November 2017. Trump also said hes seen a lot of progress in dealing with North Korea but still called the country a worldwide threat. In a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo the day before, Trump repeated his assertion that the era of strategic patience with North Korea was finished. Some people say my rhetoric is very strong but look what has happened with very weak rhetoric in the last 25 years, Trump said then. 'Rocket Man' is on a 'suicide mission' After dubbing him Rocket Man in a tweet, Trump eventually tried out the new nickname for Kim during his inaugural address to the U.N. General Assembly. During his speech, Trump vowed to totally destroy North Korea if the country so provokes him. He also said Kim was on a suicide mission. No more talking After North Korea said it successfully launched a missile over Japan, a U.S. ally, and into the Pacific Ocean, Trump initially had a subdued response. "Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime's isolation in the region and among all nations of the world," Trump said in a written statement after North Koreas missile soared almost 1,700 miles into the Pacific Ocean, triggering alert warnings in northern Japan and shudders throughout Northeast Asia. "All options are on the table." The missile launch was said to be a precursor to North Koreas containment of the U.S. territory of Guam by Kim, according to state-run media. But in a tweet, the president suggested the U.S. is finished talking to North Korea. The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer, Trump tweeted. The U.S. is 'locked and loaded' Trump took to social media in August 2017 to proclaim that the U.S. military is locked and loaded in case North Korea act[s] unwisely. 'Fire [and] fury' isn't 'tough enough' With the threat of nuclear violence growing, Trump warned North Korea on Aug. 8, 2017 that he would unleash fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before. But when tensions continued to rise and North Korea threatened to attack Guam, Trump said maybe that comment wasnt "tough enough." "Lets see what [Kim] does with Guam. He does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody has seen before what will happen in North Korea," Trump said. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump was "sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong Un can understand, because he doesnt seem to understand diplomatic language." Kim Jong Un is 'not getting away with it' Trump said Kim has disrespected our country greatly. He has said things that are horrific. And with me, hes not getting away with it, Trump said. He got away with it for a long time, between him and his family. Hes not getting away with it. Its a whole new ball game. 'Strategic patience is over' After meeting with the South Korean president in Washington, D.C., in June 2017, Trump said that the era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed. Frankly, that patience is over, he said. As Trump made these comments, the U.S. was rocked with the death of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old American college student who suffered extensive brain damage while being held captive in North Korea for more than a year. There are 'worse things' than assassinating Kim Jong Un In an interview with CBS News during the presidential campaign, Trump said he could get China to make [Kim Jong Un] disappear in one form or another very quickly. When asked if he was talking about assassinating the North Korean dictator, Trump shrugged. Well, you know, Ive heard of worse things, frankly. I mean, this guys a bad dude and dont underestimate him, Trump said. Any young guy that can take over from his father with all those generals and everybody else that probably wants the position, this is not somebody to be underestimated. 'What the hell is wrong with speaking?' Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in Atlanta that should Kim want to come to the U.S., he would be accept[ed]. I wouldnt go there, that I can tell you. If he came here, Id accept him, but I wouldnt give him a state dinner like we do for China and all these other people that rip us off when we give them these big state dinners, Trump said in June 2016. What the hell is wrong with speaking? Trump said, referencing the criticism he received for being willing to talk with North Korea. Its called opening a dialogue. 'Maniac' During a GOP presidential debate in September 2015, Trump railed on the maniac in North Korea while answering a question about Planned Parenthood and womens health issues. Nobody ever mentions North Korea, where you have this maniac sitting there, and he actually has nuclear weapons and somebody better start thinking about North Korea and perhaps a couple of other places. But certainly North Korea, Trump said. You have somebody right now in North Korea who has got nuclear weapons and who is saying almost every other week, Im ready to use them, and we dont even mention it, he continued. China needs to solve the problem Even before he was president, Trump urged China to step in and help alleviate problems with North Korea. North Korea is reliant on China. China could solve this problem easily if they wanted to but they have no respect for our leaders, Trump tweeted in March 2013. In April 2013, Trump continued that line of thinking, adding that North Korea cant survive, or even eat, without the help of China. He then accused China of taunting the U.S. As president, Trump has said he is very disappointed in actions China has taken regarding North Korea, particularly allowing oil to go into the nation. He also said a Chinese envoy to North Korea had no impact on Kim. Additionally, Trump has said hes spoken to Chinas President Xi Jinping regarding the provocative actions of North Korea as well as the planned meeting between Trump and Kim. President Xi told me he appreciates that the U.S. is working to solve the problem diplomatically rather than going with the ominous alternative, Trump said in March 2018. China continues to be helpful! 'Wack job' In April 2013, Trump urged then-President Barack Obama to be very careful with the 28-year-old wack job in North Korea. At some point we may have to get very tough, he tweeted. 'Negotiate like crazy' Trump warned that the U.S. needed to do something to stop North Korea in 1999 during an interview with the late Tim Russert on Meet the Press. "Do you want to do it in five years when they have warheads all over the place, every one of them pointing to New York City, to Washington and every one of us, is that when you want to do it, or do you want to do something now? Trump said. You'd better do it now. And if they think you're serious they'll negotiate and it'll never come to that. He said then that if he ever became president, the first step he would take would be to negotiate like crazy to make sure that the country would get the best deal possible. Trump also predicted then that in three or four years, North Korea would have weapons aimed all over the world, including at the U.S. Fox News' Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Trump on Tuesday suggested the historic summit between him and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un could be delayed past the scheduled date of June 12 in Singapore, amid threats from the rogue regime to cancel talks after U.S.-South Korean military exercises. The presidents comments came during an Oval Office meeting with visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The two leaders discussed a strategy for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and Trumps potential upcoming summit with Kim. If it doesnt happen, maybe it will happen later. You never know about deals. Ive made a lot of deals, you never really know, Trump said about the summit. It may not work out for June 12. Last week, North Korea cancelled a high-level summit with South Korea, and threatened to cancel the meeting with Trump following U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which the rogue regimes media outlet suggested were a rehearsal for a potential invasion of the North. Despite a potential delay in the summit, Moon expressed confidence, noting they are one step closer to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and saying that he believes Kim is serious about the talks. Trump said he would like the denuclearization of the peninsula to be all in one, noting that he did not want to exclude other ways, but would prefer it to be all in one. I can guarantee Kims safety. He will be safe. He will be happy. His country will be rich, Trump said. Kim will be extremely happy if it works out. Moon said North Korea has the chance to be a great country, and urged Kim to seize this opportunity. I have every confidence that Trump will achieve a historic feat and I will offer all the support I can, Moon said, adding that he would guarantee the future of Kim. Trump followed by saying that a successful South Korea and North Korea was largely up to them where to go," whether to stay as separate nations or join as one. In regard to the summit, Trump said it would "work out." "In the end, it will work out. I can't tell you how or why, but in the end it will work out," Trump said. "It always does." Fox News' Serafin Gomez and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A mysterious asteroid that is moving the wrong way around Jupiter is turning heads this week as scientists reveal it's the first "interstellar immigrant" from beyond our solar system to stick around, according to a new study released Monday. The 2-mile-wide asteroid, known as 2015 BZ509, is in retrograde appearing to turn the opposite direction in relation to other planets within its solar system around the gas giant's sun. It was just recently discovered around Jupiters co-orbital region, and stumped scientists who studied it. How the asteroid came to move in this way while sharing Jupiters orbit has until now been a mystery, Dr. Fathi Namouni, lead author of the study, said in a statement online. 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. How long has it been here? That was another question on every scientist's mind after the space rock was spotted in November 2014 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), Space.com explained. Now astronomers believe they finally have an answer: 4.5 billion years. "[We can] show that asteroid (514107) 2015 BZ509 has been in its current orbital state since the formation of the Solar system," the study, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, stated. "This result indicates that (514107) 2015 BZ509 was captured from the interstellar medium 4.5 billion years in the past as planet formation models cannot produce such a primordial large-inclination orbit with the planets on nearly coplanar orbits interacting with a coplanar debris disc that must produce the low-inclination small-body reservoirs of the Solar system such as the asteroid and Kuiper belts." The exciting discovery comes just months after scientists found our first known interstellar visitor named "Oumuamua," Hawaiian for messenger from afar arriving first. "Oumuamua is of interstellar origin but it is also only a tourist passing by our solar system," Namouni said. "BZ is not. It is a bona fide immigrant and the notion of immigration is a hot topic nowadays all over the world!" This find makes scientists believe there are even more interstellar immigrants in our backyard. "This result also implies that more extrasolar asteroids are currently present in the Solar system on nearly polar orbits," the study states. Scientists are eager to study the asteroid, which they believe could hold answers about the origin and makeup of our own planet Earth. By identifying more immigrant asteroids, Namouni said, scientists can determine their composition. If BZ contains water, for example, researchers can compare it with Earth's water and, perhaps, better understand how water originated here at home. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. In a NASA town hall yesterday (May 17), NASA's new administrator, Jim Bridenstine, said that he knows Earth's climate is changing, and that humans contribute to it "in a major way," also supporting NASA's research into that important area. The statement is significant because Bridenstine has expressed doubt about human-caused climate change in the past, causing some to question his suitability to lead a fact-focused NASA. In 2013, as an Oklahoma congressman, Bridenstine claimed there was no current trend toward global warming. More recently, such as in his NASA administrator confirmation hearings last November, he has acknowledged that human activity contributes to climate change. But he had stopped short of saying that humans are the phenomenon's primary cause. At the NASA employee town hall, Bridenstine described how his thinking had "evolved" on the topic and laid out his current beliefs. "I don't deny the consensus that the climate is changing; in fact, I fully believe and know that the climate is changing," he said. "I also know that we, human beings, are contributing to it in a major way. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. We're putting it into the atmosphere in volumes that we haven't seen, and that greenhouse gas is warming the planet. More From Space.com Bridenstine claimed "That is absolutely happening, and we are responsible for it," he added. "NASA is the one agency on the face of the planet that has the most credibility to do the science necessary so that we can understand it better than ever before." Bridenstine's support of climate change research is in contrast to what many might expect from the current presidential administration: For instance, five Earth science and climate missions were written out of the White House's proposed 2018 NASA budget, and last year President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the worldwide Paris Agreement to limit climate change. Responding to a specific question on one of those cut climate missions, the Orbital Carbon Observatory Mission 3, Bridenstine said that, in his understanding, the mission is still set to launch in January 2019 after being funded by Congress. Bridenstine reassured NASA employees that the agency will follow the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) guidelines that studying climate change is a top priority particularly, reducing "climate uncertainty" by studying how interactions between the water cycle and energy cycle affect the changing climate, as well as looking at the impact of climate change on ecosystems. "We need to make sure that NASA is continuing to do the science, and we need to make sure that the science is void and free from partisan or political kind of rhetoric," he said. "We have guidance from an apolitical, nonpartisan National Academy of Science telling us what is important for humanity, and we're going to follow it." Bridenstine noted that NASA also says to prioritize weather and air-quality forecasting. His 2013 claim was that too much research is done into climate change instead of weather forecasting. Now, if his words to NASA employees are any guide, Bridenstine seems committed to supporting both. Original article on Space.com. Falling rattlesnakes may not be a hazard most kayakers spend time worrying about, but the threat was all too real for a South Carolina man over the weekend. Fire and rescue officials in Colleton County say the 28-year-old was hospitalized in critical condition Saturday after the snake fell out of a tree on the Edisto River and bit him twice on the hand, WCSC reports. Colleton County Fire Chief Barry McRoy says the man's friends managed to capture the snake. After they reached a boat landing, the manwho "was in bad shape, and greatly deteriorated" during an ambulance ridewas rushed to a local hospital, McRoy says. The Colleton Medical Center had anti-venom ready in the emergency room to treat the man, McRoy says. But in what the fire chief describes as a worrying sign, the man was flown by helicopter to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston on Sunday, the State reports. McRoy says this is the first rattlesnake attack recorded in the county so far this year, though there have been a few nonfatal copperhead attacks. Rattlesnake bites can lead to more serious health problems than a typical copperhead bite, but deaths are rare. (This Virginia woman was attacked by a copperhead snake inside a steakhouse.) This article originally appeared on Newser: Kayaker Attacked by Falling Rattlesnake It happens every year for just a couple of weeks. Deep in the Congaree National Park, as the sun disappears, the sky will light up as hundreds -- if not thousands -- of male fireflies flash in sync. The phenomenon, which typically occurs for about two weeks in the South Carolina national park in mid-May or early-June, is a mating ritual for male fireflies competing for the attention of females before their short lives come to an end, Jon Manchester, a park ranger at Congaree National Park, told Fox News. As the male fireflies, which remain close to the ground, light up together with their flash patterns, the national park looks like a big Christmas tree with a ton of blinking lights out there on the forest floor, Manchester said. Its more difficult to see the females during this time, Manchester said, as they tend to remain up in the canopy of the trees. Every so often, those watching the fireflies might see one start to travel up toward the trees. That means hes been selected and summoned by a female, Manchester explained. This great show marks the near end of the fireflies lives, Manchester said. Once the lightening bugs reproduce, they will soon die -- as they have fulfilled their purpose. The beautiful animals do have a really short lifespan, and it serves a purpose to what they do, Manchester said. Only specific species of fireflies engage in the synchronous ritual, such as the Photuris frontalis species that reside within the Congaree National Park and the Photinus carolinus fireflies near Elkmont, Tennessee, in the Great Smoky Mountains. The fireflies in Elkmont, near Gatlinburg, are a part of one of the densest populations of synchronous fireflies, Dana Soehn, a 27-year veteran park ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, told Fox News. The fireflies in her region are a little different. The females stay near to the ground, emitting faint flashes of light undetectable to humans, while the males hover several feet ahead. What is synchronous is not the individual flashes themselves, but the period of flashing and period of darkness, Soehn explained. You have the males flying that flash for five to eight seconds quickly. All at once, they stop, and its pitch black. That lasts another eight to 10 seconds. During that time is when the females are emitting their flash. The darkness created by the synchronizing could help the males find the females easier, Soehn said. So many people hope to see the synchronous fireflies that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park require visitors to make a reservation through a lottery system. This year, she said about 21,000 people registered for the 1,800 passes (which admits six people per pass) available. The fireflies arent particularly active until its very dark, around 9:30 p.m., Soehn said. A trolley system can take about 1,000 visitors per night to see the unique display. Its a pretty magical night, Soehn said. Soehn predicted the synchronous fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains will peak with their light show around June 7. Aside from these, there are about 18 other species of fireflies in the region, she said. Congaree National Park has designated a specific trail for those who hope to see the unique ritual. Onlookers can traverse the quarter mile trail lit with red lights to observe the occurrence. However, once in the designated area, the park will provide a blue filter for peoples flashlights so as not to disturb the fireflies. While less visited than the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, thousands of people headed to the Congaree National Park to observe the fireflies last weekend, Manchester said. Besides South Carolina and Tennessee, synchronous fireflies can also be spotted in the U.S. this summer in the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. The Air Force is mapping a two-fold future path for its B-1 bomber which includes plans to upgrade the bomber while simultaneously preparing the aircraft for eventual retirement as the service's new stealth bomber arrives in coming years. These two trajectories, which appear as somewhat of a paradox or contradiction, are actually interwoven efforts designed to both maximize the bombers firepower while easing an eventual transition to the emerging B-21 bomber, Air Force officials told Warrior Maven. Once sufficient numbers of B-21 aircraft are operational, B-1s will be incrementally retired. No exact dates have been established, Maj. Emily Grabowski, Air Force spokeswoman, told Warrior Maven. The Air Force performs routine structural inspections, tests and necessary repairs to ensure the platform remains operationally viable until sufficient numbers of B-21s are operational. The B-21 is expected to emerge by the mid-2020s, so while the Air Force has not specified a timetable, the B-1 is not likely to be fully retired until the 2030s. Service officials say the current technical overhaul is the largest in the history of the B-1, giving the aircraft an expanded weapons ability along with new avionics, communications technology and engines. The engines are being refurbished to retain their original performance specs, and the B-1 is getting new targeting and intelligence systems, Grabowski said. A new Integrated Battle Station includes new aircrew displays and communication links for in-flight data sharing. This includes machine-to-machine interface for rapid re-tasking and/or weapon retargeting, Grabowski added. Another upgrade called The Fully Integrated Targeting Pod connects the targeting pod control and video feed into B-1 cockpit displays. The B-1 will also be able to increase its carriage capacity of 500-pound class weapons by 60-percent due to Bomb Rack Unit upgrades. The B-1, which had its combat debut in Operation Desert Fox in 1998, went to drop thousands of JDAMs during the multi-year wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The B-1 can hit speeds of MACH 1.25 at 40,000 feet and operates at a ceiling of 60,000 feet. It fires a wide-range of bombs, to include several JDAMS: GBU-31, GBU-38 and GBU-54. It also fires the small diameter bomb-GBU-39. This story originally appeared in Warrior Maven. Google's search function reveals the identify rape victims in some cases, according to the Times of London. When users search online for details about prominent attackers, the search giants autocomplete feature populates with the names of their victims. The Times found four examples of victimstwo rape victims, a sexual abuse victim and a violent crime casewhose identities were revealed by the tech giant. AIR FORCE MAPS TWO-FOLD FUTURE PLAN FOR THE B-1 BOMBER Under British law, victims of rape and other sex offense attacks are entitled to lifelong anonymity. Maria Miller MP, chairman of Commons women and equalities commission, told the Times of London: Google has to operate within the law of the U.K.if that means they have to change how their search engine operates, then so be it. Fay Maxted of the Survivors Trust, a rape charity, said it was beyond shocking that Google is facilitating access to the names of victims. The Mirror reports that identifying a sex offense crime victim carries a fine of up to 5,000 British pounds (approximately $6,724). However, a spokesman for Google told the publication: We dont allow these kinds of autocomplete predictions or related searches that violate laws or our own policies and we have removed the examples weve been made aware of in this case. We recently expanded our removals policy to cover predictions which disparage victims of violence and atrocities, and we encourage people to send us feedback about any sensitive or bad prediction. The issue comes at a rough time for the company, which is under fire for its response to the European Unions new data protection law, its handling of Irelands abortion referendum vote and more. The New York lawyer who was caught on video last Wednesday ranting against Spanish-speaking restaurant workers posted an online apology Tuesday morning on his Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. To the people I insulted, I apologize. Seeing myself online opened my eyes the manner in which I expressed myself is unacceptable and is not the person I am. I see my words and actions hurt people, and for that I am deeply sorry. While people should be able to express themselves freely, they should do so calmly and respectfully, Aaron Schlossberg said in a statement on his law firms Twitter feed. What the video did not convey is the real me. I am not racist. I love this country and this city, in part because of immigrants and the diversity of cultures immigrants bring to this country, the 42-year-old tweeted, acknowledging that he moved to New York City for its remarkable diversity. A video of the Manhattan lawyer went viral last week when it was viewed millions of times. Edward Suazo posted the video and described the situation in a Facebook post, saying his wife and her best friend were buying lunch and speaking Spanish to the waiter when the Scholossberg went off. Every person I listen to hes speaking it, shes speaking it. This is America, Schlossberg says in the video, as Fox News previously reported. After being confronted by the manager of Fresh Kitchen on Madison Avenue, near 39th Street, Schlossberg continued: Your clients and your staff are speaking Spanish to staff when they should be speaking English. ... My guess is theyre undocumented, so my next call is to ICE to have each one of them taken out of my country. If they have the balls to come here and live off my money I pay for their welfare. I pay for their ability to be here. Employees of the citys Commission on Human Rights went to the restaurant earlier Friday to inform people of their rights against discrimination and harassment. They did not comment on whether the commission would investigate Schlossberg. Since the charged encounter, Schlossberg has been kicked out of his office space. The company that runs the building Schlossberg uses as his law firms address has said his agreement with it was terminated because his actions were contrary to its regulations. The viral clip also sparked outrage among many critics, including Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who wrote to New York states court system, which has a grievance committee for attorney complaints. Mariachi bands sang La Cucaracha and other Mexican songs during protests on Friday across the street from the building that once housed Schlossbergs office space. Demonstrators outside the Manhattan office building also demanded his disbarment. Schlossberg also lost at least one client over his tirade, according to the New York Post: Upper East Side record label Niche Music opted not to have him represent it in a royalty dispute. After hearing Aaron Schlossbergs views on the video, we decided to fire him from the single case for which we had hired him, company president Stephen Wilde said in a statement. We were not aware of his views and he never expressed them to us. We are appalled by his comments and behavior. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Luminaries such as Elon Musk, Bill Gates and the late Stephen Hawking have warned about the potential negative impact robots will play on society. But thanks to researchers from the University of Washington, robots are being used to produce human mini-organs, or "organoids," which are used for experimental research in the fight against disease. The scientists at the UW School of Medicine were able to use a robotic system to automate the procedure of growing stem cells into organoids, the university explained in a statement. The new mini-organs could be utilized for areas such as drug discovery or basic research. "This is a new 'secret weapon' in our fight against disease," said Benjamin Freedman, assistant professor of medicine, Division of Nephrology, in the statement. ITALIAN RESEARCHERS DEVELOP LIGHTER, CHEAPER ROBOTIC HAND Freedman worked with Stefan Czerniecki and Nelly Cruz both from the Freedman lab and Dr. Jennifer Harder, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. Their results have been published in Science Daily. "The system was tested in producing kidney organoids, including models of polycystic kidney disease," the study's summary reads. "The robots were also programmed to analyze the organoids they produced." Prior to the introduction of the robots, scientists grew cells for medical research by culturing them into flat sheets, but that did not allow the cells to act in a way they truly behaved. The introduction of the robots also allows the researchers to mass-produce the mini-organs at a much faster pace than before. The researchers were able to have the robots, capable of handling liquids, put the stem cells into plates that contained as many as 384 miniature walls each. They eventually turned them into kidney organoids, over the span of 21 days. "Each little microwell typically contained 10 or more organoids, and each plate contained thousands of organoids," the statement added. The scientists were excited at the speed and efficiency at which the robots were able to handle the task. EX-NASA ENGINEERS ARE BUILDING A 'REVOLUTIONARY' UNDERWATER 'TRANSFORMER' "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 Freedman. "On top of that, the robot doesn't get tired and make mistakes," he added. "There's no question. For repetitive, tedious tasks like this, robots do a better job than humans." Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia Amazon has been selling a facial-recognition system to police, sparking fears that the technology will one day power mass surveillance. On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union and 35 other advocacy group sent a letter to the company's CEO Jeff Bezos, demanding that he stop providing the technology to law enforcement. The technology, called Amazon Rekognition, can identify people's faces in digital images and video. Police in Oregon and Florida have been using the system to help them solve crimes, but the ACLU argues that it's ripe for abuse. "With Rekognition, a government can now build a system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone," the ACLU said in a blog post. The organization is worried the technology will be incorporated into police body cameras and surveillance feeds to track protestors, immigrants, or anyone a city wishes to monitor. "People should be free to walk down the street without being watched by the government," the ACLU said. Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The concerns highlight the growing debate over facial-recognition systems and their potential role in crime-fighting. Will the technology do more harm than good? Amazon has focused on the positives, marketing the technology in Florida and Oregon as a "public safety" tool. It's helped law enforcement, for example, identify criminal suspects from security camera footage by comparing a suspect's face with available mugshots. Police in Oregon say the technology allows officers to identify suspects in minutes as opposed to two or three days. In one case, the system identified a shoplifter who was captured in a photo walking out of a hardware store. In another incident, Oregon police identified a man who used a stolen credit card, despite the low-resolution image of the suspect. However, the ACLU is worried the same technology could facilitate a creepy surveillance state. For example, Rekognition can detect and index up to 100 faces in a single image, a feature that Amazon openly touts. "With this improvement, you can accurately capture demographics and analyze sentiments for all faces in group photos, crowded events, and public places such as airports and department stores," according to marketing materials. Last month, an Amazon executive said the system was also being used in Orlando, Florida, to match faces captured by street surveillance cameras to photos uploaded in a database to keep tabs on high-profile individuals, like the mayor, or identify persons of interests. However, the technology is far from flawless. Through an open records request, the ACLU obtained documents showing that in Oregon, the system made errors when trying to recognize criminal suspects. For instance, it linked an image of OJ Simpson to a photo of a white man with a mustache, claiming a 93 percent match. Nevertheless, the documents show that Amazon is pushing the system's use in law enforcement. The company has been encouraging police in Oregon to speak with other government customers, including one that manufactures body cameras. The Amazon technology also appears to be pretty inexpensive. In Oregon, it cost police about $400 to build a facial-recognition system that indexed 300,000 mugshots of former convicts. "If Rekognition is not reined in, its use is also certain to spread," the ACLU said. This article originally appeared on PCMag.com. The United States Coast Guard is searching for a 50-year-old Carnival Cruise Paradise passenger who reportedly went overboard approximately 85 miles west of Fort Myers, Fla. The man, identified as Brian Lamonds of Greensboro, N.C., was reported missing Tuesday morning as the ship was sailing from Tampa to Key West. FURIOUS NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE PASSENGERS SLAM SHIP'S HORRIBLE, NONSTOP CONSTRUCTION ZONE The Coast Guard was notified of the missing guest and are currently conducting a search, Carnival Cruise said in a statement to Fox News. On Tuesday morning, a male guest went overboard as the ship was sailing from Tampa to Key West, Florida. The Coast Guard was notified and is currently conducting a search for the guest. We are cooperating fully with all authorities. Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guests family, the statement read. According to a press release, the Coast Guard Key West watch was notified of the missing passenger around 10 am and sent out a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, an Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft crew and the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo to aid in the search. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS The Carnival Paradise departed Tampa on Monday for a six-day cruise. A female pilot publicly called out the sexist comments she faces on the job in a tweet that has gone viral. Charlotte Knowlson, who goes by Pilot Charlotte on Twitter, wrote about a recent encounter she had with two male passengers traveling on the plane she was flying. DAD TAKES LATE SON'S GIRLFRIEND TO PROM AFTER TEEN DIES IN CAR CRASH She wrote that both men made jokes about her gender, with one commenting on female drivers and the other saying if hed known the pilot was a woman, he wouldnt have gotten on. But Knowslon had the perfect comeback for the unnecessary remarks. Fact is, I can fly an 80m jet, you cant, she wrote in her tweet. In several follow-up tweets, Knowlson explained how shes unfortunately used to this kind of humor and initially reacted professionally. But later, when a cabin crew member expressed anger over the comments, Knowslon said she began to question why this type of treatment toward women is normal. I didnt get where I am today by listening to these kinds of comments. Im not offended, Im not disheartened. Im saddened by the fact that this is the attitude some still have and think it is ok to make these comments to women, she wrote. It is this attitude that puts women off and another barrier stopping them from going into male dominated careers. It shouldnt even be a thing!!! Knowlson added. Knowlsons tweet quickly grew in popularity, receiving nearly 12,000 retweets and 94,000 likes as of Tuesday afternoon. People also took to the comments to share their own experiences with sexism, as well as showing support for Knowlsons career and thanking her for being a great role model. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Last month, female Southwest pilot Tammie Jo Shults was deemed a hero after successfully landing a plane that had suffered a midair engine explosion. Prior to joining the commercial airline company in 1993, Shults worked as a pilot and instructor with the Navy and is one of the first female fighter pilots in U.S. military history. A student and tourist to Australia recently fell to his death while taking photos at a popular ocean cliff tourist attraction. 20-year-old man named Ankit, originally from India and studying in Perth, was on a day trip with friends to The Gap, a popular tourist site, on May 17. His friends told News.com.au reports Ankit was mucking around and posing for selfies when he slipped off the 131-foot precipice and was swept out to sea. VETERAN KICKED OFF RIDE FOR NOT HAVING REAL LEGS CALLS ON SIX FLAGS TO CHANGE POLICIES A witness reported that his friends had to be stopped from jumping off the cliff to save him, and phoned emergency services. After a search involving a rescue helicopter, his body was recovered an hour later. "Actually he was just very careful, just [went down] to take a picture and he just slipped down there, on the hill," companion Sahil Singh told ABC News. Another friend, Sahil Khenchi, said the group was not fully aware of the dangers The Gap posed. "We were new here, we don't know about that, they had just gone taking pictures," he said. "We just can't explain, he was one of our friends," he added. "We were studying in the same college. He was a very good man." 25 PERCENT OF AMERICANS HAVEN'T VISITED ICONIC LANDMARKS IN THEIR OWN CITIES, STUDY FINDS Khenchi has now released a photo of Ankit in his final moments in hopes that the image will serve as a warning of caution to others. It was like his hobby to take pictures in each and every moment, he told Channel 7 Perth. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS The Gap was briefly closed two years ago to add a viewing platform, railings and warning signs near the edge. Retired U.S. Marine bomb technician Johnny Joey Jones, who lost both legs to an IED while serving in Afghanistan, is calling on Six Flags to treat people who share his condition with the same care and thoughtfulness as other park-goers, after he was told he was kicked off a ride for not having real legs. Jones, who walks on two prosthetic legs, further claimed that hes been permitted on similar rides at theme parks, including Universal Studios, SeaWorld and Disney World without issue. VETERAN SAYS SIX FLAG WORKER TOLD HIM 'YOU GOTTA HAVE REAL LEGS' They look for a way to accommodate me not a way to restrict me just because of liability, Jones said during an appearance on Tuesdays Fox and Friends. Jones first brought his issue with Six Flags to light on Sunday, telling his Twitter followers he was just got kicked off the ride at Six Flags Over Georgia by a teenage employee who noticed his prosthetic legs just as he was about to be seated. Nah, bro, you have to have two real legs, the employee told him, according to Jones account on Twitter. Six Flags issued an apology to Jones on Monday, saying, 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." MAN SUES UNIVERSAL, SAYS 'HARRY POTTER' RIDE GAVE HIM SPINAL INJURIES On Tuesdays Fox and Friends, however, Jones said he took issue with how he was told he couldnt ride, and furthermore, how the park outlines its ride requirements. He didnt say, You cant ride this ride, go talk to so-and-so. It was, You cant ride this ride, I said Why? and he said, Because you dont have real legs. Jones said. And then once I left the ride, I researched the policy for every single ride in the park, and literally, I cant get on a tilt-a-whirl. Im restricted to pretty much things that dont move, because of my legs, added Jones. He also claimed that Six Flags uses different terminology for different rides, meaning that some might require a guest to be absent of prosthetics while another might bar anyone who doesnt have all arms and legs attached. Jones further emphasized that safety features such as lap bars and shoulder harnesses will work as designed on his body, suggesting that the same guidelines should not be enforced across the board. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS So my message to Six Flags is, I dont hate you, I dont want to tell people not to go there. I want you to apply the same type of care and thoughtfulness that Universal Studios, Disney, SeaWorld, and everywhere else Ive gone and ridden roller coasters, and done so safely, I want you to apply the same knowledge and expertise that they apply, he said. The only prohibiting factor is if that lap bar or those shoulder harnesses cant function as designed, and my body will [allow] that. I am a veterinarian in Hixson. We need national standards that allow for safety and freedom casting our ballots. I seek an impartial system where every vote counts. We must call for fair elections so that our elected constituents can deliver for us. Please fix the Jim Crow filibuster. Jessica Claudio (click for more) 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) An Army Reserve member drowned on Saturday as he tried to save his fiancee's young daughter at a lake in Texas. Brandyn Mitchell, 25, was pulled from Lake Ray Roberts around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, The Dallas Morning News reported. Mitchell, of Valley View, was helping Keira, the 6-year-old girl, get back onto a flotation device when, as he told her to hold on, "slipped," his fiancee, Angelia Herrera, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The water at the Isle du Bois beach is reportedly 6 feet deep. "He wanted to be a hero, not just once but every chance he could," Herrera told the news outlet. "Shortly put, he was an amazing man and I am lucky to have known him." Mitchell, who was reportedly a father to three children and Keira, served in the Tennessee Army National Guard for six years after high school. ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE VETERANS TO BE BURIED WITH MILITARY HONORS AFTER REMAINS DISCOVERED IN PENNSYLVANIA His mother, Stacey Thompson, told the Star-Telegram Mitchell "could swim like a fish," which is why she "can't understand" how he drowned. Thompson added that whenever her son was around, "everybody had a good time." Mitchell's fiancee said he was enrolling in college with plans to become a firefighter. An Oregon judge ruled Monday that a 15-year-old Washington state boy must pay nearly $37 million for starting a major wildfire in the scenic Columbia River Gorge this past September. Hood River County Circuit Judge John A. Olson wrote in his order that the restitution figure of $36,618,330.24 "is clearly proportionate to the offense because it does not exceed the financial damages caused by the youth," The Oregonian reported. The amount is meant to cover the costs of firefighting, repair and restoration to the gorge and damage to homes. Olson added that payments could be halted after 10 years as long as the teen complies, finishes probation and doesn't commit other crimes. 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. The restitution is solely the responsibility of the boy, and not his parents, who came to the U.S. from Ukraine. At a hearing last week, the boy's lawyer urged for a "reasonable and rational" penalty, calling the $37 million sought an "absurd" amount for the child. The attorney, Jack Morris, told The Oregonian in an email Monday that he did not "question that the amount of damage is in the tens of millions as asked for." "An enormous number of people have suffered and in reality if it was possible to account for all of the losses it could even be more," Morris added. The teen, who was identified in court documents as A.B., admitted to sparking the blaze when he threw two fireworks in Eagle Creek Canyon on Sept. 2. The fire caused evacuations, an extended shutdown of a major interstate highway and devastation to a major outdoor tourist attraction. The boy pleaded guilty in February to reckless burning of public and private property and other charges. Olson sentenced him to 1,920 hours of community service and five years of 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. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from OregonLive.com. A Medieval Studies professor called the National Rifle Association a terrorist organization hours after the Santa Fe, Texas school shooting that killed 10 people Friday. The NRA is a terrorist organization, tweeted Matthew Gabriele, a tenured professor at Virginia Tech University. Tracy Vosburgh, a Virginia Tech spokesperson, told Fox News the anti-NRA tweet doesnt represent the university. Mr. Gabrieles views are his and his alone, Vosburgh said. Any comment on his statement should come from him. Gabriele declined to comment when reached, but he described himself in a tweetstorm as a white dude with tenure who doesnt give a s*** armed with a supportive employer. Gabriele is not the first on the left to blame a shooting on the NRA, despite any connection. NRA CALLED TERRORIST ORGANIZATION IN BILLBOARD FUNDED BY FORMER CLINTON STAFFER Using the exact same quote, Claude Taylor, a former Clinton staffer, funded billboards across Florida stating, The NRA is a terrorist organization following the Parkland high school massacre that killed 17 people. Gabriele also has tweeted other controversial messages including: The modern GOP is nothing but white supremacy and writing people support President Trump because his racism spoke to them. The so-called New York City "poop train" a trainload of human waste finally left the small Alabama town it was stranded in, but the smell of excretion was so strong that Febreze stepped in to freshen up the area. The air freshener brand provided free samples of its products to residents in Walker County's Parrish, a town with a population of 982, where the train of 200 sludge-filled shipping containers was stuck for more than two months, AL.com reported. NYC 'POOP TRAIN' SITTING IDLE IN ALABAMA HAS BECOME A 'NIGHTMARE' FOR RESIDENTS, MAYOR SAYS The train of sludge, a byproduct of New Yorkers' excrement, was stationed in the town until April, before being transported to a landfill roughly 20 miles away. Locals had complained about the stench for weeks. "No one should be immersed in the stink," Febreze told the outlet, explaining their decision to "finally bring a breath of fresh air to the good people of Parrish." The Procter & Gamble company, known for its odor-eliminating products, shared a jokingly dramatic video on Twitter of residents complaining about the "awful, stinky" smell, which some compared to that of "dead bodies." "The running joke was when the 'poop train' came that we needed to just drop Febreze on top of the train," one resident said in the video. While New York has discontinued waste shipments to Alabama for now, experts say some cities send their waste to Alabama and other Southern states due to low landfill fees and lax zoning laws. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A 30-year-old man was outraged Tuesday when a judge ordered him to vacate his parents' home. The order came after a monthslong effort by the couple to get him to leave their New York residence. Michael Rotondo appeared in court for 30 minutes Tuesday after his parents, Christina and Mark Rotondo, filed a petition in the Supreme Court of New York State claiming theyve had enough of their son living under their roof, Syracuse.com reported. State Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood praised the son for doing his legal research and citing a common law requirement that required family members to give a six-month notice before eviction. However, Greenwood called it a simple internet search and said the six-month demand was outrageous. Michael, in turn, called the eviction order outrageous. He continued to slam the judges order outside the courtroom, the report stated. The eviction drama began on Feb. 2 when the parents left their first note, saying Michael had two weeks to vacate his room at the family's Camillus home, CNYCentral reported. Michael, After a decision with your Mother, we have decided you must leave this house immediately. You have 14 days to vacate. You will not be allowed to return. We will take whatever actions are necessary to enforce this decision, the note read. BRANDI CHASTAIN INDUCTED INTO BAY AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME WITH BUST OF A PLAQUE Michael appeared to take the threat lightly. The Rotondos tried again with another strongly-worded note dated Feb. 13 saying: Michael Joseph Rotondo, you are hereby evicted[from the home] effectively immediately. Any action you take that can be construed as threatening or harassing...us or prevents or obstructs our ability to use the house or propertyas we see fit will result in your immediate removal from the premises," the mother wrote. Michael had 30 days to vacate, as recommended by the couples lawyer. The mother warned legal enforcement procedure will be instituted immediately if he wasnt out of the house by March 15, the full note released by Syracuse.com stated. The couple decided to add an incentive and penned a third note five days later saying they were graciously giving him $1,100 to help him find a place to stay. They also offered some advice such as organizing his personal items, selling valuables for money and finding a job. PENNSYLVANIA BOY, 3, RESCUED FROM MANURE PIT DESCRIBED AS 'KIND OF LIKE QUICKSAND' As the March 15 deadline approached, it seemed like Michael wasnt budging. The couple wrote another note on March 5 claiming there had been no indication their son would leave. The note adds, "Be aware that we will take any appropriate actions necessary to make sure you leave the house as demanded." Yet, the deadline passed and Michael was still living at his parents home. In the last note before the court filing, the Rotondos addressed an issue with Michaels car that was reportedly still sitting in the parents driveway. The couple initially went to the towns court in April to evict their son, but was told they could only remove a family member from their home through ejectment proceeding. Michael said in court on Tuesday his parents didnt support him when it came to food and laundry only with a place to live. He said he believed the judge didnt fully read the case and vowed to appeal the decision. The parents lawyer said the couple was hoping for a court order that the sheriffs deputies could enforce. No specific move-out date was provided in court on Tuesday, however the parents lawyer said it would be a reasonable enough time for Michael to move out. A father is now behind bars with his son after he helped the 27-year-old, who escaped from a South Carolina prison Saturday, police said. The hunt is ongoing for two other murder suspects still on the loose. Christopher Boltin, 27, was captured Sunday, nearly a day after he and two other inmates Tyshon Demontrea Johnson, 27, and Curtis Ray Green, 20 escaped from Orangeburg County Detention Center. The sheriffs office announced Tuesday Boltins father, 51-year-old Hoyte Boltin, faces a charge of aiding an escapee. The elder Boltin is accused of providing some type of assistance to his son after he escaped prison. Christopher Boltin, who was in jail on carjacking and grand larceny charges, was charged with escape. He, his father and Tyree Hillard a 22-year-old inmate who was charged with aiding an escapee are expected to appear in court for a bond hearing. 2 SOUTH CAROLINA MURDER SUSPECTS ON THE LOOSE AFTER PRISON ESCAPE; 1 INMATE CAPTURED, OFFICIALS SAY Authorities were still hunting for Johnson and Green Tuesday. Both inmates were being held on murder charges stemming from two separate incidents. Officials said they are considered armed and dangerous. Details about how the inmates managed to escape the prison began emerging Monday. Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young told WLTX the inmates were able to identify an electrical short that compromised the facilitys security. They took advantage of a situation," Young said. "We had an electrical short in the panel. It did what it was designed to do. When that electrical short happened, it released the locks within that pod, like theyre supposed to do." An officer attempted to control the situation and stop the inmates before they broke free. "Four of them overpowered him. This guy put his life on the line, he was beaten and they were able to get his mace away from him and in the face of having been maced, still put up enough of a fight to make sure no one else was able to get away," he said. Hillard attempted to escape, but was caught before reaching the outdoor fence. Young added that the inmates used bedsheets to climb over the barbed wire fence. He said he believed they were able to reach the nearby railroad tracks and ran from there. The driver of a school bus involved in a fatal crash in New Jersey last week had a history of speeding tickets and license suspensions, according to published reports. The driver, Hudy Muldrow Sr., who is 77 and remains hospitalized, was cited eight times for speeding and had his license suspended twice, apparently for failing to pay parking tickets, according to Patch.com The news comes after NJ.com and NJ 101.5 reported that video footage of the highway showed the school bus crossed three lanes of traffic after missing the exit to Waterloo Village. The school bus driver, according to published reports, appeared to attempt to get to a paved median cut-through sometimes used by drivers making illegal U-turns when it was struck by a dump truck. The crash killed a fifth-grader, Miranda Vargas, and a teacher, Jennifer Williamson, 51. The bus was one of three taking students from East Brook Middle School in Paramus a town about 20 miles west of Manhattan -- to Waterloo Village, a historic site depicting a Lenape Indian community and once-thriving port. The other buses made it to the site but returned to the school after the crash. The crash bus was left lying on its side on the guardrail of Interstate 80 in Mount Olive. More than 40 others were injured. Most of the injured people from the bus had been discharged from hospitals by Friday. One student, Sofia Evelich, is in critical condition. A GoFundMe page for Evelich said she is in pediatric intensive care with severe head trauma. "Sofia has a long recovery ahead of her, but she is resilient and a fighter," wrote her brother, Ron, on the GoFundMe page. "My parents have not left her side and will need to continue to be by her side as we face the long and challenging road that lies ahead of her." Muldrows son told reporters that his father suffered injuries to the stomach, leg and shoulder and had undergone surgery. Morris County police investigators have said the crash is under investigation. The Associated Press contributed to this story. A former Playboy model last week pushed her 7-year-old son out the 25th floor window of her New York City hotel before committing suicide, police said Monday. Stephanie Adams, 46, and her son, Vincent, died from multiple blunt impact injuries last Thursday, autopsy results revealed, according to the New York Daily News. The city medical examiner's office ruled Adams death a suicide, and her sons death a homicide, according to the paper. Adams was in the midst of a divorce from her estranged husband Dr. Charles Nicolai, who owned a chiropractic firm, the paper reported. The pinup, who claimed to be a direct descendant of U.S. presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, revealed on her website she was raised by her aunts, two former models. In 2014, Adams told Urbasm she was a wickedly accurate sharp shooter and allegedly trained with Special Forces, Secret Service and Navy Seals. I prefer shooting to shopping and although I might look girly, I am far from it, she said. As far as anything else; well, as much as there is written about me, there is so much more to me. The 46-year-old also was denied a recent request from a judge to take her child to Spain. Adams, who was the former Miss November 1992, did not leave a suicide note in her penthouse hotel room located in midtown New York, police said according to the paper. Welcome to Fox News First. Not signed up yet? Click here. Developing now, Tuesday, May 22, 2018 A group of congressional Republicans want a second special counsel to look into the decision to end the investigation into Hillary Clinton's personal email server, alleged FISA abuse by the FBI and Justice Department and the progress of the Russia investigation under Robert Mueller Top FBI and Justice Department officials have agreed to meet with congressional leaders and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and review highly classified information in the Russia investigation, the White House announced Monday Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley requests Justice Department documents on communications between former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr and British spy Christopher Steele on the Trump-Russia dossier President Trump will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House Tuesday in preparation for his highly anticipated June 12 summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un Voters will choose nominees in primaries in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Texas on Tuesday Authorities in Baltimore are looking for four 'armed and dangerous' suspects after a police officer was killed responding to a burglary THE LEAD STORY - HOUSE REPUBLICANS SEEK SECOND SPECIAL COUNSEL: A group of congressional Republicans plans to introduce a resolution Tuesday calling for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate alleged misconduct at the FBI and Justice Department ... The resolution is backed by Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus as well as two of the group's co-founders -- Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. Fox News has learned the 12-page resolution will ask a second special counsel to probe matters related to three topics: The ending of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's personal email server, the progress of the Trump-Russia investigation from its origins through the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel, and abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) during the warrant application process. TURNING UP THE HEAT ON RUSSIA PROBE: the White House announced that top FBI and Justice Department officials have agreed to meet with congressional leaders and review highly classified information in the Russia investigation the lawmakers have been seeking on the handling of the probe ... The agreement came after President Trump demanded 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. DOSSIER DEALINGS: 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. TRUMP'S PRE-SUMMIT HUDDLE: President Trump will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in as part of his preparation for his scheduled June 12 summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un ... Moon's government delivered the initial invitation from Kim for a meeting, and South Korea has been pushing the U.S. toward a peaceful resolution to the nuclear crisis. North Korea threw a potential wrench in the plans last week, threatening to cancel over concerns about the U.S. push to see the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. PRIMARY TUESDAY: Four states will cast ballots Tuesday as the 2018 midterm elections take shape ... Voters in Arkansas, Georgia and Kentucky hold primaries, while Texans settle several primary runoffs after their first round of voting in March. BALTIMORE MANHUNT: 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. 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 pronounced dead at 2:50 p.m. Witnesses in the neighborhood reported hearing a pop sound and seeing the officer run over by a Jeep. Officers killed in the line of duty in 2018 AS SEEN ON FOX NEWS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FBI AND DOJ: "It's going to take a decade to rebuild the public trust in the FBI and DOJ [and] Sally Yates... is going to have to lawyer up." Former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova, on "Hannity," claiming that former acting attorney general Sally Yates is one of several Obama-era officials who used the FBI to surveil a rival party's presidential campaign. WATCH THE OBAMA QUESTION: "Where the heck was Barack Obama? What did President Obama know about this?" Judge Andrew Napolitano, on "America's Newsroom," asking what did the former president know about the alleged surveillance of the Trump campaign. WATCH TRENDING Mark Zuckerberg continues on apology tour over data scandal. Obamas sign multi-year deal with Netflix. Starbucks employees, customers express concern over new policy. 15-foot great white shark shocks scuba divers above Florida Keys shipwreck. Veteran and double amputee claims Six Flags kicked him off ride: 'Nah bro, you gotta have two real legs.' THE SWAMP In messaging shift, Democrats are now the ones promising to 'drain the swamp.' Trump blames 'weak people' in Congress for failing to stop illegal immigration. Trump border wall crowdfunding possible under Tennessee lawmaker's 'trust fund' bill. Judge appoints special prosecutor to decide on Greitens case. ACROSS THE NATION Hawaii volcano lava flow reportedly nears geothermal plant's property. Lawsuits accuse USC of covering up doc's sex abuse 'for decades.' California would become utopia for illegal immigrants with free healthcare coverage: Orange County supervisor. Olympian Ariana Kukors Smith sues USA Swimming alleging sexual abuse cover-up. MINDING YOUR BUSINESS Dow returns to 25,000 as tariff dispute 'put on hold.' Tesla Model 3 denied Consumer Reports recommendation. 'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkrelis debts stoke clash between feds, New York. Retirement plans being used for immediate needs not for savings | Retirees living longer, healthier lives Bitcoin resembles currency experiments that failed: Robert Shiller. FOX NEWS OPINION Dear Republicans: To end Senate Democrats' obstruction, make them talk, make them work, make them vote. Cal Thomas: Who's afraid of cutting a mere $15 billion from the federal budget? Republicans, apparently. What Planned Parenthood could learn from me: Being a teenage mom was hard, but it sure didnt ruin my life. HOLLYWOOD SQUARED 'American Idol' finale results take angry fans to social media to complain about the results. Kendrick Lamar calls out white fan after she raps N-word. Jet Li looks unrecognizable, shocks fans with frail appearance in photo. DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS? Autonomous vehicle helped locate 'holy grail of shipwrecks' off Colombia. Long-running rumors surrounding Hitler's death finally answered. Asteroid orbiting backward around Jupiter is first 'interstellar immigrant' from beyond our solar system. STAY TUNED On Fox News: Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Peek on the latest on North Korea and Iran; a look at what to expect from new CIA Director Gina Haspel as she takes over the agency; retired U.S. Marine and double-amputee Johnny "Joey" Jones is firing back at Six Flags after being kicked off a ride because of his prosthetic legs; meet the Florida sheriff who's planning to put an armed officer on every Polk County public school campus this week; and how small-town values helped Cal Turner build Dollar General into a billion-dollar company. Your World with Neil Cavuto, 4 p.m. ET: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise will be Neil's special guest! On Fox Business: Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: Guests include: Rep. Claudia Tenney; Rep. Diane Black; Mark Penn, former senior adviser to the Clintons; Robert ray, former Whitewater independent counsel; Chuck Robbins, Cisco CEO. Varney & Co., 9 a.m. ET: Mike Huckabee; Michael Prindville, Team Dignitas CEO; Kayleigh McEnaney, RNC spokesperson; Vanessa Neumann, Asymmetrica president. Cavuto: Coast to Coast, Noon ET: Rep. Jim Renacci; Lynne Doughtie, KPMG U.S. chairman and CEO. The Intelligence Report, 2 p.m. ET: Art Laffer, former economic adviser under President Reagan; Rep. Tom Reed. On Fox News Radio: Benson & Harf, 6 p.m. ET: Don't miss the new show hosted by Guy Benson, political editor at Townhall.com and Marie Harf, former senior adviser of strategic communications at the State Department. The Fox News Rundown podcast: President Trump has demanded the Department of Justice open an investigation after he said his campaign was infiltrated by the FBI. James Freeman, assistant editor of the Wall Street Journals editorial page, discusses the allegations. Trump wants to cut federal funding to family planning clinics that provide abortion services. Planned Parenthood Director of Political Communications Erica Sackin and Susan B. Anthony List spokesperson Mallory Quigley weigh in. Plus, commentary by "MediaBuzz" host Howard Kurtz. Want the Fox News Rundown sent straight to your mobile device? Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher. The Brian Kilmeade Show, 9 a.m. ET: Special guests include: Rep. Diane Black; Chris Stirewalt; Jon Meacham, Cal Turner, Cal Ripken Jr. and Rick Allen. #OnThisDay 2013: Lois Lerner, an Internal Revenue Service supervisor whose agents had targeted conservative groups, swears to a House committee she did nothing wrong, then refuses to answer further questions, citing her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself. 1998: A federal judge rules that Secret Service agents could be compelled to testify before the grand jury in the Monica Lewinsky investigation. 1960: An earthquake of magnitude 9.5, the strongest ever measured, strikes southern Chile, claiming some 1,655 lives. Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Enjoy your day! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Wednesday morning. Hawaiian officials on Monday said they were responding to reports of lava from the Kilauea volcano nearing the Big Island's geothermal plant, which could result in the release of dangerous gases and mandatory evacuations. Hawaii News Now reported that no wells at the 815-acre Puna Geothermal Ventures property were threatened, but warned that if lava reaches a well it could cause the release of hydrogen sulfide, which is a dangerous gas. The Puna Geothermal Venture, known as PGV, is a "geothermal energy conversion plant bringing steam and hot liquid up through underground wells," according to the Hawaiian Electric Company. It provides 25 percent of the power to the Big Island, Reuters reported. HAWAII VOLCANO CREATES TOXIC STEAM CLOUDS AS CORROSIVE AS DILUTED BATTERY ACID "The hot liquid (brine) is not used for electricity at this time. The steam is directed to a turbine generator that produces electricity," the power company said. "The exhaust steam from this turbine is used to vaporize (heat) an organic working fluid, which drives a second turbine, generating additional electricity." The report said authorities removed about 60,000 gallons of flammable pentane from the facility. The report said workers there are trying to kill three active wells and are having difficulties with one. Reuters reported that the wells are about 8,000 feet underground to tap into steam to produce power. "Safety has been foremost our no. 1 priority for our employees and also for the surrounding community so with that we're not going to spare any resources to ensure safety," Mike Kaleikini of PGV told HNN. The volcano has been generating earthquakes and spewing lava, sulfur dioxide and ash since it began erupting in Big Island backyards on May 3. The dangers have forced at least 2,000 people to evacuate and destroyed more than 40 buildings. Its also created anxiety for thousands of others about the possibility of lava heading their way or cutting off roads they depend on to get to work, school and grocery stores. Fox News' Travis Fedschun and The Associated Press contributed to this report Jaime Ponce, M.D. and CHI Memorial Metabolic and Bariatric Care will host free seminars in June on surgical weight loss options. The seminars will be held at CHI Memorial Metabolic and Bariatric Care, 7405 Shallowford Road, Suite 160, in Chattanooga. June 5, 2018 11:30 a.m. Bariatric Surgery Seminar June 5, 2018 5 p.m. Bariatric Surgery Seminar June 19, 2018 11:30 a.m. Bariatric Surgery Seminar "Obesity can be devastating to a persons health and self-esteem. These educational seminars are designed to help you better understand bariatric surgery options, and how it may benefit your health. Topics include: who is a good candidate for the procedure, what to expect during the recovery period and lifestyle changes needed to foster a successful outcome," organizers said. Walk-ins are also welcome. Attendees are asked to arrive at the seminar location 30 minutes early. CHI Memorial is accredited by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program. "This means people in the Chattanooga region have access to the some of the most effective weight loss surgery options along with a highly trained medical staff that supports individuals through their weight loss journey," officials said. CHI Memorial is recognized as an Optum/United Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence and Aetna Bariatric Surgery Institute of Quality program. For more information, additional dates and locations for upcoming seminars or to register for a seminar, visit www.chattanoogabariatrics.com. The University of Southern California was hit with multiple lawsuits on Monday claiming it failed to address complaints about a campus gynecologist who was allegedly preying on female students for decades. The suits contain disturbing new allegations of sexual abuse and molestation against Dr. George Tyndall, who was accused last week of harassment and racial discrimination. They include claims that he once inserted his entire ungloved fist inside a woman while making vulgar and demeaning statements about her genitalia and numerous other instances of unwanted sexual touching. During one exam, Tyndall allegedly violated a first-year graduate student while a female nurse aka chaperone was waiting outside. He later claimed that the student, Lucy Chi, had given him permission to proceed as if the violation of protocol and standard of care was Chis fault, according to court documents obtained by The Post. Chi is suing USC, its board of trustees and Tyndall as part of a class-action lawsuit filed Monday in the US District Court for the Central District of California. Five other women filed civil lawsuits in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Attorneys from the consumer-rights class-action law firm Hagens Berman plan to represent Chi and a proposed class of hundreds, if not thousands, of female students who received a medical examination from Tyndall and were allegedly subjected to his creepy behavior. In their complaint, they accuse USC of covering up the docs debauchery for decades and violating its female students trust by knowingly putting women in the room for treatment by him. In fact, USC nurses, chaperones and other staff members were regularly present in the examination rooms, observed the inappropriate sexual molestation, and took no steps to stop it as it occurred, the complaint says. Chi claims to have been inappropriately touched by Tyndall in 2012 during her annual exam at USCs student health center. The longtime gynecologist penetrated her with his fingers and told her that he wanted to check whether the speculum would fit, the complaint says. He then allegedly conducted a breast exam with his bare hands, and no sheet covering so that he could see her entire upper body at the same time. During the exam, Tyndall squeezed Chis breasts and fondled her in an atypical way, the complaint says, alleging that Chi felt violated and embarrassed. She did not go back to him, it adds. The other lawsuits that were filed Monday against USC and Tyndall contain similar accusations from five former students. Four of the women are suing as a group and the fifth has reportedly filed her own suit. The group is being represented by Orange County lawyer John Manly who helped secure the $500-million Larry Nassar settlement from Michigan State University last week. This action seeks to vindicate the rights of four young women who were sexually abused, harassed and molested at the hands of serial sexual predator, their complaint says. While attending Defendant USC, Plaintiffs were forced to repeatedly seek medical treatment from Tyndall, due to the fact that he was the only full-time gynecologist on staff at Defendant USCs Student Health Clinic. According to the group, Tyndall used this position of trust and authority to sexually abuse Plaintiffs on multiple occasions, by engaging in acts that include but are not limited to: forcing Plaintiffs to strip naked, groping Plaintiffs breasts, digitally penetrating Plaintiffs vaginas, and spread open their anal crevice so he could leer at the crevice and anus, for no legitimate medical purpose and for no other reason than to satisfy his own prurient sexual desires. Tyndall also allegedly behaved this way when examining the fifth woman. She claims in her suit that he commented on the tightness of her genital muscles while inserting his fingers inside her. Shes in hindsight thinking, Im not sure theres a reason for that to be done,' the womans attorney, David Ring, told the Los Angeles Times. In each case, the lawyers plan to argue that the two-year statute of limitations does not apply to Tyndall because his alleged victims had no idea that they were being preyed upon. For 99.95% of these patients, they didnt have a true understanding of the abuse until last week, explained Ronald Labriola, an Irvine lawyer who is aiding Manly with the suit. Tyndalls alleged conduct was first revealed in a pair of LA Times stories last week, which featured interviews from more than a dozen former students. Several of the women suing USC say they didnt know they were abused until after seeing what the others told the Times. Chi read the articles that disclosed Tyndalls wrongdoing [and] became extremely upset and angry that USC let Tyndall violate her and others over such a long period of time, her complaint says. She felt distressed all over again, replaying Tyndalls violation of her in her mind. At the time of the alleged incident, Chi was not sure about what had happened and did not feel like she was in a position to second guess the doctor, according to her complaint. But she eventually found the courage to come forward. For decades, USC has silenced the women who were violated in unspeakable ways by Dr. Tyndall, willfully ignoring the alarming complaints from nurses and patients as more and more students were sent into his office, said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, the firm representing Chi. Our plaintiff and other women have bravely stepped forward to report these heinous acts, and through this lawsuit, we intend to hold defendants accountable. The suits filed Monday bring various charges against Tyndall, USC and its board of trustees including violations of Title IX, violation of the California Equity in Higher Education Act, gender violence, gross negligence, civil battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In response, USC sent The Post a statement saying: We are aware of the lawsuits. We are focused on ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and providing support to those affected. School officials have urged anyone with additional information or allegations to contact the university or student health center. USCs provost, Michael Quick, issued a letter Monday apologizing to Tyndalls patients while also defending top administrators and their handling of his complaints. 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, explained Quick, calling it 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, he said. We would never knowingly put students in harms way. Tyndall has denied any wrongdoing, saying his exams were appropriate and extremely thorough. He could not be reached for comment Monday. A man spotted pussyfooting around driveways and allegedly breaking into cars in Wisconsin while sporting a cat onesie was arrested Saturday, police said. The man, who was not immediately identified, is expected to be arraigned in the coming days, according to FOX6 Now. The man was spotted on surveillance footage around homes in St. Francis on May 12. A resident caught the suspect early that morning in a onesie near his car, according to the station. Police said several properties in the neighborhood were burglarized. Our car had been broken into, rifled through, the door was left open, Nikki Larson told FOX6. Its scary. Ami Klimaszewski said she felt violated after the man was allegedly snooping around her garage. My entire drum kit was stolen. My bike was stolen. My sons wagon. Two of our guitar amps, Klimaszewski said, adding that her car passenger seat was lit on fire. An intense manhunt involving aircraft and trained dogs came to an end Tuesday after a female officer was killed in a Baltimore suburb and four teenage suspects who were involved in burglaries in the area were arrested in connection with the slaying, officials said. The nearly four-year veteran of the force, identified by authorities as Amy Caprio, was responding to a suspicious vehicle call Monday in the community of Perry Hall when Baltimore County Police Cpl. Shawn Vinson said she encountered suspects and was critically injured. "The medical examiner has ruled it a homicide and death was by multiple trauma to the head and torso," Baltimore County Police Chief Terrence Sheridan said during a news conference. He also confirmed that the slain officer did not have a gunshot wound. As the incident was unfolding, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan previously tweeted that the dead officer had been "shot in the line of duty." Baltimore County Police and Fire announced on Twitter that all four of the suspects were teenage males. "Detective(s) have verified that the group were involved in burglaries in the area," the agency said. "Officers will be in the area today to canvass for property stolen during these burglaries." One of the teenagers involved in the killing was identified by authorities as Dawnta Anthony Harris from Baltimore, who admitted in court documents obtained by FOX45 that he "drove at the officer" when she told him to get out of the vehicle while three others burglarized a house. Harris has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder and is being held at the Baltimore County Department of Corrections, according to police. The 16-year-old appeared before a judge on Tuesday, where prosecutors said he on house arrest with an ankle bracelet when officer was killed. The 16-year-old has been involved with 4 other cases involving theft of a motor vehicle. "I'm the last 6 months, no offense, but your client is a one man crime wave," Judge Sally Chester said.The other teenagers have not been identified. Baltimore County Police Chief Terrence Sheridan said at a news conference the fallen officer was wearing body camera, and the footage will be reviewed later as part of the investigation. He added that 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." "This is a bad time in the United States for law enforcement" Baltimore County Police Chief Terrence Sheridan A man who said his son witnessed the deadly incident told FOX45 the officer tried to pull over the Jeep. After the officer raised her gun at the people in the vehicle, the Jeep accelerated and "ran right over her, and raced out of the neighborhood," Tony Kurek told FOX45. Logan Kurek, who is a volunteer firefighter, told the Associated Press he heard his younger brother "frantically screaming, and ran to perform CPR on the officer who was bleeding from her injuries. BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICER DIES RESPONDING TO POSSIBLE BURGLARY 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. The officer was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. Authorities recovered an abandoned Jeep that was used in the killing, police confirmed to Fox News. The slaying marked the first time a female police officer was killed in the line of duty in the 148-year history of the Baltimore County Police Department. "What exactly happened, we are not sure yet until an autopsy is performed," Vinson said at a news conference Monday. It was not immediately clear whether the officer fired her weapon in the incident. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement that Caprio "bravely made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and security of our citizens." OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY IN 2018 Investigators had 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 kept 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. Since the start of 2018, at least 36 law enforcement officers across the U.S. have died while on duty -- with 24 of the deaths caused by gunfire. Roughly 135 cops died in 2016, making it the deadliest year for police officers in at least five years, Fox News has found. While there were fewer deaths in 2017, the numbers werent much better: A total of 129 officers died last year. And 46 of those were caused by gunfire. Fox News Griff Jenkins, Madeline Farber, Nicole Darrah, Elizabeth Zwirz and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A panel recommended Monday that a Miami judge be suspended for using an Italian slur to describe an African-American defendant and calling another mans supporters thugs. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Stephen Millan admitted to calling a defendant the slur used to describe black people or a person with a dark complexion, the Miami Herald reported, citing a report from the states Judicial Qualifications Commission. The panel said Millan should be suspended 30 days and fined $5,000 for the incident and Millan agreed to the terms. The state Supreme Court must now approve. The word in question was M---ie, an Italian term for eggplant that is also used as a slur for people of African descent. Millan was elected in 2014 and placed in charge of the criminal division of the Miami-Dade circuit court, according to the newspaper. He was formerly a lawyer who handled immigration, criminal defense and bankruptcy cases. He was accused of using the slur while discussing a case with a lawyer in October 2016. Millan told investigators that he didnt remember using the word, but said he had no reason to believe the allegation is false, according to the Herald. Millan, a New York native, said he used the word intermittently as a kid growing up. Millan was then overheard in 2017 telling another lawyer that he didnt trust leaving his wallet in the courtroom with those thugs, the Herald reported. "The use of racially derogatory and demeaning language to describe litigants, criminal defendants or members of the public, even behind closed doors or during off-the-record conversations, erodes public confidence in a fair and impartial judiciary, Judge Kristina Marx wrote in the commissions report. Millan is now overseeing juvenile cases. A member of the notorious MS-13 street gang known as "Animal," who admitted to the 2015 killing of a teenage boy in Massachusetts, was sentenced to 40 years in prison, officials said Tuesday. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts announced that 23-year-old Joel Martinez, who went by the street name of "Animal," will be subject to deportation once he's released from federal prison. Martinez pleaded guilty in December to RICO conspiracy and admitting to stabbing 15-year-old Irvin Javier de Paz Castro to death on Sept. 20, 2015, according to prosecutors. President Trump, who has made the fight against the street gang a notable part of his domestic policy, recently referred to dangerous MS-13 gang members as animals," which some media organizations took out of context to make it appear that he was talking about illegal immigrants. The president was asked last week about the brutal gang by Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims when addressing California sanctuary city laws. Mims specifically said, There could be an MS-13 gang member I know about, if they dont reach a certain threshold, I cannot tell ICE about them. The president responded, You wouldnt believe how bad these people are. These arent people, these are animals, and were taking them out of the country at a level and at a rate thats never happened before. The U.S. Attorney's Office said that Martinez was secretly recorded by a cooperating witness where he acknowledged being a member of MS-13 and admitting his role in the killing. The video, posted by the Boston Globe, shows the informant coaxing the confession out of Martinez. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW "I stabbed the culero three times," the 23-year-old said in the recording, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, "He stared at me and he asked me if I was going to, if I was going to stab him. I told him, 'Yes, the Mara rules you.'" Mara refers to Mara Salvatrucha, the long-form name for MS-13. MS-13 GANG MEMBER PLEADS GUILTY TO 'CATFISHING' MURDER OF BOY, 15, IN MASSACHUSETTS After the 2015 murder, prosecutors said that Martinez was "jumped in" and made a "homeboy," or full member of MS-13's Eastside Loco Salvatrucha (ESLS) clique in East Boston during a ceremony that was surreptitiously recorded by agents. When a prospective member is "jumped in," members of the MS-13 clique beat then new member with their hands and feet while one of the leaders of the clique counts aloud slowly to thirteen, according to prosecutors. The kicking and countdown can be hear in video of the beating obtained by WBUR and posted to YouTube. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW Last week, Martinez's lawyer requested his client receive 30 years in prison because he was forced to join the gang under duress, according to the Boston Globe. In order to survive within MS-13 it is vital to brag and puff oneself up, Peter L. Ettenberg wrote. Many of the other defendants did the same. The defendants braggadocio is just that. ... It is counsels belief that Joel Martinez was the sacrifice to the threats of MS-13 towards his family that compelled him to join. If he did not join, family members would be killed. WHAT IS MS-13, THE VIOLENT GANG TRUMP VOWED TO TARGET President Trump is set to visit New York's Long Island on Wednesday, another hotspot for MS-13 activity, and has spoken out about some of the grisliest murders committed by the gang in recent memory. In the wake of his comments last week, media organizations continued to misrepresent Trumps comments long after watchdogs called them out on social media for misinterpreting the remarks. C-SPAN tweeted a video that did not show Mims comment, editing down the conversation with Trumps answer and the caption: President Trump during California #SanctuaryCities Roundtable: These aren't people. These are animals. The misleading video has been viewed more than 4.5 million times. The New York Times, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News and CNN all followed with similar misleading tweets with most of the deceptive content coming after it was well publicized that Trump was specifically referring to MS-13 gang members. The New York Times, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News and CNN did not respond when asked by Fox News if Trumps comments would be clarified. The Associated Press has corrected a similar error. Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report. Seventeen students and one teacher at a Chicago, Illinois, elementary school were hospitalized Tuesday and later released following a possible gas leak in the area. "The smell of gas drifted into the gym" at Sidney Sawyer Elementary School, "as a result" of work being done nearby, Chicago Public Schools spokesperson Emily Bolton told Fox News in a statement. The students and teacher were transported to a hospital "out of an abundance of caution," and have all since been released. Gas meter readings taken at the time of the incident didn't show any elevated levels of gas, the spokesperson said. As Tennessee Valley residents prepare for a long Memorial Day weekend, the staff of the Chattanooga National Cemetery and the member organizations of the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council remind the public that they have four opportunities to commemorate veterans who died either during service in the armed forces of our nation or returned home as active and engaged citizens, dying later in life. All four events are designed for individual and/or family participation. The events are: 1. 8 a.m., Saturday, Chattanooga National Cemetery: Join volunteers in placing U. S. flags on the graves of the more than 44,000 individuals interred at the Chattanooga National Cemetery, following a brief ceremony. Then, return on Tuesday, at 8 a.m. to help in the removal and storage of the flags. 2. 11 a.m., Monday, Memorial Day, Chattanooga National Cemetery. The 2018 Memorial Day Commemorative Service has been designed by this years lead CAVC organization, the Military Officers Association [MOAA], to honor our fallen while recognizing the 100th Anniversary of The Great War [World War I]. Keynote speaker, Military Historian Louis Varnell, The History Company and Veterans Museum, will focus his comments on the Tennessee and Georgias roles in The Great War and the enduring significance of that conflict. A special presentation will honor the members of the Gold Star Mothers and Wives. Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, Mayor Jim Coppinger and Major Andy Berke will join the member organizations in an expression of appreciation for the role of our fallen in the preservation of our Republic. Attendees can expect moving musical performances from the Choo-Choo Chorus. Because of the increased burials at the Chattanooga National Cemetery, parking on-site will be available for Handicapped Only and all others will park at the Chattanooga National Guard Armory on Holtzclaw Avenue and be transported free by CARTA and VVA # 203. 3. 4 p.m., Monday, Memorial Day, Chattanooga National Cemetery. Join Dr. Michael Birdwell, Chairman of the Tennessee Great War Commission and DAR Historian Linda Moss Mines, Tennessee Great War Commission member, as they lead visitors on an easy/moderate walk at the cemetery, focusing on Great War history and the individual actions of some veterans buried on-site. Participants should meet at the flagpole on Monument Hill. Wear comfortable walking shoes. 4. 8:45 p.m., Monday, Memorial Day, Chattanooga National Cemetery. Renowned Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Historian Jim Ogden will lead a torchlight walk highlighting the Civil War and prominent veterans buried at the CNC. Participants will meet at the Armed Forces Pavilion. Wear comfortable walking shoes. For more information regarding the services, contact the Chattanooga National Cemetery at 423 855-6590 or Linda Moss Mines at localhistorycounts@gmail.com. A polygamous doomsday cult member was sentenced in Utah to 26 years-to-life in prison for child rape and abuse. Sam Shaffer, the self-styled seer of the apocalyptic group Knights of the Crystal Blade, is set to spend 25 years-to-life in prison for the first-degree felony rape charge and another one-to-15 years in prison for abuse, FOX 13 Now reported. He was ordered to serve the sentences consecutively. Youre not being sentenced for your religious views, youre being sentenced for criminal conduct, Fifth District Court Judge Matthew Bell told him. Shaffer, along with John Coltharp, another member of the Knights of the Crystal Blade, were accused of kidnapping children. Shaffer told authorities after his arrest that he was betrothed to Coltraps 8-year-old daughter. He also claimed Coltharp was married to his 7-year-old daughter. TEXAS BAR OWNER ACCUSED OF RAPING UNCONSCIOUS CUSTOMER Last year, the children were rescued in Cedar City following an Amber Alert. Authorities found two children in a mobile home and two others were discovered in storage containers in freezing temperatures. Shaffer told the judge he was willing to testify against Coltharp, but contemplated taking his life before that. Shaffers lawyer argued his relationship with the children was religious, not sexual. I said, Find me when youre older and she said, I love you,' Shaffer said while talking about one of the children. COUPLE SEEKS COURTS HELP TO EVICT 30-YEAR-OLD SON FROM THEIR HOME If being crucified would make it better for her I would do it, Shaffer said. Shaffer told the judge he believed he needed help and asked him to give me the right judgment, even if thats impossible. It did start as a religious thing, but I do accept culpability, Shaffer told the court. I am sorry. The 34-year-old Shaffer also faces child bigamy and other charges in Sanpete County. Prosecutors say the abuse started there, before the group decamped to the desert compound. An active-shooter situation in Florida that unfolded in real time on the air Tuesday came to an end after officials announced that the suspect, 49-year-old Kevin Robert Holroyd, was dead. Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson confirmed the suspects death at a news conference later that day, adding that the shooter was in an elevated position firing hundreds of rounds threating the public and their fellow law enforcement. He continued, We are very grateful that multi-agency cooperation was able to quickly resolve this issue without any further loss of life. The Bay County Sheriffs Office and the Panama City Police were contacted by the Walton County Sheriffs Office Tuesday morning. Law enforcement was asked to look out for Holroyd, who was wanted in connection with the murder of 30-year-old Clinton Street the same day, the sheriffs office said in statement. Police said they believed Holroyd might have returned to his townhome apartment on Beck Avenue in Bay County so investigators went to the building. During that period, a resident in the apartment complex called police to report the smell of gas. When firefighters arrived to the scene, Holroyd began to shoot at the approaching investigators and firefighters from the upstairs windows of his townhome apartment, police said. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the scene where officers engaged the suspect in crossfire. It is estimated about 100 rounds were shot during the altercation, police said. Eventually a SWAT team was able to get inside the apartment. Holroyd was found dead in the unit, dressed in body armor. Police also reported the suspect doused the apartment in gasoline and found flares leading them to believe that he intended to start a fire. During the standoff, a WMBB local reporter was interviewing a witness on the scene who reportedly heard gunshots earlier. In the middle of detailing what was heard, both the man and the reporter quickly ran for cover after a number of gunshots rang out in the background. Police said earlier that an EMS worker was grazed by a bullet but later reported that only one person was injured while leaving her apartment. She was in stable condition. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Tennessee high school Spanish teacher was suspended without pay amid accusations that she sold alcohol to students. Alix Morales, a teacher at Siegel High School in Murfreesboro, was suspended May 17 until May 25 pending an investigation into the claims, FOX 17 reported. VIRAL VIDEO CAPTURES NAIL SALON WORKER JUMPING ONTO CAR IN PARKING LOT Morales was accused of selling alcohol to the students and discussing the transactions in the schools hallway. She was ordered to have limited discussion about the investigation as it proceeds, according to FOX17. James Evans, the Rutherford County School District spokesperson told the Daily News Journal the district was investigating allegations that she [Morales] provided alcohol to students. The district did not comment further on the probe. REVOLVING DOOR OF DESPAIR: DRUGS LAND MORE WOMEN BEHIND BARS If the district finds the accusations were unfounded then she would be compensated for the suspension, according to the Daily News Journal. However, if the district finds the allegations were true then she could face a harsher punishment, including dismissal. The Rutherford County Sheriffs Office was also probing the allegations, the Daily News Journal reported. Morales has been employed with the district since August 2016. One deputy took a hands-on approach to a bull in Texas. Samson the bull a well-known member of the community got loose on Saturday afternoon, and deputies were tasked with leading him home. We are told the neighborhood knows him well, and he is very gentle so it didn't take much to get him home," the sheriffs office told Fox News, adding that he was escorted home that same afternoon. A snapshot showing Samson being led by a deputy was published on the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office Facebook page on Sunday. Only in Texas!!! Our Deputies believe in 'grabbing the bull by the horns' to get the job done! Onto the next call!! Never a boring day! authorities captioned the picture. The sheriffs office added the hashtags "#Deputylife #CopLife #StruggleisReal. COUPLE SEEKS COURT'S HELP TO EVICT 30-YEAR-OLD SON FROM THEIR HOME The post has received more than 1,300 reactions as of Tuesday afternoon. Dozens of Texans thanked the officers for helping the bull find his way back. "I love it! This is only one of the reasons I love Texas," one woman commented on the Facebook post. "Talking about above and beyond - this officer is committed to the welfare of all. Great job - brave man," another user commented. "Just a ordinary day in the country, gotta love it," one man wrote, adding a thumbs-up emoji. The sheriffs office replied with a gif from a scene in The Breakfast Club, of a character saying, Dont mess with the bull young man. Youll get the horns. Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding a Texas county jail inmate who claimed she was forced to give birth behind bars after officers ignored her repeated cries for help. Shaye Bear, 25, was about five months pregnant when she went into labor at Ellis County Jail in Waxahachie on Thursday, WFAA reported. She told the station that she delivered a one-pound-two-ounce baby boy. She recalled the baby being born and landing on a mat in her cell. Bear claimed that despite pleas for help after her water broke, guards did not respond until after the baby had been born. Bear claims officers took a long time to respond to her pleas, and when they did, an officer asked if she had reached inside of herself and pulled the baby out. The mom and her newborn were transported to a nearby hospital and the premature baby was airlifted to Cooks Children Medical Center in Fort Worth where he remains in the intensive care unit, according to the station. Ellis County Sheriff Charles Edge told the station that records indicate the mother was treated the entire time she was in here due to her pregnancy. A spokesperson for the Texas Rangers, which is conducting the investigation surrounding Bears pregnancy, declined to comment for the channel. A law enforcement official told the station that investigators believe the inmate induced her own labor. Bear argued she was trying to force them to take me to the hospital, so they could stop my labor. Bear, who was reportedly arrested on March 10 on drug-related charges, has remained in jail after failing to post the $5,000 bond, the station reported. Nearly two years ago, Bear gave birth at a hospital although she was an inmate in the Dallas County jail system, the report said. Click here for more on this story from wfaa.com A Texas man is being hailed a hero for an act of kindness that has gone viral. Louis Jordan, 35, was photographed on April 27 in Houston holding an umbrella over an elderly woman who was waiting in the heat to be picked up by a paratransit service. The image reportedly has been shared thousands of times since. "I've been down and out myself, Jordan told Fox 7 Austin. It doesn't take a lot. I just do what I can do. Jordan visits downtown Houston nearly every afternoon to pick up his mother after putting in a full shift at his UPS job, and began holding up the umbrella which he stashes in his car trunk -- after he noticed in April that the lift service has typically kept the woman waiting, the station added. His mother Vernette Botts took the picture of her son and a police officer that had come over to check on the situation. Jordan told Fox 7 Austin that he lives his life inspired by God and the teachings of the church. "I pray every day that God will allow me to be closer to him, he said. Officials with the paratransit service said they wont be late again, his mother added. President Donald Trump has long been an unlikely sweetheart for conservative and evangelical voters. Now, in the lead-up to the midterm elections, the thrice-married former Democrat who used to describe himself as "very pro-choice" is offering catnip to conservative voters with a new administration push to strip funding from Planned Parenthood and other family planning clinics. The initiative, announced last week, is aimed at resurrecting parts of a Reagan-era mandate banning federally funded family planning clinics from referring women for abortions, or sharing space with abortion providers. And it has arrived just in time for Trump to highlight it Tuesday night when he speaks at the Susan B. Anthony List's annual "Campaign for Life Gala." The speech, said one administration official, is aimed at a core constituency of conservative activists who will be key to energizing the party entering the fall midterm elections. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List, says the move "will help tremendously" in the midterms. It's also the latest evidence that as he frets over the Russia investigation and prepares for a planned summit with North Korea, Trump has also been focused on fulfilling campaign promises and tending to issues that galvanize his base: holding a series of events to rail against the dangers of illegal immigration, pulling out of the Iran-nuclear deal and wading anew into the fight over abortion rights. Trump is far from a natural fit for conservative voters. He recently admitted to reimbursing his lawyer for paying pay hush money to a porn star who claimed she had sex with Trump (a charge that he denies). And Trump has bragged about groping women without their permission. During the campaign, he sometimes had trouble articulating his views on abortion, at one point suggesting women should be punished for having abortions. His campaign later walked back the statement, saying that if abortion were ever outlawed, he believed that doctors who perform them should be punished. Nonetheless, white evangelical voters overwhelmingly supported Trump in 2016, and that support has only grown. A PRRI survey released last month found white evangelical support for Trump at an all-time high, with 75 percent of those polled holding a favorable view of the president and just 22 percent holding an unfavorable view. Support for Trump within the general population in the poll stood at just 42 percent. Religious groups like the Catholic Medical Association approve of a series of actions Trump has taken, beginning with his appointment of judges who oppose abortion rights, including Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, and Trump's reinstatement of the global "gag rule" that bars federal funding for nongovernmental organizations that provide abortion referrals. The White House also points to the administration's support for religious objectors in court and Trump's efforts to bring religious groups "back into the fold by ensuring religious groups and their partners are critical participants in the policy making process." Trump has also surrounded himself with staffers with deep ties to conservative groups, including counselor Kellyanne Conway and Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp. Ralph Reed, chairman of the private Faith & Freedom Coalition, also pointed to the president's dismantling of the Iran nuclear deal and his decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as steps that have played especially well with evangelical voters. But he said the president's actions on abortion hold special sway, in part because of Trump's early struggle with the issue. "On a policy level, I see it as a series of promises made and promises kept. And in this case, a pro-life promise made and pro-life promise kept. And I would argue those are the most important promises to keep because he was someone who was believed, accurately or otherwise, as a recent arrival to conservatism and someone who had an ideologically mixed past," Reed said. Reed added that as president, "Trump has done everything that he can to keep faith with the faith-based voters that provided him with his margin of victory in 2016." When it comes to the midterms, Reed said, "I expect Donald Trump to be rewarded for these efforts by a similarly historic turnout among evangelical and other pro-life voters." Dannenfelser, whose group works to elect candidates who want to reduce and ultimately end abortion, is planning to raise and spend $25 million this cycle, up from the $18 million the group spent in the lead-up to the 2016 elections. She said the president's latest move would play especially well with voters in states like Missouri, where Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley is challenging Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, one of the Senate's most vulnerable incumbents, as well as in Indiana and North Dakota, where Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer is challenging Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. Abortion rights activists, meanwhile, argue that Trump's moves on the issue will only embolden women to turn out at the polls, just as they took to the streets in marches after Trump's election. "It's going to cost this administration at the ballot box in November," said Planned Parenthood Federation of America's Kevin Griffis. "We have to fight back in the best way we know how," the group Emily's List wrote in a fundraising email, "electing pro-choice Democratic women who will always protect reproductive freedom." ___ Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report. Students from Orchard Knob Middle School, Howard School, Brainerd High School and Hixson High School participated in workshops led by Mark Making, a local art-based nonprofit organization, exploring the power of advocacy and citizen participation in societal issues. The 133 participants also gained basic knowledge of circuitry and the electric current that powers traffic cabinets, informing the creation of pictograms. The Chattanooga Department of Transportation is glad to partner with Mark Making and highlight Chattanoogas talented youth, said Blythe Bailey, CDOT administrator. Chattanooga is a city of creators, and this project celebrates the unique perspectives of our local teens with the public display of their artwork on traffic signal cabinets in East Chattanooga. These pictograms feature a path between a battery, representing a student source of power, and a light, representing the results of student efforts to impact a societal problem. The pictograms, along with an advocacy letter were sent to national and local political representatives in an effort to advocate for students causes such as crime, gang activity, noise and litter. We have some incredibly creative and civic minded students in Chattanooga, said Katelyn Kirnie, director of Public Art. Frances McDonald has done an incredible job with Mark Makings Life Energy program to help students express themselves on issues that directly affect them Six of the 133 student participants pictograms selected by a committee including Mark Making board members, Chattanooga Public Art Commission members, local artists, and members of the community were installed on traffic cabinets selected by CCDOT. These winners are Sarah Bargerstock, Daisha Draper and Kensha Moore, Sabrina Eldridge, Cody Hutchison, Jade Sharp, and Xavier Wood. The unveiling celebration of the six traffic boxes designed by local teens will be Thursday, May 31, at 5:30 p.m. at the corner of Glass Street and North Chamberlain Avenue. Partners of the Life Energy project include city of Chattanooga, Public Art Chattanooga, Chattanooga Department of Transportation, and the above listed schools. This project was funded in part by Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Hazel M. Hutcheson Foundation, and the Hand Foundation. Mexican authorities temporarily suspended a charter company which owned a passenger jet that crashed in Cuba, while Cuban media said one of three survivors died Monday, increasing the death toll to 111. Mexico's General Directorate of Civil Aviation said in a statement that the suspension was ordered to allow an "extraordinary" review to verify whether Aerolineas Damojh, which uses the commercial name Global Air, is complying with the law. Authorities also want to compile information to help with an investigation launched by the Cuban government into the cause of Friday's crash. Cuban state radio and television stations said Gretell Landrove Font, 23, died Monday afternoon of extensive injuries she sustained in the crash. Landrove's mother, Amparo Font, had told reporters that her daughter was a flamenco dancer and engineering student on the verge of graduation. COMPANY IN CUBA PLANE CRASH HAD FACED SAFETY COMPLAINTS The two remaining survivors -- Mailen Diaz, 19, and Emiley Sanchez, 39 -- were hospitalized in Havana in critical condition. Both are from the eastern Cuba city of Holguin. Mexico and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board have announced they would send experts to Cuba to help in the investigation, and Havana has said that Boeing, which made the airliner, is participating. MAJOR PLANE CRASHES IN CUBA IN RECENT YEARS The 39-year-old Boeing 737 was rented from Damojh and operated by Cuban state-run airline Cubana de Aviacion, with a Global Air flight crew. It crashed in a fireball just after takeoff Friday from Havana's international airport bound for the eastern Cuban city of Holguin. Mexico's aviation directorate said the company had been suspended twice before, in 2010 and 2013, but was allowed to resume operations after addressing security questions. Israel Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin revealed on Tuesday that stealth fighter jets have been participating in Israels attacks against Iranian targets in Syria. "The F-35 squadron has become an operational squadron. We are the first in the world to use the F-35 in operational activity, and the Adir planes are flying all over the Middle East," he said while presenting images of the F-35 over Beirut, Lebanon. The Israeli Air Force has twice carried out strikes with the F-35, on two different fronts. He refused to say when and where the attacks took place. On May 10, in the biggest confrontation between the two nations since the Yom Kippur War in the 1970s, Israel bombed Iranian military installations in Syria in response to rocket fire. Israel is the first country, apart from the U.S., to acquire the F-35. In December 2016, it received its two planes, out of an order of 50, to be supplied by 2024. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, known in Israel as "Adir," or mighty one, is produced in variants for land-based and sea-based operation by U.S.-based Lockheed Martin. The stealth fighters are operated by the air forces Golden Eagle Squadron, based in the Nevatim Air Base in central Israel. More than 20 air force commanders from around the world arrived in Israel to participate in the International Air Force Commanders Conference commemorating the IAFs 70th anniversary, where they will discuss international cooperation and regional stability. This is an opportunity for us to open a window for many countries to see Israel, its views, its history, its aerial capabilities, its military capabilities, and the high quality of its people, Norkin said. These new relationships will assist us in establishing our strategic infrastructure. They will improve Israel's strategic standing and its ability to operate in a legitimate manner, even during a crisis. Among the countries participating in the convention are the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Greece, Poland, Italy, Cyprus, Austria, Bulgaria, Brazil, France, the Czech Republic, Romania, Croatia, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Vietnam, and India. During Secretary of State Mike Pompeos first major policy speech on Iran Monday, he warned Tehran that the U.S. would work closely with regional allies to deter its meddling. One country that has recently experienced such Iranian interference is Morocco, and Nasser Bourita the minister for foreign affairs, spoke to Fox News about the problem last week. Bourita said that his countrys intelligence service discovered that Iranian proxy Hezbollah was supplying the Polisario Front rebel group with arms. The Polisario has been fighting Morocco for independence since Spain left the Western Sahara in the 70s. Morocco annexed the Western Sahara during that time and the Polisario Front launched a bloody guerilla war before both sides agreed upon a UN-brokered truce in 1991. That truce has largely held in place. Bourita said Morocco witnessed a change last year following the arrest of a Hezbollah financier. He described the moneyman as, being at the heart of the financing system of Hezbollah in Africa in laundering money. He said Hezbollah threatened Morocco to release him. But, he said, we gave him to the United States and from that date there was a change. That change, he said, now threatens our own security. In April this year a new level was reached - which is providing military equipment, he said. He said that included the SAM-11, SAM-9 and Strela surface to air missile system. Bourita cited newly released evidence showing recent visits of senior Hezbollah leaders meetings with senior Polisario military leaders, including the men responsible for Hezbollahs external relations for military training and logistics. Bourita seemed to confirm reports that the Iranian embassy in Algeria was used to fund the Polisario. He said the embassys cultural attache; Amir Mousavi, is believed to be the person running the operation. He said its our understanding that hes more powerful than the ambassador himself and his connection(s) are the strategic advisors to the Supreme Guide to the Islamic Republic of Iran. He warned that such interference is unlikely to stop. I think it is clear that the interference of Iran in the internal affairs of the Arab and Muslim countries wont stop in (the) Middle-East and in the Gulf Countries, he said. The Iranians, he said, are in part trying to destabilize the area due to Moroccos good relations with the U.S. and Europe. Morocco is known to be a moderate country, a country that uses soft power in Africa and in the Arab world and I think that is one of the elements which is disturbing Iran, he said. Bourita said the new evidence coincided with recent threats by the Polisario, to establish some military presence east of the Moroccan Sahara defense system. Benny Avni a foreign affairs analyst and columnist for the New York Post who has written about the issue, said the Polisario was nurtured by the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War as part of a global attempt to undermine U.S. allies. Then it was abandoned by its supporters, except for Algeria, he said. In comes Iran, which would export the Islamic revolution everywhere there is mayhem. In the Polisario, Tehran saw an opportunity, so it stepped in. Behnam Ben Taleblu a senior Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, or FDD, in Washington D.C, told Fox News that although Tehran has not articulated a specific policy vision for North Africa, relations remained strained. Historically, under the Islamic Republic, Iran and Moroccos relationship has been turbulent, experiencing periods of friendship and enmity, Taleblu said. That being said, Moroccos close ties to Saudi Arabia earn it deep suspicion in Irans eyes given the escalating Saudi-Iranian cold-war in the Middle East. He said it remains to be seen if such activities constitute a one-off by Iran and its Lebanese proxy or search for a strategic foothold in North Africa. The Islamic Republic, he said, has a history of co-opting local conflicts to make them spiral out of control. According to the Associated Press, while Iran has denied the charges against it, Hezbollah said that Morocco was being pressured by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel to act. Bourita made clear that his countrys decision was taken for national security reasons and not outside pressure. Our position, he said, was based on our own assessments, (our) own intelligence and with regard to our national security. So it was purely a bilateral decision. North Korea invited a select group of foreign journalists, but excluded eight South Koreans, to the scheduled nuclear test site closing ceremony this week as the regime continues to lash out and accuse the South and United States of saber-rattling for continuing military drills. North Korea initially invited South Korean journalists to the dismantling of Punggye-ri nuclear site, but Seoul said Pyongyang rejected the list of eight people chosen to attend the event happening sometime between Wednesday and Friday. "We tried to convey the list through the Panmunjom communication channel at 9 a.m. today, but the North declined to accept it," a South Korean unification ministry official told Yonhap News Agency. NORTH KOREA THREATENS TO CANCEL SUMMIT WITH US IF TALKS ARE 'ONE-SIDED DEMAND' A group of journalists from Britain, Russia, China and the U.S. arrived in North Koreas shiny new Wonsan airport after taking a charter flight from Beijing. Despite the list rejection, the South Korean journalists still traveled to Beijing on Monday but were reportedly left stranded in the Chinese city after they werent granted visas. "We stepped out from this airport and it's eerily quiet, Sky News correspondent Tom Cheshire said. The journalists will take a 12-hour train ride up to the mountains, followed by a four-hour trip on a bus. They will finally reach Punggye-ri after a two-hour hike, Sky News reported. North Korean officials also confiscated the journalists and crews satellite phones. North Korea announced in mid-May it will be holding a ceremony to dismantle the site where the regime conducted six of its nuclear tests. North Koreas Foreign Ministry said that all the tunnels at the countrys northeastern testing ground will be destroyed by explosion and that observation and research facilities and ground-based testing units will also be removed. Many analysts, however, said the dismantling of the nuclear site is mainly just a gesture. The event follows Kim Jong Uns promise made during the summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last month. Kim is also expected to meet President Trump on June 12 in Singapore, but those plans may be tossed. North Korea recently lashed out at the South and U.S. over ongoing joint military exercises. The regime abruptly canceled its recent meeting with South Korea and cut off high-level contact with Seoul. It also threatened to pull out of the summit with Trump. US SENDS POWERFUL WARSHIP TO JAPAN AMID LOOMING TRUMP-KIM SUMMIT On Tuesday, a commentary published in Minju Joson, one of North Koreas four main daily newspapers, reiterated the countrys stance on the military drills. "Dialogue and saber-rattling can never go together," the commentary stated. "There are some arguments describing the improvement of the situation on the Korean Peninsula as 'result of hard-line diplomacy' of the U.S. and 'result of sustained pressure,'" the state-run Korean Central News Agency also said. "It seriously chills the atmosphere of the DPRK-U.S. dialogue and is of no help to the development of the situation." Another article lashed out at South Korean authorities for allowing defectors to send anti-North Korea leaflets across their border. Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News The Story theres no question Trump is willing to walk away from the negotiation table if his summit with Kim goes awry. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has a message for drug suspects who hope to live longer: Stay in jail. Duterte, 72, told drug suspects in a central Cebu province on Tuesday to look for a way to get arrested and then stay behind bars if they want to live longer. It is his latest threat in his bloody anti-drug crackdown. Duterte did not identify the targets of his warning in a televised threat-laden speech, but referred to people who grew rich through illegal drugs in the province. RODRIGO DUTERTE SAYS HE WILL STEP DOWN IN 2020 BECAUSE HES OLD, WANTS REST "You know if I were you guys in Cebu, stay in jail. You want to live longer? Stay in jail," Duterte said. "Look for your own reason to be in jail. Do not go out of that facility. It would not be healthy for you." There has been one case of a drug suspect who was shot to death by police in his jail cell. Rolando Espinosa, town mayor, was killed by police in 2016 in what was said to be a gun battle, but government investigators called it a murder. Murder complaints against an officer and his men involved in the shootout were later downgraded to a lesser charge that allowed them to be released on bail and reinstated into the force. Duterte had a warning for officers who were involved in drugs. "Some of them, sadly, are really into drugs ... most of all the policemen because they are aplenty. I'm just warning them that if you are into it, you will be the first to go," he said. "It is no surprise that you are just also falling down one by one and the mayors and the village captains," he said. PHILIPPINES DUTERTE ORDERS FEMALE COMMUNIST FIGHTERS SHOT IN THE GENITALS, REPORTS SAY "And to all of those criminals out there, to all those rogue policemen and all creating hell for us, I have yet sufficient time to correct all of these things," Duterte said. "You might not like the way how I correct things but I would just love to warn you that there's no turning back on this and I am there in the drug war in front." The message was the latest in Dutertes crackdown on drugs. Since Duterte took office, police have said thousands of people have been killed in the war on drugs. The Associated Press contributed to this report. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 A private jet crashed off the end of the runway of the international airport in Honduras' capital Tuesday, but the crew and passengers were rescued and reportedly out of danger, the government's emergency management agency said. Photographs posted by the agency showed a white Gulfstream jet broken in half near the center. Firefighters sprayed foam onto the wreck and part of the plane appeared to lie across a street. Video showed what appeared to be area residents pulling people out of the damaged fuselage while others sprayed the plane with hand-held fire extinguishers. The FlightAware website said the flight had originated in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday morning. Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane registered to TVPX Aircraft Solutions Inc. in North Salt Lake, Utah. A person who identified himself as Mike at TVPX said he had no information to share and hung up. The emergency agency said on Twitter that first responders rescued passengers and crew. It did not provide the number of those aboard, but said all were alive. Honduran firefighters posted photos of the crash and said there were nine people injured, but military police spokesman Mario Rivera said there were six aboard. The discrepancy was not immediately clarified. President Juan Orlando Hernandez confirmed via Twitter that the injured were stable. In 2008, a plane of the former airline TACA crashed in nearly the same spot. Five people died in that crash. Tegucigalpa's airport has long been notorious as one of the more difficult approaches in the hemisphere, surrounded by mountaintops and residential neighborhoods. The airport's runway is about 6,600 feet (2,012 meters) long, according to the airport's website. Authorities asked drivers to avoid the area and said about 50,000 people in the surrounding neighborhood lost power because the plane took down power lines. ___ Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report. A private jet that crashed off the end of the runway at the international airport in Honduras' capital Tuesday had arrived from Austin, Texas, according to the website FlightAware. Video images posted online showed what appeared to be area residents pulling people out of the damaged fuselage of the white Gulfstream jet, while others sprayed it with hand-held fire extinguishers. Firefighters arrived at the scene and doused the wreckage with foam. Part of the plane appeared in photos to lie across a street. The Associated Press, citing Federal Aviation Administration records, reported that the plane was registered to TVPX Aircraft Solutions Inc. in North Salt Lake, Utah. Honduras' emergency management agency said on Twitter that first responders rescued passengers and crew. It did not provide the number of those aboard, but said all were alive. "Thank God there are no fatalities," police official Miguel Martinez Madrid said in a statement. Honduran firefighters posted photos of the crash and said there were nine people injured, but military police spokesman Mario Rivera said there were six aboard. The discrepancy was not immediately clarified. Miguel Osorio, a spokesman for the Hospital Escuela Universitario, said that five crew members were being treated for minor injuries and were in stable condition. The Honduran Civil Aviation Agency said in a statement that the crash took place at 11:15 a.m. It added that everyone aboard was taken for medical attention and said airport operations were temporarily shut down while authorities checked to ensure conditions were safe. Operations resumed at 3:15 p.m. In 2008, a plane of the former airline TACA crashed in nearly the same spot. Five people died in that crash. Tegucigalpa's airport has long been notorious as one of the more difficult approaches in the hemisphere, surrounded by mountaintops and residential neighborhoods. The airport's runway is about 6,600 feet long, according to the airport's website. Authorities asked drivers to avoid the area and said about 50,000 people in the surrounding neighborhood lost power because the plane took down power lines. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Dubbed a Chernobyl on ice and a nuclear Titanic by one environmental group, Russias first floating nuclear power plant is almost ready for its maiden voyage to a remote port town across the Bering Strait from Alaska a move seen by many as both Moscows latest push to take control of the Arctic and one fraught with ecological peril. Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, which developed and built the Akademik Lomonosov power plant, said that the unit docked last Saturday in the port city of Murmansk, along the Kola Bay in northwestern Russia. After taking on a supply of nuclear fuel, the floating power plant will be towed across the Northern Sea Route to Pevek on the East Siberian Sea, where officials say it is expected to replace a coal-fired power plant and an aging nuclear power plant sometime next year. "Akademik Lomonosov is an unparalleled piece of engineering by Russian scientists, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachov said at a welcome ceremony in Murmansk. 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. Likhachov added that the floating nuclear plant, which is expected to supply electricity to more than 50,000 people in the isolated Far East region of Chukotka, could become a model for island nations where it is difficult, for various reasons, to set up a developed centralized power transmission infrastructure. The floating nuclear plant has added another layer of worry for the U.S. militarys senior command, who recently signaled its concern for a mounting Russian footprint in the Arctic as Moscow works to revitalize its northern fleet and military bases. Theyve got all their chess pieces on the board right now, and weve got a pawn and maybe a rook, Adm. Paul Zukunft, the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, said in March. If you look at this Arctic game of chess, theyve got us at checkmate right at the very beginning. For their part, Russian officials have praised the floating nuclear plant both as a way to supply electricity to hard-to-reach areas in Russia, to provide power for oil and gas exploration and as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions responsible in part for global warming. Theyve got all their chess pieces on the board right now, and weve got a pawn and maybe a rook...If you look at this Arctic game of chess, theyve got us at checkmate right at the very beginning. Admiral Paul Zukunft, the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Environmental groups like Greenpeace, however, have voiced concerns about the safety of the Russia power plant. Nuclear reactors bobbing around the Arctic Ocean will pose a shockingly obvious threat to a fragile environment which is already under enormous pressure from climate change, Jan Haverkamp, a nuclear expert for Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe, said in a statement. The green group, along with pressure from the Baltic states, has already successfully lobbied Russia to move the loading of the Akademik Lomonosov from the densely-populated St. Petersburg to Murmansk, but there are major concerns about the transport across the Northern Sea Route to Pevek and the docking of the nuclear plant off the coast of the port town. The floating nuclear power plants will typically be put to use near coastlines and shallow water, Haverkamp said. Contrary to claims regarding safety, the flat-bottomed hull and the floating nuclear power plants lack of self-propulsion makes it particularly vulnerable to tsunamis and cyclones. Despite the criticism and safety concerns, Russia is forging ahead with plans to produce more of the floating plants, which it says can operate non-stop without the need for refueling for between three and five years. At least 15 countries -- including China, Argentina Algeria, Indonesia, Malaysia and Argentina -- have shown an interest in hiring Rosatom to build them their own floating nuclear plants. The Russian floating nuclear plant may seem like a new idea, but it is actually far from the first of its kind. During the height of the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army turned a repurposed World War II Liberty ship into a floating 10 megawatt nuclear power plant and moored it in Gatun Lake in the Panama Canal. Named the Sturgis, the plant provided electricity to civil and military operations in the Panama Canal Zone until 1976, when it was decommissioned. The decommissioning process is still taking place at the Port of Galveston in Texas, but so far more than 99 percent of the vessel's radioactive parts have been transported to waste facilities. When the Liberty Ship was converted into a floating nuclear reactor back in the 1960s, they never intended for it to be taken apart, Baltimore District Project Manager Brenda Barber of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a 2017 press release. It was built to house a nuclear reactor with thick elements of steel, lead and concrete barriers which provided protection for the workers and the public during her operations. One of the U.S. Navys most advanced guided missile destroyers arrived in Japan on Tuesday, weeks before the expected summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The USS Milius strengthens defenses against any potential ballistic missile strikes by North Korea. The move is supposed to be a reminder to Pyongyang of the U.S. military might and the pressure it is capable of applying if the meeting fails to lead to denuclearization, Reuters reported. The warship will support security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region by bringing enhanced missile defense capabilities as a ballistic missile defense platform, the U.S. Navy said in a statement. The destroyer is able to shoot down warheads in space and will become part of a naval destroyer force that is the first line of U.S. line of defense against missiles shot by North Korea. The Miliuss arrival also coincides with doubts that the meeting might not happen after North Korea protested over recent U.S.-South Korean air combat drills. North Korean officials also said they arent interested in having a meeting if the U.S. only insist on them unilaterally abandoning its nuclear weapons. Trump fired back saying that failure to come up with an agreement that would denuclearize the regime may be the end of the Kim dynasty in the region. Brenda B. Purcell, the broker at REMAX Renaissance in Hixson, announces the affiliation of Jill McIntyre as an affiliate broker. Ms. McIntyre started her career in real estate as an unlicensed assistant and has been mentored by veteran agent Katie Ashley of the Big Ridge community in Hixson. Ms. McIntyre is a resident of Soddy Daisy and a native of this area. Now, she is eager to join forces with Katie Ashley as a licensed realtor. Ms. Purcell said, These two will be practicing as a team and will be the dynamic duo. Jill has great people skills and never meets a stranger and she demonstrates a hard work ethic. She brings with her an understanding of marketing and has a background in advertising. RE/MAX Renaissance at Hixson is at 6204 Hixson Pike, Suite 112 and features six real estate professionals with more than 30 years of combined experience in both residential and commercial sales. RE/MAX Renaissance of Hixson serves clients throughout the Chattanooga area and Northwest Georgia. The office recently expanded into Hixson to be ready for the new home sales growth in North Hamilton county. To reach Ms. McIntyre, please contact her at 648-8200 (office) or by cell phone at 779-4791. Boyd A. Bo Veal , a fixture in Signal Mountain government since 2004, has informed members of the town council that he plans to retire late this year as town manager. Mayor Charlie Poss, noting that the town manager has been a great leader and an even better person, said council members received his formal resignation letter last week. The matter probably will be discussed ... (click for more) Four pedestrians were struck while in a crosswalk at 300 West Main St. on Thursday night. All four were taken to a hospital by Hamilton County EMS. Police said the status of the injuries was not yet available. The driver who struck the pedestrians fled the scene prior to the arrival of police. CPD's Traffic Unit is investigating and working to identify and locate the driver. (click for more) Avianna Harris, a junior at Red Bank High School, was honored by the Tri-State Chapter of the Freedom's Foundation at Valley Forge for being selected to attend the annual "Spirit of American Youth Leadership Conference" in Valley Forge, Pa. The mission of the Freedom's Foundation is to educate young people on the heritage and values of America and to encourage students to become informed, responsible and active citizens. 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 installation of the sculpture, Of Spiritual Significance by Bob Dombrowski, will be celebrated on June 30, in Wildwood. The sculpture has been made possible through a commission by The Trenton Arts Council with equal support from Katie Bien for the family. The sculpture is an arrangement of large stones. The space they inhabit is defined by several painted wooden stele which, by their placement, act almost as guardians, or informational kiosks, its overall sense becomes immediately available. It provides pleasure. It stands between us and less easily defined worlds. Woks by Bob Dombrowski and Mary Petruska wil be on exhibit and for sale. Almost a retrospective, they will be exhibiting and selling work that they have done over the last 40 years. Many of the pieces are very moderately priced. The evening will be defined by the music of one Voice. One voice is a gathering of musicians and vocalists who will enhance and deepen the evening within the sounds of voice and drums and exotic string instruments. A class action lawsuit has been filed against United Community Bank, a regional bank headquartered in Georgia with locations in three additional states, including Tennessee. United Community Bank has offices in Cleveland, Tn., and Murphy, N.C., as well as Blue Ridge, Summerville, Trion and Blairsville, Ga. The suit was filed Wednesday in Federal Court in Knoxville. Plaintiff Dennis A. Jones, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated throughout the U.S., filed the suit "seeking redress for UCBs alleged routine practice of assessing overdraft fees on debit card transactions that did not overdraw checking account available balances, along with multiple insufficient funds fees on a single transaction." The lawsuit was filed by Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings, PLLC (BS&J) of Nashville and Cohen & Malad, LLP (C&M) of Indianapolis. Gerard Stranch, managing partner of BS&J, said, United Community Banks improper debit card fee practices are costing Dennis Jones, and many others like him, exorbitant sums and taking away a substantial percentage of income. Their practice of conducting authorized-positive, settled-negative transactions is deceptive and bears potential impact on all of UCBs clients. UCBs customers should be aware of the banks practices and the frequency with which they result in significant, unforeseen, personal cost to customers. The lawsuit alleges that: UCB breached the terms of its account documents by charging overdraft fees on transactions that were authorized into a sufficient available balance, but whose balances were allegedly insufficient at the time the transactions were settled; UCB breached the terms of its account documents by charging multiple insufficient funds fees on a single transaction; UCB breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing through its overdraft policies and procedures; and UCB engaged in deceptive acts or practices relating to the imposition of overdraft fees on consumers in violation of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act. Lynn Toops, a partner at C&M, said, It is our hope that Mr. Jones, representing the class on behalf of which this lawsuit was filed, can put a stop to UCBs unfair and improper fee practices. UCBs customers put their trust in the bank to comply with its own promises. Those customers who have been victimized by UCBs improper practices, in direct violation of the banks promises, have suffered considerable financial losses. It is our goal to not only be granted restoration of these improper fees, but to hold UCB accountable for their wrongful actions. The plaintiff and fellow class members demand a jury trial and judgments that include: Declaring UCBs overdraft fee policies and practices to be wrongful; Ordering UCB to cease its conduct regarding overdraft fees; Restitution of all overdraft fees paid to UCB by the plaintiff and classes as a result of the alleged wrongful practices; and Actual and punitive damages. Losses in Northern Irelands beef sector have rallied farmers to call for a targeted suckler support scheme after Brexit. The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said the market is failing to provide a living for most suckler farms after industry data showed a 61p/kg shortfall between costs and farmgate beef prices. Average cost of production for the 2016-17 financial year was 3.97/kg deadweight versus an average price of 3.36/kg, although prices have strengthened to about 3.60/kg. See also: Growing beef market threat from Argentina The figures come from the Livestock and Meat Commission and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera), which UFU beef and lamb chairman Sam Chesney said makes for unattractive reading. The union will pressure Daera to provide a post-Brexit agriculture policy that acknowledges the wider economic, environmental and social importance of the suckler cow, said Mr Chesney. He called for a scheme that paid farmers to improve technical efficiency in a grass-based system, for carrying out management activities such as: Soil sampling and liming/fertilising land accordingly Buying bulls with better figures Intensive grassland management DNA testing a percentage of calves Weighing stock to monitor growth and efficiency We want something simple that gives us money for doing things that will help suckler farms perform better, he told Farmers Weekly. I dont think the consumer and taxpayer will hand out the brown envelope anymore. Michael Gove has said we must give value for money. I want to work to produce a payment of, say, 50 a calf for farms to show they are providing information on the performance and growth of the calf and its breeding and genetics. A direct 200/cow subsidy premium is being demanded in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) by key beef industry groups. An Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association spokesperson told Farmers Weekly this looked doubtful and suckler herd contraction was likely. Beef v dairy One of Mr Chesneys core concerns is the attractiveness of dairy farming profits to younger, progressive suckler producers. He said that while it is understandable that some farmers are considering or switching to dairying, it is the suckler cow that is the shop front for beef in Britain. Beef is marketed on the back of the suckler cow, he said, underlining the longer finishing times and smaller carcass weights of dairy-bred cattle compared with beef cattle as issues for the supply chain. There are 3,500 beef and sheep farmers in Northern Ireland. If half of us milk 100 cows, this is unsustainable, as its an extra 1.75bn litres of milk annually. Im too old to switch to milking cows, but beef farmers have the stock skills, the calving experience and can move into it. FESTIVAL FUN Trackless train and tractor rides along with Mad Hatter amusement rides Saturday were among the entertainment activities at the Iron City Festival in downtown Blacksburg. To continue reading this article,... Limestone to offer pre-licensure nursing program Limestone University has announced that it will begin in the fall of 2022 to accept students into its new Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Pre-Licensure program. The new program,... New cases, deaths occurring mostly in the unvaccinated More than 85% of new cases and 78% of deaths from COVID-19 over the past month in South Carolina occurred in people who were not fully vaccinated. The state Department... Woman killed, infant hurt in Thursday crash A Gaffney woman was killed and an infant was hurt Thursday evening in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 18. Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler identified the victim as Betty Ann... News Fearful parents petition for campus metal detectors kelseywalling / KELSEY WALLING/ The Daily News A GISD police vehicle is parked in front of Ball High Schools main entrance Monday, May 21, 2018. Ball High and other county schools will have extra security around after Fridays mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in which 10 people were killed. kelseywalling / KELSEY WALLING/The Daily News A police vehicle is parked on the west side of Ball High in Galveston on Monday, May 21, 2018. A petition to add metal detectors to entrances at Galveston schools created by a parent in the district had more than 600 signatures Monday. SANTA FE Parents across the county are increasing a call for metal detectors in schools after a gunman killed 10 people Friday at Santa Fe High School. In school districts across the county, parents have created petitions or contacted administrators about installing metal detectors in schools to help protect their children amid heightened concerns about school safety and gun violence. On Monday, a petition created by a Galveston Independent School District parent to add metal detectors to entrances at Galveston schools had more than 600 signatures. A similar petition also was circulating in Dickinson Independent School District. Other parents in the county have been asking administrators to consider metal detectors and other safety measures. Tammy Proffitt, mother of a La Marque teenager, had even been testing safety standards at schools by checking whether entrances at the high school were locked Friday and again Monday, she said. She was able to get in the school both times, she said. She told the school district she would be checking daily, she said. Along with locking doors, Proffitt wanted to see metal detectors at all school campuses, she said. If I cant go to the airport or courthouse without getting checked for weapons, why shouldnt there be a similar situation at schools, Proffitt said, citing the numerous school shootings over the past two decades. The Texas Education Agency does not keep data about which schools have metal detectors and the Texas School Safety Center did not respond to a request for comment Monday. But some school districts in the state have had metal detectors for more than a decade. For instance, Aldine Independent School District in Harris County has had metal detectors at entryways in its intermediate schools, middle schools and high schools since the early 2000s after the Columbine High School shooting in 1998. The school districts police officers are stationed at the metal detectors and each school has just one entrance students use, said Michael Keeney, a spokesman for the district. At each of the districts seven high schools, several thousand of students pass through the metal detectors on school days, he said. Weve been doing it so long, theyve got it down to a science, Keeney said. Keeney couldnt recall the last time the school district confiscated a weapon, he said. Metal detectors in schools have been a controversial issue for years. Part of it comes down to the cost of installing and operating the detectors, but mostly critics have lamented the message it sends to students. The equipment typically costs about $5,000 and the expense of salaries for officers stationed at the entry, he said. After the February school shooting in Florida during which 17 people died, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, a Fort Worth Republican, proposed legislation to create a federal grant program to fund the installation of metal detectors in schools with detailed security plans approved by federal officials. But that legislation hasnt made it to President Donald Trumps desk. Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday announced he would assemble a gun safety group, including Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady, to discuss possible proposals for school safety. The group was slated to meet today, Wednesday and Thursday. Many Santa Fe parents Abbott had met with had suggested hardening schools, including by installing metal detectors, he said. Ive 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, Abbott said. I dont know if thats a solution or not but these are all the kinds of things that need to be put on the table. Galveston, TX (77553) Today Thunderstorms in the morning, then skies turning partly cloudy late. High 84F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Some clouds and possibly an isolated thunderstorm after midnight. Low near 80F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Inmates at the Hamilton County Jail were challenged to create a mural expressing their message to people on the outside. After discussing the stigma associated with being an offender and the us vs them culture they experience, participants decided to demonstrate the idea that after rejoining society, they could be worthwhile citizens capable of creating work that beautifies neighborhoods. To best depict this idea, they settled on the theme of birds, beautiful creatures experiencing freedom. Inmates started by drawing bird structures that evolved into individualized birds crafted from their imaginations. Digital versions of their drawings were organized into a composition sized to fit the billboards location during photo shop sessions in the jail classroom. The birds were scaled, traced onto parachute cloth, and then painted during their classes. Mark Making has hosted classes in the Hamilton County Jail almost every Friday night since 2012. From preliminary discussions to the finished piece, Birds of Freedom took one year to complete. During that time, about 75 inmates attended art classes funded by the Tennessee Arts Commission and had a hand in creating this mural. Comment from inmate evaluation: I learned and am still learning how to deal with and work with people. Learning a lot of art skills is fun. I love everything about this class. For more information, please visit www.Markmaking.org and its Facebook page: Mark Making. Chattanooga States Martina Harris and Kisha Caldwell were honored at the 14th Annual Unbought and Unbossed Awards presented by Girls Inc. The phrase, Unbought and Unbossed, was coined by Shirley Chisholm during her historic run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination. The award honors local women who have made a significant impact on the lives of women and girls, and the honorees are chosen by high school age girls that participate in Girls Inc. Martina Harris, Ed.D., holds a Doctor of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Tennessee State University and has been with Chattanooga State Community College since 2013. In addition to her duties as the assistant dean of Nursing and Allied Health Division, she serves on the boards for Chattanooga Room in the Inn, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, Parkridge Health System, the American Cancer Society and is a member of the BlueCare Tennessee Community Health and Equity Advisory Panel, where she serves as the chair for the Southeast Region. Dr. Harris is a 2016 Maxine Smith Fellow. Kisha Caldwell, M.Ed., holds a Master of Education degree from Jones International University, is a doctoral student at Capella University and is 10-year employee of Chattanooga State. As director of recruiting services and orientation, she impacts the lives of students at Chattanooga State on a daily basis. Ms. Caldwell also serves as a mentor to students from 10 different educational institutions. Active in the community, she is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., volunteers at her church and rec associations, served as a SACSCOC peer evaluator, and is a 2014 Maxine Smith Fellow. Dr. Harris and Ms. Caldwell were two of eight honorees at the 2018 luncheon. This project is a part of Womens History Month and not only teaches girls about womens rights and the traits of leaders, but allows them to build their interview, research and public speaking skills. Glimpse inside Bonns front room : Open day at the Old Town Hall Bonn The Golden Book of the city and the Lord Mayors regalia will be on show at the open day at Bonns Old Town Hall on Saturday. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken The Old Town Hall is one of Bonns landmarks. During the open day on Saturday 26 May, citizens are invited into Bonns front room from 11am to 5pm. Visitors will have the chance to see the official rooms behind the rococo facade and to learn about the work of the city administration, the Beethoven Anniversary Year 2020, Bonns international project partner cities and Bonns contribution to the implementation of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Bonns annual partner, Eurosolar, will also be presenting its work. Mayor Reinhard Limbach will welcome guests on behalf of Lord Mayor Ashok Sridharan and answer their questions. Mayor Angelica Maria Kappel will also be available for discussions. The official rooms are the venue for civil weddings on special dates. During the open day, the Lord Mayors chain of office is also exhibited here and the Golden Book of the city is displayed. Kings, presidents, Nobel Prize winners, World Champions and Olympic victors are immortalised in the collection of prominent signatures. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wide Elke Budenbender most recently signed here. bohlah at 22-05-2018 06:22 AM (3 years ago) (m) A Nigerian student, David Oyaele Audu, was killed and a woman, 39, sustained light injuries in an accident at Jalan Semarak near Taman Semarah, today. A Nigerian student, David Oyaele Audu, was killed and a woman, 39, sustained light injuries in an accident at Jalan Semarak near Taman Semarah, today. In the incident which happened by 8.15am , the male student of the President College in Kuala Lumpur, died on the spot due to severe head injuries. It was learnt that the deceaseds car, which was coming from a nightclub in Taman Semarak to Nilai town, had skidded and hit the road divider, before it was thrown to the opposite lane and crashed into another car driven by the woman who sustained light injuries. In the incident which happened by 8.15am , the male student of the President College in Kuala Lumpur, died on the spot due to severe head injuries.It was learnt that the deceaseds car, which was coming from a nightclub in Taman Semarak to Nilai town, had skidded and hit the road divider, before it was thrown to the opposite lane and crashed into another car driven by the woman who sustained light injuries. Post Reply I have been reporting on latest news from Nigeria for almost 10 years now. I report on every possible news area I come across, but always ensure my reports are compiled with dignity and fact to uphold my personal values and duty as a journalist Posted: at 22-05-2018 06:22 AM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero Catholic Church Hold Nationwide Peaceful Protest Against Incessant Killings In Nigeria clarajancita at 22-05-2018 01:33 PM (3 years ago) (f) The nationwide prayer and peaceful protest organized by the Catholic church is currently taking place in many parts of the country. The Catholic Mission in Nigeria last week announced that the church would be holding a nationwide prayer and peaceful protest against incessant killings across the country. The nationwide prayer and peaceful protest organized by the Catholic church is currently taking place in many parts of the country. The Catholic Mission in Nigeria last week announced that the church would be holding a nationwide prayer and peaceful protest against incessant killings across the country. The mission said the protest is in line with the directive from the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria. The protest is also in solidarity to those killed in Benue State, including two Catholic priests who were brutally murdered during mass in April. These photos show some Catholic parishioners in Lagos, Abuja, Osun, Port Harcourt. The mission said the protest is in line with the directive from the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria. The protest is also in solidarity to those killed in Benue State, including two Catholic priests who were brutally murdered during mass in April.These photos show some Catholic parishioners in Lagos, Abuja, Osun, Port Harcourt. Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 22-05-2018 01:33 PM (3 years ago) | Hero ruthie at 22-05-2018 01:36 PM (3 years ago) (f) good Posted: at 22-05-2018 01:36 PM (3 years ago) | Hero good Reply crocatum at 22-05-2018 01:52 PM (3 years ago) (m) MY Difference, can you see the difference, when it was Shite time to protest, they want to show that they are the only ones suffering, that they are ready to cause trouble, and that they don't care how they achieve their aims. But look at Catholic protest, they show that they are hopeful, that they need to send out a peaceful message. That is all about my Difference. Posted: at 22-05-2018 01:52 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac MY Difference, can you see the difference, when it was Shite time to protest, they want to show that they are the only ones suffering, that they are ready to cause trouble, and that they don't care how they achieve their aims.But look at Catholic protest, they show that they are hopeful, that they need to send out a peaceful message.That is all about my Difference. Reply chukkychukky at 22-05-2018 01:56 PM (3 years ago) (m) dnt u knw protest makes those murders happy u beta fight back else dem go deciminate dis una crowd until e go remain only five ppl go dey protest Joramentity aka chukkychukky Posted: at 22-05-2018 01:56 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac dnt u knw protest makes those murders happy u beta fight back else dem go deciminate dis una crowd until e go remain only five ppl go dey protest Reply fineboy77 at 22-05-2018 01:57 PM (3 years ago) (m) pray make dem no open fire for the protesters o What is the color beneath your skin? Posted: at 22-05-2018 01:57 PM (3 years ago) | Hero pray make dem no open fire for the protesters o Reply nature7888 at 22-05-2018 02:44 PM (3 years ago) (m) Good Posted: at 22-05-2018 02:44 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac Good Reply gogoman at 22-05-2018 04:54 PM (3 years ago) (m) nice one Posted: at 22-05-2018 04:54 PM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero nice one Reply slimber at 22-05-2018 05:19 PM (3 years ago) (f) Nice Posted: at 22-05-2018 05:19 PM (3 years ago) | Hero Nice Reply Wazubia at 22-05-2018 09:41 PM (3 years ago) (m) GOOD 1 Posted: at 22-05-2018 09:41 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac GOOD 1 Reply The content you are looking for has either been removed or requires you to login to view Please login below or register for an account With Naijapals.com clarajancita at 22-05-2018 02:58 PM (3 years ago) (f) Students and community members have been feared dead after security operatives reportedly opened fire on protesters. Many people were feared dead on Tuesday at Amassoma community, Bayelsa State, following the arrival of military men in the area after residents resumed their protest against the outcome of the reforms at the state-owned Niger-Delta University, NDU. Students and community members have been feared dead after security operatives reportedly opened fire on protesters. Many people were feared dead on Tuesday at Amassoma community, Bayelsa State, following the arrival of military men in the area after residents resumed their protest against the outcome of the reforms at the state-owned Niger-Delta University, NDU. According to reports, the security operatives opened fire on the protesting villagers killing many and injuring others in the process. The protesters were reportedly angry that their names were removed from the universitys payroll for attaining the compulsory retirement age. They alleged that the state government was marginalising the people of Amassoma and denying them their only means of survival created by their late son and former Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. They had shut down the school and vowed not to open it until the state government reversed its decision. However, the universitys gate was opened today, prompting another round of protest which led to the killing of many. According to reports, the security operatives opened fire on the protesting villagers killing many and injuring others in the process. The protesters were reportedly angry that their names were removed from the universitys payroll for attaining the compulsory retirement age.They alleged that the state government was marginalising the people of Amassoma and denying them their only means of survival created by their late son and former Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.They had shut down the school and vowed not to open it until the state government reversed its decision. However, the universitys gate was opened today, prompting another round of protest which led to the killing of many. Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 22-05-2018 02:58 PM (3 years ago) | Hero SMH! 2 Nigerian Cult Members Allegedly Killed In Egypt (Photo) felicilin at 22-05-2018 03:09 PM (3 years ago) (f) Two Nigerian Eiye cult members have allegedly been killed by the Buccaneers in the ongoing cult clash in Egypt, according to reports. Two Nigerian Eiye cult members have allegedly been killed by the Buccaneers in the ongoing cult clash in Egypt, according to reports. It was gathered that the two Nigerian friends, reportedly members of Eiye identified as Koko and Ashabi, were killed, yesterday, in Cairo. It was gathered that the two Nigerian friends, reportedly members of Eiye identified as Koko and Ashabi, were killed, yesterday, in Cairo. Post Reply Posted: at 22-05-2018 03:09 PM (3 years ago) | Hero crocatum at 22-05-2018 03:36 PM (3 years ago) (m) what is this cult, that fascinates these people, anyways enjoy now you are resting in peace? Posted: at 22-05-2018 03:36 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac what is this cult, that fascinates these people, anyways enjoy now you are resting in peace? Reply dopygenius at 22-05-2018 04:12 PM (3 years ago) (m) To hell with you bastards...cult clash every ,akwa now is full of blood shed.bastard people Posted: at 22-05-2018 04:12 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac To hell with you bastards...cult clash every ,akwa now is full of blood shed.bastard people Reply nature7888 at 22-05-2018 04:17 PM (3 years ago) (m) Una carry cultism go Cairo. toh make una go d wait for others. safe travels Posted: at 22-05-2018 04:17 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac Una carry cultism go Cairo. toh make una go d wait for others. safe travels Reply ruthie at 22-05-2018 04:32 PM (3 years ago) (f) u see ya lives....roast ..... Posted: at 22-05-2018 04:32 PM (3 years ago) | Hero u see ya lives....roast ..... Reply fineboy77 at 22-05-2018 04:41 PM (3 years ago) (m) senseless What is the color beneath your skin? Posted: at 22-05-2018 04:41 PM (3 years ago) | Hero senseless Reply slimber at 22-05-2018 05:10 PM (3 years ago) (f) Hmmm.mm okooo Posted: at 22-05-2018 05:10 PM (3 years ago) | Hero Hmmm.mm okooo Reply chukkychukky at 22-05-2018 05:31 PM (3 years ago) (m) even Egyptians go dey wonder if nigerians are beast Joramentity aka chukkychukky Posted: at 22-05-2018 05:31 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac even Egyptians go dey wonder if nigerians are beast Reply kaposky at 22-05-2018 05:36 PM (3 years ago) (m) SENSELESS PEOPLE,U 2 SHOULD GO AND REST IN PIECES Posted: at 22-05-2018 05:36 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac SENSELESS PEOPLE,U 2 SHOULD GO AND REST IN PIECES Reply fadipelanre at 22-05-2018 05:52 PM (3 years ago) (m) useless guys Posted: at 22-05-2018 05:52 PM (3 years ago) | Newbie useless guys Reply nametalkam at 22-05-2018 06:51 PM (3 years ago) (m) President Buhari, who has been criticised for looking the other way while Sani Abacha stole billions of dollars from public treasury while in office, has again justified his working with the dictator. While speaking at the presidential villa on Tuesday when he hosted the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), led by Hameed Ali, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, President Muhammadu Buhari, praised late military dictator, Sani Abacha for his work in building infrastructure. President Buhari, who has been criticised for looking the other way while Sani Abacha stole billions of dollars from public treasury while in office, has again justified his working with the dictator.While speaking at the presidential villa on Tuesday when he hosted the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), led by Hameed Ali, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, President Muhammadu Buhari, praised late military dictator, Sani Abacha for his work in building infrastructure. President Buhari said that regardless of what anyone thinks about Abacha, it must be remembered that subsequent civilian presidents spent billions on naira in infrastructure yet have had little to show for it. In a comment that appeared directed at former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Buhari specifically noted: You know the rail was killed and one of the former Heads of State between that time was bragging that he spent more than 15 billion American dollars not Naira on power. Where is the power? Where is the power? The President also spoke about the nations buoyant crude oil earnings in the past, compared to the meagre earnings during his administration, wondering why past governments ended up in debt rather than a deep purse. He said; No matter what opinion you have about Abacha. I agreed to work with him and the roads we did from PTF exist from here to Port Harcourt, to Onitsha, to Benin and so on. I have to repeat what I want public to know here. Some of you may not have heard it. Either there is no power in your place or even in the television, I said and I challenge anybody to check from Europe, Asia and America. Between 1999 and 2014, Nigeria was getting 2.1 million barrels per day at average cost of $100 dollars per barrel. It went up to $143. So Nigeria was earning 2.1m million times 100 times 16 years seven days a week. When we came, it collapsed to $37-38 and it was oscillating between 40 and 54 sometimes. I went to the Governor of Central Bank; thank goodness I did not sack him; he is still there! I went with my cap in my hand but there were no savings, only debt. And you know more than I do the condition of the roads and some of them were not repaired since PTF days. No matter what opinion you have about Abacha, I agreed to work with him and the PTF road we did from here to Port Harcourt, to Onitsha, to Benin and so on... On top of other things in the institution, education, medical care and so on. You know the rail was killed and one of the former Heads of State between that time was bragging that he spent more than $15billion, not naira, on power. Where is the power? Where is the power? And now we have to pay the debts and this year and last year's budgets I took to the National Assembly were the highest in capital projects: more than N1.3trillion. Let anybody come and confront me publicly in the National Assembly. What have they been doing? Some of them have been there for 10 years. What have they been doing? So, really, this country, luckily for me, I said it about eight years [ago] that we have no other country than Nigeria, we should remain here and salvage it together no matter what you have outside. President Buhari said that regardless of what anyone thinks about Abacha, it must be remembered that subsequent civilian presidents spent billions on naira in infrastructure yet have had little to show for it.In a comment that appeared directed at former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Buhari specifically noted: You know the rail was killed and one of the former Heads of State between that time was bragging that he spent more than 15 billion American dollars not Naira on power. Where is the power? Where is the power?The President also spoke about the nations buoyant crude oil earnings in the past, compared to the meagre earnings during his administration, wondering why past governments ended up in debt rather than a deep purse.He said; No matter what opinion you have about Abacha. I agreed to work with him and the roads we did from PTF exist from here to Port Harcourt, to Onitsha, to Benin and so on.I have to repeat what I want public to know here. Some of you may not have heard it. Either there is no power in your place or even in the television, I said and I challenge anybody to check from Europe, Asia and America. Between 1999 and 2014, Nigeria was getting 2.1 million barrels per day at average cost of $100 dollars per barrel.It went up to $143. So Nigeria was earning 2.1m million times 100 times 16 years seven days a week. When we came, it collapsed to $37-38 and it was oscillating between 40 and 54 sometimes. I went to the Governor of Central Bank; thank goodness I did not sack him; he is still there! I went with my cap in my hand but there were no savings, only debt. Post Reply I specialize in investigative reportage across several subject matter and sectors but mainly focus on metro events and investigation. Do leave your thoughts and opinion on my reports to let me know what you think about them. Thank you Posted: at 22-05-2018 06:51 PM (3 years ago) | Hero LONDON, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As countries across the Horn of Africa embark on ambitious programmes to attract foreign investment, Djibouti seems a stable option in a volatile region. But are there risks? A new report by political and security risk consultancy Allan & Associates (www.Allan-Assoc.com) offers guidance. Download the study: www.goo.gl/xydCWe Multimedia content: https://goo.gl/kSgTua When African Development Bank officials meet in Busan, South Korea, today, details of new foreign investment opportunities in Africa are likely to emerge. Djibouti, which is seeking to become a Horn of Africa trans-shipment hub, has proved attractive to investors in recent years. Located near some of the worlds busiest shipping lanes, with access to the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, it can boast decades of peace and political stability, unlike neighbours that include divided Somalia, secretive Eritrea and war-torn Yemen. Djibouti offers an attractive environment for investors in the Horn of Africa, but be careful how you tread, says Allan and Associates Senior Analyst and Sub-Saharan Africa specialist Olivier Milland, author of the report. Indicators suggest that significant investment risks exist in Djibouti, Allan & Associates assesses. These include: Growing corruption concerns as the country has slipped in international indices for transparency and governance and Regional competition for contracts may see national elites attempt to access rents from foreign investors attempt to access rents from foreign investors Poor macro-economic indicators , with public debt reaching 87 per cent of GDP in 2018 , with public debt reaching in 2018 Over-dependence on neighbour Ethiopia 95 per cent of Ethiopian exports pass through the port of Djibouti and China , its top source of foreign investment 95 per cent of Ethiopian exports pass through the port of Djibouti and , its top source of foreign investment Vulnerability to a global protectionist trend , driven by United States President Donald Trump, due to a reliance on port traffic , driven by President due to a reliance on port traffic Rifts between Gulf countries threaten stability of investments Concerns over renegotiation of contracts under a new law and localisation Changing geopolitical dynamics in the region, amid protectionist policies in the U.S. and a rift between the Gulf countries, are posing additional challenges for investors, says Milland. Read Beyond the headlines: Investment risks in Djibouti and the Horn of Africa: www.goo.gl/xydCWe Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Allan & Associates. For more information call Donald MacPhail on: +44 (0) 207 300 7252 Email: dmacphail@allan-assoc.com About Allan & Associates (www.Allan-Assoc.com) is a full-service consultancy offering information services, protective security and logistics services. Founded in 2006, Allan & Associates has offices around the world, including London, Hong Kong and Shanghai. English Norwegian The Annual General Meeting of Grieg Seafood ASA will be held in the company's premises at Grieg Gaarden, C. Sundts gate 17-19 in Bergen, Norway, on Tuesday 12 June 2018 at 10:00 am (CEST). This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. China's e-commerce exports rose 14.5 percent year on year to 6.3 trillion yuan (1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2017, according to a report released by the E-commerce Research Center (ECRC). A foreign buyer asks information on e-commerce at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, on April 23, 2017. [File photo: VCG] E-commerce exports have taken a growing share of China's total foreign trade, playing a key role in the restructuring and upgrading of its trade pattern, said Zhang Zhouping, an analyst with the ECRC. China remains the world's important commodity exporter and e-commerce exports have replaced general trade amid stabilizing trade volume, showing good growth momentum, Zhang said. In 2017, value of business-to-business (B2B) exports rose 13.3 percent to 5.1 trillion yuan, according to the report. Online retail sales of e-commerce exports came in at 1.2 trillion yuan, up 21.2 percent year on year. The rapid expansion of cross-border e-commerce has offered opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in world trade. South Korea on Tuesday expressed regrets over the failed visit by its journalists to cover the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s planned dismantlement of its nuclear test site ahead of the summit between Pyongyang and Washington. Journalists waiting for security check at the Beijing Capital International Airport on May 22, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua] Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon expressed regrets in a statement. Pyongyang had invited journalists from China, Russia, the United States, Britain and South Korea earlier this month to witness the dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where all of its six nuclear tests were conducted, scheduled between May 23 and May 25. The DPRK has refused to receive the list of South Korean journalists supposed to participate in the coverage, citing the ongoing South Korea-U.S. air combat exercises codenamed Max Thunder. The annual air drills, which South Korea claimed to be defensive in nature, mobilized about 100 aircraft this year, which included eight F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets of the U.S. Air Force. The radar-evading combat plane is used to secretly attack an enemy target. Citing the air drills, Pyongyang cancelled the agreed-upon inter-Korean talks between high-level officials last week. The South Korean unification minister said the purpose of the Panmunjom Declaration is to end confrontations and hostilities of the past, while moving toward a new era of reconciliation, peace and prosperity by fulfilling all of inter-Korean agreements. The Panmunjom Declaration was signed and announced after the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, the third-ever inter-Korean summit held on April 27 in the border village of Panmunjom. Moon and Kim agreed to complete denuclearization and the turn of the current armistice agreement into a peace treaty by the end of this year. The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war as the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with armistice. Despite the media coverage failure, Cho said, the South Korean government paid due attention to the fact that the DPRK's pledge to dismantle the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, an initial measure for denuclearization, is proceeding as planned. Except for South Korean journalists, other press corps were allowed to fly from Beijing to Wonsan, an east coastal city of the DPRK near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, as scheduled. Cho expected that such action would lead to the successful hosting of the DPRK-U.S. summit, scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, anticipating the DPRK to take practical measures to achieve complete denuclearization and settle permanent peace on the peninsula. Moon arrived in Washington Monday night (Washington time) to hold a summit meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, according to the presidential Blue House of South Korea. Chung Eui-yong, top security advisor for Moon, told reporters on a flight to Washington that South Korea currently had 99.9 percent of expectations for the DPRK-U.S. summit to be held as agreed upon though Seoul was preparing for several possibilities. Chung is accompanying Moon to Washington. Chung said the South Korea-U.S. summit was aimed at frankly exchanging opinions between leaders of the two countries about how to manage situations, saying the summit would be focused on talks between Moon and Trump. Though the luncheon meeting was scheduled with secretaries of the two leaders in attendance, Moon and Trump will focus mainly on their one-on-one meeting, which is the strongest point of this summit, Chang noted. He said Moon and Trump will frankly talk about ways to make the summit successful, to reach a significant agreement at the summit and to implement the agreement. Christians in Nepal are alarmed after this month's sudden series of arson and bomb attacks on four church buildings, and church leaders suspect authorities are lax in investigating. At the same time, six Christians were arrested for evangelizing while suspected Hindu extremists launched attacks on three church buildings and bombed another. The attacks caused extensive property damage but no casualties. The Hebron Church building in the eastern hilly region was set on fire on May 9, Emmanuel Church's building in western Nepal's Doti District was burned on May 10, and the Kanchanpur Emmanuel Church building in the midwest hilly region was set ablaze on May 11. Before midnight on May 12, the Mahima Church building in Dhangadhi, in western Nepal, was bombed. Neither government officials nor police have issued a formal statement on suspects, though police have attributed the attacks to the Nepal Communist Party, known as the Biplab Group. But Christian leaders in Nepal suspect a coordinated campaign by Hindu extremists. Police are cooperating with church leaders and taking their complaints, but officers have not made any arrests, Tanka Subedi, chair of the Religious Liberty Forum Nepal (RLFN), told Morning Star News. He suspects officials have told police to proceed slowly. "They have not made any arrests yet, as it seems that they have been clearly notified to not carry out arrests in these cases," Subedi said. The Mahima Church building in Dhangadhi was partially damaged around 11 p.m. on May 12 after an unknown assailant hurled a bomb into it after others broke a window. Doors, furniture, carpeting, electric appliances, the roof and windows were reported damaged. Mahima Church pastor Birendra Kariya told Morning Star News he has faced no threats since he began leading the church in 1999. Police promised that they will investigate, but church leaders have received no response from officers about the cases, Pastor Kariya said. Pastor B.P. Khanal of The Lord's Assembly told Morning Star News the similarity of the attacks indicated they were coordinated by a single entity. "Though it might appear that these attacks have been carried out by the same person, geographically this is not possible," he said. "Which means that these are performed by people who are in a network and are well connected to each other." Online Anti-Christian Movement Recently a social media movement has arisen against Christians on Facebook and Twitter with such hashtags as "Hindu Awakening against Conversion (Esai Karan ke Virudh Hindu Jagaran Abhiyaan)," openly threatening killing and attacks, Pastor Khanal said. "They have gathered a lot of support and fan-following from the Nepali masses," he said. "These attacks have not come upon the Nepali churches as a surprise, but these are well-planned and coordinated attacks against the Christian community, and the government is doing nothing about this." In Panchthar in the eastern hilly region, Pastor Hasta Lova Limbu of the Hebron church said there was no one in the building when it was set on fire at night. Furniture, the pulpit and the carpet were charred. A youth conference concluded a day before the May 9 attack, said Subedi of the RLFN. Pastor Shyam Thapa of Emmanuel Church said he was in his house, constructed at the back of the church building, when it was set ablaze at 10 p.m. When he detected it, he and area police doused it after flames damaged furniture and electrical circuits. Pastor Dhirendra Rana, 34, who has been leading Kanchanpur Emmanuel Church for 10 years, said the building suffered huge property losses. "The miscreants broke the lock of the church and formed a heap of all the stuff present in the building, including the records of the church, 300 kilograms of grain and electric appliances, and they set everything ablaze," Pastor Rana said. He lives less than a mile from the church building, and on the morning of May 12 he found it completely burned. A church member normally sleeps at the church building to guard it, but on that night he was away at a wedding, the pastor said. The church has not been able to meet for worship, he added. "I reported the matter to the local police, but I have not heard anything back from them since then," Pastor Rana said. Pastor Rana and Pastor Kariya said they suspect the attacks were carried out by "religiously intolerant Hindus" in order to form a "Hindu Nation." The pastors shared this view even though they had not spoken to one another. Christian leaders also shared the view that the sudden rise in attacks against Christians is in one way or another influenced by the recent rise of anti-Christian policies and hostilities in India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Nepal on May 11 and 12. Subedi of the RLFN said Christian leaders have appealed for help from the government. "We have written to the Nepalese government to help us rebuild our churches and asked them to not discriminate us on the basis of religion," he told Morning Star News. "We look towards them as our guardians and not as our enemy." Christians Arrested At the same time, six Christians are under police custody in Tehrathum District, eastern Nepal, under allegations of evangelizing. On May 9 two of them were arrested while singing worship songs on the street and allegedly proclaiming Christ, while four were arrested at their homes, Subedi said. They appeared in court on Thursday (May 17), when their remand to jail was extended for seven more days. Arrested were Dinesh Subba, 28, Ashish Subba, 22, Dipak Subba, 28, Manatula Dhital, 44, all from Jhapa. Also arrested were two visiting from India - 40-year-old Barshiya Dhital of Sikkim, and Pawan Rai, 33, from Paschim Bangal. Evangelizing is prohibited under Nepal's new constitution, passed in September 2015, as it was under the previous constitution. While the new constitution establishes Nepal as a secular and democratic republic, its definition of "secular" appears to protect Hinduism and allows others only to worship in their own faiths. Article 26 forbids anyone to "convert a person of one religion to another religion, or disturb the religion of other people." While evangelizing has long been illegal in Nepal, advocacy groups have recently detected increased enforcement and other anti-Christian efforts as officials seek to placate Hindus incensed that the new constitution did not re-establish a more prominent place for Hinduism. A landlocked country between the giants of India and China, Nepal is said to be more than 75 percent Hindu and 16 percent Buddhist. Christians are estimated to make up nearly 3 percent of Nepal's population, and Muslims 4.4 percent. 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. There are many ways in which rural America has fallen behind the rest of the country. The health care gap, however, has the potential for the most tragic consequences.Rural America has higher rates of suicide, obesity and alcohol abuse. People who live there have a lower life expectancy and are more likely to die of potentially preventable causes like stroke, cancer and heart disease. Exacerbating these problems, only 10 percent of the country's doctors practice in rural areas. Finding mental health care is even harder -- 61 percent of rural Americans live in a federally-designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area.The Trump administration wants to close these gaps and hopes to do it by easing the regulations on rural providers.Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a vague rural health plan that vows to, among other things, advance telehealth and improve access to care through "provider engagement." But the most important line in the eight-page document , according to rural health advocates, says the federal government will apply a rural lens to CMS programs and policies.Thats the most significant thing because thats been the biggest issue for the past couple of decades, says Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association. "The [feds] release a regulation, and nobody asked whats that going to mean for rural [areas]?'"This is the first time, according to Morgan, that CMS has said it will formally and consistently take into consideration how federal policies impact the nation's smallest clinics and hospitals.More often than not, rural health advocates say health care regulations -- however well-intentioned -- are burdensome because hospitals and clinics often can't afford to make the required changes. Some of the regulations from the Affordable Care Act, for example, are cited as part of the reason that 83 rural hospitals have closed since 2010.In the last months of the Obama administration, CMS also finalized a rule meant to address the doctor shortage in rural America. It requires states to set a maximum time and distance that people have to wait or travel for a doctor's appointment.How does a state like Nevada write such a standard when most people live in one area? said Maggie Elehwany, government affairs and policy vice president for the National Rural Health Association, in a 2016 interview. "We know what CMS is trying to do, so were happy about it because there is such a workforce shortage. But it is really hard right now to see what states are going to do."Rural health providers have also criticized an Obama-era rule called exclusive use, which mandatesthat a specialist, like a cardiologist or dermatologist, have a separate waiting area from the rest of a clinic. If not, Medicaid will consider them clinic care instead of outpatient care, and the specialist receives less Medicaid funding.In rural clinics and hospitals, where resources are usually more limited, that rule has led many places to spend money on renovations.We just remodeled so we were in compliance, but not every place can do that. That would have been devastating to lose that outpatient reimbursement, says Leslie Marsh, CEO of the Lexington Regional Medical Center in Nebraska.Morgan hopes more flexibility will keep them from having to continually change their health centers to "solve urban health care problems."It remains to be seen, though, how examining regulations through a "rural lens" is going to change policies. But Morgan says he will know if it does.How will I know if a rule was passed without giving a thought to rural? Oh well know. If its not something that can be carried out in a small clinic or hospital, well know." The woman at the center of the whirlwind invasion of privacy case against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens spoke publicly for the first time Monday night, saying she wants "to move on" from this "most difficult, crazy fight."Known only as "K.S." via court documents, the woman who engaged in an extramarital affair with the embattled governor spoke in person with St. Louis' KSDK news anchorman Casey Nolen.Even with the made-for-tv courtroom subplots and political drama, there's a big part of the story we haven't heard yet...Hers.The former mistress and subject of @EricGreitens invasion of privacy charge speaks exclusively to @CaseyNolen tonight on @ksdknews at 10pm. pic.twitter.com/KupzI5hNQ9-- Abby Llorico KSDK (@AbbyLlorico) May 21, 2018Without showing her face, K.S. detailed the pain and turmoil she has endured since the news of the affair became public in January:"I'm in the middle of the most difficult, crazy fight that I didn't ask to be apart of," K.S. told Nolen. "I feel like I'm this easy punching bag, yet I haven't thrown any punches."K.S., who had been Greitens' hairdresser, maintained that she never wanted the story of the affair to become public. But she was forced to cooperate once her husband shared his recording of her telling him about the incidents.Greitens is accused of snapping a photograph of the woman, bound and partly nude, without her consent in 2015 and threatening to use it against her."I didn't dream it up," she said, referring to accusations from Greitens' attorneys calling her testimony to lawmakers "dreams or visions."Greitens was indicted on felony invasion of privacy charges in February. Those charges were dropped last week by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner in the face of the defense team's plan to call her as a witness. On Monday, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker was appointed as a special prosecutor. Baker will decide whether to re-file charges.K.S. maintains that the details of the affair -- including accusations that the sexual encounter between the two was not consensual -- are true:"The only ethical thing I could do was tell the truth," she told Nolen.Asked what she might say to Greitens' wife, Sheena Greitens, K.S. responded emphatically: "I would absolutely apologize."K.S. had previously detailed the affair and the alleged invasion of privacy when she testified under oath in April to a Missouri House committee. Lawmakers released a 25-page report and transcripts of testimony."It's hard to talk about then and it's hard to talk about now," K.S. said on Monday."I'm not lying. I want to move on. I want to heal." In a move sure to further fuel more speculation of 2020 presidential aspirations -- look, it's happening in this sentence right here -- Gov. Jay Inslee will headline a big Democratic fundraising dinner next month in Iowa.Inslee is scheduled to speak June 23 at the Iowa Democratic Party's annual Hall of Fame celebration in Altoona, Iowa. He is visiting in his role as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), trying to slice away at the party's record deficit in governorships. In Iowa, Democrats hope to knock off Republican incumbent Gov. Kim Reynolds.With its caucuses kicking off the presidential race every four years, Iowa holds outsized importance in American politics, hence the swarms of national politicians who descend on the state's rustic diners and county fairs.Three years ago, the event Inslee will be attending attracted the Democratic Party's top 2016 presidential hopefuls, including Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. It was described by POLITICO that year as Democrats' first "cattle call" event of the presidential race.So does Inslee's impending appearance signal he'll throw his name in the 2020 hat?Spokespersons for Inslee and for the Iowa Democratic Party downplayed that notion, stressing that this year's dinner is focused on their upcoming gubernatorial race. A six-way Democratic primary will be settled on June 5, so the Inslee-headlined event will serve as a kickoff to the general-election season.Tess Seger, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Democratic Party, said Democrats there admire Inslee's "incredible progressive leadership in Washington." She said Iowa has swung hard to the right in recent years, with the Republican-controlled Legislature and Reynolds approving the most restrictive anti-abortion law in the nation, for example.Jamal Raad, a spokesman for Inslee's DGA work, said the governor was invited to speak at the event by Iowa Democrats. As chair of the DGA, "Governor Inslee is committed to doing all he can to elect more Democratic governors who will drive progress at the state level and be a check against the chaos of the Trump administration," he said.Asked to respond "yes" or "no" on whether the visit signals Inslee is exploring a presidential run, Raad replied, "Look, I think that anyone who is thinking past 2018 is doing a disservice to the party."Raad added that "the real pushback against Trump is happening in the states." Echoing early statements by Inslee, Raad said gubernatorial races are doubly important because in many states, governors can halt blatant gerrymandering that has favored Republicans.The Washington State Republican Party criticized Inslee's travels, tweeting Monday that he was "promoting himself 1,726 miles away in Iowa... still missing from Washington State." The GOP has hit Inslee in recent days for taking no position on Seattle's controversial "head tax" on larger businesses to raise money for housing and homeless services.Inslee's elevated profile and colorful denunciations of President Trump have had some national media regularly mentioning him among the potential 2020 field. His DGA work takes him across the country, including an event in Ohio last fall and a scheduled stop in Colorado next week.Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" last week, Inslee was asked whether he is interested."Well, I am interested in winning in 2018," Inslee said, trying to shift talk to the midterms. "We can't wait till 2020 to rein in this train of abuses."A co-host cut in: "I think it's 'yes' by the way. I am just translating." Remaking DHHS Democratic roots Life as a lobbyist Ideology Maine politics might have a very different look today if a tight 1990 congressional race had ended differently. But then-U.S. Rep. Olympia Snowe kept her seat, and the manager of the near-miss Democratic campaign is now a prominent Republican.Fewer than 5,000 votes separated Snowe, a moderate Republican, and Pat McGowan, an insurgent Democrat, in that 2nd Congressional District race nearly 28 years ago. His 25-year-old campaign manager, Mary Mayhew, has come a long way since then."She probably would have been working for Nancy Pelosi if the result in 1990 was different," McGowan mused of Mayhew in a reference to the Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, "or maybe she would have been Nancy Pelosi."But Mayhew, 53, of South China turned from President Ronald Reagan-era Democratic politics to an arch-conservative six-year tenure as commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services under Gov. Paul LePage, and is running to succeed the term-limited Republican and guard his legacy as a government-shrinking technocrat.Her six years at an agency consuming a third of state spending is one of the most consequential and complicated stories of the LePage era. Once infamous for Medicaid shortfalls, the department doesn't have them anymore.A Mayhew leaflet touts shrunken numbers of Mainers on various welfare programs since around the time LePage took office in 2011 -- a 70 percent decrease in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, a 28 percent decrease in food stamps and 24 percent in Medicaid.But Democrats and advocates argue that demand hasn't decreased. The share of Mainers in poverty was higher in 2016 than it was five years earlier, according to census data. Under Mayhew, a state psychiatric hospital was decertified by the federal government, and a state-funded report on Maine's Medicaid system was found to be plagiarized.This has made Mayhew perhaps the most polarizing state politician not named LePage. But her identification with him could help in the June 12 primary. A poll released by the Bangor Daily News this month found her in second place among four Republicans, behind businessman Shawn Moody."It's about recognizing that government cannot be all things to all people and there needs to be accountability that government is, in fact, producing good results and is managing taxpayer resources efficiently and effectively," Mayhew said in an interview.Mayhew's policies have become somewhat of a road map for national Republicans. President Donald Trump recently touted tenuous and contested links between food stamp work requirements and higher incomes that the LePage administration identified during her tenure.Around the time Trump took office, Mayhew said there were "preliminary conversations" with officials who were interested in hiring her as an administrator of the food stamp program, but she said they never got far because she was committed to running for governor.Still, Mayhew has traveled the country pushing conservative welfare policies for the Opportunity Solutions Network, a project of the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability. The Florida group is run by former Maine legislator and LePage transition team leader Tarren Bragdon. His brother, Trevor, runs the New Hampshire-based Rockwood Solutions, which is working for Mayhew's campaign.Mayhew's conversion to the Republican Party is recent, and much of her work to push LePage's agenda came when she was still a Democrat. She became a Republican in 2014 and is a Pittsfield native from a staunch, old-guard Democratic family with roots in Aroostook County.After her family moved to Arkansas when she was 14, she graduated from the University of Arkansas and worked as an aide to a liberal congressman from that state. Later, she came back to Maine and managed the campaign of McGowan, a family friend who was seen as a giant underdog to Snowe and got little to no help from national Democrats.McGowan, who lost in the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary and supports Democratic attorney Adam Cote now, remembers her as a hard worker, "a good part of a family effort" that came up just short and an example of Democrats' dwindling support in rural areas.Mayhew "represents a lot of people who used to be strong, active, supportive Democrats who have gone ... to the middle and to the right," he said.She parlayed that performance into lobbying work. Her last high-profile job before joining the administration was for 11 years as chief lobbyist for the Maine Hospital Association, a group whose positions don't fall easily along partisan lines. It is liberal on health care access and conservative on taxation.Mayhew argued for a relatively small 2002 Medicaid expansion and against a 2004 expansion as part of then-Gov. John Baldacci's Dirigo Health program. Republicans and hospitals have blamed that one for runaway spending and deep state debt to hospitals.But Mayhew's former employer backed expansion during LePage's tenure as she led the fight against it. The governor hasn't implemented the law approved by voters last year. Mayhew wants to repeal it, but she still has friends in the hospital lobby.Steven Michaud, the association's president, donated $1,600 to Mayhew's campaign. He called it a "personal donation" to a longtime colleague. He said her "intellect" and "experience" make her qualified for the job, though his group has agreed and disagreed with her on certain issues."That's very consistent with my history with commissioners and governors," he said.Mayhew said her ideological shift toward Republicans came in the mid-1990s after judging that Democrats treated her business clients poorly, but that she didn't bother to switch parties. She has given money to Republicans and Democrats. Her last gift to a Democrat was a $100 contribution to former state Rep. Emily Cain's political committee in 2010.She is also running a conservative campaign. She has derided "socialists" in Portland. In an interview, she said, "Exactly what I did at DHHS, I'll do in the Department of Education," saying there is a "lack of transparency" in how school districts spend state money.Vestiges of moderation remain. She is the only Republican running who supports same-sex marriage, and the anti-abortion Christian Civic League of Maine deems her "mixed" on abortion, though she backs anti-abortion proposals including parental consent and waiting periods.That may not be enough for social conservatives. Bob Emrich, a Plymouth pastor who chairs the civic league and backs Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason for governor, said he would "like someone a little more staunch," though he would likely support Mayhew in a general election."It's not just a matter of signing bills; it's also a matter of promoting bills," he said. "It goes beyond specific legislation. There's more to it than that."For a roundup of Maine political news, click here for the Daily Brief. Click here to get Maine's only newsletter on state politics via email on weekday mornings. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 22) The Philippine government should file a formal protest after Chinese bomber planes landed for the first time on an island in the contested South China Sea, Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Vice President Leni Robredo said Tuesday. The statements comes after reports of long-range H-6K bombers landing for the first time and conducting exercises on Woody Island. The island is part of the Paracel Island chain contested among China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, but the Philippines is well within the combat radius of the nuclear-capable bombers. "Any self-respecting sovereign state will immediately formally protest such encroachment on its sovereignty and sovereign rights. The Philippines must do no less," Carpio said in a statement. He added that a formal protest was recognized by the United Nations Charter as "a peaceful and legitimate response." The Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia also have claims in the South China Sea, which China claims almost entirely. House National Defense and Security Committee Vice Chair Rep. Ruffy Biazon told CNN Philippines' The Source that although China dropping a bomb within the Philippines was unlikely, it now demonstrated a capability to do so. "(The bombers' range) reaches up to Benham Rise... Basically abot ang buong Pilipinas [All of the Philippines can be reached], from Luzon to Mindanao," Biazon said. Carpio also pointed out that the aircrafts could now land and take off on Chinese runways built on Mischief Reef, Subi Reef, and Fiery Cross Reef. All the reefs are within the Kalayaan Island Group of the Philippines, and are alternatively named Panganiban Reef, Zamora Reef, and Kagitingan Reef. He said this was part of China's Three-Warfare Strategy, which involves the eastern giant flexing military muscle and scaring claimants into submission "without China firing a single shot." "The failure to formally protest China's militarization and creeping invasion makes the Philippines a willing victim," said Carpio. Robredo similarly urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to take diplomatic action. "Inuudyok natin ang ating (DFA) na magsampa ng diplomatic protest sa harap ng mga kaganapang ito," Robredo said in a statement. "Isulong natin ang lahat ng diplomatikong paraan para panatilihing maayos ang ating pakikitungo sa ating mga karatig bansa, ngunit hindi nararapat na hahantong ito sa pagkompromiso ng ating bayan." [Translation: We urge the DFA to file a diplomatic protest in light of these events. Let's exhaust all diplomatic means to maintain good ties with our neighbors, but this should not reach a point where our country is compromised.] The DFA said on Monday it was already "taking the appropriate diplomatic action to protect our claims." It added, "It is not our policy to publicize every action taken by the Philippine government." 'PH should engage allies' Carpio also urged the Philippines to work with other claimant states and countries that see China's militarization as a threat to freedom of navigation and overflight. "Failure to coordinate, and to harness world opinion to support the arbitral ruling, will be handing over to China on a silver platter the West Philippine Sea," he said. United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim also raised concern about the bomber planes, but China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang also hit the presence of U.S. vessels in the region. However, Biazon pointed out that the vessels were only passing through, and the U.S. did not build military structures on contested islands. He also believed claimant countries should band together. "We should be taking this to the international legal stage where we can get the backing of others with common interests in the area," said Biazon. "A diplomatic protest is in order, but we can still do more by engaging our allies." Biazon also filed a resolution urging the National Security Council to convene and come up with a definitive policy on South China Sea. What about 'newfound friendship'? In a press briefing on Monday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said they viewed the reports with "very serious concern." However, he maintained that the President did not see any immediate threat from the eastern giant. "We do not consider China to be a threat to our security right now because of our newfound friendship," said Roque. President Rodrigo Duterte's administration has had warmer relations with Beijing, which has pledged billions of pesos in infrastructure and investment in the Philippines. The President has repeatedly said that the country "cannot go to war" with China. He also has yet to bring up the 2016 arbitral ruling, which favors the Philippines' claim over the maritime territory. However, Biazon pointed out the "newfound friendship" is economic, while this conflict concerns national, maritime, and food security. He said that taking a firmer stance in South China Sea need not mean sacrificing trade. "I think the friendly relations can still go on even if we make a stand on this particular area," said Biazon. "The United States and China have long been at odds with each other with regard to the South China Sea, but they're very good trading partners." If China does cut off ties with the Philippines over a firmer stance against militarization, Biazon believes it will not be a total loss. "If we lose the newfound friendship with China, I don't think we will be holding an empty bag," said Biazon. "Other nations will be very much willing to take on that role of assisting us." CNN Philippines digital producer Chad de Guzman contributed to this report. In the first televised debate of the election season, Democrats running for Maryland governor attacked popular Republican incumbent Larry Hogan and attempted to stand out by highlighting what little differences exist among their campaigns.The hour-long taped debate, which aired at 7 p.m. Monday on Maryland Public Television and WBAL-TV's digital channel, offered many voters their first glimpse at the crowded field of nine candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the June 26 primary election.The Democrats -- from longtime government officials to political novices -- largely agreed that Maryland needs to spend more on education and mass transit and less on locking people in jails.They also agreed that Hogan had damaged Baltimore by canceling the proposed Red Line transit project and by not engaging enough to help the city deal with the more than 1,100 homicides during the GOP governor's term. They criticized Hogan for not investing more in education and for what they described as an unfriendly business climate.The Maryland Republican Party pre-emptively hit back in Hogan's defense, releasing a video spoof calling the Democratic field "uninspiring" and warning that debates "should come with a viewer warning message: 'Be advised prolonged exposure will result in extreme boredom and likely deep sleep.' "The event opened with moderator Jason Newton acknowledging the absence of former Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, who died suddenly May 10. In Kamenetz's place was his former running mate, Valerie Ervin, who four days ago announced she would run for governor.Ervin joked afterward that it felt like transitioning from the kids' table to the grown-up table at Thanksgiving dinner.The structure of the debate prevented candidates from jabbing at each other, much to the disappointment of tech entrepreneur Alec Ross, who had hoped to challenge former NAACP chief Ben Jealous' universal health care plan and question the residency of Krish Vignarajah, a former Michelle Obama adviser."I'd love for there to be a debate. That was a forum on TV," Ross said.State Sen. Richard S. Madaleno, who has not hesitated to criticize his rivals at previous events, said the 45-second limit on answers discouraged the candidates from going after each other."You would have wasted your whole answer on somebody else instead of displaying your depth of experience and your record," the Montgomery County Democrat saidThere are nine candidates on the Democratic ballot for govenor. Seven have raised enough money and built campaign infrastructures capable of pulling off a statewide win: Ross, Jealous, Vignarajah, Madaleno, Ervin, Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, and Baltimore lawyer Jim Shea.Baltimore resident James Jones also participated in the debate. Another candidate, Ralph Jaffe, who is running his fifth campaign in 10 years, provided a taped statement.Goucher College political scientist Mileah Kromer said she noticed the candidates criticized Hogan about four times as often as President Donald Trump -- marking a shift in strategy from earlier in the campaign."They're shifting the focus away from Trump," said Kromer, who runs the Goucher Poll. "Our poll suggests that it's undeniable that if you like Hogan you're more likely to vote for him. Decreasing his popularity is important to them."Kromer said she didn't see a clear winner from the debate."In an election where every candidate needs increased name recognition, every opportunity to connect with Marylanders is an important opportunity," she said. "This might be the first time their messages get pushed out to a larger audience."Although much of the sharp elbows were thrown toward Hogan, the candidates did draw some distinctions on tax policy.Jealous promised to pay for his ambitious policy agenda by raising taxes on the state's wealthiest residents. "We will tax the 1 percent more," he said.Shea pledged not to raise taxes, "but I will not promise that I will lower taxes."The candidates also differed on whether they would embrace former Gov. Martin O'Malley's legacy on helping local jurisdictions like Baltimore fight crime.Madaleno and Baker complimented the Democrat's statistics-driven efforts as governor."Say what you want about CitiStat or StateStat, Governor O'Malley was making sure the state was a partner to fight crime to build a stronger city," Madaleno said. "Governor Hogan has walked away from the city."Baker said O'Malley took an active role in helping him drive down the murder rate in Prince George's County."Governor O'Malley came in with resources to help us get a hold of the crime," Baker said. "Right now, there are Marylanders dying in Baltimore city and the governor acts like they're from some foreign place. He's MIA."But Ervin, a labor organizer, and Vignarajah pushed back by saying crime-fighting requires more than deploying resources effectively."We have deep, structural racism in Baltimore City ... that has to be dealt with," Ervin said.Vignarajah echoed a similar theme, saying "mass incarceration, this racist war on drugs ... is not working."Because there were so many candidates, introductions took 12 minutes and the candidates only had less than a minute to answer each of three or four questions.Former Baltimore State Sen. Clarence Mitchell IV, who hosts the "C4" radio show on WBAL and helped moderate the debate, said he didn't hear good answers to his question about solutions to the city's crime problem.Mitchell said candidates generally offered talking points rooted in emotion rather than practical solutions."You still have 30 percent or so who are undecided," he said. "That undecided could break toward one of these candidates who have never held office before."Shea called the debate an "opportunity," but said the time limit to answer questions "made it pretty much impossible" to lay out all his plans to improve the state."I got a couple points in about what I've been able to accomplish in the past and at least the direction I want to take the state," he said. "I'm looking forward to the next ones. It's an opportunity to break out a little."Scott Sloofman, Hogan's campaign spokesman, critized the Democrats' performance."These candidates might be appearing on primetime, but it's clear they're not ready for it," he said. "Between their willful distortions of Governor Hogan's record and their support for the failed policies of the past, like higher taxes, each of the candidates on stage showed voters why they're not up to the task of leading Maryland." Gov. Bill Haslam on Monday said he is allowing a controversial "sanctuary cities" bill to become law without his signature, arguing it does little in light of current federal policies and the "best thing is to move on."Haslam, a Republican, told reporters the legislation has "stirred up on both sides what I think is some irrational fear."The legislation, which becomes state law Tuesday and takes effect Jan. 1, 2019, requires local law enforcement officials to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests to hold immigrants for purposes of deportation.If city and county governments don't comply, state government could withhold economic and community development grants for those communities going forward until such time they comply.Noting the bill had been amended at various stages during the legislative process, the governor said "this is not the bill we started with" and that a number of constitutional concerns had been resolved to his satisfaction.He said critics are wrong in saying it amounts to a "mass deportation" measure. And proponents are wrong, the governor said, when they claim Tennessee has "sanctuary cities."In a letter to Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, the Senate speaker, and House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, the governor complained the legislation "is a solution looking for a problem."Various immigration and civil rights groups had called on Haslam, a Republican, to veto the bill. In Nashville, opponents held two large demonstrations in an effort to urge the governor to veto it.The legislation bans local governments from having "sanctuary" policies or practices, including unwritten ones.Christian Patino, director of operations for La Paz Chattanooga, a local nonprofit group, said he believes the bill could be a "dangerous slope.""If they're requiring police to detain people without a warrant, that can sidetrack officers from doing their duties to becoming immigration officers," he said. "The priority for officers should be policing communities, and I think this can break the trust and relationships that people have with their police force."The law says local governments would be required to comply with federal immigration detainers, without requiring warrants or probable cause, for the potential deportation of people who were arrested on other charges and found to be in the U.S. illegally.But Haslam's deputy counsel, Todd Skelton, told reporters the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's current policy requires probable cause and a warrant for detainers.Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond said that based on his reading of the bill, he sees no impact on current practices at either the county jail or for deputies on patrol."I don't see that anything's changed at all," the sheriff said.Chattanooga Police Department spokespersons did not respond to an email on what impact, if any, the law would have on their operations.Discussion of the measure has been part of the debate in the the GOP gubernatorial primary among candidates seeking to succeed the term-limited governor.Haslam noted that as governor he can sign a bill into law, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature."If we vetoed this bill, I'm relatively confident there would at least be a special session. If not, it would be one of the first items that would be discussed in next year's session," said the governor, who leaves office in January.But he said he wouldn't sign it because that would mean he believes Tennessee has an "issue" around sanctuary cities, which he said it does not. Lawmakers several years ago passed a law banning them. The new legislation provides more details.Civil rights and immigrant groups have charged the bill mandates local law enforcement detain immigrants for deportation at the request of federal officials without requiring warrants or probable cause.Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, blasted the governor for not vetoing the bill, calling the measure "dangerous and misguided.""[H]e caved to the most extreme fringe of the electorate," Teatro said. "He chose hate and fear over good governance."In a statement Monday, House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, a Republican candidate for governor, said: "I appreciate Governor Haslam allowing House Bill 2315 to become law. This measure will further allow our local, state, and federal officials to work together to keep our communities safe, building on the law we passed in 2009 to outlaw sanctuary city policies."Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, the Senate speaker, said he believes Haslam made a wise decision allowing this legislation to pass. "There are no sanctuary cities in Tennessee and his action today assures that remains the case. As a supporter of the bill, I believe this is a good result for all," he said.Federal officials in President Donald Trump's administration have cracked down on undocumented people. ICE agents last month conducted a major raid in East Tennessee, detaining nearly 100 people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.American Civil Liberties Union-Tennessee Executive Director Hedy Weinberg in a statement called the bill "unconstitutional and dangerous.""By allowing this bill to become law, the governor has ensured that thousands of Tennesseans will be forced to live in the shadows, in fear of reporting when they are victims or witnesses to crimes and undermining local law enforcement's ability to use their discretion and resources in the way that they believe best protects public safety in their local community," Weinberg said. Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday cancelled a shotgun giveaway contest in his re-election campaign amid controversy after a gunman killed 10 people and injured 13 others at a high school south of Houston.Campaign officials said the giveaway has been changed to a $250 gift card redeemable for any kind of merchandise, not the $250 gift certificate redeemable for a Texas-made shotgun at a licensed gun dealer in Central Texas.The gunman used a Remington 870 shotgun and a .38-caliber pistol in the attack Friday at Santa Fe High School, authorities said.Abbott's giveaway -- many Texas politicians annually auction and giveaway shotguns and hunting rifles as part of their campaigns -- had drawn controversy over the weekend after door hangers advertising the giveaway were distributed in western Travis County as part of door-to-door campaigning, quickly touching off complaints on social media.The Austin chapter of March for Our Lives -- the gun control initiative started by students in Parkland, Fla., after a school shooting there -- blasted Abbott on Twitter. "To put it bluntly, we find this a disgusting display of the disregard of the toll gun violence and an absolute failure to respect your constituents in the wake of the #SantaFe shootings," the group said in a tweet.The contest quickly became a national buzz on social media.Abbott soon modified his campaign website to remove the shotgun offer, and later changed it to the $250 gift card with no mention of a shotgun.The governor on Sunday attended a church service memorial in Santa Fe for the victims of Friday's shooting.Abbott campaign officials said the governor has sponsored shotgun giveways before, like many Texas politicians, including a raffle in October 2015 in his first year as governor.Matthew Hogenmiller, head event organizer for March for Our Lives ATX that had blasted Abbott's shotgun giveaway, said Abbott was correct in dropping the contest."We are happy that the governor has canceled his shotgun giveaway," the group said in a statement. "It is our understanding that the money that would have gone to the shotgun, will instead be distributed in the form of a gift card. However, we continue to plead that the money given to the winner is instead donated to the survivors' funds in Santa Fe." 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 Monday, in the afternoon, at the Jubilee Community Centre, Mackay, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC presided over a meeting of the Executive Council. Following, in Mackay, the Governor met with the Premier of Queensland, the Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk MP and regional mayors. Following, in Mackay, the Governor met with the Attorney General, the Honourable Yvette DAth MP and members of the Mackay District Law Association. Following, in Mackay, the Governor met with the Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, the Honourable Craig Crawford MP, Commissioner Katarina Carroll APM and members of Queensland Fire and Emergency Services. In the evening, at Government House, the Governor received Mr Neil Laurie, Clerk of the Parliament, for the presentation of two Bills to which the Governor granted Assent: Local Government (Councillor Complaints) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 A Bill for An Act to amend the Local Government Act 2009 and the Public Service Act 2008 for particular purposes. Local Government Electoral (Implementing Stage 1 of Belcarra) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 A Bill for An Act to amend the City of Brisbane Act 2010, the Electoral Act 1992, the Local Government Act 2009 and the Local Government Electoral Act 2011 for particular purposes. Description GIS 22 May, 2018: An exhibition aiming to increase understanding and awareness on biodiversity issues An exhibition aiming to increase understanding and awareness on biodiversity issues opened this morning at the Renganaden Seeneevassen Building in Port Louis in the context of the International Day for Biological Diversity celebrated annually on the 22nd of May. The theme retained for this year is : "Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity". Present on the occasion, the acting Director of the National Parks and Conservation Services, Mr K. Ruhomaun stated that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the coming into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity . He pointed out that the objective of the exhibition is to highlight progress made by the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security in collaboration with the National Parks and Conservation Services and other stakeholders for the conservation of terrestrial biodiversity in Mauritius. According to Mr Ruhomaun, the endemic species of Mauritius such as the Pink Pigeon, Echo Parakeet, Mauritius kestrel, and the National flower, Trochetia, are among the most threatened in the world and active conservation is essential to prevent the loss of more species on the island. Government, he underscored, is implementing several measures to ensuring a sustainable management and restoration of native terrestrial Mauritian fauna and flora so as to retain its genetic diversity for the future generations. This is carried out through in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies, ecosystem restoration, public awareness, promotion of ecotourism and implementation of international biodiversity agreements. Furthermore, Mr Ruhomaun recalled the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2017 2025 for Mauritius, which sets out the Strategy and Action Plan for biodiversity conservation for the next nine years. The Republic of Mauritius was the first country to sign and ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity in September 1992, he added. Mauritius, as a Small Island Developing State, he underlined faces many challenges such as climate change, impact of invasive alien species and lack of adequate resources. The NBSAP 2017-2025, he added sets out clear goals and objectives which the country targets to achieve in terms of biodiversity conservation. Description GIS 22 May 2018: A two-day workshop on National Employment Policy Formulation, organised by the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations, Employment and Training (MLIRET) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), was launched this morning by the Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations, Employment and Training, Mr Soodesh Callichurn, at Gold Crest Hotel, Quatre Bornes. A representative of the ILO, Dr Bernd Mueller, representatives of trade unions and Business Mauritius as well as high officials of MLIRET were also present on this occasion. The aim of the consultative and participative workshop is to examine the employment situation in Mauritius and make recommendations to Government, in addition to setting broad policy guidelines to ensure that employment generation strategies are conform to Governments priorities. It will also provide the opportunity to have a shared vision about sectors of the economy that are most likely to generate productive employment and also to eliminate the current situation where policies regarding employment generation and skills development fail to address labour market needs. In his address, Minister Callichurn highlighted that it is essential for the human capital development policies to be oriented towards helping aspiring jobseekers adjust to the changing needs in the market so as to make them employable over a longer period. The primary focus of the National Employment Policy, he stated, will be to address the employment situation as well as decent work deficits, targeting, in particular, vulnerable groups, the youth, women and persons with disability. Speaking about the National Employment Act 2017, Mr Callichurn highlighted that it provides for the creation of a National Employment Department empowered to collect and analyse data on any employment related matter in order to respond to the dynamic needs of the labour market. He emphasised that the labour market information on the demand and supply of skills to local employers, job seekers and training institutions is crucial for manpower planning and forecasting. This department and the employment policy will complement Governments actions to further combat unemployment, he added. For his part, the International Labour Organisation representative, Dr Bernd Mueller, underscored that this workshop is an opportunity to agree on the priorities that the national employment policy should address and to discuss recommendations that could be included. He stressed that the workshop is a key step forward for Mauritius to advance in the policy cycle leading to the adoption of a national employment policy while adding that the ILO will provide support to Mauritius in this important process. Description GIS 22 May, 2018: The Global Business Network Private Sector Partnership Forum 2018 of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS-GBN), which is a platform to enable the members to explore and develop partnership opportunities and exchange know-how and best practices for sustainable tourism development opened yesterday at Maritim Resort and Spa, in Balaclava. The two-day event is organised by the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) and the Government of Mauritius. The theme of the forum is strengthening private sector partnerships for sustainable tourism development In his opening address the Minister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mr Premdut Koonjoo, pointed out that the very principles of sustainable tourism are highly relevant to SIDS. He recalled that the stage for inclusive and sustainable tourism had already been set at the third international conference on SIDS held in Samoa in 2014. SIDS were called upon to establish appropriate national policies and structures to make the tourism sector more resilient following the meeting, he said. Speaking about the successful transformation of Mauritius, the Minister highlighted that this came about with sound economic policies over the years and more importantly it was based on new emerging sectors of growth such as the tourism industry. From the very beginning the synergy between Government and the private sector to build the tourism industry was crucial, he observed According to him today, after 50 years of Independence, tourism has become a vibrant industry and is the first pillar of the economy contributing around 10% to GDP and sustaining more than 100 000 jobs. Statistics show that earnings from tourism represents around USD 1.8 billion, and tourism arrivals peaked to 1.3 million in 2017 and it is expected that arrivals will reach around 1.4 million in 2018. While referring to the tourism ecosystem, the Minister said that it is an ever-changing one and SIDS countries have many common issues, face similar challenges and are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. SIDS generate less than one percent of greenhouse gas emissions yet have to face problems due to global warming, he observed. Tourism is a key sector of the economies of and as a result of the projected growth the 57 SIDS countries cannot afford to go wrong with their respective tourism industries, he cautioned. Minister Koonjoo called for the need to discuss how to uplift SIDS value propositions, innovate and transform to rise above competition. It cannot be business as usual and we have to change our strategies to become successful in the future and this will depend on many factors such as reinforcing connectivity to compensate for our remoteness, building partnership to promote sustainable tourism and putting resources together to find solutions in the future, he said. For her part the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing, Ms Fekitamoeloa Katoa Utoikamanu, pointed out that the concept of partnership is not a new one for SIDS as it is the motto, the cornerstone for policies and actions for SIDS sustainable development. UN-OHRLLS has an advocacy mandate for SIDS and it goes without saying advocacy efforts must be done in partnership with the relevant parts of the UN system, civil society, media, academia and foundations she said. Over the years, the UN-OHRLLS has leveraged partnerships to raise awareness about the special and highly complex situation of SIDS and sustained the mobilisation of international support for SIDS and increased dialogue with international financial institutions on SIDS-specific issues and continue to do so. The Secretary-General of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Raju Jaddoo, stated that SIDS population as Islanders are more outward-looking, broadminded and open, adding that the 57 SIDS across the world have one common goal that of ensuring sustainable development and a sustainable tourism model cannot be dissociated with the ocean. It is also true that these countries have started calling themselves as large ocean States as they have realised the vast opportunities that the ocean can provide, he said. As regards the tourism industry, Mr Jaddoo highlighted that one in every ten jobs throughout the world is directly or indirectly based on the tourism industry which accounts for 10% of global GDP and as a crucial economic driver the sectors importance will increase. According to the UN Tourism Organisation international tourists arrivals will increase from 1.2 billion in 2017 to 1.8 billion by 2030 which means that tourism will remain a key contributor to growth, investment and employment in the decades to come, he said. The SIDS-GBN Private Sector Partnership Forums agenda comprises five sessions. Focus is on: tourism as a driver of the Sustainable Development Goals; promoting tourism through cultural heritage; improving connectivity for tourism; environmental sustainability and renewable energy; and, financing for sustainable tourism development. Around 60 representatives from the 12 SIDS as well as international organisations such as the United Nations, FAO, WHO, World Bank, European Union and Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub are attending. Description GIS 22 May, 2018: A batch of 35 unemployed Social Register of Mauritius eligible beneficiaries received yesterday certificates after completing a five-day induction course on Cooperative Entrepreneurship Development Programme. The award ceremony was held at the Pamplemousses Youth Centre in the presence of the Minister of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, Mr Alain Wong. A batch of 35 unemployed Social Register of Mauritius eligible beneficiaries received yesterdaycertificates after completing a five-day induction course on Cooperative Entrepreneurship Development Programme. The award ceremony was held at the Pamplemousses Youth Centre in the presence of the Minister of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, Mr Alain Wong. The programme, an initiative of the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF) and the National Cooperative College (NCC), is part of the activities of the Coordinating Working Group of Pamplemousses. The induction course enabled beneficiaries follow a vocational training as per their interest in various fields, including: Pastry, Massage therapy, food preparation and deserts, footwear, eco-bag making, floral decoration. In his address, the Minister lauded the initiative which, he emphasised, essentially aims at empowering the SRM eligible beneficiaries and improving their quality of life. He pointed out that the programme will enlighten them regarding a potential career choice and Government will provide the necessary support in their career-related endeavours. Furthermore, he observed that the beneficiaries now understand the importance of having a job, and having one will allow them to earn and consequently to be financially stable and lead a decent life. On that note, Mr Wong encouraged them to show further determination in their efforts to improve their quality of life and that of their families. Recalling initiatives such as the Induction Programme, the Minister underlined that Government seeks to dispel stigmatisations that act as barriers against the integration of vulnerable people in the mainstream society. According to him, along with Governments relentless efforts to support the vulnerable to break the cycle of poverty, it is imperative that they show commitment and motivation to reach their life goals. Vocational training The vocational training is conducted by the NCC for 12 sessions of a total of 36 hours. Upon completion of the training, the NEF will act as a facilitator to connect the beneficiaries willing to set up their own business activities to the Mauritius Research Council under the National SME Incubator Scheme, where they will be counselled on how to develop their idea of doing business, get support to prepare their business plan and benefit from grants to start their small business through incubators. Nordsense Worked with: The San Francisco Department of Public Works On: Garbage collection ms.GIS Worked with: The San Francisco Department of Public Works On: Street sweeping ZenCity Worked with: San Franciscos 311 system On: Citizen request routing Conversation.one Worked with: San Francisco International Airport On: Information delivery Symbium Worked with: San Franciscos Planning Department On: Economic development Gruntify Worked with: The San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission On: Emergency response Worked with: The Miami-Dade County, Fla., Department of Transportation and Public Works On: 311 service requests Worked with: The city of Houston On: Building management GovRock Worked with: Multiple departments within the city of West Sacramento, Calif. On: Volunteering and events management Kamego SAN FRANCISCO The Startup in Residence (STiR) program, which matches tech companies with local government workers to help them solve public-sector problems, wants to grow a lot bigger.The program, which started in San Francisco in 2014 , has since expanded to 11 local governments across the U.S. But on May 22, as its most recent round of companies demonstrated their work at the Bridge SF conference in San Francisco, STiR's leaders announced they want to grow to include 100 local governments within five years.It's a big goal. But Jay Nath, executive director of the City Innovate Foundation as well as the founder of STiR, thinks its doable.One of the things thats amazed me is that without any real marketing weve had nearly 100 cities reach out to us unsolicited, wanting to know more, wanting to partner, wanting to work with us various levels of interest, he said.That will likely include some expansion into Canada. British Columbia has already set up its own STiR-like program, not officially affiliated with STiR, and Nath said hes heard from several Canadian mayors who are interested in pursuing it.Along the way, Nath will be looking to make STiRs fleet of participant governments more diverse. The bulk of its participants today are in California, and most of those are in the San Francisco Bay Area.We think theres an opportunity to speak with big cities, smaller communities, red cities, blue cities and across the U.S., whether its on the coasts, in the South, in the Midwest we really believe entrepreneurship is universal, he said.STiR also released its list of most recent companies and projects to coincide with the companies demo day. Here are the latest STiR companies:Using sensors and the citys 311 system to gather data, Nordsense worked to identify patterns of public trash can use throughout the city.Together we were able to lay the groundwork for how we provide insights on finding the best can placements in the city, Soren Christensen, Nordsenses chief executive officer, wrote in an email.San Franciscos fleet of street sweeping vehicles drives 150,000 miles per year, removing 25,000 tons of debris and preventing it from entering the sewers and ocean.And theyve been doing all the routing required for that work with paper.The city of San Francisco had a software tool which did not work out so they had a lot of printouts and Post-Its on top, said Marcus Scheiber, ms.GIS CEO.The company, which has a presence in Austria as well as the U.S., worked with the Department of Public Works to bring that routing work onto a digital mapping platform. Drivers received mobile devices in their vehicles that could deliver vocal directions as they drive, instead of those drivers consulting handbooks in the middle of their work.Any changes and updates and improvements you make to these routes will be done once without reproducing paper or making copies, and then its automatically loaded onto a tablet in the trucks, Scheiber said. So its a seamless process that is much faster and much safer in its final application.In the future, Scheiber said he wants to support route optimization and other applications as well.San Franciscos 311 system was experiencing an increasing number of citizen requests going to the wrong departments, which meant more work for city staff, longer response times for citizens and sometimes the wrong solution being delivered. So through STiR, it worked with ZenCity to try to fix it.ZenCity used its classification capabilities, part of its existing software offerings, to increase the systems accuracy.We used our AI-based classification algorithm, which classifies citizen-generated data to different city departments with a high level of accuracy, to recommend to what agency to send each service request, wrote Eyal Feder, ZenCitys CEO, in an email. The project resulted in a significantly improved routing accuracy.Conversation.one, which offers tools for users to set up chatbots and work with assistant-type devices like Amazons Alexa, worked with the airport to develop an interface that deliver information to customers using natural language.Its tough to start a business. One has to find a place in the city they can operate, apply for permits and licenses and more.The San Francisco Planning Department had one bottleneck in particular that it wanted to solve: location scouting.In such cases, constituents have to painfully navigate a complex maze of zoning regulations, involving repeated trips and calls to the information counter, Symbium CEO Leila Banijamali wrote in an email.So the company went to the departments customer service counter and saw first-hand how the bottleneck develops, and then worked to deliver a custom solution that could be incorporated into staffs workflow.With help from SF Planning, our team has developed a powerful yet intuitive online solution enables constituents to find out, with a few clicks, whether their proposed business is permitted in a chosen location and to search for all locations in the city where their business is permitted, Banijamali wrote.The company, GIS People, worked with three separate STiR participants on three different problems. All of them incorporated its flagship product, Gruntify, which is workflow software.The company integrated Gruntify with multiple stakeholders, including California Highway Patrol, towing companies and Waze, to help clear accident scenes faster.GIS People helped streamline manual, paper-based processes to make 311 responses faster and cheaper.In the wake of extensive flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, the team worked to help compile a register of buildings the city owns so that it can better track damages for insurance purposes.This company, previously known as Help Emerge, has a product that allows government staff to post and promote events and volunteer opportunities across multiple channels, and over time build a list of engaged community members.The idea is to create more constant contact with community members, and then to have a list of active citizens ready to go at a moments notice when an emergency happens.Our goal was really to create the base of a system that could engage communities day to day, with the idea that eventually we could reach out to populations during disasters as well in maybe a more robust way than the platforms we have today, said Ryan Luginbuhl, the companys CEO.Houston lacks a central system for employee contact information, which means that in an emergency the city might have a hard time finding out if its workers are all right, or asking them to help respond.So it worked with Kamego to create such a system. The company has developed it, and the city is in the middle of testing it.The city of Houston wants to be able to quickly find employees by select criteria (including language ability and commute distance from a site) and determine their ability to report for a new (emergency) duty assignment, company co-founder Jennifer Blumberg wrote in an email. They could be looking to staff over 50 separate sites across the city with approximately 100 people at each per shift with little advance warning. The windy citys newly minted identification card, known as the Chicago CityKey , was first conceptualized as an optional, government-issued ID that would help certain residents who faced barriers to municipal services.But the scope of the project, which eventually came under the leadership of the Office of the City Clerk, expanded as development progressed. City leaders decided the card should benefit all of Chicagos 2.7 million residents. That meant developers had to find a way to ensure the card really worked for everyone. Otherwise, what was the point?So, the city turned to human-centric design , a concept that puts residents at the heart of all that government does, according to Eric Vazquez, chief technology officer for the Office of the City Clerk.Human-centric design is taking off as state and local government agencies transition from an era in which online services were largely built based on the needs and expectations of institutions, to a new normal where services are tailored to the needs of the citizens. This requires extensive research, interviews and user observation.Its a model that has been pioneered by large and successful private companies Amazon and Apple, to name two and is now seeping into government. Essentially, public agencies have begun to envision themselves as customer service organizations.Creation of Chicagos CityKey card meant that Vazquez and other project leaders worked with a diverse range of 74 stakeholder groups in the city, including nonprofits, community groups, churches, charities, advocates and many other influential city institutions. The work involved extensive conversations, as well as more than 40 roundtable events held throughout Chicago, to discuss how the card could benefit constituents.The CityKey really helps a lot of different groups of Chicagoans, said Vazquez. A lot of conversations weve had with the LGBTQ community, the veterans community, the re-entry community ended up as product features.One example is that the card allows users to designate their own genders, picking between male, female, non-binary or simply leaving the space blank. Vazquez said Chicago is the only city he is aware of that issues an ID card that allows users to make that choice. Other cities that provide municipal ID programs include Detroit, New York City and San Francisco.Another key to human-centric design is running pilot programs to test assumptions that have been gleaned from user research. This meant issuing 1,000 cards during a prototype phase to a variety of stakeholders who were most likely to provide honest and productive feedback.Thankfully, because we had conversations with stakeholders in various communities, we had a pool of users ready to test the card, said Vazquez.The CityKey is designed to give users access to public transit, serve as a library card and to be used as accepted identification for any service that requires ID.Kate LeFurgy, a spokeswoman for the Office of the City Clerk, described the human-centered research phase as one that never quite ends. What were learning as well is what are the other use cases for people, she said. How will they be using this new government ID, and what should we be cognizant of as we continue to add additional features and work on this program.Chicago plans to invest approximately $2 million to develop and roll out CityKey, according to LeFurgy.Both Vazquez and LeFurgy anticipate human-centric design to be a large part of the work done by the city clerks office moving forward, especially in the realm of gov tech, which City Clerk Anna Valencia has directed her office to use in service of legislative management and increasing civic engagement. When Valencia took office, updates were made to Web streaming capabilities for city council meetings, and work is underway now to help Chicagoans have easier online access to the legislation that affects them.As far as legislative management, its not the sexiest thing out there, but its critical, Vazquez said. It allows Chicagoans who are not in city government to come to our website and look up a piece of legislation thats important to them and get engaged. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 22) Beijing on Monday downplayed the take-off and landing of their nuclear-capable bombers on an island in the South China Sea, adding that concerned countries need not over-interpret their presence. "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," China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang said in his regular press conference on Monday. The presence of the bomber planes in Woody Island an island to which China, Taiwan and Vietnam have overlapping claims prompted the Philippines to bring up the issue in the next bilateral consultative mechanism (BCM) with China. An American think-tank said on Friday the bombers could affect a radius of more than 1,000 nautical miles, where the Philippines is within range. In a press briefing Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said China's ownership of Woody Island does not concern the Philippines, which is not a claimant. "Posisyon po nila 'yan. Pero tayo po, meron po tayong arbitral decision [That's their position. But we have an arbitral decision.]," Roque said. "What we said, is that what is ours, is ours." Roque explained that the Philippines would continue to observe the ruling issued the Permanent Court of Arbitration in July 2016, which invalidates China's nine-dash line claims over most of the South China Sea. "The arbitral tribunal has evidence that (China) has built on waters which form part of our EEZ (exclusive economic zone), and only the Philippines has sovereign rights to construct those islands," he pointed out. However, the spokesman maintained that the so-called militarization of the South China Sea poses no threat to the country despite calls from lawmakers for a stronger stance on the issue. Roque, however, maintained the so-called militarization of the South China Sea poses no threat despite calls for a stronger stance on the issue from lawmakers on Sunday. READ: Senator seeks PH action on China's threat of 'nuclear war' Another tiff in the South China Sea? Lu also called out the Pentagon's earlier claims of militarizing the disputed waters. "As to the so-called "militarization" mentioned by the U.S., it 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," Lu said. In a report from CNN, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Logan said China's continued militarization of South China Sea's features "only serves to raise tensions and destabilize the region." But the United States also flew bombers in the South China Sea in April, as part of their country's Air Force training missions. In March, a U.S. destroyer sailed close to Mischief Reef a feature in the Spratly Islands subject to overlapping sea claims between Philippines and China. In both instances, the Eastern giant called out its Western counterpart for supposed breach of sovereignty. Reports earlier said China has built military structures in islands in the Paracel chain and the Spratly group. Other claimant countries and regional blocs such as the Association of Southeast Asia Nations have repeatedly expressed concern over Chinese activity in the waters, despite an unresolved sea row. (TNS) SCRANTON, PA. The Scranton, Pa., city council will hear a presentation today on the mobile app SeeClickFix as a tool for citizens to directly report potholes, graffiti, blight and other problems.The presentation from SeeClickFix representatives will take place at 5:15 p.m. in the Governors Room at City Hall, according to a public notice that council ran Wednesday in The Times-Tribune.In April, the council discussed the possibility of using the app in Scranton to give citizens a way to report problems or issues. Now, a company representative will deliver, via speakerphone, a presentation on the app during todays caucus, said Councilman Wayne Evans, a proponent of exploring whether the city should use the app.Were certainly interested in it and seeing if its something we can implement, Evans said.The SeeClickFix app allows users to send photos of problem areas directly to City Hall. Once logged, a problem would get assigned to the proper department or employee to take care of it.The app notifies senders their submissions were received and provides updates on the citys progress addressing the submitted issue.Council members also envision that the app could improve efficiency. The city would receive analytical information about the number and nature of problems logged, their locations and resolutions, and the length of time it takes to resolve them.The idea for the app stems from general discussions between councilmembers and residents, business owners and others about ways to improve the city, Evans said. Earlier this year, council revived holding brainstorming sessions.After hearing about an app approach to reporting maintenance and nuisance-type problems and tracking their fixes, Evans researched, found SeeClickFix and contacted the New Haven, Connecticut, company for information.Cities using SeeClickFix include New Haven; Virginia Beach, Va.; Albany, N.Y.; Carbondale, Ill.; Bainbridge Island, Wash.; Howard County, Md.; Huntsville, Ala.; Houston; Vallejo and Corona, Calif.; Taylor, Mich.; Taunton, Mass. and St. Paul, Minn., according to the companys website.It would be wonderful to add Scranton to the roster, SeeClickFix CEO Ben Berkowitz said in a phone interview. Emergency managers and others have come to expect the timeline we've seen for many years now. Congress doesn't pass a spending bill before the fiscal year begins, so all the eventual grantees (assuming the award announcements will come in August or NLT the end of September) lose one year of work time. And, just naming the awardees does not mean that you have a contract and work can proceed. Here in Washington state, State Homeland Security Program funding and contracts didn't come out until 2018 for the FY 2017 grant cycle.The details are at DHS Announces Funding Opportunity for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Preparedness Grants. Let the grant games begin!Multiple people shared the above link with me. (TNS) A Federal Communications Commission official fielded questions Friday from West Virginias U.S. senators, along with development and broadband stakeholders, on how the state can maximize its chances of securing funding for better mobile internet service.Michael Janson, deputy director of the FCCs Rural Broadband Auctions Taskforce, centered his presentation at BridgeValley Community and Technical College on how parties can challenge what areas are eligible for up to $4.53 billion in funding for mobile broadband expansion.I can say that this is the largest, most engaged turnout that I have had for one of these outreach events, said Janson, who called the Mobility Fund II one of the highest priorities in the FCC today.The visit comes after shortcomings in data likely eliminated seven West Virginia counties from a chance at getting up to $1.98 billion in support for improving fixed internet speeds a fund where there was no ability to challenge what areas were eligible.At the presentation, Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., emphasized the importance of obtaining accurate data for the Mobility Fund II lamenting the lack of activity in West Virginia during the Mobility Fund I.Manchin recalled when former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler visited the state after data collected by the FCC claimed Tucker County had 99 percent mobile phone coverage. Wheeler attempted to make a wireless call in the county, but couldnt get a strong enough signal to do so.I said, Tom, thats the problem in this Mobility Fund I, the maps were screwed up, Manchin said.In that first fund, West Virginia won two bids to improve mobile coverage in parts of Clay and Putnam counties. Yet there is still plenty of work to do elsewhere in the state, judging by the FCCs map of initial eligible areas for the Mobility Fund II Much of West Virginias Eastern half, along with portions of its Southern and central regions lack qualified 4G LTE service the fastest connection commonly available for wireless users per the map.Its tough to get good service, which is why the Mobility Fund is so important to us, said Capito, adding that the states tourism industry could see a boost with improved service in rural areas.Janson said West Virginia likely has the highest percentage of eligible land for funding in the Eastern half of the United States but much more of the state could eventually be considered eligible.Many communities along Interstate 79 and in the New River Gorge region have been ruled ineligible, with just one provider reporting that those areas are properly served with 4G LTE.Government entities and other parties can challenge rulings of ineligibility to the FCC, collecting speed test data to use as evidence against a providers claims of 4G LTE coverage . The window to challenge areas of the initial Mobility Fund II map closes August 27.The areas where just one provider has reported qualified 4G LTE service would be the easiest to challenge and overturn, Janson said, since a challenger would only have to dispute the service of one provider instead of several.After the response window to those challenges closes, the FCC will create the final map of eligible areas for the fund. Mobile providers would then bid on what areas they want to build service in at some point in 2019.Capito said she is concerned that during the auction process, providers might avoid the region and bid in areas where establishing service is cheaper due to flatter, more accessible land.The build in our area is much more expensive than to build in a Kansas cornfield, she said to Janson. Are we going to be at a disadvantage here [in the auction] because we have more expensive buildout costs?Janson said that issue had been brought to the FCCs attention. The agency previously contemplated using a terrain factor for past auctions that would have factored topography into the funding equation, he said.Thats an open issue in this proceeding, so I wont say too much about it, Janson said of terrain challenges. Uniform policies Mixed results (TNS) ST. LOUIS COUNTY More police and resident interactions will be captured on video by the end of the year as eight area police departments work together to equip officers with body cameras.The departments in St. Louis County landed a $400,000 federal grant to equip about 260 officers with body cameras, hoping that working together will help their smaller departments control costs for the devices and pricey storage beyond the life of the grant, Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Chief Jeremy Ihler said.In addition to Ihler's department, Brentwood, Bridgeton, Clayton, Moline Acres, Town and Country, Richmond Heights and the University of Missouri-St. Louis police force are participating. Ihler hopes to see all of them outfitted with the new devices in September.Ihler is working with former St. Louis Police Chief Dan Isom, who is now director of the Regional Justice Information System Commission, to oversee the effort.REJIS formed as a partnership between St. Louis city and county police departments in 1974. Criminal justice and other governmental agencies in Missouri, Kansas and parts of Illinois pay REJIS for information technology services and products, such as mobile ticketing.The government entity will manage the video collected by the cameras from the eight police departments, and could become the hub for body camera video storage for the region and the state, Isom said.The cost to store video often prices small departments out of the market for body cameras, Isom said, and REJIS is hoping to change that by offering it at a lower cost to multiple agencies through economies of scale."Body-worn cameras are one of the hottest topics in law enforcement, and it makes sense that we should figure out how to assist law enforcement in this space and make it easier," Isom said.Protests that followed the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson prompted many officials to tout body cameras as a way to reduce police use of force complaints and build trust.Former President Barack Obama started the Task Force on 21st Century Policing program in 2015, in part to pay for body cameras. The Bureau of Justice Assistance has since awarded about $15 million to $20 million every year to departments seeking to equip officers with body cameras.The collaborative nature of the application submitted by the eight departments in St. Louis County gave it an edge, said David Mueller, lead research analyst for REJIS.Oftentimes, camera manufacturers offer departments steep discounts on pilot programs, but later force those departments to buy back their camera footage should they want to use it in the future, Mueller said."The storage cost is the elephant in the room," Mueller said. "A lot of vendors give discounts on the hardware because the storage cost is where they make their money, but our plan is to leverage the REJIS business model by bringing municipalities together to work together."The departments will select one vendor for the devices, but each department can pick the kind of camera they want to use. Some cameras mount on eyeglasses, while others mount on collars or at the center of an officer's shirt.Ihler said the participating departments will adhere to virtually the same policy when it comes to how cameras will be used.The policy was built upon the recommendations of several police organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Body Worn Camera Toolkit, the Police Executive Research Forum and the U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services, as well as policies from other departments that have won the grant.Based on those recommendations, Ihler said officers will have discretion when it comes to turning the cameras on and off.Officers will record all contacts with citizens "in the performance of their official duties," such as traffic stops, pedestrian stops, serving search warrants, domestic violence events, traveling to nonemergency and emergency calls, and transporting prisoners.Ihler said officers could turn off video recording in moments that should be private, such as when a crime victim is changing clothes. Recording would be prohibited when officers have an expectation of privacy, such as in bathrooms and locker rooms or during work breaks."Continuous recording throughout an entire police shift is highly inefficient and costly due to the need to store all the data," Ihler said.But the camera won't be rolling during casual contacts with citizens. Depending on the type of camera departments pick, some record about 30 seconds before an officer activates them to help ensure at least some of an incident that might escalate is captured before it does.Though Ihler and Isom hope the use of the cameras will build trust in communities, he cautions that the camera footage alone shouldn't be used to judge an officer's actions."We're trying to educate the community that this is one piece of evidence, one piece of the puzzle in terms of what happened," Isom said. "It's not strong enough evidence to make a case alone."Whether cameras affect police and citizen behavior is unclear.The most commonly cited study on the effect body cameras have on policing dates to 2012 in Rialto, Calif. Officers there were randomly assigned cameras, and saw reductions in use-of-force incidents and citizen complaints.But, in 2017, more than 1,000 officers in Washington, D.C., were randomly assigned cameras and later compared to 1,000 who were not. On every metric, which included use-of-force incidents, civilian complaints and charging decisions, the effects were statistically insignificant, according to The New York Times.And capturing an officer's conduct on body cameras during use-of-force incidents has not always led to criminal convictions.Locally, several departments already use body cameras, including Ferguson, St. Charles city and Wentzville.But the two largest local police departments, St. Louis city and St. Louis County, don't use body cameras, though both have completed pilot programs to test their use. The city's took place in December 2015, and the county's dates to September 2014.In St. Louis County, police leaders have pledged to use money raised from Prop P to equip the department's approximately 900 officers with cameras, but the effort to do so is still in the "evaluation process," said Sgt. Shawn McGuire.In St. Louis, cost and political issues with the Board of Aldermen have stalled efforts to fund the program for the department's more than 1,000 officers. Capitol NashvilleMaren Morris happens to have a very personal interest in Luke Bryan's latest release. Luke debuted "Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset" on the American Idol finale, and Maren wasted no time taking to Twitter to tell the rest of the story. "My husband Ryan Hurd wrote the new Luke Bryan single and I couldnt be prouder," she explained. "GET IT IN YO EARHOLES BECAUSE WE WANNA TAKE A TRIP," she added, along with three sunshine emojis. Ryan wrote the third single from Luke's What Makes You Country album with Zach Crowell and Chase McGill. Now that Luke's wrapped his first season as an Idol judge, he's ready to hit the road again. Im excited to kick this summer tour off and get back in front of the fans, Luke says. To think about the opportunity to also include 13 stadiums is unreal! This line up is going to have so much energy. Cant wait! Sam Hunt, Jon Pardi and Morgan Walden kick off the stadium leg of the What Makes You Country Tour with Luke May 31 in Toronto. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 22) The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Wednesday that the body of a woman found dead in Ireland was that of 24-year-old Filipino student Jastine Valdez. It said the Philippine consulates in London and Dublin have been coordinating with authorities since Valdez, an accountancy student, was reported missing. In a statement, Philippine Ambassador to London Antonio Lagdameo said they have received the confirmation from the honorary Consul in Ireland. "We received the report from our honorary consul in Dublin confirming that the body they found yesterday is indeed the mortal remains of Jastine Valdez," Lagdameo said. "Therefore on behalf of the government, I extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family, and pray for her eternal repose. And we offer the hand of assistance and support in this very challenging and trying times." The DFA on Tuesday said it is reaching out to Valdez's family. "Ambassador to London Antonio Lagdameo said Honorary Consul Mark Congdon will be discussing with the family possible assistance the Department may be able to extend," the DFA said in a statement. Valdez was last seen leaving her home in Enniskerry village on Saturday. She relocated there three years ago. The DFA said Valdez' body was found on Monday following a frantic search over the weekend. Her suspected captor, a 40-year-old Irish man, was shot dead by the police on Sunday. "We grieve with the loved ones of Jastine Valdez, someone so young and so full of promise, who was suddenly taken away from them," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) announced that Dominion Energy will provide funding to help progress the BWRX-300, a 300 MWe small modular reactor design being developed by GEH. The BWRX-300 leverages the design and licensing basis of the NRC-certified ESBWR (Economic Simplified Boiling-Water Reactor). Through design simplification, GEH projects the BWRX-300 will require up to 60% less capital cost per MW when compared to other water-cooled SMRs or existing large nuclear designs. If these savings can be achieved, the BWRX-300 can become cost-competitive with power generation from combined cycle gas and renewables. The BWRX-300 is the companys 10th generation boiling water reactor design. Dominion Energys funding of the BWRX-300 provides seed money to further work that could lead to commercializing this technology. The company has no plan at this time to build one at any of its commercial nuclear stations. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 22) The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved the P1.16 billion supplemental budget to assist those vaccinated with Dengvaxia under the government's mass immunization program. Under the proposed additional budget, the Department of Health (DOH) would shoulder all the medical expenses - medicines, laboratory tests, and hospital confinement - of some 890,000 children who received the Dengvaxia vaccine regardless of the illness. The money would come from the P1.16-billion refund from Sanofi Pasteur, manufacturer of Dengvaxia, for the vaccine returned by the government after it shelved the dengue immunization program due to health risks. Here is the breakdown of the P1.16 billion supplemental budget: Medical Assistance Program - P945,827, 530 Supplies and Medicines - P45,000,000 Dengvaxia Assistance Card - P25,000,000 Salary of 1,250 nurses -- P78,296,250 Followup vaccinees with complaints - P67,586,220 In late 2017, Sanofi Pasteur announced that Dengvaxia posed potentially severe sickness from the vaccine for those who never had dengue. This prompted the government to halt the nationwide immunization program, which was launched by the Aquino administration in April 2016. CNN Philippines correspondent Joyce Ilas contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 22) A Manila court on Tuesday ordered suspects in the hazing death of freshman law student Horacio "Atio" Castillo III to be transferred from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to the Manila City Jail. Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 20 Presiding Judge Marivic Balisi-Umali directed the NBI Detention Center to turn over the ten Aegis Juris fraternity members to the city jail. NBI Public Information Office chief Nick Suarez said they are processing the order, and will comply as soon as clearance is secured. Paterno Esmaquel, lawyer of two of the suspects, said "we respect the order of commitment of the judge but we will file a motion for reconsideration." The Aegis Juris fratmen are Arvin Balag, Ralph Trangia, Oliver John Audrey Onofre, Mhin Wei Chan, Hans Matthew Rodrigo, Joshua Joriel Macabali, Axel Munro Hipe, Marcelino Bagtang, Jose Miguel Salamat, and Robin Ramos. The ten surrendered to the NBI on March 23 after the Manila RTC ordered their arrest. Horacio Castillo Jr., father of the hazing victim, said they are pleased with the development. "This would ensure that no special treatment would be given to all accused, detainers or prisoners. This would be fair to all. We praise the court for their decision. This is a victory for us all. Our justice system is working," he said. On March 8, the Department of Justice indicted the ten fraternity members for violating the Anti-Hazing law, a non-bailable offense punishable with life imprisonment. Umali earlier denied a joint motion by the suspects asking the court to allow them to remain detained at the NBI Detention Center over safety concerns. The motion also cited an operation by the Manila Police District (MPD) where its policemen allegedly searched the house of Trangia in Bulacan without a warrant. Chief Superintendent Joel Coronel, MPD director , earlier said the police operation was legitimate. Atio, a 22-year-old freshman University of Sto. Tomas law student, was killed after a supposed "welcoming party" or hazing rites of the Aegis Juris fraternity on September 16, 2017. His parents said he promised to come back on September 17, a Sunday. Police said Atio had hematoma or bruises on both upper arms, as well as marks of candle wax drips all over his body. His death spurred calls for stricter anti-hazing measures. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 22) A solemn tribute will be held Wednesday to honor those who died defending Marawi City from terrorists. The government has set several activities to commemorate the day the ISIS-linked Maute terror group attacked the Islamic City, the capital of Lanao del Sur province, on May 23 last year. Survivors, rescuers, and government officials will gather for a ceremony to honor the dead, but it will be away from the battle zone in Marawi, which remains off-limits to the public for clearing operations. "They (soldiers) are still conducting clearing operations. We still have unexploded bombs," Joint Task Force Ranao Deputy Commander Col. Romeo Brawner said. Terrorists planted improvised explosive devices, booby traps, and bombs during the five-month war which ended in October 2017. The government also launched airstrikes. More than 160 soldiers and policemen, and 47 civilians died after the last shot was fired. More than 50 people are still missing. Malacanang has yet to confirm if President Rodrigo Duterte will attend Wednesday's ceremony, but Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza is expected to lead the tribute. Public activities offering basic social services, from medical care to skills training, are also being held in Marawi all week long. Malacanang on Tuesday said 70 percent of residents displaced by the war in Marawi have returned to their homes. Meanwhile in Manila, the Philippine Army will conduct a wreath-laying ceremony at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig to commemorate the soldiers' heroism. On the eve of the anniversary, 640 Marawi veterans were promoted. Protests set Some groups have announced they will stage a protest rally on Wednesday to condemn alleged human rights violations after Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao on May 23 last year. The Armed Forces has vowed to investigate abuses allegedly committed by government troops. Martial law remains in effect in Mindanao until the end of the year after Congress granted Duterte's second request for an extension. CNN Philippines' David Santos and Eimor Santos contributed to this report. Its like Stan Smith meets Danny Meyer. Photo: Allbirds Think the wait at the Madison Square Park Shake Shack is long now? Well, just you wait until Thursday, when Danny Meyers burger chain welcomes Allbirds, maker of the ecofriendly shoe thats somehow become both quintessential Silicon Valley and Soho. The brands collaborated on an exclusive pair of shoes the Allbirds x Shake Shack Tree Runners that will have their one-day release this Thursday at the parks original Shack. Similar to Allbirds other styles, the special-edition kicks are subtle: all-white, unisex, and like all the Tree Runners, made from sustainably harvested eucalyptus trees. However, these do come with green laces and a subtle Shake Shack burger logo stitched into the tongue. They look pretty good! Heres how you can get a pair: Theyre available on May 24 between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the Madison Square Park Shack. For $100, you can snag a pair of shoes, plus a three-pack of laces, and a shake created especially for the occasion. Culinary director Mark Rosati says its called the Hokey Pokey, and involves vanilla frozen custard with honeycomb pieces, chocolate, toffee, and whipped cream and if youre wondering what on earth any of that has to do with promoting the brands ostensibly shared business principles, the answer is it was a trick question: Its an ode to the nostalgic ice cream of New Zealand, Allbirds homeland. Elliss lawsuit accuses the cashier of plainly discriminating against him. Photo: Steven Senne/AP/REX/Shutterstock In 2015, Emory Ellis, a homeless man living in Boston, went to Burger King to buy breakfast. But rather than a Croissanwich or Egg-normous Burrito, he left with the police, under arrest for purportedly attempting to pay with a counterfeit $10 bill. Ellis ended up being charged with forgery of a bank note, and the arrest qualified as a violation of his probation, meaning he was subsequently jailed for three months without bail, until his final hearing for the arrest could occur. As it happens, prosecutors also dropped their forgery charge at this final hearing the Secret Service announced that Elliss $10 bill had definitely been real, so they had no case left. Ellis was released, and has now filed an almost $1 million discrimination lawsuit against Burger King and the Boston franchise. Elliss lawyer Justin Drechsler tells the Washington Post that if he, a white guy the exact same age as his client, had shown up with that same $10 bill, nobody would have scrutinized it. Drechsler imagines that he probably never would have been accused of anything, and certainly wouldnt have had the police called on me, no matter what the series of events. The lawsuit claims that Burger Kings cashier took Elliss money, announced it was fake, and refused to return it. He then threatened to call 911 if Ellis didnt leave. Ellis argues that not only were three months of his life ultimately wasted, but that he also suffered considerable emotional distress and public humiliation that have since led to sleeplessness, anxiety, and depression. The suit says that as a black man who was also homeless, Ellis got a double dose of discrimination. (His treatment of course follows a litany of recent racist-seeming chain-restaurant incidents, from Starbucks calling the cops on two black men in Philly, to Waffle House having a black customer in his prom tux arrested and another black woman even locked out of a store.) Burger King says the company doesnt tolerate discrimination of any kind, but cant comment because the litigation is ongoing. However, it also adds in a statement to the AP that, just in case anyones wondering, proper employee training is entirely the franchisees responsibility. Batali. Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Disgraced chef Mario Batali is expected to be completely bought out of B&B Hospitality Group, the restaurant group he helped found, by July 1. That info comes from a statement released in response to two separate and new allegations that Batali drugged and sexually assaulted women in 2004 and 2005. The NYPD also confirmed yesterday that Batali was under an ongoing police investigation for the 2004 allegation. 2. Just got this statement from B & B Hospitality Group - the company that manages the independently owned restaurants that Batali helped to start and co-owns. pic.twitter.com/wjyJizZu2H Yashar Ali (@yashar) May 21, 2018 According to the statement, a letter of intent has been signed between Batali and his partner Joe Bastianich, who will be involved in the acquisition alongside his mother, Lidia Bastianich, and chef Nancy Silverton. In other words, the chef (who reportedly stepped down from his restaurants in December, after the first allegations) will presumably walk away with a sizable sum of money. Related NYPD Investigating Mario Batali for Allegedly Sexually Abusing Two Women Beyond Batalis alleged wrongdoing, the restaurant group itself has been mired in controversy: Earlier this month, B&B settled a $2.2 million wage lawsuit for not properly compensating employees. The company had settled a tip-skimming suit for $5.25 million in 2012, and last year was hit with two other suits: another for wage violations and a third by a former Babbo pastry chef who alleged discrimination and harassment. Lidia, who along with Silverton is supposed to take a bigger role in response to the many allegations against Batali, was once accused of keeping an indentured servant and was sued for $5 million. Following sexual-harassment allegations, Babbo chef Frank Langello left the restaurant in January. In an episode of MasterChef Italia aired earlier this year, Joe made racist comments about Chinese people. Haiti - Social : New waves of Haitian migrants on the Turks and Caicos Islands The Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) is once again obliged to find the necessary financing to repatriate dozens of illegal Haitian migrants who have fled their country a few days of interval. In the last 4 days, 79 Haitian illegal immigrants were arrested by local authorities while attempting to enter the ICT territory by sea. On Saturday 19 May another boat with an undetermined number of illegal migrants arrived around 8:00 am in the North West Point area, a popular landing site for illegal ships. According to a police report, several people were seen leaving a boat in the area of North West Point, a popular landing place for illegal ships, the illegal migrants all managed to escape before the authorities arrive on site. Coast Guard were reported to local authorities on Saturday. Following the increase of Haitian boat-people in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a petition was launched by ICT residents, on media sites and on social networks including Facebook and Twitter. This petition expresses the disappointment of a part of the ICT population against the increase of boat-people from Haiti "[...] In recent times the significant increase has enraged our people and caused widespread fear amongst the population [...] 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 [...]" A petition that divides the TCI population shared between nationalists who want to protect the sovereignty of their islands and those sympathetic to the Haitian cause, who express their total disagreement. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22423-haiti-flash-two-other-survivors-of-the-sinking-found.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20851-haiti-social-the-body-of-15-shipwrecked-repatriated-to-haiti.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-17006-icihaiti-social-54-haitians-intercepted-off-the-coast-of-providenciales.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13089-haiti-social-risk-his-life-at-sea-migrants-testify-video.html SL/ HaitiLibre Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which culminates with the Eid al-Fitr festival, is a time of reflection and celebration. But for residents of Marawi City, it brings back painful memories. This time last year, fighters linked to the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) stormed the capital of Lanao del Sur, launching a siege that lasted for five months. The bloody war between the Maute Group and government forces prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in over all of Mindanao. What came to be known as the Marawi crisis ended in the destruction of homes and lives, as well as the displacement of hundreds of thousands. One year after the devastation, CNN Philippines recalls the events leading up to the siege and what has transpired since then. Here is a guide to help refresh your memory on the Marawi crisis. How did the fighting in Marawi begin? On May 23 last year, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) tried to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, a wanted leader of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group in Marawi City. As it turned out, Hapilon had allied with the Maute Group which supported ISIS. Maute rebels moved to fend off the military operation, triggering a firefight. Footage provided by the AFP later showed that the Maute group and foreign terrorists had actually meticulously planned to capture Marawi to establish an ISIS caliphate or "wilayat" in the region. The chaos began with reports that armed men took over Amai Pakpak Medical Center. Netizens trapped in their homes shared videos of men in black patrolling the streets. A Catholic priest, Fr. Chito Suganob, was kidnapped. By evening, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law over all of Mindanao an order that would be extended until December 2018. Who are these ISIS-affiliated fighters? The terrorists were composed of homegrown Maute group members, and some 40 foreigners who hailed from Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. There were over 900 men. One of their prominent leaders was Hapilon, who had been picked to be emir of an ISIS caliphate in Southeast Asia. The chase for Hapilon set the Marawi siege in motion. The Maute group was led by the Maute brothers, Abdullah and Omar. The AFP confirmed the deaths of Omar and Hapilon in October, in the days leading up to the end of the siege. Abdullah and two other Maute brothers, Madi and Otto, were reported dead a month earlier. Their parents were arrested during the crisis. The Maute patriarch, Cayamora, died in August, but his wife, Farhana, is still in police custody. Among the foreign nationals involved in the siege was the Maute's Malaysian financier, Mahmud bin Ahmad. His body is believed to have been one among the 50 found under a collapsed building. Another foreigner, Indonesian Muhammad Ilham Syaputra, survived the siege and was arrested in November. Despite the arrest and death of prominent personalities of the regional ISIS chapter, policy and security experts warned that another leader would soon emerge. READ: Why victory in Marawi doesn't mean the end of ISIS in Asia Footage provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines shows that the Maute group and foreign terrorists planning the Marawi crisis. What happened to the people of Marawi? Some 47 civilians were killed during the war; over 1,700 were rescued; and more than 359,000 individuals or 72,000 families were uprooted. As of April 20 this year, 48,400 families were still displaced. Over 3,000 families remain scattered across at least 40 evacuation centers in the region, while over 45,000 have been classified as home-based displaced families. But beyond the numbers is the psychological toll of war, which Lanao del Sur Crisis Management Committee spokesperson Zia Adiong described as "deeply traumatic." He stressed the need for continuous psychosocial debriefings and medical assistance for the survivors. Adiong, however, also emphasized the resilience of the Maranao. "The concept of Maratabat, loosely defined as pride, somehow became the source for their gradual recovery," he said. A stuffed bear with a gun hangs outside a residence in Marawi. Non-government organization Save the Children estimates that 80,000 of those affected by the crisis are children, most of whom show signs of trauma and need psychosocial support. How much more damage was done? Over 900 enemy fighters were killed, but so were 168 government forces. Bangon Marawi estimated total damage and lost opportunities at 18.23 billion. The Marawi Grand Mosque was among the structures that suffered huge damage. Military aerial bombings were widely criticized by locals who complained these added to the destruction of the city. A total of 13 troops were also killed in botched air strikes, but the AFP insisted the bombings were needed to flush out terrorists. "Had it not (been) for the air attacks, the armed conflict could have dragged on for years, and the government simply cannot handle a security threat that long," Adiong said, citing the military explanation. However, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict warned in a study that the destruction of Marawi could be twisted by terror propagandists "to blame the government for the city's destruction." How did the fighting in Marawi end? President Rodrigo Duterte declared the liberation of Marawi on October 17, but the fighting only ended five days later. The city was closed off until all the buildings had been cleared of explosives and booby traps. The deadline for the end of the siege was set and extended at least four times: first on June 2, then June 12, July 22, September 30, and finally on October 15. The last date was later clarified to be a target date, and not a deadline. In this exclusive video obtained by CNN Philippines, the bodies of suspected terrorists are lying under a collapsed building. One of the bodies is believed to be that of the Maute's Malaysian financier, Dr. Mahmud Ahmad, who was killed in the last few days of the siege. (Warning: Graphic content) How much is rehabilitation worth? Task Force Bangon Marawi Chairperson and Housing Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario pegged the budget for rehabilitation between 75 billion to 80 billion. This estimate was up from an initial 72 billion as it factored in additional requirements like the debris volume, a sanitary landfill, and a hospital, Del Rosario said. The task force said it would set aside around 17 billion for the development of the "most affected area," while the remaining 55 billion would go to the rehabilitation of villages. But a breakdown of the budget has not yet been finalized. As of April 20 this year, government social services spent 582 million in total relief assistance; 2 million in financial assistance; 18 million in cash for work assistance for 59,245 families; 20 million in livelihood assistance for 3,266 families; and 1 million in transport assistance. Foreign countries sent in donations. The United States contributed 1.4 billion or US $26.4 million in humanitarian response. Other nations that lent their support were Australia, China, the European Union, Japan, and Spain. International organizations like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) also pledged support. Non-government organizations and various personalities, including television host Anne Curtis, actors Robin Padilla and Piolo Pascual, director Joyce Bernal, and megastar Sharon Cuneta also sent help. What is being done to rebuild Marawi? In a briefing on May 4, TFBM assured the public that no private land would be forcibly be taken and cultural, historical, traditional, and religious values would be observed. It also maintained that as soon as horizontal development is completed in 18 months, private houses and buildings could be reconstructed as long as owners secure a local government permit. Around six developers sent proposals to TFBM: Bagong Marawi Consortium, China Railways, China Harbour, Power China, and the Malaysian firm Alloy MTD. The sixth, Grand Bee, was not considered as its proposal did not cover all of the 24 barangays under the most affected area. Bangon Marawi Consortium proposed to rebuild 250 hectares of Marawi's ground zero with an initial estimated cost of 17.2 billion. The consortium is composed of five Chinese and four Filipino companies. The Chinese firms are the state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd., Anhui Huali Construction Group Co. Ltd., China Geo Engineering Corp., TBEA Co. Ltd., and Shandong Jinyuan Homes Industry Development Co. Ltd. The Filipino firms are Future Homes Philippines Inc., A Brown Company Inc., H.S. Pow Construction and Development, and SDW Realty & Development Inc. What do Maranaos want during the rehabilitation process? Samira Gutoc-Tomawis of Ranao Rescue emphasized that the rebuilding of Marawi needed to be holistic. She pointed out that with the Housing Authority and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) leading the government effort, rehabilitation was likely to focus on technicalities, with little sensitivity for the needs of the community. "The mere fact that NEDA is consolidating shows how it's about the tangibles. For me as a Filipina Muslim, the intangibles are 90 percent of it... It's about relationships, trust, how we can build back our own community," she said. Gutoc-Tomawis stressed the importance of Maranao representation in the Task Force. While she did not dismiss Del Rosario's leadership, she said she hoped the head of government efforts could be a "people person" and "on top of a damaged, emotionally affected community." She also suggested that the plan for rebuilding Marawi include a cemetery where survivors could bury their dead. "You can't have true rehabilitation when prayer over dead bodies is not accomplished," said Gutoc-Tomawis. "We have to build a cemetery [and have] cemetery management." The former Bangsamoro Transition Commission member also emphasized the importance of legislation to protect ancestral domain in the face of developers coming into Marawi. Meanwhile, Adiong said the government must work fast to help the survivors and combat extremist ideology. He said the government should make sure those aligned with ISIS did not get a chance to capitalize on the destruction of Marawi to entice potential fighters. "The intensity of military response during the siege against the terrorists must level or equal the intensity of help and services we provide to the people concerned," Adiong stressed. What can the public do to help? Apart from offering prayers, there are a variety of organizations the public can donate to in support of Marawi. These include the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees which funds projects like emergency shelters, fishing boats, and livelihood support. There is also UNICEF, which accepts both one-time and monthly donations for water, sanitation, and educational support for the children of Marawi. Save the Children also helps about 80,000 kids by providing school supplies, psychosocial support, and child-friendly spaces. Apart from financial support, Adiong stressed the importance of an open conversation on how to avoid history from repeating itself. "Keep the memory of the Marawi siege the sufferings of the victims, the people who sacrificed their lives for the liberation alive in the consciousness of the public," he urged. CNN Philippines' Senior News Researcher Ella Hermonio contributed to this report. Haiti - Technology : Haiti could miss the ICT train As part of the "World Telecommunication and Information Society Day" celebrated around the theme "Towards a positive use of artificial intelligence for social well-being" Ing. Jean David Rodney Director General of the National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL) surrounded by several senior staff of the Council, first placed the event in its global context with regard to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as defined by the UN before talking about his record. For their part, the CONATEL executives discussed the theme chosen against the opportunities versus the risks and threats for Haiti. Beyond the assessment drawn up from the many achievements and initiatives included in the 5 axes of the CONATEL's updated Strategic Plan, Jean David Rodney mentioned the execrable quality of telecommunications infrastructure and deplored the lack of a normative framework to attract new investment to fill the Haitian general ownership gap in the Telecommunication Sector. The Director Rodney warned that Haiti could miss the "Information and Communication Technologies" (ICT) train if the public authorities do not measure the real issues of global dimension associated with it in terms of progress and human development, real and sustainable. Note that during the 3rd Edition of the International Youth Symposium, called ELAN Haiti 2018, held in Jacmel, Maarten Boute the CEO of Digicel Haiti, reacting on the quality of telecommunications infrastructure said "Haiti needs $ 1.2 billion to $ 1.4 billion in infrastructure to upgrade communication networks." HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Digicel Foundation : Launch of the 2nd Competition Konbit Pou Chanjman On Monday, the Digicel Foundation launched the 2nd Edition of the "Konbit Pou Chanjman" Competition to reiterate its commitment to Haitian communities. This competition aims to subsidize 15 local non-profit organizations by offering them the opportunity to apply for funding for a community project in one of the following categories: education, culture, inclusion, access, livelihoods, and disaster prevention. The winning organizations will receive 700,000 Gourdes each for the project submitted. Remember that during the first edition launched in March 2017, the Foundation was very pleased to see the large number of organizations working for Haiti's progress. It received more than 300 candidacies, visited 62 organizations in the 10 departments of the country and it is with difficulty that it managed to retain only 11 winners https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23899-haiti-digicel-foundation-winners-of-the-campaign-konbit-pou-chanjman.html To support even more organizations in this 2nd Edition, the Foundation decided to increase the number of winners from 11 to 15. Any organization wishing to participate must be at least three years old, fill out an application form available in all Digicel stores and on the website https://www.digicelfoundation.org/digicelfoundation-org/haiti/fr/accueil/subventions/appliquer-pour-une-subvention.html August 8 is the deadline for submitting applications to the Digicel Foundation Download the informations : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/Konbit-Chanjman_Flyer.pdf See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23899-haiti-digicel-foundation-winners-of-the-campaign-konbit-pou-chanjman.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Technology : Towards a Cybersecurity Warning Center A delegation from the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Branch Registry (LACNIC), the regional entity that manages critical Internet resources for the Latin America and Caribbean region, met with ing. Jean-David Rodney Director General of the National Council of Telecommunication (CONATEL) to discuss the areas of cooperation between the two entities. This cooperation will be realized both by direct financial support to activities and by the provision of CONATEL expertise in areas of cooperation as well as the funding of the participation of National Council executives in regional or international conferences. During this meeting, as part of this collaboration, the following topics were discussed : Of Cyber security and support for LACNIC in setting up a warning center and reactions to computer attacks (Computer Security Incident Response team - CSIRT) The establishment of community networks whose objectives are aligned with axis 3 of the CONATEL action plan, which is the digital development of the territory, Of support to regulator in the Internet governance process Continuing IPv6 online training for beneficiaries and some CONATEL executives, The two parties agreed that the actions will be initiated mainly by CONATEL taking into account its action plan and its priorities. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... The PNH in action Sunday night in the slum "village City of God", located at the Bicentenary near the National Theater, a major operation of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) has allowed to recovered two trucks of goods hijacked last Thursday by members of the gang led by "Anel". Divisional Commissioner Berson Soljour, West Director of the PNH inficate that the driver of another truck, wounded by the thugs succumbed to his injuries. Thousands of workers on the street Monday, several thousand workers took the concrete at the call of the workers' unions to claim a minimum wage of 1,000 gourdes (which the Executive and the business sector reject) and the materialization of the promises of social accompaniments made by the government. Mexico : Military cooperation Monday at the Royal Oasis Hotel (Petion-ville) was held the launch of 3 days of work between the Haitian military authorities and the Mexican military delegation led by Brigadier General Porfilio Fuentes https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24448-haiti-news-zapping.html . "The Government of Mexico reaffirms its commitment of solidarity and cooperation with Haiti, an opportunity to support the fields of civil protection and the creation of a corps of engineers and military doctors," the Mexican Embassy in Haiti said. Artibonite : Road construction progresses Herby Dalencourt, the Departmental Delegate of Artibonite, welcomed the progress of the construction of the road Gonaives / Terre-Neuve and that connecting Gonaives to the communes of North-West through Gros-Morne and her ensures that the end of this work will respect the planned schedule. Launch of the National Movement Catherine Flon Sunday, May 20 in Cap-Haitien, in the presence of Eunide Innocent the Minister for the Status of Women, of Deputies Gladice Monday (BOUCLIER, Jeremie, Grand'Anse) and Raymonde Rival (APLA, Cornillon-Grand Bois, West), the Representative of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and leaders and members of women's organizations in the country, the Senator of the North, Dieudonne Luma Etienne launched the "National Catherine Flon Movement", a platform for fight for the emancipation of Haitian women. Weekly review of the activities of the Parliament The week of May 14-18, 2018 marked the end of the first session of the 2018 legislative year https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24390-haiti-politic-review-of-the-first-ordinary-session-of-the-legislative-year.html The second session will start on the second Monday of June and end on the second Monday of September. The deputies are on vacation until the 2nd Monday of June, except in case of convocation to the extraordinary. During this week the Senate which sits permanently, no plenary session could be organized. HL/ HaitiLibre Copestick Murray pushes ahead with Superhero wine range By Barnaby Eales Copestick Murray is pushing ahead with the development of a wine range focused on linking variety and style to superhoeros, aiming at the millennial market and consumers seeking an accessible and catchy way to engage with wine. This project has been in development for some time and is still a work in progress, said Barry Dick MW, head of winemaking at Copestick Murray, who conceived the idea. Harpers understands that the company has had to tread carefully over the labelling of its proposed Superhero range, engaging legal services, to ensure that there are no infringement issues with certain well-known comic book characters, but that the road ahead is now clear to continue with development of the range of wines and their catchy labels. Dick said that the wines could be ready to show to the market before the end of the year, with potential interest already shown by some of the UK trade. The company confirmed the range would be priced between 7 and 9, to be sold in the off-trade, and would be aimed at millennials. The idea behind it is the journey a wine journey, Dick said. We are taking a left field approach to this project. He added that the number of wines in the range, which will include both mainstream and more off-piste styles, including a Portuguese red, had not been determined, but that it could extend over time. LWF: Why Wine-Searcher has gone mobile first, and why you should too By Jo Gilbert Optimise your site for both mobile and desktop browsing or risk getting nudged out by the competition was the advice at a seminar on selling wine online this morning. With the number of mobile searches increasing worldwide and Googles new mobile-first indexing system giving precedence to mobile versions of websites, Tuesdays first talk at the London Wine Fairs innovation zone focused on how to survive in an increasingly mobile orientated world. Hints and tips came courtesy of David Allen MW, wine director at Wine-Searcher, which has made significant changes to its digital strategy after mobile searches on the platform surpassed desktop searches for the first time in 2017. According to Wine-Searcher, 57% of the apps 34 million users last year used their mobile phones to browse and discover products. This is in comparison to 2012, when 61% used the Wine-Searcher desktop site and only 26% mobile. Tablet usage had remained largely the same, around 10%. The digital landscape is changing, largely through the move to mobile, Allen said. Google says people are searching primarily on mobile which is why theyve switched to mobile first indexing. Weve seen that happening too. Our biggest market is China where WeChat is crucially important. Also adding to this is that mobile broadband has become twice as cheap in the past few years while fixed broadband has doubled in price. Mobile is evolving fast and as an industry we are slightly behind, which isnt unusual in the wine trade. Wine-Searcher has now completed the overhaul of its separate mobile and desktop platforms by merging the two. Making mobile functionality as good as desktop should equally be a priority for companies with an online presence, Allen said. But he also stressed that digital strategies should reflect how consumers are using platforms in different ways. People are looking things up on their phones then buying through desktop, which isnt unusual for major purchases, Allen concluded. As part of his seven steps to help users buy online, he also advocated making the wine buying process as robust and simple as possible. Even if a site, like Wine-Searcher, doesnt have a marketplace Wine-Searcher doesnt sell wine, only refers users to merchants operators should offer a wish list or place for consumers to save their selected wines to then order over the phone. These changes are now crucial, he said, in the context of mobile-orientated disrupters like Drizzly which is now operating in 70 US cities as the liquor equivalent of Amazon: Drizzly operates primarily through the mobile app, and delivers to consumers within 20-40 minutes by working with local partners. By not being set up for mobile, wine businesses are allowing sites like Uber, Vivino and Deliveroo to gain traction. The mobile first strategy is the latest chapter in Wine-Searchers evolving business model, which was founded as one of the first .coms in 1999. Now it is also focusing on developing its interactive elements with a newly launched wine-recommending chatbot and plans to improve the speed at which it can respond to consumer needs. Weve moved away from being a price comparison tool to showing people the whole market. I could see within five or six years time being able to show real time inventory. That would involve collecting stock information from each location before linking it to our discover tool, which could be particularly effective. That also means moving towards a voice activated recognition engine. But we need extra infrastructure to make that work. Wine-Searcher is also developing its software to make it easier and quicker for consumers to search for wines using computer vision technology. Until recently, the apps image scanner only recognised the shape of the label. But in recent months, the platform has added a more sophisticated text recognition function with plans to improve the scanners ability to pick out details like producer, region, grape variety and vintage and matching these details with search listings. LWF: Louis Latour releases alternative to expensive Pinot Noir from the Cote dOr By Barnaby Eales Burgundys Louis Latour has increased UK allocations for its novel Pinot Noir wine from Beaujolais. The Les Pierres Dorees wine, which is priced 15 per bottle, would provide an alternative to increasingly expensive Pinot Noir from the Cote dOr, Louis-Fabrice Latour, owner of the Beaune-based producer and negotiant, told Harpers at the London Wine Fair (LWF). A total of 600 cases had been allocated for the UK market, he said, adding Louis Latour had not been put off by the prospect of Brexit and its impact on the UK wine trade. So far, so good, he said, adding Of course, we are watching to see if the UK will go more with Commonwealth wine than EU wine from a duty standpoint. Latour said Pinot Noir production in Beaujolais highlighted the companys commitment to Burgundy revealing that he had ruled out following rival Burgundy producers who have invested in Pinot Noir in Oregon. The Les Pierres Dorees Pinot Noir is my Oregon, he said, adding people failed to realise that vineyards only take up 1% of Burgundy there are still many possibilities. He said the companys planting of Pinot Noir in Beaujolais showed that Louis Latour did not want to be defined or limited by the boundaries of Burgundy. Louis Latour also acknowledged the potential of Syrah in the region, but added that any Syrah plantings would have to come under Vin de France. We now have 20 hectares of Pinot Noir in Beaujolais, and if successful this could lead to an entire new category for Pinot Noir, he said. Louis Latour said the 2016 vintage was the first major vintage for the Les Pierres Dorees in terms of volume and quality, referring to the previous vintages of 14 and 15 as largely experimental. Louis-Fabrice Latour broke new ground in 2012, by planting Pinot Noir in a stronghold of Gamay in the south of Beaujolais, just 20 kilometres from Lyon. In the past, the company has previously said that on average, land prices in Beaujolais were 10 times cheaper than the Cote dOr. Planting Pinot Noir in Beaujolais has been politically controversial, but it is worth taking the risk, he told Harpers, adding that his terroir-driven wine made from grapes grown on limestone and clay was showing good acidity and ripeness and some power. While not buying or selling land at the moment, Latour had not ruled out further plantings of Pinot Noir in Burgundy, said Latour. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 22) The criticism that the Senate is sitting on legislative measures passed by the House of Representatives does not faze newly-appointed Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III. "Binaligtad ko nga 'yun eh, kapurihan 'yun eh [It is actually the opposite. It is a compliment]," Sotto said. "Bakit? [Why?] We are slow but sure. Hindi kami nagkakamali sa period o sa comma [We do not make mistakes when with periods or commas]." Sotto was reacting to House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez's "mabagal na Kapulungan [slow chamber]" criticism because of delays in passing important bills. READ: More senators up in arms over House Speaker's criticism of Upper House On the contrary, Sotto shared that Alvarez, as well as Rodolfo "Rudy" Castro Farinas, Sr. called him on Monday to congratulate him. "I think we'll be having very cordial relationships with both the House of Representatives and Malacanang. What is good for the country we will support definitely," he said. While Sotto comes from a different party, Nationalist People's Coalition, his son, Quezon City Councilor Gian Sotto is a member of President Rodrigo Duterte's ruling party, PDP-Laban. Alvarez and Farinas, meanwhile, are allies of the President in the Lower House. Active legislative work Sotto said the bicameral committee is set to sign this week the consolidated bill seeking to mandate employers' stricter compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS). The proposed measure provides administrative penalties to employers who violate the Filipino workers' right to safe workplaces. The 29th Senate President also shared that amendments to the bill protecting media from disclosing its sources will be approved this year. The 70-year-old Sotto Law, authored by his late grandfather and namesake, only gives this privilege to print media at the moment. The bicameral version will stem from the younger Sotto's bill seeking to include radio and television. "Kaso lang 'yung House version, ayaw nila ng may internet dahil masalimuot daw masyadong magulo. Hindi nila alam kung isasama mga blogger o hindi [But the House version does not include internet-based entities because it is too complicated. They do not know if they should include bloggers or not]," Sotto said. Senate as impeachment court Sotto has no problem with discussing on the floor the Senate resolution questioning the Supreme Court's ouster of Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice. "I leave it to the majority leader [Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri] who's taking care of the agenda to calendar what's to be taken up," he said. According to the resolution released on May 17, Congress has the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment. It states that the decision to grant the quo warranto petition that ousted former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno could set a dangerous legal precedent. Fourteen lawmakers have signed the Senate resolution: Former Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Sonny Angara, Grace Poe, Francis "Chiz" Escudero, Loren Legarda, Ralph Recto, Joel Villanueva, Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, Franklin Drilon, Antonio Trillanes IV, Risa Hontiveros, Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV, and detained Senator Leila de Lima. Sotto, however, was not thrilled by Sereno calling the Senate as "inutile." READ: Sereno: Quo warranto petition renders Senate 'inutile' "Paano kami magiging inutil wala naman nakakarating sa amin dito? Ang masama kapag may dumating sa amin dito at hindi namin inaksiyunan ," Sotto said. He said he welcomes the proposal to remove the impeaching authority from the Senate and create a Federalism Constitutional Body to conduct the impeachment process. Stand on militarization of South China Sea READ: China: No need to over-interpret presence of bombers in South China Sea Sotto is not pressured for the Senate to come up with a stand on the militarization of South China Sea amid some opposition senators' warning that a nuclear-capable bomber plane seen on the Spartlys might soon target the Philippines. He then turned the tables to these senators. "Dati nang may nuclear power ang China. Kung 'yung administrasyon ba nila ang nakaupo sasabihin nila yan? Sinabi ba nila 'yan in the last 6 years, hindi, 'di ba? [China has long been known to have nuclear power. When they were the ruling party, did they assert that? Did they say anything in the last six year? They didn't]," Sotto said. (CNN) Police in Ireland have found a woman's body during a search for a Filipino student who was reportedly abducted close to her home on Saturday. The case has dominated headlines in the country after a frantic search was launched for the 24-year-old over the weekend. Irish police started searching for Jastine Valdez, who had relocated to Ireland three years ago, after a woman matching her description was seen being bundled into a car on Saturday evening. Ireland's national police the Gardai confirmed to CNN that the body of a woman had been located but that it had not yet been formally been identified. In the same statement, police also asked for privacy for the woman's family. Valdez was last seen leaving her home in Enniskerry, a sleepy, picturesque tourist village close to the Wicklow Mountains on Saturday afternoon to go to work in the nearby seaside town of Bray, according to local media reports. That evening, an eyewitness reported seeing a female pedestrian matching Valdez's description being bundled into a vehicle shortly after 6:15 p.m. while walking towards her home from a bus stop on a quiet, tree-lined road outside the village. Later that night, Valdez's family reported her as missing to authorities. Search teams were called to the area, including a police helicopter and members of the Defence Forces and Civil Defence, Ireland's national broadcaster RTE reported. On Sunday, after releasing a car registration plate to the public in connection with the abduction, a matching vehicle was spotted close to Enniskerry in a business park south of Dublin by member of the public. Shortly after, the driver of the car, who produced a knife, was shot dead by police who were deployed to the scene. The shooting of a suspect by a police officer is a highly unusual occurrence in Ireland where Gardai do not routinely carry firearms. On Monday, police told the media that they found the body of a woman about six miles away from the location of the reported abduction near a disused lead mine in Rathmichael, south Dublin. Her abduction has caused shock and distress within the Filipino community in Ireland, according to local media reports. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Body found in search for missing Filipino student Jastine Valdez." HSTA backs Sherry Campagna for Congress Email Message to HSTA Membership, 5/21/2018 The Hawaii State Teachers Association is proud to recommend Sherry Campagna for Hawaiis 2nd Congressional District because she is a strong advocate for education as well as human and civil rights. Sherry was one of the national organizers and Hawaii state chair for the Womens March last year that organized 30,000 people across Hawaii to take action on womens rights. Currently she is a commissioner on the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women and has fought for paid family leave. Sherry Campagna is an ally of educators and labor Sherry has also been an ally with HSTA in the fight to get more funding for public education. She believes that a reliable funding stream for public education must be a top priority, and Hawaii should tax out-of-state residents who own investment properties here. She also believes in lowering class sizes and increasing teacher pay. She has stood by unions, and believes strongly in collective bargaining rights as well as the fight to increase the minimum wage for workers. A businesswoman, she launched her own environmental planning firm Born in Honolulu, Sherry grew up around the world as a military dependent. She is an environmental scientist, small business owner and mom. Sherry launched and co-owns an environmental planning, permitting, remediation and renewable energy company. She has been an agent for social change her entire adult life, advocating for racial justice, environmental issues and womens rights while fighting class disparities. Gabbard hasn't defended civil rights The incumbent in the 2nd congressional district, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, has not defended human and civil rights during her time in Congress. She was one of just three representatives, and the only Democrat who refused to condemn Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assads genocidal chemical attack on his own people. After the attack, Gabbard traveled to Syria to meet with the genocidal dictator al-Assad without permission from the White House or Congress. Her trip was funded by a group with ties to al-Assad supporters and she only covered the expenses herself after the news media reported who paid for her trip. Then, after al-Assad bombed his people again, Gabbard continued to refuse to admit the attack had occurred. At the same time, she voted to practically ban Syrian refugees from coming into the United States after the Paris terrorist attacks, even though Syrian refugees were not involved in the attacks. Campagna is a strong advocate for equality HSTA strongly supports high-quality schools for all children as well as human and civil rights. We believe that Sherry Campagna will fight for equality for all people. That is why we are proud to support Sherry Campagna for Hawaiis 2nd Congressional District seat. We encourage you to get to know Sherry Campagna by reading more about her on her campaign website, www.sherryforhawaii.com. Watch a video with Sherry Campagna talking about education in Hawaii. Watch HSTA's news conference tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11 a.m. live on our Facebook page announcing our support for Sherry . (We know you will be busy at work and probably will not be able to see it live, but you can check out our Facebook page any time to watch the archived broadcast.)" ---30--- Hat Tip Meanwhile in Hawaii: Breaking: Hawaii Teachers Union Backs Campagna Over Gabbard for Congress KITV: HSTA backs Sherry Campagna for Congress CB: In its endorsement of challenger Sherry Campagna, the union sharply criticized Gabbards human rights record because of her stance on Syria. HuffPo: Tulsi Gabbards Syria Views Cost Her Support Of Hawaii Teachers Union (Bloomberg) Hyundai Motor Group shelved a controversial $8.8 billion deal between two units after activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. balked at the proposal on grounds that it would shortchange minority investors. Hyundai Mobis Co. on Monday decided to withdraw the proposal, Chief Executive Officer Young-Deuk Lim said in a letter to investors on Monday. The company, which had originally scheduled to put the matter to a shareholders vote on May 29, will seek approval for an updated restructuring plan at a later date, he wrote. To read this article: We're a family of seven living in Georgia where Andrew's working as a professor at GSU. You can read more about us here Martti Hetemaki, the head of the Finnish Ministry of Finance, failed to shed further light on the unanswered questions surrounding the social, health care and regional government reform in his much-discussed memo on the savings potential of the reform, states the Economic Policy Council. The estimates, it concluded, are inadequate to the extent that they cannot be used as an argument for carrying out such a massive reform. The Economic Policy Council considers the estimates laid out in the memo of the savings potential arising from the use of data and technology inadequate in terms of their justification, it wrote. Hetemaki aroused widespread criticism last week by stating, for example, that increasing patients freedom to choose their social and health care provider will not create any cost savings. The reform as a whole, however, can create savings of roughly 4.6 billion euros through digitalisation and service integration, according to him. The Economic Policy Council viewed that the memo fails to shed light on, first, how the reform will meet the savings target of three billion euros and, second, how it will improve the productivity of the social and health care system without compromising the quality or availability of services. The premise of the reform is nevertheless not flawed, it acknowledged. Transferring social and health care services from municipalities and counties and thereby bringing social and health care costs into the scope of the framework procedure is in principle an effective way to curb the increase in social and health care costs as long as the counties stay within their expenditure frameworks. The council notes, however, that the objectives of improving the availability and curbing the costs of health services contradict each other. If the productivity of the social and health care system fails to improve in line with the objectives, it will lead to a breach of the expenditure framework, a decline in the quality of services or cutbacks in public spending, it viewed. The Economic Policy Council was formed to provide independent assessments of the objectives and effectiveness of economic policy making in Finland. Its members are appointed based on the recommendations of the economics departments of universities in Finland and the Academy of Finland. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Jussi Nukari Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi (CNN) The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released several official photographs taken on their wedding day by renowned fashion and portrait photographer Alexi Lubomirski. The photographs were taken on Saturday afternoon at Windsor Castle shortly after the couple returned from their two-mile carriage procession around the town. In one photograph, the newly-married couple are joined by the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland. The group are surrounded by the page boys and bridesmaids. Another photograph, also taken in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, is a little less formal with the couple and just the children. "The Duke and Duchess would like to thank everyone who took part in the celebrations of their Wedding," Kensington Palace announced Monday. "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." On Sunday, Lubomirski shared a photograph of himself walking into St. George's Chapel the day before alongside his wife on Instagram. "Went to a little wedding today ;) ...... Wow.. What a fantastic, surreal and wonderful day! Amazing to experience it as a guest and even more incredible to experience it as a photographer," Lubomirski posted. Related: Harry and Meghan photos are like no other royal couple's Lubomirski was born in England and moved to Botswana at the age of eight with his mother and stepfather, according to Kensington Palace. He traveled in Peru as a young man and studied in England, and now lives in New York with his wife and two sons. According to his website, Lubomirski studied under Mario Testino, a Peruvian photographer who took the official engagement photographs of Prince William and fiance Kate Middleton in 2010. Related: Full coverage of the royal wedding The esteemed photographer had been asked to take the official wedding photographs back in January. "I could not be more thrilled or honored to photograph this historic occasion," said Lubomirski at the time. "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." He had been previously tapped to take the couple's official engagement photographs at Frogmore House, Windsor, in the weeks after they announced their engagement. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Royal wedding: Duke and Duchess of Sussex release official photos." JNS is proud to partner with the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C., to celebrate 70 of the greatest American contributors to the U.S.-Israel relationship in the 70 days leading up to the State of Israel's 70th anniversary. (Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. via JNS)-The New York Times is well-known for its criticism of Israel, which is what makes the work of A.M. ("Abe") Rosenthal (19222006) and William Safire (19292009) stand out all the more. When A.M. Rosenthal arrived at The New York Times in the 1950s, Jewish reporters were instructed not to use their first names if these were "too Jewish." Its overseas bureaus deliberately limited the number of their Jewish writers, and the paper at times worried about appearing too partial to Jews. This changed when A.M. Rosenthal became managing editor in 1969, and in his subsequent positions as an executive editor and columnist. A determined truth-teller, Rosenthal was unashamed about his Judaism and unapologetic in his support for Israel. Born in Canada and raised in a secular family in the Bronx, Rosenthal showed his Jewish consciousness with his first famous article, which appeared in 1958: "There Is No News from Auschwitz." The article exposed readers to the horror of a visit to the death camp. Over the decades, Rosenthal was a lucid and persuasive pro-Israel voice at The New York Times. In 1999, he presciently saw that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was not committed to peace. Whatever his public pronouncements, Arafat, stated Rosenthal, remained bent on "Israel's defeat or the desiccation of its national will." His support for Israel never ran dry until his final column. Rosenthal's pro-Israel stance helped pave the way for his Pulitzer Prize-winning colleague William Safire, the renowned language and opinion columnist who came to the paper after leaving the Nixon administration in 1973. Possessing a razor-sharp pen, Safire could humble the mightiest for any political or linguistic slip. Yet he could also defend and praise, and he frequently did so in support of the Jewish state. Indeed, a consistent theme of his columns was the danger that terrorism posed to both America and Israel. On numerous occasions, Safire stridently called on Palestinian leaders to renounce violence and turn to building their society. Safire enjoyed a decades-long friendship with late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and in many interviews with him, Safire allowed Sharon's opinions on strategic matters to gain a fair hearing in the most important international venue. The Safire-Sharon friendship proved especially vital during the years of Second Intifada (2000-05), when Safire, often speaking with Sharon, conveyed the grave threat that Israel faced and the necessity of its self-defense. These two fixtures at the "Grey Lady"-America's most prestigious newspaper-consistently made the case that justice was on Israel's side. American actress and sitcom star Roseanne Barr, who says she would like to make aliyah to Israel one day. (JNS)-Roseanne Barr, the Jewish-American actress who made a name for herself in comedy and on television, talked about wanting to move to Israel and potentially running for office there while at the annual Jerusalem Post Conference on Sunday in New York. During a discussion on stage, the "Roseanne" star said: "I want to move to Israel and run for prime minister. In 2012, I said I was gonna run for president of the United States and prime minister of Israel, a twofer. But I do have that fantasy, [and] if God calls me, I'll go, of course. "I want to make aliyah, I do, and before all the stuff is sold-all the real estate. I wanna get a nice house... I still have the fantasy of being an old Jewish lady living in the Jewish homeland. Someday, I will do it." Then she asked the audience: "Is anyone here in real estate? I want to buy a farm there, maybe bring my family." Barr also mentioned getting a phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump, who congratulated her on the successful reboot of her ABC sitcom, in which she plays the Trump-supporting matriarch of the Conner family. The show has been renewed for a second season. The 65-year-old was in her hotel room waiting all day to hear from the president because she was told he would call. She noted that she "met him several times when he was just a civilian, or whatever you call it, not the president-just a show-business person, and he was always very nice to me... He said, 'Congratulations on the ratings,' cause he's really into ratings, like I am." She then thanked the president for deciding to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. "I said, Mr. President, on behalf of my mother, I want to thank you, and all the Jewish people too, for moving the embassy to Jerusalem. Thank you so much," Barr said she told Trump. She added that he replied, saying, "a lot of presidents have promised it, but I wanted to get it done." Barr said she believes that moving the embassy is "the first step to peace in the world." 'We need to love each other' She was ill on Sunday but still attended the conference, noting that she promised she would and "because it's a great chance to b**ch about how much I hate the BDS." Barr was referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that has proliferated on college campuses and elsewhere in the United States. "I hate everything that's a lie based on anti-Semitism, and I'm a Jew," she said. "Jews who are against other Jews have always been a problem since the first story in Torah. So maybe this time, we can do something about it and change it. We need to love each other. Jews need to love each other, and it has to stop because it threatens our existence." Barr, who has been to Israel three times, additionally reflected on the recent controversy surrounding actress Natalie Portman's decision not to attend the upcoming Genesis Prize awards ceremony in Jerusalem. She said she felt like Portman's position, which seemed to be based on a reluctance to be present with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because she disagrees with his policies, "wasn't the bravest way" to take a stance on something, and that it played into the hands of the BDS movement. "I asked a lot of Israeli friends what they thought, and they said they wish she would have said it in Israel because Israel is a country where dissent is allowed," said Barr. "We have to be able to talk to the young people in America because they're way off; they're way out there. We have to figure out a way to reach them instead of turning them off. I happen to think that Judaism is the way." Barr said that if she was to speak with Portman (one Jewish actress to another), "first, I would make her a lovely meal-that always starts everything peaceful-and then I would talk to her about Jewish history and Torah. I think those are the things that bring people back and wake people up." During her time on stage, Barr discussed her love of studying Torah and how being a Jew is "really fun." She also mentioned growing up as the oldest daughter in an Orthodox Jewish home and her skills cooking "good Jewish food." In fact, she said, she "always" thinks about doing a cooking show-and who knows? It could very well be filmed in Israel. We can count on Israel... When it comes to science and medical cures, Israel seems to be leading the world. How proud that makes me feel. It is even more than pride I feel, as I've been a diabetic for many years. I read this in my copy of World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest, Science & Technology: "The Israeli company Cnoga Medical has developed a new, pain-free way to monitor blood glucose levels, eliminating the discomfort of diabetes patients who check their sugar levels by using a finger-pricking meter. (That's me... and I do it every morning!) Cnoga Medical's noninvasive, no-needle glucometer uses a camera to provide optical diagnosis of blood glucose level by observing changing color shades of the user's finger. Cnoga notes that the device, launched last year and already approved for use in several countries, including Italy, Brazil, and China (what about the U.S.?) offers accurate blood glucose results that are comparable to those of a finger-prick. After a short training period, the device learns to correlate the user's optical skin-tone characteristics with camera readings, and will operate quickly and accurately, making tracking and compliance easier for patients living with diabetes. Founded in 2004 by Dr. JOSEPH SEGMAN, the company specializes in products that facilitate medical monitoring and processing of information on the cloud. Over 400 million people worldwide live with diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation. (Tell me about it!) And that's not all from Israel... "Oxygen therapy, already a well-known treatment for decompression sickness, serious infections and wounds associated with diabetes, has been found to alleviate symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's, a type of dementia that progressively destroys memory, thinking and reasoning ability, among other mental functions, affects more than 40 million people worldwide, according to a 2015 report by Alzheimer's Disease International. The cause of the disease is unknown and there is no known cure." (Not yet, but Israel is working on it. I remember telling my spouse before he died that I didn't remember where I parked our car and maybe I had Alzheimer's Disease. He said it isn't when you can't find where you parked the car, it's when you forget what to do with the car that should cause you to worry!) JCC 39ers Meet & Mingle Mondays... All are invited to attend the annual installation luncheon on Monday, May 21st at 12:30 p.m. in the Senior Lounge of the Roth Family JCC in Maitland. There will be a buffet of assorted salads; a mouth watering pasta dish; assorted bagels with a "Schmear"; assorted pastries and hot and cold beverages. (With NO CALORIES!!!! If you believe me, I have a bridge to sell you.) In addition to the traditional installing of the 2018-19 board, the event will feature the super-talented BOB & ANNETTA GLICKMAN, presenting a program full of laughs and music. (The Glickman's are NOT to be missed!!) The cost for 39er members is $15, guests, $20/ Reservations must be accompanied by payment and will be taken by LILLIAN, 407-951-6261 or CLAIRE, 407-699-0956. Jewish Trivia Night... Question: Where can you spend an evening having fun with friends, making new ones and showing off your knowledge of all things Jewish? Answer: At the Jewish Community Relations Council's inaugural Jewish Trivia Night on May 31 at The Roth Family JCC at 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Senior Lounge. Celebrate the final day of Jewish American Heritage Month by joining in this friendly competition! Teams of up to 6 people will vie for the Avodat Tzevet (Teamwork) Trivia Trophy! COST: Entry fee is $36 per team (teams can have 1 to 6 members) BRAIN FOOD: Kosher snacks will be provided. Questions? Contact the Jewish Federation's Ben Friedman. Simply the best... I gave this person a Shout-Out in the recent past, but as my Cardio Rehab at Florida Hospital on Rollins comes to an end, I am so thankful for him, his professionalism, his friendly smile and greeting, and his kindness. Annetta and Bob Glickman I'm describing TOMMY McCARY, heading up the ABM Healthcare Valet Parking at the hospital. Of course I will miss the weekly workouts and the devoted staff of medical personnel who oversee it, but most of all, I will miss Tommy! Again, Tommy, thank you for being you! One for the road... Abe was 75 years old and had a medical problem that needed complicated surgery. Because his son Jacob was a renowned surgeon, Abe insisted that Jacob perform the operation. On the day of his operation, as he lay on the operating table waiting for the anesthetic, Abe asked to speak to his son. "Yes Dad, what is it?" "Don't be nervous, Jacob, do your best and just remember, if it doesn't go well, if God forbid something should happen to me, your mother is going to come and live with you and your wife." (Oy vay! That better be a successful operation!) (JTA)Transparent, the Amazon Studios television series about the Jewish transgender matriarch of a Los Angeles family, will end after its upcoming fifth season. Actor Jeffrey Tambor, who plays the lead role of Maura Pfefferman, was fired from the series in February, following an investigation into allegations that he sexually harassed two women associated with the production. In November, Trace Lysette, who plays a recurring character on the series, and Van Barnes, Tambors former assistant, accused him of sexual misconduct. Creator Jill Soloway announced the shows finale in a story about the allegations against Tambor in the Hollywood Reporter Monday. Tambor has denied the allegations. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, his first since the allegations came to light, the Jewish actor said: Lines got blurred. He continued: I was difficult, I was mean... I was rude to my assistant. I was moody. Sometimes I didnt talk at all. He said of Barnes allegations: I dispute her account I did raise my voice at times, I was moody at times, there were times when I was tactless. But as for the other stuff, absolutely not. Transparent has been a major success for Amazon, which released the show on its streaming service, garnering multiple Emmy Awards, including one for Tambor as outstanding lead actor in 2016. It is scheduled to start its final season on May 29. Jewish themes and characters abound in the show, whose characters include a rabbi and Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe and whose episodes have been set in Israel and at various Los Angeles Jewish landmarks. White House National Security Advisor John Bolton, center, flanked by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, left, and Vice President Mike Pence, listening to President Donald Trump announcing his decision to withdraw the U.S. Iran nuclear deal in the Diplomatic Room at the White House, May 8, 2018. WASHINGTON (JTA)-When President Donald Trump teased and then announced he would be pulling the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal, the next obvious question was, what next? What was Plan B? "Congress has heard nothing about an alternative," Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said at a hearing on Iran on Tuesday. That was just hours before Trump announced that he was indeed pulling the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Royce noted that he and others on the committee had opposed the deal in 2015 and had been eager to work with Trump to fix it. Trump's announcement was short on answers. "Over the past few months, we have engaged extensively with our allies and partners around the world, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom," Trump said. "We have also consulted with our friends from across the Middle East. We are unified in our understanding of the threat and in our conviction that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon." And yet, France, Germany and Britain remain committed to the deal. "Our friends in the Middle East," particularly Israel and Saudi Arabia, wanted out. "Unified in our understanding"? Not so much. The split was evident in the minutes following Trump's announcement, when leaders had responses at the ready. France, Britain and Germany jointly pleaded with Trump to do his best not to harm the deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, even while leaving it. "We urge the U.S. to ensure that the structures of the JCPOA can remain intact," they said in a statement, "and to avoid taking actions that can obstruct its full implementation by all other parties to the deal." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was eager to see the deal's end. "Israel fully supports President Trump's bold decision today to reject the disastrous nuclear deal with the terrorist regime in Tehran," he said. Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, said on Twitter that his country "fully supported" the pullout. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, like an array of other Jewish organizations, released a statement following Trump's announcement recognizing the tensions and seeking a path toward reconciling them. "We recognize that there are significant differences over this decision," said the statement from the group, which opposed and lobbied hard against the 2015 deal. "AIPAC remains committed to working with Congress and the administration in a bipartisan fashion to forge policies that will ensure Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapons capability or realize its dangerous regional ambitions." How that works is less than clear. The deal swaps sanctions relief for Iran's rollback of its nuclear program. Trump had said he might stay in the deal if it could be renegotiated to remove "sunset" clauses that allow Iran to resume some enrichment of fissile material within a decade. He also wants a tougher inspections regime and to roll a missile testing ban into the deal. European allies said reopening the deal now, particularly in relation to the sunset clauses, was impossible, especially given the adamant opposition of the other parties: Iran, Russia and China. Instead, they countenanced increasing pressure on Iran in other arenas, including new sanctions targeting its missile testing, and then committing to pressure on Iran as the sunset clauses loomed closer to extend bans on enrichment. In his presidential order quashing the deal, Trump said he was ready to keep talking. "I am open to consultations with allies and partners on future international agreements to counter the full range of Iran's threats, including the nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missile threats, and the heads of agencies shall advise me, as appropriate, regarding opportunities for such consultations," the order said. There may be some room to talk. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and other leaders said following Trump's announcement that they were ready to take up Europe's offer to figure out a way to stay in the deal. "If the Europeans are willing to give us sufficient guarantees, it makes sense for us to stay in the deal," Ali Motahar, the deputy speaker of Iran's parliament, said in remarks quoted by the Washington Post. Additionally, the Trump administration would have to put in place staff and mechanisms to monitor compliance with U.S. sanctions, a process that could take months, giving some leeway to renegotiate a deal. But now that the United States is out of the deal, the stars may be aligning to keep another deal from replacing it. The sanctions Trump will reinstate target countries, businesses and individuals that deal with Iran's financial system. Simply announcing the reimposition of sanctions is likely to have an inhibitive effect on doing business with Iran, effectively crippling the deal almost immediately. And Trump made clear in his announcement he was not going to be sparing in his sanctions. "We will be instituting the highest level of economic sanction," he said. "Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States." Speaking to reporters afterward, John Bolton, Trump's national security adviser, said there would be 90-180-day "wind down" periods for companies that have existing contracts in Iran. If those sanctions kick in for European companies, it could poison the atmosphere between the United States and those allies, making coordination on a reconfigured deal less likely. The other circumstance clouding the prospect of a new deal was tensions between Israel and Iran in Syria. Iran has for years assisted the Assad regime in quelling the civil war in that country, and Israel has said in recent months that it cannot tolerate a permanent Iranian presence in the country. On Tuesday, shortly after Trump's announcement, Israel's military increased its readiness on the northern border in the Golan Heights in response to what it is calling "unusual movements of Iranian forces in Syria" Trump's announcement also revived old tensions and heated rhetoric that preceded the JCPOA's adoption. Morton Klein, the hawkish head of the Zionist Organization of America, tweeted, "I'm thrilled Trump kept yet another promise in ending catastrophic Iran Deal which I believe Obama instituted to strengthen Iran's ability to harm Israel. We urge Trump to make clear if Iran doesn't end their nuke program, US & Israel will be forced to consider military action." "A regime that serially celebrates the denial of the Nazi Holocaust-history's most documented genocide-ever took place, can be relied upon to lie about its commitments to the international community," said Rabbis Marvin Hier, founder and dean and Abraham Cooper, associate dean, of the Simon Wisenthal Center, in a statement. "Lying is the national anthem and magna carta of the Ayatollah's regime." And former President Barack Obama, who considered the JCPOA a hallmark of his presidency, offered a rare response to a move by Trump, saying his successor had scrapped a deal that was working. "Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East," Obama wrote on Facebook. "We all know the dangers of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. It could embolden an already dangerous regime; threaten our friends with destruction; pose unacceptable dangers to America's own security; and trigger an arms race in the world's most dangerous region. If the constraints on Iran's nuclear program under the JCPOA are lost, we could be hastening the day when we are faced with the choice between living with that threat, or going to war to prevent it." TEL AVIV (JTA)-When war broke out on Israel's northern border in 2006, Avigdor Guy remained calm. He lived in the northern port city of Haifa, but he didn't think the war would hit home-until, that is, it did. "Twelve years ago, they asked me if I was worried, and I said no, of course I'm not worried," Guy said. "And then missiles began to fall in Haifa, and it felt really bad." Now, as fears of a war on Israel's northern border heat up once more, Guy again feels fine. But this time, he says his confidence is justified. He thinks that Israel is better prepared on its northern front than it was in 2006, when the month-long conflict with Hezbollah ended in a draw that was seen as a failure by most Israelis. Recently, he says, Israel has been appropriately focused on threats coming from Syria. "I'm pretty optimistic that everything will be calm," he said. "I think that all in all, our government is taking Iran's deepening presence in Syria seriously." Israelis who spoke with JTA echoed Guy's feelings on Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal sparked heightened fears of conflict between Israel and Iranian forces in Syria. Israelis expressed no desire for war, but said that if one breaks out, they trust their army to protect them. As Trump was preparing on Tuesday to withdraw from the deal, which rolls back Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, Israel alerted residents of the Golan Heights to open their bomb shelters. The Golan, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, has endured fire from forces in Syria, and could be vulnerable if Iran or its proxies attacked Israel. "I believe in our army, our strength," said Gracia, who declined to give her last name, a 52-year-old resident of the northern city of Nahariya, which was hit hard in 2006. "We're stronger. Even if it comes to war, everything will be all right. We'll get along. We're not weak and we'll be OK." On Wednesday, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot visited Israel's north for a situation assessment. The front page of Yediot Aharonot, one of Israel's leading papers, had a split headline: Above a picture of Trump, it read: "Shut the door." Next to that, above a picture of a bomb shelter, it read: "Opening the shelters." But the government has urged Israelis to keep calm and carry on. Schools in the Golan opened as normal on Wednesday. And in Tel Aviv, far from the threats up north, there was no sign of impending conflict: People strolled the boulevards, sipped their coffee and rode their bikes. Fears of conflict have been building here for months. Iran is a principal ally of the Syrian government, and as it has entrenched its forces in that country, it has reached the brink of clashes with Israel. In February, an Iranian drone was shot down over Israeli territory And Israel has allegedly conducted countless airstrikes in Syria, including a reported one Tuesday night. Israeli leaders have vowed to prevent Iran from establishing a military base across the Golan border. "It feels like something is about to happen," said Amit Hagin, 30, a native of Haifa who has lived in Berlin for the past three years. "Obviously it's not yet at this point [of the Lebanon War] but it can definitely get to this point. If it's a war against Iran it means it's going to get quite crazy." Despite the tensions, most of the Israelis who spoke with JTA said they supported Trump's decision. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made opposing the deal-and Iran's nuclear ambitions-the centerpiece of his tenure. When the deal was passed in 2015, both the Israeli governing coalition and its opposition came out against it. "Even if there are tensions, it's important for us to have security," said Yogev Yosef, 56, of Tel Aviv. "In general I think we needed to cancel the agreement. I don't trust Bibi at all, but Bibi isn't relevant to whether there should be an agreement." Israelis also said that threats of war are nothing new. Terror groups have existed on Israel's border for decades, so the possibility of conflict is always there. This, they said, was just another one of those times. "We're already used to tension, so it hasn't crossed the line where I really start to worry," said Moria, 34, a Tel Aviv resident who declined to give her last name. "Every so often there's something it seems like we need to be worried about, and we've already become jaded. So in some ways, yes, it's troubling, but I don't feel existential angst." Shown here (l-r): Arnie and Happy Frank and Susan and Jerry Lewin light candles during the musical Havdalah ceremony on Saturday night in the Ohelei Torah Ballroom. A few weeks ago a group of 13 Central Floridians went to Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York, with Rabbi Yanky and Chanshy Majesky of The Chabad of North Orlando to experience Shabbat in the Heights-a weekend trip sponsored by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. This same time one year ago, Orlando resident Rhonda Des Islet went on the trip and shared in the Heritage that she was grateful to experience the Crown Heights lifestyle by living among the Orthodox Jews for the weekend. "I have to admit, it felt good walking to and from the religious places that Shabbat weekend," Des Islet wrote in the article. "It reminded me of my ancestors and grandparents who did the same thing in Russia and Chicago." This trip was no different for those who immersed themselves in life among their fellow Jewish brothers and sisters in the Heights. The Shabbaton brought together several hundred people from Chabad communities around the world for an uplifting and genuine Shabbos experience. The trip included a tour of 770-Chabad world headquarters, and the choice to visit the world's only Jewish children's museum with exhibits such as the six days of creation, Noah's ark and all the Jewish holidays coming to life, a visit to the OK Kosher Labs, the offices of a Sofer (a Scribe writing Torahs and Tefilin), a tour of the Mikvah and the gallery of local Chassidic artist Michael Muchnick. The Orlando group had the privilege to meet privately with the Rebbe's personal secretary, Rabbi Leibel Groner, using the opportunity to get first-hand insight on the Rebbe's life and teachings. One of the highlights of the Shabbaton was the Saturday night Havdalah and concert by the Belsofsky brothers followed by a lecture by former NBC producer Molly Resnick, who described her personal Jewish journey in becoming Shabbos observant; greetings by Rabbi Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Russia; and of course a delicious dinner. Dr. Daniel Layish was amazed on "so many levels" by this first-time experience: "To walk down the street and say 'Good Shabbos' to everyone you pass... to have so many options for Kosher restaurants and so many Judaica stores... to explore your spirituality... to share Shabbat Services and Havdalah with people from around the country." Everyone on the trip stayed in the homes of observant families. Layish said it made for a "truly tranquil Shabbat." Dr. Bruce Hoffen highly recommends Shabbat in the Heights. He, too, "experienced a beautiful and meaningful Shabbat with wonderful people, inspired learning and elegant meals." Hoffen had heard how beautiful Shabbat in Crown Heights was from his eldest daughter, Sara. In November 2017 she attended Pegisha, a Chabad Shabbaton for Jewish college students in New York City. "After her trip," he stated, "I knew I had to go to Crown Heights and see for myself how amazing a Shabbat weekend could be." The weekend included speakers, spirited worship and a Shabbat lunch with 45 people, hosted by Rabbi Majesky's parents in their home. The group also had the opportunity to visit the Rebbe's house (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson) and grave "It was a truly Jewishly transformative experience," said Hoffen. The Central Florida group posing in front of 770 Eastern Parkway. back row (l-r), Akiva Anderson, Dr. Bruce Hoffen, Staci Layish, Dr. Dan Layish; front row (l-r), Jerry and Susan Lewin, Chanshy and Rabby Yanky Majesky (holding baby Menny), and Happy and Arnie Frank.Not present for the photo were Ken Feldman and Dr. Michael and Ody Zerivitz. For Akiva Anderson, the most meaningful part of the weekend was going to 770 Eastern Parkway (central headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement) and the Ohel (The Rebbe's resting place). "I have learned so many of the Rebbe's teachings, heard so much about his love for every human being and been touched and inspired by Chabad Shluchim - the Rebbe's emissaries," he said. "It was very moving to visit 770, and was touching to watch and hear the Chassidim singing ancient melodies at the end of Shabbos in 770. One can feel very close to Hashem at these holy places." For Layish the trip also meant spending quality time with old friends and make new friends. "I would go back again in a heartbeat!" For more information on how to join this trip next year or learn of other JLI programs, please contact Rabbi Yanky Majesky at Rabbi@JewishNorthOrlando.com or 407-636-5994 But don't wait until next April, the Majeskys will be leading a local group to the National Jewish Retreat in Rhode Island this August for a luxurious vacation, uplifting and fulfilling for both body and soul. For more information on the Retreat, please visit www.JRetreat.com. Irans Quds forces launched a barrage of rockets at IDF bases on the Golan Heights in northern Israel on Wednesday night, the first Iranian attack on Israeli soil in history. The assault prompted an extensive Israel Air Force attack on dozens of Iranian targets in Syria. Shortly after midnight, IDF defense systems identified approximately 20 rockets that the Iranian Quds forces had launched at IDF forward posts on the Golan Heights. The majority of the rockets missed their mark and fell in Syria territory, while four were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. The incoming attack set off air raid sirens in communities throughout the north. The Iranian attack caused no injuries or damage and was essentially a resounding failure. In response to Irans attack on Israeli sovereignty, IAF fighter jets struck dozens of military targets belonging to the Iranian Quds forces in Syrian territory. As part of the wide-scale attack, said to be the largest in decades and possibly since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the IAF struck Quds Force intelligence centers, Quds Force logistical command centers, a Quds Force military center and a Quds Force logistical center in Al-Kiswah, as well as an Iranian military base north of Damascus. Additional targets included Quds Force ammunition depots in the Damascus International Airport, intelligence systems and outposts associated with the Quds Force, watchtowers, military posts and munitions in the buffer zone. In addition, the Iranian missile launcher responsible for the missiles fired on Israeli territory was destroyed. Stern warning to Syria During the attacks, Israel issued a direct and stern warning to the Syrian army not to get involved in the confrontation, but the Syrian air defense did attempt to down IAF fighters. The Syrian army claimed its air defenses repelled an Israeli missile aggression on Syrian territories, shooting down scores of missiles. A military source quoted by Syrias official SANA news said the armys air defenses shot down tens of Israeli missiles, preventing most of them from reaching their targets, while some managed to hit a number of air defense battalions, radars and an ammunitions depot. In response to the Syrian intervention, the IAF attacked a number of Syrian aerial interception systems, including SA-5, SA-17, SA-22, SA-2 batteries. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported several explosions that rocked the central sector of Al-Quneitra countryside, adjacent to the Israeli Golan Heights, the result of an Israeli attack on positions of the Assad regime army and its allies near al-Baath city. All IAF aircraft returned to their airbases safely. There was no immediate word on Iranian casualties, and the Iranian media has so far remained silent on the hostilities. The Iranian attack on Israel tonight is more decisive proof of the intention behind the Iranian military establishment in Syria and the danger it poses on Israel and stability in the region, the IDF stated. The IDF will not allow the Iranian threat to establish itself in Syria. The Syrian regime will be held accountable for everything happening in its territory. The IDF vowed to continue to operate in a determinate matter in opposition to the Iranian military establishment in Syria. The IDF holds the Syrian regime responsible for the actions performed in its territory and warns it against taking action. The IDF is highly prepared for various scenarios and will continue to do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of Israels civilians. IDF remains on very high alert Just hours after the violent confrontation, Israels home front is in routine activity, with school and agricultural work proceeding as usual. IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus stated that Israel was not looking to escalate the situation, however, the army remains on very high alert, and should there be another Iranian attack, we will be prepared for it. Israel has repeatedly warned that it will not accept an Iranian military presence in Syria, which it views as a direct threat to its security. The IDF has been anticipating such an act of aggression from Iran, and on the previous night it carried out a preemptive strike against Iranian missiles that were pointed towards Israel. The IDF considers its action on Wednesday night as highly successful, while the Iranian attack is viewed as a total failure. Israeli soldiers seen near the Israeli-Syrian border in the Golan Heights on May 7, 2018. (JNS) In striking more than 50 Iranian military targets within 90 minutes early on Thursday morning, the Israel Defense Force displayed just a sample of its advanced, intelligence-fueled precision firepower, dealing a crushing blow to Iran's assets in Syria. This exchange of fire represents a new, stepped-up phase in the escalating Israeli-Iranian standoff in Syria. Much of Iran's military infrastructure in Syria was destroyed in this wave of strikes, likely leaving the Quds Force-the overseas elite Iranian unit trying to consolidate its presence in Syria-reeling. The Quds Force has been busy in Iran, building missile and rocket bases, drone bases, importing Shi'ite militia forces and trafficking heavy weapons into the region. It had begun launching direct attacks on Israel in contrast to Iran's older pattern of aggression, which was based on activating proxy attacks. Most disturbingly, the Quds Force had begun initiating the next stage of Iran's takeover of Syria. All of these efforts had one goal: to be able to use Syria as a springboard for attacking Israel. The Iranian axis in Syria, with the help of Russian airpower, has nearly completed its victory over the Sunni rebel organizations and could now turn its attention to stage two of its Syrian project: Israel. The Iranian leadership has made no secret of its intention to establish a grand, radical Shi'ite empire across the Middle East, stretching across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon-and beyond. These imperial ambitions threaten not only Israel, but the region's Sunni powers, which is why these states are in full support of Israel's self-defense measures. Iran's mistake was to underestimate Israel's ability to put a stop to this plan. On Tuesday night the Quds Force, led by the charismatic and notorious Gen. Qasem Soleimani, dispatched a truck rocket-launcher towards Israel. As it drove south of Damascus, preparing to fire on Israel, it was destroyed in a missile attack. Large quantities of munitions fired in little time The ability to detect such a developing threat in real time-and take action-is exactly the kind of unparalleled intelligence and strike capabilities that enable Israel to be a step ahead in its conflict with Iran. But the Iranians did not take the hint. They tried again on Wednesday night, firing 20 rockets at IDF positions on the Golan Heights. The IDF was prepared, intercepting the rockets with Iron Dome missile-defense system, and then going on the offensive in a massive wave of firepower. Israel's operation on Thursday, which was the largest conducted by the Israel Air Force in years, required extraordinary intelligence-gathering abilities, and in particular, the know-how to map out the various locations in which the Quds Force had taken root. This intelligence was then converted into the capability to fire guided munitions at the targets in large quantities in little time. Several of Syrian President Bashar Assad's air-defense batteries made the mistake of getting involved in the fight, firing surface-to-air missiles at Israeli jets. They paid a price for that decision; a good number of units were destroyed in Israeli counter-strikes. These events ultimately mean that Iran tried to force the Jewish state to accept its presence in Syria, and the effort completely failed. Iran ended up losing more than 50 military targets, and Israel's message to Tehran-to exit Syria immediately-received a powerful boost. It's too soon to know if this round of fighting has ended. But Iran is unlikely to give up on Syria so quickly. Despite the blow absorbed, the Iranians will likely make a new attempt to move into Syria, smuggling new kinds of weapons, and preparing the ground for future attacks on Israel. The events of recent days have marked the start of a new phase in a long-term Iranian-Israeli long-term conflagration. This is a conflict, however, that began when Iran came to Israel's borders to threaten and attack it, and not the other way around. So far, Hezbollah has kept out of this conflict, and this is welcome news. Iran is unlikely to want to risk its proxy ensconced in Lebanon, preferring to continue pointing Hezbollah's 120,000 rockets and missiles at the Jewish state. Despite a remarkable display of Israeli military capabilities, this is no time to be complacent. The Iranians will be back, and the IDF must be prepared for its return. It was the signature deal of Barack Obamas presidency, and President Trumps dramatic announcement Tuesday that he was withdrawing from it engendered very sharp reactions from both the former president and his secretary of state, John Kerry, who oversaw the negotiations with Iran. Obama reiterated the main argument he made when Congress was debating in 2015 whether to agree to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name of the nuclear accord. Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East, he said, adding that a nuclear Iran could embolden an already dangerous regime; threaten our friends with destruction; pose unacceptable dangers to Americas own security; and trigger an arms race in the worlds most dangerous region. He also invoked the upcoming US negotiations with North Korea as another reason why the presidents decision was so misguided. The consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to, risks eroding Americas credibility, and puts us at odds with the worlds major powers, his statement continued. What Obama left out of his statement is that the JCPOA was an international compact that was entered into by the United States only through an executive agreement signed by Obama. It was never a treaty ratified by Congress. The White House deliberately constructed it differently since a treaty needs to be approved by two-thirds of Congress, a hurdle which many believe the JCPOA never could have overcome. Indeed, over 50 senators voted to disapprove the deal the three times they tried, while in the House of Representatives the various resolutions introduced against different parts of the deal were handily won by deals opponents. However, the requirement in this case was to get veto-proof and filibuster-proof majorities to kill the accord, and this could not be done. Kerry claims withdrawal hurts Israel Kerrys condemnation of the pullout perhaps surprisingly mentioned Israel specifically as being a potential loser from Trumps move, even though Jerusalem has always stood firmly against the accord and praised Trump unstintingly for keeping his campaign promise to get America out of the horrible deal, as Trump repeatedly called it. Todays announcement weakens our security, breaks Americas word, isolates us from our European allies, puts Israel at greater risk, empowers Irans hardliners, and reduces our global leverage to address Tehrans misbehavior, while damaging the ability of future Administrations to make international agreements, Kerry said in his statement. Earlier in the week, Trump condemned Kerry for conducting shadow diplomacy over recent weeks with both the Iranians and fellow-signatories in Europe to try to preserve the deal, calling his meetings possibly illegal. Kerrys spokesman rejected the accusation in a written statement. I think every American would want every voice possible urging Iran to remain in compliance with the nuclear agreement that prevented a war. Like Americas closest allies, he believes it is important that the nuclear agreement, which took the world years to negotiate, remain effective as countries focus on stability in the region, stated Kerrys spokesman. t a nuclear Iran could embolden an already dangerous regime; threaten our friends with destruction; pose unacceptable dangers to Americas own security; and trigger an arms race in the worlds most dangerous region. He also invoked the upcoming US negotiations with North Korea as another reason why the presidents decision was so misguided. The consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to, risks eroding Americas credibility, and puts us at odds with the worlds major powers, his statement continued. What Obama left out of his statement is that the JCPOA was an international compact that was entered into by the United States only through an executive agreement signed by Obama. It was never a treaty ratified by Congress. The White House deliberately constructed it differently since a treaty needs to be approved by two-thirds of Congress, a hurdle which many believe the JCPOA never could have overcome. Members of Congregation Ohev Shalom resoundingly approved the Board of Trustees' recommendation to make Rabbi David Kay their religious leader, in a vote at the COS annual meeting. Rabbi Kay, who came to COS as assistant rabbi in 2004, had been serving as interim rabbi since Rabbi Aaron D. Rubinger decided last fall to semi-retire as Rabbi Emeritus. The April vote confirmed the congregation's support for Rabbi Kay's continuing as rabbi of COS. Rabbi Kay began his rabbinical training when he was 40, an unusual path to the rabbinate at a time when most of his classmates were recent college graduates. However, he saw his extensive real-world experiences as an advantage in shaping his responses as clergy. As a very engaged Jewish youth growing up in Chicago, he had been determined to be a rabbi, but his path after college took him first to a career as a musician and a position at an animal welfare organization. He reconnected to the organized Jewish community when he was introduced to a synagogue for the deaf in suburban Chicago. He soon was asked to perform at a coffee house for deaf and hearing young adults, where he met a member of the synagogue's signing choir named Joanne Goldman-and they were married five months later. When the couple's son, Jonah, was a toddler, the family moved to New York for Rabbi Kay to begin rabbinical training at Jewish Theological Seminary. Two years later, they moved to Israel for a year so Rabbi Kay could study in Jerusalem, and then returned to New York to complete preparations for his ordination. Rabbi Kay's first pulpit was in a newly formed small congregation in Naples, Fla., where he spent a student year and continued as rabbi for two years. When the opportunity arose to join a well-established congregation in Orlando as assistant rabbi, Rabbi Kay was intrigued. He recalls that the day he came as a candidate to meet the COS leadership and professional staff was a Wednesday-a busy day for the religious school and youth programs. He was very impressed with the vibrant and engaged congregation he was introduced to that day, and the people he met were impressed with him. It was clear from the beginning that this would be a good fit. His nearly 14 years of service to Ohev Shalom have given him important insights that will serve him well in his new role, Rabbi Kay noted. "Jo and I already know what it's like to raise a child, navigate B'nei Mitzvah and teen years, and be empty nesters in this community," he said. "We experience so many of life's joys and losses, successes and failures, here-we're not only community leaders, we're community members, too." Of his new position as spiritual leader of COS, Rabbi Kay said, "I'm honored and humbled to step into this role just as Ohev Shalom celebrates its 100th anniversary. Our second century begins in a rapidly changing world, with challenges that past generations never imagined and potential that past generations never dreamed of. Meeting the challenges and tapping into the potential are the keys to our continuing success in serving the Jewish community." Turkey recalls ambassadors to US and Israel amid Gaza violence JTATurkey recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Israel after at least 50 Palestinian protesters were reportedly killed at the Gaza border. South Africa also recalled its envoy to Israel earlier on Monday, Agence France-Presse reported. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of genocide over the killings in Gaza. Tens of thousands gathered of Palestinians gathered there for protests in the hours before the dedication of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem earlier today. Over 2,400 were injured. The Israel Defense Forces said that it is operating according to standard operating procedures and claimed that several protesters were planting explosives. Some flew flaming kites across the border, and at least one started a wildfire, according to The New York Times. Erdogan called Israel a terrorist state in December. South Africa also announced its ambassador will leave Israel until further notice. Given the indiscriminate and grave manner of the latest Israeli attack the South African government has decided taken a decision to recall Ambassador Sisa Ngombane with immediate effect until further notice read a statement from the countrys Department of International Relations and Cooperation. The protests are part of the March of Return, a longstanding demonstration that has taken place every Friday at the border for the last seven weeks. The protests were supposed to end on May 14, the day on the Gregorian calendar when Israel became an independent state 70 years ago. The Arab world calls this event the Nakba, or catastrophe. Hamas leaders have called for the protests to continue beyond Monday. The IDF is prepared for a variety of scenarios. IDF commanders are present in the field and are conducting situation assessments. The IDF will act forcefully against any terrorist activity and will operate to prevent attacks against Israelis, the military said in a statement that also appeared on Twitter. The IDF will act harshly against any terrorist activity and will act to preserve Israeli sovereignty and prevent attacks on civilians and soldiers, the statement said. Israeli jets strike 5 Hamas targets in Gaza (JTA)Israeli fighter jets struck five Hamas targets in a military training facility in northern Gaza. The attacks came Monday during the dedication of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The strikes were in response to violence that occurred in mass protests along the Gaza border, according to a statement issued Monday by the Israel Defense Forces. The protests, which opposed the embassy dedication, saw at least 50 Palestinians killed and hundreds injured in clashes with Israeli forces. Tens of thousands of Palestinian protesters massed on the border as part of the March of Return, a string of demonstrations against Israel that have taken place every Friday at the border for the past seven weeks. Earlier on Monday, an Israeli fighter jet and a tank targeted two other Hamas positions in northern Gaza following Hamas fire on nearby Israeli troops, the IDF said. On Monday afternoon, an IDF force foiled the placing of an explosive charge near the border fence by a squad of three armed Palestinians in southern Gaza. In a statement, IDF Spokesman Ronen Manlis called the protests a cover for organized terrorist activity and an attempt to divert the energy directed at it from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The statement said the IDF is prepared to respond to a wide variety of scenarios and has deployed a number of combat battalions along the Gaza border, along with special units, intelligence gathering forces and snipers. Our forces do not fire at demonstrators who have come to express their position on the Gaza Strip, he said. The action is focused on those who carry out terrorist activities against the security infrastructure. Jersey City to move Polish massacre monument, solving international dispute (JTA)A statue that commemorates the Polish victims of a World War II massacre will be relocated on the Jersey City waterfront in an agreement that ends a war of words between city officials and Polish authorities. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and the Katyn Forest Massacre Memorial Committee arrived at the agreement on Friday, and will announce the details on Monday, the Jersey Journal reported. The monument on the east bank of the Hudson River commemorating the Katyn Forest massacre is set to be removed due to work on a waterfront redevelopment project. The area where the statue is located is planned to be turned into a new, kid-friendly park, including a splash area. The committee said in a statement over the weekend that the statue will be relocated to another prominent area on the Hudson River, at the foot of York Street. Following announcement of the agreement, rallies against the removal of the statue planned by the Polish community were cancelled. In 1940, the Soviet secret police murdered over 20,000 captured Polish citizens, including soldiers and police officers, in the western Russia forest. Several hundred of the victims were Jewish; they were killed by a gunshot to the back of the head. Mass graves were discovered by the Germans in 1943, and the Soviet Union initially blamed the Nazis. It was not until 1990 that the Russian authorities recognized that it was one of the grave crimes of Stalinism. The bronze and granite statue shows a tied-up Polish soldier who has been stabbed in the back with a rifle bayonet. Polish-American sculptor Andrzej Pitynski created the work in 1991. Fulop tweeted on Friday that an agreement had been reached, calling it a win-win. A photo with the tweet shows him standing at the waterfront with Eric Lubaczewski, the executive director of the Polish-American Chamber of Commerce. The tweet also said: The goal was one that respects/cares/keeps the monument in an extremely prominent location to honor sacrifices while also giving #JerseyCity a chance to re-purpose our waterfront. Lubaczewski told the Polish Press Agency that the new location in an existing park is in a better place to allow people time to stop for private reflection. He said the monument should be moved in the next 60 to 90 days. He added that the land on which the monument will sit would be deeded to the Polish consulate or the memorial committee for 99 years. In the debate leading up to the agreement, Fulop, who is Jewish, called a Polish senator who criticized the city an anti-Semite. Mitt Romney calls pastor picked to lead prayer at US Embassy dedication a religious bigot (JTA)Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney criticized the choice of Robert Jeffress, a Dallas pastor, to lead a prayer at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Romney, who currently is running for the Senate in Utah, said in a tweet Sunday evening Robert Jeffress says you cant be saved by being a Jew, and Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell. Hes said the same about Islam. Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem. Jeffress responded in a tweet: Historic Christianity has taught for 2,000 years that salvation is through faith in Christ alone. The fact that I, along with tens of millions of evangelical Christians around the world, continue to espouse that belief, is neither bigoted nor newsworthy. Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, a Southern Baptist megachurch, is a Fox News contributor, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, and host of radio and television shows broadcast throughout the United States. He preached at a private service for Trump and his family prior to his inauguration in January 2017. Jeffress endorsed Romney, who is Mormon, for president in 2012, The Hill reported. Jefress told Fox News Radio on Friday that he would be delivering the opening prayer at the dedication. He told host Todd Starnes: In that prayer, Im going to be recounting Gods history of faithfulness to His people, the Israelites. Im going to be thanking God for the strong leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is absolutely determined to protect Israel. And Im also going to be thanking God for our President Donald Trump, who had the courage to do what no other U.S. President has done, and that is to officially recognize Jerusalem and to move the embassy. This is another example of promise made, promise kept. Pastor John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel, will deliver the benediction at the ceremony, according to CNN. In an interview on Friday with the Breitbart news website, Hagee said he told President Donald Trump he would win political immortality for moving the embassy from Tel Aviv. I told him that the moment that you do that, I believe that you will step into political immortality, the conservative news website quoted Hagee as saying. A Jewish investor linked to the Russia probe bought alt-right domain names NEW YORK (JTA)A Jewish principal in an investment firm linked to an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election said he bought website domain names linked to the alt-right movement in a personal capacity. Frederick Intrater, brother of the chief executive of Columbus Nova, said he had had for years bought domain names related to trending topics in order to later sell them off for a profit, according to a statement posted Thursday on Twitter by Washington Post reporter Eli Rosenberg. Rosenberg had reported in the Washington Post on Wednesday that the company was listed as the registrant behind alt-right-related domain names created during the 2016 presidential election. Social media meddling is a key part of the Russia probe, and alt-right sites were seen as sources of pro-Trump information during the 2016 campaign. Columbus Novas biggest investor is Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who is Intrators cousin and was among those targeted by U.S. sanctions imposed earlier this year punishing Russia for its interference in the U.S. election. Intrater, who is Jewish, said his purchases of domain names related to the alt-right, a loose right-wing movement that includes white nationalists and anti-Semites, were done in a personal capacity and not related to Columbus Nova although he acknowledged sometimes having used his work emails to register the domains. Intrater said he had bought the domain names at a time when there was mainly an ultra-conservative perception of alt right and that he later decided to let them expire rather than sell them since they had connotations that are inconsistent with my moral beliefs. To conclude that I support white supremacy or anti-Semitism is unreasonable given what Ive described above and also taking into consideration that I am a Jew and son of a Holocaust survivor, Intrater said. Intrater reportedly has been interviewed as part of an investigation into Russian interference into the 2016 election being led by special prosecutor Robert Mueller. The company said on Wednesday that it had hired in 2017 as a consultant Michael Cohen, the lawyer under federal scrutiny for his role in paying off a woman who said she had an extramarital affair with President Donald Trump. At least 50 Palestinians reported dead in border protests on day of US embassy move JERUSALEM (JTA)At least 50 Gazan Palestinians have been killed at the border with Israel, where tens of thousands have gathered for protests in the hours before the dedication of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. About 50,000 Palestinians massed on the border by mid-afternoon on Monday. Several thousand more Palestinian protesters were located more than a quarter of a mile from the border fence in a tent area, the IDF said. There are at least 10 flashpoint areas along the border. In addition to the dead, more than 1,000 are injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has reported that one of the dead protesters is 14. The IDF said that it is responding with riot dispersal means is operating according to standard operating procedures. Protesters in the West Bank also began marching from Ramallah toward the Qalandiya checkpoint near Jerusalem, with smaller marches starting out from other West Bank cities such as Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus and Jericho. The protests are part of the March of Return, protests that have taken place every Friday at the border for the last seven weeks, leaving at least 48 Palestinian protesters dead and thousands wounded. The protests were supposed to end on May 14, the day on the Gregorian calendar when Israel became an independent state 70 years ago, which the Arab world calls the Nakba, or catastrophe. Hamas leaders have called for the protests to continue beyond Monday, however. The IDF warned that up to 250,000 Palestinian protesters could come to the Gaza border on Monday and breach it, entering Israel. The IDF is prepared for a variety of scenarios. IDF commanders are present in the field and are conducting situation assessments. The IDF will act forcefully against any terrorist activity and will operate to prevent attacks against Israelis, the military said in a statement that also appeared on Twitter. The IDF will act harshly against any terrorist activity and will act to preserve Israeli sovereignty and prevent attacks on civilians and soldiers, the statement said. In an English-language video posted on social media, the IDF warned: On Monday May 14th, the Hamas terrorist organization plans to send armed terrorists, among 250,000 violent rioters to swarm and breach Israels border with Gaza and enter Israeli communities. Hamas plans to carry out a massacre in Israel. The Israel Defense Forces will not let them. The BTselem human rights organization said in a statement in response to the Palestinian deaths: The demonstrations held in Gaza today came as no surprise. Israel had plenty of time to come up with alternate approaches for dealing with the protests, apart from firing live ammunition. The fact that live gunfire is once again the sole measure that the Israeli military is using in the field evinces appalling indifference towards human life on the part of senior Israeli government and military officials. The statement called on soldiers to refuse to comply with open-fire orders. Meanwhile, at least five wildfires are burning near Jewish communities in southern Israel, which broke out after kites carrying explosives were flown from Gaza over the border. HUC appoints Rabbi David Ellenson as interim president after death of Rabbi Aaron Panken (JTA)The Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion appointed Rabbi David Ellenson to serve as interim president, following the death of Rabbi Aaron Panken in a plane crash earlier this month. On Monday, the Reform movements flagship seminary, said Ellenson would serve as interim president of its four campuses in New York, Jerusalem, Cincinnati and Los Angeles. He previously served in the role from 2001 to 2013, prior to Pankens appointment. Panken, a licensed pilot, was killed on May 5 at the age of 53 while piloting a small aircraft near Wawayanda, New York, near the New Jersey border. A passenger, Frank Reiss, a flight instructor, was injured in the crash. The cause of the accident is unclear and pending investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. Panken was remembered by colleagues and friends as a joyful leader who was passionate about Israel and embodied the best of the Reform movement. In a statement on Monday, Ellenson, who is concluding his tenure as director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University, praised Pankens legacy. Rabbi Aaron Panken will be remembered for his leadership, skills, visions, judgment, and ability to inspire and move others to action, Ellenson said. I am confident that his dreams for HUC-JIR will yet be realized through the foundations he constructed and the visions he has bequeathed us. These dreams and visions will constitute his unforgettable monument, as we secure his enduring legacy. Ellenson is a scholar of modern Jewish thought and history who has worked at institutions including the University of Southern California, the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Shalom Hartman Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and New York University. (JTA)-President Donald Trump's decision in December to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital drew wide international criticism, with 128 countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada voting in favor of a United Nations resolution condemning it. But several countries saw Trump's decision in a different light: as an example to follow. Shortly after the United States officially moves its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, it will be joined by Guatemala and Paraguay. Both countries are planning to make the move this month, and Honduras may be next: Its Congress recently passed a resolution urging its foreign ministry to move its embassy. Along with the Czech Republic, whose president said last month it will begin the process of moving its embassy to Jerusalem, these countries belong to a small club (albeit one with a superpower). On a visit to Venezuela on Monday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged other Latin American countries not to move their embassies. So how come? Why do these Latin American countries go where others fear to tread? Observers suggest a number of reasons, or a combination thereof: The countries are likely motivated by a desire to curry favor with the Trump administration, their leaders' personal views of the Jewish state and strong historic ties to Israel. In the cases of Guatemala and Honduras, both countries are facing or recently faced political crises-Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales is mired in a corruption scandal and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez's recent re-election was dogged by allegations of voter fraud. Their leaders are looking to the U.S. for support, said Arie Kacowicz, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem specializing in Latin America. "They pretty much need and want support and legitimacy from the U.S. and one way of achieving that is by being on friendly, cordial or even extraordinary terms with Israel," he told JTA. "So if the U.S. is showing the way on this particular issue of Jerusalem, the natural candidates to follow would be those two Central American countries." Though the countries are looking to strengthen ties with Israel, that is not their primary focus, Kacowicz said. Dear Editor: The American Jewish Congress applauds President Trumps announcement that the US will abandon the undesirable Iran nuclear deal. The status quo has clearly and demonstrably failed and Iran has so far refused to commit to renegotiating a bad deal that will allow it to pursue a nuclear program within 15 years. Iran has for too long showed itself to be a bad actor in this process, as demonstrated by the discovery of the secret cache of files by Israel last week. The previous administration hoped that by signing a deeply flawed agreement and waiving crippling economic sanctions, it could bring Iran in from the cold and bring stability to the wider region. The US has now no option but to resort to stronger action to contain the regimes nuclear ambitions, which have a destabilizing influence on the Middle East and beyond. The American Jewish Congress now calls on the international community to unite behind Americas lead in a coordinated effort to definitively halt Irans nuclear ambitions and to bring stability to the wider region. Jack Rosen, President American Jewish Congress WASHINGTON (JTA)President Trumps decision to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran nuclear deal, is bad policy and calls into question Americas international credibility. Mr. Trump has now set the international community on a slippery slope, imperiling the national security interests of the United States and our allies, particularly Israel. I voted against the Iran nuclear deal three years ago because I felt it left certain long-term questions about Irans enrichment capabilities unanswered. Since it was entered into however, I have worked to ensure there is rigorous enforcement and oversight of the deal. Three years in, Iran is complying with its end of the nuclear bargain, according to international observers and American intelligence officials. But the United States is now breaking the deal, poised to re-impose sanctions that were lifted on Iran for the promise of ceasing their nuclear weapons program. President Trump has breathed air into Tehrans inevitable argument to the international community: We kept our end of the deal, but America is not good for its word and cannot be trusted. It is in fact America who has violated its obligations under the deal. That is a deeply unfortunate and frankly dangerously embarrassing prospect, because Iran is one of the most nefarious actors on the world stage, playing a destabilizing role across the Middle East and proudly carrying the mantle of the greatest nation-state threat to Israel today. The Ayatollah and the hard-liners in Tehran have propped up Bashar al-Assads murderous rampage against the Syrian people and propelled the collapse of that countrys economy and infrastructuredirect, physical threats to Israel. Tehran has fueled the civil war in Yemen and exacerbated the gross humanitarian crisis borne out of that conflict. And day by day, Iran seeks and seemingly achieves greater influence over the central government in Iraq. I agree with President Trumps concerns about Irans global posture and its non-nuclear actions. But we can keep the nuclear deal working while also going after Tehran for its support for terrorism, its human rights abuses against the Iranian people, its ballistic missile testing, and its violation of arms embargoes. These are not mutually exclusive actions. Last year, Congress passed into law a number of sanctions and other tools President Trump could use to hold accountable three of Americas principle adversaries: Russia, North Korea and Iran. I was proud to co-author and negotiate that legislation through to final passage. President Trump has not used the full power of his office, or the additional tools Congress granted him, to strengthen our hand and lead the international community against Iran. It did not have to end up this way. In 2015, as President Obama was nearing conclusion of the JCPOA negotiations, I worked with Senator Bob Corker in our capacities as the leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to write the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. That bill asserted Congress right to review any agreements reached as part of the effort to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. INARA passed each chamber of Congress with near unanimous support and brought greater accountability and understanding to the American people about the nuclear deal and why it was in our interests. Donald Trump then became president and sought to make good on his campaign promise to tear up the deal. For months throughout 2017, I worked with then-White House National Security Advisor, General H.R. McMaster, to brainstorm possible changes to INARA that would not violate two of my principles: no changes that would have the U.S. violate its JCPOA obligations, and no changes without European concurrence. As the international community stands at the precipice of this cliff now created by President Trumps decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, I am mindful of two immediate realities. First, when Israel looks north, she sees Iran staring back from its strengthened footholds in Syria and Lebanon. President Trumps decision to walk away from the deal will inevitably embolden Iran and endanger Israel. Second, within the month President Trump is expected to sit down with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un as part of the international effort to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and end the Korean conflict. Our friends and partners will understandably approach this important endeavor more cautiously now given Mr. Trumps decision to violate U.S. obligations under the Iran nuclear deal. Will the U.S. keep its word this time? At the end of the day, the JCPOA is an executive agreement that the president can leave at any time. But just because he can leave the agreement does not mean he should. Mr. Trump has failed to make a convincing case for U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and in the process, may very well have strengthened Iran. The author is a member of the United States Senate from the state of Maryland, and is a senior member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media. WASHINGTON (JTA)An inflection point in American policy towards Iran came this afternoon, when President Trump announced he will re-impose nuclear sanctions on Iran and effectively withdraw the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. Having done so, the administration should anticipate the range of responses available to Iran and plan for how to counteract them. One half of the Iranian response is guaranteed to be rhetorical, with an emphasis on persuading Europe to resist the U.S. move by taking actions favorable to Tehran. The other half of Irans response will consist of accelerating its nuclear program in order to show that it will not accept the constraints imposed by a nuclear deal that Washington rejects. At the same time, Iran could carefully calibrate this acceleration, so that it does not undermine its efforts to win the sympathy of pro-deal leaders in Europe. Irans rhetorical response to the re-imposition of sanctions will have three likely goals: 1) expedite and exploit a growing trans-Atlantic divide over Iran policy, 2) convince Europe not to comply with any prospective U.S. sanctions against Iran and 3) get Europe to shield entities that do business with Iranian parties. Given Europes fondness of the deal, this will not be a hard sell for Tehran, especially if it employs the dispute resolution mechanism created by the JCPOA to secure a judgment that Washington is engaging in significant non-performance of its obligations. The more challenging response from Iran will come on the nuclear front. After initially claiming that Iran would continue adhering to the nuclear deal even if the U.S. withdrew, some of the deals advocates in Tehran now threaten to exit the accord and even repudiate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The NPT threat is pure bluster. Most governments consider the NPT to be the cornerstone of the nuclear nonproliferation regime; withdrawal would therefore lose the Islamic Republic any international support, particularly in Europe. Yet Iran could certainly pull out of the JCPOA, since the deal only frozebut did not dismantlethe bulk of Irans nuclear infrastructure, which could be reconstituted. The question is: How far will Iran go? Will it shed all of the restraints imposed by the JCPOA and resume its quest for weapons-grade fissile material? Or will it engage in symbolic acts of protest to challenge the U.S. without antagonizing Europe? Symbolic face-saving measures might include the vacuum testing of new centrifuges, taking more advanced machines out of storage, or accumulating more heavy water and low-enriched uranium than the deal allows. Depending on the Western response to such measures, Iran might escalate further. There is also the risk that Iran might covertly resume its nuclear weapons development program at an unknown location. Should the Islamic Republic decide to respond more forcefully, it could resume flight-testing medium-range ballistic missiles, which reportedly last occurred in July 2017. All of Irans MRBMs meet the internationally defined standard of being nuclear-capable. They also can reach key U.S. partners in the region such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. Since inking the JCPOA in July 2015, Iran has launched as many as 23 ballistic missiles. But a closer look at that number reveals a significant downturn in MRBM testing over the past year. If Tehran were so inclined, it could resume these tests, which would not only signal defiance against America, but also refine the capabilities and readiness of its nuclear delivery vehicle. Another way to respond forcefully without violating the JCPOA would be to harass U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, just off the coast of Iran. According to data cited by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, there has also been a significant downturn in harassment by the IRGC-Navy in the Persian Gulf since the beginning of 2017. Iranian commanders might want to return to testing Americas nerve and military professionalism in these waters if faced with renewed nuclear sanctions. Finally, Iran could also respond via terrorism and assassination, although any such activity on European soil would cause the regime to lose international support. Instead, Tehran might target U.S. troops in Syria, Iraq, or another location in the Middle East. While Iran controls a network of Shiite militias across the region, the militias usually (though not always) respond more to local pressures, rather than global ones. Case in point are the intensifying prospects for war between Iran and Israel in the Syrian theater. While Iran will face clear limitations to its escalation against America in the military and nuclear domains, the above scenarios illustrate the range of options available to the regime. By ending its adherence to the JCPOAa move this author advised againstthe U.S. must be prepared to offset any of the above responses by Iran. Behnam Ben Taleblu is a Research Fellow focusing on Iran at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, D.C. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media. J.K. Rowling, French celebrities and German officials are making it clear they stand with the embattled Jewish minorities within their midst. In the past few days, the author J.K. Rowlingalong with dozens of other people in Britain, France and Germanyhave been saying enough is enough in the face of relentless anti-Semitism. Their words, coming amid record-breaking levels of anti-Semitism, are a welcome beacon of moral clarity. Rowling issued a series of Tweets on April 18, 2018, (Holocaust Remembrance Day), attacking anti-Semitism and assuring some of her Jewish twitter followers that they werent alone. Her comments came a day after a searing debate on anti-Semitism in Britains House of Commons, in which Jewish MPs publicly described years of abuse and insults both members of the public and even from fellow political activists. Posting a screen grab of a person intoning that Judaism is a religion, not a race as a way to excuse their anti-Jewish attitudes, Rowling noted that Anti-Semites think this is a clever argument before retorting so tell us, do: were atheist Jews exempted from wearing the yellow star? When that tweet garnered its own anti-Jewish responses, Rowling called them out, rebutting anti-Semitic comments and explaining why they are offensive. To a twitter follower who complained that rebutting anti-Semitism is culturally insensitive to Muslims, Rowling lamented people who only understand bigotry in terms of pick a team instead of having empathy and engaging in reasoned debate. When one of her twitter followers complained that Arabs cant ever be called anti-Semites because Arabs are a Semitic people too, Rowling reacted with a verbal eye-roll, attaching a GIF of the actor Hugh Laurie looking comically exasperated. The Arabs are Semitic too hot takes have arrived Rowling tweeted, pointing out her interlocutors bigotry. To the twitter followers who continued to attack her for daring to oppose anti-Semitism, Rowling helpfully sent out a definition of anti-Semitism: a hostility or prejudice against Jews. Rowling then added a few messages of her own: Split hairs. Debate etymology... Gloss over the abuse of your fellow citizens by attacking another countrys government. Would your response to any other form of racism or bigotry be to squirm, deflect or justify? she asked. When a fan messaged Rowling saying her son had been bullied for being Jewish, Rowling replied Im so sorry to hear this. Know that you arent alone and that a lot of us stand with you. Xx She had a message for the wider public: Most UK Jews in my timeline are currently having to field this kind of (anti-Jewish comment), Rowling forcefully explained, so perhaps some of us non-Jews should start shouldering the burden. This wasnt the first time that Rowling has stood up against anti-Semitism. In 2015, when over a thousand British cultural figures penned open letters in a national newspaper excoriating Israel and pledging never to play music, accept awards, attend exhibitions, festivals or conferences, run master classes or workshops anywhere in the Jewish state, Rowling refused to sign on to these hateful letters demonizing the Jewish state. Instead, she joined 150 other British writers and artists pledging to resist pervasive calls to boycott Israel. Israelis will be right to ask why cultural boycotts are not also being proposed against...North Korea and Zimbabwe, whose leaders are not generally considered paragons by the international community, Rowling and her fellow signatories wrote in their Oct. 23, 2015 letter: Cultural engagement builds bridges, nurtures freedom and positive movement for change. France Manifesto A few days after Rowlings recent twitter exchanges attacking anti-Semitism, hundreds of French cultural and political figures wrote their own manifesto denouncing the wave of extreme violence that has seen Jews murdered and attacked in France over the past several years. The letter appeared in French newspapers on Sunday, April 22, 2018. Over 300 French celebrities and politicians, including former President Nicolas Sarkozy and the actor Gerard Depardieu, noted In our recent history, 11 Jews have been assassinated - and some tortured - by radical Islamists because they were Jewish. The signatories decried this horror and declared that a new anti-Semitism characterized by Islamist radicalization is sweeping France, endangering the countrys half a million Jews. We demand that the fight against this democratic failure that is anti-Semitism becomes a national cause before its too late. Before France is no longer France. Their letter appealed for the French public to stand side by side with their nations Jews. Kippah Walk in Berlin A similar move to show solidarity and support for a Jewish minority was also announced this week in Germany. On April 17, 2018, a 21-year-old Israeli Arab named Adam Arush was visiting Berlin and decided to conduct an experiment after a conversation with a Jewish friend. My friend told me that wearing Jewish symbols in public is not safe in Berlin, Arush later explained. Arush couldnt believe it was really so dangerous, so he put on a kippah and headed out for a walk in Berlin to see what would happen. Soon, a 19-year-old Syrian asylum seeker set upon Arush, hitting him with a belt and screaming Jew in Arabic. Arush had to be rushed to the hospital, but not before filming his attack, which quickly went viral. Berlins Jewish community organized a Kippah Walk on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. The community handed out thousands of kippahs, aided by a broad group of religious, political and academic organizations who urged Berliners to don a kippah in solidarity with the Jewish community. Similar walks are being planned in other German towns too. A kippah walk in the eastern German city of Erfurt will end at a local synagogue. If you cant make it to Erfurt, then wear a kippah wherever you happen to be at that time, the organizers are explaining to the many Germans who plan to walk in solidarity with their nations Jews. In Frankfurt, Deputy Mayor Uwe Becker called on his citys residents to don kippahs on April 25, as well - and even posted a picture of himself online wearing the Jewish head covering to help motivate his city. Its not always simple to stand up for our principles. J. K. Rowling put it well in her bestselling Harry Potter series: the kindly headmaster Albus Dumbledore tells his students, We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy. Rowlings stirring opposition to anti-Semitism is an inspirational example of standing up principles, no matter how unfashionable they might seem. And this week, luminaries including J. K. Rowling, French celebrities and German officials are making it clear they stand with the embattled Jewish minorities within their midst. Lets all heed their example and start standing up in opposition to anti-Semitism and Jew-hatred wherever it exists. Yvette Alt Miller earned her B.A. at Harvard University. She completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Jewish Studies at Oxford University, and has a Ph.D. In International Relations from the London School of Economics. Marcel Albert served in the air arms of his native France and Britain before hitting full stride flying Soviet fighters in the Normandie Regiment. No air forces involvement in World War II was more complicated than that of France. Inadequately prepared for war, French airmen put up a stout resistance, only to see their government capitulate to the Germans on June 22, 1940. One group of airmen carried on in the service of the nominally neutral Vichy government. Some fought against their former British allies over Lebanon and Syria in 1941, and over Morocco and Algeria in 1942. Others, taking a stand with exiled General Charles de Gaulle, served in British RAF squadrons. After the Germans occupied France entirely in November 1942, many former Vichy French pilots rejoined the Allied side, flying British-or American-built aircraft. By then another contingent was seeing action in a special all-French unit of the Soviet Red Army Air Force, known initially as the Normandie Group and later as the Normandie-Niemen Regiment. Frances highest-scoring ace of the war, Marcel Olivier Albert served in three air forces. Among the first to pilot Frances Dewoitine D.520 fighter in combat, he later flew Supermarine Spitfires for the RAF. But he achieved his greatest success in Soviet-built Yakovlev fighters, scoring 21 of his 23 accredited victories with the Normandie Regiment. Albert was born in Paris on November 25, 1917, in the middle of World War I. My father was wounded and taken prisoner in the Somme in 1914, he said. He later died because of a shell [fragment] in his back, which the doctors thought was only under the skin, but it was through a lung. His three brothers and their brother-in-law all were killed in the war. One took a shell to the head, another was buried alive at Verdunfive casualties of war in the same family, thats a hell of a lot. A decade after the war, 11-year-old Marcel drove a truck to earn money for his family. We had a little farm near Orly Airport, and they later made us close the farm to expand the airport, he remembered. At that point, I decided to join the air force. I passed the examination at the Sorbonne in Paris. They took in 156 enlistees from France and the colonies, and I was sent to the Ecole Caudron, one of five schools in the Paris area where they were training military pilots. After graduating, I was sent to Istres for seven or eight months of fighter training. When I finished in July 1939, I had the rank of sergeant. After training a little more, I was assigned to Groupe de Chasse [fighter group] I/3, or GC.I/3, which was about to be equipped with the Dewoitine D.520C. It was a good, sensible airplane. It handled and climbed well and dived like a stone, but it was not quite fast enough. France had not kept up with fighter development over the past eight to 10 years. The Hispano-Suiza engine could produce 860 hp in 1930, and in 1940 it was still producing 860 hp. Thats why the Dewoitine was still too slow. It was a bit better than the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, but it had the same motor. Albert trained on the new fighter at Cannes from February to May 1940. We trained until May 13, he recalled, by which time the Germans had begun their invasion of France. The next day, with 20 Dewoitines in two escadrilles [squadrons], GC.I/3 began operating from Rheims. On May 14, I shot down a Dornier Do-17 during my first mission, Albert continued. A Morane came along, the pilot saw me, thought I was a Messerschmitt and took off. In order to confirm my claim, I needed a witness, so I followed the Morane and got its pilot to bear witnessand he ended up being credited with a share of the Dornier. During my second mission of the day I shot down a Messerschmitt Me-109. I saw the German pilot open his canopy, but the authorities claimed that nobody else saw it go down, so it was not confirmed. GC.I/3 was credited with a number of victories in the course of the next few days, but by May 17 the Luftwaffe had practically bombed it out of existence. Albert and some squadron mates went to Toulouse to obtain replacement aircraft for the unit. On May 20, I shot down a Heinkel He-111, he recalled. I remember he was smoking real badit is hard to remember more amid that atmosphere of fright. I flew 17 missions in May and 20 in June. Then, on June 18, I flew to North Africa. France capitulated four days later. We had lost the war, and the politicians were just blaming the soldiers, who had gone to die for them, Albert said. Those politicians were a bunch of dummies, and if there could have been a revolution against them, I was ready to lead one. At first, I did not know what to do, he recalled. We thought, The British arent going to defeat the Germans. Britain did not have many aircraft, it was all aloneit seemed pretty hopeless. At that time, Vichy was France, so I continued serving with GC.I/3 for more than a year in North Africa. I was angry when the Royal Navy attacked the French fleet in Mers-el-Kebir Harbor, near Oran, on July 3, 1940. Twelve hundred French sailors were killed thereand now that damned Winston Churchill, who never liked the French a bit, has a statue on the Champs Elysees! On the other hand, the British held out during the Battle of Britain, de Gaulle was there, the Germans invaded Russia in June 1941and it looked like the Americans might be coming into the war later. It looked good, so on October 14, 1941, I and two friends, Albert Durand and Marcel Lefevre, decided to deviate from our patrol route and go to Gibraltar. Two months later, Albert, Durand and Lefevre were in the RAF, learning English and training in Spitfires at Heston, under the command of Free French officer Maurice Choron. He had been training pilots in England since 1940 and he was a terrific fellow, Albert recalled. One afternoon we were flying those Spitfires and he said, Make some aerobatics over the officers mess. A couple of days later he left, saying: Ive got to go in the first mission of 340 Squadron. Ive got to go. Its my friend, Michael Robinson, who is the squadron commander. On April 10, 1942, Wing Commander Robinson, an 18-victory ace who had recently been appointed leader of the Tangmere Wing, led No. 340 Squadron on its inaugural sortieonly to be jumped by Focke Wulf Fw-190A-1s of II Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 26. Robinson, Choron and another squadron member were shot down and killed. Asked his impression of the Spitfire Mark Vb, Albert said: It was easy to fly, like the Dewoitine, but it wouldnt climb. German fighter pilots like Adolf Galland were playing with them during our fights over the Channel. I flew the Spitfire Mark IX after the war, with both long and clipped wings, and that didnt impress me so much eithernot after having flown the Yakovlev Yak-3. The Yak-3 was something like the Caudron of the 1930sa racing airplane. During May Albert flew his first of 47 combat missions in the Spit, mostly participating in convoy patrols and sweeps. I met a German once, he remembered. He was either on a weather flight or lost, and he was going so fast that he soon disappeared. I know I put a few bullets in his wing, and I saw my bullets hitting the water, so I knew how low he was. But I had no gun camera, so I had to report him only as damaged. On July 4, 1942, I escorted the first raid of the U.S. Army Air Forces against the Germans in France. There were six Douglas Boston Mk.IIIs, borrowed from No. 226 Squadron, RAF, with Eighth Air Force crews. Twenty squadrons250 Spitfireswere in on the days airstrikes, and it is in my logbook that I was on close escort for the Americans. Two Bostons were shot down at Fressing, Holland, by anti-aircraft fire, and I was 50 feet from them when it happened. Afterward my CO said: I saw you go upside down. I thought they got you too. I remember the gunner in the back of one of those Bostonshe was shooting at the Germans on the ground and then giving me the thumbs up sign. After a sweep over Le Havre and one more mission, Albert was told, Youre going to Russia. When de Gaulle proposed sending French pilots to the Soviet Union late in 1942, Albert had expressed an interest in serving there. Now the time had come. I recall thinking that Russia was so far away that by the time we got out there the war would be over, Albert said. Otherwise, I wasnt worriedafter all, we were all fighting against Adolf Hitler. We learned a bit of Russian, but we had interpreters, so we didnt need to use it much. They gave us a choice of fighters, including such Western Lend-Lease types as the Hawker Hurricane and the Curtiss Kittyhawk. We said, OK, well take the Russian planes. We couldnt go out there and tell them we wanted somebody elses airplanes. So we took the Yak-1. Ours had good power and could go 600 kilometers per hour, faster than the Messer. It didnt have much armament: one cannon and one machine gun. Albert flew his first combat mission with the Normandie Group from Polotniani-Zavod, south of Moscow, on March 22, 1943. There were supposed to be eight of us, he said, but the snow was melting and six planes got stuck, so by the time we took off there were only twoJoseph Risso and I. We escorted Russian dive bombers over the Dniepr River. We all dived; they hit the bridge, and at that time my motor cut off. That was the worst time of my life in the whole war. I was looking down at a little village in the snow and figuring I was in bad shape. Then I remembered the emergency fuel pump. I started pumping by hand, and it restarted, then stoppedthe propeller was still turning, but the motor was dead. I pumped some more and it started again, and I want you to imagine my relief. I was 150 kilometers behind German lines that would have been a nasty place to end up on my first mission. As I flew back, I never looked behind once until I landed at the first airfield I found, since I was lost. The Soviets gathered around my planebrand-new, white-painted. They had never seen anything so nice. I was wearing a Russian jacket, but when I told them, Ya Frant suski, they asked, Do you have some identification card or papers? I said yesit was as big as a page from a newspaper. They asked if I had money; I had 600 or 700 rubles, brand-new. And they still thought I was a Fritz. They made a lot of phone calls, until finally they got an interpreter and a French representative out there, and then they gave me something to eat. Even then they still were not convinced that I was not a very clever spy. That night they took my pistol, and they asked me the next morning: Do you know you only have three bullets in your gun? Why? I asked them, What am I going to do, take on an army with it? And when I left they gave me 25 liters of gasoline. You cant go far with six gallons of gas, but my airfield was not farthat was the idea. Risso wondered what had happened to me until I made my way back. I think the Russians had been testing us to see if we would satisfactorily accomplish our first missionso we did. On June 16, Albert scored his first aerial victory since 1940 in concert with Albert Preziosi, nicknamed Precieuse. Precieuse was my No. 2he was a captain, but he could not turn his head, so I led him, Albert recalled. We had an observer on the ground, and I heard him say over the radio, There is a Fritz whos taking pictures at the railroad station. I looked and saw a Focke-Wulf Fw-189. I came at him from underneath, shot him in all parts of the fuselage, then the engines. He turned back toward Germany until he went down to crash, and we left him there, burning and smelling bad. The Russians gave us the confirmation. Albert and his fellow pilots enjoyed a relatively quiet spell in their sector until July 5, when the Germans launched Operation Citadel, their great offensive on the central front against the Soviet salient between Kursk and Oryol. At the same time, he said, we got our first Yak-9s, which were faster and climbed better than the Yak-1s. The Yak-9 was rough and good to fight in. Moving to Vibetsk, the Normandie Group flew its first sortie of the Kursk campaign on July 12. On July 14, the Russians cracked the German front, Albert recalled, while in the air we were shooting at so many planes you wouldnt believe it. I took off with two wingmen that dayJean de Tedesco, who was back from England, and Preziosiwhen three Messerschmitt Me-110s passed under us at 12:20 p.m. De Tedesco was not paying attention to what he was doinghe dived through the middle of them, and they shot him down and killed him. I stayed with those three Me-110s for quite a while, with Preziosi above and behind me. As I started firing, they turned very tight, but I cut inside them and got two of them at the same time. Pierre Pouyade and Didier Beguin also claimed one, though I didnt see them there. The Russian infantry, however, reported two Me-110s shot down by Yaks, so I gave one to Pouyade and Beguin, and took the credit for only one. Fighting around Kursk remained in tense. We lost three guys on July 16, including 14- victory ace Albert Littolf, Albert said. I led three missions on the 17th. On the first we escorted eight Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmoviks to Bryansk and ended up 500 feet over an airfield of Fw-190s. They came down on us 10 minutes later and shot three of us down. During the evening mission we encountered 30 Fw-190s and I saw our commander, Jean Tulasne, go down. By then, we only had 12 planes left. Commandant Pouyade took over the group, and on July 19 I teamed up with Captain Paul de Forges, Gerald Leon, Maurice Bon and Risso to shoot down a Junkers Ju-88. By the end of July, the Red Army was on the offensive, which the Germans would delay but never again reverse. On August 31, I attacked a Junkers Ju-87D, which was a very fragile plane and went down easy, Albert said. Its left side was burning, and I was 20 feet away when I saw the gunner turn his two machine guns and put two bullets in my plane. I went back and got the fellow. That was the last time we saw Ju-87s in Russia. The next day my friend Durand, who was credited with 10 victories, was killed in action, but Roland de la Poype and I downed an Fw-190. Albert shot down another Fw-190 on September 17, and a third on the 22nd. October was a busy month. On October 4, he recalled, Pouyade was up with Roger Denis, Henri Foucaud, Bon, de la Poype and me when we spotted a Henschel Hs-126 photographing the area of Krasno, 60 kilometers east of Smolensk. Everybody got a piece of that one, which burned on the ground. On October 12, I was with Fou caud, attacking He-111s over Gorki, when we spotted two Fw-190s coming down. I pointed my nose at one of them and firedand he blew up. Well, later that day Pouyade told me, Albert, you got a big one today. Radio interceptions from the German side indicated that they were upset because Major Hans Philipp, a 206- victory ace, had been killed. On the 15th I flew my first mission against Ju-88s, and Lefevre, Foucaud and I shot down two of them. During my second or third sortie of the day, we ran into 15 to 20 Fw-190s and had a wild dogfight, with fighters turning in every corner. We shot down five or six, one of which was credited to me and Foucaud, the other to me and Lefevre. But we lost three guys, including Maurice Bon, whose score then stood at six. The Normandie Group stood down for a time after that, while Pouyade went to Algeria to press Generals de Gaulle and Henri Giraud to expand the group into a regiment. That was authorized, and we were equipped with 40 aircraft by the time we returned to action in April 1944, Albert recalled. We didnt have much to do during the summer of 1944there were few Germans to beat up at Vitebsk, but on June 5 we lost Lieutenant Marcel Lefevre, who by then was credited with 11 enemy planes. At the end of August, Josef Stalin gave us the title of Normandie-Niemen Regiment because of our defense of that river sector. Late in August the Russians brought us a dozen Yak-3s and said, Thats what youll have. The Yak-3 was essentially a smaller, stripped-down, lightweight redesign of the Yak-1. It was still made primarily of wood, Albert pointed out, though later ones after the war were made of aluminum. At 690 kilometers per hour, the Yak-3 was the fastest Soviet fighter of the war, but it also came down real fast230 kilometers per hour, the maxi mum speed during World War I, was our landing speed. When it came to maneuverability, there was no comparison with the D.520, the Spitfire or even with the previous Yaksa very agree able airplane. On August 13, 1944, the first Soviet army elements entered East Prussia, which Hitler ordered his forces to defend at all costs. On October 13, Albert re called, tanks of the Soviet II Tank Corps appeared on our airfield with a barrel of vodka, and they told us they were going into Konigsberg and we were supposed to cover them. There was yellingBravo! On October 16, I joined de la Poype, Robert Marchi, Gael Taburet and Roger Sauvage in shooting down a Ju-87 over Pilluponen, and then Sauvage and I downed another. We also fought seven Fw-190s southeast of Stalluponen, and at least six went down, although the Soviet infantry only reported seeing five. I saw one leaving and went after that one. The Fw-190 went down once and up twice, until I closed to 15 feet behind him. He was turning when I fired, and then crackdown he went. The regiment shot down 29 planes that day. Roger Sauvage, a black comrade of Alberts, distinguished himself over East Prussia. He was born in Paris, Albert said, but his father was from Martinique and was killed in action during World War I. For a while he was my No. 2. Sauvage had downed two Germans over France in 1940, and he got five more between October 14 and 17, 1944. His total stood at 16 by the end of the war. On October 16, Alberts flight spotted Henschel Hs-129Bs that were about to strafe some Russian troops. The Hs-129 had two little 700-hp motors, and it didnt have a machine gun in the back, but it was armored, and our 12.7mm rounds had to go through a lot of steel, he said. We were firing 1,200 rounds a minuteI got one with Lieutenant Maurice Amarger and another with Captain Leon Cuffaut and Yves Fauroux. They didnt last long, and the Russkis were happy to be rid of them. Later that same day, with Amarger, I surprised an Fw-190 and downed that as well. On another occasion, while flying with Marchi, I saw a fighter-bomber version of the Fw-190 near Tilsit which was so dirty that I almost failed to see the poor fellow. I came up on him, but I ap proached too fast, overshot and ended up by his left wingtip. I was in a bad position to attack, so I just waved. The Germans mouth opened wide, then he laughed. I waved bye-bye and let him go. On October 23, Albert and Marchi shared credit for downing an Me-109. Then, on the 26th, Albert recalled, de la Poype, Robert Iribarne and I saw some shiny new Me-109s. They were turning under us, and we attacked one. I was on top of himhe made a right turn, which was not the thing to do. My Yak cut inside his turn, I shot pieces of metal off him. He went down and that was the last one. He had black bands on him and was all shinypoor Fritz. On April 12, 1945, Albert continued, Georges Henry scored his fifth victory over an Fw-190, but was then shot down by groundfire and died of his wounds in the hospital a few hours laterour last loss in Russian service, poor fellow. For us, the war was finished on May 9, not the 8th. I had flown the units first mission, and I flew the last one. They had been shooting like hell the day before, just 20 miles away. On the 9th I was sitting in my plane when the Russians told us that there were some Germans who didnt want to surrender, so we had to fly a support mission. As I took off on my first mission at 12, I told myself, The war is overIm not going to fool around too much. Before my second mission that day, the Russian general told us to turn off our motorsthe German surrender was official. After returning to France, Albert served at Le Bourget and later at the Armand Testing Center at Oranges, flying German as well as American aircraft. Later I put in for aerobatic school, he said, where I took off in a D.520 and the engine caught fire. I parachuted into a farm, a little burned and cut in the head, and they brought me to the hospital in a coffin on a wagon. After two or three days, I went to Paris and told them I wanted to do something without flying for a while. I was sent as air attache to Prague, Czechoslovakia, where I first made the acquaintance of Freda, who was working as a secretary for the U.S. ambassador. I left the working for Air France. I met Freda again in New York in 1948, and we married. In 1954-1955 I went into manufacturing paper cups. I bought a machine from Helmut Meyer, a former Waffen-SS man, and established the Normandie Cup Company in Virginia. I earned a small businessman of the year award, while Freda pursued a legal career. It was some 40 years before Marcel Albert began to attend reunions of his old unit in France. In June 2002, he traveled to Paris for the dedication of a new statue of de Gaulle, when he was reunited with the only remaining Normandie-Niemen aces besides himself: Roland de la Poype and Joseph Risso. As of this writing, he is the last living ace of aces of any WWII combatant nation. For further reading, Aviation History research director Jon Guttman recommends: French Eagles, Soviet Heroes: The Normandie-Niemen Squadrons on the East ern Front, by John Clarke; and French Aces of World War 2, by Barry Keltey. Originally published in the May 2008 issue of Aviation History. To subscribe, click here. For an eight-month period in 1862 Major General Benjamin Franklin Butler, the Union military governor of New Orleans, was probably the most reviled man in the South. He quickly became known as Beast and Spoonsand undoubtedly countless other sobriquets not usually heard in genteel Southern drawing rooms. But were the epithets fair? Was Butlers reign as the Crescent Citys de facto dictator really as infamous as history has led us to believe? T hough a successful Massachusetts attorney and staunch Unionist, Butler was no abolitionist. He inherited no family wealth, and believed all secessionistsparticularly wealthy oneswere traitors and should be treated as such. Sympathetic to the plight of textile workers, most of them women, he campaigned unsuccessfully for them to get decent working conditions and a living wage. But ever the chameleon, he then made a fortune investing in a mill, exploiting the type of workers he had tried to help. When war came, his status as a Democrat. from an important Northern state with powerful political connections led the Lincoln administration to overlook his constant political intriguing and incessant clamoring for a field command. Butlers first action occurred at the wars outset on April 20, 1861, when he was assigned with keeping Washington, D.C., in Union hands. The Northern capital was surrounded by secessionist Virginia and Confederate-leaning sections of Maryland, whose governor refused to allow Federal troops to travel by rail through Baltimore. Butler, however, made a crafty end run by landing the 8th Massachusetts Infantry in Annapolis, Md., an approach from the east that sidestepped hostile locals. By April 27, Butler had restored severed rail service between Washington and Baltimore and threatened Maryland legislators with arrest if they voted for secession. His actions earned him widespread approval in the North and praise from Winfield Scott, the Armys aging general-in-chief. The praise was short-lived, though. Butlers successful but heavy-handed occupation of Baltimore was accomplished in contravention of Scotts Anaconda Plan, which hinged on maintaining good political relations with slave-holding border states, hoping that would help induce them to stay in the Union. But Butlers political wiles saved him from further censure and he was soon promoted to major general of volunteers and sent to Fort Monroe, Va., at the mouth of the James River near Norfolk. It was there that he famously declined to return three runaway slaves who had come into his lines to their owner, declaring them contraband of war. The term contraband became synonymous for any runaway slave seeking refuge with the Union Army. Then, after Butler stirred up a hornets nest in his home state by battling Governor John A. Andrew over authority to appoint regimental officers, President Abraham Lincoln decided to send Butler to the new Department of the Gulf, as far from Washington as possible. The president saw the bellicose general as the ideal candidate for administering New Orleans, which in AprilMay 1862 succumbed in the face of a Union armada under Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut. New Orleans was not only the first major Confederate city to fall in the yearlong war, it was also the Souths largest, most diverse metropolis. Butlers abrasive personality and harsh tactics in trying to maintain order earned immediate spite from the locals, some of it deserved. The general entered the city with great pomp on May 1 and established his headquarters at the fashionable St. Charles Hotel. Having no illusions that he would preside over a docile and cooperative citizenry, he immediately placed the city under martial law, confiding in a letter to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton that there existed a violent, strong, and unruly mob that can only be kept under by fear. An aggressive occupation policy backed by Union bayonets obviously would be needed to maintain order and control the obstructionist civil authority. Unfortunately this causes most observers to overlook the skill Butler displayed as the citys civic administrator. In reality, when Butler wasnt provoking Southern womanhood or reportedly appropriating other peoples silverware (thus, the Spoons sobriquet), he made New Orleans a safer and healthier city than it had ever been before. From the beginning Mayor John T. Monroe made it clear that he and the city council would not cooperate with Union authorities, even though the general seemed prepared to govern the city under dual authority. In fact, Butlers first official proclamation seemed to offer both a firm, but also fair, administration. He claimed his only desire was to preserve order and maintain the laws and urged citizens to pursue their usual avocations. Within a month, however, Butler had ordered the mayor arrested and the city council disbanded. To better keep the peace, Butler bivouacked only 2,800 of his 18,000 troops in the city. Churches and shops could reopen; even saloonkeepers could ply their trade after obtaining licenses from the occupation authorities and taking the oath of allegiance to the United States. Steadfast secessionist Julia Le Grande confided to her journal on May 9, I think their plan is to conciliate if possible and the New Orleans Commercial Bulletin commented that while some of the provisions of the proclamation were exceedingly stringent, others were as fair and liberal as could be expected. Even with a fully functioning city administration, prewar New Orleans had a reputation for violence, lawlessness, and civic corruption. Butler requested that citizens report soldiers who committed any outrage upon any person or property. He backed up his words with action when he hanged two of his soldiers for stealing from private homes and sentenced another to hard labor. The police force was rife with political corruption; Butler replaced officers who owed their jobs to the former city government with men willing to take the oath of allegiance. Men of the 31st Massachusetts Infantry were ordered to carry out provost marshal duties, enforce Butlers regulations, and impose harsh penalties on lawbreakers and openly disloyal residents. Butler immediately placed the city under martial law, saying that there existed a violent, strong, and unruly mob that can only be kept under by fear Only a month after he took over, the New Orleans Picayune admitted that the city had never before been so free from burglars and cutthroats. Besides keeping the peace, Butler had to feed a starving city. Foodstuffs had been scarce in New Orleans since the war began. In August 1861, a crowd of angry women invaded City Hall demanding food at more reasonable prices. With the Mississippi River closed to trade and the Union blockade tightening, a serious situation became critical. Flour sold for $50 a barrel when it could be had. While local profiteers made sure that goods were available to the wealthy, even basic necessities remained beyond the means of working people and the poor. On May 8, Butler wrote to Secretary of War Stanton: My action in regard to provisions was made absolutely necessary by the starvation which was falling upon the just and the unjust, and as the class of working-men and mechanics, on whom it is pressing most heavily Butler issued orders on May 3 granting safe passage to a steamboat bound to New Orleans from Mobile, Ala., with a hold full of flour. He opened the Opelousas Railroad and ordered its owners to run trains that brought livestock, flour, and other provisions from southern Louisiana and the Red River region. In June the provost guards seized a warehouse containing a thousand barrels of beef originally destined for nearby Confederate forces. Butler distributed the beef among the deserving poor of this city from whom the rebels had plundered it casting the relief effort as a battle between the citys secessionist elites and the starving common people. When supply ships from New York began to ameliorate the worst of the food crisis, Butler ordered his commissary officers to sell army food to hungry civilians at fixed low prices: 10 cents a pound for beef, ham, pork, and bacon; 7 cents a pound for flour. He proudly reported employing 1,000 impoverished laborers to distribute food to more than 9,700 families. By October the U.S. Relief Commission reported it was feeding 32,150 people. Only two cases of yellow fever were reported during butlers tenure in New Orleans New Orleans was built on commerce and Butler realized that lifting the blockade and opening the port would do much to relieve the destitution and idleness that plagued the citys residents. On May 10 he alerted Stanton to the subject of opening the Port of New Orleans. No measure could tend more to change the entire feelings and relations of the people here than this. Lincoln agreed and officially lifted the blockade on June 1. Private Jerry Flint of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry confirmed the wisdom of Butlers actions in a letter to his wife, reporting that people were elated to find their Port again opened. To further facilitate commerce, Butler initiated a public works program to repair the citys deteriorating levees and rebuild the wharves burned in anticipation of the Federal occupation. He also reopened the citys post offices, a measure Butler claimed seemed to me so essential, and so relieved the mercantile portion of the community, that I have allowed it and shall so do until further orders from the Department. New Orleans had another problem: disease. The densely populated maritime trading center of roughly 170,000 souls was built amid the swamps of southern Louisiana. Geography, combined with chronic poor sanitation, contributed to the frequent summertime appearance of mosquito-borne yellow feverYellow Jacka deadly killer wherever it appeared. In 1853 an outbreak killed nearly 8,000 people in the area. Many locals counted on a reappearance of the disease to make the Union occupation brief. Butler was a successful attorney, not a medical man. But he had studied the fevers deadly potential; his father, John, died from the disease in the West Indies soon after Butler was born. To stymie the fevers spread, the best practice of the time called for quarantining ships arriving from Caribbean ports known for outbreaks in the past.Quarantine lasted for at least two weeks; longer if the fever was found aboard. Butler immediately established a quarantine station at Fort St. Philip, located downriver near the mouth of the Mississippi, and hired an experienced harbor-master to inspect all ships bound for New Orleans. Clean New Start: New Orleans so-called registered enemies take an oath of allegiance at the office of one of Butlers subordinates, Union General James Bowen. (Harpers Weekly, June 6, 1963/Library of Congress) Union regimental surgeons had no experience with yellow fever, so Butler hired Army surgeon Charles McCormick, reputed to be the nations foremost fever expert. He was charged with improving the overall health of the city. After inspecting the area around the French Market and its open food stalls, Butler ordered that years of decaying garbage covering the original stone floor be scrubbed down to its foundation. To clean the citys streets, the general again turned to the unemployed. An army of 2,000 family men shouldered rakes, hoes, and shovels to sweep the streets and flush the citys open sewers. They were paid 50 cents a day and received a soldiers daily full ration of food. Butler made it clear that loyal citizens working for the occupation government could obtain steady work at a fair wage. In the process, he began to win the allegiance of the citys cosmopolitan working classes while earning the enmity of the citys diehard Confederate elites. Butler flaunted his increasing power by riding through the city in his carriage, frequently accompanied by his wife, Sarah, without a military escort. Regimental bands gave impromptu concerts on street corners and an elaborate July 4 celebration provided a colorful distraction to the masses. Clean streets meant little, however, if homeowners continued to toss household refuse into their yards and alleys. Butler ordered that all houses in the city be put in good order and kept that way. Unpainted houses had to be whitewashed and refuse placed in containers. Inspectors enforced the order and a collection service picked up the garbage and hauled it away. Violating these cleanliness ordinances brought fines or jail time to the offenders. In mid-June George Dennison, a Unionist tax collector, wrote to Stanton that New Orleans never was more healthy, and as yet there is no danger of the Yellow Fever. Only two cases of the contagion were reported during Butlers tenure in New Orleans and, while both patients died, the fever quickly subsided. New Orleans did not experience another yellow fever outbreak until 1867. They may say what they please about General Butler, but he was the right man in the right place in New Orleans. -David Farragut Relief of the hungry and civic improvement projects all cost money. General Orders No. 30 had already ordered all Confederate money in circulation be replaced by U.S. greenbacks, forcing a number of local banks to fold. This left Butler chronically short of cash, and in a letter to Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs he declared, I have already expended $5,000 of my private funds to enable the Quartermasters men to get on at all.The necessities for large operations here will make requisite all that I have asked for and more. The persistent delay in the delivery of federal greenbacks from the Treasury Department forced Butler to issue one of his most hated, albeit innovative, general orders. Prior to the Union occupation, the citys wealthy businessmen subscribed more than $1 million to a pro-Confederate organization mandated to strengthen the citys defenses. Butler, always on the lookout for ways to punish treasonous secessionists, particularly rich ones, sensed a solution to his money problems. He obtained a list of the funds contributors and the amount each subscribed. Then he issued General Orders No. 55, which stated, The subscribers to this fund, by this very act, betray their treasonable designs and their ability to pay at least a much smaller tax for the relief of their destitute and starving neighbors. The small tax amounted to 25 percent of each persons original contribution. In addition, local brokers who had urged plantation owners not to bring their cotton into the city were each fined $1,500. Together, these special assessments raised $350,000 for poor relief. The assessments were promptly paid; the alternative was arrest and imprisonment at hard labor. In December Butler made them pay again. Butlers Infamous Order Not all of Ben Butlers general orders were related to civic improvements. The most famous, General Orders No. 28, sparked controversy across the South and around the world. Butlers troops faced a variety of physical and verbal abuse from New Orleans women, including being spit upon and having chamber pots dumped upon them. After two weeks of occupation Butler had had enough. The Womens Order, issued May 15, 1862, instructed Union soldiers to treat any woman who offended them as a woman of the towna phrase commonly used to describe prostitutes. As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subjected to repeated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans, in return for the most scrupulous noninterference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall, by word, gesture, or movement, insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States, she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation. British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston expressed shock that such an act has been committed by one belonging to the Anglo-Saxon race. The British House of Lords called it a most heinous proclamation and regarded it as one of the grossest, most brutal, and must unmanly insults to every woman in New Orleans. Southerners everywhere began referring to Butler as the Beast and Confederate President Jefferson Davis declared him an enemy of mankind and ordered that he be summarily executed if captured. Butler defended his actions, claiming the devil had entered the hearts of the women of [New Orleans]to stir up strife. Despite the furor, the order seemed to work. Occupation troops quickly experienced a noticeable improvement in the treatment they received from the fairer sex. The few who tested Butlers resolve soon found themselves under arrest. Nevertheless, the international furor contributed substantially to Butlers removal as administrator of New Orleans.G.B. Another assessment was levied on merchants who had profited by blockade running previous to Butlers arrival. Aboard the merchant steamer Fox, captured on May 10, 1862, letters and business papers were found enabling Butler to identify several of the firms engaged in this business. He compelled the owners to choose between imprisonment and the payment of such sums as in his judgment the profits from their business justified. The funds not only provided food and shelter directly to the impoverished, including the citys growing population of African Americans, but helped sustain local orphanages, charities, schools, and hospitals. Eventually, Butlers Relief Committee would support nearly a quarter of the citys population. Butlers chronic shortage of funds led him to tap a source that would eventually contribute to his downfall. Many foreign consuls resided in the city to facilitate trade with their home countries, and they not only openly sympathized with but also provided financial support to the Confederacy. This led Butler to try to subject them to the same punitive fees he levied on New Orleans elites. Soon after he assumed control, the Citizens Bank tried to protect its funds by transferring $800,000 in Mexican silver coins to the sympathetic Dutch consul. Butler simply seized the money, although it was later restored. He ordered a similar seizure at the French consulate, but the commander of a Gallic frigate then in port blocked the soldiers from entering the consulate. Butler then ordered the consul to retain the money on deposit until its ownership could be settled in Washington. Another case involved the attempted seizure of sugar purchased by certain foreign residents prior to the capture of the city. Butler believedprobably correctlythat the transaction was intended to furnish money to the Confederate authorities in Europe to buy arms. All the actions were entirely consistent with Butlers occupation policies. Nevertheless, the foreign consuls protested vigorously to Butler and, more important, their home governments complained to Secretary of State William H. Seward in Washington. Not surprisingly, Butlers imperious, and likely illegal, actions ignited a firestorm on both sides of the Atlantic, even though his governance of New Orleans was widely praised in the Norths popular press. Mounting diplomatic tensions, multiple charges of financial irregularities, and personal profiteering (probably true but never proved), and a series of unsuccessful military adventures around Baton Rouge, began to overshadow Butlers civic improvements and made the generals rule increasingly problematic. On December 12, 1862, he received his first official notice of his replacement by another political general, Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, even though rumors that would happen had been circulating through the city since August. In a parting address to the people of New Orleans on December 24, Butler presciently predicted that his name would be indissolubly connected with the city. Using a combination of power, craftiness, and energy, Butler probably gave the city the best municipal administration it had had to that point. Perhaps Butlers partner in the occupation, the Navys Farragut, best summed up the generals contribution and the divisive reaction it spawned: They may say what they please about General Butler, but he was the right man in the right place in New Orleans. Gordon Berg, a frequent contributor to Americas Civil War, writes from Gaithersburg, Md. Desperate for proficient pilots to combat the Nazi onslaught, Britain found willing recruits in neutral America. In September 1939, as war winds buffeted Europe, Americans watched warily while the German blitzkrieg swept across Poland. Despite the United States official policy of neutrality, many realized it was just a matter of time before America was drawn into the conflict, especially after the invasion of France and the Low Countries in May 1940 made Nazi intentions clear. Some Americans, not wanting to wait for an official declaration of war, sought to enlist wherever they could. To young pilots and would-be airmen, the early tales of aerial battles lent a romantic allure to combat flying. Adding to the excitement was the recent development of sleek new fighter aircraft such as the Supermarine Spitfire, capable of flying at well over 350 mph. As Britains Royal Air Force faced off against Germanys Luftwaffe, the need for competent pilots became increasingly apparent. Famed World War I Canadian ace Billy Bishop suggested that recruiters look to the United States for a promising source of new pilots and air crewmen. Despite the unfavorable legal climate created by Americas Neutrality Acts, the Clayton Knight Committee was set up to recruit pretty much anyone who was interested in flying. Clayton Knight was a World War I pilot veteran with connections, and along with Bishop and another WWI pilot, Homer Smith, he worked out a recruiting plan. Knight approached the chief of the U.S. Army Air Corps, Maj. Gen. Henry H. Hap Arnold, who was happy to supply a list of recent Air Corps washoutsthe first targets of the recruiting efforts. Many possessed good flying skills but were a little too unruly for the Army Air Corps. About 300 were signed up by May 1940. Eventually more recruiters spread out across the country, seeking volunteers with some aviation experience. The new recruits were actually signing up with the Dominion Aeronautical Association, a supposed civil aeronautics firm that just happened to have its main office located next-door to the Royal Canadian Air Force headquarters in Ottawa. By the fall of 1941, more than 3,000 Americans had been successfully recruited, and by the end of the year that number had swelled to 6,700. Among the Americans attracted by the prospect of flying Spitfires against the Germans were John Red Campbell, Art Roscoe, John Brown, Bill Geiger, Gene Fetrow and Spiro Steve Pisanos. Each signed up when the RAF recruiters toured the United States, and all eventually became members of the American Eagle Squadrons in the RAFs Fighter Command. A total of 244 U.S. pilots eventually joined the three new Eagle Squadrons that had been formed. Roscoe and Geiger were assigned to No. 71 Squadronthe first to form up, on September 19, 1940while Brown, Campbell and Fetrow were in No. 121 Squadron. Pisanos would later join 71 Squadron. The final Eagle Squadron was No. 133. JOHN CAMPBELL, who had been flying since age 15, traveled from National City, near San Diego, to Hollywood to enlist in the RAF. The British turned him down because he was only 18, but three days laterhaving just turned 19 and carrying a letter from his parentshe came back. I arrived as a wet-behind-the-ears 19-year-old, Campbell later recalled. The British assumed we were there to do a job, and expected we would do it. This was quite different from the United States Army Air Forces, which assumed you couldnt do it, unless you proved otherwise. Campbell already had significant flying experience when he joined up, and had also formed a picture of aerial warfare from the pulp magazines of the day. The popular magazines were instrumental as a recruiting tool, since many stories concentrated on the seemingly glamorous life of a fighter pilot. Campbell credited those magazines as the real reason he signed up. I thought that every time you went up, you shot down five, he said. He would learn that aerial combat was quite different in real life. After flight training in the U.S. and Canada, he joined a convoy bound for England. At his assigned base, Campbell then checked out in a Miles Master. With the Battle of Britain already raging, he got three weeks of training in Spitfires, about 25-30 total hours, with no time on instruments. I only flew two ops in them, and they were enjoyable to fly, he recalled. The Spitfire training started with sitting for a half-hour in the cockpit with a flying sergeant putting me through cockpit drills. The next morning he would check out a parachute, show the instructor he knew the cockpit drills and then taxi out, open up the throttle and take off. Campbell then got to spend five weeks in Hawker Hurricanesa total of about 54 hoursand, as he recalled, that was more than most guys. They flew two or three times daily, but the Eagle Squadron members were initially given old beat-up Hurricane Mark Is. Eventually the Americans received Hurricane IIb models, which they used on fighter sweeps through Belgium and northern France. Campbell felt the greatest difficulty in flying both the Spitfire and Hurricane was having to change hands from throttle to stick, and to the gear and flap controls. Campbell really took to the Hurricane, and lamented the fact that the press largely overlooked it during the Battle of Britain. He noted that the Hurricane got 80 percent of the kills, while the Spitfire got 100 percent of the credit. You never ran into a German pilot that was shot down by a Hurricanethey always said it was a Spitfire. He felt the Hurricane made a better gun platform, as it was more stable, and was best used against the German bombers. Spitfires were deployed at higher altitudes, and were more likely to engage enemy fighters. Campbell considered the Hurricane easier to land, stating,It did not float like the Spitfire, you just flare to land, and it lands. In comparison to the German Messerschmitt Me-109E, Campbell said the Hurricane lost most to the 109 at low level, where the 109 was faster, so we had to use tactics. But he added that at altitude, the Hurricane was faster, could turn better and had a better gunsight. Campbell also flew Hurricane IIcs at Gibraltar, which he described as the first of the four-cannon-equipped models designed for tank busting. He was later assigned to the Far East campaign, went to Port Sudan on an aircraft carrier, and took off from there for Java and Singapore. Stationed at Ceylon when the Japanese attacked, Campbell claimed they got such a bloody nose that they didnt try it again. Campbell believed that the Hurricane could out-turn both the Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the Nakajima Ki.43 Oscar. In the slow, turning battles the Spitfire got eaten up, so Hurricanes remained in production until the end of the war. He fought against both the Zero and the Oscar, and got shot down twice, and I shot down two each of them. The first time he went down, he made it back to his base after 212 daysto find all his personal effects gone. I saw my wingman sleeping, and said, Boo, this is the ghost of Red Campbell and where is my stuff? That woke him up in a hurry. After he was shot down the last time, over Java, Campbell became a prisoner of war for the duration of the conflict. Sent to a disease-plagued labor camp, he weighed only 98 pounds when the camp was finally liberated. ART ROSCOE took his first flight at age 13, and from that point on always wanted to work in the aviation field. He got a job with Douglas Aircraft, and it was there that an RAF recruiter caught up with him in February 1941. Roscoe recalled: I had about 30-40 hours of flight time, and went out to Pomona to see how to get in [the RAF]. They told me to buy another 30 hours of flight time, and come back to see them then. I went back, took the flight test, and they let me know a couple of days later. He went to flight school at Glendale, Calif., for another 75 hours, and then took a train to Nova Scotia to catch a steamer for England. His British flight training was in Spitfires at Landau with No. 53 Operational Training Unit. My Spitfire was never in really good shape, but you couldnt get hurt in it if you stayed on top of it, he remembered. It could outturn practically anything; you could turn on a dime and have nine cents left. The No. 71 Squadron pilots were often tasked with escorting Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses on bombing missions, and frequently ran into Focke Wulf Fw-190As that had been lurking above them. The German fighters would typically make one pass, diving down on the bombers, while the Spitfires performed a split-S and went after them through the cloud cover. The Spits only had 15 seconds of .303-caliber ammo and six seconds of 20mm cannon rounds, so the pilots tried to make every round count. Roscoe recalled one particular B-17 escort mission to the Bay of Biscay, during which two Fw-190s attacked his flight: The fellow in back of me got a cannon hit in his radio, so I was lucky. He shot down his first enemy aircraft on October 2, 1941an Me-109 over France. In June 1942, Roscoe volunteered to help defend the island of Malta. He arrived at Malta on August 11 via the carrier HMS Furious, which was carrying a load of 35 Spitfires. The plan was to launch seven flights of five planes each, and just as Roscoes flight was taking off, the carrier Eagle was torpedoed and sunk while alongside Furious. For the trip to Malta, they were given the Spitfire Vc, equipped with a tropical air filter. The planes carried only 90 gallons of fuel, mainly to assist in keeping their weight down for takeoff. Since the flaps had only full up and down positions, a wood block was inserted to hold the flaps at 15 degrees to assist in getting off the carrier. Once airborne, the pilots lowered their flaps, allowing the wood blocks to fall out, then raised them again. We were told no crash landings, and if we got into trouble we were to head to Vichy Frenchheld North Africa and hope for the best, Roscoe recalled. All the members of his group made it to Malta. When they got there, the newcomers joined No. 229 Squadron, and found a lot of Battle of Britain veterans already fighting the Germans. Roscoe said Malta was a fighter pilots paradiseyou went for the bombers first, had one crack at them, and then the fighters would be on your tail. It didnt last long, as most of the aerial fighting ended in October 1942, and they were restationed by the next month. Just before the fighting ended, Roscoe was severely wounded in a dogfight. Four cannon rounds from an Me-109 crashed through his cockpit, but only one hit himin the shoulder. His plane was on fire, and the German pilot pulled up alongside for a look. Roscoe managed to kick his rudder, swerve behind the 109, and fire his cannons, shooting his tormentor down. He then crash-landed his Spitfire, as he was too weak to bail out. Like many other Eagle Squadron members, Roscoe transferred into the USAAF when he was given the opportunity. I had asked for [North American P-51] Mustangs, but ended up with the [Republic] P-47 [Thunderbolt]. It could out-dive practically anythinglike a streamlined brick coming down, he related. He ended the war as a squadron commander, with four confirmed victories, and another three probables. JOHN I. BROWN III started out with Hurricanes, recalling that of course everyone who signed up wanted to fly fighters, but we werent even guaranteed to fly. Some went to fighters, some to bombers and some to transports. He quickly moved on to Spitfires. The Spit was very unforgiving; you had to fly with an iron hand and a silk glove, Brown remembered. He also lamented having only 78 rounds of cannon ammunition, but said the 1,300-round-per-minute rate of fire for the .303 machine guns could cause damagechunks would fly off enemy planesit could be very effective. Most of the missions were rather short, as his Spitfire had about two hours and 45 minutes flight time before it would be running on fumes. We got about 90 miles into France, a very limited range, and coming back we had to land at the [British] coastal airfields, he said. If you had your wings, it was assumed by the RAF that you could fly anything, Brown stated.I flew things I had never seen before. The attitude was that if you were going to get killed, do it in training. Dont waste a plane on an operational mission. While at Duxford, Brown joined the USAAF and switched to the P-47. He recalled that the Thunderbolt was one hell of an aircraft in combat, as it could take a lot of punishment. In November 1944, he made another switch, this time to P-51s until the end of the war. While flying the Mustang, Brown got some experience fighting against the new German jet fighter, the Messerschmitt Me-262 Schwalbe. He remembered that if a pilot called out jet in the area, everyone went down fast, like a funnel to a beehive. His group eventually claimed 22 of the Me-262s. Only the Mustang would try anything against them, Brown recalled, noting the P-51 could do 600 mph in a dive, and could catch up with the 262. Using that tactic, Brown and his flight leader went after a Me-262 that was on the deck, heading home. The German jets only had about 45 minutes of fuel. My leader got it as it passed over the airfield, needing to land, he recalled. BILL GEIGER didnt get to experience much combat during World War II. He did fly some bomber escort missions, recalling that in the summer of 1941, we never lost a bomber to any fighters. Shortly thereafter, he was shot down over the English Channel near Dunkirk while flying a Spitfire. German fighters had picked him off at about 15,000 feet over the Channel. He said:My plane was on fire, and wouldnt fly anymore. I banged on the cockpit [canopy]it was supposed to slide but nothing happened. I beat on it with everything I had, then bent out a corner and let the slipstream grab it, and off it went. I popped out of the cockpit, and pulled the ripcord. I felt very much alone, but when I realized I was going to survive, the fear went away. A German boat picked up Geiger after he spent five hours in the water. Since it was still early in the war, the Eagle Squadron members were not supposed to wear their insignia, an order that Geiger had chosen not to obey. He recalled, Not only was I wearing my insignia, I also had extras in my pocket. Geiger realized he was in big trouble, and fully expected to be shot. I was led away by a German officer with a two-man squad, and I thought about running, he remembered. The officer recognized Geigers Brooklyn accent, since the German had been a truck driver in New York before the war. It turned out that he had never become a U.S. citizen, and when Adolf Hitler urged all Germans to return to the fatherland, he went back. He asked me if I was an American, and when I admitted it he told me that I was going to be all right, Geiger recalled. It was the start of 312 years in a POW camp for Geigerand the end of his war. GENE FETROW was working at Douglas Aircrafts Santa Monica plant when the war in Europe broke out, serving as an inspector for A-20 Havocs. Hearing from a friend that an RAF recruiter was at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, Fetrow went to see him. I told him I had been flying since I was 15 years old, mostly Fleet biplanes, Fetrow recalled, but he asked how many hours I had. I only had about 35, so he told me to get more time. He signed up with a local flying school, and put in another 35 hours as quickly as possible. Returning to the recruiter, Fetrow took a flight test in a Waco biplane and was told they would let him know if he was accepted. A few days later a confirming telegram arrived. They still wanted him to get more training before heading overseas, however, so Fetrow spent an additional 75 hours in Stearman, Ryan STS, Vultee BT-13 and North American AT-6 Texan trainers. Arriving in England on a transport ship, Fetrow reported for fighter training. Flying Spitfire Mark Is and IIs, he accumulated about 70 more hours of valuable flight time. Fetrow served in No. 121 Squadron, flying mostly the Spitfire Mark Vb equipped with two cannons and four .303 machine guns. He flew about 120 missions from England, and was part of the ill-fated August 19, 1942, Dieppe Raid, in which his aircraft was shot up pretty badly. The Dieppe Raid turned out to be the only operation of the war that involved all three of the American Eagle Squadrons. Fetrow supported the mission by providing low cover, one of a flight of four Mark Vbs that ran into trouble shortly after crossing the harbor at Dieppe. As Fetrow told it: I saw several Fw-190s to my right and down below strafing our people on the beach. I thought our top cover would take care of some of them, so I started taking my flight down. A 190 then came down on me and put a 20mm deflection shot through my wing and another into my radiator. I wasnt hurt, but the engine was hurtmy oil cooler blew apart. The engine seized up over the Channel, I rolled upside down, but the canopy wouldnt ejectit only rolled back about six inches. I had to beat it with my elbows to get out, and my cockpit was filling with smoke. Once I was out, it got real quiet, and I saw my Spit hit the water. Fetrow had managed to send out a Mayday call over his radio, and the Air-Sea Rescue team came out to retrieve him while he was still in his dinghy. But by the time he got back to base, the RAF had already listed him as missing in action. All my stuff had already been dividedmy camera, cigarettes and shoesand it took about a week to get everything straightened out, he recalled.We really took a beating that day, but we got about as many of them as they did of us about 100 shot down. Fetrow eventually was transferred to serve in the Italian campaign. In May 1944, he was flying with the RAFs 1st Tactical Air Force, usually on one of two main missions. The fighters would escort Consolidated B-24 Liberators and Martin B-26 Marauders out of Sardinia on missions to destroy German lines of communication and transport, or they would conduct ground-strafing missions against anything that moved. I once saw an old donkey and peasant farmer pulling a cart of hay, Fetrow related. I put a couple of slugs into it, and it went sky-high. It had been full of ammo for the German troops. He recalled another time when they saw some Tiger tanks: We couldnt do much against them, as they were camped in a dry riverbed in the woods. I left two Spitfires up as top cover, and the rest dove down, with one pilot managing to hit their fuel dump. I dove down too fast and steepvery poor manner, a classic case of pilot error. I realized I was in trouble, and pulled back on the stick. I blacked out, the plane did a snap roll, and I came to while flying upside down through a dry wash. My wings were bent, rivets had popped, instruments were broken, but I nursed it back up to 3,000 feet. Fetrow managed to get the Spitfire back to Corsica, where he was amazed when the wheels came down. He made a fairly normal landing, but his aircraft was subsequently pushed into the scrap heap. Ground crews managed to salvage only the prop, engine, wheels, tires and radio. That experience was enough, however, to convince Fetrow of the aircrafts structural integrity. The Spitfire was hard to land, but it had great brakes, he remembered. I got three Fw-190s while in Spitfires, so it was my favorite plane.He also had some experience with the P-47 after transferring to the USAAF 335th Fighter Squadron later in the war, and served as a test pilot for many other aircraft. Another problem with the Spitfire was in retracting the landing gearyou had to change hands to do it, Fetrow recalled. He also said the fuel tanks were poorly placed, especially the one in front of the instrument panel. I lost a friend when that tank was hit, exploding into a fireball, which rapidly consumed the cockpit area. STEVE PISANOS was another guy who couldnt wait to fight the Germans and signed up with an Eagle Squadron recruiter before the United States entered the war. Technically, he wasnt officially an American. Pisanos had come to the States from Greece in the summer of 1938, and shortly afterward had taken basic flying lessons on his own. He had renounced his Greek citizenship, but it wasnt until May 1943 that he became a naturalized citizenwhile he was in London, of all places. Of that momentous event, he remarked: Uncle Sam and I are best friends, and I felt nothing but gratitude. I was the first to become a citizen outside of the U.S. After advanced training, Pisanos shipped out to England in February 1942. He received instruction in tactics before joining an operational training unit, flying Miles Masters, Hurricanes, P-40E Kittyhawks and P-51A Mustangs during his final training phase. He was assigned to the 268th Army Co-operation Fighter Squadron, and began flying combat missions over Holland in the P-51A. Known to his fellow pilots as the Flying Greek, he came to the attention of Squadron Leader Chesley Peterson in No. 71 Squadron, and was officially transferred in early September 1942. In his one month with No. 71, he flew Spitfires and Hurricanes before transferring into the 334th Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, VIII Fighter Command, at the end of September, when the Eagle Squadrons were disbanded. Pisanos noted that the American Eagle Squadron pilots were heavily recruited by the USAAF, as in reality we had Ph.D. degrees in fightingwe had experience. The recruiter said, You come with usyou are an American, would you accept a second lieutenant [commission] in the Air Corps? Once he was with the 334th, Pisanos flew the P-47 and briefly the P-51 again. The Spitfire was a great aircraft, but it was limited because it had no fuel capacity to go great distances, Pisanos recalled. He also rated the P-47 in the same fashion, as it could not stay with the bombers on long-distance missions, and the Luftwaffe would just wait there for the fighters to turn back. As for the P-51, Pisanos emphasized, That was it! He participated in the first escorted Berlin mission with the 4th Fighter Group on March 4, 1944, and when the Germans saw the P-51 escorting the bombers, he said they knew they had lost the war. Pisanos wound up his combat career in spectacular fashion. On March 5, he shot down two German aircraft, giving him a total of 10 victories in the space of 110 missions spanning 300 combat hours. On the way home, his engine failed and he was forced to crash-land in France. Evading capture, Pisanos managed to join up with members of the French Resistance, and was based in Paris until it was liberated in August of the same year. Because he knew too much about the Resistance, Pisanos was permanently grounded for combat and sent back to the States, spending the rest of the war as a test pilot at Wright Field in Ohio. The ranks of Eagle Squadron members have greatly dwindled over the past few years. In 2006 they held their last official reunion. Of the 17 living members at the time, only five were well enough to attend. John Brown, Gene Fetrow, Bill Geiger and Art Roscoe have already made their final flight. Steve Pisanos has finished his book of memoirs, which was released in December 2007. Frank Lorey III is a federal- and state-registered historian with more than 340 articles and several books to his credit. He has appeared many times on the History Channel and does historical archeology work on military plane crash sites. For further reading, he recommends: The Eagle Squadrons, by Vern Haugland; and The Flying Greek: An Immigrant Fighter Aces WW II Odyssey With the RAF, USAAF, and French Resistance, by Colonel Steve N. Pisanos. Originally published in the March 2008 issue of Aviation History. To subscribe, click here. Everyone eligible should be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel or employment. Vaccination should be voluntary but those who don't get vaccinated should be frequently tested for COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel and employment. Both vaccination and testing should be voluntary and not required as a condition of long-distance travel or employment. I defer to the judgment of lawmakers as long as they base their decisions on a consensus of medical professionals. Vote View Results While US and UK are offering training to major public bodies and businesses to help prevent cyber attacks, the Irish Government is leaving businesses here "ill-prepared", it's being claimed. Irish businesses cannot afford the risk of a major cyber hack, and its time the Government got on with the job of supporting businesses to protect themselves, said Fianna Fails Spokesperson on Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Billy Kelleher TD. Deputy Kelleher issued the warning as both the UKs National Cyber Security Centre and the USs FBI issued a joint statement warning about malicious cyber activity by Russia. Irish businesses are at risk. Some politicians and commentators may like to fool themselves that no one will bother with Ireland or Irish businesses, but the nefarious activities of Russia are not limited to the United States, France or the United Kingdom," he continued. Across the globe, governments and national security services are moving beyond letting companies and organisations know about potential cyber threats and are now actively issuing clear indicators as to what to look for and how to address the problems." The UK National Cyber Security Centre has facilitated a number of briefings with 130 public sector and private bodies to ensure that everyone is up to speed on what is happening in the field of cyber protection. What is the National Cyber Security Centre offering to Irish organisations and private companies to enable them be protected?" he asked. There will be a general election in this country in the next 18-24 months. We have seen the impact of Russian attempts at interference in electoral processes across the world. We cannot allow that to happen in Ireland. "The Irish people need to know that when they cast their votes that it will be their votes and their votes alone, that will decide the outcome of any and all Irish elections. We have many global tech companies headquartered here in Ireland. A cyber-attack on them could have major repercussions for the Irish economy and Irish jobs." He is now calling on the government to make a statement. I want to hear from the Government what they are advising companies and organisations to do; what support they are offering, and if they will provide the resources needed to protect the Irish economy from nefarious cyber-attacks, concluded Kelleher. Members of The Script are suing James Arthur - the winner of the X Factor in 2012 - over similarities between two of their songs. The Scripts Daniel ODonoghue and Mark Sheehan, alongside co-writers Andrew Frampton and Stephen Kipner are alleging in the filed lawsuit that 'The Man Who Cant Be Moved' - released in 2008 - has near identical beats and melodies as James Arthurs 2016, 'Say You Wont Let Go'. James Arthur - whose most recent album, Back From The Edge, came in 2016 - denies the claims. Arthur, along with co-writers Neil Ormandy, Steve Solomon, their publishing companies and record labels, have all been named as defendants in the case. The Tennessean reports that the plaintiffs in the case are being represented by Nashville attorney, Richard Busch, who also represented Marvin Gayes estate in the multi-million dollar case involving Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams. Below are the two songs in question: Peter Cetera and The Bad Daddys have announced a date at Vicar Street on 31 October. Cetera has added the Dublin date to his tour which is supporting the release of his album The Very Best of Peter Cetera which was released last year. The 73 year-old was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 with his former band Chicago. He has also been elected for the Songwriters Hall of Fame to mark his achievements with the group. They have sold over 100 millions records worldwide since their formation in 1967. As a solo artist, Cetera has released 8 studio albums as well as his most recent compilation. Advertisement Tickets are from 65.45 and go on sale this Friday at 9am from www.ticketmaster.ie. 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. Nwolfe35 said: Then explain to me (and the rest of us) if the militia has nothing to do with it, then why is it even mentioned? Click to expand... (a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard. (b) The classes of the militia are (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia. Click to expand... That is federal law. You should pay attention to the part where it says unorganized militia, located in b part 2.Now to answer your obvious question, after destroying your militia only argument with federal law btw. The militia is mentioned because the reason that the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed is so they may form a militia if needed. The reason for that militia then was to oppose government tyranny while at the same time providing the government with a armed force if needed. Examples would be Washington calling up the militia to put down shay's Rebellion. Now, you may argue that its not needed now, and that is your opinion. I disagree and as long as it is a constitutional right then that is how its going to be. Feel free to change or amend the Constitution if you can get enough support for doing so VERMONTToday, Vermont became the latest state to crack down on wildlife killing contests by enacting a law that prohibits contests in which competitors vie to kill coyotes for prizes. In early May, the Humane Society of the United States released the results (PDF) of an undercover investigation into wildlife killing contests held in New York and New Jersey. The investigative video showed participants piling up and hanging the dead bodies of coyotes and foxes killed in the contests, and celebrating while prizes were awarded for the most or heaviest animals killed. Vermont citizens and their elected officials have spoken out loud and clear that they oppose inhumane, wasteful and unsporting coyote killing contests in our state, said HSUS Vermont state director Barry Londeree. We are tremendously grateful to Rep. David Deen, Rep. Jim McCullough, Sen. Chris Bray and other humane legislators, and the dedicated wildlife advocates who worked so hard on this landmark legislation. Introduced by Rep. Deen (D, Windham-4) in January of 2018, H.636 moved swiftly through both chambers of the Vermont legislature after public outcry over several wildlife killing contests in the state. Public protests also led to the cancellation of the 1st Annual Weston Rod and Gun Club Coyote Hunting Contest, which had been scheduled to occur in February, 2018. Other recent Vermont wildlife killing contests include the Wile E. Coyote Hunt in Bristol February 1112, 2017; the First Annual Winter Coyote Hunt in Orleans, March 34, 2018; a coyote killing contest in Franklin County, February 1011, 2018; and a Crow Shoot in Williamstown on April 7, 2018. Viewing the gruesome footage of our investigation video made us even more determined to ensure that the Green Mountain State would no longer be host to this kind of pointless cruelty, said Londeree. We hope that Vermont is an example to other states who want to put an end to wildlife killing contests. California has banned all wildlife killing contests for furbearers and nongame mammals, such as coyotes, and has banned wildlife killing contests offering cash/prizes valued at $500 or more for game mammals. Colorado limits the number of animals who can be killed by wildlife killing contests. Maryland has placed a moratorium on cownose ray killing contests in the Chesapeake Bay. In New York state, legislation has been introduced that would end this senseless practice. In the coming months, more states are expected to put forward proposals that seek to prohibit these inhumane, unsporting and ineffective wildlife killing contests. Pilot Killed When Plane Crashes in Woodford, Vt. WOODBURY, Vt. A Connecticut pilot was killed Sunday after his aircraft crashed on Bald Mountain. State Police identified Ramsey Sampson Ah-Nee, 31, of Manchester, Conn., as the pilot and sole occupant of the 1975 Piper PA-34-200T. Ah-Nee was an experienced pilot with more than five years of aviation experience, according to State Police. Ah-Nee was flying from Burlington to Oxford, Conn., when the Federal Aviation Administration apprised State Police that the radar confirmation on the twin-engine aircraft had been lost near Bald Mountain at about 6 p.m. on Sunday. The FAA provided last known coordinates and the flight plan. Search and rescue teams were activated consisting of State Police uniformed troopers and search and rescue personnel and state Fish and Wildlife wardens. The downed aircraft was located a few minutes after 1 a.m. on Monday in the proximity of the location provided by the FAA. The crash location is approximately three miles off Route 9 in a heavily wooded area of Woodford. The pilot was found deceased at the crash site. Recovery personnel and State Police detectives went to the area to assess the scene and prepare for the pilot's removal. State Police Lt. Thomas Mozzer of the Shaftsbury barracks said state and local officials were working jointly with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board to support and assist with the investigation and recovery efforts. Ah-Nee was employed as a production readiness leader at Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut and previously worked for GE Aviation, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was a graduate of Texas A&M University and Embry Riddle. State Rep. John Barrett has been critical of the cable company. North Adams Airs Concerns About Charter Spectrum Mayor Thomas Bernard accused Spectrum of breaching its contract with the city. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Charter Spectrum representatives were lambasted by city officials and residents who aired some of their grievances with cable service and support. Around 50 residents filed into the American Legion Post 125 Monday to ask questions, give testimony and bluntly complain to four spectrum representatives Brandon Roberts, George Doin, Anna Lucey and John Fogarty during a two-hour public hearing. "This is a very important issue for our community and it is one that I have heard a great deal about," Mayor Thomas Bernard said. "I invite you to share your complaints, your comments, and frustrations." Late last month Bernard suggested holding a community meeting in response to complaints from many users in terms of customer service, the new digital boxes and dropped channels since Charter's takeover of Time-Warner. Bernard ran through some initial questions and concerns some of which he felt were a breach of the contract with the city, which was signed in 2014 with Time Warner. Bernard pointed to the contract and said the city was supposed to be given 30 days notice that the provider would be moving to digital. He said this is also an FCC regulation that Charter did not adhere too. Executive Director of Northern Berkshire Community Television Dave Fabiano jumped in and said without the proper warning, they were unable to inform the community that the Public, Educational and Government channels (PEG Channels) would be moving from 15, 16, and 17 to 1301, 1302 and 1303. "Without sufficient notification, it was hard to inform our viewers of what was going to happen and where to find our channels," he said. "After the conversion, many people thought that we just went off the air." Bernard then noted that these channels are supposed to be available for everyone through basic service but because Charter forces subscribers to rent digital boxes to access these channels, customers will have to pay if they want to watch PEG channels. Fogarty said that his read of the contract was that Charter will not charge the city to put PEG programming on the channels, but this does not extend to the viewing of the program. "The transmission of the channels to the subscribers is not covered by that provision," he said. "It is putting programming on there. The company could not charge the city for the use of that channel." Fabiano did not agree. "Without that box or that fee you cant see public access and to me, I think that goes against it," he said. "I think that is a breach of the contract." Bernard then responded to frustrations about channels inaccessible in Berkshire County that other communities in the state can access because the FCC lumped the county in with New York state when it drew the cable market map. He added the city is actively fighting this. Fogarty said that this was purely an FCC issue and out of Charter Spectrums control. That comment drew out Rep. John Barrett III, who helped lead the charge against the cable provider, who said the FCC deemed Berkshire County "nonregulated" because they counted dish and direct tv as competition. He said he thought this was purely to save money. "You wont carry anything that you dont have to carry even though your customer base wants it and it is one of the most stupid, pennywise and foolish things that I ever heard from a company," he said. "But you know you have got us over the barrel." He then chastised the group for being deceitful and urged Bernard to declare a breach of contract. "Do the right thing and say that they have breached the contract because that will cost them more money than what they were going to channel 5 to carry the signal," he said. The dialogue was opened to the public and residents made statements spanning from difficulties paying bills, substandard customer service, inconsistent billing and even complaints with how complicated the remotes were. City Councilor Jason LaForest took to the microphone and told of his own horror story dealing with the cable provider citing increased costs for substandard service. He then accused Charter Spectrum of taking advantage of Berkshire County and other rural communities and asked them to do the right thing. The complaints ranged from a loss of channels to customer service to the prices Spectrum charges. "You are not here to take care of your customers you are here to make money and it is ridiculous. You are a business and you are entitled to a profit, but you are not entitled to that profit at the expense of those who have worked hard all of their lives and are not being forced to pay these prices," he said. "Here is your opportunity to do the right thing." City Councilor Marie Harpin also spoke and said she had issues with customer service and was unable to advertise on channel 22 in a timely manner. "It is simple customer service that you are not providing to the community," she said. "We are not asking you to change the worldcustomer service just needs to be better locally and you really need to step up to the plate." Roberts did apologize for the customer service issues and did ask some residents with specific complaints to meet with him after. He did say that people are most likely seeing price increases because their Time Warner promotional plans are running their course and customers will have to take on a more expensive plan. Fabiano went into some of his more technical concerns and said according to their agreement, Charter was supposed to install lines in specific public buildings throughout North County that would allow for a live feed. He said they have been waiting for over two years now and have yet to get a straight answer or a timeline for when these lines will be installed. Fogarty said the company was aware of their obligation but still could not give a solid date. Multiple residents shared their frustration about being unable to pay their bill because they werent the account holder and others said simply getting in contact with Spectrum was a challenge. Resident Dick Dassatti, who spoke towards the end of the meeting, had some simple advice for the attendees cut the cord. "I think the most effective way to deal with the companyis a willingness to tell them you want your tv disconnected tell them that," he said. "When you tell them that you will get better service and a better deal." Bernard said the city will continue to review the contract for other inconstancies possible breaches. He said the city will push back if needed. "I think what you are hearing from the people is thatNorth Adams is getting lost in the shuffle and that is something we will not stand for," he said. In a new report, the State Department stated that India is insufficiently acting against parents who have kidnapped Indian American children. India is the number three country in the world for parental child abductions. Above, a drawing on the website of Bring Our Kids Home, which advocates for Indian American children who have been kidnapped by their parents. (Bring Our Kids Home photo) Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves next to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti during the inauguration of the 330mw Kishanganga Hydel Project in Srinagar May 19. India-controlled Kashmir came to a virtual standstill May 19 as separatist groups called for a shutdown to protest Modis visit to the Muslim-majority region gripped by deadly new tensions and clashes with rival Pakistan. (Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images) Home Search ICH By RT May 21, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The US has laid out 12 demands for Iran that it says Tehran must meet for a new nuclear deal. Problem is, telling Iranian troops out of Syria and dictating what nuclear watchdog inspects doesnt sound like a real roadmap for peace. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the White Houses stance crystal clear Monday, calling the nuclear agreement between Tehran and six world powers a loser. President Donald Trump has already pulled the US out of the landmark deal earlier this month. A new deal should be drawn up, Pompeo asserted, while laying out 12 basic requirements. Many of those were predictable, such as requiring Tehran to stop enrichment of uranium and never preprocess plutonium because obviously, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is not good enough to hold Iran to its word. Pull Out Of Syria? Bare All To IAEA? Why 12-point US list for Tehran is ultimatum meant to fail One major point used as a bargaining chip is, however, entirely unrelated to the Iranian nuclear program. It reads: Iran must withdraw all forces under Iranian command from Syria. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter The demand conveniently ignores the fact that Iranian troops were invited by the Syrian government and have been helping fight Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) on the ground while the US troops, stuck in Syria indefinitely, were not. Nobody invited them there, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said in February, reminding the world that their presence was illegal. Its not hard to guess which forces the Syrian government wants to keep and which it wants to be gone, as it battles the remaining pockets of Islamist militants. Another US demand is that Iran must respect the sovereignty of the Iraq government and permit the disarming, demobilization, and reintegration of Shia militias. Just as in Syria, Iranian troops are in Iraq with the approval of Baghdad, and the countrys Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) even receive funding and training from Iran and have been declared part of Iraqs security apparatus. So why would Iranian troops suddenly need to disband and leave? Then theres the fact that the US seems to believe its perfectly fine to try to establish a new deal which abides by 12 demands designed by Washington despite Washington being the sole party to withdraw from the original deal. The other signatories the UK, France, Germany, China, and Russia are still committed to the 2015 JCPOA. Although the IAEA, tasked with inspecting Irans compliance under the deal, has repeatedly stated that Tehran is implementing its commitments, the US apparently distrusts international watchdogs expertise. Thats according to the list of demands saying how the Iranian nuclear program should be inspected. First, Iran must declare to the IAEA a full account of the prior military dimensions of its nuclear program, and permanently and verifiably abandon such work in perpetuity. Second, Iran must stop enrichment and never pursue plutonium reprocessing. This includes closing its heavy water reactor. Third, Iran must also provide the IAEA with unqualified access to all sites throughout the entire country,boomed Pompeo, speaking Monday at the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing Washington think tank. One may almost forget the IAEA is not a lapdog of Washington, but an international body. Why the US now gets to decide the scope and methods of its work is unclear. Of course, there is also a whole array of demands to scale back Iranian military programs and alleged support of militant groups. US accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism, including by helping the Palestinian group Hamas and even, allegedly, Taliban and Al-Qaeda. That these groups are overwhelmingly Sunni while the Iranian government in Shia is overlooked, by accident or deliberately. The mentioned threatening behavior against its neighbors, the firing of missiles and destructive cyberattacks strangely mirror Washingtons own actions in the region, including some that have been aimed against Iran. Crucially, theres little doubt that the Trump administration understands Iran would outright reject most, if not all, of the listed demands, which brings the purpose of the entire list into question. Secretary Pompeos 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 Irans conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA. There is no alternative to the JCPOA, EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said Monday commenting on Pompeos list. Others said the US list was outright destined to fail on purpose. I think ultimatum is the right word When you deliver an ultimatum, its purpose is to have it rejected, former US diplomat Jim Jatras told RT. There are people in the Trump administration, who want the regime change in Iran its that simple, and they Iran to reject their terms. Jatras believes its too early to tell at this stage if US threats against Iran are merely noise and pressure tactics like the one used against North Korea, but he says even that pressure could backfire and serve as a positive effect for Tehran by forcing the Europeans to pull even farther away from the US than they have. The worst case scenario, he says, is Washington proceeding with a unilateral military action aimed at regime change. As you can imagine, Iran will not agree to any of Washingtons demands, Hamed Mousavi, professor of political science at the University of Tehran, told RT. It is Iran that should be asking the US why it has not fulfilled its side of the agreement when Iran has fully complied with its obligations under the nuclear deal. Why should Iran negotiate with an administration that is not abiding by an international agreement that is the result of years of intense diplomacy? This article was originally published by " RT " - ====== Join the Discussion It is not necessary for ICH readers to register before placing a comment. We ask that you treat others with respect. Take a moment to read the following - Comment Policy - What Or Who is Information Clearing House and Purpose and Intent of this website: It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH. Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section. Search Information Clearing House === Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. FBI Informant Stefan Halper Paid Over $1 Million By Obama Admin; Spied On Trump Aide After Election By Tyler Durden May 21, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Less than a week after Stefan Halper was outed as the FBI informant who infiltrated the Trump campaign, public records reveal that the 73-year-old Oxford University professor and former U.S. government official was paid handsomely by the Obama administration starting in 2012 for various research projects. A longtime CIA and FBI asset who once reportedly ran a spy-operation on the Jimmy Carter administration, Halper was enlisted by the FBI to spy on several Trump campaign aides during the 2016 U.S. election. Meanwhile, a search of public records reveals that between 2012 and 2018, Halper received a total of $1,058,161 from the Department of Defense. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Halper's contracts were funded through four annual awards paid directly out of the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment (ONA). Established as the DoD's "internal think tank" in 1973 by Richard Nixon (whose administration Halper worked for), the ONA was run by foreign policy strategist Andrew Marshall from its inception until his 2015 retirement at the age of 93, after which he was succeeded by current director James H. Baker. One of the four DoD awards Halper received Halper's most recent award was noted recently by Trump supporter Jacob Wohl, which piqued the interest of internet researchers who continued the analysis. Award ID Recipient Name Start Date End Date Amount Awarding Agency HQ003416P0148 HALPER, STEFAN 9/26/2016 3/29/2018 $411,575 Department of Defense HQ003415C0100 HALPER, STEFAN 9/24/2015 9/27/2016 $244,960 Department of Defense HQ003414C0076 HALPER, STEFAN 7/29/2014 7/31/2015 $204,000 Department of Defense HQ003412C0039 HALPER, STEFAN 5/30/2012 5/29/2013 $197,626 Department of Defense (h/t ProHeat) According to the Website USASPENDING.gov, the payments to Halper are for "RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES (2012)," "RESEARCH AND STUDIES - THE YEAR 2030, (2014)", "RUSSIA-CHINA RELATIONSHIP STUDY. (2015)," and "INDIA AND CHINA ECON STUDY (2016)." The most recent award to Halper for $411,575 was made in two payments, and had a start date of September 26, 2016 - three days after a September 23 Yahoo! News article by Michael Isikoff about Trump aide Carter Page, which used information fed to Isikoff by "pissgate" dossier creator Christopher Steele. The FBI would use the Yahoo! article along with the unverified "pissgate" dossier as supporting evidence in an FISA warrant application for Page. Halper approached Page during an election-themed conference at Cambridge on July 11, 2016, six weeks after the September 26 DoD award start date. The two would stay in contact for the next 14 months, frequently meeting and exchanging emails. He said that he first encountered the informant during a conference in mid-July of 2016 and that they stayed in touch. The two later met several times in the Washington area. Mr. Page said their interactions were benign. -New York Times And as the Daily Caller reports, Halper used a decades-old association with Paul Manafort to break the ice with Page. Page noted that in their first conversation at Cambridge, Halper said he was longtime friends with then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort. A person close to Manafort told TheDCNF that Manafort has not seen Halper since the Gerald Ford administration. Manafort and Page are accused in the Steele dossier of having worked together on the campaigns collusion conspiracy, but both men say they have never met. -Daily Caller Spying on Page after the election... The second installment of Halper's 2016 DoD contract is dated July 26, 2017 in the amount of $129,280 - around three months before the FISA warrant on Carter Page was set to expire following repeated renewals signed by Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein and a federal judge. On July 28, he emailed Page with what the Trump campaign aide describes as a "cordial" communication, which did not seem suspicious to him at the time. In the email to Page, Halper asks what his plans are post-election, possibly probing for more information. "It seems attention has shifted a bit from the 'collusion' investigation to the ' contretempts' [sic] within the White House and, how--or if--Mr. Scaramucci will be accommodated there," Halper wrote. contretemps 1. An unforeseen event that disrupts the normal course of things; an inopportune occurrence. 2. An argument or dispute: "another France-versus-England contretemps" (Rob Hughes). The email to Page was sent on the same day former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci reportedly went on a "vulgar tirade" against then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. Perhaps sensing an opportunity to find out if Page was still "on the inside," Halper may have reached out to find out what he knew. Halper then invites Page to his Virginia farm, telling the former Trump adviser "Be in touch when you have the time. Would be great to catch up." Reporters keep asking me about my interactions with Prof. Halper. I found all our interactions to be cordial. Like this email I received about a year after I first met him. He never seemed suspicious. Just a few scholars exchanging ideas. He had interests in policy, and politics. pic.twitter.com/D5SKkvN2Bx Carter Page, Ph.D. (@carterwpage) May 20, 2018 July 2017: Two days after receiving a payment from the federal govt, Stefan Halper emailed Carter Page asking about internal White House staff pic.twitter.com/Fy17FwEwgk Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) May 20, 2018 Downer - the source of the Papadopoulos intel, and Halper - who conned Papadopoulos months later, are linked through UK-based Haklyut & Co. an opposition research and intelligence firm - founded by three former British intelligence operatives in 1995 to provide the kind of otherwise inaccessible research for which select governments and Fortune 500 corporations pay huge sums. Downer - a good friend of the Clintons, has been on their advisory board for a decade, while Halper is connected to Hakluyt through Director of U.S. operations Jonathan Clarke, with whom he has co-authored two books. (h/t themarketswork.com) Alexander Downer, the Australian High Commissioner to the U.K. Downer said that in May 2016, Papadopoulos told him during a conversation in London about Russians having Clinton emails. That information was passed to other Australian government officials before making its way to U.S. officials. FBI agents flew to London a day after Crossfire Hurricane started in order to interview Downer. It is still not known what Downer says about his interaction with Papadopoulos, which TheDCNF is told occurred around May 10, 2016. Also interesting via Lifezette - "Downer is not the only Clinton fan in Hakluyt. Federal contribution records show several of the firms U.S. representatives made large contributions to two of Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign organizations." Following Halper's doxxing, President Trump called for an official investigation by the Department of Justice - which Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein assigned to the office of the Inspector General, headed by Michael Horowitz. 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 article was originally published by " Zero Hedge " - ====== Join the Discussion May 21, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Tehran, SANA- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Bahram Qassemi, said on Monday that foreign forces which entered Syria illegally and without permission must leave. In his weekly press conference, Qassemi said that the presence of Iranian advisors in Syria was at the request of the legitimate government and the main objective of it was to take part in combating terrorism. He added that those who entered Syria without asking permission of its legitimate government have to exit its territory. This article was originally published by "SANA " - Pence: North Korea Will End Like Libya If 'Kim Jong Un Doesn't Make A Deal' By Sophie Tatum May 21, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Vice President Mike Pence warned North Korea that it could end up like Libya if it fails to make a nuclear deal with the United States. "There was some talk about the Libyan model last week, and you know, as the President made clear, this will only end like the Libyan model ended if Kim Jong Un doesn't make a deal," Pence said in an interview that aired Monday evening on Fox News. When it was noted that the comparison could be interpreted as a threat, Pence replied: "Well, I think it's more of a fact." President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton's comment that the Trump administration is looking at invoking Libya as an example on how to conduct a potential nuclear agreement with North Korea was met with concern from the Kim regime. A North Korean official said Bolton's comments were indicative of an "awfully sinister move" to imperil the Kim regime. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi agreed to abandon his nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief in the early 2000s. Within years, Gadhafi was overthrown and killed by rebels backed by Washington. This comparison led the White House to initially downplay Bolton's comments -- White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said last week that "there's not a cookie cutter model on how this would work." "This is the President Trump model. He's going to run this the way he sees fit. We're 100% confident, as we've said many times before, as I'm sure you're all aware, he's the best negotiator and we're very confident on that front," she added. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter On Monday, Pence said during his Fox News interview that under Trump's leadership, the US "is not going to tolerate the regime in North Korea possessing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that threaten the United States and our allies." This is the year DJ Neptune commences the push towards GREATNESSand he urges everyone to do so, hence the title of his debut album THE GREATNESS. A lot of hard work has gone into this project and he hopes you have fun listening to it, just like he did while making it and hope you wont have eargasm. The Album houses 13 sugar tracks, with 2 bonus tracks and an ample line up of featured artists and music producers such as Davido, Niniola, Mr. Eazi, Burna Boy, Mi, Phyno, CDQ, Olamide, Jesse Jagz, Maleek Berry, Reminisce, Mayorkun, Zoro, Slim Case, Yemi Alade, Mr. Real, Kiss Daniel, Small Doctor, Pasuma, Run town, Patoranking, Efya from Ghana, C4 Pedro from Angola, Willy Paul from Kenya, Harmonize from Tanzania and Larry Gaaga with production skills from Masterkraft, LengenduryBeatz, Magicsticks Beat, Young John, Ckay, Sossick, Spellz, Jay -Pizzle, GospelOnTheBeatz, Del B, Simba Tagz, JaysonBeatz, Fiokee, Teddy and Majorbangz, giving the album a much needed relish and a pan-African flow. DJ Neptune urges the listeners to Pre-Order #Greatness the Album here , and get their grove on heightens, as these songs potency on the album is a communal song for all. Attendees at the Album listening event which took place at Nooks Lounge experienced an exclusive listening of all production; unveiling of the album cover and track list on the album complementing the feeling of a Pan-African sound, with a combination of West and East African artists featured. Its great to talk about what makes GREATNESS Album great, but you know what? It feels even better to be the first to listen to this Album, as a preorder link is available on Apple music iTunes stores so go grab yourself a copy of GREATNESS by the International DJ Neptune. GREATNESS Album would be available on May 25th, 2018 worldwide on all digital stores; iTunes, MTN Musicplus, Boom Play, Spotify, Amazon, Apple music, Tidal and also on DJ Neptunes website: http://www.djneptune.net. This is the year DJ Neptune commences the push towards GREATNESSand he urges everyone to do so, hence the title of his debut album THE GREATNESS. A lot of hard work has gone into this project and he hopes you have fun listening to it, just like he did while making it and hope you wont have eargasm. The Album houses 13 sugar tracks, with 2 bonus tracks and an ample line up of featured artists and music producers such as Davido, Niniola, Mr. Eazi, Burna Boy, Mi, Phyno, CDQ, Olamide, Jesse Jagz, Maleek Berry, Reminisce, Mayorkun, Zoro, Slim Case, Yemi Alade, Mr. Real, Kiss Daniel, Small Doctor, Pasuma, Run town, Patoranking, Efya from Ghana, C4 Pedro from Angola, Willy Paul from Kenya, Harmonize from Tanzania and Larry Gaaga with production skills from Masterkraft, LengenduryBeatz, Magicsticks Beat, Young John, Ckay, Sossick, Spellz, Jay -Pizzle, GospelOnTheBeatz, Del B, Simba Tagz, JaysonBeatz, Fiokee, Teddy and Majorbangz, giving the album a much needed relish and a pan-African flow. DJ Neptune urges the listeners to Pre-Order #Greatness the Album here , and get their grove on heightens, as these songs potency on the album is a communal song for all. Attendees at the Album listening event which took place at Nooks Lounge experienced an exclusive listening of all production; unveiling of the album cover and track list on the album complementing the feeling of a Pan-African sound, with a combination of West and East African artists featured. Its great to talk about what makes GREATNESS Album great, but you know what? It feels even better to be the first to listen to this Album, as a preorder link is available on Apple music iTunes stores so go grab yourself a copy of GREATNESS by the International DJ Neptune. GREATNESS Album would be available on May 25th, 2018 worldwide on all digital stores; iTunes, MTN Musicplus, Boom Play, Spotify, Amazon, Apple music, Tidal and also on DJ Neptunes website: http://www.djneptune.net. A 28-year-old medical doctor and a professional hacker, Michael Williams, who specializes in generating fake bank alerts to buy assorted vehicles and divert online fund transfers, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command. Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, who paraded the suspect before newsmen in the commands headquarters in Ikeja yesterday, said the suspect who hails from Delta State, claimed he learnt how to hack accounts when he relocated to Canada. He alleged his roommate who is from Israel had taught him the Act. On how he was arrested, CP Imohimi said his office received a complaint that there exists a syndicate that goes to car shops, buy any exotic car of their choice, configures a computer program that would send a fake payment alert to the seller and by so doing, obtain the car of their choice under false pretenses. Williams reportedly visited a car dealer, Abidogun Adewale and bought a Porsche SUV at N28 Million with a fake bank alert. After he had bought the vehicle, he thereafter requested for the sellers bank account number and made it look like he had paid him via the fake alert to his phone using HTTP tunnel. com. The suspect drove the car away unknown to the seller that he had been scammed. Adewale had only discovered when he went to the bank to obtain his bank statement weeks after. However, based on his complaint, a manhunt was launched on the fleeing suspect. The command availed detectives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad all necessary Intelligence asset which led to the arrest of the suspect in Lekki Lagos. This suspect was interrogated and he confessed to committing the crime. He also led detectives to Asaba, Delta State where the stolen Porsche car was recovered. He also led detectives to Owerri, Imo State where two Camry Saloon cars he stole in a similar fashion were recovered. The modus operandi of the suspect who has a good mastery of cyber environment is that he creates a credit card, through cyber ghost 12. When the credit card matures, it is then funded through a hacked Swiss account. Any transaction anybody is doing through Swiss account the suspect manipulates such and wire the fund to his contrived credit card. This is possible with the aid of cyber ghost 12 HTTP/tunnel.azinytv4/vpn (virtual private network). He further stated that through the credit card, one can buy softwares he needs to work and protect his job so that he cannot be traced. Such softwares are known as von and word cyber protector for example Dare Devil. It also enables you to do deductions and transactions per dollar from every individual domicillary account, shutting of CCTV camera on Dare Devil and break the 256 codes on word CCTV.china.north Korea.code, untouchable.tracker.com. This enables him to shut down any working system of his interest on yt. com an Internet sophistication for example youtube/Facebook to make them unworkable for 67 minutes. Although he is not a computer scientist, he claimed to be a professional hacker. CP Imohimi says When interrogated, Williams said he left Nigeria after he was kicked out by two hospitals he worked with I was pushed out of work so I got a visa to travel to Canada. I worked at Tolu medical centre and EKO hospital. It is just that in Nigeria, when they see you are good at something, they just look for a way to push you out. I travelled to Canada to get a job to do or something to do. When I got to Canada, I was living with an Israel guy who had an accommodation there. He taught me all I need to know in hacking. It is about software made easy online. So when you are a hacker, you buy the software online, it is very easy. I get money online and not from individuals in Nigeria. It is a free world online. I came back to Nigeria because our banks are not secured. You can easily hack accounts online. Creating a credit card, you get old credit card online, create them wait for a day monitor your emails and wait for when transactions are coming in on the Swiss code transaction. I dont have an idea of how much I have made. Anybody making a one million Dollar or two million Dollar transaction or one billion Dollar, then you divert it online. Then you secure your securities, then you fund it on your credit card. After funding it on your credit card, then you can use your credit card to buy any kind of powerful software you want and anything buyable online. You monitor celebrities, movie producer and actresses in the USA. John Travolta an actor based in USA he does transfers every week. I hacked into his Swiss code account. Banks in Nigeria are not like banks abroad. Nigerian banks are porous Williams In Nigeria you can sit and hack any account but abroad it is only through the Swiss account because the money is much . Nigerian bank dont have professional hackers to secure them online. They are not secured so I can easily hack into their account. When you are online, you can do whatever you want to do. I dont have an account because you can easily be caught so I just do credit cards. You get old credit card 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. The police has reportedly nabbed a 27 year old Kenya girl who faked her own kidnap. According to reliable sources, the newly wedded Kenyan lady swindled her family of wads of cash by pretending to be kidnapped in order to raise money to offset her pending debts. Upon a distress call made to the police, she was caught while drinking a packet of milk and eating bread after recently defrauding her husband Sh30,000 through a mobile phone transfer. When she was questioned, it was gathered that she told she told her husband of five months that she was unwell and left to purchase the drugs. She, however, never came back and after a day, somebody called the husbands number and told him to forward the money to them to have her released. The family reportedly sent the money on Monday only for the kidnapper to demand for more or the victim would be killed which led to the cry for help to the police. During investigation, the distraught lady disclosed that she made such move because she wanted the money to pay a debt she owed her former boyfriend. The detectives at Kitengela Police Station discovered the young woman had booked into a lodging at Mlolongo on Sunday night and was unaccompanied. A receipt recovered from her showed she had paid Sh1,200 for the two-day accommodation while she waited for her family to come up with the cash. Leave a Comment comments Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi west senatorial district, in a lengthy message on Facebook, said the state unleashed its raw power on him and tried to silence him because of his love for the truth. Melaye, who is being prosecuted in two separate courts on charges bordering on gun running, and for attempted suicide, says he will not bow to Baal. See what he 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. 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. 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. A new recognition of multi-campus Unicaf University came with the announcement that the University has been accepted as a member of SARUA, the Southern African Regional Universities Association. Unicaf University joins other top ranking universities, who appear on the list of SARUA members, (http://www.sarua.org/?q=members), like the University of Cape Town. SARUA, founded in 2005, is an association of universities in the 15 countries of the Southern African Development Community. Its purpose is to contribute in revitalizing and developing Higher Education in the southern part of the African continent, to create qualified, informed leaders, who can respond effectively to the many challenges faced in the region. SARUAs purpose is in line with Unicaf Universitys vision to provide affordable and flexible higher education of international quality in every country in Africa, aiming to raise local standards and educate the continents future leaders. In partnership with the UNICAF Scholarship Programme, one of the most generous programmes of its kind available today, Unicaf University offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, which have an international perspective and a strong local focus, at a fraction of the original cost. By providing options for fully online study, or blended learning, (which combines online delivery with on ground support), Unicaf University enables working professionals to keep their jobs and salaries and young parents to care for their families throughout their studies. Unicaf University offers a wide range of degrees, from Business, Economics and Accounting to Teaching, Tourism, Engineering, Psychology, Public Health, Information Technology and more, at Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate level. Unicaf University degrees are internationally recognized and locally registered and accredited. Furthermore, in partnership with the reputable University of South Wales in the UK, Unicaf University enables students in Africa to pursue a British degree online, and graduate on campus in the UK. The two state-of-the-art campuses of Unicaf University in Lilongwe Malawi and in Lusaka Zambia, have been attracting thousands of students from the region, thanks to the high standard of instruction, the affordability and flexibility provided and the good reputation of the University. This success has led to plans to establish Unicaf University campuses in many other African countries in the near future. Unicaf University is proud to have become a member of SARUA, and is aiming to contribute to the associations platform for regional Higher Education leadership, dialogue and collaboration, advocating Higher Education as the significant contributor to national and regional development. www.unicafuniversity.ac.mw www.unicafuniversity.ac.zm www.unicaf.org Leave a Comment comments Jeremy D. Morley concentrates on International Family Law. The firm works with clients around the world from its New York office, with a global network of local counsel. Mr Morley is the author of "International Family Law Practice", the leading treatise on international family law in the U.S., and "The Hague Abduction Convention", published by the American Bar Association. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and a former law professor. This content is from: United States Although the 2017 US Tax Cuts and Job Act (TCJA) aimed to cut taxes for all Americans, individual US shareholders of controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) living outside the US (expats) are being discriminated against under the repatriation and GILTI tax regimes. Monte Silver of Silver & Co in Israel explains why the likes of Google and Apple are getting a good deal. SINGAPORE - May 22, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) While developing its revolutionary blockchain-based KYC platform, traceto.io has also been busy forming partnerships with other blockchain industry pioneers like the Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX) and Kyber Network. Its newest partnerships with Krytono Exchange and Spiking.io shows that they continue to make significant progress towards realising their vision of being a global leader in developing simpler, faster and more reliable KYC compliance processes. The traceto.io Network uses smart contracts to support the inclusion of constantly evolving KYC compliance regulations. By doing this, traceto.io leverages on the power of blockchain technology to revolutionise the way KYC processes are designed and implemented. This has a direct positive bearing on the ability of blockchain businesses to comply with increasingly robust financial regulation within the cryptocurrency sector. By partnering with traceto.io, exchanges like Kryptono are confident that they are operating under the highest industry standards of KYC compliance going forward. "Our vision for the Kryptono exchange is to future-proof our governance model and work exclusively with the world's best in every area of our business" said William Nguyen, Founder and CEO of Kryptono Exchange. "To integrate the most efficient and user-friendly KYC compliance processes possible for our own users, it is obvious that traceto.io will be one of the best choices." Partnerships with fast-moving and innovative trading platforms like Spiking.io will also create a ever-growing ecosystem for the seamless integration of information and execution details on a need-to-know or customised basis, depending on users' own selection of how their blockchained data can be used. "It's critical for Spiking to have the capability to KYC the host of successful and influential whale investors we'll be engaging with from around the world" said Clemen Chiang, Founder and CEO of Spiking. "Connecting our platform to traceto.io's growing global network will allow us to move quickly and maintain the highest levels of security for compliance purposes." The addition of more partners to traceto.io's network, including exchanges, wallets and other financial platforms, is a testament to the industry-best standards it champions. The corresponding boost in regulatory legitimacy for the cryptocurrency industry will remove a significant existing barrier to the free flow of capital into the cryptocurrency market. Institutional investors with strict and ongoing compliance standards, as well as retail investors wary of loosely regulated industries, will be able to engage with blockchain businesses with confidence that the highest level of KYC compliance is being met. "Incorporating our innovative KYC processes into world-leading blockchain businesses such as Kryptono, Spiking, GBX and Kyber Network will create a new paradigm of greater regulatory inclusion" said Chye Kit Chionh, Founder and CEO of traceto.io. "Users on all of our respective networks will be able to enjoy the benefits of a truly decentralised KYC experience that overcomes the key friction points and frustrations that have plagued crypto adopters and investors in the past." Partnerships with exchanges and other blockchain businesses also moves traceto.io closer to its ultimate goal of creating a singular point of engagement for KYC clearance. By working to provide a truly universal KYC identity, traceto.io will achieve something that the crypto community has been crying out for - a KYC profile that can be used across any blockchain businesses that require one. Gone will be the days of needing to go through KYC again every time a user wishes to invest in a new ICO or onboard with a new exchange. Investor and user excitement from this latest partnership announcement will further add to the strong interest already being generated by traceto.io's recent launch of its Pre-Alpha demo "Mercury". To learn more visit: https://traceto.io/ More Info: This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. 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Roberts, WA; Delta, BC - May 22, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) www.Investorideas.com, a global news source covering leading sectors including marijuana and hemp stocks and its 'potcast' site, www.potcasts.ca release today's edition of its new series, Investorideas.com potcasts - cannabis news and stocks to watch plus insight from thought leaders and experts. Listen to the podcast: http://www.investorideas.com/Audio/Podcasts/2018/052218-StocksToWatch.mp3 Investor Ideas 'Potcast'; #Cannabis News and Stocks on the Move; Aurora Cannabis, Abattis Bioceuticals, ICC Labs, The Green Organic Dutchman Today's podcast overview/transcript: Good afternoon and welcome to Investorideas.com potcasts- following cannabis news, stocks to watch as well as insight from thought leaders and experts . Today we are looking at announcements from Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX : ACB , OTCQB: ACBFF), Abattis Bioceuticals Corp. (CSE: ATT ,OTC: ATTBF), ICC Labs Inc. (TSX-V: ICC) and The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX: TGOD). Before the other announcements however we look at New Frontier Data, the authority in data, analytics and business intelligence in the cannabis industry, has refined the state market projections for California in light of the state's recent lower than expected cannabis excise-tax revenues for the first quarter of 2018. The state collected $33.6 million between January 1 and March 31, which put them significantly below the original of $175 million within the first six months of 2018. New Frontier Data has reduced the latest sales projections for 2018 from $3.8 billion to $1.9 billion. And by 2025, our forecast for total California sales to be $4.72 billion instead our previously projected $6.7 billion. New Frontier Data looked at two key aspects of the California market; their analysts redefined what a legal medical patient is and lowered the conversation rate for illicit market consumers transitioning to legal adult-use market consumers. Next looking at Aurora Cannabis Inc. and CTT Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. who today announced that Aurora is acquiring an initial 9.14% ownership interest in CTT via way of a non-brokered private placement in the form of a US$1 million 5% convertible debenture. The agreement includes an issuance of warrants enabling Aurora to increase ownership to 42.5%. CTT will now provide Aurora with global exclusivity to develop, manufacture and market CTT's novel oral thin films wafers. The companies will work jointly towards obtaining Health Canada approval for introduction of the new products on the Canadian market, as well as obtaining commercial access to other international jurisdictions in which Aurora is active. A little about CTT; they're an Ontario based global leader in the development of dose specific fast dissolving oral thin film wafers that provide a dose specific, smoke-free delivery of medical cannabis or other active ingredients. CTT's oral thin film wafer is made from FDA approved non-medical ingredients used in several pharmaceutical formulations and provides the effective oral delivery of a specific dose with rapid onset of action within 5-10 minutes after dosing. Clinical research undertaken by CTT indicates the oral wafer delivery of THC into the blood steam was approximately 40% quicker compared to edible form factors, as well as resulted in approximately 28% more THC in the blood stream at peak bioavailability levels. Abattis Bioceuticals Corp. announced the addition of three new vaporizers to its product line today. Since the Company's acquisition of Green Tree Therapeutics earlier this year, Abattis has been working to expand its retail presence and product line and is now ready to release its first three vaporizers, the VB-1, VB-2 and the KB-1. "We believe that the future of the cannabis vaporizer market is in branding, concentrates and ancillary products," stated Rob Abenante, President and CEO of Abattis. "Users in the retail space are looking for functional, discreet and durable products and we feel that our new titillating product line will meet all these demands. In this, we are excited to take another step towards our goal of becoming a complete one-stop provider of downstream cannabis solutions," added Mr. Abenante. ICC Labs Inc. announced that it has signed a letter of intent with CanPharma GmbH a licensed importer and wholesaler of narcotics in the Federal Republic of Germany. Through its relationship with CanPharma, ICC Labs intends to export to Germany CBD isolate, oils and other derivatives, as well as various medicinal THC cannabis products, including dried flowers and cannabis extracts from their facilities in Uruguay and Colombia. The export arrangement for THC cannabis products is subject to receipt of the requisite regulatory approvals and the negotiation of definitive agreements by the end of second quarter this year. Germany, with a population of 83 million people, 3.3 trillion in GDP and 320 billion of healthcare expenditure, is home to Europe's largest medical cannabis market. Germany is already leading the way among European countries with a market value of US$11.9 billion.(1) Finally looking at The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. who announced that the Company has entered into an exclusive agreement with CBx Enterprises LLC for the licensing of the Evolab and CBx Sciences brands and proprietary technologies and formulations within Canada and other international jurisdictions outside of the USA. Based in Colorado, the CBx team brings decades of experience developing and marketing a diverse array of unique, first-to-market medical and recreational cannabis products. The licensing arrangement will immediately expand TGOD's product and technology portfolio, and position the Company for the successful development of new products as Canadian and global product requirements and standards rapidly evolve. Evolab is a top cannabinoid vaporization brand that has gained significant market share through the creation of highly differentiated products in a very competitive and saturated market. Evolab's proprietary technologies and industry-leading extraction efficiencies allow for the derivation of pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid oils and strain-specific terpenes without the use of any harmful solvents or cutting-agents. These technologies and formulations lead to the creation of much cleaner and safer full-plant oils for vaporization without the introduction of chemicals commonly found in the e-vape industry. Investor ideas reminds all listeners to read our disclaimers and disclosures on the Investorideas.com website and this podcast is not an endorsement to buy products or services or securities. Investors are reminded all investment involves risk and possible loss of investment Subscribe to the new cannabis podcast series: http://www.investorideas.com/rss/feeds/Podcasts-Cannabis.xml Or visit http://www.investorideas.com/Audio/Potcasts.asp Or www.potcasts.ca To hear more Investorideas.com podcasts visit: http://www.investorideas.com/Audio/. Investorideas.com podcasts are also available on iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher and Tunein. About Investorideas.com - News that Inspires Big Ideas Investorideas.com is a meeting place for global investors, featuring news, stock directories, video, company profiles, interviews and more in leading sectors. 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To sponsor this podcast or be a guest Contact Investorideas.com 800-665-0411 May 22, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Calling it "one of the hottest exploration regions in Canada," Thibaut Lepouttre of Caesars Report describes how one company is preparing for the short summer exploration season. One of the hottest Canadian exploration regions in Canada in the past few years has been the Golden Triangle in British Columbia. Unfortunately the exploration season is pretty short, as companies have just a few months to get in and drill holes before the weather changes. This means exploration companies need to be able to hit the ground running to maximize their efforts. One of those companies is Aben Resources Ltd. (ABN:TSX.V; ABNAF:OTC.MKTS), which is getting ready to drill its flagship Forrest Kerr Gold project again. The Flagship Forrest Kerr Property Aben Resources acquired the 23,000-hectare Forrest Kerr project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle region in 2016. This region was just heating up again after remaining dormant for a few decades. The development of the Valley of the Kings and Red Chris Mines (owned by respectively Pretium Resources Inc. [PVG:TSX; PVG:NYSE] and Imperial Metals Corp. [III:TSX]), as well as new infrastructure development by the government, has led to an increased level of exploration activity in the region. The Golden Triangle has been the hot spot of gold exploration and production throughout the past few decades. Placer gold was initially discovered along the Stikine and Anuk Rivers in mid-1800s, and the exact point where both rivers combined was the scene of a new gold rush. These small-scale placer gold operations continued for several decades until a first mine was developed right after the First World War. But the most famous mines in the Golden Triangle district were undoubtedly the Snip Mine (1.1 million ounces recovered at an average grade of 27.5 g/t gold) and the Eskay Creek Mine (producing 3 million ounces of gold and 160 million ounces of silver). A very prospective region, indeed. Aben seems to have negotiated a good deal considering the company has to issue just 7 million shares and complete CA$3 million in exploration expenditures by June 2020. That gave Aben a four-year period (from 2016-2020) to test the merits of the project while incurring the expenses needed to reach full ownership of the project. It's very likely Aben will be completing its exploration expenses by the end of this year, which would secure its 100% ownership two years ahead of schedule. Looking at the historical data provided by the previous owners of the project, it's understandable that Aben's technical team was charmed by the property. Kiska Metals Corp. (KSK:TSX.V)(one of the previous operators) drilled a very short but ultra-high-grade interval of 0.45 meters containing 359.7 g/t gold and 1.95 meters containing 101 g/t gold. You obviously cannot expect these high-grade results to pop up everywhere on the property, but these intervals, combined with in excess of 20,000 samples, were a good enough reason for Aben to get back in the field for its 2016 and 2017 exploration programs. After analyzing all the data gathered from the 2016 exploration season, Aben immediately designed a nine-hole drill program, completing 2,445 meters of diamond drilling in the summer of 2017. The first three holes were drilled at the Carcass Creek Zone and didn't immediately yield the expected/desired results as only short intervals of low-grade mineralization were encountered. Before the company could target the expected structure from a different angle, the drill program at Carcass was suspended for safety reasons, and the next six holes were drilled at the more important Boundary Zone. This zone was Aben's high-priority drill target after analyzing the 2016 assay results and fortunately these six holes did provide the desired results. A first batch of three holes was drilled from the same drill pad at different angles (45, 60 and 75 degrees), and encountered 10 meters at 6.7 g/t gold, 6.36 g/t silver and 0.9% copper (with a higher grade interval of 3 meters at 18.9 g/t gold, 16.6 g/t silver and 2.2% copper) in the first hole, followed by 12 meters of 10.9 g/t gold, 14.6 g/t silver and 1.5% copper in the second hole (drilled at a 60-degree angle). And the final hole of that series of three (drilled at a 75-degree angle) encountered 14 meters at 2.91 g/t gold, 5.2 g/t silver and 0.6% copper. These are excellent high-grade results, indicating a narrow high-grade zone within a very broad mineralized zone, which Aben Resources will undoubtedly want to follow up on. It's still very early days at the Boundary Zone, but Aben now has a pretty good idea of how to make its 2018 drill program as efficient as possible. It's now also cheaper to get an exploration program going in the Golden Triangle. The recent completion of major infrastructure works at and around the Golden Triangle have renewed the interest of exploration companies in this area as it's now easier to explore, and a discovered deposit now actually has a chance of becoming a mine without needing Snip-like grades. The Forrest Kerr property is definitely blessed with excellent access to infrastructure: a hydro dam has been built on the southern part of the property boundaries, and this resulted in the construction of access roads and, more importantly, a 287-kilovolt power line. That's an important step forward. It doesn't increase the odds of finding a deposit (as you'll still need to apply "pure" geology), but it definitely makes it easier and cheaper to explore. Share Structure Although Aben Resources just raised CA$2.3M at CA$0.125 per share, it has done a great job keeping its share count under control. The company currently has just 78.1 million shares outstanding, and that's after issuing 6.3 million shares at CA$0.125/share in a hard-dollar financing, and 8.55 million flow-through shares at CA$0.18. Both tranches were accompanied by a three-year warrant with a strike price of CA$0.25 per warrant. As Aben Resources still had some cash on its balance sheet, this recent raise increased the cash position to approximately CA$3.5 million. This means Aben is in great shape for the 2017 exploration season. On top of that, it looks like Aben will be able to add more cash to its balance sheet over the next few months, as two series of warrants are currently in the money. With an exercise price of CA$0.10, 4.4M warrants will expire in November, while an additional 3.87 million warrants priced at CA$0.15 will expire on Dec. 29. As Aben's share price is trading firmly above the exercise prices of the warrants, we would expect some warrant holders have already started to exercise them. Conclusion Exploration isn't an exact science, and all companies like Aben can do is increase their odds by identifying the projects (and the targets on those projects) with a good probability of hitting something. And we think that's exactly what Aben Resources did in 2017 before the drill season in the Golden Triangle abruptly ended. With CA$3.5 million in cash and an improved understanding of the gold mineralization in British Columbia's Golden Triangle compared to last year, Aben Resources seems to be ready to hit the ground running to follow up on the interesting drill results encountered at the Boundary zone in 2017. Aben will be one of the first companies starting its field work in the Golden Triangle this year, so we would expect the company to be in the pole position to announce assay results throughout the summer. And having the first mover advantage could be important in this market, as it could allow the "early movers"to retain the attention of the market. Thibaut Lepouttre is the editor of the Caesars Report, a newsletter and mining portal based in Belgium that covers several junior mining companies with a special focus on precious metals and base metals. Lepouttre has a Bachelor of Law degree and two economics masters degrees that have forged his analytical approach to the mining sector. Considered a number cruncher, Lepouttre focuses on the valuations of companies and is consistently on the lookout for the next undervalued mining company. Disclosure: 1) Thibaut Lepouttre: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: a long position in Aben Resources. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company currently has a financial relationship with Aben Resources. I determined which companies would be included in this article based on my research and understanding of the sector. 2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Aben Resources and Pretium Resources. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. As of the date of this article, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports has a consulting relationship with Aben Resources. Please click here for more information. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. 4) This 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. 5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article, until one week after the publication of the interview or article. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Aben Resources, a company mentioned in this article. Charts and images provided by the author. More Info: This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. 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Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp A group of iPhone users comprising of over 4.4 million people and known as Google You Owe Us have sued the search engine giant for unlawfully tracking their browsing history and collecting their personal information in the UK. In 2015, Apple added a Do Not Track feature in Safari that prevented third-party cookies from ads from tracking your iOS browsing history and collect information about you. Google and many other advertisers bypassed this restriction and continued to collect information and track the browsing history of users thereby not respecting the default privacy setting of the browser. This group is claiming 3.2 billion pounds ($4.29 billion) in damages. If they have their way and win the case, it would mean that every single member of the Google you Owe Us group would be entitled to receive 750 pounds. Google on its part denies all such allegations and says the case does not belong to be heard in a London court. Led by consumer advocate Richard Lloyd, the group is seeking permission to hear the case as a representative action that is akin to a U.S. class action, arguing that all the customers share the same interests. The group said that Google used an algorithm that allowed developers to track a users browsing history and collect personal information. The algorithm acted to get around the default settings of Apples Safari browser, which blocked third-party tracking via cookies. Google was not the only company that bypassed the Do Not Track feature in Safari to track the browsing history of iOS users. Many other online advertising companies were also forced to do the same after they noticed a sharp decline in their revenue once iOS 10 was released. [Via Bloomberg Two senior administration officials from U.S. Presidents Donald Trump office have revealed that the President does not use a smartphone whose security has been hardened as previous Presidents have done in the past. This puts him at risk of getting hacked or worse, being snooped upon silently. Despite Trumps administration trying to get him to use a more secure smartphone, the U.S. President has rebuked their efforts as he uses his smartphone for tweeting out to millions of his followers. As per the Politico report, Trump uses at least two iPhones. One of them is only capable of making calls, while the other one is preloaded with the Twitter app and a handful of news sites. Both phones are issued by the White House Information Technology and White House Communications Agency. For optimum security, Trumps administration has urged him to change the Twitter phone on a monthly basis. However, Trump has resisted their efforts saying it was too inconvenient. It has now been over five months since the president got his phone last checked by his team of security experts. This is in stark contrast to President Obama who used to hand over his phone to the White House every 30 days to be examined by the security team for any suspicious activity. A West Wing official commented on the report saying the phone used to make calls is seamlessly swapped out on a regular basis through routine support operations. Because of the security controls of the Twitter phone and the Twitter account, it does not necessitate regular change-out. The iPhone which is only used for making calls also features a camera and microphone which is unlike the cellphones issued by the White House during the Obama-era. It does not put Trump at the risk of snooping though due to inherent advancements in technology and security. The GPS on this device, however, is disabled. If you are interested in reading more about President Trumps security protocol, make sure to hit the source link below. [Via Politico On May 21, both Google and Microsoft are jointly disclosing a new CPU hardware security flaw that is similar to Spectre and Meltdown. The new security flaw is known as Speculative Store Bypass (variant 4), which exploits speculative execution that modern CPUs utilize. It is worth noting, though, that browsers like Apples Safari, Microsofts Edge, and Googles Chrome were pathed for Meltdown earlier this year, and, as a result, Intel says, these mitigations are also applicable to variant 4 and available for consumers to use today. The major issue with this newest flaw is a direct link to firmware updates, which means system admins and others that run major networks will have to choose between security and performance. If Speculative Store Bypass (variant 4) protections are enabled, then system performance can take a significant impact. However, Intel has noted that these protections are disabled by default in updates that have already been issued to OEMs. Most leading browser providers have recently deployed mitigations in their Managed Runtimes mitigations that substantially increase the difficulty of exploiting side channels in a modern web browser. These techniques would likewise increase the difficulty of exploiting a side channel in a browser based on SSB. Intel has released Beta microcode updates to operating system vendors, equipment manufacturers, and other ecosystem partners adding support for Speculative Store Bypass Disable (SSBD). SSBD provides additional protection by providing a means for system software to completely inhibit a Speculative Store Bypass from occurring if desired. This is documented in whitepapers located at Intels Software Side-Channel Security site. Most major operating system and hypervisors will add support for Speculative Store Bypass Disable (SSBD) starting as early as May 21, 2018. Intel has stated that this latest security flaw has a moderate risk warning, and that has to due with the fact that the majority of the exploits have already been addressed up to this point. The majority of those were initially introduced back in January of this year, tied to security updates related to Specter and Metldown. As is the case with Spectre and Meltdown, this issue is relevant to all modern processors, including from Intel, AMD, and ARM. If you need a quick refresher on Spectre and Meltdown, check out our FAQ. Apple, for its part, did admit that its iOS and Mac products were vulnerable to these issues earlier this year, but that patches were being rolled out. Intel, too, noted earlier this year that security updates would make devices basically immune to Spectre and Meltdown. Our Take Its good to hear that most of these issues have already been addressed, but its sad to see that were at a point where these flaws are going to keep cropping up. Still, as long as they continue to get patched, well have to accept it. [via The Verge ; Intel ( 1 ); ( 2 )] Is Kim Jong Un smarter that Senor Trumpanzee? Probably. Or at least he knows that Trump is a habitual liar and that nothing he says or agrees to is worth anything at all. Trump very publicly spent his entire life lying to and cheating everything he's negotiated with. Why would this meeting with Kim be any different? When Bolton let the cat out of the bag a couple of weeks ago-- that the U.S. foresees Kim winding up dead in a ditch, his country reduced to anarchy, like Gaddafi and Libya after they were tricked into giving up their nuclear deterrent-- Trump was forced to contradict him with more of his barely coherent, infantile blather: "The Libyan model isn't a model that we have at all when we're thinking of North Korea. The model, if you look at that model with Gaddafi, that was a total decimation. We went in there to beat him. Now that model would take place if we don't make a deal, most likely. But if we make a deal, I think Kim Jong-un is going to be very, very happy," Mr Trump said. He'd be there, he'd be in his country, he'd be running his country, his country would be very rich... Nothing has changed on North Korea that we know of. We have not been told anything. And if it does that's fine and if it doesn't I think we'll probably have a very successful meeting." The North Koreans might believe it if Trump sent them Bolton's head on a pike. Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan issued a statement about Bolton: "We do not hide our feeling of repugnance towards him." The Washington Post noted today that "Trump advisers have expressed alarm at Pyongyangs hostile rhetoric and actions over the past week, questioning whether Kim is committed to pledges to seriously discuss denuclearization." Maybe Trump should send Bolton's head in return for the whole nuclear arsenal. Nobel Peace Prize, Trumpanzee, Nobel Peace Prize. On the other hand, as the Aoociated Press reported this morning, "Going into the North Korea meeting, senior administration officials say, the president has been almost singularly focused on the pageantry of the summit--including the suspenseful roll-out of details. He has not been deeply engaged in briefing materials on North Koreas nuclear program, said three people with knowledge of the White House efforts." He's " staring down a dealmakers worst nightmare: overpromising and under-delivering ." As the Singapore meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un draws near, the president and his allies are growing increasingly anxious about how he can score a win on the world stage. While Trump has not suggested he wants to back out, he has struggled to define his objectives for the historic sit-down and last week he drew fresh criticism from his foreign foil. I think that Trump imagined he would go into this meeting and be able to have a historic breakthrough with a deal, but its clear hes starting to realize it wont be as easy as he imagined, said Jean Lee, director of the North Korea program at the Woodrow Wilson Center and a former Associated Press bureau chief in Pyongyang. Trump, who has pitched himself as the ultimate negotiator, has focused on ambitious deals as president but has struggled with the fine print. He just hit the pause button on his threatened trade war with China, announcing an agreement to reduce Americas trade deficit with China-- but few details. He recently withdrew the U.S. from the international Iran-nuclear deal-- without outlining a path forward with his allies. And his Middle East peace plan, which he deputized his son-in-law to lead, is months overdue and facing a more skeptical audience than ever. Supporters stress that sometimes Trumps ambitious efforts do pay off, as with the massive tax cut bill he signed into law late last year. Going into the North Korea meeting, senior administration officials say, the president has been almost singularly focused on the pageantry of the summit including the suspenseful roll-out of details. He has not been deeply engaged in briefing materials on North Koreas nuclear program, said three people with knowledge of the White House efforts. They were not authorized to speak publicly. Scott Snyder, director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council of Foreign Relations, said theres a risk that the ceremony and the historic nature of the meeting be allowed to overshadow the deliverables. Driven by gut instinct, Trump rarely dives deep as he prepares to meet with foreign counterparts. For the North Korea meeting, insiders say, he is motivated by the idea of scoring a historic deal and is tickled by suggestions he could win a Nobel Peace Prize-- especially since Barack Obama won the honor early in his presidency. Trump has maintained publicly that his goal is to see the Korean Peninsula denuclearized, and the North has agreed to put its nuclear program on the negotiating table as a condition for the talks. But the two sides are still miles apart on defining what might be mutually acceptable. Trump will huddle Tuesday at the White House with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to prepare for the June 12 summit. It was Moons government that delivered the initial invitation from Kim for a meeting, and South Korea has been pushing the U.S. toward a peaceful resolution to the nuclear crisis. North Korea threw a wrench in the plans last week, threatening to cancel over concerns about the U.S. push to see the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Administration officials viewed the warning as bluster, akin to Trumps own promise to walk away if Kim isnt serious about denuclearization. Both sides, they said, have a vested interest in a successful meeting. Trump attempted to assuage Kims concerns last week, promising protections should he abandon his nuclear weapons. But Trump also suggested Kim risks being overthrown and possibly death if the arsenal remains. Two former Trump administration officials said the high degree of uncertainty surrounding the talks benefits Kim, who stands to gain the most in the form of international legitimacy from a sit-down with Trump. Concrete gains for Trump would be slower to emerge. Denuclearization programs are measured in months, not days, and for North Korea, which has already demonstrated thermonuclear capability, it would likely take years to dismantle and verify that it had abandoned its atomic efforts, should it agree to do so. One official said the priority of the talks in Singapore would be to reach a topline understanding with Kim, with details to be fleshed out later. The best-case scenario, experts said, would mirror the Iran-nuclear agreement that Trump withdrew from earlier this month securing an end to the Norths atomic program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions. Such an agreement could provide Kim more assurances that his leadership would be secure. While public jockeying last week led to speculation about whether the meeting will happen, people close to Trump say he does want it to take place. Victor Cha, a professor at Georgetown University and former White House official, said the best outcome would be good optics, good atmospherics, some broad statements on denuclearization and peace, and some immediate deliverable. He said the worst-case scenario was canceling the meeting. Where are we, if the meeting is canceled? Are we going back to where we were in 2017? Is North Korea going to start testing again? he asked. I think from the broader perspective, that would be the worst outcome. Laying the political groundwork, Vice President Mike Pence, in an interview with Fox News, said both the Clinton and Bush administrations had been played by the North Korean government. We offered concessions to the North Korean regime in exchange for promises to end their nuclear weapons program, only to see them break those promises and abandon them, he said. It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong Un to think he could play Donald Trump. This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group At UCOM only: Tv sets at 10% discount + 1 month free UMIX package + 4k tv channel Ameriabanks Special Offer for New Clients of Hrazdan Branch "Fall forward": Gurgen Khachatryan, the Co-Founder of the Galaxy Group of Companies, addressed a message to young people in Armenia UCOM hosted interns of Russian CBOSS corporation for a month The 20-episode Bloody bet thriller to be broadcast on Ucom's Armenia Premium TV channel Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group UCOM offers affordable gadgets at bigger discount Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to New York Governments preventing publication of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper during state of emergency UCOM prolongs the unlimited internet offer for the level up 4700 and level up 5500 subscribers Ucom employees received recognition for their services to the homeland Karen Vardanyan has allocated 105 million AMD to rescue the Yerevan Botanical Garden. "The Power of One Dram" to overcome childhood cancer Generation A 13 your chance to be the change President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan met with Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Khovayev Google Ad "uDays" special offer at Ucom: discounts for all smartphones and accessories for 2 days only For more than 3 hours, 50 or more Azerbaijani servicemen have blocked the interstate road Call on the international community for an adequate response against azerbaijani aggresssion Transformation and trust are important for success in modern banking. Artak Hanesyan UCOMS LEVEL UP 1700 REGIONAL TARIFF PLAN USERS TO RECEIVE MORE THAN THOSE IN YEREVAN Joint statement Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Covid-19: 163 new cases in Armenia Armenia: Remarks by Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi at the press point with Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan The United States Welcomes Azerbaijans Release of Armenian Detainees and Armenias Actions to Facilitate Demining The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia International aviation: Council greenlights signing of major agreements with four countries With UCOMs level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Netflix, Duolingo and Zoom Eight senior members of Thailands former ruling political party (Pheu Thai) were charged Monday with sedition. The charges [Al Jazeera report] stem out of three members describing the failings of the military government. In addition, five other individuals were charged with participating in banned political activities. Tuesday marks the four-year anniversary of the coup that led to the military junta taking control of Thailand in 2014. In 2017 Thailands parliament passed a law [JURIST report] allowing for the military to remain a political force for the following 20 years. There have been an increasing amount of anti-government protests in recent months demanding new elections [Al Jazeera report] to be held. The jailing of Pheu Thai leaders is seen as a blow to the chances of new elections. In his speech [press release] marking the 25th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein said, human rights all around the world are no longer a priority to countries. His speech was given to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action [text], adopted on June 25, 1993. Its purpose was to emphasize the responsibilities of all countries to develop and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. The declaration was created by the office the High Commissioner now heads. Zeid opened his speech by declaring, the legitimacy of human rights principles is attacked. The practice of human rights norms is in retreat. Here in Europe, ethno-populist parties are in the ascendant in many countriesfuelling hatred and scarring their societies with deepening divisions. He went on to say, there will be no peace for any country until there is respect, and justice. There will be no sustainable prosperity unless all can benefit. Human equality and dignity are the path towards peace in the world: the path of real patriotism, building societies grounded in harmony, not divisiveness and hate. European countries, according to Zeid, are just as susceptible to lacking on human rights as other countries around the world. He talked about the political climate of Europe and made a point to show the etho-nationalists of Europe are not respecting the Vienna Declaration and the human rights of others. At the end of his speech, he called the convention to use the anniversary as a way to protect the purpose and mission behind the Vienna Declaration. He said, we need to use this anniversary to begin to mobilize a much broader community to defend human rights with our fierce, and passionate commitment. We need to make clear the vital, life-saving importance of human rights for the daily lives and global future of our fellow human beings. Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group At UCOM only: Tv sets at 10% discount + 1 month free UMIX package + 4k tv channel Ameriabanks Special Offer for New Clients of Hrazdan Branch "Fall forward": Gurgen Khachatryan, the Co-Founder of the Galaxy Group of Companies, addressed a message to young people in Armenia Google Ad UCOM hosted interns of Russian CBOSS corporation for a month The 20-episode Bloody bet thriller to be broadcast on Ucom's Armenia Premium TV channel Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group UCOM offers affordable gadgets at bigger discount Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to New York Governments preventing publication of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper during state of emergency UCOM prolongs the unlimited internet offer for the level up 4700 and level up 5500 subscribers Ucom employees received recognition for their services to the homeland Karen Vardanyan has allocated 105 million AMD to rescue the Yerevan Botanical Garden. "The Power of One Dram" to overcome childhood cancer Generation A 13 your chance to be the change President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan met with Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Khovayev Google Ad "uDays" special offer at Ucom: discounts for all smartphones and accessories for 2 days only For more than 3 hours, 50 or more Azerbaijani servicemen have blocked the interstate road Call on the international community for an adequate response against azerbaijani aggresssion Transformation and trust are important for success in modern banking. Artak Hanesyan UCOMS LEVEL UP 1700 REGIONAL TARIFF PLAN USERS TO RECEIVE MORE THAN THOSE IN YEREVAN Joint statement Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Covid-19: 163 new cases in Armenia Armenia: Remarks by Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi at the press point with Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan The United States Welcomes Azerbaijans Release of Armenian Detainees and Armenias Actions to Facilitate Demining The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia International aviation: Council greenlights signing of major agreements with four countries With UCOMs level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Netflix, Duolingo and Zoom Shavarsh Kocharyan: The settlement of the conflict is impossible without Artsakh's participation. In June, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will arrive in Armenia to get acquainted with the new authorities and discuss the issue of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan agrees that the settlement of the conflict is impossible without Artsakh's participation. "Even the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have spoken about it, so that Artsakh should take part sooner or later. So it's obvious even for the co-chairs. If Kazan had been successfully completed, Artsakh would have to approve of the approval of that paper and all three would work together on a peace treaty. That's why I'm surprised at this activity," Shavarsh Kocharyan said in the NA corridor. Today, the most important is to maintain relative peace. In case of non-resumption of hostilities, it is only possible to continue negotiations for signing a peace treaty. "Now it is obvious for all of us that the attention of the co-chairs is focused on the first mission, which is the non-resumption of hostilities. There cannot be a negotiation process if there is no trust between the parties; there can be no confidence if they shoot each other," the Deputy Foreign Minister added. More information is in the video. We need to develop an internal dialogue that calls out hate speech and violence. It is crucial that we do not tolerate hate-mongering and sectarianism. (AhlulBayt News Agency) - Changing discourses and perspectives in communities is complex and tough. This is indeed the case with current day sectarian discourses among Muslims. But, discourse, or what and how we choose to talk, also kills. This has been shown by the recent attack on a Shia mosque in Durban. Speculation is that this is a copy cat local ISIS-inspired attack, in which case their severe brand of terror has now hit our local shores with devastating effect. The killing could also be the result of the local anti Shia diatribes that have characterised South African Muslim discourse since the 1980s. Such narcissistic polemics have increased in recent years to frame Shias as non-Muslim whose blood is literally halal, ie permissible to shed. This bigotry is unconstitutional and anti-human rights, yet its roots are deep and complex. It has been allowed to fester and feed Muslim public sentiment, and has remained unchallenged. South Africas human rights regime has guaranteed the free existence of heterodox identities, expressed, for example, through intra religious diversity. However, many groups have found ways to violate such guarantees. These mostly happen in the semi and informal institutional spaces of communities. And, Muslims, like other groups, have been destabilised by such pockets of intolerance. Hate and whispering campaigns have run freely on social media. Prominent imams and organisations have failed to condemn such anachronistic behaviour, while others have openly promoted hostility and hatred. Left unchecked this whispering campaign lodges in the minds of people, resulting in perpetrators coming to view Shias, for example, as less than human. This plays a key mobilising role when people, who often act from their own complex and sometimes marginalised life perspectives, are persuaded to run a victimisation campaign against people who are framed as non, or lesser, Muslims. The consequences, as we witnessed in Durban, are devastating. What is required is to develop an internal dialogue that calls out hate speech and violence. Not tolerating hate-mongering and sectarianism is crucial. We have to change the discursive tunes of acceptability among people. This must be informed by the politics of the long duration, which requires challenging recalcitrant discourse. It also requires educational processes and challenging dialogue in communities, schools, classrooms, mosques and community organisations. This is where tough conversations have to be take place, questions posed, and norms of civic cohesion generated. Condemning bad behaviour is important, and establishing practices in communities that modulate well-rounded behaviour is crucial. Changing bigoted community discourses, is a necessary, if not sufficient, condition, for turning the tide. This will take brave men and women, who individually, and in unison, act principally and strategically to counteract the ransacking of our religion and life styles. Cultivating a capacious civilisational mindset among religious people must remain a priority. What is required is a response based on fortitude, compassion and care, lest a generation of children is lost to the fanaticism of ignorance currently running rampant in our communities. By Aslam Fataar: Aslam Fataar is Professor, Faculty of Education, Stellenbosch University /129 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." Bahrain has upheld death sentences against two activists as the ruling Al Khalifah regime intensifies its crackdown against political dissidents and pro-democracy campaigners in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom. (AhlulBayt News Agency) - Bahrain has upheld death sentences against two activists as the ruling Al Khalifah regime intensifies its crackdown against political dissidents and pro-democracy campaigners in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom. The defendants, Ahmad al-Abbar and Hussein Mahdi, were sentenced to death by the Bahrain Criminal Court after they made forced confessions, according to the Manama Post website. Their charges were not immediately known. Another Bahraini court also sentenced nine citizens to jail and revoked their citizenship. Separately, a court in the capital Manama on Sunday also sentenced 20 activists to prison sentences ranging from 3 to 15 years after they were convicted on terrorism charges. This came days after a Bahrain court on Tuesday revoked the citizenship of 115 people at a mass terrorism trial. The court ruling came as much of the Mideast was focusing on Israeli forces killing over dozens of Palestinian protesters as the US relocated its embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds the day before. Like much of the crackdown, it has quietly escaped attention. The trials in Bahrain are often tainted with allegations of torture and coerced confessions. Hundreds have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Activists say the number of those who have lost their citizenship in Bahrain since 2012 has risen to over 700. Rights groups have accused Manama of employing its anti-terror legislation to jail and torture regime critics. Lynn Maalouf, Middle East Director at Amnesty International, said in a statement on May 16 that the Bahraini government is using revocation of nationality rendering many of its citizens stateless in the process and expulsion, as tools to crush all forms of opposition, dissent and activism. The right to a nationality is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Bahrain is a state party. Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the country on February 14, 2011. They are demanding that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power and a just system representing all Bahrainis be established. Manama has spared no effort in clamping down on dissent and rights activists. On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to Bahrain to assist the Manama government in its crackdown on peaceful protesters. Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested as a result of Al Khalifah regimes crackdown on anti-regime activists. On March 5, 2017, Bahrains parliament approved the trial of civilians at military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being tantamount to imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide. Bahraini monarch King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah ratified the constitutional amendment on April 3 last year. /129 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 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California lawmakers are taking steps to let school employees ask judges to temporarily strip gun rights from potentially dangerous people. The state Assembly passed a bill Monday that would allow school employees and co-workers to request gun violence restraining orders against people who show warning signs of violence. California is one of a handful of states that already allow immediate family members and police to request such restraining orders. Democratic lawmakers supporting the bill invoked the Friday shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas that killed 10. Some Republicans say they worry the bill wouldn't give gun owners enough opportunity to defend themselves in court if a restraining order is requested against them. The bill passed on a 46-23 vote and now heads to the state Senate. (end AP article) (Note: For more background on extreme-risk protection orders, see our article on Oregon's ERPO or 'red flag law.' A typical format for this type of law allows law enforcement officers, family members, spouses/partners, children or siblings to file for the order. Allowing school staff the same option is a new additionand a clear response to the rise in school shootings) MEDFORD, Ore. Nurses at Providence Medford Medical Center say that they have been working without a contract since January. During that time, tense negotiations have been ongoing, coming to a head in April when off-duty nurses picketed outside of the building. Now, according to the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), Providence and their nursing staff have finally reached a potential agreement. CLICK HERE for our full story on the contract negotiations. This is a real victory for our community. This agreement will improve patient care at the bedside and helps us attract and retain the nurses well need to continue providing high-quality care to Medfords families, said Christalyn Matlock, a local ONA nurse and negotiating team member at Providence Medford Medical Center. The agreement is still awaiting a vote, scheduled for May 26. The 287 ONA registered nurses will decide whether to take the two-year contract (which would last until March 31, 2020) or not. There are multiple facets to the new deal, according to ONA. Wages are one part, and would include an increase of 6 to 9.5 percent based on experience, plus increased certification pay for nurses with specialized training. However, it would also include greater autonomy for nursesallowing them to set training standards for nurses who float between multiple units, collaborate on scheduling plans, and integrate new nurses into the team more quickly, according to ONA. From the beginning of contract negotiations, the chief complaint of nurses has not been wages specifically, but rather a vicious cycle of high turnover leading to unusually long hours for the nurses remaningoften leading to more turnover. According to ONA, Oregon is projected to have a shortage of 6,000 nurses by 2025, and the Rogue Valley could make up a large part of that shortage. On April 10, Providence nurses and their supporters held an 'informational picket' outside of the Medical Center to raise public awareness of the ongoing negotiations and the nurses' grievances. CLICK HERE for our story on the informational picket last month. Its been inspiring to watch community members and nurses stand side-by-side throughout this process to advocate for better health care and a stronger workforce, said Matlock. GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) A manslaughter charge has been filed against a man accused of fatally stabbing another man outside a grocery store in southwestern Oregon. Oregon State Police said the two men got into a fight Saturday morning outside Ray's Market in Selma. CLICK HERE for our previous article on the stabbing incident. The victim 46-year-old Frank Chambers was dead by the time Josephine County sheriff's deputies arrived. The suspect, 58-year-old Ramon Rodriguez-Acosta, was arrested a short time later. Authorities said in court paperwork that Rodriguez-Acosta admitted stabbing Chambers. They have yet to say what caused the fight. Rodriguez-Acosta has been granted a court-appointed attorney. President Rouhani described giving independence to universities as the biggest gift to them, saying: Professors and authorities of universities are right to expect independence in universities and the independence that is their right must be given back to them. (AhlulBayt News Agency) - President Rouhani described giving independence to universities as the biggest gift to them, saying: Professors and authorities of universities are right to expect independence in universities and the independence that is their right must be given back to them. Speaking in a cordial meeting with a group of professors and doctors, President Hassan Rouhani said: Since 40 years ago, our population has increased twofold and if we want to make a brief comparison, it is normal that the number of students, faculty members and doctors and specialist, and hospital beds should increase twofold as well, but what has been done in human development and the growth of science and knowledge is way more than this figure. In 1979 we had around 200,000 students and now, we have more than 4 million students and this means that the population of students has increased by 20 times. In the 11th and 12th government, around 24 new science and technology parks have been built, the President continued. Stating that good progress has been made in quality and quantity of science in the country, he continued: We have the 16th place in the world with regard to publishing scientific papers to world scientific centres and we are even the first in the region and the second in the World of Islam. Dr Rouhani also said: In the 11th governments term of office, hospital beds have increased by 20 per cent compared to the entire term of other governments and this means that the government has a special focus on this issue. Without a doubt, professors and academics can determine the required qualifications better, he said, adding: Young people and students are informed and know what problems are. He continued: Our universities have had good increase in quantity in the past years but all university authorities and professors should focus on increasing quality at universities. Universities are primarily a place for learning and we mustnt let our universities politicize, continued Rouhani, saying: Universities must distance themselves from politicization and foster their relations with the market, technology and student training. Stating that the government has done its best to help and support universities, the President said: As academics are right to expect that the government fully support them, the government also expects that academics help it in resolving problems in the country. Last year, we promised that we wouldnt return back to the way things were and we didnt; but today, a government is in office in the United States that returned their country 15 years back overnight and is repeating the same words of 2003 and 2004, the President said. He also added: Americans had experienced what was being said during George W. Bushs term, know it was wrong and had taken steps to correct that but again, a group came into office who are repeating the same words. The world will not let US decide for other countries. The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran also added: All countries of the world want to have independence in their decisions and Americans may be able to do something through pressure but logic does not accept that they decide for the world. It is in no way acceptable that a man who had been working in a spy centre for years tell Iran and other countries what to do as Sectary of State of the United States. Who are you to decide for Iran and the world, telling Iran what to do and what not to do in its nuclear technology? continued the President. Dr Rouhani also said: These words are like the same words that Americans have said before and the Iranian nation have been, and are, indifferent to them and will continue along their path together. /257 The Ontario Securities Commission logo is shown in a handout. The OSC says it joined forces with securities regulators in the U.S. and Canada to warn investors about cryptocurrency-related investment schemes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO Tourists pose for pictures with the famous Ogopogo statue at the foot of Bernard Avenue near the Sails. The Ogopogo statue might be one of the most photographed subjects in Kelowna, tourists who were part of a bus tour were lining up to have their chance with "Ogie". A construction worker cleans up on a housing site in Charlottetown, P.E.I. on Thursday May 17, 2018. Tourists visiting tidy, bucolic Prince Edward Island should keep their eyes open for some swagger this summer: The smallest province is on a tear. An expected steady rhythm of hammers and saws is just one indicator of an economic boom.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brian McInnis Founder and president of Just for Laughs accepts the prestigious Icon Award at the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto on Sunday, March 12, 2017. Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit against former Just For Laughs head Gilbert Rozon. Several women sought permission last fall to file the suit against the co-founder of the popular comedy festival for alleged sexual assault and harassment. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power Alberta Premier Rachel Notley updates reporters on the progress of the Kinder Morgan pipeline in Edmonton on May 16, 2018. There won't be any fireworks between the premiers of Alberta and British Columbia at the Western premiers conference this week, because Alberta Premier Rachel Notley isn't going. B.C.'s John Horgan and Notley, who have butted heads over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, were both scheduled to be in Yellowknife at the conference, which starts Tuesday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki speaks during a press conference at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday May 22, 2018. The Palestinian foreign minister asked the International Criminal Court on Tuesday to open an Auimmediate investigationAu into alleged Israeli AucrimesAu committed against the Palestinian people. (AP Photo/Mike Corder) Referring to the strong response by to Islamic Resistance Front to the Zionist regime, he said, The Islamic Resistance Front forced the regime into deadly silence by firing 65 rockets against 10 military bases and an Israeli intelligence centre in the Golan Heights. The prime minister of this Zionist occupation regime [Benjamin Netanyahu] pled with the Russians to tell Iran to end its actions and stated that they would not act against the Islamic Resistance. (AhlulBayt News Agency) - In his Friday prayer sermon to a large and fervent crowd of believers in Qoms Quds Prayer Hall, Sayyed Hashem Hoseyni-Bushehri offered his congratulations on the beginning of the holy month of Ramadhan and said, The Prophet of Islam said the gates of heaven are open from the first night of the holy month of Ramadhan until the last night for His servants to make use of its divine mercy and blessings. Celebrating the anniversary of the liberation of the city of Khorramshahr on May 24th, 1982, the member of the Supreme Council of the Seminary described the incident as historic and added, About 44 countries designed and planned a war against Islamic Iran and provided all the facilities to Saddam [Husayn] but hidden and divine assistance was given to the Iranian nation and the warriors conquered Khorramshahr, 19,000 Baathist mercenaries were captured in this conquest and 16,000 were killed. Referring to the recent events in the Muslim world, he noted the transfer of the American embassy in the illegal Zionist entity from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds and said, Seventy years ago, with the support and criminal actions of the British, a cancerous tumour called Israel was created and this day was called Nakbah [Catastrophe] Day. The president of the United States [Donald Trump], along with some Arab leaders, has engaged in treachery and recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of the Zionist regime. Sayyed Hoseyni-Bushehri stated that more than sixty people were martyred on this day and more than 2,000 were injured and the perpetrators shed a lot of blood. The Zionists wanted to announce the anniversary of the establishment of the Zionist regime and the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds as a historic day but they have been isolated and the global atmosphere has turned against them and massive protests have taken place around the world against the American and Zionist actions. The member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom pointed to the withdraw of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and said, The United States has expressed its hostility in various ways but in our time there is a climax of hostility. In response to the president of the United States, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei] has said I am speaking on behalf of the Iranian people that you are making a mistake. He added, The United States dispute with Iran is not over its nuclear and missile programs and regional influence. The United States wants to dominate Iran because they had plundered the wealth of the nation many years. Another issue is that they have problems with the revolutionary and Islamic identity of the Iranian people and want the country to be subordinate to them. Noting that the withdrawal from the United States from the JCPOA was unexpected, Sayyed Hoseyni-Bushehri said, The Supreme Leader has repeatedly said that he would not hinder the negotiations but called on them to take a serious guarantee from the United States. The officials and negotiators tried but they couldnt and the United States, with the utmost flagrancy, withdrew from the agreement. The member of the Board of the Assembly of Experts added, The Supreme Leader has said that he does not trust the Europeans and that we can we continue to work only with a firm guarantee. Officials must take Irans national interests into account and we must not allow the result of the United States actions, such as their withdrawal from the JPCOA, to occur without repercussions. The Europeans must give serious guarantees and protect Irans interests. Iran has no problems with the world but its national interests must be secured. Referring to the strong response by to Islamic Resistance Front to the Zionist regime, he said, The Islamic Resistance Front forced the regime into deadly silence by firing 65 rockets against 10 military bases and an Israeli intelligence centre in the Golan Heights. The prime minister of this Zionist occupation regime [Benjamin Netanyahu] pled with the Russians to tell Iran to end its actions and stated that they would not act against the Islamic Resistance. Referring to the Lebanese and Iraqi parliamentary elections, Sayyed Hoseyni-Bushehri said, The result of Lebanons election was a surprise and despite the enemies spending more dollars and mobilizing facilities, more than half of the seats in parliament were won by Hezbollah and its allies. In the Iraqi election, although none of the parties were able to achieve a majority, a greater number of votes were won by the allies of the Islamic Resistance. We hope that the incoming prime minister, alongside the Shiah coalition, will address the problems and demands of the Iraqi people. /129 The Most Rev Bishop Michael Curry, primate of the Episcopal Church, speaks during the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, near London, England, Saturday, May 19, 2018. (Owen Humphreys/pool photo via AP) FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 file photo, Elvis tribute artist Eddie Powers poses for a photo with newlyweds Rob and Kelly Roznowski after he married them at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign in Las Vegas. What happens in Vegas could have a ripple effect across the country if casino hotel workers go on strike next week. If members of the union that includes hotel and food workers don't show up to work, it could cost the city millions and lead to vacation woes for anyone making the trip to Sin City. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File) This undated image from video provided by Paz De La Huerta Inc. shows the actress Paz De La Huerta in her film "Valley of Tears," which she wrote, directed and produced over a 12-year-period, and is now trying to finish with a crowdfunding campaign. She began making it years before publicly accusing Harvey Weinstein of rape, and in the movie, a girl is raped by a butcher who then cuts off her feet. But the rape scene isn't about the media mogul, De la Huerta said, nor does it depict the assaults she said took place in 2010. (Paz De La Huerta Inc. via AP) Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission chief Mohd Shukri Abdull reacts as he speaks in a news conference at the commission office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was being questioned Tuesday by anti-corruption police about a graft scandal that could lead to criminal charges against him. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian) In this Thursday, May 10, 2018, photo, signs for the New York Stock Exchange hang above the trading floor. The NYSE has named its first female leader in the history of the 226-year-old exchange. The parent company of the NYSE, Intercontinental Exchange Inc., told The Wall Street Journal late Monday, May 21, 2018, that Stacey Cunningham will become the 67th president. SheAos currently NYSEAos chief operating officer. Cunningham will start her new job on Friday, May 25. She succeeds Thomas Farley, who came to the NYSE in November 2013. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Yemens popular Houthi Ansarullah movement has fired a ballistic missile at an airport in southwest Saudi Arabia in retaliation for fresh airstrikes by the kingdom. (AhlulBayt News Agency) - Yemens popular Houthi Ansarullah movement has fired a ballistic missile at an airport in southwest Saudi Arabia in retaliation for fresh airstrikes by the kingdom. Yemens al-Masirah television network said on Monday that the Houthis had fired a Badr-1 ballistic missile at Jizan's airport which successfully hit the target. A Saudi television report said the countrys air defense systems had intercepted and destroyed the projectile. The Houthis have fired a salvo of missiles at Saudi Arabia in recent months, including the capital Riyadh, while the kingdom launched thousands of airstrikes on Yemen, killing hundreds of civilians at hospitals, schools and markets. Riyadh frequently reports intercepting missiles fired from Yemen, but various reports have pointed out that US-made Patriot interceptors were repeatedly failing against the counterattacks. Saudi Arabia relies heavily on the United States to continue its invasion of Yemen. More than 14,000 have died since Riyadh and its allies launched their military campaign against the country. /129 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A jury has ordered a rental-property company to pay more than $20 million after a man fell through a rotting walkway at his Portland apartment complex. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Robert Trebelhorn argued that Los Angeles-based Prime Group, which owns the Wimbledon Square apartments, refused to fix the walkway to cut costs. Trebelhorn suffered a torn meniscus and ongoing pain after he plunged thigh-deep into the second-story walkway in February 2016. His attorneys said that despite the urging of a contractor, the company refused to spend about $750,000 to $1 million to make up for a decade of deferred maintenance at the 600-unit complex. Prime Group says it owns 16,000 rental units across the country. The company's lawyer argued that the case was about a man who injured his leg -- not an example of "evil intent" by the complex's owners. Trebelhorn will receive nearly $300,000 under the verdict returned Friday. Most of the $20 million awarded in punitive damages will go to Oregon's crime victims' compensation fund and its courthouse facilities and security fund. LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- For the more than seven months since the Las Vegas shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, Wayne and Kyla Lowell have carried survivors guilt with them every day. KEZI 9 News Anchor Bryan Anderson spoke with Kyla the morning after the shooting and has stayed in touch over the months to check in on their emotional well-being. Now, as the Lowells return to Las Vegas for the first time, they are sharing details from that tragic night, some of which they hadnt even shared with each other. PART TWO: Weight of Survival: Springfield man helps save teen in Las Vegas shooting PART THREE: Weight of Survival: Springfield couple reunites with Nevada teen On the night of Oct. 1, 2017, the couple were at the VIP tent as the shooting began from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel. I didnt even believe it was really happening until you saw the outcome of bullets hitting people, you know, people bleeding and dying and screaming, Kyla said. Wayne flipped up the seats to put his wife underneath in an attempt to protect her before setting out that night to help people. Wayne served four years in the Navy and, he said, his dad raised him to help people. There are three people Wayne will never forget from that night. One of the first people I got to had been hit in the chest, Wayne said of the first person. I dont know why Im not dead from that one because I was between him and the shooter doing CPR on him and he took two more bullets. I could hear them hitting the ground around us. I dont know if he would have made it had we not been right there, had that happen, but you know, why him? Why not me? The second was a young woman who was next to the stage. I got to her just as she died, Wayne said. You know that was a really tough one for me because she grabbed my wrist and she died and there was nothing I could do for her. That ladys face will, not haunt me, but will stick with me forever, for the rest of my life. While separated, Kyla texted her son, who was not at the concert, and told him that she loved him and that she was proud of him because she believed she was going to die. I didnt tell him what was happening because I consciously thought, Im going to die here, and I dont want that to be in my last conversation with him, Kyla said. Later, Kyla made a run for it after hearing a voice say, You gotta go, you gotta go, you gotta go. I was like, Is that real? Is it God? Is it my intuition? And so I made the decision to go. She then found cover under a metal concession stand, where she hid among strangers, including someone who had been shot. After hearing the same voice again telling her to go, she and others left, carrying the gunshot victim with them. From what I understood, that guy didnt make it, Kyla said. After escaping the concert venue, Kyla called her mom, who thought she was calling to say goodnight to the couples son, Wyatt. So Wyatt, hes just like, You gotta find Dad, Mom, you gotta find Dad, you know and Im like, I will, Wyatt, I will, Kyla said. Meanwhile, Wayne was still in the middle of the chaotic scene, and he made his way back to the VIP tent, not knowing if anyone was still there. That was when he found the third person he would never forget. There Wayne came across one of the youngest shooting victims from that night. The teen was sitting in shock with a bullet wound in his shoulder. His cell phone was sitting on his leg, and I could hear somebody talking on it, but he wasnt talking to him, Wayne said. The boys father was on the other line. It was a tough one for me because Im sitting there talking to his dad and all I could think about was, you know, if that was Wyatt sitting there and how helpless that dad must have felt, Wayne added. A Marine walked up and assisted in carrying the boy out, who was then put into a car and taken to the hospital. Wayne never learned the boys name, or if he survived. As two hours had passed since Wayne and Kyla had separated, Kyla was concerned she would never see him again, when his phone rang through to hers. When he finally got back to me, like that hug, I will never forget that hug for the rest of my life, Kyla said. Wayne summed up the experience, saying, The faces of the people that were down there, that I talked to, that I got to move, those faces will live with me forever." BLODGETT, Ore. -- A man is dead and a woman is injured following a shooting Monday night in Blodgett, authorities said. Two suspects have been booked into the Benton County Jail. Deputies from the Benton County Sheriffs Office responded to 35111 Tum Tum Road at 9:10 p.m. upon reports of a shooting in progress. When authorities arrived, they discovered the woman, who had been shot, and began providing first aid. She was transported via Life Flight to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis and is currently in stable condition. The man was found dead at the scene. Both were outside a private residence. Neither his or the womans name have been released at this time. The scene was active for a short time as authorities had yet to locate the shooters. Authorities identified two suspects in the area of the shooting, arresting Jim Dandee for murder, attempted murder and theft and Julie Ann Thurman for attempted assault and theft. The Benton County Major Crimes teams investigation is ongoing. However, the sheriffs office does not believe there is a threat to the community at this time. The Corvallis Police Department, Philomath Police Department, Albany Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriffs Office and Oregon State Police assisted in the investigation. Community members said they're shaken up from a night full of both fear and loss. They're especially saddened to hear about the passing of one of the victims. "So it's like losing a family member. And the more engaged the people are with the community, the deeper the wound," said Jeff Lamb, a neighbor. Community members said the two arrested suspects used to be married, and they believe the altercation arose from that marriage ending on bad terms. WORTH COUNTY, Iowa One person received minor injuries after a rollover crash Friday night. The Worth County Sheriffs Office says it got a 911 call around 9:10 pm Friday about an accident at Highway 105 and Grouse Avenue. A deputy says he arrived on scene to find a silver Chevy Aveo on its top in the southwest ditch at the intersection. The driver, Jonathan Taylor of Bellwood, Illinois, was apparently westbound on Highway 105, tried to turn south onto Grouse Avenue, and slid into the ditch and down the embankment. The Worth County Sheriffs Office says Taylor was treated at the scene and released. Northwood Volunteer Fire and Rescue, the Iowa State Patrol, and Dicks Towing assisted with this accident. STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) An eastern Minnesota man has set a state catch-and-release record by hooking a more than 6-foot-long sturgeon on the Rainy River. The state Department of Natural Resources announced this week that Jack Burke's May 4 catch set a new state record, Minnesota Public Radio reported . Burke had been fishing with his friend Michael Orgas. The duo had caught 20 fish over three days before the record-breaking catch. "We had been having some great action and knew there were big fish in the Rainy River," Burke said in a statement. "This particular fish took about 45 minutes to reel in. When we got it closer to the boat it blew some bubbles and came to the top; I knew it was a huge fish!" Burke used a muskie rod and an 80-pound braided line with a circle hook and crawlers to catch the fish. The fish was 30 inches in girth. The previous record was set in April 2017 by two separate anglers who caught 70-inch sturgeons on the same day. The state keeps records based on length for the catch and release of muskellunge, northern pike, lake sturgeon or flathead catfish. Records for fish that are caught and kept are based on weight. MASON CITY, Iowa - One of 9 candidates running for governor in Iowa made a stop in Mason City Monday afternoon. Fred Hubbell, who is running as one of 6 Democrats for the position, spoke to constituents at LD's Filling Station, with those in attendance asking questions regarding issues important to them. Mary Beth Greenan is a life-long Progressive Democratic Iowan. Going into this election season, she has many issues she believes in. "There's the minimum wage issue, there's health care, there's mental health. Education is huge, my husband teaches, and the collective bargaining being stripped, public safety, my Dad was the Chief of Police in Mason City," Greenan says. She's been to every candidate forum that has been held in Mason City this year, and came to today's session to ask questions and hear what Hubbell had to say. She believes that looking at both sides is key. "To be a whole community, you need to be progressive, you need to look at both sides, need to be bi-partisan and how you look at things," Greenan adds. Casey Castaner finds herself more in the middle of the political spectrum, but also noticed an increase in bi-partisanship within the current political climate. "I hate the fact nowadays people are saying, 'Republicans are evil, Democrats are crazy,' and they refuse to talk to each other. And you can't solve anything if you're pointing fingers at everybody. You're like, 'well, we're gonna think this way, we're gonna stay thinking this way', but that other side could have a very good point and a good idea. And just because you're basically saying 'they're not one of us', they won't listen to them. They're ruining the country," Castaner says. Castaner also asked Hubbell on his stance regarding expanding the state's medical marijuana laws, and is an issue that is very important to her. "It is a big issue because we do have a drug issue in this country and a lot of it could be solved if we at least decriminalized it because there's a number of people who don't need to go to jail for it. It's minor. All they did is maybe smoke something, and that's not necessarily something to be thrown in jail for," Castaner adds. Both Castaner and Greenan stress that whatever side you favor, it's important to get out and vote. "My ancestors came over from Czechoslovakia, Ireland and Norway, and that's the one thing they always taught us as little kids. I don't care whatever it is you do, vote," Greenan adds. "We consider a right, but it's not a right. It's a privilege. It can be taken away from you and it's something that you should make sure to go out and have your voice heard," Castaner adds. According to a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll, among Democrats, Hubbell holds an 11% lead among his competitors, which includes State Senator Nate Boulton, nurse and union leader Cathy Glasson, physician Andy McGuire, former federal appointee John Norris, and former Iowa City mayor Ross Wilburn. Other candidates running for governor include incumbent Kim Reynolds, who is the only Republican running, and Libertarians Marco Battaglia and Jake Porter. ST. PAUL, Minn. A Rochester-based drug dealer is heading to federal prison. Marco Antonio Avila, 30 of San Jose, California, has been sentenced to 26 years behind bars after pleading guilty to leading a criminal organization from December 2015 through June 2017 that not only supplied and distributed drugs but engaged in a violent shooting war with a rival drug gang in the Rochester Area. Avila was indicted in Minnesota Federal Court in January 2017 and pleaded guilty in May 2017 to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. Authorities say while Avila was awaiting sentencing in the Anoka County Adult Detention Facility, he continued to run his drug operation from June 2017 until September 2017. Avila was charged again and pleaded guilty in January to a second count of conspiracy to distribute meth. After serving his prison sentence, Avila will have to spend 10 years on supervised release. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Minnesota says this investigation and conviction was the result of the combined efforts of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Anoka-Hennepin Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Rochester Police Department, the St. Paul Police Department, the Worthington Police Department, the Southeast Minnesota Narcotics & Gang Task Force, and the Minnesota State Patrol. WINNEBAGO COUNTY, Iowa An odd alleged crime has left a Thompson man facing first-degree theft and burglary charges. Robert Morales is facing charges after he allegedly stole pigs and had them inside a snowmobile trailer within Thompson city limits. The Winnebago County Sheriffs Office received a report of pigs squealing on Nov. 5, 2017, according to court documents. The Sheriffs Office said they saw around 50 pigs in a snowmobile trailer that had a flat tire. The trailer was eventually impounded and an employee at Christensen Farms advised he had 150 pigs stolen. Trail cam footage at 40520 200th Ave. in Lake Mills led authorities to a vehicle belonging to Morales. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 8 at 3:30 p.m. MASON CITY, Iowa A woman arrested with drugs in a hotel lobby is sentenced. Kristin Traci Adams, 30 of Mason City, was arrested on November 17, 2017. Mason City police say she was found sleeping in the lobby of the Days Inn with two baggies of methamphetamine in her possession. Adams pleaded guilty to a drug tax stamp violation and has now been ordered to spend three years on supervised probation. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa Two men arrested in Cerro Gordo County have pleaded guilty to federal drug charges. Justin Ray Davey, 27 of West Des Moines, and Spencer Ray Fitzpatrick, 42 of Knoxville, were picked up on October 12, 2017. Law enforcement said they were caught with more than two ounces of methamphetamine. Justin Davey Justin Davey Spencer Fitzpatrick Spencer Fitzpatrick State charges were dismissed to allow for federal prosecution. Davey is pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute meth, possession with intent to distribute meth, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime. Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute meth. No sentencing date has been set. FOREST CITY, Iowa Charges have been dropped against a California man arrested for drugs in North Iowa. Carlos Antonio Guizar Lopez, 19 of Wasco, CA, was accused of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and failure to affix a drug tax stamp. Law enforcement says it was called to the Mills Motel in Lake Mills on January 19 after Lopez refused to leave his room. When police met Lopez at his motel room door, officers said they could smell marijuana. A K9 unit was brought in and indicated drugs were inside Lopez suitcase, where officers said they found 13 ounce of marijuana in eight separate bags. Lopez pleaded not guilty and his trial was to start Tuesday, but the Winnebago County Attorneys Office filed to dismiss the charges. Its motion stated there was insufficient evidence to justify prosecution and conviction. A judge granted the motion to dismiss. FOREST CITY, Iowa A Winnebago County man is pleading not guilty to 3rd degree sexual abuse. Stephen Aguirre Jr., 40 of Forest City, is accused of assaulting a minor female on October 27, 2017 at his home in Forest City. Aguirre entered a not guilty plea Tuesday and demanded a speedy trial. His trial is set to begin on July 18. MASON CITY, Iowa A Greene County man gets probation after being caught with drugs and a stolen handgun in Cerro Gordo County. Jason Scott Clark, 37 of Churdan, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine-3rd offense and carrying weapons. Authorities say he had a baggie of meth and a gun when he was pulled over in Clear Lake on December 13, 2017. Clark has now been sentenced to five years of probation for the meth crime and two years of probation for the gun offense. CRESCO, Iowa A second sentence has been handed down in a Howard County burglary. Nicole Marie Hayek, 23 of Cresco, and Terance Lee Mallett, 33 of Cresco, were arrested and charged with multiple crimes for illegally entering Burke Real Estate on June 30, 2017. Authorities say they stole a credit card and used it several times in both Cresco and Decorah. Terance Mallett Terance Mallett Mallett pleaded guilty to two counts of identity theft and one count of driving while license is suspended. He received two years of probation and a $250 fine. Hayek pleaded guilty to 3rd degree burglary and has now been given a deferred judgment and two to five years of probation. If Hayek fulfills the terms of her probation, this conviction will be wiped from her record. ALBERT LEA, Minn. A majority of SEIU Albert Lea members voted to approve a contract with Mayo Clinic. The contract, however, has not been finalized, Mayo Clinic said Tuesday morning. After a contentious, multi-year fight, members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota who work at the Albert Lea Mayo Hospital have reached an agreement with Mayo Clinic. The two sides reached a tentative agreement the week of May 7th for both groups of workers (general group and skilled maintenance) that have been without contracts for nearly two years, SEIU said in a news release Tuesday. The agreement came following members authorized a second strike in a vote in late April. With a second strike looming, the two sides reached an agreement at the May bargaining sessions. "Being able to win really good pay raises and making sure our contract does not include a subcontracting clause for skilled maintenance jobs were big wins," said Nate Johnson, Chief Engineer and 20-year Mayo employee. "We wish we had been able to get them to move on everything we wanted, but I'm incredibly proud that we stood up for what is right and won the positive changes that we did. We hope we showed other workers, both here in Albert Lea and across the state, that there is power in standing up for what is right for working families." The contracts agreed upon are the same as all Mayo Clinic Health System employees, a Mayo media specialist said Tuesday. Mayo released the following statement Tuesday morning: "Yesterday our General and Maintenance employees represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in Albert Lea voted to approve new three year labor contracts. We are pleased our employees ratified these contracts, which will allow us all to focus on our most important work offering the best quality of care for our patients, says Mark Ciota, M.D., CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin. We want to acknowledge all of our hard working employees and thank them for their dedication to our patients and the communities we serve. Mayo values their contributions and the important role they fulfill in the operations of Mayo Clinic Health System. As part of the new labor contracts, SEIU members agreed to move to the standard benefit plans on the same terms as other Mayo Clinic Health System employees. Mayo Clinic and SEIU also agreed to withdraw outstanding unfair labor practice charges each filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). However, these contracts arent official until SEIU provides its official written notice to the NLRB to withdraw their unfair labor practice charges and the NLRB agrees to dismiss the charges, which we expect to happen within the next few days." NORTHWOOD, Iowa Stealing guns and beer gets a Northwood teenager a deferred judgment. Jalin Jamaal Davis, 19, pleaded guilty to 2nd degree theft and 3rd degree burglary for stealing over $10,000 in guns and fire arms supplies from a safe and a case of beer from a garage in September 2017. He was sentenced Monday to three to five years of probation. If Davis fulfills all the terms of his probation, this conviction will be wiped from his record. BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg apologized to EU lawmakers on Tuesday, saying the company had not done enough to prevent misuse of the social network and that regulation is important and inevitable. Meeting the leaders of the European Parliament, Zuckerberg stressed the importance of Europeans to Facebook and said he was sorry for not doing enough to prevent abuse of the platform. We didnt take a broad enough view of our responsibility. That was a mistake and I am sorry for it, Zuckerberg said in his opening remarks. In response to questions about whether Facebook ought to be broken up, Zuckerberg said the question was not whether there should be regulation but what kind of regulation there should be. Some sort of regulation is important and inevitable, he said. He declined to answer when leading lawmakers asked him again as the session concluded whether there was any cross use of data between Facebook and subsidiaries like WhatsApp or on whether he would give an undertaking to let users block targeting adverts. Facebook has been embroiled in a data scandal after it emerged that the personal data of 87 million users were improperly accessed by a political consultancy. (Kitco News) - The global gold supply will struggle to expand over the next 30 years, as new discoveries will be scant and costs plenty, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a collection of essays titled Gold 2048. New mine supply will be dragged down in the next 30 years by rising discovery and mining costs, the WGC said quoting data provided by the precious metals consultancy Metals Focus. Discoveries have been scant; permitting timelines are long and becoming more extended; capital costs for the next generation of large, low-grade open cast mines have ballooned, perhaps beyond readily fundable levels; environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements are becoming more challenging; operating costs have risen; and political risk has increased in many prospective regions, wrote WGCs chief market strategist John Reade. In-ground gold mineral reserves at the end of 2016 totaled a little over 55,000 metric tons, said Metals Focus head of mine supply Mark Fellows. Even including a generous metallurgical recovery factor of 90%, this would only provide the industry with enough ore for 15 years of production at current rates. However, there are an additional 110,000t of gold within known mineral resources, more than enough to carry existing supply rates beyond 2048, Fellows added. Challenges, which are already present within the industry, will only grow as mining will require higher gold prices to be sustainable, Reade pointed out. Even today, new gold mines need a price of about U.S. $1,500/oz, and with costs having increased at a compound annual rate of 10% over the past 15 years, additional [Environmental, social and corporate governance] ESG costs are likely to mean that even higher gold prices will be required in the future, he said. New large gold discoveries are already rare and will become even scarcer in the next three decades, the essay states. There is always the potential for a major discovery along the lines of the Witwatersrand or Nevada gold deposits but the industry has been looking exhaustively for such deposits with very limited success, Reade wrote. In contrast to falling supply, gold demand is projected to grow, especially when it comes to jewelry and technology demand. Looking ahead, we expect jewelry demand will persist in developed markets. The excitement, however, will focus on emerging markets, as developing countries economies and in many cases their populations grow, Reade said. [On top of that,] rising wealth, connectivity and the use of electronics in ever-expanding applications will require increasing amounts of gold. LONDON (Reuters) - Italian government bond yields came off 14-month highs on Tuesday as the market paused after six days of heavy selling on concerns over the high-spending policies mooted by a potential coalition government in the euro zones third-largest economy. The likelihood of a new Italian government being formed by the 5-Star Movement and the far-right League has pushed Italian 10-year yields up nearly 70 basis points since the start of the month, potentially making the debt attractive again for some. Were in the realms of markets being very technical, and the fact that theres no real news overnight is an opportunity for some to add a little to their positions, said Mizuho strategist Peter Chatwell, though he cautioned against reading too much into the moves. Italys 10-year government bond yield fell 2 basis points to 2.32 percent, well below the 14-month high of 2.418 percent hit in earlier trade. IT10YT=RR The closely watched Italy/Germany 10-year bond yield spread hit 189.6 bps before tightening in sharply to 175 bps by midday. IT10YT=RR DE10YT=RR Spanish and Portuguese yields also came sharply off the multi-month highs touched on Monday, dropping 4-8 basis points. ES10YT=RR PT10YT=RR They provide an alternative for Italian BTPs given the uncertainty around that countrys future, according to Mizuho analysts. We expect Spanish bonds to find demand as a BTP substitute, and see best value in the five-year sector on the curve, they said in a note. Italys M5S and the League have proposed Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor, as prime minister to lead the coalition, which many fear will boost spending and raise the countrys debt levels. Conte looks rather like a puppet for the 5-star and League leaders to push through their agenda, said Commerzbank strategist Christoph Rieger. He added that though the program put forward by the two parties does not appear as radical as first rumored, it is clear that Italy is now clearly abandoning all fiscal restraint. The cost of insuring against Italian government debt souring was at its highest in 7 months with Italys 5-year credit default swaps (CDS) rising to 142 bps, according to IHS Markit. Elsewhere, higher-grade euro zone government bond yields moved 1-4 bps higher as sentiment improved across markets, and European stocks rallied as well. The yield on Germanys 10-year government bond, the benchmark for the region, was 4 bps higher at 0.56 percent. DE10YT=RR (Kitco News) - Physical demand for gold has improved on the recent price decline, although traders say its still on the soft side and any pickup may not be quantifiable until key nations start releasing their import/export data for May. Its better than before, but its still not excellent, said Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at trade house MKS (Switzerland) SA, in an interview with Kitco News. Meanwhile, holdings in global exchange-traded funds have increased over the last two months even as the price fell, observers said. Spot gold spent most of 2018 range-bound between roughly $1,300 and $1,365 an ounce before falling through the lower end of that band one week ago. Prices bottomed just above $1,282 an ounce on Monday and have edged higher since. As of 8:33 a.m. EDT, spot gold was up $2, trading at $1,295 an ounce. The market was pretty poor on the physical front last week, Nabavi said. When we held nicely on the downside, we saw better demand coming in. Basically, as prices were sliding, many potential buyers still held off waiting to see if they would be able to obtain gold at even cheaper prices, Nabavi continued. Further, he said, buyers do not want to pay a premium when there is a fair amount of supply available. Bart Melek, head of commodities strategy with TD Securities, said its too early to say just what the impact on demand may be until hard data is released, such as Indias import data and Hong Kongs exports to China. Further, much gold moves through Switzerland, so this countrys exports are closely monitored as a sign of gold demand as well. For the most part, this [price fall] will probably stimulate physical demand down the road, Melek said. The problem is still the [strong] U.S. dollar. Commerzbank analysts, in a daily research report on commodities, still described the overall physical market as soft. Contrary to our expectations, the lower gold price has hardly attracted any buyers so far, the bank said. For example, in India, gold is trading at its highest discount compared to the world market in two months, with local traders reporting this is up to $4 per troy ounce, Commerzbank said. Further, analysts added, depreciation of the Indian rupee has actually driven up gold prices in the local currency in India. The collapse of the Turkish lira could also prompt buyer reticence in Turkey, Commerzbank said. In any case, gold in Turkish lira is trading at a record high. ETF Holdings Up Since March While hard data on recent physical demand is not readily available, statistics for ETF holdings can be tracked. Thus, this is one aspect of the market we can talk about almost in real time, Melek said. He pointed out that global ETF holdings of gold were 73.291 million ounces on March 30, when gold was still well above $1,300. Now that gold is down around $1,295, those holdings have actually edged up to 75.18 million ounces, he pointed out. The ETFs trade like a stock but track the price of the commodity, with metal put into storage to back the shares. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of conservative Republicans, including some of U.S. President Donald Trumps closest allies in Congress, on Tuesday demanded the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate the Department of Justice investigation into Trumps campaign, Russia and the 2016 U.S. election. At least 18 lawmakers support a resolution calling on U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to appoint a special counsel to investigate what they describe as misconduct by the department and the FBI. A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice declined comment. For months, conservatives have been criticizing the department, the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation of Russian interference in the election, but their rhetoric intensified after Trump suggested on Friday that the FBI might have planted or recruited an informant in his presidential campaign for political purposes. Moscow denies any election meddling and Trump denies any collusion between Russian officials and his campaign, calling the investigations a political witch hunt. On Monday, the Justice Department agreed to investigate any irregularities in FBI tactics related to Trumps campaign. The agreement was made during a meeting between Trump, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray. It is time for transparency and it is time to allow the American people to know the truth, Representative Mark Meadows, the Republican who leads the conservative Freedom Caucus, told a news conference announcing the resolution. Representative Lee Zeldin, who led the push for the resolution, said it would be introduced later on Tuesday. There was no immediate response from House leadership aides on whether the measure might come up for a vote. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said repeatedly, however, that he believed Mueller should be allowed to continue his work. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was not pleased with recent trade talks between the United States and China, but kept the door open for further negotiations. Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in at the White House, Trump said the China talks were a start. Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama 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. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump met South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday amid concerns that Trumps planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on denuclearization next month might fall apart. Moons White House visit was intended to be a fine-tuning of the U.S. and South Korean strategy for dealing with Kim at what would be the first-ever meeting between U.S. and North Korean presidents. But the White House was caught off-guard when, in a dramatic change of tone, North Korea last week condemned the latest U.S.-South Korean air combat drills, suspended North-South talks and threw into doubt the summit with Trump if Pyongyang was pushed toward unilateral nuclear abandonment. Moon and Trump began their meeting shortly after noon EDT (1600 GMT). They also were to have a working lunch. Before seeing Trump, Moon met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton and urged them to speed preparations for the Trump-Kim summit. We South Korean people ... expect much from you. Please take care of us, Moon said, according to a South Korean government statement, in an apparent joke that nevertheless signaled the importance he places on the Trump-Kim summit. A statement from the South Korean government said Moon sought to counter doubts about Pyongyangs intentions given its history of making promises and backtracking in international talks. ... This is the first time ever that complete denuclearization has been officially pronounced and the negotiation will be conducted with North Koreas top leader who wishes for security of the regime and economic progress, which makes it a different level from previous negotiations, Moon said, according to a government readout. Trump has insisted he remains committed to the June 12 summit in Singapore but privately has wondered whether North Korea is serious about denuclearizing, a senior U.S. official said. Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News Radio the United States remains hopeful and will proceed with plans for the summit. But let me very clear, he said, nothing has changed about the policy of the United States of America. There have been no concessions offered and none given. Trumps aides are looking to Moon to help determine whether Kim is taking a harder line against denuclearization than South Korea had previously communicated to them, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Other U.S. officials have privately expressed concern that Moon, eager to make progress with the North, may have overstated Kims willingness to negotiate in good faith over the dismantling of his nuclear arsenal. 99.9 PERCENT CHANCE Moons national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told reporters en route to Washington he believed there was a 99.9 percent chance that the Trump-Kim summit would go ahead, South Koreas Yonhap news agency reported. But were just preparing for many different possibilities, he was quoted as saying. The White House Communications Agency, a military unit assigned to the president, produced a commemorative coin featuring likenesses of Trump and Kim, who is referred to as Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer urged the White House to take Kim off of it. Earlier on Tuesday, about two dozen journalists from Western and Chinese news organizations arrived in North Korea to witness the planned closure of its nuclear test site, an indication that the shutdown will go ahead despite renewed diplomatic uncertainty. North Koreas announcement that it would dismantle the Punggye-ri test site has been seen as an encouraging political gesture ahead of the planned summit with Trump. Two visits by Pompeo in the past two months have apparently failed to yield much clarity on Kims intentions. Pompeo planned to be at the White House on Tuesday for the meetings with Moon. Some in the U.S. government worry that Moon may be prepared to accept a less-stringent version of North Korean denuclearization than Washington wants and could be open to faster sanctions relief for Pyongyang, the officials said. Most analysts say it is unrealistic to believe North Korea will agree to complete abandonment of its nuclear program, which Kim sees as crucial to his survival in power. North Koreas push for nuclear weapons has long created tension on the peninsula and antagonism with the United States. Tensions escalated last year as Pyongyang tested missiles believed capable of hitting the United States. Trump threatened to totally destroy North Korea if necessary and derided Kim as little rocket man before talk of the Trump-Kim summit eased the pressure. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States remains hopeful about a planned June 12 summit with North Korea but has not made concessions in advance of the historic meeting to discuss denuclearization, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday. Hours before South Korean President Moon Jae-in was to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, Pence told Fox News Radio: Plans continue to go forward for a summit. We remain open to it, we remain hopeful. But let me very clear: nothing has changed about the policy of the United States of America. There have been no concessions offered and none given. Three men were cited for soliciting prostitution in Pueblo during a recent sting by police. Pueblo police provided a brief statement about the sting on Monday. The men have since been released pending a court appearance. According to police, solicitation is a mandatory court appearance with a $300 HIV charge, which includes mandatory testing with the Pueblo City and County Health Department. Those found guilty of solicitation also face additional fines and the possibility of jail time. Police did not elaborate on when the sting took place or where. Dancer and choreographer Ahn Eun-me will present "Ahn Eun-me's North Korean Dance" from June 1 to 3 at Arko Arts Theater in Seoul. / Courtesy of Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation By Kwon Mee-yoo Dancer and choreographer Ahn Eun-me is a person who breaks away from social norms. After performing with visually impaired dancers in "Ahnsim Dance" and dancers born with dwarfism in "Daeshim Dance," Ahn's next venture faces north. In her latest piece, "Ahn Eun-me's North Korean Dance," which will be staged at the Arko Arts Theater in central Seoul from June 1 to 3, the internationally noted choreographer will attempt to bridge the severed cultural communications between North and South Korea through dance. Though the project may seem like jumping on the bandwagon as North-South ties thawed recently, Ahn has been working on this since last September. "I had the idea about North Korean dance at the back of my mind for a few years but couldn't put it into action since I couldn't visit North Korea," Ahn said at a press conference on May 17. "Just a few months ago, I was afraid to search about North Korea and consulted with lawyers, worrying that I might violate the National Security Law. However, now we are talking about unification." According to Ahn, the tradition of North Korean dance discontinued at the time of Choi Seung-hee (1911-69). "North and South Korean dance share the same tradition, but it has been divided for over seven decades and the severance created differences," Ahn said. She researched North Korean dance through YouTube. "There are a lot of dance video clips on the internet and I was able to study without visiting the communist nation. I watched 'Arirang' of North Korea and performances of the Pibada Opera Troupe." Ahn also learned basic North Korean dance moves from third-generation Korean Japanese dancer Seong Ae-soon. "North Korean dancers believe that they can express all cosmic orders through nine moves," Ahn said. "This could be the simplest ethnic dance in the world and I am amazed at the unlimited repertoire that can be created from these nine moves." "Ahn Eun-me's North Korean Dance" will not just imitate the traditions of North Korean dance, but Ahn will add fresh twists based on the history and understanding of the North. "I hope we can revisit the lost period of division through this dance," the choreographer said. The performance is part of the Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation's "2018 Traditional & Contemporary" series. Ahn is an associated artist of the Theatre de la Ville in Paris for 2018-19 season and the dancer will travel to Paris next February. Representatives of the country's leading umbrella unions demand raising the minimum wage as planned at a media briefing held in downtown Seoul, last week. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki By Yoon Ja-young The Moon Jae-in administration's plan to steeply raise the minimum wage is facing hurdles as voices opposing the plan are gaining momentum. The minimum wage committee started discussion for the 2019 minimum wage last week. It has to come up with its determination within two months. During this short period of time, the committee has to analyze how the steep minimum wage hike affected workers' incomes and businesses as well as the job market. The country's hourly minimum wage is set at 7,530 won this year, following a 16.4 percent hike. It is scheduled to continue the steep rise since President Moon Jae-in has pledged to raise it to 10,000 won by 2020, under the income-led economic growth strategy in which increased income of the working class will pull up consumption and boost the economy. To achieve the 10,000 won target, it should be raised by 15.24 percent for two consecutive years. However, there has been increasing concern over the steep hike as job market conditions have been worsening. The number of newly added jobs stood at 123,000 in April, which is a mere one third of the 420,000 recorded a year ago. Jobs in industries heavily affected by the minimum wage, or wholesale and retail as well as restaurant and lodging, dipped 88,000 from a year ago. Experts point out that businesses such as convenience stores, restaurants and lodgings have already been decreasing their hiring following the approval of the minimum wage hike last year. Strategy and finance minister Kim dong-yeon also admitted the possible negative impact on the job market. "Based on experience or intuition, I think the minimum wage hike would have affected employment or wages," he told lawmakers last week. The remark drew attention as the government had been only reiterating that the effect of the minimum wage hike on the job market was not clear. Those who are supportive of the minimum wage hike say the current sluggish job market has to do with corporate restructuring in key industries such as shipbuilding and automobiles. However, the labor ministry is also becoming cautious. "The 10,000 won minimum wage should be attained, but we are currently cautious about achieving it by 2020," vice labor minister Yi Sung-ki said in a recent briefing. SMEs and merchants have been demanding that the regular bonus and other allowances should also be included in the minimum wage to prevent a steep hike. Amid growing pressure, the lawmakers of the environment and labor committee of the National Assembly discussed Monday whether bonuses and other allowances should be included when calculating the minimum wage, but they failed to reach consensus. The labor unions have been strongly opposing such a move, pointing out that it will nullify the effect of the minimum wage hike. The Korea Confederation of Trade Unions said that it will not participate in the tripartite meeting of labor, management and government to protest such a discussion at the National Assembly. The umbrella union has been demanding that the scope of the minimum wage should be determined in the minimum wage committee which includes representatives of labor. Korea Employers' Federation requests that the minimum wage should differ between industries and regions. "There is a huge gap according to industries and regions, in terms of labor intensity, living expenses and the capacity of businesses to pay workers. It is irrational to apply a single minimum wage to all industries and regions despite such gap," it noted in an announcement. A train leaves South Korea heading to North Korea in a test run following the temporary peaceful mood during the Roh Moo-hyun administration in this 2007 file photo. As the outlook on inter-Korean economic cooperation is turning uncertain, stocks related to North Korea are making volatile movements. / Yonhap By Yoon Ja-young Stocks related to inter-Korean economic cooperation are fluctuating, as the outlook on the peaceful reconciliation with North Korea is turning uncertain. It is adding to the concern of small investors who purchased those shares on credit. Following an abrupt delay of high-level talks with South Korea, North Korea is threatening to pull out of the summit scheduled with the United States, saying it is not interested in a conversation that forces "unilateral" denuclearization on it. "The stocks related with inter-Korean cooperation are facing rising obstacles following North Korea's abrupt attitude change. They are likely to slow down the pace of the rise, which is inevitable when considering their steep rise in a short period of time," said Moon Da-sol, a strategist at Heungkuk Securities. Hyundai Elevator, for instance, closed at 107,000 won Monday, down 0.47 percent from the previous trading day. It has been fluctuating since hitting the ceiling of 121,000 won on May 15. Hyundai Elevator is expected to benefit when North Korea opens since it is the biggest shareholder of Hyundai Asan, which was engaged in business with North Korea when the two countries enjoyed a more peaceful mood during previous liberal administrations. Other shares deemed to benefit from inter-Korean economic cooperation also fell amid skepticism. It is triggering concern as small investors have been getting loans for their margins. According to the Korea Exchange, the country's bourse operator, the balance of the loans on margin accounts stood at a record 12.49 trillion won as of May 17. This refers to the loans securities companies offer to small investors for stock investments, taking stocks as collateral. The balance surged by 26.6 percent from the end of last year when it totaled 9.86 trillion won. It is only matter of time until it surpasses 13 trillion won, analysts expect. Stock investments on credit especially surged steeply for those related to North Korea. The balance of loans offered for purchase of Hyundai Engineering and Construction stands at 158.8 billion won, up 107.3 billion won from a month ago. Hyundai E&C has experience with construction projects in North Korea. Hyundai Elevator and Hyundai Rotem, a train manufacturer which is expected to benefit when the two countries link railways, also saw more investors getting loans to purchase their stocks. All of the top 10 stocks that saw the biggest surge of loans on margin accounts were related to economic cooperation with North Korea. Analysts say investors should keep in mind the economic cooperation between the two countries is not guaranteed. The June 12 summit between the United States and North Korea will determine the direction of these stocks. "North Korea knows it cannot solely depend on the United States, and thus prefers multilateral agreements through which it can get help from the international community," said Kim Il-goo, an analyst at Hanwha Investment and Securities, adding North Korea may suggest scrapping its nuclear arsenal step by step following economic growth. "For North Korea, the most risky scenario is the United States deserting any signed agreement later following a conditional agreement to lift sanctions on North Korea. In that case, businesses that have invested in North Korea would be damaged, as in the case of Iran, further worsening its economy," the analyst said. "Shares related to inter-Korean economic cooperation will also mark extremely volatile movements depending on choices made by the United States." Children, who entered a temple together to experience a monk's life for three weeks, put their hands together during a service to celebrate Buddha's birthday at the Jogye temple in Seoul on Tuesday. / AP President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook disembark from the presidential flight after arriving at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, Tuesday, for Moon's summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. / Yonhap NK-US summit very likely to be held despite standoff' By Kim Rahn WASHINGTON, D.C. President Moon Jae-in arrived in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump today about North Korea's denuclearization. His visit comes almost three weeks before Trump's planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, June 12, following Moon's April 27 summit with Kim. The allies are tasked with setting a joint strategy to make the Washington-Pyongyang summit successful, and how they will carry out agreements reached at it afterward. Although the two leaders talked about the issue over the phone many times and their aides have been doing so as well, the face-to-face talks are expected to help them build more trust in the joint strategy. "In usual summits, working- and high-level officials make almost all agreements in advance; but there is no pre-set scenario for this meeting, and Moon and Trump will exchange their ideas spontaneously," Moon's security chief Chung Eui-yong told reporters on a plane bound for the U.S. capital. North Korea declined to accept the list of South Korean journalists chosen to cover the dismantling of its nuclear test site Tuesday, making it technically hard for the South Korean media to join the event scheduled for this week. "We tried to convey the list through the Panmunjom communication channel at 9 a.m. today, but the North declined to accept it," a unification ministry official said on condition of anonymity. As the North declined to accept the list, South Korean media is highly likely to be excluded from covering the event that the North is planning to hold this week. "It appears to be technically difficult (for the South Korean reporters) to make a trip to the North today," a government official said. "It is regrettable." North Korea announced in mid-May that it will publicly shut down the test site located in the country's northern region in a ceremony to which media from South Korea, China, Russia, the United States and Britain will be invited to cover. The North invited four South Korean reporters each from a newswire and a broadcasting company for the event to be held from Wednesday to Friday, depending on weather conditions. The site, located in the mountainous region of the North, is where the North carried out all six of its nuclear denotation tests. Its dismantling is deemed to be a "meaningful" step toward the complete denuclearization the North promised in the April 27 inter-Korean summit. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Monday warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un not to "play" President Donald Trump if they meet at a proposed June 12 summit, according to excerpts from a Fox News interview. "It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong Un to think he could play Donald Trump," Pence said amid growing concerns that the meeting could become an embarrassing failure for Trump if he does not achieve his goal of getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. Pence added that there was "no question" that Trump was prepared to walk away from the meeting set to be held in Singapore. "I don't think President Trump is thinking about public relations, he's thinking about peace," he said. North Korea last week said it would walk away from the landmark summit if the US insisted on its complete denuclearization. Trump, who firmly believes in his ability to strike major deals, has reportedly been asking advisors and allies whether he should still attend the summit in the wake of North Korea's dramatic change of tone. Trump is expected to discuss the meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae In who is due to visit the White House on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Trump told reporters "everyone thinks" he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, but insisted the prize he wanted was a "victory for the world." The possibility of a Trump-Kim meeting was first made public in March by South Korean officials during a Washington visit. (dpa) A foreign reporter at the security checkpoint at Kalma Airport in Wonsan, North Korea, Tuesday. / Captured from Xinhua News Twitter Foreign reporters at Kalma Airport in Wonsan, North Korea, Tuesday. / Captured from Xinhua News Twitter Foreign reporters at Kalma Airport in Wonsan, North Korea, Tuesday. / Captured from Xinhua News Twitter Foreign reporters line up at a check-in counter at Beijing Capital International Airport, Tuesday. They are on their way to the Punggye-ri nuclear site to cover its dismantlement, scheduled for sometime between Wednesday and Friday. South Korean reporters were unable to join the trip because the North denied their entry in protest at an ongoing Seoul-Washington military drill and an anti-Pyongyang speech in Seoul by a high-ranking North Korean defector. / Joint Press Corps A North Korean, center, who introduced himself as a reporter at Rodong Sinmun, talks with reporters at Beijing Capital International Airport. / Joint Press Corps About two dozen journalists from Western and Chinese news organizations arrived in North Korea on Tuesday to witness the closure of its nuclear test site, an indication that the shutdown will go ahead amid renewed diplomatic uncertainty. North Korea invited a handful of media to witness the dismantling of the Punggye-ri site this week but not technical experts, even though the United States has called for "a permanent and irreversible closure that can be inspected and fully accounted for." Isolated North Korea's offer to scrap the test site was seen as a key concession in months of easing tension between Pyongyang and its long-time bitter rivals, South Korea and the United States. However, the improving diplomatic environment has hit a rocky patch, with North Korea threatening last week to pull out of a planned June 12 summit in Singapore between leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump. South Korean president Moon Jae-in was scheduled to meet Trump in Washington later on Tuesday, as U.S. officials try to figure out whether North Korea, which has pursued nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of U.N. sanctions, is serious about negotiating a deal on denuclearisation. Journalists from the Associated Press, CNN, CBS, Russia Today and Chinese state media outlets were among those seen checking in at Beijing Capital International Airport to catch the Air Koryo flight to North Korea. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the group had arrived at the airport in the east coast city of Wonsan. The Rodong Sinmun reporter scribbles down his personal details. / Yonhap Numerous other news organisations, including Reuters, had also sought to cover the shutdown of the North's nuclear test site but were denied invitations. South Korea expressed regret that its journalists had not been included after earlier being invited. "Nonetheless, the government pays due attention to the fact that the North's pledge to dismantle the Punggyeri nuclear test site, an initial measure for denuclearisation, is proceeding as planned, and expects that such action to lead to the successful hosting of the North Korea-U.S. summit," South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement. Last month, Moon and Kim held a historic summit at the Demilitarised Zone separating the two countries. North and South Korea are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. North Korea has rejected unilateral disarmament and given no indication that it is willing to go beyond statements of broad support for the concept of universal denuclearisation. It has said in previous, failed talks that it could consider giving up its arsenal if the United States provides security guarantees by removing its 28,500 troops from South Korea and withdraws its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from South Korea and neighbouring Japan. (REUTERS) Foreign reporters move through the airport to board a North Korean flight bound for Wonsan. From Wonsan, they will travel to the test site by bus. / Joint Press Corps CNN's Tokyo bureau correspondent Will Ripley speaks to reporters at Beijing Capital International Airport. /Joint Press Corps South Korean reporters stand outside the closed gates of the North Korean embassy in Beijing, Monday. / Yonhap Foreign reporters depart for Wonsan, North Korea, from the Beijing Capital International Airport, Tuesday, while South Korean reporters have not been approved for visas to the North. / Joint Press Corps By Choi Ha-young North Korea's refusal to issue entry visas for South Korean reporters to observe the shutdown of its nuclear test site casts doubt on whether it is serious about improving relations with South Korea, experts said Tuesday. South Koreans now have fundamental questions about the Kim Jong-un regime: Can they trust any agreements with North Korea? Can North Korea become a normal country? On May 15, the North invited eight South Korean reporters four from a news agency and as many from a broadcaster. They were in Beijing awaiting entry permits to the North until Tuesday afternoon but had to return home in vain. Only foreign reporters were allowed to enter the North. "This has been a typical tactic of North Korea, to lay a burden on the South Korean government and tame journalists," said Cha Du-hyeogn, a visiting research fellow at Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "By doing so, Pyongyang can push President Moon Jae-in to attract bigger concessions from President Donald Trump in the summit." 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 summit meeting. 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. The words "Peace Talks" are emblazoned at the top of the front of the coin with the date "2018" beneath. The summit is expected to take place in Singapore on June, 12, 2018. / AFP 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. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar High school students seek recruitment information at a job fair at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province in this 2013 file photo. Korea Times file By Kim Hyun-bin The Ministry of Education (MOE) has secured a supplementary budget to help high school graduates find jobs soon after graduation. The National Assembly passed the additional 162.3 billion won ($150 million) budget for this year, Monday The ministry's total budget was 68.3 trillion won this year, up 162 billion won from the previous year. Nearly half of the supplementary budget _ 73.5 billion won _ will be used to help high school students get employed and support small- and medium-sized (SME) enterprises. Under the plan, about 3 million won will be given to each high school senior who is employed at an SME. In order to benefit from the plan, students need to receive at least one year of vocational training in a related field. Currently, 24,000 students are eligible to receive the subsidy. "The subsidy will help high school students get on their feet soon after being employed. It will also help the manpower shortage at SMEs," said an education ministry official. A budget to help college students' employment has also been increased by 7 billion won from last year, reaching a total of 35.6 billion won for the second half of the year. The subsidy aims to assist college juniors and seniors get employed at the nation's SMEs. It will be provided in the form of scholarships. The increase in the budget will allow 4,500 college students to receive scholarships this year, an increase of 900 students from last year. . Twenty-nine billion won has been set aside for working high school grads to receive a college diploma. Under the plan, a high school graduate who has worked at a SME for over three years will be eligible to receive a full scholarship if they pursue a college education. In addition, the ministry has secured 112 billion won to help students from low-income families to get a college education. The budget will benefit 3,000 low-income students. / Yonhap Strict law leaves Korean police helpless against violence By Jung Min-ho In some parts of the world, police are often criticized for excessive use of force. Here, it is the opposite: they are frequently blamed for their reluctance to use force. On May 1, seven people assaulted a man, 31, in Gwangju for taking a taxi they had hailed first. They repeatedly punched him and even poked a twig into one of his eyes. He eventually lost the sight of the eye. Video footage of armed police helplessly watching him being assaulted on the street sparked massive public outrage. Many people wondered why they did not use their guns and batons. Korean law allows police to use weapons to protect citizens and themselves. But in practice, police rarely take advantage of the law, even when threats are imminent. "Many police officers have faced lawsuits as a result of using weapons," HMP Law lawyer Eom Yoon-ryung told The Korea Times. "Although it is rare that police end up being convicted for using weapons, some lose money after a civil suit or face disciplinary measures." Under the law, police are allowed to use weapons when a suspect, who has committed a serious crime that would result in at least three years in jail, resists or tries to flee; or when a suspect with a deadly weapon refuses to surrender three times "But to stay out of legal trouble and complications, many police do not use weapons even when they need to," said Kwak Dae-kyung, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University. Because of this police weak spot, some criminals are not afraid of police officers. When the attackers in Gwangju faced police officers, they did not step back instead, they pushed the officers away and continued to assault the victim until he got into a police car. Some people believe the law should change to give police more power to carry out their duties. "I think their judgment should be more respected by the law," Kwak said. Last week, a young police officer urged Cheong Wa Dae and the National Assembly to revise the law to give police more protection. "Over the past three years, I have been assaulted more than 20 times for no reason," he said on the presidential office petition website. "I was slapped, punched in the face and spat at I'm not an exceptional case. Many police officers deal with such problems every day. But we hold still. We need your help." The officer called on lawmakers to revise the law so criminals who targeted police officers would face heavy penalties. He also asked for financial support for police who faced lawsuits. The petition has garnered more than 43,000 signatures. By Lee Suh-yoon As nuclear safety regulators ordered the recall of more than 60,000 mattresses found to emit dangerous levels of radiation, Monday, citizen activists are calling it the "second Oxy scandal." That scandal involved humidifier disinfectant products that killed hundreds in 2011. According to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission last Tuesday, mattresses produced by the local company Daijin Bed were found to emit radon a radioactive gas at levels nine times the national safety standard. The recall size could grow to 90,000 mattresses if the safety commission finds similar radon levels in 17 other Daijin Bed mattresses that are still under review. Radon is emitted by a mineral-based negative ion powder that is applied to the inner sheets and sponges of mattresses for supposed health benefits. Radon exposure can lead to lung cancer, especially for smokers, according to the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences. The commission said the recall will be carried out within a month. Around 2,800 people will soon file a joint suit against Daijin Bed through local law firm Taeyul. The problem, however, could be a lot bigger than just mattresses. The same radon-emitting powder has been used by 66 different manufacturers in the country. Eleven of them manufacture lifestyle products people interact with closely. The commission said it will soon expand its investigation into these other products. "Daijin Bed's radon mattress is just one case out of many," civic groups said in a joint statement last Tuesday. "There are currently over 180,000 patented products that use negative ions." Sisa Journal, a weekly magazine, also reported last week the safety commission had been aware for years of large amounts of radioactive material being channeled into local firms. However, the commission took no regulatory steps until the recently unearthed Daijin Bed scandal. The former headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard in Songdo, Incheon / Yonhap By Kang Seung-woo The headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard (KCG) will be relocated to Incheon by November. According to the KCG, a Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon approved the relocation cost of 11.5 billion won ($10.7 million), Monday, clearing the way for the Coast Guard to resettle in Songdo after four years. Its relocation to the port city, west of Seoul, was one of President Moon Jae-in's campaign pledges. The KGC, established in 1953 in Busan, moved to Incheon in 1979 before settling in Songdo in 2005. However, due to its lackluster rescue operations during the April 2014 sinking of the ferry Sewol, then-President Park Geun-hye disbanded it. The maritime accident killed more than 300, most of them high school students on a field trip to Jeju Island. Later, it served as an affiliated body of the newly created Ministry of Public Safety and Security and had to move to Sejong, the administrative capital located inland 120 kilometers south of Seoul. Currently, two police agencies are using the KCG's old headquarters. After President Moon's election in May 2017, the KCG was newly launched as an independent external organization of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in July of the same year, with the three-year-old safety ministry broken up. Incheon and Busan as well Sejong were bidding to station the KCG. The KCG chose Incheon as its new home, given that the city's surroundings are full of security and diplomatic factors, such as the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and illegal fishing by Chinese boats. In that respect, it needs quick and smooth communications with the defense ministry, the unification ministry and the foreign ministry. Plus, in the event of a large-scale maritime accident, the KGC will be able to provide a quick response as it has easy access to the ocean as well as Korea Aerospace University that can also help with rescue missions. "The headquarters returning to Incheon means the complete resurrection of the KCG," its official said. "Through a speedy and stable resettlement, the KCG will try its best to meet public expectations." Park Kyung-min, a former ranking police official and former spokesman of the National Police Agency, has headed the maritime agency since July 2017. President Moon Jae-in disembarks from a plane after arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Monday (local time). / Yonhap South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Washington on Monday for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump about strategies for Trump's upcoming high-stakes summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Moon is scheduled to hold talks with Trump on Tuesday, starting with a 30-minute private meeting where the leaders will be accompanied by no one else besides only their interpreters, an official from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. "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," the official said earlier, while speaking on condition of anonymity. Moon, who held historic summit talks with Kim on April 27, is expected to share with Trump his experiences of dealing with the North's leader so as to help Trump prepare for his own talks with Kim set for June 12 in Singapore. "We expect the 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," said Nam Gwan-pyo, a deputy director of the presidential National Security Office. Moon has already held two telephone conversations with Trump since his summit with Kim. His U.S. visit came as he seeks to provide a more detailed account of his encounter with the reclusive North Korean leader that Cheong Wa Dae officials said could not be delivered soundly over the phone. Screenshot from the Democratic Party of Korea's election pledge booklet PDF file. The last chapter depicts peace on the peninsula and in East Asia. / Courtesy of Democratic Party of Korea By Jung Da-min Is it a populist election tactic, or is it a valid effort to promote Korean detente after the summit? Less than a month to go before the June 13 local elections, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) recently released its pledges including five key points youth happiness, fine dust settlement, national safety, job-centered growth and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Among the five, the last one, peace on the Korean Peninsula, is stoking political debates. DPK's peace agenda focuses on inter-Korean changes at the central and local government levels. The opposition Liberty Korea Party however is raising its voice over the validity of the agenda. LKP spokeswoman Jun Hee-kyung pointed out such discussions before the North's denuclearization are premature. "Any inter-Korean business without the fully verifiable dismantlement of North Korean nuclear weapons is likely to be a breach of sanctions against the regime," Jun said. "It would be a mistake for South Korea to deviate from solid international cooperation." The DPK's peace pledges include the resumption of Mount Geumgang tourism project and reopening the Gaeseong Industrial Complex as well as new economic roadmaps centering on border cities in the coastal regions and along the DMZ. The possibility of resuming or beginning such inter-Korean projects, however, remains uncertain. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said earlier in May that although an inter-Korean joint liaison office will be established in the Gaeseong area, it is not linked to the resumption of the complex. The ruling party's pledges also include the opening of direct flights from Seoul to Mount Baekdu (also known as Paektu), the development of a tour course linking Mount Baekdu and Kaema Plateau as well as the connection of railways such as Gyeongwon Line. Under the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2371 and 2375, however, joint ventures with the North are prohibited. There are exceptions to the public infrastructure that do not create profits but it is uncertain if the UNSC will approve the joint flights and railway projects. There is another issue. While the ruling party pledged to solve issues of prisoners of war, abductees and detainees in the North, it is highly unlikely that these would be up for negotiation. North Korea has responded sensitively to human rights issues. Recently, it has been demanding South Korea send back 12 restaurant workers. The North has claimed the Park Geun-hye government engineered their mass defection in 2016. Some, however, said these pledges are valid as an effort to promote the now hampered Korean detente, following North Korea's cancellation of a high-level meeting between the two Koreas last week and excluding South Korean media to view the on-site denuclearization scheduled from Wednesday to Friday this week. "Even though it's just a 'peace show' as the opposition leader Hong Joon-pyo said before, promoting inter-Korean exchanges should be acknowledged as an effort to ease tensions on the peninsula," said Fyodor Tertitskiy, an analyst concentrating on North Korea. The DPK denounced the opposition party's criticism as negative campaigning. Journalists from foreign news outlets invited to cover North Korea's shutdown of its Punggye-ri nuclear test site this week leave Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday. South Korean reporters were denied visas by Pyongyang amid strained inter-Korean relations since the North canceled a high-level meeting last week. / Joint Press Corps By Kim Bo-eun, Joint Press Corps North Korea has refused visas for South Korean journalists to enter the North to cover the regime's shutdown of its Punggye-ri nuclear testing site this week. But reporters from the U.S., U.K., China and Russia received visas and left for North Korea on Tuesday. North Korea invited South Korean media to cover the event, but has not responded to the South's submitted list of reporters. Reporters from South Korean wire agency News1 and broadcaster MBC arrived in Beijing on Monday with hopes that visas would be issued before the flight to North Korea's Wonsan Kalma Airport the following day. But they were denied permission. Reporters from foreign news outlets including CNN, APTN, CCTV and TASS left for Wonsan Tuesday. "We're going to go in there with our eyes wide open and we'll see what happens," Will Ripley of CNN was quoted as saying to South Korean reporters before leaving Beijing airport. "We hope that the North Koreans are going to be transparent like they say they are and they are going to show us the nuclear test site and the dismantlement." By Kim Hyun-bin The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said Tuesday that it would not take part in any minimum wage negotiations with the Tripartite Commission after the National Assembly failed to reach a consensus on the matter. The commission is a mediating body comprised of representatives of management, unions and the government that negotiates pay and working conditions. The National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee held an 11-hour meeting to discuss whether to revise laws governing the minimum wage for next year; however, it ended without any agreement. Management wants regular bonuses and other welfare benefits to be included in the revision, but unions are strongly against the move, claiming it will reduce the effects of the latest wage hike. The committee will reconvene the meeting Thursday. KCTU members conducted a surprise demonstration during the meeting, and 14 were taken into custody by police. "KCTU head Kim Myung-hwan notified Moon Sung-hyun, head of the Tripartite Commission, and Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-joo regarding the matter," the KCTU said in a statement. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions, The Korea Employers Federation and the KCTU jointly agreed that minimum wage revisions need to be discussed at the Minimum Wage Commission. The three unions submitted the request to the committee. "The reason the three unions decided not to take part in the dialogue is due to the National Assembly's rejection of our opinions," said the KCTU. We have no hope for the National Assembly and the party in power. From now on, the KCTU will fight the government to get our point across, including preserving worker's rights and abolishing irregular workers." The Moon Jae-in administration increased the minimum wage by 16.4 percent to 7,530 ($7) starting this year. The government plans to raise it to 10,000 won by 2020 to break the national economy away from an export dependent growth path. However, critics argue the wage hikes are adversely hurting small business owners who have no choice but to cut jobs to adapt to rising labor costs. Recent data shows the number of people applying for unemployment benefit reached a record high in the first quarter of this year as industry leaders laid off workers to reduce operational costs. By Lee Sun-ho We hear the controversial security acronyms CVID, PVID, and SVID almost every day through mass media at home and abroad nowadays; similar to THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) a couple of years ago. Those initial letters are directly related to the watch-dog defensive posture against North Korea's nuclear warhead threats against South Korea and the United States, bonded together based on their forged 65-year-old military alliance. CVID, standing for complete veritable irreversible denuclearization, has been asserted by John Bolton the current U.S. national security advisor even under the George Bush administration since 2002 for comprehensive disarmament of the North. Mike Pompeo, the new U.S. secretary of state, disclosed another expression, PVID, denoting permanent veritable irreversible dismantlement. Recently, a third acronym, SVID, representing sufficient veritable irreversible denuclearization, appeared as a somewhat-refined term upon the announcement of the unpredictable U.S.-Pyongyang summit in Singapore slated for June 12. Even though South Korea's foreign ministry spokesman said there would be no big disparity among the three acronyms except different wordings, PVID is likely to have a much further-ranging connotation than CVID or SVID in its meaning, including North Korea's whole-coverage WMD (weapons of mass destruction): "permanent" sounds stronger than "complete" or "sufficient," while "dismantlement" seems to be upgraded from "denuclearization." The first step in any meaningful agreement would be a declaration from North Korea about the scope of its nuclear program, an assertion that no one would believe. For Trump, getting the right monitoring and inspection process is critical, given his argument that a false declaration from Iran undercut the legitimacy of the 2015 nuclear accord. North Korea has concealed programs on a far larger scale and built an arsenal of 20 to 60 nuclear warheads. Trump's courageous decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear agreement would be a lousy deal in place of the "American First" approach. It could be a variable for the upcoming Trump-Kim Jong-un summit. North Korea is also believed to possess large stores of germ weapons and nerve gas. Ridding the North of its warheads would require military specialists from the Western nuclear states as well as possible agreements with China, Japan and Russia to take the weapons. The goal of nuclear dismantlement to North Korea is far more complex than anything the Trump administration is taking about, seemingly a vast maze largely unknown to the outside world. Success with a relatively small force of inspectors in North Korea depends on the full cooperation of its leader in opening up the vast nuclear enterprise he inherited from his father and grandfather. We have to watch whether the isolated, totalitarian and inherited "juche" ideology regime would eventually remove its nuclear facilities to a third-country spot outside North Korea. Only time will tell how to verify the end of a nuclear North Korea with a comprehensive listing of all its atomic sites, factories and weapons whether the big deal with respect to CVID, PVID or SVID mutually among the two top leaders would be satisfying or not. The writer ( ) is an ombudsman columnist for The Korea Times in Seoul. Cheong Wa Dae aide linked to opinion-rigging scandal Cheong Wa Dae has been hit by an online opinion-rigging scandal involving blogger Kim Dong-won, better known as "Druking," during the presidential election in May 2017. Druking is suspected of manipulating voting on comments and articles on the nations' major portals in favor of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and President Moon Jae-in. Presidential secretary Song In-bae emerged this week as another key figure in the scandal that has been linked to Kim Kyoung-soo, an aide to President Moon. The former DPK lawmaker, who is one of Moon's closest confidants, is running for governor of South Gyeongsang Province in the June 13 local elections despite the scandal that is increasingly tainting Moon's image. Song, who managed Moon's campaign schedule, met with members of the blogger's political group four times before the election. Song also reportedly received 2 million won ($1,840) for attending forums organized by Druking from June 2016 to February 2017, according to the office of the presidential secretary for civil affairs. Song is said to be the one who introduced to the blogger to the former DPK lawmaker. During a briefing Monday, Cheong Wa Dae's press secretary Kim Eui-kyeom confirmed there were meetings between Song and the blogger's group, but denied any irregularities. He said it was customary for support groups to pay politicians for taking part in their meetings. The results of Cheong Wa Dae's internal investigation last month regarding Song's relationship with the blogger was reported to presidential chief of staff Im Jon-seok, who reported it to the President. Cheong Wa Dae said it closed its investigation on Song after determining there was nothing out of the ordinary and that Song had no knowledge of the online manipulation, although he did exchange messages regarding politics with Druking. But this kind of an explanation is not very convincing. The fact that Cheong Wa Dae has kept quiet about the investigation into Song is also incomprehensible. There had been much speculation into Cheong Wa Dae's ties to the scandal after it was revealed last month that Baek Won-woo, a civil affairs secretary, had met with an acquaintance recommended by Druking as a candidate for a consul general position in Osaka. The allegations regarding Song came as the National Assembly passed a bill earlier this week to launch a special counsel investigation into the scandal. The special counsel shoulders a heavy responsibility to clear all suspicions regarding Moon's two close aides and whether the ruling camp had any role in the cyber operation to sway public opinion ahead of the election. By Choi Sung-jin For most Koreans, including those as old as 70, the presence of American troops here has been a routine scene since their birth. Particularly, for people who lived in towns and districts where large U.S. bases were located Yongsan, Dongducheon, Uijeongbu, Pyeongtaek, etc., the U.S. military was part of their lives and a way of making a living. For old conservatives, the U.S. military presence has been a sacred part of the bilateral alliance that protects South Korea from North Korean threats and provocations. For progressive nationalists, the U.S. troops were occupying forces and the symbol of Seoul's diplomatic subordination to Washington. Whenever U.S. leaders talk about troop cuts let alone withdrawal the entire nation is thrown into raucous turmoil amid fierce debates between pros and cons. It was no exception early this month when The New York Times reported U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to prepare options for downsizing the number of American troops in South Korea. President Trump's reported instruction, which came just weeks before he holds a historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, astonished many people on this side of Pacific. Conservative opposition leaders here said, "Look, Pyongyang's tactic to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington has begun to work, even before Kim Jong-un made clear his plans to denuclearize the communist state." President Moon Jae-in hurriedly attempted to calm jitters about alleged troop cuts. Cheong Wa Dae said news that the White House was considering drawing down troops was "not true at all." Officials in Washington also tried to put out the flame. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. troop presence in South Korea would not be part of any bargain with North Korea. "That's not something that would be on the table in the initial negotiations," Secretary Mattis was quoted as saying. South Korean conservatives' worries about losing American protectors could, however, prove to be groundless. Currently, the side that wants the U.S. troop cuts or withdrawal most is China, to realize its dream of firming up its hegemony in this part of the world. North Korea does not seem to be dying to see American soldiers leave the Korean Peninsula. North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of the current leader, hinted as early as in 1992 that Pyongyang wants U.S. troops to stay here as a "regional stabilizer" even after unification of the peninsula. Kim Jong-il, the father of Kim Jong-un, also reaffirmed North Korea's need for a U.S. military presence as a check against China, during his summit with Roh Moo-hyun in 2007. Kim Jong-un himself made it clear when he met with President Moon last month that Pyongyang would not call for a U.S. troop withdrawal even if they sign a peace treaty. South Koreans, who are used to American soldiers as part of their daily life, have not many reasons to demand their departure, not least because of the presence of large military powers, including Japan and Russia. That leaves U.S. isolationists, such as President Trump, standing next to Beijing in wanting to pull their troops out of the peninsula. The real estate tycoon-turned-politician who puts forth his "America first" slogan in diplomacy seems to have raised the issue out of economic concerns. Since his campaign days, Trump has stressed the need to withdraw troops from here for at least three reasons. First, the American military presence had not kept the North from becoming a nuclear threat. Second, the U.S. troops in South Korea are mainly aimed to protect Japan. Third, and most important, the U.S. is not adequately compensated. The U.S. leader allegedly raised this issue in the run-up to negotiations with Seoul over how to share the cost of stationing the troops. South Korea pays $800 million a year, about half of the price, but Trump wants Seoul to shoulder almost the entire financial burden. However, South Koreans know they are not the unilateral beneficiaries of the U.S. troops here. Washington is stationing 28,500 soldiers not just to deter the North's provocations but to maintain its military superiority over China in East Asia and the West Pacific. One has only to look at the new integrated U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, the most massive U.S. military base overseas. With a total area of 14.68 square kilometers, five times larger than Yeouido, the base creates the economic effect of 18 trillion won ($16.6 billion). It is "Little America" in Korea, complete with military installations, residences, schools, recreational facilities and even a U.S. Army prison with the address of the state of California. The Seoul government has financed almost all of its construction cost but why has the U.S. built such a vast facility if it is going to withdraw its troops? So the conservatives here can rest assured U.S. troops will be here at least for the next couple of decades. Contrary to the argument of conservatives whose dependency on the U.S. has become second nature; however, having foreign troops stationed in one's country is nothing to be proud of, and harmful for its economic and mental health. If South and North Korea sign a peace treaty and stick to it, the rationale for the U.S. military presence here will be weakened sharply. If the two Koreas maintain a de facto unified state and seek and win the status of a permanently neutral country by persuading the surrounding powers, they will need no foreign soldiers on the peninsula. There was a time when Koreans calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops were punished in violation of the anti-communist National Security Law. That must be a story from a long time ago. Only when Koreans, especially conservatives, eliminate "Cold War" thinking from their heads, can a unified strong Korea take the first steps forward toward leading a "normal" life. Choi Sung-jin is a Korea Times columnist. Contact him at choisj1955@naver.com. By Kim Yoo-chul The world's largest "internet of cars" market is pitting automakers against technology companies as they wrestle for control over a multi-trillion-dollar system. Korea is well-positioned for the so-called "Auto 2.0." Equipped with global players in both tech -- smartphones, batteries, memory chips and displays -- and cars, Korea has the necessary pieces in place -- at least on the hardware side -- to emerge as a key player. The question is who will emerge with the keys to the car of the future of Korea: Samsung Electronics or LG Electronics -- or could it be both? In a 57-page analysis, U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley said Korea could capture up to 10 percent of the total addressable market. "And for a country that relies on exports of electronics and autos and that is suffering from a weakening of traditional cyclical industries, the economic impact ranging from GDP growth to job creation to efficiency improvements could be powerful," the bank said. Samsung and its longtime bitter cross-town rival LG are taking different approaches. Both groups have made clear their intention to become key players in the "Auto 2.0" market. Samsung is putting a greater emphasis on becoming an operating system and platform provider in autonomous driving while LG primarily wants to supply key parts for electric vehicles. Morgan Stanley said LG appears well positioned. "Having identified the electric vehicle market early on as a growth opportunity, LG Group (LG Electronics for motors and infotainment; LG Chem with EV batteries; LG Innotek with camera modules and sensors) has made steady progress so far," it said in the analysis. "It has now become the core EV parts supplier to General Motors' EV lineup and its EV contribution (both in revenue and profit) across all related names is showing signs of growth." As LG builds its track record, the investment bank said, "We expect additional opportunities to follow." Its thoughts on Samsung are that the country's top conglomerate is aiming higher. "Despite its success in the global smartphone market, its failure to establish itself as an operating system provider, which is far more lucrative, appears to be fuelling an ambition to become an Auto 2.0 ecosystem and platform provider. However, we believe this will be a much bigger challenge." Morgan Stanley said neither Samsung nor LG has been able to draw clear conclusions on the winners in the global "Auto 2.0" transition and the debate will likely continue to evolve as the momentum accelerates. Is there any chance that Samsung or LG will manufacture EVs under their own brand names? This is one possibility, according to its observation. "By leveraging their smartphone leadership and expertise, both Samsung and LG can potentially begin to manufacture vehicles under their own brands. But the majority of initial revenue opportunities for tech names would be captured by their battery groups (Samsung SDI and LG Chem) with them likely sourcing other key components from the existing auto parts suppliers," it added. Given Samsung's proven hardware capability and the company's growing emphasis on the software and user interface, where tech and connectivity become important, Samsung is advised to pursue more acquisition deals helping it give a significant move in monetizing the automotive industry. "Samsung has completed six merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions and one equity investment deal since June. Given Samsung's cash balance of $89 billion at the end of 2017, the company still has plenty of resources for future acquisitions, which should complement the growing demand for improved shareholder returns." LG Electronics is encouraged to keep moving on boosting the firm's preferred partnership strategy and lifting manufacturing. Its strategy is to bring decades of innovation and know-how from the home into the automobile, for example, manufacturing parts, and is focused on building partnerships with auto OEMs to penetrate this growing market as a vehicle component supplier. The company is working with GM to mass produce 11 core components for the new Chevy Bolt and has built up a significant order backlog with several auto OEMs, especially in EV-related areas. "LG's advanced telematics technology with high-precision map data and location services powered by the HERE Open Location Platform. Through their planned collaboration, the companies aim to support automakers globally with a robust and secure data communications hub for highly automated and fully autonomous cars," according to the analysis. "When fully developed, telematics will play a key role as the communication hub for autonomous vehicles. The company has been supplying in-vehicle infotainment for over 10 years and has proprietary technology on inverters, compressors, and motors for EVs," the investment bank wrote. "Since its inception the chaebol structure has fostered a system of growth from within rather than via cooperation. Even nowadays, competition remains fierce -- especially between Samsung and LG -- in many areas. If the Korean companies could ever find ways to cooperate, even to a small degree, we see a complementary fit and believe that synergies would present enormous opportunities for these companies as well as for the Korean economy," it said. Butler, IN (46721) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 81F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 62F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Angola, IN (46703) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High around 80F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. High 79F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Variable clouds with showers and scattered thunderstorms. Storms more numerous this evening. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low near 60F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Auburn, IN (46706) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. High around 80F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Memorial Day is just a week away, a day for us to remember those we've loved and lost. There's a mausoleum at Oakdale Cemetery in Davenport that was built as a way for one husband to remember his beloved wife. Back in the early part of the 20th century, Robert and Anna Nott made a life for themselves in Davenport. When Anna died, Robert wanted a way for her to be remembered. So he built a little brick mausoleum for her at Oakdale. Nott built it himself, brick by brick. It was finished in 1913 and had windows, a fireplace, and two chairs. Former quad city times columnist Bill Wundrum has written several stories about the Nott's. He thinks their story is the ultimate love story. Wundrum says "he would come out here every Sunday morning with his dog and sit on the porch and read the newspaper, the old davenport democrat and he especially enjoyed reading the funnies to her, he thought that would make her happy. Nott continued reading to Anna until his own death. That was in the 1920's. The Nott's weren't wealthy, so they didn't have a trust fund set up to take care of their mausoleum. They also have no living relatives. Time has taken a toll on the Nott mausoleum. Deb Williams from Oakdale says it needs $45-thousand dollars in repairs. Deb says "it's just deteriorating just like a home. When you live there 100 years you do maintenance and we haven't had funds to do that." That's why Oakdale officials are hoping the public can help. They're seeking donations to cover the cost of repairs. If you can help you can call 563-324-5121 or mail checks to 2501 eastern avenue and tag the money for the Nott mausoleum. They hope with the support of the community, the Nott's mausoleum and their love story will live on for many more generations. Rome, May 22 - President Sergio Mattarella is taking some time out for reflection after League chief Matteo Salvini and 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio told him Monday that they wanted law professor Giuseppe Conte to be the premier of a League-M5S government. The head of State is holding consultations on Tuesday with Lower House Speaker Roberto Fico and Senate Speaker Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati. Mattarella is reportedly concerned about the possible alarm about the public finances that could be caused by measures in the "contract for a government of change" that the M5S and the League agreed on and the eventual autonomy of an unelected premier. It is up to the president to decide who should have a mandate to form a government following the inconclusive March 4 general election. Rome, May 22 - Israel's Ambassador to Italy Ofer Sachs told an ANSA Forum on Tuesday that Hamas has created a state of terror in the Gaza Strip. "The situation in Gaza has become truly dramatic after the takeover of Hamas, which has made many mistakes in the control of the Strip," Sachs said. "Millions of dollars in Gaza have not been invested for the good of the people, but to create a terror country. "Tens of thousands of missiles have been launched against Israel. "Israel wants to prevent the penetration of our country and up to now we have managed to. "What we have not managed to explain is what would happen if the infiltration were successful". Rome, may 22 - Israeli Ambassador to Rome Ofer Sachs told an ANSA Forum on Tuesday that he was confident his country's strong relations with Italy will continue with the new government. "I'm not worried that the next government will change the good, intimate relations with Israel," Sachs said. "We met all (of the parties) before the elections. "Sometimes they agreed with our point of view, sometimes they didn't, but cooperation in the economy, civil society, culture and other sectors is so strong that the strong relationship of cooperation between Italy and Israel will not change". Rome, May 22 - Israel's Ambassador to Rome Ofer Sachs told an ANSA Forum on Tuesday that there could be no debate about Jerusalem being the nation's capital. "Jerusalem's status as the capital of Israel is not in question," Sachs said. "(United States President Donald) Trump's decision (to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem) might cause problems in the coming period, but it has also carried a message. "We want dialogue with the Palestinians but Jerusalem will remain our capital. "This will not block dialogue. If the Palestinians do not accept the mediation of the USA, it will be a mistake". Sachs pointed out that European counties opposed to recognizing Jerusalem as the capital are today meeting the Israeli authorities in Jerusalem. Milan, May 22 - An Italian priest on Tuesday denied sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2011. "I didn't embrace him, I didn't touch him and I didn't carry out sexual acts with him," Father Mauro Galli told the court, while admitting they had shared a bed. Welcoming Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka in his office, Mr. Houlin Zhao, the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recalled his previous visits to the beautiful country, long before he became the ITU Secretary-General. Referring to higher social indicators that Sri Lanka has achieved including in literacy, he complimented Sri Lanka for making considerable strides in the IT Sector. It was satisfying that Sri Lanka has been placed as an important hub in regional trade and economic networks, he said. Ambassador Azeez apprised the Secretary-General on the policy initiatives by the Government to integrate ITU as a key element in its national endeavours to realize SDGs in Sri Lanka. He stressed that through the effective implementation of SDGs, supported by advances in IT, the Government of Sri Lanka has envisioned to enhance economic and development gains for all peoples. In this context he explained the policy initiatives taken by Sri Lanka to bring ICT into Sri Lanka Sustainability Strategy 2030 which is being finalized. He also recalled the ratification by the Government of Sri Lanka of the Budapest Convention on Cyber Crimes, which demonstrated Sri Lankas proactive involvement in promoting ICT within the country and abroad. Ambassador Azeez expressed Sri Lankas full support and cooperation in making ICT a central element in the SDGs as ITU moved forward with implementation of the UN Development Agenda. He assured the Secretary-General that ITUs efforts in forging greater partnership among Member States leading to a successful review of implementation of the UN Development Agenda in 2020,- five years after its adoption, would help further enhance ITUs role and standing in the International Development Community. Sri Lanka Permanent Mission Geneva 21 May 2018 CBS Corp. said it will contest bylaw changes made last week by the Redstone family, the latest escalation in a clash over the future of the legendary broadcasting company. The changes to CBS bylaws effectively guarantee that Sumner Redstones family must be on board with any major changes at the company. The bylaws were amended May 16 and now require that at least 90% of CBS board approve dividends and other major business. The Redstones control CBS with nearly 80% of the voting shares even though the family owns 10.3% of the company. On Tuesday, CBS said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it does not consider the bylaw changes to be legal or lasting. CBS said the amendments violate a Delaware law that allows corporate boards to make decisions by a majority vote. The bylaw changes instead transfer that control to the Redstones. Advertisement The fight for control of CBS flared last week when CBS independent directors filed a lawsuit to block the Redstone family from imposing major changes on the company, such as replacing board members or changing the bylaws. The Redstones control both CBS and media company Viacom Inc. which owns MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures through their investment vehicle, National Amusements Inc. An hour before a court hearing on the matter, National Amusements informed CBS that it had changed the bylaws. NAI exercised its legal right to amend CBS bylaws and this change was effective immediately, the firm said Tuesday in a statement. We are confident the court will uphold NAIs action. CBS desperately wants its independence from the Redstone family. Late last week, CBS board voted 11 to 3 to dilute the familys voting shares by issuing a dividend to rank-and-file stockholders that would give them a vote. If the dividend withstands legal scrutiny, National Amusements voting stake would diminish to about 17%. Voting against the measure were Shari Redstone, CBS vice chair, and two allies. Those two board members Robert Klieger and David Andelman have served as attorneys for the ailing Sumner Redstone. A judge in Delaware ultimately will determine whether CBS can dilute the Redstones power by issuing the dividend. The same judge, Andre G. Bouchard, also will be asked to rule on the legality of the Redstones bylaw changes. On Thursday, Bouchard denied CBS request to place a restraining order on the Redstone family. The dispute began this year when Shari Redstone began pushing a merger between CBS and the weaker Viacom. CBS, led by Chief Executive Leslie Moonves, believes that buying Viacom would leave CBS saddled with struggling cable TV channels at a time when consumers are cutting the cable cord in favor of smaller pay-TV bundles. CBS was also uncomfortable with Shari Redstones demand that her lieutenant, Viacom Chief Executive Bob Bakish, have a prominent role at the combined company. meg.james@latimes.com @MegJamesLAT Time is running out on Mick Mulvaneys controversial tenure as acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but theres an easy way for the White House to extend it: nominate somebody anybody else to permanently fill the job. As it stands now, the White House budget chief must step down from his job temporarily running the bureau next month under the federal law President Trump used to install him last year in an appointment that sparked protests and a lawsuit. But Mulvaney could stay in the position for months more to the delight of banks and frustration of consumer advocates if Trump simply nominates someone to be the permanent director. Just sending the Senate a nominee triggers a provision in the Federal Vacancies Reform Act that would allow Mulvaney to serve until the Senate confirms or rejects the pick. That process could take a while. Advertisement So the Trump administration reportedly is considering tapping another federal financial regulator, J. Mark McWatters, for the CFPB job even though his background in the credit-union industry probably would mean he would have trouble getting confirmed. Im sure they want to keep Mulvaney there and they do have to nominate somebody, said Alan S. Kaplinsky, head of the consumer financial services group at law firm Ballard Spahr. It doesnt necessarily mean the nominee has to get confirmed, said Kaplinsky, who counsels banks on consumer financial regulatory matters. Spokespeople for the White House and McWatters declined comment. Mulvaneys continued presence in the job would be a slap in the face to consumer advocates who believe that he is on a mission to cripple the agency established after the financial crisis. He called the agency a joke ... in a sad, sick kind of way when he was a Republican House member from South Carolina. Mulvaney has altered the bureaus mission statement to make the top priority identifying and addressing outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations and has publicly declared the agency no longer would aggressively push the envelope to protect consumers. Until last month, when the CFPB joined with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to fine Wells Fargo & Co. $1 billion for multiple consumer abuses, the agency had not taken a single enforcement action since Mulvaney became acting director. Mulvaney took over as acting head of the consumer bureau in late November after the resignation of Richard Cordray, a Democrat appointed by President Obama to be its very first leader. Just before he departed, Cordray promoted Leandra English, his chief of staff, to deputy director and said she would be the acting director under a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank act that created the bureau. But within hours of Cordrays resignation announcement, Trump appointed Mulvaney to fill the post under the vacancies act. The administration said that the 1998 law allowed Trump to appoint an official who already had been confirmed by the Senate in another capacity to also serve as the bureaus acting director. English went to court seeking to be declared the lawful acting director. Her request for a preliminary injunction was denied, and she has appealed. A CFPB spokesman had no comment on Mulvaneys status. But Mulvaney has said publicly he expected to be the bureaus acting director for a while. I tell folks that the way that Senate is working, were just sort of assuming that Im going to be there for the rest of this calendar year, he said at a meeting of the Independent Community Bankers of America in Washington in April, according to a transcript provided by the bureau. The only way that could happen is for Trump to nominate a permanent director. Otherwise, Mulvaney has told lawmakers that his 210 days would expire June 22. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service in a report last year on temporarily filling Senate-confirmed positions found that the time restriction is suspended and the acting officer can continue to serve if a first or second nomination for the position has been submitted to the Senate for confirmation and is pending. The law allows for an additional 210 days of service after a nomination is rejected or withdrawn, but limits the extension to the first two, the report said. There also are tighter time limits if the acting director was the nominee to serve permanently. But dont expect Mulvaney, whos been criticized for not working full time at his budget director post, to be the permanent director. Its not something he has expressed interest in, and he would have a difficult time getting confirmed by the Senate. So if the nomination is on a Thursday and the confirmation is on Friday, Ive got a days notice, and Im gone, he told the bankers group in April about the vacancies law. Conversely, if it takes a year and a half to confirm that person, then Im stuck there for a year and a half. So we dont know how long thats going to take. Speculation has focused on McWatters, the chairman of the National Credit Union Administration and a former aide to Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), also a vociferous critic of the CFPB. But theres a longstanding rift between banks and credit unions because of the special tax treatment credit unions receive unlike banks, they are exempt from federal income taxes. The head of a leading banking industry trade group, the Independent Community Bankers of America, came out publicly in January against a potential McWatters nomination. McWatters also could run into problems after a report this month that he mostly does his credit union regulatory job from his home in Texas. The result could be a stalled nomination in the narrowly divided Senate a frequent occurrence during the Trump administration that allows Mulvaney to keep serving as acting CFPB director under the vacancies law. Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said McWatters or any other nominee could serve as a straw man to extend Mulvaneys tenure beyond the 210 days allowed by the law. If the goal is simply to extend the combined reign of terror and error of Mick Mulvaney, [McWatters] is as good a choice as anybody, Mierzwinski said. They could nominate Mickey Mouse if their total goal is simply to extend Mick Mulvaney. Theres another advantage to Republicans keeping Mulvaney in the temporary job as long as possible: delaying the start of the next permanent directors five-year term. The Dodd-Frank law says that the bureaus director can be removed by the president only for cause, not at will. So delaying the start of the next directors term until 2019 or later would mean that if Democrats win the White House in the 2020 election, the next president would have little if any chance to replace Trumps choice for the job. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a strong supporter of the consumer bureau, wants Trump to send a nominee to the Senate soon. The president should quickly nominate a director with a track record of strong consumer advocacy who can be confirmed by the Senate with strong bipartisan support, Brown said in a statement Monday. Kaplinsky said he hopes Trump nominates a permanent director who has a good chance of being confirmed so financial firms dont have to continue dealing with the uncertainty of an interim CFPB chief. While I think in general the banking industry is happy with Mulvaney, they recognize hes not going to be in there forever, and theres concern about whether the new person who ultimately becomes the director will continue the policies of the acting director, which the industry likes so far, he said. But even if the White House cant find someone who could get easily confirmed, Kaplinsky said he expects a nominee by June 22. I think its very likely Trump will nominate somebody by that date, Kaplinksy said, otherwise Mulvaney is out. jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera China will cut the import duty on passenger cars to 15%, further opening a market that has been a chief target of the U.S. in its trade fight with the worlds second-largest economy. The Finance Ministry said Tuesday the levy will be lowered effective July 1 from the current 25% that has been in place for more than a decade, boosting shares of automakers from India to Europe. Bloomberg News reported last month that China was weighing proposals to reduce the car import levy to 10% or 15%. A reduction in the import duty follows a truce between the Trump administration and Chinese officials as they seek to defuse tensions and avert an all-out trade war. While the levy reduction could be claimed in some quarters as a concession to President Trump and will be a boon to U.S. carmakers such as Tesla Inc. and Ford Motor Co., the move also will benefit European and Asian manufacturers from Daimler AG to Toyota Motor Corp. This is, without a doubt, positive news, said Juergen Pieper, Frankfurt-based head of automobiles research at Bankhaus Metzler. You cant completely disregard the fact that there are certain imbalances in Chinas favor. This could be a signal that if one side is making concessions, it could lead to the Americans easing some of their pressure as well. Advertisement Shares of Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors Ltd. and BMW AG posted their biggest intraday gains in more than a month on the news. The Finance Ministry in Beijing said later Tuesday that the step is intended to help reduce prices and aid competition. The import duty on car parts will be reduced to 6%, Chinas Finance Ministry said. The shift is significant more for its optics than its potential impact given imported cars made up only about 4.2% of the countrys $28.9 million in automobile sales last year. The latest round of tariff easing is part of a flurry of policy announcements in recent months aimed at demonstrating Chinas commitment to opening the economy partly in response to the accusations of protectionism leveled by the Trump administration. Beijing also has pledged to cut ownership limits in the auto sector as well as in banking, and last November, China reduced import tariffs on almost 200 categories of consumer products. China announced May 18 that it would end its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into imports of U.S. sorghum, citing the public interest. That move, coupled with recent steps including restarting a review of Qualcomm Inc.s application to acquire NXP Semiconductors NV signal a conciliatory stance from the Chinese side. Trump retreats For his part, Trump has retreated from imposing tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods because of White House discord over trade strategy and concern about harming negotiations with North Korea, according to people briefed on the administrations deliberations. In further evidence of an easing in tensions, China and the U.S. agreed on the broad outline of a settlement to the ban on Chinas ZTE Corp. buying American technology after sanction infringements were alleged, the Wall Street Journal reported. Ford and Porsche, maker of the Cayenne and Panamera car models, welcomed the announcement. Chinese customers will have a chance to enjoy an even optimized price and pursue more personalized options when buying a car, Porsche said in a statement in China. At the Boao Forum in April, President Xi Jinping reiterated Chinas commitment to reduce import tariffs on vehicles. Luxury carmakers Of the $51 billion of vehicle imports in 2017, about $13.5 billion came from North America, including sales of models made there by non-U.S. manufacturers like BMW. China imported 280,208 vehicles, or 10% of total imported automobiles, from the U.S. last year, according to the China Passenger Car Assn., an industry trade body. A duty cut would typically benefit luxury carmakers or manufacturers such as Tesla that dont have a local production site. Most automakers produce mass-market models in China. For Tesla, a tariff cut will provide a boon until the company manages to set up local production. The Palo Alto-based company has been working with Shanghais government since last year to explore assembling cars in China. China saying that it will allow foreign, new-energy vehicle makers to fully own auto factories as early as this year removed a primary hurdle for founder and billionaire Elon Musk. Luxury sales leader Audi, part of Volkswagen, has been making cars in China since the 1990s. General Motors Co.s Cadillac, which has relegated Lexus to fifth in the luxury-car rankings, opened a factory in Shanghai in 2016. Foreign carmakers have long pleaded for freer access to Chinas auto market, while its own manufacturers are expanding abroad. In April, China announced a timetable to permit foreign automakers to own more than 50% of local ventures. Bipartisan legislation focused on easing regulations for small and midsize banks passed the House on Tuesday and headed to President Trump for his expected signature. Although the bill provides some significant relief for larger financial institutions, it falls short of the sweeping overhaul of the Dodd-Frank post-crisis reforms that Trump and most Republicans wanted. The beneficiaries of most of the changes are community banks, which have complained that tougher regulations spurred by the 2008 financial crisis have unfairly made it more difficult for them to operate. Theyll get a break from new mortgage rules if they make fewer than 500 mortgages a year, which supporters of the bill said will give Americans more options for home loans. Advertisement And banks with less than $10 billion in assets will be exempted from the regulatory burden of complying with the Volcker Rule, which prohibits institutions from trading for their own profit and limits ownership of risky investments. This is a way to keep community banks more viable and have less costs in rules and regulations and spend more of that time, money and resources on customers, said Paul Merski, executive vice president for congressional relations at the Independent Community Bankers of America, a trade group that strongly backed the legislation. The bill adds new consumer protections after Equifax Inc.'s massive data breach last year. Credit reporting companies would be required to let consumers freeze and unfreeze their files for free. Active-duty members of the military would also get free credit monitoring. Theres wide bipartisan agreement on easing some regulations on small banks and expanding consumer protections. But the legislation also helps many larger banks, and that limited Democratic support. The House voted 258 to 159, with 33 Democrats joining all but one Republican to pass the bill, called the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act. The Senate approved the legislation 67 to 31 in March with the support of several moderate Democrats who seek reelection this fall in states that Trump won by large margins. The White House issued a statement ahead of the vote saying Trumps advisors would recommend he sign the bill. Opponents focused on a key provision of the legislation that removes Dodd-Franks mandatory stricter oversight for about two dozen banks with assets of as much as $250 billion. Federal Reserve regulators also will get more flexibility in how they oversee large banks. This bill guts many of the protections Democrats put in place to reduce the risks of bank failures and bailouts and ensure that banks dont bring down the economy, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) said in urging her colleagues to oppose the bill. The financial industry isnt suffering under Dodd-Frank, she said. Waters noted that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported Tuesday that U.S. banks had a record $56 billion in profits in the first quarter of the year. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was enacted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis with almost no Republican support. It was one of President Obamas signature accomplishments. The legislation toughened bank regulations, sought to avoid future bailouts by creating a process to shut down teetering financial giants, established a powerful panel of regulators to watch for signs of instability and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to oversee credit cards, mortgages and other financial products. Republicans and bankers complained from the start that the changes were too heavy-handed. Trump has called Dodd-Frank a very negative force in the economy and vowed during the 2016 presidential campaign to dismantle it. One of his early actions upon taking office last year was to order the Treasury Department to review the law and propose changes. Last June, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin recommended a major overhaul. But Democratic support in the Senate was necessary to make changes to the law. Moderate Democrats wanted to focus on smaller banks and many of Treasurys recommendations were not included in the bill, which was drafted by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Michael D. Crapo (R-Idaho) along with some of the committees Democrats. Two frequently crticized pillars of Dodd-Frank were left intact. The legislation does not remove the ability of regulators to designate large firms as a risk to the financial system and to try to shut them down if theyre on the verge of failing without causing spillover effects to other companies as happened in 2008. And the bill makes no structural changes to the consumer bureau, whose authority Republicans have sought to significantly weaken in part by making its chief serve at the pleasure of the president instead of only being removable for cause. House Republicans, led by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), had hoped to address those issues. But Senate Democrats made clear they would not support any additional rollbacks. House leaders agreed not to amend the Senate-passed bill, although they said they would continue to push other legislation to makemore changes to Dodd-Frank. But the Trump administration has other ways it can alter financial regulation. Trump appointees to the Federal Reserve and other financial regulatory agencies are preparing to weaken the Volcker Rule for large banks. And Trump appointed Mick Mulvaney as the interim chief of the consumer bureau, where he has significantly scaled back the bureaus activities. Still, Hensarling said many provisions in the bill originated in the House and would help more Americans get access to credit. This is the most pro-growth banking bill in a generation, Hensarling said. He lamented, I wish it did gut Dodd-Frank, but said it doesnt. Democratic opponents of the legislation said there were many good parts of the bill and that some changes in Dodd-Frank were needed. But they said the bill voted on Tuesday contained provisions that would weaken the financial system. Its a bad bill under the guise of helping community banks, said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). The legislation would weaken the ability of regulators to enforce fair-lending requirements by exempting 85% of banks and credit unions from Dodd-Frank data-reporting requirements designed to help identify discriminatory practices. The bill also includes some benefits for Equifax and other credit-reporting companies. They would get immunity from lawsuits over credit monitoring for active-duty service members, and another provision could make it easier for the firms to expand their businesses into providing credit scores for mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would add $671 million to the federal budget deficit over the next decade, largely because the changes would slightly increase the small chance that a systemically important financial institution would fail or a financial crisis would take place. But the CBO admitted its estimate is subject to considerable uncertainty because of the difficulty of predicting a major bank failure or crisis. jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera Its my experience that the more fuss businesses kick up about consumer-related legislation, the more likely it is such a bill is needed and would be an effective deterrent to bad practices. That seems to be the case with a bill scheduled to be heard this week in the California Senate, SB 1121, which would make it potentially very costly for businesses to play fast and loose with peoples personal information. The bill would make it easier for consumers to sue companies that havent put adequate safeguards in place. If theres a security breach, consumers could seek up to $1,000 per consumer per incident or actual damages, whichever is greater. Thats some serious teeth, and would go a long way toward encouraging businesses to beef up efforts to keep peoples personal info under wraps which they should be doing already but which, as can be seen in near-daily reports of breaches, clearly isnt the case. Advertisement The California Chamber of Commerce wasted no time in branding SB 1121 a job killer, which it isnt. If anything, the bill creates jobs by incentivizing companies to improve their data-security resources. Its also opposed by, among others, the California Bankers Assn., the California Cable and Telecommunications Assn., the California Hospital Assn., the California Retailers Assn., the Personal Insurance Federation of California, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Assn. In other words, the bill has drawn the wrath of just about every business group that represents companies hoarding customers data and, in many cases, profiting from selling and sharing that information with marketers. The opposition is pretty fierce, said state Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), the bills author. Theyre putting everything into fighting it. But he told me the business worlds concern is misplaced. This isnt about punishing companies. Its about rewarding them for doing well. If you take reasonable steps to protect consumers data, this bill will not negatively affect you, Dodd said. If you dont, it will. Backers of the legislation include the American Civil Liberties Union of California, the Congress of California Seniors, the Consumer Federation of California and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. A key feature of the bill is to clarify that consumers, not just customers, are covered by state data-breach protections. This is significant. It vastly expands the scope of a companys responsibility to the public. The Equifax breach is a case in point. The credit agency has reported that Social Security numbers and other information related to about 148 million Americans were stolen by hackers. But hardly any of those people would be considered customers of the company. SB 1121 clarifies that even in such circumstances, if youre affected by a security breach, regardless of your relationship to the hacked entity, you have rights. Among those rights under the bill is for any consumer to be able to institute a civil action to recover damages. Thats another biggie. It ensures a right to file a lawsuit and to join in class actions. Damages could be sought if a company is found to have been lax in applying data-security measures or to have failed to notify consumers in a timely manner. Moreover, a lawsuit could be filed as much as four years after a breach, giving consumers ample time to determine if the incident resulted in fraud, identity theft or damage to ones credit score. These all strike me as reasonable measures, creating greater accountability for businesses that, more often than not, simply assume they can do with peoples information whatever they please. Im not asking for perfection from business, Dodd said. But there are never any consequences, so data breaches keep happening over and over and over. There need to be consequences. A spokeswoman for the California Chamber of Commerce declined to comment. But she shared with me a letter the organization, along with other opponents of the bill, recently sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is scheduled to vote Friday on SB 1121. As is typically the case when companies face a greater risk of litigation, the letter declares that the only beneficiaries of SB 1121 would be consumer class-action attorneys and they stand to benefit greatly if this bill is adopted. Its a tiresome argument. Yes, there would be class-action lawyers seeking to profit. Routine corporate settlements of legal disputes encourage such behavior. But the undeniable fact is that class actions represent consumers single most-powerful tool in holding businesses accountable for their actions (or non-actions, in the case of privacy safeguards). The letter says SB 1121 would unquestionably result in a barrage of shakedown data breach cases in California, and that the financial risk to businesses would be staggering enough to put companies out of business. In case you missed it the first few times, the letter then repeats that SB 1121 would inevitably result in enormous payouts to consumer attorneys. Got that? Good for attorneys = bad for consumers. Dodd had a simple answer to business concerns about an increased threat of litigation. If they do what they should be doing, he said, this shouldnt be a problem. Dodds bill says that a business that owns, licenses or maintains personal information about a California resident shall implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information, to protect the personal information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure. Thus, a company thats following industry best practices for data security can readily argue that it did everything reasonably expected of it to keep consumers information safe. A company that drops the ball, security-wise, is in trouble. Again, look at Equifax. After the breach came to light, it turned out that the company had been using out-of-date software with known security weaknesses. The software vulnerability was first spotted in March 2017, and a coding patch was immediately made available for all systems running the software. The breach of Equifaxs system occurred in mid-May, meaning that for two months the company, with files on nearly every American consumer, did nothing to protect itself from hackers. It said it didnt discover the attack until July. Dodds bill would hold such a companys feet to the fire for failing to take reasonable precautions and it would send a powerful message to other businesses with the sort of staggering financial repercussions that give the California Chamber of Commerce the heebie-jeebies. And you know what? I have no doubt those other businesses would get the message but quick, and theyd do whatevers necessary to clean up their own act. Thats what Dodds bill is trying to accomplish. It doesnt seem like a lot to ask for. David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the European leg of his contrition tour with an apology Tuesday at the European Parliament for the various controversies that have battered the social networking giants reputation. We havent done enough to prevent the tools weve built from being used for harm as well, Zuckerberg said in an opening statement. Whether its fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing peoples information, we didnt take a broad enough view of our responsibilities. That was a mistake, and Im sorry. But rather than cool the hard feelings among politicians and regulators across Europe, Zuckerbergs arrival seems to have inflamed them. Since his three-day tour was announced last week, matters such as where he would appear, whether it would be public and the subjects to be discussed have triggered criticism. That friction is a reminder that even as Facebook appears to have weathered the Cambridge Analytica scandal, at least on Wall Street, resentment against the company runs deep in Europe. Advertisement You have to ask yourself how you will be remembered, Guy Verhofstadt, president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, told Zuckerberg at the hearing. As one of the three big internet giants together with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who have enriched our world and our socieites. Or on the other hand, as a genius who created a digital monster that is destroying our democracies and our societies. Beyond political posturing and bruised egos, such heated words are also a measure of the daunting task that Zuckerberg faces in Europe, where the terrain is radically different from in the U.S. The European Union and its 28 members have taken a far more aggressive posture toward regulating U.S. tech giants in recent years compared with their U.S. counterparts. Last year, for instance, the European Commission antitrust regulator fined Facebook $130 million for what it labeled as misleading statements about the handling of personal data when it was seeking approval of its WhatsApp acquisition. In general, Europeans are more willing to take action against dominant firms who abuse their power than the U.S., said Alexandre de Corniere, an assistant professor at the Toulouse Scool of Economics in France. Of course, there are also political economy considerations. Its easier to score political points by tackling U.S. giant firms than European ones. Zuckerbergs tour this week coincides with the May 25 start date for a set of European Union privacy regulations known as the General Data Protection Regime (or GDPR), which imposes new rules on data control, transparency and accountability and include stiff fines. In response to questions, Zuckerberg said his company would make many of the personal data mangement tools it had created to comply with the GDPR available to users around the world. But he didnt respond directly to questions about whether Facebook would comply with the rules globally. The GDPR grew out of the more fundamental worries Europeans have about the use of their personal data and was compounded by concerns over the way U.S. tech giants leverage those data for commercial purposes. Wojciech Wiewiorowsk, an assistant supervisor at the European Data Protection Supervisor, noted that his and other agencies had concerns about the way third-party apps harvested data long before the controversy over Cambridge Analytica, which was accused of misusing customer information obtained from an academic researcher for work on President Trumps campaign. If you think about the case itself, its not that surprising, Wiewiorowsk said. There already were many people out there explaining how all this worked. We were quite aware of how data collected for scientific research is transferred to entities that use it for a completely different purpose. The EU is considering sweeping reforms requiring more transparency from platforms including Facebook, such as disclosing how their algorithms work, to level the playing field between giant tech companies and small businesses. And as with many tech companies, there are concerns here that Facebook may be using its European operations to lower its tax bills. Facebook also finds itself facing greater pressure from European regulators to more quickly identify and remove inappropriate content such as hate speech and to do more to combat fake news. Amid widespread fears that Facebook could be used to manipulate elections, the company has taken aggressive steps to police such content, and even banned foreign groups from buying ads to influence an upcoming Irish referendum on abortion. For many, the hearing served as a reminder that Europes electoral integrity has become dependent on the policies of powerful tech companies based far away in Silicon Valley. Politicians are just not able to get a grip on election rules being circumvented, said Joe McNamee, president of European Digital Rights, an association of privacy groups. Ultimately they rely on Silicon Valley companies to decide the rules of an Irish referendum. Like many Silicon Valley companies, Facebook has been focusing more time and effort on wooing European regulators. Facebook last year increased its lobbying expenditures to $1.2 million in Brussels, up from $470,000 in 2016. That is a recognition of the potential effect of EU regulations, though still tiny compared with the $11.5 million it spent lobbying the U.S. government in 2017. Facebook has also been highlighting its economic effect on Europe. During the hearing, Zuckerberg reminded politicians that beyond its European headquarters in Ireland, it has a sizable engineering team in London, an artificial intelligence lab in Paris and several data centers scattered around the continent. And in a region starved for good tech jobs, Facebook plans to hire an additional 3,000 employees in Europe by the end of this year. Europeans make up a large and incredibly important part of our global community, Zuckerberg said. Many of the values Europeans care most deeply about are values we share. But as Zuckerberg witnessed this last week, the battle for Europeans hearts and minds can quickly turn into trench warfare. Across the political spectrum, regulators and elected officials were infuriated that Zuckerbergs appearance at the European Parliament was going to be private. After several days of controversy, Facebook agreed to let the session be livestreamed. Yet that didnt ease a larger concern that Zuckerberg had agreed to appear before a committee of party leaders rather than a committee that has more specialized knowledge of digital issues. British lawmakers, who have requested that Zuckerberg appear before a British Parliament committee investigating the Cambridge Analytica scandal, felt snubbed that he opted instead to visit the European Parliament. Member of Parliament Damian Collins wrote a letter to Facebook this week and forwarded a list of 50 questions to European Parliament members, hoping they would include them in their grilling of Zuckerberg. If Facebook truly recognizes the seriousness of these issues as it says it does, we would expect that Mark Zuckerberg would want to appear in front of the Committee and answer questions that are of concern not only to the U.K. Parliament, but Facebooks tens of millions of users in this country, Collins wrote in his letter. It remains to be seen whether Zuckerberg will get a friendlier reception when he meets with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, or when he is interviewed live on stage at the Viva Technology conference in Paris. Aids to Macron have promised that the president will raise sensitive issues with Zuckerberg. But at the same time the president has long been a start-up cheerleader and is actively trying to lure more tech companies to France. OBrien is a special correspondent. UPDATES: 4:25 p.m.: This article was written by a special correspondent. This article was originally published at 11 a.m. Donald Trump may go unmentioned in Stephen Greenblatts Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics, but our divisive, norm-trampling president haunts nearly every page of this slim and stirring, if understandably hurried, book. The work, the fruit of a discipline that might be described as applied Shakespeare, joins a growing body of intellectual journalism that has sought guidance in literature after one of the more baffling turns in American political history. What can Shakespeare or Plato or Machiavelli or Herman Melville teach us about Trump? This genre, which I have contributed to myself in an essay in these pages that turned to Julius Caesar and Coriolanus during the incendiary 2016 Republican primary, will continue to swell as long as Trump remains, incongruously, in the White House. Greenblatt, an eminent Harvard Shakespeare scholar, was a university rock star in the 80s and 90s when New Historicism was catching fire in the groves of academe. He helped pioneer an approach to Shakespeare that creatively engages the historical contexts of the plays, examining the sociopolitical forces at work on the characters and the author through an unapologetically modern prism. Advertisement Once faddish, New Historicism has faded, as all trends of literary criticism do, a victim of its own interpretive distortions and linguistic opacity. But Greenblatt has continued to explore the dynamic interplay between culture and history in a series of accessible books on literary matters (Will in the World, The Swerve) targeted beyond the pool of graduate students greedily accumulating footnotes. Written in lucid prose, Tyrant is New Historicism pitched to the college-educated, politically engaged non-specialist, the kind of reader who has an eye on Twitter and an ear cocked to MSNBC (and perhaps for those in Los Angeles, tickets to see Tom Hanks in Henry IV). The book is valuable less for what it has to say about Shakespeares plays than for how it applies the wisdom it has acquired through careful study of these works to the crisis roiling American democracy. Taking his cues from Shakespeare, Greenblatt deploys a strategy of addressing at one or more removes the burning political questions of the day. Shakespeare, he observes, seems to have grasped that he thought more clearly about the issues that preoccupied his world when he confronted them not directly but from an oblique angle. Greenblatt acknowledges that the damage inflicted by a sufficiently ruthless and unscrupulous ruler cannot be underestimated. Bringing a long view to present dangers, Tyrant is at its most incisive in helping us understand the Trump phenomenon through the lessons of the early history plays, Henry VI, parts I, II and III, and Richard III. The titles of these chapters could serve as cable news chyrons: Party Politics, Fraudulent Populism, A Matter of Character, Enablers, Tyranny Triumphant. For Greenblatt, the power struggles in Henry VI and Richard III, though far bloodier than anything in Washington at the moment, reveal how partisan feuding paralyzes government, betrays the common good and hardens factions into mortal enemies. The Wars of the Roses brims with object lessons, one of the more pointed being the way a chaotic regime leaves everyone flying blind when it comes to the political future. Its strange reading about the dynastic ambitions of York (father of homicidal hunchbackRichard III) and thinking about Jared Kushner and the Trump scions. Jack Cade, the colorful rebel who enlivens Henry VI, Part II with his shameless demagoguery, provides Greenblatt with an opportunity to elucidate the way populism may look like an embrace of the have-nots, but in reality it is a form of cynical exploitation. In describing the personality of Richard III the limitless self-regard, the law-breaking, the pleasure in inflicting pain, the compulsive desire to dominate Greenblatt doesnt need to call attention to the tweeting elephant in the room. But the language he uses to characterize this pathologically narcissistic and supremely arrogant bully, who expects absolute loyalty but is incapable of gratitude and knows that those he grabs hate him, drives the analogy home. Some of the discussion of Richard III may read like an op-ed. (The steady barrage of falsehoods plays its part, working to marginalize skeptics, to sow confusion, to quiet protests that might otherwise have erupted.) But the correspondences between the play and our politics prove to be, sadly, mutually illuminating. Michael Fassbender as Macbeth in the 2015 film adaptation. (Jonathan Olley / The Weinstein Co. ) The book falters somewhat when it moves to the masterpieces. Macbeth provides us with a tyrant every bit as bloody as Richard III, but the psychology of the later play is infinitely richer, requiring a reading less distracted by contemporary parallels. Greenblatts contention that the real instigator of the murder plot is not Macbeth, but rather, his wife, is true on the surface. But this reading gives short shrift to an important insight that A.C. Bradley (among other discerning Shakespeare critics) pointed out long ago, that the words of the Witches are fatal to the hero only because there is in him something which leaps into light at the sound of them. When considering how a tyrant is driven by a range of sexual anxieties, Greenblatt, I feared, was about to make some crack about the size of Macbeths hands. But he more profitably reminds us that Macbeth and Richard III, both killers of children, are enemies of the future. Their willful myopia (leading to policies that threaten extinction) is a symptom of their murderous narcissism. The characteristics of the tyrant are comprehensively cataloged in Tyrant, but the word isnt formally defined by Greenblatt, who focuses at first on violent usurpers but later encompasses other characters who exercise authority in an oppressive manner. Distinctions and degrees are blurred in a book that might have benefited from some etymological reflection on its title. For the ancient Greeks, the term tyrannos isnt strictly pejorative. The title of Sophocles tragedy Oedipus Tyrannos refers to how the protagonist, an outsider in Thebes, obtained the throne through personal achievement. Other characters, such as Creon, seem to play on the words associations of cruelty and coercion, but the origins of power are key. Flipping between noun (tyrant) and adjective (tyrannical) allows Greenblatt to move freely about in the Shakespeare canon, but some cogency is lost as plays as diverse as King Lear, Coriolanus and The Winters Tale are discussed in ways that sacrifice dramatic complexity for relatively narrow insights into the despotic temperament and the conditions allowing it to flourish. The politics of Coriolanus ranges beyond Greenblatts circumscribed study. King Lear is too metaphysically sprawling to be reduced to a cramped, moralizing analysis of mentally unstable leadership. And the eruption of Leontes mad jealousy in The Winters Tale is too much a genre conceit of this late romance to serve as a paradigm of the unhinged tyrant. Yet the elegant erudition behind Tyrant is offered as emergency aid to a nation in peril. So what advice does the book have for those Americans horrified by the daily assault on our democratic norms? Greenblatt acknowledges that the damage inflicted by a sufficiently ruthless and unscrupulous ruler cannot be underestimated. But he is bolstered by Shakespeares belief that tyrants and their minions would ultimately fail, brought down by their own viciousness and by a popular spirit of humanity that could be suppressed but never completely extinguished. The greatest weapon against tyranny may be the sheer unpredictability of collective life, its refusal to march in lockstep to any one persons orders. But its the action of ordinary citizens, like the servant in King Lear who dies defending Gloucester as hes being tortured by the Duke of Cornwall, that gives Greenblatt hope that, however delayed, justice in the end will not be denied. Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics Stephen Greenblatt W.W. Norton & Co.: 212 pp., $21.95 charles.mcnulty@latimes.com Follow me @charlesmcnulty RELATED: The theater of Trump: What Shakespeare can teach us about the Donald Embattled and emboldened: Arts and culture in the age of Trump Trump, Julius Caesar and now Richard II For many actors, filming traumatic scenes is a memorable experience theres so much emotion and pain they must tap into to deliver the right take. It can be a dark moment on an otherwise cheery set . But for DeWanda Wise of Shes Gotta Have It, its a distressing scene from the Netflix series first season in which she, as lead Nola Darling, is assaulted one night walking home to her Brooklyn apartment that she calls one of her favorites. We mustve shot it 25 times and everytime I get to Nolas brownstone, theres this dude behind a car and he just kept popping out being like, That was good!, Wise said during a recent visit to the L.A. Times video studio. I didnt know if this was a crew member or just a dude in Brooklyn. So, around the 20th take, crazy eyes too, he just hopped out. I couldnt stop laughing and the laughing turned into coughing and then I could not breathe. It took a full 10 minutes to get myself together. I was legit having a panic attack from going through the motions of this event. Advertisement Though she acknowledges the scene is absurd and terrifying and emblematic of experiences women always have Wise too has been grabbed on the street by a stranger and followed its one of her favorites because that night was everything at once. For more from Wise, including how the show updates Spike Lees debut film on which its based, check out the full conversation below: Get your life! Follow me on Twitter (@TrevellAnderson) or email me: trevell.anderson@latimes.com. Chandeliers adorned the tables of this years amfAR gala, the fundraiser held at the tail-end of the Cannes Film Festival for the last 25 years, ornate centerpieces with glowing lampshades and crystal beading. But all of them were tilted, as if they had fallen from the sky, or survived a cataclysmic event. It was a decorative choice that represented far more than was intended. Until this year, Harvey Weinstein had been a fixture at the gala, and the festival, and both still shook with the impact of his fall. Though the event, begun by Elizabeth Taylor in an effort to raise money for the fight against AIDS, was outwardly as glamorous as ever, the atmosphere at the luxurious Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc was off-kilter. Yes, guests enjoyed cocktails by an antique Bentley, an Ai Weiwei sculpture and a metal tree the branches of which held champagne flutes, and during dinner, Sting and Grace Jones performed sets between a high-stakes auction, where a painting of Bob Dylan by the actor Pierce Brosnan fetched 1.2 million euros. Scene inside the tent at this years amfAR gala at Cannes. (Amy Kaufman / Los Angeles Times ) Advertisement And yes, there were celebrities in attendance: Milla Jovovich, Ava DuVernay, Adrien Brody, Benicio Del Toro. But the majority of the charitys 25 female honorary chairs Katy Perry, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Hudson didnt show. Leo isnt even here, was the most common lament from wealthy partygoers, many of whom pay thousands of dollars just to gawk at big names, including DiCaprio, who is such a staple at the event that he typically hosts an after-party down the road. Adrien Brody and Milla Jovovich attend the amfAR gala. (Pascal Le Segretain / WireImage for amfAR ) The lack of star power at amfAR was just one indication of the complicated impact the Weinstein scandal and #MeToo have had on Cannes and Hollywood. For years, the disgraced movie executive did fundraising for amfAR, urging his famous friends -- DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman, Jay-Z to attend the event with him. He often stayed at the du Cap, allegedly using its suites to prey on actresses such as Asia Argento, who claims Weinstein raped her at the hotel in 1997. A charge she reiterated two days after this years amfAR gala in a searing speech delivered at the festivals closing ceremony. This festival was his hunting ground, said Argento, who was on hand to present the actress award. 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 were not going to allow you to get away with it any longer. Ava DuVernay, right, looks on as Asia Argento speaks out against Harvey Weinstein at this years Cannes closing ceremony. (Vianney Le Caer / Vianney Le Caer / Invision/AP ) Her battle cry came at the end of a festival that was clearly like much of Hollywood struggling to find its place in the post-#MeToo era. In March, Cannes director Thierry Fremaux said it was not the festivals role to organize #MeToo events. But a few days after Cannes launched, he did an about-face, taking part in a red carpet march where 82 women from the film industry including jury president Cate Blanchett, Agnes Varda and Salma Hayek came together to make a public statement about the need for gender equality in the movie business. Fremaux and other Cannes organizers also signed a pledge promising to work towards gender parity behind the scenes and to become more transparent about the way in which the festival selects the films it will screen. Just three female filmmakers were in competition for the coveted Palme dOr this year, and while the jury (which included five women and four men) bestowed awards on two of their films, the top prize ultimately went to a man: Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. Jane Campion is the only woman who has won the prize in the festivals 71-year history and even she shared the award in a tie with a man, Chen Kaige. Kristen Stewart, from left, Lea Seydoux, Khadja Nin, Ava DuVernay, Cate Blanchett, Agnes Varda and Celine Sciamma walk the red carpet in protest of the lack of female filmmakers honored throughout the history of Cannes. (Lois Venance / AFP / Getty Images ) Festival organizers, meanwhile, invited Lars von Trier who was declared persona non grata in 2011 after saying at a press conference that he understood and sympathized with Hitler to screen his new film, The House that Jack Built. The movie, which stars Matt Dillon as a serial killer who victimizes actresses such as Uma Thurman, contained so much extreme violence against women that it prompted dozens of filmgoers to walk out of the premiere screening and generated scathing reviews. Cannes also screened The Man Who Killed Don Quixote from Terry Gilliam, who in March compared #MeToo to mob rule. Terry Gilliam stands on his chair to acknowledge applause at the premiere of his film at Cannes this year. (Valery Hache / AFP / Getty Images ) Harvey opened the door for a few people, a night with Harvey thats the price you pay, Gilliam said in an interview with the Agence France-Presse, prompting outrage from stars such as Ellen Barkin and Judd Apatow. It is a world of victims. I think some people did very well out of meeting with Harvey and others didnt. The ones who did knew what they are doing. These are adults; we are talking about adults with a lot of ambition. There were signs of progress Jessica Chastain pitched her independently produced spy thriller 355, which costars international actresses including Lupita Nyongo and Penelope Cruz, to distributors, promptly securing high-priced deals across the globe (including Universal in the US). 1 / 101 Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-Eda poses with his trophy during a photocall after he won the Palme dOr for the film Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku) at the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 2 / 101 Director Spike Lee poses with his Grand Prix for the film BlacKkKlansman during a photocall after his win during the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 3 / 101 Samal Yeslyamova poses with the actress award for her role in Ayka (The Little One), left, and Marcello Fonte poses with the actor award for his role in Dogman at the photocall at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (FRANCK ROBICHON/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 4 / 101 French actress and member of the Feature Film Jury Lea Seydoux arrives on stage during the closing ceremony of the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 5 / 101 Director Charles William accepts the Palme dOr short film award for All These Creatures on stage during the closing ceremony. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images) 6 / 101 Director Pawel Pawlikowski poses on stage with jury member Kristen Stewart and director Abderrahmane Sissako as he receives the best director award for Cold War (Zimna Wojna) during the closing ceremony. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images) 7 / 101 Laureates and jury members pose on stage during the closing ceremony of the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (Antonin Thuilier / AFP/Getty Images) 8 / 101 Cinematographer Fabrice Aragno, right, displays the special Palme dOr award on behalf of director Jean-Luc Godard, on screen, for his film The Image Book during the closing ceremony of the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (Vianney Le Caer / Invision/AP) 9 / 101 Italian actress Asia Argento raises her fist as she arrives for the Cannes Film Festivals closing ceremony and the screening of the film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 101 Un Certain Regard performance winner Victor Polster -- for his role in Girl -- poses with the Camera dOr winning director Lukas Dhont at a press conference during the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (Andreas Rentz / Getty Images) 11 / 101 Director Nadine Labaki, winner of the Jury Prize award for Capharnaum, attends a press conference. (Andreas Rentz / Getty Images) 12 / 101 A man dressed as the Mask walks on the Croisette during the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (Yann Coatsaliou / AFP/Getty Images) 13 / 101 Iranian actress Solmaz Panahi, right, who represents her father, Jafar Panahi, and Italian director Alice Rohrwacher pose with the trophy they jointly won for best screenplay prize, respectively, for the films 3 Faces (Se Rokh) and Lazzaro Felice (Happy as Lazzaro). (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 14 / 101 Shaggy performs on the red carpet during the 71st Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals. (Matthias Nareyek / Getty Images) 15 / 101 Sting performs on the red carpet as jury members and award winners, behind, look on during the 71st Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images) 16 / 101 Swiss director and President of the Camera dOr jury Ursula Meier, center, poses with Belgian director and Camera dOr winner (for Girl) Lukas Dhont, right, and Belgian actor Victor Polster. (Anne-Christine Poujoula / AFP/Getty Images) 17 / 101 Director Pawel Pawlikowski holds the director award for the film Cold War during a photo call following the awards ceremony at Cannes. (Arthur Mola / Invision/AP) 18 / 101 Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Kirin Kiki, Jyo Kairi, Lily Franky, Miyu Sasaki, Sakura Ando and Mayu Matsuoka pose during the photocall for Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku) at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (Franck Robichon/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 19 / 101 Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wears a Michael Cinco butterfly gown at the premiere of Girls of the Sun. (Arthur Mola / Invision/AP) 20 / 101 Actress Vanessa Paradis attends Knife + Heart (Un Couteau Dans Le Coeur) photocall during the 71st Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images) 21 / 101 Actress Kate Moran, left, director Yann Gonzalez, actress Vanessa Paradis and actor Nicolas Maury pose upon arrival at the premiere of Knife + Heart at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (Vianney Le Caer / Invision/AP) 22 / 101 French police pose on the red carpet during the screening of Knife + Heart (Un Couteau dans le Coeur) at the Cannes Film Festival. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 23 / 101 Actor Gary Oldman arrives for the premiere of Capharnaum. (Vianney Le Caer / Invision/AP) 24 / 101 Pierce Brosnan arrives at the amfAR 25th Cinema Against AIDS gala at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap dAntibes, southern France, during the 71th Cannes Film Festival. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 25 / 101 Maria Borges, left, Danielle Herrington, Shanina Shaik, Fatou Jobe, guest and Lais Ribeiro attend the cocktail party at the amfAR Gala. (Emma McIntyre / Getty Images for Pernod / amfAR) 26 / 101 Heidi Klum, Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima attend the amfAR Gala Cannes 2018 dinner at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap dAntibes, France. (Anthony Ghnassia / Getty Images for Chopard / amfAR) 27 / 101 Milla Jovovich and Ava DuVernay attend the auction dinner of the Cinema Against AIDS amfAR gala 2018 held at the Hotel du Cap, Eden Roc in Cap dAntibes, France. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA-EFE/REX/Shuterstock) 28 / 101 Corey Hawkins and Nathalie Emmanuel attend the auction dinner of the Cinema Against AIDS amfAR gala 2018. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 29 / 101 Michelle Rodriguez conducts the auction of the Cinema Against AIDS amfAR gala 2018. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 30 / 101 Model Heidi Klum, center, and actor Benicio Del Toro conduct an auction with Swiss art auctioneer Simon de Pury during the amfAR 25th Cinema Against AIDS gala. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 31 / 101 Singer Jason Derulo poses for photographers upon arrival at the amfAR, Cinema Against AIDS, benefit at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, during Cannes. (Joel C Ryan / Invision/AP) 32 / 101 Paris Hilton poses upon arrival at the amfAR, Cinema Against AIDS, benefit at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. (Joel C Ryan / Invision/AP) 33 / 101 British actress Nathalie Emmanuel arrives for the amfAR 25th Annual Cinema Against AIDS gala at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 34 / 101 Milla Jovovich attends the cocktail party at the amfAR Gala Cannes 2018 at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. (Anthony Ghnassia / Getty Images for Chopard / amfAR) 35 / 101 Actor Paul Bettany, director Ron Howard, producer Kathleen Kennedy, actor Woody Harrelson, actor Alden Ehrenreich, actress Emilia Clarke, actor Donald Glover, actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge, actress Thandie Newton, actor Joonas Suotamo, writer Jon Kasdan, producer Simon Emanuel and writer Lawrence Kasdan pose as they leave the Festival Palace after the screening of the film Solo : A Star Wars Story at the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 36 / 101 Finnish actor Joonas Suotamo, British actress Thandie Newton, US actor Woody Harrelson, US director Ron Howard, British actress Emilia Clarke, actor Alden Ehrenreich, actor Donald Glover and Chewbacca pose as they arrive for the screening of the film Solo : A Star Wars Story. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) 37 / 101 Winnie Harlow wears a metallic Jean-Louis Sabaji Couture gown at the premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story at the Cannes Film Festival. (Arthur Mola / Invision/AP) 38 / 101 Finnish actor Joonas Suotamo who plays Chewbacca poses with Chewbacca as they arrive with actor Woody Harrelson, director Ron Howard, British actress Emilia Clarke, actor Alden Ehrenreich, actor Donald Glover and British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge for the screening of the film Solo : A Star Wars Story. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 39 / 101 Donald Glover, right, and Alden Ehrenreich arrive for the screening of Solo: A Star Wars Story during the 71st Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. (Franck Robichon/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 40 / 101 Thandie Newton, left, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover attend the photocall for Solo: A Star Wars Story. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images) 41 / 101 British actor Paul Bettany, British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Finnish actor Joonas Suotamo, British actress Thandie Newton, US actor Woody Harrelson, British actress Emilia Clarke, actor Alden Ehrenreich, actor Donald Glover and Chewbacca pose during a photocall for the film Solo : A Star Wars Story. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 42 / 101 Japanese writer and actor Lily Franky, left, Japanese actress Miyu Sasaki, Japanese actress Sakura Ando, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-Eda, Japanese actress Kirin Kiki, Japanese actress Jyo Kairi and Japanese actress Mayu Matsuoka pose as they arrive for the screening of the film Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku). (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images) 43 / 101 IMDb Founder and CEO Col Needham speaks to guests at IMDbs 2018 Cannes Dinner Party during the 71st Cannes Film Festival at Table 22. (Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images for IMDb) 44 / 101 Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux, left, artistic director and co-president of Chopard Caroline Scheufele, 2018 Trophee Chopard laureates Joe Alwyn and Elizabeth Debicki, and Diane Kruger on stage at the Trophee Chopard during the 71st Cannes Film Festival at Hotel Martinez in Cannes, France. (Anthony Ghnassia / Getty Images for Chopard) 45 / 101 Actor Matt Dillon, left, actress Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Danish director Lars Von Trier, Swiss actor Bruno Ganz and Danish actress Sofie Grabol pose as they arrive for the screening of the film The House That Jack Built. (Valery Hache / AFP/Getty Images) 46 / 101 French actress and film director Andrea Bescond, left, and French actress Carole Franck as they arrive for the screening of their film Little Tickles (Les Chatouilles). (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 47 / 101 Director Spike Lee gestures while leaving following the screening of his film BlacKkKlansman at the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Lois Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 48 / 101 Director Spike Lee leaves the screening of BlacKkKlansman during the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (Ian Langsdon/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 49 / 101 Actors John David Washington, left, Damaris Lewis, Jasper Paakkonen, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace, director Spike Lee, actors Adam Driver and Corey Hawkins arrive at the premiere of the film BlacKkKlansman. (Joel C Ryan / Invision/AP) 50 / 101 Canadian model Winnie Harlow arrives for the screening of the film BlacKkKlansman. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 51 / 101 Singer Nicole Scherzinger waves as she arrives for the screening of the film BlacKkKlansman. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 52 / 101 French actress Suzanne Rault-Balet, left, French actress Sarah Calcine, French actor Guillaume Kerbusch and French actor Jean-Baptiste Sagory arrive for the screening of the film BlacKkKlansman. (Valery Hache / AFP/Getty Images) 53 / 101 Chris Tucker arrives for the screening of BlacKkKlansman during the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (Franck Robichon/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 54 / 101 Actress and member of the feature film jury Kristen Stewart removes her shoes on the red carpet as she arrives for the screening of the film BlacKkKlansman at the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Antonin Thuillier / AFP/Getty Images) 55 / 101 Francois-Henry Pinault, left, Patty Jenkins, Carla Simon, Pierre Lescure and Thierry Fremaux pose with the Women in Motion Award at Place de la Castre in Cannes, France. (Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images) 56 / 101 Farida Khelfa, Natalia Vodianova, Carla Bruni, Naomi Campbell and Marpessa Hennink attend Fashion for Relief during the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (John Phillips / Getty Images) 57 / 101 Maria Borges, left, Bella Hadid, Naomi Campbell and Natalia Vodianova walk the runway at Fashion for Relief show during the 71st Cannes Film Festival at Aeroport Cannes Mandelieu in Cannes, France. (Arnold Jerocki / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 58 / 101 (FromL) Japanese writer and actor Lily Franky, Japanese actress Miyu Sasaki, Japanese actress Sakura Ando and Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-Eda pose as they arrive on May 13, 2018 for the screening of the film Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku) at the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. / AFP PHOTO / Alberto PIZZOLIALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD ** (ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP/Getty Images) 59 / 101 Michelle Rodriguez walks the runway at the Fashion for Relief show during the 71st Cannes Film Festival at Aeroport Cannes Mandelieu in Cannes, France. (Arnold Jerocki / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 60 / 101 Diane Kruger attends the screening of Sink or Swim (Le Grand Bain) during the 71st Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals. (Matthias Nareyek / Getty Images) 61 / 101 Jury member Kristen Stewart poses for photographers upon arrival at the Kering Women in Motion awards. (Vianney Le Caer /Invision/Associated Press) 62 / 101 President of the rury Cate Blanchett poses for photographers upon arrival at the Kering Women in Motion awards. (Vianney Le Caer / Invision/Associated Press) 63 / 101 Melita Toscan du Plantier, left, and Matt Dillon attend the Kering Women in Motion Awards dinner party during the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (Clemens Bilan / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 64 / 101 Italian model and musician Carla Bruni arrives for the screening of the film Sink or Swim (Le Grand Bain). (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) 65 / 101 Benicio del Toro attends the Kering Women in Motion Awards dinner party during the 71st Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. (Clemens Bilan / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 66 / 101 Actress Jane Fonda arrives for the screening of the film Sink or Swim (Le Grand Bain). (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 67 / 101 Actress Araya Hargate poses as she arrives for the screening of the film Sink or Swim (Le Grand Bain). (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) 68 / 101 French actress Marion Cotillard poses as she arrives for the screening of the film Sink or Swim (Le Grand Bain). (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images) 69 / 101 Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and Hanne Jacobsen arrive for the screening of Arctic during the 71st Cannes Film Festival in France. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 70 / 101 Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, left, and Brazilian director Joe Penna arrive for the screening of Arctic. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 71 / 101 Icelandic actress Maria-Thelma Smaradottir arrives for the screening of Arctic. (Clemens Bilan / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 72 / 101 Writer Ryan Morrison, director Joe Penna, actress Maria Thelma Smaradottir, guest, Hanne Jacobsen, actor Mads Mikkelsen and guests attend the screening of Arctic during the 71st Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals. (Andreas Rentz / Getty Images) 73 / 101 French actress and Jury Member Lea Seydoux arrives for the screening of Cold War. (Franck Robichon / EPA-EFE/REX/Shut / FRANCK ROBICHON/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 74 / 101 Actress Chloe Sevigny arrives for the screening of Cold War (Zimna Wojna). (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 75 / 101 Actress and President of the Jury Cate Blanchett poses as she arrives for the screening of Cold War (Zimna Wojna) at the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 76 / 101 Amber Heard arrives for the screening of Sorry Angel (Plaire, Aimer et Courir Vite) at the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images) 77 / 101 French actress Adele Wismes, left, French director Christophe Honore and French actor Vincent Lacoste leave the screening of Sorry Angel (Plaire, Aimer et Courir Vite) at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 78 / 101 Brazilian director Joe Penna, left, Icelandic actress Maria-Thelma Smaradottir and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen pose during a photocall for the film Arctic. (Valery Hache / AFP / Getty Images) 79 / 101 French soldiers of the Sentinel Operation patrol outside the Festival Palace during the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images) 80 / 101 Russian producer Ilya Stewart, French producer Charles-Evrard Tcherkhoff, Russian director of photography Vladislav Opeliants, Russian actor Roma Zver, Russian actress Irina Starshenbaum and German actor Teo Yoo pose as they arrive for the screening of the film Leto (Summer). (Valery Hache / AFP / Getty Images) 81 / 101 Kenyan actress Sheila Munyiva, Kenyan actress Samantha Mugatsia and Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu arrive for the screening of the film Rafiki. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images) 82 / 101 Julianne Moore arrives for the screening of Yomeddine. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA-EFE / REX/Shutterstock) 83 / 101 Julianne Moore signs autographs for festival goers as she arrives for the screening of the film Yomeddine. (Loic Venance / AFP / Getty Images) 84 / 101 Egyptian director A.B Shawky, left, and his wife producer Elisabeth Shawky-Arneitz pose as they arrive for the screening of the film Yomeddine. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images) 85 / 101 Christoph Waltz attends the screening of Yomeddine at Palais des Festivals. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images) 86 / 101 Actress Penelope Cruz and her husband actor Javier Bardem pose for a photocall for the film Todos Lo Saben (Everybody Knows) during Cannes. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP / Getty Images) 87 / 101 Un Certain Regard jury member Virginie Ledoyen poses for photographers during a photocall. (Joel C Ryan / Invision / AP) 88 / 101 Actress Carey Mulligan poses for photographs for the film Wildlife. (Joel C Ryan / Invision / AP) 89 / 101 Actor and President of the Un Certain Regard jury Benicio Del Toro poses for photos. (Loic Venance / AFP / Getty Images) 90 / 101 Celina Jade attends the Chopard Gentlemans Evening at Hotel Martinez. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images for Chopard) 91 / 101 Actor Marion Cotillard, model Leomie Anderson and model Petra Nemcova attend the Chopard Gentlemans Evening at Hotel Martinez. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images for Chopard) 92 / 101 Jury President and Australian actress Cate Blanchett attends a press conference. (Tristan Fewings / EPA-EFE / REX) 93 / 101 Director Martin Scorsese acknowledges applause from French directors Jacques Audiard and Cedric Klapisch after receiving from the French Association of Filmmakers the Carosse dOr 2018 award (Golden Coach Award 2018). (Yann Coatsaliou / AFP/Getty Images) 94 / 101 A guest arrives for the screening of the film Leto (Summer). (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images) 95 / 101 Christoph Waltz, left, and Caroline Scheufele arrive for the screening of Yomeddine. (Cemens Bilan / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock) 96 / 101 Catrinel Menghia arrives for the screening of Yomeddine. (Ian Langsdon / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock) 97 / 101 A guest opens a sign reading: Free Serebrennikov as he arrives for the screening of Leto. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock) 98 / 101 The cast from the movie hold a sign to free director Kirill Serebrennikov as they arrive for the screening of Leto. (Cemens Bilan / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock) 99 / 101 German actor Teo Yoo shows an image of Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov as he arrives with his other cast members for the screening of Leto. (Clemens Bilan / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock) 100 / 101 Director and screenwriter and member of the Feature Film Jury Ava DuVernay, actress and President of the Jury Cate Blanchett and Burundian singer and member of the Feature Film Jury Khadja Nin pose on the balcony of the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez on the eve of the opening ceremony. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images) 101 / 101 Workers set up the official poster of the 71st Cannes Film Festival on the Palais des Festivals facade. The poster displays a photogram of French actors Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock) But there were also reminders of how slow the industry has been to adapt during a Women in Motion event, designed to bring more women into the cinematic conversation, Carey Mulligan was asked: In an era of #MeToo, how would you react to someone saying you were very beautiful? It all underscored the uncertain future Hollywood faces when it comes to implementing change, and how many in the business are still grappling with how to discuss sensitive topics. Promoting his mobster flick Gotti, John Travolta said he honestly didnt know a ton about #MeToo because he tries to view genders and races equally. Protest is valid. But how do you measure how do you differentiate the moment where it becomes invalid? said the actor. Its an art, almost, to say, OK, lets protest, but weve achieved that here and these particular rights. Now, lets get smart about how we use that protest so it doesnt get into an irrational perspective. John Travolta addresses the crowd at the party for his new film Gotti, where Brett Ratner was spotted. (Amy Kaufman / Los Angeles Times ) And who turned up at the party to celebrate Travoltas new mobster flick held, where else but, at the du Cap? Brett Ratner, who was accused of sexual impropriety by 11 women in The Times in November. The filmmaker was not part of any Cannes program but was spotted at a number of festival events. Even the highly visible amfAR gala had moments that seemed completely out of step. After a fashion show in which 31 women modeled designers such as Balmain, Chanel and Versace, the dresses were put up for auction. Former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, who curated the styles, attempted to up the bidding by asking: How much would you pay for a special kiss from all the girls? 31 kisses! That could take a long, long, long, time, auctioneer Simon de Pury replied. All of these ladies are waiting eagerly for you. Czech model Karolina Kurkova kisses the winner of an auction at the afAR gala. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images ) The collection ultimately went for 1.6 million euros, and the lucky male bidder was asked by de Pury to come to the front and collect all of [his] kisses. Top models including Winnie Harlow and Alessandra Ambrosio gave the winner kisses on the cheek before exiting the stage. It remains to be seen how much money the amfAR gala ultimately generated, though in years past the sum has been upwards of $30 million. The organization itself has seen its fair share of tumult post-Weinstein, when it was alleged that Weinstein funneled donations from the 2015 Cannes gala to a Boston-based theater production of Finding Neverland that Weinstein was workshopping. The New York attorney general reviewed the charitys governance and chairman Kenneth Cole resigned. Theres been bad publicity, unfortunately, Jovovich, who has been attending the annual Cannes gala since 1998, told The Times. But this is an important cause, and we need to come out and support, especially after what happened, because one bad apple shouldnt ruin this bunch. Heidi Klum and Benicio Del Toro attend this years amfAR gala. (Sebastien Nogier / EPA-EFE / REX / Shu ) Honorary chair Heidi Klum, who hosts Project Runway, which Weinstein executive produced, insisted that the future of the fundraiser would not be overshadowed by the moguls misdeeds. It wasnt really his event, said the model, who once presented on the amfAR stage with Weinstein. Im sure he got a lot of people to come. But as you see, people still come here. Its the hottest ticket once again. amy.kaufman@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @AmyKinLA UPDATES: 6:27 p.m.: This article has been updated with former amfAR chairman Kenneth Coles denial of the allegations. After nine seasons, the saga of the Hecks of Orson, Ind., comes to an end Tuesday night. Like the Hecks themselves, The Middle, the ABC sitcom that contains them, has kept chugging along, doing its less-than-glamorous, seemingly old-fashioned thing for a reliable 6 million to 8 million viewers a week, year after year. That is not to say it hasnt had its credentialed critical boosters, as well, or that it isnt just a little bit radical, in its way. But it has never exactly been a trending topic. I watch TV professionally, but also recreationally, as time permits and time does not permit much recreational TV watching. When it comes to the pleasure television, it is not so much the shows you pick as the ones that pick you, the places you return to week after week because they have in some sense got your number; they reliably improve your night, they are good company. I reviewed The Middle, when it premiered in 2009, and went on to watch possibly every episode thereafter, even though, professionally speaking, I didnt have to. I am a The Middle person. I laugh, I cry. Set in the middle of the country, or near it, with characters on an economic middle rung, or just below it the other middle is middle age the series stars Patricia Heaton, who had spent an earlier nine years married to Ray Romano on Everybody Loves Raymond, as Frankie Heck, wife, mother, daughter, dental assistant. Premiering in September 2009, when the shocks of the Great Recession were still reverberating and the subprime housing crisis was still having its way with the economy, The Middle is the sort of show that were it to debut in 2018, would be taken as a network responding to the Trump election. (The series had in fact been in development since 2006.) Advertisement Indeed, this is not, and was not then, a milieu favored by the producers of television comedy, who as a rule prefer shows about well-off people in nice houses. Roseanne, for which The Middle creators Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline wrote, seems to have been at least a partial inspiration if the colorful afghan on the Heck couch, seemingly an homage to that on the Conners, is any indication and it had been off the air for nearly a decade. But as a comedy of making do with less, it is more lighthearted and less naturalistic than Roseanne. The Hecks have no politics; their condition is existential. They have a modicum of religion, which is to say, an occasional episode will send them briefly to church. Generally speaking, they are good people, and somewhat less-than-solid citizens. Their concerns are usually immediate; when plans are made, they tend to go wrong. It is an improvisational, last-minute sometimes past the last minute corner-cutting life. I told you, you cant put wet things in the dryer anymore, Frankie reminds her family in the series opening episode, setting a theme and a tone. What has made the Hecks such good company for so long? They are vivid, individual characters, who started out a little strange from the start, but who have only ripened and deepend with time, as the actors have come to wear their parts like a second skin, transmitting by subtle indication what once would have had to be explained. Frankie is an excitable dreamer, husband Mike (Neil Flynn) contained and practical. Elder son Axl (Charlie McDermott) is charming and what might be called book dumb, with his own set of facts about the world. (It makes sense that he has wound up in sales.) Daughter in the middle Sue (Eden Sher) is a walking gasp of excitement, often disappointed, endlessly hopeful; Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is a clinically quirky bookworm Frankie named Brick because I read kids with interesting names grow up to be interesting people. (Frankie has frequently acted on things she has read.) Frankie dotes on Axl, worries about Sue and generally forgets about Brick, who has learned to fend for himself. Mike craves peace. The homiletic resolutions of Father Knows Best"and Leave It to Beaver notwithstanding, family sitcoms have more often than not promoted the oddballs they seem to mock. The Addams Family is different in degree but not in kind from, say, Ozzie and Harriet: They live by their own rules, though at times Frankie would painfully feel the distance between her family and a normal one and would encourage or bully them toward some imagined ideal. This was usually given up as too hard, misguided or impossible. Atticus Shaffer, from left, Eden Sher and Charlie McDermott as Brick, Sue and Axl Heck in the one-hour series finale of ABCs The Middle. (Michael Ansell / ABC ) Nevertheless, over the course of the series, Axl has managed to graduate from high school and college. Sue is in college, still working a fast food job over the summer; Brick, whom we met as a second grader, is a high school sophomore. Frankie sold cars to begin with If Im going to sneak out an hour early, I cant be more than an hour late summed up her work ethic. Now, she is a dental assistant who has, she almost reluctantly admits, acquired actual practical knowledge. And Mike has moved up a notch at the quarry, into management. They are, by any decent reckoning, a success story. And unlike Married With Children, which presented family life as a zero sum game, it is not cynical. The characters get their little victories, even if the lesson is just one of acceptance, of other people, of ones own circumstances and nature. The Hecks are forever coming to understand, and admit, what they mean to one another. As episodic television, there is a big reset button at the beginning of nearly every episode, where the old emotional order is reasserted. But it also seems that this is how the world really works we are continually forgetting and remembering to pay attention, to care. I will miss The Middle. That Axl is considering taking a job in Denver, leaving Frankie grieving in anticipation, is a nicely analogous to the shows own leave-taking. Yet this seems like a good time, in their fictional progress, to bid the Hecks adieu. We face the finale with questions that will be answered or left open (but given the nature of the series, most likely will be answered). Will Axl take that Denver job? Will Sue declare her love for the boy next door (Beau Wirick)? As interesting as Brick Heck: The College Years might have been in a season 12, we can leave it to our imagination or petition for a spinoff. I wish them luck wherever TV characters go when they are done with us. The Middle Where: ABC When: 8:30 p.m. Tuesday Rating: TV-PG-L (may be unsuitable for young children with an advisory for coarse language) robert.lloyd@latimes.com Follow Robert Lloyd on Twitter @LATimesTVLloyd ALSO The Middle offers something rare on TV, a candid look at the anxiety of a working family ABCs The Middle to finish plowing the heartland in its ninth and final season From the Archives: Hank and The Middle Heaton loves it in The Middle From the Archives: Critics Notebook: Optimists emerge among televisions cynical characters LFranks Liseanne Frankfurt and the Greats Emily Current and Meritt Elliott are the latest local designers to join the Wear LACMA fold by designing apparel and accessories inspired by pieces in the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts permanent collection. Frankfurt, a jewelry and lingerie designer, took inspiration from works in the Pavilion for Japanese Art including a 19th-century red lacquer tea carrier adorned with gold leaves, the watercolor painting Banana Tree in Rain by Hirafuku Hyakusui and a kimono textile fragment dating to Japans Edo period to create silk robes, slips and sleep masks adorned with similar flora. The Greats Elliott and Current chose a trio of American West landscape oil paintings as an inspirational starting point: Granville Redmonds California Poppy Field (circa 1926), William Keiths California Pines (1878) and Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe (1864) by Thomas Hill. The result includes a vintage-looking denim jacket and sweatshirts popping with all-over poppy embroidery; a green, military-style jacket with an embroidered landscape on the back; and womens T-shirts screenprinted with mountainous landscapes. (The Greats offerings also include sweatshirts and tees in childrens sizes.) An LFrank silk robe, left, with a design inspired by a piece of kimono fabric that dates to Japans Edo period, right, from LACMAs permanent collection. (Museum Associates / LACMA ) Advertisement The art-meets-fashion mashup is the brainchild of Katherine Ross, a fashion consultant who formerly worked at LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (and the wife of LACMA Director Michael Govan). Since October 2012, it has seasonally tapped local design talent to create limited-edition items inspired by pieces in the museums permanent collection. Last seasons fall 2017 offerings included a tasseled floral lei designed by RTH founder Rene Holguin (inspired by an 1876 Felipe Santiago Gutierrez painting) and a 14-karat gold-plate choker necklace designed by Gabriela Artigas & Co.s sisters Gabriela and Teresita that took inspiration from a 15th-century pair of hammered gold tweezers. Previous Wear LACMA designers include Lisa Eisner, George Esquivel, Greg Lauren, Irene Neuwirth, Juan Carlos Obando, Rodartes Kate and Laura Mulleavy and Libertines Johnson Hartig. The Spring 2018 Wear LACMA collection officially launches June 6 at the bricks-and-mortar LACMA Store at 5905 Wilshire Blvd. and online at thelacmastore.org with proceeds benefiting the museum. adam.tschorn@latimes.com For more musings on all things fashion and style, follow me at @ARTschorn. From a new sweets shop in Little Ethiopia to a Malibu rose festival, heres whats happening in the Los Angeles food and drink world: Hold the campfire First there were cupcakes, then Cronuts and now, maybe, smores. Owner Annalisa Mastroianni Johnson plans to open Gotta Have Smore, a shop touting cupcake-sized smores, in Mid-Wilshire on June 7. Johnson previously had a wholesale space in Culver City that fulfilled online smores orders; this is the companys first bricks-and-mortar location. In addition to the traditional marshmallow, milk chocolate and graham cracker, Johnson is making dark chocolate smores as well as salted caramel, peanut butter cup and cookies-and-cream smores. Shes also planning seasonal flavors such as peanut butter and jelly, spicy Mexican hot chocolate, pumpkin pie and espresso bean. In addition to smores, Johnson is serving coffee and small breakfast grab-and-go items. Expect to see more on the menu in the future. 1066 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 646-4114, gottahavesmore.com. Rose all day If youre planning on celebrating National Rose Day, theres the Rose Day LA festival in Malibu, set for June 9. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times ) For those of you who dont mark every other National X Day on your calendar, heres one you might want to remember. The second Saturday of June each year is National Rose Day. So its only fitting that a couple of industry veterans decided to create a Rose Day LA festival on June 9 (this years National Rose Day). The event is set to take place at Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu and include food trucks selected by Marc Forgione (you may recognize him from Iron Chef). Expect Moet & Chandons Rose Imperial, Grand Vintage Rose 2009 and Ice Imperial Rose, as well as a rose from Domaine Bertaud Belieu. The festival is scheduled to take place from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. General admission tickets are $95. VIP tickets, which include a VIP entrance, priority shuttle and access to additional bars and food vendors, are $165. 32111 Mulholland Highway, Malibu, RoseDayLA.com. Advertisement No More Heroes cocktail bar Remember that airline-themed cocktail bar called Now Boarding on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood? Now its a bar with music-inspired decor called No More Heroes and run by Laurel Hardware and Ysabel veterans Cole Apodaca and Todd Walker. Apodaca, who serves as the beverage director, has a list of drinks that includes classic and frozen cocktails. There are performances by all-vinyl DJs and live acoustic acts. And the duo plans to add a kitchen soon to offer a menu of hero sandwiches. 7746 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-8447, nmh.la. Restaurant reboot The fried lobster at the new Tacos Punta Cabras in Santa Monica. ( Anne Fishbien ) Punta Cabras, a new and expanded version of Tacos Punta Cabras in Santa Monica, reopens on May 30 at the corner of Broadway and 10th Street. Chef Daniel Snukal (formerly of Urasawa and LudoBites) and partner Mark Mittleman are behind the new restaurant, which includes a full-service dining room, taqueria and an eight-seat chefs tasting table. In the dining room, expect Senor Rockefeller (oysters baked with sea urchin); chorizo fundido and roasted fish curry. At the taco bar, theres albacore al pastor; chorizo-beef Picadillo and lobster, and there are cocktails from former Joes Restaurant bartender Zachariah Parks. 930 Broadway, Santa Monica, (310) 917-2244, www.puntacabras.com. University to table The new Vita Italian Bar & Grill in Pomona is attempting to take farm-to-table to a new level. The restaurant, which opened in the Double Tree by Hilton a little more than a month ago, partnered with Cal Poly Pomona and other local farms in the Pomona Valley to source produce for the restaurants pastas, pizzas and vegetable dishes. Most items are centered around the wood-fired grill, including the grilled octopus with heirloom potatoes; a 32-ounce tomahawk rib-eye and a branzino for two. 3101 W Temple Ave., Pomona, (909) 348-5900, www.vitalosangeles.com. Santa Monica paneer Chef Imran Mookhi (formerly of Tamarind in London) and restaurateur RJ Singh are on a mission to introduce a new kind of Indian food to Los Angeles. The two are behind the new Tumbi restaurant in Santa Monica, where Mookhi is making avocado bhel puri salad with citrus and puffed rice; pani puri puff pastry with chickpeas served in a shot glass and charbroiled paneer tikka with yogurt, curry and mint chutney. For lunch, Mookhi is filling stackable steel lunch boxes with lamb, prawns, vegetables, basmati rice, dal bhukara and house salad. Singh, who is co-owner of Tantra in Silver Lake and Indias Oven, wanted to create a restaurant that combines influences from Rajasthan, New Delhi, Goa, Chennai, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The restaurant, named for the musical instrument played at many Indian celebrations, was designed by architect Sat Garg and features a mural painted by Garg in the main dining room. 115 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 829-7200, www.tumbibar.com. jenn.harris@latimes.com Instagram: @Jenn_Harris_ UPDATES: 2:52 p.m.: This article was updated with the new opening date for Punta Cabras. This article was originally published at 9 a.m. The chorus of condemnation against USC is getting louder by the day. Students, recent graduates and faculty members have all launched crusades against an administration they see as indifferent to the well-being of its charges, unworthy of their trust and incapable of transparency when it is needed most. I have watched with dismay as USC brass have again and again either covered for highly placed men engaged in despicable behavior, tried to whitewash their own inaction, or have stonewalled legitimate journalistic inquiries. This pattern, finally, is taking its toll. Rini Sampath, 23, will always be a Trojan. She had a smile on her face the minute she stepped on campus and was still smiling when she graduated in 2016, having capped her college experience by being elected student body president. Advertisement Now, however, she is watching in horror and anger as her alma mater spirals into scandal, much of it self-inflicted. And she is counseling her little sister against applying to USC next year. How can you blame her? Any sister would want to protect her sibling from an institution where a man like George Tyndall, the USC student health clinic gynecologist accused of sexually abusing young women, could practice unimpeded for decades. I dont want my sister to be in that environment at all, Sampath said Monday from Washington, where she works for a management consulting firm. The only thing that would change her mind, she said, is the firing of USC President C.L. Max Nikias. Thats pretty much a no-brainer, said Sampath, who created an online petition calling for his removal. By Monday, it had garnered more than 1,500 signatures. Hilary Schor, an English professor who began teaching at USC in 1986, was so distressed by the allegations that Tyndall had abused patients for three decades that she co-wrote a letter to USCs Board of Trustees asking that Nikias be fired. I am incredibly moved by how many faculty have spoken up, Schor said. She and colleagues reached out to a number of tenured faculty at USCs main campus, where many of the universitys most distinguished scholars are based. She was stunned, as she put it, at how many have signed on. We have former deans, former vice provosts, many chairs and former chairs, she said. Frankly, many people who never sign things and havent answered their university emails in years! For many of the 200 professors who signed the letter, the Tyndall scandal was a final straw. Last year, The Times exposed the dean of the medical school, Carmen Puliafito, as a meth-abusing, hard-partying doctor who cavorted with criminals and other addicts. Next, it was Puliafitos successor, Rohit Varma, who left his post as after The Times found out that his sexual harassment of a colleague had cost the university $135,000. Schor said she lost confidence in the president when she read last year that a Times reporter was rebuffed after delivering a letter to Nikias at his university-owned home in San Marino asking questions about the Puliafito scandal. Nikias returned the letter to the newspaper by courier, unopened, the metaphorical equivalent of a toddler covering his ears and shrieking I cant hear you! The unopened letter was also accompanied by a letter from a USC spokeswoman charging that the Times reporter, Paul Pringle, had crossed the line. (In the news business, we call this doing our job.) That to me was the most telling moment, Schor said. At that moment, Nikias forfeited our respect. I really feel that an administration whose central mission is not to know more has let us all down. Nikias, who avoided publicly commenting on the medical school scandals until it was no longer viable to remain silent, has penned two open letters to the USC community about Tyndall. The first was a masterpiece of deflection masquerading as concern. The second took a more appropriately apologetic tone, but the damage was already done. As the parent of two daughters who were undergraduates and graduate students at USC, I understand how vital it is for the university to do everything it can to care for the students who put their trust in us, he wrote in his initial missive. Personalizing his dismay by invoking his daughters struck many not only as disingenuous but as inappropriate. The only way a sentence that begins, As the parent of two daughters should end is that man should be driven out of town on a rail, or I would like to strangle him with my own hands, Schor said. Tessa Meurer, 21, who just graduated with a degree in neuroscience and has worked as a sexual assault prevention advocate on campus, is drafting a letter with colleagues demanding that USC devote more resources to services for survivors of sexual assault. I do look upon the patients of Dr. Tyndall as survivors, she said. They could have had the full support of the university from the moment administrators found out about what was happening, but they didnt because administrators chose not to reveal it to students despite what it meant for their safety. I think President Nikias should be removed. Lucy Condolora, 24, a 2016 graduate who works in Oregon for a company that provides wilderness therapy, said shes been disheartened by what she sees as the administrations double standards. A couple of years ago, when she was vice president of her sorority, USC cracked down on its fraternities after some troubling behavior. Nikias was punishing organizations of 200 young men for the behavior of one or two, Condolora said. And yet, Tyndall was able to continue practicing for years despite complaints. That hypocrisy is overwhelming. She, like so many others in the USC community, is dismayed by a lack of leadership or even response by the Board of Trustees, whose wealthy and illustrious members include people such as Jeanie Buss, Rick Caruso, Steven Spielberg, Ronald Tutor and Jane Harman. Their silence, Condolora said, is deafening. robin.abcarian@latimes.com Twitter: @AbcarianLAT California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Monday filed an appeal against a judges recent ruling overturning the states physician-assisted suicide law. The controversial law, which allows terminally ill patients to request lethal medications from their doctors, has been the subject of litigation since it was enacted two years ago. Last week, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia ruled that the laws passage was unconstitutional and the law should be overturned. Becerras action Monday moves the case to an appeals court, which will decide the future of the law. He also asked that the law stay in place while the matter is further litigated, a request that will most likely be granted, said Kathryn Tucker, an attorney who heads the End of Life Liberty Project at UCSF/UC Hastings Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy. Advertisement I do not believe there will be a period of time in which the implementation of this statute will be interrupted, Tucker said. The states End of Life Option Act allows terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to request end-of-life drugs from their doctors, a practice that has been allowed in Oregon for more than 20 years. Now, nearly 1 in 5 Americans lives in a state where physician-assisted suicide is legal, according to advocacy group Compassion and Choices. Californias legislation was passed in 2015 during a special legislative session dedicated to healthcare issues. Ottolia ruled that the state Legislature violated the states constitution by approving the law during the session, as it wasnt a healthcare matter. Becerras appeal called that ruling erroneous, citing the message Gov. Jerry Brown released when he signed the bill into law. In the message, Brown said he was unsure what he would want if he were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain. But, he wrote, he imagined it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill. And I wouldnt deny that right to others. The enactment fell within the scope of the special session called, in part, to consider efforts to improve the efficiency and efficacy of the health care system ... and improve the health of Californians, the appeal reads. As the Governor indicated, the Act deals with pain, suffering, and the comfort of having the health care options afforded by the Act. Becerra also wrote that overturning the law immediately would leave healthcare practitioners facing possible criminal prosecution and terminally ill patients who qualify under the law left to die an excruciating, painful death. The case will now be taken up in the 4th District Court of Appeal. If the court upholds the law, the plaintiffs could then ask the state Supreme Court to review the case. The push for physician-assisted suicide in California came after Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old Californian with brain cancer, moved to Oregon to take advantage of its end-of-life law. In the first six months Californias law was in effect, more than 100 people made use of it to end their lives. Fifty-nine percent of them had cancer, according to state data. Writing the lethal prescriptions is voluntary for doctors and medical facilities in California, and some, including all Catholic and church-affiliated hospitals, have not allowed their physicians to prescribe such medicines. Californias data from the laws first six months show that 173 physicians wrote the 191 prescriptions statewide. soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com Twitter: @skarlamangla 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Mayor Eric Garcetti said he will interview the three finalists for chief of the Los Angeles Police Department at least once more before making a decision. Garcetti described his timetable Monday at a news conference in answer to reporters questions. The three finalists LAPD Deputy Chief Robert Arcos, LAPD Assistant Chief Michel Moore and San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott have already been interviewed twice by the mayor. Also Monday, Police Commission President Steve Soboroff said that Arcos should have disclosed his daughters drunk driving issues to the commission, which interviewed him and other candidates before selecting the three finalists. Arcos daughter, Chelsea, was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to seven years in prison for killing two people in a 2006 drunk driving accident. Advertisement Soboroff said he learned of the incident in a Times article on Friday. I think thats something that easily could have been brought up and should have been brought up, Soboroff said. After Chelsea Arcos arrest, the LAPDs internal affairs group investigated an allegation that Robert Arcos used his influence to alter a probation report in his daughters favor. Arcos was eventually cleared, and he denies wrongdoing. In 2015, after her release from prison, Chelsea Arcos was in another drunk driving accident. She was convicted of misdemeanor DUI and sentenced to an alcohol treatment program and 60 days in jail. The other driver, who was not seriously hurt, sued Chelsea Arcos and her parents in January, alleging that the Arcoses should have prevented their daughter from getting behind the wheel and that Robert Arcos used his position in the LAPD to get his daughter a light sentence. Arcos has denied that he tried to influence the case. Chelsea Arcos previous convictions could not legally be used to upgrade the charge to a felony, according to the L.A. County district attorneys office. Soboroff said he would not have held Chelsea Arcos drunk driving issues against her father. He thought Robert Arcos handled the situation well by speaking to high school students about the consequences of his daughters actions. But a devastating experience like that is relevant to understanding who Arcos is, why he wants to be chief and what life events have influenced him, Soboroff said. Any of these three could be a great chief, and it would have been better if Id known about it, he said. Another police commissioner, Sandra Figueroa-Villa, said Arcos did not need to disclose his daughters drunk driving history to the commission. She said she knew about it before Arcos interview with the commission. He didnt have to divulge that to us, Figueroa-Villa said. They shouldnt involve our children. She paid her debt, and had she not, it really would have been different. Arcos said he had no comment on Soboroffs statement. In a statement he tweeted Friday after the publication of The Times article, Arcos apologized for his daughter and said he has tried to educate young people about the dangers of drunk driving. I believe that the experience has made me more empathetic to the plight of families, and more passionate about the obligation to work with schools, programs and the community to reduce drunk driving, Arcos wrote. The commissions five civilian members, who oversee the LAPD, chose the three finalists from a pool of 31 applicants, forwarding the list to the mayor on May 4. Garcetti had previously said that he hoped to choose the new police chief by the end of this month, well in advance of Chief Charlie Becks June 27 retirement. On Monday, Garcetti said he expects to announce his pick in the next nine or 10 days. In addition to interviewing the candidates once or twice more, he said he is open to input from the backers of each candidate. Garcettis choice must be ratified by the City Council. I want to do it right, not fast, Garcetti said. Arcos is deputy chief of Central Bureau, which includes downtown and northeast L.A. He would be the first Latino police chief of a city that is nearly 50% Latino. Scott, who left the LAPD after 27 years to lead the troubled San Francisco Police Department, is African American and a familiar face in South Los Angeles. Moore, whose father was a Basque immigrant, runs the LAPDs patrol operations. Arcos has the backing of some powerful Latino politicians, including City Councilman Gil Cedillo, while a coalition of African American pastors and community activists is supporting Scott. On Monday, Garcetti said he is not looking to fulfill a demographic pool even as President Trump has stepped up deportations, which have made some immigrant residents fearful of law enforcement. All three finalists have good records on immigration, he said, noting that Beck, who is white, has been a strong advocate for the citys immigrants. You dont have to be Latino to speak powerfully about how important it is to have a police department that cares for our immigrant communities, Garcetti said. cindy.chang@latimes.com For more news on the Los Angeles Police Department, follow me on Twitter: @cindychangLA UPDATES: 8:55 p.m.: This article was updated with Arcos offering no comment on Soboroffs statement. This article was originially published at 8:25 p.m. Just as the people in Mariners Church began to pull off their hats, bow their heads and close their eyes to pray, Jimmy Meeks snapped at them. Get those heads up! said the pastor and retired Texas police officer. Hadnt he just warned them that closing their eyes made them targets? Sheep in the presence of wolves. Whats wrong with yall? Advertisement Their eyes duly peeled, he then led the crowd in a prayer. Wherever we are, Father, should the wolf cross our path, give us the wisdom to know what to do with that moment, and give us the power and the courage to act to stop the wolf and protect our sons and daughters. Churchgoers, preachers and law enforcement officers from across Southern California had gathered for a church security seminar in Huntington Beach hosted by the California Rifle & Pistol Assn., which delivered a warning: Faith alone will not protect you in a house of God. In the sleek sanctuary of Mariners Church, the mostly male crowd sipped coffee, jotted notes and punctured the air with shouts of Amen! and Hooah! as a series of out-of-town speakers at the Sheepdog Seminar encouraged them to be the ones who step up and protect others if, God forbid, an attacker comes. Get those heads up! Whats wrong with yall? Jimmy Meeks, pastor and retired police officer who runs Sheepdog Seminars In the months since a gunman in November killed 26 people at the First Baptist Church in rural Sutherland Springs, Texas, many people of faith have begun questioning how to keep religious institutions safe, said Rick Travis, executive director of the California Rifle & Pistol Assn. His organization has been inundated with requests for church security training and probably will be hosting events for the next several years, he said. We dont want people to be afraid, said Travis, a churchgoer himself. We want people to be knowledgeable. The seminar happened four days before a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas killed 10 people, mostly students, and reignited the never-ending debate over gun control, the 2nd Amendment and the place of firearms in American society. Appearing on Sunday morning news programs, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that teachers need to be armed. He said guns are not the problem. Guns stop crimes, he said on ABCs This Week. If we take the guns out of society if you or anyone else thinks that that makes us safer, then Im sad to say that youre mistaken. That will just give those that are evil [the ability] to put more of us in danger. Were the assembled at the church safety event being told to pack heat in the pews? Not always in so many words and that wasnt the whole kit and caboodle of advice. But if youre legally able to carry a gun, the speakers said, its best to do it. If you do not have an armed presence in your church, you are simply not ready, Meeks said. If, at times, the speakers were a little circumspect about telling people to carry a weapon, there was a reason. California has some of the strictest gun laws in the country and there is overwhelming support for keeping it that way. Meeks, a self-deprecating man whose voice ranged from the fiery yell of a preacher at an old-fashioned tent revival to a subdued, choked-up whisper, began the eight-hour, $75 seminar with a playful jab at the Golden State. Wow, its good to be here, Meeks said. Its not often we get to do a Sheepdog Seminar in a foreign country. We dont want people to be afraid. We want people to be knowledgeable. Rick Travis, executive director, California Rifle & Pistol Assn. Many at the seminar said they were disturbed because the Sutherland Springs shooting, the deadliest church massacre in modern American history, seemed to quickly fade from the national news cycle, especially compared with recent school shootings. Travis said he was alarmed by another incident on the same day as the Sutherland Springs attack. That morning, a man fatally shot his estranged wife and her new boyfriend in the parking lot of St. Alphonsus Church in Fresno before committing suicide. The Fresno shooting was eclipsed by the larger killing in Texas and received scant attention outside the city. I thought, wow, how often does this happen in California and we just dont know about it? Travis said. Statistically, its exceedingly safe to go to church on Sunday morning, said Dallas Drake, a criminologist at the Center for Homicide Research in Minneapolis. There is such a vast number of American churches that the number of violent incidents is small. Its such an affront to our moral sensibilities that someone would even bring a firearm into a church, Drake said. It really crosses a line that we cannot deal with. We dont want to see a gun in church. This is a place where we come for peace and solace. Drake and other researchers compiled a database of church shootings from 1980 to 2005 and found 139 incidents, an average of 5.5 per year. But the annual rate doubled in ensuing years. The Center for Homicide Research has documented 146 shootings from 2006 to 2016, an average of 11 per year, Drake said. Nearly half of the shooters have some connection to the church. (The data include only Christian churches, not other houses of worship such as mosques or synagogues, and are limited to shootings.) There is very little research about violence at faith-based properties, Drake said. He added that he is concerned by the number of paid church safety trainings he sees and worries that people will take advantage of those who are afraid. Carl Chinn, a speaker at the Sheepdog Seminar and a Colorado-based security consultant, maintains an extensive database on a broader range of violent acts at all types of American religious institutions. Chinn tracked 1,705 deadly force incidents including abductions and suicides from January 1999 through December 2017. About 1,000 involved a gun. In the Huntington Beach sanctuary, Meeks asked the crowd, Faith without works is what? Dead! they yelled back, completing the Bible verse with the same words. And you might be, too, if you dont have a plan. A memorial for the victims of the shooting at Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church includes 26 white chairs, each decorated with a cross and a rose. (Eric Gay / Associated Press ) In the Orange County city of 200,000 people, the Sheepdog Seminar speakers found a place in Southern California that was not entirely opposed to the gun-friendly ideas they were espousing. Earlier this year, a Huntington Beach resident circulated a proposed initiative, trying to get it on the citys November election ballot, that would make the possession and sale of semiautomatic and automatic guns a felony. The city responded by suing him, saying the petition was unconstitutional. But despite pockets of conservatism, California is a state that remains at the forefront of gun control. Meeks travels around the country conducting Sheepdog Seminars, calling on congregants to prepare for violent attacks. One of the faultiest beliefs among Christian people is this: Faith is enough to protect us from harm. Thats not true, Meeks said. Jesus said the rain falls on the just and the unjust To tell me faith is enough to protect? Read your Bible. It doesnt say that. Attendees said it can be awkward discussing security in houses of worship because they pride themselves on welcoming all. Some of the strongest pushback comes from the faithful themselves, said Rabbi Yossi Eilfort, of West Hollywood, who runs a security company in Irvine. People need to be prepared, rationally, practically thinking, how do we keep our people safe even though were trying to open the doors to everybody? said Eilfort, an Orthodox rabbi who has trained in mixed martial arts. We dont want to turn people away. The homeless need the help the most. But at the same time, we cant rely solely on faith to say things are going to be OK. Thatd be like shutting off the fire sprinkler systems. Pray, plan, prepare. Robert Schroeder Robert Slade, 81, of Kern County, said he spends each Sunday morning in the foyer of his Pentecostal Foursquare church with his cup of coffee. He greets and studies everyone who comes in to see if they pose a threat. Strangers get a little more attention. We all know churches are soft targets, said Slade, who paid for a church usher to join him at the seminar. Robert Schroeder, 62, a member of a Nazarene church in Whittier, said a thought came to him during the training: Pray, plan, prepare. A retired longtime Huntington Beach police officer said his Orange County church decided to form a security team a few years ago after a drunken man on parole ran down the aisle toward the pastor, swearing at him. The retired officer helped tackle him. The security team now has about 17 members, including many current and retired law enforcement officers who, under federal law, can carry concealed weapons. They sit in strategic locations throughout the sanctuary. People initially thought it was a joke. Why do we need church security? said the retired officer, who did not give his name because he didnt want potential attackers to be able to identify him. But minds have changed. Jimmy Meeks speaks at a seminar on church security hosted by the California Rifle & Pistol Assn. at Mariners Church in Huntington Beach. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times ) In the sanctuary, Meeks insisted most attackers are hot-tempered people like those going through a divorce or who lost their job who are neither mentally ill nor foreign terrorists. Youve got people in your church who are ticking time bombs A bullet from a Methodist is going to hurt just as much as a bullet from a Muslim, he said. Dave Grossman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and police trainer who attended President Trumps roundtable on violent video games in the wake of the February school shooting in Parkland, Fla., laid much of the blame for mass killings on television shows, movies and video games that are creating sick, sick people. He said the news media do not adequately report on mass killings in other countries and that reporters are trying to brainwash people. Words have power, do you understand? he said. Its anti-gun propaganda every time we call a criminal act a shooting. As the day wound on, Grossman and Meeks gave the audience tips for keeping their churches safe: Lock the door. Greet and study every person who enters. Watch the parking lot. Have Sunday school and day-care teachers carry pepper spray. Teach people to throw projectiles at attackers. Meeks lingered over projected photos from Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., where Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, fatally shot nine black congregants in a Bible study class in 2015. Roof didnt start shooting, he said, until the parishioners closed their eyes in prayer. Retired Army Lt. Col. Dave Grossman speaks at Mariners Church in Huntington Beach as part of a seminar on church security. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times ) hailey.branson@latimes.com Twitter: @haileybranson At a raucous hearing at City Hall punctuated with shouting from the crowd, Los Angeles lawmakers pressed forward Tuesday with plans to shelter dozens of homeless people at a Koreatown parking lot. The Koreatown plan, announced by city leaders earlier this month, spurred residents and business owners to sign petitions and hold rallies demanding the city choose another site. At a council committee meeting Tuesday, opponents of the plan argued that their concerns about putting temporary housing for homeless people near schools and businesses had been ignored. Shame on you all of you, said Sharon Joung, a member of the Wilshire Community Coalition, to applause from the crowd. You should have known better. You have discriminated and marginalized this community because you thought its just Koreatown. Well, you made a big mistake. During the heated meeting, boos and shouting sometimes drowned out the people speaking. When Yongho Kim from the Korean Resource Center said he backed the shelter plan and was disappointed by the communitys response, opponents yelled back, We are disappointed by you! and Get out! Advertisement Tuesdays decision is not the final step in the process: Members of the council committee focused on homelessness asked city staffers to put together a report assessing the possible use of the Vermont Avenue site for temporary housing, the next step toward rolling out the plan. The proposal next goes to the entire council for review. During the hearing, council members stressed the need for emergency shelter in the city. City Councilman Mike Bonin, who represents coastal neighborhoods including Venice, called the shelter plan nothing short than a matter of life and death. Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who heads the committee, likened the move to pulling over to make way for an ambulance. It is inconvenient. And it is not ideal. But it is the human thing to do and, I would suggest, the American thing to do, Harris-Dawson concluded. The meeting came days after council President Herb Wesson, who represents the area near the Vermont Avenue site, convened a rally outside City Hall calling on Angelenos to back temporary housing for homeless people. Sheltering homeless people at the parking lot near Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue was announced as part of a $20-million citywide program backed by Mayor Eric Garcetti to provide temporary accommodations for homeless people. Garcetti wants temporary housing in every council district, providing immediate shelter while new, permanent homeless housing funded by a $1.2-billion bond is under construction. Committee members also voted Tuesday to evaluate other city properties as possible sites for temporary shelters in West Los Angeles, Hollywood and South Los Angeles, and to assess whether a pair of Echo Park properties could be turned into permanent housing for homeless people. So far, those plans have not sparked the same level of public furor as the Koreatown plan, although some parents whose children go to school near the proposed site in Hollywood showed up Tuesday to object that there had been inadequate community outreach and review of that proposal. Garcetti told reporters Monday that in L.A. neighborhoods, the options are to keep people who are already there on the streets in a terrible situation where they themselves are harming themselves, harming others sometimes or doing something about it. And to me, thats a pretty easy decision: We have to do something about it. A rally at Los Angeles City Hall shows support for temporary housing for homeless people. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times ) Wesson and other city leaders have defended the selection of the Koreatown site, arguing that the neighborhood was chosen because it sorely needs shelter beds. Backers of the plan, including some Koreatown residents, said Tuesday that the proposed shelter would help homeless people already living on Koreatown streets. Koreatown resident Nare Park told lawmakers and the crowd that as people bed down next to the proposed site, its infinitely safer to offer housing, even if its temporary emergency housing. Park added that she supported community processes for vetting the shelter plan, but people are also using this process as a delay tactic in the hopes that there will be no shelter. Boos broke out from the crowd. As Park returned to the audience after speaking, one of the opponents told her, Shame on you! Several opponents countered that they wanted to help homeless people but that the Vermont Avenue site was inappropriately close to schools and businesses and had been chosen without a transparent process or community input. One woman invoked the riots that rocked the city in 1992, saying that the same neighborhood had been left undefended by police during the unrest. If you dont see a pattern here, or if you dont see injustice here, I think you are blind, said Suejung Huh, a downtown resident. A man who would not be identified holds signs outside City Hall after groups for and against temporary homeless shelters spilled out of a City Council meeting. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times ) An opponent of the plan, attorney Ronald Kim, was ejected from the meeting after repeatedly shouting from the crowd. On the steps outside City Hall, Kim told reporters that the proposed site was a farcical location, arguing that the city had failed to consider alternatives in other parts of the Crenshaw-to-Koreatown council district that Wesson represents. Below him, on the Spring Street sidewalk, a man stood silently flanked by two hefty neon signs reading Jesus Was Born Homeless and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself. When asked for comment, the man declined to identify himself and nodded to the signs. Thats all I have to say, he said. emily.alpert@latimes.com Twitter: @AlpertReyes When Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf tipped off residents in February about an upcoming immigration sweep, she received searing criticism from President Trump and immigration hawks who likened the alert to an obstruction of justice. Now, a Republican congressman from Iowa is proposing criminal penalties for officials in so-called sanctuary cities who make similar disclosures. Rep. Steve King on Monday introduced the Mayor Libby Schaaf Act of 2018, which calls for up to five years imprisonment for officials who obstruct or impede the enforcement of federal laws. 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. A spokesman for Schaaf said the mayor was unavailable Monday for an interview. But in an appearance on CNN, Schaaf said its not possible that Kings proposed legislation could be legal. Advertisement Im not going to let the bullies in Washington, D.C., deter me from doing what I know is right for my community, she said. In Oakland, were very clear about what our values are. We value our immigrant communities, we value diversity, and we will not let anyone intimidate us. Last week, Schaaf wrote a piece published in the Washington Post titled, No, Mr. President, I am not obstructing justice. The president takes issue with a tweet I posted in February in which I notified residents of an impending raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Bay Area, including Oakland, she wrote. I wanted to make sure that people were prepared, not panicked, and that they understood their legal rights. Oakland, like many California cities, has declared itself a sanctuary for people in the country illegally, and officials there have vowed to fight Trumps immigration crackdown. Schaaf drew both praise and criticism when she alerted Oakland residents Feb. 24 about the imminent immigration raid. She sent out a message saying she had heard from multiple sources that immigration agents would be conducting enforcement operations starting as soon as within the next 24 hours. Schaaf urged those in the country illegally to take precautions. In the four-day raid that followed, federal immigration agents arrested 232 people suspected of violating immigration laws, according to ICE. Of those, 115 had previous convictions for serious or violent crimes or significant or multiple misdemeanors. That week, in an interview with Fox and Friends, acting ICE Director Thomas Homan said that the mayors warning helped an estimated 800 criminal aliens avoid capture. He also said federal authorities were examining her actions. Homans comments, which were repeated by others in the Trump administration, led to the resignation of an ICE spokesman in San Francisco who said it was false to suggest that Schaaf was responsible for 800 targets eluding arrest. Its a false statement because we never pick up 100% of our targets, James Schwab told CNN. And to say theyre a type of dangerous criminal is also misleading. When Schwab raised his concerns to ICE leadership, he said he was instructed to deflect to previous statements. Even though those previous statements did not clarify the wrong information. alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com Twitter: @AleneTchek 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. In a letter to the USC Board of Trustees, the faculty members wrote that they had come together to express our outrage and disappointment over the mounting evidence of President Nikias failure to protect our students, our staff, and our colleagues from repeated and pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct. We call upon President Nikias to step aside, and upon the Board of Trustees to restore moral leadership to the university, they wrote. Read the USC faculty letter calling for Nikias resignation Advertisement About an hour after the faculty members sent the letter, board Chairman John Mork released a statement saying that while trustees were troubled by the distressing reports about the campus doctor, he and others on its executive committee strongly support Nikias. The executive committee of the board has full confidence in President Nikias leadership, ethics, and values and is certain that he will successfully guide our community forward, wrote Mork, a Colorado energy mogul who graduated from USC. Nikias sent the campus community a 20-page action plan Tuesday that he said was prepared at the request of trustees. It called for a wide rethinking of university ethics that will include a rewrite of USCs Code of Ethics and a new presidential commission on improving campus culture. In a statement, Nikias said he understood the facultys anger and disappointment. I am committed to working with them as we implement this wide-reaching plan and to rebuilding their trust, he said. There have been calls for Nikias ouster on social media and in an online petition circulated by alumni since the Los Angeles Times last week detailed USCs handling of Dr. George Tyndall. But Tuesdays letter marks a rare display of public criticism from some of the universitys most highly respected faculty members. Those signing the letter represent 14 different schools within the university and include some of USCs most prominent academics former deans, department chairs and distinguished professors. Ariela Gross, a nationally known expert in race and slavery who holds the title of John B. and Alice R. Sharp professor of law and history, helped draft the letter and described it in an interview as a theres-no-turning-back, regime-change letter. She and several law school colleagues began circulating it to tenured professors Sunday and had little trouble getting signatures, she said. USC has about 1,200 tenured faculty members. Theres a deep well of frustration across the university that the university has lost its way. It is harming our students and it is harming our reputation, said Gross, who has taught at USC for 22 years. The voting members of the Board of Trustees 42 men and 17 women are an elite group that includes billionaire tycoons, Hollywood power players and philanthropists. They have strongly backed Nikias, who has served as university president since 2010 and overseen a major expansion of the university as well as an aggressive fundraising effort. Before Morks statement, none of the trustees had publicly commented on how Tyndalls case was handled. In letters to the public community, Nikias has apologized to women hurt by Tyndall, who was the only full-time gynecologist at the student health clinic from 1989 until 2016. Nikias said he, too, is struggling to understand how the doctor was allowed to continue treating patients. Tyndall was the subject of numerous complaints from students and staff beginning in the 1990s, according to former patients and clinic staffers interviewed by The Times. He was removed from the clinic only after a frustrated nurse reported him to the campus rape crisis center in 2016. In a letter Monday, USC Provost Michael Quick said that the universitys senior leadership had not learned about the complaints against Tyndall until 2017. It is true that our system failed, but this claim of a coverup is patently false, Quick wrote, acknowledging that many faculty and staff felt betrayed. It is up to us to earn back that trust. For some of you that will take a lot; I am sure for some it is likely irreparable. An internal university investigation last year concluded that Tyndalls pelvic exams were outside the scope of current medical practice and amounted to sexual harassment of students. Campus administrators told The Times that they believe the physician had for years been making sexual comments and touching patients inappropriately during exams. Full coverage of the USC scandal The university struck a secret deal with Tyndall that allowed him to resign with a financial payout. USC did not report him to the state medical board at the time, a decision Nikias and other school leaders have called a mistake. Tyndall, 71, has denied wrongdoing. In recent interviews with The Times, the physician defended his medical exams as thorough and appropriate, and said some of his comments to patients were misinterpreted. High-profile plaintiffs lawyer Gloria Allred joined an attempt to hold USC legally responsible for Tyndalls behavior Tuesday. She filed a lawsuit against the university on behalf of graduate student Daniella Mohazab, who said Tyndall made her feel violated during a 2016 exam. Mohazab, the seventh woman this week to sue USC, said at a news conference that the gynecologist told her that Filipinas such as her were good in bed and pressed her for details of her sex life. She said that he examined her without a female nurse or other chaperone present and put his ungloved fingers inside her body. He felt around by moving his fingers around inside for a few minutes, Mohazab said. He said this was part of an STD test. The scandal is also drawing scrutiny in Sacramento. Prompted by the revelations about Tyndall, state Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) announced Tuesday that he will hold a hearing next month into the reporting of sexual misconduct in the medical profession. The Medical Board cannot do its job as a regulator or fulfill its responsibilities for consumer protection if it is not alerted to these cases as they emerge, Hill said in a statement. In their letter, the faculty members said that USCs conduct is as much at issue in this case as the physicians. In interviews, some professors said they regarded the Tyndall matter as only the latest in a string of scandals that undermined their faith in Nikias. The Times reported last year that Carmen Puliafito, a prolific fundraiser whom Nikias helped select as dean of the medical school, used methamphetamine and other drugs while overseeing the school and treating patients. His successor, Rohit Varma, was forced out after the newspaper discovered that USC had settled a sexual harassment claim against him by a female researcher. We have this recurrence of faulty decisions, said Dan Simon, Richard L. and Maria B. Crutcher professor of law and psychology. It must be a function of the institutional culture the institutional norms of reporting, of openness, of admitting error. K.C. Cole, a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, said: There is a sense of corruption that plagues USC that is just unbearable. Nicholas Warner, a professor of physics, astronomy and mathematics, said he thought long and hard before deciding to sign the letter. One of the advantages of tenure is you can stand up and say things you believe to be true, he said. With that privilege comes a responsibility to say things that are true. We need to use it when it really matters. The head of the Academic Senate, professor Paul Rosenbloom, said he opted not to sign after considering the matter for an enormous amount of time. I understand the reason why people are calling for Maxs removal, but I dont agree with their conclusion, Rosenbloom said. One need not have total faith in someones leadership in order to give someone a chance. Frank Zerunyan, a professor of practice and governance, said that although many of his friends had signed the letter, he disagreed with the approach. He called Nikias a person of great integrity and said removing him would do nothing to address the bunch of problems exposed by the Tyndall scandal. If it is a pothole that needs to be fixed, it needs to be fixed, Zerunyan said. Yelling at the public works director does not fix the pothole. Times staff writer Paul Pringle contributed to this report. harriet.ryan@latimes.com | Twitter: @latimesharriet sarah.parvini@latimes.com | Twitter: @sarahparvini matt.hamilton@latimes.com | Twitter: @MattHjourno UPDATES: 4:30 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from USC professor Frank Zerunyan. 2:25 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from President C. L. Max Nikias and state Sen. Jerry Hills call for a legislative hearing into the reporting of sexual misconduct in the medical profession. 10:55 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from professor Paul Rosenbloom. 10:20 a.m.: This article was updated with a statement from the chairman of the USC Board of Trustees. This article was originally published at 8:55 a.m. A Los Angeles man confessed to placing a hoax phone call that led to a fatal police-involved shooting in Kansas late last year, a detective testified Tuesday. Tyler Barriss, 25, was charged in January with involuntary manslaughter for his role in an incident that stemmed from an online gaming dispute and ended with a police officer fatally shooting a man in Wichita, Kan. Investigators have said Barriss called Wichita police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28. He falsely claimed he had shot and killed his father and was holding other relatives hostage at gunpoint at a Wichita home, according to a criminal complaint. I just shot my dad in the head. Cause. He was arguing with my mom and it was getting way out of control, the caller said, according to a transcript of the conversation. Advertisement When police arrived, they shot and killed 28-year-old Andrew Finch after he exited the residence and reached toward his waistband. He was unarmed, and police quickly discovered no one had been injured or held at gunpoint at the home. On Tuesday, a judge in Sedgwick County, Kan., ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold Barriss for trial after the conclusion of a preliminary hearing, according to Dan Dillon, a spokesman for the Sedgwick County district attorneys office. A trial date has not been set. During Tuesdays hearing, a Los Angeles police detective testified that Barriss admitted to placing the hoax call when he was taken into custody last year, Dillon said. During that conversation, Barriss said he knew the risks of making the call and described Finchs death as unfortunate and the worst case scenario, according to Capt. Bob Long of the Los Angeles Police Departments Major Crimes Division, which investigated the case. Calls to Barriss attorney were not immediately returned. The case is believed to involve the first fatality in the United States related to swatting, the act of placing a hoax phone call designed to prompt a massive police response. Barriss could face up to 11 years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The online dispute that led to Finchs death started when another Wichita resident, Shane Gaskill, became embroiled in an argument with Ohio resident Casey Viner while playing an online video game, according to an affidavit unsealed this year. Sources previously told the Los Angeles Times that the dispute involved an online matchup in Call of Duty: World War II, a popular first-person shooting game. Viner threatened to swat Gaskill, according to the affidavit. In response, Gaskill posted an address on West McCormick Street in Wichita and dared Viner to try something, according to the affidavit. Law enforcement sources told The Times earlier this year that someone involved in the video game dispute contacted Barriss and asked him to swat the Wichita address. Finch, who lived at that address but was not involved in the game, was shot and killed a short time later. Police reviewed a Twitter account with the handle @Swautistic, which they believe belonged to Barriss, that had claimed credit for the swatting incident. Barriss, who will be arraigned in late June on the involuntary manslaughter charge, was well known to police in Southern California. He previously pleaded no contest to calling in fake bomb threats to a Glendale television station and two schools. Barriss was also arrested in 2017 on suspicion of violating a restraining order protecting his grandmother. The woman, who had cared for Barriss since he was a child, said her grandson made constant threats to beat my face bloody and threatened to kill her after she implicated him in the bomb threats case, according to court records. Barriss was the target of an LAPD investigation at the time of the fatal swatting incident, and investigators were preparing to present a case to federal prosecutors. The FBI and the U.S. attorneys office in Los Angeles have declined to comment on what, if any, additional charges Barriss could be facing. Last month, Sedgwick County Dist. Atty. Marc Bennett ruled that the officer who shot and killed Finch would not face criminal charges. Although Finch was unarmed, the officers were operating based on the information given in the hoax call and believed Finch was an armed hostage taker. An internal investigation into the shooting remains open, according to a spokesman for the Wichita Police Department. The officer is currently restricted to administrative duty. james.queally@latimes.com Follow @JamesQueallyLAT on Twitter for crime and police news in Southern California. UPDATES: 3:40 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with Los Angeles Times staff reporting. This article was originally published at 12:40 p.m. Some see them as saviors who opened their home to a grieving young man after his mother died. Others say they were naive or negligent and failed to properly supervise a dangerous 19-year-old and his cache of guns. James and Kimberly Snead let Nikolas Cruz move into their Parkland, Fla., home for the 2 months before he was charged in the attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people and injured 17 others. They say their act of kindness had tragic consequences they never imagined. The Sneads, who say they felt sorry for their sons 19-year-old friend after he was left orphaned, have already been named as defendants in two civil lawsuits connected to the Feb. 14 attack at the Parkland school. One is a wrongful death claim filed by the estate of 18-year-old Meadow Pollack. The other is a negligence complaint filed by the parents of Anthony Borges, the 15-year-old who survived five bullet wounds. Advertisement The Sneads anticipate they will be named in more lawsuits in the coming weeks and months. They say they fear the litigation will rapidly drive them into bankruptcy and they dont have the money to even hire an attorney to defend them. Were like many other families in America today. We live paycheck to paycheck, James Snead said in an interview Thursday. Since the shooting, the family has been commended by some. People nationwide have sent them cards and letters, praising them for taking Cruz into their home and commiserating about how it all went horribly wrong. The Sneads said they knew only that Cruz was depressed by his mothers death, that he had been involved in fights at school and that he seemed immature and quirky. But theyve also been scorned as ludicrously naive or willfully blind for letting their sons relatively new friend move into their home with his collection of guns, including the AR-15 he used in the slayings. The lawsuits filed against the Sneads allege they should have known Cruz was mentally ill and posed a threat to others. The Pollack and Borges families are seeking damages. Also named as defendants in the Pollack lawsuit, for now, are former Broward Sheriffs Deputy Scot Peterson, the estate of Cruzs mother, Lynda, and two mental health agencies that may have treated Cruz. The Borges suit names the Sneads, the two mental health agencies and the estate of Cruzs mother. The sheriffs office, school district, FBI and others may be sued later. The Sneads said they rent their home and dont even have renters insurance. They said theyve been told it would cost them about $20,000 up front and a lot more down the line to hire an attorney to defend them against the lawsuits. Though their critics dont believe them, Snead says he and his family saw no warning signs that Cruz would turn violent. They said he was pleasant and followed their house rules. They tried to get him re-enrolled at Stoneman Douglas, but officials declined to take him back so they enrolled him at an off-campus learning center, run by the district, at Rock Island Professional Development Center in Oakland Park. They said he seemed to be doing well there and district officials never gave them any warnings about Cruzs behavior. Stones and beer bottles have been hurled at their home on a quiet road in Parkland. Some drivers yell obscenities and insults as they drive by. On occasions when theyve been recognized in public, picking up groceries or running errands, some people have muttered negative things under their breaths. Theyve also had to try to defuse encounters with others who want to take them to task and debate the matter with them. Questions have also been raised publicly about their actions and motivation. A woman who called the FBIs tip line on Jan. 5 less than six weeks before the massacre reported her concerns about Cruzs gun ownership, his disturbing social media posts and the potential that he might carry out a school shooting. The FBI has admitted the call, from a close friend of the Cruz family who has not been publicly identified, was mishandled and the information she provided was not investigated until after Cruz struck. According to a transcript of that recorded call, the woman also gave the FBI Sneads name, address and phone number: I have the mans name who uh-I-weve, the family and I have tried to call this gentleman and he refuses to return any phone calls. And um, an aunt of his has, had called him. Another woman who was taking care of Nikolas, uh, who had already spoken to him tried to call him. I tried to call him just to find out how Nikolas was and to make sure he understood the problems he has. And he just doesnt return any phone calls, which if youre going to help somebody and you know theres family involved, at least return the phone calls and talk to them about it. Or, you know, return the phone call and say mind your own business. Snead says nobody from law enforcement contacted him about Cruz until after the shooting. He said he spoke several times with a woman he thinks was a distant aunt of Cruzs who lives in New York, but nobody else. The relative expressed concern only about Cruzs bereavement and his depression and also appeared to be checking on whether the Sneads were appropriate housemates, he said. The aunt in New York called several times and left messages and I called her back and we talked several times. She was genuinely concerned for his wellbeing and what was going on with him, Snead said. I dont recall her saying anything negative about him at all. Snead said he does not recall receiving any voicemails or messages from other relatives or family friends and thinks he would have returned them at the time if he did. The woman who called the FBI also indicated that Cruz had declined to communicate with her. She told the FBI she knew that Cruz was expecting to inherit at least $25,000 and had told someone that Snead was going to invest it for him. The woman expressed concern about if that was appropriate and also said Cruz gets crazy and suspicious about his money. Snead said he never tried to get his hands on Cruzs inheritance but did offer to take Cruz to a bank and have him meet with a professional financial advisor: I didnt want him to go out and blow it. Cruz didnt pay rent but occasionally contributed $50 to household costs, they said. Snead is an Army veteran who now works for a construction management firm. His wife is a neonatal nurse. Both grew up around guns and are comfortable with them. Their son, a junior at Stoneman Douglas, was on campus during the shooting and fled with other survivors. Snead already knew his son was safe and was driving to pick him up when law enforcement called to ask where they might find Cruz. When Snead figured out Cruz was the shooter, he asked police to rush to his home immediately because he feared Cruz might have killed his wife, Kimberly, before embarking on his rampage. Their son, whose name they dont want published, knew Cruzs younger brother Zachary before he met Nikolas, Snead said. Their son and Nikolas were both in ROTC at the school and met through a mutual friend. That friend and his dad took the teens on hunting trips, Snead said. When Cruz asked if he could bring his guns to their home, they said he could but they made him buy a locking gun cabinet and said he would need their permission to take out the guns. Snead said he thought he had the only key to that cabinet but now believes Cruz an adult who legally bought the guns had another key. Snead said the gun safe he bought for his own weapons has only one key. Other critics have questioned how the family didnt know about Cruzs disturbing postings on social media before the tragedy. The parents said that theyre not savvy about social media and that Cruz had multiple accounts. Some of the accounts had only innocuous postings and some had disturbing postings, which were reported to law enforcement by at least two people who saw them before the killings. The FBI and BSO went through my sons phone and realized that the only account my son knew about was basically I guess what youd call the good account. These other accounts that he had, I didnt know about, my son didnt know about, and my wife didnt know about. Snead said the familys biggest fear after the tragedy was about whether it was safe and appropriate for their son to return to his junior year at Stoneman Douglas. Staff and students have been incredibly supportive to his son, he said. The Snead family set up a GoFundMe page on Tuesday to solicit donations to a legal fund. By lunchtime on Friday, $1,230 of the $100,000 goal was raised. Snead said his family has had no communication with Cruz since the last time they saw him when he was being led into the sheriffs office headquarters hours after the shooting. The Sneads said they had some tough decisions to make about possibly moving out of Parkland, though they still consider themselves very much a part of the grieving, devastated community. Snead said he didnt want to say anything that might cause any further pain or upset to the families whose children were killed, injured or affected in any way: We think about them and pray for them every day. McMahon writes for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Each fall, the FBI releases data on hate crimes across the U.S. Its most recent report showed more than 6,100 hate crimes in 2016, a 5% increase over the previous year. The numbers included a nearly 20% increase in anti-Muslim crimes, a 17% increase in anti-white crimes, a 15% increase in anti-Latino incidents and a 3% increase in anti-Jewish crimes. The number of crimes against African Americans, who accounted for 50% of victims, remained about the same. Yet, 88% of the 16,000 law enforcement agencies in the country chose not to report data or told the FBI there were no hate crimes in their jurisdictions. At the same time, the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates an average of 250,000 hate-crime victimizations happen each year. The numbers dont add up. Advertisement The Los Angeles Times is partnering with news organizations across the country in an effort led by the nonprofit news company ProPublica to collect recent and more accurate data on hate crimes in California and across the U.S. The FBI defines a hate crime as a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offenders bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity. The Times is also seeking information on incidents involving hatred and prejudice that may not legally qualify as crimes. Reporters at The Times will verify submissions and use them to report on hate crimes and bias. Names and contact information will not be shared with law enforcement. jaweed.kaleem@latimes.com. Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Its Tuesday, May 22, and heres whats happening across California: TOP STORIES On this day 103 years ago, Californias Lassen Peak exploded, creating a gigantic cloud that could be seen as far away as Eureka and Sacramento and sending volcanic ash as far away as 280 miles. It was the first volcanic eruption in the contiguous 48 states since the founding of the United States and a reminder of this lesser-known seismic threat facing parts of California. Los Angeles Times Protect this house Advertisement Churchgoers, preachers and law enforcement officers from across Southern California gathered for a church security seminar hosted by the California Rifle & Pistol Assn., which delivered a warning: Faith alone will not protect you from violence in the house of God. Los Angeles Times Six women sue USC 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. In earlier interviews with The Times, the physician has defended his medical exams as thorough and appropriate. Los Angeles Times And: Is it time for change at the top of USC? Los Angeles Times Get the Essential California newsletter Rye, the West Covina Police Departments newest K9, is pictured with the methamphetamine that authorities say was found during a traffic stop over the weekend. (West Covina Police Department ) L.A. STORIES Another round: Mayor Eric Garcetti will interview the three finalists for LAPD chief at least one more time before making a decision. Los Angeles Times Must be nice: Nearly 160,000 homes in Orange County are owned mortgage-free. Orange County Register Free advice: A guide to living in L.A. and to that big question: Should you really move here? Curbed Los Angeles Dona Julia: Shes spent 17 years collecting recyclables in Mid-City so she can send money back to Guatemala. And her hard work has won her the admiration of so many. L.A. Taco CRIME AND COURTS Good dog: The newest K9 cop at the West Covina Police Department made a first bust over the weekend, sniffing out 60 pounds of methamphetamine stuffed under the seats of a Nissan Rogue. Los Angeles Times Gee, thanks, but : Oaklands mayor has a bill in Congress named after her, but it would criminalize her own conduct as an outspoken critic of immigration crackdowns. East Bay Times A drawn-out fight: Prosecutors are fighting a new effort to reconsider the case of convicted killer Kevin Cooper. Daily Breeze POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Big Brothers good side: When a state regulatory body decrees that all new homes must have rooftop solar starting in 2020, columnist George Skelton is skeptical. But he sees value in this government edict, even as housing prices spiral. Los Angeles Times Pension fund drama: A shake-up at CalPERS raises new management questions. Los Angeles Times Antifa threats: A battle over free speech and abortion at Cal State Fullerton. Wall Street Journal CALIFORNIA CULTURE Teslas promise: The latest performance version of the Model 3 will cost $78,000. What happened to the long-promised $35,000 mass-market electric Tesla sedan? Los Angeles Times Plus: Consumer Reports is not impressed. Mercury News Take a hike: A Hollywood celebrity profile done during a hike through Altadena. The New Yorker A legend: Kim Novak returns to San Francisco to talk about Vertigo, #MeToo and working with Alfred Hitchcock on his classic film. San Francisco Chronicle Dun dun duuuun: The dark side of Silicon Valley philanthropy is finally getting some attention. The Atlantic Tastes like : Did a UC San Diego graduate really create an edible fork? It depends on how hungry you are. San Diego Union-Tribune Box-office rebound? Whats ahead for summer movies? A slew of blockbusters. Los Angeles Times CALIFORNIA ALMANAC Los Angeles area: Partly cloudy, 68, Tuesday and Wednesday. San Diego: Partly cloudy, 66, Tuesday. Partly cloudy, 67, Wednesday. San Francisco area: Mostly cloudy, 60, Tuesday. Partly cloudy, 61, Wednesday. Sacramento: Sunny, 79, Tuesday. Partly cloudy, 75, Wednesday. More weather is here. AND FINALLY Todays California memory comes from Margaret Akin: When I was 6, my family moved to California from Minnesota, but first my dad prepared us. Well, he said, Youll see the ocean. As a Minnesotan, I had no concept of an ocean, but I knew lakes. I pictured myself standing in the sand by our nearby lake and with my 6-year-old powers, I moved the perimeter pines out a few yards to make the lake bigger. I thought I was ready. My fabulous parents took us to Huntington Beach for our first view of the Pacific Ocean. Nothing but water and sand. Forever. Infinite. Im not 6 anymore and I still remember the sight. If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. Send us an email to let us know what you love or fondly remember about our state. (Please keep your story to 100 words.) Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad. Dr. Van H. Vu was put on probation in 2015 by the California Medical Board after being accused of gross negligence in the cases of two patients who fatally overdosed. If you were about to go into Vus pain management clinic for treatment, youd be pretty interested in that information, wouldnt you? Just as youd want to know if your surgeon had been put on probation for performing an operation under the influence of drugs or if your daughters pediatrician had been put on probation for sexually abusing patients. But in California, you probably wouldnt know. Thats because although California requires physicians who are placed on probation to inform their insurance companies and the hospitals and clinics where they practice, they dont have to tell the people who may be harmed the most their patients. This is outrageous. People have a right to know if their doctor is on probation for serious misconduct. Probation only results when investigations have turned up evidence of misconduct. Yet efforts to require physicians to inform their patients that they have been placed on probation and why have gone nowhere. The medical board has refused to force them to, and last year a bill by state Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) to bypass the board and put those requirements into law was blocked after intense lobbying by physicians associations. Hill is back with the proposal again year, and it faces opposition once again. The California Medical Assn. and other opponents argue that forcing doctors to tell patients upfront about their probationary status would interfere with patient care. Advertisement Yes, it probably would. But if a doctor is afraid of telling patients about why he is on probation, perhaps theres good reason. Perhaps it is so serious a violation that patients would choose to find another doctor. The doctor-patient relationship is intimate and profound and requires trust on both sides. Besides, this information isnt secret. Its available to patients if they know where to look. But most people wouldnt even think of searching for their doctor on the Medical Boards website before a visit. Understandably, since most doctors arent on probation, and most patients dont even know that such information is available. At any given time, 500 to 600 of the states 140,000 licensed physicians are on probation with the medical board. But it takes only one bad doctor to hurt many people. Take the case of Larry Nassar, the former physician to the USA Gymnastics national team, who was convicted of sexually abusing girls in his care. Or George Tyndall, the USC gynecologist accused, among other things, of conducting inappropriate pelvic exams on young students. If weve learned nothing else from the #MeToo movement, it is that secrecy around misconduct allows perpetrators to continue hurting people. SB 1448, the Patients Right to Know Act, is up for a key committee vote this week, and legislators should endorse it. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Excessive force by police officers is a national problem, but the solution will need to come from state and local governments. The federal courts and federal government are showing themselves unwilling to deal with the problem, but meaningful action at the state and local levels is possible and, indeed, essential. On March 18, Stephon Clark was killed by two Sacramento police officers who shot at him 20 times. The officers said they saw a gun, but all that was found near Clarks body was a cellphone. Like Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Laquan McDonald and Freddy Gray, Clark was an unarmed black man killed by police officers. A federal statute authorizes the U. S. Department of Justice to bring lawsuits against police departments when there is a pattern and practice of civil rights violations, including excessive force by officers. This authority has been used successfully to reform a number of major police departments, usually through negotiated settlements (known as consent decrees) with the cities. Angelenos are familiar with a Justice Department action against the Los Angeles Police Department after the Rampart corruption scandal, which led to a consent decree that went into effect in 2001 and brought long overdue reforms that meaningfully changed policing in the city. But U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions has made it clear that under his leadership, the Justice Department is not going to be using this authority. At the same time, the Supreme Court has made it difficult for individuals to bring civil rights suits against police departments and police officers. Under Supreme Court precedent, a city can be held liable only if it is proved that the city has in place a policy that violates the Constitution. Advertisement And in case after case, the Supreme Court has found that police officers have immunity from suits for excessive force because, under present law, they are allowed to use lethal force when it is reasonable, a fairly lax standard. Most recently, on April 2, in Kisela vs. Hughes, the Supreme Court held that a police officer in Tucson could not be sued when he shot and seriously wounded a woman. The officer was responding to a call that a woman with a knife was acting erratically. Rather than pursuing less lethal options, the officer began shooting the woman within a minute or two of arriving at the scene. This case is typical of many in which the court reversed lower court rulings that had found in favor of those injured or killed by police violence. While successful civil suits are difficult, criminal prosecutions against police officers for excessive force are even less likely to succeed. Prosecutors generally are reluctant to bring such actions and when they do, juries for many reasons rarely convict, including because police are held blameless so long as they act reasonably. But there is much that state and local governments can do to change the standard and to better deal with the problem of excessive force by the police. Legislation pending in California, Assembly Bill 931, would permit police to use deadly force only when its necessary to prevent imminent and serious bodily injury or death. That is, under this law, lethal force would be justified if, given the totality of the circumstances, there were no reasonable alternative, including warnings, verbal persuasion or other nonlethal methods of resolution or de-escalation. Some cities have already moved, through administrative policy changes, to limit police use of force. Their experience shows that such reforms work. In New York, following a shift to minimum use-of-force policies, police went from shooting 994 people in 1972 to 79 people in 2014. The LAPD formally revised its use-of-force policy in 2017 to emphasize de-escalation; San Francisco introduced an even stricter policy in 2016. In 91 of the 100 largest U.S. police departments that were recently studied, jurisdictions with more restrictive use-of-force standards had the fewest officer-involved shootings per capita. Studies show that such policies are also associated with a decrease in the number of police officers killed in the line of duty. AB 931 would change the criminal standard by which officers are judged throughout the state. It would force all departments to match their policies and training to a strict standard. Some police unions have indicated they will fight the change. San Francisco Dist. Atty. George Gascon has joined with civil rights groups to champion it. Gascon previously was the police chief in San Francisco and deputy police chief in Los Angeles. My hope is that other prosecutors and police chiefs will join Gascon in advocating for the state law. Being a police officer is unquestionably a dangerous job that often requires split-second life-and-death decisions. But too many have died and been seriously injured from unnecessary police use of deadly force. Reforming the laws that set the standards is essential and California can lead the way. Erwin Chemerinsky is dean and Jesse H. Choper distinguished professor of law at the UC Berkeley School of Law. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook. The Trump presidency is often a kind of political Rashomon, with partisans on either side looking at the same facts and coming to wildly different conclusions. So its all the more remarkable that the central controversy of our time isnt a fight over one story with different interpretations of shared facts, but a fight over two different stories altogether. For devotees of prime-time Fox News, the only story that matters is how the Deep State i.e., partisans in non-partisan disguise at the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Justice worked to either destroy Donald Trump or anoint Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. According to this group, the allegation of Trump-Putin collusion is merely a frivolous conspiracy theory, and Robert Muellers investigation is both a witch hunt and a distraction from this worse than Watergate scandal. For viewers of prime-time MSNBC and CNN, this Deep State stuff is the real bogus conspiracy theory, intended to muddy the waters from the actual worse than Watergate scandal, which is Trump-Putin collusion and the presidents attempt to obstruct any inquiry into it. Advertisement The two narratives are like a binary star system, each body circling the other, throwing off so much blinding light and heat that it becomes difficult to distinguish them. Their combined gravitational pull bends everything in their direction. The problem is that both stories might be true. No, the cartoon versions offered by the usual suspects on the left and the right are not entirely accurate. But both stories have some truth to them. It certainly does seem like the Department of Justice was simply going through the motions in its investigation of Hillary Clinton and her off-book server and email system. My National Review colleague Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, has meticulously and persuasively argued that the Obama administration was never interested in taking the Clinton investigation all that seriously, because it would have implicated President Obama and possibly derailed or damaged 2016s presumptive Democratic winner. (Which is ironic, because if the Deep State harmed anyone in 2016, it was Clinton, not Trump.) Meanwhile, the argument that President Trump secretly colluded an ill-defined, non-legal term with the Russians to beat Clinton has more plausibility than those shouting conspiracy theory! and witch hunt! are willing to entertain. I still do not think that Trump hatched an explicit scheme to work with the Russians, but the hardest thing to prove in most conspiracy theories is intent. Conspiracy theories reverse-engineer facts to construct imagined motives. This is what William F. Buckley meant when he scorned the John Birch Societys tendency to infer subjective intention from objective consequences. The 9/11 truthers looked at the rubble, asked cui bono? to whose benefit? and concluded that George W. Bush must be the real villain. Other than Trumps public pleading with Russia to find Clintons missing emails, which he says was a joke, and his open praise of Russia-front group WikiLeaks, theres little evidence that he had a more sinister alliance with Putin. But it does seem clear that the Trump campaign was eager to collude with Russia. The infamous meeting at Trump Tower between a Russian emissary and the campaigns key leadership Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was convened for that very reason. The early campaign advisor George Papadopoulos was sent by campaign co-chair Sam Clovis to Russia specifically to get political dirt on Clinton. At times, it seemed like Roger Stone was WikiLeaks operative inside Trump World. These and related facts form the gravitational bind between the two stars. In the New York Times telling of the story, and from the perspective of the officials who leak to that paper, the investigations into the Trump campaign were a necessary and good-faith effort to discern whether a foreign power had infiltrated the Trump campaign. For those who subscribe to a Hannitized version of reality, this was a lawless extension of the Deep States plot to thwart Trump and protect Clinton. It is at this nexus where the Rashomonism of our age intrudes. I have no idea what the truth-seekers Robert S. Mueller III and DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz will find. But I suspect well discover that everybody has some dismaying facts on their own side, and the verdict will be a strong shade of gray. jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook To the editor: There is another electric bus technology that could address climate change goals without the reliability and range issues of the buses built by Chinese firm BYD Ltd. (Stalls, stops and breakdowns: Problems plague push for electric buses, May 20) Trolley buses, which are powered by overhead wires, have been in service for decades in cities like San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. Los Angeles too once had trolley bus lines but they disappeared along with the streetcars in 1961. The drawback of these systems is the extra cost of building and maintaining the overhead wire infrastructure. No doubt, some would object to the visual pollution of the trolley wires. One reliability issue that trolley buses face is that the trolley poles will occasionally jump off the wires, which can be quickly remedied by the driver with a resulting delay of a few minutes. Of course, the article on transit agencies buying buses from BYD wasnt really about technology, but rather the usual confluence of money and politics. Advertisement Glenn Olsen, Riverside .. To the editor: In spite of an increasing population served and unrelenting traffic congestion, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority continues to lose ridership. How does it expect to increase ridership by adding unreliable to its reputation for being inconvenient and unsafe? How does it help the fight against climate change to cause more people to use their private vehicles for trips instead of non-polluting buses? I think Metro needs to rethink its mission. James King, Covina .. To the editor: This is truly a heartbreaking story. It makes no difference, really, whether the politicians involved with getting Metro and other transit agencies to buy BYD buses were actually misleading the public for their own personal gain, or if in fact they were the ones being conned by an electric bus company that knew its product was inferior. Either way, the people we elected to oversee the administration of public life, the people we trusted, did not do their job. And, as always seems to be the case lately, no one is held accountable and the public is stuck with the bill. Is it any wonder that voters, desperate for change, elect the most unlikely outsiders to office? Bart Braverman, Indio Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 A law firm of Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti was hit with a $10-million judgment Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court after he broke his promise to pay $2 million to a former colleague. Judge Catherine Bauer of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana ordered Eagan Avenatti to pay the $10 million to Jason Frank, a lawyer who used to work at the Newport Beach firm. At this point, thats whats appropriate, Bauer said at a brief hearing. To settle his law firms bankruptcy, Avenatti personally guaranteed in December that it would pay Frank $4.85 million. But he and Eagan Avenatti failed to pay the first $2 million installment that was due last week, triggering Tuesdays judgment. Advertisement The firm is also delinquent on $440,291 in back taxes, penalties and interest that Avenatti promised would be paid last week, Assistant U.S. Atty. Najah Shariff told the bankruptcy judge. Avenatti and his firm had accepted the deadline under an agreement reached with the Internal Revenue Service in January. It requires Eagan Avenatti to pay the IRS a total of $2.4 million. More than half of that was for payroll taxes that the law firm withheld from employees but did not turn over to the government. Avenatti, who has blamed the lapse on an unnamed payroll company, was personally responsible for holding the money in trust for the IRS, according to the U.S. attorneys office in Los Angeles. Avenatti paid an initial installment of $1.5 million. Shariff told the judge that the government would soon file a motion demanding payment of the additional money that was due last week. Avenatti accused the Los Angeles Times of purposely confusing me with a separate legal entity that has no role in the Daniels case. Irrelevant, he wrote in an email responding to questions about the $10-million judgment and the missed tax payment. Over blown. Sensational reporting at its finest. No judgment against me was issued nor do I owe any taxes. Avenatti has repeatedly sent emails to The Times about the Daniels case from an Eagan Avenatti email address, with Eagan Avenatti below the signature line. The firm listed in court records as representing Daniels is Avenatti & Associates. In the bankruptcy case, Eagan Avenatti identifies Avenatti & Associates as one of its two owners; the other is attorney Michael Eagan of San Francisco. Like other plaintiffs lawyers who work on contingency, Avenatti lives on a boom-and-bust pay cycle. His biggest victory was a $454-million jury verdict last year against surgical gown manufacturers Halyard Health and Kimberly-Clark, but a judge reduced it in March to $24 million. The gowns were supposed to protect doctors and nurses from blood-borne viruses such as Ebola and HIV, but sometimes leaked. Avenattis highest-profile client is Daniels, a porn star who says she had a one-night stand with Donald Trump in 2006. In the 11 weeks since Daniels filed suit to void a nondisclosure agreement that bars her from talking publicly about the alleged tryst, Avenatti has become one of the presidents chief antagonists, often appearing on television several times a day. He has also become a target of Trump supporters, some of whom welcomed news of the $10-million judgment. Guy has a habit of being a scum bag, conservative blogger Mike Cernovich wrote on Twitter. Frank, who attended the bankruptcy hearing Tuesday, declined to comment on the judgment in his favor. Jason Frank, the lawyer who won a $10-million judgment Tuesday against the firm Eagan Avenatti. (Michael Finnegan) He alleges that Eagan Avenatti cheated him out of millions of dollars in compensation for his work. When Avenatti struck the deal to pay Frank $4.85 million, he agreed to strict deadlines. If he and the firm failed to meet them, Avenatti said he would consent to a Bankruptcy Court judgment ordering Eagan Avenatti to pay Frank $10 million. That includes the $4.85 million that hed personally guaranteed. At the hearing, Avenatti attorney Mark S. Horoupian told the judge that Avenatti, as agreed, was not disputing Franks right to the $10-million judgment. Frank initially tried to collect the money last year through arbitration. The three retired judges who oversaw the proceedings ordered Eagan Avenatti to give Frank the tax returns and financial records that he needed to calculate the exact amount he was owed. When the firm failed to give Frank the documents, the former judges concluded that Eagan Avenatti acted with malice, oppression and fraud in defying their order. Avenatti was supposed to testify in the arbitration. But two days before his scheduled deposition, a man who identified himself as Gerald Tobin, listing a Florida UPS mailbox as his address, filed a petition to place Eagan Avenatti into involuntary bankruptcy due to an unpaid invoice of $28,700, according to a suit that Frank filed last week against Eagan Avenatti. At a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing, Judge Karen S. Jenneman said Tobins petition, which suspended the arbitration, had a stench of impropriety, but Avenatti denied colluding with the Florida vendor. Avenattis tax troubles date back nearly a decade. His unpaid 2009 and 2010 income taxes led the IRS to put a $904,000 lien years later on all of his personal property, Orange County records show. Avenatti said the lien was placed in error, no taxes were due and the issue was resolved many months ago, but the lien remained open as recently as last month, according to the Orange County clerk-recorders office. Tax debts and unpaid bills have also saddled Avenattis coffee business. He and a partner bought Tullys Coffee in 2013 for $9 million. Multiple landlords have sued for back rent or eviction of Tullys stores. Every Tullys outlet has closed, according to the Seattle Times. The IRS put a $5-million lien on Tullys parent company, Global Baristas US, last June, initially naming Avenatti as the person responsible for payment. Like Eagan Avenatti, the company withheld payroll taxes from employees, but did not transmit the money to the IRS, the government said. Avenatti blamed that, too, on a payroll company. Avenatti says he divested his interest in Tullys long ago and now serves solely as outside counsel. But in bankruptcy and civil court papers, he claimed a substantial ownership stake in the coffee chain as recently as April 2017, and in July 2017 identified himself as chairman, general counsel and a board of managers member at Global Baristas US. michael.finnegan@latimes.com Twitter: @finneganLAT UPDATES: 9:35 p.m.: This article was updated to include the Gerald Tobin petition placing Eagan Avenatti into involuntary bankruptcy. 6:55 p.m.: This article was updated with details on the tax history of Michael Avenatti and Tullys Coffee. 3:30 p.m.: This article was updated to say that the law firm representing Stormy Daniels is Avenatti & Associates. 2:05 p.m.: This article was updated to identify Mark Horoupian as Michael Avenattis personal attorney and add details on Stormy Daniels. 1:15 p.m.: This article was updated with details on the back taxes that Michael Avenatti owes the Internal Revenue Service. 12:45 p.m.: This article was updated with background of Egan Avenattis dispute with Jason Frank. This article was originally published at 9:45 a.m. Chinese Culture and Tourism Minister Luo Shugang deliveres the keynote speech during the 15th Cultural Ministers' Meeting of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on May 17. [Photo by Wu Wei/For Chinaculture.org] The 15th Cultural Ministers' Meeting of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was held in Sanya, Hainan province, between May 16 and 17, with eight member states co-signing the document Minutes of the 15th Cultural Ministers' Meeting of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that focused on further strengthening cultural cooperation among SCO member states. The meeting reached consensus on the 2018-2020 Executive Plan under the Agreement on Intergovernmental Cultural Cooperation for the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Press Release for the 15th Cultural Ministers' Meeting of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Chinese Culture and Tourism Minister Luo Shugang delivered the keynote speech during the meeting. The cultural delegations from the SCO member states, including India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives from the SCO Secretariat also attended the meeting and made statements. In the keynote speech, Luo introduced the great significance of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era, and said that China will work hand in hand with the rest of the world to create a community of shared future for mankind. 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Watch Live: White House holds surprise news briefing amid government shutdown Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Watch live: Vice President Pence and lawmakers honor George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol before he lies in state Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Watch live: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds a media briefing amid tensions at the border By Los Angeles Times Staff Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 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 Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement 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 President Trump threw plans for next months historic summit with North Korea into greater uncertainty Tuesday even as he met at the White House with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in to try to keep the diplomatic breakthrough on track. It may not work out for June 12, he told reporters at one point, then further confused the issue by adding, Theres a good chance that well have the meeting. Trump refused to fully commit to the session in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, vowing to attend only if U.S. conditions are met. North Korean denuclearization, the president said, must take place, but he stopped short of demanding that Kim end his nuclear weapons program all at once. All-in-one would be nice, Trump said. Does it have to be? Im not sure I want to totally commit myself. Advertisement Moon, who is deeply invested in peace talks and eager to see the Trump-Kim summit occur, sat mostly quietly beside Trump as the U.S. president answered reporters questions, often without allowing the interpreter seated just behind his armchair to translate for Moon. During Moons own brief remarks amid the prolonged back-and-forth between Trump and reporters, he lavished praise on Trump as he has in past meetings for helping steer North and South Korea closer to a possible peace agreement. Thanks to your vision of achieving peace through strength, and your strong leadership, Moon said through a translator, ...we find ourselves standing one step closer to the dream of achieving the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and world peace. Trump was less outwardly optimistic. Well see what happens, Trump said. Whether or not it happens, youll be knowing pretty soon. The exchange underscored the volatility of planning the first meeting of a sitting U.S. president with a ruler of North Korea, especially when both leaders are as unpredictable as Trump and Kim. Hours after Trump met with Moon, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unexpected appearance before reporters at the State Department, apparently to deliver a more reassuring message about the summit. He said he remains optimistic it will take place as scheduled. We are doing all we can to make it historic and successful, he said, adding and repeating for emphasis We are still working toward June 12. Im optimistic, added Pompeo, who twice met with Kim in Pyongyang, this month and last, to set the stage. This could be something that comes right to the end and doesnt happen, he acknowledged. Yet, having set a date and location, we are driving on. Earlier at the White House, Moon sought to counter what he acknowledged were the many skeptical views within the United States about whether the summit can succeed, or North Korea will keep any commitments, based on past failures. I dont think there will be positive developments in history if we just assume that because it all failed in the past, it will fail again, Moon said. Hours earlier, South Koreas top national security advisor had professed 99.9%" confidence that the summit would take place as planned. It is not immediately clear whether the scheduled summit itself is truly in doubt, or the president, who had expressed such excitement about the historic meeting that aides warned him about appearing over-eager, is merely trying to improve his own leverage heading into it. Trump also put the onus on North Korea to come to the table. Describing his administrations recent period of dialogue with North Korea as a good experience, the president who once threatened the country with fire and fury urged Kim to seize the opportunity. After suggesting weeks ago that everyone thinks he should win the Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic efforts with North Korea, Trump has wavered in recent days as North Korea has renewed a hard line against demands that it forfeit its nuclear arsenal. Momentum for the summit slowed last week after North Koreas chief nuclear negotiator stated that the country would never give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions, and officials canceled a meeting with South Korea. Subsequently, the North also expressed doubt about the meeting with Trump. That prompted a newly wary Trump to call Moon, whod privately assured him about the North Koreans willingness to negotiate, on Saturday night. North Koreas truculent statement came in response to an interview in which John Bolton, Trumps new national security advisor, cited Libya as a model for disarmament a parallel that unnerved and angered Kim. Libya agreed to give up its nuclear weapons program in 2003, but the promise of economic integration with the West failed to materialize and the leader who agreed to the deal, Moammar Kadafi, was overthrown and killed by Western-backed rebels in 2011. Trump quickly attempted to distance himself from Boltons remarks, which appeared to undercut the diplomatic table-setting done by Pompeo in his two meetings with Kim, one of which secured the release of three U.S. citizens imprisoned in North Korea. In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump suggested that China, not his own advisor, might be to blame for North Koreas apparent hardening of its attitude about brokering a deal. Recently, Kim twice visited China and met with the countrys leaders. I think there was a little change in attitude from Kim Jong Un. I dont like that, Trump said. There was a difference when [Kim] left China a second time. Moon, who met with Kim at the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea last month, is committed to ending the decades-long stalemate between the divided nations. His visit to Washington is largely an effort to reassure Trump and keep plans for the summit on track. The stakes are high for President Moon because he really needs a Trump-Kim summit to happen, and progress on the nuclear issue between the U.S. and North Korea diplomatically, in order for him to drive and fully achieve his peace agenda even if the summit gets postponed, said Duveon Kim, a visiting senior fellow at the Korean Peninsula Future Forum in Seoul. Before reporters were finally ushered out of the Oval Office, Trump expressed bland optimism about eventually making progress. In the end it will work out, he said. I cant tell you exactly how or why, but it always does. Complicating the issue further is Washingtons fraught trade relationship with China, North Koreas biggest patron and ally. The administration lately has softened its increasingly aggressive approach toward China, fueling speculation that Trump worries that Beijing, given its influence with Kim, could disrupt the potential for a nuclear deal. Last week Trump said he wanted to rescue the Chinese telecom firm ZTE from administration sanctions for violating a previous settlement over illegal shipments to Iran. The bipartisan backlash in Congress was evident on Tuesday as the Senate Banking Committee voted 23 to 2 for a measure that would essentially block the president from relaxing the ban on U.S. companies selling parts to ZTE. While the president insisted Tuesday that there is no deal on ZTE, as had been reported, he reiterated that the sanctions on ZTE were hurting a lot of American companies that supply it. He said he wanted a deal in which ZTE would pay another fine of perhaps $1.3 billion, bring in new management and adhere to new restrictions, in exchange for easing U.S. penalties. He acknowledged that his general crackdown on foreign trading partners, a top campaign commitment, took a back seat to successful negotiations over North Korea, saying, No matter how big trade is, North Korea in this case is the big one. Follow the latest news of the Trump administration on Essential Washington Times staff writers Don Lee and Tracy Wilkinson contributed to this report. UPDATES: 3:25 p.m.: This article was updated with information on Chinese firm ZTE. 1:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional analysis and quotes from Pompeo. 11:58 a.m.: This article was updated with additional quotes. This article was originally published at 11:20 a.m. Officials with Ascencia homeless services recently thanked donors and those who contribute to its year-round meals program during a volunteer appreciation reception held at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Kelly Linden, Providences chief executive, and Terry Walker, manager of business development, welcomed 90 guests including Ascencias board of directors, staff, volunteers and supporters. Debbie Hinckley, Ascencias board president, conducted the program and said that in the guest chefs program, a different group of volunteers comes in 365 days a year to purchase, cook and serve dinner to those residing in the Glendale shelter. This year, some 900 volunteers gave 4,646 hours of service to the program. Our clients have had 730 gourmet dinners and breakfasts served by 50 teams of guest chefs, Hinckley said. All of these volunteer services have saved $46,467.50 that Ascencia could spend on [other] homeless services. Last year, the board instituted the Top Guest Chef Award, Hinckley said, to recognize outstanding commitment to the guest chef program. The first recipient was St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Burbank. This years recipient was Aren Blanco, who started her guest chef service in 2010 with St. Roberts church. She enjoyed it so much, she started her own team of chefs and now serves dinner twice a month. In total, she has logged in more than 150 hours serving dinners to Ascencia clients. It may be more than that, as Aren is very humble and sometimes does not log in her hours, Hinckley said. In addition, she has brought in more than 50 volunteers to help with the meals. This year, the board instituted the Volunteer of the Year Award, and the recipient was announced by Brianna Beyrooty, administrative assistant, who coordinates the volunteers. Receiving the honor was Barbara Gormley, who began in February 2016 and has logged in more than 200 hours of service the longest administrative volunteer to date. Several of the guest chefs, donors and guests attending had created culinary delights for the reception. In judging, the majority voted desserts as the top two favorites. Debbie Andrus captured first place for her cream puffs, and Anush Avejic received second place for her Armenian kadayif with cream. Adding icing to the cake, Tippy Boonkokua, branch manager of HomeStreet Bank in Burbank, presented a $2,500 donation to Ascencia Executive Director Natalie Profant Komuro. Volunteers not only provide the meals, but they sit down and eat with the homeless clients and exchange their life stories, said Anjalika Nigam, development officer with Ascencia. A group of police officers had served food to clients at one dinner, and a clients high-school-age daughter was so taken with her chat with the police chief during the meal, she has decided on law enforcement as a career. Top Guest Chef Aren Blanco, from left, Volunteer of the Year Barbara Gormley and Ascencia Board President Debbie Hinckley. (Joyce Rudolph / Burbank Leader ) Fiat featured vehicle at Road Kings car show Former drag race driver Ron Stearns of Burbank will show his Fiat body A/A coupe during the Burbank Road Kings 29th annual charity car show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 10 at Johnny Carson Park, 400 Bob Hope Drive. Stearns teamed up in 1958 with high school buddies Don Ratican and Bill Jackson, and in the drag-racing world became known as Ratican-Jackson-Stearns. They created a new chassis for the Fiat that was completed in 1960. In their brief racing career, they won their race at what is now known as the U.S. Nationals in Detroit and won in their class two years in a row at the National Hot Rod Assn.s U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Other vehicles on display at the car show will include hot rods, classics, muscle cars and vintage boats and motorcycles. To register, contact Bruce Borst after 5 p.m. at (661) 296-3133. The show will kick off with Gino Gaudio singing the national anthem and then Boy Scout Troop 50 will present the colors. This year, a new concessionaire, Tropical Island Catering, will be cooking up breakfast and lunch. There will be door-prize drawings, a silent auction and the Road Kings own band Chrisco and the Last Mile. Proceeds will benefit Relay for Life, the Burbank Police Foundation, Burbank Historical Society, Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley, Burbank Temporary Aid Center and Burbank Fire Department Muster Club. JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com. The Fantastic Four are missing. An unknown thief reportedly made away with a stack of comic books from Burbanks House of Secrets on Saturday, including a vintage issue of Marvels Fantastic Four valued at $500. Paul Grimshaw, the stores owner, said a man came into the business sometime late Saturday afternoon and spent several hours wandering around inside. He spent about four hours or more taking stuff out of the cabinets and just talking on his phone, he said. According to Grimshaw, the man told employees he was trying to buy a gift for a relative with whom he was supposedly talking on the phone. When an employee became distracted, the man grabbed a stack of comics and left the store. Grimshaw said he hasnt gone to the Burbank Police Department about the theft. When asked why someone in the store for hours didnt arouse suspicion, Grimshaw said its not unusual for customers to spend several hours at his business. Weve had guys in here spend two to three hours, and they never robbed us, he said. Its a comic book store. You got people browsing and look[ing] around. In addition to the $500 comic, the thief also made away with back issues of Fantastic Four from the 1960s as well as an assortment of other titles, Grimshaw said. He said he doesnt know which specific comics the man stole because his business buys used books on a weekly basis. The man was caught on the stores security camera and is described as someone possibly in his late teens with a bowl haircut. House of Secrets is located at 1930 W. Olive St. and can be contacted at (818) 562-1900. andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc Housekeepers and cafeteria workers at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital & Medical Center will see a series of raises that will increase wages by up to 42% over the next year and a half. The raises will bring the hourly wage floor from $11, the state minimum, to $13, then to $14.84 by January, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, the union representing the employees. Another boost will bring base pay to $15.61 by January 2020. Workers also will pay up to 20% less for their health insurance. The workers are employed by Sodexo, a food service and facilities management company that Tenet Healthcare, Fountain Valley Regionals operator, contracts with at several medical centers in California. About 100 of Fountain Valley Regionals cafeteria workers and housekeepers staged a one-day strike in February to protest what they described as low wages, costly healthcare coverage and poor staffing levels. These contracts are improving peoples lives, union President Sal Roselli in a statement said. Workers who struggle every day to support their families are getting good raises, better benefits and more respect at their jobs. The union says it is continuing to negotiate for Sodexo workers at Tenet hospitals in Lakewood and Los Alamitos. hillary.davis@latimes.com Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD The battle for the 48th Congressional seat is particularly brutal this year, which is especially evident to us registered Republicans who, in addition to the barrage of electronic media ads we see and hear every day, have to shovel out of our mailboxes the never-ending stream of hit pieces for and against incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) and challenger Scott Baugh. In the worst campaign season in my memory, friends have turned on friends with a viciousness some would not have believed possible. May 15, during the council member comments segment of the council meeting, termed-out Councilman Jim Righeimer used his four minutes, plus another 30 seconds, to pillory Rohrabacher after describing him as a friend for 28 years, six of which he served as his campaign chairman and, at least part of that time, Rohrabacher rented a room from him. One can only presume they were close. Then, adding an uppercut to that previously delivered right cross, Righeimer authored a scathing commentary in the Daily Pilot that appeared online May 18 (After years of supporting Dana Rohrabacher, I am voting for Scott Baugh). In this broadside against his former friend, colleague, mentor and boss, Righeimer reiterated the things he said from the dais. At that time he did not say he supported Baugh, but did so quite specifically in the commentary. As we voters consider how to mark our ballots, with our heads still spinning from the onslaught of negative campaigning, we must remember to consider the source of the information provided. As you read Righeimers attack on Rohrabacher please do not forget that he was among five people found to have made inaccurate rebuttal statements in 2016 in response to a residents ballot iniatitive seeking to limit development in the city; a judge ordered some of those statements removed. Also, Righeimer notes that Baugh is not a lobbyist for the sober living home industry in Costa Mesa but neglects to mention that he once advised an operator about Newports regulations. That operator later relocated to Costa Mesa. Baugh brings with him a Dumpster-load of baggage, most of which has been chronicled on these pages and can be easily found via a Google search. It will be another week or so before I mark my absentee ballot, stick 71 cents worth of postage on it and fire it off to the Registrar of Voters. In the meantime I will be watching these developments continue to unfold. I will cringe as I open my mailbox and turn on my television and radio. I will remind myself that character counts when considering a candidate and ponder if, for the first time in my voting life, I will be forced to vote for someone other than a Republican in a partisan race. It makes my head hurt. Geoff West Costa Mesa Keirstead is right challenger for former candidate Having challenged Rep. Dana Rohrabacher myself in 2008, I am dismayed that the coverage of the 48th Congressional District continues to lack the kind of in-depth focus on the issues facing our region and the candidate qualities that will best serve us. Everything that Rohrabacher tuned out for 30 years climate change, healthcare, housing, water can be advanced if we choose substance over showmanship. My money is on Hans Keirstead, a scientist who is grounded in reality, pragmatism and fact. Debbie Cook Huntington Beach The writer is a former Huntington Beach mayor. Its the GOP that fell down on healthcare Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) would enjoy a modicum of credibility with his commentary (Heathcare bill is written to increase headlines, not lower costs, May 15) if he and his fellow Republicans actually cared about healthcare issues and worked themselves toward solutions that benefit all Californians. They dont. They havent for years while collecting huge campaign donations from medical special interests including big pharmaceutical and insurance companies. Harper and the GOP are also anti-doctor, only raising issues affecting them when it suits their political purposes. Harper pontificates, If Democrats really want to get healthcare right, they might consider working with healthcare providers to find a solution. The Republicans have rejected doing this repeatedly while providing no worthwhile solutions of their own. Harper does make some good points. But starving our healthcare system to satisfy the profit motives of Harpers supporters is not one of them. Tim Geddes Huntington Beach How to get published: Email us at dailypilot@latimes.com. All correspondence must include full name, hometown and phone number (for verification purposes). The Pilot reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity and length. I recently traveled to Charleston, S.C., a beautiful, historic city that oozes charm and Old World gentility. But in spite of enjoying all that loveliness, I also harbored strongly conflicted feelings because of the citys former prominent role in our nations shameful past of slavery and segregation a history that continues to reverberate today. The tourist sites I visited including a museum on slavery located where the citys largest slave market once stood; a gorgeous plantation that was built on the back of slave labor; a thriving harbor that was once the biggest recipient of our nations slave trade; Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired the echoes from the past were stark and haunting. Today, Charleston in many ways strives to confront its ugly legacy. At least that was the impression I gleaned from the straightforward manner in which guides at these sites openly acknowledged and discussed this history. Yet I winced at the sight of a statue honoring Confederate soldiers; a full reckoning remains elusive. Strangely, this all felt very personal to me strange because Im a white woman with a comfortable life in Newport Beach and with no direct connection, that Im aware of, to the antebellum South. But my feelings may have been stirred because of a project with which Ive been involved for the past few years, which has required me to imagine what its like to walk in the shoes of someone who was subjected to institutional racism. I have co-authored the forthcoming book A Boy Named Courage: A Surgeons Memoir of Apartheid with my friend Dr. Himmet Dajee. Himmet and I go way back. His wife, Debbie, is a dear friend. Our kids grew up together, and attended the same schools in Newport Beach. But it was only when I was planning a family trip to Himmets native South Africa five years ago that I began questioning him more deeply about his background. From that conversation an idea was born for us to collaborate on a book about his life story, and it has been a fascinating, and at times searingly emotional project. The book chronicles Himmets struggle to overcome apartheid South Africas racist structure as an ethnic Indian, he was considered a nonwhite under the laws of apartheid to secure an education and establish himself as a cardiac surgeon. It is a tale involving a search for identity, fraught with failure, loss, and tragedy, but ultimately one of love and transcendence. Its been a great privilege to work with Himmet to tell his extraordinary story, and I have learned a tremendous lot in so doing. Not only have I learned much about the history of apartheid, I have also been given the opportunity to more fully understand institutional racisms deep and enduring legacy how the same echoes from the past that I sensed in Charleston affect who and what we are today. It has also taught me to examine more carefully my own prejudices indeed, even to admit to myself that those prejudices exist, despite my somewhat arrogant self-regard as a fair, open-minded person. Through my work on the book, I have also recognized that I need to be a better listener a rather ironic realization given that, for a journalist, listening is a big part of the job. So, for example, when I heard about the recent racial incidents at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where, coincidentally, one of Himmets daughters is a student it might have been tempting to dismiss the episodes as misguided hijinks. Im referring to the two instances of white students appearing in blackface, which stirred outrage and a call by the university for the state to investigate. To his credit, one of the offending students apologized in a letter to the student newspaper, acknowledging that growing up white and privileged, I was truly unaware of how insensitive I was to the racial implications of blackface. His statement exposes one troubling aspect of race relations today. Its all too easy for many of us to write off such incidents as harmless and accuse those who are offended of overreacting. But, as this student suggests, perhaps some enlightenment is in order. And in service of becoming more enlightened, we all need to listen each other really listen, and strive to understand and appreciate the perspectives of those who have tread far different paths than our own. It also requires that we acknowledge to ourselves that were all just works in progress, and that we can all benefit from an honest, open, respectful accounting of our histories and beliefs. I consider myself a feminist, for instance, but that doesnt prevent me from sliding into lazy gender stereotypes at times. Recently, my two sons who are far more intelligent and principled than I am questioned whether my use of the term girl drama was just a wee bit sexist. This old feminist felt a wee bit chagrined. But Im not too old to learn, and to reflect on the roles we can all play in trying to bridge racial, ethnic, religious and gender differences. As my work on the book and my recent visit to Charleston reminded me, the past is still present. But we dont have to be slaves to it. PATRICE APODACA is a former Newport-Mesa public school parent and former Los Angeles Times staff writer. She lives in Newport Beach. American Airlines has joined United and Delta in tightening restrictions on emotional support animals in the cabin. Its new rules were issued earlier this month and discussed on the airlines Tell Me Why podcast. The changes ban, among other animals, goats, insects, reptiles, snakes, spiders and sugar gliders, which are tiny marsupials that are considered exotic pets. Airlines have been besieged with complaints from passengers about pretend emotional support animals, or ESAs, whose owners either dont want to pay to fly the animal in the cabin or dont want their pet in the belly of the plane. Advertisement Flying with a support animal will require more paperwork that will need to be submitted earlier in the travel process. The behavior of the animals also will be scrutinized. The changes do not affect service animals, which differ from ESAs in the amount of training the animals and the owner have received. Service animals also perform what American termed life functions for individuals with disabilities, including visual impairments, deafness, seizures and mobility impairments. Americans podcast, available through iTunes, is part of the airlines internal communications process. But now passengers can listen to these casts and hear more about the reasoning behind airline decisions. The May 13 installment features Americans Suzanne Boda, senior vice president, Los Angeles, who says that no changes are being made to rules concerning service animals. These are extremely well-trained dogs that know how to behave, she said. But, she said, Weve had some incidents [on American aircraft], and we want to make sure the safety of everyone, including service animals, is protected. Also on the podcast is Albert Rizzi of My Blind Spot Inc. whose website describes its mission this way: To inspire accessibility for people of all abilities. He has been working with American on these and other changes. This is not going to change the policy for people who are dependent on trained, well-behaved service animals, said Rizzi, who lost his sight are a result of illness. The new rules go into effect July 1. travel@latimes.com @latimestravel Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honorable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd), and Lady Cosgrove (Source: Australian Embassy Hanoi) This is the second visit by an Australian Governor-General and will include more than 20 events. Following the signing of the Australia - Vietnam Strategic Partnership in March, the upcoming Governor-Generals visit will highlight the growing bilateral relationship underpinned by strong education, business, defence, and people-to-people links. In Hanoi, the Governor-General and Lady Cosgrove will meet members of the Australian community before receiving a ceremonial welcome by President Tran Dai Quang. He is also scheduled to meet with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, following a wreath laying ceremony at the Martyrs' Memorial (Bac Son road). While in Southern hub Ho Chi Minh city, the visiting delegation will join senior Vietnamese representatives to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Besides, they will visit Vietnamese Peacekeepers in recognition of the growing defence relationship, and will acknowledge the strong education and business links between both countries at RMIT University./. Indias most famous poet, Rabindranath Tagore, once wrote that the Taj Mahal stood on the banks of the Yamuna River like a teardrop suspended on the cheek of time. One wonders whether the late Nobel laureate could have found a lyrical description of the latest threat facing the grand, white-marble monument: millions of defecating insects. Excrement from mosquito-like bugs breeding in the heavily polluted river has stained parts of the 17th century mausoleum green, while the footsteps and palms of thousands of daily visitors have darkened the stone floors and intricately patterned walls of a structure long regarded as the pinnacle of Mughal architecture. Indias Supreme Court this month blasted the archaeological agency that oversees the monument for failing to protect it and suggested that outside experts be brought in to take over restoration efforts. During a hearing, one justice barked at a government attorney: Perhaps you do not care. Advertisement In this photo from Dec. 5, 2017, scaffolding covers a marble wall of the Taj Mahal where workers applied a clay mixture to remove discoloration caused by pollution. (Manish Swarup / Associated Press ) But insect slime is only one of the problems facing the monument, built by the emperor Shah Jahan to house the remains of his favorite wife after she died while giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. Today the Taj Mahal appears less a testament to eternal love than a symbol of Indias very earthly environmental troubles. The once mighty Yamuna after being dammed upstream to provide electricity for the region surrounding Indias capital, New Delhi now runs low and thick with trash and untreated waste, and blooms with insect-attracting algae. Auto emissions, deforestation and crop burning have contributed to heavy smog that experts say has dimmed the tombs pearly exterior to a jaundiced yellow. The number of cars registered in the city of Agra, where the Taj Mahal is situated about 110 miles south of New Delhi, has mushroomed from about 40,000 in 1985 to more than 1 million. The Taj Mahal has never looked as fatigued, pale and sick as it does now, said Brij Khandelwal, a journalist and environmental activist in Agra. Since the 1970s, Indian authorities have issued rule after rule aimed at protecting the countrys most popular and lucrative tourist attraction, which draws more than 7 million visitors a year, 90% of them domestic tourists. They have banished coal-powered factories from the area, banned gasoline-powered vehicles near the monument and distributed cooking fuel to reduce poor families reliance on dirtier heat sources such as wood and cow dung. But many of the rules are flouted. And as the area surrounding New Delhi has become one of the fastest growing urban agglomerations in the world projected to become the worlds most populous city within a decade the environmental challenges have multiplied. Standing on the west bank of the Yamuna about a mile upstream from the Taj Mahal, Khandelwal looked out over a nearly dry riverbed filled with plastic bottles, potato-chip wrappers, empty medicine packets and other detritus. He walked over to a derelict sewage treatment plant whose windows were broken and watched a pipe deliver effluent directly into the riverbed, foaming with chemicals as it cascaded down. Most of the problems emanate from this dry riverbed, Khandelwal said. The original ambience of the Taj Mahal was based on the river not just for aesthetic delight but also for its survival. Environmentalist Brij Khandelwal, shown here above the dry Yamuna riverbed, says time is running out to save the Taj Mahal. (Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times ) Like a beautician trying to smooth out wrinkles on an aging movie star, the Archaeological Survey of India, the agency that oversees the monument, has spent the last three years applying mudpacks to whiten the walls and minarets. But the grime simply returns. Its terrible, lamented Manoj Sharma, 45, who has led tours of the tomb for more than a decade. Pointing to a section of the north wall overlooking the river, Sharma said that workers had recently applied the clay mixture known as fullers earth, traditionally used as a bleaching agent to absorb oil and grease from sheeps wool. But just weeks later, a dark goo, believed to be from the insects, again coated the petals of flowers carved into the marble. A section of the north wall of the Taj Mahal bears grime, believed to be secreted by insects, on the petals of the marble carvings. (Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times ) The Supreme Court expressed impatience with the prolonged cleanup effort, which has shrouded parts of the tomb in scaffolding for days and weeks at a time. With workers preparing to begin the mudpack treatment on the cloudlike dome of the mausoleum, its most recognizable feature, the Fodors travel guide suggested that visitors avoid the Taj Mahal for a year. Unless your dream Taj Mahal visit involves being photographed standing in front of a mud-caked and be-scaffolded dome, maybe give it until 2019 at the earliest, the guidebook advised. From a distance, the Taj Mahal still enchants: On a recent weekday, throngs of selfie-snapping visitors braved 105-degree heat to marvel at the stately crypt, flanked by soaring minarets and wide lawns. But up close the monument shows signs of stress. Cracks in the marble have been patched with off-color cement that experts say expand and contract with the heat, further weakening the stone. The green lawns have grown patchy. In March, pieces of red sandstone that were being held in place by a rusty clamp fell from the corner of one of the gates to the complex, although no one was injured. A few weeks later, two sandstone pillars decorating the gates were toppled in high winds. The Taj is getting weak, and it has been going on for some time, said Mahatim Singh, a member of the Tourism Guild of Agra. We require extra manpower and extra technology to overcome these problems. But the archaeological agency has been reluctant to cede control over the monument or invite international experts. Its director did not respond to questions from The Times, but one official, who requested anonymity because he wasnt authorized to speak to the press, said the agency was being blamed for bigger environmental problems. A Buddhist monk converses on the bank of the Yamuna river. From a distance, the Taj Mahal retains its charm. (Chandan Khanna / AFP/Getty Images ) Some of it they dont have much control over, said Divay Gupta, principal director for architecture at the nonprofit Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. But while what they have done has been effective to a certain degree, all of the methods have been sort of knee-jerk, and there is no preventive action. The agency plans this year to impose a three-hour limit on visitors touring the grounds in a bid to reduce crowds. But Gupta said the 42-acre complex could take in more visitors and draw more revenue to pay for upkeep if the site were better managed. Khandelwal, the activist, said the monument was facing an emergency. The Taj Mahal represents our glorious past and our composite culture its not just any tourist site, he said. It must be saved at any cost. shashank.bengali@latimes.com Shashank Bengali is the South Asia correspondent for The Times. Follow him on Twitter at @SBengali An Australian archbishop on Tuesday became the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world convicted of covering up child sex abuse in a test case that holds to account church hierarchy that kept silent in the face of an international pedophile crisis. Magistrate Robert Stone handed down the verdict against Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson in Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney, following a magistrate-only trial. Wilson, 67, had pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious crime committed by another person the sexual abuse of children by pedophile priest James Fletcher in the 1970s. He had made four attempts in the past three years to have the charge struck out without a trial. Advertisement The conviction is another step toward holding the church to account for a global abuse crisis that has also engulfed Pope Francis financial minister, Australian Cardinal George Pell. Frank Brennan, an Australian Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer and academic, said Wilson had to stand aside as archbishop of the South Australian state capital. I would think that the mind of Pope Francis at this stage would be that if there be a conviction of a bishop in relation to a failure to disclose abuse in circumstances where the state thought that was criminal activity, then I would think the mind of the pope would be that that doesnt measure up in church terms either and that therefore it would be impossible for someone to remain in the job as a bishop, Brennan said. Brennan said Wilson had complied with the nondisclosure culture of the church in the 1970s. Theres no doubt that Archbishop Wilson in recent years ... has been one of the good guys. He has been one of the bishops in the Catholic Church who have been trying to clean things up, Brennan said. But this relates to when he was a young priest. Even someone like him who later got it back in those years was so confined by our culture that it would seem there was no disclosure, he added. Jason Parkinson, a former police detective who is now a Canberra lawyer who specializes in representing victims of clergy child sexual abuse, said he hoped police would now pursue Catholic orders of teaching brothers that responded to families complaints by transferring perpetrators to other schools. President Nicolas Maduro ordered the expulsion Tuesday of the top U.S. diplomat in Venezuela, accusing him of being involved in a military conspiracy against this nations socialist government. It was the latest ratcheting up of tensions between the United States and Venezuela, which have been political adversaries for more than a decade. The expulsion order came as Maduro was officially ratified for a new presidential mandate after being declared the landslide winner of controversial national elections held Sunday. The Trump administration denounced the balloting conducted amid a boycott by much of the opposition as a sham and slapped new economic sanctions on Venezuela, which has been mired in an economic crisis for years. Advertisement The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry denounced the latest sanctions as a crime against humanity that impedes the rights and development of Venezuela. Maduro declared the U.S. charge daffaires, Todd Robinson, persona non grata and ordered him out of the country within 24 hours. Robinson, a career diplomat who previously served as ambassador to Guatemala, is the highest-ranking U.S. diplomat here. Washington and Caracas have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010. Also ordered expelled on Monday was a second U.S. diplomat, Brian Naranjo. In brief remarks in Spanish to the Venezuelan press, Robinson said he energetically rejected the allegations against him and Naranjo. He declined to further comment. The Venezuelan president alleged that the two diplomats combined to pressure the opposition to not participate in Sundays vote in a bid to undermine Maduros anticipated triumph. The Trump administration completely rejects the false accusations made against the two diplomats, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday. U.S. officials were examining reports of the expulsions, she said. A day earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the balloting process was choreographed by a regime too unpopular and afraid of its own people to risk free elections and open competition. Maduro, who has headed the government here since 2013, ran against two minor opponents and won reelection with 68% of the vote. He is scheduled to start his next six-year term in January. In recent years, Maduro and his allies have taken numerous steps to consolidate his hold on power. The supreme court, packed with Maduro supporters, steadily stripped the opposition-controlled National Assembly of its powers, and the assembly was eventually replaced last year with a new legislature dominated by Maduros United Socialist Party of Venezuela. The new sanctions against the country, imposed Monday through an executive order by President Trump, will make it illegal for U.S. citizens to buy up Venezuelan debt. Such purchases have helped Maduro keep his government afloat. The sanctions also restrict Venezuelas ability to liquidate its assets at bargain-basement prices. Opposition boycott leaders in Venezuela declared Sundays elections illegitimate and designed largely to provide a legal cover for Maduros unpopular rule. Maduro has repeatedly rejected charges of repressing the opposition and accused his opponents of refusing to participate in democratic balloting. They want to stigmatize me as a dictator, but I couldnt care less, Maduro told the nation in a televised address before Sundays balloting. In his expulsion order, Maduro vowed to produce evidence of U.S. meddling in Venezuelan economic, political and military affairs. Neither with conspiracies or with sanctions will you hold Venezuela back, Maduro said, in a message directed at Washington, reported the official Telesur news outlet. The Venezuelan government has long argued that it was the target of a U.S.-sponsored economic war and destabilization campaign meant to install an administration more submissive to Washington. U.S. officials have denied any such effort and have assailed Maduros rule as undemocratic and authoritarian. Venezuela, one of the worlds major oil producers, has long been battered by food shortages, lack of medical care, hyperinflation and an escalating poverty rate. The shortages have triggered widespread street protests, and hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have abandoned the country in recent years, seeking opportunities elsewhere. The exodus has, in particular, put pressure on neighboring Colombia, where regional governments and hospitals are struggling to accommodate the Venezuelans crossing the border looking for work and food. Colombia also declined to recognize the results of Sundays balloting, along with the European Union and some other Latin American countries. Declining oil prices have been a key factor in the nations economic meltdown. But critics also blame what they call the inept policies of the Maduro government. Maduro says Washington is largely responsible. Maduro, 55, is a protege of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a longtime U.S. antagonist. Maduro served as acting president after Chavezs death in March 2013 and was elected president the following month. He narrowly defeated opposition challenger Henrique Capriles, former governor of Miranda state, who rejected the results, citing alleged irregularities. Special correspondent Mogollon reported from Caracas and Times staff writer McDonnell from Mexico City. Staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report. patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com Twitter: @PmcdonnellLAT UPDATES: 5:40 p.m.: This article was updated with a comment from Todd Robinson. 5:05 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with staff reporting on the expulsion of the diplomats and Venezuelas recent election. This article was originally published at 11:40 a.m. Vietnamese Foreign Ministrys spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang (Source: VNA) Hang made the statement in Hanoi on May 21st in response to reporters question regarding the Chinese exercises, saying Chinas dispatch of bombers to conduct take-off and landing drills in Hoang Sa has seriously violated Vietnams sovereignty over the archipelago and run counter to the Vietnam-China agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues as well as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China. Chinas acts have also adversely affected negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) between the ASEAN and China, fueled tensions and caused instability in the region, and hampered efforts to maintain peace, stability and cooperation in the East Sea, she said. Vietnam has full legal foundation and historical evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes in line with international law, the spokesperson noted. Vietnam asks China not to conduct militarisation activities and to seriously respect the countrys sovereignty over the two archipelagoes, observe the Vietnam-China agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues and the DOC, and create a favourable environment for the maintenance of regional peace, stability and cooperation, Hang said./. Delegates attend the 71th session of World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 21, 2018. The World Health Assembly (WHA) unveiled an ambitious plan on Monday aiming to benefit an overall population of 3 billion globally for the next five years with better health care and well-being. (Xinhua/Alain Grosclaude) GENEVA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Assembly (WHA) unveiled an ambitious plan on Monday aiming to benefit an overall population of 3 billion globally for the next five years with better health care and well-being. The plan, entitled 13th General Program of Work, was reviewed and passed during the first day of the 71th WHA, which kicked off in Geneva on 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 promoting well-being for all at all ages, namely, to help 1 billion more people benefit from universal health coverage; 1 billion more people to be better protected from health emergencies; and 1 billion more people enjoying better health and well-being. In his opening speech at the WHA, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus defined three keys behind the triple-billion targets. First is a strong WHO and leadership team that's 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 world's 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; 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," Dr. Tedros said, which is why "We are transforming how we work to achieve our vision of a world in which 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, the WHO pledges to place countries squarely at the center 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 WHO's 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 organizations to set out the organization's policy. 5 1 [ Editor: Xueying ] KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 22 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and 25 others wounded after a car bomb explosion rocked Kandahar city, capital of Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, on Tuesday, a local official said. "The huge blast occurred in Police District 14 of the city at around 12:30 p.m. local time. The whole place has now been sealed off. The blast caused a plume of gray smoke to rise above the scene," an eyewitness told Xinhua. Meanwhile, a local official who requested anonymity, told Xinhua that the security forces tried to intercept a suicide bomber setting in a minibus after intelligence reports found the terrorist, but the man detonated his vehicle causing the explosion. "The early information found that three people, including the attacker, were killed and 25 injured. Among the casualties were civilians and security forces," he said, adding that the blast took place in Fabrika Market, near Hazrat Je Baba Square of the city. Security forces have cordoned off the area for precautionary measures. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Over the past a few months, Afghanistan has witnessed waves of terror attacks by the Islamic State (IS) and Taliban insurgents. [ Editor: Xueying ] By Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com For decades, self-described history buffs Alan and Patricia "Patti" Lowcher collected artifacts dating back to the Civil War. The couple even got their three young children into the act when they began participating as a family in Civil War re-enactments across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Alan Lowcher, a Washington, N.J.-based attorney, regularly conducts seminars through the New Jersey Bar Association with a focus on U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, his law practice and lessons for lawyers. In the past, Alan also was a regular at the schools of his children, giving presentations on American history. Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com This property in the 400 block of High Street sits in Bethlehem's historic district. Don't Edit When the couple's children grew up and moved out of their Warren County house, the Lowchers became fascinated with Bethlehem's historic district. They visited a handful of times a year. "We just love history and talked for a long time about finding a historic house," Patti Lowcher said. "But we also wanted something quaint and something we could walk to the downtown from." The property they eventually bought in early 2016 in the 400 block of High Street fulfilled their ambition. Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com The side porch offers relaxation. On summer nights, it offeres the sounds of live music from nearby Levitt Pavilion at ArtsQuest at SteelStacks. Don't Edit The 2 1/2-story brick home, dating back to circa 1865, was among the early houses constructed on Moravian Church-owned properties east of Bethlehem. They were opened to non-Moravian purchase and settlement after the end of official church authority in municipal affairs in 1845. "Bethlehem kept calling our name," Patti Lowcher said. "We already visited for the festivals and enjoyed the arts. So we decided, 'Why not live somewhere we love?' Because life is too short not to live somewhere you love." Don't Edit Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com A staircase leads up to the second floor, which includes four bedrooms plus a master bedroom, a laundry room and two additional bathrooms. Don't Edit Deep Historical Roots The home, known as the "Wolle/Godshalk House," was lived in by several people but its most noteworthy occupants were Augustus Wolle and David J. Godshalk. It is listed as a historic structure on the City of Bethlehem Historical Society list. Wolle was a Moravian merchant who was one of the founders of the Saucona Iron Company in 1857, later known as the Bethlehem Iron Company. The company broke ground in 1860, but construction was interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War. Wolle went on to become directly involved in the growth of railroads serving the Lehigh Valley, an active real estate investor and business entrepreneur. He also had interests in steel making and slate mining. He had 10 children with Cornelia Elizabeth Leinbach of Nazareth, according to the couple. Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com In the hallway, the couple pays homage to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Don't Edit Godshalk was a Civil War veteran and a preeminent journalist in Bethlehem from 1865 well into the 20th century. He was employed in various positions with the New York Times before returning to Pennsylvania after serving in the war. Don't Edit Godshalk in 1865 became the founder, publisher and editor of the Daily Times, the first Bethlehem daily newspaper. His daughter, Hannah, followed in her father's footsteps, becoming associate editor of the Star and later, the Bethlehem Globe Times, according to the couple. Don't Edit Don't Edit Courtesy photo The side porch of the home, along with a greenhouse, pictured left. The couple describes the greenhouse as a gardener's "Christmas vignette." Don't Edit The Godshalks lived in the home for at least six decades. Don't Edit Artifacts of American history are in the back parlor. Don't Edit Federal-style Living The main portion of the 4,400-square-foot house is constructed in the federal style. Subsequent additions cover the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. There are four bedrooms plus a master bedroom and three full bathrooms. On the main floor there's a large parlor which at one point would have served as two separate rooms -- a formal receiving parlor in the front and family parlor in back. There's also a family room with attached full bathroom, a formal dining room and small kitchen. There's a greenhouse, a formal dining room and a small, informal dining room. Guests can walk out to a floral courtyard from the kitchen, which Patti Lowcher describes as "intimate" and "relaxing" and on summer nights. She called it the perfect place for hearing some live music from nearby Levitt Pavilion at ArtsQuest at SteelStacks. Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com The main floor includes a formal dining room. Don't Edit Don't Edit On the second floor are four bedrooms plus a master bedroom and a laundry room, as well as two additional bathrooms. There are two staircases. One leads from the front foyer. Another was likely used by servants and boarders off the kitchen to come and go without disrupting the family. The servant staircase leads to a small bedroom upstairs. There is walk-up attic the couple uses as museum space for their Civil War collectibles, artifacts and equipment. There are two areas dedicated to family who served in the military -- Patti's late father, Harold Miller, who was a World War II artillery captain and Alan's late father, Robert Lowcher, a Korean War submarine officer. Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com A walk-up attic serves as a museum for Civil War collectibles, artifacts and equipment. There also are two areas dedicated to family who served in the military. Don't Edit The exterior shutters, main floor windows, molding, doors and door hardware date back to the 1860s. The couple's pays homage to the memory of President Lincoln in the main hallway with an original Lincoln-Johnson 1864 ballot, an 1865 steel engraving reading "The Nation Mourns," and a framed "mourning" pin. A Civil War officer's folding camp bed serves as a "coffee table" in the downstairs family room. Patti Lowcher calls her downstairs pink bathroom the "Mamie Eisenhower" bathroom because the color was a favorite of the First Lady. Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com A Civil War officer's folding camp bed serves as a "coffee table" in the downstairs family room. Don't Edit The parlor includes some period lighting fixtures from the 1870s, including an electrified kerosene table lamp. The formal dining room features an early built-in china cabinet and is furnished with period pieces from the 1890s to circa 1915. The couple transformed their greenhouse into what they described as a gardener's "Christmas vignette" for the 2017 Bethlehem Historic District Association Holiday House Tour. The greenhouse is complete with potted plants and growing herbs. They renovated the kitchen last year but were able to preserve the 1960s custom Oberholtzer cabinets. They added quartz counter-tops, a white subway-style back splash, bamboo wood flooring and recessed lighting. Don't Edit Don't Edit Courtesy photos An upstairs bathroom was restored to 1920s decor. Don't Edit The couple transformed a bathroom back to the 1920s by adding basket-weave tile flooring and a wall subway tile with a black pencil-line accent. They kept a modern tub and shower. Don't Edit Alan Lowcher joked he might finally have reached a milestone in his history collection the day he closed on the property. "My friends said, 'You finally collected the best you can get,' " he said with a laugh. Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com The front parlor includes a working gas fireplace. Don't Edit A Few Mysteries Living in the home has turned the couple into treasure hunters. When tearing down several layers of wallpaper in one of the bathrooms, Patti Lowcher discovered a note to one of the past homeowners. The note has a first name and says "1991" and "Enjoy!" Don't Edit Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com The couple renovated the kitchen in 2017, but preserved the 1960s custom Oberholtzer cabinets. Don't Edit The parlor has an operating gas fireplace. Alan Lowcher said a second fireplace would be typical to that period but he can't figure out where the second one used to be. The home's distinctive large front door allows pallbearers clearance to bring in and take out a coffin for residents who had services in the home. Don't Edit The Lowchers have learned a lot but want to know more about their home. They encourage any ancestors of Wolle or Godshalk to reach out. "We keep wanting to know more," Patti Lowcher said. Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com A side porch provides additional relaxation, which Patti Lowcher describes as a place to enjoy "tea time to wine time to tea time." Don't Edit Have a "Cool Space?" If you think a home should be featured in "Cool Spaces," email Pamela Sroka-Holzmann at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Don't Edit Don't Edit Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A 41-year-old Phillipsburg man, who was arrested May 9 in Newark on an attempted homicide charge out of Easton, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in a Wilson Borough courtroom, records show. Shareef Boston. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) Shareef Boston, who had been living in Newark, was held without bail by District Judge Richard Yetter III due to Boston being a risk to public safety as well as a flight risk, court papers say. Boston, who allegedly had been harassing a former girlfriend, shot a 53-year-old man in the leg about 8:15 p.m. Dec. 19 as that man walked toward a home in the 1000 block of Washington Street where the ex-girlfriend lived, police said. The wound wasn't life-threatening, police said. It was believed the gunfire came from a Jeep SUV and the home was hit as well as the man, police said. Witnesses reported hearing between four and eight gunshots. Boston tentatively faces a preliminary hearing 9 a.m. June 1 before Yetter. He was held in jail in Essex County before his extradition. Easton police returned him on Tuesday morning to the Lehigh Valley to face charges that included aggravated assault and shooting a firearm into an occupied building. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A Montgomery County man is accused of raping a 4-year-old girl and sexually assaulting four other children. Todd Anthony Wilson, 32, of East Fourth Street in Bridgeport, is being held on $1 million for 106 charges including rape, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child. The charges relate to the five children, who range in age from 4 to 12 years old. Wilson's preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Police said they were alerted to the abuse after the 4-year-old girl's mother on April 30 took her to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with injuries, prosecutors said. Doctors determined that the girl suffered "significant" trauma consistent with a sexual assault and Norristown Police were notified. Police said investigators learned Wilson sexually assaulted the 4-year-old, and had been sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl, as well as forcing the girl and three boys -- ages 6, 8 and 9 -- to perform sex acts on each other. "This is a horrible case involving the sexual abuse of young and vulnerable children," said District Attorney Kevin Steele in a news release. Wilson was arrested May 1 in the rape case and has been held in Montgomery County Correctional Facility since then. New charges were filed May 17. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. It didn't take former Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent long to land a new gig. The 57-year-old former member of the U.S. House of Representatives rose to national prominence as a moderate GOP voice following the election of President Donald Trump. Dent was regularly quoted in The Washington Post and The New York Times and frequently appeared on CNN as a guest. Starting Monday, the Allentown native, who officially resigned from Congress a little over a week ago, will be a CNN political commentator, philly.com reports. Dent will make his first appearance at 7 p.m. Monday on "Erin Burnett OutFront." As co-chairman of the House's Tuesday Group Caucus, Dent was recognized as one of Congress' most moderate and centrist voices. Philly.com says Dent's hiring by CNN seems to buck a recent trend of hiring commentators who defend Trump. Earlier in May, Dent was one of a few Republicans calling for Congressional hearings surrounding conflicting statements about a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels to suppress a story about an alleged affair with Trump, philly.com notes. "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." The Republican represented Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District from 2005 until his resignation May 12. Dent first announced he did not plan to seek re-election in October. He then said in April he did not plan to finish out his seventh term. A special election to fill the final two months of Dent's term will be held Nov. 6, the day of the general election. Dent's district was redrawn in February under court order and is now the 7th Congressional District. The new seat will also be filled in the general election. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. After seeing the picture of the school bus wreckage on Interstate 80 in New Jersey, it was miraculous that more children didn't perish, considering the extent of the accident. But then I realized that New Jersey requires seat belts on all school transport vehicles, whereas our Pennsylvania legislators are not bright enough to have this kind of foresight. It's amazing to me that parents are accountable by law to mount safety restraints in their cars to protect their children, but school districts in Pennsylvania are not held accountable to this same law. Perhaps our state House of Representatives and Senate can learn something from this tragedy and have something emerge that would be beneficial to our community. Jim Morykin Plainfield Township Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 21, 2018, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala) BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday that it is necessary for China and Britain to enhance strategic communication and deepen strategic cooperation to continue to "inject new connotations" into the Golden Era of bilateral ties. While meeting his British counterpart Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' conference in Buenos Aires, Wang said that faced with the changing international situation, China and Britain, as major countries in the world and permanent members of the UN Security Council, should enhance strategic communication and deepen strategic cooperation to continue to "inject new connotations" into the Golden Era of bilateral ties. Wang expressed the hope that the two countries, located on the two ends of Eurasian continent, would cooperate more actively on the Belt and Road construction. Johnson said that Britain-China ties are very important, and Britain is willing to strengthen communication with China and reinforce coordination and cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels. He added that Britain is willing to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative and make the joint construction of the Belt and Road a component of the Golden Era of China-Britain ties. The two sides also exchanged views on Iran's nuclear issue and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. Wang said that China supports the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to have direct contacts and hopes the two sides would meet half way, remove obstructions, increase mutual understanding and hold the DPRK-U.S. summit as scheduled. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Stock Market News HomeServe profit rises as North America growth offsets weak UK 22-05-2018 07:06 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 Inmarsat wobbles after US rival wins maritime safety certification 22-05-2018 08:47 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 Tesco Direct to shut down as Wilson swings axe 22-05-2018 16:43 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 Versarien's international ambitions aided by secondment of government official 22-05-2018 16:17 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 The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results Over the past decade, Vietnams steel production capacity has grown substantially from 1.5 million tonnes per year to 21 million in 2016. Vietnams current capacity now tops Southeast Asia at more than 30 million tonnes. In 2017, the countrys steel exports were 5.5 million tonnes (up 28.5%), bringing in US$3.6 billion (up 45.4%). The industry is forecast to grow between 20% and 22% this year. While exports are facing significant pressure, the domestic market is witnessing fierce competition as foreign steel is rolling in. Certain types of steel that Vietnam can now produce such, as colour-coated steel, are still imported in high volume. Steel is one of the fundamental economic sectors, the basic input of most key industrial sectors. Therefore it always tops the list of goods subject to trade defence. Most major markets, such as the US and the EU, use this measure to protect their domestic production, causing difficulties for Vietnamese exporters. Recently, the US imposed a 25% tariff on imported steel from many countries, including Vietnam, citing security reasons. Soon after that the European Commission also launched a probe into imported steel over concerns that steel intended for the US market would be re-directed to Europe. Several other countries such as Canada, India and Thailand have also hinted at using safeguard action. It is clear that many countries are taking the initiative in dealing with steel overcapacity. As Vietnam is becoming more and more deeply integrated into the global economy, the protection of local producers in other countries requires the Vietnamese authorities and steelmakers to work together to improve the sectors competitiveness and hold on to both the domestic and international markets. Steel producers should be more cautious of increasing their capacity, as well as enhancing the quality of their products and broadening their international trade knowledge, in order to minimise the risks. They should also re-organise their export structure to avoid concentrating on only a few markets, which causes a spike in exports and prompts the importing countries to launch safeguard probes. For their part, the relevant authorities should provide up-to-date information on the policies of importing countries, especially the rules of origin, to promptly alert domestic producers. 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. Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Im Christy Li, host of todays debate on trademark opposition procedure. We have two contestants today from world famous law firms who were winners in the 2018 debate season. Let us welcome Mr P and Mr A to the stage. Mr P and Mr A have experience in plenty of countries, and they have both received awards and accolades. For example, Mr A has had wins in Japan and Germany, and people there have hailed him as the father of trademark opposition procedure. Meanwhile, Mr P does not show weakness, and is fully endorsed by China and the UK. Today the debate relates to a very familiar but controversial topic in worldwide trademark practice whether opposition should occur before trademark registration or after trademark registration. As this is an informal debate, there will no ballot process today. Let us start with Mr As statement. Mr A: As far as we know, the reason a trademark proprietor files a trade mark application is to acquire an exclusive right, so that they can use the trademark in commercial activities. Opposition after registration enables trademark proprietors to register a trademark earlier and facilitates the expansion of their business. This is because, for countries that adopt the method of opposition after registration, trademarks will be granted registration without a publication period, which ranges from one month to several months. After the trademarks are registered, anyone/an interested party can file an opposition during the prescribed period. Secondly, the function of trademarks is to help the relevant public distinguish goods/services sources. Where marketing exists, there will be competition. For opposite parties, creating obstacles in the way of trademark registration is a great weapon. Despite clearly knowing that an opposed trademark does not collide with its prior right, nor is the opposition in the public interest, parties still raise an opposition. In most jurisdictions, the office usually takes more than 12 months to finish examination of an opposition case, and initiating an opposition could result in delaying registration for over one year. How should such pre-emptive opposition be solved? Opposition after registration could eliminate the risk of bad faith opposition, for the reason that the trademark has been granted registration before the opposition period and cannot be delayed due to the opposition procedure. Another advantage of opposition after registration that I have to stress is that it enables trademark proprietors to acquire registration certificates earlier, which is a stepping stone in commercial transactions and infringement defence. When running a business, a registration certificate is the only evidence to show ownership, especially for famous websites, like Amazon, Tmall, JD, etc. Without it, all business activities bear the risk of infringements. A registration certificate could show ownership in infringement cases. By comparison with this situation, opposition before registration delays registration and not only does harm to business activities, but also limits the ability to sue others for infringement. All in all, opposition after registration is a beneficial statutory procedure for trademark proprietors. Host: Mr A set forth the advantages of opposition after registration, as well as some disadvantages of opposition before registration elaborately. Now let us see how Mr P will fight back. Mr P: I do not deny that the earlier the registration date, the better. But, you have to compare the short term with a stable status. In my opinion, stability plays the most important role in business. If a trademark can be opposed any time after it is registered, what is the purpose of its registration? Only if the trademark is registered and overcomes the obstacles raised by prior cited marks, can it be registered with a low risk of attack. This is a true registration. In most legal procedures, public interest overrides private rights and this is the case for trademarks too. When setting up the statutory procedure of opposition, private rights as well as public interest should both be taken into consideration. The purpose of opposition is to take advice from the public, and to carry through trademark right verification publicly, fairly and authentically. Temporary registration without public opinion does not strictly qualify as ownership of a trademark right. Additionally, opposition after registration is a waste of marketing and judicial resources. In the first place, trademark owners will fully prepare to enter a market for the trademark, but how does it feel when they hear that their registered mark is opposed by third parties and may be rendered invalid? The worst aspect of this is that their mark can be rejected from registration or invalidated after their marketing preparation. It is not hard to conclude that all the preparation is a waste of time and money. In a similar way, jurisdictions have used up time and energy checking and issuing a registration certificate, but have to cancel it after the mark is rejected from registration due to opposition. To conclude, when deciding whether opposition should take place before or after registration, factors relating to private and public interests should be taken into account, and opposition before registration is preferable to opposition after registration. Host: Ok, time is over for Mr P. Both contestants expressed themselves logically and reasonably, and both procedures have precedents throughout the world, proving that they have pros and cons. It seems they are equally matched. As long as it suits the local situation, either method is acceptable and can be adopted. When deciding whether it is appropriate or not, factors like the annual filing numbers in the local district, the degree of bad faith, the opposition percentage etc. should all be taken into account. No one is born wise or learned. The purpose of discussion is not necessarily for achievement, but to motivate more interested people to join us so that we can find the most effective and beneficial way to manage and mold a healthy and sophisticated intellectual property market. The material on this site is for law firms, companies and other IP specialists. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs. Share this article 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 question of the UKs post-Brexit relationship to the EU customs union has become the focal point for the deepest crisis the Tory Party has ever faced: a crisis that is driving all the contradictions of Brexit to breaking point. Theresa Mays government, which lost its parliamentary majority last year, is locked in a state of perpetual paralysis. Never before has a Tory government been so weak and divided. At every turn it faces rebellion from its large and influential, hard-Brexit wing, from its minority faction of Remainers, and from the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) all of whom have different and incompatible priorities when it comes to Brexit. After the rejection of her customs partnership by hard-Brexit Tories, Theresa May now faces a trio of crises: a possible defeat in parliament over the UKs membership of the customs union; the threat of a Eurosceptic uprising within her own party; and to cap it all off, an EU council meeting in June at which her Irish counterpart will likely demand a comprehensive proposal on the question of the Irish border. Fiction of frictionless border In December, Mrs May managed to stave off a crisis by coming to an agreement with the EU, under which the North and South of Ireland would maintain regulatory alignment in the event that no other means of avoiding a physical border were found. Unfortunately for May however, this option would all but guarantee the retention of the North of Ireland in the single market and customs union while the rest of the UK leaves. Almost immediately after this was announced, the DUP made it clear that it would not accept any deal that involves any form of regulatory divergence, which separates Northern Ireland economically or politically from the rest of the United Kingdom. With her 'customs partnership' sunk, May was forced once again to fudge the Irish border question / Image: Socialist Appeal Now, with pressure mounting from all sides, May must deliver a proposal that simultaneously takes the whole of the UK (including the North of Ireland) out of the EU customs union and single market, whilst avoiding the need for any form of visible border either across Ireland or in the Irish Sea. Such intractable problems call for creative solutions, and thus the ill-fated customs partnership was born. Mays plan was that the UK would collect tariffs on goods crossing the Irish border that are destined for the EU without the need for any infrastructure on the border itself, whilst being free to set different tariffs on goods destined for the UK. This is not without its problems, however. First, there is the tiny snag that the ambitious and untested technology required to put the plan into practice does not in fact exist. And second, the slightly bigger snag: unless the UK maintains regulatory alignment with the single market, physical border checks would likely be necessary with or without this technology. Michel Barnier, the EUs lead negotiator, was less than enthusiastic, branding Mays proposal magical thinking, while Mays Dutch counterpart, Prime Minister Mark Rutte, simply said, It would be better to say nothing at all. Surprisingly however, the blow that laid Mays magical customs partnership to rest came not from Europe, but from within the prime ministers own cabinet. Brexiteers revolt Suspicious that the so-called customs partnership would end up seeing the UK fall into a customs union by the back door, the hard-Brexiteers went on the attack. The European Research Group of 60 Tory MPs, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, submitted a 30-page memorandum to the prime minister, demanding that she abandon her undeliverable project of a customs partnership. Sensing an opportunity for self-promotion, Boris Johnson also came out publicly to decry the plan as a crazy system, which would leave the UK locked in the tractor beam of Brussels. 60 Tory MPs, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, demanded May abandon her undeliverable customs partnership / Image: Cantab12 Unfortunately for May, her other options are even worse. The preferred option of the hard-Brexiteers, of maximum facilitation, would not avoid a physical border in Ireland; it would soften it, using technology and trusted traders schemes to reduce infrastructure and disruption to a minimum. The likelihood that either the EU or the majority of the House of Commons would accept this is vanishingly low. Predictably, facing yet another impasse, the prime minister has opted to kick the can down the road once more. On the basis of a new plan, agreed with her cabinet last week, the UK will now remain in a customs union with the EU beyond 2021 unless a better alternative can be found by that time. Meanwhile, HMRC, the UKs customs authority, has already confirmed that the technology required for either of the Tories proposals will not be ready for the proposed cut-off date in January 2021, all but tying the UK to the customs union for the foreseeable future. Showdown Ultimately, only two options are available: either a customs union in all but name, or a hard border in all but name. The same applies to the single market. Mays entire policy since Article 50 was invoked last year has been to straddle both options whilst trying to lull all sides with soothing tales of a new and better model, of a Global Britain and, of course, a customs partnership. But the reality of the situation is rapidly bringing matters to a head. EU negotiators and heads of state, not least Irelands Leo Varadkar, are demanding that the UK finalises its proposal for solving the Irish border question before further negotiations can continue. This leaves the question of the UKs post-Brexit transition hanging in mid-air, with less than a year to go before the UK crashes out of the EU on 29 March 2019. It is certainly possible that the European side of negotiations will use these point of extreme weakness to drive home further concessions in return for accepting Mays customs fudge. But even this may not be enough to prevent a decisive showdown within the Tory Party. Mays business secretary, Greg Clark, has offered a sharp reminder of the interests of big business in Britain, stating that Toyota could choose to build a new plant outside the UK if any new barriers were to emerge between the EU and the UK. In fact, the uncertainty of the current situation alone could be enough to shift investment out of the UK as companies begin to make firm decisions about their plans. Meanwhile, the government faces a crunch vote in parliament over its European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which has so far suffered two defeats in the House of Lords on the question of remaining in the customs union in particular. It is possible that when the Bill returns to the House of Commons an event May has already postponed in fear of defeat, but which may take place as late as October the pro-European faction of the Tories could rebel and vote in favour of legally binding the government to negotiating a customs union with the EU post-Brexit, leaving the best laid plans of the hard-Brexiteers in tatters. Such a result would almost certainly provoke a bloodbath of epic proportions in the Tory Party and is something that May has been consistently trying avoid. Already, some Tory MPs have started making noises about another snap general rlection in the Autumn, with some telling the Sunday Times newspaper: The numbers are against us and if we face repeated defeats when the Withdrawal Bill returns to the Commons, the only alternative will be to kick over the table and trigger a vote of no confidence in the prime minister, which will likely lead to another general election. For now, despite these threats, a snap election still remains unlikely because of the likelihood of Corbyn coming to power if the government collapses. But it cannot be ruled out that if enough of their red lines are crossed the Tory Brexiteers would be prepared to risk everything for the sake of achieving a hard-Brexit. In such a scenario even the apocalyptic outcome of a cliff-edge Brexit, in which the UK simply tumbles out of the EU without a deal, becomes a real possibility. Paralysis More likely, Mays zombie government will continue to stagger on until the next general election in 2022, or until the ruling class considers the chaos caused by the Tories civil war to be a greater threat to its interests than a Corbyn government. In the meantime, all of the contradictions binding the government will continue to intensify. May is at a complete impasse over Brexit / Image: Socialist Appeal Ultimately, Mays paralysis is not accidental. It reflects the impasse of British capitalism and of its most trusted party. Trapped by its economic decline relative to its competitors and the deep political crisis which was unleashed by the referendum in 2016, the UK can neither remain nor leave. Stuck between these mutually impossible poles, May can only attempt to stabilise the situation and delay the inevitable, but this will only prepare the way for an even greater crisis further down the line: a crisis that could destroy the Tory Party and even threaten the system as a whole. The wealthiest man in Egypt has sparked outrage by suggesting that life must go on after the coronavirus pandemic: which is to say, business should resume as quickly as possible, whether or not it is safe for workers, in order to keep the profits rolling in. This reveals the naked contempt of the Egyptian bourgeoisie towards ordinary people, whose class anger is bubbling just below the surface. 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. CHICOPEE - Elms College has introduced an online program for candidates to earn a paralegal studies certificate in legal nurse consulting. The 18-credit program may be done in less than one year by completing three, 8-week sessions online. Courses include health law, principles of litigation and tort and personal injury. Candidates must hold an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree as well as a current license to practice as a registered nurse. They must have completed 2,000 hours of clinical practice as a registered nurse. "The best candidates for the legal nurse consulting track are licensed nurses who are looking to move into consulting with attorneys who practice medical malpractice, personal injury, or insurance law," said Kurt Ward in a statement. Ward, who holds a law degree from Western New England University and a doctorate from Northeastern University, is the college's director of the criminal justice and legal studies programs. Services provided by a legal nurse consultant include interviewing clients, evaluating cases for merit and analyzing and summarizing medical records and other evidence. The college is also introducing an online certificate program in advanced paralegal studies that can also be completed in less than a year. Candidates should have an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree. No specific major area of study is required. Elms has a number of American Bar Association approved paralegal programs. In Massachusetts, paralegals are considered paraprofessionals and work under a supervising attorney. Certification is said to be voluntary in the United States. According to government data, the median pay for paralegals and legal assistants is around $50,000 annually with an associate's degree the typical entry level education. Hourly median wage is said to be around $25, though considerably higher for legal nurse consultants. For more information on the Elms program, contact Donna Harvey in the School of Graduate and Professional Studies by emailing online@elms.edu or calling (413) 265-2445. During a tense hearing on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement procedures, federal Judge Mark Wolf paused to ask his witness a personal question. "How many children do you have?" Wolf asked ICE field officer Thomas F. Brophy, who has served as acting field office director in Boston since February. "Three," Brophy said. Can you imagine, Wolf asked, how it would feel to be facing deportation while separated from your spouse and children? "I don't know if I thought about that," Brophy said. Wolf called top Massachusetts ICE officials to federal court for questioning Tuesday. Wolf has held that ICE "broke the law" in failing to give detainees adequate notice for their Post-Order Custody Review. Wolf focused, in part, on the case of Lucimar de Souza, who was arrested by five ICE officers in January. They waited outside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration office in Boston where de Souza was completing a confirmation of marriage interview, among the last steps to secure her legal status. De Souza is married to a United States citizen and has a 10-year-old son who was born in the country. She is one of the defendants in the ACLU of Massachusetts' case against the Trump administration. The Department of Justice decided to release de Souza on May 8, following a hearing in Wolf's courtroom where he made it clear he felt the government had violated her rights. An emotional video of de Souza's surprising her son Anthony played on the courtroom screen. The room was silent except for the child's wails as he clings to his mother, who he hadn't seen for more than three months. De Souza, who was sitting in the courtroom, let out a long exhale as the intimate footage played. The room was silent for minutes before Wolf continued his questioning. Wolf hammered home the human impacts of the clerical errors made by the agency during Tuesday's hearing. "You see when you look at that video for example when the government breaks the law it can have profound human consequences," Wolf said. ICE can detain undocumented immigrants for up to 90 days following a formal order of removal. De Souza was issued this order in 2000 but was arrested nearly 18 years later while trying to sure up her legal status. ICE has since ended the policy of arresting undocumented immigrants outside of their offices unless there is an imminent national security risk, Brophy said. She should have, per ICE policy, been given notice of her review hearing at maximum 45 days into her detention - around April 1, Brophy said during his testimony. However, de Souza was only told of the upcoming hearing April 23, four days before ICE officials decided she should remain in custody. When her lawyers filed paperwork supporting her case April 30, the decision had already been made. Brophy said when he was alerted to the error he ordered a new review - leaving de Souza in custody at Suffolk County House of Corrections in Boston in the meantime. "Why did you think that was lawful?" Wolf asked. "I thought it was the right way to correct the mistake," Brophy said. "To keep her locked up for the next five or six weeks?" Wolf asked. Brophy responded: "I guess so." Sixteen demonstrators who protested in support of driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants were arrested outside the Massachusetts State House Monday evening. Massachusetts State Police say 13 women and three men refused to leave after the State House in Boston's Beacon Hill had closed for the night. The protestors told police "they wished to be arrested," according to a statement by state police spokesman David Procopio. State police reportedly offered to summons the protestors to court for trespassing instead of arresting them, but the group denied that offer and chose instead to be arrested. The group "was orderly" throughout their protest, which began at 3 p.m., state police say. They were arrested shortly before 7 p.m and transferred to multiple barracks in Boston. The protestors will be given dates to appear in Boston Municipal Court. A baboon on its way from Logan Airport to a Texas primate sanctuary escaped from its cage after touching down at San Antonio International Airport Monday afternoon, leading airline workers and zoo personnel on a chase before it was caught. The baboon, named Dawkins, was being shipped by Brown University from Boston to the Born Free USA sanctuary, a source familiar with the situation told MassLive. On the last leg of its air journey, from Chicago to San Antonio, he broke loose. "After the arrival of American Airlines 1014 from Chicago O'Hare, a monkey that was en route to a local animal sanctuary and refuge in the San Antonio-area inadvertently became free of his cage," American Airlines said in a statement. It was not immediately clear how the airline could tell whether the monkey's escape was accidental or a deliberate bid for freedom. Dawkins was safely recaptured and sent on his way to Born Free USA, but not before sparking a minor media frenzy. "One of the realities of working with primates is that situations often can be unpredictable, and that is precisely what happened today," Born Free USA said on Twitter. Local television news jumped on the story. An editor for KFMB News 8 posted photographs of Dawkins during his escape on Twitter. #BREAKING: Baboon out of its crate, on the loose at San Antonio Airport. @CBS8 pic.twitter.com/FPuY0qXbGB Barbara Richards (@sdbrichards) May 21, 2018 And KPRC 2 Houston beckoned viewers to watch a live stream of the chase. WATCH LIVE: Baboon on the loose at San Antonio International Airport, reports say https://t.co/HKF9RqrgFz pic.twitter.com/ZcYIyPSqxm KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) May 21, 2018 Dawkins' brief getaway drew coverage from CNN, and allowed Fox News analyst Brit Hume an easy dig at the airline: Not even a baboon can stand to fly American, https://t.co/19M13OHbcE Brit Hume (@brithume) May 21, 2018 American Airlines said it would investigate how the escape occurred. "American Airlines, the San Antonio Aviation Department and officials from the San Antonio Zoo all worked in conjunction to ensure his safety and wellbeing as he continues his journey to his new home," the airline said in a statement. SPRINGFIELD -- Jarrod Michaelis was sentenced Tuesday to six years in state prison after admitting to a bank robbery in Chicopee and a store robbery in West Springfield. Michaelis, 41, has 372 days credit on his sentence for time spent in jail awaiting trial. He also pleaded guilty to a probation violation from a 2010 unarmed robbery and stolen car case. The sentence on that will run concurrent with the sentence on the robberies. Appearing before Hampden Superior Court Judge David Ricciardone, Michaelis pleaded guilty to armed robbery in connection with a holdup at a Westfield Street F.L. Roberts / Sunoco in West Springfield. He went into the store at 3:01 a.m. on Aug. 22 and demanded all the money in the register. "We will stab you to death," said Michaelis, who was accompanied by a woman, according to Assistant District Attorney Janine M. Simonian. He pleaded guilty to unarmed robbery for an Aug. 24 heist at the Westfield Savings Bank on Center Street in Chicopee. In that robbery Michaelis gave the teller a note -- which he said he wanted back -- demanding money. Simonian said police posted surveillance photos on social media from the robberies. A number of people, including relatives of Michaelis, phoned with his identity. The judge discussed the possibility of a plea during a previous sidebar session with Simonian and defense lawyer Ivonne Vidal. At the plea session, Ricciardone said he had heard each lawyer's reasons for the sentence recommendation. Asked if either the defense or prosecution wanted to add anything in the public court session, Simonian and Vidal said they did not. SPRINGFIELD -- A donation made to the city police and fire departments Monday from the Chicopee Moose Family Center will go a long way toward comforting children in stressful situations. The donation, 120 of the aptly named "Tommy Moose" plush toys, will be distributed to first responders to hand over to children dealing with such things as vehicle accidents, domestic situations and fires. Each department will get 60 of the moose toys, each clad in a bright red shirt and blue pants. "It makes a difference for the kids," said Fire Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi. "Any time you can gain their trust or make a relationship is very important." Bob Hupfer, governor of the Chicopee Moose Family Center, said the moose toys are distributed throughout the United States and Canada as part of the moose fraternity's community outreach efforts "We have given away hundreds of thousands of these throughout the moose fraternity," Hupfer said. The Chicopee Moose Family Center already supplies Chicopee first responders with the moose toys, and Monday marked the first time it has donated them to Springfield first responders. "We will continue to do it as long as you guys utilize them," Hupfer said. Deputy Police Chief Cheryl Clapprood and others said they have seen first-hand out in the field the comfort that such toys can give to children in need. "A cop hands it to a child in crisis, and all of a sudden you are bonded with that child," she said. "They are a great help," said police Sgt. Vincent Spagnolo, a supervisor on the 4 p.m. to midnight shift. "It breaks the ice, it humanizes you when you speak (to children who have just been exposed to traumatic situations)." Police Commissioner John Barbieri, at the close of a brief ceremony in front of police department headquarters, thanked Hupfer and the other fraternity members. "Thanks for all your hard work," Barbieri said. "We greatly appreciate it." "If you need more don't hesitate to let us know," said Richard Maxwell, administrator of the Chicopee Moose Family Center. CHICOPEE - The city started observing Memorial Day a week early and has scheduled five different events to remember those who were killed in war and to thank veterans who served their country. The city began the events on Saturday by officially dedicating a new War on Terror monument to remember the six soldiers and Marines with Chicopee ties who died overseas during the War on Terror. Local veterans groups worked with the city's Department of Veterans' Services to raise the more than $50,000 needed to have the memorial made. The event was held inside the 1st Sgt. Kevin A. Dupont Middle School, which was named for a 52-year-old city native who was killed in Afghanistan in 2009 whose name also appears on the monument. The other five men remembered on the monument are: Marine Gunnery Sgt. John S. Fredette, who was shot in May 1990 while on assignment in Olongapo City in the Philippines; Marine Sgt. Steven B. LaRiviere, who was one of 241 servicemen killed in a suicide truck bombing in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983; Marine Capt. John W. Maloney, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on June 16, 2005; Army Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Newsome, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on June 27, 2007 and Army Sgt. Christopher M. Wilson, who was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade while on patrol in Afghanistan on March 29, 2007. The Memorial Day events will continue this week when Mayor Richard J. Kos announces the winner of the Charles H. Tracy award to a veteran who has gone above and beyond to help his fellow veterans. The honor is always a surprise to the recipient. The traditional time and place of the event has been moved this year and will be held at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday at the RiverMills Senior Center on West Main Street. That will be followed on Friday when veterans will visit a variety of local elementary and middle schools to give children a brief lesson about Memorial Day. Children also place wreaths at the school flagpoles and typically sing the National Anthem. The visits are special to Delfo Barabani, Jr. who said his father started them years ago. Sometimes students make cards for the veterans and prepare songs for them and in some schools the veterans answer questions to children in smaller groups. "The message we want to try to convey to the youth is what Memorial Day is about and we want to give them some information about who veterans are," he said. The veterans visit the Catholic Schools as well as the public schools. At least four public schools are named for military veterans. On the eve of Memorial Day, the Vietnam Veterans of Western Massachusetts Chapter 111 hold a candlelight vigil where the names of all 15 Chicopee men killed in the war are read. The vigil will be held at 7 p.m., Sunday at the Vietnam Veterans' Plaza on Chicopee Street. The week of events will end with the Memorial Day Parade. The parade will start at 10 a.m. at the American Legion Post 452 and march down Exchange Street, Center Street and Front Street to the Chicopee Veterans' Memorial Plaza where speakers will remember veterans. The public is invited and encouraged to all the events, with the exception of the school visits. Most of the services are organized by the Chicopee Veterans' Memorial and Patriotic Committee and the Chicopee Department of Veterans' Services. "People have been coming together in community spirit and national unity for all generations of loved ones lost in service to be remembered on this very special day since 1868 and is no different in 2018, 150 years later. I am proud to be a part of the planning and organization of the parade, and look forward to sharing with all of you who will be joining us to celebrate, said Stephanie Shaw, Veterans' Services director. The husband of the principal of John R. Briggs Elementary School allegedly raped an 18-year-old school employee twice inside the school, according to court documents obtained by The Sentinel and Enterprise. James McGrath, 64, worked as a part-time custodian at the Ashburnham school where both his wife and his alleged victim were employed. McGrath faced 10 charges in Winchendon District Court last week including multiple counts of indecent assault and battery and rape. In May the young woman told a social worker that McGrath had been making repeated, unwanted sexual advances toward her. She said the behavior was escalating, according to police reports filed with the court. The Sentinel and Enterprise reports that sometime before Easter McGrath, his wife Andrea McGrath, and the 18-year-old who worked in the elementary school's extended-day program, were in the same room. McGrath began to rub the young woman's leg. Principal McGrath saw what her husband was doing, the victim told police, and she told him it was inappropriate and he needed to stop, according to a police report reviewed by the Sentinel and Enterprise. He did not listen, according to the 18-year-old woman. On April 1 and April 12 McGrath allegedly sexually assaulted the young woman in the home he shared with his wife. Two weeks later, on April 23, he asked the woman to come into a classroom he was cleaning at the elementary school. When she did, he raped her, The Sentinel and Enterprise reports. On May 1 the teenager ran into McGrath near a stairwell at the school, she told police. He took her hand which made her uncomfortable because students were around. Security-camera footage shows McGrath and the young woman walking into a utility closet. The woman says McGrath raped her again while they were inside, The Sentinel and Enterprise reports. McGrath was a contract employee with the school. His contract will not be renewed, according to the newspaper. He was released from custody after posting $2,500 cash bail and is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing June 1. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh both voiced disappointment with the turmoil at UMass Boston, a day after all three finalists for the top job on campus pulled out of consideration. The sudden withdrawal of the candidates led UMass President Marty Meehan to blame the faculty at the Boston Harbor campus, who questioned whether the candidates were qualified for the job of chancellor. The latest back-and-forth came a week after faculty leaders declared "no confidence" in Meehan last week after he pushed through a deal for UMass Amherst to acquire Mount Ida College, a private college in nearby Newton. Corners of the UMass Boston campus have been furious over the purchase, pointing to Amherst getting a Boston-area satellite campus while UMass Boston faces financial struggles. After the collapse of the search, Meehan announced that he is tapping UMass senior vice president Katherine Newman to take over as interim chancellor for Barry Mills, who had taken the interim job during the search for a permanent chancellor. Asked about the turmoil at UMass Boston, Baker sought to focus on the students, adding that students said they felt they weren't included in the campus conversations. "My hope is that the interim chancellor will be able to give the students the clarity and the consistency that they said they were seeking, irrespective of whatever the board decides to do with respect to the search process," Baker told reporters. Meehan said Monday a new search is "untenable" at this time, given the three finalists' withdrawal amid opposition from the campus. Asked whether Meehan is doing a good job as president of the five-campus system, Baker said, "Look, I'm disappointed about the whole way this thing has played out." Baker then turned to the Mount Ida controversy and mentioned that Attorney General Maura Healey is investigating whether the private college's leaders violated their fiduciary responsibilities and state laws as they rushed to sell and close the school. "And as I've said before, the Mount Ida issue, I believe, is one that I'm glad the attorney general is going to investigate because we need to know more about how that happened," Baker said. "And I think the focus at this time should there also be on the kids, and on their families, who made decisions either to go there starting in the fall, all of whom had to come up with new answers when the school said they were going to close, or who were going there and assumed they'd be matriculating there." Baker added: "I think we need to make sure we're focusing on the kids here, and not so much the adults." Walsh, who has raised the possibility of the city taking over UMass Boston, said he hopes the search for a new chancellor can get "back on track." "It's an important, valuable asset in the city of Boston, UMass," Walsh said. "It's a big part of our education system here in the city of Boston, and I think we'll be able to get it back on track." Walsh said he spoke to Meehan on Monday. "I think there's a lot of uncertainty at the school, so one of my recommendations would be to find out exactly what's needed at the school," the mayor said. "I think there's been a lot of press around UMass Boston and I think that probably has concerned some people about applying for the job." Mills, the outgoing interim chancellor, appears to have gotten the campus's debt under control, according to Walsh. "Now it's about how do you lay down a foundation for the future," Walsh said. "I think what we need at UMass Boston is a visionary, somebody who can think about the future and what that school should be and continue to grow the school." LUDLOW -- Friday evening's fatal knife attack on the owner of a well-known Ludlow bakery was premeditated and unprovoked, according to Trooper Noah H. Pack, a Massachusetts State Police detective involved in the homicide investigation. Surveillance video from Ludlow Central Bakery shows employee Franklin Conza, 47, of Springfield, repeatedly stabbing owner Carlos A. Santos, 70, says a report by Pack filed in Palmer District Court. "Bleeding profusely" from multiple chest wounds, Santos collapsed near the bakery's back door, while a witness restrained Conza and held him until Ludlow police officers arrived about 6:50 p.m. The attack happened without provocation, according to the witness, who is not identified in court documents. "There was no observable confrontation between the men on the video prior to the stabbing," said Pack, noting that Conza had a "history of bad work behavior." The Ecuador native required a Spanish translator during his arraignment Monday before Judge Robert Santaniello, who ordered the murder suspect to be held without the right to bail. Santos family members sat quietly in the front row of the courtroom during the legal proceeding. Authorities say Conza, a baker for the Ludlow business, has had past arguments with Santos and his brother, a co-owner of the bakery, but there was no apparent bickering before Friday's attack. An autopsy by the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Holyoke determined that Santos died of "sharp force trauma" to the torso. Conza, who has past arrests for assault and battery, is a flight risk and a "serious threat to public safety," Pack said. Defense attorney Mary Anne Stamm requested a copy of the surveillance video and made a motion for funds to hire a private investigator. The bakery is temporarily closed while the Santos family "navigate(s) this difficult period," the business said on Facebook. "We, the Ludlow Central Bakery family, are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our dear Carlos Santos," the business said. "We thank our many loyal customers for understanding and supporting us during this time." During their visit to Japan, President Tran Dai Quang and his wife will meet with King Akihito and Empress Michiko, who will host a banquet in honour of their visiting guests. President Tran Dai Quang will also hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Massachusetts State Police Trooper Jonathan Brown has returned to work at a new barracks after he was placed on administrative leave on St. Patrick's Day, Saturday, March 17, for allegedly being drunk on the job during an overnight shift. An investigation continues into the March incident, when sources say Brown came into work under the influence of alcohol. He allegedly slurred his speech on the radio that night and was placed on administrative leave in the middle of his overnight shift. A new investigation by NBC Boston reveals Brown, a state police veteran of 17 years, has a lengthy history of complaints on the job: the network reports Brown's conduct initiated 36 complaints or investigations, and state police found him accountable for about half of the incidents. Brown was reportedly involved in seven on-duty crashes since 2014, as well as five crashes while driving off-duty, NBC Boston found. In one case, NBC reports state police lawyers redacted an accident report that began, "Trooper Brown was advised to submit...," and the rest of the sentence was scrubbed. Other incidents uncovered include Brown allegedly intimidating or screaming at drivers during multiple traffic stops. State police documents quote one of the drivers as saying Brown told them, "I'm going to teach you a (expletive) lesson," according to NBC Boston's findings. State police reportedly told NBC Boston Brown still had to meet specific conditions to return to "full duty." This is part of an ongoing series from the MassLive Unsolved Case Files, a look at families of victims and the investigators who continue to dig for answers. _________________ A Plymouth County grand jury indicted 61-year-old Michael Hand on murder and kidnapping charges in the 1986 killing of 15-year-old Tracy Gilpin, the sister of Massachusetts State Police Col. Kerry Gilpin. Hand, who last lived in Troutman, North Carolina, will face the charges in Plymouth Superior Court on a date yet to be determined. Hand will also be charged with assault with intent to rape a child. Tracy Gilpin went to a party near her Kingston home in October 1986 and never returned. Her family reported her missing on Oct. 2, 1986. Three weeks after Tracy Gilpin disappeared, her badly decomposed body was found on the Plymouth side of the Myles Standish State Forest. The medical examiner determined Tracy Gilpin died from a massive skull fracture. Hand allegedly told investigators he killed the teen with a 73-pound boulder. State Police detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office and Kingston Police investigated the killing for 32 years. Investigators learned Hand was a potential witness in the killing. In March, State Police traveled to North Carolina and interviewed him over several days, according to the district attorney's office. "During the interviews, Hand, formerly a Kingston resident, made statements to investigators that could be construed as admissions to the crime," authorities said. Hand told police he held a gathering at his home the evening that Tracy Gilpin was last seen and told them that he knew her from the close-knit Rocky Nook neighborhood of Kingston. Hand allegedly made statements to police that placed him at the park in Plymouth. Authorities say Hand told police "he picked up a 73-pound boulder and dropped it on Gilpin." Hand identified the rock to investigators in evidence photos, the district attorney's office said. Authorities arrested Hand on March 9 on a fugitive from justice charge in North Carolina. He was then brought to Massachusetts where he was charged in district court for Tracy Gilpin's killing. Hand allegedly attempted to lay blame on the late Henry Meinholz, the man who was convicted of killing 13-year-old Melissa Benoit in an unrelated case. Investigators have ruled out Meinholz as a suspect in the Tracy Gilpin murder. SPRINGFIELD -- The new executive director of the Zoo in Forest Park said Tuesday that she and the board are committed to making improvements and confronting challenges the only way she knows -- head-on. Sarah Tsitso, of Longmeadow, was formally introduced Tuesday as the new full-time director of the private, nonprofit zoo, and said the public can expect positive changes ahead, including some coming soon. "I know the many challenges we face here," Tsitso said. "And I plan to face them the only way I know how to face any challenge -- and that's head-on. I've never shrunk from a challenge, and look at this as an opportunity for me to do my part in contributing to Springfield's success story." In recent years, the zoo has faced financial challenges including a plea to the city for additional support in December 2016, which was said at that time to be critical to the zoo's survival. There was a budget deficit of under $9,000 in 2016, and the finance report for 2017 is not yet finalized, Tsitso said. The zoo has approximately 150 animals, and there are plans to add to and enhance the current collection "and really provide that educational piece we talk a lot about," Tsitso said. "That's the direction in which we are moving ... conservation, education," Tsitso said. Approximately 85 percent of the animals at the zoo are either elderly, disabled and/or not able to survive in the wild, she said. The board of directors of the Forest Park Zoological Society, in announcing Tsitso's appointment, cited her leadership roles with nonprofit groups including Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity, the East of the River 5 Town Chamber of Commerce, two Springfield-based Boys & Girls Clubs and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Since September 2017, Tsitso served as the zoo's part-time senior director of organizational development. Tsitso praised her board and staff, saying "I know together, we are going to do some great things." "It is no secret that the zoo has faced its fair share of challenges over the years," said Nathan Bazinet, board president, who served as interim director in 2017 on a volunteer basis. "But the board of directors, the staff and the zoo's many community supporters were and continue to be committed to ensuring its long-term success. The sky's the limit." Throughout 2017, the board's priority was "to restructure the organization, enhancing programming, strengthening outreach and community engagement and implementing the beginnings of a development program," Bazinet said. The board, in choosing Tsitso, knew it needed a professional with "nonprofit executive experience at the helm, someone who knows what it takes to not just manage a successful nonprofit but to help it thrive," Bazinet said. The zoo attracts nearly 50,000 people annually from the region and beyond, Tsitso said. It is an important economic engine for the area and a tourist attraction, she said. The Zoo in Forest Park opened in 1894 as a city-run zoo. In 1965, the Forest Park Zoological Society formed and took over zoo operations. The zoo has a $650,000 annual budget for its operations, with funding from admissions, memberships, education programming, grants, special events and individual and corporate donors, Bazinet said. The zoo in 2010 signed a 25-year lease with the city, which charges the Forest Park Zoological Society $1 a year for use of the park. Other board members joining in the announcement were Daniel Burack, Nunzio Bruno and Ted Hebert. A family now faces two tragedies following the car crash that left four Stoughton High School students dead on Saturday. Nick Joyce, 16, was one of five students in a car driving on Route 106 when it crashed into a tree. Joyce and three of his classmates were killed in the crash. The 17-year-old driver remains in the hospital. Nick Joyce, 16. His older cousin Christopher Joyce, 23, was shot and killed in a random shooting in Jamaica Plain May 4, WHDH reports. Boston police say he and another man were the innocent victims of a drive-by gang-related shooting. Christopher Joyce was a student at Salem State University, who was supposed to graduate Sunday. His parents accepted his diploma on his behalf. "That's the most important thing, is that everyone's being around us, keeping us together. I wish they could stay here for awhile," said Rich Joyce, Nick Joyce's brother, told WHDH. The stream of teenagers leaving Stoughton High School Monday after the 2:12 p.m. dismissal bell looked more like a funeral procession than a group of kids being let out of class. Hundreds spent the 80-degree day dressed in all black, red-eyed with puffy faces. The first day back at school since the death of four classmates was tough, students said at dismissal. Five students from the high school, all members of the track team, were inside a car on Route 106 in East Bridgewater at about 4 p.m. Saturday when it hit a tree. Three teenage boys were pronounced dead at the scene and a fourth died in a local hospital. The Plymouth County District Attorney's office identified the students as Christopher Desir, 17, of Brockton; Eryck Sarblah, 17, of Stoughton; Nick Joyce, 16, of Stoughton; and David Bell, 17, of Stoughton. The name of a fifth teenager, the 17-year-old driver of the car, has not yet been released. That student is being treated at a Boston hospital. Meghan Silba, 16, leaving Stoughton High School Monday. "Everything is so different," said Meghan Silba, a 16-year-old at the high school, as she walked home. Two of the boys killed in the crash were in her Spanish class, she said. "I just know nothing will be the same," she said, wiping a tear from her eyes. Silba said the school was slow Monday and teachers talked about the crash. Students were offered support from counselors and psychologists on staff. The tragedy trickled into the middle school building, where students also wore back. Sarblah had a 13-year-old sister, Crystal. Kamryn O'Toole and Cynthia Cardosa, both 13, said Crystal was in shock. "She was at school today but it was like everyone around her was crying," said Cardosa. "She wasn't. She looked confused....like it didn't happen." O'Toole and Cardosa knew Sarblah well. He and his sister had a "good bond," they said. "He was really fun to be around," said O'Toole. "He was really funny, and uplifting when you were with him." A "crisis team" met inside the school after class was let out, but a few attendees declined to talk to a reporter outside the school. Orange and black ribbons were tied outside the school's front door next to a sign with a room number for the support center. Two girls remained in the school parking lot long after dismissal, looking despondent. They stared straight ahead, each chewing on the stem of a worn down lollipop. They said they were sad, but declined to talk to a reporter. In meeting with one of the whistle-blowers of the clergy sex abuse scandal in Chile, Pope Francis apparently both apologized for the abuse and cover-up and also affirmed the victim's sexual orientation. Francis' reported remarks to Juan Carlos Cruz who is gay highlight the distance between what the Church teaches and how it would like its pastoral practices to be in terms of a welcoming community. Francis' reported acknowledgment for his own role in addressing the scandal - "I was part of the problem" - has yet to lead to the removal of a controversial bishop who has been accused of a large role in the cover-up. He is a pontiff continually trying to be inclusive in a Church embedded in rigid traditions and lack of transparency. "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,'" Cruz said Francis told him in a private meeting early this month that has not been commented on by the Vatican. Cruz had said the failure of the Church to acknowledge the efforts of the whistle-blowers dating back to 2010 on a continent where then Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio had yet to become pope was almost as bad as the actual abuse. He also said he told Francis during the private meeting that he had maintained his Catholic faith despite being abused as a seminarian and was not living a life of perversion as some Chilean bishops apparently presented him as doing because he is gay. What influences human sexuality has long been an ongoing area of research in multiple fields. The Catechism of the Catholic Church references its traditions as based on Scripture in regarding homosexual acts as "intrinsically disordered" that "under no circumstances can be approved." This is embedded in the Church's own deep-seated distillation going back in time that the natural order of life is for sex to be reserved for a married man and woman who are open to children. It teaches that homosexuals are "called to chastity" and that this "self-mastery," combined with the "support of disinterested friendship" as well as prayer and sacramental grace, will help them "approach Christian perfection." What Francis is reported to have said seems to temper this framework in terms of not viewing homosexuality as such an imperfect state and what the Church calls an "inclination" that is "intrinsically disordered." The annotated Church catechism states that "the number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible" and that "they do not choose their homosexual condition" and that "for most of them it is trial." It adds, "They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity." Genetic and cultural influences on human sexuality have long been debated, but the quote attributed to Francis seems to suggest that homosexuality is not unnatural and that homosexuals should not have to regard life as a trial as the Church perceives. Will the pope's words have much impact on Church dialogue beyond today's headlines? They seem to go further than his comment in 2013 to reporters, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?" The words generated much reaction at the time, but the Church's teaching remains. An essay printed in the new Italian edition of the American Jesuit James Martin's book, "Building a Bridge," the Most Rev. Matteo Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna, calls for a "new pastoral dialogue" with "our L.G.B.T brothers and sisters." Martin's book calls for such a dialogue, but the backlash from Catholics who see it as a threat to their morality was far from a welcoming moment. The pushback of protests against Martin prompted New York Times columnist Frank Bruni to write a piece in February in defense of Martin. In meeting with Cruz, Francis was attempting to mend some bridges of his own in terms of his handling of the clergy sex abuse crisis in Chile and those who covered it up. Cruz and three other men had publicly accused the Rev. Fernando Karadima of sexual abuse in 2010. Their criminal case against the priest was dismissed in November 2011 because of the statute of limitations, but the judge on the case termed their allegations "truthful and reliable." After its own internal investigation, the Vatican found Karadima - who continues to maintain he did nothing wrong - guilty of abusing boys dating back to the 1980s, removed him from ministry in February 2011 and sentenced him to a lifetime of "penance and prayer." In January 2015, Francis appointed Chile's military bishop - Juan Barros - bishop of Osorno, Chile, despite objections from some bishops that he had been a close confident of the disgraced Karadima. Saying he had no evidence of wrongdoing, Francis vetoed a proposal from the bishops that Barros and two other bishops trained by Karadima resign and take a year's sabbatical. In February 2015, Cruz wrote an eight-page letter to the Vatican's ambassador in Santiago, outlining the abuse he suffered at the hands of Karadima, once a popular and respected priest in Chile, and alleging that Barros witnessed it and did nothing to stop it. Irish abuse survivor Marie Collins, a former member of the Vatican's Commission for the Protection of Minors, flew to Rome in April 2015 to meet with Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, commission chair, and give him a letter from Cruz about Barros. Despite widespread and ongoing protests against Barros, Francis continued to defend him, including telling a Chilean journalist on Jan. 18 during his trip to Chile, "There is not one shred of proof against him. It is all calumny." Two days later in a public statement, O'Malley told Francis that his words "were a great source of pain" for abuse survivors. Francis did dispatch a Vatican investigator - Archbishop Charles Scicluna to Chile in January though he continued to defend Barros - who has also maintained he was not involved in a cover-up maintain - and to say no victims had come forward against Barros. On Feb. 5 the Associated Press published the letter Cruz had given to Collins in which he wrote "Holy Father, it's bad enough that we suffered such tremendous pain and anguish from the sexual and psychological abuse, but the terrible mistreatment we received from our pastors is almost worse." The Vatican investigation interviewed 64 Chilean abuse survivors and its 2,300-page report is said to have indicated documents were destroyed that showed pedophile priests had been transferred among dioceses and that the pope had been misled. Francis stated in April in a letter to the Chilean bishops that he had made "grave errors" in judgment in the Chilean clerical sex abuse scandal and requested that they come to Rome in May. On Friday, May 19, 34 of them resigned after meeting with Francis who berated them for failing to address the "criminal acts" of the pedophile priests in their dioceses. The pontiff has yet to accept their resignations and Collins in an interview May 19 with the Irish Times asked whether any of these bishops, who tried to destroy survivors, will face any disciplinary process." Their actions while extraordinary also raise the issue of safety in number - Barros twice previously offered his resignation and Francis did not act on it. SPRINGFIELD -- Hampden Superior Court jurors on Monday heard the last of evidence they may consider in the trial of 23-year-old Nickolas Lacrosse, charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of his teenage ex-girlfriend. The last witness of the trial, which began with testimony May 3, was a rebuttal witness called by the prosecution who testified Lacrosse was criminally responsible for stabbing 17-year-old Kathryn Mauke 32 times in her home. Judge Mark M. Mason told jurors closing arguments will be Tuesday morning. Dr. Alison Fife, the rebuttal witness, disputed the conclusions of the two witnesses called by defense lawyer Alan J. Black to testify about Lacrosse's lack of criminal responsibility. Lacrosse testified Friday he didn't go to Mauke's house on Feb. 11, 2015, to kill her. He said repeatedly he went for "clarification" of why she broke up with him. A neuropsychologist and a psychiatrist called by Black have testified Lacrosse at the time of the killing didn't have the ability to control his actions and is not criminally responsible for the killing. They testified he went into a dissociative state and killed Mauke while he was in that state. Fife, who interviewed Lacrosse several times beginning in 2016, said she did not believe he killed Mauke while in a dissociative state. She said Lacrosse had no mental defect or condition that would prevent him from appreciating the criminality of his actions. Fife said Lacrosse retained the capacity to control his actions. Black, in cross-examination, repeatedly challenged Fife's conclusions and her methods. Assistant District Attorney Mary Sandstrom did the same when she cross-examined Black's experts. Jurors will be asked to decide if Lacrosse was criminally responsible under the law, which Mason will outline to them after the closing arguments. Each day members of Mauke's family as well as friends sit listening to the trial accompanied by Tina Walker, director of Domestic Violence Victim Services for the Hampden District Attorney's Office. Family members of Lacrosse are there each day on the other side of the courtroom. LUDLOW -- A Springfield man has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in connection with a fatal stabbing at a Ludlow bakery on Friday. Franklin Conza, 47, was arraigned Monday before Palmer District Court Judge Robert Santaniello, who orderd him to be held without bail for the alleged killing of Carlos Santos, 70, an owner of Ludlow Central Bakery at 270 East St. Conza was taken into custody by Ludlow police shortly before 7 p.m. Friday. He is due back in court on June 20. Santaniello spoke directly to Conza, who required a translator to understand the judge. Cuts and scrapes were visible on the defendant's face and nose. In the courtroom, an officer asked people not to sit in the front row, which was reserved for members of the Santos family, who sat quietly throughout the brief arraignment and did not speak to reporters afterward. No details of the alleged crime, including a possible motive or whether Conza and Santos were acquainted, were cited during the arraignment. However, Conza's defense attorney said she would like to view a crime scene surveillance video as soon as possible. A witness described a bloody scene at the bakery, where officers arrived to find a bystander restraining Conza. The Springfield man was combative with officers and resisted being taken into custody, said James Leydon, a spokesman for Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni. Authorities found Santos bleeding heavily from multiple stab wounds. He was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was pronounced dead. The bakery announced Sunday on Facebook that it's temporarily closing to cope with the tragedy. "We, the Ludlow Central Bakery family, are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our dear Carlos Santos," the business wrote. "The bakery will be temporarily closed as we navigate this difficult period. We thank our many loyal customers for understanding and supporting us during this time." Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to Gulluni's office assisted Ludlow police with the investigation. SPRINGFIELD - Springfield Technical Community College employees renewed their call for President John Cook to resign in a protest that came seven months after they took their first vote of no confidence in his leadership. Carrying signs and wearing buttons saying "STCC employees deserve better," about 50 faculty, other employees and supporters stood outside the gates of the college waving at drivers who honked back Monday. They then walked Scibelli Hall where the Board of Trustees was meeting with Carlos Santiago, the state higher education commissioner. The employees did not speak at the public meeting. They just wanted their presence felt, said Nicholas Camerota, co-chairman of the All Unit Congress and an adjunct professor at STCC. "What we have seen happen on campus is there is a climate of fear," Camerota said. "We want a campaign guided by the love of our students, and this campus and the community we serve." For most of the academic year, which recently ended, employees have been hesitant to speak out against the administration because they are concerned about repercussions. A number have also sought other jobs, he said. On Oct. 4 the college's Professional Association, joining with the All Unit Congress, which represents all college employees below the position of director, voted 202-26 to show no confidence in Cook and called for his resignation. The employees also staged a walk-out during a town-hall style meeting Cook held, Camerota said. In November the employees again voted to institute a work-to-rule action which means employees follow the terms of their contract exactly and do no extra work such as joining committees, he said. In late October the 21-member Massachusetts Community College Council, an umbrella union that represents employees from the 15 community colleges across the state, voted to support the vote of no confidence taken by the Springfield employees. "It is distressing to see this happen here. Springfield Tech is one of the great colleges of the 15," said Margaret Wong, president elect of the Community College Council, who came to the campus to support the employees. The faculty and staff at Springfield Technical have always been known as a cohesive group of employees who work hard to get results on a campus full of non-traditional students, she said. "They move heaven and earth to do the very best for the students," Wong said. "It is surprising to me a new president would come in and not recognize the value of what is here." Before the meeting Cook issued a written statement about the protest and conflicts with the employees. "The intent of every decision I make, as president of STCC, is to help our campus community better serve our students. I understand that not every decision I've made, or will make, will be popular with everyone on our campus. While disagreements are inevitable in any large organization, I will continue to engage our campus in open and transparent communication," he said. He said he hopes to continue relying heavily on faculty and staff as the college continues to work toward improving lower graduation rates for students of color, investing in new technology, improving facilities and facing expected enrollment declines. A lack of communication was on the list of complaints on a nine-item bill of particulars the employees adopted as part of their effort to ouster Cook. They also said the president has been fiscally irresponsible, failed to fill positions of staff who work directly with students and questioned the choices he has made when hiring administrators. The unions are expected to review the bill of particulars in the fall when classes resume to see if they need to be modified, Camerota said. At the beginning of the meeting Monday, Santiago talked a little about his effort to tie all the state colleges and universities together more without sacrificing local control. He did not specifically address the employees or their vote of no confidence. Also in October the Professional Association and All Unit Congress demanded Christopher C. Johnson to step down as the chairman of the Board of Trustees for the college, which he declined to do. But in April Johnson met with members of the All Unit Congress and agreed to continue discussions in the board's Committee on Internal/External Relations. The group has not met yet, Camerota said. SOUTHWICK -- The Veterans Memorial Foyer at Southwick Regional School was dedicated Monday with a ceremony that sparked tears and feelings of patriotism from members of the audience. The foyer honors four fallen alumni of the school: William R. Alamed Jr., Travis J. Fuller, Richard W. Power and Stephen B. Wentworth. Alamed and Power were killed in Vietnam, Wentworth died in Lebanon and Fuller was killed in Iraq. "All of you have connections to the people we are honoring today," Superintendent Jennifer Willard said. "These were real students. They walked down the school halls you do. They had some of the same hopes and dreams as you." The ceremony also honored the fallen's families. Gold Star mothers Marie Alamed, Elaine Achenbach and Shirley Odell and Gold Star parents Joanne and David Fuller participated in the event where wreaths were laid at the plaques and later presented to the families. Willard said she hopes when students enter the school each day, they think about the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice. Jennifer Francis, Fuller's sister, said when he was deployed to Iraq, she didn't think about that sacrifice. "It never occurred to me that he might not come back," she said. "He was so young and full of life -- the idea that he would lose that life seemed impossible." But Fuller knew what might happen and he left behind a letter to his family, just in case. Francis said his last request, written in that letter, was an honorable one. "Honor my life by living yours," Fuller wrote. "Support others who wear a uniform and protect life." Citations were offered from state Rep. Nicholas Boldyga, R-Southwick, who also offered one on behalf of state Sen. Donald F. Humason, R-Westfield, Gov. Charlie Baker and the U.S. Marine Corps general commander. State Rep. John Velis, D-Westfield, a U.S. Army Reserve captain, spoke during the ceremony and noted that veterans are people who write a blank check, with the maximum amount being their lives. "These men cashed in their checks," he said. "They made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their nation." Velis said the little things that everyone takes for granted, such as a cup of coffee or a trip to the store, are able to be taken for granted because of those who serve. Gary Johnson, a Vietnam veteran, read a poem he wrote titled "My Friend," about friends lost in war. For Feeding Hills resident Betty Hebert Cassidy, it was a bittersweet celebration of her first love. "I was Steve's high school sweetheart," Cassidy said of Wentworth. "This warms my heart and fills me with joy." Cassidy said after Wentworth's death, she received letters he had sent her just before he was killed. They were making plans to see each other. "He was actually packed and ready to come home for the holidays when it happened," she said. Cassidy said Wentworth was special. "His nickname was the Tasmanian Devil -- he did everything with passion and had a smile that would light up a room," she said. Cassidy said his death was hard on his family and friends, but she is happy her daughter, a Southwick Regional School sophomore, will see his face every day as she enters school. Alamed was a Southwick resident born Sept. 16, 1948. A private first class in the U.S. Army, he was killed in action March 10, 1970, in Thua Thien, Vietnam. Fuller, a Granville resident, was born Aug. 12, 1978. A U.S. Marine Corps. first lieutenant, he was killed Jan. 16, 2005, in Ar Rutbah, Iraq. Power was born Jan. 22, 1947. The Southwick resident was a U.S. Army PFC and died Aug. 8, 1966, in Vietnam. Wentworth, a Southwick resident, was born April 28, 1962. The U.S. Marine corporal was killed in action Oct. 23, 1983, in the suicide truck bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Plaques for Alamed, Fuller and Wentworth were unveiled at the dedication. Power, who graduated in 1966 and was killed in action just months later, was recently added to the honorees. Willard told the audience that a plaque in Power's honor will be added to the foyer and dedicated this fall. The Veterans Memorial Foyer was spearheaded by Southwick VFW Post 872 under the direction of VFW member Troy Henke in conjunction with the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District and the town and with assistance from the Southwick Civic Fund. He asked the Organisation Commissions of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee to continue working closely together to boost the exchange of information and experience in Party and political system building, and personnel training. The leader hosted a reception for a delegation of the Organisation Commission of the LPRP Central Committee in Hanoi on May 22. Chansy Phosikham, Politburo member and Chairman of the Lao Organisation Commission, congratulated Vietnam on its recent major achievements and expressed his belief that under the CPVs leadership, the Vietnamese people will continue to obtain greater attainments in reforms and successfully realise the targets set at the 12th National Congress of the CPV. He also acknowledged the enormous support that Vietnam has given to Laos throughout history. The official informed the host leader about his countrys situation and the outcomes of the talks between the two parties organisation commissions. The LPRP Organisation Commission will closely coordinate with its CPV counterpart to effectively implement the agreements reached between the two parties and their commissions, including further sharing information and experience in Party building and personnel training, he noted. At the reception, General Secretary Trong also congratulated Laos on its important accomplishments, adding that he believes under the LPRPs leadership, the Lao people will gain more successes and achieve the targets set at the 10th National Congress of the LPRP. He underlined the significance of the special Vietnam-Laos relationship and thanked Laos support for Vietnam so far. Vietnam will exert every effort to join Laos in enhancing their special ties in all fields, thus contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world, he said. He spoke highly of the outcomes of the talks and cooperation between the two organisation commissions. Also on May 22, the Lao delegation, led by Chansy Phosikham, had talks with officials of the CPV Organisation Commission, led by its Chairman Pham Minh Chinh. The two sides briefed each other about the situation of their respective parties and countries while reviewing bilateral cooperation. They discussed measures to reinforce connections between the commissions and shared experience in Party building, especially in the organisation and personnel work. On this occasion, on behalf of leaders of the LPRP and the State of Laos, Chansy Phosikham presented the Isala (Freedom) Order to collectives and individuals of the CPV Organisation Commission to honour their contributions to the two countries traditional friendship, special solidarity and all-round cooperation. WARE -- A Palmer man accused of using a handgun during a Ware home invasion will face a dangerousness hearing when he is arraigned Wednesday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown, authorities said. Ware police Tuesday morning arrested Dale R. Jolly, 35, of 21 Wilbraham Road, in connection with a May 1 home invasion on Old Belchertown Road. He was charged with using a pistol during an armed robbery and home invasion, assault with a dangerous weapon and larceny of more than $1,200. He is being held without bail at the Hampshire County House of Correction in Northampton, a court official said. Police said $1,823 in cash was stolen from the victim, described as an acquaintance of Jolly. Other suspects are being sought, police said. According to Ware police, four masked intruders brandishing handguns entered the home, where the victim's two children were sleeping upstairs, between 10 and 11 p.m. on May 1. At least one of them struck the victim in the head using a gun. One of the children heard the commotion, went downstairs and ran back upstairs, and the intruders left, according to the police report. The victim did not call police, but the next day, one of the children told their mother, who does not live at the residence, about the incident, the police report said. The mother then called police, who informed the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. Police were not able to interview the victim until May 3, when they contacted him by phone at his girlfriend's house in Vermont. He and his girlfriend also were interviewed on May 5 at the police station. The victim told police he was certain one of the alleged robbers was Jolly, that there were three others, that they wanted drugs from him and that they had stolen cash, according to the report. The victim's girlfriend told police that while three of the intruders were man-handling her boyfriend, one took her to a bedroom, tied her up and was grabbing her and removing her clothes, the report said. Another of the intruders then entered the bedroom, the child went downstairs, and the quartet departed, she told police. When the intruders were leaving, the victim yelled at Jolly, calling him by name, according to the police report. The victim said he used to work with Jolly. Police are asking anyone with information to call Det. Tod Bertini at 413-967-3571. Contact Jim Russell at newstips123@gmail.com When people from Worcester hear the name Gary Gemme most remember him writing police reports or memos to City Council. But the former police chief has now penned a love story with one of the backdrops set in Cape Cod. Gemme, 64, retired as the Worcester police chief in May 2016. He served nearly 33 years in law enforcement. But for 40 years, Gemme had a story in his head. It was a story of struggle, love, personal growth and healing set in the 1960s and 1970s. Once he retired, Gemme decided it was time to write the novel. The book, "Margaret's Dove: A Novel" is now out as an eBook and will be out in paperback form shortly. "This is something I've wanted to do for a really long time," Gemme said in a telephone interview Tuesday. Known for his strong, decisive personality while serving as Worcester's police chief, Gemme admitted to being nervous about his new endeavor. But the story he thought about for decades needed to be written, he said. "When you write a story that is emotional and a love story, you are certainly putting yourself out there in terms of what's in your own heart and what you are trying to convey to your readers," Gemme said. The story surrounds Margaret Gabriel, a carefree young woman destined for college. Her life turns after her father's sudden illness. She finds herself in a marriage full of duplicity, violence and despair. The woman's life collapses and her dreams fall apart. Margaret crosses paths with Nicholas Avellino, a college freshman, who carries the deep sadness of his mother's death. The young man has faint memories of his mother, who died when he was just a child. "When a sign from a dove unites Margaret and Nicholas, they begin an odyssey through the idyllic towns of Cape Cod," the book's description states. "Their quest to recover lost memories becomes a journey of love and a search for a way to remain together." Nicholas' character attends the fictional College of the Holy Trinity set in Worcester. Though a nod to the city, the name of the college is not a reference to the College of the Holy Cross, Gemme says. Since his retirement, Gemme regularly travels to Cape Cod and Nashville, Tennessee, where he has property. Along with Boston, both locations play important roles in the book. Ever the investigator, Gemme traveled to the outer Cape and in and around Boston and Nashville so he could immerse the readers in all the locations. He did historical research as well to ensure each location reflected the 1970s era. Rock Harbor, Truro and Provincetown all serve as backdrops in the book. The 1960s-1970s era helped Gemme blend in the Vietnam War, the draft and a time when people questioned their faith and government. There was still an innocence in the era, which Gemme hopes is reflected in his book. "There was still a certain amount of innocence in the beginning of the 70s," Gemme said. Gemme took online courses at Yale University before starting the 340-page novel. He needed to learn to write differently after years of writing police reports, which are usually in the first-person. The longtime police officer didn't want to write anything based on his career but did use draw on some of the day-to-day calls and investigations - some in the Special Crimes Unit - to make the emotion and scenarios in his book real. Anyone interested in the book can order it online through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Weekend riders on the MBTA's Worcester commuter rail line will be boarding buses for most of the summer as the public transit agency installs federally mandated infrastructure. Free shuttle buses will run on weekends starting on May 26 as part of a two-phase infrastructure project. The buses will attempt to closely mirror the Worcester line's weekend train schedule. The buses will run between Worcester and Framingham until June 17, with stops at all commuter rail stations in between. Part 2 of project means no weekend train service between Framingham and South Station between June 23 and August 5. The free buses will connect riders from Framingham and Wellesley Farms Station, and then to the Green Line's Riverside Station. From Riverside, riders can head to downtown Boston. "There will be no train service or bus service to or from Auburndale, West Newton, Newtonville, Boston Landing, Yawkey, Back Bay, or South Stations during these weekends with customers encouraged instead to utilize nearby transit services or the bus connection at Riverside," the MBTA said in a release. The federally mandated infrastructure project, aimed to curb train collisions and derailments, calls for the installation of poles, fiber optic cables, signal houses and antenna. The anti-collision infrastructure project is on track to be completed and operational by the end of 2020. By Paul Waldman The Washington Post Like any good drama, the Trump omniscandal, a story of corruption and greed that crosses years and continents, has a collection of colorful supporting players. It can be hard to keep up with them all - you surely know Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, but only true aficionados are aware of the details about Felix Sater or Oleg Deripaska or other minor figures. But today, we turn our attention to one Elliott Broidy, who may well be moving into the first tier of Trump scandal players. His is a tale of government influence, foreign machinations, piles of money, and even a Playboy model mistress. A new article from The Associated Press lays out a remarkable campaign that Broidy and his partner George Nader waged in 2017 in order to obtain huge consulting contracts from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in exchange for which they would use Broidy's connections to the new president to help the Saudis and the UAE in their conflict with Qatar, a U.S. ally that houses a critical American military base. And as the Daily Beast reports, after years of trying with almost no success to obtain federal military contracts, in 2017, Broidy's company, Circinus LLC, received millions of dollars in defense work. The Trump presidency has been very good to Broidy, and he may have also been very good to Trump himself. But let's back up. The first time most of us heard Elliott Broidy's name was when Michael Cohen's home and office were raided by federal prosecutors. In the ensuing legal proceedings Cohen told the court that he had three legal clients: Donald Trump, Sean Hannity, and Elliott Broidy, a major Republican donor who had given hundreds of thousands of dollars to GOP candidates and who had held finance positions in the party. Cohen represented Broidy in an arrangement with a former Playboy model named Shera Bechard, who was paid $1.6 million to keep quiet about an affair she supposedly had with Broidy, which resulted in a pregnancy that she aborted. From the start, many parts of this story didn't quite add up. Broidy is a very rich man, but not necessarily someone who has occasion to hang out with Playboy models, unlike some people you might be familiar with. And he was not a public figure, which makes the $1.6 million payoff seem wildly excessive. To put it bluntly, $1.6 million is "Keep this out of the papers because it'll be a huge story" money, not "Don't tell my wife" money. And why would Broidy, who has access to the most high-priced and discreet legal talent in the country, retain a schlemiel like Michael Cohen to take care of this delicate matter for him? All of which leads to the theory that Broidy was acting as a cut-out for the person who really had the affair with Bechard: Donald Trump. That theory is, at the moment, unproven but compelling. There's one more piece to this puzzle. We all know about Trump's weird relationship with his daughter Ivanka, how he often comments on her body and says things like "If she weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her." Both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, the Playboy model who says she had an affair with Trump, said that Trump compared them to his daughter, which is a rather odd thing to say to a woman you're having sex with. Whatever the true nature of Trump's feelings, it's clear that he's attracted to women who remind him of Ivanka. I bring this up because Bechard is a dead ringer for Ivanka Trump. An absolute dead ringer. But if the theory about Trump being the person who really had the affair with Bechard is true, why would Broidy step in and put up $1.6 million of his own money to do Trump a solid in this way? The explanation is that he stood to gain much, much more. And he had been involved in this kind of arrangement before. In 2009, Broidy pled guilty to bribing New York State officials; he stayed out of jail by testifying against his co-conspirators. He gave $1 million in bribes, and the state invested $250 million with his investment firm. One of the interesting details was that as part of the bribes, Broidy paid $90,000 to the mistress of one of the New York officials. Fast forward to 2017. With Trump in office, Broidy was ready to really cash in. According to emails obtained by the Wall Street Journal, he was negotiating a deal in which he would use his influence to get the Justice Department to drop its investigation of a Malaysian company called 1MDB, for which Broidy and his wife would be paid $75 million. But the biggest haul was set to come from the Middle East. Broidy teamed up with George Nader, a Lebanese-American who had lots of connections in the region and his own run-ins with the law: he had been convicted of pedophilia in the Czech Republic and spent a year in prison there. Now Nader was based in the UAE and had built a relationship with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, as well as Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. According to the AP: From the start, the men had a two-track mission: to carry out a campaign against Qatar that would curry favor with the princes, and to then turn that success into millions of dollars in defense deals, documents show. They would sell the Saudis and the UAE on consulting contracts for intelligence services and building a new Muslim fighting force of 5,000 soldiers, for which Broidy and Nader would be paid over $1 billion. In exchange, they would get the American government on board with the Saudi/UAE campaign against Qatar. The details are complex, but among the things we know is that Broidy had multiple meetings with President Trump, in which he urged the president to support the Saudis and Emiratis against Qatar. American policy toward Qatar has been erratic; Trump supported the Saudi/UAE blockade of Qatar, but we haven't removed our military base. And there's much more to be learned about George Nader as well. On Saturday, The New York Times reported that in 2016 Nader met with Donald Trump Jr. and offered the help of the Saudis and Emiratis in getting his father elected: Mr. Nader was quickly embraced as a close ally by Trump campaign advisers - meeting frequently with Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law, and Michael T. Flynn, who became the president's first national security adviser. At the time, Mr. Nader was also promoting a secret plan to use private contractors to destabilize Iran, the regional nemesis of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. Like many aspects of the Trump corruption scandal, when you peel back one layer you find more and more layers. For instance, you'll be unsurprised to learn that Nader also has ties to Russia. Like Broidy, at the very least he could be facing criminal charges for acting as an agent of a foreign government without registering. And Nader is now cooperating with Robert Mueller's investigation. Once we learn everything there is to learn, the Trump scandals may not wrap up into a neat and easily understandable package. But all the Trump scandals all lead back to one story - a story about incredibly corrupt people, including the president himself, trampling over the law and the interests of the country in order to stuff their own pockets. And it just keeps getting bigger. Beth Lindstrom, a Republican running for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, announced Tuesday that she plans to participate in a series of debates ahead of September's primary and urged her GOP opponents to follow suit. The Groton business owner and longtime political operative said she has accepted all invitations to debate Republican rivals Geoff Diehl and John Kingston, including those for the Boston Herald Radio debate, WBUR and the Boston Globe's University of Massachusetts Boston debate and WCVB's On the Record debate. She called on Diehl, a state representative and the Massachusetts Republican Party's endorsed candidate in the race, and Kingston, a Winchester businessman, to also accept such invitations and join her on the debate stage. "Debates give Massachusetts voters a chance to hear from all of us and make their own decision on who they think is the best candidate to defeat Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November," she said in a statement. "Today I am challenging my opponents, John Kingston and Geoff Diehl, to join me in accepting the debate invitations." Lindstrom added that she looks forward to showing Massachusetts voters why she's "the only candidate who can take on Elizabeth Warren in the fall." "I want to give voters a real choice now and then give Elizabeth Warren a real surprise in November," she said. Kingston spokesman Jon Conradi said the Republican "is absolutely ready and willing to debate the issues and the candidates' differing visions and capacity to win in November." "John looks forward to facing his opponents on stage and showing GOP primary voters why he is the best positioned to defeat Sen. Warren this Fall," he said in an email. Diehl campaign spokeswoman Holly Robichaud, however, called Lindstrom's challenge " a non-issue and a desperate attempt for attention by a candidate who lost the (Massachusetts Republican Party's endorsement.)" "Geoff debated numerous people during the successful effort to repeal automatic gas tax hike. We are already working on dates with outlets for when the House session has ended," she said in an email, noting Diehl's busy schedule on Beacon Hill. The three Republicans, who garnered enough support to qualify for the ballot at the recent Massachusetts GOP convention in Worcester, are looking to unseat Warren, a rising figure in Democrat politics and oft-rumored presidential contender. The GOP U.S. Senate hopefuls will square-off in their party's primary on Sept. 4. The winner of that contest will face Warren and any unenrolled challengers in the Nov. 6 general election Jo Comerford, former campaign director at the national progressive group MoveOn, has announced a write-in campaign for the state Senate seat formerly held by Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst. Comerford, a Democrat, said in a statement, "My decades-long career working for smart government spending and tax priorities, sound environmental policies, accessible and affordable public health services, food security, and strong public schools demonstrates my unwavering and passionate commitment to the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to succeed and thrive." She will kick off her campaign Tuesday with stops in Greenfield, Amherst and Northampton. Comerford is the fourth candidate to launch a write-in campaign for the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester District seat, after Central Hampshire Veterans' Services director Steven Connor, Northampton City Council president Ryan O'Donnell and Dave Murphy of Amherst. Rosenberg resigned after the deadline to file papers to get on the ballot in the wake of an ethics report that came out the day after that deadline. Women's rights activist Chelsea Kline was the only candidate to file papers in time to get onto the ballot. Comerford lives in Florence and has worked in major national liberal organizations. She resigned from MoveOn to launch her campaign. Before that, she was president of National Priorities Project, a federal budget advocacy organization that prioritizes peace and economic security, and was at its head when the group was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. She previously worked for The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the American Friends Service Committee and the Center for Human Development. She holds an MSW from Hunter College School of Social Work. She was involved in a 2016 effort to convince U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, to run for president. Comerford said in a statement that she will be a "fierce, fearless, and tireless advocate--someone determined to help address immediate needs of the district while also working to manifest a transformative and progressive vision for what is possible." She cited as her priorities ensuring strong public schools, climate justice, immigration, housing, food security, and single payer health care. "I believe in a woman's right to choose, equal pay for equal work, the importance of organized labor, an all-out effort to address the opioid crisis in our region, common sense gun safety legislation, and the need to transform systemic discrimination based on race, class, gender identity, ability, sexual orientation, religion, and age," Comerford said in her statement. Comerford is married to Ann Hennessey, and they have two children. This story was corrected to include a fourth write-in candidate. With jobs across the country going unfilled due, in part, to a lack of skilled workers, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, introduced legislation this week to help low-income parents overcome employment barriers and train for in-demand jobs. The bill, which Neal, the top Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, filed in the House on Monday, calls for $1 billion in investments to help train parents, who receive cash benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, seek better employment opportunities. Known as the "Improving Access to Good Jobs for Parents Act," the Springfield Democrat's proposal looks to invest $900 million in federal formula grants to support collaborations among TANF, workforce development agencies and local partners, like community colleges, that agree to work together in providing job training to low-income parents. According to Ways and Means staff, partnerships would have to demonstrate how the grant would be used to increase the number of TANF recipients who receive training, enter or advance within in-demand industries or occupations, get support from career counselors and "get a good job," among other things. Funding allocations would take into account state poverty rates, the number of TANF recipients in need of "good jobs," like high-tech manufacturing positions, officials noted. About 53,000 Massachusetts residents received TANF benefits in 2017, about 17,000 of whom were adults, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. States, meanwhile, would be required under the legislation to provide sufficient research to demonstrate how their plans would achieve results, as well as to measure and report on their effectiveness, according to Neal's office. In addition to the $900 million in formula grants, the congressman's bill further calls for $100 million in innovation grants to be awarded competitively to public and non-profit organizations to test and evaluate innovative, collaborative workforce development strategies. Stressing that Americans are eager to learn new skills, Neal cast his proposed legislation as a "win" for workers and employers, alike. "This legislation makes targeted investments to provide parents with opportunities to receive training that matches local workforce needs. Injecting more highly-trained workers into the economy would help bridge the skills gap and strengthen families," he said in a statement. "This bill is a win for employers who are looking for qualified workers, and a win for parents and their kids' futures." The congressman's office noted that the bill has garnered support from various organizations, including: The National Skills Coalition, Jobs for the Future, American Association of Community Colleges, Association for Career and Technical Education and the Center for Law and Social Policy. Several Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee have also come out in support of Neal's bill, which will be offered as an amendment in the panel's Wednesday markup on TANF. The congressman previously highlighted the number of precision manufacturing job opportunities impacted by the "skills gap" in Western Massachusetts during an August 2017 stop at Lee-based Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing Inc. He offered that six million technology-related jobs across the country go unanswered, including between 17,000 and 20,000 precision manufacturing jobs in New England alone -- something the Democrat argued the government should help address. Hollywood director Michael Polish and actress Kate Bosworth team up with Flathead sheriff deputy Travis Bruyer to launch The Montana Institute for the Arts http://www.matr.net/article-83095.html, now taking applications for two-week filmmaking course in July at FVCC "Its amazing that Montana is so rich in culture and yet doesnt have a lot of programs where kids can express themselves artistically, mainly in film," Polish said. By Myers Reece *** Media Arts in the Public Schools The MAPS Media Institute is committed to providing a rigorous, hands-on program designed to instill a lifelong passion for learning and to equip students with the skills and confidence for academic, social and professional success. Our unique curriculum incorporates science, technology, engineering, the arts and math (STEAM) in all of our courses. Fostering creativity and building communication skills is part of what led to MAPS being honored as one of the "Top 50" after-school programs in the U.S. by the Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities. The program runs year round, five days a week. From September through May; our 32 weeks of instruction are divided into four 8 week sub-courses to allow students to participate in school activities and then return to MAPS. During the summer, MAPS offers a Monday through Friday 4 week course. https://www.mapsmediainstitute.com/school SUMMER PROGRAM SUMMERTIME FUN MAPS Summer Program offers a 4 week crash course in each of our classes. New students will gain a broad experience in media arts, while returning students can focus on independent projects. In addition, students are invited to staff the MAPS info booth at the weekly Hamilton Farmers Market. https://www.mapsmediainstitute.com/ *** Missoula Childrens Theater Center for the Performing Arts The Little Red Trucks Since throwing open the doors to the MCT Center for the Performing Arts in 1998, we have hosted more than 1.3 million guests. This past year, we estimate that 100,000 people volunteers, board members, kids, program participants, touring artists, donors, performers, actors, dancers, students, tour groups, musicians, employees, patrons, out-of-town visitors, parents, vendors, brides and grooms, and many more have come through our building. We love being Missoulas unofficial community center, and we want to contribute to and be a catalyst for community vitality, artistry, and service for many years to come. MCT has a significant economic footprint. We average 120 full-time staff members, about 50 of whom live in Missoula. We earn most of our $5.5 million budget outside Missoula and spend more than 70% of it locally. MCT employees volunteer at more than 50 local organizations, and we are members of the Missoula Chamber of Commerce, the Missoula Downtown Association, and Destination Missoula the official Missoula Convention and Visitors Bureau, among others. Where did this amazing company and collection of people come from? To answer that, we need to go back in time to the summer of 1970. You dont look for the essence of a city in its monuments or its museums. You look for it in its streets, where the covenant at the core of urban lifethe sharing of spaceplays out. For the past century, the personal car has dominated that arena, shaping the streets and environments around it. Roads are straight and wide for faster travel; intersections are regulated to protect distracted humans; businesses are located near open spaces for better parking. But as cars start to drive themselves, we have some ideas for how urban planners of the future might reimagine those outdated layoutsand transform the city into a joyful mess of throughways and byways optimized not for cars but for people. Aarian Marshall and Alex Davies https://www.wired.com/story/self-driving-cars-cities/ The contest was launched for the first time in Vietnam by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the General Department of Disaster Prevention and Control under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, on November 15, 2017. Its aim is to raise awareness and enhance communication on the impacts of natural disasters, particularly extreme weather events, leading to working out proactive adaptation solutions. The contest also supported the realisation of targets set out in the Sendai Framework and Sustainable Development Goals, towards mitigating the damage caused by disasters. The two winners of the second prize. In the four months since its launch, the organising committee has received more than 78 entries from around the country, most of which reflected the serious impacts of natural calamities and the losses suffered by local people in areas prone to disasters, while recommending practical solutions for the Government and the community. Accordingly, the first prize was awarded to the work Do not joke with disasters, produced by Khanh Hoa Radio and Television, while the second prize went to Flash floods in Mu Cang Chai causes of formation and some solutions by Vietnam Televisions centre for weather forecasting and disaster warning, and Story of a pond by Nguyen Van Hoa from Soc Trang Radio and Television. In addition, three other works were presented with the third prize. Addressing the event, Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam, stated that the awards ceremony for the short reportage and film contest recognised the important role played by media agencies in disseminating the necessary knowledge and skills for better disaster risk mitigation efforts. All the prize winners. Natural disasters in Vietnam have become a complex occurrence, with many extreme manifestations that go counter to the rules. Over the past two decades, Vietnam has recorded more than 400 fatalities and missing people as a consequence of such calamities. The economic loss has been estimated at approximately 1-1.5% of the annual gross domestic product. Therefore, it is an urgent need to take effective disaster prevention and control measures. At the awards ceremony, participants engaged in a talk with experts on lessons of the past, future actions, and the role of the media in disaster management, prevention, and control. Concluding the event, the organising committee announced a 2018 contest on the theme of Mitigating the damage caused by disasters and proactively adapting to climate change starting from the community. "Its important for programs to include parents because they are their childs first teacher," Families and community organizations join early literacy programs to give students a strong start in school Carolyn Crist https://www.districtadministration.com/article/lit-takes-village-prek-education Vietnam ranked third out of the 31 countries and territories that entered the competition. The gold medal went to Pham Duc Thang, a 12th grader from the Specialised High School of the Hanoi University of Science, under the Vietnam National University. The silver and bronze medals were won by 11th and 12th graders from various gifted schools in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Thanh Hoa and Lam Dong. Last year, the country finished seventh with five silver medals and one bronze medal. The APIO is an online contest for the whole of the Asian Pacific region. The tasks are similar to those in the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) and focus on the design of algorithms. The contest is held online, with students competing at contest sites within their own country or area. This year, prizes were considered for 187 standout students in the region, 87 of whom brought home medals. 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. China's determination to pursue its opening-up policy, together with its "political firmness" on socialism will be highlighted in a special session of the Communist Party of China (CPC)'s forthcoming high-level dialogues with world political parties, analysts said Monday. The session, scheduled from May 26 to 28 in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, is hosted by the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC. The CPC's exchanges with political parties from other countries have increased significantly since the 19th CPC National Congress, Su Wei, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, told the Global Times on Monday. The world is interested in where China will go under the leadership of the CPC after 40 years of the opening-up policy, especially as trade frictions increase and globalization is challenged by rising protectionism in countries like the US, Su said. The choice of Shenzhen, known as the frontier of China's opening up efforts, as the host city shows that China will firmly pursue the policy and contribute more to global prosperity, Su noted. The event will include a conference discussing Guangdong's practice of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and a seminar to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of Karl Marx. "The agenda shows that China's ideology and governing philosophy will not be weakened with the opening-up policy," said Song Luzheng, a France-based scholar and research fellow at Fudan University's China Institute. The second China-CELAC Political Parties Forum, the forth Africa-China Young Leaders Forum and the first political parties forum of countries from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are also expected to be held. "The forums show that China is expanding its cooperation and that the country is attaching great importance to non-Western countries, whose voices are often ignored," Song said. Inter-party exchanges have become a unique diplomatic practice in China, as Western countries continue to adopt the inter-government or people-to-people paradigm for diplomatic exchanges, Song said. "Compared to inter-government exchanges, inter-party exchanges focus more on values and governing philosophies, which are crucial to prevent misunderstandings," Su added. The second plenary session of the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting was held in Beijing in December, and was attended by more than 600 leaders from 300 political parties from 120 countries. Such exchanges are not limited to ruling parties, but also opposition parties, to allow for more diverse voices to be heard, Su stressed. Countries that have not established diplomatic relations with China could also attend such events, which could expand China's cooperation, Song pointed out. A court in Southwest China's Sichuan Province has allowed a man to return to his job after being dismissed for being HIV-positive, with an expert calling for a friendlier social environment to people like him. Xie Peng (not his real name) and his unnamed company reached an agreement on April 28 following a court mediation moderated by the people's court of Shizhong district, Neijiang in Sichuan, West China City Daily reported on Monday. The agreement would allow Xie to return to his job with compensation equal to double the amount of his unpaid salary since he was fired, or 170,000 yuan ($26,620). The court mediation came after Xie was found positive in a company-organized HIV antibody test, and fired in June 2017, the newspaper reported. "The company has no right to demand HIV antibody tests on employees, nor does it have the right to dismiss an employee for living with HIV," Yu Quan, a Sichuan-based lawyer, told the Global Times on Monday, citing the Regulations on AIDS Prevention and Treatment and Labor Contract Law. "The company probably fired Xie because they feared Xie might infect other employees," Guo Haiyue, a Beijing-based lawyer, told the Global Times on Monday. But working with HIV-positive people does not increase the risk of HIV, because the virus only spreads under certain circumstances. Xie has returned to his job. "To my surprise, my colleagues voted unanimously to work with a person living with HIV." The court mediation was a better choice than a court judgment, for it was more amicable, Guo said. "The social acceptance of people with HIV is still low in China. People should learn more about AIDS, or their world will shrink further," warned Guo, calling for a friendlier social environment that would help HIV-positive people live better lives. Promise to increase imports from US not a concession Though details of a trade truce between China and the US remain murky, early signs suggest that the Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He had secured China's core interests in trade negotiations with US officials, while averting a brewing trade war, Chinese analysts said. US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Sunday confirmed that China and the US have agreed on a framework to put the trade war "on hold." Liu had told Chinese media on Saturday that the two sides agreed to avoid a trade war and suspend tariffs on each other's goods. The agreement, a turning point in escalating trade tensions between the world's two largest economies, came after the two sides reached a consensus on a number of issues, including China's promise to increase imports of US goods and services to reduce the US' trade deficit with China - something which, some argued, represents China's concession to US pressure. But Mei Xinyu, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank affiliated with the Chinese commerce ministry, said such suggestions are "absurd." "We had already planned to purchase the things we agreed to buy from the US. China said a long time ago that it would expand its imports," Mei told the Global Times on Monday. "So, basically, the US went through all the trouble, including threatening a trade war, to bring us back to where we were before." In a joint statement on Saturday, Chinese and US officials said that both sides agreed on "meaningful" increases in US agricultural and energy exports, but stopped short of putting a specific number on the increases - something US officials had reportedly pursued ahead of negotiations in Washington. The US was reportedly asking China to reduce $200 billion from the US trade deficit by 2020. Pointing to deals signed between China and the US during the visit of US President Donald Trump in November, Mei said expanding agricultural and energy imports from the US had already been agreed upon long ago. "About $160 billion of $250 billion in deals signed last year involves US energy products," he said. Top Chinese officials have long stated plans to expand imports of quality goods and services. In a speech at the Boao Forum for Asia in March, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that "we will take the initiative to expand imports" of products that are competitive and needed by Chinese consumers, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Protecting core interests Liu said Saturday that China is willing to buy goods and services not only from the US but from the rest of the world as well, as long as the goods and services are competitive. And there is "no problem" if China buys more products from the US if doing so can prevent a trade war and China can focus on its long-term goals, said Jiang Yong, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing. "China is playing the long game and trying to focus on upgrading its manufacturing industry, while the US is seeking short-term gains. Judging from the results of this round of negotiations, China protected its core interests," Jiang told the Global Times. The Trump administration had reportedly sought to undermine China's "Made in China 2025" program because it considers the policy aimed at upgrading Chinese manufacturing a threat to its dominance in the sector. "Protecting China's core interests, including its right to develop and upgrade its industry is a bottom line for China that the country would never give up," Jiang said. Kneeling down on ones knees is often seen as a sign of submission, hence making the posture appropriate for only special occasions, such as festivals or religious activities. However, some photos of people on their knees in China have melted many hearts. Chinese students preparing for their college entrance exams, or gaokao, are under great stress, but so are their teachers, who often fall ill due to the great pressure. For Xu Jinzhong and Yuyan, the most comfortable posture at work is not sitting down in a chair, but kneeling down on both knees. The posture, widely seen as submissive and disgraceful, can help relieve pain caused by lumbar herniated disc systems, a common disease among teachers in China. After 27 years of teaching, Xu, a middle-aged teacher at Luan No.2 High School in east Chinas Anhui province, became an online celebrity after a photo of himself kneeling down on a pile of books behind a desk at the front of a classroom went viral. It was self-study time, so I thought no one would see me like that. So I chose my favorite posture, so that my back would not hurt that much, Xu explained. As a teacher for senior students, I cannot miss a class. My students need everything on schedule for their gaokao. I must fulfill my responsibility as a teacher, he said. This means postponing his medical treatment, too. Yu, from Suining County in Xuzhou, east Chinas Jiangsu province, was also captured working on both knees. As a teacher for second year high school students, she also thinks it is normal for her and her colleagues to work in such a seemingly abnormal posture, so as to always be there for their students. The most professional kneeling often takes place at hospitals when cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), one of the most intensive emergency rescue skills, is used to save peoples lives. The stressing scene wins more empathy especially when the CPR kneeling takes place outside a hospital. On December 21, 2016, a teacher Xie Xiaomin from Lianyungang city, Jiangsu province, brought back life of one of his student who got a heart attack during morning exercise through CPR. He spent four straight minutes kneeling on the ground for the resuscitation, which gave back pulse to the student in coma. Xie later said he was not overthinking the situation but was trying to fulfill his responsibility as a teacher. The same responsibility was fulfilled by medical staff both inside and outside hospital. In September 2015, a nurse Guo Yuanyuan in Dalian, NE Chinas Liaoning province turned her wedding photo shooting scene into an emergency room, as she spotted a patient with heart failure when she was all dressed up for wedding photo on the beach. The woman in her wedding gown then ran off her stage and spent more than 20 minutes kneeling on the ground to save the person she had no acquaintance of. Similarly, Tan Yongchao, a doctor in Wanzhou district of SW Chinas Chongqing, immediately got on her knees for the rescue when she found an old person fell down due to disease seizure, never hesitating to stop for her pregnant body. Sometimes, kneeling down does not mean a nervous competition against time, but also provides a soothing harbor. In Fuzhou province, photos of doctor Qu Wei went viral, showing him knelt down to hold the head of his patient during an operation that lasted over 20 minutes to protect the patient. 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. Georgias Foreign Minister Participates in Astana Economic Forum By Tea Mariamidze Georgias Vice-Premier and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikheil Janelidze participated in Astana Economic Forum - Global Challenges Summit 2018 which brought together hundreds of politicians, businessmen and scientists, as well as thousands of international experts in the role of forum participants.The forum was visited by former French President Francois Hollande, one of the founders of Apple Steve Wozniak, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other famous personalities.Within the framework of his visit, Janelidze met with his Kazakh counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov. Bilateral relations in the areas of transport, tourism and trade, also mutual cooperation in various fields were discussed by the officials.The Georgian Foreign Minister welcomed the Kazakh citizens increasing interest in Georgias tourism potential, emphasizing that the number of visitors to Georgia doubles nearly every year.The Ministers praised the economic co-operation and bilateral trade relations that increased three times in 2018. It was underlined that Georgian exports to Kazakhstan reached 90 percent, and Kazakh imports to Georgia also increased four times.The sides highlighted the huge potential of transport and transit co-operation between the two countries. The two ministers reaffirmed their bilateral interest in co-operation in the area of investments. They also spoke about Georgias development possibilities resulting from the free trade agreement with the EU and the formation of stable, reliable and transparent business environment.Janelidze and Abdrakhmanov paid special attention to co-operation in the sectors of culture and people-to-people contacts. They welcomed the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries that was widely celebrated in 2017.After the meeting, the ministers signed the Cooperation Program between the Foreign Ministries of Georgia and the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2018-2019.The program envisages promotion of co-operation in various areas of bilateral relations and intensification of co-operation between the Ministries.At the meeting with the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Bakytzhan Sagintayev, Janelidze discussed the participation of the two countries in the international transit projects. Special attention was paid to Georgias and Kazakhstans involvement in the Silk Road development process and Astanas increasing interest in the railway projects.Georgias representatives were the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Adjara's Autonomous Republic, Zurab Pataridze and the Executive Director of the Partnership Fund Davit Saganelidze, and from the Kazakh side the Energy Minister, Kanat Bozumbaev and Minister of Investments and Development, Zh. Kassymbek.The sides expressed their commitment to contribute to the development of bilateral investment projects. They reaffirmed that the business communities of Kazakhstan are interested in Georgias business and investment potential. Close attention was paid to Kazakhstans successful investment projects in Georgia.Georgias Vice-Premier also met the Kazakh Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) Speaker Nurlan Nigmatulin and the Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan Kassym Tokayev.The sides positively assessed the inter-parliamentary co-operation and expressed their readiness to enhance the relations on the level of parliamentary committees and in the format of working groups.The Kazakh side expressed its interest in Georgias successful reform experience in the fields of healthcare, public services, traffic police, etc.The sides expressed their readiness to facilitate communication between the two nations and cultural links, reaffirming their interest in the development of education. WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday that it has asked its watchdog, the Inspector General, to probe President Donald Trump's accusations that his campaign had been "infiltrated or surveilled" by the FBI during the 2016 elections. The Department has asked the Inspector General to "expand the ongoing review of the FISA (the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) application process to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation" in the FBI probe, DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement. As always, the Inspector General will consult with the appropriate U.S. Attorney if there is any evidence of potential criminal conduct, she added. "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, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. elections and the Trump campaign's possible involvement. Trump met Monday afternoon with Rosenstein, as well as FBI Director Christopher Wray, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to discuss their response to congressional requests on a range of topics, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told NBC News. "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," Sanders said. The Justice Department's internal watchdog, the Inspector General, is already examining Republican complaints of FBI misconduct in the early stages of the Russia investigation. Trump had been tweeting similar allegations for days. On Friday, he tweeted: "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." "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 on Sunday. The New York Times reported on Saturday that at least one government informant met several times with two Trump campaign aides who were suspected to have contacts linked to Russia. WASHINGTON, May 21 -- Barack and Michelle Obama, former U.S. president and first lady, have signed a multi-year production deal with Netflix, as announced on Monday. "The Obamas will produce a diverse mix of content, including the potential for scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features," said Netflix in a statement, not revealing financial terms. The Obamas have set up a company called Higher Ground Productions as the entity under which they will produce content for Netflix, Netflix said. Netflix did not specify a timeline and the first content from the Obamas is expected to appear in 2019 at the earliest, according to local media reports. "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," Barack Obama said in a statement on Monday. "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," Michelle Obama added. Netflix is a well-known streaming service which has about 125 million members. UNITED NATIONS, May 21 -- UN envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame said Monday that some points of consensus have emerged from the country's recently launched National Conference, where a desire for a "united and sovereign nation" is expressed. Salame, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya, on Monday briefed the Security Council on Libya's National Conference held in April as a way of giving all Libyans a say in responding to the country's ongoing crisis. The conference has so far been convened in 27 locations and has drawn thousands of participants. It is part of the UN Action Plan proposed by Salame last September to amend the Libyan Political Agreement, a stalled deal reached in 2015 with an aim to establish a single national unity government. "Libyans from all political stripes and segments of society gathered to enter the political conversation, many for the first time with an enthusiasm that could not have been predicted," Salame said via teleconference. "They have made it their own." Salame said some points of consensus have emerged, which shows why advancing the political process is "so vital." They include "a yearning for a united and sovereign nation and a common belief," he said, adding that "to achieve that, the state must be more decentralized." Moreover, a fairer, more transparent and effective distribution of public resources, unified state institutions, as well as unified and professional military and coherent security apparatus are among the points of consensus, he said. Libya has been split east and west by two fighting factions following the 2011 ouster of long-time leader Muammer Gadhafi. Since 2014, the country has rival governments and parliaments based in its western and eastern regions. In addition, the National Conference has revealed that Libyans want a vote which can unite their country, as well as the means to go through the transition, Salame said. "While elections must be held as soon as possible, the proper conditions must be in place," Salame said, underscoring the need for a new round of voter registration, prior commitment to accepting the results, as well as sufficient funding and security arrangements. The National Conference is expected to run through June and take place in over 40 locations overall, including Libyan communities overseas. Special events focusing on the concerns of women, youth and internally displaced persons will also be held. Salame also briefed the Security Council on a new UN strategy to help Libya deal with armed groups which continue to have what he has described as "perilous" influence on politics and the economy. It involves direct engagement of these groups, in close consultation with the government. While the strategy "will not unravel armed groups tomorrow," he said, it "will help the long process begin in earnest." BUENOS AIRES, May 21 -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday that it is necessary for China and Britain to enhance strategic communication and deepen strategic cooperation to continue to "inject new connotations" into the Golden Era of bilateral ties. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with his British counterpart Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' conference in Buenos Aires on Monday. [Photo: fmprc.gov.cn] While meeting his British counterpart Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' conference in Buenos Aires, Wang said that faced with the changing international situation, China and Britain, as major countries in the world and permanent members of the UN Security Council, should enhance strategic communication and deepen strategic cooperation to continue to "inject new connotations" into the Golden Era of bilateral ties. Wang expressed the hope that the two countries, located on the two ends of Eurasian continent, would cooperate more actively on the Belt and Road construction. Johnson said that Britain-China ties are very important, and Britain is willing to strengthen communication with China and reinforce coordination and cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels. He added that Britain is willing to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative and make the joint construction of the Belt and Road a component of the Golden Era of China-Britain ties. The two sides also exchanged views on Iran's nuclear issue and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. Wang said that China supports the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to have direct contacts and hopes the two sides would meet half way, remove obstructions, increase mutual understanding and hold the DPRK-U.S. summit as scheduled. A set of adorable white tiger quintuplets met the public for the first time at a zoo in Jinan, east Chinas Shandong province on May 20. The siblings are named Xue Tai, Xue Heng I, Xue Hua, Xue Heng II and Xue Song - after the Five Sacred Mountains of China. The quintuplets are Bengal tigers, but their fur is white due to a genetic anomaly. Photo taken on May 20 shows giant pandas eating bamboo shoots at Beijing Zoo's panda house. The well-natured pandas enticed many onlookers to take pictures of them. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala) BUENOS AIRES, May 21 -- The Group of 20 (G20) Summit, as a major forum for international economic cooperation, is responsible for creating more opportunities and support for developing countries by promoting global growth, a senior Chinese diplomat said here Monday. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks while addressing the 2018 G20 Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers. Wang said a lot of problems facing the world today are essentially related to development, adding that the imbalance between developed countries and developing countries has not seen a fundamental change, and that the world still faces pressing tasks of addressing environment, energy, climate change and food safety issues. Adjustments of monetary policies by the world's major economies have had negative ripple effects on developing countries and added difficulties to resolve development issues, Wang added. The Chinese side, Wang said, appreciates the Argentine side's decision to set "Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development" as the theme of this year's G20 Summit and put issues such as infrastructure, future employment and food safety high on the agenda. He urged giving prominence to development issues in global macro-policy coordination, saying that while advancing international cooperation in areas such as economy, finance, trade, energy and employment, a development perspective should be introduced to take into consideration developing countries' concerns, guarantee their interests and avoid bringing negative impacts on them. The United Nations' role in coordinating international development cooperation should be strengthened, Wang said, adding that developed countries should deliver their aid promises to developing countries, and that developing countries should be allowed sufficient policy space in the bid to develop their economies. Hailing the G20's unremitting efforts in helping developing countries, Wang said what is important is to bring consensuses into actions and bring actions to results. Furthermore, the diplomat highlighted the need to help developing countries build digital infrastructure and narrow the digital gap so as to prevent developing countries from lagging further behind amid the new round of technological revolution. "We should tap the potential of new technologies in such fields as information dissemination and inclusive finance, thus providing fresh impetus for poverty alleviation and development in developing countries," Wang said. Noting that emerging economies and developing countries lack 1 to 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars worth of infrastructure investment annually, Wang called on the G20 nations to help developing countries overcome development bottlenecks. In order to jointly enhance support for developing countries, Wang said China is expecting more cooperation with G20 under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, which supports infrastructure construction and interconnectivity across the globe. In addition, Wang called for implementing the decisions made by the previous G20 summits in China's Hangzhou and Germany's Hamburg to support the industrialization of Africa and the least-developed countries, as well as expand investment in Africa. In doing so, Wang said investment programs should be proposed by Africa, agreed by Africa and led by Africa. This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up. Looking into the future, Wang said, China, while realizing its own development, will strive to make greater contribution to the common development of humanity. The 2018 G20 Summit is scheduled for November in Buenos Aires, and the ongoing foreign ministers' meeting is in preparation for the summit. Ford Motor Company is investing $236 million to build a second vehicle at its plant in Romania. The Detroit automaker didn't disclose the model of the vehicle, but it will be made along with the EcoSport SUV at the Craiova plant. The decision is expected to create an additional 1,500 jobs, according to a news release. "This new investment will add to our evolving line-up of exciting new models manufactured in Europe and continues the transformation of our Craiova facility," said Steven Armstrong, president and CEO, Ford of Europe, Middle East & Africa in a statement. "The addition of this second vehicle is a testament to the operational flexibility of our Craiova plant and reflects the strong partnerships we have with local suppliers and the community." With this commitment, Ford has now invested $1.77 billion into the Romanian facility since it acquired it in 2008. According to the company, upgrades have been made to Craiova's vehicle operations, with more than 550 robots installed at the facility to improve efficiency and quality in the paint, trim and chassis, and body shops. The new employees will work as third-shift operators and bring the facility's workforce to approximately 5,900 employees. The Craiova-built EcoSport, launched in 2017, is sold across Europe and features a new 1.5-liter EcoBlue diesel engine. On April 10, Aung Ko, his wife, Nang, and children Jet, 2, and Joli, 8 months, boarded a plane in Malaysia, the first of three flights that would bring the young family to Michigan and a new home in Grandville. Hager Park Reformed Church, 2635 Bauer Road, made a decision to sponsor a refugee family last fall. The church applied to co-sponsor the family with Bethany Christian Services. Church members said they made the decision as an act of faith, hoping to make a life-changing difference for one unknown family. While many people who flee their homeland hope to enter the United States, the number of refugees admitted has been drastically cut in recent years, and church members were unsure if a connection would be made. The number of people admitted as refugees was cut in January from 110,000 to 50,000, and the process may take as much as two years, according to the Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center also states that Burmese people experiencing religious persecution are the largest refugee group coming to the United States. Word came from Bethany on April 3 that a Burmese family of four would be coming to Grand Rapids in just nine days. Aung Ko and Nang would be coming from Malaysia, where they had been living after leaving their homeland of Myanmar. It was in Myanmar that the two restaurant employees met and married. "The intense ethnic conflict between the Burmese and Kachin people in Myanmar created a dangerous and unsafe situation in their homeland. So they took refuge in Malaysia and eventually had the opportunity to come to the United States where their children will be safe and have an opportunity to get an education," said Sylvia Sunwar, Bethany Christian Services resettlement case manager. The church's hosting team began notifying the congregation of the need for housing, furniture, clothing and other practical necessities. An apartment in Grandville was found available for immediate occupancy. "By Wednesday night, April 11, the apartment was furnished: a crib, beds, sofa, lamps, a kitchen table, chairs, towels, sheets, pillows, toys and even a "Welcome to Michigan" doormat, were all in place. The cupboard was filled with dishes and utensils and the refrigerator stocked with food. Our guests arrived at the Kent County airport on Thursday at 7 p.m. They were shuttled to their new home where loving hands had prepared a tasty Burmese meal," said church member Sherwin Weener. The next day, with the help of a social worker and a translator from Bethany Christian Services, they signed their lease and immigration documents and began their orientation to their new culture. Doctor appointments were set; English classes were scheduled; starter money was provided; transportation was arranged. Weener said the motivation for sponsorship goes beyond human compassion. "Why? Because Jesus said, "I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was naked and you clothed me, I was a stranger and you invited me in. Whatever you did for the least of these my sisters and brothers, you did for me (Matthew 25:35-40) What a holy privilege to be the hands and feet of Jesus," Weener said. ADRIAN, MI - Police are seeking help identifying suspects possibly involved in the explosion of a mailbox Sunday in Adrian. Authorities believe multiple male suspects are responsible for planting an explosive device and blowing up a residential mailbox in the 900 block of College Avenue the morning of May 20 in Adrian, the police department posted on its Facebook page Monday. The mailbox was attached to the home at the time. It was unclear how much damage was done to the residence. Police released a photo from a surveillance camera which shows a person who was walking in the area during the time of the incident. Police are asking anyone who can identify the person or has information regarding the incident to contact detective LaMar Rufner at 517-264-4834. FLINT, MI -- A Flint-based pastor and his business partner have been indicted on federal charges accusing the pair of using a church to swindle money from unsuspecting investors. Larry A. Holley, pastor at Abundant Life Ministries International, Inc., and his business partner Patricia E. Gray are charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud and four counts of money laundering, according to an indictment unsealed Monday, May 21, in Flint U.S. District Court. Federal prosecutors allege Holley would travel to various churches in Michigan and other states to conduct investment seminars to raise money for those churches and to get investments for his company, Treasure Enterprise. Holley and Gray would use the money for personal benefit and for the benefit of Abundant Life Church, to make payments to earlier investors and to pay other employees, the indictment claims. The pair appeared in federal court on Monday and were released on $10,000 bond. Investigators claim Holley would urge church congregants to fill out cards detailing their financial holdings and those with substantial financial resources were targeted by Holley. Holley would then set up a one-on-one consultation between the congregant and Gray -- who would trick them into investing with Treasure Enterprise, according to the indictment. The pair also convinced potential investors to take money from legitimate investments such as retirement accounts and invest with Treasure on the promise of high, guaranteed returns at the end of the investment period. The victims were told there would be no tax consequences and Gray promised them their money would be used for real estate purchases in Flint and other legitimate investments, the indictment said. Investors were allegedly promised by Gray that she would roll over their retirement funds into tax-advantaged Individual Retirement Accounts and invest them in Treasure Enterprise. No investor funds were ever deposited into IRAs, according to the indictment, and Treasure Enterprise struggled to make enough revenue from its real estate investments to support the business and make payments owed to investors. Investigators allege Holley and Gray conducted the conspiracy from January 2014 to March 29, 2017, and the pair lied and directed others to lie when they were confronted by victims about the status of their investment. During that time, Holley and Gray also used money from new investors to make interest and principal payments to previous victim investors, according to the indictment. As part of Holley and Gray's scheme, a victim transferred about $80,000 from their 401K account to two separate accounts for Treasure Enterprise, the indictment said. Three different victims mailed a combined $458,000 in checks from their 401K and IRA accounts that were later deposited into Treasure Enterprise bank accounts. Holley and Gray used cash withdrawals and wire transfers to take $390,722 from Treasure Enterprise that was obtained through unlawful activities, the indictment said. Treasure Enterprise was shut down in September 2017 after Holley and Gray agreed to no longer conduct any business regulated under the Michigan Uniform Securities Act. Holley's assets had been seized after civil fraud charges were filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accusing him of exploiting church members, retirees and laid-off auto workers into investing in a real estate business he claimed was successful. Federal authorities previously claimed some investors never saw their promised returns. More than 40 investors were owed roughly $2 million when the lawsuit was filed in March 2017. Holley hosted financial presentations masked as "blessed life conferences" at churches across the country, the SEC previously said, and because Holley was a man who "prayed for your children," he was more trustworthy than a "banker" with their money. The SEC previously claimed Holley's company and Gray bilked about $6.7 million from more than 80 investors who were promised high returns because they were investing in a profitable real estate company with hundreds of residential and commercial properties. Gray also advertised on a religious radio station in Flint and called for laid-off auto workers who had severance packages to consult her for a "financial increase," the SEC alleges. Starting in 2015, there were about 83 people who invested with Treasure -- some turned over their entire life savings, MLive-The Flint Journal previously reported. Holley, Gray and Treasure Enterprise were not registered to sell investments. The SEC froze the assets of Holley, Gray and Treasure Enterprise in 2017. Holley, Gray and Treasure Enterprise were first ordered to cease and desist from selling unregistered securities, from acting as unregistered agents and from making false or misleading statements in the offer and sale of securities, in August 2016. The pair has pleaded not guilty to the charges. FLINT, MI -- A standoff ended peacefully Monday when a man with a gun surrendered to police. The Michigan State Police assisted on a call for a man with a gun who had barricaded himself inside a home at 1513 Maplewood Ave., according to Spokesman Lt. Dave Kaiser. Police said the man eventually surrendered peacefully to police. The state police did not say how long the standoff lasted or why the man barricaded himself inside the home. MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach the Flint Police Department for more information on Tuesday, May 22. Scott Sather, pictured in Iraq a few days before his death, was killed when the Humvee he was riding in was hit by enemy fire. CLIO, MI -- It has been more than 15 years since U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Scott Sather died in combat in Iraq. But on Sunday, May 27, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Jamie McMurray will carry Sather's name on his windshield around the track as part of a Memorial Day weekend tribute during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 29-year-old Clio native died April 8, 2003, while on a tour of duty as a Special Tactics Team Member with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron out of Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. "We do feel it's quite an honor for him," said Karin Craft, Sather's mother. "He always liked NASCAR. He went as often as he could." The special tribute will commemorate the launch of NASCAR Salutes, the industry's collective expression of respect and gratitude for members of the U.S. Armed Forces, past and present, according to a news release. Jeff Dowling, media relations representative at Chip Ganassi Racing, for which McMurray races, said employees of the racing team have maintained relationships with the families of fallen soldiers honored on their vehicles. "It's something meaningful to our team members," he said. "I think this is the first time that we've done it that we've had an Air Force member that was killed in action." This particular tribute hits close to home for Dowling, a U.S. Air Force veteran. "To be able to meet a family member and kind of watch them collect their thoughts when they see that (name) on the car for the first time ... It's a nice moment you get to spend with them," he said, adding Memorial Day is about thanking those who've served over the years. When Sather died, Craft noted Gordon carried the coin given to service members with their name emblazoned on it in a special pocket crafted on the dashboard inside his No. 24 car in honor of her late son. Craft said Sather didn't plan on going into the military out of high school, but he joined the armed services with a friend in May 1992. He completed his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas ahead of serving as a Combat Controller and Special Tactics Team Member with the 321st Special Tactics Squadron at Royal Air Force in Alconbury, England, from December 1993 to December 1996, followed by service as a Combat Control Team Operator and Special Tactics Team Member with the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron at McChord Air Force in Tacoma, Washington, from December 1996 to December 1998. "He was a very good combat controller," said Craft of her son. "For a staff sergeant, he made it as high as he could go for that. He was among the best of the best." Kathy Harris, Sather's aunt, pointed out her nephew had "a big heart for everybody." "He would do anything for anyone. He was very dedicated to his job and to his family," she noted. "He was just full of life. If you knew him, if you met him, you loved him. He was just that kind of person." Sather earned numerous awards and commendations over the course of his military service, including a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled to air beginning at 6 p.m. May 27 on FOX. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala) BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Upholding multilateralism, improving global governance and creating a community of shared interests are in line with the trend of the times and the common interests of all nations, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday. Wang made the remarks while addressing the 2018 G20 Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers scheduled for Sunday through Monday. Welcoming the creation and development of the G20 as a new manifestation of multilateralism and an important advancement in the reform of global governance, Wang said that discussing issues concerning multilateralism and global governance is of great importance at a time when the G20 summit enters its 10th year. Against the current backdrop of rising unilateralism and protectionism, Wang called on fellow G20 members to create a new model of international relations aimed at win-win cooperation, resolving disagreements through consultation on an equal footing and on the basis of international law and international regulations. The G20 members, Wang added, should jointly build a community of shared future for mankind, and improve the global governance system under the guidance of reform. China fully supports Argentina in hosting a successful summit, sending a clear message on safeguarding multilateralism, putting the world economy on the right development path, and helping the G20 achieve progress in boosting the growth of the world economy as well as enhancing global economic governance, he said. Wang said that a lot of problems facing the world today are essentially related to development, and that the G20 summit, as a major forum for international economic cooperation, is responsible for creating more opportunities and support for developing countries by promoting global growth. He called for giving priority to development issues in global macro-policy coordination, saying the international community should always take into consideration developing countries' concerns and guarantee their interests. Urging the implementation of the United Nations' development agenda, Wang said developing countries should be allowed sufficient policy space in a bid to develop their economies. The G20 members ought to grasp the newly emerging opportunities for development and provide fresh impetus for developing countries in poverty alleviation as well as economic development. This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up. Wang said China has lifted 700 million people out of poverty over the past four decades, making a great contribution to global development. "We stick to reform, expand opening up, implement the people-centered development ideas, and always remain a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, as well as a defender of international order," Wang said. He said that China, while realizing its own development, will strive to make greater contributions to the common development of humanity. The 2018 G20 Summit is scheduled for November in Buenos Aires, and the ongoing foreign ministers' meeting is held in preparation for the summit. FLUSHING, MI -- Pneumonia deaths in Flint rose 400 percent during the city's water crisis, special prosecutor Todd Flood contended Monday, May 21, during what may have been the last day of testimony in the preliminary examination of Nick Lyon, director of Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services. Flood introduced hundreds of pages of death certificates in Genesee District Court during the cross-examination of a witness called by Lyon's attorneys, but public health officials said they could not immediately confirm the claim, and attorneys for Lyon suggested death certificates included victims who lived outside Flint. Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia, and experts have already testified in the Lyon case and at other preliminary exams that there were outbreaks of it during the 17 months that the Flint River was used as Flint's water source. MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach the Genesee County Health Department for comment on Flood's claim, and a spokeswoman for DHHS said pneumonia data collected by the state is not broken down based on city boundaries. Bridge Magazine previously reported that the death toll from pneumonia nearly doubled in Genesee County at the height of the water crisis, supporting the suspicion among some experts that many of those deaths were actually undiagnosed cases of Legionnaires'. DHHS officials have previously said there were 87 cases of Legionnaires in the county from April 2014 until October 2015 and that 12 deaths could be attributed to the disease during that same time. Lyon is charged with involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office. Special prosecutors claim the director deliberately failed to inform the public of the outbreaks, which resulted in the deaths of Robert Skidmore and John Snyder. They allege Lyon participated in covering up the source of the county's Legionnaires' surges by attempting to prevent an independent researcher from looking into the cause of the outbreak. Lyon, through his attorneys, has denied criminal wrongdoing and presented his own expert witnesses, including doctors who have testified that Skidmore and Snyder likely died from other causes. They claim notes from a September 2015 conference call prove their client put the office of Gov. Rick Snyder on notice about outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease in Flint months before the governor eventually told the public in January 2016. Gov. Snyder has said he only learned of the outbreaks and of suspicions they were connected to Flint water the day before his announcement. Attorneys for Lyon did not formally rest their case during Monday's preliminary exam, which has been held so that Judge David Goggins can decide whether the director will be bound over on charges to Genesee Circuit Court for a jury trial. But they said there probably will not be additional witnesses called and said the next step in the process will likely be a conference call to determine deadlines for filing written briefs with Goggins. Oral arguments are also expected to be made before the judge makes his determination. Monday's lone witness, Michael J. Reilly, a professor of clinical emergency medicine at New York Medical College and adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University, told Goggins the decision when to notify the public about Legionnaires' surges in the county is a matter of professional judgment by health officials. Chip Chamberlain, an attorney for Lyon, said Monday that the law doesn't provide clear guidelines on notification and reviewed emails with Reilly that showed there were different theories about whether the outbreaks were caused by Flint water or were centered on McLaren-Flint hospital. DHHS officials have said McLaren was home to the "largest healthcare- associated Legionnaires' outbreak known in the U.S." "People like Mr. Lyon don't have concrete guidance" on public notifications under those circumstances, Chamberlain said. Reilly testified earlier Monday that the public needed to be told of public health threats in the "most timely manner as possible." Emails from DHHS officials have shown the department was aware of the Legionnaires' outbreaks and suspicions they were tied to Flint water by October 2014. The focus of the investigation later shifted to McLaren, according to other state emails. OAKFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI -- A 39-year-old Sparta man has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of a U.S. Marine and his father. Joseph Richard Hanna was arrested Wednesday, May 16, and arraigned on charges of second-degree murder, operating while intoxicated causing death, and reckless driving causing death in connection to a Jan. 4 crash in Oakfield Township. Hanna is accused of "intentionally ramming" a vehicle with his own vehicle, causing it to spin out of control into oncoming traffic on 14 Mile Road (M-57) near Harvard Avenue. The vehicle he struck was driven by Jerry Lee Kinsey, 48, of Sand Lake. Kinsey's son, Lance Cpl. Joel Eugene Kinsey, 20, was the front-seat passenger. The younger Kinsey died at the scene. His father was transported to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, where he died days later. Michigan State police said Hanna's and Kinsey's vehicles collided when Hanna tried to pass Kinsey's vehicle while driving east on 14 Mile Road. The contact forced the Kinseys' vehicle to cross the center line, where it was struck by an oncoming van. The driver of the van -- a 48-year-old Sheridan woman -- was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital. Police determined that Hanna was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash, according to an arrest affidavit signed May 10. He's charged with second-degree murder, which requires proof of intent but doesn't include premeditation. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison. Hanna remains in the Kent County Jail with bond set at $500,000. He's due back in court May 30 for a probable cause conference, and June 6 for a preliminary hearing. Due to a 1998 conviction of attempted larceny from a building in Kent County, he is being charged as a second-offense habitual offender, court records show. Jerry Kinsey was a father of five and a grandfather of three, according to his obituary. He was a senior tool and die designer at Commercial Tool Group in Comstock Park, and enjoyed hunting, fishing, music, Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat beer, and training his dogs. Joel Kinsey was a U.S. Marine and 2016 graduate of Tri-County High School. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, and had a sweet tooth for chocolate, according to his obituary. LANSING, MI -- Amazon will score $4 million in state grants if they go forward with plans to build a distribution center in Kent County and hire about 1,000 workers. The multi-million-dollar award is meant to sway Amazon away from alternative sites in Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, according to a Michigan Economic Development Corporation memo. "To meet the company's hiring needs, there is concern about the availability and ability to hire the appropriate workforce," according to the May 22 memo. "This incentive assistance will help the company offset the costs related to talent recruitment and will make the case that Michigan is the prime location for this project." State and Gaines Township officials have been tight-lipped about the proposed 1 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution set to be located on roughly 100 acres of vacant land belonging to Steelcase in Gaines Township. It was code-named "Project Rapids," and only officially revealed to be an Amazon project Tuesday morning, May 22, when Michigan Strategic Fund board members approved the state award. The $4 million award will be doled out over three years based on Amazon hitting employment goals set by the state, according to approved grant proposal. If Amazon creates 475 new jobs by August 2019, they'll receive up to $1.9 million. The following year, they need to create 50 additional jobs to get up to $200,000. The final year, 2020, Amazon must create another 475 jobs to get up to $1.9 million. Amazon is expected to invest $150 million through construction expenses and purchases of "state of the art robotics and logistics equipment," according to the MEDC memo. The warehouse will serve the Midwest. The proposed warehouse will be on the corner of 68th Street and Patterson Avenue, about 10 to 15 miles south of downtown Grand Rapids and close to the Gerald R. Ford International Airport. A project rendering shows a two-story, rectangular building ringed with windows, and surrounded parking that can hold about 2,700 parking spaces. Neighbors in the area previously expressed worry that the facility will bring more congestion and noise and decrease the values of their homes. In addition to state incentives, Gaines Township will offer Amazon a tax abatement "which amounts to a reduction in property taxes of approximately 50 percent," according to the memo. It doesn't state how long the abatement will last. Gaines Township officials said they were never asked about granting a tax abatement but are open to considering one should Amazon ask. "No one has made those kinds of assurances," township planner Mark Sisson said. "We're willing to work with Amazon and are excited to do so." Since December 2016, the state of Michigan has awarded Amazon some $17 million in development grants for two projects in Wayne County and one in Macomb County. Amazon must accept the award by September, with an offer extension until November possible. EAST LANSING, MI - The Laurel vs. Yanny debate has been taken to a new level, courtesy of the East Lansing Police Department. Officers from the Michigan department certainly proved that the latest viral internet trend, a debate over whether an audio clip sounds like "Laurel" or "Yanny," can live beyond just the internet. For evidence, check out this comical video posted to its Facebook page in which an officer, speaking in police lingo, calls into dispatch mimicking a call at Laurel Lane and Pine Forest Drive, an actual location in northeast East Lansing. After making the call noting his location on Laurel, dispatch responds with "10-4, Pine Forest and Yanny." The officer then corrects the voice on the radio by saying, "I'm sorry sir, Pine Forest and Laurel. Laurel Lane." However, the man on the radio can only hear one thing, "Yanny." The men, speaking across the radio, then debate "Laurel" and "Yanny" several times before the officer in the video gets frustrated, slams the radio down and turns it off. While obviously set up, the exchange has proven to be quite amusing to the department's Facebook followers. Since it was posted on May 18, the video has more than 27,000 views. As for the Laurel vs. Yanny debate, people have figured out that if you manipulate the pitch of the sound you can clearly hear each word depending on how high or low you go. But, the whole thing just further proves that the internet is very scary place. You can see the video in its entirety below. LANSING, MI - The House Law and Justice Committee on Tuesday adopted new versions of two bills designed to give childhood victims of sexual assault more time to seek justice, scaling back what the Senate had proposed. Senate Bill 871 and 872 extend the statute of limitations for criminal and civil cases, giving victims of sexual assault more time to come forward. When they were introduced in the Senate in March backers, including victims of ex-Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar, pointed to Michigan's current laws as some of the weakest in the nation. Nassar sexually assaulted hundreds of girls and women, often under the guise of medical treatment. He has been sentenced for those crimes, but the legislature is pursuing legislation to make sure similar crimes don't happen in Michigan again. Committee Chair Rep. Klint Kesto, R-Commerce Twp., said the current statutes of limitations are "very minimal," and the bills the committee is considering would make it better. "This was what we believed to be a reasonable, practical, pragmatic, logical statute of limitations for the State of Michigan both on the civil and the criminal," Kesto said. He batted away questions about why they gave people less time to come forward than the Senate-passed version. "I don't look at it as a scale-back, I actually look at it as an enhancement from where we are today in current law," Kesto said. Here are the two bills and an explanation of the changes the House Law and Justice Committee adopted Tuesday: SB 871 extends the statute of limitations for criminal sexual conduct violations. Currently somebody can be charged with criminal sexual conduct in cases without DNA evidence 10 years after the crime was committed or by the victim's 21st birthday, whichever is later. SB 872 extends the statute of limitations for civil criminal sexual conduct lawsuits for people who were minors at the time of the crime. Currently the standard is three years after most crimnial offenses, with some variance based on the offense. The committee's Minority Vice-Chair Rep. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, said the changes to the civil statute of limitations bill are important because some of Nassar's victims did not immediately realize they were victims. "I think that through the committee process we recognized and learned and heard a lot of testimony about the psychological trauma that survivors face and knowing that it does take in some cases many many years to go through that process and then be able to disclose and decide to file a lawsuit," Chang said. "...We're actually opening up a really important opportunity for access for these survivors." Sen. Margaret O'Brien, R-Portage, spearheaded the package in the Senate. She reacted to the House committee's changes on Tuesday. "We wanted to move the ball down the field and improve the environment for our children, so we're going to take what we can get. Obviously, it doesn't go as far as the Senate, but we're moving the ball down the field, so we'll take it," O'Brien said. Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said he wanted to take a look at the changes and talk with lawmakers before deciding if it was something he still supported. "I would argue that what we passed was a thoughtful, reasonable, survivor-based plan. So, if it still meets those goals then I think it's something we probably can find a way to support," Ananich said. Along with the bills extending statutes of limitations the committee is considering bills that originated in the House and the rest of the package the Senate passed, minus a bill that would have stripped sexual abusers and their enablers within state institutions of their governmental immunity. Nassar victims agreed to drop their support for the governmental immunity portion of the bills as part of the settlement agreement, according to an attorney working for the victims. Kesto said the bill wouldn't be taken up because, "right now it doesn't have the support to be voted out." For the bills the committee is considering, including Senate Bills 871 and 872, Kesto said votes on sending them to the full House would take place this week. The committee meets next on Wednesday afternoon. The man who negotiated a $500 million settlement between Michigan State University and victims of Larry Nassar has been named MSU's new general counsel and vice president of legal affairs. Robert Young, a retired chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, will begin in his new post on June 1, Gov. John Engler told MLive. Young will replace Robert Noto, who stepped down in February amidst criticism of the legal counsel's handling of the Nassar controversy. Also in February, Young was named MSU special counsel to oversee negotiations on the Nassar lawsuits as well as MSU's other Title IX investigations and lawsuits. "He's done an excellent job for the university" so far, Engler said. Appointing Young to the permanent position will provide continuity as MSU moves ahead on finalizing the Nassar settlement, Engler said. That includes negotiating with insurers to help over the costs. "Bob has got a big job ahead of him" on that front, Engler said. A 1974 graduate of Harvard College and 1977 graduate of Harvard Law School, Young was general counsel for AAA of Michigan when he was tapped to the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1992, when Engler was governor. Young joined the Michigan Supreme Court in 1999, and he became chief justice in 2011. He retired in April 2017. Engler said that he never worked personally with Young before recent months, "but I always admired his work and his intellect." As an appeals judge, Engler said, Young implemented innovations such as onlining filing and productivity measures. "He's a strong manager and a superb lawyer," Engler said. "I'm just delighted that he's willing to come on board." LANSING, MI - About 100 protesters gathered in the lobby of Gov. Rick Snyder's office building on Tuesday, demanding to meet with him over their request he continue providing bottled water to Flint residents. "Everyone just wants to say the Flint Water Crisis is over when we all know that it isn't," said Joelena Freeman, a Flint resident who attended the protest. It was organized by Michigan United, a statewide coalition that fights for the dignity and potential of every person, according to its website. Communications Coordinator Erik Shelley said the event was part of Michigan United's event "The People's Lobby Day," where everyday Michiganders make their voices heard instead of the monied lobbyists that lawmakers may hear from otherwise. "The purpose of capitol day is to empower the people," Shelley said. The state government announced the end of bottled water distribution in April, citing testing data showed Flint's water quality was below federal action levels for two years. Protesters chanted things like "Flint is under class war" and "no Nestle water for Flint." Nestle drew public outrage for its recent permit to withdraw up to 400 gallons of Michigan water per minute to produce bottled water products. The company paid a $5,000 application fee and will pay a $200 per year reporting fee. The company has been sending bottled water to Flint. Freeman said it was insulting that residents were being charged for water they didn't trust while Nestle got to withdraw large amounts of the state natural resource. "We feel like they sent us blood water... they're getting it basically for free," Freeman said. Some protesters held up water bottles filled with red liquid. The protesters gathered in the lobby of the governor's office for about 40 minutes before they said they were denied a meeting and moved on. Shelley said they also planned a protest at the Department of Environmental Quality Tuesday afternoon. MUNISING, MI - The number of visitors to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has doubled in the last five years, with nearly 800,000 people flocking to the park known for its colorful Lake Superior cliffs during peak times in 2017. Now staff at the popular Upper Peninsula park are in the midst of developing a user management plan - a way to protect this outdoor resource while balancing visitors' experiences and what the population surge means to communities in the area. The public is invited to comment and help shape the plan. The National Park Service has held open houses in the area, and online comments are being accepted through June 5. It's honing in on visitor use issues in high-traffic areas of the park, from Sand Point to Spray Falls. "In recent years, (Pictured Rocks) has experienced a dramatic increase in visitation, particularly at Sand Point and at Miners, Mosquito and Chapel Beaches. Visitors, on their own or with commercial outfitters and commercial guided kayak groups, are drawn to these areas during the summer, which is increasing congestion. "In some areas, use is exceeding the capacity of the beach parking areas and restrooms and degrading visitor experience, safety, and the quality of the shoreline, trails and roads," Pictured Rocks Superintendent Dave Horne said in the park's spring newsletter. Dealing with congestion and overcrowding at peak times has been something park staff have been talking about for the last few years. In 2015, the July 4 weekend saw 200 vehicles crammed into a Miner's Beach parking lot with 51 spaces. Restaurants in the Munising area have reported running out of food on busy days, and hotels have run out of rooms. Some outdoor businesses connected to the park have enjoyed the visitor surge, and others have opened because of it. They, too, are taking part in sharing ideas to better manage resources. Greg Scott, general manager of Uncle Ducky Outdoors/Paddling Michigan, which offers guided kayak tours in the area, said his company has been working with federal officials on the management plan. He hopes to see a designated area for businesses that use the lakeshore at Pictured Rocks, according to the Associated Press. Some possibilities being explored include separate areas for commercial and public use, more parking, a visitor bus route, and more changing stations for visitors. "We're considering ways to update our roads, parking areas, and transit connections, maybe even adding a new visitor center or contact station to orient visitors," Horne said. "We are also looking at managing use through control measures such as gates, fees, and timing restrictions for commercial services." Pictured Rocks is one of five national parks located in Michigan. It's become a favorite return destination among hikers and paddlers who love the many hues of its namesake sandstone cliffs and 40 miles of Lake Superior shoreline. According to the National Park Service, here are the five key issues staff is trying to solve: Summer Congestion: Commercial Uses: Resource Impacts from Visitor Use: Inadequate Visitor Facilities and Infrastructure: Need for a Park Visitor Center: Gathering this public input is just the first step in a long process. Once the public comment phase closes, the NPS will analyze public comment and develop a draft plan between this summer and 2019. By winter of 2019, the park service plans to prepare its decision document. KALAMAZOO, MI -- Monday, the Kalamazoo City Commission set annual fees charged to medical marijuana businesses. State laws governing medical marijuana facilities in Michigan allow local municipalities to set annual nonrefundable fees up to $5,000, in addition to a $6,000 one-time application fee paid to the state. Entrepreneurs must receive a permit from the city clerk's office as well as a license from the state of Michigan before opening a marijuana business. Kalamazoo set annual fees for a provisioning center at $3,000. Fees for the other four types of marijuana facilities will cost $5,000. The permit fee for provisioning centers is based on a section of the City Charter changed before recent state laws governing medical marijuana facilities. It sets the registration fee for "Medical Cannabis Dispensaries," a term used to describe facilities analogous to provisioning centers, at $3,000. City Attorney Clyde Robinson determined there is no rational basis for treating dispensaries defined in the City Charter differently than provisioning centers defined by state law. Annual fees must be paid in addition to other local licensing and permitting requirements for things like site plan review, zoning review, inspections, or building permits. Of each permit fee, $500 is non-refundable. The remaining portion of each fee may be refunded if a medical marihuana permit is not issued, as it's designated for costs associated with ongoing administration and enforcement activities. It's yet to be seen how much revenue the permit fees will generate for the city of Kalamazoo. The clerk's office will begin accepting the permit applications, which must be submitted in person, between 8 a.m. Thursday, June 7 and 5 p.m. Thursday, June 28. A provisional certificate will be issued to successful applications, which can be taken to the state for a required operating license. Within 30 days of receiving a provisional certificate, applicants must provide proof to the clerk that they applied for a license with the state. Applicants can also receive a local permit after obtaining a state license. During this first license year, staff will be tracking time and expenses spent on activities related to administering the application process and enforcing Kalamazoo's medical marijuana ordinances. This data will be evaluated and used to recommend adjustments to the fees in the future. Application forms are available from the city clerk's office at City Hall, 241 W. South St. or online at kalamazoocity.org/medicalmarihuana. The City Commission placed no number limit on the number of growers, processors, safety compliance facilities, secure transporters and provisioning centers allowed within city limits. Instead, zoning restrictions are intended to create a market cap on how many marijuana businesses can exist. All facilities are restrained to manufacturing and commercial districts. None are allowed in residential neighborhoods. BATTLE CREEK, MI -- Police arrested a person of interest in a homicide investigation after a man was found shot in the head, dead inside the trunk of a vehicle. Police identified the victim as 43-year-old Diabulo White, a Battle Creek man reported missing on Saturday, May 19, Detective Sgt. Todd Elliott said. Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Saturday, police were called to a private residence on the 100 lock of South Kendall on Battle Creek's north side after a resident reported a Toyota Camry they did not recognize on the property. A police officer determined the car was not reported stolen and looked in the windows before allowing the vehicle to be towed, Elliott said. The car was towed to Tigers Towing's lot and the owner of the vehicle was contacted. She discovered the body in the trunk, Elliott said, and police were called to investigate at 9:42 a.m. Monday, May 21. Police immediately began treating the case as a homicide investigation, he said. The man suffered a gunshot wound to the head. "It's clear whoever put the body in the car put it in an unrelated location to try to cover it up," Elliott said. "A person found shot in the head and stuffed in car, somebody's definitely trying to cover their tracks." A citizen's tip through Silent Observer led police to the 100 block of Somerset Avenue, where they saw a man leaving a house and he ran from police, Elliott said. Police caught the 48-year-old man and he was arrested on two outstanding warrants and on charges related to a gun found nearby where the man was arrested, Elliot said. He is considered a person of interest in the homicide investigation, Elliott said. Police searched the house for several hours Monday, Elliott said. White and the person of interest knew each other, Elliott said. The case remains under investigation and police were interviewing other people about it Monday evening. An autopsy is pending. The owner of the vehicle is cooperating with police and was unaware the vehicle had been parked at the residence before being towed, Elliott said. Elliott thanked the citizen for calling in the tip quickly, allowing police to find the person of interest at the house. Breguet Reine de Naples 8908 As well as having royal connections, the Reine de Naples can trace its origin back to the first oval wristwatch, which was perhaps the very first wristwatch of any shape. On 8 June 1810, according to the special order book kept by Abraham-Louis Breguet (now housed in the Breguet company archives), Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, ordered a repeater watch [a quarter repeater, in fact] of oblong shape, for a bracelet. The timepiece was completed on 21 December 1812, and allocated the number 2639. In 2002, almost 200 years later, Breguet introduced its Reine de Naples line. The model 8908, launched at this years Baselworld, is a variation on the first watch in this collection, which itself was inspired by the 1812 watch. It features the moon phase indicator and power reserve at 12 oclock, the off-centre hours register in the lower half of the ovoid dial, and the small seconds at 7 oclock. The 18K rose gold case, which measures 36.50 x 28.45 mm, is complemented by a Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial. Inside beats the self-winding mechanical calibre 537, with escape wheel, Swiss pallet and silicon balance spring. Its a history of luxury watchmaking in miniature yours for 35'200 Swiss francs for the satin strap version (see the picture below) or 60'300 Swiss francs for the gold strap version. Reine de Naples 8908 Breguet Chopard Happy Sport Oval Chopards Happy Sport collection is 25 years young. Over the last quarter of a century the collection has been enriched with a multitude of models, some of which are oval in format. This year, Chopard has redesigned the oval: the bezel of the Happy Sport Oval is wider at the sides than the top and base of the rose gold case. The proportions of the Roman numerals and markers enhance the oval effect of the silvered dial with its guilloche centre. The watch is driven by the self-winding mechanical Calibre 09.01-C the same movement that equips the collections round watches which was developed by the Chopard manufacture to celebrate the Happy Sports 25th anniversary. The price of this version is 13,600 Swiss francs. Happy Sport Oval Chopard Eberhard & Co. Gilda Argent The Gilda collection features nothing but oval watches, in a variety of consistently elegant styles. With its mother-of-pearl dials, floral motifs, diamonds and oversized Arabic or Roman numerals, the Gilda watch offers a variety of treatments for the perfectly oval dial. The Gilda Argent, the latest addition to the range, is entirely clad in a soft, luminous grey an antidote to the generally sad image of this colour. It has a steel case, an original mother-of-pearl dial asymmetrically bisected by the diamond-set Roman numerals XI and V, and a new double-wrap strap in silvered patent leather. Like all Gilda watches, it is driven by a quartz movement, has a patented anti-reflective spherical sapphire crystal, and the engraved caseback is secured by four screws. It is available for CHF 4'480. Gilda Argent Eberhard & Co. Raymond Weil Shine Last year, Raymond Weil introduced the exclusive patented system of interchangeable bracelets to its Shine collection. This year, the brand is innovating further with an unusual elliptical case that can also take the straps from the round models. The new oval Shine with quartz movement comes in a 42 x 29 mm polished steel case. It is available in three versions, with a dial in either mother-of-pearl or flinque silver, punctuated by 12 Roman numerals, or four Roman numerals and eight diamond markers, depending on the model. The most precious version has its case set with 32 diamonds, and is priced at CHF 2,250 (exclusive of VAT), while the other versions cost CHF 1,295 and CHF 1,450. Shine Raymond Weil de Grisogono Cascata De Grisogonos Cascata watch features a more unusual horizontally-oriented oval measuring 48 x 40 mm, paved with white diamonds. The 72 biggest stones around the case are oval-cut, and the claws that hold them in place are concealed behind 126 brilliant-cut diamonds, creating a beautifully even carpet of gems. The dial is equally dazzling, with its 148 snow-set diamonds serving as a backdrop to two dauphine hands driven by the AF 10-47 quartz movement. Cascata de Grisogono Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse Purists would say that this watch is not a true oval, more of a rectangle with very rounded corners, and they would be right. But the elliptical design of the Golden Ellipse celebrates its half century this year and, given that it is also one of the rare oval mens watches, it deserves a place in our selection. The 2018 model comes in a generous 34 x 39.5 mm case just 5.9 mm deep, in 18K 5N rose gold. The ebony black dial, mirrored by the black onyx set into the crown, continues onto the glossy alligator strap, whose invisible fittings underneath the caseband help to maintain the purity of the elliptical design. The hour and minute functions are supplied by the automatic Calibre 240, whose depth is minimised by the mini-rotor nestled in the thickness of the bridges. UPDATE: Venue for Holland Drain meeting moved to Cardinal Elementary in Muskegon MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Improvements to a drainage district east of Muskegon will be the subject of a public hearing scheduled Wednesday. The meeting is slated for 6:30 p.m. May 23 at Muskegon Township Hall, 1990 Apple Avenue. A presentation on the history of the Holland Drain district will be presented first, followed by a public hearing on potential improvements. The Holland Drain district covers parts of Muskegon, Muskegon Township and Egelston Township. The Holland Drain district, outlined in red, comprises parts of Muskegon, Muskegon Township and Egelston Township. Residents and interested land owners are encouraged to attend and provide input. A Board of Determination will decide if improvements are necessary at the end of the meeting. Minutes of the meeting will be on file at the Muskegon County Drain Commissioner's office. Overall, Muskegon County Drain Commissioner Brenda Moore said she hopes the meeting will help her office settle on whether improvements are necessary for the protection of public health. As drain commissioner, Moore can set drain improvement and maintenance projects into motion, and can levy tax assessments to help pay for those projects. Moore is currently facing a recall effort led by a Fruitport Township resident who claims Moore overstepped her bounds when she approved tax assessments for more than $2 million in improvements to the Kuis Drain district. The petitioner, Jeremy Hooker, wrote in a petition dated March 16 that Moore "elected to take the broadest scope of work and most expensive options proposed by her engineers for each project assessed during her current term of office, when less expensive alternatives were proposed to her." James Waters, Moore's attorney, has called the allegations false and salacious, and has filed an appeal with the Michigan Court of Appeals in Grand Rapids to prevent Hooker from circulating his petition. TWIN LAKE, MI - The cause of a crash that occurred on M-120 in Muskegon County, killing one driver, on Monday, May 21, remains under investigation, according the Muskegon County Sheriff's Office. The fiery fatal crash that occurred at 6:15 a.m. on the 5600 block of Holton Road/M-120 south of Twin Lake involved a semi-truck and trailer and a 2011 Hyundai, according a news release from the sheriff's office. Ronald White, 57, of Muskegon, the driver of the semi-truck, died in the crash. White was an employee of Verplank Trucking in Spring Lake, according the release. Brian Smith, 53, of Newaygo, the driver of the Hyundai, suffered serious injuries and was transported to Hackley Hospital in Muskegon. Smith is employed by Mercy Health Partners of Muskegon, according the release. The crash closed northbound and southbound Holton Road between Michillinda and Ryerson roads on Monday as a Muskegon County Road Commission crew cleaned up construction aggregate that spilled onto the road and into ditches during the crash, according the release. The road was reopened shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday, according to a tweet from the Michigan Department of Transportation. M-120 (Holton Rd) NB and SB between Michillinda Rd and Ryerson Rd All Lanes Open Muskegon County Christine Eubanks 05/21/18 15:08 https://t.co/O5SELO7wCp MDOT - West Michigan (@MDOT_West) May 21, 2018 The Muskegon County Sheriffs Office was assisted by the Michigan State Police, Dalton Fire, Holton Fire and Professional Med Team, according a release. SAGINAW, MI -- Looking to rebuild confidence in the community and rebound from a shaky year financially, Ascension Michigan plans to invest millions into St. Mary's of Michigan hospital in Saginaw to update its emergency room and clinical programs. The healthcare company announced a $50 million initial investment on Tuesday, May 22, to St. Mary's of Michigan in Saginaw, Standish, and St. Joseph Health System in Tawas City. The investment could potentially mean new jobs at the Saginaw hospital, but should initially help retain the existing workforce. Dr. Joseph Cacchione "We need to be sure that the community has confidence in us and we need to get the community to come back to the facility," said Dr. Joseph Cacchione, interim ministry market executive of Ascension Michigan, and president of Ascension Medical Group. "I think a lot people still get their care there, but we want people to come to St. Mary's first." Cacchione said a large portion of the $50 million investment will go toward Saginaw's hospital, the largest hospital of the three, with plans to update the emergency room and various clinical programs so that they are more competitive. Last year, St. Mary's of Michigan in Saginaw reported a $21.3 million loss and St. Joseph's Hospital in Tawas City reported a $162,000 loss, according to Crain's Detroit Business. Ascension Michigan also laid off 500 employees at 14 of its 15 hospitals in the state. It's unclear how many employees in Saginaw were impacted by those layoffs. The loss spurred company officials to explore multiple options, including selling off the hospital to a different system, Patricia A. Maryland, executive vice president of Ascension, and president and chief Executive Officer for Ascension Healthcare, said in a statement. Instead, officials determined that investing in the hospitals would be the best step forward. As a result, more jobs could be on the horizon for the hospitals as officials look to expand programs. Caccione said he didn't anticipate anymore layoffs in Saginaw. "At the minimum we're expecting preservation of the current workforce and as programs expand, we could see some expansion of medical jobs," he said. The other big change, that could come as early July 1, is updated branding, which could include a new name for the hospital. That name hasn't been finalized at this point. The foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia affirmed in a joint statement the importance of implementing UN plans in Libya and the preservation of the countrys sovereignty, while reiterating their rejection of any foreign interference in Libyan affairs. The statement was issued following meetings held on Monday in Algiers between Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui and Algerian Foreign Minister Abdel-Kader Messahel. The gathering was part of the framework of regular meetings of the tripartite initiative held continuously between the three states to discuss the latest developments in Libya. The statement highlighted 11 points on the key topics discussed during the meetings. The ministers stressed the importance of putting into effect plans presented by the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salama on 10 October 2017. The statement also called on Libyan political parties to reach a consensus to end the countrys current transitional period and "pave the way for comprehensive national reconciliation." The three ministers also stressed the importance of the international communitys role in implementing the provisions of the Libyan political agreement signed on 17 December 2015, which aims to end the Libyan crisis and build a unified army and security services to maintain security and combat terrorism. The statement warned that delays in reaching a solution to the crisis might cause further escalation and violence. The FMs renewed their warning about the deteriorating living conditions of the Libyan people caused by the countrys instability and political obstruction, and stressed the importance of providing public services to the Libyan citizen. The ministers also stressed that a political solution to the Libyan crisis must be reached by a consensus of all parties. The ministers agreed to continue security coordination between the three countries to assess threats posed by terrorist organisations to the security and stability of Libya. Search Keywords: Short link: Half of the Free Egyptians Party's (FEP) Parliamentary bloc have resigned from the liberal party and joined Future of the Nation Party, news reports said on Tuesday, in the latest partisan reshuffle of Egypt's House of Representatives. In statements to Shorouk Daily on Tuesday, MP Mohamed El-Masood, who resigned from FEP and joined Future of the Nation party, said half of the FEP parliamentary bloc had switched camps. "FEP did not perform well in the past period; it should have built a popular base in the Egyptian street, but its current leadership did not care for that. There has also been no cooperation between the MPs in the House of the Representatives," El-Masood said. El-Masood believes that Future of the Nation Party is working to widen its popular base in the Egyptian street. Founded in April 2011 by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris as a secular liberal party, FEP won 65 seats in the parliamentary elections of 2015, achieving the greatest number of seats in the House of the Representatives. Pro-government Future of the Nation Party, which was founded in 2015, comes in second after FEP with 53 seats. "We [Future of the Nation Party] want to be the majority party in the upcoming parliament and participate in forming the government," El-Masood said. El-Masood's statements come 24 hours after FEP leader Essam Khalil denied that the party is witnessing a mass migration of its MPs. "No FEP MP has resigned from the party so far. I only hear about those resignations in the media, just like anyone else," Khalil told TV host Ahmed Moussa on Sada El-Balad TV channel on Monday. Nonetheless, MP and head of the human rights committee in House of Representatives Alaa Abed publicly announced on Tuesday that he had resigned from FEP and would join the Future of Nation Party following his dismissal as FEP's parliamentary bloc leader. This is the latest internal crisis FEP has faced since the party spilt into two fronts -- one led by its founder Naguib Sawiris, the other by its current leader Khalil -- when the latter moved to change the party's bylaws and disband its board of trustees, which included Sawiris himself. Sawiris sued Khalil and presented official complaints to the party's committee accusing him of "leading a coup against the party's true bylaws." The legal battle has not yet been settled. Sawiris said via Twitter on Tuesday that he is "sad" about what is happening to the party. "The best interest of Egypt lay in having a truly independent political party," the business tycoon added. Search Keywords: Short link: Effects of COVID-19 on children the focus of first Pennridge Community Partnership event May 22, 2018 A Dive Into Washington's Swamp One year ago Trump pledged allegiance to the Wahhabi Orb. The one Orb that rules them all: This swearing of an oath to the Wahhabi death star was part of the opening of the potemkinesque "Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology" in Riyadh. ... The Saudis arranged the whole theater to flatter Trump into fighting Iran for them. They hope to have bought Washington's obedience. bigger The Saudi "anti-terrorism" effort was directed at its local rivals Qatar and Iran. Trump strongly supported the Saudi anti-Qatar campaign until the Pentagon finally told him that Qatar hosts the biggest U.S. air-base in the Middle East, which can not be moved at a moments notice. Now an interesting AP story gives some backdrop to Trump's deference to Riyadh. It is the result of many bribes and lots of shady dealings. If or rather how Trump or his family profited from these is not yet known. The princes, the president and the fortune seekers: After a year spent carefully cultivating two princes from the Arabian Peninsula, Elliott Broidy, a top fundraiser for President Donald Trump, thought he was finally close to nailing more than $1 billion in business. He had ingratiated himself with crown princes from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who were seeking to alter U.S. foreign policy and punish Qatar, an archrival in the Gulf that he dubbed the snake. ... Broidy and his business partner, Lebanese-American George Nader, pitched themselves to the crown princes as a backchannel to the White House, passing the princes praise and messaging straight to the presidents ears. ... In return for pushing anti-Qatar policies at the highest levels of Americas government, Broidy and Nader expected huge consulting contracts from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to an Associated Press investigation based on interviews with more than two dozen people and hundreds of pages of leaked emails between the two men. The emails reviewed by the AP included work summaries and contracting documents and proposals. Since the UAE and Saudi Arabia opened a feud against Qatar they have sought to win U.S. support for their position. The anti-Qatar campaign is related to the anti-Iran campaign and both have strong Israeli backing. In response to the Saudi efforts Qatar hired a company to hack the emails of the UAE ambassador in Washington DC and of other people involved in the Saudi lobbying effort. Both sides spent huge amounts for bribes, disguised as U.S. campaign donations to Congress and the White House, to influence U.S. legislation and behavior: Summaries written by Broidy of two meetings he had with Trump one of which has not been disclosed before report that he was passing messages to the president from the two princes and that he told Trump he was seeking business with them. By December of last year, the partners were riding a wave of success in their campaign to create an anti-Qatar drumbeat in Washington. Saudi Arabia was finding a new ascendancy following Trumps election. Broidy sought to claim credit for it, emails show, and was keen to collect the first installment of $36 million for an intelligence-gathering contract with the UAE. It all might have proceeded smoothly save for one factor: the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel to look into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election. There was no "Russian interference" in the U.S. election. All that Mueller found in one year of investigations was some minor old misbehavior by some Trump aides and a Russian Internet marketing company which tried to sell advertisements on its click-bait websites. The real collusion happened between the Trump family and Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Huge sums from Zionist interests and from the oil dictatorships flew into campaign funds and the relevant pockets. One of their main aims was and is to incite war against Iran. Those with access and influence over Trump, like Broidy and Nader, were hugely rewarded. The swamp which Trump said he would drain, swallowed him whole. The protagonists in the AP story include Erik Prince, the private military contractor of Blackwater fame. George Nader, a convicted pedophile, has known Prince for years. He negotiated solatia payments to families of Iraqis who Blackwater mercenaries had killed. In 2012 George Nader helped broker a $4.3 billion arms deal between Russia and Iraq. Erik Prince continues his mercenary business selling his private armies to the UAE and whomever else is willing to pay the right price. Broidy was involved in the fleecing of the Malaysian development fund 1MDB by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia. Up to $4.5 billion have allegedly vanished. While Broidy was pitching the Saudi plans to Trump he also scored a big Pentagon contract. The question not answered in the long AP story is how Trump or his family profited from the Saudi largess. One benefit was probably through his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who needs a large amount of money to keep his investment in a New York sky-scarper afloat. In early 2017 Kushner met George Nader in New York. Privately Nader referred to Kushner as 'clown prince': Broidy met Trump once again on Dec. 2. He reported back to Nader that hed told Trump the crown princes were most favorably impressed by his leadership. He offered the crown princes help in the Middle East peace plan being developed by Jared Kushner. He did not tell Trump that his partner had complete contempt for the plan and for the presidents son-in-law. You have to hear in private my Brother what Principals think of Clown princes efforts and his plan! Nader wrote. Nobody would even waste cup of coffee on him if it wasnt for who he is married to. Days after Broidys meeting with Trump, the UAE awarded Broidy the intelligence contract the partners had been seeking for up to $600 million over 5 years, according to a leaked email. In early 2017 Kushner's family tried to get Qatari money for the familys distressed asset at 666 Fifth Avenue. The Qataris declined. A few weeks later Jared Kushner supported the Saudi blockade against the "funder of terrorism" Qatar. In March 2018 Qatar was finally willing to pay up to save the Kushner's real estate. Shortly thereafter Trump endorsed Qatar as an ally in the fight against terrorism. This sequence of events is of course pure coincidence. Trump and his family can not be bribed. They float way above the swamp. (Just kidding.) In related news the Psy-Group, an Israeli company which influenced social media for the Trump campaign, has now been shut down: According to the New York Times report, Mr. Trumps son, Donald Trump Jr., met with Mr. Zamel months before the elections. At the time, Psy-Group was developing a proposal for a "covert multimillion-dollar online manipulation campaign to aid Mr. Trump to win the elections, the New York Times reported, citing four people familiar with the matter. The campaign had been reportedly canceled after Psy-Group learned its involvement in the elections would be illegal. The New York Times reported Mr. Zamel still received a payment estimated at around $2 million from a Trump associate. Paid by whom? And for what? One year after the launch of the Mueller investigation of undue foreign influence in U.S. campaigns and politics, it is finally looking at the real culprits. No one has more influence in U.S. elections and policies than the Zionists and the Gulf monarchies. This is then the point where the Mueller investigation will likely be shut down. There are too many people benefiting from the swamp and all the slush money moving around. Neither party in Congress has an interest in publicizing their relations to Zionist campaign money and Gulf monarchies' bribes. With Mueller gone it will be another free for all. The swamp will grow bigger. Posted by b on May 22, 2018 at 13:26 UTC | Permalink Comments About three weeks ago a group of us were having a Friday dinner when we heard police car sirens passing by over and over again. A little while later we start hearing the chirps and buzzes of messages being delivered to our faithful little electronic tethers to reality. Cmon, on a Friday night? Seems that something was happening at the Britton Middle School carnival right around the corner. Details were kind of sketchy at the time, but apparently someone had a knife and then half the worlds police showed up and things got ugly. Or something like that. More information arrived in the news the next morningon the radio. Police officers were injured by several minors, eight arrested, one youth tazed, carnival cancelled and $20,000 in fundraising to support classroom related projects lost. Once again, something bad happened in Morgan Hill and the entire Bay Area gets to dwell on it with us. Cant we get a break? So, we had a student with a knife at a carnival where police intervened, a mob got ugly, some police were assaulted, some young hoodlums went to jail, and the carnival was shut down. Can you find the good in all of this? One of my friends pointed out some things that we, in Morgan Hill, should appreciate. So here I go. First, someone noticed a knife being exchanged between two young males and they called the police, two of which were already on site patrolling the carnival. When approached, the young male with the knife handed it over without incident. No problem. So then the guy who first supplied the knife is approached and wants to tango with the MHPD and a crowd joins in. This is the smart part of dealing with the stupid part. Instead of possibly escalating the issue with the few MHPD officers on site with any number of defensive and offensive weapons at their disposal they reach for theirradios. This is the part I needed made clear to me. The MHPD brought in neighboring law enforcement agencies not to overwhelm the riotous crowd with lethal force, to but to be in large enough numbers to use the least amount of force possible for the situation. But until all of those other agencies showed up, things were getting pretty dicey. This is about the time some other police departments havent done so well. You see it on the news with shootings and complete riots. Apparently our officers were very cool in the face of all of this. Whether its training or hiring the right personnel, this discipline and cool headedness is now, to me, the face of our police department: cool and level-headed enough to think of calling in greater numbers to avoid violence and then remaining cool until they show up. They were surrounded by a mob and some officers were actually assaulted. With the possibility of someone greatly harming an officer or grabbing a service weapon, there are some who might say that deadly force is appropriate here. I can only imagine that if youre afraid and freaking out you might turn to the last resort, deadly force, and the courts have in some cases said that it was appropriate. Not in Morgan Hill. Some are hungry for headlines like Carnival at Middle School Ends with Officers Hurt. I like MHPD Diffuses Escalating Situation with Professionalism. An Egyptian military court sentenced on Tuesday Egyptian journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani to ten years in prison for spreading false news and joining a banned group. Alexandrani, a prominent journalist and an expert on militant groups in the North Sinai, was arrested after arriving at Hurghada airport from Germany in December 2015. He was referred to a military trial for a number of charges including spreading false news and joining a banned group, in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood. This is a first degree military court ruling that can be appealed within 60 days of its ratification. Search Keywords: Short link: 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. Search Keywords: Short link: In a recent article, my colleague Phillip Yoo highlighted developments and risks in the bank-loan market, including rising leverage ratios, the proliferation of so-called covenant-light loans, and the liquidity risk inherent to the asset class. These challenges all have implications for how we evaluate actively managed funds in the bank-loan Morningstar Category. Credit Research Is Paramount Bank loans are higher in the capital structure than bonds, so they have a better claim on a companys assets in the event of a restructuring and have historically featured higher recovery rates than high-yield bonds. As a result, they are often viewed as a more defensive way to access credit risk. That said, most bank loans carry below-investment-grade ratings, and there are plenty of risky loans out there, including those issued by companies that rely only on the bank-loan market for credit. Will "Freeing" Fannie/Freddie Improve Housing Finance? In a prior article we summarized the options the Trump Administration might utilize to reform the residential mortgage financing system should Congress continue to drop the ball. Two noted economists, Jim Parrott and Mark Zandi, writing for the Urban Institute, address the notion of shrinking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's (the GSEs) footprints and eliminating their cross-subsidy of higher risk borrowers. This article summarizes their alternatives for ending the 10-year government conservatorship of the two companies. The director appointed to replace Melvin Watt when his term as director of the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) expires next year will undoubtedly reflect the attitudes of the Administration including their claimed commitment to changing the GSEs' status. The authors say one way may be to put the GSEs entirely back into private hands. This has some practical challenges and the need to overcome them would create the path the GSEs would have to take. First among them is the obligation to taxpayers. In return for a bail-out of the two institutions which, the Bush-era Treasury Department claimed were in danger of imminent collapse, the Treasury Department received options to purchase a 79.9 percent ownership of each, a 10 percent dividend on any GSE profit, and a fee to cover a commitment of additional capital should it be needed. As Treasury grew concerned that one or both GSEs might be unable to pay the dividend, forcing them to borrow more to pay it, that obligation was changed to a net sweep of the institutions' net worth less a regularly declining cash reserve. This left the two companies, by the beginning of this year, with no capital reserves but with the commitment fee if they fail to pay any sweep installment. It would be extraordinarily difficult for the GSEs to escape conservatorship carrying these obligations. Further, regulators could designate them as systemically important, requiring them to hold substantial amounts of capital. While there are many variables in determining this, it could mean the companies would have to raise guarantee fees for the typical borrower by a half to a full percentage point in good times and much more in times of economic stress. The economics of the businesses are unlikely to work unless these burdens are removed. The authors say it is not at all clear that the government can legally reduce the obligations. Two sections of the U.S. code allow compromising of a debt only when the debtor cannot pay, the cost of collection is prohibitive, or there is significant doubt as to the government's liability to prove that the debt is owed. It would not appear that any of these circumstances apply here. There is also the possibility of putting the GSEs into receivership to remove the obligations. FHFA has power to put their existing obligations into a "bad bank" that would go into run-off, freeing a "good-bank" to raise capital and be reprivatized. The bad banks' obligations including its legacy mortgage-backed securities (MBS), contractual obligations to taxpayers, and shareholder interests, would be covered by the revenue stream from the legacy business, sale of assets, and the remaining capital commitment from Treasury. The good banks would be formed as limited life regulated entities with up to five years to raise the capital needed to be released from receivership as privately-owned companies. This does differ from the pre-conservator system. First, given the economic and political turmoil that followed the bailout the market is unlikely to assume as before that the two have an implicit government guarantee. This will change their underlying economics, forcing them to raise capital and borrower at costs that reflect their risk. Similarly, only MBS investors willing to assume counterparty and other credit risks will be willing to purchase their MBS and may do so only at a premium. All of this will result in mortgage rates that are much higher and more cyclical, and likely mark the end of the TBA (to-be announced) market vital to long-term fixed rate mortgages. Zandi and Parrott say if the administration is successful either in scaling back the GSEs' footprints or privatizing them altogether, the economy, housing, and mortgage markets could face significant disruption. The GSEs provide a taxpayer funded subsidy to homeowners as government support lowers their borrowing costs. Shrinking their market share will reduce the borrowers receiving the subsidy, re-privatizing the GSEs will either force them to pay for the current level of government support or forgo it. Any of these will meaningfully increase mortgage costs for most borrowers. Higher-risk borrowers currently receive the largest share of the subsidy and the cross-subsidy defined in the first article, so they will see the biggest share of the increases from a shift to full risk-based pricing. The market will see much less long-term, fixed-rate lending, as investors focus on adjustable rate mortgages rather than take both credit and interest risk. The administration is also likely to limit FHA lending when scaling back or privatizing the GSEs to avoid increasing taxpayer risk. This will also disproportionately impact higher-risk borrowers. The authors proposed "the extreme scenario" where the GSEs are reprivatized as shareholder-owned institutions without a government backstop. They estimate mortgage rates would rise for typical borrowers by 90 basis points; much more in stressed economies and for high risk borrowers. Simulations by Moody's Analytics says annual sales of new and existing homes would fall approximately 7.5 percent to 450,000 units. Projected existing-home prices would decline by 6 percent and the homeownership rate drop by about 0.75 point. It would ultimately adjust, but in Year One, real GDP growth would fall 0.8 percentage point, pushing unemployment up 0.4 point. A better approach, the authors say, would be reducing the GSEs' centrality to the system by providing a better process of credit risk transfer (CRF), expanding the common securitization platform (CSP) into a market utility and increasing the GSEs' transparency. These changes would lessen their too-big-to-fail risk and make it easier for Congress to pass legislation establishing the future system without reducing their footprint or re-privatizing them. CRT, now five years old, is bumping against its economic boundaries. It could be expanded to include more institution-based sources of private capital rather than relying on capital market investors. It has been highly successful in part because of strong global capital markets, however, conditions will worsen at some point, and those investors will demand a higher return. This could force the GSEs to either absorb the cost, pass it on to borrowers, or pull back on risk-sharing when the risk is most critical to share. To ensure that the CRT process survives the cycle, a significant portion of risk must be shared with institution-based capital, such as reinsurance, lender recourse, or deep cover mortgage insurance. FHFA should continue to develop ways that allow institutional equity to compete effectively. This would help stabilize the effort over time and give policymakers a better idea of what structural mix is needed for the long-term health of the housing finance system. The next FHFA director should also expand the effort to build out the common securitization platform. The CSP is being developed to support a single security issued by Fannie and Freddie which will further entrench their dominance with an advantage over the rest of the market. The objective should be a platform that is open to other issuers, acting to reduce rather than increase GSE dominance. Opening up the CSP would in effect turn it into a market utility, reducing barriers to entry for new issuers to compete with Fannie and Freddie or merge them into the utility to more evenly spread market power and risk. To maximize it as a market utility, the CSP should be expanded to handle GSE functions that would pose barriers to entry in a reformed system such as the GSEs' use of automated underwriting systems. Lenders have integrated the two different systems into their lending processes to such a degree that many would be unlikely to adopt a competing model unless given little or no choice. Harmonizing the two systems into a single one for the CSP and making it available to new entrants would make it much easier for lenders to move from the GSEs as the market develops, differentiates, and competes across underwriting systems. Making CSP a market utility would also allow policymakers to open it to the private label securities market which currently faces an inability on the part of investors and issuers to develop a set of standard contract terms, forcing each party, still wary after the financial crisis, through a gauntlet of negotiations for each transaction. The next FHFA director should also require the GSEs to be more transparent, first around their capital framework and pricing. The GSEs set their guarantee fees as if they are holding a certain level of capital, yet it is unclear both how much implicit capital they are holding and what the implicit return they require on this capital is. Their opaqueness over capital and pricing solidifies their control over the system, since it is all but impossible to assess the appropriateness of the rules and standards they effectively set for all the stakeholders in the system. Parrott and Zandi conclude that, with a new director at the FHFA potentially arriving next year, there is likely to be a meaningful shift in the GSEs' role, including a reduction of both their footprints and the cross-subsidy they provide. It may also mean an attempt to get the GSEs out from under the government's wing altogether. Any of these is bound to mean higher mortgage rates, less access to credit, and disruption to the housing and mortgage markets and broader economy. If the next FHFA director were instead to expand the GSEs' current credit risk transfer process to more sources of private capital, expand the common securitization platform into a more robust market utility, and make the GSEs more transparent, it would ready the nation for transition to a housing finance system in which mortgage credit is as available as it is today but in a way that poses less risk to taxpayers and the economy. Rockets fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels killed five people and wounded 18 early Tuesday as they struck a residential area in government stronghold Marib, medical sources said. State-run news agency Saba gave the same death toll, but reported that 22 people were wounded in unguided rocket strikes it blamed on the Iran-allied rebels. The war in Yemen pitches the internationally recognised government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and a Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi fighters. The conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead and more than 55,000 wounded, according to the World Health Organization. More than 2,200 others have died from cholera and millions are on the verge of famine in what the United Nations says is the world's gravest humanitarian crisis. Search Keywords: Short link: InMoment Buys for Australian Presence US-based customer intelligence platform InMoment has acquired Australia-based CX consulting firm brandXP, aiming to strengthen its presence in the Asia Pacific region. InMoment was formed four years ago from the merger of US firm Mindshare Technologies and Canadian company Empathica; and last year appointed a new CEO, Andrew Joiner (pictured) to replace founder John Sperry - the latter moved to a Chairman's role with a focus on innovation. The business gives clients customer insights based on analysis of unstructured data such as customer comments; provides DIY survey tools to collect this data via voice, text and video; and allows them to combine survey responses with social media, marketing and transactional data. Terms of the latest deal were undisclosed, according to The Australian Financial Review (www.afr.com ), but InMoment will set up an office in Melbourne and New Zealand and strengthen its investment in Australia - this is the first time it will have a dedicated team in the region. Asia Pacific VP Claire Fastier told the publication brandXP was 'a strong cultural fit for InMoment', adding: 'They will really help us develop local customer experience expertise and they are strong in delivery, service and support, having operated for the last 15 years'. The company is on the web at www.inmoment.com . David Hemmer will begin as dean of Michigan Technological Universitys College of Sciences and Arts (CSA) on July 1, 2018. Hemmer comes to Michigan Tech from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (UB) where he is chair and professor of mathematics. Hemmer replaces retiring dean Bruce Seely, who led the College for the last decade. David Hemmer appointed dean of CSA. (Kevin Marquez photo) Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Jacqueline Huntoon says, Dr. Hemmer is bringing many new ideas and approaches to the Michigan Tech campus. He is an outstanding scholar who has had prior experience leading efforts to improve undergraduate education, contributing to community outreach and managing an academic department. The College of Sciences and Arts, the Dean's Council and the University as a whole will benefit from his perspectives. Putting the M in STEAM As a mathematician studying abstract algebra, Hemmers expertise in representation theory of symmetric groups has resulted in dozens of publications and invited talks across the nation and globe. Hemmers research has been supported by National Science Foundation grants for the past 20 years. Though Hemmer has made a career advocating for STEM education, he is no stranger to the arts. During his tenure at UB, Hemmer provided service to the universitys honors college and the department of musicexperiences that will aid him in promoting STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) at Michigan Tech. "My area of research is very pure mathematics. I study problems that I find beautiful and interesting, not motivated by applications. In this way, while I am a mathematician and scientist, I find common ground with my colleagues in the humanities." David Hemmer Hemmer holds a PhD and MS in Mathematics from the University of Chicago and a BA in Mathematics from Dartmouth College. He began his career as an NSF postdoctoral fellow at the University of Georgia; he transitioned to the University of Toledo in 2003, where he became associate professor before moving to UB in 2007. Hemmers versatility to benefit multidisciplinary College Michigan Techs College of Sciences and Arts (CSA) houses ten distinct disciplinesfrom physics to visual and performing artsbut Hemmers professional reach is just as versatile. At UB, Hemmer chaired the Department of Mathematics while advising PhD students, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses, and facilitating a mathematical education community outreach program for elementary students in the greater Buffalo area. Last January, Hemmer led a team of parents at Dodge Elementary School that won the Parents as Reading Partners (PARP) Award from the New York PTA. Honoring CSA history to collaboratively create the future Hemmers plans for leading CSA is inspired by a combination of the Colleges historical excellence and the Universitys changing leadership. Hemmer says, With a relatively young faculty and potential growth planned from the Portrait 2045, this is a great time to be leading CSA. I want to build on the incredible momentum the College has under Bruce Seelys leadership. Bruce has been very gracious sharing his time and wisdom during this transition. With so many new leaders arriving this summer, this will be a crucial time in Michigan Techs history and I am excited to be a part of that. I look forward to working with Provost Huntoon and the incoming president. Four new deans and the Universitys president-elect, Richard J. Koubek, will all start on July 1, 2018. Hemmer, like Koubek, champions the union of arts and sciences. In his remarks at the April Board of Trustees meeting, Koubek stated that in order to become a leading technological university, Michigan Tech must build on its reputation as a campus where technology, humanities and the social sciences converge. Hemmer also plans to advance Michigan Techs objective to wed the sciences with the arts, stating, The evidence is clear that the best scientists and engineers have a broad-based training in the humanities and social sciences. I was delighted to hear how the humanists and social scientists in CSA embrace their role at a technological university. I will have a lot to learn from my new colleagues in these disciplines. No stranger to snow country The National Weather Service estimates Buffalos snowfall during the 2017-18 season at 112.3 inches. In fact, many report Buffalo to be in the top 10 of the worlds snowiest cities. Hemmer and his family are no strangers to shoveling and Hemmer says, My family and I are excited about all the outdoor opportunities available in such a beautiful part of the country. Hemmer will be joined in Houghton by his wife Ginny and three children, Meghan (13), Benjamin (9) and Adam (7). In addition to enjoying the region and its weather, Hemmer says he felt at home immediately during my two trips to Houghton. I have never seen a more friendly and welcoming environment. I look forward to getting to know all my colleagues. 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. MOSCOW (AP) Russian state TV has interviewed a woman it claims to be the mother of a former Russian spy poisoned in Britain. Sergei Skripal was discharged from a British hospital last week more than two months after he was poisoned with a nerve agent. His daughter, who was also poisoned, was discharged last month. The Skripals have been taken to an undisclosed location and have not been seen in public. Russia's Channel One on Monday showed an interview with the woman it said was Sergei Skripal's mother. The woman said she has not talked to her son since he was hospitalized and appealed for British authorities to allow Skripal to give her a call. "I haven't seen my son in 14 years. I want to meet him, I want to hold him tight close to my heart," the woman said in the interview, wiping away tears. "I'm 90, and I don't pose a danger to anyone." Skripal's mother has not spoken in public before, and the British authorities have never mentioned her. The Russian embassy last month mentioned that Skripal's cousin takes care of his elderly mother. Skripal is a former Russian intelligence officer who was arrested in 2004 and convicted of spying for Britain before coming to the U.K. as part of a 2010 prisoner swap. He had been living quietly in the English city of Salisbury, 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of London, when he was poisoned. The woman purported to be Skripal's mother said she used to talk to her son every week on the phone. She appealed for the British authorities to let her speak to her son and to allow Skripal's cousin Viktoria, who was previously denied a UK visa, to visit him in Britain. ___ This story has been corrected to say the Russian embassy has mentioned Skripal's mother before. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Darlyne and Louis Damus laid their 16-year-old daughter Natalie Damus to rest on Saturday. She was an active young girl involved in her community through church and volunteering. Damus family laid daughter to rest Saturday During funeral arrangement, family slapped w/ parking citation Tickets from Dec. 2017 ordinance My daughter was a very happy girl, Louis said. But now this family living in Crescent Lakes has one more thing to worry about -- a parking citation for $100. I (didnt) do anything. She was parked in front of our house and then they give us ticket, Louis said. The tickets are part of an ordinance that passed back in Dec. 2017 but recently started being enforced. Signage around the community explains that residents cant park on the grass at any time or on the street overnight. We spoke to the president of the Common Facilities District Board for Crescent Lakes. He encourages residents to use their garage, widen their driveway to the allotted 24 feet or having their guest take advantage of the overflow parking at any of the two parks inside the community (Oak and Palm). The Damus said they understand the rules but hope exceptions can be made. As they had several cars parked on the street due to their daughters funeral arrangement over the weekend and still had to deal with warnings from code enforcement. And even though we talked to the security people that (drove) by and said we have a death in the family I dont know if they even cared, Darlyne said. The president of the CFD board said that the ordinance restricting parking was passed after a petition with 100 residents requested it happened. 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. Sign up to receive the First Reading newsletter, your guide to the world of Canadian politics. First Reading is your guide to the world of Canadian politics. Sign up now> The Charger Blog Mechanical engineering major Kevin Rivas 19 reflects on his experience living and learning in Hungary and his deep dive into entrepreneurship and innovation. By Jackie Hennessey, contributing writer As the ferry floated along the Danube River, all of Budapest opened up before Kevin Rivas '19: the majestic Parliament building, the old world architecture in silhouette, the cobblestone streets. So much was new last summer: that view, the parades, songs and merriment that spilled into the streets all over the capital city on St. Stephens Day, the paprika, liberally sprinkled in so many dishes in Hungary, and the stories his fellow college students from Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Romania, and Italy told about their lives. Over 10 days, Rivas, a mechanical engineering major, worked on idea generation and product development, collaborating with a team of students in two different business startup competitions. He took part in seminars with founders of successful startups from Central and Eastern Europe, with professors from an array of universities, and a leader from OTP Bank, one of the largest banks in Central and Eastern Europe, all as part of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium-OTP Bank Summer Academy, a deep dive into entrepreneurship and innovation. But one of the most valuable lessons he left with, he said, was getting to know the people and culture of Hungary, exploring a new city, eyes wide, camera in hand. "It let me see how important it is to travel and to get to know people from different cultures, to talk with them and see them living their lives. In Hungary, they care deeply about their history and their culture and, at the same time, they are very entrepreneurially focused." Kevin Rivas It confirmed for Rivas that he wants "to work in the creative world of research and development in manufacturing engineering," eventually running his own biomedical engineering company, one with a global reach. "Id like to work to create products that help people," he said. His other big takeaway? "With the right planning and right drive, anyone can move forward and create their own business," he said. "You can succeed with a biomedical startup or a nonprofit or developing a new division for a major bank if you have innovative ideas and do your research. With planning and real initiative, you can make things happen." The trip capped a summer that centered on innovation. For the first two months, he took part in the Quinnipiac University Center for Innovation and Engineering (QUCIE) Summer Entrepreneurship Academy Internship Program in partnership with New Haven Promise, working on product development. Rivas developed prototypes for a device that relays the UV index of a specific location at public parks or stadiums letting people know in real time how quickly they can get sunburned at that locale. It worked so well, he is continuing to work for one of the startups, Vanessa Research Inc., at the Hamden-based incubator, The Garage. Rivas is a New Haven Promise Scholar, and Patricia Melton, New Haven Promise president, encouraged him to apply for the internship and summer academy. "I am very pleased that Kevin had such a great international experience, where he could learn new perspectives from peers across the globe. I am sure it will help guide him in the future." Patricia Melton, New Haven Promise president Norman Gray, the Carlton Highsmith Endowed Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University, mentored Rivas at the incubator and was a featured lecturer at the academy. Gray said its important that students are "exposed to global markets, ideas and cultures." "No longer do we live in a society where the product was conceived and manufactured in the same town/city; today, the idea could be generated in Hungary, developed in the U.S.A., made in China, and sold in Europe," he said. Gray said that successful entrepreneurs work hard, mitigate their risks by doing their research and due diligence," and surround themselves with innovative thinkers. "Kevin is an entrepreneur at heart." By Online Desk THOOTHUKUDI: At least 11 people, including two women and a teenager, were killed and 20 others grievously injured after police reportedly opened fire multiple times against anti-Sterlite protesters in Thoothukudi on Tuesday, the 100th day of protests demanding the Sterlite Copper plant in the district be shut. READ | Sterlite Protest Day 2 UPDATES: One killed, four injured in fresh police firing in Thoothukudi; Madras High Court steps in Another 100 people are believed injured during clashes between police and protesters, with official estimates claiming that 20,000 people took to the streets. IN PICTURES | Thoothukudi Sterlite protest turns violent Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami defended the actions of the police saying that the cops resorted to firing only because the protests had turned violent. He further ordered a retired judge to probe into the incident. Sterlite Protest UPDATES: At least 11 people were killed and 20 others grievously injured after police reportedly opened fire multiple times against anti-Sterlite protesters The clash betweent the anti- sterlite protesters and the police killed as many as 11 people including three women and a minor (EPS | Karthik Alagu) CLICK BELOW TO WATCH VIDEO Tamil Nadu Government says Tuticorin police were forced to open fire on protestors Thousands marched towards the Thoothukudi district collectorate, despite the imposition of section 144. (EPS | Karthik Alagu) Protests held in Chennai against the police shoot-out, which has left 10 dead so far, during Sterlite protest in Thoothukudi. Protestors at Chepauk burning effigy of Sterlite owner. (EPS | D Sampath Kumar) DMK working president MK Stalin demands an inquiry commission headed by a sitting High Court judge to probe the Thoothukudi killings. He further urges the government to provide Rs 1 crore for each of the deceased's family. The gunning down by the police of 9 people in the #SterliteProtest in Tamil Nadu, is a brutal example of state sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 22, 2018 Palaniswami says a retired judge would inquire into the Thoothukudi police shoot-out . Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami announces a solatium of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of those killed in Thoothukudi Sterlite police shoot-out. One person each from the victims' families will get government employment. Those who were injured will be given Rs 3 lakh for serious injuries and Rs 1 lakh for minor injuries. WATCH VIDEO: Mob, police clash during Sterlite protest in Thoothukudi Most of the bullet wounds on the deceased were above the abdomen. Out of the ten deceased, nine persons have been identified. Their names are as follows, Jayaram Glastin Kandhaiyya Tamilarasan Shanmugham Antony Selvaraj Maniraj Venista Vinitha Death toll rises to ten , including three women, in police firing during the Sterlite protest. More than 65 reported injured, including 12 who are seriously injured. The toll is updated as of 5:00 pm . Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami says , "Around 20,000 people marched towards Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi and torched police vehicles and vehicles parked inside collectorate. They also pelted stones on collectorate. Since the protestors indulged in violence, the police had to resort to firing to bring the situation under control. " Death toll rises to eight in police firing during the Sterlite protest. The toll is updated as of 3:30 pm. #SterliteProtest TN CM EPS chairs high-level meeting after #Thoothkudi shoot out; says government will respect feelings of the people and take appropriate action on the Sterlite issue; appeals to people to maintain calm. The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) May 22, 2018 Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam condemns Thoothukudi shooting - "The protests against the Sterlite plant were taken lightly by the Tamil Nadu government and that attitude is the reason for today's unfortunate events. The citizens are not criminals. They have always been dying, first because of the plant now because of the government's attitude. Everyone please stay calm," the party said in a press release. Anti-Sterlite protesters set fire vehicles at District Industrial Centre (DIC), pelted stones at the building damaging the glass structures. #SterliteProtest pic.twitter.com/vbjigIhsCD Godson Wisely Dass S (@tnie_godson) May 22, 2018 12 protestors (including women) seriously injured, all of whom have been taken to a nearby hospital. An injured protestor being taken to a nearby hospital. (Karthik Alagu | EPS) As the mob refused to disperse the cops used tear gas to disperse the protestors near Sterlite employees residential quarters Two police jeeps were set on fire and more than 10 police vehicles damaged in the violence In retaliation, angry protestors set Thoothukudi Collector office premises and the quarters of Sterlite employees on fire. Law and Order ADGP was rushed to Thoothukudi in addition to the battalions from Manimuthaaru and Madurai being called in to control the situation. The police reportedly opened firing again at 12.50 p.m. As the entire situation unfolded the mob manhandled a freelance photographer's camera and snatched the memory card. Owing to the Anti-Sterlite campaigners' call for a massive protest against the operations of copper smelter here, several hundreds of protesters rallied to the collectorate campus here on Tuesday. Most shops in Thoothukudi town had downed their shutters accepting the strike call given by Thoothukudi town central traders association. District collector N Venkatesh issued prohibitory order section 144 in view of the scheduled protest, while granting permission to protest only at the SAV ground near Thoothukudi old bus stand. Paying no heed to the imposition, the public started gathering at Madathur, St Lady of snows church and other conjunctions to march towards collectorate demanding to stop operation of the copper smelter. Mob, police clash in Thoothukudi. (EPS) Champaign, IL (61820) Today Windy. Thunderstorms becoming likely in the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 79F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms during the evening, then cloudy skies overnight. Low 57F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Credit: Danny ClinchMuse appears to be back in the recording studio, and it looks like the British rockers are adding new elements to their already expansive sound. Frontman Matt Bellamy posted a video from the studio on his Instagram showing drummer Dominic Howard playing a trio of tribal drums. "Dom goes tribal," Bellamy wrote in the caption. Earlier this year, Muse released a new song called "Thought Contagion," the follow-up single to the 2017 one-off track, "Dig Down." The band plans to release more new music, and potentially a new album, later this year. Muse will headline this weekend's BottleRock festival in Napa, California. You can also catch the band on the big screen when their concert film Drones World Tour hits theaters for one night only on July 12. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau will visit Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting. The meeting will be held on May 25 and 26. This year, APEC has adopted the Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future theme, focusing on how to embrace new challenges in the digital age. Mr Yau will join the meetings discussions and meet with other trade ministers. He will leave Hong Kong on May 23 and return in the evening on May 26. Under Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Bernard Chan will be Acting Secretary during Mr Yau's absence. Secretary for the Environment KS Wong speaks at the Tokyo Forum for Clean City & Clear Sky. Secretary for the Environment KS Wong spoke at the Tokyo Forum for Clean City & Clear Sky today. Mr Wongs Compact City, Sustainable Systems speech illustrated the challenges facing Hong Kong in attaining urban liveability and environmental sustainability. He said, in recent years, the Government has launched a series of environmental blueprints to further boost air quality and improve waste management measures. It has also encouraged people to save energy, utilise renewable energy, conserve biodiversity and tackle climate change, Mr Wong added. In the afternoon, Mr Wong met Japans State Minister of the Environment Tadahiko Ito to discuss various environmental issues. Mr Wong will join a reception hosted by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike in the evening. He will join a discussion session at the forum tomorrow. Thirteen pedestrians plunged to their deaths by jumping in front of moving trains in the first five months of the year, the Daily News can report. The figure is more than half of what was recorded in the whole of last year, giving a scary picture of what could be lying ahead. Official figures obtained from the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) show that five months into the current year, the railway carrier has already recorded 13 fatalities and seven injured. Vehicle collisions at level crossings have also taken a big jump from one fatality in 2017 to five deaths in 2018. Last year, the number of people hit by its locomotives or alternatively committed suicide by jumping in front of its trains stood at 23 fatalities and 11 injured. The spike in fatal car crashes involving trains has jolted the NRZ into doubling its efforts in raising awareness about the need for drivers to make smarter decisions at railroad crossings. Put simply, the parastatal is encouraging drivers to always stop for approaching trains and that pedestrians should desist from using commuter train lines as a platform to commit suicide. Concurrent to these efforts, the NRZ is also carrying out various campaigns that make people aware of the rail road level crossing signage. The campaign also focuses on dissuading from vandalising rail infrastructure and gold panning along railway lines. This comes as four people died, while 10 others were injured when a Toyota Hiace commuter omnibus they were travelling in was hit by a goods train at a railway level crossing near Windsor Park turn-off in Ruwa, just outside Harare, on April 24. Investigations showed that the Toyota Hiace, which was being driven by a 33-year-old man along Sansauce Road with 16 passengers on board, was impatient, and tried to force his way through while all cars were stationary. In Makokoba, in the second city of Bulawayo, a Honda Fit overtook cars that were stationary, resulting in a collision with a train. And just recently, two people were reportedly injured when a pirate taxi they were travelling in was hit by a goods train after failing to stop at a railway crossing point in Gweru. The NRZ has itself come under fire for operating dilapidated infrastructure. Its centralised train control system which is used to monitor the trains movement has since collapsed. The parastatal has not had any meaningful injection of capital over the last 25 years. It was only recently that it leased 13 locomotives, 200 wagons and seven locomotives from South African rail utility, Transnet, as a stop-gap measure under an agreement with the Diaspora Investment Development Group/Transnet Consortium. It is estimated that NRZ requires about $2 billion to turn around its fortunes, but the $400 million would help reposition the parastatal for self-sustenance. NRZ public relations manager Nyasha Maravanyika described the issue as two-pronged. He said because of the vandalism that was taking place, the stealing of copper wires, of motors on the rails and signal equipment, they were no longer running electric trains because of the vandalism. You will also note that the reason we are recapitalising is that we are overhauling our information equipment, in reality some of our infrastructure is not up to scratch and here and there it may contribute to the accidents, said Maravanyika. But you will also note that all our trains are equipped with a horn which, according to the make of our track, it automatically sounds at designated areas, some metres away from the rail level crossing but drivers are not paying heed. Maravanyika said the public needed to have a sense of community ownership and to bear in mind that railway infrastructure belongs to the State and that it is everyones responsibility to protect it. Our lines have always been functioning, they have boom gates and lights, but there are incidences where drivers dont pay heed to the rail line level crossing signage, its only buses and trucks that are observing (the signage, he said. Motorists need to play their part. The big lorries are observing level crossing signage but the private cars are not. Signals are there and they are very clear, stop and give way to the train, you will never win. The other issue is that the public is now using our tracks as a suicidal podium. They go to areas where they are no signals, where there are curves and they throw themselves into the moving train. Its difficult for our engine man to sound the horn. Its very sad to lose lives, added Maravanyika. The NRZ is therefore appealing to people to seek professional help if they have issues affecting them. Daily News (Newser) Police in Ohio say a 9-year-old boy shot and critically wounded his 8-year-old cousin with a handgun he found in a kitchen cupboard while getting snacks. Akron police say the older boy picked up the gun, pointed it at his cousin and fired, hitting the younger boy in the abdomen. Police responded to the scene around 1am Sunday after a 14-year-old who was also in the house at the time ran outside and asked someone else to call for help, Cleveland.com reports. story continues below Per the AP, cops say the injured boy was taken to Akron Children's Hospital where a police spokesman said he remained in critical condition Monday. Investigators haven't publicly identified the children involved or the owner of the weapon. No charges were immediately filed. The shooting remains under investigation. (Read more guns stories.) (Newser) Arthur Ream, a convicted murderer and rapist with a sickening history of crimes involving young girls, wants police to apologize for besmirching his name. In a bizarre interview with the Detroit Free Press, the Michigan inmate, who is serving life for the 1986 murder of 13-year-old Cindy Zarzycki, denies murdering anybody and says police should apologize for accusing him of being a serial killer and for "wasting" money by digging up a wooded area where they suspect the bodies of four to six girls who disappeared between 1970 and 1982 are buried. Ream, who led police to Zarzycki's body in the area in 2008, says he had no connection to any of the girls and "there's no bodies there that I know of." story continues below The 69-year-oldwho admits raping a teen hitchhiker in the 1970s and having sex with numerous other underage girlsclaims he only failed a polygraph test about three missing girls because he had considered sending investigators on a wild goose chase with phony maps. He claims Zarzycki, who was dating his son when she disappeared, actually died in an accident. "For the rest of my life and beyond, I'm going to be known as a serial killer," he complains. "It's out there. It can never be taken away." The dig in Macomb Township didn't turn up any bodies, but Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer says nobody will be apologizing to Ream. "If anybody owes an apology, it's him and that's why he's in prison for life for murder and rape," Dwyer says. (Read more serial killer stories.) (Newser) It was enough to send shivers down your spine: Fire and rescue officials in Colleton County said a 28-year-old kayaker was hospitalized in critical condition Saturday after a rattlesnake fell out of a tree on the Edisto River and bit him twice on the hand. Except now the man's family says that's not at all how it went down. Michael Adams' cousin tells ABC News 4 that Adams believed he saw an alligator in the water and paddled toward it. Upon seeing it was a snake, Kyle Colquitt says his cousin reached out to grab it, unaware it had a venomous bite. Colquitt says the snake was a baby and that it actually bit Adams three times. Colleton County Fire Chief Barry McRoy said that after being bitten, Adams "was in bad shape, and greatly deteriorated" during an ambulance ride. story continues below The Colleton Medical Center had anti-venom ready in the emergency room to treat him, McRoy says. Adams was then flown by helicopter to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston on Sunday, and a rep for MUSC tells the State he's currently in "good condition." The rep says Adams does not want to speak to the media and does not want the attention the incident is generating. McRoy described it as the first rattlesnake bite recorded in the county so far this year, the State reports, though there have been a few nonfatal copperhead attacks. Rattlesnake bites can lead to more serious health problems than a typical copperhead bite, but deaths are rare. (This Virginia woman was attacked by a copperhead snake inside a steakhouse.) (Newser) The FBI informant President Trump accuses of "infiltrating" his 2016 campaign was Stefan Halper, an American professor who taught at the University of Cambridge from 2001 to 2015, according to multiple reportsand this is far from his first rodeo. The 73-year-old served in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations and was accused of "political spying" on Jimmy Carter's campaign in 1980, the Washington Post reports. He has had Defense Department contracts since 2012. Sources say Halper, described as a moderate Republican with longstanding ties to the intelligence community, met three Trump advisers for foreign policy discussions in 2016, the same year he became a secret FBI informant. The professor and the FBI have declined to comment. In other developments: Justice to probe "any irregularities." Trumpwho declared Sunday that he would demand a Justice Department investigation of the FBI "spying"met with top Justice officials including Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Afterward, the White House said it supported the department's decision to have its inspector general look into "any irregularities." The move, which falls short of a full criminal investigation, is seen as delaying a potential showdown between the Justice Department and the White House. story continues below A review of classified info . In Monday's meeting, it was "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," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday, signaling that GOP lawmakers had won their battle to review classified information related to Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, the New York Times reports. It's not clear whether Democrats will have the same access. . In Monday's meeting, it was "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," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday, signaling that GOP lawmakers had won their battle to review classified information related to Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, the New York Times reports. It's not clear whether Democrats will have the same access. What Giuliani wants to know . Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Monday that the Trump team wants to interview the FBI officials who decided to connect the informant to the campaign, Politico reports. "The question is, 'What are the justifications for it? Did the justifications continue? Did they pick up anything valuable?' Thats the most important thing to do. We think they didnt," he said. . Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Monday that the Trump team wants to interview the FBI officials who decided to connect the informant to the campaign, Politico reports. "The question is, 'What are the justifications for it? Did the justifications continue? Did they pick up anything valuable?' Thats the most important thing to do. We think they didnt," he said. Trump loyalists want more . While demanding a Justice Department investigation is an unprecedented move, some Trump loyalists are calling for him to go even further, the Hill reports. Florida's Rep. Matt Gaetz said that instead of the department "investigating itself," another special counsel should be appointed. "The president is understandably frustrated that his own campaign was having intelligence collected against it," he says. . While demanding a Justice Department investigation is an unprecedented move, some Trump loyalists are calling for him to go even further, the Hill reports. Florida's Rep. Matt Gaetz said that instead of the department "investigating itself," another special counsel should be appointed. "The president is understandably frustrated that his own campaign was having intelligence collected against it," he says. An embedded spy? Frank Figliuzzi, a former head of FBI counterintelligence, tells NBC that it is absurd to think the government actually embedded a spy in the Trump campaign. "What is easier to imagine is the FBI trying to flesh out information on Russian intelligence operatives by making approaches to campaign staffers if the reasonable suspicion was there and the approvals were in place," he says. The demands from Congress . The demand for information on Halper appears to have started with a letter from House Intelligence Committee chief Devin Nunes to the Justice Department last month "regarding a specific individual," the AP reports. The department refused to provide information on the FBI informant, saying doing so could endanger life. . The demand for information on Halper appears to have started with a letter from House Intelligence Committee chief Devin Nunes to the Justice Department last month "regarding a specific individual," the AP reports. The department refused to provide information on the FBI informant, saying doing so could endanger life. A constitutional crisis? The constitutional crisis that critics feared Trump's presidency would bring has now arrived, according to Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post. Trump is lying when he describes Halper as a "spy" who was "implanted" in his campaign, and a "gutless" Congress is doing nothing to rein him in, Robinson writes. "Trump is determined to use the Justice Department and the FBI to punish those he sees as political enemies," he writes. "This is a crisis, and it will get worse." The constitutional crisis that critics feared Trump's presidency would bring has now arrived, according to Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post. Trump is lying when he describes Halper as a "spy" who was "implanted" in his campaign, and a "gutless" Congress is doing nothing to rein him in, Robinson writes. "Trump is determined to use the Justice Department and the FBI to punish those he sees as political enemies," he writes. "This is a crisis, and it will get worse." Bigger than Watergate? Critics may scoff at Trump's statement that this could be "bigger than Watergate," but he will be correct if it is proven that officials appointed by President Obama tried to sabotage his campaign or undermine his administration, argues Douglas MacKinnon at Fox, who says 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." (Read more FBI stories.) (Newser) Sarah Rose Summers from Nebraska has beaten 50 other women to win the crown at this year's Miss USA competition. Summers, a 23-year-old from Omaha, graduated from Texas Christian University with two degrees and is working on becoming a certified child life specialist. With Monday evening's victory, she takes over from nuclear scientist Kara McCullough, who won the competition last year when it was held in Las Vegas. The final three contestantsSummers, Caelynn Miller-Keyes of North Carolina, and Carolina Urrea of Nevadawere asked what they would write on a blank sign on the way to a hypothetical march, the AP reports. Miller-Keyes was 1st runner-up and Urrea the 2nd runner-up. story continues below Summers said she would encourage people to "speak your voice" with her sign. Urrea vowed to work to eliminate homelessness. Miller-Keyes spoke about sexual assault prevention, saying she would march for "your body, your rights." The evening also touched on one of the year's biggest themesthe #MeToo movement. In a video montage, the contestants talked about particular #MeToo moments they had experienced and women's empowerment. The New York Daily News reports that a jarring moment came when commentator Carson Kressley likened choosing from the final 15 to Holocaust novel Sophie's Choice, in which a mother is forced to choose which of her children goes to the gas chamber. Lu Sierra, the former Queer Eye star's fellow commentator, quickly moved things on from the remark. (Read more Miss USA stories.) (Newser) An archbishop accused of turning a blind eye to the abuse of altar boys by a pedophile priest has become the most senior Catholic ever convicted of concealing child molestation. An Australian court has found Philip Wilson, archbishop of Adelaide, guilty of covering up the abuse in the 1970s, the BBC reports. One victim testified that when he was 15 years old in 1976, he told Wilson he'd been abused by parish priest James Fletcher, and Wilson did nothing. Another victim testified that when he was 11 years old, he told Wilson during confession that he was being abusedand Wilson, then an assistant priest, accused him of lying and ordered him to say 10 Hail Marys. story continues below Prosecutors accused Wilson of concealing the abuse to protect the church and its reputation. Fletcher died in jail in 2006, two years after he was found guilty of abusing an altar boy. Wilson, who denied that anybody had told him about the abuse, called the verdict "obviously disappointing." The 67-year-old faces a maximum of two years in prison when he's sentenced next month. Child sex abuse survivors cheered the verdict, which is expected to set a precedent for future prosecutions, the Australian reports. "It is vindicating knowing that if this bloke had have done something in 1976, which is the year that I was born, my life would have been a lot different than it is today," said abuse victim Daniel Feenan, a prosecution witness. "I'm very happy with the result. Everyone can see, he is guilty." (Read more Catholic Church stories.) (Newser) International airlines are obeying Beijing's demands to refer to Taiwan as a part of China, despite the White House's call this month to stand firm against "Orwellian nonsense." The AP found 20 carriers, including Air Canada, British Airways, and Lufthansa, now refer to Taiwan as a part of China on their global websites. US airlines, however, are resisting. There are just three days left for dozens of foreign airlines to comply with Beijing's orders, or face consequences that could cripple their China business. Many have already sided with Beijing. The spread of "Taiwan, China" on the drop-down menus and maps of airline websites represents another victory for China's President Xi Jinping's nationalistic effort to force foreign companies to conform to their geopolitical vision. story continues below "What's at stake is that we're allowing a revisionist regime with a terrible track record on freedom of speech to dictate what we say and write in our own countries," says a senior fellow with the China Policy Institute. The list of multinationals that have bent to Beijing's will is growing, including Air Canada, Lufthansa, British Airways, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Asiana Airlines, and Philippine Airlines. SAS airlines, Swissair, Malaysia Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, Aeroflot, Italy's Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, Air Mauritius, Etihad Airways, Spain's Iberia, Israel's EL AL, MIAT Mongolian Airlines and Russia's S7 Airlines all also refer to Taiwan as part of China, but it was not clear how long they had been using that formulation. Major US carriers have not caved, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, and Hawaiian Airlines, as well as Australia's Qantas Airways. (Read more China stories.) (Newser) Jacob Koscinski was certainly worthy of a grand graduation cake: The 18-year-old earned a 4.79 GPA in his Christian-based home-school program and is now set to head to North Carolina's Wingate University later this year on a full scholarship. But per WCIV, when partygoers got their first glimpse Saturday of the sheet cake for the South Carolina teen, it was a "huge shock" for everyone, his mom says. Cara Koscinski had ordered the cake online through Publix, requesting that it include the message "summa cum laude" to signal the high honors Jacob had received. But because Publix's algorithm apparently deemed the middle word (which means "with" in the Latin phrase) a profane one, it automatically generated three hyphens in its place: The cake revealed at the party read "summa --- laude." "Utterly ridiculous," Koscinski wrote on her Facebook page. story continues below The Washington Post tried to order a cake on the Publix site using the same phrase and got an alert that said "Profane/special characters not allowed." Koscinski notes when she got that message, she explained the meaning of the phrase in the "special instructions" field and included a link to a site that explained it more fully. The hyphenated replacement for the omitted word actually made things worse for Jacob, who called the whole thing "frustrating and humiliating." "I had to explain to my friends and family what that meant," he tells WCIV. "They were giggling uncontrollably." Publix offered to redo the cake, but Jacob's mom turned it down, as the graduation party had already passed. Instead, she received a refund for the $70 she'd spent, as well as a store gift card. (Four words on a New Jersey high school's prom tickets caused a problem.) (Newser) The debate over MH370's demise rages on, this time in the Australian Senate, where an official with the country's Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) threw cold water on a recently pushed theory. In an episode of Australia's 60 Minutes, experts alleged that Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah intentionally crashed the plane and that those aboard weren't conscious when he did so. They suggested he depressurized the aircraft by rapidly changing its altitude to inflict hypoxia on the passengers and crew but remained conscious himself using an emergency air supply, then repressurized the plane for the remainder of the journey. Both the ATSB and Malaysian officials say Zaharie was unconscious when the flight went down, and the ATSB's Peter Foley used the example of a 1994 flight as reported by the US National Transportation Safety Board in attempting to dispel the theory. story continues below The Guardian has his quote: "During the climbout [of the 1994 flight] the flight crew was unable to pressurize the aircraft, and the captain elected to proceed with the flight. The crew donned their oxygen masks and shortly thereafter the captain became incapacitated from decompression sickness. The first officer took command and they landed the plane. The pilot in this particular aircraft was 51 and overweight. The pilot in command of MH370 was 53 and overweight. I'm not saying that happened and I hate to speculate, but that is one plausible scenario." The Australian Associated Press reports Foley said Zaharie would have had to battle the effects of decompression sickness for as long as an hour, and that doing so just wasn't likely. (Read more MH370 stories.) (Newser) President Trump insisted last week that despite multiple threats from North Korea about canceling it, his planned summit with Kim Jong Un was still on. On Tuesday, however, the POTUS was hedging on that, USA Today reports. "You never know about deals. Ive made a lot of deals. You never really know," he said during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the Oval Office. He added that the summit "may not work out for June 12" as planned, per Fox News, but that if it doesn't, "maybe it will happen later." For his part, Moon said he believes Kim is "serious" about the talks. story continues below Trump and Moon are holding what South Korea's national security adviser said would be "candid discussions on how to make the North-US summit a success and produce significant agreements and how to best implement those agreements." While en route to Washington for the talks, the national security adviser noted that while South Korea believes "there is a 99.9% chance the North Korea-US summit will be held as scheduled," the leaders are "just preparing for many different possibilities. ... We're trying to understand the situation from the North's perspective." (Read more North Korea stories.) Sorry! This content is not available in your region New Delhi: Disha Patani recently joined the cast of Salman Khan starrer Bharat. The makers have now announced that Tabu is also onboard. Director Ali Abbas Zafar has been a fan of the celebrated actor and always wished to work with her. Details of Tabu's character have been kept under the wraps but speculations are making rounds that the national award winning actress plays an important role in the period drama. Delighted about welcoming Tabu to the cast, Ali Abbas Zafar said, Ive been a huge fan of Tabus work and always wished to work with her. After several meetings with her, Im happy it is finally happening with Bharat and am looking forward to the shoot. Director Ali Abbas Zafar took to social media to welcome Tabu saying, "Finally its happening, so excited to work with you :) lots of love @tublb :) @Bharat_TheFilm @BeingSalmanKhan @priyankachopra @DishPatani @WhoSunilGrover". Including stellar performers like Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Disha Patani, Tabu and Sunil Grover, the Ali Abbas Zafar directorial boasts of an ensemble cast promising power packed performances. Salman Khan will yet again treat the audience on the festive season of Eid next year with the release of Bharat. The film will feature Salman Khan sporting five different looks spanning 60 years, wherein a crucial part will showcase the actor in his late 20s, looking much leaner and younger. Salman Khan will be recreating his 'Maine Pyaar Kiya' look which has created immense excitement amongst the audience. Bharat's release also brings back Salman Khan and director Ali Abbas Zafar for an Eid release after the 2016 Blockbuster Hit, Sultan. The hit director-actor duo will be marking a hattrick with Bharat after their last outing Tiger Zinda Hai. The film is set to have a character-driven story spanning across many periods. Bharat will be shot across locations in Abu Dhabi and Spain, besides Punjab and Delhi in India. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, 'Bharat' is produced by Atul Agnihotri's Reel Life Production Pvt. Ltd and Bhushan Kumar's T-Series releasing Eid 2019. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: At least nine people were killed and 20 others injured after the month-long protest demanding the closure of Vedantaas Sterlite Copper unit in Tamil Naduas Tuticorin took a violent turn on Tuesday. "9 people killed during the protest held in Tuticorin demanding ban on Sterlite Industries, in wake of the pollution created by them," the news agency ANI reported. Angered over not being allowed to take out a rally, the agitators resorted to stone pelting and overturned police vehicles. To disperse the protesters, the police fired teargas shells and gunshots. Nine persons were reported killed in the police firing. The situation remained tense in the area, prompting authorities to impose Section 144 of CrPc around the Sterlite unit to provide security to the plant in accordance with the Madras High Court order. 9 people killed during the protest held in Tuticorin demanding ban on Sterlite Industries, in wake of the pollution created by them #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/a4bBQZu0yx a ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 M K Stalin, Kamal Haasan condemn police action Expressing solidarity with the protesters, DMK working president and Leader of Opposition MK Stalin condemned the police action in which one person was killed and several others received injuries. aSince the government did not take any steps in this regard, the people launched todayas massive rally....police attacked people indiscriminately and opened fire on them which is condemnable,a Stalin said. The actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan also threw his weight behind the protesters and demanded the closure of the unit. aThe expansion (of Sterlite Copper) should not at all be allowed. If possible it will be good to close down the (existing) unit,a PTI Quoted Kamal Haasan as saying. Meanwhile his party, the Makkal Needhi Maiam also released a statement saying that the negligence of the government was the reason behind the clashes. aThe peaceful protest by the people of Tuticorin against Sterlite, demanding justice was ignored by the Governments. Negligence of the Governments is the reason for all the unfortunate events,a the Makkal Needhi Maiam said in a statement. CM Edappadi K Palaniswami appeals for peace Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami appealed people to maintain peace amid the unconfirmed reports of death toll being increased to five. However, the police confirmed only one death and denied opening fire at protestors. It claimed that the person was killed in stone pelting and not in the firing. The residents of Tuticorin were demanding the closure of the Sterlite Copper unit over the concerns of pollution. The locals alleged that the plant was polluting groundwater and causing serious health issues. Sterlite Copper is a unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 400,000-tonne per annum capacity plant in Tuticorin. The protests escalated after the company announced the expansion of the unit. #WATCH Protest held in Tuticorin demanding ban on Sterlite Industries, in wake of the pollution created by them #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/23FWdj1do5 a ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 330 MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan on Monday lodged its protest against Indias alleged violation of the Indus Waters Treaty at the World Bank. A Pakistani delegation met with the Work Bank officials and argued that the 330 MW hydroelectric on Kishanganga River, a tributary of Jhelum, flowing into Pakistan will disrupt water supplies. Earlier on Friday, Pakistan government had raised its concerns, saying that the construction of dam violated the 1960 Indus Water Treaty between the countries. Pakistan believes that the inauguration of the project without the resolution of the dispute is tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement. Pakistan reiterates that as the custodian of the Treaty, World Bank must urge India to address to Pakistans reservations on Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project (KHEP), the statement added. Reacting to Pakistans protest, a World Bank official said that the Indus Waters Treaty was essential for India and Pakistan to address the water management challenges. The Indus Waters Treaty is a profoundly important international agreement that provides an essential cooperative framework for India and Pakistan to address current and future challenges of effective water management to meet human needs and achieve development goals, PTI quoted a World Bank spokesperson as saying. The meetings are discussing concerns raised by the Pakistan delegation and opportunities within the treaty to seek an amicable resolution, the spokesperson said. Islamabad had been raising objections over the design of the hydel project, saying it is not in line with the criteria laid down under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between the two countries. But, India says the project design was well within parameters of the treaty. The project, located at Bandipore in North Kashmir, envisages diversion of water of Kishan Ganga River to underground power house through a 23.25-km-long headrace tunnel to generate 1713 million units per annum. (With inputs from agencies) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The death toll due to the deadly Nipah Virus in Kerala rose to 10 on Tuesday, while two more people undergoing treatment were in critical condition, the state government said. All the deaths were reported in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of north Kerala and the state government had informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) about the outbreak. Two personsRajan and Ashokan, who were undergoing treatment at Kozhikode, died this morning, have been confirmed to have contracted the virus. A nursing assistant, Lini, who died Monday had also contracted the virus, PTI quoted state Health Minister KK Shylaja as saying. The health minister informed that so far, 12 people have been tested positive for the virus, of which 10 have died. Two deaths reported on May 20 from MalappuramSindhu and Sijitha, have tested positive for Nipah virus. The two had come to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital for treatment and had been in touch with one of the infected persons who had died of the virus, the minister said. Union Health Minister JP Nadda had enquired about the situation in the state and promised all the possible help from the central government, she said. The Centre has rushed teams of National Centre for Disease -Control (NCDC), National Institute of Virology and Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme to contain the outbreak of Nipah Virus. What is Nipah Virus? The deadly Nipah virus, which broke out in Kerala, is a new emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Also known as NiV, the Nipah virus is an acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis which is found in horses, pigs, fruit bats and humans. The Virus was named after the Malaysian village Kampung Sungai Nipah, where it was first discovered in pigs in 1998. The NiV is related to the Hendra Virus and is caused by an RNA virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus. In 2014, the virus was diagnosed in humans in Bangladesh after they consumed date palm sap that was contaminated by infected fruit bats. Click Here To Know Symptoms And Treatment Of Nipah Virus (With inputs from agencies) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan forces may have adopted a new strategy to attack Indian forces going by the security agencies' report. According to the security agencies, Pakistani personnel wore 'thermal camouflage suits' to avoid detection by Indian night vision devices and killed a BSF jawan along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir. Twenty-eight year old Constable Sitaram Yadav of the 192nd battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF) was shot with a precise close-range aim by either a militant or Special Service Group (SSG) trooper from the Pakistani side at about 1:30 am on May 18, the agencies told PTI. The battalion mans a forward post along the IB in the RS Pora region. The "disturbing" first-time instance has rattled the top commanders responsible for ensuring security at the Indo-Pak IB and the un-fenced Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources told PTI quoting an electronic surveillance report. The official sources said that Yadav was immediately evacuated by two other BSF men present in the nearby post but he later succumbed to his bullet wound in his left eye. A scrutiny of the local hand-held thermal imager (HHTI) showed that a very-grained black shadow like movement takes place on the monitor and it comes very close to the BSF post and fires a shot, that is suspected to have hit the jawan leading to his killing, they said. However, the HHTI, deployed in the border areas for night vision and surveillance, could not clearly pick the black shadow of an approaching man as he might be wearing a 'thermal camouflage suit' that insulates the body heat of a person, they said. HHTI picks up the body heat signatures of a living being -- a human or an animal -- and creates a silhouette that helps the BSF and the Army to check infiltration bids and attacks on their posts in the dead of the night. "The electronic surveillance of the incident is being analysed and nothing can be ruled out. It could be a new camouflage overall that the Pakistani side is using to take a close aim and hit Indian troops at the border or it could also be an indigenous way of wearing a wet-sack like clothing to evade the HHTI radar," a senior officer in the security establishment said. The officer said that this "menacing stealth operation"-- carried out either by militants, the SSG or Pak regulars -- is a worrying development and is being investigated thoroughly. There are such thermal camouflage or insulation suits available across the globe that are used for such tactical and surprise attacks on the enemy and before anything is conclusively said, all aspects of this latest development have to be studied as it concerns border security, the officer added. (With inputs from PTI) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A day after meeting Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Karnataka CM-designate HD Kumaraswamy will discuss cabinet sharing arrangement and deputy CM post with AICC general secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday. The Congress and the Janata Dal Secular (JD-S) stitched a post-poll alliance soon after the BJP fell short of the majority in Karnataka Assembly elections. The Congress gave up chief minister post to the JD-S in a bid to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the single largest party in a hung house, out of power. However, the reports suggested that there were contentions between the parties over the issue of deputy CMs post. According to the sources, the Congress, having 78 MLAs wanted two deputy CMsone a Dalit and another a Lingayatand a lions share in the states cabinet. The JD-S, which has just 37 seats, wanted just one deputy CM. Kumaraswamy on Monday met Sonia and Rahul to discussion the apprehensions between the parties over the cabinet sharing arrangement. Rahulji cleared the modalities to be done, he has given permission to Karnataka General Secy KC Venugopal to discuss all issues and finalise everything. Local leaders and hell sit together tomorrow to finalise things, Kumaraswamy told reporters after the meeting. The Gandhi's also told Kumaraswamy to forget the past, look at the future and forge a long-term relationship. The JD-S leader assured Gandhis that he would provide good governance to Karnataka for the next five years without posing any problem to the Congress and its leaders. The Congress and the JD-S didn't want their coalition to be confined only to power-sharing in Karnataka and the parties were also in favour of a broader alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "We don't want it (the tie-up) to be confined only to power-sharing but a future alliance... Both reciprocated the feelings," NDTV quoted Venugopal as saying. Kumaraswamy will take oath as Karnataka CM on Wednesday. The ceremony is expected to be the show of Opposition parties strength ahead of next year's general elections. Chief ministers from several states, including Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, are likely to attend the ceremony. Congress chief Rahul and his mother Sonia Gandhi has also been invited for the swearing-in ceremony. After the meeting with Kumaraswamy, the Congress president tweeted his acceptance of the invitation and 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." For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Bengaluru: Berth pangs of ministerial aspirants from the Janata Dal-Secular and more important, the Congress, have thrown in an element of built-in instability into the HD Kumaraswamy government to be sworn in on Wednesday on the footsteps of then imposing and majestic Karnataka Vidhan Soudha at 4.30 pm. With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) still smarting under the defeat inflicted by a determined Congress and the JD-S that frustrated all attempts by the BJP to shore up its numbers, the BJP is watching the developing political situation and the plight of the Congress leadership in trying to assuage the sentiments and fulfil the aspirations of different groupings. With the tallest Lingayat leader, BS Yeddyurappa in its ranks, the BJP is banking on the Lingayat MLAs of the Congress to put pressure on the leadership of the Congress and make impossible demands, so that the party cracked. On Wednesday, Kumaraswamy is expected to be sworn in with a small cabinet, so that hope of ministerial positions keeps the MLAs under check till after the trust vote is successfully negotiated in the assembly on Thursday. As per the power sharing formula being worked out by the leaders of the JD-S and Karnataka Congress leaders, the Speakers post will go to the Congress. The name of the Congress man of the moment, DK Shivakumar, is being spoken about in Congress circles for the post which will be the most crucial in running the house with the numbers in such a precarious position for the ruling as well as the opposition party. Since the role of the Speaker is going to be very crucial, the Congress which is backing the smaller JD-S for the CM post insisted that it got the speakers post. There is, however, no clarity on whether the JD-S has agreed to hand over plus portfolios of revenue, finance and home that the Congress was demanding. As if this power-sharing problem was not enough, it is now besieged with demands from the minority community MLAs, who are now seeking respectable accommodation. What the minority community leaders are demanding is the post of the deputy chief minister for the senior most Muslim MLA like Roshan Baig. There are only seven Muslim MLAs who have won from the Congress ticket and none from the JD(D). But since the minority community has been supporting the Congress for a long time and has never got its due rewards, this time around the issue must be addressed with respectable post for our member, said Abdul Rashid, a minority community leader. We work day and night and fight to ensure the victory of secular forces but are ignored when it came to giving power to the community, Rashid said. The pulls and pressures from different MLAs and groupings, working on both the JD-S and the Congress, are keeping the leaders also guessing about the trust vote that the Kumaraswamy government will be taking in the assembly on Thursday, as announced. Then there are MLAs belonging to the Veerashaiva Lingayat sect, whose youthful leader Mahesh Kumar is trying to break the Lingayat MLAs of the Congress and JD-S to back Yeddyurappa and not the Congress that had tried to divide the Lingayat community and weakened it considerably. The Kumaraswamy government has the support of 117 MLAs and on paper is well ahead of the halfway mark of 112 in a 221-member house. Three seats are vacant. But, neither the Congress nor the JD-S are sure of their own MLAs and for this reason they are still under lock and key of their minders. On Tuesday, Congress leader Shivakumar was having a one-on-one meeting with all the party MLAs at the Hilton hotel to read their mind as also to impress upon them the need for unity and trust at this juncture when the big picture idea was to stop the communal forces, a senior Congress MLA said. But political analysts see an unstable arrangement between the Congress and the JD-S though former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, his son and CM-elect Kumaraswamy, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi have declared that the alliance would continue into the general elections and after that as well. Although the new friendship appears to last, the duo must guard against a BJP that will be waiting for even a small opportunity to unseat the combine from power. The resolve of the leadership of the two parties, if not shared by its MLAs, can put the government in danger and can destroy the best laid plans of the two parties for the 2019 general elections to the Lok Sabha. New Delhi: It is a measure of Prime Minister Narendra Modis personality that his trademark style of informal summitry is today making a major impact on world leaders. For a leader who is wholly home-bred and schooled in Indian traditions, the felicity with which Modi deals with world leaders is remarkable indeed. Critics of his frequent foreign visits fail to appreciate the tremendous good that comes out of the bonhomie that such summits generate. Be it Xi Jinping in China, Shinzo Abe in Japan, Vladimir Putin in Russia or the characteristically- unpredictable Donald Trump in the US, the informal style of Modis diplomacy is bringing the leaders closer to India. Many may mock at Modis bear hugs of world leaders but the fact remains that these are going down well in establishing his rapport with them. The images that come to mind of these informal meetings are Modi and Putin on a joy ride in Sochi waters, with Xi Jinping on a swing by the Sabarmati river, the chai pe charcha with former US President Barack Obama in the Hyderabad House when he was in the saddle and Shinzo Abe in a kurta pyjama and Modi jacket at the Sabarmati ashram laying flowers in 2017. Modis oratory also brings him much respect worldwide. It all adds up to building a positive image for India. The ongoing visit of Modi to Russia and his informal exchanges with Putin came at a time when Russia was drifting away from the emotional connect with India. There are indications that Indo-Russian relations would shift to a stronger footing as a result of the informal interactions of the two leaders. With some of his outreaches, Modi has inevitably rubbed some world leaders on the wrong side. President Trump, for instance is expected to be piqued by the emphasis on defence cooperation between India and Russia at a time when the US is moving to target Russian tie-ups in the sector. Likewise, the close ties established with Iran go contrary to US hostility towards Tehran. But Modi believes in cultivating friends in conformity with enlightened national interest. The manner in which Indo-Israeli ties were given a boost with Modis visit to Israel irritated some leaders of the Muslim bloc. But Modi was unfazed. The closeness with Shinzo Abe, cemented through informal summits, irked China, but with time Beijing has learnt to appreciate that India means no harm to China. In the economic arena, while India under Modi is facing rough times especially in the backdrop of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax, Modis forays abroad have boosted Indian external economic policy initiatives. To name a few positives, Japan committed itself to investing 35 billion US dollars in India, France to investing 2 billion dollars, US to investing 4 billion dollars while the corporate sector in the US pledged 41 billion dollars in three years, among others. Australia and India signed a new security pact, while Canada agreed to supply uranium to India for the next five years. With growing evidence of Trumps inward-looking approach, India needed to shield itself from Chinese misadventures and Pakistani collusion against India. In that, Modis diplomatic forays have helped a great deal. In 2014-15, India received $19.7 billion as foreign direct investment from 12 countries. Since the launch of Make in India campaign, FDI has gone up by 48 per cent. This is not to say that but for Modis diplomatic initiatives, these investments would not have materialised. But there can be little doubt that Modis forays helped the economy. In fact, Modi thrives on a personality-based approach to diplomacy in which summits seem to be a particular favourite. Interestingly, Modi began his term as prime minister with an informal meeting of SAARC at his swearing-in ceremony. One legitimate criticism of Modis forays abroad is that there is inadequate follow-up at the Indian ministerial end for which the bureaucracy needs to pull up its socks and Modis ministers need to exercise greater initiative. New Delhi: To increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is celebrating the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22. The CBD has chosen Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity the theme for 2018 International Biological Diversity. The theme was chosen to mark the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity and to highlight progress made in the achievement of its objectives at the national and global levels, United Nations said in a release. The International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated with an aim to conserve the biodiversity and promote its sustainable use and the equitable sharing of its benefits for sustainable development. Earlier, December 29, the day when the Convention of Biological Diversity came into force, was adopted as the International Day for Biological Diversity. However, In December 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted 22 May as the International Biological Diversity Day to commemorate the adoption of the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Biological Diversity, the variety of plant and animal life in the world, measures variation at the genetic, the species, and the ecosystem level on the Earth. Biodiversity is significant for natural sustainability for all forms of life on earth as it boosts ecosystem productivity where each species have an important role to play. However, due to the increasing levels of pollution, the earth is losing its greenery, its biodiversity, which is dangerous for the existence of life on the planet. We all need to make collective efforts to save our animals and plants and preserve the biodiversity of the planet earth because "before we came, the earth was green, the trees were tall, the air was fresh, the soil deep, the water was pure and the birds did sing." So, on Biological Diversity Day, let's all join hands and pledge that when we left, we left the earth more green. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Tehran would be hit with the "strongest sanctions in history," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned, toeing an aggressive policy and cautioned European companies against continuing to do business with it. The United States is toughening up its policy after its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. "We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness," Pompeo said, addressing the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank. This is his first major foreign policy address since moving to the State Department from the CIA. Pompeo, the "longtime Iran hawk and ardent opponent of the 2015 nuclear pact" outlined an aggressive series of moves designed to counter Tehran, terming it the world's top sponsor of terror. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, however, dismissed the threats. . "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... Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani said in a statement carried by various Iranian news agencies. Rouhani said that the rest of the world no longer accepts Washington making decisions on their behalf. "The world does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," he said. If Iran were to abide by stricter terms, including its interventions in regional conflicts from Yemen to Syria, Washington would lift its new sanctions, Pompeo said. The 2015 deal with Iran -- also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- did not go far enough, US President Donald Trump said. The deal was designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. He now wants the Europeans and others to support his hardline strategy. 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 he pulled the US out despite intense diplomatic lobbying by European allies who had beseeched him to stick with it by adding tougher elements. Following it, 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 likens Pompeo's comments to those made by the Bush administration 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 pay attention," Rouhani added. Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported 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. (With AFP/PTI inputs) For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. There was a heavy rush in almost all the currency exchange companies across Bahrain for sending money to India as Indian expatriates are getting excellent exchange rates against the Bahrain dinar. According to Bahrain finance company, the currency exchange rate was INR for BD1 last night. DT News: Does the ministry have any plans to benefit from or recycle the excavated rainwater? Eng. Khalaf: The storm water is usually discharged in the sea and other areas. We had attempted to inject it in the under- ground water in a couple of sites across the Kingdom. But recycling also is only done if strict rules are followed. The Supreme Council for the Environment had some environ- mental reservations in regards to this process as they had some concerns over water pollution suspicions, hence the processes were stopped and further discussions are in progress. But, we utilise it in irrigation purposes. We have more work and effort to be implemented in the field of rainwater drainage and recycling. Yet, we have managed to considerably reduce the negative effects of this issue on the public by taking the necessary precautionary measures and procedures ahead of the rainy season. The ministry has offered more tenders to provide tanks and containers to excavate the excessive water from roads and public areas. We have also upgraded the vacuum tankers and provided them with additional pumps to accelerate the process of excavating the water, thats in addition to installing pumps at vital areas and roads to move the water to open areas and ensure that the daily life isnt affected. DT News: What are the main challenges the ministry is facing in tackling the rainwater flooding issue? Eng. Khalaf: One of the biggest challenges we face during the rainy seasons is the uncivil behaviour of some people who remove the covers of sewage manholes and allow the rainwa- ter to enter and mix with the sewerage network. This is a grave matter as such behaviour disrupts and dam- ages the networks. The rainwater, with all its sediments, damages the pumps and other equipment of the sewerage network. This results in the rebound of the sewerage inside homes and other facilities. Such cases were reported recently, as the pumps were damaged and unable to move the sewer- age to the treatment plant. We repeatedly warn the public of the dangerous effects of such behaviours by raising more awareness on the matter through different platforms. Its noteworthy that we have also fulfilled all the requests that were received by municipal councils from citizens this year to install rainwater roof coatings to prevent any leakages inside homes, especially those belonging to the limited and medium income citizens. In a groundbreaking surgery, a new laparoscopic technique was successfully performed at the Bahrain Defence Hospital to remove a colorectal tumor from a patient. Consultant general surgeon Dr Thamer Abbasi, supervised by Professor Luigi Boni, Chief of Surgery at the University of Milan, led the surgery which is considered to be a medical milestone for the Kingdom, which is an emerging hub of medical tourism. Speaking to Tribune, Dr Al Abbasi said, The procedure is commonly called the TaTME Procedure. It can be considered a medical milestone. The most important challenge in cancer surgery is to remove all cancerous cells in the body. When asked about the number of colorectal cancer cases in Bahrain, he said, The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the Kingdom, based on the latest cancer registry cases in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, was 40/100,000 in men and 32/100,000 in women. Moreover, when compared to other Gulf countries, Bahrain has highest incidence rates for the disease. CRC is a disease mainly affecting middle-aged and elderly people with a majority being diagnosed after the age of 50 years. He said the Kingdom needed more steps to tackle these rising number of cases. We dont have a national screening programme, and we can detect the disease at early stages by conducting colonoscopy on patients who are susceptible to the disease. Dr Al Abbasi said the authorities should immediately implement such screening programmes. The Cassation Court, Bahrains top court, has upheld the death sentences issued against two defendants implicated in murdering a police officer in Karbabad. According to court reports, father-of-two Mohammed Naveed died when he was trapped in a burning police vehicle following a firebomb attack in Karbabad on April 16, 2016. He is reported to have suffered sixth-degree burns and firemen reportedly retrieved his charred body from the vehicle, while two other officers suffered serious injuries in the assault. Apart from the defendants sentenced to death, namely Alsayed Al Abar and Hussain Mahdi, there were ten more men accused in this case. Three of them were sentenced to life behind bars, three were jailed for 10 years each, one got seven-year sentence, one jailed for five years and two received three years jail term. Nine of the defendants also had their citizenship stripped and seven were ordered to pay a combined fine of BD28,716 for damages caused to the vehicle. The men were found guilty of setting up and being part of a terror group that targeted the countrys unity and stability. All sentences were also upheld by the Cassation Court except for the five years imprisonment jail term which was issued against one defendant. It was reduced to a three-year jail term A massive fire broke out at the al-Batha border checkpoint, on the border of UAE and Saudi Arabia on Sunday afternoon. Abu Dhabi civil defense officials rushed to help their Saudi counter-parts and were successful in putting out the fire, according to Gulf News. Various flammable materials were quickly moved away from the scene and the public was cordoned off at a safe distance. This is a direct outcome of the readiness trainings they conduct on a regular basis to hone their skills and boost their capabilities, al-Rumaithi, the Chairman of Abu Dhabi emergency, crisis and disasters management team told the newspaper. Supporting our brothers in emergencies that threaten their safety and stability is part of the measures we take to safeguard our security and national stability. he added. A video of the incident quickly started making rounds across various social media platforms. In the video, multiple firemen are seen trying to douse the fire with water hoses. Multiple trucks, imported cars and goods were engulfed by the flames, but no commercial movements were affected due to this fire. The fire broke out at a checkpoint warehouse but the cause still remains to be unknown. A new law that's set take effect in Japan next month in principle allows anyone to rent out their property as private lodging if they register with local authorities. It's seen as a way to accommodate a growing number of tourists, but so far only a small number of home owners have signed up. The Japan Tourism Agency says there were about 700 registrations nationwide as of May 11th, with only a few weeks left until the law comes into force. The exact number of private lodgings for rent in Japan is unknown. But one leading tourist accommodation website has some 62,000 properties listed throughout the country. Agency officials say property owners may think the law, and additional rules set by local governments, are too strict. They say some may be opting for a different type of license to circumvent the new law's limit on the number of business days they can operate. People running private lodging businesses without registering will be fined under the new law. Agency officials are urging interested parties to file as soon as possible. WHITESBORO, N.Y. - Hannah Stone was 13 in 2014 when an agent from Nontra Records discovered her videos produced from her bedroom in Lowville that she posted on a popular streaming website. He heard her lilting singing voice, saw her natural talent on a keyboard she'd picked up just a couple weeks before. He flew her out to Miami to begin producing her first album. Her star was rising. There in a Miami recording studio, the record company filmed a question-and-answer with her. She swiveled shyly in a leather chair that seemed a bit too big for her. The video is interspersed with high-tech productions of songs of hers that ultimately never were released. "Where do you see yourself in five years?" an agent asked her. She laughed, first saying she was looking forward to driving, a boyfriend and a job that lets her go to the mall when she wants. But she continued: "In all honesty, I never saw myself pursuing a singing career because I never thought I was capable of it. Now that I've come here to Miami and I started singing I see how much fun it is," she said. "I just want to continue to do it. Hopefully, in five years, I'll be able to do it." The next year, she continued to build her following, posting hundreds of videos that garnered nearly 400,000 followers and 10 million views on the site YouNow, a live broadcasting service where users stream their own live videos. She built her brand, powered by a group of passionate admirers, known as "Fannahs." She rose to the top of the streaming site's leaderboard. She produced five songs for her album and was flown out to video-blogging conventions in Los Angeles. A couple paid her to sing at a wedding in Mexico. She picked up a guitar and, within days, was belting out pop-song covers for her followers. All the while, she spent hours each day talking with fans, becoming something of a sage for teens like her dealing with anxiety and depression. Her music drew people in, but her empathy kept them coming back. She was, as her mother put it, "the teen whisperer." On Oct. 12, something went wrong, and her behavior changed. Her parents still aren't sure what happened to her. On Oct. 29, her older brother found her hanging from the garage ceiling, cut her down and performed CPR. On Nov. 1, her parents removed her from a ventilator at a Syracuse hospital and donated her organs. She would have been 17 on Nov. 13. News of the suicide of the teenage celebrity from a small Upstate New York town immediately ripped across the social media sites where she built her fame. Her parents got a deluge of condolences from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Canada and real-world neighbors, as well. There were hashtags, videos of tearful fans talking into their webcams and an Instagram candlelight memorial. In an interview in their Whitesboro home, Stone's mother, Angela, and 19-year-old brother, Garrett, shared her story in hopes of celebrating her remarkable life and urging other parents to trust their judgment when it comes to their teens' mental health. After Hannah's death, her mom estimates that 50 "Fannahs" contacted her to say that Hannah's advice saved their lives as they coped with mental issues, which are on the rise among teens, especially girls, in the age of social media. One teenager sent a series of texts that popped on Hannah's locked cell phone, with phrases like "suicidal" showing up in excerpts. They couldn't unlock Hannah's phone, but they were able to contact authorities, anyway. "Know your teen. Know what they're doing on social media, because social media makes such a big part of their lives, you know," her mother said. "...If you sense that there are changes in what your child is doing or saying, get them help. When you're taking them into the hospital thinking they're going to be admitted, push. Be their advocate. Be their parent. Push." A study published in November in the journal "Clinical Psychological Science" found that teens, especially girls, who spend significant time on social media and smartphones are more likely to report mental health issues. The study referenced two national surveys on teen mental health and screen time and compared them with suicide rates among those aged 13 to 18 between 2010 and 2015. "I'm not a parent that's afraid to throw a child in psychiatric help. I had done it before, and I would have done it again," Stone said. "But I just had so many outsiders saying that she was OK. But it's the insiders that know them best, and we're the ones that need to advocate for our teens." Answers are elusive Hannah's family members have a few theories about what could have happened to her beginning Oct. 12, but they are only theories. Hannah was not one to share her emotions, and she refused to tell her family what was happening to her, even as her condition grew worse, they said. Her mother, a registered nurse, described what she said might have been a new onset of mental illness. She said her family has a history of depression, including her brother. Hannah also was dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault earlier that spring at a video blogger convention, her mother said. And there were ongoing issues with online harassers, including an "older guy from Russia" who took a nefarious interest in her, her family said. It was unfortunately part of the territory for being a beautiful, young woman with natural talent online, Hannah's mother said. Her mom said she has had early conversations with local and federal law enforcement to pursue a forensic investigation of her daughter's computer, which she confiscated two weeks before Hannah's death amid concerns over her mental wellbeing. The computer was wiped clean of its search history for the last two months. and the police investigation was inconclusive, her mother said. Angela Stone worries her daughter was subject to cybercrimes like hacking or was mercilessly harassed in some form. She took away her daughter's laptop when it appeared her condition got worse when she logged in to it. Throughout her short career online, Hannah had dealt continuously with unwanted attention from men online, including some her mom described as "stalkers," she said. "It wasn't unusual for there to be someone online who was bothering her," Angela Stone said. "However, I think this was something that had lasted a few months. And then something happened a couple of weeks (before her suicide). I think there was somebody local, I think there was somebody online. And all of that stuff just combined." That stress was on top of the cutthroat world of Internet stardom and the pressures on teenage girls forced to grapple with their online personas and their real selves, her mother said. Within the last year, Hannah decided to focus on school and her music instead of boosting her social media presence, her mother said. Her record contract also fell through in 2016. "She made the choice that made me proud, that social media wasn't who she was. She was Hannah Stone. She was an intelligent young woman," her mother said. The choice to focus on school and perhaps pursue a career in psychiatry or dermatology was a difficult one, Angela Stone said. But she was focused on her future, and things were starting to fall into place. "It was hard for her to pull away from that connection. She got to this point, you can either become what everybody thinks you are or you can become what you know in your heart you are," Angela Stone said. "And she was in the midst of all that. It was very confusing." Then Oct. 12 came. Through it all - repeated emergency room visits, the home evaluations by medical professionals, a visit to a police station - Hannah kept quiet about what was troubling her in the last weeks of her life, her family said. She became haunted, paranoid and apathetic. She ate and showered less often. She had taken a break from social media after posting a cryptic apology to her fans in mid-September, which her mom guessed was directed at fans disappointed by her diminished presence. The night before her suicide, Hannah's mom insisted an emergency mental health worker from the Mobile Crisis Intervention Team in Utica evaluate Hannah at her home. The worker determined Hannah was not imminently suicidal and said to bring her back Monday for another evaluation and possible inpatient treatment. That Monday was also the day she would have returned to school in Whitesboro. She had, for a period, gone to school online while she pursued her singing career. Hannah was daunted at the prospect of returning to classes, her mother said. They had earlier visited local police regarding the sexual assault at the video blogger's convention, but Hannah declined to press charges because she was scared, her mother said. Hannah never told her mother against whom she might have filed charges. Hannah and her mother spent a long time in the emergency room waiting area, hoping to admit her for inpatient counseling. Her bag was packed for a hospital stay. But she was eventually deemed not to be an imminent risk to herself, and she was told to come back Monday. Hannah hung herself that weekend. Hannah's mother said her daughter was intelligent and well-versed in what mental health counselors look for in someone who is at risk of suicide. She said Hannah knew what to say to avoid being deemed an immediate suicide risk. "We took the steps," Angela Stone said. "We took the steps that you have to take to get help, but if something's off with your child, a stranger evaluating her is not the end-all. Her parents, her brothers, her sisters -- you know when something's wrong and you need to push that. Hannah just knew what to say." A natural talent Hannah was 13 years old when she picked up her grandmother's small keyboard. Within two weeks, she was posting videos online on YouNow. "It was a natural talent. It's what made her happy. And it wasn't just her singing, but she touched so many people online broadcasting that within the first year she was at the top of YouNow across the country. She had a record contract," Angela Stone said. YouNow is one of several streaming apps and websites that have become the proving ground for young talents looking build an audience. The site has 100 million video sessions a month, and more than 70 percent of its users are under age 24. Stars like Stone can earn record contracts and schmooze with other young celebrities at regular video conventions, including VidCon in Southern California where 26,000 people attend. A record executive, Adam Kluger, spotted Stone on YouNow and called her up. He wanted her in Miami the next week. She recorded songs and sat down for an interview. When she returned, the record company pushed her to boost her online presence and social media followers. She began streaming online several times a day, generating a sizeable fanbase. It was intense, brother Garrett Stone said. "Realistically, that was a big point in her career. She was getting her foot in the doorway. She realized she had talent. She realized that she had a purpose in life. She found herself. She let it take her," he said. "She got used to the music industry. She realized that it's competition, that you have to work for it." In her videos and on social media, she often offered advice to teens struggling with mental health issues. She'd seen her brother struggle with depression, her mother's grief after an aunt's sudden death, had endured several family moves and other periods of hardship. In July, a fan asked her for advice on Instagram for dealing with anxiety. "For anxiety, breathe and remember that what you're going through is temporary," she said. "That's what I always tell myself." In October 2015, she composed a song as a tribute to "5quad" a group of teen video bloggers. The video quickly nearly 200,000 views on YouTube. She was flown out to VidCon in California, where she met an adult chaperone. During her performance in July 2015, fans shouted their praise. A couple men also could be heard loudly claiming she was their boyfriend. The 14-year-old ignored the comments and sang "Riptide" by Vance Joy. But in 2016, despite her success, her record contract fell through, her family said. She was disappointed but began focusing on her music and school. She began posting less often and focused on her online private school. "She was realistic. She was going to do the nurse practitioner route and go into psychiatry. We had a whole plan," Angela Stone said. "It started with the singing, and she obviously was just blessed. But she had more talents than just music." Hannah Stone's death prompted the outpouring from thousands of fans online and offline, her mother said. "The outpouring at her funeral was amazing. Hundreds of kids who stayed there not only for calling hours but for mass, for the burial. They just loved her." A former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday paid a visit to the leaders of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, at... A former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday paid a visit to the leaders of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, at the residence of the leader of the group, Pa Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo State.The meeting, which lasted for almost 30 minutes, had the former President calling for the cooperation of the group to save Nigeria from collapsing.Speaking during the visit, Obasanjo commended the Afenifere for being at the forefront of fighting for the interest of the Yoruba nation while he was working towards the interest of the country as a whole, noting that the two parties were working towards the same goals of fostering unity among the people of the country but on a different pedestal.The former President recalled how he had visited the leadership of the group some 20 years ago, seeking the groups support for his election but said he was rejected by the group.He said, I remember visiting Pa Abraham Adesanya thrice in Lagos before the 1999 election and I was asked to join Afenifere and Alliance for Democracy then, but I told them that AD was a cul-de-sac.Pa Abraham told me that if I joined, things would change; but I refused to join them. I went back the second time, but they refused to work for my emergence.I went there again the third time, but Afenifere maintained their stand. They refused to vote for me; but I secured my votes outside Yorubaland, though they supported me in 2003 for my re-election.Our priority is now one. If we do not join hands to repair this country now, it will collapse and this could be disastrous.The Afenifere leader, Pa Fasoranti, while responding, said the visit of the former President was historic and first in about 20 years, adding that the Yoruba group was in support of the ex-Presidents moves to achieve peaceful and virile Nigeria.He commended Obasanjo for his struggle to make Nigeria a better place, assuring him of the support of Afenifere to join hands with him in the struggleFasoranti said, We want to encourage you in your struggle to make Nigeria the best. You are fearless and that is one of the traits of a good leaderWe have been watching you; and your dreams of a better Nigeria shall be realised.Nigerians are at a crossroads; we are tired of the killings, kidnapping going on across the country and the President is mute about it.We are in full support of all the letters written by Obasanjo to President Muhammadu Buhari on the state of the nation. We are dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the country. The country is not being run properly.Nothing is being done properly in this country presently. Look at the killings in the North. The President is very silent about it.We are all Nigerians. If he can keep silence about the killing of his people, that is bad enough.The Afenifere leader declared that the group was in total support of the coalition of political parties to forge alliance against President Muhammadu Buhari in the next general election.It will be the joy of everybody to present a formidable team to confront the evil government that is there now, Fasoranti stated. The All Progressives Congress(APC) is set to meet with Senate President Bukola Saraki, House Speaker Yakubu Dogara and others. Saraki and Dogara - Photo by Sesco The All Progressives Congress(APC) is set to meet with Senate President Bukola Saraki, House Speaker Yakubu Dogara and others.Other aggrieved bigwigs on the radar of the party are Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, ex-Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso, Aliyu Wammako and Danjuma Goje.There are also senators and members of the House of Representatives.Former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola stayed away from yesterdays meeting in Abuja because he has made up his mind to team up with his boss, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, to form a coalition against President Muhammadu Buhari.The party will however submit a comprehensive report to the Presidency after consultations with all those aggrieved.According to sources, the APC opted for more talks, following positive signs with leaders of nPDP at the meeting.The source said: Our meeting provided more insights and we are looking at the next phase. In the second phase, the party will meet with nPDP leaders including Saraki, Dogara, Kwankwaso, Tambuwal, Wammako, Goje and others.There is likelihood that the party will sit down with these leaders and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo before finally reuniting all. So, we take the meeting up to the highest quarters in the interest of all.It is an election year, we will not allow them to go anywhere. The nPDP leaders warned that APC should not push them to the wall to defect to any party. We will avert being pushed to the wall because time is not on our side.The source gave insights into the talks by the two sides.The source added: The defunct nPDP team was led by its chairman, Alh. Kawu Baraje and five members of the House of Representatives led by Ali Madaki from Kano State.The party was represented at the closed door session by its Deputy National Chairman( North), Sen. Lawal Shuaibu and the National Secretary, Mallam Mai Mala Buni.At the session, they stood by the contents of their letter to the party and insisted that they were unhappy because the APC leadership did not play its roles as a party in government.They complained over gross indiscipline in the party and how the party formed with good intentions has derailed.These leaders said they never wanted to defect to any party if everybody and every group are respected and given a sense of belonging.But they were forthcoming that they will leave APC if only they are pushed to the wall by APC leadership.Responding to a question, the source added: Throughout the meeting, they made it clear that they have no grudges with President Muhammadu Buhari, they only blamed the leadership of the party.On the outcome of the meeting, the source added: The situation is redeemable if the issues raised are adequately addressed.The leader of the APC team, the Deputy National Chairman ( North), Sen. Shuaibu will brief the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and other members of the National Working Committee( NWC).After all the phases of meetings and consultations, APC will then write a comprehensive report to the presidency which will serve as a guide on how to address the grievances of the nPDP leaders.APC said yesterday it would address the grievances of the members of the defunct nPDP in its fold, who complained of marginalisation.The partys Deputy National Chairman Lawal Shuaibu said the party was taking the complaint seriously.He spoke after a meeting of the party leadership with the nPDP team at the partys secretariat.The meeting was called in response to the call by the nPDP members for action to be taken on their complaints.Shuaibu, who led the APC NWC team to the meeting on behalf of National Chairman Oyegun, said: We have not yet resolved. They wrote a letter to us, they are partymen, they have grievances, we looked at the letter,their grievances are genuine. And they requested a meeting within seven days and before the seven days expired, I called them and they were not ready to come, they said we should shift the meeting till today, which we did.So, we are listening to them, we have listened to them and we are taking up their matter seriously, we will address it. We dont ignore our people except if you dont send your grievances to the party, but if you send, we will always address your grievances.However, the nPDP leader Baraje expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by the party to address their complaint, saying So far so good, we have just started and when you start a race, you dont say whether somebody wants to see you until you are getting to the middle or to the end. But it is a good start, it is a good beginning.Baraje said: As you are aware, we requested that we wanted to see the party, and the party, very sensitive party, very responsible party, responded to our requests adequately and we think it is a very encouraging time.Since last week, they have got across to us but because of logistics we couldnt come until today. We begged the party to shift the date till today and we have seen our party. We are party members; this office is our office, we have only come home to discuss those observations, which we wrote in our letter. The meeting was very beautiful.Baraje refused to respond to the allegation by Sen. Abdullahi Adamus group, saying I am not ready to do that because somebody has earlier responded to them adequately. I think the former Youth Leader of the defunct nPDP, Timi Frank, responded to them and once somebody has responded, there is no need beating around the bush.In any case, in any group, particularly political groups, you are bound to have a splinter; why they splint is best known to them. As far as we are concerned, the group that sent us here are 95.9 per cent intact. The Coalition of Northern Groups on Monday in Kaduna asked President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who are ... The Coalition of Northern Groups on Monday in Kaduna asked President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who are above 70 years, not to contest the presidency of the country in 2019.The group said such leaders were responsible for where the country found itself, adding that the country should be led by young Nigerians that could take it to the Promised Land.The CNGs position was contained in a communique it issued shortly after the end of a two-day summit which was held at the Arewa House, Kaduna on Monday.The coalition gave the Ndigbo a notice to leave the North last year . It however withdrew the notice to quit months later.Over 30 groups including the Nastura Ashir Sharif s Arewa Citizens Action for Change); ShettimaYerimas Arewa Youth Consultative Forum; Aminu Adams Arewa Youth Development Foundation; Alfred Solomons Arewa Students Forum; Abdul-Azeez Suleiman-led Northern Emancipation Network and the Northern Youth Vanguard led by Joshua Viashman, form the coalition.However, while fielding questions from journalists, a leader of the group and the National President of the AYCF, Alhaji Shettima Yerima, said it was the belief of the coalition, that though it was the right of Buhari and Atiku to contest, it was left for Nigerians to decide their fate.Yerima said on behalf of the CNG, We advise him (Buhari) that we still have people within our generation who have integrity who are very competent and also have capacity to lead. We are advising him not to contest but if he chooses to go ahead to contest, Nigerians will go ahead to decide. This is our own opinion and advice to somebody whom we feel is a father to us. Anybody above 70 years should not contest.When asked whether the advice had been extended to Atiku , he said, it extends to anybody above that age (70).But the Presidency has challenged the Coalition of Northern Groups to cite the section of the nations constitution that stipulates that those above 70 years cannot contest the presidential seat.The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, gave the challenge in an interview with one of our correspondents in reaction to the northern coalitions call that Buhari and Atiku, who are above 70 years, should not contest the presidency of the country in 2019.He said the country was being governed by law, hence nobodys constitutional right could be abridged for no just cause.The presidential spokesman said, Let them tell us the section of the constitution that stops those above 70 years from contesting. As you know, the country is governed by law and the President has not breached any law by showing interest in the race.If they want to contest, they are free to come out and do so. The President is not stopping anybody from contesting against him.Attempts to get a reaction from former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar were unsuccessful.Calls to the mobile telephone number of his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, indicated that it was switched off. A response to a text message sent to him on the subject was being awaited as of the time (8:45 pm) of filing this report.A communique read on behalf of the CNG by its spokesman, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said the summit basically centered on restructuring of the country as being clamoured by some Nigerians.The coalition said it opted for a holistic restructuring of the country.It lamented the attitude of northern political leaders to the contentious issue of restructuring of the country.The CNG also dismissed both the Northern Governors Forum Committee on Restructuring and the Governor Nasir el-Rufais Committee on Restructuring by the APC-led government, saying that Nigeria neither belonged to the APC nor the PDP. President Muhammadu Buhari said on Tuesday that the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) had stopped the pilfering of the countrys treasury with billions of naira saved from maintenance fees payable to banks.The President stated this in Abuja at the 17 National Productivity Day and conferment of National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) award.He added that N200 billion had been saved from the elimination of ghost workers from the public service, just as his administration had made steady progress in its economic diversification drive especially in agriculture and mining.Buhari, who reiterated his administrations commitment to moving the country forward, said that doing so would help position the country as a force to reckoned with globally.He said: The goal of this administration is to move Nigeria forward to become a strong, strategic and proactive state through a deliberate, pragmatic and productivity-conscious programme of action.We want to build Nigeria into a competitive, virile, strong and productive economy; a State, whose citizens are creative, innovative, responsive, accountable, incorruptible, patriotic and diligent.The President, who also underscored the importance of the public service, said, it is the vehicle through which governmental policies are transmitted.According to him, the public service as the organ of government responsible for the formulation and implementation of government policies, has a critical role to play in this new dispensation.It is my intention to hold the public servants collectively and individually responsible for the planning and implementation of the programmes of this administration.From now on, it will no longer be business as usual. Excellence will be rewarded and mediocrity will not be tolerated.In this regard, I am directing all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to drive the Change Agenda in the public sector, he added.He said that the National Productivity Centre should be encouraged to carry out its mandate in order to ensure a productive country.According to him, corruption is an anathema to the productive growth of any economy.He said: We must leave no stone unturned in tackling the monster. Corruption is dangerous and cancerous to the country.We are, therefore, resolute in our commitment to fight it in all facets of our national life.The President stated that his administration was committed to rewarding hardwork and excellence.He said it was in line with this that his administration had placed great premium on the National Productivity Order of Merit Award as a decoration of honour and dignity.We have, therefore, been consistent in the yearly conferment of the award on deserving Nigerians and organisations, he said.He maintained that the government had approved the conferment of the National Productivity Order of Merit Award for 2018 on a few individuals and organisations, who had been adjudged to have performed exceedingly well in their various endeavours.The President congratulated the awardees for their remarkable feats and expressed the hope that the awards would propel and motivate them for greater achievements.In his remarks, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, revealed that 327 Nigerians and 800 organisations had so far benefited from the NPOM award.According to him, the National Productivity Order of Merit Award is not `cash and carry award as only deserving citizens and productive organisations with track records benefit from it.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chairperson, Board of Directors, First Bank of Nigeria, Mrs Ibukun Awosika, delivered Award lecture at the event, where 15 persons and five organisations received the NPOM award. Victor Uwajeh, a private investigator, says he was disengaged from the Special Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property beca... Victor Uwajeh, a private investigator, says he was disengaged from the Special Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property because he refused to probe Senate President Bukola Saraki and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members. Uwajeh was appointed to the panel to track stolen funds stashed in the UK in March but he was disengaged on April 23. The investigator was said to have been fired for failing to disclose a criminal charge pending against him. The federal government had filed a four-count criminal charge bordering on forgery, impersonation, fraud and illegally procuring forged documents against him. In a statement on Tuesday, Uwajeh said though the mandate given to him was to track assets of politically exposed persons, he realised that the panel had its agenda. This was also followed by a memorandum of understanding dated 3rd April 2018 and signed by the Chairman of the Panel Okoi Obono Obla. Subsequent upon these I started working for the panel to trace assets of politically exposed persons in line with the mandate given to me in the documents executed, the statement read. It was the procedure of the Panel to courier documents to me from Nigeria for despatch to various Agencies in the United Kingdom and worldwide. Soon after I realised that the Panel has a mindset towards certain individuals and groups by the documents it sent to me. Documents sent to me from Abuja to despatch to the Serious Fraud Office and Home Office, Metropolitan Police, FBI and EUROPOL had the names of the following senators; Senate President Bukola Saraki, deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu, senator Albert Bassey Akpan, senator Stella Adaeze Oduah. I was also given a list which includes former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Femi Fani Kayode, senator James Manager, governor Nyesom Wike and senator Jonah Jang, Patience Jonathan amongst others. Most people who were already being tried by the EFCC were also singled out by the SIPP for investigation which calls to question the motives of Government as regards effective prosecution. The investigator said he recommended the investigation of some of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but it was turned down. This raised a red flag and as a professional I made my complaint immediately and made my position known to Okoi Obono Obla to transmit to the attorney-general and minister of justice, it read. I told him that I will not be a party to one sided investigation to muscle in the opposition and persecute them I made my position known that I am ready to expose corruption and recover stolen assets as a professional but will not be involved in the politics of pull them down in Nigeria. My refusal to dance to the tune of the government and SIPP led to my disengagement. He wondered why it took the government a full month to realise that he had a case in court. My refusal has led to sustained assault on my person by the attorney-general and minister of justice Abubakar Malami. My refusal to work with the APC led government to humiliate the so-called enemies of Government has led me into exile, it read. The Nigeria Police led by Ibrahim Kpotun Idris has continued to side with senator Emmanuel Nnamdi uba (Andy Uba) to stop him from paying me my professional fees. IGP Ibrahim Idris is an expert in setting people up and twisting issues to incriminate his enemies. Abubakar Malami, Ibrahim Kpotun Idris and Mohammed Etsu should note that they cannot continue to be in this position forever and remember that power is transient. Nigeria can only move forward when the fight against corruption is not selective but holistic no matter whose ox is gored. A medical doctor turned international hacker, who has been on the Police wanted list, Michael Thompson Williams, has been arrested by th... A medical doctor turned international hacker, who has been on the Police wanted list, Michael Thompson Williams, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command.Michael, who boasted of his escapades as a hacker, took a swipe at the Nigerian banking system, describing it as the easiest to hack, including government-owned account.The 28-year-old suspect mentioned an American leading Hollywood actor, John Travolta, as one of his prey, revealing that his (Travolta) account was being monitored through a programmed device, where cash running into millions of US dollars were diverted weekly.During preliminary investigation, it was discovered that the suspect, who has mastery of the cyber cafe environment, created credit cards of deceased foreigners through cyber Ghost 12.When the credit cards matures, it would be funded through a hacked Swiss account and then any transaction done by genuine accounts owner through Swiss account would be manipulated by the suspect and wired to his contrived credit card. Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, paraded the suspect before journalists yesterday. After a successful transaction, the suspect as gathered would buy posh cars, sending fake alerts to the owners. The bubble burst in March after he bought a Porche car worth N28 million from a car dealer in Lagos and sent him a fake alert before making away with the car.However, on getting to the bank to collect the money, the car dealer, Abidogun Adewale, discovered to his shock that no amount was paid. Asked how that was possible, the suspect said he used HTTPtunnel.com to send such fake alert.He disclosed that during such payment, the amount would appear on the sellers account at that moment, even if he visited his bank to confirm the payment, adding that it would disappear after one hour.Three of the vehicles he bought through such process were traced to Asaba, Delta State, and Owerri, Imo State. The number plates on the three vehicles read HRM OGUEZI 1, II and III, respectively. The Federal Government Tuesday described the petition written by the Civil Society for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, CISHAN and Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, NEPWHAN and 11 other Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, as an attempt to blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari led administration.Prof. Isaac Adewole, Health MinisterThe Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole in a statement, said that as responsible CSOs they should be part of the facilitation of early resolution of the industrial dispute and not to take sides or blame parties or individuals.The government acknowledges your concern regarding the negative impact this strike action is having on the health services in the country generally, treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS inclusive, and assures your organizations that it is doing everything possible to facilitate early resolution of this industrial disputeIt is important to remind you that as responsible organizations, you are expected to be part of the facilitation of early resolution of this industrial dispute and not to take sides or blame parties or individuals. The content of your letter was intended to blackmail the HMH and should be withdrawn.Adewole who spoke through the National Coordinator, HIV/AIDS Division, Dr. Sunday Aboje noted that while awaiting early resolution of the industrial dispute, government is doing her possible best to keep the health facilities open so that people living with HIV and other patients can access healthcare.Information available to us shows that health workers lawfully discharging their duties were assaulted manhandled and chased away from their duty posts by officials of this striking union.You are also aware of the role played by the trustees of Kingdom Human Right Foundation International, who got an injunction from the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. We should all follow up and make Joint Health Workers Union, JOHESU obey the ruling and suspend the strike by resuming at their duty posts and provide healthcare to Nigerians. A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday adjourned until June 27 for the Supreme Courts decision in the trial of Innosson Nigeria Ltd for a N2.4 billion suit over alleged falsification of shipping documents.The Federal Government had through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) filed a four-count charge bordering on forgery against Innosson and four others before Justice Ayokunle Faji.Listed as accused are: Innosson Nig. Ltd, Innocent Chukwuma, Charles Chukwu, Maximian Chukwura, Mitsui Osk Lines C and Anajekwu Sunny.The accused were alleged to have conspired to commit the offences on Oct. 10, 2013 at Apapa Wharf, Lagos.When the case was called on Tuesday, only one of the accused, Maximum Chukwura, was present in court.Mr J. I. Ajakaiye announced appearance for the prosecution, Mr George Uwechue (SAN) appeared for the first and second accused, Prof. J. N. Mbadugha, appeared for the third and sixth accused, while Mr Olusola Abimloye is for the fourth and fifth accused.Addressing the court, Mbadugha informed Justice Faji that the position at the Supreme Court remained the same as the pending appeal had not been heard.He said he had also applied that the case should be given accelerated hearing.In his reaction, Justice Faji asked if the prosecution as well as other defence counsel had been served with the application and Mbadugha replied in the negative. (No)The court then held that it was wrong for defence counsel not to have served other parties with his application, adding that counsel cannot address the court ex parte (without notice to other parties).On his part, the prosecutor, (Ajakaiye) informed the court that the facts of the case were not as stated by defence counsel.According to the prosecutor, the appeal was entered at the Supreme Court on Feb. 28 and by the courts rules, the appellant ought to have filed his written brief within 10 weeks.He said he was at the apex court on May 18 to look out for developments, but discovered that nothing had been done on the appeal which the defence had left pending.The prosecutor added that the defences act was aimed at stalling progress of the case, noting that prosecution has filed an application to dismiss the appeal and that same had been served on the defence.Meanwhile, counsel to fourth and fifth accused, (Abimloye), has told the court that he had an innocuous application, seeking to dispense with the appearance of the fourth accused, who had always been present in court.But Justice Faji held that he could not take the application since there was already an appeal seeking a stay of proceedings before his court.In a short ruling, the court held that the manner with which defence counsel (Mbadugha) was handling the appeal was not in conformity with the provisions of Section 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act which supports speedy trial.He held that criminal matters takes priority, adding that counsel must do all he could to avoid the notion that the courts process was being abused.Again, in view of the pending appeal, the court again adjourned the case until June 27 for a report of proceedings at the Supreme Court.The prosecution alleged that the accused falsified shipping documents which they deposited with Guaranty Trust Bank as collateral for N2.4 billion, a facility allegedly granted Innosson Nigeria Ltd.The shipping documents were also alleged to have been falsely presented as genuine and with intent to defraud in order to clear goods worth N2.4 billion.The offences contravened the provisions of Sections 1(2) (c), and 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offence Act, Laws of the Federation 2004. The EFCC on Tuesday asked the Federal High Court Abuja to proceed with the ongoing trial of former PDP Spokesman, Olisa Metuh in his abs... The EFCC on Tuesday asked the Federal High Court Abuja to proceed with the ongoing trial of former PDP Spokesman, Olisa Metuh in his absence.Counsel to the EFCC, Mr Sylvanus Tahir, made the request in an application at the resumed trial following Metuhs absence in court.His application was sequel to that of Metuhs counsel, Mr Emeka Etiaba, (SAN) that the matter could not go on since Metuh was not in court.Metuh collapsed in court on Monday while attempting to enter the dock when his matter was called and was taken away in the courts ambulance.Tahir, however, insisted that the judge, Justice Okon Abang should proceed with the matter in his absence since his fall was on account of his disobedience and disregard for the orders of the court.I wish to draw the attention of the court to yesterdays events. The defendant was using a walking aid to support himself and when the matter was called, to hearing of everyone, the court asked him to remain on his seat.However for reasons best known to him, he ignored the directives of the court and made his way to the dock which resulted in his fall and the rest is history, Tahir said.According to him, suffice it to state on our part that what happened in court on Monday amounts to misconduct since the defendant willfully ignored the directives of the court.The prosecutor maintained that moreover, the defendants had not furnished the court with satisfactory evidence, such as a medical report, as to why Metuh was not present in court.He added that Metuh was not entitled to the benefits of Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, (ACJA), and urged the court to rather invoke provisions of Section 266(a) to take the action of Metuh as misconduct.He further submitted that while the law provided that the a criminal trial could not go on in the absence of the defendant, there were exceptions to the rule.If the court marries Section 266(a) with Section 352(4) which deals with trial in absentia, the court will be more than comfortable to proceed with this trial in Metuhs absence.This is because he has violently disobeyed his bail condition and the only rider to proceeding in his absence is that it should be after two adjournments. We had one adjournment yesterday and there will be one today.The prosecutor also told the court that proceedings in the ongoing matter were discussed on a television program where one of Metuhs lawyers made prejudicial comments.On my way to court this morning, I received a call where I was told that Proceedings in this matter were extensively discussed on Sunrise Daily, a programme aired on Channels Television.He said that he was constrained to bring the development to the courts attention since it was not the first time it was happening.He alleged that all what the defense was doing were ploys to frustrate, scuttle and delay the matter.Earlier, Metuhs counsel had told the court that following the fall of his client in court on Monday, he was currently receiving treatment in a hospital and was unable to attend his trial.I wish to draw the courts attention to the fact that the defendant is not in court. He was taken by the courts ambulance with the medical personnel to the National Hospital Abuja where he is receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit, (ICU).In view of the clear provisions of Section 266 of ACJA, it is my submission that the trial cannot go on in his absence since it is a criminal matter which requires the presence of the defendant in court. I therefore ask for an adjournment to enable the defendant recuperate and return to continue his trial, Etiaba said.On the submission of the prosecution that Metuh acted in disregard of court directives, Etiaba said that the account given by the prosecution was not what he witnessed in court.According to him, the defendant was already in motion as soon as his matter was called and didnt know that the judge had asked him not to bother going to the dock.Mr Tochukwu Onwubufor, (SAN), counsel to Metuhs company, the second defendant in the matter aligned himself with Etiabas submission.Onwubufor added that Section 266 of ACJA made it mandatory for the defendant to be present in court for his trial.He, however, said that this was except where the defendant misconducted himself in such a manner as to render his presence impracticable or undesirable.The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang adjourned the matter until May 23 to rule on whether or not a reasonable explanation was given by the defence for the absence of Metuh in court.Justice Abang also said he would rule on whether proceedings in the matter should go on in the absence of Metuh.He is to also rule on whether or not the court should compel the General Manager of Channels Television and the producer of the programme, Sunrise Daily to provide the tape of the programme aired on Tuesday.Metuh is standing trial along with his company, Destra Investments Limited, on a seven count charge which involves laundering two million dollars.He is also charged with fraudulently receiving N400 million from the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.Metuh had told the court that he was suffering from a spinal chord related ailment for which doctors had recommended surgery as definitive treatment.He had applied for the release of his international passport on three occasions to enable him travel abroad for surgery but the court refused all three applications.NAN The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday said troops eliminated 36 militia herdsmen at the weekend in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara... The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday said troops eliminated 36 militia herdsmen at the weekend in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara states.Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) has begun in the two states.A statement by Acting Director of Defence Information Brig.-Gen. John Agim said a soldier was killed and two others injured.They have, however, been treated and discharged from hospital.Gen. Agim said eight bandits were arrested and handed over to officials of the Department of State Sevices (DSS) in Taraba State, adding that arms were recovered from the militia gang.The statement reads: Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara States, conducted a four prong clearance operations at the weekend. At Umaisha and Toto villages of Nasarawa State, troops ambushed the militia following a tip off.In the ensuing melee, 1xG3 rifle; 19317.62 mm NATO; 81xG3 rifle ammunition; a locally-made pistol and a FN magazine were recovered. One militia was killed.A suspected herdsman, Adamu Abdullahi, was arrested at Rukubi, Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. He was in possession of an ID card of the Vigilance Group of Nigeria, Nasarawa State Command, and a photograph where he posed with an AK-47 rifle.The suspect is being interrogated and will be handed over to the police thereafterSimilarly, clearance operations across Gwer West, Logo and Guma councils of Benue State was conducted at the weekend. Troops made contact with armed herdsmen around lower Benue and a militia camp at Chetarer village.The troops engaged the militia and followed the pursuit with M135 Helicopter of their air component. This led to a many of them being neutralised.In all, 35 herdsmen were neutralised and many of them escaped with injuries.However, a soldier was killed in action (KIA), two sustained injuries but have been treated and discharged. Also, one soldier is still missing in action.Musa Habu (32) was also arrested at Kolo, Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. Items recovered from him include one-locally made pistol; 2xcartridges; a mobile phone and N130 cash.Preliminary investigation showed that the suspect is linked with some suspected militia in that locality. He has been handed over to the DSS for necessary action.Troops of OPWS sector 3 Taraba, on patrol through Kwesati, Manya-Garagun axis, made contact with eight bandits who were arrested and armed with two AK-47 rifles; 1xK2 rifle and 2 x locally-made guns.Ammunition recovered from them include 56 rounds of 7.6mm, 25 rounds of k2, 3x cartridge, charms, and phones, among others. The suspects and items will be handed over to DSS for further investigation. Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, yesterday in Kaduna, called on Nigerians to support the call for the restructuring of the country, saying it is the only way to ensure a fair, stable and sustainable Nigeria.Dickson, who spoke after meeting with Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, said: Few minutes ago, I commended Governor el-Rufais commitment and courage for new Nigerian project.There is nothing human that is perfect. Nation building is work in progress and is actually not something that will finish by one leader, party or one government, or even by one generation. It is from one generation to another generation.I want to use this opportunity to assure those that may not have properly understood the concept of restructuring that restructuring is not evil and portends no evil, no doom for Nigeria and that is why I support the great work the governor has done and I am here to commend him and partner with him.On his part, Governor el-Rufai said: The work of All Progressives Congress, APC, Committee on True Federalism reflected that consensus among our party leaders.APC national executive committee has adopted our report and set up technical committee on the implementation. I hope that technical committee will soon report to the party, so they will send the recommendations to the government. The Senate delegation will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday (today) over an allegation by Senator Bukola Saraki against th... The Senate delegation will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday (today) over an allegation by Senator Bukola Saraki against the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.The Senate President, Saraki, had on Wednesday alleged that Idris planned to implicate him in the trial of some suspected cult members arrested in Kwara State.A reliable source in the Senate informed newsmen on Monday that the meeting will hold after Tuesdays plenary.The meeting with the President will hold tomorrow afternoon, the source said on the condition of anonymity.Members of the delegation to be led by Saraki are Majority Leader, Ahmad Lawan; Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio; Chief Whip, Sola Adeyeye; Senator Danjuma Goje, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Senator Samuel Egwu, Senator Aliyu Wamakko, Senator Fatima Raji-Rasaki and Senator Oluremi Tinubu.The Senate had on Wednesday resolved to meet with Buhari to report the activities of the police boss to him, following Sarakis allegation of the alleged plot by the IG to frame him in the case.Saraki had told the lawmakers that he was informed by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed that the suspects had been moved from Kwara State to Abuja for prosecution allegedly on the orders of the IG. He added that part of the plan was to doctor the statements made by the suspects to implicate him in the trial.He said, My distinguished colleagues, there is an issue which I need to bring to your attention very urgently.Last night, my state governor, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, revealed to me the information at his disposal that a group of suspects who had been arrested and were in police cells for several weeks in our state for cultism, and whose investigation had been concluded and were about to be under prosecution under the state law on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Ministry of Justice, have, all of a sudden, been ordered to be transferred to Abuja this morning.The information reaching me, as he received it from the Commissioner of Police, is that they (police) have been directed by the IG to bring them (suspects) to Abuja. With the information that he (Ahmed) has, it is for them to find how to alter their (the suspects) statement already made in Ilorin and try and implicate the state government and particularly myself.As we speak now, those suspects are already here in Abuja. These acts, I dont know whether to call it desperation, blackmail or intimidation. All the action to undermine our democracy is a recipe for anarchy because we are doing our work by asking officials to obey the law, due process and subject themselves to constituted authority.In the written speech, a part of which he read out at the plenary, Saraki linked the alleged plot to the invitations by the Senate to the IG, which the police boss did not answer in person.Meanwhile, 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 the Federal Government.Melaye, in a lengthy message on Monday, alleged that his trials were plots by the state to silence him over his criticisms of the government.The lawmaker, however, stated that he was more resolute on 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.Melaye, in his message, said, 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.He added that the state unleashed its raw power by sending 200 armed policemen against him.He said the government wanted to break his spirit because he called for justice and accountability. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, on Monday inaugurated what he described as the upgraded website of... The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, on Monday inaugurated what he described as the upgraded website of his office,Speaking at an event in his office in Abuja, Mustapha put the cost of the upgraded website at N64m.The Federal Government had allocated N65m for the project in the 2017 Budget.There was a contract in 2017. The figure is in the public domain. It is about N64m, including procurement of laptops, training, consultancy services.The contract was awarded by the Bureau of Public Procurement in accordance with the Procurement Act, Mustapha said when he was asked to state the cost of the upgrade.He added, The functions and responsibilities of this office makes it highly imperative for it to have a functional website that will deliver information about the structure, policy thrust and activities of this administration on a daily basis.The need to lead MDAs compliance with the dictates of Executive Order 001 on the Ease of Doing Business, particularly relating to the directive to the MDAs to host a functional website formed part of the reasons for this upgrade.The old OSGFs website did not reflect the status of the OSGF and was characterised by the following limitations: the technology upon which the website was developed is old, hence limited features; limited security features which made the website prone to hackers; media files such as video clips are hosted on external server which is contrary to government policies; and the website did not comply with the standards of operationalisation of Executive Order 001.Through the platform, Mustapha said members of the public would request for information from government, submit ideas and lodge complaints. UPDATE: Rescuers continue Delaware River search for man missing in boat mishap The Coast Guard and other rescue crews are searching for a man who fell off a boat in the Delaware River on Monday night and has not surfaced for over four hours. Five people aboard a 16-foot recreational boat fell off after hitting a wake near Hawk Island around 5:40 p.m., according to a release from the Coast Guard. Hawk Island is part of of Delanco in Burlington County. Four of the passengers were rescued by the time the Coast Guard arrived and were taken to "area hospitals," the release states. Their condition was not specified in the release. The fifth passenger, described only as a man in his 20s, is missing. Troopers are investigating a vessel crash on the Delaware River near Hawk Island. Currently searching the area for an occupant unaccounted for. NJSP Aviation, TEAMS, and other assets on scene assisting. No additional info at this time. #alert NJSP - State Police (@NJSP) May 21, 2018 The Coast Guard, Philadelphia Marine Police, New Jersey State Police and other agencies are still searching for the man as of 9:30 p.m. "We are working diligently along with our partners, doing everything we can to locate this man," Coast Guard Sector Delaware Chief Petty Officer Kyle Gerkens said in the release. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook. A New Jersey man admitted Monday he was under the influence of pot and methamphetamine during a crash that killed his passenger in Pemberton Township nearly two years ago. John P. Randolph (Burlington County Prosecutor's Office) John P. Randolph, 40, of the Atco section of Waterford, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office sad in a statement. The crash occurred around 6 a.m. on Sept. 27, 2016 when Randolph's car left the road and struck a tree. The passenger, Dennis M. McCaffrey Jr., 39, was pronounced dead when emergency responders arrived near Hanover Boulevard and Magnolia Street in the Browns Mills section of town. Randolph was still seated behind the wheel. Blood tests revealed he was under the influence of marijuana, amphetamine and methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 14. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. The U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday suspended the search for a boater who fell into the Delaware River when his boat struck a wake off of Burlington County on Monday afternoon. Rescue workers, who were looking for the man in multiple boats on Tuesday, called off the search at about 1 p.m., according to a Coast Guard spokesman. What appears to be a Coast Guard chopper is going up and down the Delaware River this morning. Yesterday a boater went missing after going overboard @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/4kDFjd7vCD Matt Schaffer (@photoguy603) May 22, 2018 Described as in his 20s, the man and four of his companions tumbled into the river at 5:40 p.m. after their 16-foot-recreational boat hit the wake near Hawk Island, officials said previously. The others -- three women and a man -- were pulled from the water near Hawk Island by emergency responders before the Coast Guard arrived. The Coast Guard searched through the night for the man. On Tuesday morning, an MH-65 helicopter from the Coast Guard's Atlantic City station joined the search around Hawk Island, which is part of Delanco. Philadelphia Marine Police and the New Jersey State Police assisted the Coast Guard in the search. The identity of the missing boater was not immediately available. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. UPDATE: Search suspended for boater missing in Delaware River The U.S. Coast Guard is still searching for a man who tumbled from a boat after it hit a wake in the Delaware River Monday off Burlington County. Four other people who fell from the 16-foot recreational boat around 5:40 p.m. were rescued, but a man in his 20s remains missing. An MH-65 helicopter from the Coast Guard's Atlantic City station was scheduled to fly to the area around Hawk Island at first light on Tuesday morning to assist in the search, which continued through the night, according to a spokesman. The search is centered around Rancocas Creek, 6abc.com said. Five people fell out of a boat on New Jersey side of Delaware River when it collided with another boat. One of them, a man, is still missing. https://t.co/BpPOlwWLaf pic.twitter.com/bNMTagih8M Matt O'Donnell (@matt_odonnell) May 22, 2018 The other boaters who were rescued -- three men and woman -- were taken to area hospitals to be treated. Hawk Island is part of Delanco. Philadelphia Marine Police and the New Jersey State Police were assisting in the search. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Caitlin Mota | The Jersey Journal Lydiah Okongo was the "breadwinner" of her family back in Kenya, a loving mother of three children, and always had the best advice to give to anyone in need. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary when the 40-year-old arrived at a Valentines Day party on a snowy Saturday in February, donning a big smile and a stunning red skirt. But Okongo, a native of Kenya, was missing something at the celebration, which was advertised for women and their significant others: her husband Henry. She instead brought two of her girlfriends and enjoyed the night. But hours earlier, Okongo called 911 to say her husband said he wanted to kill her -- a terrifying threat she seemed to keep from her friends at the Valentine's Day party that night. Sixteen days later , Lydiah Okongo was murdered. Authorities say Henry Okongo, 51, shot his wife multiple times inside their Mina Drive home in Jersey City on March 5 before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide. Don't Edit In the 911 call from Feb. 17, which The Jersey Journal obtained through a public records request, Lydiah Okongo asks a dispatcher what she should do if she is being threatened. She tells the dispatcher she had just returned home from work to get ready for a function and was met by her angry husband. "I walk through the door hes telling me how hes upset with me and the only thing hes going to do is just kill me and kill all of us and were going to be transported to Africa in a coffin," Lydiah Okongo tells the dispatcher. The 911 operator asks the 40-year-old if her husband has any weapons or if anyone is hurt, to which Lydiah Okongo replies no. Officers are on their way to the home, the dispatcher tells the woman. It was at least the third time in 15 months that police were called to the home to investigate a domestic dispute, call logs show. Its unclear what was done to help Lydiah Okongo when she called police in February. The city clerks office denied multiple records requests for police reports from those three incidents, but a city spokeswoman said those records were never created because it was not a "mandatory arrest situation." Henry Okongo owned a gun that was legally registered. A records request for his gun permit was also denied. Don't Edit Last Night The KWITU Ladies In NJ held their first ever Valentine's Ball which featured our NJ chapter and their... Posted by Kenyan Women In The USA - KWITU Breaking Barriers on Sunday, February 18, 2018 The party Lydiah Okongo attended later that night was hosted by Kenyan Woman in the USA, a group to which she belonged. The organizations president, Lilly Richards, said she was stunned when she learned of her friends death and wondered what she could have done to help. Richards knew her friend was married, and joked with Lydiah Okongo and her friends at the party, asking all three about where their "Mr. Right" was. There were other small signs something may have been wrong, Richards said while reflecting on her friends death. Lydiah Okongo had previously shared a graphic video of domestic abuse on her Facebook page posing a question about when violence towards women will end, Richards said. Richards, who has helped women in abusive relationships across the country seek help through the Kenyan women's group, said Lydiah Okongo was always the first one to listen to anyones concerns or problems. "I feel so sad she never gave me the opportunity to do the same for her," Richards said. Don't Edit Authorities investigate the March 5 murder of Lydiah Okongo at 2 Mina Drive in Jersey City. (Joe Shine | For The Jersey Journal) Lydiah Okongos brother, Daniel Barongo, said his sister was talkative, funny, and had a lot of friends. "She was good in decision making and also (an) advice giver," he said. Lydiah Okongo moved to the United States 17 years ago to pursue a career as a nurse, a job she was passionate about, her brother said. She had spent the past four years working as a visiting home nurse for a company based in Jersey City. She was so committed to her job that on the day she was killed one of her managers called 911 asking for a welfare check because she had not shown up to visit one of her pediatric patients. The woman who called police said Lydiah was "very reliable," her missing work was "not like her" and everyone was "very worried about her," according to the 911 call. A family member found Lydiah Okongo unresponsive and bleeding on the first floor of the two-family home on the morning she was murdered, sources said and 911 audio confirms. Friends who gathered outside in the hours that followed the killing were left speechless. An elder at the church the Okongos attended told a Kenya-based newspaper the couple was heard arguing the night before. Two of the couple's children, ages 3 and 1, were home when the deadly violence erupted. Their 10-year-old daughter was apparently at school at the time of the shootings. Barongo said no one in his family suspected anything was wrong within the Okongos marriage. Her family still lives in Kenya and Lydiah Okongo helped support her six siblings and parents financially. Henry, who owned laundromats, and Lydiah were remembered at a joint funeral service about a month later. Barongo said the family is still looking for answers about what happened on that Monday morning, but they are hoping for "fair judgement and justice" for his sister. Don't Edit Journal file photo There were 61,659 domestic violence incidents reported in New Jersey in 2015, the most recent year with statistics available from the New Jersey State Police. Children were involved or present in 28 percent of those incidents. In Hudson County in 2015, domestic violence accounted for 1,612 assaults, 134 threats, three kidnappings, and 16 sexual assaults. Five homicides that year were of a domestic nature. Seven women and three men were killed in domestic violence incidents in 2016, while at least five people died in similar incidents in 2017. Joaneileen Coughlan, director of domestic violence services at WomenRising, said domestic violence is about power and control. There are many reasons men or women may stay in a relationship where violence is present: their partner may be the financial support in the home, children may be involved, or the victim could feel as if they are in more danger if he or she leaves, Coughlan said. "The cycle can start with anything," Coughlan said. Women who are victims of domestic violence and are seeking help are encouraged to call WomenRisings hotline at 201-333-5700. Don't Edit Don't Edit Lydiah Okongo was the rock of their family, her brother said. "She was the first born in our family, our breadwinner, hard work(ing) lady," he said. "Through her us siblings, we finished our schooling. Actually, to be short, she was honest, joyful always, and transparent." Her family struggles to cope with her loss and explain her killing to her three children. Members of the Kenyan women's group have have been raising money for the children, who were temporarily in the care of a friend of their mother's following the tragedy. "She really loved her children" Richards said. "She really did, and she was so full of life. She was that easy to love, we really do miss her." Don't Edit Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. JERSEY CITY Jersey City is considering whether to buy the 100-acre Bayfront site on the Hackensack River waterfront, a potentially $180 million plan that Mayor Steve Fulop told council members would be an "aggressive" albeit expensive way to ensure a large amount of affordable housing on the city's west side. The plan is one of three Fulop pitched to council members Monday night for Bayfront, which is set to become one of the city's largest residential neighborhoods. The area, located just south of the Hudson Mall, is a swath of land that local activists spent decades fighting to rid of chromium contamination. The proposed development represents a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to reshape that section of the city, Fulop told council members. Of the three options the city has for the site, purchasing it would be "the most ambitious and the most aggressive but also I think bears the most positive results for the future of the city ultimately," he said. The purchase price would be about $105 million, plus up to $80 million to add new infrastructure. The city would act as the master developer, potentially divvying the land up among multiple developers. There is no looming council decision on Bayfront, but Fulop said he wanted council input on the three proposals. He said Honeywell wants to sell the site by the end of 2018. "Since the Bayfront Redevelopment Plan was passed unanimously by the Jersey City Council in 2008, Honeywell has worked in partnership with the city," Honeywell spokeswoman Victoria Ann Streitfield said. "We look forward to the redevelopment. The cleanup is complete and we are working on finalizing environmental approvals." Local activist group Jersey City Together pushed for more affordable housing at Bayfront last year and on Tuesday said in a statement that it finds Fulop's plan for the city to buy the site "precisely the kind of big thinking the site needs." "These 95 acres offer Jersey City an unprecedented and generational opportunity to build a significant amount of housing that will be affordable for the people who live in Jersey City," the group said. "We know there is a long road ahead, with many details to work out, but Jersey City Together will continue to work to ensure this site serves the needs of our city to the greatest degree possible." The contamination dates back decades, to when the Mutual Chemical Company operated a chromium plant on the site. Honeywell inherited the liability in 1999 when it merged with a company that had purchased Mutual. A federal judge in 2003 ordered Honeywell to clean its portion of the site Honeywell owns 60 acres and the city owns 40 acres and the city in 2008 agreed with Honeywell on a cleanup of the entire 100 acres to make way for Bayfront. That agreement came after a settlement between the company and Jersey City over chromium contamination on the city's land. Jersey City Together includes pastors who fought for the 2003 court-mandated cleanup. The plan envisioned in 2008 calls for Honeywell to sell the site to a developer who would build up to 8,000 residential units, offices, retail shops and parks, plus fund various infrastructure projects. Five percent of the units would be set aside for affordable housing. The city would get a share of the sale, minus $25 million Honeywell has already given to the city. Fulop told council members they could proceed with that plan. In January, he said he wanted to re-write it to include 50 percent affordable housing, a plan Honeywell appears to oppose. A third option would be for the city to kick in over $40 million to pay for new infrastructure and bump the affordable housing share to 10 percent. That option would still entail Honeywell selling it to a developer. Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. Hundreds of Saint Peter's University students took an important step in their lives Monday when they received their hard-earned undergraduate and graduate degrees during the school's 127th commencement ceremonies. More than 500 undergraduates accepted bachelor's degrees at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, while over 300 graduate students were conferred master's degrees. The university also awarded 18 doctorates and nearly a dozen associate degrees. Denise Morrison, former president and CEO of Campbell's Soup Company, delivered the commencement address before the students and their families. Jersey Journal photographer Reena Rose Sibayan was on hand for the festivities, capturing the graduates in all of their graduation day glory. Click on the photo gallery above for a look back on the memorable day. 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. 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 tomorrow 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. Fourteen years ago, Harold L. Gordner II admitted sending child porn to someone he thought was a child living in New Hampshire. Turned out the teen was actually a cop and Gordner was sentenced to jail time in Pennsylvania and ordered to register as a sex offender. Harold Gordner (N.J. Attorney General) Last week, Gordner was allegedly at it again. He arrived at a New Jersey park where authorities say he planned to meet a 14-year-old boy for sex. Once again, he was greeted by the police. Gordner, 40, Highland Park, met the "boy" -- an undercover investigator with the New Jersey State Police -- online a month ago. In addition to explicit chats, he sent links to pornographic websites and sent photos of himself masturbating, according to an announcement from the state Attorney General's Office. He allegedly asked the teen several times if he could send a car to his house so that the teen could come to Gordner's home for sex. They settled on the meeting at John F. Kennedy Park in Sayreville last Friday. Gordner is charged wth second-degree attempted luring and a third-degree charge of providing obscene materials to a minor. He was placed in Middlesex County Jail pending a detention hearing on Friday. Gordner's criminal record of sex offenses is significant and touches several states. He was convicted in 2004 on criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child for an August 2003 incident in South River, Middlesex County, involving a 15-year-old victim. In Pennsylvania, he was charged in August 2003 with sending child porn to a police officer posing as a teen. Gordner, who is originally from Ohio, was living in Pennsylvania at the time, and pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and unlawful contact and communication with a minor. He was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months in Lehigh County Prison, followed by three years of probation. He was also sentenced to three years probation in the New Jersey case and both states agreed he would serve that probation in his home state of Ohio. Judges in both cases also required that Gordner register as a sex offender under Megan's Law. It's not clear when he actually moved to New Jersey, but in 2014, he was convicted of violating terms of his community supervision for life by failing to report where he was living in Edison for a 6-month period in 2013. He was sentenced to 190 days in county jail. Gordner's name doesn't currently appear on the Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Ohio online sex offender registries. While Pennsylvania and Ohio list offenders in all three classification tiers online, New Jersey lists only Tier 2-moderate risk and Tier 3-high risk categories online. It does not release information online about Tier 1 offenders, who are considered the least likely to re-offend. Pennsylvania officials said they could not release information about whether Gordner's registration had ended or if he was simply removed from the online registry when he moved to New Jersey. Efforts to learn if he is still registered in New Jersey were unsuccessful as well. In his newest case, Gordner faces up to 10 years in prison on the luring charge and three to five years on the charge of providing obscene material to a minor. Investigators described the tactics Gordner allegedly used when he thought he was talking with a child. "Gordner allegedly displayed a typical pattern of conduct for an online predator," said Veronica Allende, director of the Division of Criminal Justice. "Identifying a child on social media, grooming the child with explicit chats and pornographic materials, and then trying to meet the child for sexual activity. Thankfully, the State Police detected his alleged predatory conduct and arrested him before any children were harmed." 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. The driver who was behind the wheel of the Paramus school bus involved in last week's fatal crash had his license suspended 14 times over the last 43 years -- though most of the suspensions were due to parking tickets and administrative problems, state officials said. Hudy Muldrow Sr., 77, had a valid commercial drivers license and school bus endorsement when his bus crashed while taking Paramus students on a trip to Waterloo Village on Thursday, said Mairin Bellack, a spokeswoman for the state Motor Vehicle Commission. A student and a teacher were killed in the violent crash with a dump truck on I-80 in Mount Olive. Dozens of others were hurt, including Muldrow, who was hospitalized, his family said. Though Muldrow had no points on his license at the time of the crash, he has a long history of violations and suspensions, Bellack said. According to his New Jersey driving record: Muldrow's license was suspended 14 times between 1975 and 2017. Six of the suspensions were due to parking violations. Another seven were for administrative or paperwork reasons. One suspension, in 1977, was for driving while his license was suspended. His last license suspension was in 2017 for failing to pay parking tickets. But he got his license back and was employed by the Paramus school district with a valid commercial drivers license for the current school year. He also has 16 driving violations on his record, including eight violations for speeding between 1975 and 2001. He was cited for an improper lane change in 2010. The driving record does not indicate if he was driving a school bus or a personal vehicle at the time. Muldrow was involved in five previous crashes, his record said. "But it doesn't mean you were the driver," Bellack said. The driving record does not indicate if Muldrow was the driver or passenger in the accidents. It also does not say who was at fault. Muldrow's son said his father has always been a safe driver. "That's the truth. He is a good driver," Hudy Muldrow Jr. said Tuesday outside his Paterson home. Asked if he knew about his father's previous driving violations, Muldrow Jr. said: "I don't know anything about that. I have nothing else to say." Morristown Memorial Medical Center officials said Tuesday they had no record of Muldrow Sr. listed as a current patient. They declined to say if he was treated and released. Muldrow earns $22,930 a year as a Paramus school bus driver, payroll records show. Bellack declined to say whether Muldrow had more license suspensions and violations than a typical school bus driver. "This is a serious crash. It's very unfortunate," Bellack said. None of Muldrow's previous problems with his license disqualified him from driving a school bus in New Jersey, she said. Under state law, a driver does not lose a commercial drivers license with a school bus and passenger endorsement unless they accumulate 12 or more points on their license at one time. Points can be taken off licenses over time due to good driving or by taking defensive driving classes. Law enforcement sources said Muldrow may have been attempting an illegal U-turn on I-80 on Thursday while attempting to get his bus full of students and teachers to Waterloo Village for a field trip. The two people killed in the crash were Jennifer Williamson, 51, and student Miranda Faith Vargas, 10, both from East Brook Middle School in Paramus. Other students remain in the hospital with serious injuries. Researcher Vinessa Erminio and staff writers Craig McCarthy and contributed to this report. Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook. Three House Republicans are running for re-election in New Jersey, and face a critical choice in the lead-up to the November midterms. Will they remain loyal to Team Trump and break up American families, or will they fix DACA, and protect young people from being deported? This is their moment of truth. Republican leaders are trying to block a vote, and normally that's the end of the story. But in this case, a group of rebel Republicans is standing up and forcing the issue. If they get enough signatures on what's known as a "discharge petition," they can compel a vote. It's a rare move, a kind of insurrection. Trump and Dreamers: Instead of help, he offers taunts | Editorial So far, only Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th) has signed. And as of Monday afternoon, it was just five votes short of the number needed to force action on DACA, short for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, assuming all Democrats sign on as well. So why won't Reps. Tom MacArthur (R-3rd) and Chris Smith (R-4th) sign too? Smith's camp was radio silent on Monday. When you are party to this kind of cruel policy, the best answer is to hide under your desk and hope the storm passes. MacArthur, at least, spoke. He said he doesn't want Dreamers to be deported, but won't support protections for them unless it's paired with border security. "I live in a real world where I have to consider, what are the outcomes?" he said. "All the Democrats line up on one bill, and enough Republicans join them, so the Democrats get to pass their choice." In effect, though, MacArthur's inner feelings don't count for much. Where it matters, he's siding with Republican leadership. Let's face it: Congress is stuck in a stalemate on immigration. The most urgent task is to protect the DACA kids, rather than letting this wreck their lives. The deportations have started already. To MacArthur, it seems that being part of the Republican team is more important than doing the right thing. He was willing to throw 23 million Americans off health care, screw his home state in GOP tax reform, and now, he's willing to see kids deported. To stop this would require bucking the Republican leadership. The bottom line is, MacArthur won't do it, and Lance will. Lance signed this petition, he said, because Republican leaders promised to protect the DACA kids through legislation. They didn't. "I don't use the word mutiny, but I will say that it's the first discharge petition I have signed while we've been in the majority," Lance said. The American people overwhelmingly want this fixed, he notes - Republicans, Democrats and independents. Most believe people who came here as children and made their lives exclusively in the United States should be allowed to stay. Sometimes you have to stand up to leadership for the sake of your constituents or the country, Lance argued. "These young people remain in a state of limbo and I don't think that's fair to them," he said. "They are, for all intents and purposes, Americans." Trump has threatened to veto a path to legalization for Dreamers unless lawmakers yield to his extremist anti-immigration demands, and House Speaker Paul Ryan has refused to bring any DACA bills to a vote. That lack of action is what led to this revolt. New Jersey's other Republican congressmen, Rodney Frelinghuysen and Frank LoBiondo, have both announced their retirements. Frelinghuysen refused to respond to our questions on Monday, and LoBiondo's spokesman said he wouldn't sign the petition. What voters should remember in November is this: MacArthur and Smith both stuck with the leadership on this, and are doing nothing to stop these shameful deportations of kids who are as American as their own. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. I see that Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin wants to bring property-tax rebates to their proper levels. He'd better have access to a whole lot of dough, at least if he wants to keep the promise made by his fellow Middlesex County Democrat. That's former Gov. Jim McGreevey. When he won passage of a so-called "millionaires tax" back in 2004, McGreevey promised all the revenue would go to increased tax rebates for homeowners. "Not a single dime, not a single nickel will go to more government spending or more bureaucracy," said McGreevey at the time. "It will go to middle-class families, working men and women and senior citizens." And it did - for the first year. McGreevey's new tax produced enough revenue in 2005 so that every homeowner could receive a property-tax rebate averaging $800. That income-tax hike remains in effect - at 8.97 percent for all income over $500,000. As for the rebates, they're down, way down. Last year the average $515 benefit was cut in half to about $256. We can't blame McGreevey for that. That was on Chris Christie's watch. Christie did a couple of other things that were even worse. Originally rebates went to every household, but Christie restricted them to seniors, the disabled and households with annual income below $75,000. Or in other words, he ended rebates for the same middle-class working families who put him in office - with a promise to preserve rebates. He made another slick move as well. Instead of preserving the practice of sending checks to taxpayers, Christie changed the rebate to a "Homestead Benefit" representing a credit against municipal taxes. That meant the average citizen would have to examine his mortgage escrow statement to detect the next stunt Christie pulled. To balance his budgets, Christie kept delaying the rebates to the point that the Homestead Benefit for 2015 is being paid just this month. Forget 2016 and 2017. Those will be paid in the distant future - if ever. And good luck trying to file for them. When you do so, you will get a recorded message telling you that you missed the deadline for filing for the 2015 rebate but are too early to file for the 2016 rebate. Why do you have to file at all when all the information needed is already on your income tax return? I put that question to Gov. Phil Murphy's media people but couldn't get an answer. When I ran into Senate President Steve Sweeney in the Statehouse Monday, he told me he's supporting Coughlin's effort to double the rebates. He also identified another culprit in their gradual demise. "I'll give you another one," the Gloucester County Democrat said. "In Jon Corzine's first year he raised the sales tax one cent and half of that was supposed to be dedicated to property-tax relief. That's another $900 million." Did you notice your tax bill going down following that 2006 sales-tax hike? Me neither. It's easy to move money around in the budget so revenue seemingly dedicated to one area goes to another. Now, even though we still haven't seen the property-tax relief from the first "millionaires tax," Murphy is proposing a second "millionaires tax." This one would raise the rate for annual income over $1 million to 10.75 percent. Sweeney has said that's a non-starter because of the Trump tax reform, which ended deductibility of the state income tax against the federal income tax. And even the Democrats at an Assembly budget hearing Monday were expressing fears that the new tax would chase the wealthy out of the state. But even if it were to pass, the new tax would not produce property-tax reform. Unlike McGreevey, Murphy's not even pretending the new money would go to solving the property-tax problem that was supposed to be solved by the first income tax way back in 1976. Instead he wants the new revenue for new programs, such as expanded preschool and free county colleges. Those are nice ideas, but I think I speak for every homeowner in New Jersey when I quote McGreevey's sentiments about the first millionaires tax: "Every dollar of the $800 million generated by the tax will go directly to property tax relief. Not a single dollar will go toward government spending." Until Murphy keeps that promise from his Democratic predecessor, he should avoid making any new ones. ADD - CHRISTIE'S CHEAP SHOT AT A CONSERVATIVE: Some commenters are asking why this column focuses so much on the role Chris Christie had in cutting rebates. Simple. I covered the 2009 GOP primary race in which conservative Steve Lonegan ran against Christie. Lonegan proposed getting rid of our progressive income tax and substituting a 2.97 percent flat tax. That's a tenth of a point under Pennsylvania's current rate. The goal was to turn New Jersey into a magnet state for high-wealth individuals. As part of that plan Lonegan said he would get rid of the rebates, which are funded by the income tax. He argued that middle-class taxpayers would save under his plan. At that Christie sent out this mailer (above) attacking Lonegan for proposing to cut rebates and promising he would protect them. Instead he eliminated the rebates for the same middle-class homeowners who voted him into office and drastically cut them for everyone else. Here's an excerpt from a Star-Ledger article on how Corzine and Christie differed on rebates. Note that Corzine proposed eliminating them for those who make more than $75,000 a year while Christie said he would keep them. Once elected, he promptly eliminated them for those making more than $75,000 a year: "Corzine's election-year budget imposes new payroll taxes on business, cuts property tax rebates for non-senior households earning more than $75,000 and eliminates the income tax deduction for property taxes next year. It maintains funding for education, expands preschools in poor districts and keeps anti-foreclosure programs and food pantry assistance. "Christie, of Mendham, said he wouldn't cut rebates or eliminate the tax deduction, but he would pour more money into education." In his debate with Lonegan, Christie said this: "We will keep property tax rebates in a Christie administration because it is the only meaningful property tax relief that is given right now to the voters, and then we will slash spending to get our state budget under control." Lawmakers hope to halt the implementation of tax changes from this year's Jersey City property revaluation, delaying it until 2019 to help property owners avoid "fiscal shock." Jersey City politicians in the state Legislature introduced a bill that would allow municipalities that did not apply reval results to tax bills before April 1 to postpone doing so until Jan. 1, 2019, The Jersey Journal's Terrence T. McDonald reported. It would allow for towns to provide "revaluation relief abatements" or "mitigate fiscal shock" from steep tax hikes. The long-delayed reval is the city's first since 1988. Mayor Steve Fulop is opposed to the bill. "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." The most recent information from Appraisal Systems, the company conducting the reval for the city, says nearly half of Jersey City properties would see no tax change or a tax cut. Those owners may be counting on this reval to take effect sooner rather than later, and the bill would only help those who are expected to see a hike. Homeowner Helen Hou-Sandi, a Greenville resident, called the bill "shocking" and criticized it for focusing on helping taxpayers who live in the city's "coveted neighborhoods." "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 asked. Should the tax changes due to the long-delayed Jersey City reval be delayed? Vote in our informal and unscientific poll and tell us why in the comments. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. Wearing diapers, riding in strollers, and for the first time flexing their political muscle, a bevy of babies accompanied their parents to a Statehouse rally to remind lawmakers they shouldn't forget families at budget time. Parents, clergy and lawmakers participating in the "Think Babies" demonstration in Trenton spoke broadly about the need for more affordable child care and a more generous paid family leave law that would double time off from six weeks to 12 weeks after a child is born or adopted. There were 150 babies on hand in what was called "strolling thunder." The rally is just the start of a campaign that will target budget negotiations happening now, said Cecilia Zalkind, president and CEO for the Advocates for Children of New Jersey, the nonprofit that launched the event. Zalkind said Gov. Phil Murphy's state budget proposal, while inspired for its support of extending pre-kindergarten programs, is "disappointing" because it does not raise rates for subsidized child care providers. Murphy's budget includes $57 million to expand pre-K for those school districts which want to launch or expand early education. "Learning doesn't begins at 3," Zalkind said. "An agenda for working families like his needs to support child care." There are 10,000 children whose parents meet low-income guidelines and qualify for subsidized child care, with about half of those children are babies, Zalkind said. Child care centers receive just $32.12 per day per infant or toddler -- a rate that has not changed in a decade, according to a report released by the association last year. Yet infant care is more expensive because every child care worker may supervise no more than four babies, compared to six toddlers, Zalkind said. Day care centers are discontinuing services to children under 30 months old, Zalkind said. Of the 3,900 child care centers in New Jersey, just 44 percent, or about 1,700, offer infant and toddler care, the report said. Zalkind said she hopes the governor and the Democratic-controlled Legislature will find more money for child care subsidies. Monique Baptiste of Newark, holding her son, asked lawmakers to "remove the policies that prevent us from getting the quality care that we can afford. Move them out of the way." "Being a mother is hard enough, right?" added, Baptiste, vice president of programs for the Newark Alliance. "We don't need to worry about right after the birth of our child, what are we going to do in six weeks?" Following the speakers' remarks, parents pushed balloon-festooned strollers en masse down West State Street. They chanted: "Hey-Hey, Ho-ho, whose gonna help our children grow." When about half of the group reached the state office building that temporarily houses Gov. Phil Murphy's office State Troopers asked them to leave because their permit for the demonstration did not extend beyond the Statehouse annex, Rev. Darrell Armstrong of Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton and a participant in the rally, confirmed. Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. State and U.S. flags will fly at half-staff next Tuesday in honor of a New Jersey state trooper and Marine killed in an off-duty crash on Sunday. Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday directed all state offices to lower flags on May 29 as the family of Trooper Brian McNally prepare funeral arrangements. The 30-year-old trooper was returning from weekend duty with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves when his SUV collided with a tractor-trailer. In a statement accompanying his directive, the governor said McNally was "a loving son and brother who not only served our state, but also our country," calling him "a brave and loyal hero." The trooper's father told NJ Advance Media he always wanted to work in law enforcement. He served in Afghanistan before returning home and graduating the State Police Academy in 2014, Kevin McNally said. McNally, a Bedminster resident, was assigned to the to the State Police Washington barracks in Warren County as a member of Troop "B." Authorities said the trooper rear-ended the tractor-trailer, causing both vehicles to catch fire. The crash, which happened on I-78 in Berks County, Pa. around 6:30 p.m., is being investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police. The truck driver was treated for minor injuries. Funeral arrangements have not yet been set. "Our state will feel his loss deeply," Murphy said Tuesday. "We offer our condolences to the McNally family during this difficult time." S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Gov. Phil Murphy can't promise he won't ask for a second round of tax increases if the New Jersey Legislature goes along with the first, but he sure as "heck" would prefer not to, he said Monday. The freshman governor, whose political mettle is being tested as his administration tries to get more than $1.5 billion in new taxes passed by the Legislature before July, told Star-Ledger editorial page editor Tom Moran that he has to leave the door open for additional tax hikes further on. "You have to. But believe me, it's the last move I'll want to reach for at that point," Murphy said during an on-camera interview in Newark. The Democratic governor is getting forceful pushback against his tax proposals from the Legislature, whose Democratic leaders would rather talk about structural reforms and spending cuts. Murphy said he understands why new tax hikes would be of particular concern to members of the state Assembly, who face re-election in 2019. "You'd like heck not to (raise taxes again)," Murphy said. "You don't want them to think -- and I don't blame them -- and more importantly you don't want the 9 million residents to think this is the first chapter in what's going to be an 'oh boy here we go again'," he said. Murphy is proposing to boost funding for NJ Transit and public schools through increased taxes on millionaires and raising the sales tax back up to 7 percent. His budget also calls for additional pre-K funding and money toward tuition-free community college. He's said that investing in an educated workforce and quality education should pay off in economic expansion. New Jersey lags the U.S. in economic growth, and Murphy said he's optimistic that an uptick in the rate of growth will shake out enough cash to "cover the future installments" of those spending proposals. "I view this as a major reset," Murphy said. "The middle class has been somewhere between ravaged and ignored. I want to reset this in one boom." Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. WASHINGTON -- Now it's U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's turn to face unwanted attention brought on by his own party. House and Senate Democratic leaders on Monday offered a proposal to strengthen ethics laws, which immediately led Senate Republicans to call out Menendez, D-N.J.. Last week it was Senate Republican candidate Bob Hugin's turn to play defense. President Donald Trump criticized drug companies that refused to provide samples to competitors to make lower-cost generic versions of drugs. The Food and Drug Administration said Celgene was one of the worst offenders. Hugin formerly led Celgene. The Democratic proposals focused on ethics. They singled out Trump, who has refused to release his income tax returns and has not divested himself of his businesses. "Democrats believe all government officials - including the president - should comply with a stringent set of ethical guidelines that ensure they are free from all conflicts of interest," the proposals said. Menendez was "severely admonished" by the Senate Ethics Committee for accepting gifts and trips from a friend and campaign donor, Dr. Salomon Melgen, while intervening with federal agencies on his behalf. He was one of only 12 U.S. senators to be indicted. U.S. Justice Department officials dropped the charges against him after their first attempt to prosecute him ended in a mistrial and a judge dismissed some of the counts. "I agree with Democrats in Washington that Senator Menendez's unethical behavior, which violated federal law and Senate rules as confirmed last month by the bipartisan Senate Ethics Committee, should have no place in Congress," said Hugin. Added National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Bob Salera: "Menendez needs to tell New Jerseyans whether he agrees that federal bribery laws need to be strengthened, or if he thinks corrupt politicians like himself should be able to walk free." Under Hugin, Celgene paid $280 million to settle whistleblower charges that it pushed two cancer drugs for uses not approved by the FDA, and that it submitted false claims to Medicare, according to the U.S Justice Department. "The fact is that greedy drug company CEO Bob Hugin paid a $280 million settlement for a court case where his company was accused of defrauding taxpayers, ripping off cancer patients and giving pay offs to doctors," Menendez campaign chairman Mike Soliman said. "Bob Hugin has gotten very rich while making it harder for cancer patients to get affordable prescriptions," Soliman said. "Apparently Hugin thinks you can just buy your way out of legal trouble." Hugin said he would work to strengthen ethics laws if elected. "As senator, I will work with nonpartisan, good government watchdogs, and honest people on both sides of the aisle to restore faith and trust in our government by making sure corrupt politicians are held accountable and are forced to live by the same laws the rest of us do," Hugin said. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. 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. By Jennifer Larino, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune Being a veterinarian is a dream job for a lot of kids, but what does it actually take to earn your degree and start practicing? We spoke with four veterinarians in the New Orleans area as part of The Career Project to get their best advice for middle and high school students and anyone else considering entering their field. Heres what they had to say. What is The Career Project? This post is part of The Career Project, a long-term series we hope will link students and professionals to share valuable career advice. Check back with NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune to read advice from a wide range of professions. Have an idea or suggestion for a profession that you want to see featured? Know a professional who would be a good fit for this series? Contact reporter Jennifer Larino at jlarino@nola.com. Dr. Kerry Backsen Title: Shelter veterinarian, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) Workplace: Louisiana SPCA Backsen always had an interest in animals growing up in Metairie, though she thought she might be a writer for National Geographic. Her interest switched to science in college. Education: Backsen started her undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee, but transferred to Louisiana State University her junior year after deciding to pursue veterinary school. The University of Tennessee's vet school required its students to have full residency in the state, but Backsen wasn't interested in moving there at the time. She noted both schools have great programs. Picking a program: At LSU, Backsen pursued an extended 5-year veterinary track, which allowed her to work as a vet technician while going to school her 4th year. She said the hands-on experience was crucial. I think working in a private practice setting, even if thats not what youre going into, is a good idea, just to get a feel for animal behavior and handling, Backsen said. Study hard in: Genetics, and anatomy and physiology. Backsen said she still uses foundational knowledge from those classes. First job: Backsen started working at a mixed animal practice in Thibodaux after college, though working in shelter medicine "was in the back of my mind through vet school." Shelter work: Backsen, who has worked with the LASPCA for nine years, wants students to know it is possible to make a living and be a shelter vet. Tough day: Having to make euthanasia decisions. Backsen remembers one day when four extremely sick animals arrived at the shelter, each beyond saving. "Those are difficult days," she said. Misconception: Veterinary medicine is a good option if you don't like working with people. In reality, Backsen said, people skills are incredibly important. "Every animal you deal with will have a person attached to it some way or somehow," Backsen said. Challenge: "Doing the best you can with the time you have to do it in." Backsen said she sees about 20 animals a day. Few arrive with a medical history, and the shelter is limited in how much it can spend on tests and other diagnostics to figure out what's wrong. It's hard, but worth it when you see a dog or cat make a full recovery, she said. Required reading: "Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff" by Lila Miller Advice: Take the time to really study and dig into the disease processes, treatments or anatomy questions that interest you in college. "When you get out, there's not as much time as you would like to research," Backsen said. Dr. Allison Barca Title: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) Workplace: Private practice, specializing in equine medicine Allison Barca grew up in a boarding stable, riding, caring for and helping to train horses. She always thought she would pursue a career as a trainer, but her father pushed her to explore veterinary work, connecting her with Dr. Kelly Chapman, a family friend and a vet. Barca shadowed Chapman on calls throughout her teen years. Education: Barca knew she wanted to go to Louisiana State University for veterinary school from the start. As an in-state student, it was affordable and she knew plenty of people who graduated from there. The vet school also had a good reputation, she said. "It really didn't occur to me to go anywhere else," she said. Grades: Getting good grades has always been important for aspiring vets, but especially now that schools are increasingly competitive, Barca said. "You have to make A's," she said. "I don't care how much hands-on experience you have." Tough course: Physics and chemistry "were absolutely dreadful," but they're a requirement. If you're having trouble with a college class, you might not have the right teacher for you, Barca said. She was able to take some of her science courses over the summer at the University of New Orleans, where she found professors in those subjects who fit her learning style. Tough day: Barca, who is based in Folsom, was recently called to help work with local first responders to rescue a horse that got loose and ran into a swamp. Barca had to call off the effort before the horse could be pulled out. People were at risk of getting hurt and the horse was in bad shape, she said. Good day: Jumping out of bed at 2 a.m. to help deliver a baby horse during foaling season. "How you can you not love that?" she said. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Challenge: Long hours. Barca often gets calls late in the evening or in the middle of the night, when people discover their horse is sick. Misconception: People who get squeamish can't be vets. Barca said she's been a "needle-phobe" her entire life, but she sees that as a strength. When a horse in her care needs a shot, she makes sure to do it right the first time, she said. Advice: Barca recommends hands-on experience, but acknowledged a part-time job or internship may be hard to get. Many vets today are worried about lawsuits and wary of taking on an inexperienced person, but "it doesn't hurt to knock on every door and ask." Dr. Robert MacLean Title: Senior veterinarian, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) Workplace: Audubon Nature Institute Bob MacLean was surrounded by family pets growing up, from dogs to chickens to opossum. His volunteer work at the Houston Zoo cemented his interest in becoming a vet, though it wasnt until his early 30s when he finally pursued a degree in veterinary medicine. Education: MacLean attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts after learning about the school through family. MacLean, who majored in biology and minored in art history, said he liked the well-rounded liberal arts education he got, but noted his grades at the time weren't good enough to get him into vet school. Looking back, wishes he was more driven and studied harder. There are a lot of distractions in college, but, just know, its the real deal, he said. Early career: MacLean started his career in cattle biotech working on in-vitro fertilization, then joined a California cloning startup. MacLean was hired in 1993 to set up a reproductive facility at the University of Wisconsin, where he would go on to pursue vet school. Good day: MacLean remembers accurately diagnosing a fibrillation in an 11-year-old, male drill monkey in heart failure. He and the Audubon team stayed up all night keeping the monkey alive and used electrical shock to normalize his heartbeat. The monkey pulled through and, after going on oral medication, lived another year. Misconception: Vets make a lot of money. While that's true for some, MacLean noted zoo vets can expect to make about half as much as private practice vets. Zoo work: MacLean said zoo work involves more than responding to emergencies. Animals get regular checkups and vets play a key role in species survival plans, which ensures species that are endangered in the wild thrive in captivity and are healthy and genetically diverse. Challenge: Determining whether to wait or take action when an animal appears to be ill. Often waiting does the trick, but it can also be a risk. "It's not without risk to fully anesthetize an animal only to find out they have a bellyache," MacLean said. Watch this: Animal Planet's "The Zoo," a reality TV series about the Bronx Zoo Advice: You can't know everything. MacLean relies on a network of experts, including a few human doctors, to help keep the wide range of species under his care healthy. "We can't know it all ourselves," he said. Dr. Gregory Rich Title: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) Workplace: Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital of Louisiana Gregory Rich grew up in Pensacola, Florida, down the street from a veterinarian who he would often help out as a kid. He remembers his 7th grade teacher asking him to write down three things he wanted to be when he grew up. He wrote veterinarian, veterinarian and left the third space blank. Education: When Rich was applying for vet school in the early 1970s, you weren't able to apply to schools unless you lived in the region, and no Florida schools had a vet program yet. Rich chose to attend Louisiana State University with hopes of getting into their new vet school, which opened in the fall of 1973. It took a bit of patience, but Rich was able to graduate from LSU with a bachelors degree in environmental health, establish his Louisiana residency and apply for the LSU veterinary medicine program. He graduated with his vet degree in 1977. Study hard in: Microbiology, especially if you're interested in working with birds and reptiles. Rich said he got a lot of microscope experience, which he now uses daily to analyze blood samples in his practice. Misconception: Vets overcharge and make a boatload of money. Rich noted many people have insurance to cover at least some of the cost of their personal care, but are often footing the full veterinary bill for their animals. As a result, care can seem overpriced, even when it's not, he said. Challenge: Confronting the "economics of life," as Rich describes it. It's tough knowing it's possible to help an animal, but their owner can't justify spending on the procedure or treatment needed, he said. "I don't like having that conversation," Rich said. Required reading: "All Creatures Great and Small," a compilation book by James Herriot, a British veterinary surgeon who wrote about his experiences. Advice: Take your time in school. Rich said a lot of young students want to do two years of undergraduate work and jump right into vet school. He learned how to pace himself and get work done during the four years he spent earning his undergrad degree. "Learn how to be a college student," Rich said. "Once you get into vet school it's a grind." Read more from The Career Project. The Career Project is an ongoing series. Keep an eye out for future articles talking with professionals in the New Orleans area. Read career advice from local: Two men who were attacked and robbed while in New Orleans for a convention last year sent letters to the judge overseeing their case, and asked her to be lenient when the time came to sentence their attackers. Tim Byrne and James Curran were in town from Boston last June for the Unitarian Universalist Association convention when they were attacked and robbed by a group of four men on Bienville Street. Byrne suffered a brain injury in the attack, and still is going through physical therapy to address neurological issues, Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Livanos said. Dejuan Paul, 22; Rashaad D. Piper, 21; Joshua Simmons and Nicholas A. Pogozelski, both 19, pleaded guilty as charged to two counts each of second-degree robbery Tuesday (May 22). The attack, which was captured on surveillance video, showed the group running up behind the victims. Livanos said Paul struck Byrne in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. Piper placed Curran in a chokehold, she said, while the others went through his pockets and stole his property. In a letter to Criminal District Judge Camille Buras, Curran asked her not to punish anyone harshly on his account. "Personally, I won't feel any better if the folks who mugged me receive a long sentence," he wrote. Byrne also asked the judge to be lenient, advocating for a "restorative justice" approach, which he said has been used in other places in "crimes far worse" than what happened to Curran and him. Livanos read the letters aloud in court. Buras read another letter Byrne wrote to her in December, in which he said he wanted to talk to the men who mugged him. Byrne's letter said he knew his request was unusual, but he wanted to see if talking to them could help prevent something like this from happening again. It is not known whether Byrne has ever spoken with the muggers. Buras acknowledged the letters from the victims, as well as letters she said she's received from various members of the community, all asking for leniency. Because of the seriousness of the charges, and because Byrne still is seeking medical treatment for the injuries he suffered, Buras said probation was not an option. She sentenced Paul to eight years in prison -- a 15-year sentence with seven years suspended -- for each charge. He also was placed on five years of active probation. His sentences will run concurrently. Pogozelski and Piper each were sentenced to serve five years in prison -- a 15-year sentence, with 10 years suspended -- for each second-degree robbery charge. They also were placed on five years of active probation. The sentences also will run concurrently. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Simmons was sentenced to three years in prison on each robbery charge. The sentences will run concurrently. "I hope each and every one of you take interest in your well being as the victims have," Buras told the men after she sentenced them. "These victims could have written a totally different letter." Paul's mother addressed Buras before sentencing, saying her son "made a bad decision" that he regrets. She said Paul "checked on Mr. Tim," saw how much he hurt him and that he'd never do anything like this again. Paul also spoke before he was formally sentenced, telling Buras he was sorry and that his goal is to do better. "I am better than what you see standing before you in this orange in these handcuffs," he said. "This crime was shocking in its brutality and extremely damaging to our city's reputation," District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said in a statement. "One victim very nearly lost his life through this reckless act of violence, and there is no way of knowing how many potential visitors reconsidered plans to visit our city because of safety concerns apparent in the French Quarter." Several members of the local First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans were in court for the hearing Tuesday. Some wore yellow shirts with the word "Love" prominently written on the front. Others wore T-shirts that said "Black Lives Matter." Defense attorneys thanked the group, who left the courtroom wiping tears from their eyes. Michael Kennedy, who represented Piper, said after Tuesday's sentencing that his client received a fair sentence. He added this case should be a "rallying cry" for the state to focus on helping residents with mental health issues, instead of sending them to prison. Last year, Kennedy and Christian Bonin, who represented Paul, requested a hearing to determine their clients' mental competency for trial. Following recommendations from doctors on the court-appointed sanity commission, Buras found them both competent to proceed with the trial. "Mr. Piper was failed by his family, the foster system, the state's abysmal mental health care system and by our archaic test for sanity," Kennedy said. "This is not a happy ending." James Brockway represented Simmons and Tanzie Ruffin represented Pogozelski. Many defendants in Orleans Parish municipal court are pleading guilty without an attorney present to misdemeanor charges that end up on their criminal records, and could have an effect on the rest of their lives, the nonprofit watchdog group Court Watch NOLA found by observing court sessions last year. The group said in a report released Tuesday (May 22) that pleas were entered without an attorney in nearly half of the municipal court sessions Court Watch volunteers observed in 2017. "Pleading guilty to a misdemeanor has collateral consequences of which an unrepresented defendant would rarely be aware," according to the report. "Guilty pleas result in criminal records, and criminal records can result in a defendant losing the ability to live in public housing in New Orleans, the ability to use food stamps, the ability to live legally in the United States depending on their immigration status and to receive federal aid money for higher education." Court Watch NOLA's annual report includes data collected and observations made by Court Watch volunteers from January 1 to December 31, 2017, in criminal, magistrate and municipal courts. Volunteers observed 779 court sessions in that time frame. The group's executive director, Simone Levine, presented the findings Tuesday morning in front of the criminal district courthouse. Based on observations of 109 municipal court sessions by Court Watch volunteers, an unrepresented defendant entered a guilty plea 48 percent of the time. The most common criminal offense unrepresented defendants pleaded to was possession of marijuana, according to the report. Court Watch also found municipal court defendants spoke on the record or in front of a judge without a lawyer in many instances. The report noted of 118 municipal court proceedings observed last year, defendants spoke without a lawyer present 64 percent of the time. "When offered the right to counsel, that offer often is paired with strong pressure to waive the public defender and face charges alone and without an attorney," the report stated. The group recommended a case study be conducted in municipal court, and noted The Sixth Amendment Center has indicated interest in performing the study, contingent on funding. Municipal court judges, the city attorney's office and the Orleans Public Defenders have embraced Court Watch's recommendation, the group said in its report. Other topics addressed in the 2017 Court Watch NOLA report include: The right to counsel and attorney-client privilege. An unknown number of phone conversations between attorneys and their clients inside Orleans Parish jail have been recorded and shared with prosecutors in District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office, according to the Court Watch report. It's a practice the group says puts the constitutional rights of inmates in jeopardy by giving authorities a window into discussions that should be shielded by attorney-client privilege. As the report notes, calls between inmates and people other than attorneys are regularly recorded and monitored in prisons and jails across the country. The recordings are seen by correctional facility operators as a way to warn guards of impending trouble behind prison walls, and by prosecutors as a possible source of evidence. The technology behind those prison phone systems is often cited as justification for the hefty price tag families pay for each call. Late last year, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office set up a way for defense attorneys to register an office line for receiving unrecorded phone calls from jail inmates. Orleans Parish Sheriff's attorney Blake Arcuri said more than 3,200 privileged attorney calls a month have thus far been placed through the system. The right to an interpreter. While Court Watch notes all Orleans Parish criminal courts face challenges in providing interpreters to defendants with limited English proficiency, this year's report said the greatest problems are in magistrate court when defendants make their first appearance. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up There is no protocol in place for the sheriff's office to notify magistrate court when a defendant with limited English proficiency is coming to court, so it's generally only at a defendant's first appearance that it's determined he or she needs an interpreter, according to Court Watch's report. If magistrate court calls an interpreter at a first appearance, that often is not enough lead time for the interpreter to make it to court in time. "The Magistrate or Commissioner can delay a statutory timed deadline (to appoint defense counsel or determine probable cause, for example) and thus violate the law and the constitution, in order to wait for an interpreter," the report stated. "Alternatively, the Magistrate or the Commissioner can violate the law and the constitution and determine pretrial release or alternatively bail and bond without having an interpreter present in court." Court Watch recommended the sheriff's office alert magistrate court when any defendant who might need an interpreter is booked at the jail. With enough notice, the court should be able to request an interpreter that will arrive in time for the defendant's first appearance, the group said. Fines and fees in municipal court. In 121 court sessions Court Watch volunteers observed last year, judges ordered a defendant to pay fines and fees in 69 percent of the cases. In 80 court sessions, 20 percent of the defendants could not pay the fines and fees assessed, according to the report. "Where the court fails to make an inquiry into ability to pay or where the person has established a lack of ability to pay a court fine, the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution have long prohibited imprisoning a person for his or her failure to pay court fees," the report said. In the report, Court Watch NOLA recommended municipal court judges inquire into a defendant's ability to pay. Without that inquiry, the group said it is unconstitutional to issue a warrant for failure to appear to pay the court fine, or to incarcerate the defendant for failure to pay the fine. Victim Rights. In 2017, Court Watch found seven material witness warrants -- warrants that require witnesses to appear in court -- were issued against crime victims, and three of those victims were arrested. One victim was incarcerated for seven days, according to the report, and two others were incarcerated for one day. Material witness warrants and the district attorney's office issuance of fake subpoenas were highlighted in Court Watch's 2016 report, and are the subject of a pending federal lawsuit. In its report, Court Watch recommended the district attorney's office issue a policy discontinuing the incarceration of domestic violence and sex crime victims for failing to testify. In non-domestic violence and non-sex offense cases, Court Watch recommended the district attorney publicly release a protocol that includes factors an assistant district attorney should consider before applying for a material witness warrant. "For example, this protocol may include weighing the competing goals of victim safety and emotional trauma to the victim, as well as offender accountability, public safety and the significance/necessity of the victim's testimony," the report said. Timeliness of judges. Court Watch recommended judges make every effort to be timely to the bench. The report said judges should consider the inconvenience to the public in making them wait, and the cost to the taxpayer in making public servants wait for the judge's untimely arrival. If the judge has an obligation that consistently delays his or her arrival time, "the judge should change the court subpoena time, so both the public and public employees are not regularly forced to wait in court for the judge's arrival," Court Watch said in its report. A Houston man faces criminal charges in New Orleans, including theft and practicing law without a license, stemming from accusations he bilked employees of Sidney Torres' former Bahamas resort out of thousands of dollars, according to Torres and court documents. Jose Vega, 53, was disbarred from practicing law in Louisiana in 2012, according to his arrest warrant. Torres said Vega posed as a practicing immigration lawyer in late 2016 when he promised to help Torres' former employees obtain permits to work in the United States, Torres said. Vega was booked on a warrant from New Orleans police early Tuesday, booking records show. Torres, the New Orleans-based waste management and real estate tycoon and star of CNBC reality show, "The Deed," said the two employees who were cheated worked at the Cove, the resort he used to own in the Bahamas, and kept working there after Arizona-based Enchantment Group bought it in 2015. The two employees, who are natives of Bhutan in South Asia, paid Vega $15,000 for legal services and to obtain the permits, Torres said. Vega never delivered, Torres said, and they later learned he had been disbarred and could not practice law. Orleans Parish Magistrate set Vega's bond at a total of $5,000 during his first appearance hearing in court on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear which attorney was representing Vega. Vega's warrant states he faces similar changes in Texas, where he was previously disbarred. Vega has been out on bail from Harris County, Texas, since Dec. 5, 2017, on two charges of falsely holding oneself out as a lawyer, states Vega's warrant, sworn by NOPD Sgt. Frank Denton. Torres said he had a hand in connecting his former employees from Bhutan with Vega because one of his other employees - a man Torres' attorney Pedro Galeas said was Torres' pilot - referred him. Torres said his pilot and Vega were old college friends who attended LSU together, but that his pilot "unfortunately didn't do a Google search to see (Vega) had a track record of ripping people off." Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Torres said he felt bad that his former employees, who couldn't afford to have thousands of dollars stolen from them, were taken advantage of by Vega, so Torres paid them back the $15,000 out of his own pocket. Torres said the former employees were food and beverage managers. He met them when they worked at Turks and Caicos and recruited them to The Cove, he said. "I was staying at Keith Richard's house in Parrot Cay when I met them," Torres said. "I built a relationship with them, and I felt bad that... my employee referred them to this guy." The warrant states Vega signed an agreement to perform legal services on Dec. 20, 2016, for a fee of $7,000. The fee had previously been paid though a First NBC Bank check dated Dec. 13, 2016, and was cashed by J. William Vega & Associates Law Firm, Denton wrote in the warrant. Torres said Vega was expected to obtain a handful of work permits for The Cove employees. He said he was not sure why the warrant alleged theft of just $7,000, saying the total stolen was $15,000. Vega asked Torres not to press charges, Torres said, and at one point started paying him back in two installments of roughly $200 and $100. But the payments stopped and Torres said he determined, "Enough's enough," so he moved forward with criminal charges. "It upset me (he) took advantage of the little guy... I stepped in and said, 'You can't lie to these people. You're not going to get away with it,'" Torres said. After months of legal wrangling, a judge on Tuesday (May 22) sided with the mother and father of a 30-year-old man, ordering him to finally leave their upstate New York home, according to Syracuse.com. Michael Rotondo had been living with his parents in their Camillus home for eight years, during which he said he'd never been expected to contribute to expenses or help around the house, according to his response to his parent's lawsuit. In February, Mark and Christina Rotondo sent the first of five letters evicting their son from the house. Michael Rotonto refused to leave despite his parents' offer of $1,100 cash to find a new place to stay, advice on selling some of his valuables to get money and the suggestion that there were plenty of jobs available, "even for those with a poor work history like you," one letter read. Rotondo's parents sued in local and county court before turning to a state Supreme Court for help with their son's removal. In the hearing Tuesday, Michael Rotondo tried to argue that his parents haven't given a sufficient legal reason for him to leave, and the law allows him another six months at home because he's family. State Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood disagreed and issued the order forcing Rotondo out. Rotondo vowed to appeal before heading back to his parent's house, Syracuse.com reported. A man charged with killing his girlfriend inside her Algiers home in 2012 has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with her death. Gary Burnett, 33, was scheduled to face trial Monday (May 21) on a second-degree murder charge. According to court records, Burnett spoke with his family and accepted a plea deal Monday afternoon. Criminal District Judge Camille Buras will formally sentence Burnett on June 14. Burnett is accused of killing 35-year-old Shonray Lee, in her house in the 2000 block of Hendee Street in Algiers on Sept. 5, 2012. Police at the time said the couple had a history of domestic problems. Assistant District Attorney Michael Trummel said at a previous hearing the state intended to call Burnett's aunt as a witness. Burnett allegedly called her after the shooting and said he killed Lee. Court records show Burnett's trial was delayed at least twice since his 2013 indictment because Buras found him incompetent at two separate hearings in 2014 and in 2015, based on recommendations from doctors who testified at those hearings. Burnett had another mental competency hearing last week, on May 18, court records show. Buras found he was competent and could move forward with his scheduled trial. Burnett also pleaded guilty Monday to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Court records show Burnett has previous drug convictions. Orleans Public Defenders Juan Fiol and Alexis Chernow represented Burnett. By Jonathan Bullington and Heather Nolan, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune The phone call used to convict Gerard Howard lasted seven minutes. Howard made the collect call to his attorney from Orleans Parish jail shortly after his March 2015 arrest on possession of heroin and of drug paraphernalia, court records show. It began with a standard disclaimer for jail calls, saying it was subject to recording and monitoring. Then, once connected, public defender Thomas Frampton asked why Howard had been transferred to a different jail building. "Just like after detox or whatever," Howard is heard answering in a recording of the call, obtained by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Prosecutors later dropped the heroin charge, leaving Frampton confident he could prove his client's innocence with lab results showing the two syringes found on Howard were clean. But days before the trial, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office told Frampton prosecutors would use the recording of that jail call, and specifically Howard's utterance of the word "detox," as evidence of the needles being drug paraphernalia. "I was shocked they actually used it in court," recalled Frampton, now a lecturer at Harvard Law School. Frampton's objections did not sway Judge Darryl Derbigny from considering the jail recording when finding Howard, then 39, guilty and sentencing him to credit for time served. But for Frampton, the case meant the end to phone calls as a way to speak with his clients in jail. "The risk was too high," he said. A new report by the watchdog group Court Watch NOLA raises alarms about the recording and sharing of phone calls between attorneys and their clients inside Orleans Parish jail. It's a practice the nonprofit group says puts the constitutional rights of inmates in jeopardy by giving authorities a window into discussions that should be shielded by attorney-client privilege, according to the report released Tuesday (May 22). "The attorney-client privilege was created so an attorney could learn the truth about his or her client's case," said Court Watch NOLA executive director Simone Levine. "Where that purpose is obstructed, the underlying facts of the case cannot be investigated and the larger purpose of the criminal justice system -- that the innocent are protected and the guilty take responsibility -- is destroyed." Representatives for Cannizzaro and Sheriff Marlin Gusman defended the jail recordings as needed for safety. Cannizzaro's spokesman also defended their use by prosecutors as fair game. They said defense attorneys and their clients have no right to expect confidential conversations during jail phone calls because they're told at the onset calls will be recorded and monitored. They also argued defense attorneys who do not take advantage of other options for private communications are potentially violating rules of professional conduct and should expect that those recorded phone calls could be used by prosecutors. "The phone calls that law enforcement has access to are not privileged and can be used like any other statement that a defendant has made to or in the presence of law enforcement," said Cannizzaro spokesman Ken Daley. Some legal experts said the practice breaks no laws and violates no rules governing attorney behavior. But defense attorneys noted other local prosecutors don't use that tactic. They also said the recordings have a chilling effect on meaningful attorney-client communication, and their use by New Orleans prosecutors amounts to yet another troubling example of unethical behavior at a district attorney's office still facing criticism for issuing fake subpoenas and jailing crime victims and witnesses reluctant to testify in the past. "It is just another indication of how some prosecutors will use whatever they can in pursuit of a conviction, and that should not be the proper role of a prosecutor," said Peter Joy, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who specializes in legal ethics. "Prosecutors should be mindful of the rights of the accused and should not seek to basically have those rights ignored in an effort to get a conviction." *** The Howard case is not the only time Cannizzaro's office has used a recorded jail phone conversation with a defense attorney as evidence in a case. In a 2016 Municipal Court case, a phone call Royal Johnson made to his attorney from jail before his trial on a domestic abuse battery charge was introduced as evidence in court, records show. On the call, Johnson's attorney, a public defender, answered general questions he had about the court process, according to a trial transcript. Defense attorney Eliza Meltzer objected to the call being used, saying it was "confidential communication," according to the transcript. "No, it's not," now-former Assistant District Attorney Joe Zanetti responded. "It's on a jail call." Meltzer argued just because the DA's office had access to listen to the call, that didn't mean it was admissible as evidence. "Yes, it does," Zanetti responded. Judge Paul Sens allowed the call to be entered as evidence. A New Orleans Police Department officer also testified at the trial, court records show. Sens found Johnson guilty of simple battery. The conviction was later reversed on appeal. Sens did not reply to an email Monday seeking comment. Zanetti did not comment. New Orleans prosecutors also scour those recordings for any hint that a person behind bars might be willing to take a plea deal - and for how many years he or she would be willing to take in exchange for a guilty plea, sources said. NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune spoke with three different people who took part in a 2017 citizens academy organized by Cannizzaro's office, and who asked to remain anonymous citing fear of retaliation. All three participants said they attended one session in which Laura Rodrigue, an assistant district attorney and Cannizzaro's daughter, discussed how the jailhouse recordings help prosecutors form their strategy for negotiating plea deals. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "That seemed really worrisome to me," said one of the attendees. In response, Daley said jailed defendants effectively waive attorney-client privilege by talking with their attorneys on a recorded and monitored phone line, and "presumably do so because they believe the conversation would not impact their case." But even if prosecutors see the recordings as a potential source of evidence or as a tool in negotiating plea deals, there is a concern among some defense attorneys that their phone conversations with jailed clients could be used simply to intimidate them. One attorney, who also asked to remain anonymous out of concern for clients, cited an example in which a New Orleans prosecutor referenced part of a conversation between the attorney and a client - a conversation that the attorney said had nothing to do with the case. "It was clearly to let me know he was listening," said the attorney, referring to the prosecutor. Meanwhile, defense attorneys in Jefferson Parish and St. Tammany Parish interviewed for this story say they could not recall a time in which something they said in a phone call from the jail was used by prosecutors in those jurisdictions. "I would be shocked if (Jefferson Parish District Attorney) Paul Connnick's office were to even attempt to introduce a recorded conversation between an attorney and their client," said Paul Fleming, a former Orleans Parish prosecutor and current supervisor with the Jefferson Parish Public Defenders office. Paul Purpura, spokesman for Connick's office, said office policy does not permit any assistant district attorney to listen to conversations between a defendant and his or her attorney. *** Some legal observers say the practice of recording jail phone calls made to attorneys highlights inequality in the criminal justice system. A person who can afford bail, and thus get out of jail while awaiting trial, can discuss case details in private, but those behind bars are left in some cases to rely on jail visits as the lone avenue for confidential conversations. "It raises a bigger problem of access to counsel, and the ability of people who are incarcerated to be able to have confidential communication with their attorneys, which they most certainly should be able to have," said, Lisa Graybill, deputy legal director at the Southern Poverty Law Center. "People who want to see justice out of the justice system should be uncomfortable with this process." In Orleans Parish, Cannizzaro and Gusman say defense attorneys have "24/7 access" to visit their clients in jail, where they can have private, unmonitored discussions in one of seven rooms. Yet some defense attorneys report having to wait hours to visit with their clients in Orleans Justice Center jail, which, they say, has inadequate visiting space despite being built three years ago at a cost of more than $100 million. "The amount of time our staff, and others, have wasted sitting at Orleans Justice Center jail to see clients has undoubtedly cost the public thousands of dollars," said Katie Schwartzmann, co-director of the MacArthur Justice Center, the nonprofit law firm that represented inmates in a class-action lawsuit that led to a federal consent decree at the Orleans Parish jail. Orleans Parish Sheriff's attorney Blake Arcuri acknowledged the large caseloads faced by some defense attorneys - particularly public defenders. He said staffing issues at the jail contribute to the long wait times to see one of the roughly 1,275 inmates housed in the jail. Other factors include waiting for inmates to get ready for visits, or multiple defense attorneys coming at once. "Sometimes the waits are longer than we want," Arcuri said. Attorney visiting rooms in Orleans Parish jail do have surveillance cameras trained at each room's entrance. Arcuri said those cameras do not record audio and are there to balance the need to keep inmates and attorneys safe with the desire for privileged discussions. Louisiana state prisons have a system in place where attorneys can schedule private, unrecorded phone calls with their clients, as do some parish jails. For example, inmates in St. Tammany Parish can call public defenders on a toll-free, unrecorded line, said John Lindner, the chief public defender for St. Tammany and Washington parishes. That system was set up three years ago, he said, and is separate from the jail phone system inmates use to make recorded and monitored calls to family or friends. Late last year, after ongoing pressure from the Orleans Public Defender's Office and Court Watch NOLA, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office set up a way for defense attorneys to register an office line for receiving unrecorded phone calls from jail inmates. Arcuri said more than 3,200 privileged attorney calls a month have been placed through the system. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office operates a similar method of unrecorded phone calls to attorney landlines, which spokesman Lt. Jason Rivarde said has been in place for several years. Both Jefferson and Orleans parishes do not allow unrecorded phone calls to cellphones or to attorney investigators, citing potential security issues. "While one assumes that the Sheriff's Office could simply rely upon the integrity of attorneys to comply with the rules, we have unfortunately encountered several situations in the past where attorneys and their staff members have made three-way calls at the request of their clients, have been involved in conspiracies to commit crimes in the jail facilities, and have participated in the introduction of contraband into the jail," Arcuri said. Still, Tuesday's report from Court Watch NOLA urges the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office to expand unrecorded phone calls to attorney cellphones. "Where the attorney-client privilege is subverted, so too is the truth-seeking function of the legal system," the report states. Clarification: An earlier version of this story inadvertently suggested the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office defended the use of recorded phone calls by prosecutors. The office commented only on the recording of phone calls for safety reasons. ----- Jonathan Bullington is a lead investigative reporter. He can be reached at jbullington@nola.com or 504.784.0409. Send a secure text message through WhatsApp using his phone number 504.784.0409. New Orleans police are seeking to interview two men about a May 2017 shooting in Algiers that left one man dead and two other injured. Fotino Davis, 24, and Wayne Renaud, 21, have been identified as persons of interest in the investigation of the shooting. Around 9 p.m. on May 16, 2017, officers discovered 24-year-old Roy Noel suffering from gunshot wounds inside a car in the 5200 block of Timber Haven Lane. EMS pronounced him dead at the scene. A 20-year-old and 23-year-old man were also wounded in the shooting. Police said NOPD Homicide Unit detectives consider neither Davis nor Renaud suspects in the investigation. However, detectives wish to speak with them because they believe the men may have information important to the investigation. Police have also obtained buccal swab search warrants to collect DNA from the men. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of these two persons of interest or anyone with additional information on the 2017 shooting is asked to contact NOPD Homicide Detective Brett Mathes at 504-658-5300. Citizens with information that can help solve crimes are asked to call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP. New Orleans investigators are searching for several "persons of interest" in connection with an early Saturday (May 19) French Quarter shooting that wounded a man and a woman, according to the NOPD. Images of the persons of interest were released Monday, a day after police announced a search for two suspects and a vehicle--possibly a white Kia Soul--that could be connected to the shooting on Toulouse Street. According to police, the gunfire erupted about 2:12 a.m. Saturday in the 800 block of Toulouse Street, as two groups of people were heading separate ways following an argument at a Bourbon Street bar. According to an initial investigation by the NOPD, the two groups were walking away from each other when someone from one of the groups opened fire on the other group. The other group "reportedly retaliated," NOPD said in a news release Sunday. Those wounded in the shooting, a 23-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman, were taken to an area hospital, where they were listed in stable condition, police said. Anyone with identifying information for those pictured is asked to call NOPD Detective Aaron Harrelson or Detective Lionel Reneau, or any 8th District detective at 504-658-6080. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll free at 1-877-903-7867. Luvi appears to be a restaurant designed for Instagram eaters. Take the Lion's Head soup (what a name!). In a tiny pot that neatly fills the frame of an iPhone camera with a square crop, a pale meatball floating in broth is ringed by green napa cabbage and adorned with a single carrot slice carved into a flower and a dot of roe in an oversaturated red hue. The dish demands #nofilter. Lion's Head soup is traditional in Shanghai, where Luvi's chef and owner, Hao Gong, was born and trained as a cook. The surface may be technicolor, but the core is a straightforward, satisfying bite. The broth is salty in the way of a chicken soup that soothed a sick day. The meatball is a mixture of pork, lump crabmeat and chopped water chestnuts. The vivid colors fade. What lingers are the delicate flavors and the texture of the meatball that gently crumbled with each bite. This tiny restaurant on Tchoupitoulas Street could serve as Gong's autobiography. Luvi is a portmanteau of his children's names, Lulu and Violet. His wife designed the space, filled with custom woodwork and bold textile-like prints that shouldn't go together but absolutely do. The once dowdy doughnut shop now has the finesse of a fashionista. And the food, what really matters, maps out Gong's journey from Shanghai to California and, finally, New Orleans. The menu neatly divides into cooked dishes, which arrive from the back, and cold items prepared at the raw bar. From behind the kitchen's swinging doors come dishes like Mala Holla, a mound of beef shank slices, each so thin it dissolves on your tongue, spiced with red and green Sichuan peppercorn that lightly burns and barely numbs. Gong toned down the inspiration, a volcanic Sichuan creation, to fit the preferences of his native Shanghai. Mama's Dumplings are slippery and tender, stuffed with pork, ginger and cabbage and bobbing in a bowl of straightforward soy broth. The "mama" refers to Gong's own. These are the dumplings he ate as a child. At Luvi, they evoke the warm glow of nostalgia even in an eater like me who wasn't lucky enough to have been raised on them. Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up At the raw bar, Gong gets creative. Despite his year spent making sushi as the head chef at Sake Cafe, at Luvi there are no rolls and barely any rice. Instead, he folds slices of yellowfish into shapes like fallen flower petals, each dotted with yellow roe and sprinkled with black sesame seeds. Paper-thin rounds of raw octopus, an off-menu item, are crowned unexpectedly with fresh dill. For the Snow White, chunks of raw baby amberjack piled over disks of cucumbers are married to a clear, sharply acidic liquid with a whisper of truffle oil, an ingredient that too often overwhelms but here adds a judicious counterbalance. If you sit at the counter, you'll end up getting to know the gregarious Gong as he slices, arranges and drizzles on sauces with agile focus. But no matter where you are in the room, you'll be drawn into his orbit. Every delicious plate he sends out is personal. Every meal at Luvi is a conversation with this chef. Best bets: Lion's Head soup ($8); Mala Holla spicy beef shank ($11); Mama's Dumplings ($10); Snow White ceviche ($11); "Feed me" menu with five courses, many off the regular menu ($45) (See the full menu online) Opened: April * Parking: Street * Reservations: Parties of 4 or more * Drinks: Full bar * Hours: Lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Luvi: 5236 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, 504.605.3340 Editor's note: The festival has added Thursday (May 24) to its lineup in 2018. Smell the lamb sizzling on the grill. Taste the tzatziki and souvlaki. Hear the crunch of the baklava as you bite into it. And sip Greek wines as you listen to Greek music. Bayou St. John might not be as blue as the Aegean Sea, but if you close your eyes for just a minute at the Greek Festival, your other senses might take you there. Gail Psilos, co-chair of the festival, has this advice: "Get yourself a bottle of wine and a plate of food and go sit at the edge of Bayou St. Johnand just relax." The festival takes place May 25-27 on the grounds of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, on the bayou where Robert E. Lee Boulevard meets St. Bernard Avenue. The festival, powered by hundreds of New Orleans Greek-American volunteers, features authentic experiences including Hellenic dancing ensembles, Cathedral tours (a great way to cool off), and shopping for imported Greek household and decorative items and foods. "The shipment is coming from Greece any day now," Psilos said Tuesday, noting that olive oils and a wide variety of cheeses will be available at the grocery along with containers of homemade specialties, such as stuffed dates. If you love to eat well, the festival does not disappoint. More than 400 volunteers spend hours making more than 20 varieties of cookies and pastries. The dozens of savory dishes include the popular Greek dinner plate with pastitsio (a layered lamb and pasta dish), tiropita (savory cheese pastry), kieftethes (Greek meatballs), Greek salad, dolma (stuffed grape leaves), hard-to-find goat burgers and, of course, souvlaki. Cool down with pomegranate ice tea or a daiquiri, or a coffee frappe. (Find the full list of foods at the festival website.) Other options include: A rotisserie lamb plate with tomato orzo au jus and a roll. "We've had a lot of requests for vegan dishes," Psilos said, describing the cold lentil, grain and pea salad on the new vegan platter. (See the recipe below.) Also on that platter is the potato garlic dip, which, if you love garlic, could become a favorite. (See that recipe below as well.) Sunday is always a big day at the fest. This year, the Greek community is celebrating the city's tricentennial with a re-enactment of the 1699 meeting of French explorer Bienville and the indigenous people of Louisiana. The Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Village will have artifacts on display and activities for children on Sunday as well. On that day, those wearing "tasteful" togas get in free. A toga contest takes place immediately after the 6:30 p.m. outdoor Hellenic dance performance, on the music stage. And "Baklava Sundae" features house-made baklava topped with soft-serve vanilla ice cream, baklava spices and a cherry. The festival organizers shared several simple, delicious recipes for some of the new dishes this year, perfect for a quick and healthy weeknight meal. At Greek Fest, these shrimp will be grilled outside. They will be served on pita bread, with tzatziki (a cucumber and yogurt sauce) and fresh herbs. MARINATED GREEK SHRIMP Serves 4 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined For marinade 1/4 cup olive oil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 3 medium garlic cloves, chopped 1 lemon, juiced Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste Wooden skewers Place shrimp in an airtight container. Add marinade, stir and chill overnight in refrigerator. Soak wooden skewers in water. Thread marinated shrimp onto skewers and place on clean, lightly oiled grill over medium heat. Cook shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes on both sides. Serve on pita or atop a salad. This hearty salad is the entree on the vegan platter that has been added to the Greek Fest 2018. The platter also includes lentil and grain salad with skordalia (potato garlic dip), pita, dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) and Kalamata olives. Other grains, such as farro, can be substituted for the barley in this recipe. BARLEY, LENTIL AND PEA SALAD Makes 4 servings. 3 cups vegetable broth or water 1/3 cup dried barley Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up 1/3 cup dried lentils 1/3 cup dried split peas 1 teaspoons chopped garlic 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 bunch green onions, chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste Boil broth. Add lentils, barley and peas and cook on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender. Strain and cool. Add garlic to olive oil and add garlic oil to cooled grains and peas. Add remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Chill before serving. Sprinkle reserved fresh basil on top, if desired. You must like spicy garlic to enjoy this dip called skordalia, pronounced skor-thal-YAH. If you do, you'll think it is divine. Some recipes call for egg, but the festival volunteers make this vegan version. POTATO GARLIC DIP, or SKORDALIA Makes 2-1/2 cups 2 medium red potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed (reserve potato water) 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 medium garlic cloves, minced 4 thick slices French or Italian-style bread, crust removed 1/4 cup water from potato boil 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/2 cup olive oil 1/4 cup white vinegar Soak bread in potato water until soft. Squeeze bread to get as much moisture out as possible. Put potatoes, salt, garlic and bread into food processor. Blend until fully incorporated. With processor on slow speed, add lemon juice and oil, alternately. Add vinegar and blend well. If sauce is too thick, add warm potato water, a teaspoon at a time. Eat with pita or crackers or atop shrimp, fish or meat. GREEK FESTIVAL 2018 What: The annual celebration of Greek culture, with cuisine, live music, dancing, and shopping as well as games, including an "Athenian Playground" with a gyroscope that folks can get inside of and go for a twirl. Where: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 1200 Robert E. Lee Blvd. When: 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday (May 24), 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday Admission: $5 on Thursday; $8 the rest of the days for adults; children younger than 12 free. (Those wearing "tasteful" togas get in free on Sunday.) More information: Visit the Greek Fest website. Find a full schedule of events there. Parking: Free parking is available, with a shuttle from the old John F. Kennedy High School lot on Wisner Avenue. Note: Don't bring the dog. Only certified service animals are allowed on the grounds. Chairs and blankets are welcome. Small empty ice chests can be brought in as well. Graveyards don't creep me out. So what could be better than a journey of discovery into New Orleans' oldest existing cemetery? I asked the Archdiocese of New Orleans if they would allow me, a multimedia filmmaker, to wander and photograph amongst the tombs of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. They said they thought it was a fine idea. The cemetery is located just blocks off the back side of the French Quarter. When it first opened in 1789, it was completely outside the city proper on a piece of barely reclaimed swampland. Spanish authorities were closing the St. Peter Cemetery between Rampart and Burgundy streets after running out of space in it. They needed a new place to bury the dead, preferably far enough outside the city limits that disease would not be a problem. They staked out the new plot on land roughly twice its current size. The Carlos Trudeau map of 1798 shows the cemetery, then 9 years old, drawn in as merely a cartoon signpost west of the city on land beyond St. Louis Street. By 1815, when city surveyor Jacques Tanesse created his own fine map, St. Louis No. 1 was in the process of being reduced to its current one-block size bounded by the proper streets of Basin, Treme, St. Louis and Conti. The larger, older dimensions are still visible as provisional cross-hatches on the map, extending out into what is now Basin Street. So when you enter at the main iron gates, the Varney pyramid tomb that you encounter used to be closer to the center of the place. While unique to the United States, the above-ground tombs of New Orleans are actually derived from a European model. The Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris is perhaps the most famous example, its beautiful tree-lined walks stacked with tomb after tomb. There's one huge difference, though: the French buried their dead in the ground, under those grand monuments. Perhaps New Orleans' Spanish government at the time was taking their cue from some of their own country's above-ground cemeteries like those near Barcelona. The Poble Nou cemetery is a good example. At St. Louis No. 1, the caskets were slid right into the above-ground structure, keeping the groundwater at bay and also creating the convenience of a reusable burial space for the families that purchased them. Archdiocesan staff refer to a 'two stack" or "three stack," shorthand for the two- and three-decked layers of most of the old family tombs. Bristling with camera gear, I was welcomed at the gates of No. 1 by Harold Bailey and Darrell Coleman, the two Archdiocesan staffers who spend their days toiling inside these walls. Bailey and Coleman are combination guards, caretakers and custodians all rolled into one. They keep the place open and running on a schedule, ride herd on the tourist groups and generally make sure everyone is reasonably well-behaved. I ask Bailey if he can show me the location of the tomb of Bernard de Marigny, someone I had done a story about a few months back. We take off at a fast lope. Do any of the dead ever talk to him, I ask? He chuckles, then laughs: "No, not to me," he said. "They don't talk to me at all." Filming in No. 1 is surprisingly challenging. It's a rabbit warren of casual alleys and aisles, tombs erected willy nilly, not always in consideration of the others around it. The early days of tomb building look to have been an ad hoc affair, no surveyors involved in the layout. And it's almost completely devoid of the statuary found in many other cemeteries, eye candy for us photographers always searching for a focal point. In addition to the many family tombs are a handful of large society tombs, like the Italian Society tomb and the New Orleans Musicians tomb. Membership in one of these groups assured one of a proper burial, much like burial insurance does today. At 9 a.m., the front gates are unlocked, and the tour groups begin flooding in. More than 200,000 people a year visit St. Louis No. 1, according to the Catholic cemeteries chief Sherri Peppo. Bailey and Coleman keep a well-worn binder that lists all of the tour companies allowed inside. A guide must accompany each group that enters. Most tour operators charge about 20 bucks to take the tour. Out of this, the Archdiocese gets only a dollar a head. The exception is for "walk-ups,'' people who show up ignorant of the rules and simply want to see inside. Tour companies rotate for the chance to snag these people, keeping one of their guides near the front gates to collect these sightseers and form them up into a group. These tours also cost $20, but the Archdiocese keeps $5 from each of these visitors. I glom onto a big Grayline tour about to start. The guide checks with her boss and, reassured that it's OK to have me along, launches into her spiel. It's a mix of history, sociology and graveyard-specific facts, and the tourists seem pleased. Our guide leads us from one chosen grave to the next, hitting highlights along the way. Eventually, we end up in front of the most famous tomb of them all, that of Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. The visitors whip their cell phones out, eager to photograph Laveau's tomb and snap selfies as Ms. Grayline continues speaking. This is where she devotes her biggest chunk of time, other tour guides waiting off to the side. She explains the controversy about whether Laveau is really in this tomb, or perhaps buried somewhere else? Ears perk up at this tidbit. Further along we're shown a "faux Laveau" tomb, covered in Voodoo X's and littered with old flowers and trinkets. Perched up on the side of this tomb is a Clearblue pregnancy tester, its battery still working. "Pregnant," it announces. Later, I meet Lee Gagnet Leumas, chief archivist and records manager for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, at the Archdiocese's records vault on Walmsley Avenue. Leumas is an authority on document preservation and recovery, much of it borne out of lessons learned after Hurricane Katrina. Fortunately for me (and Marie Laveau), Leumas can put her hands on the actual physical burial record for Mrs. C. Glapion, aka the Widow Paris, aka Marie Laveau. It's a sheet of yellowed paper, dated June of 1881 and written in an elegant English script. In their meticulous recording of births, baptisms, marriages and deaths, the Catholic church has no equal when it comes to colonial New Orleans. And St. Louis church (now Cathedral), which was in charge of the records for St. Louis Cemeteries numbers 1 and 2, kept some of the best records of all. Walking to the back of this multi-room storage area, lined floor-to-ceiling with shelving full of records, Leumas stands on tiptoe and pulls down a large tome. The original documents have been painstakingly preserved, rebound into big books of acid-free sleeves, each containing one of the old pages. Leumas opens the church sexton's burial records from the 1880s for St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and turns to the correct page. Running her hand carefully along the script, she reads aloud: "Dame Christophe Glapion. I certify that Mrs. C. Glapion, a native of New Orleans, aged 98, (although somebody has corrected it and put a 7 in place of the 9) years, died of diarrhea on the 15th of this month at 8 o'clock in her residence at Number 152 St. Anne Street, buried in the family tomb of the Widow Paris, the middle vault, opened by order of Philomene Laveau." Leumas explains that Philomene Laveau was Marie's daughter. The Daily Picayune would run a story the following day about the death and burial of Marie Laveau in St. Louis No. 1. "It can't be anyone else," Leumas concludes. "This is in 1881 and it's the record for the 15th of June, which is when the newspaper said she died." There's really no mystery to it. Mundane as it sounds, Marie Laveau is right where she's supposed to be, in the tomb with her common-law husband, Christophe Glapion, surrounded by the remains of their many children and other relatives. Back in the cemetery, I walk and film, stopping to read grave markers and old brass placards as I go. It's strangely quiet and peaceful, not eerie at all. No sense of ghosts as I walk the narrow pathways between tombs, more of a haphazard maze than a grid. Later Lee Leumas joins me for a private tour of the cemetery. Her family goes back to 1720 in New Orleans ("practically on the boat with Bienville,'' she says) and multiple branches of her own family are present in No. 1. "For me, it's the beginnings of New Orleans," she says. "Even though we had a cemetery that preceded this, this is the 'Who's Who' of who built New Orleans, who struggled to build New Orleans. When you go back to look at the 300 years, everybody's in here." We stop at the tomb and a placard for Pierre Derbigny. "This is my family right here. Governor Pierre Derbigny, we go back to him directly. His daughter marries into the Gagnet family. He's one of the ones that writes the first Louisiana Code." I ask Leumas how many people she thinks, ballpark, are buried in No. 1. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaims. "I can't even imagine how to tabulate that. You've seen the burial record books, all the books. Think about all the people that lived during the 1700s, the 1800s, the 1900s and we're still burying people here today. It's tens of thousands." St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but you must be part of a tour group to get inside. (The exception is people with family tombs in No. 1. They can get a Family Pass from the Archdiocese that allows unaccompanied access during regular visiting hours.) A list of tour guide services can be found on the Catholic Cemeteries of New Orleans web page for St. Louis No. 1. Andrew Boyd is a multimedia video producer and reporter for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. He can be reached at aboyd@nola.com. Follow him on Twitter at @gandrewboyd. Gary Oldman and Brie Larson apparently won't be the only Oscar-winning actors filming in New Orleans this summer. So will Allison Janney (a 2018 Oscar winner for "I, Tonya") and Viola Davis (a 2017 Oscar winner for "Fences"), both of whom have reportedly joined the local cast of the Amazon-backed feature "Troupe Zero." According to Deadline, Janney and Davis join a cast that also includes actor and comic Jim Gaffigan ("Chappaquiddick") and 12-year-old actress McKenna Grace ("Fuller House," "Designated Survivor"). "Troupe Zero" will be based on a screenplay by Lucy Alibar, who was nominated for a screenwriting Oscar with Benh Zeitlin for their script for 2012's "Beasts of the Southern Wild." The project was scheduled to start production in the New Orleans area this week and continue for 30 days of principal photography. Production placards for the film were spotted Monday (May 21) in the Mandeville area. Plot details of have yet to be released. The filmmaking duo known as Bert & Bertie ("Dance Camp") will direct, with Todd Black ("The Equalizer," "The Magnificent Seven") producing. No release date has been announced. As previously reported, Oldman ("Darkest Hour") will be in town in June for the locally set crime drama "The Bayou," in which he will star as a hit man named Tickie Bordeaux. Larson ("Room") is playing the title role in the superhero film "Captain Marvel," which is expected to shoot for about 10 days in New Orleans and Baton Rouge around July 4. They are among , including the feature films "Think Like a Dog," "Darkest Dark" and "Gambit," as well as a raft of TV series, including new seasons of "Claws," "Preacher" and "NCIS: New Orleans." The Audubon Zoo has a new trio of Patagonian cavies, a long-eared, long-limbed species of rodent that looks like something like a jackrabbit, but is more closely tied to guinea pigs and capybaras. The three male cavies, also known as "Patagonian hares," are the latest residents to move into the zoo's newly expanded Jaguar Jungle exhibit, which showcases species native to Central and South America, according to a news release. The expansion also includes a new nocturnal house, with night-loving species like Seba and vampire bats, night monkeys and zebra tarantulas. Peter Bibault, an Audubon Zoo animal care professional, noted the zoo used to breed cavies as recently as the early 1980s, but the trio -- named Rick, Daryl and Negan (shout out to fans of TV series "The Walking Dead") -- are the first onsite in decades. Many visitors are seeing the species for the very first time, Bibault said. "We've only had these boys on exhibit for a short time, but they've already been a great conversation starter," he said. The cavy is native to Argentina, but can be found munching on vegetation across South America in savannas, thorn forest and scrub deserts, according to the release. Cavies are closely related to capybaras, the world's largest rodent, weighing up to 100 pounds. By comparison, the cavy is the world's fourth largest rodent and can weigh up to 20 pounds. For now, the zoo's all-male group will remain the only cavies onsite. The zoo does not plan on breeding with the group, the release said. 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 recent landing of bomber aircraft on a South China Sea island by the People's Liberation Army Air Force is part of normal training that should not be over-interpreted, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Monday. Lu made the remark when he was requested to comment on the reaction of the United States and the Philippines to the exercises. Pentagon spokesman US Marine Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan said China's "continued militarization of disputed features in the South China Sea only serves to raise tensions and destabilize the region", The Associated Press reported. Lu rebuked the Pentagon's comments, saying the training exercise is not what the US has called "militarization". "The South China Sea islands are China's territory. The training is a normal exercise conducted by the Chinese military. It's not necessary for other parties to make an over-interpretation," Lu said. "They are totally different in nature than the behavior of driving one country's own military vessels and aircraft across a long, long distance to the South China Sea and posing a threat to regional countries," Lu added. Bombers of different types, including an unspecified number of H-6Ks from a division of the PLA Air Force, took off from an airport in southern China and made a simulated strike before landing on an island in the South China Sea, according to an Air Force statement on Friday. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Monday it is "closely monitoring developments" in the South China Sea and "taking the appropriate diplomatic action necessary", but did not name China. The US has dispatched its military vessels and aircraft to the South China Sea for years. Its B-52 bombers carried out training exercises in the vicinity of the South China Sea in late April, Reuters quoted the US Air Force as saying. The news came less than a month after the US sent the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt to the South China Sea. Countries need to get used to China's training in its own territory, said Teng Jianqun, a researcher at the China Institute of International Studies. Such training, in line with international law and not threatening the security of other countries, is not "militarization", he said. The US should stop "pointing its fingers" at such training, which will not alter China's determination to safeguard its territory, he 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: "We're looking forward to the meeting and happy for it to be live streamed." "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 wider world," Barack Obama said in Netflix's announcement. Netflix said the Obamas would make "a diverse mix of content," potentially including scripted and unscripted series, documentaries or features. The former president and first lady have formed their own production company, Higher Ground Productions, for the material. In announcing a deal that had been rumored since March, Netflix offered no specifics on what shows they would make. Barack and Michelle Obama are getting into the television business with Monday's announcement that they had signed a multiyear deal with Netflix. The Obamas can be expected to participate in some of the programming onscreen, said a person familiar with the deal, not authorized to talk publicly about it, on condition of anonymity. The programming itself is not expected to be partisan in nature; a president who often derided the way things were covered on cable news won't be joining in. The type of people that Obama -- like other presidents -- brought forward as guests at his State of the Union addresses would likely provide fodder for the kinds of stories they want to tell. "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," Michelle Obama said. No content from the deal is expected to be available until at least 2019, said the person familiar with the deal. The former president appeared in January on David Letterman's Netflix talk show, "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction." Obama is said to be friendly with Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer, and discussions for other programming were already under way. "We are incredibly proud they have chosen to make Netflix the home for their formidable storytelling abilities," Sarandos said. Netflix has 125 million subscribers worldwide. The company has always been reluctant to discuss how many people watch its programming, but it clearly dominates the growing market for streaming services. Roughly 10 percent of television viewing now is through these services, the Nielsen company said. Forty-nine percent of streaming being viewed now comes through Netflix, and no other service comes close, Nielsen said. British tobacco company looks to China for smoke-free future From:ChinaDaily | 2018-05-22 00:41 Electronic smoking devices present new opportunities London-based British American Tobacco has invested an undisclosed amount in China Materialia, a Shanghai-based venture capital fund which will help the cigarette company develop smoking alternatives that do not burn tobacco. British American Tobacco, which is also known as BAT, is the second-largest tobacco company in the world and owns popular cigarette brands including Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall. This is the first time BAT has invested in a venture capital fund as part of research and development activity. As the damaging effects of cigarette smoke have become widely accepted, several cigarette companies and dozens of technology firms have developed new devices, including electronic cigarettes, known as e-cigarettes, and vape kits, that deliver nicotine without burning tobacco. We are excited to be working with China Materialia, a BAT spokeswoman told China Daily. Its still very early days and so were limited as to what we can say, however were excited about the potential benefits our investment may bring. China is an increasingly important center for technology and innovation our investment in the fund allows us to tap into this. The invention of the e-cigarette is often attributed to Chinese medical researcher Hon Lik, and the vast majority of the worlds e-cigarette and vaping hardware is produced in China. Vaping and e-cigarette devices have become popular in the UK, where sales of products reached 1 billion pounds ($1.34 billion) last year. Nine million users in the United States spent $3.7 billion on vape products in 2017. E-cigarettes have yet to catch on in China as they have in the West, and the market has massive potential for growth, according to recent research. A 2017 study by Dublin-based analysts Research and Markets valued Chinas domestic e-cigarette industry at $175 million, with an estimated 1 million regular vapers in the country, versus 350 million smokers. Barriers to growth for the e-cigarette industry in China include the relative cost of products when compared to tobacco, and lack of availability of products in bricks-and-mortar stores. Around 80 percent of e-cigarette sales in China occur online, according to Research and Markets. BAT said that the investment in China Materialia will provide the company with access to new and emerging technologies and help with the development of next generation products. BAT already owns several vape brands, including Vype, Vuse, Ten Motives and Chic. This year the company will launch Glo, a tobacco-heating device that produces a nicotine-containing aerosol instead of smoke. The company made 500 million pounds from worldwide sales of vaping products last year and estimates that figure will reach 5 billion pounds in the next four years. BAT is one of five corporations to invest in China Materialia in recent funding rounds, including United States-based chemical company BASF, California-based venture capital company GE Ventures, South Korean technology firm Samsung, and Saudi Arabian manufacturing firm Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. We are absolutely delighted to have five great corporate strategic investors joining China Materialia, said Min Zhou, chief executive of China Materialia. Partnership with these corporates can bring tremendous value to our portfolio companies and accelerate their path to commercial scale and global market. From 'dirty' industries to a high-tech oasis From:Shine | 2018-05-22 01:29 Constructionstarted yesterday to convert an old industrial center in north Shanghai into a high-tech park focusing on intelligent manufacturing, cars, health and new materials. Over 30 high-rises to serve as office buildings and research labs for high-tech enterprises will be built on the site of the former Baoshan City Industrial Park in Baoshan District, which was built in 1995 for the citys traditional iron and steel industry. With a total investment of 2 billion yuan (US$313 million), the new Innovation Galaxy Oasis park will feature environmentally friendly facilities and will be the citys major scientific research base. One of its key features will be the Shanghai Graphene Industry Park for applications of graphene, the lightest, thinnest and strongest known material. Over 40 research teams and 20 enterprises are expected to base themselves in the graphene park to develop new products and industrial chains for the semi-metal. The Oasis Park will cover 86,000 square meters on Yuanxin and Shanlian roads and be completed by 2020. Former residents living near the park have been relocated to a newly built neighborhood nearby. An elementary and middle school, along with other support facilities for those working in the future park are planned. The project, jointly developed by the Baoshan government and the state-owned Lingang Group, also marks the transformation from the traditional and polluting industries of north Shanghai to environmentally friendly high-tech and innovative parks, the government said. The government yesterday also signed a deal with Lingang to convert the Nanda area, a heavily polluted former industrial site, into an intelligence community. Nanda has undergone major treatment to combat soil contamination from the large number of old generation industries previously based there. According to development plan, the future Nanda area will have an industrial park for Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Vehicles and other high-tech industries. A high-end community featuring intelligent infrastructure is also planned. The law school of Cavendish University Uganda last week held its first biannual interfaculty moot court finals at its premises in Kamwokya. The moot court sat as the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kunte, a neighbor to the Republic of Uganda. It handled a three-point petition filed by a non-governmental organization against the government. L-R: Uganda Law Society president Simon Kinobe (L), Academic Registrar Olal Odur and Dean Olive Sabiti The petitioners carried the day, but the respondents did well too; there was a small margin in the marks earned by each. Dr Olive Sabiti, the dean of the law school, said such finals will take place every semester. She said the moot courts, which are compulsory at every class level in the whole school, are aimed at equipping students with practical skills to practice law, act as teams, know court decorum and dress, write proper case reports and develop rhetorical prowess. Moot court performance contributes to the final semester marks of Cavendish law students, she added. Simon Peter Kinobe, the president of Uganda Law Society, as chief guest, said moot courts should not be treated as jokes because many graduates who have not had such experience have proved a disappointment when they go to the Law Development Centre for the bar course. Kinobe urged students to learn to think outside the box and read widely and follow current precedents. Lecturers wont teach you how to do that. Keep the culture of reading and follow current events wherever. As lawyers, you are custodians of knowledge, and thats why you are referred to as learned," Kinobe counseled. Build your own brand, and that starts now. I am pleased you are all smartly dressed; demeanour is crucial in law practice.You must display the ability to sell yourself as the best lawyer; otherwise, you are all taught the same syllabus by lectur- ers.You must find ways of borrowing a leaf from the books of practitioners. Meanwhile, Sabiti said the university is soon starting a programme for working adults above the age of 25 to enable such people learn law in a flexible manner. The programme will have three courses per term; it wont use a semester system. jmusinguzi@observer.ug Over the years, cases of Down syndrome, a debilitating medical condition, which severely slows growth in children, has become prevalent in Uganda. By its nature, patients have to be attended to by several specialists. Angels Centre Nansana was established to offer professionals, including therapists, psychologists, educators, nurses, and social workers, an environment to help affected children, writes ALFRED OCHWO. A volunteer takes care of a child at the facility Rosemary Nambooze, the executive director here, says after she gave birth to a child (now six years old) with Down syndrome, her experience led her to set up the centre to help other families. The centre has been operating for six years and now we have 80 children. Twenty-five come to the centre every day and about 100 children are in the community where we go and offer rehabilitation services at their homes, she said. We care for three special categories here; Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorders and cerebral palsy. We have acquired land to construct a bigger facility to accommodate others but the funds are not enough; so, we call upon any well-wishers to make a change in the lives of these children, Nambooze said. About Down syndrome A child is born with an extra copy of their 21st chromosome, which then causes physical and mental developmental delays and disabilities. Prainah Nakato, a speech therapist at Angels centre, explained that in all cases of reproduction, both parents pass their genes on to their children. These genes are carried in chromosomes. When the babys cells develop, each cell is supposed to receive 23 pairs of chromosomes. Half of the chromosomes are from the mother, and half are from the father. In children with Down syndrome, one of the chromosomes doesnt separate properly. The baby ends up with three copies, or an extra partial copy of chromosome 21, instead of two. This extra chromosome causes problems as the brain and physical features develop, Nakato said. The stages in syndrome Symptoms can be noticed right at birth, Nakato says. After the birth, the child will have flat facial features, a small head and tiny ears, short neck, bulging tongue, eyes that slant upward and poor muscle tone. Such an infant will then develop more slowly with impulsive behaviour, poor judgment, short attention span and slow learning capabilities. At Angels centre, the therapy is geared towards helping sufferers achieve their maximum potential growth and development. I urge parents with such children to start as soon as the child is diagnosed. A child can begin therapy for movement, and other areas that need help, such as learning, speech, hearing, and social and emotional development and that is what we do here, Nakato advises. Cerebral palsy Aside from Down syndrome, the centre also cares for children with related disorders. Here cerebral palsy is also cared for. Cerebral palsy affects muscle tone and movement due to brain damage before or during a babys birth, or in the first three to five years. Autism A caretaker with one of the children under the centres care Experts believe autism is a complex developmental condition and presents itself during the first three years of a persons life. The condition is caused by a neurological disorder that has an effect on normal brain function, affecting development of the persons communication and social interaction skills. Nakato added that autism is more common in male than female children. At the centre, they have more males with a ratio of 2-1. Most have issues with social interaction, communication and repetitive satirical pattern. The way in which a person with autism interacts with another individual is quite different. If the symptoms are not severe, the person may seem socially clumsy, sometimes offensive in their comments, or out of synch with everyone else. A person with autism usually finds sudden loud noises unpleasant and quite shocking. The same can happen with some smells and sudden changes in the intensity of lighting and ambient temperature. Many believe it is not so much the actual noise, smell or light but, rather the surprise, and not being able to prepare for it - similar to the response to surprising physical contact. Recently, MultChoice Uganda donated relief items to the centre as part of its social responsibility activities. alfredodcho@gmail.com 69-year-old Xia Boyu recently became the oldest double amputee to conquer Mount Everest. That alone is an amazing achievement, but even more impressive is the fact that he did it on his fifth attempt, the first of which had caused him the loss of both his feet as a result of severe frostbite. Xia Boyus first tried to reach the top of Mount Everest in 1975, as part of an expedition backed by the Chinese Government. With only 250 meters to go from reaching the summit, the team was pinned down by bad weather which didnt let up for two days and three nights. The long wait took its toll on the climbers, and to make sure that everyone made it back alive, the team decided to turn back and fulfil their dream another time. During the descent, Xia gave his sleeping bag to one of his colleagues who was in a worse shape than him. Unfortunately, this selfless act would cause him to lose both his feet to frostbite. Photo: Xinhua In 1996, Xia Boyu was diagnosed with lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, and had his legs amputated once again, this time above the knees. It was a hard blow, but the ambitious mountain climber never gave up on his dream of conquering the worlds highest peak. As long as he drew breath, there was still a chance he could make it come true. Climbing Mount Everest is my dream, Xia told AFP. I have to realise it. It also represents a personal challenge, a challenge of fate. A little over two decades after losing his feet to frostbite, Xia Boyu resumed his training to get his body ready for another attempt at climbing Mount Everest. In 2014, he tried again, but eventually had to turn back to do bad weather. The same thing happened the following year, as well as in 2016, when with only about 100 meters from the peak, a blizzard forced him and his Sherpas to turn back. If I was alone, due to my old age and the forty years I had fought for my dream, I might go up without considering the consequence, the ambitious climber said in an interview. But when I looked back, five Sherpas were looking at me. They have families. So I decided to retreat. Last year, as the 69-year-old climber prepared for his fifth attempt at conquering Mount Everest, the Nepalese Government officially banned double amputees as well as solo and blind climbers from ascending the worlds highest mountain. Xia panicked, thinking that, after everything he had been through in the last four decades, he had finally lost all chances of ever fulfilling his dream. Luckily, Nepals supreme court overturned the controversial decision, and this month, Xia Boyu finally reached the top of Mount Everest, on his fifth attempt. He thus became only the second double amputee to climb the worlds highest mountain top, after New Zealender Mark Inglis, who did it in 2006, and the first to do it from the Nepal side. Sources: TIME Magazine, The Guardian Authorities in Hejiang county, Chinas Sichuan province, have come up with a controversial method of convincing borrowers to pay up their debts showing their faces and names during short clips played in cinemas before the main movie starts. Called Reel of Shame, the clip features an animated character who tells the audience Come look at these laolai before showing the borrowers faces, names and other details on the big screen. The derogatory term laolai refers to borrowers who fail to pay their debts on time. To maximize the techniques effectiveness, authorities show the borrowers faces in cinemas in their local area. Public shaming has been an increasingly common tactic to punish laolai along with other repercussions for failing to repay loans, including blacklisting and travel restrictions, Li Qiang, director of enforcement for Hejiangs courts, told Chinese website The Cover. For the audiences in the cinema, we specifically chose to expose the names of debtors whose household registration were in that area so it was more targeted and the results would be more effective. A video of the Reel of Shame playing in a Hejiang cinema recently went viral on Chinas microblogging platform Weibo. It showed the faces and names of 26 business executives who had defaulted on their loans despite local court orders demanding they pay up. Interestingly, the Reel of Shame is just one of several public shaming methods used in China. Last year, the Government rolled out a national system allowing borrowers names, identity card numbers, photographs, home addresses and the amounts owed to be made public and propagated through various channels as a way of coercing them to pay their debts. Some cities put the borrowers photos and information on advertising billboards, electronic screens and even buses, while provinces like Jiangsu, Henan and Sichuan have teamed up with telecom companies to have pre-recorded messages about their debts play whenever someone calls these offenders. I guess China isnt as concerned about privacy as countries in the West Public shaming has also been used by a public utilities company in Russia, which recently installed a heavy Pyramid of Debt in front of the houses of its biggest debtors. A Mexican mayor who incurred the wrath of his constituents by not fulfilling his campaign promises was recently detained in the town hall until he agreed to pay a considerable ransom. Alfonso Hernandez Montiel, the mayor of Chichiquila, had only five months left from his mandate to fulfil the promises he had made during his electoral campaign. However, dissatisfied locals decided they werent going to sit around and wait for his term to end while he continued to lead them on with more empty promises. On Sunday, a large number of Chichiquila residents staged a massive protest in front of the city hall, demanding that he deliver on all the things he promised during his campaign, including the construction of an important bridge. Photo: Ayuntamiento Chichiquila Puebla Its not clear exactly how things escalated, but what we do know is that at one point the protesters overwhelmed the few police officers present on the scene and locked the mayor and his staff in the town hall. Claiming that they could no longer believe anything he said, locals demanded a ransom of 10 million pesos ($506,000) for his release, with the money going toward the projects that he promised in his campaign. El Sol de Puebla reports that after several hours of negotiations, Alfonso Hernandez Montiel decided to pay 3 million pesos ($152,000) on the spot along with the promise that he would pay the rest in the following days. Even though they had previously said that they no longer believed in his promises, the protesters agreed and the mayor was allowed to leave the town hall. Photo: @pueblaonline Yesterday, Urbano Puebla reported that the General Secretariat of Government (SGG) denied any payment for the release of the mayor, claiming instead that the protesters had released him voluntarily. The SGG statement added that the people had the to hold the mayor accountable and demand the fulfilment of his campaign promises. One could speculate that the Government may have denied the payment to avoid having to take action against the local community for essentially kidnapping their mayor and holding him for ransom. This story is reminiscent of a similar incident that occurred only two months ago. The people of San Buenaventura, a small town in northern Bolivia, put their mayor in stocks for an hour, to let him know that they were not satisfied with his service. Lisa Astor As we reflect on the first quarter of 2018, some interesting trends have started to evolve in the VC and startup communities. I took some time with my colleagues to dig into what markets are trending and how PR pros can better establish relationships with the movers and shakers in the VC community. What are some of the markets or industries you are seeing funded today? Ryan Wallace, VP & GM, New York: Advanced Manufacturing is a critical industry. In fact, NYC is the number one market for 3D printing. Robotics, cybersecurity and health & life sciences are also burgeoning markets in New York right now. Jennifer Malleo, VP & GM, San Francisco: I see money flowing into any company thats got a security play, and lots of middleware brands, i.e., the companies that create the connections between other B2B businesses. Middleware has been a dirty word in PR, but the acquisition of MuleSoft, Twilios IPO, the much-anticipated Palantir IPO, and our own SF client roster tell a different story. These companies are printing cash and investors know it. Katie Blair, VP & GM, Orlando: In the Southeast, the biggest opportunities are in the fintech, biotech, healthcare, martech and cybersecurity markets. Lisa Astor, SVP & Co-Lead, Client Relations, Boston: Boston has always been a hub of innovation for healthcare IT and traditional data and security technologies. Were also the home to robotics since the launch of iRobot and MITs significant investment in the space. And of course, biotech continues to be a cash cow with more than 1,000 biotech companies in Massachusetts. How has this changed over the past few years? What are the next hot markets? Wallace: Manufacturing in particular has started to grow and expand in Industry City, Brooklyn. Robotics has found a new home here as well. There is a real renaissance for manufacturing from retail and apparel to biomedical to tech. Its exciting to see this evolving in real time. We have seen heightened investment and significant deals closing in the New York market and, generally speaking, people are excited to see the cash flowing again in Silicon Alley, at a level we havent seen since 2015. Malleo: I can tell you who it isnt. First, apps are out of luck. They were the hottest funding sector up until a few years ago, and the money has dried up. SaaS-anything is also dead in the water because new entrants are now competing with established players. The industry that showed the most promise fintech has also fallen. Anything related to blockchain is super hot, and I expect it will stay that way for some time. Digital currencies are skyrocketing (overall) and VCs are falling over each other to get in on the underlying technology. Trusted social networks, or even niche social networks, are another potential area of interest that have gotten some play. Facebook may be the sacrificial lamb in a much broader trend relating to the security of individual data what theyre willing to share vs. pay for, and whether communities can and should be trusted or accountable to users. Blair: I think we will continue to see growth in SaaS organizations. With a growing presence of Fortune 500 companies located in the Southeast, B2B SaaS startups continue to attract large amounts of investor capital, commanding over $4.5 billion in more than 1,600 deals since 2012. Biotech/pharma and consumer technology also are growing sectors in the Southeast, with over $7 billion invested collectively, since 2012. Astor: Advanced data analytics is the future of tech in Boston. Our great universities attract and retain a lot of talent and interest in technologies such as blockchain, IoT and big data. Data analytics and advanced manufacturing technologies will continue to grow as they are fueled by major tech brands funding innovation centers and labs across the city. From an Integrated Marketing and PR perspective, are there particular strategies that play best to the VC communities and startups in your region? What tips do you have for PR pros? Wallace: PR pros should try to connect with their counterparts at VCs to identify market needs and understand their local marketplace. Connect with your communication counterparts at the leading investment firms that are shaping the stories and the markets. To get in at the startup level and reach the next big thing you need to network and form relationships with the VCs. Become a player in the VC community, not just an observer. And to reach the investment community, we need to talk to VCs in their language through contributed content that 1) establishes the business impact your client can have and 2) spotlights the unseen financial benefits of your solution to investors and customers. Malleo: VCs in the Bay Area are PR savvy. If you want to win them over, send in your best people to talk to them. They probably have better media relationships than the best PR agencies. For startups looking to draw attention to their brands from the VC community, dial down the product rhetoric (thats sales job) and make sure youve got a great story. Every VC and reporter has heard it all before youre not going to teach them anything new. But you can bring them around to a new way of thinking about your business if you have a solid story. You have to know why you matter to the world, what big problem youre solving. Blair: Its an exciting time for the Southeast as opportunity is knocking. The majority of companies here are looking for ways to differentiate their products/solutions and compete on a national and global scale. Messaging and product positioning are paramount as many of these organizations may have never worked with a PR pro before and are looking to build visibility for their brand for the first time. Its important to be aware that you will likely be starting at the ground level. For PR pros looking to break into the Southeast VC community, it all comes down to good old-fashioned networking. The Southeast is made up of tight-knit tech communities that support each other and thrive on two-way collaboration. Dust off those mingling chops and get to know your local tech and VC communities. Astor: A big opportunity is to attend the wide range of tradeshows that Boston hosts, including the Cloud Foundry Summit, BIO, the Forbes Under 30 Summit and INBOUND, to name a few. The greater Boston area is also home to hubs of the major analyst firms, including Gartner and Forrester. Theres opportunities to network with these analysts who have their eyes on the trends and companies that are important in the local markets. When looking for opportunities to further establish your clients brands, our local reporters and influencers know these markets better than anyone and developing relationships with them is critical. In sum, 2018 is setting up to be an exciting year for investments and growth in the startup industry nationwide. Well be keeping a close watch on how things shake out and the ones to watch. *** Lisa Astor is senior vice president and co-lead of client relations at PAN. In this role, she manages client engagement and strategy across the firms technology and healthcare portfolios. Kathmandu, May 22 A team consisting of Chinese and Nepali technicians has begun the preliminary feasibility study for the development of a railway project connecting Kyirong of Tibet to Kathmandu. The team began its work on Monday and is expected to submit its report by August end. The technicians, who work for China Railway for Survey and Design Institute, surveyed various parts of the Kathmandu Valley on Monday before heading to the border with officials from Nepals Department of Railway. This comes two months after a team led by Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport Secretary Madhu Sudan Adhikari visited China to ink an agreement to carry out the study. According to an official at the Railway Department, the first report will work as a road map to begin construction work. The report will also name possible stations for the railway line and list geographical difficulties that may arise during construction. Although experts are yet to decide on the location of the railway stations, Tokha is being considered as an entry point for Kathmandu, informed an official. The construction of the Kyirong-Kathmandu, Kathmandu-Pokhara, and Kathmandu-Lumbini railways was also mentioned in the annual policy and programmes unveiled by President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Monday. Growing up in a religious Brahmin family, I visited a lot of temples. Every Saturday, Id set out with my parents and head to the shrines of which I had no idea about. One of them was the Sankata shrine in Te Bahaa. Every time I asked my parents about the place, they told me not to bother them and play with the toy they bought for me. It wasnt until recently that I found out about Te Bahaa and the significance of the Sankata shrine. Since then Ive been trying to visit new bahaas and learn about them and their history. But doing that has been incredibly difficult as most of these places dont have any documentation. Almost all bahaas have centuries-old inscription but they are either in Sanskrit or in Nepal Bhasa. As I dont know both, I asked help from Alok Tuladhar who has been actively pushing people to save the citys heritage. He tells me how these inscriptions have everything we want to know. Everything is right here, he continues, from which clan built the bahaa to the deity kept in the shrine, all the information is available but no one is interested to learn about these places let alone visit them. And hes right; many of us dont even know what a bahaa is. Everyone confuses it for a courtyard. But a courtyard is different from a bahaa, he adds. What is a bahaa? The term bahaa in Newari comes from the Sanskrit term vihara, the standard term for a Buddhist monastery. If one traces the development of the word through the inscriptions and references, it becomes clear that the word went through various modifications. But to make it simple, bahaas are monastic complexes, where Buddhist monks, mostly from the Shakya/Bajracharya clan lived, to pray and meditate during the Lichhavi and the Malla period. These complexes have shrines and are surrounded on three sides by living quarters. With time. these monks were allowed to get married after which these complexes started to change. The monks who lived there started to make separate quarters and had space for their families. And soon after the Malla period, the residents got individual ownership of the land and over the years most of these quarters have been sold without considering their religious importance. Why are they losing their appeal? Weve entered an age where religion is losing its appeal globally. Most dont relate to these places because their family moved away from them years ago. Most of these bahaas have become parking spaces and places for kids to play. Development and modernisation are the reasons these places have been forgotten, adds Tuladhar. Most of these places were sold by the owners because they stopped relating to it. As old people disappear, the value and the stories of these places disappear, he informs. But there are some who are doing their best to make people aware of these bahaas. One of them is David Ways, a Briton who for the last five years has been vigorously trying to document these places through his website the longest way home. He feels the cost of maintenance is one the reasons people give up on these shrines. Money required for upkeep of these bahaas is quite large these days as they are usually only supported by the residential communities living there. He shares an interesting story about his time researching about bahaas, At Om Bahaa came across one little courtyard with a community shrine that nobody knew much about. I asked the residents about the place but even they didnt know much as the shrine was there before they moved in. The new residents moved in and didnt know who the god on the shrine was. No records. So, they just kept it and put their own god there too. Why arent tourists interested? Every year, thousands of tourists come to Kathmandu to admire its cultural heritage. But hardly anyone visits these bahaas. The ones that they do visit are popular ones like the Gaa Bahaa and Kwa Bahaa in Patanmostly because their guides take them there. Most guides dont know about the places they take their guests to. They dont care about quality information and the ones they do provide are very generic. One feels they are there to make money, adds Tuladhar. The reason for this is theres little information/documentation about bahaa anywhere in Nepal. When a tourist takes a Kathmandu tour the word bahaa changes with the religion or upbringing of the guide. For example, a non-newar guide usually gives a different story about a place than a Newar one. The licence is useless from what I hear and anyone can become a tour guide as long as they speak audible English, adds Tuladhar who feels these guides are taught nothing new and dont want to learn anything new. This results in the tourist getting confused and has no choice but to move on. Training guides in cultural history in Kathmandu is definitely lacking. Guides are also incredibly boring in Kathmandu. Most blast off a series of dates, gods names and then try to joke about erotic carvings. Its all rather unprofessional. So, no wonder bahaas have not caught on with tourists, adds Ways. Ways also shares an interesting story about a bahaa which had the opposite problem. I came across a bahaa in a very popular part of Kathmandu run by a local community who had a really bad experience with a blogger who tried to photograph their courtyard despite their protests that it was private and to leave. Later that week, a tour group appeared. The residents simply wanted privacy. Now big signs have been placed around the courtyard saying this in several languages, he adds. What we need to learn is that this aggressive tour group mentality is only going to close off many bahaas to genuine curious and respectful tourists in the future. adds Ways. But that wont end any time soon, shares Ways who feels Nepalis only look at short-term fixes for most things. Over the years, I can see profit-conscious travel agencies trying to cash in and suggesting that bahaas take entrance money from tourists, he adds. But one can argue that there are better ways to fund bahaas than entrance fees. A better introduction to bahaas both in terms of their past and the present can be provided to the tourists. It can start simply with this is a monastery which is known as a bahaa in Nepal and they come in many wonderful different shapes and backgrounds, adds Ways who thinks quality information about these bahaas are scarce. These monastic complexes were made during the time when Buddhism was flourishing in Nepal. During the era of the Malla and the Lichhavi kings who were proud of their religion and their art. But modernisation had made us drift away from heritage and most young people dont care about these places. As a result, these places will find it hard to survive. If the mothers and fathers dont know about these places, how will the children learn about them? Kathmandu, May 22 A top police official says they have arrested Chudamani Upreti alias Gore, who is accused of masterminding multiple gold smuggling cases in the country including the recent one involving 33.5 kg gold. The member of a team investigating into the smuggling and subsequent murder of a mule confirms the arrest of mastermind, against which International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) had also issued a diffusion notice. Details about the place he was arrested from have not been divulged yet and police are hosting a press meeting in Kathmandu to share the information. As much as 33.5 kg smuggled gold brought from the United Arab Emirates had landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport on January 21 this. Later, investigations had revealed that Gore was the mastermind of the smuggling and the precious yellow metal belonged to MK Agrawal. Gore was on the run after his role was revealed following a suspicious murder of a porter he mobilised, Sanam Shakya, in March first week. He was supposed to be abroad, hence Interpol had issued the diffusion notice. Investigation officials claim Gore and his racket smuggled as much as 3,800 kg gold to Nepal in past four years. Home Just In Nepali Congress labels annual policy and programme bundle of hollow plans Kathmandu, May 22 The main opposition Nepali Congress has labelled the annual policy and programme for the coming fiscal year that the government presented yesterday as a bundle of hollow plans. In a meeting of the Parliamentary Party held on Tuesday, the party leaders also decided to raise their voice against the plan which was designed to sell dreams using traditional approach and centralised system. The main opposition has also accused the incumbent government of preparing the annual policy and programme without a clear mapping for the development of local and provincial governments. The Congress leaders also commented that the policy and programmeslooked more like a manifesto and stated that they would raise their voices against it to secure the dream of common people for a prosperous and developed Nepal. The main opposition further stated that the policy document disrespected the National Assembly and the House of Representatives. Edited to include open house location: Oregon Department of Transportation staff will be on hand during a public open house to talk about the OR 217 improvement project and answer questions about proposed changes. The open house is 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, Whitford Middle School, 7935 S.W. Scholls Ferry Road, Beaverton. The design phase of the project includes information on these topics: Build on-ramp to off-ramp auxiliary lanes southbound from Beaverton Hillsdale Highway to Greenburg Road and northbound from OR 99W to Scholls Ferry Road. Add a frontage road between Allen Boulevard and Denney Road interchanges, removing a southbound on-ramp and a southbound off-ramp. The new interchange will function like the Canyon Road/Beaverton Hillsdale Highway interchange. Add an additional lane to the northbound off-ramp to Scholls Ferry Road. Replace the Hall Boulevard bridge over OR 217 at Pfaffle Street. Conduct a noise study to determine the feasibility of sound walls. Construction is expected to begin in 2020. *** RALEIGH HILLS 8:49 a.m.; Crash on Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway at 56th Avenue. *** LLOYD DISTRICT 8:30 a.m.; Crash on Northeast Broadway at 15th Avenue. *** GOOSE HOLLOW 7:47 a.m.; Injury crash reported at Southwest Jefferson Street at 20th Avenue. *** INTERSTATE BRIDGE 7:23 a.m.; Crash blocks the left lane I-5 southbound on the bridge. Vancouver traffic already feeling the squeeze. Update 8:06 a.m.; More than a half-hour later, this crash is finally clear. The backup extends to Hazel Dell. *** SOUTHWEST PORTLAND 7:16 a.m.; Stall blocks the left lane of I-5 southbound at Terwilliger. Update 7:45 a.m.; Cleared. *** NORTHEAST PORTLAND 6:40 a.m.; Injury crash reported on Northeast 82nd Avenue and Prescott Street. *** OR 217 6:35 a.m.; Crash blocks the right lane of OR 217 northbound at Walker Road onramp, just prior to U.S. 26 eastbound exit. Update 7:16 a.m.; Cleared. *** Clackamas County road crews will close lanes on the Carver Bridge between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. beginning Tuesday, May 29, through Friday June 1 for pavement repairs. Expect delays or choose an alternate route. ODOT's popular Columbia Gorge Express bus service begins its third year on Friday May 25 and will extend the service as far east as Hood River. On June 11, the service will also expand days and operate seven days a week, year-round. The bus travels from Gateway Transit Center in Portland to Rooster Rock State Park, Multnomah Falls, Cascade Locks and now, Hood River. Service will begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday when the first bus of the day leaves Gateway Transit Center. The last bus of the day departs Hood River for Portland at 7:10 p.m. Round-trip ticket from Gateway Transit Center to Multnomah Falls cost $5 per person and an all-day, hop-on/hop-off pass is $15 for individuals and $40 for a group of up to four people (group pass only available online). Children 6 and younger ride for free. Details: http://columbiagorgeexpress.com Check back throughout the morning for the latest commuting updates and follow us on Twitter: @trafficportland Indicted FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita listened Monday to government experts testify how they identified him as the one who fired twice at the truck of Oregon occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum and then tried to cover it up. Astarita, dressed in a gray suit, white shirt and dark tie, sat between his defense lawyers, including Washington, D.C.-based lawyer Robert Cary, well-known for having represented the late U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, who was acquitted in a corruption case. It marked Astarita's second court appearance in the case. Cary argued that the FBI's fuzzy aerial video proves nothing and that the government is using a faulty synchronization of videos created by someone who lacks expertise. And so, the battle of the experts began in what's expected to be a multi-day hearing before U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones in Portland. Cary noted that Astarita has exhausted his personal savings to pay for his own forensic experts and has sought some federal funds to cover additional expenses. Federal prosecutor Gary Sussman said the testimony of the government's experts is key to the case because the indictment largely rests on circumstantial and forensic evidence. The government specialists synchronized two videos from the scene, and analyzed the impact of the bullet that went through the roof of Finicum's truck, the bullet's angle and trajectory and placement of FBI agents and troopers in the area. The evidence is crucial, Sussman said, because to this day no one has admitted to firing the two shots heard on one video as Finicum emerged from his truck after plowing into a snowbank along U.S. 395 to avoid a police roadblock on Jan. 26, 2016. FBI agents and state police had set up the roadblock to arrest leaders of the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Astarita, who was a member of the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of making a false statement and two counts of obstruction of justice. The government alleges that Astarita fired at Finicum as he emerged from his pickup, but then denied doing so. One bullet went through the truck's roof and the other went astray, investigators said. Trial is set for July 24. Frank Piazza, president of Legal Audio Video, testified that he used Final Cut Pro to synchronize audio and video taken from inside Finicum's truck by backseat passenger Shawna Cox with aerial video from an FBI plane about two miles away. He was hired by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General. The FBI video, which was shaky, had to be stabilized, he said. Piazza said he was able to identify eight shots fired at the truck, with shots No. 4 and No. 5 fired immediately when Finicum got out of his truck. Piazza testified that he used visual cues to help synchronize the videos, including the piercing of the roof fabric on Finicum's truck, the shattering of the driver's side passenger window and the audio of the screams from the truck's passengers. The prosecution played the synchronized videos in court, with the 4th and 5th gunshots heard in rapid succession immediately after Finicum emerged from his driver's seat with his hands up, yelling, "Go ahead shoot me!'' Piazza estimated two-tenths of a second elapsed between the fourth and fifth shots and that the shots were taken from about 20 to 30 feet away. He acknowledged there was a syncing "glitch'' or a delay in Cox's video by 10 frames, but that occurred after all gunshots were captured on her recording. Defense lawyers and a defense expert tried to discredit Piazza's analysis, pointing out that he didn't keep notes or write a report about how he synced the video frames. They also said his analysis wasn't based on any prior published work. Under cross examination, Piazza said he never got a college degree, began his career as a songwriter and started his video-audio forensic company after first opening a music recording studio. Cary argued that the video from the FBI plane is of such poor quality that it doesn't show anything conclusive. Further, its enhancement distorts the image, with loss of detail, he said. He argued that the government experts can't take a blurry image and sharpen it without altering its pixels and changing "what you see in the photograph.'' Defense expert Bruce Koenig criticized Piazza for not keeping "work notes'' on his frame analysis and said Piazza lacked expertise in gunshots to make his work reliable. He said Piazza failed to consider the "reverberation'' effect, or echo effect of a gunshot or the acoustic shock wave from the bullets. Koenig retired from the FBI in 1995 as a senior audio examiner and started his own consulting company. He has a master's degree from George Washington University in forensic science and a bachelor's degree in physics and math from the University of Maryland. -- Maxine Bernstein mbernstein@oregonian.com 503-221-8212 @maxoregonian A handful of environmental groups are pushing back against Gov. Kate Brown's appointment to the Environmental Quality Commission because, they contend, he helped redirect millions of taxpayer dollars away from endangered salmon in the Klamath Basin and toward agribusiness. But the nominee, Greg Addington, says that's a far-fetched story by a group of organizations that got kicked out of the Klamath Basin settlement talks years ago and haven't forgotten about it. Other environmental groups rose up in Addington's defense, saying he's an excellent candidate for the board that oversees the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Greg Addington Until December 2015, Addington was the executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association, a nonprofit that advocates for farming and ranching interests in the region. He was heavily involved in the 2010 Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and the accompanying settlement to remove four dams on the Klamath River. Two months before he resigned, the U.S. Department of the Interior's inspector general launched an investigation into whistleblowers' complaints. They alleged that an organization closely tied to Addington's, the Klamath Water and Power Agency, had misused millions of dollars that were supposed to benefit fish and wildlife. Instead, they said, the money went to ensure water deliveries for private irrigators. The inspector general's investigation substantiated most of the whistleblowers' complaints. It concluded that the Bureau of Reclamation lacked the authority to enter into an agreement with the Klamath Water and Power Agency, and that the activities funded did not benefit fish and wildlife, but were used to benefit irrigators, resulting the waste of $32 million. Oregon Wild, WaterWatch and the Audobon Society of Portland contend that Addington and his organization were instrumental in lobbying for the creation of the Klamath Water and Power Agency, that they shared staff and held joint board meetings, and that he bears some responsibility for the weak rules and oversight surrounding the money. "Simply put, neither KWAPA nor the money it wasted would never have existed without the lobbying efforts of Addington and KWUA," said Steve Pedery, conservation director at Oregon Wild. "Many of us in the conservation community were stunned when we learned of this nomination. It is pretty shocking that Gov. Brown would nominate a guy who at least bears some of the responsibility for it to serve on the EQC." The groups wrote to the Oregon Senate last week to oppose Addington's nomination to the Environmental Quality Commission. The confirmation hearings begin Tuesday. Addington said he spent time with legislators Monday to rebut the allegations in the letter. He said the Klamath Water and Power Agency followed the rules laid out by the Bureau of Reclamation, and that the spending helped wildlife by reducing irrigators' draw on the Klamath River. "This boiled down to some of these organizations having a real problem with this money being spent on farmers," he said. "The notion that we had the keys to the Treasury and absconded with a bunch of money is ridiculous. "This money was not wasted. It kept us alive. And I'd do it again." Paul Simmons, an attorney for the Klamath Water Users Association, said all of the spending by the Klamath Water and Power Agency was out in the open, and that the organization disagreed with the inspector general's after-the-fact conclusions, as did the Bureau of Reclamation. A number of environmental groups that worked with Addington on the Klamath Basin agreement also wrote to the the Senate to support his candidacy Steve Rothert, the California director for the conservation group American Rivers, described Addington as "a stand-up guy who doesn't deserve the allegations levied against him. I saw him time and again stand up in defense of agreements that were distasteful, if not outright offensive, to the agricultural community" in order to move the broader agreement forward. In a letter to the Senate, Rothert said the historic Klamath agreements would not exist without Addington. "American Rivers is confident that Mr. Addington would serve the EQC as a constructive member with great skill and integrity." - Ted Sickinger 503-221-8505; @tedsickinger Val Hoyle's victory as Oregon's next labor commissioner last week marked a likely gender high watermark in Oregon politics. If Gov. Kate Brown wins re-election come November, as is considered highly likely in a Democrat-dominated state, it will be the first time in history that women will have been elected to the majority of Oregon's statewide elected offices. Brown easily won the Democratic primary and will face Rep. Knute Buehler in the general election on November 6. Ellen Rosenblum's second term as attorney general runs through 2020. "There has been a shift and women have been stepping up -- and not just women but people of color and groups that haven't felt represented -- and it's exciting to watch," said Hoyle. This year's primary decidedly made history for Oregon women in politics: voters elected the first female Metro Council president, the first African American woman will serve on the Portland City Council and an incumbent Washington County commissioner lost a re-election bid for the first time in 31 years, to a woman. "We watched a number of very competitive races and the wins were not squeaky. They were big wins," said former Gov. Barbara Roberts, who served as Oregon's first female governor from 1991 to 1995. "If the 2018 election is any indication, women are doing superbly in Oregon." Brown's potential win in November would not make for the first time that women have held the majority of statewide offices in Oregon, but the first instance happened via appointment, not the ballot. Gov. Kate Brown was elected Oregon's secretary of state in 2009, the third woman so chosen, and Rosenblum made history as Oregon's first female attorney general in 2012. When former Gov. John Kitzhaber stepped down in 2015, Brown took his place, becoming Oregon's second female governor. Brown appointed Jeanne Atkins to take her place as secretary of state, resulting in three of the five statewide offices run by women for the first time. Atkins was never elected secretary of state, however, as she did not seek election in 2016 and was succeeded by current Secretary of State Dennis Richardson. There were a number of other firsts for women in this primary. Loretta Smith and Jo Ann Hardesty will face off for a Portland City Council position in November, which will mark the first time an African American woman will hold a seat on that body. It will also make the council majority female with Commissioner Dan Saltzman's departure. Transportation planner and former Clackamas County Commission Chairwoman Lynn Peterson became the first female Metro Council president when she defeated opponent Michael Langley 78 percent to 21 percent. (Metro had a female executive officer, Rena Cusma, from 1987-1994. That elected position has since been eliminated.) "It's not a new thing for me," Peterson said. She was the first woman to be elected Clackamas County Board of Commission chair, serving from 2007 to 2011. "I think we've been breaking barriers for quite some time." Oregon Supreme Court justices Rebecca Duncan and Meagan Flynn were elected to the court in this primary, with Duncan breezing through to an uncontested win and Flynn beating opponent Van Pounds with 73 percent of the vote. Duncan's nomination to the court by Gov. Kate Brown in May 2017, following Flynn's nomination to the court that March, shifted the court to majority women justices for the first time in history. Their primary wins sealed it as the first time voters have chosen a majority of women for Oregon's high court. Former state Rep. Shemia Fagan is on her way to claim the 24th District Senate seat after she defeated Sen. Rod Monroe and Kayse Jama for the Democratic nomination, adding a ninth female senator to the 30-seat chamber. There are no Republican opponents on the ballot. In Washington County, Pam Treece upset two-term incumbent Commissioner Greg Malinowski for the District 2 position, the first time an incumbent lost in 31 years. Treece will be the first woman to serve on the male-dominated board since former Commissioner Desari Strader was replaced by Malinowski in 2010 after she didn't seek re-election. The election of Susheela Jayapal means the Multnomah County Commission will stay 100 percent female and majority women of color. "It takes courage to step out and run for election and I think we're seeing across the nation a whole sea of women that are stepping up and accepting that responsibility," said Treece. "I'm proud to be a part of that." Oregon Federation of Republican Women President Linda Neace wrote via email that the organization had more Republican women run for office in 2018 than previous years. Republican Jessica Gomez of Medford won a contested primary race for an Oregon Senate seat, and three other Republican women did the same in their races for the Oregon House. As women sail to the forefront of politics in the state, Roberts said, there remains a long way to go before the number of men and women in most state legislatures and in Congress are equal. "We still have work to do," she said, "but it is becoming more acceptable and more expected that women will seek office." This article was updated May 23 to add information about Metro's elected executive officer. -- Corlyn Voorhees An arbitrator reversed the firing of a Portland police officer after finding the bureau couldn't prove that he sexually assaulted a woman who complained that she may have been drugged and was "incapable of consent'' during a party at his home near Vancouver. The arbitrator cited the lack of medical evidence or other evidence in the complaint against Officer Alfonso Valadez Jr., who returned to patrol work in early April. The city released the arbitrator's ruling Monday after the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office ordered it be made public following a successful appeal by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The woman's name was redacted. She had made the allegation against Valadez a day after his October 2015 birthday party, saying he had sex with her after she passed out in a guest room in his house during the celebration. Valadez said the sex was consensual. Documents: Arbitrator's ruling Arbitrator's Clarification Letter Arbitrator's Amended Award The case is one of several involving discipline against Valadez. He's now under a separate investigation for chasing a hit-and-run suspect the wrong way on Interstate 84 last month, which led to a fatal crash and the suspect's death. In the off-duty party case, then-Police Chief Mike Marshman initially returned Valadez to active duty in 2016, but then reversed his decision in February 2017 and fired him. The police union appealed on Valadez's behalf. The arbitrator, David W. Stiteler, ruled on March 2 that that the city didn't have "just cause'' to fire Valadez but did have cause to suspend him for 40 hours without pay because of his unprofessional conduct. Stiteler's ruling reveals that there was no medical evidence in the case because the Clark County Sheriff's Office didn't send the woman's sexual assault kit for processing at a crime lab, and didn't heed her request to have her blood and urine samples tested to determine if she was drugged. The Sheriff's Office decided "there was no point'' in processing the kit because it wouldn't have helped determine if the sexual contact was consensual, Stiteler's summary said. It's unclear why her blood or urine wasn't tested. The hospital informed her a forensic lab needed to do the testing of the blood and urine samples, according to the arbitrator's order. The Clark County District Attorney's office declined to prosecute, finding insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a sexual assault had occurred. The woman told investigators that she wasn't drunk and may have been drugged, but Stiteler said there was no evidence to support it. According to the arbitration order, the woman contends she was passed out on a bed after vomiting in a bathroom. Valadez came into the room to close the windows because police had come to the house at least twice after getting noise complaints about the party. Valadez told her to open her mouth, she did and he shoved his penis inside, according to the arbitrator's summary of her account. He left and returned a second time, this time putting his penis into her mouth and vagina, she told investigators. "She tried to tell him to stop but couldn't say anything,'' according to the summary. The woman also testified during the arbitration hearing. According to Valadez, the woman initiated the sexual contact when he entered the room by grabbing his crotch. They kissed the first time he entered the room, and when he returned, they kissed, groped and, at her invitation, briefly had sex, he said. The woman left his home the next morning, and after work, went to a hospital to have a sexual assault forensic exam. Months before Valadez's birthday party, he had pressed the woman to have an affair or a threesome with his wife, according to the arbitrator's ruling. The woman, who had been engaged to another police officer, had met Valadez and his wife at social events before 2013. Once the woman broke off the engagement that year, she continued to socialize with Valadez and his wife. Valadez and the woman sometimes flirted, and Valadez's wife and the woman sometimes referred to each other as "sister wives.'' Valadez called the woman his "future ex-wife,'' according to testimony before the arbitrator. Valadez asked the woman to send him sexually explicit photos he saw on her phone, and she did, the arbitrator noted. Valadez shared one of the pictures with at least one other officer, the summary said. In August 2015, Valadez met the woman for lunch and raised the idea then of an affair or threesome, but she rejected his offers, the arbitrator's summary said. After lunch, the woman said Valadez put her hand on his crotch while they were sitting in her car and tricked her into kissing him on the lips. Valadez said it was all consensual, according to the arbitrator. Valadez and his wife both invited the woman to the birthday party. She had several drinks , including a couple of glasses of punch, a shot or two of tequila and a drink she mixed herself over the course of the party. Around 1 a.m., she went upstairs, feeling ill. She went to use the bathroom and vomited, according to the arbitrator. Clark County Detective Craig Marler, the lead investigator, interviewed 11 witnesses, including Valadez and the woman who filed the complaint. Marler noted that the woman had made claims in the past about possibly being drugged or sexually assaulted by other people. He found Valadez and the woman both forthright, but determined Valadez was more credible because he was more forthcoming, and the woman hadn't disclosed some information that put her in a bad light, the arbitrator wrote. Portland police did an internal investigation. Valadez's commander, Dave Hendrie, found Valadez engaged in unprofessional conduct but not sexual assault and recommended a 40-hour suspension without pay. The case went before the Police Review Board, which unanimously found that it couldn't sustain the sexual assault allegation because of the conflicting accounts. The board voted 4-1 to sustain a second allegation of unprofessional conduct, with Constantin Severe, director of the Independent Police Review, the sole member opposed. Marshman initially agreed with the board's findings on both allegations, and the Police Bureau reinstated Valadez to his patrol job. But in late November 2016, Marshman reversed himself, sustaining the sexual assault allegation. He fired Valadez in February 2017 after a hearing. Marshman told the arbitrator that he hadn't been chief long when he first took up the case and rushed through the file, but it troubled him and he took another look. In defending the firing to the arbitrator, the city said it found the woman's account more credible, noting she went to the hospital to have a forensic exam and reported it to authorities. Valadez never asked the woman if she was able to consent to sexual contact, even though others at the party knew she was impaired, city attorneys argued. Sending sexually explicit photos to him doesn't rise to consent to have sex, the city attorney argued. It didn't matter that Valadez didn't face prosecution, the city lawyers said, because disciplinary matters have a lower standard of proof, one of "clear and convincing evidence.'' "Police officers must not use the power of their position for personal advantage'' it reflects poorly on the city and undermines the public's trust, the city argued. Anil Karia, a lawyer for the Portland Police Association, said the city never proved either of the two allegations. There was no evidence that the off-duty sex wasn't consensual, he said, and cited inconsistencies in the woman's account. Karia further argued that Oregon law doesn't require verbal consent for sex to be consensual. The arbitrator sided with Karia. "Without some persuasive evidence of non-consent, there was no reasonable basis for Marshman to reject all the prior conclusions,'' Stiteler said in the ruling. At the same time, Stiteler said Valadez showed "extremely poor judgement,'' that night. Though Valadez's actions were "immature, selfish, reckless, thoughtless, even stupid,'' it couldn't be proven that he raped the woman, he found. Karia also represented Valadez in Clark County court earlier this year, objecting to The Oregonian/Oregonlive's request for the release of the Sheriff's Office criminal investigative records. A judge has not yet ruled on the request. Valadez previously received a reprimand for making a video starring himself as a self-proclaimed tough "SOB" cop, which included video surveillance images from a criminal inquiry that he posted on his personal YouTube page in 2013. -- Maxine Bernstein 503-221-8212 PERRY HALL, Md. -- A 16-year-old boy has been charged in the slaying of a Baltimore County, Maryland, police officer, and three other suspects are still being sought, authorities said Tuesday. Scott Shellenberger, the state's attorney for Baltimore County, told The Associated Press that the teen has been charged with murder as an adult. "And police are looking for other suspects as we speak," Shellenberger said by phone. The Baltimore County Police and Fire Department tweeted Tuesday that the teen was arrested shortly after the female officer was fatally injured Monday. The police tweet did not explain the delay in announcing the teen's apprehension. The teen's name was not immediately released. Police said he is awaiting a bail hearing. The teenage suspect was scheduled to appear before a judge at a Towson courthouse at 1 p.m. Tuesday. Meanwhile, police continued scouring a greater Baltimore suburb for three other suspects. The enormous manhunt was continuing unabated in the suburban community of Perry Hall, Maryland, where witnesses reported hearing a pop before seeing a Jeep run over the officer Monday afternoon. The officer, who wasn't immediately identified, was bleeding badly from significant injuries and was pronounced dead after being rushed to a hospital. Baltimore County Police Cpl. Shawn Vinson said investigators have recovered the suspects' abandoned Jeep, but police declined to confirm whether it was used to injure the officer. Relatives of the officer, who would have been on the force four years by July, have been notified. Tony Kurek told The Associated Press his adult son was outside in the family's yard Monday afternoon in the northeast Baltimore County community when the son saw the officer with her gun drawn, confronting the occupants of a Jeep. "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, leaving the officer down and bleeding. Logan Kurek, who is a volunteer firefighter, said he heard his younger brother "frantically screaming" and ran outside to perform CPR. Vinson said the officer went to investigate a call about a suspicious vehicle when she encountered at least one suspect and was "critically injured." He added that the confrontation may have stemmed from a burglary in progress, noting one home on the block had damage to a patio door. "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. He added that a homicide investigation has been opened. Officers were searching for suspects "who we believe are armed and dangerous," Police Chief Terrence Sheridan said. Events began unfolding Monday afternoon in the leafy neighborhood of single-family homes. It was then that 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. "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 kept on alert status for hours, with students and teachers told to stay in their school buildings as police continued a search for the suspects. By Monday evening, parents were allowed to come to the schools to pick up their youngsters. School officials tweeted overnight that all Baltimore County public schools would open on time Tuesday. -- The Associated Press Jordan Peterson is bringing his message of male superiority to Portland in June, though it's not clear how a city known for its liberal views will respond to his visit. If you haven't heard of Peterson, you must have been off the internet last week when his New York Times profile became a ubiquitous topic of conversation. Peterson is a Canadian, a professor at the University of Toronto, who lectures his large audiences about topics ranging from the fact that chaos is feminine to the social hierarchy of lobsters to why patriarchy just makes sense. Jordan Peterson Peterson believes in the idea of "enforced monogamy," which he says would be "socially enforced" and would decrease violence against women. A 2017 study from the Centers for Disease Control found that almost half of the murders of women in America are committed by past or current romantic partners. Only around 5 to 7 percent of men are killed by partner violence. But, Peterson told The New York Times, "The masculine spirit is under assault." According to The New York Times, he brings in more than $80,000 a month in donations through his YouTube channel. Portlanders who want to experience Peterson will get a chance June 25 at the Keller Auditorium. Tickets start at $35 but for $200, super fans will receive "one premium seat," as well as a photo and meet and greet with Peterson, and "one exclusive VIP laminate." Are you planning on going to see Peterson? Planning on protesting? Email me at lacker@oregonian.com. -- Lizzy Acker 503-221-8052 lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Ottawa Citizen Headline News will soon be in your inbox. 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. English Mayor Goes Viral After Unorthodox Inauguration Photo By Petr Knava | Social Media | May 22, 2018 | Sheffield is a city in the North of England. Once, it was an industrial heartland; its people and factories forging the steel that reinforced the backbone of the Industrial Revolution. Its a city with a rich cultural history too, with bands like Pulp, The Arctic Monkeys, andmost importantly, obviouslyDef fuckin Leppard hailing from its streets. Now Sheffield can add another feather into its cap of achievements: Having the Coolest Mayor Ever. Meet Magid Magid. Cannot get enough of Sheffields new Lord Mayor, Magid Magid pic.twitter.com/35SuoD2eIJ Camilla Long (@camillalong) May 17, 2018 Now 28 years of age, Magid originally came to Britain as a child refugee from Somalia. He was five years old and couldnt speak a word of English. Last week he was elected Lord Mayor of Sheffield. This is his inauguration photo: Former refugee Magid Magid takes up Sheffield Lord Mayor post https://t.co/YMkxOwX9PR BBC Look North (Yks) (@BBCLookNorth) May 17, 2018 Magid is the youngest mayor Sheffield has ever had, the first Muslim mayor its had, and the first mayor the city has had that is a member of the Green Party. His inauguration photounorthodox, some might say; absolutely balls-out amazing, others wouldhas rightfully been causing some waves on social media and around the world. This is the Mayor of Sheffield yall . His name is Magid Magid, is 28 years old and originally from Somalia. Yes to more young black leaders in this country, London please follow suit! pic.twitter.com/wBpCrvj8tl Abigail Kwakye (@Abigail_Kwakye) May 17, 2018 Three facts about Sheffield's new Green Lord Mayor @MagicMagid: Aged 5 Magid came to the UK as a refugee Aged 26 he became a Sheffield city councillor Today aged 28 he became the city's youngest Lord Mayor in history Congratulations Magid and @SheffieldGreens! pic.twitter.com/bY5jyGehZ1 Green Party (@TheGreenParty) May 16, 2018 A bit about Magid Magid: Hes a marine biologist He spent a year trekking the Amazon The Imperial March from Star Wars & the Superman theme played at his mayor-making ceremony. He thanked his mum for putting up with all the shit hed caused her over the years. pic.twitter.com/AcU4UVSVFV Joe Crann (@YesWeCrann) May 17, 2018 Former Somali refugee takes up Sheffield Lord Mayor post. At 28, Magid Magid, is the city's first Green Party mayor - and the youngest ever! https://t.co/6RRU8ldMdU Charles Onyango-Obbo (@cobbo3) May 18, 2018 Magid Magid is the UKs first Green Mayor, a former refugee, and at 28 years old the youngest Mayor in the country. Also subject of the coolest political inaugural photo probs ever. https://t.co/O4ii9dDhwA Chloe Swarbrick (@_chloeswarbrick) May 18, 2018 Where's my nomination for the Pulitzer Prize for Thirst? https://t.co/6Mksd973q0 David Levesley (@DJFLevesley) May 17, 2018 Great to welcome the 122nd Lord Mayor of Sheffield Cllr Magid, Cllr Magid made a very moving speech about his journey from war-torn Somalia to the City of Sheffield. pic.twitter.com/8a0HUzd16e Shaffaq Mohammed (@shaffaqmohd) May 16, 2018 This is the Mayor of Sheffield yall . His name is Magid Magid, is 28 years old and originally from #Somalia. Yes to more young black leaders in this country, London please follow suit! pic.twitter.com/rSN6msQ0ct Zakariye Ali (@zakariyaaliii) May 17, 2018 Somali born, Magid Magid makes history by becoming the youngest Lord Mayor of Sheffield City in the UK -DOB 1990 in Somalia -Came to the UK aged 5 as a refugee -BSc (Hons) Marine Biology -1st Green Party councillor to become mayor -Became Sheffield city councillor aged 26 pic.twitter.com/3pBEE9HRpT Povo News (@povonewsafrica) May 19, 2018 So in my first full day as Lord Mayor, - I went viral - Celebrated the first day of Ramadhan - Had tonnes of amazing messages and kind words from people from all over the world! Truly feeing blessed! Thank you! And I also, pissed off a lot off the far right wing press. Ha! MG!D (@MagicMagid) May 18, 2018 Naturally, for exactly the same reasons that Magids amazing photo and inspiring story has been delighting people around the world it has also seen the dickballoons of hate darkening the horizon. A swarm of trolls appeared on Twitter following Magids photo, as if on command, skulking in his awesome shadow and frothing at the mouth with racist bile. Breitbart had an opinion. Katie Hopkins has, to my knowledge, not yet spoken up, but its a safe bet to say that she probably will at some point. Lest we forget this is the woman who said she would prefer to use gunboats rather than rescue ships to welcome the refugees fleeing to Europe from across the sea, describing those escaping war and destructionoften caused or exacerbated by Western nationsas vermin. But enough about those non-people. Those hatemongers are not worth the page space. Magid Magid is. In an interview with the Independent, he was asked about that now-famous inauguration photo and the roller coaster that has been the last week. Mate fucking hell Its been surreal. Mad. I wasnt expecting any of this. Ive no idea why I got up there, mate. 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. 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. That, and to get people talking about Sheffield, about what a brilliant, diverse city it is. Originally from Burao in Northern Somalia, Magid has a heartfelt affiliation with Sheffield, its people, and its values. To me, its always been home, hes said. It was Magids mother, Amina Deria, who took him from Burao, then war-torn and no place for a child, and left with him looking for opportunity. Initially spending half a year in an Ethiopian refugee camp, Amina Deria and her son eventually made it to the North of England, where she began working as a cleaner. According to The Independent: At [Magids] 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. Magid had a slow start in politics, but thanks to his passion and charisma he took to it naturally, and proved a fast learner. It was around 2015, when the UK Independence Party were on the rise, making waves and infusing the national conversation with xenophobic poison, that Magid, alarmed by the marked shift in tone, joined the Green Party. In wonderfully eloquent fashion, Magid explained his reasoning to The Independent: This rising xenophobic language affects me and my loved ones. 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. Aside from the power of local politics , Magids core political beliefs include free education, the roll-back of PFI (Private Finance Initiativesan insidious scheme designed to introduce creeping privatisation into the public sector), and abolishing the monarchy. Said Magid: I think Liz [Queen Elizabeth] is great. Fucking amazing woman. But hereditary heads of state? Come on. Its outdated. Magid, mate, Im a Labour member and voter, but you, my friend, are an absolute boss. Review: Natalie Dormer's 'In Darkness' | Podcast Reviews: Crooked Media's 'Keep It' and LaineyGossip's 'Show Your Work' Petr is a staff contributor. You can follow him on Twitter. "Ukraine is still an object of military aggression and the illegal occupation of its territory; ceasefire in this country is still far from implemented," Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said in New York on Tuesday. The Polish official also came out in favour of limiting the use of a veto in the UN Security Council in cases of blatant war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. On Tuesday the Polish diplomat chaired an open debate at the UN Security Council on the importance of humanitarian law and the protection of civilians in conflicts. The debate was organised by the Polish presidency of the Council. "Over recent years many countries have been painfully hit by military conflicts," Minister Czaputowicz said, adding he had in mind Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. "As far as European countries are concerned, Ukraine was and continues to be an object of permanent military aggression and the illegal occupation of its territory. Despite many efforts by the international community, ceasefire in Ukraine is still far from implemented," he said. The Polish official stressed that the number of victims of this conflict was alarming. "According to the UN, 2,830 civilians died and 25,000 were injured in this conflict. We have 1.5 million internal resettlers in Ukraine," he added, stressing that "civilians often pay the highest price during conflicts." "Poland believes that observance of international humanitarian law and human rights must be strengthened," the minister underlined, and added that "it was necessary to end, or at least to significantly reduce, impunity for violating international humanitarian law." (PAP) at/mb/ Georgia-Pacific Opens Center to Drive Supply Chain Innovation Georgia-Pacific's Point A Center for Supply Chain Innovation in Atlanta, Georgia, will serve as a collaborative space for businesses ranging from multi-national corporations to emerging startups and academic institutions. May 22, 2018 (Press Release) - Georgia-Pacific recently announced that it will bring together leading supply chain companies to develop solutions within its new Point A Center for Supply Chain Innovation. Opening this June in an initial 15,000-square-foot space at Atlanta's TechSquare Labs, Georgia-Pacific's Point A Center for Supply Chain Innovation will serve as a collaborative space for businesses ranging from multi-national corporations to emerging startups and academic institutions. Georgia-Pacific is investing between $5 million and $7 million in the overall center and has begun actively recruiting members. Among the first member organizations to offer their unique capabilities and expertise include: Chick-fil-A, Delta Air Lines, Genuine Parts Company, Grainger, Siemens, as well as Georgia-Pacific's parent company Koch Industries. Point A's members will explore use cases for applying Industry 4.0 innovations, including robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning and autonomous vehicles, among others, to tackle some of the supply chain's most pressing challenges, including retail models, network efficiency and data visibility. "Now more than ever before we're seeing a greater emphasis on digitalization, automation and advanced analytics in plants and warehouses," said Kevin Heath, Georgia-Pacific senior vice president and chief procurement officer. "Supply chain leaders are trying to unlock the potential of current and future technologies, and we believe collaborating with the best minds will help drive innovation at a faster pace." Over the next couple of years, Georgia-Pacific has plans to move Point A into a new, dedicated 23,000-square-foot space within its downtown GP Center headquarters building. Also planned is an additional 30,000 square feet of warehouse space for proof-of-concept testing; its location has yet to be determined. "The pressure for business transformation is both a challenge and an opportunity, but there's no wait-and-see," said Christian Fischer, Georgia-Pacific president and CEO. "Point A will focus on solutions in the supply chain that will ultimately serve customers faster and more reliably, as well as provide a superior brand experience for an end-consumer." Beyond its benefits for supply-chain-focused companies, Point A will bolster Atlanta's position as #SupplyChainCity, the transformation of Atlanta's physical supply chain assets into a digital ecosystem powered by the internet of things, claiming another area of tech for a city already respected in the FinTech and cybersecurity circles. "One of the biggest areas of opportunity for Atlanta is a private industry-led shared space for commercializing supply chain and logistics technologies," said Ben Harris, director - supply chain ecosystem expansion for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. "Point A bridges that gap, creating a new paradigm aimed at enhancing supply chain flexibility, connectivity, and advanced supply chain planning." Matt Markham, director of the Center of Innovation for Logistics at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, added, "We see Point A as a chance to demonstrate how the state's technology resources can be an asset for supply-chain-driven companies and an opportunity to leverage Georgia's unique competitive advantage in logistics infrastructure. By promoting collaboration and developing solutions that will benefit the entire supply chain, we'll strengthen Georgia's leadership position as the South's global gateway." Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the worlds leading manufacturers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, office papers, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals. To learn more, please visit: www.gp.com . SOURCE: Georgia-Pacific Mondi Partners with TU Graz on Third Christian Doppler Lab to Research Paper Porosity Leo Arpa, Head of R&D Paper at Mondi, together with Karin Zojer, Laboratory head, Christian Doppler-Lab for 'Mass Transport through Paper'. May 22, 2018 - Mondi on April 26 launched its third scientific cooperation to date with the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria. Mondi is the corporate partner and sponsor of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for 'Mass Transport through Paper', which will research the porosity of paper and how particles such as gases, compressible liquids and microorganisms travel through paper. The findings are expected to have practical applications for Mondi packaging and paper solutions, for example for food packaging. Laboratory head Karin Zojer explains, We want to understand the special pore structure of paper and be able to explain its influence on the transport of diverse types of particles through it. Only with this knowledge can the porosity of paper be swiftly and optimally adapted to the desired packaging application. Mondi has already partnered with the TU Graz on two other Christian Doppler laboratories: one launched in January 2016 that is currently studying fibre swelling and paper performance, and another that ran from 2007 to 2014 and researched Surface Chemical and Physical Fundamentals of Paper Strength. Leo Arpa, Head of R&D Paper at Mondi, commented at the opening ceremony, Our experience with our two previous Christian Doppler laboratory partnerships has shown the clear benefits of these unique scientific collaborations. Combining the knowledge of the Mondi laboratories with the expertise of TU Graz scientists helps us increase the efficiency and performance of our packaging and paper products. This enhances the state of research and benefits our customers by adding value to their product packaging or materials and thus enhancing their own customers' experience. This latest research partnership will microscopically investigate the pore structure of paper to develop mathematical models that will aid the scientific investigation of various transport processes through paper. The aim is to predict how the pore structure determines individual transport processes through paper. This research has implications for a number of commercial applications, including how ink behaves in the pore structure of paper during printing, the ventilation processes when filling paper sacks with bulk materials, and the reciprocal effects between packaging and packaged goods, especially food. Christian Doppler laboratories engage in application-oriented, high-level fundamental research. In this context, distinguished scientists co-operate with innovative enterprises. The Christian Doppler Research Association is internationally recognised as a best-practice example for the promotion of this co-operation. Christian Doppler Laboratories are jointly financed by the public sector and the participating private companies. The most important public sponsoring agency is the Federal Ministry for Digital, Business and Enterprise of Austria. Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, employing around 26,000 people in over 30 countries. The Group is fully integrated across the packaging and paper value chain. To learn more please visit: www.mondigroup.com . SOURCE: Mondi Group Continuing with the discussion: Furthermore, when Yasir Arafat fled Jordan after Black September, he was welcomed in Lebanon by the Muslims and the Druze, who saw the PLO as an allyanother private army, and one with considerable battle experienceagainst their stubborn Maronite Christian opponents. The Maronites, for their part, grew increasingly furious at the fierce retaliation drawn upon Lebanon by PLO-launched raids into the Jewish state. They demanded a Jordanian-style solution to the problem and asked the Lebanese army to commence operations. Unsurprisingly, Muslim leaders refused to cooperate. The result was the near total breakdown of the Lebanese government. But the private Christian militiasthe Phalangists and the Chamoun familys Tigerswere available, and Maronite leaders turned to them for what they could not get from the national government. To their great disappointment, though, they soon learned that their militias were not strong enough to destroy the PLO, much less the PLOs Muslim allies. But neither were the Muslims strong enough to put a definitive end to their Christian attackers. In the ensuing chaos of fatal violence and vengeance, Lebanon dissolved. The civil war had begun. The PLO and various Muslim militias operated out of southern Lebanonwhich was conveniently situated for raids into Israeland western Beirut, while the Christian warlords consolidated their hold on eastern Beirut and their traditional base on Mount Lebanon. This had negative consequences for the PLO, as Thomas Friedman explains: As the PLO got spoiled in Beirut, it turned from an ascetic, authentic, and even courageous young guerrilla organization living primarily in the hardscrabble hills of south Lebanon and trying to lead an armed struggle against Israel, into a rich, overweight, corrupt quasi army and state, complete with bagpipe bands, silver Mercedes limousines, and brigades of desk-bound revolutionaries whose paunches were as puffed out as their rhetoric.[1] The organization gave up its relatively effective guerrilla warfare techniques and tried to convert itself into something like a regular army, complete with ranks and chauffeurs and old Soviet-made T-34 tanks. These were useful, perhaps, for dealing with the other warring militias in Lebanon, but they were useless against the Israelis, whose competent and ultramodern military could beat the PLO in any conventional battle.[2] [1] Friedman, From Beirut to Jerusalem, 123. [2] Thomas Friedman discusses this at From Beirut to Jerusalem, 123-24. The Palestinians thus furnish yet another instance of the phenomenon of premature regularization, a persistent error made by guerrilla leaders, which I have discussed elsewhere in connection with the Gadianton robbers. See Daniel C. Peterson, The Gadianton Robbers as Guerrilla Warriors, in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, edited by Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990), 146-73. Posted from Jerusalem, Israel Randolf Agyemang, a Senior Revenue Officer with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has reiterated the call on Ghanaians above 18 years to obtain new Tax Identification Numbers (TIN). This, according to him, would enable them to access services at certain critical public institutions. Without TINs, persons, who seek to conduct business with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Controller and Accountant-Generals Department, Registrar-Generals Department, Lands Commission, Passport Office, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) cannot do so. Others are the Courts, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembles and sub-divisions of government. He said the acquisition of TINs would allow people to clear goods from ports or factories, register land, obtain tax clearance certificate from GRA to commence business and secure business permit issued by the Registrar-General or any local authority. Mr Agyemang made the call over the weekend when GRA organised a workshop for members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) on taxation at Pampram in the Greater Accra Region. He revealed that all Ghanaians working in the formal and the informal sectors need to voluntarily go to any GRA office and declare their income status. He said all income-earners who fail to declare their income status with the GRA would be fished out and prosecuted beginning from October, this year. He, therefore, asked all income-earners who want to avoid prosecution to voluntarily go to any GRA office during the grace period from May to September 30 to declare their income status. He, however, said that after the grace period, defaulting income-earners would be prosecuted and made to pay all accumulated taxes and interests. First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, who opened the workshop, disclosed that all those who do not pay taxes are nation-wreckers, stressing that the introduction of TIN would help broaden the tax base of the country. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A onetime special aide to the second lady of the Republic of Ghana by dint of hard work and commitment has been appointed as the Head of the Public Relations Unit at the Ministry of Education. In the run up to the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections, Ekow was a co-host for the NPPs political show dubbed Minority Caucus and contributed his quota severally to the fortunes of the Elephant fraternity. Prior to his appointment, Ekow Vincent served as Host of the NPPs political show that airs on Tuesday nights with the caption delivering on our promises on Homebase tv. Also, Ekow assisted in holding the fort of the communication directorate of the party as an acting deputy communications director after the exit of Nana Akomea, Perry okudzeto ( who mentored him) Anthony Karbo, and Mike Oquaye junior. He has been observed by many as an illustrious son of the Danquah Busia Dombo tradition. Ekow was scouted by Nana Akomea as a great asset for the party in his days as President of NASPA. A great communicator and an astute leader who is meticulous in all endeavours is what he has become. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Ambrose_wash Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A GH6.4 million irrigation project completed in 2016 to support farming in three communities in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region would now be put to good use after two years of inactivity. The facility, which was officially handed over to the three communities recently, is to ensure all-year round farming on about 225 hectares of land. However, there was no serious farming on the 74 hectares of land at Afawode, 65 hectares at Agorveme and 86 hectares at Volo for two years. Some of the farmers, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE, could not fathom why the authorities waited for two years to make it operational. According to farmers in the three communities of Dorfor Agorveme, Afawode and Volo, it was needless to hold a ceremony to hand over the irrigation project if there were no clear plans to activate it. The project was also supported by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) as part of efforts to help farmers in those areas engage in all-year round farming to improve food security and reduce rural-urban migration. According to the residents, the projects were handed over to the communities in August 2016. Thieves stole cables that facilitate electricity supply to the irrigation plant at Volo where water is tapped from the Volta River and pumped into a reservoir for irrigation. They called for the repair of damaged equipment and replacement of the stolen cables. Secretary of Irrigation Farmers Association (IFA), Grace Atta, said that they did not use the facility because of faults, as well as anticipated high cost of operation. The Regional Manager of Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), Joseph Nartey, said their concerns would be addressed. He added that the thieves that stole the cables at Volo had been apprehended and arraigned before court. He said the Authority was in talks with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to restore power supply to the facility. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Tamale office of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) has been closed indefinitely following an attack on the office by some irate youth. Some youth believed to be members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, attacked the Northern Regional office of the GHA, where they were said to have assaulted some staff of the institution over the award of road contracts to persons said to be members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The National Chairman of the Senior Staff Association (SSA) of the GHA, Mr. Osward A. Amanfo told Graphic Online in an interview that they have decided to close the Tamale office as part of measures to ensure the safety of workers of the GHA in the region. He said the action was jointly taken by the SSA and the Construction and Building Materials Workers Union (CBMWU) of the Trade Union Congress (TUC). Likely attack According to him, the safety of their workers was not assured, and that staying at home was the best option for the workers in order to prevent any likely attack on them again. I was very sad and disappointed when I heard about the attack on the Tamale office last week and although we have presented press releases calling on the security in the region to bring the perpetrators to book, no action has been taken so far. We have been told by some of the workers that the attackers have promised to come back again very soon, he said. Mr. Amanfo said until the security of the workers are assured; no worker will be allowed to put his or her life at risk. We are currently in Accra for an emergency meeting on this attack and we hope to find out what our next action would be after the end of the meeting, he added Visit When Graphic Online visited the Tamale office Monday, it was an empty building with only two security personnel at post. The main entrance of the institution had been locked with red flags hoisted on the gates. Source: Graphic.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The office of the former president John Mahama has catalogued a number of infrastructure projects executed by the former president in the Brong Ahafo Region in response to President Nana Akufo-Addo's ghost projects comment. Nana Akufo-Addo, while touring the Brong Ahafo Region suggested claims that the Mahama-led government embarked on unprecedented projects in the region was a mirage. According to the President, the Mahama administration only embarked on ghost projects. But the office of the former President on Monday described as regrettable, the Presidents failure to exhibit candour in his comment on the infrastructure projects done by his predecessor. A statement issued by Mahamas aide, Joyce Bawah Mogtari listed a number of projects executed by the previous administration in the road, health and education sectors among others. See Full statement below: STATEMENT IN REACTION TO PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDOS GHOST PROJECTS COMMENT The attention of the Office of HE John Dramani Mahama has been drawn to the false comments made by President Nana Akufo-Addo to the effect that the unprecedented capital investments made by the Mahama administration cannot be seen and are ghost projects. It is regrettable that President Akufo-Addo has yet again failed to exhibit candour in his speech, this time to the Chiefs and people of Nkoranza in Brong Ahafo Region. It is even more worrying when there is overwhelming evidence of the massive investment made in the provision of various projects for the people of Ghana. Mr. Mahama, who remains grateful to the people of this country for the opportunity to serve them, is gratified that he was able to provide tangible development in all sectors that enhanced the quality of life of Ghanaians. The least President Akufo-Addo must do is to add to his predecessors significant gains instead of rolling back the clock of socio-economic transformation. After seventeen months in office, what the people want to see are the projects initiated or started by the President since he was sworn into office. In the Brong Ahafo Region, for instance, the region had its fair share of development, which can be honestly attested to by the chiefs and people of the Region. How the President can say these are ghost projects is surprising. For the benefit of the President, I wish to provide below, a list of some projects undertaken by the John Dramani Mahama administration between 2013 and 2016 in the Brong Ahafo Region. ROADS SECTOR 1. Dormaa Ahenkro- Nkrankwanta road 2. Dormaa Ahenkro Town roads 3. Dormaa Ahenkro- Babianiha roads 4. Babianiha- Antwirifo roads 5. Nkoranza Town roads 6. Nkoranza- Jema Road 7. Wenchi Town roads 8. Techiman Town roads 9. Techiman- Offuman roads 10. Sunyani Town roads 11. Jema-Amoma-Anyima road 12. Nkoranza Busunya road 13. Goaso-Akyerensua road 14. Mmahame Junction Dadiesoaba road 15. Dadiesoaba Siechem road 16. Sunyani Senior High School roads. In addition to the above, the following road projects had been awarded and were under construction at the time the NDC left office in January 2017. 1. Kintampo Town roads 2. Jema Town roads 3. Atebubu-Kwame-Danso roads 4. Sankore Nobekwa road 5. Bechem Town roads. HEALTH SECTOR As part of efforts to bring healthcare to the doorstep of the people of the Brong Ahafo region, the John Mahama administration constructed, equipped and operationalized five (5) polyclinics at Techimantia, Kwatire, Bomaa, Wamfie and Nkrankwanta. The TAIN District Hospital at Nsawkaw, started by the same government, was about 75% complete at the time the NDC exited office. A total of one hundred and twenty-one (121) CHPS Compounds were also constructed across the region. The region also benefitted from the National Hospital Equipment Replacement Programme under which modern health equipment were installed in all public hospitals. EDUCATION SECTOR We wish to remind President Akufo-Addo that it was the Mills and Mahama administration that established the first Public University in the history of the Brong Ahafo Region, the University of Energy and Natural Resources- UNER, which today has a student population of more than three thousand (3000). The Mahama administration also established the Dormaa satellite campus of the UNER and provided many transformative facilities on the main Sunyani Campus of the University. The following Health Training Institutions were established in the region- Sampa Nursing Training School, Techiman Nursing Training School, Yamfo College of Health, Dadiesoaba Nursing Training School, Seikwa Nursing Training School, Kwapong Nursing Training School and Goaso Midwifery School. To further expand educational facilities and opportunities in the region, the following projects were undertaken: 1. Construction of fifteen (15) Community Day Senior High Schools (Danyame, Techimantia, Techiman, Kasapin, Duadaso, Kintampo, Awrowa amoing others) 2. The absorption and enhancement of 16 other Community Secondary Schools in the region e.g. Sankore Senior High School. 3. Establishment of a satellite campus in Techiman for the University of Education Winneba. 4. Expansion of the Nkoranza Technical Institute by constructing eleven (11) new structures for the Institute. 5. Construction of over two hundred and forty (240) six-unit classroom blocks for basic schools in the region. These projects were all at different stages of completion as at January 2017. Additionally, the NDC Government constructed educational facilities ranging from dormitories, classroom blocks and administration blocks in almost every Public Senior High School in the region. WATER SECTOR To ensure access to potable water in order to ensure good health and enhance productivity, President Mahama provided the Brong Ahafo region with the following: 1. Berekum Water project- this project will supply the people of Berekum and its environs with water till the year 2050 2. Construction of 23 Community Small Town Water projects across the Region 3. 1,446 Boreholes and 71 solar-powered boreholes across the region 4. Expansion of Bechem and Duayawkwanta water facilities. RURAL ELECTRIFICATION Under the leadership of President John Mahama, over seven hundred (700) communities in the region were added to the national grid. These communities included Danyame, Nsesreso, Antwirifo, communities in the Nkrankwanta District and eighty (80) communities in the Kintampo Municipality among others. Let me place on record that the above list is by no means exhaustive. It is therefore inexplicable how any citizen of Ghana would purport not to be aware of these visible investments much less the President of Ghana, who should and can assess information about all these very easily. Even as we remain convinced that an unwholesome political motive may have informed the President feigning ignorance, we wish to encourage him to use the opportunity offered by these tours, to explain to the people of Ghana why they should continue to repose confidence in him after having disappointed them through his failure to honour many campaign promises. We note, sadly, that owing to this failure, President Akufo-Addo is touring the country empty handed with little or nothing to show for his stewardship so far. As a consequence, he has resorted to making more promises on his regional tours after seventeen months in office. The much awaited campaign promises of one District, one factory, one village, one dam, one million dollars for each constituency every year are yet to to materialize. Also conspicuously missing on the Presidents agenda in the Brong Ahafo Region was a tangible update on efforts to make good his promise to pay victims of the micro-finance scams that became a subject of his campaign in 2016. SIGNED Joyce Bawah Mogtari Special Aide Monday May 21, 2018 Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video UPDATE: Pa. police chief put on leave, escorted out amid teacher's homicide probe Police in western Pennsylvania are still trying to solve the Mother's Day killing of a teacher shot up to 10 times in front of her mom's home in Aliquippa, Pa. Now that investigation has turned to the wife of the town's police sergeant, according to TimesOnline.com, which reports: Police on Monday filed the search warrant seeking information from the Facebook account that belongs to Stephanie Watkins, wife of Aliquippa Sgt. Kenneth Watkins. Kenneth Watkins was placed on leave following the shooting death of Rachael DelTondo outside of her mother's Buchanan Street home. Aliquippa police Chief Donald Couch said Watkins was close with DelTondo and her family, and Watkins being placed on leave was not for disciplinary reasons. Couch would not address the speculation that Watkins' teenage daughter might have been a witness to the crime, but she was reportedly with DelTondo the night of the shooting. The latest warrant seeks Stephanie Watkins' Facebook data from May 11 to May 15, including basic profile information and private messages. The warrant does not say why police are looking for the information. DelTondo was gunned down May 13 after returning home late Sunday night from an ice cream shop. The hail of as many as 10 bullets erupted as Rachael DelTondo stepped onto the driveway of her mother's Buchanan Street home. She died in the driveway. Back in 2016, DelTondo was the subject of an anonymous leak of an Aliquippa police report that said she had been found in a parked car with a 17-year-old former male student. No charges were ever filed. However, DelTondo was suspended from her teaching job with the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School in wake of the leak last November. Police also have executed search warrants on that former student, now 20. However, TimesOnline.com quotes the former student's attorney, Michael Santicola, as saying his client did not kill DelTondo and has been cooperating with investigators. Police obtained search warrants last week for his cell phone and items from his home. The investigation continues. NOTE: This story has been updated to correct an error: A search warrant was served on the wife of an Aliquippa police sergeant, not on the wife of the police chief. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Pop artist Robert Indiana, best known for his 1960s "LOVE" series -- including the iconic Philadelphia statue, died at his secluded island home off the Maine coast having never found the type of lasting love that was celebrated by thousands through his iconic work. FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2009, file photo, artist Robert Indiana poses at his studio in Vinalhaven, Maine. Indiana, best known for his 1960s LOVE series, died from respiratory failure Saturday, May 19, 2018, at his home in Maine, Indiana's attorney said. He was 89. (AP Photo/Joel Page, File) The artist's endearing image of LOVE is instantly recognizable around the world. Couples have their photo taken at the LOVE sculpture in Philadelphia and the iconic image was used on postage stamps. But the man behind the art grew up in a household where the word "love" was never spoken, and he never found a lasting relationship, said Barbara Haskell, curator of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. "The word was never used in his family growing up. He had a complicated relationship with the word," Haskell said. Indiana died Saturday from respiratory failure at his home in a converted Odd Fellows Hall, a fraternal order lodge, on Vinalhaven Island, 15 miles off the mainland, said James Brannan, his attorney. He was 89. Friends had expressed concern for his well-being because the reclusive artist had not been heard from for some time. A lawsuit filed in New York City the day before his death suggested he was purposefully isolated by his caretakers. Brannan declined to comment on the situation. Indiana created a lifetime of art, but he's best known for LOVE, spelled with two letters to a line and with a tilted "O." "In some ways he was perhaps seen as the proverbial one-hit wonder because 'LOVE' was so immensely iconic and immensely huge in pop culture," said Dan Mills, the director at Bates College Museum of Art. "For better or for worse, it overshadowed some of his other contributions." Haskell compared the image to "American Gothic," the painting by Grant Wood of a man with a pitchfork and a woman in front of a farmhouse. The public knows those images even if they don't know the creators, she noted. Indiana, who was born Robert Clark in the state of Indiana, left behind the art scene in New York and retreated in 1978 to Maine, living on Vinalhaven. He told The Associated Press in 2009 that he moved to his house -- which a benefactor bought for him -- when he needed a place to go after his lease ran out on his five-story studio and gallery in the Bowery section of New York City. His desire for solitude was legendary. In 2014, he disappointed dozens of fans by failing to make an appearance outside his home for an event dubbed International HOPE Day, which was inspired by his creativity. But some of his longtime friends became worried about him in recent months. Kathleen Rogers, a friend and former publicist, said she was so concerned she contacted the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to investigate six to eight weeks ago. She said she wants him to be remembered as an eccentric and inspiring artist, not as a man who shut out friends and closed off his studio. "He was reclusive, cantankerous and sometimes difficult. But he was a very loyal, loving man. He was the architect of love," she said. A DHHS spokeswoman did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Although his iconic "LOVE" tended to overshadow everything else, he never stopped producing art. That included fashioning a "HOPE" design, similar to "LOVE," in honor of former President Barack Obama. The Whitney Museum of American Art staged a 2013 exhibit, "Robert Indiana: Beyond Love." In Maine, Mills was inspired by the Whitney's exhibition to produce a 2016 exhibition, "Robert Indiana: Now and Then." In the end, Indiana found love through his art and adoration from the public. But real love, Indiana believed, was a "dangerous commodity" whose embers die out and create disappointment, Haskell said. "On one hand he accepted that love became a symbol that brought him international renown. But for him, love also has this element fragility and precariousness," she said. Update PERRY HALL, Md. (AP) -- A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after the slaying of a Baltimore County, Maryland, police officer, and three other suspects are still being sought, police said Tuesday on Twitter. The Baltimore County Police and Fire Department tweeted that the teen was arrested shortly after the female officer was fatally injured Monday. The police tweet did not explain the delay in announcing the teen's apprehension. The teen's name was not immediately released. Police said he is awaiting a bail hearing. Police confirm 16yr old male was arrested yesterday shortly after death of #BCoPD officer. Suspect awaiting bail hearing. Name and charges will be released after hearing. More details to follow throughout the day. Three suspects continue to be sought.^SV Baltimore County Police Department (@BaltCoPolice) May 22, 2018 Meanwhile, police backed by aircraft and trained dogs continued scouring a greater Baltimore suburb for three other suspects. Baltimore County Police Cpl. Shawn Vinson said Monday evening that the enormous manhunt was continuing unabated in the suburban community of Perry Hall, Maryland, where witnesses reported hearing a pop before seeing a Jeep run over the officer Monday afternoon. The officer, who wasn't immediately identified, was bleeding badly from significant injuries and was pronounced dead after being rushed to a hospital. Vinson said investigators have recovered the suspects' abandoned Jeep, but police declined to confirm whether it was used to injure the officer. Relatives of the officer, who would have been on the force four years by July, have been notified. Tony Kurek told The Associated Press his adult son was outside in the family's yard Monday afternoon in the northeast Baltimore County community when the son saw the officer with her gun drawn, confronting the occupants of a Jeep. "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, leaving the officer down and bleeding. Logan Kurek, who is a volunteer firefighter, said he heard his younger brother "frantically screaming" and ran outside to perform CPR. Vinson said the officer went to investigate a call about a suspicious vehicle when she encountered at least one suspect and was "critically injured." He added that the confrontation may have stemmed from a burglary in progress, noting one home on the block had damage to a patio door. "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. He added that a homicide investigation has been opened. Officers were searching for suspects "who we believe are armed and dangerous," Police Chief Terrence Sheridan said. Events began unfolding Monday afternoon in the leafy neighborhood of single-family homes. It was then that 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. "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 kept on alert status for hours, with students and teachers told to stay in their school buildings as police continued a search for the suspects. By Monday evening, parents were allowed to come to the schools to pick up their youngsters. By DAVID McFADDEN and SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press An elementary school cafeteria employee in Lebanon is accused of having heroin and Tramadol in her purse at work. Alicia Gooden, 26, was charged after police found suspected heroin and Tramadol, a narcotic pain drug, in her purse at Southeast Elementary School, 499 E. Pershing Ave. on May 18. She was employed at the school by Nutrition Inc., the company that operates the food service program there. She was charged with two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after the incident at 11:45 a.m. Gooden cooperated with school officials, and the drugs were in the food preparation area, police say. The investigation began after a Lebanon School District police officer received a tip that Gooden could be in possession of heroin. She was arraigned and placed in Lebanon County prison in lieu of $10,000 bail. Here was Lebanon School District's response to the incident May 18: At approximately 12:00 PM today, the school district received an anonymous tip that a contracted food services employee hired by Nutrition Group may be in possession of a controlled substance on our school property. Upon receiving the information, an internal investigation was conducted, revealing the contracted employee was indeed in possession of a controlled substance. Proper protocols were followed and it was immediately reported to local authorities. We will fully cooperate with local authorities to maintain the integrity of the investigation, which means we will be unable to comment further as this is now a Lebanon City Police matter. Most importantly, it should be known that at no time were staff or students in harm's way. The safety of our staff and students is of paramount importance to us. We will continue to monitor our schools to ensure we have the safest environments to educate our students. A provost at Bucknell University will soon become the top leader at Franklin & Marshall College. Barbara K. Altmann, current provost of Bucknell University and a scholar of French medieval language and literature, has been named the 16th president of Franklin & Marshall College and will begin her new role in August. "As a child of immigrants and a first-generation college student myself, I am honored and inspired to join a college that so beautifully blends the very best traditions of the liberal arts with constant innovations that are preparing students for the fullness of possibility and success in the 21st century," Altmann said in an announcement on Franklin & Marshall's website. Altmann joined Bucknell as provost in August 2015 where she oversees academic and student affairs and related programs. She previously also worked at the University of Oregon, where she served as senior vice provost for academic affairs. A professor of French, she previously directed the Oregon Humanities Center. She also headed the university's Department of Romance Languages, which included 1,000 majors and minors in 12 different degree programs that ranged from the bachelor of arts through the doctoral level. Prior to joining the University of Oregon in 1989, she taught at the University of Toronto and Dartmouth College. Daniel R. Porterfield, announced last year that he would be stepping down as president of Franklin & Marshall College at the end of the academic year to become president and CEO of the Aspen Institute in Washington D.C., a nonpartisan nonprofit, international educational and policy research center on June 1. Franklin & Marshall College is located in Lancaster and has more than 2,000 students. Rain showers are expected to return to central Pennsylvania on Monday night into Tuesday, according to forecasters. "After a day of much-needed drying across central Pa, showers and thunderstorms will return overnight and continue into Tuesday. The good news is that the remainder of the work week should feature sunshine and dry weather," according to the National Weather Service at State College. Anywhere between a quarter-inch and half-inch of rain is expected for the Harrisburg, Carlisle, York, Lebanon and Lancaster areas by Tuesday evening. Up to and inch is possible for the State College, Altoona, Johnstown and Williamsport areas. More than an inch of rain is expected in places like Bradford and Wellsboro and other areas near the New York border. TUESDAY: There will be a 90 percent chance of rain. High near 72. Low around 61. WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Low around 58. THURSDAY: Sunny, with a high near 80. Low around 57. FRIDAY: Sunny, with a high near 83. Low around 63. SATURDAY: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Low around 65. There will be a 30 percent chance of rain at night. You can see live weather updates via the National Weather Service and other Twitter sources below. Tweet us at @pennlive with photos of inclement weather at your place, incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com. GREENWICH, Pa. (AP) -- An off-duty New Jersey state police trooper has been killed in a crash in Pennsylvania. Brian McNally, a New Jersey state police trooper and Marine Corps reservist, was killed in an off-duty crash in Pennsylvania. Authorities say 30-year-old Brian McNally, of Bedminster, was alone in a vehicle that was eastbound on Interstate 78 in Greenwich, Berks County, when the crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. Sunday. As he approached slowing traffic near a construction zone, authorities say McNally moved from the left lane into the right before rear-ending a tractor-trailer. His vehicle and the rear of the trailer caught fire, and McNally was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later. The truck driver was treated at a hospital for minor injuries. Authorities say McNally served in the Marine Corps reserve and was on his way home from weekend duty. He was stationed at the state police's Washington barracks in Warren County, N.J. SILVER SPRING TOWNSHIP - Just a few days before a town hall meeting to discuss growing enrollment and future facility needs, the public comment period at Monday's Cumberland Valley School Board meeting was again dominated by the debate over development of the the historic McCormick Farm. The district is seeking to acquire the preserved farmland via eminent domain, for use as a future school site. But one woman said she still had a lot of questions and is "deeply concerned" about what she sees as ongoing lack of disclosure surrounding the acquisition of the farm property. She referred to a recent article in the Carlisle Sentinel which expounded on sentiments that had been expressed over the last several months in public board meetings regarding a potential conflict of interest with district board member Bob Walker, a land-use attorney for the developer of the nearby Grayhawk Landing development. An access road through the McCormick farm land to the development would be an answer to an ongoing traffic issue that the development has faced for some time, and several members of the public have expressed concern that Walker might be benefiting from the district's purchase of the land. The woman urged the board to include as part of its dealings a restriction on the building of any access roads to the development to prove to the public that the issue was not part of their discussions in executive sessions. "I just want every board member to feel very confident that your decision was not influenced in a bad way," she said. Board president Michael Gossert on Monday night assured her, "I will tell you we have no plans to put an access road on that property." In response to district resident Howard Offenger, who also expressed concern over the appearance of a backdoor deal, the district's solicitor, Michael Cassidy, said he was "not aware of any facts" that would indicate a "violation of the state Ethics Act," which he said recognizes that elected officials are members of the local community and businesses that may interact with the district. Several residents also continue to point to the rich history of the McCormick farm and the McCormick family as reason to oppose the district's plans to acquire the farm. "These people were worthy of being memorialized," Offenger said. "You're going to replace a memorial of a great American family with a memorial of the state." Christine Musser, a local historian, on Monday night read a letter from a member of the McCormick family that emphasized the family's desire to place the land under an easement for the scenic enjoyment of the public and as a memorial to the family's farming legacy. The school district filed a declaration of taking the 116 acres of land in March. Natural Lands Trust, which holds an easement on the land, filed objections a month later. According to Cassidy, the district has since filed objections and is awaiting the Natural Lands Trust's response to the district's challenging of its legal standing. The Cumberland Valley School District will host the town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Performing Arts Center at Cumberland Valley High School, 6746 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg. The district website states the meeting will include discussion on enrollment growth as well as facilities needs, such as a new middle and/or elementary school and the potential development of the McCormick farm land. After tax increases, higher parking and trash collections fees, and pay cuts for city workers, is it finally pay back time for the incinerator debt crisis that made Harrisburg a national poster child for wrecked municipal finances? Gov. Tom Wolf and City Mayor Eric Papenfuse pulled the trigger Monday on a long-awaited civil suit aimed at recovering damages from an assortment of professional firms that, they allege, are as responsible for the mess as anyone. Defendants in the suit, filed in Commonwealth Court, are a who's who of the kind of firms that, for years, have helped municipal officials get things done: Financial advisers Public Financial Management and RBC Capital Markets Corp.; Law firms Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell & Hippel; Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellot; and Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney." Engineering firm Buchart Horn. In this case, however, the city and state allege, that advice was neither honest nor delivered in good faith. "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 about the new case. The complaint does not seek specific damages. At a minimum, however, one would expect the state and city to seek recovery of the estimated $12 million the Wolf Administration says was paid in fees to the various advisors as the incinerator crisis worsened. The suit also seeks punitive damages, which when granted are intended both as punishment for bad acts, and a deterrent to keep future actors from making the same mistakes. In all, the Harrisburg incinerator project resulted in a mushroom cloud of $360 million in debt through several failed upgrades that brought the state's capitol city to the brink of fiscal ruin. The civil case is expected to be the final domino falling in a chain that started with the 2012 release of a forensic audit of the incinerator deals, which begat a criminal inquiry by the Attorney General's office. In 2015, shortly after former Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed was hit with a battery of criminal charges, most eventually dropped due to statute of limitations issues, the Wolf Administration issued a request for proposals for legal services to study potential civil claims. Last spring, there was a final grand jury report on Reed's "house of cards." And on Monday, the last shoe finally dropped. The suit alleges all of the named defendants were part of a working group that, at essence, had a catalog of problems with the incinerator retrofit that they never shared with public officials whom they needed to keep the project alive. The advisors repeatedly, the complaint asserts, "elevated the issuance of incinerator debt over providing full and accurate advice to the city and authority." The deceptions, the case alleges, date back to 2003, when the initial plan to rebuild the failing incinerator first got momentum in Reed's offices. Even then, the plaintiffs state, financial projections for a total rebuild showed that the incinerator would not generate sufficient revenues to service its old and new debt. But James Losty, of RBC Capital Markets Corp., said at multiple public meetings that year as Reed and others were trying to convince a reluctant City Council to guarantee the $130 million in bonds, that it would. Losty is accused of understating debt service costs, and presenting a fiscal analysis of the retrofit plan that was overly rosy about finishing on time and on budget, and left no margin for error - unreasonable for a project of that size, the state and city assert. That's where Buchart Horn, the York-based engineering firm, is ensnared. Its engineers gave a "glowing review" of the so-called Barlow Project as part of the 2003 sales job that the plaintiffs said ignored a host of design defects. RBC and the Obermayer and Eckert law firms, through attorneys Andrew Giorgione and Carol Cocheres, are accused of fraudulantly reporting to the state that the incinerator's future revenues would cover all project costs. THe attorneys were counsel to the city and the bond underwriter, respectively. That, the complaint contends, prevented the state Department of Community and Economic Development from stopping the project in its tracks, because so-called self-liquidating debt didn't count against a cap on the city's exposure. In another alleged breach of fiduciary duty, Obermayer, again through Giorgione, is accused of allowing the incinerator project to go forward without a proper performance bond, and concealing that information from council members. In 2005, the suit alleges, Giorgione, by now working for a second firm that eventually merged with his current employer, Buchanan Ingersoll, structured a fresh $25 million borrowing for the project in a way that it did not have to go before Harrisburg City Council for approval. Bruce Foreman, the then-solicitor for the Harrisburg Authority, signed off on it, even though in a prior, private email he complained "whatever we call it... I cannot find this license agreement anything but a guarantee on Barlow's debt." That resulted, the suit alleged, in more debt being foisted upon the city without City Council's approval or residents' knowledge. Finally, there were additional misrepresentations about borrowings in 2007. Here, the suit contends, PFM and Eckert Seamans, now serving as counsel to the Harrisburg Authority, again contended to the city and state that a new layer of debt totalling $60 million would be "self-liquidating," in contrast to their private communications. The plaintiffs present a statement from PFM's Glen Williard to Eckert Seamans' attorney Carol Cocheres in which Williard asked how to "protect" their firms as "this thing gets bigger and bigger... "I wouldn't want anybody to ever think that we thought there was a plan, and the revenues from the system would pay for this, because I just don't see that," Williard is quoted as saying in the complaint. Several days later, Williard appeared before Harrisburg's council, urging members to guarantee the new financings. All the professionals got well paid for their roles, the suit sums up, but to date, "none of the respondents named herein has contributed to the painful process of recovering." PennLive attempted to reach all of the defendants through the day Monday. Most did not respond, or said they would not until they had had a chance to review the complaint in full. The one outlier was Eckert Seamans, who issued a lengthy statement asserting that Cocheres and others represented their clients "professionally, competently and ethically." The debt crisis was grounded, Eckert argues, in the failure of the original incinerator contractor, Barlow Engineering, to complete its work, and that firm's ensuing bankruptcy. In a sign of the defenses likely to come, Eckert CEO Timothy Hudak said the suit misunderstands his firm's role, adding "Our firm had no responsibility whatsoever for these events. DCED knows, or should know that fact." The state, working through the Washington D.C. law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, is the lead plaintiff. But Papenfuse, an early critic of Reed's use of the Harrisburg Authority as an unelected tool to push through his projects, made clear that the city is an eager co-plaintiff. Papenfuse, who became the city's mayor in 2014, said in a statement "I'm thrilled the governor is taking the necessary step to hold accountable those responsible for the failed incinerator debt scheme. "Our residents are also pleased the Commonwealth is continuing to fight to secure revenues for the city." If the state can recoup money from the professional advisors, there are formulas in the city's recovery plan that specify how those proceeds are to be shared between Harrisburg, Dauphin County and bond insurer Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. All three were forced, at various points along the way, to cover millions of dollars in debt service payments for the authority over the years. According to the terms, the city would get 75 percent of any settlements reached or judgments won against the professional advisors up to the first $4 million, with the remainder shared by AGM and the county. Any amounts over $4 million would be split 60 / 40, with the city still receiving the lion's share. The monies earmarked for Harrisburg would be split with 30 percent each going to newly-established funds to seed economic development, to repair aging infrastructure, and a new trust to bolster city employees' retirement benefits. The last 10 percent could revert to Harrisburg's general fund, according to the recovery plan. The richest person in Pennsylvania, , is no longer the Campbell soup heiress. The richest person in Pennsylvania is now a candy company heiress. Forbes Magazine, in its annual list of the richest person in each of the 50 states, says Victoria Mars, with a fortune estimated a $5.9 billion, is the wealthiest Pennsylvanian. Mars is the granddaughter of Frank Mars, who founded candy and pet food company Mars, Inc. in 1911. Victoria Mars, and her sisters, each inherited an 8 percent stake in the company when her father, Forrest Mars Jr., died in 2016. Mars, 61, lives in Newtown Square. She is married and mother of four. Her aunt, Jacqueline Mars, ranked as the second richest woman in America in 2017, according to Forbes, having inherited a one-third stake in Mars Inc. Victoria Mars, a graduate of Yale University and Wharton School of Business, and her sisters all worked in various roles in the company. For Victoria Mars, that meant starting with the company in 1978 as assistant brand manager for Milky Way. In 2014 she was named chairman of the company, and served in that capacity until last year, when she stepped down and assumed the chairmanship of the non-profit organization Salzburg Global. She remains a director of Mars Inc. For the past three years, Campbell Soup Co. heiress Mary Alice Dorrance Malone had held the space atop Forbes' list of the wealthiest Pennsylvanians. The 68-year-old was worth $3.8 billion, having inherited her money. By Jim Piazza Should fraternities be abolished? This is a question I have often asked myself in the 15 months since my son Tim died at the hands of his future fraternity "brothers" in an out-of-control, alcohol-infused hazing event at Pennsylvania State University. My initial reaction: Yes, they should all be gone. However, as time has passed and I've thought about it more, I now realize this is not a question I can or should answer. It is a question fraternities must answer for themselves. One thing I can say for sure, after 15 months of learning about fraternities, is that we need to see significant reform of the Greek system in this country. Many of the leaders of the national fraternities and sororities that I have met with and spoken to agree that we are at a critical juncture when it comes to keeping our students safe. Fraternity misconduct, hazing, sexual assault, and student deaths have become national news and the topic of conversation at the family dinner table. Our son's face, and the faces of other young men whose lives were lost to a similar fate, are recognizable ... for all the wrong reasons. We need reform. What happened in 2017 must never happen again. First, universities need to take ownership and exercise more control over what goes on at fraternities. They can no longer allow student self-governance, nor can they claim that fraternities are private organizations that they cannot govern. We now know that is not true, as is evidenced by what happened to my son at Penn State. I give credit to Eric Barron, the president of Penn State, for taking this issue on at Penn State and nationally. He has made significant changes to Greek life policies and oversight at Penn State and has also assembled presidents of other large universities to address the problems. There is still much to do, but someone needed to step up and he did. Others need to follow. Ultimately, universities need to take responsibility for reform. They promise parents a safe learning environment for their children and by allowing Greek organizations to run out of control, they are failing to keep that promise. Our children deserve better. However, universities cannot do it alone. They need the help of national fraternities, whose job it is to oversee campus chapters. The national fraternities need to cooperate with the universities and provide greater oversight and education to their local chapters. They cannot allow them to sensationalize and promote the party scene. That's not what brotherhood is about. They need to promote the real benefits of a fraternal environment, such as networking. The national fraternities need to institute rules, policies, and procedures that will eliminate unsafe behavior. Then they need to monitor and strictly enforce them. If the chapters want the privilege of the national affiliation and the use of the national letters, they must play by the rules or go away. Finally, the legal system also has a critical role in this reform. Hazing, sexual-assault, and drinking laws throughout the country need to be stiffened and should be a meaningful deterrent to individuals engaging in this criminal and unsafe behavior. One such law is the proposed Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law in Pennsylvania. Prosecutors need to understand the laws, take them seriously, and not be afraid to prosecute offenders (a special thanks to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is such a prosecutor). Judges and juries must also be willing to hold the offenders accountable and not let them walk away with a slap on the wrist. This reckless behavior will continue if there are no meaningful consequences. We also need laws that promote greater transparency of which fraternities violate the rules, so parents and students can make better-educated decisions about joining these organizations. What happened to Tim should never have happened. It was planned and orchestrated alcohol-infused chaos, which had been going on for years without adequate oversight. I have come to learn that I am a member of an unenviable club of parents who lost children to fraternity hazing. Sadly, our club has way more members than I would have ever imagined, and even more disheartening is that our membership grew after Tim's death. I suspect that there are more members than we even know about. The public only hears when someone dies from one of these situations, but over the last 15 months I have learned of countless situations where trusting students are severely hurt or have near-death experiences from hazing or are sexually assaulted and no one outside the "brotherhood" ever knows. Those victims are nameless and faceless. Should fraternities be abolished? That's not my call -- but I am interested to see how the universities, national fraternities, lawmakers, and the criminal justice system respond. I cannot imagine any one of them is a proponent of children dying. Now is the time to stand up and show it. Jim Piazza, of New Jersey, is the father of Tim Piazza, who died as a result of a fraternity hazing event in February 2017. He wrote this piece for The Philadelphia Inquirer, where it first appeared. It is reproduced here by permission. An employee makes their way to work at Statistics Canada, in Ottawa on July 21, 2010. Statistics Canada says wholesale sales rose 1.1 per cent to $62.8 billion in March, led by the motor vehicle and parts subsector. The agency says the increase more than offset a decline in February.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick A fire-damaged unit at Massey Manor apartment complex is shown after a fire that destroyed three nearby buildings in Brandon, Man., over the weekend, in this Monday, May 21, 2018 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Stephanie Lockerby WestJet planes are seen at the Calgary Airport in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, May 10, 2018. WestJet Airlines says contract negotiations with its pilots resumed Monday in Calgary. The threat of a strike by WestJet pilots appears to be over. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh In this Wednesday March 28, 2018 photo, a North Atlantic right whale feeds on the surface of Cape Cod bay off the coast of Plymouth, Mass. Fishermen in certain parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence have to get their gear out of the water today after endangered North Atlantic right whales were spotted in the area. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Michael Dwyer FILE - In this May 10, 2018, file photo, Singapore's financial skyline is seen lining the edge of the Singapore River in Singapore. Weeks from his North Korea summit, President Donald Trump is staring down a dealmakerAos worst nightmare: overpromising and under-delivering. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File) FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2015, file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the House Benghazi Committee. An upcoming Justice Department inspector general report is expected to criticize the FBI over a weeks-long delay in reviewing a newly discovered trove of Hillary Clinton emails in the days before the 2016 presidential election. ThatAos according to people familiar with the findings, who werenAot authorized to discuss the report before its release and spoke on condition of anonymity. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) 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) FILE - In this April 10, 2018 file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears on a television screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as he testifies in the Senate in Washington. Shares in the social media giant are trading around $185 early Friday, May 11, returning to the levels last seen eight weeks ago, when news broke that the company failed to prevent major privacy breaches during the run-up to the 2016 presidential election in the U.S. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, leaves the Anti-Corruption Agency for questioning in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Najib was interrogated Tuesday over a corruption scandal that could lead to criminal charges against him as the country's new anti-graft chief said investigations into the case were suppressed by intimidation during Najib's rule. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian) FILE - In this April 18, 2018 file photo, former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont attends a meeting with lawmakers of his party, Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), in Berlin, Germany. A German court on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 rejected a request from prosecutors to take former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont back into custody pending a decision on whether he is extradited to Spain. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn,file) Rains begins to fall as rescue teams search through the wreckage site of Boeing 737 that plummeted into a yuca field with more than 100 passengers on board, in Havana, Cuba, Friday, May 18, 2018. The Cuban airliner crashed just after takeoff from Havana's international airport in Havana, Cuba. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) In this image made from video, Archbishop Philip Wilson, center, heads to Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney, Australia Tuesday, May 22, 2018. The Australian archbishop who was the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world charged with covering up child sex abuse was convicted Tuesday. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP) Gabe Rosescu and Sheri Niemegeers are shown in a handout photo from the GoFundMe page called "Support for Gabe and Sheri." The Saskatchewan couple is recovering in hospital after a mudslide swept them off a cliff in British Columbia.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-GoFundMe MANDATORY CREDIT Pirate offense sputters in loss The downpour of rain that drenched Pirate Field in the fourth quarter was probably an accurate representation of just how Perryville football coach Brent Roth and his team felt following the game.The Indians have fun in shutout victory over Bayless St. Vincent football coach Tim Schumer said that his team had a lot of fun on Friday night. The Indians scored early and often, then dominated on defense as they shutout Bayless 59-0 Guyana Oil Company confirms probe into $$M wire transfer fraud By Kaieter News GEORGETOWN Petroleumworld 05 22 2018 The Guyana Oil Company Limited (GuyOil) has confirmed that an investigation is underway over the transfer of funds to a supplier. Kaieteur News reported last week that a senior official was sent on administrative leave over $48M that was allegedly transferred. Yesterday, the company said that no employee of the company was dismissed as a result of missing monies. The Company recently transferred funds to a supplier who claimed that they had not received the funds. As such, an investigation has been launched and is ongoing. The company did not confirm that an employee was sent on leave. The discovery of the alleged fraud was made at the state-owned company earlier this month. According to sources, the senior official allegedly oversaw the wire transfer of around US$230,000 to an account overseas. Kaieteur News was told that the official claimed to have received a request to transfer the monies to an account of Castrol, a major supplier of GuyOil. At the end of the day, GuyOil transferred the monies to an account that was not Castrol's. Investigators are trying to determine what role, if any, the senior official and others may have played and whether the actions were deliberate. It is unclear whether the monies were withdrawn. GuyOil runs a string of service stations and is the largest seller of fuel to the local market. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us Story from Kaieter News Kaieteurnewsonline.com 05 22 2018 Copyright 1999-2018 Petroleumworld or respective author or news agency. All rights reserved. We welcome the use of Petroleumworld (PW) stories by anyone provided it mentions Petroleumworld.com as the source. Other stories you have to get authorization by its authors. Internet web links to http://www.petroleumworld.com are appreciated. Petroleumworld welcomes your feedback and comments, share your thoughts on this article, your feedback is important to us! We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article. Write to editor@petroleumworld.com By using this link, you agree to allow PW to publish your comments on our letters page. Any question or suggestions, please write to: editor@petroleumworld.com Best Viewed with IE 5.01+ Windows NT 4.0, '95, '98,ME,XP, Vista, Windows 7,8,10 +/ 800x600 pixels November 13 - 15, 2018. Gubkin University, Moscow SPE Student Chapter No paper trail of negotiations on the US$18M ExxonMobil - Guyana signing bonus Trotman By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell GEORGETOWN Petroleumworld 05 22 2018 The Government of Guyana cannot provide a paper trail accounting for the negotiations it had with oil giant ExxonMobil on the issuance of US$18M that has been dubbed a signing bonus. This is because all exchanges between the government and the oil company were done verbally. This information was revealed recently when Chairman of the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources, Odinga Lumumba, questioned Minister Raphael Trotman. Lumumba's first question to Trotman on the issue of signing bonus was whether the coalition government employed a specific equation to arrive at US$18M or if it was a case where Trotman simply placed his hand in a bag and drew a figure. Trotman totally ignored the bit about randomly picking a number. He sought to explain that the government was guided by history. Trotman said that the coalition government had benefitted from some advice that in July of 2000 when CGX attempted to explore towards the northeastern side of Guyana, boats from neighbouring Suriname arrested the drillship and stopped the work that the oil company was doing in that area. Trotman recalled that Guyana and Suriname ended up before an international tribunal and the fee, we were advised, was in the vicinity of US$12M. The fee, we were advised and believe, was paid by an oil company with vested interest to assist the Government of Guyana in its quest. The government was successful in that arbitration and the border was demarcated. Trotman's utterances suggested he was not the government official who set the figure. He told the Committee, With the benefit of that advice, it was my understanding that the figure was given as a fair figure that would cover expenses in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Trotman said that US$15M was earmarked for Guyana's representation before the ICJ and the remaining US$3M was intended to be used for capacity building. It was here that Lumumba asked about the paper trail. You know how large companies work; they have regulations to operate by in America and they have to make declarations. I assume there is a letter somewhere from Exxon to the government saying we're granting the US$18M for this purpose, Lumumba asserted. Trotman responded, Sir, you would not find that in any office the reason being that the government asked for support from Exxon, but it was not Exxon that determined we determined, because we needed the sum of money for a particular purpose and that purpose is the hiring of the best lawyers. Trotman was keen to note that there was no intention to siphon the money. He said, It was US18M, not a cent more, not a cent less. No government or no minister who wants to steal money will ask the Bank of Guyana Governor, who no one knows to be on any list of the APNU or AFC or a supporter of the government, to hold the money for them. No one would ask for the bank to be the keeper of the fund, they would put it someplace else. Trotman said that there was a specific reason government kept everything about the signing bonus hush-hush'. He said that it wanted to catch Venezuela off guard. We did everything by law. We did not believe that we needed to let our friends in the west know all that we were doing and how we were preparing. But now they know, thanks to those who were making demands on us to tell all We do not know what Venezuela's strategy is, but there are people in Guyana who feel they must know everything, and we have obliged. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us Story by Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell from Kaieter News Kaieteurnewsonline.com 05 22 2018 Copyright 1999-2018 Petroleumworld or respective author or news agency. All rights reserved. We welcome the use of Petroleumworld (PW) stories by anyone provided it mentions Petroleumworld.com as the source. Other stories you have to get authorization by its authors. Internet web links to http://www.petroleumworld.com are appreciated. Petroleumworld welcomes your feedback and comments, share your thoughts on this article, your feedback is important to us! We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article. Write to editor@petroleumworld.com By using this link, you agree to allow PW to publish your comments on our letters page. Any question or suggestions, please write to: editor@petroleumworld.com Best Viewed with IE 5.01+ Windows NT 4.0, '95, '98,ME,XP, Vista, Windows 7,8,10 +/ 800x600 pixels November 13 - 15, 2018. Gubkin University, Moscow SPE Student Chapter E xxonMobil's oil concession in Guyana should remain intact for strategic border security reasons - Trotman By Demerarawaves GEORGETOWN Petroleumworld 05 22 2018 Guyana is not eager for ExxonMobil to relinquish any of the 60 blocks on the offshore concession that extends to the borders with Venezuela and Suriname, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman. He said the ExxonMobil block should remain intact as it had been granted in 1999 because we believe that the circumstances have not diminished. Contradicting critics that the handing out of such a large number of blocks was illegal, he said the regulations allows the minister to consider the granting of more blocks in special circumstances. He told a bi-partisan parliamentary committee on Natural Resources that ExxonMobil was picked by the then People's Progressive Party-led government and continued to receive support by the APNU-AFC coalition-led administration because of mainly security reasons in light of Venezuela's border claim to the Essequibo Region. Noting that on May 26, 2015, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had unilaterally extended his country's maritime boundary to take in waters off Demerara County where Liza One is located 123 miles off the coast of Mahaica, the Natural Resources Minister said Guyana wanted to work with a company with international gravitas and political and economic linkages. Concerning the still controversial US$18 million signing bonus, he said government used the benchmark of US$12 million that Guyana had asked CGX Energy to fund the maritime boundary dispute case with Suriname at the United Nations Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. Using that figure, Trotman said ExxonMobil was asked to help with legal fees for the Guyana-Venezuela boundary controversy case at the International Court of Justice. Asked by Chairman of Natural Resources Committee, Odinga Lumumba whether there was any letter to that effect, the Natural Resources Minister said you will not find that in any office and no, I did not write Exxon. We asked Exxon for support. Among the differences in the updated 2016 contract with ExxonMobil Trotman said was a stabilisation clause that is contained in an agreement with the American company, Anadarko, whose seismic research vessel had been seized several years ago by Venezuela's military. Trotman said the stabilisation clause was aimed at comforting ExxonMobil that the Guyana government would not make any changes because of the threat. We wanted to anchor Exxon in our waters and to let them know that we are serious, he said. The Natural Resources Minister recalled that back in 1999 , the United States government had declined to offer no-objection to Beal Aerospace to set up a satellite launch site in the North West District because of strenuous opposition from Venezuela. Trotman said the previous and current governments of Guyana have always recognised the importance of encouraging large, influential American companies in the Essequibo Region. The Minister says the offshore concession to ExxonMobil from the Barima-Waini in the west to Corentyne River was not happenstance; it was deliberate to cover the seaspace tip-to-tip and that company will be an American company. He said Guyana opted to update its agreement with ExxonMobil because of strategic reasons and that threat has not disappeared but deepened. So far, pending disclosure of analysis of the quality and quantity of additional discoveries, the Guyana basin so far accounts for 3.2 billion barrels of oil. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us Trinidad & Tobago should not rely on Venezuela's Maduro - MP Charles By TT Newsday PORT SPAIN Petroleumworld 05 22 2018 THIS country must be more proactive and non-partisan towards crisis-hit Venezuela and not put all our eggs in one political basket, urged Naparima MP Rodney Charles. He commented on Sunday's re-election of President Nicholas Maduro in a low turnout poll that has been widely questioned globally. Charles urged a clear immigration policy, rather than TT turn a blind eye to events in our nearest neighbour. "While Nicolas Maduro has won a second term in recent controversial elections, our foreign policy towards that country could do with stiff doses of strategic thinking, long term planning bearing in mind possible future scenarios, and decidedly more neutrality. "As it stands this Rowley administration has put all its eggs in the Maduro basket hoping to capitalize on gas from that country's Dragon field and the 2.7 tcf of natural gas from the cross border Loran/ Manatee field." Charles asked if it makes sense to put our eggs in only one basket? "Would our foreign policy in Venezuela not be better served if we had a more nuanced approach in which we were seen more as honest brokers bringing the contending forces together. That way our interests will be better protected whatever happens." Charles noted TT's special relationship with Venezuela and the idea of non-interference in another nation's affairs, but was concerned about Venezuela's crisis. "We can no longer turn a blind eye to events next door. At the very least we need an immigration policy that would transparently deal with a continuing influx of Venezuelans." The MP also urged that TT be more pro-active in developing firm energy-links with Guyana and Surinam, in case of failure with TT-Venezuela's energy-links. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us Don't leave out the middleman: How Shell and Eni ended up on trial in Nigeria By Libby George and Shadia Nasralla LONDON Petroleumworld 05 22 2018 Seven years ago, two middlemen launched civil lawsuits to seek payment for helping arrange a $1.3 billion oil deal in Nigeria. Now, nine current and former executives or contractors from Italy's Eni and British-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell , including ENI Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi, have been accused by Italian prosecutors of paying bribes to secure the licence to explore a large offshore oilfield in 2011. If found guilty, the individuals on trial face possible jail terms for bribery. All deny wrongdoing, as do Shell and Eni. The criminal trial will proceed in Milan on June 20 after a short initial hearing on May 14. Some of the key issues in the trial came to light during the two separate civil suits filed by a Nigerian, Emeka Obi, and a former Russian diplomat, Ednan Agaev, a Reuters review of court filings shows. Both men said they were owed millions of dollars by a Nigerian company, Malabu Oil and Gas, for arranging meetings with Shell and Eni. The judge in Obi's case upheld evidence that Obi arranged meetings between former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete, who was convicted of money laundering in an unrelated case in France in 2007, and representatives of Eni, and that he negotiated on Etete's behalf with Shell. In addition, documents produced in Agaev's case showed that when Eni and Shell paid for the licence, they deposited more than $1 billion into a Nigerian government escrow account in London but most of the money later ended up with Malabu, which was controlled by Etete, the judge said. The judges found that, in a conflict of interests, Etete had a stake in Malabu and was also oil minister when the Nigerian government awarded the company the licence to explore the field in 1998, a decision that was reversed in 2001, reinstated in 2006 and later challenged by Shell. These details helped Italian prosecutors put together their case, industry insiders say. Etete denies charges of bribery for channelling money from the deal to Nigerian politicians. He and his lawyers did not respond to requests for comment by phone and email. Shell said by email that if improper payments are shown to have taken place, they were not made with Shell's knowledge, authorisation or on its behalf. It said it believes the judges will find there is no case against Shell or its ex-employees. Eni said by email that it could not comment on the case. It has previously said it concluded the deal with the Nigerian government without the involvement of intermediaries and that it had no commercial agreement with Malabu. LEGAL BATTLES Eni and Shell said they were unable to confirm who owned Malabu when they acquired Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245. But in her decision on Obi's civil case in London in July 2013, Lady Justice Elizabeth Gloster upheld Etete's control of Malabu, court records show. Basing her decision on testimony and documents, she said Etete had a stake in Malabu when it was awarded OPL 245 in 1998 and had been the principal beneficial owner since later that year. She said Obi had meetings with Shell representatives before the OPL 245 deal, though she did not say how many, and that he frequently met officials from Eni. On one occasion, Etete, Descalzi, Obi and Agaev sat together in a Milan restaurant at a dinner for the the main personalities to meet and assess the seriousness of their intentions, she said. She said Obi should be awarded at least $100 million for his work as a dealmaker, the court records show. Agaev launched arbitration to seek a $65 million fee from Malabu for his work as a go-between and eventually reached an out-of-court settlement, details of which were not disclosed. While the arbitration was under way, he asked a court in New York to freeze a Nigerian government account in London that held $74 million, most of it due to be transferred to Malabu. The court said it had no authority to freeze the money but reviewed documents showing Eni and Shell had deposited just over $1 billion into the account as payment for OPL 245 in May 2011. A further $208 million was released from escrow as a signature bonus for the government, court records show. Around $800 million was transferred to Malabu in August 2011 and the rest was frozen pending the civil cases. Agaev declined to comment about his civil case or the Milan trial. Obi could not be reached for comment and attorneys who have represented him declined to pass on his contact details. Eni and Shell said their payments were above board as they went directly to the Nigerian government. JP Morgan Chase, which ran the escrow account, has denied negligence. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us Neoenergia has consent from shareholders to present a new bid for Eletropaulo -CEO By Reuters SAO PAULO Petroleumworld 05 22 2018 Brazilian power company Neoenergia SA has consent from its main shareholders to present new offers to acquire a controlling stake in Eletropaulo Metropolitana SA, its Chief Executive Mario Jose Ruiz-Tagle told Reuters on Monday. Neoenergia, controlled by Spain's Iberdrola, is in a bidding war against Italy's Enel SpA for control of Eletropaulo. Ruiz-Tagle said that Neoenergia's main shareholders, such as Banco do Brasil SA and pension fund Previ, reached a consensus about the strategic importance to acquire Eletropaulo, Brazil's largest power distribution company by revenue. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us Reporting by Luciano Costa Editing by Chizu Nomiyama from Reuters. reuters.com / 05 21 2018 Copyright 1999-2018 Petroleumworld or respective author or news agency. All rights reserved. We welcome the use of Petroleumworld (PW) stories by anyone provided it mentions Petroleumworld.com as the source. Other stories you have to get authorization by its authors. Internet web links to http://www.petroleumworld.com are appreciated. Petroleumworld welcomes your feedback and comments, share your thoughts on this article, your feedback is important to us! We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article. Write to editor@petroleumworld.com By using this link, you agree to allow PW to publish your comments on our letters page. Any question or suggestions, please write to: editor@petroleumworld.com Best Viewed with IE 5.01+ Windows NT 4.0, '95, '98,ME,XP, Vista, Windows 7,8,10 +/ 800x600 pixels November 13 - 15, 2018. Gubkin University, Moscow SPE Student Chapter Eletropaulo sets out guidelines for acquisition auction By Reuters SAO PAULO Petroleumworld 05 22 2018 Eletropaulo, Brazil's largest power distribution company by revenue, provided details on Monday of the rules for an auction for companies to acquire a controlling stake in the firm. According to a presentation to investors, Eletropaulo Metropolitana Eletricidade de Sao Paulo SA, as the company is formally known, said interested companies would have to deliver their offers to the Sao Paulo's exchange B3 by the end of May 24. In the case of a tie, companies could present new offers at every 30 minutes after 7:35 p.m. (2235 GMT) on May 24. The largest offer after this process would be registered on June 4, the day set to conclude the auction. Eletropaulo said that it will be possible for another company to present an offer between May 24 and June 4, if that is 5 percent bigger than the largest one standing. If that happens, the company would give the option for all participants to present new offers on June 4. Brazil's development bank BNDES and U.S. power company AES Corp are the largest shareholders at Eletropaulo. There are two offers currently for Eletropaulo's controlling stake. The largest, of 32.20 reais ($8.69) per share , is from Italy's Enel SpA. The second largest, of 32 reais per share, comes from Neoenergia SA, which is controlled by Spain's Iberdrola SA. $1 = 3.7047 reais Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us Six G20 countries reject Venezuela election result By Reuters BUENOS AIRES Petroleumworld 05 22 2018 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 Venezuela's presidential election held on Sunday. Taking into account the lack of legitimacy of the electoral process we do not recognize the results of (Sunday's) election ... which excluded the participation of some political actors, said Argentina's 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. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us U.S. gives an ultimatum to Iran, list sweeping demands By Lesley Wroughton and Parisa Hafezi WASHINGTON/ANKARA Petroleumworld 05 22 2018 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 Washington's 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. U.S. 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 speech added to the tension between the two countries, which grew notably when Trump this month withdrew from the 2015 international agreement aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. If Washington sees tangible shifts in Iran's policies, it is prepared to lift 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, 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. The European Union largely dismissed Pompeo's speech and said it remained committed to the full implementation of the nuclear deal. Pompeo took aim at Iran's 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. Iran's president summarily dismissed Pompeo's 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. A senior Iranian official said Pompeo's remarks showed that the United States was pushing for regime change, a charged phrase often associated with the U.S. 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 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. Pompeo will have an uphill battle convincing European allies to sign on to the administration's Plan B on Iran after its withdrawal from the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). 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. There is no alternative to the JCPOA, the EU said in a statement. NAMING NAMES Pompeo said if Iran made major changes, the United States was prepared to ease sanctions, re-establish full diplomatic and commercial relations and support the country's re-integration into the international economic system. Any new U.S. sanctions will raise the cost of trade for Iran and are expected to further deter Western companies from investing there, giving hardliners, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an opportunity to cement their grip on power. Iran's ruling elite are mindful of recent protests sparked by economic hardship, which is, in part, their calculation for working with the Europeans on ways to salvage the nuclear deal. Pompeo's speech did not explicitly call for regime change but he repeatedly urged the Iranian people not to put up with their leaders, specifically naming 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, Pompeo said. Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of the Brooking Institution think tank's foreign policy program, said Pompeo's speech did indeed amount to a strategy of regime change. There is only one way to read it and that is that Trump administration has wedded itself to a regime-change strategy to Iran, one that is likely to alienate our allies. One with dubious prospects for success, she said. The administration's approach explicitly puts the onus on the Iranian people to change their leadership or face cataclysmic financial pressure, said Maloney who has advised the State Department on Iran in the Bush administration between 2005-2007. Lebanese analyst Ghaleb Kandil, who has close ties to the pro-Iran Hezbollah group, said Washington's demands have previously not worked. These are conditions that were tested in previous phases of American pressures, before the nuclear deal, when Iran was in more difficult circumstances than it is in these days, and it did not surrender to these conditions or accept them, said Kandil. Pompeo outlined 12 U.S. demands for Iran including to stop uranium enrichment, never to pursue plutonium reprocessing and to close its heavy water reactor. It also had to declare all previous military dimensions of its nuclear program and to permanently and verifiably abandon such work, he said. 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. Washington's regional allies, the Gulf Arabs and Israel, who were strong critics of the deal, praised the administration's position on Monday. European parties to the nuclear deal - France, Britain and Germany - are working to find a way to keep the nuclear pact in effect after Washington's exit. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us Mexico's anti-populist Ricardo Anaya wins debates, but there is still the poll gap Alejandro Cegarra/Bloomberg People watch Ricardo Anaya during the second presidential debate, inside a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, on May 20. Early mistakes keep Anaya far behind AMLO as time runs short . Leftist front-runner's lead is 18 points in latest tracker By Nacha Cattan MEXICO CITY Petroleumworld 22 05 2018 Ricardo Anaya put in a strong performance in Mexico's second presidential debate -- just as he had in the first one. But it's probably too little, too late. In Sunday's nationally televised event, Anaya -- the main challenger to leftist front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador -- delivered another win, according to local analysts. He called out inconsistencies in his rival's platform, and even provoked Lopez Obrador into losing his cool. But time's running out for the 39-year-old Anaya, who heads a left-right coalition, to close a poll deficit that stands at 18 percentage points, according to the latest Bloomberg tracker. He performed strongly in the first debate April 22 too, but the resulting bounce in popularity proved shortlived. With six weeks left before the election, some analysts say Anaya is failing to consolidate the anyone but AMLO vote that offered his best route to victory. The challenger's biggest mistake, according to political scientist Carlos Bravo, was burning bridges with the ruling PRI party, whose candidate is running a distant third. Who's ahead in Mexico's election? For Bloomberg Poll Tracker, click here. Anaya needed to distinguish himself from the highly unpopular President Enrique Pena Nieto, in order to have any chance against Lopez Obrador. But he took it too far by vowing in his campaign to do everything in his power to investigate Pena Nieto and his PRI colleagues for corruption, says Bravo, who teaches at Mexico City's Center for Economic Research and Teaching. Mexico law limits presidents to one six-year term. He pushed things too far, Bravo said. That was a mistake, to fight with someone so openly who still has a lot of power. The move boomeranged back on Anaya when he was accused by the federal attorney general of being implicated in a money laundering investigation. He was never charged, and Mexico's electoral court ruled that the attorney general's office was wrongfully meddling in the election by making the claim. Still, it hurt his reputation and his polling. And another consequence is that Anaya can't now hope for backing from the powerful PRI machine as he seeks to unite the vote against Lopez Obrador. After the elections, that acrimony may impede his PAN party from working with the PRI as a counterweight to Lopez Obrador in Congress. Political Blowback Anaya has also been unable to mend fissures within PAN caused by another bold gamble he took early on: forming a coalition with the left-leaning Democratic Revolution Party. That, along with his insistence on being the coalition candidate, led to a split in his own party, with former first lady Margarita Zavala quitting the PAN to run as an independent. Though she backed out of the race last week, Zavala has so far declined to endorse Anaya. His campaign has also been criticized for lack of organization -- he only recently appointed a campaign chief. Anaya at least has shone in the debates. Last night his goading spurred Lopez Obrador -- whose temper has got him into trouble in the past -- into name-calling. He accused Anaya of being a demagogic scoundrel. Anaya did not disappoint with his presentation skills -- this is one of his main assets, said Alonso Cervera, chief Latin American economist at Credit Suisse Group AG. But, there just weren't enough fireworks or damaging revelations, Cervera said. I don't think that voter preferences will change much. Petroleumworld.com Hit your target - Advertise with Us In a bipartisan vote, the Pennsylvania Senate's state government committee Tuesday unanimously approved a bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer (R., Lebanon) and backed by Gov. Wolf that would strip hiring powers from the independent Civil Service Commission and put job selection under the control of the governor's Office of Administration. In voting Senate Bill 1037 through for possible consideration by the full Senate in June, the committee blew past objections by the Pennsylvania Council of War Veterans, a coalition of membership groups that has questioned the reasons Wolf and Republican leaders have given for reducing the commission's powers. The politicians' planned "breakup" of the Civil Service Commission, whose goal is to insulate state hiring from politics, "should raise alarm bells for all of us," Keith Beebe, vice president and legislative chairman of the Pennsylvania War Veterans Council, wrote in a letter delivered before the vote to Folmer. The law, if approved by the full state Senate and House and signed by the governor, is supposed to speed the state's adoption of an online job-application system run by California-based Neogov and other efforts to draw more young job candidates to work as Pennsylvania prison guards, social workers, and in other state positions, according to supporters that also include Sharon Minnich, who heads the Office of Administration under Wolf. In interviews earlier this year and in testimony before the committee, Minnich and other administration officials have echoed criticism by Folmer and other Republicans that it has taken Pennsylvania too long to make it easy for job applicants to apply online and by smartphone. They want to simplify and improve hiring so it more closely resembles a private-sector approach. Most state agencies have already agreed to run Neogov, but the state still has to work out how the system will manage applications for the Department of Corrections and other agencies that require personal interviews and evaluations in addition to computer-based tests, according to Bryan Lentz, who chairs the commission. The Folmer bill would leave the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission as an auditing and review board with little power to stop partisan hiring, Lentz testified in a Spring hearing on the bill. Lentz and his fellow commissioners, in letters and testimony before the Senate subcommittee, warned that gutting the commission and giving its powers to gubernatorial appointees invites a return of the corrupt patronage hiring practices of the 1800s. The Wolf administration and Folmer say state hiring would still be based on a candidate's merit, not connections. Neogov, formerly used by dozens of states to collect job applications, was dropped in 2016 by Ohio, which shifted to the rival Taleo system, and Illinois, which planned to develop its own system. The city of Philadelphia dropped Neogov under Mayor Michael Nutter's administration. "The application was unable to meet the city's needs," said spokesman Mike Dunn. After attempting to build work-arounds and change business processes, IT officials found Neogov "system limitations were hard-coded in the software and not configurable," so Philadelphia replaced NeoGov with PeopleAdmin.com, Dunn added. Beebe reiterated the council's position that the current Civil Service Commission has done a "satisfactory job" and has a "record of accomplishment" in hiring veterans in compliance with state rules that give ex-military preference for jobs when they are properly qualified, in a letter to Folmer before the vote. By contrast, the state Office of Administration "is not a strong advocate" of the kind of merit-based testing the veterans support, Beebe added. The veterans, who submitted a 20-page analysis of the proposed reforms at the hearing earlier this year, "believe the 'modernization' of the Civil Service Commission should not be your central focus" because it's already "modernized," according to Beebe. Instead, the state's stated concerns and "frictions" result from "project management" issues, which Beebe said grew out of state government's determination to implement Neogov at the risk of other hiring goals such as fairness, independence from political patronage, and veterans' preference. (In earlier versions of this item Secretary of Administration Sharon Minnich's surname was spelled wrong.) Cathedral Village, in the Upper Roxborough section of Philadelphia, is where Herbert R. McMaster Sr., the father of former national security adviser H.R. McMaster Jr., died on April 13. Read more During the two days of Herbert R. McMaster Sr.'s fatal stay at Cathedral Village's nursing home last month, the facility was using seven different temporary nurses, including one who made seven medication errors while being observed by a surveyor, a new Pennsylvania Department of Health report says. The 108-page licensing report indicates that state health department officials completed their survey of the nursing home on April 12, the day Herbert R. McMaster Sr. fell and hit his head. He died the next morning. The state health department did not respond to a request for additional information, such as what time the surveyors left the building that day. Such reports are not released to the public until 41 days after the survey is completed. The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General on May 10 charged a licensed practical nurse, Christann S. Gainey, 30, with neglect of a care-dependent person, involuntary manslaughter, and tampering with records in the death of McMaster, the father of former national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Jr. After announcing the charges against Gainey, Attorney General Josh Shapiro brushed off questions about the potential for management's share in the responsibility for McMaster's death and laid the blame squarely on Gainey, who was employed by an outside agency. "Gainey could have saved Mr. McMaster's life had she simply done her job. Instead, she intentionally ignored her job responsibilities, falsified paperwork, and lied to her supervisors to cover up this inexcusable conduct," Shapiro said at a May 10 news conference. The report from the licensing survey, however, suggested that Cathedral Village, which is part of a continuing-care retirement community in the Upper Roxborough section of Philadelphia, was not properly managing some agency staff. Cathedral Village's acting administrator told surveyors on April 10 that seven different agency nurses from three different agencies worked at the facility on April 9 and April 10, but could not prove during the interview with surveyors that management had evaluated the skills of four of the seven outside nurses. Regulations say that nursing homes must "ensure that licensed nurses have the specific competencies and skill sets necessary to care for residents' needs." One of the outside workers, a licensed practical nurse, made seven medication errors on the morning of April 10, contributing to the facility's 19.44 percent medication error rate, far above the regulatory limit of 5 percent. The LPN told surveyors that she "never received an orientation" before working at the facility. "Obviously to me, from a compliance side, the most important thing is, before you let anybody on the floor you have orientation for staff that have not been in your building before, because your processes may be very different than others," said David R. Hoffman, a nursing home consultant and former federal prosecutor, speaking generally. It's not clear whether Gainey's skills had been evaluated before she worked at Cathedral Village. Gainey's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning. Her employer was General Healthcare Resources, of Plymouth Meeting. The Attorney General's office declined to comment on the health department's findings. "Our focus is on the criminal charges our office filed this month against Ms. Gainey for her role in causing Mr. McMaster's death," said spokesman Joe Grace. Cathedral Village, which is owned by Presbyterian Senior Living, did not respond to a request for comment on the licensing inspection. Among the other problems cited in the survey were failures to develop comprehensive care plans for residents, to ensure that residents' desires regarding advanced directives were reflected in physicians' records, and to accommodate residents' preferences for call-bell access and showering. A resident who requested two showers a week had received just one shower during the 2 weeks between his admission on March 22 and April 9. The resident told surveyors that "when he asks for a shower that he is provided with a basin of water." The one shower was provided by an occupation therapist aid. "This is a disturbing survey, although in line with what we have been seeing from this nursing home," said Sam Brooks, a senior lawyer at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. Brooks noted that the number of violations in Cathedral Village's annual survey had increased from two in 2014 and 2015 to 7 in 2016, 9 in 2017, and 13 this year, though he suspected that much of the increase could be attributed to better enforcement. Cherry Hill High School East, May 22, 2018. The principal apologized for language on prom tickets that told students to party like it was 1776. Read more The wording on tickets to Cherry Hill East's upcoming prom at the National Constitution Center invited students to "party like it's 1776." And therein lies the proverbial rub. The exhortation overlooked the fact that back in 1776, African Americans were enslaved. And let me tell you this: For black folks, there was no partying going on. For my ancestors and those of most other African Americans, that was a hellish time. As white Americans celebrated their independence from Britain which black soldiers helped them secure blacks were being held in the worst kind of captivity. And that, dear readers, is why eyebrows were raised at the wording on those prom tickets. I don't blame the students. They were just trying to be clever with their American independence prom theme. It was an innocent oversight and one that was deftly smoothed over by the school's principal, Dennis Perry, who on Friday wrote a letter of apology, saying "It was insensitive and irresponsible not to appreciate that not all communities can celebrate what life was like in 1776." Perry went on to write, "I especially apologize to our African American students, whom I have let down by not initially recognizing the inappropriateness of this wording." It was a valuable learning experience for the students but judging from some of the racial vitriol on social media, it's one that appears to have been lost on certain adults. One woman wrote, "1776!! JULY 4TH!!!! JULY 4 SHOULD NOT BE A HOLIDAY THEN!!!!" and then went to use an expletive and the N-word. "That was not the worst of them. There was one worse than that from a guy from Florida, and it was pornographic," said Pat McCargo, referring to remarks left on a Facebook page run by the Cherry Hill African American Civic Association, which has expressed concerns about the invitation's wording. One of my own Facebook friends surprised and disappointed me by her assertion that this was "PC bulls" and "bullying." When I told historian Hasan Kwame Jeffries of Ohio State University about her posting, he pointed out that this "isn't about political correctness, it's about historical accuracy." "The nation was founded on inequality," said Jeffries, who's the author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in America's Black Belt. "Those parents are right to question this. There was no party for black folks in 1776." Some slave owners promised freedom for Africans who fought on their side but reneged once the war was won. The British made similar overtures. But ultimately, the Revolutionary War wasn't about freedom for blacks just whites. Nearly a century would pass before the Emancipation Proclamation, which effectively ended slavery. And that is America's sad, sorry legacy. "It's funny because this school stumbled upon something that we, as a nation, have not reconciled," Jeffries said. "How do we deal with the idea that this nation was founded on inequality?" Just last year, the South Jersey school district found itself grappling with similar racial issues shortly before its award-winning production of Ragtime. A parent had complained about the show's use of the N-word, which prompted the civic association and the Camden County East branch of the NAACP to voice objections and petition the district to scrap the play. The district responded by developing a special curriculum to discuss race and the production's use of the slur. East's student population is predominantly white. As someone who has felt the sting of invisibility that comes with being a racial minority in a predominantly white high school, believe me when I tell you it's a lonely place to be. I wholeheartedly applaud the district's efforts to try to be sensitive to the needs of all of its students not just the ones in the racial majority. Cherry Hill East students will not be required to present tickets to gain admission to the prom this year. And Perry, the high school's principal, has promised to institute safeguards that would allow a diverse group of people to review information before it's released. The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass had this to say about 1776 and the nation's annual independence holiday: "What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? "To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass-fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages." So, party like it's 1776? Um, let's not. The Rev. Darron D. McKinney Sr., 35, (right) looks to Mayor Kenney (left) during McKinneys installation at the historic Bright Hope Baptist Church May 20, 2018. Read more The Rev. Darron D. McKinney Sr., known for his community development work and activism in Baltimore after a black man died from injuries in a police van there, was installed Sunday as the sixth senior pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church in North Philadelphia. McKinney, 35, was installed in a four-hour service that included speeches by Mayor Kenney, former Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr., Temple University president Richard Englert, State Rep. Curtis Thomas, and State Sen. Sharif Street. "This is one of the most beautiful and historic churches in the city," Kenney said of the 108-year-old church, once headed by former congressman the Rev. William H. Gray III, the last of three generations of the Gray family to head the institution at 12th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue, across from Temple. Both the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela have stood at its pulpit Mandela in July 1993, the year before he was elected the first black president of South Africa. Thomas noted Bright Hope's location, in a neighborhood that is quickly being gentrified. "Just preach the word, and the people in this community will be able to hold on to what God gave them 50 years ago and will not have to go through unnecessary transformation by people who don't have the same interests," Thomas advised. McKinney didn't return calls this week asking about his plans for Bright Hope. For more than six years, McKinney was pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in Baltimore. In interviews with the Philadelphia Sunday Sun, McKinney noted that the arrest of Freddie Gray, who died in April 2015 after being injured in a police van, occurred only a couple of blocks from his former church. After street violence broke out and businesses were damaged, he joined with other Baltimore clergy to write a letter calling for peace. "We met with the mayor, asking, how we can implement action plans, making sure that policies and police reform were implemented," McKinney told the newspaper. "We met with grassroots organizations to talk about how we can create a safe space for our citizens." He said his former church bought 30 parcels of land to build affordable housing and a community center, and the former police chaplain worked to help incarcerated people reenter society. The audience at his Sunday installation included a delegation of clergy members and friends from Baltimore and several family members from Tennessee. McKinney grew up in Memphis. This was yet another life cycle event of McKinney's in which the Rev. James L. Netters, 91, who preached the sermon, was involved: "I christened him when he was a baby, I baptized him, and I married him and his wife, BillieJo," Netters told the audience. Bright Hope had been without a pastor for more than three years. Its fifth pastor, the Rev. Kevin Johnson, resigned in 2014 after years of accusations by church officials and congregants, including that he refused to allow an audit of the church's finances, that he reneged on a promise not to be political when he announced a run for mayor, and that he failed to honor an agreement to include a charter school and community center in a development the church had partnered with the Goldenberg Group. With Johnson's departure, several Bright Hope members also left the church. Bright Hope officers hope to rebuild the church's membership with McKinney. "We have great work to do," McKinney said. "In fact, the world is watching us. [But] God is always on the side of the underdog, like David." 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. Barbara K. Altmann got her education at a large university in Alberta and spent much of her career at the University of Oregon, but saw firsthand through her oldest son the benefits of a small liberal arts college. Now, she's excited to take the helm of one. Altmann, provost at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., on Tuesday was named the next president of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster. In August, she will replace Daniel R. Porterfield, who is leaving to head the Aspen Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit that focuses on educational and policy studies. Altmann's oldest son, Leo, an electrical engineer, attended Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif., which seeks to give aspiring engineers, scientists, and mathematicians a strong liberal arts background. She said she was "blown away" by the college's program. And she said she thinks she would have found her own academic passion she's a scholar of French medieval language and literature sooner if she had attended a liberal arts college. It wasn't until her last semester as an undergraduate that she did. "It changed the course of my life at that point," said Altmann, 61, a native of Canada. "I decided at some point in my career, I would make a move to a liberal arts college, so that I could promote this kind of intense undergraduate education that we can do in the small schools, with really close working relationships between faculty and students." In his seven-year tenure at the 2,300-student college, Porterfield gained national attention for expanding access to education to more students from lower-income families. Under his leadership, the percentage of students eligible for federal Pell grants increased to nearly a quarter. He called the effort a talent initiative and said he wanted to find the best and brightest from all zip codes, economic means, and backgrounds. Altmann said she will aim to build on Porterfield's efforts, while focusing on promoting the college's strong academic base and enhancing the relationship between the college and the city of Lancaster. "Barbara Altmann is an exceptional teacher and scholar, a skilled and passionate advocate for the liberal arts and a leader of great depth who inspires the best in others," said Susan Washburn, chair of the college's board of trustees. Within two months of taking over, Altmann will oversee the public launch of the largest capital fundraising campaign in the college's history. It's not unfamiliar territory for her. She played a major role in Bucknell's recent $500 million fundraising campaign. Bucknell, with 3,600 students, also has a focus on liberal arts. In addition to fundraising, during her three-year tenure there she oversaw the launch of Bucknell's college of management. The daughter of German immigrants, she grew up in Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, and got a bachelor's degree in romance languages from the University of Alberta. Altmann received both her doctorate in medieval French language and literature and her master's from the University of Toronto. Though she's been in the United States for almost 30 years she remains a Canadian citizen, and is a permanent U.S. resident. She spent 25 years at Oregon, including roles as senior vice provost for academic affairs and director of the Oregon Humanities Center. Her love for language and appreciation of the rich foundation of the Middle Ages never wavered. "I'm a total language nerd," she said. "I just adore studying the older languages." Altmann is married to John T. Stacey, a psychologist, and has two grown sons. In addition to Leo, her other son, Amos Lachman, is a rapper who goes by the names Famo or @famodots. She and her husband plan to move to Lancaster this summer. Paul Frame shows emotion while speaking about his husband, who has been detained by ICE, as Miguel Andrade, Communications Manager of Juntos, back right, looks on at a press conference at the William Way Center in Center City. Read more Supporters are insisting that Jose "Ivan" Noe Nunez Martinez a gay man who was taken into custody while meeting with federal immigration authorities to try to resolve his status be freed immediately, or at least be given an opportunity to argue before a judge for his release. He's no threat to the community, they say, and the fact that his husband lives in the region makes him unlikely to flee. On Tuesday, leaders of Juntos, Galaei, and the ACLU joined immigrants and members of the LGBTQ community at the William Way LGBT Community Center in Center City to announce the filing of a federal complaint and begin a "Call to Action" for Martinez. They asked the public to phone the Philadelphia offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and demand that Martinez be let go. "Ivan's detention is a good example of unlawful and unjust action on the part of immigration authorities," said ACLU lawyer Golnaz Fakhimi, who along with immigration lawyer Audrey Allen is representing Martinez. The federal complaint seeks to end Martinez's nearly four-month detention, requesting the court to either immediately order his release or conduct a bond hearing, the attorneys said. A copy of the filing was not immediately available. In a statement, ICE officials said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. It said that Martinez was "unlawfully present in the United States," and had previously been removed from the country. "ICE deportation officers conduct enforcement actions every day around the country, including Pennsylvania, as part of the agency's ongoing efforts to uphold public safety and border security," the statement said. Martinez, 37, of Michoacan, Mexico, entered the country without documentation in 2001 and later married Paul Frame, an American citizen. On Jan. 31, the couple arrived at what they expected to be a routine interview with officials of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in West Philadelphia. "I thought we were going to be in and out in 20 minutes," Frame said on Tuesday. Instead, Frame and others said, ICE officers entered the room, locked Nunez in handcuffs and took him away. He remains at the York County Detention Center, where federal authorities frequently hold undocumented immigrants. "Paul, we stand in solidarity with you," said Chris Bartlett, executive director of the William Way Center. "I know how much he can contribute, and how much other immigrants who are behind bars can contribute, to our communities." Supporters say Martinez feared for his life after the murder of a gay friend and fled to the United States in 2001. In 2010, he returned to Mexico to see a sick family member. When Martinez attempted to re-enter the U.S., he was stopped at the border, briefly detained, then quickly sent back. That is so common at the border that people who are returned to Mexico often don't even realize the U.S. government may consider them deportees. Many attempt to return within a day or so, as did Martinez, this time successfully. In the U.S. his advocates said, Martinez lived a peaceful and productive life, working for a janitorial-service company and then at an auto body repair shop. In August 2014, he met and fell in love with Frame, and they married in April 2016. Undocumented immigrants who reenter the U.S. after being removed or deported can be charged with a felony offense, although that's rare. Nunez was never charged, and has no criminal record, his lawyers said. Frame earlier said that his husband was doing exactly what immigration critics demand, "getting in line" and filing papers to live here legally. The couple were at USCIS to continue petitioning for what is called an I-130 Form, for U.S. citizens or permanent residents who want to help a family member in this case, a spouse legally immigrate to the U.S. The interview was intended to confirm the validity of the couple's marriage, a routine step in the process. Officials at USCIS earlier said it is standard practice for the agency to notify ICE when people who come to the office have warrants of deportation or are in proceedings. A USCIS spokesperson on Tuesday said the agency could not comment on pending litigation. After Martinez was detained, he and Frame were approved for their I-130, attorney Gonzalo Peralta said. ICE officials earlier said that while the agency focuses on people who pose a threat, all those in violation of immigration laws may be subject to arrest, detention, and potential deportation. School Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. and Mayor Kenney say Council should approve nearly $700 million in new revenue for the district to fix school buildings, many of which are in poor shape. Read more Philadelphia needs to fix its aging, in some cases environmentally troubled, schools, and Mayor Kenney on Tuesday laid the responsibility for a new round of repairs and upgrades squarely on City Council's shoulders. Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said the Philadelphia School District needs to spend $150 million on repairs to its 300 buildings, including money for an expansion of a lead paint abatement program. To do so, the district is banking on almost $700 million in additional funding from the city proposed in Kenney's budget. Council, however, has publicly expressed qualms about fulfilling the mayor's full request for schools, which would almost certainly be tied to a property-tax hike. The mayor was clear at a news conference at Logan School, which has 330 students in kindergarten through fifth grade on Lindley Avenue near Ogontz Avenue. "It's up to elected adults to take care of our kids," said Kenney, adding that both Harrisburg and Washington have made it known they are not coming to the rescue. "Right now, only Philadelphia can secure this needed funding." The mayor's comments came as Council enters the final stretch of its budgeting season. On Thursday, the School District will pass its own budget for the next year. But it's up to Council to fund it, and that decision will come sometime in the next five weeks. Tuesday's news conference also came in the wake of an Inquirer and Daily News series detailing environmental hazards inside city schools. "Our buildings need to be safe, and that's an absolute must," Kenney said. "We can't allow our children to wait any longer." Hite said the series revealed "no surprise factor," that the environmental and structural challenges were well-known to the district, which has been hampered by budget woes over the last decade. "The health and safety of our students is fundamental and must be a basic expectation when we discuss funding for our schools. All students deserve to learn in clean, healthy, and inviting environments," Hite said. The superintendent said that in addition to expanding and accelerating lead-abatement efforts, the district would plan needed building improvements "at the neediest school buildings" sooner, and add projects to its five-year capital plan, for which it recently borrowed $275 million. Hite said the district made its plans assuming Kenney's full proposal would be passed. "Anything short of that naturally would put that at risk," said Hite. Logan was built in 1924, and according to the district's internal data, it is so decrepit it would be more cost-effective to replace it than to fix everything wrong with it. Logan isn't close to many recreation centers or playgrounds, so the three-acre school site is a hub, a designated city community school. There is a modest playground that children use with close teacher supervision, but principal Chuanika Sanders-Thomas said she worries about what happens when school is over and neighborhood kids are playing unsupervised. "We certainly need a lot of work done to the playground," said Sanders-Thomas. The school's lighting is dim, the paint in the vast, often-used auditorium is chipping in spots, and technology is hampered by the fact that the electrical system needs an upgrade. The bathrooms are original to the building, and badly outdated, Sanders-Thomas said. "You make it work, but there's a lot of things that go wrong in old buildings," the principal said. With the additional city funding, Logan would undergo major renovations, including installation of a new playground, bathroom renovations, removal of chipping and peeling paint, and electrical system upgrades. Richard Washington, Logan's community school coordinator, said the needs were clear. "Our kids are the ones who suffer when we don't do what it takes," Washington said. Responding to Kenney and Hite's statements, Council President Darrell L. Clarke said he had gotten mixed signals from the School District, adding that he had been told the money Council was being asked to authorize was for operations, not capital needs. "There are some concerns, frankly speaking, about how money gets spent [at the School District], on operating and on capital," Clarke said. Clarke continued to be a skeptic about the School District's need for the $700 million now, when it is not projecting a deficit for three years. "The first response to a fiscal challenge, be it capital or operating, shouldn't be to stick your hands in the taxpayers' pocket," he said. When Kenney pitched local control of city schools, he said it was time to end the cycle of the district's begging the city and state for funds every year. It is time, the mayor said, for the city to do what state and federal lawmakers have refused to do for years. But Clarke said, "The mayor was pretty much the only one saying that." Councilwoman Cindy Bass, whose district includes the neighborhood where Logan is located, said no one in Philadelphia wants to send children into schools with mold, leaking roofs, and water fountains with do-not-drink warning signs painted in red above them. "An investment in our kids is never going to be a bad investment," Bass said. "The safety of our kids is paramount." But, she said, there needs to be a conversation about how best to spend taxpayer money, pointing out that some schools are so rundown that it would take almost as much money to fix them as to build a new one. She said that city taxpayers already shoulder a heavy burden and that the state needs to step up financially in a "dramatic way." "Our kids deserve better, and we cannot and we should not allow [state leaders] to walk away from their responsibilities," Bass said. Staff writer Wendy Ruderman contributed to this article. A year after he requested to be traded, Mychal Kendricks was released by the Eagles on Tuesday. Before the team made the move official, Kendricks confirmed his release via text message, but the 27-year-old declined to go into detail about the circumstances. He later told former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho, who now works for ESPN, that he balked when asked to take a $4.5 million pay cut from his $6 million salary for 2018. The Eagles designated Kendricks' release as post-June 1, according to an NFL source, and thus will save $6 million from their salary cap this year. The remaining $1.6 million of his $7.6 million cap figure will count against next year's ledger. Kendricks hasn't been happy about his role with the Eagles for years, even before a new regime took over two years ago. But he saw his playing time drastically decrease after Jim Schwartz became defensive coordinator in 2016. The Eagles tried to trade him during the 2017 offseason, as per his request, asking for a fifth-round draft pick, but he remained on the roster. The decision to keep Kendricks paid off after Jordan Hicks suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture in October. He took Hicks' snaps in the Eagles' nickel defense, alongside fellow linebacker Nigel Bradham, and played consistently, if not as spectacularly as he did from 2013-15. The Eagles won the Super Bowl, of course, but that didn't stop Kendricks from being on the trading block this offseason. The Eagles signed Corey Nelson to one-year contract at the start of free agency, and when the former Broncos linebacker was asked where he would play, he said the team told him that he would compete for the weak-side spot Kendricks' position. A few weeks later during the owners meetings, Eagles executive Howie Roseman was asked Kendricks' future. "Mychal Kendricks is under contract. He played well for us last year," Roseman said. "These are questions that we go into every year, I feel like. So nothing's changed in regards to Mychal's status." But the Eagles were once again trying to deal Kendricks, according to several league sources. They just couldn't find a trade partner before or after the draft, and when organized team activities opened on Tuesday, he declined to take 75 percent pay cut. His market may not be significant, but he will likely earn more than that number with his next team. Kendricks was spotted walking in street clothes at the NovaCare Complex, but his absence at practice was initially attributed to the minor ankle surgery he underwent in March. News of his release, however, broke a few hours later after coach Doug Pederson and players had been made available to reporters. The Eagles had no comment beyond their announcement. They lost another linebacker earlier in the day when veteran Paul Worrilow tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. His season in likely over. Worrilow was signed this offseason to provide middle linebacker depth in light of Hicks' extensive injury history. While he plays a different spot than Kendricks in base personnel, the Eagles will need to further address the position. If Hicks, Bradham, and Nelson are to be the projected starters, Nate Gerry, Kamu Grugier-Hill, and Joe Walker are the current top reserves. Gerry could push Nelson. Veteran LaRoy Reynolds and rookie Asantay Brown are also on the roster. Kendricks spent six seasons in Philadelphia. Selected in the second round of the 2012 draft, he started from Day 1. He endured two scheme changes during his tenure moving from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in 2013 and back to a 4-3 in 2016 but his best moments came as a 3-4 inside linebacker alongside DeMeco Ryans. Freed to play in space, Kendricks recorded 336 tackles, 15 tackles for losses, eleven sacks, three interceptions and five forced fumbles during that span. But injuries, particularly of the soft-tissue kind, kept him out of the lineup for extended periods and when Schwartz came aboard he was nudged out by Bradham on passing downs. Kendricks played only 27 percent of the time in 2016 and even with 2017's uptick in snaps (59 percent), he failed to force a turnover in the last two seasons. Like many Americans, I am praying for the Texas families who woke up Saturday morning without their child, grandchild, or niece or nephew. These families have unwillingly joined the hundreds of other families around the nation who now live with the fact that their child was gunned down inside a school, and that their child is never coming back home from school for family dinner. This is a hole in their hearts that can never be replaced. I join with the many people in my community here in Philadelphia in saying that school safety needs to be a top priority for every elected official at the municipal, state, and federal levels. When it comes to school safety , I don't agree with the proposal of arming our teachers. Teachers are hired and trained to enrich the lives of our youth not to defend them with a firearm. Every teacher that I've talked to in Philadelphia is strongly opposed to keeping a firearm in the classroom. However, many agree with my idea of placing armed veterans inside of their schools to keep them safe. So here's my proposal: We have roughly 370,000 unemployed veterans in this country 59 percent between the ages of 25 and 54. Effective immediately, I propose that a minimum of two armed veterans be placed inside every school in America. Veterans fought for, defended, and love our country. Many of them are now back home after serving our country, without gainful employment. Don't you think veterans would welcome the opportunity to continue serving our country by protecting our children? I think the answer is a resounding yes. By placing battle-tested, militarily trained veterans inside of schools, several things would/should happen; Any would-be attacker will probably think twice about committing a murderous act if they know armed personnel inside the school have been trained on who to look for and how to handle the threat/attacker. I think our young people would benefit from being able to build a relationship/friendship with veterans inside of their school. Many young people don't understand what service means or how important it is to our society, whether it's community service to a nonprofit or service to our military. Service to others is an important character trait to learn while growing up. In the event an attacker does get past a veterans checkpoint, veterans are already on the scene, and their military training will immediately kick in to neutralize the threat. In the minutes it takes for police to arrive on the scene, these are minutes that our veterans can save lives and neutralize the threat(s). In addition to placing veterans inside schools, I am calling on the Department of Homeland Security to partner with local, state, and federal agencies to conduct security assessments of every school. Let's analyze the best way to to limit every school to one or two entry/exit locations during the school day. These are the locations where we will place the armed veterans. I'm not suggesting this is the end-all, be-all solution. But it does seem like a very practical and commonsense solution to keep our children safe. I implore all members of Congress to create legislation called the School Safety Act to provide federal funding to every school in America so it can immediately hire veterans to work in collaboration with local police to keep our children safe from further mass shootings. I typically am not one for suggesting any type of increase in federal spending, because federal spending is out of control. However, in this case, I would support new federal funding to safeguard our children and get our vets back to work. This is a no-brainer. The time to act is now, not tomorrow, or next week because if we keep talking about this without any actions then we are going to hear about another school shooting and that's something that no American should have to live with. No child or teacher or administrator should have to wake up and ask if today is the day a shooter comes into their school and guns them down. I think our children, their families, teachers, and administrators would feel very safe if we had our veterans inside of every school to protect them. Bryan Leib is the Republican nominee for Congress in Pennsylvania's Third District. Investigators at the scene where, authorities say, a Folcroft police officer fired at a homicide suspect who pointed a gun at him. Read more Law enforcement officials are looking for two men in a slaying in Chester who are later believed to have been involved in a shooting by a Folcroft Borough officer, who in an unrelated 2016 incident was wounded by gunfire. Officials said the series of events began with a fatal shooting in Chester on Monday morning. Two suspects escaped in an SUV with New York license plates. A short time later, officers in Folcroft pulled over a vehicle matching the description and the two men inside fled on foot. During the chase, police said, one of the men pointed a gun at Officer Christopher Dorman, who fired at the suspect. It is not clear if the suspect fired, and authorities did not say whether the suspect was struck by Dorman's gunfire. No officers were wounded. The two men were still being sought Tuesday. In June 2016, Dorman, then a 25-year-old part-time officer, was shot seven times when a drug suspect he was about to pat down pulled a gun and opened fire. Donte Brooks Island was sentenced last year to 33 to 100 years in prison for the shooting. In the Chester slaying, police released a cellphone photo of one of the suspects but provided no details about the crime. As is standard in such situations, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office is investigating the shooting by Dorman. An unidentified Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer reviews forms required to issue a detainer asking local law enforcement to hold someone until ICE agents can pick up the person, in this 2017 photo at the Pacific Enforcement Response Center in California. Read more Federal authorities say they arrested 49 immigrants in the Philadelphia region during a seven-day operation this month that targeted those who had committed crimes, faced pending criminal charges, or had previously been deported. Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said 14 of those arrests were of people who had been released from custody in Philadelphia despite having an ICE detainer lodged against them. In filing a detainer, ICE asks local authorities to hold someone until its agents can arrive to take custody. Philadelphia city government says it has no legal authority to hold anyone beyond the time of scheduled release. The city and federal governments are battling in court over whether Philadelphia, a so-called sanctuary city, must comply with ICE detainers. "Some of these dangerous individuals had been released to the streets instead of being turned over to ICE," Philadelphia Field Office acting director Gregory Brawley said in a statement, and that "compromises the safety of the homeland that ICE officers strive to protect every day." Mayor Kenney has strongly supported immigrants and condemned the Trump administration for its enforcement policies. He has said that the Police Department will not become an arm of federal immigration operations. ICE's own statement "again makes it clear that our policies do not impede that agency from doing its job of enforcing civil immigration laws and detaining its targets," said mayoral spokesman Mike Dunn. "Unfortunately, ICE's tactics of sweeping raids have the effect of sowing distrust and anxiety among members of our immigrant communities and make them less likely to trust any law enforcement, including our police." Juntos, the Latino advocacy organization, criticized President Trump and immigration authorities. "Under the current administration," said spokesman Miguel Andrade, "ICE has been given permission to go out and hunt down immigrants in these communities." In September, ICE carried out what it called "Operation Safe City" in 10 sanctuary-city jurisdictions around the country, taking away nearly 500 undocumented immigrants during a four-day sweep. The largest number of arrests took place in Philadelphia, with 107 people caught in an enforcement action that targeted cities and states that seek to protect undocumented residents, or at least treat them like everyone else who enters the justice system. ICE officials said Tuesday that from May 14 through Sunday they conducted a "targeted enforcement operation," rejecting the words sweep or raid. Their statement did not name those who were arrested, as is ICE practice. Officials said 14 were previously released from Philadelphia custody; 17 had criminal convictions; 14 have pending criminal charges; six had illegally re-entered the country after being removed; and 14 had outstanding final orders of removal. ICE officials said those included: A 52-year-old Mexican man unlawfully present in Philadelphia who had been arrested by Philadelphia police and charged with simple assault and terroristic threats. He will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings. A 40-year-old, previously deported Jamaican man in Philadelphia. He was arrested by Philadelphia police after a bench warrant was issued on charges of presenting false ID to law enforcement. He has a conviction for possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He is to remain in ICE custody pending removal. A 40-year-old, previously deported Dominican man in Philadelphia. He had a conviction for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute heroin. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal. A 22-year-old Colombian man in Philadelphia who had a conviction for aggravated assault. He will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings. A 35-year-old unlawfully present Mexican man in Philadelphia who has pending criminal charges in the city for aggravated and simple assault. He will remain in ICE custody pending proceedings. Erika Almiron, executive director of Juntos, said ICE mischaracterized some of those it arrested. "Do not buy their lies," she tweeted. "They criminalize our community and refer to us as animals." She said one of those arrested was a church band leader who was stopped on his way to a spiritual retreat with his wife, a U.S. citizen. Also arrested was a man who was inside a Philadelphia court for a pending case, who has no criminal background but does have a wife who is seven months pregnant, she said. ICE officials said in a statement that the agency does not conduct "sweeps, checkpoints or raids that target aliens indiscriminately," and that this operation targeted "public safety threats." "Reports to the contrary create panic and put communities and law-enforcement personnel in unnecessary danger," the statement said. "Any groups falsely reporting such activities are doing a disservice to those they claim to support." Lawyer Aaron Schlossberg (center), the man who ranted against people speaking Spanish in a Midtown restaurant, takes a cellphone video of reporters as he leaves his home in Manhattan, New York, on Thursday, May 17, 2018. Read more Aaron Schlossberg, the Haverford School alumnus and New York lawyer propelled to ignominy after a video showed him making xenophobic remarks at a deli, apologized Tuesday in a brief statement, saying the video did not depict the "real me." Schlossberg said he regretted the hurt he had caused, apologized for the way he expressed himself, and said he was not a racist, but stopped short of disavowing specifics about his remarks. "To the people I insulted, I apologize," Schlossberg wrote in a statement posted to Twitter and LinkedIn. "Seeing myself online opened my eyes the manner in which I expressed myself is unacceptable and is not the person I am. I see my words and actions hurt people, and for that I am deeply sorry." He said that he loved New York for its diversity and "because of immigrants and the diversity of cultures immigrants bring to this country." The video became a sensation on social media last week amid the polarizing national debate about race, identity and immigration that has churned so loudly since President Trump's election. Schlossberg attended the Main Line school from 1983 to 1994, according to his LinkedIn page. >>READ MORE: Aaron Schlossberg, lawyer in racist video, 'was always a jerk,' Haverford classmate says Schlossberg berated a manager at a deli in Midtown Manhattan because staffers were speaking Spanish to customers "when they should be speaking English," he said. He threatened to call immigration enforcement authorities on the employees, alleging with no evidence beyond the language they were speaking that they were not legal residents of the country. "My guess is they're not documented, so my next call is to ICE to have each one of them kicked out of my country," he said. "If they have the balls to come here and live off my money I pay for their welfare. I pay for their ability to be here. The least they can do the least they can do is speak English." Schlossberg instantly became a subject of infamy on social media and in the news. Reporters in New York pursued him, confronting him as he hid under an umbrella, during an appearance at a courthouse, and on the street. But he declined to answer their questions or apologize for his statements. And video emerged that, other news organizations said, depicted him in previous heated political confrontations: cursing and yelling at an alt-right affiliated protest, yelling at demonstrators while wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat in front of Trump Tower, and calling a stranger, a YouTube vlogger, an "ugly foreigner" with an expletive thrown in. Many noticed that his website notes that he speaks Spanish, and also has a phone service set up to serve potential clients in Spanish as well as other languages. Schlossberg, whose website says he has expertise in commercial and insurance law, was also targeted in a complaint filed by two Democratic elected officials, Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who said they believed as a lawyer, he deserved to be reprimanded by the court system for the behavior depicted in the video. The New York State Court's rules of professional conduct stipulate that lawyers can face consequences for various types of misconduct, including engaging "in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice," stating or implying an ability to improperly influence any legislative body or public official, discriminating in the hiring, promoting or determining of other employment issues in the practice of law, and engaging "in any other conduct that adversely reflects on the lawyer's fitness as a lawyer." Bucks County Detective David Coyne walks near a ground-penetrating radar machine minutes before using it to search outside the ruins of the Fonder familys home in Springfield Township. Edward Fonder III disappeared from the home in 1993 and hasnt been heard from since. Read more A steady rain beat down on two Bucks County investigators Tuesday as they scoured the ruins of a murderer's home for any sign of a man who hasn't been seen in 25 years. Detectives from the county paid a visit to the former residence of Edward Fonder III, an 80-year-old who was reported missing from rural Springfield Township in 1993. Ultimately, after about 30 minutes of scanning the foundation of Fonder's recently demolished home with ground-penetrating radar, the detectives came up empty. At least for the time being. "While this is, of course, superficially disappointing you always want to hit pay dirt if there is pay dirt to be found this is a process of elimination," Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said at the scene. "This is a very old case. We have a lot more ground to cover. This is a huge property." Interest in the cold case was reignited this year after John Brunner, a longtime neighbor of the Fonder family, purchased its 12 acres of land and gave investigators full run of the property. The homestead had gained infamy even after Fonder's disappearance: His daughter, Mary Jane, was convicted in 2008 of the murder of a fellow churchgoer. Weintraub said nothing "obvious" stood out to detectives Tuesday as they used the radar, on loan from the Middle Atlantic Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network in Newtown. The device, about the size of a lawnmower, was set to detect displacements in the packed earth a maximum of five feet below the surface. After more carefully reviewing the data from the radar, Weintraub said the investigators may return with metal detectors and possibly heavy construction equipment to break apart the concrete slab that Fonder's house formerly sat upon. "We're disappointed but undaunted," he said. "We'll keep going." Weintraub praised Brunner, whom he called a "good Samaritan" who has provided unfettered access to the county investigators. "Without a search warrant, without probable cause, we had no way of getting back on this property," Weintraub said. "This has been a mystery for 25 years, so it's great to revisit it while we can, to strike while the iron is hot, so to speak. "Hopefully we can keep striking until we find something, or settle this mystery one way or another," he added. Brunner, in an interview last week, said he purchased the Fonder property through a lawyer to whom Fonder's children had granted power of attorney. He took her up on the offer to buy it, he said, partially to increase his privacy along the road he's lived on since the 1970s, but also because he has his own questions about Fonder's fate. "Someone out there is guilty, and they need to be held responsible," Brunner, 75, said. "Make no mistake, he was murdered. He didn't walk away, and he ain't missing. No one deserves that." Officially, Fonder's disappearance is not considered a homicide. He was declared legally dead in 2000, under a Pennsylvania law that makes such rulings mandatory. Still, neighbors say the retired machinist struggled to walk after two hip replacements and doubt he could have wandered too far from his home years ago. Weintraub shares that belief, calling it "common sense," as he detailed the further resources his office plans to devote to the search on the property. "I'm hoping at some point that we can either find Mr. Fonder or completely eliminate this property as the location of his death, one way or another," he said. So far, he hasn't received any help from the last person to see Fonder alive: His daughter. Mary Jane Fonder, now serving a life sentence at the State Correctional Institution at Muncy, has declined to speak with investigators about her father's disappearance in light of the renewed search of her former home, Weintraub said. In 2008, Fonder murdered Rhonda Smith in the false belief she had been having an affair with a Lutheran preacher with whom Fonder was infatuated. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) and incoming Central Intelligence Agency director Gina Haspel listen to President Trump during a swearing-in ceremony at CIA Headquarters, Monday, May 21, 2018, in Langley, Va. Read more LANGLEY, Va. As he participated in the swearing-in of his new CIA director on Monday, President Trump acknowledged the difficulties that Gina Haspel's nomination had faced but said her strong performance at her confirmation hearing turned things around. "It took courage for her to say 'yes' in the face of a lot of very negative politics and what was supposed to be a negative vote," Trump said at a ceremony at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. "But I'll tell you, when you testified before the committee, it was over. There was not much they could say." The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Haspel's nomination, 54-45, despite lingering concerns about the role she played in the brutal interrogation of suspected terrorists captured after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Haspel, who succeeds Mike Pompeo, Trump's new secretary of state, is the first woman to lead the CIA. Trump noted the milestone in his remarks, adding: "That's big." Trump praised Haspel, who rose through the ranks at the CIA, as "someone who has served this agency with extraordinary skill and devotion" for 30 years. "Our enemies will take note," Trump said. "Gina is tough, she is strong, and when it comes to defending America, Gina will never, ever back down." Trump had wavered in his backing for Haspel, at times expressing doubt in private meetings about whether she had the support to win confirmation, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Earlier this month, Haspel sought to withdraw after some White House officials worried that her involvement in the CIA's interrogation program could derail her chances. Trump decided to push for Haspel to stay in the running, after first signaling he would support whatever decision she made, administration officials said. In late 2002, Haspel, then a senior leader at the Counterterrorism Center, managed a secret detention facility in Thailand where two al-Qaeda suspects were waterboarded (one of them before Haspel's arrival). During her confirmation hearing, Haspel insisted she would never allow torture at the CIA again, and she said she would be guided in the future by her own "moral compass." But she resolutely avoided saying whether, at the time, she thought the secret detention and "enhanced interrogation" of suspected terrorists was moral. From the moment she was nominated to succeed Pompeo, Haspel had faced major confirmation hurdles. Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) announced from the outset that he would oppose her, while she faced deep skepticism from Democrats and other Republicans for her role in the enhanced interrogation program during the administration of George W. Bush. Haspel, however, sailed through her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee without any major slip-ups, and former defense and intelligence officials under the Obama administration mounted a campaign to persuade swing Democratic votes. On Thursday, six Democratic senators supported her nomination, and two Republicans voted against her Paul and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake. During remarks after she was sworn in Monday by Vice President Pence, Haspel noted that "it has been nearly 50 years since an operations officer rose up through the ranks" to become CIA director. After her two-month-long confirmation battle, Haspel added: "I think I know why that is." "I want each of you to know that I took on the position of director because I want to represent you, as well as lead you," Haspel said to CIA employees present at the ceremony. "I want the current CIA leadership team to be role models and mentors for our next generation of officers." Former senior intelligence officials attended the swearing-in ceremony, but former CIA Director John Brennan was not invited, according to people familiar with the matter. Brennan, who led the agency during President Barack Obama's administration, has become a fierce and vocal critic of Trump, accusing him of behavior that he recently characterized as "self-serving" and dangerous to democracy. In various tweets in recent weeks, Brennan has called Trump a hypocrite and a liar. On Sunday, Brennan called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) to prevent the president from ordering a Justice Department investigation into the probe of his presidential campaign's contacts with Russia. "If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy," Brennan wrote in a tweet. On Monday morning, Trump, in an apparent response, alleged that Brennan had orchestrated the Russia investigation as a "political hit job" against the president. (There is no evidence that Brennan was the source of the investigation.) Trump was quoting Dan Bongino, a former U.S. Secret Service agent and frequent Fox News commentator. The Washington Post's Shane Harris and Karoun Demirjian contributed to this article. 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. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has not been keeping quiet lately when it comes to Robert Mueller's investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. During a recent appearance at the University of Chicago, Christie said President Trump hadn't been doing himself any favors in bringing the special counsel's probe to an end. "I've told him many times that there's no way to make an investigation like this shorter, but there's lot of ways to make it longer and he's executed on a number of those ways to make it longer," Christie said. The former governor, who left office in January, also called Mueller an "honest" and "hard working guy" and said "you can't argue the investigation hasn't been effective so far," The Hill reported. The Mueller investigation, which hit the one-year mark last week, has resulted in charges against 19 people and three businesses, and five people have pleaded guilty. In a separate interview on Showtime's "The Circus," Christie also discussed the investigation with host John Heilemann. In that conversation, Christie also touched on Bridgegate a scandal that Christie was not charged in but did little to help his own campaign for the presidency calling the attention he received "very analogous" to the Trump-Russia probe. "You're being followed everywhere, and screamed at and yelled at with questions, charges and all this," he said. "And then the issue of continuing to run the government, and not only keeping yourself focused but keeping everybody else focused on the mission, which is not dealing with your crisis. It's hard, it's really hard." Christie called his experience "incredibly frustrating." Over the weekend, the president once again took to Twitter to comment on investigation, calling it a "witch hunt" and demanding the Department of Justice look into whether the FBI "infiltrated or surveilled" 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," Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement, according to the Washington Post. This is a story about a shadowy world of international lobbying, a seven-figure payoff, abortion, the man who calls himself Donald Trump's "consigliere," a pedophile posing with the president and Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for November 2010 and November 2011. Did I get your attention? Good. Because there may be even more to this story a lot more. Some of the bombshell evidence is acknowledged fact. But some of it and this is important to say up front is speculationwell-informed speculation, but speculation nonetheless. How much of the current theorizing about the big-bucks influence-seeker, Elliott Broidy; the Playboy model, Shera Bechard; and the 45th president of the United States is fact and how much is fiction might determine the future of the most outlandish presidency in American history. The story begins but maybe doesn't end with Broidy, a 60-year-old, L.A.-based politically connected venture capitalist who virtually no one in America had heard about until a few weeks ago. By hitching his political wagon to the unexpected rise of Donald Trump, Broidy quickly soared to become a deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee, further raising the profile of his business ventures. In the last few weeks, a slew of investigative reporting by the Associated Press and elsewhere have painted a troubling picture of Broidy's apparent connection to authoritarian states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and his influence with Team Trump. On Monday, the AP threw open a wide window on efforts involving Broidy and George Nader the man who, as an emissary of the princes running the UAE and Saudi Arabia, went to Trump Tower in August 2016 and told Donald Trump Jr. that the two Gulf states wanted to help elect his dad president to leverage their clout with the new administration. Broidy is said to have met Nader at Trump's inauguration and the two influence-seekers apparently hit it off. In early 2017, Nader's business in the UAE wired Broidy $2.5 million that was funneled through a Canadian firm to help bankroll a public-relations campaign aimed at disrupting America's longstanding relationship with Qatar base for about 11,000 U.S. troops, but increasingly an enemy of the rival Saudis and the UAE. As noted in this space the last time out, by spring 2017 Trump was going on Twitter to accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and suggesting the White House was A-OK with a Saudi-UAE-led blockade of the tiny nation. The web of intrigue involving Broidy, Nader, Team Trump and the two powerful Gulf states grew more intricate as 2017 progressed. According to the AP report, Broidy and Nader had been promised a whopping $1 billion payoff from their clients in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Meanwhile, Broidy gained an Oval Office audience with Trump last October, where he pushed various schemes including a discreet meeting between the American president and the prince of Abu Dhabi (part of the UAE). But his associate Nader wanted even more. He wanted to prove his clout by getting his picture with Trump a seeming impossibility, since Nader is also a known pedophile who was convicted on child sexual-abuse charges in the Czech Republic in 2003. But somehow the Trump-Nader picture happened, and a few weeks later Broidy gave $189,000 to the Republican National Committee, much more than he'd ever donated in the past and also exactly in the range of what Broidy had estimated it would take to get a picture with the president. Broidy's donation to the RNC came on November 30, 2017. Just two days later, he gained a second one-on-one meeting with Trump, where he relayed flattering words from the Gulf states and their support for the work Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner was doing on a Middle East peace plan. A short time later, the UAE agreed to a whopping $600 million contract with a Broidy intelligence firm, and according to the AP the first check for $36 million would arrive in January of this year. So what we have so far is a sordid tale of oil-soaked money and the nation's highest office but there is also a bizarre twist. Last month, FBI agents raided the offices and home of Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. It was an explosive turn in the ongoing probes of the Trump administration, and just four days after the raid came an out-of-left-field revelation. Broidy confirmed to Wall Street Journal that he had hired Cohen in order to negotiate and handle a $1.6 million payoff to the Playboy model, Bechard, with whom the California financier said he'd had an affair, as well as a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) intended to keep the matter secret. Broidy even issued a public statement in which he apologized to his wife of 25 years and to his family and said of Bechard an ex-girlfriend of the iconic Playboy founder Hugh Hefner that "she alone decided that she did not want to continue with the pregnancy, and I offered to help her financially during this difficult period." It was kind of a weird one-day headline Elliott Broidy wasn't exactly a household name and most everybody moved on. But the omnipresent Michael Avenatti, lawyer for the adult-film star Stormy Daniels with whom Cohen had negotiated a $130,000 payoff and NDA, but for Donald Trump went on MSNBC to suggest there was more to this saga. "I think at some point we are going to find out, if in fact the client in connection with the [$1.6 million] settlement was, in fact, Mr. Broidy," he said. "I'm going to leave it at that." Paul Campos, a University of Colorado law professor, than published a theory on the pages of New York magazine: That the man who'd had an affair with Shera Bechard was not Broidy but the president of the United States. After all, it is Trump and not the long-married father Briody who'd once been close friends with Bechard's ex-paramour Hefner and used to hang out at the Playboy Mansion. And the details a young sex symbol, the possibility of unprotected sex as Trump supposedly had with Stormy Daniels sounded like the president's past M.O. Is such speculation fair, considering Broidy's very public and even embarrassing confession? But other good questions kept piling up. Why did the NDA use the exact same fake names David Dennison and Peggy Peterson as the pact between Trump and Daniels (whose real name is Stephanie Clifford)? For that matter, how did Broidy know to go to Cohen, who apparently had not done legal work for him before? Why did Bechard use the same attorney Keith Davidson initially used by Stormy Daniels and also Karen McDougal, another Playboy model who was paid $150,000 by the National Enquirer in what's now believed to be a scheme to bury her story? And what about Broidy's past? In 2009, he'd pleaded guilty in a $1 million New York State bribery scandal, involving government pension funds, to charges that were eventually knocked down to a misdemeanor because of Broidy's cooperation with prosecutors. Part of that plea was that he'd paid $90,000 to cover the rent and hospital bills for a girlfriend of one of the state officials he was seeking to influence. Now, the AP story, which lays bare the extent of Broidy's efforts to curry favor with the president, also casts the Shera Bechard saga in a whole new light. We now know that that the first installment of Broidy $1.6 million-over-two-years payments to the Playboy model was made last December 1 one day after his $189,000 check to the RNC and one day before his second Oval Office confab with Trump. Is the timing a remarkable coincidence, or does it somehow tie into the anxiety of Broidy and his new partner Nader to strengthen their bond with the White House at the very moment that the $1 billion payday of a lifetime was on the line, halfway around the world? These are questions that special counsel Robert Mueller needs to be answering, and my strong hunch is that he's working on it. It's quite possible that Broidy's explanation for this bizarre though it may seem is true. Maybe a man about to become a billionaire in a business deal thought that $1.6 million to make a messy personal problem go away was a good investment. But what if the Paul Campos theory is correct, and Shera Bechard was yet another mistress of President Trump? If so, one could understand why her silence would be worth more than 10X the silence of Stormy Daniels. For one thing, Trump's encounter with the adult-film star was more than a decade ago, while the Bechard episode appears to coincide more closely with his rise to the presidency. More important. perhaps, is the matter of who really paid for Bechard to terminate her pregnancy right at the same time that Trump was vowing politically to strip women of their reproductive rights? All of which points to the biggest question of all looming over the Trump era: Does any of this even matter? Let's just say out loud the worst-case scenario: What if influence-seekers paid a huge sum of money to benefit the president by silencing his mistress and paying for her abortion, in return for access to influence U.S. policy on behalf of autocratic foreign governments? Would the current GOP-led Congress even care? Could prosecutors even make a bribery case, given the way that the Roberts Supreme Court has thoroughly gutted U.S. anti-corruption laws? There's one woman who could tell us a lot about just how bad this is, or, conversely, whether there's nothing much to it. But Shera Bechard has been paid big money to keep her mouth shut. Of course, that didn't stop either Daniels or McDougal from eventually going on network television to tell all or most of their stories. When the tale of Broidy's payment first broke, Bechard shut down her Twitter account, but she recently turned it back on for a tantalizing retweet. Like so much else in our hellish reality show, stay tuned. 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." Councilwoman Cherelle Parkers resolution proposes formation of a task force including the police, the courts, the criminal justice community, and homeowner and tenant advocates. Read more Recently introduced in Philadelphia City Council was legislation to curb "criminal and defiant trespassers," also known as "squatters." While Bill 180430 is well-intended, it will have major negative and unintended consequences, allowing bad actors to displace lawful residents and wrongfully take possession of a property. The bill will allow unscrupulous landlords most troubling, those without required rental licenses to avoid the lawful, established eviction process and remove residents from their homes with only five days' notice by falsely branding tenants as squatters. Tenants often have oral leases or do not have access to proof that they have a lease, and with this expedited process could quickly find themselves homeless when they are wrongfully accused of being squatters. The bill also does nothing to protect tenants who have been scammed by fraudsters who rent properties they do not own. Community Legal Services of Philadelphia lawyers who serve tenants in the city often come across cases where someone will say he or she owns an empty property, "rents" the property to an unsuspecting tenant who thinks the rental is legitimate, and then disappears after receiving the security deposit and several months' rent. This bill criminalizes victims of fraud by placing them squarely within the category of "criminal and defiant trespassers." Additionally, victims of domestic violence and elder abuse can be harmed by the bill, which will give abusers a way to assert economic control over their victims. Often in situations of domestic violence and elder abuse, the abuser will ensure that his or her name is the sole signature on a deed, another form of control over a victim. The victim may have few, if any, documents linking him or her to the residence often because the abuser hid or destroyed any other documents that existed. Under this bill, an abuser could merely allege that the victim is a squatter and take advantage of a fast-track eviction process. An abuser also could use the threat of homelessness as a way to coerce a victim. >> READ MORE: Unfair eviction hurts everyone; here's how Philly can overcome the crisis | Opinion The bill also oversimplifies who is or is not a lawful occupant and does not adequately protect legal and equitable owners. The bill assumes that people with the right to be in a property will naturally have written documents to prove their rights, and that those documents are readily available to the occupant. In many cases, these assumptions are incorrect. People who would be harmed by this bill include heirs stymied by Philadelphia's tangled title epidemic, victims of forged deeds, homeowners trying to resolve back taxes, and people who find out that an installment sales agreement signed by a previous owner remained valid. Finally, the bill violates the Pennsylvania Constitution's provisions for separation of powers by imposing procedures on the courts. As an independent branch of government, only the court system can set its procedures. While we do not believe that the existing criminal laws need to be changed, we agree that there is a need to review current procedures in order to prevent irreparable harm to homeowners who are victimized by criminal trespassers. We support a resolution sponsored by Councilwoman Cherelle Parker passed on May 3 that proposes formation of an inter-agency task force, including the police, the courts, the criminal justice community, and homeowner and tenant advocates to propose improvements to the current system. Bill 180430, on the other hand, would ensnare many Philadelphia citizens who do not fit the very narrow category of "trespassers" targeted by the legislation. Those innocent individuals and families would be classified as criminals and forcibly removed from their homes. This bill plainly undermines recent efforts by Council to protect tenants at risk of eviction and homeowners at risk of losing their homes due to delinquent property taxes. Council should not support any legislation that would so clearly hurt law-abiding citizens they serve. Rasheedah Phillips is the managing attorney of the Housing Unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. rphillips@clsphila.org. Santa Fe High School junior Guadalupe Sanchez, 16, cries in the arms of her mother, Elida Sanchez, following the mass shooting Friday that left 10 people dead. Read more Quiet. Hear that? Not if you're listening for the sound of gun laws being changed so children will not be shot to death in America's schools. School massacres have become so frequent that there was a noticeable absence of the strong reactions expected after 10 students and adults were killed by a 17-year-old shooter last week in Santa Fe, Texas. Even newspaper editorial pages that typically rage after such tragedies were mostly silent, as if they too are tired of repeating the same calls for reform to no avail. Celebrities who in an earlier time might not speak their mind have become more outspoken in the age of Twitter. "Our children have come to expect gun violence in their schools," tweeted the actress Julianne Moore. "Our leaders should be ashamed. #NoNRA" "Sending all of my love to the students and families in Santa Fe, Texas," tweeted Ellen DeGeneres. "We can do better than this." The entertainers' tweets were more compassionate than those of another TV celebrity, President Trump, who initially tweeted: "School shooting in Texas. Early reports not looking good. God bless all!" He might as well have been giving a weather report. Ditto Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), who, along with his prayers, tweeted this advice to Santa Fe High students, "Please be safe and heed warnings from local officials." Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick opined that schools with fewer doors and more metal detectors were needed. "There are too many entrances and too many exits," said Patrick, in his best impersonation of a prison warden. That's the type of rhetoric being spouted by elected officials who have no intention of significantly changing gun laws. They have surrendered to the National Rifle Association. They were no more inspired to act after the killing of 10 people at Santa Fe High School than they were after 17 people died at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., or when 26 people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. The battle for gun reform must not end in defeat. Assault weapons should be banned; and gun owners should be held responsible for their guns. Texas is one of only 14 states that make parents liable when their children take guns from home to commit crimes. But, ironically, Texas law doesn't apply to children over 16, like Santa Fe shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17. Schoolchildren dying in a hail of gunfire hasn't motivated elected officials to change gun laws. But voters at the polls this year can let the politicians know they remember what happened at Sandy Hook, Stoneman Douglas, and Santa Fe schools, and that incumbents should remember too if they want to be reelected. Scientists arent the only ones excited about new bootprints in the lunar dust. During a special session commemorating the success of Apollo 17, former NASA Flight Director Gerry Griffin described how the missions flight directors gathered in Mission Control as the capsule sped back to Earth. With humanitys last planned Moon landing complete, they expected astronauts to be on Mars within 20 years. Obviously, that didnt happen. As a result, NASAs expertise in planetary surface exploration has been lost over time. "A return to the Moon," Griffin says, "will allow us to get our deep space mojo back before a return to Mars." Moonwalker Jack Schmitt, who routinely contributes to sessions at LPSC by offering his first-hand insights into lunar geology, agreed. "The Moon allows us to practice for Mars while doing valuable science." Preparing for a new era of lunar exploration "Destination: Moon" is all well and good, but how do we prepare astronauts to be as effective as possible when they finally touch down on the dusty surface? The answer is, not surprisingly, practice! Just as the Moon will be an excellent training ground for Mars, extreme environments here on Earth are great places to test out hardware and techniques for exploring other worlds. Analogs are environments simulating various aspects of spaceflight. NASA uses extreme environments like the seafloor, remote caves, or the windblown ice sheets of Antarctica as analogs for life in space. In these environments, astronauts and ground teams learn both operational and technological lessons that enable more productive exploration of planetary surfaces. Operational lessons relate to the way spaceflight is managed. How should astronauts prioritize their time? Whats the best way for scientists on Earth to communicate their needs to a crew in space? When a decision must be made, which mission goals are most important? During analog missions in an environment similar to spaceflight, astronauts learn to answer these questions while investigating an area of genuine scientific interest or testing out new technology for exploring planetary surfaces. One such operational analog is the European Space Agencys CAVES program (LPSC Abstract 1458; CAVES being a wonderfully reverse-engineered acronym for "Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behavior and performance Skills"), which prepares astronauts for planetary surface exploration by setting them loose to explore a network of caves in Sardinia, Italy. After several days of skills training, the program culminates in a multi-day underground excursion during which the astronauts explore the caves independently, putting their scientific exploration skills to the test. According to CAVES instructor Francesco Sauro, the expeditions are already revealing useful tricks that will lead to more fruitful exploration of the Moon (and eventually Mars). For example, it turned out that astronaut crews were able to conduct better, faster exploration when they were given daily objectives but not a precise schedule; greater flexibility resulted in greater scientific return. The program also emphasized the value of mixed teams. Mauro explains that different astronaut personality types complement each other during independent exploration: in general, pilot astronauts focus on safety and planning, but can get carried away exploring without documenting their findings; Scientist-astronauts focus on the measurements, but can get hyper-focused on a single, interesting area and lose track of time. A Baltimore County police officer has died after she was struck Monday afternoon while responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle in suburban Perry Hall, according to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. A Baltimore County Police Department spokesperson confirmed the officer would have been a four-year veteran of the force in July. Shawn Vinson, the police department's spokesman, said law enforcement agencies are searching for at least one suspect. The officer hasn't been identified, CBS News reports. "She was doing her job today ... and was critically injured from this altercation," Vinson said. "We are talking to witnesses and trying to find out what happened." The officer was responding to the suspicious vehicle report at around 2 p.m., when the shooting occurred, according to police. The officer was transported to MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, about seven miles away, but did not survive. Hogan announced her death in a tweet Monday afternoon. Officer Ayrian Williams (Photo: Monroe PD) A Monroe, LA, police officer was killed Monday evening in a patrol vehicle crash. Officer Ayrian Williams was traveling to provide another officer assistance when she attempted to dodge a hazard in the road, lost control of her vehicle, and struck a tree. She was transported to St. Francis Medical Center and pronounced dead. Williams started working at the MPD on Nov. 15. After she completed her training phase, she was assigned to the patrol division and had worked as a patrol officer for the past four months. "She was an LSU graduate. She could have gone anywhere, but she came to the MPD, and she became a Monroe Police officer. She chose the city of Monroe as her new home and her new community, and for that we thank her," Chief Eugene Ellis said. North Carolina State Trooper Samuel Bullard died after crashing during a high-speed chase while pursuing a suspect Monday night. Bullard was 24 years old, reports WFMY. North Carolina State Trooper Samuel Bullard died after crashing during a high-speed chase. (Photo: NC Highway Patrol/Twitter) Elkin police said the wreck happened near the NC Highway 67 exit on I-77 south. Trooper P.E. Ellis and Bullard were pursuing a suspect that failed to stop at a driver's license checkpoint as a chase began in Surry County. Police say at one point, one trooper noticed Bullard was no longer following him and turned around to see Bullard's car engulfed in flames. The trooper couldn't rescue Bullard, a three-year Highway Patrol veteran. North Carolina Trooper Samuel Newton Bullard was killed in a pursuit crash Monday night. (Photo: NCHP/Twitter) A North Carolina trooper was killed in a crash on Interstate 77 southbound in Yadkin County Monday night. The deceased trooper has been identified as Samuel Newton Bullard, of Wilkes County. He was a three-year veteran assigned to Surry County. The crash happened around 11:30 p.m. Monday after a pursuit. A North Carolina Highway Patrol spokesperson told Fox 8 the chase started with a license check. During the chase, Trooper P.E. Ellis noticed he did not see Trooper Bullard's patrol car behind him. When his attempt at contacting Bullard failed, Ellis turned around and found the patrol car engulfed in flames. On Tuesday, police were looking for the two occupants of the car that fled the checkpoint. They were identified as 22-year-old Dakota Kape Whitt and 19-year-old Michaela Cheyenne Harrison. A $1,500 reward is being offered for information leading to the suspects' capture, according to the North Carolina Troopers Association Facebook page. Officer First Class Amy Caprio was killed responding to a burglary call Monday. (Photo: Baltimore County PD/WBAL) Baltimore County, MD, police said a 16-year-old has been arrested and charged as an adult in the death of a police officer on Monday, and three other suspects all teenage males were in custody Tuesday morning, reports the Baltmore Sun. Dawnta Harris, 16, has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death of Officer First Class Amy Caprio, charging documents state, reports WBAL. The documents say Caprio was responding to a call around 2 p.m. Monday on Linwen Way to investigate a suspicious vehicle in the area. A 911 caller reported a black Jeep Wrangler near her home, and said three "suspicious subjects got out of it and were walking around homes." The caller then said the suspects had broken into the home, and that the first arriving officer was on the ground after confronting the driver of the Jeep, reports the Baltimore Sun. The Jeep was later found abandoned nearby, in front of a home in Nottingham, and officers located Harris about a block from where the Jeep was parked, the documents said. Harris was later interviewed at police headquarters, where he admitted to investigators that he was sitting in the driver seat while the three other suspects committed a burglary. He told officers he saw Caprio drive up the block and that she got out of her car and demanded that he get out of the Jeep. Instead, he "drove at the officer," the documents said. A source familiar with the case said the officer's body camera video gives a clear view of her standing in the street as the vehicle comes at her. She fired one shot and got hit by the vehicle and was thrown, reports WBAL. On Monday, police said the officer was critically injured, but did not describe what happened to her, reports the Baltimore Sun. It was widely reported she had been shot and run over. She was taken to MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 2:50 p.m., police spokesman Cpl. Shawn Vinson said. Police said Caprio would have marked four years with the Baltimore County Police Department in July, reports WBAL. She is the 10th officer and the first woman to die in the line of duty in Baltimore County police history. Hillary Clinton has a lock on the sore loser of the century award. But dishonorable mention goes to Don Blankenship. Recently, Blankenship, a convicted criminal, finished third in the West Virginia Republican Senate primary. Today, he announced that he will run as a third party candidate on the Constitution Party ticket. If Blankenship really cared about the Constitution, or about conservatism, he wouldnt launch a quixotic campaign the only possible impact of which might be to elect a Democrat, thereby making it more difficult for President Trump to confirm judicial nominees whose decisions will adhere faithfully to the Constitution. Fortunately, West Virginia has a sore loser law. It states that a candidate who runs for the nomination of a major political party and loses cannot change her or his voter registration to a minor-party organization/unaffiliated candidate to take advantage of the later filing deadlines and have their name on the subsequent general election ballot. This provision appears to bar Blankenship from running on another ticket. A spokesman for the West Virginia Secretary of State has said that it does. However, the law isnt written as clearly as it might have been. Blankenship says hell proceed with his plan to run as a third party candidate and take his chances in court. The last time he took a chance in court a jury found him guilty in connection with an explosion at one of his coal mines that killed 29 workers. What a guy! This morning Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered his first public address on President Trumps termination of the absurd and humiliating nuclear deal with Iran. The speech came less than two weeks after President Trumps May 8 announcement that the United States would withdraw from President Obamas deal with the Iranian regime, a/k/a the worlds leading state sponsor of terror. Heritage President Kay Coles James introduced Secretary Pompeo and then joined him on stage for a brief discussion following his prepared remarks. The State Department has posted the transcript of the event and the video here. I have embedded the Heritage video below. This is a crucial speech on a top issue of national security. It puts paid to the Obama legacy of appeasement, accommodation, and national self-abasement. It is an excellent speech on all points in issue. As such, it represents an essential part of Trumps great undoing of Obama doctrine. Savor the moment! Quotable quote: No more. No more wealth creation for Iranian kleptocrats. No more acceptance of missiles landing in Riyadh and in the Golan Heights. No more cost-free expansions of Iranian power. No more. Our local Fox affiliate has exposed or publicized what appears to be rampant fraud in the state daycare program for low income families. The story prominently features Somali daycare providers; they seem to have discovered how easy it is to rip off this particular welfare program among the panoply of such Minnesota welfare programs. Jeff Baillons original story (video and text) is posted here. Its a hot story. Over the weekend the Star Tribune reported the indignant response of Somali daycare providers here. The story refers to [a] series of high-profile criminal prosecutions involving Somali-owned day cares that have put the industry on the defensive. The industry, however, apparently has more than one Minnesota minority childcare association to speak up on behalf of the Somali providers. The Star Tribune also published an editorial that (among other things) tries to sort out facts from implications and bring the scope of the possible fraud into focus. The editorial is posted here. I found it useful. Baillons story elicited a hearing over the state legislature before its adjournment on Sunday. It also prompted the state legislative auditor to undertake investigation into the program. Baillon reports that development here. When the State Department first directed Somali refugees to Minnesota in the early 1990s, I believe it had Minnesotas social service welfare complex in mind. In February 2015 Kelly Riddell pointed out in the Washington Times that Somali refugees were to take advantage of some of Americas most generous welfare and charity programs. Riddell quoted Professor Ahmed Samatar of Macalester College in St. Paul: Minnesota is exceptional in so many ways but its the closest thing in the United States to a true social democratic state. With the daycare fraud story, we have the emergence of the Minnesota women featured in the Star Tribune story linked above. It put me in mind of the Minnesota men charged and convicted of terrorism offenses in mid-2016 before Judge Michael Davis. Governor Mark Dayton has instructed us not to entertain guilty thoughts about immigration and assimilation in such cases. He has sought to retard public discussion of obvious issues, and you can see the same inhibition in the Star Tribune editorial. My friends at City Journal invited me to write something about the daycare case. City Journal has published my column under the heading Mogadishu, Minnesota. I confess to the guilty thought that what we may have here is assimilation, Minnesota style. Come and get me, Governor Dayton! Numerous gay couples have set up Christian bakers by asking them to custom-bake cakes celebrating a gay wedding. Many have wondered why they never seem to approach Muslim bakers with that request. Well, now it has happened, only in even more offensive form: Transgender Files 50k Complaint After Muslim Woman Refuses to Wax Genitals. Earlier this month, a male-to-female transgender filed a $50,000 human rights complaint after a Muslim woman refused to perform a Brazilian wax on his genitals. She never once asked for a leg wax [from] us, Max Wax manager, president and CEO Jason Carruthers told PJ Media. She said, Women have penises and women have balls and if your staff is not comfortable they can look for another job.' Women have penises and women have balls. That could be the epitaph of the Democratic Party. The female Muslim employee refused to provide the service, based on her religious convictions not to physically touch a man outside her family. The Mad Wax CEO says that his company welcomes all customers, however, they have no male wax staff and therefore are not able to offer Brazilian waxes to men. 98 percent of the companys clients are women. When weve been asked about a male Brazilian wax in the past we tell them were not able to provide that service and they move on, Carruthers told the Windsor Star. Its never been an issue. But its an issue now, one that is before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. I will hazard a guess that the transgender woman with penis and balls man wins. Thats the question the Associated Press asks, following the school shootings in Santa Fe: School shooting may not bring change to gun-loving Texas. 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. *** [T]he 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. Whats interesting is that the AP never hints at what gun restrictions the State of Texas ought to adopt. Indeed, it becomes obvious that the AP reporter, speaking for liberals and the mainstream of the Democratic Party, doesnt much care: any restrictions will do. In the Santa Fe case, the murderer, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, was too young to buy firearms, so tightening of firearms purchasing procedures wouldnt have applied to him. The guns he used belonged to his father who, as far as we know, purchased them legally and would have been able to do so under any regime that has been proposed. The AP actually admits that the gun restrictions advocated by the Left would have done no good: Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, is jailed on murder charges in Fridays attack. Authorities said the Santa Fe High student opened fire with his fathers 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. Probably? Those measures certainly would have been ineffective. But it doesnt matter: in the APs eyes, resistance on the part of Texans to taking futile steps is blameworthy, while the one action that probably will work, most of the timeguarding and hardening schools as potential targetsis dismissed as backed by the NRA. What the AP essentially admits is that virtue signaling is an end in itself, divorced from any intent to actually achieve any positive result. But then, why, exactly, is it virtue? VODAFONE ENHANCES CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WITH THE LAUNCH OF ITS NEW STORE IN CUTTACK ( Read 4102 Times) 22 May 18 Share | Print This Page Text Box: VODAFONES STORE - CORE PRINCIPLES 4G Zone: 4G Zone offers customers an interactive experience to explore and discover a world of data services on the mobile phone. Vodafone Red Zone: An all-in-one, integrated, worry-free solution, exclusively for postpaid retail and enterprise customers Self Service Kiosk: A facility, where customers can drop by to pay their bills or recharge their plans with any amount at any given point in time M-Pesa Zone: Convenient service to transfer money across geographies and make payments. Zoo Zoo Merchandise: Customers can choose from a wide range of merchandise such as Vodafone Zoo Zoo dolls, mugs etc from the Take me Home section. Warm, customer friendly design, vibrant colours, easy navigation and enthusiastic customer service executives is what will welcome you the next time you walk into Vodafones Store in Madhupatna, Cuttack (Odisha). With the increasing use of smart phones, mobile internet and new technologies, the customer is evolving at a fast pace. To provide customers with an interactive, convenient and satisfactory service experience, Vodafone India introduced its store at Link Road Square, Madhupatna in Cuttack. Customers will be offered an array of services through special designated zones such as 4G Zone to discover and experience mobile internet; Vodafone Red Zone, a-all-in one post-paid service; m-pesa Zone, a unique mobile money transfer service; Self Service Kiosk, a 247 facility for bill payment and recharge service; Vodafone Red Box to enable customers to transfer content from an existing handset to a new age smart phone for free. In addition, customers walking in to this store can also win exciting gifts on their every new acquisition. This offer is valid for seven days. Speaking on this initiative, Mayoordhwajsinh Jadeja, Business HeadOdisha, Vodafone India, said, The consumer has always been at the heart of everything we do. Vodafone is at the forefront to introduce innovative concepts, products and services that enrich the lives of our customers. Hence, keeping in mind the trend of increasing smart phone penetration and mobile internet usage, we have taken an innovative approach in retail design. The Vodafone store with an easy & simple design, welcoming and engaging staff will provide a one-stop shop experience platform for our customers. The Vodafone store retail concept is designed and equipped to be warm & customer friendly, to meet the evolving needs and expectations of the customers. The store offers live and engaging retail experience of Vodafones wide range of products and services. This store has been specifically adapted and customized after testing and validating a full suite of customer insights, which are relevant to customer needs in India. Source : This Article/News is also avaliable in following categories : Business News Your Comments ! Share Your Openion First hospital in India to implement the combination of Watson for Oncology & Watson for Genomics BENGALURU and KARNATAKA, India, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Apollo Hospitals - India's largest specialty healthcare systems - today announced that Apollo will adopt Watson for Oncology and Watson for Genomics. The two IBM cognitive computing platforms will help physicians provide patients with personalized, evidence-based cancer care. This agreement is the first-of-its kind Watson for Oncology & Watson for Genomics deployment in India. Apollo Hospitals will build on its long legacy of clinical excellence with dedicated cancer care hospitals in India by implementing Watson for Oncology and Watson for Genomics across ten of its 64 hospitals. Watson for Oncology will be available at the Apollo Chennai and Delhi hospitals from May 2018, followed by Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar and Madurai over the next few months. Watson for Genomics will become available across the same locations in the following months. The Watson for Oncology and Watson for Genomics solutions will help oncologists at Apollo surface relevant data to bridge disparate sources of information and identify treatments that are personalized to each unique patient. According to a report published by the World Health Organization, (1) India there are an estimated 9. 49 lakh new cancer cases in India annually, accounting for more than 6.34 lakh deaths related to cancer each year. Also, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), (2) there will be close to 17.3 lakh cancer cases likely to be reported in India by 2020, accounting for more than 8.8 lakh estimated number of deaths by 2020. As healthcare providers seek to enable data-driven, evidence-based cancer care, an explosion of medical information has created both challenges and opportunities to improve quality care. Currently, approximately 50,000 oncology research papers are published annually, (3) and by 2020 medical information is projected to double every 73 days (4), outpacing the ability of humans to keep up with the proliferation of medical knowledge. IBM Watson for Oncology, trained by Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) complements the work of oncologists, supporting them in clinical decision-making by enabling them to access evidence-based, personalized treatment options from more than 300 medical journals, more than 200 textbooks, and nearly 15 million pages of text providing insight and comprehensive details on different treatment options, including key information on drug treatment selections. IBM Watson for Genomics analyses massive bodies of genomic, clinical and pharmacological knowledge to help uncover potential therapeutic options to target genetic alterations in a patient's tumour. Using this genomic analysis, Watson produces a report for physicians, which identifies genetic alterations that are actionable based on literature as well as drugs and clinical trials that target those alterations. Watson for Genomics has been tested and validated at more than 20 leading cancer institutes worldwide. "Apollo Hospitals has been dedicated to providing patients with best-in-class cancer care for more than three decades now. Our collaboration with IBM is a reinforcement of our commitment to clinical excellence," said Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson of the Apollo Hospitals Group. "Each person's cancer journey is unique and hence each patient's treatment plan must be unique too. IBM Watson for Oncology and Genomics will help the clinicians and oncologists at Apollo Hospitals augment their own expertise to deliver an unparalleled and personalized patient care across our hospitals." Speaking on the collaboration, Lisa Rometty, General Manager of Oncology, Genomics and Life Sciences, IBM Watson Health said, "This collaboration with Apollo Hospitals reflects IBM's ongoing commitment to partner with leading healthcare providers across the world to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to support cancer care. By using IBM Watson for Oncology and Watson for Genomics the physicians at Apollo Hospitals will be empowered with efficient, data-driven insights for improved evidence-based care to give physicians more time to focus on their patients." About Apollo Hospitals Apollo Hospitals is widely acknowledged as the pioneer of private healthcare in India and a proponent of integrated healthcare, since its inception in 1983. Till date, Apollo Hospitals has touched the lives of over 50 million individuals from 140 countries. It's also one of India's largest private sector hospitals for cancer care - with a combined capacity of 10,000 beds with 10 hospitals focused on treating patients. With all these capabilities and more, Apollo aims to set benchmark standards in clinical outcomes, technology and practices in select acute and tertiary care services such as cardiology, oncology, neurosciences and more. About IBM Watson Health Watson Health is a business unit of IBM that is dedicated to the development and implementation of cognitive and data-driven technologies to advance health. Watson Health technologies are tackling a wide range of the world's biggest health care challenges, including cancer, diabetes, drug discovery and more. Sources: [1] http://www.searo.who.int/india/topics/cancer/Cancer_fact_sheet.pdf?ua=1 [2] http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/over-17-lakh-new-cancer-cases-in-india-by-2020-icmr.html [3] PubMed, accessed at pubmed.com [4] Densen, Peter, Challenges and Opportunities Facing Medical Education 2011. Transactions in the American Clinical and Climatological Association. Accessed at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3116346/ Media Contacts: IBM India Saraswathi Mohan External Relations Email: [email protected] Mobile: 9899038451 Weber Shandwick Shashank Rathod Email: [email protected] Mobile: 8722224778 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/95470/ibm_logo.jpg Related Links http://www.ibm.com SOURCE IBM NEW DELHI, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ~Initiates experiential demo sessions in schools and exhibitions~ With a vision to empower women with the basic of menstrual hygiene, DEA Corp has initiated a revolutionary drive to make the women of India the advocates of 'menstrual hygiene'. The brand through this awareness drive aims to break the taboo and the shackles of silence prevailing in the Indian society on menstruation. DEA Corp along with its team of social activists and NGOs aims to aware and educate young girls and women through on-ground activations; by visiting schools and participating in women exhibitions. DEA Corp believes that menstrual hygiene is a serious concern in India and girls and young ladies are negligent about the issue which can cause life-threatening diseases. After setting a niche in Vapi, Gujarat, the brand is further planning to tap next important markets by expanding in cities like Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Ahmedabad and Jamnagar. The brand intends to contribute to the initiative of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Make in India campaign. Questioning the stereotypes, DEA Corp is breaking the taboo by educating women from teenagers till age group 40 on menstrual hygiene. The brand through their active participation and focused dedication towards educating and spreading awareness in the society tend to bring a radical change in today's society. Mr. Amol Prakash Mane, Founder DEA Corp says, "At DEA Corp, we aim to address to the basic right of every individual; right to live healthy. We intend to render a 360-degree approach, from executing experiential demo session at schools to our Door to Door model in Vapi. Our focus is to create awareness and educate young girls and ladies on menstrual hygiene. Soon we will be expanding our reach to other leading cities of Gujarat to further promote women empowerment and feminine hygiene." Mr. Mane's initiative to foray into this niche segment shows his dedication and passion towards contributing to Healthier India. Based out of a small town in Gujarat, he aims to bring revolutionary change in India's dogmatic culture and prevailing taboos on menstruation. At the same time the brand also aims to educate women on the benefits of using menstrual cups which are cost efficient and eco-friendly. DEA Corp's menstrual cups are priced at Rs 2500, which can be used for a stretch for 10 years. An ideal alternative to sanitary pads, tampons, and other menstrual hygiene products, these cups represent a better and comfortable solution, accelerating a healthy lifestyle. Authorized by the national regulatory body, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, DEA cups are ISO certified medical devices. For distribution services in cities like Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Jamnagar and other parts of Gujarat one can email at [email protected]. Girls and young ladies can easily grab the products by placing an order on http://deacorp.in/ for the price of Rs 2500/-. About DEA Corp Dea Corp, the manufacturer of menstrual cups was founded in the year 2016 by a young maverick Amol Prakash Mane. Inspired by the concept of Make in India, his vision was to promote and contribute in menstrual hygiene through launching eco-friendly menstrual cups. Based out of Vapi in Gujarat, the brand contributes to the initiative of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan through providing menstrual hygiene and awareness among school and college going girls and ladies. Media Contact: Anasua Mitra, [email protected], +91-7838236770 ARM Digital Pvt Ltd SOURCE DEA Corp BANGALORE, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- - Nearly 57% of domain names registered in India are on the .com extension - With over 50% market share, Maharashtra, Delhi/NCR, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka emerge as the top states that have witnessed the most growth - Nearly 48% of the domain names registered is used for websites Zinnov, a global management consulting and strategy firm, today released a sequel to its 2016 report on the Domain Name Industry in India, titled, 'State of the Domain Name Industry in India'. The released report is aimed at tracking the Domain Name Industry in India as it is an integral element of the growing Internet ecosystem in the country. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694742/Zinnov_Logo.jpg ) As of December 2017, the domain name industry in India has grown by 7.1% YoY as compared to 0.9% globally, taking the total industry count to 5.3 million in India versus 332 million globally. Detailing the findings, the report threw up a few surprising numbers - 48% of the total registered domain names in India are used for creating a website 9%-11% of them are used for professional emails About 9% of the domains are utilized for creating mobile-enabled websites Additionally, the study by Zinnov, when aiming to understand the awareness and adoption of domain names among 200 SMBs across 3 Indian cities, discovered that 75% of the SMBs bought a domain name based on their company name, while 85% of the SMBs used digital payment methods (debit / credit cards / netbanking) to purchase the domain names. Over 70% of the SMBs showed a preference for '.com' over other TLDs. The major reasons for this preference are trust, global standards and a professional image. Speaking about the report, Pari Natarajan, CEO, Zinnov, said, "Technology continues to be one of the major transformative factors driving the Indian economy. Initiatives led by the Indian government to improve the digital infrastructure and hasten adoption of digital services, coupled with increasing Internet user base and a flourishing base of technology-enabled SMBs, have helped India witness a faster growth in domain name adoption. This has helped India outpace the world in domain name growth over the last few years. With evolving customer mindset and increasing awareness levels about domain names among SMBs, more and more businesses are going online, thus offering a huge untapped opportunity." In terms of the geographical spread, the study further revealed that the Indian states with a high penetration of Internet users indicate a higher domain name adoption. Maharashtra, Delhi/NCR, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka emerged as the top states, being home to over 50% of the registered domain name business in India. For more details and a copy of the study, please click on the link below: http://www.indiadomainnamereport.com/ About Zinnov Zinnov was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Bangalore, with presence in Gurugram, Silicon Valley and Houston. Since its inception, Zinnov has built in-depth expertise in Product Engineering and Digital Transformation. They assist their clients by: Research and strategy consulting for software service providers in the areas of Product Engineering and Digital Transformation Enabling companies to develop and optimize a global engineering partner strategy to achieve higher throughput, innovation, productivity and cost savings Growing revenue for company's products and services in India and other emerging markets Helping MNCs expand or consolidate their globalization footprint With their team of experienced professionals and research teams, Zinnov serves clients from the Fortune 500 list across software, semiconductor, consumer electronics, automotive, storage, telecom & networking, healthcare, banking, financial services and retail verticals in US, Europe, Japan and India. For more information, visit http://zinnov.com Media Contact: Nitika Goel Director - Marketing & Communications, Zinnov [email protected] [email protected] +91-9845016255 SOURCE Zinnov Management Consulting MUMBAI, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA (Glenmark) has been granted final approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) for Colesevelam Hydrochloride Tablets, 625 mg, the generic version of Welchol1 Tablets, 625 mg, of Daiichi Sankyo Inc. The company has already commenced supplies of the product to the US market. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/451507/PRNE_Glenmark_Logo.jpg ) According to IQVIA sales data for the 12 month period ending March 2018, the Welchol Tablets, 625 mg market2 achieved annual sales of approximately $519.9 million*. Glenmark's current portfolio consists of 135 products authorized for distribution in the U.S. marketplace and 62 ANDA's pending approval with the U.S. FDA. In addition to these internal filings, Glenmark continues to identify and explore external development partnerships to supplement and accelerate the growth of its existing pipeline and portfolio. About Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (GPL) is a researchdriven, global, integrated pharmaceutical organization headquartered at Mumbai, India. It is ranked among the top 75 Pharma & Biotech companies of the world in terms of revenue (SCRIP 100 Rankings published in the year 2017). Glenmark is a leading player in the discovery of new molecules both NCEs (new chemical entity) and NBEs (new biological entity). Glenmark has several molecules in various stages of clinical development and is primarily focused in the areas of oncology, dermatology and respiratory. The company has a significant presence in the branded generics markets across emerging economies including India. Glenmark along with its subsidiary has 17 manufacturing facilities across five countries and has six R&D centers. The Generics business of Glenmark services the requirements of the US and Western European markets. The API business sells its products in over 80 countries, including the US, various countries in the EU, South America and India. 1All brand names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2Market includes brand and all available therapeutic equivalents *IQVIA National Sales Perspectives: Retail & Non-Retail, March 2018 Media Contact: Ramkumar Uppara [email protected] +91-9820177907 Senior Manager Glenmark Pharmaceutials Isha Trivedi [email protected] Deputy General Manager Glenmark Pharmaceutials SOURCE Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd MUMBAI, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Admissions to the first batch of Diploma Program (DP), in Science and Engineering, are open now Choosing where to study abroad can be a tricky proposition for students in India, especially with a wide range of good foreign universities beckoning. The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia, at rank 45 according to QS, has many plus points to its credit for Indian students, including for those needing a little hand-holding to make it to an engineering course as well as programs dedicated to help international students find jobs. UNSW Sydney, known as Australia's global university, offers programs in architecture, art and design, business, engineering and law, medicine and science. It has a range of scholarships and grants for international students. Admissions to the first batch of Diploma Program (DP), in Science and Engineering, are open now. Explaining the plus points of the novel Diploma Program, Matt Henderson, UNSW, Head of Partnerships, Asia, s ays, "It has been especially designed for those international students who are just a shade below the cut-off parameters for the regular Science or Engineering programs." Matt also adds, "The Diploma Program creates additional pathways for international students. Not every student can make the cut into the entry (for Science and Engineering). The Diploma Program can help students make a pathway. It provides students with more structuring, hand holding, with added academic support, including in English, so that after the 11-month study period they are able to join directly into the second year of the degree program." Key features of the Diploma Program include an Academic English and Communication Skills course; curricula and courseware based on first year degree courses - all backed by intensive teaching. According to him, "Diploma Program students are taught separately and go through regular assessments, all of which helps them master the content." For admission to the program, the minimum requirement in English language proficiency, according to the IELTS, is 6.0. In some cases students scoring 5.5 are also admitted into the Diploma Program, with additional English language lessons thrown in. According to Mr Henderson, in case a DP student fails to make the grade to enter into the second year of the UNSW Science or Engineering stream, then he/she would be "released" for admission to another university whose entry requires less stringent marks. "But we will try to ensure that all students remain in UNSW," he added. Located in Sydney, Australia's student city, UNSW is one of the world's leading research and teaching universities and is home to more than 52,000 students from nearly 130 countries. Acceptance and successful commercialisation of UNSW's cutting edge research and innovation is facilitated by 3,000 faculty backed by international faculty members. Australia allows foreign students post a 4-year program to stay on to work in Australia for 2 years and have a path to permanent residency. This is further extendable for a similar duration on sponsorship by an Australian citizen, company. A UNSW graduate can hope to recover the money paid for a 4-year graduate program in 18 months of work. These two factors favour choice of UNSW as a destination of choice for study as well as a potential career destination. Did You Know: - A range of scholarships and grants are available for Indian students. - Sydney is ranked among the top 10 cities to live in the world (and the best in Australia) by HR consultancy Mercer 2018 quality of living standards study. - UNSW is 26th in the World in Employer Reputation. QS University Rankings 2017/18. - The UNSW Professional Development Program for International Students was nominated for an - Australian Financial Review Higher Education Award in 2016. - The Australian Job Market is set for grow 7.8% for the next 5 years. About University of New South Wales, Sydney UNSW, Australia's global university ranked among the top 50 Universities in the world offers programs in engineering, business, law, architecture, art and design, medicine and science. Located in Sydney, a safe and student friendly city, UNSW is home to more than 52,000 students from nearly 130 countries. UNSW has been attracting a growing number of bright Indian students for undergraduate and post graduate studies. As one of the world's leading research and teaching universities UNSW's cutting edge research and innovation facilitated by 3000 faculty is known for acceptance and successful commercialisation. For more details, please visit: www.UNSW.edu.au. Media Contact: Hesha Parekh [email protected] +91-9833113169 Sr. Account Executive Communicate India SOURCE University of New South Wales TRIVANDRUM, India, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Partnership to accelerate data validation for enterprise data warehouses and large scale migration programs UST Global, a leading digital technology services company, today announced its partnership with QuerySurge, a New York based leading data testing and validation software firm. The partnership will offer End-to-End automated test solutions enabling company's Global 1000 customers to accelerate their data validation for Enterprise Data Warehouses and large scale migration programs. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/540539/UST_Global_Logo.jpg ) UST Global's award winning and IP Driven Quality Engineering services are built to provide several compelling outcomes that can radically change the quality of products and services. The company has inevitably changed baseline quality by several folds for many of its Global 1000 customers. UST Global has had enormous success with scale in QA Operations, and has consistently delivered exponentially more value in terms of savings, efficiencies and speed. UST Global has vast experience in testing solutions developed using leading BI, DW, Big Data and Analytics technologies in the market. The company's data warehouse and Big Data Testing assets which includes custom tools and frameworks helps to reduce time to market and achieve 100% data validation. QuerySurge is a market leader in the data testing solution space and provides extensive support to automate the testing of Data Warehouses, Big Data, & BI Reports. The tool supports wide variety of platforms which includes big data lake, data warehouse, and traditional databases, NoSQL, Flat Files, Excel, Web Services, JSON and XML and validates up to 100% of all data up to 1,000 times faster. QuerySurge aligns well with the Agile/ DevOps strategies by supporting continuous delivery through seamless integration with a wide range of build, configuration management, ETL & test management solutions. QuerySurge enables both novices and experienced quality engineers to speed up data validation through Query Wizards while still allowing power users the flexibility to handle complex transformations. "The QuerySurge team is excited to add UST Global as a valued partner," said Eric Smyth, Director of Partner Alliances for QuerySurge. "UST Global brings expertise and experience in the data testing space, which will complement QuerySurge's capabilities and ensure a comprehensive solution for their customers," he further added. Sunil Balakrishnan, Global Head - Development Center Operations, UST Global, added, "QuerySurge's technology for automated ETL validation will enable our customers to increase data coverage and speed to market with minimum effort. Their tools and services are a great addition to our quality engineering practice. We are excited to partner with QuerySurge and are confident that our Global 1000 customers will benefit greatly with our combined capabilities." About QuerySurge QuerySurge is the software division of RTTS. RTTS' team of test experts developed QuerySurge to address the unique testing needs in the Big Data and Data Warehousing spaces. QuerySurge is the leading Data Testing solution built specifically to automate the testing of Data Warehouses & Big Data. QuerySurge makes it really easy for both, novice and experienced quality engineers to validate their organization's data quickly, analyzing and pinpointing up to 100% of all data anomalies while providing both real-time and historical views of your data's health. About UST Global UST Global is a leading digital technology company that provides advanced computing and digital services to large private and public enterprises around the world. Driven by a larger purpose of Transforming Lives and the philosophy of 'fewer clients, more attention', we bring in the entrepreneurial spirit that seeks the fastest path to value in today's digital economy. Our innovative technology services and pioneering social programs make us unique. UST Global is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California and operates in 25 countries. Our clients include Fortune 500 companies in Banking and Financial Services, Healthcare, Insurance, Retail, High Technology, Manufacturing, Shipping, and Telecom. UST Global believes in building long-lasting, strategic business relationships through agile and client-centric global engagement models that combines local experts & resources with cost, scale, and quality advantages of global operations. For more information, please visit: http://www.ust-global.com UST Global Media Contact: Divya Singh [email protected] +91-8552944004 SOURCE UST Global (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694439/Cloud_With_Me_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694481/Cloud_With_Me_Founders.jpg ) "Our focus is to remove the barriers faced by small businesses, helping them to reach their potential. We're at an incredibly exciting stage. Becoming an official partner of Google Cloud has opened doors for us, and significantly widened our reach," said Gilad Somjen, CEO of Cloud With Me. Cloud With Me attracted 50,000 customers in its first year of operation by eliminating downtime and running through hours of development with a pre-configured automation. While the customer sees a loading bar on their screen, behind the scenes an automation installs a complete server stack, with MySQL, FTP, and a variety of PHP-based addons. The automated installation also includes Nameserver management and a free SSL. "We're confident that Cloud With Me will help to bring mass adoption of cloud services," said Asaf Zamir, CTO Cloud With Me. "Bringing accessible and simple cloud solutions directly to small and medium enterprises helps them to focus on their core business objectives. The collaboration between Google Cloud and Cloud With Me allows SMEs to leave their infrastructure and website hosting to the experts while they build and grow their business," said Yuval Dvir, Head of International online partnerships at Google. For more information visit http://www.cloudwith.me or contact Emma Morris, Business Development Executive of Cloud With Me at emma.m@cloudwith.me SOURCE Cloud With Me (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694140/Our_New_York_Logo.jpg ) (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694141/Our_Vodka_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694143/Our_Vodka_Product_Line.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694142/our_NYC_vodka_bottle.jpg ) Our/Vodka was the brainchild of CEO Asa Caap and founded in 2010 by a team of entrepreneurs in Stockholm, Sweden. It was treated as a "black ops" secret project within Pernod Ricard before the first distillery opened in 2013 in Berlin. Our/Vodka invests in and builds micro-distilleries while local people run the business, produce and sell the vodka, giving it their spin on their city. Our/London focusses on its vibrant food scene, working with the city's hottest restaurants and foodies who take care to choose quality ingredients with strong provenance. Our/Berlin promotes the city itself and the urban locality of its micro-distillery champions the design talent that surrounds it, highlighting the bottle's unique aesthetic. Our/Amsterdam highlighting the bottle's unique aesthetic and possibility to personalize. Our/Detroit concentrates on empowering a city formerly on its knees leveraging the unique multi entrepreneurial story to the project and Our/Los Angeles wants you to take the half sized bottle with you to all of LA's microclimates. Our/New York will be managed by local skate wear entrepreneur and artist Dave Ortiz - a co-founder of DQM. (Dave's Quality Meats) . Growing up in East New York in the 70s and 80s, Dave Ortiz was swept up in the graffiti and skate culture zeitgeist before developing parallel careers in the skate wear industry while simultaneously pursuing fine art. He says of the venture: "When Our/Vodka approached me about Our/New York, it sounded too good to be true at first, but Our/Vodka isn't based on superficial brand ideas; it's based on real people combined with real expertise and I was immediately attracted by the opportunity to grow a brand that New Yorkers can really identify with." Each city sources ingredients as locally as possible while never compromising on quality giving each vodka its own unique flavor profile. The vodka is partly distilled, blended in small batches, and hand-bottled at each micro-distillery. Our/New York is a corn-based super-premium vodka and is blended using New York City drinking water for a vodka that is smooth, fresh and pure with a slight grain and fruity note. Located at 151 West 26th Street in Chelsea in the heart of Manhattan between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, the Our/New York distillery will also feature a combined public tasting room, bar and retail shop. The space will also serve the community as a gallery and event space. Visitors will be welcome to stop by the distillery for drinks, tours and tastings starting May 25th 2018. Our/London is made from British wheat using a unique yeast originally found in wine production. This gives us a floral and citrus nose and a light, smooth mouthfeel. All hand-bottled at our urban micro-distillery under the arches of Hackney Downs station. About Our/New York Vodka: The Facts MSRP $22.99 Size 375ML Crown Top Bottle With Resealable Cap ABV 40.0% / 80 Proof Our/New York Vodka Distillery - Open From 25th May 2018 151 West 26th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues New York, NY 10001 Open Daily (Mon - Thurs 5PM-12AM Friday 5PM-1AM Sat 3PM-1AM Sun 3 PM-12AM) Outside hours and tours by appointment Website: http://www.ourvodka.com/ournewyork Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ournewyork Instagram: @ournewyorkvodka Images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wv7ior7gs1ek0rg/AABugecHMPaC6nGJ3BSbgAQMa/for%20web%20press%20page?dl= For media requests and more images, contact Krista Freibaum, krista@seriousbusinesspr.com. About Our/London Vodka: The Facts MSRP 19 Size 350ML Twist Off/On Crown Top Bottle ABV 37.5% / 80 Proof Our/London Vodka Distillery Arch 435-436 Spurstowe Road Hackney, London E8 1LS Open Mon - Fri 10AM - 5PM Tours by appointment Website: http://www.ourvodka.com/ourlondon Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ourlondonvodka Instagram: @ourlondon For media requests and images, contact Hannah Burden-Teh, hannah.burden-teh@ourvodka.com CONTACT: Per Frykebrant +46-70-813-63-22 per@junopr.se SOURCE Our/Vodka PUNE, India, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SAVA HEALTHCARE LIMITED which specializes in manufacture and marketing of Nasal Sprays and Dry Powder Inhalers (DPI) announced that the Russian Ministry of Health (MOH) Minzdrav Rossii has approved its DRY POWDER INHALER (DPI) capsules manufacturing line for Respiratory Therapeutic segment. This will strengthen SAVA's presence in the Russian and CIS region. SAVA's Surendranagar facility is also accredited by HEALTH CANADA, PICs Ukraine, WHO-GMP, amongst other Drug Administration authorities. SAVA has developed latest generations DPIs like Tiotropium, Formeterol, salmeterol/fluticasone, Budesonide/Formeterol Fumarate for Russian and other CIS markets. DSIR approved in-house R&D Center of SAVA at Pune (India) is well-equipped Formulations R&D centre catering to Dry Powder Inhalers (DPI) development and has best in class R&D equipments like Dosage Unit Sampling apparatus (DUSA), Next Gen Impactor (NGI) and Glass Twin Impinger (T1, T2). Commenting on this development Mr.Vinod Ramchandra Jadhav, Chairman of SAVA Group said, "This endorsement of SAVA commitment to meeting GMP guidelines is welcoming news and gives SAVA access to RUSSIAN pharmaceutical market which is estimated at 22 billion USD growing by 10% out of which respiratory drug category stands on 2nd fastest growing segment." About SAVA HEALTHCARE SAVA HEALTHCARE Limited is Health Canada accredited, PIC/S approved, WHO GMP Manufacturer based in Surendranagar India. Its Herbal extraction unit in Bangalore is inspected by USFDA. SAVA HEALTHCARE LIMITED internationally is present in 35+ countries with more than 300 + product registrations. SAVA specialises in Dry Powder inhalers (DPI), Nasal Sprays, Tablets and Capsules, Dermatology, Veterinary Products, and USDA approved Herbal Extracts. SAVAVET is SHL's Small Animal veterinary Division focusing on Indian market and ranked amongst top 5 veterinary prescription drug companies of India. Organisation: SAVA HEALTHCARE LTD Name: Mr. Naresh Katara, CEO Email: sales@savaglobal.com Corporate office: Sava House, Viman Nagar Pune 411014, India Phone: +91-203-051-6100, WEB: http://www.savaglobal.com SOURCE SAVA Healthcare Limited. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Vanderbloemen, author of bestselling Culture Wins: The Roadmap to an Irresistible Workplace, attributes this success to his emphasis on creating an 'irresistible culture.' The Vanderbloemen Search Group has been named to Forbes Small Giants list. The third annual Small Giants list celebrates 25 standout businesses that favor greatness over growth. The companies are all privately owned, profitable, at least ten years old and were selected based on factors including community involvement, commitment to staff, and industry excellence. This latest award follows recognition of the Houston-based church staffing firm as one of the best places to work by Houstonia last fall. It was also awarded two Top 5 Company Culture awards from Entrepreneur and three Best Places to Work awards from the Houston Business Journal over the past three years. Vanderbloemen Search Group was also recognized last year by Forbes as a top executive recruiting firm. The Small Giants list cites CEO William Vanderbloemens encouragement of his team to blog as part of his secret to success: At Vanderbloemen Search, everyone blogs. Why? Because William Vanderbloemen, a former pastor who started a recruiting service for churches, knew he would have trouble enlisting religious organizations as clients if he was simultaneously poaching their employees. His answer was a strategy designed to eliminate blind poaching and attract both candidates and clients. Vanderbloemen, author of bestselling "Culture Wins: The Roadmap to an Irresistible Workplace," attributes this success to his emphasis on creating an irresistible culture. At the core of his culture are nine values that include goals like contagious fun and ridiculous responsiveness in which he has an expectation that his company respond to all inbound queries within sixty seconds. This is because he believes the faster the response, the better chance of closing the deal. Vanderbloemen talks more about his companys values and ability to create a winning culture in his podcast interview with Forbes contributor Loren Feldman. About Vanderbloemen Search Group Vanderbloemen Search Group (VSG) is an executive search firm that helps organizations find their key staff. VSG has been named three times to the top of both Entrepreneur.coms Top Company Cultures list of small businesses and Houston Business Journal Best Place To Work list. The firm was also named 25 on Forbes 2017 list of Americas Top Executive Recruiting Firms. About William Vanderbloemen William Vanderbloemen is an entrepreneur, pastor, speaker, author, and CEO/Founder of Vanderbloemen Search Group. Prior to his work in executive search, William led growth and innovation in several churches, including Houstons oldest congregation, the First Presbyterian Church of Houston. William is a regular contributor to Forbes and Fortune. His latest book, "Culture Wins: The Roadmap to an Irresistible Workplace", is an Amazon bestseller. William holds degrees from Wake Forest University and Princeton Theological Seminary. CityClubAparments.com and Spherexx.com announced today it has received an Honoree from The Webbys for unprecedented visual design and functionality for CityClubApartments.com, the corporate and property website for global property management company City Club Apartments (CCA) spearheaded by Jonathan Holtzman, CEO, City Club Apartments. Honorees like Spherexx.com are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet, said Claire Graves, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the over 13,000 entries we received this year. The competition includes entries from 50 states and 70 countries. City Club is Spherexxs second Webby Honoree recognition, the first received in 2014 for Parallel 41 Apartments in the Real Estate category. Other Honorees for Website: Best Visual Design Function are Masterpiece on PBS, BareMinerals: Beauty Made Easy, UNFPA Data (United Nations Population Fund), Shoppable 360, Bumble and Bumble LookBook, Bumble and Bumble Website Redesign, Sideways Dictionary, Make Good Investing Easy for Everyone (Fidelity International), Barbican Centre Website and Becker Professional Education. Visiting CityClubApartments.com is a unique experience for those looking to belong to an exclusive community. Guests are met with simplistic navigation and engaging photography that carries a message of ultimate luxury, environmental and social responsibility, advanced technology, and an expectation of extraordinary customer service. They will not be disappointed; the lifestyle provided by City Club Apartments rivals that of a 5-star hotel. The City Club Apartments website leads are closing leases at a 5.3 percent higher rate than leads from popular Internet Listing Service (ILS) websites. We believe that the customers decision to lease a new residence is heavily influenced by the sophistication and design; people are sold before they walk in the front door, said Becca Wilson, CEO of Spherexx.com, For every 100 leases, 46 of them are generated directly from the website. CityClubApartments.com offers a completely unique search functionality for selection with its "Create Your Own Space" feature. The website delivers available apartments based on a wide range of filterable options like price, location, size, type, and finishes. Prospects can also see separately priced upgrade options like wine chillers. The search results show the match percentage in relation to the search query, a graphical floor plan and multiple one-click calls to action, including a custom brochure. CityClubApartments.com is integrated with its accounting software; it automatically updates with changes in pricing and availability. The resident section offers quick communication with management for maintenance, resident rewards, renewals and rent payment. The common areas in City Clubs communities are paradisiacal, resident centric and stunningly showcased on the website. The City Club corporate website shares news on construction projects underway and retail and commercial property listing information. The site also includes information about the Holtzman Wildlife Foundation, an entity founded by Jonathan Holtzman to create a better future for endangered wildlife through education, advocacy, and repopulation. Although invisible to the Webby judges, much of the most intriguing website functionality features are in the content management system and the search engine marketing (SEM) tools developed by Spherexx.com. The backend programming allows users to make changes to the website that currently contains twenty-five properties and an intranet for intercompany workflow, forms and communication. Search engine optimization (SEO) reporting reveals how guests respond to the website through data analysis and a heat mapping tool. The heat map visually relates which areas guests interact with the most. For example, most visitors enter the community home page, go to floor plans, then amenities, followed by explore the area, to photos and back to floor plans. This insight provides direction on how to best maintain and organize calls to action for optimal response. The heat map totals click activity by version updates, tracks access by device, and color codes the website by click intensity. Create Your Own Space also has additional logging of searches conducted to show the most popular selling points and upgrades. Plan Tour and Lease Now are also very popular with website visitors. A prospective resident typically researches many avenues before deciding to lease, as shown by Spherexxs internal programming and ILoveLeasing.com customer relationship management software. For example, the Spherexx website behavioral tracking system reports the journey an individual prospect makes while leasing CLICK TO VIEW. One such prospect viewed eleven website features on April 6 before submitting an online application and lease. With the sophistication of ILoveLeasing.com CRM software, management knows that the leasees journey began three days earlier with a reference from an Internet advertisement which is sourced within the system. The prospect received a personal email from the management within fourteen minutes and during the next three days, the prospect revisited the website five times, exchanged emails and phone calls on specific dates and times, scheduled a tour, leased and confirmed a post lease appointment. Another prospect inquired from the website on September 5 and received a personal response within an hour of receipt. During the following month, the CRM shows email exchanges, phone calls, what the prospect studied in the email brochure, when they scheduled a tour, inquired on Google Places, submitted a rental application and signed a lease on October 2, 2017. Spherexx has built City Club the best apartment website I have ever seen. It shows the prospective tenant what it is like to live at one of our communities. I am delighted to have found a business counterpart in Spherexx.com with its roots in property management. This imparts great insight into providing optimal customer service, which is City Clubs ultimate goal, said Holtzman. ABOUT CITY CLUB APARTMENTS Founded in 1919, City Club Apartments is the first true international apartment brand. City Club Apartments is an owner, developer and manager of apartment, furnished short-term and penthouse mixed-use communities with a portfolio of approximately 10,000 apartments in 30 urban and suburban-urban apartment communities, $2 billion in real estate assets and $500 million under development, construction and lease-up in downtown Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Louisville and the East Coast. City Club Apartments is a disruptive company with five guiding principles that include customer centric; design driven; unparalleled amenities; green and social responsibility; and leading technology. The company has offices in Detroit, Chicago and Toronto. ABOUT SPHEREXX.COM ADVERTISING AGENCY | SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT | BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE Spherexx.com has been serving thousands of clients nationally since 2000 with offices in Tulsa, OK and Dallas, TX. It is distinguished as an INC5000 fastest growing company. It provides cloud-based advertising, web development and design, software as a service (SAAS), custom programming, and software development, application development, and branding for multiple industries, including multifamily real estate management. Services include touchscreen kiosk, Internet lead generation tools, advertising, search engine performance, video/multimedia production, sales deck, database programming, organic and pay-per-click search engine marketing, e-commerce and consulting services. Spherexx has developed customer relationship management tools, revenue management, marketing, asset performance, and mobile applications to provide measurable results that generate income and operational stability and efficiency. CLA New York Metro Laundromat Industry Meet-Up The Coin Laundry Association hosted a networking and education event for self-service laundry owners in New York April 24, 2018. One of the goals of the Coin Laundry Association is to foster camaraderie and knowledge sharing among the laundry owners across America. The CLA feels that the ability for laundromat owners to meet, network, and discuss topics allows for participants to tap into an enormous resource of information which can help business owners to further their success. In 2017, the CLA started a new Laundromat Industry Meet-Up program with a pilot event in Georgia. There has not been a CLA Affiliate organization in that state, and, to reach the laundromat-owner community in a potentially underserved location, it seemed to be a great opportunity. And it was considered by the organization to be a success. Subsequently, other similar meet-ups have occurred in Georgia, Alabama, Washington DC, and New York. On April 24, 2018, over a hundred laundromat owners gathered for the New York Metro Laundry Industry Meet-Up hosted at Eastern Fundings office in Melville, NY. Like-minded laundry owners gathered around 3 p.m. to learn and network. The program began with Mr. Grell presenting on the best practices on retooling a store to maximize profitability. Then, after more networking and refreshments, President and CEO of the CLA, Brian Wallace, spoke to the audience about the use of technology to change the way laundromats do business. Furthermore, he shared some stories about how the local coin laundry can be a conduit for learning. Another similar Laundry Industry Meet-Up took place in New Jersey. The Coin Laundry Association has not historically had its own meetings in these locations, though the demand for such events has been expressed by the laundromat-owner community in the US. Future plans include continuing expansion to other locations throughout the United States to bring the laundry owner community together in a way that is friendly and beneficial to all. To learn more about upcoming events, be sure to visit the CLA calendar on the website, follow the Coin Laundry Association on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and subscribe to PlanetLaundry Magazine. Monster Tree Service, the nations first and fastest-growing tree service franchise, is expanding to Portland, Oregon. Recently featured by SUCCESS Magazine, Thrive Global, and Franchise Times, the Monster Tree Service franchise continues to build on its rapid three-year franchise system growth. Business entrepreneur Eric Miller has purchased the rights to three Monster Tree Service territories in the Portland, Oregon area. Miller was awarded the territories in March and will be launching in early June. Miller led a tremendously successful career as a national practice leader for a global consulting firm but is ready for a change. He has decided to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions and invest in Monster Tree Service. I am so excited to be on board with Monster Tree Service, says Miller. Im really looking forward to becoming a small-business owner; I cant wait to start giving back to my community through our wide array of services, including tree and limb removal, plant healthcare, tree maintenance and more. Josh Skolnick, CEO and Founder of Monster Tree Service, is confident Eric Miller will be a tremendous asset to the Monster Tree Service franchise. Eric is an ideal Monster Tree Service franchisee, says Skolnick. He has a good head for business and an entrepreneurial spirit that cant be stopped. He truly understands the needs of his community, and I am confident he will thrive as the newest member of the Monster family. We are glad to have him on our team. Monster Tree Service is the only franchise tree company capitalizing on the under-served $17 billion tree service industry. Monster Tree Service has achieved consistent year-over-year, five percent growth since 2009, resulting in a $10+ million business. Because its a high-upside opportunity, and a recession-proof business, Monster Tree Service expects to achieve $100 million in sales by 2021. Monster Tree Service is growing rapidly, and Im glad I get to contribute to that success, says Miller. I love the business model and see a lot of opportunity with this brand. The Monster Tree team is full of hard-working, genuine people, and I know Ive made the right investment. This business combines my love of nature with my drive for success. And Ill be working with my son. Im excited for us to take on this new business venture together. We cant wait to get started. For more information about Monster Tree Service, please visit http://www.whymonster.com/. For more information about Monster Tree Service franchise opportunities, please visit http://www.monsterfranchising.com/. To learn more about CEO Josh Skolnicks vision for Monster Tree Service, please visit https://www.monsterfranchising.com/vision-story. About Monster Tree Service Founded in 2008 in Fort Washington, PA by Founder and CEO Josh Skolnick, Monster Tree Service is the first and only national franchise brand serving the $17 billion tree care industry. Over the past decade, Skolnick has aggressively built Monster Tree Service into a thriving national franchise system working day and night to build the company into a $10+ million business with 22 franchised outlets in 13 states (with 50 total open or in development) throughout the country. Each Monster Tree Service franchised outlet offers full-scale tree pruning and removal services, including: tree pruning and trimming, tree removal, stump grinding, shrub maintenance, emergency services, plant healthcare, and various secondary services. In stark contrast to various mom and pop style tree service companies, all Monster Tree Service franchise owners are dedicated to Making the world a more beautiful place, one tree at a time by providing homeowners with unparalleled service completed by certified professionals. Monster Tree Service is committed to educating all customers on the natural conditions, diseases and infestations that impact the health of their plants/trees and treating all issues with an environmentally friendly, Do Not Harm approach. Its all part of the Monster Tree Service vision to partner with homeowners across the country to make their trees healthy, strong, and vital. For more information about Monster Tree Service, please visit http://www.whymonster.com/. For more information about Monster Tree Service franchise opportunities, please visit http://www.monsterfranchising.com/. Smiles for Everyone! Castle Dental has partnered with the Smiles for Everyone Foundation to open its Murfreesboro, TN office to provide free dental services for underinsured, low-income individuals on June 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dental services provided include x-rays and exams, fillings, extractions, cleanings, fluoride treatments, and sealants. A limited number of appointments are available. Please visit the Castle Dental website for more information. About Castle Dental Castle Dental provides general dentistry, childrens dentistry and, in select locations, specialty care services such as orthodontics, oral surgery, periodontics and endodontics at 59 offices throughout Texas and Tennessee. Castle Dental is operated by dental groups that have affiliated with Smile Brands Inc., one of the largest providers of support services to dental groups in the United States. Smile Brands Inc. provides comprehensive business support services through exclusive long term agreements with affiliate dental groups, so dentists can spend more time caring for their patients and less time on the administrative, marketing, and financial aspects of operating a dental practice. Smile Brands is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors (Gryphon), a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit http://www.castledental.com. . About the Smiles For Everyone Foundation The Smiles for Everyone Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of delivering smiles for everyone by providing free dental care for those in need, both at home in the U.S. and around the world. Since 2011, the Smiles for Everyone Foundation has delivered over 14,000 smiles and $12 million in donated dentistry. The foundation currently supports programs which provide free dental care to those in need in Cambodia, Ghana, Laos, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Thailand and the United States. For more information or to make a donation, visit http://www.smilesforeveryone.org. Contacts: Castle Dental Jody Martin PR@smilebrands.com 714.427.1299 Smiles for Everyone Foundation Crystal Strait crystal.strait@smilesforeveryone.org 714.824.5037 Our annual visit to Webster Hill is a special day. We get to blend our work experiences with the education tools provided by JA to open young minds to the possibilities awaiting them with their future career choices, said Michael C. Pelletier, partner and chief innovation officer at BlumShapiro. For the ninth consecutive year, hundreds of students at Webster Hill Elementary School in West Hartford will learn about the fundamentals of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy from some very dedicated BlumShapiro volunteers. More than two dozen BlumShapiro employee volunteers will, as they have done every year since 2010, provide interactive lessons using Junior Achievement curricula to teach more than 230 students in grades 3-5 on June 1. The program, called JA In A Day, is a rewarding experience for both students and BlumShapiro employees-turned-teachers. In addition, Fox 61 weekday morning anchor Keith McGilvery will experience for the first time the joy of interacting with Webster Hill students as a new JA instructor alongside BlumShapiro volunteers. Our annual visit to Webster Hill Elementary School is a special day for us. We get to blend our work experiences with the education tools provided by Junior Achievement to open young minds to the possibilities awaiting them with their future career choices, said Michael C. Pelletier, partner and chief innovation officer of BlumShapiro Consulting. To see the students engaged in the interactive activities we lead is a very rewarding experience. The JA In A Day Elementary School Program consists of curricula that helps students understand business and economics, and provides lessons and learning tools focused on the four grades: JA Our City (3rd Grade) studies careers, the skills people need to work in specific careers, and how businesses contribute to a city. JA Our Region (4th Grade) introduces students to entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurs use resources to produce goods and services in a community. Students solve problems by weighing risks and rewards. JA Our Nation (5th Grade) provides practical information about businesses need for individuals who can meet the demands of the job market, including high-growth, high-demand jobs. Students will learn that businesses need workers with skills that are in demand, such as STEM skillsscience, technology, engineering and math. BlumShapiro volunteers follow each classrooms schedule by providing instruction in the morning, followed by lunch and returning for afternoon sessions. Webster Hill Elementary School is located at 125 Webster Hill Boulevard in West Hartford. BlumShapiro is the largest regional business advisory firm based in New England, with offices in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The firm, with a team of over 500, offers a diversity of services, which include auditing, accounting, tax and business advisory services. Blum serves a wide range of privately held companies, government and non-profit organizations and provides non-audit services for publicly traded companies. To learn more visit us at blumshapiro.com. Contact: Tom DeVitto Chief Marketing Officer BlumShapiro 860-561-6851 Batool Ali, aged 6, stands on a hospital bed in Saada. Batool suffers from severe acute malnutrition. At the time the photograph was taken, Batool weighed only 15.8 kgs. "Recognition for the work is so important in helping create awareness for Yemen; a country currently suffering from a full-blown humanitarian crisis and where foreign press coverage remains limited." The Imagely Team is honored to announce award-winning humanitarian and conflict photographer Giles Clarke as the 2017 Imagely Fund Fellow. Giles work Invisible Crisis, documents the devastating impact of the ongoing war in Yemen. Following the 2015 takeover of Sanaa by Houthi rebels, the country has been beset by poverty, famine, food insecurity and sanitation-related diseases. In February 2018, the World Health Organization declared that the countrys already-catastrophic cholera epidemic would likely intensify following the rainy season. Destruction of critical infrastructure has inhibited access to even basic health care. The United Nations currently estimates that more than 20 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. I am extremely humbled to have been selected as the 2017 Imagely Fund Fellow for my work Yemen in Crisis, Giles says. This challenging assignment for UN/OCHA would not have been possible without the logistical support and planning by the tireless OCHA teams both in Yemen and NY. Recognition for the work is so important in helping create awareness for Yemen; a country currently suffering from a full-blown humanitarian crisis and where foreign press coverage remains limited. Many thanks to all at Imagely for supporting this and my upcoming work on the region." Second Place goes to documentary photographer Marco Panzetti for his work The Idea of Europe, a long-term project dedicated to the human impact of the European refugee crisis. This series includes in-depth reportage on the rescue operations via the vessel Aquarius of Libyans fleeing horrors in their homeland then stranded at sea; coverage of the informal refugee camp along the Italian/French border; a photo essay on Lampudesa, the island off the Tunisian coast which has become both a resort area and a refuge for migrants; and a collective narration of portraits of the Libyan refugees after they have settled into new lives. Maxim Dondyuk and George Steinmetz tied for Third Place in this years competition. In his long-term project, Between Life & Death, documentary photographer Maxim Dondyuk focuses on the scars the war in Donbass has left on the landscape and the humans that inhabit it. Dondyuk also explores the complicated stories of individual veterans in the war. At war in Donbass, there are not only professional soldiers, but also musicians, writers, photographers, office workers, and businesspeople. Award winning photographer George Steinmetzs project, Overfishing in West Africa, is part of his ongoing Feed the Planet series. This important work highlights how overfishing is threatening the food supply of one of the worlds poorest communities as it strip mines our the oceans of marine life. The past decade has seen a rapid expansion of industrial scale fishing, with international fleets of mega-trawlers, super-seiners, and factory mother ships competing with an increasing number of small native fishing boats that struggle to maintain the food supply of the local population. Ground zero for this fishing conflict is on the coast of West Africa, particularly in Senegal, Mauritania, and the Canary Islands. Images for this project were not available for our video due to licensing. Fourth Place goes to documentary and humanitarian photographer Julia Gunther: Fish for Sex, Malawi. Fish for Sex is the next installment in Gunthers long-term work, Proud Women of Africa which documents the lives of strong African women. This next installment in the series will focus on the highly gendered fishing industry of Southern Mali where men fish and women sell the fish. Female fish traders are often pressured into having unprotected sex with the fishermen in order to secure their supply or to gain access to decent prices for the fish. Most of the victims are economically disadvantaged women (single or divorced women as well as widows) living along the shores of Africas great lakes. These so-called fish-for-sex networks are one of the main drivers of the spread of HIV/Aids in Malawi. Fifth Place goes to documentary photographer Benjamin Petit for his work on Climate Refugees Resettlement. Petits reportage in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic centers on the resettlement of a group of 7,000 people from the flood-prone slums along the heavily polluted Ozama River to a new community, La Nueva Barquita. Roughly 300,000 people call these slums home. Extreme weather events, exacerbated by global climate change, have led to regular, devastating floods of up to twenty feet. Petits reportage on the resettlement intends to challenge the stereotypical notions of what climate change looks like in order to expand and deepen perceptions about its many implications. It is important to tell stories of climate change not only as a factor in our daily lives, but also as a player in major socio-political shifts. Honorable Mentions for the 2017 Imagely Fund competition include: Jennifer Little: Owens Lake Michael Snyder: Eroding Edges Chris Schmid: The African Survivors Probal Rashid: Climate Crisis in Bangladesh Fausto Podavini: Omo Change David Verberckt: The Stateless Rohingya, From Persecution to Exile Turjoy Chowdhury: Life in Waste Alex Thompson: Veins of God, Mineral Extraction and Consequences in Wyoming Andrew Cullen: Resting Places: Dreams and Death Along the US-Mexico border Scott Brennan: Indigenous Autonomous Mexico: Towards a Renewal of Revolutionary Promises Sara Hylton: Women of God Christian Werner: Christian Terrorism Judged by a prestigious panel of some of the worlds best-known environmental, humanitarian, and cultural photographers, the 2016 Imagely Fund jurors included Jim Brandenburg, Steve McCurry, and Steve Winter. The Imagely team is grateful for the judges generous support and continued contribution to the photography community. Formerly known as the Photocrati Fund, the 2017 Imagely Fund grant cycle represents the 6th offering of the fellowship: $30,000 towards amazing environmental and humanitarian projects so far! We are always humbled by the incredible talent and powerful imagery of the applicants to the Imagely Fund, says Erick Danzer, Founder and CEO of Imagely. It is an honor to support the environmental and humanitarian photography community, and we wish Giles Clarke the best as he continues with important work in Yemen and beyond. "Our rollout of RNDS is helping us improve our patient experience and coordinated care, keeping us on the leading edge of collaborative healthcare." RNDS announces today an agreement with Arise Austin Medical Center to deploy RNDS, an all-one, secure care team collaboration mobile platform for improving the quality of care Arise patients receive. The RNDS platform is designed to solve real business issues for hospital administrators, improving patient experience and ratings, increasing referrals and procedures, reducing nurse turnover, and lowering readmissions. The company is founded by physicians with the goal of changing the whole hospital experience, the doctors experience, the nurses experience and the patients experience, and make that a real bottom line return on investment for hospitals. Arise Austin Medical Center is a physician-owned, licensed general acute care hospital that provides a full spectrum of orthopedic surgical and general surgical procedures. Arise Austin Medical Center is focused on improving and introducing the centers and services patients need to feel as healthy, happy and cared for as possible. Arise offers an MVP team of physicians and staff who deliver personal, thoughtful patient care. John Weinberg, Interim CEO and Chief Nursing Officer at Arise Austin Medical Center, says, At Arise, we lead with care. Our patients are not another number-they are guests. We make sure to carefully tailor each of our patients experiences to make their stay here, however long, as comfortable as we can. Our rollout of RNDS is helping us improve our patient experience and coordinated care, keeping us on the leading edge of collaborative healthcare. Most recently, we began offering state-of-the-art DaVinci robotic surgery, and a full multi-modal imaging department. Along with our innovative surgical services and imaging departments, we see RNDS as a great fit to accomplish our mission on a daily basis. When we were approached by RNDS, we immediately saw the benefits of adopting their platform. Our Doctors, Nurses and hospital staff experience increased collaboration and engagement between themselves and our patients. Its a win-win for everyone involved, and we are proud to be one of the first facilities in Central Texas who are using RNDS to improve our quality of care. The RNDS team has been responsive and engaged in every step of the implementation process. Chris Hurst, CEO of RNDS says, We are excited to have Arise as a customer and look forward to helping them maintain their high level of personalized healthcare at their surgical facility. Their focus on teamwork and patient satisfaction are outstanding. Reaction from the care team and patients has been very positive. About RNDS RNDS is a privately held technology company founded in 2016 by John Sabra, M.D. and Jayson Aydelotte, M.D. in Austin, TX. Both are military veterans and active surgeons and are passionate about improving the overall experience of healthcare today. The company develops and markets a communication platform application for hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country. Our innovative and passionate people are creating coordinated healthcare communication tools to empower all user constituenciesdoctors, nurses, patients and administrators, and close the gap between technology and patient care. For more information, visit http://rndsapp.com. ###### For more information about RNDS, and its suite of healthcare collaboration and communication tools, please contact Chris Hurst at 512.284.3729 or chris@rndsapp.com. Scriptel Corporation Our tiered support provides the support you wantwhen you need it most Keeping pace with technology while minimizing downtime can be a challenge. Yet, Scriptel Corporation is reversing that trend. The leader in digitizing technology solutions recently launched a three-tiered Extended Support Agreement program, helping organizations worldwide stay steps ahead of the competition and seamlessly adjust to rapid changes within their respective industries. Scriptel hardware and software end users around the world have a distinct need to achieve and maintain a zero failure rate, says Scriptel President & CEO Stephan Herron. With our tiered support packages, they get the exact level of service and support they want and needwhen they want and need it most. That enhances UX internally, enhances our clients ability to deliver an exceptional user experience for their own clientele, and minimizes downtime overall. As health care agencies transition to fully electronic health record (EHR) systems, an increasing number of back-office computer systems and networks are then tasked with operating in syncso that they continue to perform well, in tandem with one another. Health organizations and hospitals deploying multiple Scriptel signature pads will benefit most from the highest level of support: Enterprise. Sophisticated IT installations like theirs often require use of Citrix, VMware or both. Enterprise users get priority access to Scriptels technical team, during periods of critical need, and additional software utilities. With a range of technologies to oversee and manage already, adds Herron, in-house health IT staff feel understandably overwhelmed. Our trio of Extended Support programs solves that problem, by making sure everything goes off without a hitch. If those systems fail to play nicely together, our new options ensure minimal downtime. Scriptels Extended Support Agreements give business users of its rugged, reliable eSignature capture pad hardware and handwriting recognition software solutions three robust, time-saving options to choose from: Standardthe best in the industry Applies to all Scriptel product purchases Technical Support available 8am-5pm ET RapidCare overnight replacement (contiguous U.S.) Premiumwhen uptime is important Standard-level perks PLUS all of the extras listed here: + Registration/Certification of related systems + Unlimited Remote Support 8am-5pm ET + Priority service beyond Standard levels + Physical Simulation Setup, as needed Enterprisemission-critical support for mission-critical systems Premium-level perks PLUS all of the extras listed here: + Designated Key Engineers (Primary/Backup) + On-Site Support for complex problems + Software Customization via coding + Free Scriptel Utility Software Scriptel electronic signature solutions are proven to streamline patient registration, document management, and information security for improved UX at every level. Since 1982, Scriptel has been the leader in capacitive pen and other digital workflow technologies. It has deployed more than 3 Million paperless technology solutions worldwide in clinical care, Point-of-Sale (POS), and other dynamic environments. Its no-scratch, glass-surface ScripTouch electronic signature pads, Sign and Save software packages, and custom OEM components deliver high reliability backed by Industry Best service and unrivaled technical support. Ready to upgrade to the Premium or Enterprise levels? Email Sales(at)Scriptel.com. Not a customer yet? Request a 30 Day Risk-Free Trial by calling (877) 848-6824. Need help with an existing product? Contact (844) 972-7478 or Support(at)my.Scriptel.com. Learn more at Scriptel.com. SCRIPTEL CORPORATION leads the way by advancing rugged, reliable eSignature and signature capture technology. Our Citrix Ready, plug-and-play hardware and software solutions make easy work of document signing, electronic recordkeeping and practice management in Dental, Healthcare, Retail, Tax Prep and other dynamic environments. Scriptel (est. 1982) has a history of leading through innovation, bringing the first peripheral to mimic superior pen input on an LCD screen to market. Today we produce and provide unmatched support for a full suite of ScripTouch signature pad and workflow products, including EasyScript, ProScript and mSign. Scriptel is based in Columbus, Ohio, and has deployed more than 3 Million products worldwide. Which of our hardware and software solutions best suit your needs? Find out! Request a 30-Day, Risk-Free Trial at Scriptel.com. Copyright 2018. Scriptel, ScripTouch, Assist, EasyScript, mSign, OmniScript, ProScript, StaticCap, and Sign and Save, along with their associated logos, are the property of Scriptel Corporation. Our rankings are a helpful tool for families and financial professionals looking to compare college savings options May 29 (5/29), known as 529 Day or National College Savings Plan Day, is celebrated by raising awareness of the importance of saving for college and the unique benefits offered by 529 college savings plans. And, just in time for 529 Day this year, Savingforcollege.com is releasing its latest 529 plan performance rankings to help families make informed and objective decisions when choosing a college savings plan. In Savingforcollege.com's newly-released 529 Plan Performance Rankings, Alaskas T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan and the University of Alaska College Savings Plan were the only plans to rank in the top 10 for the one-, three-, five- and 10-year periods, demonstrating strong investment returns relative to other direct-sold 529 savings plans across the country. Alaskas T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan and the University of Alaska College Savings Plan are available nationwide, not just for Alaska residents. Both plans are managed by T. Rowe Price and invest in T. Rowe Price mutual funds. Savings can be used to pay for college, or up to $10,000 per year in K-12 tuition expenses. Other notable top performing 529 plans include Californias ScholarShare 529, New Yorks 529 College Savings Program, Ohios CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan and Nevadas Vanguard 529 Savings Plan. In producing the quarterly 529 plan rankings, Savingforcollege.com compares the published investment performance of a subset of portfolios from 529 savings plans in every state. Portfolios are selected based on their mix of stocks, bonds, and money-market funds, aiming for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven different asset-allocation categories. Our rankings are a helpful tool for families and financial professionals looking to compare college savings options, commented Matthew Toner, director of institutional research at Savingforcollege.com. "By analyzing different asset allocation categories we are able to identify the 529 plans with the strongest overall performance across portfolios meant for beneficiaries of all ages." "However, past performance does not guarantee future results, and performance should not be the only consideration when selecting a 529 plan," he said. "It is also important to evaluate the plans fees and expenses, assess state income tax benefits and confirm that the 529 plan offers investment options that are aligned with your individual goals." The full reports showing rankings for all direct-sold 529 plans can be viewed at https://www.savingforcollege.com/529-plans/performance-rankings. For premium subscribers, Savingforcollege.com also produces separate rankings for advisor-sold 529 plans and for RIA-channel 529 plans, along with the investment data and scoring used in all ranking reports. Visit http://www.savingforcollege.com/subscriptions/ to sign up and receive 50% your first month. Rankings are updated each quarter. About Savingforcollege.com: Savingforcollege.com has been the leading independent authority on 529 savings plans since 1999. The site compiles and analyzes data, and creates content and tools to provide parents, financial professionals and state policymakers with resources to help them understand how to meet the challenge of ever-increasing education costs. Our clients trust our agents to be the only call they need to make for every imaginable travel itinerary and scenario. CIRE Travel, a division of Tzell Travel Group, focuses on concierge-style planning for corporate travel, groups and meetings and honeymoon clients. The addition of OBrien, a Boston native, leading the Boston office gives CIREs clients access to a greater network of connections, both in Boston and around the world. Through her 30 years as a travel agent, OBrien developed expertise in both leisure and corporate travel. She worked for several independent travel agencies as well as large entities. At American Express she served clients such as Goldman Sachs and global ad agency, Arnold Worldwide. Terri is the epitome of CIRE-level service, says Eric Hrubant, CIRE Travels chief travel planning officer and CEO. Her 30 years of experience means she understands business travelers needs in ways novice agents simply cant. Expertise is paramount to us, thats why we choose our expansion cities based on where we discover the greatest talent and fit for our team. Last year, CIRE Travel expanded to Los Angeles when travel expert, Katy Rebrovich, joined us. As a business and international travel hub, a CIRE office in Boston will help to serve CIRE Travels corporate clients who range from entrepreneurs to mid-sized businesses. The agency is a long-time favorite among agencies, publishers, professional associations and others whose jobs and reputations rely on being at a destination on time and in style, no matter what. Our clients trust our agents to be the only call they need to make for every imaginable travel itinerary and scenario, says Hrubant. For our corporate clients, time is money. Through our industry relationships, our clients enjoy perks, upgrades, waivers and savings up to 30 percent (benefits usually reserved for Fortune 500 travelers). Plus, knowing that any issue will be handled with one phone call to us eliminates any travel stress for our clients so they can focus on their work. In my 30 years of travel planning, not one day has been like any other, says OBrien. Arranging itineraries and booking travel are not the most important aspects of my job. Im here to help people, regardless of the timeline or situation. No one enjoys waiting in line, dealing with reservations that dont go as planned or any of the other issues that can derail a business trip. Im here to handle those challenges. Im here to use my connections to our clients benefit. About CIRE Travel Founded in 2013 by Eric Hrubant, CIRE Travel is headquartered in New York City and has offices in Los Angeles and Boston. The agency is backed by the power of Tzell Travel Group, which Business Travel News ranks first among the nations largest corporate travel management companies. CIRE Travel specializes in luxury honeymoons, meetings and group travel and corporate travel. Its team of seasoned industry professionals taps into their travel industry connections to give their clients the same perks, waivers, upgrades and buying power that Fortune 500 companies receive. These connections and level of service are the foundation of CIRE Travels promise: Its handled. To learn more about the agency, please visit http://www.CIREtravel.com. ### SunDay Pride Founder Ruby L. Taylor SunDayPride.com is a refuge for anyone who feels unworthy of Gods love because of their past, their sexuality or what others have made them believe about themselves. According to a recent CNN story about Juan Carlos Cruz, a victim of clerical sexual abuse, (see link below) Pope Francis told Juan that God made him gay. In describing his Vatican visit to CNN, Cruz says he was told by the Pope that his sexuality does not matter, that God made him like this, loves him as a gay man, and that he should love himself and not worry about what people say. These very favorable comments attributed to the Pope are being embraced by the LGBTQ community and coincide with the unveiling of Ruby Sunshine Taylors new website whose mission is to spread hope, acceptance and Gods love to the LGBTQ community. Viewing Francis comments as a sign of inclusion, and his desire to make gay people feel welcomed and loved in the catholic Church, Taylor is motivated and encouraged to share her powerful message of Gods unfailing love beyond church boundaries. Feeling unworthy of Gods unconditional love and hiding her authentic self so she would be accepted by her family and church, it took a brain injury to become the catalyst for Rubys discoveries about Gods true love. Refusing to be silenced or shamed, and inspired by her personal journey, her traumatic past, and her sexuality, Ruby created SunDayPride.com to help LGBTQ people live their own truth in the light of Gods love. SunDayPride.com is a refuge for anyone who feels unworthy of Gods love because of their past, their sexuality or what others have made them believe about themselves. This online community for LGBTQ people, their loved ones and allies, offers inspiration, an opportunity for sharing and promotes hope, acceptance and Gods love for everyone. Our free website invites experts and everyday people to share their spiritual wisdom and experiences, gives the LGBTQ community a voice and acknowledgement, and ensures that our voices wont be silent, Taylor explained. Website visitors will find inspirational interviews, resources, articles and weekly SunDayPride messages. The sites launch features an inspiring interview with Crystal Cheatham, founder of Our Bible App, a progressive app for Christians who are LGBT affirming, pro women, and center people of color. In the interview, Cheatham shares her own coming-out journey and the events that led her to search for a community and interpretation of the Bible that made sense for her. Taylor is also an inspiring and thoughtful speaker who presents workshops across the US on Gods love for all, grief and healing, and girl empowerment. She plans to share her inspirational messages through the site, presentations and in her new book The Book of SunShine: A Personal Journey Through Faith, Sexuality and Trauma, available for order on SunDayPride.com. To lead a movement that celebrates same gender loving, trans-loving, bisexual-loving and queer-loving relationships, SunDayPride.com promotes a call to action: If you are in a loving LGBTQ relationship and/or you support our right to love and be loved, share the hashtag #IAmChristianToo. According to Taylor, Everyone has the right to love and to be loved, and everyone deserves Gods unfailing and unconditional love. No matter what obstacles you face in life, you will get through the difficult times and the sun will shine again. Yes, I love you, but God loves you best! Story link: https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/europe/pope-francis-gay-comments-intl/index.html ### About Ruby Sunshine Taylor Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, with strong southern roots in North Carolina, Ruby L. Sunshine Taylor, MSW, gained the nickname Sunshine from her mother and has been empowered by remarkable resilience in the face of overwhelming adversity. Surviving sexual abuse, a speech impediment, her brothers murder, a traumatic brain injury, and the process of coming out as a lesbian at 39-years old, her incredible spirit has been sorely tested. Through these struggles, Taylor demonstrates that digging deep, facing ones truths, and embracing Gods unconditional love will ultimately help one thrive and find the sunshine that awaits. A graduate of Howard University and Virginia Union University, Taylor lives in Baltimore, MD and Lancaster, PA with her partner and two children. On a mission to spread Gods love for ALL, Taylor is a nationally acclaimed speaker known for high-energy presentations laced with gracious humor and numerous do-it-now tools that ensure maximum takeaway value. For more information visit http://www.sundaypride.com. LoRa allows operators to collect data from locations where traditional cellular networks often do not have coverage such as oilfields and wastewater networks. Ayyeka has announced that its flagship Wavelet IIoT gateway device now supports LoRa, a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) protocol. With the addition of the optional LoRa module, operators will be able to collect near-real-time data from locations with limited traditional cellular network infrastructure - or even none at all. The Wavelet enables the plug-and-play connection of industrial sensors to monitoring and control applications such as SCADA systems, enabling the quick and seamless creation of smart infrastructure networks. The LoRa network allows operators to collect data from sensors in remote and challenging locations where traditional cellular networks often do not have coverage, such as oilfields and wastewater networks. Because LoRa networks operate over the unlicensed part of the radio spectrum, operators can set up and operate their own IoT-suitable communications channel. The LoRa-supporting Wavelet is being made available to customers in every sales territory in which Ayyeka sells Wavelets, including North America and EMEA. To date, the company has sold over 500 LoRa-enabled devices, including those purchased for a large-scale project in Northern Italy. The LoRa module is being made available as an add-on to the Wavelet and is not included by default. According to Tal Avrahami, Senior Product Manager at Ayyeka, LoRa is an important addition to our offering. There are significant advantages in performance and reliability of Wavelet devices using both LoRa and cellular connectivity. With low-power LoRa modules, operators have the ability to transmit data in near-real-time while consuming less battery. Cellular communications can be utilized to handle tasks requiring a larger downlink payload, including changing device configurations and and applying firmware upgrades. Using both technologies in unison also improves communications redundancy to help ensure the visibility of critical assets. About Ayyeka Ayyeka simplifies delivering data from remote infrastructure and assets. Creating smart networks with Ayyekas hardware-enabled Data-as-a-Service solution is streamlined and secure. With Ayyeka, users can collect data using any sensor, over any communications network, and integrate with any SCADA or software platform. In a data-driven world, Ayyeka provides the technology operators need to operate at the cutting edge. About LoRa The LoRa Alliance, an association of more than 500 member companies, is working to drive adoption of the technology globally. As an open-source protocol with demonstrated benefits for various IoT applications, LoRa is expected to mature as a result of sharing of best practices by developers. Were pleased to be working with Ferrum College... By providing them with more affordable textbooks and course materials well be helping to lower the overall cost of education and support the colleges mission. - John Squires, CEO, Akademos. Ferrum College has selected Akademos as its online bookstore provider to help students obtain significant savings on course materials. The College, founded in 1913, offers nationally recognized bachelors degree programs ranging from business and environmental science to teacher education and criminal justice. Ferrum College will launch its online bookstore beginning Fall Semester 2018. Ferrum College is the fifth Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV) member institution to adopt the Akademos online bookstore solution. The others include Bridgewater College, Mary Baldwin College, Sweet Briar College and Roanoke College. Seamless integration between the Colleges student information system and the Akademos Course Materials Platform (CMP)TM will allow students to see a personalized listing of the textbooks required for each of their courses and to order materials for an entire term in less than five minutes. A wide selection across new, used, rental and eBook formats will be offered, and when using Akademos proprietary peer-to-peer Marketplace of over 100 million textbooks, students will save an average of 60 percent off of publisher list prices. Additionally, students will have the freedom to use financial aid vouchers on all textbook purchases, including significantly discounted marketplace items. As the majority of our students receive financial aid, textbook affordability is a significant consideration in meeting their needs, said Provost Aime Sposato. Our partnership with Akademos will not only address textbook affordability, it will also give our students a wider variety of course material formats, flexible purchasing options, and an easy-to-use platform that integrates with our student information system. All of this will, ultimately, support their success. The online bookstore will also support the Colleges faculty and administrators, who will benefit from an easy-to-use and powerful Adoption & Analytics Portal. This platform offers a step-by-step guide for course material adoptions, recommendations, and adoption history, and the ability to compare real-time prices for course materials. The analytics tool will also enable Ferrum College faculty and leadership to track critical data, including student purchasing and bookstore utilization. Were pleased to be working with Ferrum College and we look forward to helping them support their students success, said John Squires, CEO, Akademos. By providing them with more affordable textbooks and course materials well be helping to lower the overall cost of education and support the colleges mission. About Akademos Akademos offers customized, online bookstore services and solutions that support what's most important to institutions - from full-service virtual bookstores to unique partnerships and products supporting on-campus shops. Akademos delivers cost savings on course materials for students while providing administrators and faculty with critical control over the textbook delivery process. Akademos offers an innovative textbook marketplace, best-in-class eCommerce platform, eLearning solutions, and a unique adoption and analytics portal. The companys comprehensive supply-chain solution and commitment to responsive personal service makes it the choice of leading institutions throughout the country. Akademos helps institutions deliver the right course materials, at affordable prices, on time. Learn more at akademos.com. About Ferrum College Founded in 1913, Ferrum College provides life-long learning and outstanding career and graduate school preparation in a setting of rich natural beauty. A four-year, private, co-educational, liberal arts school related to the United Methodist Church, the College offers nationally recognized bachelor's degree programs ranging from business and environmental science to teacher education and criminal justice, small classes, and a dedicated faculty. Surrounded by mountains, lakes, rivers and state parks, Ferrum College also boasts a wide variety of venues for outdoor recreation and adventure. For more information, visit http://www.ferrum.edu. Special Operations Outlook 2018-2019 Edition The 2018 edition of "Special Operations Outlook", provides an in-depth look at special operations forces (SOF) today, and includes stand-alone features on U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) as well as each of its service component commands. Interviews with the commanders of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC), Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM), and United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), describe present day challenges and future initiatives. As always, there is a review of developments in international SOF as well. Highlighting international SOF is an interview with French special operations commands leader Rear Adm. Laurent Isnard. From the legislative branch, Congressman James Langevin (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, is asked to contribute his perspective on a number of SOF issues. Marking its 75th anniversary, this years edition has a special focus on the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor of todays Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). OSS coverage includes a history of Maj. Gen. Donovans PhDs that could win a bar fight, as well as a look at todays OSS Society, and how it serves the legacy of the OSS and educates the public on its importance yesterday, today, and into the future. Another historical feature details the 1918 Zeebrugge raid, which taught valuable lessons in what and what not to do in planning and executing a raid. The newest developments in SOF carbines, handguns, personal defense weapons, and suppressors are covered, as well as the story of one pack makers collaborative efforts with SOF. Features include Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatts views on State Department and DOD teamwork, and a description of a successful PSYOP on Joseph Konys Lords Resistance Army. "Special Operations Outlook" previously titled "The Year in Special Operations" will debut at the 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) May 21-24 in Tampa, Florida. Conference attendees should visit booth #1654 to pick up a free copy of the publication. OPEN THE DIGITAL EDITION. The online publication is best viewed on desktop, laptop, and tablet devices. The publication will be made available nationwide. Please contact your local bookstore and magazine retailer for more information. About The Publisher, Faircount Faircount creates highly targeted print and digital publications for the worlds most iconic institutions and historic national events. The companys work within government and scientific sectors is second to none, with a portfolio that includes an extensive range of commemorative publications developed in partnership with government departments and agencies. The company has published books for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, Royal Navy (U.K.), Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Navy, DARPA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The King Center, National Council of Volunteer Firefighters, The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Foundation, Carnegie Hall Corporation, and many others. More information is available at faircount.com Faircount develops and publishes websites that showcase high-quality content in the defense sector. Defense Media Network is the online repository for all of Faircounts defense, homeland security, and veterans affairs and military medicine content. http://www.defensemedianetwork.com MJM Innovations, a Baltimore, MD-based leading transportation management and software development technology firm, has been awarded a three (3) year contract with two (2) one-year renewal options from one of the nations largest multi-modal transit systems, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) . The MTA operates various public transportation systems including a comprehensive Paratransit system (Mobility) in addition to performing other functions that support public transportation throughout Maryland. MJM Innovations originally developed transit software and provided management services (in 2004) to meet and enhance the customer service needs of the Maryland Transit Authority (MTA) for its Paratransit program, the MTA Call-A-Ride Service. MJM Innovations custom-built transportation technology and management solution is called EzTransport.(http://mjminnovations.com/eztransport/) Call-A-Ride is a premium service and is offered to complement the ADA Paratransit Mobility program. This unique solution provides same-day service using approved taxi and sedan companies (including wheelchair assessible vehicles), and offers cost-effective rides without requiring the MTA to expand their infrastructure. The results of the MTA program feature the following accomplishments: Annual cost savings approximated at 55% Average daily trips provided - 2,490 More effective, reliable management through a custom-built solution Growth and flexibility for the program, with zero infrastructure updates Improved customer service due to the capacity, freedom and spontaneity of trips In addition to developing public transit software to meet the needs of the program, MJM Innovations works closely with the transportation providers taxi and sedan companies to capture and manage trip data, automate fare collection and increase accountability through web portals, trip management, integration and mobile Apps. Like the MTA, the providers have benefited from the web-based applications that reduce paperwork, decrease payment cycles and provide access to real-time trip information. For more information about MJM Innovations and its services, please visit the company's website: http://www.mjminnovations.com A rendering of the Veterans Recovery Resources campus provided by Cummings Architecture. Many organizations seek to treat the invisible wounds of war, such as PTSD, yet require 4-8 weeks of sobriety. For many Veterans, that simply isnt possible through determination and self-discipline alone. Thats one reason we started Veterans Recovery Resources. As we near Memorial Daythe day we remember the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Militarywe are pleased to announce that Veterans Recovery Resources has established its permanent campus in mid-town Mobile at 1156 Springhill Avenue. Veterans Recovery Resources is a community-based public charity focused on removing the barriers to mental healthcareand in so doing, helping to prevent Veteran suicidefor Veterans and their families suffering from substance abuse and mental wellness issues. There are over 64,000 Veterans in southwest Alabama and numerous local studies suggest that 30-40 percent of them have a need for professional help [1]yet the barriers to seeking care are numerous. Founder and Executive Director John Kilpatrick established the by Veteran, for Veteran organization to remove these barriers and fill a tremendous gap in services. Many organizations seek to treat the invisible wounds of war, such as PTSD, said Kilpatrick, yet 6-8 weeks of sobriety is required before that help can start. For many Veterans, despite their manifest strength, that simply isnt possible through determination and self-discipline alone. Thats one reason we started Veterans Recovery Resources. Currently, Veterans seeking residential care for substance abuse, depression, anxiety and other co-occurring issues in southwest Alabama must travel over 60 miles to Biloxi, MS. When they return, they often do not have a recovery community of Veterans to sustain them, an aspect critical to long-term recovery. We are dedicated to opening the first Veteran-specific residential substance abuse program based in Mobile. Our unique program will align Veterans with other Veterans right from the beginning, said Kilpatrick. Veterans will stay together long after their care ends with us. We are focused on building a vibrant community of Veterans and their families who return to the productive lives they richly deserve, serve in their communities and continue to help other Veterans. That includes forming a tight community with other Veteran service providers in the area. We are eager to team with Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Health Administration, as well as all other service providers, to expand the care offered to our Veterans locally, said Kilpatrick. Our programs are very complementary, and the demand is simply too great for any one organization to address. Thanks to a grant from The Community Foundation of South Alabamas Veterans Initiative and gifts from the Monte L. Moorer Charitable Trust and the Erie Hall Meyer Charitable Fund, the organization has purchased two buildings on a three-acre parcel of land in the hospital corridor of the city. Renovations on the smaller building have already begun. It will serve as the organizations outpatient clinic while funds are raised for the larger building. Naming opportunities are available for donors wishing to make a positive and lasting impact on the Veteran community. Organizations interested in supporting Veterans Recovery Resources in the construction effort including providing in-kind support or services should contact the non-profit at info(at)vetsrecover(dot)org. The organization expects to port the service model to other communities in the future. [1] Albright, D., Hamner, K., & Currier, J. (2016, December). Southwest Alabama Veterans Needs Assessment Project: Understanding the Needs of Veterans and Their Families. [1] Currier, J., Churchwell, M., McDermott, R., Milkeris, L. (2017, July). From Boots to Books: Understanding the Mental Health and Academic Needs of Student Veterans at USA and UWF. DEUTZ coming on board to support our mutual customers is an extension of the long-standing business relationship between Terex AWP and DEUTZ. DEUTZ Corporation and Terex AWP, a business unit of Terex Corporation that includes the Genie brand, have aligned forces to establish DEUTZ Power Centers as authorized service and parts centers for Genie-branded mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs). Staff at DEUTZ Power Center locations in Chicago, Ill., St. Louis, Mo., Kansas City, Mo. and Rock Hills, S.C., are trained and equipped to perform service, warranty, unplanned repairs and supply service parts for Genie Z and S booms, GS scissors lifts and GTH telehandlers. DEUTZ coming on board to support our mutual customers is an extension of the long-standing business relationship between Terex AWP and DEUTZ, said Bob Bartley, Genie senior director of product support, Terex AWP. Maintaining equipment to maximize uptime is critical for our rental customers. Adding the highly professional operations of DEUTZ Power Centers to our network will help keep Genie MEWPs out in the field and improve rental dealers rental return on invested capital (rROIC). Terex AWP has fully trained the field and inside technicians at each DEUTZ Power Center, qualifying them to service Genie MEWPs. Each Power Center location has service trucks that can travel to perform on-site repairs, with 24-hour call-out service available. The Power Centers are stocked with Genie parts and can drop ship emergency-repair parts orders. The natural synergies of having our factory DEUTZ engine service centers perform Genie machine repairs were obvious right away, said Bob Mann, DEUTZ Corporation president and CEO. Some of the first equipment that our DEUTZ Power Center technicians serviced were DEUTZ-powered Genie booms. It is common to have machines in for engine service with chassis systems and components that also need routine maintenance. We knew Terex AWP and DEUTZ customers would benefit from a one-stop point of service for their machines, and thats why we approached themabout meeting their requirements to make our Power Centers into authorized Genie service centers. For more information about DEUTZ Power Centers, visit http://www.deutzsupport.com. Additional information about DEUTZ Corporation and its complete line of diesel and natural gas engines is available at http://www.deutzamericas.com. To learn more about Genie products and services, visit http://www.genielift.com. ABOUT DEUTZ CORPORATION: For more than 150 years, DEUTZ engines have supplied customized, cost-effective power to a broad array of machine types and market segments. The nine-millionth DEUTZ engine was produced in 2015. From its headquarters in Norcross, GA, DEUTZ Corporation, a subsidiary of DEUTZ AG, supports its product range of 25- to 830-hp diesel and natural gas engines. The company is committed to providing optimized power solutions from the drawing board to prototype to production release. The organization serves as a sales, service, parts, and application engineering center for the Americas, employing nearly 300 people. DEUTZ Corporation also operates a value-added production facility for some of its key OEM partners, as well as an engine remanufacturing facility in Pendergrass, Georgia. Strategically located DEUTZ Power Centers and Service Centers are designed uniquely support both OEM partners and end users. For more information, visit http://www.deutzamericas.com. ABOUT TEREX: Terex Corporation is a global manufacturer of lifting and material processing products and services delivering lifecycle solutions that maximize customer return on investment. Major Terex brands include Terex, Genie, Powerscreen and Demag. Terex solutions serve a broad range of industries, including construction, infrastructure, manufacturing, shipping, transportation, refining, energy, utilities, quarrying and mining. Terex offers financial products and services to assist in the acquisition of Terex equipment through Terex Financial Services. More information about Terex is available on its website: http://www.Terex.com, on its LinkedIn page http://www.linkedin.com/company/terex and Facebook page -- http://www.facebook.com/TerexCorporation. "We are excited to continue raising awareness and educating people on the importance of saving endangered species. Zebra Pen Corp., a global leader in the writing instrument industry, is proud to continue its partnership with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the AZA SAFE: Saving Animals From Extinction program, the Saint Louis Zoo, and Grevys Zebra Trust for the fifth consecutive year. With the support of Zebra Pen, AZA, Saint Louis Zoo, and other AZA-accredited facilities are working to conserve the endangered Grevys zebra and its fragile habitat through the Grevys Zebra Trust. The Trust was registered as an independent charitable wildlife conservation trust based in Kenya in early 2007. Working in partnership with communities in Northern Kenya, the goals of the Trust are being achieved. These include restoring critical Grevys zebra habitat, protecting the zebras from illegal killing, monitoring Grevys zebra populations, helping Grevys zebra survive during time of environmental stress, and increasing conservation awareness and fostering positive attitudes towards the species and its habitat. In addition to the Grevys Zebra Trust, Zebra Pen continues to support the AZA SAFE program with its annual contribution to help aide in the conservation of endangered animals and their habitats. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with the AZA for the fifth year in a row, said Ken Newman, Director of Marketing at Zebra Pen Corporation. Our company was named Zebra because of the animals strong herding instinct, and were proud to assemble our herd to support a cause so close to our hearts. Our spokesanimal Zen is a Grevys zebra, and its important to our company to support the creatures that make our world a beautiful place to live. We are excited to continue raising awareness and educating people on the importance of saving endangered species. In addition to an annual contribution, Zebra Pen will launch a comprehensive social media campaign to promote awareness for endangered species, as well as encourage consumers to make a small donation to support AZAs mission of protecting wildlife and wild places. During June, Zebra Pen will celebrate its annual Z-Month with an annual sweepstakes, giving people the opportunity to win a prize pack of tickets to an AZA-accredited facility in the U.S. Zebra Pen also encourages artists and animal-lovers alike to participate in their social media contest by illustrating a picture of their favorite animal, tagging Zebra Pen on social media and using the hashtag #FromAToZebra. Winners will receive products from the Zebra Zensations art line. AZA and its members work each day to educate the public and generate awareness about their work with endangered species. Being able to partner with Zebra Pen to further our awareness effort in a fun way is a great opportunity, and one we look forward to working with them on, said Rob Vernon, Senior Vice President of Communications and Marketing at AZA. For more information about Zebras partnership, visit zebrapen.com/aza. About Zebra Pen Corporation Zebra Pen Corporation was founded in New York in August 1982 as an independent corporation wholly owned by Zebra Co., Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan. A New Jersey-based writing instrument manufacturer, Zebra Pen Corporations mission is to distribute products that are of the highest quality, providing value to customers and meeting their overall writing needs with a wide variety of writing instruments. Zebra Pen Corporation offers a full line of writing instruments, including ball point pens, gel pens, roller ball pens, mechanical pencils, and highlighters. Today, with 111 years of excellence behind them, Zebra Pen Corporation is leading the way with a wide range of quality writing products. For more information, visit http://www.ZebraPen.com. About the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, animal welfare, education, science, and recreation. AZA is the accrediting body for the top zoos and aquariums in the United States and eight other countries. Look for the AZA accreditation logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things. The AZA is a leader in saving species and your link to helping animals all over the world. To learn more, visit http://www.aza.org. Town of Johnstown joins the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System Registered vendors can access bids, related documents, addendum and award information. The Town of Johnstown announced today that it has joined the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System. BidNets Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System helps local governments, such as the Town of Johnstown, post, distribute and manage RFPs, quotes, addendums and awards online. The Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System provides notification to registered vendors of new bids related to their industry, and any addenda and award information from over 200 participating agencies from across Colorado & Wyoming. The Town of Johnstown invites all potential vendors to register online with the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System to access its upcoming solicitations by visiting http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado. The Town of Johnstown joined the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System in April. There was a need for the Town of Johnstown to automate their purchasing process to save time, increase competition and achieve cost savings over the traditional paper-based bid process. The Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System streamlines the creation and issuance of bid requests, supplier response submission and the awarding of bids. By providing a single, online location for managing sourcing information and activities, local government agencies minimize costs and time delays associated with the procurement process. The Town of Johnstown now has access to an extensive vendor pool, thereby enhancing competition without increasing distribution costs. In addition to the existing vendors on the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System, all vendors looking to do business with local government agencies can register online at http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado. The Town of Johnstown invites all current vendors not already registered on the purchasing group to do so today. Registered vendors can access bids, related documents, addendum and award information. In addition, the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System offers a value-added alert service to notify vendors of new bids targeted to their industry, all addenda associated with those bids and advance notice of term contracts. Vendor benefits include: Receive targeted bids Receive bid deadline reminders Notification of term contract expiration Access a single point of entry for all participating agency bids Contact a dedicated vendor support team Vendors may register on Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System at http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado. Vendors may also contact BidNets vendor support team at 800-835-4603 option 2 with any questions regarding registration or the bid system. Other local Colorado & Wyoming government agencies looking to switch from a manual bid process, please contact the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System for a demonstration of the no-cost sourcing solution. About the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System: The Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System is a part of BidNets regional purchasing groups available at no cost to local government agencies throughout the country. With years of input from procurement professionals, BidNet specifically developed the bid system to fill the need for a robust bid and supplier management solution for local government agencies. BidNet runs 30 regional purchasing groups used by over 1,200 local governments. To learn more and have your government agency gain better transparency and efficiency in purchasing, please visit http://www.bidnetdirect.com/buyers Aerospace Engine Supplier Quality (AESQ) Strategy Group, an SAE ITC Program, held a Supplier Forum in Trollhattan, Sweden, April 11. The event was hosted by GKN Aerospace and the keynote presentation was delivered by Emile Colongo, Head of Large Aircraft Propulsion for Airbus SAS. Colongo focused his remarks on Voice of the Customer within the aerospace industry. Attendees to the forum learned the latest information on the SAE G-22 Committees AS13xxx series of aerospace engine supplier quality standards. This series was developed to set common quality requirements for the global aerospace engine supply chain to operate more efficiently. Those in attendance also were able to share their views and experiences with the current set of standards as well as provide feedback for inclusion in several new standards currently under development including problem solving, internal audit requirements, process control and supplier management. The SAE ITC team specializes in establishing and managing consortia by providing proven processes, tools and resources. SAE ITC enables public, private, academic and government organizations to connect and collaborate in neutral, pre-competitive forums thus empowering the setting and implementation of strategic business improvements in global highly engineered industries. (http://www.sae-itc.com) SAE International is a global association committed to being the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting over 127,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including programs like A World in Motion and the Collegiate Design Series. http://www.sae.org The UK National Police Air Service (NPAS) mission crew use CarteNavs AIMS-ISR software on an aerial surveillance mission. By using TerraLens, we expect to be able to offer even better performance capabilities in the next generation of our AIMS software products. Kongsberg Geospatial, an Ottawa-based developer of real-time, mission critical, geospatial visualisation software, and CarteNav Solutions, a leading provider of situational awareness solutions for the maritime, land, and air environments, announced today their TerraLens platform has been selected by CarteNav to provide geospatial capabilities for its new generation of CarteNavs mission system software called AIMS. Kongsberg Geospatial has been providing real-time geospatial and spatial awareness technology to support air traffic management (ATM), maritime, land, underwater and air applications for nearly three decades. Their TerraLens platform powers a diverse range of mission-critical solutions in over 50 countries. CarteNav Solutions Inc. is an international leader in mission management and sensor management software solutions for airborne, land and maritime environments. CarteNav offers operationally proven software that drastically improves the performance of both sensor operators and tactical decision makers on a wide variety of platforms and has a client base that includes government, military, and commercial customers spanning more than 40 countries. CarteNav delivers leading software solutions for ISR Mission Management and sensor integration. By using TerraLens, we expect to be able to offer even better performance capabilities in the next generation of our AIMS software products. We selected the TerraLens Platform based on the quality of their product, their track record, and their on-site support, said Paul Evans, president of CarteNav Solutions. About Kongsberg Geospatial: Based in Ottawa, Canada, Kongsberg Geospatial creates precision real-time software for mapping, geospatial visualization, and situational awareness. The Companys products are primarily deployed in solutions for air-traffic control, Command and Control, and air defense. Over nearly three decades of providing dependable performance under extreme conditions, Kongsberg Geospatial has become the leading geospatial technology provider for mission-critical applications where lives are on the line. Kongsberg Geospatial is a subsidiary of Kongsberg Defence Systems. About CarteNav Solutions: CarteNav (http://www.cartenav.com) is an ISO 9001:2015-certified company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. From its founding in August 2002, CarteNav has become a recognised leader in mission system software that enhances situational awareness and improves mission effectiveness on airborne, land-based, and maritime platforms. The software is operational on civil, government, military, and paramilitary deployments in over 40 countries across 6 continents. Following its acquisition in 2016, CarteNav is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Provincial Aerospace Ltd. and is part of the Exchange Income Corporation (EIC) group of companies Secure surrogacy programs are now available in the United States While our primary focus has always been to help our childless couples start their own families, that goal doesnt exist in a vacuum. We need to balance clients desire to have a family with their own well-being, the likely success, and the availability of affordable alternatives. Sensible Surrogacy is warning all childless couples to avoid surrogacy programs in Kenya. The decision is based on the risks of unregulated surrogacy programs generally, the lower quality of medical care in the country, as well as the general risk to some travelers in Nairobi. Surrogacy has become a popular solution for childless couples to conceive their own families. But high costs, international prohibitions and claims of exploitation of women in developing countries have made the practice controversial. Sensible Surrogacy had been informally advising Western clients from considering options in that region. Now there has been a more formal decision made to withdraw from the country completely. With restrictions appearing in southern and southeast Asia, several surrogacy agencies are offering low-cost options in Kenya and similar destinations, says Bill Houghton, director of Sensible Surrogacy. The lure of being able to have a baby on the cheap is attracting desperate couples into what could be a dangerous situation." According to Houghton, the risks are too great and the chance of success in Kenya is mediocre. The consultancy now recommends new lower-cost programs in the United States, which are completely safe and have the highest success rates worldwide. Estimates of infant mortality in Kenya for 2017 are 37 per 1,000 according to the CIA World Fact Book. That makes Kenya the 49th most dangerous place to have a child worldwide (out of 225 countries). Iraq and Papua New Guinea hold the subsequent spots on the CIAs list. Weve checked with several online expat services, and they also warn foreigners about the quality of medical care," said Houghton. "International insurance providers warn that most health care facilities in Kenya are below international standards with limited resources, and limited capabilities. Meanwhile the U.S. State Department continues to issue travel advisories for the country. The U.S. Crime and Safety report explicitly warns of violent street crime targeted at Westerners in Nairobi itself. Many of our clients are LGBT couples, and Kenya is notoriously homophobic, says Houghton. About 90% of our LGBT couples who pursue surrogacy were forced to consider Kenya. We just cant justify putting these couples into a life-threatening environment when there are now such better options at home. While our primary focus has always been to help our childless couples start their own families, that goal doesnt exist in a vacuum," says Houghton. We need to balance clients desire to have a family with their own well-being, the likely success of a program in an underdeveloped country, and the availability of affordable alternatives. Houghton points to the availability of Independent Surrogacy programs as a safe and affordable option for many childless families. His Consultancy is taking extraordinary steps to make that option available to more couples. Independent Surrogacy is when the Intended Parents manage their own surrogacy journey without the help of a commercial agent, explains Houghton. That may seem complicated, but many of the tasks performed by an Agent can easily be done by most Parents. To support parents following the Independent Surrogacy route, the consultancy has recently launched an exclusive service to guide parents through the entire process. While its true that some U.S. surrogacy agencies are charging $120,000 or more for a complete cycle, Independent Surrogacy programs are now available for less than $70,000 USD. That makes Independent Surrogacy in the United Sates a viable option for many couples who would otherwise need to risk traveling to an unregulated country to conceive their families. Sensible Surrogacy is an ethical IVF & surrogacy consultancy and publisher of the Sensible Surrogacy Guide, which is the definitive source for how surrogacy works for childless couples. Since 2012 they have advocated for affordable, complete and ethical surrogacy services through their overseas consultants and a network of medical and legal service providers. Meridian Police Department K9 Unit presented with check We are thrilled to be the sole shopping center in the United States to receive the Foundation Award this year, said Deborah Smith, marketing manager for The Village at Meridian. Its an honor to be recognized for our contributions. The Village at Meridian was presented an award for its Hometown Heroes event, which celebrates local first responders while raising money for the Meridian Police Department K9 unit. The Village at Meridian was presented with the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Foundation U.S. Community Support Award on May 20, 2018 in Las Vegas. This honor included $10,000 that was donated to the Meridian K9 Unit. We are thrilled to be the sole shopping center in the United States to receive the Foundation Award this year, said Deborah Smith, marketing manager for The Village at Meridian. There are so many beautiful shopping centers across the country doing their part to support their communities. Its an honor to be recognized for our contributions. The Hometown Heroes event was held on September 16, 2017 to support the local K9 unit. Attendees were treated to live music by bands that have a connection to local first responders, face painting, and mingled with several hometown heroes including policemen, firemen, EMT, K9 officers and more. The Village at Meridian sold plush dogs named after the current Meridian K9 officers with all proceeds going towards funding new K9 officers and equipment. To date, almost $15,000 has been raised from the stuffed animals, bringing the total donation amount to nearly $25,000. Giving back to the community and the men and women that keep us safe is a true privilege, said Ramona Merrill, vice president of marketing. CenterCal Properties encourages us to put on events for causes that we believe in and this was definitely one of them. Its the least we can do in return for all that first responders do for our community. This money, along with everything else we have raised to this point, will be used to provide advanced training for our canine teams and purchase ballistic vests and other equipment for all of the dogs, said Berle Stokes, Patrol Lieutenant for the Meridian Police Department. We also hope to use some of the money to purchase another canine in the future. The Village at Meridian is a fantastic community partner and is truly dedicated to making Meridian one of the safest communities in the United States. In addition to the Foundation Award, The Village at Meridian was also awarded Silver MAXI Award for Marketing Excellence. This makes the fourth MAXI award that The Village at Meridian has won since it opened in 2013. Representatives with Clearwater, Florida-based Sun Glo Plating Company, announced today that the company is now offering a complete range of metal fishing services. From coating to plating and cleaning to polishing, we offer a complete range of metal finishing services, said Dave Brackenhamer, director of business development and spokesman for Sun-Glo Plating Company. Brackenhamer went on to point out that for Sun Glo Plating Company, employing an on-site chemist and rigid quality control standards allows for customers to be confident in the end product. Combine this with state of the art automation and technology and your job will be delivered on time, Brackenhamer said. As for how customers rate Sun Glo Plating Companys services, one customer identified as David Schwanke, said Sun Glo is his go-to place. They have some of the most knowledgeable people in the business, Schwanke stressed, before adding, They offer as wide range of finishing processes so I can go to one place for almost everything. But he isnt the only one raving about Sun Glo Plating Companys services. Robert Sipes with Florida Metal Services, Inc., said his company has been working with Sun-Glo Plating Co for over 25 years and recommends the service to everyone. Our experience with them is exceptional, Sipes said. They are professional experts in the plating and finishing industry. Their commitment to quality and their technical expertise in my opinion is second to none. And we look forward to many more years to come of continued support by Sun-Glo. We dont just consider them an excellent supplier, but a partner in our business. For more information, please visit http://www.sun-glo.com/services/ and http://www.sun-glo.com/about/ About Sun Glo Plating Company Working in partnership with our customers, we continue to add services, increase capacity, refine procedures and improve quality. This commitment has allowed for unprecedented growth and to gain a reputation as one of the nations leading finishers. There is much more to plating than dipping and shipping. We have over 30 years experience providing expert advice for both small and industrial sized clients. Media Contact: Dave Brackenhamer 14493 62nd St N, Clearwater, FL 33760, USA Phone: 800-741-1456 Source: Sun Glo Plating Company ### Delictase Oral Drops prevent excessive crying and discomfort for babies suffering from colic, a common issue most likely caused by gastrointestinal discomfort, including intestinal cramping. Getting Delictase on the worlds biggest retailer will help prevent sleepless nights for countless babies and their parents. We stand by being the best colic remedy, and know Amazon will help people around the world find us as we continue to branch out. Neosante Health Solutions top-selling Delictase Oral Drops, a lactase enzyme supplement used to battle baby colic by addressing the symptoms, rather than only addressing the resulting pain, is now available for purchase on the worlds largest online retailer, Amazon.com. Delictase Oral Drops prevent excessive crying and discomfort for babies suffering from colic, a common issue most likely caused by gastrointestinal discomfort, including intestinal cramping. Colic affects up to 40 percent of children, typically occurring when a child is between 6 weeks and 6 months old, rarely lasting more than a year. Getting Delictase on the worlds biggest retailer will help prevent sleepless nights for countless babies and their parents, Neosante CEO Joao Santos said. We stand by being the best colic remedy, and know Amazon will help people around the world find us as we continue to branch out. Parents need to know a product exists that treats their babys crying and improves their overall health by treating the cause, not the symptoms. Delictase provides just enough lactase to infants to treat colic. It helps babies who may have hypolactasia, but is not intended for severe lactose intolerance. Lactase is used to digest lactose, preventing fermentation in the body that leads to tummy pains. Lactose also makes the babys gut more acidic, which causes diarrhea. Delictase Oral Drops come in a 15-milliliter dropper, and should be added to breast milk or baby formula. Neosante is a well-known company overseas, having sold more than two million vials of Delictase Oral Drops in 2017 alone, predominately to health-conscious parents coping with baby colic. Neosante Health Solutions is a privately owned Portuguese pharmaceutical company established in 2007 that produces food supplements, medical devices and cosmetics. Neosante currently distributes products to 20 countries on three continents, and is bringing its most popular item, Delictase Oral Drops, to help parents in the U.S. For more information on Neosante Health Solutions, visit http://www.neosante-hs.com/. For more information on Delictase Oral Drops, available now on Amazon.com, visit http://www.delictase.com. EMS staff appreciate Aladtec's access-anywhere functionality The Aladtec system is reasonably priced and when compared against staff-hours used to set schedules and set payroll. It is well worth the investment. -- Albert Beardsley, Chief (ret.) Georgetown Fire Department, Georgetown, Mass Originally named Connecticut EMS Expo, the upcoming EMS PRO conference has morphed into the most extensive Emergency Medical Service convention in New England. It provides a three-day venue for learning, fellowship, and commerce in the 38,000 sq. ft. hall at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort. A team from Aladtec, Inc., the premier provider of cloud-based scheduling and workforce management software to public safety agencies, will be among some 130 vendors showcasing products and services during the show. This will be Aladtec's first visit to EMS PRO but the vendor is no stranger to New England. Currently, 169 EMS, fire, police and sheriff's departments, dispatch centers and healthcare facilities across six northeastern states use the cloud-based software to create schedules, allow staff to initiate shift trades and swaps, manage certifications, e-forms, and streamline other tasks. "Budgets are tight, and I only spend money on items that will produce the best bang for our buck," said Albert Beardsley, retired chief at Georgetown Fire Department, Georgetown, Mass. "The Aladtec system is reasonably priced and when compared against staff-hours used to set schedules and set payroll. It is well worth the investment. " The gathering starts with a day of pre-conference workshops May 30, followed by three days of educational classes taught by a range of experts in the EMS field. Keynote speaker is Connecticut native Kevin Lacz, a decorated former US Navy SEAL, and combat medic -- now a Physician Assistant in Florida. After leaving military service, Lacz was approached to serve as technical advisor to the movie, American Sniper, the story of Chris Kyle, with whom he served in Iraq. Kyle and director Clint Eastwood convinced Lacz to play himself in the Oscar-winning production. Lacz has also published a memoir, recounting his role in the Battle for Ramadi. Account executive Pete Anderson and systems specialist Jake Tormoen will be attending the conference from Aladtec, Inc. The men will be on-hand at Booth #37 to answer questions from existing customers, and provide demonstrations to anyone interested in learning more about how Aladtec can improve efficiencies and communication at their agency. Watch this short video of how Aladtec has saved St. Croix (WI) EMS many hours, once spent developing and reworking staff schedules. Aladtec, Inc., is headquartered in River Falls, Wis. For more information about their affordable program, call 888-749-5550 or visit Aladtec.com to try a free demonstration. Over the next couple of years, organizations will be more focused on artificial intelligence tools that will predict time-to-fill, candidate-to-job matching and employees most likely to leave their jobs. About one-third of organizations say they have a formal talent acquisition technology strategy and roadmap, with technology deployed for most talent acquisition processes in a consistent and integrated fashion according to Brandon Hall Groups Talent Acquisition Technology Study, with 295 responses from 39 countries and 31 industries. Of those organizations, about three-quarters realized increases in productivity and quality hires since implementing their talent acquisition technology, the study showed, compared to just 35- 45% of organizations with no technology strategy or a loosely defined one. "This research reveals data about current talent acquisition technology requirements and the emerging technologies that organizations plan to purchase in the near future," Brandon Hall Group CEO Mike Cooke said. "Over the next couple of years, organizations will be more focused on artificial intelligence tools that will predict time-to-fill, candidate-to-job matching and employees most likely to leave their jobs. As they make this leap forward, organizations seek providers to help them more than ever before. The research reveals the most valued competencies of a talent acquisition solution provider." The biggest barrier to satisfaction with talent acquisition solutions by close to a 2-to-1 margin is the cost of the technology. Other highlights of the research results include: Right now, the most critical technologies to organizations overall are applicant-tracking systems, onboarding solutions and analytics reporting. When considering replacing current talent acquisition technology, organizations favor an HCM solution that includes talent acquisition over a best-of-breed, point solution by a margin of 65% to 35%. The five most valued competencies of a talent acquisition solution provider are: Reporting/dashboards (79% of organizations), integration capabilities (77%), customer support services (72%), intuitive, user-centric interface (72%) and user training (71%). Download a SnapShot of this study now About Brandon Hall Group Inc. Brandon Hall Group is a HCM research and advisory services firm that provides insights around key performance areas, including Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition and HR/Workforce Management. With more than 10,000 clients globally and 25 years of delivering world-class research and advisory services, Brandon Hall Group is focused on developing research that drives performance in emerging and large organizations, and provides strategic insights for executives and practitioners responsible for growth and business results. At the core of our offerings is a Membership Program that combines research, benchmarking and unlimited access to data and analysts. The Membership Program offers insights and best practices to enable executives and practitioners to make the right decisions about people, processes, and systems, coalesced with analyst advisory services which aim to put the research into action in a way that is practical and efficient. For additional information about our organization please contact Mike Cooke via mike.cooke(at)brandonhall(dot)com or via phone at (561) 306-3576. Tannery Bay The new beach will provide Tannery Bay resident sunbathers and beachcombers alike access to the beautiful waters of White Lake Join Eastbrook Homes and the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce on May 26th for the grand opening of the Tannery Bay Beach. Located within the Eastbrook Homes community of Tannery Bay, the new beach will provide Tannery Bay resident sunbathers and beachcombers alike access to the beautiful waters of White Lake. The free event will kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 12 p.m., followed by beach games and giveaways. The event will also include food and drink provided by local eatery, Pekadills. The family-owned restaurant located in Whitehall has been a local favorite for more than 30 years. The Memorial Weekend event will also feature tours of Eastbrook Homes brand-new model, The Pentwater. This two-bedroom, two-bath, ranch style attached condo available at Tannery Bay provides main floor living and a zero-step entry among many other attractive options. Eastbrook Homes will also offer tours of other Tannery Bay models, including move-in ready townhomes and beach homes on beautiful White Lake. Tannery Bay, one of several West Michigan area Eastbrook communities, provides residents with easy access to the local attractions in Whitehall that include the historic Howmet Playhouse, the weekly farmers market in Montague, and the classic Dogs and Suds Drive In. Tannery Bay provides plenty of outdoor activities including access to the local 22-mile bike trail and plenty of water sport options on beautiful White Lake and nearby Lake Michigan. Please join us on May 26th for the Grand Opening of the Tannery Bay Beach, and to see what Eastbrook Homes has to offer you. At Eastbrook Homes, we always give you more home for your money. We are off to a really good start with our Innovation Nation roadshow this year. We have presented some of the latest digital technologies to our clients and have received an overwhelmingly positive response... Viscira, a leading provider of digital marketing solutions and software products for the life sciences industry, recently kicked off its second annual Digital Innovation Roadshow, titled Innovation Nation. The goal of the roadshow presentations is to help educate life sciences marketing, medical affairs, HEOR, commercial operations, and IT teams about some of the latest technology trends, platforms, and applications. In 2017, Visciras New Product Development Team traveled to 15 cities across the U.S., from Los Angeles to Boston and from Atlanta to New York, to showcase emerging digital technology solutions that could impact key business challenges facing life sciences companies. The team visited a total of 10 leading life sciences companies. This year, the companys roadshow presentations began in February. To date, the Viscira team has traveled to five different cities, visiting five major life science companies. Overall, the company is well ahead of its pace from last year and its meeting goal for the first half of 2018. The 2018 Innovation Nation is a strategic, user-centered approach to addressing some of the major challenges facing life sciences companies. Using an Educate, Experience and Apply framework, it is a creative way to bring the latest technologies to clients, through a series of on-site interactive sessions, demos, and discussions. At its core, Innovation Nation is a collaboration between Viscira and its life sciences clients to define new content-delivery media and to help gain greater insights into how to more effectively apply cutting-edge, message-enhancing technologies in different user experience scenarios. We are off to a really good start with our Innovation Nation roadshow this year. We have presented some of the latest digital technologies to our clients and have received an overwhelmingly positive response. In particular, many clients are interested in Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence technology, and are starting to see how they can be used for HCP and patient engagement, training applications, etc., said Rodwin Pabello, Visciras Director of New Product Development. Here is some of the specific feedback Viscira has received from leading life sciences companies: Before you started the meeting, I told you that HoloLens was not a viable option for training our sales teams. It seems from the other vendors, it is not ready for prime time. You totally changed my mind and we are excited to partner with you. I am getting chills down my arm. I can envision a wall of AR posters that will help teach our sales reps. Your work is impressive. We are excited about the opportunities to raise the bar for our training platform. The company is very excited to continue the roadshow presentations for the second half of the year and continues to receive strong interest from clients. For more information on Visciras Innovation Nation, please contact Melissa Chun, Senior Analyst Business Development and Product Management, at (415) 848-8075 or send an email to visiontour@viscira.com. About Viscira Viscira is dedicated to the design and development of digital marketing solutions and interactive software applications for the life sciences industry. Viscira provides a suite of programs that integrate best-in-class technology to deliver engaging and memorable content via various electronic channels. Viscira falls under the S&H Group, which is part of WPP Health & Wellness. For more information, please visit the companys website at http://www.viscira.com or contact Nol Ashekian at (617) 429-0834. Kent Stemper, CEO, BluSky Restoration Contractors, LLC Ernst & Young announced that Kent Stemper, CEO of BluSky Restoration Contractors, LLC is a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 Award in the Mountain Desert region. The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who are excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Stemper was selected as a finalist by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala on Thursday, June 28, 2018 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. "I'm humbled to have been recognized among my peers as a finalist for this prestigious award," says Stemper. "For me, this is more a testament to the outstanding efforts of our BluSky team than my leadership, as absolutely no one in business is successful on their own. I have the best team in the restoration industry and I am truly blessed to serve alongside them every day," Stemper added. An industry outsider, Stemper became BluSkys CEO in October 2014. He led with retaining and growing talent as his top priorities, supported by a focus on developing an outstanding culture. Stemper challenged his team to greatness as he believed it was the only goal worthy of BluSky. His challenge came with an admonition: There are no truly great companies that are not first financially successful. He believes growth goals must be simple and easily understood. Now in its 32nd year, the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 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 10, 2018. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum, the nations most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. Sponsors Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored in the US by SAP America, the Kauffman Foundation and Merrill Corporation. In the Mountain Desert region, sponsors also include Faegre Baker Daniels, Colliers International, Woodruff Sawyer & Co., Project X-ITE and the Denver Business Journal. BluSky Restoration Contractors, LLC BluSky provides restoration, renovation, environmental and roofing services to commercial and multifamily real estate across the U.S. Experts in commercial large loss, BluSky is Raising the Bar for disaster response. 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 entrepreneurs 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/eoy About EYs Growth Markets Network EYs worldwide Growth Markets Network is dedicated to serving the changing needs of high-growth companies. For more than 30 years, weve helped many of the worlds most dynamic and ambitious companies grow into market leaders. Whether working with international mid-cap companies or early stage, venture-backed businesses, our professionals draw upon their extensive experience, insight and global resources to help your business succeed. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/sgm or follow news on Twitter @EY Growth. About EY EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com. This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member of the global EY organization that provides services to clients in the US. For more information, please visit ey.com. Our objective is to constantly provide fresh content to our users with useful, engaging materials. This acquisition enables us to provide new materials allowing our customers to customize their new-school security awareness programs with the right training at the right time. -Stu Sjouwerman KnowBe4, provider of the worlds largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, announced today that it has acquired international content provider exploqii. In addition to the creation of bespoke explanatory animation videos, exploqii provides a multi-lingual library of pre-produced 2-minute educational videos in the categories of cybersecurity, security, data privacy and compliance. The videos treat over 50 subjects in 24 languages with more than one million client video views. Their unique content provides users with visual-based training to enhance their understanding of security topics such as phishing, ransomware, social engineering and more. Our objective is to constantly provide fresh content to our users with useful, engaging materials, said Stu Sjouwerman. This acquisition enables us to provide new materials allowing our customers to customize their new-school security awareness programs with the right training at the right time for their organization. We look forward to working with the bright professionals at exploqii to ultimately help our customers enhance the security posture of their organizations. We look forward to our joint future with KnowBe4, said Detlev Weise, exploqii co-founder and CEO. With this winning combination, we provide our customers with a truly unique program. With the new constellation, companies can raise employee awareness with short videos, provide detailed training programs and test their human firewall using simulated attacks all from a single source, enthusiastically added Christine Kipke, co-founder and chief creative officer, exploqii. For more information on exploqii, please visit https://www.exploqii.com/en/exploqii_library_security. For more information on KnowBe4, see https://www.knowbe4.com. About KnowBe4 KnowBe4, the provider of the worlds most popular integrated new-school security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 18,000 organizations worldwide. Founded by data and IT security expert Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness of ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to security awareness training. Kevin Mitnick, internationally recognized computer security expert and KnowBe4s Chief Hacking Officer, helped design KnowBe4s training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Thousands of organizations trust KnowBe4 to mobilize their end-users as the last line of corporate IT defense. Number 231 on the 2017 Inc. 500 list, #70 on 2017 Deloittes Technology Fast 500 and #2 in Cybersecurity Ventures Cybersecurity 500. KnowBe4 is headquartered in Tampa Bay, Florida with European offices in England and the Netherlands. About exploqii Based in Berlin and founded by Christine Kipke and Detlev Weise in 2014, exploqii is a leading explanatory video production company and content service provider for security & compliance education in Germany and Central Europe. exploqii videos are used as standalone awareness communication and education tools and supplements to existing eLearning or classroom training courses. The exploqii video library has received much international recognition in the past 18 months. It was recently awarded the Cybersecurity Excellence Award at the beginning of 2018 and received the OSPA - Outstanding Security Performance Award in late 2016. New Siemplify app part of Palo Alto Networks Application Framework The Siemplify app can help SOC teams take their day-to-day operations to an even higher level of efficiency and effectiveness through security orchestration. Siemplify, the leading innovator in security orchestration, automation and incident response, today unveiled its app for the Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW) Application Framework. Siemplifys app enables orchestration and automation of security workflows triggered from the Palo Alto Networks Application Framework through its powerful security operations workbench. Consuming cybersecurity innovations has become an arduous process. Organizations waste time deploying new sensors every time they want to collect a new piece of data and managing point products rather than improving security controls to stay ahead of attackers. The Palo Alto Networks Application Framework makes it easy to add new security capabilities quickly and efficiently. The framework extends the capabilities of the Palo Alto Networks Security Operating Platform, with a suite of APIs that developers can use to connect innovative apps with rich data, threat intelligence and enforcement points. Organizations gain immediate security value from apps developed by an open ecosystem of trusted innovators. Siemplifys security orchestration and automation app will allow security teams to orchestrate, manage and automate actions for Palo Alto Networks and their other security technologies, all from a single console. By unifying technologies and processes within a single pane of glass, Security Operations Center (SOC) teams can build, run and automate playbooks, investigate, triage and remediate security alerts, as well as track and measure KPIs across on-premise and cloud environments to work smarter and respond faster to cyberthreats. QUOTES Security teams often lose precious time trying to work across multiple tools managed through different consoles but being part of the Palo Alto Networks Application Framework means the Siemplify app can help SOC teams take their day-to-day operations to an even higher level of efficiency and effectiveness through security orchestration. - Meny Har, vice-president of products, Siemplify We are delighted to welcome Siemplify to the Palo Alto Networks Application Framework developer community. The framework provides our customers with superior security through cloud-based apps developed by innovative security providers, large and small. Together, we are fueling innovation in the cybersecurity market with apps that are built rapidly, engineered on a common framework, and deliver unique value while solving our customers toughest security challenges. - Lee Klarich, chief product officer, Palo Alto Networks AVAILABILITY The Siemplify security orchestration and automation will be accessible via the Palo Alto Networks Application Framework upon its launch. The Palo Alto Networks Application Framework is targeted for availability in August 2018 and will be available worldwide to customers who have purchased either Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewalls or Traps advanced endpoint protection and the Logging Service subscription. About Siemplify Siemplify provides a holistic security operations platform that empowers security analysts to work smarter and respond faster. Siemplify uniquely combines security orchestration and automation with patented contextual investigation and case management to deliver intuitive, consistent and measurable security operations processes. Leading enterprises and MSSPs leverage Siemplify as their SOC workbench, tripling analyst productivity by automating repetitive tasks and bringing together disparate security technologies. Founded by Israeli Defense Forces security operations experts, Siemplify is headquartered in New York with offices in Tel Aviv. http://www.siemplify.co About Palo Alto Networks We are the global cybersecurity leader, known for always challenging the security status quo. Our mission is to protect our way of life in the digital age by preventing successful cyberattacks. This has given us the privilege of safely enabling tens of thousands of organizations and their customers. Our pioneering Security Operating Platform emboldens their digital transformation with continuous innovation that seizes the latest breakthroughs in security, automation, and analytics. By delivering a true platform and empowering a growing ecosystem of change-makers like us, we provide highly effective and innovative cybersecurity across clouds, networks, and mobile devices. Herpetologia Volume 74 Issue 2 The spectacular foot-tapping behavior adds yet another layer of complexity to the multimodal signaling system found in African reed frogs. Herpetologica Researchers studying the communication and mating rituals of amphibians attempt to understand how complex environments influence the communication abilities of these animals. Amphibians are ideal model organisms for study because their multimodal communication methods of sound, color and scent all play a role in increasing the likelihood of clearer signaling. Recently, researchers from the University of Vienna have detected a never before observed communication method in Spotted Reed Frogs: foot tapping. In an article recently published in the journal Herpetologica, researchers examined the means of communication among Spotted Reed Frogs at the Amani Nature Reserve in Tanzania. Prior work by the same team of scientists focused on the release of chemicals as a form of communication, and a logical extension of that work was to examine the role that color of the vocal sac plays in attracting mates. The experimental apparatus used by the researchers included audio recordings of both mating and aggression calls emitted by the frogs, as well as an artificial vocal sac that would expand and contract in synchrony with the calls. Mating calls from male frogs had characteristics that easily distinguished them from aggression calls. If an encroaching male did not respond to the aggressive calls and move away, the residing male would engage in fighting. The researchers suggested that the colorful patch on the frogs vocal sac is more related to chemical communication, such as pheromones, than to visual communication. However, the researchers observed a never before seen foot tapping as a communication method that is thought to help create a seismic signal when environmental factors intrude on acoustic methods. The discovery of this form of communication is leading researchers to question its overall role in both mating and male-to-male interaction. Researcher Iris Starnberger stated, When we planned our field experiments in Tanzania, we were aiming to gain more insights into the role of the vocal sac in acoustic, visual and chemical communication in reed frogs, which we did, but the most surprising result was that we were testing Frog Astaire all along. The spectacular foot-tapping behavior adds yet another layer of complexity to the multimodal signaling system found in African reed frogs. Further research is necessary to fully examine the newly discovered foot-tapping behavior, as well as to further examine the chemical cues emitted from the vocal sac. Full text of the article, Multimodal Signal Testing Reveals Gestural Tapping Behavior in Spotted Reed Frogs, Herpetologica, Vol. 74, No. 2, 2018, is now available at http://www.hljournals.org/doi/full/10.1655/Herpetologica-D-17-00053.1 About Herpetologica Herpetologica is a quarterly journal of The Herpetologists League, containing original research articles on the biology of amphibians and reptiles. The journal serves herpetologists, biologists, ecologists, conservationists, researchers, and others interested in furthering knowledge of the biology of amphibians and reptiles. To learn more about the society, please visit http://www.herpetologistsleague.org. Algolux wins Vision Product of the Year Award for Best Automotive Solution We congratulate Algolux on the recognition of its CANA DNN software for robust computer vision perception as Vision Product of the Year Awards, Best Automotive Solution. - Jeff Bier, founder of the Embedded Vision Alliance Algolux, the leading provider of machine learning optimization platforms for autonomous vision, has won the Vision Product of the Year Award at the Embedded Vision Summit. Algolux was presented with the award for Best Automotive Solution for its CANA full-stack deep neural network (DNN) for robust perception as determined by an independent panel of computer vision expert judges. Open to all Embedded Vision Alliance Member companies, the Vision Product of the Year Award winning entries are selected by an independent panel of judges based on innovation, impact on customers and the market, and competitive differentiation. Perception accuracy for autonomous vision in challenging imaging conditions, such as low light and adverse weather, is mission-critical for safety in ADAS and autonomous driving. CANA applies a novel end-to-end DNN that integrates the image formation model with the high-level computer vision model to significantly improve accuracy versus todays alternative state of the art approaches. We are honored to win this Vision Product of the Year Award for automotive. This acknowledgment from computer vision industry experts provides distinct recognition that we are uniquely addressing critical challenges, said Allan Benchetrit, Algolux President and CEO. The award highlights how Algoluxs autonomous vision technology is on its way to making a meaningful impact on the mission-critical concern of safety in the development and deployment of vision systems in the automotive industry. "The Vision Product of the Year Awards recognize the most innovative products and technologies addressing the industrys hardest challenges in computer vision, said Jeff Bier, founder of the Embedded Vision Alliance. We congratulate Algolux on the recognition of its CANA DNN software for robust computer vision perception as Best Automotive Solution. About Algolux Algolux enables autonomous vision empowering cameras to see more clearly and perceive what cannot be sensed with todays imaging and vision systems. Computer vision is at the heart of autonomous cars, ADAS, mobile devices, security cameras (IoT), AR/VR, robotics, drones, and medical equipment, leading the next wave of market growth and social impact. Developed by an industry-recognized team of machine learning, computer vision, and image processing researchers, our patented machine-learning technologies address the complexity of optimizing imaging and vision systems while improving the costs, time-to-market, and expertise challenges faced by product development teams. Visit us at http://www.algolux.com. About The Embedded Vision Alliance The Embedded Vision Alliance is a worldwide industry partnership bringing together technology providers and end-product companies who are enabling innovative and practical applications for computer vision for a range of market segments and applications, including automotive, consumer electronics, gaming, imaging, and more. Membership is open to any company that supplies or uses technology for computer vision systems and applications. For more information on the Alliance, visit https://www.embedded-vision.com. About The Vision Product of the Year Awards Program The Vision Product of the Year Awards are open to all Embedded Vision Alliance Member companies and celebrate the innovation of the industrys leading companies that are enabling the next generation of computer vision applications. Winning entries are selected by an independent panel of judges based on innovation, impact on customers and the market, and competitive differentiation. Copyright 2018 Algolux, Inc. Algolux, the Algolux logo, CRISP, CRISP-ML, CANA, and other designated brands included herein are trademarks of Algolux in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Milgard Volunteers at Habitat "It takes many volunteer hands and hours to prepare these homes for our partner families, so we appreciate the time that Milgard has provided, said Kathy Horton, Community Outreach Coordinator for Habitat For the 6th year, Milgard Windows & Doors worked with Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity to help beautify and prepare homes in preparation for low-income families to move in. Homes in the neighborhood of Tillicum can now offer a beautiful view to future Habitat families thanks to the hard work and effort of Milgard employees and their family members. A team of five labored to eliminate debris from the job site, move soil and rocks in preparation for a cement patio to be poured and stacked scaffolding. Finishing touches were also added to the home as trim was painted, floor tiles and backsplashes were installed and walls were prepped for insulation. I was pleased to meet many of the future homeowners and the Habitat crew, who were all very friendly and appreciative of our time and efforts, said Dave Hall. Besides getting to leverage my own experience in landscaping, I learned new skills during our build day, including cutting and installing tiles. I highly encourage anyone to give it a try. It is truly a gratifying endeavor. Milgard Style Line Series, dual pane vinyl windows were also used throughout the Tillicum neighborhood build. They are chosen for many Habitat projects because of their energy efficiency, durability and low maintenance requirements. We want to extend a big thank you to our volunteer partners from Milgard that came out for a Habitat team build, said Kathy Horton, Community Outreach Coordinator for Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity. They were instrumental in helping level a community yard area that at the beginning of the day was a large pile of dirt and by days end was ready for the next stage of landscaping. It takes many volunteer hands and hours to prepare these homes for our partner families, which also contribute sweat equity into their homes and community, so we appreciate the time that Milgard has provided. Habitat for Humanity's presence in Tillicum has made a difference in the community. Now that the homes are owner-occupied with affordable housing, residents have become more actively involved in making improvements to their neighborhood. Reports of crime in the area has been reduced and popular businesses are moving in. (Pictured: Dave Hall, Anand Mahajani, Tim Large, Lena Foree, Jeanne Large) About Milgard Windows & Doors Milgard Windows & Doors, a Masco company based in Tacoma, Washington, offers a full line of vinyl, wood, fiberglass and aluminum windows and patio doors for builders, dealers and homeowners, backed by a Full Lifetime Warranty, including parts and labor. The company has been recognized as Builders Choice for vinyl and fiberglass windows in the Western United States, in a yearly survey sponsored by Hanley-Wood Inc., publishers of BUILDER Magazine. Milgard is the highest online rated window and patio door brand, as measured by the 2016 NRS consumer sentiment study conducted by MetrixLab and commissioned by Masco. Milgard has approximately 3,800 dealer locations nationwide. For more information, visit milgard.com or call 1.800.MILGARD. About Masco Corporation Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS), parent company of Milgard Windows & Doors, is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Our portfolio of industry-leading brands includes Behr paint; Delta and Hansgrohe faucets, bath and shower fixtures; KraftMaid and Merillat cabinets; Milgard windows and doors; and Hot Spring spas. We leverage our powerful brands across product categories, sales channels and geographies to create value for our customers and shareholders. For more information about Masco Corporation, visit Masco.com. About Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that works with low-income families in Pierce County to build and own simple, decent, affordable homes. Partnering with a variety of corporate, community, and faith-based organizations, as well as numerous individual volunteers, Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity develops affordable communities of both rehabbed and new construction housing. # # # Clearinghouse CDFI $500,000 is a significant investment which we will use to create a positive impact in the communities we serve Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution (Clearinghouse CDFI) announced today an additional $500,000 Class A equity investment from Mohave State Bank. The bank, an existing Clearinghouse CDFI shareholder made an initial investment in Arizona MultiBank, which was merged with Clearinghouse CDFI in 2015. Based in Lake Havasu City, Mohave State Bank is one of the oldest and largest community banks headquartered in Arizona. Mohave State Bank is now one of Clearinghouse CDFIs largest Arizona-based shareholders. We are impressed with the impact that Clearinghouse CDFI has on small businesses and underserved communities. This investment is our commitment to help Clearinghouse CDFI broaden its reach within Arizona, said Brian Riley, President and CEO of Mohave State Bank. Clearinghouse CDFI will use this investment to benefit low-income and distressed communities in Arizona and throughout Western United States and Indian Country. The $500,000 investment will help Clearinghouse CDFI continue financing community facilities, affordable housing, commercial real estate, and other projects that create jobs and services in underserved areas. Community development projects previously financed by Clearinghouse CDFI include: MSA Annex, LLC, Tucson, AZA $2.7 million loan for the construction of a new community retail and entertainment center to help create jobs and services in a low-income area. Walts Hardware, Holbrook, AZ$686,250 in financing for a small community-oriented business in rural Arizona to increase store inventory and boost business operations. Apache Railway, Snowflake, AZClearinghouse CDFI, in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority, provided $2.5 million in financing to save the historic Apache Railway-a critical piece of infrastructure in Arizona. It has been a pleasure working with Mohave State Bank over the past two years. We are pleased the bank has sought to increase their investment in our company," said Douglas J. Bystry, President and CEO of Clearinghouse CDFI. "$500,000 is a significant investment which we will use to create a positive impact in the communities we serve." Clearinghouse CDFI has funded $1.55 billion in total loans for over 1,820 community projects over the past 21 years. These projects have created or retained more than 18,000 jobs and benefit over 1.5 million individuals. This includes the rehabilitation of more than 16.9 million square feet of blighted properties. These projects have benefited over 610 separate underserved communities throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Indian Country. About Mohave State Bank: Mohave State Bank is a full-service bank providing deposit and loan products, and convenient online banking to individuals, businesses and professionals. It is the oldest and largest bank headquartered in Arizona. The Bank is committed to investing and empowering its local communities. State Bank Corp., the parent company of the bank, is traded over-the-counter as SBAZ. About Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution: Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution (Clearinghouse CDFI) addresses unmet credit needs in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Indian Country in the Western United States. Clearinghouse CDFI is an industry leader helping to bridge the gap between conventional lending standards and the needs of low-income and distressed communities. Clearinghouse CDFI is also a B Corp--a certification received from the nonprofit B Lab. B Corps are companies who meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, and use business as a force for good. More information is available at: http://www.ccdfi.com. Full Release As health care providers, we want to help facilitate successful outcomes for our patients, and improving communications is an essential component of that success.- Brent Agin, M.D., TeleWellnessMD founding physician TeleWellnessMD - a telehealth services company that provides wellness-based medical consulting, program recommendations and prescription wellness therapies through an online platform and network of licensed medical providers in each state - has launched the VIP Mobile Club, an SMS text alert program to improve the user experience for their clients. Research demonstrates the need for patient follow-up, as half of patients fail to recall medical provider recommendations unless prompted. With the ultimate goal of improving communication gaps that cause missed appointments and lack of patient follow-through, the new text alert program will provide clear and timely reminders to help keep patients on track with their prescription therapy protocol. Following the plan of care consistently is critical for patients to improve their health, said Brent Agin, M.D., TeleWellnessMD founding physician. As health care providers, we want to help facilitate successful outcomes for our patients, and improving communications is an essential component of that success. With half of TeleWellnessMD clients regularly accessing their patient portal through their mobile device, the VIP Mobile Club is just one of the ways TeleWellnessMD is improving their services for their clients. Earlier this year, the company expanded their nationwide physician and pharmacy networks, allowing for increased flexibility in appointment scheduling and more affordable pricing for prescription therapies. The new text alert program sends customer service and exclusive promotional text messages to TeleWellnessMD clients whove opted in as mobile subscribers. With the new program, clients can not only conveniently communicate with TeleWellnessMD advisers about provider appointments, they can also receive special offers for prescription refills. There are 3 ways to subscribe: 1. Visit info.telewellnessmd.com/vip-mobile-club and submit mobile phone number to opt in. 2. Text WELLNESS to 55702 from mobile device. 3. During keyword campaigns, text the keyword being promoted to 55702 from mobile device for exclusive offer codes. Quick facts: Offers are exclusive to VIP Mobile Club subscribers, and subscriptions require a cell phone number to opt in and receive notifications via text message. There is no direct medical provider assistance available through the VIP Mobile Club. Subscribers can communicate with TeleWellnessMD advisers about Wellness Consultation appointments and prescription refills through the VIP Mobile Club client services line by texting HELP to (727) 217-5327 during business hours (M-F 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST.) To opt out, subscribers can simply text "STOP" to (727) 217-5327 or short code 55702. About TeleWellnessMD TelewellnessMD provides medical consulting, program recommendations and prescription wellness therapies for general health, age management, nutrition and other wellness health care needs through an online platform and network of licensed medical providers in each state. Visit telewellnessmd.com. TeleWellnessMD Social: Facebook, Google+, YouTube. ____________________________________ Laws, M. Barton, et al. Factors Associated with Patient Recall of Key Information in Ambulatory Specialty Care Visits: Results of an Innovative Methodology. PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, 1 Feb. 2018, journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0191940. The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) warns that teen workers are at risk on the job. AIHA is urging Americans to visit http://bit.ly/TeenWorkSafety to contact their local, state, and national lawmakers to demand that critical workplace safety education be included in 7th-12th grade curriculum. Of the 1.6 million US students aged 15 to 17 who are employed, 40 will lose their lives to work-related injuries and some 60,000 will be rushed to emergency rooms with life-altering injuries, many due to the lack of proper workplace safety education, said Deborah Imel Nelson, PhD, CIH, the President of the Board of AIHA, We have a responsibility to educate our youth about workplace hazards. It is time to incorporate workplace safety education into the curriculum of grades 7 through 12. Together, we can reduce teen deaths and injuries by educating teens about workplace safety. About the Youth@Work Talking Safety Curriculum The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with educators, industry leaders, and state governments has developed the Youth@Work Talking Safety curriculum. The curriculum is free to download and provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to identify, reduce or eliminate hazards at work and respond to emergencies. The curriculum is tailored to address the specific rules and regulations of each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has developed a related program called Safety Matters designed to help OSH professionals engage with students. About AIHA Founded in 1939, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is the premier association of occupational and environmental health and safety professionals. AIHAs 8,500 members play a crucial role on the front line of worker health and safety every day. Members represent a cross-section of industry, private business, labor, government and academia. Learn more at http://www.aiha.org. Mobile banking company Varo Money, Inc. has announced the results of their Talk Money to Me survey. The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults age 18+, conducted by Propeller Insights on behalf of Varo Money in March of 2018, revealed that money is not a major consideration for Americans when picking a partnerexcept for millennial men. The survey also revealed that women are increasingly out-earning their partners, that many women hate the term girl boss, that the vast majority of Americans (88%) think women are as effectiveor more effectivethan men in the political arena and Americans feeling about the pay gap. Talk money to me Gender equality in the workplace continues to be hot-button topic, but the data shows that people are more interested in doing a job they love than closing the pay gap: two-thirds (65%) of men would accept their dream job even if they knew theyd be paid less than someone of the opposite sex, as would 55% of women. The percentages are even higher among millennial men (71%) and women (64%). 59% of Americans would take the job for love of the work regardless of the starting pay One in 3 would expect a quick raise and 31% would expect a raise at some point 27% would do it to break into the industry 18% of men and 9% of women feel gender equality doesnt matter Having said that, 36% of American women make more money than their partner, and this figure is even higher among millennial women (40%). More than half of women (52%) have also completed a higher level of education than their partners. Most Americans (73%) say they do not care if their significant other makes more or less money than them, and more than half (53%) say wealth is not a consideration when they are picking a life partner. Women are twice as likely (10%) as men (3%) to say that if their partner earns less money than them, it negatively impacts the relationship. Only 5% of Americans would prefer to marry someone who earns less than they do. Whats love got to do with it? Money seems to be a bit more of an aphrodisiac for millennials, however: 29% would like to marry someone who earns more money than they do, and more than a quarter say it affects their relationship and romantic dynamic positively when their partner earns more money than they do. This is especially true of millennial men: 34% say the dynamic is positively impacted when their partner earns more than them 57% say wealth is a factor when choosing a partner26% say it is extremely important 41% of millennial men would marry someone who earns more than they do so that their partner can pay off their debts About a third (36%) of millennial women would marry someone who earns more in order to be a stay-at-home parent. On the other hand, money also seems to be a point of greater stress for younger generations. Nearly 20% of millennials and Gen Xers have ended relationships because of money issues compared to just 5% of Americans over the age of 55. Also in stark contrast to older Americans, the majority of millennials (60%) have not held a job for more than three years. Millennials have a lot of unique money issues that other generations have not facedstudent loans, housing costs, a changing economyand that means they must be on top of their finances, said Emily Brauer Gill, Director of Brand & Communications at Varo Money. At Varo, we offer our customers a solution for managing their money without adding stress to their lives. Thats woman boss and madam president to you When it comes to politics, the majority of Americansregardless of genderfeel that women politicians are just as effective as men (68%). Another 20% feel that women are more effective. Men believe that women make more effective politicians because they are more caring (35%), more level-headed (31%), and more willing to compromise (26%). On the other hand, women believe women make more effective politicians because they are harder working (35%) and care more about results than status (35%). Only 12% of Americans believe women make less effective politicians. When do Americans graduate from girls and boys to women and men? Most Americans (51%)and even more millennials (62%)feel that they are all grown up by age 18. More than 1 in 5 American women (22%) hate the term girl boss Another 22% prefer the term woman boss Only 10% of women love the term girl boss 26% of millennial women feel offended when people refer to them as girls 43% of millennial men take offense if people refer to them as boys About Varo Money Varo Money, Inc. (Varo), is changing the future of banking with their mobile app: a frictionless bank account offered through The Bancorp Bank that also helps customers do more with their money. Varo is building a mobile banking experience that helps customers cover their expenses, pay their bills and build their wealth over time so they can stop worrying about money and go live their lives. Unlike traditional banks or other fintech apps, Varo offers a complete solution with integrated deposit, budgeting, savings, and lending products that aim to help customers bank with ease and achieve better financial outcomes. Theres no reason for a bank branch on every corner anymore: all that customers need is an iPhone to bank seamlessly. Based in San Francisco and privately held, Varo has raised $78M to date, led by Warburg Pincus. Varo Personal Loan and Varo Backup Line are offered by Varo Money, Inc., under state licenses, subject to application approval. For more information, please visit http://www.varomoney.com and follow Varo on Facebook @varomoney or Twitter @varomoney. Varo Bank Accounts are provided by The Bancorp Bank, and deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 through The Bancorp Bank; Member FDIC. A Sensohive remote temperature monitoring device at a Colorado orchard is one of hundreds being deployed in a new pilot program by Honolulu-based Smart Yields and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. Designed to be simple and easy to use, Smart Yields seamlessly connects with a variety of sensors and hardware, and taps a diverse array of data sets to give users a flexible yet powerful tool for monitoring crops, said Vincent Kimura, CEO of Smart Yields. Honolulu agriculture technology company Smart Yields and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) have launched a state-of-the-art pilot program to monitor crops and livestock using wireless sensors, hardware and data analytics. It is the first program of its kind in Colorado, spanning nearly 1 million acres of land. The pilot program follows the successful implementation last year of Smart Yields systems at a Colorado orchard, which saved a key apple crop during a late-season frost. The program will involve farmers, growers and ranchers throughout the state who will work with Smart Yields and the RMFU to implement a network designed to protect crops and optimize operations. Using an internet of things (IoT) framework, hundreds of Sensohive remote sensors and low-power, long-range Sigfox wireless networks are being deployed this year to provide real-time crop monitoring, weather alerts, trends, forecasts and recommendations via an intuitive mobile app. Designed to be simple and easy to use, Smart Yields seamlessly connects with a variety of sensors and hardware, and taps a diverse array of data sets to give users a flexible yet powerful tool for monitoring crops, said Vincent Kimura, CEO of Smart Yields. This helps mitigate damage from issues like late-season frost. This pilot program with the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union is our largest to date, bringing together farmers, growers and ranchers from across Colorado to discuss data-driven solutions. Smart Yields and RMFU members will meet regularly with participants to test and deploy technology, gather feedback, and explore additional sectors where these systems may serve a critical role, such as pest monitoring. Designed around the needs of small- to medium-size farmers, Smart Yields technology is being implemented to monitor soil health, optimize carbon dioxide levels, modify water use, and identify value-added uses for crops. Harrison Topp, director of membership at the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, said members are eager to test the grower-centric technology, which has formerly been inaccessible to many smaller agricultural operations. The Rocky Mountain Farmers Union has a long history of implementing technologies to help improve industry outcomes, said Topp, who also grows peaches, plums, cherries and apples in Colorado. We are particularly interested to contribute to this crowd-sourced data program, which allows our members benefit from the shared knowledge of all participants in the region. When Smart Yields technology is used in coordination with other farmers, it expands beyond solely about what is important at your farm, and it shows you what is important about conditions across many farms. Edward Tuft, who founded Leroux Creek Foods more than 30 years ago in Western Colorado, used the Smart Yields system during a late-season frost in 2017, saving his Honeycrisp apple crop, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Smart Yields Late Spring Frost Alerts system for orchards reports temperature in real time via SMS message at various altitudes, which is critical due to inversion. Farmers can then activate heating and fan systems to regulate conditions. It can cost $500 an acre to heat an orchard through frost season, so this system, which I can easily monitor in one platform on my mobile devices, reduces my expenses by allowing me to operate more efficiently, he said. For more about Smart Yields technology and internationally recognized projects, visit SmartYields.com and to learn about the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, visit RMFU.org. About Smart Yields Founded in 2015, Smart Yields is a Honolulu-based agriculture technology company that connects farmers, researchers and their communities through real-time analytics gathered from a long-range network of integrated, state-of-the-art sensors. Managed in an easy-to-use mobile app, this system helps protect crops, optimize operations and increase yields. For more, visit SmartYields.com. About the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) is a progressive, grassroots organization founded in 1907. RMFU represents more than 22,000 family farmers and ranchers in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. RMFU is dedicated to sustaining our rural communities, to wise stewardship and use of natural resources, and to protection of our safe, secure food supply. RMFU supports its goals through education and legislation, as well as by encouraging the cooperative model for mutual economic benefit. For more, visit RMFU.org. MEDIA CONTACT Teddi Anderson President, TLC PR (808) 535-9099 teddi (at) TLCPR (dot) com It is really quite easy to proudly represent AAEA to those outside our profession The votes have been tallied and the membership has spoken. Keith Coble from Mississippi State University is named the incoming President-Elect for the Agricultural & Applied Economics Associations (AAEA) Executive Board. One of the most exciting parts of being on the Board is getting to know talented and amazing members of AAEA. It is really quite easy to proudly represent AAEA to those outside our profession says Coble. He continues we have both challenges and opportunities ahead of us. By working together [with the other board members], we can advance AAEA. Joining the Board of the Directors this year are Marc Bellemare from the University of Minnesota and Rodolfo Nayga from the University of Arkansas. Bellemare says he is most looking forward to serving by moving the association forward by bringing the attention of the board to some pressing issues. Nayga is excited to be working and collaborating with the Board and hope that I can serve the association well. Rotating off the AAEA Board of Directors after a three-year term are Allen Featherstone from Kansas State University and Ani Katchova from The Ohio State University. If you are interested in setting up an interview or meeting the AAEA Executive Board at the 2018 AAEA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C, please contact Allison Scheetz in the AAEA Business Office. ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 60 countries. Members of the AAEA work in academic or government institutions as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research, teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the environment, food, health, and international development. The AAEA publishes two journals, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well as the online magazine Choices. To learn more, visit http://www.aaea.org. River City Bank received a City of Davis 2018 Environmental Recognition Award for its dedication to supporting Community Choice Aggregation clients such as Valley Clean Energy. Part of the reason for the launch of our new Clean Energy Division is the cultural fit between River City Bank and the CCAs. Specifically, CCA entities prefer to work with community banks which are committed to supporting renewable energy, consumer choice and local decision making. Taking the lead in providing banking services for clean energy companies throughout California, River City Bank has officially launched its new Clean Energy Division. The prominent business bank has taken a bold lead in this fast-growing space, and it has already earned an award from the City of Davis for its beneficial environmental quality contributions and dedication to helping Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) businesses provide locally-supported clean energy. With the launch of its new Clean Energy Division, River City Bank will continue to service its existing CCA clients and focus on expanding relationships with other players within the clean energy sector while supporting Californias climate action goals. Seeing the positive impact of CCAs in California since the launch of Marin Clean Energy in 2010, we were able to gain first-mover advantage in this space, said Steve Fleming, President and CEO of River City Bank. Part of the reason for the launch of our new Clean Energy Division is the cultural fit between River City Bank and the CCAs. Specifically, CCA entities prefer to work with community banks which are committed to supporting renewable energy, consumer choice and local decision making. TWEET THIS: @RiverCityBank announces new Clean Energy Division dedicated to helping #cleanenergy clients with #business banking services, wins prestigious award from @CityofDavis The Clean Energy Division will be based in the Bay Area under the leadership of Rosa Hilmarsdottir Cucicea, Vice President & Clean Energy Division Manager, who has managed and grown the Banks clean energy portfolio over the past few years. Im honored to play a role in making California a cleaner and greener place through the services we provide to CCAs and clean energy related companies, said Cucicea. River City Bank currently supports a number of clean energy clients, including depository, cash management and lending needs for 12 different CCAs. Notable clients include Valley Clean Energy in Yolo County, Clean Power Alliance in Los Angeles County, Marin Clean Energy and Monterey Bay Community Power. Given its experience in the complexities and nuances of this specialized field, River City Bank is able to provide CCA clients with custom-tailored solutions spanning start-up capital, lines of credit, renewable energy project financing and custodian lockbox accounts. When we looked for someone to help our business mature rapidly, River City Bank stood out for its track record for helping companies like ours navigate the nuances of the industry, said Ted Bardacke, Executive Director of Clean Power Alliance. Having direct access to CEO Steve Fleming and relying on Rosas teams expertise is exactly what we need to become Californias largest CCA, with approximately one million eligible accounts. For its beneficial environmental quality contributions in the state related to Community Choice Aggregates, and specifically with Valley Clean Energy and the City of Davis, River City Bank was recently honored with a City of Davis 2018 Environmental Recognition Award by the Natural Resources Commission in the Business category. To learn more about River City Bank, visit RiverCityBank.com. About River City Bank Named one of Sacramento Business Journals 50 Fastest Growing Companies, River City Bank is the Sacramento regions premier business bank with assets over $2.0 billion. River City Bank offers a comprehensive suite of banking services, including loans, deposits and cash management tools to the business, consumer and commercial real estate sectors. With tailored, executive-level service and a Five Star Superior financial rating from the nations leading independent bank-rating firm, Bauer Financial, River City Bank redefines the banking experience and every touch point that surrounds it. River City Bank is the largest, independent, locally-owned bank in the Sacramento region with an office in the San Francisco Bay Area and a growing presence in Southern California. For additional information, please visit http://www.rivercitybank.com or call (916) 567-2600. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. With a significant client base and growing demand in the area, our new office in Reston is another positive step affirming our focus on providing integrated, holistic, objective wealth management advice that puts the client first GW & Wade, LLC, a full-service wealth management firm focused on providing holistic investment planning, is today announcing it is opening a new office in Reston, Virginia. The office, at One Freedom Square on 11951 Freedom Drive in downtown Reston, will officially open on June 1, 2018. The office will be headed by GW & Wade Counselor, Ryan J. Bartholomew. Bartholomew draws on close to a decade in wealth management and has been with GW & Wade since 2010 bringing expertise in investment management, tax planning and financial counsel to clients on both coasts. Before joining GW & Wade, Bartholomew specialized in estate and income tax planning, tax preparation and estate administration at a Massachusetts law firm. Bartholomew holds his General Securities Representative (Series 7) and Securities Agent & Investment Adviser Representative (Series 66) licenses and is certified to practice law in Massachusetts. He has an LL.M. (Master of Laws) degree from Boston University School of Law. With a significant client base and growing demand in the area, our new office in Reston is another positive step affirming our focus on providing integrated, holistic, objective wealth management advice that puts the client first, said GW & Wade Principal and Co-Founder Roger Wade. Ryan is a perfect choice to open the Reston office not only because of his considerable experience and skill, but also because he is well-prepared to handle clients on both coasts, with a client roster that will continue to include individuals and families in Northern California, New England and the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area. The whole GW & Wade team looks forward to serving current and new Washington DC and Northern Virginia clients, and growing our roots in the area. For the third year in a row, GW & Wade will also sponsor and attend the 2018 Upperville Colt & Horse Show, the oldest horse show in the United States, running from June 4 - June 10. GW & Wade team members look forward to becoming an active part of and supporting the local region. I am excited about our new location in Northern Virginia, with its growing technology community, proximity to Dulles airport and Washington DC, history and horse country. Our current clients know our unwavering commitment to providing them with the highest level of service and we are looking forward to introducing future clients in the area to our financial advice and service model, said Bartholomew. About GW & Wade GW & Wade, LLC is an independent, fee-based financial advisory firm with $6.4 billion in assets under management (as of 12/31/17), specializing in holistic wealth management services primarily for affluent individuals and families). Its offices are located in Reston, Virginia, Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Palo Alto, California. As independent fiduciaries, GW & Wade advisors provide objective advice and sophisticated financial planning strategiesalong with helpful insights on everyday financial issues (home purchases, insurance questions, and more). Most importantly, GW & Wade client relationships are built on the promise of trust. Most new clients come to the firm by way of referral, following the strong endorsement of a contact who has experienced the teams dedication and integrity first hand. GW & Wade is also a partner firm in the Focus Financial Partners family, a collaborative network of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms. For more information, contact GW & Wade at 877.499.1133 or visit http://www.gwwade.com. Vistex Bringing Vistex on board feels like a natural fit as their Music Maestro program is an important solution for administering song catalogues and any good publisher will know that reliable and efficient data is key to building a great publishing company! Reinforcing its commitment to furthering education within the music industry, Vistex is proud to continue its yearlong sponsorship of the UK Music Publishers Associations (MPA) Induction Course, a quarterly event focused on providing an all-around introduction to music publishing. The first 2018 Induction Course took place in February, and the second course runs May 22-23. The Induction Course is led by an expert group of panelists who highlight key areas of music publishing for newcomers to the industry, including copyright royalties, sync, societies, legal issues, and data. Stephen Carlisle, Senior Business Analyst at Vistex, spoke on How to Register a Song, and provided an overview of royalties within Music Maestro, Vistexs dedicated solution for music publishers. Antonia Gilham, CEO of the Music Publishers Association said, Were thrilled to have Vistex sponsoring our MPA Induction Course throughout 2018. The renowned course is truly a one stop shop for all things music publishing, covering copyright royalties, sync, collecting societies, legal issues and data. Bringing Vistex on board feels like a natural fit as their Music Maestro program is an important solution for administering song catalogues and any good publisher will know that reliable and efficient data is key to building a great publishing company! Vistex has supported progress within the music industry for many years, and our solutions are used in the day-to-day operations of hundreds of music publishers throughout the world, said Amos Biegun, Vistexs Global Head of Rights and Royalties. We are very eager to provide a solid foundation for the next generation of industry professionals, and partnering with the MPA to support the Induction Courses was a logical next step. Since its inception, the MPA has championed the interests of its members and committed itself to the progression and educational support of music professionals in the UK. The MPA works to promote an understanding of the value of music publishing and the importance of copyright and provides extensive training, as well as discounted rates to music industry events and conferences. For more information on the programme schedule, and to register for upcoming sessions, please visit: https://mpaonline.org.uk/events/training-education/mpa-induction-course-for-newcomers-to-music-publishing/ To be recognized as one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in one of the largest cities in the country is a huge honor. We couldnt be more excited. Chicago-based digital marketing solutions provider, Liquidus, was honored by Crains as one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in the Chicagoland area. This is Liquidus first appearance on the annual Crains Fast 50 which offers a snapshot of the one of the midwests largest growth sectors. After acquiring Cofactor in December 2016, Liquidus has experienced significant growth due to its combined product set that delivers personalized consumer experiences through its advanced ad technology and media services. To be recognized as one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in one of the largest cities in the country is a huge honor. We couldnt be more excited, says CEO, Todd Holmes. Its amazing what weve been able to accomplish these last five years - even in these last 18 months since purchasing Cofactor. I have to thank the amazing team we have built for their dedication, enthusiasm and talent that have gotten us to this place. This city means a lot to me, and Im grateful to be able to represent it with this honor. To qualify for the Crains Fast 50, companies must be headquartered in the Chicagoland area, founded before 2013 and generate at least $15 million in revenue in 2017. Liquidus joins companies like Sprout Social, Coopers Hawk Winery & Restaurants, Hireology and Envestnet on this years list. Official rankings will be announced at the June 23rd luncheon for all honorees. In addition to this award, Liquidus growth has been recognized by Inc. Magazine in both 2015 and 2017 via the Inc. 500|5000 and by Deloitte through its Technology Fast 500 list in 2016. Liquidus continues to build its product portfolio and expand into untouched verticals as the demand for digital marketing grows. About Liquidus Marketing: With over 17 years experience in digital marketing and technology, Liquidus provides advertisers with cutting-edge products and cost-effective solutions to drive sales across a number of verticals. Liquidus display advertising platform combines programmatic media and its proprietary ad technology with a team of seasoned digital media buyers that have access to the most cost-effective means to reach in-market consumers. Liquidus acquired Cofactor from TEGNA in December 2016 inheriting data distribution capabilities promoting localization and personalization. About #CrainsFast50: Since 2007, Crains Fast 50 feature has spotlighted local companies that have achieved impressive revenue gains over a five-year period in business, real estate, technology, healthcare, marketing, retail, logistics and more. As such, the project annually offers a reliable snapshot of the regions growth sectors. To be considered for participation, companies had to have generated a minimum of $15 million in revenue in 2017, be headquartered in the Chicago area (the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will as well as Lake in Indiana) and have been in business a minimum of five years. Other criteria also applied. About Crains Chicago Business: For 40 years, business leaders have relied on Crains as the go-to source for news and analysis about business in Chicago. More than a collection of products, Crains Chicago Business is a rich media environmentin print, online, mobile, video, live events and executive training. Johnson demonstrated the capabilities of telemedicine technology for the Carters. It was an honor to meet President Carter and spend time showing him what is possible using telehealth technology. Former President Jimmy Carter hosted representatives of Mercer University School of Medicine and Global Partnership for Telehealth in his hometown of Plains, Georgia last Thursday. The two entities met with former President Carter and his wife Rosalynn to discuss plans to bring a medical clinic to the city. MUSM and Global Partnership for Telehealth, a South Georgia-based telemedicine networking agency, will partner to bring the clinic to fruition. MUSM will provide administrative and medical staffing services while GPT will provide the technology and infrastructure necessary to deliver specialty care from providers all around the state via telemedicine. By teaming with Mercer University School of Medicine, we will be able to deliver the best care possible, said Jerad Johnson, CTO of Global Partnership for Telehealth. The meeting between MUSM, GPT, and the Carters lasted about an hour and culminated in Johnson demonstrating the capabilities of telemedicine technology to facilitate a medical examination at a distance. Johnson set up a mock-telemedicine examination with Les Evans, Senior Account Manager at GPT. During the examination, Evans and Johnson exchanged images via a medical exam scope, and Evans used a tele-auscultation platform to send a live stream of his heartbeat to Johnson and the Carters. According to Johnson, the former President and Rosalynn Carter were pleased with the demonstration and expressed their excitement for the coming project. It was honor to meet President Carter and spend time showing him what is possible using telehealth technology, Johnson said. Global/Georgia Partnership for Telehealth (GPT) is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to deliver worldwide access to healthcare by leveraging technology. With a 12-year track record of success developing and implementing sustainable, cost-effective telehealth programs, GPT is the leading agency globally focused on increasing access to healthcare through innovative use of technology. Currently, GPT manages a network of more than 650 endpoints, including partner providers, health systems, schools, universities, long-term care facilities, correctional facilities, and international mission projects. For more information, visit our website at http://www.gpth.org. Williams' presentation touched on HIPPA compliance, state licensing laws, and standards of practice in Telehealth Technology changes at the speed of light. Regulators need to plan for the future." Sherrie Williams, COO of the South Georgia telemedicine networking agency Global Partnership for Telehealth, led one of several strategic planning focus groups at the Association of Social Work Boards 2018 Educational Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Saturday morning. Williams presentation, titled ePractice Across State Lines, focused on educating social work licensing regulators about the ever-shifting technological landscape. Williams, a licensed clinical social worker herself, said the ASWB tapped her for the presentation due to her vast experience in telehealth. I was asked to provide food for thought to these regulators so that when they put pen to paper, they have a much clearer understanding of what is happening in the telehealth marketplace in terms of legislation, rules, and trends, she said. According to Williams, writing sensible rules to govern social workers in the current electronic age is a delicate task. My encouragement to them was to think strategically, Williams said. Technology changes at the speed of light. Regulators need to plan for the future and not necessarily the now. Williams presentation in Halifax came at the end of a busy week for the nonprofit organization. On Thursday afternoon, CTO Jerad Johnson met with former President Jimmy Carter to begin the discussion of a new clinic in Carters hometown of Plains, Georgia, and Rena Brewer, CEO, spent much of the week in San Diego at the California Telehealth Resource Centers 2018 Telehealth Summit. Global/Georgia Partnership for Telehealth (GPT) is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to deliver worldwide access to healthcare by leveraging technology. With a 12-year track record of success developing and implementing sustainable, cost-effective telehealth programs, we are the leading agency globally focused on increasing access to healthcare through innovative use of technology. Currently, GPT manages a network of more than 650 endpoints, including partner providers, health systems, schools, universities, long-term care facilities, correctional facilities, and international mission projects. For more information, visit our website at http://www.gpth.org. Were proud to participate again as a sponsor at Waterpower Week with professionals who are seeking better ways to assure resiliency, minimize risk, and continue their successful NERC compliance programs. - Ann Broussard, Office of NERC Compliance Business Development Director. Certrec, a leading regulatory provider for NERC compliance, participated as a sponsor in the 2018 Annual Waterpower Week in Washington, D.C. Waterpower Week offered plenty of networking activities as well as excellent presentations, perspectives on traditional hydropower, pumped storage, and marine energy that were shared by industry experts who provided insights on the current industry and a meaningful look ahead. The Washington, D.C., location facilitated key regulatory participation. Certrec currently provides NERC compliance support on an ongoing basis to three hydropower sites in the U.S. and Canada as well as several fleets that include hydropower facilities. Certrec Corporation has been dedicated to regulatory compliance exclusively since 1988. Its approach to managing clients needs is key to successful client programs. Certrec helps ensure that entities dedicated to compliance operate in such a manner that they are always audit ready. This is accomplished through an effective Internal Controls Process with periodic self-evaluations of effectiveness, coupled with a robust corrective action process. Were proud to participate again as a sponsor at Waterpower Week with professionals who are seeking better ways to assure resiliency, minimize risk, and continue their successful NERC compliance programs. - Ann Broussard, Office of NERC Compliance Business Development Director. CERTREC Founded in 1988, Certrec is an engineering and technology-based organization providing regulatory support services in the electric power industry. With more than 1000 cumulative years of direct industry experience (including wind, solar, nuclear, and fossil), Certrec has developed exceptional capabilities to support regulatory activities emanating from regulatory entities such as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Regional Entities (NERC), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other regulatory agencies. Certrec's Office of NERC Compliance (ONC), Office of Licensing and Compliance (OLC), Office of Assessment and Recovery (OAR), and Office of New Plant (ONP) services are used by utilities and entities across the United States to help manage the regulatory process to their advantage. Certrecs quality program and information security management system are ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified. Also, Certrec has successfully completed a Type 2 SOC 2 examination where the scope of Document Management and Regulatory Services were examined against the Trust Services principles of Security, Availability, and Confidentiality. Certrec is committed to maintaining or exceeding current levels of service and, thus, will perform required annual examinations and audits. EDR, the leading provider of data, technology, and insight to the real estate lending and property due diligence industries, hosted its annual PRISM conference May 8-10 at the Omni Scottsdale Resort at Montelucia in Arizona. The highlight of the conference was the third annual PRISM Awards Ceremony where individuals and firms were honored and recognized for their contributions to the property due diligence and commercial lending industry. The PRISM Awards program is run by the Zweig Group and was emceed by EDRs James Haberlen, Managing Director of Lender Strategy and Pat Coyne, Vice President of Consulting & Engineering Sales. The Annual PRISM awards night is a highlight of the year as we celebrate the achievements of accomplished professionals and companies in our industry," Chris Aronson, CEO of EDR, remarked. It was particularly moving this year to see so many previous PRISM award winners participating in the ceremony and reflecting on what winning the award meant to them as they introduced the 2018 winners. The highest honor, The Industry Hall of Fame award, was presented to Jeffery Telego by past inductees Georgina Dannatt and Julie Kilgore. Jeff has dedicated his lifes work to the environmental industry. He founded Risk Management Technologies, Inc. and RTM Communications, Inc. Jeff was also a co-founder of the Environmental Bankers Association (EBA) and served as its Executive Co-Director for over 20 years, establishing a forum to foster education, awareness, and development of environmental risk management and due diligence policies within the financial market. Jeff said, I am honored and humbled to be receiving this PRISM Hall of Fame award. There is no greater reward in your professional life than being recognized by your peers, colleagues and most of all, friends." The List of 2018 award winners are: Industry Hall of Fame D. Jeffery Telego Courage in Leadership Holly Neber, AEI Consultants Industry Influencer Dan Spinogatti, EBI Consulting Developing Leader Jessica DeBone, PM Environmental Technology Innovation Lender Popular Bank Technology Innovation Environmental Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. Community Service Odic Environmental Outstanding Project Terracon Consultants, Inc. On The Move AGEISS, Inc. Holly Neber, CEO of AEI Consultants, received the Courage in Leadership award for her focus on company culture and leadership development, resulting in a company-wide project that culminated in a celebration of the unique qualities and passions that each employee brings to AEI. Holly says, I am so honored to receive this award, and very thankful for all my friends and mentors in our industry that have inspired and encouraged me throughout my career. This years Industry Influencer award went to Dan Spinogatti, Senior Vice President of Real Estate at EBI Consulting. EBIs President, Nolan Previte describes Dan as, someone who emulates everything we want to be known for. He is an exceptional leader, and demonstrates to all how to be attentive, responsive, respectable, credible and trustworthy. Upon receiving the award, Dan said, It is an honor to receive such an award and to be considered among such a group of remarkable individuals contributing to our industry. Jessica DeBone won this years Developing Leader award that honors a promising professional 35 years of age or younger. Mike Kulka, PM Environmental CEO was on hand to present the award to Jessica, describing her as, a shining example of the words hardworking and dedicated'. Of winning her award, Jessica said, The staff and mentorship at PM Environmental has allowed me the freedom to excel in this field while providing above and beyond services to our clients. Two Technology Innovation awards were handed out. The Technology Innovation lender award went to Popular Bank. John Incandela, Populars Credit Risk Manager for the US Operation, stated, We are thrilled to be recognized with a PRISM award for Technology Innovation. The Commercial Loan Information System has been an exciting collaborative effort between our Credit Risk and Technology Management Divisions. The program has revolutionized nearly every aspect of the banks underwriting, loan management, loan review and reporting processes. Most importantly, the system is significant because it has positioned the bank to better meet regulatory guidance related to Stress Testing and other CRE and property related requirements. The Technology Innovation consulting award was won by Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. for their SiteLynx software platform. Asif Kazi, a Product Manager at Partner stated, We created SiteLynx out of a desire to give our clients a better way to experience our reports not just as a PDF, but in a format where they can do more with all the valuable data consultants gather and link it into their systems. The Community Service award celebrates a progressive organization whose property risk management or due diligence division has made extraordinary philanthropic contributions to their community. This years winner went to Odic Environmental. Eric Miller, Odics founder and President, brings the community together by orchestrating monthly chapter meetings for servicemen and disabled veteran owned businesses, and advocates for these groups with the state of California. The Outstanding Project award went to Terracon Consultants, Inc. for its Centro Civico Mexicano project in Salt Lake City. John Sallman of Terracon accepted the award on stage on behalf of Craig Eaton and says, My hat is off to Craig for his great work pulling together the resources and Hispanic community to highlight such an important historic landmark in Salt Lake City. The On the Move award, designed to recognize a small environmental due diligence firm, regional/community bank or credit union that has demonstrated recent success in growing their business went to AGEISS, a Wyoming-based engineering and environmental services company. About PRISM Awards PRISM nominations are reviewed and judged by a third party consultant, the Zweig Group, a firm with an established history of running esteemed awards programs for the architecture, engineering and environmental consulting industries. Nominations for the 2019 PRISM awards will open in late 2018 to any professional, firm or lending institution participating in the property due diligence space. Learn more about EDRs PRISM conference and award winners here. About EDR EDR is a leading provider of information, technology and workflow solutions to the real estate lending and property due diligence industries including environmental consulting firms, financial institutions, appraisers, and corporations. EDR provides web-based tools that help its clients increase operational efficiencies and better analyze and manage property related risk. The companys SaaS-based Collateral360 system is the fastest growing diligence/risk management workflow platform serving real estate lenders. EDR's market-leading database contains over 4.1 billion property records, including the most comprehensive repository of environmental and land use information in the United States. EDR also conducts market research and shares strategic intelligence through a variety of online channels and in-person events. http://www.edrnet.com rsz_group_shot.jpg Seton Hall University celebrated its 161st baccalaureate commencement on Monday, May 21 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The University graduated 1,320 students with baccalaureate degrees, 588 graduating with honors. In addition, 1,084 graduate students will receive masters and doctorate degrees, making the total number of graduates this year 2,404 students. Delivering the commencement address was Jovita Carranza, the 44th Treasurer of the United States. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Carranza started her career at United Parcel Service in the 1970s as a part-time night-shift box handler. More than 20 years later, she rose to the level of President of Latin American and Caribbean Operations at UPS and was the highest-ranking Latina in company history. Never miss an opportunity to make a difference, she told the graduates. Appointed to her current position by the President of the United States, Treasurer Carranza's signature may now be found on all United States paper money, warranting (much like the signing of a check) that "This Note is Legal Tender for All Debts, Public and Private." To commemorate the graduation ceremony at Seton Hall, each graduating student was given a $1 bill signed, officially, by Jovita Carranza. The Treasurer, who received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University, reminded the new graduates that their education came as a result of a number of sacrifices and that To whom much is given, much is required. She also challenged the students to Do more than just be an example to others. In all you think and all you do, you must now be a leader. Your goal, I will suggest, is not to create lots of followers. Your goal, obtained by inspiring others, is to create more leaders. Seton Hall University interim President Mary J. Meehan likewise charged the Class of 2018 to take their place as servant leaders. As you embark on successful lives and distinguished careers, I pray that you uphold the promise of your education. Pursue truth over personal gain. Value people more than possessions. Let your hearts be guided by compassion. Nurture those who follow you. Give without asking anything in return. And use the gifts Seton Hall has given you to champion people who have been excluded from the good fortune that many of us enjoy. The valedictorian address was delivered by Janina Andrea Alzate, whose parents immigrated from Colombia and Ecuador. Alzate, from Elizabeth, N.J., graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Universitys College of Education and Human Services with a B.S. in Education. Alzate majored in elementary and special education, received a speech honors citation and held a second major in social and behavioral sciences, plus a minor in psychology. Part of the six-year education and speech-language pathology program, she will continue at Seton Hall to obtain her masters degree and plans to continue to work with children. She said, As this chapter of our lives closes, take comfort that we are leaving with more than just a diploma. If we set sail with all the tools our soon to be Alma Mater has equipped us with: a reflective mind, a true heart, faith and a strong moral compass, we will arrive on the shores of our destiny. Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, Archbishop of Newark said, This is indeed a special day for all of the graduates and their families. It is a time to rejoice and say proudly that I am a graduate of Seton Hall University. It also is a time to reflect on the next steps in their lives. I wish them all great success. I also suggest that they listen actively for and to the voice of God, and be open to Him pointing the way to the future. View more photos from Seton Hall's Commencement here. Payment data can be some of the most sought after by hackers. Whereas our baseline solutions already provide solid protection to our merchants, our partnership with Bluefin provides us with the opportunity of offering a fully PCI assessed and listed solution, said Peter Helderman, Paya. Bluefin, the leading provider of payment security solutions, today announced its partnership with Paya (pie-ya), Inc. a leading integrated payments processing and business solutions provider. Paya will provide Bluefins PCI-validated Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) security solution to partners and customers using Payas Payments Platform. With a payment processing legacy of more than two decades, Paya uses its connectivity suite and data capabilities to create amazing experiences and transaction visibility for its clients. Payas Payments Platform offers the confidence that their business and their customers transaction data is secure in-store, online, or on-the-go. Through its partnership with Bluefin, Paya further strengthens its enhanced security suite while reducing PCI scope for clients without any changes to the payment transaction flow. Bluefin enables PCI-validated P2PE on partner platforms using their Decryptx Decryption as a Service (DaaS) product, which allows gateways, applications, and processors to connect directly to Bluefin for P2PE service. 2017 closed out with a record 1,579 data breaches in the U.S. and over 178 million consumer records compromised, said Greg Cornwell, Head of Bluefins Global Sales. And if 2017 taught us anything, it is that fraudsters do not care if you are a restaurant, retailer, healthcare organization, or enterprise. As long as you process credit card payments, you are their target. Bluefins P2PE solution is ideal for any company or organization looking to secure its in-person, mobile, and call center credit card and debit card payments. We could not be more pleased to partner with an esteemed provider such as Paya to enable PCI-validated P2PE for their clients. Bluefins PCI-validated P2PE solution secures credit and debit card transactions by encrypting all data within a PCI-approved point of entry device, preventing clear-text cardholder data from being available within the device, or in the merchants system where exposure to malware is possible. Data decryption always occurs offsite in a Bluefin hardware security module (HSM). As a trusted technology partner we provide exceptional business solutions in the payments domain. Naturally, data security constitutes an essential part of our solutions, said Peter Helderman, Director of Product Management, Payment Acceptance and Security at Paya. Payment data can be some of the most sought after by hackers. Whereas our baseline solutions already provide solid protection to our merchants, our partnership with Bluefin provides us with the opportunity of offering a fully PCI assessed and listed solution. About Bluefin Payment Systems Bluefin provides the leading payment security platform that supports payment gateways, processors and ISVs in more than 20 countries. Bluefins secure payment platform is key to the holistic approach to data security. Designed to complement EMV and tokenization, Bluefins PCI-validated Point-to-Point (P2PE) solutions provide a solid security defense against current and future data breaches. Bluefin supports point of sale solutions for retail, mobile, call center and kiosk/unattended environments, and secure Ecommerce technologies. Bluefin is a Participating Organization (PO) of the PCI Security Standards Council (SSC) and is headquartered in Atlanta, with offices in New York, Chicago, Tulsa and Waterford, Ireland. For more information, please visit https://www.bluefin.com/. About Paya Paya, Inc. provides simple, secure technology options enabling businesses to accept payments, get paid faster and increase efficiency. Payas seamless payments platform delivers easy-to-use technology to support every stage of a business growth, today and tomorrow. Paya, with more than 100,000 clients and two decades of payments processing, offers adaptive solutions and technology expertise and is dedicated to driving the success of partners and customers. Paya is a GTCR backed company headquartered in Reston, VA, with offices in Atlanta, GA, and Fort Walton Beach, FL. For more information on Paya, visit http://www.paya.com or follow us on Twitter: @PayaHQ, LinkedIn: Paya.com, and Facebook: PayaHQ. Badger has always considered the environmental impact of our products, and long before people were searching for it, we were making naturally reef-safe sunscreens W.S. Badger Co., the maker of people and planet-friendly mineral sunscreens and personal care products, applauds Hawaii on being the first in the U.S. and the world to pass legislation banning sunscreens containing chemicals that harm coral reefs. Once signed by Governor David Y. Ige, Senate Bill 2571, which will take effect January 1, 2021, prohibits the sale or distribution of any sunscreens containing oxybenzone, octinoxate, or both on the islands. Badger launched its first broad spectrum sunscreen in 2005 and ever since has been on a mission to raise public awareness that the active mineral ingredient non-nano zinc oxide is one of the safest options for people, coral reefs, and marine ecosystems. As a member of the Safe Sunscreen Council, the company is proud to be working with a coalition of eleven other safe sunscreen brands in supporting this bill and the use of natural, reef-friendly sunscreens. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), oxybenzone is found in 65% of available chemical sunscreens. EWG also points out that product with active mineral ingredients, such as zinc oxide, provide better broad-spectrum protection against UVA as well as UVB rays. Badger sunscreens have obtained top safety and efficacy ratings from the EWG and protect with non-nano zinc oxidethe safest single active ingredient available. The company recently launched two new clear zinc oxide sunscreens, unscented SPF 30 and SPF 35. To produce the most reef friendly sunscreens, Badger follows ingredient recommendations set forth by the Haeriticus Environmental Laboratory. We believe in creating sunscreens that are good for your skin and the environment, says Rebecca Hamilton, family owner and VP of Research & Product Development at Badger. Badger has always considered the environmental impact of our products, and long before people were searching for it, we were making naturally reef-safe sunscreens. A recent article published by Slate.com refers to a 2015 study that states oxybenzone and octinoxate were found to contribute to coral bleaching (the scourge that has more or less destroyed the Great Barrier Reef), slow new coral growth, and disrupt marine life. The study found the chemicals in especially high concentrations in popular tourist waters, especially in Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In response, some resorts and tour companies have chosen to ban or educate against nonbiodegradable sunscreens, while the National Park Service recommends being reef friendly by choosing sunscreens made with natural mineral ingredients such as titanium oxide or zinc oxide. About Badger Badger is a family run and family-friendly company that has been making healthy products for people and the planet since 1995. Badger was born when Badger Bill, a carpenter at the time, created a recipe of natural ingredients strong enough to soothe his rough, dry, cracked hands. Now a team of over 100 employees, the company produces sunscreens and nearly 100 hundred personal care products at its headquarters in Gilsum, N.H. Inherent in Badgers DNA is its status as a B Corp, a certification earned through B Lab, a third party non-profit that requires companies to meet rigorous standards of transparency as well as environmental and social performance. Badger has been a certified B Corp since 2011 and in 2015 became one of New Hampshires first businesses to register legally as a Benefit Corporation, a for-profit status that incorporates the pursuit of positive environmental and social impact in addition to profit. For more information, visit Badger at badgerbalm.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. About the Safe Sunscreen Council The Safe Sunscreen Council is a coalition of companies with a shared mission to study this issue, raise awareness within the skin care industry and consumers and support the development and adoption of safer ingredients for people and planet. In addition to Badger, its members include All Good, Babo Botanicals, Kokua Sun Care, Mama Kuleana, Manda, Raw Elements, Raw Love, Sea & Summit, Stream2Sea, and Suntegrity. Sunset Vestige, a 5,000 square-foot temporary art installation by Patrick Shearn of Poetic Kinetics lives at Marina del Rey's Burton Chace Park through July 1, 2018. A cloud of 40,000 vibrant streamers greets visitors to Burton W. Chace Park throughout the rest of May and June, thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors (DBH), the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and local artist Patrick Shearn of Poetic Kinetics. Shearns Sunset Vestige is a 5,000-square-foot Skynet piece consisting of more than 40,000 streamers that dance on the ocean breeze. The vibrant artwork emulates the glow of a California sunset, contrasting with the serene, coastal ambiance of Marina del Rey. We are excited for the opportunity to bring such a unique piece of art to the Marina, where it will be seen by residents and visitors from all over the world, said DBH Director Gary Jones. Shearns signature Skynet artworks are designed to evoke the natural phenomenon of flocking, like schooling fish or swarming insects. Suspended using transparent monofilament netting and rigged inconspicuously, the colorful streamers appear to float on their own, fluttering in the wind at each site. As part of the project, DBH, the Arts Commission and Poetic Kinetics are asking visitors to answer the question, If this artwork could dance, what song would it dance to? by creating videos of the artwork cut to their favorite music. The videos can be posted on social media with the hashtag #sunsetvestige, and every week, Poetic Kinetics will share the most creative video on its social media channels. Sunset Vestige will be on display through July 1 at Burton W. Chace Park, located at 13650 Mindanao Way in Marina del Rey. Visit beaches.lacounty.gov/sunsetvestige or call the Marina del Rey Visitors Center at (424) 526-7900 for more information. #development scandal Prosecutors question asset firm owner at center of Seongnam development scandal Prosecutors on Monday questioned the owner of an asset management firm at the center of a snowballing regional development corruption scandal over allegations that his firm receive... #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... After five rounds of chemotherapy in a seven-month period of 2017, leukemia patient Betty Zervoudakis required an allogenic stem cell transplant to survive. The situation was life-threatening, but the Lighthouse Point resident had two important factors in her favor: Her brother, Alex, was a perfect donor match and the Moffitt Malignant Hematology and Cellular Therapy program (MHCT) had recently been established in Pembroke Pines. The program, a clinical partnership between Moffitt Cancer Center and Memorial Healthcare System enables blood cancer patients like Zervoudakis to receive the highest-quality care close to home. Thats critically important for a disease and treatment protocol that requires hospitalization, frequent doctor visits, testing, and long recovery periods. Moffitt, based at Memorial Hospital West, performs both allogenic (stem cells harvested from a donor) and autologous (using a persons own chemo-treated cells) transplants and its methods have now been recognized for exceeding established standards in patient care and laboratory practices. The facility has been accredited by The Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) for compliance with the FACT-JACIE International Standards for Hematopoietic Cellular Therapy. To qualify, Moffitt had to meet or exceed cellular therapy standards, submit to a rigorous approval process, and pass an on-site inspection. The accreditation, effective for three years April 25th, specifically applies to adult allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation and peripheral blood cellular therapy product collection. Founded in 1996, FACT establishes standards for high quality medical and laboratory practice in cellular therapies. A non-profit corporation co-founded by the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) and the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT), it focuses on voluntary inspection and accreditation in the field of cellular therapy. We saw this as an opportunity to use Moffitts experience from both malignant hematology and transplant, to mold it all together, said Dr. Hugo Fernandez, medical director of the malignant hematology and cellular therapy program. Cellular Therapy, including bone marrow transplants and more, is looking to the future. As of May 1, 2018, the 100-day survival rate for patients transplanted at Moffitt MHCT at Memorial Hospital West was 100%. For Zervoudakis, having that level of expertise in Broward County meant not having to incur travel expenses or leave behind family members and a support system to receive her allogeneic bone marrow transplant. About Moffitt Cancer Center Moffitt is dedicated to one lifesaving mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. The Tampa-based facility is one of only 49 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitts scientific excellence, multidisciplinary research, and robust training and education. Moffitt is a Top 10 cancer hospital and has been nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report since 1999. Moffitt devotes more than 2 million square feet to research and patient care. Moffitts expert nursing staff is recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with Magnet status, its highest distinction. With more than 5,700 team members, Moffitt has an economic impact in the state of $2.1 billion. For more information, call 1-888-MOFFITT (1-888-663-3488), visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the momentum on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. About Memorial Healthcare System Memorial Healthcare System (http://www.mhs.net) is one of the largest public healthcare systems in the country and a national leader in quality care and patient satisfaction, highly regarded for its exceptional patient and family-centered care. Its facilities include Memorial Regional Hospital, Memorial Regional Hospital South, Joe DiMaggio Childrens Hospital, Memorial Hospital West, Memorial Hospital Miramar,Memorial Hospital Pembroke, and Memorial Manor nursing home. New Seneca County Justice Center completed under budget Officials from the Seneca County Board of Commissioners, the City of Tiffin and Gilbane Building Company came together to celebrate the official building dedication and ribbon cutting for the new Seneca County Justice Center. The new justice center houses two common plea courts, Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal court and the clerk of courts office. The courthouse was constructed at the location of the former county courthouse, which was built in 1884 and demolished in 2012. Gilbane served as construction manager at-risk for the $12.7 million project, which included a new 36,000 SF, four-story structural steel facility that fulfills the countys need for more adequate court facilities and is expected to be a focal point of the community for generations to come. The project team worked alongside the design team, Silling Architects, to ensure the client goals were met. The building has a brick veneer exterior and a mansard roof. A Lady Justice Statue was included on the new clock tower on the west side of the facility, resembling the statue from the original courthouse. Gilbane was proud to have another opportunity to work with the City of Tiffin and Seneca County for the construction of this new justice center. The courthouse is a focal point of this community." Chad Stevers, Gilbane Building Company Senior Project Executive About Gilbane Building Company Gilbane provides a full slate of construction and facilities-related services from pre-construction planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, general contracting, design-build and facility management services for clients across various markets. Founded in 1873 and still a privately held, family-owned company, Gilbane has 46 office locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.gilbaneco.com. Gilbane has been providing construction management services in Ohio since 1959. Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, P.L.C. is pleased to announce that it has opened an office in Tucson, Arizona to better serve clients in the Southern region of Arizona. Centrally located at 1760 East River Road in Suite 230 (intersection of River Road and Campbell Avenue), the firm is in the heart of the Santa Catalina Mountains in a thriving community and business hub. Jennings Strouss also has offices in Phoenix and Peoria, Arizona, and Washington, D.C. Attorneys Danielle J.K. Constant and John J. Kastner, along with paralegal Dawn Leslie, joined Jennings Strouss to assist clients and expand the firms footprint throughout the Greater Tucson Metropolitan area. We continue to grow the firm strategically to enhance existing services and expand areas most in demand by our clients, states John C. Norling, Managing Attorney of Jennings Strouss. When the opportunity to open a Tucson office was presented, we jumped on it. Danielle, John and Dawn have resided and worked in Tucson for many years and are deeply-rooted in the legal and business communities. We couldnt have chosen a better team to represent Jennings Strouss in Tucson. Constant is an experienced litigator whose practice is focused on eminent domain and real estate litigation. Prior to entering private practice, she served as a prosecutor in the Pima County Attorneys Office in Tucson. There, Constant played an instrumental role in negotiating thousands of serious felony cases, and personally prosecuted defendants in over 40 felony jury trials. Constant also reviewed and issued pre-indictment felony charges in violent, vehicular, property and narcotic offenses, prosecuted defendants in misdemeanor jury trials, and appeared in court for evidentiary hearings, bench trials and other court proceedings. Constant earned her J.D. from the University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law and her B.A. from Dordt College. She has been a Tucson resident since 1999. Kastner's practice is anchored in his belief that there is no substitute for hard work. He approaches all of his cases with that mantra in mind. A trial attorney based in Tucson, Kastner extends his practice throughout Arizona in the areas of insurance defense, insurance coverage, premises liability, municipal liability, catastrophic injury and wrongful death, commercial liability and professional negligence. Kastners experience is further diversified by his tenure as Judge Pro Tem for the Pima County Superior Court. Kastner earned his J.D. from Hamline University School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Kastner is recognized by Best Lawyers and is rated AV Preeminent. Leslies career in the legal industry extends over 29 years. Her experience as a paralegal include a wide range of areas, including litigation, labor and employment, real estate, tax, personal injury, and medical malpractice and insurance defense. Leslie earned her B.A. in Liberal Studies from Northern Arizona University. For more information about Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, please visit http://www.jsslaw.com. About Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, P.L.C. For over 75 years, Jennings Strouss has been dedicated to providing clients with strategic legal guidance to help them seize every opportunity. The firm is well-known for its rich heritage, commitment to community, and long-lasting relationships. We have a deep understanding of business and law. When you work with us, youll have a team of legal experts who are dedicated to your vision of success. Through our offices in Peoria, Phoenix, and Tucson, Arizona, and Washington, D.C., we leverage resources both regionally and nationally to serve our expanding client base. Jennings Strouss is deeply rooted in each of our locations legal and business communities, and especially instrumental in helping shape the dynamic growth of Arizona and many of its institutions. The firm promotes a pragmatic, results-oriented approach, coupled with a healthy, well-managed, and friendly atmosphere of collaboration. Our primary areas of practice include advertising and media law; agribusiness; automobile dealership law; bankruptcy, restructuring, and creditors rights; construction; corporate and securities; eminent domain and condemnation; employee benefits and pensions; energy; family law and domestic relations; finance; health care; insurance defense; intellectual property; labor and employment; legal ethics; litigation; medical malpractice; professional liability defense; real estate; surety and fidelity; tax; and trust and estates. For additional information, please visit http://www.jsslaw.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Dr. Stock opens PureHealth Functional Family Medicine I want to offer my patients all that Functional Family Medicine offers at a flat price, while also providing them care when they need it, said Dr. Daniel Stock. After 18 years of being hospital-employed, Dr. Daniel Stock has opened the doors to his new functional family medicine practice. PureHealth Functional Family Medicine, located 15510 Herriman Boulevard in Noblesville, is now accepting new patients. The practice is one of only two functional family medicine practices in the state of Indiana, but is the sole practice to provide care through Direct Primary Care (DPC), and without involving health insurance. I want to offer my patients all that Functional Family Medicine offers at a flat price, while also providing them care when they need it, said Dr. Daniel Stock, founding physician of PureHealth Functional Family Medicine. The best part of functional medicine is tackling both common or acute diseases and chronic complex issues from lacerations and sore throats, to Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and even Parkinsons Disease. Despite practicing for three decades, Dr. Stock has most recently learned of an innovative way of reversing Alzheimer's Disease. He says he believes that finding out all the elements that cause a person to become ill is the best way to be able to treat a chronic disease. Whether my patient is battling the common cold, or Alzheimer's Disease, my goal is to realize and achieve good healthcare, and to that, I believe in spending more time with each patient to inform them of their options, make decisions and plan out the best, next steps said Dr. Stock. I firmly believe most issues can be solved by lifestyle changes if caught early enough, and in an economical way. And, DPC functional medicine allows for that to occur. Dr. Stock completed his undergraduate degree at Notre Dame University, his medical degree at Indiana University, and internship at St. Vincents Hospital in Indianapolis. He began practicing primary care in 1989. A founding diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Lipidology, Dr. Stock is also a diplomate of the American Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. Patients need to be in control of their health and healthcare, and PureHealth Functional Family Medicine allows patients to be the leader in controlling their health destiny, said Adam Habig, co-founder and president of Freedom Healthworks. We are very excited to work with Dr. Stock and provide more patients in Indiana access to Functional Medicine. As a DPC practice, PureHealth Functional Family Medicine enables patients to pay a flat, monthly fee for unlimited health care, while reserving their health insurance for specialty physician visits and hospitalizations. PureHealth Functional Family Medicine opened its doors with the help of Freedom Healthworks, an organization empowering physicians to open their dream DPC practice, which includes longer in-office visits and higher accessibility for their patients including communication by text, phone, email and digital apps. Dr. Stocks office is located at 15510 Herriman Blvd in Noblesville, and is now accepting new patients. ABOUT FREEDOM HEALTHWORKS Freedom Healthworks, based in Indianapolis, propels the launch, growth and operation of independent, Direct Primary Care (DPC) practices, while also connecting patients to the best DPC practice for their needs. By liberating physicians to serve patients instead of insurance companies, Freedom Healthworks seeks to empower patients to purchase excellent, affordable medical care from private physicians they know and trust. The business was founded by Adam Habig, Christopher Habig and Meghan Habig Johnston, three adult siblings whose physician parents were on the brink of burnout but wanted to offer patients the best healthcare possible. Freedom Healthworks initiatives under the DPC model allow patients to receive unlimited health care from a physician of their choosing, while paying a flat rate. Freedom Healthworks DPC physicians provide a higher level of care while practicing how they were trained. These physicians also maintain a healthy work-life balance and do not suffer from the burnout that plagues the majority of the medical community. More information about Freedom Healthworks can be found at http://www.FreedomHealthworks.com. World capitalism is under siege in the 21st century, so a free conference in Cairo, Egypt, will be held in June to discuss how to address this crisis, which impacts todays megacities (cities featuring more than 10 million people each). The discussion facilitated at this conference, called Megacities and Development: Megamachines of Hope and Alientation, may ultimately help to preserve the quality of life of millions of people around the world, according to Ahmed Nashaat, political and socioeconomic expert. The conference will take place from 10 a.m. on June 26 to 5 p.m. EET on June 27. According to Nashaat, four ideological and structural contradictions exist in the current capitalist-based world-system: rising labor costs; increasing anti-systemic resistance; the nation-states declining role; and ecological entropy. All of these contradictions will be discussed during the conference. This conference is long overdue, according to Nashaat, as especially in the southern part of the globe, leaders priorities are backward. They are focused less on alleviating poverty and more on firms rights, developing neutral legal criteria, intellectual property rights, and contract guarantees. Unfortunately, neo-liberal restructuring has led to global accumulation rather than internal development. In other words, the future of democracy is on the line thanks to development aid promises and structural adjustment. During the conference, those working in areas such as Bogota, Colombia; Manila, Philippines; and Cairo will come together to explore megacities, colossal production-based megamachines (scientific and technological innovations), and the various forms of alienation experienced today: social and economic, ecological, cultural alienation, technological, and psychological alienation. Several alienation-related questions will be addressed at the conference. For example, how can the megacitys cultural imaginations, economies, and networks defend against the monocultural megamachines that reproduce cultural hierarchies? In addition, can megacities minority and migrant voices help to balance out the amplification of the megamachines of social media and smart city grids? Dr. Maribel Santos-Cordero Special Needs Pediatric Dentist in Sarasota, FL Welcomes New Patients "At Dentistry for Children & Adolescents we choose to work with children with special needs because we love to make an investment in their lives." Dr. Maribel Santos-Cordero, a special needs pediatric dentist in Sarasota, FL, is now accepting new special needs pediatric patients with or without a referral. Dr. Santos understands that every child is special in his or her own way. A child with special healthcare needs requires special dental care. Parents of children with special healthcare needs are often met with challenges to provide good oral care at home. Children with special healthcare needs, severe dental anxiety, hypersensitivities or oral aversions may require assistance in keeping good oral hygiene habits and a different approach to dental care in order to meet their needs and circumstances while preventing problems like cavities and gum disease. Other common dental problems in patients with special needs include: delayed or absent teeth, extra teeth, malocclusion, developmental defects, trauma, bruxism, and oral infections. As a board-certified pediatric dentist in Sarasota, FL, Dr. Santos has the knowledge of the medical, physical, mental, and behavioral condition of a child to ensure that their oral health needs can be effectively met. She takes an individualized and systematic approach to the examination and treatment of her patients while making them feel safe and comfortable under her care. Dr. Santos offers medication-free methods to help ease childrens fears. If necessary, she will incorporate sedation dentistry into treatment to provide safe, efficient, and effective dental care. Children who may find it difficult to sit for long periods of time, or those who need special assistance feeling relaxed, can benefit from calming sedation options like nitrous oxide (laughing gas), in-office IV sedation with an anesthesiologist and in-hospital general anesthesia. Dr. Santos and her experienced team care for special needs patients in a way that allows them to thrive regardless of their difficulties. At Dentistry for Children & Adolescents we choose to work with children with special needs because we love to make an investment in their lives, says Dr. Santos. We share in their challenges, we celebrate each small accomplishment and we really enjoy the relationships we can develop with the families over the years. Those interested in learning more about the doctor or have their child see a pediatric dentist to help avoid future problems like cavities and gingivitis can contact Dentistry for Children & Adolescents at 941-907-7762 or http://www.sarasotachildrendentistry.com. About the Doctor Dr. Maribel Santos-Cordero of Dentistry for Children & Adolescents is a board-certified pediatric dentist in Sarasota, FL. Her practice offers comforting and comprehensive dental care for children. Dr. Santos-Cordero is fluent in Spanish and English and has been in practice since 1994. A Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry she is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and a member of the American Dental Association and the Academy of Laser Dentistry. A firm believer in giving back to the community, she participates in many volunteer events like the Give Kids a Smile program. She has privileges to practice in-hospital dentistry at John Hopkins All Childrens Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. To learn more about Dr. Santos-Cordero, her team or the services they offer, visit http://www.sarasotachildrendentistry.com or call Dentistry for Children & Adolescents at 941-907-7762 to schedule a consultation. SWAGTRON, the undisputed leader in electric rideables, announces it will give away a massive $3,000 prize pack to the most anticipated electronic music festival of the year. The contest, live now at Swagtron.com, gives fans a chance to win a grand prize that includes three-day Spring Awakening VIP passes for two, $500 cash, two-night accommodations, meet and greet with SN0WMASS and a Swagtron Swagcycle PRO e-bike. One runner up will also receive a Swagtron Swagcycle PRO. Spring Awakening Music Festival will take place Friday, June 8, through Sunday, June 10, 2018 in Chicago, IL. One of the largest electronic music festivals in the country, SAMF will feature headliners including deadmau5, Hardwell, Zeds Dead, Tiesto and up-and-coming artists like Chicagos own SN0WMASS. Emerging from the frosty depths of the Midwest, SN0WMASS recently entered the electronic music scene with his signature melodic style, and has already garnered more than 2 million plays on Soundcloud, and more than 1 million on Spotify. To celebrate the giveaway, a new track featuring Mona Moua entitled Lifeline is available for a limited-time sneak peek on SoundCloud. LISTEN: SN0WMASS ON SOUNDCLOUD The contest is live now through June 3, 2018. Must be 18 years of age to enter. Visit the official contest page to enter and for full terms and conditions. GRAND PRIZE DETAILS ($3,000 value) Two (2) VIP three-day Spring Awakening Passes $500 spending cash Two-night accommodation in downtown Chicago Meet and Greet with SN0WMASS One (1) Swagcycle PRO e-bike RUNNER UP DETAILS One (1) Swagcycle PRO e-bike ABOUT SWAGCYCLE PRO The Swagcycle PRO builds on the success of the original Swagcycle with the addition of an iOS/Android app, longer battery life and an improved top speed of 18 miles per hour. Like the original Swagcycle, its a fully electric pedal-less scooter bike featuring a compact, folding designone of the smallest e-bikes available. The PROs 350-watt motor makes for a zippy ride, and dual disc brakes are standard. Perfect for fun cruises, enhanced mobility, even short commutes. Top speed: 18 mph. Range: 15.5 miles. MSRP: $600 GET SOCIAL: @SwagtronUSA ABOUT SWAGTRON SWAGTRON is the industry leader in electric rideables, having evolved as the forefront brand in its category. SWAGTRON was celebrated for being one of the first brands of electric rideables on the scene to offer certification by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), an independent consumer product safety company. Every SWAGTRON e-product is tested and approved according to UL standards. SWAGTRON continues to expand and improve its line of innovative rideable products. Barbara's perspective is exactly what West Monroe needs during a period of high growth and increasing business complexity. West Monroe Partners, a national business and technology consulting firm, announced today the appointment of Barbara Duganier to its Board of Managers. Duganier will help provide guidance to the firm, which grew 34 percent in 2017 and is on a similar growth trajectory in 2018. In just 16 years, West Monroe has grown from a startup to a firm of nearly 1,000 employees with 10 offices across the United States. West Monroes Board of Managers provides oversight for the privately held, 100-percent employee-owned company. The appointment brings the number of board members to 10. Barbara brings advisory knowledge of complex industries, risk oversight, and strategic acumen. Combined with her deep understanding of running high-performing professional services firms, her perspective is exactly what West Monroe needs during a period of high growth and increasing business complexity, said Kevin McCarty, West Monroes president and CEO. I and the other board members welcome Barbaras large-firm experience as we surpass the 1,000-employee milestone this summer. Duganier recently spent almost a decade at Accenture, where she served in various roles including chief strategy officer of the outsourcing business, overseeing strategy, acquisitions, and later offering development for the consulting and technology company. As a certified public accountant and seasoned consultant, she has helped numerous large, global organizations in the energy, chemicals, mining, and utilities industries become high-performing businesses. Prior to her tenure at Accenture, Duganier built a career at Arthur Andersen, starting as an auditor in 1979 and culminating as global chief financial officer. Duganier is also a board member at MRC Global (since 2015), Buckeye Partners (since 2013), the National Association of Corporate Directors, Texas Tri-Cities Chapter (since 2015), and Genesys Works (since 2013). She has previously served on the board of HCC Insurance, which was sold to Tokio Marine. I am thrilled to join West Monroes Board of Managers at such a pivotal time in the companys progression. West Monroe is proving itself as a formidable player in the management consulting world, bringing its unique value proposition of business consulting and deep technology expertise to a highly satisfied client base, Duganier said. I am eager to bring helpful, outside expertise to make this an even higher-performing company than it already is. Duganier will start her appointment on June 1. About West Monroe Partners West Monroe is a national business and technology consulting firm that partners with dynamic organizations to reimagine, build, and operate their businesses at peak performance. Our team of more than 950 professionals is comprised of an uncommon blend of business consultants and deep technologists. This unique combination of expertise enables us to design, develop, implement, and run strategic business and technology solutions that yield a dramatic commercial impact on our clients profitability and performance. For more information, visit http://www.wmp.com. Media Contact Christina Galoozis Media Relations Manager cgaloozis(at)westmonroepartners.com 312.447.6623 Imagination Playground Our Build-A-Thon encourages kids to let their imaginations run loose and create designs that are inherently beautiful but also provides lessons in the value of play-based learning." Imagination Playground today announced that nine-year-old Levi Buckley from Layton, Utah, has won the companys 2017-18 Build-A-Thon contest. The competition allows children across the country to submit photos of structures they have created using the companys innovative Big Blue Blocks. Winning designs are judged on creativity, complexity and overall aesthetic. Our Build-A-Thon encourages kids to let their imaginations run loose and create designs that are inherently beautiful but also provides lessons in the value of play-based learning, said David Krishock, President of Imagination Playground. We love it when kids express themselves creatively and learn while they play. This increases levels of communication, collaboration, problem solving and imagination. Levi Buckleys design was chosen based on its complexity, balance, symmetry, and pride in creation. Levis winning entry was co-created with his three brothers, ages 10, 5, and 3. The prize is a 105-piece set of Big Blue Blocks, and a trip to San Francisco for the entire family who will be honored at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 31 at Bay Area Discovery Museum. We are honored to host Levi and his family, and are proud of his accomplishment and winning design, said Karyn Flynn, Chief Executive Officer of Bay Area Discovery Museum. Imagination Playground is a perfect partner for us as we both focus on learning and creative problem solving through fun, imagination, innovation, immersion and play. Now entering its fourth year, Build-A-Thon encourages kids to explore and create with the companys Big Blue Blocks. Imagination Playground has many play-based learning partners all across the country: schools, family centers, childrens museums, discovery centers, and science centers. Partners provide the blocks for play, and children provide their imaginations. Countless studies validate the benefits of rule-free play. It changes neural pathways, regulates emotion and assists in problem-solving and planning. In addition to announcing the Grand Prize Winner, Imagination Playground officially launches their 2018-2019 Build-A-Thon on May 31st. To learn more, please visit: http://www.imaginationplayground.com/promotions/build-a-thon/index.html About Imagination Playground, LLC Imagination Playground is a breakthrough play space concept developed to encourage child-directed, creative free play. The kind of play that experts say is critical to childrens intellectual, social, physical, and emotional development. Invented by architect and designer David Rockwell and the Rockwell group, Imagination Playground enables children to play, dream, build and explore endless possibilities. Imagination Playground finds its home in daycare centers, kindergartens, elementary schools, childrens museums and science, nature, discovery centers, camps, community centers, childrens hospitals, hotels and resorts, public parks and more in North America and over 70 countries around the world. For more information, visit imaginationplayground.com. About Bay Area Discovery Museum The Bay Area Discovery Museum is a childrens museum in Sausalito that applies the latest research to develop early learning experiences that inspire and build creative problem-solving skills in children, transforming the way they learn and the way they contribute to the world. As an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the museum provides STEM-focused, inquiry-driven experiences that develop creativity and conceptual thinking, critical components of problem solving. HITEC is always a highlight of our year. Especially this year, when we have a truly revolutionary offering that is helping shape the future of payments in hospitality. Shift4 Payments, leader and pioneer in secure payment processing solutions and merchant services, will be exhibiting at HITEC in Houston, TX, June 18-21. HITEC, the worlds largest hospitality technology conference, will give attendees their first look at many new and upcoming innovations for hoteliers. Front and center at Shift4s booth will be their new complete payment solution, which they unveiled earlier this year. With their complete payment solution offering, Shift4 can directly provide hoteliers with all the components needed for payment processing, including a secure payment network, point of sale integration, point-to-point encrypted (P2PE) EMV devices, and competitive merchant services. This provides hoteliers an alternative to obtaining and assembling their payment processing components separately. By bundling traditional payment gateway technologies with software integrations and merchant services, Shift4 is able to offer the lowest total cost for accepting credit and debit card payments. HITEC is always a highlight of our year, said Daniel Montellano, SVP of Strategic Business Development at Shift4 Payments. Especially this year, when we have a truly revolutionary offering that is helping shape the future of payments in hospitality. Shift4, previously a payment gateway provider, made this pivot in January, 2018, after they were acquired and rebranded as Shift4 Payments. They have since expanded their focus to include providing all major industries, including hospitality, with an all-in-one payment processing and merchant services solution. Shift4s patented payment technologies were designed to meet the varied needs of hospitality environments of all sizes and complexities and provide them with comprehensive payment data security whether independent and boutique properties, inns, resorts, hotel franchise properties, or entire hotel chains. Shift4s EMV, point-to-point encryption and tokenization solutions work together to provide layered data security that covers every touchpoint at the property. While at HITEC, Shift4 Payments also plans to promote their partner program offering, which includes some of the most generous and attractive incentives in the industry. Its important to us that our current and future partners understand that were more than just a new name and a new logo, said Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 Payments. Were a whole new company and were ready to do business. We invite everyone at HITEC to see for themselves and come meet the new Shift4. HITEC attendees can visit Shift4 Payments in booth #1125 at the George R. Brown Convention Center to discuss how they can benefit from the secure and reliable complete payment solution. Visit http://www.shift4.com/HITEC18 or call 800.265.5795 to learn more about Shift4 Payments or to request a meeting with them at HITEC Houston. About Shift4 Payments Shift4 Payments is the leader in secure payment processing solutions, powering the top point-of-sale and software providers across numerous verticals, including Food & Beverage, Hospitality, Lodging, Gaming, Retail, and E-Commerce. This includes the companys Harbortouch, Restaurant Manager, POSitouch, and Future POS brands, as well as over 300 additional software integrations in virtually every industry. With eight offices across the U.S. and Europe, 7,000 sales partners, and three state-of-the-art data centers, the company securely processes over 1 billion transactions annually for nearly 200,000 businesses, representing over $100 billion in payments each year. For additional information, visit http://www.shift4.com. According to RoadSafe's CEO and President David Meirick, "RoadSafe has a great partnership with 3Ms Transportation Safety Division spanning 30 years or more." A 3M tradition for over 60 years, the annual New Product Expo showcases recently commercialized technologies from across all of 3M's business groups. A premier happening sponsored by 3M's Tech Forum, this year's event featured several exciting presentations from customers including RoadSafe's CEO and President, David Meirick. Other 3M customers presenting at the Expo included Boeing, Toro, General Mills, NIST, Hitachi and Microsoft. According to Gina Buccellato, 3Ms Transportation Safety Division Technical Director, "3M's new product development is first and foremost driven by the needs of our customers and ways that 3M can help them be even more successful. We were very appreciative to have an industry leader like RoadSafe's David Meirick address our technical community during 3M's recent New Product Expo. Hearing directly from customers like Mr. Meirick really helps to increase our outside-in perspective." Meirick commented, RoadSafe has a great partnership with 3Ms Transportation Safety Division spanning 30 years or more. Their outstanding products that include sheeting for signage and other traffic safety products as well as pavements markings, combined with their customer support are second to none in the transportation industry. From our field crews to executive levels, we have a great working relationship resulting in better training, networking and product support. About RoadSafe Traffic Systems, Inc. RoadSafe Traffic Systems, Inc. is the nations largest provider of traffic safety and pavement marking services and innovative safety products to heavy highway, building and specialty contractors, State DOTs, local governments, special events organizations, U.S. railroads and utility companies. Visit http://www.roadsafetraffic.com Oak Street Health, a network of health centers providing a new model of value-based primary care for Medicare patients, has been honored with the Inspirational Award by Value-Based Health Care (VBHC) Center Europe. The award recognizes Oak Street Health as one of the most inspiring and impactful value-based healthcare companies in the world. The Inspirational Award is given to one organization that has adopted an innovative approach to providing excellent patient value and care. Nominees of this award span organizations across the world, including companies from Italy, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and others. Dr. Griffin Myers, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Oak Street Health, accepted the award at VBHCs fifth annual Prize event in Nijkerk, The Netherlands on April 26, 2018. Were humbled and thrilled to receive this prestigious recognition on the international stage, said Dr. Griffin Myers. As we continue to grow, were looking forward to deepening the impact we make in our communities and giving everyone the care, resources and education they need to live healthy lives. Oak Street Health is a leading U.S. healthcare organization that pairs value-based care with active community engagement and support services for medically underserved communities. Its innovative model takes the full risk for its patients away from insurance providers, meaning if a patient is hospitalized, Oak Street Health is accountable and will pay that bill. However, its care model uses a preventative approach to keep patients happy, healthy and out of the hospital. For example, in addition to primary care, Oak Street Health offers behavioral health, social events and transportation to and from appointments for patients that qualify, and many centers offer podiatry and pharmacy services to address patient health needs. As a result of its care model, Oak Street Health has achieved a 94 percent patient retention rate and has decreased patient hospitalizations by 44 percent since 2013. Were pleased to recognize Oak Street Health for its inspiring approach to preventative care and community building, said Prof. Dr. Fred Van Eenennaam, chairman of VBHC Center Europe. Weve noticed the tremendous impact theyve already made in the United States, and well continue to follow the organizations work in their communities. Since opening in 2013, Oak Street Health has served over 42,000 patients in 25 centers across the Midwest, with plans to open 11 new centers in 2018 as it expands to surrounding states. For more information about Oak Street Health, visit http://www.oakstreethealth.com. About Oak Street Health Oak Street Health is a rapidly growing company of primary care centers for adults on Medicare in medically-underserved communities where there is little to no quality healthcare. Oak Streets care is based on an entirely new model that is based on value for its patients, not on volume of services. The company is accountable for its patients health, spending more than twice as long with its patients and taking on the risks and costs of their care. Since 2013, Oak Street Health has been investing in communities across the Midwest providing much-needed primary care for tens of thousands of people in 25 centers. For more information, visit http://www.oakstreethealth.com. By combining the strengths of market leaders like Datera and Platform9 with Packet-managed bare metal, were able to deliver the polished experience of the public cloud at a fraction of the cost. Packet, the leading bare metal cloud for developers, today announced a joint solution with Platform9, a provider of fully managed private clouds, and Datera, the leading provider of application-driven data services for enterprises and clouds. Packet, Platform9 and Datera together offer a unique value proposition: an integrated service that spans hardware and facility operations; automated data services; and a managed private cloud delivered as a service. Suitable for both cloud-native users, as well as enterprises in transition, the solution offers many of the benefits of a centralized public cloud, but with a lower total cost of ownership and additional location, security, and performance benefits. What were providing here is the polished experience of the public cloud, but with significantly more choice and performance, noted Zac Smith, CEO at Packet. By combining the strengths of market leaders like Datera and Platform9 with Packet-managed bare metal, were able to deliver it at a fraction of the cost of traditional public or private cloud solutions. The companies came together during the migration of Platform9s SaaS platform out of AWS. Even though Platform9 was a born in the cloud company, the restrictions of the public cloud environment, complexities of the billing and delivery model, and overall costs created basic business limitations that were unacceptable. Migrating our platform to Packet bare metal and pairing it with Dateras low latency Layer 3 based data services platform showed us just how powerful we could be together, said Jim Ensell, CMO at Platform9. This partnership solves a critical need for SaaS businesses and Enterprises alike, which is to reduce IT costs while reaching peak performance. The joint solution can be deployed at any of Packets 18 global locations, with additional facilities available by custom arrangement. Leveraging Platform9s control plane, users can take advantage of turnkey managed Openstack, Kubernetes and Fission serverless resources. Depending on the infrastructure selection, initial deployment time is faster than any other data center solution available. Whether its for cost, regulation, or for performance reasons - we see an increasing number of customers looking for an alternative to the traditional public cloud, said Peter Prinos, Sr. Director, Partnerships at Datera. Our close working relationship with both Packet and Platform9 allows us to deliver on a promise we all share: a powerful, comprehensive and scalable cloud solution at the best possible cost of ownership. About Packet Packet is the leading bare metal cloud for developers. Its proprietary technology automates physical servers and networks without the use of virtualization or multi-tenancy - powering over 60k deployments each month in its 18 global datacenters. Founded in 2014 and based in New York City, Packet has quickly become the provider of choice for leading enterprises, SaaS companies, and software innovators. In addition to its public cloud, Packet's unique "Private Deployment" model enables companies to automate their own infrastructure in facilities all over the world. Packet is a proud member of the Open19 Foundation, as well as the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), where it donates and manages the CNCF Community Infrastructure Lab. Additionally, Packet supports many open source projects, including Memcached.org, NixOS and Kernel.org. About Datera Datera is taking storage into the data era. Unlike traditional storage, all-flash arrays or typical cloud storage, Datera offers the only application-driven data services platform for traditional and cloud-native applications that delivers the breakthrough business agility and extensibility customers really want with the enterprise-class performance and better-than-cloud economics they really need. Datera has been recognized in Network Worlds 10 Hot Storage Companies to Watch, CRNs Top 20 Software-Defined Data Center Providers and is a proud recipient of the Telecom Councils 2017 Spiffy Award. Connect with Datera Blog: https://datera.io/blog Twitter: https://twitter.com/daterainc LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/datera Analyst White Paper: https://datera.io/esg-white-paper/ About Platform9 Platform9 delivers the next-generation open cloud for enterprises to deploy, monitor and maintain hybrid clouds across multiple platforms. Platform9 provides cloud infrastructure like OpenStack and Kubernetes as SaaS-managed solutions, along with the serverless project, Fission, to customers such as Cadence, Autodesk, Splunk and EBSCO, enabling speed and scale without being locked into a single vendor ecosystem. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., and is backed by Redpoint Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Canvas Ventures and HPE. For more information, http://www.platform9.com. Jason Mitchell, Chief Operating Officer of Whole Oceans Whole Oceans, a state-of-the-art recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), that will raise Atlantic salmon on the site of the former Verso paper mill in the heart of Bucksport, Maine, announced that Jason Mitchell has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer. Mitchell is a seasoned leader in operations and manufacturing, with more than 15 years of experience in shipbuilding operations management. He has held a variety of positions at General Dynamics, most recently as Director of Ground Assembly at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Mitchell is experienced at leading production and operations management and strategic planning. An entrepreneur at heart, Mitchell was founder and co-owner of San Diego-based Helms Brewing Company which he sold in 2017. Along with his wife Amanda, Mitchell co-owns Delany Arts located in Yarmouth, Maine, which is set to open in the Fall of 2018. He is on the executive board of One Summit, a nonprofit organization that supports children battling cancer through a unique mentoring program with U.S. Navy Seals. Mitchell received a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering and Shipyard Management from the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, and a Master of Science in Business and Operations Management from San Diego State University. About Whole Oceans Whole Oceans is a Maine-based company poised to become Americas premier producer of sustainably farm-raised Atlantic salmon in state-of-the-art, environmentally responsible, recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). For more information visit http://www.wholeoceans.com. Weve lowered the barrier to entry for high school students interested in esports. The Free Agent team system gives everyone the chance to compete, said Mason Mullenioux, CEO of High School Esports League. High School Esports League (HSEL), the leading league for high school esports, today announced the launch of the first-ever Free Agent team system at the high school level for the upcoming HSEL Summer Open. HSELs Free Agent team system expands existing team limitations and allows students to create teams with friends from any high school across North America. "With the Free Agent team system, students can more easily join and play esports on a platform where college recruiters can and do take notice, said Aaron Hawkey, COO of High School Esports League. As always, we want to provide as much opportunity and potential exposure to our students as possible, and, the Free Agent team system does just that. High School Esports Leagues Summer Open starts June 18th and has over 70 partnered college recruiters through The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) that will actively scout as the start of the next school year approaches. HSEL Summer Open participants will compete for trophies, scholarship prizing and more, including Respawn chairs and Twitch merchandise. Weve lowered the barrier to entry for high school students interested in esports. The Free Agent team system gives everyone the chance to compete, said Mason Mullenioux, CEO of High School Esports League. Now, even more students have the opportunity to be in the spotlight for college recruitment and achieve their academic goals through scholarships. Qualifiers for the Summer Open are now live and end June 17th, with the regular season starting June 18th. All students looking to compete must be verified by June 15th. Students interested in signing up for HSELs Summer Open can register their account here: http://www.highschoolesportsleague.com/sign-up/ ABOUT HSEL The High School Esports League (HSEL) is the league administrator to a network of high schools competing in 14 gaming titles across North America. HSEL currently has 800 partner clubs, making it the largest league in North America. As the leader in the high school space, we work with clubs to establish, improve, and grow their programs to create a solid foundation for healthy competition. HSEL also helps students in their scholastic life by providing scholarships and connections that further their esports careers. In the MKNG was born out of a desire to inspire creativity on a new level across people of all ages and backgrounds, said Mark Hill, President & Chief Executive Officer, Association for Creative Industries. On land that once hosted the most innovative artists in rock music, creatives and crafters will gather at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on September 29-30 for the inaugural In the MKNG festival. The legendary Hudson Valley site hosted the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Organizers do not expect half a million strong to attend but are hopeful that the creative spirit of this new arts festival will leave a lasting impression on attendees and vendors. The Association for Creative Industries (AFCI), the premier trade association for the global creative arts, is spearheading the In the MKNG festival which will showcase DIY creativity, imagination and inspiration. More than 150 vendors and 10,000 attendees will celebrate crafting, creativity, and collaboration over two days. Hands-on demonstrations, interactive exhibits, workshops, celebrity creators, food trucks, and live music will be just some of what can be experienced at In the MKNG. In the MKNG was born out of a desire to inspire creativity on a new level across people of all ages and backgrounds, said Mark Hill, President & Chief Executive Officer, AFCI. Our research shows that participation in crafting is growing and is not exclusive to a specific gender or age. This festival will bring out the maker in all of us, encourage business for our members who provide products and services for creative consumers, and provide attendees with magical experiences that are vital to their creative expression. The AFCI team is currently accepting applications for vendors. Arts-related product suppliers, charities, pet organizations, and craft food and beverage producers are encouraged to apply at http://www.inthemkng.com or by contacting sales(at)inthemkng(dot)com. The organization is also actively attracting sponsors and an application for varying contribution levels can also be found on the event website. Selecting Bethel Woods for the inaugural edition of the festival was an easy choice for organizers. Centrally located in the Hudson Valley, the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is 90 miles from both the New York and Albany metro areas and just three hours from Philadelphia. Bethel Woods Center For The Arts mission to inspire, educate, and empower individuals through the arts and humanities aligns with our motivation to help individuals embrace the universal creative process. Its history and close proximity to New York Citys prominent art community make Bethel Woods the perfect location for the inaugural In the MKNG creative festival, said Andria Gibbon, CEM, Vice President of Events & Education, AFCI. Darlene Fedun, Chief Executive Officer, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts adds, In the MKNG is a wonderful and unique addition to Bethel Woods festival season. Sullivan County has an incredible community of artisans and crafters who will enjoy the experience. It will also introduce new guests from across the region to our county and Bethel Woods. We are excited to host the event and anticipate great success. Tickets to attend will go on sale on June 1, 2018. For more general information, visit http://www.inthemkng.com or email info(at)inthemkng(dot)com. For media inquiries, email press(at)inthemkng(dot)com. ABOUT In the MKNG In the MKNG is a Hudson Valley festival inspiring and celebrating creativity across demographics and generations. Stemming from the phrase in the making, the festival highlights the creative process as one that is constantly in development. The event is organized by the Association For Creative Industries and includes live demonstrations, interactive activities, charity involvement, regional food, live music, and a lot of fun. The event is September 29-30 at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, NY in the Hudson Valley. For more information about participating, visit http://www.inthemkng.com. ABOUT BETHEL WOODS CENTER FOR THE ARTS Bethel Woods Center for the Arts inspires, educates, and empowers individuals through the arts and humanities by presenting a diverse selection of culturally-rich performances, popular artists, and community and educational programming. Located 90 miles from New York City at the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival in Bethel, NY, the lush 800-acre Hudson Valley campus includes a Pavilion Stage amphitheater with seating for 15,000, an intimate 440-seat indoor Event Gallery, the award-winning Museum at Bethel Woods, and a Conservatory for arts education programming. Through the in-depth study and exhibition of the social, political, and cultural events of the 1960s, as well as the preservation of the historic site of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, Bethel Woods educates individuals about the issues and lessons of the decade while inspiring a new generation to contribute positively to the world around them. The not-for-profit organization relies on the generous support of individuals, corporations, and foundations to develop and sustain programs that improve the quality of life in the region and beyond. For more information please visit http://www.BethelWoodsCenter.org. "not only a breakthrough for 4k and 8k TV, but also the path to the display industry's dream of the intersection of increased image quality and flexible substrates" Oregon-based electronics technology startup Amorphyx features two demonstrations of the world's first quantum tunneling device and fabrication process technologies for the present and future of liquid crystal displays (LCD) in the I-Zone at the Society of Information Display (SID) 2018 Display Week May 22-24 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The first demonstration marks a display industry revolution - the elimination of semiconductor content through quantum tunneling electronics in a color UHD TV resolution LCD. Designed and fabricated in collaboration with one of the leading LCD TV panel manufactures in the industry, this 5-inch diagonal 85ppi 60 Hz color LCD panel exhibits 1000:1 contrast ratio with a 65% aperture ratio - achieved from the first fabrication run. By eliminating semiconductor materials and their associated fabrication tolerance issues, this display reduces photolithography mask count while supporting over 50,000-hour display lifetimes for the UHD LCD TV application. The second demonstration represents the first example of a 4-mask in-plane switching (IPS) using no multi-tone or half-tone photolithography masks. Fabricated completely outside a cleanroom environment, this monochrome prototype features the patent-pending AMNR-IPS subpixel physical structure and represents the path to reduced cost in UHD TV while maintaining high-quality, high-resolution imaging. This "True 4-Mask IPS" process demonstrates the ability of the AMNR device to support simplified manufacturing of high-performance displays - increasing LCD fab output capacity while supporting reduced panel cost and high-performance images. Amorphyx spun out of Oregon State University in 2013 to incorporate innovations in amorphous thin film metals into quantum tunneling electronic devices to replace semiconductor-based thin film transistors (TFT). CEO John Brewer describes the key feature of the Amorphyx technology for the UHD LCD TV market as "better than LTPS performance at lower than amorphous silicon cost." The company's family of patented thin film electronic devices - including the bi-directional switch Amorphous Metal Nonlinear Resistor (AMNR) and the Amorphous Metal Hot Electron Transistor (AMHET) - eliminates semiconductor materials from the display backplane. In doing so, the Amorphyx technology reduces backplane manufacturing complexity and decreases rework due to photolithography tolerances while creating opportunities for increased TV image quality that cannot be supported by existing TFT technologies. Amorphyx Chief Technology Officer Dr. Sean Muir summarizes the company's device and process technologies as "not only a breakthrough for 4k and 8k TV, but also the path to the display industry's dream of the intersection of increased image quality and flexible substrates in a cost-effective, mass production-viable technology platform." About Amorphyx Amorphyx is an innovator at the intersection of materials science and electronics for the display industry. We leverage our expertise in amorphous metals and the creation of high-quality thin films in developing the Amorphous Metal Nonlinear Resistor (AMNR) device, subpixel circuit, and manufacturing process for rigid and flexible display backplanes from smartphones to TVs and large-format panels. The AMNR leverages existing backplane manufacturing equipment in enabling display manufacturers to increase market share across their product lines. Amorphyx is a spinout from Oregon State University (oregonstate.edu) and the Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry (sustainablematerialschemistry.org), and a portfolio company at the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI). The Amorphyx logo and "Simple. For A Change." are trademarks of Amorphyx, Inc. For more information, please visit Amorphyx's website at amorphyx.com, and follow the company on Twitter at #amorphyx and on Facebook. My practice has been built on providing the highest quality of care. Generations of patients have trusted me to do that, so it was important to me to align with a company that shares the same values. QualDerm Partners, a company that creates market-leading dermatology practice partnerships through affiliations and de novo development, today announced Lebanon Dermatology has joined the company as an affiliate practice. This affiliation marks QualDerms nineteenth partnership with physician-owned practices. Founded by Charles A. Mitchell, MD, Lebanon Dermatology provides comprehensive medical and cosmetic dermatologic care, including skin cancer prevention and detection. The practice has served patients in the middle Tennessee region for forty years. My practice has been built on providing the highest quality of care. Generations of patients have trusted me to do that, so it was important to me to align with a company that shares the same values, says Dr. Mitchell. QualDerm-affiliated dermatologists are among the best in our field and the companys reputation for quality is second to none. QualDerms partnership model focuses on physician leadership to help guide the companys policies and growth. Joint Operating Committees, whose members consist of an equal number of physicians and business professionals, oversee each of the companys regional markets. QualDerm also has a physician-led Quality Council to help advance the clinical excellence for the companys affiliated practices and is responsible for advising QualDerm leadership of leading-edge clinical practices and strategies to be considered for adoption. Were honored that Lebanon Dermatology has joined our network of affiliated practices, says Bill Southwick, Chief Executive Officer of QualDerm. This practice is a staple in its community and is known throughout the region for providing great care. Dr. Mitchells experience and expertise is a valuable addition to the QualDerm network. Under the partnership agreement, QualDerm will provide Lebanon Dermatology with management support, guidance and capital to expand their services. QualDerm affiliated practices are located in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio. The company has plans to expand into other regions by year end. About QualDerm Partners QualDerm Partners helps top-tier dermatologists position their practices for sustainable growth and profitability. The company creates market-leading practice partnerships through affiliations and de novo development. QualDerm provides the management support, capital, and guidance for growth. Under QualDerms True Partnership(SM) model, physicians are partners, not employees, and retain their own practice brand. This doctor-driven model is designed to maintain physicians clinical autonomy and ensure the highest-quality patient care. QualDerm offers physicians tailored partnership structures to meet their needs, as well as the option to sell their practices. For more information, visit http://www.QualDerm.com. About Lebanon Dermatology Lebanon Dermatology, based in Lebanon, Tennessee, provides comprehensive medical and cosmetic dermatologic care. The practice has served patients in the middle Tennessee region since 1988. Lebanon Dermatology was founded by Charles A. Mitchell, MD, who earned his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. Dr. Mitchell completed residencies at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital and Vanderbilt University and served as a physician in the United States Navy. Contact: Andy Mitzen Chief Development Officer, QualDerm Partners andy.mitzen@qualderm.com 615.250.6756 Media Contact: Nikki Cary 6 Columns Marketing Group nikki@6Columns.com 615.500.2924 Security in and with Office 365 eBook While every organization benefits from Office 365s built-in security features it is also essential to configure Office 365 to meet each organizations individual security standards. Rencore today announced the publishing of the eBook Security in and with Office 365 using Secure Code at SharePoint Conference North America 2018. While Office 365 comes with built-in security features, this eBook focuses on those security controls within Office 365 that are and must be - managed by the customer. It serves as a guide to maximize the exact level of security each organization needs using Microsofts Secure Score portal as a starting point. Ever since Secure Score came out, I wondered how to make the most of security on Office 365 and get that number as high as possible, said Jethro Seghers, Program Director at SkySync and author of the eBook. Even though Secure Score does a really good job in trying to explain the What and the How, in my opinion, it fell short addressing the Why. I used this document to increase security on my tenant. I am confident it will do the same for the readers. The publishers goal is to encourage Office 365 customers to think about security very seriously. Security matters, even more so with new regulations like EU-GDPR casting its shadows ahead. If the average global Secure Score (30 out of 364) is any measure, most Office 365 customers do take security far too lightly. Following the authors suggestion for implementing just the most basic security settings, any organization will be able to rate far above the current Secure Score benchmark. Security for organizations using Office 365 has multiple layers, said Matthias Einig, CEO of Rencore. While every organization benefits from Office 365s built-in security features and companies like Rencore provide third-party solutions to optimize security and governance in areas outside of Microsofts control, it is also essential to configure Office 365 to meet each organizations individual security standards. This eBook does a great job in getting organizations there. The eBook can be downloaded for free at Rencore.com. Rencore will also be available at booth #108 at SharePoint Conference North America in Las Vegas, Nevada this week to discuss the eBooks findings in more detail. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: The Trump administration announced a new round of sanctions on Venezuela on Monday, further limiting government officials there from selling debt and other assets " And in a March phone call, Trump reportedly congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection, despite guidance from his national-security team not do so. Some leaders have been reluctant to offer Putin similar compliments, given the state's control of much of the media in Russia as well as restrictions on opposition candidates. Election monitors said the most recent contest was "overly controlled" and "lacked genuine competition." (President Barack Obama congratulated Putin after the latter's 2012 election victory, though his administration also publicly expressed concerns about that vote.) A few days later, when asked whether Russia's election was free and fair, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "We're focused on our elections. We don't get to dictate how other countries operate." "What we do know is Putin has been elected in their country, and that's not something that we can dictate to them, how they operate," she added at the time. "We can only focus on the freeness and the fairness of our elections." "The effect on a close ally of the United States, Colombia, is enormous and is threatening to drag that country into the abyss from an economic standpoint as well," the official said. "So this is a true catastrophe in every sense of the word, within the region." The US is not the only country that has reproved Maduro and his government. The Lima Group made up of 14 countries in Latin America rebuked the Maduro government over the election when it was announced in January and said on Monday that it did not recognize Sunday's vote as legitimate. The US has reportedly offered lawyers and policy experts to help other Latin American countries draft similar measures. Venezuela experts have warned that sanctions themselves are unlikely to force Maduro out and cautioned that harsher sanctions such as ones against the oil industry on which the country is heavily reliant could only cause additional pain for the Venezuelans. In an interview with Accra-based Joy FM, the headmistress of Ghana National College Juliana Owusu-Ansah expressed sympathy and said: "to the best of our knowledge we did the best we could." This response comes after the father of the deceased Amanor Okine threatened to sue the school for alleged negligence that led to the death of his only daughter. He narrated that he received a call from an Assistant House Mistress of the school who asked him to come to the school because there was something wrong with his daughter. I drove from Accra straight to the hospital only to be told by the doctor in charge that my daughter was dead on arrival. The doctor told me that the four students told him on record that my daughter complained of breathlessness twice but the House Mistress on duty and another gentleman told her to wait until the dormitory inspection was over, he added. READ ALSO: Second year students to enjoy free SHS in September However, the Assistant Headmaster of the school Takyi Bediako said that her inhaler could not offer any relief. Other asthmatic students gave their inhalers to Ruby but her condition did not improve. By the time the school nurse arrived, she had collapsed and was foaming in her mouth. They did not mind her until she passed out. After she passed out, the teachers asked some of her friends to take her to the Cape Coast Government Hospital. They conveyed her in a taxi. When they arrived Regina Teiko was pronounced dead on arrival. Regina Teikos father Amanor Okine told Accra-based Adom FM that he received a call from an Assistant House Mistress of the school who asked him to come to the school because there was something wrong with his daughter. I drove from Accra straight to the hospital only to be told by the doctor in charge that my daughter was dead on arrival. The doctor told me that the four students told him on record that my daughter complained of breathlessness twice but the House Mistress on duty and another gentleman told her to wait until the dormitory inspection was over, he added. READ ALSO: Second year students to enjoy free SHS in September A doctor confirmed this narration to Adom FM when they were contacted. They added that they have the narration of the students on record and it was exactly what the man said. When Amanor Okine went to the school to collect his daughter's items the school authorities were not even aware that he had already been to the hospital. Amanor Okine said the school must be blamed for negligence because they were aware the girl was asthmatic and yet they ignored her complaints until she passed out on campus. A hosts of star artistes and diplomats from across Africa were present as the 2018 AFRIMMA anual calendar of programmes was unveiled by the African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with Government of the Republic of Ghana, and the International Committee of AFRIMA during a world media event and music conference held in the capital city. Among those present were the Head of Culture, African Union, Mrs. Angela Martins; President/Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mr. Mike Dada; Director, Brand Communications, AFRIMA; Ms. Matlou Tsotetsi; AFRIMA Regional Director; Western Africa, Mr. Don Obilor, the Ghanaian-UK AFRIMA Juror, (representing UK-Diaspora) and BBC-1 show host, Ms. Rita Ray and the AFRIMA Country Director, Ghana, Mr. Francis Doku. The event also brought together past AFRIMA nominees and winners, music professionals and executives, creative/culture industry policy makers, members of the media industry and other award-winning recording artistes living in Ghana and in other African countries. President Akufo-Addo shared some time with some of the artistes who were present at the AFRIMA calendar unveiling. The likes of Sarkodie, Kuami Eugene, Fancy Gadam, Becca and Kidi, among others, all posed for pictures with the President. Ghanas Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Catherine Afeku, was happy that the event was held in Ghana, insisting it is in line with governments objective to develop sustainable tourism pivoted on Ghanaian arts and culture. Arts and culture, as a sector, remains one of Africas greatest strengths. As well as being a source of values, identity and a sense of belonging, the creative industries have become a driver of economic growth and job creation. In agreeing to host the AFRIMA 2018 Calendar Unveiling, the Government of Ghana is motivated by the need to harness the potential of the creative sector of Ghana to promote national and regional tourism. We congratulate the African Union for lending its weight behind this laudable effort, she said. Until her death recently she had always depended on begging for alms. Reports indicated that the poor woman gained some popularity and amassed some donations from benevolent people when a photo of a soldier giving her a drink and food became viral online, but little did anybody imagine that the disabled beggar was such a rich woman. READ MORE: Woman arrested for using rented triplets to beg for alms Police were reportedly taken aback when after the death of Fatima Othman they found two bags containing five million LBP (2,457) belonging to her. As if that was not shocking enough, authorities again found a saving booklet which revealed that the deceased had 1.7 billion LBP (835,000) savings with a local bank. Aside residents expressing surprise at the discovery, Police spokesman, Joseph Musallem is quoted as saying it was a big surprise. According to reports, her family in the Lebanese town of Ain Al-Zahab located in Akkar did not know their disabled relative was so wealthy. Reports say the little girl went missing in February this year and it was recently discovered that the 55-year-old man of God identified only as Pastor Michael had been keeping the girl and having sex with her consistently. Residents could not restrain their emotions after learning that the victim is pregnant. They descended on Pastor Michael and lashed him mercilessly. Photos of the embarrassing incident have been circulating online, showing the man of God lying on the floor receiving the lashes. In some of the photos the pastor was made to kneel down and raise his two hands. READ MORE: Reverend Minister caught watching porn and snorting cocaine A witness who photographed the scandal posted them online with the caption: Prophet Michael seized the girl in February and kept her in his house and impregnated her. He had somehow hypnotised the girl to the extent that she would hide from her schoolmates whenever they passed through the area where Prophet Michaels house is located. The girl was however spotted by her parents on April 29th while she was sweeping the compound. She told her parents that she was kept in the house by Prophet Michael and she was discovered to be pregnant for him. The much talked about royal wedding between British monarch Prince Harry and former Hollywood actress, Meghan Markle has become the a worldwide conversations on May 19, 2018 when they eventually became man and wife. READ ALSO:The trend of kente fashion among Ghanaian celebrity brides According to a report seen on Mynewsgh.com, some African fabric makers have designed a fabric with the picture of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle printed in them and have released it on the market for people to patronize. One of the suspects, Majeed Maamin, was arrested at Nalerigu for allegedly possessing and peddling 24 wrapped substances believed to be wee. The second suspect, identified as 39-year-old Mariam Dahamani, was also arrested from Sakogu for possessing illegal drugs. Further search by the Police in her house led to the discovery of eight full sacks of the dried substances as well as seven mini sacks containing wee. Despite explaining that the substances belong to her husband, Mariam and Majeed were both arrested and kept in Police custody. They are expected to appear before court on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Known as the Criminal Justice Case Tracking System (Ghana CTS), it is designed to collect, collate and harmonise data from the Ghana Police Service, Prisons Service, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney Generals Department, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Legal Aid Scheme and the Judicial Service in order to provide systemic and timely information to all stakeholders, from the arrest or receipt of complaint, through investigation, charging, prosecution, trial and punishment. Speaking at the launch ceremony in Accra on Tuesday 22 May, 2018, which was also attended by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Hon Gloria Akuffo, the Chief Justice, Ms Justice Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo, and the United States Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Robert P Jackson, Vice President Bawumia underscored the importance of a timely and efficient judicial system for the development of any nation. Timeliness and efficiency are essential to the survival of a modern state. For peace to be maintained among citizens, for our collective sense that we live in a good society, citizens must have reasonable faith that the courts are able to dispense justice impartially, speedily, and efficiently." Vice President Bawumia bemoaned the many bottlenecks in the justice delivery system, which creates a fertile ground for corruption and the perversion of justice, and called for high stakes buy-in from the leaders of the justice delivery system to ensure its success. 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. That trend, though, could soon change due to the efforts of some vibrant entrepreneurs like Sandra Ozwald. The 26-year-old is currently one of the very few shoe manufacturers in the country and has been making giant strides in this area. As the CEO of Saint Ozwald Shoes, Sandra currently has eight men working for her, as she seeks to get more Ghanaians to buy into her locally made footwear. As refreshing as this sounds, Sandras story is one that was never rosy. Having been faced with faced financial challenges after completing Senior High School (SHS), she decided to start a business of her own. That, however, was not without stern objection from her mother, who, at the time, held that shoemaking was a strictly masculine job. That notwithstanding, Sandra stood firm in her conviction that she could actually carve a rewarding career from shoemaking. She recalls how the idea of starting a shoemaking factory came to her after she spotted the groom at a wedding wearing a Ghana-made shoe. According to her, the sight of the groom in a locally made footwear was so pleasing that she immediately decided to venture into the shoemaking business. I discovered this whole idea [of shoemaking] at a friends wedding where the groom was wearing a shoe which was made with an African print, Sandra said in an exclusive interview with Pulse Ghana. I was quite shocked because I never knew we could make shoes in Ghana. After the wedding, I knew the bride so I called her and asked about the shoe her husband was wearing and she told me it was made in Ghana and from Kumasi. I took the shoemakers number from my friend, I called him and, afterwards, I went to Kumasi to meet the shoemaker personally. I told him I wanted him to make some shoes for me to sell and he agreed so we continued from there." At this point Sandra was just into the selling of Ghana-made shoes, which she ordered from the shoemaker in Kumasi. It turned out to be good business but, as a vibrant lady who is very much entrepreneurship-minded, Sandra wanted to take it a step further. The delays in delivery, coupled with the fact that her customer base was growing with each passing day, encouraged her to move from just buying and selling of shoes to opening her own shoemaking factory. That was how Saint Ozwald Shoes was born! I realized people were really buying the shoes but I wasnt getting [the sales] as I wanted it to be. This was because sometimes when I make an order for the shoes, it takes the shoemaker about two weeks, sometimes even a month, to get them for me. Saint Ozwald Shoes started with Sandra and two other shoemakers. The three, through hard work and zeal, gave the business a sound footing as they tried to break into the Ghanaian market with locally made shoes. Soon the business began to grow two more shoemakers joined, with four other apprentices also joining later, in what Sandra describes as creating the dream business. Finally, I got two more shoemakers to join me here. We stared training some apprentices and now I have eight shoemakers four full-time shoemakers and four apprentices, she narrates, adding that it is not all about school. School is good but if you dint have the help you can also do something with your hand you can learn shoemaking, tailoring or anything that can help you to make something for your pocket or build a dream for your life. At 26, and already a successful businesswoman in the local shoemaking business, Sandras products are highly patronized across the country. The likes of Nathaniel Attoh, ex-Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah, actor Prince David Osei and a couple of other celebs are regular customers of Saint Ozwald Shoes, but Sandra is not willing to rest on her laurels yet. According to her, the dream is to take her locally made shoes global, with a target of reaching the level of worldwide shoemaking brands like Zara. I want to build a brand like Zara and the other brands. But Zara is the target because looking at how they have been able to expand their company thats my dream, Sandra says. He said Bawumia has proved himself as the next heir to Nana Addo. According to him, he should succeed his boss if he [Nana Addo] refuses to seek for re-election. He said no one qualifies to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2020 election to retain power adding that giving Bawumia the opportunity will help the party. In an interview on 21 Minutes with KKB, Bentil said "On my own assessment, I believe presently, if you look across the political scene the best person to take over after President Nana Addo will be Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia." Bentil believes Bawumia will have it easy replacing Nana Addo when he retires. "If he continues the way he is going and continues to give me the confidence he gives me and if nobody emerges and gives me greater confidence, Ill vote for him," he added. Bawumia posters In 2017, posters with the image of Dr. Bawumia as a presidential aspirant on the ticket of the NPP emerged, sparking brouhaha among Ghanaians. The nicely-printed posters popped up popped up the various social media platforms. It has not been confirmed whether Bawumia has a hand in the manufacturing of the posters which have gone viral on Facebook and WhatsApp. The NDC commentator considered an underdog by many, insists he feels confident about his chances and is amazed by the support from friends. He said he's the only candidate to retire former President John Mahama in the 2020 elections and politics in general. 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 NDC for him to lead the party again. 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." But Stephen Atubiga described himself as the favorite presidential candidate to lead the party to victory. In a Facebook post, he wrote "Congratulations to JDM for taking that bold step of joining the race to lead the NDC for the second time. As a senior aspirant (I declared before him) , I welcome him on Board. JDM declaration is history for Ghana. The first time a former sitting president losing to opposition, and coming back to try for his his second term bid. His come back is good for democracy . READ ALSO: Prof Asare warns Mahama not to contest elections 2020 I think this is the right time for the other aspirants to drop from the race , And give me Atubiga their support for victory. Sly, Spio ,Alabi, Albany and others have all served under JDM, And he knows their weakness and strength very well, to knock them down really hard. They should man up drop and give me their support. I will surly use all of them strategically in my government as a President. JDM you are welcome on Board as an aspirant. I will support any candidate 100% WHO is chosen by the delegates to lead us 2020 for victory. There is always a first time president. And there is no schooling for presidency that when completed you are automatically a president. Love you all. Nana Addo during his nationwide tour in the Brong Ahafo region last week said the projects Mahama claims to have undertaken during his era do not exist. But in a statement, Mahama described the comment as regrettable cataloging the various projects undertaken during his era. It said "It is regrettable that President Akufo-Addo has yet again failed to exhibit candour in his speech, this time to the Chiefs and people of Nkoranza in Brong Ahafo Region. It is even more worrying when there is overwhelming evidence of the massive investment made in the provision of various projects for the people of Ghana. READ MORE: Prof Asare warns Mahama not to contest elections 2020 "In the Brong Ahafo Region, for instance, the region had its fair share of development, which can be honestly attested to by the chiefs and people of the Region. How the President can say these are ghost projects is surprising." Below is the full statement STATEMENT IN REACTION TO PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDOS GHOST PROJECTS COMMENT The attention of the Office of HE John Dramani Mahama has been drawn to the false comments made by President Nana Akufo-Addo to the effect that the unprecedented capital investments made by the Mahama administration cannot be seen and are ghost projects. It is regrettable that President Akufo-Addo has yet again failed to exhibit candour in his speech, this time to the Chiefs and people of Nkoranza in Brong Ahafo Region. It is even more worrying when there is overwhelming evidence of the massive investment made in the provision of various projects for the people of Ghana. Mr. Mahama, who remains grateful to the people of this country for the opportunity to serve them, is gratified that he was able to provide tangible development in all sectors that enhanced the quality of life of Ghanaians. The least President Akufo-Addo must do is to add to his predecessors significant gains instead of rolling back the clock of socio-economic transformation. After seventeen months in office, what the people want to see are the projects initiated or started by the President since he was sworn into office. In the Brong Ahafo Region, for instance, the region had its fair share of development, which can be honestly attested to by the chiefs and people of the Region. How the President can say these are ghost projects is surprising. For the benefit of the President, I wish to provide below, a list of some projects undertaken by the John Dramani Mahama administration between 2013 and 2016 in the Brong Ahafo Region. ROADS SECTOR 1. Dormaa Ahenkro- Nkrankwanta road 2. Dormaa Ahenkro Town roads 3. Dormaa Ahenkro- Babianiha roads 4. Babianiha- Antwirifo roads 5. Nkoranza Town roads 6. Nkoranza- Jema Road 7. Wenchi Town roads 8. Techiman Town roads 9. Techiman- Offuman roads 10. Sunyani Town roads 11. Jema-Amoma-Anyima road 12. Nkoranza Busunya road 13. Goaso-Akyerensua road 14. Mmahame Junction Dadiesoaba road 15. Dadiesoaba Siechem road 16. Sunyani Senior High School roads. In addition to the above, the following road projects had been awarded and were under construction at the time the NDC left office in January 2017. 1. Kintampo Town roads 2. Jema Town roads 3. Atebubu-Kwame-Danso roads 4. Sankore Nobekwa road 5. Bechem Town roads. HEALTH SECTOR As part of efforts to bring healthcare to the doorstep of the people of the Brong Ahafo region, the John Mahama administration constructed, equipped and operationalized five (5) polyclinics at Techimantia, Kwatire, Bomaa, Wamfie and Nkrankwanta. The TAIN District Hospital at Nsawkaw, started by the same government, was about 75% complete at the time the NDC exited office. A total of one hundred and twenty-one (121) CHPS Compounds were also constructed across the region. The region also benefitted from the National Hospital Equipment Replacement Programme under which modern health equipment were installed in all public hospitals. EDUCATION SECTOR We wish to remind President Akufo-Addo that it was the Mills and Mahama administration that established the first Public University in the history of the Brong Ahafo Region, the University of Energy and Natural Resources- UNER, which today has a student population of more than three thousand (3000). The Mahama administration also established the Dormaa satellite campus of the UNER and provided many transformative facilities on the main Sunyani Campus of the University. The following Health Training Institutions were established in the region- Sampa Nursing Training School, Techiman Nursing Training School, Yamfo College of Health, Dadiesoaba Nursing Training School, Seikwa Nursing Training School, Kwapong Nursing Training School and Goaso Midwifery School. To further expand educational facilities and opportunities in the region, the following projects were undertaken: 1. Construction of fifteen (15) Community Day Senior High Schools (Danyame, Techimantia, Techiman, Kasapin, Duadaso, Kintampo, Awrowa amoing others) 2. The absorption and enhancement of 16 other Community Secondary Schools in the region e.g. Sankore Senior High School. 3. Establishment of a satellite campus in Techiman for the University of Education Winneba. 4. Expansion of the Nkoranza Technical Institute by constructing eleven (11) new structures for the Institute. 5. Construction of over two hundred and forty (240) six-unit classroom blocks for basic schools in the region. These projects were all at different stages of completion as at January 2017. Additionally, the NDC Government constructed educational facilities ranging from dormitories, classroom blocks and administration blocks in almost every Public Senior High School in the region. WATER SECTOR To ensure access to potable water in order to ensure good health and enhance productivity, President Mahama provided the Brong Ahafo region with the following: 1. Berekum Water project- this project will supply the people of Berekum and its environs with water till the year 2050 2. Construction of 23 Community Small Town Water projects across the Region 3. 1,446 Boreholes and 71 solar-powered boreholes across the region 4. Expansion of Bechem and Duayawkwanta water facilities. RURAL ELECTRIFICATION Under the leadership of President John Mahama, over seven hundred (700) communities in the region were added to the national grid. These communities included Danyame, Nsesreso, Antwirifo, communities in the Nkrankwanta District and eighty (80) communities in the Kintampo Municipality among others. Let me place on record that the above list is by no means exhaustive. It is therefore inexplicable how any citizen of Ghana would purport not to be aware of these visible investments much less the President of Ghana, who should and can assess information about all these very easily. Even as we remain convinced that an unwholesome political motive may have informed the President feigning ignorance, we wish to encourage him to use the opportunity offered by these tours, to explain to the people of Ghana why they should continue to repose confidence in him after having disappointed them through his failure to honour many campaign promises. We note, sadly, that owing to this failure, President Akufo-Addo is touring the country empty handed with little or nothing to show for his stewardship so far. As a consequence, he has resorted to making more promises on his regional tours after seventeen months in office. The much awaited campaign promises of one District, one factory, one village, one dam, one million dollars for each constituency every year are yet to to materialize. Also conspicuously missing on the Presidents agenda in the Brong Ahafo Region was a tangible update on efforts to make good his promise to pay victims of the micro-finance scams that became a subject of his campaign in 2016. SIGNED Joyce Bawah Mogtari According to him, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by President Akufo-Addo, has done more in 16 months than the NDC did in their eight-year term. He cited programmes like the Free SHS Policy, One-Village One-Dam and the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative as evidence that government is working to solve the problems of citizens. We promised to pay closer attention to the developmental needs of the Zongos, and for the first time in the history of Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo has not only appointed a Minister for Inner City and Zongo Development Affairs, but has set up a Zongo Development Fund and set aside budgetary allocation of Ghs100 million for it. Just last week we appointed a CEO and two Deputies to run the Zongo Development Fund. This is evidence that when we make a promise we keep it, Dr. Bawumia said when he made a stop at various mosques during the Eastern Region leg of his nationwide Ramadan Tour.To ensure that our children receive both English and Arabic education, about 3,000 Arabic instructors will be engaged this year, he added. The Vice President further jibed the opposition NDC, saying the current NPP government is committed to solving challenges, and not like the erstwhile administration, which, he said, specialized in creating, looting and sharing of state funds. 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. jpegMpeg4-1280x720"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. As Anne Colby and William Damon write in Some Do Care, a book that has organized my thinking on this subject: We saw an unhesitating will to act, a disavowal of fear and doubt, and a simplicity of moral response. Risks were ignored and consequences went unweighed. At some point in their lives, somebody planted an ideal. Somebody set a high example of what a good life looks like, and the person who went on to become a moral hero just assumed that, of course, thats what one should do. They tend to have a This is what I do mentality. They dont have a lofty sense of themselves. They dont have a sense that they are doing anything extraordinary. What I do is as simple and common as the laughter of a child, Mother Teresa once said. They have a weird obliviousness to inferior pleasures. They are not tempted by worldly success because they are not interested in worldly success. They dont talk much about personal happiness, because theyre not particularly interested in themselves, period. Thats because, as Colby and Damon argue, their self-identity is fused with a moral ideal. Their identity is not based on being a lawyer or a pianist. Their identity is defined by a certain moral action. They feel at home in the world when they are performing that moral action and feel out of sorts when they are not. We see them tirelessly serving the poor or risking their lives for democracy and think they are performing great acts of self-sacrifice, but it doesnt feel that way to them. It feels like the activation of their own nature. Doing that work seems to them as ordinary as doing the dishes. Something needed to be done, so they did it. Another quality you see is constant goal expansion. Some believe that a persons character is set in childhood that after age 18, people dont change all that much. Thats not how it is with these people. They are to moral life what lifelong learners are to intellectual life. Some series of problems get presented to them say, in the form of a parentless child landing on their doorstep or a new social wrong in their community. They see needs and respond with an instinctive and sometimes reckless series of yeses and later on figure out how theyre going to address them. Never look down to test the ground before taking the next step, Dag Hammarskjold once advised. Only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road. You often see such people expanding their ambitions in the face of hardship. Andrei Sakharov was a Soviet scientist who became so concerned with the radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons tests that in 1961 he wrote to Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev dismissed him, portending decades of government intimidation and eventually internal exile. But every time the Soviets punished him, he expanded his activism and widened his critique. Often, they have another strong back. Theres usually a team of peers around them sharing core tasks and carrying them when they cant carry themselves. Great moral leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King may get the bulk of attention, but they usually emerge from trusted small groups. People who lead these lives tend to possess an insane level of optimism, a certainty that history does change for the better and that achieving justice is only a matter of time. They remain undaunted even in the face of severe hardship and assume that every wrong is temporary. Finally, the direction of their lives moves almost invariably from fragmentation to integration. The fragments of their character have become integrated around one single-minded moral cause. They tend to be hedgehogs, not foxes. Their efforts are generally built around healing some rupture in society, reconciling differences, bringing the unlike together, a move from fragmentation to wholeness. However contentious the world may look, they have a mindset that at our deepest level we are all connected in a single fabric. Some of these moral heroes even seem to sense that no matter how diverse their fields of work are, theyre all somehow part of the same big struggle. As one anti-poverty activist put it to Colby and Damon: I also know that I am part of a struggle. I am not the struggle. I am not leading any struggle. I am there. And I have been there for a long time, and Im going to be there for the rest of my life. So I have no unrealistic expectations. Therefore, I am not going to get fatigued. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. As part of the agreement, Santiago, 28, also waived his right to appeal and agreed to forfeit a pistol that he used in the shooting, the documents say. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining 11 counts of the indictment filed last year. A competency hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, though it appears possible that it could turn into a plea hearing at which the deal would be completed. Sarah J. Schall, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorneys office for the Southern District of Florida, said Monday that the office will not be commenting at this time. A lawyer for Santiago did not immediately return an email message seeking comment on Monday night. The shooting was among those mentioned by Gov. Rick Scott of Florida when he signed an array of gun limits into law earlier this year. Santiago is an Iraq War veteran, which initially led some to blame the rampage on post-traumatic stress disorder. Santiagos family has said he reported hearing voices including some that urged him to enroll in groups for the Islamic State and had other hallucinations; but they said he was never given a diagnosis of PTSD. In November, he walked into an FBI office in Alaska, where he lived in recent years, and told agents that his mind was being controlled by a U.S. intelligence agency. The court documents filed Monday said that three days before the shooting, Santiago looked at a map of the international terminal of Los Angeles International Airport on his smartphone. They did not say why they believed he had done so. On the same day, they said, he purchased a one-way airline ticket from Anchorage that would stop in Minneapolis before continuing to Fort Lauderdale. Around that time, the court documents say, Santiago threw out some of his possessions, including personal papers, one of which appeared to be a checklist. The apparent checklist, prosecutors said, had a notation to clean the laptop, the court documents said. Santiago boarded a Delta Air Lines flight on Jan. 5, taking only a hard-sided firearm case, which contained a Walther 9 mm pistol, and two magazines loaded with ammunition, the court documents said. Then, prosecutors said, after Santiago arrived in Fort Lauderdale, he picked up the checked baggage containing his handgun, loaded the weapon and opened fire. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Past the election and well into President Donald Trumps first year in office, according to several people with knowledge of their encounters. Erik Prince, the private security contractor and the former head of Blackwater, arranged the meeting, which took place on Aug. 3, 2016. The emissary, George Nader, told Trump Jr. that the crown princes who led Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were eager to help his father win election as president. The social media specialist, Joel Zamel, extolled his companys ability to give an edge to a political campaign; by that time, the firm had drawn up a multimillion-dollar proposal for a social media manipulation effort to help elect Trump. The company, which employed several Israeli former intelligence officers, specialized in collecting information and shaping opinion through social media. It is unclear whether such a proposal was executed, and the details of who commissioned it remain in dispute. But Trump Jr. responded approvingly, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting, and after those initial offers of help, Nader was quickly embraced as a close ally by Trump campaign advisers meeting frequently with Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law, and Michael Flynn, who became the presidents first national security adviser. At the time, Nader was also promoting a secret plan to use private contractors to destabilize Iran, the regional nemesis of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. After Trump was elected, Nader paid Zamel a large sum of money, described by one associate as up to $2 million. There are conflicting accounts of the reason for the payment, but among other things, a company linked to Zamel provided Nader with an elaborate presentation about the significance of social media campaigning to Trumps victory. The meetings, which have not been reported previously, are the first indication that countries other than Russia may have offered assistance to the Trump campaign in the months before the presidential election.The interactions are a focus of the investigation by Robert Mueller, the special counsel, who was originally tasked with examining possible Trump campaign coordination with Russia in the election. Nader is cooperating with the inquiry, and investigators have questioned numerous witnesses in Washington, New York, Atlanta, Tel Aviv and elsewhere about what foreign help may have been pledged or accepted, and about whether any such assistance was coordinated with Russia, according to witnesses and others with knowledge of the interviews. The interviews, some in recent weeks, are further evidence that the special counsels investigation remains in an intense phase even as Trumps lawyers are publicly calling for Mueller to bring it to a close. It is illegal for foreign governments or individuals to be involved in U.S. elections, and it is unclear what if any direct assistance Saudi Arabia and the Emirates may have provided. But two people familiar with the meetings said Trump campaign officials did not appear bothered by the idea of cooperation with foreigners. A lawyer for Trump Jr., Alan Futerfas, said in a statement that prior to the 2016 election, Donald Trump Jr. recalls a meeting with Erik Prince, George Nader and another individual who may be Joel Zamel. They pitched Mr. Trump Jr. on a social media platform or marketing strategy. He was not interested and that was the end of it. The August 2016 meeting has echoes of another Trump Tower meeting two months earlier, also under scrutiny by the special counsel, when Trump Jr. and other top campaign aides met with a Russian lawyer after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton. No evidence has emerged suggesting that the August meeting was set up with a similar premise. The revelations about the meetings come in the midst of new scrutiny about ties between Trumps advisers and at least three wealthy Persian Gulf states. Besides his interest in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, Mueller has also been asking witnesses about meetings between White House advisers and representatives of Qatar, Saudi Arabias bitter rival. A lawyer for Zamel denied that his client had carried out any campaign on Trumps behalf. Neither Joel Zamel, nor any of his related entities, had any involvement whatsoever in the U.S. election campaign, said the lawyer, Marc L. Mukasey. The DOJ clarified from Day 1 that Joel and his companies have never been a target of the investigation. My client provided full cooperation to the government to assist with their investigation, he said. Kathryn Ruemmler, a lawyer for Nader, said, Mr. Nader has fully cooperated with the special counsels investigation and will continue to do so. A senior official in Saudi Arabia said it had never employed Nader in any capacity or authorized him to speak for the crown prince. Prince, through a spokesman, declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Advisers to the Court Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the kings main adviser, had long opposed many of the Obama administrations policies toward the Middle East. They resented President Barack Obamas agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, his statements of support for the Arab Spring uprisings and his hands-off approach to the Syrian civil war. News outlets linked to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates fiercely criticized Clinton, Trumps Democratic opponent, when she was secretary of state, and diplomats familiar with their thinking say both crown princes hoped for a president who would take a stronger hand in the region against both Iran and groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. Nader had worked for years as a close adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed of Abu Dhabi, and Zamel had worked for the Emirati royal court as a consultant as well. When Trump locked up the Republican presidential nomination in early 2016, Nader began making inquiries on behalf of the Emirati prince about possible ways to directly support Trump, according to three people with whom Nader discussed his efforts. Nader also visited Moscow at least twice during the presidential campaign as a confidential emissary from Crown Prince Mohammed of Abu Dhabi, according to people familiar with his travels. After the election, he worked with the crown prince to arrange a meeting in the Seychelles between Prince and a financier close to President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Companies connected to Zamel also have ties to Russia. One of his firms had previously worked for oligarchs linked to Putin, including Oleg V. Deripaska and Dmitry Rybolovlev, who hired the firm for online campaigns against their business rivals. Deripaska, an aluminum magnate, was once in business with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has pleaded not guilty in the special counsel investigation to charges of financial crimes and failing to disclose the lobbying work he did on behalf of a former president of Ukraine, an ally of Putin. Rybolovlev once purchased a Florida mansion from Trump. Naders visits to Russia and the work Zamels companies did for the Russians have both been a subject of interest to the special counsels investigators, according to people familiar with witness interviews. A String of Meetings Zamel and Nader were together at a midtown Manhattan hotel at about 4 p.m. on the afternoon of Aug. 3 when Nader received a call from Prince summoning them to Trump Tower. When they arrived, Stephen Miller, a top campaign aide who is now a White House adviser, was in Trump Jr.'s office as well, according to the people familiar with the meeting. Prince is a longtime Republican donor and the brother of Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, and Prince and Nader had known each other since Nader had worked for Blackwater as a business agent in Iraq in the years after the U.S. invasion. Prince has long-standing ties to the Emirates, and has frequently done business with Emerati Crown Prince Mohammed. Prince opened the meeting by telling Trump Jr. that we are working hard for your father, in reference to his family and other donors, according to a person familiar with the meeting. He then introduced Nader as an old friend with deep ties to Arab leaders. Nader repeatedly referred to the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates as my friends, according to one person with knowledge of the conversation. To underscore the point, he would open his mobile phone to show off pictures of him posing with them, some of which The New York Times obtained. Nader explained to Trump Jr. that the two crown princes saw the elder Trump as a strong leader who would fill the power vacuum that they believed Obama had left in the Middle East, and Nader went on to say that he and his friends would be glad to support Trump as much as they could, according to the person with knowledge of the conversation. Zamel, for his part, laid out the capabilities of his online media company, although it is unclear whether he referred to the proposals his company had already prepared. One person familiar with the meeting said that Nader invited Trump Jr. to meet with a Saudi prince an invitation the younger Trump declined. After about half an hour, everyone exchanged business cards. There was a brief meeting, nothing concrete was offered or pitched to anyone and nothing came of it, said Mukasey, the lawyer for Zamel. By then, a company connected to Zamel had been working on a proposal for a covert multimillion-dollar online manipulation campaign to help elect Trump, according to three people involved and a fourth briefed on the effort. The plan involved using thousands of fake social media accounts to promote Trumps candidacy on platforms like Facebook. There were concerns inside the company, Psy-Group, about the plans legality, according to one person familiar with the effort. The company, whose motto is shape reality, consulted a U.S. law firm, and was told that it would be illegal if any non-Americans were involved in the effort. Zamel, the founder of Psy-Group and one of its owners, has been questioned about the August 2016 meeting by investigators for the special counsel, and at least two FBI agents working on the inquiry have traveled to Israel to interview employees of the company who worked on the proposal. According to one person, the special counsels team has worked with Israeli police to seize the computers of one of Zamels companies, which is in liquidation. In the hectic final weeks of the campaign and during the presidential transition, several of Trumps advisers drew Nader close. He met often with Kushner, Flynn and Stephen Bannon, who took over as campaign chairman after Manafort resigned amid revelations about his work in Ukraine. In December 2016, Nader turned again to an internet company linked to Zamel WhiteKnight, based in the Philippines to purchase a presentation demonstrating the impact of social media campaigns on Trumps electoral victory. Asked about the purchase, a representative of WhiteKnight said: WhiteKnight delivers premium research and high-end business development services for prestigious clients around the world. WhiteKnight does not talk about any of its clients. After the inauguration, both Zamel and Nader visited the White House, meeting with Kushner and Bannon. At that time, Nader was promoting a plan to use private contractors to carry out economic sabotage against Iran that, he hoped, might coerce it to permanently abandon its nuclear program. The plan included efforts to deter Western companies from investing in Iran, and operations to sow mistrust among Iranian officials. He advocated the project, which he estimated would cost about $300 million, to U.S., Emirati and Saudi officials. Last spring, Nader traveled to Riyadh for meetings with senior Saudi military and intelligence officials to pitch his Iran sabotage plan. He was convinced, according to several people familiar with his plan, that economic warfare was the key to the overthrow of the government in Tehran. One person briefed on Naders activities said he tried to persuade Kushner to endorse the plan to Crown Prince Mohammed in person on a trip to Riyadh, although it was unclear whether the message was delivered. Asked about Naders plans to attack Iran, the senior Saudi official said Nader had a habit of pitching proposals that went nowhere. Nader was also in discussions with Prince, the former head of Blackwater, about a plan to get the Saudis to pay $2 billion to set up a private army to combat Iranian proxy forces in Yemen. Since entering the White House, Trump has allied himself closely with Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. His first overseas trip was to Riyadh. He strongly backed Saudi and Emirati efforts to isolate their neighbor Qatar, another U.S. ally, even over apparent disagreement from the State and Defense departments. This month, Trump also withdrew from an Obama administration nuclear deal with Iran that both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had campaigned against for years, delivering them their biggest victory yet from his administration. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. _______________________________________________________________________ Nigeria's human rights lawyer and senior advocate, Femi Falana, has advised governments and anti-corruption bodies to stop labelling Africa as a continent of corrupt people because Western countries are more corrupt than African countries. Falana explained that the laissez-fair attitude on the part Western leaders encouraged corrupt leaders from Africa to use stolen wealth from their various countries to establish an individual presence in foreign economies. The human rights lawyer stated this in a paper titled Human Rights Issues Surrounding The Non-Return Of Assets To Countries Of Origin delivered at the 8th Annual Conference of Anti-corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa in Abuja, last week. Falana noted that There has been a massive and accelerated transfer of much of the wealth from the developing world into developed economies around the world, much of which was looted from various treasuries across Africa and in the rest of the developing world. Western governments conveniently hid behind the free movement of capital ideology to fold their arms and turn the other way for many years after the end of the Cold War. This laissez-fair attitude on the part Western leaders encouraged corrupt leaders from Africa to use stolen wealth from their various countries to establish an individual presence in their economies; buying shares in major corporations, mansions and other landed properties, yachts, planes, you name it. Mr David Cameron whose family name was listed in the Panama papers had the temerity to label Nigeria as a fantastically corrupt country. The Abacha loot of about $5 billion has been traced to banks in Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and other western countries. Apart from Switzerland which has reluctantly returned part of the loot no other recipient country has recovered and repatriated a dime to Nigeria. Meanwhile, Nigeria has been appointed the new Chairman of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa, comprising 19 countries. On Monday, May 21, 2018, the actress took to her Instagram page to share a number of photos while on vacation somewhere in France. In these new photos, we get to see the actress not just having fun, but also displaying those curves that have endeared her to a lot of people. In one of the photos, she describes how beautiful the city she is visiting is, but trust a lot of her followers not to be interested in those quotes. Daniella Okeke marks birthday, releases raunchy photos Daniella marked her birthday recently with a number of photos to celebrate the special day. Obviously, Daniella looks younger and sexier even as she gets older. ALSO READ:Toolz launches lingerie for plus size women Daniella Okeke called out as being Apostle Johnson Suleman's side chic Being beautiful and successful comes with a lot of buzz and sometimes, controversies. Back in 2017, Daniella Okeke was called out as being . According to Sahara Reporters, the Apostle purchased a Mercedes-Benz 450 GL worth $76,000 for her. According to Sahara Reporters, proof of the allegation was found on a Lagos State government website for vehicle registration. Investigations revealed that the luxury vehicle was registered under the name of Suleman. The incident occurred on Saturday, May 12, 2018, as confirmed by Punch News, in a report published on Saturday, May 12, 2018. A police prosecutor, ASP Fidelis Dike, acknowledged that the accused hit the the victim Igwe with a stick. He revealed this in a statement offered during the arraignment of the food seller at the Tinubu Magistrates Court on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. The accused claimed that her neighbour was making noise in front of her room with some of his friends which led to a fight between them. She hit Igwe with a stick on his scrotum, Dike told Magistrate, Mr Omolaja Kazeem, who adjourned for the next hearing fixed for Wednesday, June 27, 2018. Nigerian lady strips to just bra while fighting in Dubai A Nigerian lady who could not control her temper has stripped down to her bra in a fight with an unidentified person shielded in a vehicle. This was captured in an IG video published on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, by Instablog9ja. The clip captioned "Crazy people in Dubai" saw the lady walk in an aggressive manner towards a luxury car. She soon halted her movement after reaching the door of an awaiting vehicle. Instablog9ja reports that the incident occurred on May 19 at Jesu Segun Parish, Santana Bus Stop, Ajangbadi, Lagos. ALSO READ: Nigerian pastor in trouble for sexually abusing church members According to the reports, the deceaseds live-in lover, Ifeanyi Enyinna, who is alleged to have taken her to the prophets church for healing, was also arrested. The reports revealed that the deceased was was sick and asked her lover to take her to church for prayers. While parading the suspects on Monday, May 21, 2018, the State Police Commissioner, Imohimi Edgal, said the prophet was arrested for unlawful administration of herbal concoction which led to the death of the lady. Edgal added that one Ibrahim Audu of Akeson in Igando, reported the case, stating that his sister, Ramat, was taken to the church by her lover and died after drinking a concoction. The CP also revealed that a native sponge, perfume and candles were recovered during the arrest, while the corpse has been moved to the mortuary for autopsy. ALSO READ: Nigerian pastor imprisoned in the UK for sexual assault Edgal said a sample of the concoction has been sent to the laboratory for examination. It's a topic that surprisingly has two sides- those against it and others who are in support. While those who are in support of Internet fraud have shared their thoughts on social media, some have gone beyond tweeting their opinions. Recently, a man was spotted wearing a shirt with the inscription 'Yahoo boy' on its back. The man couldn't care less about the controversial occupation on his shirt as he was focused on his Amalie at a local joint in Bariga, Lagos. The photo was shared on Instagram by Instablog9ja on Monday, May 21, 2018. The obvious enthusiasm depicted by the man perhaps reflects the mood of some Nigerian youths embracing the 'rewarding' life of an Internet fraudster. Individuals suspected to be engaging in the activity have come to the attention of the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The EFCC has revealed some notable arrests in recent statements confirming the capture of Yahoo Boys in Ikoyi and Abuja. ALSO READ: EFCC extends raid to Abuja capturing 6 Yahoo Boys Yahoo Boys abandon exotic cars at Club 57 to escape EFCC raid A group of Yahoo Boys were made to abandon their exotic cars following a raid by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Twelve persons were reportedly arrested by EFCC officials after a visit to Ikoyi's Club 57, where the incident occurred on Friday, May 11, 2018. A statement released via Twitter by the anti-graft agency confirmed the development. "Operatives of the EFCC early this morning raided Club 57 in Ikoyi, acting on intelligence report of activities of suspected Internet fraudsters. A Channels TV report confirmed that he died after jumping from the 9th floor of a building in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was gathered that Omoike had earlier assaulted his South African girlfriend who reportedly filed a report with the police. We were told that the previous night, he (Omoike) had been very worried because he was having challenges with the (Nigerian) lady that had a baby for him and seized her phone. On the basis of this, the roommate, Oscar, as part of his testimony, took her to the police station to make a report about the fact that she was battered and based on this, the police were invited,"Godwin Adama, Nigeria's Consul General in South Africa told Channels. ALSO READ: South African policemen jailed over death of Nigerian London police investigate killing of Nigerian teenager, Oluwadamilola Odeyingbo Policemen in the south-east of London, England have launched an investigation into the murder of a Nigerian teenager, Oluwadamilola Odeyingbo, who was murdered in Chislehurst, Kent. The Evening Standard News confirmed that the deceased died in a fight which occurred at Empress Drive, on Tuesday, January 9, 2018, but his killers are yet to be identified. Police are looking to indulge in the assistance of the witnesses in a bid to uncover those responsible for the death of the teen who died at a hospital a day after the attack. "We understand that neighbours and people passing through the area witnessed the incident on Tuesday evening. We are keen to speak to all witnesses and would encourage them to come forward as soon as possible. "A young man has lost his life and we are doing everything we can to piece together what took place," says Detective Chief Inspector Tim Wright. While the law enforcement officers are working on apprehending those connecting with the murder, the family are the victim Oluwadamilola Odeyingbo, are dealing with the loss in an angry way. A Twitter user, identified as Femo of London, who described himself as a cousin to the deceased has lamented the passing of the latter. According to the reports, a 39-year-old woman was also involved in the accident after the deceased's vehicle crashed into hers but luckily survived the crash with minor injuries. Instablog9ja reports that the accident occurred at about 8.15am, killing the male student of the President College in Kuala Lumpur on the spot after he suffered severe injuries to his head. The reports revealed that the car belonging to the deceased skidded, hitting the road divider, somersaulting into the opposite lane and crashing into another car being driven by the injured woman. The deceased was reportedly on his way back from a nightclub in Taman Semarak to Nilai town. May the soul of the deceased rest in peace. Female student dies in accident while returning from nightclub A female student of the University of Lagos, lost her life alongside three others in a ghastly car accident while returning from a nightclub in Ibadan, Oyo State. According to an eyewitness, Ewatomilola, the deceased who were apparently drunk, were coming from a club in the early hours of the day when their vehicle which was on high speed, skidded off its lane to another, crashed into a billboard and in the process, killing all its occupants. A check on the bodies of the victims by sympathizers revealed that the girl was a student of the university and must have gone to Ibadan to have fun with her male friends without the knowledge of her parents. Read what Ewatomilola wrote on a social media platform about the incident: "God have mercy... I met with this on my way to Abeokuta. This happened on Ring-Road, Mobil, Ibadan, at exactly 1 am this morning. Four people in the car, three guys, and a lady. One of the guys just got back from Dubai (check the plate number of the car) last week and that was what prompted their outing. They were coming back from a club and their car jumped to the other lane at a high speed and hit a big iron billboard. The lady is a student of UniLag. Her family is yet to know she's late. They all died, nobody survived. ALSO READ: Friends mourn young graduate who died in car crash The most painful thing is the lady who lost her life. All the way from UniLag. Ladies' love for money and material things these days is something. Mohammed pleaded with the court and the nominal complainant to have mercy on her, saying that she cannot explain the reason for her actions as it was not ordinary. The judge, Mr Hassan Ishaq, however, gave the convict N10, 000 option of fine and warned her to be of good behaviour. The prosecutor, Mr Edwin Ochayi, had told the court that one Blessing Alegwu of Jikwoyi, Abuja, reported the matter at the Karu Police Station on April 4, at about 4 p.m. The complainant alleged that the convict, criminally trespassed into her shop and stole goods worth N11,000. Some of the stolen goods include: prince ware food flask, valued at N5,000, ordinary food flak, valued at N1,500, water bottle and towel, valued at N1,000 and N3,500 respectively. Also, during police investigation, the convict admitted to have stolen all the items from the shop,Ochayi said. The prosecutor pleaded with the court to punish the convict severely, as he has been appearing before the court over similar offences. 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. The statue attempts to depict Phyno in the midst of a performance. The rapper is dressed in a black ensemble, with an inner shirt that has an image of him in front. His top-heavy Mohawk is also represented, along with something looking like a gold necklace. The statue made by an unknown artist sits at Eleme, an area to the east of Port Harcourt in Rivers State. It's all very good stuff, except if you hadn't told us it was Phyno, we probably wouldn't have guessed. Photos of the statue have made their way to social media and Nigerians are falling over themselves to comment. One Instagrammer wrote, "Who ever made this statue should be locked up. Sue this motherfucker for image defamation. I dunno what that means sha!!!! but just sue him and the sponsors" Over the last few years, Phyno has risen to become one of the more familiar faces in Nigerian music, especially in the East of Nigeria. Beast from the East The rapper's stories of struggle and success told mostly in the Igbo language have endeared him to many in the South of the country, beyond his homestead, in places like Asaba and Port-Harcourt. It is thus not surprising that some artist would be led to create an image of him. It is also not surprising that the statue isn't exactly a carbon copy of the rapper. Phyno x Olamide - Onyeoma In recent times, we've seen actual examples of what can go wrong when artists don't realise what they envisioned while trying to create a statue. ALSO READ: Lagos keeps it real with a new Fela statue Sometimes, it's just harmless fun. Other times, like the statue of Chief Gani Fawehinmi at the eponymous park in Ojota, it can threaten to dismiss the individual's legacy. In many ways, Mile 12 and to a larger extent, Lagos is a microcosm for tribal relations in Nigeria. The frenetic trading community is home to people from all tribes, most of them occupying roles that fit the stereotypes they are most known for. Yet, except for a riot or two, they have lived together for decades, even intermarrying without event. It is an affront to the popular surmisal that tribalism is Nigeria's biggest problem. The events leading up to 1914 and the eventual forced conception of a multi-ethnic Nigeria are partly to blame for the poor state of tribal relations in Nigeria. Sentiments that previously bubbled beneath the surface were regrettably heightened between the late 1950s and the 70s, particularly the Nigerian Civil War. The lines in the sand drawn in that era still show up in contemporary times. In Mile 12, there have been two riots spurred by tensions between the Yoruba and Hausa. Last year, Nnamdi Kanu stoked fires of Igbo secessionism so much that the Nigerian State, in an absurd feat of brutal manhandling, stormed his home in Anambra and let pythons dance. Kanu has since gone missing. It would seem obvious that tensions so evident that they determine renting habits in the West, voting and election patterns, and popular rhetoric would be responsible for Nigeria's problems would be the obvious underlying reason at the core of Nigeria's failure to deliver on its potential, especially when leaders seem to lean so evidently on tribal sentiment. Is tribalism the reason or just a trigger? It's an easy conclusion to arrive at. The harder and apter one would be to see our difficulties along tribal lines as a catalyst that has only instigated our reaction to the real problems we face. It is like when a phone's charger has been gradually melting on the inside for months, then one day, power surges and the charger burns out. ALSO READ: 3 instances where tribal tensions have made the news What's to blame, the gradual melting of the charger or the power surge? In many ways, tribal politics in Nigeria have had this effect, they have been the trigger, more than the actual reason. For example, in many of the situations where tribal sentiments have driven Nigerians into conflict, it is usually because decisions have been made on the bases of a tussle for power as in the 1960s, or the lack of resources, or marginalisation like the re-emergence of secessionist ideas in the East in the last two years . When we talk about tribalism in Nigeria, it is in a tone that suggests that a Yoruba man hates his Hausa neighbour by default. Except when the two live in conditions that support both cultures and meet both their needs as with Yola which supports a large Yoruba Christian population in the heart of the Hausa-dominated North-East or large populations of Northerners in commercial hubs like Aba and Onitsha, there is rarely any ambivalence. It suggests that if we could finally solve our most pressing concerns, the politics of tribe would cease to be as consequential as they are. But the thing is, it's easy to blame tribe for everything because the problems are numerous Nigeria's infrastructure deficit has been valued at 3 trillion dollars. Nigerians encounter the real-life implications of such a massive figure on a daily basis. Basic amenities like education, health and transport are ailing in many regards. Let's face our real problems Others like internal security have been ridiculed to the extent that one wonders if they're even in existence. There is also a culture of mass pandering and sycophancy that has often influenced Nigeria's very tribal politics. Voting patterns in Nigerian elections are usually cut along very clear tribal lines. To garner votes and secure a base, most of Nigeria's political class engage in very tribal rhetoric, fiddling with popular sentiments and stoking the flames of tribal sensibilities. ALSO READ: Here are some prejudiced things that the average Nigerian says 4 steps in planning an inter-tribal or interracial marriage When they get into office, they create and enforce policies along the same lines, buoyed by pressure to satisfy influencers and the expectations of the demographic that put them in power. The question has been asked on many occasions; how do we solve the problem of tribalism? It is what Yakubu Gowon sought to solve when he created the National Youth Service Corps at the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970. While it has exposed a generation of Nigerians to new cultures, it has not eaten through tribal divisions as one would have hoped. Buhari said this on Tuesday, May 22,2018, while speaking to members of the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), led by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Hameed Ali. Abacha was Nigerias military Head of State from 1993 to June, 1998 when he passed away. Buhari said No matter what opinion you have about Abacha, I agreed to work with him and the PTF road we did from here to Port Harcourt, to Onitsha, to Benin and so on... On top of other things in the institution, education, medical care and so on. Crude oil earnings President Buhari also wondered why the country is still in debt despite the huge income from crude oil realised by previous administrations. According to SaharaReporters, he said I have to repeat what I want public to know here. Some of you may not have heard it. Either there is no power in your place or even in the television, I said and I challenge anybody to check from Europe, Asia and America. Between 1999 and 2014, Nigeria was getting 2.1 million barrels per day at average cost of $100 dollars per barrel. It went up to $143. So Nigeria was earning 2.1m million times 100 times 16 years seven days a week. When we came, it collapsed to $37-38 and it was oscillating between 40 and 54 sometimes. I went to the Governor of Central Bank; thank goodness I did not sack him; he is still there! I went with my cap in my hand but there were no savings, only debt. Where is the power? Buhari also alleged that a former Head of State spent $15b on power and there is nothing to show for it. You know the rail was killed and one of the former Heads of State between that time was bragging that he spent more than 15 billion American dollars not Naira on power. Where is the power? Where is the power? And now we have to pay the debts and this year and last year's budgets I took to the National Assembly were the highest in capital projects: more than N1.3trillion. Abacha is a visionary Senator Ben Murray-Bruce has described late dictator, Sani Abacha as a visionary. The senator also thanked God for the money looted by the late military dictator. Thank God for Sani Abacha. In some way he was a visionary. In this time of scarcity, his money being returned to us is now our saving grace! he said. The lawmaker said this in a tweet which he posted on Twitter on April 19, 2016. Fayose hails Abacha In 2015, Governor Ayo Fayosealso hailed the former Head of state for creating Ekiti state in 1996. Abacha could have created another state, but he choose to create Ekiti State. I will continue to be grateful to him, he said. Gen. Ibrahim Babangida is also one of those who are grateful to God for Abacha. The president further remarked that attacks on locations like a place of worship is an attempt to stoke conflict and turn Nigerians against one another on the basis of religion. The president's remarks on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, is in reaction to the mass burial of the two Catholic priests and 13 other worshippers who were killed by suspected herdsmen in Gwer local government area of Benue state last month. The deceased victims were buried at the Ave Maria Prayer Pilgrimage Ground, on the Ayati hilltop in Gwer LGA with Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, joining mourners on Tuesday. Taking to his official Twitter account, (@MBuhari) on Tuesday, the president urged Nigerians to stand together and resist the attempt to divide the nation and plunge it into a disastrous war. He posted, "Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo is in Benue today to again convey our deepest condolences to the Government and people of Benue, and the Catholic Church, as the priests and parishioners killed in the despicable attack on St. Ignatius Church, Mbalom, last month, are laid to rest. "These senseless, unwarranted attacks on innocent civilians are utterly condemnable. And we will not rest until we bring all of these killers, who belong to the lowest level of civilization, to justice. Our security forces are on full alert, to checkmate these evil attacks. "As I've said before, these persistent killings are not spontaneous; there are clandestine forces with a sinister agenda to instigate war in Nigeria for selfish purposes. When they attack places of worship their aim is to turn Nigerians against one another on the basis of religion. "We must not succumb to the hate that they wish to sow; we must not fall for their evil machinations aimed at dividing us. Now more than ever before we must stand firm against their calculations to stoke religious conflict and plunge our communities into unending bloodletting." Security tightened in troubled areas The president further assured Nigerians that his administration is doing its best to improve security in the troubled states and Nigeria as a whole. He disclosed that the military and the Police are fully on ground in Benue, with a Special Intervention Force that will protect Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara states. A special operation named "Operation Whirl Stroke" has also commenced in the affected areas and is targeted at hunting down criminals and protecting all vulnerable communities. The governor made this claim on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at the mass burial organised for the two Catholic priests and 13 other worshippers who were killed by suspected herdsmen in Gwer local government area of Benue last month. The two priests, Rev. Fathers Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha, were killed during a mass along with 17 worshippers when the attackers invaded St. Ignatius Quasi Parish Ukpor-Mbalom in Ayar-Mbalom community of Gwer East LGA on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. Earlier this year, the bodies of 73 men, women and children were buried at a mass burial ceremony organised by the state government on January 11 after several attacks carried out by suspected cattle herders from the early hours of January 1. Since the killings started in January, there has been a spate of similar killings that have also taken place in other states like Taraba and Nasarawa. While speaking on Tuesday, Ortom, comdemned the killings and further called on the federal government to bring perpetrators to book. The governor has consistently blamed the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore for the killings, pointing to the several public threats the group has made against the state's Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law that outlawed open grazing in the state in 2017. Ortom said, "We know our killers but they are not arrested or invited for interrogation; they have stated at several fora that they would reclaim their land." Herdsmen crisis The killings allegedly carried out by cattle herders have been attributed to be an escalation of lingering conflict between nomadic herdsmen and local farmers, especially in the Middle Belt, over the access and control of lands. Tensions between both parties have long ago resulted in the armed conflicts that have been coloured by tribal and religious sentiments that have worsened the problem. On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari alleged that the spate of killings in Nigeria is being sponsored by certain individuals to start a war in the country for selfish reasons. "These senseless, unwarranted attacks on innocent civilians are utterly condemnable. And we will not rest until we bring all of these killers, who belong to the lowest level of civilization, to justice. Our security forces are on full alert, to checkmate these evil attacks. "As I've said before, these persistent killings are not spontaneous; there are clandestine forces with a sinister agenda to instigate war in Nigeria for selfish purposes," he said. It was the scale of the robbery that embarrassed us. These robbers even took down a police station during their operation, a police spokesperson who didnt want his name used for this story, confessed to Pulse. Over mugs of tea and coffee in a dimly lit room at Force Headquarters, Abuja, in the wake of the attack, personnel of the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) pored through CCTV footage of the robbery while zooming images to make out intricate features of the dare-devil robbers. The presidency was on our necks. The Kwara State government was on our necks and the whole nation was on our necks. We gave ourselves a deadline because Inspector General of Police wanted us to nab the suspects as quickly as possible. There was no time to waste, our source at the police headquarters continued. On April 21, the police leaked footage of the robbery to the public and followed up with pictures of four suspects in the first week of May. It was clockwork for the police at this point. Another officer who worked on the case told Pulse that police bosses were screaming it into the ears of subordinates that their promotion depended on cracking the robbery case. Police was disturbed by rumours Im sure you heard rumours that the police aided the robbers in Offa. That wasnt true at all, added the police source. Moments after the robbery attack, Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, announced a N5million reward for anyone with informationthat could lead to the arrest of the culprits. While we mourn our dead with a heart full of sadness and care for the injured by paying all their medical bills, we will do everything in our power to bring the attackers to justice, and ensure that never again does any community or people in our state experience such tragedy, Gov. Ahmed said. The governor called on anyone with useful information on the incident to contact the state police command through the following numbers: 0803 739 1280 and 0803 702 4320. The bounty and hotlines worked, according to one aide of the Kwara governor. With pictures of the suspects and phone numbers in the public domain, the job of the police was made a lot easier. 12 suspects arrested On April 13, police spokesperson Jimoh Moshood announced a breakthrough. 12 suspects had been arrested, the police announced. The suspects were listed as Adegoke Shogo, 29; Kayode Opadokun, 35; Kazeem Abdulrasheed, 36; Azeez Abdullahi, 27; Alexander Reuben, 39; and Jimoh Isa, 28. Others were Azeez Salawudeen, 20; Adewale Popoola, 22; Adetoyese Muftau, 23; Aminu Ibrahim 18; Richard Buba Terry, 23; and Peter Kuunfa, 25. Moshood said, "The police teams engaged in massive raids of identified criminal spots/flashpoints, stop and search operations, visibility and confidence building patrols, intelligence gathering which led to the arrest of the suspects. "Some of those arrested also involved serious exchange of gun fire between the police and the suspects in their various hideouts. Former SARS operative was part of the robbery On May 10, media reports emerged that Michael Adikwu, a police corporal who was attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Kwara State command before he was dismissed in 2012, was among the robbers who raided Offa and killed dozens for fun. "He (Adikwu) was a SARS operative at the Kwara State Police Command. He used to fraternise with robbers. There was a robbery that happened in Kwara State about six years ago. The robbers killed somebody and escaped. The police were able to arrest those robbers. "He collected money from those robbery suspects and released them. Later, the robbers were rearrested and they confessed that he aided their escape. He was arrested, tried in an orderly room trial and dismissed. "He was charged to court together with the robbery suspects and was in prison for three years. He and some of the robbers were able to manoeuvre their way out of the prison and formed a robbery gang." Arrest of Arrow On Monday, May 21, 2018, the police disclosed that it had arrested another suspectcalled Kunle Ogunleye, aka Arrow. Arrow was arrested in Oro town, Kwara, by the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Teams (IRT) on Sunday, May 20. Police spokesperson Moshood would disclose that circulating pictures of the suspects on the internet proved vital in arresting more suspects. Following the publication of pictures of the participants of the Offa bank robberies in the media, we have been getting several credible leads from members of the public and as a result, members of the Intelligence Response Team deployed by the IGP in Kwara, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti States were able to arrest two more members of the gang robberies, Moshood said. The police has also promised to conceal identities of persons who volunteer information that will lead to the arrest of the remaining Offa robbery suspects. Some 30 robbers were said to have been involved in the bloody operation on the day. Senate President Bukola Saraki cited the Offa robbery incident as one reason why the senate has been summoning IGP Idris to make an appearance at the upper legislative chamber. Now, three months after that fateful abduction, it has taken many twists and turns. On March 21, 2018, a month after the abduction happened, all but six of the students originally kidnapped were released. Of those six, five are officially unaccounted for, as their fellow schoolmates have reported that they died in the custody of the terrorists back. They reportedly died of heart attack and stress while they were being moved, and were buried in the bush by their captors. The only other abducted student who remains in captivity is Leah Sharibu who the terrorists have refused to release because she refused to renounce her Christian faith. The case of Leah Sharibu has been a hot topic as many, from advocacy groups to Christian organisations have called for her release and noted the symbolism of her continued stay in captivity. Despite the well-publicised nature of the Dapchi abduction which generated a media frenzy that's only second to a similar abduction that happened in Chibok four years ago, the reportage of the incident in the media still leaves a little to be desired. More specifically, there has been a puzzling streak of reporting the wrong statistics of the victims of the abduction. A misrepresentation of figures If you take the time to scour media reports from different media organisations, both local and foreign, there's a disagreement on the number of students that were actually kidnapped in Dapchi. Yesterday, a report from a United States media organisation noted that 109 students were kidnapped by Boko Haram during the abduction. Over the past couple of months, I've seen conflicting figures, especially on the number of released students, from media organisations in the country. Perhaps, the biggest offender of this trend is the country's president himself, President Muhammadu Buhari. During his working visit to the United States of America, Buhari met with US president, Donald Trump, in the White House and told the international media that 106 students were kidnapped. He said, "...but the Dapchi one, 106 that were kidnapped, we got 100 back, four died, and one is still held in captivity." This trend is bothersome because there's actually a reliable source to quote the correct statistics; but for some reason, so much confusion still exists. What's the actual number of kidnapped students? In the early days of the abduction, there were conflicting figures on the number of school students that were actually kidnapped. While the number initially fluctuated between the 50s and 90s, the federal government promised to do a comprehensive investigation of the actual number of students kidnapped. A week after the abduction, the federal government officially reported that 110 students were kidnapped from the school. This figure was based on an investigation by the school's authorities and the Yobe state government. With 110 announced as the official figure at the time, the media ran with it, and the world begged for the return of 110 girls. However, the tune changed one month later when Boko Haram released the students by driving them back to Dapchi after negotiating with the government. After two days of sorting through the released students, the federal government officially announced that 107 people were released by the terrorist group. Of these 107, one of them was a boy. This raised some more confusion as no boy had been reported to have been kidnapped by the terrorist group when the abduction happened a month earlier. The government failed to officially address this until after the released abduction victims met with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa where he announced that "one hundred and seven (107) students (105 Dapchi schoolgirls + 2 others) previously abducted, have been unconditionally released by their abductors." Two days later, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, finally cleared the air on what was really going on. According to him, 111 schoolgirls had actually been abducted by Boko Haram in February. The school authorities had omitted one girl in error and forgotten to put her name on the list of the abducted victims, for some reason. In addition to the 111 schoolgirls originally kidnapped from the Dapchi school, a primary school boy identified simply as Bala, and another primaryschool girl were also abducted with them, making the total of kidnapped students 113. The abduction of the forgotten three was not disclosed until after they were released by Boko Haram. Mohammed's statement read, "A total of 111 girls were abducted from the Government Girls Secondary and Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi on 19 Feb. 2018. That means one student was not captured on the list of 110 abducted students that was compiled by the school, on the basis of which the Federal Government gave the number of abducted schoolgirls as 110. "Also kidnapped were two other persons, who are not students of the college. They include a primary school boy who came to the school to sell pure water and another primary school girl. That brings the total number of abducted persons on that day to 113." Quick maths of Dapchi abduction So, to do a quick analysis of the explicit figures of the Dapchi abduction: 113 were kidnapped, but 2 of them were not students of GGSTC. 107 were released a month later with 105 of them being schoolgirls of GGSTC, and the other two being the primary school students that aren't students of GGSTC. 6 girls remain unaccounted for, with 5 reported dead and the last one, Leah Sharibu, held in captivity for sticking to her Christian faith. That makes a total of 113 original abducted victims. A plea for accuracy For a place like Nigeria where statistics about tragic events are vague or unreliable most of the times, it's understandable that there could be conflicting reports about an event such as this, but reliable statistics about this particular event exist in the public space so it's really exhausting that there are still conflicting numbers being casually passed around when reporting on the Dapchi abduction. Anytime anyone misreports the actual number of abducted Dapchi victims by one or by a whopping nine, whether it's a media organisation or the president of the country that should know better, they sell the tragedy of Dapchi short and tarnish the memory of the losses that it brought on certain families and the hurt it continues to inflict on others. According to the statement, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, CEOs of multinational firms and government agencies will also be in attendance to chart a course for the non-oil sector. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that AFPE is organised by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC). The AFPE themed: Non-Oil Exports: Scaling up Productivity to Meet Global Demand is scheduled to hold on May 25 and 26. According to the statement, the exhibition aims at promoting the development of trade, commerce, investment and industrial technological relationships between Nigeria and the US. It also seeks to expose opportunities that would increase export sales by maximising the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Osinbajo gave the assurance on Tuesday at Ayati, in Gwer East Local Government, Benue state during the burial of the victims of the April 24 church attack. The Vice President, who was accompanied on the trip by Ministers, top ranking politicians of different political shades, expressed the Federal Governments commitment to end the attacks. He said the perpetrators of such dastardly and heinous crimes do not deserve to live amongst decent people but prayed for the conversion of their souls. Also in a speech, Gov. Samuel Ortom, condemned the incessant attacks on communities in the state but commended the Federal Government for is efforts to stop the killings. He disclosed that 492 people had died from herdsmen attacks since the beginning of the year. The governor regretted the attacks on the church and wondered the reason for the attack saying, these people were in the church and not on their farms; by this act, they gave moved their narrative to include other motives. He called on the Federal Government to arrest the killer-herdsmen, saying we know our killers but they are not arrested or invited for interrogation; they gave stated at several fora that they would reclaim their land. The governor said the Anti-Open Grazing law passed by the state assembly and accented by him, was the best way in curbing incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country. On his part the Tor Tiv, His Royal Majesty, Prof James Ayatse, placed on curse in the perpetrators of such dastardly acts, saying they will not see good times. He, however, warned against reprisals urging them not to lose faith in their God who would fight for them. The paramount ruler commended the Catholic Church for restraining their members against reprisals and said the style was of the Lord. A cross section of the bishops that spoke at the burial, called in the government to ensure the killers were brought to book. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Bishops that 50 Bishops were expected at the burial. Those sighted were those of Sokoto, Bauchi, Enugu, Nsukka, Gboko, Kaduna, Lafia, Jos, Shengdan, Otukpo, Katsina-Ala. NAN also reports a team representing the Catholic Church in West Africa were also at the burial. In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Monday, May 21, 2018, the PDP advised President Buhari to be prepared to accept defeat in 2019. The PDP accused Buhari of betraying the trust of ordinary people and being aloof to the plight of the citizens. Indeed, with the degenerated economy, security and social situations in our nation, under his incompetent and anti-people administration, in addition to the spate and weight of direct disapproval from Nigerians and international bodies, President Buhari knows that he is swimming against the tide, the statement said. Today, the electorate has come to terms with the fact that the promises made by President Buhari and his APC are all a big scam. In fact, our investigations have revealed that President Buhari never intended to fulfill any of his campaign promises. This is because three years down the line, our president cannot even boast of any clear-cut implementation blueprint on his promises. Instead, our president and his cronies acquired a life of opulence, going on foreign tastes and swimming in ocean of corruption, while millions of Nigerians who voted into power are abandoned to languish in poverty and bloodletting occasioned by the APC misrule. President Buharis handlers, in their shouting match, should know that Nigerians are only clamouring for his expulsion from Aso Rock come 2019, because our nation does not have provision for mid-term elections. Had such been in our statutes book, Nigerians would have since chased this incompetent, insensitive and tactless president away from the office, the statement said. Obasanjo to the rescue? Meanwhile, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, has allayed fears was in a state of near collapse. In a meeting with leaders of the Yoruba political organization, Afenifere, Obasanjo noted that Nigeria was in need of urgent rescue. Oshiomhole stated in at a meeting with the All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus of the Senate on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. The former governor declared his intention to run for the office of the APC chairman while seeking for the support of the upper legislative chamber. I am here to state my intention to run for the chairman of our party the APC and solicit your support for my candidature, he asid. In the forthcoming convention every senator is a delegate in his [or her] right. I confess that while is in NLC I fought with some governors - not against them. They understand that is nothing personal. The beauty of democracy is that there will be debate and we contest issues. Governance is about participation and choosing to call ourselves All Progressives Congress shows that we are pro-people and it is driven by its members. Part of the challenge is that various organs of the party have not functioned. As a governor I have not oppressed anyone. Power can be tempting. Given the opportunity to chair our party we must do some things differently. If anything in the newspapers to go by a lot of our party leaders have some concerns, he added. In his remarks, Senate President Bukola Saraki said he had trust in Oshiomholes capacity to do what he promises. Recall that the former governor reportedly told a widow who was selling her wares on a popular road in Benin, the Edo state capital to go and die. He also said Nigeria should have five vice-presidents from each geo-political zone, with all of them serving simultaneously. Soludo made the suggestions on Monday, May 22, at the ongoing the south-east summit on restructuring Nigeria which is being held in Awka, Anambra state. According to him, a vice-president from each geo-political zones would ensure the representation of all Nigerians in government. "The tenure of office of the president shall be a single term of six years. There shall be five vice presidents. One from each of the six geopolitical zones", the ex-CBN governor said. Igbo marginalisation Soludo said his proposal would solve the problem of marginalisation causing various agitations by different ethnic groups, especially the Igbo. He added that the Igbo demand a new constitution and a constitutional conference - backed by law "where the people of Nigeria will agree on a new, truly, federal constitution." "A constituent assembly should be constituted to agree on a new constitution for a new Nigeria. "Such a constitution, the People's constitution should be approved by the people of Nigeria through a referendum to give it legitimacy and validity," he said. Wang is stopping over in the US capital on his way home from Argentina, where he is attending a G20 foreign ministers' meeting and has reportedly discussed contentious South China Sea issues with some of his counterparts. Tensions have risen since China flew nuclear-capable bombers to a disputed island in the South China Sea last week. The Pentagon condemned Beijing's "continued militarisation of disputed features" in the waterway. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has urged China to maintain tight control over its border with North Korea until he signs a denuclearisation deal with Kim Jong Un. A summit is set for June 12. "The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in," Trump tweeted Monday. The two nations may also lock horns over China's business ties with Iran after Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal and said he would reimpose sanctions. Since anglophone separatists declared independence last October, dozens of people have gone missing -- on average, a fresh case is reported by the local media every week. "At least 50 people have keen kidnapped,"Felix Agbor Ngonkho, of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, told AFP. Many more abductions are probably not even been reported, he added. "It has become impossible for a Cameroonian car carrying foreigners or bearing the licence plate of a French-speaking region to travel through the English-speaking regions without being attacked by armed men emerging from the forest," a human rights activist said. Kidnappings, say commentators, have been adopted as a tool for separatists to enforce discipline in anti-government protests and instil fear among French-speaking officials, almost regardless of rank. "The separatists have a guerrilla mentality that involves control of the region and the population," said Hans De Marie Heungoup, Central Africa analyst with the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank. "The kidnappings are part of this logic, a tool to enforce allegiance to those who haven't taken up the separatist cause." The presence of a large English-speaking minority -- about a fifth of Cameroon's population of 22 million -- dates back to the colonial period. It was once a German colony that after World War I was divided between Britain and France. In 1960, the French colony gained independence, becoming Cameroon, and the following year, the British-ruled Southern Cameroons was amalgamated into it, becoming the Northwest and Southwest Regions. For years, resentment built among anglophones, fostered by perceived marginalisation in education, the judiciary and the economy at the hands of the French majority. Demands for greater autonomy were rejected by 85-year-old President Paul Biya, in power for more than 35 years, leading to an escalation that last October 1 led to the declaration of the self-described "Republic of Ambazonia". 'Dirty war' Clashes are now an everyday occurrence, leading to scores of fatalities among separatists and police and military alike. But in what local people are calling a "dirty war," civilians are also suffering badly, at the hands of the security forces -- accused by the US last week of "targeted killings" and the burning and looting of villages -- and of the separatists. In one instance, a teacher was gunned down at a school in the town of Muyuka, in the Southwest Region, when three armed men riding motorcycles fired gunshots as they sped past. Two Tunisians working near Kumba in the Southwest were abducted in late March. One of them was later killed. The following month a group of Western tourists were briefly kidnapped in the same region. Separatist fighters have torched numerous school buildings and early this month kidnapped a priest who was headmaster of a Catholic boarding school. The priest was seized the day after St Bede's College received a televised visit from the regional governor. It was the first time the church had been pulled into the regional struggle. The abducted priest was freed the following day and the Catholic church has called on all parties to avoid "a useless and unwarranted civil war". Favoured targets But officials and symbols of Yaounde's centralised power remain the favoured targets for the separatists. Last month, the head of the appeal court in the Southwest Region was kidnapped then released a few days later. Two local officials seized in February in the Northwest Region remain missing. "There are kidnappings for ransom, with the separatists seeking 20,000, 30,000 francs ($35-$54) from the families. And there are others, those they keep," said a local human rights activists who didn't want to be named. Nine employees of a construction company have been missing since December. Only the burned-out shells of the vehicles they were travelling in have been found. "Ruto has openly threatened the family of President Daniel arap Moi if the family does not give him political support. He is holding that family hostage," the MPs said in a hard hitting statement. The MPs went further to state that the DP was an angry and bitter man who has also taken the people of Rift Valley and President Uhuru Kenyatta hostage. "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. Give me the presidency or your people are not safe. Do not change the law or your people wont be safe. That is the hostage holding agenda the DP and his team are pursuing," the statement read in part. Read Also: Gideon Moi now tells DP Ruto to back his presidential bid The MPs led by Zulekha Juma Hassan (Women Rep. Kwale), Florence Mutua (Women Rep. Busia), Anthony Oluoch, (MP Mathare), Geoffrey Osotsi, (Nominated) and Gladys Wanga (Women Rep. Homa Bay), said that Ruto was the biggest threat to Kenya's democracy, progress and stability. "Ruto is holding the Government of Kenya hostage. We are all aware that in the last term, the government was unable to move on anything because of Rutos hostage antics. Senior public officers and other civil servants are constantly living in fear of losing their jobs because of Rutos phone calls," the legislators added. In a report by the Nation, Augustine Salatons body was found dumped at a parking lot in Kilgoris, Narok County. However, police officers who found the body on May 8 and took it to the mortuary stated that Salaton died in a road accident. There were skid marks of a lorry at the scene. This indicates that the victim may have been knocked by the vehicle," Trans Mara West police boss David Wambua was quoted by the Nation. Probe Sunkuli and his brother Charles Sunkuli, who is the Environment Principal secretary, want a probe launched into the matter. They say that the body of 29-year-old was badly mutilated and they suspect he could have been murdered. "Besides the injuries, my sons body appeared to have been burnt with acid. He seems to have struggled a lot in his death, which is evident in the injuries on his head and fingers," Sunkuli said. The family disclosed that Salanton, who worked as a Chinese interpreter, left their Poroko home on May 7 for Nairobi and nobody heard from him since then. "Every morning, he used to visit his grandmother who lives nearby. But the grandmother got concerned when he failed to show up on May 8," he siad. "The speed of arrivals and the very limited humanitarian presence in the area mean that people urgently need increased support," said UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler, adding that most of the refugees were women and children. He said the agencies capacity for an emergency response is "severely stretched". A further 7,000 refugees from the central CAR town of Bambari also poured into DRC, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Violence in Bambari on Monday and Tuesday night led to the deaths of a local NGO worker and midwife, and saw the town's police station and UN bases attacked by armed men, presumed to be linked to the Union for Peace in CAR (UPC) group. The UN said it had resumed control of the city on Wednesday. On Thursday a Mauritanian peacekeeper was killed and eight injured in an attack on a UN convoy near the southeastern town of Alindao. The number of people from CAR fleeing to northern DRC had jumped even before the latest influx, the UN said, having risen from 102,000 to 182,000 in less than a year. The UN has around 12,500 personnel deployed in Central Africa as part of its MINUSCA mission, one of the world body's largest peacekeeping forces. The state controls only a small part of CAR's national territory. Armed groups clash in the provinces for control of resources, including diamonds, gold and livestock. CLOVIS Accused library shooter Nathaniel Jouett is receiving initial evaluations and psychiatric therapy from Mental Health Resources. Its a process occupying much of his defense attorneys energy and manifesting in minor incidents at the Juvenile Detention Center, as discussed at a status conference Monday afternoon. Jouett, 17, has had a few behavioral outbursts in local custody as his mental health treatment continues in early phases. Those incidents were not detailed in court, but they were anticipated with the therapy and theyre being managed, Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Stover said in the hearing attended via video conference by Roswell Judge James Hudson and defense attorney Stephen Taylor. This issue has sort of dominated my time on the case, Taylor said, but he told Hudson he wasnt ready yet to say if the current trial date in March would need to be adjusted. Stover said the state is making very good progress on witness interviews and other discovery. Phase one of trial preparation ends June 29 and phase two carries through Oct. 19, Hudson reminded the attorneys, and suggested another status conference in late August. Stover said prosecutors are also beginning to receive reports from the state crime lab, which along with monthly updates on Jouetts mental health treatment are being conveyed to Taylor. Jouett is accused of killing library workers Krissie Carter and Wanda Walters and injuring four others after opening fire on Aug. 28 at the Clovis-Carver Public Library. May 1976 Jim Philley San Jons Chamber of Commerce president said about 1,800 people attended the bicentennial May Day Celebration held in San Jon. U.S. Senator Joe Montoya was a guest speaker at the celebration. Don Alexander hospital administrator for the Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital received a United States Flag from Ladies V.F.W. Auxiliary president Lupe Marquez in preparation for National Hospital Week. Carol Ann Wright of Tucumcari received an award for Distinguished Student in Agriculture from Philip J. Leyendecker, Dean and director of the New Mexico State University College of Agriculture and Home Economics. SAN JON - It's been more than 35 years since Jean Simmons Abla's mysterious death. With help from cold-case investigators, Abla's daughter has recently inspired renewed interest in trying to find out what happened to her. Though technically never closed, the case was cleared soon after a convicted serial killer confessed to her slaying in June 1983. Henry Lee Lucas told authorities he picked her up from a San Jon truck stop. He allegedly even told them about a scar Abla had from a Caesarean section. An autopsy showed she probably died from a blow to the head. But Lucas soon recanted his confession and authorities began to doubt many of the hundreds of murder confessions he gave. Ultimately "The Confession Killer" was never charged for Abla's death. He died in prison in 2001, having been convicted of 11 killings. Abla's daughter, Sam Thompson of Amarillo, said last week the Quay County investigation she believes Lucas "derailed" is finally getting back on track. "My primary objective is and always has been to find out what happened to her," Thompson said. "If that could ever possibly lead to charges brought, that would be great. My hopes are not that high, but I would at least like to try to fill in some blanks." Cold-case investigators explore site where woman found The case came back into the open last month, when a pair of cadaver dogs were brought to the site north of San Jon where some rabbit-hunting children first discovered Abla's remains on May 3, 1983. That was almost seven months after her Oct. 6, 1982, disappearance. She was 35 at the time. On scene last month were Thompson, Quay County Sheriff Rusty Shafer and agents from two Utah-based cold case organizations assisting in the search. "We had a couple of areas of interest," said Kacy Robinson, a handler with "Fide Canem Cold Case," though she noted that strong winds and a nearby drainage ditch on the property of more than 200 acres might have complicated the findings. "We're grateful to be brought in on it; that's what we do." The team from Fide Canem (Latin for "trust the dog,") assisted for free with some coordination from the Cold Case Foundation, a group composed of former law enforcement officers "dedicated to stopping the deadly compounding effect of cold cases and providing hope and resources to families affected by violent crime," according to their website. The group's executive director said the team provides free support to agencies re-examining cold cases, especially in smaller jurisdictions that might be lacking in resources. "There's a lot of agencies out there right now, smaller agencies, some of medium size, that typically have a difficult time budgeting for current cases, much less cold cases," said Greg Cooper, a former FBI profiler. As for this case itself, he said "the ultimate goal is to make a final determination as to whether or not Lucas was involved." The foundation's Deputy Executive Director John Douglas said the team also hoped to eventually provide on-site training to local law enforcement, as well as any other support requested by the lead investigative agency, the Quay County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff: 'Things like this shouldn't get left behind' Sheriff Shafer said he was in the process of locating any remaining records on the case and interviewing officers and witnesses from the time. He said the case wasn't on his radar until Thompson contacted him. "Things like this shouldn't get dropped and left behind ... Every time you get a new sheriff, you get a new vision," he said. "The sheriff (Joe Garnett) at the time left it open because he didn't have enough evidence to link Henry Lee Lucas to her death, other than I guess what you would call circumstantial evidence." Garnett could not be reached for comment last week. Shafer said his office would look to guidance from and "keep in continuous contact" with the Cold Case Foundation, for "their investigatory skills on interviewing, bringing out and asking questions (that) hadn't been asked." His hope from the renewed investigation is "to officially give Ms. Thompson closure as to what happened to her mother, in whatever form that may take." On Monday, he said it was his "sole opinion" that Lucas was in fact the likely perpetrator, but he would let the facts and evidence go where they will. "I've been in law enforcement long enough, I don't believe in coincidences," he said. Daughter establishes Facebook page: 'Remember Jean' Thompson, of Amarillo, is of a different opinion. She thinks Lucas "never came anywhere near Mother." She said she believes it is "highly probable" that the true killer is still alive somewhere, though she declined to name any suspects. At the time of Abla's disappearance and the subsequent location of then-unidentified remains presumed to be hers, Thompson was herself a young mother in Dumas, Texas. She said she was too much in shock and denial then to question much of how the case was handled, but doubled down in the 1990s with efforts to conclusively identify the remains from San Jon as her mother's. After finally succeeding with as much in the past two years through anthropological reconstruction and DNA analysis, Thompson achieved a bittersweet milestone. "I think it helped aid in re-opening the investigation. It gives me more right to push for an investigation, because now I can prove that it was my mother," she said. "At the same time, it removes that little sliver of hope that she's still out there somewhere. That was hard to give up ... that maybe my mother wasn't hurt, maybe she didn't go through whatever horrendous thing she went through." Thompson distributed fliers in Quay County last month soliciting information from anyone, even through anonymous tips, that might help with the investigation. She has also established a Facebook page, "Remember Jean," and an email account ([email protected]) for the same purpose. Thompson recalled an anonymous call to her aunt in 1983 from a person claiming to have seen Abla being forced into a vehicle at gunpoint. The anonymous reporting tools were established with discretion in mind, she said, but those interested can also contact the sheriff. "We're just starting over as best as can be done now," she said. "You've got memory's fading, and of course people that are no longer with us, so it's an uphill battle, but I'm already finding out so much more than I knew before, and there are a lot of people left to talk to, and so we're doing some of that." Abla worked at a cafe in Endee at the time of her disappearance, and had moved recently to the area to be nearer to family. A witness reported her last seen at a bar in San Jon, where her car was found the next day with the keys and wallet inside and the engine in good condition, Thompson said. Abla had fallen "into bad times" in the years preceding her disappearance, Thompson said, but more recently "was trying to get herself back together." She wrote poetry, she loved to sing, she was handy with both a wrench and a sewing needle. She was trying to be a good grandmother and mother. "Mom being gone was like staring into the abyss," Thompson said. "She was all I had. She wasn't the greatest mom, but she loved me and she loved my kids, and she was all I had." More broadly, Thompson hopes the case can be a reminder of the countless unsolved missing persons cases across the country. Her mother only officially joined the missing person registry in 2016. "It just shouldn't be that easy for someone to be murdered and not something more done about it," she said. "I'm not trying to trash investigators or any of that, I just wish that it had been given more priority at the time, especially when she went missing." Heeeeeee-wack! That was the sound of Playboy founder Hugh Hefners circular bed in rotation as described by Tom Wolfe, who died last week at the age of 88. Wolfe was one of the pioneers who in the 1960s combined fiction and journalism into a new form that was and still is called the New Journalism. He wore ostentatiously white suits, a style he called neo-pretentious and wrote like a 12-year-old super-genius, describing the contemporary world with all the energy, imagination and exclamation points an excited child can bring to a story. Consider his book titles. There was The Electric Kool-aid Acid Test, about early hippies and The Kandy-Colored Tangerine-Flake Streamlined Baby, about the custom car culture. Wolfe didnt just hang around with people and write what he saw. He learned everything about anything he wrote about and wove it into breathless descriptions with dead-on accuracy, like the sound of Hefners bed when Hefner was a culture hero before enlightened perception turned him into a sexist exploiter of women. With Wolfe, you didnt get a sweater, you got a loose-knit magenta London Fog alpaca pullover with a crew neck and puffy sleeves. Wolfe was the right kind of brash, throw-out-the-rules writer to inspire an undergraduate student who chose a journalism major because he lacked the patience to major in English. That was me. Journalism, the old not the new, became my first career, but when I was an undergraduate with literary ambitions, the New Journalism was an inspiration. In fact, I wrote a term paper on the New Journalism while it was still new for a professor who energetically denounced it as not objective. Needless to say, I did not do well in his class. I thought the professor had a warped view of objectivity and I still do. Adding literary techniques to a news story, I thought, added exponentially to the telling. Successful New Journalism required many times the effort of standard reporting. It brought complex elements to journalistic narration without sacrificing accuracy. Even good, old journalism has never been completely objective. Its impossible to produce interesting writing and remain fully objective, as hard as we try. For completely objective prose, read a scientific study. Unless youre the same kind of scientist, this writing is impossible to read with enthusiasm. Tom Wolfe set an extreme example of how to make journalism read like fiction. There were others. Gay Talese and Jimmy Breslin entered New Journalism from newspaper writing. Novelists Truman Capote and Norman Mailer approached it from fiction. Hunter Thompson of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas fame approached it from another planet. It took masters to produce it well. I never attained that level of mastery, but on a few occasions, I have tried to apply their example. Im going to miss Tom Wolfe, even though his time in the limelight has come and gone. His example is still one that both literary writers and journalists can aspire to. Steve Hansen writes about our life and times from his perspective of a retired Tucumcari journalist. Contact him at: stevenmhansen @plateautel.net This is the undocumented immigrant our nation should welcome: the Lawrence, Kansas, chemist whom immigration officials attempted to deport this year, much to the dismay of his family, neighbors and even strangers who came to know the story of Syed Jamal. This immigrants presence should be questioned: a man who was deported multiple times and who kept re-entering the country. He now stands accused of randomly shooting two people in Kansas Citys Northland, and he has emerged as the possible culprit in the shooting death of tattoo artist Russell Fisk. Understanding the difference is key to improving immigration policy and enforcement of immigration laws. But our current immigration debate is muddied by offensive words such as those used by President Donald Trump when he spoke of some undocumented immigrants saying, these arent people, they are animals. Arnoldo Pompa-Rascon, charged with the shootings earlier this month, is most certainly a person. He also may be mentally ill, telling police that voices told him to shoot people. He expressed a belief that the gun, which he admitted stealing, could magically know the difference between good and bad people. Juxtaposed, the immigration histories of Jamal and Pompa-Rascon illustrate one of the major problems with current immigration policies. Priorities are wrongheaded. Ratcheting up the numbers of immigrants being deported is now the goal. Thats how people like Jamal are ensnared. The previous administrations order to optimize immigration officials effectiveness with a tighter focus on undocumented immigrants who are a danger to society has been cast aside. A fair question to ask concerns the money spent on jailing Jamal for two months, flying him partway to Hawaii en route to his native Bangladesh and then back to Kansas City. What if those funds had instead been spent focusing on immigrants such as Pompa-Rascon? There are fewer like him. Some context: Our five-county area was home to 135,000 foreign-born people in 2015, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Thats 7 percent of the population. More than 70 percent are naturalized U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents or legally present by other visa status. And among those who are not, a far smaller share have violent criminal histories, for which theyd serve time and then face deportation. Those offenders ought to be the priority. The president used rather pedestrian language, but he wasnt completely wrong to assert that the nation has some of the dumbest laws on immigration in the world. Problem is, hes the architect of the present policies. The Kansas City Star Olympians Presented With Keys To Queens Two beloved daughters of Queens took their rightful place in the pantheon of iconic borough residents on October 1, as Queens Borough President Donovan Richards,... Van Bramer Dedicates George S. Kaufman Way The man largely responsible for the resurrection of New York Citys motion picture production industry, and for the renaissance of a local neighborhood, was honored... Dromm Co-Names Street In Elmhurst After Polish War Heroes On September 18th, New York City Council Member Daniel Dromm, in partnership with Elmhurst History & Cemeteries Preservation Society, celebrated the Street co-naming of 43rd... 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! SPAIN: The European Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to Spain saying it has failed to correctly transpose Directive 2012/34/EU establishing a single European railway area. UK: Swiss manufacturer Stadler is producing a total of 58 Flirt UK electric and electro-diesel multiple-units for use by Greater Anglia. Rancho Santa Fes Sam Ursini was inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame for his many years of service in the United States Air Force, his pioneering work in the development of advanced aircraft and systems and his contributions as a civilian to the advancement of American air power. Sam Ursini was involved in the development of the SR-71 Blackbird in the 1960s. Courtesy Ursini, who has logged over 4,500 hours of flight time in more than 20 different aircraft types, was honored at a gala at the Air Zoo in Portage, Michigan on April 21. One of the proudest accomplishments of Ursinis aviation career was being involved in the testing of YF-12, the prototype for the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance vehiclethe aircraft is still the worlds fastest airplane, flying 500 miles per hour faster than anything else. The YF-12 set a speed record of more than 2,070 miles per hour and sustained an altitude record of nearly 80,258 feet, later surpassed by the SR-71. No one had ever flown at those speeds and those altitudes, said Ursini, 84, who traveled back to Michigan for the gala and awards ceremony at the Air Zoo, where there is a Blackbird on display. He said he was stunned and humbled by the Hall of Fame honor, nominated by one of his college friends. Ursinis first forays into flight began as a child, flying model airplanes in his dads grocery store in his native Detroit. After high school he attended the University of Detroit where he graduated in 1955 as a ROTC Air Force second lieutenant. He was drawn to the sky for the excitement and the glamour of aviation. Ursini was awarded Air Force navigator wings in 1956 at Ellington Air Force Base in Texas and assigned as a radar intercept officer to the 84th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Hamilton Air Force Base in California. He graduated from Ground Weapons Controller training in 1961 and served as Weapons Director for the San Francisco Air Defense Sector at Beale Air Force Base. In 1963, he was selected for top-secret experimental flight testing of the YF-12, a fighter-inceptor and prototype of the SR-71 Blackbird. The testing was conducted at Area 51, the highly classified military base in Nevada. Ursini traces the origins of the experimental aircraft back to the 1960s when the U.S. was flying U-2 reconnaissance aircrafts over the Soviet Union. The U-2 flew at a very high altitude of 75,000 feet but it was very slow, like an airliner, Ursini said. We knew back then that it was vulnerable to Russian missileswe needed something better. The CIA was tasked to develop an airplane that would fly very fast and very high, leading to the development of the YF-12. Ursini and his fellow aviators at Area 51 participated in initial tests of the vehicles, flying at speeds that had never been done before. They flew faster than the speed of sound, more than 761 miles per hour, also known as Mach 1. Sometimes they flew more than three times that, or Mach 3 plus. You could fly from California to Florida in an hour, Ursini marveled. As flight control officer with pilot Jim Eastham, he was aboard the first flight that hit Mach 3.2 in a YF-12. He was the third aviator in the Air Force to exceed Mach 3. Sam Ursini, right, with pilot Vern Henderson. Courtesy The unique part about flying so high is it is very hot up there, Ursini said. He wore an astronaut suit while flying to protect him because the cockpit could reach over 500 degrees at those 75,000- to-80,000-foot altitudes. He and pilot Vern Henderson were the first to launch an AIM-47 missile from the YF-12, scoring a direct hit on a target drone 60,000 feet below. Ursini was also the first to test the YF-12 pulse Doppler radar system against an SR-71 flying at Mach 3.5 at 80,000 square feet. It was a phenomenal experience to be involved with such a unique design, Ursini said. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson disclosed the existence of the YF-12 to the public, stating that they were being tested and flying out of Edwards Air Force Base in California. We werent there, Ursini said of the surprise timing of the Presidents announcement. Because of his announcement, we rushed to get the airplane there. The operation was so rushed that when they got the aircraft into the hangar, the plane was so hot that it set off the overhead sprinklers, Ursini recalled with a laugh. The Y-12 test project provided a lot of valuable information that led to the development of the SR-71 Blackbird in 1964. In 1970, Ursini was transferred to Vietnam as an intelligence officer. He flew 190 combat missions in the F-4E Phantom, many of them at night. It was exciting and dangerous, Urisini said of that time. Sam Ursini with the model YF-12 in his Rancho Santa Fe home. Karen Billing From 1972-74 he was stationed at Air Defense Headquarters in Colorado Springs and did his last tour in Ankara, Turkey. During his time in the Air Force he was promoted to Colonel and awarded Master Navigator Wings, the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 12 Air Medals. Ursini retired from the Air Force in 1976 and joined Grumman Aerospace in Long Island, New York. In 1980, he joined Fairchild Republic Corporation and then formed a new company, Global Analytics in San Diego, developing stealth technologies. He sold the company to Lockheed and retired in 1986. Ursini moved to Rancho Santa Fe after he retired, building his home overlooking the reservoir with his wife Joanne. One of his three children, his son John, became a pilot. Only one YF-12 remains in existencedisplayed at the US Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Ursini has a model that he keeps on his desk, alongside a model of a SR-71. He looks back fondly on his role in such a unique piece of aviation history. Rantoul, IL (61866) Today Windy. Thunderstorms becoming likely during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 78F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to cloudy skies after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 57F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Former Lenenergo managers once more deny wrongdoing in abuse of office case flickr.com/Joe Gratz 10:59 22/05/2018 MOSCOW, May 22 (RAPSI) Former CEO of Lenenergo energy distribution company Andrey Sorochinsky and his deputy Denis Slepov have once again denied wrongdoing in a criminal case over abuse of office that led to grave consequences for the company, RAPSI has learnt in the Moscow District Court of St. Petersburg. The criminal case will be reviewed for the third time. In January, the case was returned to prosecutors. During preliminary hearings the court found serious contradictions contained in the indictment that prevented it from making a lawful and well-founded judgement. Earlier, Sorochinsky and Slepov have been sentenced to 4 and 3 years in a penal colony. They were found guilty of going against an order of the companys executive board and placing 10.6 billion rubles (nearly $190 million) of temporarily available assets in the accounts of Tavrichesky bank, which faced liquidity problems at that time. Soon afterwards, the bank lost its license; accordingly, Lenenergo suffered losses amounting to 8.6 billion rubles (nearly $154 million), whereas 32 billion rubles (about $572.4 million) had to be transferred to the enterprise from the federal budget to improve its financial standing. Later, the appellate board of the St. Petersburg City Court overturned the ruling and initiated another review of the case. Lenenergo is one of the largest energy distribution companies in Russia. Moscow court rules husband of Total CEO crash victim has right to seek compensation RIA Novosti, Maksim Blinov 13:22 22/05/2018 MOSCOW, May 22 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Courts Presidium has partially granted an appeal against rulings of lower courts dismissing a claim for compensation filed against Vnukovo airport by the husband of a stewardess, who died during the infamous crash of Total CEO Cristophe de Margeries airplane in 2014, RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom. According to the Presidium, the ruling in this case is to be clarified with a special provision stating that the plaintiff has a right to file a civil lawsuit with the Solntsevsky District Court of Moscow. Earlier, lawyer Kyamal Dzhavadov stated that his client resides in France and it would be hard for him to get to Paris, write down a letter of attorney and send it to Moscow. In July 2017, snow plow driver Vladimir Martynenko and Vnukovo lead airfield service engineer Vladimir Ledenev, who had earlier pleaded guilty and signed a plea bargain, were sentenced to 4 and 3.5 years in penal colony. However, they were immediately pardoned as part of the broad amnesty program on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War II. Martynenko and Ledenev were charged with violation of traffic safety rules resulted in the death of two or more persons. The widow of Total CEO Cristophe de Maergerie, relatives of the deceased flight crew members, Vnukovo airport and Unijet air carrier have been recognized as victims in the case. The criminal case against several other defendants, airport flight manager Roman Dunayev, air traffic controllers Alexander Kruglov and Nadezhda Arkhipova, was returned to prosecutors. Christophe de Margerie died in a plane crash at Vnukovo airport on October 21, 2014, when his planes wing hit a snow plow. Among the victims were three crew members, all French citizens. On October 25, 2016, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) published its final report on investigation into the death de Margerie. Authors of the report listed several factors, which, when combined, may have resulted in the plane crash. Among potential causes of the crash are: violation of regulations over control of alcohol use by drivers of special equipment, absence of equipment for listening to traffic controllers in snow plow machines, inefficient organization of work with subsystem of observation and control of airfield, no measures taken by the planes crew to prevent takeoff after receiving information about machine that intersects a road. Russian lawmakers propose 6-year prison terms for vote rigging RIA Novosti, Alexey Malgavko 16:33 22/05/2018 MOSCOW, May 22 (RAPSI) Russias communist MPs have submitted a bill on sentence of up to 6 years in prison for election rigging to the lower house of parliament. The document has been published on the State Duma database. Amendments are proposed to the Criminal Code of Russia. Under the bill, elections commissioners, their deputies as well as members of electoral commissions, who intentionally committed election fraud on the date of voting to guarantee a maximum number of ballots for a certain candidate, would be recognized as violators of law. Election rigging includes issue and reception of more than 10 ballots for illegal voting, marking illegal bulletins, stuffing with more than 10 sham ballots, according to the draft law. The initiative envisages fines ranging from 500,000 to 1.5 million rubles ($8,000 24,500), community service for up to 5 years or imprisonment for up to 6 years for these violations. 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 Ather Energy would set up 30 charging points across Bengaluru by the end of May and the number would go up to 60 by the end of the year. Hero MotoCorp-backed start-up Ather Energy has kicked off its plan to set up charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) across Bengaluru in the run up to the launch of its electric scooter S340. Ather Energy announced on Monday it would set up 30 charging points across Bengaluru by the end of May and the number would go up to 60 by the end of the year. With this, the company said EV owners would have access to a charging point in a radius of 4km from wherever they are. Dubbed AtherGrid, the charging stations precede the launch of the Ather S340 scooter for which has been delayed for some time but now the company said bookings would open in June. The charging stations will work with all EVs sold in India. For the first six months, Ather will not charge customers for using its grid of chargers. We dont think charging infrastructure should be a marketing cost for our vehicle. "It is the refuelling infrastructure of the future and we think it should justify the business case on its own. "To do that, you need more people to use it and not just depend on your volume, so weve opened it up to everybody, said Tarun Mehta, co-founder and CEO, Ather Energy. Ather has partnered with malls, cafes, restaurants, tech parks, multiplexes and gyms to open these charging stations. For now, the company says it has been able to convince these partners to offer them space for free with the upside of getting access to customers who use electric vehicles. The AtherGrid charging stations have been designed, developed and manufactured completely locally and the company will also handle installation and maintenance once the charging station is installed. While the number of charging points might seem quite small, the company says it estimates that an EV users will utilise public infra to charge their vehicles only 10 per cent of the time. Currently any EV in India can tap into a 5 Amps or 15 Amps charging point, but the biggest challenge for them to do that is that theres no security, no authentication and no protection. "Our pod takes care of all that and as far as the interface goes, for non-Ather vehicles, weve used the government regulated standard, said Mehta. While the devices will charge other EVs at a similar speed to a wall plug, it will act as a fast charger for Athers vehicles, charging the S340's battery from 0-80 per cent in around an hour's time. Mehta adds that Ather has allocated enough funds to setup a similar charging infrastructure, with a charging point every four kilometers, in both Chennai and Pune. he company plans to rollout AtherGrid in these cities prior to the launch of its S340 scooter there. So far the company has identified 600 possible locations just in Bengaluru where it can install the charging stations, and if demand spikes the company says it is well placed to ramp up production of the charging pods. The investment for now has been largely on designing and developing the charging stations, but it did not break out separate figures for how much it plans to invest in building its charging network. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters Samsung is lining up new products, increasing focus on e-commerce channels and tightening its grip over retail outlets. Samsung, the South Korean consumer electronics giant that till recently dominated Indias mobile handset space, is trying to regain the ground it has lost in the past few quarters. To counter the heightened competition from Chinese rivals like Xiaomi, which dislodged it from the top spot nearly after five years in mid-2017, Samsung is lining up new products, increasing focus on e-commerce channels and tightening its grip over retail outlets. Samsung is coming up with four new models to counter the flurry of successful launches in the affordable segment (Rs 10,000-20,000). The devices, priced at Rs 13,990 and above, offer attractive cash back schemes. In fact, its biggest challenge is with its affordable range of smartphones, where the three Chinese ninjas - Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo - have bagged a large slice of the market. According to Tarun Pathak, associate director, Counterpoint Research, the firm needed to refresh its portfolio. Samsung is on the back foot with heightened competition. Their biggest challenge is their speed of time-to-market. "Samsung has been slow when it comes to reacting to the competition, while most others were coming up with new products in three months. "Their objective should be coming up with India specific models and a faster time-to-market, he said. According to Mohandeep Singh, senior vice-president, Samsung India, the new products would be crucial for the firm. With these launches we aim to consolidate our market share by five per cent this year. Singh said premium features like infinity display was being launched for the first time in the affordable segment. He said competition might remain tough. While Samsung - the largest full-range player in the country with products ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 65,000 - has been vocal about the importance of a wide portfolio. The firm is now looking for areas of success by launching a few key models in specific price segments. The strategy, popularised by rival Xiaomi, that relied on a handful of models and eventually reached sales of millions of devices a month, is now being replicated by Samsung. According to Singh, how many new models one launches is not as important. Rather, a few successful models can play a bigger role in ones success. Xiaomi, which has been the strongest player on the online channel since 2015, now holds 57 per cent of the online mobile sales market. Samsung lags Motorola (second) and Huawei (third). To add spice to its online strategy, Samsung has tied up with Paytm, which will offer special discounts to online buyers. While the entry of Vivo and Oppo and their spending spree led to a fierce fight over shelf space on retail shops, sources said, Samsungs distribution has got a leg up in the recent months. Frequency of market visit and detailed monitoring of the inventory at retail level has got more focus as Xiaomi rattled the offline marketplace with its preferred partner initiative. The size of Samsungs field forces has gone up by 10 per cent, according to sources. The top deck has seen changes, too. At least four top-level movements have happened during 2017 and 2018 in and around its mobile business. Manu Sharma (earlier vice-president of mobile category), Asim Warsi (senior vice-president) and Aditya Babbar (category head), Dipesh Shah (managing director of Samsung Research and Development Institute) found new roles during the time. Photograph: Noor Khamis/Reuters It is all about a C and C model -- of choices and consequences -- for women. Women make choices about their lives and for each of them there will be consequences, Shell India Lubricants MD Mansi Madan Tripathy tells Jyoti Mukul. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com After sitting up well into the night preparing a presentation for her bosses at Procter & Gamble, Mansi Madan Tripathy began to wait next morning for her children's nanny to arrive. Tripathy, then global head for P&G's Gillette business, had planned to reach office by 7.45 am; so she prepared her five and seven year olds to be alone till the nanny arrived. The Boston cold was harsh -- and soon there was a snow storm. On her way out she picked up a shovel to clear the snow and rolled out her car. As she drove on, she could see the nanny's car approaching from the opposite direction. She was relieved, but that nagging question popped up in her mind all over again: 'Is this worth it?' She gave an outstanding presentation and that moment of uncertainty passed. I meet Tripathy, now managing director of Shell India Lubricants, at Threesixtyone Degrees at The Oberoi, Gurugram. She arrives in a peach crepe sari and a warm smile. This is our fourth meeting and I had expected her to be in a business suit like any other corporate leader, so I greet her with a compliment and ask her if she wears saris often. "I do, but they are difficult to maintain," she says. I notice the intricate Kashmiri embroidery on the border of the sari, falling gracefully on her understated demeanor, making it hard to imagine she has been dabbling with things like men's shaving products and lube oil. "I almost peeped into the bathrooms of 700 men trying to know why they take a bath or shave," jokes Tripathy who was based in the Boston office of Gillette before she quit P&G and joined her husband, an entrepreneur, in India. She took over as chief marketing officer for the lubricant business of Shell India in September 2003. We decide to order the food first. Would she like to sample the Japanese fare at Threesixtyone Degrees? "Japanese vegetarian food is a bit dicey. Let's order Mexican. There are very few places in India where you get good Mexican food," she says. She goes through the menu card carefully and chooses enchiladas and penne pasta with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. We decide to start by splitting a soup of wild mushroom with roast onion and truffle. How does she find the lubricants business after dealing with grooming products, I ask. She laughs out loud. "My last media interaction at Gillette was with GQ magazine. After the glitz and glamour and the fashion industry of Manhattan, I was meeting mechanics at Shell. Both are beautiful in their own ways." The main course is served and I like the look of the enchiladas with refried bean fillings. It is served with three different dips. I smear my enchilada with the guacamole dip and ask Tripathy if Shell has made a conscious decision to rope in women as business leaders since the company's earlier India head (Yasmin Hilton) was also a woman. Tripathy says only about 6 per cent of the employees in Shell's lubricant business were women until about a few years ago. Now the number looks better -- 13 per cent. "At around 2,400 in Shell India, women account for 24 per cent of the workforce. We want it to be 50 per cent at some point. The immediate target is to make it 20 per cent in the next two years." An unofficial quota for women at a time when they are clamouring for equality? "It has to be worked out diligently because if you don't, it will get missed out. It has to be merit-based and not quota-based. If I put a target for women, when they go to the campus for recruitment, they will ensure that we have a pipeline. But if I do not show that direction, it is very easy to pick up boys." For every 15 resumes even for a mid-level job, there is only one from a woman, she says. It is all about what Tripathy calls a C and C model -- of choices and consequences -- for women. They make choices about their lives and for each of them there will be consequences. "If I choose to be the managing director, it comes with a lot of consequences. Do I want to do that? If the answer is yes, then I better go for it." The "inner fire" in women is sometimes not ignited, she goes on. Does that mean contentment sets in earlier in women? "Sometimes women want to be in their happy zone where they put barriers for themselves." A trained Odissi dancer, she shows me a mudra (a hand gesture) called the shikhara (a thumbs up sigh) signifying power, which is used to portray a male. "Women are always lower even in the hasta mudra. These biases are ingrained in our culture."\ So what keeps her going? She tells me of a casual comment a batch mate from the Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra, passed many years ago. When she was called for an interview for a job at Bharat Electronics, he had said, 'Mansi you are a woman, you will get married, have children, and quit the job. Leave this job for us.' She is determined to prove him wrong. We have been talking for over an hour and I wonder when the conversation veered towards the issue of gender bias. "What about dessert?" I change the subject. She says she would go for a coffee. "There is nothing wrong in being indulgent at times," I nudge her. She laughs, changes her mind and says she would try a pan ice-cream, while I order a kulfi with fresh fruits. We end up sharing the kulfi when she leaves the ice cream half way saying, "the kulfi was better." When Tripathy joined Gillette, it was a men-only brand. "For women, the act of having a bath is about free time, me time and a lot of mental and emotional pieces come out. For men, bathing is just about cleaning up. But one of the big insights we found while working with men was that they too want to use their faces as works of art." She learned another important lesson in Shell -- the art of being "bossy" "As I became senior, I found it difficult to scold people." One day, her boss walked up to her and said, 'You are too soft.' She suggested he look at the results she posted than how she achieved them. "I do not go banging on the table or scream, but I give feedback to people in my own way. When I move out, there will be an image left of me for the next generation of leaders -- the one who nurtured." Loved seeing pics from the royal wedding? Wait until you see the family portrait! Photographs: Courtesy Kensington Palace/Instagram Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's -- formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex -- first wedding portraits are out and just like the wedding, the royal couple bucked tradition in favour of a more casual and sentimental feel. In a wedding portrait released by the royal family, the newly weds are pictured with the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, the bride's mother Doria Ragland, Kate and Prince William, and their adorable entourage of young bridesmaids and pageboys, including Prince George and Princess Charlotte. This photo of Prince Harry and Meghan with their bridesmaids and page boys was taken by photographer Alexi Lubomirski in The Green Drawing Room of Windsor Castle. Take a closer look at this pic and you will notice that the green couch on which Prince Harry is sitting is the same gilded mahogany sofa on which late Princess Diana sat cradling newborn baby Harry in her arms for official photos from his christening in 1984. Meghan's bouquet also included Diana's favourite flower Forget-Me-Nots. According to a statement from Kensington Palace, 'The couple specifically chose them to be included in Ms. Markle's bouquet to honor the memory of the late Princess on this special day.' Unlike Will and Kate, Meghan and Harry added a solo couple portrait, above, in black and white. The picture, which was taken in the east terrace of the Windsor Castle, has the couple posing in a less formal look, still basking in the excitement of their wedding. 'The Duke and Duchess of Sussex would like to thank everyone who took part in the celebrations of their wedding on Saturday,' the Kensington Palace wrote on Instagram. 'They 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 UK, Commonwealth, and around the world #RoyalWedding.' Photographer Alexi Lubomirski thanked the couple for giving him the 'incredible honour and privilege of documenting their inspiring journey of love, hope and family; from the engagement photos, all the way through to the official wedding and family portraits.' 'This has been a beautiful chapter in my career and life, that I will happily never forget,' he wrote on Instagram. Priyanka Chopra meets Rohingya children at one of the largest refugee camps in the world. Priyanka Chopra is one busy lady. After attending the royal wedding at Windsor Castle near London, Priyanka flew to Dhaka on Sunday morning. Last year, Priyanka -- an UNICEF goodwill ambassador -- had visited children in Amman, Jordan and Syrian refugees. In Bangladesh, Priyanka traveled to Cox's Bazar for 'a field visit with UNICEF to one of the largest refugee camps in the world.' Posting pictures shot by photographer Brian Sokol on Instagram, Priyanka noted the plight of young Rohingya refugee children. '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% are children!' Priyanka wrote. '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.' Priyanka ask the world to help these children: '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. Pls Lend your support at www.supportunicef.org #ChildrenUprooted @unicef @unicefbangladesh' Photographs: Kind courtesy Priyanka Chopra/Instagram 'Viewed militarily, the cease-fire puts the brakes for sure on the hard fought dominance that our security forces have achieved.' 'The ensuing weeks will witness their losing ground to the terrorists,' fears Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd). IMAGE: Soldiers move towards a house where terrorists were hiding during an encounter at Kokarnag in Anantnag district, south Kashmir, January 10, 2018. Photograph: PTI Photo Hopefully, the echoes of gunfire will diminish and Kashmiris will enjoy a month of peace as the devout beseech Allah for reconciliation during Ramzan prayers in the Valley of Flowers. Simultaneously, the men in uniform will wonder whether at the end of the day they will face a better organised foe and many more bullets, or will a new political initiative drive the Kashmir narrative forward. Our previous experience with a ceasefire in the valley doesn't provide the wherewithal to aspire for either of the above. During the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime, a similar largesse was put in place and was extended thrice. 348 civilians were killed before the security forces renewed operations. Will the terrorists use this opportunity to cower down Kashmiris again? Eighteen years since the last ceasefire, the first signals have already been received with 23-year-old Ahmad Parry's body being found close to his home. He had been abducted by the terrorists. They didn't waste a bullet on him; he was strangled. An ominous start to both Ramzan and another ceasefire. It isn't a ceasefire per se though; it has been limited to no initiation of combat, and operations being undertaken only on specific information. The security forces can retaliate if attacked and if civilians need to be protected. Viewed through a humanitarian prism, it is a generous gesture. It reinforces the message that we are committed to saving lives in Kashmir. That we understand that amidst the bloodletting in J&K, a religious practice for the majority of people in Kashmir needs to be given room for observance. Men, women and children can roam the streets more freely to celebrate, practice their faith and exchange pleasantries. Viewed from a political point of view, the proposal raised by J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was approved in its present format by New Delhi. It will raise Mehooba's standing in Kashmir. It has been hailed by a cross-section of major political parties. Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba's primary opponent in the valley, has welcomed it. However, no terrorist group has as yet come out in support. The most aggrieved lot seems to be the separatist leadership in J&K. They called the ceasefire a 'cruel joke'. The announcement of the ceasefire had the usual suspects who remain bereft of new ideas -- Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik -- express their frustration by announcing that they want a 'permanent halt on the war thrust by India'. Viewed militarily, the cease-fire puts the brakes for sure on the hard fought dominance that our security forces have achieved. The ensuing weeks will witness their losing ground to the terrorists. A sense of frustration could easily seep into the rank and file. Rationalists would term the unilateral ceasefire as more aspirational than a realistic approach. However, the hard option that we have been exercising since the launch of Operation All Out has not lead to any tangible progress for peace in the state. Of course, viewed from a different angle, without the success of Operation All Out, J&K could have transformed to a nightmare by now. To that extent, a fair degree of normalcy has been restored. However, the successes of the hard option has not led to creating an environment for soft power to take the lead. Any evaluation of Delhi's decision to impose very tough operational restraints on the security forces needs to be necessarily multi-dimensional. While it is laudable as a political and humanitarian move, it is loaded with the probability of negative fallouts from a military perspective. The ceasefire will trigger a more aggressive design from the Pakistanis. They will want more eruptions in the valley during this period to drive home its fragility. Terrorists like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad will be tasked to up the ante. Infiltration attempts will witness accretion. The Hijbul Majahadeen will focus on increasing the momentum of terror recruitments in the valley. The over ground network will also find an opportunity to build a better network. The separatists will be shriller without benefitting either themselves or any other party. The Kashmiris may find some respite without cordon and search operations. Stone throwing may witness a marginal decline. However, the kidnappings, extortion and civilian casualties from terrorist actions could well increase. At the end of the day, the security forces will face the effects of a better entrenched terror network. There will be more casualties on both sides. The battle for peace in J&K will continue along a bloody path, quite akin to what we witness in a more pronounced way in Afghanistan, another destination where Pakistan runs its other proxy war. In both cases there are barely any local solutions. In Kashmir the situation is far better contained because of the superiority of our security forces. In Afghanistan, with the security forces not yet fully mature, a drawdown of US and NATO forces, a fractured society and more professional and intimate guidance by the Pakistanis, the terror groups have been able to notch more diabolic successes. Till we focus on Pakistan globally, terrorism will continue to plague the Indian sub-continent and Afghanistan. It will continue to threaten global peace simultaneously. Last updated on: May 22, 2018 11:33 IST 'The Congress-JD-S alliance will be intact for the next three years, for sure.' IMAGE: Janata Dal-Secular leader and Karnataka chief minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy meets former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, May 21, 2018. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo Why couldn't Prime Minister Narendra D Modi lead the Bharatiya Janata Party to a clear majority in the Karnataka assembly elections? Will the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular alliance, formed to keep the BJP out of power in the state, last? "The effect of Modi, at best, was limited to 10, or maximum 15, seats," political scientist Muzaffar Asadi tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf. How do you see the election results in Karnataka? Has PM Modi's victory march come to a halt? Modi is making a lot of promises with regard to employment, development and making India a superpower, but he has not been able to deliver on those promises. The people, therefore, are frustrated with such tall claims. That is one reason why Modi's charisma did not work in Karnataka. There was no Modi wave or Modi tsunami in Karnataka. The effect of Modi, at best, was limited to 10, or maximum 15, seats. Since there was no Modi wave, it could not be translated into votes. But... (Interrupts) The second factor that one could see in Karnataka was the consolidation of caste votes. In fact, the three parties (the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular) were divided on caste lines, directly or indirectly. The BJP heavily depended on the Lingayats. In coastal Karnataka, the three Bs -- Bunts, Billavas and Brahmins -- supported the BJP. Later, the BJP added SC/STs too to their support base. The Lingayats constitute 18 per cent of Karnataka's population and they wanted to reclaim lost power. So they consolidated for the BJP. (Then chief minister) Siddaramaiah tried to make the Lingayats a minority religion, but their votes still largely went to the BJP. This happened even before Modi began campaigning in Karnataka. The second caste, the Vokkaligas, consolidated behind the JD-S. AHINDA votes, a Kannada acronym for Muslims, Backwards and OBCs, were fragmented and except Muslims -- who were absolutely with the Congress -- the votes of the other communities were divided. That is the reason Modi's appeal did not work in Karnataka. Also, Modi's gaffes about Field Marshal Cariappa and General Thimmayya (were a setback for the BJP). He also tried to raise communal tensions which did not cut much ice among voters. Probably, he is still popular. But that did not translate into votes. Were the voters of Karnataka always divided on caste lines or was this the first time? Karnataka does not have caste conflict like you see in, say, Uttar Pradesh. But caste identity is an important component, though, right up to the 1970s, when only two castes used to rule Karnataka. The Vokkaligas, after reorganisation (of the state), were sidelined by the Lingayats. In 1970s, when Devraj Urs became chief minister, he created a large coalition of castes which was called AHINDA (backward classes, minorities and Dalits). There was always an element of reasserting one's identity in the elections. Multiple narratives were constructed where people (are made to feel) that their community is not being represented. Politics then became a competitive ground for these communities. Caste identity works in Karnataka, but there is no conflict. Karnataka takes second place in India among communal conflicts, but you do not have massive riots in our state like you see in Muzaffarnagar. Why not? Karnataka has no history of communal riots. Karnataka is known for syncretism. We do not have a memory of Partition or (Muslim) conquerors. It is an inclusive state. In the 1920s, the reservation policy was introduced and moreover you do not see cultural demarcation between the two communities (Hindus and Muslims). But there are reports of communal riots in Mangalore and coastal Karnataka. I call it competitive communalism where I say Hindu communalism is facing competition from Muslim communalism, as both are working there. Mangalore is a big paradox. Development goes along with communalism. Capitalism, modernity and communalism work together. And still, no massive riots take place in that area except for small conflicts. I am saying Muzaffarpur-like riots do not happen in Karnataka. Why does the BJP sweep coastal Karnataka almost every time? The RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh shakhas were present in Karnataka till the 1980s. And after that, the backward classes became part of the Hindutva fold and they became very powerful. In 1972, there were huge land reforms and most of the backward class became landowners and cultivators. It gave them social identity. At that time the whole economy was divided along community lines. The Brahmins moved to the hotel and banking industries. Christians had the institutions. Bunts were landlords. Muslims were small businessmen. The entry of backward classes into such an economy was completely restricted. When the second generation of backward classes came into the market, they were in a deep crisis as they were not represented in any of the structures. At that time, the RSS and its different wings appropriated them. Therefore, the OBCs became the bashing category. If you see communal conflicts you see most of them are (related to the) OBCs. The BJP then penetrated almost all spheres of society. The police, the bureaucracy, educational institutions, name anything, they penetrated. Everything was symbolically conquered by the BJP in coastal Karnataka. Why did Siddaramaiah fail? The popular and liberal chief minister was defeated by a huge margin from his own (one) seat (Chamundeshwari). I will say that he was defeated because all Vokkaliga votes consolidated to defeat him. Dalits were unhappy that he did not make a Dalit deputy chief minister. The Opposition parties too united to see that Siddaramaiah is not only defeated, but also politically marginalised. But he was very confident before the elections. He thought his populist schemes would work for him. He thought people will vote for him on that basis. But that was never a concern for voters which became a major problem for Siddaramaiah. What will happen to the Congress and JD-S alliance? It will be intact for the next three years, for sure. Why only three years? They know that if they do not come together, they will not come to power again. It is necessary for their existence. Secondly, they have to work at the national level too in 2019. The Congress is becoming a junior partner of regional parties. It is more desperate than the JD-S for an alliance. Do you think the Congress can come back to power at the Centre in 2019? The voters of Karnataka vote differently in assembly elections and Parliament elections. If the Congress continues its alliance with the JD-S, it can win 15 of 28 seats in Karnataka at least. Does that mean the Vokkaligas won this election? For the first time the Vokkaligas consolidated their vote in support of the JD-S. The JD-S has become a complete Vokkaliga party. Karnataka elections were always about Vokkaligas versus Lingayats. The JD-S may accommodate other communities, but it will only be symbolic. The Lingayats know they have lost the elections as they identified with the BJP. They saw that Siddaramaiah is politically marginalised. It is ironical that a liberal, secular and rational chief minister was defeated in Karnataka. Siddaramaiah is not a corrupt man. He was a man for the poor people. Out of 24 chief ministers of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah will be remembered just like Devraj Urs and Ramakrishna Hegde. He will be the third chief minister of Karnataka to be remembered for long. Last updated on: May 22, 2018 16:36 IST The deadly Nipah virus outbreak has claimed 10 lives in Kerala so far. The virus is so fatal that it even claimed the life of a nurse who was treating the first victim of the virus. The virus, which has no reported vaccine to treat it as of now, is limited to Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala. Here is all you need to know about the virus, its symptoms and how you can prevent it. IMAGE: Family members of the patients admitted at the Kozhikode Medical College wear safety masks as a precautionary measure after the Nipah virus outbreak. Photograph: PTI Photo What is the Nipah virus infection? According to World Health Organisation, Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis, which is a disease that is trasmitted from animals to humans, in both animals and humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus. How and where was the virus first detected? The infection reportedly spread from a family in Perambara in rural Kozhikode who were the first to be brought to hospital with symptoms of Nipah. Two brothers, both in their twenties, died over the past fortnight, and a woman who was with them in hospital also died. The father of the young men is in a critical condition. According to reports, health officials said they found mangoes bitten by bats in their home which are believed to have caused the infection. When and where did Nipah originate? According to the WHO website, NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia, in 1998, when pigs were the intermediate hosts. The virus thus drew its name from a Malaysian village. However, in subsequent NiV outbreaks, there were no intermediate hosts. In 2001, the first outbreak occurred in India in the state of West Bengal and which was attributed solely to fruit bats. In 2004, many in Bangladesh fell ill after consuming palm sap which had been contaminated by fruit bats. WHO also stated that human to human transmission is seeing a steady rise. What are the symptoms of NIV? The incubation period for the virus ranges from 5 to 14 days, when the symptoms become visible. The symptoms include fever, headache, fainting and nausea. In some cases, symptoms like choking, stomach pain, vomiting, fatigue and blurred vision could also be there. The patient can even go into a coma a couple of days after the symptoms begin. The chance of contracting encephalitis that affects the brain is also high. Should you be worried? Yes, a little. Because the virus has no cure or treatment, and comes with a high fatality rate, things can get worrisome if the outbreak spreads. The main treatment for those infected is "intensive supportive care", according to the UN health body. Who is at risk from the Nipah virus infection? People working with pigs and those who consume pigs are at high risk. As also farmers who come in contact with bats and consuming contaminated fruits bitten by bats. Direct contact with those who already have the Nipah virus infection, can also be risky. How to prevent the Nipah virus infection? 1. Avoid contact with pigs and pig handlers. 2. Maintain high standards of personal hygiene. 3. Avoid consuming raw fruits, consume only well cooked, clean, home-made food till the outbreak settles down. 4. Preferably use masks while travelling or working in public places to avoid person to person transmission. 5. Be aware of the symptoms and if you spot any, report to a doctor immediately for early diagnosis and treatment. What are the state and central governments doing about the outbreak? The state of Kerala has been put on high alert and two control rooms have been opened in Kozhikode. The Centre has rushed a high-level team from the National Centre for Disease Control to Kerala. The state's health minister Shylaja has said that there was no need to panic as the virus spreads only through direct contact with an infected person. The minister also said that peripheral hospitals in the vicinity of the medical college in Kozhikode have been asked to set up isolation wards and if they get patients with symptoms of the virus, they should be directed to the medical college. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the government was handling the issue with 'utmost seriousness'. Instructions have been issued to private hospitals not to deny treatment to those with fever, he said. The 'admin' of a group on the popular messaging platform WhatsApp was assaulted at the behest of a member who was incensed by his removal from the group, police said. Ahmednagar-based Chaitanya Shivaji Bhor, 18, was attacked by three persons with a sharp weapon, a senior police official told PTI. The incident occurred at a mess on May 17 night on the Ahmednagar-Manmad road, police said. Chaitanya, a student of the agriculture college at Ahmednagar, had created the group having college students as members. Bhor recently removed one Sachin Gadakh from the group as the latter had left the college, police said. Gadakh was angry and decided to avenge the 'insult', police said. On May 17, Sachin's friend Amol Gadakh and two others went to the eatery where Bhor had his meals and assaulted him. Amol attacked Bhor with a sharp weapon on his stomach, mouth and back, police said. Bhor, who sustained serious injuries in the attack, was taken a nearby hospital and was later shifted to Pune, police said. The assailants, who hail from Sonai village in Nevasa tehsil, fled from the spot. After a complaint filed by Bhor, an offence under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act was registered against Sachin Gadakh, Amol Gadakh and two others, Vinod Chavan, Senior Police Inspector of MIDC police station in Ahmednagar, said. 'We are not promising prosperity to these villagers. Instead, the focus is on self-sufficiency.' Manavi Kapur reports. Once famous for its fierce warriors and archaeological heritage, the Marathwada region in present-day Maharashtra has become notorious for its water scarcity and farmer suicides. In 2016, Latur was one of the districts worst-hit by drought, with over 400 suicides by farmers unable to repay loans. Though far from over, the crisis is now being curtailed by organisations such as Global Parli, which is working at the grassroots to help farming households conserve water and produce a cost-effective yield. Where Marathwada's history precedes its present image, Mayank Gandhi, chief coordinator for Global Parli, is better known for his work as a politician. Gandhi has been a member of Jayaprakash Narayan's Lok Satta movement, a Mumbai citizen political outfit called the Jagruk Nagrik Manch and, more recently, Anna Hazare's India Against Corruption movement in 2011. He then became a member of the Aam Aadmi Party's national executive, a post he eventually quit in 2015. "I realised then that I was not meant for confrontational, electoral politics," he says. Instead, Gandhi believes he is a proponent of "development politics", where he wants to create a model that can be replicated across India. Gandhi's more popular namesake, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi famously said that India lived in its villages. "When I began reading about the Latur crisis in 2016, it was this thought that was at the back of my mind," says Gandhi. He was fresh out of work and looking for his next venture when his friends in Maharashtra's Beed district invited Gandhi to visit the drought-hit villages there. "I had been an urban planner all my life and only seen a village in Aamir Khan's Lagaan before this," he laughs. It became increasingly clear to Gandhi that supplying water to this region was a mere band-aid fix. "I began researching and realised that even within Beed, Parli was one of the worst talukas when it came to water scarcity." In Parli, Gandhi and his team selected 15 villages, with a collective population of over 30,000 people and 4,687 households. These would be the focus of Global Parli, a focused initiative meant to create a scalable development model. "Unlike Hazare and Popatrao Baguji Pawar, I don't want my work to be limited to a single village or community. That is why Global Parli is focusing heavily on the use of technology," he explains. Global Parli's team has several technology coordinators, besides agriculture experts such as T Karunakaran. Rainwater harvesting was one of its programmes, followed by a revival of the Paapnashi river and its tributaries in Beed. The river bed was deepened and widened to make it ready for the monsoon. But its most unique feature was the funds that villagers pooled in for this work. This, in turn, gave them a sense of ownership and made them active participants in the development of their village. The impact has been tangible -- the water table, which was as low as 350 feet, has now risen to 50 feet. With what he calls his "andolan" background, Gandhi has also campaigned against the sale of liquor in Parli's 15 villages. He mobilised women in the village to picket liquor shops, which has eventually led to all liquor shops in the villages being shut down. "We are not promising prosperity to these villagers. Instead, the focus is on self-sufficiency," says Gandhi. He believes these initiatives have also helped improve mental health conditions in Parli. "I would often notice most men and women suffering from depression. Most people would be living only because they were not dead," he says. Today, Gandhi believes most people come forward to participate in Global Parli's programmes with an unprecedented sense of motivation. The next phase would include training farmers to also use their land for horticulture produce, going beyond the usual soya and cotton crop. "Our target is to allow each farmer to enjoy a yield of Rs 100,000 per acre," says Gandhi. That yield today stands at Rs 12,000. Global Parli works with eight full-time employees and a full roster of volunteers. For its funds, it relies largely on state government schemes. "We want to work as a catalyst to the state machinery instead of working on the corporate social responsibility model," says Gandhi. "Eventually, we have to tackle the issues of Beed as we would a body with multiple organ failure. It needs a 360-degree solution and it needs to be scaled up fast." And if these initiatives are timely enough, the farmer could well be relying on technology rather than praying to the rain gods for a good monsoon. Photographs: Kind courtesy globalparli.org With 103 members belonging to the BJP, the Karnataka assembly will witness a balance it has never seen, points out Abhishek Waghmare. IMAGE: Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy with Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, May 21, 2018. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo However bitter-sweet the post-election victory or defeat is, beyond politics, at the core, lies the Constitution. And the Opposition, though it is not a part of the executive, it is an important institution in parliamentary democracy under the aegis of it. And it does influence and impact the executive in ways more than one. With 103 members belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Karnataka legislative assembly will witness a balance it has never seen. The leader of the Opposition, whoever it will be, will be supported by an unprecedented number of legislators. Till now, since the first election to the newly formed Mysuru state in 1957 (renamed as Karnataka only later in 1973), the Ramkrishna Hegde government of the Janata Party had the strongest opposition of 82 Congress members in the lower House of the bicameral legislature. Karnataka's legislative assemblies represent the larger political phenomenon of emergence of non-Congress parties in years after Indira Gandhi took over. In the state assembly, the chief minister's contingent was the strongest immediately post-Independence, while it would be weakest in the 15th assembly post 2018. The Opposition was the weakest then, but is the strongest today. Though a supporting party had a better strength than the CM's party in 2004 for a brief period, the Congress with 78 members in this assembly is the strongest supporting party in the Karnataka assembly ever. Cite as UN General Assembly, The situation of human rights in Afghanistan and technical assistance achievements in the field of human rights: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 21 February 2018, A/HRC/37/45, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b03e25e4.html [accessed 11 October 2021] A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Zim to unbundle state diamond company 22 may 2018 News The Zimbabwean government is working on a new diamond policy that will lead to the unbundling of the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Mining Company (ZCDC) to allow more players in the sector, a local daily reports. I am sure you are aware that under the old administration, we banned seven or so companies, which were mining diamonds and we created one company, President Emmerson Mnangagwa was quoted as saying by the Herald newspaper. We have now realised that one company has no capacity to deal with the exploitation of this mineral, so we are in the process, with the Minister of Mines (and Mining Development Winston Chitando). He said Chitando had been given a mandate by his cabinet to craft a new diamond policy which he was going to present today. Incorporated to that diamond policy is the view that the communities around where minerals of this nature diamonds, platinum, lithium and so on -are found, must benefit. So that is going to come with legislation so that people around areas with minerals benefit, said Mnangagwa. Former president Robert Mugabe alleged in February 2016 that of the $15 billion realised since the start of mining in Marange, only $2 billion was channeled to the Treasury, while the rest was unaccounted for. Harare then pushed out mining firms in Marange and established ZCDC in March 2016 to promote transparency and stop smuggling. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished Anatoliy Platonov was appointed director of ALROSAs Nyurba mining and processing division. He has already been working in the company for 25 years and until now held the position of Chief Engineer of Aikhal Mining Division.Platonovs vast experience and professionalism were recognized with different honorary government awards at different periods of his work.Vasiliy Kurnev, who until recently headed Nyurba MPD, leaves the company due to retirement.We expect that Anatoliy Platonov will become a worthy substitute to Vasiliy Kurnev, who has been in the company for more than 30 years. Anatoliy Platonov has large production experience and he knows very well both modern mining technologies and the specifics of our company. This ensures continuity of management of such large production. As a new director of Nyurba MPD, Anatoliy Platonov has the tasks of further development of the production, implementation of innovations in production operations on all the targets, increasing the production and security levels, said ALROSAs CEO Sergey Ivanov.The Head and stakeholders of the company are grateful for Vasiliy Kurnevs commitment and contribution during his years of service and wish him good health and all the best.Nyurba MPD is one of the most advanced mining and processing divisions of the company. It was established in 2000 and operates at Nakyn ore field in Yakutia. The division engages more than 1.5 thousand people. In 2017 the division produced 7.7 mn carats which accounts for 19% of the total amount of diamonds recovered by ALROSA. The annual Speech and Demonstration Day event was held April 19, 2018 at Pella Lutheran Church in Sidney, MT. Speech and Demonstration Day is a local 4-H event, where 4-H members get to practice public speaking skills that build self-confidence and self-esteem. This year the event had a special category for Cloverbuds, 4-H members from 5 to 8 years old, demonstrations, prepared public speaking, video and career communications. A demonstration gives the 4-H member the ability to teach other how to do something that they have learned, they present the step by step process to the audience and judges. Members are evaluated on understanding of subject matter, their public speaking skills and how they answer questions from the judges. In the prepared public speaking category youth communicate an idea, thought or point of view without using any visual aids. Members are evaluated on knowledge of subject matter, speaking skills and maintaining audience interest. In the video contest youth create a video to share a message. This competition show sthe importance of using technology to be creative and share information. Members are evaluated on the topic, the technique used to create the video and their presentation skills. The career communications is a contest that allows youth to go through a mock interview for a career of their choice, including an application, cover letter, resume and interview. Members are evaluated on the organization of supporting documents, interview answers and presentation as well as their knowledge of the position that they are applying for. This year 27 4-H youth participated in the communication events. The Cloverbuds that participated were: Daniel Mullet, Solomon Mullet, Leddy Larson, Danny Carlsen, Briar Hanson, Gavin Schieber and Felixe Becker. In the junior demonstration division there were 12 members that participated. The members were: Liam Steinbeisser, Claire Steinbeisser, Garrett Larson, Landry Larson, Job Hier, Maddie Schieber, Ezra Hier, Cayla Hanson, Eli Mullet, Nathan Carlsen and Aiden Berntson. Due to an increase in participation from the junior members, the members were divided into two different platforms. The top two junior members from each platform were then selected and competed in a final presentation. The top four members were: Liam Steinbeisser with his demonstration on How to Grill a Steak without a BBQ, Job Hier with his demonstration Unresponsive Fun, Cayla Hanson with her demonstration Pet Detective and Aiden Berntson with his demonstration Taekwando. Cayla Hanson was named the top junior for demonstrations. The Crown Division is comprised of junior members who have, in years previous, already won their respective division. We had two members who participated in the crown division this year. Jori Horsburgh with her demonstration on Easter Egg Bath Bombs and taking top honors was Corbin Steinbeisser with his demonstration on a Knotty Situation. Two junior members competed in the prepared speech category, Marett Schieber and Josiah Mullet. Marett Schieber gave a speech titled Miracle on Ice and Josiah Mullet took top honors with his speech titled You Scream, Ice Scream. This year was the first year a member from Richland County made a video for this event. Grady Larson created a video titled "The Stop." Kyle Topp and Sarah Helmuth- Career Communications In the senior divisions there were one prepared speech, one demonstration and two career communication participants. Amariah Hier gave a demonstration on Fiddling like the Irish, Rakayle Hier have a speech on Dan Patch Super Star and Kyle Topp and Sarah Helmuth competed in the career communications. All seniors received blue ribbons. All top juniors will be honored at this year's Achievement Day that will be held in the Fall. All seniors that received blue ribbons and meet all other requirements are eligible to attend Montana 4-H Congress in the summer to compete for the state title. Richland County 4-H would like to thank all the judges, volunteers and Pella Lutheran Church Staff for making this a successful event. Justin Voll, who became mayor in a special election after the departure of Brent Sanford to the office of Lieutenant Governor, is not seeking reelection. Three candidates are vying for the office. Phil Riely was born in Watford City and raised in the community as well. He moved away in 1996 to go to college, where he met his wife and moved back to the area in 1999 to get back into the oilfield. Riely currently works for Whiting Oil and Gas as a lease operator, and is married with two children. When asked why he wanted to be the mayor of Watford City, Riely responded, Ive been involved in the community one way or another in various organizations essentially my entire adult life. It all started four years ago when I ran for City Council and was elected. When my term ended, I had to make a decision whether I wanted to run for mayor or stay on the council. Riely continued, In my four years on the city council, I learned a lot. And I think I can lead the city into the next decade. There are big shoes to fill. Were in the middle of a nice little upturn in the Bakken, Riely said. Theres things I want to make sure that we look at. Were looking at a new airport. We have put in lots of infrastructure, but there is more to do. I think with my experience on the council Im the best person for the position. I think it is tailor-made for me. When asked if there would be a smooth transition of leadership should he be elected, Riely responded, Ive pretty much had Justin Voll sitting to the left of me the entire time I was on the council. We work together really well and the communication is so well between everybody. Would I maybe have different priorities? I say I would, but probably everybody would. Gregg Schuetze is also seeking the office. He is married with three children, was born and raised in Eastern Montana and then spent 23 years in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. He has been in Watford City for six years, coming to the town to follow the oil boom and seek employment opportunities. According to Schuetze, he fell in love with the community and wanted to help it. Gregg is currently working as an electrician. Schuetze told The Roundup, I have an appreciation for the community. I am excited about our future and I have a good skill set to help us get there. When asked what he would focus on as mayor, Schuetze said, My intention is to focus on smart growth and working together. By smart growth I mean that we need to build the right things at the right time. We need to build things properly, from subdivision plans to the very last house. According to Schuetze, theres not a lot he would change in terms of the mayoral office, because the current mayor has done a fine job. Schuetze said, Justin has done a good job. He has served our city for many years. Im not aware of anything I would do differently. I think I have a good vision for what our community can be, Schuetze added, and I have already developed relationships with leaders across our state and our communities that will have huge advantages in us working together to improve everybodys quality of life. Justin Johnsrud is the third candidate running for mayoral office. He is the agriculture education teacher at Watford City High School. Johnsrud has taught for 18 years and has been back in Watford City, where he was born and raised, for eleven years. He is married and has two children. Johnsrud explained why he was running for mayor, saying, Ive been the park board president for the past six years and involved in the park board for the last eight. Ive had a lot of meetings with city and county officials in planning out the future of Watford City through the boom years. Im excited for the next cycle that is coming and planning the vision of what Watford City is going to be in the next ten years. Being a school teacher in the community, Johnsrud said, and in the Rough Rider project over the years, Im tied to a lot of different groups. I know what the school and education needs are, what our youth will benefit from, and I think that will help move Watford City in the right direction. When asked what to expect for Watford City in coming years, Johnsrud told The Roundup, The school has done the population studies and their projection for the next ten years is that we may double again. They were spot on before, and you can feel the buzz around Watford City. It feels eerily similar to how it did in 2010. Johnsrud explained his priorities for office, saying, One priority would be housing. We need more single-family housing and more retail businesses. We would also have to be planning for future growth in a controlled manner, and making sure that our financing is in place so that growth is sustainable and if something does happen, we dont put ourselves in a bad spot financially. Genesee & Wyoming Operations will cease by the end of 2018 along the Huron Central Railway (HCRY), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc., which cites a lack of provincial funding needed to maintain service. HCRY operates a 175.8-mile Northern Ontario route between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury. The shortline was established under a 1997 lease agreement with Canadian Pacific. Genesee & Wyoming Canada notes that the railway serves major employers in the region, including Domtar, Algoma Steel and Eacom, which together ship approximately 13,000 annual carloads of freight. We are obviously disappointed with this turn of events, said Louis Gravel, president of Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc. We have done everything in our power to keep HCRY in operation, but both the provincial and federal governments have turned a deaf ear on the situation. Genesee & Wyoming Canada explained that changes in commodity demand resulting in carload declines, coupled with increased maintenance and regulatory compliance costs have made the railroad economically unviable without strategic investments from government. While the Ontario provincial government has provided interim funding through a regional development agency, the railroad says it will not support the lines operations beyond the end of the year. In 2010, HCRY received both federal and provincial funding to proceed with essential maintenance and rehabilitation costs intended to keep the rail line operational until 2015. During that time, HCRY contributed three times more than anticipated, enabling the company to keep the railway safe and operational through 2018. Genesee & Wyoming also noted the lack of support from Transport Canadas National Trade Corridors Fund as another funding blow to maintenance. Despite intense efforts and numerous meetings with provincial officials to make them aware of the railways critical financial situation, HCRY has been unable to obtain long-term financial support to continue operations. As of today, there is still no federal government infrastructure program that adequately addresses the funding needs of shortline freight railways such as HCRY, which as low-volume lines, typically inherited years of deferred maintenance from prior operators, Genesee & Wyoming Canada said in a statement. The railroad says it is calling on provincial and federal government decision-makers to reconsider supporting the shortline rail system in the immediate term to maintain the thousands of jobs HCRY supports in Northern Ontario. Many of our key customers rely on the railway as the only viable transportation option, noted Gravel. Closure of the railway eliminates the potential for regional economic development opportunities in the North, along with other public benefits, including reduction in pollution levels and road maintenance costs, as transport trucks will fill the gap left behind by HCRY. A consortium that expressed interest in purchasing the flood-damaged Hudson Bay Railway (HBR), the Port of Churchill and associated assets, has halted negotiations and cites the government of Canada's "unwillingness to engage in meaningful dialogue." We are disappointed to have put so much time, effort and money into what would have been a timely solution for the people of Churchill and the economy of western Canada, but we have apparently run up against politics, said iChurchill CEO Louis Dufresne. We finally met last week with the government of Canadas negotiator on the file, Wayne Wouters, and he made it clear that the government is willing to deal only with one specific company, a Toronto-based financial firm. We cant understand why this is, given that our partnership meets all of the governments stated criteria to support the restoration of rail service to Churchill. iChurchill, which was a relative new option to purchase the rail line and port assets, expressed concern that the federal government appears set on working with only one specific company on this file. The company references statements by the governments representative in a recent meeting were reasonably understood by iChurchill to imply that the government of Canada would make a financial contribution to repairing the railway, but that such a contribution is only available to the financial firm at this time. HBR owner, OmniTRAX Inc., entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in December 2016 with Missinippi Rail and One North on a potential sale of the Hudson Bay Rail line for a reported CA$20 million (US$16.18 million). In November 2017, a Toronto-based holding company, Fairfax Financial Holdings, had expressed interest in a partnership with Missinippi Rail and One North to buy the northern Manitoba rail and port infrastructure. The line has been out of service since late May 2017 when it was damaged by a flood event. The government appears to be picking sides in a commercial transaction regarding privately-held assets, iChurchill said in a statement. iChurchill says it is well placed to undertake the repairs to the flood-damaged rail line during the summer of 2018 and to restore rail service as quickly as possible. The company also says it has incurred costs directly associated with initiating the repair process, even though the work cannot begin until the assets have legally changed hands. Our team believes that these assets can be operated profitably. My head cares about the commercial interests. But my heart is with the people of Churchill and the First Nations of northern Manitoba. Its been a year since a flood washed out their only land link to the rest of the country. I hope they can get their railway back on-line this year, but without a change in position on the part of the federal government, Im not optimistic, said Dufresne. ACE Two grade separation projects along the Alameda CorridorEast (ACE) freight rail corridor in eastern Los Angeles County have been awarded $78 million in grant funding following approval by the California Transportation Commission (CTC). The grants are included in the 2018 Trade Corridor Enhancement Program which the CTC adopted. Officials said the grants are funded through revenues from the new SB 1 state tax on diesel fuel and from Californias share of federal freight highway program funds. We appreciate the strong support from the [CTC] for the ACE Program, said Mark Christoffels, chief engineer of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, which manages the ACE construction program. This action demonstrates the CTCs commitment to using SB1 revenues for needed transportation improvements to maintain our states vital trade economy and to construct them in a timely manner. The grant program is set to allocate $49 million for the construction of a $128.61 million roadway underpass on Montebello Boulevard in the City of Montebello. Officials said $29 million will support an $86.2 million roadway overpass on Turnbull Canyon Road in the city of Industry and Los Angeles County. The Montebello crossing is the second most-hazardous freight rail crossing in Los Angeles County, officials said, and the Turnbull Canyon crossing is expected to see nearly triple rail traffic throughout the next 20 years. Both projects are entering the final design phase with the construction phase expected to kick off before summer 2020. The Trade Corridor Enhancement Program will provide a total of $1.39 billion for 39 infrastructure improvements throughout the state along corridors that with a high volume of freight movement. The program will focus on improving our states worst trade corridor chokepoints. The Trade Corridor Enhancement Program will help fund efforts to untangle some of the worst bottlenecks in California, including the State Route 57-60 Chokepoint Relief Project, where over 700 accidents occur every year, with one-third resulting in injury or fatality, said state Sen. Josh Newman, chair of the San Gabriel Valley State Legislative Caucus. The allocation of SB 1 funds will help us complete the necessary early phases for fixing the congested and hazardous confluence of State Routes 57 and 60, which is ranked no. 1 for freight delays and truck accidents in California and is the no. 5 freight bottleneck in the nation. Rep. Grace Napolitano, Californias ranking member on the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was joined by U.S. Representatives Judy Chu, Linda Sanchez, Adam Schiff, Norma Torres and Ed Royce in sending the CTC a letter encouraging the adoption of the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program. We strongly support funding for the ACE projects and other priority San Gabriel Valley freight projects from the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program, which is funded in partnership between the state and federal governments, Napolitano said. The ACE grade separations are a priority because they help sustain goods movement along a nationally significant trade corridor while addressing the community impacts of growing freight train traffic. Glencore Plc (GLCNF.PK,GLNCY.PK,GLEN.L) is close to a $1 billion deal to buy Chevron Corp.'s (CVX) southern African assets, potentially scuppering an earlier agreement with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Bloomberg reported citing three people familiar with the matter. The Switzerland-based miner and trader will complete the deal within the next six weeks, said one of the people who asked not to be identified because the information is not public. The assets include a 100,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Cape Town and more than 800 gas stations in South Africa and neighboring Botswana. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News German shares were little changed in cautious trade on Tuesday as investors fretted over high spending fiscal plans of Italy's incoming coalition government. The benchmark DAX was marginally higher at 13,083 in opening deals as traders returned to their desks after a long holiday weekend. Automakers BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen were up around 1 percent each after a Bloomberg report that China will cut import duty on passenger cars to 15 percent. Evotec soared 8 percent. The German firm and Celgene Corp have entered into a long-term strategic drug discovery and development partnership to identify new therapeutics in oncology. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com The United States has warned that it is set to impose the "strongest sanctions in history" on Iran. In his first major foreign policy speech after becoming the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said: "This sting of sanctions will be painful if the (Iranian) regime does not change its course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen to one that rejoins the league of nations." The former CIA Director, who is a known Iran hawk and ardent opponent of the nuclear deal, was delivering remarks at the conservative think-tank, Heritage Foundation, in Washington. Pompeo said the Trump administration is hell-bent upon implementing its Iran strategy. He said following the United States' withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, President Donald Trump has asked him to achieve certain goals on Iran: "To work with 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 systems". He vowed that the U.S. Department of Treasury will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The Iranian regime, which has been fighting all over the Middle East for years, will be battling to keep its alive after U.S. sanctions come in force, according to Pompeo. He reminded the Iranian leadership that if they restart their nuclear program, "it will mean bigger problems." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reacted angrily to Pompeo's speech. "Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" he said in a statement published by Iranian media. Pompeo's new sanctions threat comes two weeks after Trump decided to pull the U.S. out of the international nuclear deal with Iran. In a move that disappointed the global community, Trump announced that he is terminating the United States' participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, and re-imposing sanctions lifted under the deal. Last week the Treasury imposed sanctions on the head of Iran's central bank and other entities that were funneling money to the IRGC Qods Force. With tougher sanctions coming, the already struggling Iranian economy will be reeling under pressure. Pompeo alleged that as a result of "bad Iranian decisions," workers aren't getting paid, strikes are a daily occurrence, and the rial is plummeting. Youth unemployment is at a staggering 25 percent. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the U.S. was a prisoner of its "failed policies" and would suffer the consequences. He said Iran is working with partners for post-U.S. JCPOA solutions, while EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said there was "no alternative" to the JCPOA. The agreement between Iran on the one side and the U.S., China, Russia, Germany, France, the UK and EU on the other was signed in 2015 under the initiative of the Obama administration. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News State and provincial securities regulators in the U.S. and Canada have probably conducted one of the largest coordinated crackdowns on fraudulent Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), cryptocurrency-related investment products, and the people behind them. The crackdown dubbed "Operation Cryptosweep" was conducted in coordination with the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), with 44 jurisdictions participating from the U.S. and Canada. NASAA organized a task force of its member state and provincial securities regulators in April 2018 to begin a coordinated series of investigations into ICOs and crypto-related investment products after regulators systematically identified the scamsters and fraudsters. Since the beginning of May, the crackdown has resulted in more than 70 inquiries and investigations and 35 pending or completed enforcement actions related to ICOs or cryptocurrencies. The inquiries, investigations and enforcement actions are ongoing and many more are to follow. Some of these perpetrators have been issued temporary or permanent "Cease and Desist Orders" as well as some have been issued show cause notices. "Despite a series of public warnings from securities regulators at all levels of government, cryptocriminals need to know that state and provincial securities regulators are taking swift and effective action to protect investors from their schemes and scams," said Joseph Borg, NASAA President and Director of the Alabama Securities Commission. Borg urged investors to approach ICOs or crypto-related investment products with extreme caution, adding that not every one of these is fraudulent. He noted that a critical component of "Operation Cryptosweep" is raising public awareness of the risks associated with ICOs and crypto-related products. Many NASAA members also are conducting public outreach initiatives to warn investors in their jurisdictions of the risks associated with these products. The current actions by regulators are in addition to more than a dozen enforcement actions previously undertaken by NASAA members regarding these types of products. "The actions announced today are just the tip of the iceberg," Borg said. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Report: Yemen army, committees achieve great victories in battlefronts over 24 hours [22/May/2018] SANAA, May 22 (Saba) - The Yemen army and popular committees have achieved great victories in the battlefronts against Saudi-led collation soldiers and its mercenaries over the past 24 hours, according to military reports combined by Saba News Agency on Tuesday. In southern province of Jizan, Bader-1, ballistic missile was fired toward Jizan airport, while, artillery shelling targeted Saudi-paid mercenaries gatherings in Hathira. In the border province of Najran, mercenaries gatherings were shelled in front of Khadhra border crossing by artillery. Also in Najran, a large-scale infiltration of mercenaries was repelled in Boqea desert, killing and wounding dozens during the repelling. In Yemens Jawf province, a leader of mercenaries in Naser Brigade was killed by the fire of the army and committees in Sabrin front. Also in Jawf, dozens of militias were killed and injured when the army destroyed a military vehicle by an explosive device in Sabrin front of Khub-washaaf district. Furthermore, a military vehicle was destroyed in the east of Khalifin area, killing all its crew. In Bayda province, a Saudi-paid mercenary was killed by the fires of the army and committees in Jubah front. In Taiz province, four of the mercenaries were killed in Selw front and a mercenaries military vehicle was destroyed by an explosive device in west coast front, killing all its crew. br>In Hajjah province, artillery force of the army and popular committees shelled gatherings of Saudi-paid mercenaries in the north of Medi desert.Writing by Sameera HassnSaba . , . - . 9 .. 10.40 . - . , Mall , ... Google on Tuesday celebrated the 246th birth anniversary of renowned social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy recognised as the "Father of the Indian Renaissance", who paved the way for a modern India. Roy was a non-conformist to many a tradition he was born into on this day in 1772, in Radhanagar village in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Although born into a Hindu Brahmin family, where his father Ramkanto Roy, was a Vaishnavite, Roy at a young age left home, shunned orthodox rituals and idol worship and became a staunch supporter of monotheism. Following his differences with his father, Roy went on a journey that took him far from his roots. He travelled extensively including in Tibet and the Himalayas. He studied Persian and Arabic along with Sanskrit, which influenced his thinking about God. He read Upanishads, Vedas and the Quran and translated a lot of the scriptures into English. When he returned home, his parents married him off in a bid to change his outlook. But Roy continued to explore the depths of Hinduism only to highlight its hypocrisy. After his father's death in 1803 he moved to Murshidabad, where he published his first book Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin (A Gift to Monotheism). Roy took a keen interest in European politics and followed the course of the French Revolution. In 1814, he settled in Calcutta, and the following year he founded the Atmiya Sabha. In 1828, he established the Brahmo Samaj, which is considered to be one of India's first socio-religious reform movements. However, his most significant contribution as a social engineer was towards women's rights. Nearly 200 years ago, when evils like -- Sati -- plagued the society, Roy played a critical role to bring about a change. He opposed the regressive practice that forced a widow to immolate herself on husband's pyre. The doodle on Roy, created by Beena Mistry, a designer based out of Toronto, shows Roy speaking at a public meeting with his detractors in the background. There is also the presence of a woman among the audience, this is at a time when the purdah system was rigidly followed. He campaigned for equal rights for women, including the right to remarry and the right to hold property. In 1830, he travelled to the UK as the Mughal Empire's envoy to ensure that Lord William Bentinck's law banning the practice of Sati was not overturned. Roy was also one of the pioneers of Indian journalism. He published several journals in Bengali, Persian, Hindi and English to propagate social reforms. Bengali weekly Samvad Kaumudi was the most important journal that he published. The Atmiya Sabha published an English weekly called the Bengal Gazette and a Persian newspaper called Miratul-Akbar. Roy died in a village near Bristol in England on September 26, 1833 of meningitis, and was buried there. The Congress' Karnataka President G. Parameshwara would be the Deputy Chief Minister in the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S)-Congress coalition government, a party leader said on Tuesday. "Party President Rahul Gandhi has approved the name of Parameshwara for the Deputy Chief Minister post in the coalition government," Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal told reporters here. Parameshwara will take oath after JD-S legislative party leader H.D. Kumarswamy is sworn-in as the Chief Minister by Governor Vajubhai Vala on Wednesday evening on the grand steps of state secretariat Vidhana Soudha. K.R. Ramesh of the Congress will be the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Congress leader said. "Deputy Speaker will be from the JD-S," added Venugopal. The Deputy Speaker will be named on Thursday and names of the cabinet ministers and their portfolios will be announced after the floor test in the hung House. The 34-member ministry will have 22 cabinet ministers from the Congress and 12 from the JD-S. "A joint coordination committee with members from both the parties will be set up in the next couple of days," said Venugopal. Vala invited Kumaraswamy on Saturday to form the coalition government after the fall of the three-day BJP government as its Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa resigned before the trust vote as his party fell seven short of the 111-halfway mark majority in a hung house of 222 members currently. Several national leaders including United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Chief Ministers of non-BJP states and heads of regional parties like N. Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala),ASamajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and Kollywood superstar Kamal Haasan of Makkal Needhi Maiam party in Tamil Nadu will also be in attendance. The JD-S-Congress coalition government has 117 members, including one from regional party Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janata Paksha (KPJP) and an Independent. In the 224-member Assembly, which currently has 222 members, the JD-S has 37, including one from BSP, Congress 78 and BJP 104. The JD-S had agreed to form a post-poll alliance with the Congress, with the latter backing the former in the government formation. The Associate Minister of Justice and Courts Administration, Sooalo Mene, has rejected reports that a Government vehicle assigned to him was damaged during an incident outside a local bar involving his wife last weekend. I invite you to look at the vehicle and you can see nothing was damaged, he said. I had a disagreement with my wife, and yes publicly. In speaking to the Samoa Observer, the Minister wanted to clear the air after social media reports that the Government vehicle was damaged by his wife. The Associate Minister admitted that there was a disagreement between him and his wife. Look this was an exchange between my wife and I. I am cautious. This was a personal disagreement with my wife. It is no one elses business. Im cautious about the impact this will have on my family, let alone my young children. However, I want to make it clear, that (reports that the Government vehicle was smashed) did not happen. I have nothing to hide and the car was not in any way damaged. Sooalo admitted his wife threw bottles but not at the car. He said he was the target. I dont want my children to read about our fights on the media and that is why I am a bit reluctant but I have had enough of being ridiculed by posts on social media. I am tired of being used as a guinea pig for the faceless bloggers, the fabrications directed at me without any evidence or proof. He also took the opportunity to explain the impact these untruthful reports have had on his family. I have to say that my family name has been dragged to the mud and tarnished on social media over unfounded and untrue allegations, he said. And to what extent, there have been posts about me and my family repeatedly over social media in the past six months and I feel like I am walking on needles, watching every little thing I do. For instance, last month, posts about our site visit to Savaii, which reported that we were there for a mini vacation, which was again untrue. While in Savaii, the site visit led to the Ministry of Justice, Courts & Administration (M.J.C.A.) office in Tuasivi to relocate to Salelologa once their proposed new compound is complete. Our Minister of Justice and Courts Administration, Faaolesa Katopau Ainuu, will attest to it and many other Ministers. This was after all a ministerial site visit and as indicated earlier, the proposed budget for the new M.J.C.A. offices is about $2 million tala and this will cover both the Court houses and the Ministry offices as well as a separate building which will serve as the judges residence, explained Sooalo. According to the Associate Minister, the fabrication of information is cyber bullying. I have never been bullied in my life until now and the impact on the mental wellbeing and health is quite significant. These personal attacks hurts people, hurts my family and most especially the innocent small people, my children, said Sooalo. The request to waive the landing fees for Samoa Airways at Faleolo International Airport is unlikely to be granted. Instead, they are likely to be charged at a much reduced rate. So says the Minister of Works, Transport and Infrastructure, Papalii Niko Lee Hang, who confirmed the request has yet to be approved by Cabinet. The Samoa Airport Authoritys (S.A.A.) biggest revenue is the landing fees and if this request is considered, it is a smart move to reduce rather than waive, said the Minister. Earlier this year, Samoa Airways requested the S.A.A. to waive its landing fees for 2018 and this was confirmed by S.A.A. Chief Executive Officer, Magele Hoe Viali during a phone interview with the Samoa Observer earlier. The Minister, during an interview with the Samoa Observer, confirmed that so far, Samoa Airways are paying their landing fees. As Minister of Airport Authority, we need the revenue. We can help by reducing the fee, as the airline is trying to make some profit but not waiving it in full. Again, in my hat as Minister, Airport Authority also needs revenue to maintain our airport, in terms of electricity maintenance and bills etc. And they need to maximise their earning capacity and that includes landing fees, said the Minister. Its quite costly to upkeep our multimillion airport. Again, the airport needs the landing fees and that is why it is a wise move to reduce rather than waive, the Minister reiterated. Papalii was unable to pinpoint how much the Samoa Airways landing fees, but made it clear that other airlines are paying their fees and so should Samoa Airways. I dont know the details and you should ask the C.E.O. According to Papalii, there have been correspondences between the C.E.O. of Samoa Airways and S.A.A. Chief Executive Officer on the said matter. Their C.E.O. have again asked the airport C.E.O. to reconsider their request and to date I have not seen a response from our C.E.O. Asked for a copy of the letter, Papalii declined the request. As reported earlier, Magele said he could not comment, but afterwards confirmed that Samoa Airways has applied to waive their landing fees. There is a thing called Air Service Incentive programme that is being utilised by the Atlanta Airport in America. It's a practice that is being utilised all over the world and the request has been considered by the airport. And as the P.M said, this would have to go through proper channels for approval from Cabinet as the Prime Minister indicated to you, said Magele. Asked whether the airport gave the same incentive for Fiji Airways, Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia, Magele said no. This is how it works. We only offer incentives to new carriers or the airlines taking new routes. If there are current routes, why would there be any incentives given to those airlines. Again the incentives are only given to an airline that has developed new routes and or developed a new airline. Also if it is considered for the Samoa Airways, it has to be applied to all the new carriers. Unless it is approved by Cabinet, we cannot utilise such incentive, given that we are operated on public funds, so of course it has to be approved from the top, said Magele. According to the C.E.O., the same incentive was given for the Samoa Air and Talofa Airways. Also this incentive has to be paralleled with other new carriers and Im sure that is how Cabinet will look at it. Asked as to how much money the airport will lose if the landing fees are waived for Samoa Airways, Magele was unaware. As of now, we are working on a feasibility study which will include all of that. Also be mindful that in every situation like this, it is a win-win situation, meaning that we help them and in return we will get some money from it. This is exactly why we have not submitted the request to Cabinet is because we are considering all options before the actual request is submitted, said Magele. The Head of State, His Highness Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II and his Masiofo, Her Highness Faamausili Leinafo, welcomed a very special visitor at Motootua yesterday. Their Highnesses welcomed Messianic Jewish leader, Pastor Benjamin Berger, who paid them a courtesy visit. Pastor Berger, who arrived in Samoa on Saturday, is on a week-long visit where he is speaking to different leaders about the glory of the Lord, the revelations in relation to recent events regarding Israel. The visit to the Head of State followed a prayer breakfast with Church and Government leaders at Taumeasina Island Resort. At Motootua, Pastor Berger was accompanied by the Chairman of the Prayer for Israel Samoa (P.F.I.S.), Reverend Nuuausala Siaosi and his wife Malu Siaosi. The Head of State told his special guest he was delighted to welcome him to Samoa, a country that recently declared itself an official Christian state. For the rest of his time in Samoa, Pastor Berger has meetings with different denominations set up including the Methodist Church, E.F.K.S, Assemblies of God and One in Christ. He will also address the young people of Samoa during a Youth Rally being planned for 6.30pm Friday at the T.A.T.T.E. Convention Centre. After 40 years of helping Samoa through its bilateral relationship, China wants to do more. How to go about doing this is the goal of a Chinese delegation that is visiting Samoa for two days, meeting with different sectors of the community. The delegation is led by Ambassador Zhang Junsai, Director-General of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse Administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. He is a former Ambassador of China to Fiji, Australia and Canada. He is accompanied by Li Yonghui, Dean of School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Director of the Research Center of Pacific of Bejing Foreign Studies University and Ding Dong, the Third Secretary, North American and Oceania Affairs Dept, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. The group visited the Samoa Observer headquarters at Vaitele yesterday. They met with the Editor in Chief, Gatoaitele Savea Sano, Publisher, Muliaga Jean Malifa and the Editor, Mataafa Keni Lesa. During the meeting, Mr. Junsai provided a briefing about China's development objectives, strategies and foreign policy in the future mapped out by the 19th National People's Congress of the Communist Party of China which was held in October last year. The delegation also heard views from the Samoa Observer delegation about how China can further assist Samoa in various fields. The Strengthening Multi-Sectoral Management of Critical Landscapes for Samoa (S.M.S.M.C.L.) project under the Land Management Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (M.N.R.E.) was previewed yesterday. This follows the opening of the Land and Soil week commemoration organised by the M.N.R.E. that was also opened yesterday. The preview includes the showcasing of sign boards for Malololelei and Maagiagi, nursery signs for Uafato and Tiavea and three vehicles at Malaefatu, Sogi. The project aims to strengthen local capacities, incentives and actions for integrated landscape management in order to reduce land degradation and greenhouse gas emissions and promote nature conservation whilst enhancing sustainable local livelihoods. Launched in 2014, the project will end next year. The US$4.9 million (T$12.6m) project is funded by Global Environment Facility (G.E.F.). Villages from 13 district clusters around Upolu, Savaii, Manono and Apolima Islands are expected to benefit from the project. The expected outcomes are for communities and farmers to be able to undertake and benefit from integrated land and water management on their traditionally owned lands composed of different ecosystems, agriculture, fisheries and livestock production systems. It is also to strengthen the national enabling environment to promote integrated landscape management through local households and communities. Improving access to primary and specialised care for faafafine and faatama Community in Samoa was the primary goal behind the Health Blueprint Training of Trainers. The training was hosted by the Samoa Faafafine Association and its alliances. Held at Tanoa Tusitala Hotel last week, the three-day training is in line with the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia I.D.A.H.O.T.B. 2018 with the theme alliances for solidarity. The S.F.A. Human Rights Advocate Council Member, Vaitoa Toelupe, told the Samoa Observer this is in addition to strengthening and enhancing the policy-related, clinical and public health responses for faafafine and faatama communities. The S.F.A. is grateful to the technical support of the Asia Pacific Trans Network (A.P.T.N.) and the financial support of the Asia Pacific Forum through the Samoa National Human Rights Institute for making this activity possible. It is one of the key priorities in the S.F.A. Strategic Plan 2016 -2020 and in our continuous efforts as the principal voice for gender and sexual minorities to live free and equal in our beautiful Samoa. According to Toelupe, the purpose of the Faafafine and Faatama Health Blueprint Training of Trainers is to train S.F.A. members to be able to plan, implement and evaluate the national roll out of the Trans-Health Blueprint to the whole of Samoa, in particular rural and isolated communities where trans people are most vulnerable. Further to training, is for the trainers to recognise the Trans Health Blueprint Reference Document and its application to the Samoan context. Also to identify opportunities for S.F.A. health partners to promote sustainable support for trans people/communities at rural and isolated areas and demonstrate the ability to apply the learning, tools and techniques presented in this Training, said Toelupe. Toelupe added there are 15 undergoing this training from S.F.A. members and the learning process is highly interactive. The participants will be continually involved in the training through sharing of ideas, knowledge and experience. The main reference document for the training is the Asia Pacific Trans Health Blueprint, which is a tool for the work we all do to improve health and human rights for trans people and trans communities. It is a comprehensive, accessible trans health reference document for trans community advocates, health professionals, policymakers and those who design or deliver services to trans people, said Toelupe. THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) Accusing Israel of systematic crimes, including apartheid in the occupied territories, Palestinians on Tuesday urged the International Criminal Court to open an investigation that could ultimately lead to charges against Israeli leaders. Israel immediately slammed the Palestinian move as "legally invalid." The referral seeks an investigation into Israeli policies in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip since Palestine accepted the ICC's jurisdiction in 2014, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki told reporters in The Hague. This includes Israeli settlement policies in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as bloodshed in the Gaza Strip. Israel and Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group fought a 50-day war in 2014, and in recent weeks, Israeli fire has killed over 100 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border since March. By ratcheting up tensions with Israel, the referral to the ICC would seem to further diminish prospects of success for an expected U.S. peace plan. U.S. officials have said President Donald Trump is to unveil the plan in the coming weeks. The last round of peace talks broke down four years ago without any visible process, and mistrust between Israel and the Palestinians is running high. The Palestinians have repeatedly accused the U.S. of siding with Israel, especially after the Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December, followed by last week's embassy move. The Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as their capital, have severed most ties with the Americans and said the White House is unfit to serve as a mediator. Still, Malki insisted that going to the ICC could become a building block for peace. "Justice is the cornerstone of peace," he said. "As such we view this step as advancing the prospects of peace." The United States disagreed. "We have made clear that we oppose actions against Israel at the ICC as counterproductive to the cause of peace," said Edgar Vasquez, spokesman for the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. The State Department declined to say whether the move would trigger a closure of the PLO office in Washington under a provision in U.S. law that requires it to be closed if the Palestinians seek prosecution of Israelis at the ICC. Israel, which is not a member of the ICC, argues that the court does not have jurisdiction. "The purported Palestinian referral is legally invalid and the ICC lacks jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian issue, since Israel is not a member of the court and because the Palestinian Authority is not a state," an Israeli Foreign Ministry statement said. In 2012, Palestine won upgraded status to a nonmember observer state at the U.N., which allows membership in many world bodies, including the ICC. Although Israel is not an ICC member, its citizens can be charged by the court if they are suspected of committing grave crimes on the territory or against a national of a country that is a member. The ICC has recognized "Palestine" as a member. The ICC is a court of last resort authorized to take on cases where national authorities cannot or will not launch prosecutions. Israel said it expects the ICC and its prosecutor "not to yield to Palestinian pressure, and stand firm against continued Palestinian efforts to politicize the court and to derail it from its mandate." It also hinted at retaliation. "The Palestinian Authority needs our cooperation in many fields," said Michael Oren, Israel's deputy minister for diplomacy. "Israel will look very critically at whether such cooperation can continue." The ICC has been conducting a preliminary inquiry since 2015 in the Palestinian territories, including Israel's settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the 2014 Gaza conflict. Tuesday's referral could speed up a decision on whether to open a full-blown investigation that could ultimately lead to the indictment of high-ranking Israelis. The investigation is also looking at Hamas rocket attacks aimed at Israeli civilian population centers. Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement that the preliminary probe "has seen important progress and will continue to follow its normal course." She said she must consider "issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice." In a summary of its referral, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry alleged that Israel maintains and protects its settlements "by committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people." Apartheid was the name given to the racist policies of South Africa's former white rulers. It is considered a crime against humanity by the ICC and defined by the court as inhumane acts "committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime." Palestinian Assistant Minister for Multilateral Affairs Ammar Hijazi said the recent Gaza violence pushed the Palestinians into going to the court, adding that it "requires that we take action and this is why we moved in this regard." Human rights groups say Israel's open-fire orders are unlawful because they allow the use of potentially lethal force against unarmed protesters at times when soldiers face no imminent threat to their lives. Israel has said it was defending its border and accused Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group of using the unrest to carry out attempted attacks and of using civilians as human shields. Israel also has blamed Hamas for the heavy civilian death toll during the 2014 war. Israel says it has investigated actions by its forces in the Gaza conflict and has opened a number of investigations into the latest Gaza violence as well. But critics say the probes rarely lead anywhere. "Israel acts in accordance with independent and thorough judicial review mechanisms, befitting a democratic state, and in accordance with international law," the Israeli statement said. While the ICC can indict suspects, it has no police force and has to rely on cooperation from member states to enforce arrest warrants. Israel says the criticism of its settlements is unfounded. It says east Jerusalem is an inseparable part of its capital, and considers the West Bank to be disputed territory whose fate should be decided in negotiations. The international community, however, overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal. In 2004, the U.N.'s highest judicial organ, the International Court of Justice, ruled in an advisory opinion that the settlements breached international law. In late 2016, the U.N. Security Council also declared the settlements to be illegal. Over 600,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem territories sought by the Palestinians as parts of a future state. Israel captured both territories from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war. Under international law, it is illegal to transfer populations out of or into occupied territory. Malki said it was time for the Palestinians to seek redress in court. "We will not allow injustice to be Palestine's destiny," he said. Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is injecting himself into the campaign by Disneyland resort workers demanding to get paid a living wage. The U.S. senator from Vermont will be a featured speaker at a June 2 rally in Anaheim, alongside union leaders who have been calling for higher wages for workers at Disneyland, California Adventure Park and three hotels at the resort. A coalition of unionized resort workers filed some 20,000 signatures a month ago with the Anaheim city clerk seeking to qualify a measure for the November municipal ballot that would require large employers accepting city subsidies to pay at least $15 an hour. To qualify for the ballot, the unions needed to collect the signatures of 10%, or 13,150, of the voters in Anaheim. The city clerk has yet to verify the signatures. Advertisement Opponents of the measure, including the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce and the Disneyland resort, say the higher salaries will increase the cost of doing business and scare off future development. If this measure qualifies for the ballot, it will be an important issue that will give Anaheim residents a lot to think about given its negative impact on jobs and investment in our community, said Todd Ament, chairman of a coalition of businesses in opposition to the measure. Its hard to see how a former Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator from Vermont contributes to that process, rather than just grandstanding on a local issue for his own purposes, Ament said in his statement. Union leaders say the proposed measure wont harm the local economy because it targets only a subset of companies that employ at least 100 people and accept a city subsidy. In 2016, the Anaheim City Council voted to give Walt Disney Co. a tax break of about $267 million over the next 20 years to build a luxury hotel at Disneyland. Construction of the 700-room hotel is expected to be completed in 2021. If adopted, the measure would require that workers are paid a minimum of $15 an hour starting Jan. 1, 2019, with salaries rising $1 an hour every Jan. 1 through 2022. Once the wages reach $18 an hour, annual raises would be tied to the cost of living. To justify the pay increase, the workers union points to a survey released in February that found 73% of Disney employees who were questioned said they dont earn enough to pay for such basic expenses as rent, food and gas. The online survey, underwritten by the same coalition of Disneyland labor groups, also said that 11% of resort employees have been homeless or have not had a place of their own in the last two years. The survey was conducted by the Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit research organization in Los Angeles, and the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College. Following the 10 a.m. rally at the River Church Arena, Sanders will head to a town hall meeting in Carson. The event is being held for Los Angeles and Long Beach warehouse workers and truck drivers who are seeking to change their status from independent contractors to employees to improve their pay and working conditions. hugo.martin@latimes.com To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter. Carlsbads LocationSmart, a mobile location aggregator, may be linked to an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission over practices surrounding location tracking of mobile phone users. The agencys Enforcement Bureau has received a referral on the matter, according to an agency spokesman, who declined further comment on Monday. LocationSmart contracts with wireless carriers to acquire mobile phone location data within a few hundred feet. The data can be used for everything from marketing to mobile payment authentication to tracking remote employees and assets. The company contends cellphone users must grant their permission for their location to be tracked. Advertisement Last week, LocationSmart made headlines after a security researcher from Carnegie Mellon University uncovered a flaw on its website that opened the door for discovery of the locations of any cellphones operating on Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T networks in the U.S. Notified of the flaw, LocationSmart disabled the online demonstration of its cloud-based service, according to a company statement emailed to the Union Tribune. The security breakdown was the second recent setback for LocationSmart. It was also in the news for supplying real time location data to Securus Technologies, which monitors calls to prisons. The New York Times reported that Securus had been used by a former Missouri law enforcement officer to monitor phones and track location. The story got the attention of members of Congress, who questioned privacy protections surrounding mobile location tracking. In a statement, LocationSmart said the security flaw on its website was not improperly tapped to find anyones location prior to Carnegie Mellon cybersecurity researcher discovering it on May 16. LocationSmart is continuing its efforts to verify that not a single subscribers location was accessed without their consent and that no other vulnerabilities exist, the company said. LocationSmart is committed to continuous improvement of its information privacy and security measures and is incorporating what it has learned from this incident into that process. Business mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com; Twitter:@TechDiego 760-529-4973 To celebrate his 102nd birthday in February, Carlsbad retiree Glenn Quillin whizzed into history as the worlds oldest zip-line rider. But his glory was short-lived. On April 6, a 106-year-old Englishman established the new Guinness World Record. No worries. With the publication of his first book three weeks ago, Quillin may have inadvertently set another Guinness record as the oldest person to publish their first book. Did I really? Quillin asked Monday about the possibility. Well, imagine that. Advertisement 1 / 12 Glenn Quillin, 102, holds the memoir he recently wrote that features a photo of him skydiving on its cover. This photo was taken just after he finished the first of three zip lines rides at La Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation on Monday. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 12 Glenn Quillin rides one of the three zip lines at La Jolla Zip Zoom at the La Jolla Indian Reservation. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 12 Glenn Quillin, 102, finishes the first of three zip line rides Monday at La Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 12 Glenn Quillin, 102, steps off the platform after a zip line ride at La Jolla Zip Zoom at the La Jolla Indian Reservation. Behind him are zip line employees Anthony Olvera, left, Jazreel Cuero and Leishea Macias. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 12 John and Carole Sanders, at right, on a truck with other Carlsbad seniors that will take them up a mountain for a zip-lining adventure Monday at La Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 12 Seniors from the Carlsbad By the Sea retirement community climb the ramp to ride one of the three zip lines at La Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation Monday. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 12 Retired doctor Jack Kalberer, 85, smiles as he finishes one of the three zip line rides at La Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation. At right is employee Connor Cole. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 12 Seniors citizens from Carlsbad By the Sea retirement community ride one of the three zip lines at La Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation Monday. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 12 Friends Trudy Gardner, at left, and Bobbi Gallagher, at right, zipline together at La Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 12 Friends Trudy Gardner, left, and Bobbi Gallagher, right, speed down a zip line together at La Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation. They were among 14 seniors from Carlsbad By the Sea Retirement Community who visited the attraction Monday. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 12 Zooming down one of the three zip lines at La Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation are Mary Krakowski, left, and Sandra Sweeney, right. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 12 Mary Krazowski finishes riding one of the three zip lines at la Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation. Greeting her at right is employee Neil Howard. Krazowski was one of 14 seniors from Carlsbad By the Sea retirement community who took part in the trip on Monay. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune) Quillin celebrated the release of his memoir Monday by returning to the zip lines at La Jolla Zip Zoom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation. This time, he brought along 14 fellow seniors from the Carlsbad By the Sea retirement community, where he has lived since 1998. Among them was first-time zip-liner Tom Gordinier, president of Carlsbad By the Seas residents association. Quillin is the oldest resident of the 200-person community. Gordinier describes his friend as active, independent and always up for doing crazy things. Hes the leader of the derring-dos, Gordinier said. Quillins 90-page autobiography is titled Life in the Dash, referencing the punctuation symbol between the years of birth and death in an obituary. On the cover of the hardback, self-published book is a color photo of the airbound Quillin in the midst of a tandem parachute jump over East County. He made the jump for his 100th birthday and called it the most exciting experience of his life. Quillin said hes been a daredevil as long as he can remember. By age 17, he was flying biplanes and later raced cars and motorcycles. In 1931, he narrowly avoided death when he parachuted out of a plane just before it crashed in a cornfield. I was a thrill-seeker my whole life, he said Monday morning, just before heading up a mountain for the first of three zip-line runs. I love that sense of exhilaration and being in the open air. Quillin started writing his autobiography two years ago to pass his story on to his daughter, Roxane, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. By publishing his book at age 102, Quillin has bested the current Guinness record holder Bertha Wood, an Englishwoman who was 100 when her memoir wwnt to press in 2006. Quillin printed 150 copies of his book, just in case other readers might be interested. Thats not hubris. Vista playwright Lance Arthur Smith found Quillin and his zest for life so fascinating that he penned a play about him last year. People always ask me my secret to longevity and I say its simple: keep breathing, Quillin joked. To me, the most important thing has been to keep looking forward and avoid too much wasted time. Staying busy with paperwork as a property manager helped Quillin push through his grief when his wife of 68 years, Signa, passed away in November 2010. He dedicated the book in her memory and writes that the one thing that keeps his spirits up now is knowing theyll be reunited soon in the hereafter. Around Carlsbad By the Sea, Quillin is known for his high level of activity, according to activities director Ozzie Nelson. He rises early to do calisthenics, sits in the courtyard for 20 minutes of sun each morning, is an avid walker and does all his own healthy, portion-controlled cooking. He does enjoy a good martini, but limits himself to one a month. Glenn Quillin wanted to top himself after jumping out of an airplane for his 100th birthday. Quillin said he doesnt waste time watching TV because hes too busy managing seven real estate properties he owns in the L.A. area, where he spent much of his adult life. Penny Held, another of the seniors who joined Quillin Monday on the zip lines, said shes endlessly inspired by his energy level and sharp mind. Hes the most amazing human being Ive ever met, Held said. Hes a fabulous man. Subtitled From Cornfields to Boardrooms, Quillins book chronicles his unusual life story, which began on Jan. 18, 1916. At age 2, he and an older sister were given up by their impoverished parents and adopted by Guy and Rena Quillin, who were wheat and corn farmers in Colona, Ill. By age 10, he was planting and plowing fields and his innate skill at building and repairing farm equipment led to a long career as a precision machinist. During and after World War II, he did machine design and testing work on a top-secret atomic particle accelerator, guided missile systems, the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and nuclear testing at the Las Alamos laboratory in New Mexico. Over the years, hes often been asked his feelings on working on the atom bomb program. He writes that his opinion hasnt changed in more than 70 years. I believe in my heart that if Americans had not stopped the war with Japan perhaps today it would be unlawful to speak English on U.S. soil, he said. At that time, this was best for all those who valued freedom. In later years, he ran his own machine shop and worked as a private investigator. In 1960, he joined his wifes real estate business and continues that work today. Quillin said hes the rare kind of person who has loved the process of getting older. Old age is a privilege denied to many, he writes. As always, its all about atttitude. A positive attitude may not solve all your problems but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com Carlsbads City Council waded into the national sanctuary state issue Monday evening, voting 4-1 to back the federal governments lawsuit against California. They also agreed the city should file a legal brief when appropriate in support of the federal action against the states Senate Bill 54, which prohibits local law enforcement officials from investigating arrestees immigration status or reporting that status to federal authorities. The weighing in on this is purely political, and its divisive, said Councilwoman Cori Schumacher, who voted against the motion. However, the other four council members emphasized the need for public safety, and said that law enforcement officers need all the tools they can get. Advertisement Our laws are becoming more difficult to enforce, said Mayor Matt Hall. It takes many agencies working together to keep us safe. A handful of other local jurisdictions have taken a position on the state law, which limits what state and local law enforcement officials from investigating arrestees immigration status or reporting it to federal authorities. Federal officials have said the law pre-empts their authority. So far three cities National City, Chula Vista and San Diego have stepped up to support the state law, while two jurisdictions Escondido and San Diego County have voted to oppose it. More than 70 people spoke at the crowded April 4 meeting where the Escondido City Council agreed to file an amicus brief in support of the federal lawsuit. The issue has led to heated meetings across the county. The Carlsbad session was calm and lightly attended, though some of the speakers were passionate. Almost 20 people addressed the council at a special single-issue meeting held at the citys Faraday Administration Center, and a majority of them supported the states sanctuary law. Councilman Keith Blackburn placed the subject on the agenda, saying the city should take a position on Senate Bill 54 because so many residents have asked about it. Resident Brian Connor said the federal lawsuit is founded on racism and raw tribalism. I think its deplorable, Connor said. We have in power now a federal government which is out of control, and I urge you to resist. Carlsbad has a low crime rate, he said, and immigrants are not a significant factor in the crimes that are committed. Others urged the council to show compassion, and said the federal government is only adding to the fear and uncertainty already in the community. Do not make news for intolerance and bigotry, resident Linda Breen told the council. I dont think that is good for our city. Glenn Bernard, a retired Marine and former teacher, urged the city to support the federal government, and compared sanctuary cities to the South in the Civil War. I cannot see the difference between a sanctuary state and a secessionist state, Bernard said. California is one of seven states in the U.S. that have declared themselves sanctuary states, according to the National Center for Immigration Studies. President Trump has said he intends to block federal public safety funding for cities and states with sanctuary policies, though so far federal judges have prohibited that action. philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @phildiehl Just in time for the summer, Imperial Beach is giving away free parking across the street from the beach. The city, which pays $5,000 annually to lease the 40-car lot on Seacoast Drive and Elkwood Avenue from the Port of San Diego, will waive the current $2 parking charge on June 1. It is a very rare opportunity for the City Council to have a chance to take a parking lot and make it free, said City Manager Andy Hall. Even though parking will be free, there are some rules. The lot is opened from 5 a.m. to midnight, so no overnight parking, and large trailers and RVs are not allowed, Hall added. Advertisement Because the lot costs money, it is underused. Locals who live nearby would rather park on the street for free even if it means having to find parking a couple of blocks away. With that lot costing $2 and parking in the neighborhood being free, people tend to drive around for half an hour to find a free spot and not pay the two bucks, said Councilman Edward Spriggs. We are trying to eliminate that dynamic. Imperial Beach hopes waiving the parking fee will ease traffic congestion and bring more people to the beach. With the anticipated opening of a brewery nearby and more seaside restaurants, they hope to get more tourists this summer. The lot costs the city monthly lease payments of $417. The lease lasts at least two years. The city is happy to spend the money if it means more people will enjoy their coastline, according to the mayor. For us, I think its really important to make sure that were providing ample access to the coast, said Mayor Serge Dedina. Contact Gustavo Solis via Email or Twitter American women, get with it. Grilling isnt strictly a guy thing. Lets give a boot to the women cook, men grill stereotype. After all, as chef Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins told me, the women she knows in Mexico routinely cook with fire and its not because its hip. Its out of necessity. All the women in my life are avid grillers, she said. But it may be how they were brought up. In other words, theres nothing inherently masculine about outdoor food preparation. So, pay no attention to the idea of grilling as a backyard male sport. Scoff at the weird study commissioned by Land OLakes Company awhile back that stated that more than 84 percent of women would be at least a little nervous or afraid to use the barbecue grill on their own. Or the survey from meat producer Applegate that found that 82 percent of men grillers think that they are better equipped to cook food to perfection on the grill. In fact, women may actually be better suited to manning the grill. Zepeda-Wilkins said shes seen some unnecessarily huge fires built by men for 10 pounds of meat, not to mention theyre dousing it with oil to speed up the process. Women are just more patient with the majority of tasks, so grilling is just one of those things that we take our time with, she said. Advertisement Women, lets embrace the grill. Lets light a fire and grab a pair of tongs. After all, its fun, grilled food tastes great, cleanup is easy, and youre outside where the party is. Zepeda-Wilkins, whom you may have seen this past year on Top Chef Colorado and who is about to open her first restaurant, El Jardin in Liberty Station, loves fire. You can use it as an ingredient that adds flavor, she explained. I dont think theres anything more primitive for taste than fire. She discovered her love of cooking with fire while she was chef de cuisine at Javier Placencias Little Italy restaurant Bracero. Watching her set up and fuel a ginormous cast iron grill/smoker at Franco on Fifth (her restaurant was still under construction) was to experience a woman completely at home with wood and charcoal, and the heat it produced. That day, she prepared a three-course meal, all grilled: rib-eye and T-bone steaks glazed with mole; grilled corn on the cob that was a riff on Mexican grilled corn street food; and a grilled flatbread dessert made with pizza dough and topped with grilled pineapple and mango, brie, jam, a yogurt sauce and crumble. The dishes demonstrated the range of meals you can prepare over fire and yet still have distinct flavors. Ive baked cookies on a grill in the middle of nowhere, she laughed. Ive grilled some really random things. The first step, of course, is making the fire. Yeah, you can grill on gas (I do it all the time), but you wont get the layers of flavor that wood and charcoal create. Zepeda-Wilkins emphasizes patience in this step. Control the oxygen to control the fire. It shouldnt control you, she said. Normally, she does a 50/50 charcoal/wood mix, but it depends on the flavors shes looking to create and her goals for the dish. For more smoke, use more wood since charcoal isnt as smoky. As for the type of wood, Zepeda-Wilkins likes using cherry or peach wood or hickory; on the day she grilled for me, she used hickory wood mixed with mesquite charcoal. After lighting the fuel, she lets it burn until the charcoal is gray. Whats going on the grill will determine how close or far both the grates and the food are from the fuel. If its meat, she likes to get it close to char, then pull it away from the fire and use indirect heat to finish cooking. For vegetables and fruit, she keeps the grate a good 6 to 8 inches away. But, she added, Dont be afraid to put ingredients straight onto the coals to char. And, yet, she warned, theres a difference between char and burnt. So, keep a close eye on the food being grilled and pull it off once it gets a nice crust. Another tip Zepeda-Wilkins offered has to do with seasoning: Keep it simple to let the grill flavors emerge. I prefer only salt on my meat when grilling steaks unless its a marinated asada-type of cut, she said. For the steaks she made, she used hickory-smoked salt, knowing that the steaks would be finished with a mole honey glaze that would complement the smokiness the steaks would get from grilling. Spicy grilled fresh corn by chef Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins. (Eduardo Contreras / U-T ) Do you enjoy grilled corn? Perhaps youve watched someone put it on the grate still encased in the husk. Thats not Zepeda-Wilkins style. Keeping the husk over the corn, she said, just creates steamed corn on the cob and doesnt add any flavor. Instead, she pulls back the husk, ties it so that it becomes a handle, discards the corn hair, and lets the corn grill directly over the fire to get a real smoky, charred flavor and look. Sure you can enjoy it just like that. But Zepeda-Wilkins then slathers the corn with a (grilled) coconut sesame paste sauce before rolling it in a crunchy topping of cotija cheese, crumbled onion chips and crumbled nori. Grilled Pineapple & Mango Flatbread. (Eduardo Contreras / U-T ) Finally, theres grilling bread. You can put her flatbread dough directly on the grill or place it on a pizza stone, let it cook all the way through, then briefly place it on the grates to get grill marks. Use the heat coming up from the fuel to melt cheese on the flatbread. Want an extra non-grilling tip thats really effective for that grilled corn sauce? Instead of using a hammer or mallet to break open the coconut, use Zepeda-Wilkins technique (outside, of course). Buy two coconuts and smash them together hard. It works and is a entertaining party trick. Grilled Corn Serves 4 4 ears of corn cup fresh coconut cup sesame paste Juice of 2 limes (or 1 lime and 1 lemon) 2 tablespoons chili powder cup cotija cheese, grated cup onion chips, crumbled (found at most health stores in chip aisle next to coconut chips) 2 snack-size sheets of nori (can be seasoned with sesame), crumbled Pull back the husk off of the fresh corn ears gently but dont remove the whole thing so it can serve as a handle while eating. Remove a piece of the husk and use it to tie the husk together like a ponytail. Discard the corn hair. Grill the corn until you get nice char marks all around the cob, being careful to not burn the husk. Remove from grill and make sauce. Crack a coconut open. Take a piece of the coconut meat and grill for a few minutes, grate finely, and reserve. In a medium bowl whisk together the sesame paste, juice and chili power. Reserve. In a small flat tray mix together the cotija, coconut, onion chips and nori. Make sure its incorporated evenly. Spread sesame paste mixture on each grilled ear of corn with brush or the back of a spoon until even all around. Roll in cotija mix, making sure you get it in every nook and cranny. Repeat and eat! Mole Glazed T-Bone Steak Serves 4 cup beef stock or vegetable stock cup black mole paste (Seasons of the Heart found at Specialty Produce is a great option) 2 tablespoons honey Juice of 1 large orange Four 12-ounce T-bone steaks (choose a thick cut 1 inches from a good butcher counter) cup coarse sea salt (the chef prefers Sal de Colima, found at Northgate markets) Let steaks come to room temperature before grilling. For glaze, heat the stock and the mole paste in a small sauce pan, whisking until dissolved. Add honey and orange juice to mole mixture and keep warm on the corner of the grill that is the coolest. Season steaks generously with coarse sea salt on both sides and place on the hottest part of your grill. For a thick cut (about 1 inches thick) leave on grill for about 7 minutes for a medium-rare temperature on the first side (4-6 minutes for rare; 7-8 minutes for medium). Flip and grill for another 6 minutes and pull off to rest for 4 minutes under a tented piece of foil. Brush glaze over steaks, slice and serve. Grilled Pineapple & Mango Flatbread Serves 4 1 prepared fresh pizza dough ball (Trader Joes, Sprouts and Vons have them) ripe pineapple, peeled 1 ripe mango, peeled cup vanilla Greek yogurt cup nondairy almond cream cheese (regular is fine, too) brie wheel, rind removed and sliced 2 tablespoons favorite jam or caramel cup crumble or favorite cookie smashed into bits If you have a pizza stone, place it gently on your grill to cook the flatbread. You can also place dough straight onto the grill as is. Once stone is hot, stretch out dough to desired shape and throw it on top. Slice of the pineapple and mango into thin strips and reserve. Place the remaining chunks of pineapple and mango on grill until nice and charred. Remove and slice. In a small bowl mix together yogurt and almond cream cheese until smooth. Reserve. Flip dough and continue grilling until cooked all the way through. If you use a stone, you can flip it directly onto grill to get some nice char marks. Place brie strips on the top of the flatbread to gently melt. Remove when cooked. Spread the jam or caramel in little dollops around cheese. Layer the grilled pineapple and mango, top with sliced fresh fruit, drizzle the yogurt sauce over fruit, and top with crumble. Slice and serve. Recipes and food styling by chef Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins. Golden is a San Diego freelance food writer and blogger. 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. Advertisement 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. A fourth person has agreed to settle a lawsuit against San Diego County, accepting $240,000 in damages for a sexual-misconduct claim lodged against sheriffs Deputy Richard Fischer. The settlement pushed the total amount paid by the county so far to more than $900,000, and 11 other cases remain to be resolved. Fischer pleaded not guilty to 14 criminal counts filed earlier this year and faces trial later this year. County officials declined to comment on the latest settlement. Attorney Dan Gilleon represents 15 plaintiffs in separate cases against the Sheriffs Department. He said the latest plaintiff to settle, identified in court papers by her initials T.S., was the second of more than a dozen victims to come forward. Advertisement He said her testimony to Sheriffs Department investigators was extremely credible. She was traumatized by what happened, and I know her very favorable impression and credibility had an enormous impact on the investigators, Gilleon wrote in an email. After speaking with her, the sheriffs IA [internal affairs] knew they had a major problem on their hands and began scrambling. According to the lawsuit T.S. filed in December, Fischer and another officer responded to the womans San Marcos home after she reported a burglary in August 2016. The womans husband was out of the country at the time. Fischer and the other deputy took the womans report and completed their investigation before leaving the residence about an hour later, the lawsuit stated. About 11 p.m., Fischer returned to the home alone. Still shaken up and very scared as a result of the burglary, T.S. looked through the peephole to see who was knocking and discovered it was one of the deputies who had been in her home earlier that evening, the lawsuit said. The woman let Fischer into her home and he immediately pulled her into his chest and held her very tightly, the complaint added. T.S. was shocked and taken aback by the way Fischer hugged her, because it did not feel as if Fischer was trying to convey that he was sorry for what had happened to her, the lawsuit said. T.S. felt it was a different kind of hug. Before leaving, Fischer told T.S. that he would be patrolling the area all night, the lawsuit said. In total, the four settlements cost the county $906,000, funded from county general purpose revenues. Fischer, who is facing years in prison if convicted of all charges, has a court hearing scheduled next week. jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com McDonald writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune Encinitas jewelry designer Lisette Polny wasnt at the royal wedding, but her jewelry played a key role. Meghan Markle presented six of her best friends plus her new sister-in-law, Kate Middleton a delicate, custom-designed 14-carat gold bracelet as a keepsake. Called the Kensington bracelet, it was designed by Polny at Meghans behest. While they havent met, Polny is a longtime friend of one of Meghans best friends, Benita Litt, of Los Angeles, who sat next to Meghans mother during the ceremony. Litts young daughters, Remi and Rylan, Meghans goddaughters, were petite bridesmaids Saturday. Polny who named her company Zofia Day after her grandmother and daughter, Zofia, 4 also designed two gold necklaces for each of the bridesmaid/flower girls: a simple gold heart and a diamond-studded bow. Advertisement Jewelry designer Lisette Polny, creator of Zofia Day jewelry, found herself in the spotlight after she designed special 14-carat keepsake bracelets for royal bride Meghan Markle to give to her best friends at her wedding. (Courtesy of Zofia Day / Becca Batista ) By Monday, Polny had received 490 orders from all over the world for the Kensington bracelet, which retails for $450. People magazine interviewed her for its post-wedding issue. She says the bride owned about six of her pieces prior to the wedding. Meghan wore a pair of Zofia Day Dash Ear Studs on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine last year. In fact, she made a news splash his past January when she appeared with Prince Harry in Cardiff, Wales, wearing mismatched earrings a Gabriela Artigas-designed shooting star on her left ear and a Dash Ear Stud on her right ear. During her second official post-engagement appearance with Prince Harry earlier that month, Meghan sported a simple 14-carat diamond-pave bar ring ($750 retail) on her right hand, also from Zofia Day. Its a subtle, timeless style, explains Polny. She tries to keep prices competitive so everyone can get something special for themselves that will last forever. I am so grateful and so lucky, Polny says of the reaction. The fact that this is happening to me is overwhelming. Her jewelry is sold by about 20 boutique retailers, including Tucci in Solana Beach and Del Mar, and on her Zofia Day website. I designed a special wedding piece for Meghan, adds Polny, 37, who started her home-based business as a hobby so she could spend more time with her daughter. She hasnt received permission to discuss that piece yet, but expects to soon. Meanwhile, Litt wore numerous Zofia Day designs rings, three bracelets and bangles and a hammered gold cross necklace to various wedding events last weekend, including a tea with Queen Elizabeth. Polnys sister, Julie Zozaya, is the longtime owner of Julies Beachwear in Del Mar. Kansas City Barbeque celebrated its 35th birthday this month, and Maverick from Top Gun, partially filmed t here, stopped by to say hi. (Courtesy photo ) Kansas City by the bay: A retired Navy master chief traveled from Florida to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Kansas City Barbeque, a downtown landmark. Another couple, longtime former patrons of the eatery, came down from Bakersfield. Tom Cruise, aka celebrity impersonator Jerome LeBlanc, even stopped by wearing his Maverick flight suit to kibbitz with visitors and sing Youve Lost that Loving Feeling from the 1986 Top Gun movie filmed, in part, at the rib joint. Mavericks helmet and the piano on which Goose banged out Great Balls of Fire still remain at the memorabilia-packed restaurant built and opened by Cindy and Martin Blair on May 15, 1983, as a salute to their Kansas City roots. (Cindys mother bought that piano in Kansas City in the 60s for $20.) The restaurant at the foot of Market Street facing West Harbor Drive predated the Convention Center and waterfront high-rise hotels and condominiums. There is so much memorabilia in every nook and cranny at Kansas City Barbeque that the bartenders are called curators. (Melody Hall photo ) Ten years ago, a fire gutted much of the building and its eclectic collection of patron-donated memorabilia, but luckily most of the Top Gun souvenirs were in a side room that survived. After the Blairs rebuilt and reopened, customers donated replacement memorabilia. It now displays licence plates from 34 countries plus from every U.S. state and province in Canada and Australia, banners from major San Diego events, street signs, numerous first responder badges, 500 Navy hats and even Pueblo commander Lloyd Buchers Bottom Gun hat. There is so much material that customers call our bartenders the curators, says Cindy. diane.bell@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1518 Twitter: @dianebellSD Facebook: dianebell.news Homeless people with tents or other makeshift shelters on downtown sidewalks are usually warned that they have three days to move their property before city clean-up crews do it for them. Soon, theyll have just a few hours. About 45 days after a Sherman Heights storage center opens in June, crews from the city and Downtown San Diego Partnership will begin removing tents and other items left on public property downtown for more than three hours during the day. Under current city code, crews must give 72 hour notices before the clean-ups in most downtown areas. U.S. Magistrate Judge William Gallo approved the change Friday as part of amendments to a 2011 settlement to a lawsuit originally filed against the city by attorney Scott Dreher. Advertisement On Monday, Dreher said the new agreement could serve as a model to open similar storage centers in other areas of San Diego. Instead of sitting in your tent all day on the sidewalk, put it away, Dreher said. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said the shorter notification period will help keep city streets and riverbeds clean. This decision will allow us to more quickly address sanitation issues in our public spaces, while offering resources to unsheltered individuals, such as the new Transitional Storage Facility opening next month, he said in a statement following Gallos decision. I want to thank City Attorney Mara Elliott and her staff, as well as Scott Dreher and the clients he represents, who have been great partners in working toward a solution that protects individuals rights, as well as our public spaces. In 2009, Dreher and the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties filed suit against the city claiming it had acted unlawfully when crews threw away possessions left on the sidewalk by homeless people who were getting a meal inside Gods Extended Hand, a church on the corner of 16th Street and Island Avenue. The 2011 settlement to the suit required the city to fund a storage facility for homeless peoples belongings and to give a 72-hour notice before items were removed from public right of ways downtown. A storage center that serves about 400 people opened in 2011 at 252 16th St., and since 2012 it has been operated by the nonprofit Think Dignity. Earlier this year, Faulconer announced plans to open a second center to serve 500 people on the corner of 20th and Commercial streets in Sherman Heights. Many residents in the neighborhood have objected to the plan over fears that it would attract more homeless people to the neighborhood. Dreher said the new restrictions are a way of addressing the concerns that homeless people will begin congregating around the center and pitching tents on sidewalks after it opens. We dont want to draw a bunch more stuff to be put in the neighborhood there, he said. That was the concern of people in Sherman Heights. Noting that homeless people do not hang around the storage center on 16th Street, Dreher said he does not believe the Sherman Heights center would be a draw, anyway. While Dreher expects the new law will have a visual impact on downtown during the day, he said there still will be tents on sidewalks and other areas at night because crews will only tag items for removal from about 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The three-hour restriction also will only be enforced if there are vacant bins at the storage centers available for people to use, he said. Dreher also said there is agreement on both sides that the three-hour restriction is not written in stone. Even the judge said, Lets see how this works, he said. There are doubts about whether three hours will be fair or pratical. Is it going to be too cruel and too restrictive? Many residents in Sherman Heights have said they do not object to the concept of the storage facility, but dont like its location near a school. They also have said the city should not put one large center in their neighborhood, but instead should have them in communities throughout the city. Dreher agrees storage centers should be in other parts of the city, and said he believes communities would be less resistant to having them in their neighborhoods if three-hour restrictions are adopted along with them. 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 father of the teen gunman charged with slaying 10 people at a Santa Fe, Tex., high school says his son was bullied by his classmates. Antonios Pagourtzis said his son had been mistreated at school and that thats what motivated the attack, according to The Wall Street Journal. Dimitrios Pagourtzis is being held without bond at the Galveston County Jail after he entered Santa Fe High School with a .38-caliber handgun and a shotgun and opened fire. He said another one bites the dust each time he killed someone, according to a survivor. Advertisement The shooters father said the Pagourtzis family is devastated by the mass shooting. Our lives are shattered, he told The Wall Street Journal. The elder Pagourtzis recalled leaving his native Greece for the United States at 12, with just one set of clothing and an extra pair of boots, according to The Wall Street Journal. Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, was identified as the shooter at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas on Fri., May 18, 2018. (Galveston County Jail) He now owns a shipping repair company based in Houston. The family attended church at St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church in Webster, where Dimitrios was involved in traditional Greek dancing, according to a member, who remembered him as nice, polite. The woman, who didnt want to give her name, said she had seen Dimitrios dancing on Mothers Day weekend at a Greek festival in Clear Lake City. He looked happy and smiling, she told the Journal. The local Greek community a tight-knit group is struggling to comprehend the tragedy, according to the woman. I am very upset, she told the Journal. I believed he was this wonderful, young guy. Dimitrios Pagourtzis shot and killed eight students and two teachers at Santa Fe High School on Friday, May 18. (Elizabeth Conley/Ap) Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the weapons Dimitrios used belonged to his father. Antonios Pagourtzis confirmed the guns were his and that hed used them to hunt on a farm he once rented in an interview with Greek Antenna Television Saturday. The guns in my house are legal and declared, he said in the interview, which was conducted in Greek, according to the Journal. He said he is perturbed by the massacre. He never got into a fight with anyone. I dont know what happened, he said. I hope God helps me and my family understand. We are all devastated. It would have been better if he shot me than all those kids, he said. Pagourtzis said in the Antenna interview that his son is a victim, too. Ive lost my son like those parents that lost theirs, he said. A new poll shows that despite an FBI investigation into potential misuse of campaign funds, Rep. Duncan Hunter is positioned to cruise through next months primary. In a poll by The San Diego Union-Tribune and 10News, 43 percent of respondents said they are backing Hunter, R-Alpine. Ten percent are supporting Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, and 7 percent are behind Democrat Patrick Malloy, Hunters 2016 opponent who has barely campaigned this year. El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, a Republican, polled at 6 percent, followed by Jamul-Dulzura Union School District Board member Josh Butner in fifth place with 5 percent. The poll, conducted May 15-20, queried 567 likely voters in the June 5 primary, and found that 25 percent of people who have not yet cast a ballot remain undecided. Advertisement The top two candidates, regardless of party, will advance to the general election in November. Vote-by-mail ballots were shipped May 7, and 16 percent of people surveyed had voted by the time of the poll. The SurveyUSA poll was conducted by telephone and has a 5.1 percent margin of error. Given the polls methodology and the standings, the race for second place is a toss-up, especially with a quarter of voters still undecided. The 50th Congressional District is solidly conservative: 42 percent of voters are registered Republicans, 27 percent are registered Democrats and 25 percent have no party preference. Hunter is being investigated by the FBI after the Federal Election Commission and then The San Diego Union-Tribune began asking questions about campaign spending on video games, private school tuition and other apparently personal expenses. Hunter has denied wrongdoing and reimbursed his campaign more than $60,000 for personal, mistaken or undocumented expenses. Support for Hunter varies based on how seriously respondents take the FBI investigation. In all, 58 percent of surveyed voters said that the investigation had either a major or minor impact on their decision. Hunter polled at 72 percent among those who said the investigation had no impact on their decision. Of those who said the investigation had a major impact on who they support, Hunter finished at 12 percent, in third place behind Campa-Najjar and Malloy. Campa-Najjar said that his campaign has tried to make a case that he provides practical solutions, particularly on pocketbook issues, rather than just attacking Hunter over the investigation or maligning the president. For Hunters situation, the news may change, it may get better or worse for him, and his approval may go up for down. But the most important thing, the constant, is the economy and jobs, Campa-Najjar said. If it was just about who is going to oppose Trump and who is going to oppose Hunter, we would have been neck and neck. But we have broken out a little bit. Other candidates, including Hunter, did not immediately return a request for comment. The poll found that President Donald Trumps job performance is the single most important issue with voters, with 29 percent saying it was the biggest factor when theyre considering who theyll vote for in the midterm. Another 19 percent said the proposed border wall a project supported by Hunter as well as his father, Duncan L. Hunter, the districts immediate past representative was their most important issue. The poll found that voters opinion of Trump is strongly tied to who theyre supporting for the House. Seventy-three percent of voters who approve of the president are supporting Hunter, while 9 percent are backing Wells. Another 5 percent support Republican businessman Shamus Sayed. Another 11 percent who said that they approve of Trump are undecided. Of those who disapprove of the president and have already decided on a representative, 23 percent support Campa-Najjar, 15 percent support Malloy and 11 percent support Butner. Twitter: @jptstewart joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1841 Two adults were displaced Monday afternoon after a blaze damaged a Chula Vista apartment complex that has had a history of fires, a Chula Vista Fire Department chief said. Firefighters arrived shortly after 2:30 p.m. at the Orange Glen Apartments on Orange Avenue after receiving a report of a fire in the complex. A fire was discovered in a second-story apartment. Crews went to work in fast-attack mode, Sean Lowery, a batallion chief with the Chula Vista Fire Department told OnScene TV. The fire was extinguished within 12 minutes, Lowery said. The rest of the complex was evacuated, but no other apartments were damaged, Lowery said. The building has had a history of fires in the past, he said. Advertisement No injuries to residents or firefighters were reported. A damage estimate was not immediately available, and the cause of the fire is under investigation. The American Red is assisting the residents of the damaged apartment, Lowery said. rob.krier@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-2241 Twitter: @sdutKrier A passerby found a womans body that apparently washed ashore near a Mission Bay park Tuesday morning, police said. The body was found on the beach near Mariners Point Park on Mariners Way about 10:20 a.m. At this time, investigators do not suspect foul play led to her death, said San Diego police Lt. Christian Sharp. The Medical Examiners Office will determine how the woman died. She was not identified. Advertisement Police are looking to see if a missing persons report was filed that may be related to the discovery. The woman who died appeared to be 50 to 60 years old, authorities said. Twitter: @LAWinkley (619) 293-1546 lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com San Diego city officials should consider giving the community advisory board that reviews complaints against police officers more authority to run independent investigations, the countys grand jury recommended in a report issued Monday. The San Diego County Grand Jury report offers recommendations to improve the Community Review Board on Police Practices , which evaluates the Police Departments internal investigation of complaints against officers. The review board is advisory only. The grand jury issued three overarching recommendations, suggesting that the mayor and City Council: Implement rule changes approved by voters in 2016 to give the board more power in certain areas, such as tracking complaints, reviewing complaints investigated by the police departments Internal Affairs division, and deciding who can sit in on closed board sessions; Consider giving the review board the power to run independent investigations, subpoena people and report directly to the Mayor and City Council; and Take action to immediately begin filling vacant seats on the board. Asked for comment Monday evening, Mayor Kevin Falconers office said it welcomes the report and is already implementing several of the recommendations. Advertisement The office said it is working to update the boards operating procedures and streamline the appointment process. We plan to have the City Council vote to implement the changes this summer. City spokeswoman Alma Rife said Tuesday that the report is under review. The city has until Aug. 20 to respond to the grand jury. A Police Department spokesman did not immediately respond to an after-hours request for comment on the report. The investigation into the review board came after someone complained that the board was understaffed and unable to carry out its obligations because the city had not implemented Measure G, which city voters approved in 2016. Measure G calls for the Community Review Board to look into officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths. It also gave the City Council and Mayor authority to establish rules and regulations related to the board. The grand jury recommended that the city take steps in the next three months toward implementing the measure. The grand jury also said the city should give the board the power to issue subpoenas and run independent investigations of citizen complaints against police. As it stands, the board reviews investigations completed by the deparments Internal Affairs officers. The grand jury noted that the review board does have full access to all materials used or created by the Internal Affairs officers in their investigation. The report noted that the board only reviews the more serious types of complaints, as classified by the police department. It suggested that the board be allowed to take part in categorizing and tracking all complaints. The report also notes that the review board is supposed to have 23 appointed members, with 23 prospective members who sit in a reserve of sorts, training to step in should a spot open. However, the current board has just 15 appointed members and only two prospective members. No new appointments to the board have been made since 2016. According to the grand jury report, critics of the board argue that it is not independent from the Police Department, nor do its reports reach fair and unbiased conclusions. The report notes that police officers are present during the boards closed deliberations, which it found compromises (the boards) independence and has intimidated some of its members. The grand jury suggested giving the board the explicit power to decide who can attend such closed meetings. teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com (760) 529-4945 Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT The fight for second place in Californias governors race between Republican John Cox and Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa remains unpredictable and volatile as the June 5 primary approaches, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom led both by 10 percentage points or more, validating every other poll that suggests its a certainty the Democrat will claim one of the two spots on the November ballot. With the second slot up for grabs and a substantial bloc of undecided voters two weeks from the election, Newsoms campaign has unleashed a barrage of ads in an attempt to manipulate the primary vote. The strategy aims to influence who hell face in the general election, with Cox a conservative out of step with Californias left-leaning voters on many issues including immigration policy among his top choices. Advertisement Newsoms tactics are among the many undercurrents that could determine the outcome of the primary by swaying the 39% of Californias likely voters who were undecided in this statewide poll, conducted over one month. President Trump stirred up the race Friday with a tweet endorsing Cox, a timely coup that could energize GOP voters to push the wealthy Rancho Santa Fe businessman into the top two. At the same time, a handful of wealthy charter school supporters, including former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Netflix founder Reed Hastings, are pouring millions into a pro-Villaraigosa campaign to push the former Los Angeles mayor into a runoff with Newsom. The effort that includes slashing at Cox as a Democrat in disguise in ads and mailers is aimed at Republican voters. Its very volatile for second place, said Bob Shrum, a former Democratic operative who is the director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC. It seems very likely that this is a contest between Villaraigosa and Cox at this point. Other people do not seem to have made substantial progress. According to the survey, Newsom led the field with support from 21% of likely voters, with Villaraigosa and Cox effectively tied for second at 11% and 10%, respectively. Whos running for governor? The remaining candidates were mired in the single digits: Democratic state Treasurer John Chiang was backed by 6% of likely voters, Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) by 5%, and former state schools chief Delaine Eastin, a Democrat, was supported by 3%. Unlike many other polls, the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times survey included all 27 candidates in the governors race and the 32 candidates in the Senate race, along with their official ballot designations and party affilation as they will appear to voters on June 5. The names also were randomized, as they will be on the ballot. The poll was conducted as the race for governor grew increasingly active and contentious. While it was in the field, vote-by-mail ballots began arriving at homes and Californians started seeing a major uptick in television advertisements and campaign mailers. The online survey of 835 Californians, including 691 registered voters and 517 voters deemed likely to turn out for the primary, was conducted between April 18 and May 18 in English and Spanish. The margin of sampling error was 4 percentage points in either direction. Four out of 10 of the likely voters said they were not following the governors race closely and 84% did not watch any of the candidate debates. We know from this data that this is not a race that has grabbed the state, said GOP strategist Mike Murphy, an analyst for the poll. This is kind of a sleep-walking zombie election. Newsoms support was strongest in the Bay Area, where he served two terms as mayor of San Francisco, as well as among registered Democrats who make up most of the states electorate. Villaraigosas strongest base of support was among likely Latino voters, though not by a wide margin over Newsom. Most notably, Newsom and Villaraigosa appear to be neck-and-neck in Los Angeles County, Villaraigosas political home base, although the polls margin of sampling error for the region is plus or minus 8 percentage points. Villaraigosa is underperforming with Latinos and in Los Angeles, Shrum noted in his own analysis of the poll. If he can improve that, he will be in better shape for second place, he said. Shrum suggested Cox ought to be advertising his Trump endorsement to try to consolidate the GOP vote. In fact, Cox hit talk radio on Monday to discuss Trumps blessing on popular shows such as John and Ken on KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles. He also rolled out a new statewide radio ad about the endorsement. New television ads and mailers are expected to follow this week. Cox also has fully embraced efforts to repeal the 2017 statewide increase in gas taxes and vehicle license fees approved by Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature. The poll suggested campaigning against the gas tax may pay dividends. It found 51% of California voters favored repealing the law while 38% wanted to keep it. The increased taxes and fees are expected to raise $5.4 billion annually for road and bridge repairs and improvements to mass transit. The repeal is headed for the November ballot, and could drive turnout especially among conservative voters. Thats one reason GOP members of Congress also have embraced the effort in hopes of blocking a Democratic wave in the midterm elections this fall. The barrage of intense jockeying playing out on airwaves and in mailboxes across California has increasingly focused on Cox. Newsom and his labor and corporate supporters have released television ads that purport to contrast the Republican businessmans record on issues such as guns with the Democratic lieutenant governor. The ads actually reinforce Coxs conservative credentials on hot-button topics. Get coverage of California politics in your inbox Meanwhile, Villaraigosas wealthy charter-school backers are airing ads and sending mailers arguing that Cox is not a true Republican in an effort to improve Villaraigosas chances. A new mailer sent to Republican voters describes Cox as a Democratic Activist, and notes he did not vote for Trump in 2016 (which he now says he regrets). The Newsom campaign over the weekend released new negative ads against Villaraigosa and Chiang. The attacks on the treasurer were surprising because despite early promise in the race, Chiang has lagged behind the leaders and been relatively stagnant in all recent public polling. The move appears to be an insurance policy to ensure that Newsoms rival in the general election is a Republican. The poll found that nearly half of voters would be more likely to vote for a gubernatorial candidate who supports a state-sponsored single-payer healthcare system in California, compared to almost 30% who would be less likely to back such a candidate. Single-payer has been one of the biggest flashpoints in the governors race, with Newsom backing the idea and Villaraigosa warning that it would require a massive tax increase. Both Cox and Allen dismiss it as a government boondoggle. Brown, the politician theyre all trying to succeed, remains more popular than not among Californians: 48% of voters approved of the job Brown has done and 40% disapproved. Trump had an approval rating of just 28% among California voters, with nearly 70% of giving him a thumbs-down an indicator of the dangers awaiting Cox in a general election if he makes the top two by trumpeting the presidents endorsement. The poll also found Californians who have made up their minds on voting overwhelmingly support Sen. Dianne Feinsteins reelection bid. Feinstein was favored by 31% of likely voters while her top rival in the race, former state Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), was backed by 7%. That put De Leon who has an enormous financial disadvantage in the race in second place. Thats enough to advance him to November but leaves a lot of ground to cover to make the race competitive. Still, 41% of likely voters said they were undecided in that contest. No Republican in the Senate race registered higher than 3% support in the USC/LAT survey. That includes neo-Nazi candidate Patrick Little, who emerged from obscurity after an outlier poll found that he was supported by 18% of California voters, putting him in second place behind Feinstein. The California Republican Party disavowed Little and kicked him out of its convention in San Diego earlier this month. Murphy deemed the level of support for Feinstein, who has represented California in the Senate for more than a quarter-century, weak. But he noted that the numbers for even her best-known rival were far smaller. You cant beat somebody with nobody, he said. Jill Darling, survey director, USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research, contributed to this report. phil.willon@latimes.com Twitter: @philwillon seema.mehta@latimes.com Twitter: @LATseema ALSO Methodology Trump endorses Republican John Cox for California governor How Villaraigosa convinced voters to tax themselves in a recession and won High-stakes California governors race debate gets testy as personal and political attacks fly Californias illegal immigration fight is back, and so are the political pitfalls for Republicans Californias next governor: These are the people running in the June 5 primary A fourth alleged victim has agreed to settle a lawsuit against San Diego County, accepting $240,000 in damages for an alleged sexual misconduct claim lodged against sheriffs Deputy Richard Fischer. The settlement pushed the total amount of money paid by the county past $900,000, and eleven other cases remain to be resolved. Fischer pleaded not guilty to 14 criminal counts filed earlier this year and faces trial later this year. County officials declined to comment on the new settlement. Attorney Dan Gilleon represents 15 plaintiffs in separate cases against the sheriffs department. He said the latest plaintiff to settle, identified in court papers by her initials T.S., was the second of more than a dozen victims to come forward. Advertisement He said her testimony to sheriffs department investigators was extremely credible. She was traumatized by what happened, and I know her very favorable impression and credibility had an enormous impact on the investigators, Gilleon wrote in an email. After speaking with her, the sheriffs IA (internal affairs) knew they had a major problem on their hands and began scrambling. According to the lawsuit T.S. filed in December, Fischer responded with another officer to the womans San Marcos home after she reported a burglary in August 2016. The womans husband was out of the country at the time. Fischer and the other deputy took the womans report and completed their investigation before leaving the residence about an hour later, the lawsuit stated. About 11 p.m. that same night, Fischer returned to the home alone. Still shaken up and very scared as a result of the burglary, T.S. looked through the peephole to see who was knocking and discovered it was one of the deputies who had been in her home earlier that evening, the lawsuit said. The woman let Fischer into her home and Fischer immediately pulled her into his chest and held her very tightly, the complaint added. T.S. was shocked and taken aback by the way Fischer hugged her, because it did not feel as if Fischer was trying to convey that he was sorry for what had happened to her, the lawsuit said. T.S. felt it was a different kind of hug. Before leaving, Fischer told T.S. that he would be patrolling the area all night, the lawsuit said. In total, the four settlements cost the county $906,000, funded from county general purpose revenues. Fischer, who is facing years in prison if convicted on all charges, has a court hearing scheduled next week. Watchdog Videos On Now Sexual misconduct accusers worry deputy is being protected 6:16 On Now City funded $2-million waterfront bathroom 1:26 On Now Public water district charges customer for legal work, response to records request On Now Video: Tiny homes won't be reused amid housing, homeless crisis On Now Attorney General seeks documentation for Miss Middle East On Now Rep. Hunter probe covers possible fraud On Now Video: SDG&E delaying solar credit for some low-income housing tenants On Now Video: Former San Diego Junior Theatre teacher sentenced for sex with teen girl 0:24 On Now Video: Shelter volunteers believe they were fired for finding a dog a home 0:49 On Now McKamey Manor is leaving San Diego 3:35 jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald Re Massacre in Israel a sign of more and worse to come (May 15): As a lifelong Zionist who lived in Israel for four years in the early 1960s, I am ashamed of Israels present government just as I am ashamed of American injustice to native Americans. Before the state of Israel, the Jewish people, dispossessed from their ancient land, suffered intolerance in most European countries. However, their land had been occupied for centuries by mostly Muslim Arabs. Zionists did not at first conquer but bought land from Arab landowners with donations from Jews in the diaspora, even pennies from kids like me. But poor Arab farmers felt dispossessed and resented new Jewish communal landowners. While the early Jewish settlers created communes and later settlers a refuge for Jews who survived Hitlers genocide, Arab Palestinians discovered nationhood and demanded their own, too. Now many Israelis want justice for dispossessed Palestinians in a two-state solution, but the present government is out to grab it all. As long as kids are taught to share, my pledge to the U.S. flag applies here: liberty and justice for all Arabs, Jews and all those who value the promise of the land. Roxanne Fand Oceanside Advertisement Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below. Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. Its a given that the health of Americas children should be promoted and protected by any reasonable means. No, this is not an editorial about guns and school safety, an issue that after Fridays deadly shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, is again roiling the nation and putting a spotlight on do-nothing politicians. This editorial is about school start times and officials who are actually doing something to help. Its now been a quarter-century since research firmly established how early school start times are awful for adolescents and teens. A 2014 American Academy of Pediatrics study found that big majorities of middle and high school students didnt get the 8.5 to 9.5 hours recommended by health experts and were more likely as a result to be depressed, overweight and struggling in school, and to get into automobile accidents. This is why the worlds leading sleep expert, Stanfords William C. Dement, says many students are walking zombies trying to cope with the stresses of school, work and social activities that may literally be putting their lives in peril. This backdrop is why the San Diego Unified School District deserves high praise for taking steps to have all its schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. by 2020, as reported by NBC 7 San Diego. This will be an imposition for some teachers and other district employees and for many parents. But if employers care about their community, they should show as much flexibility as they can in dealing with those who have to start work later as a result. Before the Legislature rejected a bill last year requiring middle and high schools statewide to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., one lawmaker mocked the bills one-size-fits-all approach as kind of ridiculous. To San Diego school administrators credit, each school will study when theyll start and howll theyll transition to the new start time over the next two years. If the state wont lead, let city schools. Advertisement Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion Is there a finer beverage out there than beer? Were not so sure there is. Whether youre having a quiet homemade dinner with family, spending the day outside at the beach or the ballpark with friends, or just sitting on your couch and catching up on some binge-worthy television, theres no drink that pairs better with a good time than an ice-cold, delicious beer. It doesnt matter if you like a drink thats sweet, bitter, refreshing, challenging, cold, or room temperature, theres a beer out there for you. So in honor of the humble beer and all that it has become in the booming craft beer movement, we sought out the 101 best beers in America. How did we do that? Glad you asked. For the 101 Best Beers in America Gallery, click here. To determine the best beers in America, we cross-checked beer ratings on Untappd, BeerAdvocate, and RateBeer, looking for the beers that average beer drinkers and beer-tasting professionals alike have given the highest ratings and biggest praise. We also tapped in to our own extensive tasting experience and knowledge, giving nods to the best beers our editors have had over the last year. Additionally, because beer (and craft beer specifically) tends to be centered in a few big states like California, Michigan, Florida, Ohio, and Vermont, we gave special consideration to brews from less beer-heavy states like North Dakota and New Mexico. Thus, nearly every state in the union is represented on our list of the 101 best beers in America. We have also left the beers on this list unranked. Our list is diverse in beer styles, and its frankly impossible to weigh the merits of, say, a witbier against the merits of a Russian imperial stout. Advertisement Life is too short to spend it drinking bad beer, thats what we always say. So make sure you never waste your time sipping on swill by adding these 101 best beers in America to your must-try list. Carolyn Menyes, Shannon Darnall, and Taylor Rock contributed to this report. View slideshow More on Beer: 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. valley cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/21/2018 -- Global energy demand had seen an exponential growth over the decade due to changing lifestyle. At the time when natural gas prices witnessing fluctuation and coal resources are depleting, the world is witnessing a significant gap between demand and supply of energy. Though as per World Coal Association, global coal reserves are estimated to be 861 tonne and accounts to 42% of total world electricity production; the year on year growth for coal consumption was highest in FY 2013, making it the highest since 1970. The demand for coal consumption is increasing every year thereby leading to depletion of coal reserves at an alarming rate. Moreover, most regions are economically unviable to extract coal from its bed. It is due to this reason that companies are looking for alternative solution that can lead to harnessing the total potential of coal, without disturbing the ecological balance. Request For Report Sample@:https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-ap-173 Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an industrial process by which coal is gasified under intense heat and atmospheric pressure. This enables the production of synthetic gas, constituents of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which are extracted through a well and utilized in various sectors, ranging from power generation to biodiesel and fertilizer production. Though this concept is not new to the market, little progress has been achieved in this sector, primarily due to low R&D. However, with growing energy consumption and fluctuating oil prices, industries are focusing on UCG to offer clean, efficient and cost-effective energy to various industries. Asia-Pacific is projected as the largest market for underground coal gasification over the next 5 years due to impressive growth in end-use industries ranging from power to chemicals. China along with India, and Australia are key markets for underground coal gasification projects. China is the largest producer as well as the largest consumer of coal based energy. It consumes almost half of the total coal production to meet its energy demand. China has conducted 17 UCG trials since 1991 to check the economic viability of UCG. Major power generating enterprise SinoCoking Coal is planning to harness coal reserves in Henan Province which was abruptly shut down because of strict environmental compliance set up by Chinese government. UCG is an environmental friendly approach that empowers companies to scale high power generation. With world's most populated country, China offers a vibrant platform for energy sector companies to set up their base in China and thereby meet the growing demand of energy in China. Recently, China signed a whooping US $ 1.5 billion major pact with UK for commercial development of UCG in interiors of Mongolia. Next prominent market is India. In India, mining contributes 10% of India's GDP. With vast coal reserves, India is looking towards harnessing coal without disturbing ecological balance. There are also some sites which are economically nonviable to mine. Though India's untapped 88.6 billion tonnes of non-metallurgical coal is found at a depth of 300 to 1200 metre is economically nonviable; UCG makes it economically sound option. Coal India Limited is trying to push the UCG technology to harness the coal in Kaitha (Jharkhand) and Thesgora (Madhya Pradesh) area. These two promising region is expected to generate high return on investment (ROI) by FY 2025. Next prominent destination is Australia. In Australia, most companies are undertaking R&D to fully harness the concept of UCG. At present, three major UCG trials is being conducted by Linc Energy, Cougar Energy, and Carbon Energy at Queensland. Australian government is paying a vigil eye on these projects until the technology is commercially proven. Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-ap-173 SinoCoking Coal, Cougar Energy, Carbon Energy, Linc Energy, and ONGC are key market players that have conducted pilot projects on UCG technology. Future is optimistic for underground coal gasification. With major innovations going around globally, it is expected to meet the needs of people in oil shortage region. Regions including APAC, and Africa will be a future market for underground coal gasification segments. valley cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/21/2018 -- Wind energy is the power extracted from wind using wind turbines. A wind turbine is a device that transforms the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy. Wind energy is a renewable form of energy that is available in ample quantity and extensively. It is an alternative to fossil fuels which are depleting in quantity. Wind energy is the cleanest resource; it has neither toxic gas emissions nor greenhouse gas emissions. Wind turbines are connected to the network of electricity transmission. The onshore and offshore wind that is trapped is an inexpensive, competitive and significant source of energy. Wind energy contributed to 4% of the total global electricity usage in 2013. Request For Report Sample@:https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-la-141 The application of wind turbines is primarily in wind mills that are used to generate electricity. These wind turbines in wind mills can be used to avail off-grid electricity in the remote regions. It has been known to empower rural electrification initiatives. Three fourths of the small wind turbines are present in the remote regions of the world and are the only sources of energy. For instance, wind power systems are fuelling the telecommunication towers in the secluded places between Argentina and Chile. Another application of wind turbines is associated with the hybrids of wind and solar power generation devices. Wind and solar sources complement each other in changing climatic conditions. Wind turbines have vital applications in off-grid, low-power systems in which the storage of batteries is avoided. Wind turbines also have application in cathodic protection pipes in which its electric charge neutralizes the galvanic corrosion of pipes laid in reactive soils. Wind turbines are used to charge electric fences, yacht and boat batteries efficiently. Wind turbines have been used to pump water for decades, and they remain a significant application in both developed and developing economies. The end use industries of wind turbines can be broadly classified into industrial, commercial and residential. The industrial use can be further divided into power generation, agriculture, industrial automation, engineering and telecommunication. Despite being commercially niche market at present, wind turbines are expected to expand due to increasing government subsidies and incentive programmes on the use of wind energy. The global wind industry produced about 37,000 MW in 2013. Latin America, in particular, has provided the industry with an essential substitute growth market for wind power. In 2013, Latin America alone representedapproximately 45% of the installed capacity of North and South America combined. It was largely driven by the wind markets of Brazil and Mexico which can be regarded as the dual pillars of the Latin American market. The average price of wind energy contracts in Brazil is US$ 50/MWh and gives wind energy an edge over conventional fossil fuels there. This is a major driver for the wind turbine market in Brazil. The wind power in Mexico provides power to over 65,000 households and exports it to US. Food and beverage company, Nestle, had invested US$ 60.7 million in wind energy in Mexico, and employed wind energy for its 85% electricity requirement. The cumulative wind capacity in Mexico reached 1988 MW by the end of 2013 indicating a 31.4% growth rate. The installed capacity in 2013 was 76 MW in Argentina, 200 MW in Chile, 30 MW in Peru, 11 MW in Uruguay, and149 MW in Venezuela. Strong wind resources, and rising electricity prices and energy demand are driving the demand for renewable energy higher. The Latin American industrial policies are effective as they have tailored depreciation tax policies which enable industries to actively partner with wind energy generators for their energy usage. Also, wind plants do not need to be in the vicinity of the end user and just need a connection to the Latin American power grids. Feed-in electricity tariffs have been introduced to motivate the use of renewable energy such as wind energy, solar energy, hydropower, thermal energy and biomass energy. This encourages investment in renewable energy as the government makes provisions for higher retail rates for electricity for the producers of new energy technologies. Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-la-141 Consistently declining monopoly in the Latin American electricity sector had paved way for wind turbine manufacturers. The current wind turbine market is competitive. Gamesa is the leading turbine supplier in Mexico and holds 73.5% of the market. It is followed by Vestas with 22% of the market contribution. GE is also a major turbine manufacturer with 4.5% market share in Mexico. Besides, the collapse of the Spain-based OEMs (Other Equipment Manufacturers) wind market has compelled companies to expand their business in Latin America. 2015 BZ509, an object in Jupiters co-orbital region with a retrograde motion around the Sun, is the first known asteroid to have been captured from the interstellar medium, according to a team of astronomers from France and Brazil. All of the planets in our Solar System, and the vast majority of other objects as well, 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. Were sure 2015 BZ509 is retrograde, co-orbital and stable, said Dr. Fathi Namouni of the Cote dAzur Observatory and Dr. Helena Morais of the Universidade Estadual Paulista. The asteroid is retrograde, as its orbit around the Sun counters the prograde norm of following the direction in which the Sun rotates on its own axis; and co-orbital, as it shares Jupiters orbital path albeit backwards; and in resonance with Jupiter, as its orbit is perfectly synced with the planet by taking one Jovian year nearly 12 Earth years to complete. Indeed, the asteroid crosses the giant planets path by tracing what is known as a trisectrix curve, alternately weaving inside then outside Jupiters orbit while the planets gravity tugs help keep the asteroid on a stable course. How 2015 BZ509 came to move in this way while sharing Jupiters orbit has until now been a mystery, Dr. Namouni said. If this asteroid was a native of our Solar 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. These show that the object has always moved in this way, and so could not have been there originally and must have been captured from the interstellar medium. 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, Dr. Morais said. 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. The discovery, reported in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 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 Suns original star nursery, and about the potential enrichment of our early environment with components necessary for the appearance of life on Earth, the astronomers said. _____ F. Namouni & M.H.M. Morais. 2018. An interstellar origin for Jupiters retrograde co-orbital asteroid. MNRAS 477 (1): L117-L121; doi: 10.1093/mnrasl/sly057 EdgeWater Offers SD-WAN Upgrade By Maurice Nagle , Web Editor Software defined networking solutions are setting the course for a high-performing, flexible and cloud-based future, with SD-WAN leading the way. As such, SD-WAN providers are pursuing opportunities to drive revenue through empowering partners. EdgeWater Networks announced Trade Up to SD-WAN, a program offering partners the possibility of upgrading older EdgeMarc Intelligent Edges to a device capable of supporting SD-WAN. The program allows partners to augment functionality, while still maintaining security and service assurance. With Trade Up to SD-WAN, we can quickly turn up a highly differentiated SD-WAN service at our existing ManagEdge Service customers, noted Chris Ready, VP Professional Services at Everest Communications Group, a New York City-based provider of IP Voice Services and Cloud2Edge Universal Partner. Our customers get a top-notch SD-WAN Service and Everest adds a new revenue stream its a win-win. EdgeWater partners gain access to the Cloud2Edge Complete solution, which provides high margin SD-WAN revenue, trade-in discounts, zero touch provisioning, instant access to the EdgeView Service Control Center. Trade Up to SD-WAN is the right program at the right time, stated Mike Evanisko, Chief Technology Officer at 888VoIP and CloudCo, New York-based hardware/cloud services distributors and Cloud2Edge Universal Partners. Interest in SD-WAN among our customers is extremely high. Trade Up to SD-WAN enables us to quickly upgrade an existing, loyal Edgewater Networks (News - Alert) customer and deliver SD-WAN services to them. From SMB to multinational enterprise, SD-WAN is turning heads as a path to the cloud, supporting our SaaSy reality and a key component of this phase of digital transformation. Mounting SD-WAN deployments speak volumes, and are priming projections. Whats in your WAN? Edited by Maurice Nagle The worlds busiest port by shipping tonnage issued a circular on Tuesday reminding ship masters and owners take all necessary measures to prevent their vessels from emitting excessive soot, ash, or dark smoke from engine exhaust and/or ancillary shipboard machineries throughout the duration of vessel stay in port. The MPA said it took a serious view of vessels emitting excessive smoke that could adversely affect air quality and warned that it take stern action against offenders. It quoted regulation 66 of its port regulations that: No person may cause smoke, soot, ash or grit to be emitted from a vessel in such quantity or density as may, in the opinion of the Authority, be a nuisance. Offenders can be prosecuted in court and fined up to SGD5,000 if convicted. In January this Seatrade Maritime News highlighted the environmental image of shipping with pictures taken from Singapores East Coast park of vessels belching black smoke from their funnels at anchorage. Read More: The shipping industrys real environmental image Veniamis said in a statement: "The achievements of Greek shipping are important, not only for Greece but also for Europe and for the welfare of all nations. The Greek-controlled fleet continues to hold the first position internationally, representing about 20% of the global fleet in dwt terms, including a 30% share of tankers and 22% of bulk carriers, while approximately half of the total European Union fleet capacity is Greek-owned. He said Greek shippings achievements are reflected in the way it is welcomed, appreciated and respected by its trading partners around the world. "It is this legacy of commitment and reliability that the Greek shipping community continuously strives to uphold and honour. This is also the legacy that the Posidonia Exhibition carries forward, as an established international institution of outstanding excellence," said Veniamis. Some 1,900 exhibiting companies from 91 countries will be present at the June 4-8 event to be held in the Athens Metropolitan Expo, on the outskirts of the Greek capital. Seatrade Maritime News will be reporting Live From Posidonia 2018 "Posidonia will soon open its doors to exhibitors and visitors from all over the world who will participate in what constitutes a celebration of the maritime industry but also a unique opportunity for presenting the latest technological and other maritime innovations and for initiating solid partnerships. "It is without doubt the most highly acknowledged international event for the global shipping industry and we are particularly pleased our country is its birthplace," said Veniamis, pledging the UGS, "as the institutional representative of the Greek shipping community, will remain at the forefront of efforts to forge strong alliances and establish constructive cooperation with stakeholders for sustainable shipping policies and for the benefit of international shipping, global trade and growth". Comcast, Concentrate, and New Economy Initiative are hosting a free panel discussion featuring food economy entrepreneurs who are growing and scaling companies in the Ypsilanti area. "High Growth Happy Hour: Ypsi's Food Economy" will be held May 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Corner Brewery, 720 Norris St. in Ypsi. The event, which is open to the public, will feature Ypsi Township-based entrepreneur and investment advisor Angela Barbash as moderator and three Ypsi food business owners as panelists. Panelist Rob Hess is the founder of Go! Ice Cream, 10 N. Washington St., which often uses all-natural and local ingredients in its handmade frozen treats. Panelist Melvin Parson is the founder of We the People Growers Association, a sustainable farming initiative focusing on employing returning prisoners. Panelist Eric Mullins is the co-owner of Hyperion Coffee Co., 306 N. River St., a coffee roastery and tasting room in Depot Town. The panel event is part of Comcast's High Growth Happy Hour series, which seeks input from established local entrepreneurs about the challenges and opportunities of launching and growing their businesses in Grand Rapids, the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti region, and metro Detroit. To preview the upcoming discussion, we asked each of the panelists to share their thoughts about the state of Ypsi's food economy. This is what they had to say. (The following interviews have been edited for length and clarity.) Rob Hess Founder, Go! Ice Cream What makes Washtenaw County, or more specifically Ypsilanti, a great place to grow a food economy business? "Ive always said that Go! Ice Cream really wouldnt have taken hold the way that it did in some place other than Ypsilanti. The reason I say that is folks here really want the best for the community and theyre really engaged, so everything from our civic discussions to where we decide to put our dollars to what we decide to promote via word of mouth, those things are all really thoughtful. I think theres more apathy in other places than there is in Ypsilanti. Here we fight, we have ideals, we have thoughts, we really engage, and were not afraid to put those things to the test and put those things out there. So people have really just rallied behind us ever since it was just me on the bike selling at the farmers market and I think its because of the nature of the people who are attracted to live in Ypsilanti." What resources in the region offer support for entrepreneurs, especially those in the food business? "I drew on several formal resources, including SPARK and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Those were really formative experiences for me. The main support that I got, honestly, was from other food folks, other business folks, other entrepreneurs in the area. Those folks all really rallied around me. Everyone was extremely supportive, whether it was Bona Sera, who loaned me kitchen space, or it was Zingermans Creamery, who helped me figure out how to get my (ice cream) base pasteurized in the very beginning. Those folks were absolutely formative in helping us get off the ground." What kind of support or resources do you need to take your business to the next level? "Ive never been the kind of person who relies too heavily on formalized, institutional knowledge of resources, so theres a reason I didnt go to the SBDC as much as I probably should have. This sounds kind of weird and hippie, but the main things I think I need are more entrepreneurs, more folks around the area doing things to the beat of their own drum. I think there are a lot of ways to scale up your operation or grow your business in a more traditional way that sometimes can be less community-minded, a little bit less creative, maybe a little bit more exploitative. And Ive really found that the same folks and organizations who have helped us grow are those folks who are thinking about those things differently and solving the same problems by being more creative in the way that they approach it. Ive got a really great group of friends that has helped ever since day one to keep my brain in line so that we do things the way that make sense to us. And sometimes thats just other business owners who get me around the table with a beer and kick my ass a little bit. I think its really just a bulkhead of entrepreneurs solving business problems with a creative, community-minded approach." Melvin Parson Founder, We the People Growers Association What makes Washtenaw County, or more specifically Ypsilanti, a great place to grow a food economy business? "There are a couple of things that come to mind. A lot of folks who live in Washtenaw County, or Ypsilanti specifically, are more conscientious of food and where it comes from and are more supportive of the localness of it all. Theyre supportive of local farmers. There are several thriving farmers markets in Ann Arbor and in Ypsilanti. And the diversity of the folks is also important. Sometimes you see at the farmers market in Ypsilanti a nice mix of people buying and supporting locally grown food and other things." What resources in the region offer support for entrepreneurs, especially those in the food business? "Tilian Farm Development Center offers a space to beginning farmers or offers up land to help grow and develop beginning farmers. MSU Extension is a good resource for entrepreneurs in the food industry. I think those two are the ones that come to mind in terms of resourcefulness." What kind of support or resources do you need to take your business to the next level? "A couple of things that jump out at me are land and money. When it comes down to it, without land access and money, its inevitably impossible to really grow and be a farmer. So both of those are important. To be honest, theres other resources outside of that that need to come to the table to make things happen for my vision, whether thats support with workforce development or support for the back-end things of growing a farming business, like bookkeeping, accounting, or administrative help. But first and foremost is long-term land access and money." Eric Mullins Cofounder, Hyperion Coffee Co. What makes Washtenaw County, or more specifically Ypsilanti, a great place to grow a food economy business? "For Ypsilanti specifically, were located in Depot Town, which already has some long-term food businesses. I think people enjoy having a coffee roaster as a part of the local economy and having that transparency in where their products come from. In Washtenaw County weve had a really great response to our product and what were doing, because I think people in the county also want that transparency. It might be a little different in Ypsilanti because theres not a ton of money like in downtown Ann Arbor, but its still an evolving food culture where people are really interested in where their food comes from and why its sourced a certain way, which I dont know if you find a lot of other places." What resources in the region offer support for entrepreneurs, especially those in the food business? "We have gotten a few different grants through the city, through the Downtown Development Authority, and a lot of help from the Historic Commission in Ypsi. Their grants helped us get an ADA entrance on our space here. They also helped us put in a bathroom and helped us put signage outside the building so were more visible. So theyve been really excellent as far as that goes." What kind of support or resources do you need to take your business to the next level? "I think in the next couple of years here we are looking to expand and potentially open up an official cafe location somewhere else in Washtenaw County. Some people take out loans in order to be in business and they run a deficit while they have that. And thats never been our thing. Weve been primarily self-financed, so weve grown very much organically and with the consent of our community and all of the business partners that we work with. I guess what would really help us as a business would be a greater education in our products and what were doing, and I dont know that anybody else could really offer that outside of ourselves. But even then, maybe if we had a little bit more money for offering those resources to our customers and wholesale accounts in greater Washtenaw County then it could be something that would benefit everybody." To hear more from these panelists, RSVP now for our High Growth Happy Hour event on Ypsi's food economy! Brianna Kelly is the project manager for On the Ground Ypsi and an Ypsilanti resident. She has worked for The Associated Press and has freelanced for The Detroit News and Crain's Detroit Business. All photos by Doug Coombe. Press Release May 21, 2018 Villar holds hearing to look into measures taken by 13 agencies mandated to rehabilitate Manila Bay Sen. Cynthia Villar presided over a committee hearing to review the strategies and measures implemented by government agencies mandated to clean-up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay. Villar, chair of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, held the hearing on Proposed Senate Resolution No. 398 and 690 to look into the steps taken by 13 government agencies to comply with the writ of continuing mandamus issued by the Supreme Court. "A decade after the Supreme Court ordered the clean-up, there is still no indication that the quality of the waters of Manila Bay has significantly improved," Villar said. "Manila Bay is a historical landmark. It is known in the world because of its breathtaking sunset. Over 300,000 fishermen depend on it for livelihood. We owe it to our children to rehabilitate and preserve it so that they will continue to reap its benefits," she added. On December 18, 2008, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in G.R.No. 171947-48 ordering 13 government agencies "to clean up, rehabilitate, and preserve Manila Bay and restore and maintain its waters to SB level to make them fit for swimming, skin diving, and other forms of contact recreation." These agencies are the Metro Manila Development Authority, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Agriculture- Bureau of Fisheries, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Budget and Management, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police-Maritime Group, Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, and Local Water Utilities Administration. SB Level or Class B sea water under DENR's Water Classification Tables is recreational water class for primarily contact recreation such as bathing, swimming, skin diving, or for tourism purpose. According to the resolution, "Manila Bay and its diverse ecosystem are constantly exposed to the inimical effects of the various human activities, which include improper solid waste management, inefficient sewerage system, the lingering challenge of having informal settlements along coastal areas and other waterways, water pollution, thereby contributing to the continuing degradation of Manila Bay." Villar also filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 690 to inquire into the efforts done by PPA as the agency tasked to regulate and oversee ports in the country in the clean-up, rehabilitation and preservation of Manila Bay. Under the writ of mandamus, PPA was given the specific duty "to immediately adopt such measures to prevent the discharge and dumping of solid and liquid wastes and other ship-generated wastes into the Manila Bay waters from vessels docked at ports and apprehend the violators." "Given its duties, it is also the responsibility of PPA to ensure that the operation of the port of Manila and the structures built within its environs are consistent with the effort to revive Manila Bay," Villar said. "The burgeoning informal settlement on the Manila Bay coastal area at the port of Manila, particularly near the Manila International Container Terminal, not just affect the efficacy of the operation of the port, but actually hampers the efforts towards the clean up," she added. The lady senator said the high court's mandamus is an indication that the Manila Bay problem should not be regarded as a matter affecting only the more than 34 million people living within the basin area but also as a national concern that should be addressed by national government agencies. Press Release May 22, 2018 Selling Dirt in the Case of Republic v. Sereno A Commentary by Sen. Leila M. de Lima 22 May 2018 The primary issue in the case of Republic v. Sereno (G.R. 237428; May 11, 2018) is if impeachable officials as enumerated in the 1987 Constitution can be removed from office other than by impeachment. If answered in the negative, there would even be no discussion anymore on the other issues, like the timeliness of the quo warranto petition, the filing of SALNs as a test of integrity of judges and justices, the nature of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), and the power of the Supreme Court to void a decision of the JBC made five years ago. It is the most important issue in the case. However, the discussion in the majority opinion shows that it is also the least supported by legal authority. Throughout the entire decision, there are four specific instances where the majority concluded that impeachable officials may not only be removed from office via impeachment, but also through quo warranto proceedings. In the very first assertion of this doctrine ever in Philippine jurisprudence, the majority of the Court said that "[a]side from the difference in their origin and nature, quo warranto and impeachment may proceed independently of each other as these remedies are distinct as to (1) jurisdiction (2) grounds, (3) applicable rules pertaining to initiation, filing and dismissal, and (4) limitations". (p.51, Decision) This is the very first time ever in the history of the Philippine legal and justice system that this doctrine was asserted in jurisprudence. It has no citation. It is a bare-faced introduction of a new and completely alien doctrine devoid of any supporting authority whatsoever. The second instance that this conclusion was made in the majority opinion was two pages after its introduction. The Court said that "[q]uo warranto and impeachment are, thus, not mutually exclusive remedies and may even proceed simultaneously". The Court proceeds to establish that "[t]he existence of other remedies against the usurper does not prevent the State from commencing a quo warranto proceeding". Unlike the first statement, this iteration is supported by a citation (a mere footnote), a 1976 California case involving a public utility company. The third instance this conclusion was specifically asserted in the majority opinion, the Court said that logic and sound policy demand that the congressional power of impeachment be construed to be a concurrent, not an exclusive, power of removal. This second iteration is also supported by a citation, a 1930 article published in the Michigan Law Journal. In the fourth instance the conclusion was declared, it was now made to appear to be a long-established doctrine in political and remedial law, on the basis of the 1976 California case and the 1930 US law school journal article. The Court said, with all finality, that borne out of a scholarly research of one 1976 California case as supported by a 1930 law school journal article, "[t]he courts should be able to inquire into the validity of appointments of impeachable officers". (p. 62, Decision) The California case, Citizens Utilities Co. v. Superior Court, is the only case cited in the majority opinion to support the consolidated cases of Estrada v. Desierto and Estrada v. Macapagal-Arroyo, thus laying down the doctrine that quo warranto is concurrent with impeachment as a mode in removing impeachable officials. To be more precise, it is the very first authority cited by the majority as precedent to the Estrada cases, though the latter are hardly binding authority on the theory that quo warranto is a substitute for impeachment. This case is not even about impeachable officials. It is about the authority to operate of a public water utility company in Alameda County, California. The contention was not even between the exclusive constitutional power of Congress to impeach high public officials and the power of the courts to oust them through quo warranto. The issue was on the power of the Superior Court of Alameda County to entertain a quo warranto petition filed by the California Attorney General against a public franchise-holder despite the assumption of jurisdiction by the Public Utilities Commission over matters used as grounds by the Attorney General in his quo warranto petition. For several reasons, this is the worst authority ever to cite for a Supreme Court decision that seeks to supplant a constitutionally-engraved exclusive mandate of Congress. First, the California case was not even decided by the California Supreme Court or the US Supreme Court. It was decided by a mere division of the California Court of Appeals. Second, the Attorney General actually lost in this case. A writ of prohibition was actually issued preventing the Superior Court of Alameda County from further hearing the quo warranto petition filed by the Attorney General against the public utility company. According to the California Court of Appeals: In the present case it is clear that the [Public Utility] Commission has assumed jurisdiction upon a related question germane to the operation of petitioner utility company and that it has acted on the particular question which is the subject of the quo warranto action. The matter upon which the Commission has assumed jurisdiction is cognate and germane to the regulation of public utilities. xxx In sum, the Commission has assumed jurisdiction upon a question germane to the operation of petitioner, i.e., the adequacy of water service to consumers in petitioner's district. xxx xxx Let a peremptory writ of prohibition issue restraining and prohibiting respondent court from taking any further proceedings in the action entitled "The People of the State of California v. Citizens Utilities Company of California," civil action No. 464534-2, pending in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Alameda, until the Public Utilities Commission has determined the matter presently before it xxx. Citing a case where the Attorney General actually lost a quo warranto case is not exactly the best way to uphold the power of the Solicitor General to oust Sereno through a quo warranto case. If any, this case is clearly in support of the argument that Congress's assumption of jurisdiction over the charges against Sereno ousts the courts of jurisdiction to entertain a quo warranto case filed against her by the Solicitor General on the same grounds. That is what Citizens Utilities v. Superior Court of Alameda County actually states. The second authority cited in the majority opinion is a 1930 Michigan Law Review article entitled "Federal Judges: Appointment, Supervision, and Removal: Some Possibilities under the Constitution" written by Burke W. Shartel. Shartel was a faculty member of the University of Michigan Law School from 1920 to 1958 and specialized on constitutional law and personal property law. The Shartel article is an academic treatise on the non-exclusivity of impeachment as a mode of removing federal judges. Certainly, this is a very old article from 1930 that might no longer even reflect the current American legal discourse on the matter. The author himself admits that removal of impeachable federal judges other than by impeachment is a mere proposal for consideration. It is not hornbook doctrine in the US federal system. The proposal for non-exclusivity of impeachment contained in the article is not US Supreme Court doctrine. To date, no US Supreme Court justice has ever been removed, whether by impeachment or any other mode. Only one has ever been impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate. All the other impeachable federal judges ousted from office were removed by impeachment. Not a single one was removed by any other mode such as quo warranto. This speaks volume on the value of Shartel's treatise on the removal of impeachable federal judges and US Supreme Court Justices in American jurisprudence. It was never adopted. It has no jurisprudential value whatsoever except for purposes of academic discussion. The problem is, our own Supreme Court decided to adopt it as its ultimate source and authority in supplanting Congress's exclusive constitutional mandate to remove impeachable officials. This is a 41-year old American law professor writing a legal paper in 1930 that would dictate the interpretation of the 1987 Philippine Constitution eighty-eight years after. Citing a California Court of Appeals case involving a public utility water company where the Attorney General actually lost the quo warranto case on the ground of primary jurisdiction of another body, and a 1930 Michigan Law Review article whose treatise was never adopted in American jurisprudence, does not do justice to the 1986 Constitutional Commission deliberations and the Supreme Court cases of Cuenco v. Fernan, In re: Gonzalez, Jarque v. Desierto, Lecaroz v. Sandiganbayan, and Marcoleta v. Borra which hold that impeachable officials may only be removed by impeachment. The majority opinion in Republic v. Sereno has just held that in the interpretation of the 1987 Constitution, a 1976 California case on a public utility company and a 1930 American law school journal article should prevail over the deliberations of the 1986 Constitutional Commission and five Philippine Supreme Court decisions. This is not only scraping the bottom of the barrel. It is simply just trying to sell us dirt. Justice Tijam should fire his researchers. Press Release May 22, 2018 Legarda lauds PH return to the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale with Cabalfin's 'The City Who Had Two Navels' Senator Loren Legarda lauds the staging of the Philippine Pavilion in this year's Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy which will feature the art and craftsmanship of Dr. Edson Cabalfin as curator. "This year's exhibition will emphasize the importance of architecture in building equitable, sustainable and inclusive societies, and it will be interesting to see how Dr. Cabalfin interpreted the effect of architecture in our daily lives, our community, and even in our past, present and future as a nation" Legarda said. "I see architecture as a crucial element of building equitable, sustainable and inclusive societies. These facets of architecture are present in our Philippine Pavilion. The curatorial concept of Dr. Cabalfin does not look at city as mere built heritage, built structure or architecture, but it looks deeper into the people who live in the city, the souls of the society, and the whole ecosystem," Legarda said. Getting inspiration from the literary work of national artist Nick Joaquin's "The Woman with Two Navels", the exhibition will look at how the past is affecting the present and the future. The Philippine contribution to the Biennale highlights two "navels" that representstwo forces that have shaped the Philippine built environment for centuries; first, colonialism and second, neoliberalism. Dr. Edson Cabalfin, the curator of the 2018 Philippine Pavilion, for his part, encourages the spectators to immerse themselves into the installations and contemplate on their own experiences and challenges to answer two fundamental questions posed by the pavilion: First, can we truly escape the colonial? And second, is neoliberalism now the new form of colonialism? This year's exhibitors in the Philippine Pavilion are: Yason Banal, the University of the Philippines - Mindanao from Davao City; the University of San Carlos from Cebu City;?the University of the Philippines - Diliman, and De la Salle - College of Saint Benilde from Metro Manila; and, TAO-Pilipinas, Inc., a non-governmental organization (NGO) of architects and planners based in Quezon City. The Senator emphasized that the presence of the Philippines in the Venice Biennale is an advocacy in itself, and ensuring its continuity, a challenge. She envisions for the Filipino talent to be an integral and dynamic part of the global contemporary art scene because, "through this, we are able to converse to the world the dynamic evolution of the Filipino built culture and how we recognize the impact of architecture to our history and heritage," Legarda said. The Philippine Pavilion, a joint project of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, will hold its vernissage on May 24 and will be open to the public from May 26 to November 25, 2018 at the Artiglierie, Arsenale, Venice, Italy. POE: CONVERTING LTO EXTENSION OFFICES INTO REGULAR LICENSING CENTERS TO EASE TRANSACTIONS, DECLOG WORKLOAD Sen. Grace Poe today said the passage of six bills seeking to convert extension offices of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) into regular district offices will improve services at licensing and renewal centers in various towns for the benefit of the public. Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services and sponsor of the measures, said converting extension offices into regular LTO offices "would mean faster processing of transactions and shorter queues" in that they will have substantial and permanent staff and necessary funding to handle larger transactions for driver's license and motor vehicle registration. "Inaasahan natin--at inaatasan natin--ang mga opisyal diyan sa LTO offices na gawan ng paraan ang matagal nang problema sa mga licensing center--ang napakahabang pila," said Poe following the approval on second reading of the measures on Tuesday, May 22. The following measures were approved: House Bill No. (HBN) 927 converting the LTO licensing center in Kawit, Cavite into a regular licensing center; HBN 1875 converting the LTO extension office in Muntinlupa into a regular district office; HBN 3169 converting the LTO licensing center in Batangas City into a regular licensing center; HBN 3188 converting the Caloocan City extension office located in Malabon into a regular Malabon distict office; HBN 3986 converting the LTO Balayan, Batangas into a regular district office; and HBN 4166 converting the LTO San Pablo, Laguna licensing center into a regular licensing center. Poe was also the principal sponsor of Republic Act No. 10930 which extended the validity of driver's licenses to five years and further renewable for a period of 10 years if the license holder has not committed any violation. Poe will also conduct a hearing on Friday, May 25, in Iloilo City on various bills seeking to create regular LTO offices in the Visayas. , 15 2005 ., 40- , - , . , - . , 2005 ., . 1 2007 ., , . , , , , , , . , , , , , , , , . , . , . , . . . , : , . 1 2007 . , , . 40- , , . , . Foley Family Wines has entered into a conditional agreement to issue 2.03 million shares to Lion - Beer, Spirits & Wine (NZ), the local unit of Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings, to partially fund its $55 million acquisition of Mt Difficulty Wines. It also plans to make an offer to existing retail shareholders through a share purchase plan. "Having Lion becoming an important stakeholder in FFW NZ is a fantastic next step in our journey in NZ. From a personal perspective it reaffirms my desire to continue to invest in New Zealand," said chair of Foley Family Wines, US businessman Bill Foley. Under the terms of the conditional subscription agreement, the shares will be issued at $1.48 per share and the placement forms part of a $20 million capital raising, it said in a release to the stock exchange. The NZAX-listed company's shares last traded up 0.7 percent at $1.45. They have fallen 4 percent so far this year. "If issued on the date of this announcement, the placement shares would have constituted 3.7 percent of Foley Family Wines' post-issuance share capital," it said. Foley Family Wines bought Mt Difficulty Wines last November subject to Overseas Investment Office approval, adding the premium Mt Difficulty and Roaring Meg brands to its suite which already includes Vavasour, Grove Mill and Te Kairanga. It expects the transaction to settle in June. Today's deal with Lion is subject to a number of conditions which must be met by Dec. 31. These include confirmation the OIO conditions has been approved or waived for the Mt Difficulty Wines purchase, an extension or replacement of an existing agreement regarding the exclusive distribution by Lion of Mt Difficulty and Martinborough Vineyards wines in New Zealand once the sale is complete, and no material adverse event that would mean Foley Family Wines was unable to deliver a sufficient quantity of wine to Lion for its 2019 business plan under that distribution agreement. Settlement and allotment of the shares will occur three business days after satisfaction of the conditions. Lion will subscribe for the placement shares in cash, it said. The wine company also said it intends to make a share purchase offer to existing retail shareholders with a registered address in New Zealand at the same price as the subscription agreement. The record date for determining entitlements to participate and other key dates will be announced shortly, it said. 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Related News: Comvita Limited (NZX: CVT) Reports Strong Q1 Earnings Improvement 11th October 2021 Morning Report Z Energy Limited (NZX: ZEL) Board Unanimously Recommends Scheme of Arrangement Radius Residential Care Limited (NZX: RAD) Announces the Acquisition of Clare House 8th October 2021 Morning Report Briscoe Group Limited (NZX: BGP) Interim Report for Period Ended 1 August 2021 Good Spirits Hospitality Limited (NZX: GSH) Completion of Lease of Viaduct Venue 7th October 2021 Morning Report Just Life Group Limited (NZX: JLG) Acquisition of Intenza New Zealand and Market Update Experience Comvita's Story of Innovation and Connection at World Expo 2020 Dubai Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi wants people to tell him about their concerns with the insurance industry, as pressure builds on the sector over conflicts of interest around incentives, harsh disclosure provisions, and unfair exemption clauses. A well-functioning, fair insurance system was essential, but New Zealand's regulations were outdated, with legislation spanning six different acts, some of them more than 100 years old, Faafoi said. There are significant problems with New Zealands insurance contract law, which are undermining the effectiveness of our insurance markets ... I have heard, for example, that consumers are sometimes not covered for losses or unable to claim for important needs like health treatment because they innocently did not disclose seemingly unrelated matters to the insurers, Faafoi said. I hope onerous disclosure requirement is an issue that will be addressed in feedback from submitters." Announcing the start of public consultation on New Zealands contract law, the minister highlighted several worrying practices, including: Insurers refusing all claims under a policy if the consumer does not share a material fact, even if the undisclosed fact is unrelated to the claims made, the non-disclosure did not cause any loss to the insurer and the non-disclosure was innocent; The fact there was no single regulatory body dealing with the full policy lifecycle, leading in some cases to protracted disputes over claims and bad outcomes for consumers; Remuneration practices, both in terms of financial commissions and other perks that may be incentivising behaviours that are negatively impacting consumers. This includes agents persuading people to take out policies they dont need, or to switch to a new policy that isnt as good as the one they had before; Excessive pressure on potential customers from people selling insurance. In Australia, a review of insurance sales tactics led to thousands of customers getting refunds; Unfair contract terms, particularly exclusions and exceptions. Faafoi isnt the only one worried about the insurance sector. A hard-hitting report from the Financial Markets Authority last week highlighted $34 million of perks received by life and health insurance sales people over a two year period, including prizes, sponsorships and free overseas trips. The report noted significant conflicts of interest around this soft remuneration and asked whether agents could give good advice to customers when working towards targets to get these rewards. Another FMA report, Replacing life insurance - who benefits? released in March this year, found significant conflicts of interests can arise from incentives and commission in the life insurance industry. But many advisers didnt recognise the problem, nor were they aware of their obligation under the Financial Advisers Act 2008 to exercise care, diligence and skill towards customers. Jessica Wilson, head of research at Consumer New Zealand, welcomed the announcement: This review is long overdue. Weve been calling for reform for some time and talking about the issues the minister has raised for years. Wilson said the organisation already has evidence from members that it can provide to the review, and will be gathering more. Consultation is open until 5pm on Friday, July 13, 2018. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Now is the time to reassess your investments Now is the time to reassess your investments Fonterra looking to lift China's importance in new strategy A2, Synlait shares climb as takeover bid revives optimism about Chinese appetite for milk Service sector activity eases in August but still expanding Lumpy imports drive bigger July trade deficit than expected Nimbys, carparks and the status quo under threat as govt tells big cities: grow up and out Dairy manufacturers got better prices in June quarter Orr defends RBNZ rate cut, says monetary policy looks ahead, not behind RBNZ's Orr says investors need to put their money to work Concerns that there may not be enough wood fibre to supply a new $180 million particleboard plant proposed for Kawerau have been quashed by an industry study which concludes "there is more than enough wood available" although it notes the increased demand may push up prices in an industry dependent on low-cost supply. Chinas Guangxi Fenglin Wood Industry Group last year announced plans to establish a plant in Kawerau by 2020 to produce 600,000 cubic metres of panel boards a year and generate 100 new jobs, at an expected cost of $180 million. That prompted push back from some in the industry, with the Wood Processors & Manufacturers Association of New Zealand raising concerns that timber mills in the region didnt produce enough wood fibre to supply the proposed plant as well as existing big pulp mills of Kinleith in Tokoroa and Tasman in Kawerau, which are owned by Japans Oji Fibre Solutions. Fenglins proposed plant is expected to initially produce particle board and later expand to medium-density fibre board (MDF). "There is more than enough wood available to support an additional 700,000 cubic metres of domestic fibre demand," Finland forestry consultancy Indufor concluded in its evaluation of wood fibre availability for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. "The question becomes the availability by fibre type (and hence fibre cost)." Pulp log prices in New Zealand have remained remarkably static over recent years even though prices for other log types have surged higher. Data from NZX's agricultural analysis business AgriHQ shows average national pulp log prices have fallen over the past six years, from $52.60 a tonne in the first quarter of 2012 to $50.50 a tonne in the first quarter of this year. That's in contrast to other log prices, with A-grade export logs surging from $82.70 a tonne to $131.30 a tonne over the same period, and domestic S1 logs jumping from $98.40 a tonne to $131.20 a tonne. Indufor notes that industrial fibre is "relatively low cost', and is sourced from forest operations in the form of pulp logs and residues from logging operations and sawmills. "Low raw material costs are crucial to competitiveness, and hence the viability of the industry," Indufor said. The forestry consultancy said low-quality small diameter logs, which had traditionally been used by local industrial fibre plants have experienced strengthening demand in recent years as a result of a buoyant log export market competing for a similar product and solid domestic demand. This meant central North Island industrial fibre plants had to source logs from other regions and use industrial and small sawlogs that could otherwise be exported. "This highlights that the shortfall is an economic rather than physical deficit," Indufor said. "If the price for low-grade export logs drops, the volume available for domestic consumption will increase." The use of forest binwood had increased in recent years to help meet shortfalls and shorter binwood types were underutilised due to handling costs and the fact that it was less suitable for the pulp and paper sector, Indufor said. The short binwood was suitable for particleboard although there is uncertainty over volumes and the cost of extraction, it said. The report noted that demand for sawmill residue was strong, with all central North Island woodchip consumed and additional supply sourced from as far afield as Northland and Taranaki. Shavings were frequently burnt on site for power or heat generation or used in agriculture, sawdust showed periodic surpluses and other mill residues were used on site or sold as boiler fuel, it said. "The impact of the new facility on central NI wood fibre availability (and hence cost) will therefore depend on the quantity of in-surplus material that is available, namely short or less accessible forest binwood, and to a lesser extent, sawdust from processing facilities," Indufor said. It estimated about 250,000 cubic metres a year of forest binwood may be available although it will only be recovered if it can be delivered at a lower cost than the next cheapest supply source, and sawdust volumes of 100,000 cubic metres a year are also likely to be available. "The balance of the new demand (350,000 cubic metres per annum) will need to be fulfilled by logs currently being exported (mostly industrial grade and small sawlogs), as well as further inter-region transfer of logs and woodchips," it said. "This will push up the average delivered cost of fibre to all fibre users in the North Island." Indufor said some increase in domestic sawmilling activity is possible, with the increased capacity helping contain fibre costs. "If a greater volume of whole logs was processed onshore, then there would be extra mill residues available for domestic industrial fibre consumers," it said. Capacity would need to increase by at least 25 percent, or 900,000 cubic metres above 2017 consumption, in order for the impact on feedstock price to industrial fibre consumers to be contained, it said. Higher forest binwood recoveries would also assist in containing fibre price increases, it said. Fenglins planned investment in Kawerau has been hailed as a huge benefit to the district by Mayor Malcolm Campbell, who noted the area had traditionally faced a shortage of job opportunities. Founded in 2000, Fenglin was one of the earliest engineering board manufacturers in China and the first in Guangxi Province, according to its website. Listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Fenglin has three MDF plants and one particle board plant in China with total capacity of 810,000 cubic metres a year, and also owns about 14,000 hectares of forests to secure wood supply. With plants in Chinas Guangxi and Guangdon provinces, the company said it began to explore more international opportunities from 2015. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Comvita Limited (NZX: CVT) Reports Strong Q1 Earnings Improvement 11th October 2021 Morning Report Z Energy Limited (NZX: ZEL) Board Unanimously Recommends Scheme of Arrangement Radius Residential Care Limited (NZX: RAD) Announces the Acquisition of Clare House 8th October 2021 Morning Report Briscoe Group Limited (NZX: BGP) Interim Report for Period Ended 1 August 2021 Good Spirits Hospitality Limited (NZX: GSH) Completion of Lease of Viaduct Venue 7th October 2021 Morning Report Just Life Group Limited (NZX: JLG) Acquisition of Intenza New Zealand and Market Update Experience Comvita's Story of Innovation and Connection at World Expo 2020 Dubai Thala Ajith is one of the biggest survivors in Tamil cinema. Despite serious injuries, the actor continues to perform daredevil stunts on his own. Sources say that recently when Thala Ajith had to dance for the festival song in Viswasam, he faced a lot of difficulties while pulling off the dance steps but still he didnt give up. The actor actually encouraged fellow dancers and completed his portions in style. Sources say that the entire team of Viswasam was impressed with the energy level of Thala Ajith and his dedication even after achieving everything in the industry. Ajith also patiently clicked pictures with all the junior artists, assistant directors, camera assistants and spot boys. Deputy National Security Advisor Rajinder Khanna, who took part in the National Security Council Secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, held talks with Chinese Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi. : India and China on Monday 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. The two sides discussed security and law enforcement cooperation between the two countries after the Wuhan Summit, an Indian Embassy tweet in Beijing 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 in Beijing today. Over the years, the SCO has developed strong anti-terrorism cooperation structure, Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS). 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'. He told party workers in an emotional message that their efforts would not go in vain. : Coming to grips with the loss inthe numbers game in government formation, Bharatiya Janata Party Karnataka chief B S Yeddyurappa vowed to stage a comeback. 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 Janata Dal-Secular with 37 seats too lost three seats as compared to the last assembly, he said. '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. 'You have toiled hard for the party, left your family for months on my call for 'ParivartanaYatre'. I will not let your efforts go down the drain. Don't lose heart. Your strength is my strength,' he said. He asked his workers to stay calm for a while, for he would soon return with more strength, more courage and more abilities. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The newly constructed Goethals Bridge, which opened its second span to traffic on Monday, has been purposefully designed with room to implement alternate transportation options, including a potential light rail. "We've been looking at doing something for public transit since the beginning," said James Blackmore, program director of the Goethals Bridge Replacement Project. The new cable-stayed, twin-spanned Goethals Bridge was constructed with a central corridor between the two spans, sufficient to accommodate potential transit options. "This structure can actually be connected across the center portion of the bridge in the future, and it can support up to and including light rail," said Blackmore. For years, Staten Island officials and the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation have called for a light rail on the West Shore, with two studies done in 2004 and 2009. In May 2017, the MTA included $4 million in its amended capital plan for 2015-2019 to again study a potential West Shore light rail that would travel across the Bayonne Bridge to connect with New Jersey Transit's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line. The prospect of a light rail across a Port Authority bridge appears to appeal not only to the people of Staten Island, but also to New Jersey's top transportation official. "The component of this bridge that is truly important is it has a multi-modal component. It provides the opportunity to add transit to the bridge," said NJ DOT acting commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. While the construction of a light rail line is possible, the Port Authority tempered expectations, noting that a bus-based rapid transit option was more likely to be implemented. "We envision that the future may hold some type of rubber tire rapid transit for that," said Blackmore. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As the end of the school year looms, Port Richmond High School has yet to appoint a permanent principal. At a School Leadership Team meeting last week, parents expected to hear an announcement regarding whether interim acting principal Oneatha Swinton, or another candidate, would be appointed principal. They were disappointed when an announcement wasn't made. A C30 hearing was held for Swinton in March, a process all interim principals must go through for final approval. "[Swinton] was placed in the school last July," said a parent, who asked to remain anonymous. "Every other school has an appointed principal. They keep postponing it. Investigations are ongoing. You can't be appointed permanent if you have investigations." According to a DOE regulation, candidates recommended for appointment as principal are submitted for investigation by the Office of Special Investigations, the Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation and the Office of Personnel Investigations for clearance. "This is a fair process that remains ongoing, and it will be concluded appropriately," said DOE spokesman Douglas Cohen. "The regulation ensures that input from parents and staff members is included." LETTER TO GOVERNOR Parents sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop the city from appointing Swinton as principal, citing several concerns. Swinton has been under scrutiny since the beginning of the school year, when rumors spread about Port Richmond's honors program being eliminated. Issues mentioned in the letter included the claim that honors and other special program were disbanded. In October, the DOE told the Advance that there were no programs eliminated. Instead, the Honors Academy pooled resources to allow greater financial support for all participating students. Swinton also faced backlash for allegedly living in New York while insuring her car in another state, another issue cited in the letter. Cuomo's office did not respond to a request for comment. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. AUSTIN, Texas -- 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. And until Monday, the governor's re-election website was raffling off a shotgun. 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. 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 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 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 Feb. 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 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. 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." "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. Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, is 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. School officials said students won't return to classes until after Memorial Day -- on Tuesday, May 29. Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said Monday police were able to "engage" the shooter four minutes after they were called. He said the shooter was contained until his arrest, with minimal gunfire from law enforcement officers, to the art classroom where his bloody rampage was focused. That allowed the rest of the school to be evacuated safely. How much time elapsed from the moment gunfire erupted until the last victim was shot remains unclear. Trochesset said he doesn't think any additional students were shot after officers confronted the shooter but can't make a final determination until autopsies are completed. Trochesset said 200 officers from law enforcement agencies throughout the region converged Friday afternoon on the shooting scene. Santa Fe High School had an active-shooter plan and two armed security guards on campus. Abbott and Texas Republicans have embraced a steady relaxation of gun 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 he was "embarrassed" that Texas lagged behind California in gun sales. In 2017, he bragged about his accuracy with a pistol at a shooting range. In a speech to the NRA convention in Dallas, Abbott said, "The problem is not guns. The problem is hearts without God. It is homes without discipline and communities without values." On Monday, Abbott's 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, 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 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." STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- They locked doors, covered windows and stacked chairs to barricade the door to prevent an active shooter from entering the classroom. As conversations continue on school safety across the country following several school shootings, faculty and staff at St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School took part in active shooter drills on Monday. The session at the Huguenot school included what to do if there are injuries, the on-site resources available, and what to expect in the aftermath of an active shooter situation. According to the school's Facebook page, every classroom has lockdown bolts on doors and window blockers. There are three security guards on duty, and security cameras are installed throughout the school building. The active shooter training entailed a classroom component for all our faculty and staff. Posted by St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School on Monday, May 21, 2018 SECURITY PROTOCOL Private and Catholic schools on Staten Island determine their own protocols, according to Nicholas Iacono, a spokesman for the Office of Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York. "Security protocols at Catholic private schools are determined by the individual school leadership and boards in close consultation with local, state and federal law enforcement officials," Iacono told the Advance. The Office of the Superintendent provides schools with support, direction and security training. All Catholic schools in the Archdiocese work to update, refine and improve safety procedures to "ensure the continued security and well-being of our students, families, and staff." PUBLIC SCHOOLS The city Department of Education requires public schools to conduct emergency drills, in which they immediately clear hallways, lock doors and take positions out of sight to practice the ability to put the building into a protective posture as quickly as possible. These measures allow time for law enforcement responders to arrive on scene and neutralize the threat. Each plan is approved by the Office of Safety and Youth Development and NYPD. To ensure safety for all students and staff, specific emergency response plans and procedures must remain confidential. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. 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The purpose of the committee was to develop an action plan to help restore SXM and the hub partner air services to the baseline level of 2016 as soon as possible. The goal is to achieve the 2016 volume of the island passengers connectivity through SXM for the benefit of all. Four objectives were identified and will be pursued including the preparation and execution of a joint market-ing plan, review of how intra-regional travel costs might be reduced to stimulate travel, a plan for improved SXM passenger connectivity and consideration of adding a new hub partner member to the Air Service Devel-opment Committee. In attendance were hub partner representatives of Dominica, St. Barths, French St. Martin, Anguilla and St. Maarten. The hub partner countries of BVI, Saba and St. Eustatius could not be in attendance. The Minister of TEATT, Dr. Cornelius De Weever and the first Vice-President of the Collectivite Territoriale, Valerie Damaseau, also attended the meeting. Damaseau presented future plans for the rebuilding and renova-tions of Orient Bay and the Marigot Waterfront. The Managing Board of SXM Airport began one-on-one meetings with the hub partners from late 2017, up-dating them on the recovery process and operational plans and the progress made thus far. The hub partners gave individual presentations on the current state of its recovery post-hurricane Irma and Maria. The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau briefed the meeting on developments at the port and marine industry. It also disclosed that it is currently conducting and sharing exit surveys, as well as creating a database on the restau-rant sector and available excursions. The Bureau said it was at present hosting a press trip from Belgium and the Netherlands, following its earlier participation at trade shows in Brussels where people were constantly asking about island-hopping possibili-ties. Commenting on the summit, the newly appointed Director of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, May-Ling Chun said, Now we have the opportunity to effectively strategize better than before. POND ISLAND:--- In collaboration with the French Tourist Office, the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau (STB), on May 15 hosted a group of 130 travel agents from South America. The travel agents are part of an annual mega familiarization trip that the MSC Cruises organizes every year. This is the first time that St. Maarten is part of their itinerary. There was a total of 350 agents aboard the ship, and 130 signed up for the tour while the others did private tours or went shopping in Philipsburg. STB said that they were very impressed by the recovery of the destination since the passing of the September hurricane, and feel that the island still has a lot to offer in terms of offering a great vacation destination experience. STB gave the travel agents an updated fact sheet of hotels, activities and restaurants that are open. A couple of the travel agents stated that they cant wait for Copa Airlines to return to St. Maarten, so they could start selling the destination again. The timing of the fam trip couldnt be better as Copa airlines will resume flights to St. Maarten on June 2nd. Acting Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Cornelius de Weever, said on Monday that the fam trip and local coordination between the tourism entities of the North and South sides of the island demonstrates the importance and emphasis being placed on joint promotion of the destination. The tourism entities from both sides of the island have been working diligently together based on the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed between the Governments of North and South. This is the basis for the joint promotional activities of the island. The South American fam trip of travel agents is very important for the destination especially since it came at a time when Copa Airlines will resume providing service to and from the Central/South American mainland. This will be a significant development, because we also have a number of hotel properties that will be coming back online within the next six-months. These are positive things that are happening, and the future looks brighter each day and month as our island destination continues to rebuild and tourists continue to return for that unique St. Maarten/St. Martin experience that cannot be found anywhere else, Minister Cornelius de Weever said on Tuesday. Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for The Rolling StonesA new animated lyrics video for The Rolling Stones' chart-topping 1967 tune "Ruby Tuesday" has been released by the ABKCO label in celebration of the launch of the U.K. portion of the band's 2018 No Filter Tour tonight in London. You can watch the clip now at ABKCO's official VEVO YouTube channel. The video features the mono version of "Ruby Tuesday," with the lyrics appearing in ornate lettering as a variety of multicolored kaleidoscopic floral and paisley designs whirl. The song was mainly written by guitarist Keith Richards and was inspired by his girlfriend at the time, model Linda Keith, who'd left him for a poet named Bill Chenail and who later dated Jimi Hendrix. "Ruby Tuesday" features some interesting instrumentation, including Brian Jones playing recorder, and Richards bowing a double bass while Bill Wyman fingered the fretboard. Acclaimed arranger/producer Jack Nitzsche contributed piano to the track. The song initially was issued as the B-side of "Let's Spend the Night Together," but wound up getting more airplay because of the then-controversial topic of the latter tune. "Ruby Tuesday" spent one week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of '67. After kicking off their No Filter Tour of Europe on Thursday in Dublin, Ireland, The Rolling Stones play London Stadium tonight. The trek features seven more U.K. dates, then moves on to Germany, France and Czech Republic before wrapping up in Warsaw, Poland, on July 8. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. As EU privacy law looms, debate swirls on cybersecurity impact Washington, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2018 Days ahead of the implementation of a sweeping European privacy law, debate is swirling on whether the measure will have negative consequences for cybersecurity. The controversy is about the so-called internet address book or WHOIS directory, which up to now has been a public database identifying the owners of websites and domains. The database will become largely private under the forthcoming General Data protection Regulation set to take effect May 25, since it contains protected personal information. US government officials and some cybersecurity professionals fear that without the ability to easily find hackers and other malicious actors through WHOIS, the new rules could lead to a surge in cybercrime, spam and fraud. Critics say the GDPR could take away an important tool used by law enforcement, security researchers, journalists and others. The lockdown of the WHOIS directory comes after years of negotiations between EU authorities and ICANN, the nonprofit entity that administers the database and manages the online domain system. ICANN -- the Internet Corporations for Assigned Names and Numbers -- approved a temporary plan last week that allows access for "legitimate" purposes, but leaves the interpretation to internet registrars, the companies that sell domains and websites. Assistant Commerce Secretary David Redl, who head the US government division for internet administration, last week called on the EU to delay enforcement of the GDPR for the WHOIS directory. "The loss of access to WHOIS information will negatively affect law enforcement of cybercrimes, cybersecurity and intellectual property rights protection activities globally," Redl said. Rob Joyce, who served as White House cybersecurity coordinator until last month, tweeted in April that "GDPR is going to undercut a key tool for identifying malicious domains on the internet," adding that "cyber criminals are celebrating GDPR." - Negative consequences? - Caleb Barlow, vice president at IBM security, also warned that the privacy law "may well have negative consequences that, ironically, run contrary to its original intent." Barlow said in a blog post earlier this month that "cybersecurity professionals use (WHOIS) information to quickly stop cyberthreats" and that the GDPR restrictions could delay or prevent security firms from acting on these threats. James Scott, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, acknowledged that the GDPR rules "could hinder security researchers and law enforcement." "The information would likely still be discoverable with a warrant or possibly at the request of law enforcement, but the added anonymization layers would severely delay" the identification of malicious actors. Some analysts say the concerns about cybercrime are overblown, and that sophisticated cybercriminals can easily hide their tracks from WHOIS. Milton Mueller, a Georgia Tech professor and founder of the Internet Governance Project of independent researchers, said the notion of an upsurge in cybercrime stemming from the rule was "totally bogus." "There's no evidence that most of the world's cybercrime is stopped or mitigated by WHOIS," Mueller told AFP. "In fact some of the cybercrime is facilitated by WHOIS is because the bad guys can go after that information too." Mueller said the directory had been "exploited" for years by commercial entities, some of which resell the data, and authoritarian regimes for broad surveillance. "It's fundamentally a matter of due process," he said. "We all agree that when law enforcement has a reasonable cause, they can obtain certain documents, but WHOIS allow unfettered access without any due process check." - No delays - Akram Atallah, president of ICANN's global domains division, told AFP the organization had tried unsuccessfully to get an enforcement delay from the EU for the WHOIS directory to work out rules for access. The temporary rule will strip out any personal information from WHOIS directory but allow access to the data for "legitimate" purposes, Atallah noted. "You will need to get permission to see the rest of the data," he said. That means the registrars, which include companies that sell websites like GoDaddy, will need to determine who gets access or face hefty fines from the EU. ICANN is working on a process of "accreditation" to grant access, but was unable to predict how long it would take to get a consensus among the government and private stakeholders in the organization. Matthew Kahn, a Brookings Institution research assistant, said the firms keeping the data are more likely to deny requests rather than face EU penalties. "With democracies under siege from online election interference and active-measures campaigns, this is no time to hamper governments' and security researchers' abilities to identify and arrest cyber threats," Kahn said on the Lawfare blog. Activists urge Amazon to drop facial recognition for police Washington, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2018 More than 30 activist groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union urged Amazon Tuesday to stop providing facial recognition technology to law enforcement, warning that it could give authorities "dangerous surveillance powers." The organizations sent a letter to Amazon after an ACLU investigation found Amazon had been working with a number of US law enforcement agencies to deploy its artificial intelligence-powered Rekognition service. "Rekognition marketing materials read like a user manual for authoritarian surveillance," said Nicole Ozer of the ACLU of California. "Once a dangerous surveillance system like this is turned against the public, the harm can't be undone." A letter to Amazon chief Jeff Bezos was signed by groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Black Lives Matter, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Human Rights Watch. "Amazon Rekognition is primed for abuse in the hands of governments," the letter said. "This product poses a grave threat to communities, including people of color and immigrants, and to the trust and respect Amazon has worked to build." Amazon is one of many companies in the US and elsewhere which deploy facial recognition for security and law enforcement. Some research has indicated that such programs can be error-prone, particularly when identifying people of color, and activists argue these systems can build up large databases of biometric information which can be subject to abuse. In China, authorities have created a digital surveillance system able to use a variety of biometric data -- from photos and iris scans to fingerprints -- to keep close tabs on the movements of the entire population, and uses it to publicly identify lawbreakers and jaywalkers. The ACLU released documents showing correspondence with police departments in Florida, Arizona and other states on Rekognition, which is a service of Amazon Web Services. The US activist groups say a large deployment by Amazon, which is one of the leaders in artificial intelligence, could lead to broad surveillance of the US population. "People should be free to walk down the street without being watched by the government," the letter said. "Facial recognition in American communities threatens this freedom. In overpoliced communities of color, it could effectively eliminate it. The federal government could use this facial recognition technology to continuously track immigrants as they embark on new lives." Amazon did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on the letter. rl/ska 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. He was speaking after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday 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. 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 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. '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, a US government watchdog said Monday, pointing to "few signs of progress" in the war-torn nation. Top US officials and military commanders insist the Afghan security forces -- which have suffered thousands of casualties and are beset with low morale and corruption -- are now doing a better job of maintaining order. But the Taliban still control swaths of the country, are staging repeated attacks and the Islamic State group has conducted a series of high-profile suicide blasts in Kabul and elsewhere. "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 Pentagon's Office of the Inspector General 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" in the longest war in American history, 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. - Revamped Afghanistan strategy - 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. "This quarter, the Taliban continued to hold territory and launched devastating terrorist attacks in Kabul and across the country," noted Glenn Fine, the deputy Pentagon inspector general. Pentagon spokesman Colonel Rob Manning said the United States remains committed to its "train, advise and assist mission" to help the Afghan security forces. "Chaos and progress can coexist -- and that's exactly what we feel is happening in Afghanistan," Manning said. Foreign media head to N. Korea to witness nuclear site destruction Beijing, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2018 Foreign journalists headed to North Korea on Tuesday to witness the promised destruction of its nuclear test site, a move seen as a goodwill gesture before a planned summit with the United States. Dozens of reporters from China, the United States and Russia departed on a charter flight from Beijing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN which is part of the contingent. It showed the journalists board a small plane emblazoned with the North's flag. The journalists will cover the demolition of the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site inside a mountain in the northeast of the country, which is scheduled to take place between Wednesday to Friday. Agence France-Presse and some other major media organisations were not invited to cover the event. The North has staged all six of its nuclear tests there beginning in 2006. The latest and by far the most powerful in September last year was said by Pyongyang to have been a hydrogen bomb. The North previously said South Korean journalists would be allowed to attend this week's ceremony, as part of a series of ice-breaking diplomatic moves following a summit between the two country's leaders last month. But Pyongyang refused at the last minute to accept a list of South Korean journalists. It has railed against the ongoing "Max Thunder" military aviation exercise involving the United States and South Korea, calling it "an act of provocation." Pyongyang has also threatened to cancel a summit between US President Donald Trump and its own leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12, despite weeks of tentative rapprochement. The North has accused the US of cornering it with a unilateral demand for denuclearisation. Beijing's South China Sea bombers fly in the face of protests Beijing, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2018 China's brazen landing of nuclear-capable bombers on an island in the disputed South China Sea is a bold power play to bolster its territorial claims while rivals are divided and the US distracted by North Korea, analysts say. China attracted diplomatic protests after long-range H-6K bombers carried out landing and takeoff drills at an unidentified island airstrip on Friday. But Beijing has long brushed aside such condemnation, denying that it was militarising the region even though it has installed an array of airstrips, radar systems and naval facilities on a string of islands it has reclaimed in contested areas since 2013. The planes are believed to have landed on Woody Island, China's largest base in the Paracel Islands which is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, according to Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. An H-6K long-range strategic bomber deployed to Woody Island could reach almost the entire South China Sea and many countries surrounding it, according to a CSIS analysis. The steady buildup of military assets in the waterway -- believed to have significant oil and natural gas deposits -- allows China to "influence its weaker neighbours in peacetime", Glaser said. "Through the use of a large number of law enforcement ships, for example, it can pressure Vietnam and the Philippines not to unilaterally extract energy in waters that China claims jurisdictional rights," she said. "In wartime, China's military assets on these islands will increase the risk to the US of intervening militarily." Earlier this month China deployed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles on the disputed Spratly Islands off the Philippine coast, CNBC reported, citing sources close to US intelligence. Beijing claims virtually all the South China Sea and has ignored partial counter-claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia. The Pentagon condemned Friday's bomber drills as a sign of "continued militarisation" of disputed islands while Vietnam said the move violated its sovereignty and raised tensions in the region. The Philippines, which has largely backed off from the sea dispute under China-friendly President Rodrigo Duterte, said it was taking "appropriate diplomatic action". - 'Largely symbolic' - Despite the rhetoric, experts say little has been done to prevent China from solidifying its vast maritime claims. Beijing has managed to weaken regional resistance by courting some members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations. While US warships have conducted "freedom of navigation" operations near Chinese-claimed features, they have not deterred Beijing. The bombers were deployed while US President Donald Trump is focused on preparing for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month. "I think there is an obvious political motivation for the timing," said Euan Graham, director of the international security programme at the Australian think tank the Lowy Institute. "Because the US is mainly engaged in the North Korea files... there is a window of opportunity where the US reaction is likely to be restrained." China's foreign ministry has repeated denials that the region was being militarised, saying the islands belong to Beijing and the bombers were conducting "normal training". The latest exercises were "largely symbolic" and not a significant military development, Graham said. To deploy from Woody Island, China would have to install logistics infrastructure to operate aircraft, refuel them, store weapons and house crews, he said. "Just landing an aircraft doesn't make it an operational space," Graham said. It would be more significant if and when China starts flying combat aircraft to the Spratlys, he said, because that would bring northern Australia into missile range. - Submarine bastions - Nearly a third of global trade passes through the South China Sea and Beijing has bigger commercial and military ambitions for this strategic sea area, said William Choong, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore. China could create an air defence identification zone to spot incursions into its claimed sovereign airspace, something it did in the East China Sea in 2013 amid a dispute over the Senkaku islands with Japan, Choong said. Beijing could also establish a base for nuclear submarines as the deep waters around the Spratlys "provide a good hiding place", he said. Despite the looming threat, the international community -- including India, Japan, the US and Australia -- has failed to achieve a united front against China's island-building spree, Choong said. "Apart from the freedom of navigation missions and the strong rhetoric, the US hasn't been able to corral together a coalition of the willing, to effectively to get China to stop the militarisation of the South China Sea." Foreign media head to N. Korea to see nuclear site destruction Beijing, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2018 Foreign journalists headed to North Korea on Tuesday to watch the promised destruction of its nuclear test site, a move seen as a goodwill gesture before a planned summit with the United States. Reporters from China, the US and Russia departed on a charter flight from Beijing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN which is part of the contingent. The group will cover the demolition of the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site inside a mountain in the northeast of the country, which is scheduled to take place between Wednesday to Friday, depending on the weather. Agence France-Presse is one of a number of major media organisations not invited to cover the event. Pyongyang announced earlier this month that it planned to "completely" destroy the facility by blowing up the test site's access tunnels, a move welcomed by Washington and Seoul. The decision came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared the country's nuclear force complete and said it had no further need for the complex Experts are divided over whether the move will render the site useless -- previous similar gestures have been rapidly reversed when the international mood soured. "Frankly a nuclear test site can be easily reassembled," Kim Hyun-wook, an expert at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, told AFP. "But still, by dismantling it, North Korea is showing its willingness to not conduct nuclear tests at least for a while and signaling it has sufficient number of nuclear weapons," he added. Yang Moo-jin, from the University of North Korean Studies, said it was significant Pyongyang wasn't using the site's destruction as a "bargaining chip" with the United States ahead of the planned June 12 summit in Singapore between Kim and US President Donald Trump. "This move testifies sincerity in the North's commitment to defusing tension through negotiations," he said. - Diplomatic ups and downs - Punggye-ri has been the site of all six of the North's nuclear tests, the latest and by far the most powerful in September last year, which Pyongyang said was an H-bomb. Dialogue brokered by South Korea has seen US-North Korea relations go from trading personal insults and threats of war after that test to planning for a summit. But the meeting has already hit diplomatic bumps. Washington says it wants to see the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation" of the North. Pyongyang abruptly threatened to pull out of the summit last week and cancelled talks with the South, accusing Washington of cornering it with a unilateral demand for denuclearisation. The hardened rhetoric left US officials scrambling to work out whether the summit would take place. South Korea's president Moon Jae-in flew to Washington this week and will meet Trump later Tuesday in an attempt to put the detente back on track. Observers will be watching the nuclear test site destruction ceremony closely for any clues to the North's mood. Pyongyang previously said South Korean journalists would be allowed to attend this week's ceremony. But the North refused at the last minute to accept a list of South Korean journalists. Sceptics warn that Pyongyang has yet to make any public commitment to give up its arsenal and has a history of going back on its word. In 2008 the regime blew up a cooling tower of its atomic reactor at Yongbyon, the facility that produced the plutonium that allowed North Korea to carry out its first successful nuclear test. That ceremony was also held with much fanfare, complete with international invited journalists, and was heralded as a mark of Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearisation talks. The following day then President George W. Bush lifted some sanctions. But when talks collapsed the Yongbyon cooling tower was quickly rebuilt and the reactor restarted. In the intervening years, with diplomacy going nowhere, North Korea went on to test five more nuclear devices and develop missiles it said was capable of reaching the United States. Merkel seeks united front with China amid Trump trade fears Berlin, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2018 Chancellor Angela Merkel visits China on Thursday, seeking to close ranks with the world's biggest exporting nation as US President Donald Trump shakes up explosive issues from trade to Iran's nuclear deal. Finding a common strategy to ward off a trade war and keep markets open will be Merkel's priority when she meets with President Xi Jinping, as Washington brandishes the threat of imposing punitive tariffs on aluminium and steel imports. "Both countries are in agreement that open markets and rules-based world trade are necessary. That's the main focus of this trip," Merkel's spokeswoman Martina Fietz said in Berlin on Friday. But closing ranks with Beijing against Washington risks being complicated by Saturday's deal between China and the US to hold off tit-for-tat trade measures. China's economic health can only benefit Germany as the Asian giant is a big buyer of Made in Germany. But a deal between the US and China effectively leaves Berlin as the main target of Trump's campaign against foreign imports that he claims harm US national security. The US leader had already singled Germany out for criticism, saying it had "taken advantage" of the US by spending less than Washington on NATO. Underlining what is at stake, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire warned the US-China deal may come "at the expense of Europe if Europe is not capable of showing a firm hand". - 11 visits in 12 years - Nevertheless, Merkel can look to her carefully nurtured relationship with China over her 12 years as chancellor. No Western leader has visited Beijing as often as Merkel, who will be undertaking her eleventh trip to the country. In China, she is viewed not only as the main point of contact for Europe, but, crucially, also as a reliable interlocutor -- an antithesis of the mercurial Trump. Devoting her weekly podcast to her visit, Merkel stressed that Beijing and Berlin "are Devoting her weekly podcast to her visit, Merkel stressed that Beijing and Berlin "are both committed to the rules of the WTO" (World Trade Organization) and want to "strengthen multilateralism". But she also underlined that she will press home Germany's longstanding quest for reciprocity in market access as well as the respect of intellectual property. Ahead of her visit, Beijing fired off a rare salvo of criticism. China's envoy to Germany, Shi Mingde, pointed to a "protectionist trend in Germany", as he complained about toughened rules protecting German companies from foreign takeovers. Only 0.3 percent of foreign investors in Germany stem from China while German firms have put in 80 billion euros in the Asian giant over the last three decades, he told Stuttgarter Nachrichten. "Economic exchange cannot work as a one-way street," he warned. Meanwhile, looming over the battle on the trade front is another equally thorny issue -- the historic Iran nuclear deal, which risks falling apart after Trump pulled the US out. Tehran has demanded that Europe keeps the deal going by continuing economic cooperation, but the US has warned European firms of sanctions if they fail to pull out of Iran. Merkel "hopes that China can help save the atomic deal that the US has unilaterally ditched," said Die Welt daily. "Because only the giant emerging economy can buy enough raw materials from Iran to give the Mullah regime an incentive to at least officially continue to not build a nuclear weapon." - 'Bring Liu Xia to Germany' - With Merkel needing China's cooperation, activists are hoping that human rights issues won't fall by the wayside. They have voiced hopes in particular that Merkel would raise the fate of Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo, who is kept under de facto house arrest by China. "Here's hoping Merkel brings #LiuXia to Germany with her--#China would be smart to release the latter now," wrote Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch on Twitter. Late April, German ambassador to China Michael Clauss told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post that Liu would be welcomed in his country. Asked if Merkel would meet with activists, her spokeswoman Fietz was non-committal, but said "as a general rule, the government and the chancellor campaign constantly for the question of human rights." Russian nuclear submarine test fires Bulava missiles: military Moscow, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2018 A Russian nuclear submarine on Tuesday successfully fired four Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile from the White Sea on Russia's northwestern coast, the military said in a statement quoted by state news agencies. The Yury Dolgoruky submarine fired the missiles from underwater in the White Sea to hit a military test ground on the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, the navy's northern fleet said, TASS state news agency reported. The navy said it was the first time it had fired such a number of missiles from this type of submarine. The Yury Dolgoruky is a 14,720-tonne craft from the fourth-generation Borei class of strategic submarines and was built to carry the Bulavas, which are intercontinental nuclear-capable missiles. The submarine was first tested at sea in 2009. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement Interview with Joschka Fischer 'The U.S. President Is Destroying the American World Order' In an interview with DER SPIEGEL, former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer talks about the danger of war against Iran, the deterioration of trans-Atlantic relations under U.S. President Donald Trump and the serious need for Germany to invest massively in the European Union's future. The sale brought to an end some forty years of breeding Limousins for this noted herd. Fittingly and leading the trade was one of the herds most famous cows, Ironstone Dumandy, a former double interbreed winner at the Royal Welsh Show and prolific winner of various major shows around the United Kingdom. Bred from Bailea Umandy, a Requin daughter, she is by the herds former stock bull in the shape of Wilodge Vantastic and was sol with a Procters Commander-sired heifer calf, Ironstone Olivia, at foot. Purchasing the top lot was Robert Graham for his Grahams herd, at Airthrey Kerse, Bridge Of Allan, Stirling. Early in the sale Mr. Graham also purchased Bailea Umelia for 7000gns. This 2003-born cow, bred by MT Jones, Sennybrdige, is another sired by Requin and is out of Bailea Melia, an Imposant daughter. She was sold as having run with the herds stock bull Ballinloan Jericho. Speaking after the sale Mr Graham commented on his purchases: These animals are top bloodlines that dont often come available. I very much hope that they will add to the quality of Limousin genetics in the Grahams herd. Both are cows with a proven record and are really good breeders. Selling at 18,000gns was one of the herds current stock bulls, Ballinloan Jericho, a 2014-born son of Ampertaine Foreman out of Ballinloan Beauty, an Anside Struss daughter. This bull which featured in the catalogue was bought by Kedzlie Farm, Blainsie, Lauderdale for their Swalesmoor herd. Breeders were picking out the bloodlines on offer and making 17,000gns was Ironstone Lavender, a 2015-born heifer by Wilodge Vantastic and out of the aforementioned Bailea Umelia. Sold PDd in calf to Ballinloan Jericho this heifer was purchased by Messrs Jenkinson for their Whinfellpark herd at Clifton Moor, Clifton, Penrith, Cumbria. Mr Jenkinson also paid 14,000gns for Ironstone Laura, a full ET sister to the sale topper Ironstone Dumandy. Another that is 2015-born Ironstone Laura sold with her January 2018 bull calf at foot by Ballinloan Jericho, Ironstone Otis. Following that came a 9500gns call for Ironstone Maxine, a 2016-born heifer by Ironstone Gandi. Maxine is out of Greenwell Emelia, a Vagabond daughter out of the noted Greenwell Amy. This heifer was the pick of H G Perkins and son, Radstock, Bath. Kedzlie Farms were back in action when paying 8000gns for Ironstone Lumelia, a Procters Commander daughter out of the Requin daughter Bailea Umelia. She was sold having run with Ballinloan Jericho. Two animals sold at 6000gns. The first of these Brockhurst Batik, bred by Doug Mash, Bucks, is a Grahams Samson daughter out of the noted Ronick McAinsi, herself a Talent daughter. This 2006-born cow, a title winner at the Royal Highland and Royal Shows was sold with a bull calf at foot, Ironstone Oliver, by Ironstone Gandi. The other at 6000gns was Ironstone MrMagoo, a Glenrock Fandango son out of the sale topping Ironstone Dumandy. This young bull was another purchased by Kedzlie Farms. Volunteer opportunities at local organizations Weber Human Services is looking for people who can help Northern Utah nonprofits. For more information on volunteer opportunities or to post an opportunity for your organization, call 801-625-3777 or 801-778-6897. If you are interested in volunteering and do not see what interests you please call us as we have many more opportunities available and will help you find what interests you and best uses your skills. If your organization is in need of volunteers, please give us a call. The Red Cross is looking for volunteers throughout Utah. Here are two positions needed. Blood Donor ... MOM'S NIGHTMARE: 'I'd ask Trudeau if my daughter is any less Canadian than yours?'Brad HunterMore from Brad HunterPublished:April 14, 2018Updated:April 14, 2018 4:16 PM EDTDeidre Rankin, also known as Gia Rogers.Supplied photoFern Rankin tells the Toronto Suns Brad Hunter in her own words the nightmare her daughter Deidre, 33, has experienced. First, she was set up in a drug conspiracy in Peru, jailed, then released after several years for good behaviour. But Canadian bureaucrats at the embassy have stymied her efforts to get a passport and return home to Cobourg, Ont.. Now, time is of the essence. Deidre was severely injured in a car accident and nearly died. She is in a Peruvian hospital with two broken legs and lucky to be alive.It wasnt the kind of news any mother wants to hear.The caller was a girlfriend of my daughter Deidre. She had been arrested in Peru.Oh no, thats just shocking, I thought.My first response was: Was she set up? I was just grateful she was alive. I knew there had to be more to it than met the eye and there was.Deidre Rankin, also known as Gia Rogers.She had gone to Peru with a friend she should not have trusted. Deidre takes responsibility but feels foolish for trusting this person. She feels used.Neither of them mentioned anything about smuggling drugs.Deidres been arrestedand shes been convicted of trying to smuggle 50 kg of cocaine on a flight from Peru, er friend told me.But if prison was tough, it was nothing compared to dealing with the Canadian embassy in Lima.One of the women who tricked Deidre into the drug smuggling got out of the country and so they took my daughters passport. The embassy claimed she was a flight risk and then destroyed her passport in Ottawa.Im not sure how someone can be a flight risk when theyre in jail.Deidre Rankin, also known as Gia Rogers, as a young girl with her mom, Fern Rankin.At the time she went on the trip, she was getting out of an abusive relationship and was attacked by the father of her youngest child.I wasnt in the right mindset, she told me. I just knew I had to get out of there. Mom, Im going to leave the country. Im afraid hes going to kill meIm in constant fear of my life.There wasnt a day that went by when I wasnt worried sick about her in that prison so far away.She was sentenced to nine years but they let her out after two years and a bit for good behaviour. She handled it well and grew.But when she was released, she didnt have any ID. And the Canadian embassy wouldnt reissue her passport or give her travel documents.Deidre Rankin, also known as Gia Rogers.Right now, the Canadian embassy is I suppose still wiping egg off its face for messing up with the co-conspirator who fled the country and my daughter is paying the price.They have zero compassion. They are robotic with their answers. They simply do not care. These people have stripped her of her rights.She has modelled, done promotion and sang in a band in Peru to put food on the table, but without ID its become impossible.Whatever happened to a Canadian is a Canadian?The scene of the crash in Peru that nearly killed Deidre Rankin, also known as Gia Rogers.Now, this is a matter of life and death.If I thought Deidre getting arrested was horrible I was in for more bad news.On Feb. 24, she was in a terrible car accident. It took them an hour using the jaws of life just to cut her out and her legs were trapped in the metal framing of the car.She was drenched in blood and needed five transfusions and then went into a fever.Deidre Rankin in her hospital bed.At the hospital, she was initially refused attention because she didnt have insurance so for six hours they didnt clean her injuries. And they are now refusing her medication.But the embassy claims theyll only process her once they get the go-ahead from Peru.Its an unbelievable amount of red tapeshes severely injured in the hospital and they want her to get passport photos!Deidre Rankin suffered two broken legs in the car wreck that nearly killed her in Peru.Of course, if the embassy bureaucrats had done their job, she would be finetheyve been terribly judgemental.Its so ironic that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is visiting Peru right now.If I could, I would ask him: If it were your daughter Grace, how would you want her to be treated?Is Deidre any less Canadian than your daughter, or say, Omar Khadr? You are torturing her now both mentally and physically. How does that feel? AS TOLD TO BRAD HUNTER TO VIEW MORE NEWS STORY, PLEASE CLICK ON NEWS TAB ON MAIN MENU BAR 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. 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. Crossing over a floating bridge April 6, Soldiers drive 68-ton M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and 27-ton M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, across the Imjin River. Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, crossed the bridge assembled by 74th Multi-Role Bridge Company RiverRats, 62nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade as part of a four-day, combined arms river crossing exercise. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Dennis, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs, 1st Cav. Div.) Photo by Sgt. Christopher Dennis X 0 20 Help Keep Us Soaring We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month. Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways: HOUSE prices in south Warwickshire remain among the highest in the West Midlands. A new report by the National Housing Federation puts that figure at 347,991 in Stratford District and 331,036 in Warwick District, an increase of 5.5 per cent and 7.8 per cent, respectively, on the previous year. But the report also shows the growing gap between house prices and wages, with the average wage reported to have grown by just 0.3 per cent in Warwick, improving to around a four per cent increase in Stratford. In Warwick, the average home costs 10.2 times the average salary up significantly from 9.5 times the previous year and in Stratford the figure rises further still to 10.7, up 0.1 per cent on the previous year. Potential home buyers in Warwickshire looking for an 80 per cent mortgage would need to be earning over 62,000, and those hoping to buy in Warwick and Stratford would need an income of over 75,000. Earlier this year, Stratford District Council said it was on track to oversee the building of a record number of so-called affordable homes of between 350 and 390 for rent or shared ownership. That eclipses the previous highest amount which was 288 in 2015/16. Warwick District Council adopted its new Local Plan in August last year, in which it has pledged to build 5,000 affordable homes over the next 12 years. The National Housing Federation is the voice of housing associations across England. Craig Felts, company secretary of Warwickshire Rural Housing Association, which builds homes in rural villages across the county, said: We know there is a housing crisis in Warwickshire and the Federations latest Home Truths report shows that it is getting worse. LONDON and BOSTON, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flywire, a provider of global payment and receivables solutions, today announced a major expansion of its UK and European operations and team. The company has moved into new space on Folgate Street in London's Spitalfields District, between Liverpool Street's Financial District and London's Fintech start-up hub at Shoreditch. The new office is quadruple the size of its previous location in Canary Wharf, and provides substantial room for future growth. Flywire processes billions in payments around the world connecting all the entities involved to make complex global transactions faster, more secure, less expensive, and more transparent for all. The companys platform optimizes the payment experience for customers in a variety of verticals and provides a single point for management and payer engagement from billing and payment through reconciliation. Since June 2017, Flywires UK team has grown by 25%, with plans to double in the near future. That growth parallels a 100% increase in the number of clients served in Europe, and more 100% increase in the volume of payments for those clients during the same period. The new Flywire London location accommodates a number of team members in sales, product marketing, customer support, and its new global Chief People Officer, Kelly Hartman. Hartman, who joined the company in January of 2018, has assumed responsibility for Flywires worldwide efforts in organisational development, culture change, talent acquisition, talent management, executive learning and development, compensation and succession planning. In her role, she supports Flywires business across the globe, from Europe and beyond including North America as well as the Asia-Pacific region. Flywires initial European presence in Valencia and London served as a logical starting point for our business, and our growth throughout Europe. It also corresponds with what has been a very strong area for the company, especially with European educational institutions attracting record numbers of international students and more and more businesses extending their sales efforts globally, said Mike Massaro, CEO of Flywire. The team here has done an outstanding job serving our customers, growing the business, and putting the foundation in place for future growth. Our new London office is an important step in building on that success across Europe. About Flywire Flywire is a provider of global payment and receivables solutions, connecting over 1,400 businesses and institutions with their customers on six continents. The company processes billions in payments per year around the world. Flywire offers a comprehensive suite of products including OnPlan, a domestic billing and payment solution for pre-collection and payment plans. The company also supports its clients with end-to-end customer support including multilingual servicing via phone, email, and chat, as well as around-the-clock online payment tracking. Flywire is headquartered in Boston and has offices in Chicago, London and Manchester (UK), Valencia (Spain), Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Cluj (Romania), and Sydney. For more information, visit www.Flywire.com. SAN DIEGO, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ImageWare Systems, Inc. (OTCQB:IWSY), a leader in mobile and cloud-based, multi-modal biometric identity management solutions, today announced that the Company will present at the LD Micro Invitational Conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 5th at 8:30am PT. Jim Miller, Chairman and CEO, will discuss the Companys technology and direct sales efforts as well as partner sales efforts. The presentation will be webcast with slides and will be available live or by replay for 90 days. You can access it here: http://wsw.com/webcast/ldmicro14/iwsy/. About LD Micro LD Micro was founded in 2006 with the sole purpose of being an independent resource in the microcap space. The firm hosts several influential conferences annually (Invitational, Summit, and Main Event). In 2015, LDM launched the first pure microcap index (the LDMi) to exclusively provide intraday information on the entire sector. LD will continue to provide valuable tools for the benefit of everyone in the small and micro-cap universe. For those interested in attending, please contact David Scher at david@ldmicro.com or visit www.ldmicro.com for more information. About ImageWare Systems, Inc. ImageWare Systems, Inc. is a leading developer of mobile and cloud-based identity management solutions, providing patented biometric authentication solutions for the enterprise. Biometric technology uses unique physical characteristics to authenticate a persons identity. The company delivers next-generation biometrics as an interactive and scalable cloud-based solution. ImageWare brings together cloud and mobile technology to offer multi-factor authentication for smartphone users, for the enterprise, and across industries. ImageWares products support multi-modal biometric authentication including, but not limited to, any individual use or combination of face, voice, fingerprint, iris, palm, and more. All the biometrics can be combined with or used as replacements for authentication and access control tools, including tokens, digital certificates, passwords, and PINS, to provide the ultimate level of assurance, accountability, and ease of use for corporate networks, web applications, mobile devices, and PC desktop environments. ImageWare is headquartered in San Diego, California, with offices in Portland, Oregon, Ottawa, Ontario, and Mexico City, Mexico. To learn more about ImageWare, visit https://iwsinc.com/ and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube , and Facebook. Forward-Looking Statements Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, forecast, intend, may, plan, project, predict, if, should and will and similar expressions as they relate to ImageWare Systems, Inc. are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. ImageWare may from time to time update publicly announced projections, but it is not obligated to do so. Any projections of future results of operations should not be construed in any manner as a guarantee that such results will in fact occur. These projections are subject to change and could differ materially from final reported results. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see Risk Factors in ImageWares Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and its other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they are made. Investor Relations Contact: Harvey Bibicoff, CEO Bibicoff + MacInnis, Inc. 818.379.8500 harvey@bibimac.com Kitchener, Canada, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, D2L launches its Emerald Release the newest version of its Brightspace LMS which provides an intuitive social and mobile-friendly teaching and learning experience for people around the world. Social features that engage and delight users include the Activity Feed , which lets you embed social content like TedEx or YouTube videos and images inline. Faculty and teachers can also upload materials from OneDrive and Google Drive and take advantage of smart formatting options to draw attention to important information, send notifications to students and pin posts to keep essential items front and center. The Emerald Release also features additional socially driven capabilities: Many of these features were inspired by D2L users and can easily be accessed from any laptop or mobile device, thanks to Daylight , Brightspaces responsive design. D2L is passionate about working closely with clients and 27% of the features in the Emerald Release inspired by the open-user community, and includes one of the communitys top-voted ideas. WHAT HIGHER ED USERS ARE SAYING Dream Center is excited by the functionality in the Manager Dashboard for Brightspace. By extending the value of the Brightspace LMS to include professional development, we anticipate better staff engagement and increased retention, said Masai Turner, Vice President, Learning and Development, Dream Center Education Holdings, LLC. The ability to share knowledge and practice among peers is a core tenant of learning. Exposing students to an environment where they can freely engage in thoughtful exchanges with one another facilitates a crucial part of the learning experience. Using a social learning platform like Brightspace provides students with the connected experience they thrive in and allows educators to design meaningful activities to take advantage of this engagement, across any device, said Dave Starnes, Purdue Kaplan, Chief Academic Officer. As the population of the college and university students continue to evolve and become more diverse, we need to ensure were supporting the new traditional learner. With Brightspace, we are confident our students can have an equal access to their learning - whenever and wherever they are. Everyone can access their courses with all their rich media, as well as assignments, instructors, and classmates from any device. This type of flexibility in when and how learning is accessed fosters a stronger social learning culture that helps students share ideas and experiences in a personally engaging and thoughtful way, said Dave Starnes, Purdue Kaplan, Chief Academic Officer. The daily data differentials allow me to be more nimble in providing faculty support for the incubation of new ideas that require data. Having the ability to access and open the data means I no longer need a campus wide effort to support a small faculty lead effort to impact student success and course design, said Mark Felix, Director, Instructional Support, Office of Instruction and Assessment, Manuel Pacheco Integrated Learning Center. WHAT K12 USERS ARE SAYING Activity Feed helps us to promote content to students in a more engaging way. Having inline video and displayed images makes a huge impact on our students. And its so easy to upload content from other sources. Its a familiar, fun and easy way to keep students connected with their courses. We started off by introducing activity feed in a few courses, and are now planning to roll it out to all of our courses, said Matt Waymack, Director of eCLASS Development at Gwinnett County. Weve been using the new content experience in Brightspace. Teachers can build up their course as they go, with a variety of activities and content to choose from, including their own HTML documents, Google Drive/OneDrive documents, links and videos from the web, external learning activities, video assignments and more giving them lots of options to set up their content. Matt Waymack, Director of eCLASS Development at Gwinnett County. The introduction of Brightspace for Parents means that D2L have given us the complete package for online learning. Any outstanding educator knows that engaging parents, as well as students, is key to creating a whole community that values the impact of what happens in school. What has impressed me most of all is the speed of development of the platform and the flexibility of the development team in responding to feedback from front-line teaching staff. D2L are in the process of, yet again, knocking one out of the park, said Mark Deans, Deputy Headteacher, The West Bridgford School. Were really excited about launching Brightspace for Parents at our school. Weve been looking for a way to keep parents connected with whats happening in their childs classroom, but without adding extra work for the teachers - Brightspace for Parents does this perfectly, said James Medway, Development Officer/Teacher, Six Nations Polytechnic STEAM Academy. Our parents will no longer have to wait for parent teacher interviews to find out how their child is doing. They will be able to log in whenever they like to get a firsthand look at what assignments are coming, recent grades, announcements from the teacher and even see recent examples of work their child has completed. Were excited to see the impact that this will have on student outcomes as their parents have more information to support their children in reaching their potential. ABOUT BRIGHTSPACE Brightspace is a cloud-based learning platform that makes online and blended learning easy, flexible, and smart. Brightspace is a quantum leap beyond traditional Learning Management System (LMS) it is easy to drag-and-drop content to create engaging courses, supports all mobile devices , has industry-leading up-time, and is accessible for all learners . Plus, Brightspace enables the future of learning with a gaming engine, adaptive learning , video management , intelligent agents, templated interactives for course design, full support for outcomes or competency-based learning , and actionable learning analytics . D2Ls Brightspace was recently named the #1 LMS in Higher Ed by Ovum Research and #1 in Adaptive Learning by eLearning Magazine. In addition, Aragon Research included D2L in its highly coveted Hot Vendors In Learning list . ABOUT D2L D2L believes learning is the foundation upon which all progress and achievement rests. Working closely with organizations globally, D2L has transformed the way millions of people learn online and in the classroom. Learn more about D2L for schools , higher education and businesses at www.D2L.com . D2L PRESS CONTACT Virginia Jamieson Vice President of PR and AR, D2L Ltd. 650-279-8619 Virginia.Jamieson@D2L.com Twitter: @D2L 2018 D2L Corporation. The D2L family of companies includes D2L Corporation, D2L Ltd, D2L Australia Pty Ltd, D2L Europe Ltd, D2L Asia Pte Ltd, and D2L Brasil Solucoes de Tecnologia para Educacao Ltda. All D2L marks are trademarks of D2L Corporation. Please visit D2L.com/trademarks for a list of D2L marks. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at D2L Launches Emerald Release D2Ls Emerald Release Offers Advanced Analytics ONEIDA, N.Y. -- As state police paid tribute to fallen troopers Monday morning, they made sure photographs, reports and other information also would not be forgotten. State police placed a time capsule behind a monument for fallen members at their annual Memorial Day services outside the front entrance of the Troop D headquarters in Oneida, Trooper Jack Keller said. The ceremony is held each year to remember and honor 24 Troop D members who have given the "ultimate sacrifice," Keller said. About 150 people attended Monday. State police Maj. Mary Clark, who previously served as a Zone 1 Commander captain, spearheaded the idea of a centennial time capsule. "The entire troop -- troop headquarters, zone stations and Bureau of Criminal Investigation units -- were notified and requested to provide some form of a portfolio containing interesting, noteworthy events, photographs, reports or whatever they thought would speak more clearly in the future, as compared to a historical study or verbal story sharing," Keller said. State police submitted items throughout 2017 "in a collective effort to compile a historical cache of goods and information," he said. "A few members took time to draft letters, in hope of same being read by family and relatives in the future." Items were placed inside a waterproof fiberglass time capsule, constructed by Zone 1 Commander Capt. Mark Klosowski; other members from Troop D also assisted. Members of the state police signed the outside of the time capsule, which Keller said, instructs future generations not to open it until at least the year 2067. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A former top Upstate Medical University official accused of fabricating outlandish details about his past in a 2017 speech says his remarks were "unintentional errors." Sergo A. Garcia resigned today as Upstate's chief of staff after an Albany Times-Union report debunked several assertions he made in the speech, including a claim that he narrowly escaped a car bombing in Afghanistan. "I acknowledge and apologize for the 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," Garcia said in a written statement he released this afternoon. Garcia worked for the U.S. State Department before going into the health care industry in 2012. Assertions he made in the speech as part of a diversity lecture series that were debunked in the Times-Union story included: Narrowly escaping a bombing in Afghanistan in 2013 that killed 25-year-old foreign service worker Anne Smedinghoff; Being hired by former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to work in the State Department; Being a close friend of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Being in the White House when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred for seven days without shaving or showering; Getting a law degree from an unidentified university in Oklahoma and working for a Los Angles law firm. Garcia admitted he was not at the scene of the 2013 suicide bombing that killed Smedinghoff. He claimed in his speech he was her mentor, a claim questioned by Smedinghoff's father. "I incorrectly recalled the facts of tragic events of April 6, 2013," he said. He said that incident shines a light on "... my civilian brothers and sisters that serve in harm's way." But he did not address the other claims he made in his speech. Asked specifically about his claims involving Powell, Rice, 9/11 and working for a law firm, he said: "I will not discuss personal events or personal conversations." The Times-Union reported Garcia was charged in 1998 while working for a California bank with falsifying bank records, a felony, and embezzlement, a misdemeanor, for 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. "Yes, I committed a huge mistake more than 20 years ago," Garcia said in his statement. "The mistake was my personal jolt to straighten out my life with the support of two great parents." Garcia said Upstate verified every aspect of his resume and application prior to his hiring last year and that his vetting included a "... clean criminal background investigation." "I am disappointed that my overall message of perseverance and commitment to service are set aside by misstatements and errors in my recollection of events spanning more than a couple of decades and the undercurrent espoused by a select few to damage the leadership of (Upstate President) Dr. Laraque Arena and her team in steering our university to a brighter future," he said. Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245 SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Custom paintings line the Barnes-Hiscock Mansion's former dining room, showing cherub-faced children playing together. Except for one. A single panel remains in one corner of the room, showing a lone black child holding the dress of a white child. Their faces are serious. More importantly, their faces are different. The panel is out of place among the rest, on purpose. It's one of many curious stories in the historic mansion at 930 James St. A black child holds the dress of a white child in this commissioned painting by Tommaso Juglaris, located in one corner of the Barnes-Hiscock Mansion. 1. Paintings with a secret code Industrialist George Barnes was also a noted abolitionist in the Syracuse area. He commissioned the dining room art by Italian painter Tommaso Juglaris. "As we have studied the early and mid-1800's, we find that art was carefully planned when artists were asked to paint something for a family," said Arlene Stewart, president of the Barnes Foundation. The black child's inclusion was a secret code, of sorts, to guests passing through the Barnes home. The mere inclusion of the child in the mansion signaled to visitors that the family was anti-slavery. By today's standards, the painting seems odd. It still depicts the black child in a position of servitude, which contrasts with the basic tenets of slavery abolition. But Stewart says the depiction warded off suspicion for visitors who were not sympathetic to the abolitionist cause in the late 1800's. "If the Barnes family had the two children playing with each other, it would have caused more issues when people came into their home," Stewart said. "Showing a black child who still appears to be serving was acceptable, and still gave the Barnes family the ability to showcase their universal sentiment." The family would often hold anti-slavery meetings at the mansion and Barnes also played a role in the city's famous Jerry Rescue. Federal marshals and the Syracuse police arrested William "Jerry" Henry under the Fugitive Slave Law, but a crowd later rescued him. Barnes put up $4,000 in bail money for two people who tried to help Jerry during the rescue. 2. The oldest elevator, servants' quarters and a ballroom Touring the mansion with a child? Make it an I-Spy game for them by having them find service buttons throughout the mansion. Several of the parlors and bedrooms still have the ivory buttons that buzzed the servants' quarters. An interesting button can be found in the floor of the former dining room as well. A simple gold disk shows where diners could call for service under the table, simply by pressing it with their feet. The mansion's third floor was a ballroom. It's now partitioned into offices, but the glossy original dance floor still remains. The house also has one of the city's oldest elevators, which dates to 1894. It's creaky, but still functions, with a City of Syracuse inspection certificate on display. 3. The Hiscocks and President Taft After Barnes and his wife Rebecca passed away, the mansion became home to Frank H. Hiscock, a lawyer who once served as the chief justice of the New York State of Appeals. He married the Barnes' daughter, Bessie, and added his name to the Barnes-Hiscock legacy. The Hiscocks remodeled the home in the Greek Colonial Revival style in the 1890s. U.S. President William Howard Taft, a close friend of Frank Hiscock, once stayed overnight at the mansion in 1918, after his presidency. Taft slept in the Blue Room on the second floor during his stay. At the time, Taft was the 10th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The day after staying with the Hiscocks, he delivered a speech at Syracuse University. The Barnes-Hiscock Mansion and five homes in the Sedgwick Farms neighborhood will open for tours on June 9. The 13th annual Save the Mansion Tour will be held on from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 9. Tickets are $15 for members of the foundation and $20 for non-members. The tour raises money for the George & Rebecca Barnes Foundation, which works to renovate and maintain the mansion at 930 James St. Karen Durham-Aguilera is executive director of Army National Military Cemeteries. It puts her in charge of Arlington National Cemetery, which averages about 11,000 visitors a day and many more over a Memorial Day weekend. Besides Arlington, she oversees the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery, in Washington, D.C., and the cemeteries at Army installations in the U.S. Another agency, the Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration, runs 135 national military cemeteries in the U.S. - like those in Upstate New York near Saratoga Springs and Bath. The American Battle Monuments Commission runs overseas cemeteries on battlefields, such as Normandy. States have more than 100 military cemeteries of their own. Until she accepted her current assignment, Durham-Aguilera had spent most of her career with the Army Corps of Engineers, including leading the reconstruction of New Orleans' hurricane protections after Hurricane Katrina. First, please share your thoughts about Memorial Day and how you hope Americans experience Arlington or other military cemeteries on that day. I've been to numerous military cemeteries. They are all special places. Memorial Day is about remembering the service of those that are now laid to rest and what they did for our country, for us, for our freedom, and for our liberties. You can do that in your home, you can do that by going out and participating in Memorial Day events, by going out to a military cemetery. Our Arlington National Cemetery is special, because it's kind of a national symbol here in the capitol. But no matter where you are, you can remember our veterans and honor their service and their sacrifice for the nation. Were you in leadership roles growing up? I was not. I was not in leadership roles as a child, or in high school, or in college (University of Louisville). I guess you could call me a late bloomer. One of the biggest reasons that I wasn't doing any of that in high school (Eastern High School in Middletown, Kentucky) or college - aside from being an engineer nerd - is because I had to work. My parents instilled that in me and my brothers and sisters. My parents were children of the Depression and neither of them had a college education. The value in education was instilled in all of us at an early age. I was focused in high school and college on being able to work enough to have that education. I finished high school almost a year early so I could work even more and have money for college. I was fortunate enough to have scholarships that helped out as well. I got my bachelor's and master's in civil engineering at the same time and graduated in 1980. As far as leadership, it wasn't until I'd spent some years as a field engineer. By that time, I was in my early 30s, I was supervisor of several field offices doing construction for the Army. It wasn't until then that I realized and others around me realized that I had leadership potential. What happened in your early 30s to put you on a leadership path? I spent several years as a field engineer, managing construction projects. I got to the point where I was the lead engineer; we called it a project engineer. I was stationed in Germany on some innovative projects. It thrust me into a really visible situation having to deal with people from high levels and lots of different agencies. Basically, it was either succeed or not succeed, stand out as a success or stand out as a failure. I started to realize that I had an affinity to lead, and people around me seemed to recognize my affinity for leadership. I had an example of leadership that stood out. Lt. Gen. Colin Powell was the Army's Fifth Corps commander. I was in an innovative project - it was Army family housing. Even though it was in Germany with a German builder, we had a requirement to design-build with U.S.-built components. It was pretty complicated. It was also innovative, so I had numerous high-level visitors, elected officials, assistant secretaries of the Army, secretary of defense, etc. Gen. Powell stood out, because, of everybody that came there, he was the only one that actually talked to me and asked me questions where I felt he was truly interested. I followed his career after that, and we all know the successes he went on to. He set that example of listening, active listening, taking an interest. I'm a little GS11 engineer, and he's a three-star general. It really stood out as what leaders can do. What's your advice to be an effective leader? OK, I can summarize this as the four Cs. Competence. Commitment. Courage. And caring. I'll add a few other things. Any leader - regardless of rank, regardless of profession, regardless of what field they're in - has to be competent in that profession. You cannot lead others if you don't have a basic competency and working knowledge in whatever the business is of that firm or of that industry or, in my case, working for the Army. The second thing is commitment. Commitment to the service, commitment to the people, commitment to the mission. That way you have the ability to set a vision, to use the team to help craft the details of the vision, to empower the team to carry out that vision, and then the ability to adjust, to make course corrections. All of that takes courage, personal courage. Courage to let the people around you know that you're empowering them. You're underwriting their risk. Risk of success, but also risk of failure. But also courage to do the right thing. We talk about character as doing the right thing when no one's watching. That absolutely applies to anyone who wants to be a successful leader. Everyone around you is watching you all the time. And the last thing is caring. You've gotta be passionate about what you are doing. You've gotta care about the people and the work you're doing. You can't fake that. If you don't have the passion and caring, everyone around you will notice. Please elaborate on the idea that a leader exhibits courage. First, anytime a leader is trying to do something, people will say that it can't be done or that's not the way we've done it, especially if it's a situation where you could fail. It takes courage to get out in front, to take that team forward. I'll give a past example: Being in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I spent my early career in New Orleans. I was asked to go back to New Orleans - and I chose to go back - to put together and develop and lead construction of a hurricane system around New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. We were constantly under the microscope, we were constantly being criticized for everything we did or were perceived as having done or could be doing. It took courage to go there and put together a team with the right stuff while constantly under examination in the public eye and to take a lot of criticism and to lead a truly innovative acquisition and to persuade the investment all the way through the Congress and the administration. To take a $14.6 billion construction program and to get all of that in place in basically four years was unheard of, especially with the federal government. There were numerous obstacles that could have gotten in the way. It took unwavering determination, an unwavering will to succeed, not just of me and the team, but also our Army commanders, at the three-star general level. Today, one of the biggest challenges is Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington National Cemetery was founded in 1864. Veterans from every single conflict that the country has been involved in are buried here at the cemetery - 400,000 people are laid to rest here. There have been times when the cemetery was about to close as it was running out of burial space. We are at that crossroads again today. Without a change in eligibility or suitable expansion, we will close by 2041. The Congress and the administration will need to decide what to do to take care of future generations so that our veterans who served in the Gulf War and every conflict since then and our Medal of Honor recipients will have the option to be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. We're limited in physical expansion, so it's a tough challenge. It will be a hard and emotional decision, lasting for generations to come. Or, we can close by 2041. And then we'll be an historical place to come, for people to pay their respects for those who are already laid to rest here. What's your advice to a leader who faces tough challenges like the two you described? The first thing is transparency. Be very open: We're thinking about doing this - what do you think we should do? Go out and deliberately seek others' opinions. That way, when a decision is ultimately made, people know that they were part of it, and they know how hard it was to get there. Not everyone may like the outcome, but the point is you get people to participate in that process. You will not be successful leaving people out. You have to be willing to take criticism, both the good and the bad, and you also have to be willing to adjust direction based on that input you're seeking. Try to build consensus, as much as you can, and be transparent. That's a model for success that you can apply in lots of situations. Inevitably, there will be setbacks. What's your advice? First is unwavering determination. You have to be determined for success of the mission. Second, when setbacks happen - they are going to happen with everyone - it's not personal. Do not take setbacks as a personal affront, as a personal insult, or anything personal at all. That's the only way you can deal with setbacks and, at times, criticism, whether it's constructive criticism or not. It's hard not to take a setback personally. Well, one thing, is to say: What do we need to do? You had a setback. What do you need to do? And then you need to involve the people around you. OK, this didn't go well. What do we - we - need to do to be able to succeed the next time? Anyone who is a leader can describe things that didn't go well. But more importantly: What did you learn from it, and what did you do the next time? As a kid, you fall off a bicycle and you get back on. I ride motorcycles. Anyone who rides a motorcycle at some time is going to drop that motorcycle. Well, then you get back on. What qualities do you see in good leadership and leaders you admire? People can learn from both good and bad examples of leadership, so I'll give you an example. I had engineering experience in private industry. When I was only 25 years old, I started working for the Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans. The person who hired me was Dr. John Grieshaber. He became my first and lasting example of a good leader. At that time, there were very few women in engineering. He, in his own words, took a chance on hiring me when no one around him was willing to do that. He set examples of teamwork and working well with others. I also saw the way throughout his entire career, he spent time developing and mentoring others. He was the example of teamwork, good leadership, taking care of people, and fostering careers of others even if it meant he would be losing good people working directly for him. I've had some bad leaders, whose names I'm not going to mention. They were the opposite. They didn't care, didn't exhibit any confidence in the people around them, didn't underwrite their risk of a potential failure as well as success. They took credit for others' success. Another leader I worked for, a lesson I learned was: Share the credit; take the blame. A leader has to be willing to take the blame for the team, when they don't succeed. We give credit to the team when they do. The good leaders that I worked for did that. And the ones that didn't, they were terrible leaders. They were self-centered. Those leaders didn't care about others - only themselves. The weekly "CNY Conversation" features Q&A interviews about leadership, success, and innovation. The conversations are condensed and edited. To suggest a leader for a Conversation, contact Stan Linhorst at StanLinhorst@gmail.com. Last week featured Peter Belyea of CXtec, who says to be an effective leader your core values and the organization's core values have to align. Jason Rezaian is a writer for Global Opinions. He served as The Post's correspondent in Tehran from 2012 to 2016. He spent 544 days unjustly imprisoned by Iranian authorities until his release in January 2016. By Jason Rezaian | The Washington Post Mike Pompeo used his first speech as secretary of state Monday to send a message directly to the Iranian leadership and its people: "Do what we want, or else!" Speaking at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank, Pompeo rattled off a 12-point list of what he called "basic requirements" of a new way forward with Iran (really little more than a rehashing of the decades-old laundry list of Washington's beefs with the country). Pompeo wants Iran to give up its ballistic missile program, cease and desist its involvement in every country it's currently involved in, completely shut down its nuclear enrichment, and at the same time release Americans unjustly imprisoned in Iran - all just because we say so. Sounds great. But it's also completely divorced from reality. If Iran would only capitulate on all 12 points, Pompeo declared, it could look forward to rejoining what Pompeo referred to as the "league of nations." (Note: The League of Nations, the precursor of today's United Nations, existed from 1920 to 1946.) Pompeo, though, promised that Iran would face the toughest economic sanctions in history if it fails to comply. "After our sanctions come into full force, it will be battling to keep its economy alive," he 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." What remains entirely unclear is how the Trump administration plans to pull this off without the support of key U.S. allies in the European Union who are all committed to remaining in the nuclear deal with Iran and ramping up commercial ties with it. Oddly, officials in the administration consistently point to their solidarity with the people of Iran as the main motivator in targeting Tehran's bad behavior, and Pompeo's speech was no exception. "It is America's hope that our labors toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran. We long to see them prosper and flourish as in decades past, and as never before," Pompeo said. Pompeo referred to recent anti-government protests in Iran that he says "show that the Iranian people are deeply frustrated with their own government's failures. The Iranian economy is struggling as a result of bad Iranian decisions. Workers aren't getting paid, strikes are a daily occurrence, and the rial is plummeting. Youth unemployment is at a staggering 25 percent." All of these things may be true. But there is nothing new about any of them, and assuming that this time around the Iranian people can compel their government to bend to America's will seems -- at least to anyone who has spent significant time in Iran in recent decades -- fantastical. The reality is that the punitive measures to come could hurt Iranian officials more than previous ones, but the real victims again will be average Iranians. And let's be honest, that's the whole point. Pompeo tipped his hand in that direction when asked by the Heritage Foundation's president, Kay Coles James, about a time frame on rolling out new anti-Iran sanctions. He couldn't provide one and put the onus on the people of Iran who, he said, "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." That translates roughly as, "Topple your regime, or we're going to do it for you." Iran is certainly responsible for much of what the Trump administration is accusing it of, so it seemed superfluous to add Bush-era accusations about Iran's support of the Taliban and its supposed harboring of top al-Qaida officials. Really, though, Pompeo's speech Monday was just the Trump administration's opening arguments for regime change. But it's hard to agree with Pompeo's assertion that Iran represents a threat to the American way of life, because of its nefarious activities in a contentious region that is home to U.S. allies who are better armed and better funded than Iran. Pompeo's remarks sounded eerily akin to the sorts of statements that Donald Rumsfeld and others were making in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. The maximalist rhetoric after the 9/11 attacks resonated with many Americans precisely because we felt threatened. The major difference this time around is that Pompeo sounds less confident about the case he's trying to make. I just can't work out whether that's because he understands that he doesn't really know what he's talking about, or because he knows his audience is a more knowledgeable and skeptical one than the George W. Bush administration faced in 2003. The Washington Post * Avi Selk After completing what they say is the first examination of Adolf Hitler's remains since World War II, a team of researchers has announced that the Nazi leader most definitely died in Berlin and, therefore, cannot possibly still be alive on the moon. The study was no easy feat. Over the past 73 years, Hitler's presumed corpse has been set on fire, secretly buried, dug up by the Soviets, hidden by the KGB and finally ordered destroyed. Hitler's person, meanwhile, has appeared in the fantasies of all manner of conspiracy theorists who insist his body is a fake. So last year, a team of French researchers persuaded the Russian government to let them inspect the last two bits of Hitler known to exist: a bullet-shot chunk of skull and a set of frankly disgusting teeth. They compared these fragments to war-era autopsy records and concluded that, yep, those are definitely Hitler's teeth. "There is no possible doubt. Our study proves that Hitler died in 1945," co-author Philippe Charlier told Agence France-Presse after the paper published Friday in the European Journal of Internal Medicine. "He did not flee to Argentina in a submarine," Charlier continued. "He is not in a hidden base in Antarctica or on the dark side of the moon." Charlier, a researcher at Raymond Poincare University Hospital and researcher-teacher at Paris Descartes University, is by no means the first to try to debunk claims that Hitler survived past World War II, which have persisted for decades despite the derision of nearly all mainstream historians. But just in case Charlier is right and his study really does mark the end of Hitler survival fiction, we have memorialized the genre for the sake of posterity. We present below the many lives and deaths of Adolf Hitler, in descending order of plausibility. 1. Hitler died heroically in battle Actually, Charlier's team concluded, Hitler most probably died with his wife while hiding in his Berlin bunker, quite possibly after swallowing a cyanide pill and then shooting himself in the head for good measure. In this, the study confirmed what has long been the official account of his death. Maybe one reason that so many people have had trouble accepting the official version of Hitler's demise is that it started out as a baldfaced lie. At 10:20 p.m. on the day after Hitler's suicide, a German admiral addressed the country by radio. He announced somberly that Hitler had died a few hours earlier, fighting "at the head of his troops." This sad fantasy was recounted in the book "The Death of Hitler," whose authors noted that it was believed by much of the world. A doctor even testified in a deposition that he had tried to save the wounded leader: "A shell fragment had pierced the uniform, went through his chest and entered the lungs on both sides," he told a court. "It was no use to do anything." Inevitably, the notion of Hitler the war hero was shown to be a hastily conceived fraud, but the Nazis and their conquerors didn't exactly make it easy for the public to learn the truth. 2. Hitler lived! As Charlier and his co-authors wrote in their paper last week, Hitler had demanded in his will that the Soviet forces about to overrun Berlin not be allowed to defile his corpse. Accordingly, his lieutenants doused his body in benzine, lighted it on fire and buried it in a nearby shell crater. Of course the occupying Soviets found the body anyway, autopsied Hitler and concluded that he had killed himself in a suitably cowardly fashion. But rather than let the world examine the same evidence, the Soviets kept Hitler's body hidden for decades, until the KGB was finally ordered to destroy the corpse in the 1970s, leaving only the shard of skull and jawbone in the Kremlin's possession. As explained in "The Death of Hitler," the Russians found it politically useful keep the world guessing about Hitler's fate. To sow chaos, we might say today. And the strategy worked. There was mass public confusion about when, how and whether Hitler had died. In an information vacuum, newspapers quickly filled up with stories of sketchy sightings of the Nazi leader, the book recalled: Hitler posing as a casino croupier in France; Hitler working as a shepherd in the Alps; Hitler living as a hermit in a cave. So rampant was the disinformation, that even U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower entertained the possibility of Hitler's survival. 3. Hitler's great submarine escape In loving detail and with minimal disclaimers, the Daily Mail once recounted one of the more elaborate legends of Hitler's escape from Allied-conquered Europe, beginning with the besieged leader contemplating his future staring at a portrait of Frederick the Great. "A Fourth Reich would surely rise, and he would be needed to lead it," Hitler thought, the Mail wrote. "That left one option: escape." So three days before his purported suicide, Hitler ordered two corpses to be dressed as himself and his wife. He waited until the stroke of midnight, then slipped out of his bunker via a secret tunnel, and sneaked through the bombed-out city of Berlin. He rendezvoused with an airplane he had arranged to meet him on an abandoned thoroughfare, then flew to Denmark and then Spain, then commandeered a submarine and escaped to South America, where he lived out his days in peace. "To most of us, such a story sounds like utter fantasy," the Mail noted at the end of this adventure. "But there are some who regard it as the absolute truth." Indeed, the newspaper wrote, Hitler's supposed escape by submarine has inspired so many pseudo-historical books about his latter days that rival authors occasionally accuse one another of plagiarism. 4. The tropical adventures of "Adolf Schuttelmayor" and friends Like all the best conspiracy theories, the story of Hitler's retirement in South America intersects with just enough reality to make it vaguely plausible, without being so tied down to facts that it risks being disproved. A Nazi U-boat really did disappear near the end of World War II, for example. And many high-ranking Nazis really did escape to the Americas, sometimes evading capture for years. Last year, a newly declassified cache of government documents revealed that the CIA actually investigated a report that Hitler was among them. A "fairly reliable" source contacted the agency's base in Venezuela in 1955, according to a CIA memo, and shared a photograph of two men taken in Colombia the previous year. The clean-shaven man on the left was a former German SS trooper, according to the source. And the man on the right was supposed to be Hitler. He had apparently changed his name to "Adolf Schuttelmayor" but was not so worried about discovery that he felt it necessary to shave his mustache. Hitler's alleged presence in Colombia was an open secret in some circles, a subsequent CIA investigation found. In a city "overly populated with former German Nazis," the former SS officer told an agency source, Schuttelmayor was idolized by those who knew his real identity. They called him "der Fuhrer" and honored him with the old Nazi salutes. The CIA station chief continued to pursue the case but was eventually told by his superiors that "enormous efforts could be expended on this matter with remote possibilities of establishing anything concrete." So Schuttelmayor, whoever he was, was thereafter left alone. Of course, by the time the CIA memos were made public last year, various writers had spun far more elaborate stories about Hitler's alleged life in South America. One self-described historian claimed that Hitler eventually left Argentina for Paraguay and lived there inside an opulent underground bunker, which was turned into a hotel after his death in 1971. Yet another researcher claimed that Hitler went to Brazil "hunting for buried treasure using a map given to him by friends within the Vatican," the Express wrote. The researcher was convinced that Hitler lived in the country until at least 1984, into his 90s, because she had found a grainy photograph of an old man taken that year and was reminded of Hitler when she used Photoshop to add a mustache to it. 5. Hitler escaped to a secret Antarctic base, but don't worry - we nuked it In a particularly imaginative variation of the basic submarine escape story, a faction of theorists claim that Hitler's U-boat detoured to Antarctica, depositing the leader at a secret Nazi ice base before continuing to South America with his lesser officers. "The proposed location for the Nazi base (often a cavern under the ice) has wandered around over most of the Norwegian Antarctic territory of Dronning Maud Land," Nature once wrote of this theory. "And it's not agreed whether the submarines were carrying Hitler himself, or just his ashes." In any case, the story goes, Hitler's presence in Antarctica explains secretive British and U.S. military missions to the continent in the aftermath of World War II - culminating in a nuclear attack on the Nazi ice base in the 1950s. None of this is true, of course. Or at least, so claimed two researchers in 2007, when they wrote a 21-page peer-reviewed paper attempting to debunk the notion of a Nazi ice base in Antarctica. As we said above, the French researchers who claim to have autopsied Hitler's bones are not the first to hope that science can finally lay him to rest. And they probably won't be the last. See also: 6. Moon-Hitler He's watching. (c) 2018, The Washington Post. Story by Avi Selk. State Sen. John DeFrancisco says he will skip the convention in New York City this week where members of the New York Republican State Committee will nominate a candidate for governor. DeFrancisco, R-DeWitt, the Senate's deputy majority leader, had been the front-runner for the nomination as recently as February. DeFrancisco said Tuesday he no longer sees the point in attending a convention where his rival, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, is expected to easily win the Republican designation for governor. When Molinaro entered the GOP governor's race in March, DeFrancisco promised to bring his fight for the nomination to the floor of the convention, which will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City. DeFrancisco suspended his campaign for governor on April 25 after Molinaro locked up support from Republican committee members representing about 75 percent of the weighted vote at the convention. The same week, the state Conservative Party also endorsed Molinaro. DeFrancisco said through a spokeswoman Tuesday that he will not ask any of his supporters to nominate him at the convention, which, if seconded, would force a contested vote. DeFrancisco, 71, said he will retire from a 40-year career in politics at the end of his term this year. He said he won't seek re-election to the 50th District Senate seat or any other elected office. Some Republicans had urged DeFrancisco to enter the campaign for New York attorney general after Democrat Eric Schneiderman abruptly resigned earlier this month amid allegations of physically assaulting four women. Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Democrats in Central New York are headed for a primary in the race to replace retiring state Sen. John DeFrancisco, while a Republican run-off in September seems unlikely. Democrat Joe Chiarenza will challenge the party's designated candidate, John Mannion, in the race for the 50th District NYS Senate seat. Chiarenza said Tuesday he is putting together a team to gather petition signatures to secure a spot on the ballot. The two leading Republican contenders, Bob Antonacci and Joe Carni, both said they would not force a primary this fall, regardless of who their party chooses. The Onondaga County Republican Committee meets Thursday to designate a candidate for state Senate, among other races. Carni, a Syracuse Common Councilor, said Monday he is a "party person" who "believes in the process." "As long as it's a fair and open process I wouldn't primary, that's been the way we've done it in the past," he said. Antonacci, the Onondaga County Comptroller, said he would "absolutely not" challenge the committee's choice. "I'm a town chair and a longstanding Republican committee member," he said. "I've helped get many Republicans elected." Monday, Carni said nothing has changed for him since Antonacci entered the race last week. Antonacci came out strong, with endorsements from the Independence Party, the Conservative Party and Rick Zaccaria, who bowed out of the race after Antonacci joined. Rick Guy, who has said he plans to seek the Republican line, could not be reached Tuesday morning. The Onondaga County Democratic Committee met in April to pick its candidates. Mannion earned 67 percent of the vote. He also won the designation of the Cayuga County Democrats. Albany, NY, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global mycoplasma diagnostics market is projected to rise at a strong CAGR of 10.6% in between the forecast period of 2016 and 2024. Rising at this pace, the global market will rise from a worth of US$602.0 million in 2016 to reach a worth US$1.35 billion by 2024 end. The key technologies used in the diagnosis of mycoplasma infections are polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunoassay, microbial culture techniques, and DNA staining. Of all the key segments, PCR method dominated the market in 2016 and its demand is projected to rise substantially through 2024. The popularity is attributed to increasing incidence of hospital-acquired and healthcare-associated infections world over. Request to View Sample of Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1677 Regionally, North America led the global market with its dominant share in 2016. The extensive uptake of diagnostics for mycoplasma pneumoniae infections is attributed to the large number of laboratories present across the region and the heightened awareness among patient populations. High Morbidity and Mortality of Respiratory Tract Infections bolster Demand for Mycoplasma Infections Diagnostics The global market for mycoplasma infections diagnostics is driven primarily by the growing prevalence of respiratory tract infections that can lead to incidence of lung cancer, tuberculosis, and obstructive pulmonary diseases. In addition, the concomitant rise in the associated mortality in worldwide populations is bolstering the demand for mycoplasma diagnostics. The rising demand for laboratory investigation for the diagnosis of mycoplasma pneumoniae pathogens is propelling the growth of the market. Request PDF Brochure of Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1677 The rapid rise in geriatric population, especially in developing and developed nations, who are increasingly prone to respiratory tract infections is a crucial factor catalyzing the growth of the market. The rising awareness of the multiple etiologies that mycoplasma infections harbors among worldwide communities has accentuated the need for direct pathogen detection. Furthermore, the rising healthcare infrastructure spending by public and private players in developed regions is likely to help in the rapid expansion of the global market. Lack of Reliability of Laboratory Tests and High Cost hindering Widespread Uptake Despite the rapidly rising demand for mycoplasma diagnostics, few factors are hindering the uptake. The high cost of the devices and consumables used in the testing kits for the infections is one of them. The lack of reliability of these tests in correcting determining microbiological etiology for mycoplasma pneumoniae also acts as a bottleneck in the growth of the market. Furthermore, the market is suffering notable setbacks in advanced nations of North America and Europe owing to stringent regulator norms for the approval of diagnostics or laboratory testing methods. Request For Custom Research: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=1677 Nevertheless, the market is likely to witness exciting avenues arising out of substantial advancements in PCR-related methods and molecular biology technologies in recent years. Advancement in diagnostic techniques in recent years has consistently upped their effectiveness, which has helped healthcare providers and caregivers in ascertaining the severity of the diseases before it turns into an epidemics. The global market for mycoplasma infections diagnostics market is consolidated to a large extent with the leading five vendors jointly accounting for 68.0 % of the global market in 2016, notes Transparency Market Research (TMR). The leading companies are Lonza Group, Agilent Technologies, Merck KGaA, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. The global landscape is also markedly competitive and top vendors are focusing on entering into mergers and acquisitions and making geographic expansion, in order to consolidate their positions. However, the growing number of mergers, acquisitions, and collaborations in the global market will bring down the degree of competition to some extent, as the shares will be spread across few prominent shares in the years to come. TMR observes that a number of players are engaged in accelerating the development of technologically-advanced diagnostic kits with enhanced efficacy. More Trending Reports by Transparency Market Research: Scleroderma Diagnostics and Therapeutics Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/scleroderma-diagnostics-therapeutics.html Veterinary Molecular Diagnostics Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/veterinary-molecular-diagnostics-market.html About TMR Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend 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. Contact A despondent Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, troubled over the end of his marriage or some other unbearable sadness, was the only person awake on the doomed plane full of unconscious people, one theory goes. The suicidal pilot disabled communications on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, took a final pass over his hometown, then torpedoed the Boeing 777 into the Indian Ocean, experts insisted. A competing theory, the official one posited by investigators, says that everybody on the plane - the captain, his co-pilot, more than 200 passengers - was unconscious as the uncontrolled craft ran out of fuel and plunged into the sea. The disappearance of MH370 was a tragedy, government investigators say - but an accidental one. Four years after MH370 vanished, the debate over what, exactly, happened to the plane has reignited. The back-and-forth comes after a panel of aviation experts assembled by the Australian edition of "60 Minutes" posited a new theory about the final hours of the flight. The man in charge of the Australian government's investigation has struck back, saying the "new" theory has holes of its own. That theory is that Zaharie, a veteran pilot, depressurized the plane after turning off its transponder. Shortly afterward, everyone else on the plane was knocked out by oxygen deprivation, unwittingly being ferried to their deaths. The reason for Zaharie's supposed suicidal ideation? There were rumors that his marriage was ending and his wife was about to leave him. "He was killing himself," Larry Vance, a veteran aircraft investigator from Canada, said on the "60 Minutes" panel. "Unfortunately, he was killing everyone else onboard. And he did it deliberately." The "60 Minutes" experts' theory attempted to answer one of the biggest questions surrounding the ill-fated flight: How could a modern aircraft tracked by radar and satellites simply disappear? Because, they say, Zaharie wanted it to. And the pilot, who had nearly 20,000 hours of flight experience and had built a flight simulator in his home, knew exactly how to do it. Shortly after the "60 Minutes" episode aired in Australia, critics of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's investigation began to speak out. Clinging to the MH370 accident theory was akin to "complicity of a crime," Mike Keane, a former military pilot and the former chief pilot at Britain-based easyJet, told the Australian. "Put bluntly, the MH370 'crash' is undoubtedly a crime of the unlawful killing of 238 innocent people. The Australian government has also been remiss, they should have put pressure on the ATSB to listen, and act, on professional advice from the aviation community." But people on the other side of the debate have said there are holes in the suicide-by-pilot theory, including the basic biological difficulty of flying a depressurized plane. "What they fail to understand is that while you don an oxygen mask and prevent the worst of the hypoxia situation, you are flying an aircraft at 40,000 feet," the ATSB's Peter Foley told lawmakers at a hearing in Canberra on Tuesday, according to the Guardian. Foley, who led the ATSB's failed search for MH370, continued: "You are taking an aircraft from sea level to [Australia's highest mountain] Mount Kosciuszko in 20 minutes, then you are taking it, over the course of a couple of minutes, to the height of Mount Everest plus 1,000 feet. You'll get decompression sickness too." He said a similar situation occurred on a cargo plane in the United States nearly 25 years ago. "During the climbout the flight crew was unable to pressurize the aircraft, and the captain elected to proceed with the flight," Foley said, according to the Guardian. "The crew donned their oxygen masks and shortly thereafter the captain became incapacitated from decompression sickness. The first officer took command and they landed the plane." Still, Foley conceded to the Australian legislators Tuesday that the MH370 suicide-by-pilot theory was "plausible" and that the ATSB had listened to experts who supported the "controlled ditching" theory. And the death-by-pilot theory adherents have an answer for something that has vexed investigators for years: a circumstantial but chilling explanation for an unexpected turn the plane made while passing over Zaharie's Malaysian hometown. "Captain Zaharie dipped his wing to see Penang, his hometown," Simon Hardy, a Boeing 777 senior pilot and instructor, said on "60 Minutes." "If you look very carefully, you can see it's actually a turn to the left, and then start a long turn to the right. And then [he does] another left turn. So I spent a long time thinking about what this could be, what technical reason is there for this, and, after two months, three months thinking about this, I finally got the answer: Someone was looking out the window." "It might be a long, emotional goodbye," Hardy added. "Or a short, emotional goodbye to his hometown." WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is moving closer to freeing the embattled Chinese company ZTE Corp. from severe penalties over export law violations, with his advisers reaching the outline of an agreement with leaders in Beijing, according to two people familiar with the discussions. But the speed at which Trump is working to cut this deal has drawn loud protests from a number of lawmakers in both parties. Some lawmakers have warned that Trump is capitulating without getting any concrete concessions from the Chinese and setting a dangerous precedent by meddling in a law enforcement matter. Under the broad outlines of the deal, which hasn't been finalized, the Commerce Department would lift its recent ban that prohibits U.S. companies from selling material to ZTE, China's second-largest telecommunications firm. The Commerce Department could instead replace that ban with new fines or other requirements, such as leadership changes at the company. These specifics have not yet been finalized. "The objective was not to put ZTE out of business," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday. "The objective was to make sure they abide by our sanctions programs." The people familiar with the agreement outline warned that the talks between U.S. and Chinese leaders remain extremely fluid and have already been marred by false starts and missteps. It was unclear how quickly a resolution could be reached. But amid reports of the bargaining, the Chinese government Tuesday said it was reducing its tariffs on imported cars to 15 percent from 25 percent, meeting a long-standing U.S. demand. Some analysts said the president was abandoning his goal of a comprehensive overhaul in the U.S.-China trading relationship in return for minor Chinese commitments. "The administration has done an about-face in its approach on trade with China," said Scott Kennedy, an expert on Chinese business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ". . .China has been let off the hook, and although 'reforms' are coming, they are likely to be modest, gradual and incremental. All the while, the party-state will continue to fully draw on all of its industrial policy tools to promote Chinese national champions at home and abroad." ZTE is partly owned by the Chinese government. In 2017, it pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to illegally shipping to Iran telecom equipment that contained U.S. parts. The company also settled civil charges with the Commerce and Treasury departments, agreeing to pay a combined fine of $1.19 billion and be subject to a court-appointed monitor for three years. At the time, Justice Department officials said that ZTE had engaged in an "elaborate scheme" to outwit U.S. sanctions designed to keep Iran for acquiring sophisticated communications systems. Even after its cheating was detected, ZTE set up an in-house team charged with finding new ways around American law and with deleting incriminating material from its computers. Last month, the Commerce Department prohibited U.S. companies from selling their materials to ZTE for seven years, a development that was widely seen as a death sentence for the company. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters that ZTE had violated the terms of its settlement with the government by failing to discipline several executives who were responsible for misleading U.S. investigators. Chinese leader Xi Jinping personally asked Trump to intercede and help the company, and Trump has directed Ross to make changes to help the company. The president's extraordinary intervention, kicked off by a tweet worrying about the impact of ZTE's demise on Chinese employment, alarmed some trade experts. "This type of process has never been politicized," said attorney Doug Jacobson, an export law specialist. "This is really unprecedented." Under standard Commerce Department procedures, companies can appeal their penalties to the same enforcement officials who hand them down in the first place. Appeals are granted only in rare cases, and usually involve shortening the length of a denial order like the one ZTE has been hit with, Jacobson said. But shortening ZTE's ban on acquiring U.S. equipment wouldn't help. The company, which spends $2.6 billion each year buying U.S. components for its equipment, depends upon U.S. suppliers. This marked a major change in approach for the White House. Trump has spent the past several months trying a variety of tactics with China to get it to reduce its trade surplus with the United States. He has threatened to impose tariffs on a variety of Chinese products, a move that angered Chinese leaders and led to warnings of retaliation. But in the past 10 days, he has tried to lure the Chinese into a broader trade agreement by expressing a willingness to free ZTE as part of a deal, even if it angered Republicans and Democrats who believe ZTE's behavior poses a national security risk. "If this is true, then administration has surrendered to #China on #ZTE Making changes to their board & a fine won't stop them from spying & stealing from us. But this is too important to be over," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted on Tuesday. "We will begin working on veto-proof congressional action." Last week, the House Appropriations Committee added language to a must-pass spending bill that barred the president from relaxing penalties on ZTE, in the first sign of congressional displeasure with Trump's stance. The Senate Banking Committee advanced another version of the measure on Tuesday, written by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. The measure passed 23-2. Mnuchin said the changes are being led by Commerce Department officials, though he has been brought into meetings about the matter. "Whatever the Commerce Department decides - the (intelligence) community has been part of the briefings - and we will make sure that we enforce national security issues," he said. The broad outlines of the deal were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Mnuchin, though, did appear to contradict Trump in terms of the scope of the ZTE talks. Mnuchin said the Commerce Department was looking at scaling back penalties on ZTE because of a request from Xi to Trump. "This was not a quid pro quo or anything else," Mnuchin said. But Trump last week wrote on Twitter that ZTE was only being looked at for help as part of the trade discussions. "Nothing has happened with ZTE except as it pertains to the larger trade deal," Trump wrote. Meanwhile, China's decision to lower auto tariffs is unlikely to have a dramatic impact upon American carmakers. Companies like General Motors already produce millions of cars in China for customers there and thus may have little desire to ship additional vehicles across the Pacific. The Chinese tariff cut is being welcomed by luxury carmakers, such as BMW. The German automaker's Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant exports more than 270,000 vehicles annually, with China its top destination. "We highly welcome the Chinese government's announcement. It's a strong signal that China will continue to open up," said Kenn Sparks, a company spokesman. "This will certainly benefit the customer and boost the market to an even more dynamic level." Congressional leaders have expressed confusion in the past week at how much the ZTE talks have become entangled in the broader trade discussions with China. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said last week that ZTE would be handled separately as a regulatory matter, but Trump late last week suggested that he would allow ZTE to be freed of the restrictions only if China agreed to other concessions on trade. "At the end of the day, the Trump administration needs to clarify to the American public how all of this reflects good policy that upholds the rule of law as enforcement actions should, and how any resulting trade deal with China will be good for American companies, workers and consumers," said James Zimmerman, partner in the Beijing office of international law firm Perkins Coie LLP. Chinese vice premier Liu He met with Mnuchin and other White House officials last week, and the Trump administration had suggested that they could reach a massive deal that would lead to a $200 billion reduction in the trade deficit between both countries. But the talks ended Saturday without any specific agreement or mention of ZTE. Both sides agreed broadly to increase China's purchases of agricultural products and other materials from the United States. But China did not give any ground on some of the structural changes that White House adviser Peter Navarro has long sought, things that would make it much harder for Chinese companies to steal intellectual property from U.S. companies. Ross is scheduled to go to China in early June to try to pin down specific agreements from Chinese leaders related to new purchases of U.S. goods. Trump has tried to spin the discussions with China as representing a huge breakthrough between both countries, but his advisers have been split, with Mnuchin seeking a quick deal and Navarro wanting the White House to hold out for more sweeping changes. WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that a planned historic meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un could be delayed, saying the summit "may not work out for June 12." Trump raised the possibility that the meeting could be pushed back during a White House meeting with South Korea President Moon Jae-in as the two leaders sought to coordinate strategy as concerns mounted over ensuring a successful outcome for the North Korea summit. Trump told reporters: "If it doesn't happen, maybe it happens later," reflecting recent setbacks to bring about reconciliation between the two Koreas. The North pulled out of planned peace talks with the South last week, objecting to long-scheduled joint military exercises between U.S. and the Republic of Korea forces, and it threatened to abandon the planned Trump-Kim meeting over the U.S. insistence on denuclearizing the peninsula. Moon said in the Oval Office that the "fate and the future" of the Korean Peninsula hinged on the talks, telling the U.S. president that they were "one step closer" to the dream of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. "There are certain conditions that we want," Trump said. He added if they aren't met, "we won't have the meeting." He declined to elaborate on those conditions. On May 22, 1960, the largest earthquake of the 20th century, a magnitude 9.5 on the Richter scale, occurred off the southern coast of Chile. The quake caused substantial damage and casualties in that country and the resulting tsunamis sent misery to the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The earthquake hit at about 7:11 p.m. approximately 100 miles off the coast, parallel to the city of Valdivia. A series of foreshocks the day before warned of the approaching disaster. One, a magnitude 7.9, brought major destruction to the city of Concepcion. Early reports listed 74 deaths in the city. Fire and cold rain added to the misery. The historic earthquake the next day caused landslides of debris down the mountains. Tremors were felt across the South American continent in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the recording needles "jumped off the recording paper at the start of the quake so that scientists could not register the violence," the Associated Press reported. Extremely heavy tremors were also recorded in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, Alaska and Tokyo. The Coastal and Geodetic Society in Washington said a series of shocks recorded there was so strong "we can't separate one from the other on the recorder." After the shaking stopped, a series of tsunamis devastated Chile's coastal regions. A 26-foot wave hit the shore, taking most of the buildings and homes when it receded. Minutes later, a 35-foot wave rolled in, taking 1,000 lives. After leaving Chile, the tsunami traveled hundreds of miles west towards Hawaii, the Philippines and Japan, where hundreds more died. Boats and docks were damaged in Los Angeles. (On Hawaii's main island, 61 people dies and caused millions of dollars in damages.) Waves from the earthquake bounced back and forth across the Pacific for more than a week and aftershocks were recorded for a month following the quake. The quakes and its aftereffects resulted in 5,000 people killed and another 2 million people homeless. Experts believe the earthquake could have been worse. A foreshock had occurred just before the main tremor, causing people to be outside when the historic earthquake happened. Also, citizens of Chile understood tsunamis often followed earthquakes, and many evacuated from the coast immediately. 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. English Estonian Admiral Markets AS has a branch in the Czech Republic since 2012. On 11 May 2018, Admiral Markets AS decided to close its Admiral Markets AS, organizacni slozka" branch starting from 11 June 2018. On 21 May 2018, in accordance with the laws of the Czech Republic, the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority prohibited the Czech branch of Admiral Markets AS the provision of any investment and ancillary services, due to failure to comply with the reporting obligations arising from the Securities Market Act. The respective decision was sent electronically to Admiral Markets AS on 22 May 2018. The precept will be published on the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority website in the coming days. Despite the closure of its Czech branch, Admiral Markets AS is still handling with the provision of the reports that were not previously presented. Admiral Markets AS will comply with the percept and will not provide investment services or ancillary services through its Czech branch. "The decision of the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority was unexpected considering all the circumstances, but did not affect the capitalisation and profitability of Admiral Markets AS. Since the beginning, the Czech branch has mainly provided supporting services to Admiral Markets AS and the branch itself has no customers. The interests of our clients from Admiral Markets AS branch in the Czech Republic are still protected, and our sister company Admiral Markets UK Ltd. helps us in providing quality on-site services, said Sergei Bogatenkov Chairman of the Management Board of Admiral Markets AS. Further information: Kira Evve Communication Manager of Admiral Markets AS kira.evve@admiralmarkets.com +372 5560 8284 The pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson is in pursuit to acquire a company that is looking to combat one of the world's most deadliest diseases: cancer. The announcement that Johnson & Johnson would pay up to a $1 billion for this company was made on May 2. However, they aren't the only ones. Merck, a company located in Kenilworth, New Jersey, has also put in a bid for $394 million to obtain an Australian firm that was working on a cancer-killing or "oncolytic" virus in February. In April, at the International Oncolytic Virus Conference in Oxford, UK, over 300 people were in attendance. For the researchers behind the virus, it shows promise that more companies are beginning to support the idea that could potentially save lives. There are some that are still very cautious about the new findings from this particular virus. Cancer-Killing Virus Cancer is described as a group of diseases that involve abnormal cell growth that has the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Researchers have been trying to create some form of cancer-fighting virus for decades. Many have tried to use centuries-old observations that people who would go into remission after contracting another type of virus. One virus that has been created so far, talimogene laherparepvec (Imlygic), is a modified version of herpes that was used to treat some forms of melanoma. Imlygic was approved by the 2015 U.S. Food And Drug Administration and was the first virus to win support in the U.S. market. Jean-Simon Diallo, a molecular biologist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, credits this as the reason more companies are supporting this new venture. Another reason more companies are eager to obtain this new treatment is the progress seen mainly on animal trials, where a virus may work better if it is given with checkpoint inhibitors, which are other therapies that boost immune system. Could This Be The Cure? Majority of the trials that conducted testing this new theory have fallen short of promise, including Imlygic. Some inhibitors can send certain cancers into remission but only for a fraction of the people. In a smaller trial done that consisted of 21 people who had advanced melanoma, Imlygic was combined with another checkpoint called pembrolizumab, which resulted in shrunken tumors among 62 percent of the participants and completely wiped out in 33 percent of other cases. For the researchers who mixed the checkpoint inhibitors with other treatments, they were left with mixed results. Researchers still remain optimistic. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Scientists came across an asteroid with an unusual orbit around the planet Jupiter in 2014, and now, using computer simulations, they have come up with a reason as to why it is maintaining that orbit. An Interstellar Immigrant 2015 BZ509 is the first known asteroid from a different solar system to have been caught. It has been here in this system for a significant amount of time now. Scientists previously found another interstellar visitor in the solar system earlier this year with 'Oumuamua, however, that asteroid just passed by the solar system and kept going. 2015 BZ509 first caught the attention of scientists when it was discovered in 2014 because of its retrograde orbit around Jupiter. A retrograde orbit occurs when objects move in the opposite direction. Scientists have discovered other objects with retrograde orbits but 2015 BZ509 has an elongated orbit that is out of alignment with those of the planets and other bodies. The study is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. Tracing 2015 BZ509's Origin Scientists ran one million different simulations of 2015 BZ509's orbit, and each time the simulation had slightly different parameters. Objects with an eccentric orbit like 2015 BZ509's orbit are not stable for a long time. However, during the simulations, researchers did find a couple of stable orbits and that 2015 BZ509 is likely in one of the stable orbits. While running the simulations, the scientists found that if these orbits were traced back in time, 2015 BZ509's orbit would go back to about 4.5 billion years ago. The solar system was still forming at that point. The asteroid 2015 BZ509 did not originate from this solar system and must have been caught in an orbit as it was passing through this solar system. In the study, scientists say that there is no known mechanism that could have produced the asteroid in that orbit while the planets were still forming. They suggest that the asteroid was drifting through space until it was caught in the sun's gravity. Scientists say that the reason for the asteroid being from another system is because of how the sun formed. It started from a tightly packed cluster of stars, where each star had its own system with planets and asteroids. This closeness let the gravity of each system attract, remove, and capture asteroids from another system. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The OnePlus 6 launch is finally here, with the highly anticipated smartphone ready to go up against the other flagship Android smartphones in the industry. The OnePlus smartphones have long been known as the "flagship killer," and for the OnePlus 6, its most high-profile rival will be the Samsung Galaxy S9. How do the two devices stack up with each other, and does the OnePlus 6 deliver in its promise as a "flagship killer" smartphone? OnePlus 6 Notch The most obvious difference between the OnePlus 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S9 is the notch, a display feature that was popularized by iPhone X. Preferring the OnePlus 6 over the Galaxy S9 might come down to whether you love or hate the notch, but the feature provides a bit more real estate on the screen. The Galaxy S9 has an 83.6 percent screen-to-body ratio, but the OnePlus 6's is a bit higher at 83.8 percent. OnePlus 6 Android P Beta The OnePlus 6 is one of the 12 smartphones that will support Android P beta, which is great for users who would like to catch a glimpse of the latest version of the mobile operating system before everyone else. The other devices on the Android P beta list are manufactured by Google, Essential, Nokia, Oppo, Sony, Vivo, and Xiaomi. Samsung, for some reason, is not on that list, and which means that the gap between the Android P launch on the OnePlus 6 and the Galaxy S9 may be significant. OnePlus 6 Speed Test Several speed tests have shown that the OnePlus 6 is faster than the Samsung Galaxy S9. The latest one, carried out by YouTube channel PhoneBuff, used a robot to make sure that no human error is involved in the speed test. Again, the OnePlus 6 came out on top. Both the OnePlus 6 and the Galaxy S9 are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, with starting RAM of 6 GB. This should mean that the devices should be equal, but the OnePlus 6 is turning out to be faster than the Galaxy S9 in real-world performance. OnePlus 6 Price The OnePlus 6 price is definitely its major selling point, with a starting price of $529 for the 64 GB model. In comparison, the Galaxy S9 price starts at $710, and the Galaxy S9 Plus price starts at $839. The nearly $200 to over $300 in savings when buying the OnePlus 6 will likely be a huge deal breaker for some customers. OnePlus 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S9: The Verdict OnePlus 6 reviews have also started coming in, describing the smartphone as a very good deal for its price. The OnePlus 6 still has its shortcomings compared to other flagship smartphones though, including its camera and compatibility only with AT&T and T-Mobile. If you have the cash to spare, the Samsung Galaxy S9's powerful features might still give the device a slight advantage. However, the OnePlus 6 certainly lives up to the hype as a "flagship killer," because not everybody has almost $1,000 to spare for a smartphone. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A woman suffered from brain damage just weeks before her wedding after a cosmetic surgery procedure that went horribly wrong. The doctor who performed the surgery has been charged with medical malpractice. It has now been revealed that this is not the first time that she was accused of it. Woman Suffers Brain Damage From Cosmetic Surgery Cosmetic surgery dangers have seen their fair share of discussion, but permanent brain damage is usually not on that list. Unfortunately for a woman from Georgia, that is exactly what happened to her. Icilma Cornelius, 54 years old, consulted with Dr. Windell Boutte in her medical spa and cosmetic surgery center in Lilburn, Georgia. Cornelius wanted Botox and another anti-wrinkle treatment in preparation for her upcoming wedding, but she was convinced to also get a liposuction. However, eight hours into surgery, Cornelius's heart stopped. The office was not properly equipped to handle such an emergency and had to call 911. Paramedics were able to get her heart going again, but they were delayed in getting Cornelius to the ambulance. Boutte and an employee had to suture Cornelius' skin to prevent infections on open incisions, and the stretcher had to be carried down the stairs because it did not fit the elevator. Cornelius was able to make it to the hospital, but the damage was massive. Due to the lack of oxygen, she suffered permanent brain damage. Choose Your Doctors Wisely Ojay Liburd, 26 years old, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Boutte in behalf of his mother. "She just wanted to be perfect for her wedding dress," Liburd said to WSB-TV's consumer investigator Jim Strickland. "She had everything going for her." This was not the first lawsuit filed against Boutte, though. This is the fourth pending lawsuit against the doctor in addition to five medical malpractice settlements. In the lawsuits, Boutte was accused of cutting corners, hiring unqualified staff, misleading customers on the surgeries that they are signing up for, and performing operations in offices that are unsafe for the procedures. Boutte has even uploaded videos of her dancing to music while operating on her patients. Medical Malpractice Surgery Cases Recent amazing surgery stories include the soldier who had her lost ear replaced by a new one grown on her arm, and the removal of a 132-pound ovarian tumor to save a woman's life. However, for each one of them, there appears to be a medical malpractice story, such as the woman who was embalmed alive and the sterilization breach that placed patients of a Denver hospital at risk of diseases. Fraud in cosmetic surgery is rampant because the procedures are paid in cash and are not covered by insurance. If you are thinking of getting an operation done soon, it would be best to thoroughly check the background and history of your doctor. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. English Dutch French 1. Approvals and discharges The ordinary general meeting of shareholders of 22 May 2018 has approved the statutory and consolidated financial statements of Leasinvest Real Estate, closed on 31 December 2017, including the appropriation of the result, and the remuneration report with regard to the financial year closed on 31 December 2017, which is a specific part of the annual report. The ordinary general meeting of shareholders of 22 May 2018 has also given discharge, by separate vote, to the only and appointed statutory manager, Leasinvest Real Estate Management SA, as well as to its permanent representative Mr Jean-Louis Appelmans, for the exercise of the director's mandate, and to the auditor Ernst & Young Bedrijfsrevisoren BCVBA and its responsible representative Joeri Klaykens for exercising his audit mission during the past financial year. The general meeting also approved the renewal of the mandate of Ernst & Young bedrijfsrevisoren, represented by Mr Joeri Klaykens, and this for a term of 3 years, i.e. till after the annual meeting that will be held in 2021, as well as the remuneration of the auditor for the financial year 2018 ( 52,000). Finally, in accordance with article 554 of the Company Code and the provisions in article 2.5 of the Company's Corporate Governance Charter, the general meeting approved the compensation for leaving of 16 months for Mr Michel Van Geyte. 2. Dividend financial year 2017 On proposal of the manager, the ordinary general meeting of shareholders of 22 May 2018 has decided to distribute, on 28 May 2018, a dividend of 5.00 gross, and net, free of withholding tax of 30%, of 3.50. The dividend will be paid upon presentation of coupon no 21 as of 28 May 2018 at the financial institutions Bank Delen (main paying agent), ING Bank, Belfius Bank, BNP Paribas Fortis Bank and Bank Degroof Petercam. 3. Extension of directors' mandates - new directors' mandates statutory manager The general meeting of shareholders of Leasinvest Real Estate Management SA, the statutory manager of Leasinvest Real Estate, has decided to renew the mandates of Messrs Suykens, Dejonghe, Van Geyte, Van Dyck and of Mrs Rottiers for a term of 4 years, i.e. till the annual meeting of 2022. Moreover, the nomination of Mr Dirk Adriaenssen as non-executive director was approved for a term of 4 years, i.e. till the annual meeting of 2022, just like the co-optation of Mr Nicolas Renders. The director's mandate of Mr Renders was also extended for a term of 4 years, i.e. till the annual meeting of 2022, as representative of shareholder AXA. The nominations of Messrs Adriaenssen and Renders are subject to approval by the FSMA. The general meeting of shareholders of Leasinvest Real Estate Management SA has decided to nominate Mr Jean-Louis Appelmans as non-executive director as of 1 June 2018 till the annual meeting that decides on the approval of the financial statements for the financial year 2018. This means that, as of today, the board of directors of the statutory manager, Leasinvest Real Estate Management SA, is composed as follows: Independent directors: Mrs Sonja Rottiers, Mr Eric Van Dyck and Mr Dirk Adriaenssen Directors on proposal of Ackermans & van Haaren: Mr Jan Suykens, Mr Piet Dejonghe, Mr Michel Van Geyte, Mr Jean-Louis Appelmans (as of 01/06/2018) Director on proposal of AXA: Mr Nicolas Renders 4. Managing director - CEO - permanent representative As announced in the press release of 17 May 2018, the board of directors of 15 February 2018, following the retirement of Mr. Jean-Louis Appelmans, has decided to appoint Mr. Michel Van Geyte as sole managing director of the statutory manager Leasinvest Real Estate Management SA, and (sole) permanent representative of Leasinvest Real Estate Management SA, as of today. As of 1 June 2018 Mr Van Geyte will also be sole CEO of Leasinvest Real Estate Management SA/ Leasinvest Real Estate. 5. Effective officers - Executive committee As announced in the press release of 17 May 2018, the board of directors of 15 May 2018, on the proposal of the nomination and remuneration committee, has approved the nomination of Tim Rens, CFO as effective officer, effective management as of 1 June 2018 consisting of 2 persons, namely Michel Van Geyte and Tim Rens, subject to approval by the FSMA. As of 01/06/2018 the executive committee will consist of 3 persons, i.e. Michel Van Geyte, CEO, Tim Rens, CFO and Sven Janssens, COO. 6. Minutes The minutes of this general meeting will be available on the website www.leasinvest.be - investor relations - general meeting, at latest within 15 days. For more information, contact Leasinvest Real Estate Leasinvest Real Estate Michel Van Geyte Tim Rens Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer T: +32 3 238 98 77 T: +32 3 238 98 77 E: michel.van.geyte@leasinvest.be E: tim.rens@leasinvest.be On LEASINVEST REAL ESTATE SCA Public BE-REIT (SIR/GVV) Leasinvest Real Estate SCA invests in high quality and well-located retail buildings and offices in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Belgium and Austria. At present the total fair value of the directly held real estate portfolio of Leasinvest amounts to 913 million, spread across the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (54%), Belgium (35%) and Austria (11%). Moreover, Leasinvest is one of the most important real estate investors in Luxembourg. The public BE-REIT is listed on Euronext Brussels and has a market capitalization of 494 million (value 21 May 2018). PALO ALTO, Calif., May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the 3rd annual Women Transforming Technology (WT2) Conference in Palo Alto, with the theme Inclusion in Action, VMware (NYSE:VMW) announced it is collaborating with Stanford University to create the VMware Womens Leadership Innovation Lab, in the pursuit of dramatically improving female representation in leadership positions. The VMware Womens Leadership Innovation Lab at Stanford University is a collaborative effort to advance women into leadership and positions of power and significance, thus improving society overall. Research shows that teams with diversity are more innovative and creative, and perform better than homogeneous teams. According to McKinsey, companies with diversity on their executive teams are 21 percent more profitable than those who lack diversity.1 As an innovative company that was one of the first companies to test new models and solutions with Stanford University, VMware has a longstanding commitment to purposely building an inclusive culture and growing female leaders. VMware is taking a leadership role in fostering change for the industry by contributing $15 million2 to the Lab. Translating Research into Action Women's full participation in leadership is critical to innovation and to solving the most pressing social problems of our time. The Lab focuses on uncovering the barriers to women in leadership and actively testing research-based solutions, in order to change the trajectory of the number of women in leadership positions. The Lab includes an industry affiliates program with over 40 leading companies engaging in translating research into action. Examples of future focus areas for the Lab include diagnosing the specific mechanisms of bias for women of color and designing solutions; studying how social networks intersect with bias in women's access to critical assignments; and embarking on a longitudinal study of career pathways in engineering careers and leadership. The research also includes a long-term focus on educational research with high school girls across backgrounds in order to provide them with tools to increase leadership identity and resilience, and follow their career trajectory in longitudinal analysis. 1 According to the January 2018 McKinsey Delivering Through Diversity report 2The investment is being donated through a donor-advised fund. Through expanding the relationship with Stanford and creating the Lab, VMware is reinforcing its commitment to elevating gender equality as a business imperative, to accelerate women's leadership in industry, and to create evidence-based solutions for women of all backgrounds, said Betsy Sutter, Chief People Officer, VMware. VMware looks forward to collaborating with Stanford, and accelerating knowledge sharing between industry and academia in the pursuit of advancing women into leadership. I am most grateful for VMwares gift to create the Lab, which will work to advance womens leadership and maximize talent in technology and beyond, said Shelley Correll, Stanford University Professor of Sociology and Director of the Lab. Extending Progress from the Seeds of Change Program VMwares $15 million investment in the Lab will accelerate and scale the Seeds of Change program and create additional opportunities to bridge the gap between academia and industry around women in leadership. In 2016, VMware invested $1.5 million in the Seeds of Change program to provide high school girls across different backgrounds with the leadership frameworks, skills, and tools they need to persist and become change agents. About VMware VMware software powers the worlds complex digital infrastructure. The companys compute, cloud, mobility, networking and security offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to over 500,000 customers globally, aided by an ecosystem of 75,000 partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, this year VMware celebrates twenty years of breakthrough innovation benefiting business and society. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html. Media Contact Ellen Healy VMware Global Communications Phone: +1 415 654 2940 healye@vmware.com VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. TAMPA, Fla., May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XITING, a long-time SAP Silver Partner, specializing in SAP security software and services, announced today the newest release of its flagship automation and security solution, XAMS, with additional capabilities designed to simplify authorizing users in SAP via machine learning algorithms. The new version also makes it easier for an organization to comply with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union, which goes into effect on May 25th. Michael Kummer, Senior Vice President of Xiting, explains: "The goal of the XAMS is to reduce the cost and effort involved in keeping SAP systems secure. The XAMS does that by simplifying and automating many of the tasks security administrators have to perform on a daily basis. With the new Support Pack 13, we have taken that approach to the next level by introducing machine learning algorithms, and GDPR watchdog reports to help IT executives with their GDPR compliance efforts." Latest XAMS features include: Machine Learning Xiting has added advanced capabilities to the XAMS that can automatically suggest role clusters based on usage data. That enabled role administrators to design roles based on the least-privilege principle and without having to involve the business. GDPR Watchdogs Xiting's new GDPR watchdog reports help security administrators, auditors, and IT executives to quickly and reliably identify users who have access to GDPR-relevant data in SAP systems. Using the results of Xiting's GDPR-analysis engine, role administrators can efficiently and rapidly remove GDPR-related authorizations from users and their roles, if necessary. License Optimization Based on SAPs latest changes to how the company measures licenses, the XAMS provides new reporting and role design functions that take those licensing changes into account. That enables role administrators to make changes to roles and authorizations that can positively impact the organizations licensing structure. About Xiting xiting.us Xiting is a highly-specialized SAP solutions provider for Compliant Identity & Role Management. Xiting offers services of the highest quality in the area of SAP security. With its headquarters in Switzerland and subsidiaries in Germany, UK, and USA, the company offers a comprehensive service portfolio and acts as a consulting partner for companies from all industries. Xiting has a unique technological edge in SAP authorizations management by having developed the Xiting Authorizations Management Suite (XAMS). XAMS is an innovative tool that enables more efficient planning and implementation of SAP authorization projects following SAP best practice. Xiting is a certified SAP partner for SAP GRC Access Control, SAP IdM, SAP SSO and SAP ETD. Media Contacts: Michael Kummer Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing XITING +1 (678) 459-4190 info@xiting.us SMITHFIELD, Va., May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Smithfield Foods, Inc. issued the fourth and final installment of its 2017 Sustainability Report with the release of its Helping Communities and People sections. The Helping Communities section focuses on Smithfields 2017 charitable giving within the communities where its employees live and work. The People section features new programs rolled out in 2017 that focus on keeping employees safe and engaged, and highlights employee talent development and educational opportunities. At Smithfield, it is our responsibility to be a good neighbor and do our part to help strengthen the communities we call home, said Keira Lombardo, senior vice president of corporate affairs for Smithfield Foods and president of the Smithfield Foundation. We bring our social purpose to life through the Smithfield Foundation, a nonprofit organization that acts as the philanthropic wing of our company, and the community outreach efforts of our people, and we are proud of our collective impact. In 2017, Smithfields charitable giving donations totaled $27.4 million in support of hunger relief, education, veterans, and other causes that align with the companys industry-leading sustainability program. Featured in this section, Smithfield: Donated 21.1 million servings of protein to food banks and hunger relief organizations across America through Helping Hungry Homes , Smithfields initiative that works to alleviate hunger and raise awareness of food insecurity. , Smithfields initiative that works to alleviate hunger and raise awareness of food insecurity. Donated more than $3 million to veteran-related causes, including supporting the Warrior Canine Connections Puppy Enrichment Center where future service dogs begin their training; the Virginia Veteran Services Foundation to support state programs for homeless veterans; and the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank mobile pantry that provides meals to more than 200 veteran families each month. Provided millions in support of education in a variety of ways, including donating $3 million for multifaceted educational programs to public schools near the companys headquarters, and funding $165,000 in scholarships for students in Virginia and North Carolina. Contributed $85,000 as a sponsor of the National Conservation Foundations Envirothon project (NCF-Envirothon), an annual academic challenge that engages 50,000 high school students in real-world environmental problem solving. In addition, all Smithfield farms and facilities participated in the program through volunteering or donations to local teams. Only by unleashing the full potential of our employees, can our organization excel, said Stewart Leeth, vice president of regulatory affairs and chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods. Stable and prosperous communities support our ability to recruit and retain a talented workforcea crucial ingredient to our successand provide a good place for our employees to live. The People section of the report provides information about Smithfields ongoing efforts to enhance workplace safety, employee training and engagement, and health and wellness activities. In 2017, Smithfield: Launched the Smithfield Injury Prevention System (SIPS), driving further improvements to the companys worker safety program, and aligning with the International Standards Organization (ISO) 45001 standards, the international management system created specifically for safety and health. Decreased Total Incident Frequency Rate (TIFR) by nearly eight percent from 2016; Smithfields TIFR has consistently been below the industry average since 2006. Received national worker safety awards for more than 30 facilities. Provided $849,000 in tuition assistance to employees pursuing higher education. Awarded $660,000 in Smithfield Foundation scholarships to 144 employees children and grandchildren of employees. Created a new Military Fellowship Program, an 18-month rotational leadership development program for high-caliber, recently transitioned military leaders. Rolled out Operation 4000!, an initiative to employ 4,000 veterans by 2020, as well as Smithfield Salutes, a veterans-focused Employee Resource Group, to ease the transition of veterans into the company and provide support resources for existing employees with prior military service. Our people are our greatest asset and it is their unwavering dedication that makes this company successful, and for that I am grateful each and every day, said Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and chief executive officer for Smithfield Foods. We invest heavily in all pillars of our sustainability program because what is best for our people, our communities, our animals, and the environment is what is best for our company, underpinning everything that goes into producing good food the right way, the sustainable way. Additional 2017 Sustainability Report sections also released today include Innovation, International Operations, and Governance & Management, along with key metrics that capture the companys sustainability performance. Collectively, all sections illustrate how Smithfields sustainability program creates value for the company and its stakeholders. To view an introductory video about Smithfields commitment to Helping Communities and People, click here and here. This release follows the Animal Care, Environment, and Food Safety and Quality report sections published earlier this month. The complete report is available at smithfieldfoods.com/2017report. About Smithfield Foods Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the worlds largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathans Famous, Farmland, Armour, Farmer John, Kretschmar, John Morrell, Cooks, Gwaltney, Carando, Margherita, Curlys, Healthy Ones, Morliny, Krakus and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com. Contact: Diana Souder Smithfield Foods, Inc. (757) 357-1675 dsouder@smithfield.com Photos accompanying this announcement are available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4bfd295d-8fa7-4e84-ac76-ff0ec029be27 http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6f83d7c9-e2ea-40d2-a261-bb61bf9c3b34 Treasury Secretary Steven 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. Both sides have declared a truce in a potential trade war, but contentious issues remain unresolved. Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission Louisiana lawmakers are back in session, with a tall task of shoring up a looming $650 million budget gap in just two weeks. Just hours into the Legislature's second special session of the year, some leaders are already voicing deep concern about the ability to address the fiscal cliff in just two weeks particularly at the pace that things are getting off to this week. The House Ways & Means Committee, where most revenue-raising measures must begin, is scheduled to hold its first hearing on tax proposals starting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. But Ways & Means Vice Chair Jim Morris, R-Oil City, said that there will be no votes taken, which means Thursday is the absolute earliest that legislation will begin moving as the clock counts down toward the June 4 end of the special session. "We're not going to have any fiscal notes for the bills because they were just introduced, most of them, so basically what we are going to do is listen to some testimony from the administration," Morris said. The committee has invited legislators who have filed tax-related bills to provide more information about the general "concepts" behind their proposals if they would like to get a start on presenting them without votes. Read Gov. John Bel Edwards' special session-opening address Remarks by Gov. John Bel Edwards University of Louisiana, Lafayette Earl K. Long Gymnasium May 22, 2018 "I was hoping they would begin voting on Wednesday," Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego, said of the House time frame. "A hearing means nothing gets out that day. Everyone knows what numbers we need to get to. We have a limited number of days. We need to get to work, roll up our sleeves." This is the Legislature's sixth special session since February 2016 all to address the state's finances, and it comes as the state faces a nearly $650 million "fiscal cliff" when temporary tax measures expire June 30. A special session earlier this year collapsed without any action toward addressing the gap. Lawmakers wrapped their regular session early last week to begin the latest special session. The House and Senate convened shortly after the 4 p.m. scheduled start on Tuesday, with several members absent. The House recorded 87 of 105 districts represented at the start of the special session. In the upper chamber, 21 of 39 senators were present for the session's start. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who is running for election next year and has repeatedly butted heads with House Republican leaders, made the unusual move of giving his session-opening address Tuesday on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette nearly 60 miles away from the State Capitol. "From the most progressive Democrats to the most conservative Republicans, there was near universal support to do better by and for the people of Louisiana," Edwards told a packed gymnasium about three hours before the session began back in Baton Rouge. "Thats why I know this special session can be different from all the others." His address times had an almost pep rally feel to it a stark contrast from the more somber addresses he has given from the House floor for each of the previous sessions since he took office in January 2016. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "I am genuinely excited about whats going to happen over the next two weeks," Edwards, standing at the center of a basketball court, said to a crowd of hundreds packed into bright red bleachers. "Because I believe we will come together to solve these problems once and for all. But more importantly, Im excited about whats going to happen as our Louisiana continues to prosper over the coming months and years." Edwards, a Democrat, was introduced by Republican Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and in attendance were a bipartisan slate of state and local officials, health care leaders, higher education and law enforcement advocates and other stakeholders. "My hope is that we can shake the divisive partisanship thats begun to take root, put aside our differences, and put in place the solutions the people of Louisiana deserve. Now is the time to be Louisianans first and foremost," Edwards said. Already, Edwards' speech has drawn some backlash, though. House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, said in a video statement that Edwards' event amounted to "political theater." "Instead of directly addressing the Legislature and seeking compromise, the governor is setting a new precedent to push for taxes by holding a press conference with his supporters at a public university," he said. Edwards on Friday vetoed a budget proposal that lawmakers passed during the regular session that would have cut most state agencies by about 25 percent, while protecting funding for health care programs for the elderly, people with disabilities and the poor. The House had earlier passed a version that cut health care to fund other programs, but eventually agreed to the Senate's proposal. "In my opinion, and the opinion of many members both Republicans and Democrats that budget proposal was not worthy of the people of Louisiana," Edwards said in his speech. "Simply put the cuts were too deep, too wide, too catastrophic. We must do better." But Barras said the veto could put further pressure on lawmakers up against a tight deadline. "Without the governors veto, 14 days would have been ample time to identify more savings, fill the gaps and enact a sound budget," he said. "But now the Legislature will forced to start over from scratch and complete the entire budget process in two weeks. It seems the governor was determined to set us up to fail, to give him the best opportunity to raise more taxes than needed." If lawmakers don't finish up their work by the June 4 special session end, it's likely another special session could be held before the fiscal year ends June 30. Tyler Bridges of The Advocate contributed to this report One by one, efforts to revamp the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students were killed in the Legislature, and usually by lopsided margins. Toughen the rules to earn and keep TOPS? It failed in the House 34-48. Convert TOPS to a $4,000 per year stipend, a cut of up to 54 percent from current funding? It died in the Senate Education Committee despite being sponsored by the chairman of the panel. Overhaul how TOPS is allocated when the program is underfunded? That plan was crushed in the House 27-70, leaving the sponsor of the bill a little taken aback. "I was surprised by it," state Rep. Gary Carter, D-New Orleans said of the vote. Those and other TOPS bills were killed during the 2018 regular session, which ended Friday night, for three reasons. Push to overhaul TOPS and cut some aid rejected by Senate panel after heavy criticism A bill to overhaul the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students was narrowly rejected Tuesday by a state Senate committee after the plan sparke "It is such a popular program and it is kind of a sacred cow," said House Education Committee Chairwoman Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette. Also, neither a 10-member task force that studied the issue for months nor the full Legislature could reach any consensus on what to change and how to change it. Finally, Louisiana's ongoing budget crisis, including a $648 million shortfall, made lawmakers leery of any overhaul. "I think what is driving the apprehension to reform or to adjust TOPS at the present moment is our financial uncertainity," said Joshua Stockley, associate professor of political science at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. No 'fundamental change' for TOPS program as latest overhaul bid trounced in House The latest bid to revamp the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students was shot down Thursday in the Louisiana House, all but ending chances for "No one wants to make any changes because we don't know what the financial impact of that change might be," Stockley said. About 52,000 students get the assistance at a cost of $292 million this year. Students have to earn a 2.5 grade point average on their high school core curriculum, and a 20 on the ACT, which measures college readiness, to qualify for the most common form, called TOPS Opportunity. The aid finances most college tuition. Whether TOPS will be fully funded for the 2018-19 school year is unclear, and depends on the outcome of a special session that begins Tuesday. The rejection of multiple TOPS bills had little to do with whether the aim was to toughen or loosen standards or shore up financing. They all died. In the final days of the session, two bills that would have allowed some students to qualify for TOPS Opportunity with a 17 on the ACT were killed not once but twice. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Those measures, Senate Bill 380 and Senate Bill 394, were first defeated in the morning by the House Appropriations Committee after earlier clearing the Senate. A few hours later a bid to stick them on another, minor TOPS proposal failed resoundingly in the House 28-63. Sen. Bodi White, R-Central, sponsor of one of the bills, said backers of the aid oppose change of any kind. "But it is going to get harder and harder to fund and I am less likely to fund more and more if we can never make changes over 20 years," a frustrated White said. "Everything evolves." After two plans killed in House, TOPS program to remain largely unchanged A final push to make major changes in the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students was derailed Wednesday in a key House committee. James Caillier, executive director of the Taylor Foundation, which is named for the co-founder of TOPS, said efforts to change the program died for a simple reason. "None of the bills offered any positive solutions to some of the concerns about TOPS," Caillier said. "And I think people are satisfied with the way it is now," he added. "It is highly recognized nationwide as one of the best programs in the country." Rep. Barry Ivey, R-Central, who sponsored the bill to make it harder to earn and keep TOPS, said the wholesale rejection of changes to the programs points up a bigger problem. "The status quo is the hardest thing to change in this building," Ivey said, a reference to the State Capitol. "What has come to a head in my opinion is the lack of will to prioritize funding for TOPS and the lack of will to reform TOPS," he said. "It is a bad impasse." Rep. Carter's bill was aimed at ensuring 100 percent funding for Louisiana's best students and the same for TOPS recipients from low-income families. Opponents said that meant some students, when TOPS is underfunded, would only get 28 percent of their customary award. "I tried to use the best ideas from the Republican Party, the best ideas from the Democratic Party, to come up with this hybrid," he said of his legislation. "I was surprised by the vote, 27, 28 votes," Carter said of the lackluster support in the House. Eva Kemp, state director of Democrats for Education Reform/Louisiana, worked for Carter's bill and called it a common sense approach. "I think some legislators, not all of them, lack enough awareness or courage or fortitude to make significant changes to TOPS even in the face of the budget situation we are in," Kemp said. The fact a 10-member legislative task force failed to reach a consensus after months of study was a tipoff on how hard it would be for any substantive plan to clear the Legislature. Landry said the lack of agreement stems from ongoing arguments on whether TOPS should be based on merit or financial need. "Everybody wants to define TOPS the way their particular district wants to define it," she said. "And so it is really hard to find consensus on anything." She added, "Apparently people want it to stay the way it is right now, and it is a merit-based program." As often happens, ongoing questions about TOPS leave students and families making college choices in the dark. Stockely said his work email is jammed with messages from students worried about the future of the aid, and higher education in general. "They are recognizing that the Legislature refuses to make a long term decision," he said. Ivey made the same point. "The people back home deserve better, and our kids who we make commitments to for these scholarships deserve our follow through in providing for them," he said. "It is a political hot potato, obviously." The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority is building affordable housing in the Lower 9th Ward with nonprofit partners including New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) and Camp Rebuilding Hope In New Orleans (Camp RHINO) including these two homes on Urquhart St. seen here in New Orleans, La. Friday, June 30, 2017. Mayor LaToya Cantrell, second from left, leads her first Sewerage & Water Board meeting in New Orleans, La., Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Cantrell appointed Dr. Tamika Duplessis as the president pro temps for future meetings. Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, center, gestures using air quotes in response to a comment about whether 'jurors have agendas,' during debate on his SB243 by in the House Criminal Justice Committee at the State Capitol, Wednesday, April 25, 2018. At left is Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, and at right is Alexandria attorney Ed Tarpley, left, former District Attorney for Grant parish, who had earlier testified in favor of the bill. It was voted on favorably by the committee, and concerns a constitutional amendment that would require unanimous jury verdicts for serious crimes in Louisiana. Live theater has its Romeo and Juliet, and classical ballet has its Giselle and Albrecht. One of the dance worlds most popular ballets, Adolphe Adams Giselle returns to New Orleans after a long absence, thanks to an inspiration by Gregory Schramel, artistic director of New Orleans Ballet Theatre. A recent conversation with one of his early dance mentors, Olga Smoak, sparked Schramel's interest in staging the single performance of Giselle that classical ballet lovers will have a chance to see Friday at the Orpheum Theater. Olga was telling me about a performance of Giselle that might have been done here in New Orleans in the early 1840s, just a year or two after it was first performed" in Paris, Schramel said. That was the genesis for me to start thinking about having NOBT bring back the classics. We just dont see them being done here anymore. Schramel noted that when he and his wife, associate artistic director Marjorie Hardwick Schramel, founded the company in 2002 after dancing with some of the most prestigious companies in the U.S., people here were doing the classics but that seems to have stopped, and we think its important that these pieces be seen. Told through movement, rather than words, the story of Giselle and Albrecht follows a familiar theme in the classical arts, one that runs the gamut of love, betrayal, death and redemption. Giselle, a beautiful young girl in a German village, falls in love with Albrecht, not knowing he is a powerful duke betrothed to a princess. Despite warnings from Hilarion, who loves Giselle in vain, she persists until she learns the truth. Then she takes her own life. Arising from her grave as a spirit, Giselle is reunited with Albrecht and saves his life from a group of vengeful spectral women known as Wilis. Jennifer Kronenberg, a former principal dancer with Miami City Ballet, dances the title role opposite Josue Justiz as Albrecht. Kronenbergs husband, Carlos Miguel Guerra, is Hilarion, and Felicia McPhee is Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis. Several of the younger dancers are advanced students in the Schramels dance conservatory. The production is co-directed by the Schramels, following the original choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot and restaged by Marius Petipa, who later attained fame as the principal choreographer for Tchaikovskys Nutcracker. The costumes are designed by Whitney Cato and Marjorie Schramel. Duncan Becker is the lighting director, and sets and props are provided by the New Orleans Opera Association. Reflecting on what might account for the long-running popularity of Giselle, Schramel partially attributed it to being one of the first ballets to use pointe shoes. The pointe shoe was uniquely designed to give a feeling of not being constrained by gravity, he said. Looking like you are ethereal. I think its a good metaphor for romantic love being not being bound by the difficulties of living your life. Schramel also noted that the romantic elements of the ballet, which has a Shakespearean quality to it, may also help account for its popularity, along with its methodology of using dance to tell the story and move it along. When your body tells the story, its a universal thing, Schramel said. Its the art form finding its way, and I think thats a large part of it. As Ive been working through it, Ive been seeing why I love classical ballet so much. Its just a lovely thing to see and perform. Kronenberg has danced the role many times including here in New Orleans with NOBT and most often with Guerra as Albrecht. Its one of my absolute favorite roles to dance," she said. "Probably one of the most difficult ballets, both physically and emotionally. Youre totally wiped out by the end of it, but its also one of the most gratifying. You can dive right into it and get transported to another time, another place and another persona. Its a ballet that keeps changing, she said. Its never quite the same any time Ive danced it. I keep finding new things; new nuances, from the choreography to the music. So it never gets stale. Its one of those pieces thats timeless. ***************** Giselle WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday WHERE: Orpheum Theater, 129 Roosevelt Way, New Orleans TICKETS: $53-$78 INFO: (504) 274-4870 or (504) 826-0646. orpheumnola.com By late summer, BRG Hospitality plans to open its first restaurant in Houston. The eatery is called Eunice, and it will also be the first new property for the New Orleans-based restaurant group since celebrity chef John Besh stepped down from as its helm and the company was renamed. Plans for Eunice were first announced nearly two years ago when BRG Hospitality was called the Besh Restaurant Group. It was initially slated to open last fall. The status of those plans had been an open question since Hurricane Harvey struck Houston and the restaurants parent company underwent an upheaval following allegations of sexual harassment against Besh. The Houston Chronicle first reported on the updated plans. BRG confirmed the plans in a statement. Eunice is pitched as a Cajun-Creole brasserie. Its named for a town in central Acadiana known for its strong embrace of Cajun traditions, especially music and food culture. Its also the hometown of chef Drake Leonards, who is the executive chef and partner at Eunice. Leonards was previously executive chef of the BRG bistro Luke in downtown New Orleans. Eunice is taking shape at 3737 Buffalo Speedway, a new office development in Houstons Greenway Plaza area. Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up When it opens it will be BRGs first restaurant outside of New Orleans. The company previously had a restaurant in Nashville, called the Marsh House. But late last year this was spun off to a new company, QED Hospitality, which also now runs Jack Rose and other venues in the Pontchartrain Hotel. Beshs company also previously had a Baltimore location of its modern taqueria Johnny Sanchez, in partnership with chef Aaron Sanchez. This closed in 2017. BRG Hospitality has been led since October by Shannon White, who is now CEO. In April, she named a new chef de cuisine for Domenica, the company's downtown Italian restaurant. NEW ORLEANS, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (KSF) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until July 20, 2018 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against ADT, Inc. (NYSE:ADT), if they purchased the Companys shares pursuant to its January 2018 initial public offering (the IPO). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. What You May Do If you purchased shares of ADT and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-adt/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by July 20, 2018. About the Lawsuit ADT and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information in its Registration Statement filed pursuant to its IPO, violating federal securities laws. On March 15, 2018, ADT disclosed disappointing financial results for 4Q2017 and FY 2017, specifically net income of $638 million, up from negative $85 million last year, and diluted earnings per share of $0.99 versus $(0.13) in the prior year (however, net income results included a $690 million government tax reform benefit), and that [e]xcluding special items, diluted earnings per share were $(0.06) versus $(0.07) in the same period last year, a result much lower than analysts estimates. On this news, the price of ADTs shares plummeted. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. Contact: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com 1-877-515-1850 206 Covington St. Madisonville, LA 70447 New Orleans' drainage system handled Fridays rainstorm pretty much as well as it could have, given the intensity of the storm, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Tuesday, complaining that planned upgrades to the system had gotten bottlenecked under her predecessor. Cantrell called for implementing the recommendations of the Urban Water Plan, an expansive and costly blueprint for living with water that would shift the emphasis from pumping water out of the city during storms to holding it in place with facilities like retention ponds. In the meantime, Cantrell cast the flooding on Friday as a fact of life that will have to be met in the near term with incremental improvements. It is a fact if we take on too much rainwater in a given hour, we will flood, Cantrell said, noting that some areas saw up to 2 inches of rain an hour during the storm. We will continue to stay focused on how to mitigate flooding due to rainwater. Can't see video below? Click here. Fridays storm, which left many streets in Mid-City and elsewhere underwater for a while, immediately drew comparisons to last summers floods, which came amid false assurances from the Sewerage & Water Board that its systems were running at full capacity. The flooding last year prompted a shakeup in the agency's management and months of repairs and upgrades to the drainage system, and on Friday nearly all the equipment was running as it should, Cantrell said. We can do better and we will, but I dont want to give a false narrative to our people, Cantrell said, adding that residents should understand that we have to do things differently as we learn to live with water. She endorsed some of the main ideas in the Urban Water Plan, including storing rainwater in parks and using pavement that allows water to seep into the ground beneath it, rather than sitting on top and contributing to flooding. She also called for individuals to reduce the amount of runoff from their property by using rain barrels or other retention devices. The biggest obstacle in fully implementing the plan may be its cost, which was projected to be in the billions when it was released in 2013. The plan was developed in part by the local architecture firm Waggonner & Ball with state money. +2 Invest 90L: Tropical development chances increase; path shifts slightly east Tropical development chances have increased for an area of disturbed weather in the Caribbean Sea expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico lat The funding for the S&WBs drainage system has long been an area of concern. It has failed to keep up even with the maintenance requirements of the system as it exists today, much less pay for upgrading the system. While the idea of imposing a drainage fee to help pay for improvements was kicked around by the S&WB under Landrieu and by Cantrell during her campaign last fall, the mayor said Tuesday shes not ready to propose such a fee. I want to show people were doing what were supposed to be doing with the resources we have, she said. But Cantrell also referred to projects that she said had languished under Mayor Mitch Landrieus administration. An immediate priority is unclogging the bottleneck that ... weve inherited, she said. That might involve firing contractors who have taken too long to design projects and bringing FEMA staff into City Hall to speed up the flow of federal dollars, she said. Cantrell's office said she would be reviewing a broad range of infrastructure contracts. One project that has run into delays involves building a collection of green infrastructure, mainly in the Gentilly area, to serve as a demonstration of the principles embodied in the Urban Water Plan. A $141 million federal grant for the project was announced in 2016. But Jeff Hebert, who oversaw that grant as Landrieus chief resilience officer, said there have been delays at the federal level. He said former President Barack Obama did not formally sign off on the grant until the day before he left office in January 2017, and President Donald Trumps administration didnt authorize the money until later last year. In the meantime, Hebert said, the city moved as quickly as it could under the circumstances, using the share of money it was supposed to kick into the projects to start design work while waiting on the federal dollars. Those projects should all be under contract or about ready to go out to bid, he said. Delays are frustrating, and I think everybody wants to move projects forward as fast as possible, particularly given what people saw last Friday, Hebert said. And its unfortunate that ... some of these bureaucratic delays have caused some of these projects to be hung up. Harahan Police Chief Tim Walker has turned over control of confiscated drug money to the city after the U.S. Department of Justice found the account was not being properly administered. The action comes amid a continuing feud between Walker and Mayor Tina Miceli over control of the Police Department's budget. The feds sent Walker a letter last week saying the asset forfeiture money which is used for training and equipment, buying drugs during undercover sting operations and paying informants has to be in the hands of the citys Finance Department. The letter said no more money can be spent from the account and that any disbursed but unspent funds need to be recalled. It also said all spent money needs to be accounted for and that the city needs to demonstrate to the feds that the program's books are in order by June 15. Walker said he turned the checkbook and signing authority over to the Finance Department on Wednesday. He said no funds from the asset forfeiture account have been converted to cash for use in drug buys or for informants and that no money from the account which contains $88,227, according to the city has been misspent. He produced an email from Miceli in September 2016 in which she handed over control to the funds to him, saying he was unsure why she had done so. Miceli said she did so because she didnt want her administration signing off on transactions that had not been properly documented. She said Walker had spent months requesting the city to sign off on transactions immediately, without producing proper documentation, despite her repeated attempts to get him to comply with regulations for use of the fund. She said she subsequently contacted the Louisiana Attorney Generals Office about proper procedures and, upon receiving those guidelines, made several unsuccessful attempts to regain access to the funds. Miceli pointed to an email she sent to the chief in September citing that opinion and asking that control of the account be returned to the city. We have sent numerous emails saying we have got to get this corrected, she said. Miceli said she contacted the Justice Department in April because her administration couldnt reconcile the asset forfeiture account, lacking documentation for three deposits totaling about $14,000. Walker downplayed the significance of the Justice Department's letter, saying he has no problem with the order to give the administration control of the money. He said the money has been spent responsibly. His department purchased a $700 drone in 2016, mistakenly using money from the account, but reimbursed it after being notified of the mistake, he said. There is no missing money, he said of his department's handling of the account. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Miceli also mentioned the drone incident, saying it illustrates why the city's Finance Department should be administering the account. Miceli said it is difficult to believe money has been spent properly when it isn't accounted for. Walker called Miceli's allegation that he wanted the administration to sign off on purchases without proper documentation "completely, totally incorrect. That allegation was referenced in an October letter from Miceli to the state Attorney General's Office. In the letter, Miceli said Walker had asked Linda Hite Lulue, the citys contract financial administrator, to miscode capital purchases to the Police Departments general fund salary line item. After Lulue told him this would be improper and that he would need to get a budget amendment from the City Council, the letter said, Walker used asset forfeiture funds for the purchases despite being informed he didnt have the authority to do so. Walker said he has always acquitted himself with honesty and integrity during his law enforcement career, and he described the public revelation of the Department of Justice letter as a political stunt ahead of elections coming up in November. Miceli and Walker have been clashing for two years over the Police Departments budget. He objected when Miceli began billing the department for contract legal and accounting costs that she said were the responsibility of the department. Walker also disagrees with Micelis contention that any surplus money in the Police Department's budget at the end of a fiscal year goes back into the city's general fund, a position endorsed by the city attorney. He has said Miceli has not been providing him with timely information so that he can know where he stands on his budget and how much he has to spend. A 4-1 majority of the City Council has backed Walker, passing an ordinance giving him read-only access to the citys budgeting software. Miceli has said her efforts to work with Walker are hampered by a lack of cooperation on his part. Walker has filed two lawsuits against the mayor related to the dispute, one over access to public records and another saying she illegally took money allocated to his department without his knowledge or consent. Justin Bleker sat between his wife and his mother in a St. Tammany Parish courtroom Monday as his attorneys played a videotaped interview of him when he was 12, his childish voice describing how the janitor at his Slidell elementary school sexually assaulted him in the bathroom. Bleker, now 22, and his parents are suing the St. Tammany Parish School Board in a trial that began Monday in 22nd Judicial District Judge Raymond Childress' courtroom. They are also suing Dino Schwertz, the former janitor at Abney Elementary School who is serving a life sentence in Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for raping Bleker in 2007. The suit accuses the school system of negligence in hiring Schwertz, a convicted felon who was still on probation, and failing to adequately protect Bleker when he was in the bathroom. Schwertz did not respond to the lawsuit, said the Blekers' attorney, Kathleen Manning. Had he done so, a jury would have been impaneled to decide the case against him. But since the law doesn't allow a jury trial in lawsuits against governmental bodies, Childress is hearing the case. JoBeth Rickels, a forensic interviewer with the Child Advocacy Center, testified that she talked to the boy on two occasions. The judge watched her videotaped interviews from March 11 and April 30, 2008, as lawyers for both sides looked on. The young Bleker, responding to Rickels' questions, said that a man at his school "touched kids in bad places, and I was one of the kids he touched." He described three assaults by Schwertz, an initial incident where he touched the boy's genitals after forcing him back into a bathroom stall and two more encounters in which the janitor raped the special education student. Stan Rabalais, the detective who investigated the case for the Slidell Police Department, also took the stand, describing how what started out as a complaint about bullying turned into a rape case. Attorney Chris Teske, who is representing the School Board's insurer, asked Rabalais if he knew how long a lunch break Schwertz had while working at the school, and the former detective acknowledged that it could have been two or three hours. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Teske then asked if police had investigated whether Schwertz had "clocked in" at the times that he committed the crimes. Rabalais said that while Schwertz had admitted to acts with two other boys, by the time Bleker came forward, the janitor's mother had hired a lawyer for him, so he didn't answer any questions. Teske also questioned Rabalais about whether any child pornography had been found in Schwertz's home. "You didn't find any videos that indicated an interest in children, or any emails, text messages or notes," Teske said. "You never found any information that he had abused his own child and certainly no indication of any actions." "Other than his confession," Rabalais said. Most of the day was taken up with the testimony of Dr. Carolyn Weaver, a psychotherapist whom Bleker began seeing shortly after he was raped. Weaver testified that the boy was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder when she first saw him. He was fearful and didn't feel safe at home, she said, describing how his parents had put many locks on the doors and how Bleker ended up in his parents' bed or on a pallet on the floor next to them most nights. He tried to return to school the following year, she said, but that didn't work out. Among other things, Weaver said, a teacher asked students to write a paper about the worst day of their lives an assignment that was upsetting to a boy who had been raped. Bleker also suffered from hypervigilance a symptom that persists to this day, along with night terrors that disrupt his sleep, she said. He won't go into a bathroom with an open door, for example, "because at Abney, when the door was open, that meant the janitor was there." PTSD can reoccur up to 50 years later, Weaver said, and events that cause stress can trigger it. Sexual assault "changes the trajectory of their life," she said of victims. "There's a vulnerability ... that stays with them." Testimony resumes Tuesday. Three young members of the Mid-City Killers street gang were sentenced Monday to several decades in prison. The father of one of their victims, the Rev. Andre Massenburg, 55, said he grieves every day for his son, an 18-year-old AmeriCorps volunteer who was shot dead in the Leonidas neighborhood in an apparent case of mistaken identity. But Massenburg, in a speech that was as much a religious homily as testimony, said he and his wife decided not to hold any bitterness. Our hearts are heavy, but we forgive you for killing our son, Massenburg told the defendants. We forgive you for denying us our future graduations, our future marriages, our future successes that Joseph was sure to achieve. Our faith demands that we forgive you. Soon afterward, Criminal District Court Judge Karen Herman handed down prison terms for the three men who pleaded guilty to manslaughter last week in connection with Joseph Massenburgs death. Dwayne "Wayne" Miller, 25, and Glen "G Three Stone" Emerson, 23, each received 40-year terms under a plea agreement with the Orleans Parish District Attorneys Office. Richard "Trey" Ward, 20, got a 20-year sentence. The sentencing nearly wrapped up a series of interconnected state and federal court cases involving the Mid-City Killers; an allied group called the Young Melph Mafia, from the former Melpomene housing development; and a rival crew called the "110ers," from the St. Thomas area. One more defendant accused of being a Mid-City Killer, Tyron Gangsta-T Watson, still has an open case. All three groups left high body counts, prosecutors said. The three men in Hermans courtroom accepted responsibility for a combined five killings. The mother of another victim also gave a statement Monday. Alexandria Burt spoke on behalf of her son Lawrence, who was killed in a joint attack by the Mid-City Killers and the Young Melph Mafia on a rival drug dealer in 2012. Investigators said the 18-year-old victim was an innocent bystander. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Massenburgs death generated the most attention. A native of the Chicago suburbs, he had come to New Orleans in 2013 to help install energy-efficient lighting in low-income homes. His father pressed his hands against his chest as he spoke about his son. Joseph was the embodiment of what is right in this world," Massenburg said. "He had that smile that could light up a room. And he had that rare instinctive gift of making everyone feel important, special, loved and appreciated. Only a month after he arrived in the city, however, Massenburg was shot to death at Eagle and Birch streets while walking home on April 1, 2013. Police said the Mid-City Killers were in the middle of a violent dispute with the rival Hot Glocks group. Massenburg apparently was mistaken for someone else. All three men sentenced Monday would have faced life imprisonment if convicted as charged. The elder Massenburg said he was satisfied with the shorter terms they received under their plea agreements. As I said in my speech, I believe in redemption, Massenburg said after the hearing. Theyre so young. The convicts were led off in shackles, but Massenburg said he believes they can influence other youths by warning them away from similar fates. All of them have friends and family on the outside, he said. They have power," he said. "They dont realize it, but they have power. Three days before summer break at Cypress Academy, the small charter school in Mid-City told parents that Wednesday will be its last day forever. Students will be transferred automatically to Lafayette Academy Extension at the Paul L. Dunbar School, a Choice Foundation charter school. If they dont want to join the Uptown school at 9330 Forshey St., they can enter the citywide enrollment lottery, but the deadline for the second round of the lottery is Friday, and seats at the most desirable schools are usually taken by now. There was no hint that something like this could happen, parent Wesley Cheek wrote in an email Sunday night. He learned about the closure in an email announcement earlier Sunday. I had just been at a birthday party for my sons classmate with lots of other Cypress parents, he wrote. Although it has been a rough year, we had talked about how we were all coming back next year because our kids liked each other and we really believed in the school and Dr. (Bob) Berk, the school leader. Berk founded the school in 2016 with a focus on students with special-education needs, saying they werent being well served by some schools where he had worked. The school, which had 105 students, initially planned to have just kindergarten its inaugural year. But it had trouble attracting enough students, so it added first grade. Berk and board President Lance Query referred to that challenge in their message to the school community. Unfortunately, we remain a relatively small school, and our lack of scale in student numbers makes it very difficult to pay for the quality our students and families have come to expect and deserve, they wrote. When a charter school closes, those students often get priority in the OneApp school selection process, putting them ahead of other students. But Chief Student Access Officer Gabriela Fighetti said Cypress students will not receive priority because the students will be transferred to Dunbar unless they choose otherwise. Two weeks ago, a year-end funding shortfall from the state caught charter schools off guard. Some will have to dip into their reserve funds, and school system leaders said the shortfall could hurt small schools more. Berk didnt immediately respond to questions. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Cypress rented classrooms at Touro Synagogue when it opened and moved to a building at 4217 Orleans Ave. this school year. Cheek said he liked that Cypress emphasized community over standardized test scores. The school hasnt received an official grade from the state. The school reserved 20 percent of its seats for students at risk of a reading disability. Cypress board of directors met Sunday. The agenda said nothing about the school's closing. It did mention a potential partnership with the Choice Foundation, but no vote was planned on the matter. In their announcement, Berk and Query wrote that Lafayette Academy has the capacity and capital financial and human to support Cypress students. They wrote that they hope parents will transfer their children there. Parent Jenny Schecter said she looked online for information about Lafayette Academy after learning Cypress will close. She found little. On the schools website, an overview page says Coming soon! Schecter said she and her husband didnt fill out a OneApp request for their 6-year-old son this year because they wanted him to attend Cypress through eighth grade. There just arent that many schools left that are going to be able to meet the needs of our family, she said. Cheek feels stuck, too. I dont get it. Where did this come from?" he asked. "Why are we finding out this late? Is this an appropriate way to handle things? What the hell is the Lafayette Academy Dunbar Extension? How are we supposed to explain all of this to a 6-year-old? Cypress isnt the first charter school to decide to close its doors and team up with a larger network in search of more resources. In 2014, the board of McDonogh City Park Academy voted to have ReNEW Schools come in and run the charter school. In December, after the school received an F, ReNEW decided to close it. Cypress will hold a parents meeting Tuesday night. Colorado Springs, COLORADO, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The World Aquatic Health Conference (WAHC) will provide unique opportunities for industry leaders to network and learn. The 15th Annual WAHC will be hosted October 10-12, 2018, at the Charleston Marriott in Charleston, South Carolina. New this year, the WAHC will be broadcast to six additional WAHCity locations in the greater areas of Boston, Colorado Springs, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Niagara Falls. The WAHC provides industry leaders, such as health officials, researchers, manufacturers, operators, managers, and builders/designers, the chance to help shape the future through aquatics. Hosted by the National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF), WAHC 2018 welcomes popular aquatic Keynote Speakers Eadric Bressel and Feras Irikat. In addition to the keynote presentation, Irikat will be engaged in the new Design & Engineering track offered during the conference. WAHC 2018 features new offerings for attendees. The Elements of WAHC track includes a variety of the trending topics and popular speakers from previous WAHCs. Session topics of Elements of WAHC will include Drowning Prevention, Improving Water & Air Quality, Preventing Biofilms, Applying Filtration Science, and Facility Management. Elements of WAHC, along with keynote addresses, will be the featured track at WAHCity locations. For those attending the WAHC in Charleston, WAHC tracks will range in subject from old favorites to new topics, including Advanced Service Concepts, Design & Engineering, Elements of WAHC, Facility Management & Design, Improving Water & Air Quality, and Increasing Fun While Reducing Risk. In addition to the nearly 50 innovative educational sessions during the conference, WAHC 2018 offers a variety of special events. Guests may choose to attend the Charleston-Based Insiders Tour, Environmental Health Symposium, USA Swimming Regional Build A Pool Conference, CPO Certification Course or Advanced Service Technician Course. WAHCity guests will experience the hospitality of Great Wolf Lodge resorts. During the conference, attendees will enjoy industry table tops, the closing reception, networking opportunities, and discounted hotel rates. Additional WAHCity benefits include the convenience of a location near you, reduced pricing, a waterpark facility tour, and four waterpark passes per room night. Noteworthy Pre- and Post-Conference Events at the WAHC in Charleston Pre-Conference Events 2018 Welcome Reception Wednesday, October 10, 6:309:00 pm This perfect waterfront location, the South Carolina Aquarium, has beautiful views of Charleston Harbor from the open-air terrace. Inside, explore two floors of the aquarium's exhibits, including a 385,000-gallon Great Ocean Tank where you can see sharks, a 220-pound sea turtle, and much more. While enjoying the aquarium and networking with colleagues, heavy hors d'oeuvres and drinks will be served. Advanced Service Technician Course Wednesday, October 10, 8:00 am5:00 pm Acquire the AST Certification that your customers respect AND gain a competitive advantage for your service company. Visit thewahc.org to purchase the show special and complete the online modules before attending this one-day Classroom Session. Certified Pool/Spa Operator (CPO) Certification Course Wednesday, October 10, 8:00 am5:00 pm Earn the CPO Certification that is recognized across the world as the premier program for pool and spa facility operators. Visit thewahc.org to purchase the show special. Environmental Health Leader Symposium Wednesday, October 10th 10:00 am2:00 pm Environmental Health Officials are invited to a closed Symposium with round table lunch to discuss relevant trends and best practices. EH Officials not attending the WAHC are invited to purchase a guest ticket for only $25 to attend the Symposium and lunch. To register or for more information, contact Susan Wichmann. Insiders Tour Wednesday, October 10, 9:00 am2:00 pm Interested guests will discover local and unique aquatic facilities, as well as best practices for operation and sustainability within Charleston. This must-see event will be an additional $65 and includes transportation and lunch. Post-Conference Events Farewell Function Friday, October 12, 3:204:30 pm NSPF invites attendees to stick around after the educational sessions on Friday for one last networking opportunity. Enjoy drinks and prizes while exchanging goodbyes and handshakes with friends and new contacts. USA Swimming Regional Build A Pool Conference Saturday, October 13, 8:00 am5:00 pm & Sunday, October 14, 8:00 am4:30 pm A Regional Build A Pool Conference will take place the weekend after the WAHC. During this two-day conference, attendees can expect to discuss design considerations with builders, facility directors, and design companies. Conference Sponsors/Tabletops The lead sponsors for WAHC 2018 are Pentair, Waterco USA, manufacturer of high-quality pumps, filtration systems, solar pool heating, and chemicals; facility designer and partner for the Facility Manager App, Counsilman-Hunsaker; Hach Company, manufacturer of instruments and reagents for water testing and water quality; highest purity sale manufacturer, AQUASALT; Wapotec, leaders in pool water treatment all over the world Aquatics International; AQUA; Pool & Spa Marketing; Pool & Spa News; and SPLASH!. Sponsorship opportunities are still available; please email conference@nspf.org for more information. Poster Presentations Those interested in sharing recent aquatic knowledge and findings with attendees may do so through poster presentations. Information displayed varies greatly based on the presenters' focus of research and knowledge within the industry. Poster presenters will reside in a prime location, both for visibility and for convenient networking with fellow attendees. Poster submissions are accepted until August 27. Registration Registration for WAHC includes heavy hors d'oeuvres at the Welcome Reception and breakfast and lunch on both Thursday and Friday. Early registration is just $445 when you register by May 31. The price will increase to $495 on June 1, and again to $595 on August 1. Visit www.theWAHC.org to register today! Hotel and Travel Discounted hotel rooms at the Charleston Marriott can be reserved for a rate of $174 per night, plus taxes. This rate is available through Thursday, September 13, 2018, but will sell out early. Attendees are encouraged to reserve a room online or call (843) 723-3000 and ask for the World Aquatic Health Conference rate. Guests are charged upon check-in for reservations. Contact conference@nspf.org for information on government rate rooms, if applicable. About the World Aquatic Health Conference The leading global aquatic research forum, the WAHC is tailored to educate professionals involved in all aspects of aquatics: those affiliated with aquatic facilities, pool and spa industry, service providers, consultants, parks & recreation, water parks, manufacturers, academia, associations, builders, community organizations, distributors, hotels, government, health/medical, retail, and media. Watch the video to learn more now. About the National Swimming Pool Foundation We believe everything we do helps people live happier and healthier lives. Whether its encouraging more aquatic activity, making pools safer, or keeping pools open, we believe we can make a difference. To further this mission, in 2018 we welcomed The Alliance to the NSPF family, now the largest member association in the aquatics industry. In 2016 we merged with GENESIS, the educational leader for designers and builders of residential pools and spas. In 2012, we launched the Step Into Swim Campaign, a 10- year initiative to create one million more swimmers. Founded in 1965 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit and located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, NSPF proceeds go to fund education, research and to help create swimmers. Visit nspf.org, genesis3.com, stepintoswim.org, or call 719-540-9119 to learn more. Attachments MINNEAPOLIS, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atomic Data Minneapolis premiere IT-as-a-Service company recently donated $50,000 to Start Reading Now, a Minneapolis-based non-profit devoted to inspiring kids to read. Start Reading Now directly addresses the fact that low-income families have less than one book at home. That donation, and other large donations from local organizations, will support summer reading for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders in Minneapolis Public Schools with the highest concentration of poverty. Reading, especially at an early age, has a profound impact on the success children have later in life, said Atomic Data CEO Jim Wolford. Start Reading Nows mission is important, not only to the success of these children, but also to the success of our community. Start Reading Now provides a $50 voucher to each student that attends an in-school book fair to buy 10 new books after 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade, eventually building a personal library of 30 books by the end of the program. In 2018, the organization will serve 30 Minneapolis Public Schools sites with the highest concentrations of poverty with all schools having at least 50% of the students eligible for educational benefits such as free lunch. This year, each student will also receive a new backpack, pen, and 10 This Book Belongs To stickers. Through getting kids excited about reading, Start Reading Now aims to end the summer slide when kids dont have the opportunity to continue learning. And throughout the years of the program, children will accumulate their own libraryhaving books at home and passing down their love for reading to their friends and siblings. About Start Reading Now Start Reading Now is a research-based program that is funded with donations from the surrounding community. Over 95% of revenue goes directly to the program, with each and every dollar making a difference. We thank all of our generous donors, and offer special thanks to our major donors this year: Atomic Data, Nancy and Roger McCabe, and Andy and Lynne Redleaf. See the supporting data on the benefits of early reading, and learn more about Start Reading Now at www.StartReadingNow.org About Atomic Data Atomic Data (www.atomicdata.com) is an on-demand, always-on, pay-as-you-go expert extension of the enterprises IT team and infrastructure, always acting in the clients and the communitys best interest. Atomic Data SAFE. SIMPLE. SMART. Media Contact: Scott Evangelist marketing@atomicdata.com PHILADELPHIA, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rittenhouse Realty Advisors is pleased to announce the sale of The Alexandria Apartments in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia. The property, located at 516 S. 42nd Street, directly across from the University of the Sciences, consists of 25 apartments totaling 74 bedrooms. The units feature spacious bedrooms, hardwood flooring, and tenants have access to on-site laundry facilities. University City continues to be one of the hottest markets in Philadelphia, said Ken Wellar, Managing Partner at RRA. We were able to secure a first-time buyer from the New York market, due to our unique marketing process. Residents of The Alexandria enjoy close proximity to world-class schools and employers such as University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, and Childrens Hospital of Pennsylvania, Clark Park, which hosts regular farmers markets and festivals, and the trolley to Center City, Philadelphia. Corey Lonberger, Managing Partner at RRA, noted: "The demand from outside buyers for University City continues to grow. It is one of the most active neighborhoods in terms of new development and re-development in the Philadelphia MSA. The Alexandria presented a great value-add opportunity for the buyer to capitalize on the current momentum of development in the neighborhood." According to a recent Campus Philly survey, 67% of current college students at Philadelphia universities would like to stay in the city after graduation, which is up almost 10% from a 2010 survey. Mark Duszak, Director at RRA, stated: Philadelphia is home to some of the best universities in the country. Recent graduates are choosing to live and work in Philadelphia after graduation, which is adding fuel to the tremendous growth in the real estate market. For more information on current rates or to view our available listings visit www.RittenhouseRealty.com Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rittenhouse Realty Advisors is a real estate advisory firm with an extensive focus in the brokerage of multi-family communities throughout the northeast region of the United States. Formed in February 2013 by a group of advisors with more than 30 years of commercial investment sales experience, our focus is on multi-family and mixed-use properties with significant residential components. www.RittenhouseRealty.com Press Contact: Corey Lonberger and Ken Wellar Managing Partners 215-454-2852 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/57e62cad-cf02-4eed-89ac-8c0592e83f4a DALLAS, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Once again the two biggest new home markets in Texas went in opposite directions. Last month Dallas-Ft. Worth, the state and nations biggest new home market in total sales volume, saw a faster sales pace of new home sales and a jump in average home prices in April. Houston, the second biggest new home sales market in Texas, saw its new home sales pace slow in April and its average sales price fall, according to the HomesUSA.com New Homes Sales Index and other information released today based on data from local Multiple Listing Services. Both Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston reported similar news for February home sales activity. The HomesUSA.com Index is a 12-month rolling average of the Days on Market (DOM) for new homes listed in the local Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) for the four largest Texas markets, including Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. The pace of new home sales slowed statewide in April, from 122.49 in March to 123.78 in April. However, the sales of new homes in Dallas-Ft. Worth accelerated. The DOM decreased in Dallas from 115.39 days in March to 114.53 days in April. In Houston - as was reported for February activity - the opposite happened. Its DOM increased nearly 5 days, from 140.76 days in March to 145.37 days in April. The new home sales pace slowed in Austin, as its DOM increased from 112.91 days in March to 113.20 days in April, while the new home sales pace ramped up in San Antonio, with the DOM decreasing from 107.57 in March to 105.93 days in April. Ben Caballero, owner of HomesUSA.com and recently named by Guinness World Records as the top ranked real estate agent in the world based on home sales, is sharing this Texas new homes data in advance of tomorrows announcement by the Commerce Department on New Home Sales for March. The Commerce Department will report nationwide new home construction data at 10:00 am Eastern, tomorrow, Wednesday, May 23. If you look at the trend lines over the last year, when it comes to the pace of new home sales, Dallas and Houston are going in the opposite direction, said Caballero. The strength of the Dallas-Ft. Worth new home sales market continues to impress, he said, adding, and the slowing sales pace in Houston is looking more like a trend than a bump in the road. Overall, Austin and San Antonio are still posting impressive new home market numbers, and the Texas economy is not showing any major signs of slowing down. New home prices continue to stabilize Statewide home prices remain fairly stable, which is great news for new home buyers. The statewide average new home price fell slightly from $350,301 in March to $349,542 in April. Dallas-Ft. Worth average new home prices went higher in April, climbing from $356,108 in March to $357,340. Houstons average new home prices fell significantly, from $357,414 in March to $354,750. In Austin, the average new home price fell slightly from $369,407 in March to $368,643 in April. The average new home price in San Antonio dropped slightly $292,866 in March to $292,648 in April. (See Chart 1 Texas New Home Sale Prices) Texas New Home Sales Strong, But Growth Relatively Flat While new home sales were strong statewide in Texas for April, sales growth was relatively flat. The rolling 12-month average of new home sales statewide was up from 3,655 in March to 3,672 in April. Thats according to data compiled by HomesUSA.com from local MLS and trade associations, including the Houston Association of REALTORS, North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, San Antonio Board of REALTORS and the Austin Board of REALTORS. The states two biggest markets Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston both experienced relatively flat home sales in April. According to HomesUSA.com, Dallas-Ft. Worth home sales in April were 1,338, down slightly from 1,340 sales in March. Houston home sales in April were 1,207, up from 1,198 sales in March. New home sales were up in Austin from 638 in March to 644 in April. In San Antonio, home sales were also higher last month with 483 sales in April, up from 479 sales in March. (See Chart 2 - New Home Sales | Texas) Understanding the new Days on Market Index Caballero notes the average Days on Market for New Homes is about 65 days higher for new homes than for existing or pre-owned homes. Why? Theres a huge difference between selling a new home and a pre-owned or existing home, Caballero explained. New homes are often listed for sale during the early stages of construction. This early market exposure allows buyers the opportunity to customize the home. Plus, by placing more inventory on the market, as it is being built, expands the inventory of available homes, and thats especially helpful for buyers and agents in a tight housing market. (See Chart 3 - New Home Sales Index Days on Market Monthly numbers1) The HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index is the first index to track new home sales. Created by Caballero, who was named Most Innovative Real Estate Agent by real estate news firm Inman News, the index is an analysis by HomesUSA.com of sales of homes listed in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio local Multiple Listing Services (MLS). (See Chart 4 - New Home Sales Index Days on Market Tracking) 1Prior month DOM numbers are subject to adjustment Please note that the monthly data is based on information reported to the MLS that may be incomplete or subject to further revision by the MLS. While licensed real estate professionals are required to report closed sales to their local MLS in Texas within 72 hours of a closed sale, not all sales, unfortunately, are reported promptly, and some are published more than 30 days later. This late reporting causes the prior month's reported index number to change to include newly reported sales. Only the previous month index number is impacted and that number, once adjusted, is the final and correct index number. All averages for data provided are based on 12-month rolling averages. About Ben Caballero and HomesUSA.com Ben Caballero is the worlds most productive real estate agent, as recognized by Guinness World Records. Top-ranked in America by REAL Trends since 2013, as published in the Wall Street Journal, he is also the only agent to exceed $1 billion in residential sales transactions in a single year; a feat first achieved in 2015 and repeated each year since. An award-winning innovator, Caballero is the founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com, Inc., working with 64 home builders in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Learn more at HomesUSA.com |Twitter: @bcaballero - @HomesUSA | Facebook: /HomesUSAdotcom. Note for journalists: You may contact Ben Caballero directly on his cell at (214) 616-9222 or by email at ben@homesusa.com. Images: Ben Caballero http://waves.wavgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Ben-WhiteBkg.jpg Chart 1 http://waves.wavgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/HomesUSA.com-CHART1-MAY-New-Home-Sales-PRICES.jpg Chart 2 http://waves.wavgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/HomesUSA.com-CHART2-MAY-New-Home-Sales-SALES.jpg Chart 3 http://waves.wavgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/HomesUSA.com-CHART3-MAY-New-Home-Sales-INDEX.jpg Chart 4 http://waves.wavgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/HomesUSA.com-CHART4-MAY-New-Home-Sales-INDEX-Tracking.jpg Kevin Hawkins (206) 866-1220 kevin@wavgroup.com Charts accompanying this announcement are available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dc09c9cc-a7f0-4183-aaef-d9a360cd234d http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/173dc91d-ea61-4691-8359-781d76c39add http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f9d7f745-53c3-4e60-8651-89290428462f http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/791002f8-9e5d-4768-94ab-de99897cf124 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0487634d-5cc0-46f8-97f4-6e805a4916a3 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Kornelius Purba (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 09:16 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e563188 1 Opinion #commentary,Soeharto,New-Order,reformasi,Prabowo-Subianto,Indonesian-politics,Jokowi,#2019PresidentialElection Free The May 22, 1998, face-to-face confrontation between then-president BJ Habibie (once Soehartos golden boy) and newly dismissed Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) chief Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto crossed my mind when I read a pollsters conclusion last Sunday that Soeharto was Indonesias most successful president. A few weeks ago, some media reports predicted it is just a matter of time before Soehartos dynasty gloriously re-emerges. One of Soehartos children, Hutomo Tommy Mandala Putera, tried his luck with his new political party, the Berkarya (Working) Party. Tommys elder sister, Siti Titiek Hediati Hariyadi, continues to strive for more influence in the Golkar Party, which was established by Soeharto. Well-known pollster Indo Barometers survey ranked Soeharto the most successful among the countrys seven presidents, including the legendary first president Sukarno. The father of the third president, Megawati Soekarnoputri, is second in the survey, followed by the incumbent, President Joko Jokowi Widodo. As a journalist, I covered Soeharto for 12 years almost on a daily basis. I flew with him to Cairo just several days before his fall from grace on May 21, 1998. I almost became stateless in Egypt when Soeharto was outraged by the running text on CNN that quoted Reuters (which claimed to have quoted The Jakarta Post) as saying that Soeharto was ready to resign if Indonesians no longer wanted him as their leader. We could not find your passport, a senior government official said, frightening me after describing Soehartos anger at my report. It was an official passport and held by the presidential offices staff during the visit. I was later cleared because Reuters did not correctly quote the Post. Does Soeharto really deserve such high recognition? And do you believe in the rise of Soehartos powerful dynasty? If you ask my honest opinion, I will definitely answer: No! But those who disagree can easily bully me and ask me to see a psychiatrist to check my sanity. I must acknowledge that my firm conclusion is merely based on my experience as a journalist who covered Soeharto and the former first family for years. I could be wrong too. We need to remember how popular Sukarno was during Soehartos 32-year dictatorship. Sukarno was a symbol of resistance against Soeharto. Megawati perfectly personified that sentiment. That she became the vice president in 1999 and later the president in 2001 was completely thanks to the peoples memory of her father. I am a loyal supporter of her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, but it is likely because of family tradition. Soeharto was definitely a far-reaching visionary leader. Indonesia achieved amazing economic progress under his leadership, there is no doubt about it. But the problems started when his six children grew up and entered the business world. Their cronies also emerged and even became uncontrollable. Soeharto found it hard to say enough is enough to his beloved. The situation worsened after his wife, Tien Soeharto, died on April 28, 1996. He lost his balance. One year later, the Asian Financial Crisis swept across Indonesia. The peoples power forced Soeharto to step down. Soeharto almost completely ruined what he had built and the nation is still recovering the costs of the crisis. Soehartos children are quite smart and patient in appeasing public anger against their businesses. They avoid controversies, and it was only Tommy who had to go to prison for murder. Soehartos children, grandchildren and great grandchildren enjoy life and there is no signal of their interest in high-level politics. So, I dont believe they will dominate national politics. Why do I recount Prabowos quarrel with Habibie that occurred 20 years ago today? Habibie was just lucky to become the countrys third president. Prabowo himself believes until now he deserves the post much more than anyone else. That is why he insists on a rematch with Jokowi in the 2019 presidential election after being defeated in 2014. In 2009, Prabowo contested the election as Megawatis running mate, but lost. Revisiting the argument in his book Detik-detik yang Menentukan (The Decisive Moments), Habibie said Prabowo came to him to ask for his reinstatement as Kostrad chief. Habibie had ordered Prabowos dismissal for allegedly attempting a coup. Not only did Prabowo fail to regain his post, his military career ended later in August. Former armed forces chief and defense minister Gen. (ret) Wiranto has written his own version about the stand-off between Habibie and Prabowo. Prabowo is no longer on the list of Soehartos clan as he divorced Titiek. They have one son, fashion designer Didit Hediprasetyo. But as a retired army general, whose skyrocketing career could not be separated from Soehartos role, Prabowo is still Soehartos ideological family member. So if he can defeat Jokowi in 2019, Soeharto deserves some credit for the victory. Like Soeharto, Prabowo has escaped trial despite his alleged roles in human rights abuses, abduction of student activists and the May 1998 riots in Jakarta that preceded Soehartos fall from grace. Soeharto was accused of graft but never taken to court, but it does not mean he is our most successful president. I do not see any chance for Soehartos political dynasty to strike back either. Can Prabowo help the clan come back? It is too risky to answer this question. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 07:59 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e55de74 4 Editorial #Editorial,minority-groups,discrimination,Ahmadiyah,Shiites,Islam,intolerance,Blasphemy-Law Free The weekend brought more sad news following the bombings in Surabaya. Members of the Ahmadiyah minority half of them children were sheltered at the East Lombok Police headquarters, West Nusa Tenggara, after their homes were ransacked by an unidentified mob. Only three adults from the seven families comprising 24 individuals taking shelter were men, as most were working during the attacks, which damaged eight homes and other property. The spokesman of Jemaat Ahmadiyah Indonesia, a legal organization representing the Islamic minority since the 1950s, said some 1,000 adherents of the faith feel intimidated in the province. In West Lombok, over 100 Ahmadis are residing elsewhere in temporary settlements after they were driven out of their homes in February 2006. Elsewhere, members of mainstream Islam have closed their mosques to Ahmadis or pressured the government and police to do so. In the worst attack in Cikeusik, Banten, on Feb. 6, 2011, three Ahmadis were murdered; perpetrators only receiving three to six months imprisonment. The Banten administration then issued a bylaw banning the Ahmadiyah from practicing their faith, following in the footsteps of West Java and a number of other provinces. The administrations cited the 1965 Blasphemy Law when placing restrictions on the Ahmadiyah. The Constitutional Court has yet to announce its ruling on the law, in response to the judicial review request filed by a group of Ahmadis last year. It will be the third attempt to change or annul the law after a group of activists failed in 2009, and a group of Shiites failed in 2013, with the court urging that the law be revised with a better definition of blasphemy. Instead, the current deliberation of the Criminal Code includes a clause on blasphemy. The right to freedom of worship has long been debated in Indonesia with the mainstream citing the limits to freedom in the Constitution, in that such freedom must not disrupt the freedom of others. Urging an end to the violence, West Nusa Tenggara Governor Muhammad Zainul Majdi Said , also a popular religious leader, added, Respect Ramadhan, respect the right of every person to live in peace according to their faith. Police said the Ahmadis were not harmed and that the assaults reflected that the attackers hatred had reached its peak, Republika daily reported, as Ahmadis had pledged to repent and return to mainstream Islam but had not done so. Another minority, the Shiite families of Madura, will also remain in their temporary homes in Sidoarjo regency, so as long as they continue to refuse to repent. Past and current national governments have let this problem of intolerance against minorities fester. Many condemned the involvement of children in terrorism last week. But further acts of intolerance will continue as long as the government does not show what it takes to ensure human rights for all citizens. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Yahya Cholil Staquf (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 15:33 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e580a75 3 Opinion Islam,Indonesian-politics,reformasi,New-Order,Soeharto,Muslim Free A rising tide of Islamism in its myriad forms which run the gamut from preman berjubah (thugs draped in Arab garb) to social media activists, proselytism movements, educational networks, political parties and even terrorist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group has been among the most noteworthy phenomena to emerge in the country over the past 20 years. Individually and collectively, these developments threaten the unity of Indonesia and its people, often in ways more subtle and profound than the bloody conflicts waged in the name of Islam in regions as diverse as Ambon, Poso and Aceh. And yet, this threat is far from new. Both before and after Indonesia achieved independence, its founding fathers had to grapple with the tension that exists between Islamic orthodoxy and the ideals of the modern nation-state. In June 1945, the members of the Preparatory Committee for Independence (PPKI) reached a temporary consensus with the Jakarta Charter, which subsequently formed the basis for the preamble to the Constitution of Indonesia. It originally included an obligation for Muslims to abide by Islamic law (sharia). Secular Muslim nationalists, including Sukarno and Muhammad Hatta, persuaded their fellow committee members to delete seven words with Muslims required to observe Islamic law from the first principle of Pancasila. Hatta argued convincingly that Hindu- and Christian-dominated regions of the East Indies would refuse to join the Republic of Indonesia if its Constitution were to contain the seeds of an Islamic state. Yet, although the committee members unanimously adopted the 1945 Constitution (UUD-45), the tension reflected in their debate over the Jakarta Charter has never been resolved and continues to roil Indonesian society to the present day. These historical experiences demonstrate that Islamism especially as a political movement based on religious identity is indeed a latent, enduring threat to the existence of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) as a multi-faith and pluralistic (Pancasila) nation-state. Under the Soeharto regime, this threat was repressed continuously and with considerable difficulty, but never completely neutralized. The rising tide of Islamism in post-Soeharto Indonesia may thus be said to constitute a rebound of the perennial Islamist aspiration and its accompanying pressure to transform Indonesia from a Pancasila nation-state to an Islamic state. Social groupings based on religious identity is a natural phenomenon of human civilization. The problem with certain tenets of Islamic orthodoxy lies in the fact that these invariably incarnate as a form of political identity, with a marked tendency to embrace absolutism and a hidden or explicit agenda of dominating the existing political order, whatever that may happen to be. Whether this struggle to acquire political supremacy is waged blatantly or covertly is simply a matter of strategy and tactics. Detailed analysis including careful study of the historical dimensions of this phenomenon may be necessary to gain comprehensive understanding of this issue. Yet one thing cannot be denied: the aspiration for Islam to attain political domination is indeed an intrinsic part of orthodox Islamic teachings, if we employ the term Islamic orthodoxy to describe an array of theological doctrines accepted by the majority of Muslims as the most authoritative religious reference standard. And how could this not be the case? Islamic orthodoxy includes a remarkably extensive discourse about public law, both civil and criminal, which is generally described as Gods law (sharia) or at least as the interpretation of Gods law which must be implemented in daily life. Obviously, this cannot be achieved without political domination by those who wish to implement sharia, which describes the Islamist agenda precisely. Soeharto viewed Islamist political pressure as a threat to its own power. Hence, he adopted a strategy of political and military repression, combined with symbolic concessions carefully negotiated in order to pacify the Islamist groups. The products of these negotiations are clearly visible in post-Soeharto Indonesia: the embedding of religious education within the school curriculum; the establishment of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI); the creation of an Islamic judicial system that exercises jurisdiction over marriage, divorce, remarriage and inheritance solely for Muslims; political donations offered to compliant Islamic institutions and organizations; the establishment of sharia-compliant banks; and the creation and government support of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI), to name a few. And yet, like Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Ataturk of Turkey and the Pahlavis of Iran, the Soeharto regime failed to address the problematic tenets within Islamic orthodoxy that underlie and animate the perennial Islamist threat, which can only be done through a process of recontextualizing, or reforming, Islamic orthodoxy itself. Throughout its history, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has been fortunate to possess leaders who strongly favored the Indonesian nation-state over theocracy and genuinely yearned for the well-being and political success of NKRI. Among the most prominent of these NU leaders were Abdul Wahab Hasbullah and Abdurrahman Gus Dur Wahid. Both employed their religious authority as chairmen of the worlds largest Islamic organization to mobilize their followers and maneuver strategically in ways that proved crucial to the survival of the NKRI, Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution in truly desperate times. During the 1950s and 60s, Wahab blocked Masyumi from restoring the Jakarta Charter and transforming Indonesia into an Islamic state, supported Sukarno and the Indonesian military in repressing the Darul Islam and PRRI/Permesta rebellions, and allied with Soeharto to prevent a communist seizure of power, such as that which had already occurred to such devastating effect in Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, China, Korea and Tibet. During the 1980s and 1990s, Gus Dur mobilized the NU to help ensure Indonesias successful transition from authoritarianism to democracy, and thus saved his nation from the fate that engulfed Syria, Yemen and Libya, and destroyed the fragile shoots of democracy in Egypt and Russia. Wahab and Gus Dur encouraged other NU elites to develop a religious discourse that offered a concrete alternative to the obsolete, problematic tenets of Islamic orthodoxy. This alternative Islamic discourse has strengthened the legitimacy of the NKRI, Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Indonesias national motto of Unity in Diversity and mobilized the great mass of NU followers at the grassroots level to support this alternative discourse. But the task Wahab, Gus Dur and their followers have undertaken is far from complete. As Gus Dur himself remarked, [We] must maintain a continuous dialogue between Islam and the Constitution. There is no license for political and military repression in Indonesias post-Soeharto reform era. The unchecked exercise of power is no longer feasible, for dynamic forces have emerged within civil society that constantly monitor government actions. As a result, the government cannot act arbitrarily to restrain Islamists political lust even to defend the NKRI, Pancasila and the Constitution. As a natural consequence of these democratic and human rights developments, the dialectical tension between Islam and the NKRI is now largely governed and political outcomes determined by the complex interplay of competing forces within society at large. Throughout the post-Soeharto era of democratic reform, the NU has adopted a resolute and unequivocal pro-NKRI/UUD-45/Pancasila position in order to thwart efforts to transform Indonesia from a sovereign nation-state whose constitution and laws are derived from modern political processes into a theocracy whose rulers share the perennial Islamist aspiration for the dominion of Islam and the establishment of a universal caliphate. There can be little doubt that globalization will impact the outcome of this struggle within Indonesia will be impacted by the forces of, which brings people and ideas from the far corners of the earth into daily contact with Indonesian Muslims, for both good and ill. So long as obsolete, medieval tenets within Islamic orthodoxy remain the dominant source of religious authority throughout the Muslim world, Indonesian Islamists will continue to draw power and sustenance from developments in the world at large. This is especially true so long as key state actors including Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan continue to weaponize problematic tenets of Islamic orthodoxy in pursuit of their respective geopolitical agendas. These considerations have led key figures within the NU including Gus Dur in the months and years prior to his death and former NU chairman A. Mustofa Bisri to conclude that it would be impossible to permanently resolve the tension that is inherent between Islamic orthodoxy and the NKRI/UUD-45, so long as we confine our efforts to the domestic, or purely Indonesian, context of the perennial Islamist threat. Preserving Indonesias unique civilizational heritage which gave birth to the NKRI as a multi-religious and pluralistic nation-state requires the successful implementation of a global strategy to develop a new Islamic orthodoxy that reflects the actual circumstances of the modern world in which Muslims must live and practice their faith. This global effort, already launched by key elements of the NU including its 5-million-strong youth organization, Gerakan Pemuda Ansor is not just an inevitable corollary of efforts to defeat Islamist subversion of Indonesia. It is vital to the wellbeing and preservation of virtually every other nation in the world, whose laws are derived from modern political processes and whose people and governments do not wish to be subsumed in a universal Islamic caliphate or exhausted by the struggle to prevent its establishment. The recontextualization and reform of Islamic orthodoxy is thus crucial to the welfare of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, for it constitutes the one indispensible prerequisite of any rational and humane solution to the multi-dimensional crisis that has plagued the Muslim world for over a century which not only shows no sign of abating despite an ever-growing toll of human lives and misery, but rather, increasingly threatens to spill over and engulf humanity as a whole. *** The author is general secretary of the Nahdlatul Ulama Supreme Council and director of religious affairs at Bayt ar-Rahmah li ad-Dawah al-Islamiyyah Rahmatan li al-Alamin in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the US. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. The Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute ball in early May is one of this years most-talked about fashion moments. Carrying the theme Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, the gala was feared to spark controversy. It only turned out, however, to become a line-up of stunning outfits and jewelry that left a lasting impression. Among jewel-encrusted headpieces, bejeweled crosses and glittering veils and wings, a significant number of Cartier collection pieces were seen on the attendees. A pair of Cartier earrings made of silver, 18k white gold and onyx created in 1929 was dangling from the ears of actress Lily Collins, who opted for a Gothic-chic look in Givenchy couture. A bold metal headdress and gems placed under her eyes completed the impression. As one of the Met Gala co-hosts, Rihanna stole the show with a Cartier Collection pendant as a necklace. The pendant was created in 1934, boasting such precious gems as sapphires, round-faceted rubies, opal and round-faceted topazes. Furthermore, it was modified in 1949 in London under special orders, with 17.20-carat star sapphire, rubies, emerald, moonstones placed among gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Priyanka Chopra had opted for subtle Cartier jewelry to pair with her deep burgundy velvet gown and gold-beaded hood. Among her choices is a Cartier Collection pendant circa 2000, made of 18k yellow gold, rubies, sapphires and emerald. A number of rings, including the Juste un Clou and Amulette de Cartier also graced her appearance. Cartier Collection bracelets, too, were seen on the wrists of the Met Gala guests. Naomi Watts complimented her Michael Kors white and ornamental gold embroidery dress with a Cartier Collection 1939 platinum bracelet, Cartier High Jewelry yellow diamond earrings and a Coup d'Eclat de Cartier yellow gold ring. Read also: Goddesses, angels and a pope rock Catholic-inspired Met Gala Cartier High Jewelry diamonds bracelet were seen on Michelle Williams wrist, ravishing with accents of 18k white gold and black lacquer. And a more edgy look of 1936 platinum, black lacquer and diamonds Cartier Collection bracelet was sported by Sofia Coppola, who also wore platinum and diamonds earrings from the same jeweler. The jeweler, too, gave the male guests of the gala some attention, such as Alexander Skarsgard, who looked dapper with a 1927 emerald cabochons Cartier Collection brooch pinned to the lapel of his suit. Karina Rima Melati, a granddaughter of the late maestro Widayat, could barely back tears after touching the enamel advertisements displayed at Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta on Monday. The two enamel signs, made during the Dutch colonial rule, could only previously be enjoyed by her in a book. Now she could directly feel the items she admired. Of dozens of enamels displayed during the exhibition held as a parallel event for the annual art event ARTJOG 2018, only these two really touched Rimas heart the enamel ads for Tembaco Shag Dobbleman and Tembaco Shag Neptune. These old advertisements are very rare. Even in the Netherlands this type of enamel is difficult to find. They can fetch up to Rp 80 million [US$5,640] each, she said, adding that stories of enamel advertisements had become a personal matter for her. A few years ago, to finish her studies at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta, she wrote Studi Iklan Enamel Zaman Kolonial di Indonesia (A Study on Enamel Advertisements of the Colonial Era in Indonesia) as her final paper. Next month, she will launch a book on such enamel advertisements. Rima said exhibitions like the one being held at Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta until May 22 could remind people of the economic and political situation and condition of Indonesia before independence. Through the advertisements, we can see the trends and lifestyle of the people including Indonesians, Malay, Chinese, Dutch and others living in the country during the colonial era.Although the advertising world of that era was not as sophisticated as today, she said, enamel advertisements of that age already displayed attention to setting, color and text. From the enamels we can see whether the message of the advertisement was addressed to Dutch, Javanese or Malay consumers, or to all consumers if three languages are used, said Rima who is currently a lecturer at the Yogyakarta Communication College. Listen up: An enamel sign depicts a dog and a gramophone. (JP/Tarko Sudiarno) Separately, the exhibition curator Hermanu said the enamels exhibition was important because they were limited in number and used strong materials that lasted for a long time. He said if well maintained and continuously cleaned, enamel advertisements could last for hundreds of years. While the paints of other advertisements made of paper or wood fade away in 100 years, enamels can still have a new look regardless of whether they were made in the 1900s or the 1940s, thanks to the paint used. Enamel advertisements were the image-building method used by stores or trade agencies as promotional materials. It is therefore no exaggeration if we entitle this exhibition INDIE, which more or less means Indonesia during the Dutch colonial era, Hermanu said. Vintage: An enamel sign advertising tobacco is on display at an ARTJOG 2018 exhibition at Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta. (JP/Tarko Sudiarno) He said the exhibition presented enamel advertisements made during the Dutch colonial time before World War II because after the war not many enamel advertisements were made as many of their factories were bombed. Enamel advertisements were made in European countries such as the Netherlands, England and France. They were shipped to Indonesia, where it took some time before they reached their destination. Most of the enamel advertisements currently being displayed at Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta are from the collection of Subi, an antiques collector living in Klaten, Central Java. They advertise various products from the Netherlands, the United States, Germany, France, India and Japan, including tobacco, cigarettes, soap, car tires, beer, banks, bicycles and spices. Rima said looking at the enamel advertisements was like looking at a portrait of Indonesia during the Dutch colonial days. Vintage advertisements were very good and futuristic. They also bring to mind the ethnic diversity of Indonesia, she said. Climbing the steep slope by his house, Fernando Solis Arguedas examined a leaf on one of his 50-year-old trees that produces arabica beans for the world's first officially certified carbon neutral coffee. Blaming an increasingly unpredictable climate for the first spots of roya fungus, he explained how sustainable techniques such as reducing chemical sprays and planting more shade trees meant higher prices for his coffee cooperative, Coopedota. But forget organic. Carbon neutral produce has become the buzz term in the Central American nation of 5 million people as countries look to slash greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture while feeding growing populations. "It's the trend, but it means we can put our coffee in the international market and if the market is at $120, we might get $180 or $200," said Solis, the third generation of his family to farm coffee. "Although in reality a lot goes in costs, we think we come out better," he said, watching the hawks drifting on currents of warm air over the town of Santa Maria de Dota, some 70 km (40 miles) south of the capital San Jose. Costa Rica is now home to three zero emission coffee companies plus some carbon neutral banana, pineapple and cattle producers, putting the nation at the forefront of a movement that is slowly growing. Coffee is not the only drink going carbon neutral. Companies in Sri Lanka, India and China are producing zero emission tea. Coffee production has played a major role in Costa Rica's history and it is famed for its high-quality arabica varieties. It is the world's 14th largest coffee producer although it only accounts for about one percent of the world's coffee. Eco-paradise But with a reputation for being environmentally friendly, Costa Rica set itself an ambitious - and increasingly improbable - target in 2007 to become carbon neutral by 2021, which means tackling the 37 percent of its emissions coming from farming. Coffee makes up nearly 10 percent of its total emissions. Globally agriculture, forestry and other land use accounts for about 24 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Persuading Costa Rica's coffee farmers to switch fertilisers or mills to cut energy and water consumption or turn pulp into biogas, is helping lower costs alongside their environmental footprint, said people in the coffee industry. Many are keen to adapt as the changing climate clouds the future for producers, prompting the government recently to lift a 30-year ban on planting robusta trees that are more heat and disease resistant than arabica. But getting consumers on board remains a major challenge as producing zero emission coffee comes with costs. Inside the vast Coopedota facility in Santa Maria de Dota - where most livelihoods are tied to coffee - millions of beans are sorted into sacks as the smell of roasting coffee pervades. In the quality control room, a pair of tasters tested dozens of cups of coffee, comparing the fragrance and notes from the brews before spitting the remainder into steel beakers. Although it is now ranked as the world's first carbon neutral coffee company, the 900-member cooperative originally set out to cut costs and increase efficiency but along the way realised the environmental benefits of the new processes. Now with water consumption down 80 percent and energy use 40 percent lower, it uses coffee husks instead of firewood to dry beans in cylinders, said environmental manager Adrian Cordero. Coopedota tracks the emissions produced at each stage, from planting and fertilising the seeds, taking the coffee cherries from the farm to be depulped, the beans dried and in some cases roasted - buying carbon credits to offset part of its impact. Cordero said the cooperative exports about half its coffee to the United States and the rest to newer markets in Asia where people are willing to pay the higher price. "The social angle, the environmental angle, ensures our prices don't go down," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Read also: Farmers use organic farming to reduce dependence on imported pesticides, fertilizers Finding an edge Cordero acknowledged that becoming carbon neutral was a slow process and required hefty initial investments for Coopedota. The cooperative secures contracts several years in advance, which is security for farmers change the way or crops they farm. However facing stiff competition from bigger coffee producers such as Brazil, low or zero emission coffee gives Costa Rica an edge, said Carlos Fonseca Castro, technical manager at the country's ICAFE coffee institute. Costa Rica was the first to adopt a Nationally Appropriated Mitigation Action (NAMA) plan to help coffee producers cut emissions. It now has a plan in place for cattle. While only three coffee companies are certified carbon neutral, more are working to slash emissions, seeing knock-on cost benefits, said Fonseca at ICAFE on San Jose's outskirts. "It's not necessarily expensive but it's a change of mentality around (coffee) production and processing," he said. However he said difficulties in accurately measuring how carbon is stored and the need to buy credits was a disincentive. Roberto Azofeifa, head of the Ministry of Agriculture's agro-environmental production programme, said training and loans were helping farmers speed up to reduce environmental impact. But raising consumer awareness and finding niche markets for carbon neutral products remained a hurdle. "The carbon neutral target is inspiring people to do interesting things and even if they don't have certification, they're doing important work such as reducing emissions through waste reuse," said Azofeifa, in his San Jose office. "How to convince the consumer to be part of this trend is an enormous challenge." Sri Lanka's Bogawantalawa Tea Estates, which became carbon neutral this year, is confident buyers will catch on to carbon neutral as they did with organic products. "When we mention it's carbon neutral, they are very much interested because they also are able to mention this on their packs," said Shivashankary Rajarammohan, head of corporate social responsibility. Eventually companies may have to show their carbon footprint as they do with nutritional values, said Peter Laderach, climate specialist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. "It's the same as food safety and traceability. Consumers get more informed and they just want to know they're buying the right thing," he said. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN THE UNITED STATES QUEBEC CITY, Quebec, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nemaska Lithium Inc. (TSX:NMX) (OTCQX:NMKEF) (FRANCFORT:N0T) ("Nemaska Lithium" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with National Bank Financial Inc., BMO Capital Markets and Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation, as co-lead underwriters and joint bookrunners, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters (collectively, the Underwriters), pursuant to which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase on a bought deal basis 280,000,000 common shares of the Corporation (the Shares) at a price of C$1.00 per Share (the Offering Price) for gross proceeds of C$280,000,000 (the Offering). The Shares will be offered in all provinces and territories of Canada pursuant to a prospectus supplement to be filed by Nemaska Lithium (the Prospectus Supplement), as well as on a private placement basis in the United States, made by the Underwriters or their U.S. affiliates, and other such jurisdictions as the Corporation and Underwriters agree, under available prospectus and registration statement exemptions. Clarksons Platou Securities SA will be engaged as a selling agent in the Offering. The Corporation has also granted the Underwriters an over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the Shares purchased pursuant to the Offering, exercisable in whole or in part for a period of 30 days after and including the closing date of the Offering to cover over-allotments, if any, and for market stabilization purposes. If the option is exercise in full, an additional C$42,000,000 will be raised pursuant to the Offering. Contemporaneous Private Placement of Common Shares Contemporaneously with the Offering, Nemaska Lithium will enter into an agreement, subject to certain conditions, pursuant to which it will complete a private placement (the Contemporaneous Private Placement) with an institutional investor who will acquire, on a private placement basis, 80,000,000 shares (the Private Placement Shares) at the Offering Price, for aggregate gross proceeds of C$80,000,000. The Private Placement Shares will be subject to a four month hold from the closing date of the Contemporaneous Private Placement, which is expected to occur on or about May 25, 2018. Guy Bourassa, President and CEO of Nemaska Lithium, commented on these recent announcements: Today marks a big day in the life of Nemaska Lithium, as we are announcing the last piece of financing required to start the commercial development of the Whabouchi lithium mine project. This project financing package, which covers capital expenditures of both the Whabouchi mine and Shawinigan electrochemical plant, project contingencies, working capital requirements and financing costs will ensure the future of Nemaska Lithium. This will also allow the Corporation to stay on target to initiate the commissioning of the Whabouchi mine by second half of calendar year 2019 and start commissioning the Shawinigan electrochemical plant during the first half of calendar year 2020. The Offering is expected to close on or about May 30, 2018. The Offering and the Contemporaneous Private Placement are subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including, but not limited to, the final approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and subject to certain other conditions. The closing of the Offering and the Contemporaneous Private Placement are also conditional on (i) the satisfaction or waiver of all conditions precedent (other than the pre-funding of an escrow/trust account), and the waiver of all termination rights by the Corporation and the managers, to the closing of the Bond Offering (as herein defined) as announced on April 20, 2018 and May 10, 2018; and (ii) the satisfaction or waiver of all escrow release conditions (other than the closing of the Offering and the Contemporaneous Private Placement) under the SoftBank Private Placement (as herein defined) as announced on April 6, 2018 and April 25, 2018. For more information regarding the Offering, the Contemporaneous Private Placement and associated closing conditions, investors are encouraged to refer to the Prospectus Supplement to be filed in relation to the Offering and the term sheet with respect to the Bond Offering that has been filed on the Corporations corporate profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. This press release is not an offer or a solicitation of an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities offered pursuant to the Offering and the Contemporaneous Private Placement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined under the U.S. Securities Act) absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Project Financing Update On March 28, 2018, the Corporation announced the different elements of a proposed US$775 million to US$825 million comprehensive project financing package for its Whabouchi Project and has in connection therewith, (a) announced the pricing and closing of books of the Bond Offering (the Bond Offering) for US$350 million, (b) entered into the Orion Stream Agreement (the Stream Agreement) for US$150 million, and (c) closed the private placement of 88,460,446 subscription receipts to SoftBank Group Corp. (the SoftBank Private Placement) in escrow for C$99.075 million. The SoftBank Private Placement is expected to result in the conversion of 83,729,011 subscription receipts into Nemaska Lithium common shares and the release from escrow of C$93,776,493 to Nemaska Lithium, assuming completion of the Offering and the Contemporaneous Private Placement and without giving effect to the exercise of the over-allotment options related to the Offering. SoftBank is expected to own 9.9% of the basic shares outstanding of the Corporation following completion of the SoftBank Private Placement. The aforementioned financing transactions together with the Offering and Contemporaneous Private Placement are referred to herein as the Project Financing Package. References are made to the press releases of the Corporation dated March 28, 2018, April 6, 2018, April 12, 2018, April 20, 2018, April 25, 2018 and May 10, 2018 in relation to the foregoing. The completion and disbursement of funds under the individual component financings comprising the Projecting Financing Package are subject to several conditions precedent or escrow release conditions, and the receipt of regulatory approvals (including approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange). Use of Proceeds The proceeds of the Offering along with the fund received from the Project Financing Package will be used by the Corporation to fund the construction, commissioning, working capital and reserves of the Whabouchi Project and for general corporate working capital. The sources and uses of funds in order to fund the Whabouchi Project through to its completion, which is expected to occur on or about the third quarter of calendar year 2020, subject to the funds related to the Project Financing Package being in place by the beginning of June 2018, are set out below: Sources and Uses of Funds for the Whabouchi Project Completion Sources C$ million1 US$ million1 Uses C$ million1 US$ million1 Offering and Contemporaneous Private Placement (gross)2 360 277 Remaining Whabouchi Mine capex4 239 184 SoftBank Private Placement (gross)3 94 72 Whabouchi Mine capex contingency4 30 23 Bond Offering (gross) 455 350 Remaining Shawinigan Electrochemical Plant capex4 462 355 Stream Facility (gross) 195 150 Shawinigan Electrochemical Plant capex contingency4 70 54 Interest costs5 128 98 Cost Overrun Account6 40 31 Transaction costs7 48 37 Working capital8 87 67 Total Sources9 1,104 849 Total Uses9 1,104 849 Notes: Based on exchange rate of US$1.00:C$1.30. Offering proceeds are calculated assuming no exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. A total of C$99.075 million was placed into escrow. Assuming the completion of the Offering and the Contemporaneous Private Placement, it is expected that approximately 4,731,435 subscription receipts pursuant to the SoftBank Private Placement will be cancelled and approximately C$5.298 million of the escrowed funds from the original C$99.075 million will be returned to SoftBank at the time of the SoftBank escrow release, resulting in an aggregate of 83,729,011 Nemaska Lithium common shares being issued to SoftBank and an aggregate gross proceeds of C$93,776,493 released to the Corporation (assuming no exercise of the Over-Allotment Option). Remaining capital expenditures as at December 1, 2017. Based on a 11.25% coupon covering the first 30 months of interest payments starting at the closing date of the Bond Offering. Required under the Bond Offering. This amount will be placed into an escrow account and can only be used to fund permitted capex increases made to the Whabouchi Project master control budget or until the completion of the Whabouchi Project. Transaction costs include the aggregated estimated fees and legal fees associated with the Project Financing Package. Capital expenditures from December 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018 have been deducted from the working capital. The amount also covers for corporate general working capital needs of the Whabouchi Project and for other corporate general working capital needs. Excludes any expected revenues and related production costs in relation to the sale of spodumene concentrate not required by the Shawinigan Electrochemical Plant during its construction and ramp-up period that the Whabouchi Mine would be in a position to sell. About Nemaska Lithium Nemaska Lithium is a developing chemical company whose activities will be vertically integrated, from spodumene mining to the commercialization of high-purity lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. These lithium salts are mainly destined for the fast-growing lithium-ion battery market, which is driven by the increasing demand for electric vehicles and energy storage worldwide. With its products and processes, Nemaska Lithium intends to facilitate access to green energy. The Corporation will be operating the Whabouchi mine in Quebec, Canada, one of the richest lithium spodumene deposits in the world, both in volume and grade. The spodumene concentrate produced at the Whabouchi mine will be processed at the Shawinigan plant using a unique membrane electrolysis process for which the Corporation holds several patents. Nemaska Lithium is a member of the S&P/TSX SmallCap Index, S&P/TSX Global Mining Index, S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index, S&P/TSX Equal Weight Global Base Metals Index, and the MSCI Canada Small Cap Index. For more information, visit www.nemaskalithium.com or www.twitter.com/Nemaska_Lithium Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release including, but not limited to, those relating to the Offering, the Contemporaneous Private Placement and the Corporation's intended Project Financing Package to bring its Whabouchi Project to commercial production, constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of certain securities laws and are based on expectations and projections as of the date of this press release. Certain important assumptions by the Corporation in making forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, (a) the successful closing of the Offering and Contemporaneous Private Placement, (b) the satisfaction, in a timely manner, by the Corporation of certain material conditions precedent required to permit the disbursement of the proceeds of the Bond Offering and the Stream Agreement, (c) the Corporation having raised a sufficient amount under all components of the Project Financing Package to bring the Project to commercial production, and (d) all requisite regulatory and stock exchange approvals being obtained. There can be no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release including, without limitation, those related to (i) the closing of the Offering and the Contemporaneous Private Placement, (ii) the use of proceeds of the Offering along with the sources and uses of other available funds (iii) the Corporations intended Project Financing Package, (iv) the completion of the Project Financing Package in general and as regards each component thereof, and the satisfaction of conditions precedent to the release of proceeds therefrom to the Corporation, and (v) generally, the above "About Nemaska Lithium" paragraph which essentially describes the Corporation's outlook, constitute ''forward-looking information'' or ''forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of certain securities laws, and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the time of this press release. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Corporation as of the time of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can directly or indirectly affect, and could cause, actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that a comprehensive USD 775M to USD 825M project financing package and general corporate working capital financing package will be concluded and the actual results of financing endeavors and future events, could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future experience. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important risk factors and future events could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates, assumptions and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those made in our other filings with the securities regulators of Canada including, but not limited to, the cautionary statements made in the "Risk Factors" section of the Corporation's Annual Information Form dated October 5, 2017 and the "Risk Exposure and Management" section of the Corporation's quarterly Management Discussion & Analysis. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. Further information regarding Nemaska Lithium is available in the SEDAR database (www.sedar.com) and on the Corporation's website at: www.nemaskalithium.com FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mr. Victor Cantore Investor Relations 514 831-3809 victor.cantore@nemaskalithium.com Ms. Wanda Cutler Investor Relations 416 303-6460 wanda.cutler@nemaskalithium.com As a young cook working in a high-end restaurant, Douglas McMaster once saw hundreds of gem lettuces peeled directly into the bin and thrown out with only their root served - as garnish. That was one of the experiences that drove McMaster to open Britain's first zero-waste restaurant, one of a rising number of eateries on a drive to cut food waste as millions of people in a growing global population struggle to get enough to eat. "We like to think of zero waste as not having a bin," said McMaster, a talkative 31-year-old with long hair and hipster beard who won the young chef of the year award from British public broadcaster BBC in 2009. Food waste is increasing viewed as unethical in a world of rising hunger and environmentally destructive, dumped in landfills where it rots, releasing greenhouse gases, while fuel, water, and energy needed to grow, store and carry it is wasted. Globally, one third of all food produced - worth nearly $1 trillion - is binned every year, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Saving a fraction of that would be enough to feed the 815 million people that go to bed hungry every night and could help meet the needs of a growing global population, set to reach 9.8 billion by 2050 from the current 7.6 billion, U.N. agencies say. Chefs stand accused of being wasteful in their kitchens with the hospitality sector accounting for almost 10 percent of the food thrown out by shops and consumers in Britain each year. But growing numbers are joining the ranks of entrepreneurs and innovators working to tackle the issue, backed by socially-conscious consumers who support a United Nations target to halve food waste at retail and consumer level by 2030. Some chefs like Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have used their celebrity status to raise awareness or campaign for new regulations. Others have launched concept restaurants, soup kitchens and social enterprises that turn waste into meals. From the farm and back McMaster opened his restaurant, Silo, in Brighton in 2014, sourcing from local farmers, avoiding packaging, and trying to put everything into a dish, including byproducts. Whey left from making cheese transforms into sauce for potatoes, while bread crusts become miso soup, McMaster said. Remains and indelible parts, such as egg shells and bones, are turned into compost that is handed back to the farmers. "Every natural thing has a purpose, you just got to find out what that purpose is," said McMaster, sipping a cup of coffee in an office above the restaurant which uses disposed materials like industrial floor tiles and cabinet frames as furniture. McMaster acknowledges his restaurant has little impact in the global fight against waste but he hopes it sets an example. For restaurants, hotels and catering services are increasingly trying to reduce what they bin, many of whom due to the awareness that cutting waste is also good for business, said Liz Goodwin of the think tank World Resources Institute. A 2017 study found cutting food waste boosts income and lowers costs, and several big chains, including KFC and Nando's, have committed to reduce their output in coming years. But Goodwin said while businesses were cutting waste, families were slow to do so despite producing more than 70 percent of all post-harvest waste. She hoped chefs could influence this. "If the chef says it is really important not to waste food, that is a message that the costumers will take home," she said. Stars and scraps In June last year, Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura of Italy opened a new restaurant in central London, the Refettorio Felix, which doesn't welcome wealthy diners but caters for the poor cooking meals from supermarket scraps. Unlike soup kitchens, guests don't queue but are served at the table surrounded by the work of artists and designers. Bottura and more than 50 other famous chefs have cooked at the restaurant, with some of their recipes and tips compiled into a cookbook that aims to teach people how to reduce waste at home. "We are making a revolution bringing ethics into the kitchen," said Bottura, whose restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, northern Italy, was voted the best in the world in 2016. "We need to look at normal ingredients that we all have in the fridge under another light. A tomato that is too ripe is not good for a salad but can be used to make a wonderful sauce". In Leeds in northern England, chef Adam Smith is taking food destined for landfills to local schools to support low-income families and teach pupils about food waste. "We educate young people about the environmental issue," he said, speaking from a warehouse in the city's outskirts where his organisation, The Real Junk Food Project (TRJFP), is based. Smith started TRJFP in 2013 as a single cafe serving meals from ingredients salvaged from restaurants and supermarkets. Within a few years it had ballooned into a network of more than 120 eateries and stores, including Britain's first pay-what-you-like food waste supermarket. "We've had caviar through here, we get lobster, good quality meat ... it's insane!" Smith said, surrounded by piles of food crates filled with anything from zucchini to breakfast cereals. Read also: Clean-up events shed light on Indonesia's waste crisis Last year the store ran into legal trouble when local authorities found they were selling products that were past their use-by-dates, which indicate an item is deemed unsafe to eat even though it may still look good. TRJFP avoided prosecution, Smith said, but added the incident highlighted the need to change legislation and for a wider conversation on how to tackle waste at national level. While some European neighbours, such as France or Italy, have national measures to fight food waste, British supermarkets rely on charities and food banks to redistribute surplus food. "It's up to us as charities to go and solve the problem and we don't get supported to go and do that," he said. "Ideally the measure of success ... would be that we would no longer be here." India's white-marble Taj Mahal is turning yellow and green as the 17th century mausoleum weathers filthy air in the world's eighth-most polluted city. One of the seven Wonders of the World, the Taj Mahal flanks a garbage-strewn river and is often enveloped by dust and smog from belching smokestacks and vehicles in the northern city of Agra. Tiny insects from the drying Yamuna River into which the city pours its sewage crawl into the Taj Mahal, their excrement further staining the marble, an environmental lawyer told India's Supreme Court. The court slammed the government for not doing enough to preserve the monument, which was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. "If the Indian scientists and the (conservationists) can't do the things, they should be able to contact foreign experts or conservationists, those who can come and they will be readily happy to help," said lawyer M.C. Mehta, who has been fighting to save the Taj Mahal from pollution for three decades. Restorers have been using a paste of a clay mineral to clean the marble. It pulls away impurities from the surface and can then be washed off with water. Activists are also concerned that the falling water table in Agra may be weakening the wooden foundations. Other worries include roads clogged with polluting vehicles and rampant construction around the mausoleum. Behind Taj's back, plastic bags and garbage pile up by the river as smoke billows from a chimney in the distance. Outside the Taj complex, a group of people gathered near a funeral pyre. The change in colour has not come out of the blue. Environmentalists and historians have long warned about the risk of soot and fumes from factories and tanneries dulling the ivory monument. There was no comment from government authorities. Bhuvan Vikram, superintendent archaeologist for Agra, said he was not authorised to speak to journalists. Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, whose department oversees historical monuments, said the environment ministry was best placed to speak on the subject but the environment minister was not available. Read also: India limits visitors to save Taj Mahal Tourists visiting the monument said they hoped steps would be taken to save it. "I think the Taj Mahal is one of the biggest icons of India and I think the city would be better to be cleaner and for the government to do something about this," said Francesco, a tourist from Argentina who only gave his first name. "Because it is a shame, you know. Yeah!" Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 07:42 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e55ca5d 2 City Jakarta-administration,anies-baswedan,Monas,Ramadan-2018 Free Bowing to pressure from Muslim organizations, the Jakarta administration decided on Monday to move a mass tarawih (evening Ramadhan prayers) from the National Monument (Monas) to the Istiqlal Grand Mosque, which are in Central Jakarta. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the mass prayer would still be held on May 26, but the venue would be moved from Monas to the nearby grand mosque, as suggested by the ulemas. In religious matters, we listen to what the ulema say. Therefore we will move the religious event to Istiqlal, Anies said at City Hall, adding that the city administration had coordinated with the management of the grand mosque regarding the organization of the mass prayer. Previously, the administration announced that the Ramadhan event -- expected to be attended by up to 30,000 Muslims from across the capital -- would be held at Monas, which has hosted several Islamic ceremonies and sermons since late last year. Anies lifted the ban on people holding cultural events and religious rites at Monas in November last year, saying that the capitals icon should be accessible to all residents. (Read also: Better to hold night prayer at mosques than Monas, MUI suggests) Large Muslim organizations in the country, including the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), have discouraged the city administration from holding Ramadhan prayers at Monas and instead called on the administration to relocate it to mosques. Monas is not only owned by Muslims. We are afraid there will be competition among people from various religions to make use of public facilities for their activities, said NUs head of law affairs, Robikin Emhas. (wit) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 09:18 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5632fb 1 City theft,East-Jakarta,minimarket Free The police have arrested a group of suspected minimarket robbers that usually operated in East Jakarta before dawn. We arrested the robbers in Bogor, West Java, a Jakarta Police spokesman said on Monday, as reported by tempo.co. East Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Yoyon Tony Surya Putra said the police had arrested seven people suspected to be the robbers. Yoyon said that three minimarket robberies had occurred in May in several areas of East Jakarta. The suspects allegedly used firearms during the robberies, which were committed before dawn to avoid arrest. On May 8, the group allegedly robbed a minimarket on Jl. Raya Bogor, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, and stole Rp 54 million (US$3,807). The group reportedly later broke into a minimarket on Jl. Raya Pondok Gede, Cipayung, East Jakarta, on May 16, and took Rp 10 million in cash. Their latest alleged target was a minimarket on Jl. Utan Kayu Raya, Matraman, East Jakarta, on May 18. They reportedly stole Rp 200 million in cash from the minimarket. (ami/wit) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Riyadh Tue, May 22, 2018 15:57 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5814e5 2 World Saudi-Arabia,Airbus,Airlines,injury,emergency-landing Free A Saudi Arabian Airlines Airbus A330 jet made an emergency landing in the western Red Sea city of Jeddah, injuring 53 people, aviation officials said on Tuesday. The Saudia aircraft was travelling from the Muslim holy city of Medina to Dhaka with 151 people on board, but had to be diverted to Jeddah late Monday after it suffered a malfunction in the hydraulic system, the kingdom's Aviation Investigation Bureau said. Footage posted online showed the plane leaving a trail of flame along the runway as it skidded on its nose before screeching to a halt. "The passengers were evacuated by emergency slides. 52 of them were slightly injured, while one female passenger suffered a fracture during the evacuation and is now receiving treatment," AIB said in a statement. "AIB has launched an investigation into this accident." The aircraft circled over Jeddah for several hours as its landing gear failed to drop, forcing the captain to make the emergency landing, Saudi media reported. In a similar incident in January 2014, a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 767 jet made an emergency landing in Medina, injuring 29 people, according to the aviation authority. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam, Riau Islands Tue, May 22, 2018 17:08 1237 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5846bd 1 National Sun-Princess,National-Search-and-Rescue-Agency,Australian-national,Australian-citizen,Bintan,RiauIslands,Jhon-Cullent Free The National Border Management Agency (BNPP) said on Saturday it would continue its search for John Cullen, 81, an Australian national and passenger of the Sun Princess cruise ship, who reportedly fell from the ship into the water off of Bintan, Riau Islands, until Friday. BNPP Tanjung Pinang head Budi Cahyadi said as of Tuesday, or the fourth day after Cullen was reported missing, the team had not yet found anything. "The search operation will end on Friday. It is based on our search and rescue procedure, in which a rescue operation lasts for one week, Budi said. Cullen reportedly fell from the Sun Princess ship when the 77,441-gross-tonnage cruise ship was heading to Port Klang in Malaysia after it departed from Fremantle, Australia, on May 13. It was sailing through international waters off Bintan island when crew members discovered that Cullen had been missing. For several hours, the ship crew members strove to find Cullen with their lifeboats but they did not find anything. They then decided to report the incident to BNPP. "Sun Princess continued their trip to Port Klang in Malaysia that day, Budi said. Until now, Budi said, he had not yet received any information from the ship's crew members on what had caused the incident. "We dont know whether he slipped, Budi said. (hol/ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) Beijing/Sydney Tue, May 22, 2018 12:23 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e573d3f 2 Business China,Australia,bilateral-relation,economy,discrimination,G20-meeting,trade-war Free Australia should remove its "colored glasses" to get relations back on track with major trading partner China, the Chinese government's top diplomat Wang Yi has told his Australian counterpart on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Argentina. Relations between the two countries have cooled since late 2017 when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government proposed a bill to limit foreign influence in Australia, including political donations. Beijing saw the move as "anti-China". The diplomatic rift spilled into the trade arena last week when a major Australian wine maker said it was facing new Chinese customs delays, raising fears among other Australian exporters that depend on access to China. Wang told Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Monday some difficulties had affected contact and cooperation between the two countries, China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website on Tuesday. The pair met on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Buenos Aires. "What I want to emphasise is, if the Australian side wishes the bilateral relationship to return to the right track and realise sustained healthy development, then it must abandon traditional thinking and take off its coloured glasses," Wang was quoted as saying in the statement. Wang said he had noted an improvement in tone from Bishop and the Australian government. In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday, Bishop said she had a "very warm and candid and constructive discussion" with Wang. "While we stand up for our values and our interests and our policies and we can disagree with friends from time-to-time, most certainly the relationship is strong and we discussed ways on how we could cooperate further," she said. A visit to Shanghai last week by Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo was seen as a bid to mend a relationship that included A$170 billion ($128 billion)in two-way trade last year. But Ciobo's visit was overshadowed by delays at Chinese customs that held up exports by Australia's Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. An Australian source familiar with the meeting between Bishop and Wang said it had focused on regional security and trade, and the Treasury Wine issue was not specifically discussed. Several unidentified Australian business owners who operate in China told Fairfax Media on the weekend that Chinese authorities had been unfairly targeting Australian products with delays and extra scrutiny at customs and distribution. Turnbull, who in December cited "disturbing reports about Chinese influence" and promised to stand up to Beijing, will travel to China later this year to smooth over bumpy diplomatic ties, Fairfax Media reported. Wang, who is a state councillor as well as China's foreign minister, said on Monday China "never interferes with the internal politics of other countries, let alone carry out the so-called infiltration of other countries". ($1 = 1.3201 Australian dollars) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 19:31 1237 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e589d4f 1 Business current-account-deficit,bank-indonesia,imports,exports Free Bank Indonesia (BI) has projected that the countrys current account deficit will reach 2.3 percent in 2018, higher compared to consensus estimates of 2.0 percent, as imports continue to rise against exports. "In the first quarter we booked a current account deficit of 2.1 percent; in one year it can be 2.3 percent or around US$23 billion," said outgoing BI Governor Agus Martowardojo after a meeting at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Tuesday. The current account deficit is a measurement of a countrys trade where the value of the goods and services it imports exceeds the value of the goods and services it exports. Indonesia booked a $1.63 billion trade deficit in April, overturning a surplus recorded a month earlier, due to surging imports, particularly on capital goods, Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data shows. Agus said current account deficit remained under control as long as it was still below the 3 percent threshold. Indonesia is among five ASEAN countries that have twin deficit in both fiscal and current account balances, aside from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines, data from Spain-based economic think tank FocusEconomics shows. Agus warned that, as long as the twin deficit problem still present, Indonesia would suffer from capital outflow if the global economy continued rebalancing. "So, lets make Indonesia an exporting country again. [We should] increase manufactured products and not rely much on commodities," he said. (gda) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 11:13 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e56ee54 1 Business Mitsubishi,Xpander,arrivals,the-philippines Free The first shipment of the Mitsubishi Xpander from Jakarta has arrived at Bauan International Port in Batangas, the Philippines, and will be ready for delivery to customers by the end of May 2018, says a statement from the Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC). Over 3,800 prepaid orders for the Xpander cars had been received by the end of April. 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, said MMPC president and CEO Mutsuhiro Oshikiri in a statement published on the companys website. The Xpander MPVs departed from Jakarta on Apr. 25. Mitsubishi Corporation Indonesia previously said that it had received orders for 21,000 Xpanders from the Philippines and expected to export 30,000 vehicles to that country this year. The Japanese carmaker also plans to export the MPVs to Thailand (6,000 cars) and Vietnam (1,000), while it will also export 1,000 cars to the African region, the Middle East (500) and South America (500). 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, added Oshikiri. He said that the newest addition to the MMPCs extensive product lineup was expected to contribute significantly to the companys growth. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 07:59 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e55d7c4 1 Business Jokowi,OSS-online-single-submission,launching,May Free The government has said it will implement the online single submission (OSS), designed to expedite business licensing procedures, in a gradual manner because of the large-scale nature of the program. Investment Coordinating Board head Thomas Lembong highlighted on Monday in Jakarta the ambitious nature of the program, which includes the formation of special task forces from ministries, government bodies as well as regional administrations. It is clear that the OSS [can] only be implemented gradually, said Thomas, adding that the officials involved would not only deal with business licensing procedures but also monitor the implementation of the national strategic projects. Thomas said the first phase of the OSS program would start this month and be launched by President Joko Jokowi Widodo. The government initially planned to launch the system in April, but it was delayed because the basic infrastructure to support the system, as well as the formation of the special task forces, was not yet complete. Lembong expressed hope that the program would be able to adapt to rapid changes in the economy, including the mushrooming of new business sectors such as fintech and e-commerce, among others. We hope that the OSS can be sustainable for years or even decades []. The design of the OSS has to be flexible to accommodate the emergence of new business sectors, he said. (bbn) OKLAHOMA CITY, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Federman & Sherwood has initiated an investigation into SunTrust Bank, Inc. with respect to a recently announced data breach. On April 20, 2018, SunTrust Bank, Inc. announced that an ex-employee may have stolen the information of about 1.5 million customers and provided it to a criminal third party. SunTrust Bank believes that the exposed information includes names, addresses, phone numbers and account balances. SunTrust Bank, which is one of the larger U.S. regional banks, said they became aware of the data breach in late February. In mid-April, SunTrust Bank became aware that the ex-employee may have attempted to print the information and share it outside of the bank. Federman & Sherwood, with offices in Dallas and Oklahoma City has served as lead counsel and on consumer steering committees recovering damages for consumers who have had their personal and credit information stolen. If you wish to discuss this action, obtain further information and participate in this litigation, or should you have any questions or concerns regarding this notice, please contact Robin Hester at rkh@federmanlaw.com or visit our firms website www.federmanlaw.com. Robin Hester FEDERMAN & SHERWOOD (405) 235-1560 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam, Riau Islands Tue, May 22, 2018 10:16 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e56c1ab 1 National Koopssusgab,Komnas,Komnas-HAM,Moeldoko,Presidential-Chief-of-Staff,Gatot-Nurmantyo,TNI,Indonesian-Military,terrorism,counterterrorism Free Presidential Chief of Staff Gen. (ret.) Moeldoko has said the government is pushing forward its plan to set up the Indonesian Militarys Joint Special Operations Command (Koopssusgab) to tackle terrorism despite criticism from several parties, including the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). There is no time [for debate] anymore. It has been carried out. The problem is no longer about whether we 'agree or disagree with the plan, the former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander told journalists on Monday in Batam, Riau Islands. Moeldoko declined to comment on Komnas HAMs objections to the plan to form the Koopssusgab. Let Komnas HAM bear the burden. Other parties have found that everything is fine [...]. The point is how to respect human rights. We are not afraid of human rights because we want to protect the people. Human rights is not something we should be afraid of, but something we should respect, said Moeldoko. He said Koopssusgab personnel were taught to always respect and uphold human rights so they could work optimally in the field. If the soldiers were afraid of human rights, they would not be able to [do their jobs], he added. Moeldoko initiated the Koopssusgab in 2015, when he was the TNI commander, but the unit was suspended by his successor, Gatot Nurmantyo. Involving the military in counterterrorism operations has raised concerns among human right activists, particularly regarding the possibility of human rights abuses committed in counterterrorism measures. Moeldoko said the Koopssusgab was the governments response to terrorism issues that were becoming more complex. We are preparing the Koopssusgab in anticipation of the state challenges we may face in the future. On Friday, President Joko Widodo agreed to reinstate the Koopsusgab to assist the National Police in antiterrorism operations under certain conditions. The joint command is composed of special forces from the TNI's three branches: the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), the Navy's Denjaka special squad and the Air Force's Bravo 90 unit. (hol/ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22 2018 Justice for all: A protester holds a poster that calls for the prosecution of former president Soehartos cronies during a rally to mark 20 years since Soehartos fall, in Jakarta on Monday. Two decades ago, Soeharto resigned from the presidency following a deadly riot that was triggered by a financial crisis marked by a plunging rupiah and mass unemployment. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan) For Maria Sanu, May 14, 1998, began as just another day. The day went by as her son, Stevanus Sanu, then 17 years old, watched television while his brothers told him to wash and dry clothes in the familys home in Perumnas Klender, North Jakarta. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22 2018 (JP/P.J. Leo) Legendary American rock band Guns N Roses will return to Jakarta on Nov. 8, bringing along a partially reformed lineup. Details on the venue and promoter are not yet known, but the Jakarta date is listed on their website gunsnroses.com as part of the Asian leg of its ongoing Not In This Lifetime Tour, which has run since 2016. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 12:44 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e575637 4 Business rice,data,imports,house-of-representatives,speaker,Bambang-Soesatyo,comments Free House of Representatives Speaker Bambang Soesatyo has called on the government to consolidate its data on rice stocks, following different statements from government officials on whether the country needed to import rice or not. Bambang questioned the persistently high price of rice, even though the government imported 500,000 tons of rice earlier this year and would soon import another 500,000 tons of the commodity. Logically, when the imported rice arrives, the price should be pressured, Bambang said on Monday in Jakarta as quoted by kompas.com. Earlier, in response to the government's plan to import rice, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said the nations rice production was adequate to meet domestic needs. We have prepared 20 to 30 percent higher stocks than stocks in other months, Amran said on Monday. Last week, the Trade Ministry's international trade director general Oke Nurwan announced the plan to import another 500,000 tons of rice. He added that the decision to issue an import permit was made during a meeting at the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister. Bambang said Indonesia needed accurate, consolidated food data to avoid controversial policies. Indonesia has no valid food data that can be a reference for all stakeholders. This makes government institutions like the Agriculture Ministry, the Trade Ministry and the State Logistics Agency use their respective data, he added, noting that these institutions all had different data. He called on President Joko Widodo to summon the related ministers and officials to end the controversial statements they had made about the government's policies. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Johannesburg, South Africa Tue, May 22, 2018 22:27 1237 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5908de 2 World kidnapping,South-Africa,Bitcoins,ransom Free A gang who kidnapped a South African teenager from a playground at the weekend have demanded a ransom in bitcoin cryptocurrency worth about $123,000, police said Tuesday. The 13-year-old boy was taken in the eastern province of Mpumalanga while he was playing with friends near his home and was driven away by captors in a car. "We are investigating a case of kidnapping that happened on Sunday in Witbank (town)," police spokesman Leonard Hlathi told AFP. "There was a demand that was made that the parents should deposit cash in bitcoins," he said, declining to give further details. Local media said the ransom note was left at the scene. "We demand ransom of 15 bitcoins to be paid into the below bitcoin wallet address to secure your child's safe release -- non negotiable," read the reported note. This case appears to be the first ransom demand in South Africa made in virtual currency. In March, US hackers demanding a ransom payable in bitcoin attacked computers of the Atlanta city government in the southern state of Georgia. Police in South Africa, where violent crime is common, have reported a recent rise in kidnappings, although it is often wealthy business people who are targeted. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya and Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Yogyakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 08:44 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e55f94c 1 National merapi,merapi-eruption,merapi-mountain,phreatic-eruption,PVMBG,Volcano,eruption Free The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) has raised the alert status of Mount Merapi in Magelang, Central Java, from normal to caution, the third-highest level. The center increased the status at 11 p.m. on Monday after a string of phreatic eruptions, followed by tectonic earthquakes. Authorities called on residents to prepare for evacuations and asked visitors, including hikers, to stay away from areas possibly affected by Merapi's volcanic activities. People must empty and avoid any activity within a 3-kilometer radius of Merapis peak, Research and Technological Development for Geological Disaster Agency (BPPTKG) head Hanik Humaida said on Monday evening. Any activity around the crater, including hiking, must be avoided except for volcanic investigation, Hanik said. (Read also: Disaster agency urges vigilance after two more Merapi eruptions) PVMBG recorded four phreatic eruptions since Monday morning. The increasing volcanic activity started on Monday morning around 1:25 a.m. when a phreatic eruption occurred lasting 19 minutes, spewing volcanic ash as high as 700 meters into the sky. Six hours later, at 9:38 a.m. another phreatic eruption occurred, spewing volcanic ash that reached up to 1,200 meters. Another one occurred around 5:50 p.m. lasting three minutes. The fourth one spewed at 1:47 a.m. on Tuesday morning for three minutes and reached 3,500 meters. There have been 10 phreatic eruptions at Mt. Merapi since 2010. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam, Riau Islands Tue, May 22, 2018 14:02 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e57b736 1 National Batam,terrorism,hang-nadim,Hang-Nadim-airport,TerrorAttacks,SurabayaBombings,Surabaya-bombings,#Surabaya,#SurabayaBombings Free Authorities at Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, have stepped up security measures involving Air Force personnel against any terror threats. Armed Air Force personnel has appeared at several spots across Hang Nadim, from the airports entrance gate to the passenger waiting room. The airports management increased its security level to Alert 1 on Saturday, a status that will remain in place Saturday until June 24. Hang Nadim management director Suwarso said on Tuesday that the security alert status had been raised to Alert 1 following a string of suicide bomb attacks in Surabaya and Sidoarjo, both in East Java, as well as in Pekanbaru, Riau, last week. We are anticipating [possible terror attacks]. With the increased alert level, security inspections at the airport will be tighter, said Suwarso. He said the joint unit deployed to secure Hang Nadim International Airport comprised of 48 personnel, 20 of whom were from the Air Force, 18 from the National Police and 10 from the Aviation Security (Avsec) department. Alert 1 will end after Idul Fitri next month. The alert level increase is not related to Ramadhan and Idul Fitri but to the incidents in Surabaya, said Suwarso. Twenty-five people, including the suicide bombers and some of their children, were killed and dozens were injured in the bombings in Sidoarjo and Surabaya. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 10:07 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e56b317 4 Business pgn,shareholders-meeting,pertagas,holding-company Free State-owned gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) will hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on June 29 to discuss a plan to establish a gas subholding company under the state-owned oil and gas holding company. State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina heads the oil and gas holding company along with PGN. Meanwhile, Pertamina gas subsidiary PT Pertagas will integrate with PGN to form a state-owned gas subholding company. Pertamina investment planning and risk management director Gigih Prakoso said in Jakarta on Monday that during the meeting, the PGN management would demand shareholders to support Pertagass assets valuation as part of the integration. During the June 29 meeting, shareholders [are expected] to agree on the value of Pertagass assets. Everything is on the timeline. It is merely an integration, said Gigih at a press conference on Monday, as quoted by kontan.co.id. Gigih said that all transactions related to the PGN-Pertagas integration would be carried out in accordance with existing regulations. As for the valuation, we are getting a proper appraisal involving the BPKP [the Development and Finance Comptroller] to ensure that the integration is based on business principles and can be accepted by the general public, Gigih added. Meanwhile, the State-owned Enterprises Ministry's mining and strategic industry deputy, Fajar Harry Sampurno, assured that there would be no layoffs in connection with either the oil and gas holding company or the gas subholding company. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 13:28 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5791dc 1 City electricity,electricity-pole,Tangerang,PLN Free PLN Banten, the Banten branch of state-owned electricity company PLN, will relocate 65 electricity poles following complaints that they disrupted traffic. Residents in Cikupa, Tangerang regency, complained about the power poles that stood in the middle of a road and later filed a formal report with the local administration. PLN Cikupa area manager Aep Saepudin acknowledged the problem and said he had ordered that the poles be relocated. "We are currently relocating them," he told Warta Kota on Monday, adding that he would communicate with relevant stakeholders including the local Bina Marga road agency. Aep explained that PLN had actually installed the poles before the roads were built. "It is impossible for us to install electricity poles in the middle of roads," he said. He added that relocating the poles would not disrupt the power supply in the area. (fac/wit) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 19:39 1237 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e58a575 1 City Monas,monas-rush,monas-park,StapleFood Free The Jakarta Police have begun questioning officials from the Jakarta administration over a social event in the National Monument (Monas) compound last month where two boys died. Monas management head Mundjirin was questioned on Tuesday as a witness and the police have scheduled to question Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency head Tinia Budiati on Thursday, tempo.co reported. "[Mundjirin] was questioned at around 11 a.m. today," the crimes and violence division head at the Jakarta Police General Crime Directorate, Adj. Sr. Comr. Jerry Siagian, said on Tuesday. Jerry said investigators would question Mundjirin in relation to the permit issuance of the event, which was organized by Forum Untukmu Indonesia. During the event, organizers distributed several vouchers, including some that could be exchanged for 1 kilogram of rice, three packages of instant noodles and 1 liter of cooking oil. The other vouchers could be exchanged for a meal package and bread. The event turned chaotic after hundreds of thousands of people attended the event amid weak crowd control measures. Mahesa Junaedi, 12, and Muhammad Rizki Syahputra, 10, are reported to have died after attending the event. Rizki's mother Komariah filed a police report accusing event committee head Dave Revano Santosa of negligence that led to her son's death. While she has retracted the report, the police have continued the investigation. Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno said he had told his subordinates to be cooperative during the investigation. (fac/wit) VICTOR, N.Y., May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) (NYSE:STZ.B), a leading beverage alcohol company, announced today that it has promoted Jim Sabia to the newly created role of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Constellation Brands. In this new role, Sabia will serve as the marketing lead for the companys Beer and Wine & Spirits Divisions, responsible for all aspects of marketing across Constellations entire beverage alcohol portfolio. Sabia will serve as a member of the companys Executive Management Committee and report directly to Bill Newlands, President and Chief Operating Officer. Our companys core mission is to build brands consumers love and Jim has been a driving force behind the success of our beer brands over the years, said Newlands. It is critically important that the voice of the consumer and brand-building principles have strong representation on our executive leadership team. In this new role, Jim will help ensure that consumer perspective and marketing strategy remain front and center at Constellation Brands across our entire beverage alcohol portfolio. Sabia joined Constellation Brands in 2007 as Vice President, Marketing for the companys spirits business. He was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer of Constellations beer division in 2009. Since then, growth trends for the companys beer portfolio have significantly outpaced the U.S. beer market and high-end beer segment. In addition, the company has built a portfolio of high-performing brands including Corona Extra, the #1 imported beer in the U.S. for more than 20 years, and Modelo Especial, the #2 imported beer and one of the fastest growing beer brands in the U.S. over the past several years. Im extremely excited and grateful for this opportunity, said Sabia. The #1 job of marketing is to generate consumer demand and Constellation Brands has one of the most powerful beverage alcohol portfolios in the industry to work with, including iconic brands across beer, wine and spirits. Our brands continue to have significant growth potential and were only scratching the surface. I look forward to working with our executive leadership and marketing teams to further accelerate growth in the years ahead. About Constellation Brands Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) (NYSE:STZ.B), a Fortune 500 company, is a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits with operations in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, Italy and Canada. Constellation is the No. 3 beer company in the U.S. with high-end, iconic imported brands such as Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra and Pacifico. The companys beer portfolio also includes Ballast Point, one of the most awarded craft brewers in the U.S., and Funky Buddha Brewery. In addition, Constellation is the world leader in premium wine, selling great brands that people love, including Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Kim Crawford, Meiomi, Mark West, Black Box, Ruffino and The Prisoner. The companys premium spirits brands include SVEDKA Vodka, Casa Noble Tequila and High West Whiskey. Based in Victor, N.Y., the company believes that industry leadership involves a commitment to brand building, our trade partners, the environment, our investors and to consumers around the world who choose our products when celebrating big moments or enjoying quiet ones. Founded in 1945, Constellation has grown to become a significant player in the beverage alcohol industry with more than 100 brands in its portfolio; about 40 wineries, breweries and distilleries; and approximately 10,000 talented employees. We express our company vision: to elevate life with every glass raised. To learn more, follow us on Twitter @cbrands and visit www.cbrands.com. MEDIA CONTACTS INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS Mike McGrew 773-251-4934 | Amy Martin 585-678-7141 Patty Yahn-Urlaub 585-678-7483 | Bob Czudak 585-678-7170 A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/59f50280-1975-4eab-8371-d4cb24a9db0e A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/823e55b3-9abc-4fd9-8115-820808b2aeb5 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 13:11 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e576839 1 National mikta,Retno-Marsudi,foreign-minister,Foreign-Affairs-Ministry,foreign-affairs,Foreign-Minister-Retno-Marsudi,creative-economy Free The government aims to strengthen its cooperation in the creative economy sector with partners Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia under the MIKTA grouping, the foreign minister has said. Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi made the statement on Monday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she had chaired the 12th session of the MIKTA Foreign Ministers' meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting. MIKTA was.established in 2013 as an informal consultation forum that grouped five middle-power countries. As this years MIKTA coordinator, Retno said, Indonesia was focusing on fostering creative economy cooperation and on contributing further to global peace. During the MIKTA meeting, Retno highlighted the various activities Indonesia had undertaken to promote cooperation among MIKTA members, such as in counterterrorism and global security, commerce and economy especially creative economy as well as in enhancing its peacekeeping capacity. She added that during its coordinatorship, Indonesia would continue to improve public awareness on MIKTA and forger closer community ties through activities such as campus visits and public seminars. The Foreign Ministry had announced a plan to hold a World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) this November, and Retno requested that all MIKTA members participate. The MIKTA foreign ministers also exchanged their views on several regional and global issues, including the situation the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East, especially Palestine and Syria, the conflict in Rakhine State and post-election Venezuela, as well as the global economy. Retno also called specifically on the MIKTA members not to join the US in moving their embassies to Jerusalem. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22 2018 Bilateral talks: Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi meets Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok on the sidleines of the G20 foreign ministers conference in Buenos Aires on Sunday. (Courtesy of Foreign Ministry Office) Indonesia has called on the worlds largest economies to do more to fight terrorism following a string of terrorist attacks in many places in Indonesia in the past few weeks. The G20 should show leadership and make concrete contributions to fighting terrorism in order to safeguard world peace and security, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Monday. The call was made by Retno during the G20 Meeting of Foreign Ministers, which began with a working dinner on Sunday evening at the San Martin Palace in Buenos Aires. Argentine President Mauricio Macri hosted the dinner as part of Argentinas presidency of the G20 in 2018. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 22, 2018 12:21 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e573753 1 National Surabaya-bombings,SurabayaBombings,surabaya,East-Java,#Surabaya,#SurabayaBombings,suicide-attack,suicide-bombings,SuicideBomber Free The bodies of seven other suspected terrorists involved in last week's bombings in Surabaya and Sidoarjo were buried on Sunday in three separate graves at a potter's field. The seven bodies had been held in the morgue at Bhayangkara Ngagel Hospital in Surabaya, East Java, but had lain unclaimed by their families and none had offered to bury them. Respecting the strong objections Surabaya residents had against burying the suspected terrorists in the city, the authorities took the bodies to Sidoarjo and buried them in a potter's field owned by the Sidoarjo administration that was usually reserved for burying unidentified people. I received information that they would send the seven bodies here to be buried this morning, Wiyono of the Sidoarjo Social Affairs Agency said on Sunday, as quoted by kompas.com. In the first grave, Dar, Tri Murtiono's son who was involved in the suicide bombing at Surabaya Police headquarters, was buried alongside FS and FR, Dita Oepriyanto's sons believed to be the suicide bombers in the attack on Diponegoro Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) in Surabaya. Puji Kuswati, Ditas wife, and Daf, another of Tris sons, were buried in the second grave. Tri and his wife, Tri Ernawati, were buried in the third grave. Their burial was conducted without a ceremony or prayers, and it took the graveyard workers no more than 45 minutes to finish burying the seven bodies. Ten of the 13 dead terror suspects have been buried in the Sidoarjo graveyard. The three other terror suspects, Anton Ferdiantono, Sari Puspitarini and their daughter HAR, were buried at the same graveyard on Friday. The three were killed after a bomb went off prematurely at the Wonocolo Rusunawa low-cost apartment in Sidoarjo, where they lived. Twenty-five people, including 13 suicide bombers or their children, were killed and dozens injured in the Surabaya and Sidoarjo bombings. (hol/ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Cho Chung-un (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network) Seoul, South Korea Tue, May 22, 2018 18:08 1237 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e585250 2 Business #SouthKorea,#automotive,#car,#Hyundai Free Two months after proposing a grand reform plan on its corporate governance, Hyundai Motor Group, the nations second-largest chaebol, came with yet another unexpected choice Monday, ditching the plan it previously hailed as a pathway to modernize the 50-year-old conglomerate. And its crown prince, the chairmans only son, vowed that he would come back with an improved version. What the company need now is the speedy and drastic reform and change, the automakers Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun stressed. Without securing sufficient trust and support from shareholders and the market, no one can efficiently drive any restructuring plan, said Chung in a written statement released Monday afternoon. Turning over a new leaf, Hyundai Motor Group will improve its business competitiveness and its governance structure by gathering ideas and evaluations suggested on the companys reform plan. The decision appears to have been made immediately after his trip to New York. The 48-year-old tycoon was in New York last week, reportedly meeting investors to convince them before holding a shareholders meeting on May 29. Throwing away the plan that may have taken years to prepare would have taken painstaking pluck, not to mention how it is unusual for a listed company to suddenly cancel a shareholders meeting, experts say. I think Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun has made a very brave and rational decision, said Bruce Lee, founder and CEO of Zebra Investment. He may have learned about the hostile market sentiment over the reform plan by meeting investors in New York and knew that he wont get the support he wanted from the National Pension Service, he said. Now back at square one, Hyundai and its heir are preparing a plan B as the group faces wider attention and heavier burden to come up with a legitimate reform drive that satisfies investors, while also having to smooth out the leadership succession process. He may start with expanding shareholder-friendly policies and even revise the merger ratio, Lee of Zebra said. While Chung could review adopting the holding company structure, he may not do so in the method suggested by Elliott, which has demanded Hyundai Motor Company merge with Hyundai Mobis to become a holding company, while splitting with financial affiliates to sidestep regulations banning manufacturing firms from owning financial affiliates. Adopting a holding company structure is an easy way for Hyundai, but it would cost a lot of money and time for the heir, according to experts. To go with a holding company structure, Hyundai must ditch a financial entity. And to secure his leadership in the group, Chung may have to find massive capital source as the value of his shares in Hyundai Glovis wont go up if not merging with any other lucrative businesses from Mobis, said Park Ju-gun, CEO of CEO Score, a local corporate tracker. Chung holds 23.2 percent in Hyundai Glovis, a logistics arm of the carmaker. Hyundai previously proposed to spin off after sales and module units from Mobis, an auto parts maker, and merge them with Glovis. Elliott and proxy advisers including Glass Lewis, Institutional Shareholder Services, and Korea Corporate Governance Service, voiced opposition that such a plan would benefit the interest of the owner family, not the shareholders. Under time pressure, Hyundai could slightly revise the swap ratio, a not-so-favorable choice for Chung. But uncertainty remains as Hyundai might not know how much would satisfy the markets expectation, Park said. Topics : This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Viet Nam News/ANN) Hanoi Tue, May 22, 2018 18:43 1237 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5878ea 2 SE Asia #Vietnam,#China,#ChinaMilitary,#China-ASEAN,#military Free Vietnam requests that China immediately stop sending bombers to conduct drills in Vietnams Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, said the Vietnamese Foreign Ministrys spokesperson, Le Thi Thu Hang. Hang made the statement in Hanoi on Monday in response to a reporters question regarding the exercises, saying Chinas dispatch of bombers to conduct take-off and landing drills in Hoang Sa has seriously violated Vietnams sovereignty over the archipelago. The move also runs counter to the Vietnam-China agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues as well as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China. Chinas acts have also adversely affected negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) between ASEAN and China, and have fuelled tensions as well as caused instability in the region, subsequently hampering efforts to maintain peace, stability and co-operation in the East Sea, she said. Vietnam has full legal grounds and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes in line with international law, the official affirmed. Vietnam asks China not to conduct militarization activities and to seriously respect the countrys sovereignty over the two archipelagoes. It also asks that China observe the Vietnam-China agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues and the DOC, and create a favorable environment for the maintenance of regional peace, stability and co-operation, Hang said Topics : This article appeared on the Viet Nam News newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post Residents of Singkawang are set to hold the Gawai Dayak Naik Dango cultural ceremony to express their gratitude to God. The event will be held at the Rumah Adat Dayak (Dayak cultural house) in South Singkawang district, Singkawang, West Kalimantan, from May 23-26 Gawai Dayak Naik Dango Singkawang chairman Ahyadi told Antara on Monday, Naik Dango is the expression of gratitude of the Dayak people to God, as we are blessed with good harvests on our farms or rice fields. In the ceremony, the Dayak people will mount rice on a dango (barn). Read also: Singkawang breaks record for Cap Go Meh celebrations The ritual, according to Ahyadi, must be preserved as the sacred procession was meant to express true gratitude to the creator of the universe. Aside from the ritual, the event includes a shield-painting competition, traditional Dayak cooking competition, Dayak singing contest for children as well as a Bujang and Dara Gawai pageant. The committee has invited the president of the National Dayak Customary Council, who is also the former governor of West Kalimantan. Several religious leaders and public figures are also scheduled to attend. Singkawang Dayak Cultural board secretary Herkulanus said the event would be the 15th Gawai Dayak Naik Dango since Bengkayang regency was founded by the Singkawang administration. He added that the activity was in line with the needs of the community. In previous editions, we only did the rituals, without the festivities. This year we are trying to add the traditional elements not only for the Dayak people but the general public as well, he added. (asw) Two bills, one proposed by local Council member Margaret Chin, will be introduced this week with the aim of curbing placard parking abuse. [Channel 5] Developer Michael Shah is buying a large collection of buildings from Silvershore Propoerties for more than $100 million. Most of the properties are in Brooklyn, but a couple are located on the Lower East Side. [The Real Deal] The genteel racism behind the New York Times Canal Street gentrification story: There are about 26,000 people of Asian descent living in Chinatown, with 44 percent living below the poverty line. But theyre not represented in the Times story either in terms of historical context or modern-day opinion. [Huffington Post] Desiree Cancela fled Puerto Rico for New York City after Hurricane Maria. Shes gotten a job and her daughter has been accepted at Manhattan Charter School on the Lower East Side. But Cancela cant find an affordable place to live. She says a NYCHA supervisor told her, Go back to Puerto Rico. [BuzzFeed] Dan Sweeney, a bartender at the 11th Street Bar, is purchasing the establishment along with partners Diarmuid and Meghan Joye, the Lower East Side residents who own Donnybrook and Lucky Jacks. [EV Grieve] Greenville, South Carolina, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KEMET Corporation (NYSE: KEM), a leading global supplier of electronic components, has expanded its industry-leading X7R 250 volt multilayer ceramic capacitor series to include smaller case sizes and increased capacitance values. These compact surface mount technology footprints benefit designers in saving printed circuit board space while reaching capacitance values up to 0.47 microfarads and case sizes as small as 0603. The X7R 250 volt product expansion supports the need for increasingly higher voltages in automotive applications such as lighting, electric charging, sensors and EMI suppression. In addition, 220 volt power systems are common across the globe, and small case size 250 volt X7R capacitors are ideal for high-power, small form factor devices. This series may be combined with KEMETs flexible termination system to provide mechanical robustness, and complements KEMETs portfolio of power inductor solutions. For more information, please visit www.kemet.com/X7R. About KEMET About KEMET KEMET Corporation is a leading global manufacturer of electronic components that meet the highest standards for quality, delivery and service. The company offers its customers the broadest selection of capacitor technologies in the industry, along with an expanding range of sensors, actuators and electromagnetic compatibility solutions. KEMET operates manufacturing facilities, sales and distribution centers around the world. The companys common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol KEM. Additional information about KEMET can be found at www.kemet.com. Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements included herein contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws about KEMET Corporations (the "Company") financial condition and results of operations that are based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections about the markets in which the Company operates, as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," variations of such words and other similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's judgment only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise. Certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcome and results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements are described in the Companys reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. # # # Attachment Washington, DC, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Three weeks ago, the Military Order of the Purple Heart made the announcement that it was suspending its National Service Program due to lack of funding. Today, the MOPH is pleased to announce that the Purple Heart Foundation has made it possible for the National Service Program to be continued through Fiscal Year 2019, and hopefully thereafter, thereby averting immediate closure as previously announced. This positive development has resulted from increases in donations and revenues, and by building new efficiencies in the Foundations business practices. The Department of Veterans Affairs has been advised that the MOPH will continue its Service Program as a viable, full service Veteran Service Organization. The new Fiscal Year 2019 grant approved by the Purple Heart Foundation will continue to MOPH programs, albeit at slightly reduced levels. Effective immediately, all MOPH Service Offices have been advised to restart the process of advising and assisting Veterans and their families with the processing of their VA claims and appeals. As we move forward, we will continue to look at our locations, functions and resources, and adjustments will be made where it is economically beneficial to do so. According to MOPH National Commander Neil Van Ess, MOPH is committed and dedicated to providing the best possible assistance to its Veteran-clients, and looks forward to rebuilding their trust and confidence as we strive to be the premiere VSO for all Veterans, their spouses and families. The "Military Order of the Purple Heart of the U.S.A. Inc.," (MOPH) was formed in 1932 for the protection and mutual interest of all combat wounded veterans and active duty men and women who have received the decoration. Chartered by the Congress, The MOPH is unique among Veteran Service Organizations in that all its members were wounded in combat or by an act of international terrorism. For this sacrifice, they were awarded the Purple Heart Medal. With grants from the Purple Heart Foundation, the MOPH and its Auxiliary promote Patriotism, Fraternalism, and the Preservation of America's military history. Until now, through its National Service Program, the MOPH has provided comfort and assistance to all Veterans and their families, especially those requiring claims assistance with the VA, those who are homeless, and those requiring employment assistance. Programs of the MOPH include VA Volunteer Service, JROTC Leadership Awards, Scholarships, Suicide Awareness, Americanism, Purple Heart Trail and Cities, Welfare, and numerous community service programs, all with the objective of service to Veterans and their families. Hangman tells the story of a serial killer who, as the title suggests, carves letters into his victims that provide clues to his next murders, in a twisted interpretation of the titular word game. Investigating the string of murders are detectives Will Ruiney and retired Ray Archer, played respectively by Karl Urban and Al Pacino. The latter was called out of retirement and onto the investigation after both of their badge numbers were found carved at the first crime scene. Predictably, Archer is a cop who could never let go of the job, and Ruiney is a man haunted by the unresolved murder of his wife. So far, so stereotypical. The pair are joined by New York Times reporter Christi Davies, played by a wasted Brittany Snow, who is determined to ease tensions between the police and public by telling the officers side of the story. Together the unlikely trio must race against the clock to save the victims, and attempt to uncover the Hangmans identity. An hour-and-a-half of sheer banality, Hangman is both formulaic and unoriginal, ultimately better suited to a police procedural pilot than a feature film. Its difficult to accept the films B-movie quality when such talented names are attached to it, yet so is the case. Snow and Urban go far beyond the call of duty and give solid performances, despite a cheesy, tired script and one-dimensional characterisations. Even Pacino pains to rescue his character, despite his experienced and wearied gravitas; the actors performances certainly give more to the film than the writers ever gave to them. Despite their best efforts, no star power can sufficiently elevate a film that is the mere sum of its cliches. The film is without any ounce of originality, a blatant rip-off of David Finchers Seven and others of the kind: Every turn of the narrative is predictable, from their first suspect proving not to be the killer to Christis eventual attack, only to be saved by the two detectives. As every plot is anticipated, the very premise of suspense on which a thriller film relies is nulled. The high-IQ sociopath murdering his way through childhood trauma, and not being stopped until he attacks the heroes personally. Nothing original is done with this tired concept and, coupled with an ensemble of stereotypes for characters, the film lacks the ability to incite even a shred of concern for its protagonists. An instantly forgotten remix of genre tropes, Hangman only manages to stay afloat by relying upon its overqualified cast. Hangman is available on digital download from the 28th September, distributed by The Movie Partnership. DJ Koze is renowned for his experimental electronic style. His past albums, remixes and even full-length DJ mixes have shown his vast capability for seamlessly mixing in samples and styles including disco, minimal techno, dream pop and hip-hop. Stefan Kozalla is the sort of artist who does not feel the need to recreate the fashionable music of the moment. He focusses his creative powers on building moments of enticing melancholy and displays them in 7.1 surround sound bursting with synesthetic colours. Knock Knock is Kozes first full-length album in almost five years. As with all of Kozes creative endeavours the album has gone down a storm, a true success. The mystical land that the German producer creates features a variety of vocalists such as Jose Gonzalez, Eddie Fummler, Kurt Wagner, Roisin Murphy, Speech from the 90s hip-hop band Arrested Development and even a name from his own label, Sophia Kennedy. Somehow Koze has managed to faithfully incorporate each vocalists individual and varying style whilst still creating a cohesive album. Music on My teeth is a beautifully, wholesome, well-formed representation of Jose Gonzalezs music, the chords are just as recognisable as the voice, and yet it still holds true to the electronic medium of the album. Speech features in Colours of Autumn, a throwback tune to the 90s hip-hop scene with dotted rhythms and chilled out rap, theres even a moment when the theremin features. Not only features but samples add to this albums intensely growing journey. Bonfire uses a sample of Justin Vernons vocals in Bon Ivers Calgary so well, that it could be contested that Koze has done a better job at merging techno with Bon Ivers original hits than Bon Iver themselves. Koze marries the vocals perfectly with his delicate, mystical and water like electronic effects. The highlight of the album has to be said to be the masterful disco track Pick Up. The soulful beauty exemplifies Kozes talent for sampling as he takes instrumental and vocal cuts from both Gladys Knight & the Pips Neither One Of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye) and Melba Moores Pick Me Up, Ill Dance. The chords from the latter song being the most noticeable disco element. The entire songs even back to Stardusts Music Sounds Better With You. This track has certainly taken the place of the best electronic disco track released this year and I doubt its title will be usurped any time soon. Throughout the album, Koze throws in references to a wide array of musical styles and genres. Street music takes its turn in both true recreation and simply evocative terms. For example, the panpipe addition in Club Der Ewigkeiten and the percussion timbre in Baby create a busking resonance in the music, adding another layer to Kozes artful creation. A particular favourite moment of mine is the beginning of the entire album which Koze rather cheekily introduces with an overwhelmingly sweet Disney-esque strings section. A rather creepy moment takes place at the end of Planet Haze where 'Hes got the whole world in his hands' is sung evoking feelings of childhood lullabies alongside horror film children. Almost every single song in the album follows the ideal electronic arrangement but Koze adds to this by beginning many songs purely with the genre often decided by his feature artist. Some songs even feature electronic styles iconic of other artists, for example, Jai Pauls low, pulsing, underwater effect is referenced in Baby and Bonfire. Another favourite moment of mine is the choice of recording quality used for the piano in This Is my Rock which gives the entire track a crackly vintage feeling, cemented with the soulful harmonies. Clearly, DJ Koze has lived up to the expectations of his fans and hopefully gained more through his unforgivingly, unfashionable, original and masterful piece of art. Knock Knock is a milestone for electronic music that is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon. harks TORONTO, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UpSnap Inc. (CSE:UP) ("UpSnap" or the "Company"), a leading provider of mobile and intent based advertising solutions, is pleased to announce a partnership with MarketStar, the industry leading provider of Sales as a Service solutions, partnered with some of the largest brands and agencies in the world. Under the terms of the agreement, UpSnap has engaged MarketStar to augment the existing sales organization and act as an additional sales channel for the Companys Intentional Direct Mail (IDM) technology. We are pleased to be working alongside MarketStar, the industrys leading sales as a service provider to assist with our distribution and sales strategy for IDM, said Bruce Howard, CEO of UpSnap. This relationship creates a new avenue for us to explore outside of the traditional direct sales channel currently utilized and in addition to our relationship with User Friendly Media. We anticipate our partnership with MarketStar will drive revenue growth moving forward as new customers recognize the unique value proposition that IDM offers. The Company will continue to pursue its direct sales strategy in addition to the partnership with MarketStar. Both IDM and the Companys legacy mobile DSP, targeted at SMBs will remain a focus of UpSnaps sales strategy over the course of 2018. About UpSnap UpSnap provides highly-targeted, data-driven mobile advertising to attract the ideal audience for brands big and small. Combining first-party proprietary data and real-time analytics, UpSnap goes beyond location to deliver site agnostic and results-driven campaigns that produce qualified, engaged customers. UpSnap tailors each campaign to align with unique business goals, delivering the right customers for more meaningful exposure and better business results. About MarketStar As the innovator of Sales as a Service solutions, MarketStar accelerates revenue with B2B Direct and Partner sales programs, through an intelligent blend of telephone, digital and field engagements. MarketStar has launched, sold and supported thousands of products and services on behalf of the biggest and brightest companies across the globe. MarketStar is part of the Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC). For further information, please contact: Alex Pekurar, CPA, CA Chief Financial Officer UpSnap Inc. 416-996-7466 apekurar@upsnap.com Babak Pedram Investor Relations Virtus Advisory Group Inc. 416-644-5081 bpedram@virtusadvisory.com Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information Certain information set out in this News Release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "hope", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "scheduled", "believe" and similar expressions. The forward- looking information set out in this News Release relates to future events or our future performance. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which cause actual results to vary from those express or implied by such forward looking statements. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and based on what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws. Furthermore, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward looking statements set out in this news release. The Companys forward looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this press release. The Greek island of Corfu, located west of the peninsula, looks more tempting by the minute for young travellers . Low-cost airlines like EasyJet are offering round trips to the destination for as cheap as 50 from major European airports. Corfu should be on your radar this summer if youre looking to get some rest by the sea . The allure of the islands beaches is far superior to that of its underwhelming nightlife. Ipsos and Corfu Town , usually cited as popular nightlife spots , appear cruelly empty on weekend summer nights. Could the tired old tunes playing in the few overpriced clubs be driving people away? So if youre heading to Corfu with the intention of painting the town red, think again. The only colour worth exploring on the island is blue. Best for cove hopping Legend has it, Palaiokastritsa bay is where Ulysses first landed in Corfu, which makes it the perfect start to your itinerary. Compared to other routes on the island, getting to Palaiokastritsa is hassle-free. Streets connecting the bay with nearby towns such as Ipsos and Afionas are wide and in good condition, which is not exactly a given in Corfu. Youll find authentic Greek eateries and street food, serving not-too-spicy dishes perfect for a hot day. Our favourite? Paprika and herb beef burgers with creamy feta cheese (approx. 7). Palaiokastritsa has some of the most unspoilt beaches on the island. Only Ampelaki bears a slight human touch, with kiosks, inflatables and a boardwalk. Its also the convenient location of Palaiokastritsa Boat Rentals: your golden ticket to the bays coves. What youll see once you set sails wont be too different from the shimmering landscape that welcomed Ulysses to the island. Unlike his, however, your vessel will be equipped with an engine and a cooler for smooth navigation. An abundance of little coves sit along the rugged coastline. The white-pebbled havens, carved into the islands mountainous sides, are often deserted, caressed only by soft, crystal waves. The water around them shines with some of the richest blue in the Mediterranean. Best for sunbathing and diving Thousands of smooth, white pebbles fill up Kassiopi beach, reflecting light and casting a warm glow. A few hours in the divine sunshine, and you might start to believe Helios, ancient Greek god of the sun, is sending you those rays himself. The bumpy surface forces sunbathers to upgrade from a towel to a sunbed, making for a more luxurious tanning experience. Luckily, luxury comes cheap, as sunbeds are available to rent at a few euros for the whole day. Kassiopi is surrounded by fragrant Mediterranean maquis, teeming with wild rosemary, thyme and broom. Its overlooked by rocky cliffs that were made for diving. Best for sunsets and swimming Agios Gordios and Logas are the only places to be whilst the sun goes down. Both conveniently facing west, the two beaches offer unparalleled sunset views. You will stare Helios right in the face as he begins to descend below the horizon, setting the sky and the sea on fire. Agios Gordios is only accessible via narrow village streets that are alive with tavernas and friendly locals. The road overlooks the beach from above, revealing its immensity. Rugged rocks shield the stretch of sand from most winds, providing tranquil waters perfect for a relaxing swim. Logas, on the other hand, centres its whole brand around sunset viewing. And by brand we mean a handcrafted sign dubbing it the sunset beach. The stoney beach lies at the bottom of towering rock walls, at the edge of nearby village Peroulades. The view can be enjoyed from above at the trendy bar Panorama, which hosts a sophisticated aperitif with tropical fruit cocktails (5-10) every Sunday. It even has a glass viewpoint for those brave enough to marvel at the shoreline right beneath their feet. Logas's sunset has a surreal lilac hue to it, with colours unlike anything wed ever seen before. Best for getting away from the crowd True adventurers shouldnt miss Kontogialos beach, a secluded oasis hiding beyond the wilderness. Ancient pines and oak trees surround the beach for miles, casting a cool shade all the way up the green hills above. Though the sea is not as clear as it is elsewhere around the island, its emerald hue and rocky natural pools make up for it. The catch? A tortuous hiking path is the only way to reach Kontogialos. Luckily, Gyaliskari Tavern, the beachs small restaurant, serves delicious fuel in the form of Greek yoghurt, chicken pita wraps and fresh calamari to enjoy before making your way back. Most dishes are under 10. Best avoided Dassia and Ipsos Beach are far from terrible. By generous standards, they are even decent, if you overlook the busy road right next to Ipsos Beach and Dassias sticky, dusty sand. Both are located around Ipsos, a lively town dense with cheap accommodation. However, theyre not worth your time considering the splendour that awaits elsewhere along the coast. Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. Please check our main navigation pages for other content: Home Page VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glance Technologies Inc. (CSE:GET.CN) (OTCQB:GLNNF) (FKT:GJT) today announced it has entered into an agreement with Californias Una Mas Mexican Grill to begin introducing the Glance Pay mobile payment app to Una Mas chain of 15 Mexican restaurants. Una Mas Blossom Hill location in San Jose is now live and accepting Glance Pay. Glance Pay provides such a great experience for our customers and staff, says Una Mas President and CEO, Mike DiPietro of Golden Bay Investment Group, Inc. We want to stay competitive with how our guests order, pay and earn rewards. Glance Pay gives us this advantage while helping us increase revenue and operational efficiencies. As our first U.S. chain of this size, Una Mas represents a significant breakthrough, says Glance Technologies CEO Desmond Griffin. We are energized by the recent traction we have made and believe this positions us for further success with signing U.S. chains. Glances growth story is continuing at a record pace. As previously announced, the company has signed 136 new locations (including Una Mas) and launched 50 new locations in the roughly 11 weeks since the current quarter began on March 1, making it Glances best quarter to date for launches and signings with weeks still left to go in the quarter. About Una Mas Mexican Grill and Golden Bay Investment Group, Inc. The first Una Mas Mexican Grill opened in 1991 in San Jose, California. With 15 locations, Una Mas goal will always be to serve unique Mexican favorites using only the freshest, healthiest ingredients in all of its authentic dishes. Golden Bay Investment Group, Inc. invests in and operates food and beverage companies and retail outlets. Specializing in franchising, with over 30 years of successful experience, Golden Bay Investment Group owns and operates the Una Mas Mexican Grill franchise chain. About Glance Technologies Inc. Glance Technologies owns and operates Glance Pay, a streamlined payment system that revolutionizes how smartphone users choose where to shop, order goods and services, make payments, access digital receipts, redeem digital deals, earn great rewards and interact with merchants. Glance offers targeted in-app marketing, geo-targeted digital coupons, customer feedback, in-merchant messaging and custom rewards programs. The Glance Pay mobile payment system consists of proprietary technology, which includes user apps available for free downloads in iOS (Apple) and Android formats, merchant manager apps, a large-scale technology hosting environment with sophisticated anti-fraud technology and lightning-fast payment processing. Glance has also recently purchased a blockchain solution and is working on a rewards-based cryptocurrency intended to be integrated into the Glance Pay app. More information about Glance can be found at www.glance.tech. For further information: David Jan Paola Ashton Investor Relations VP Business Development 1-866-258-1249 604-839-0337 investors@glancepay.com paola@glancepay.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively forward-looking information) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: anticipate, believe, could, expand, expect, exploring, intend, estimate, exploring, may, plan, pursue, potential, projected, should, thinks, upcoming, will and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. These statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, relate to the discussion of Glances business strategies and its expectations concerning future operations, sales, new products and features including pre-ordering, new users and new merchants, increase of Merchant revenue and efficiencies, success with signings of U.S. chains, and to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Such risk factors include, among other things, the risks related to the development of a rewards-based cryptocurrency and integration into the Glance Pay app, the development of new features for the Glance Pay App, and growth of the number of Glance merchants. For additional information with respect to these and other factors and assumptions underlying the forward looking statements in this press release, see the section entitled Risk Factors in the most recent Annual Information Form and Prospectus of Glance, which may be accessed through Glances profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Glance cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by Glance is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking information, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. DTE Energy supplies 2.2 million customers with energy in Southeast Michigan. With 47,000 miles of electric distribution lines criss-crossing communities from Monroe to Port Austin, DTE Energys services naturally criss-cross demographics, too. Thats why theyve partnered with Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency to provide utility payment assistance for low-income families living in Wayne County. On June 6, the two organizations are jointly hosting a Customer Assistance Day at Wayne County Community College District, 21000 North Line, Taylor. During the event, attendees looking to reduce energy-related expenses will meet with representatives to determine their eligibility for receiving bill payment assistance. Attendees must bring the following documents to apply: *Valid Michigan State issued Picture ID for everyone 18 and older in the household with a current address matching the service location *Certified proof of Social Security numbers (cards, certified tax returns, DHS statements, etc.) for everyone in the household *All household income received for the last 60 days (must include intake date) including check stubs, proof of paid child support received, DHHS cash assistance award letter, pension SSD/SSI award letters *Copy of your DTE Energy utility bill *Receipt of $75 paid to DTE Energy within 30 days of the appointment date The event runs from 1 to 6 p.m. on June 6. Appointments are required. To schedule an appointment, call 313-388-9799. The Southgate American Legion Post No. 478 and the Southgate VFW Post No. 9283 will combine to celebrate Memorial Day on May 24. Their combined event is set for 6 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Library, 14680 Dix-Toledo. Guest speaking this year is Mayor Joseph Kuspas brother, a retired U.S. Army Colonel. Col. John Kuspa, who served within the Army Corps of Engineers, will participate in the event in his hometown for the first time in several years. Joeseph Kuspa said he and American Legion Cmdr. Jim Austin have been trying to coordinate this for several years. Jim and I have been trying to arrange schedules with John over the past few years to arrange his participation, he said. So it seems rather fitting that on this 150th anniversary of the observance of Memorial Day and our 60th anniversary as a city, to have a guest speaker with solid Southgate roots. John Kuspa is a 1963 graduate of the former Schafer High School. He also graduated from West Point in 1967. He served 26 years of active duty in the Army, including being deployed in Vietnam. After getting out of the service, he spent an additional 19 years as a civilian contractor at the Pentagon. Much of that time was working directly with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, advising on nuclear matters. I commend our local American Legion and VFW posts for once again presenting our solemn Memorial Day service and I urge our residents to attend this heartfelt community event, Joseph Kuspa said. As Americans, we owe so much to our fallen soldiers. Taking the time to attend this ceremony and truly mourn their loss is most appropriate. The mayor said hes proud not only of his brother, but of all of the veterans who have served the United States. As a family and a community, we are extremely proud of Johns service to our country, he said. Having spent time growing up in Southgate, John went on to a stellar career in the United States Army. We look forward to his remarks as he reflects on his 26 years of active duty and the significance of this nations Memorial Day observance. Starbucks has announced its intention to be "the third place, a warm and welcoming environment where customers can gather and connect," which means, "Any customer is welcome to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase." This comes in the wake of an April incident at a Philadelphia location, where a manager called the police on two black men who were waiting for a friend to appear. The men, who were not disruptive, had not purchased anything yet, and the situation left the retail coffee behemoth's founder "ashamed." @Starbucks The police were called because these men hadnt ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why its never happened to us when we do the same thing. pic.twitter.com/0U4Pzs55Ci Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 12, 2018 Starbucks said in a press release over the weekend, "When using a Starbucks space, we respectfully request that customers behave in a manner that maintains a warm and welcoming environment by: Using spaces as intended; Being considerate of others; Communicating with respect; Acting responsibly." The company added, "In situations where a customer is behaving in a disruptive manner that does not maintain the third place environment and interferes with the Starbucks Experience for others, Starbucks partners should follow the 'Addressing Disruptive Behaviors' procedure." This move has split Starbucks customers/those who constantly seem to be studying for law school exams. A retiree in Wisconsin, Ron Raduechel, told the Wall Street Journal he'll stop going to the chain, because "it sounds like Starbucks is turning their stores into homeless shelters. Their coffee is strong but their management is weak." Starbucks is also giving cover to the locations' managers by outlining, as the Washington Post reports, "eight examples of when employees should call 911, including a gas leak or fire, robbery, a threat of violence, the use or selling of illegal drugs and destruction of store property" and offering a "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 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. Starbucks will be closing its 8,000+ U.S. locations for racial-bias education on May 29. The company also settled with the two men arrested in Philadelphia, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, for an undisclosed amount. The men also settled with the city of Philadelphia, giving them each a dollar and putting aside $200,000 towards a program for entrepreneurs. Highlights include Uber: Invasion #15 and Crossed +100: Mimic #5. Source: Avatar Press CROSSED +100: MIMIC #5 $5.99 Cover: Gabriel Andrade Writers: Christos Gage, Pat Shand Artists: Emiliano Urdinola, Raulo Caceres MR, color, 48 pages, monthly Two epic tales in every giant-size Crossed +100 Mimic issue! Christos Gage heads down a dark path in MIMIC, as Fleshcook and Julie are faced with as assault that may wipe out both of their peoples! In second feature, Pat Shand teams up with artist Raulo Caceres to deliver a chapter of AMERICAN HISTORY X, based on the events Moore spotlighted as key points in the saga. Available with a sizzling array of covers: Regular by Gabriel Andrade, History X Wraparound and American History X by Raulo Caceres, Fatal Fantasy and Hellish Homage by Renato Camilo, and Ms Mayhem by Christian Zanier. Don't miss the three-cover Crossing Over set by Matt Martin, each limited to just 250 copies, nor the Century (of Blood) cover limited to 100 copies also by Camilo. Release Date: Aug-31-2018 UBER: INVASION #15 $3.99 Writer: Kieron Gillen Covers and Art: Daniel Gete MR, Color, 32 pages, bi-monthly No sooner do they regroup from the last epic battle, Maria and her Russian forces face their Japanese foes, with a stunning turn of events! Available with Regular, Wraparound, War Crimes, Propaganda, Blitzkrieg, and VIP Premium by series artist Daniel Gete. Release Date: Aug-31-2018 Highlights include Beyonders #1, Brothers Dracul #5, and Hot Lunch Special #1. Source: Aftershock Comics ANIMOSITY: EVOLUTION #8 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / On sale 8.15.18 Writer: Marguerite Bennett Artist: Eric Gapstur Colors: Rob Schwager Letters: Marshall Dillon Cover: Eric Gapstur w/ Guy Major As hostilities rise between the overlord and underworld of the Animals, civil war prepares to break looseand annihilate everything they have fought to achieve. From the brilliant mind of creator/writer Marguerite Bennet (INSEXTS, Bombshells and Batwoman) with artwork by SHIPWRECK's Eric Gastur, ANIMOSITY: EVOLUTION is an exciting new series that expands on this already amazing world! UPC: 754697989420 Pullquote: "AfterShock has earned their reputation for putting out some of the most diverse and entertaining comics in the industry. Animosity is a prime example of this." Steve Gustafson of 411 Mania A WALK THROUGH HELL #4 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / On sale 8.29.2018 Writer: Garth Ennis Artist: Goran Sudzuka Colors: Ive Svorcina Letters: Rob Steen Cover: Andy Clarke w/ Jose Villarrubia Shaw has a story to tell, but McGregor isn't too sure if he wants to hear it. With the utter depravity of Carnahan's crimes revealed, the two agents begin to understand the nature of their predicamentand things turn out to be worse than they could ever have guessed. A new kind of horror story for modern America, written by Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys, Crossed) and drawn by Goran Sudzuka (Y: The Last Man, Hellblazer) that HAD to be told at AFTERSHOCK! UPC: 754697989529 Pullquote: "...a slow burn that meticulously adds levels of spine tingling "extreme discomfort and anxiety" with every page" -Dave Robbins of The Brazen Bull BABYTEETH #13 / $3.99 / 32 pages / color/ on sale 8.22.18 Writer: Donny Cates Artist: Garry Brown Color: Mark Englert Letterer: Taylor Esposito Cover: Garry Brown w/ Mark Englert The saga of Sadie Ritter and her adorable little hellspawn continue as the search for Clark and Heather takes some drastic and deadly turns. What lurks in the crimson shadows of the Red Realm? Probably nothing good. But you're all about to find out! From Donny Cates (RELAY, Thanos, Venom, Doctor Strange, God Country, Redneck) and Garry Brown (THE REVISIONIST) comes BABYTEETHa pulse-pounding horror series that HAD to be told at AfterShock! UPC: 754697989376 Pullquote: Every issue of Babyteeth has pulled me in deeper and deeper...it is a riveting story with real, relatable characters. This is what makes for powerful, pulse-pounding horror. HorrorTalk.com BEYONDERS #1 / $3.99 / 32 pages / colors / on sale 8.29.2018 Writer: Paul Jenkins Artist: Wesley St. Claire Color: Wesley St. Claire Letterer: Cover A: Wesley St. Claire Cover B: TBD A young boy obsessed with crop circles and cryptography finds his boring life turned upside-down when he discovers that all of his conspiracy theories are true, sending him on the ultimate treasure hunt for an ancient secret spanning thousands of years. What is the connection between a lost mountaineer, an indecipherable manuscript, and the lost library of Alexandria? How is this connected to a one-eyed, flatulent Welsh Corgi and endless plates of corned beef sandwiches? Find out in...Beyonders! From Paul Jenkins (ALTERS, Wolverine: Origin, Sentry) and Wesley St. Claire (FU JITSU, Teen Titans) comes the mystery series that HAD to be told at AFTERSHOCK! BROTHERS DRACUL #5 / $3.99 / 32 pages / colors / on sale 8.29.2018 Writer: Cullen Bunn Artist: Mirko Colak Color Artist: Maria Santaolalla Letterer: Simon Bowland Cover: Mirko Colak w/ Maria Santaolalla What horror turned Vlad and Raduthe two most feared vampire hunters in the known worldagainst one another? Will the brothers forgive one another or will deeper and more sinister familial mysteries drive them further apart? From writer Cullen Bunn (DARK ARK, UNHOLY GRAIL, X-Men Blue, Deadpool, Venom) and artist Mirko Colak (UNHOLY GRAIL,The Punisher) comes a tale of brothers and blood that HAD to be told at AfterShock Comics! Pullquote: "Bunn and Colak are clearly onto another winner here with The Brothers Dracul, providing a sharp and wickedly unconventional look at the formative years of Vlad the Impaler." Craig Neilson-Adams of Big Comic Page CLANKILLERS #2 / $3.99 / 32 pages / color / on sale 8.08.2018 Writer: Sean Lewis Artist: Antonio Fuso Color: Stefano Simeone Letters: Fave Sharpe Cover: Antonio Fuso ISSUE TWO! Like the demented step child of Game of Throwns, Braveheart and Mark Millar's Kick Ass, CLANKILLERS brings readers into an ancient Ireland filled with clans, mystics, warriors and monsters of mythic proportion! Finola and Cillian track down the famed Dullahanthe headless horseman of the Irish countryside! At home, their father Padraig is unleashing his wrath on anyone who comes near, even as his daughters' own powers and villainy are beginning to rise against him. The body count also rises and the mythology expands in this next chapter of this hit new series! From writer Sean Lewis (BETROTHED, The Few) and artist Antonio Fuso (James Bond, G.I. Joe) comes a revenge thriller that's sure to become a fan-favorite. UPC: 754697989543 DARK ARK #9 / #3.99 / 32 pages / color / on sale 8.01.2018 Writer: Cullen Bunn Artist: Juan Doe Letterer: Ryane Hill Cover: Juan Doe The Mother of All Monsters (and that's more than just a figure of speech) has decided to wage war against Shrae's Ark. Shrae is a powerful sorcerer, but he's no match for such a legendary creature...especially when all of the beasts on board his vessel are heeding their mother's call! From writer Cullen Bunn (UNHOLY GRAIL, X-Men Blue, Deadpool, Venom) and artist Juan Doe (ANIMOSITY: THE RISE, AMERICAN MONSTER, WORLD READER) comes a sinister tale of biblical proportions that HAD to be told at AfterShock Comics! Pullquote: "Bunn, Doe, and Hill are a dream team, each contributing mightily to making this a fantastic book!" Grant Stoye of Court of Nerds HER INFERNAL DESCENT #5 / $3.99 / 32 Pages / color / on sale 8.29.2018 Writers: Zac Thompson & Lonnie Nadler Artist: Kyle Charles Color Artist: Dee Cunniffe Letterer: Ryan Ferrier Cover Artist: Kyle Charles w/ Dee Cunniffe Lynn enters the center of the Inferno with those who turn their backs. Lucifer lies in wait with the final offer to end her suffering. Will Lynn find her forsaken family? From Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson, the writers of the break-out hit The Dregs and Cable, and Kyle Charles, the artist of Roche Limit, comes a journey through hell that HAD to be told at AfterShock Comics! UPC: 754697989505 Pullquote: "...every literature lover (or writer) will love!" David Brooke of AiPT! HOT LUNCH SPECIAL #1 / $3.99 / 32 Pages / color / On sale 8.08.2018 Writer: Eliot Rahal Artist: Jorge Fornes Color: Jorge Fornes Letters: Taylor Esposito Cover A: Jorge Fornes Cover B: Robert Hack From Eliot Rahal, the writer of Cult Classic, The Paybacks and Quantum & Woody comes HOT LUNCH SPECIAL, with art by Jorge Fornes (Amazing X-Men, Wolverine, Magnus)! A midwestern noir series set in the harsh landscape of the northern Minnesota Iron RangeHot Lunch Special is all about family, food and the fight for survival. The Khourys are a classic immigrant success story: A fractious and quarrelsome Lebanese family who carved their slice of the American Dream by becoming the largest distributors of vending machine sandwiches in the upper northern Midwest. Unfortunately, the Khourys gains have been ill-gotten and a branch of the Chicago Irish Mob has come back to collect a past debt. Fealty is demanded, shots are fired, and long-hidden family secrets are fully revealed. Now, Dorothy Khoury, the daughter of the family patriarch is forced to unite her splintered bloodline and fight back. Only one question is worth asking...is blood thicker than sandwiches? THE LOST CITY EXPLORERS #3 / $3.99 / 32 pages / colors / on sale 8.15.2018 The adventure is on! Hel Coates, her brother and their millennial teenage friends are running from mercenaries, hiding from monsters and exploring the dangerous world of NYC underground tunnels. But will they find the mysterious, supernatural doorway to the Lost City of Atlantis? Explore science fiction and archeology in this new adventure series by Zack Kaplan (Eclipse, Port of Earth) and Alvaro Sarraseca (Magnus, Turok) that HAD to be told at AfterShock! PESTILENCE: A STORY OF SATAN #4 / #3.99 / 32 pages / color / On sale 8.22.2018 Writer: Frank Tieri Artist: Oleg Okunev Color Artist: Rob Schwager Letterer: Marshall Dillon Cover: Tim Bradstreet Satan has made his move. Roderick Helms and the former members of Fiat Lux find themselves scrambling to counter. Can they prevent this newer deadlier version of the Black Plague from evolving any further? Written by the master of violence, gore, and mayhem, Frank Tieri (Harley Quinn, Marvel vs Capcom, Wolverine, Deadpool), with spectacular art from illustrator Oleg Okunev, and covers by Eisner Award-nominated artist Tim Bradstreet (The Punisher, Hellblazer) comes the series that HAD to be told at AfterShock Comics! UPC: 754697989512 Pullquote: "The truth about the Crusades is finally told and you'd be dead wrong to miss it. Great characters and detailed art make this a must read." Patrick Hayes of SciFiPulse RELAY #2 / $3.99 / 32 pages / color / on sale 8.08.18 Writer: Zac Thompson Story: Zac Thompson, Eric Bromberg & Donny Cates Artist: Andy Clarke Color Artist: Dan Brown Letterer: Charles Pritchett Cover artist: Andy Clarke w/ Dan Brown The science fiction epic of the summer continues! Equal part The Fifth Element and Philip K Dick, RELAY is an exploration of monoculture, identity and the deceptive nature of legend set in a thriving future where humanity forcibly assimilates new worlds. Every newly discovered planet is unified culturally through a monolithic structure known as the Galactic Relaya structure that many across the galaxy resent. The one wish of the Relay has been fulfilled but what secrets does Hank Donaldson's world hide? And just how far will the mysterious interstellar savior go to keep them? Written by Zac Thompson (Cable, The Dregs, HER INFERNAL DESCENT) with art by Andy Clarke (REPLICA, Batman) and a story conceived by Zac Thompson, Eric Bromberg (PESTILENCE) and Donny Cates (BABYTEETH, Doctor Strange, Thanos, Venom, God Country), this is a powerhouse of a series that could only be told at AfterShock. UPC: 754697989482 VOLITION #1 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / on sale 8.15.2018 writer: Ryan Parrott artist: Omar Francia color: Omar Francia letterer: Zak Saam cover: Omar Francia In a not-too-distant future, artificial intelligence has spawned a race of robots that serve all of humanity. Robots are considered second class citizens, but a few in the A.I. community are fighting back in a constant struggle for equal rights. When a debilitating virus called "Rust" threatens all artificial life, salvation lies in the most unlikely of robotic heroesnot a warrior or an solider, but in an obsolete construction worker and a dedicated caregiver. Together, HALE-19 and AMBER-7T embark on a perilous journey in search of a cure that could potentially change the balance of power on Earth forever. The next bold adventure from Aftershock Comics begins here! From writer Ryan Parrott (Saban's Go Go Power Rangers, Star Trek, Batman: Gates of Gotham) and new artist sensation Omar Francia (Star Wars, Mass Effect) comes an epic quest into a dazzling future world told through the lens of AfterShock Comics! Backways Vol. 1 Trade Paperback Collection: "All The Forgotten Things" $14.99 / 120 pages / color / on sale 8.01.2018 Writer: Justin Jordan Artist: Eleonora Carlini Colorist: Silvia Tidei Letterer: Marshall Dillon Cover artist: Eleonora Carlini w/ Silvia Tidei There is a hidden nation, a nation of magic and madness, a nation that exists in all the forgotten places. In your basement, your attic, in the haunted house down the streetany one of these might be a part of the Backways. Anna Merrick lost someone in the Backways and she'll stop at nothing to get them backeven if it means unleashing something unimaginable! As Anna is led deeper and deeper into the Backways by her guide Coyote Bones, her journey becomes more perilous as they're stalked by ever more dangerous enemies. Will Anna save those most precious to herand at what cost? Collecting the magical first arc of Backwaysissues #1-5written and created by Justin Jordan (STRAYER, Green Lantern: New Guardians) and with art by Eleonora Carlini (Batgirl, Doctor Who) this story will be appeal to fans of Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia! Jimmy's Bastards Vol. 2 Trade Paperback Collection $14.99 / 112 pages / color / on sale 8.22.2018 Writer: Garth Ennis Artist: Russ Braun Color Artist: John Kalisz Letterer: Rob Steen Cover Artist: Andy Clarke w/ Jose Villarrubia Jimmy Regent, Britain's number one super-spy has got it all: intrigue, adventure, a license to shoot whoever he likes and beautiful women falling at his feet. But there's a price to pay for Jimmy's multiple romantic conqueststhe results of which have come calling in the worst possible way... How the mighty have fallen: Finally triggered into his safe space by the ghastly revelations of his evil offspring, Jimmy Regent finds himself locked away in a rubber room. But as Jimmy starts his new life bouncing off the walls, Nancy uncovers the truth behind our hero's gruesome fateand realizes she's going to have to hand the bad guys solo. "Jimmy's Bastards...is a crazy, offensive, beautiful debut to what is sure to be another Garth Ennis winner!" Lucas Wagner of thatsnotcurrent.com Written and created by Garth Ennis (Preacher and The Boys) with art from Russ Braun, Jimmy's Bastards volume 2 collects the entire thrilling second arcissues 6-9. Gothamist has learned that two top executives at Success Academy announced their resignation earlier this month, fueling uncertainty among some employees at the controversial charter network, which has earned a reputation in recent years for its demanding work environment and high turnover rates. On May 9th, Eva Moskowitz, the head of Success Academy, sent an office-wide email informing employees that Chief Operating Officer Kris Cheung and Chief Financial Officer Robert Price will both be leaving the company. Cheung is slated to become the COO of KIPP charter network in Texas, while Price will be moving into a consultant role next month, according to the email. The departures come less than a month after the billionaire investor Daniel Loeb announced that he'd be ending his five-year run as chairman of the school's board in July. "It's concerning," an employee told Gothamist. "Generally, there's been low morale lately because of how much turnover there's been. We haven't been told what the plan is, and it doesn't feel like anything will get done until Kris [Cheung] gets replaced. A lot of things are being put on hold. A lot of teams are short staffed." The charter network, which serves 15,500 students at 46 schools throughout the city, has long been plagued by reports of high turnover among employeesat some schools, annual teacher turnover rates have exceeded 50 percent, meaning that more than half of teachers don't return the following year. At charter schools citywide, the turnover rate among teachers was 41 percent in 2016, compared to 18 percent for teachers at district schools. In recent years, state test scores have shown that Success Academy schools significantly outperformed the city's public schools, as well as schools in wealthier districts throughout the state, like Scarsdale and Chappaqua. Last year, 95 percent of Success Academy students passed the math exam and 84 percent passed the reading examrates that are more than double what the city's public schools see. Those results have contributed to a large uptick in applicants: a total of 17,700 students are now vying for 3,288 seats in the upcoming school year. But repeated controversies at the school have overshadowed some of that success, including reports that school principals created "Got To Go" lists to expel struggling students, a lawsuit alleging discrimination against students with disabilities, and a video showing a teacher humiliating a first grader and ripping up the student's homework. "It generally is the case that charters school have a much higher rate of employee turnover," said Leo Casey, the executive director of the Albert Shanker Institute, a nonprofit focused on public education. "My suspicion is that Success Academy is on the extreme end...a good portion of that can probably be attributed to employees working considerably longer hours and days, and a toxic workplace culture." Both Cheung and Price are still listed as part of the management team on the company's website. Success Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative of KIPP did not respond to an inquiry about whether Cheung had taken the job. We'll update as more information becomes available. Update: Reached for comment, a Success Academy spokesperson told Gothamist, "As Success scales to 100 schools, we have hired several new leaders this past yeargeneral counsel, chief of technology and head of leadership and human resources. While Kris Cheung, who has spent seven years with Success, is leaving to work in Texas for another charter network, Rob Price will continue as a consultant." It is unclear what that consultant role will entail. Our latest Quick Bites brings us to Crown Heights for some Asian style comfort food. THE VIBE Deep into Crown Heights, four C-train stops past Franklin Avenue's trendy restaurant row, on a block where the only other business in sight is the Aziz Express bodega, sits the charmingly DIY "Asian style comfort food" restaurant Tamra Teahouse. It feels a bit incongruous to be sure, but since owner and head chef Yunha Moh lives just a couple of blocks away, what the location lacks in foot traffic, it makes up for in convenience. Moh, who was born in South Korea and previously worked at Momofuku Milk, Lucky Bee, Saltie's, and Pok Pok, seems to do a bit of everything here, from taking orders at the counter to cooking your food (along with his sous chef) to bussing your table. His girlfriend does all the design work. Sometimes things need attending to in the basement, and no one is left upstairs with the customers. Every day is friends and family! The space itself is no-frills, with a row of four-tops running down one side opposite the wide ordering counter and open kitchen behind. The lighting, like the floral vinyl sheets stapled to the tables, is Edison-bulb yellow. A TV silently plays shows behind the register. It's a comfortable, all-day place to sit and drink some tea (or beer, or wine) and eat some food and talk in a normal volume to your companions for as long as you like, no need to hurry along. THE BITES Moh may be Korean, but he draws on all sorts of Asian (and many other) flavors and traditions. Really, the menu is all over the place, and I found it best not to try and figure out what went best with what, and just ordered whatever I felt like eating. For example, the Vegan Soul Mac (listed under "snacks") has no obvious counterpart (other than the also-kind-of-random Collard Greens), but it's outstandingthe creamy almond milk "cheese" blanketing a bowl of perfectly cooked pasta, chili and chives adding some zing. Moh makes terrific curries, like a Coconut Oxtail number that packs a surprising complexity and sprightliness for such a fatty, soupy-stew of a dish. The excellent Spicy Basil Chickentender thighs, runny fried egg, a slew of pickled, grilled, and wilted vegetableswould not feel out of place at any of the new breed of "healthy California" spots around town, except that it's far livelier (and more satisfying) than most rice bowls. And you should definitely check out what Moh does to Avocado Toast, combining slices of the ripe, nutty fruit with an El Salvadorian slaw called curtido, drizzling on a coconut beet sauce, and putting it all atop a crisp tostone (sliced lengthwise) instead of bread. So in addition to being delicious, it's also gluten free. There are decent Chinese Spare Ribs to be had, the falling-off-bone pig meat shiny and sweet with a hoisin-like sauce, served on a block of sticky rice and a small crock of pickled radish. Fat, chewy, house made Korean-ish noodles add substance and nostalgia to Moh's vegan Chickpea Soup. And his oversized Thai-style Wings may not arrive with the heat you'd expect from a Pok Pok vet, but they're crackling and juicy and pack plenty of seasoning. Since Tamra is a Teahouse, I went unusually deep into the beverage department. All four of the iced varieties I triedGinger Sorrel, Green Plum, Thai Iced Tea, and Turmeric Lemonadewere delightful. And, if you believe the house, there's one to cure whatever ails you. THE VERDICT Tamra Teahouse is a total treasure that, for those fortunate enough to live nearby, could easily become a regular neighborhood spot. If you're out this way, stop in and relax for a bit. You can eat your fill and feel good doing it, without worrying about straining your dining-out budget. Tamra Teahouse is located at 1524 Bergen Street just east of Schenectady Avenue, and is open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on weekends from 10 to 10:30 (347-406-7710; tamrateahouse.com) 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. The four-star Amedia Plaza Dresden is, pleasingly, far better than you might expect. There may not be a spa or gym, but the hotel has exceptionally comfortable rooms, a quirky interior and some lovely views of the historic old town. In fact, it is within walking distance of almost every important historical site in the city. Hidden behind the historic facade of the reconstructed baroque Dinglingerhaus, the hotel is easy to miss, and you must walk under a quaint archway to enter the lobby. The spacious hotel reception avoids feeling too stale and business-like thanks to a selection of quirky paintings and sculptures, including a large, bejewelled elephant. Who For The hotel is well suited to families and city breakers who want to enjoy the sites of the old town. It is also near to the Internationales Congress Center (about a 15-minute walk) so business travellers can take the opportunity to enjoy some of the historic sites while making their way to work. Accommodation All 105 rooms at Amedia Plaza Dresden are en suite and equipped with air conditioning, smart TVs, mini-bar and writing desk. Rooms are furnished in white and double-decker red, with the back walls showcasing a huge monochrome photo of Dresden. The retro decor may not be to everyones taste, but it added a cheering brightness to the room. I spent four nights in a Business Double room, which was both spacious and comfortable. There is hardly any traffic in the old town, so I enjoyed blissful, interrupted sleep throughout my stay. The dinky bathroom was equipped with a powerful shower and a decent selection of toiletries. As well as Business Rooms, you can choose from a selection of Superior Rooms (with a King size double), Suites with a bathtub and kitchenette, and Family Rooms consisting of two Business Rooms joined together with a connecting door. Rooms located on the higher floors have lovely views of the old town, although theres currently a building site at the back of the hotel that is a bit of an eye sore. Facilities Facilities are fairly limited at Amedia Plaza Dresden. The reception area doubles as a cafe/bar where you can order a selection of drinks and snacks. Black leather sofas with arty cushions are dotted about the lobby, and these were often occupied late into the evening as people chattered away over a beer. Food and drink The hotel doesnt have its own restaurant, but they have a partnership with a neighbouring restaurant who serve an excellent breakfast buffet. Choose from a selection of fresh fruit, cheeses, charcuterie and cereals as well as hot pancakes with apple sauce. You can also pile your plate with scrambled egg and bacon to keep yourself going for the rest of the morning and beyond. Is WiFi available? Yes, WiFi is available in all the rooms free of charge. Room Rates Prices start from a very reasonable 85 per night (excluding breakfast). Booking.com Whats nearby? The greatest selling point of the hotel is its location, and you could easily spend a weekend here without needing to spend a single euro on transportation. Just 10m from the hotel is the Dresden Transport Museum, which has just opened a new exhibition: A Love-Need-Hate Relationship. The Germans and their Cars. Theres also a fantastic modern art and sculpture gallery, Albertinum, which showcases a vast collection of artworks and should not to missed. If youre interested in Dresdens cultural heritage, The Dresden Frauenkirche is a Lutheran church that was completely destroyed in the WW2 bombings and subsequently rebuilt from the rubble. It was finally completed in 2005 and serves as an important symbol of reconciliation between former warring nations. Getting there Dresden Airport is just a 20-minute drive to the hotel and a taxi will cost you about 30. If you prefer to take public transport, you can jump on a train from the airport to Dresden Hauptbahnhof and then take a short tram to the old town. From here, it will take you 10-15 minutes to walk to the hotel. A volcano that is oozing, spewing and exploding on Hawaiis Big Island has gotten more hazardous, sending rivers of molten rock pouring into the ocean Sunday and launching lava skyward that caused 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 ash clouds from its summit that led officials to distribute face masks. Lava flows have picked up speed in recent 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 interaction of lava and seawater has created a cloud of steam laced with hydrochloric acid and fine glass particles that can irrigate the skin and eyes and cause breathing problems. The lava haze, or laze, extended as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of where the lava gushed into the ocean on the Big Islands southern coast. It was just offshore and running parallel to the coast, said U.S. Geological Survey scientist Wendy Stovall. Authorities warn that the plume could shift direction if the winds change. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says sulfur dioxide emissions also have tripled. Residents in the area have been evacuated, and the highway that the lava crossed has shut down in places. Joseph Kekedi, an orchid grower who lives and works about 3 miles (5 kilometers) 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. He is hosting a 90-year-old who evacuated from the Leilani Estates neighborhood, where lava started spewing May 3. He also was storing belongings for other friends who had to leave their homes. Kekedi said most of his neighbors are optimistic. He has friends who lost houses when lava smothered the town of Kalapana in the 1990s but they built again, found a good life and life went on. 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 (274 meters) 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. Scientists say the older lava is likely from magma that Kilauea has been storing underground since the volcano last erupted in 1955. The area affected by lava and ash is small compared with the Big Island, which is about 4,000 square miles (10,360 square kilometers). 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 arent associated with the erupting volcano. (AP) Sir, Please allow me to inform you about recent activities of our Amnesty International group 1190, Germany. We have written letters on human rights concerns to authorities in China, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Iran, Vietnam, Turkey, Colombia, Israel, USA and Uzbekistan. Now, I would like to bring to your attention my deepest concerns about dozens of people, including 33 children, who were left homeless after their homes were demolished using bulldozers in the presence of 20 armed police officers. The families belong to the farming area of Embetseni in Malkerns Town. Four homesteads consisting of 61 people, 33 of whom were children, were forcibly evicted from their homes in the farming area of Embetseni on April 9, 2018. Representatives of a private farming company that owns the land, together with a sheriff of the High Court of Eswatini and armed police officers were present during the demolition of the homesteads. They arrived in the morning and told the families to remove their belongings from their homes if they did not want them destroyed during the demolition. Afterwards, bulldozers demolished the four homesteads. In violation of human rights standards, residents of the homesteads were not given adequate advance notice of the evictions, and were not provided with alternative housing, thus rendering them homeless and at risk of other human rights violations. The affected families were informed of an eviction order dated July 14, 2017 only a day before the eviction, on April 8, 2018, at a meeting they sought with the local police to address rumours of an imminent eviction. On the first night after the eviction, about five members of one family slept in the open, another family spent the night at the local chiefs residence, while another was forced to seek shelter in a chicken shed. Others were accommodated at a local primary school. The private farming company that owns the land occupied by the four homesteads has been involved in a legal battle with the residents since 2013, when the families filed a case in court arguing for recognition of their rights to the land on the grounds that they had been residing there since 1957. The company had applied to have the community evicted. I call on the authorities to ensure that the forcibly evicted families are given adequate alternative housing as a matter of urgency in respect of their right to adequate housing. I urge the authorities to end forced evictions and ensure that evictions are carried out in strict compliance with international and regional human rights standards. Friedhelm Kuhl MANZINI After being subjected to vigorous training at a soldier-guarded polling station, Mtsebeni residents have refused to register for elections. A population from over 60 homesteads at Mtsebeni area, under Gege Constituency, has reportedly refused to use a registration centre that was situated along the borderline after alleged experiences of forced exercises by the soldiers on guard. Narrating how the residents came about the decision to snub the polling station was the areas Indvuna Khakhayi Hlatshwako. He said the problem started back in 2013 during the national elections when the place that was requested by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) team to conduct the same process was neglected for the borderline. According to Hlatshwako, the place with electricity that was requested by the team was overlooked due to a dispute within the, KaTsambekwako Umphakatsi then under leadership of the late Chief Samuel Malinga. The centre in question was then selected as an alternative polling station pending the dispute at the umphakatsi. While the process was ongoing, Hlatshwako alleged that the bona fides (imisumpe) who were selected to work during the elections process, insulted the soldiers over the phone, insinuating that they were romantically involved with the female registration officers from the area who were working there. They asked the soldiers what they wanted with their wives and this infuriated the army officers, said Hlatshwako. He further mentioned that the matter was reported to the then chief who took it upon himself to investigate in a bid to bring the concerned parties to task. The indvuna said although the imisumpe first denied that they were the ones who called and disrespected the soldiers, as investigations progressed, they allegedly eventually admitted the offence. Subsequently, Hlatshwako said the chief then apologised to the soldiers on behalf of his subjects and further condemned the act. Even so, the enraged soldiers seemed not to have accepted the chiefs apology as they allegedly continued to torture the areas residents. When we went there to fetch firewood, the soldiers made us lie down and do intense exercises as punishment even when we had not done anything, a community member said. Other community members said these exercises included the much difficult jack-knife and push-ups. It was alleged that the age or gender of the people subjected to the exercises was not considered so even the elderly and women were subjected to same. MBABANE A teenage boy, who was discovered to have meningitis at the age of five months, is homeless with his mother. Sylvia Bennett and her son Eric Silindane (19) are currently residing at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital in Manzini. Bennett stated that they were given a corner to hide and sleep in at night along the hospital corridors with her son and first thing in the morning they have to be out on the streets. According to the mother, they are not welcome anywhere, even by her family members and Erics father who is said to be in South Africa. Eric, who is Bennetts only child, cannot talk or walk and he has never seen the inside of a classroom because of his illness. Meningitis affects the spinal cord and brain and is caused by an infection as Eric was born a healthy normal baby. Eric, who takes epilepsy medication, has deformed legs and hands such that he cannot sit up straight and has to be in a lying position always. The two arrived at RFM hospital on Saturday as Eric needed medical attention but they had to go back home the same day. Bennett then asked the nurses to admit them, because they had no home to go back to. The nurses agreed to admit the mother and son for the day, informing them that they had to open space for other patients the following day, which was a Sunday. I had made an appointment to see other people for help on the Sunday but when I went to their offices, they were closed since it was not a working day. My mothers parental home is in Nkambeni but we cannot stay there with my son because of certain family reasons, she said. According to Bennett, they stayed in South Africa for sometime, with relatives but they had to come back because the people who were accommodating them stated that they could not keep them as they were Eswatini citizens. She said while they were in SA, she visited their social welfare department in Mzinti but they could not help her. Sometimes we go without food for days. If we do not happen to be next to a person who is eating and feels pity for us, it means no meal for us on that day. Eric has to take medication and he cannot do that if he has not eaten. We request the public to assist us with accommodation and food, pleaded Bennett. Bennett does not have a cellphone and she was helped by a good Samaritan to make phone calls to try and get help. The good Samaritan, who asked not to be named, stated that she had been drawn to the two by Erics condition. She went on to explain that when she got closer to enquire what had happened to the child, she was not expecting to get such a depressing story. If only I could accommodate them but I also have family issues where I stay. It is winter and they are homeless. that is what breaks my heart the most, she said. RFM hospital CEO Benjamin Simelane confirmed that they attended to the mother and son on Saturday. Simelane explained that this was not the first time Bennett came to the hospital for assistance. Last year, she came to them and her sister was contacted, but she could not stay with the sister because she is unemployed. She has a family home at Nkambeni but she is not explaining clearly why she does not want to stay there. Bennett only tells us that she is afraid of the Nkambeni homestead. Maybe the police need to be involved and they can find out what she is afraid of, he said. Simelane went on to state that they would engage the social Welfare department for a permanent situation for Bennett and Eric. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, Superintendent Khulani Mamba stated that they did not have any report on why Bennett does not want to go back home. LOBAMBA The issue of land is a hot debate, not only in neighbouring South Africa but in the Kingdom of Eswatini as well. The only difference in the kingdom is that a significant number of farms are owned by unknown people, some of whom live outside the country and show up after over 20 years to claim that they (farms) belonged to their forefathers. This was observed by Members of Parliament during a sitting at the House of Assembly yesterday. The debate came by as the legislators passed the Farm Dwellers Control (Amendment) Bill, 2017 (Bill No. 8 of 2017). The MPs were seemingly geared up to debate the Bill which they argued was meant to bring hope to EmaSwati but had a lot of answered questions. So serious was the debate by the MPs to a point where some of them even suggested that there should be an investigation of the Deeds Office. The argument by MPs was that there were many people who became owners of farms under questionable circumstances. According to the legislators, the issue was going to be worse so long as there country did not have a Land Act. We need to select a committee that will look into how the administration of land transactions is done. In previous years, farm owners used to register and a table would be compiled and we would know how many they are plus how they got to own farms. Today there is none such which is why the land transfers and transactions need to be checked, submitted Ngwempisi MP, Veli Shongwe. PIGGS PEAK There is always a reason to kill someone in Piggs Peak. This time, a man was stabbed to death inside a popular bar known as Entfweni Wine & Malt, over a box of matches. The murder happened on Sunday at around 11pm while patrons were enjoying their drinks and dancing to loud music. It was gathered that the victim is Bongani Pereira, who was stabbed to death allegedly by a man he had asked for some matches from. This was revealed by *Pius, a friend to Pereira. He also alleged that when reporting the matter to the police, he used the name Bongani Dlamini to identify the deceased when speaking to police officers but that his real name was in fact Bongani Pereira. We did not want to alarm anyone because we thought he was going to survive, said Pius. Pius also said he did not know where to find Pereiras relatives, though they had been living together. He said trouble started when Pereira asked for some matches from the alleged killer. Pius said the two knew each other, adding that this was the reason he was able to ask for some matches. He said the situation changed when the alleged attacker asked Pereira to give back the matches but he (Pereira) said he did not have it. This is said to have sparked a fight resulting in Pereira trying to run away when he realised that his alleged attacker was carrying a knife had knife. Pereira is said to have run towards the sound system near the DJ but patrons thought he was just drunk and pushed him back. The commotion continued until the alleged attacker produced what appeared to be an okapi, and stabbed him near the ear. Pius said the police were then called, after which they rushed Pereira to hospital but he was certified dead on arrival. Noteworthy is that a man was stabbed in January 2018 at the same bar but he survived attack. The popular watering hall is also near a bottle store where a woman was stabbed to death when she arrived for work. *Pseudo name used to protect the identity of deceaseds friend. Jackson Countys Jean Peters Baker named special prosecutor in Guv Greitens case As special prosecutor, Baker will review the evidence to decide whether to re-file charges against Greitens based on allegations that he snapped a photograph of a woman, bound and partly nude, without her consent in 2015. She was appointed Monday by St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison. In his order, he noted that Baker's office would serve as special prosecutor "with regard to the investigation and possible prosecution of Eric Greitens in alleged criminal activity in regard to an incident on March 21, 2015, and other incidents involving the same victim from that date through September 1, 2015." I was informed today by the Circuit Court in St. Louis, MO., that my office was named as special prosecutor in the Gov. Greitens case. I quickly assembled a team of prosecutors and other staff to begin our process to review this matter. No elected official relishes involvement in such difficult matters as an investigation of criminal wrongdoing by another official, but we also understand our duty. I directed my staff that we will go about our review of this case as we review any case. It will be thorough and our decisions, as I have stated before, will be made without fear or favor. We will need to work as quickly as possible. We do not know what the result of the review will be. But let me stress that this review will be based solely on the evidence. Politics, affiliations or other matters beyond the evidence will not play a role. My office has prosecuted many similar cases and has experienced prosecutors, victim advocates and others who can assist. I will be involved in directing the review. My office will not comment about this case or the review until it has been completed. I ask that everyone respect the privacy of witnesses and victims in this case. I will not agree to interviews or answer other questions at this time. And now the case against the Guv is local . . .Deets:What's more interesting is that case could expand to include other misdeeds according to pundits.Here's the word from "Mean Jean" this afternoon:Check the links:Developing . . . THE LADY WHO MISSOURI GUV GREITENS ALLEGEDLY FORCED INTO "SEXY" WORKOUT SODOMY SPEAKS AGAIN!!! I didn't want this. I wasn't out to get anyone. I really was just trying to live my life, she said. She said the governor's defense team used her statement from a deposition out of context comment in to imply she had dreamed the now infamous encounter in the basement. I definitely did not dream this up. Period. HER TV TESTIMONY ARGUES AGAINST THE "SLUT SHAMING" TACTICS OF THE GUV AND HIS INTERNETS TROLL SUPPORTERS WHICH ACTUALLY JUST MAKE THE MISSOURI HONCHO LOOK EVEN MORE GUILTY!!! "Given the legal and ethical challenges facing the current Jackson County executive, the former Jackson County executive, the Jackson County Sheriff and the congressman representing the fully Democratic Jackson County, one would have hoped that (Judge) Burlison might have found a prosecutor with less to worry about than Baker." MEAN JEAN ALSO HAS THE JAIL AND THE WORSENING KANSAS CITY MURDER RATE TO CONSIDER ALONG WITH THE GUV'S UNSEXY PROCLIVITIES!!! First up, Kansas City countswhich puts us two ahead of last year's historic pace as this week starts out exceptionally bloody . . .And then . . .Take a a peek:The money line:More than anything . . .Similarly . . .To wit . . .Moreover . . .And so . . .In the final analysis and in a very real sense, the divisive, confused and circus-like politics of Kansas City seemingly fuel the chaos on local streets that mostly mimics that turmoil among our elected officials.You decide . . . KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- UPDATE, 5:30 p.m. Police said they are investigating a rolling gun battle in a neighborhood that left at least one person dead. Officers were called to the area near 46th and Elmwood around 4 p.m. on a reported shooting. Brenda Pouncil-Terrell heard the gunshots inside her home near 44th and Elmwood. Police have arrested 18 people protesting inside Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office as part of a demonstration against policies he champions. Kansas Highway Patrol spokesman Adam Winters said the demonstrators were arrested Monday for criminal trespassing by the Capitol Police. Ramada Downtown Dubai has again been recognised by Luxury Travel Guide (LTG) in its Africa and Middle East Awards 2018, receiving the 'Luxury Business Apartments of the Year' accolade. In 2017, the property was hailed as Luxury Boutique Hotel of the Year. The London-based LTG Awards highlight the best hotels and accommodation options in different regions. The recipients of the award are picked based on several criteria including service excellence, innovation, design, rooms and facilities, location, employee satisfaction. Mark Fernando, general manager, Ramada Downtown Dubai, said: We are truly honoured to receive another distinction from LTG. With the hotels strategic location and proximity to the citys financial hubs, Ramada Downtown Dubai proved to be an excellent choice for business travellers who are looking for a well-appointed accommodation, complemented by top-quality service. - TradeArabia News Service Etihad Aviation Group has launched a community programme that will deliver 400 meals per day to charity. The initiative will be held throughout 2018 and beyond, with approximately 150,000 meals to be donated every year. As part of its sustainability and corporate social responsibility efforts, the Abu Dhabi-based airline has teamed up with the Grace Conservation Programme of Emirates Red Crescent and Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority to donate inflight meals to labourer residences in the Mussaffah area of Abu Dhabi. In line with the 2018 Year of Zayed, the initiative was announced in early Ramadan to promote a spirit of sharing during the Holy Month. The project is aligned with the sustainability pillar of the Year of Zayed. The meals are initially prepared for the airlines three on board cabins First Class, Business Class and Economy Class and are then transported in a purpose-designed truck to keep them fresh. Emirates Red Crescent will provide an equipped kitchen and trucks to collect and store meals for distribution. Khaled AlMehairbi, senior vice president and general manager Etihad Airport Services Ground Abu Dhabi Hub and CSR Strategy, said: We are strongly committed to the local community and proudly support various charities worldwide. Etihad is always looking at new ways to extend the reach of our charitable and humanitarian efforts. This drive is guided by the values and legacy of our late founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He inspires and motivates us to share and give back to the communities we are living and operating in. Sultan Al Shehi, general manager, Grace Conservation Programme of Emirates Red Crescent, said: We are excited to launch this initiative in collaboration with Etihad Aviation Group and Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority. This partnership reflects Abu Dhabis spirit of sharing and giving. We have worked together with Etihad Aviation Group to support many charitable and humanitarian activities. However, this partnership is especially important for its size and scale. The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority hailed the drive as encouraging the efforts of UAE charity and humanitarian actors in supporting the local community. The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, as part of its robust relationship with the Grace Conservation Programme of Emirates Red Crescent, ensures the quality and safety of the meals. It promotes awareness of the Emirates Red Crescent staff on healthy food packaging, transportation and storage. The authority will oversee the delivery of the meals from Etihad Aviation Group to the Grace Conservation Programme, monitoring all the related steps of collection and distribution. Etihad Aviation Group operates to a comprehensive CSR agenda during Ramadan, with many other charity and community activities planned for the local community in the UAE as well as India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and other parts of the world. - TradeArabia News Service "There is clear demand from institutional clients and financial services professionals for more specific solutions with regard to cryptocurrencies that address their sophisticated needs," said Adam White, Vice President and General Manager of Coinbase Institutional. "Through new products like Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Custody, we're building the necessary capability for institutions that allows cryptocurrencies to be traded and stored in a compliant, trusted and efficient manner." Coinbase Custody to launch in partnership with SEC-regulated broker-dealer Coinbase has leveraged the company's deep experience safely storing more than $20 billion of cryptocurrency to create Coinbase Custody, the most secure crypto storage solution available. In partnership with an SEC-regulated broker-dealer, Coinbase Custody is proud to offer a service that couples Coinbase's cryptocurrency security excellence with third-party auditing and financial reporting validation that operates at the high standard of an SEC-regulated, custodial broker-dealer. Our Coinbase Custody launch partners are all leading institutions in the crypto industry, including 1confirmation, Autonomous Partners, Boost VC, MetaStable, Multicoin Capital, Polychain Capital, Scalar Capital and Walden Bridge Capital. "We're very familiar with the need for trusted, institutional custody in the crypto space and are excited to partner with Coinbase to help bring this to market," said Kyle Samini, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Multicoin Capital. "Coinbase has an impeccable record of secure crypto storage. Polychain is excited to partner with them to bring both security and regulatory clarity to our investors," said Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder and CEO Polychain Capital. New Chicago office to execute Coinbase Markets product development Coinbase is making a major investment in Chicago through a new engineering office that will focus on further developing Coinbase Markets, the premier electronic marketplace for cryptocurrencies. Coinbase already offers the deepest pool of liquidity to the largest number of participants in the cryptocurrency space and will continue developing Coinbase Markets by opening a new engineering office in Chicago. Coinbase Markets provides a centralized pool of liquidity for all Coinbase products. Over the course of the year Coinbase Markets will introduce new features like low latency performance, on-premise datacenter colocation services, institutional connectivity and access, and settlement and clearing services. These additions will allow for a more efficient price discovery to occur, creating tighter markets, deeper liquidity, and increased certainty of execution. 1 2 next For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: ON THE MOVE: CalPERS Loses CIO; Abenate Gets New Role Ted Eliopoulos, chief investment officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, has announced he will leave the post by the end of the year due to family commitments. Eliopoulos made a number of investment policy changes since his tenure began in 2014, growing the system's assets to more than $355 billion from around $300 billion. If you have a new job or promotion to report, let me know at jdantona@marketsmedia.com Credit Suisse is reorganizing its execution services business to better compete with the likes of Virtu and Citadel Securities. The Swiss bank named electronic trading veteran Anthony Abenante to a new role heading global execution services within its equities unit, according to an internal memo seen by Business Insider. The position will bring together the high touch, program trading and electronic trading groups under a single umbrella, as they were previously run separately. Abenante will report to Mike Stewart, who joined Credit Suisse in 2017 from UBS to head up equities. BTIG reported Brendan Daly has joined the firm as a Director within the Foreign Exchange Trading division. Daly will focus on expanding existing BTIG relationships. Prior to BTIG, he was a Director at Newedge for nearly a decade. Previously, he was a Proprietary Trader at Societe Generale and Gelber Securities. Earlier in his career, he held similar roles at Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank, and Credit Lyonnais. Based in New York, he will report into Alan Circle and Martin Ferraro, Managing Directors and Co-Heads of Foreign Exchange Trading at BTIG. JonesTrading naming Eduardo Seda as Vice President, Senior Energy Analyst. In his role, Seda is primarily responsible for research coverage on Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) within the energy sector. Based in New York, Seda is an industry veteran, bringing over 25 years experience and expertise to JonesTrading. Prior to joining JonesTrading, he was a Senior Analyst at Sidoti & Company, LLC specializing in coverage of Small- and Mid-Cap Asset Managers and Other Financial Companies within the Financial Services sector. From 2009-2016, he was a Managing Director & Senior Analyst in the Energy Group at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., Inc., responsible for coverage of Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) and Closed-End MLP Funds within the midstream energy sector. ED&F Man Capital Markets has announced that Rob Branthover has been appointed as Director of the Fixed Income Sales team in New York. With 31 years of experience, he spent 14 years at Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp (MIAC) as the Managing Director of their Secondary Solutions Risk Management and Trading Group. His previous roles included working at Lehman Brothers in a sales role covering community banks as well as JPM Chase Mortgage in Secondary Marketing and Treasury & Asset/Liability Management. 1 2 3 next For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: A-B Tech Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Chappell have announced the graduation of their daughter, Bethany Allison Chappell, from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, on Saturday, May 12, at the U.S. Cellular Center. Chappell has received $500 from the J. Daniel Furr Memorial Scholarship Fund. She also won a $500 scholarship from Ecusta Credit Union, was awarded $1,000 from NASA NC Space Grant, and was the recipient of the Haywood EMC scholarship for $1,000. Chappell is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. She is graduating with an Associate Degree in Engineering. Chappell has been accepted into the mechanical engineering program at Western Carolina University and plans to complete her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Gardner-Webb University Gardner-Webb Uni-versity recently honored undergraduate students for academic excellence. Winners of these awards exemplify the university's core values of faith, service and leadership in their classrooms and communities. Lauren Ashley Mahoney, a senior from Rosman, was presented the Criminal Justice Administration Award for her academic achievements. She also received the award for Outstanding Student in Sociology. In recognition of these honors, Mahoney may choose a book for purchase by Gardner-Webb's Dover Memorial Library. The book will be inscribed with her name and the date of the award presentation. N.C. State Agricultural Institute Jacob Voris graduated with honors from North Carolina State University Agricultural Institute on Dec. 14, 2017 with associates degrees in agribusiness management and livestock and poultry management. While at the Ag. Institute, He served as club president and was invited to join Delta Tau Alpha, a national agricultural honor society. Jacob is a 2015 graduate of Rosman High School and is the son of Jimmy and Fawn Voris of Brevard. Tasting Room Renovation Completed, Expanded Hours, Music Series Announced and More! (TRAVPR.COM) CA - May 22nd, 2018 - Salinas, CA, May 22, 2018 - The Schmiedt family vineyard, was first planted with wine grapes in the rich soil of Lodi in 1918. But it took the family 87 years to decide to use those grapes to make their own wines in addition to selling the grapes to winemakers around the state. That was 2005, when Twisted Roots Vineyards was born and Ross Schmiedt produced a Petite Sirah because of an overabundance of the grape. In 2009, production was expanded to include other varietals on the estate, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Old Vine Zinfandel. The winemaking operation was moved from an old farmhouse to their partners at Estate Crush in Lodi, a dedicated custom crush facility for premium wine production that continues to produce Twisted Roots wines from grapes grown at the Schmiedt Vineyards. In 2010, Josh Ruiz partnered with Mike Hodge and Ross Schmiedt to create Twisted Roots Wine LLC. Schmiedt passed away in March of 2014 and his place in the partnership was filled by his wife Susan Schmiedt. Twisted Roots raised a few eyebrows when it opened a tasting room in Carmel Valley in 2013. At first, some of the other winemakers were leery about having a Lodi winery here, Ruiz told Carmel magazine, but theyve accepted us. New Ownership In January of 2016, Ruiz and his wife Julie, who is Schmiedt's niece and Hodge's daughter, bought Twisted Roots from the family. A few months later, the Ruizes brought on board a few college friends to help expand the business. My wife Julie and I bought the family business in January and in June we brought in three of our college friends, who live in different locations in the state, to help us grow the business, said Ruiz. I knew that with a full-time job in the Salinas Valley Produce business, I needed help. These are all trusted friends, who have become like family, and it's all about growing the business. I can't do it myself. Ruiz, who graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with both a bachelor's and master's degree in Agribusiness, asked his college friends Andy Gulley of Fresno, Matt Brem of Salinas and Neil Amarante of Paso Robles (and Andy and Matt's wives, both named Laura), to join Twisted Roots. Ruiz said the three new partners' skill sets would be invaluable in reaching the company's goals. Gulley is an agricultural pest control advisor, Brem owns Produce West, a Salinas produce brokerage, and Amarante is an agricultural lender. Also joining Twisted Roots as a partner is Matt and Whitney Pridey, who are currently managing Twisted Roots' wine club, events, and general business development. Whitney is also the sister of new partner Matt Brem. Grapes Planted in 1918 According to Ruiz, the founders of the vineyards, planted grapes on their new property in 1918 because their neighbors were growing grapes. The original Schmiedt vineyard was planted to over 100 acres in what is known as the Dairy Vineyard, and later expanded to include the CLR Vineyards, named after the three sons, Carl, Leland and Ross, of Gust and Dorothy Schmiedt (The original visionaries). The eventual name was conceived by Ross, who came across a tangle of old rootstock and mused, Twisted Roots would make a good name for the vineyards and winery, and it stuck. The appellation in a general sense is Lodi, but the specific appellation is the Mokelumne River, which Ruiz believes makes the grapes and wines produced completely different from the rest of the Lodi AVAs. The corner stone of the Mokelumne River AVA is the river itself, which help to keep the Schmiedt vineyard temps just a bit cooler, in the hot Lodi summer days. Ruiz said 2017 has been the winery's biggest year yet, producing 1,000 cases of four varietals, including its signature 1918 Old Vine Zinfandel, created from vines planted in 1918. The other three varietals are the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2012 Petite Sirah and the 2015 Chardonnay. He said Twisted Roots is looking at a steady growth of 10 to 20 percent per year, with the new partners on board to reach those goals. It's still a family operation with roots in Lodi, says Ruiz. They really are my family, that's why they're partnering with me. We're bringing it all into the Twisted Roots family. Tasting Room Renovation: When developing the design concept for Twisted Roots, it was important for us to deliver a comfortable space where guests feel at home to not just taste wine, but to grab a glass of wine, or two, and relax for a while. Craft Design-Build partnered with several local artisans to deliver custom solutions using elements that represent our unique Central Coast Vibe (Santa Cruz redwood, leather, seagrass, stone, hot rolled steel and glass). Our goal was to design a space that was visually appealing, but not overwhelming. The monochromatic colors and textures offer subtle interest without taking away from your wine-tasting experience. A highlight of the space is the 1918 room, honoring Twisted Roots 100-year-old vines. As you slide open the custom steel barn door, you will enter a space with two sophisticated chandeliers hovering above a rustic 10-foot long farmhouse table . This space was created to host many different types of events from intimate tastings, to dinner parties, to viewing sporting events. It was a true honor to work with the Twisted Roots team to make their dream a reality. Jon and Meryl DeYoung Rasmussen, Craft Design-Build Inc. Craft Design-Build is a full-service design/build firm specializing in both commercial and residential construction throughout Monterey County. High Resolution Photos Available For Download To view the gallery click on this link, http://www.richardgreenphotography.com/Chatterbox-Public-Relations/Twisted-Roots-Interior-Shots-4-8-18/, enter password, chatter, lowercase. 100th Anniversary Celebration In 2018, Twisted Roots plans to celebrate 100 years since the vines were planted in Lodi. The festivities will include special events, wine deals, and wine club giveaways, culminating in a glitzy, black-tie, 1920s-style Hollywood party at their tasting room in Carmel Valley, which use to be the Lyons Head Art Gallery, next to Cafe Rustica. Save the Date for: Twisted Roots Announces Its Summer Concert Series at its newly renovated Tasting Room from June August 2018! June-Concert -June 10, 4-6PM -No food, Guests can bring snacks -$15 gets entrance, a free glass, live music, FREE FOR MEMBERS -Music: Wild Turkeys (https://www.facebook.com/Wild-Turkeys-166319330279/) July-Concert -July 8, 4-6 -No food, Guests can bring snacks -$15 gets entrance, a free glass, live music, FREE FOR MEMBERS -Music- Rise Up (http://riseupreggae.com) August-Concert -August 12, 4-6PM -No food, Guests can bring snacks -$15 gets entrance, a free glass, live music, FREE FOR MEMBERS Taylor Rae (http://www.taylorraemusic.com)- Twisted Roots will be the wine partner for Peace of Mind Dog Rescue Locals Wine Night Out at the Hofsas House September 21st. Celebrate National Pumpkin Day on the Twisted Roots Patio. Paint a pumpkin, sip Twisted Roots Wine and support Animal Friends Rescue Project October 24th. Dont miss out on Twisted Roots Special 100-year Anniversary Winemakers Dinner exclusively at the Whaling Station Restaurant in Monterey November 8th. Twisted Roots will at the Hofsas House Hotel Annual Gingerbread House Fundraiser supporting the Carmel Library Foundation December 8th. Build a house for a cause while sipping bubbles from Twisted Roots. Contact: Marci Bracco Cain Chatterbox PR Salinas, CA 93901 (831) 747-7455 http://www.twistedrootsvineyard.com ### Armenias Investigative Committee reports that a junior sergeant has been charged as a suspect in the apparent suicide death of Levon Torosyan on May 6, 2018. Torosyans body was found, at the military base he was serving at. There was a gunshot to the head. The unidentified junior sergeant is charged with Article 360 of Armenias Criminal Code - Insulting a serviceman, i.e. humiliation of honor or self-esteem concerned with the implementation of ones service duties, by another serviceman, is punished with arrest for the term of up to 2 months, or with disciplinary battalion for the term of up to 6 months. Armenias Ministry of Culture, and agencies under its administration, misappropriated AMD 521.3 of government funds during the implementation of various programs it supervised in 2014-2016. These findings, recently released by the Ministry of Finances budgetary audit inspectorate, reveals that the ministry was woefully lax in monitoring the expenditures, totaling the equivalent of US$1.080 million at todays exchange rate. Of the AMD 521.3 million found to be misappropriated, the culture ministry must reimburse the government to the tune of 504.6million. The inspectorate revealed that monies allocated for the Cultural Events program were used to pay the office rent of one the companies contracted to do the work. The company in question also used some of the money to pay for employee taxi rides, mislabeling the expenditures as transportation costs in its accounting records. Other money was used by company officials to lease cars and to buy gasoline. The inspectorate also found that AMD 33.4 million was used by culture ministry staffers to go on business junkets without prior legal approval. (The minister of culture and deputy ministers were not found in violation in this matter.) Other financial violations were revealed in a program designed to Reinforce, Repair and Restore Monuments. It turns out that those contracted to do the work did not fully perform their contractual obligations but were paid nevertheless. In one case, a company used less expensive stones to complete the restoration of a monument but declared that it had used higher priced stones. While the inspectorate uncovered the violations occurring in 2014-2016, many of the programs under review have been going on for years, thus leading one to conclude that similar violations have taken place in past years as well. The report published by the Ministry of Finance names two State Non-Commercial Organizations attached to the Ministry of Culture as not fully providing the services it promised. The two, the Tchaikovsky Specialized Secondary School of Music and the Yerevan Dance Art State College, were allocated state funds to provide classes to a set number of students but failed to meet the quota. Another instance of financial shenanigans was found in a program designed to host foreign delegations to Armenia. In one case, the culture ministry overstated the number of foreign guests to a luncheon reception. The actual number of guests was 89, but the ministrys accounting statement reads 170. Other programs in which violations were revealed include Assistance to Literature Publishing, Library Services, Museum Services, Theatrical Performances, and Music and Dance Concerts. Based on its finding, the inspectorate has called for greater examination of estimated costs presented by contractors and better monitoring of state budgetary expenditures. As noted, the inspectorate also found violations committed by five State Non-Commercial Organizations attached to the Ministry of Culture totally AMD 199.6million The worst violator was the Alexandre Spendiaryan National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet. It was found to have misused AMD 106 million in state funds. It must now pay back 100.6 million. editorial@tribune.com New Delhi: Rajeev Singhal has become the new Managing Director of debt-laden Bhushan Steel Ltd which has been acquired by Tata Steel through the insolvency process. As per information on Bhushan Steels website, its new Board comprises a MD, one Independent Director and three Non-Executive Directors. While Krishnava Dutt has been appointed Independent Director, Anand Sen, Shuva Mandal and Dibyendu Dutta are new Non-Executive Directors. Meanwhile, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Tuesday issued notices to the resolution professional and Committee of Creditors of Bhushan Steel over the plea filed by its creditor L&T, seeking to recover Rs 961.56 crore. PTI Black money list: ED seizes Burmans assets New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it had seized assets worth Rs 20.87 crore of Dabur Group Director Pradip Burman in connection with its FEMA probe in the HSBC bank black money list unearthed a few years ago. The ED initiated the action under the FEMA provisions and the seized assets, including 50,000 tax-free government bonds. It took over the case on the basis of a chargesheet filed by the Income Tax Department against Burman as part of its probe in the leaked HSBC list of Indians.The agency said it was found that Burman deposited $32.12 lakh in his account with HSBC bank in Zurich and that he "did not" show this amount in his 2007-08 ITRs. PTI A first: Woman to lead NY Stock Exchange New York: The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for the first time in its 226-year history will be led by a woman. Stacey Cunningham, who started her career as a floor clerk on the NYSE trading floor, will become the 67th president of the Big Board. Cunningham, who is the chief operating officer for the NYSE Group, becomes president Friday. Current NYSE President Thomas Farley is leaving to head a special purpose acquisition company. AP Cairn India to invest Rs 37,000 cr in Barmer Jaipur: Cairn India, a subsidiary of Vedanta Ltd, which contributes around 27% of the country's total crude oil production, plans to invest Rs 37,000 crore in Barmer's oil fields to increase the production. It will help in achieving a production target of 5 lakh barrels of oil per day (BOPD) from Rajasthan. Initially, the company will invest Rs 12,000 crore in the next two years to increase the production to 3 lakh BOPD. This was stated by company's CEO Sudhir Mathur during a meeting with state government officials here on Saturday. He said it will also create about 7,000 new jobs. The Rajasthan Government gets around Rs 3,500 crore annually as royalty from Cairn. The company has so far invested over $9 billion in the Barmer basin. Vedanta-Cairn has extended bids for all 55 sectors proposed in the first auction of oil and gas under the new Open Acreage Licensing Policy. OC singhking99@yahoo.com New Delhi, May 21 The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday declined to stay Tata Steels 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 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 NCLTs order approving sale of the debt-ridden firm to Tata Steel. L&Ts 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 stay on the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which had approved Tata Steels bid for Bhushan Steel under corporate insolvency resolution process. Singal, who holds around 22% stake in Bhushan Steel, had requested the appellate tribunal to maintain status quo over the companys 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% equity in the company offered by Tata Steel. PTI Deal to cut banks NPAs by Rs 35,000 crore singhking99@yahoo.com New Delhi, May 21 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 on Monday. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal had 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 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. PTI What is PCA framework editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 21 Giving relief to residents, the Chandigarh Administration has extended the deadline for installing solar plants by six months. Sources said the decision was taken after a large number of associations of traders, industrialists and residents approached the Administration seeking an extension of the deadline citing various reasons. The sources said UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore had given the nod for the relaxation and a formal notification in this regard would be issued soon. The Administration, in a notification issued on May 18, 2016, had made installation of rooftop solar power plants mandatory in houses and commercial and industrial units measuring 500 sq yards and above as well as in group housing societies. While the solar plants were mandatory in new houses, the owners of the existing houses were earlier given two years to comply with the direction. The sources said there were 7,500 residential, commercial and industrial units measuring 500 sq yards and above which would have to install the solar plants. Only 550 houses have installed the solar plants so far. The Administration has fixed a target of generating 50 MW by 2022. It is providing subsidy to the residents to install the solar panel. monicakchauhan@gmail.com Washington, May 22 A US Navy veteran who yelled "Get out of my country!" before killing Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and injuring two others at a bar in Kansas City last year, has pleaded guilty to three federal hate-crime charges. Adam Purinton, 53, who is already serving life in prison on a state murder charge, pleaded guilty in US District Court in Kansas City yesterday to three federal hate-crime charges alleging that he targeted the men because of their actual and perceived race, colour, religion and national origin. He had earlier in March pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of 32-year-old Kuchibhotla and two counts of attempted first-degree murder in state court in the shootings of the Indian tech worker's friend Madasani and a bystander. The US Attorney's Office in Kansas had filed hate crime charges against Purinton last June. Purinton, a white man, faced a possible death sentence for the federal charges. Under the plea, though, Purinton will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on each of the three counts, with the sentences to run consecutively to each other and to the life term ordered earlier this month in Johnson County, Kansas. "Hate crimes are acts of evil, and the Department of Justice has prioritized their zealous prosecution," said Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio on Monday. In this case, Purinton embarked on a murderous rampage with clear premeditation to kill on the basis of race, colour, religion, and national origin, he said. "It was a hate crime, and he is being brought to justice. 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. And this prosecution sends a message across the nation: hate crimes will not be tolerated," Panuccio said. Kuchibhotla's widow, Sunayana Dumala, did not attend the court hearing, but later released a statement thanking federal prosecutors and the FBI. "Today's change in the federal hate crime case against the murderer of my husband Srinu is a significant step to putting an end to hate crimes committed against people of colour and from different cultures," she said. "The actions of the court send a strong message that hate is never acceptable." Several weeks before the shooting, Kuchibhotla along with his fellow engineer at Garmin, Madasani was at Austins when Purinton saw them and made a comment to another patron. "Did you see the terrorists on the patio?" Purinton asked. The patron told him they were from India and they were not terrorists. On February 22, 2017, the two friends were once again having an after-work drink at the bar when Purinton approached and confronted them. He demanded to know where they were from, then poked Kuchibhotla in the chest, and called him a terrorist. "Get out of my country," he yelled. Bar patrons, including Ian Grillot, asked Purinton to leave and he was escorted from the business by employees. Purinton then went home, changed clothes and got his 9mm semi-automatic handgun. He returned to the bar, covered his face with a scarf to hide his identity and went inside. He then fired eight shots at the two Indian men. Kuchibhotla was hit by at least four bullets. Madasani was shot in the leg. As he fled from the shooting, Grillot ran after him. Purinton turned and shot him. Later, Purinton called a friend and said he was on the run from police because he had shot "two Iranians." Earlier this month, the Johnson County judge had sentenced Purinton to nearly 78 years in prison as part of a plea agreement reached in March. PTI editorial@tribune.com Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 21 More than a year after the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act coming into effect, the state government has failed to frame rules under it. Taking up the issue, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has set a four-month deadline for the state to take necessary steps. The rules, among other things, provide for manner of constituting committees for research on disability and providing support of a guardian. The direction by acting Chief Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa came on a petition filed in public interest by the All-India Blind Employees Association against the Union of India and other respondents. They were seeking quashing of an order dated February 16, 2016, vide which a commissioner was appointed for persons with disabilities under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act. As the case came up for hearing, counsel representing the petitioner fairly stated that validity of the then commissioners appointment was not required to be gone into as his tenure had already ended. Dinesh Shastri had been appointed commissioner for a year. The counsel submitted that the only prayer that survived in the petition was regarding Haryanas obligation to frame rules under Section 101 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. The section deals with the state governments powers to make the rules. It says the government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out provisions of the Act, not later than six months from the date of its commencement. The Bench asserted that a bare perusal of the statutory provision mandated the state government to make rules for carrying out provisions of the Act not later than six months from its commencement. It was not disputed that the 2016 Act came into force with effect from April 19, 2017. The state counsel, in response, submitted that the government was under obligation to frame the rules and notify these as per the 2016 Act. He was not in a position to furnish a timeframe within which the rules would be framed. Keeping in view the laudable object sought to be achieved under the Act, the instant writ petition is disposed of, with a direction to Haryana and the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment to take necessary steps to frame rules as per mandate of Section 101 of the 2016 Act. The rules be framed and notified expeditiously and in any case within four months from the date of receiving the orders certified copy, the Bench asserted. editorial@tribune.com Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 21 A preliminary inquiry into the incident of hurling of black oil at Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at Hisar has pointed towards laxity on the part of the district police that formed the third layer of his three-tier security. A youth, identified as Praveen Sawant, had thrown black oil at Khattar ahead of his roadshow at Hisar on Thursday last. The Chief Ministers security wing of the Haryana Police in Chandigarh had ordered an inquiry into the incident. Anil Kumar Rao, IGP, CID, confirmed that the inquiry had revealed negligence on the part of police personnel deployed in the third and the outermost layer of the Chief Ministers security. Sources said that the first layer of Khattars security comprises his personal security officers (PSOs), who keep an eye on the activities of people coming close to him or trying to meet him. The second layer of the security ring comprises a close protection team (CPT) that surrounds Khattar so that no unwanted person comes close to him. Both PSOs and CPT members travel with Khattar wherever he goes while the third layer that makes a bigger circle outside the CPT comprises local police personnel. The sources said that the youth, who hurled black oil at Khattar, was able to break the third security layer but could not go beyond the CPT that overpowered him immediately after the incident. Rao said that action would be taken against those found negligent in duty in the final inquiry report. Meanwhile, it has been decided to strengthen Khattars security in view of his increased mobility and roadshows where he meets a large number of people. Police personnel deployed in the Chief Ministers security are trained in firearms and have physical fitness but now it has been decided to emphasis more on these aspects considering the possibility of more unsavoury incidents in the wake of the approaching Assembly and parliamentary elections and hectic political activities. The sources said that DGP BS Sandhu had through videoconferencing reviewed the Chief Ministers security recently and directed SPs to be more vigilant during Khattars visits to their districts. amansharma@tribunemail.com Chandigarh, May 22 The Haryana Police on Tuesday arrested a wanted criminal carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, a police spokesperson said. The accused, Surender alias Sunder, a member of Shanidev alias Kuki gang, allegedly involved in several cases of murder, attempt to murder, robbery and also had cases against him under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, for the last 10 years, the spokesperson of the Haryana Police Department said here. The spokesperson said a police team had also seized a country-made pistol from his possession. He said during patrolling in the area of police station Beri in Jhajjar district, the police had got an information that a wanted criminal, carrying an illegal weapon, was roaming in the area with an intention to commit a crime. The team immediately rushed near bridge of drain number 8 on Beri-Dubaldhan road to nab him. After seeing the police, he tried to escape, but was arrested. The accused is a native of Halalpur village, Sonepat, now residing at Swantra Nagar, Narela, Delhi. He was produced before a court in Jhajjar from where he was sent to judicial custody. In a separate case, a police team of Nuh arrested a proclaimed offender who was wanted in at least 18 cases of crime. The accused, carrying a reward of Rs 25,000, was identified as Sokin alias Sunda, a resident of Salaheri in district Nuh. He was arrested wanted in several cases of attempt to murder, robbery, loot, hurt and others since 2005, the spokesman said. Sokin was also wanted in some cases registered under the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) registered at different police stations of Nuh, Rewari, Dharuhera, Manesar, Tauru, Sohna and Gurugram, he said. - PTI editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Shimla, May 21 Apple farmers under the Kisan Jameen Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (KJBSS) on Monday staged a protest march from Hatkoti to Saraswati Nagar and blocked traffic for three hours at Hatkoti against the governments eviction drive. They demanded an immediate arrest and suspension of the DFO, Rohru, for allegedly cutting apple trees of three farmers. The protest was supported and led by farmer leaders Rakesh Singha, Theog MLA, Dr Kuldip Tanwar, president, HKS, and Sanjay Chauhan, former Shimla Mayor and Harish Gumta, convener of samiti . Addressing a rally, they demanded that Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur should stop the drive immediately . They demanded that the government should file a fresh proposal before the High Court to regularise land up to five bighas for small farmers, who neither had land holdings, nor any other source of income to sustain their families. The evicted small farmers should be compensated and orchards should be given on lease to them, Singha demanded. Carrying banners, the apple farmers raised slogans against the DFO, Rohru. The High Court had asked the aggrieved farmers to file their applications in the court. But the farmers insisted that the police should file an FIR in the case to fix the responsibility. Accompanied by the DSP and SHO, the Rohru SDM rushed to the spot and asked protesters to lift the jam, assuring them that the government would take action in two days. The farmers also raised anti-government slogans. editorial@tribune.com Legal Correspondent Shimla, May 21 The High Court on Monday directed the state authorities to file a status report within four weeks, indicating the steps taken by it on the project report, prepared by the Rotary Club of Shimla, for the development of Kufri. The court had directed the Advocate General to convene a meeting of all stakeholders for taking appropriate action on the project report. A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Ajay Mohan Goel passed this order on a petition taken up suo motu by the court as PIL petition on the issue of deteriorating condition of Kufri. The court had asked the Rotary Club to prepare a project report for the proper development of this area. The court passed this order on a letter wherein it was alleged that condition of Kufri had been deteriorating day by day. There are a number of horses for tourists. Roads, paths and public places were littered with dung. The petitioner had prayed that necessary directions might be issued to the district and police administration to maintain cleanliness. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Shimla, May 22 Highlighting the emotional connect he has with Himachal, which he visited for the first time in 1974, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday said the land of gods and valiant soldiers had today earned the reputation of a model hill state that others were emulating. Kovind was speaking at the civic reception organised in his honour, which he attended with his wife Savita Kovind, daughter, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. This is the second-ever civic reception organised in the state capital for the President, with the other being organised in the honour of former President Shankar Dayal Sharma. Kovind arrived here on Sunday and will return on May 25. "The visit here is virtually like a walk down the memory lane. I seem to be having some close connection with the state as it was on May 20 last year when I was here and I got the information that I had been chosen the NDA's presidential candidate," he recalled. He said when as President he was asked to choose a traditional attire of any state, the obvious choice was Himachal and he wore the cap from the state, which he is often seen wearing. The President said the rich and pious "Dev Bhoomi" of Himachal found mention in the Rig Vedas, the Mahabharata and other epics. "The state has immense potential for tourism and hydropower generation. The state is ranked on the top in areas like rural infrastructure, women empowerment, poverty alleviation and electrification of all areas," he said. Kovind paid tributes to valiant soldiers from here who had made the supreme sacrifices. They included Major Somnath Sharma, the first PVC recipient, and Kargil heroes Major Vikram Batra, Capt Saurabh Kalia and Rifleman Sanjay Kumar. He also recalled the heroic deeds of Ram Singh Pathania who virtually shook the foundation of the British Raj in India. He also lauded steps taken by the state for environment protection, including earning carbon credits and construction of the Rohtang tunnel which would herald economic prosperity and open new vistas of tourism in the tribal belt. The President's wife earlier visited the Institute for Visually and Hearing Impaired at Dhalli. She interacted with the students there. Speaking on the occasion, Governor Acharya Devvrat said the state had a lot of potential for promoting organic and zero-budget farming, which need to be promoted. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said Himachal had the honour of hosting the President. "Our state is the most beautiful state not just in scenic beauty but also in terms of its rich culture, heritage and its simple hardworking people," he said. Thakur said he had been in office for only four months, but had a vision to take the state to heights of development. "Despite constraints like limited resources and finances, our endeavour is to take Himachal, which is far more developed than many big states, to greater heights," he said. Invites citizens to Rashtrapati Bhawan I am the first citizen of the country by the virtue of which I get to live in the Rashtrapati Bhawan but as citizens of the country, each one of you too have a right over the Rashtrapati Niwas. So whenever you visit Delhi, you are welcome to visit the place. editorial@tribune.com Ambika Sharma Tribune News Service Solan, May 21 The classroom teaching should be practically put to use for the betterment of the agrarian sector by students of Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, said President Ram Nath Kovind here on Monday. He was addressing staff and students of the university on the occasion of its 9th convocation. He said he considered each student and teacher of this university to be a technically-equipped friend and partner of the farmer and said the role of the agriculture scientists in the nations development could not be ignored. Kovind recalled the contribution of the states first Chief Minister Dr YS Parmar on the occasion and also dwelt on the role of a simple villager, Baba Bhalkhu, who had helped the British carve out the 112-year-old engineering marvel of the Kalka-Shimla railline, which was now a UNESCO heritage rail track. Elaborating on the significance of Nauni university, he said it had the distinction of being the first horticultural university in Asia. He said the research in horticulture and forestry had a special significance for the agrarian community of the mountainous region. He lauded the universitys contribution in the past three decades and said it had helped in the advancement of horticulture and forestry in the state. The President congratulated the students for pursuing education in the agricultural sector and said it was associated with the prosperity of farmers and the entire country. He said branding of agrarian products was gaining significance and Himachal had earned a high-brand value for products like apples from Kinnaur, Mushrooms from Solan, flowers from Sirmaur and tea from Kangra. Quoting from the national anthem, Bharat bhagya vidhata, he said it was an apt description for the students who had the onus of ensuring development of the country and he urged them to adopt entrepreneurship. He said their goal should not be limited to securing a job, rather they should use their knowledge to generate jobs. There is immense potential in the field of fruit and vegetable processing and the university students can utilise their knowledge to enhance the prospects of the agrarian community, he further said. He urged the students to avail benefits of various schemes and initiatives of the Union and the state governments to boost the farming sector. He also emphasised that the farmers needed to use modern technology to reap higher benefits. The President was happy that a large number of women had excelled and six out of nine gold medals had been bagged by girls. One among them had bagged two medals. He said the women not only contributed more to traditional farming, but women from the hills were more hardworking and they had proved themselves in all fields. He presented degrees to 462 students on the occasion. Universitys Chancellor-cum-Governor Acharya Devvrat in his address, urged the students to acknowledge the contribution of teachers in shaping their lives. He said the horticulturists had great expectations from the university and also dwelt upon the significance of zero budget natural farming. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur lauded the contribution of the university in producing best scientists and professionals for the state and the nation. The students passing out from this university had earned name in various reputed institutes not only in India but across the world, he said. Dr HC Sharma, Vice-Chancellor of the university, welcomed the President and other dignitaries and also read out the nnual report on the occasion. Dr NS Rathore, Deputy Director General (Education) Research and Extension Council, ICAR, New Delhi, gave a discourse on Higher education in agriculture on the occasion.Rajesh Kumar, Registrar of the university, presented the vote of thanks.Speaker Vidhan Sabha Dr Rajiv Bindal, MLAs DR Shandil and Dr Rajiv Saizal and MP Shimla Virender Kashyap were also present on the occasion. Prez politely declines honorary degree President Ram Nath Kovind declined the university's offer of being conferred with a honorary doctorate degree and said he was not capable of accepting it while respecting their sentiments. The university had duly included this as part of their official programme and he was supposed to be conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of Science at the onset of the convocation.Roads closed for civic reception today Roads closed for civic reception today Shimla: The public could face some inconvenience while commuting as President Ram Nath Kovind will attend the civic reception hosted by the state government at Peterhoff on Tuesday. As the reception is scheduled to start at 4 pm, the roads will remain closed at Chharabra, Mashobra diversion, Dhalli Chowk, Dhalli tunnel, Sanjauli Chowk, Navbahar Chowk, Kennedy Chowk, IIAS, Boileauganj and Summer Hill from 3:10 pm to 3:50 pm and 5:40 pm to 6:10 pm. To ensure that school kids do not face any problem in returning home, schools have been told to close at 1:30 pm (half day), said Deputy Commissioner Amit Kashyap, adding that the HRTC authorities providing services to schools had also been informed about the change in timings. Meanwhile, President's wife Savita Kovind, along with her daughter and daughter-in-law, visited the Gram Shilp Mela organised by the Language, Art and Culture Department at Bantony Castle. She also bought Chamba chappals and had tea at the ADC Club on The Ridge. TNS With election in sight, Punjab CM Charanjit Channi announces scheme to give ownership rights to people living in lal dora in rural areas Says that under the scheme, the beneficiaries will get the p... rchopra@tribunemail.com Srinagar, May 22 Four women, including two sisters, were wounded in Jammu and Kashmirs Shopian district when Army troops allegedly fired at a group of civilians protesting an iftar feast organised by the force, police said on Tuesday. The injured were rushed to a hospital and their condition is said to be stable after the firing in Shopians DK Pora area on Monday evening, a police official said. Troops of the Armys counter-insurgency force, 34 Rashtriya Rifles, had erected a tent outside a mosque to host an iftar feast for the locals. According to eyewitnesses, the residents objected to it as they had already communicated their disinterest to the Armys local unit. Clashes broke out when the locals asked the soldiers to leave but the latter resisted, they said. In the ensuing melee, the troops opened fire at the protesters, the eyewitnesses added. Taking cognisance of the incident, an investigation had been initiated, the police official said. A defence spokesperson said a detailed statement about the incident would be issued later in the day. A media interaction of General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 15 Corps, Lt General AK Bhatt, in Bandipora district on Tuesday was cancelled by the army without giving any reasons. PTI editorial@tribune.com Vikas Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, May 21 After last years narrow miss to conquer the worlds highest peak, Mount Everest (29,035 ft), 53-year-old Sangeeta Sindhi Bahl from Jammu has brought laurels to the state this year. On May 19, she became the first woman from J&K and the oldest woman from India to scale the mountain. Bahl, who was born and brought up in Jammu, was a finalist of the Miss India contest in 1985. The ace climber has now returned to the Everest base camp from where she will return to Kathmandu (Nepal) on Tuesday. Bahl broke the record of her compatriot Premlata Agarwal who on May 20, 2011, became the oldest Indian woman to scale the Everest at the age of 48. I feel on top of the world after scaling the worlds highest peak, she told The Tribune from the Mount Everest base camp. When asked what her thoughts were during the expedition, she said, There was no fear at all. Life is too short to keep thinking. On being questioned about restrictions of age, she said, Age is just a number. Everything falls in place if you pursue your dreams at any age. Sangeeta is also the founder director of Impact Image Consultants based in Gurgaon. She and six other climbers were evacuated from the higher camps of Mount Everest in 2017 after they suffered high-altitude sickness. It was her maiden attempt then. Fearless On May 19, Sangeeta Sindhi Bahl became the first woman from Jammu and Kashmir and the oldest woman from India to scale the highest mountain. Born and brought up in Jammu, she was a finalist of the Miss India contest in 1985. When asked what her thoughts were during the expedition, she said, There was no fear at all. Life is too short to keep thinking. rchopra@tribunemail.com Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, May 22 As killings of civilians are going on unabated on the International Border (IB) due to heavy shelling from the Pakistani side, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association on Tuesday suspended its work to express solidarity with the border inhabitants, who have been bearing the maximum brunt. Work in all courts, tribunals and commissions remained suspended on Tuesday in protest against the killing of civilians, including that of an eight-month-old child, in unprovoked firing by Pakistan. A meeting of the Association was held on Tuesday morning under the chairmanship of its vice president Sachin Gupta in which all participants condemned the unprovoked firing by Pakistan on civilians. Speaking at the meeting, Gupta regretted that during the holy month of Ramzan when the Union Government had announced a unilateral ceasefire, the Pakistani side resorted to shelling and firing on our border villages in which civilian lives were lost and many others injured. Killing of a child in Mondays firing incident is against humanity and such act of cowardice cannot be justified by Pakistan. The residents of border villages have to flee from their homes and find shelter in camps. The main livelihood of the residents of the border villages is agriculture and it is severely affected as the livestock is being slaughtered and humans cannot venture out of safe zones. The education of children is severely affected as schools remain closed and people live in fear of their lives, he said. The association expressed solidarity with the residents of border villages. Prem Sadotra, general secretary of the association, while condemning the decision of the Central and state governments to declare a unilateral ceasefire, appealed to the state government and district administration to make necessary arrangements at the camps set up for lodging the residents of border villages and offered to provide whatever assistance would be required from their end. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Jammu, May 21 Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday visited the RS Pura area and condoled with the families whose kin were killed in the Pakistani shelling at Arnia and RS Pura in the past few days. She also visited the family of Tarsem Lal and his wife Manjeet Kaur, who died in Arnia on May 18 after a Pakistani shell exploded in their house. Interacting with the people there, the Chief Minister described the killings as highly unfortunate as these had occurred when the holy month of Ramzan had just begun and people had heaved a sigh of relief due to the Centres step of halting security operations in the state. Mehbooba said people who have gone through tough times in the past want to live a peaceful life. She said the Centres move of halting security operations had generated hope among people, who expect positive reciprocation to it by all stakeholders. On the occasion, the Chief Minister disbursed a cash assistance of Rs 1 lakh each among the families whose kin were killed in the cross-border shelling in the last few days. This assistance is over and above the ex gratia already paid to them through the Jammu divisional administration. She directed the Jammu divisional administration to prepare a report on damaged houses and dwelling units during the border shelling. shalender@tribune.com Azhar Qadri Tribune News Service Shopian/Pulwama, May 22 With the completion of the first week of Ramzan ceasefire on Tuesday, quietness has descended on South Kashmir the ground zero of new-age militancy and home to most of the local militants in the region. The ceasefire, announced by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday last, has meant that the cordon and search operations and the gunfights which had become a routine have temporarily halted and the local population is at ease. The cordon and search operations the sealing off of a locality followed by either a random or precise search for militants are the backbone of counter-insurgency and area-domination activity of security forces. In the last two years, these operations became the cornerstone of an increasingly deadly enmity between residents of volatile pockets of south Kashmir and security forces and several such operations ended up with civilian casualties. Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Pulwama district, said the ceasefire had come as a respite. Earlier it was difficult for us to go outside after dark. For the last few days the situation is different, but we are careful and cautious we do not want to end up making any error that can get us killed, he said. The recent years of confrontation in south Kashmir has given birth to a new anger and also fearlessness. Some residents are not too optimistic about the outcome of the ceasefire. These things (ceasefire) mean nothing. Once the Ramzan will end, it will go back to what it was, a resident of Shopian district said. The quietness is pervasive across south Kashmir. Its orchards are in full bloom and covered in green outgrowth. These orchards have often served as summer stopovers for militants, where they have posed for pictures and sat for meetings. Though one of the militant outfits has officially rejected the ceasefire and others have been silent, ultras have made no attempt to mount any major attack. There have been isolated incidents, including that of weapon-snatching, but so far militants have either not attempted or not succeeded in inflicting casualties during the ceasefires first week. The cessation of attacks or failure to carry out any by militants is also rooted in the reality that militants suffered severe setbacks in recent months with 66 of them, including seven senior commanders, getting killed in counter-insurgency operations. There has been a successful mitigation of threats, most of it from the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba, Kashmir IGP Swayam Prakash Pani told The Tribune. The senior police officer said the elimination of the senior leadership of militant outfits has caused severe reversals to the militants. That is the reason there has been no major attack this year like it happened last year, Pani said. Most of the militants killed in the year so far were locals who were part of a modest and localised insurgent resurgence which concentrated itself in south Kashmir districts. Shopian district, which had the highest concentration of militants, witnessed some of the deadliest gunfights in which more than 20 militants were killed. Sources said 45 new militants joined insurgency in five months, including few highly educated youth, and some of them resorted to snatching of weapons from the policemen an indication that the new militants are short of supplies to fuel their war. Isolated incidents reported There have been isolated incidents, including that of weapon-snatching, but so far militants have either not attempted or not succeeded in inflicting casualties during the first week of the ceasefire. editorial@tribune.com Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, May 22 An eight-month-old was killed when a bullet fired by Pakistan hit him around 10.30 pm on Sunday in Saire Palai village of the Khour subdivision in Jammu district. Nitin Sharma, son of Gopal Dass, was sleeping beside his mother when he was hit by the bullet. At 10.30 pm on Sunday, a bullet fired from across the border hit Nitin when he was sleeping beside his mother Nishu Devi on the verandah of their house. The infant suddenly started crying and his clothes were drenched in blood, said Sumit Kumar, Nitins cousin, on the phone from Saire Palai village. He said: Due to the bad condition of roads and non-availability of an ambulance, we reached the nearby hospital around 3 am, but, unfortunately, by that time Nitin had died. Nishu Devi is inconsolable since Monday night, he added. What enmity did Pakistan have with the eight-month-old infant? asked Sumit. He said intermittent firing was going on in the area for the last one week. Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Khour, Devinder Bhagat said a bullet had pierced through the body of an infant and he had died of excessive bleeding. The SDM said the firing from across the border was a routine affair in Saire Palai village on the Line of Control in the Palanwalla sector of Khour. We are waiting for the post-mortem, he said. Bhagat said the bullet which had pierced through the infants body was found on the verandah of the house where he was sleeping with his mother. Although there is widespread condemnation over the infants killing, politicians and the authorities have not met the bereaved family yet. Locals told The Tribune that only the Station House Officer of the Khour police station had met the family. Local MLA Krishan Lal said: I am in constant touch with the family and will visit the village on Wednesday. Box: Ambulance could have saved baby Locals, who spoke to this reporter over the phone, said had there been an ambulance and better road connectivity, the infant could have been saved. They said firing from Pakistan in border villages of Pallanwala was a routine. They said Saire Palai, Jogwa, Battal, Harjani, Magaree, Bari, Takhar, Bardoh, Kalakhas and Mana villages, which had a population of nearly 10,000, had no telephone network. Most of the villages are situated across the Manawar Tawi and only one bridge, constructed by the Army, connects the inaccessible villages with the rest of Jammu district. editorial@tribune.com Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 22 The Army has taken disciplinary action against one of its officers who gave hand grenades to a soldier who was detained at Srinagar International Airport before he could board a New Delhi-bound flight in April last year. The disciplinary action against the accused officer has been initiated after a Court of Inquiry found the Major guilty of giving two live grenades to the soldier to carry them to New Delhi. We have taken disciplinary action in the case against the officer who had given the solider the grenades to carry, a senior defence officer privy to the development said. The officer was attached immediately, he said, but did not elaborate upon the disciplinary action taken against the guilty officer. A 17 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles jawan, Bhupal Mukhia, who was posted at the Line of Control in the Uri sector of Baramulla district in north Kashmir, was to board a New Delhi-bound flight on April 3, 2017, when two live grenades were recovered from his luggage during the screening at the main gate of the Srinagar International Airport. The grenades were concealed in multiple covers. The jawan was immediately detained by the anti-hijacking squad and a formal FIR was registered into the incident by the J&K Police. After the recovery of the grenades, Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia had clarified that it was a case of carriage of grenades and there was no hijacking angle to the incident. The jawan had told the police that he was handed over the grenades by Major sahib with the instruction to hand it over to someone in New Delhi. The jawan had said he did not know what was concealed in the packet. Mukhia was handed over to the Army authorities on April 14 after the Commanding Officer of the jawan told the civil court that Mukhia would be dealt with under the Army Act. A court of inquiry initiated by the Army found that the jawan had been given the hand grenades by a Major to carry it to New Delhi. SOLDIER DETAINED IN SRINAGAR LAST YEAR harinder@tribunemail.com Amit Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, May 21 Pakistan Rangers yet again resorted to unprovoked shelling in the Arnia sector, injuring seven persons, including a Special Police Officer (SPO), and triggering panic among villages along the International Border on Monday. The local administration began evacuating people from the border areas of Ranbir Singh Pura (RS Pura) and closed schools for two days within 5 km of the border. SPO Gulcharan Singh was injured when a mortar shell landed at a police station in Arnia. A seriously injured woman, Darshna Devi, was shifted to GMC, Jammu. The others, also from Arnia, were admitted to a local hospital. Pakistan Rangers, who had earlier halted firing after pleading with the Border Security Force for calm, resorted to unprovoked firing late on Sunday and resumed heavy shelling on Monday. A BSF spokesperson said the Rangers opened small-arms fire at the Narayanpur BOP in Ramgarh sector around 10.30 pm on Sunday for 30 minutes. The BSF retaliated with limited fire. Around 4 am, Rangers restarted small-arms fire in the Arnia sector and switched to heavy mortar shelling around 7 am. A heavy exchange of fire continued till 2 pm. Around 8.45 pm, Chamliyal BOP in the Ramgarh sector was also targeted. Amid shelling, residents started fleeing to safer places. The administration said shelter camps had been set up and vehicles pressed into service to evacuate villagers. As many as 112 schools have been closed for two days. 8-month-old boy dies in firing from across LoC Jammu: An eight-month-old boy was killed in Pakistani firing along the Line of Control (LoC) at Saili Palli village in the Akhnoor sector late on Sunday. Police said the family was sleeping in the house courtyard when a bullet hit the baby. TNS rchopra@tribunemail.com Jammu, May 22 A 70-year-old woman was among the two people injured as Pakistani Rangers opened fire and lobbed mortars along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir early on Tuesday, triggering panic among border residents and forcing many to take shelter in government-run camps. The cross-border firing and shelling continued unabated and has spread to all sectors from Akhnoor to Samba along the IB, a senior BSF official told PTI. He said BSF troops guarding the border retaliated effectively and exchanges between the two sides were continuing when the reports last came in. Inspector General of Police, Jammu, SD Singh Jamwal, said one person was injured in the fresh firing in the worst-hit Arnia sector of Jammu district. Madan Lal Bhagat, a resident of Pindi Charkan village of Arnia, was hit by splinters in the abdomen and foot after a mortar shell hit his house in the early hours of Tuesday, the officials said, adding that he had been admitted to Government Medical College. Police said a 70-year-old woman identified as Kaushalya Devi was also injured in the firing. Jamwal said police parties had been deployed and were helping people shift to safer places from affected areas. Jammu Divisional Commissioner Hemant Kumar Sharma said relief camps had been activated at safer places all along the IB, especially in RS Pura and Arnia sectors, which witnessed heavy mortar shelling by Pakistan over the past two days. Hundreds of people had reported at these camps set up in educational institutes and other government buildings, Sharma said, adding that adequate facilities had been made available at these camps so that the displaced people did not face any problem. He said all schools vulnerable to Pakistani shelling had been closed along the IB as a precautionary measure. PTI editorial@tribune.com Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 21 Normal life was affected in Kashmir on Monday due to a shutdown call issued to commemorate the death anniversaries of Moulvi Farooq, Abdul Gani Lone and also Hawal massacre victims. The joint resistance leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik had called for a march and complete shutdown to mark the death anniversaries of the two leaders. The government placed the separatist leaders under detention and imposed restrictions in downtown areas. Eidagh grounds were kept out of bound for the people. The nation today joins to pay glowing tributes to the peoples leader #ShaheedEMillat Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq, #ShaheedEHurriyat Abdul Ghani Lone and the #61Martyrs of #HawalMassacre on their martyrdom anniversary. The rulers will not allow us to collectively commemorate this day, Mirwaiz wrote on Twitter. Later, he went live on the social networking site. Moulvi Farooq was killed on May 21, 1990, while Lone was killed on May 21, 2002 at Eidgah, by unknown gunmen. Both Moulvi Farooq and Lone are buried at the martyrs graveyard at Eidgah. In response to the shutdown call, shops and other business establishments in Srinagar and other major towns of the Valley remained closed. Traffic too remained off the roads. Moulvi Farooq, the 14th Mirwaiz (chief cleric) of Kashmir, was killed by unidentified gunmen after they barged into his Nigeen residence. 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For Java, Worldwide Certification is provided by Oracle Inc. Certifications in this language are useful since mainstream engineering courses have Java as a core subject. Hence job profiles with such certificates are dealt with priority. Oracle Certified Associate (OCA): First-level of certification indicating a good basic understanding of the language. Oracle Certified Professional (OCP): A benchmark for professionals in the field of Java programming. Oracle Certified Master (OCM): A highly skilled and experienced programmer https://certification.oracle.com/ Difficulty level: Intermediate. It has medium level difficulty and is divided majorly into Core Java and Advanced Java. Python Decidedly the easiest and a quintessential language in the programming world. Development of software, websites, web applications everything is done using this neat, clean and powerful language. Python is supported by Google almost vocally. Python is presently the third most paying language but is comparatively easier to catch on than the top two. Python on a resume makes the candidate eligible for positions such as an Analyst, Software Engineer, Data Scientist, Software developer. Courses are available online on Coursera, Udemy, Lynda. Python as such has no official certification. Institutes in Mumbai, Delhi are providing high-quality classroom training as well. As of now there is a lack of government research centers to teach programming languages. Here are the top two places where you can go for certified Python courses in India. Analytix lab, Delhi Flagship programme: Data Science with SAS and R, Certified Big Data Analyst IMS Proschool, Mumbai Flagship programme: NSE India Certified Business analytics Programme. Difficulty level: Easy ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Gurnaaz Kaur Marriages may be made in heaven, but the dates are fixed on Mother Earth! Each year astrologers chalk out mahurats (dates) that are favourable for marriages, but this time around they are a bit farther than expected. Says astrologer Madan Gupta Spatu, The band, baaja and baraat shall remain off the road from mid-May till November. This is due to Mal Maas or Adhik Maas (known as excess month or inauspicious month in astrological jargon). According to religious and astrological norms, all auspicious activities are banned during such period. So, do people really believe in these mahurats? Does the date matter more than the availability of a venue? Those in business share their take. These dates not only decide the future of a couple, they also decide the future of our business. People really follow these mahurats. Peak season and lean season in our profession is based on this annual forecast. This year, we hardly have any bookings in October, November and December; these are otherwise months that are packed, says Sandeep Sharma, GM, Palm Resorts, Zirakpur. Seconds Akbar Grewal, general manager, Grandeur Lawn and Banquet, Its only the Sikh community that makes the choice of wedding date based on a weekend, rest everyone here sticks by what their astrologer says. That way, the business is very largely correlated. From the past few years, right in the beginning of a year most astrologers come out with the auspicious dates. You can find them online too. Our business thrives on these dates. Date with destiny Things probably are a bit different when it comes to hotels. People definitely focus on auspicious dates, but if our hotel is booked for a particular day, they do consider other dates. Unlike many resorts, even this year we have bookings, shares Gautam Chhabra, senior manager, sales centre, JW Marriot. Even caterers, tent-house owners, make-up artistes and wedding planners rely on the auspicious dates to get their business rolling. Booking in-charge Sanjay Denod of Ambrozia Catering says, Our bookings this year are majorly affected. We have work from June 17 till 25, and after that we have some weddings around September and October. For the last so many years, November 10-13 have been completely booked but this year, so far, not even a single booking is there. Talking business The owner of Food Kraft, another known name in the catering industry, is of the same view. This year things arent that good for our business. We do get other parties and functions, but the Hindu wedding rush hasnt been felt, says Sandeep Sharma from Food Kraft. Adds Jagtar Singh, Chandni Tent House owner, Over the years, we have learnt ways to accommodate many weddings on one day because the moment these auspicious dates are out, there is a huge rush. Make-up artistes are feeling the heat too. Mahurats are not taken out for smaller ceremonies like engagement and roka, but when it comes to weddings people stick to them. This is particularly the case with North-Indians. By this time of the year, bookings are closed for November, December and January. People and service-provides have to plan ahead of time, says freelance make-up artiste Tanvi Goyal. Nowadays, all functions and ceremonies have themes; there are destination weddings, the invites ooze creativity and all this is done by wedding planners. Rudra event planners think budget is what decides the dates. Its simple maths. Grand weddings are equal to big budgets. High-end clients dont care about dates; they are very flexible and smart. They know heavy dates would mean spending almost the double. Instead, they up the ante in the features and services at a wedding, explains Rohit Saini, who has been in the business for nine years now. gurnaaz@tribunemail.com Sunday is special shalender@tribune.com One of the UKs most eligible bachelors, Hollywood star Hugh Grant is finally ready to tie the knot at the age of 57 for the first time! 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. Though the British actor will marry for the first time, he has been involved in several high-profile relationships, including one with English actress and model Elizabeth Jane Hurley. ANI shalender@tribune.com High drama: Quantico Catch Priyanka Chopra as Alex Parrish in this crime-drama series. Quantico revolves around a rookie FBI recruit with a mysterious past and also stars Jake McLaughlin, Tate Ellington, Aunjanue Ellis and Graham Rogers, who play fellow recruits. Catch Season 3 of Quantico on Star World in India. Cop story: Brooklyn Nine-Nine This hilarious sit-com set in New York City revolves around the life of Jake Peralta, who is someone who doesnt take his work seriously. In the 99th precinct, however, a new commanding officer, Captain Ray Holt, enters and reminds this hotshot cop to respect the badge. Watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Comedy Central in India. Search for truth: Homeland Homeland is a compelling series, which revolves around the political world. It is an American spy thriller, which airs on Star World in India. The strong CIA agent, Carrie Mathison, who suffers from a bipolar disorder, is determined to uncover the actual truth behind the several ISIS facades. Criminal lanes: Dexter Dexter is a serial-killer who works for the police department, but he is not really a criminal the police are after, thanks to a strict personal code instilled in him by his adoptive father. Dexter only practices his hobby on people who really, really deserve it. Watch the show on Netflix. Elementary stuff: Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes is back with a modern twist! Benedict Cumberbatch plays Holmes, a brilliant, but eccentric, private detective, the police calls upon to help with the most intriguing of mysteries. Catch it on AXN! ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Manpriya Singh Sonam Kapoors wedding is not quite over. Not yet. The frenzy continues over her changed name to whether shell be shifting base and in the meanwhile, shes just cut the surprise wedding cake at Cannes and returned to Mumbai. Mr Ahuja, too, is just getting used to having to explain everything, from his footwear to his new middle name (he is Anand S Ahuja on Instagram). As for the fans, they continue to savour every little detail that trickles in through various sources and curiously question whosever happened to be at the wedding. Like we do with Anand Rathi, the man behind all the images of the couples, which have broken the net in the past week! He credits the surreal bride and very real family for all the splendid images. Meet the bride As for Sonam, he breaks whatever myths the followers might harbour. She was the most non-interfering bride ever; cool, calm and zero tantrums. Though the best part was the fact, that she never forgot to smile, which goes on to show she was happy and beaming from inside. He adds, She always got ready before time and actually made it a point to spend time with her family. Well, if the questions dont end there, nor do the answers. Think of them as one huge extended family who were having a blast and nobody discussed work. To actually be there, shattered all the starry images. They are as real as any other family. The wedding itself, Anand Karaj, made for a picturesquely delightful ceremony. So be it Salman Khan suddenly appearing on to the stage and in his party mode or Sukhbir taking the entire arena by storm, everything is fresh and vivid in his memory. Not that theres werent glitches, like they happen at every Indian wedding. There were no negative glitches as such, but everything that didnt go as per plan also elevated it to higher level. Chandigarh weddings Nowhere do the true colours of any community come alive than at weddings. I have done a couple of weddings in Chandigarh, including one of a prominent jeweller. Everywhere else a big wedding means 500 to 700 people, but in Chandigarh thats the starting number for any big wedding. Which is in stark contrast to Gujarati weddings, where punctuality is counted by the minute, or even Mumbai weddings that are prim and proper; but in Chandigarh, fun comes first and the guests have nowhere else to be. If they are having a good time then the revelry continues till eternity; they let the next days schedules figure themselves out. Balance-sheets to megapixels Its hard to imagine that its been only five-and-a-half years since this self-taught artist professionally started operations after quitting his finance job. That was when Fearless Photographers was found, currently a team of 20 people, all in their twenties. But when I first picked up the camera was when I was pursuing MBA in The States. What started with pre-wedding couple shoots of his friends in America is a journey spanning all the continents and honours like Weddison Awards 2017, Tokyo International Foto Awards, amongst others. Each day of photography and videography costs Rs 3 lakh upwards and they are open for bookings in February 2019. You just have to tell me seven months in advance, he signs off. manpriya@tribunemail.com rchopra@tribunemail.com New Delhi, May 22 The Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka would not last long as the two parties had come together with a selfish motive, BJP leader and Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said on Tuesday. People of Karnataka gave the mandate for the BJP, which won 104 seats. The Congress-JD(S) alliance has been formed with a selfish motive and it will not last long, the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries told PTI on the sidelines of an Assocham event here. The unholy alliance was formed not in the interest of the people of Karnataka, she said. Look at its history. The JD(S) had broken away from its alliance partners in the past. It cannot fool the people for long. JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is slated to take oath as the chief minister of Karnataka on Wednesday at a swearing-in ceremony which is expected to be attended by several non-BJP chief ministers and party heads. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have confirmed their presence at the swearing-in ceremony. The chief ministers of non-BJP states, including Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), K Chandrashekhar Rao (Telangana) and Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) are also expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Besides, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati are also expected to attend the ceremony. While the ceremony is being seen as a show of opposition unity, the Union minister said the non-BJP leaders are getting united for their own survival and not for the stake of the country. Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to take the reins of the state after the three-day BJP government collapsed last Saturday with BS Yeddyurappa, unable to muster the required number for a majority, stepping down as the chief minister without facing the floor test. 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. PTI gspannu7@gmail.com Tuticorin/Chennai, May 22 Nine people were killed in police firing after protests for the closure of Vedanta groups Sterlite Copper plant over pollution concerns turned violent in Tamil Nadus Tuticorin, with the police action drawing Opposition criticism. Chief Minister K Palaniswami confirmed reports about the death of nine people in police action, while reports claimed many, including policemen, were injured in clashes. Governor Banwarilal Purohit mourned the deaths. Palaniswami announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of the deceased, and ordered judicial inquiry into the violence. The protests were going on in Tuticorin for over three months now, but violence erupted on Tuesday with agitators fighting pitched battles with police, prompting it to open fire. Palaniswami said the protesters took out a procession towards the collectorate in defiance of the prohibitory orders clamped in the specific area in Tuticorin. Hurling stones and setting government vehicles and public property on fire, the agitators went on the rampage in the town, about 600 km from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. The police said nearly 5,000 protesters gathered near a local church and insisted on taking out a rally to the district collectorate after they were denied permission to march to the copper smelter plant. Initial pushing and shoving soon led to violent clashes, after agitated locals began hurling stones at police and overturned a vehicle. Security personnel used batons and burst teargas shells to break up the protest. Many were injured in stone-pelting by the agitators, who also set some vehicles on fire. Windscreens of some government cars were smashed and bank premises were attacked by the rampaging mobs. As the violence spiralled, police opened fire, killing nine people. The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence... police had to control the violence, Palaniswami, who holds the Home portfolio, said. Reinforcements have been rushed from neighbouring districts to Tuticorin to assist the local administration in restoring normalcy. A release said about 20,000 people took out a procession demanding the permanent closure of the plant. PTI gspannu7@gmail.com Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 22 With oil prices rising for the ninth day in a row, BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday said highest levels within the party-led government were working on a solution to provide respite. Responding to queries at a press conference today, the BJP chief said: As far as oil prices are concerned, the government is taking it seriously. Petroleum Minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) is holding a meeting with all oil companies tomorrow. The (oil) prices have increased as per a formula. How it can be reviewed is a chinta (concern) for the government at the highest level. In a couple of days there will be a formula or a solution on it, I am sure. Coming in the penultimate year of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and coinciding with the fourth-anniversary of the Narendra Modi government, the continuously rising prices of petrol and diesel are proving to be a major challenge for the incumbent at the Centre. On May 26 (the BJP-led governments anniversary this year), Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally in Cuttack, Odishaa state from where the party has high hopes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Sources say a solution to the politically-sensitive issue can be expected by then. Notably, Pradhan had on Monday attributed the hike to production cuts initiated by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The government, he added, was working on a solution to provide respite to consumers. Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had also last week said the government was monitoring the situation closely and would take adequate steps soon. Analysts believe that going by current trends, fuel prices could go up more as OMCs try to recover their marketing margins. OMCs had collectively enforced a price freeze for 19 straight days before the Karnataka elections, which was lifted a day after the state polled. Meanwhile, worried over perilous side-effects of the continuous rise, industry bodies have also appealed to the government to immediately cut excise duty on petrol and diesel and include them under the purview of Good and Service Tax (GST). editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 21 BJP chief Amit Shah today defended his partys attempts to form the government in Karnataka while terming as apavitra gathbandhan an impure coalition the coming together of the Congress and the JD(S), the two parties who ran a bitter election campaign against each other. Addressing media following the controversial Karnataka Assembly floor test, Shah said: If we (BJP) had not tried to form the government, it would have been against the mandate of the people. I dont see anything wrong in it. Interestingly, Shah also said if the Congress and the JD(S) had not held captive their MLAs in resorts and hotels, their voters would have shown them the right path. If they had not held captive their MLAs in hotels and resorts, people would have told them to support the BJP, he said, terming the post-poll coalition a betrayal of peoples mandate. In a way, he also questioned the alliances fate. It was already destabilized given the way the two parties continued to keep their MLAs locked undemocratically. I dont think Karnataka gave a confused mandate because the BJP was short of just seven MLAs. The Congress and the JD(S) should tell what they are celebrating in this unholy alliance, he said, negating as adha adhura incomplete the mandate received by the Congress and the JD(S). I pray the Congress sticks to its definition of victory, he mocked adding that then the BJP would have no problem in winning the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The mandate given by people of Karnataka is anti-Congress, anti-JD(S), let there be no confusion. HD Deve Gowdas party fought these elections on an anti-Congress plank and benefited from peoples mood against the incumbent party in the state, he said. Shah, however, struck down the observation that then in those terms the Jammu and Kashmir Government formed by the PDP and the BJP was also an unholy alliance. He also called as a lie Yeddyurappa asking for seven days to prove the majority. He also rejected oppositions criticism that the BJP formed governments in states like Goa and Manipur despite not being the single largest party, saying the Congress (which had most MLAs in the two states) never staked claim to form the government there. Asked about the fate of the alliance government, he said people will certainly question their MLAs when they come out of hotels as their vote was against the Congress. He said the BJP would play the role of a constructive Opposition in the Assembly. Defends party move Mandate in Karnataka was against the Congress and the JD(S). Had we not tried to form the government, it would have been against the mandate of the people. I dont see anything wrong in it. Amit Shah, BJP chief amansharma@tribunemail.com Smita Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 22 Venezuelan Ambassador to India Augusto Montiel on Tuesday launched a scathing criticism against the United States for interference in his country's domestic politics. The US has termed as sham presidential elections held in the Latin American country on May 20 that returned Nicolas Maduro to power for a second six year term. Washington DC has imposed fresh sanctions against Maduro's regime even as the country's economy is crumbling and it faces a food shortage. The Ambassador accused the Trump administration of blockading ships carrying medicine supplies into Venezuela from countries like India. Montiel said US arm twisting led 14 countries, including Brazil and Argentina, to recall their ambassadors after Maduro's win. He stressed that sanctions have led to fall in Venezuelan oil production and is impacting trade with countries like India. "ONGC and Oil India are in conversation with Venezuela Petroleum to increase production of oil and find ways to bypass the harmful sanctions," said the Ambassador in a media interaction at the Press Club of India. Venezuela's export of oils to India has fallen from 4 lakh barrels per day to 2.8 lakh barrels per day in the last year according to Montiel. With banking payment channels facing sanctions heat, Venezuela similar to Iran is also keen to trade with India in rupees for services and products. Maduro cancelled his visit to India for the International Solar Alliance in March citing political situation back home. He was instead represented by his Foreign, Finance and Petroleum Ministers who in their discussions with Indian counterparts talked about securing oil and non-oil trade. Montiel informed that Caracas government had decided to pull out its dollars from American banks as it faced a freeze and transfer to European ones. But Euroclear, a financial company also reportedly refused to release $1.2 billion towards payments of medicine imports into Venezuela a fortnight ago. "We have asked the Indian government to open rupee accounts for oil it buys from us. And we can use that money for services and products from India, like medicines and food," said the Ambassador who met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday after the election results. Swaraj reportedly congratulated the envoy on the election results, though a formal statement from the Indian government is awaited. monicakchauhan@gmail.com Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 22 A Central team in Kozhikode to review Nipah virus outbreak has found bats in the vicinity of the house of the first victim of the deadly virus. The team from National Centre for Disease Control on Monday visited the house in Perambra from where the initial death from NIPAH was reported. The team found many bats housed in the well from where the family was drawing water. Fruit bats are natural hosts of NIPAH virus, which can spread to humans. Some bats have been caught and have been sent for lab examination to confirm whether they are the cause of the disease or not. Sixty different samples have been collected from the spot and sent for examination. There are two confirmed cases with history of contact with the index case. They were admitted in the Calicut Medical College Hospital and died due to NIPAH virus, the central team said. The Health Ministry has, meanwhile, mobilised a public-health team from NCDC Branch Kozhikode to assess the extent of problem, for risk assessment and risk management. They are assisting the state team already deployed at the epicentre. The government said so far, seven patients have been admitted in Baby Memorial Hospital and in the Government Medical College at Kozhikode and at the Amrutha Medical College, Ernakulum. Ten deaths have already been reported. Union Minister for Health J P Nadda has urged people not to believe in rumours posted on social media and not to spread panic. He is reviewing the situation. The central team has further advised hospitals to follow intracranial pressure (ICP) guidelines, use personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and sample collection; assist in enhancing active fever surveillance in the community; strengthen contact tracing in close contacts of cases, relatives, health care workers; ensure isolation facilities, ventilator support and hospital infection control practices; and coordinate with animal sector and enhance surveillance for unusual illness and deaths in animals. The Ministry has sent diagnostic kits, personal protective equipment and risk communication materials. High quality personal protection equipment has also been provided to health care personnel. A total of nine individuals are currently under treatment. Isolation wards have been opened in many hospitals in Kozhikode. Appropriate steps to contain this virus have been taken among domestic animals such as pigs. Since all the contacts are under observation and steps to avoid exposure through animal vectors have been taken there is no reason for people to panic. This appears to be a localised occurrence, Ministry said. With early and efficient containment measures the outbreak is unlikely to spread. The Virus Research Diagnostic Laboratory at Manipal Hospital and the National Institute of Virology, a premier institute for research in virology, are geared up to meet any diagnostic challenges that may arise, Government has assured. editorial@tribune.com Balasore (Odisha), May 21 India today 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. 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. PTI amansharma@tribunemail.com Smita Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 22 Ahead of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit meet in Qingdao in China in June, Pakistan is hosting the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) Legal Experts meeting. The two-day first ever such meeting will be held from May 23-25 in Islamabad. India and Pakistan became full members of SCO in June 2017 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the upcoming Qingdao summit. According to sources, a four-member delegation from India led by a Joint Secretary-level official will attend the meeting. Headquartered in Tashkent, SCO-RATS is aimed at regional cooperation in fighting terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime. Legal Experts from the eight member states, including China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan along with representatives of the SCO-RATS Executive Committee, will participate in the meeting. "The Legal Experts will discuss terrorist threats facing the region and ways and means to enhance counter terrorism cooperation between SCO member states," said the Pakistani foreign ministry statement. India and Pakistan armed forces are also set to engage in a first of its kind joint military drill this year under the SCO banner. This even as India continues to boycott the SAARC (South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation) summit process while participating in dialogue mechanisms under SAARC banner, citing Pak-sponsored terrorism. In the wake of Uri terror strikes in 2016, PM Modi refused to travel to Islamabad for the SAARC summit. The India led boycott derailed the meeting as the SAARC charter mandates presence of heads of states/government of all eight members. Pakistani Prime Minister Abbasi in his recent meetings with Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka pushed for the summit to be chaired by Islamabad. In response to a query if the issue had been discussed during Nepalese PM K P Oli's state visit to India, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said, "The prime minister [Modi] mentioned that he very enthusiastically participated in the Kathmandu (Saarc) summit, but given the current state of play where there is cross-border terrorism - and this is a disruptive force in the region, it is difficult in such circumstances to proceed with such initiatives." monicakchauhan@gmail.com Tribune News service Chandigarh, May 22 A 31-year-old nurse attending to Nipah patient in Kerala died on Monday hours after leaving behind an emotional letter to her husband asking him to take care of her two small children. As reported by the Newsminute, the heart-wrenching letter was scribbled by the victim, Lini, after she had attended to the first victim of the Nipah virus, Mohammad Sadek in Kerala. The husband Sajish had flown down from Bahrain where he is working after being informed that his wife was unwell. I think I am almost on my way; I don't think I'll be able to meet you. Please look after our children. Take them with you to the Gulf; don't be all alone like our father, please." Newsminute reported quoting the letter addressed to her husband Sajish. In her letter, Lini pleaded her husband to take care of the couples toddlers, aged two and five. According to reports, Lini had developed fever a day or two after Sadik passed away. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to Facebook to mourn the death. The loss of Lini, who had sacrificed her life for nursing a patient, is a grief for all of us. Linis sacrifice is incomparable. It is painful that Lini met with this tragedy while she was sincerely doing her duty. We, the people of the state, share the pain and loss of Linis family, friends and colleagues, the CM wrote. Lini was a daily-wage employee at the EMS Memorial Cooperative Hospital at Perambra and had joined the hospital only in September last year. Three nurses from the same hospital who had attended to Nipah Virus-affected patients have contracted the illness. They have been referred to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, Newsminute reported. Though lab results of Linis blood and fluid samples hadnt come yet, her body was not handed over to her family. After consulting the family, authorities cremated the body in an electronic crematorium. This was done as a precautionary measure to ensure that the virus, if present, did not spread further. Linis children, husband and others who had been in close touch to her are under observation and their blood samples have been taken. At least 10 people have reportedly lost their lives to the Nipah Virus in Kerala so far, of which lab results in four cases are awaited. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 21 The Centre today rushed a team of specialists to investigate the outbreak of Nipah virus infection in Kerala, claiming nine lives. Health Minister JP Nadda, in Geneva to attend the World Health Assembly which began on Monday, responded swiftly forming a team of researchers to review the scale of the problem. The team includes Surjit Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control; SK Jain, Head Epidemiology, NCDC; P Ravindran, Director, Emergency Medical Relief, and Naveen Gupta, Head Zoonosis, NCDC, along with two clinicians and an expert from the Ministry of Animal Husbandry. Nadda said in a statement from Geneva he had spoken to the Kerala Health Minister. Back in Delhi, there was considerable concern around the nature of the infection. There is no cure for Nipah virus and supportive care is the only option. According to the World Health Organisation, Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe diseases in both animals and humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus. NiV was first identified during an outbreak of a disease 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 were infected with NiV as a result of consuming date palm sap contaminated by infected fruit bats. Human-to-human transmission has also been documented, including in a hospital setting in India, the WHO says. No vaccine, only supportive care editorial@tribune.com Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 22 Bats could have been hosting the deadly Nipah virus that killed three persons of a family at Perambara in Keralaa Kozhikode with fatalities rising to 10 today even as two others were critical. Visiting central experts from the National Disease Control Centre said they found bats infesting the well from where the family was drawing water. The team visited the house in Perambra from where the first death was reported. Some bats have been caught and sent for lab examination to confirm if they caused the disease. In all, 60 samples have been sent, a government statement said, adding the infection appeared localised and containment would prevent further spread. Since all contacts are under observation and steps to avoid exposure through animal vectors like pigs have been taken, there is no reason to panic, the Health Ministry said. The WHO has described it as an emerging infectious disease of public health importance in South-East Asia region. WHO experts say the infection spreads when infected bats shed the virus in their excretion and secretion such as saliva, urine, semen and excreta. NiV is known to be highly contagious among pigs and spreads by coughing. Direct contact with infected pigs caused major transmissions in humans during the 1999 Malaysian outbreak. Drinking of fresh date palm sap, possibly contaminated by fruit bats, during winter could have caused indirect transmission of Nipah virus to humans, says the WHO. About Nipah virus Derives its name from Malaysian village where it was first discovered Fruit bats of genus Pteropus are identified as its natural reservoirs Affected regions worldwide So far, NiV has infected 477 people and killed 252 since 1998 with outbreaks in Bangladesh, India and Singapore; India has reported human-to-human transmission in 2001 Past outbreaks in India Siliguri (West Bengal) in Feb 2001 66 cases and 45 deaths Nadia (West Bengal) in April 2007 5 cases, all succumbed Symptoms Symptoms are similar to influenza fever and muscle pain. Inflammation of the brain can occur, leading to disorientation or coma. Even Encephalitis can happen. Magnetic resonance of the brain helps differentiate Nipah encephalitis from other encephalitis Treatment No effective treatment for NiV infection, but ribavarin may alleviate symptoms of nausea, vomiting, convulsions Treatment mostly focuses on managing fever and neurological symptoms; severely ill need to be hospitalised Human-to-human transmission has been reported in recent outbreaks, demonstrating a risk of transmission from infected patients to healthcare workers who need to wear protective equipment You Look after our kids Dying nurses last words to hubby Thiruvananthapuram: I am almost on the way...You should look after our children well, was the heart-wrenching message from a dying nurse in Kerala who succumbed to the rare Nipah virus infection. The emotional message scribbled by 28-year-old Lini Puthussery in a brief note in Malayalam to her husband Sajeesh minutes before she died yesterday has gone viral in the social media, leaving people teary-eyed. A nursing assistant with Perambra Taluk Hospital in Kozhikode, Lini got exposed to the virus while treating affected patients. Besides her husband, who works in Bahrain, Lini leaves behind two sons aged five and two. In the letter to Sajeesh, Lini expressed her pain and anguish she could not see him again. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan took to Facebook to mourn the death. PTI monicakchauhan@gmail.com Kuala Lumpur, May 22 Gobind Singh Deo, an Indian-origin Sikh politician in Malaysia, has become a cabinet minister, the first member of the minority community in the country's history to be appointed as a minister. Deo, 45, who has been given the communications and multimedia portfolio, is among the two politicians of Indian descent included in the Pakatan Harapan coalition's Cabinet. The other Indian-origin lawmaker is M Kulasegaran from the Democratic Action Party, who has been made the human resource minister. Deo represents Puchong constituency in the Malaysian Parliament and is the son of late Malaysian lawyer and politician Karpal Singh. He was sworn in during a ceremony at the National Palace yesterday after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad included him in the new cabinet. He was first elected as an MP in the 2008 General Election. Deo was re-elected to the lower house, with an increased margin, in 2013 and he again won this year's election with a margin of 47,635 votes. The Punjabi community in the country has hailed the appointment of Deo as the minister. "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, Miri Indian Association president, Councillor Karambir Singh was quoted as saying by the Borneo Post. Malaysia has nearly 1,00,000 Sikh population. PTI harinder@tribunemail.com Smita Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 21 In a bid to arrest perceptible drift in relations amid global turmoil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday held an informal setting meet at Sochi on the Black Sea coast. PM Modi, who reached in the morning, embraced Putin upon arrival at Bochkarev Creek. The two held restricted talks first with NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on the Indian side. According to sources, a host of issues, including strain in ties between the US and Russia, and possible US sanctions on New Delhi for dealing with Russian military firms blacklisted by Washington DC also figured in talks. PM Modi emphasised that the seed of strategic partnership between India and Russia were sown during the Vajpayee-Putin meeting in 2001. Now we have added a new chapter of an informal summit.... We have had free consultations on bilateral issues to global developments, said PM Modi. He later said friendship between India and Russia had stood the test of time and their ties would continue to scale newer heights in the coming years. PM Modi will have an opportunity to meet Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping again during the upcoming SCO and BRICS summits following informal meetings with the two in Wuhan and Sochi. Highlighting the old military ties, Putin said: Russia and India have been cooperating on several fronts on the multilateral and the international fora. gspannu7@gmail.com Washington, May 22 India's relationship with Russia and China will have no bearing on the strategic partnership with the US, a senior BJP leader has said, underlining that New Delhi follows a de-hyphenated foreign policy that makes its ties with one country "independent" of another. BJP general secretary Ram Madhav asserted that India continues to strive to strengthen ties with the US. "Regional politics demand that we build strong bilateral relations with important powers in the region, some of them happen to be having difficulties with the US. But, that will not have any bearing on our relationship with the US," Madhav said, apparently referring to the US sanctions on Russia. He was responding to questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's informal summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. "Look in the last three-four years, you must have noticed we have followed what we call as de-hyphenated foreign policy," he said. A de-hyphenated foreign policy means that India would pursue its relationship with different countries independent of their relationship with any third country. "India is pursuing the de-hyphenated policy. We have certain regional imperatives that command us to establish relationship with powers of different poles in the region. But that does not affect the larger issues like US India bilateral relationship," Madhav said in response to a question. US President Donald Trump had signed a law, The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act', CAATSA, imposing sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea. The Section 231 of CAATSA mandates secondary sanctions on those who conduct significant transactions with the Russian defence and intelligence sectors. Madhav was here in the American Capital over the weekend to be address the New India event of the Overseas Friends of BJP to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the NDA government on Sunday. PTI. rchopra@tribunemail.com Washington, May 22 The US Supreme Court has agreed to take up an appeal by Indian villagers against a power plant in Gujarat, funded by US-based international finance institution, which has allegedly resulted in environmental damages. Petition granted, the Supreme Court said on Monday. The case would come up for hearing in the next session, beginning October. The villagers, led by Budha Ismail Jam, along with several other farmers and fishermen, allege that coal-fired Tata Mundra Power Plant has resulted in widespread environmental damages. Washington DC-based International Finance Corporation, the financing wing of the World Bank, has provided USD 450 million in financial assistance to the project. The Supreme Court said it would decide whether the IFC enjoyed immunity under the 1945 International Organisations Immunity Act. Jam and other petitioners knocked the door of the Supreme Court this year after lower courts dismissed their petitions arguing that the IFC enjoyed immunity, like other foreign countries, under the 1945 International Organisations Immunity Act. In their petition, the villagers argued that the Tata Mundra Power Plant had failed to comply with international environmental standards; this had resulted in devastation of local environment. International organisations play an ever-increasing role in the economic landscape of this country and the world. Therefore, the question whether they are absolutely immune from any kind of lawsuit--no matter how strictly commercial their activities; no matter how egregious their actions; and no matter the views of the Executive Branch--has great significance, the petitioners argued. In 2015, the applicants--Indian farmers, fishermen, a trade union of fish workers, and a local government entity--sued the IFC in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. They brought claims for negligence, negligent supervision, public nuisance, private nuisance, trespass, and breach of contract. The petitioners lost the case before a district court in 2016 and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2017. Both the courts argued that IFC enjoyed immunity. PTI editorial@tribune.com Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 21 With more and more jail cadre staff coming under the scanner for alleged corruption or dereliction of duty, the Department of Jails has offered promotion to Punjab Police officials if they want to serve in the jail cadre. Availing the incentive, four inspectors from the Police Department have joined as DSP, Security, Jails. One of them told The Tribune that he grabbed the opportunity as he did not want to wait for a decade to get a promotion. Besides corruption issues, the Jail Department has also been facing shortage of eligible candidates, especially for the posts of Superintendent of Jails and other gazetted ranks. Newly appointed Minister for Jails Sukhjinder Randhawa had stated earlier this month that jails had only 50 per cent of the staff. This was because 13 DSPs declined to join the department in 2016, citing poor working conditions. A year earlier, only nine of the 24 Assistant Superintendents joined duty. Later, five of them resigned. While 14 jail officials, including a DIG-rank cop, were indicted for dereliction of duty leading to access of mobile phones to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants in a jail, two others were suspended on recovery of mobile phones from Gurdaspur jails. An inquiry is on in Ludhiana over the escape of two undertrials from the jail and several others are in the dock over recovery of drugs and mobile phones in their respective jails. It had earlier also tried to involve the Punjab Police for the managerial work as the department is mostly headed by an ADGP-rank officer from the police cadre. However, the police officials have not been enthusiastic about the jail duty. Only two officials had opted for it in the past three years. ADGP, Prisons, Inder Preet Singh Sahota said, The Department of Jails needs more officials and it would be better if experienced staff from other uniformed force join on deputation. The four new DSPs have performed well so far. Randhawa had honoured one of them for recovery of mobiles and drugs from Amritsar jails. Sahota hoped that more officials from the Police Department would show interest in working with the Department of Jails. uttara@tribuneindia.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 22 Punjab Jail Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa suspended four policemen on Tuesday a week after two prisoners escaped from Ludhiana Central Jail, an official spokesperson for the government. An enquiry found Superintendent Jail Shamsher Singh Boparai; Deputy Superintendent Jail Manjit Singh Tiwana; Assistant Superintendent Jail Parwinder Singh; and Head Warder Nishan Singh negligent. The two escapees were brothers Harwinder Singh and Jasvir Singh from Rattanpalon village near Amloh in Fatehgharh Sahib. Jail authorities found the two missing during a headcount at the end of the day on May 14. The minister had promised strict action against authorities found negligent. editorial@tribune.com Vishav Bharti Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 21 Molasses spill in the Beas has killed several species of fish, which figure as nearly threatened or vulnerable in the international list of endangered species. The states wildlife wing has identified 10 species of fish which mainly became casualty due to contamination of the river water four days back. Evaluating fish mortality on the basis of the International Union for Conservation of Natures (IUCN) Red List of threatened species, it was found that common snow trout fish falls in the category of vulnerable species. It indicates that the species is at a high risk of endangerment in the wild. World over total 1,245 fish species have been categorised as vulnerable. Three species dwarf river monster (Bagarius bagarius), malhi (Wallago attu) and Chitala chitala which are also commonly found in the river, fall in the nearly threatened category. Internationally, the nearly threatened category means that a particular species faces threat of extinction in the near future. The IUCN has placed 548 fish species in this category. Punjabs Chief Wildlife Warden Kuldip Kumar said the contamination was likely to affect the entire ecosystem of the river. It will take a long time to recover from this damage, he said. Six species, white carp (Cirrhinus mrigala), thaila (Catla catla), rohu (Labeo rohita), giant river cat fish (Sperata seenghala), bagrid catfish (Rita rita) and Indian river shad (Gudusia chapra), which were also killed in great numbers, fall in the category of least concern. Different studies indicate that the Beas is home to 20 species of fish, a few of which fall in the critically endangered and endangered categories. There are 61 species of fish recorded in the Harike Wetland. It is home to one critically endangered, four endangered and 13 vulnerable fish species. Endangered fish Vulnerable: Snow trout (Schizothorax richardsonii): Commonly found along the Himalayan foothills, it has witnessed a drastic decline in population due to introduction of exotics, damming and overfishing over the past decade. While in some areas the decline is more than 90 per cent, the overall reduction is inferred to be less than 50 per cent with similar rates predicted in future. Near threatened Dwarf river monster (Bagarius bagarius): It is found throughout the Indian subcontinent and harvested heavily in different parts of its range as food fish, for ornamental trade and as sport fish. Chitala chitala: With population decline of 30 per cent across much of its range in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal due to pollution and over-harvesting, the species is assessed as near threatened. Malhi (Wallago attu): The species has undergone a significant decline due to overexploitation as a food fish throughout its range. Arrest mill directors, distillery owners: Sukhbir Jalandhar: SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday demanded immediate arrest of the directors of Chadha Sugar Mill and owners of the distillery. Showing pictures of the Malwa region during a press conference here, Sukhbir said the polluted water, which had killed a large number of fish, had reached Malwa, but the government was least bothered. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is trying to save the culprits as they are related to his religious advisers Sarna brothers, he charged. TNS editorial@tribune.com Parvesh Sharma Tribune News Service Sangrur, May 21 Theres no legal record of any action taken by several regional offices of the Punjab Pollution Control Board against industrial units across Punjab, reveals an RTI query. The board has 12 regional offices in the state. In violation of the environmental norms, several offices have failed to maintain a record of the action taken against such units from 2012-17. The information sought by you is not available in the records of this office, said the Sangrur office in a reply to the RTI application filed by activist Brish Bhan Bujrak. Bujrak wrote a letter to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday, seeking action against the board officers concerned for destroying the records. Bujrak had sought to know the number of industrial units in each district, the ones that violated norms and the legal action taken against them. But the offices in Ludhiana, which has maximum number of industrial units, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, SAS Nagar and Sangrur confirmed that they had no such record available. The Hoshiarpur regional office, which controls 773 units, said: We do not have a record of the industrial units that violated norms from 2012-17 or action taken against them. The Fatehgarh Sahib office gave the same reply, while the Amritsar office said the application was not clear. The public information officer is bound to supply the sought information, a reply from the Jalandhar office read. Its subjective in nature. No such record in such form is available, said all three regional offices in Ludhiana, which controls 366 water polluting and 428 air polluting units. However, details show that the board authorities in the Faridkot regional office had acted against 25 industrial units in the district, 39 in Moga, 31 in Fazilka and 30 in Ferozepur for violating norms between 2012 and 2017. The Bathinda regional office is yet to reply. Bujrak alleged that board officers were deliberately destroying the record of violators to help them. If they do not maintain any record of violators then what is the purpose of conducting raids? he asked. Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) Chairman Kahan Singh Pannu said: We have all the information but not in the format the RTI applicant has sought. Protesting farmers hold up traffic Abohar: Voicing anger over the supply of contaminated Beas water through the Gang canal, farmers on Monday blocked the highway near Sadhuwali village. This led to inconvenience to hundreds of commuters. Activists of the BJP, AAP and CPM also joined the protest, raising anti-government slogans. They said no action was taken against the erring industrialists and officials. CPM former MLA Het Ram Beniwal said the National Green Tribunal had pulled up the government and the Punjab Water Pollution Board twice, but they did nothing to check the discharge of wastewater into the river. Later, the farmers gheraoed the staff of waterworks in the industrial area for storing contaminated canal water. The staff pacified the protesters, assuring them to empty the tanks. Water Supply Superintending Engineer VK Jain said drinking water would be supplied only once in 48 hours till the situation improves. Fazilka DC Isha Kalia visited Alamgarh, Balluana, Chanan Khera and Dangarkhera villages and got water samples tested. OC rchopra@tribunemail.com Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, May 22 Police averted a riot in Central Jail here after some inmates threatened to put on fire prison jammers and a watch tower on Tuesday morning. The situation was brought under control after SSP Harcharan Singh Bhullar, accompanied by senior officers, reached the prison around 6 am following an SOS by jail superintendent Karamjit Singh Sandhu. Sandhu had asked for reinforcements after an early morning search by him and his staff angered the prisoners. The search was ordered by Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa after he received a tip-off claiming that mobile phones were being used in jail. This was the third such search ordered by the minister in the past fortnight. The inmates were incensed over the repeated raids. Days ago, 15 handsets, hidden under the bathroom tiles, were found, leading to the suspension of jail superintendent Randhir Singh Uppal and deputy Arvinder Singh Bhatti. On Tuesday morning, Sandhu and his staff met with resistance from prisoners of barrack 8. The inmates started raising slogans after they came to know that the jail staff would conduct a search. They also started inciting prisoners lodged in other barracks to come out and start a riot. The situation threatened to go out of hand forcing Sandhu to call up the SSP. Some prisoners gathered on the top floor of the barrack and threatened to burn jammers and watch towers. In the melee, someone started a minor fire which led to rumours and all-round confusion. A reserve battalion was stationed outside the jail just in case the situation turned violent. Three handsets were found from barrack 8 bringing the total number of sets recovered in the past fortnight to 18. SSP Bhullar and DSP (City) Gurbans Singh Bains remained on the premises for more than two hours. ADGP (Prisons) Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota has asked DIG (Jails) Surinderpal Singh Saini to inspect the jail and submit a report to him. The premises was in controversy last year too when a few gangsters threatened to explode an LPG cylinder in an attempt to divert the attention of the authorities from a group of inmates who were busy creating an opening in the 13-inch thick outer wall of the jail. Then ADGP (Jails) Rohit Chowdhury and IG (Border) Naunihal Singh called in reinforcements from adjoining police districts and brought things under control. Meanwhile, the Jails Minister said he had initiated a probe into the sequence of events leading to the unrest. editorial@tribune.com Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 21 A day after two AAP leaders HS Walia and Col CD Singh Kamboj (retd) joined the Akali Dal, AAPs Hans Raj Rana, who fought from Adampur in 2017, also joined the SAD on Monday. Rana joined the party in the presence of SAD president Sukhbir Badal. With the fourth AAP leader quitting the party in a week, the SAD has clearly emerged as the favoured party for AAP quitters. With Rana, four of AAP candidates, who had contested the 2017 elections on the party ticket, have quit the party three of them joining the Akali Dal. While AAPs Kartarpur candidate Chandan Grewal had quit the party in October 2017 citing personal reasons, Shahkot candidate Dr Amarjit Thind had left the party in March, followed by Cantt candidate Walia and then Rana. Rana said, I am disillusioned with AAP because its leadership professed idealism, but indulged in rampant corruption. The AAP has failed the populace of Punjab. We waited for some duties to be entrusted upon us but there was no dialogue between Delhi and Punjab workers. On choosing SAD, he said, We have seen the Congress misrule in the past one year. The CM does not have time for Punjab or even for Shahkot. The Akali Dal is hence emerging as a potent alternative. editorial@tribune.com Archit Watts Tribune News Service Muktsar, May 21 Though the water quality improved slightly in canals on Monday, it is still contaminated, say local residents. In view of the prevailing situation, some private reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment plants started free supply of treated water to consumers. Suresh Garg, owner of an RO plant, said: Considering the problems people are facing due to the prevailing crisis, we have decided to supply treated water for free. Meanwhile, residents under the Naujawan Bharat Sabha on Monday staged a protest along the Rajasthan Feeder and Sirhind Feeder canals at Chak Gaandha Singhwala village here. They demanded that a case of attempt to murder be registered against the owners of the factories that disposed of the industrial waste into the Beas. Officials of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department claimed that there was no scarcity of potable water. We had closed water inlets of all reservoirs, so the contaminated water could not enter anywhere. Still, we lifted about 50 water samples and the reports from the local laboratory clarified that the water stored in the reservoirs is not contaminated. We have further sent the samples to the state laboratory and its report is awaited, said Kuldeep Singh Saini, Superintending Engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation Department. He said: We have stored water for 7-14 days, so consumers need not panic. Spill reaches crops, farmers worried Fazilka: Contaminated water with foul smell continued to flow in non-perennial canals of Fazilka district for the third consecutive day on Monday. Khanpur village sarpanch Hardip Dhakka said farmers were worried as Bandiwala canal, which irrigated nearby villages, was badly affected. The canal water automatically flows into the fields through water courses. This can damage the standing cotton crop, he said. Dhakka said the canal water could further deteriorate sub-soil water, which was already unfit for irrigation. DS Dhaliwal, Executive Engineer, Irrigation Department, said fresh water had been released from Harike headworks and it would reach the tail end of canals in a day. OC uttara@tribuneindia.com Beijing The Chinese giant salamanderwell known as the world's largest amphibianmay in fact be at least five separate species, each facing imminent threat of extinction in the wild, a study has found. Researchers from Chinese Academy of Sciences in eijing highlight the importance of genetic assessments to properly identify the salamanders. The study 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. With individuals weighing in at more than 140 pounds, Chinese giant salamanders were so far thought to be critically endangered. The study published in the journal Current Biology shows that those giant salamanders are not one species, but five, and possibly as many as eight. Another report in the same journal found that all of the salamanders face the imminent threat of extinction in the wild, due in no small part to demand for the amphibians as luxury food. "We were not surprised to discover more than one species, as an earlier study suggested, but the extent of diversityperhaps up to eight specie uncovered by the analyses sat us back in our chairs," said Jing Che from the 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 in the UK. "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," Turvey said. The researchers were surprised to learn just how much movement of salamanders has already occurred due to human intervention. Salamander farms have sought to "maximise variation" by exchanging salamanders from distant areas, without realising they are in fact distinct species, Che said. As a result, wild populations may now be at risk of becoming locally maladapted due to hybridisation across species boundaries. The researchers suspected Chinese giant salamanders might represent distinct species despite their similar appearances. That is because the salamanders inhabit three primary rivers in China, and several smaller ones, they explain. Each runs independently to sea. Given that giant salamanders cannot 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 recognised as distinct species. In the second study, researchers 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, researchers said. PTI vinaymishra188@gmail.com Tribune News Service Dehradun, May 22 Uttarakhand Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat on Tuesday asserted that it is basically the common man of Uttarakhand who has worked for safeguarding the biodiversity in the region which today stands as one of richest in the country. Attending the International Biodiversity Day celebrations at Navdanya Biodiversity Farm in Dehradun, Harak Singh Rawat reminded Gaura Devis environment conservation Chipko movement in Garhwal hills was later replicated worldwide. He also took the opportunity to seek green bonus for Uttarakhand. He said Uttarakhand had always been in the forefront of conserving environment for which the state was yet to be compensated. Rawat honoured the farmers, who excelled in safeguarding the indigenous Basmati rice of Dehradun. He also handed over first Gaura Devi Biodiversity Conservation Award to Sushma Juyal, a farmer from Herbertpur, Dehradun. The award has been instituted by Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board and carries a cash award of Rs 10,000 and a citation. gspannu7@gmail.com Islamabad, May 22 At least 65 people have been killed due to heatstroke in the last three days in Pakistan's Karachi, where the temperature hit 44 degrees Celsius, media reported on Tuesday. At least 114 bodies were brought to the social welfare group Edhi Foundation's morgues out of which at least 65 had died from heatstroke, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the head of the foundation Faisal Edhi. Edhi said most of the heatstroke victims had died at their home without getting any medical help on time, adding that the youngest victim was a six-year-old, while the oldest was 78. However, health authorities in the city have denied the claim. Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a heatwave warning for Karachi saying that the hot weather was expected to stay between 40-43 degrees in daytime throughout the week. Local reports said that Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar also urged residents to stay indoors during the day to avoid heatstroke. A severe heat wave in 2015 killed at least 1,200 people in the country. IANS. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Caracas, May 21 Venezuelas socialist President Nicolas Maduro faced international condemnation on Monday after his re-election in a vote foes denounced as a farce that cemented autocracy in the crisis-stricken oil-producing nation. Maduro, 55, hailed his win in Sundays vote as a victory against imperialism, but his main rival alleged irregularities and refused to recognise the result. Venezuelas mainstream opposition boycotted the election, given that two of its most popular leaders were barred from running. Turnout was under 50 per cent. Thousands of Maduro supporters, many wearing red berets, hugged and danced outside the Miraflores presidential palace, showered in confetti in the yellow, blue and red colours of the Venezuelan national flag. The revolution is here to stay! a jubilant Maduro told the crowd, promising to prioritise economic recovery after five years of recession in the OPEC nation of 30 million people. Lets go, Nico! his supporters chanted until after midnight during party scenes in downtown Caracas. Senior US State Department officials declared Sundays vote a sham and repeated threats to impose sanctions on Venezuelas all-important oil sector, which is already reeling from falling output, a brain-drain and creaking infrastructure. Spain, which has led European Union criticism of Maduro, also weighed in. Venezuelas electoral process has not respected the most basic democratic standards. Spain and its European partners will study appropriate measures and continue to work to alleviate Venezuelans suffering, tweeted PM Mariano Rajoy. In a blistering statement, the 14-nation Lima Group of countries in the Americas from Canada to Brazil, said it did not recognise the legitimacy of the vote and would be downgrading diplomatic relations. The group deplored Venezuelas grave humanitarian situation behind a migrant exodus. Reuters Economic pangs of oil-producing nation The United Nations came into being following wars that caused death and havoc on a scale that I find hard to imagine. Today, as nations coalesce around the Sustainable Development Goals, they are looking towards the future, but not just forward. They are looking around and seeing the potential to harness natures power for our collective sustainable future. On May 10, in the U.N. General Assembly, 143 nations voted to work towards establishing a Global Pact for the Environment - a wonderful prelude to this years International Day for Biological Diversity. On May 22, we celebrate 25 years of action for biodiversity since the establishment of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Accelerated biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. Consequences of ecosystem degradation include air pollution, loss of soil fertility, decreasing water quality and quantity, and climate change induced disasters. And it is the most vulnerable populations who are hardest hit, often causing them to migrate from their homes and villages due to loss of natural resources upon which they depend. This in turn frequently leads to an upsurge in conflicts. There are numerous examples of conflicts between pastoralists and subsistence farmers driven by ecosystem degradation. Because of degradation of southern rangelands, the nomad herders in Morocco are increasingly moving into forests towards the north that already have resident communities, leading to conflict. One study says that ecosystem degradation may lead to the migration of 135 million people by 2045. Deterioration of ecosystem services, such as water availability and quality, often plays a key role in causing civil wars and transboundary conflict. Unprecedented drought in Syria between 2007 and 2010 is reported to have triggered an exodus of nearly 1.5 million farmers to cities in search of food and work, exacerbating conditions that possibly contributed to the outbreak of the civil war. Healthy wildlife populations are an incredible asset for both local communities and national economies. For example, the value of wildlife tourism in Tanzania to the national economy is US$1.3 billion per year. Yet this rich, but fragile natural asset is in crisis due to poaching and illegal wildlife trade. Transnational organized criminal networks in illegal wildlife trade, and the corruption underpinning wildlife crime, threaten both the rule of law, governance and security, rendering wildlife conservation a national and global security issue. Addressing this intersection between nature, conflict, and migration is critical for human security and ensuring a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive society, leaving no-one behind. UNDPs work prioritizes efforts to safeguard our global heritage and assets. Nature-based solutions for a sustainable planet represent one of the six signature solutions UNDP is offering under its Strategic Plan 2018 2021. Nature for Life, is the theme of a UNDP event during this years High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York in July. The event will highlight how nature is indispensable for human survival and well-being and how healthy ecosystems help sustain and foster peace and security. It was the horror of wars and mass killings that led to the creation of the United Nations. Current patterns of ecosystem degradation and the extermination of species, now taking place on an unprecedented scale, represent just as great a menace but are often less obvious. Recurring statistics of destruction have even become repetitive and numbing but they are real. The alarm bells have been ringing since Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring in 1962. We are graced with an amazingly beautiful world, home to millions of fellow species, and there is no Planet B. It would be unforgivable and a shameful act of gross negligence if we allowed most of the life on our shared planet to perish. The next 10 years will determine the trajectory of human kind. What will you do to be a game changer? Sunset over Maasai Mara National Park, Kenya. Photo: Midori Paxton/UNDP It is still there, on a wall along the road from the Mitiga International Airport to the city Centre in Tripoli. A huge graffiti mural, saying Finally we are free. I am not sure who put it there, but I am certain when it appeared sometime in the summer of 2011 after the battle of Tripoli. A starting point for the road to freedom, which became very exacting for Libyans. It started with a rapid deterioration in the economic and political situation, with the country torn apart among rival factions. I do not intend to list tragic pages of the recent history of the country Libyans, and those following developments in the country are painfully familiar with each and every line, or perhaps even each and every letter. It is written in blood and tears. I believe that the Chinese character for crisis is made up of challenge and opportunity. From my experience of having worked in several complex emergencies, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia among them, this is what UNDPs mandate in protracted crisis environments is. We support countries in managing challenges and availing themselves of opportunities. And this is what we are about in Libya the magnitude and complexity of challenges the country is facing demand UNDPs proactive engagement. The decision of the UN Secretary-General lifting the evacuation status for Libya (introduced following major deterioration of the security situation in the country back in 2014) allows UNDP and others of the UN family to return to the country and further reinforce our support to our partners here. Let me retract this slightly it is not really a return, because we have never left completely. We reduced our presence on the ground drastically, operating mainly from Tunis and, despite the adverse circumstances, trying to help Libya achieve the sustainable development and peace that people desperately are looking for. We have ramped up our presence now, with UNDP proudly among the pioneer UN agencies that spearheaded the return of the UN system. We are doing it with resolve, aspiring to return to a long-term presence outside Tripoli soon as well. We are really convinced that for us to prove our role of the development partner of choice, feeling and knowing the needs of our partners and beneficiaries, we must be on the ground. UNDP Libya must be in Libya. Despite months of relative calm, the security situation in Libya remains complex. Photo: UNDP While truly excited about this chance to fully re-establish our presence in the country, we remain fully cognizant of many challenges ahead. Despite months of relative calm, the security situation remains complex and the barbaric attack at Libyas High National Elections Commission is a painful reminder of many dangers the country is still facing. The hard-won fruits of national reconciliation are still relatively fragile and need concerted effort by all players, steering the country through the many dangers of the post-conflict environment. Libya is also a major transit and destination area for migrants, who often become easy targets for human trafficking and human rights violations. Another item on a long list of multiple challenges Libya is facing. But despite multiple administrative and operational challenges, including the drastic increase in costs of operating from Tripoli when compared to Tunis, we are determined to manage. We know we can count on valuable support and assistance from our government partners, civil society and non-governmental organizations, and donors. There is so much to do, and so many needs, including many urgent ones. We want to help Libya make the transition to sustainable development by helping the Government rehabilitate key infrastructure, expanding livelihood opportunities for groups in greatest need. We want to help citizens participate actively in Libyas democratic transition to a state founded on the rule of law and that must include women and youth playing a central role and seeing their rights fully respected. We want to help central and local government improve delivery of basic services and respond to the full range of Libyan citizens voices. We want to support inclusive national reconciliation and transitional justice processes. Every single objective requires dedicated effort, and some of them will take years. But no matter how long and thorny is the journey, we will keep walking. We can now do so on Libyan soil. We look forward to supporting Libyans in bringing a day when the proud Finally we are free can be followed with and fully enjoy the fruits of our freedom. This is what true friends of Libya want. This is what Libyans owe to their friends, but most importantly to themselves and to their next generations. This is what it takes to prove their sacrifice was not in vain. Ramadan Kareem from UNDP Libya. Finally we are free: A mural reminds Libyans of the starting point on their road to recovery. Photo: UNDP/ Libya Honduran refugee Armando* talks with staff at a shelter in Mexico. UNHCR/Yolanda Azucena Mendez Davila ACAYUCAN, Mexico A cab driver in his native Honduras, Armando* had to cross a patchwork of street gang territories each working day, fearing for his life. "Every day it was a challenge to go to work, I did not know if I would return to my house. But I had no other choice - I needed money to live and support my sister and my mother, with whom I lived," says Armando. The dangers he faced are all too real in the Central American nation, where working as a taxi driver has become one of the most perilous occupations. See also: UNHCR alarmed by sharp rise in forced displacement in North of Central America From 2010 to 2016, 1,335 public transport workers were murdered according to the latest figures published by the Violence Observatory of the Autonomous University of Honduras. Cab drivers like Armando accounted for 667, or nearly half, of the victims. Members of gangs, known locally as maras, typically demand so-called war tax payments from bus and taxi drivers, threatening to kill those that fail to pay up. Unable to make the ever-escalating extortion demands, Armando skipped a scheduled meeting with the gang and fled on foot and by bus to neighbouring Guatemala. After crossing the border into Mexico, he clambered on to a freight train, better known as la bestia, of the beast, to make his way north - unaware that he was once again in mortal danger. Criminals preying on the riders tossed Armando under the wheels of the moving train, severing his right leg. Medics operated on him in a hospital in the State of Mexico. While recovering in a shelter, he completed an application for asylum with the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid one of a growing number from the north of Central America to do so. Since 2011, more than 350,000 residents of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have filed asylum claims after fleeing escalating violence at home. Last year alone, nearly 130,500 asylum claims were registered, according to government figures. The vast majority seek asylum in Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Belize, and the United States. However, the needs in the region remain overwhelming. In 2018, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is seeking US$36.2 million to provide protection and assistance to people like Armando, but only 12 per cent of the funding has so far been received. "I thank UNHCR and the shelter that supported me." With the care that he has received at the shelter, Armando is recovering. He has received recognition of his refugee status from the Mexico government and has found work for the local Catholic Church parish, where he is in charge of updating records, including baptism, marriages, communions and other ceremonies. He is also awaiting a prosthesis thanks to a program of the International Committee of the Red Cross. "When I arrived I felt like I was trapped in a country that was not mine, but I thank UNHCR and the shelter that supported me all the time in my asylum process, says Armando, is applying for residency in Mexico, where he dreams of becoming a music producer or language teacher. *Name changed for protection reasons Refugee representatives address delegates at the High-Level Revitalization Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They have urged leaders to bring peace to South Sudan. UNHCR/Kisut Gebre Egziabher ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - South Sudans opposing parties and other key stakeholders resumed peace talks last week at the UN conference centre in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. The second round of talks of the High Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF), led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), gathered delegates from South Sudans parties, namely the Transitional Government of National Unity, the opposition and civil society and other regional and international observers including UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. The ongoing peace talks in Addis Ababa seek to revive the stalled 2015 Agreement that meant to resolve the South Sudanese conflict which continues unabated, claiming thousands of lives. After months of mediation, the forum is grappling with how to hold the spoilers of peace accountable, restore shattered trust among communities and ensure a proper transition of lasting peace. The violent conflict that erupted in South Sudans capital of Juba in December 2013 has produced the fastest growing refugee crisis in Africa. Nearly 2.5 million refugees have fled to neighbouring countries while an additional 2 million are displaced inside South Sudan. UNHCR and its partners successfully advocated for the participation of refugees in the peace talks where for the second time, nine refugees, selected from Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya are taking part. Invitations were also extended to refugee representatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo which hosts close to 100,000 South Sudanese refugees and the Central African Republic which hosts nearly 2,000 refugees. We need peace in South Sudan and we need it now, not tomorrow. The refugee representatives, drawn from various age groups, genders and walks of life had a clear and simple message to South Sudans warring parties: We need peace in South Sudan and we need it now, not tomorrow. One of the representatives came to Ethiopia in 2012 to do his degree in Management and his wife and three children followed when the violent conflict exploded in December 2013. Men, women, boys and girls are suffering immensely as a result of the actions of our politicians, he said. In a collective address to the forum, the refugee representatives made an impassioned plea to the negotiating parties to think of the people in dire need of security and a place to call home. Leadership is not looking at yourself, it is looking at the people you lead, they said as they urged for peace in South Sudan. It is your responsibility. In their statement, the refugees reflected an optimistic tone and said it is time to go home and think about rebuilding structures and sing the national anthem. They underlined the imperative to give the unaccompanied minors and separated children a place to call home. Leadership is not looking at yourself, it is looking at the people you lead. Refugee Representatives formed part of the South Sudanese Civil Society delegates to the HLRF. UNHCR with the support of OXFAM facilitated a group meeting for the refugee representatives ahead of the meeting to help them strategize and discuss priority issues and advocacy points before the talks began. There is no military solution to the ongoing tragedy in South Sudan, said Arnauld Akodjenou, the Regional Refugee Coordinator for the South Sudan Situation and Special Advisor to the High Commissioner for Refugees. South Sudans warring groups need to sort out their differences through dialogue in order to push the peaceful transition forward. Akodjenou added that only 8 per cent of the US $ 1.5 billion required to support the South Sudan situation has been received to date. There is no military solution to the ongoing tragedy in South Sudan. Out of the South Sudanese refugee population in the region, 65 per cent are children, making South Sudan a childrens crisis. Particularly worrying is that 45 per cent of these children have not been to school in the past two years, putting the future of the worlds youngest nation at stake, added Akodjenou. He reiterated to those participating in the negotiations to do their best to end the suffering of South Sudanese citizens inside the country and in refugee camps in the region. Members of the South Sudan Troika meet with representatives of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia on the side-lines of the peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. UNHCR/Kisut Gebre Egziabher In December 2017, IGAD launched the High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) aimed at kick starting the 2015 Peace Agreement. The first round of the HLRF, convened from 18 to 21 December, resulted in the signing of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access. The next round of talks was held from 5 to 16 February 2018, with a focus on governance and permanent security arrangements. Some progress was made but the parties failed to agree on a number of contentious issues, resulting in the resumption of the Addis Ababa talks. For Jane*, a refugee representative from Kenya, the reason the peace talks have not succeeded is because they did not start by defining the root causes of the problem. If we dont define and address the root causes then we are fixing something that is going to break soon, she said, adding that it is important that the negotiating parties focus on the human element of the conflict and not just on governance and security. She also appealed for the international community to support Kenyan host communities. There was a call for the peace agreements to include mechanisms to address issues such as tribalism, hatred and hard feelings, created as a result of the conflict. If I was wronged by a certain individual, when I go back home will I still have that tribal aspect or anger or hatred in my mind? Jane posed to the delegates. She emphasized the important of peace being not just about power, but about security and the basic person, otherwise peace would only exist on paper. We are better off if we work together, otherwise no genuine peace can be achieved. Peter* a representative from Uganda appealed to the negotiating parties to put aside their personal differences and work together for the good of the suffering South Sudanese people. We are better off if we work together, otherwise no genuine peace can be achieved. Uganda is hosting the largest number of South Sudanese refugees; a responsibility that has stretched its resources to breaking point. He also called on the international community to maintain their support until a genuine peace is brokered. If peace is not going to be attained in Addis Ababa, please invest in the South Sudanese people and in the refugees in neighbouring countries so that they can come forward and say what they want in one voice. They also urged the negotiating parties to join efforts towards genuine peace in South Sudan. The imperative to address tribalism and leadership deficit are the major problems destroying South Sudan, they added. We need to address these issues to be able to bring lasting peace to South Sudan. * Names changed for protection reasons Libyans desire for united and sovereign nation United Nations, May 22 (UNI) UN Special Representative Ghassan Salame has updated ambassadors on the National Conference which was launched in April, as a way of giving all Libyans a say in responding to the countrys on-going crisis. So far it has been convened in 27 different locations. It is part of a UN Action Plan that provides for amending the Libyan Political Agreement; the stalled 2015 deal aimed at establishing a single national unity government, among other points. UW Wins Grant for Buddhist Studies Professorship The University of Wyomings Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies will create a professorship in Buddhist studies, thanks to a grant from the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation. The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation New Professorship in Buddhist Studies will develop and teach courses and programs as part of UWs religious studies curriculum. We are absolutely delighted to have won this professorship in a worldwide competition, says Kristine T. Utterback, head of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. It speaks volumes about the vitality and determination of our faculty. The university benefits from this position because it strengthens the departments and the universitys ability to serve undergraduate and graduate students. The Religious Studies Program merged with the Department of Philosophy last year, and this position creates a natural bridge between the two units, Utterback says. As the merged department develops a masters program that can encompass both fields, Buddhist studies will form a key component. The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies showed great initiative in going after this very competitive professorship, says Paula Lutz, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The college is very proud of this accomplishment. It fits well with the strategic plan for the department. In addition, this new hire will strengthen the humanities division and our foundational curriculum in the liberal arts and sciences. The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation offers grants to institutions to establish teaching positions in Buddhist studies through an open, international competition. UWs application was selected for an award by an international panel of scholars in Buddhist studies. Established in 2005, the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation is a private philanthropic organization based in Hong Kong. It has a dual mission of fostering appreciation of Chinese arts and culture to advance global learning, and to cultivate deeper understanding of Buddhism in the context of contemporary life. A 42-year-old man and his 4-year-old son are dead after a kayaking accident on a lake just southeast of Bemidji. The Hubbard Co. Sheriff's Department says Jesse Anderson of Northwood, Iowa and his son were on Hart Lake when the kayak tipped on Saturday. Neither victim was wearing a life jacket. Experts say handling a kayak can be trickier than other boats. And kayaks have come very popular, not only in lakes country, but here in the F-M area. "We always talk about respect with any water body because unfortunate incidents, even in a few inches of water, you can drown," says River Keepers Executive Director, Christine Holland. Christine Holland is the executive director of River Keepers in Fargo. It's a local organization promoting safe use of this community resource. Shes a kayaker herself. But she tells us, you have to be careful when using a kayak or canoe. "You have to respect any body of water you're on and know your limits," says Holland. She says, a kayak tipping, as in the case of the drowning near Bemidji is unusual. Christine tells us, they are normally quite stable in the water. But if you do flip, she has some advice. "Put your feet up and go with the current. If you can grab your vessel, grab on to that and try to swim to shore," says Holland. But Christine and Spencer Deutz who is a professional fishermen, says the best way to prevent an accidental drowning is to wear that life jacket. "They're easy. Some people think they get in the way and they're cumbersome but it really is the best way to prevent it," says Professional Fisherman, Spencer Deutz. Deutz says it's not enough to just have the life jacket in the boat. He tells us, it has to fit right. "A lot of the youth life jackets have straps that go between the legs and will buckle, so there's no way they could pop up over their head," says Deutz. You might not know this, but if you're caught on a lake in Minnesota or North Dakota without a life jacket, you're breaking the law. The DNR says, a life jacket must be worn by a child less than 10 years old when aboard any watercraft. For adults, you're required to at least have them on your boat in the state of Minnesota. The law in North Dakota, requires all watercraft users to wear a life jacket, as well as anyone towed on skis, tubes, boards or other similar devices. Christine with the River Keepers also tells us, if you're kayaking or canoeing on the Red River, to portage around the dams. VIR's editor-in-chief Le Trong Minh chairing the workshop At the roundtable discussion, representatives of management agencies, experts, and businesses discussed situations, potentials, and the role of consumer finance in socioeconomic development, as well as recommended solutions for the sustainable development of consumer credit, safeguarding both investors and consumers. This was the second time VIR has held a seminar with this theme. According to Le Trong Minh, VIRs editor-in-chief, chairing the workshop, the consumer finance market in general and consumer credit in particular are developing fast in Vietnam. This is thanks to the efforts of banks and consumer finance companies to provide suitable products and services, matching the bourgeoning demand for finances for consumption. However, the fast development of this sector makes it vital to develop the legal framework, further improving the quality of the services of suppliers. Communications is also necessary for all people and consumers to understand consumer finance and its role in socioeconomic development. In this, banks and finance companies play the most important role. The Vietnamese consumer finance market has a golden opportunity for development with ideal conditions, such as a developing economy, a 95-million-strong population, 52 per cent of whom are of working age, and increasing incomes, as well as a marked shift from saving to shopping and from cash to consumer credit. The development of consumer finance is motivation for the growth of the economy, accelerating the rotation of goods on the market, allowing people to approach credit services, especially the customer groups under the banks standard of lending, restricting black market credit, and supporting low-income people to improve their life. Nguyen Tu Anh, deputy head of the Monetary Policies Department at the State Bank of Vietnam, said that the proportion of consumer value in Vietnams GDP is increasingly high. Consumer credit has increased five-fold over the last five years. While in 2012 total outstanding consumer loans were around VND230 trillion ($10.1 billion), making up 8 per cent of the economys total outstanding loans, it hit approximately VND1.1 quadrillion ($48.5 billion) in 2017, 4.8 times higher than in 2012 and 17 per cent of the total outstanding loans. Panelists at the workshop According to Can Van Luc, lead economist of BIDV, consumer finance has significantly contributed to socioeconomic development. Especially, the establishment of finance companies has enabled people to further approach capital from official channels. A total of 30 million clients have been served by these finance companies. Besides, these companies have also created around 40,000 jobs, contributed to poverty reduction. The booming emergence of consumer finance in Vietnam has sent the demand for capital of finance companies to soar. Different from banks, finance companies are not allowed to mobilise deposits from people, so capital supply mainly comes from credit organisations. This is really a big challenge for finance companies. Auto businesses are concerned about Vietnams future policy orientation with regard to the auto industry, which they think will affect their business strategy.- Photo thanhnien.vn The concerns were raised after the businesses received a Government document instructing relevant ministries and agencies to build technical barriers to control the quality of imported vehicles. Businesses recommended that the Government maintain stable long-term policies for them to assure future investment in Vietnam. The request was sent to the Government after an inter-sector auto inspection team worked with 17 auto importers and locally-assembled manufacturers to solve issues while implementing the Governments decree on car manufacturing, assembly, importation and warranty offering - a move that came into effect from January 1, 2018, and tightened car imports. Enterprises must now receive vehicle type approval (VTA) certification when importing cars from the authorities of the importer country. Businesses can be granted VTA certification when importing vehicles from Thailand and Indonesia; however, with vehicles imported from Japan, they cannot obtain it as the Japanese Government doesnt grant such certification for exported vehicles. The enterprises proposed that the Government allow the use of the test report from the vehicle manufacturer. When importing cars from Europe, the auto businesses petitioned the Government to accept certificates of technical safety and environmental protection, provided by the European manufacturers, instead. Europe applies Euro 6 emission standards, whereas Vietnam applies just Euro 4, thus the vehicles are guaranteed to meet Vietnamese standards. In addition, businesses importing cars said that the inspection and testing procedures for each batch of imported vehicles is time consuming and costly, causing an imbalance between locally produced cars and imported ones. Therefore, they proposed the Government consider reducing the number of samples tested from each batch of cars produced. Regarding locally-assembled production, the auto businesses expected the Government to continue recognising the certificate of components issued in accordance with European Economic Commission without testing or certification in Vietnam. The investment in new trial roads is time-consuming and costly, they said, because now all automakers have invested in the test track. Based on the recommendations of the enterprises, the inter-sector auto inspection team has directly answered 74 out of 85 queries, the remaining issues will be reported to the Government to consider and remove on a case-by-case basis. Car prices fluctuate After reducing import tax on CBU units to zero per cent from the beginning of this year, the Vietnamese automobile market recorded two companies have been qualified to import cars for distribution at a significantly lower cost. However, due to the scarcity of supply, some firms have increased the price of locally assembled vehicles. According to calculations of insiders, when imported vehicles levied with zero per cent of tax incentives under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, car prices were supposed to decrease by 20 25 per cent compared to that of previous year. However, the Governments Decree 116 issued at the same time required importers to meet several strict conditions that make it difficult to import cars to Vietnam. The remarkable point of the decree is that the importers must have vehicle type approval (VTA) certification from authorities in exporting countries. From the beginning of the year to date, there are only two companies - Honda and GM - that imported cars to Vietnam after they gained VTA certification from exporting countries. In March, Honda imported about 2,000 cars in four types including CR-V, Civic, Jazz and Accord. This was also the first batch of cars imported into the country since the import tax rate of autos from ASEAN decreased to zero per cent. In the above four types, the most anticipated one is CR-V, which is priced from VND963 million to VND1.073 billion, close to VND200 million cheaper than the 2017 price. Along with Honda, GM Vietnam recently imported the Chevrolet Trailblazer sport utility vehicle from Thailand, priced from VND859 million to VND1.075 billion. At the same time, the firm announced discounts for this car from VND30-80 million. Unlike Honda and GM, the preferred imported cars such as the Toyota Fortuner, Ford Explorer, Toyota Land Prado and the Ford Ranger were not imported, as importers have not yet completed the procedures according to Decree 116. Cars imported from Europe in general and from Germany in particular, which are subject to a 70 per cent import tax, are also heavily affected by the new regulations of Decree 116. As a result there has not been any model of Audi, BMW or Volkswagen that has been imported to serve domestic consumers so far this year. According to disclosures from a number of enterprises, there werent many cars imported before 2018, as such businesses are trying to complete the import procedures to bring the car to consumers in the beginning of the third quarter this year. The difficulties of importing vehicles to Vietnam has led to a scarcity of supply, thus companies assembling cars domestically, which are given a 5 per cent reduction to special consumption tax, and enjoy no import duty tax, are beginning to take advantage of the situation by raising prices. In early May, Nissan Vietnam suddenly increased the price of its model Sunny XL by VND10 million, bringing the overall cost to VND438 million. They also increased the cost of the model XV by VND11 million, bringing the cost up to VND479 million. Along with Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors Vietnam also raised the selling price for Outlander 2.0 CVT low-end model in May an additional VND15 million, to a total of VND823 million. Similarly, Truong Hai Automobile Joint Stock Co (Thaco) rose the price of the Kia Cerato 1.6L to VND530 million, a VND5 million increase, and increased the cost of the Cerato 2.0 to VND635 million, a VND6 million raise. It also raised the price of two versions of the Mazda 2 by VND30 million each to VND529 million and VND569 million, respectively. Fruit bats are the main carrier of the often-deadly Nipah virus. (Photo: AFP/Sam Panthaky) Eight other deaths in the state of Kerala are being investigated for possible links to the Nipah virus, which has a 70 per cent 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 on 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 Organisation. 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. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (third right) looks at an F- class turbine - the engine has been selected for Vietnams Nhon Trach 2 power plant in Dong Nai Province. He was on a visit to Siemens turbine plant in Berlin in July 2017.- Photo Siemens 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 Asiacould match Siemens in terms of energy efficiency, though a throng of companies are vying for turbine market share. Japans Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems and Italys 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 Vietnam, 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 Vietnams Nhon Trach 3 and 4 power plants, which were added in the Vietnams 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 VND33.3 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 Dong 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. Donald Trump, China's President Xi Jinping, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un at a railway station in Seoul AFP/KIM Sue-han Trump is scheduled to hold a landmark summit with the North Korean leader Jun 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 denuclearisation 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. The Middle East is a region where many different interests meet and interact. Moving one piece may provoke a reaction at the other end of the chess-board. The tentatives by Donald Trump to break with the strategy of Admiral Cebrowski [1] and pacify a particularly wounded zone are, for the moment, provoking contradictory consequences which are preventing him from concluding. It is unrealistic to attempt to deal with problems as complex as these in terms of affinities and enmities, while each protagonist is fighting for survival. On the contrary, we have to understand everyone and forget no-one. Like his predecessors Reagan and Bush the Father, President Trump is intervening in Iran by destabilising the reformers (according to the Western expression) to the profit of the conservatives (in other words the partisans of Imam Khomeiny). However, the latter are reacting by marking points in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, which, in return, are destabilising the efforts of their White House allies in Palestine. When Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the US from the JCPoA agreement, President Rohani (a reformer, in other words opposed to the propagation of the anti-imperialist Revolution to its neighbours) reacted on the one hand by appealing to the Europeans, and on the other by threatening some of them that he may reveal their corruption [2]. Yet it is unlikely that Brussels will respect its signature. On the contrary, everything indicates that the European Union will act as it did in 2012, by conforming to the demands of its United States overlord. As for the Revolutionary Guard, they reacted by convincing their Syrian allies to lead the operation against Israeli Intelligence in occupied Golan then by inciting the Lebanese Hezbollah to announce that this operation marked a change of regional strategy - and finally, by pushing Hamas to organise a demonstration at the Israeli security frontier with Gaza. If Western public opinion failed to understand the link between these three events, Israel concluded that the Revolutionary Guard were now ready to attack it from Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. The strategy of the Revolutionary Guard bore fruit, since the Arab, Persian and Turkish People unanimously condemned the repression of the Palestinian demonstrators (more than 60 dead and 1,400 wounded). The Arab League several members of which, led by Saudi Arabia, maintain close unofficial relations with Tel-Aviv suddenly began re-using its anti-Zionist rhetoric. As for the Iranian interior, the Revolutionary Guard showed that the JCPoA agreement concluded by Cheikh Hassan Rohani was a dead-end, and that their political line was the only one that worked they are now efficiently implanted in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Gaza, as well as in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. It will therefore be impossible for Donald Trump to negotiate peace around Israel without the help of the Revolutionary Guard. We should remember that during the 70 years of Israeli conflict, the United States have only once been in a position to negotiate peace between all the protagonists. This was in 1991, after operation Desert Storm . In Madrid, President George Bush the Father and his Soviet counterpart Mikhail Gorbatchev united Israel, the Palestinians (but not represented by the PLO), Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. George Bush the Father had previously agreed in writing to return to the frontiers of 1967, to guarantee the safety of Israel, not to create an independent Palestinian state and to recognise Palestinian authority over the West Bank and Gaza. He believed it was possible to have this solution accepted, in conformity with the resolutions of the Security Council, relying on the authority of his partner Hafez el-Assad. The Madrid conference were a success. A process for negotiation and a calendar for the progressive resolution of the numerous disputes was determined. But the following meetings failed, because the Likud campaigned in the United States against Secretary of State James Baker and managed to prevent the re-election of President Bush the Father. Finally, Israel alone concluded the Oslo agreements with Yasser Arafat, himself alone. They were designed to address only the Palestinian problems. They were never accepted by the other protagonists, and consequently, were never applied. Then President Bill Clinton attempted to pursue bilateral negotiations with Syria by organising the Barak / el-Assad meetings. They failed, due to Ehud Baraks about-face, but in any case, they would not have been able to resolve all the problems in the absence of the other protagonists. 27 years later, the situation has become even more complicated. The Palestinians are divided into two camps the secular groups from the West Bank, and the Islamists from Gaza. Iran is a new protagonist which now sponsors Hamas. Finally, the United States, under Bush the Son, recognised the colonies built by Israel after 1967, in violation of the Resolutions by the Security Council. The conflicts around Israel can therefore not be reduced to the Palestinian question, and have nothing to do with the fitna opposing Sunnis and Chiites. The plan drawn up by Jared Kushner is designed only to halt Israeli territorial progression, not to respect international law, thereby returning to the frontiers of 1967. It thus supposes that the Arabs will accept what will then become their former defeats . This is unlikely. Some days ago, we reported that the summit between the President of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea, Kim Jong-un, and the President of the Korean Republic, Moon Jae-in was a monumental historical success for the Korean Peninsular. Denuclearization, disarmament, peace agreement, reunification were some of the key issues on the table [1]. The Kim-Moon Summit of 27 April was supposed to continue on 15 May but President Kim cancelled it, protesting that the United States and South Korea had got together to carry out military manoeuvres and given the slap in his face by impertinent and provocative declarations made by John Bolton, Donald Trumps national security adviser. The latters position is that North Koreas denuclearization should follow the scheme applied in Libya in 2011. As we all know, Libya was stripped of her nuclear weapons and ended up being invaded and destroyed by the United States and NATO. Furthermore, the Libyan Leader, Myanmar Gaddafi, was atrociously assassinated. For North Korea, which had agreed to a military alliance with Libya, it became impossible to intervene. This is why this tragedy is right at the fore of Kim Yong-uns mind. Another matter that feeds his unease is the unusual although not unexpected withdrawal of the United States from the so-called 5 + 1 Agreement (JCPOA) on Irans nuclear program. The response of President Kim to Boltons declarations was unexpected: the Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea will not denuclearize unilaterally without concessions from the other side. This is primarily because North Korea is the one that has taken many steps and has displayed a number of good will gestures, including the release of three US citizens, whilst Washington has not given the slightest concrete expression of good will towards Pyongyang. It appears that Bolton reduces the Kim-Trump Summit to North Korea capitulating before the United States and nothing more. It appears that for him, Pyongyang has lost a war. It does not enter Boltons mind that this Summit is a civilized form of exploring possibilities for agreement between the parties. Boltons arrogant and ill-informed attitude demonstrates the dangerous phase that the United States is crossing of wanting to subdue by force anything that does cooperate with the Empire. Donald Trump has declared that, if North Korea does not de-nuke in the manner prescribed by Bolton; if Kim does not accept his virtual ultimatum, then the United States will exercise the maximum pressure to force it to negotiate. We will have to see if the summit will still take place. declared the US President. Thus it appears as if President Trump were oblivious to the fact that no power, no state, can lay down an ultimatum or force another state to negotiate, except in the case of a state that has been conquered or has been previously destroyed in a war. The Vice Minister of Foreign Relations of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea, Kim Kye-gwan, cleared up any misunderstanding: If the United States corners us and asks us to unilaterally withdraw from our nuclear program, we will stop having an interest in the conversations and we will be forced to reconsider if we accept the forthcoming US-North Korean summit. This statement cannot be interpreted as a threat to walk away from the announced Kim-Trump Summit of 12 June in Singapore but simply as a warning. The President of Korea, Moon Jae-in, was a champion of human rights and continued threading into his policy, the peaceful reunification of Korea, promoted by former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. President Moon, also President Rohs former Presidential Advisor on foreign policy, will have to agree on his own summit with Trump to decide what will happen to the 28 500 US soldiers that today are stationed in the south of the Korean Peninsula. This objective had to be a pre-requisite at least checked with the US occupant by President Moon before his meeting on 27 April with President Kim. This is because, without this condition, any rapprochement between the two Korean parties that does not obtain the consent of the US may be impossible. Boltons imperialist position, which sets the contours to the Secretary of States (Mike Pompeo) policy, constitutes an unequivocal rejection of diplomacy and international law and leads to the mightiest laying down the law [2]. Boltons response to the possible denuclearization of Korea reveals the United States end-game: the unconditional surrender of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea and not a conciliation of interests supporting peace and security between nations. Conciliation would open the path for the peace reunification of Korea. This in turn would reduce military costs for both South Korea and North Korea, not to mention military costs for the United States; contribute to eliminating the military bases in Guam, Okinawa and Diego Garcia, around China, and would strengthen international cooperation. Therefore, despite Boltons position, it remains for President Moon Jae-in alone to look squarely at President Trump and to ask him, asserting the sovereignty of the Republic of Korea, for Washington withdraws its forces from the south of the peninsula. If Moon does not do so, the arrogant rhetoric, the threats and the insults will continue. However, now one will not be able to point the finger at the Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea, rather the United States and John Bolton de patear la mesa! Arianna Durnell Photo: Laura Rose Arianna Durnell (@arianna_durnell) is a New York-based comedian whose writing has been published on McSweeneys, Reductress,Women In Comedy Festival Daily, and The Belladonna Comedy. Her sketch comedy has been featured on WhoHaha and Comedy Cake. She is currently performing and writing sketch comedy in the duo Bag of Rocks, which made Moguls list of comedians to look out for in 2018. This week, Durnell talked to me about some of her favorite tweets! Anyone wanna act in my short film? No dialogue, you just have to move my stuff to my new apartment June 1st. Arianna Durnell (@arianna_durnell) May 13, 2017 Everyone wants that sweet sweet screen time baby, but no one will help even their closest of friends move. So I figured I would try and get someone an IMDB credit out of the kindness of my heart. Also, seriously, if anyone wants to help me move June 1st that would be awesome. Do you have a consistent voice on Twitter? How would you describe it? Overall I would say my Twitter voice is an exaggerated version of alt, self-sabotage, anxiety-filled commentary. However, its truly important to me that 90% of my tweets show just how terrible I think men are! Most of my writing is either a satirical feminist voice or a joke from a strong character perspective. I tend to write less set-up/punchline jokes and more dialogue that would come from a specific type of person we all know. Just as long as the hidden message is that men suck. Oh, also very queer. So if you dont follow me, youre homophobic. Ladies !!! Your man cooks, cleans, is tall, and hot... but his name is GARRETT. What you do ?? Arianna Durnell (@arianna_durnell) April 4, 2018 I think the worst name in the world is Garrett and Im not ashamed to say that. So its like how do you handle it when you find the perfect man but his name is Garrett? I think you gotta just retire from dating. Whos your ideal target audience on Twitter? Absolutely no one because I hate everyone and most of my tweets corroborate that. But also everyone because I want 100% of people to like me? I guess if I had to find a middle ground, I would probably say anyone who has ever ironically done the hang loose hand gesture and now accidentally does it all the time for real. I promise you that everyone deep down loves the thing they make fun of. We all joke about how seltzer water is dumb, but in reality cant have lunch without a chilled pamplemousse La Croix. Wait this is crazy... Mike Pence Mkay Pens Ma Peee M Mik Pen Mike Penc Suck My Dick Arianna Durnell (@arianna_durnell) February 16, 2018 Well for this one, I just hate Mike Pence and love telling people to suck my dick. Also Im impartial to anagrams. So put them all together and bam!! You get 17 whole likes. *does hang loose hand gesture* What does your Twitter feed look like? My feed is mostly comedians that I love, the cast of Riverdale, and then a few people I DESPISE to fuel me creatively. I dont follow many politicians or news sources on Twitter because I am a strong believer in #selfcare. If I pull up Twitter Im either on my lunch break or trying to fall asleep, which are both horrible times to go down a rage spiral from some idiotic senators tweet. If I wrote more political material I would use Twitter as a means for that, but right now I am sticking to alt stupid millennial content since there are, hmmm let me count, 834 late night talk shows on TV for that. A guy at Chipotle just sat down at my table since its so busy. We're just eating and haven't spoken. Kinda the best date I've ever been on. Arianna Durnell (@arianna_durnell) April 21, 2016 I get so much anxiety when youre eating at a restaurant and it gets so busy that you feel like you have to shove the food in your face and run out. So my worst fear was realized when a man actually sat down at my table like we were were planning on eating together. But then we didnt speak and it was actually pretty nice. I dont go on many good dates. How have your tweets changed over time? Well, over the last year and a half my disapproval in mens actions has raised astronomically. Remember when we could all just tweet a joke, smile, and put our phones away? Now I feel the need to comment on how everyone we knew and loved is actually a huge piece of garbage. Ive also learned a lot about myself as a person. Now I always tweet what I think is funny, as opposed to some joke I wrote because I thought it would get a few likes. (Mostly referencing this tweet.) Karen Chee is a is a writer/performer who contributes regularly to The New Yorker and McSweeneys. Tig Notaro heads to Netflix later this month with her new standup special Happy to Be Here, and today the streaming network dropped the trailer. Taped at the Heights Theater in Houston, the special is also directed by Notaro and counts Ellen DeGeneres as an executive producer. Notaro tackles the comedic sides of marriage, parenting and being invited to an Ellen DeGeneres party, then closes the set with a tease that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Check out the trailer above, and catch the rest when the special heads to Netflix on Tuesday, May 22nd. Welcome to Hell, nimrods. This is your last day as employees of the Cincinnati Zoo and your first day as global brand ambassadors of a 1,200-horsepower content generating machine best known for the absolute truckload of baby panda videos and giraffe GIFs it churns out on an hour-by-hour basis.Under my watch, were going to do things a little differently. My social media strategy boils down to basically just throwing up as many photos of cute-ass bear cubs on Facebook as I can. The percentage of photos taken of cute-ass bear cubs that are put on Facebook should be one hundred ideally, one hundred and five, but I understand if thats not possible.Now, I dont just stop at bear cubs. My strategy applies to any photos of wicked sweet turtles, frickin adorable lemurs, one-trick-pony gazelles, party poopin water buffalo, weird-as-heck orangutans, sassy lil jellyfish, and, really, any animal weve got at the zoo.Starting today, were no longer zoo workers. Were the worlds luckiest content providers and social media influencers surrounded by a near-pornographic degree of living, breathing, molting clickbait. This zoo, if you will, is nothing more than an elaborate game of Whac-A-Mole if the moles were once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for social media self-promotion and the whacking was keeping our heads out of our asses and getting every last drop of that cute, furry goodness on-friggin-line. Our point-of-view is two-dimensional. Our cell phone bills will skyrocket. The zoo is working to develop an expensing system and will get back to you shortly on that. My motto is simple: I see an animal, I take a photo, I post that shit everywhere. Thats been my jam for as long as I can remember. If youre giving a baby polar bear a bubble bath, youd better also figure out how to blast that shit across the Facebook feeds of 312 million Americans on their lunch breaks. If theres a baby orangutan with a cough that doesnt go viral, I will scream into your left ear until youre deaf, but only in that ear, so youll be vulnerable to attack from the left. And if I find out that one of you fed a crunchy vegetable to a baby hippopotamus in front of an audience of none, I will grab you by your ankles, swing you over my back, book it to the nearest coast, tie a 30-pound weight to your feet and throw you into the sea where, if theres a God, your remains will be scattered throughout several sharks bellies before its too late for me to grab a photo of that baby hippopotamus with a shred of lettuce stuck in its whiskers. Now, for some reason, you guys have been asking me how we feel about filming reptiles and posting them to Facebook. Some folks are concerned that the camera flash might be damaging to these animals vision. Just to be clear, I believe the reptiles in question are Diego the rattlesnake, the albino alligator, the family of iguanas, and 50 or so narcoleptic lizards whose names I havent had time to learn because Ive been too busy screaming again and again that, for the love of God, we treat every single animal at this zoo like its Marilyn Monroe standing over a sewer grate and there are about as many exceptions to that rule as there will be reptiles without premature cataracts, which is zero. To everybody else in this godforsaken world, Facebook is no longer Facebook. Starting today, Facebook is that website where all anyones ever talking about is the latest piece of flavor-blasted content from the zoo that pushed the envelope. That made them laugh. That made them cry. Thats the tricky thing about art, my friends. Its not to be tamed, understood, or even liked. But youll be damned if it doesnt haunt your dreams. So, buckle up, screwballs. Its baby panda video oclock and youre already late. Cara Michelle Smith is a writer and journalist. You may be familiar with her work. Who knows? You can harass her on Twitter here, so long as you do so creatively. In 2001, Michael Peterson called the police to report that his wife was dead after having fallen down the stairs in their home. He was eventually indicted for her murder, which is when filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade started filming the events for a docuseries that would become The Staircase, a Peabody Awardwinning work that chronicled the legal battle all the way through Petersons eventual conviction. Although he was sentenced to life in prison, Peterson was released in 2011 and granted a new trial after it was discovered that a witness for the prosecution lied on the stand. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter (though he maintains his innocence) to stay out of jail. Now the story of The Staircase returns to Netflix with three new episodes from de Lestrade covering the events since his original conviction. Get caught up on the whole affair starting June 8. Piper Christian has yet to vote in her first election, but she's already changing the political landscape in her state. The 18-year-old from Utah spent two years spearheading a resolution for the state legislature to acknowledge climate change. After a long journey through the House and Senate, Republican Gov. Gary Herbert officially signed the resolution in March and held a ceremonial signing with the students last week. The resolution is not a law, but a statement "emphasizing that protection of our environment and investment in our community are not mutually exclusive," in Christian's own words. The Logan High School senior says she and other students from her school started organizing in 2016 when they learned of an earlier state resolution urging the Environmental Protection Agency to stop regulating carbon emissions. "Our little high school environmental club got wind of this, and we were really inspired to be more involved politically," she told CNN, referring to the Logan Environmental Action Force. When the teenagers attempted to introduce their bill to the Senate in 2017, they were denied a hearing by the Natural Resources Committee. But they didn't give up. The students organized their own unofficial hearing and invited legislators and students of all ages to attend. "We completely packed one of the biggest conference rooms in the (state) Capitol. It was standing room only," Christian said. "Students from all over the state were able to testify about why climate change is important." Mishka Banuri, a junior at West High School, was one such student. She was inspired to see the diversity in backgrounds and beliefs of the young people who spoke, and explained to lawmakers why environmental conservation is important to her. Republican Rep. Becky Edwards also attended. Edwards was so impressed with the students' analysis of the issue that she decided to sponsor their bill. Although it did not pass that year, she continued working with the teenagers to draft a bipartisan resolution that could pull through in the 2018 session. "We were not interested in fighting the battle of 'do you believe in climate change?" Edwards told CNN. "That was less important to us than getting to the point of 'can we all agree that changes are happening?" Christian and Banuri, along with dozens of their peers, focused on breaking down the issue into how rising temperatures, snowfall and air quality affect Utah residents every day. They listened to lawmakers who were initially opposed to the bill and added language to represent the concerns of their constituents. This year, the committee that had rejected the first hearing unanimously passed the resolution. These high schoolers were tired of lawmakers' inaction. So, they wrote their own gun control legislation "I'm hoping that other conservative states, people and students especially see that it is possible to work towards a healthy future and not lose hope," said Banuri. She believes that if they could find bipartisan solutions in a state like Utah -- which has 86 Republicans and 18 Democrats in the legislature, according to their online rosters -- then similar measures can be taken in other places. Both Banuri and Christian will continue advocating for environmental progress in their state and around the country. "What was critical was that we got the conversation started," said Christian. "I would like to see further legislation, and I would love for young people to be a part of the conversation." MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is opposing parole for a woman convicted of killing a Georgia teenager more than 35 years ago. Ivey is urging the state's parole board to reject an early release for Judith Ann Neelley. Members are scheduled to consider her case on Wednesday. Neelley was convicted with her husband of killing 13-year-old Lisa Ann Millican, who was abducted from a mall in Rome, Georgia, in 1982. The girl was sexually assaulted, injected with drain cleaner, shot and dumped into a canyon in northeast Alabama. Neelley was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die, but Alabama Gov. Fob James commuted Neelley's death sentence to life in 1999. Neelley's lawyer said she wanted to waive the hearing, but paperwork wasn't filed and it's scheduled in Montgomery. (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) (CNN) -- The historic diplomatic encounter planned for three weeks from now between President Donald Trump and North Korean despot Kim Jong Un appeared in doubt on Tuesday as Trump questioned whether preparations could be completed in time. "There's a very substantial chance that it won't work out," Trump said in the Oval Office, where he was sitting for critical talks with his South Korean counterpart. "That doesn't mean that it won't work out over a period of time, but it may not work out for June 12." It was the clearest indication to date that the audacious summit Trump agreed to in March may be at risk. Last week, North Korea adopted a harsh new tone and threatened to withdraw from the meeting, which is due to occur in Singapore. Hours after Trump spoke, his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought to cast a more optimistic view of the talks, appearing for the first time in the State Department briefing room to insist a June 12 meet was still the goal. "We're working to make sure that there is a common understanding about the contents of what will be discussed. But I'm optimistic," Pompeo said. "It could be something that comes right to the end and doesn't happen. As the President said, we'll see. And that is the place that we find ourselves." Trump also maintained that preparations were "moving along" for the talks with Kim; indeed, advance teams are surveying hotel ballrooms in Singapore as possible venues. But the President suggested there may not be enough time for the two sides to agree on mutually agreeable parameters. "We'll see what happens," Trump said. "If it doesn't happen, maybe it'll happen later. Maybe it'll happen at a different time. But we are talking." In his meetings Tuesday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Trump hoped to gain clarity on North Korea's nuclear intentions. Moon, meanwhile, was hoping to shore up confidence for the Kim meeting, which he helped to broker. Some US officials believe Moon oversold Pyongyang's promises when his government relayed Kim's invitation to Trump for talks in March. At the time his envoy said North Korea was "committed to denuclearization," but recent statements from the North have cast doubts on Kim's willingness to negotiate away his nuclear weapons. That, in turn, has led to skepticism the summit between Trump and Kim will proceed. White House aides have grown pessimistic in recent days that the talks will occur, and Trump underscored the uncertainty on Tuesday. He again accused China of meddling in his diplomatic overtures with North Korea, saying Beijing was to blame for the new harsh tone from Pyongyang after Kim met in early May with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "I think things changed after that meeting and I can't say I'm happy about it," Trump said. But he insisted he believed Kim was earnest in his nuclear vows, and suggested Pyongyang had much to gain from striking a deal. "We will guarantee his safety," he said of Kim. "He will be safe, he will be happy, his country will be rich, his country will be hardworking and very prosperous." Moon, who has urged a diplomatic path in the belief it could forestall war, arrived in Washington in a bid to bolster confidence that the Singapore meeting will be a success. He met with Kim himself last month to great fanfare along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a historic encounter that Trump hopes to replicate in his own talks. Those plans were complicated last week when North Korea issued a series of harsh statements condemning joint US-South Korea military exercises and threatening to pull out of the Trump summit if the US continues to call for nuclear abandonment. US officials were prepared to press Moon on the recent shift in tone, hoping to determine whether it is a signal of changing intentions or whether the North is simply trying to test Trump's willingness to negotiate ahead of the summit. Ahead of the talks, Moon's representatives projected a positive message. "We believe there is a 99.9% chance the North Korea-US summit will be held as scheduled," Chung Eui-yong, Moon's national security adviser, told reporters on the flight from Seoul to Washington. "But we're just preparing for many different possibilities." US officials declined to offer their own prospects. "I'm not a betting man. I wouldn't care to predict whether it would happen, only to predict that we'll be ready in the event that it does," Pompeo said. Trump and Moon met in the Oval Office at noon before joining a larger working lunch with aides. There was no joint news conference, and Moon spent only two hours at the White House. He did meet with some of Trump's aides earlier in the day, however, as questions about the administration's approach to the summit continue to mount. National security adviser John Bolton, who has been outspoken in his hawkish views toward North Korea, drew Pyongyang's ire when he suggested Trump use a so-called "Libya model" to rid the country of its nuclear weapons. The US brokered a deal with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2003 to abandon his nuclear weapons, but he was overthrown and killed in 2011. The Libya suggestion raised eyebrows in Seoul, where Bolton's comments were deemed unhelpful at best and deeply damaging to the potential for diplomacy at worst. Trump later clarified that he wasn't pursuing the Libya model in North Korea, but speculated things could end poorly for Kim if he doesn't agree to a deal. Pompeo has meanwhile adopted a more diplomatic approach, saying an agreement with Kim to abandon nuclear weapons could lead to economic assistance. Pompeo has met Kim twice in North Korea but didn't emerge with any specific commitments toward dismantling the nuclear program. He said Tuesday he was open to returning to meet Kim if it was required to keep the summit with Trump on track. The-CNN-Wire & 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. A WAAY 31 I-Team investigation finds out what's next after decades of dumping chemical contaminants into the Tennessee River at Decatur. The dumping started in the 1960's with 3M and later Daikin, among others. Shannon Robertson and her family drink WMEL water unfiltered. Shannon Robertson and her family drink WMEL water unfiltered. In 2016, the revelation caused concerns about drinking water for many people living downstream. Right now, the West Morgan East Lawrence Water Authority is successfully removing the contaminants to the point the water exceeds state and federal standards. But, that's a temporary solution. WAAY 31 reveals why a new process will be a permanent solution and who rate payers want to pay for the cutting- edge upgrade. "When I'm nervous, I drink water!" Shannon Robertson told WAAY 31. Robertson may be nervous in front of our news camera. But she's not nervous about the unfiltered water her family drinks straight from the tap. "We're very confident in the water, she told us. Two years ago, it was a different story. "I was really scared, Robertson said. I thought, 'Oh my goodness, here we are, we've built this home and now they're saying the water's not safe'." Across the country, the Environmental Protection Agency issued drinking water health advisories for two particular man-made chemical compounds known simply as PFOA and PFOS. They're used in products like non-stick cookware coatings, carpet stain repellant and firefighting foam. In Decatur for decades, 3M and Daikin poured PFOA and PFOS straight into the Tennessee River. The rivers current carried the questionable compounds 13 miles downstream to the intake of the West Morgan East Lawrence water treatment plant. That water authority is headed up by Don Sims. I wouldn't know him if I fell over him on the street," Robertson said about Sims. But, in 2016, Robertson heard Sims' message loud and clear when he boiled down wordy government warnings to this: Don't drink the water. "I thought that was really courageous on his part and so I really admired him for that," she told us. Still, the bad news was hard to swallow. "This was scary for a lot of people," Jeaniece Slater told WAAY 31. Slater is the assistant general manager for the water authority. "We're downstream from industry," she explained. "So, we have implemented some processes that remove the PFOA and PFOS." Slater says, "There's a lot to this process." From the water intake at the Tennessee, the dirty river water is scanned. "For us, we use a laser light to look at dirt particles in the water," she said. Next, the water pumped to the plant is treated with chemicals. "We have to go through the conventional treatment first," Slater told us. That treatment is building up to an even deeper cleaning for the water. Even before the contamination scare, West Morgan East Lawrence water was setting itself apart. Slater showed off a key component of what makes their water cleaner than most. "This is our membrane filtration building," she told us. "We're the only ones in the state that has submerged membranes." A giant vacuum sucks water through miniscule openings in a pipe packed with thousands of tiny tubes. "10,000 little bitty straws inside here, Slater showed us. Water can only go in through the straws and they're little porous holes." Suddenly, the 2016 health advisories meant West Morgan East Lawrence's state-of-the-art water processing system wasn't good enough. Next, the WMEL team devised a temporary fix: carbon filters like you use in your refrigerator. But, these six filters would each be about the size of a shipping container. "When the health advisory came out, we had to come up with a plan immediately," Slater said. Their plan: a half-dozen containers packed with carbon. Because of the urgency, West Morgan East Lawrence asked a Texas utility to give up carbon containers it just had custom built. In 90 days, the team put together every nut and bolt and the system was up and running. It worked. The carbon stripped PFOA and PFOS from the water. Back at her familys home, that was great news for Shannon Robertson. "They're greatly, greatly, greatly under what the EPA recommends, hardly even there at all now that they have the carbon filtration system.," she told us. Now, there's the problem of cost. The carbon filtration system had a price tag of $4 million. Plus, replacing the carbon every year will cost $600-thousand. "This was a temporary solution, Slater said. We will have to come up with a more permanent solution. This was the best way to handle this at the time." Right now, they're testing Reverse Osmosis. Slater says it strips the water of virtually everything. "I, In fact, have to add things back into the water," she said. Reverse Osmosis will also remove any water worries that may remain. "We just want to make sure we're never put back in the situation we were put in before." The cost for Reverse Osmosis: between $40 million and $80 million. And it's all to clean up a mess left by industrial polluters. WAAY 31 asked Slater who will wind up paying that enormous bill. "I know for us personally, we're trying to do everything possible to keep costs down on the customers, she said. Any new technology we put in, we're working to keep that cost low for the customer." Shannon Robertson says it is crystal clear who should pick up the bill. "I think the biggest players in the contamination of the river should have to pay for it." The West Morgan East Lawrence Water Authority and Daikin agreed to an out-of-court settlement for $5 million. Other lawsuits have that settlement money on hold, though. As for 3M, the corporation maintains its chemicals are not harmful. Under the auspices of the WCO/JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Joint Project, to support trade facilitation and border control in Africa, a Sub- Regional Awareness Raising Seminar on Programme Global Shield (PGS) in East Africa was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 15 to 17 May 2018. This is the first activity of the enhanced border control component of the new Trade Facilitation and Border Control project launched by the 5 Revenue Authorities in East Africa. Programme Global Shield is a multilateral WCO initiative, which aims at building the capacity of customs administrations to counter the illicit trafficking and diversion of chemicals and other components used by terrorists to manufacture improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Seminar aimed at raising awareness amongst East African Customs of the threat posed by IEDs and demonstrating ways how customs can contribute to mitigating the threat. It also provided a platform for participants from East Africa to share their experiences, exchange and discuss best practices. Twenty (20) Customs officials from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda in addition to five (5) observers from Kenya Revenue Authority participated in this seminar. Each Customs administration shared its country presentation that included their efforts in strengthening customs control at the borders, the level of cooperation between Customs and other law enforcement agencies, and how they deal with explosive precursor chemicals and other components used to manufacture IEDs. During the seminar, the WCO experts provided updates on the WCO Security Project's initiatives and shared information about Customs role in border security, technology deployment, and operational activities. The Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organizations briefing set the scene in relation to the global harm and regional perspective of IED use; while Japan Customs expert explained how advanced technologies can help Customs to efficiently identify chemicals. The seminar was successful and rich in its content and resulted in a roadmap document outlining future activities to be undertaken under this joint WCO/JICA project. By May. 21, 2018 In this presentation Black will discuss the background of historic preservation in Paducah and its role in community development. Mr. Black is a construction professional with over 30 years' experience; much of it spent specializing in healthcare construction as well as historic rehabilitation and restoration. He currently serves as a member of the Kentucky Heritage Council, The State Historic Preservation Office. Mr. Black has served as Chairman of the Kentucky Heritage Council as well as the Paducah Main Street board. He has been instrumental in the development of several public/private partnerships for the redevelopment of historic properties in downtown Paducah. He and his firm have been recipients of the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Ida Lee Willis Award for service to preservation. Ray Black & Son, Inc. projects have been featured in programs and publications by the Association for Preservation Technology and HGTV Restore America. One project was for the stabilization and seismic reinforcing of Grace Episcopal Church's 1873 bell tower was the first of its kind completed in the United States. PADUCAH, KY - Historic Preservation 101 will be presented at the McCracken County Public Library by Chris Black, president of Ray Black & Son, on Thursday, June 7th from 7-8 pm. 1. Comments must not be racist, misogynistic, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted. 2. Comments must not involve little more than name-calling and insulting remarks. 3. Comments must not be made by "anonymous" or "unknown". 4. Comments must not try to sneak in some free advertising for themselves (like spam). I invite anyone who wishes to comment on this blog to do so. I enjoy the comments, whether you agree with what I have said or not. But some people want to abuse the right to comment, and since this is my blog, I have decided to lay down the following rules. If your comment violates these rules, it will not be published. McCracken Fiscal Court Holds Scheduled Meeting Advertisement By Mike Cooper May. 21, 2018 | PADUCAH, KY By Mike Cooper May. 21, 2018 | 11:38 PM | PADUCAH, KY The McCracken County Fiscal Court held their regularly scheduled bi-weekly meeting Monday evening. The Court approved budget transfers through May 21st of $274,707.66, accounts payable, May 7th-May 21st, of $402,564.55, and 20 court orders. They also had a short executive session. There was discussion of two resolutions, the County Road Aid Cooperative Program and the Municipal Aid Cooperative Program Contracts. The Commonwealth of Kentucky requires the court to sign off on these and it is a way for the county to obtain reimbursement from the State for the county road aid. Both resolutions were unanimously approved. Mr. Doug Moore gave the court an update on the Maxon Road improvement project and Mr. Roger Mallory also addressed issues with Lightfoot Road. The first reading of Ordinance 2018-03 was conducted. This ordinance covers the new fiscal year budget. The court also authorized Judge Leeper to execute any and all necessary contracts or documents on their behalf to retain the professional services of the Bryant Law Center, PSC, for the purpose of joining the county as a party litigant and representing the county's legal interest in opioid litigation. Before adjournment, Judge Executive Bob Leeper encouraged everyone to attend a monument dedication on Monday, May 28th, (Memorial Day), in memory of Master Sergeant Aaron C. Torian and all those that have lost their lives in the war on terror. The ceremony will be at 10:00 am at the Dolly McNutt Plaza in downtown Paducah. Paducah Hosts City Manager Finalists Meet & Greet Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 21, 2018 | PADUCAH, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 21, 2018 | 10:36 PM | PADUCAH, KY The City of Paducah held a reception Monday evening at the Julian Carroll Convention Center to meet and greet the three finalists for the position of Paducah city manager. On Tuesday the candidates are also scheduled to have face-to-face interviews with the Board of Commissioners, tour the city, and meet with department directors. Mayor Brandi Harless said, "I am proud of how quickly this has gone in comparision to how it could have gone." Harless added, "I'm excited to get to know them a little bit better." The finalists to be the new city manager of Paducah are: James (Jim) Arndt has more than 14 years of local government experience and spent an additional six years as a police officer and three years serving in the United States Army. He currently serves the City of Effingham, Illinois, where he has worked as their City Administrator for the past eight years. He has also been the Administrator for the City of St. Clair, Missouri and the Village of Union City, Ohio. Arndt holds a Masters Degree in Political Science and a Bachelors Degree in General Studies, both from Eastern Illinois University, and is an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Credentialed Manager. James (Jim) Halasz has been the County Administrator for Halifax County, Virginia for the past six years, and before that he spent twelve years serving as the Deputy City Manager for the City of Staunton, Virginia. In total he has more than 28 years of local government experience in addition to four years of experience working for Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. Halasz holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Michigan State University and a Bachelors Degree from Siena Heights College. Cole ODonnell has more than 20 years of local government experience. He most recently served the City of Dixon, Illinois as City Manager. Before that, he was the City Administrator for the City of East Moline, Illinois for five years and the City Administrator for the City of Algona, Iowa for almost 12 years. ODonnell is a graduate of Iowa State University and holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. He also is an ICMA Credentialed Manager. Mayor Harless added she hopes a decision can be made very soon. By Richard Nelson, Commonwealth Policy Center May. 21, 2018 | 06:16 PM | WESTERN KENTUCKY The T-shirt depicted two megaphones and the words, Just Us For All: LGBTQ Advocacy creating change through community." The owners of Herb and Olive and adjacent Vibe Coffee shop, Serena Erizer and Lori Smith issued a statement saying We have always welcomed everyone into our businesses and will continue to do so. At the same time, they said controversial T-shirt messages weren't appropriate for either of their workplaces. Consequently, the Kentucky Fairness Campaign protested both businesses last week. Maybe this could have been avoided if the business owners had a written policy spelling out a dress code. Perhaps. But before the other side rushes to judgment, imagine if the shoe was on the other foot where an employee with a T-shirt promoting Jesus offended a business owner who ordered them not to wear it. There would be an equal stir from conservatives. Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, argues that Sauer had every right to wear his advocacy T-shirt and that a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) law would have protected him. SOGI laws prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in employment, housing or public accommodations. Nine Kentucky cities have similar laws and The Fairness Campaign aims to make Elizabethtown the 10th. Such proposed ordinances veto business owners' policies and underscore precisely how SOGI laws might trample a business owner's right to maintain a workplace in accord with their values and ability to keep it free from potentially divisive politicization. As it is, business owners of all political persuasions have the freedom to set workplace rules and expectations for dress. A SOGI law would stack the deck against those who happen to have different opinions on LGBT issues and standards for workplace activism, and such a heavy-handed action would create friction for any business. Fairness and tolerance are pillars of the LGBT cause, but when the pillars are defined in certain ways, only applicable to certain people, and relevant to certain causes, they inevitably become a foundation for discrimination against those with conservative views on human sexuality. If the idea of fairness truly applied to all sides regarding workplace apparel, conservative employees should be allowed to wear T-shirts with politically conservative messages even over the objections of a liberal business owner. But who wants that kind of confrontational drama in their workplace? It seems a little understanding and respect would go a long way here. Employees must understand and be mindful of the values of their employer especially in jobs that are very public. Respect should be mutual. And to avoid potential controversies employers should make clear workplace expectations and dress requirements before a controversy arises. We'll probably see similar situations arise with other businesses in other Kentucky communities, but they can be avoided when people of differing persuasions clothe themselves with humility, work toward mutual understanding, and learn to respect each other. It's called civility. And when this is pursed it would lead to a better vibe in the workplace. Do employees have a right to wear clothes that promote political messages? Even if those messages violate the beliefs of the business owner?Those questions are making state news. An Elizabethtown specialty food market owner asked one of her employees to not wear T-shirts with a political message. The employee, Tyler Sauer refused to comply and was promptly fired. Congressional, Legislative Races in KY Primary Advertisement By The Associated Press May. 21, 2018 | LOUISVILLE, KY By The Associated Press May. 21, 2018 | 09:14 PM | LOUISVILLE, KY Kentucky residents will head to the polls in a midterm primary election with nominations up for grabs in the U.S. House and the Legislature. More than 3.3 million Kentuckians are registered to vote, and Election Day polls open Tuesday at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. local time. Only Democrats and Republicans can vote in partisan races on the primary election ballot, but all voters may vote in nonpartisan races requiring a primary. Heres a look at some key races on Tuesdays ballot: U.S. HOUSE Six Democrats are running for a chance to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr in the 6th District, stretching from the Appalachian foothills to the bluegrass. Among the Democrats are Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, who carried the district in his losing 2016 campaign against Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, and Amy McGrath, a former fighter pilot joining the ranks of other military veterans trying to break into Congress. The other Democrats are state Sen. Reggie Thomas, Geoff Young, Theodore David Green and Daniel Kemph. Chuck Eddy is challenging Barr in the Republican primary. The 3rd District Republican primary pits the states former top ranking health official, Vickie Yates Brown Glisson, against two other candidates - Mike Craven and Rhonda Palazzo. As a key member of Gov. Matt Bevins administration, Glisson led the states effort to impose the nations first-ever work requirements on Medicaid. The winner of the GOP primary will run in the fall against U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, the only Democrat in Kentuckys congressional delegation. Democrats will pick nominees to challenge four other Republican congressmen, who will be prohibitive favorites to hold their seats in November. In the 1st District, the winner in the matchup between Democrats Alonzo Pennington and Paul Walker will challenge U.S. Rep. James Comer in November. The Democratic ballot in the 2nd District includes Hank Linderman, Brian Pedigo, Rane Eir Olivia Sessions, and Grant Short. U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie will face the winner in the fall. In the 4th District, Democrats Seth Hall, Christina Lord and Patti Piatt are running for a chance to challenge U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie. In the 5th District, the Democratic candidates are Kenneth Stepp and Scott Sykes. U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, dean of the states congressional delegation, is being challenged by Republican Gerardo Serrano. Comer, Guthrie and Massie are unopposed in the primary. LEGISLATURE Half of the 38 state Senate seats are up for grabs this year. Republicans Matt Castlen and Dianne Mackey are competing for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Joe Bowen of Owensboro. Sens. Ernie Harris, Mike Wilson, Julie Raque Adams and Dan Seum face Republican primary challengers. All 100 House seats are on the ballot. A handful of Republican incumbents, including Majority Floor Leader Jonathan Shell, are facing challenges from educators in the primary. Thousands of teachers and their supporters rallied at the state Capitol this year to oppose changes to public pension systems, push for greater education funding and denounce derogatory comments from Bevin. Republicans have large majorities in both chambers. COUNTY CLERK Rowan County Democrats will choose a nominee to challenge the county clerk who spent five days in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The clerk, Kim Davis, is now a Republican and will face the winner of the four-way Democratic primary. The challengers include David Ermold, a gay man who was initially denied a marriage license in 2015. Davis caused an international uproar when she stopped issuing marriage licenses in 2015 after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws banning same-sex unions. Davis was jailed after she refused to obey a judge ordering her to issue the licenses. The state legislature later changed the law to remove clerks names from the licenses. SUPREME COURT Three judges are vying for a seat on the Kentucky Supreme Court. The candidates competing to represent the 3rd Supreme Court District are state Court of Appeals Judge Debra Hembree Lambert and Circuit Court judges David Tapp and Daniel Ballou. Tapp is a circuit judge for Pulaski, Rockcastle and Lincoln counties. Ballou is a circuit judge for McCreary and Whitley counties. Lambert formerly worked as a prosecutor and family court judge. The Supreme Court race is nonpartisan. The two candidates with the most votes will face off in the November election for an eight-year term. The seat is currently held by Justice Daniel J. Venters, who is retiring at the end of his current term. The district includes 27 counties across southern and south-central Kentucky. 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. WiGBits Headline News Would you like to receive our WiGBits? Signup today! WiG Entertainment News Would you like to receive our WiG Entertainment News? Signup today! Digital Issue Would you like to receive our Digital Issue? Signup today! In his first campaign re-election television ad, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel blames families for the current opioid crisis, not the pharmaceutical drug manufacturers who spent millions of dollars to flood our streets with opioids. Brad Schimel takes money from opioid makers, refuses to sue opioid makers for their actions and now uses that money put up a television ad blaming families for the opioid crisis, said Joanna Beilman-Dulin, One Wisconsin Now research director. Once again, Brad Schimel puts his own partisan political interests ahead of Wisconsin families. Schimel, who has received campaign funds from opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma, has refused to join in action by 17 other state attorneys general and sue Purdue and other opioid manufacturers in court. Purdue also contributed nearly $300,000 to the Republican Attorneys General Association in 2016, the last year for which records are available. RAGA has already run ads attacking Schimels 2018 election opponent. Other states bringing suit to hold opioid manufacturers accountable for their role in the addiction crisis cite how their promotion of the drugs minimized risks and encouraged over-prescribing. But Schimel, in refusing to act, claims pharmaceutical manufacturers unsavory practices are too far in the past. A recently released report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals Wisconsin is among the worst states in the nation for increases in deaths attributable to opioids. Nearly every one of the states 72 counties have also joined a lawsuit seeking compensation from drug makers for the mounting costs associated with the opioid addiction crisis. From One Wisconsin Now Attorney General Brad Schimel should immediately return the $2,500 campaign donation from the drug company Pfizer, a manufacturer of opiates and a substitute that is increasingly associated with overdose deaths. "Other states are suing opioid makers; Brad Schimel is taking their money," WJIA executive director Gretchen Schuldt said. "It's bad form and terrible policy." The Pew Charitable Trusts reports that gabapentin, a Pfizer product, was associated with more than a third of Kentucky overdose deaths in 2017. Some states have moved to clamp down on the drug's distribution. Wisconsin, like the rest of the country, is in the midst of an opiate crisis. Last year, 883 people in the state died of opioid overdoses. Schimel's most recent campaign finance report shows that Pfizer PAC, the big pharma stalwart's political action committee, donated $2,500 to Schimel last August. Pfizer has directed lobbyists to fight proposals to tax opioids as a way to fund responses to the devastation the drugs are creating, according to news reports. "Pfizer would rather fund Brad Schimel," Schuldt said. "Undoubtedly, it will get a better return on investment." From Wisconsin Justice Initiative Action A trooper was killed in an overnight crash on Interstate 77 southbound in Yadkin County, according to Chris Knox with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. The deceased trooper has been identified as Samuel Newton Bullard, of Wilkes County. He was a three-year veteran assigned to Surry County. The crash happened around 11:30 p.m. Monday after a pursuit on Interstate 77 southbound at mile marker 82 near NC-67. Knox said the chase started with a license check. During the chase, Trooper P.E. Ellis noticed he did not see Trooper Bullard's patrol car behind him. When his attempt at contacting Bullard failed, Ellis turned around and found the patrol car engulfed in flames. "Our SHP family is devastated by the loss of Trooper Bullard. We are struggling to find words that describe the hurting we feel right now," said Col. Glenn M. McNeill Jr., commander of the State Highway Patrol. "Trooper Bullard died as he was fulfilling his promise to the people of North Carolina, protecting and serving his community." The North Carolina Troopers Association said on Facebook Tuesday morning that they're looking for Dakota Kape Whitt and Michaela Cheyenne Harrison in connection with the fatal crash. The southbound lanes were closed for several hours but have since reopened. ONEONTA, N.Y.-- New York State Police out of Oneonta are searching for a suspect after they say he placed a skimming device inside a bank's ATM. On May 19th, employees at the Community Bank, N.A. location on NY-23 alerted police to the discovery of a skimming device. Skimmers can read the magnetic strip off a credit card, ATM card or debit card. They are frequently found in ATMS, gas pumps and other outdoor card-swiping stations. They can lay over the slot to insert a card or they can be placed deeper within a machine. A captain with NYSP Troop C said the Community Bank ATM in Oneonta automatically disabled itself when it could sense heavy tampering. The machine also took a picture of the suspect, whom officers recognized from a skimmer incident in another state. "It appears to be the same person who was involved in a situation in Scranton, Pennsylvania in late January, early February of this year," Captain Scott Heggelke said. Bank officials at the local branch would not speak on camera, but corporate officials sent the following statement from Hal Wentworth, the company's Senior Vice President for Retail Banking. "For the protection of our customers, it is Community Bank N.A.s policy to not comment on security related matters. We are cooperating with law enforcement on this ongoing investigation. Customers who might suspect fraudulent activity on their accounts should always contact their local branch office as Community Bank follows VISAs zero-liability policy, which protects our customers from fraud or unauthorized use of their accounts." Heggelke said officers still don't know when the skimmer was placed in the Oneonta ATM, only that it was discovered May 19th. "As of this time we haven't heard from anybody who felt that their data was compromised," Heggelke said. Not every scammer must return to the ATM to retrieve their skimming device. "We've received alerts that both can be done, physically retrieve it and it can also be done remotely," Heggelke said. "The banking community is on top of these things. They keep on top of trends and they work hard to combat any types of fraud." Anyone who recognizes the suspect from the ATM photograph is asked to call NYSP at (607)432-4844. LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) Tuesday, May 22. there will be a training workshop for agencies and people at the Greater Lafayette YWCA. This workshop will focus on ways to work with adults who are considered silent witnesses. The YWCA is located at the corner of Sixth and Cincinnati streets and the skills covered during the training have been certified by the Indiana Professionals Bureau. The services offered are all free and is meant to help adults in the community. These adults are considered silent witnesses and experienced abuse in their lives as a child. This training covers those who were physically and sexually abused. There will be a discussion about how this topic is much more prevalent than what is being reported. Tuesday's trainer, Carla Gaff-Clark said it's as much as 10 times more prevalent. "Until we are able to say, this is what we're seeing, this is why we want to help folks, being more open to what's ever happened in my family when I was a kid or whatever makes a big difference on what my health looks like and how I can work on that," said Gaff-Clark. The training will be done through a presentation, handouts, charts and a workbook. Gaff-Clark will have participants share ways to better support these very complex clients in the community. "At the same time, those who that are therapist licensed mental health counselors, probation officers or whatever can share what they are seeing with those same clients and how they're working with them so that we're all kind of working on the same page," Gaff-Clark said. The class will be offered at the YWCA from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Participants who would like to come out should try and register before hand. To register, email: rpanizzi@ywcalafayette.org For more information and questions ,you can contact Gaff-Clarl at CGAFF@INDY.RR.COM or call her at (317) 441-5263 or (317) 259-4915. Since this training have been certified by the Indiana Professionals Bureau, CEU's will be handed out free of charge. You can use this fact to draw people you are attempting to draw closer to your agency. China News on Women 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 Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. 12500 N.E. Tenth Place Bellevue, WA 98005 JPFO.org 800-869-1884 info@jpfo.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 22, 2018 Contact Floyd Neeland NEWS OUTLETS THAT NAME OR SHOW MASS MURDERERS THEMSELVES ACT CRIMINALLY THEY DON'T ADVANCE NEWSTHEY ENCOURAGE COPYCATS Media knows this, they've seen it, they've been warned by police, doctors, watchdogs But it increases our audience! Ethical Guideline: Don't Inspire Evil Refrain from gratuitous or repetitious portrayal of mass murderers' names and images. Too many news outlets relish the chance to sink to the lowest common sensational interest. This now includes displaying names and images of the most heinous mass murderers they can findwhich they now help create. This is not news, it is a corrupt financial misuse of the public trust. Media outlets that do it deserve scorn, boycotts and recognition for encouraging copycat murder and societal decay. Police see it constantly and call for it to end. The medical and psychological establishments recognize the effects and publish scientific papers denouncing the practice. The public sees whats going on, abandons the so-called news in droves, withdrawing its faith. Mass-media reporters, editors and producers laugh, drink at their parties, rake in cash from useful idiots, and falsely proclaim ignorance as audiences shrink, credibility evaporates and the public is revulsed. Wake up, Fourth Estate, you have become the bane of Americas existence. ##### Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, http://www.jpfo.org is Americas most aggressive civil-rights organization, dedicated to destroying the notion of gun control as any kind of credible public-policy position. So-called gun control does not control guns and doesnt control criminal behavior. What it does do is disarm the innocent, leaving them helpless in the face of criminals, tyrannical governments and genocide. History repeatedly proves this fact. Founded in 1989 by Aaron Zelman as a response to the Holocaust, JPFO speaks with the moral authority and tenacious commitment of survivors of persecution, and knows that surrendering your personal and family safety to government protection courts disaster. You dont have to be Jewish to fight by our side, you just have to love liberty. Back to Top A truck-mounted fan known as a Big Tempest, at the scene courtesy of the Sutton (Mass.) Fire Department, is used to clear some of the heavy smoke that permeated the complex. Japanese utility seeks to start up new reactor 22 May 2018 Share Chugoku Electric Power Company has today requested permission from local governments to apply for pre-startup inspections of unit 3 at the Shimane nuclear power plant in Japan's Shimane prefecture. Construction of the 1373 MWe advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) is nearing completion. Shimane 3 (Image: Hitachi-GE) Construction of Shimane 3 started in December 2005 and the unit had been scheduled to begin commercial operation in December 2011. However, in February 2011 - a month before the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant - Chugoku announced that fuelling and start-up of the reactor had been delayed by three months due to a fault with the control rod drive mechanism. Like Japan's other operable reactors, Shimane 3 remained idle following the accident. Under Japan's revised nuclear regulations, plant operators are required to apply to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) for: permission to make changes to the reactor installation; approval of its construction plan to strengthen the plant; and, final safety inspections to ensure the unit meets new safety requirements. Operators are required to add certain safety-enhancing equipment within five years of receiving the NRA's approval of a reactor engineering work program. Chugoku announced today that it has asked the Shimane prefectural government and the Matsue city government for permission to apply for NRA safety inspections at Shimane 3. Chugoku President Mareshige Shimizu visited the Matsue city government and submitted documents to Mayor Masataka Matsuura. He also delivered a consent request to Shimane Governor Zembee Mizoguchi. Shimizu told Mizoguchi the reactor is essential for establishing a stable power supply, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and stabilising electricity prices, the NKK news agency reported. Both the prefectural and city governments plan to ask their respective assemblies to discuss the request, according to the Asahi Shimbun. Chugoku would become the second Japanese utility to apply to the NRA for pre-operation safety inspections for a new nuclear power reactor since the Fukushima Daiichi accident. The first was Japan Electric Power Development Corp (J-Power), which applied in December 2014 for inspections of unit one at its Ohma nuclear power plant, also an ABWR, being built in Aomori prefecture. However, with construction of Shimane 3 more advanced than Ohma 1, Shimane 3 is likely to be the first new reactor to begin operating in Japan. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Supreme Court to consider Virginia uranium ban 22 May 2018 Share The US Supreme Court is to consider whether federal law pre-empts Virginia's ban on uranium mining after finding in favour of a petition by Virginia Uranium, Inc against an earlier appeal court ruling. The court is expected to consider the question later this year. The latest round of court cases has centred on the contention by Virginia Uranium that the ban is based on concerns about radiation from the uranium milling process and from tailings arising from it. The company argues that the US Atomic Energy Act gives the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission exclusive power to regulate uranium milling and tailings-management activities, and that Virginia's moratorium is therefore pre-empted by the federal legislation. The Atomic Energy Act does not cover conventional uranium mining on privately owned land. The US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in April 2017 rejected the company's argument, ruling that Virginia's ban on mining was not pre-empted. Virginia Uranium asked the Supreme Court to review whether the Atomic Energy Act pre-empts a state law, and the federal government last month filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to take up the case. The Supreme Court yesterday issued a writ of certiorari for the case, agreeing to consider the question of whether the Atomic Energy act pre-empts a state law "that on its face regulates an activity within its jurisdiction (here uranium mining), but has the purpose and effect of regulating the radiological safety hazards of activities entrusted to the NRC (here, the milling of uranium and the management of the resulting tailings)". The case is likely to be heard in the autumn. The Coles Hill uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County was first discovered in 1978 and 2008 NI 43-101 figures showed it to contain measured resources of 3260 tU and indicated resources of 42,800 tU. Its owner, Virginia Energy Inc, describes it as the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the USA. Virginia Energy's ownership in Coles Hill is held through its subsidiary, Virginia Uranium. Virginia is home to four operating reactors at two nuclear power plants, numerous nuclear companies and government nuclear-related facilities, but has had a moratorium on uranium mining since 1982. Virginia Uranium, headed by the Coles family in whose ancestral land the deposit lies, has been lobbying for permission to mine the deposit since 2007. Uranium appears on a list of 35 minerals considered as critical to US economic and national security published by the Department of the Interior. The list is to be the initial focus of a multi-agency strategy that is being drawn up by the Department of Commerce in response to an executive order by President Donald Trump to "break" the country's dependence on foreign minerals. The strategy, which is due to be filed in August, will include among other things recommendations to streamline lease permitting and review processes, and ways to increase discovery, production, and domestic refining of critical minerals. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Viewpoint: Nuclear Innovation: Clean Energy Future (NICE Future) 22 May 2018 Share The Initiative on Nuclear Energy is to be launched on 24 May at the ninth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) in Copenhagen. Here, Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette of the US Department of Energy explains the Nuclear Innovation: Clean Energy (NICE). Dan Brouillette Deputy Under Secretary of Energy, first right, at launch of NICE Future (Image: US Energy Gov) This week, I have the privilege of traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark to participate in the 9th Clean Energy Ministerial. This forum brings together the world's top energy officials to promote and discuss a wide range of policies and programmes that will promote the transition to a global clean energy economy. But frequently the definition of 'clean energy', as Secretary Rick Perry pointed out last year, does not include nuclear energy - the world's second largest source of low-carbon electricity, following only behind hydropower. If the world is serious about reducing emissions and growing economies, then the ministerial must consider all options when it comes to carbon-free power, including clean, reliable nuclear energy. NICE Future Initiative The United States, Canada, and Japan are launching the Nuclear Innovation: Clean Energy (NICE) Future Initiative. This global effort will make sure nuclear has a seat at the table during discussions about innovation and advanced clean energy systems of the future. Innovative nuclear systems will play a critical role in world-wide decarbonisation, including use in many energy intensive applications such as: Desalination Industrial process heat Integrated nuclear-renewable systems Flexible electricity grids Hydrogen production Energy storage (thermal, electrical, or chemical). NICE Future is gaining momentum; more than a dozen countries have already expressed interest in joining. It's time for the rest of the world to join this important initiative. The clean power of nuclear There are currently 449 commercial reactors operating in 30 countries around the world. Collectively, these reactors provide nearly 11% of the worlds electricity - all of it being clean and reliable power. In the United States, our 99 reactors produce 20% of the nations electricity and 56% of our total clean energy. By utilising our nuclear energy resources, the United States also avoided more than 14,000 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions between 1995 and 2016. Thats the equivalent of removing 3 billion cars from the road. All the more reason nuclear should have a seat at the clean energy table. The power of collaboration The Trump Administration takes an all-of-the-above approach to energy, and when we say "all-of-the-above" we mean it. As Secretary Perry has stated, we don't have to choose between boosting our economy or protecting our environment. We can achieve both. We can do this by utilising ALL our energy assets. This approach drives innovation, spurs our economies, and protects the environment. Nuclear energy has demonstrated itself time and time again as a clean, reliable, and resilient source of electricity. Having nuclear included in the Clean Energy Ministerial will spur even greater support for this technology and help provide its benefits to our allies around the world. We must work together to make sure ALL clean and innovative technologies are a part of an emission-free future. We must work together to have a NICE Future. Comments? Send them to editor@world-nuclear.org Related topics Jesse and Mike adding interesting stuff to our blog in our spare time, so pardon the miscellany and lack of any organization. If you need to email about something (not hood ornaments) that isn't relevant to the comment section, e mail me at jbohjkl@yahoo.com, which will be responded to pretty fast on weekdays Images used IAW Title 17 U.S. Code 107 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107 This is under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license.See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/legalcode 33 kg gold smuggling case: 28 persons remanded to custody The District Court Morang has remanded 28 persons to police custody for further investigation into the 33 kg gold smuggling case. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday drew a direct parallel between the threats being made by the Trump administration against Iran and North Korea, ratcheting up the tensions with China over the future of the strategic Korean Peninsula. In his first official speech as secretary of state, Pompeo not only declared that the US would impose the strongest sanctions in history on Iran unless it bowed to all of Washingtons demands. He said similar measures would be likely if North Korea failed to strike a deal with the US. The offer of talks has been accompanied by a painful pressure campaign and reflects our commitment to resolve this challenge forever. As Pompeos remarks underscore, Washington is threatening to walk away from the proposed June 12 meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un unless Pyongyang accepts a deal that would transform it into a US client state on Chinas border. Recent statements by Trump and senior US officials have made it plain that the administration will not accept synchronised, step-by-step concessions in exchange for North Korea gradually giving in to demands to give up its nuclear program. Instead, Washington is demanding that the regime give up everything first, in return for promises of US and South Korean aid and investment. US Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News on Monday: It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong-un to think he could play Donald Trump. Asked whether Trump was willing to abandon the summit if his terms are not met, Pence said: Theres no question. Late last week, Trump warned North Korea it could go the way of Libya and Iraq and face total decimation if it refused to strike a deal. On the weekend, his allies echoed those warnings of annihilation. President Trump told me three days ago that he wants to end this in a win-win way, Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News. He thinks thats possible, but if they pull out, [if] they play him, that were going to end North Koreas threat to the American homeland in his first term and Ill let you surmise as to what that might look like. The US president has also stepped up his charge that China is to blame for Kims threat last week to withdraw from the June 12 meeting if joint US-South Korean military exercises proceed, or if the US continues to insist that Pyongyang immediately abandon its nuclear program. According to US media reports, Trump told aides that Kims stance was prompted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who met with Kim in the north-eastern Chinese city of Dalian shortly before Kims statement. Trump reportedly said the issue had become entwined in the ongoing trade war standoff between Washington and Beijing. On Monday, Trump tweeted that China must maintain the US-instigated sanctions on its neighbour. China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of North Korea until a deal is made, he wrote. 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! Far from lessening the dangers of war, the US offer of talks with Kim has heightened the conflict with Beijing, which the Pentagon and US ruling class regard as the primary strategic threat to US hegemony over the Indo-Pacific region. China appears to be responding with its own military counter-moves. On Friday, Chinas military announced it recently practised the take-off and landing of several bombers, including the nuclear-capable H-6K, on an unspecified island in the sensitive South China Sea. A Twitter post by Beijings official newspaper, the Peoples Daily, showed video of a long-range bomber taking off and landing on an island airstrip. A Chinese Defence Ministry statement described the exercises as preparation for the battle for the South China Sea. The purpose was to improve our ability to reach all territory, conduct strikes at any time and strike in all directions, the statement read. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang played down the exercise, while blaming the US for escalating the arms race in the region. The islands in the South China Sea are Chinas territory, he said. The relevant military activities are normal trainings and other parties shouldnt over-interpret them. Lu continued: As for the so-called militarisation mentioned by the US, what we do is fundamentally different from the US sending its military aircraft and warships from thousands of miles away to this region and posing a threat to other countries. Under Trump, the US has intensified the Obama administrations military and strategic pivot or rebalance to the Pacific to combat Chinas rising influence, including by shifting 60 percent of US naval and air forces to the area. According to Pentagon statistics, the US has some 250 military sites encircling China, including in South Korea, Japan, Guam and Australia. The Chinese bomber exercise triggered a new wave of allegations by the US and its allies against China. Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan told CNN: Chinas continued militarisation of disputed features in the South China Sea only serves to raise tensions and destabilise the region. The Australian government, Washingtons closest ally in the region, took the same line. Defence Minister Marise Payne yesterday told the Australian she condemned Beijings deployment of bombers. Denouncing Chinas destabilising actions, she said her government had regularly expressed its concern to China at ongoing militarisation of islands. Last month, the Pentagon provocatively claimed that China was already dominating the regions countries and sea lanes. US Admiral Philip S. Davidson, nominated to head the US Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing: China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war with the United States. These inflammatory charges are escalating the risk of a confrontation that could draw the Indo-Pacific into a devastating war for dominance. There is nothing progressive in the military measures of Beijing, which only play into Washingtons hands and divide the Chinese and US working class from each other. But, as the Trump administrations aggressive America First program highlights, the driving force behind the war preparations is the intensifying efforts by successive US governments to resort to military might to try and offset the countrys economic decline. The author also recommends: US blames China for renewed tensions with North Korea [18 May 2018] Monday saw the opening of the government inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire. Over the next two weeks, testimony will be heard from the friends and families of the victims of one of the worst peacetime disasters in modern British history, which, on June 14 last year, claimed at least 72 lives. Yet not a single national newspaper deemed this event worthy of a position on its front page. Instead, they continued to obsess over the minutiae of the weekends royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Blanket coverage of the wedding, including a sumptuous 32-page souvenir photo album from the Daily Mail, followed Sundays equally ludicrous coverage, when 10 national newspapers devoted 282 pages to the topic. There was saturation reporting on the day itself, and weeks in which everything from Markles dress to the type of food, drink and music to expect was dissected and presented to a bemused public. Throughout, the message delivered time and again was that Harry, presently sixth in line to the throne, marrying a multimillionaire American actress with a black mother, was a fundamental and progressive departure for British social and political life. To this end, an inordinate amount of attention was given to the blackness of the proceedings. Markle, along with guests Serena Williams and Oprah Winfrey, were touted as inspirations for young black women and symbols of change. Bishop Michael Curry was another oft-cited highlight for his sermon on slavery, civil rights and a Christian revolution founded on love, which was greeted by many of the assembled royals with barely concealed contempt. Yet the ceremony, described in terms of it inclusivity and diversity, was nothing but a gathering of the rich and powerful. Just 600 guests were invited to watch the ceremony in Windsor Castle, bringing with them a combined estimated personal wealth of $16-21 billion. The Queens wealth is roughly $500 million, followed by Prince Charles ($100 million), Princes William and Harry ($40 million each), Prince Philip ($30 million) and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton ($10 million). Joining with and often outstripping the British monarchs were Markles fellow celebrity royalty, including Oprah Winfrey ($2.8 billion), George Clooney ($500 million), David and Victoria Beckham ($450 million and $300 million), Elton John ($450 million) and Serena Williams ($150 million). Representing the moneyed heights of politics, finance and property were former Prime Minister John Major ($50 million), hedge fund manager James Matthews ($2 billion) and the owner of substantial swathes of Londons Mayfair, Hugh Grosvenor ($9.5 billion). The wedding itself cost an estimated 32 million, of which 30 million at least was funded by the taxpayer. Of the remaining roughly 2 million, known expenses included the 400,000 for Markles Givenchy wedding dress. When told that the peasants had no bread, Queen Marie Antoinette is meant to have replied, Let them eat cake. On Saturday, it was the 200 rich special guests who ate all the 50,000 lemon and elderflower cakearound 250 a portion. In stark contrast, the government continues to stonewall demands to ban the use of the flammable cladding that acted as an accelerant and turned a kitchen fire in Grenfell Tower into a raging infernoafter the Hackitt inquiry refused to even make this recommendation. And the 400 million promised for the removal of dangerous cladding from council and housing association blocks is reportedly slated to be taken from the affordable housing budget. On the very day the inquiry opened, BBC Panorama revealed that the insulation on Grenfell Tower had never passed the safety test and that the manufacturer, Celotex, had used extra fire retardant in the product that qualified for the safety certificate. The terrible consequences of such abject contempt for the safety of working-class people was made apparent in the heart-rending testimony of the families of six of the victims. Marcio Gomes described holding his stillborn child, delivered while his wife, along with his two daughters, were still in a coma after escaping the blaze. Everything was ready" for his babys arrival, including a message that had been painted on the nursery wall. It had felt like our hearts had broken. He was going to be my superstar. The family of Mohamed Amied Nedap, who fled from Afghanistan to escape the Taliban, played his final recorded words, Goodbye, we are leaving this world now, goodbye. Sam, the son of 69-year-old Joseph Daniels, related, He stood no chance of getting out and this should never have happened. This is the real face of a British society rent by immense inequality. Shortly after the Grenfell Tower fire, the World Socialist Web Site explained that the suffocation and burning to death of at least 72 working-class people, in homes left unsafe for the sake of saving a few thousand pounds, took place in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the wealthiest borough in one of the wealthiest cities in the worldhome not only to the Royal Family but various parasitic oligarchs. This is where Harry and Meghan returned after the wedding, to his cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, while they mull over a move to the Duke and Duchess of Gloucesters 21-room apartment and the purchase of a property in the Cotswolds countryside. Because of this brutal demonstration of the underlying reality of social relations between the classes, we wrote, In years to come it will be necessary to refer to the political life of Britain in terms of before and after Grenfell. And yet commentators now insist that it is not this tragedy that defines the present state of social and political life in Britain, but the pageantry of a multicultural royal wedding. The media hope to replace before and after Grenfellan event they would rather see forgottenwith the narrative before and after Meghan. Guardian columnist Irenosen Okojie expressed this most clearly, writing that the Grenfell Tower debacle and the horrific treatment of the Windrush generation [are] very much at the forefront of current conversation within the UKs ethnic minority communities. Yet the wedding, though couched in pomp and tradition, still seems to me like a radical act. Therell be some sense, some admiration for a Britain that can be forward-thinking. These words express the sentiments of a section of the upper middle class so enamoured with the wealth and splendour of its super-rich idols that it has lost all contact with reality. But such trite nonsense, presenting the coupling of a junior member of the Windsor clan to an African-American actress as some sort of epochal event, becomes no less hollow through endless repetition. The Grenfell Fire Forum, initiated by the Socialist Equality Party, will be holding the next of its regular meetings on Saturday, May 26, at the Maxilla Social Club in North Kensington, London. All are welcome to attend. Grenfell Fire Forum meeting Saturday May 26, 2 p.m. Maxilla Social Club, 2 Maxilla Walk London, W10 6SW (nearest tube: Latimer Road) For further details visit facebook.com/Grenfellforum Mehring Books is pleased to announce that the new SEP pamphlet, Flint: A Crime of Capitalism, is now available for online purchase. On April 25, 2014, the mayor of Flint, Michigan, Dayne Walling, pushed a button ending the citys 50-year reliance on the Detroit water system, shifting to water from the heavily polluted Flint River. This act set in motion an environmental and health disaster with few precedents in American history. In addition to being poisoned, losing unborn babies, enduring an outbreak of Legionnaires disease that killed at least 12 people, and suffering a generation of children facing lifelong neurological damage, the population as a whole has suffered immense trauma and stress, not to mention the collapse of their home values. This disaster, presided over by both Democratic and Republican politicians, contains enormous lessons. It demonstrates the subordination of all aspects of social life to the insatiable profit demands of the corporations. The World Socialist Web Site has provided, and continues to provide, unparalleled reporting and analysis since the first days of the water crisis in Flint. This pamphlet contains a selection of articles, in chronological order, tracing the course of these tragic events. Order now for $3.50 The German parliament (Bundestag) opened the first general debate of the new legislative period last week to discuss two over-arching goals: the imprisonment, persecution and deportation of migrants fleeing the war-torn Middle East, and military rearmament. The formation of a new grand coalition government between Chancellor Angela Merkels Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has left the fascist Alternative for Germany (AfD) the largest opposition party, after it received 12.6 percent of the vote in the 2017 election. As a result, Alice Weidel, the partys co-leader, was left to perform the customary rite afforded to the largest opposition party: the opening of debate. Upon approaching the platform, the 39-year-old fascistic demagogue launched into a frenzied, profane tirade, at points yelling over the howls of approval from her fellow party members. She denounced the government for draining national vitality and ensuring the downfall of our nation by admitting people from tribal societies. German far-right The governing parties had done nothing to raise the birth rate for German families, she declared, while fattening the population of Muslim migrants, whom she called burqas, knife-men and other good-for-nothings. Who will pay your state-funded pensions? She demanded, Including yours [Green Party member] Mr. Hofreiter, you noisy troublemaker? Your imported gold pieces? From the demagogic portrayal of the German people as victims of foreigners, to its racist vulgarity and dog-whistle appeals to anti-Semitic conspiracy theories (gold pieces), Weidels rant was a speech that could have been given by a brown-shirted Nazi parliamentarian in the early 1930s. But despite Weidel having just called her an idiot, Chancellor Angela Merkel ignored the inflammatory tirade that had opened the debate. Without the slightest rebuff to Weidel, Merkel proceeded to outline her vision of a more aggressive role for Germany on the world stage through military rearmament. She said nothing about the AfDs fascistic rant against immigrants because her government has largely embraced the AfDs immigration policies. Many people, horrified by the display of fascist filth in the German parliament, are wondering how it can be, after the horrors of the Holocaust, that such tirades are once again part of everyday political life in Germany. Over recent weeks, representatives of all political parties have agitated against refugees in the style of the AfD and denounced refugee aid organizations as an anti-deportation industry. The Bundestag debate exposed the fact that racism and fascism have once again become political tools of the ruling elite. In the final analysis, the same questions that led to a catastrophe in the 1930s are posed today. Germanys elites are responding to the historic crisis of European and global capitalism, the worldwide growth of militarism and war, and the deepening rivalries between the imperialist powers by resorting to an aggressive foreign policy and implementing a vast programme of rearmament. Merkel declared that the additional billions already made available for defense spending were nowhere near enough. Germany is committed... to the goals of NATOs Wales summit. That was put in writing in our coalition agreement, she said. Concretely, this means military spending has to grow to 2 percent of gross domestic product by 2024, which in numerical terms means an increase in spending from the current level of 37 billion to 75 billion. This would make Germany by far the strongest military power in Europe. Alongside foreign interventions, Merkel said, national territorial and alliance defense is once again of growing significance. She added: We not only need to equip our soldiers so that they can perform foreign interventions well, but they must to the same extent be provided with a much broader range of materiel and military equipment at home, so they can accomplish the additional tasks we have today. Merkel made clear that the grand coalition is ready to implement another round of sweeping social attacks to finance the planned military build-up. It is necessary to contribute to the improvement of our competitiveness, and not just against the European standard, but also compared to what is required globally, she declared. While this concerns very much the competitiveness of Europe, it also includes very much Germanys competitiveness. As the chancellor pulls on her military boots and prepares to dictate austerity measures on behalf of the ruling elite, she adopts the far-rights refugee policy. Merkel explicitly praised the detention centres backed by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, which will serve to confine and concentrate asylum seekers. The issue is the creation of a functioning repatriation culture in Germany. Whoever has no right to stay must go, she told the deputies. The grand coalitions right-wing agenda has unanimous support in the Bundestag. Significantly, representatives of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), the Greens and the Left Party applauded at various points during Merkels address alongside deputies from the governing parties. Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the Left Partys parliamentary group, appealed for an independent and assertive European foreign policy, and, to the applause of the AfD, preached anti-Americanism. FDP Leader Christian Lindner called on Merkel to Lead! Lead this country! To cite Leon Trotskys brilliant words from his essay What is National Socialism, written in 1933, Not every exasperated petty-bourgeois could have become Hitler, but a particle of Hitler is lodged within every exasperated petty-bourgeois. In his speech, AfD co-leader Alexander Gauland referred directly to Herfried Munkler, the Humboldt University professor and foreign policy adviser to the government, in demanding Germanys return to a militarist great power foreign policy. As a power at the centre, as an arbitrating power, as Herfried Munkler sees us, Germany has to find a common course for European policy, he stated. He then approvingly cited Munklers rejection of a foreign policy bound by values from his book on the Thirty Years War, which includes the astonishing declaration at the beginning: A great deal about the disastrous consequences of unconditional commitment to values can be learned from the example of the Thirty Years War. What rejection of a foreign policy bound by values means in practice was made clear four years ago by Jorg Baberowski, a Humboldt University colleague of Munkler, who is also praised by the AfD. If one is not willing to take hostages, burn villages, hang people and spread fear and terror, as the terrorists do, if one is not prepared to do such things, then one can never win such a conflict and it is better to keep out altogether, stated Baberowski in October 2014 in connection with the German armys interventions in the Middle East. At the time, the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party) analyzed the objective driving forces behind the revival of German militarism, warning at the time: The propaganda of the post-war erathat Germany had learned from the terrible crimes of the Nazis, had arrived at the West, had embraced a peaceful foreign policy, and had developed into a stable democracyis exposed as lies. German imperialism is once again showing its real colors as it emerged historically, with all of its aggressiveness at home and abroad. This assessment has been confirmed by the grand coalitions reactionary policies and the integration of the AfD into the political establishment. To prevent the ruling elite from implementing its programme of militarism and war by resorting once again to fascist methods, the growing opposition among workers and youth must be mobilised on a conscious political basis. The active struggle for a socialist programme, through the construction of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei and the International Committee of the Fourth International, is an urgent necessity. There are now 145 billionaires resident in the UK, 11 more than last year, according to the 30th annual Sunday Times Rich List. To illustrate the extent of this wealth, one journalist pointed out that to count to a million takes approximately 12 days, while to count to a billion takes 31 years! The top 1,000 individuals own 724 billion out of the UKs total wealth of 12,778 billion. The incomes of the super-rich have increased an incredible 10 percent on average since last year. The figures presented by the Sunday Times are considered by financial experts to be only a partial measure of the wealth held by the international super-rich who reside in Britain, where they enjoy lax taxation and regulation and access to international tax havens. This was the 30th year of the lists publication. The newspaper pointed out, You need wealth of 115m to break into this years Sunday Times Rich List, nearly four times the 30m necessary to appear in our first edition back in 1989. Giving a portrait of the gargantuan levels of wealth that exist today among this tiny stratum, the Sunday Times continued, And that first list had just 200 entries. To make the top 200 today, you would need 700ma 23-fold increase on the 200th place 29 years ago. In the 10 years since the global financial crash, after the banks and financial elite were bailed out by Gordon Browns Labour government, the British super-rich have tripled their wealth. The parasitic nature of this social layer is expressed in the dominance of financial speculation in wealth accumulation. The Sunday Times noted: The influence of the City in the composition of the modern Rich List is hard to overstate. The first Rich List had five bankers and a grand total of 19 entries who had struck it big from financial deals and trading. Today, there are 169 entries in the finance sector46 from hedge funds alone. Hedge funds did not explode into the Rich List until the 1990s, with the potential to make huge profits afforded by volatile global stock markets. In sharp contrast, workers living standards have been squeezed by crushing austerity measures imposed by successive Labour, Conservative/Liberal Democrat and now Conservative governments. Workers on average still earn 24 less per week than they did before 2007-2008. Over the course of a year, that amounts to more than 1,000 in lost wages. According to research by the Trades Union Congress, by 2025, the average worker will have lost over 18,000. The class polarisation revealed is striking. London has become a magnet for the worlds oligarchs. In the very year that 72 people were killed in the Grenfell Tower inferno due to cost-cutting in its refurbishment, the same city was host to some of the wealthiest individuals in the world. These people have yet again increased their wealth. According to the Sunday Times, individuals from India, Ukraine, Holland, Sweden, Russia, Canada, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Norway account for 13 of the 20 richest on the list. Tycoons running organisations straddling the world choose to base themselves and their business here in a way scarcely imaginable 30 years ago, the newspaper noted approvingly. Still, the Sunday Times peddled the narrative that the super-rich are all self-made and old money is on the run. The compiler of the list, Robert Watts, wrote: Britain is changing. Gone are the days when old money and a small band of industries dominated the Sunday Times Rich List. Aristocrats and inherited wealth have been elbowed out of the list and replaced by an army of self-made entrepreneurs. Todays super rich include people who have set up businesses selling chocolate, sushi, pet food and eggs. Were seeing more people from humble backgrounds, who struggled at school or who didnt even start their businesses until well into middle age. The truth behind these overnight fortunes is that they are being made largely in discounted retail. The shop names alone tell you whats in workers pocketsPoundstretcher, Home Bargains and B&M Discount stores. Home Bargains founder Tom Morris and family rank 39th, with wealth of over 3 billion, followed by the Arora brothers (B&M Discount), listed as 65th and collectively worth 1.92 billion. Poundstretcher is owned by the two Tayub brothers and family, with more than 400 stores nationally, who come in 453rd on the list with 250 million. The BBC reported breathlessly, A businessman who once lived in a council house near Manchester is the richest person in the UK. Jim Ratcliffe, who founded chemical firm Ineos, topped the list with an estimated worth of 21.05bnafter coming 18th last year. The idea of the super-rich being self-made is a myth. Such gargantuan fortunes are not accumulated without an abundant cheap workforce to exploit, an urban infrastructure and taxation system that rewards greed, and a political climate that celebrates social inequality. Ratcliffe became infamous in 2013 when he threatened to close Ineoss Grangemouth petrochemical plant in Falkirk unless the workers accepted a package of job cuts and concessions. In 2010, he and his team left Britain for Switzerlands much lower corporate tax rate. Ratcliffe returned in 2016, encouraged by a business climate characterised by large tax cuts for the already super-rich. The spending allotted for the National Health Service for 2017-2018, used by more than 60 million people, is 124.7 billion. Just the wealth of the top 10 on the super-rich list would cover this, with 15 billion to spare. To put an end to the social hardship faced by millions, that which the Rich List celebratesan elite that wallows in palatial homes, yachts, Lear jets, private islands and armies of domestic labourmust be removed to make way for decent jobs and homes, public transport, leisure facilities, schools, colleges, libraries, hospitals and parks for all. President Trump met Monday afternoon with three top Justice Department and intelligence officials to press his demand that the Department of Justice investigate the use of an FBI informant inside the Trump campaign during the 2016 election. FBI Director Christopher Wray, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats all attended the hour-long meeting and were seen leaving the White House at about 4 p.m. While no details of the discussion have been made public, Trump tweeted Sunday that on Monday he would officially demand that the Justice Department review the propriety of alleged FBI infiltration of the 2016 Republican presidential campaign, including whether it was ordered by the Obama White House in order to assist the Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. Rosenstein issued a statement Sunday afternoon promising to follow Trumps request and referring it to the Justice Departments inspector general, Michael Horowitz, who is already conducting a series of investigations into FBI and Justice Department actions during the 2016 campaign. His purview already includes the FBI investigation into Clintons use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state in the Obama administration, as well as the actions of FBI officials during the fall campaign, when there were frequent leaks to the media about investigations into both the Trump and Clinton campaigns. The initial Rosenstein statement was widely described as an effort to fob off the Trump request by adding it to Horowitzs lengthy list of tasks, thus ensuring that any action would be delayed for many months, presumably well past the November mid-term elections. The White House meeting Monday, which included high-ranking officials viewed as closer to Trump than Rosenstein, appeared to be an effort to jump-start the investigation into the FBI informant, who has been identified in news media reports as 73-year-old Stefan Halper, a longstanding figure in the ranks of Republican national security operatives. He is a former official of the Reagan and the first Bush administrations, and most recently a professor at Cambridge University in Great Britain. Halper reportedly sought to develop relationships with at least three Trump campaign officials: George Papadopoulos and Carter Page, both foreign policy advisers, and Sam Clovis, a figure closer to the Trump inner circle. The FBIs use of an informant to spy on the Trump campaign has placed a spotlight on the immense power wielded behind the scenes by the political police and intelligence agencies of the American ruling class and their manipulation of elections and every other aspect of political life in the US. In the 2016 election, the FBI was simultaneously investigating both the Trump and Clinton campaigns, using its informants and surveillance methods in an effort to influence the outcome. During the campaign, a whole series of former CIA, NSA and State Department officials publicly declared their opposition to a Trump presidency and their support for Clinton, who was seen as a more competent and reliable custodian of American imperialist interests around the world. There was also, and there remains, a great deal of concern within ruling circles that Trump could not trustedas could Clintonto continue and intensify the anti-Russia offensive launched by the Obama administration. The latest revelations of government spying on the Trump campaign undermine the concocted narrative of Russian meddling in the election, which has been used by sections of the intelligence apparatus and the Democratic Party to attack Trump and pressure him to escalate US provocations against Russia as well as the US war in Syria. Nothing Vladimir Putin could have done compares to the massive and completely undemocratic intervention of the police and intelligence agencies of the American state into the election. Only one topic of Mondays White House meeting seems definite: Trump demanded that Rosenstein agree to share information on the FBI informant with the House Intelligence Committee and other congressional leaders who have demanded it. Trump reportedly told Rosenstein and Wray to turn over all internal memos on the informant and his actions in relation to the 2016 campaign. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement afterwards that announced: 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. Sanders added that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly will confer with national security officials and congressional leaders to review highly classified and other information they have requested. What this means in practice is unclear. It seems, however, that a new stage has been reached in the ongoing political warfare in Washington, in which the Trump White House and its congressional allies are going on the offensive in an effort to discredit the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the elections and contacts between Russian officials and the Trump campaign. This political turn has reinforced and made even more brazen the alliance between the Democratic Party and the intelligence and police agencies, such as the CIA and FBI, which the Democrats are defending. The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam Schiff, denounced Republican efforts to put the spotlight on the FBI informer in the Trump campaign, echoing FBI claims that this would damage US security interests and even put the informers life in dangera contention that is invariably made to justify secrecy and censorship, but which is particularly absurd when applied to Stefan Halper. Speaking on the Senate floor Monday, Minority Leader Charles Schumer (Democrat from New York) said, The presidents behavior is the kind of grossly autocratic behavior wed expect in a banana republic, not a mature democracy By now, we should all recognize that President Trumps latest demand is just another example of a relentless campaign to distract from the serious wrongdoing being uncovered by the Russia probe. Actually, the Russia probe has uncovered no serious wrongdoing in relation to the 2016 election campaign. Mueller has obtained indictments for financial flimflam by Paul Manafort years before he became Trump campaign chairman, guilty pleas from various figures for lying to the FBI, and indictments against 13 Russians who cannot be extradited and who will never go to trial. Trumps lead outside attorney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said the documents requested by congressional Republicans and the White House will indicate what the informant found inside the Trump campaign. We should be at least allowed to read them so we know this exculpatory evidence is being preserved, he said. Its the FBI who has the onus for having invaded the campaign. Meanwhile, the two major US newspapers, which have spearheaded the anti-Russia campaign, the New York Times and the Washington Post, continue to refuse even to print the name of the FBI informant inside the Trump campaign, even though Halpers name has been widely publicized over the past several days. This is in keeping with their role as conduits for the CIA and purveyors of government propaganda. 33 kg gold smuggling case: Gore in Biratnagar Airport (In photos) Chudmani Upreti aka Gore, the alleged mastermind of the 33 kg gold smuggling, has been brought to Biratnagar on Tuesday afternoon. The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature. Latin America College professors in Mexico strike to demand compliance with contract, salary raise Professors on 27 campuses of the National Professional Technical Education College (CONALEP) in Mexico City held a one-day work stoppage on May 18 to press their demand that the college administration comply with the terms of their contract. The professors, members of the CONALEP Education Workers Union, warned their students of the walkout beforehand, so the students stayed home. The professors also complain that they work more hours than are called for in their contract. They are calling for a commission to review their salaries. So far, negotiations with the Education Secretariat have stalled. The professors have already held one-day strikes twice before. Mexican municipal workers strike over unpaid wages, attack on union official Municipal water and sewerage workers for the Acapulco Potable Water and Sewerage Commission (Coagua) began a strike May 17 to demand the payment of overdue wages for the first half of May, and for the speedy investigation of and clarification regarding an attack on the general secretary of their local, section 27 of the State of Guerrero Public Service Union (SUSPEG), Gilberto Banos Ramirez. Some 1,900 Coagua workers, a thousand of whom are contractors and temporary, were not paid for the last payday, due to the failure of the finance administration to cover the money owed. SUSPEG has also accused Coagua of padding the municipal payroll by adding people at high salaries. In the meantime, Banos Ramirez, who is also a candidate for city alderman, is in hiding and in fear for his life after a group of armed men shot at his car on the morning of May 17. Banos Ramirez, who was talking to workers picketing in front of a Coaguas office, was unharmed. After that incident, the workers decided to return to work on May 18. Uruguayan secondary teachers vote for two-day strike over delays in budget talks Uruguays National Federation of Secondary Teaching Professors (Fenapes) held an assembly on May 18 and voted to strike for two days, June 5 and 6. The reason for the strike vote is to demand an atmosphere of serious negotiations between Fenapes and the government regarding the education budget. Such issues as teachers pay and investment in infrastructure and supplies will be among the primary topics of discussion. Fenapes notes that in 2015 and 2017, the National Public Education Administration (ANEP) dragged its feet on negotiating before submitting its report to the parliament and it is following that pattern this year as well. Fenapes has been calling for talks with ANEP since March. On May 15, federation reps met with Labor Ministry and ANEP officials, but the government had no proposal and rescheduled another meeting for May 30. Fenapes will evaluate the proposal and decide on its response, which could be a strike. Fenapes carried out some regional 24-hour strikes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday last week to demand concrete proposals from ANEP. Brazilian truck drivers threaten strike over fuel prices Truck drivers associations in Brazil have planned on a national strike if they do not get relief from the cost of diesel and gasoline, reflecting this years surge in crude oil prices. State-owned Petrobras has passed the increase on to truckers, and the truckers have reacted by demanding that the government lower prices and/or reduce taxes on fuel. Energy Minister Wellington Moreira Franco has said that discussion of the issue is needed, but that it would need to involve state as well as federal officials, delaying any action. Argentine Labor Ministry orders suspension of airline unions one-day strike call over working conditions, job attrition A planned May 18 24-hour strike involving members of five airline personnel unions in Argentina was suspended following an obligatory conciliation order (i.e., binding arbitration) by the Labor Ministry. The five unions, representing pilots and cabin and ground crew workers, had called the walkout at the Jorge Newbery and Ezeiza airports to protest the adjustment and risk of labor instability for hundreds of employees of LAN Argentina, a union statement declared. The statement condemned the hollowing out of the enterprise in the midst of explosive expansion at LATAM, LAN Argentinas parent company. As the largest airline holding company in South America, LATAM has attempted to increase its competitive edge through consolidation, closures and increasing workloads of workers with attrition and labor flexibility policies like layoffs and attrition. The unions complain that the firm has ignored its repeated complaints, leading to the strike call. At the explicit request of LATAM, the Labor Ministry issued the order, which will be in effect for 15 days. Argentine vegetable oil workers begin indefinite strike over firings Members of Argentinas Vegetable Oil Industrial Complex, Cottonseed Processing and Associated Industries began an indefinite strike on May 18 following fruitless negotiations with the Labor Ministry. The strike is a response to 34 recent firings at Cargill oilseed crushing plants at three locations. According to an infobae.com article, Cargill has managed to position itself as the major Argentine export enterprise, and one of the leaders in foodstuffs, products and services of the agro-industrial sector, with more than 3,000 employees nationwide. It has recently drawn protests as it has closed some plants in the last few months. The union also lodged a demand that various businesses that are members of the Oilseed Industry Chamber follow through on a May 4 promise to pay a bonus of 26,987 pesos (US$1,105) on May 15. The United States Aerospace strike ends Striking workers at United Launch Alliance (ULA) voted to ratify a new labor agreement, ending a two-week strike against the launch service provider. The 600 workers, members of the International Association of Machinists, walked out May 6 after rejecting managements initial offer. However, the new contract differed little from the one earlier rejected. The main issue concerned travel related expenses. Teams are required to move between launch centers and often have to be away from home for as many as 30 days. Wages and health benefits were also issues. Managements final offer included raises of 1.75 percent, 2 percent, 2.5 percent and 3 percent over the course of the four-year deal. The company called its offer competitive and said it would ensure its long-term viability in the launch market. ULA is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin and builds and launches rockets. The strike involved 300 workers in Decatur, Alabama, about 230 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and about 80 at Vandenburg, California. Illinois judge threatens to replace striking court workers A Kane County, Illinois judge ordered 118 striking probation officers and youth counselors to return to work last week or the 16th Judicial Circuit Court would begin hiring replacement workers. Workers launched their strike April 30 after voting down three separate offers by county negotiators. Members of Teamsters Local 330 want to extend the previous contract that expired last November and retain the 3.7 percent step raises into the new three-year pact. But the county is seeking to end step raises and substitute smaller increases with bonuses and they unilaterally implemented that agreement on the day workers went on strike. Workers were to have returned to work by May 15 in order to avoid permanent replacement. Canada Casino strikers reject union brokered deal The tentative agreement promoted by their union, Unifor, in the six-week-old strike by 2,300 workers at Caesars Windsor, was narrowly rejected last week, setting union leaders on their heels in shock and dismay. Workers were reportedly heard booing the union negotiating team at the vote, with many saying that the deal they were being sold was nearly identical to the one that provoked the strike. There are a number of outstanding issues in dispute for workers, including workplace health and safety as well as the outsourcing of work. Casino management also expressed their disappointment at the rejection vote, citing the recommendations of both the national and local union leadership. Caesars Windsor has said that the casino would remain closed during the strike and that there were no plans to return to negotiations. Cornwall, Ontario city workers strike Two hundred thirty municipal workers in the eastern Ontario city of Cornwall went on strike last week when contract talks hit an impasse following a final offer from the employer. The strike by members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) include outside workers, library workers and paramedics, many of whom are restricted from striking under essential service legislation. According to union negotiators, along with the outstanding issue of wages, the city is asking for numerous other concessions in a new contract. No talks are scheduled in negotiations. At the same time, a separate local of CUPE that includes 150 inside workers in Cornwall will be in a legal strike position this week although the union has not yet said if they will walk out. Quebec daycare workers expand strike mandate Over 1,200 daycare workers in the Montreal area staged the latest in a series of one-day strikes last week to hold an assembly in which they voted to give their union, the Confederation des syndicats nationaux (CSN), an unlimited strike mandate. The workers, who are nearly all women, have been involved in a number of limited job actions in recent months as part of their effort to win a new contract with the Provincial Employers Association of Daycares (APNCPE). Their last contract expired over three years ago but their union has chosen to restrict job action up to this point. The main issue in dispute is scheduling, with the employer insisting on the right to be able to cancel their workday even after they are called in to work if a number of children are absent. Cheryl Rofer is a chemist who spent 35 years working on environmental cleanups everywhere from Estonia to Kazakhstan, disassembling and decommissioning nuclear weapons, and overseeing the destruction of chemical weapons. But unlike international journalists, she is not on the list of people invited this week to witness the destruction of North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site. "I was hoping you were going and I could talk you into bringing me along," she said to CNN. The small contingent of international journalists invited into North Korea departed Beijing Tuesday for Wonsan, a city on the country's east coast. No weapons inspectors or individuals with any kind of expertise were expected to attend the event, which North Korea has said would "ensure transparency of discontinuance of the nuclear test." When it made the announcement on April 20, the Workers' Party of Korea's Seventh Central Committee declared that the country had "realized nuclear weaponization," and to ensure the end of all nuclear testing it would "discard" the test site in the north. Journalists from the US, China, Russia and the UK have all been invited to witness the event. They're expected to view the activity from a distance, without any real opportunity to get a sense of what might have happened inside Punggye-ri's tunnels. Like trampling on a crime scene Bruce Bechtol says evidence that might have been collected will now be lost to the world. "It's kind of like a murder scene where they let people like you and me trample around in it, it's the same concept," said Bechtol, a professor of political science at Angelo State University who has authored several books on North Korea. "The North Koreans have conducted all these tests here, every single weapons test, so if they let experts in to look at these tunnels before they let anyone else in that would be potentially for us an intelligence boon," he said. Some observers have said that the site had become partially unusable anyway due to the damage incurred after six nuclear tests since 2006, while others say the site was still in operation only months ago. Regardless of its operating status, there is still much to be gained from allowing experts in to look around and collect various residue, says Rofer. "If I were going I would want to bring some capability of taking samples, and I would also want to bring a geologist with me. I'd want to have a radiation counter, I would want to go into the tunnel to see if parts of it have caved in in the back, and I would want to take radiation measurements." All those samples and tests could yield information on the kinds of weapons that were being tested, she said. "Isotope measurements could tell you about the design of the device, it would tell you what kind of bombs they're making, what they're making them out of, how much uranium and plutonium is in the bombs. We might be able to infer what they're planning and the shape of their progress," she said. All of that information, experts say, could then be fed back to negotiators to give them a stronger hand in dealing with the Kim regime, including giving them the ability to know whether they are truly extracting concessions, or just cosmetic changes. A feeling of d-j- vu The prospect of such a public demolition gives Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, a sense of d-j- vu. "A lot of this reminds me of the theater of when they destroyed the cooling tower under the Bush administration, and the media was invited to observe the tower exploding and gave a good visual which the Bush administration and the Kim family promoted," she said. "It's not irreversible, they eventually found a different way to cool the reactor." In 2008, North Korea destroyed a water cooling tower at a facility state officials admitted to using to extract plutonium to build nuclear weapons. The massive explosion at the Yongbyon facility was meant to symbolize the end of Pyongyang's nuclear program. During that time, under pressure from restrictive sanctions and international isolation, the North Koreans were more forthcoming about the extent of their program. Along with the journalists invited to watch the event were US State Department officials and observers from the International Atomic Energy Agency, CNN reported. Among the disclosures North Korea made at the time about its nuclear program was the revelation that it had produced roughly 40 kilograms of enriched plutonium, something the US State Department said was enough for about seven nuclear bombs. In response, then-US President George W. Bush said he would lift some US sanctions against North Korea and remove it from the administration's list of state sponsors of terrorism. It later emerged that the North Koreans had been building a separate facility to continue producing fissile material without disclosing it to international authorities. Last November, President Donald Trump returned North Korea to the state sponsors of terrorism list. Critical to understanding North Korea's nuclear history The world is missing an opportunity in allowing North Korea to unilaterally dismantle the site without having a chance to inspect it first, says Cheon Seong Whun a visiting research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "It's very critical evidence that helps us understand the history of North Korea's nuclear program, and if North Korea is sincere about giving up its nuclear weapons," he said. "What they have to do is provide all necessary information and documents to the international community and then invite UN inspections, North Korea doesn't have to dismantle this on its own, this isn't something that should be done in haste." Cheon, a former South Korean government official who worked in the defense and unification departments, argues rather, that North Korea might be destroying the site now to avoid providing access to it down the road, possibly as part of a concession from a summit with Trump that is planned for June 12 but currently looking uncertain. "North Korea's arbitrary action to dismantle this facility on its own, this is not something that we can believe is part of North Korea's declared aim of denuclearization. It's nothing more than destroying evidence." For longtime North Korea observers, another indicator of Kim Jong Un's motives lie in the timing of the scheduled demolition -- it's happening at the same time South Korean leader Moon Jae-in is visiting President Trump at the White House. "Look at the timing," said Cheon. "This is the time Moon is meeting Trump in Washington, this isn't just a coincidence, he wants to take advantage of this event with political propaganda." Rofer believes even if parts of the tunnels are blown up, they can always be unearthed later should the North Koreans want to reuse the site. "It is absolutely correct that we [the international community] seem to be making all the concessions," she said. A US citizen who was stopped and asked for identification after a US Border Patrol agent in Montana heard her speaking Spanish says she wants the American Civil Liberties Union's help over the incident so her 7-year-old daughter can be proud to be bilingual. Ana Suda, who was born in Texas, recorded the encounter last week on her cell phone after the agent asked her and her friend, Mimi Hernandez, who is from California, for their IDs while they waited in line to pay for groceries at a gas station. The video shows Suda asking why the agent questioned them. "Ma'am, the reason I asked for your IDs is because I came in here and saw that you guys were speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here," he says of the area about 35 miles south of the US-Canada border. Suda then asks the agent whether she and her friend are being racially profiled. "It has nothing to do with that," the agent replies. "It has to do with the fact that you were speaking Spanish in the store in a state that is predominantly English-speaking." The incident, which Suda said lasted about 40 minutes, took place in the town of Havre, where Suda has lived for several years, CNN affiliate KTVQ reported. Border agency reviewing incident US Customs and Border Protection is now reviewing the encounter, the agency told CNN Monday. "US 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 agency 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. 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." Asked about the incident on Tuesday, Acting Deputy Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection Ronald D. Vitiello said he was aware of the video. "There is a policy in the federal government and law enforcement against racial profiling," he said. "We've asked our office of professional responsibility to review the matter, so I don't want to pre-judge it," he added. "Bottom line, we expect our people to act with professionalism and when they don't, we're going to hold them to account for that." The ACLU on Monday tweeted in reference to Suda's story that racial profiling is against the law. "Speaking Spanish is not a valid reason for Border Patrol to question or detain you," the civil rights organization stated. "The Constitution prohibits all law enforcement agencies, including @CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) from racial profiling and arbitrary searches and detentions." Spanish-speaking congressman wants answers US Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Florida Republican, on Monday sent a letter to the Customs and Border Protection chief demanding answers about agency policies. "What exactly are the agency's policies regarding probable cause?" he wrote, citing news reports of Suda's experience. "How are the actions of agents reviewed, evaluated, recorded, and held accountable for abusing their authority, for both minor and major violations? "Furthermore, I ask that CBP review its current policies and training procedures to ensure the civil liberties of law-abiding American citizens are respected and upheld." Curbelo noted that he speaks Spanish regularly to his family, including two young daughters. "Young people who are attempting to learn a second language as part of their education often times practice outside of the classroom," he wrote. "The language someone speaks, regardless of geographic area, is not enough to suspect that an immigration violation has occurred." The United States has no official language. And though English is spoken in most homes -- and used for government documents, court proceedings and business contracts -- at least 350 languages are spoken in the country, according to the US Census Bureau. About 4% of Montana residents speak a language other than English at home, according to the US Census. 'He asked me where I was born' Suda had gone to the store with her friend to buy milk and eggs, she told CNN's Don Lemon on Monday. She was next in line to pay when she encountered the Border Patrol agent. "He looked at me, and he asked me where I was born," she said. "So, I look at him, and I say, 'Are you serious?' He's like, 'I am very serious.' "I said, 'I was born in El Paso, Texas.' And he look at my friend, and my friend said, 'I was born in El Centro, California.' So, he said, 'I need to see your ID,'" Suda said. She said the agent told her to show her ID before she paid for the goods. While he was looking at it, she began recording the encounter on her cell phone, asking him to say on video why he'd asked for her identification card. "I believe they have to have a reason to stop you, not just because you speak Spanish," Suda told Lemon. "I don't believe that is a reason. I don't believe that's a crime." Suda said her daughter, 7, saw the video, then asked her mom whether they couldn't speak Spanish anymore. It was that response, Suda told CNN in a separate interview, that prompted her to seek help from the ACLU. "This broke my heart," she said, adding that she told her daughter, "'You need to be proud. You need to speak English, speak Spanish, whatever you want. You are so smart. You speak two languages!' "This is very important," Suda said. "The community needs to know speaking Spanish is not a crime." TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Each year the Humane Society of the United States releases its list of Horrible Hundred dog breeders. Four Indiana locations made this year's list. Those facilities are in Greens Fork, Montgomery, Odon, and Reelsville. According to the report, a dead and bloody puppy was found in a water dish at one location. Other animals were found with open wounds or suffering from heat stress. The United States Department of Agriculture is tasked with inspecting the facilities. The Humane Society uses the reports to compile the Horrible Hundred list. In the last year, the USDA has redacted information like the names of the breeders. The Humane Society claims the "lack of transparency" hinders efforts by law enforcement and consumers. To see the full report, click here. 33 kg gold smuggling case: Alleged mastermind Gore made public Police have arrested Chudamani Upreti aka Gore, the alleged mastermind of 33 kg gold smuggling case. PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) Police surrounded an apartment building in northern Florida and exchanged heavy gunfire with a suspect barricaded inside Tuesday, and at least one person was injured, officials said. Nearby businesses and schools were evacuated and several police agencies responded to the incident in Panama City, where some witnesses reported hearing more than 50 shots. Kim Allagood, owner of a nearby pizza restaurant, said "tons and tons" of police descended on the area and she locked down her restaurant for close to two hours amid sporadic shooting. One civilian suffered minor injuries, and the incident was continuing, city spokeswoman Caitlyn Lawrence said mid-afternoon. Police in nearby Walton County said on their official Twitter account that the incident was tied to a suspicious death in Santa Rosa Beach, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest along the Florida coast from Panama City. But they did not immediately release more details. Walton County police also were at the scene in Panama City. Some initial media reports suggested the suspect was holed up in bank near the apartment building. However Jeremy King, a spokesman for Regions Bank, said the shooter was not in the bank and he had no information that the suspect was ever inside the bank. Florida Gov. Rick Scott talked to Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford about the situation in Panama City. John Tupps, a spokesman for Scott, said the main point of the call was to offer state law enforcement assistance. BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - A man from Booneville faces more than 100 years in prison on charges of possessing child porn. According to the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, officers arrested Sean Jones, 35, at his Booneville home on Monday, May 21. Sean Jones | Photo: MS Attorney General's Office Sean Jones | Photo: MS Attorney General's Office He faces three counts of the charge of child exploitation. He was arrested after an investigation into his suspicious online activity. He was booked into the Prentiss County jail, pending an initial appearance. LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) - Crews will close a section of State Route 245 in Lee County beginning next week to work on a bridge. The Mississippi Department of Transportation says the closure will begin on Tuesday, May 29. The roadway will be closed in both directions between County Road 130 and County Road 54 during the replacement of the Tubbalubba Creek bridge. A detour will be in place on Highway 45 throughout the project. Traffic will be rerouted at the Shannon exit on the north end of the project and the Okolona exit on the south end. The replacement project is expected to be completed in the fall. LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) - Two teenagers were airlifted following a wreck on Highway 45 in Lowndes County. The crash happened Monday night. Troopers say a 17-year-old boy was driving with a 14-year-old as a passenger. The driver lost control of the vehicle, crossed the median and hit a tree. The 17-year-old was airlifted to North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo with serious injuries. The 14-year-old was airlifted to Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson with serious injuries. Troopers say the 17-year-old is from Millport, Alabama, and the 14-year-old is from Hamilton, Mississippi. No names were released. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Teen Health Mississippi (THMS) is excited to announce the selection of Dr. Hope L. Crenshaw to serve as Executive Director. Dr. Crenshaw officially joined the team in her new role on May 15, 2018. THMS advisory board, with the generous help of a volunteer search committee, led the search process. With Hopes selection, Teen Health Mississippi takes its next step in becoming a stand-alone teen health organization. Hope has been a great asset to our team over the past eighteen months in her role as Director of Education and Training, and we are excited to support her in this new position as Executive Director, said Marni von Wilpert, Chair of the Teen Health Mississippi Advisory Board. Hope L. Crenshaw is a native of Crenshaw, Mississippi. She graduated from M.S. Palmer High School in Marks, Mississippi, before receiving her B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. Hope also received her M.A. in Sociology from Minnesota State UniversityMankato. After six Minnesota winters, she returned to the warmth of the Mississippi Delta and served as a high school English and Social Studies instructor for four years at M.S. Palmer. During this time, she earned her Ed.S. in Educational Leadership from the University of Mississippi. Determined to learn more about equity and serving underserved communities, Hope pursued and completed her Ph.D. in Education Policy Studies from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, with a focus on equity and data-driven decision-making. Hope has served as the Director of Education and Training at THMS since October 2016. As Director of Education and Training, she led the Mississippi Sex Education Training Cadre, a 15-member team of professional trainers who provide workshops to current and future sex educators. She also designed training modules to build healthy youth-adult interactions and developed relationships with Mississippi community leaders, school districts, colleges/universities, and faith leaders to rally their support for youth sexual and reproductive health. Dr. Hope Crenshaw states, I am excited about this new opportunity and challenge. My years of education and work experience paired with my dedication and commitment to the state of Mississippi have prepared me for my new role. I look forward to continuing to bring resources and knowledge to underserved communities to support the overall health and wellness of youth. DFO duo Ghimire, Thakur recalled Direct Forest Officer (DFO) Bhairab Prasad Ghimire has been recalled to Kathmandu for his alleged involvement in carrying out irregularities in the woods of Sahajnath Sajhedari Forest and other forests. Under Secretary Gyanendra Mishra has been transferred to his post. SUWANNEE COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - The Florida Department of Health has confirmed that a raccoon has tested positive for rabies in Suwannee County. In response, the department has issued a rabies alert for the central eastern section of Suwannee County. FDOH says all residents and visitors in Suwannee County should be aware that rabies is present in the wild animal population and that domestic animals are at risk if not vaccinated. The rabies alert will be in affect for 60 days. The center of the rabies alert is in the eastern section of Suwannee County. Residents are warned to avoid animals like raccoons, bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats, and coyotes. For more information on rabies, go to http://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/rabies/index.html or call the Florida Department of Health in Suwannee County at 386-362-2708. DOUGLAS, GA (WALB) - The 'deportation bus' that has been making national news was in Douglas Monday, as part of the Michael Williams for governor campaign. About 30 to 40 people came out to protest the deportation bus, and ask questions about candidate Michael Williams' plan to promote school safety, and of course, his plans to deal with illegal immigration. The gathering was peaceful. The tour continued to Tifton and will make a stop in Valdosta late Monday. Republican Gubernatorial candidate Michael Williams spoke with a few protesters about his plans to bring in illegal immigrants. His plan is to have local sheriff deputies to become active ICE Agents and make the deportation process faster. Nothing on that bus is wrong," Williams said. "We only talk about illegal immigration. We talk about Mexico. Its the country that sits south of our border. You cant get to our country from the south unless you go through Mexico. So everything is very fact-based, and thats what were focusing on." Many protesters complained that he didn't stay his full 30 minutes scheduled for questions. Williams says the protesters have to realize that his plans will make them safer. Copyright 2018 WALB. All rights reserved. (WTXL) - Georgia voters will come out Tuesday to vote in the state's primary, but one race being watched closely is for the governor's office. With final stops planned for south Georgia cities like Tifton and Valdosta, Michael Williams is campaigning right up to the day voters will narrow down the field of candidates for governor. But Williams' bus tour has caused some controversy, garnering attention far outside of Georgia. "We're going to implement my plan to fill this bus with illegals and send them back to where they came from." That plan has some Georgians excited, according to Facebook posts, while other's have come out in protest, blocking the bus from moving. That's not the only bump in the road, either, from breaking down to requests from Cracker Barrel to stop meeting at their locations. In a statement saying in part that "We take pride in showing our communities and our country that the hospitality we practice is indeed welcoming and inclusive to all." Williams is still slated to visit Tifton at 1:30 p.m. Leesburg at 3:30 p.m. and a final stop in Valdosta at 6:30 p.m. HAVANA, Fla. (WTXL) - Equestrian enthusiasts from across the North Florida area had a chance to get expert advice and lessons from a Professional Rider and competitor. Kristin Mills is a Federation Equetsre International competition dressage rider from Hamburg, Germany. Competing internationally in Europe and the U.S., Kristin holds bronze and silver medals from the U.S. Dressage Federation and the DRV. Dover Farms hosted Mills for afternoon dressage clinics over the weekend and Monday. Kristin Mills has been around horses most of her life, "I've been doing this for a very long time and I showed my pony and horses in Germany. I came over to the U.S to California 10 years ago and since then I've worked as a professional dressage instructor and helped horses and riders succeed." The clinic wrapped up on Monday. VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) - Police are warning about unsolicited text messages circulating the area that contain explicit content. The Valdosta Police Department says that several citizens have alerted them that they were receiving unsolicited texts. They say that the message contains wording that makes it seem as though the sender lives on your street or shares a mutual friend with you. However, the messages also contain a link, normally to an explicit website, that the sender tried to get you to click on. Police are urging citizens not to click on or open any attachments/files from unverified sources. They also recommend that you avoid responding to these messages and instead block the sender's number if you are able. File appeal in Supreme Court against Chakre Milan acquittal The Special Government Attorney Office (SGAO) on Monday advised the Office of Attorney General to file an appeal in the Supreme Court (SC) against Special Courts acquittal of gangster Milan Gurung aka Chakre Milan in the money laundering case. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 01:19:26|Editor: yan Video Player Close TAIPEI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's current Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration should be held responsible for the island's absence from the ongoing World Health Assembly (WHA), according to Taipei-based experts. Chu Shin-min, a professor of the Chengchi University department of diplomacy, said at a press conference Monday that the key to Taiwan's participation in international organizations is recognition of the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the one-China principle but has been rejected by the DPP administration. The DPP administration is deceiving itself, as peaceful and stable cross-strait relations are the foundation for Taiwan's participation, said Chu. From 2009 to 2016, Taiwan participated in the WHA with observer status as "Chinese Taipei," but has not been invited since 2017, when the DPP took power. The authority's so-called protests were merely cloaks to hide its incompetence and mislead the public, according to Pang Chien-kuo, a professor at Taipei's Chinese Culture University (CCU). Chen Yi-hsin, a chair professor at the Department of Political Science of the CCU, also highlighted that the expansion of Taiwan's international space could only be achievable through improving cross-strait relations. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 01:34:32|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close Ma Xiaowei (Front), minister of China's National Health Commission, speaks at the 71st World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 21, 2018. Ma said that China is willing to cooperate with other countries to reduce "health injustice" and achieve better health services for everyone. (Xinhua/Alain Grosclaude) GENEVA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese health official on Monday said that China is willing to cooperate with other countries to reduce "health injustice" and achieve better health services for everyone. Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission, told the just opened 71st World Health Assembly that China puts high priority to the nation-wide health care network. He said that China attaches key importance to the establishment of a high quality and efficient medical and health service system, and makes every effort to make the health service affordable. Also deepening the reform has become a strong driving force to move China's health service forward on a road with Chinese characteristics, he added. Ma Xiaowei currently is leading the Chinese delegation to the 71st World Health Assembly, which kicked off in Geneva on Monday. "China is actively participating in global health governance and promoting the building of a shared community with common destiny, as well as helping developing countries to achieve their universal health care goals," he said. According to the Chinese official, during the past 55 years China has sent medical teams to 69 developing countries, dispatching 250,000 person times of health care professionals and treated 280 million patient times. The 71st annual World Health Assembly takes place from May 21 to 26 of 2018 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, which attracted nearly 4,000 delegates from the World Health Organization's (WHO's) 194 members and partner organizations. The Assembly is WHO's highest decision-making body, setting out the Organization's policy and approving its budget. WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- New research published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science suggested that sweet potatoes may originate in Asia instead of the Americas, and much earlier than previously known. Paleobotanists in Indiana University led by David Dilcher 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 suggested 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 suggested 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 revealed 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 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. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 03:29:52|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close TEHRAN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday rejected the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's threatening remarks as "absurd and interventionist." In a statement, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said that the United States seeks to distract the global attention from its "illegal moves" concerning Iran's nuclear deal by threatening and insulting the Iranian nation. Despite the United States, Iran has been bound to its international obligations, the statement said. The existing problems in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Palestine and Afghanistan are the results of the U.S. policies in the region, therefore, "the Americans are not entitled to influence Iran's policies in its own region." "Over the past four decades, the Islamic republic has resisted the U.S. and its allies' plots and has turned out victorious," he said, adding that likewise, the Islamic republic will abort the U.S. hostile policies in the future as well. Iran preserves the right to legally sue the United States over its illegal measures and threats, he stressed. 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. Related: EU's Mogherini sweeps aside Pompeo's tough speech on Iran BRUSSELS, May 21 (Xinhua) -- European Union(EU) top diplomat on Monday swept aside U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's speech on Iran, reiterating that there is no alternative to the landmark Iran nuclear deal. "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," Federica Mogherini, EU foreign policy chief, said in a statement. "There is no alternative to the JCPOA," she stressed. Pompeo on Monday rolled out a "new Iran strategy" in a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a U.S.-based conservative think tank, issuing tough rhetoric against Tehran and summoning calls for frustrated U.S. allies. 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 the 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. Mogherini, however, made a strong case against Pompeo's argument, underlining that the JCPOA "was never designed to address all issues in the relationship with Iran." "Concerns regarding Iran's regional role... are regularly raised by the EU with Tehran and indeed the EU has in place sanctions seeking to pressure Iran to change its behavior," she noted. Mogherini reasserted the EU's stance that the bloc "is and will remain committed to the continued full and effective implementation of the JCPOA as long as Iran abides by all its nuclear-related commitments." Pompeo's speech came after the Trump administration withdrew from the historic Iran nuke deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), earlier this month despite the global outcry. MOSCOW, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to step up economic and energy cooperation on Monday during the talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Foreign Ministry said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told media following "long, frank, friendly" Putin-Modi talks that the two leaders paid particular attention to the economic cooperation, said the Foreign Ministry. The two leaders discussed the details about what steps should be taken to ensure the solid economic component of a summit to be held in India in early October this year, Lavrov said. According to the minister, Russia-India trade increased about 20 percent in 2017 and grew some 40 percent in the "first months" of 2018. Putin and Modi also discussed cooperation in the energy sector, including oil, liquefied natural gas and peaceful use of nuclear energy, said Lavrov. The leaders also paid special attention to the program of action to combat extremism, separatism and terrorism, he said. "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 Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The OPCW is responsible for an investigation into alleged chemical weapon attacks in Syria. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 04:50:05|Editor: yan Video Player Close AMMAN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Monday endorsed a new income tax law to combat tax evasion and increase the number of tax payers, the state-run Petra news agency reported. Minister of Finance Omar Malhas said the new law, which will be referred this week to the parliament, entails increasing the percentage of Jordanians who pay income tax from 4.5 percent to 10 percent. The law will help the government generate 300 million dinars (about 423.25 million U.S. dollars) a year, said the minister. The amendment to the law comes as part of a 700-million-dollar extended fund facility signed between Jordan and the International Monetary Fund in 2016, under which the government pledged to take several fiscal reforms to address rising public debt and budget deficit. The reforms are also meant to increase the ratio of public debt to GDP to safe levels, said the minister. A department for financial investigations will be established, tasked with taking legal action against tax evaders, said the minister. The law also stiffens penalties on tax evaders. Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sochi, Russia, May 21, 2018. (Kremlin Photo) MOSCOW, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to step up economic and energy cooperation on Monday during the talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Foreign Ministry said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told media following "long, frank, friendly" Putin-Modi talks that the two leaders paid particular attention to the economic cooperation, said the Foreign Ministry. The two leaders discussed the details about what steps should be taken to ensure the solid economic component of a summit to be held in India in early October this year, Lavrov said. According to the minister, Russia-India trade increased about 20 percent in 2017 and grew some 40 percent in the "first months" of 2018. Putin and Modi also discussed cooperation in the energy sector, including oil, liquefied natural gas and peaceful use of nuclear energy, said Lavrov. The leaders also paid special attention to the program of action to combat extremism, separatism and terrorism, he said. "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 Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The OPCW is responsible for an investigation into alleged chemical weapon attacks in Syria. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 07:00:25|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close CONAKRY, May 21 (Xinhua) -- President of the Republic of Guinea Alpha Conde on Monday named Ibrahima Kassory Fofana as prime minister and head of Guinean government, through a presidential decree published on national television broadcast news. In another decree, Alpha Conde instructed the general secretaries of the ministerial departments to manage the day-to-day affairs of the ministries until the establishment of the new government. Before being promoted to prime minister, Ibrahia Kassory Fofana was minister in charge of public investment and relations with the private sector. President of the former political party GPT (Guinea for All), Kassory Fofana joined the government of President Alpha Conde in 2014 after a political alliance was established between his party and the ruling party RPG Rainbow. Last Saturday, through another political alliance with the ruling party, he agreed to merge his party into the ruling RPG Rainbow, in order to become the prime minister. Former Guinean Prime Minister Mamady Youla submitted the resignation of his government on Thursday, during the cabinet meeting chaired by President Alpha Conde. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 08:04:08|Editor: zh Video Player Close Visitors walk in front of the Marzahner Bockwindmuehle, a wind mill built in 1993 as a replica of a 19th century mill in Berlin, capital of Germany, on May 21, 2018. On Monday, more than 1,100 mills across Germany, historic ones and replicas, had their giant blades turned and grinders powered on to celebrate the 25th German Mills Day. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi) Four girls drown in Lumbini Four girls, aged below 14, drowned in a pond at Lumbini Sanskritik Municipality-11, Rupandehi, on Monday. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 08:20:57|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Palestinian men read Quran inside a mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, in the West Bank City of Nablus, on May 21, 2018. Muslims around the world celebrate Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, in which they abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset. (Xinhua/Nidal Eshtayeh) MARAWI, the Philippines, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Asniah Sultan, 26, fled with her family from southern Philippine city of Marawi when fighting between government security forces and pro-IS fighters erupted in May last year. Sultan, with her three children aged one, three and four and her husband, were among those who hastily fled the city. They are now living in a "tent city" in the outskirts of Marawi along with almost 200 families. Their rented house was among those burned down during the five-month fierce fighting that also left more than 1,200 dead. Before the war broke out, Sultan earns a living by selling fish in the market. "Now, we are living on dole outs for a year now," she told Xinhua. On May 23, 2017, pro-IS fighters launched a five-month long siege to the Marawi City, Lanao del Sur province. Nearly 354,000 residents or more than 77,000 families in and around the besieged city were displaced in the clashes between militants and government forces. In October last year, President Rodrigo Duterte declared the city liberated after five months of air strikes and gunbattle to retake the once scenic city. Humanitian aid is being distributed to the thousands of people, mostly poor Filipino Muslims, who fled Islamic militants that laid siege to the city. But conditions are harsh in temporary shelters and many fear they will never be able to return home. Evacuees receive a pack of goodies that include six kilos of rice, four cans of sardines, four cans corned beef and six coffee sachets every nine days, Sultan said. Once in a while, Sultan said they get fresh fish. "It's really miserable living in an evacuation center. Even drinking water is scarce sometimes," she said. Her husband cannot find a job. Duterte imposed martial rule in the entire Mindanao region in the wake of the siege, making it difficult for male residents to move around due to security reasons. Unlike the other displaced residents, Sultan do not own a house in the ruined city. They were just renting an apartment, they said, making them less likely to return to their previous village after the rehabilitation is completed. Housing Assistant Secretary Felix Castro, Task Force Bangon (Rise) Marawi field office manager, said there are still 39,000 families who have not returned to their homes in the ground zero. Some of them are staying with relatives in Marawi and nearby provinces. Some 1,000 families are living in 41 evacuation centers, he said. Philippine authorities hope the rehabilitation work inside the former battleground area will be completed by 2021. Castro said the government is still negotiating for a developer who will conduct the debris clearing in the city's central business district which the military calls now the "most affected area." The Armed Forces of the Philippines said there are still an estimated 50 unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices in that part of the city that need to be cleared, referring to the area where the final battle took place to retake Marawi from the clutches of militants. "The biggest challenge is taking core of the IDPs (internally displaced people) while they are still waiting for the chance to rebuild of their houses considering the time that will take," Castro said. For now, Castro appealed to the IDPs to be patient while waiting for the "right time" to rebuild the part of the city ruined by air strikes and gun battle. "In the meantime they are not allowed to return to their homes we have to take care of their needs," Castro added. He said the government is looking at some livelihood projects for the evacuees so that they could have their own income and they could also earn. Sultan welcome the idea but she stressed the need for the government to provide capital. "We cannot rely on dole outs. We also need cash to buy for our other needs which are not provided to us like diapers for our children," Sultan said. To augment their food supply, some of the evacuees plant vegetable patches in the evacuation centers. Mindanao residents like Sultan are often the victims of decades-long armed conflict like the Marawi siege. The spate of violence perpetrated by extremists continue to scare off investors and keeping the region that badly need investment in an endless cycle of poverty. Barry Shying (2nd L), offspring of Mak Sai Ying, or John Shying, the first known Chinese born settler to Australia, attends a gala to mark the 200th anniversary of Chinese migration to Australia in Sydney, Australia, May 20, 2018. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei) 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| 2018-05-22 10:25:57|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close HAVANA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- One of the survivors of the tragic plane crash in Cuba died Monday afternoon due to complications, taking the death toll in the incident to 111. Grettel Landrove, a 23-year-old college student, passed away following serious neurological traumas, said Cuba's public health ministry. Along with the two other survivors of the incident, Landrove was hospitalized at the intensive care unit of Havana's Calixto Garcia Hospital. "At the moment of her death, Grettel Landrove was in extreme critical condition, which wasn't possible to revert despite the effort of the multidisciplinary medical team in charge of her," said the ministry. Earlier in the day, Carlos Alberto Martinez, head of the medical team, said Landrove's prognosis was unfavorable because she had to be operated for an injury inside the brain tissue and an incision was applied to decompress the area and improve circulation. Two other survivors, Mailen Diaz, 19, and Emiley Sanchez, 39, remain in extreme critical condition and their prognosis is reserved. Initially there were four survivors, but a man died shortly after arriving at the hospital. The Boeing 737-200, leased by Cubana de Aviacion from of the Mexican company Damojh, crashed Friday shortly after takeoff from Jose Marti International Airport in Havana with 113 people on board. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 10:25:58|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close SYDNEY, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Police in Australia's Victoria state released on Tuesday details of an ongoing investigation into a gang violence case that involved an unprecedented explosion caused by a hand grenade. A male suspect allegedly drove up to a house in state capital Melbourne's Lalor suburb late last November and threw an M52 hand grenade, causing "significant damage to the building and several parked cars," police said in a statement. No one inside the property, which included a woman and her infant child sleeping in the front room, was injured, police said. Detectives have released an image of a man to assist with investigations. "Investigators believe the attack was targeted and is linked to ongoing feuds between a number of Middle Eastern organized crime groups," police said. The hand-grenade explosion is the first case of its kind in the state, fueling concerns that organized crime syndicates are gaining access to military-grade weapons, local media reported. Earlier in May, a court heard a case involving the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang and use of a high-powered, military AK-47 or SKS rifle in a drive-by shooting targeting a businessman, the ABC News channel reported. PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived at the country's anti-corruption body here on Tuesday for an investigation related to the state investment company 1MDB. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said it had summoned Najib to assist the investigation regarding SRC International, a company related to 1MDB, which Najib set up in 2009 after taking office and from which it is alleged that hundreds of millions of dollars were siphoned by Najib's associates. Najib has denied any wrongdoing. The Malaysian police have seized a trove of cash, jewelry and designer handbags from several premises related to Najib, including his private residence and luxury condominiums, part of a corruption probe following the election. Newly elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has vowed to hold Najib responsible if he is found guilty. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 11:16:06|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A senior United Nations (UN) official said Monday that migration is a persistent "global phenomenon" that needs global efforts to tackle. "We have heard harrowing accounts of smuggling and trafficking," UN General Assembly President Miroslav Lajcak told the opening of the fifth and final informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearing on migration at the UN Headquarters. The hearings are part of work towards a global compact "on safe, orderly and regular migration." "We have discussed migration from both national and regional perspectives. We have talked about the dangers of misinformation and the need for an evidence-based approach. And we have reinforced that migration affects all of society so all of society is needed, to respond." Acknowledging that migration "is here to stay," Lajcak said the phenomenon is neither a trend nor a phase, and won't disappear overtime. He called for a "global response" to tackle the issue. The UN official also suggested that his colleagues take lessons from past experiences, since addressing the migration issue dates back centuries ago. "People have migrated for centuries. That means we have centuries of policies and practices, trials and errors, successes and failures to learn from," Lajcak said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 11:21:07|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close LOS ANGELES, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The University of Southern California (USC) was sued on Monday by five former students in two lawsuits over the scandal of the school's gynecologist who was accused of sexual misconduct to female patients. In one of the two lawsuits, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, four former female students alleged Dr. George Tyndall as a "serial sexual predator." The plaintiffs said that they were sexually abused, harassed and molested at the hands of Tyndall. "Despite the fact that USC has publicly admitted that it received numerous complaints of Tyndall's sexually abusive behavior, dating back to at least the year 2000, Defendant USC actively and deliberately concealed Tyndall's sexual abuse for years, continuing to grant Tyndall unfettered sexual access to the young female USC students in his care, all to protect Defendant USC's reputation and financial coffers," according to the lawsuit. Tyndall worked as the only fulltime gynecologist at the USC student clinic for 27 years. According to the Los Angeles Times' investigation, the complaints of his repeated misconduct toward his young female patients started in early 1990s, including improperly photographing students' genitals, touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies. In the second lawsuit, a young woman who graduated from USC's 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, Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. According to Los Angeles Times, some colleagues of Tyndall feared that the gynecologist was targeting the university's growing population of Chinese students in recent years. Those Chinese students often had a limited knowledge of the English language and American medical norms. The Consulate General of China in Los Angeles expressed its serious concern over the scandal Wednesday, requesting the university take serious steps to investigate the issue and protect Chinese students from illegal acts. The Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), a major Chinese student organization at USC, also issued a statement on Thursday, calling on Chinese students to bravely speak up any violations of their rights. USC officials said they are actively seeking all facts and are dedicated to providing the most compassionate support they can. "Nothing is more important to me, or to our community, than the health and safety of our students," C. L. Max Nikias, president of the USC, said in a statement Tuesday. Two longtime student health clinic administrators were fired by USC as a result of the scandal on Friday. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 12:26:17|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close A man cools himself off during heat wave in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on May 22, 2018. At least 65 people died due to heatstroke in the past three days in different parts of Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, where temperature hit 44 degrees Celsius. (Xinhua) ISLAMABAD, May 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 65 people died due to heatstroke during the last three days in different parts of Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, where temperature hit 44 degrees Celsius, local media quoted a social welfare group Edhi as saying on Tuesday. Faisal Edhi, the head of Edhi Foundation that operates morgues and an ambulance service in the country, told local media that 114 bodies were brought to the foundation's morgues in the city's Korangi and Sohrab Goth areas in the past three days, out of which at least 65 had died from heatstroke. Edhi said that most heatstroke victims had died at their home without getting any medical help on time, adding that the youngest victim was six-years-old while the oldest one was 78, according to the reports. However, local health authorities denied the claim, said the reports. Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a heatwave warning for Karachi saying that the hot weather is expected to stay between 40 to 43 degrees in daytime throughout the week. Local reports said that Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar also urged residents to stay indoors during the day to avoid heatstroke. A severe heat wave in 2015 killed at least 1,200 people, mostly elderly, sick and homeless mainly in Sindh province in southern Pakistan. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 12:36:18|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop at her request in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 21, 2018, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala) BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said here Monday that her country values its relations with China and sees China's development as an opportunity rather than a threat. She made the remarks during a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' conference. The recent spate of negative reports about China by Australian media are not accurate and do not represent the viewpoints of the Australian government, said Bishop. China's sustainable success is good for Australia and the rest of the world -- that's the mainstream opinion about China in Australia, she added. China and Australia are two countries with many differences, and it is normal for them to have some disputes, Bishop said, adding that the Australian side is willing to show goodwill, rationally manage bilateral disputes, avoid misjudgments and continue to promote bilateral ties. Wang said the recent difficulties facing bilateral relations due to what the Australian side has done have dampened exchanges and cooperation between the two countries and that is something China does not wish to see. China has taken a development path different from that of other major countries, featuring no interference in other countries' internal affairs and no intention to infiltrate other nations, said Wang. "Our goal is to conduct cooperation on an equal footing with all the other countries including Australia and to achieve win-win results," he added. China has noticed the various statements made by senior Australian officials asking to improve ties with China, and China is ready to communicate with the Australian side over the issue, he said. The Australian side should "take off its tinted glass" against China and make efforts to push forward bilateral cooperation rather than dampen the prospect of relations, said the Chinese minister. Govt rejects CM Rauts request to visit US The federal government has rejected Province 2 Chief Minister Lal Babu Rauts request to visit the United States. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 12:46:19|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday that it is necessary for China and Britain to enhance strategic communication and deepen strategic cooperation to continue to "inject new connotations" into the Golden Era of bilateral ties. While meeting his British counterpart Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' conference in Buenos Aires, Wang said that faced with the changing international situation, China and Britain, as major countries in the world and permanent members of the UN Security Council, should enhance strategic communication and deepen strategic cooperation to continue to "inject new connotations" into the Golden Era of bilateral ties. Wang expressed the hope that the two countries, located on the two ends of Eurasian continent, would cooperate more actively on the Belt and Road construction. Johnson said that Britain-China ties are very important, and Britain is willing to strengthen communication with China and reinforce coordination and cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels. He added that Britain is willing to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative and make the joint construction of the Belt and Road a component of the Golden Era of China-Britain ties. The two sides also exchanged views on Iran's nuclear issue and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. Wang said that China supports the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to have direct contacts and hopes the two sides would meet half way, remove obstructions, increase mutual understanding and hold the DPRK-U.S. summit as scheduled. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 12:46:19|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday that it has asked its watchdog, the Inspector General, to probe President Donald Trump's accusations that his campaign had been "infiltrated or surveilled" by the FBI during the 2016 elections. The Department has asked the Inspector General to "expand the ongoing review of the FISA (the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) application process to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation" in the FBI probe, DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement. As always, the Inspector General will consult with the appropriate U.S. Attorney if there is any evidence of potential criminal conduct, she added. "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, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. elections and the Trump campaign's possible involvement. Trump met Monday afternoon with Rosenstein, as well as FBI Director Christopher Wray, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to discuss their response to congressional requests on a range of topics, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told NBC News. "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," Sanders said. The Justice Department's internal watchdog, the Inspector General, is already examining Republican complaints of FBI misconduct in the early stages of the Russia investigation. Trump had been tweeting similar allegations for days. On Friday, he tweeted: "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." "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 on Sunday. The New York Times reported on Saturday that at least one government informant met several times with two Trump campaign aides who were suspected to have contacts linked to Russia. by Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is lashing out at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over the Russia probe, a move that experts said is a bid to change the narrative and claim the investigation against him is purely political. Trump demanded in a tweet that the Justice Department investigate whether they or the FBI surveilled his campaign at the behest of the Obama administration in the lead up to the 2016 presidential elections. "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. The statement comes amid an ongoing probe by special counsel Robert Mueller on whether Team Trump colluded with Russia to clinch the White House in the 2016 presidential elections. Last week marked the one-year anniversary into the investigation. While the White House continues to dismiss these claims, the investigation is not going away, experts said. "I believe Trump's goal here is to try to create an impression that the various investigations into his administration are motivated by politics, not a genuine pursuit of wrongdoing. That's aimed largely at his supporters, not just in the run-up to the midterms but more generally. These charges turn the discussion from 'Is Trump guilty?' to 'Is the investigation political?' which probably benefits Trump in the short term," Christopher Galdieri, assistant professor at Saint Anselm College, told Xinhua. "He's creating an impression that federal law enforcement is motivated by political concerns, not the pursuit of justice. He's also potentially laying the groundwork for himself to use the FBI and DOJ for political ends - if he convinces his supporters that that's just what presidents do, then they, at least, would support any efforts on his part to do the same," Galdieri said. "And thanks to political polarization, there are millions of Americans who support Trump and are now convinced that the FBI and DOJ are not professional law enforcement agencies, but left-wing cabals trying to bring down Trump and his administration," Galdieri said. Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua: "When Trump is under duress, he loves to change the topic. He is demanding that the Justice Department investigate possible spying on his campaign as a way to argue the entire investigation against him is tainted and unfair. If people believe the FBI spied on him, that discredits investigators and casts doubt on their entire enterprise. It is a way to play offense instead of defense." Dan Mahaffee, senior vice president and director of policy at the Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency, told Xinhua that Trump made this demand to highlight what he sees as unfair treatment of his campaign by the FBI investigation. "Even though it is worth noting that the FBI did nothing publicly related to Trump in 2016 as it did with the Clinton e-mail investigation," he said, noting Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's email scandal. "This is a powerful motivating factor for his base, who believe in some kind of 'deep state' conspiracy" to undermine the Trump administration and see the Mueller investigation as a key part of it," Mahaffee said. "The rule of law in the United States has always been based on the idea that the Department of Justice and federal law enforcement are firewalled from politics. The same is true of the protection of intelligence sources and methods. That is no longer the case, and it sends a powerful message to not only the dedicated leadership of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, but also to criminals and adversaries of the United States," Mahaffee said. WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Barack and Michelle Obama, former U.S. president and first lady, have signed a multi-year production deal with Netflix, it was announced on Monday. "The Obamas will produce a diverse mix of content, including the potential for scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features," said Netflix in a statement, not revealing financial terms. The Obamas have set up a company called Higher Ground Productions as the entity under which they will produce content for Netflix, Netflix said. Netflix did not specify a timeline and the first content from the Obamas is expected to appear in 2019 at the earliest, according to local media reports. "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," Barack Obama said in a statement on Monday. "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," Michelle Obama added. Netflix is a well-known streaming service which has about 125 million members. UNITED NATIONS, May 21 (Xinhua) -- UN envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame said Monday that some points of consensus have emerged from the country's recently launched National Conference, where a desire for a "united and sovereign nation" is expressed. Salame, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya, on Monday briefed the Security Council on Libya's National Conference held in April as a way of giving all Libyans a say in responding to the country's ongoing crisis. The conference has so far been convened in 27 locations and has drawn thousands of participants. It is part of the UN Action Plan proposed by Salame last September to amend the Libyan Political Agreement, a stalled deal reached in 2015 with an aim to establish a single national unity government. "Libyans from all political stripes and segments of society gathered to enter the political conversation, many for the first time with an enthusiasm that could not have been predicted," Salame said via teleconference. "They have made it their own." Salame said some points of consensus have emerged, which shows why advancing the political process is "so vital." They include "a yearning for a united and sovereign nation and a common belief," he said, adding that "to achieve that, the state must be more decentralized." Moreover, a fairer, more transparent and effective distribution of public resources, unified state institutions, as well as unified and professional military and coherent security apparatus are among the points of consensus, he said. Libya has been split east and west by two fighting factions following the 2011 ouster of long-time leader Muammer Gadhafi. Since 2014, the country has rival governments and parliaments based in its western and eastern regions. In addition, the National Conference has revealed that Libyans want a vote which can unite their country, as well as the means to go through the transition, Salame said. "While elections must be held as soon as possible, the proper conditions must be in place," Salame said, underscoring the need for a new round of voter registration, prior commitment to accepting the results, as well as sufficient funding and security arrangements. The National Conference is expected to run through June and take place in over 40 locations overall, including Libyan communities overseas. Special events focusing on the concerns of women, youth and internally displaced persons will also be held. Salame also briefed the Security Council on a new UN strategy to help Libya deal with armed groups which continue to have what he has described as "perilous" influence on politics and the economy. It involves direct engagement of these groups, in close consultation with the government. While the strategy "will not unravel armed groups tomorrow," he said, it "will help the long process begin in earnest." Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 13:16:26|Editor: Liu Video Player Close NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. coffee chain Starbucks issued a new policy to allow people to use its cafes' bathrooms and sitting areas without any purchase in store. In a recent letter sent to its employees, the company notified "any person who enters our spaces, including patios, cafes and restrooms,regardless of whether they make a purchase, is considered a customer," according to the Wall Street Journal. The coffee giant has been facing strong public accusations of discrimination after a store manager in Philadelphia last month called the police on two African American men who sat down waiting for a business meeting and one of whom asked to use the bathroom. They were arrested and put into jail for hours. Starbucks later apologized and announced a plan to close all corporate-owned stores in America for a half-day on May 29 for racial bias education. The new policy will be in effect at Starbucks' some 8,000 U.S. stores, while it will not apply to customers with "disruptive behaviors" including smoking, alcohol drinking, drug using, and sleeping, the company said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 13:26:30|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 21, 2018, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala) BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The joint efforts between China and Italy in building the Belt and Road Initiative during the 21st century will inject new impetus into the development of bilateral relations and open up new prospects, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday. The remarks were made during Wang's meeting with his Italian counterpart Angelino Alfano on the side lines of the ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) in Buenos Aires. Wang said that both China and Italy are ancient civilizations. In history, they were closely linked to each other through the ancient "Silk Road." China appreciates Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's visit to China last year to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which made positive contributions to the success of the forum, Wang said. Wang expressed the hope that the two countries will seize the opportunity to actively carry out mutually beneficial cooperation under the Belt and Road framework and jointly develop the third-party market cooperation, exploring new potential and space for bilateral relations. For his part, Alfano said that the development of Italy-China relations is robust and close high-level exchanges have been conducted between the two countries. Italy and China have both historical and geographical advantages in carrying out the Belt and Road cooperation. Italy is willing to participate more actively in the cooperation at bilateral and EU levels based on their sound cooperation in the past, Alfano said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 13:36:33|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak(C) arrives at Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya, Malaysia, May 22, 2018. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived at the country's anti-corruption body here on Tuesday for an investigation related to the state investment company 1MDB. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung) PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was questioned by anti-graft busters on Tuesday for an investigation related to the state investment company 1MDB. Mohd Shukri Abdull, chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), said Najib was called in to explain how a 42 million-ringgit (10.6 million U.S. dollars) deposit was made to his personal bank account from SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB. Shukri told reporters at the MACC at the moment they only ask Najib to record a statement, not to arrest him, but charges could be filed "very soon." He said the anti-corruption agency has received new information related to Najib, but declined to elaborate. The investigation on SRC International is only a part of large-scale efforts by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to correct the alleged wrong doings committed by Najib. Mahathir also set up a task-force, comprised of personnel from the MACC, the Attorney-General's Chambers, Royal Malaysian Police and Malaysian Central Bank. The Malaysian police also seized a trove of cash, jewelry and designer handbags from several premises related to Najib, including his private residence and luxury condominiums, part of a corruption probe following the election. But Shukri did not elaborate on the relevance between the 1MDB investigation and the search, saying it should be answered by the police. Shukri did not specify how long the investigation will last. He said it will depend on the documents. "If we feel satisfied we can release him. If we need his statement, we will call him back," he said. Najib, who went into the MACC building at around 9:45 a.m. local time denied any wrongdoing during his premiership. CANBERRA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Recreational marijuana could be decriminalized in the Northern Territory (NT) as it looks to build on federal laws which have already legalized the drug as a medication. NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner said on Tuesday that the territory's potential to cultivate hemp and medical marijuana would boost the economy, so they would look at ways to create their own marijuana industry. Penalties such as jail or conviction with a criminal record would be removed under the government's proposed changes, however, the growth or leisurely use of the product would remain illegal. Federal laws legalized the growth of medical marijuana in 2016, and earlier this year these regulations were widened to allow exports from Australia. Gunner said that widening these regulations further would boost the economy and create jobs. "We are going through a parliamentary committee process to look at essentially addictive behaviors and policies around that, which could include decriminalisation," Gunner told reporters on Monday night. "We recognize we have got to do policy work, there seems to have been some good outcomes in having a health-based approach in other parts of the world that I am interested in." Gunner cited the 13 U.S. provinces which have decriminalised marijuana. The Federal Government has the power to veto any decisions made by the NT, however a trial crop has been grown in Katherine, south of the capital city, Darwin. So far the NT has not held discussions to legalise the use of recreational cannabis. LONDON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to join hands with Britain to firmly uphold the multilateral trade regime, Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming said here Monday. "The UK has always been an active advocate for free trade and a firm defender of multilateral trade regime. We look forward to joining hands with people from all walks of life in Britain to firmly uphold the multilateral trade regime," Liu made the remarks when delivering a keynote speech in Asia House on the China-U.S. trade dispute. In his speech, Liu said China and the United States have reached consensuses on economic and trade issues, pledging not to engage in a trade war after Chinese Vice Premier Liu He visited the United States as a special envoy of President Xi Jinping. "For the peoples of both China and the United States, and for all those who have been concerned about how the trade disputes might evolve, this is really good news," he said. The ambassador said this outcome has not come easily, which is what Chinese and American people want and is conducive to global economic and trade stability and prosperity. "This outcome highlights the importance of persistency and perseverance in maintaining sound economic and trade ties between China and the U.S.," he said. The danger of a China-U.S. "trade war" has abated, but the deep-seated issues underscored by this round of trade disputes deserve some deep and serious thinking, Liu said. "It is therefore my sincere hope that with this latest effort of China and the U.S. to solve trade disputes, the voice in favor of multilateralism, free trade and win-win cooperation will grow louder over the clamor for unilateralism, protectionism and 'zero-sum games,'" Liu said, adding that he also hoped that following the China-U.S. consensus, international consultations and cooperation will be enhanced and the world economy and trade will take on a stronger momentum. Liu said China and Britain together can facilitate the sound development of the world economy and global trade, as well as contribute to building a more beautiful future for all mankind. Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, chairman of Asia House, told Xinhua in an interview that the United States and China are the two largest trading economies in the world. "A lot of attention is paid to the (China-U.S. trade) issue here in London," he said, stressing that the discussions between the two countries last week led to a "reassuring and encouraging" outcome. Lord Green noted that China's pledge to promote protection of intellectual property is necessary to the development of China and is also good news for British businesses and European businesses seeking to engage in China. Based in the heart of London, Asia House is the UK's center of expertise on Asia. It drives economic and political engagement between Europe and Asia by providing a forum for international decision-makers, business leaders and opinion formers to engage in high-level discussions that direct business and political strategies. Govt sought details of 110 Facebook users in 2017 Various agencies of the government had asked Facebook to provide details of 110 accounts in the year 2017, according to a transparency report made public this week by the social media organisation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 14:01:40|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Rising consumption and prices have attracted large-scale durian farming in Malaysia recently, thanks to its rising prominence in China. As the planting is gaining momentum, some analysts foresee the "king of fruit" to overtake oil palm as preferred new investment in Malaysia moving forward. Maybank Kim Eng said in a report Tuesday that as durian cultivation could potentially generate nine times more revenue compared to palm oil on a per hectare basis while generating Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) margin in excess of 50 percent, it believed this might compel some oil palm planters to switch crop at the next replanting cycle given the scarcity and high cost of land and rising wages. Witnessing growing interest on large-scale durian farming in Malaysia lately, it said, the euphoria was understandable as estate for the most prominent Musang King durian was said to generate nine times more in revenue than oil palm at 150,000 ringgit (37,722 U.S. dollar) per hectare in 2017. "Considering the rising demand (of durian), there is immense opportunity for Malaysia to increase its market share once China allows Malaysia to export fresh durian as Malaysia's durian is more superior in taste," it said. According to the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics database in 2016, Thailand was the world's leading exporter of fresh durian with 402,661 metric tons (MT) which worth 495 million U.S. dollar. Among them, 303,430 MT worth 394 million U.S. dollar durian were exported to China. As comparison, Malaysia only exported 17,754 MT worth 17.9 million U.S. dollar in 2016. Singapore was Malaysia's largest export market, accounted for 16,595 MT or 8 million U.S. dollars. China, however, accounted for merely 691 MT or 6.8 million U.S. dollar. It is noted that Malaysia currently exports downstream durian products to China, while fresh fruits are exported through indirect channels like Singapore and China's Hong Kong. The research house also highlighted there were over 200 durian varieties in Malaysia, more than Thailand where focus was on only a few varieties. Among the Malaysian species, Musang King has been a favorite among the Chinese consumers. "The durian industry in Malaysia is therefore very much still at the initial stage. Over time, we foresee greater investments pouring into this sector as large-scale farming gains traction and proven to be successful," said Maybank. The research house, however, also saw the key risk to the durian industry was largely premised on the continuous demand for quality durian from China, the main export market. Unlike oil palm commercial planting which has about 100-years of proven success, large-scale durian farming in Malaysia is considered young by comparison and lacks comprehensive technical know-how. WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. media reported on Monday that the United States and China have "agreed on the broad outline of a deal" to settle the issue of Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE. A report of the Wall Street Journal quoted the people with knowledge of the matter as saying that the details "are still being hammered out." If an agreement is reached on the issue, the U.S. government will remove the current ban on U.S. companies selling components and software to ZTE, the report said. However, the possible relaxation of the ban by the U.S. side will have to pass U.S. national security reviews, it added. Also on Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that "the intent was not to put the company (ZTE) out of business." U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the ZTE case, was reportedly scheduled to go to Beijing next week. CANBERRA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Professor Tao Dacheng, a computer scientist at the University of Sydney, was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) on Tuesday, one of 21 new Fellows recognized for their outstanding contributions to science. Among the group are Australian scientist, Dr Alan Andersen, who has revealed the hidden world of ants and, in doing so, became the first person from the Northern Territory to be elected a Fellow; mathematician Professor Geordie Williamson who, at age 36, became the academy's youngest living Fellow; and Professor Anne Kelso, who has strengthened Australia's position in global influenza virus surveillance and pandemic preparedness. They join a prestigious Fellowship that includes six Nobel Prize winners and scientific luminaries such as Sir Mark Oliphant, Professor Nancy Millis, Sir Douglas Mawson, Professor Frank Fenner and Sir David Attenborough. In its citation on Tuesday, the AAS said: Tao Dacheng has made ground-breaking contributions in artificial intelligence, computer vision image processing and machine learning. "More specifically, he has made fundamental research contributions to learning succinct, robust, and effective representations for data sampled from high dimensional or high order spaces, and collected from multiple tasks or sources." "He has contributed insightful new ways to explain why, when and how a learning model performs well, and has developed useable algorithms for practical applications, such as face recognition, autonomous driving, web image search, and activity analysis." The new Fellows' pioneering contributions also include: revolutionising the way e-waste is recycled; changing the way we think about carbohydrate foods; research that led to the detection of gravitational waves; and new insights into how the immune system may be harnessed to devise new therapies for cancer and other diseases. In a statement on Tuesday, AAS president, Professor Andrew Holmes, congratulated the new Fellows for making significant and lasting impacts in their scientific disciplines. "These scientists were elected by their Academy peers, following a rigorous evaluation process," he said. Holmes said from 23 Founding Fellows in 1954, the new group elected this year brings the total number of living AAS Fellows to 568. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 14:06:41|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The total number of Chinese 4G network users rose to 1.08 billion by the end of April as the country's mobile networks continued vigorous development. The figure was up from nearly 1 billion at the end of last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), and 4G subscribers accounted for 72.9 percent of mobile phone users, up 2.6 percentage points from end 2017. In April, major telecom carriers China Telecom and China Unicom contributed a combined increase of nearly 10 million. However, China Mobile, with the largest group of 4G users, saw its first loss of 2.43 million in more than four years. China has the world's largest 4G network and is still striving for further expansion, with the goal of adding 450,000 new 4G base stations this year to improve signal coverage in buildings, elevators and other indoor spaces, as well as railroads and expressways. The growth of 4G users has boosted data consumption. Chinese mobile network subscribers used 3.41 gigabytes of data on average last month, up 154 percent year on year. The MIIT released guidelines last week to prompt mobile service operators to eliminate charges for domestic roaming data use starting July 1, and to reduce data prices by at least 30 percent within the year. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 14:06:41|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close By Xinhua writer Yu Fei BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- How did our cosmos emerge from darkness after the Big Bang? How were the earliest stars ignited in the cosmic dawn? Chinese scientists will look for answers on the far side of the Moon. China on Monday launched the Queqiao ("Magpie Bridge") relay satellite to help communicate with 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. Two micro satellites, Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2, will also be sent to orbit around the Moon to conduct ultra-long-wave astronomical observation, which could help scientists explore the dawn of the universe. The cosmos entered its "dark ages" after the Big Bang. Under the action of universal gravitational forces, the primordial perturbation gradually grew and led to the formation of the first stars and galaxies, ushering in the dawn of the universe, said Chen Xuelei, a cosmologist with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). "The study of the cosmic dawn is a new focus in academic circles. When did the cosmic dawn start? How were the first stars ignited? How big were the earliest stars? We only have conjecture about those questions, and we need astronomical observation to help us find the answers," said Chen. Scientists speculate that during the dawn of the universe, neutral hydrogen might have generated an absorption signature at the wavelength of 21cm. "That is like the rosy cloud of the dawn. We are looking for such characteristics of the cosmic dawn through ultra-long-wave astronomical observation," Chen said. Scientists from the United States, Australia, India and other countries have set up astronomical instruments in many places around the globe to look for the "rosy cloud", but no reliable observation results have been achieved so far. The ionosphere, the ionized part of the Earth's upper atmosphere, as well as electromagnetic radiation generated by human activities on Earth, would seriously interfere with the observations. "So we need to go to outer space to conduct such observation," Chen said. 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 the radio interference from the Earth. And from there, astronomers can study the origins and evolution of stars and galaxies, peering into the dawn or even the dark ages of the universe. The United States sent two satellites into space, with one orbiting the Moon, to conduct ultra-long-wave astronomical observations in the 1970s. But restricted by the technologies at that time, the results were not satisfactory, said Chen. He is one of a group of Chinese and Dutch scientists who have proposed a new program to send a fleet of satellites, including a main satellite and several small ones, to orbit the Moon. When they fly to the far side, they will conduct observations, and when they fly to the near side, they will send data back to Earth. The Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2 micro satellites, launched together with Chang'e-4's relay satellite, will conduct an initial test for the program. The micro satellites were jointly developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology and the National Space Science Center of the CAS. Chen will lead a team of scientists responsible for analysis of the data. "Exploring the cosmic dawn is our long-term goal, and Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2 are only a preliminary experiment. We face a lot of restrictions, since the devices on the micro satellites might also cause notable electromagnetic interference, and the observation time will not be long enough," Chen said. But this experiment could lay the foundation for future exploration, he added. Chinese scientists have started to develop the key technologies for use in future exploration. The relay satellite and the lander of the Chang'e-4 lunar probe are also equipped with low-frequency radio spectrometers, developed by Dutch and Chinese scientists, which will conduct similar observations, helping scientists to "listen" to the deeper reaches of the cosmos. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 14:31:47|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close SEOUL, May 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's presidential Blue House said Tuesday that it saw 99.9 percent of possibility for the agreed summit between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States to be held as scheduled. Chung Eui-yong, top security advisor for President Moon Jae-in, told reporters on a flight to Washington that South Korea currently had 99.9 percent of expectations for the DPRK-U.S. summit to be held as agreed upon though the country was preparing for several possibilities, according to the Blue House. Moon, accompanied by Chung, arrived in Washington Monday night (Washington time) to hold a summit meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Chung told reporters that the South Korea-U.S. summit was aimed at frankly exchanging opinions between leaders of the two countries about how to manage situations, saying the summit would be focused on talks between Moon and Trump. Though the luncheon meeting was scheduled with secretaries of the two leaders in attendance, Moon and Trump will focus on their one-on-one meeting, which is the strongest point of this summit, Chung noted. He said Moon and Trump will frankly talk about ways to make the DPRK-U.S. summit successful, to reach a significant agreement at the summit and to implement the agreement. Trump and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un has agreed to meet on June 12 in Singapore for the first-ever DPRK-U.S. summit. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 14:46:51|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close CANBERRA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 Commonwealth Games athletes and officials remain in Australia after applying for refugee visas, with another 50 staying in the country illegally. The figures were revealed by Immigration Department officials to a Senate committee hearing on Monday night. A total of 8,103 athletes, media representatives and officials arrived in Australia on temporary visas for the Gold Coast event which concluded on April 15, with 7,848 returning home after their stay expired last week, meaning 255 stayed in the country. Of those who have remained in Australia, 205 were legally in the community on bridging visas as they await approval to stay on a permanent basis. Border Force officials have commenced a nationwide search for the other 50 who have overstayed their visas. The majority of foreigners seeking asylum in Australia were from war-torn African nations such as Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria, however some members of the Indian and Pakistani teams have also remained in Australia. Australia's Department of Home Affairs deputy secretary, Malisa Golightly, told parliament on Monday night that most of the remaining participants "have applied for protection visas". "Anybody that is onshore can apply for protection legally once they are here, but of course then they are considered against ... the criteria for that visa," she said. The temporary protection visas allow the Commonwealth Games participants to stay in Australia for up to three years and receive welfare benefits. Peter Dutton, Australia's Home Affairs Minister, said he was disappointed with the number of people who have stayed illegally as they had been welcomed to Australia "in good faith". "Australians hate being taken for a ride by freeloaders," Dutton told Newscorp Australia on Monday night. "Australia is now obliged under international law to consider these protection visa applications." By comparison, only 45 people extended their visas or sought asylum in Australia after the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. GHAZNI, Afghanistan, May 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 police personnel, including two senior police officers, were killed in fresh clashes with Taliban militants in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province overnight, a local official said Tuesday. "Hundreds of Taliban militants launched coordinated attacks on Dih Yak and neighboring Jaghato districts Monday night, triggering heavy gunfights lasting for hours. The clashes left 12 policemen killed and 15 others injured," provincial government spokesman Harif Noori told Xinhua. Those among the killed were Dih Yak Police Chief Faiz Mohammad and provincial reserved Police Chief Barakatullah Khan, he said. Several militants were also killed and wounded during the gun battle, he said, adding that sporadic clashes were ongoing in the two districts as of Tuesday morning. Earlier in the day, Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, claimed that Taliban fighters seized the full control of Jaghato and inflicted heavy casualties on security forces in Dih Yak. The Taliban-led insurgency has been on the rampage since the beginning of 2015 when the Afghan security forces assumed full responsibilities of security from the United States and NATO troops. The militants also intensified attacks against security forces and staged several large-scale attacks against Afghan cities and districts after they launched a yearly rebel offensive on April 25. The province, 125 km south of Afghan capital of Kabul, has been the scene of heavy clashes over the past months. On May 15, 10 security forces and 44 militants were killed in separate clashes in four districts of Ghazni. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 15:11:57|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday that it is in line with the global trend to uphold multilateralism, improve global governance and build a community of shared interests. Wang made the remarks while attending the first session of the ministerial meetings of the Group of 20 (G20). The world is facing numerous challenges and the economic globalization is facing headwinds, as unilateralism and protectionism have reared their heads, said Wang. Noting that we are living in a world where no one can solve all the problems on his own, Wang said that protectionism is not the way out and win-win cooperation is what the world needs. "We should resolve problems through consultations on the basis of equality and mutual respect and solve disputes through frank dialogues," said Wang. "We should work together to build a community of shared future for mankind based on multilateralism," said Wang. The United Nations (UN) is the core of the current multilateral mechanism and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter are the cornerstone of contemporary international relations, said Wang. He said that the World Trade Organization represents the rule-based multilateral trade system and its core values and basic principles must be respected. Wang also said that climate change is a common challenge facing human beings and that the Paris Agreement should be actively implemented. The G20 embodies the progress in global governance and the group should play a better role in promoting economic globalization, said Wang. To improve global governance does not entail an overturning of the current system, but reform, so as to accord with the trend of the times and best reflect the intentions and interests of most countries. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 15:16:58|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close JERUSALEM, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) attacked an observation post belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit. The move is in retaliation to the infiltration into Israel from the Gaza Strip by a number of Palestinians who later set a military post on fire earlier on Tuesday. No injuries were reported. SEOUL, May 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Tuesday expressed regrets over the failed visit by its journalists to cover the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s planned dismantlement of its nuclear test site ahead of the summit between Pyongyang and Washington. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon expressed regrets in a statement. Pyongyang had invited journalists from China, Russia, the United States, Britain and South Korea earlier this month to witness the dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where all of its six nuclear tests were conducted, scheduled between May 23 and May 25. The DPRK has refused to receive the list of South Korean journalists supposed to participate in the coverage, citing the ongoing South Korea-U.S. air combat exercises codenamed Max Thunder. The annual air drills, which South Korea claimed to be defensive in nature, mobilized about 100 aircraft this year, which included eight F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets of the U.S. Air Force. The radar-evading combat plane is used to secretly attack an enemy target. Citing the air drills, Pyongyang cancelled the agreed-upon inter-Korean talks between high-level officials last week. The South Korean unification minister said the purpose of the Panmunjom Declaration is to end confrontations and hostilities of the past, while moving toward a new era of reconciliation, peace and prosperity by fulfilling all of inter-Korean agreements. The Panmunjom Declaration was signed and announced after the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, the third-ever inter-Korean summit held on April 27 in the border village of Panmunjom. Moon and Kim agreed to complete denuclearization and the turn of the current armistice agreement into a peace treaty by the end of this year. The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war as the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with armistice. Despite the media coverage failure, Cho said, the South Korean government paid due attention to the fact that the DPRK's pledge to dismantle the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, an initial measure for denuclearization, is proceeding as planned. Except for South Korean journalists, other press corps were allowed to fly from Beijing to Wonsan, an east coastal city of the DPRK near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, as scheduled. Cho expected that such action would lead to the successful hosting of the DPRK-U.S. summit, scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, anticipating the DPRK to take practical measures to achieve complete denuclearization and settle permanent peace on the peninsula. Moon arrived in Washington Monday night (Washington time) to hold a summit meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, according to the presidential Blue House of South Korea. Chung Eui-yong, top security advisor for Moon, told reporters on a flight to Washington that South Korea currently had 99.9 percent of expectations for the DPRK-U.S. summit to be held as agreed upon though Seoul was preparing for several possibilities. Chung is accompanying Moon to Washington. Chung said the South Korea-U.S. summit was aimed at frankly exchanging opinions between leaders of the two countries about how to manage situations, saying the summit would be focused on talks between Moon and Trump. Though the luncheon meeting was scheduled with secretaries of the two leaders in attendance, Moon and Trump will focus mainly on their one-on-one meeting, which is the strongest point of this summit, Chang noted. He said Moon and Trump will frankly talk about ways to make the summit successful, to reach a significant agreement at the summit and to implement the agreement. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 15:47:06|Editor: ZD Video Player Close BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Xinhua) -- China has always regarded Saudi Arabia as a priority in its Middle East diplomacy as well as an important cooperation partner in the Belt and Road construction, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Monday. China and Saudi Arabia are all-round strategic partners, enjoying mutual understanding, mutual support and mutual trust, Wang said when meeting Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir during the ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. The two countries' heads of state have established good contacts and friendship, which plays an important leading role in the development of bilateral relations, he said. The Chinese foreign minister hoped the two sides will launch and give full play to their high-level joint committee at an early date and advance bilateral cooperation in such areas as production capacity, investment, energy, trade and infrastructure. He also said that China is willing to work together with Saudi Arabia for the success of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum scheduled for July and further boost solidarity and cooperation with Arab countries. China would keep contacts with Saudi Arabia over the Middle East issues and will always side with Arab countries and safeguard their just rights and interests as well as peace and stability in the Middle East, Wang said. Jubeir said China is Saudi Arabia's important strategic partner, and that the two sides enjoy mutual trust and have conducted frequent high-level contacts, with abundant achievements scored in bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields. Saudi Arabia is willing to participate in the Belt and Road cooperation, and hopes the two sides will further implement the consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries as well as the agreements signed between the two countries, and step up pragmatic cooperation in such areas as ports and energy, Jubeir said. Saudi Arabia welcomes more Chinese enterprises to carry out investment and cooperation, Jubeir added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 15:57:11|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto urged the Mongolian government not to tamper with the contract on the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in the Gobi desert if it wants to attract more foreign investors. Speaking at the Mongolia Economic Forum held here Tuesday in Ulan Bator, Arnaud Soirat, the head of Rio's copper business, said Mongolia had all ingredients to become a "successful resource nation" but only if it honored agreements around issues such as tax and royalty payments. "The world is watching how Oyu Tolgoi develops. Therefore, Mongolia has to demonstrate its stability to foreign investors to attract more investment. It is a test case for future investment in Mongolia which brings with it jobs, new business opportunities and community development," Soirat said. "A strong partnership between the government and the private sector is important for sustainable economic and social development of the country. If we can work together, Mongolia will be able to attract more investment," he added. Oyu Tolgoi is the largest public-private employer in Mongolia. Currently, the company employs 14,000 people, of which 94 percent are Mongolians. Rio Tinto has invested more than 7.5 billion U.S. dollars in the country since 2010 and paid the Mongolian government some 1.5 billion dollars in taxes, royalties and other fees. The company, the largest foreign investor of the resource-rich country, is now planning to spend a further 5.5 billion dollars on developing an underground mine. However, the expansion has been delayed by political disputes and became the subject in a corruption investigation that has led to the arrest of two former prime ministers and an ex-finance minister who signed the 2009 investment deal. Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine, located in the South Gobi Desert of Mongolia, is expected to produce an average of 430,000 tons of copper and 425,000 ounces (about 12,050 kg) of gold annually for 20 years, and is estimated to generate up to a third of government revenue by 2019. The Mongolian government has a 34 percent stake in Oyu Tolgoi while Rio Tinto-controlled Turquoise Hill Resources owns the remaining 66 percent. File photo shows locals attending a commemoration in Adwa town, northern Ethiopia on March 2, 2018. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde) ADDIS ABABA, May 22 (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. File photo shows crew members of Spanish Armada Vessel "Relampago" rescue 68 people who were drifting in a small boat, at the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, on Sept. 10, 2012. (Xinhua/AGENCIAPUNTOPRESS) NAIROBI, May 22 (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. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 16:12:15|Editor: ZD Video Player Close SHANGHAI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai cab driver Yao Yanjun's convenience store has been open for three months. It helps him bring in extra money to supplement his taxi income. Best of all, he doesn't even have to rent a storefront in the expensive Chinese metropolis. The convenience store is in his cab. All the storage space in his car is filled with snacks, bottled water, soft drinks and other merchandise. Passengers who want to buy items can scan a QR code on the back of the driver's seat to pay for them. The store is jointly owned by Yao's taxi company, Shanghai Haibo Taxi Co. Ltd. and convenience store chain Wangwang Convenience, with the latter responsible for logistics supply of the goods. Drivers like Yao share the earnings from retail sales. More than 200 taxis in Shanghai have joined the retailing business. Yao said he was among the top 10 sellers in the first two months, with the sales adding 600 yuan (94 U.S. dollars) in March to his monthly income and 400 yuan in April. Yao said the traditional taxi business has been struggling, with some 1,000 cabs in his taxi firm idle because of a lack of drivers. The taxi company signed a cooperation agreement with the chain store operator to increase drivers' income. Wangwang Convenience, registered in north China's Tianjin, is an online shopping platform for small shops. It provides "intelligent hardware and store solutions" for small retailers. The company said it has also helped taxi companies open convenience stores in cabs in Nanjing, and is exploring the market in Hangzhou. All items sold in the taxis are supplied by the store chain, which has a food business license. It has also bought passenger accident insurance and food safety insurance for the taxi retailing business. However, the new business model is not without controversy. Li Shuguang, professor with Shanghai-based Fudan University, said taxis are transport carriers and are not covered by any food business laws or regulations. There are also public concerns about driving safety as taxi drivers become retailers. Yao said driving is his primary work, although he does give recommendations to passengers about items for sale. He said he has not had any experience with passengers stealing goods from his cab. Many convenience store operators are seeing the potential of cabs as mobile retailers. Similar businesses have appeared in several Chinese cities. Some have refrigerators in the storage trunks of their taxis so that drivers can provide bar-like service. A firm in southwest China's Chengdu City even replaced the front passenger's seats in cabs with massage chairs so that cab drivers can charge additional fees. Currently, the cities of Shenzhen and Wuhan have called for a stop to all retailing services in taxis. Shanghai Food and Drug Administration said it is working on new supervision measures on food retailing in taxis. It said that the government would not just refuse a new type of business. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 16:22:18|Editor: ZD Video Player Close BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Xinhua) -- China and Germany should maintain exchanges at all levels, strengthen strategic communication, increase strategic trust and enhance strategic cooperation, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday. Wang made the remarks when meeting with his German counterpart Heiko Maas during the ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. Wang said that both China and Germany are major countries with important influence and have a significant responsibility for world peace and prosperity. Maas said that the German government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel highly cherishes and values its good relations with China, and expects to maintain close contacts with China and strengthen strategic communication on major international and regional issues. Merkel is starting an official visit to China on Thursday, her 11th trip to China as the German chancellor. Wang and Maas also exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear issue, pledging to do their utmost to maintain the solemnity and authority of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and safeguard the international system of nuclear non-proliferation. They agreed to keep close communication on this matter. At the request of Maas, Wang shared his view on the current Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, stressing that China has always insisted on using peaceful means to realize the denuclearization of the peninsula. China has been promoting direct contacts between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over the years, Wang said. China hopes the meeting between the U.S. and DPRK leaders will be held as scheduled and that their concerns will be solved through dialogues and consultations with commitment to achieving long-term stability on the peninsula, Wang said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 16:27:20|Editor: ZD Video Player Close BUENOS AIRES, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The strategic implications of China-South Africa relations have gone beyond the bilateral scope and have global influence, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday. Wang made the remarks when meeting with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. As important developing countries and emerging markets, China and South Africa have played an important role in international and regional affairs and have maintained close cooperation, Wang said. China is willing to communicate and cooperate closely with South Africa to effectively safeguard the solidarity and cooperation of developing countries and improve the global governance system, Wang said. He said that China has always viewed China-South Africa relations from a strategic and long-term perspective and is committed to further developing the "comrades and brothers" type of friendly relationship with South Africa. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Africa. It is an important year for the relations of the two countries and both sides will have a series of important events on the agenda, Wang said. China will fully support the successful holding of the BRICS leaders meeting in South Africa and ensure that the Chinese leaders' attendance at the meeting and the visit to South Africa are a complete success, making it another important milestone in bilateral relations and effectively guiding the development path of the two countries' ties, Wang said. Sisulu said that South Africa and China enjoy a traditional friendship. South Africa cherishes the friendship and attaches great importance to developing relations with China. She thanked the Chinese government for its support of South Africa's new government and expressed hope to work together with China to organize a series of activities to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Sisulu appreciates China's strong support in the hosting of the BRICS leaders meeting in South Africa, saying they are eagerly looking forward to the Chinese leaders' attendance at the meeting and their visit to the country. Sisulu said that her country will work closely with China to make the meeting as well as the visit a success with positive achievements. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 16:32:24|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Governor Bill Walker of the U.S. northwestern state of Alaska has said that the state's energy project can help improve trade relations between the United States and China. "The Alaska LNG (liquefied natural gas) project is key to reducing the trade imbalance between the U.S. and China," Walker's office quoted him as saying in a statement released Monday. Walker is currently heading a delegation of businesses from around Alaska to travel in China as part of a week-long trade show called Opportunity Alaska: China Trade Mission. The Alaska LNG project is a 43-billion-U.S.-dollar program being promoted by the state's major energy developer, the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC), which would see an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas from Prudhoe Bay, taken down through a 1,287-km-long pipeline and turned into LNG at a plant before being shipped overseas. The AGDC is working hard to woo international investors including Goldman Sachs, Bank of China, China Investment Corp. and China's major energy company Sinopec to get involved in the state's mega energy project. Walker's office said the Alaska governor met Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Beijing at the fourth China-U.S. governors' forum on Sunday, the same day when the United States and China announced in a joint statement that they have reached consensuses on economic and trade issues and pledged not to engage in a trade war. "Thanks to President (Donald) Trump and President Xi Jinping for working together to improve trade relations between our two countries. As a result, the timing of Alaska's trade mission could not be better," Walker said in the statement. He said Alaska has an array of businesses and organizations prepared to lay the groundwork for more economic and cultural ties between the world's two largest economies. "We can and will prosper together. I am excited to showcase what Alaska has to offer in the coming week," he said. Walker's trade mission is composed of 26 Alaskan organizations representing a wide range of Alaska firms, including the AGDC, Alaska native corporations, and members of the education, tourism, seafood, beer and baby-food industries. The 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 to the world's second-largest economy. The governor also hopes to highlight Alaska's strategic position as the closest U.S. state to China. He said early this week that Opportunity Alaska is about building something bigger. The delegation is scheduled to visit the 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 official Chinese data, China has been Alaska's largest trade partner and export destination since 2011. Walker's office said Alaska exported more than 1.32 billion U.S. dollars' worth of goods to China in 2017. by Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Monday saw U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threaten to slap the biggest sanctions in history on Iran, if Tehran fails to comply with U.S. demands. U.S. experts said their country is making a full-on effort to force Iran's hand. "This administration is moving ahead at full speed," Dan Mahaffee, senior vice president and director of policy at the Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency, told Xinhua. In a speech on Monday from Washington, Pompeo listed several demands that would be included in an updated nuclear treaty with Tehran. Those included that the Islamic Republic pull its forces out of embattled Syria. Pompeo threatened what he called the "strongest sanctions in history" if the Iranian government fails to comply, adding that Washington "will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime." The U.S. secretary of state unveiled a list of a dozen basic requirements for a new treaty, which included that the regime halt enrichment of uranium, and demanded that Iran allow access to all nuclear sites nationwide. Pompeo said Tehran would be required to halt what the U.S. government said is intervention in conflicts in the Middle East, such as those in Lebanon and Yemen, adding that the United States will "track down Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies operating around the world and crush them." The comments came not long after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, and only two months after Pompeo replaced former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Experts said the move was intended to remove voices of dissent from the administration, and to essentially allow Trump to be himself. Critics said this is likely to lead to a more hard-line administration. Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua that the most important element of Pompeo's speech was the threat to impose the strongest sanctions on Iran in that country's history. "If that is the case, it would complicate the efforts of European companies to extend trade relations with Iran. Their governments could continue their agreement with Iran, but risk running afoul of U.S. sanctions. They might have to choose between doing business with Iran or the United States," West said. "Most European nations are likely to continue their support of the Iran deal because they opposed Trump's ending of that agreement. They want to continue having trade relations with Iran even if the U.S. goes the other direction," West said. Mahaffee said that Pompeo laid out a comprehensive plan to push back against Iranian power in the Middle East and did so with a willingness to confront European allies' interests in improved economic ties with Iran. "While the international coalition may be unlikely to come from the way that the Trump administration has approached this new course, there will still be efforts to coordinate with Europe and prevent unilateral sanctioning by the United States," Mahaffee said. Shakya is the founder CEO of beed, an international management consulting and advisory firm. He is the author of Unleashing Nepal and Unleashing The Vajra. NEW DELHI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Indian health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda has reviewed situation following outbreak of Nipah virus in southern state of Kerala, officials said Tuesday. Nadda spoke to local health minister of Kerala K K Shailaja and assured her of help in tackling the disease. "A team headed by director National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reached the spot today and another one consisting of doctors from AIIMS and RML shall be landing tomorrow. Government of India is fully committed to extending all support to the state government," Nadda wrote on twitter. Reports said the virus so far has claimed 10 lives in Kerala. According to WHO, Nipah virus 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. Typically, the human infection presents as an encephalitic syndrome marked by fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion and coma, which can potentially lead to death. Meanwhile, the neighboring Tamil Nadu local government has stepped up fever surveillance in districts bordering Kerala as a precautionary measure. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 16:47:35|Editor: ZD Video Player Close GUANGZHOU, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Executives from a large number of U.S. companies, from multinationals to start-ups, have expressed growing interests in expanding their business ties with China, as the country has promised further opening-up. Multinational manufacturer Procter & Gamble (P&G) last September launched a digital innovation center in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. With an investment of 100 million U.S. dollars, the center focuses on digital marketing, big data, artificial intelligence, intelligent supply chains, and technology incubation. Matthew Price, president of P&G Greater China, said China's consumption upgrading was the reason his company launched the new center. "We are actually designing products in China with Chinese scientists. We are exporting the innovation," Price said. In keeping its promise of further opening-up, China has lowered import tariffs and unveiled a package of policies in the financial sector regarding market access, business scope, and infrastructure. At the China (Guangdong)-U.S. Investment Cooperation Conference held last week, dozens of American companies from aviation, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and clean energy sectors conducted promotions and road shows, to seek more business opportunities in China. Susan Ying, vice president of Los Angeles-based aircraft start-up Ampaire, said her company is looking for opportunities to demonstrate its technology, hoping to form joint ventures with Chinese partners. As China's growing middle class is more willing to buy products from abroad, many U.S. companies are taking advantage of e-commerce and digital technology to create a new driving force for their businesses. American food products manufacturer Mars has formed partnerships with Chinese e-commerce companies such as JD.com, and plans to bring its products to world markets through this cross-border platform, according to the company's vice president Matthias Berninger. Dai Fan, representative of the U.S. State of California and governor's special advisor on China, said as a pioneer in clean energy, carbon trading, electric vehicles and batteries, California hopes to deepen cooperation with China in these areas. "We cannot achieve these goals on our own. We have to have a very close relationship and partnership with China," Dai said. Myron Brilliant, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said he expects trade and investment between China and the U.S. will continue to grow. Brilliant stressed the importance of engagement and dialogue between the two countries to address the trade challenges. "There's so much potential in this relationship, and there's so much to be looking forward to, that we do not want disruptions in trade and investment between our two countries," Brilliant said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 16:47:37|Editor: ZD Video Player Close BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China is leveraging financial tools to help green its society and economy. China may introduce an ESG reporting mechanism for listed firms to require more transparency in disclosing information related with environment, social and governance issues, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said Monday. The securities market watchdog will also mull developing new commodity futures such as carbon emission permit futures to aid air pollution control and counter climate change. The authority will focus more on environmental issues when reviewing IPOs or mergers, while more support will be offered to enterprises in green businesses to help them enter and grow in the capital market. In addition, pilots for green corporate bonds will be expanded as part of efforts to promote green finance. The CSRC's statement came just days after China held a tone-setting meeting on environmental protection, which aims for a fundamental improvement in the quality of the environment, and basically building a Beautiful China by 2035. Green finance designed to encourage more private capital into green sectors and stem investment that might pollute the environment is considered to be one of the key approaches to this end. China announced in 2016 that it will establish a national green finance mechanism, becoming the first country worldwide to make such a move. It also helped push green finance to be included on the G20 agenda. The country decided last year to turn five provincial regions into pilot zones to explore replicable ways to boost green finance. China now is one of the world's largest issuers of green bonds, which can ease financing demands for medium-and-long-term green projects as banks are limited in offering such services. Data from the Climate Bonds Initiative showed that China issued green bonds worth 4.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of this year, ranking second globally. "The CSRC's key target is to reduce financing costs for green firms, and we have abundant means to achieve that goal," CSRC vice chairman Fang Xinghai said in April. The Shanghai Stock Exchange rolled out a three-year plan last month with detailed measures to develop green finance such as expanding green bonds, green investment, and international cooperation. Lan Hong, a senior researcher in green finance at Renmin University of China, said he expects faster development of direct green financing tools like green funds and green securities as current credit-led green capital supply might not be enough to meet surging demand. The green capital supply should also be used to cater to the growing green lifestyle demands like green buildings, transport, energy and tourism, Lan added. HARARE, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has established a special anti-corruption unit to improve efficiency in the fight against all forms of graft and to strengthen the effectiveness of national mechanisms for the prevention of corruption, state media reported on Tuesday. The unit would be housed in the Office of the President and Cabinet, The Herald newspaper said, citing a statement from Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda. "The members of the unit will be announced in due course," the statement said. The unit's terms of reference would include collaborating with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), the police and other related institutions in the fight against corruption, Sibanda said. It will also help ZACC and other investigative agencies of the state in the perusal and consideration of corruption dockets subject to the issuance of authority to prosecute. Sibanda said corruption has been identified as the foremost threat to the rule of law, public order and socioeconomic well-being of the country. Since his inauguration as president last November, Mnangagwa has been preaching against corruption and warning that culprits would face the full wrath of the law. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 17:02:39|Editor: ZD Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala) BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Upholding multilateralism, improving global governance and creating a community of shared interests are in line with the trend of the times and the common interests of all nations, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday. Wang made the remarks while addressing the 2018 G20 Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers scheduled for Sunday through Monday. Welcoming the creation and development of the G20 as a new manifestation of multilateralism and an important advancement in the reform of global governance, Wang said that discussing issues concerning multilateralism and global governance is of great importance at a time when the G20 summit enters its 10th year. Against the current backdrop of rising unilateralism and protectionism, Wang called on fellow G20 members to create a new model of international relations aimed at win-win cooperation, resolving disagreements through consultation on an equal footing and on the basis of international law and international regulations. The G20 members, Wang added, should jointly build a community of shared future for mankind, and improve the global governance system under the guidance of reform. China fully supports Argentina in hosting a successful summit, sending a clear message on safeguarding multilateralism, putting the world economy on the right development path, and helping the G20 achieve progress in boosting the growth of the world economy as well as enhancing global economic governance, he said. Wang said that a lot of problems facing the world today are essentially related to development, and that the G20 summit, as a major forum for international economic cooperation, is responsible for creating more opportunities and support for developing countries by promoting global growth. He called for giving priority to development issues in global macro-policy coordination, saying the international community should always take into consideration developing countries' concerns and guarantee their interests. Urging the implementation of the United Nations' development agenda, Wang said developing countries should be allowed sufficient policy space in a bid to develop their economies. The G20 members ought to grasp the newly emerging opportunities for development and provide fresh impetus for developing countries in poverty alleviation as well as economic development. This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up. Wang said China has lifted 700 million people out of poverty over the past four decades, making a great contribution to global development. "We stick to reform, expand opening up, implement the people-centered development ideas, and always remain a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, as well as a defender of international order," Wang said. He said that China, while realizing its own development, will strive to make greater contributions to the common development of humanity. The 2018 G20 Summit is scheduled for November in Buenos Aires, and the ongoing foreign ministers' meeting is held in preparation for the summit. HARARE, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday fired Minister of State for Mashonaland West Province Webster Shamu, but gave no reasons for the move. Shamu becomes the first minister to be sacked since Mnangagwa took office last November. "The Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda, has announced the removal of Honorable Webster Shamu by His excellency the President, Cde Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, from office of Minister of State for Provincial Affairs for Mashonaland West Province," Regis Chikowore, principal director in the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, said in a statement published by state newspaper The Herald. Shamu, who is the member of Parliament for Chegutu East, was recently caught in the eye of a storm following allegations of vote rigging while the ruling Zanu-PF party was conducting primary elections to choose candidates for the forthcoming national elections. This is the second time Shamu has been fired from a ministerial position, the first being in 2014 when then President Robert Mugabe sacked him for associating with former Vice President Joice Mujuru, whom Mugabe had accused of plotting to topple him. Mugabe re-appointed him to government in October 2017, and Mnangagwa retained him when he took over power the following month. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 17:17:44|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday welcomed the World Health Assembly's (WHA) decision not to include a proposal to make Taiwan an observer in the conference's provisional agenda. This year the WHA has refused to include the so-called proposal of "inviting Taiwan to attend the WHA as an observer" in the conference's provisional agenda, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a news briefing. This decision safeguarded the dignity of the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the WHA, which fully proved that the one-China principle is the consensus of the international community and corresponds with the trend of the times, he said. "I would like to reiterate again that the Chinese government will properly handle the issue of Taiwan's participation in the activities of international organizations in accordance with the one-China principle," Lu said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 17:17:45|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close SHANGHAI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) is planning to launch its Americas Regional Office in Brazil this year, the NDB said in a press release Tuesday. K.V. Kamath, the NDB president, made the remarks while meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira in Shanghai Monday, according to the press release. The Americas Regional Office will increase the operational capabilities of the NDB, headquartered in Shanghai, and facilitate identification and preparation of bankable projects in Brazil, the press release said. Together with the Africa Regional Center opened last year in Johannesburg, South Africa, the new regional office will progressively support a growing range of the bank's operations, it said. The NDB was founded by the BRICS member countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- during the group's sixth summit in Fortaleza, Brazil in July 2014 and formally opened in Shanghai in July 2015. It was created with the objective of financing infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS countries and other emerging economies and developing countries. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 17:32:50|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close BAGHDAD, May 22 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi court Tuesday sentenced Abu Hamza, a Belgian member of the Islamic State (IS) militant group, over charges of training children for IS and attacks against Iraqi forces, a judicial spokesman said. "The Central Criminal Court in Baghdad issued a verdict of death penalty by hanging for the terrorist Tariq Jadaoun, known as Abu Hamza al-Belgiki in Arabic, or (Belgian Abu Hamza)," Abdul Sattar al-Biraqdar, spokesman for Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, said in a statement. The court's verdict was issued in accordance with the anti-terrorism law, Biraqdar said. He said the convict is a Belgian national, but of Moroccan origin and was one of the most wanted foreign terrorists who fought in Syria and Iraq in the ranks of the terrorist organization of Daesh (IS group). After the Iraqi forces defeated the IS in Iraq late in 2017, hundreds of IS loyalists were killed or captured, while many others are still at large in hideouts in Iraq or abroad. The increase in executions in Iraq has sparked calls for abolishing capital punishment from the UN, the European Union and some international human rights groups, citing the lack of transparency in Iraqi courts. Death penalty in Iraq was suspended on June 10, 2003, but was reinstated from Aug. 8, 2004. NAIROBI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to reform its laws in order to enhance biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization of national resources, a government official said on Tuesday. Keriako Tobiko, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Environment, said in a statement published in the Daily Nation that the country's efforts to conserve biodiversity have not matched increasing evidence of biodiversity loss. The Ministry of Environment has formulated and reviewed laws and regulations to implement the provisions of the constitution as well as the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Tobiko said. "The new legislative frameworks are geared to enhance biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization of our national resources," Tobiko said in remarks marking the International Day for Biological Diversity. He said the day is important to international, regional, national and local communities, as it creates public awareness on the link between biodiversity and sustainable development. "It therefore provides an opportunity for Kenya to communicate to the world the importance of biodiversity, its conservation and sustainable use of its components, and the equitable sharing of benefits by the uses of genetic resources," Tobiko said. He said the key challenges impeding Kenya's progress in sustainable use of biodiversity includes poaching, illegal trade in wildlife and timber products, human-wildlife conflicts, encroachment of habitats, pollution, as well as poor disposal of waste. According to the ministry of environment, Kenya is abundantly endowed with biodiversity, and this has direct and indirect benefits to livelihood support systems of local communities and Kenya's socio-economic development. Tobiko added that biodiversity also plays a major role in climate change adaption through the provision of a variety of genetic materials that can be used to develop crops that can cope with extreme climatic conditions and mitigation through carbon sequestration by the different ecosystems. Charles Sunkuli, principal Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, said Kenya has made considerable progress in implementing the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources, which was adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Kenya signed the protocol in 2012 and ratified it in 2014. Dorington Ogoyi, CEO of National Biosafety Authority, said that Kenya is currently domesticating the provisions of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety that is a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Kenya signed the Cartagena Protocol in 2000 and ratified it in 2002, Ogoyi said. He said Kenya's 2009 Biosafety Act was meant to domesticate the provisions of the Cartagena Protocol. "The country has further developed four regulations to implement the biosafety laws and has submitted three national reports on the Implementation of Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Biosafety Clearing House," Ogoyi said. He noted that the lack of a state-of-the-art molecular laboratory for detection and testing of genetically modified organisms poses a challenge to the full implementation of the Cartagena Protocol. Move against fees hits Malaysia departures After the governments decision to scrap all the fees levied on Malaysia-bound Nepali workers by various agencies, visa processing for Malaysian jobs has been affected temporarily. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 18:33:08|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok is surrounded by reporters as he leaves after attending a Council of Eminent Persons meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 22, 2018. Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok attended an advisory council meeting on Tuesday, saying that he hopes that all Malaysians would be taken care of under the new government. Kuok is one of the council members which was tasked by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to advice on the country's economic and financial matters following Mahathir's electoral victory on May 9. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei) KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok attended an advisory council meeting on Tuesday, saying that he hopes that all Malaysians would be taken care of under the new government. "All of us wish our country well, and we hope the people are taken care of," the 94-year-old billionaire told reporters after attending a Council of Eminent Persons meeting in Kuala Lumpur for the first time. Kuok is one of the council members which was tasked by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to advice on the country's economic and financial matters following Mahathir's electoral victory on May 9. Kuok didn't reveal the details of the meeting but said that Malaysians should trust the other council members due to their professionalism. He also said that he may not able to attend the meeting too often as he is living in China's Hong Kong. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 18:43:13|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Local residents walk by the seashore during a weather of heavy rains and strong winds in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on May 21, 2018. The death toll from high winds and rains which lashed out across Sri Lanka since Saturday reached eight on Tuesday while over 38,000 people were affected, the Disaster Management Center said in its latest update. (Xinhua/A.S. Hapuarachchi) COLOMBO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from high winds and rains which lashed out across Sri Lanka since Saturday reached eight on Tuesday while over 38,000 people were affected, the Disaster Management Center said in its latest update. The deaths were reported from the island's south, northwest and east which recorded the highest rains. Around 6,000 people were evacuated to safer locations while the police were deployed for search and rescue missions in the affected areas. Till Tuesday morning, 15 districts were affected by the rains prompting authorities to warn against landslides and floods in low-lying areas after spill gates had to be opened. The Department of Irrigation said that several areas were inundated due to several major rivers overflowing. With the threat of more rains, President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe directed the authorities to provide immediate relief to those affected by the adverse weather conditions. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera also instructed the Treasury to release funds to provide relief to the flood victims immediately. Schools in the rain affected areas in the Sabaragamuwa Province also remained closed on Tuesday. Sri Lanka is facing its annual south west monsoons with the Meteorological Department, in its latest weather report warning of more rains in several districts across the country in the coming days. "Heavy falls, about 150 millimeters can be expected at some places in Sabaragamuwa, Western, Central, North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara districts," the Meteorological Department said. "There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity," it added. Over 200 people were killed and 78 people missing when the southwest monsoons caused severe floods and landslides across Sri Lanka last year. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 18:43:13|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close Afghan security force members inspect the site of a blast in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, May 22, 2018. Seven people, including an assailant, were killed and 37 others wounded after a car bomb explosion rocked Kandahar city, capital of Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, on Tuesday, a provincial health official said. (Xinhua/Sanaullah Seiam) KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Seven people, including an assailant, were killed and 37 others wounded after a car bomb explosion rocked Kandahar city, capital of Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, on Tuesday, a provincial health official said. "The latest figures showed that seven people were killed and 37 injured after the huge explosion in Kandahar city on Tuesday," Abdul Qaum Pakhla, chairman of Mirwais regional hospital in Kandahar, told Xinhua. Those injured included military personnel and civilians, among whom were four children, while some of the wounded are in critical condition, he noted. "The huge blast occurred in Police District 14 of the city at around 12:30 p.m. local time. The whole place has now been sealed off. The blast caused a plume of gray smoke to rise above the scene," an eyewitness told Xinhua. Meanwhile, a local official who requested anonymity told Xinhua that the security forces tried to intercept a suicide bomber setting in a minibus after intelligence reports found the terrorist, but the man detonated his vehicle causing the explosion. The blast took place in Fabrika Sarai locality, near Hazrat Je Baba Square, a populated location of the city, he said, adding the blast also damaged several nearby shops and houses. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Over the past a few months, Afghanistan has witnessed waves of terror attacks by the Islamic State and Taliban insurgents. ANKARA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will review to impose embargo to Israel after June 24 general elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. As Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has taken a advisory decision to boycott Israeli products in the extraordinary summit last week, Turkey will review its economic ties with Israel after the upcoming June 24 elections, daily Hurriyet quoted Erdogan as saying on Tuesday. "I hope the OIC members will put the decision of the embargo into practice. After all, there will be no way to get any products from them (Israel) anymore. Of course we will assess the situation, too," Erdogan told a group of journalists on the presidential plane on his way from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Turkey late Sunday. "As Turkey, we will review our ties, particularly economic and trade relations with them (Israel). We will take steps in this direction after the elections," he added. Erdogan noted that a peace force by the United Nations that will protect Palestinians should "deter" Israel. "It will not be easy for Israel to fire at the United Nations forces," he said, referring to an OIC call to the UN for establishing a peace force. The OIC held an extraordinary meeting in Istanbul on Friday and discussed recent Israeli violence against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that were protesting the U.S. move of its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The OIC's communique had declared "determination to take the appropriate political, economic and other measures" against countries which follow the U.S. move in recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and move their embassies from Tel Aviv there. Turkey strongly condemned the U.S. move, and has declared a three-day mourning for the Palestinians killed in clashes. It also called for an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Turkey was among the most vocal countries in slamming the incident and responded by calling its ambassador in Tel Aviv and Washington D.C. back to Ankara for consultations. Turkish Foreign Ministry asked Israeli Ambassador Eitan Naeh to return to his country "for a while." In response, Israel called its ambassador back too, while asking the Turkish consular to leave the country. Turkey-Israel relations were on the track of healing after years of crisis which began 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. In 2016, the ties were normalized with a rapprochement agreement after Netanyahu apologized for the incident. Israel paid 20 million U.S. dollars in compensation for the Turkish deaths. BANGKOK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Pro-election protest leaders in Thailand's capital Bangkok turned themselves into police on Tuesday after police blocked a march held on the 4th anniversary of the 2014 coup. Protest leader Rangsiman Rome, together with other two leaders, asked the pro-election protesters to go home before they were driven away by police. After camping out at Thammasat University in Bangkok overnight, activists and pro-election protesters were blocked from leaving the campus to march to Government House Tuesday morning as they planned. Six protest leaders are facing charges of gathering of five or more people for political purposes, which were prohibited by ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) since the 2014 coup. The group of several hundred protesters demanded an election be held this year. They planned to march to Government House, where they would read a statement calling for general election to be held sooner. More than 2,000 police personnel stationed the campus. They were seen dragging out barricades to prevent protesters proceeding along the road. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha insisted the poll would be no sooner than early 2019. "They can demand all they want but the law is the law," Prayut said at a press briefing. "There will be a general election early next year, no sooner than that. We will have to progress according to the readiness of related organic laws." The ruling NCPO came into power after 2014 coup, which toppled then elected Pheu Thai government. Its four-year reign already equals a term of an elected government. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference at the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on May 18, 2018. (AFP photo) ANKARA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will review to impose embargo to Israel after June 24 general elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. As Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has taken a advisory decision to boycott Israeli products in the extraordinary summit last week, Turkey will review its economic ties with Israel after the upcoming June 24 elections, daily Hurriyet quoted Erdogan as saying on Tuesday. "I hope the OIC members will put the decision of the embargo into practice. After all, there will be no way to get any products from them (Israel) anymore. Of course we will assess the situation, too," Erdogan told a group of journalists on the presidential plane on his way from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Turkey late Sunday. "As Turkey, we will review our ties, particularly economic and trade relations with them (Israel). We will take steps in this direction after the elections," he added. Erdogan noted that a peace force by the United Nations that will protect Palestinians should "deter" Israel. "It will not be easy for Israel to fire at the United Nations forces," he said, referring to an OIC call to the UN for establishing a peace force. The OIC held an extraordinary meeting in Istanbul on Friday and discussed recent Israeli violence against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that were protesting the U.S. move of its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The OIC's communique had declared "determination to take the appropriate political, economic and other measures" against countries which follow the U.S. move in recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and move their embassies from Tel Aviv there. Turkey strongly condemned the U.S. move, and has declared a three-day mourning for the Palestinians killed in clashes. It also called for an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Turkey was among the most vocal countries in slamming the incident and responded by calling its ambassador in Tel Aviv and Washington D.C. back to Ankara for consultations. Turkish Foreign Ministry asked Israeli Ambassador Eitan Naeh to return to his country "for a while." In response, Israel called its ambassador back too, while asking the Turkish consular to leave the country. Turkey-Israel relations were on the track of healing after years of crisis which began 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. In 2016, the ties were normalized with a rapprochement agreement after Netanyahu apologized for the incident. Israel paid 20 million U.S. dollars in compensation for the Turkish deaths. LJUBLJANA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Slovenia, which is holding the chairmanship of the UN Human Rights Council, on Tuesday expressed regret over Israeli summons of its ambassador in Tel Aviv for the backing of a UN Human Rights Council resolution to set up an independent international inquiry into the recent killings in Gaza. Israel summoned Ambassador Barbara Susnik after Slovenia was among the 29 countries that voted in favor of setting up a commission of inquiry to look into the events that have led to more than 100 deaths and many more injured among the Palestinians, said the Slovenian Press Agency STA. Citing an announcement on Tuesday by Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec, the STA says the Slovenian Foreign Ministry will respond to the move. "I regret that this measure has been taken. Given the number of the dead and injured and holding the chairmanship of the UN Human Rights Council, we are bound to investigate such matters," Erjavec told STA. But the minister did not give further details about the response, only said it "would not summon the Israeli ambassador". "The important thing is that we, holding the chairmanship of the UN Human Rights Council, support the investigation. And that does not depend on the Israeli ambassador to Slovenia," said the announcement. Nevertheless, the ministry will consider whether a "special discussion" was necessary. "Before any of that, I will speak to the [Slovenian] ambassador," he added. The Israeli Foreign Ministry also summoned the Spanish ambassador on Monday, while the Belgian envoy is to be received Tuesday, said the STA report. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 19:53:33|Editor: ZD Video Player Close JAKARTA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Indonesian shuttlers are scheduled to meet on Wednesday to determine the group leader in the Uber Cup 2018 which is taking place in Thailand, the Indonesian manager said on Tuesday. The match will be played in the morning in the Impact Arena of Bangkok city, said Susy Susanti, manager of the Indonesian Thomas Cup and Uber Cup teams. "Formation of the players will be determined in line with the need, head-to-head. We want to be the best, still we must also be realistic as to the condition of the players," she said. The Indonesian women's team defeated France 5-0 on Tuesday after beating Malaysia 3-2 earlier. China also met little resistance in their first two match-ups, trouncing France with the same score of 5-0 and beating Malaysia 4-1. The Uber Cup tournament kicked off on May 20 and will end on May 27 along with the Thomas Cup tournament. The manager of Indonesian Uber Cup team said that the association has set a realistic target of passing the group stage to enter the semifinal. Denmark is the men's defending champion and China is the reigning women's champion. KAMPALA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan military has vowed to tighten border patrol after reports that Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels killed 10 civilians in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Richard Karemire, spokesperson of Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF), told Xinhua by telephone on Tuesday that the army is on alert in case ADF rebels try to attack Ugandans. "On the evening of May 19, ADF attacked a place called Mankoko, between Mbau trading center and Mavivi Airport on Beni Oicha road, about 15 km north of Beni Town, killing 10 civilians and injuring two," Karemire said. The killed were nine men and one woman, while those injured were two women. "The UPDF will continue to strengthen border patrols along the border with the DRC to protect Ugandans and their property," Karemire said. "Security forces will also step up coordination and intelligence exchange with DRC counterparts to eliminate ADF from the region," he added. ADF rebels launched their first attacks in Uganda in 1996. The UPDF managed to flush them out of the country a few years later and drove them into DRC. Though some rebels have responded to government amnesty and surrendered to authorities in DRC and Uganda, some pockets remain in the forests and they continue attacking villages in the DRC. About 100 ADF fighters were killed in combined efforts by the UPDF and the DRC army in December. CHANGSHA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A new direct flight between Zhangjiajie in central China's Hunan Province, and Hanoi, capital city of Vietnam, was launched on Monday. It is the first direct flight that links the two cities. VietJet Airline from Vietnam will operate the service every Monday and Friday using an Airbus A320, with a capacity of 180 passengers. The route was launched to meet the needs of the increasing number of tourists from Vietnam traveling to Zhangjiajie, the airline said. VietJet Airline has air routes connecting more than 60 cities in Asia. It is also planning on opening a route between Ho Chi Minh and Zhangjiajie. Zhangjiajie is classified by UNESCO as a World Geopark and a World Heritage Site. Scott Olson/Getty Images(SANTA FE, Texas) -- Two teachers and eight students, including an exchange student, were killed when a gunman stormed into Santa Fe High School in Texas on Friday morning. Thirteen others were injured in what Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called "one of the most heinous attacks that we've ever seen in the history of Texas schools." The suspected gunman, a 17-year-old student, is in custody after allegedly targeting two art classes. Here is what we know about the 10 people killed. Cynthia Tisdale Art room teachers aide Cynthia Tisdale, a wife and mother of four, was among the dead, her brother-in-law, John Tisdale, wrote on Facebook. Glenda Perkins Victim Glenda Perkins had been a substitute teacher at Santa Fe High School for years and her grandchildren attend the school, reported The Houston Chronicle. Perkins was a respected member of the high school community, remembered for her patience and great attitude, the newspaper said. "She always had a smile on her face," junior Jay Mann told the newspaper. Shana Fisher Shana Fisher was shy, sweet, quiet and talented, her mother, Sadie Rodriguez, told ABC station KTRK-TV in Houston. She said the suspected gunman had been "making advances" toward her daughter. "She kept telling him no over the past four months. She finally stood up to him because he kept getting more aggressive," Fisher said. "And not even a week later he just shoots everyone. And she was the first one. "It would have to take a lot for someone to keep picking at her for her to even say anything," Fisher said. "'Cause she's just, when you introduce her to someone, she automatically puts her head down and smiles. I just don't get it. I don't understand why he would do that. Why would you take someone's life? "I keep expecting her to come home 'cause we can't view the bodies," the distraught mother said. "So I don't think it's her. Like it's not real." Sabika Sheikh Sabika Sheikh, 17, was an exchange student from Pakistan who was determined to bring her native country closer to America, the Texas family who took in the foreign exchange student told mourners at her funeral on Sunday. "She was the most beautiful, loving person I've ever met," said Jaelyn Cogburn, whose family took in Sabika six months ago as part of the Youth Exchange and Study program sponsored by the U.S. State Department. "She was so loyal to her faith, her country and she only had good things to say about everybody. She loved her family. She couldn't wait to see them, and she loved us," Jaelyn added. Jaelyn's mother, Joleen Cogburn, recalled a conversation she had with Sabika when she first came to live in her home about what she wanted to accomplish as a foreign exchange student. "I asked her how she got involved with wanting to become a foreign exchange student and why, and she said, 'Because I want to learn the American culture and I want America to learn the Pakistan culture and I want us to come together and unite,'" Cogburn said. "She wanted to be a businesswoman and she said she wanted to impact the world, and I think she's done that." Cogburn's husband, Jason Cogburn, said that in the short time Sabika lived with them, she became as close as one of his daughters. "We had no idea what God was going to send us, but he sent us one of the most precious gifts I've ever had in life," Jason Cogburn said. Angelique Ramirez Angelique Ramirez was outgoing, precious, kind, beautiful and smart, according to a Facebook post from her older sister, Araceli Ramirez, who called Angelique "my other half." "I'll never forget my best friend, the first baby I ever held in my arms," Araceli Ramirez wrote. "My baby sister, the person who looked up to me for the longest time." "You deserved so much, you had so much planned for yourself and they took that away from you," she wrote. "Ill see you again my love." Christopher Jake Stone Christopher Stone, 17, an adventurous thrill seeker, was the youngest of three siblings, but he acted as the protector of his older sisters, his father said, the New York Times reported. Being a brother was his best job, his father, also named Christopher Stone, said, according to the newspaper. He was always there if someone needed someone to listen or some cheering up. Jared Black Jared Black was in art class -- his favorite -- when he was killed, The Washington Post reported. He had recently turned 17 and his birthday party was supposed to take place on Saturday, the newspaper said. Jareds father is broken and devastated, family friend Elizabeth McGinnis wrote in a statement, according to the Post. We miss him so much, his half-brother, Nick Black, said in a statement, according to the Post. We wish we would see him at least one more time. Kimberly Vaughan Slain student Kimberly Vaughan was described by a family friend as witty, intelligent and unique, The Houston Chronicle reported. Kimberly was raised by her mother, Rhonda Hart, who works as a bus driver for her daughter's school district, the newspaper said. While Hart was waiting to learn her daughter's fate, she still comforted other children, a family friend said, according to the newspaper. One mother wrote on Facebook that the "wonderful" bus driver "did everything she could" to make her daughter "feel safe while not knowing the status of her own child." Later that afternoon, Hart wrote on Facebook, "We need GUN CONTROL. WE NEED TO PROTECT OUR KIDS." Aaron Kyle McLeod Christian Riley Garcia Christian Riley Garcia, 15, who went by Riley, grew up attending Crosby Church in Crosby, Texas, according to a Friday night Facebook post from Pastor Keenan Smith. "I just left his wonderful, loving family and extended all of the prayers and love for them from our Church," Smith wrote. "I dont know exactly how, but I know together in Christ we can make it." Smith posted a photo he said was taken about 10 days earlier, showing the teenager posing next to scripture on a piece of wood. Smith said this was going to be the door frame of his new bedroom. "Riley you are greatly loved and greatly missed," Smith said. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. NAC Kathmandu-Bhojpur flights suspended for 15 days National flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to halt its Bhojpur-Kathmandu flights for the next 15 days beginning from today. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 20:13:37|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Photo taken on May 22, 2018 shows the scene of the crash of a military aircraft at Bhumibol Dam Golf Course in Sam Ngao district, Tak, Thailand. A military aircraft crashed in western Thailand on Tuesday, killing one and seriously injuring another. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak) BANGKOK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A military aircraft crashed in western Thailand on Tuesday, killing one and seriously injuring another. Wrecked remains of the warcraft were found on a tree and greensward near a dam. The plane reportedly fell in the area and was engulfed by fire. Residents nearby heard a loud explosion and saw the black smoke rising from the area. One of the pilots died and the other one was seriously hurt and hospitalized, according to reports. Witnesses said the plane was out of control when the accident happened. The pilot wrestled with his control as he tried to steady the plane but failed. The cause of the crash is under investigation. PHNOM PENH, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Minister of Labor and Vocational Training Ith Samheng said Tuesday that about 80,000 Cambodian migrant workers remained undocumented in Thailand. The minister said in mid-2017, Thailand found that some 400,000 Cambodian migrant workers were undocumented and the finding prompted the Cambodian government to launch a campaign to issue passports and legal documents to them. He said through the campaign and with close cooperation from the Thai side, Cambodia has sent more than 300 inter-ministerial officials to Thailand to provide those workers with legal documents. "To date, the campaign is successful because we have provided legal documents to 320,000 out of the 400,000 undocumented migrant workers," Samheng told reporters after a meeting with Thai Ambassador to Cambodia Panyarak Poolthup. The minister said the campaign will end on June 30 and he was optimistic that the remaining 80,000 undocumented migrant workers will receive legal documents by the deadline. "Every day, between 2,200 and 2,300 undocumented migrant workers have been granted legal documents," he said. The campaign came after the Thai government launched a crackdown on illegal migrant workers that led to a mass exodus last year. According to the Cambodian Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, approximately 1.06 million Cambodians have been working in Thailand and sending home about 1 billion U.S. dollars a year. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 20:23:39|Editor: ZD Video Player Close Customs officers check solid waste in Shantou, south China's Guangdong Province, May 22, 2018. Customs officers and police in Guangdong Province have jointly uncovered a smuggling case involving over 200,000 tonnes of solid waste. China has banned 24 categories of solid waste imports since the end of 2017. (Xinhua/Yuan Guohong) GUANGZHOU, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Customs officers and police in Guangdong Province have jointly uncovered a smuggling case involving over 200,000 tonnes of solid waste. The waste, including various metals and copper, has been imported from other countries since 2014, without a proper licence, according to Shantou customs. Police caught 24 suspects in raids early Tuesday morning in the cities of Shantou, Guangzhou, Foshan, and Qingyuan, seizing about 1,000 tonnes of scrap metals. Solid waste often contains harmful elements if not properly disposed of. China has banned 24 categories of solid waste imports since the end of 2017. The case is under further investigation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 20:23:39|Editor: ZD Video Player Close BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization's (WHO) handling of Taiwan-related issue in accordance with the one-China principle is highly appreciated, a spokesperson said Tuesday. An Fengshan, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the comments after the World Health Assembly (WHA) decided not to include a proposal to make Taiwan an observer in the conference's provisional agenda. An said the one-China principle is a universal consensus shared by the international community. "We highly appreciate the WHO handling Taiwan-related issue in accordance with the one-China principle established in the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1," An said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 20:28:41|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close PYONGYANG, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Tuesday that the ongoing dialogue between the DPRK and the United States is the result of peace-making efforts by its top leader Kim Jong Un, rather than that of outside pressure. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary that by deciding to hold a dialogue with the United States, Kim "is defending peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the region." "He made a strategic decision to end the inglorious history of the DPRK-U.S. relations and received U.S. Secretary of State (Mike) Pompeo, who visited the DPRK. And he took a series of crucial and bold steps for peace and stability of the peninsula and the world," said the KCNA. The commentary said that "there are some arguments describing the improvement of the situation on the Korean Peninsula as the 'result of hard-line diplomacy' of the U.S. and the 'result of sustained pressure.'" "It seriously chills the atmosphere of the DPRK-U.S. dialogue and is of no help to the development of the situation," it said. "It would be absolutely beneficial to world peace and stability to have a proper understanding of the present phase of the situation on the Korean Peninsula," the commentary said. Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump are scheduled to hold a summit meeting on June 12 in Singapore. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 20:43:48|Editor: ZD Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese firm, International First Highway (IFH), is partnering with Great Ethiopian Run (GER) to organize a 6 km relay race on June 3, an Ethiopian official said on Tuesday. GER's Senior Sales and Marketing Officer Hilina Negussie said 900 runners, including 90 Chinese, will compete in the race, divided into 150 teams, each comprising six members. "The 6 km IFH relay race is expected to highlight the need for traffic safety and better management of roads, with runners expected to race on new roads built by IFH," Negussie said. Ethiopian government officials, representatives from private firms and non-governmental organizations, staff members of Chinese firms, and athlete groups are expected to participate in the race in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The annual IFH 6 km relay race has been held since 2003. IHF, a subsidiary of China Communication Construction Company (CCCC), has been engaged in more than 30 projects in the construction of roads, bridges, and other civil engineering projects in Ethiopia since its establishment in 1998. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 21:24:18|Editor: ZD Video Player Close Photo taken on May 22, 2018 shows destroyed mud houses after flood in Faizabad district of northern Jawzjan province, Afghanistan, May 22, 2018. Torrential rains and floods had destroyed more than 100 houses and left hundreds of people homeless in Imam Sahib district of the northern Kunduz province over the past three days, a member of provincial council Mohammad Yusuf Ayubi said Monday. (Xinhua/Mohammad Jan Aria) Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 20:56:15|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close A soldier from the Armed Forces of the Philippines walks inside a destroyed mosque in the war-torn Marawi City, the Philippines, May 22, 2018. 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. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali) Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 20:53:52|Editor: ZD Video Player Close BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China welcomes the decision by Brazil to refrain from anti-subsidy measures against imports of hot-rolled steel plate products, the Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement Tuesday. The statement came after Brazil Monday put on hold anti-subsidy measures for the public interest. China welcomed Brazil's prudent and restrained use of trade remedy measures and the positive signal the decision sent, said Wang Hejun, head of the ministry's trade remedy and investigation bureau. Brazilian has also stopped using the "surrogate country" approach in calculating the fair value of Chinese products, and China appreciates the move. BERLIN, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The investment management company and shareholder representative Hermes EOS urged Deutsche Bank on Tuesday to begin looking for a successor to the embattled supervisory board chairman Paul Achleitner. Speaking ahead of Deutsche Bank's upcoming annual general meeting, Hermes chief executive officer Hans-Christoph Hirt argued that Achleitner shared part of the blame for the sluggish pace of corporate restructuring efforts at Germany's largest financial institute. "In our opinion, (Achleitner) is ultimately responsible for the limited progress which Deutsche Bank has made in its quest for a value-added strategy," Hirt said. Achleitner has occupied the role of board chairman at Deutsche Bank for six years and is officially scheduled to continue to do so for another four years. During his term of stewardship, the Dax-listed company witnessed several reshuffles of senior personnel and repeatedly failed to meet earnings targets in spite of an ambitious restructuring program launched by ex-CEO John Cryan. Deutsche Bank suffered annual losses of 735 million euros (868 million U.S. dollars) in 2017, taking the total figure of cumulative annual losses since 2015 to 9 billion euros. Hirt recommended to the Frankfurt-based company to draw up concrete plans for a replacement of the chairman. If Achleitner wanted to retain his post, he would have to "demonstrate that he leads more effectively." Following the haphazard nature of Cryan's sacking in a recent scandal surrounding bonus payments, Achleitner has increasingly heard calls to resign. Although the recommendations of shareholder representatives are not binding, they are usually accorded significant weight by U.S. and British institutional investors. NCP names central panel The Nepal Communist Party (NCP) on Monday formed its Central Committee by inducting all 441-members. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 21:18:56|Editor: ZD Video Player Close BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The history of the development of China's Constitution shows the history of China's modern development in miniature, an official from China's top legislature said Tuesday. Shen Chunyao, head of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, made the remarks at a conference on China's constitutional system in Beijing. As the country's fundamental law, the Constitution has played an extremely important and unique role in the cause of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and China, said Shen. The study and promotion of the Constitution needs to combine the development of modern history in China, especially the history, achievements, and changes under the CPC's leadership, Shen said. The People's Republic of China enacted its first Constitution in 1954. The current Constitution was adopted in 1982 and amended in 1988, 1993, 1999, 2004 and 2018. Some 800 college teachers, students, government officials attended the conference. NAIVASHA, Kenya, May 22 (Xinhua) -- An east African bloc said on Tuesday that its members have agreed to ratify a protocol that will allow pastoralists to freely and legally drive their livestock across borders in search of pastures. Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states, who are holding a two-day meeting in the Kenyan town of Naivasha, challenged respective governments to move with speed and ratify the protocol so that the livestock corridors could be opened up. "Currently we have close to 1 million cattle from Kenya grazing in Moroto area of Uganda, and this is part of achieving this transhumance protocol," said Adan Yussuf Haji, chairman of the Kenyan parliament's Livestock Sub-sector Committee. Haji said that once the protocol is enacted, the issue of cattle rustling along border points would be a thing of the past. He noted that in most cases the movement of pastoralists and their livestock was caused by lack of pastures and water. The lawmaker challenged respective governments to move with haste and ratify the protocol so that the livestock corridors could be opened up, noting that parliament had embarked on the process of setting up a Livestock Development Authority. "This country has never had such an authority which will come in handy in addressing challenges facing members of the pastoralists' community which rely on livestock," he said. The meeting was organized by the Center for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD), IGAD's specialized institution for pastoral areas and livestock development, to discuss and draw up a draft Protocol on Transhumance for Kenya, which aims to address threats and challenges that affect pastoral ecosystems within IGAD member states. The Protocol on Transhumance is expected to facilitate formal cross-border livestock mobility in the region. Participants said the need for the transhumance protocol in the IGAD region is premised on the understanding that migration in search of pastures and water is paramount to the very survival of transhumant pastoralist communities. Japheth Kasimbu, a transhumance expert from the IGAD Secretariat, said the region has over 500 million livestock that rely on pastures and water from neighboring countries. Kasimbu said the protocol is expected to be adopted by mid-2019. "This process started back in 2011 when the Horn of Africa lost hundreds of livestock due to drought and we decided to work on pastoral community mobility for water and pastures," he said. The protocol would address the issue of accountability and cattle rustling, which has been a thorn in the flesh for communities around border towns, Kasimbu noted. "Under the agreement, livestock will be tagged, making it easier to track them and arrest the culprits in case of any incident of rustling," he said. MOGADISHU, May 22 (Xinhua) -- At least five Somali soldiers were injured in a roadside bomb attack in Afgoye, about 30 km west of the capital of Mogadishu, on Tuesday. A police officer, who requested anonymity, told Xinhua that the blast took place at Bar-Ismaciil, in Afgoye town in Lower Shabelle, as a military convoy was heading to Mogadishu from Baledogle airstrip. Al-Shabab militant group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 21:54:06|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close CHENGDU, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The fourth China-U.S. governors' forum was held on Tuesday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. Over 350 representatives from China and the United States attended the event. A series of talks were held on trade and investment, green development and innovative economy. Vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) Wu Weihua said at the opening ceremony, that China welcomes different states of the United States and American companies being involved in China's high-quality economic development. The forum was jointly hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the provincial government of Sichuan. Initiated in 2011, the China-U.S. governors' forum has become an important platform to promote exchange and cooperation between local governments of the two countries. OUAGADOUGOU, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Three suspected terrorists were shot dead and a policeman killed on Tuesday in a security operation in a popular district of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, the gendarmerie in a statement. Five others, including four gendarmes, were injured in the operation, the statement said. Witnesses said gunfire was heard early Tuesday in Rayongo, a neighborhood in Ouagadougou's popular district 11, where security and defense forces surrounded a villa that houses suspected terrorists. Weapons and ammunition, such as AK-47 rifles, automatic pistols, a machine gun, a grenade, and cell phones, phone chips and a notebook with Arabic writing were seized in the operation, the statement said. Burkina Faso has experienced several terrorist attacks in recent years. In 2016 and 2017, Ouagadougou suffered two attacks on popular restaurants that resulted in the death of 47 civilians and a member of the security forces. On March 2 this year, militantss attacked the French embassy and the headquarters of the national army in Ouagadougou, killing eight members of the security forces. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 22:04:08|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Pierre Krahenbuhl speaks during a press conference in Gaza City, on May 22, 2018. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees called on Tuesday the international community to save the deteriorating health sector in Gaza. (Xinhua/Stringer) GAZA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees called on Tuesday the international community to save the deteriorating health sector in Gaza. "This morning I'm sending out an emergency call to help save Gaza's health system," Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Pierre Krahenbuhl told reporters in Gaza. He said Gaza is facing a major human and health care disaster due to the high numbers of injured Palestinians by Israeli fire during the rallies known as the "Great March of Return." Krahenbuhl also urged for boosting UNRWA's ability to provide care to the released patients and the many amputees that will require long-term assistance. He stressed that dehumanizing the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will not bring peace to the region. At least 112 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire since the rallies kicked off on March 30. The protests are held along Gaza-Israel borders, demanding the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes in Israel as well as breaking the blockade Israel has been imposing on the territory since 2007. UNRWA, which provides assistance in education, health and food to some 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East, is already suffering big financial deficit due to recent U.S. fund suspension. The United States decided in January to decrease its contribution to UNRWA in 2018 from 125 million U.S. dollars to 65 million dollars. The U.S. administration has also announced it will not provide the agency with 45 million dollars for aid that it pledged in December last year. BRUSSELS, May 22 (Xinhua)-- International donors pledged on Tuesday to give 1.45 billion euros (1.71 billion U.S. dollars) in aid for the Gambia, a West African country going through a rough patch of democratic transition. The European Union (EU), co-chairing the International Conference for The Gambia in Brussels, has offered the lion's share, with a pledge of 140 million euros. The funding will be used to assist the Gambia in "continuing its democratic transition, building on strong democratic institutions, the respect of human rights and the rule of law, and sustainable and shared economic growth," according to an EU press release. The conference brought together delegations from 43 countries and 10 international organizations, including EU member states, the United Nations (UN), The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and China. Gambian President Adama Barrow was finally sworn in February 2017, after his predecessor Yahya Jammeh, who ruled the country for 22 years with an iron fist, was forced by ECOWAS to leave the country after he rejected the polls in December 2016. TOKYO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The mayor of Komae City in western Tokyo indicated on Tuesday he would step down following claims that he sexually harassed multiple women. Four female employees of the municipal government submitted a letter of protest to the city, naming themselves as victims of sexual harassment by Komae Mayor Kunihiko Takahashi. Takahashi had previously denied the allegations on repeated occasions. According to local prefectural officials, the letter was submitted by the four women earlier in the day, with the initial allegations against Takahashi, 66, dating back to March, with calls for him to step down becoming more vociferous since then. The deputy mayor of the city, who has also been calling on Takahashi to quit, maintained at a press briefing held a day earlier that the city had confirmed, by way of internal investigation, two of the four allegations of sexual harassment leveled at the mayor had taken place. The Japanese Communist Party had obtained an internal document of the municipal government revealing that sexual harassment claims against Takahashi had officially been made by multiple female employees. The document showed the allegations against Takahashi was a catalyst for broader denouncements of the mayor's sexual improprieties against female city employees. Local media reported that of those harassed, one of them said Takahashi had forced her to drink from a glass he had been drinking from, while another alleged he touched her buttocks in an elevator. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 22:24:16|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over a meeting of the Leading Party Members' Group of the 13th NPC Standing Committee to study Xi Jinping's thought on the system of people's congresses, in Beijing, capital of China, May 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Leading Party Members' Group of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee held a meeting Monday to study Xi Jinping's thought on the system of people's congresses. Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the meeting and made a speech. Xi's thought on the system of people's congresses is an important part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, said a statement issued after the meeting. After the study, legislators have a deeper understanding of the system and the significance of carrying it on in the long run, the statement said. They are aware that legislators should enhance confidence in the system, which has demonstrated great political advantages and effectiveness, and continue to perfect it, the statement said. Stressing that upholding the Party's leadership is a political principle for people's congresses, the statement said the NPC Standing Committee should firmly safeguard the authority and core status of Xi, as well as the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Xi at the core. The NPC Standing Committee will set the priorities of its work according to the Party and state's agenda, and ensure complete implementation of policies of the CPC Central Committee, the statement said. The Leading Party Members' Group of the 13th NPC Standing Committee will promptly report "important meetings, major issues, and important matters" to the CPC Central Committee. Efforts will also be made to further develop theories about people's congresses and improve the system, the statement said. MOGADISHU, May 22 (Xinhua) -- At least five Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers were injured on Tuesday after the vehicle in which they were traveling was hit by suicide bombing in Afgoye town, about 30 km west of Mogadishu. A police officer said the attack took place at Bar-Ismaciil, in Afgoye in Lower Shabelle, as the convoy was heading to Mogadishu from Baledogle airstrip. The police officer did not give a number of casualties, but witnesses said five soldiers were injured. "We have got the information of the attack on the security forces, and we are establishing more details," the police officer, who requested not to be named, told Xinhua. An eyewitness told Xinhua that there was a huge blast in the area as the forces passed by. "We heard a huge explosion from a place where government forces were passing by. There was also exchange of fire," Abdullahi Mohamed said. Militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility, saying its fighters killed 12 soldiers in the roadside attack. Lower Shabelle Region Deputy Governor Abdifitah Abdille, however, said only the suicide bomber died. The latest attack comes as security forces in the country remain on high alert during the holy month of Ramadan, a time when al-Shabab has been known to launch attacks, especially in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Nepal and India to run joint operation to check wildlife poaching Nepal and India are planning to conduct a joint operation to control wildlife poaching and trafficking of animal parts in Shuklaphanta National Park in Kanchanpur district on Nepals side and Krishnapur Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh state of India. MADRID, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The former Spanish minister for employment and social security Eduardo Zaplana was arrested by Spanish Civil Guards on Tuesday on charges of bribery and the misuse of public funds, police sources confirmed to Xinhua. Zaplana, 62, was a member of the right wing People's Party (PP) government of Jose Maria Aznar between 2002 and 2004 and the PP spokesman in the Spanish Congress between 2004 and 2008. Prior to that he had been the Mayor of Benidorm (eastern Spain) between 1991 and 1994 and was the President of the Autonomous Community of Valencia between 1995 and 2002. Zaplana was arrested at his home in Valencia in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Five others were also detained as part of the operation. He is accused of bringing money taken as bribes into Spain. Zaplana stepped down from active politics in 2008 to take up a post at telecommunications company Telefonica. Reacting to the news of Zaplana's arrest, Telefonica announced an "immediate" cancellation of their relationship with him, while the PP confirmed suspension of his party membership. The arrest is another blow to the PP, which has spent several years mired in corruption scandals, including other "cash-for-favors" cases in Madrid and Valencia regions. Zaplana is not the first member of Aznar's former government to be arrested. Aznar's former deputy prime minister and economy minister Rodrigo Rato is currently serving a four-and-half-year sentence for embezzlement, while the outgoing Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy last year became the first ever Spanish Prime Minister to appear in court after being called as a witness in the long-running "Gurtel" case which examines a wide ranging cash for favors scandal. The Madrid branch of the PP has also been beset by corruption issues, with former regional president Ignacio Gonzalez detained on corruption charges, along with the region's former deputy leader Francisco Granados. Gonzalez's successor in the Madrid region, Cristina Cifuentes was forced to resign from her position at the end of April after it emerged she had been given a Masters Degree without actually doing any of the necessary coursework or sitting any examinations and the discovery of a video in which she was shown to have been caught stealing two jars of face cream. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 22:54:22|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSUL, Iraq, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Up to 1,000 bodies were retrieved under the debris of devastated buildings in western Mosul in Iraq over the past several days, a police source said Tuesday. "Only on Monday and Tuesday, a team from the Iraqi civil defense police retrieved 150 decomposed corpses. Some of them were of women and children," Lieut. Col. Rabie Ibrahim, head of the team, told Xinhua. The bodies were said to be of Islamic State (IS) militants, their family members or the civilians prevented by IS militants from leaving homes during the fierce battles and heavy bombardment of the city, Ibrahim said. The campaign to retrieve the bodies was ordered 10 days ago by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, also the commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, who formed a committee from the civil defense and Nineveh's provincial police to clear the devastated areas in the old city center of western Mosul for bodies. The civil defense team retrieved 763 bodies until last Friday, and the number rose to 1,000 in the following days. In July 2017, Abadi officially declared the liberation of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, from the IS after nearly nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in the country. A large part of Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, including its capital Mosul, fell under the IS control in June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 23:04:26|Editor: yan Video Player Close THE HAGUE, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki submitted a referral on Tuesday to the International Criminal Court (ICC) asking prosecutors to immediately open a formal investigation into accusations of Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories. "The State of Palestine took an important and historic step towards justice for the Palestinian people who continue to suffer from ongoing, widespread and systematic crimes," Malki told press after meeting with ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. He said the referral addressed a myriad of issues including "settlement expansion, land grabs, illegal exploitation of natural resources, as well as the brutal and calculated targeting of unarmed protesters, particularly in the Gaza Strip". For him, the evidence of Israeli crimes are "ample and insurmountable". The investigation should cover the period from mid-2014 to the present, including the deaths in last week's conflicts between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces, he added. "This referral is Palestine's test to the international mechanism of accountability and respect for international law," the minister said. In 2014, Palestine signed the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC. In January 2015, the Hague-based court decided to launch a preliminary inquiry into Palestine's request of an investigation into crimes on Palestinian territory. A formal investigation will be opened after the preliminary inquiry concludes. Palestine's submitting of the referral came just days after more than 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces as they protested Washington's decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem. Israel said Palestine's request was "legally invalid" as "the ICC lacks jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian issue, since Israel is not a member of the Court and because the Palestinian Authority is not a state". DAR ES SALAAM, May 22 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people have been killed by cholera in Tanzania's southern highland region of Rukwa, authorities said on Tuesday. Sumbawanga District Commissioner Halfan Haule said 166 patients are being treated in different parts of the region. Fresh cases of cholera were reported in Maenje, Milepa, Kapaenta, Mkusi, Tunko and Laela villages, Haule told a meeting of health experts on measures to strengthen surveillance against Ebola following an Ebola outbreak in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Haule attributed the cholera outbreak to drinking of unsafe water and non-use of toilets. Rukwa Regional Medical Officer Boniface Kasululu said special centers have been established in the region to treat cholera patients. Last week, Tanzania joined neighboring Uganda in issuing an alert following the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, which has killed more than 17 people. Tanzanian health minister Ummy Mwalimu said the government has directed regional medical officers across the country to strengthen surveillance to prevent an Ebola outbreak in the country. "The Tanzanian government has received an official report on the outbreak of the deadly Ebola in the DRC," Mwalimu told a news conference in the capital, Dodoma. She said Tanzania has, until now, not documented any case of Ebola, but the country is not immune from the viral disease due to the possibility of cross-border transmission from the affected countries. With this reappearance of the Ebola cases, the DRC is at its ninth Ebola outbreak since 1976. The last outbreak took place in May 2017 in the northern province of Bas-Uele, killing four people. The Ebola virus is highly contagious and causes a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain or malaise, and in many cases, internal and external bleeding. Mortality rates of Ebola fever, according to the World Health Organization, are extremely high, with the human case-fatality rate ranging from 50 percent to 89 percent, depending on viral sub-type. by Eric J. Lyman ROME, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The unexpected rise of Giuseppe Conte from low-key attorney and law professor to Italy's next prime minister hit a snag Tuesday after it was revealed the 54-year-old may have lied about or exaggerated his educational credentials. Luigi Di Maio from the populist Five-Star Movement and the League's Matteo Salvini formally nominated Conte on Monday to head Italy's 66th government since the end of World War II. But soon after, reports that could damage his chances began circulating. Conte's 12-page curriculum vitae states he studied at some of the world's most prestigious universities, including Yale and New York University in the United States, France's Sorbonne, and Cambridge in Britain. But a report from Jason Horowitz in the New York Times posted late Monday quoted a press officer from New York University as saying the institution had no record of Conte studying there, though the officer did say it was possible Conte took a brief one or two-day course for which records are not kept. That is in contrast to Conte's published CV, which says he took classes at the university for at least one month for five consecutive years ending in 2012. A spokesman for the Five-Star Movement responded to a request for comment from Xinhua, stating it stood by Conte's assertion that he "perfected and updated his studies" at the New York campus. On Tuesday, Jeanne Perego, an Italian journalist based in Germany, reported another potential misstatement involving Conte's claim to have studied law at the International Kultur Institute in Vienna in 1993, noting that the Kultur Institute was a language school. Other Italian media noted that Conte's reported course work at other universities may have been misstated. Commentators said it was unclear how much damage the charges would cause. "This kind of thing has happened in Italy before: Valeria Fedeli (the current Italian minister of education) inaccurately claimed to have graduated from university when she hadn't, and she was not forced to step down," Vincenzo Emanuele, a political scientist and a researcher with the Italian Center for Electoral Studies at Rome's LUISS University, said in an interview. Emanuele went on: "Conte's misrepresentation is less serious than that, but being prime minister is also a more high-profile job than being minister of education," he said. The Five-Star Movement was adamant that Conte's nomination was still valid, which means the next step for him is to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who can give Conte a mandate to form a new government. Analysts told Xinhua Mattarella already had doubts about Conte even before the reports about his studies emerged, based on the idea Italy needed a stronger or more political savvy figure as prime minister. It is not clear whether Mattarella might use the new developments to ask the parties to reconsider their nomination. "There is no way to know whether as prime minister Conte would be his own man, or whether he would be a front for Di Maio or Salvini," Luca Verzichelli, a political scientist at the University of Siena said in an interview. "Conte is more like a figure who would head a caretaker technocrat government, but if he's supported by the Five-Star Movement or the League, it will be an elected government." WINDHOEK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A Cessna 210 aircraft with only a trainee pilot on board landed on its belly at the Eros Airport in Namibian capital Windhoek on Tuesday morning, the Namibia Airports Company announced. The trainee pilot, who owns the plane, survived the crash. The aircraft has since been removed from the runway and no significant damage to the airport facilities was observed. Operations at the airport have been back to normal. by Alessandra Cardone ROME, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A new digital platform to promote tourism in lesser-known destinations across Italy was launched here on Tuesday. Officially unveiled at a conference at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Trame d'Italia (Wefts of Italy) project would offer travellers the lure of "experiential routes" in areas where cultural, historic, and culinary traditions were strong, yet much undiscovered. "By creating and selling cultural (touristic) routes, we want to boost growth in genuine and little-known Italian areas, and generate sustainable development and employment," promoters said. Three routes were so far available on the platform: northern Monferrato -- Piedmont's vineyard landscape named World Heritage Site by the UNESCO -- the historic territory of Lunigiana between Liguria and Tuscany regions, and the Brianza in northwest Lombardy. The next offers would concern Matera -- another UNESCO Heritage Site with its famous "Sassi" and Rupestrian Churches -- Val Camonica in the Alps, and the territories around Bergamo and Mantua in Lombardy. The plan was to reach an offer of 50 routes in nine years, each of them involving a network of managing operators and local affiliated subjects. "We would like to provide an example of sharing economy, and of convergence between profit and non-profit (subjects)," Trame d'Italia chief executive officer Daniele Rossi said. The platform resulted from cooperation between several private and public subjects. Promoted by Milan-based Accenture Italian Foundation, the initiative saw two banks among its partners, as well as Italy's Touring Club, Italian Environmental Fund (FAI), Italian Historic Houses -- another online platform to promote historic dwellings -- and Google, among others. The CEO further explained in a statement this networking model would hopefully "add value to many precious Italian territories, helping travellers become more aware of their cultural values and, in the end, better citizens." At organizing level, Trame d'Italia would oversee the project, provide the digital platform, and manage brand, procedural guidelines, as well as agreements with tourism operators, and investment promotion. Local networks were tasked with identifying and developing the routes -- with all of their related cultural contents -- involving other local subjects needed to launch the initiative, and managing the destinations. An English version of the platform to attract foreign tourists would soon be developed, organizers told Xinhua. NEW DELHI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- India on Tuesday put its southern state of Kerala on high alert following the outbreak of Nipah virus that has killed at least 10 people. "So far, 10 people have died due to the Nipah virus in the state's Kozhikode and Mallapuram districts. The dead included a nurse who treated some Nipah-infected patients at a state-run hospital in Kozhikode. The entire state has been put on high alert," a health official said. Apart from the 10 deaths, some 94 people have been quarantined inside their homes while nine others are under surveillance in hospitals in the two districts, he said. "Of 10 deaths, some eight have been reported from Kozhikode alone. Moreover, two of the nine hospitalized are in serious condition. The death toll may go up as these two infected patients are battling for their lives at a hospital," the official added. Another health official said that an isolation ward has been opened in the 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," he said. Earlier in the day, Indian Health Minister J.P. Nadda reviewed the situation in Kerala and directed top central health officials to extend all support to the southern state in the prevention and management of the Nipah virus. Officials said that a multi-disciplinary central team from the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) is currently camping in Kerala and constantly monitoring the situation. "The NCDC team also visited the house in Perambra from where the initial death was reported. The team found many bats housed in the well from where the family was drawing water. Some bats have been sent for lab examination to confirm if they are the cause of the disease," an official said. "Fortunately, no new case has been reported in the last 24 hours," Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shylaja told the media in capital Thiruvananthapuram. 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. Health experts say there is no vaccine yet for the virus, which causes fever and breathlessness in affected patients as initial symptoms. "So far, no vaccine has been made to combat the disease, which spreads mostly through direct contact. The virus spreads fast and leads to death in 70 percent cases. Kerala is a tourist destination and the virus needs to be contained fully," said a Delhi-based doctor. TRIPOLI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Two soldiers of the Libyan eastern-based army were killed on Tuesday in a suicide car bomb attack on a military checkpoint near the eastern city of Ajdabiya, an army statement said. "A suicide bomber driving a car attacked a military checkpoint at the 60 km checkpoint south of Ajdabiya city, killing two battalion soldiers and injuring two others," the army's 152 infantry battalion said in a statement. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. But previous similar attacks near Ajdabiya were claimed by the Islamic State militant group. Located some 160 km south of Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, Ajdabiya is now under the control of the army led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar. Following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been plagued by chaos and escalating violence. by Alessandra Cardone ROME, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A new digital platform to promote tourism in lesser-known destinations across Italy was launched here on Tuesday. Officially unveiled at a conference at the ministry of culture and tourism, the "Trame d'Italia" project would offer travelers the lure of "experiential routes" in areas where cultural, historic, and culinary traditions were still strong, and yet still much undiscovered. "By creating and selling cultural (touristic) routes, we want to boost growth in genuine and little-known Italian areas, and generate sustainable development and employment," promoters said. Three routes are so far available on the platform: northern Monferrato, Piedmont's vineyard landscape named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO; the historic territory of Lunigiana between Liguria and Tuscany regions; and the Brianza in northwest Lombardy. The plan is to reach 50 routes in nine years, each of them involving a network of managing operators and local affiliated subjects. "We would like to provide an example of sharing economy, and of convergence between profit and non-profit (subjects)," Trame d'Italia chief executive officer Daniele Rossi said. The platform resulted from cooperation between several private and public subjects. Promoted by Milan-based Accenture Italian Foundation, the initiative saw two banks among its partners, as well as Italy's Touring Club, Italian Environmental Fund (FAI), Italian Historic Houses -- another online platform to promote historic dwellings -- and Google, among others. The CEO further explained in a statement this networking model would hopefully "add value to many precious Italian territories, helping travelers become more aware of their cultural values and, in the end, better citizens". An English version of the platform to attract foreign tourists is soon to be developed, organizers told Xinhua. Police confiscate 140 kg marijuana, pistol Police have confiscated a huge cache of marijuana along with a pistol and bullets from Ajamarpatti in Ekdara Rural Municipality-3 of Mahottarai district. ADDIS ABABA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) on Tuesday emphasized exploring opportunities of digital trade within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The UNECA said it has arranged a high-level conference "Digital Trade in Africa: Implications for Inclusion and Human Rights" next week. The event, scheduled from May 31 to June 1 at the headquarters of the UNECA in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, is expected to feature dialogues between high-level experts on digital trade in Africa. According to the UN, e-commerce opportunities are opening up multi-sector access to new markets, consumers and products in Africa, with e-commerce sales on the continent expected to reach between 50 billion U.S. dollars and 75 billion dollars per year within the next five to ten years. The African Union (AU), which also promotes digital trade as a means to flourish trading, had last year launched the dotAfrica (.africa) internet domain, a digital trading platform designed to create a unique online identity to bring products, services and information under one umbrella throughout the continent. Representatives from the AU, civil society organizations, regional economic communities, academia, international organizations, private sector actors, and women and youth representatives are said to be part of the meeting next week, according to the UNECA. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 23:54:43|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran encourages medium-sized European oil companies to get engaged in the country's energy projects as the big enterprises may fear the U.S. penalties in case of doing business with Iran, a deputy of Iranian petroleum minister said Tuesday. European medium-sized companies that are less engaged in trade with the United States, will benefit from the European Union's political support if they choose to work with Iran, Amir Hossein Zamaninia, deputy petroleum minister for international affairs and trading. Medium-sized European oil firms even outdo the giants in technological capabilities in some areas, Zamaninia was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. Last week, French energy firm Total said it might not be able to continue its gas development project in Iran, unless it gets a waiver from the U.S. to protect it from reimposed sanctions. As a consequence of the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the company said in a statement that it "will not be in a position to continue" the project, known as the South Pars 11 (SP11). On May 8, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reinstate sanctions that were in force before the implementation of the landmark agreement. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 00:04:45|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with heads of foreign delegations attending the 13th meeting of Security Council Secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Beijing, capital of China, May 22, 2018. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday met with heads of foreign delegations attending the 13th meeting of Security Council Secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Beijing. During the meeting, Xi suggested that the SCO member countries continue to uphold the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, and promote a security governance model that addresses both symptoms and root causes, so as to push forward the SCO security cooperation to a new level. The president voiced the hope that the mechanism of the SCO Security Council Secretaries meeting would actively adapt to changes in the situation, earnestly perform its duties, and provide stronger support for SCO member states to maintain national security and social stability. Since the establishment of the SCO, the member states have always taken the maintenance of regional security and stability as a priority, said Xi. By expanding areas of cooperation, cracking down on the "three evil forces", namely terrorism, extremism and separatism, and preventing the spillover effect of the hotspot issues, the SCO has made important contributions to lasting stability and prosperity of the region, he said. After its enlargement, the SCO enjoys greater potential for security cooperation and shoulders more responsibility, bearing more expectations from the people in the region and the international community, said Xi. Regional security still faces challenges posed by the "three evil forces", drug trafficking and transnational organized crimes, which requires the member states to enhance the sense of urgency, calm thinking, accurate judgment and proper response, Xi noted. He suggested the SCO member states grasp the strategic direction of security cooperation, continue to consolidate strategic mutual trust, strengthen policy communication and coordination, adhere to fairness and justice, and jointly promote the peaceful resolution to hotspot issues through political and diplomatic means. It is necessary to beef up the capacity for security action, build a more rigorous, sound and efficient law enforcement cooperation network and jointly strengthen the capability of safeguarding stability, said Xi. China will continue to integrate its own safety with that of regional countries and work with other SCO members to build a new type of international relations for the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, he said. Russia's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and Secretary of the Security Council of Kyrgyzstan Damir Sagynbayev spoke on behalf of the foreign delegations. They thanked Xi for attaching great importance to the security cooperation of the SCO member states. They voiced support for China's initiative on coping with common challenges and safeguarding international peace and security. They expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the 13th meeting of SCO Security Council Secretaries, saying it played an important role in preparing for the 18th SCO summit, which is scheduled to be held in Qingdao in June. Under the new situation, the SCO has increasingly demonstrated its strong vitality, they said, agreeing to expand cooperation so that the SCO can play a greater role in international affairs. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, met with Patrushev later Tuesday afternoon. Yang hoped that the two sides would increase mutual support, expand practical cooperation, and strengthen coordination and cooperation in international affairs, so as to make greater contributions to the development of both countries, as well as peace and stability in the region and the world. Patrushev said that Russia has always been committed to deepening ties with China, and is willing to work with China to actively implement the consensus of the heads of state of both countries, strengthen bilateral cooperation and promote the development of their relationship. JOHANNESBURG, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Former South African president Jacob Zuma's son Edward on Tuesday agreed to pay 60,000 rand (5,000 U.S. dollars) and apologize for his insulting letter. Last year Edward wrote an open letter, in which he labeled the then finance minister Pravin Gordhan and tourism minister Derek Hanekom, two critics of Zuma, as "sell outs." On Tuesday Edward reached an agreement at Durban Equality Court to pay 5,000 dollars and apologize for his hate speech. The fine would be given to two needy schools in Durban. According to the court settlement, Edward is required to write an unconditional apology directed to all South Africans in the next seven days. The South African Human Rights Commission laid the complaint after Edward wrote the scathing letter decrying the two ministers. In the letter, Zuma called Derek Hanekom "a white, white monopoly capitalist offspring -- who is no better than a vile dog trained to maul a black skin." Zuma also stated in his letter that Gordhan, of Indian origin, wants locals to be always poor and eat left-overs from the Indians. CHICAGO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) rose slightly to +0.34 in April from +0.32 in March, according to a news release on the website of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Tuesday. Of the 85 economic indicators that are included in the CFNAI, 50 individual indicators made positive contributions to the CFNAI in April, while 35 made negative contributions. To be specific, 35 indicators improved from March to April, while 50 indicators deteriorated. Of the indicators that improved, eight made negative contributions. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago attributed the little change of CFNAI to slower growth in employment related indicators and personal consumption related indicators. Employment-related indicators contributed +0.10 to the CFNAI in April, up from +0.04 in March. The civilian unemployment rate decreased to 3.9 percent in April from 4.1 percent in March. The contribution of the personal consumption and housing category to the CFNAI edged down to -0.05 in April from +0.02 in March. Housing starts decreased to 1,287,000 annualized units in April from 1,336,000 in March, and housing permits decreased to 1,352,000 annualized units in April from 1,377,000 in the previous month. However, production-related indicators contributed +0.27 to the CFNAI in April, up from +0.19 in March. Manufacturing industrial production increased by 0.5 percent in April after being unchanged in March. The sales, orders, and inventories category made a contribution of +0.02 to the CFNAI in April, down slightly from +0.08 in March. CFNAI is a weighted average of 85 existing monthly indicators of national economic activity. It is constructed to have an average value of zero and a standard deviation of one. As economic activity tends toward trend growth rate over time, a positive index reading corresponds to growth above trend and a negative index reading corresponds to growth below trend. ALGIERS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A senior terrorist official activating in the Sahel region surrendered to the Algerian military authorities on Monday, according to Algerian Defense Ministry statement on Tuesday. "As part of the fight against terrorism and thanks to the efforts of the National People's Army, a dangerous terrorist senior official at one of the terrorist organizations activating in the Sahel region, laid down his arms on Monday to the military authorities in the southernmost province of Tamanrasset," reads the statement. He was identified as A. Moultafa, alias Abu Aissa, who joined the terrorist camps in 2015, the source said, adding that he had in his possession a PKT type heavy machine gun and a quantity of ammunition. Algeria has deployed tens of thousands of troops on the southern and eastern borderline, in a bid to thwart the intrusion of terrorists, amid instability reigning in Mali and civil war hitting Libya. The North African nation has also opened safe routes along its southern border, to encourage Algerian militants who joined terrorist fiefs in the Sahel region to lay down arms, in exchange for fair trials. Located in a region plagued by unprecedented security and political instability, Algeria faces ongoing terrorist threats. Iraqi civil defence search for bodies under the rubble of buildings in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on May 16, 2018. (AFP) MOSUL, Iraq, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Up to 1,000 bodies were retrieved under the debris of devastated buildings in western Mosul in Iraq over the past several days, a police source said Tuesday. "Only on Monday and Tuesday, a team from the Iraqi civil defense police retrieved 150 decomposed corpses. Some of them were of women and children," Lieut. Col. Rabie Ibrahim, head of the team, told Xinhua. The bodies were said to be of Islamic State (IS) militants, their family members or the civilians prevented by IS militants from leaving homes during the fierce battles and heavy bombardment of the city, Ibrahim said. The campaign to retrieve the bodies was ordered 10 days ago by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, also the commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, who formed a committee from the civil defense and Nineveh's provincial police to clear the devastated areas in the old city center of western Mosul for bodies. The civil defense team retrieved 763 bodies until last Friday, and the number rose to 1,000 in the following days. In July 2017, Abadi officially declared the liberation of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, from the IS after nearly nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in the country. A large part of Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, including its capital Mosul, fell under the IS control in June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. Relatives mourn Palestinian Moein Al-Saai who died of wounds he sustained protesting at the Israeli-Gaza border, during his funeral in Gaza city on May 19, 2018. (AFP) GAZA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees called on Tuesday the international community to save the deteriorating health sector in Gaza. "This morning I'm sending out an emergency call to help save Gaza's health system," Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Pierre Krahenbuhl told reporters in Gaza. He said Gaza is facing a major human and health care disaster due to the high numbers of injured Palestinians by Israeli fire during the rallies known as the "Great March of Return." Krahenbuhl also urged for boosting UNRWA's ability to provide care to the released patients and the many amputees that will require long-term assistance. He stressed that dehumanizing the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will not bring peace to the region. At least 112 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire since the rallies kicked off on March 30. The protests are held along Gaza-Israel borders, demanding the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes in Israel as well as breaking the blockade Israel has been imposing on the territory since 2007. UNRWA, which provides assistance in education, health and food to some 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East, is already suffering big financial deficit due to recent U.S. fund suspension. The United States decided in January to decrease its contribution to UNRWA in 2018 from 125 million U.S. dollars to 65 million dollars. The U.S. administration has also announced it will not provide the agency with 45 million dollars for aid that it pledged in December last year. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 00:39:52|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Cao Jianming (R), vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, shakes hands with Liviu Dragnea, the speaker of Romania's Chamber of Deputies, during their meeting in Bucharest, Romania, on May 22, 2018. (Xinhua/Chen Jin) BUCHAREST, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to boost cooperation with Romania under the frameworks of the Belt and Road Initiative and "16+1" mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, a senior Chinese legislator said on Tuesday. Cao, vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, made the remarks during his meeting with Liviu Dragnea, the speaker of Romania's Chamber of Deputies. Romania is an important partner of China in the European Union (EU) and in Central and Eastern Europe, Cao said. He said that mutual trust between the two countries is solid at present, while bilateral economic and commercial cooperation, as well as people-to-people and local exchanges are progressing smoothly. The senior legislator said that China is willing to take the opportunity of jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative and "16+1" mechanism to enhance alignment of development strategies, deepen exchanges between legislative bodies, and strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation. Dragnea reiterated that his country attached great importance to relations with China and is willing to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative and "16+1" mechanism to continuously enrich the fruitful results of bilateral cooperation. He said the Romanian parliament is willing to strengthen exchanges and mutual understanding with the National People's Congress of China and help the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations. Cao visited Romania from Saturday to Tuesday, during which he also met with Deputy Senate Speaker Iulian Claudiu Manda, Deputy Prime Ministers Viorel Stefan and Ana Birchall, Attorney General Augustin Lazar, and held talks with Deputy Chamber of Deputies speaker Florin Iordache. HELSINKI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish Millennium Technology Prize was awarded on Tuesday to Finnish physicist Tuomo Suntola. His atomic layer deposition, ALD, was developed in the 1970s, but made a world impact in the 2000s and is today in all mobile devices and many other gadgets. ALD is nanoscale technology that helps to manufacture ultra-thin material layers for microprocessors and digital memory devices. The technology allows building of complex, three-dimensional structures, one atomic layer at a time. The 8th Millennium Technology Prize was presented to Suntola by Finnish president Sauli Niinisto in Helsinki. The prize is one million euros. President Niinisto said Suntola's innovation highlights "the practical Finnish mindset". Tuomo Suntola, now 75, developed the technology and the equipment for the manufacture of thin films in the 1970s. Fundamental research of the technology had been conducted earlier in the Soviet Union. Suntola said in his acceptance speech the ALD reminds about the important underlying technologies at a time when new models of mobile phones are released all the time. "Being awarded the Millennium Technology Prize is a great honor for me, especially because the innovation has proved useful in so many applications that improve the quality of life for humanity," Suntola said. Suntola worked in the Finnish state technical research center VTT and later held executive and research director positions in several Finnish companies. Today the global market of equipment and chemicals used for the manufacture of ALD films is roughly two billion US dollars, and the market value of consumer electronics relying on ALD is at least 500 billion U.S. dollars. Paivi Torma, chair of the prize selection committee said the ALD method is an example of a technology hidden from the users, but vital. Torma said ALD has made "ownership of information technology more democratic". IT equipment has become smaller and less expensive, but more powerful. Since awarding the first prize in 2004 to Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, the Finnish one-million euro prize, given every two years, has focused on innovations with a societal impact. Professor Marja Makarow, the chair of the Board of the Technology Academy Finland said the winning innovations must have "extensive positive social impacts, be commercially viable and promote sustainable development and the welfare of humanity". Makarov told national broadcaster Yle that in the future there should perhaps be more submissions from the environmental technology sector. For the launch of the prize in 2004, the state of Finland joined with technology industry and academic organizations. The politics of budgeting The people should not be taxed heavily so that politicians can indulge in their desires KATHMANDU, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A technical team from China on Tuesday started pre-feasibility study of the proposed cross border railway from China's Kerung to Nepal's capital Kathmandu, a senior official of Nepal's Department of Railway said. The Chinese team from China Railway First Survey Design Institute Group arrived in Nepal to conduct the study. Aman Chitrakar, a senior divisional engineer from Nepal's Department of Railway, told Xinhua on Tuesday that the Chinese technical team visited the sites of the proposed railway line on Tuesday. "The team will conduct initial study on geological condition and potential alignments of the proposed railway," he said. According to Nepali officials, the team is expected to come up with the pre-feasibility report by August. The Nepali government has identified a cross-border railway project connecting Kerung and Kathmandu as one of the potential projects under China's Belt and Road Initiative. ARUSHA, Tanzania, May 22 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people have died from cholera outbreaks in western Tanzania's district of Sumbawanga, authorities said Tuesday. Halfan Haule, Sumbawanga District Commissioner, said that about 166 cases of the disease have been registered, just ten days after the killer disease was reported to hit the area. Sumbawanga is one of the three districts of Rukwa Region. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water and can lead to death if untreated. Haule revealed this when speaking during the regional health committee, which met to discuss strategies to combat cholera and prevent Ebola outbreak, which has been reported in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He said that cholera was lastly reported in the region in November 2017 and was successfully eradicated in March this year. According to the official, the first case was reported on May 12 and areas which that been affected by the disease include Maenje, Milepa, Kapaenta, Mkusi, Tunko and Laela villages. The official attributed the frequent outbreak of the disease to the paddy harvesting season, saying farmers are used to drink unboiled water when camping at the farms to harvest. He said the district is also facing a shortage of water treatment liquids (chlorine dioxide) or water guard. Bonifas Kasululu, Rukwa regional medical officer, said they have established special camps equipped with all necessary gears for health attendants and patients. Joachim Wangabo, Rukwa Regional Commissioner, also directed local government leaders to start registering all the residents with the aim of identifying newcomers. He stressed the need for stakeholders and the regional government to put in place strategies that will completely eradicate cholera. "We can eradicate cholera by educating our people on the importance of drinking boiled water and ensuring cleanliness of the environment and home utensils", he said. ADDIS ABABA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A negotiating team of the Oromo Democratic Front (ODF), an exiled Ethiopian opposition group, is set to arrive in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa Wednesday for further talks with the government, the Ethiopian government said Tuesday. The announcement by the Ethiopian Government Communications Affairs Office (GCAO) followed a recent statement by ODF that its leading members will be returning to the East African country with the aim of kick-starting the process for more substantive talks. The party is expected to undergo processes to register as a political party in Ethiopia if its discussions with the government reach positive conclusions, according to GCAO. GCAO in its latest statement further revealed the Ethiopian government's ambition to negotiate with political parties that want to operate peacefully in the country's political landscape. It has also commended the ODF for accepting the government's invitation for peace talks and its decision to operate peacefully. The ODF was established in 2013 having broken away from the outlawed rebel group the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Revealing its talks with the Ethiopian government, the party indicated in a statement last week that "although much needs to be done, the ODF is encouraged by the government's recent positive steps toward reforms." Negotiations between the Ethiopian government and ODF came shortly after the statement by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed regarding widening up the political landscape. Ahmed, during his swearing in ceremony last month, stressed his ambitions and readiness to engage with critics both at home and abroad. LUSAKA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Tuesday urged refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to follow laid-down procedures if they wanted to return back to their country. Minister of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo said despite relative calm returning to some parts of the DRC, the refugees should follow procedures so that they are helped through the voluntary repatriation to safely return to their country. In remarks following the drowning of seven DRC refugees last Friday who had left a transit refugee camp in Zambia's Luapula Province without authorization, the minister said the incident could have been avoided if the refugees had followed procedure. "It has been noted with regret that the refugees at Kenani Transit Center have been deserting the center without following established procedure for assisted voluntary repatriation and are filtering into neighboring villages to avoid relocation to a permanent refugee settlement," he told reporters during a press briefing. He has since warned traditional leaders in the district to desist from harboring the refugees or facilitating their movements not authorized by authorities. The official further said the government was happy that calm has returned to some parts of the DRC, which has resulted in the a sharp reduction in the number of refugees running into Zambia from a high of 15-20 in a day to just two or three. The Kenani Transit Center was established at the height of an influx of DRC refugees last year who were running from instability in their country. The center had about 15,000 refugees, forcing the government to established a new permanent refugee settlement where the refugees are being transferred. RIGA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Every tree that is cut or dies in the historical center or protected area of the Latvian capital city Riga will have to be replaced by planting a new tree under a new bill proposed by a group of lawmakers, the Baltic country's public media reported Tuesday. The draft amendments to the law on the preservation and protection of the historical center of Riga are intended to prevent the number of trees from decreasing in downtown Riga. According to the draft legislation proposed by the five MPs, if a wooden house is demolished or burns down in the city center, the new building that is constructed in the site has to be approximately of the same size and also a wooden structure. The proposal was submitted to the parliament's education, culture and science committee on Tuesday. Aleksejs Loskutovs, an MP of the ruling center-right Unity party and one of the bill's authors, noted that too much of the city's greenery has been lost in recent years due to ongoing street renovation works. "If we are to protect the historical city center, we have to protect it as it has developed, with its small-sized parks which at the same time create the impression of Riga as a very green city," said Loskutovs. LAGOS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 68 local bandits have been killed and others wounded in clashes with the army in the northwest Nigeria's Zamfara state since April, an army commander said Tuesday. Udeagbala Kennedy, Commander of the Nigerian Army Brigade Command Sokoto, told reporters in Gusau, the state capital, that six suspected kidnappers were arrested, while two soldiers died during the military operation. He said the bandits attacked Birane and Bawar-Daji villages of the state in February and April, which led to the death of 64 people. He told reporters that the Nigerian army and other security agencies commenced the clearance operation to rid out all the bandits and curtail the banditry activities in the state. More than a dozen attacks have been recorded in the state since the beginning of this year despite efforts to calm the situation by the Buhari administration. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari recently visited Zamfara where he met with traditional and community leaders over the security situation. Last month, Buhari ordered deployment of troops to Zamfara to end the incessant killings by armed bandits that claimed over 100 lives in the past few months. NICOSIA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Cypriot Forestry Department on Tuesday warned that archaeologists who dig on a tiny islet off the western coast of Cyprus endanger a rare indigenous plant which is close to extinction. The department sent a letter to the Antiquities Department and the local municipality at Peyia asking them to cooperate in the effort to prevent the plant, called Cistanche phelipaea, from becoming extinct. Forestry Department director Takis Papachristoforou noted in his letter that the Yeronisos islet (meaning Holy Island) and adjoining coastal zone have been declared a national forest park under the European Union Natura 2000 network as being an important habitat for many species of flora and birds. Cistanche Phelypaea is one of about 150 similar highly localized parasitic species growing on sandy and damp ground in the eastern Mediterranean. The one which grows up to 40 cm on Yeronisos throws its five-lobe corolla flowers right from its root up to its top in March and April. Archeologists have been digging on Yeronisos islet for the past 15 years, having established that it had been an important anchorage for seafarers. It was the first land to touch while traveling from west (mostly Greece and the Greek islands) to reach Cyprus itself or other lands further east. Though a tiny place just 280 m from the coast, it seems to have gained importance in the past as the remnants of an ancient Hellenistic temple dedicated to Apollo and three basilica churches, plus an organized anchorage, were found on the islet. It is believed that it had been inhabited up to the 15th century. Papachristoforou said that two forestry department officials who visited the island at the beginning of this month discovered that the plant population is extremely small and is in danger of extinction in Cyprus. He warned that archaeological excavation over the last 15 years have caused an irreversible reduction of the numbers of the plant and demanded from the Antiquities Department to notify the Forestry Department of any future digging on the islet. He added that his department will inform archaeologists where to dig without disturbing the plant. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 01:35:10|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi and other attendants pose for group photos, before the 13th meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Security Council Secretaries, in Beijing, capital of China, May 22, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi on Tuesday called on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries to enhance political mutual trust and jointly safeguard regional stability and development. Zhao made the remarks in a keynote speech at the 13th meeting of SCO Security Council Secretaries in Beijing. Delegations from India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives from the SCO secretariat and regional counter-terrorist agencies attended the meeting. He called on the SCO countries to give full play to the role of the SCO security council secretaries, and work together to combat forces of terrorism, separatism, and extremism. He said the SCO countries should consolidate the legal basis for cooperation, enhance the building of cooperation mechanism, and ensure the security of the Belt and Road Initiative projects. It is the first SCO security council secretaries meeting since the organization's enlargement. All parties at the meeting exchanged in-depth views on the current regional security situation and focused on the issues such as drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and safeguarding global information security. A press release was issued during the meeting. The press release said all parties will continue to implement effective border controls, exchange intelligence information on terrorism-related personnel, investigate transnational crimes committed by terrorist organizations, and prevent foreign armed terrorists and terrorist groups from sneaking into and out of the country. They agreed that the Internet and other information and communication technologies are heavily used to promote various forms of terrorism, separatism and extremism. And they support the strengthening of pragmatic cooperation in the field of international information security. They reiterated that the fight against terrorism is one of the most important tasks of the member countries of the organization and comprehensive measures should be taken in this area. The countries welcomed the efforts to establish a global anti-terrorism united front with the United Nations as the lead on the basis of the international law. Also on Tuesday, Zhao met with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, calling on both countries to deepen practical cooperation on anti-terrorism, safeguarding national security and cyber information security in order to benefit both peoples. For his part, Patrushev said Russia stands ready to work with China to enhance coordination and strengthen cooperation on law enforcement security. BERLIN, May 22 (Xinhua) -- German minister for the economy Peter Altmaier on Tuesday appealed to the reason in the trade conflict between Berlin and Washington. Speaking to the newspaper "Passauer Neue Presse", Altmaier warned that a trade war unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" doctrine would not produce any winners. "If you fight fire with fire, all you are left with is burned earth," the minister said. Given that higher tariffs and non-tariff barriers threatened to undermine global growth and prosperity which would harm all sides involved, Altmaier expressed hope that Washington could still be persuaded to reverse course. In the framework of the European Union (EU), Germany was therefore attempting to reach "sensible solutions" in ongoing discussions with U.S. representatives. The minister's comments were made shortly before a second temporary exclusion of the EU from newly-imposed U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports is scheduled to expire on June 1. The Europeans are demanding a permanent exclusion from Washington's protectionist measures and are in turn offering to re-open talks to sign a watered-down version of the failed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Peter Beyer, the federal government's official commissioner for transatlantic relations, told the "Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland" (RND) on Tuesday that Berlin would need to assume more responsibility in light of rapidly-deteriorating transatlantic relations. Several senior policymakers in Germany, including President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel, have recently warned that Trump's decisions to resort to protectionist measures and withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal could cause lasting damage to traditionally close German-U.S. ties. JUBA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday hailed China's food assistance to vulnerable South Sudanese. Valerie Guarnieri, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Operations Services, said more than 7 million people are currently food insecure in South Sudan and China's recent food aid would rescue thousands of hungry people from starving. Guarnieri said the joint relief assistance project undertaken by the governments of South Sudan, China and the WFP is critical to end food insecurity in the East African nation. She spoke in Juba during a handover ceremony of 2,048 tonnes of China-donated rice to the UN food agency. The donation is part of 8,800 tonnes of rice Beijing pledged to South Sudan in 2017 to fight severe food shortage. "This kind of collaboration is one that provides essential support in a smart and engaging way for the people of South Sudan," said Guarnieri. Adnan Khan, WFP Country Director and Representative in South Sudan, said the Chinese rice would help WFP provide emergency food aid to some 136,000 people for one month. He Xiangdong, Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan, said the contribution is part of China's efforts to support the world's youngest country to overcome the ongoing humanitarian crisis. "If we can do things together, we can save lives and we can be changing lives," said He. Manase Lomole, Chairperson of South Sudan's relief agency, the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), said cooperation between Juba and Beijing have been fruitful and should be strengthened to benefit the people of both countries. "We are going to do everything at our capacity to ensure that this relationship is consolidated, strengthened and maintained," Lomole said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 01:50:15|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has stressed the key role of the prevention of disease in furthering the reform of public hospitals. Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a three-day inspection in east China's Zhejiang Province, which ended Tuesday. Speaking highly of the progress the province has made as a pilot region in the reform, she asked for efforts to bring high-quality medical resources closer to communities. Inflated prices of medicine and medical facilities should be cut through measures such as centralized medicine procurement and price negotiations, in order to reduce the people's burden, she said. During the inspection, Sun also attended a symposium on the reform of "gaokao," or the national college entrance exam, in Zhejiang, which is a pilot province for the reform. The content of the exam should be optimized to better test the students' overall qualities and abilities, while elementary education and the reform of "gaokao" should be jointly pushed forward, according to Sun. ALGIERS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia agreed to support the implementation of the United Nations roadmap in Libya, while urging the Libyan warring parties to make further concessions to end the crisis since 2011. The agreement was reached during a meeting in the capital Algiers on Monday night between Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel, his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry and Tunisian counterpart Khemaies Jhinaoui, over the recent political and security developments in Libya. The Algiers Declaration, issued after the tripartite meeting, highlighted "the need to create necessary conditions to accelerate the implementation of the Plan of Action" presented by the UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame. The UN Security Council also discussed the Libyan crisis on Monday, where Salame presented a briefing on the progress of the implementation of the UN roadmap to bring back peace to this North African country. Libya is preparing for several crucial ballots, including a referendum on a new constitution and parliamentary and presidential elections expected by the end of this year. The three foreign ministers also urged Libya's warring parties to "overcome the current political stalemate" in a way that "preserves Libya's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity." "The Libyan parties must assume their responsibilities and continue their engagement in good faith by establishing broad consensus that will pave the way for comprehensive national reconciliation," the declaration said. It warned that delays in settling the crisis would bring further escalation, widen internal conflicts and spread violence and terrorism. In his opening address, Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel expressed his country's conviction of "the unification of Libyan institutions, including the establishment of strong army and security services." Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed the need to "end the long-suffering of Libyan people by providing them all the support" for "sustainable peace, stability and prosperity." Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui highlighted the importance of avoiding the past mistakes in pushing forward the peace process in Libya. It is the fourth ministerial meeting on Libya. The three foreign ministers have held the first one in Algiers in June 2017, the second one in Cairo in November, and the third one in Tunis in December. The three ministers agreed to hold a fifth meeting in Cairo without providing a date. These meetings are part of the periodic consultation between the three countries to help neighboring Libya end the decade-long civil war. Since the fall of the former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, terrorist groups have become rampant in Libya over the lack of a unified army and security services. by Alex Osei-Boateng ACCRA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Ghanaian government on Tuesday reiterated its quest to rid the country's streets of hawkers and beggars. To that end, it launched an initiative dubbed "Operation Get off the Streets for a Better Life" aimed at reducing the phenomenon of people living on the streets. The main objective of the project is to provide a better alternative to street life and integrate people back into families and communities, said the minister of gender, children and social protection, Otiko Afisah Djaba. The target group includes hawkers, children beggars and those contracted to push disabled people in wheelchairs to ask for alms, persons with disabilities, families in the streets and displaced persons, the minister said. The five-year program is expected to get over 6,000 children off the streets across the country. So far, about 4,098 children have been registered under the scheme. Addressing the media in Accra, Djaba appealed to corporate organizations to support the government's initiative to get children off the streets. "If your child is on the streets, parent, please look for that child; child, if you have run away from home, go back home; the streets are not safe," Djaba said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 02:10:18|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close U.S. President Donald Trump (2nd L) welcomes visiting President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Moon Jae-in (3rd L) at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on May 22, 2018. (Xinhua/Yang Chenglin) WASHINGTON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his scheduled meeting with the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un may be delayed. "It may not work out for June 12," Trump told reporters at the White House during his meeting with visiting President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Moon Jae-in, referring to the date of his planned meeting with Kim. The DPRK warned last week that Pyongyang would have to reconsider whether to attend the Singapore meeting if the United States "only wants to press the DPRK to abandon its nuclear arsenal." Pyongyang suspended inter-Korean talks last Wednesday to protest a large-scale U.S.-ROK air drill, and urged the ROK to stop its joint military drills with the United States. Both the White House and the U.S. State Department said last week that they will continue to prepare for the meeting between President Trump and the DPRK's top leader Kim. LISBON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A boat containing 1,800 kg of hashish has been seized off Portugal's southern coast, the Judicial Police (PJ) announced on Tuesday. The police intercepted a motorboat containing 60 bundles of the drug in an estuary outside Tavira, a town 300 km south of Lisbon, near the Spanish border. The bundles were being transferred onto a speedboat, having been brought in on the larger boat from Morocco. Three men were arrested, aged 36, 48 and 68 respectively. The bust was a joint operation involving the PJ, the Portuguese Air Force, the Coastal Patrol division of the National Republican Guard (GNR) and the Maritime Police. The hashish haul represented a second success for the GNR, which also announced on Tuesday that it had broken up a black market cigarette racket after a four-month investigation. The GNR swooped on three secret cigarette-manufacturing factories in Evora, a city 130 km south of Lisbon. Officers apprehended 122,274 cigarettes and 112 kilos of fine-cut tobacco, while making four preliminary arrests. The illegal operation is thought to have cost the Portuguese tax authorities 1 million euros in lost customs revenue. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 02:30:23|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Murad Abdu ADEN, Yemen, May 22 (Xinhua) -- As Yemen marked the Day of National Unity on Tuesday, unity was absent as the country remains divided between the rebel-held north and the south controlled by the internationally-backed Yemeni government. This year marked the 28th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Yemen in 1990, when former South Yemen state and North Yemen merged peacefully. Ironically, there were no celebrations to mark the Unity Day in the south, where Yemenis are divided on the issue of reuniting with the north. Some of them believe that the separation would bring about stability and security, while others hold that a unified federal state is the only solution to the current civil war. Most government institutions, including the pro-government military forces, in Yemen's southern port city of Aden were not allowed to organize parades to celebrate the Unity Day publicly this year. It was feared that such pro-unity celebrations in Aden would lead to armed confrontations with the forces loyal to the pro-secession Southern Transitional Council (STC) . Ahmed AlSaleh, a politician and analyst, told Xinhua that "the southern people consider the unity day as a pessimistic and catastrophic anniversary and it has been treated like this since 2007 across the southern provinces." "The southern people, particularly the workers, show strong refusal to get a day off on this occasion despite the government's announcement to make this day as a holiday," AlSaleh said. "Southerners will never accept any upcoming solutions or political projects that will include unity with the northern part, even in a federal state," AlSaleh said. In the past, the president of Yemen used to give a televised speech and attend a military parade in the country's capital Sanaa, now controlled by the Houthi rebels, to celebrate the Unity Day. However, during the past three years, there were no celebrations, after the Houthis took over Sanaa in 2014. The Yemeni government with international support is seeking to establish a new federal Yemen to keep the country unified. In a statement addressing the Yemeni people from Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday, the eve of Unity Day, Yemeni President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said "maintaining the unity will be through the proposal of a Federal Civil State that can produce equal citizenship, partnership in power and wealth." He said the new proposal would ensure "a safe and prosperous future" for all Yemenis in the north and south. But in the eyes of Majed Aldairy, a Yemeni political analyst and journalist in Aden, the dream of southerners to achieve reunification with the north was already dead in the early stages. "Southern people are just waiting for the end of this war and then they will have the right to decide the fate of their regions under the supervision of the international community," Aldairy told Xinhua. In May 2017, Aidarous Zubaidi, former governor of Aden, declared the formation of the STC that represents and administers the south of the country. The STC consists of 26 southern senior tribal, military and political leaders, but the Yemeni government headed by Hadi rejected the council at that time, citing that it seeks the secession of southern Yemen. Yasin AlTamimi, a political writer and expert, told Xinhua that there is an undeniable division among the political factions in the country as a result of the intervention of regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, allegedly backed by Iran, Saudi Arabia's top rival in the region. AlTamimi noted that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a member of the Saudi-led coalition, supports the anti-unity STC that prevented the Unity Day ceremonies in Aden last year. On the other side, many southerners started to think differently as their desire for separation from the north has decreased sharply, said Abdul-Raqeeb AlHidyani, a political analyst and writer. "Nowadays many people in southern Yemen do not see the separation as the key solution that will bring stability and security to their region like the situation in the past," AlHidyani told Xinhua. "Southern people had painful experiments with the ruling of pro-secession leaders in Aden and neighboring provinces in recent years. Daily assassinations and killings occur in areas controlled by the separatist leaders," he said. "Establishing a more federal state in Yemen will be the only way to ensure safety of the citizens in the southern and northern provinces of the country. Any other political projects will definitely face failure," he asserted. Yemen has been locked in a civil war after the Houthi rebels seized all northern provinces including Sanaa in late 2014. Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition since March 2015 to support the government of Hadi after the Houthis forced him into exile. The war has killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, half of them civilians, and displaced over 3 million others, according to UN humanitarian agencies. BERLIN, May 22 (Xinhua) -- German farmers are increasingly suffering from a shortage of seasonal workers who traditionally come from eastern Europe during harvest periods, the German Association of Agricultural Employers (GLFA) warned on Tuesday. GLFA president Burkhard Moeller told press that strong economic growth in countries like Romania and Poland also meant that fewer people were attracted by the prospect of short-term jobs in German agriculture. "Looking forward, we see problems," Moeller said. In 2016, a total of 286,000 seasonal migrants came to Germany to assist farmers during the harvest of popular consumer crops such as strawberries, asparagus and grapes. In order to prevent resulting logistical bottlenecks from posing a threat to agricultural production the future, the GLFA demanded easier access to seasonal labor in the war-torn country of Ukraine. Unlike Romania and Poland, Ukraine is neither a member of the European Union (EU) nor the Schengen free travel zone. As a consequence, Germany would have to sign a formal agreement on a bilateral economic partnership with Ukraine in order to open up its agricultural labor market to local citizens. Responding to the GLFA's suggestion on Tuesday, the German ministry for agriculture noted that in the past there had been a sufficient supply of seasonal labor from other EU member states. The ministry confirmed, however, that there were growing signs that better economic conditions in Eastern European were reducing the flow of harvest workers to Germany. The ministry highlighted that a pilot project was already underway which enabled farmers to hire harvesting workers from the Western Balkans until the year 2020. If the model proved successful, Ukraine could be another "possible partner" in similar agreements with non-EU countries. Moeller predicted that, the number of seasonal workers in 2018 could fall slightly below the level witnessed in Germany during previous years. Aside from a lack of interest on behalf of Romanian and Polish migrants, this trend also owed to a newly-introduced minimum wage in agriculture which was leading farmers to mechanize a greater share of their operations. BERLIN, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chief Public Prosecution Office of Schleswig-Holstein is calling for the extradition of ex-Catalan governor Carles Puigdemont to Spain, the prosecutors told press on Tuesday. The office said that it was in the process of preparing a legal request to the Schleswig-Holstein Higher Regional Court (OLG) to transfer Puigdemont from Germany to Spain where he has been charged with "rebellion" and "embezzlement." Spanish judicial authorities accused Puigdemont of having illegally held a referendum on Catalan independence last October, as well as misappropriating 1.5 million euros (1.8 million U.S. dollars) in public funds to organize the vote. In order to escape prosecution, the former governor of Catalonia first fled to Brussels before being temporarily arrested by German police in Schleswig- Holstein when entering the state from Denmark. In a first ruling, the state's OLG ruled that extradition on the grounds of "rebellion" was not permissible due to the lack of a "violent element" in the suspect's behavior and released Puigdemont on bail from police custody. Spanish politicians expressed regret at the decision but said that Madrid would respect the lawful verdict. State prosecutors from Spain subsequently held a high-level meeting with their German counterparts in the Dutch city of Den Haag. On the basis of information received from Spain, the Schleswig-Holstein state prosecution office is now arguing that Puigdemont can be charged with "rebellion" in Germany. Video material supplied by Spain of violent rioting with police had demonstrated that Puigdemont's actions were tantamount to an equivalent offense of "high treason" in German law. Responding to the news on Tuesday, the Schleswig-Holstein OLG noted, however, that it had not yet received a corresponding request from local state prosecutors and could therefore not estimate when it would reach a conclusive decision in the case. Additionally, the court rejected a request to imprison Puigdemont again due to a "heightened flight risk." Puigdemont is currently based in Berlin where he must report his whereabouts to police on a weekly basis. Although the ex-governor is free to move around in the country as he wishes, he cannot leave German sovereign territory while a judicial assessment of whether he can be charged and hence extradited is still ongoing. The attorneys representing the ex-governor have announced that they will appeal to the German Federal Constitutional Court if necessary in order to prevent the extradition of their client to Spain. MAPUTO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A Mozambican researcher said social exclusion is a main reason behind the sporadic armed attacks led by a group of self-proclaimed Islamists in the northern province of Cabo Delgado since last October. The announcement was made on Tuesday in Maputo by political commentator and researcher Joao Pereira during the launch of a research report entitled "Islamic radicalization in northern Mozambique: the case of Mocimboa da Praia". "According to our field research, we found that the young people who formed the group feel socially excluded, they feel excluded from the country's policies," Pereira told the press. Pereira said young people joining the group feel like having a new family with whom they can challenge the authorities. He said the group has several units in various parts of Africa, including Cabo Delgado of Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Somalia and there are spiritual leaders from the three foreign countries to train the members of the unit in Mozambique. "Internally, armed youths were trained by the ex-agents of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique, who were expelled from the corporation and border guards," he said. According to the report, the group does not have a clear manifesto or message, but everything indicates that Islam is not being followed properly and the money to finance its activities comes from illicit sources. "They prohibit the formal education of children and replace it with a Quranic education, and change the attitudes of women towards clothing," says the report. "Since they are in areas rich in mineral resources, they smuggle wood, ivory and rubies," said Pereira, adding that they also receive donations from inside and outside the country. Earlier this month, more than 200 suspects related to the armed group have been charged by the provincial prosecutor of Cabo Delgado. ROME, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Italy's gross domestic product (GDP) would grow by 1.4 percent in real terms in 2018, the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) stated on Tuesday. In 2017, the third-largest economy in the euro-zone grew by 1.5 percent. According to ISTAT, domestic demand would contribute 1.5 percentage points to the GDP this year, slightly counterbalanced by a 0.1 percentage point decrease in inventories. The final household consumption expenditure was expected to rise by 1.2 percent, thanks to a positive dynamic of wages. Italian exports would rise by 4.3 percent, and imports by 4.7 percent, while investments were expected to reinforce their recovery up to a 4.0 percent increase in 2018, on condition that favorable financial credit conditions persist along the year, it said. As for the labor market, the statistical agency forecast a moderate increasing path over the period. Employment was expected to rise by 0.8 percent, and the unemployment rate -- at 11.0 percent in March -- to drop slightly at 10.8 percent by the end of the year. "These projections take into account the more favorable international framework, and the fiscal benefits to firms established by the (Italian government's) Industrial 4.0 Plan," ISTAT said in a report. Italian economic think tank Prometeia shared ISTAT's moderately positive annual outlook. "We do not see specific elements of uncertainty for 2018, unless unexpected drastic events undermine the expectations of households and firms, thus compromising their consumption and investment plans," Prometeia head of economic analysis and forecasting Stefania Tomasini told Xinhua. In a report released last week, the think tank forecast a 1.3 percent rise in domestic consumption in 2018, lower than 1.4 percent registered in 2017, yet slightly more than the 1.2 percent predicted by ISTAT. "We expect final household consumption expenditure to keep rising, although at a bit slower pace than in the last few years," Tomasini confirmed. The recent introduction of the Income for Inclusion (REI) -- an anti-poverty measure passed in 2017 -- would contribute to support household incomes, according to the analyst. Furthermore, the funds necessary to renew some collective contracts in the public sector have already been allocated in the 2018 budget plan. "As such, although less strongly, we still expect the public sector to contribute to the formation of disposable income this year," Tomasini explained. In its spring 2018 forecast, the European Union (EU) Commission said Italy's GDP would expand by 1.5 percent in real terms, while eurozone and EU-27 (except UK) would grow by 2.3 percent and 2.6 percent respectively. People stand beside at the site of the attacks in west of the city of Nasriyah, in Iraq's southern province of Dhi Qar, Sept. 14, 2017. (Xinhua Photo) UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that more than 128 million around the world need immediate humanitarian aid and this staggering figure is mainly driven by conflict. In a statement to the security council convened for the protection of civilians in armed conflicts, Guterres shared alarming figures on the issue. "Last year, the United Nations recorded the death and injury of more than 26,000 civilians in just six countries affected by conflict: Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Somalia, and Yemen," he said. "Ten thousand of these were in Afghanistan." The UN chief noted civilians in conflict zones are also subject to horrific violations of human rights, including rape and other sexual violence. He took the Democratic Republic of Congo for example, saying the UN documented more than 800 cases of conflict-related sexual violence last year -- a 56 percent increase on 2016. In regard to refugees and internally displaced persons, Guterres said conflicts continue to force millions of people to flee their homes for an uncertain future, revealing that at the end of 2016, 65.6 million people were uprooted by war, violence and persecution. The UN chief went on to point out that bombing and shelling of towns and cities killed and injured tens of thousands of civilians every year. Policemen gather in front of the police station that was targeted by suicide bombings in Midan neighborhood in Damascus, capital of Syria, on Oct. 2, 2017. At least 15 people were killed in the bombings. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani) As for Syria, he said, attacks reportedly killed and injured significant numbers of civilians in Aleppo, Dayr al-Zawr, Homs, Idlib, Raqqah and Rif Dimashq, destroying essential infrastructure, schools and hospitals. On infrastructure destruction, Guterres elaborated on the attacks targeting medical facilities as well as humanitarian and health workers. "In 2017, the World Health Organization recorded 322 attacks resulting in 242 deaths among medical personnel and patients." Guterres also lamented the impediment of the accessibility of medical supplies and health care, citing looting of convoys as well as threats and bureaucracy on part of conflict parties. On conflicts' impact on global food security, the UN chief noted ten of the 13 major food crises in 2017 were conflict-driven. He took Yemen for example, saying "nearly 3 million women and children are acutely malnourished and more than 8 million people do not know where their next meal is coming from." Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev at a joint press conference following their talks in Sochi, Russia on May 22, 2018. (KREMLIN PHOTO) MOSCOW, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Tuesday agreed to strengthen ties between the two countries by enhancing trade and economic cooperation, the Kremlin said. The two heads of state discussed the common Slavic origins and bilateral relations as well as possibilities of deepening cooperation as they met at Putin's summer residence in the Russian city of Sochi, according to a Kremlin statement. "Bilateral trade increased last year, which is good news. But our potential is larger than what we have been doing so far and what we have achieved," Putin said. The president said he would continue the discussion on bilateral economic cooperation with Bulgarian prime minister during his visit to Moscow in a few days. Echoing Putin's remarks, Radev made a strategic review of bilateral relations and called for realizing the need for practical action. He said that the goal of his visit is to try to resume the long-suspended top-level dialogue between Russia and Bulgaria, which is "of crucial significance in all spheres of mutual interest." "We have many common interests in trade, the economy, education and culture, as you have said. I hope today we will hold an open and in-depth dialogue that will encourage our governments to keep working towards this," Radev said. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who also attended the meeting in Sochi, said Tuesday that Russia is ready to consider joint gas projects with Bulgaria against guarantees of the Bulgarian government and the European Commission, Tass news agency reported. In addition, the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom Alexey Likhachev reportedly said Tuesday that the company is planning to participate in a tender on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Bulgaria. This year marks the 140th anniversary of Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottoman rule, a major landmark in both Russia and Bulgaria's history. The two countries will also celebrate the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture on May 24. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 05:15:54|Editor: yan Video Player Close NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. oil price decreased on Tuesday after rallying to the highest level in over three years in the earlier session. The West Texas Intermediate(WTI) for June delivery decreased 0.11 U.S. dollar to settle at 72.13 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery was up 0.35 dollar to close at 79.57 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. WTI crude futures went down slightly in late trading after hitting 72.83 dollars a barrel, its highest since November 2014, as geopolitical worries continued to support the market. Geopolitical concerns that U.S. sanctions on Iran could reduce the country's crude supplies have led oil prices to surge in recent weeks. The market is now weighing the possibility of additional U.S. sanctions on Venezuela following the country's presidential election. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday secured a second six-year term in the election. The United States is actively considering oil sanctions the South African country, where output has dropped by a third in two years to its lowest in decades. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 05:20:55|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Bolivian ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday expressed the hope that the Security Council would be able to adopt a resolution on the international protection of Palestinian civilians. After the latest round of violence in Gaza between Palestinians and Israeli security forces that left at least 60 people dead, Kuwait circulated a Security Council draft resolution, which would provide for the deployment of "an international protection mission" for Palestinian civilians. "We fully back the Kuwaiti proposal. We believe it's timely for the international community to uphold its responsibility in terms of protecting Palestinians," Sacha Llortenti, the Bolivian ambassador, told reporters. "We hope that sooner than later we will have the draft on the floor to be voted on." However, it is widely believed that the United States, an ally of Israel, will veto the draft should it proceed to a vote. BRUSSELS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU)'s offer of greater market access for U.S.industrial products, including cars etc. seems "not enough" to protect the EU from being imposing steel and aluminum tariffs by the United States, said EU's trade chief on Tuesday. EU leaders last week in Sofia agreed on four areas the bloc was willing to discuss, including easier access for industrial products including cars, government tenders, energy, notably liquefied natural gas and reform of the World Trade Organization, but only if the exemption is made permanent. "If we are exempted totally and no tariffs, which is the right thing to do. Then we are willing to engage in talks and see how we can facilitate trade relations," EU Trade Commissioner Cecelia Malmstrom told reporters before a meeting of EU ministers to discuss trade. "I think they don't think it's enough," she said. U.S. President Donald Trump decided in March to impose a 25-percent tariff on imported steel and 10-percent on aluminum due to "national security" issue and had granted EU an exemption until June 1. "We have pointed out that we are not negotiating anything under threat but we are willing to engage in positive agenda if we were excluded from these measures," Malmstrom told a news conference after the the meeting. "There have been signals from the U.S. that the exemptions will not be prolonged, so either they will be imposed on us on June 1 or there will be other sorts of limiting measures," she said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 05:30:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that the most effective way to protect civilians is to prevent conflicts and to end them, while sharing some alarming humanitarian figures with the Security Council. Speaking to the Security Council's debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts, Guterres reiterated that conflict prevention, resolution and peace building are, and will remain, the highest priories for the whole UN system. He noted that although the global situation is bleak, with many regions suffering from displacement, food insecurity, and human rights violations due to conflict, there are some reasons for hope. "This includes the growing recognition by many governments that respect for international humanitarian law and human rights law contributes to reducing conflict and countering terrorism," he said. He called on member states to develop national policies to protect civilians in conflict and ensure accountability for serious violations against them. Avoiding civilian casualties and providing unhindered access to humanitarian assistance are essential to avoid a cycle of instability and resentment, and make lasting peace and reconciliation possible, he added. Guterres told the Security Council that more than 128 million around the world need immediate humanitarian aid and that this staggering figure is mainly driven by conflict. The UN chief also addressed the destruction of infrastructure, inaccessibility to health care, and food insecurity suffered by civilians in conflict zones. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 05:30:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and other relief organizations are trying to mitigate the effects of monsoon rains on more than 1 million Rohingya in Bangladesh refugee camps - up to 200,000 of them at risk of flooding and landslides, the UN chief's spokesman said Tuesday. Stephane Dujarric told reporters, "The latest reporting ... indicates that more than 7,000 people were affected by storms or landslides in the week of May 7-14 alone, at the start of the monsoon season." The annual rainy season typically dumps 2.5 meters on the Cox's Bazar district in southernmost Bangladesh across the border from Myanmar's Rakhine State, he said. "As a result, 150,000-200,000 refugees and 883 community facilities are at risk from flooding and landslides during the monsoon season, including 25,000 refugees at critical risk." The sprawling and hilly Kutupalong and Balukhali sites in Cox's Bazar hold the bulk of the more than 1 million refugees in Bangladesh the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has counted. The agency said more than 670,000 of them fled killings and rape since Aug. 25 when Rohingya militants allegedly staged deadly attacks on government security posts in northern Rakhine State. Alleged fierce retaliation at the hands of government and civilian militias prompted the Muslim ethnic minority Rohingya to flee burning homes and villages into neighboring Bangladesh. The UN agency said that while it recognizes the experience Bangladesh has developed in dealing with monsoons annually, "the present situation in the camps is unique in scope and volume." The international humanitarian community is working to support and protect the refugee communities most at risk, Geneva-based UNHCR has said. It is seeking more flat land on the Bangladesh mainland to temporarily relocate the refugees because the lack of sufficient safe space for at-risk refugees, and the lack of safe shelters limit risk mitigation possibilities. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 05:46:01|Editor: yan Video Player Close HAVANA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Cuba has achieved the landmark of 2 million international visitors in 2018, the Ministry of Tourism announced Tuesday. "We received 2 million international visitors, despite the impact left by Hurricane Irma and the strengthening of the U.S. economic blockade, and especially the campaigns and measures aimed at hindering the trips by U.S. citizens to our country," said the official statement. According to the ministry, this number of foreign visitors shows the confidence and recognition of tour operators, travel agencies, airlines and tourists in Cuba's tourism market as well as the security in the Caribbean nation. Canada and the European Union continue to be the main sources of foreign travelers, although the ministry hailed increases in arrivals from Russia, Mexico, Argentina, China and Brazil. Cuba's potential to continue growing in tourism was highlighted by Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero in the recently concluded International Tourism Fair "FITCuba 2018." The nation welcomed 4.7 million tourists in 2017 but is hoping to break the record of 5 million visitors in 2018. Tourism is Cuba's second source of revenue behind medical services. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 05:51:02|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Bolivian ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday expressed the hope that the Security Council would be able to adopt a resolution on the international protection of Palestinian civilians. After the latest round of violence in Gaza between Palestinians and Israeli security forces that left at least 60 people dead, Kuwait circulated a Security Council draft resolution, which would provide for the deployment of "an international protection mission" for Palestinian civilians. "We fully back the Kuwaiti proposal. We believe it's timely for the international community to uphold its responsibility in terms of protecting Palestinians," Sacha Llortenti, the Bolivian ambassador, told reporters. "We hope that sooner than later we will have the draft on the floor to be voted on." However, it is widely believed that the United States, an ally of Israel, will veto the draft should it proceed to a vote. The United States, as a permanent member of the Security Council, has veto power. On May 14, the United States blocked a Kuwaiti-drafted Security Council statement that would have expressed outrage at the killing of Palestinians and called for an independent investigation. At an emergency Security Council meeting on the following day, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, blamed Hamas, which controls Gaza, for the violence. Haley on Friday called the UN Human Rights Council's decision to launch an investigation of Israel's use of force in Gaza "shameful." "At a time when Venezuela lurches toward dictatorship, Iran imprisons thousands of political opponents, and ethnic cleansing has taken place in Burma, the UN's so-called Human Rights Council has decided to launch an investigation into a democratic country's legitimate defense of its own border against terrorist attacks. It is another shameful day for human rights," Haley said in a statement. Asked what he expected from the U.S. delegation on the Kuwaiti draft, Llorenti said: "We expect from any member state to uphold international law, to comply with resolutions of the Security Council. But it seems that they (Americans) believe they are above international law." Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 06:11:06|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Delegates attend an event titled "Country-led and country-owned efforts on malaria elimination to achieving universal health coverage" at Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2018. China is on the verge of eliminating malaria, Vice Minister of China's National Health Commission Cui Li told a side-gathering Tuesday during the World Health Assembly (WHA) at which Beijing was praised for its efforts in helping other county's fight the lethal disease. (Xinhua/Alain Grosclaude) GENEVA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China is on the verge of eliminating malaria, a senior Chinese health official told a side-gathering Tuesday during the World Health Assembly (WHA) at which Beijing was praised for its efforts in helping other county's fight the lethal disease. Cui Li, vice minister of China's National Health Commission, on Tuesday addressed an event titled "Country-led and country-owned efforts on malaria elimination to achieving universal health coverage" at Geneva's Palais des Nations during the annual WHA. "In 2017, for the first time, zero indigenous cases were reported in China, thus the efforts have had a significant impact on the country's elimination roadmap," said Cui at the event that was co-sponsored by China. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked China for its sponsorship role along with Myanmar and Sri Lanka and praised China for what is doing to fund the fight against malaria. Tedros said that since the year 2000, good progress had been made, but "we are at the crossroads," while noting that the fight against malaria needs to be sustained. "We have more than 200 million cases of malaria a year and more than 90 percent of them are in Africa, so the focus on Africa is important," said Tedros, an Ethiopian who had specialized in malaria before taking the helm of the WHO last year. Chinese officials has explained that in the case of China, to fulfill and assess the elimination process and achieve the goal of certification by the World Health Organization, China has adopted the county, prefecture, and sub-national verification since 2012. Cui said that the Ministry of Health in China jointly with 12 ministries issued its National Malaria Elimination Action Plan 2010-2020 in June 2010, to kick off the country's campaign to eradicate the disease. She said the overall goals of the malaria elimination campaign in China were set to achieve complete elimination in the country by 2020. Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-23 06:26:08|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Syrian soldiers walk in the largely destroyed Hajar al-Aswad district, south of Damascus, Syria, on May 22, 2018, a day 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 the war in the Syrian capital. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani) DAMASCUS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Islamic State (IS) militants resorted to suicide bombings at the last stage of Syrian Army's final battles to liberate IS strongholds in south of Syrian capital Damascus. The battles in the districts of Hajar al-Aswad and the nearby Yarmouk Camp, as well as the pockets in the surroundings, were inevitable, as they were the last IS militant-held areas in southern Damascus. "The militants entered Hajar al-Aswad in 2013 and remained there until 2018 when a decision was made to eliminate them from Hajar al-Aswad and the Yarmouk Camp as well as (parts of) Tadamun," a Syrian soldier told Xinhua. The soldier, who asked not to be named under regulations, said that the campaign against IS advanced quickly in southern Damascus earlier this month, but it slowed down in the last stage as IS militants resorted to suicide bombings after losing arms supplies. "We eventually succeeded in liberating these areas from the terrorists and the Syrian flag is raised," he said. The fighter said the battles were difficult due to the urban nature of the Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmouk Camp areas. "In some areas such as Tadamun, Yarmouk and Hajar al-Aswad, there is a density of buildings and there no roads are big enough for the military vehicles and tanks to storm through easily," he said. He added that some of the buildings in the areas were linked with one another through underground tunnels which were booby-trapped by the IS militants. A day following the Syrian military declared the liberation of the areas, Syrian law enforcement forces on Tuesday entered the formerly IS-held districts and raised the Syrian flags over the police stations there. A police captain, who only wanted to be identified as a police officer, helped his comrades settling in at a largely destroyed police department in Hajar al-Aswad area. He told Xinhua that even though the area is largely destroyed, but "it's our duty to be here and make sure the area is secure." The Syrian army on Monday declared the capital Damascus safe and empty of rebels, making the entire capital safe for the first time in seven years. This victory is regarded as a major achievement for the Syrian army and allied fighters. In Hajar al-Aswad, military tanks and Syrian soldiers were seen on streets. In some ravaged corners, soldiers sat down for a rest or enjoy a cup of tea after the month-long battles in the area. It is expected that the civilians who fled the war will return to their homes to check what could or could not be fixed. The Yarmouk Camp was largely populated by Palestinian refugees, whose ancestors fled to Syria following the 1948 establishment of Israel, and was considered by Palestinians as the capital of their diaspora as it has a symbolic significance. The people in the capital started breathing a sigh of relief after it is back under government's full control following military victories in the eastern and northern countryside over the past two months. The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) opened its new offices in New York. NBH deputy head Marton Nagy opened the event, following a welcome from Ferenc Kumin, the consul general of Hungary. The programme included presentations by Senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York B. Gerard Dages, NBH Chief Economist Daniel Palotai, and Goldman Sachs Director Kevin Daly. The office will focus on liaising with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, US financial regulatory authorities, and economic and financial organisations based in New York and the surrounding area, the NBH said. The NBH also intends to broaden academic and research partnerships with high ranked American universities to facilitate researcher exchange programmes and specialised training opportunities to support the professional work of its staff, the central bank added. The office has a staff of three at present. Almost 20 central banks have representative offices in New York with a combined staff of about 100. This community of central banks has recently formed a platform for cooperation led by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to share knowledge on relevant issues through conferences and round table talks. The NBH said it plans to play an active role in this community. The NBH has opened offices in Hamburg, Paris and Rome in recent years. Follow us on Social Use #UDAW in your social posts to show us how youre celebrating Alumni Weekend this year! 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... NEW DELHI: Following a protest by doctors and interns of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhopal, Dr Sarman Singh has been appointed as the permanent director of AIIMS Bhopal on Tuesday. Singh is at present professor and head of clinical microbiology and molecular medicine in the AIIMS New Delhi. According to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry, Singh's appointment has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. He will be serving as the director of AIIMS Bhopal till November 8, 2021, the date of attaining 65 years of age, the order said. The move comes as two medical students - Dr Sant Guru Prasad and Chandan Kumar Aryan - of the AIIMS Bhopal had embarked on a foot march on May 3 to protest the vacancy of the top post there. The doctors and interns who had followed suit claimed that unavailability of a permanent director has also affected the curriculum and has resulted in inadequate redressal of the demands of the students. The institute is functioning without a director since 2015. In May 2015, Dr Sandip Kumar had left the institution over purchase anomalies. Ever since AIIMS Bhopal has been operating without a director even in a situation when the day to day proceedings also rest on a nod from the chief. Dr VK Sharma had been appointed by the central government as the director in 2016 but he has refused to join. Sant Guru Prasad, former president of the AIIMS Students Union, Bhopal and fellow medical student Chandan Aryan reached Mathura. "The appointment of the director is a big relief for us and scores of other students. We have been demanding that the post of director and other vacancies in Bhopal AIIMS are filled up at the earliest. We will meet concerned authorities in Delhi in some time to press for our other demands," Prasad told PTI. He alleged that the absence of a full-time director was hampering the progress of the institute as those appointed on a temporary basis avoided taking decisions due to the fear of stoking a controversy. Prasad, a resident of Nalanda in Bihar, said besides the director, the institute had 135 faculty members against a sanctioned strength of 305. "Out of a total strength of 700 senior residents, just 130 are working at the AIIMS, Bhopal. Only 403 out of 960 beds are operational, which comes to around 40 per cent," he claimed. The acting director of the institute, Nitin M Nagarkar, however, denied the charges levelled by Prasad and said that a section of students who had supplementaries in some subjects were behind the protest. A supplementary exam is a form of further assessment offered to students who have not satisfied the passing criteria set by the educational institution for a particular course. Prasad had called Nagarkar's accusations as "totally untrue". AIIMS Bhopal is one of the seven AIIMS apex healthcare institutes being established by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna. These institutions are being established by an Act of Parliament on the lines of the AIIMS in New Delhi. (With inputs from PTI) New Delhi: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, who is currently shooting for the film 'Zero', was caught in a candid moment with director Aanand L Rai and other team members. Celebrity manager Pooja Dadlani a shared a collage of two candid clicks of Khan from the sets of 'Zero'. In the photos, Shah Rukh and Aanand are seen engaged in a deep conversation. Pooja captioned the photo as, "We can chat absolutely anywhere! Love these candid conversations... #zero". Earlier today, filmmaker Aanand too shared a photo from the set of the film in which he was seen posing with actor R Madhavan. "It's #3YearsOfTanuWedsManuReturns and feel so happy to shoot with My Maddy our Manu in US for #zero #friendsforever @cypplOfficial," he wrote. It's #3YearsOfTanuWedsManuReturns and feel so happy to shoot with My Maddy our Manu in US for #zero #friendsforever @cypplOfficial pic.twitter.com/O1q5bJwXcW AANAND L RAI (@aanandlrai) May 22, 2018 It is to be noted that Aanand and Madhavan had teamed together in 'Tanu Weds Manu' and 'Tanu Weds Manu: Returns'. Earlier in an interview with IANS, Anand had said about Shah Rukh, "I am fascinated to see how a man with 25 years of a career, with so much success, fame, so many blockbusters, can still have childlike energy. He did not burn out. He is the most obedient actor I have seen ever in my life. His energy on set is like a young boy doing his first film. I want to say that he is the best newcomer a director will get on the set... In fact, that is something I am trying to learn from him." "Physically the shoot was very exhausting but the whole team had a great time working towards it because of the fact that I worked with a bunch of enthusiastic actors, and Khan Saab is one of them. He surprises me to an extent that at times it scares me to think whether as a director I am able to match up to his level of talent. He is an extraordinary man, not just as an actor but also as a human," he had added. The film also stars Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif in the lead. 'Zero' is slated to release on December 21 this year. Vadodara: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday said it will not allow screening of Salman Khan Films' upcoming movie 'Loveratri' as its name distorts the meaning of a Hindu festival. "We will not allow its exhibition in cinema halls in the country. We don't want the sentiments of Hindus to be hurt," VHP's international working president Alok Kumar said. Speaking to reporters here, Kumar said, "The film is set against the backdrop of Navratri, a Hindu festival, and the name distorts its meaning." Navratri is a nine-night festival for worship of nine avatars of Goddess Durga. The festival is marked with revelry across various parts of the country and is particularly famous in Gujarat. 'Loveratri', which is said to have a backdrop of Gujarat, is slated to be released on October 5 this year, around the same time when Navaratri would be celebrated. A number of movies in the past have faced opposition from VHP and other organisations over one or the other issue and some of them had to go for a new name, besides other changes. Deepika Padukone-starrer Padmavati had to change its name to Padmaavat. Superstar Salman Khan is launching his brother-in-law Aayush Sharma in his home production 'Loveratri'. The 52-year-old star took to Twitter in December last year to make the announcement of the project, which will be the fifth film under his banner, Salman Khan Films. The movie is being helmed by debutant director Abhiraj Minawala, who has served as assistant director on films such as Salman's 'Sultan' and Shah Rukh Khan's 'Fan'. The film will have another debutant Warina opposite Aayush, who is is married to Salman's sister Arpita Khan. Speaking to reporters during his maiden visit to the city after being elected as VHP's international working president last month, Kumar said the VHP has been working on several issues since 1964, such as social harmony, establishing family values, Ram temple and all of them continue to be relevant. "Priorities might have changed. Right now, our priority is to work towards social harmony. We are pained how the situation is being exploited by certain groups," he said. Kumar said VHP is a separate body and not affiliated to the BJP or any other political party. "But we are wedded to the idea of welfare for all communities irrespective of their caste and creed," he added. Kumar, who took over from Pravin Togadia, also said the exit of his predecessor will not affect the organisation. New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Tuesday issued notice to the resolution professional (RP) and Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Bhushan Steel over the plea filed by its operational creditor L&T. NCLAT also impleaded Tata Steel, whose bid for the debt ridden firm has been approved, as party over L&T plea seeking to recover Rs 900 crore. "Let notice be issued to CoC and RP. File their replies by May 28," said the NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya. The bench has directed that the matter be listed on May 30 for next hearing. It has also directed the engineering and construction major to file certified copy of NCLT order. On May 15, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had approved the resolution plan submitted by the RP of Bhushan Steel, which has found Tata Steel as the highest bidder. The CoC had approved Rs 32,500 crore deal along with 12.27 per cent equity in the company offered by Tata Steel. During the proceedings, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for L&T submittee that in the operational creditors are getting nothing from Rs 32,500 crore offer from Tata Steel. "Though RP admits our claims of Rs 500 crore but we woule get nothing," he said adding " Rs 32,500 crore would be swallowed by the banks." Earlier, on May 15, while approving Tata Steel bid, NCLT had dismissed the plea of L&T seeking higher priority in recovery of loan and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. New Delhi: Former Infosys chief executive Vishal Sikka, who quit in August last year after a protracted row with the company's founders, received Rs 12.92 crore remuneration for 2017-18. He had received Rs 16.01 crore in 2016-17, according to the company's annual report for last fiscal, ended March 31. Sikka had resigned as CEO and Managing Director effective August 18, 2017 and as Executive Vice Chairman effective August 24. According to the report, Sikka's remuneration for 2017-18 included "USD 0.25 million (approximately Rs 1.60 crore) and USD 0.21 million (About Rs 1.34 crore) as part of 90 days base pay in lieu of notice and variable pay, respectively for fiscal 2018 on account of resignation". Additionally, it said, "remuneration for fiscal 2018 includes Rs 6.78 crore on account of exercise of 70,772 RSUs (restricted stock options)". Salil Parekh, who joined Infosys in January this year as the CEO and Managing Director, received a remuneration of Rs 3.98 crore. Infosys Chief Operating Officer UB Pravin Rao saw his remuneration going up by 5 per cent to Rs 8.22 crore last fiscal, from Rs 7.80 crore in the previous year. While he had stepped into the interim role after Sikka's resignation as the company conducted the search process for the CEO role, Rao's salary had remained unchanged. CFO MD Ranganath saw a 68 per cent hike in remuneration for last fiscal to Rs 7.98 crore, from Rs 4.75 crore in 2016-17. Ravi Venkatesan, who quit Infosys Board earlier this month, had seen his remuneration increase by 38 per cent to Rs 1.43 crore. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw drew a remuneration of Rs 1 crore as director on Infosys Board. Nandan Nilekani, who was brought on Infosys Board on August 24, 2017, has voluntarily chosen not to receive any remuneration for his services rendered to the company. "We have gone through turbulence, but the resilience of the company has shone through and we are now in a very safe and stable place. The strategy refresh we undertook in the last six months has clearly outlined the way forward for us," Nilekani wrote in the report. He added that Infosys has a strong execution leadership team in place to steer the company towards its goals. Former General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer David Kennedy, who also quit last year, took home salary of Rs 7.75 crore, including a severance pay of Rs 6 crore. Mohit Joshi (President) saw his remuneration increase by 52 per cent to Rs 10.31 crore. Ravi Kumar S (President and Deputy COO) and Rajesh K Murthy (President) took home Rs 9.54 crore and Rs 9.58 crore respectively. New Delhi: The Delhi Minorities Commission on Tuesday issued a notice to the registrar of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) seeking to know the reason behind a varsity proposal to start a course on 'Islamic terrorism'. Taking suo motu cognisance of reports about the proposed course, the Commission has asked the registrar to explain on what basis the course on Islamic terror is being started by the university, said Zafarul Islam Khan, the commission's chairman. The JNU Academic Council "passed" a proposal to set up a Centre for National Security Studies under which there would be a course on "Islamic terrorism", said a professor who attended the meeting said last week. The DMC has asked the JNU administration to reply whether there is any concept paper or proposal to include a course on "Islamic Terror? in the proposed Centre for National Security Studies, and demanded a copy of it. "Has the current administration of the JNU considered the implications of introducing this subject in the campus on its students and on the broader society outside," the Commission has questioned. It has also sought details of the proposed course and areas covered by it, methodology, reference books and works to be followed, experts who will teach and undertake research on the subject. The commission has also asked the JNU to provide minutes of the Academic Council meeting and the list of members who attended it. The JNU administration has been asked to file its reply to these questions by June 5, Khan said. The proposed course has been opposed by sections of teachers and students at the JNU. "In a deeply problematic and shocking move, the JNU VC also allowed the tabling of a course/topic on 'Islamic terrorism' under the Centre for National Security Studies," JNU Students Union president Geeta Kumari had said. New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices continue their upwards journey amidst continuous calls for a cut in excise duty to ease the burden on consumers. Petrol price touched a record high of Rs 76.87 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of Rs 68.08 as the oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers. This is the ninth straight day of price increase since oil PSUs on May 14 resumed daily price revision after a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus. In all, petrol price has been raised by Rs 2.24 a litre and diesel by 2.15 in last one week. While the government is hoping that geopolitical tension would ease and US shale oil would help ease oil prices, it is not in favour of tinkering with the autonomy given to oil PSUs to revise rates daily in line with the cost. With consumer feeling the pinch of soaring fuel prices, some are fuming while others are venting out their emotions in the most satirical way. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter on the fuel price rise: Am thinking of all the bravehearts from Sr Bachchan to Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher to Chetan Bhagat, Ramdev to Sri Fraud who piled on to Dr Manmohan Singh for the petrol price hikes. But not a squeak against Modi. What happened to the black belts, big talk, and heroics? IndiaExplained (@IndiaExplained) May 21, 2018 #FuelPriceHike May your happiness increase like Petrol Price, May your sorrow fall like Indian Rupee, and May your joy fill your heart like corruption in India!!!#FuelPriceHike pic.twitter.com/L1lAy6Pjfr Pratik kaloji (@pratikkaloji) May 20, 2018 The Best troll Meme about Petrol and Diesel price hike in India. The poor Petroleum Companies were struggling to keep the price down before Karnataka election. ;) Via : @tittoantony pic.twitter.com/sEG7x48Hwq Advaid (@Advaidism) May 15, 2018 The central government levies Rs 19.48 a litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs 15.33 per litre on diesel. State sales tax or VAT vary from state to state. In Delhi, VAT on petrol is Rs 15.84 and Rs 9.68 a litre on diesel. State-owned oil companies in June 2017, dumped the 15-year old practice of revising rates on 1st and 16th of every month and instead adopted a dynamic daily price revision to instantly reflect changes in cost. New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the deaths of nine people in police firing during protests against the Sterlite copper plant in Tamil Nadu a "brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism". He also said people were murdered in Tuticorin for protesting against injustice. "The gunning down by the police of nine people in the Sterlite protest in Tamil Nadu is a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured," Rahul said on Twitter. The gunning down by the police of 9 people in the #SterliteProtest in Tamil Nadu, is a brutal example of state sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 22, 2018 Nine people were killed in police firing after protests for the closure of Vedanta group's Sterlite Copper plant over pollution concerns turned violent in Tuticorin. Chief Minister K Palaniswami confirmed reports about the death of nine people in "police action". He announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of the deceased and ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence. The CM also said in a statement that the protesters took out a procession towards the collectorate in defiance of the prohibitory orders clamped in the specific area in Tuticorin. Hon'ble CM-Press Release-Thoothukudi dt sterlite industry-violence-death-Date 22.05.2018 pic.twitter.com/ItkoFoMIZn Edappadi K Palaniswami (@CMOTamilNadu) May 22, 2018 The protests were going on in Tuticorin for over three months now, but violence erupted on Tuesday with agitators allegedly fighting pitched battles with police, prompting it to open fire. Hurling stones and setting government vehicles and public property on fire, the agitators went on the rampage in the town, about 600 km from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. Police said nearly 5000 protesters gathered near a local church and insisted on taking out a rally to the district collectorate after they were denied permission to march to the copper smelter plant. Initial pushing and shoving soon led to violent clashes, after agitated locals began hurling stones at police and overturned a vehicle. Security personnel used batons and burst teargas shells to break up the protest, PTI reported. Many were injured in stone-pelting by the agitators, who also set some vehicles on fire. Windscreens of some government cars were smashed and bank premises were attacked by the rampaging mobs. As the violence spiralled, police opened fire, killing nine people. #WATCH: Clash between Police & locals during the protest held in Tuticorin demanding ban on Sterlite Industries, in wake of the pollution created by them in #TamilNadu. pic.twitter.com/s5j2dH9J8o ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 DMK working president and Leader of Opposition, MK Stalin, slammed the "inhumane" firing on protestors. In a statement, he demanded an inquiry by a sitting high court judge, besides a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of each of those killed. The government committed a "Himalayan blunder" by handling the protest with "guns and teargas shells," he said, adding at least a minister accompanied by the district collector should have spoken to the agitators. Stalin called for the removal of state police chief TK Rajendiran. MDMK founder Vaiko likened the incident to the British era Jallianwala Bagh massacre, while the CPI(M)'s state unit demanded the chief minister's resignation. Opposition parties including PMK, DMDK, Congress, and the MNM slammed the violence and police action, while actor Rajinikanth, who is slated to launch his political party, held the government responsible for the deaths. Stalin and MNM founder Kamal Haasan demanded permanent closure of the plant. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: A 42-seater ATR aircraft landing may not attract much attention in most parts of the world but when the Alliance Airlines plane touched down at Pasighat, it was a historic moment for Arunachal Pradesh. Cut-off of sorts from the rest of the country due to scarce air connectivity, Monday's flight signalled the arrival of regular commercial flight operations - bringing the state and its people closer to the rest of the country. The aircraft, belonging to Alliance Airlines - a subsidiary of Air India, took off from Guwahati's Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport and completed an epic 1.5-hour journey to land at the Pasighat airport at around 1415 hours. It was epic because on board were not just Arunachal CM Pema Khandu, Deputy CM Chowna Mein, Assembly Speaker TN Thongdok and other cabinet ministers and legislators, but also dreams, hopes and aspirations of people of an entire state. "Today is a historic day and I congratulate the people of Arunachal in general and people of Pasighat in particular for this new milestone that would remain engraved in history as a huge step in the development of our state," Khandu told mediapersons. "With Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm and his concern in the sector of connectivity for the northeast has enabled us to fulfil a dream," he added. PM Modi's government has indeed played a leading role in helping smaller centres of the country come onto the aviation map. Launched in 2017, the NDA government's UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme has not just envisaged developing existing regional airports to make them bigger hubs but to also bring aviation to smaller towns across India and make it financially viable. Commercial flight to Pasighat, for example, would be thrice a week from Guwahati and while only Alliance Air would be operating initially, reports suggest Zoom Air and Turbo Jet too would have flight operations soon. Beyond just fulfilling dreams of people in the state, commercial flight operations here, many say, is also a daring statement to China that Arunachal Pradesh is indeed an integral part of India and no suggestions or manoeuvring contrary to it would be agreeable. In the past, China has issued maps showing Arunachal as its territory, protested PM Modi's visit here, threatened others from doing the same - including US diplomats, denied visa to sportspersons from the state and even issue stapled visas to people at large. While there are reports of rampant infrastructure development on the Chinese side, India too has ramped up development work and in Arunachal, has 120 helipads and 10 Advance Landing Ground (ALG) - Ziro, Pasighat, Aalo,Tuting, Mechuka, Vijaynagar, Walong, Tezu, Daporijo and Alinye. Whether commercial or military, better infrastructure in border states like Arunachal could work out to be in the advantage of people here and the country as a whole. The Goa health department has asked all hospitals to remain alert in the wake of reports of Nipah virus outbreak, which has claimed at least three lives in Kerala. Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that random checks are also being done on people coming to the state from Kerala. He said that this is being done in accordance with the directives of the central government. The Goa health department is constantly in touch with the Kerala government to ascertain the impact and spread of the rare and deadly Nipah virus. Instructions have also been given by the Goa health department to check passengers coming to the coastal state in trains from Kerala. All medical colleges and private hospitals have also been put on alert to tackle any possible case of Nipah virus. Authorities fear that the deadly virus can spread to Goa and Mumbai in the next few days. The outbreak of Nipah virus in Kerala has so far claimed three lives, while one person is undergoing treatment and eight are under observation. Considering the seriousness of the situation, the Centre on Monday rushed a high-level team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), including its director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh and Head of Epidemiology, Dr SK Jain. According to information available on World Health Organisation (WHO), India has in the past documented human-to-human transmission of the rare Nipah virus. The global health body says that the virus causes severe disease in both humans and animals. As per a report on WHO website, Nipah is a newly emerging virus, which gets transferred from animals to humans, and it causes severe disease in both animals as well as humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus. The virus first came to light in 1998 when a disease outbreak was reported from Kampung Sungai Nipah in Malaysia. As this suggests, the nomenclature of the disease also comes from the name of the place in Malaysia. There is no vaccine available for either humans or animals acquiring the rare virus. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care, says WHO. NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education is expected to release the CBSE Class 10th and Class 12th Board results by the end of May. Once declared, the students will be able to check their results on the board's official website -cbse.nic.in. 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 New Delhi: In a bid to provide a full range of convenience and support to the flyers, the Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha on Tuesday unveiled the Civil Aviation Citizen Charter forum (air passenger charter). The draft charter has been placed in the public domain for comments and will be available for comments for a period of one month. The charter talks about the facilities that will be provided to the fliers in certain cases like flight cancellation or delays of more than four hours, facilities for persons with disability and refund of airline tickets among others. In fact, the passengers will be compensated if the airline is at fault. The Citizen Charter Forum is one of the four elements of Air Sewa, which was launched to transform the passenger experience. The other three elements include DigiYatra, Air Sewa App (an app that was launched in November 2016) to deal with pax complaints and resolve it and Wi-Fi sewa or Connectivity to be provided in Flights. Major Highlights of the Citizen Passenger Charter Flight Cancellation: In case of flight cancellation, where the passenger is informed about the cancellation in less than two weeks before cancellation and up to 24 hours of scheduled departure, the airline will have to offer an alternate flight that allows the passenger to depart within two hours from the booked scheduled departure time or refund the ticket, whichever is the accepted by the passenger. Flight Delays: In case of delays, where the flier is communicated about the delay 24 hours prior to the originally scheduled time and again the flight is delayed by more than 4 hours, the airlines will have to provide an option of the refund to the passenger. Secondly, the airline will have to offer an additional free-of-charge hotel accommodation to the passenger if the flight is supposed to fly the next day, that is beyond 00:00 hours. It asks for compensation for missing the connecting flights. Here are the details related to the compensation amount If delay more than 3 hours: INR 5,000 If the delay between 4 and 12 hours: INR 10,000 If delay more than 12 hours: INR 20,000 In general cases, the airline will have to bear the cost of transferring the passenger to/from the alternate airport in case the alternate flight is offered to a nearby airport. Grievance filing: The passenger can file the grievance on AirSewa App or Portal/DGCA. Facilities for persons with disability and/or persons with Reduced Mobility for Existing provision: They will be provided with two window seats in the front row (if not emergency exit) and for this purpose, the details of seats for other passengers should be released 24 hours prior to the time of departure. Under the proposed provisions, the airlines will have to have blocked seats, which are accessible for persons with disabilities with adequate leg space. This facility should be free of charge and will remain blocked until close to the time of departure. Refund of airline tickets: The drafted citizen charter suggests that the airline will be providing with a lock-in option for 24 hours after booking the ticket, where he/she can cancel the ticket without any charges. At present, the facility is available to passengers up to 96 hours prior to flight departure. Cancellation Charges should be printed prominently on the ticket. The drafted charter also says that the Airlines and their agents together should not levy cancellation charge more than the basic fare plus fuel surcharge. Name correction: As per the drafted charter, the airlines will not be able to charge for correction in the name is the flier is the same one. But this correction should be made within 24 hours of booking the ticket. Connectivity WiFi in airlines: The approved in-flight connectivity will allow the domestic and international airlines to offer internet and mobile services onboard an aircraft in Indian airspace provided certain security requirements are met. Internet services can be provided from the moment a plane takes off and personal electronic devices (PED) have to be put on flight mode. Mobile services can be allowed only when an aircraft is over an altitude of 3,000 metres. All approvals were provided in the recent past and now interested parties may apply for licenses and initiate necessary procedures. (Reporting by Jitesh Kumar Jha) New Delhi: Airlines could soon be made to compensate flyers if their flights are delayed or cancelled. Jayant Sinha, MoS Aviation, told mediapersons on Tuesday that the government is mulling making it mandatory for domestic aviation companies to be more accountable to their respective passengers. Sinha said that for a flight delay, the concerned airline could compensate passengers in several ways which would be outlined shortly. And in case the flight is cancelled, passengers would be entitled to the compensation or be refunded the complete cost of ticket. Sinha however did add that it has to be the fault of airlines for the penalties to be imposed on it - possibly hinting that delays or cancellation due to circumstances like weather may not come under the ambit. Currently, domestic cancellation charges according to the DGCA are Rs 3000 or base fare added with fuel surcharge per ticket - whichever may be lower. Several airline companies have argued that often, cancellation and delays are not their fault and any heavy penalty rule could be possibly misinterpreted. India and China are the two major military powers in Asia and they have procured and developed some of the best weapons platforms available today for their defence forces. China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) deployed its latest fighter Chengdu J-20 in February 2018 claiming it has stealth and is the most advanced fighter plane in all of Asia. However, the Indian Air Force topline fighter Sukhoi Su-30 MKI has been able to "see" the Chengdu J-20 flying over Tibet despite the latter using stealth technology. According to IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, the Su-30MKI radar detected and tracked the Chengdu J-20 jet while the latter was flying over Tibet. The Su-30MKI currently has the N011M passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar but the IAF is already in the process of upgrading the fighters with the more advanced Zhuk active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar which will make it even more difficult for the Chengdu J-20 to hide. While China says the Chengdu J-20 is a "fifth generation" fighter, there are doubts over its stealth and supercruise capabilities. Here is a look at the features and capabilities of the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI and Chengdu J-20: Sukhoi Su-30 MKI: The IAF's twin-seater multirole fighter aircraft is the product of an Indo-Russia joint venture between Sukhoi Design Bureau and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Su-30 MKI is 21.9 metres long, 6.4 metres high and has a wingspan of 14.7 metres. The maximum take-off weight is 38,800 kg. Powered by two Al-31FP turbojet engines, the Su-30 MKI can reach a maximum speed of 2120 kilometres per hour (Mach 1.9) and climb at a rate of 300 metre per second. The fighter has fly-by-wire flight control system and a range of 3,000 kilometres without refuelling. Its combat range increases to 8,000 kilometres with in-flight refuelling system. The Su-30 MKI has a cruising height of 11 to 13 kilometres. Its two pilots sit inside a tandem glass cockpit equipped with an integrated avionics suite incorporating Elbit Su 967 head-up display (HUD), seven active-matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD) and primary cockpit instrumentation. The aircraft also has multifunction displays (MFD) while the rear cockpit has a monochromatic display screen for air-to-ground missile guidance At present, the Su-30 MKIs have a N011M PESA radar which will soon be replaced with the more advance Zhuk AESA radar. The aircraft also has OLS-30 laser-optical locator system and Litening target designation pod to guide air-to-surface missile and laser-guided munitions. The Su-30 MKI is one of the most heavily armed fighters in the world today. The IAF has modified 40 Su-30 MKIs to carry the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile. The fighter has a 30mm Gsh-30-1 cannon and 12 hardpoints capable of carrying missiles and bombs. The plane also has Tarang radar warning receiver and jammers for electronic warfare. Chengdu J-20: It is a single-seat, multirole stealth fighter for air-to-air, air-to-ground combat roles with supersonic cruise speed and integrated avionics which was test flown for the first time on January 11, 2011. The jet, developed and manufactured by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG), is 20.3-20.5 metres long, has a height of 4.45 metres and its wingspan is 12.88-13.50 metres. The maximum take-off weight is 34,000-37,000 kg. The fighter's range is about 1,200 kilometres which can be increased up to 2,700 kilometres with external fuel tanks. While the J-20 is currently powered by the Russian AL-31 engines, China is working in a new and more powerful WS-15 (Emei) afterburning turbofan engine for the fighter for sustained supersonic speed. The aircraft can fly at a maximum speed of 2,100 kilometres per hour (about 1.8 mach) and its climbing rate is 304 metres per second. There are two lateral bays with four hardpoints each for air-to-air missiles while the fuselage has a larger bay under it for carrying missiles and other weapons. It also has an internal cannon. It is equipped with an AESA radar along with a chin-mounted infrared/electro-optic search and track sensor. The Chinese also claim that the J-20 has a passive electro-optical detection system which gives the pilot 360 coverage. The fighter, which has a glass cockpit with a bubble-shaped canopy, can access real-time data from Chinese military satellites, Divine Eagle anti-stealth Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and other airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems. The J-20 cockpit has two liquid crystal displays (LCD) and a head-up display (HUD). The J-20 can be operated through the traditional hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) system. As the world marked the Honey Bee Day, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission created a new world record of distributing maximum number of bee boxes in a single day. The record was previously held by Israel, which had distributed 841 bee boxes around two years ago. Khadi Village and Industries Commission chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena on Monday distributed as many as 1000 bee boxes among 100 people hailing from the Mishing Assamese tribe in the Kaziranga forest. Attributing the achievement to Prime Minister Narendra Modis call for sweet resolution, the government said in a release, Responding to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modis call for Sweet Revolution, the KVIC came in an action mode with its enthusiastic Honey Mission with a target of distributing 1.3 lakh bee-boxes across the nation before November 2018 right from Narmada valley of Gujarat to Kaziranga Forest in Assam, and from hilly areas of Jammu and Kashmir to dense forests of Mysuru. At Kaziranga, practical training was imparted to 100 beneficiaries in examination of honeybee colonies, acquaintance with apicultural equipment, identification and management of bee enemies and diseases, honey extraction and wax purification, and management of bee colonies in spring, summer, monsoon, autumn and winter seasons, said the release. The KVIC also distributed 200-gram honey bottles to 500 school kids of Sankar Dev Sishu Niketan at Kohera village in Kaziranga. The KVIC had last year established Khadi training-cum-production centre in association with Assam forest department, providing 25 charkhas, five looms and other accessories to the village artisans at Silimkhowa village. It was for the first time in Assam, when Cotton Khadi work was started with 10-spindle charkhas, providing job opportunities to nearly 50 rural families of this area, said Saxena. Two more persons died due to Nipah virus contamination in Kerala on Tuesday, taking the total number of deaths due to the rare virus to five. The deaths have been reported from Kozhikode medical college and hospital in Kerala. The deceased were being treated in isolation ward. Earlier reports had said that at least eight people have been kept under observation over suspicion of Nipah virus contamination. Five more people have died due to high fever and similar symptoms of the virus in Kozhikode and neighbouring Malappuram districts. But it has not yet been confirmed if these deaths were due to Nipah. Considering the seriousness of the situation, the Centre on Monday rushed a high-level team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), including its director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh and Head of Epidemiology, Dr SK Jain. Meanwhile, hospitals in Goa have been asked by the state health department to be on alert to tackle possible outbreak of the deadly virus in the state. According to Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, random checks are also being done on people coming to the state from Kerala. He said that this is being done in accordance with the directives of the central government. Authorities fear that the deadly virus can spread to Goa and Mumbai in the next few days. According to information available on World Health Organisation (WHO), India has in the past documented human-to-human transmission of the rare Nipah virus. The global health body says that the virus causes severe disease in both humans and animals. As per a report on WHO website, Nipah is a newly emerging virus, which gets transferred from animals to humans, and it causes severe disease in both animals as well as humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus. Pakistans spy agency ISI has reportedly directed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) to carry out a big terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. The outfit has been asked to strengthen its base in the Valley to ensure that the attack is carried out. Authorities believe that the ISI is relying more on JeM, rather than outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. As of now, JeM mostly carries out operations in areas along the Line of Control (LoC), but fresh intercepts suggest that ISI wants it to carry out bigger attacks in the Valley. The Pakistani agency believes that the outfit can carry out operations similar to Pathankot terror attacks in 2016. This comes days after reports claimed that a training centre has been established in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir to train terrorists affiliated to the JeM. Training related to use of arms and new weapons are given to the terrorists in these camps in PoK. Reports had said that members of Tehreek-e-Taliban were also seen in these training camps. The ISI is reportedly releasing Taliban terrorists jailed in Pakistan on the condition that they would carry out attacks in parts of Jammu and Kashmir under the banner of JeM. They have been asked to attack security personnel. RBSE Rajasthan Board Class 12 Science, Commerce results 2018 on May 23, check rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in JAIPUR: The RBSE Class 12 Commerce results 2018 will be announced by the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) 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 CLASS 12 COMMERCE RESULT 2018 ON SMS SMS - RESULTRAJ12CROLL 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. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has once again launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), alleging a plan by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government to appoint officers of the choice of the right-wing body in central services. Taking to microblogging site Twitter, the Congress president posted a letter by the government which calls for examining if service allocation/cadre allocation to probationers selected on the basis of Civil Services Examination be made after Foundation Course. Rise up students, your future is at risk! RSS wants whats rightfully yours. The letter below reveals the PMs plan to appoint officers of RSSs choice into the Central Services, by manipulating the merit list using subjective criteria, instead of exam rankings. #ByeByeUPSC pic.twitter.com/VSElwErKqe Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 22, 2018 The letter further says, 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. Posting a copy of the letter, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Rise up students, your future is at risk! RSS wants whats rightfully yours. The letter below reveals the PMs plan to appoint officers of RSSs choice into the Central Services, by manipulating the merit list using subjective criteria, instead of exam rankings." The Gandhi scion alleged that the letter revealed Prime Minister Modis plan to appoint officers of RSS choice by manipulating the merit list. The fresh attack by the Congress president comes even as the Congress and the BJP are engaged in a fierce war of words over Karnataka Assembly election results and government formation in the state. While the Gandhi scion has accused the Prime Minister of backing corruption, and had termed the action of BJP in the state as mockery of democracy. Addressing a press conference, he had said that the Prime Minister was not launching probe into allegations against BJP leaders of trying to bribe Congress lawmakers in Karnataka, adding that with such stand, PM Modi was supporting corruption. CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Government Examinations (DGE) is expected to declare TN SSLC Class 10 Results 2018 on Wednesday, May 23. The board will release the results at 9.30 am on its official website - tnresults.nic.in. Candidates can also check their scores on other websites such as tnresults.nic.in, dge.tn.gov.in, dge1.tn.nic.in, tnresults.nic.in and dge1.tn.nic.in. The TN Board SSLC Class 10 exams were held from April 16 to April 20, 2018. The board had on May 16 announced TN HSC or Plus Two Results 2018. How to check your TN 12th Board Result 2018: Step 1: Log onto the official website tnresults.nic.in Step 2: Click on the link Tamil Nadu 10th Result 2018 / Tamil Nadu SSLC Result 2018 Step 3: Enter your required details Step 4: Your result will be displayed on the screen. Candidates are advised to download the same and take a printout for future reference Beginning this year, the education department said it will not release topper's name and ranks in an effort to discourage unhealthy competition among students. For any queries on Tamil Nadu SSLC Board Results, candidates can Contact DGE the at directordge.tn.nic.in. Little did his six-year-old daughter know that it was the final time she was getting to see her father's lifeless body. As tears rolled down her eyes, she paid tribute to her brave father who was martyred in an encounter with the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district. No doubt, the heart-wrenching incident caught everyone's attention. The body of jawan Deepak Nainwal was brought to his hometown in Dehradun on Monday for the last rites. Wreath laying and last rites ceremony of Naik Deepak Nainwal was held in Uttarakhand's Haridwar today. He succumbed to injuries yesterday after being injured in Kulgam encounter in J&K last month. pic.twitter.com/rr8G2tUk4l ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 On April 10, Nainwal suffered serious injuries while he tried to encounter a group of heavily-armed terrorists. He was shot twice during the counter operation. After struggling for life for over a month, the jawan breath his last on Sunday. He succumbed to his injuries at Pune's Command Hospital at around 10 pm. Nainwal is survived by his wife, six-year-old daughter, five-year-old son, mother, father and a brother. His father is a retired Captain and his brother too is in the security forces. Bengaluru: That JDS-Congress combine will form the next government in Karnataka is certain. That HD Kumaraswamy will take oath as CM on Wednesday too is equally certain. What isn't though is if he will take the oath alone or will he have his fellow ministers on stage as well. And if so, how many from his party and from its post-poll alliance partner? The answers to these critical questions doing the rounds in Karnataka's political circles after a week of intense tussle against BJP may become clear on Tuesday when top state leaders of both JDS and Congress meet to iron out any possible proverbial creases. When Congress offered unconditional support to JDS in a post-poll alliance after counting, it was clear that the second-largest party was ready to have a CM from JDS. In return, political analysts believed that the party may want two deputy CMs - both from Congress. While there is no clarity yet on this, reports suggest G Parmeshwar - Karnataka Congress president, and someone from the Lingayat community could be appointed as Kumaraswamy's deputies. There are isolated reports of some rifts. But both JDS and Congress have denied it and said final modalities are all that remains. The two parties have been in celebration mode since BJP's BS Yeddyurappa resigned two days after becoming CM and minutes before a crucial floor test. He was invited to form the government because BJP was the single-largest party although no party had majority after elections in the state. It was a tussle for power of epic proportions with Congress lambasting Governor Vajubhai Vala's decision and rushing to Supreme Court. Many believe that Supreme Court's decision to reduce time given to Yeddyurappa to prove majority - from 15 days to 24 hours - is what compelled the veteran BJP politician to tender his resignation and pave the way for the JDS-Congress combine to stake claim to form the government. And while Yeddyurappa's oath ceremony last Thursday was a solo and subdued affair, Wednesday's ceremony is expected to be a grand display with invites already sent to leaders of several regional parties like Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee. Congress President Rahul Gandhi - who had actively campaigned before the elections, and mother Sonia are also expected at Bengaluru's Kanteerava Stadium. BENGALURU: Congress leader G Parameshwara will on Wednesday take oath as the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister. Ahead of his swearing-in ceremony on May 23, Karnataka Chief Minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy confirmed the development. While the deputy Speaker will be elected on Friday, KR Ramesh Kumar from the grand old party has been picked to become the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly - Vidhana Soudha. Kumaraswamy, however, has earlier informed that both the Speaker and deputy Speaker will be elected on May 25. The portfolios of the Cabinet of Ministers will be decided on Thursday, he added. "We took a decision regarding the expansion (of the cabinet). Speaker and deputy speaker would be elected on 25 May. Portfolios would be decided day after tomorrow. Everything is alright, no differences," Kumaraswamy told news agency ANI. The announcement comes after a meeting that took place today evening. On Monday, the Janata Dal (Secular) leader Kumaraswamy met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi. 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 agencies) Bengaluru: After a meeting between the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) over Cabinet formation, Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge KC Venugopal told reporters that only one deputy chief minister will be appointed. He also said that out of 34 ministries, 22 will go to the Congress party and 12 including the CM will be with the JD(S). Venugopal added, "Rest of the ministry and portfolio allocation will be decided after the floor test." The newly-formed alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221. 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 ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 Decisions regarding the distribution of the ministries and other portfolios between the allies were also taken in the meeting, ANI reported. Congress' KR Ramesh Kumar will be the Speaker of Karnataka's Vidhana Soudha, while the deputy speaker will be appointed from the JD(S). CM-designate HD Kumaraswamy along with former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Venugopal, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and DK Shivakumar, among others were present in the meet. A JD(S)-Congress coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy will be sworn-in on Wednesday in Karnataka at a ceremony attended by a galaxy of Opposition leaders and CMs. He will be the second CM to take oath in Karnataka within a week, after BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa stepped down without facing the floor test on May 19 in the face of imminent defeat. Kumaraswamy, the third son of JD(S) supremo and former PM HD Deve Gowda, will be administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala at 4:30 pm in front of Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the government in Bengaluru. He was quoted as saying by PTI that running the coalition government for the next five years will be a "big challenge" for him. A huge stage has been erected in front of the majestic stone building for the ceremony where a host of national and regional leaders are expected to be present. It will be Kumaraswamy's second term in office. He had earlier headed the JD(S)-BJP coalition government for 20 months between February 2006 and October 2007. The BJP is the single largest party with 104 MLAs. The Congress finished second in the Assembly elections with 78 seats and the JD(S)+ bagged 38 seats. (With ANI and PTI inputs) Bengaluru: A JD(S)-Congress coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy will be sworn-in on Wednesday in Karnataka at a ceremony attended by a galaxy of opposition leaders and chief ministers. Karnataka Congress president G Parameshwara will be sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister, AICC general secretary in-charge of the state KC Venugopal said. Congress's Ramesh Kumar, a former minister, will be the next Speaker, while the Deputy Speaker's post will go to the JD(S), he added. The Congress would have 22 ministers and JD(S) 12, Venugopal further said, as per PTI, adding they would be sworn in after the floor test slated for Thursday. A section of Lingayat MLAs of the Congress wanted a person from their community to be the deputy CM as Kumaraswamy belongs to another politically influential caste Vokkaliga. However, Congress president Rahul Gandhi approved the name of Dalit leader Parameshwara for the post, KPCC chief said. DK Shivakumar, another Vokkaliga leader of the Congress, who emerged a key figure in keeping the party MLAs together before the trust vote, was also a contender for the deputy CM's chair but the party high command opted for Parameshwara. Kumaraswamy will be the second CM to take oath in Karnataka within a week, after BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa stepped down without facing the floor test on May 19 in the face of imminent defeat. He said portfolio distribution will be discussed the day after tomorrow (Thursday) and a coordination committee will be formed to facilitate smooth functioning of the coalition. Kumaraswamy, the third son of JD(S) supremo and former PM HD Deve Gowda, will be administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala at 4:30 pm in front of Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the government in Bengaluru. He has been quoted as saying that running the coalition government for the next five years will be a "big challenge" for him. A huge stage has been erected in front of the majestic stone building for the ceremony. It will be Kumaraswamy's second term in office. He had earlier headed the JD(S)-BJP coalition government for 20 months between February 2006 and October 2007. Who all are likely to attend Kumaraswamy's coronation: Government officials and sources in the JD(S) was quoted as saying by PTI that Rahul, his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Chandrababu Naidu, Arvind Kejriwal and Pinarayi Vijayan, her counterparts in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Kerala, are among those likely to be present. So would be CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah. BSP chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav would also attend the ceremony. DMK leader MK Stalin, who was also expected to be present, has cancelled his Bengaluru visit due to the violence in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. (With PTI inputs) Bengaluru is prepping up for what promises to be a swearing-in ceremony like no other. Even as HD Kumaraswamy of JDS takes oath as Karnataka CM on Wednesday, the spotlight is likely to keep oscillating from one leader to another. After all, several regional leaders are expected to be present in what may well be a statement of intent directed towards the NDA government at the centre. After a week of tussle for power between BJP and the JDS-Congress combine, the political thriller in Karnataka culminated with BS Yeddyurappa tendering his resignation due to lack of majority and HD Kumaraswamy emerging as the kingmaker who snatched the throne. His 'coronation' - otherwise known as swearing-in ceremony in democracy - will be attended by several key political figures who form the axis of power attempting to down BJP. The date is set and the invites sent. 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 ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 So, here are some of the key political figures likely to attend Wednesday's ceremony: Rahul and Sonia Gandhi (Congress): Since chances to form governments - even as a second in an alliance - have come far and few for Congress in recent times, the swearing-in of Karnataka's new government is nothing short of an occasion fo giddy euphoria. The party was in power for five years here - a minor detail. The party is the junior member of the new coalition government - another minor detail. What matters - at least in the Congress camp - is that party president Rahul Gandhi rallied long and hard before the elections and the party has managed to strike gold by aligning with JDS - the third largest party after elections 2018. Rahul has already congratulated his MLAs and that of JDS for staying united in the face of what he claimed was BJP's rampant luring with money. He had also said starting with Karnataka, Congress won't lose a single election. Now, it is time to rejoice. In the end, Indias voice and democratic spirit will always triumph over tyranny. Satyamev Jayate Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 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 Former party president Sonia Gandhi too had campaigned for Congress close to polling date and may join her son at the swearing-in ceremony. Mayawati (BSP): Many regard Mayawati as the architect behind Congress and JDS coming together in the aftermath of vote count. She already had a pre-poll arrangement with the JDS which perhaps meant that the there was another incentive to oust BJP. Not that she needs any. Mayawati, having been drubbed in the UP Assembly elections, had been looking at ways she could prove her relevance. To this end, she teamed up with her nemesis Akhilesh Yadav and registered a big win in UP bypolls. She would eventually turn her attention towards Karnataka where UP CM Yogi Adityanath too was campaigning for BJP. Partnering with JDS, she hit the campaign trail and while Mayawati couldn't really attract masses, people who did turn up swore allegiance to her. At a time when JDS leaders were expected to be kingmakers, it is Mayawati who may well have emerged as the leader with the hand rocking the cradle. As for its ramifications back home, it would perhaps be a gradual process. For now, an oath-ceremony awaits down south. Akhilesh Yadav (SP): There are niggling doubts about Akhilesh-Rahul friendship and whether it remains on firm footing despite the alliance being thumped down during UP Assembly elections. Much like Mayawati though, Akhilesh does consider BJP as the biggest threat which dwarfs any differences he may have with any other party. Therefore, a Congress-JDS combine in Karnataka is in the interest of the SP leader who is likely to attend Kumaraswamy's oath-taking ceremony. And much like Mayawati again, it could be a statement to people in his home state that there is indeed an alternative to BJP. With 2019 elections round the corner, it could well be a strong message. ?? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??. ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ???, ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ???. ????? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ?????. Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) May 19, 2018 Chandrababu Naidu (TDP): A rather special seat may be reserved for Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu because he is the latest to join the anti-BJP front. Slogans, dharnas, placards - TDP workers have been there and done a lot of that in recent weeks to protest against Centre's apparant reluctance in giving Andhra Pradesh special status. TDP was an alliance partner of BJP but differences over special status to the state of Andhra led to the bonhomie breaking down. Naidu himself has accused BJP of backstabbing and said aspirations of Andra Pradesh were curtailed by not giving the state special status despite promising it during the carving out of Telangana. Since, the TDP supremo has accused BJP of unethical politics, conspiracy, hurting democracy and recently said he suspected the party would turn its attention to Andhra Pradesh after the 'debacle' in Karnataka. Resignation of BS Yeddyurappa as Karnataka's CM is a true victory for democracy. Entire nation is happy with the current turn of events. As a Chief Minister and a firm believer of democracy, I am expressing my happiness. N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) May 19, 2018 While Naidu has already appealed to the Telegu population to resist BJP, his attendance at Kumaraswamy's oath-taking ceremony could be a signal towards unity between two of south India's biggest states. Interestingly, he had offered to host Congress and JDS MLAs in his state when they were being shielded from alleged bribes from BJP ahead of Karnataka Assembly floor-test. If nothing else, an invite to Naidu could well be a note of thanks. Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress): Here is a woman who is most likely to grab the most eyeballs - metaphorically of course. Facing ire from BJP and PM Narendra Modi himself for alleged panchayat poll violence in West Bengal, Mamata appears keen to hit back where it hurts the most. And if that hurt is the most for BJP in Karnataka, then Karnataka is where Mamata would be at. Democracy wins. Congratulations Karnataka. Congratulations DeveGowda Ji, Kumaraswamy Ji, Congress and others. Victory of the 'regional' front Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 19, 2018 One of the most vocal leaders against BJP, Mamata maintains the party is trying to kill democracy in her state. She has also been one of the biggest supporters of a strong regional front to oppose BJP - especially before elections next year. As recently as earlier this year, she was in Delhi to meet several opposition leaders and discuss strategies. Kumaraswamy's oath-taking ceremony could be a reunion of sorts and propel her as a key figure in any possible alliance that may eventually come up against BJP. Former Karnataka chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yeddyurappa has alleged irregularities in the recently concluded Karnataka Assembly elections. The Lingayat strongman has written a letter to the Central Election Commission in this regard. The BJP leader, who was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on May 17 but resigned just before taking the trust vote, said that several irregularities were brought to the notice of officials concerned before the Karnataka Assembly elections, but no cognisance was taken of the same. This is not the first time that irregularities in the conduct of elections were brought to the notice of Election Commission and officials holding elections at ground level. Prior to polling we brought many such irregularities to notice of concerned officials, but in vain, said Yeddyurappa in the letter. Claiming that VVPAT machines were found abandoned in a shed near Managuli village in Vijayapur district of Karnataka, the BJP leader said he believed that the Election Commission had taken note of the incident. I am of firm belief that Election Commission has taken a serious note of VVPAT machines found abandoned in a shed near Managuli village in Vijayapur district. It indicates grave irregularities in conduct of assembly polls in Karnataka, he said. Notably, as many as 9746 voter identity cards were recovered in a flat in Bengaluru just days ahead of May 12 polling in Karnataka Assembly elections. The Election Commission had confirmed that the voter IDs recovered were genuine. An FIR was registered and the polling body had said that it would closely monitor the progress in the case. Voters in Kerala gave a fractured mandate as the results of the Assembly elections were declared on May 15. Even as the BJP emerged as the single largest party, it fell short of majority. Even before full results came in, the Congress and the JDS announced a post-poll alliance. However, Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the BJP to form the government and Yeddyurappa was even sworn in as the Chief Minister. But in a twist, he resigned just before taking the trust vote in Karnataka Assembly, paving the way for JDS-Congress alliance to form government in the state. JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy is set to take oath as the Chief Minister on Wednesday. Thiruvananthapuram: "I am almost on the way... You should look after our children well," was the heart-wrenching message from a dying nurse in Kerala who succumbed to the rare Nipah virus infection. The emotional message scribbled by 28-year-old Lini Puthussery in a brief note in Malayalam to her husband Sajeesh minutes before she died yesterday has gone viral in the social media, leaving people teary-eyed. A nursing assistant with the Perambra Taluk Hospital in Kozhikode, Lini got exposed to the 'deadly' virus while treating affected patients. Besides her husband, who works in Bahrain, Lini leaves behind two sons aged five and two. In the letter to Sajeesh, Lini expressed her pain and anguish that she could not see him again. She also requested her husband to take care of their children and take them to Bahrain with him. "I am almost on the way. I do not think I can meet you. You should look after our children well," she had said. After consulting the family, authorities cremated Lini's body. This was done as a precautionary measure to ensure that the virus, if present, did not spread further. After coming to know of Lini's health, Sajeesh had come home two days ago. Nipah virus has so far claimed 10 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala while the condition of two undergoing treatment is said to be critical. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to Facebook to mourn the death. ?The loss of Lini, who had sacrificed her life for nursing a patient, is a grief for all of us. Lini's sacrifice is incomparable. It is painful that Lini met with this tragedy while she was sincerely doing her duty. We, the people of the state, share the pain and loss of Lini's family, friends and colleagues," Vijayan wrote. The natural host of the Nipah virus (NiV) virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus. There is no vaccination for the virus which has a mortality rate of 70 percent. Health officials said they had found mangoes bitten by bats in a home where three people died of the suspected infection, according to a report. New Delhi: Leading bourse NSE has dragged the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to court over the overseas bourse's plans to launch Nifty-based derivative products. SGX has, however, reiterated its plan to list the new Indian derivatives in June. "SGX has been notified by the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) of an application made in the Bombay High Court for an interim injunction on our new products," the overseas exchange said in a statement issued today. "We have full confidence in our legal position and will vigorously defend this action," it added. SGX also said that it has informed NSE that India needs to maintain liquidity in its offshore equity derivatives market. Defending its move, SGX said that its new India futures and options, which have received the relevant regulatory approvals, will list in June 2018 and allow its clients to seamlessly transition their India risk management exposures. "Our new India equity derivative products are essential to enable institutional investors to maintain their current portfolio risk exposure to the Indian capital markets," said Michael Syn, Head of Derivatives at SGX. "We have, from the onset, expressed to NSE that there is a need to maintain liquidity in the international India equity derivatives market, in order to connect international participants to GIFT IFSC. "We remain open to working with NSE and other relevant stakeholders to develop a solution that meets the risk management needs of global market participants," he added. In April, SGX announced listing of new Indian equity derivatives products in June. Following the development, NSE had said it was examining the SGX announcement and had also sought more details regarding the proposed products from the foreign bourse. In February, leading stock exchanges BSE, NSE and Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India announced their decision to stop providing data feeds to overseas exchanges as part of a joint effort to stymie migration of liquidity to overseas markets. Earlier in February, SGX had introduced single-stock futures of Nifty 50 companies despite reservations expressed by the NSE. Prior to the launch by the Singapore exchange, NSE chief Vikram Limaye had said such a move will shift liquidity out of the Indian markets. New Delhi: Huawei sub-brand Honor is expected to launch two new smartphones in the Honor 7 series on Tuesday. The two smartphones would most likely be Honor 7A and Honor 7C. Huawei will launch both the smartphones at an event at 11:30 am. You can watch the live stream here. The Honor 7 series smartphones will be launched in the affordable segment and will reportedly be pitted against Xiaomi Redmi 5 and Redmi Note 5. Reports say, the Honor 7A will feature a 5.7-inch HD+ display, Snapdragon 430 processor, 3GB RAM coupled with 32GB internal memory. The Honor 7C on the other hand will feature a 5.99-inch HD+ display, Snapdragon 450 processor, 3GB/4GB RAM clubbed with 32GB/64GB storage. Both the phones will come with 13MP + 2MP dual rear cameras and an 8MP front shooter, 3000mAh battery and fingerprint sensor on the back. Earlier this month Honor 10 with artificial intelligence, 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM was launched in India Rs 32,999. The phone comes with aurora glass that provides radiance from every angle, the 24MP and 16MP rear, dual-lens camera fitted with artificial intelligence lets the user take photographs with never-seen clarity. New York: Netflix says that it has reached a deal with Barack and Michelle Obama to produce material for the streaming service. Netflix said today, in a tweet, that the former president and first lady will produce films and series for the service, potentially including scripted and unscripted series, documentaries and features. Netflix chief executive Ted Sarandos said that the Obamas are uniquely positioned to discover and highlight stories of people who make a difference in their communities. Barack Obama recently appeared as a guest on David Letterman's Netflix talk show. Tuticorin/Chennai: Nine people were killed in police firing after protest for the closure of Vedanta group's Sterlite Copper plant over pollution concerns turned violent in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin (Thootukudi). Chief Minister EK Palaniswami confirmed reports about the deaths in "police action". He also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of the deceased and ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence. Palaniswami said in a statement that the protesters took out a procession towards the collectorate in defiance of the prohibitory orders clamped in the specific area in Tuticorin. "The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protestors resorted to repeated violence... Police had to control the violence," the CM, who holds the Home portfolio, said. Hon'ble CM-Press Release-Thoothukudi dt sterlite industry-violence-death-Date 22.05.2018 pic.twitter.com/ItkoFoMIZn Edappadi K Palaniswami (@CMOTamilNadu) May 22, 2018 Here's what happened: The protests were going on in Tuticorin for over three months now, but violence erupted on Tuesday with agitators allegedly fighting pitched battles with police, prompting it to open fire. Hurling stones and setting government vehicles and public property on fire, the agitators went on the rampage in the town, about 600 km from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. Police was quoted as saying by PTI that nearly 5000 protesters gathered near a local church and insisted on taking out a rally to the district collectorate after they were denied permission to march to the copper smelter plant. Initial pushing and shoving soon led to violent clashes, after agitated locals began hurling stones at police and overturned a vehicle. Security personnel used batons and burst teargas shells to break up the protest. Many were injured in stone-pelting by the agitators, who also set some vehicles on fire, as per reports. Windscreens of some government cars were smashed and bank premises were attacked by the rampaging mobs. As the violence spiralled, police opened fire, killing nine people. #WATCH: Clash between Police & locals during the protest held in Tuticorin demanding ban on Sterlite Industries, in wake of the pollution created by them in #TamilNadu. pic.twitter.com/s5j2dH9J8o ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 #WATCH Local police in Tuticorin seen with assault rifles to disperse protesters demanding a ban on Sterlite Industries. 9 protestors have lost their lives. #TamilNadu. (Earlier visuals) pic.twitter.com/hinYmbtIZQ ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 Who said what: DMK Working President and Leader of Opposition, MK Stalin, slammed the "inhumane" firing on protestors. In a statement, he demanded an inquiry by a sitting high court judge, besides a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of each of those killed. The government committed a "Himalayan blunder" by handling the protest with "guns and teargas shells," he said, adding at least a minister accompanied by the district collector should have spoken to the agitators. He called for the removal of state police chief TK Rajendiran. MDMK founder Vaiko likened the incident to the British era Jallianwala Bagh massacre, while the CPI(M)'s state unit demanded the chief minister's resignation. Actors-turned politicians Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan slammed the Tamil Nadu government for police firing on protesters. "Tamil Nadu government's inaction is responsible for the violence in Tuticorin. It should take responsibility for the loss of life and violence. This government's lackadaisical ways have led to the deaths of innocents," said Rajinikanth. , . . Rajinikanth (@rajinikanth) May 22, 2018 Haasan too slammed the Palaniswami government, saying, "We stand for the people and offers condolence to the grieving families. This is unpardonable. People of Tamil Nadu will not forget this violation of their dignity and life. It could have been stopped before escalating it to such levels." On the other hand, Congress president Rahul Gandhi termed the deaths a "brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism". He said people were murdered in Tuticorin for protesting against injustice. "The gunning down by the police of 9 people in the Sterlite protest in Tamil Nadu is a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured," Rahul said on Twitter. Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit condoled the deaths, saying, "My condolences to each one of the bereaved families. At this critical hour, I appeal to all sections of society to be calm and help in maintaining the peace in the state." (With PTI inputs) Tuticorin: Nine people were killed in police firing after protests for the closure of Vedanta group's Sterlite Copper plant over pollution concerns turned violent in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin on Tuesday. Confirming the deaths, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said that nine people had been killed in "police action" and announced a judicial inquiry into the violence. Detailing the events leading to the "unfortunate" deaths, he said the protesters took out a procession towards the collectorate defying prohibitory orders in the area. They not only pelted policemen with stones but also set on fire their vehicles as well as those parked in the collectorate. They hurled stones at the collector's office, the CM said in a statement. "The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence... Police had to control the violence. I was grieved to know nine persons were unfortunately killed in this incident," Palaniswami, who holds the Home portfolio, said and expressed his sympathies and condolences for the families of those killed. He also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of those killed, Rs 3 lakh to those seriously injured and Rs 1 lakh for people who suffered minor injuries. The CM assured government jobs for one family member of each of those who lost their lives in accordance with their qualifications. Hon'ble CM-Press Release-Thoothukudi dt sterlite industry-violence-death-Date 22.05.2018 pic.twitter.com/ItkoFoMIZn Edappadi K Palaniswami (@CMOTamilNadu) May 22, 2018 Police said section 144 of CrPc has been invoked in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security to it as per the orders of the Madras High Court. However, angered over not being allowed to take out a rally, the slogan-shouting protesters forcibly tried to push back the security personnel in riot gear. They then started hurling stones at police and also overturned a vehicle after which the security personnel lobbed teargas shells to disperse them, police added, PTI reported. #WATCH Protest held in Tuticorin demanding ban on Sterlite Industries, in wake of the pollution created by them #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/23FWdj1do5 ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 While state minister D Jayakumar in a televised address on Tuesday said police firing on protesters was 'unavoidable', main Opposition and DMK leader MK Stalin said in a Facebook post - "The inaction of the government has led to the people`s protests, and police resorting to firing to control it. Action should be taken to shut down the plant immediately to address this issue." Meanwhile, a peaceful demonstration was held near the old bus stand in the town, also demanding the closure of the Sterlite unit and the proposed expansion of the plant. Several shops in this town, Srivaikundam and Oddapidaram remained shut in support of the protest. The district has been witnessing several protests by locals and others against the Sterlite Copper plant and its proposed expansion. Protesters have alleged that the plant was polluting groundwater in their area. Sterlite Copper represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 400,000 tonnes per annum-plant in Tuticorin. (With Agency inputs) Toothukudi: Actors-turned politicians Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan on Tuesday slammed the Tamil Nadu government for police firing on protesters in Tuticorin (Thootukudi). At least nine people are reported to have been killed after the anti-Sterlite protest, demanding the closure of the Vedanta group-run company, turned violent. "Tamil Nadu government's inaction is responsible for the violence in Tuticorin. It should take responsibility for the loss of life and violence. This government's lackadaisical ways have led to the deaths of innocents," said Rajinikanth. , . . Rajinikanth (@rajinikanth) May 22, 2018 Haasan too slammed the EK Palaniswami government, saying, "We stand for the people and offers condolence to the grieving families. This is unpardonable. People of Tamil Nadu will not forget this violation of their dignity and life. It could have been stopped before escalating it to such levels." On the other hand, condemning the state government for the police firing, DMK working president MK Stalin said that the police was committing atrocities. Residents of the port city of Tuticorin have been demonstrating against the copper plant for more than three months. The protest turned violent on Tuesday as police resorted to firing when hundreds of people gathered in defiance of prohibitory orders and attacked the District Collectorate, IANS reported. The area around the collectorate resembled a battle-zone. Plumes of black smoke emanated from the protest site. #WATCH: Clash between Police & locals during the protest held in Tuticorin demanding ban on Sterlite Industries, in wake of the pollution created by them in #TamilNadu. pic.twitter.com/s5j2dH9J8o ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 Chief Minister Palaniswamy appealed to the people for calm and held a meeting with his ministerial colleagues and top police officials including DGP TK Rajendran. In a statement, the state government said it would respect the wishes of the people in the matter. It said around 20,000 people took out a rally against the company and became violent by attacking police and burning police vehicles while storming the collector's office. As police could not control the crowd, they resorted to a few actions, it added. The statement further said that the government will take all legal steps in the matter. Police from neighbouring districts of Madurai and Virudhunagar was rushed to Thoothukudi to bring the situation under control. The protesters alleged that police had used force without provocation on the peaceful gathering, as per IANS. People in Tuticorin are demanding the closure of Sterlite copper smelting plant alleging that it was polluting the area and leading to severe health problems among the residents of the locality, besides depleting the water table. Social activists have also joined the protests against the company. (With Agency inputs) LUCKNOW: Be it sending an ambulance or attending patients on time, hospitals in the country are on a splurge of denial. In yet another incident, a pregnant woman in Uttar Pradesh's Etah was allegedly refused to be admitted in a hospital. Following this, she ended up giving birth to the infant in a toilet at Etah Railway Station. Soon after the incident reached the Railways officials, they called in an ambulance. But sadly, the new-born died shortly after birth. Etah: Woman gave birth in a toilet at Etah railway station after she was allegedly turned away from a hospital. Railway official says, 'woman gave birth inside a toilet at railway station, as soon as we got to know, an ambulance was called, but the new-born could not be saved.' pic.twitter.com/SgiyGkVCr0 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 22, 2018 "A woman gave birth inside a toilet at railway station, as soon as we got to know, an ambulance was called, but the new-born could not be saved," a Railways official said. The reason for denial by the hospital is, however, not known. This isn't the first time such a heart-wrenching incident took place. Earlier too, there have been several incidents of refusal to patients by hospital authorities. The China Islamic Association has made it mandatory for all mosques in the country to raise national flag and study socialist core values. According to a report in Chinas state-owned agency Global Times, the diktat has been passed in a bid to strengthen concept of nation and carry forward the spirit of patriotism. The report said that Chinese experts have hailed the move and termed it as progress for religious development. A letter in this regard was published by the China Islamic Association on its website, asking mosques to raise national flags in prominent positions all the time. The letter also calls for mosques to study socialist core values, Chinese culture, and the Constitution of the country. It further says that there must be classes on law in mosques so that religious activities of Muslims can be conducted in accordance with the norms. Global Times reported that some mosques have already started following the norm. In the autonomous region of Ningxia Hui in northwest China, some mosques raised national flag on Friday last itself. "Flags have been raised at all 69 religious sites - including Christian churches and Buddhist temples - in the city of Lanxi in East China's Zhejiang Province to "have patriotism guide devotion to religions," according to the website of the Zhejiang Province ethnic and religious affairs committee," said the Global Times report. While some raised objection on the same citing Chinese laws that politics and religion should be kept alienated, experts countered the argument saying national flag was about the country and not politics, hence, the move should be implemented. He wants Tibetan culture, including local language and dialects, to be preserved and be passed on from one generation to another. What may be regarded as absolutely normal elsewhere though is deeply frowned upon in China - a country that has now jailed Tashi Wangchuk for five years on charges of 'inciting separatism.' Wangchuk is a well-known activist for Tibetan language and has been struggling to stop what he calls as 'erosion of Tibetan culture' in China. He rubbed authorities the wrong way when he appeared in a documentary for The New York Times and was detained in 2016. He filed an appeal but recently, it was struck down and the now 32-year-old was given a five-year jail term on charges of 'inciting separatism.' It is a charge that human rights organisations have condemned unequivocally. Joshua Rosenzweig at Amnesty International told news agency Associated Press that putting Wangchuk behind bars is not just unethical but is gross injustice. "He is being cruelly punished for peacefully drawing attention to the systematic erosion of Tibetan culture. To brand peaceful activism for Tibetan language as inciting separatism is beyond absurd," he was quoted as saying. Tashis treatment exposes the ruthless lengths to which the Chinese authorities will go to silence those who ask the government to stop cultural assimilation." Shocking as it may be, the punishment given though not surprising in a country which is repeatedly accused of persecuting minorities - especially Tibetans and Uyghurs. While it considers Tibet a part of its territory, the Tibetan government-in-exile under Dalai Lama in India has repeatedly raised voice against the illegal occupation. Security analysts firmly believe that there is a sense among Tibetans that China won't ever allow them the right to self-determination and the discourse from now should revolve around how best to preserve their culture while remaining with China. In communist China though, adherence to one single party and its leadership remains paramount and any other allegiance is almost always trampled upon. Yokosuka (Japan): The USS Milius, one of the US Navy's most advanced guided missile destroyers, arrived in Japan on Tuesday to reinforce defences against any ballistic missile attacks by North Korea, or anyone else in East Asia. The warship's arrival at Yokosuka Naval Base comes three weeks before an unprecedented meeting is supposed to take place in Singapore between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The show of force is a reminder of the military pressure that can be brought to bear on North Korea as the United States seeks to press it to abandon its nuclear weapons and its ballistic missile programme. The Milius will "support security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region by bringing enhanced missile defence capabilities as a ballistic missile defence platform", the US Navy said in a statement. The Milius`s dockside welcome in Yokosuka, which is the headquarters of the US Seventh Fleet, comes after doubts emerged last week over whether the Trump-Kim meeting will go ahead. North Korea said it was reconsidering the summit after calling off separate talks with South Korea in a protest over US-South Korean air combat drills known as Max Thunder. North Korea said it would walk away from dialogue if the United States insisted on it unilaterally abandoning its nuclear arsenal, which it says it needs to defend itself against US aggression. Trump has and warned that failure to reach a denuclearisation agreement could lead to "decimation" of Kim`s rule. The deployment of the Milius to Japan was delayed by almost a year so it could undergo upgrades to its Aegis air defence system to enhance its ability to detect and target missiles. Armed with missiles designed to shoot down warheads in space, the Milius will be part of a naval destroyer force that would be the first US line of defence against any long-range ballistic missiles fired at it by North Korea. It joins two other ships in the Seventh Fleet with similar upgrades and brings the fleet`s destroyer unit back to full strength after two other US warships in the region were crippled in collisions with commercial ships in 2017. Islamabad: Pakistan's election commission today proposed July 25-27 as possible dates for holding general elections in the country, media reports said on Monday. 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 on Tuesday, 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. Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo 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. 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. An American gynecologist has been accused of sexually abusing women students of Chinese origin in University of Southern California over a span of three decades in a lawsuit which has rocked educational institutions across the country. According to an AFP report, five Chinese students registered a complaint against Dr George Tyndall who has been working at University of Southern California and had been responsible for gynaecological exams. He has been accused of taking advantage of the ignorance regarding American medical procedures with the victims saying they were told that the physical examinations being performed on them were standard. In two civil lawsuits filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the women have detailed the incidents in graphic detail - charging Tyndall of even inserting his hand and wrist into their vagina on the pretext of conducting medical examination. Another has accused Tyndall of asking her to strip naked, moving his ungloved hands across her body and asking her about her interest in engaging in oral and penetrative sex. The lawsuit further accuses University of Southern California of not acting against Tyndall despite complaints dating back to 2000. It says that a probe was launched only in 2016 when a nurse reported the doctor to the rape crisis centre on campus. Tyndall was reportedly allowed to put in his papers and make a quiet exit. In a recent statement, authorities at USC admitted they are aware of the lawsuits and that they are focusing on ensuring the safety and well-being of students. Now, many expect a lot many more to come forward and expose Tyndall for having sexually abused them. Giorgi Vashadze, Innovation and Development Foundation: The parties agreed on the role of international experts in appointing judges of Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Court Read the original text at 112.ua. The International Commission will hold a joint council with the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) in the event of a veto on the Anti-Corruption Court judge candidacy. The developers of the document have agreed on this question with the representatives of the Venice Commission. Founder of Innovation and Development Foundation, one of the project's creators, Giorgi Vashadze, stated. "The international commission vetoes first, and then a general council is being formed by 16 + 7 formula. Thus, 16 are the members of the HQCJ, 7 are international experts. Currently, we are agreeing on the majority. But the international experts would definitely have a blocking a voice. The details will be discussed soon," Vashadze claimed. The role of the international experts in appointing judges of the Anti-Corruption Court is the most contentious issue in the relevant draft law. In addition, at a meeting with the Venice Commission, it was agreed that international experts will receive a salary. "In addition to the personal proposal of the Ukrainian president, it was decided that the international experts will receive a salary for this work. Earlier it was planned that they should work for free. I do not believe that qualified experts would work for free for two years. There will be a high salary, as far as I have calculated, it will be about 7 thousand dollars a month. In addition to this, they would have flights, and Ukraine would pay for their accommodation," Vashadze said. According to him, the issue of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court jurisdiction has been also agreed. "The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court will investigate all the corruption cases, including articles that are under the mark 45. Additionally, the entire investigative jurisdiction under National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) will be included in the jurisdiction of the Anti-Corruption Court," Vashadze added. He said that this issue has been fully agreed with the IMF. In addition, it was decided to cancel the lie-detector test for the Anti-Corruption Court candidates. They also agreed that only the Prosecutor General will be able to prosecute the representatives of this court, and the State Bureau of Investigation will investigate such cases. "Another recommendation, verbally voiced by the internationalists and deputies, concerns some existing cases that are already being considered by the court but cannot be transferred to the Anti-Corruption Court (not to overload the Court with the old cases)," Vashadze added. March 1, Verkhovna Rada supported as a basis the draft law on the Anti-Corruption Court; 282 people's deputies voted for. The document is criticized for the fact that the court's trial was planned to be made too broad (the institution could be "overwhelmed" with the secondary issues), and in the meantime, not all the crimes investigated by the NABU are on the list. However, the most urgent issue is the role of the Public Council of International Experts. It was supposed (in the first reading) that the veto of this council during the election of candidates to the court would be overcome by the Supreme Qualification Commission of Judges by 11 votes out of 16. Meanwhile, the Venice Commission recommended giving international organizations a decisive role. Russia-backed militants shelled Zaitseve village in Donbas yesterday, on May 22. As a result of the attack, a 60-year-old woman was injured. This was reported by the Donetsk region police press service. "A resident of Zaitseve village was wounded during militants attack yesterday, on May 21, at about 9:00 pm. The woman was in her yard when the attack happened. She was brought to Bakhmut hospital with a shrapnel wound," the message said. Police added that criminal case was open and the shelling was qualified as a terrorist act. As it was reported earlier, during the past 24 hours on May 21, Ukrainian military eliminated 15 militants. Two Ukrainian died and nine - were injured. In Luhansk area, the enemy was active in the area of Troitske village. In Donetsk area, the operations were carried out near Zaitseve, Luhanske, Novoluhanske, Mayorsk, Shumy, Zalizne, Pivdenne, Novhorod, Avdiivka, Mariinka and Novohnativka. The hostilities in Mariupol area continued in the settlements of Chermalyk, Vodyane and Shyrokyne. Related video: The fighting continued along the entire combat line; the militants violated the silence regime 53 times Open source For the past 24 hours on May 21, Ukrainian military eliminated 15 militants. Two Ukrainian died and nine - were injured. This was reported by the Joint Forces HQ press-centre in Facebook. In Luhansk area, the enemy was active in the area of Troitske village. In Donetsk area, the operations were carried out near Zaitseve, Luhanske, Novoluhanske, Mayorsk, Shumy, Zalizne, Pivdenne, Novhorod, Avdiivka, Mariinka and Novohnativka. The hostilities in Mariupol area continued in the settlements of Chermalyk, Vodyane and Shyrokyne. In total, during the day, militants violated the ceasefire regime 53 times. 30 times the enemy used 122-mm artillery and 120-mm and 82-mm mortars. Counter-sniper measures were used near Avdiivka and Mariinka, after which the shelling of Ukrainian positions ceased. The day before, the enemy tried to squeeze our soldiers out of the liberated Pivdenne, attacking from three directions. They also shelled Toretsk. During the fighting, two of our defenders were killed and nine were injured. Currently, all the wounded are in the hospital, where they receive medical assistance. According to the intelligence, 15 were militants of the Russian-terrorist troops were killed and 13 - were wounded. On Tuesday, May 22, there are no losses on our side. As it was reported earlier, the OSCE is checking information concerning the death of four civilians in Donbas during the last week (May 14-20). Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Alexander Hug said this at the briefing. He added that during the week in the area of the Joint Forces Operation, OSCE observers have recorded 7,700 cases of ceasefire regime violations in Donbas. Related video: The spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry said she could not disclose all the details, but the negotiations are ongoing At a press conference when Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov announced the hunger strike, the spokesperson of Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Mariana Betsa said that the ministry is considering to exchange Sentsov for the head of RIA News-Ukraine Kyrylo Vyshynsky arrested on suspicion of treason. All is possible. I cannot disclose all the details, because if we announced things in advance, believe me, both Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov would probably not have been released yet. I can say only that the negotiation process goes on, Betsa said. According to her, the Russian Federation blocks all Ukraines appeals on access to Sentsov. Only over the past year there were more than 20 of such addresses. Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov has announced a hunger strike. This way, he demands that all Ukrainians detained in Russia and annexed Crimea be released. Sentsov said he was ready to die if the requirements were not fulfilled. As we reported the workers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has exposed the network of the media entities controlled by the Russian Federation. The law enforcement bodies held the investigative actions at the office of RIA News-Ukraine. On May 15, the SBU considered the detention of the head of RIA News Ukraine agencys office. Related video: The staff of 112 Ukraine TV channel protests against the activity of Yuriy Artemenko, the head of the National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine. The channel's management insists that the official has been conducting the Council's actions in the way that prevents 112 Ukraine TV from broadcasting; previously, he stated that the Council would not issue the license for this medium. The open letter's full text follows. 'To Artemenko Yuriy: Usually, journalists do not write open letters. Usually, journalists do not ask for help. They usually defend themselves: - people who fell victim to the arbitrariness of the officials; - a country that has become the object of aggression of another country; - a state that is trying to destroy oligarchic and political clans fighting each other. In the end, they protect the faith of people in justice and future. But you wanted to deprive us of this faith. When in 2014 you asked all journalists, all media to abandon all the concepts and strengthen the information component, we took it as the right idea. It was us who had the fullest information about the events on Maidan, in Crimea and in Donbas conflict area. We decided to use the most honest mechanism for giving information - live broadcast. You got scared. After all, when you cannot edit the event - you cannot be sure of the loyalty. You destroyed your own right idea and ultimately accused us of the same thing you called for - that we stopped showing cartoons. You have become a liar. In official statements, you guaranteed the freedom of speech and even the freedom of speech on 112 Ukraine TV channel. At the very same time, you did your best to stop the TV channel. And you are not even hiding it. On May 12, on air of Channel 5, you told the whole country that you do not want to sue the channel, saying it's long and difficult. You cynically declared: "the issue with 112 channel is solved. The National Council simply will not renew its license." Although the question has not even been considered yet, the decision has already been announced! You crossed the line. You publicly admitted that you solve the questions and the law means nothing for you. And you do not care what happens to the country, our audience and even our families. We believe that you are a bad official. We think that you are not in your place. We believe that by pressuring journalists, you are undermining Ukraine's reputation. We believe that you have no place in the National Council. Therefore resign from your position. Make at least one honest and courageous act in your life. The staff of 112 Ukraine TV channel 21.05.2018 From the Editorial Board: The letter was signed by the staff of the 112 Ukraine TV channel. We continue collecting signatures of People's Deputies, politicians, public figures and activists under the demand for resignation of Yuriy Artemenko. The Estonian delegation will include investors, which come to see the prospects and opportunities for activity in Ukraine Kersti Kaljulaid, the president of Estonia will arrive in eastern Ukraine with a visit soon. She said this herself at a briefing with her Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko. 'Of course, I'll visit eastern regions of Ukraine to make sure that the conflict is still hot, it is not a frozen conflict. This is the conflict that daily affects the lives of people, the one that threatens entire Europe', the politician stressed. She added that a group of Estonian investors accompany her, expecting to see the opportunities and prospects of activity in Ukraine. Ukraine's leader Petro Poroshenko tweeted that his Estonian colleague would become the first head of a foreign state to visit the combat area in Donbas. The presidents of Ukraine and Estonia met in Kyiv on Tuesday; the sides discussed the construction of Nord Stream II gas pipline, the current situation in Donbas and issues of bilateral cooperation. Kremlin is sure that the withdrawal of Ukraine from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will not influence the work of the organization but will negatively affect Ukraine. Andry Shvedov, the Permanent Representative of Russia to CIS claimed this as Izvestia reported. He claimed that the decision of Kyiv 'was predictable' and it aims 'to completely keep Ukraine away from Russia'. Shvedov also reminded that the full procedure of the withdrawal from the CIS takes 12 months and Ukraine will be legally considered as a CIS member during this time. At the same, there were no Ukrainian representatives at the CIS during the last four years. 'There are no Ukrainian officials at the apparatus of the Executive Committee of the CIS. Ukraine has asked to not invite it at the sessions of the highest statutory bodies anymore. But Kyiv neglects these events since 2014. The possibility to stay at the particular multilateral agreements of the CIS is a subject of the separate negotiations with other 10 countries-members of the CIS. The Ukrainian side will define who is going to deal with the withdrawal instead of the workers of the closed permanent representative office', Shvedov claimed. He also expressed the confidence that this step has no practical sense for the successful integration to Europe but it will harm Ukraine, undermining its inner potential necessary to hold the reforms. 'Rather, the resources of the regional cooperation will strengthen the inner potential of a country aiming to Europe. Moreover, the issue is about the difficult and long-term process. However, these considerations that are quite pragmatic were not meaningful and the geo-political plan of the strategists of the Ukrainian events aimed to keep Ukraine away from Russia'. As it was reported earlier, on April 12 Petro Poroshenko stated that he indented to present a bill on termination of certain articles of the agreement on friendship with Russia. The President also called the Cabinet of Ministers for suspending the participation in the Commonwealth statutory bodies and supported the withdrawal of Ukraines representation in the relevant institutions in Minsk. Later, Iryna Lutsenko, the peoples deputy from Petro Poroshenko Bloc, the Presidents representative in the Parliament, stated that Ukraine would not denounce a series of agreements within CIS, including those on diplomas recognition, recruitment and transit. Later Poroshenko also claimed that Ukraine will reconsider all international agreements with the CIS. Physicians are on duty at the school and a preventive examination of children is conducted As a result of spraying of an unknown gas, 31 children of Kharkiv school 3 turned to doctors for help, 15 of them were sent to the hospital. Director of the Center for Emergency Medical Care Victor Zabashta said this, reports Interfax-Ukraine. "Six brigades of emergency medical care were sent to the site. The first brigade arrived in 4 minutes, 31 children were examined, 15 of them were sent to the regional children's clinical hospital," he said. According to the Department of Health Protection of Kharkiv Regional State Administration, the state of health of the hospitalized children is moderate. Among the symptoms are weakness and shortness of breath, as well as pale skin. Causes of malaise are yet to be established. Children are provided with all necessary medicines, the administration assured. Physicians are on duty at the school and a preventive examination of children is conducted. 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. This was reported by the press-centre of the Emergency Service. 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. Savchenko claimed after the session that she will continue the hunger strike Open source The Appeal Court of Kyiv has remained in the force the decision to extend the arrest of MP Nadia Savchenko until July 14. Tatiana Rosyk, the presiding judge claimed this as Ukrainian News reported. The court has rejected the appeal of Savchenko's lawyers on the change of the restrictive measure and refused to release the MP on bail. The decision of the court cannot be appealed. According to Vira Savchenko, more than 50 people were ready to bail Nadia out, including MP Vitaly Kupry. Savchenko claimed after the session that she will continue the hunger strike. On May 14 during the court session, Savchenko claimed that Paruby issued her a weapon commenting the statement of Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko that the Russian officers issued her the weapons. As we reported, Shevchenkivsky Court of Kyiv decided on the preventive measures for Savchenko, which is custody for two months until May 20, 2018, without a right for a bail. Besides, the Court decided that the detention on March 22 was illegal. On March 29, the Appeal Court of Kyiv kept Savchenkos arrest effective. The same day the MP went on the hunger strike. She also emphasized that she is not going to escape from Ukraine. On April 12, Savchenko was transferred from the remand center to the hospital for the examination. On April 16, it was reported that Savchenko continued her hunger strike and polygraph was postponed until April 17. On March 15, Lutsenko claimed during his speech at the parliament that Savchenko personally planned, recruited and ordered how to hold the terrorist attack in the Verkhovna Rada, destroying two lodges, governmental and post, by the combat grenades, bringing down the dome of the Verkhovna Rada by the mortar launchers and killing the survived with the assault rifles. Also, it was reported that non-affiliated MP Nadia Savchenko and Volodymyr Ruban, the Head of 'Officer Corps' planned to attack the cortege of the President of Ukraine with the large caliber sniper rifle. The offenders are two Ukrainians and two Belarus citizens Open source Border guards of Ivankiv unit together with the national Police detained four people who illegally entered Chornobyl exclusion zone for extreme tourism. This was reported by the press-centre Ukraines State Border Guard Service. The offenders are two Ukrainians and two Belarus citizens. The adventure-seekers have sneaked in Chornobyl exclusion zone for extreme tourism. Administrative protocols were drawn up on the fact of breach of radiation safety regime in the area that suffered radiation pollution. As we reported earlier, another case of illegal entry to Chornobyl zone were registered in April. That time also, four stalkers were detained. April 26 is commemoration date of the disaster of Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, - one of the most terrible technogenic catastrophes in the history of mankind. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov paid tribute to the liquidators of the disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The new safe confinement at Chornobyl nuclear power plant will be put into service in December 2018. President Petro Poroshenko said this during his visit to the working ground of the NPP. He added that the mounting works on the object are almost over. Related video: The permissible annual number of workers from Ukraine will be increased to 19,600 people Ministry of Labour of Czech Republic Jaroslava Nemcova presented a program that will accelerate the employment of Ukrainians in the country, as Radio Praha reports. "Employees from the Czech Republic are simply impossible to find in the labor market, so we really need to hire workers from abroad. We are primarily turn to Ukraine because the country culturally and traditionally close to us. This is a country that has much to offer and people there really want to work " Nemcova said during a visit to the Czech Embassy in Ukraine and the Consulate General in Lviv. It is reported that about 70 thousand Ukrainians are already working in the Czech Republic. The annual quota for Ukrainian workers in the Czech Republic was raised to 19,600. In Czechia the number of vacancies has reached a record number - about 250 thousand. These are the vacancies of nurses, social workers, workers average technical skills and builders. As it was reported earlier, Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce along with the All-Ukraine association on international recruitment launched a project Partnership and employment. The aim of the project is to overcome fraud in the employment area for Ukrainians in Poland and organize normal functioning of the international employment market for Ukrainians. According to the representatives of the association, many fraud schemes in the overseas employment are based on the fact that the job seeker pays for the job search and does not get anything in the end. Within the project, the intermediaries will receive the commission fees not from the job seekers, but from the employers, who are selecting the staff. Peskov specified that such issues are not discussed publicly There have been no offers on the exchange of Ukrainian movie maker Oleg Sentsov convicted in Russia to Kyrylo Vyshynsky, the Chief Editor of RIA News-Ukraine arrested in Kherson. Dmytry Peskov, the spokesperson of the Russian president claimed this as Vedomosti reported. 'There are no initiatives on this issue yet as far as I know. Anyway, such issues are not discussed in public. Such issues like only silence', Peskov claimed. Earlier Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariana Betsa claimed that Kyiv considers all variants of Sentsov's release, including the exchange for Vyshynsky. 'Everything is possible. I cannot reveal all details because if we have announced this earlier, Akhtem Chyigoz and Ilmi Umerov had not been released yet. I can tell that the negotiation process does not stop', she claimed. As we reported the workers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has exposed the network of the media entities controlled by the Russian Federation. The law enforcement bodies held the investigative actions at the office of RIA News-Ukraine. On May 15, the SBU considered the detention of the head of RIA News Ukraine agencys office. Earlier Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov has announced a hunger strike. This way, he demands that all Ukrainians detained in Russia and annexed Crimea be released. Sentsov said he was ready to die if the requirements were not fulfilled. On May 17, Vyshynsky was arrested for two months in Kherson. Ukraine will offset the loss of 'Luhanskteplovoz' enterprise captured by the militants of Luhansk People's Republic Ukrzaliznytsia (the Ukrainian Railways) will get the first 30 locomotives of the American Corporation General Electric until the end of 2018. Yevhen Kravtsov, the acting CEO of Ukrzaliznytsia claimed this as Radio Liberty reported. 'One of the decisions is the strategic partnership with the American Corporation General Electric that we has begun in the beginning of 2018 and plans to get first 30 locomotives until the end of the year', Kravtsov noted. He reminded that the loss of 'Luhanskteplovoz' became a catastrophe for the transport sector of Ukraine. ''Luhanskteplovoz' was the key enterprise not only at the production cycle but also at the sphere of the major repairs of our diesel locomotive. I must note that we lost out potential since the enterprise was absent at the production cycle of Ukraine. According to Kravtsov, 'Luhanskteplovoz' is completely destroyed and dismantled now. As we reported Ukraine and General Electric has signed a $1 billion contract for procuring and localizing locomotives. One locomotive will cost $3, 5 million. Part of the series Da Vinci Dialogues Panel Discussion. Listen to local experts and ask questions on the intersection of science and art, then join the discussion. Part of series Da Vinci Dialogues Panel Discussion. Listen to local experts, and ask your questions on the intersection of science and art, then join the discussion. Participants will include artists who use a variety of media and scientists who use art in their science. Moderator Andrea Polli (UNM), Panelists John Feins (MeowWolf), Tom Greenbaum (Intel), William Hartmann (Planetary Science Institute), and Jeannette Hart-Mann (UNM). Cost: $8 nonmembers, $7 members, $5 students. Cost includes $5 discount coupon to Da Vinci: The Genius exhibit. For adults and students age 10 and above. Preregistration is encouraged or tickets can be purchased at the door the evening of the event (if seats are available). Go to www.NMnaturalhistory.org This event is made possible by the support of the New Mexico Humanities Council and National Endowment for the Humanities YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Justice minister Artak Zeynalyan on May 21 received Natalia Voutova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Armenia, the ministry told Armenpress. Minister Zeynalyan highly appreciated the cooperation with the Council of Europe and assured that the programs already launched will be implemented with a greater energy. In her turn Natalia Voutova congratulated minister Zeynalyan on his appointment and stated that the Council of Europe, in particular the Yerevan Office, has the most productive and perfect cooperation with the justice ministry. During the meeting the minister and the European partner discussed the ongoing joint programs and cooperation prospects, in particular, they touched upon the works aimed at improving the healthcare services and probation system in correctional facilities. Head of the CoE Yerevan Office affirmed the structures readiness to assist capacity development of the staff of the Probation Service and providing expert opinions within the frames of legislative reforms. At the end of the meeting the sides also discussed the cooperation programs in judicial sphere and expressed readiness to deepen the mutual partnership. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Georgias Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Wess Mitchell, US Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, discussed the bilateral cooperation, the situation in the region and the commercial ties during the meeting in Washington D.C., the Georgian government said, RIA Novosti reports. The sides discussed the relations between Georgia and the US, including, the trade-economic direction and the intensification of cultural and educational cooperation, the statement said. They have also discussed the upcoming NATO summit in Brussels and outlined Georgias prospect on the way to the Euro-Atlantic integration. The US supports Georgias aspiration towards NATO and together with the allies will affirm the countrys success on that path during the summit, the statement added. The Georgian governmental delegations visit to the US will continue until May 23. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. New minister of healthcare Arsen Torosyan has urged anyone having any information about corruption schemes or any corruption-related instances in the healthcare sector to notify the ministry through [email protected] a notification mailing system. Torosyan told individuals and companies to notify him in the event of witnessing any corruption-related incident during procurements, tenders, licensing or inspection activities of the ministry or agencies under the ministry. The minister vowed to personally examine all reports and forward them to law enforcement agencies. Torosyan was appointed healthcare minister April 12 by President Sarkissian, at the recommendation of PM Nikol Pashinyan. ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. The delegation led by Demetris Syllouris, president of the Parliament (House of Representatives) of Cyprus, on May 22 visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial in Yerevan to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims, Armenpress reports. The delegation members were accompanied by Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov. The Cyprus representatives laid a wreath at the Memorial and flowers at the Eternal Flame. Acting director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Gevorg Vardanyan introduced the history of the construction of the Memorial and its symbolic meaning. Demetris Syllouris said the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and the whole world, as well as the recognition of each genocide has a historic meaning aimed at preventing similar events in the future. This is the fight of Armenians. We will always stand by Armenians not only as friends and brothers, but also as a state. Its a duty not only towards Armenians, but towards the whole humanity so that genocides will never repeat, Demetris Syllouris said. The Cypriot delegation toured the Genocide Museum and got acquainted with the materials on the Genocide. At the end of the tour a note was left in the Museums Honorary Guest Book on behalf of the Cypriot delegation: We saw yet again, in the humility of a pilgrim, the sufferings of the Armenian people in the hands of barbarity and hatred. We say: Never again! Cyprus is among the first states that recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide. It also has adopted a law criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide on April 2, 2015. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. U.S. and Israel Should Recognize the Armenian Genocide' this is the title of an op-ed by editor/writer Therese Raphael in the American Bloomberg. Raphael reminds about the deadly events in Gaza Strip, where 60 Palestinian protesters were killed by Israeli forces. Turkey recalled its ambassadors to the US and Israel in response, and President Erdogan called the Israeli actions a genocide, while Israeli PM Netanyahu fired back saying I suggest that he not preach morality to us. Erdogans attack 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, the author says. 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. Rapahel reminds how Turkey lashed out at France for recognizing the Armenian Genocide, and again when Germany followed suit. She also mentions how Turkeys harassment of the Israeli ambassador on his way home has lit flares in Jerusalem. Two Israeli MPs have introduced a bill seeking the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. 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. Shortly after he accused Israel of mass murder, he received a call from his new best friend, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, praising him in the name of Islamic solidarity for standing up to the Big and Little Satan; that is, the U.S. and Israel, Raphael writes, arguing that the Israeli silence on the Armenian Genocide was a matter of sheer pragmatism. 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. It is hard to recall such trans-partisan enthusiasm. Still, nothing will change without Netanyahus say-so. No legislation can pass without his consent and no new diplomatic policy can be adopted either, as he is also Israels 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. ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenias stance on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has not changed, Tigran Balayan spokesperson of the foreign ministry, said at a press briefing on May 22, reports Armenpress. The Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be settled exclusively through peaceful means based on the proposals of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, as well as in the conditions of respecting the agreements reached after the April aggression, the foreign ministry spokesman said. Commenting on the meeting of the Co-Chairs with the Armenian leadership scheduled in June, Tigran Balayan said there is no clarification yet over the date of the meeting. The dates are being clarified. We will inform in case of reaching a concrete agreement. There is no agreement on the meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, he said. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on May 15 met with Azerbaijani foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov and informed that they expect to meet with the Armenian leadership in June. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Artsakhs participation in the negotiation process on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a mandatory condition for reaching a concrete, balanced and lasting peace, Tigran Balayan - spokesperson of the foreign ministry, said at a press briefing on May 22, reports Armenpress. Today our task is that the Azerbaijani leadership, which negotiates on behalf of Azerbaijan since 2003, must clearly understand that the way to reach lasting and firm settlement is to negotiate with Karabakh. We are not refusing from the negotiations, we will continue the negotiations as Armenia, as Artsakhs guarantor, but at the same time stating that Artsakh should become a participant of the negotiations, Tigran Balayan said. Introducing new Armenian foreign ministers stance on the statement of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, according to which Artsakh should be a party to the negotiation, Tigran Balayan said its not something new that Armenia insists on Artsakhs participation, this has been stated for years. Now the realities have just changed which supposes Artsakhs more engagement in the negotiation process, the MFA spokesman said. Asked with what mechanisms Artsakhs broader engagement in the negotiations can be ensured, Tigran Balayan said Artsakh is involved in the negotiations in this or that way, there are documents which mention the participation of all sides. But the problem is different: Azerbaijan for years has rejected to directly negotiate with Karabakh. I want to remind that the main result of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement - the establishment of ceasefire in 1994, has taken place as a result of direct negotiations of Karabakh and Azerbaijan. Karabakhs President at that time Robert Kocharyan and Azerbaijani president of that time Heydar Aliyev held meetings, as well as direct phone conversations, Tigran Balayan added. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan considers the negotiations with a right format as the most important component for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, and Artsakh should definitely participate in these negotiations. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Deputy minister of foreign affairs of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan has commented on PM Nikol Pashinyans statement on Artsakhs participation in the negotiations for settling the NK conflict being a necessity. Talking to reporters in the parliament, Kocharyan emphasized that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have also spoken about this. If the Kazan meeting were to be finished successfully, then this document wouldve been approved by Artsakh also, and the three countries would together work on a peace treaty. I am surprised over this stir. It is obvious that without the main party of the conflict, Artsakh, progress is impossible, Kocharyan said. He stressed that the fact that Artsakh isnt participating in the talks now is related to solely the destructive stance of Azerbaijan. On the other hand, the co-chairs are well aware that Armenia cannot negotiate instead of Artsakh, and from the moment when progress will be able to be recorded Artsakh will take part. In other words, The participation-non participation of Artsakh shows like a litmus paper whether Azerbaijan indeed seeks progress in the negotiations process or simply uses the process for continuing its destructive policy, Kocharyan said. ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by President of the Gallup International Association (GIA) Kancho Stoychev, the PMs Office told Armenpress. The PM welcomed holding the 71st annual GIA forum in Yerevan and the participation of international experts in this event. Nikol Pashinyan attached importance to the constant increase of the quality of political research, the exchange of experience and having an objective assessment as a result of analysis in the directions of upcoming reforms, activity of the government system and etc. PM Pashinyan expressed hope that the Yerevan forum will contribute to exchange of experience and increase of analytical capacity level of experts. Kancho Stoychev expressed confidence that the Yerevan forum will form new grounds for regional cooperation, will enable the participants to get acquainted with the latest trends in sociology and to make an exchange of successful experience. The GIA President introduced the Armenian PM on the topics being discussed at the forum and the opportunities to develop the cooperation with the Armenian partners. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. High-ranking visits to Armenia are expected next week, foreign ministry spokesperson Tigran Balayan said at a press briefing. We expect the delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US State Departments Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Mrs. Bridget Brink, and Frances foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit Armenia May 27-28, he said. Balayan says thousands of visitors are expected from the Diaspora on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the First Republic on May 28. Armenias foreign minister is also scheduled to make a number of visits and meetings in various countries. It will be in both multilateral and bilateral formats, he said, adding that they will provide additional information soon. ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. President of the Council of Ministers of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki sent a congratulatory letter to Nikol Pashinyan on being elected Prime Minister of Armenia, the Armenian PMs Office told Armenpress. Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki wished PM Pashinyan numerous achievements, stating that he expects to meet with him in the near future. I hope the Armenian-Polish friendly, historical ties, which we want to deepen in all spheres, will continue developing. Armenia, as a strategically important country for Europe in the region, is a key partner for us which is engaged in political and economic spheres within the frames of both the Eurasian and European cooperation. It also creates a favorable environment for new initiatives and activities in the bilateral relations. I am convinced that the new Armenian government will make all possible efforts to strengthen the countrys position in the international arena, to ensure its security, as well as continue the democratic reforms, reads the congratulatory letter. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Vice Speaker of the Armenian parliament Eduard Sharmazanov has slammed the new education and science minister for political myopia over his plans on abandoning the military-patriotism education doctrine. Arayik Harutyunyan, the new minister, had earlier announced that he plans to abandon the doctrine which was developed by the former government in order to encourage patriotism in school children from early ages. The former government mentioned several challenges to be the reason why the doctrine is a necessity. It mentioned a wide range of challenges, such as the exposure of school children to slang language and bad street behavior, interaction with foreign cultural values. Challenges also included the term sexual perversion, although the document didnt specify any details. Basically the doctrine was a tool to promote patriotism and conservatism, military service and healthy lifestyle. Sharmazanov told reporters that he is concerned over the ministers opinion regarding the doctrine. In a country where there is a task of building national society, which faces the danger of war from Turkey and Azerbaijan, abandoning the military-patriotic doctrine is to say the least a political shortsightedness, he said. The Vice Speaker also slammed the minister for claiming he had explained school teachers how to withdraw from the Republican Party. I would urge the minister of education and science to mind his own business, deal with education and science and not interfere in the peoples free constitutional right. Be it a school teacher, a reporter or a janitor, it is exclusively they themselves who decide to be a member of a party or not, he said. ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. At the invitation of Anna Hakobyan, wife of Armenias Prime Minister, the second meeting with the participation of the representatives of oncology and hematology charity funds and specialists of the field was held on May 22, Anna Hakobyans Office told Armenpress. The meeting participants dispelled the concerns according to which the change of the political situation in the country could have undermined the normal activity of this very important field. Moreover, the meeting participants happily stated that the statement issued based on the results of the previous meeting left a great impact, and the flow of donations to oncology and hematology charity funds have significantly increased. They reaffirmed readiness to unite all efforts and capacities to continue the treatment of children suffering from cancer. For this purpose it is expected to create a major foundation with the participation of charity funds and specialists of the field which will coordinate the activities and will act on behalf of all specialists, organizations and individuals concerned over this issue. In this sense Anna Hakobyan was proposed to be included in the Board of Trustees. Mrs. Anna Hakobyan gave her approval with pleasure and expressed confidence that the foundation will be open to cooperation with all concerned organizations and will operate exclusively in a transparent and coordinated manner. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. The timing for the early parliamentary elections in Armenia is still unclear, First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told RFE/RL Armenian service. He said he will not speak about the dates yet. Indeed, early elections is one of our priorities, but the country must be ready for is. For example, the electoral code, the electoral commissions, if we are heading to the elections with this, then is this really what we want? Are citizens of Armenia really able to stipulate their will through these mechanisms, this law? I dont think so, he said. The First Deputy PM says he believes that many will share his opinion that the electoral sector needs numerous corrections. I mentioned only two, however there is much to do in the adjacent direction. We must develop mechanisms, in order for businessmen not to have restrictions but guarantees for business activities, and not be interested in being engaged in politics, in order to ensure security of their business. People must calmly do their business and not be interested in entering politics, Mirzoyan said. The reporter also asked Ararat Mirzoyan on his feelings in the capacity. Being in the government is first of all unusual, and in addition it is a very heavy responsibility and service, like I usually call it. Officials will not be engaged in business, we will live with salaries, he said. ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. On May 22, the Australian Ryde City Council unanimously adopted a resolution in support for the independence of the Republic of Artsakh. The City Council called on the central government to officially recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh and strengthen Australia's relationship with Artsakh and its citizens, Artsakhs foreign ministry told Armenpress. Following is the text of the resolution: Resolution 1. That Ryde City Council notes that 2018 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the start of the Artsakh Liberation movement, which led to the 1991 declaration of independence of the Republic of Artsakh (previously Nagorno Karabakh). 2. That Ryde City Council: (a) acknowledges the importance of the basic human right to self determination and a free and a democratic society; (b) recognizes the right to self-determination of all peoples including those of the Republic of Artsakh; (c) notes the Republic of Artsakh's sustained efforts towards creating a free and democratic society through the use of legitimate parliamentary elections and its continued efforts to develop a responsible government; (d) supports and encourages the Republic of Artsakh's involvement within the international community and further encourages its engagement with the international community to reach a solution to the existing regional problems to establish peace and stability; (e) encourages peaceful relations and the continued promotion of humanitarian and economic support for the people of the Republic of Artsakh; and (f) calls on the Commonwealth Government to officially recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh and strengthen Australia's relationship with the Republic of Artsakh and its citizens. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenias direction to develop the relations with Israel will be continuous, foreign ministry spokesperson Tigran Balayan said in response to the question of a reporter according to which whether the foreign ministry will adopt a new policy on deepening the Armenian-Israeli ties taking into account the recent activeness of talks over the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the Knesset, as well as Armenias position on Jerusalem. We consider Israel as a friendly state. Armenia has a cultural presence there, historical-cultural heritage and as a country bearing it, we cannot remain indifferent towards what is happening in and around Israel. The appointment of a separate ambassador was pursing this purpose. We have also taken several other steps. The official visit of the Armenian foreign minister to Israel took place in late 2017, agreements were reached to develop the relations. I think this direction will be continuous, the MFA spokesman said. As for the ties with Iran in the context of deepening the relations, Tigran Balayan said Iran is a neighbor and friendly state, and the leaders of the two countries have expressed readiness to develop the mutual beneficial partnership during the May 13 telephone conversation. The issue of adopting an Armenian Genocide recognition bill has again appeared in the agenda of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) on the background of tense relations between Turkey and Israel after the Gaza events. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, 22 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 22 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.36 drams to 482.67 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 3.25 drams to 570.76 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.14 drams to 7.88 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.75 drams to 650.40 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price down by 14.14 drams to 19992.87 drams. Silver price down by 0.96 drams to 253.57 drams. Platinum price up by 5.29 drams to 13733.61 drams. YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in congratulated Nikol Pashinyan on the occasion of assuming the post of Prime Minister of Armenia. The Korean President wished Nikol Pashinyan good health and success in all his initiatives, as well as sustainable welfare to the Republic of Armenia, ARMENPRESS was informed from the official website of the Prime Minister of Armenia. The message particularly runs as follows, I have the honor to convey to you my sincere congratulations on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Korea and the people on the occasion of assuming the post of the Prime Minister of Armenia. I am confident that your election reflects the striving of the citizens of the country for changes and reforms. I sincerely believe that under your leadership and guidance the Republic of Armenia will record progress on its way to stability and welfare. Since 1992, the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Armenia developed friendly and partnering relations. I expect to further strengthen the existing cooperation through close dialogue with Your Excellency. English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan met with President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus Demetris Syllouris on May 22, who is in Yerevan on an official visit. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of MFA Armenia, greeting the guest, the Armenian Foreign Minister noted that he is glad to host the President of the House of Representatives of friendly Cyprus and his delegation. According to Minister Mnatsakanyan, during his diplomatic mission in different countries he always had a warm and productive cooperation with his Cypriot colleagues which is the result of the traditional friendship between the two states. Thanking for the warm reception, the President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus noted that his Armenia visit is very saturated and its a good opportunity to discuss the prospects of further expanding and developing the relations between the two brotherly countries. Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Demetris Syllouris recorded with satisfaction that Armenia and Cyprus have established solid inter-state relations, highlighting the mutual readiness to further deepen partnership in all the sphere of mutual interest. The interlocutors recorded with satisfaction that an effective cooperation exists between the two states on international platforms, and discussed ways to further foster the cooperation in different spheres. Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Demetris Syllouris exchanged views on pressing regional and international issues. The Foreign minister of Armenia presented to the parliamentary delegation of Cyprus the efforts aimed at a peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabak conflict in the sidelines of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair format. English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Over 100 pieces of the members of the Painters Union of Armenia are exhibited on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the first Armenian Republic. The Painters Union has always touched the most important events of the state and the nation. This year 50 exhibitions are planned, the most important of which opened today. 500 pieces were submitted for participation in this exhibition, but today only 100 are exhibited. The committee was very strict and selected the best ones. ARMENPRESS reports the Chairman of the Painters Union Karen Aghamyan as saying. President of Armeni Armen Sarkissian also visited the exhibition. He conferred that he is really happy to have been invited to the exhibition by the painters of the country. In 60s, when I was still a youngster, this building was a temple for the youth. I remember that every year exhibitions were held here where the pieces of our famous painters, Minas Avetisyan, Yervand Kochar and others were exhibited, President Sarkissian said, hoping that Armenia will become better every day. Photos by Gevorg Perkuperkyan English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has commented on the announcement of NSS Director Artur Vanetsyan about fight against corruption, according to which the service carries out works to expose corruption chains. Lets wait and we will see what will happen. Of course, any corruption case should be exposed and people standing behind them should stand responsible, ARMENPRESS reports the President as saying. In a short period of time you will witness the exposure of people enriched via corruption schemes who will stand responsible in line with law. This does not mean that we will take the path of repressions or revenge. Any case against anyone will be public, Vanetsyan said on May 19, adding that illegally enriched people should return the sums. According to him, there are nearly 350 individuals in Armenia who are unaware that companies that evade taxes are registered in their names. They are unaware, they are people living in difficult social conditions whose passports were taken for 5,10,20 thousand drams and companies were registered in their names, Vanetsyan said, promising to present the exposures to the public soon. English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus Demetris Syllouris on May 22. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the official website of the prime minister of Armenia, greeting the guests PM Pashinyan noted that the relations of Armenia and Cyprus have historical roots and the two peoples always had warm attitude towards each other. I am happy to record that our countries have common positions on regional issues. I highlight the role of Cyprus in the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and condemnation and prevention of genocides, Pashinyan said. He also appreciated the position of Cyprus on Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the support for the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs. The Head of the Executive underlined that Armenia is interested in further development of political, economic and security partnership with Cyprus and highlighted cooperation with Cyprus also in the sidelines of Armenia-EU relations. The President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus congratulated Nikol Pashinyan on the occasion of being elected Prime Minister of Armenia and expressed confidence that the cooperation between the two states will gain a new impetus. Be sure that we will assume the role of the representative of Armenia in the European Union and will try to make steps in the direction of the ratification of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement and the visa liberalization process, Demetris Syllouris said. PM Pashinyan and Demetris Syllouris highlighted the development of trilateral cooperation between Armenia, Cyprus and Greece and hoped that the sides will continue to actively work in this direction. Nikol Pashinyan asked to convey is warm greetings to the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, reaffirming the invitation to participate in the 17th summit of Francophonie in Yerevan in autumn. During the meeting the sides also referred to a number of issues of mutual interest. English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Vice president of the National Assembly of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov hopes that both the Government and the National Assembly will act exclusively in line with the national interests of the Armenian People, Armenia and Artsakh. Yes, there is new reality. We will be constructive opposition and will not create artificial obstacles for the Government but there are some program points that can never be subject of discussion or bargaining for us. These are the development of democracy and political pluralism, ARMENPRESS reports Sharmazanov as saying during the hour of announcements at the National Assembly. According to him, with all the shortcomings of the previous government, those values developed and it the new authorities should resemble their approaches in terms of pluralism and tolerance. Sharmazanov noted that absence and refusal of pluralism is a direct way to dictatorship. Artsakh can never become part of Azerbaijan and the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination is not a subject for discussions. This is not a territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but a struggle for the right to self-determination and freedom, where Armenia is not a conflicting side with Azerbaijan, but the security guarantor of the people of Artsakh. Natonal security and army building are priorities for us. To my deep conviction real democratic values and national traditional and Christian values do not contradict each other, but are combinable. We will continue to support and value traditional family values, the Armenian Apostolic Church, at the same time respecting the cultural and national traditions of others, Sharmazanov said, adding that the new Cabinet should ensure at least the same economic growth as their Cabinet did in 2017, 7.5% growth. English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Well known analyst specializing in South Caucasus Thomas de Waal referred to the recent developments in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process. For the past month Armenia has coasted on a wave of popular emotion and international goodwill, ever since peaceful protests forced the resignation of veteran leader Serzh Sargsyan and brought to power opposition leader Nikol Pashinian. Pashinian, who is 42, has appointed a new government even more youthful than himself. He has also promised to crack down on corruption and clean up the old oligarchic system. A country that many had characterized as isolated, stuck, and completely dependent on Russia has confounded stereotypes and now looks dynamictrendy even, ARMENPRESS reports Thomas de Waal wrote in an article published in carnegieeurope.eu, adding that all this promise and hope could be swept away if Armenias new government gets one thing wrong: its stance on the unresolved Nagorny Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, now three decades old. The tired negotiating process could certainly do with some shaking upbut not too much. The analyst reminded that the next day of his election as Prime Minister, pashinyan departed for Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) and insisted that Nagorno Karabakh must directly participate in the conflict settlement talks and sit at the negotiating table. According to de Waal, Pashinyan is sincere with the Armenians of Karabakh and still in 2016 he had announced that There is no land to hand over to Azerbaijan. Thomas de Waal also underlined that the discussions that Nagorno Karabakh should participate in the negotiations is relevant. After all, their homeland is the original subject of the dispute. They did take part until 1998, he wrote. English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan Finding a house close to the city centre for under $500,000 is becoming increasingly difficult. Also read: Housing costs are actually the same as in 1993, but renters still struggle But Property Observers expert Cameron Kusher has put together a list of the top five suburbs in each capital city which are closest to the city centre and have a median house value under $500,000. Also read: Do we need to worry about Australias economic outlook? Obviously the options and distance from the city centre vary greatly across each of the individual capital cities. City suburbs under $500,000, Property Observer 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. Also read: How to pay off your mortgage early (with $10 a week) 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. Story continues 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. At least 16 people were killed and 38 wounded Tuesday when a minivan packed with explosives exploded as members of the security forces were trying to defuse it in southern Afghanistan, officials said. Police and intelligence officers in the city of Kandahar had already cleared the area around a bus station where the van was found, said the provincial governor's spokesman Daud Ahmadi. "As the security forces were trying to defuse the van, it detonated," said police spokesman Mohammad Qasim Azad. "The latest figures show 16 dead and 38 wounded people brought to the hospital. We still have two ambulances at the site because there might be more people under the rubble," said Dr Nehmat Barak, chief of the Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar. Ahmadi confirmed the toll, adding that the dead included four members of the security forces. At least five children and 10 members of the security forces were among the wounded. The blast was so powerful that most of the casualties were passers-by outside the cleared area. "When I was going to my shop the area was closed by the security forces," one witness who did not give his name told AFP. "I was waiting for the way to be opened when a big explosion happened and I escaped from the area. My co-workers who were already in the shop have disappeared and I have no news about what happened to them." Another witness said he was inside his shop when the explosives detonated. "I found myself among smoke and bloodstains and saw my hand broken," he said. Ahmadi said security forces also found a large container of explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, suicide vests and ammunition near the site. "The terrorists planned to conduct a big attack at the end of Ramadan in the city among crowds of people as they went out shopping for Eid... security forces prevented a disaster from happening," one security official told AFP. - 'Few signs of progress' - No group immediately claimed responsibility. The blast was quickly condemned by President Ashraf Ghani, who praised the "brave" officers who dealt with it. The Taliban are stepping up their spring offensive across the war-torn country. Late Monday the insurgents attacked two districts in the southeastern province of Ghazni, briefly capturing the police headquarters in one of them before being pushed back, said governor's spokesman Aref Noori. He said 16 members of the security forces had been killed in the fighting and the Taliban also suffered "heavy" losses, with sporadic clashes continuing Tuesday. Last week the militants attacked the western city of Farah but were driven back by commandos supported by the Afghan and US Air Force. On Monday the Taliban warned Kabul residents to avoid "military centres" in the heavily fortified city, saying they are planning more attacks there. A US government watchdog also warned Monday that upbeat assessments of improving security in the country did not match facts on the ground. The Pentagon's Office of the Inspector General said there were "few signs of progress" in the fight against the Taliban. Top US officials and military commanders insist that Afghan police and troops -- who have suffered thousands of casualties and are beset by low morale and corruption -- are now doing a better job. But the Taliban still control swathes of the country and are staging repeated attacks, while the Islamic State group has conducted a series of high-profile suicide blasts in Kabul and elsewhere. str-emh-us-st/ds/sm One of the blast victims in hospital Thousands of bones from boys and men likely killed in a ferocious battle 2,000 years ago have been unearthed from a bog in Denmark, researchers said Monday. Without local written records to explain, or a battlefield to scour for evidence, experts are nevertheless piecing together a story of the Germanic people, often described by the Romans as "barbarians" for their violent nature. Four pelvic bones strung on a stick were among the remains of at least 82 people found during archaeological excavations at Alken Enge, on Denmark's Jutland peninsula, indicating an organized and ritual clearing of a battlefield, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The site, which has been studied since 2009, has yielded the earliest discovery of "a large contingent of fighters from a defeated army from the early first century AD," said the PNAS report. - Well preserved - "The bones are extremely well preserved," co-author Mette Lvschal, of the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at Aarhus University, told AFP. "And you can see stuff that you can normally not see in them, like the gnaw marks of animals and you can see the cut marks from sharp weapons. That is highly unusual," she said. The more than 2,300 human bones were contained in peat and lake sediments over 185 acres (75 hectares) of wetland meadows. Radiocarbon-dating put them between 2 BC and 54 AD. In this era, Roman soldiers were pressing an expansion northward, and around 7 AD, the Romans suffered a massive loss in which tens of thousands of warriors were killed by the Germanic people. "What they do in the succeeding decades is have these military raids in Germania, basically to punish the barbarians for this huge defeat," said Lvschal. "What we actually think we are seeing here could be the remains of one of those punitive campaigns." - Young and old males - Lvschal said the bones appear to be from a "fairly heterogeneous population," with some as young as 13 to 14, and others as old as 40-60. The bog is estimated to hold the remains of around 380 men who died from combat injuries. "They do not seem to have a lot of healed trauma, from experience with previous battles," she said. "They could have had previously very little experience with battle." The bones show weapon strikes predominantly on the right side, with few injuries around the midsection where the fighters may have been holding shields with their left arms. Experts think the bodies may have been lying on the battlefield for quite some time, possibly six months to a year, because many bones show signs of being gnawed by dogs or wolves. They were stripped of their personal belongings before being deposited into the bog. - Questions remain - Many questions remain. Who was involved in the battle? Was it tribe-against-tribe? Or Germanic fighters against Roman warriors? And what is the meaning of stringing pelvic bones on a stick? "Those four pelvises on a stick could almost point to having connotations to sexual humiliation," said Lvschal. "It seems to have aggressive undertones to it as well. So it has been difficult to say who did it." Archaeologists could also see another telling change in the landscape after the battle. Once a pastoral area including cropland, forest and grassland, it changed dramatically into a densely forested landscape for the next 800 years, said Lvschal. "It suggests that this event had a huge impact on the people who lived there," she added. "There was a large-scale trauma to the community." Bone trove in Denmark tells story of 'Barbarian' battle 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. A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Ciri, northern Burundi, on May 17, 2018 Timeline of the crisis in Burundi A decades-old abortion ban that activists say endangers women -- even if it is only sporadically enforced -- will be challenged in South Korea's supreme court this week. Along with Ireland, which holds a referendum on reforming strict abortion laws on Friday, South Korea is one of the few industrialised nations where the procedure is illegal except for instances of rape, incest and when the mother's health is at risk. Women who terminate a pregnancy face a fine and a year in jail, while doctors who carry out terminations can get up to two years behind bars. In reality, the 1953 law rarely results in prosecutions. But there are growing calls for change as activists argue criminalisation leaves women vulnerable to unsafe procedures and the changing whims of politicians as well as blackmail from their partners. "It's anachronistic," Kim Dong-sik, a researcher at the state-run Korean Women's Development Institute, told AFP. "We are still stuck in 1953." Calls to repeal the law have gained traction in recent years with more than 230,000 people signing a petition to legalise abortion last year. On Thursday the Constitutional Court is due to review a challenge from a doctor who was prosecuted for performing nearly 70 abortions. But opposition is staunch in a country that remains conservative towards female sexuality and highly influenced by evangelical Christianity. Historically, enforcement of the law has been patchy as South Korea morphed from an impoverished nation to one of Asia's wealthiest economies. "The country has a history of tacitly encouraging abortion and contraception when it needs to reduce population, and when low birthrate became an issue, it clamped down on abortion," said Jay Kim, from the non-profit advocacy group Womenlink. In the 1960s when South Korea was poorer, Kim said, abortion buses roamed the streets as authorities fretted about overpopulation and pushed a semi-official "one child per family" policy. - Underground doctors - The court hearing on Thursday comes a day before Ireland holds a referendum on whether to repeal its even more restrictive abortion ban that forces women to head overseas to terminate unwanted pregnancies. In contrast, abortions are commonplace and obtainable in South Korea. A survey conducted by the Korean Women's Development Institute last month found one in five women who have been pregnant have had an abortion. Only one percent said they had a legal reason to terminate the pregnancy. In these instances, women need "proof" that they were raped, or -- in the case of their health being at risk -- need permission from their partner. The procedure must be carried out within the first six months of the pregnancy. The ban also increases health risks, with women forced to seek surgery from underground physicians and unable to claim reimbursement on their health insurance. "They have to sign a contract saying they won't hold the doctor responsible for any legal matters or complications," explained Yoon Jung-won, an obstetrician at Green Hospital in Seoul. The law also means the vast majority of terminations are carried out surgically, Yoon added, at a cost of around $5,550, despite the availability of less invasive options. "It's been 30 years since abortion pills were invented but they have yet to be introduced (here)," she said. Many women also live in fear they might be reported to the authorities by their partners after break-ups. - Religious opposition - South Koreans are deeply divided over the issue, with religious groups leading the charge against overturning the ban. A group of university professors -- mostly devout Catholics -- filed a petition last month demanding the ban remain in place. "There is nothing in the world that comes before the life of a human being," they said. South Korea is home to multiple megachurches, many of them evangelical and deeply influenced by anti-abortion campaigns in the United States. In 2012, the Constitutional Court dismissed a case challenging the law. The judges were split and for a law to be determined unconstitutional, it needs a majority of six justices on the nine-member bench. But activists who favour changing the law know they now have a rare opportunity. The court, now under a more liberal government, boasts a string of new justices while several judges -- including its chief justice -- have publicly shown a willingness to reconsider the law. Even if the bid fails, rights activists say there are steps the government can take to ease the burden on women who fall pregnant. Lawyer Lee Han-bon says authorities could start by raising the welfare single mothers receive. "It's unfair to legally punish women for making the hard choice of terminating her pregnancy when not a penny is provided for single mothers," he said. One in five women who have been pregnant in South Korea have had an abortion, but only one percent said they had a legal reason to terminate the pregnancy Graphic showing legal grounds for abortion in selected countries. Ireland holds a referendum on Friday on whether to reform its strict abortion laws A Tibetan who has campaigned to preserve his region's ancestral language was jailed for five years in China on Tuesday for "inciting separatism" in a case Amnesty International denounced as "beyond absurd". Tashi Wangchuk was featured in a New York Times documentary that followed him on a trip to Beijing, where he attempted to get Chinese state media and courts to address what he describes as the diminishing use of the Tibetan language. A court in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the northwestern province of Qinghai sentenced him on Tuesday morning, according to his lawyer. The court could not be reached for comment. Tashi had been detained in his home town of Yushu without access to his family since January 2016, not long after the New York Times published its story and documentary video about his activism. "Tashi plans to appeal. I believe he committed no crime and we do not accept the verdict," lawyer Liang Xiaojun told AFP. Tashi had pleaded not guilty at his trial in January. But nearly every case that goes to trial in China -- especially on sensitive state security issues -- ends with a guilty verdict. Liang told AFP the short documentary was the main evidence used by the prosecution. In the video, Tashi complained of a "systematic slaughter of our culture". In the New York Times stories Tashi notably said he wants to use Chinese law to build his case and praised President Xi Jinping. Beijing says it "peacefully liberated" Tibet in 1951 and insists it has brought development to a previously backward region. But many Tibetans accuse it of exploiting the region's natural resources and encouraging an influx of the majority Han ethnic group which critics say is diluting the native culture and Buddhist faith. China's constitution protects free speech but critics say in reality there is little room for any opinions that challenge government policies. Rights groups have accused Xi's government of an escalating crackdown on expression. Amnesty International said the sentence was "a gross injustice". "He is being cruelly punished for peacefully drawing attention to the systematic erosion of Tibetan culture. To brand peaceful activism for Tibetan language as 'inciting separatism' is beyond absurd," said Joshua Rosenzweig, its East Asia research director. "The documentary underscores that Tashi Wangchuk was merely trying to express his opinions about education policy through entirely legitimate means," Rosenzweig said in a statement. The video ends with Tashi discussing the many Tibetans who have self-immolated in protest at China's policies over the years, while adding what he would do if he is "locked up or they force me to say things against my will". "I will choose suicide," he said. Placards showing detained Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-cheh and Tibetan education advocate Tashi Wangchuk are displayed during a Taipei protest in June 2017 Ten men from the same family vanished after jihadists invaded the Philippine city of Marawi a year ago -- each day since, their wives have prayed their bones do not lie in its devastated landscape. The women have been told to accept their husbands were likely among the 1,200 killed in the five-month battle that flattened swathes of the city, but they refuse to move on until they know for sure. "I am hoping he will come home. All of us are hoping they will return. Even if my family says I am crazy, I told them my husband will come back," Melgie Powao said of her spouse Victor. One year after the battle, reconstruction work is due to begin and the authorities say jihadists are far from mounting another such attack. Yet, the families of the scores still missing are the overlooked victims of the Philippines' deadliest confrontation with Islamists. The fighting left behind hundreds of corpses, with more likely to be found in the conflict area which has yet to be completely cleared of unexploded bombs. The Powao men -- fathers and brothers, cousins and uncles -- from neighbouring Iligan city were in Marawi for construction jobs when clashes with Islamic State-aligned fighters broke out on May 23 last year. In the fighting that ensued, government airstrikes on Marawi and house-to-house fighting left neighbourhoods in ruins that have been compared to battlegrounds in Syria or Iraq. Only one of the Powao group -- the eleventh man -- escaped and it was from him the wives learned that an airstrike may have killed some of them, while jihadists herded others into a van. "Until I see their bodies, I won't believe they are dead," 31-year-old Alma Tome said of her husband Rowel and the others. The Powaos are among 78 people officially listed as missing, though possibly hundreds more disappeared. Some families were hesitant to file reports out of fear they could be targeted by authorities hunting for anyone with links to jihadists. - 'Bury them and grieve' - Many of Marawi's 200,000 residents fled their homes, including more than 10,000 people from the so-called "ground zero". However so many explosives were left behind after the shooting stopped that even a year later thousands of residents have been allowed to visit -- but not return to -- their shattered homes. The Powaos' ordeal began on the first day of the siege, which was the last time they heard from their men. In a shaking voice, Melgie's husband told her over the phone not to worry. But after months of waiting the women made a search trip to Marawi. They even visited funeral homes but could not bear looking at the corpses' faces. "We were running out of pictures as we gave them to authorities to try to get help, but we went home without any news," said Melgie, 24. The women gave DNA samples to police in October to check against recovered corpses, but have heard nothing yet. Allan Tabell, who heads the group identifying the remains, told AFP that authorities are doing their best. "We're not expecting it to be done overnight. It's a long process but we have to respect that it's a process... we cannot afford any mistakes," he said. The testing will go on as the rebuilding of the city creaks into action. Philippine authorities estimate it will cost $987 million to put Marawi right again. The work is expected to start in June. Four Chinese companies and one Malaysian firm put in bids to handle the project that will involve the huge task of carting away hundreds of tonnes of debris, and which is expected to take years. In the meantime the Powao women will continue to seek answers, struggling with the gaping absence in their lives. Alma, with her two-year-old son in her arms, said the boy sometimes picks up her ringing phone thinking his dad is on the other end. He calls out "papa" when a car stops in front of their house. "The pain is double," said Alma, who also has a one-year-old toddler. Melgie says the Powao women don't need aid, just answers. "All we want is to see the DNA results. Even if they are just bones, at least we can bury them properly and grieve," she said. A year after jihadists invaded the Philippine city of Marawi, Alma Tome, Evelyn Powao, and Melgie Powao, still pray for the return of their missing husbands Alma Tome, accompanied by her son, shows a photo of her husband -- her son still calls out "papa" when a car stops in front of their house Displaced people and deaths in Marawi During the five-month siege, government airstrikes on Marawi and house-to-house fighting left neighbourhoods in ruins that have been compared to battlegrounds in Syria or Iraq So many explosives were left behind after the shooting stopped that even a year later thousands of residents have not been allowed to return to their shattered homes Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg apologised to the European Parliament on Tuesday for the "harm" caused by a huge breach of users' data and by a failure to crack down on fake news. But Zuckerberg's appearance failed to satisfy MEPs who accused him of dodging questions and criticised a format that gave the parliament's political leaders far more time to give long-winded speeches. His livestreamed testimony in Brussels was the latest stop on a tour of apology for the Cambridge Analytica scandal that saw him quizzed for ten hours in the US Congress in April, and will take him to Paris on Wednesday. Zuckerberg said that while Facebook has brought in new features to connect people, it had become clear in the last two years that they "haven't done enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm". "And that goes for fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing people's information. We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility," he said in his opening statement. "That was a mistake, and I'm sorry for it." - 'Too slow' - The European Parliament invited Zuckerberg in March after Facebook admitted that up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked by British consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica. The firm, which was working for US President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, has since declared bankruptcy. Zuckerberg originally tried to send a junior executive instead but finally bowed to pressure to appear. However he only agreed for it to be livestreamed on Monday after initially insisting on it being behind closed doors. Appearing calm and unruffled during the 90-minute hearing, Zuckerberg welcomed the EU's sweeping new personal data protection rules, which come into effect in three days, saying that his website would be "fully compliant". In that spirit, Zuckerberg said Facebook was bringing in new features including a special "clear history" button that would allow them to delete any cookies or browsing history details it stores. Zuckerberg admitted that Facebook had been "too slow to identify Russian interfering" in the 2016 US presidential ballot but was working with European governments for future elections. In the run-up to last year's French elections Facebook "found and took down more than 30,000 fake accounts", he said. - 'Pre-cooked format' - But some European lawmakers were still unhappy with the format in which Zuckerberg answered questions for only 25 minutes -- half as long as the time it took the parliament's political leaders to get through their long-winded questions. "Today's pre-cooked format was inappropriate and ensured Zuckerberg could avoid our questions," Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Liberal leader, tweeted afterwards. The former Belgian prime minister asked Zuckerberg during the hearing if he wanted to be remembered as a "genius who created a digital monster". Manfred Weber, the German head of the centre-right European People's Party, the largest group in parliament, said the Facebook chief was "not very convincing" and "did not answer all our questions". But European Parliament President Antonio Tajani -- who invited Zuckerberg and arranged the meeting -- called Zuckerberg's visit a "success" even if he said his apology was "not enough" and required follow up. Zuckerberg meanwhile pledged that Facebook would make fresh investments to protect its users in the wake of the scandal -- with many of those in Europe where he plans to have 10,000 employees by the end of the year. "It's going to take time to work through all of the changes we must make. But I'm committed to getting it right, and to making the significant investments needed to keep people safe," he added. "I expect this will significantly impact our profitability. But I want to be clear: keeping people safe will always be more important than maximising our profits." Zuckerberg is due to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Wednesday. Mark Zuckerberg admitted that Facebook had failed to prevent its tools "from being used for harm", in a hearing in Brussels on Tuesday Graphic showing Facebook's presence around the world Foreign journalists headed to North Korea on Tuesday to watch the promised destruction of its nuclear test site, a move seen as a goodwill gesture before a planned summit with the United States. Reporters from China, the US and Russia departed on a charter flight from Beijing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN which is part of the contingent. The group will cover the demolition of the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site inside a mountain in the northeast of the country, which is scheduled to take place between Wednesday to Friday, depending on the weather. Agence France-Presse is one of a number of major media organisations not invited to cover the event. Pyongyang announced earlier this month that it planned to "completely" destroy the facility by blowing up the test site's access tunnels, a move welcomed by Washington and Seoul. The decision came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared the country's nuclear force complete and said it had no further need for the complex Experts are divided over whether the move will render the site useless -- previous similar gestures have been rapidly reversed when the international mood soured. "Frankly a nuclear test site can be easily reassembled," Kim Hyun-wook, an expert at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, told AFP. "But still, by dismantling it, North Korea is showing its willingness to not conduct nuclear tests at least for a while and signaling it has sufficient number of nuclear weapons," he added. Yang Moo-jin, from the University of North Korean Studies, said it was significant Pyongyang wasn't using the site's destruction as a "bargaining chip" with the United States ahead of the planned June 12 summit in Singapore between Kim and US President Donald Trump. "This move testifies sincerity in the North's commitment to defusing tension through negotiations," he said. - Diplomatic ups and downs - Punggye-ri has been the site of all six of the North's nuclear tests, the latest and by far the most powerful in September last year, which Pyongyang said was an H-bomb. Dialogue brokered by South Korea has seen US-North Korea relations go from trading personal insults and threats of war after that test to planning for a summit. But the meeting has already hit diplomatic bumps. Washington says it wants to see the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation" of the North. Pyongyang abruptly threatened to pull out of the summit last week and cancelled talks with the South, accusing Washington of cornering it with a unilateral demand for denuclearisation. The hardened rhetoric left US officials scrambling to work out whether the summit would take place. South Korea's president Moon Jae-in flew to Washington this week and will meet Trump later Tuesday in an attempt to put the detente back on track. Observers will be watching the nuclear test site destruction ceremony closely for any clues to the North's mood. Pyongyang previously said South Korean journalists would be allowed to attend this week's ceremony. But the North refused at the last minute to accept a list of South Korean journalists. Sceptics warn that Pyongyang has yet to make any public commitment to give up its arsenal and has a history of going back on its word. In 2008 the regime blew up a cooling tower of its atomic reactor at Yongbyon, the facility that produced the plutonium that allowed North Korea to carry out its first successful nuclear test. That ceremony was also held with much fanfare, complete with international invited journalists, and was heralded as a mark of Pyongyang?s commitment to denuclearisation talks. The following day then President George W. Bush lifted some sanctions. But when talks collapsed the Yongbyon cooling tower was quickly rebuilt and the reactor restarted. In the intervening years, with diplomacy going nowhere, North Korea went on to test five more nuclear devices and develop missiles it said was capable of reaching the United States. The Punggye-ri site pictured in April 2017 Graphic showing the nuclear bomb test site and main missile test sites in North Korea after Saturday's announcement the nuclear test site at Punggye-ri will be destroyed May 23-25. North Korea says it has developed missile technology that can deliver a nuclear weapon to the United States French public sector staff will join rail workers in striking Tuesday to protest reforms proposed by President Emmanuel Macron, with the country braced for possible major disruption. The stoppages are part of a series of demonstrations by public sector employees against Macron, who has pledged to reduce public spending, trim jobs and overhaul large parts of the vast French state. All unions representing civil servants have backed Tuesday's strike, a rare show of unity which was last seen around 10 years ago. Their walk-out, which will affect schools, public kindergartens, flights and some energy infrastructure, is the third stoppage since Macron's election in May 2017. "Thanks to the civil service, all of the unions in this country will be together," said labour leader Bernadette Groison from the FSU union. "That shows how high the stakes are." The centrist government plans public sector reforms next year which would lead to the greater use of contract workers for some state services and a cut of 120,000 jobs by 2022 out of 5.6 million. Many civil servants fear that the government plans to scrap their special status and job-for-life privileges, a measure that has already been announced for new recruits on the state railways, the SNCF. That move on the railways, though generally supported by the French public, has sparked one of the longest strike sequences ever on the network which began at the beginning of April. Workers have been downing tools every two days out of five since April 3 and will begin a new round of stoppages on Tuesday which has seen high-speed services and commuter trains badly affected. But Macron has vowed to be uncompromising and promised to deliver on his rail reform promise and cuts to France's public spending, which was part of his election manifesto. France has one of the biggest public sectors in Europe relative to the size of its economy and the country has not balanced its budget since the 1970s, leading to a public debt equivalent to nearly 100 percent of GDP. But unions accuse Macron, a former investment banker, of wanting to destroy public services which are a vital source of employment and a pillar of communal life in many areas of the country. Around 130-140 demonstrations have been organised by civil servants on Tuesday with unions hoping turnout will be higher than the last day of action on March 22 when an estimated 300,000 gathered nationwide. Deserted platforms at the normally very busy Gare de L'Est station in central Paris as public sector workers continue protests against President Emmanuel Macron's economic reform programme and planned overhaul of state rail operator SNCF From air traffic controllers and street sweepers to librarians and teachers, French public-sector employees Tuesday joined rail workers in striking to protest reforms planned by President Emmanuel Macron, calling them an "attack" against state services. It was the third day of stoppages and demonstrations by public workers since last year's sweeping election win by Macron, who has pledged to reduce spending, trim jobs and overhaul large parts of the vast French state. All unions representing civil servants backed Tuesday's strike, a show of unity last seen around 10 years ago, although turnout at demonstrations and disruption appeared to be modest by past French standards. The walkout affected schools and daycare centres, flights and some energy infrastructure, while public transport was also hit as some workers took part the day before the next round of two-day strikes at national rail operator SNCF. "It's a message in defence of public services, which is to say a different conception of French society than that held by the president," CGT union leader Philippe Martinez said at a march by thousands of people in Paris. The independent consultancy Occurrence estimated that 16,400 people demonstrated in Paris, with many braving a late-afternoon downpour, while authorities put the number at 15,000. Unions have put the turnout around at least 30,000. The interior ministry said 139,000 people took to the streets in some 180 demonstrations across the country. Those figures were far from the nearly 50,000 who marched in the French capital during the last day of public service action on March 22, when an estimated 300,000 rallied nationwide. The education ministry reported that only about 16 percent of primary school teachers went on strike, and 10 percent of secondary school teachers. The Paris march was also the scene of smashed shop windows and other vandalism as hooded, black-clad youths, some wearing ski masks, scuffled with police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. Such youths have infiltrated a number of protests in recent weeks, with more than 100 detained in Paris on the traditional May Day march after torching a McDonald's restaurant and several vehicles. Several thousand protestors also gathered in other cities, including about 4,500 in Lyon according to police, answering the call of the unions. - Limited support - Pascale Lestideau, a hospital nurse in Brest, said budget cuts had made her working conditions "unbearable". "It makes it impossible for us to care for people in line with our values, and that's very, very hard for us," she said. Macron's centrist government plans public sector reforms next year which would lead to the greater use of contract workers for some services and a cut of 120,000 state jobs by 2022 out of 5.6 million. It has already maintained a pay freeze, and Olivier Dussopt, the minister in charge of France's public service, is preparing cost-cutting measures he has said will be "more or less disruptive". Many civil servants fear the government plans to scrap their special status and job-for-life privileges, a measure that has already been announced for new recruits on the state railways, the SNCF. Surveys suggest the movement is struggling to garner widespread support, with 49 percent saying they did not back the striking public workers in a ViaVoice poll published by French daily Le Figaro. Another 40 percent said they supported the movement. - Popular tide? - The poll results are largely in line with findings concerning the rail reform, which has sparked one of the longest strike sequences ever on the network. Some 42 percent of respondents said the SNCF strike was justified in an Ifop survey published Sunday by the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, compared with 58 percent who said it was not. Rail workers have been striking every two days out of five since April 3 and will begin a new round of stoppages on Tuesday night. The strikes have widely affected high-speed services and commuter trains. But Macron has promised to deliver on his rail reform and cuts to France's public spending, which was part of his election manifesto. France has one of the biggest public sectors in Europe relative to the size of its economy. The country has not balanced its budget since the 1970s, leading to a public debt equivalent to nearly 100 percent of GDP. The unions accuse Macron, a former investment banker, of wanting to destroy public services -- a vital source of employment and a pillar of communal life in many parts of the country. The protests come ahead of a "popular tide" called for Saturday by dozens of associations, leftist parties and unions to support the striking workers and make Macron "back down". A burning flare next to trash containers during a demonstration in Paris on Tuesday against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to overhaul France's public sector Demonstrators burned an effigy of President Emmanuel Macron during the protests in Paris on Tuesday Public-sector workers on strike fear Macron's pledge to reduce spending, trim jobs and overhaul large parts of the vast French state Riot police clash with demonstrators in Paris during a nationwide day of protest by French public sector employees against proposed government reforms. Around 139,000 people demonstrated nationwide, according to the interior ministry A Sydney garbage truck driver has been charged after allegedly running over and killing a man who was sleeping on a mattress in a lane in the citys inner west. Police will allege the 35-year-old driver was making his way down Bourke Lane in Redfern when he ran over the man sleeping out the front of a home around 8am on Monday. The driver stopped and called for emergency assistance, however the 31-year-old man died at the scene. The driver was taken to Sydney Eye Hospital for mandatory testing before taken to Redfern Police Station where he was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, and negligent driving occasioning death. Police were called to Bourke Lane in Redfern after the incident on Monday morning. Source: 7 News The man died at the scene. Source: 7 News The man, from Rockdale, was granted bail to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on June 18. His licence has been suspended and confiscated. Italy was Wednesday awaiting the president's decision on whether to approve little-known lawyer Giuseppe Conte as prime minister to lead a populist, eurosceptic government which is already causing unease in Brussels. The anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League nominated Conte, 54, to head a coalition government in a bid to end two months of political deadlock following March's inconclusive general election. President Sergio Mattarella hosted the speakers of the lower house and the Senate on Tuesday to discuss Conte's nomination. The head of state has to agree to the parties' candidate and ministerial team before they can seek approval for the new government in parliament. Italian media said the president could make an announcement on Wednesday. Mattarella's endorsement would take the two parties a step closer to setting up a eurosceptic, anti-austerity government in the eurozone's third-biggest economy. Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio and League chief Matteo Salvini unveiled their policy programme on Friday. As well as planning to speed up expulsions of illegal immigrants, the programme contains anti-austerity measures including drastic tax cuts, pension reform rollbacks and a monthly basic income. - EU warning - European authorities Tuesday warned Di Maio and Salvini to be "responsible" in their budget measures. Italy's 2.3 trillion euros of debt is 132 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), the highest ratio in Europe apart from Greece and more than double the bloc's 60-percent ceiling. "There are some things there that are worrying, yes," EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday when asked about the Italian situation. The main fear is that Italy, a founder member of both the EU and the euro, is set to irk financial markets and trigger a new eurozone crisis by refusing to stick to public spending and debt targets set by Brussels. "We view it as important that the Italian government remains on course in pursuing a responsible budget policy," Valdis Dombrovskis, EU vice-president for the euro, told German business daily Handelsblatt in a warning to the incoming administration. Italy has one of the eurozone's lowest growth rates, with 8.3 percent of the population living in absolute poverty, according to national statistics agency Istat. Istat announced Tuesday a GDP growth forecast of 1.4 percent in 2018, down 0.1 percent on an April forecast. - CV controversy - Conte's CV boasts studies at New York University (NYU), the Sorbonne and Cambridge, but some entries have been called into question. NYU told the New York Times it had no record of him studying there to "further his juridical studies" as Conte's CV claims. The university said he might have taken part in one- or two-day courses for which they don't keep records. Cambridge University said it does not "disclose personal data without the knowledge and/or consent of the subject of that personal data". Conte has yet to speak publicly, but Five Star has defended its PM pick to head a cabinet in which Di Maio and Salvini are tipped to hold key posts. "The international and Italian press are going wild over presumed qualifications that Conte has never claimed to have. This is the umpteenth confirmation that they really are afraid of this government of change," Five Star said in a statement. - Necessary authority? - Some observers questioned whether Conte had the necessary authority for the job. "He's in a very difficult situation because he has to deal with two groups who have formed a difficult compromise," Franco Pavoncello, a political scientist and president of Rome's John Cabot University, told AFP. "What remains to be seen is whether he's going to be able to control the various political directions in which this coalition was formed." Some media and commentators said Conte would be at the command of the two coalition groups' leaders. "I think that he'll have to respond to what they want, do what they decide," Gianfranco Pasquino, political science professor at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, told AFP. "It doesn't seem that he has political experience so he will be forced to carry out the preferences of Di Maio and Salvini." Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio (L) announced Italian lawyer Giuseppe Conte as candidate for prime minister EU countries with the highest levels of public debt (Q4 2017) Kidnappings are proliferating in Cameroon's violence-torn English-speaking region, where officials, foreigners and locals alike are finding themselves targeted for abduction. Since anglophone separatists declared independence last October, dozens of people have gone missing -- on average, a fresh case is reported by the local media every week. "At least 50 people have keen kidnapped," Felix Agbor Ngonkho, of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, told AFP. Many more abductions are probably not even been reported, he added. "It has become impossible for a Cameroonian car carrying foreigners or bearing the licence plate of a French-speaking region to travel through the English-speaking regions without being attacked by armed men emerging from the forest," a human rights activist said. Kidnappings, say commentators, have been adopted as a tool for separatists to enforce discipline in anti-government protests and instil fear among French-speaking officials, almost regardless of rank. "The separatists have a guerrilla mentality that involves control of the region and the population," said Hans De Marie Heungoup, Central Africa analyst with the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank. "The kidnappings are part of this logic, a tool to enforce allegiance to those who haven't taken up the separatist cause." The presence of a large English-speaking minority -- about a fifth of Cameroon's population of 22 million -- dates back to the colonial period. It was once a German colony that after World War I was divided between Britain and France. In 1960, the French colony gained independence, becoming Cameroon, and the following year, the British-ruled Southern Cameroons was amalgamated into it, becoming the Northwest and Southwest Regions. For years, resentment built among anglophones, fostered by perceived marginalisation in education, the judiciary and the economy at the hands of the French majority. Demands for greater autonomy were rejected by 85-year-old President Paul Biya, in power for more than 35 years, leading to an escalation that last October 1 led to the declaration of the self-described "Republic of Ambazonia". - 'Dirty war' - Clashes are now an everyday occurrence, leading to scores of fatalities among separatists and police and military alike. But in what local people are calling a "dirty war," civilians are also suffering badly, at the hands of the security forces -- accused by the US last week of "targeted killings" and the burning and looting of villages -- and of the separatists. In one instance, a teacher was gunned down at a school in the town of Muyuka, in the Southwest Region, when three armed men riding motorcycles fired gunshots as they sped past. Two Tunisians working near Kumba in the Southwest were abducted in late March. One of them was later killed. The following month a group of Western tourists were briefly kidnapped in the same region. Separatist fighters have torched numerous school buildings and early this month kidnapped a priest who was headmaster of a Catholic boarding school. The priest was seized the day after St Bede's College received a televised visit from the regional governor. It was the first time the church had been pulled into the regional struggle. The abducted priest was freed the following day and the Catholic church has called on all parties to avoid "a useless and unwarranted civil war". - Favoured targets - But officials and symbols of Yaounde's centralised power remain the favoured targets for the separatists. Last month, the head of the appeal court in the Southwest Region was kidnapped then released a few days later. Two local officials seized in February in the Northwest Region remain missing. "There are kidnappings for ransom, with the separatists seeking 20,000, 30,000 francs ($35-$54) from the families. And there are others, those they keep," said a local human rights activists who didn't want to be named. Nine employees of a construction company have been missing since December. Only the burned-out shells of the vehicles they were travelling in have been found. "We live with the anxiety. If they have been killed, then let us know so we can mourn. If they are being held captive somewhere, then we want their captors to tell us what it will take to get them released," said Oumarou, a brother of one of the missing men. A protest last year in Bamenda, an anglophone hub in northwest Cameroon, against discrimination in favour of the country's francophone majority A school in the northwestern town of Bafut was set on fire last year The army remains a major target of the anglophone separatists Newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan attended their first engagement as a married couple on Tuesday after their spectacular, tradition-defying wedding in Windsor Castle, which was watched around the world. The two, now officially the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after receiving the title from Queen Elizabeth II, attended a party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the 70th birthday of Harry's father, Prince Charles. Tuesday's event is intended as a celebration of Prince Charles's charity work and also includes emergency services personnel who were first responders after the attack in Manchester last year. At the event, Harry gave a short speech about his father in which he said that the prince's "enthusiasm and energy are truly infectious". Kensington Palace has said the couple are not intending to go on honeymoon straight away and will instead press ahead with their royal engagements. Meghan has hinted that she may now champion feminist causes, stating in her official royal family website biography: "I am proud to be a woman and a feminist". Saturday's wedding blended royal custom with elements of Meghan's African-American cultural heritage and she walked part of the way through the chapel on her own in what was interpreted as a feminist statement. Harry and Meghan on Monday thanked everyone who took part in their wedding celebrations, as official photographs of the nuptials were released. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex would like to thank everyone who took part in the celebrations of their wedding on Saturday," Kensington Palace said in a statement. "They 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 UK, Commonwealth, and around the world," it said. - Meghan 'must be careful' - Meghan's biography on the royal family website royal.uk, published on Sunday, focuses on her support for social justice and women's empowerment causes. The biography mentioned that she campaigned to change the wording on a TV advert that used sexist language when she was just 11 years old and volunteered at a soup kitchen in Los Angeles as a teenager. There is little mention, however, of her acting career, including her role as savvy para-legal Rachel Zane in the US drama series "Suits". The description of Meghan as a proud feminist prompted press speculation that she may challenge the royal family's tradition of not getting involved in politically sensitive subjects. The Daily Mail on Monday sounded a note of caution. "She must be careful that her enthusiasm for these causes doesn't allow her to be pulled into the political fray. To survive, the monarchy must remain scrupulously neutral," it said. Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his new wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Prince of Wales's 70th birthday party at Buckingham Palace in London on May 22, 2018 Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (C), talk with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex during the Prince of Wales's 70th birthday party at Buckingham Palace Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends the Prince of Wales's 70th birthday party at Buckingham Palace The Palestinian foreign minister on Tuesday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) "to open an immediate investigation" into allegations of war crimes and apartheid against the Palestinian people. Amid rising tensions with Israel, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki met for an hour with the ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the tribunal in The Hague, "to refer the situation in Palestine" to her office. It was an "important and historic step" for the Palestinian people "who have suffered for generations the consequences of crimes committed with impunity by Israeli officials", he told reporters afterwards. The ICC launched a preliminary probe in 2015 into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and the Palestinian territories, in the wake of the Gaza war. Despite a visit to the region, the tribunal has yet to move to the next stage and open a full-blown investigation which could possibly lead to charges being brought. Bensouda said however in a statement that it had "made important progress". Maliki insisted there was "insurmountable" evidence of crimes, adding those "responsible ... must be held accountable for their actions without further delay". The meeting at the ICC comes after more than 60 Palestinians protesting the US decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem were killed by Israeli fire last week. Maliki said the Palestinian move was "due to the intensification of the rate and the severity of the crimes against our people", including the targeting of "unarmed protestors in the Gaza Strip". The Palestinian referral highlighted the issue of settlements, which the delegation termed in a statement "the single most dangerous threat to Palestinian lives and livelihoods". "Israel maintains, expands and protects the settlement regime by committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people," the statement added. Amid much controversy, the Palestinian Authority joined the ICC in January 2015 signing up to the Rome Statute, which underpins the world's only permanent war crimes court. - 'Violence must stop' - Israel is not a member of the ICC however, and the Israeli foreign ministry on Tuesday said it "takes a severe view" of the referral, which it called "a cynical step without legal validity". "The ICC lacks jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian issue, since Israel is not a member of the court and because the Palestinian Authority is not a state," the Israeli ministry added in a statement. It called on Bensouda "not to yield to Palestinian pressure" and to deny "Palestinian efforts to politicise the court". Bensouda confirmed she had received the referral and said in her statement she had "to consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice" in deciding what to do. It is the eighth time a state party to the court has directly referred a situation to her, she said, warning that a direct referral "does not automatically lead to the opening of an investigation." But she highlighted it would mean she will not have to ask for the judges' permission if she decides to investigate what would be the most complex and high-profile conflict the tribunal has ever probed. Rights groups urged Bensouda to take up the challenge and move to the next step. "The recent killings in Gaza only underscore the importance of the ICC prosecutor acting to address the pervasive climate of impunity in Palestine," said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch. Bensouda vowed last week that she was watching the unrest in Gaza closely and would "take any action warranted" to prosecute crimes. "The violence must stop," she told AFP. Palestinians have been angered by the recent US decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki speaks to the press following talks with the ICC prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague Social-economic data on the Gaza Strip (UN report July 2017) Scotland captain John Barclay could be a doubt for the autumn Tests after the Scarlets confirmed on Tuesday he had undergone surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon. The Welsh side confirmed the extent of the back-row forward's injury after he was hurt during their Guinness PRO14 semi-final victory over Glasgow on Friday. Barclay, who will join Edinburgh this summer following a five-year stint in Wales, will miss Saturday's final against Leinster in Dublin. No timeframe has been put on the 31-year-old's recovery period, but six months is a normal rehabilitation spell for such an injury. Scotland face Wales in Cardiff on November 3, followed by Murrayfield appointments with Fiji, South Africa and Argentina. Barclay has won 71 caps and was an influential performer when Scotland claimed victories over Australia and England earlier this season. It had previously been announced that he is among several senior Scotland players rested for the tour of Canada, United States and Argentina next month. Scotland captain John Barclay holds the winner's trophy after the Six Nations match against France in Edinburgh in February 2018 WARNING DISTRESSING FOOTAGE: Two professional skydivers have fallen to their deaths after smashing into each other head-on in a horrific mid-air collision. Rushan Sibgatullin, 34, and Oleg Schelkanov, 48 were two of seven skydivers that leapt from the light aircraft in the Tarastan region of Russia. But moments after they began their freefall, the pair came hurtling towards each other, with the sheer impact forcing them to both lose consciousness moments after one of the men had opened his parachute. Footage captured from another skydivers helmet camera shows the experienced pair spiraling out of control towards the ground at great speed. Harrowing footage shows the experienced pair coming together mid-air before they plummet back into the ground. Source: East2West News One of the skydivers died on impact, while the other was rushed to hospital but passed away several hours later. The pair had each completed more than 600 jumps. The Russian Investigative Committee said they would be launching an investigation into the accident. Three suspected jihadists were killed and one was captured Tuesday in a pre-dawn raid by security forces on a house in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, the defence ministry said. A member of the special gendarmerie unit which carried out the raid died of his wounds, and five other people -- four gendarmes and a civilian -- were injured, it said in a statement. An AFP reporter saw two corpses in front of a suburban house and a third in a courtyard. Police found six assault rifles, explosives and detonators, military clothing, mobile phones and SIM cards, and a notebook with writing in Arabic, the statement said. Burkina Faso is in the grip of a three-year-old jihadist insurgency that has killed scores of people and driven thousands from their homes. A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation lasted from 3am to 7am. Local resident Issiaka Ilboudo, who lives opposite the house on the southwestern rim of Ouagadougou, said there had been "intense gunfire". "It was around 3am that we heard noise, it was people running on the roofs of the houses," Ilboudo said. "We then heard shooting, which sometimes lasted 30 or 45 minutes, then stopped and resumed." Another resident, Pascal Lengani, said the house had been newly built and put up for rent last July, but nobody in the neighbourhood knew the inhabitants or had any idea how many lived there. Many attacks in the insurgency have targeted security forces and officials on the border with Mali. Tuesday's operation came eight days after the assassination of the prefect -- the state's paramount representative at local level -- in Oursi, a town in the far north near the Mali frontier. In April, the authorities in the eastern and northern border regions arrested around 100 people and seized explosives. Ouagadougou has come under attack three times. In January 2016, jihadists attacked the Splendid Hotel and a cafe, leaving 30 dead, around half of them foreign nationals. In August 2017, two young gunmen opened fire on people at a Turkish restaurant just metres (yards) away from the Splendid Hotel, killing 19 people, at least eight of them foreigners. On March 2 this year, jihadists attacked the country's military headquarters and the French embassy, in a coordinated operation claimed by an organisation calling itself the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM). Eight soldiers and eight assailants were killed, and 61 soldiers and 24 civilians were injured, according to an official toll released three days later. A government source told AFP that there were strong suspicions that "army infiltrators" had tipped off the assailants. On March 2, jihadists carried out a coordinated attack in central Ouagadougou, targeting the country's military headquarters and the French embassy Toys R Us and Babies R Us customers are fuming over the stores disgusting gift card policy after the retail giant announced it was going into voluntary administration. In a statement Toys R Us Australia, which owns Babies R Us, said gift cards and vouchers would be honoured as long as customers spent the additional equivalent amount in store. This means for somebody wanting to use a $100 gift card or voucher in full, they will need to spend an extra $100 in store. Customers have since taken to the Toys R Us Australia Facebook page to vent their anger. I have a $300 gift card. When purchasing this card for my kids I gave you $300. Now your telling us we need to spend another $300 to be able to use a $300 gift card that we have already paid you for!!! This is disgusting!! [sic] one woman wrote online. There are 44 Toys R Us stores in Australia. Source: 7 News Another furious customer wrote: My kids have a bunch [of gift cards] from their birthdays yet the option to redeem has been pulled from the website. Its morally criminal to not honour gift cards that you already have the cash for. And the people you are impact are kids. Toys R Us said gift vouchers will not be honoured online, but online orders will still be delivered to people if stock is available and they have paid in full. Lay-by will be honoured if the outstanding balance is paid and the stock is available. Toys R Us said VIP discounts would still apply but the ability to earn and use points had been suspended. The comes as the stores announced they were holding massive fire sales locally, months after the US and UK retail giants collapse. A fire sale at Toys R Us sees up to 60 per cent off some items. Source: 7 News The website is spruiking huge savings, with scooters down to just $20 and Lego 25 per cent off. Prices have been slashed on big ticket items like car seats, with $150 reduced from the price, and up to $30 can be saved on some action figures. Certain items in store are being sold for 20 to 60 per cent off, including products such as clothes, dolls, stuffed toys and sporting equipment. Story continues Babies R Us have up to $100 off some prams and up to $50 off some learning toys. 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 stored 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. 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 companys 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 giants voluntary administrators. Yahoo7 has contacted Toys R Us Australia for comment. Donald Trump holds a high-stakes meeting with South Korea's president at the White House Tuesday, talks that could decide whether the US president's much-vaunted summit with the North's leader Kim Jong Un goes ahead. Moon Jae-in jets into Washington on a mission to salvage a rare diplomatic opening between the US and North Korea that is in trouble almost before it begins. Trump had agreed to meet inscrutable "Supreme Leader" Kim in Singapore on June 12, but the first-ever US-North Korea summit is now in serious doubt, with both sides expressing reservations. South Korea -- worried about Kim's bellicose weapons testing and Trump's similarly bellicose warnings about a looming war -- was instrumental in convincing the two Cold War foes to sit down and talk. Moon sent his own national security advisor to the White House in March, carrying an offer of talks and word that North Korea may be willing to abandon nuclear weapons, an enticing prospect. Trump surprised his guests, his own aides and the world by summarily accepting the meeting, seeing an opportunity to "do a deal" and avoid military confrontation. Pyongyang is on the verge of marrying nuclear and missile technology allowing it to hit the continental United States with a nuke, a capability Washington sees as wholly unacceptable. Since then, there has been a landmark series of intra-Korean meetings, two trips to Pyongyang by Mike Pompeo -- first as CIA director then as America's top diplomat -- and three American citizens have been released from the North. But after several Trumpian victory laps, North Korea's willingness to denuclearize is now in serious doubt. Earlier this month, North Korea denounced US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment" and cancelled at the last minute a high-level meeting with the South in protest over joint military drills between Seoul and Washington. Trump responded by saying the meeting may or may not take place. Vice President Mike Pence warned in an interview on Monday night that there was "no question" that Trump would be prepared to walk away from the talks with Kim if it looks like they won't yield results and that the president was not just after a public relations triumph. Pence said that both the Clinton and Bush administrations "got played" by North Korea when Washington previously tried to get Pyongyang to denuclearize but the current administration would not make the same mistakes. "It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong Un to think he could play Donald Trump," he told Fox News. - 'We'll see what happens' - Trump also surprised many by offering Kim an upfront security guarantee, allowing him to stay in power, and suggested that Kim's apparent about-face may have been at the behest of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. "It could very well be that he's influencing Kim Jong Un," Trump said, citing a recent meeting between the pair, their second in a month's time. "We'll see what happens." Analysts saw North Korea's perceived slow peddling as evidence of what they feared all along, that Pyongyang may have been playing for time -- hoping to ease sanctions and "maximum pressure" or of South Korea overtorquing the prospects of a deal. "The current episode of tension reflects a wide and dangerous expectation gap between the United States and North Korea," said Eric Gomez of the CATO Institute. "Denuclearization is not off the table for the North, but it expects the United States to end the so-called 'hostile policy' as a precondition for denuclearization." It is far from clear what that means concretely, but it could include the forced withdrawal of 30,000 US troops from the Korean peninsula. With just weeks to go and little clarity on what will be discussed or what happens if talks fail, some Korea watchers predict fireworks during Trump's talks with Moon. "It increasingly looks like the Moon administration overstated North Korea's willingness to deal. Moon will probably get an earful over that," said Robert Kelly of Pusan National University. Yonhap news agency quoted a Blue House official as saying Moon would "likely tell President Trump what to expect and what not to expect from Kim." A meeting between US President Donald Trump, left, and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-In could decide whether the US president's much-vaunted summit with the North's leader Kim Jong Un goes ahead "It is my firm belief that the duty of a member of the Assembly is to meet with local people, understand local problems, come up with local solutions and take those to Albany to get the resources that we need to solve them," he said. "This is what I promise to do when elected." A common theme in Lacey's speech and Batman's remarks, along with the candidate's campaign literature, is that if he wins he will be a member of the majority in the Assembly. As a Republican, Finch is in the minority. Batman believes he will be a more effective representative than Finch because he will be in the majority. Being a member of the majority could allow him to secure more funding for his district. "You will never hear me say, 'Well, I'm a freshman assemblyperson. There's not much I can do' ... No excuses, only hard work, focus and dedication," he said. Batman has already opened a campaign office it's on the fourth floor of the Phoenix Building and he plans to hire a campaign manager soon. He wants to raise $30,000 by mid-June, and is on pace to meet that goal. The first hurdle to clear, though, is the petitioning process. He plans to seek the Democratic, Women's Equality and Working Families party lines. He must circulate petitions to secure his spot on each ballot line. A Manhattan attorney with upstate roots will seek the Republican nomination to run for New York state attorney general. Keith Wofford, co-managing partner of Ropes & Gray's New York City office, announced his candidacy Tuesday. He is eyeing the Republican and Conservative nominations for the statewide race. Wofford was born and raised in Buffalo. He earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard College and is a Harvard Law School graduate. He now lives in New York City with his wife and two children. At Ropes & Gray, an international law firm, Wofford oversees an office that employs more than 300 attorneys. He focuses on financial matters, such as bankruptcy and creditors' rights. In a statement announcing his candidacy, Wofford said he discussed the race with family, friends and "many party leaders." "Having served in private practice for nearly 25 years, it's clear that New York state is broken," he said. "We have the most corrupt state government, the highest taxes and worst business climate in the nation. We cannot afford to elect another career politician who will only use this office to further their own political ambitions rather than serve the interests of the people of this great state." Beginning this year, the popular sand sculpture at the New York State Fair will have a new home. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office included the revelation in a news release distributed to media outlets Monday. The fair's sand sculpture, which was housed in the Center of Progress Building, will now be located in the 136,000-square-foot expo center being constructed on the fairgrounds. The sand sculpture won't be the only exhibit moved from Center of Progress Building on the east end of the fairgrounds to the new expo center on the west end. State agencies plan on moving their booths to the new structure. The I LOVE NEW YORK exhibit, which debuted last year in the Center of Progress Building, will also move to the new expo center. But the relocation of the sand sculpture exhibit is the most notable change. The sculpture is a popular attraction during the 13-day fair. On busy days, fairgoers clogged the Center of Progress Building to view and take pictures of the exhibit. In April, Woods said leasing instead of purchasing all nine vehicles would have saved the county $200,000 in 2018 alone. In other news: Earlier this month, legislators defeated a resolution that would have authorized the county to enter into an agreement with CivicPlus to host and redesign the county website. It would cost the county around $27,700 for the first three years and then nearly $10,000 the fourth year with a 5-percent increase annually. After Tuesday's meeting, Legislator Ryan Foley, who is the chair of the Government Operations Committee where the resolution originated, said it's not that legislators didn't support the resolution itself, rather the timing of it. Foley said legislators want to wait for Woods to give a presentation outlining the county's top priorities and see where a new website falls on that list. Woods' list will come from a report done by consulting firm CGR, who was hired by the Legislature in June. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} "We usually go with the penal law charge ... and that's to the specific individual that sells because they're the responsible party, not the employer," Wellauer said. "We could report the establishment as being a repetitive problem because they hold a license with New York State so that could certainly be in jeopardy, but typically we're just looking at the folks who are selling and working behind the counter." According to Wellauer, while each agency typically completes their own compliance checks, this was the first time all three departments joined forces for a countywide detail. In this case, state police focused on the northern part of the county while the sheriff's department and city police split the south. "This is the time of year with proms and getting out of school and graduation parties ... where we really want to keep this thing under wraps so we don't have problems that lead to traffic issues and bad accidents and things like that," Wellauer said. "We want to let folks know this is going on. We're out there making sure people are compliant." JoLynn Mulholland, Projector Coordinator with the Drug Free Community Coalition, said the compliance check was part of "an environmental strategy" to encourage establishments and their employees to comply with the law and keep alcohol out of the hands of minors. Theres little question that some people overdo a wide range of activities. Those activities do include technology use, but also exercise, eating, sex, work, religion and shopping. There are even research papers on dance addiction. But few of these have official diagnoses. Theres little evidence that technology is more likely to be overused than a wide range of other enjoyable activities. Technology use does not lead to suicide Some pundits have pointed to a recent rise in suicide rates among teen girls as evidence for tech problems. But suicide rates increased for almost all age groups, particularly middle-aged adults, for the 17-year period from 1999 to 2016. This rise apparently began around 2008, during the financial collapse, and has become more pronounced since then. That undercuts the claim that screens are causing suicides in teens, as does the fact that suicide rates are far higher among middle-aged adults than youth. There appears to be a larger issue going on in society. Technopanics could be distracting regular people and health officials from identifying and treating it. Please log in to keep reading. Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. Denver's dogs are costing the city tens of thousands of dollars a year. And the problem is only going to get worse, officials fear. AUBURN R. Michael Harmon III, 74, died Saturday, May 19, 2018. The former chief of the Auburn Fire Department passed away at his home on Westwood Drive with his family at his side. A native of Weedsport, Mike was born Dec. 19, 1943 in Auburn to R. Michael Harmon II, and Ruth Aiken Harmon. Mike began a career with the Auburn Fire Department in 1966; during his 28-year career he held many positions, including the Department Training Officer. He also became a certified New York State Fire Instructor and a Lead Adjunct Instructor at the New York State Fire Academy. His professionalism, knowledge, and demeanor made Mike one of the most respected officers of the department. He brought a calming presence to an emergency situation, and was entrusted with the confidence of his men. He retired from the department in February 1995, at which time he was the chief of the department. He continued to work after retiring, including a position with FEMA. Mike enjoyed NASCAR and collecting NASCAR memorabilia; he also enjoyed camping with family and friends, riding on his John Deere, and telling bad jokes. He was a member of the Auburn Fire Department Retirees Association and remained close with several retirees. Mostly though, Mike enjoyed and embraced his family. TOKYOTokyo-based adult performer Axel Abysse traveled to California to meet one of his early idols, and the results of the encounter can be found on his site, AxelAbysse.com. A longtime fan of Cory Jay, Abysse booked a scene with the fisting superstar on a warm afternoon in Los Angeles. The provocative collaboration, titled 5PM in LA with Cory Jay, was an intense and sensual encounter. When I discovered fisting porn, Cory was one of the models who had a strong impact on me. So much charisma, strength and confidence in one man! His passion for fisting was obvious, and it grew on me! Abysse said. Jay was one of the first exclusive models for the Hot House Plain Wrapped series (now Club Inferno), when it was the only studio doing fisting films in America. When Jay discovered fisting, he has said, he finally felt he fit in sexually. Though Jay rocketed to fame in the fisting community, he always considered himself a bartender, not a porn star, and retired for a bit in the 1990s until he picked up again in 2007. Nowadays Jay chooses his opportunities to film carefully. I only work with someone I really want to play with, someone I jack off to all the time. Enter young fisting enthusiast Axel Abysse, and two stars were able to shine together. Abysse describes his excitement at meeting a role model: When I got the chance to reach him, learning he was aware of my work was a surprise, and an honor when he accepted meeting and shooting a session with me. Its interesting how impressed by a person you can be, but then it becomes so natural once hes inside your hole and starts punching your prostate. The fusion of two men, connected. Abysse describes their intense connection in almost pastoral terms. Birds sing outside, the air is warm, the bodies are wet. It's a very simple afternoon fisting session between two passionate men sharing a pure, intimate moment of pleasure. Fisting fans who want to experience the first connection between a longtime star and a current performer can find the scene at AxelAbysse.com. PHILADELPHIAAs many in the adult industry are well aware, the current lawsuit against the onerous federal recordkeeping and labeling laws, 18 U.S.C. 2257 and 2257A, has been ongoing for nearly a decadebut on Monday, U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson announced both his opinion regarding the First Amendment challenges to the law, and his order that both the plaintiffs' attorneys and the U.S. Department of Justice, within two weeks, "submit agreed upon language to effectuate the Court's holdings." Those holdings appear to include a much simplified recordkeeping system, the end of 2257 recordkeeping for secondary producers, and the abolition of criminal penalties for failure to keep all such recordsbut it's on those points that the judge is seeking suggestions for rewritten regulations. If both sides cannot agree on such language, then each side is to submit its own proposed language by June 11. Judge Baylson's opinion first traces the history of the case, noting that Congress first passed the legislation that would become 2257 in 1988, and 2257A in 2006, and that the plaintiffsFree Speech Coalition, the American Society of Media Photographers, Sinclair Institute, Channel 1 Releasing and 11 individuals (though two have since dropped out)first filed their lawsuit in the Third Circuit in 2009. After an initial dismissal of the case (referred to by Judge Baylson as FSC I), and a reinstatement following appeal (FSC II), a trial occurred, which led to an opinion by Judge Baylson (FSC III), an appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (FSC IV), and yet another appeal to the Third Circuit based on new U.S. Supreme Court case law (FSC V), which led to this possibly final consideration by the judge. AVN has reported on this case at all stages, including covering the entire 10-day trial, the results of which can be found by searching AVN.com for "2257." Since the proceedings began, plaintiffs have been supported in their fight by both the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvaniaand opposed in amicus briefs filed by more than 20 current and former U.S. Representatives, all Republicans and all originally represented by Jay Sekulow, head of the deceptively named American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), founded by televangelist Pat Robertson. Sekulow is currently serving as a personal attorney for President Donald Trump. Judge Baylson's new order is based on the last remand from the Third Circuit (FSC V), which ruled that based on two recently decided cases, Reed and Patel, the speech restrictions inherent in 2257 and 2257A should be considered under the doctrine of "strict scrutiny": "To survive strict scrutiny analysis, a statute must: (1) serve a compelling governmental interest; (2) be narrowly tailored to achieve that interest; and (3) be the least restrictive means of advancing that interest." Previously, the statutes had been judged under an "intermediate scrutiny" analysis. What strict scrutiny does is to put a greater burden on the government to prove that, for instance, its claim that the law remains valid even though it is content-basedas was clear from the beginning, but ignored by both Judge Baylson and the Third Circuit before FSC attorney J. Michael Murray made that clear to both. However, the Third Circuit made it clear that it believed the government had cleared the hurdle on point (1)that 2257 did serve a "compelling governmental interest" in keeping minors out of hardcore content, focusing instead on the other two points: Whether the law was overbroad in trying to do that and/or whether there were other, less restrictive means by which that could be accomplished. Judge Baylson found instances where the law failed on both counts. "The task, for this Court, is to 'compare "the amount of speech that implicates the government's interest in protecting children" with "the amount of speech that is burdened but does not further the governments interest" in an effort to "weigh the legitimate versus problematic applications of the Statutes"'," the judge wrote. However, even though the judge accepted plaintiffs' testimony and evidence that there had been no instance where the adult industry had knowingly used an underage performer in its content, the judge still believed that 2257 was a valid means to prevent that from happening in the future. "As long as the demand for child pornography continues in the United States, the Court cannot overlook the significance of the Congressional interests in enacting the Statutes, the high number of child pornography prosecutions, and the need for judicial decision making to respect these factors," he stated. Recognizing that the plaintiffs had presented a well-argued case, the government had suggested that Judge Baylson could limit the 2257 recordkeeping just to those performers who appeared to be younger than 30 years old, but the judge rejected that "partial validation" as beyond the statute, stating that "limiting constructions are not available where they require 'rewriting, not just reinterpretation' of the Statute." With that in mind, the judge made three major rulings, the first regarding secondary producers (such as retailers and e-tailers) and others who ordinarily have no personal contact with performers. Two category headings from his opinion tell the story: "Applying the Statutes to secondary producers is not narrowly tailored to the Governments compelling interest in protecting children from child pornography," and "Applying the Statutes to secondary producers is not the least restrictive means of effecting the Governments interest." Hence, when new regulations are issued, they should state that secondary producers no longer must obtain and keep 2257 records. However, so-called "non-commercial producers"individuals who create sexually explicit content for their own personal use or to share with friendswill not be covered by the above exemption, since the judge ruled that none of the plaintiffs fits that category, and therefore could not argue for their interests. He invited such non-commercial producers to bring their own challenge(s) to the statute. Next, regarding checking and keeping copies of performers' IDs, he noted that while several of the plaintiffs testified that they always check the IDs of their performers, some who shoot "anonymous sex" or who, like Betty Dodson and Karlin Ross, post photos of genitalia without revealing the faces of their owners, sometimes do not engage in such checkingbut nevertheless noted that, "The record reveals that virtually all producers require their performers to sign a release, authorizing the use of the work produced to be distributed commercially and setting forth any royalties, fees, etc. This release document is obviously intended to be legally binding... Preventing minors from acting as performers in pornographic productions is a more important social goal than burdening producers with age verification requirements, and this requires that the age of all performers be verified. For these reasons, the Court finds that the universal age verification and identification requirement is narrowly tailored to the Governments compelling interest in protecting children from participating in pornography as applied to Plaintiffs." But even though requiring producers to keep performer IDs satisfied the constitutionality of the statute, the method of keeping those IDs did not. "Although the Statutory recordkeeping requirements help ensure that producers not only secure, but also maintain age verification records for the performers appearing in their sexually explicit films and photographs, it creates significant extra burden... The universal record-keeping requirement, as applied to Plaintiffs, is overinclusive, and therefore not narrowly tailored to the Governments interest in protecting children from sexual exploitation... Moreover, the Court finds that the Regulations impose many burdensome obligations, including obligations that go beyond the requirements of the Statutes." Instead, the judge wrote approvingly of a form created by Free Speech Coalition to assist producers of logging and retaining performer IDs, stating, "The Court finds that the proposed self-certification form would be an equally effective alternative for recordkeeping," and adding, "Because the record-keeping requirements are not narrowly tailored, the Court finds that the record-keeping requirements of the Statutes and Regulations are unconstitutional as applied to Plaintiffs." What this should mean, once the new regulations are released, is that it will no longer matter if the IDs are kept in a special folder or otherwise separated from, for example, STD/HIV tests or model releases, as long as they are maintained by the producer. Also, regarding labeling of sexually explicit material, the court found that the labeling requirements of the 2257 regulations are also not narrowly tailored nor sufficiently loose enough to pass constitutional musterbut that some sort of labeling would still be required. "For the reasons identified above regarding the age-verification and identification requirements, the Court finds that the labeling requirements of the Statutes are narrowly tailored as applied to Plaintiffs, but that new regulations will be required," he ruled. "The overall necessity of labeling benefits consumers, who do not want to be subject to criminal prosecutions for child pornography from watching a sexually explicit video.... The Court believes that the new regulations should be simple and straight forward." Such revised regulations are among the items the judge wants both sides to submit to him within, at the latest, three weeks from this past Monday. Finally, and particularly important to adult industry producers, Judge Baylson ruled that the criminal penalties currently in effect for producers are far too harsh to be legally justified. "Plaintiffs contend the punishments contained in the statute are unduly harshone could receive five years in prison for a simple record-keeping or labeling violation," he noted. "Moreover, the acts rendered unlawful do not precisely address the problem for which the Statutes were ostensibly enacted, the protection of minors from being used in child pornography. Because Section 2257 mandates prison time for record-keeping and labeling violations regardless of the age of the performerswithout imposing its requirements on, or addressing its penalties to, minorsthe only way that the Statutes address child pornography is if they have deterrent effect on individuals considering engaging in child pornography." And since it's well-known that people who create child porn don't keep any records on their performers, the statute's criminal penalties mean nothing to them! The end of Judge Baylson's opinion, however, requires more work to be done by both sides. "The Court has purposely not attempted to finalize the exact parameters of this relief, in specific language," he wrote in his conclusion. "The Court will require counsel to consider these rulings and propose a decree with precise language to carry out the Courts decision. Even if the parties cannot agree totally on all issues, the Court requests that they attempt to agree on the language the Court should use in its final judgment. If the parties cannot agree, then the Court will require each party to submit their own draft and the Court will make a final decision on the final decree." In summary, while far from perfect, this latest decision is an astounding win for the adult industryand for the Free Speech Coalition, which began not only this lawsuit against this onerous law but at least two others, and which has supported it throughout its existence. In response to Judge Baylson's decision, Free Speech Coalition has released the following statement: Yesterday, the federal district court in Philadelphia issued its opinion in Free Speech Coalitions challenge to 18 U.S.C. 2257, 2257A under the First Amendment. It represents an unprecedented win for the adult industry! Major arguments made by the Free Speech Coalition have prevailed, and the court struck down a number of the statutes key provisions as unconstitutional under the Free Speech Coalition and other Plaintiffs as-applied challenge. Specifically, it struck down the statutory scheme as to secondary producers, struck down the recordkeeping requirements as to all producers, and struck down the statutes criminal penalties as unduly harsh. The only portion of the statutes the court upheld is the requirement that primary producers check the IDs of their performers to verify their ages. From the beginning of this case, Judge Baylson has focused heavily on how best to prevent child pornography, a concern shared by all the litigants, including the Free Speech Coalition, and the Government. However, in yesterdays ruling, the Court recognized that the legal adult industry was entirely separate from the illegal production of child pornography, and that the record-keeping requirements designed for the former were not narrowly tailored, and had significant downsides. The Court went out of its way to acknowledge the importance of FSC in bring the case, and the incredible work done by our "superb" counsel J. Michael Murray and Lorraine Baumgartner: "Given the many small individual producers of adult pornography, who could not afford to maintain a case of this nature, the organizational Plaintiffs have served a valid purpose in bringing this litigation with superb counsel and very effective litigation strategy," Judge Baylson wrote. "The inability of an individual producer to seek a declaration establishing and enforcing their First Amendment rights is an important reason to allow associations, of producers and others, to gather together and sponsor litigation of this nature." With this and the courts earlier ruling striking down portions of the statutes under the Fourth Amendment, little remains of the unnecessary and unfairly burdensome 2257 regulations. Free Speech Coalition members, as well as all members of the legal adult industry, should applaud the work that counsel J. Michael Murray and Lorraine Baumgardner of Berkman, Gordon, Murray & DeVan have put into a long and incredibly arduous case that has been going on since 2009. While we still await a final judgment, and while there are likely further appeals, the ruling finally signals that adult producers may no longer have to fear criminal prosecution for mere record-keeping violations. The production of child pornography rightfully remains a serious and despicable crime unaffected by this ruling. We await the Courts final judgment in the case, but yesterdays opinion is a strong indication that our arguments regarding both First and Fourth Amendment protections have prevailed. While yesterdays ruling is not a complete victory, it is a huge victory. Until the final judgment issued, our members should continue to comply with the regulations as written. We also recommend that anyone interested in the case, the regulations or the industry fight against child pornography review our specific issues with the regulations. CYBERSPACEAfter reporting two weeks ago that a $1.6 million payoff to Playboy model Shera Bechard by a top Republican fundraiser may in fact have been made as part of a cover-up for Donald Trump, New York Magazine on Tuesday published a new story claiming that more evidence points to the fact that it was Trumpnot GOP money man Elliot Broidywho had an affair with Bechard, allegedly resulting in her pregnancy and subsequent abortion. According to law professor Paul Campos, who wrote both the original article and Tuesdays follow-up, Trump and Broidy held a meeting on December 2, just two days after Broidy sent the first $200,000 installment of a reported $1.6 million payoff to Bechard mean to buy her silence about the affair. In April of this year, just days after federal investigators raided the home, office and hotel room of Trumps personal fixer Michael Cohenraids in which they seized documents related to the Broidy-Bechard payoffreporters contacted the 62-year-old Broidy, who immediately confessed to the affair with the 34-year-old Bechard, and to impregnating her. But according to Campos as well as other media reports, Broidys story did not add up. Broidy is a very rich man, but not necessarily someone who has occasion to hang out with Playboy models, unlike some people you might be familiar with. And he was not a public figure, which makes the $1.6 million payoff seem wildly excessive, wrote Washington Post opinion columnist Paul Waldman on Tuesday. To put it bluntly, $1.6 million is Keep this out of the papers because itll be a huge story money, not Dont tell my wife money. And why would Broidy, who has access to the most high-priced and discreet legal talent in the country, retain someone like Cohen to take care of this delicate matter for him? The answer, according to Campos in his article on Tuesdaywhich may be accessed at this linkis that the $1.6 million was in effect nothing more than a bribe to Trump, paid by Broidy, who has a history of bribing public officials, having been convicted of exactly that offense in 2009. But what did Broidy receive in return for his bribe? The Daily Beast on Monday had a possible answer. Since Trump took office in January of 2017, Broidys private security firm, Circinus LLC, has raked in a whopping $800 million in foreign defense contracts. In addition, in August and September of 2017, Broidys company took in $4 million from a United States Defense Department contract. Prior to 2017, Broidys firm had received all of $7,501 in U.S. defense contracts, The Daily Beast reported. But there was another seeming return for Broidy on his investment of $1.6 million, according to the Campos theory. Broidy spent much of 2017 pitching his access to Trump to top officials in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, in an attempt to secure consulting contracts from those governments, according to an Associated Press investigative report published on Monday. Broidy was selling the two countries on his ability to turn Trump against Qatar, a bitter rival of both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Just two days after his meeting with Trumpat which, according to Broidy himself, he and Trump discussed his anti-Qatar pushBroidys company received a commitment from the UAE for $600 million in contracts over the next five years, making his $1.6 million payoff to Bechard seem like a small price to pay. In the non-disclosure agreement Broidy signed with Bechard, he used the alias David Dennison, the same alias used by Trump in his NDA forcing Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about her own alleged affair with Trump. If its difficult to imagine Broidy being willing to take the fall for Trumps affair with Bechard and then paying her a seven-figure sum, wrote Campos in his New York article, its much simpler to imagine it simply as a perfectly timed and fantastically profitable bribe. Photos by Glenn Francis / Michael Vadon / Wikimedia Commons BERLIN, DELooking for a beautiful yet tiny Valentine's Day gift for a love done? After all, it's often been said that good things come in small packages, and anyone who's watch adult videos featuring 5-foot-nothing women can probably attest to the truth of thatbut Goliath Books' slipcased volume, Photographia Erotica Historica, measuring less than three inches in height, should cement that truism in each reader's mind. Photographia Erotica Historica is bound in leather and embossed in gold for a terrific old-timey feel, but within its 380 pagesincluding 200 vintage photos, with some text in English, German, French, Italian and Spanishreaders will find what the company describes as "photographic obscenities from the turn of the century." (The 19th century, that is.) Ever since the invention of photography, inventors like France's Louis Daguerre have been interested in photographing nudes, with the body images linked directly to the popular poses in paintings and sculptures. Cameras in those days weren't cheap, but those who could afford them, when they weren't simply experimenting to see what they could do with the medium, often "experimented" with creating images of the nude female body. "Many 'art lovers' were interested in the photographic models that depicted naked women," the introduction to Photographia Erotica Historica states. "To this day, purchasing erotic and pornographic photographs for 'academic purposes' is a familiar expression and popular alibi for collectors and consumers. The invention of the wet-collodion process in 1851 enabled numerous prints of a single negative for the first time. This made it affordable for consumers and more profitable for merchants, creating a new storm for these 'objects of desire.' Many photographers barely managed to keep up with producing new images." But with the invention of the Kodak camera, which used roll film for the first time, mass production of images became even easier, and the existence of nude and sexually explicit photos became widespread, even if they had to be sold underground, and the names of both the photographers and the models kept anonymous. And now, thanks to Photographia Erotica Historica, many of those early nude and hardcore shots are available to modern readers. But, cautions this volume's introduction, "Worryingly, this development of tolerance and liberality seems to be reversing, thanks to resurging religious and conservative movements (be they from the left or right). The start of the 21st century also marks the start of the resurgence of censorship. That is why it is our pleasure and task to publish this little book, which is easy to hide in public, as an entertaining reminder of a repressive time in which nudity was still hidden." Those interested in purchasing Photographia Erotica Historica or checking out the book in more detail can find it here. Greencore profit growth has been dented in a challenging half year by problems in the firms US operation. While group revenue rose 22.6% year on year in the first half of the current financial year to 1,238.5m, adjusted operating margin dropped 70 basis points to 4.8% following investments in the UK ready meals business and because a greater proportion of group profits were generated in the lower-margin US division. The first half of FY18 has been challenging for Greencore and its shareholders, said Greencore chief executive officer Patrick Coveney, who is to spend more of his time leading the US business. While we delivered strong revenue growth in both the UK and US, profit growth was impacted by the challenges experienced in the original part of Greencores US division Greencore said it had extended some of its long-term partnership agreements with key customers and secured new business wins. Strategic investment in the UK division had returned to normal following increased spending over the past two years. Greencores remaining major project, the refurbishment and extension of the groups largest ready meals facility in Warrington, is set to complete by the end of the current financial year. As previously announced, the business is exiting the cakes and desserts market with the sale of its operation in Hull to Bright Blue Foods, and the planned closure of its Evercreech desserts site this summer. Revenue in the UK & Ireland convenience foods division rose 7.2% to 734.9m in what it described as a challenging trading environment. Adjusted operating profit increased slightly to 47.1m. Food-to-go revenue increased 10%, driven by category growth and the incremental impact of previously announced business wins. The business also benefited from growth in revenue from the distribution of third-party products through its Direct to Store network following consolidation in the distribution industry. The dynamics of the wider food-to-go market remain favourable and are supported by consumer demand for convenience, snacking and a preference for healthier products, stated the business. There is also continued customer support for food-to-go as an incremental, high-margin category and the group is actively supporting the innovation and commercial effectiveness of customers product ranges through various initiatives. Revenue from the US division rose 55.1% to 503.6m, which reflected the acquisition of Peacock Foods in December 2016. In the Peacock part of the business, pro forma revenue grew 15.5% and volume grew 12%. However, pro forma revenue and volume in the original Greencore part of the business declined 23.7% and 25% respectively, driven by previously announced contract loss in the groups Jacksonville facility last year. Greencore has reviewed its US strategy to focus on its branded food partners. It has also ceased production at its Rhode Island facility and plans to sell the site. As a result of the significant strategic, network and organisational measures that we have taken in order to address these challenges, we believe that our US business is now much better positioned to deliver an improved performance in the second half of the year and beyond, said Coveney. We anticipate strong organic growth for the remainder of FY18. Authorizes the governor to shut down Chemours, effective June of this year, if DEQ is unable to stop further unauthorized discharges of GenX. Provides additional funding to the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority to test a technology to treat its groundwater supply and replicate this water treatment technology in other parts of the state. Establishes a framework to require Chemours to provide an alternate permanent water supply for private wells impacted by GenX above the DHHS health standard. Provides $2 million in grant funding to help local governments expedite the extension of municipal water lines to homes with impacted wells. Chemours would reimburse state taxpayers for any expenditures from this fund. Provides $8 million for university researchers to conduct statewide sampling and analysis of GenX and other emerging contaminants in public water supplies. Allocates $1.8 million for DEQ to purchase a mass spectrometer and hire additional staff to support water quality sampling and analysis and address its permitting backlog. House and Senate Republicans from southeastern North Carolina want Gov. Roy Cooper to close the Chemours chemical manufacturing plant by June if operators don't stop polluting public waterways with the GenX chemical compound.That action would be possible under companion bills filed in both chambers Thursday, May 17.GenX pollution has been a political lightning rod with growing election year significance. Cooper and fellow Democrats complain majority Republicans haven't done enough to study and stop the release of the chemical.Cooper made specific reference to GenX cleanup when he unveiled his $24.5 billion budget for 2018-19 on May 10. He budgeted $14.5 million to the departments of Environmental Quality, and Health and Human Services to research and protect air and drinking water, combat emerging contaminants like GenX, and upgrade the state's outdated permitting system.the bills' authors said in a joint statement.they said.Chemours, whose parent company is DuPont, is the subject of a class action lawsuit filed by residents living along the Cape Fear River.But the twin bills filed Thursday are the first legislative proposals to hold Chemours financially responsible for discharging GenX into the public water supply. Cooper could shut down the company's operations if DEQ can't stop the pollution.After months of study, Sens. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover; Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick; and Wesley Meredith, R-Cumberland, filed Senate Bill 724 . Reps. Ted Davis, R-New Hanover; Holly Grange, R-New Hanover; Frank Iler, R-Brunswick; and William Brisson, R-Bladen, filed an identical House Bill 972 The bills were submitted on the same day the State Innovation Exchange, a national progressive center, scheduled a town hall in Wilmington. Rep. Deb Butler, D-New Hanover, and Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake, were to discuss the state's response to GenX pollution, and environmental protection policies.The legislation provides more than $10 million for university scientists and state regulators to continue their research into how much GenX and other emerging contaminants are in public water supplies, and the chemicals' impact on public health and safety. It also calls for a statewide mitigation plan.The GenX situation has captured the attention of U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-8thCongressional District, who sits on the House Subcommittee on Environment. He has questioned Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt in hearings, and sent him letters to determine the status of EPA efforts to give states information about the toxicity of GenX to know how to deal with it. I have found the recent demonization of Facebook and its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg fascinating and revelatory. We have discovered that during the 2016 presidential campaign the social media giant played unwitting host to hundreds of Russian bots and fake accounts peddling misinformation about the candidates. It has also attracted bad publicity for allowing third parties to improperly use customers' personal data. Cambridge Analytica ignored a 2011 request from Facebook to destroy account-holder details and instead deployed the information to drum up business from, among others, the Trump campaign.Zuckerberg was dragged in front of two congressional committees for a verbal flogging. There's serious talk about significant regulation, especially by the Europeans who have been looking to limit the scope and profits of American Internet firms for some time.There's no doubt Facebook messed up. It has been naive. It was undoubtedly cavalier in its treatment of important information, and there have been consequences. The social network's shares lost more than 10 percent of their value immediately following the revelation about Cambridge. It's now experiencing a net decline - rather than the traditional growth - in North America accounts for the first time.But think for a moment about the social value Facebook generates - above and beyond employment, wealth creation, and taxes paid - something Americans should be much more upset with the company about. It links hundreds of millions of people in a virtual community where they can share news, gossip, and photos. It brings the infirm, less affluent, and time-constrained into the lives of family and friends. It allows companies, particularly small ones without budgets for extensive web presence, to reach customers in their neighborhood and around the world. Civic groups use Facebook Live to stream video of events to people who can't be there. The social network provides a way for parties, candidates, and other political actors to inform discerning citizens and enrich our democracy by leveling the playing field. All of this is free. Facebook is, essentially, a public good that - unlike others such as schools, national defense, and PBS - is underwritten largely by people who aren't its users.All of this has been lost in the vitriol. Facebook's mass excoriation is a parable of our times. This story is about the corporation as service. Our present culture of entitlement has us believe Facebook should always place public interest over its own, be directly accountable to mass opinion, and serve our individual personal needs as if we had granted it the power of attorney. But the company can't do all these things because, if it did, it wouldn't exist. Without incentives to generate private gains Facebook could not have attracted the labor and capital necessary to make its wonderful product.Facebook made about $4.8 billion in 2017 and still has a market capitalization of about 100 times that. It does this by selling advertising and its platform to thousands of software developers who want to reach customers interested in their apps. This is why it continues to serve. As Adam Smith wrote inWhen corporations don't faithfully serve we believe the average citizen has been mistreated. We point fingers and become indignant. Should we be surprised that by posting our personal information on a huge publicly accessible platform we placed it at the risk of exposure? Given the scale of Facebook's operations, the Cambridge incident may not be easy to forgive, but it was inevitable.Zuckerberg and his successful company have been caught up in the general vilification of entrepreneurs and their enterprises that has increasingly become part of American public life. The market has extracted a price for Facebook's mistakes, but for most Americans that's not sufficient.They should be careful what they wish for. There is a famous story in the Talmud about the great rabbis of the era of the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Here is the story, in full:Again it happened that Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, Rabbi Joshua and Rabbi Akiva went up to Jerusalem. When they reached Mt. Scopus, they tore their garments. When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerging from the place of the Holy of Holies. The others started weeping; Rabbi Akiva laughed.Said they to him:Said he to them:Said they to him:Said he to them:With these words they replied to him:Akiva's consolation is now a reality.According to Jewish tradition, the first mention of Jerusalem in the Bible comes in Genesis 14:18, when Abraham meets the King of Shalem; in Genesis 21:14, Abraham names the site of his near-sacrifice of IsaacmeaningYare-Shalem - Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the city of David's tower and Solomon's Temple; it is the city of Hezekiah's water tunnels; it is the city of which the psalmist wrote after the destruction of the First Temple (587 BCE),Jerusalem is the eternal Jewish dream: the dream of a free nation living in a land promised by God.It was the dream of Bar Kochba, who revolted against the Romans in 132 CE, sixty years after the destruction of the Second Temple, and used Roman coinage to mint his own - an engraving of the temple, with the words,It was the dream of millions of Jews over hundreds of years, who prayed thrice daily for its restoration. It was the dream of Mordechai Anielewicz, the secular leader of the Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto:Jerusalem was never abandoned by the Jews; God did not abandon the Jews. Despite forcible expulsion, despite genocidal mania, despite terrorism and brutality, Jerusalem remained Jewish. And when, in 1967, the Israeli Defense Force announced "Har HaBayit beyadeinu" - the Temple Mount is in our hands - the footsteps of the living God could be heard across the planet, resonating from the top of the hills of Jerusalem.That dream is real.President Trump's decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem is not merely a wise one politically (it has been Congressional law since 1995), it is a resonant one spiritually. Jerusalem is the center of the Jewish heart; it always was, and it always will be. Recognizing that fact is key to recognizing the legitimacy of the entire Judeo-Christian tradition upon which the West relies. There is a reason that a Jewish Jerusalem is an open Jerusalem, where all can worship as they see fit - a place from which "the word of the Lord" goes out (Isaiah 2:3). History exists; truth exists. Jerusalem has not been forgotten and will not be forgotten - its streets sing with throngs of Jews, nearly wiped off the planet within living memory, and its temples are filled with the psalms of David. The tears have turned to laughter.the Talmud says in Tractate Berachot.Jerusalem is eternal, as is the God who made it. Governor Cooper Announces $55 Million Investment to Manufacture Medicines for Rare Genetic Diseases Contact: Ford Porter Ford Porter govpress@nc.gov RALEIGH: AveXis, Inc., a clinical-stage gene therapy company developing treatments for rare and life-threatening neurological diseases, will locate a new manufacturing center in Durham County creating 200 jobs, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company is expected to invest approximately $55 million in the facility to produce potentially breakthrough therapies to address rare neurological genetic diseases.Gov. Cooper said.A Novartis company headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois, AveXis' initial product candidate, AVXS-101, is a proprietary gene therapy currently in development for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, Type 1, the leading genetic cause of infant mortality.said Andrew Knudten, Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Chief Technical Officer at AveXis.said Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland.The North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of N.C. (EDPNC) led the state's support for the company's expansion.AveXis will create a variety of positions in Durham County, including engineers, manufacturing and quality control personnel, and supply chain specialists. When all new positions are filled, the total payroll impact is anticipated to be in excess of $20 million annually.AveXis' expansion in Durham County will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state's Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project will grow the state's economy by an estimated $918.5 million. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $2,232,000, spread over 12 years. State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant's reimbursement payments to a given company.Because AveXis chose to locate in Durham County, classified by the state's economic tier system as Tier 3, the company's JDIG agreement also calls for moving as much as $744,000 into the state's Industrial Development Fund - Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when new jobs are created in a Tier 3 county such as Durham, the new tax revenue generated through JDIG grants helps more economically challenged communities elsewhere in the state. More information on the state's economic tier designations is available here The North Carolina Biotechnology Center also provided technical due diligence and funding support for this project through a jobs-based grant.said Representative MaryAnn Black.said Senator Mike Woodard.Partnering with N.C. Commerce and the EDPNC on this project were the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Durham Technical Community College, Durham County, and the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce. When requested to do so: Should President Trump submit to an interview /interrogation by Robert Mueller, and his crack team of core Democrat investigators? Yes: What does Mr. Trump have to hide? No, Mueller is setting a perjury trap for the President, and lost all interest in investigating Russia meddling in our elections many months ago. I'm with Rudy ... or Kimmel ... or ... I don't know enough to really care ... "yeah, that's the ticket". 194 total vote(s) What's your Opinion? On Monday, President Trump met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray regarding his "demand" that the Department of Justice look into the use of a confidential informant by the FBI against members of the Trump campaign in 2016. This has led to an enormous amount of hand-wringing on the Left, and triumphalism on the Right. According to the Left, Trump is utilizing the Department of Justice to cover for his supposed crimes, or to investigate the investigators; according to those on the Right, Trump is finally about to bring the Obama FBI to heel.Here are some basic realities.The Department of Justice is not an independent branch. It works for the president. That means that the president has every right to meet with members of his DOJ to discuss ongoing matters. Obstruction only becomes an issue if Trump were to inform the DOJ to come to a particular conclusion in a case. It arguably would not even be obstruction for Trump to order the DOJ to shut down a particular investigation, though obstruction of justice charges were part of the impeachment proceedings against President Nixon.This is a separate investigation from the Mueller investigation; it's a separate investigation from the SDNY investigation into Michael Cohen. These investigations have nothing to do with Trump's call for an investigation into the use of the FBI by the Obama administration to supposedly target the Trump campaign in 2016. At best, information gathered by any such investigation could be utilized as a public relations piece in a potential attempt to end the Mueller investigation.Trump is charging that the FBI, under the auspices of the Obama DOJ, planted informants inside his campaign unjustifiably - that is, they had no real reason to suspect that any collusion was taking place between members of the Trump campaign and Russia, and thus had no grounds, either counterintelligence or criminal, to begin any investigation utilizing an informant. This seems like a stretch, given that we know that George Papadopoulos met with an alleged agent of the Kremlin in London, then bragged about it before an Australian ambassador; Carter Page had been on the intelligence community's watch list for quite a while; so had Paul Manafort; Michael Flynn had taken money from Russia Today; and Donald Trump Jr. approved a meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian cut-out regarding supposed dirt on Hillary Clinton.Perhaps the weirdest part of this entire conspiracy theory is the fact that Trump could simply declassify all of this material rather than waiting for an investigation. We still don't have the original Carter Page FISA warrant, which House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes says shows the misuse of the infamous Steele dossier to surveil Page. We could get all the documents with regard to the FBI's decisionmaking process on using an informant too. All Trump has to do is sign the papers.Another weird part of this conspiracy theory is the idea that Trump's enemies were attempting to sink Trump's campaign with false stories about Russian conspiracies - when none of this material broke during the campaign. We didn't know about the Trump Tower meeting; we'd never heard about Papadopoulos; we knew about Manafort, but only because Manafort had allegedly been corrupt for years (and Trump fired him over it); Flynn's relationship with RT was public. But if news had leaked about the use of an informant during the Trump campaign, that surely would have damaged Trump. If that was the point, why didn't this stuff leak?Trump's election triggered a series of devastating leaks, however. There were leaks about the Steele dossier; about Michael Flynn; about the Trump Tower meeting; about the path of the investigation along every step of the investigation; of FBI Director James Comey's notes. If there's corruption, that's where to look.There are a series of emails that have now been released between top Obama administration DOJ and FBI officials regarding the CNN story on the Steele dossier. Republicans have taken those emails to mean that these people coordinated on the release of the dossier, and then set Trump up by giving CNN a newshook - they talked to Trump about the story. There's a plausible counter-explanation: CNN reached out to these officials about the dossier, they felt a duty to inform Trump, they believed the story would run in any case, and it did. That doesn't mean that Team Obama didn't leak the dossier. But that's just not clear-cut at this point.So, here's the bottom line, as always: we just don't know enough at this point. We don't know if the FBI targeted Trump illegitimately; we don't know that the Steele dossier came out thanks to Team Obama manipulation. We do know, however, that Trump has every right to look into these issues. 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. Medical Documents Show Questionable Record-Keeping Related to Legionnaires Disease Victims Care and Familys Concerns Prior To Death The family of Dolores French, one of the 13 residents of the Illinois Veterans Home who died from the horrific Legionnaires disease outbreak in 2015, recently spoke out to WBEZ reporter Dave McKinney after newly obtained health documents related to her case demonstrated a litany of questionable procedural and record-keeping practices at Illinois largest state-run veterans home. French had only been a resident of the Quincy Veterans Home for six weeks when Adams County Coroner James Keller examined her already decomposing body, possibly of two days, on the floor in her room. Although state officials deny the claim, her family was told her body was not in a condition to be embalmed and an open-casket funeral would not be an option. Veterans Home Staff May Have Disregarded Family Inquiry Phone records show the day before Frenchs body was found, her son made a call to the Veterans Home to check-in on his mother (and father) after delayed reports of a Legionnaires disease outbreak at the facility. At that time, an employee told him not to worry. But just the next morning, staff found French dead in her room, despite concerns of the facility being in an outbreak epidemic and inquiries for the womans well-being from both Frenchs son and at least one resident. After the womans death, notes detailing a room check the day of her sons phone call were added to an electronic medical log stating the woman was not in her room and it looked tidy. Steven Levin, co-founder and senior partner of Levin & Perconti, spoke to WBEZ about the disturbing findings, stating, The conduct of this facility in this case, in my opinion, was reckless . Based upon what we believe the coroner concluded, it is very likely that this person either died or was extremely sick at the time that the nurse claims she went into her room and didnt see her there. So where the heck was she? One in 10 people will die from acquiring Legionnaires disease under normal circumstances, but if the disease is contracted from a health care facility, the odds of death jump to one in 4. Since the incident, the Combined Veterans Capital Needs Task Force has been working endlessly to prevent a tragedy like this from occurring again and is now demanding the state of Illinois build a $200+ million state-of-the-art skilled nursing care facility to address safe water supply needs. You can listen to Levins full interview with WBEZ and review The Quandary Behind A Quincy Legionnaires Victims Death: Where The Heck Was She? story here. Chicagos Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorneys We are one of the most widely-known and respected nursing home abuse and neglect law firms in Illinois, achieving multiple million dollar verdicts and settlements for individuals and families who have been impacted by nursing home abuse, wrongful death, malpractice, or neglect. The Illinois nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti can help if a loved one or patient has suffered as a result of a poorly staffed nursing home. Our consultations are always free, confidential, and handled by one of our skilled attorneys. Click here to fill out an online request form or call us toll-free at 1-877-374-1417 or 312-332-2872. The air is getting chiller. The leaves are turning are changing from vibrant green to rusty orange. And pumpkin spice lattes are making your local Starbucks line twice as long as usual. That can only mean that autumn is here so why not prepare yourself for your seasonal gatherings with a Fall delivery box from Splash READ THE REST Amazon bills its Rekognition image classification system as a "deep learning-based image and video analysis" system; it markets the system to US police forces for use in analyzing security camera footage, including feeds from police officers' bodycams. The marketing materials circulated to law enforcement touted Rekognition's ability to identify up to 100 individuals in a single photo. Amazon bound the cities it pitched with nondisclosure agreements, and cities have cited these NDAs in denying public records requests for details about their plans to use Rekognition. Amazon's law enforcement material suggests that its tool could be use to identify "persons of interest" not wanted criminals or even rehabilitated felons, but (for example) protesters and activists that police intelligence units have decided to target for continuous scrutiny. Amazon developed its law-enforcement marketing through cooperation with the city of Orlando, Florida, where it created a "proof of concept trial." It subsequently developed a network of city procurement officials and encouraged its existing customers to help the company pitch new business in other cities. Amazon's public list of municipal/law enforcement surveillance customers includes Orlando, and the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Oregon. With Rekognition, a government can now build a system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone. If police body cameras, for example, were outfitted with facial recognition, devices intended for officer transparency and accountability would further transform into surveillance machines aimed at the public. With this technology, police would be able to determine who attends protests. ICE could seek to continuously monitor immigrants as they embark on new lives. Cities might routinely track their own residents, whether they have reason to suspect criminal activity or not. As with other surveillance technologies, these systems are certain to be disproportionately aimed at minority communities. Because of Rekognition's capacity for abuse, we asked Washington County and Orlando for any records showing that their communities had been provided an opportunity to discuss the service before its acquisition. We also asked them about rules governing how the powerful surveillance system could be used and ensuring rights would be protected. Neither locality identified such records. In fact, Washington County began using Rekognition even as employees raised questions internally. In one email, a Washington County employee expressed the concern that the "ACLU might consider this the government getting in bed with big data." That employee's prediction was correct. People should be free to walk down the street without being watched by the government. By automating mass surveillance, facial recognition systems like Rekognition threaten this freedom, posing a particular threat to communities already unjustly targeted in the current political climate. Once powerful surveillance systems like these are built and deployed, the harm will be extremely difficult to undo. Amazon Teams Up With Law Enforcement to Deploy Dangerous New Facial Recognition Technology [Matt Cagle and Nicole Ozer/ACLU] (Image: Cryteria, CC-BY) In January 2013, The Onion ran a satire piece "written" by "Donald Trump," titled, "When You're Feeling Low, Just Remember I'll Be Dead In About 15 Or 20 Years." (Excerpt: "In the not-very-distant future I will die and then be gone from the world for all eternity. You may even get to watch me in a casket on national television being lowered into the ground, never to be seen again. I bet you're smiling just thinking about that Indeed, you can always take solace in the fact that the monstrous, unimaginable piece of shit that is me will stop existing fairly soon, and that I will continue to not exist for the remainder of your lifetime.") A couple of weeks later, Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, sent The Onion an unintentionally funny email, asking The Onion to contact him "immediately to discuss," saying "the article is an absolutely disgusting piece that lacks any place in journalism; even in your Onion." He adds, "This commentary goes way beyond defamation and, if not immediately removed, I will take all actions necessary to ensure your actions do not go without consequence. Guide yourself accordingly." The editors of The Onion say they would love to speak with Cohen now. John Carreyrou broke the story of Theranos' epic medical fraud. At Wired he now takes a sharp look at its dysfunctional corporate culture, excerpted from his new book on the corrupt Silicon Valley unicorn's spectacular downfall, Bad Blood [Amazon]. Not all of it was Elizabeth Holmes, either. COO Sunny Balwani was a quietly stupid office tyrant: [Theranos'] device remained very much a work in progress. The list of its problems was lengthy. The biggest problem of all was the dysfunctional corporate culture in which it was being developed. Holmes and Balwani regarded anyone who raised a concern or an objection as a cynic and a nay-sayer. Employees who persisted in doing so were usually marginalized or fired, while sycophants were promoted. Employees were Balwani's minions. He expected them to be at his disposal at all hours of the day or night and on weekends. He checked the security logs every morning to see when they badged in and out. Every evening, around 7:30, he made a flyby of the engineering department to make sure people were still at their desks working. With time, some employees grew less afraid of him and devised ways to manage him, as it dawned on them that they were dealing with an erratic man-child of limited intellect and an even more limited attention span. Holmes, by contrast, was savvy yet unreasonable. And it got worse after high-ranking staff quit rather than be party to Theranos going public with its unreliable tech The resignations infuriated Holmes and Balwani. The following day, they summoned the staff for an all-hands meeting in the cafeteria. Copies of The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho's famous novel about an Andalusian shepherd boy who finds his destiny by going on a journey to Egypt, had been placed on every chair. Still visibly angry, Holmes told the gathered employees that she was building a religion. If there were any among them who didn't believe, they should leave. Balwani put it more bluntly: Anyone not prepared to show complete devotion and unmitigated loyalty to the company should "get the fuck out." You look at all this and wonder at the legal event horizon, for corporate executives, beyond which nothing is truly forbidden. But then you realize that Theranos was a just billion-dollar version of Amy's Baking Company. For the crime of talking to a western media outlet about his native tongue, Tashi Wangchuk has been sentenced to prison. Back in 2015, Mr. Tashi spoke to the New York Times about his concerns that Tibetans were in danger of losing their native language. It was a problem that had been brewing for a while. Tibet declared independence from the much larger nation in 1913. They had their culture, their Dalai Lama and their territory. Things were good for around 36 years. In 1949, Mao Zedong got China all hot and horny for Communism. Looking to regain the lands that they felt belonged to them, for political and defensive reasons, The People's Republic of China invaded Tibet in 1950, invaded Tibet, scourging the nation's culture, language and beliefs in an effort to bring it into line with China's political doctrine. China's never relented its stranglehold on Tibet's politics but, over time, it did come to allow a certain amount of levity for ethnic minorities, not just in Tibet, but in other Chinese territories (both traditionally recognized or taken by force). Diversity in custom and language were begrudgingly tolerated. In 1984, China went so far as to protect the right to the preservation of language and culture, so long as it didn't get in the way of their political agenda, under the law. So, when Mr. Tashi chatted with The Grey Lady, he assumed that he and the Chinese government would be cool. He couldn't have been more wrong. The most recent iteration of the Central People's Government holds a more assimilationist approach to governance: One people, one language, yadda yadda. The law that should have protected Mr. Tashi was ignored by the Chinese government in favor of arresting him for "inciting separatism." That he was found guilty was a given: the Chinese Communist Party court that Mr. Tashi stood before generally gets its way. In this case, its way is that Tashi be sentenced to five years in prison. Including the time that he'd already served while waiting for his trial, he won't be able to call himself a free man until 2021. From The New York Times: At his trial in January, Mr. Tashi, speaking in Chinese, rejected the idea that his efforts to rejuvenate the Tibetan language were a crime. He has said that he does not advocate independence for Tibet, but wants the rights for ethnic minorities that are promised by Chinese law, including the right to use their own language. After Mr. Tashi's trial, six experts advising the United Nations on rights said, "We condemn the continued detention of Mr. Wangchuk and the criminalization of his freedom of expression." They added: "Free exchange of views about state policies, including criticism against policies and actions that appear to have a negative impact on the lives of people, need to be protected." Mr. Tashi's legal team is appealing the sentence, but with kangaroo courts being what they are, the likelihood of his getting out early is pretty slim. Image via Flickr, courtesy of tiffany terry From the late 1970s on, the Chicago School economists worked with the likes of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Augusto Pinochet and Brian Mulroney to dismantle antitrust enforcement, declaring that the only time government should intervene is when monopolists conspired to raise prices everything else was fair game. Some 40 years later, a new generation of trustbusters have emerged, with their crosshairs centered on Big Tech, the first industry to grow up under these new, monopoly-friendly rules, and thus the first (but far from the only) example of an industry in which markets, finance and regulatory capture were allowed to work their magic to produce a highly concentrated sector of seemingly untame-able giants who are growing bigger by the day. The new anti-monopolism is still in its infancy but a very old division has emerged within its ranks: the Jeffersonian ideal of decentralized power (represented by trustbusters who want to break up Big Tech into small, manageable firms that are too small to crush emerging rivals or capture regulators) versus the Hamiltonian ideal of efficiency at scale, tempered by expert regulation that forces firms to behave in the public interest (with the end-game sometimes being "Fully Automated Luxury Communism" in which the central planning efficiencies of Wal-Mart and Amazon are put in the public's hands, rather than their shareholders'). There are positions in between these two, of course: imagine, say, creating criteria for evaluating whether some element of scale or feature makes a company a danger to new competitors or its users, and forcing spinoffs of those parts of the business, while allowing the rest to grow to arbitrarily large scales (agreeing on those criteria might be hard! Also: one consequence of getting it wrong is that we'll end up with new giants whom we'll have to defeat in order to correct our mistake). "Fully Automated Luxury Communism" contains two assumptions: first, that late-stage capitalism has finally proved that markets aren't the only way to allocate resources efficiently. Wal-Mart's internal economy is larger than the USSR at its peak, and it doesn't use markets to figure out how to run its internal allocations or supply chain (this is explored in detail in an upcoming book called "The People's Republic of Wal-Mart," by Leigh Phillips, author of the superb Austerity Ecology & the Collapse-Porn Addicts: A Defence Of Growth, Progress, Industry And Stuff; it's also at the heart of Paul Mason's analysis in the excellent Postcapitalism); second, that the best way to capture and improve this ability to allocate resources is by keeping these entities very large. You see this a lot in the debate about AI: advocates for keeping firms big (but taming them through regulation) say that all the real public benefits from AI (accurate medical diagnosis, tailored education, self-driving cars, etc) are only possible with massive training-data sets of the sort that requires concentration, not decentralization. There's also a version of it in the debate about information security: Apple (the argument goes) exercises a gatekeeper authority that keeps malicious apps out of the App Store; while simultaneously maintaining a hardware, parts and repair monopoly that keeps exploitable, substandard parts (or worse, parts that have been deliberately poisoned) out of their users' devices. More recently, the Efail vulnerability has some security researchers revisiting the wisdom of federated systems like email, and pondering whether a central point of control over end-point design is the only way to make things secure (security is a team sport: it doesn't matter how secure your end of a conversation is, if the other end is flapping wide open in the breeze, because your adversaries get to choose where they attack, and they'll always choose the weakest point). The redecentralizers counter by pointing out the risks of having a single point of failure: when a company has the power to deliver perfect control to authoritarian thugs, expect those thugs to do everything in their power to secure their cooperation. They point out that the benefits of AI are largely speculative, and that really large sets of training data don't do anything to root out AI's potentially fatal blind spots nor to prevent algorithmic bias those require transparencly, peer review, disclosure and subservience to the public good. They point out that regulatory capture is an age-old problem: Carterfone may have opened the space for innovation in telephone devices (leading, eventually, to widespread modem use and the consumer internet), but it didn't stop AT&T from becoming a wicked monopolist, and subsequent attempts to use pro-competitive rules (rather than enforced smallness) to tame AT&T have failed catastrophically. It's very hard to craft regulations that can't be subverted by dominant giants and converted from a leash around their own necks into a whip they use to fight off new entrants to their markets. I have been noodling with the idea of regulating monopolies by punishing companies whenever their effect on their users is harmful, rather than regulating what how they should behave themselves. My prototype for this, regarding Facebook, goes like this: Step one: agree on some measure of "people feel they must use Facebook even though they hate it" (this is hard!) Step two: give Facebook a year to make that number go down Step three: if Facebook fails, assess a whopping, massive fine against it that hurts the shareholders and prompts them to fire the board/management team Step four: lather, rinse, repeat The devil is up there in step one, agreeing on a way to measure Facebook's coercive power. But that is, after all, the thing we really care about. Jeffersonian Decentralizers want Facebook made smaller because smaller companies are less able to coerce their users. Technocratic Hamiltonians want to regulate Facebook to prevent it from abusing its users. Both care, ultimately, about abuse if Facebook was split into four business units that still made their users miserable, Jeffersonians would not declare victory; if it was made to operate under a set of rules that still inflicted pain on billions of Facebook users, Hamiltonians would share their pain. Size and rules are a proxy for an outcome: harm. The Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian visions lead to very different policy recommendations in the tech space. Jeffersonians want to end Google's acquisition spree, full stop. They believe the firm has simply gotten too powerful. But even some progressive regulators might wave through Google's purchase of Waze (the traffic monitoring app), however much it strengthens Google's power over the mapping space, in hopes that the driving data may accelerate its development of self-driving cars. The price of faster progress may be the further concentration of power in Silicon Valley. To Jeffersonians, though, it is that very concentration (of power, patents, and profits) in megafirms that deters small businesses from taking risks to develop breakthrough technologies. Facebook's dominance in social networking raises similar concerns. Privacy regulators in the United States and Europe are investigating whether Facebook did enough to protect user data from third-party apps, like the ones that Cambridge Analytica and its allies used to harvest data on tens of millions of unsuspecting Facebook users. Note that Facebook itself clamped down on third-party access to data it gathered in 2013, in part thanks to its worries that other firms were able to construct lesser, but still powerful, versions of its famous "social graph"the database of intentions and connections that makes the social network so valuable to advertisers. For Jeffersonians, the Facebook crackdown on data flows to outside developers is suspicious. It looks like the social network is trying to monopolize a data hoard that could provide essential raw materials for future start-ups. From a Hamiltonian perspective, however, securing the data trove in one massive firm looks like the responsible thing to do (as long as the firm is well regulated). Once the data is permanently transferred from Facebook to other companies, it may be very hard to ensure that it is not misused. Competitors (or "frenemies," in Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice Stucke's terms) cannot access data that is secure in Facebook's serversbut neither can hackers, blackmailers, or shadowy data brokers who are specialists in military-grade psyops. To stop "runaway data" from creating a full-disclosure dystopia for all of us, "security feudalism" seems necessary. Policy conflict between Jeffersonians and Hamiltonians, "small-isbeautiful" democratizers and centralist bureaucratizers, will heat up in coming years. To understand the role of each tendency in the digital sphere, it is helpful to consider their approaches in more detail. Tech Platforms and the Knowledge Problem [Frank Pasquale/American Affairs] (Thanks, Cindy!) News / National by Staff reporter FORMER higher education minister, Jonathan Moyo and President Emmerson Mnangagwa's spokesperson George Charamba are, once again, at each other's throats, with Moyo insinuating he was privy to details of Charamba's years as former president Canaan Banana's "closet aide".According to NewZimbabwe.com, Charamba, who reportedly is the force behind a new weekly column in the state controlled The Herald newspaper running under the pseudonym Igomombe, threw the first punch taking pot-shots at former President Robert Mugabe inspired opposition formation National Patriotic Front (NPF).Charamba said the mooted party was disintegrating with the forces behind it among them Moyo, his former Cabinet colleagues Patrick Zhuwao and Saviour Kasukuwere, now fighting among themselves amid accusations of selling out."How such wise men who claim to have eaten so big a book could not foresee all this boggles the mind," he said adding Moyo's dream of a "Malaysia-like" miracle in Harare shows a shocking degree of ignorance.92-year-old Mahatir Mahomed surprised the world by fronting an opposition coalition to take power after year in the cold. Charamba added Moyo's dream of a "third coming" was dead in the water.But Moyo did not take long responding in his usual acerbic style."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!," wrote Moyo in his Twitter handle.Moyo also accused his former subordinate during his time as Information minister of being a British mole.Moyo says Charamba is violating the national constitution by authoring the column because he is a civil servant "yet he acts like a politician & is now tackling opposition politicians "UNDER THE EAVES" on behalf of #ZanuPF ".The constitution forbids civil servants from acting in a partisan manner and from furthering the interests of any political party or cause.Charamba has served all Zimbabwe's three Presidents since independence from Britain 38 years ago, beginning with Canaan Banana, Mugabe and now Mnangagwa. The late Banana was convicted of sodomising his aides during his time as president.Moyo traces Charamba's history from the time he joined the civil service in 1984 to date and says he faked affection for Mugabe yet the untold truth was that he hated both Mugabe and his wife Grace because of the misfortunes of his relative only named as Ms Kadungure.Moyo also says Charamba is embarrassing Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga by writing speeches with Albion jawbreakers for him.He says Charamba was identified by the British government as a "rising bureaucrat" in 1995 and was recruited through a Chevening scholarship which he used to full effect "in terms of making Albion contacts, widening & deepening his wordsmith skills from Shakespearean archives!" News / National by Simbarashe Sithole Guruve Rural District Council is embroiled in a legal battle with its former employee who has won a labour ruling ordering the former to pay $ 75 898.00 salary arrears for the period 2010-2016 after it also emerged that the council has not been issuing pay slips or signing employment contracts amidst a plethora of speculations over abuse of public funds.The employee, Shingai Siraha (46) who has since been acquitted by the Bindura Magistrates court over fraud charges which led to his dismissal from the council, has been served with an eviction order to vacate council staff quarters.According to court papers Case No 45/18, "the defendant was provided with accommodation as a condition of service but never vacated the said accommodation despite his contract of employment being terminated".Siraha was dismissed from the post of Civil Engineering Technician and Building Inspector after the council management allegedly framed him for fraudulent selling of stands and he went on to challenge his unfair dismissal through the labour court.In his ruling presiding Labour Officer Julita Likweza said that council failed to present full proof against the claimant's demand since it had no pays lips, proof of payment nor bank deposits."It is a statutory requirement for employers to keep records so as to simplify issues. It is therefore on the basis of such findings that the tribunal grand the benefit of doubt to the claimant and award him the outstanding salaries as claimed in the sum of $ 63 948.00."It was also incumbent upon the respondent to prove that they paid for transport and housing allowances by production of documents like pay slips or bank deposit. Mere assertions of payments will not suffice," reads the court ruling.It is alleged that the council has not been issuing pay slips to its employees from the period stretching 2010-2016.Meanwhile, the management has dismissed its Treasurer and filed a case at Guruve Magistrate Court accusing him of stealing 24 bags of cement in an alleged act of conspiracy against those suspected of exposing the shady deals at the council.There is diminishing public confidence in the management after the vanishing of $ 44 000 allegedly paid for a vehicle in 2017 which has not been delivered to date raising high speculations of possible fund abuse.A Zanu PF official has also expressed disappointment over the operations of the council saying it is now run by the lawyers as it has become a darling of the courts."It is a pity that the council is now being run by Chihambakwe, Mutizwa and Partners since a lot of money is being paid to them for the numerous cases that the management attempts to cover up including shady stands deals and we call for government to react as a matter of urgency", said the official.Earlier this year the council had a property of about $ 84 000 attached by the messenger of court over a Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) debt which were later lifted after an agreement to monthly instalments payments.In his comment to these numerous issues, Guruve Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tinos Marisa said he had nothing to hide from the auditors or an anti-corruption team."ours is a public office and open for investigation and auditing since we are clean and have nothing to hide from the public scrutiny," said Marisa.In 2013 the CEO and three other council official were arraigned before Guruve Magistrate Court on allegations of defrauding the Zimbabwe National Roads Authority US$ 27 875. News / National by Staff reporter Former VP Joice Mujuru is at loggerheads with her stepchildren over a Borrowdale house, while the offspring of the late retired general Solomon want to have a share of.This emerged at a family meeting held on Friday at the Master of High Court.Dr Mujuru allegedly doctored deeds and nominally changed ownership of her late husband General Solomon Mujuru's assets to prevent other bona fide beneficiaries - including an estimated 90 children - from accessing his vast estate, a family member has charged.It is alleged that the sacked Vice-President started tampering with the estate soon after Gen Mujuru's death when she realised that his will left an estimated 70 percent of the estate to his children.Gen Mujuru, who died in an accidental inferno at his house in August 2011, left behind many children - and a huge estate that has torched a fierce legal battle with potential heirs taking Dr Mujuru to court.Gen Mujuru's interests covered River Ranch Diamond Mine, Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Company, Marange Diamonds, Trojan Mine, Kulmic Investments and Ruzira Properties.He also held stakes in hotels and lodges in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique.In addition, he is said to have owned farms, including Ruzambo in Beatrice where he left over 1 000 head of cattle and wildlife worth millions of United States dollars.The investigations show that at the time of his death, Gen Mujuru had 100 hectares of prime land at 72 Lunar Road, Borrowdale, Harare. Independent valuators told this paper that this holding alone was worth up to US$60 million.There are also houses and blocks of residential apartments in Harare, houses and business complexes in Bindura and Shamva, properties in Marondera, as well as a shopping complex in Warren Park D in the capital.Family members also speak of unquantified investments in money markets. Barely a week after the general's death, Dr Mujuru, it is alleged, sold over 600 prime Brahman beasts worth about US$800 000 that formed part of Gen Mujuru's cattle stock.A lot of these cattle were bought by the wife of a local telecommunications guru.One of Gen Mujuru's children accused Dr Mujuru of going on a systematic spree to change property ownership before execution of the estate. News / National by Staff rpeorter Fantastic news that Zimbabwe wishes to rejoin the Commonwealth. Wonderful that this follows productive talks at April's Commonwealth Summit in London. Zimbabwe must now show commitment to Commonwealth values of democracy and human rights. Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 21, 2018 Zimbabwe has applied to re-join the Commonwealth after the country withdrew its membership 15 years ago under former President Robert Mugabe.Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, said Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa submitted an application on May 15 for the country to return to the 53-member group of mostly British former colonies."Zimbabwe's eventual return to the Commonwealth, following a successful membership application, would be a momentous occasion, given our shared rich history," Scotland said in a statement.U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it is fantastic news that Zimbabwe wishes to rejoin the Commonwealth, however, it must now show commitment to Commonwealth values of democracy and human rights.Said Johnson, "Fantastic news that Zimbabwe wishes to rejoin the Commonwealth. Wonderful that this follows productive talks at April's Commonwealth Summit in London. Zimbabwe must now show commitment to Commonwealth values of democracy and human rights." News / National by Staff reporter The constitutionality of the decision to create a prosecution unit in the OPC is extremely doubtful. The Prosecutor Gen as head of the NPA is responsible for prosecution - ss258 & 259 of the Con. He must be independent per s260. What's the legal basis of presidential involvement? pic.twitter.com/XhFblFMHKs Fadzayi Mahere (@advocatemahere) May 21, 2018 President Emmerson Mnangagwa has established a special anti-corruption unit which shall be housed in the Office of the President and Cabinet.In a statement, the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda said the overall objectives of the unit shall be to improve efficiency in the fight against all forms of corruption and to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of national mechanisms for prevention and fight against corruption in accordance with national anti-corruption strategy.Analysts are now querying the constitutionality of the decision by Mnangagwa.Fadzayi Mahere, an advocate of the High Court and Supreme Court of Zimbabwe who is running as an independent candidate for Mt Pleasant said, "The constitutionality of the decision to create a prosecution unit in the OPC is extremely doubtful. The Prosecutor Gen as head of the NPA is responsible for prosecution - ss258 & 259 of the Con. He must be independent per s260. What's the legal basis of presidential involvement?" News / National by A Mhlongo The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe has referred the case between Nelson Chamisa and Thokozani Khupe to the High Court to be decided there.In April, the court had initially dismissed Chamisa's application to ban Khupe from using the party's name and the symbols however the MDC-T leader had appealed the case citing an unjust and biased decision by the court.This follows a series of wrangle between the two leaders over the use of the MDC-T name as well as the party symbols.The two leaders were locked up in a legal tug of war over the use of the MDC-T name as well as the party symbols.Expelled MDC deputy president Thokozani Khupe commenced a multiplicity of actions in the High Court and Constitutional Court (Con-Court) in her desperate bid to dethrone Nelson Chamisa whose entry in the presidential race as the new MDC leader has ignited interest in the impending polls.The court had initially dismissed Chamisa's application to bar Khupe from using the party's name and the symbols however the MDC-T leader had appealed the case citing an unjust and biased decision by the court.The bench led by Justice Paddington Garwe, Antonia Guvava and Anne-Marie Gowora ruled by consent of the parties that the judgement of Justice Francis Bere be set aside.The court further ruled that the High Court determine whether or not there are two MDC-T parties, and whether Thokozani Khupe, Obert Gutu and Abednico Bhebhe are entitled to use the name, symbol logo and trademarks of the MDC-T.Court papers filed in the High Court by Khupe under case number HC1051/18 have set tongues wagging, with rivals alleging the 54-year-old filed a wrong party constitution, edited to suit her contention that she was the only deputy president of the MDC at the time the party's founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, succumbed to colon cancer on February 14.Following Tsvangirai's death, the opposition picked Chamisa as its new leader and presidential candidate, but Khupe and her allies accused the 40-year-old of a power grab, and have also refused to recognise his leadership.Chamisa was then forced to approach the High Court in Bulawayo seeking an interdict to stop Khupe and her allies from continuing to infringe on the MDC trademark, passing off as the party leader, and using the MDC name without the authority of the opposition party.More to follow... News / National by Staff reporter Former local government minister Saviour Kasukuwere who returned from self-imposed exile is reported to have been taken aside by the Law and Order officials for questioning.Kasukuwere landed at Robert Mugabe International Airport at 12 pm today amid a demonstration by Zanu PF youths led by Harare province youth chairperson Godwin Gomwe who accused him of corruption among many other issues.According to sources Kasukuwere, who came aboard the South African Airways, landed at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport midday, was immediately taken aside by the Law and Order officials for questioning.The former Zanu PF national commissar escaped into exile together with former Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo following the November 2017 coup which forced then-president Robert Mugabe to give up power to Emmerson Mnangagwa.In an interview, Mr Kasukuwere said he was staying out of politics. He denied reports suggesting he was coming to lead the National Patriotic Front (NPF), adding that it would need a lot of convincing for him to rejoin politics. News / National by Staff reporter The construction of the remaining part of Ingwigwizi Bridge has begun along the Bulawayo-Nkayi road, following the release of US$2million by the treasury to facilitate the completion of the project.The implementation of the US$3.5 million project also follows an assessment visit by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in March.A few years ago, Ingwigwizi Bridge earned the name "Three G" since three provincial governors had been appointed and completed their terms leaving the project at standstill.Even after the appointment of new resident ministers, there was no good news about the project until the coming in of President Mnangagwa who promised the people of Matabeleland North that the project will soon be given due attention.Matabeleland North Provincial Roads Engineer, Mr Joseph Makokove said the project kicked off on the 16th of last month and is currently 15 percent done, with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development targeting to have the bridge completed by the end of July."On the Nkayi approach we will do 400 metres to link with the existing alignment then on the Bulawayo approach, we will do a kilometre and we are going to surface the whole section so in total it will be about 1.5 kilometres, then we open so that traffic can use the high level bridge," he said.The project is being done by engineers and technicians from the Department of Roads which hired equipment from as far as Harare.Through the project, 50 locals have been employed as casual workers.Meanwhile, the province now awaits the outcome of the tender process for the remaining section of the Bulawayo -Nkayi highway which has been in a sorry state for years. News / National by Byo24News Reporter Zimbabwe Republic Police has said they are keen to interview Former Zanu PF National Political Commissar Savior Kasukuwere who arrived back in the country this Tuesday afternoon.ZRP national spokesperson Senior Assistant Charity Charamba, although she did not give reasons, said police will make arrangements to interview the fallen politician.Kasukuwere, who was accompanied by his wife, Barbra arrived at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International airport aboard South African Airways.He was welcomed by local businessman, Agrippa Masiyakurima alias Bopela.On arrival, the aggressive former Zanu PF politician was met with a demonstration by suspected Zanu PF supporters who accused him of corruption and almost decimating the ruling party.A jovial Kasukuwere told journalists that he was happy to be back in the country."I am very happy to be back home," he curtly said before being whisked away in Bopela's car.Kasukuwere who was key member of the G40 faction fled into safety in November last year following military involvement in Zanu PF factional wars which led to the resignation of long leader Robert Mugabe.Unlike his counterparts, Professor Jonathan Moyo and Patrick Zhuwao, since the November events, Kasukuwere has remained quiet and suspicion has been rife that he was striking a deal with the military.At the weekend, he told the Sunday Times that he was prepared to come home and face the music.However, it is highly unlikely that he will be caged with sources saying he is somehow related to the man who engineered the military intervention, Constantino Chiwenga who is now the country's vice president.Chiwenga is believed to be the one who guaranteed Kasukuwere safe return to Zimbabwe. Opinion / Columnist If there is one thing that should unite all the disparate factions within the MDC it is a distaste, to put it mildly, for former Zimbabwe president, Robert Mugabe. Almost every supporter, let alone member, of the MDC has some story to tell about the suffering they experienced under the leadership of that man.Robert Mugabe should be a red line that binds us all. Sadly, and unfortunately, our new leader Nelson Chamisa appears to have crossed even this red line, and I am not sure there is any turning back for me.According to several extremely well placed sources, leaders from the newly formed Mugabe backed party, the National Patriotic Front (NPF), met with Chamisa at his office in Harare to discuss a possible pact between the dethroned former president with the MDC-T leader.This has not been denied by the MDC upper echelons, and certainly not challenged with the sort of vigour one would expect, and indeed hope.In fact, it is just the latest in a series of flirtations Chamisa has had with Mugabe stretching back some months. In March,Chamisa said Mugabe was likely to vote for him in the forthcoming general elections expected in July as the 94-year-old has openly shown his disdain for his successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa for forcing him out of power.The MDC leader spoke proudly about the possibility of receiving Mugabe's vote, as if he sees himself an honouredsuccessor to the dictator. Chamisa said that Mugabe's vote for the MDC was "good news".Some reports earlier this month even suggested that the NPF could be incorporated into the MDC. Insiders within the Alliance confirmed that there were behind-the-scenes manoeuvres to incorporate NPF into the coalition.As if to confirm this, MDC deputy treasurer-general Charlton Hwende seemed to suggest on his Twitter handle that the alliance could give seats such as Harare South to NPF officials in order to end Zanu-PF's hegemony.Shadreck Mashayamombe, the acting secretary-general of the NPF, was the Member of Parliament for Harare South before his expulsion from the ruling party early this year for being part of the Generation 40 (G40) faction which was averse to Emmerson Mnangagwa's presidential bid."The president . . . today addressed a rally in Harare South. Shadreck Mashayamombe addressed wearing red. He will make a good candidate for MDC Alliance. Several disgruntled Zanu-PF join(ed) MDC Harare South Rally. NPF likely to join the MDC Alliance soon," Hwende tweeted.I personally can not find anything more repugnant, but unfortunately so indicative of Chamisa's thirst for power than his getting into bed with Mugabe and his inner circle. We didn't spend years fighting for the end of the Mugabe rule to let him in the back door.Chamisa's embrace of Mugabe, perhaps more than anything else, demonstrates that he is far from Tsvangirai's heir and can not possibly be the agent of change when the angel of death is on your shoulder.If Chamisa carries on this pact with Mugabe, or if God forbid, it becomes concrete, I will do what I have done my whole adult life, oppose Mugabe. I can not vote for Mugabe or anyone associated with him.I will, with a heavy heart, vote for Mnangagwa.To even write these words is a tragic state of affairs for me as someone who is a true and loyal MDC supporter.However, standing for the MDC means, at the very least, standing against Mugabe.Today, the only leader who credibly stands against Mugabe is the one who manufactured his removal, and continues to change the direction of the country.I am devastated about the direction of the MDC, but I have to put my country and its future before my political allegiance. Chamisa is turning away from the MDC-T and abusing the memory of our great leader, by turning us into MDC-M, the M' standing for Mugabe. Opinion / Columnist Zapu Europe Province held its annual general meeting last Saturday in Leicester in the United Kingdom. All the existing districts were represented. The highlight was the guest speaker, Dr Edwin Moyo, who had travelled all the way from the United States to deliver his keynote address. Dr Moyo was meant to have joined the Zapu president Dr Dumiso Dabengwa who did not make it due to delayed visa processing by the British authorities.Dr Moyo certainly delivered and kept the attendants glued to their seats, yearning for more. Such brilliance, such eloquence, such clarity of thought and integrity! Sharp shooting from the hip, no unnecessary exaggerations and embellishment of the facts that we have become accustomed to from some power hungry politicians from the motherland.First he presented a message from the Zapu president explaining the reasons why the president failed to attend the event as planned. The president offered his apologies to the travelling and local members who had set aside their time to attend the meeting, foregoing their economic pursuits of fending for both their families in the diaspora and relatives back home as a result of the challenging situation at home where the economic recovery remains a pipe dream. This despite the second-hand government masquerading as a brand new entity offering a new era.Then he delved into his main speech. He gave a brief summary of the state of the party at present and confirmed recent developments such as the merger between Zapu and PDZ, formely led by Barbara Nyagomo. He reiterated Zapu's commitment to meaningful coalition-making and cooperative working. Zapu continues to push for a grand coalition as this seems to be the most credible way of ensuring that Zanu bites the dust once and for all. He covered how petty issues of selfish leadership is hampering any efforts to form a formidable grand coalition. The big man mentality being one such stumbling block where some opposition parties believe they can go it alone despite previous unsuccessful attempts of single-handedly trying to dislodge Zanu.Zapu possesses the know-how of dismantling entrenched evil systems of governance, discrimination and marginalisation. He reminded the audience that it was Zapu that played a key role in achieving Zimbabwe's independence. He added that Zapu still has the key to full liberation and economic emancipation of the people of Zimbabwe, having not wavered from the true ideals of the liberation struggle. Zapu has the blueprint for success which, had it won the first elections in 1980, the country would not be in the same economic mess and social chaos it finds itself in today. He then went on to explain the challenges and opportunities facing the Zapu of today. These include championing the flagship policy of devolution of power that will allow local people to benefit from local resources such as the timber and mineral deposits of Matabeleland and the diamonds of the Chiadzwa catchment area. Devolution of power will indeed empower all regions of Zimbabwe and lead to localised decision-making and prioritisation of needs. Dr Moyo reminded the audience that the jury is still out for the current government but added that so far it was not looking so rosy as promised after the fall of Robert Mugabe . However, he stated that the litmus test would be whether the coming elections would be free, fair and credible. Underline the word credible as it means more than just free and fair.The recovery of the economy is another test that awaits the next government and would be better tackled by a new party in power than the tired and clueless Zanu. Yet it is clear that the Mnangagwa administration would not escape the scourge of the Gukurahundi genocide if they somehow sneak into power again. Dr Moyo challenged the youth to stand up and be counted as the country was collapsing under their watch. The congregants stayed glued to their seats throughout with both men and women resisting the live broadcast of the FA Cup Final and the Royal Wedding in the next hall. It was a good gesture when Dr Moyo decided to stay behind for more questions outside his allocated slot. In the words of veteran politician, Mr Nick Landa, Zapu is back for good and the future of Zimbabwe can only be in better hands if the people vote for this party that has remained true to its ideals since its formation in the 1960s.Zapu youth speeches were delivered by Mduduzi Ndlovu who warned the party to be wary of hijackers who want Zimbabwe to succumb to the new imperialists be they from the east or west. The youth chairman spoke for the rebranding of Zapu to ensure that the message continues to resonate with young people as they are ones who will decide this election. Arnold Dube supported his colleague but he called for more direct action at home and abroad to compel the perpetrators and their handlers to address the current problems bedevilling our beloved country.Ms Susan Ndlovu, the PEC Chairlady thanked the province for their unity and commitment which has seen their support bear fruit at home where we are seeing the upsurge in Zapu activities at grassroots level and the steady growth in membership. Opinion / Columnist President Mnangagwa's chances Chamisa: New face of opposition Chamisa the presidential candidate Can Chamisa win? The US vs Britain CHANGE swept Zimbabwe on the evening of November 14 2017 and like a ferocious but silent storm, its effects have reshaped Zimbabwe's political scene.The resignation of former President Robert Mugabe and the death of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai bought to the fore two new protagonists: President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa, while opening a new chapter for democracy, political affairs and the country's faltering economy.The scramble for recognition at home and abroad by both President Mnangagwa and Chamisa has had mixed results.While President Mnangagwa has been fronting the #ZimbabweIsOpenForBusiness mantra which has seen him at various fora across the globe, Chamisa has had to deal with a challenge to his ascendency as the new opposition leader.At the same time, he has to maintain and cement relationships with the MDC's foreign donors, whose support had waned post the 2013 elections.President Mnangagwa's practical approach to the economy which is far removed from former president Mugabe's politicking has won him support at home and abroad.His sensibility which embraces re-engagement with the outside world and seeks mutually beneficial arrangements with both the West and East has seen him earning more friends in comparison to his predecessor.To the outside world, President Mnangagwa's message has been that Zimbabwe is moving away from former President Mugabe's politics and way of doing things.His 'Zimbabwe is open for business' theme highlights his willingness to right Mugabe's wrongs.President Mnangagwa's critics have heaped Mugabe's crimes on his head in a bid to maintain the narrative that 'nothing has really changed'.However, since coming into power, President Mnangagwa has focused more on Zimbabwe's external affairs and is yet to cover significant ground in terms of campaigning; this has given his rival, Chamisa ample time to sell himself to the electorate.Many have seen Mnangagwa's approach as an attempt to lay ground work for post-election engagements and relations.That Mnangagwa has been hitting the right buttons and saying the right things to the international community has not escaped the opposition's attention.Where the opposition could count on Mugabe to rattle cages, burn bridges and spurn advice, President Mnangagwa has done the opposite.The opposition is now faced with a ZANU PF which is wooing its traditional backers in the West and this poses a serious threat.Chamisa last week was quick to warn Britain not to be charmed by President Mnangagwa and not to settle for stability in Zimbabwe, but to focus on governance issues.Chamisa is right to worry.President Mnangagwa has managed to thaw relations between Zimbabwe and Britain and other European Union (EU) members.Countries that had previously adopted a wait-and-see attitude to Zimbabwe are now sending envoys and delegations to engage the new Government.Such a sight does not bode well for the opposition as it shows that confidence in its ability to wrestle power from President Mnangagwa is waning.Presently, the divisions in the opposition alliance and within the main opposition party, MDC-T are placing the odds in President Mnangagwa's favour.Chamisa is the embodiment of 'Generation Democracy' in that he is young, educated, savvy and pushing the notion that young people should take up the main space in the decision making tent.While President Mnangagwa cut his political teeth in the liberation war trenches, Chamisa's came up through the student movement.Those who know him from his student movement days, however, bemoan that the opportunity that came knocking on his door would have been best suited for the late Learnmore Jongwe, a more steady and prolific thinker and orator.While many find it easier to say the late Tsvangirai was at the root of division and chaos in the main opposition party, after he appointed two additional deputies, as it became apparent that cancer was taking a toll on him, the matter is far more complex.For years, Tsvangirai was aware of the power dynamics within his executive structures.He had to appease various sectors including the trade unionists, the academia, business persons, civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations who all played influential roles in keeping the MDC afloat and driving its agenda.Tsvangirai, much like Mugabe, also faced the leadership renewal hurdle, which resulted in Tendai Biti and many others leaving the party, joining the likes of Professor Welshman Ncube in the political wilderness.Each time Tsvangirai faced a major stumbling block, he followed Mugabe's playbook, setting the shock troops on dissenters and naysayers in the form of a youth militia.As previously alluded to, Chamisa was watching in the background, and seized the opportunity when it came.During the last internal election, Chamisa lost the contests for the post of secretary-general to Douglas Mwonzora.Tsvangirai accommodated Chamisa as a way of saving face, but it was obvious to many Chamisa was not favoured by the supporters.His rise to deputy-president, together with Elias Mudzuri set tongues wagging given the two men were not elected and were from the rural area as Tsvangirai.Thokozani Khupe who was the elected VP lost political clout and currency as a result of the elevation of Chamisa and Mudzuri and was never to recover from that move.Chamisa has two boats to steer, the MDC-T and the MDC Alliance, and the two, while having a symbiotic relationship, have somewhat different interests.It's also important to note that the Chamisa brand is basically about his youthfulness and while it was amusing at first, the screeching halt that this gravy train came to a week ago in the UK certainly shocked the majority of his supporters and advisors.Chamisa and his faction' are pushing the #GenerationalConsensus which as explained by Pride Nkono is: "An independent movement of young people in colleges and universities, the unemployed, young professionals, those in the church, young informal traders and those in farming communities, which is mobilising fellow youths to register and vote for (the MDC Alliance presidential candidate) Nelson Chamisa in the 2018 elections."The opposition, however, is failing to comprehend that age is a minor factor when it comes to governance issues.As a young politician thrust into the spotlight, Chamisa still has a lot to learn.His rallies are the quintessential addresses, characteristic of a newcomer to national politics.Punctured by a burst of overexcitement and the eagerness of a child who cannot believe that today they have been given a place at the grown-ups table, Chamisa seems to say whatever comes to mind without really processing the consequences of his words.His promises of bullet trains and airports in rural areas, coupled by his failure to articulate his policies exposes his lack of depth.His attempts to compete with President Mnangagwa expose a childish-like mentality which has been further proved by his 'throwing the toys out of the play pen' after the thrashing he recently received in the UK.When it comes to dealing with the international community, Chamisa has been working on the premise that as an opposition leader, he enjoys some political currency because ZANU PF had become a political pariah.He failed to understand that ZANU PF reformed itself from within and turned a new page.Chamisa thinks by singing from Tsvangirai's hymn book, doors will be opened and carpets rolled out for him in capitals across the world.It is such mis-steps and failure to gauge the political mood that exposes him as a novice.Of note are Chamisa's attempts to style himself as 'Africa's Barack Obama' because of the 'lawyer thing' and the young age at which they entered politics, but the similarities certainly end there, for Chamisa is no Obama.Obama is a remarkable orator and usually spoke off the cuff, while Chamisa badly needs a speech writer because his foot-and-mouth continue to find each other in odd situations. Interestingly, Obama was always with his wife, Michelle and yet many Zimbabweans are yet to catch a glimpse of Mrs Chamisa, nor have we heard Chamisa mention his wife.In Shona there is the saying: "Moto wemapepa," and in the Queens language, they use the idiom, 'fizzle out'.That is how best I can describe the path Chamisa has taken.With no sound policies, credible election platform outside of 'I am young and not ZANU PF' and lying left right and centre, he will soon learn the hard way.His only salvation, if one can call it that, is to create trouble in order to force the postponement of elections and another power-sharing arrangement.As a leader and 'pastor', Chamisa seems to have misplaced his moral compass.He has no qualms in lying and when caught, instead of apologising, he adds more lies.His treatment of women leaves a lot to be desired.Several weeks ago, his militia hounded female journalists at Harvest House.Before that, they had beat up Khupe and her supporters and threatened to burn her inside a hut in Buhera, and to date, Chamisa has not apologised.On Khupe, he lied on ANN7 that ZANU PF supporters dressed in MDC regalia were responsible for the Buhera fracas.Recently he said they were MDC supporters and had been dealt with.So which is which?My reading of the situation is that Chamisa does not want a general election.A leader who came in through the backdoor, used violence to silence opponents and critics and refuses the holding of primary elections cannot wake up and want to take part in national democratic processes, when he does not entrench the same in his political party.Zimbabwe's very own 'destruction boys' (Chamisa and Tendai Biti) have been open about their conviction that ZANU PF cannot be removed from Government through conventional means elections and they would very much favour an unconstitutional manner.Biti, in particular, is always attempting to sell some form of transitional authority (TA) as the way to go.Unlike Chamisa, he has zero political currency.His party, People's Democratic Party has all but dissolved and he needs Chamisa now more than ever, if he is to remain politically relevant.Chamisa is a means to an end, hence Biti's push for a TA, where he hopes to come out with a portfolio.Chamisa on the other hand, knows he can't succeed where Tsvangirai failed.He may put up the bravado of someone who has the election in the bag, but the reality is, he is swimming in unchartered waters and knows he is out of his depth.In December, Biti and Chamisa appeared before the US Congressional Committee on Foreign Relations and their statements exposed their agenda.Not only did they seek to maintain the facade that President Mnangagwa was no different from Mugabe, but painted him as a worse version.The goal in all this was for the US to maintain sanctions on Zimbabwe and thus give the opposition an urge over ZANU PF.The present rhetoric of boycotting elections, demonstrations and diplomatic offensives are all intended to maintain the Tsvangirai era narrative that 'ZANU PF is evil and is the root of challenges in Zimbabwe'.This narrative is unfortunately more difficult to sustain because donor fatigue set in in 2013 when the MDC lost an election many regarded as free, fair and credible.Note that Chamisa has been holding rally after rally across the country.At one rally he said he did not need the public media to cover him because 'he had a more powerful tool' social media.Then he backtracks and claims all sorts of conspiracies.All the while the electorate is watching.His failure to unify his party in the wake of Tsvangirai's death will serve as a dark mark against his future endeavours.The opposition alliance that Tsvangirai struggled to put together is also facing challenges as some within his party are itching to contest in constituencies traded off to Alliance partners.Unlike the MDC of the late 1990s which was an amalgamation of various interests with a common cause, 'remove Mugabe', the Alliance lacks the momentum and common purpose.The inclusion of ZANU PF rejects that came out of the Gamatox and G40 factions demonstrates the desperation on the part of Chamisa.President Mnangagwa has promised to compensate former white commercial farmers and this would bring to an end the bilateral row between Zimbabwe and Britain.From the get go, the whole hullabaloo over Zimbabwe was as a result of Britain's knee jerk reaction to the land question.The land question has been addressed and now is the time to move forward.The Americans, in typical style, jumped into the clash wanting to side with their cousins because this provided the US with an opportunity to protect its interests and punish Zimbabwe for past 'transgressions'.Remarkable is that the US over the years took a lead in all attacks against Zimbabwe including attempts to place Zimbabwe on the UN's agenda, attempts to coerce SADC to intervene in favour of the opposition and when all else failed sanctions.However, on the ground, the US is on business, building its biggest embassy in Africa in Harare.The MDC seems to hold the notion that the US sanctions will be removed once they come into power.This is its trump card.In the opposition's thinking, sanctions make President Mnangagwa the unattractive choice to the electorate.It forgets that despite sanctions, ZANU PF has been winning elections.The US' agenda can be glimpsed in various statements and hearings concerning Zimbabwe.At one time, the US establishment spoke of moderates and hardliners, and made it clear it would have preferred the moderates fronted by then VP Joice Mujuru to take over. When Mujuru was pushed out of the Party, Jonathan Moyo was seen by many as a US project to push out the hardliners and see a more pliable leadership that did not strongly embrace the ethos of the liberation struggle taking over.One can deduce that President Mnangagwa can implement reform after reform, but the Americans will still find fault. Their greatest fear is losing out to the Chinese, hence this attempt to place the reforms for sanctions removal carrot. Chamisa's threat of chasing out the Chinese once coming into power should be read as a way of seeking to curry favour with the Americans.President Mnangagwa's #ZimbabweIsOpenForBusiness embraces all politically and economically, while Chamisa's #GenerationConsensus is exclusionary and fails to articulate that one can no longer survive by wearing economic blinkers in a world interconnected as a result of massively increased trade. trump china REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst President Donald Trump's administration put out a joint statement with the Chinese government Saturday on the ongoing talks that have had the world fearing a trade war. Trump supporters quickly slammed the statement, which praised "constructive consultations" between Washington and Beijing but lacked any specifics or dollar amounts, despite Trump repeatedly citing specific figures in the run-up to the talks. Trump said he would go after intellectual-property theft, but the statement didn't say much on that. Also, Trump may be allowing China to pass off trade it already wanted to engage in as a win from the talks. President Donald Trump's administration put out a joint statement with the Chinese government Saturday on the ongoing talks that have the world fearing a trade war, and it was quickly slammed by Trump supporters. But that did not stop Trump from hyping the news on Twitter on Monday. "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 tweeted. The statement praised "constructive consultations" between Washington and Beijing but lacked any specifics or dollar amounts, despite Trump repeatedly citing specific goals in the run-up to the talks. The Trump administration previously announced China had offered a package to reduce the US-China trade deficit by $200 billion, but China denied agreeing to that and the Saturday statement said only that Beijing would "substantially reduce" the imbalance. The Wall Street Journal described the refusal to be tied down to a dollar amount as a victory for China. China's firm stance and refusal to budge apparently didn't scrap the talks, as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin emerged Saturday saying the trade war and associated tariffs were, for the time being, "on hold." Scott Paul, the president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a group that has supported Trump's steel tariffs, was not impressed by the statement. Story continues "The Administration is making a big mistake in putting the China tariffs on hold," Paul tweeted. "Its the best leverage we have right now. China has no incentive to make a real deal. In this round, the art of war has vanquished the art of the deal." Lou Dobbs, one of Trump's most trusted confidants, also criticized the deal, tweeting the "US must export like a superpower not an agrarian developing nation half our size!" And Dan DiMicco, a former steel industry CEO who also supported the US tariffs, tweeted that "China and friends appear to be carrying the day" in the trade talks and that the results for the US were "not good enough." Trump delivers nothing burger on the big game chinese steel worker Kevin Frayer/Getty Images Beyond the trade deficit looms the war over China's alleged theft of intellectual property from foreign firms. Two retired senior Department of Defense officials wrote in The New York Times last fall that Chinese intellectual-property theft cost the US as much as $600 billion a year, calling it "the greatest transfer of wealth in history." Jeffrey Bader, a former US ambassador who has spent decades focused on US-China relations, said at the time that tariffs on products like steel, which China doesn't buy much of anyway, were small potatoes compared with "the big game" of curbing intellectual-property theft. "I ask Senator Chuck Schumer, why didn't President Obama & the Democrats do something about Trade with China, including Theft of Intellectual Property etc.?" Trump tweeted on Monday. "They did NOTHING! With that being said, Chuck & I have long agreed on this issue! Fair Trade, plus, with China will happen!" By the look of Saturday's statement, however, Trump's administration has so far done next to nothing on intellectual-property theft. The statement said nothing of substance on the subject, only that the two parties would "strengthen cooperation" on intellectual-property theft and that China would make or amend patent laws. Again, without specific goals, there will be no way to measure the outcome of these talks or any agreements. China to do what it was already going to do meat market beijing china REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon As The Washington Post's Heather Long points out, most of the specific actions China said it would take in the statement were things China was already going to do. From Long: "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 US energy and agricultural products. The Trump administration is trying to cast that as a win because 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." Far from keeping the pressure on Beijing, Trump seemed to embrace the vagaries offered in the statement and offer some more of his own, tweeting on Monday: "On China, Barriers and Tariffs to come down for first time." Saturday's statement mentions neither borders nor tariffs. So while Trump may have staved off a full-on trade war between the world's two biggest economies, it appears he did not meet any of his stated goals and may now be trying to spin a Chinese victory as a diplomatic breakthrough for the US. NOW WATCH: NBA ref explains why the James Harden step-back jumper isn't traveling See Also: SEE ALSO: Companies are raking it in from the Trump tax law and it's a big win for both Democrats and Republicans Male driver dead after being ejected from vehicle on Highway 401 near Milton Let's say you're deaf or mute and you're pulled over by a police officer. How do you quickly communicate that you may have different needs than another person? A new program aimed at mending the communication gap between officers and members of the deaf, mute and hard of hearing communities is working to ensure that kind of vital information isn't lost in translation. The Ontario Association of the Deaf (OAD) has partnered with the Ontario Provincial Police to provide members of the community with visor cards, a quick-reference guide that aids officers in accommodating deaf individuals. A visor card indicates that a person is deaf or hard of hearing. It also includes images of what a police officer might say or need from a deaf person, and guides alternative methods of communicating like writing, lip-reading, or texting. According to American Sign Language (ASL) employment specialist David Hamen, the visor program is a necessary and long overdue tool. Accessibility is key "In this day and age, deaf people have an invisible disability," expressed Hamen, who communicated with CBC Toronto via a sign language interpreter. In the case that a deaf individual is pulled over by a police officer, the visor card should allow the driver to identify that they have a hearing disability and encourage an efficient flow of communication, he said. "Many deaf individuals or deaf and hard of hearing individuals are anxious with police when they are pulled over because of the communication issue," Hamen said. It is for that reason that Hamen believes a program that raises awareness between police officers and members of the deaf, mute and the hearing impaired community is vital. "An individual who is not disabled and sees a person with a wheelchair can identify right away that person has a disability," he said, "whereas deaf individuals don't have that visibility". "A program like this that can really help officers communicate more with deaf individuals and improve their understanding of the experiences of deaf individuals," Hamen added. Story continues OPP first police service to endorse visor cards Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says his police service is the first in Ontario to endorse visor cards for individuals who are deaf, and is happy to be on board. "These cards have been produced and created by the OAD, and we are happy to be a part of that project to allow a more consistent and fluid communication between members of the deaf and members of the police," said Schmidt. "There's awareness now too, the police service knows as well that these cards are available and that they are out there." This relationship between the deaf community and police is necessary to avoid situations that can turn dangerous, says Hamen. "If a cop is to stop a deaf individual, the deaf individual might not know either in the car or in the street that the police said, 'Freeze, put your hands up' and the deaf individual has not heard. Guns have been pulled on deaf individuals and deaths have been associated with this. It is so sad and so unfortunate," Hamen said. "I am hoping this will set an example for a safe way to communicate with deaf people and the idea will spread." The Quebec Human Rights Commission has sided with a Filipina live-in caregiver and orders she be compensated $41,600 in damages by her former employer. Gelyn Dasoc-Hilot left the Philippines in 2012 for a better life in Canada. She arrived in Montreal with a work permit and a job lined up: she was hired to take care of a Cote Saint-Luc woman's four children. But she didn't expect she'd be working, at times, for free. "I work at 8 a.m. or 7 a.m., and I finish at 10 or 11 o'clock," she said. "But they only pay me a minimum." Dasoc-Hilot said her responsibilities also included, cleaning, cooking, washing the family vehicles, caring for pets and doing the yard work. She said her contract stipulated a 40-hour work week, but she worked 65 hours. The overtime was not paid. Dasoc-Hilot said when she asked to be paid, her employed threatened to have her deported. "She told me that she's going to send me back to the Philippines. So I was crying at that time." Dasoc-Hilot quit after two months and turned for help to the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), which brought the case forward to the Quebec Human Rights Rights Commission In its ruling, the commission stated that Dasoc-Hilot's former employer "refused to pay the victim a salary for her first two weeks of work, while she was learning about her tasks and threatened to call immigration services to send her back to her native country." It ordered Dasoc-Hilot's former employer to pay her $41,600 in moral and punitive damages. Of that amount, $5,000 is for "an illicit and intentional" violation of Dasoc-Hilot's rights. CRARR director Fo Niemi said it's all too common for employers to exploit the federal live-in caregiver program. "These women are very vulnerable, because they are women, they are foreigners and they don't know their rights," Niemi said. He's calling on the the government to take more aggressive action against abusive employers. Story continues "This kind of violation basically shows that the employer has basic, almost absolute authority over these woman caregivers and that's what we need to change because, otherwise, we're going back to the practice of indentured labour." The commission's ruling is not binding, but if the woman decides not to pay, the case can go before a human rights tribunal. Dasoc-Hilot says she's willing to pursue that avenue so that other Filipina women in her situation get treated like employees, not servants. A spokesperson from the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it's up to the federal Labour Ministry to enforce working conditions. However, the spokesperson said it's working to improve access to permanent residency for caregivers. 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) Around 30 people gathered on Victoria Island Monday morning to advocate for the return of the endangered American Eel to the Ottawa River. The event mixed art with activism, with attendees carrying windsocks decorated to look like as eels as they marched to Parliament Hill. The marquee creation was an 8.2-metre-long replica of an eel, which had to be carried by six walkers. Once abundant in the Ottawa River, eel populations have declined by as much as 99 per cent in the last 30 years. Luc-Anne Salm, an artist and activist who helped organize the event, said she hoped the creativity of those who took part would foster awareness. "Art has a role to play," she said, "It stimulates people's imagination. It helps people fall in love with this creature." The goal of the walk was to both raise awareness of the eel's importance to both Indigenous and Canadian history and press the government to do more to save the species, said Larry McDermott, executive director of Plenty Canada. The non-profit organization supports Indigenous peoples and other community groups in their work to protect the environment. Hydroelectric dams blamed for decline Activists and scientists have laid the blame for the eels' decline squarely at the feet of the hydroelectric dams that dot the Ottawa River. The length of the eels females can grow up to a metre long puts them at particular risk of being killed by hydroelectric turbines. Since there are few ways for the eels to safely travel past the dams, their natural migration patterns are disrupted, McDermott said. "With the American Eel, we have to change the way we produce power on our waterways," he said. "There really needs to be upstream and downstream passage." Recovery strategy Every American Eel starts its life in the Sargasso Sea, which overlaps with the infamous Bermuda Triangle. Juvenile eels catch a ride north on ocean currents and then migrate through Canadian waterways. Story continues In 2013, Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources, alongside Fisheries and Oceans Canada, published the "American Eel Recovery Strategy." Eels were once a mainstay in the Ottawa River ecosystem, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the ecosystem's biomass and serving as important predators. They also played a significant role in transporting nutrients up the river when they migrated, according to the report. They now account for less than one per cent of the river's biomass, said McDermott, who co-authored the report. "Given the substantial barriers to migration posed by the dams in the lower reaches of the Ottawa River ... the low current abundance of eels in Pembroke waters of the Ottawa River is not surprising," the report said. Eel significant in Indigenous, settler history The eel served as a source of food and medicine for Indigenous peoples on the Ottawa River, McDermott said. Indigenous oral history and accounts from early settlers corroborate the eels' abundance in the area. "There are historic accounts of this water system of the eels shimmering everywhere," he said. "The river was saturated with eels at certain times of the year." Samuel de Champlain and his crew often relied on trade with Indigenous peoples for food while traversing the river and eels were often included in the deals. Working together to increase biodiversity would be a significant step toward repairing the relationship between Canadian settlers and Indigenous peoples, Salm said. "This was [a very important] creature for the First Nations people. It's part of reconciliation to do something about its continual demise," she said. "We have to do something." By Manuel Mogato MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines expressed "serious concerns" over the presence of China's 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. China's 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, but it did not elaborate. However, the foreign ministry stopped short of condemning China's action, which Washington said could raise tension and destabilize the region. In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesman urged other countries not to over-interpret what he called a routine military patrol. "We hope that relevant parties do not read too much into this," Lu Kang told a daily news briefing. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which about $3 trillion worth of sea-borne goods pass 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 defenses. Beijing says its military facilities in the Spratlys are purely defensive and it can do what it likes on its own territory. Roque and foreign ministry officials said Manila would raise China's moves to militarize its manmade islands in the Spratlys during two-way consultations in China set for the second half of the year. Lawmakers in the Philippines have criticized Duterte for setting aside an arbitration ruling by the Hague the country won in 2016. Former foreign minister Albert del Rosario has urged Duterte to "revisit" the country's foreign policy. "We are opposed to war - as we should be. But if threatened by the use of force, we should be ready to inflict, at the very least, a bloody nose on any attacker who is out to harm us," Del Rosario said in a statement. Duterte has said he would not risk a confrontation with China and has reiterated his openness to joint exploration and development in waters believed to be rich in oil and natural gas. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Michael Perry and Clarence Fernandez) A Quebec Superior Court justice has given the green light to a class action against Gilbert Rozon. About 20 women calling themselves Les Courageuses, or the courageous ones, say they were sexually assaulted or harassed by the Just for Laughs founder. In the decision, Justice Donald Bisson acknowledged that class-action lawsuits have proven to be an effective tool in sexual assault cases, because they have allowed hundreds of victims access to justice. "If the plaintiff wasn't authorized to file the present class action, it is highly likely that a number of victims would be deprived of their ability to exercise their rights." The plaintiff representing the group in the case is actress Patricia Tuslane. The identity of the other alleged victims who are part of the group is unknown. In its original filing last fall, the group said it believed that 20 victims was likely "the tip of the iceberg" and that more victims may join the class action later. Plaintiff alleges violent assault Tuslane alleged in court documents that Rozon sexually assaulted her in Montreal in 1994, after giving her a lift home. Tuslane said Rozon forced his way into her apartment, pushed her against the wall, ripped off her dress and raped her. She said she was traumatized by the alleged attack, and that her personal and professional life suffered greatly in the years that followed. Tuslane said it wasn't until the flurry of the #MeToo movement last fall that she found the courage to come forward and launch a complaint against Rozon. She told Radio-Canada Tuesday that she was thrilled when her lawyer called to tell her the class action could proceed. "I was almost on the verge of tears. I think it's the culmination of a long fight. Really it's a first round. The rest must follow," Tuslane said. Rozon's 'charm' defence Rozon has consistently denied the allegations, and his lawyers argued the class action shouldn't proceed. Story continues Among the arguments Rozon's lawyers put forth was "the fact of being charming while using his power was not in itself a fault." They also argued and that it was necessary to "question the consent of the alleged victims, which is an element which happens in their heads and for which Rozon is not responsible." The judge rejected Rozon's arguments, calling them a "crude and distorted trivialization" of the allegations. Rozon also argued that Tuslane offered no specific material evidence to back up her allegations. The judge rejected that as well, saying it was unrealistic to expect physical proof of an assault more than 20 years after it's alleged to have happened. In its application to file the legal action, the group had said it is seeking "just compensation" for the victims and "truly punitive damages" against Rozon to emphasize "the intensity with which our society denounces such behaviour." They are seeking up to $400,000 in moral damages for each individual complainant, as well as a total of $10 million for the group in punitive damages. The group hopes to encourage more alleged victims of sexual assault to come forward and file a complaint. Earlier this month, Radio-Canada reported that police had completed their investigation into Rozon and handed the file over to Quebec's public prosecution service. It's now up to the prosecutor's office to determine whether criminal charges are warranted. Rozon has denied wrongdoing, but resigned from Just for Laughs last October saying he was doing so "out of respect for the employees and families who work for these organizations and all our partners." The company was put up for sale and acquired in March by Canadian comedian Howie Mandel and ICM Partners, a Los Angeles-based talent and literary agency. Stephen Hawking has warned Artificial Intelligence (AI) 'could spell the end of the human race.' Microsoft genius Bill Gates said he could not understand why people are not concerned about AI. American Nobel Prize laureate Herbert Simon said: "It is not my aim to surprise or shock youbut the simplest way I can summarize is to say that there are now in the world machines that can think, that can learn and that can create. Moreover, their ability to do these things is going to increase rapidly until in a visible future - the range of problems they can handle will be coextensive with the range to which the human mind has been applied." He famously said, "A proper study of mankind is the science of design." Albert Einstein said it best: "The mathematical precision of the universe reveals the mathematical mind of God." Fast forward to May 2016. Elon Musk is the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. He met with the US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. The Defense Department spokesman Peter Cook said the meeting was 'to find out what is going on in the world of innovation.'Musk is a South African born American, who is listed as 38 in the world's most powerful people. He has a personal fortune of more than $13 billion. His company Tesla is pioneering the world of fully-electric cars and at SpaceX he is pioneering space technology. At a meeting of technical entrepreneurs Musk declared artificial intelligence is on the verge of changing our lives.Musk said we will need to have 'neural laces' implanted in the brain to keep up with the sophisticated computer data world.Neural laces were first mentioned in the Cultural novels by Iain M. Banks. AnnaleeNewitz, a prolific science and culture writer-editorwrote about 'neural laces' as ' A mesh that grows with your brain, it's essentially a wireless brain-computer interface. But it's also a way to program your neurons to release certain chemicals with a thought. And now, there's a neural lace prototype in real life." (Scientists Just Invented Neural Lace, Newitz, gizmodo.com) Primates Brain implants have been tested on primates for the last five years. Their decision-making ability was improved by implanting an electrode array into their cerebral cortex. George Dvorsky, a Canadian specialist wrote: "Looking ahead to the future, and assuming safety and ongoing efficacy, it may even be possible to apply a similar intervention to healthy humans." Already a large workforce in Japan has been replaced by robots to interact with humans. A hotel in north Japan is totally run by robots. I watched a YouTube presentation hosted by Mark Dice. In it he showed the most advanced artificial intelligence robot offering to destroy humans. That glitch was laughed off but it may provide a grim warning. Apparently Elon Musk posted that Killer Robots would be functioning by 2019 but that remark was quickly deleted. We do know some nations are considering replacing human soldiers with robots, a fact nearing reality. Stephen Wozniak, cofounder of Apple said, "if a computer is 100 times better than our brain, will it make the world perfect? Probably not, it will probably end up just like us, fighting." Human robots are a reality today. Sex robots are predicted to be in demand and available soon. In a Reality Club Discussion Elon Musk wrote: "The pace of progress in artificial intelligence is incredibly fast. Unless you have direct exposure to groups like Deepmind, you have no idea how fast it is growing at a pace close to exponential. The risk of something seriously dangerous happening is in the five year time frame." For years Hollywood has been killing humans with robots. The movie Terminator 3 was called 'the Rise of the Machines.' "Artificial intelligence will make religion obsolete within our lifetime" is an article by Dylan Love and published by The Daily Dot. I read it and after some consideration asked myself who is the better creator God or man?Let see, God created the universe, a spectacular demonstration. Man can created brilliantly mainly because we are created in His image. We have gifts and talents capable of great things and we have proven that through the centuries. Consider this quote from 'Christianity for Skeptics' by Steve Kumar and John Heininger: "According to most Christian philosophers, the greatest proof for the existence of God is the cosmic evidence. One of the most profound philosophical questions that has caused many debates and much discussion among philosophers through the centuries is, 'Why is there something, rather than nothing?' There is hardly a philosopher worth a grain of salt who has not struggled over this question. Everyone faces it, some ignore it, others deny it, but few answer it. Philosopher John Hicks writes, 'For when we try to think about this infinitely fascinating universe in which we live we find that we are faced in the end with sheer mystery the mystery of existence, of why there is a universe at all.'" When I lived in Jerusalem I watched the people of Israel rely on the Word of God. Specifically they believe His assurances. "Do not fear, for I am with you,' from Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10. I read Matthew chapter 10, verse 31 which says, 'don't be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows." (I guess that means robots too!) Ron Ross is a Middle East consultant for United Christian Broadcasters (Vision FM). Previously he was radio news editor for Bridges for Peace in Jerusalem, Israel. His career started at WINTV (Email: ronandyvonne@mac.com) Ron Ross' previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/ron-ross.html TUESDAY, May 22, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- By having patients swallow a blue dye tablet as part of colonoscopy prep, doctors can boost their chances of catching telltale signs of cancer, new research suggests. The dye is technically referred to as "oral delayed-release methylene blue." When patients ingested the dye in tablet form alongside their usual pre-procedure cleansing preparation, it worked to highlight colon polyps also known as adenomas -- by upwards of 9 percent. Use of the dye "allowed gastroenterologists to better detect and remove difficult-to-see polyps, which has great implications for further preventing this disease," said study author Dr. Alessandro Repici. He is a professor of gastroenterology and director of endoscopy at Humanitas University Medical School in Milan, Italy. Repici and his colleagues are scheduled to present their findings June 3 at the annual Digestive Disease Week meeting, in Washington, D.C. Each year, roughly 137,000 Americans are diagnosed with colon cancer and about 50,000 die from the disease, the study authors noted in a meeting news release. Spotting polyps during a colonoscopy can be tricky, particularly when they're flat or small (under 5 millimeters), one expert in the United States said. "Routine screening with colonoscopy can prevent most cases of colon cancer, but the effectiveness of the exam can be limited when the pre-cancerous growths are flat (like a pancake) and blend in with the normal colon lining," explained Dr. David Robbins. He helps direct endoscopy at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Robbins said that endoscopists have already tried spraying blue dye into the colon using a catheter, as a way of highlighting polyps in a colonoscopy. But the use of a swallowed pill is an innovation. The new study involved more than 1,200 patients who were scheduled to undergo a colonoscopy at one of 20 centers around the world. Participants were divided into three groups: one group ingested a full-dose 200-milligram dye tablet during their routine prep; another took a half-dose; and a third took an inactive "dummy" tablet. Gastroenterologists were able to identify polyps in more than 56 percent of the full-dose patients, compared to just under 48 percent for patients who did not ingest any dye. The full-dose dye regimen also specifically increased the ability to detect smaller, flatter lesions. Dr. Aaron Harrison is a gastroenterologist and chair of internal medicine at Northwell Health's Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y. He said that any new technique that can boost polyp detection is "very exciting." However, Harrison added that a recent and well-publicized study found that polyps smaller than 1 centimeter "may not be associated with an increased risk in colon cancer." So, he said, the real value of a blue-dye pill that helps detect more of these tiny lesions remains to be seen. "Future studies to confirm this study's results and that look at the number of advanced adenomas detected will help us decide if this potentially significant method should be incorporated in the daily practice of all gastroenterologists performing colonoscopies," Harrison said. Research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. More information There's more about colonoscopies at the American Cancer Society. TUESDAY, May 22, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- There's more trouble in paradise: The eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano may lead to respiratory and other health problems for residents of the Big Island, an expert warns. Besides facing the possibility of more devastating lava flows, Hawaiians must contend with high levels of toxic volcanic ash and smog, said an atmospheric scientist at the University at Albany in New York. "Volcanic smog is transported and distributed in the atmosphere," Sarah Lu said in a university news release. "In general, the larger particles fall closer to the source of the volcanic emission, and fine particles are carried longer distances." Volcanic smog contains sulfur dioxide gas, fine particulate matter and other gases -- toxins that are harmful to human health and plant life, Lu said. The eruptions this month have produced dangerously high levels of sulfur dioxide, which irritates the skin and inflames the lining of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs, according to the U.S. National Park Service. Sulfur dioxide can also react with other chemicals in the atmosphere and transform into small particles that can invade the lungs, the researchers said. This is of particular concern for children, older people and those with lung disease. Runners and other active people are also at risk of harm from deeply inhaling the pollutants. The Kilauea volcano is the most active of the five volcanoes on the Big Island. A "red alert" was issued May 16. Since then, two lava flows have reached the Pacific Ocean. How long the threat continues depends on weather conditions and volcanic activity, the experts noted. "The higher the volcano eruption plumes reach, the longer the volcanic plumes reside in the atmosphere," Lu said. Volcanic ash can also interfere with the safe functioning of airplane engines. Researchers at the University of Hawaii and the Atmospheric Research Lab are monitoring ash levels to ensure aircraft safety, according to the release. Wind patterns and any further eruptions will affect concentrations of volcanic ash in the atmosphere, Lu said. But most ash is removed from the air within several days to weeks, she added. Lu pointed out that sulfur dioxide can have the opposite effect of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, resulting in global cooling. "One example is the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991," Lu said. "Large aerosol disturbances from the Pinatubo eruption led to measurable cooling of the Earth's surface that lasted for two to three years after the eruption." More information The U.S. Geological Survey provides more on the health effects of volcanic smog. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram New York, May 22, 2018The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on North Korea to allow journalists access to cover the dismantling of a nuclear test site in the country. While a group of foreign journalists today arrived in North Korea to cover the dismantling, eight South Korean journalists were denied visas into North Korea at the last minute after tensions between Pyongyang and Seoul escalated over a South Korean military exercise with the United States, according to news reports. According to Reuters, numerous other news organizationsincluding the agencywere denied invitations to cover the shutdown. The dismantling ceremony is expected to take place in the next few days, according to The AP. North Korea should reverse its decision and allow South Korean journalists to cover the nuclear site dismantlement this week, said Steven Butler, CPJs Asia program coordinator from Washington D.C. The denial of visas sets a poor precedent ahead of the expected diplomatic summit. Reuters reported that journalists from AP, CNN, CBS, Russia Today, and Chinese state media outlets were among those seen checking into the flight from Beijing to North Korea. The nuclear site dismantlement comes after a historic summit last month between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone, located on the two countries border, and ahead of a planned diplomatic summit between the United States, North Korea, and South Korea on June 12 in Singapore, according to the reports cited above. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram New York, May 22, 2018The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed yesterdays ruling by Lesothos Constitutional Court that criminal defamation is unconstitutional, calling it a significant step toward safeguarding press freedom in the country. The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) supported an application by Lesotho Times owner and publisher Basildon Peta to have Section 104 of the penal code declared unconstitutional, the center said in a statement yesterday. Peta had been charged with criminal defamation on July 6, 2016, according to CPJ research. Journalists should never face criminal charges for doing their job and yesterdays ruling by Lesothos Constitutional Court is the latest victory in the fight to abolish criminal defamation throughout the African continent, said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal. Criminal defamation is too often used to target critical journalists and we welcome Lesotho joining a growing group of countries that have found that criminal defamation is incompatible with constitutional guarantees for a free press. In Petas application before the court, he argued that the offense of criminal defamation violated the right to freedom of expression. He further argued that the use of criminal sanctions was a disproportionate response to protect individuals reputations because, among other reasons, a less-restrictive mechanismcivil defamationwas available, the SALC said. The court agreed, and declared criminal defamation unconstitutional with retrospective effect, the SALC said. The three judges held that criminalizing defamation had a chilling effect of journalistic freedom of expression, resulting in self-censorship by journalists and a less-informed public. The ruling was in keeping with a 2010 resolution from the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights calling on member states to repeal criminal libel laws, referring to them as a serious interference with freedom of expression. African countries where criminal defamation has been ruled unconstitutional since 2010 include Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Gambia. EDITORS NOTE: The spelling of Southern Africa Litigation Centre has been corrected in the second paragraph. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram New York, May 22, 2018The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over the detention of Eman Al Nafjan, a Saudi blogger who writes about womens issues, and urges the countrys authorities to confirm her whereabouts and release her immediately. Saudi security forces detained Al Nafjan alongside at least six other people associated with the womens rights movement who have campaigned for an end to the ban on women driving, according to the Washington Post, BBC Arabic, and other news outlets. The Gulf Center for Human rights reported that Al Nafjan was detained May 17. CPJ was unable to confirm independently her detention date. According to an AP report, Al Nafjan and the other detainees have not been allowed access to lawyers, and their whereabouts are unknown. The Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. did not respond to CPJs emailed request for comment. Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman recently toured the West to project the image of a modernist and reformer. But the moment hes back home Saudi authorities revert to old habits stifling dissent and detaining critical journalists, CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney said. The Crown Prince needs to translate rhetoric into action and end the repression of journalists in the Kingdom. Writing about the place of women in Saudi society is not a crime. Eman Al Nafjan must be released immediately. An official statement from the Saudi State Security Presidency, which oversees domestic and international security forces, did not name Al Nafjan or any other detainee but confirmed that authorities had detained seven people for undermining the kingdoms stability with financial assistance from abroad and for subverting national and religious traditions. The State Security Presidency also said that investigations are underway to identify additional people involved, according to the statement. The newspaper Okaz, one of the kingdoms more liberal, privately owned pro-government papers, ran a full-page graphic repeating language from the State Security press release showing photos of Al Nafjan and the other arrested activists with the word traitor stamped over each of their faces. Al Nafjan founded the blog, Saudi Woman, that features her reporting and opinions on the campaign to end the ban on women driving in the kingdom, as well as coverage of womens rights issues, local elections, the Saudi anti-terror law, and profiles of Saudi human rights activists. Al Nafjans reporting included op-eds and analysis of womens rights movements in Saudi Arabia, feminism in Saudi society, reform movements and protests in the kingdom, and education and textbook standards put forth by the Saudi Ministry of Education. She has also contributed opinion pieces to CNN, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, and the Guardian. In her role as an activist, Al Nafjan took part in the campaign to end the driving ban, including by publicly driving a car in defiance, according to the Gulf Center for Human Rights. The arrests come as Saudi Arabia prepares to end the ban on women driving on June 24, after years of pressure from activists within the kingdom, according to news reports. Women active within the movement were threatened by the Saudi state security apparatus last year after the impending end of the ban was announced and were ordered not to speak to international media, according to the Gulf Center for Human Rights and the Project on Middle East Democracy. Saudi Arabia has at least seven journalists behind bars as of December 1, 2017, and in February 2018 sentenced columnist Saleh al-Shehi to five years in prison for insulting the royal court, according to CPJ research. PHOENIX - A Valley man has been sentenced to death for the 2012 murder of his pregnant girlfriend, officials said Monday. Dwandarrius Robinson, 27, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of arson of an occupied structure, and one count of kidnapping. According to officials, Robinson called 911 on July 18, 2012 reporting that he'd arrived at his north Phoenix apartment to find it on fire, and was unsure if his girlfriend was still inside. Firefighters entered the home and found 21-year-old Shaniqua Hall, who was 9 months pregnant at the time, bound with duct tape, a rag shoved down her throat, and handcuffed inside a bedroom. Investigators found evidence that the fire had been intentionally set and an accelerant used. During the trial's penalty phase, jurors found seven aggravating factors, leaving Robinson eligible for the death penalty. The callous and inhumane killing of his girlfriend and their unborn child is the worst example of a man utterly failing those who counted on him for love and support," said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. "The jurys verdict accurately and properly imposes the death penalty as a just and proportionate punishment for these despicable crimes. Mesa man escapes death penalty, gets life in prison for beating 4-year-old to death Family and friends remembered Anays Chenal Carimbocas as a happy 4-year-old who loved to dance and pass out bunches of flowers to those around her. But Anays' young life was cut short in 2011 when she was brutally beaten to death by her mother's fiance, 28-year-old Jose Luis Gonzales-Dominguez. "You knew your violence caused her terrible suffering and you did nothing to alleviate the suffering," Judge Warren Granville told Gonzales-Dominguez on Monday during his sentencing in Maricopa County Superior Court. "And it was that suffering that led to her lingering death. Gonzales-Dominguez was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his then-fiancee's 4-year-old daughter. In 2014, a jury convicted the Mesa man of first-degree murder and five counts of child abuse. He was sentenced to 44 additional years for five counts of child abuse in connection with the murder. A mistrial was declared when the jury could not decide whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison for the murder conviction Gonzales-Dominguez took a plea deal in April, which let him avoid the death penalty by accepting a sentence of life in prison. "I'm very sorry for everything that happened," Gonzales-Dominguez told the court through a Spanish interpreter. "I really am very sorry." Anays had been living in a one-bedroom apartment in Mesa with Gonzales-Dominguez, three siblings and her mother, 34-year-old Crystal Carimbocas in 2011. Gonzales-Dominguez was regularly tasked with watching the four children while Carimbocas worked. Court documents said Anays was taken to the hospital after she stopped breathing in May 2011. An autopsy found she sustained countless injuries, including a lacerated liver, torn bowels, internal bruising, a fractured pelvis and 14 fractured ribs. Many of the injuries were months old. Skull fracture, brain hemorrhage The Maricopa County medical examiner ultimately determined Anays' death was caused by a skull fracture and a hemorrhage in the brain, which were much more recent than the other injuries. They were likely caused hours before her death. Gonzales-Dominguez told Mesa Police he had taken the children to the pool at the apartment complex, police record show. He claimed Anays must have fallen while trying to get into the water. He later changed the story and said the injuries must have been caused while she was playing "rough" with a sibling. Surveillance footage showed Gonzales-Dominguez didn't go to the pool that day as it had been closed. 'Gray and sick' Prosecutors argued Carimbocas left for that night even though Anays looked "gray and sick." By then, the torn intestine had caused fecal matter to fester in her abdominal cavity, resulting in a serious infection, the pre-sentence report shows. Carimbocas later called 911 when she returned from work and found her daughter's conditions had worsened, the report said. The Arizona Department of Child Safety later released a statement saying it had received a report of possible child abuse after Anays was taken to the hospital with bruised eyes, a swollen face and broken blood vessels on her ear. Investigators ruled the injuries were accidental at the time, but they were tied Gonzales-Dominguez after the trial. Prosecutors said Carimbocas didn't physically abuse Anays. But she was considered an accomplice because she stood by as Gonzales-Dominguez abused her daughter and did not immediately report the injuries. She was convicted in 2014 of first-degree murder and domestic violence offenses for committing a dangerous crime against a child. Carimbocas was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of release after 35 years for her role in the death. Granville also gave Carimbocas two additional consecutive sentences of 28 years and 13 years for two child abuse charges. | 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 Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde Defendants charged with murder of police officer Manama: Bahrains Cassation Court on Monday upheld the death sentence for two men convicted by lower courts on the charge of the premeditated murder of a police officer. The court also upheld life in prison for three defendants and jail terms for the others varying from three to 10 years. Only one of the 13 defendants was acquitted in the case where they faced charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, forming a terror group, harbouring fugitives, failing to report a terrorist plot and possessing incendiary devices. The public prosecution said it received information on April 14, 2016, from the police directorate in Manama about a group of terrorists who used Molotov cocktails to set a police patrol vehicle ablaze to kill officers. Investigations revealed the terrorists had ambushed the patrol in Karbabad and doused it with petrol before setting it alight. One man burned to death and the other two suffered burns. On June 5, 2017, the high court sentenced two defendants to death, three to life in jail, three to 10 years, one to seven years, one to five years and two to three years. One suspect was acquitted. The court of appeals on February 27 upheld the sentences. Bahrain court issues death sentences against 2 activists, revokes citizenship of none others Bahrain has upheld death sentences against two activists as the ruling Al Khalifah regime intensifies its crackdown against political dissidents and pro-democracy campaigners in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom. The defendants, Ahmad al-Abbar and Hussein Mahdi, were sentenced to death by the Bahrain Criminal Court after they made forced confessions, according to the Manama Post website. Their charges were not immediately known. Another Bahraini court also sentenced 9 citizens to jail and revoked their citizenship. Separately, a court in the capital Manama on Sunday also sentenced 20 activists to prison sentences ranging from 3 to 15 years after they were convicted on "terrorism" charges. This came days after a Bahrain court on Tuesday revoked the citizenship of 115 people at a mass terrorism trial. The court ruling came as much of the Mideast was focusing on Israeli forces killing over dozens of Palestinian protesters as the US relocated its embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds the day before. Like much of the crackdown, it has quietly escaped attention. The trials in Bahrain are often tainted with allegations of torture and coerced confessions. Hundreds have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Activists say the number of those who have lost their citizenship in Bahrain since 2012 has risen to over 700. Rights groups have accused Manama of employing its anti-terror legislation to jail and torture regime critics. Lynn Maalouf, Middle East Director at Amnesty International, said in a statement on May 16 that "the Bahraini government is using revocation of nationality - rendering many of its citizens stateless in the process - and expulsion, as tools to crush all forms of opposition, dissent and activism." The right to a nationality is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Bahrain is a state party. Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the country on February 14, 2011. They are demanding that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power and a just system representing all Bahrainis be established. Manama has spared no effort in clamping down on dissent and rights activists. On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to Bahrain to assist the Manama government in its crackdown on peaceful protesters. Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested as a result of Al Khalifah regime's crackdown on anti-regime activists. On March 5, 2017, Bahrain's parliament approved the trial of civilians at military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being tantamount to imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide. Bahraini monarch King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah ratified the constitutional amendment on April 3 last year. | 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 Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde Many who believe in the Loch Ness Monster think it could be related to plesiosaurs, marine reptiles that existed in prehistoric times. (Photo: Youtube Screengrab) Modern technology may soon be used to put to rest the decades-old hunt for the legendary Loch Ness monster. A global team of scientists are all geared up to take to the Scottish lake next month with DNA-detecting tools they hope will help them answer questions about the existence of the fabled monster. 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. The use of eDNA sampling is already well established as a tool for monitoring sharks, whales, fish and other animals. Speaking about it, lead researcher Professor Neil Gemmell from the University of Otago in New Zealand said, Whenever a creature moves through its environment, it leaves behind tiny fragments of DNA from skin, scales, feathers, fur, faeces and urine. 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. Professor Gemmell added that even if an exact match cant be found they can generally figure out where on the tree of life that sequence fits'. 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. 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. New Delhi: Pakistan will be hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)--Regional Anti-terrorist Structure (RATS) Legal Experts meeting from May 23 to 25 in Islamabad and on Tuesday announced a welcome for delegations from SCO member-nations including India. The event may put New Delhi in a difficult situation since India has been accusing Pakistan of carrying out cross-border terrorism. Both countries became SCO members last year and are expected to fulfil the obligations of membership. Legal Experts from the eight member states, namely China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan, as well as representatives of the SCO-RATS Executive Committee will participate in the meeting. The experts will discuss terrorist threats facing the region, Pakistan foreign office said ijn a statement. North Korea threw a wrench in the plans last week, threatening to cancel over concerns about the US push to see the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. (Photo: AP) Washington: Weeks before his planned North Korea summit, President Donald Trump is staring down a dealmaker's worst nightmare: overpromising and under-delivering. As the Singapore meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un draws near, the president and his allies are growing increasingly anxious about how he can score a win on the world stage. While Trump has not suggested he wants to back out, he has struggled to define his objectives for the historic sit-down, and last week he drew fresh criticism from his foreign foil. Read: Donald Trump to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12 "I think that Trump imagined he would go into this meeting and be able to have a historic breakthrough with a deal, but it's clear he's starting to realize it won't be as easy as he imagined," said Jean Lee, director of the North Korea program at the Woodrow Wilson Centre and a former Associated Press bureau chief in Pyongyang. Trump, who has pitched himself as the ultimate negotiator, has focused on ambitious deals as president but has struggled with the fine print. He just hit the pause button on his threatened trade war with China, announcing an agreement to reduce America's trade deficit with China but few details. He recently withdrew the US from the international Iran-nuclear deal without outlining a path forward with his allies. And his Middle East peace plan, which he deputized his son-in-law to lead, is months overdue and facing a more skeptical audience than ever. Read: President Donald Trump pulls US out of 'disastrous' Iran nuclear deal Supporters stress that sometimes Trump's ambitious efforts do pay off, as with the massive tax cut bill he signed into law late last year. Going into the North Korea meeting, senior administration officials say, the president has been almost singularly focused on the pageantry of the summit including the suspenseful roll-out of details. He has not been deeply engaged in briefing materials on North Korea's nuclear program, said three people with knowledge of the White House efforts. They were not authorized to speak publicly. Scott Snyder, director of the Program on US-Korea Policy at the Council of Foreign Relations, said there's a risk that "the ceremony and the historic nature of the meeting be allowed to overshadow the deliverables." Driven by gut instinct, Trump rarely dives deep as he prepares to meet with foreign counterparts. For the North Korea meeting, insiders say, he is motivated by the idea of scoring a historic deal and is tickled by suggestions he could win a Nobel Peace Prize especially since Barack Obama won the honour early in his presidency. Trump has maintained publicly that his goal is to see the Korean Peninsula denuclearized, and the North has agreed to put its nuclear program on the negotiating table as a condition for the talks. But the two sides are still miles apart on defining what might be mutually acceptable. Read: Trump should win Nobel Peace Prize, says South Korea's President Trump will huddle Tuesday at the White House with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to prepare for the June 12 summit. It was Moon's government that delivered the initial invitation from Kim for a meeting, and South Korea has been pushing the US toward a peaceful resolution to the nuclear crisis. North Korea threw a wrench in the plans last week, threatening to cancel over concerns about the US push to see the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Administration officials viewed the warning as bluster, akin to Trump's own promise to walk away if Kim isn't serious about denuclearization. Both sides, they said, have a vested interest in a successful meeting. Read: N Korea threatens to cancel summit if US seeks 'one-sided' demands to give up nukes Trump attempted to assuage Kim's concerns last week, promising "protections" should he abandon his nuclear weapons. But Trump also suggested Kim risks being overthrown and possibly death if the arsenal remains. Two former Trump administration officials said the high degree of uncertainty surrounding the talks benefits Kim, who stands to gain the most in the form of international legitimacy from a sit-down with Trump. Concrete gains for Trump would be slower to emerge. Denuclearization programs are measured in months, not days, and for North Korea, which has already demonstrated thermonuclear capability, it would likely take years to dismantle and verify that it had abandoned its atomic efforts, should it agree to do so. One official said the priority of the talks in Singapore would be to reach a topline understanding with Kim, with details to be fleshed out later. The best-case scenario, experts said, would mirror the Iran-nuclear agreement that Trump withdrew from earlier this month securing an end to the North's atomic program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions. Such an agreement could provide Kim more assurances that his leadership would be secure. While public jockeying last week led to speculation about whether the meeting will happen, people close to Trump say he does want it to take place. Victor Cha, a professor at Georgetown University and former White House official, said the best outcome would be "good optics, good atmospherics, some broad statements on denuclearization and peace, and some immediate deliverable." He said the worst-case scenario was cancelling the meeting. "Where are we, if the meeting is cancelled? Are we going back to where we were in 2017? Is North Korea going to start testing again?" he asked. "I think from the broader perspective that would be the worst outcome." Laying the political groundwork, Vice President Mike Pence, in an interview with Fox News, said both the Clinton and Bush administrations had been "played" by the North Korean government. "We offered concessions to the North Korean regime in exchange for promises to end their nuclear weapons program, only to see them break those promises and abandon them," he said. "It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong Un to think he could play Donald Trump." Scott's defence argues that the complainant, who has not been named, felt his wallet accidentally touch her as he moved past. (Photo: Facebook | David Scott) Wellington: A man had his penis measured in a New Zealand courthouse on Tuesday after the woman accusing him of indecent assault gave evidence about the size of his member, reports said. David Scott, an elected councillor from Kapiti, near Wellington, has pleaded not guilty to rubbing his genitals against a female council staffer at a function in 2017. The woman said the object she felt touch her back was four to five inches (10-12 centimetres) long, the stuff.co.nz news site reported. In a highly unusual move, judge Peter Hobbs then allowed Scott's doctor to take the 72-year-old to the court's holding cells to measure his penis with a wooden ruler. Hobbs suppressed the resulting measurement from public disclosure, Radio New Zealand reported. Scott's defence argues that the complainant, who has not been named, felt his wallet accidentally touch her as he moved past. But the accuser said the offending object pressing into her back could not have been a wallet, phone or insulin kit, and was in fact male genitalia. The trial continues. NBU sees no grounds for recognizing Russian banks' subsidiaries in Ukraine insolvent The regulator will not object to the sale of the banks to a new investor if it meets the requirements. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter ECHR rules to lift farmland sale moratorium in Ukraine The case concerned a complaint by two people about a state ban on the sale of farmland. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Investment for the construction was made up by 40% of the company's own funds and 60% in loans. Cereal producer Agricom Group has opened an oat flake facility in the village of Mykhailo-Kotsiubynsky in Chernihiv region to increase production capacity. Construction of the $10.5m facility took three years and will extend production capacity by one million kilograms per month, said the company, BakeryandSnacks wrote. Read alsoCorn sowing is 107% the progress of last year - Consultancy Investment for the construction was made up by 40% of the company's own funds and 60% in loans. Agricom Group comprising agricultural, processing and trading enterprises produces and distributes food made of cereals. The Group tills 40,000 hectares in Rivne, Chernihiv and Luhansk regions and tackles the full cycle of production: from cleaning, peeling, grinding, hydrothermal processing, cutting, rolling and to packing in various types of packaging. Poroshenko assured his Estonian colleague that Ukraine was willing to provide any guarantees of reliability and efficiency of the energy transit through its territory. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said Nord Stream 2 is not an economic project and it damages European unity. Read alsoPutin says gas transit via Ukraine to continue after Nord Stream 2 launch "We clearly stressed that this project is not an economic project. It damages European unity. It was clearly emphasized that today we need to make every effort to prevent a political project that destroys the unity of the European Union," Poroshenko said during the press conference following the negotiations with President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, the presidential press service has reported. Poroshenko assured his Estonian colleague that Ukraine was willing to provide any guarantees of reliability and efficiency of the energy transit through its territory. "Ukraine has unique opportunities, underground storage facilities, sufficient reserves to increase transit volumes. And we are very grateful to Estonia for the full support of this position," he emphasized. The presidents of Ukraine and Estonia also discussed opportunities for improving and accelerating cooperation in the sphere of energy efficiency, where, along with Sweden, Finland and Germany, Estonia is one of the main participants in the Energy Efficiency Fund. "Using these technologies will make Ukraine energy independent and competitive," Poroshenko said. In a speech at the Heritage Foundation, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explained that the Iran nuclear deal had failed in its core purpose: keeping the American people safe from the risk created by the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The sunset clauses of the deal, Secretary of State Pompeo declared, merely delayed Iran from achieving a nuclear weapons capability; the inspections and verifications mechanisms were insufficient; the deal failed to address the regimes continuing development of ballistic and cruise missiles; and, while the deal allowed the regime to use the money it received because of the deal to boost the fortunes of a struggling peoplethe regimes leaders refused to do so: Instead," said Secretary Pompero, "the government spent its newfound treasure fueling proxy wars across the Middle East and lining the pockets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis...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. Now, outside of the Iran deal, Secretary Pompeo said, the United States will continue to work with allies to counter the regimes destabilizing activities; block its financing of terror; address Irans proliferation of missiles; and ensure that Iran never has a path to a nuclear weapon. Until the Iranian regime changes course, the U.S. will apply unprecedented financial pressure. Secretary Pompeo said, Iran will be forced to make a choice: either to 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. The changes in Iranian policies the U.S.is calling for include stopping uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing; terminating further development of nuclear-capable missile systems; ending support to Middle East terrorist groups; withdrawing its forces from Syria; and releasing its grip of repression on the Iranian people. If Iran makes a fundamental strategic shift, the United States is prepared to take actions which will benefit the Iranian people, including ending sanctions and supporting the integration of Irans economy into the international economic system. It is Americas hope, Secretary of State Pompeo said, that our labors toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran. We long to see them prosper and flourish as in past decades and, indeed, as never before. Naftogaz says rise in gas prices for industrial consumers linked with 8-12% rise in price in Europe The decision of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy to raise natural gas prices for industrial consumers to UAH 9,953 for 1,000 cubic meters (including VAT) is associated with the growth of its prices in the European market. "Over the past month, wholesale gas prices in the European market have increased by 8-12%. We are also forced to raise prices for our commercial consumers," Naftogaz said on Facebook. The company said that prices in the commercial segment are determined by supply and demand, and buyers can freely choose among several other producers and importers of gas that determine their own price, while Naftogaz is only one of the suppliers. The company proposes to monitor changes in the wholesale market price at various European hubs, in particular, on the hub nearest to Ukraine, Austrian-Slovak CEGH, and the nearest liquid hub, Germany's NCG. As reported, Ukraine from October 1, 2015 canceled state regulation of gas prices for all categories of consumers, except for the population and heating companies for the needs of the population. Since that time, Naftogaz Ukrainy has been supplying gas to industrial consumers, budget organizations and other business entities on market terms. Head of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine Valeriy Patskan has reported on the attempts of some heads of state enterprises to prevent control checks. "Some heads of state enterprises and ministries do not allow [conducting inspections]," he said at the conciliatory council of the leaders of factions and groups in Kyiv. He also added that the Accounting Chamber intends to appeal to the parliament with the request to strengthen responsibility for hampering the audits of the Accounting Chamber. "We will turn to you later to strengthen responsibility in case if there are facts of non-admission of Accounting Chamber control checks to certain ministry or enterprise financed from the national budget," Patskan said. He also said that the Accounting Chamber is ready to acquaint the parliament with the report on its activities last year. Patskan noted that the report will not be in the form of a thick book, as usual, but in an electronic form. Rada committee gives conclusion to bill on Anti-Corruption Court, except for provisions not agreed with IMF The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy and Justice has given a conclusion for the second reading of the draft law on the Higher Anti-Corruption Court, except for two norms that have yet to be finalized with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, 13 members of the committee out of 17 present at the meeting supported the decision. "As soon as it [the decision on the non-agreed provisions] is made, we will immediately gather a committee ... and resolve this issue, which we today "have taken out of brackets." As for the rest, I would ask to support the agreed and expressed proposals I've voiced. Those provisions that are not coordinated will be transferred to a meeting of the committee, which will be held in the near future," head of the committee Ruslan Kniazevych (the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko faction) said. This decision was supported by the members of the committee. Prior to this, he voiced the provisions of the draft law agreed within the working group with foreign partners, which will be reflected in the table of amendments by appropriate corrections. The head of the committee noted the provision regarding the right of veto of the public council of international experts remains uncoordinated. The members of the committee voted not for each separate amendment, but in general for the agreed wording. Kniazevych said 1,925 amendments have been filed to the second reading of the bill. Ukraine, Estonia to do their best to stop political project Nord Stream 2 Ukraine and Estonia will exert maximum efforts to stop the political project Nord Stream 2, and Kyiv is ready to guarantee the reliability of gas transit through Ukrainian territory, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said. "We have discussed in detail the issue of Nord Stream 2. We clearly stated that this project is not an economic project, it harms European unity. We clearly stated that for today we need to exert maximum efforts to stop a political project that destroys unity of European Union," Poroshenko said during a joint press conference with President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid in Kyiv on Tuesday. He also said that he assured his Estonian counterpart that Ukraine is ready to give any guarantees of the reliability and efficiency of energy transit through Ukraine. "Ukraine has unique opportunities, underground storage facilities. It has a sufficient reserve to increase the volume of transit," the Ukrainian president said. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has noted Estonia's contribution to overcoming the consequences of Russian aggression in Ukraine. "The decisive actions of Estonia in the humanitarian component to overcome the consequences of aggression - the total amount that Estonia provided in the material, technical and humanitarian sphere exceeds 10 million euros," he said at a joint press conference with Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid in Kyiv on Tuesday. Poroshenko also noted that Ukraine regards Estonia not only as a reliable strategic and political partner and a partner in the security sphere, but also as an economic partner. "Our cooperation in the economic sphere is very important... The trade turnover between our countries increased by almost 30% last year, and this is a very good thermometer of economic relations between our countries," he said. He also announced the holding of a meeting of the Ukrainian-Estonian intergovernmental commission on economic and humanitarian cooperation. The nationalized PrivatBank could be ready for the privatization no earlier than 2022, Head of the supervisory board Engin Akcakoca has said. It would be premature to talk about the privatization of PrivatBank in 2020, as the approved strategy of the bank to implement this task is designed for the period until 2022. "The successful privatization of PrivatBank is the goal of the recently approved 2022 Bank Development Strategy," he told Interfax-Ukraine. Akcakoca said that comprehensive business model reform and the bank's renovation is a complex and diligent process. "It is key to ensure that the bank is sustainably profitable therefore enabling it to navigate diverse market circumstances and minimize macroeconomic risks. In addition, the bank is becoming as transparent as possible as to provide potential investors with the instruments required to successfully operate a modern bank - including controls and compliance, risk management system, clear governance. And finally, the bank should resolve the issue of inherited non-performing loans," he said. According to Akcakoca, the financial results of the first quarter have demonstrated that the goal set by PrivatBank's Development Strategy - to turn it into an investment-attractive asset - is realistic. In the first three months of 2018, PrivatBank earned UAH 3.7 billion, and became the most profitable bank in Ukraine - demonstrating the effectiveness our strategic approach. SOE Energomarket to sign agreement to open credit line only with Ukrgasbank State-owned enterprise (SOE) Energomarket will sign an agreement to open a credit line with a limit of UAH 700,000 only with Ukrgasbank. The company rejected proposals of Oschadbank (both based in Kyiv) to open credit lines with total limits of UAH 2.7 billion over the fact that the conditions of the proposal do not meet the conditions of the procurement tender. According to explanations in the ProZorro e-procurement system, Oschadbank submitted not all required documents. As reported, the cost of servicing of Ukrgasbank's credit line will be UAH 52.381 million. The funds are traditionally raised to issue advance payments to electricity producers so that they were able to buy gas, coal or other fuel. SOE Energomarket fulfils functions of the operator of the wholesale electricity market of Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its strong protest in connection with the illegal detention of citizens of Ukraine, participants of the Crimean Tatar social movement 'Crimean Solidarity', Server Mustafayev and Edem Smailov, in the occupied Crimea. "During the searches that preceded the detention, psychological pressure was put on Mustafayev, Smailov and their relatives, and access to lawyers was denied by the Russian invaders. According to the information available, the Russian occupation administration plans to attach the mentioned citizens of Ukraine to the so-called "Hizb ut-Tahrir case," whose political motivation was repeatedly pointed out by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry," a statement published on the official website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Monday, reads. The Foreign Ministry notes that the detention of Mustafayev and Smailov once again confirmed that Russian anti-terrorism legislation is widely used in the occupied Crimea to cover political repressions against representatives of the Crimean Tatar people. "We call upon the international community to condemn this shameful practice, which, along with Russia's support for terrorists in Donbas, shows a real price to the Kremlin's statements on a "Russian contribution" to the international fight against terrorism. We expect from our international partners to strengthen political and diplomatic pressure on the aggressor state with the goal of releasing citizens of Ukraine illegally detained by the Russian Federation," the Foreign Ministry said in its comment. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also demands that the Russian Federation "immediately stop politically motivated persecution of representatives of the Crimean Tatar people," release Mustafayev, Smailov and all other illegally detained citizens of Ukraine. "The Russian Federation must fully comply with the UN General Assembly resolution "Territorial Integrity of Ukraine" dated March 27, 2014, "Situation with Human Rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol (Ukraine)" dated December 19, 2016 and December 19, 2017, and the order of the International Court of Justice on precautionary measures in the framework of the lawsuit of Ukraine versus the Russian Federation regarding the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination," it says. As reported, on Monday, head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov, said that in the morning of May 21, searches were carried out in the homes of Mustafayev and Smailov, after which Mustafayev was arrested and taken out by the FSB officers, and Smailov was still at home with employees of the FSB. Later, the press service of the Crimean Chief Department of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation announced the "disclosure of the activities of an extremist group created by Assistant to the Verkhovna Rada deputy Mustafa Jemilev, Erol Veliyev, organized on the orders of wanted person Chubarov with the support of the Security Service." Chubarov called such a statement of the Russian FSB an attempt to discredit the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people before the international community. "Obviously, we are eyewitnesses, and many are direct victims of new repressions and large-scale provocations unfolding in Crimea occupied by Russia. Especially during these days the International Court of the United Nations demanded from Russia explanations of the reasons for its failure to comply with the decision of the Court dated April 2017 on abolishment of the ban on activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people," he said. A group of Ukrainian MPs have proposed that the name of Kirovohrad region be changed to Kropyvnytsky region in the Constitution of Ukraine. The respective bill (No. 8380) introducing amendments to Article 133 of the Constitution of Ukraine was registered in parliament on May 18. Its text was published on the website of the Verkhovna Rada on Monday, May 21. As stipulated by the procedure for amending the country's main law, this bill was initiated by over 150 people's deputies. President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid leaves for Donbas to see with her own eyes that the war in the east of Ukraine threatens the whole of Europe. "I will visit the eastern region of Ukraine just to make sure that the conflict is in a hot stage, and that this is not a "frozen" conflict, that this is a conflict that affects people's lives every day, and that this is a conflict that threatens the whole Europe," Kaljaluid said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv on Tuesday. The Estonian president noted that she needs to know about the situation in eastern Ukraine, on the front line, on the contact line in order to continue the maximum pressure on the aggressor. 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 Estonia supports Ukraine in the issue of introducing a UN peacekeeping mission to the entire territory of the occupied Donbas, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said. "I am very grateful to the President of Estonia for the full support of ... the Ukrainian side. And we must do everything possible so that an agreed draft resolution that will provide the mandate to the entire occupied territory [of Donbas] of the UN peacekeeping forces, including the uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian border, as a very important condition of the security component for the start of the implementation of political processes," Poroshenko said during a joint press conference with President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid in Kyiv on Tuesday. The head of the Ukrainian state also noted Estonia's contribution to the work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in the east of Ukraine. "A firm and principled position, objective information that comes from the observers of the Special Monitoring Mission, gives the world the opportunity to have objective information in order to clearly and principally determine the responsibility of the Russian side for flagrant violation of the Minsk agreements, in particular the security component, for violating the ceasefire regime and the withdrawal of troops, and obstruction to the beginning of the political process," Poroshenko noted. Ukraine doing everything possible to release hostages, political prisoners as soon as possible - Poroshenko Ukraine is doing everything to release hostages and political prisoners held in Russia and the occupied territories as soon as possible, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said. "We are doing everything possible to put pressure on the Russian President for him to finally give the order and the process we started at the end of last year, when we managed to release 74 hostages, to be continued as soon as possible. And for the Ukrainian heroes to come home as quickly as possible," Poroshenko said during the joint press conference with Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid in Kyiv on Tuesday. He also recalled that at all talks the issue of the release of citizens of Ukraine is being raised. "There are no international negotiations either with our European partners, or our American partners in which we wouldn't have touched upon the necessity of immediate liberation of Ukrainian hostages illegally kept in the occupied territories and political prisoners kept in prisons in the territory of the occupied Crimea and in the territory of Russia," Poroshenko said. According to him, this issue has been raised at today's talks. "We've discussed this with the president, coordinated our actions, since the release of the hostages is part of the Minsk agreements, where Russia has made direct commitments to free hostages. These are Sushchenko, Sentsov, Kolchenko, and many others. They are Crimean Tatars, Ukrainian servicemen, we do not forget about," the Ukrainian president assured. The indictment in the criminal proceedings related to the embezzlement of funds of state-owned enterprise Skhidny Mining and Processing Combine and National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom (among suspects is former Ukrainian MP and former chairman of the Verkhovna Rada committee on fuel and energy complex Mykola Martynenko) has been sent to court, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) has reported. "The SAPO after the pretrial investigation of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) sent the indictment accusing former MP Martynenko, S. Pereloma, R. Zhurylo, O. Sorokin, V. Bohdanets and V. Vasylkov of committing crimes under Part 5 of Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement or conversion or property by malversation), Part 3 of Article 209 (legalization (laundering) of criminally obtained money and other property) and Part 1 of Article 255 (creation of a criminal organization) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," SAPO wrote on its Facebook page. Martynenko and Valeriy Vasylkov are accused of embezzling funds of Energoatom when they signed contracts to supply equipment from Czech Skoda JS and implemented them and the contract signed between Skoda JS and Bradcrest Investments SA for EUR 6.4 million. In addition, Martynenko, Serhiy Pereloma, Ruslan Zhurylo, Oleksandr Sorokin and Volodymyr Bohdanets are accused of embezzling funds of Skhidny Mining in the amount of $17.28 million via the signing of a contract to sell uranium concentrate of Skhidny Mining via Austria's intermediary Steuermann Investitions- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH, which is under control of the members of the criminal group. SAPO said that the pretrial investigation against other suspects is underway. Four persons have been placed on the wanted list, including two citizens of Austria. One suspect hiding from SAPO was detained. The press service of former MP Martynenko on Tuesday spread its statement where Martynenko claimed that NABU and SAPO sent the case to court only under the pressure of Martynenko. "NABU and SAPO, in violation of the law, were playing for time and did not want to file the case where my name appears to court. They were unpleasantly surprised when they saw the materials of my defense - data from independent experts and other documents (including from abroad), which refute the advertised charges against me. They began to play for time and frantically tried to do something in their favor. NABU began to pressure the independent auditor and seized documents from it. They tried to attach some backdated papers to the case," the ex-MP said. "I'm waiting for a court hearing where I refute the accusations. Sooner or later all those involved in the fabrication will be liable for the crime. The case against the chief detective of NABU Kaluzhynsky is just the first bell for Mr. Sytnyk and all others involved in discrediting my name," Martynenko said. As reported, NABU detectives started the investigation into the embezzlement of Energoatom's funds worth EUR 6.4 million in December 2015. On October 25, 2017, the former MP was notified about the suspicion as part of this proceeding under Part 5, Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation, embezzlement or possession of property through abuse of office). The investigation into the embezzlement of Skhidny Mining's funds worth $17.28 million was also launched in December 2015. On April 20, 2017, the ex-MP and former chairman of the parliamentary committee on fuel and energy complex was notified of the suspicion in committing crimes under Part 3, Article 27, Part 4, Article 28, Part 5, Article 191 and Part 1, Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (organizing the large-scale embezzlement by a criminal organization of someone else's property through abuse of office, creating a criminal organization for the purpose of committing particularly serious crimes, running such an organization, participating in it and in crimes committed by such an organization). In November 2017, the procedural leader, SAPO prosecutor, decided to merge the two criminal proceedings into one. Eleven persons have currently been declared suspects in this joint criminal proceeding, and five of them were placed on the wanted list. In this proceeding, the issue concerns former People's Front MP Martynenko, who, at the beginning of the work of the current Verkhovna Rada, headed the committee on fuel and energy complex. On November 30, 2015, Martynenko reported the abdication of his deputy powers due to the corruption scandal around him and, according to him, an "information campaign" against him. On December 1, he registered a respective statement in the Verkhovna Rada. On December 22, 2015, the parliament adopted a draft resolution on the abdication of his deputy powers. On April 20, 2017, NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors detained Martynenko and First Deputy CEO of Naftogaz Ukrainy Serhiy Pereloma on suspicion of committing crimes under Part 1, Article 255 (the creation of a criminal organization) and Part 5, Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement of property or possession of it through abuse of office) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. On April 24, 2017, Judge of the Solomiansky District Court of Kyiv Oleksandr Bobrovnyk refused to arrest Martynenko with the alternative to post UAH 300 million and released him under on personal recognizance of a number of people's deputies. NABU detectives in January 2018 on the instructions of the SAPO prosecutor opened for former Ukrainian MP and former chairman of the Verkhovna Rada committee on fuel and energy complex Mykola Martynenko and his lawyers the access to criminal materials on the embezzlement of the funds of Skhidny Mining and Processing Combine and Energoatom. The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, on Tuesday did not start a consideration of the draft law on the High Anti-Corruption Court in the second reading. At the plenary sessions on Tuesday, lawmakers examined a number of bills in the spheres of agrarian policy and national security, but they did not consider the draft law on the High Anti-Corruption Court in the second reading, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has said. Before the closing of the parliament's evening session on May 22, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy said that the provision regulating the right of veto by the Council of International Experts on nominees for anti-corruption judges' positions had not been agreed yet. "Today we will try to find understanding on this last position," he said. Consultations are under way, including with representatives of the parliamentary factions, he said. In his words, should the understanding be reached by Wednesday, May 23, the parliament's respective committee will be able to provide its position on the provision. If this does not happen, the wording should be approved when the draft law passes its second reading. A comparative table for the bill is expected to be ready by Wednesday morning, he said. "My personal opinion is that tomorrow [it is necessary] to start the consideration," he said. The speaker predicts that the parliament will be working on the bill the next two days. Artillery attack on Ukraine's Talakivka near Mariupol lasts for two hours, no report on civilian casualties yet Illegal armed formations on the evening of May 22 mounted an artillery attack on the village of Talakivka near the Ukrainian-controlled strategic port city of Mariupol in Donetsk region; no reports about civilian casualties have arrived yet, the press center of the Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has said. "From 19:00 to 21:00 local time on May 22, the enemy launched an attack on the Ukrainian village of Talakivka with civilians, which is located some dozen kilometers from Mariupol. According to early reports, they lobbed over ninety 122mm shells in, some of which did not explode. There is no information about civilian casualties yet. The village's industrial facilities have been damaged," the JFO press center said on Facebook late on Tuesday, May 22. It says that the situation is under control. Members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Emergency Situations Ministry are on the scene. "Personnel of the brigade whose defense area was under fire continue holding their positions," it said. Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman and Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid have met in Kyiv to discuss a wide range of geopolitical and economic issues. In particular, the two officials discussed "the possibility of jointly counteracting the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and popularizing the capabilities of the Ukrainian gas transport system," the Ukrainian Cabinet's press service said. Ukraine and Estonia have friendly relations in economy, and bilateral trade has potential for growth, the Estonian president said. "I am optimistic about the development that is possible between our countries," she said. The prime minister stated that the Ukrainian government is now actually building a new state - most spheres are being reformed. At the same time, he noted, all the changes are taking place amid ongoing hybrid aggression. "We once underestimated the threat Ukraine is now facing, but our current strategy is that we remain committed to European values and the policy of sanctions against the aggressor country," the Estonian president said. Groysman later wrote on Facebook that he had many common topics for talks with Kaljulaid - from countering Russia's hybrid aggression to the development of trade relations. "Tallinn is interested in cooperation in information technology, energy efficiency and energy saving, in transportation, primarily in freight traffic. We are interested in raising Estonian investment in the Ukrainian business sector. Especially after the total amount of Estonia's investment in the Ukrainian economy last year exceeded $200 million," the Ukrainian prime minister wrote. 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 After Russia said that foreign troops should leave Syria when the war ends, Tehran responded by saying no one can force Iran to do anything. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on May 17 after a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad: "We presume that, in connection with the significant victories and success of the Syrian Army in the fight against terrorism, with the onset of a more active part, with the onset of the political process in its more active phase, foreign armed forces will be withdrawn from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic." A day later, Alexander Lavrentiev, Putins envoy for Syria, left no doubt that Putins comment was aimed at the United States, Turkey, Iran, and Hezbollah. As long as it is necessary, the risk of terrorism in Syria exists, and the Syrian government wants Iran to continue its support, we will remain in Syria, Bahram Ghasemi, spokesman for Irans Foreign Ministry, said on May 21. No one can force Iran to do anything. Iran is an independent country and determines its policies in the region and the world based on its national interests, he added. Since the civil war started in Syria in 2011, Iran has deployed thousands of troops, many of them Shia recruited from Afghanistan and Pakistan, to defend the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which Tehran considers crucial for its adversarial policies against Israel. While underlining that the Syrian government has approved Irans military presence on its territory, Ghasemi said that those who came to Syria without permission from the Syrian government and violated its territorial integrity should leave. Along with the Syrian regime, Iran considers the military intervention by the United States and its allies in Syria as an act of aggression. So far, Tehran has admitted that more than 2,000 of its troops -- including several high-ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) -- have been in killed in the fight against Bashar al-Assads opponents. In order to justify its military involvement in Syria for the public, the Iranian regime calls its fighters in Syria the defenders of the shrine, claiming its forces are there to protect the Zeinab Shrine, a Shiite holy site near Damascus. Israel accuses Iran of trying to create permanent military bases in Syria. On May 9, Israeli missiles targeted dozens of sites in Syria and around the capital Damascus, claiming they were used by the IRGC. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced later that his country had destroyed almost all of Irans significant military infrastructure in Syria. The United States has announced sanctions on five Iranians it said provided Yemen's Huthi rebel group with expertise and weaponry used to launch missiles at Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that Mehdi Azarpisheh, Mohammad Jafari, Mahmud Kazemabad, Javad Shir Amin, and Sayyed Mohammad Tehrani are the people being sanctioned. It said the first four men worked with the Huthis through Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) by providing the rebel group with ballistic-missile related expertise and transferring "weapons not seen in Yemen prior to the current conflict." Tehrani was sanctioned for allegedly aiding in the financing of the IRGC. The fresh sanctions are part of the Trump administration's pledge to place tough new economic sanctions on Iran. The Treasury Department announcement comes one day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would soon crack down on Iran's support for the Huthis. Yemen's government has been fighting against the Iran-backed Huthi movement since 2015 in a war that has caused thousands of deaths and put the country on the verge of famine. Saudi Arabia blames the Huthi rebels for firing a string of missiles at its cities and oil infrastructure, most recently on May 9. Based on reporting by Reuters and the Treasury Department website By William R. Gill, US Embassys Charge dAffaires The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was extraordinary for its time, and its 100th anniversary reminds us it deserves to be studied, remembered, and honored. Though the new republics existence was tragically short, in the unstable period following World War I, it is important not only to Azerbaijan, but to the world. The Azerbaijani delegates to the Paris Peace Conference left a lasting impression on American President Woodrow Wilson when they met on May 28, 1919. It was not unusual for President Wilson afterwards to recall the Azerbaijani delegates in his own speeches. Notably, President Wilson mentioned that he felt the Azerbaijani representatives held values that aligned closely with his own. He said of them, I was talking to men who talked the same language that I did in respect of ideas, in respect of conceptions of liberty, in respect of conceptions of right and justice. President Wilson had good reason to applaud the ideals of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic which made it a leader of its time. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republics founders envisioned a country whose values closely aligned with those of the United States. They enshrined those values in the countrys founding documents, which guaranteed full civil and political rights to all its citizens, regardless of ethnic origin, religion, class, or sex. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first majority-Muslim state, and in fact one of the first countries in the world, to extend equal political rights to women. Moreover, the establishment of Baku State University, the first modern university on the territory of Azerbaijan, was a demonstration of the value the fledgling republic placed on education. These values equality, tolerance, and an early focus on education, marked the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic as a fundamentally progressive state with its face turned squarely to the future. These are inspiring achievements. When Azerbaijan regained its independence in 1991, and the Azerbaijani people worked to shape a new state in which to enjoy their newfound liberty and independence, its leaders looked to the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic as a guiding light. The United States, too, still looks to its Founding Fathers. Americans find strength in the core values preserved in our founding documents: the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Our own hard-won liberty and independence have given us the flourishing society Americans enjoy today a vibrant and confident nation, open to disagreement and debate, and appreciating differences while united by the bonds of history, culture, beliefs, and principles that define who we are. These values are just as relevant today in Azerbaijan and in the United States as they were in 1918. Tolerance, inclusiveness, diversity, education, equality, and democratic representation remain the core values the United States looks to when we envision a better future for our country. I believe they are values Azerbaijanis, like ADR founders Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh, Alimardan Topchubashov, Fatali Khan Khoyski held dear as well. Our common values and enduring respect for them are what underpin our long friendship. The United States cooperates most deeply with countries with which we have shared interests, values, and aspirations. That is why we join in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, and that is why we will continue to support Azerbaijanis as they build a more prosperous, independent, and democratic future for themselves and Azerbaijan. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with the delegation headed by Guy Ryder, director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a message. According to the message, expressing his gratification with the visit to Azerbaijan, Ryder noted his meeting with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and said that very fruitful discussions were held at the meeting. At the meeting the sides underlined the importance of the international conference entitled "Promotion of sustainable development and decent work towards Sustainable Development Goals", adding that very fruitful discussions were held during the conference. The sides also touched upon the importance of the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and International Labour Organization and emphasized their confidence in the successful continuation of these relations. Commending Azerbaijan's social achievements especially over the last decade, Ryder stressed the importance of exchanging this successful practice with other countries. In his turn, Mammadyarov underlined that under the leadership of President Aliyev in recent years important work has been done to ensure the sustainable development of Azerbaijan's economy, including the implementation of the sustainable development goals, labour and social welfare of population, adding that significant changes have been achieved in rapid reduction of unemployment in a short term. Speaking about Azerbaijans social-economical development, Mammadyarov said that Azerbaijan achieved all this while dealing with Armenian military aggression, occupation of 20 percent of its territory by Armenia, and also more than one million refugees and IDPs. Furthermore, the sides discussed the issues of mutual interest. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic has visited the Alley of Honors to lay a wreath at the tomb of national leader, founder and architect of modern Azerbaijani state Heydar Aliyev. He also put flowers at the grave of prominent ophthalmologist, academician Zarifa Aliyeva. President Vucic has also visited the Alley of Martyrs in Baku. A guard of honor was lined up for the Serbian president there. President Vucic paid tribute to Azerbaijani heroes who gave their lives for the country`s independence and territorial integrity. He laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame monument. A military orchestra played the national anthems of Serbia and Azerbaijan. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry hosted an expanded meeting chaired by Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov with the participation of deputy foreign ministers, the ministrys board members, ambassadors-at-large, heads of departments and structural divisions of the ministry, the Foreign Ministry said in a message May 22. At the meeting, Mammadyarov introduced Ramiz Hasanov, who was appointed deputy foreign minister by President Ilham Aliyevs order, and wished him success in his work, the ministry said. Mammadyarov underlined that Azerbaijan pursues an independent, balanced and multifaceted foreign policy under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, and drew attention to the tasks set before the Foreign Ministry by the Azerbaijani president. It was noted at the meeting that 2019 will mark the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic service in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijans Deputy Foreign Minister Ramiz Hasanov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, worked as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Georgia, as well as chairman of the State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patents of Azerbaijan. Details added (first version posted on 10:41) Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the inauguration of a high-voltage equipment plant of ATEF Group of Companies in Surakhani District. Azerbaijans Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev informed the head of state about the establishment and activity of ATEF Group of Companies. President Ilham Aliyev launched the high-voltage equipment plant. The head of state got acquainted with the production process at the plant. Then a photo was taken. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. I sincerely congratulate Your Excellency as well as all Azerbaijani people on the national holiday of Azerbaijan - the Republic Day, Rouhani said in his letter. I am sure that the relations developing between Iran and Azerbaijan in different spheres will further consolidate and expand on the basis of the common values of our peoples owing to the political will and efforts of the supreme leadership of both countries, reads the letter. On this remarkable day, I wish you good health and success, as well as prosperity and happiness to the people of Azerbaijan. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to mark the 90th birth anniversary of Academician Jalal Aliyev. In June 2018, 90 years will pass from the birth of the prominent Azerbaijani scientist, famous public figure, full member of Azerbaijans National Academy of Sciences, honored scientist, doctor of biological sciences, Professor Jalal Aliyev. The order reads that Azerbaijans National Academy of Sciences, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, have been instructed to prepare and implement a plan of events dedicated to the 90th birth anniversary of Academician Jalal Aliyev, taking into account his long-term consistent activity for development of biological science in Azerbaijan, formation of personnel resources, and organization of science in general. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has today signed a decree on establishment of a Center for Agrarian Research under the Azerbaijani Agriculture Ministry. The Center for Agrarian Research is created through reorganization of the Scientific Research Institute of Agricultural Economics under the Azerbaijani Agriculture Ministry. Under the decree, the Azerbaijani Agriculture Ministry will act as the founder of the Center. The Agriculture Ministry was instructed to ensure involvement of international experts in activity of the Center and carry out measures to organize its activity on the basis of the public-private partnership principle. Under the decree, one million manats is allocated from the Reserve Fund of the President in the 2018 State Budget for formation of the authorized fund of the Center. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: Representatives of SOCAR-KBR LLC (SKLLC) visited Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) and met with the Higher School undergraduates. The meeting gathered BHOS rector Elmar Gasimov, SKLLC Deputy General Manager Nazim Gasimov, Operations Manager David Clothing, the company HR Manager Saida Gurbanova, and fifth-year students and staff members of the Higher School. Opening the meeting, Elmar Gasimov extended his sincere gratitude to the SKLLC management for cooperation and their interest in working with BHOS students, which the rector highly praised. He also expressed satisfaction with bilateral cooperation established between the Higher School and SOCAR-KBR. In the rectors words, the negotiations on prospects of strengthening the partnership relations, which are currently underway, shall give new impetus to further development of this cooperation. Deputy General Manager of SOCAR-KBR Nazim Gasimov provided brief information about the company and the opportunities it offers to new employees. SKLLC Operations Manager David Clothing told about the company activities since 2015, when the Joint Venture was established, its goals, operations, and implemented and planned projects. He also said that SOCAR-KBR is going to arrange specialized training courses on various subjects for the BHOS students. HR Manager Saida Gurbanova spoke about SOCAR-KBR HR policy, employment procedures and recruitment process. She emphasized that the applicants willing to work at the company should submit a professional CV and a good cover letter and carefully prepare for Assessment test and job interview. Then the guests answered questions from the students who were interested in employment opportunities, working conditions and prospects of career growth and professional development in SOCAR-KBR. SKLLC is a joint venture that partners KBR's experience in the AzerbaijanGeorgiaTurkey region and its proven tools, systems and procedures with SOCAR's operational knowledge and experience in the oil and gas sector. SOCAR-KBR LLC provides design, engineering, technical, consultancy, procurement, construction supervision and project management services for all brownfield and greenfield projects across the upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas sectors in the region. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: The cavalry of the Azerbaijani State Border Service has presented a show titled "Azerbaijan - Land of Fire" with participation of Karabakh horses at an event marking the 75th anniversary of the Royal Windsor Horse Show in London. The show program was organized with support of the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation (ARAF), the Culture Ministry, and The European Society of Azerbaijan (TEAS). The 24-member Sardhadchi dance group, the Natig Rhythm Group, artists Nizar Mammadov and Agshin Kazimov participated in the event organized on the eve of the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. Chief of the State Border Service, Colonel General Elchin Guliyev awarded the young artists with diplomas for their participation in the event in the UK. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Ilkin Shafiyev - Trend: The annual report on the execution of the state budget and the draft law "On the execution of the annual budget of Azerbaijan for 2017" have been recommended for discussion in the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan. The relevant decision was made at the regular meeting of Board of the Accounts Chamber, the chamber said in a statement released May 22. During the meeting, a broad discussion of the Chamber's opinion about the annual report on the state budget and the draft law "On the execution of the annual budget of Azerbaijan for 2017" took place, and opinions and proposals on the final statement were expressed. The final statement includes data on income and expenses of the state budget, detailed analysis on state debt, and so on. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyev Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Anvar Mammadov - Trend: The ceremony of signing the agreement on cooperation between the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of Azerbaijan and The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE) was held in Baku May 21. The document was signed by President of the Confederation Mamed Musayev and President of RUIE Alexander Shokhin. According to the document, the parties undertake to assist in the implementation of interstate agreements between Azerbaijan and Russia in the field of trade, economic and investment cooperation, as well as in the development of appropriate mechanisms for its effective implementation within the framework of their rights and opportunities. The parties will promote the establishment and development of relations, contacts and long-term mutually beneficial relations between the business circles of the two countries. The agreement also reflects the desire of the parties to solve problems and eliminate obstacles that may be encountered by economic entities - members of the two organizations in the process of cooperation, including in the field of labor relations, taxation, customs procedures, regulation of the mechanism of mutual payments and transport. In addition, the parties will provide comprehensive assistance to the development and deepening of economic relations at the inter-regional level and the creation of effective forms of cooperation in this direction. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Azad Hasanli Trend: Turkey expects Azerbaijani companies to invest 23.6 billion Turkish liras into the countrys economy, Turkish Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci said in an exclusive interview with Trend. "Presumably, these funds will be transferred to 42 investment promotion zones," the minister added. "From 2002 until February 2018, Azerbaijani companies invested about $6 billion in the Turkish economy. Azerbaijani investors rank 12th in investment making." "A significant part of these investments accounted for the energy sector and oil refining," Zeybekci said. "Moreover, the real estate sector has recently attracted Azerbaijani investors," the minister said, expressing hope that over time Azerbaijani investments in Turkey will be more diversified. "Turkey mainly invests in such Azerbaijans sectors as ICT, finance and insurance, mining industry, tobacco products, food industry, including beverages and food," he said. "Turkish investments in Azerbaijan's economy amounted to $786 million, according to the statistics upon the methodology of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)," he added. "Fraternal Azerbaijan is one of the countries that our companies have always seen as attractive in terms of investment making," Zeybekci said. "Our cultural and historical ties, growing economy, rich natural resources and geographical location are just some of the attractive aspects. I hope that our companies will continue to expand their activity in Azerbaijan and will work for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries." "Azerbaijan offers great opportunities for making investments in ICT, finance, agriculture, food industry, energy," the minister said. "We have already made big investments in these sectors, but we do not see them sufficient and we plan to further develop cooperation in this direction." According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey reached $2.64 billion in 2017, of which $1.37 billion accounted for export of goods to Turkey. The trade turnover between the two countries in 2017 increased by 14.8 percent. In January-March 2018, the Azerbaijani-Turkish trade turnover amounted to $573.1 million (an increase of 3.7 percent over the year). (1 USD = 4.1054 TRY on April 19) Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Ilkin Shafiyev - Trend: Positive trends are increasing in Azerbaijani economy, the Chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship of Azerbaijani parliament Ziyad Samadzadeh said at the meeting of the committee. He noted that, all social measures provided for in the state budget, were implemented in 2017. "Despite the growth of risks on a global scale, Azerbaijan has managed to ensure dynamic development. These achievements will help us to achieve higher budget performance in 2018," Samadzadeh said. State budget revenues in 2017 amounted to 16.446 million manats, expenses 17.588 million manats. The state budget makes up 1.6 percent of the GDP. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyev Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Ilkin Shafiyev - Trend: In 2017 Azerbaijan managed to ensure macroeconomic stability, financial stability, and economic growth, Deputy Finance Minister Azer Bayramov said at a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship during the discussion of the draft law "On the execution of the state budget of Azerbaijan for 2017". The official said that, such indicators have been achieved through economic reforms carried out in the country. "I would like to note that in 2017 compared to the previous year, Azerbaijan's strategic foreign exchange reserves increased by $4 billion and amounted to $41 billion. Budget revenues, excluding transfers from the State Oil Fund, increased by 5.3 percent. Azerbaijan's foreign trade has grown by more than 12 percent, non-oil exports - by 24.4 percent, revenues from the non-oil sector-by 5 percent," Bayramov said. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyev Details added (first version posted on 12:41) Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Anvar Mammadov - Trend: Serbia invites Azerbaijani businessmen to invest in a number of sectors of the country's economy, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said. Vucic made the remarks at the Azerbaijani-Serbian business meeting in Baku May 22. "Economic relations between our countries must be at the same high level as political ones, the president said. There are several factors stipulating that. Yesterday several agreements on strategic partnership were signed between Azerbaijan and Serbia. I hope that this will positively influence the development of bilateral relations between our countries. There are also opportunities for the development of business relations. We invite Azerbaijani companies to invest in Serbia, he said. We have a very favorable situation in the country for that. Our budget has been executed with a surplus for three years, thanks to which the populations income is growing. In 2017, $2.6 billion of direct foreign investments were made in Serbia. In 2018 we expect their volume to increase to $3 billion." President Vucic added that Serbia is ready to provide Azerbaijani companies with various privileges, preferences and subsidies. "You can invest in any sphere in Serbia and depending on the amount of investments, we grant privileges in the amount of 15 to 20 percent," the president said. I call on Azerbaijani entrepreneurs to invest in real estate, hotel business, healthcare and other sectors. Investors will be provided with tax preferences and various subsidies." According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Serbia amounted to $1.96 million in January-April 2018, which is 30.7 percent more than in the same period of 2017. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov Details added (first version posted on 13:00) Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Anvar Mammadov - Trend: Serbia has invited the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC to participate in the modernization of the country's railway system, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said. Vucic made the remarks at the Azerbaijani-Serbian business meeting in Baku May 22. He added that Serbia will be happy to see competitive Azerbaijani companies in its market. The Russian Railways JSC has carried out this work for us so far, he said. The railways of Serbia need repair. If you are competitive, and as good as Azvirt [an Azerbaijani company that implemented a number of successful road projects in Serbia], you can come and take part in the repair of our railways. The total length of railways in Serbia is 3,808.7 kilometers, of which 3,533.2 kilometers are single-track and 275.5 kilometers are double-track railways. Some 1,191.1 kilometers of railways, including standard-gauge ones, have been electrified. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov Details added (first version posted on 13:18) Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Anvar Mammadov Trend: The next meeting of the Azerbaijani-Serbian intergovernmental commission will be held in September 2018, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev said at an Azerbaijani-Serbian business meeting in Baku May 22. The fifth meeting of the intergovernmental commission will be held in Serbia, he said. I discussed these terms with Rasim Ljajic, co-chairman of the commission from the Serbian side, deputy prime minister, minister of trade, tourism and telecommunications. As part of the meeting, we will also hold a business forum so that the business circles of the two countries get to know each other better. The fourth meeting of the Azerbaijani-Serbian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation was held in September 2015 in Baku. The regulatory framework between the two countries includes about 40 agreements. The main priorities of the trade and economic cooperation are projects in the construction, education, tourism and infrastructure spheres. Azerbaijans trade turnover with Serbia amounted to $1.96 million for the first four months of 2018, which is 30.7 percent more than in the same period last year, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: A delegation of the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure), headed by Executive Director Wang Yi, held a business meeting in the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), the bank said in a message May 22. As part of the meeting, Abbas Ibrahimov, acting chairman of the IBA board, spoke about the IBAs activities, its role in Azerbaijans economy, the banks activity as a business partner of a significant number of corporate clients, the support of the IBA in the implementation of major business projects. In turn, Wang Yi, spoke about the activities of Sinosure, the desire of Chinese businesses to cooperate with Azerbaijani companies. As part of the meeting, the sides discussed possibilities of cooperation with the IBA in the future. Also, an agreement was reached on continuing mutual cooperation, as well as informing the banks corporate clients about the possibilities of this cooperation. Sinosure is the only Chinese insurance company specializing in the export credit insurance. The company started operation in December 2001. Its headquarters is located in Beijing. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: Uzbekistan is planning to reduce the poverty by half by 2030, the "News of Uzbekistan" website reported citing the draft "Resolution on Measures to Implement the National Goals of Sustainable Development, signed by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on May 22. The document was developed by the Ministry of Economy in accordance with the plan of practical measures of the roadmap on further development of cooperation with the United Nations for 2017-2020. In total, the document approves 17 strategic goals for implementation of the plan, including strengthening food security and improving nutrition, ensuring healthy lifestyle, improving education. In 2018, almost 350,000 permanent jobs will be created in Uzbekistan. This will happen due to support of small business and professional re-training of the unemployed. In agriculture and industry, some 168,200 people should get jobs, with approximately 20,000 jobs being created through implementation of roadmaps and investment projects. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Azad Hasanli - Trend: Azerbaijans GDP growth may reach 1.8 percent in 2018, according to the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018 report. Economic growth in Azerbaijan is projected at 2.3 percent in 2019, according to the report. The start of production as part of the second stage of the Shah Deniz gas condensate fields development will support the economys recovery in 2018-2019. In general, the economy of the CIS region and Georgia may grow 5.2 percent this year, and 4.7 percent in 2019. Since the end of 2017, Azerbaijans economy has started to restore growth rates after the recent difficult two or three years. In the first quarter of this year, Azerbaijans GDP grew 2.3 percent. The UN forecasts on Azerbaijans economy for 2018 roughly coincide with the forecasts of international financial institutions. Thus, this year the World Bank also expects the Azerbaijani economy to grow 1.8 percent, and the International Monetary Fund expects a 1.3 percent growth. Forecasts of international financial institutions for 2019 are more optimistic and a 3.8-3.9 percent GDP growth is expected in Azerbaijan according to them. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @AzadHasanli Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Looking at commercials, the main option for Iran to counter possible sanctions by the US and the withdrawal of European companies, will be a full focus on Asia, Cyril Widdershoven, a Middle East geopolitical specialist and energy analyst, a partner at Dutch risk consultancy VEROCY and SVP MEA-Risk, told Trend. He believes that Iran needs to keep some support from the European Union. If they want to have a real position in the world, a rapprochment with the US will be needed, maybe via support of Russia and China, including EU, the expert added. Widdershoven noted that looking at commercials, the main option to counter possible sanctions by the US and the withdrawal of European companies, will be a full focus on Asia (China, India) and an expansion to Central Asian, Caucasus and Turkey. No other real options will however be available if all sanctions are put in place. Financial constraints and lack of access to technology will be biting in the future capabilities of Iran, he said. The expert noted that gas exports also will be hit, as this is mostly in cooperation with companies working with or in US or Western countries. As for oil prices, Widdershoven believes that they will stay high. Dont expect OPEC or Russia to fill in any gaps due to lower Iranian oil and gas exports. They will try to balance the market around $75-$85 per barrel. There is no need for an end to the OPEC-Russia agreement at present too. Possibility of higher price settings is even larger than a price decline, looking at instability in the region, said the expert. At present gas exports to Asia, Central Asia or Turkey are the only real option. EU gas imports from Iran will be hit by sanctions for sure. Future is bleak, time to react or change total approach Iran is necessary, as there is no other option. US President Trump warned on May 8 that the country will walk away from the nuclear accord of 2015, reached between Tehran and the six world powers. Trump also announced that Washington re-imposes the "highest level of economic sanctions" on the Islamic Republic. The move has been strongly criticized by other P5+1 members, Moscow, London, Beijing, Paris, Berlin and Brussels, who have confirmed their commitment to the deal. The agreement was signed on July 14, 2015, and ensured that Iran's nuclear program remains peaceful in exchange for sanctions relief. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: A municipality in the Turkish province of Kocaeli announced an open tender to repair a highway, as well as to buy construction materials. Local and foreign companies can participate in the tender. The tender will be held at 14:30 (GMT +3) on June 21, 2018 Applications and proposals of interested parties are accepted at:D100 Karayolu Uzeri Orduevi Karss Eski Seka Idari Binas Izmit/Kocaeli Email: [email protected] Phone: (+90 262) 324 05 10, fax: (+90 262) 317 26 54 The tender participation fee is 250 Turkish liras. (4.5616 TL = 1 USD on May 22) --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: Russian Defense Minister, Army General Sergey Shoygu arrived in Tashkent, where he will hold talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as Defense Minister, Major General Abdusalom Azizov, said a message from Russian Defense Ministry. Defense Minister of the Russian Federation, Army General Sergey Shoygu arrived on an official visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan. In accordance with the program of the visit, the defense mister will hold a working meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as with Uzbek Defense Minister, Major General Abdusalom Azizov, the press service said. Reportedly, the parties will discuss problems of international and regional security, topical issues of bilateral military and technical cooperation. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: President of Russia Vladimir Putin will visit Uzbekistan, according to the details of the phone conversation between Putin and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, said the press service of the Uzbek president. During the phone conversation, the leaders of the two countries discussed topical issues of the agenda in the context of preparing the forthcoming state visit of the Russian president to Uzbekistan, the press service noted. The sides underlined importance of practical implementation of previously signed agreements in trade, economic and investment spheres, including those achieved within the framework of the joint intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. The sides paid attention to the preparation of prospective projects with the participation of leading Russian companies and banks in the energy sphere, metallurgy, engineering, electrical engineering and other high-tech industries. An agreement has been reached to continue intensive contacts at the regional level and to hold the first Regional Forum of Uzbekistan and Russia in Tashkent in Autumn 2018. The presidents also noted necessity for further expansion of tourism and cultural exchange, as well as for implementation of mutually beneficial programs in the spheres of education and healthcare. The heads of state also considered other topical issues of international politics and held an exchange of views on issues of regional security and stability. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov Tehran, Iran, May 22 By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend: An official with Iran Road Maintenance & Transportation Organization (RMTO) said Tehran and Athens have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen their cooperation in the field of transportation. The cooperation document was inked after a two-day summit between Iran and Greece on road maintenance and transportation wrapped up recently, Reza Nafisi added on May 19, IRNA news agency reported. According to the terms of the MoU, the two sides would help facilitate transportation services between the two countries by removing any exiting obstacles, he added. Nafisi said Tehran and Athens are also ready to boost their cooperation in the sectors of intelligent transportation system (ITS) and road safety. He said the agreement would help the two countries drivers and businesspeople easily travel to Tehran and Athens and raise their volume of exports and imports. Iran exported more than 1.26 billion worth of goods to Greece in 2017, indicating a 68.8% surge compared with that of the previous year. Irans imports from the European country during the same period amounted to nearly 32.1 million, showing a 5.86% rise year-on-year. Iran-Greece trade stood at over 1.29 billion last year, registering a 66.33% YOY growth. This makes Greece Irans sixth biggest trade partner from among the 28 member states of the European Union in 2017 after Italy, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands in a descending order. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was the first western leader to visit Iran after the lifting of international sanctions against Iran over Tehrans nuclear program. "Greece will become an energy, economic and trade bridge between Iran and European Union," Tsipras said in Tehran in February 2016. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: Six Iranian ministers and two MPs, who are members of Committee for Determining Criminal Web Content, called for removing ban on access to Twitter. The top officials in a letter to the countrys Prosecutor General, who heads the committee called for unblocking the popular social network, given the growing public demands for access bans removal and activities of young generations and media in Twitter, the Iranian governments website reported. In the letter, the committee members have called on the prosecutor for raising the issue in the committee and remove of the ban on Twitter. Committee for Determining Criminal Web Content, which is Iranian cyberspace watchdog body and makes decisions on blocking access to websites was established in 2009. The committee has 13 members including 6 ministers from Iranian president Hassan Rouhani`s cabinet. Irans Communications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, Education Minister Mohammad Bathaee, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, Justice Minister Alireza Avayi, Science Minister Mansour Gholami, Culture Minister Abbas Salehi, are the ministers who have signd the letter. The Iranian authorities banned Facebook and Twitter in the summer of 2009 when former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election victory sparked off massive protests that gained momentum with the help of organizers using social media. Filtering doesn't mean Iranians are totally cut off from the world's most popular social networks. Visitors from Iran are able to log on both Twitter and Facebook via proxies - special IP addresses, which serve as a hub through which internet requests are processed. Senior Iranian officials, including Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif actively use the social media while it's blocked and illegal for the public. Tehran, Iran, May 22 By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend: The former head of Exports Commission at the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture described the recent speech by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a part of Washingtons psychological warfare against the Islamic Republic. The US Secretary of States yesterday speech was a physiological war against Iran rather than a politically motivated move, Razi Haji-Aqamiri told Trend on May 22. He added that Pompeo made the speech in a war of nerves with Iran by saying that Washington will increase the 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. The US is trying to undermine Irans economy by offering this illusion that the recent plunge in the Iranian currency's value in the free market could cripple the countrys economy, the former official said. Haji-Aqamiri said the Iranian government and the private sector are making all-out effort to smooth the way for Tehrans economic cooperation with its neighbors. He further called on the government to keep a tight rein on the market of foreign currencies and facilitate the process of exports and imports. Pompeo, a longtime Iran hawk and fierce opponent of the 2015 agreement between Tehran and world powers (also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA), earlier on Monday outlined an aggressive series of "painful" measures designed to hurt Tehran in his first key address since moving to the State Department from the CIA in April. "Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East," Pompeo said Monday, outlining 12 tough conditions from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran. US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the nuclear agreement, 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. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 Trend: Irans welfare organization offers rehabilitation service for woman sex workers, an official with the state-run organization said. Habibollah Farid, the organization's deputy manager, said that each year some 950 sex worker women are accepted in 24 centers of the Welfare Organization, ILNA news agency reported. The official said that these women are mostly of extremely low class of the society and suffer poverty and severe problems including drug addiction. Some 5 percent of the sex workers, who submitted in the welfare organizations emergency centers were married, he added. Back in 2015, Minoo Mohraz, head of the Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, cited a report by Iran's health ministry as saying that almost 5percent of Iranian sex workers suffer HIV infection, The report unveiled that the average age of female sex workers is about 38 years, according to Mahrooz. Iranian female sex workers are 18-56 years old, Mohraz said, adding 58 percent of women selling themselves are divorced. She said that only 44 percent of these women use condoms during sexual intercourse, while there are also those which do not, after they get paid extra money. She further said that at least 500 drug addicted women live in Tehran, who are engaged in prostitution, to get money for drugs. "Two of every 14 street women in Tehran are infected with HIV," Mohraz said, adding that the rising average marriage age is one of the reasons behind prostitution in Iran. Available figures show the two provinces of Tehran and Iran's north eastern province of Khorasan Razavi, have the highest number of "street women". Unconfirmed studies show that the age of entry into prostitution has fallen to 14 in the country in recent years. The Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell and Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili have discussed bilateral relations at a meeting held at the US Department of State, Agenda reports. US-Georgia relations have moved to a new stage and have become more multilateral, PM Kvirikashvili said after the meeting. Mitchel once again has stressed the progress achieved by Georgia and praised the PMs personal contribution to the important reforms carried out in the country. The parties have also discussed the upcoming NATO summit in Brussels where Georgia expects its progress to be recognised properly. US supports Georgias aspiration towards NATO and with the allies will once again confirm the success made by the country at the summit, Wess Mitchell said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will particularly discuss global issues such as the Iranian nuclear program and the situation on the Korean Peninsula during her visit to China later in the week, a source in the chancellors office told reporters on Tuesday, TASS reports. "We expect the chancellor to focus on economic issues at talks with the Chinese prime minister," the source added. "At a meeting with the [Chinese] president, global political issues and challenges will be discussed, which include Irans nuclear program. North Korea may also be discussed as certain developments have been taking place there. It would be interesting to exchange views with the Chinese leadership," the source said. Merkel is scheduled to visit China on May 24-25. A 1994 plane crash in Panama which killed 21 people was a terrorist attack, President Juan Carlos Varela said Monday, citing Israeli intelligence reports, The Times of Israel reported. I have ordered the reopening of the case after intelligence reports indicated the incident was a terrorist attack, Varela told reporters. Varela has just returned from Israel where he held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week. According to the president, the attack was confirmed by Israeli intelligence. Most of the 21 people killed were Jewish businessmen operating in Panamas Colon Free Trade Zone. The crash happened on July 19, 1994 when the plane exploded shortly after taking off from the Enrique Jimenez airport in the Caribbean province of Colon. The cause of the crash was never clarified. One of the hypotheses considered at the time was that a Lebanese suicide bomber had detonated an explosive with the aim of killing Jews. We are going to have meetings with Panamanian and international authorities to formally request the reopening of the case and to know those responsible for this terrorist attack, where deplorably many Panamanians coming from the Colon free zone lost their lives, Varela said. The explosion happened a day after a bomb ripped through the offices of a Jewish center in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, killing 85 people. 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, according to Xinhua. 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 has denounced Washington's attempts to discredit Sunday's presidential election and accused US charge d'affaires Todd Robinson of meddling in the country's affairs, Sputnik reported. Maduro ordered Tuesday the expulsion of the top US diplomat, charge d'affaires Todd Robinson, saying that there was evidence of him conspiring against the government. Washington's moves comes after the US strongly criticized Venezuela's presidential election held on Sunday, with US Vice President Mike Pence saying that the vote was "neither free nor fair." Maduro was re-elected as Venezuelan president for the second term, having secured 68 percent of votes, with slightly over 46-percent voter turnout, according to the National Electoral Council. A number of countries, such as the US, Canada, Argentina, Spain, and Germany, question the legitimacy of Maduro's re-election, characterizing the vote as "undemocratic." The US has introduced a number of sanctions against the country over what they called a "fraudulent" vote. Russias State Duma (lower house of parliament) has passed the final third reading of a law on counter-sanctions against the US and other unfriendly states, TASS reports. The law stipulates that the Russian president may provide the government with the right to impose restrictions, provided they do not apply to vital supplies which have no analogues produced in Russia or other countries. Decisions on sanctions may be made by the president based on proposals submitted by the Russian Security Council. At the same time, in case the situation causing the introduction of sanctions should change, the government will remove these restrictions. "The federal law is aimed at protecting the interests and safety of Russia, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens, from unfriendly actions by the US and other states, which may take the form of political and economic sanctions on Russia, Russian citizens and legal entities, as well as from other actions posing a threat to Russias territorial integrity and aimed at destabilizing the economic and political situation in the country," the document reads. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu have discussed the Syrian settlement in the Astana format over the phone, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, TASS reports. "The ministers discussed a number of current international issues of mutual interest, including joint work in the Astana format on the Syrian settlement based on UN Security Councils Resolution 2254," the Russian Foreign Ministry noted. The Kremlin expects Tehran to evaluate the demands the US has laid out for a new nuclear deal, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Moscow believed it important to implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). "The question is what is Tehrans view of these 12 demands. The Kremlin, Tehran and the European countries involved have reaffirmed their commitment to the JCPOA for Irans nuclear program," Peskov said when asked what was the Kremlins view of the US demands to Iran. The Kremlin spokesman pointed out that Russia and the European countries "have many times expressed hope that Tehran will remain within the agreement." "In fact, the US is the only country pulling out of the deal, with all the negative consequences that entails," Peskov said. "This is why the important question is what Tehrans attitude to that is because the deal itself is still there, it only does not involve Washington anymore," the Kremlin spokesman noted. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi covered military and technical cooperation during their talks on May 21, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, TASS reports. "The agenda of yesterdays negotiations included the topic of military and technical cooperation," he said, refusing to answer a follow-up question on whether Putin and Modi had discussed the delivery of S-400 missile systems to India. On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Putin and Modi put particular emphasis on economic cooperation, adding that the parties "touched upon the entire spectrum of the privileged strategic partnership". Lavrov also noted that the energy sector was another key area that was focused on. According to the Russian top diplomat, other topics included high-tech and nuclear energy. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: The cause of the explosion on a Turkish ship in Yemen, which occurred on May 11 this year, has been disclosed, the Turkish media outlets reported May 22. The reports said the explosion was triggered by a rocket attack. It was also noted that the ship was fired by by rebels-Houthis. On May 11 this year, in Yemen, near the port of Salif, an explosion occurred on the Turkish vessel transporting Russian cargo. It was reported that the ship was transporting 50,000 tons of wheat from Russia. Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu KYODO NEWS - May 22, 2018 - 14:18 | All, World Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono agreed Monday with his British, Dutch and Australian counterparts on the need to maintain pressure on North Korea to attain the goal of ridding the country of nuclear and other weapons, officials said. Kono reached the agreement in separate meetings with Boris Johnson of Britain, Stef Blok of the Netherlands, and Julie Bishop of Australia on the fringes of a Group of 20 foreign ministers' gathering in Buenos Aires. Johnson, Bishop and Kono shared the view that Japan and Britain as well as Australia should step up cooperation in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The Japanese minister also confirmed with Blok a close partnership between their nations in dealing with North Korea as the Netherlands currently presides over a U.N. committee on sanctions on Pyongyang, the officials said. (Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono) KYODO NEWS - May 22, 2018 - 16:20 | World, All, Urgent Around 20 foreign journalists on Tuesday left Beijing for North Korea by a charter plane to observe the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, three weeks ahead of leader Kim Jong Un's scheduled summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. North Korea allowing foreign media to conduct on-the-spot coverage of the facility's shutdown is seen as a sign of goodwill from Kim, who has recently committed to denuclearization -- but skepticism lingers that it may be only a "political show." In Seoul, the Unification Ministry said North Korea declined again to accept a roster of South Korean journalists who were supposed to visit the test site. As a result, they could not board the charter plane, arranged by Pyongyang, with other foreign reporters. Pyongyang has said it will hold a ceremony to mark the closure between Wednesday and Friday, depending on weather conditions, and that journalists from China, Russia, the United States, Britain and South Korea would be allowed to observe the site. Punggye-ri is where North Korea has conducted all of its six nuclear weapon tests to date, beginning in 2006, including the most powerful one last September. [DigitalGlobe/38 North via Getty/Kyodo] U.S. and Russian reporters said they received visas at North Korea's Embassy in Beijing on Monday. The plane took foreign journalists to the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, where North Korea has set up a press center for them. They are scheduled to visit the test site by a special train. The North has not issued visas to the South Korean journalists initially invited to attend the ceremony at the test site in the country's northeast. At the airport on Tuesday, some South Korean journalists waited for their visas to be issued until the plane took off. "We are still watching the situation. Nothing has yet to be determined," a South Korean photographer who was slated to be part of the media corps, told Kyodo News. Last Wednesday, North Korea suddenly canceled a ministerial-level meeting with South Korea planned for that day, criticizing joint military drills carried out by Seoul and Washington for undermining the recent inter-Korean moves toward reconciliation. South Korea also tried to send the list of the journalists it proposed cover the event to North Korea through their communication channel at the truce village of Panmunjeom on Friday and Monday, but Pyongyang was unresponsive. North Korea is believed to be testing Washington's mettle ahead of the scheduled June 12 summit in Singapore. At his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae In on April 27, Kim pledged to shut down the key test site in May and disclose its closure to foreign experts and media to ensure transparency, according to Moon's office. But North Korea did not invite experts, such as those from the International Atomic Energy Agency, to observe the dismantling, raising concern that the actual condition of the nuclear test site will not be revealed. All the tunnels at the test site will be destroyed by explosions and the surrounding area will be completely closed, North Korea's Foreign Ministry was quoted by the country's official media as saying earlier this month. "We hope that North Korea is going to be transparent like they said," Will Ripley, a CNN correspondent based in Hong Kong who is on his 18th trip to North Korea, told reporters before departing from Beijing International Airport. Last week, the U.S.-Korea Institute of Johns Hopkins University said on its 38 North website that satellite footage has shown North Korea is preparing "to build a safe reviewing stand for visitors to observe the explosive closure of all three Punggye-ri portal areas." Call of the Wild: Tribal communities of Gavi and their Makka Doctor 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." ### Description The YMCA of Long Island is excited to announce that registration for the Run for a Cause: YMCA 5K Series, has officially opened. The series of three 5K run/walk events, which will take place between April and June, are intended to help encourage Long Islanders to participate in events throughout Long Island; including Patchogue, Huntington, and Great South Bay; bringing all YMCA branches and their greater community together for a variety of great causes. The Run for a Cause: YMCA 5K Series will kick off on April 8th with the Patchogue Family YMCA race at ShoreFront Park, benefitting the Ys Diabetes Prevention Program in honor of Brendan Barrett of the Sayville Running Company. The second installment of the series, at the Huntington YMCA on April 22, raises funds to support child abuse awareness, protection, and recovery programs, and services for children in need. The final event will be held at the Great South Bay YMCA facility on June 2, with proceeds benefiting cancer survivors through financial assistance. The final event will also pay tribute to Sharde Lamneck, who passed away after a battle with breast cancer back in September. Lamneck worked as the Director of Membership Sales & Engagement at Great South Bay YMCA. SAO PAULO, May 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian truck drivers kept up their protests on Tuesday against a steep rise in diesel prices by partially blocking roads across the country, according to a group representing the drivers. At the port of Santos, Latin America's largest, a truck was blocking traffic near the terminals, said Codesp, the state-run firm that administers the area. Abcam, the group organizing the demonstrations across the country, said the truckers were protesting in 15 states, including those that are agricultural, industrial and transport hubs. Federal highway police did not have an immediate comment on the extent of the blockades nor how they were disrupting traffic around the country. The demonstrations put pressure on the government to provide relief from rising fuel costs, which could mean either backsliding on efforts to close Brazil's fiscal deficit or interfering in the state-run oil company's pricing policy. State-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, said on Tuesday it would reduce diesel prices 1.54 percent and gasoline prices 2.08 percent starting Wednesday, without elaborating the reasons for that decision. But fuel prices have surged nearly 50 percent at Brazilian refineries in less than a year, making it unclear whether that cut would be sufficient to halt the protests. Abcam said it expected more truckers to take part in the blockades on Tuesday than the previous day, when they said some 200,000 drivers took part in 19 states. Petrobras' decision in July last year to adjust domestic fuel prices to reflect international price swings has helped an operational turnaround, lifting its share price to the highest level in about 3.5 years. (Reporting by Ana Mano Editing by Frances Kerry) * Coal output in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia to add 250 mln T in 2018 * China to launch 100 mln tonnes of new coal capacity this year (Add detail) BEIJING, May 18 (Reuters) - China will take steps to bring down coal prices because the recent rally is not supported by market fundamentals, state-owned Xinhua News reported on Friday, citing officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). That is in line with a Reuters' report that two major coal-fired power producers banned spot purchases of thermal coal above certain prices amid a bearish outlook for the market in the coming months. "It was the irrational price increases in the futures market that lifted the spot prices ... The market should pay high attention to the risk brought by speculation," an NDRC official was quoted as saying. Benchmark thermal coal futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange have gained more than 7 percent over the past month, reaching 643 yuan ($100.83) a tonne on Wednesday, the highest level since late February. To bring coal prices back within a "reasonable price range", the NDRC will encourage miners to boost output -- adding at least 300,000 tonnes a day from mines in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia. NDRC puts reasonable coal prices at 500-750 yuan a tonne. The state planner expects coal output in the three regions to increase by about 250 million tonnes this year. Combined coal production in these area was 2.3 billion tonnes last year, accounting for two thirds of the country's total coal output. Plans are also being made to improve rail capacity for coal transportation from miners in the western part of the country to coal-fired power plants in eastern regions. The NDRC also said it will ontroduce 100 million tonnes of new coal capacity this year to ensure stable supplies in the market. ($1 = 6.3773 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Muyu Xu and Vincent Lee Editing by David Goodman) [caption id="attachment_16294" align="alignnone" width="621"] Justices Neil Gorsuch and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Credit: ALM [/caption] For the second time in recent months, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Neil Gorsuch engaged in dueling interpretations of federal lawbut this time, the freshman justice prevailed over his senior colleague in his first major opinion. The two justices went toe-to-toe in January in Artis v. District of Columbia, which involved interpretation of the tolling provision in the federal supplemental jurisdiction statute. Gorsuch in dissent presented a list of absurdities that would follow Ginsburgs interpretation for the courts majority. Ginsburg dismissed Gorsuchs history lesson on the common-law principle that he argued supported his interpretation. Their roles reversed Monday in Epic Systems v. Lewis, consolidated with two other cases. The justices divided 5-4 along ideological lines to hold that workplace arbitration agreements banning class or collective actions do not violate the National Labor Relations Act, or NLRA. Those agreements, instead, are fully enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act, according to the majority. Gorsuchs 25-page majority opinion and Ginsburgs 30-page dissent offered conflicting views of the history and objectives of those two federal laws. Ginsburgs dissent also reflected the growing skepticism of the fairness of arbitration among her liberal colleagues on a court that for many years has been strongly pro-arbitration across the board. Their disagreement in Epic Systems began with Gorsuchs opening statement of the issue before the justices. He wrote: Should employees and employers be allowed to agree that any disputes between them will be resolved through one-on-one arbitration? To Ginsburg, there is no negotiation in these workplace arbitration agreements. Reading a summary of her dissent from the bench, she called them arm-twisted, take-it-or-leave-it contracts. They harken back, she wrote, to the high courts Lochner era when worker-protective legislation was struck down and illegal yellow dog contracts existed. The "Lochner era" refers to court's 1905 decision that struck down limits on working time. When a case challenging the NLRAs constitutionality made its way here, the court, in retreat from its Lochner-era contractual-liberty decisions, upheld the act as a permissible exercise of legislative authority, Ginsburg wrote. The court recognized that employees have a fundamental right to join together to advance their common interests and that Congress, in lieu of ignor[ing] that right, had elected to safeguard it. Gorsuch, who spent a large chunk of his summary on the bench to answering Ginsburg, punched back at the Lochner reference twice, saying, first, But like most apocalyptic warnings, this one proves a false alarm. Todays decision merely declines to read into the NLRA a novel right to class action procedures that the boards own general counsel disclaimed as recently as 2010. And again, near the end of his majority opinion: This court is not free to substitute its preferred economic policies for those chosen by the peoples representatives. That, we had always understood, was Lochners sin. And then there is Gorsuch's reference to an Obama-era general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. Gorsuch noted several times that the general counsel in 2010, Ronald Meisburg, wrote a memorandum reflecting the common understanding that the National Labor Relations Act said nothing about arbitration and could exist harmoniously with the Federal Arbitration Act. Remarking that employees and employers can benefit from the relative simplicity and informality of resolving claims before arbitrators, the general counsel opined that the validity of such agreements does not involve consideration of the policies of the National Labor Relations Act, Gorsuch wrote. To be sure, the employees do not wish us to defer to the general counsels judgment in 2010 that the NLRA and the Arbitration Act coexist peaceably; they wish us to defer instead to the boards 2012 opinion suggesting the NLRA displaces the Arbitration Act. Ginsburg rejoined in a footnote: "The memorandum did not bind the board, and the board never adopted the memorandums position as its own. Indeed, shortly after the general counsel issued the memorandum, the board rejected its analysis, finding that it conflicted with board precedent, rested on erroneous factual premises, defied logic, and was internally incoherent. Gorsuch accused Ginsburg at one point of resting her interpretation on legislative history. But legislative history is not the law, he wrote. Besides, when it comes to the legislative history here, it seems Congress did not discuss the right to file class or consolidated claims against employers. So the dissent seeks instead to divine messages from congressional commentary directed to different questions altogethera project that threatens to substitute [the court] for the Congress. At one point in her dissent, Ginsburg said Gorsuch paints an ahistorical picture by contending that class and collective procedures were hardly known when the National Labor Relations Act was adopted in 1935. Ginsburg pointed to language from Judge Diane Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, who once said the Fair Labor Standard Act's collective-litigation procedure and the modern class action were "not written on a clean slate." "By 1935, permissive joinder was scarcely uncommon in courts of equity. Nor were representative and class suits novelties," Ginsburg wrote. "Indeed, their origins trace back to medieval times. Although the two justices may have little in common ideologically, their approaches to deciding the issue were similar: direct, thorough in engaging each sides arguments, and easily followed. With 32 cases still awaiting decision, chances are good that they will have more opportunities to engage. Read more:Justices, Divided, Say Employment Contracts Banning Class Actions Are LawfulJustice Ginsburg Scorns 'History Lesson' in This Gorsuch DissentThomas and Gorsuch Call for Curbs on Federal Agency PowerLatest Rap on Gorsuch: Hes a Rotten WriterSupreme Courts Employment Contract Case Will Have Broad Reach. Heres How We KnowSusan Fowler, Uber's Thorn, Shares Her Story With the Supreme Court Hyatt Hotels Corporations H The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand offers a portfolio of upper-upscale and luxury build hotels, boutique properties, and resorts. The brand, which is swiftly gaining momentum, recently marked its entry in Turkey with the opening of a 45-roomed boutique hotel called Nish Palas Istanbul. Featuring the citys historic and cultural attributes, the hotel, like all other Hyatt hotels, will provide guests with high-class experiences. The recent addition of the hotel is in line with an essential aspect of Hyatts riveting growth potential that focuses on its strong brand presence and continual expansion strategies. Also, shares of Hyatt have rallied 39% in the past year, outperforming the industrys growth of 23.5%. Market Share Expansion, Top-Line Growth Hyatts continuous efforts toward expanding its brands globally should help it increase its market share. Hyatt is focused on expanding its presence worldwide and capitalizing on demand for hotels in profitable but relatively untapped international markets. In fact, other than Europe and Asia Pacific, the company also has expansion plans for Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Notably, courtesy of its aggressive expansion efforts, the companys hotel opening agreements have continually outpaced its actual openings and this trend is expected to continue in the near future as well. The company has experienced net room growth between 6% and 7% for 10 consecutive quarters. In fact, for 2018, the company expects to grow units, on a net rooms basis, by roughly 6-6.5%, reflecting 60 new hotel openings. Further, we expect the recent launch to boost Hyatts Owned and Leased Hotels revenues. The performance of the segment was slightly weak in the last reported quarter. Revenues were down 2.5% year over year. However, comparable Owned and Leased hotels RevPAR increased 5.4% from the prior-year quarter. Countering Competition Story continues We believe that by expanding its brands globally, Hyatt is trying to fend off competition from the likes of Marriott MAR, Wyndham WYN and Hilton HLT. As it is, the hotel industry is highly competitive, as major hospitality chains with their well-established and recognized brands are continuously expanding their global presence. Hyatt is continuously facing intense competition from both large hotel chains and smaller independent local hospitality providers. Unless this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company counters these competitions with appropriate strategies, it may lose out on market share. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early. See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Wyndham Worldwide Corp (WYN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Marriott International (MAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Lowe's Companies is poaching J.C. Penney Company CEO Marvin R. Ellison. J.C. Penny has been weighed down by debt and underperforming stores as it's been squeezed by Walmart and Target. Ellison previously worked at Lowe's rival Home Depot. Lowe's Companies LOW is poaching J.C. Penney Company JCP CEO Marvin R. Ellison. The home improvement retailer announced Tuesday it is naming Ellison president and CEO, effective July 2. Ellison will take over for Robert A. Niblock, who previously announced his intention to retire. Lowe's, under pressure from activist investor D.E. Shaw & Co, announced in March its CEO was stepping down. Ellison is chairman and CEO of J.C. Penney, which he has attempted to steer through a turnaround. Prior to J.C. Penney, Ellison worked more than 12 years at Lowe's rival Home Depot HD , including serving as executive vice president of U.S. stores. Shares of J.C. Penney were down nearly 3 percent, while shares of Lowe's were up 1.69 percent in early morning trading. "The turnaround program that Ellison put in place at J.C. Penney has partly delivered but is still far from complete. There is now a question mark over how this plan will proceed and, indeed, whether J.C. Penney will remain on the same trajectory," said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail "Indeed, exiting before his plan is complete is a tacit admission that he may not be able to deliver what investors are looking for." A spokesperson for J.C. Penney told CNBC that it was just informed by Ellison a couple days ago of the move, and it was not aware when it last reported earnings. It currently has four executives filling in to run day-to-day decisions and is looking for both internal and external candidates. The highly leveraged department store has struggled to compete within the quickly evolving retail landscape, as consumers shift their shopping online and away from the mall, where many J.C. Penney stores are located. Last year, it closed more than 100 stores. Story continues Similarly affordable rival, Kohl's KSS , meanwhile, has benefited from a store footprint situated away from malls. It has also taken bets like forging alliances with Amazon and Under Armour . J.C. Penney also has been squeezed by discounters Walmart WMT and Target , which have improved their clothing selections. Walmart recently forged a relationship with Lord & Taylor as part of its efforts to make its website a destination for apparel. Target, meanwhile, has been focusing on building out its private label apparel brands, including its succesful Cat & Jack children's line. Under Ellison, J.C. Penney has taken a number of efforts to help steward a turnaround, including a focus on beauty and appliances. In a bid to boost traffic, the retailer has focused on its salon business, hoping hair-dresser loyalty would turn into shopping frequency. In March, it eliminated 230 positions and announced the departure of executive vice president of Penney's omnichannel business, Mike Amend. Ellison is not the first CEO to struggle with a J.C. Penney turnaround. Ron Johnson, who joined J.C. Penney from Apple , took the job at the behest of activist Bill Ackman in 2011, but was ousted in 2013. Lowe's board also named Richard W. Dreiling, a director of Lowe's since 2012, chairman, effective July 2. More From CNBC Buckeye Partners, LP's (NYSE: BPL) first-quarter results were less than inspiring if you are an investor seeking high-yield stocks. That's because the energy midstream partnership's coverage ratio was a weak 0.91. Although it held the distribution steady, investors have reacted to the partnership's ongoing coverage weakness by pushing the units lower and the yield up to a huge 12%. The interesting thing is that Buckeye's management seems pretty confident that the weak coverage will be temporary. Here's what CEO Clark Smith and his team had to say about the distribution during the first-quarter conference call. 1. It could get worse Although generally positive about Buckeye's prospects for the future, don't expect a quick upturn in the coverage ratio. Smith couldn't have been more clear: [W]e expect our second and third quarters to be seasonally weaker quarters, consistent with historical trends, which will impact our coverage ratio. A woman drawing a risk versus reward graph Image source: Getty Images. Clearly, this isn't going to be a one-quarter thing like it was in 2017, when Buckeye's coverage dipped below 1 in the third quarter but bounced back in the fourth. The full-year coverage ratio in 2017, meanwhile, was just slightly over 1, meaning Buckeye was able to fully cover the distribution for the year. That's not going to happen this year, Smith told investors: [W]e expect to report a distribution coverage ratio for the full year 2018 of 0.90 to 0.95 times. 2. We've been here before Although coverage below 1 for a full year isn't comforting, Smith made sure to highlight that this isn't an unusual thing for Buckeye Partners: As you're aware, we have operated for limited periods in the past with the distribution coverage below one times, but our distribution policy remained unchanged through those periods based on the improvement expected over the longer-term outlook. He's specifically talking about 2013 and 2014, when coverage dipped to 0.99 times and 0.95 times, respectively. It was 1 or higher in each of the next three years as growth projects began to bear fruit. So there's some history to suggest that management takes a long-term approach. Story continues In fact, the CEO went even further, stating: Buckeye has continued to pay a distribution every quarter and has never reduced its distribution during its more than 30-year history as a publicly traded MLP. 3. We're working on it Why so positive? Clark and his team see a brighter future down the line, he said: 2018 is a transitional year for Buckeye, as market conditions for segregated storage remain challenged and meaningful contributions from capital projects will not be realized until 2019 and 2020. Here are some of the larger projects Buckeye has in the works that give it such confidence about holding the line on the distribution. It just created a partnership with Phillips 66 Partners and Andeavor (25% interest each, with Buckeye holding the remaining 50%) to build a new crude oil export terminal in Ingleside, Texas. It's backed by long-term contracts and should be up and running in 2019. The partnership is expanding its storage operation in Chicago, backed by a long-term contract from BP. This project is also expected to be completed in 2019. And Buckeye is working on a pipeline that can change flow direction that will allow it to expand its Michigan/Ohio business. That project is expected to be complete by the end of 2018. Four bar charts showing Buckeye's coverage ratio falling for two years while leverage remained stable, adjusted EBITDA climbed, and cash distributions grew Buckeye's coverage has been weak before. Image source: Buckeye Partners, LP. Buckeye has smaller projects in the works, as well, but the key point is that 2018 is going to be a relatively high-cost year on the construction front. The assets being built won't start contributing to cash flow until 2019 and 2020. But as long as the company's plans play out, coverage in should start to improve in 2019. It just has to get from here to there. 4. No unit sales, plenty of liquidity Following two unit sales, one in late 2017 and another in February, Clark explained that Buckeye has: ...eliminate[d] the need for any additional public equity offerings to fund our growth capital for 2018 and 2019. The unit sales also reduced the partnership's leverage, which gives it more leeway to take on debt if it needs to. To that end, CFO Keith St. Clair noted: We also have $1.4 billion of incremental liquidity available on our revolving credit facility and our total debt to trailing-12-month adjusted EBITDA was four times. Four times is a relatively modest debt to adjusted EBITDA figure, so Buckeye isn't overleveraging itself at this point. And the unit sales and cash available from the revolver should more than cover the partnership's plan to spend around $385 million in 2018. At this point, it looks like getting through this transition year won't be an issue. 5. Asset sales could be a backstop That said, if Buckeye were to run into trouble and needed to raise cash, it has another lever to pull: asset sales. Although the CFO made sure to point out options before assets sales when asked about the issue by an analyst, he also noted: [W]e certainly have assets that are very, very attractive, and we believe we could monetize if we felt like that was the appropriate path. This, it seems, would be a last resort unless a really good offer came along. But it's important to note that Buckeye's options extend beyond just selling units and adding leverage. So the backstop for covering the distribution and planned capital spending appears fairly strong at this point. The big picture Things don't always work out as planned, and Buckeye is clearly cutting it pretty close on the distribution right now. Although it has been down this path before and everything worked out just fine, that doesn't make it any easier for unitholders to live through the current period of weak distribution coverage. For more aggressive investors, however, Buckeye's 12% yield and the story backing that payout appear very attractive. More From The Motley Fool Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Tuesday, May 22, 2018 What to watch today On Tuesday, investors will have a fairly busy earnings schedule with AutoZone (AZO), Kohls (KSS), Intuit (INTU), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and TJ Maxx parent company TJX (TJX) all set to report results. Reports from Kohls and TJX will be closely tracked by investors during a week that is expected to be very retail heavy on the earnings side. The economic calendar, however, will be nearly empty with only the Richmond Feds regional manufacturing survey set for release. Read More Top news REUTERS/Yves Herman US, China nearing deal to remove U.S. sales ban against ZTE: Washington and Beijing are nearing a deal that would remove an existing U.S. order banning American companies from supplying Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp, two people briefed on the talks told Reuters. The people, who declined to be identified because negotiations are confidential, said the deal could include China removing tariffs on imported U.S. agricultural products, as well as buying more American farm goods. [Reuters] China to cut import duty on cars to 15%: China will cut the import duty on passenger cars to 15%, boosting auto makers such as BMW AG and Ford Motor Co. (F) just as the immediate threat of a trade war with the U.S. recedes. The Finance Ministry said Tuesday the levy will be lowered effective July 1 from the current 25% that has been in place for more than a decade. [Bloomberg] NYSE to have first female leader: The New York Stock Exchange is set to get its first female leader in its 226-year history. Stacey Cunningham, the NYSEs chief operating officer, will become the Big Boards 67th president, the exchanges parent Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) told The Wall Street Journal. She will start her new role Friday, succeeding Thomas Farley, an ICE veteran who is leaving the Atlanta-based company. [WSJ] Sony to become worlds No.1 music publisher: Sony Corp. said it would pay about $2.3 billion to gain control of EMI, becoming the worlds biggest music publisher in an industry that has found new life in streaming services. The acquisition, which gives Sony a catalogue of more than 2 million songs from artists such as Kanye West, Sam Smith and Sia, is the biggest so far by new CEO Kenichiro Yoshida. The deal seeks to take advantage of the rapid growth in streaming music services like Spotify (SPOT) and Apple Music (AAPL) which has driven a recovery in the music industry. [Reuters] Story continues For more of the latest news, go to Yahoo Finance A person walks past a chalk message reading Love not Hate in St Anns Square in Manchester, northwest England on May 25, 2017, placed in tribute to the victims of the May 22 terror attack at the Manchester Arena. Last year, a suicide bombing ripped into young fans at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena on May 22. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the carnage. (Photo credit: OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) Yahoo Finance Originals American credit card delinquencies are up How AI could help doctors diagnose and treat you Hedge funds piled into Facebook amid the Cambridge Analytica scandal Snap short sellers have made a fortune since Kylie Jenners tweet OnePlus 6 review: A killer smartphone at a killer price Editors Note: Morning Brief will be taking a temporary break. While you wont be receiving this newsletter in your inbox every morning you can go to Yahoo Finance at 6:30 a.m. ET to get the mornings top news stories, a synopsis of what to watch in markets and the best of Yahoo Finance Originals. Well be back very soon! Texas Capital (TCBI) reported earnings 30 days ago. What's next for the stock? We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues. The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed a larger-than-expected increase in natural gas supplies. Despite the headline miss, the report pointed to a tightening market dynamic and boosted the fuels price, which added around 1.5% for the week. About the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report The Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report brought out by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) every Thursday since 2002 includes updates on natural gas market prices, the latest storage level estimates, recent weather data and other market activities or events. The report provides an overview of the level of reserves and their movements, thereby helping investors understand the demand/supply dynamics of natural gas. It is an indicator of current gas prices and volatility that affect businesses of natural gas-weighted companies and related support plays. Analysis of the Data: A Larger-than-Expected Rise in Storage Stockpiles held in underground storage in the lower 48 states rose by 106 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ended May 11, slightly above the guidance (of 104 Bcf gain) as per the analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts, a leading independent commodities and energy data provider. Moreover, the third injection of the 2018 refill season was higher than both last years build of 64 Bcf and the 5-year (20132017) average addition of 87 Bcf for the reported week. Still, the current storage remains well below benchmarks. At 1.538 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) natural gas inventories are 501 Bcf (24.6%) under the five-year average and 821 Bcf (34.8%) below the year-ago figure. Fundamentally speaking, total supply of natural gas averaged around 85.6 Bcf per day, essentially flat on a weekly basis due to steady production. Meanwhile, daily natural gas consumption rose 4% to 57.5 Bcf. The increase in demand was triggered by higher natural gas usage for power generation. In other words, EIAs latest commentary points to a tightening supply-demand balance with growing natural gas use for air-conditioning amid flat production. As a result, natural gas prices gained around 1.5% last week to settle at $2.847 per MMBtu on Friday. Story continues Positive Long-Term Thesis The fundamentals of natural gas continue to be favorable in the long run, considering the secular shift to the cleaner burning fuel for power generation globally and in the Asia-Pacific region in particular. The EIA predicts global demand for the commodity to grow from 340 Bcf per day in 2015 to 485 Bcf per day by 2040. Countries in Asia and in the Middle East led by Chinas transition away from coal will account for most of this increase. And it will be the worlds largest gas producer U.S., which will step up to meet this soaring demand. With domestic prices struggling to break the $3 per million Btu threshold, U.S. natural gas companies see a big opportunity in selling cheap U.S. production at higher prices to rest of the world. In fact, more than 50% of the domestic volume growth in the near future will be used for export in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). As per Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), the United States will vie with Australia and Qatar as the top LNG exporter by 2022. Apart from the growing use of LNG and booming exports, the replacement of coal-fired power plants and higher consumption from industrial projects will likely ensure strong natural gas demand with price eventually settling well above $3. The perceived price strength augurs well for natural gas-heavy upstream companies like Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. COG, Chesapeake Energy Corp. CHK, Southwestern Energy Co. SWN, WPX Energy, Inc. WPX, Antero Resources Corp. AR and EQT Corp. EQT. Want to Own a Natural Gas Stock Now? If you are looking for a near term natural gas play, Comstock Resources, Inc. CRK may be a good selection. This company has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Comstock Resources is an independent energy exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties. Natural gas output constitutes 95% of its total production. It has a 100% track of outperforming estimates over the last four quarters at an average rate of 48.32%. Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside? Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana. 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. See the pot trades we're targeting>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Southwestern Energy Company (SWN) : Free Stock Analysis Report EQT Corporation (EQT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (COG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Comstock Resources, Inc. (CRK) : Free Stock Analysis Report WPX Energy, Inc. (WPX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Antero Resources Corporation (AR) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Crude oil futures surged on Monday, hitting a 3.5 year high on geopolitical concerns over Iran and Venezuela that could lead to supply disruptions. The market rallied despite early session weakness attributed to the news that a trade war between the United States and China was declared on hold. July West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures settled at $72.35, up $0.98 or +1.35% and July Brent crude oil finished at $79.22, up $0.71 or +0.90%. Daily July WTI Crude Oil Concerns over Iran were fueled as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos remarks on Iran strategy showed that the United States was after regime change in the Islamic Republic, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday. Venezuelas socialist President Nicholas 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. Daily July Brent Crude Forecast U.S. West Texas Intermediate and international-benchmark Brent crude oil futures are trading higher early Monday. The main catalyst driving todays early price action is concern that Venezuelas crude output could drop further following a disputed presidential election in the country and with potential sanctions on the OPEC-member. At 0705 GMT, July WTI crude oil is trading $72.62, up $0.27 or +0.37% and July Brent is at $79.55, up $0.33 or +0.44%. The U.S. is seriously considering oil sanctions on Venezuela where output has dropped by a third in two years to its lowest in decades. Sanctions at this time will severely cripple Venezuelas ability to export while making it virtually impossible for the country to acquire dollars. Traders also seem to be responding positively to the avoidance of a trade war between the United States and China. Additionally, concerns over looming U.S. sanctions on Iran and the possibility of supply disruptions have also been supportive for crude oil. Supply is very tight at this time and any signs of supply disruption could send prices sharply higher. Story continues Were in a supply-driven market right now but there still are concerns over rising U.S. production. Because of this, todays late session American Petroleum Institute weekly inventories report should be a market-moving event. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Regulators in Canada and in the U.S. have disclosed that they will soon launch an expansive crackdown on a number of the cryptocurrency investment schemes. The same message was also echoed on Monday by the North American Securities Administrators Association. SEE: Chinas IFCERT Tracks Down 421 Fake Cryptocurrencies; 60% Run By Overseas Servers The launch of investigations Recent reports indicate about 40 state and provincial watchdogs are participating in the Operation Crypto-Sweep, which has so far managed to trigger about 70 investigations. The coordinated effort focuses on the initial coin offerings which happens to be a cryptocurrency fundraising process as well as on a wide range of other investment schemes. The director of enforcement at the Texas State Securities Board, Joseph Rotunda, outlined that the market for cryptocurrency investments despite many efforts remained saturated with fraud.The international task force is still far from accomplishing its work. According to Rotunda, Promoters also know that anyone can be anyone and say anything about anything on the internet. Not surprisingly, they are also manipulating photographs, media, testimonials and other online information to deceive the public into believing their claims. Ways companies deviate and the warning sent out Texas regulators in May sent out a warning letter to BTCrush, which is based in the U.K. According to them, it was a total violation of the securities laws and had also misled quite a significant number of investors through its marketing. The crackdown will also involve participation from the Massachusetts regulators. According to the states secretary of the commonwealth, William Francis Galvin around 30,000 crypto-related domain name registrations were tracked down by the task force of NASAA and most of them were created sometime in late 2017 at the time the Bitcoin (BTC) prices escalated to around $20,000. Time and again the business guru has published videos, which show the interior and workings of what was believed to be the three fully operating mining farms. It was in a report unveiled by the regulators that it was disclosed that most of these videos had been sourced from publicly available stock footage. Story continues The Texas regulator is also up against Wind Wide Coin, which is said to have used pictures of celebrities including Prince Charles and Jennifer Aniston in the advertisement of its cryptocurrency. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is trading at $8330.28 down $89.37 (1.0614%) with about $471MM trading hands in the last 24 hours. Bitcoins current market cap is about $142 Billion USD. Ethereum (ETH-USD) is trading at $687.39 down $9.34 or 1.3% and Ripple (XRP-USD) is trading at $.66 down almost 1%. The post Regulators Disclose Plan To Crack Down On Cryptocurrency Investment Schemes appeared first on Market Exclusive. * AI weeding machines developed in United States, Europe * New technology could cut herbicide use drastically * Fund managers see negative impact on pesticide industry * Herbicide makers such as Bayer, Syngenta see opportunity By Ludwig Burger and Tom Polansek YVERDON-LES-BAINS, Switzerland/CHICAGO, May 22 (Reuters) - I n a field of sugar beet in Switzerland, a solar-powered robot that looks like a table on wheels scans the rows of crops with its camera, identifies weeds and zaps them with jets of blue liquid from its mechanical tentacles. Undergoing final tests before the liquid is replaced with weedkiller, the Swiss robot is one of new breed of AI weeders that investors say could disrupt the $100 billion pesticides and seeds industry by reducing the need for universal herbicides and the genetically modified (GM) crops that tolerate them. Dominated by companies such as Bayer, DowDuPont , BASF and Syngenta, the industry is bracing for the impact of digital agricultural technology and some firms are already adapting their business models. The stakes are high. Herbicide sales are worth $26 billion a year and account for 46 percent of pesticides revenue overall while 90 percent of GM seeds have some herbicide tolerance built in, according to market researcher Phillips McDougall. "Some of the profit pools that are now in the hands of the big agrochemical companies will shift, partly to the farmer and partly to the equipment manufacturers," said Cedric Lecamp, who runs the $1 billion Pictet-Nutrition fund that invests in companies along the food supply chain. In response, producers such as Germany's Bayer have sought partners for their own precision spraying systems while ChemChina's Syngenta, for example, is looking to develop crop protection products suited to the new equipment. While still in its infancy, the plant-by-plant approach heralds a marked shift from standard methods of crop production. Now, non-selective weedkillers such as Monsanto's Roundup are sprayed on vast tracts of land planted with tolerant GM seeds, driving one of the most lucrative business models in the industry. Story continues 'SEE AND SPRAY' But ecoRobotix https://www.ecorobotix.com/en, developer of the Swiss weeder, believes its design could reduce the amount of herbicide farmers use by 20 times. The company said it is close to signing a financing round with investors and is due to go on the market by early 2019. Blue River, a Silicon Valley startup bought by U.S. tractor company Deere & Co. for $305 million last year, has also developed a machine using on-board cameras to distinguish weeds from crops and only squirt herbicides where necessary. Its "See and Spray" weed control machine, which has been tested in U.S. cotton fields, is towed by a tractor and the developers estimate it could cut herbicide use by 90 percent once crops have started growing. German engineering company Robert Bosch http://www.bosch-presse.de/pressportal/de/en/research-collaboration-between-bosch-and-bayer-turns-farms-digital-125120.html is also working on similar precision spraying kits as are other startups such as Denmark's Agrointelli http://agrointelli.com/roboweedmaps.html. ROBO Global https://www.roboglobal.com/about-us, an advisory firm that runs a robotics and automation investment index tracked by funds worth a combined $4 billion, believes plant-by-plant precision spraying will only gain in importance. "A lot of the technology is already available. It's just a question of packaging it together at the right cost for the farmers," said Richard Lightbound, Robo's CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "If you can reduce herbicides by the factor of 10 it becomes very compelling for the farmer in terms of productivity. It's also eco friendly and that's clearly going to be very popular, if not compulsory, at some stage," he said. 'PAUSE FOR THOUGHT' While Blue River, based in Sunnyvale, California, is testing a product in cotton fields, it plans to branch into other major crops such as soy. It expects to make the product widely available to farmers in about four to five years, helped by Deere's vast network of equipment dealers. ROBO's Lightbound and Pictet's Lecamp said they were excited by the project and Jeneiv Shah, deputy manager of the 152 million pound ($212 million) Sarasin Food & Agriculture Opportunities fund, said the technology would put Bayer and Syngenta's crop businesses at risk while seed firms could be hit - albeit to a lesser extent. "The fact that a tractor and row-crop oriented company such as John Deere did this means it won't be long before corn or soybean farmers in the U.S. Midwest will start using precision spraying," Shah said. While the technology promises to save money, it could be a tough sell to some U.S. farmers as five years of bumper harvests have depressed prices for staples including corn and soybeans. U.S. farm incomes have dropped by more than half since 2013, reducing spending on equipment, seeds and fertilizer. Still, the developments are giving investors in agrochemicals stocks pause for thought, according to Berenberg analyst Nick Anderson. And agrochemical giants are taking note. Bayer, which will become the world's biggest seeds and pesticides producer when its acquisition of GM crop pioneer Monsanto completes, teamed up with Bosch in September for a "smart spraying" research project. The German partners plan to outpace rivals by using an on-board arsenal of up to six different herbicides and Bayer hopes the venture will prepare it for a new commercial model - rather than cannibalising its current business. "I would assume that within three years we would have a robust commercially feasible model," Liam Condon, the head of Bayer's crop science division said in February. "I'm not concerned in terms of damping sales because we don't define ourselves as a volume seller. We rather offer a prescription for a weed-free field, and we get paid based on the quality of the outcome," he said. Bayer agreed to sell its digital farming ventures, including the Bosch project, to German rival BASF as part of efforts to win antitrust approval to buy Monsanto. But BASF will grant Bayer an unspecified licence to the digital assets and products. BASF said the Bosch precision spraying collaboration was very interesting but it was too early to comment further as the transaction had not completed. 'PART OF THE STORY' Syngenta, which was an investor in Blue River before Deere took over, said the advantages of the new technology outweighed any potential threats to its business model. "We will be part of the story, by making formulations and new molecules that are developed specifically for this technology," said Renaud Deval, global head of weed control at Syngenta, which was bought by ChemChina last year. While it has no plans to invest directly in engineering, Syngenta is looking into partnerships where it can contribute products and services, Deval said. Still, Sarasin's Shah said the big agrochemical firms would need to accelerate spending on getting their businesses ready for new digital agricultural technology. "The established players need to invest a lot more than they currently are to be positioned better in 10 years' time. The sense of urgency will increase as farmers start to adopt some of the more advanced kits that are coming out," he said. Michael Underhill, chief investment officer at Capital Innovations, also said the major players may be underestimating the potential impact on their pesticides businesses. "Precision leads to efficiency, efficiency leads to decreased usage, decreased usage leads to decreased margins or margin compression, and that will lead to companies getting leaner and meaner," said Underhill. He said the GM seeds market would also take a hit if machine learning takes over the role genetic engineering has played so far in shielding crops from herbicides' friendly fire. "Instead of buying the Cadillac of seeds or the Tesla of seeds, they may be buying the Chevy version," Underhill said. NEW WEAPONS The advent of precision weed killing also comes at a time blanket spraying of global blockbusters such as glyphosate is under fire from environmentalists and regulators alike. More than 20 years of near-ubiquitous use of glyphosate, the active substance in Monsanto's Roundup, has created resistant strains of weeds that are spreading across the U.S. farm belt. Regulators have raised the bar for bringing blanket chemical agents to market and the fear of toxic risks has been heightened by the debate over the potential impact of glyphosate on health. Michael Owen, associate chair at Iowa State University's Department of Agronomy, reckons it would now cost agrochemical giants up to an almost prohibitive $400 million to develop a next-generation universal weedkiller. Bayer's Condon said in the current environment precision spraying could well be the final blow to further attempts to develop new broad-spectrum or non-selective herbicides. "Everything that comes tends to be selective in nature. There won't be a new glyphosate. That was probably a once-in-a-lifetime product," said Condon. For now, the industry is reviving and reformulating older, broad-spectrum agents known as dicamba and 2,4-D to finish off glyphosate-resistant weeds - and it is selling new GM crops tolerant to those herbicides too. Precision spraying could mean established herbicides whose effect has worn off on some weeds could be used successfully in more potent, targeted doses, said Claude Juriens, head of business development at ecoRobotics in Yverdon-les Bains. But experts say new products will still be needed for the new technology and some chemical firms are considering reviving experimental herbicides once deemed too costly or complex. "Because we're now giving the grower an order of magnitude reduction in the amount of herbicide they're using, all of a sudden these more expensive, exotic herbicides are now in play again," said Willy Pell, Blue River director of new technology. "They've actually devoted resources to looking through their backlog, kind of cutting room floor, and rethinking these different materials with our machine in mind," he said. (Additional reporting by Rod Nickel in Toronto and Simon Jessop in London; editing by David Clarke) cheap travel, make money travelling Good job benefits are very important and should probably be a given but they seem to be increasingly difficult to find in todays career culture. In a world where a lot of jobs are moving from full benefits to freelance, it seems that we will never actually get that much-anticipated 401k. And with talk of companies firing their employees and rehiring them through an agency, sometimes its tough to even have hope to get solid health insurance through our jobs. But before you throw in the towel completely, remember that there is actually a wide range of job benefits out there, depending on what you do. In fact, I was able to travel a lot of the world on the cheap because of benefits I received from working at a global travel company. I may not have a retirement plan or full-coverage insurance right now, but being able to both work and take tours in multiple continents has saved me tons of money on travel. Click to read more about employee benefits to get amped about. I worked as a tour guide on Croatia sailing tours for a few years, with a company that runs tours in six continents. Working as a tour guide in Croatia allowed me to earn money while living in and getting to know an absolutely beautiful part of the world with rich history. I worked most of the time but was able to spend a few weeks per season traveling around the area: Serbia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Italy, Montenegro and more. Perhaps one of the best parts about working for this global company: While my crew card was still valid (as I was still a contractor of course), I was able to take other tours they ran at a whopping 70-75 percent off. More on Perks of the Job: Travel Stipends and Other Awesome Benefits from Top Companies This is why I jumped at the chance to take a month-long bus tour of Australia and a six-week overland camping tour through seven countries in Africa. Accommodation, at least half of my meals, and many amazing activities and destinations are accounted for on long tours like this. So, I basically only had to pay 25-30 percent of the total cost, plus any optional activities, non-included meals or souvenirs I wanted a mere fraction of the typical cost. Story continues I would never have been able to afford to see many of the places I have seen if not for my seasonal job with that travel company. So, the moral of the story is: If you love to travel and may be in for a career change or something a bit different, look into jobs at travel companies. There are many different companies that run tours all over the globe, with positions available in every field imaginable. I personally worked as a tour guide, but companies like this will also always have more permanent jobs available in everything from marketing, PR and social media, to finance and accounting. All of these would allow you the amazing benefit of world travel at a lower cost than you could ever manage even backpacking. There are also similar benefits for travel agents and airline employees, and even more travel-related fields, if you wanted to get a bit more creative with it. Travel agents may be able to test out the products they sell, while airline employees, of course, are able to save tons of money on flights. There you have it! Working for a travel company really did enable me to travel the world for a fraction of the price, and maybe it could do the same for you. Click through to read more about jobs that offer amazing benefits and dont require a degree. This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I Wanted to See the World So I Made Travel My Job In the aftermath of President Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal agreement, Pompeo said the U.S. will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon: "Not now, not ever." He also threatened "the strongest sanctions in history" against Iran. He also called for a ban on a heavy-water reactor, which is the most basic way to develop nuclear energy. 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. Story continues "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. More From CNBC Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, speaks at the Satellite 2017 conference in Washington, D.C. (Via Satellite Magazine via YouTube) Day One isnt just for Amazon anymore: Billionaire Jeff Bezos says that first-day feeling of being fired up about a business venture applies to Blue Origin and the commercial space industry as well. Bezos, the founder of Amazon as well as his privately held Blue Origin space venture, made the comment in a newly published interview with Via Satellites Mark Holmes, which was conducted during the magazines Satellite 2018 conference in March. Heres how Bezos summarized the message he wanted to get across: I would be super optimistic about the future. The message would be that I think this is Day One for the space industry. It is a big industry, it is already a significant industry and I think it is going to get much larger. I think we will find new uses for space that people havent even figured out yet, in addition to communications. I dont know what they are, but I want to see that entrepreneurial explosion in space. I want to see dynamism. I want to see the same thing in space that I have witnessed on the internet over the last 20 years, where a thousand experiments are done and [there are] lots of start-up companies. Day One has been a mantra at Amazon since Bezos used the phrase in a letter to shareholders in 1997. The idea is that every day at a business should be marked by the same enthusiasm, restlessness and customer focus thats felt on the first day of a startups existence. In last years letter, Bezos went so far as to say there should never be a Day Two at Amazon. Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death, he wrote. And that is why it is always Day 1. It makes sense that Bezos also applies his Day One philosophy to his space venture, headquartered in Kent, Wash. But in his public pronouncements, he usually emphasizes Blue Origins slow but steady pace. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast, he has said. Blue Origins motto is Gradatim Ferociter, which is Latin for Step by Step, Ferociously. Its mascot is a tortoise, for heavens sake. Story continues The Via Satellite interview includes hints that Bezos is giving a lot of thought about how to get from todays Day One to a day when millions of people are living and working in space and that some of his thinking parallels the strategies followed by his billionaire rival, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Like Musk, Bezos repeatedly emphasizes the view that rocket reusability is the key to bringing down the cost of access to space dramatically. Blue Origins New Shepard suborbital-class rocket has a fully reusable booster, and the New Glenn orbital-class rocket will have a first-stage booster that lands itself on an oceangoing ship (similar to SpaceXs autonomous drone landing ship). Like Musk, Bezos intends to make his orbital rockets upper stage reusable as well. That will be the next big opportunity, he said. Thats a different problem, its an interesting problem. And like Musk, Bezos sees the satellite industry as the big near-term beneficiary for cheaper access to space. There will be a new equilibrium found, where satellite manufacturers and operators will replace the satellites more frequently with faster upgrades, giving them more opportunities to innovate, Bezos said, For now, Bezos is concentrating on New Shepard, which could start taking people on trips to the edge of space and back by the end of this year; and on New Glenn, which is due to enter service in 2020 and has already attracted some satellite launch deals. Whats next? We are really focused on launch right now, and what the future holds is hard to say, Bezos said in the interview. I dont know for sure. But the bigger picture is that Bezos sees Blue Origin as providing the infrastructure that other companies can use to extend commerce into the final frontier, just as the U.S. Postal Service and other mailing services provided the infrastructure to get Amazon going. The company is already working on a Blue Moon lander that could make Amazon-style deliveries to the lunar surface and perhaps to other space destinations as well. What else does Blue Origin have up its sleeve? And what kind of niche will Bezos company fill alongside SpaceX, Boeing, Orbital ATK, Virgin and everyone else in the space business? Those answers will come on a future Day One. Jeff Bezos is due to receive the National Space Societys Gerard K. ONeill Memorial Award for Space Settlement Advocacy on Friday during a ceremony at the International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles. Stay tuned for GeekWires reports from the conference, starting later this week. More from GeekWire: After bottoming near $30/barrel in early 2016, crude oil prices have been on a steady climb upward, and thanks to several worldwide factors, the rally shows no sign of abating. Strong global growth has raised baseline demand for energy in general, especially oil, while several geo-political developments have helped keep supply in check, pushing prices higher. OPEC has been successful at limiting production among its members, targeting a market price north of $80/barrel. Iran is the subject of renewed U.S. sanctions on exports, thanks to the breakdown of the nuclear deal. Venezuela is embroiled in a significant domestic economic crisis and after a disputed election last week in which President Nicholas Maduro appears to have installed himself in office for another six years, is now the subject of increased U.S. sanctions as well. Filling in for potentially reduced global oil supply, the United States now produces a record high 10.26 million barrels a day a record high. Shale oil production is less expensive than ever and much less expensive that traditional drilling, so U.S producers actually have a competitive advantage, especially when prices rise. Having learned from lean times two years ago, U.S. petroleum companies have improved operating results with leaner expense structures and considerably less debt. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) is the largest operator in the Permian Basis in Texas, a region that currently produces 40% of U.S. oil. With diversified revenue streams including not only oil, but natural gas and chemical manufacturing, OXY has reached large-cap status with a current market cap of $66B, yet remains smaller and more nimble than large scale oil companies like Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX). With 2018 sales estimated at $16B, a 22% increase over 2017 and the Zacks Consensus Earnings Estimate for the full year having risen to $3.79/share, up from $2.64/share just 90 days ago, OXY is clearly capitalizing on the rise in oil prices and is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Story continues Notably, Occidental has also taken steps to be less dependent on high prices. They currently have $8.7B in net debt, and a debt to EBITDA ratio of less than 1.5, indicating that they could actually pay off all debt in a year and a half of operations. The dividend is $3.09, or close to 4% annually at the current share price, and last week CEO Vicki Hollub stated that OXY had endeavored to ensure that they were cash flow breakeven with oil prices at $50/bbl. and that the current dividend was safe all the way down to $40/bbl. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) is also a U.S. company engaged in petroleum and natural gas gathering, processing, treating and transportation. Though it also operates internationally, 86% of Anadarkos revenues come from the U.S. in Texas, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Anadarko has recently invested in significant new infrastructure projects and expects to have tow new Regional Oil Treatment Facilities (ROTFs) online and operational later in 2018. The company describes this strategy as capital-efficient growth, while generating free cash flow to drive the return of capital through shares repurchases, increased dividends and debt retirement. Earnings estimates for Anadarko have grown significantly this year and they are now expected to net $2.54/share in 2018, a 75% increase over the estimate of $1.44/share 90 days ago. The stock is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Select Energy Services (WTTR) is a specialty company, providing water solutions to the drilling and hydraulic fracking industries. They handle a full range of need to the industry, including containment, monitoring, treatment and disposal. With higher revenues available in extraction, Select Energys service are in high demand. Shares have rallied 35% since the beginning of April highlighted by a significant earnings beat in Q1, when the company reported $0.15/share versus estimates of $0.06/share. Five recent analyst upgrades earn WTTR an Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early. See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report SELECT EGY SVCS (WTTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research China will cut the import duty on passenger cars to 15%, boosting auto makers such as BMW and just as the immediate threat of a trade war with the U.S. recedes. The Finance Ministry said Tuesday the levy will be lowered effective July 1 from the current 25% that has been in place for more than a decade. Bloomberg News had reported last month that China was weighing proposals to reduce the car import levy to 10% or 15%. A reduction in import duty follows a truce between President Donald Trump's administration and Chinese officials as they seek to defuse tensions and avert an all-out trade war. While the levy reduction could be claimed in some quarters as a concession to Trump and will be a boon to U.S. carmakers such as Tesla , the move will also end up benefiting European and Asian manufacturers from Daimler to Toyota Motor . Shares of Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors and BMW jumped on the news. Tata Motors gained as much as 4.7% in Mumbai while BMW rose as much as 1.5% in Frankfurt. Daimler added as much as 1.3%. The latest round of tariff easing is part of a flurry of policy announcements in recent months aimed at demonstrating China's commitment to opening the economy partly in response to the accusations of protectionism leveled by the Trump administration. Beijing has also pledged to slash ownership limits in the auto sector as well as in banking, and last November reduced import tariffs on almost 200 categories of consumer products. The import duty on car parts will be reduced to 6%, the Finance Ministry said. China announced May 18 that it would end its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into imports of U.S. sorghum, citing "public interest." That move, coupled with recent steps including restarting a review of Qualcomm's application to acquire NXP Semiconductors , signal a conciliatory stance from the Chinese side. President Trump retreated from imposing tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods because of White House discord over trade strategy and concern about harming negotiations with North Korea, according to people briefed on the administration's deliberations. Story continues Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that the administration's plan to impose tariffs had been suspended, and Trump said on Twitter on Monday that the Chinese had agreed to purchase unspecified amounts of American farm products. China's Imports China imported 1.22 million vehicles last year, or about 4.2% of the country's total sales of about 28.9 million automobiles. At the Boao Forum in April, President Xi Jinping reiterated China's commitment to reduce import tariffs on vehicles. Of the $51 billion of vehicle imports in 2017, about $13.5 billion came from North America including sales of models made there by non-U.S. manufacturers like BMW. China imported 280,208 vehicles, or 10% of total imported automobiles, from the U.S. last year, according to China's Passenger Car Association, an industry trade body. A duty cut would typically benefit luxury carmakers or manufacturers, like Tesla, that don't have a local production site. Most automakers produce mass-market models in China. For Tesla, a tariff cut will provide a boon until the company manages to set up local production. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company has been working with Shanghai's government since last year to explore assembling cars in China. China's announcement by Beijing that it will allow foreign new-energy vehicle makers to fully own auto factories as early as this year removed the primary hurdle in the way of founder and billionaire Elon Musk. Luxury sales leader Audi, part of Volkswagen, has been making cars in China since 1990s. Co.'s Cadillac, which has relegated Lexus to fifth in the luxury-car rankings, opened a factory in Shanghai in 2016. High-end autos will feel the effects of a tariff cut because less of their production has moved locally. For example, Toyota's Lexus would benefit as the only premium Japanese marque that doesn't manufacture in China or hasn't announced plans to do so. Foreign carmakers have long pleaded for freer access to China's auto market, while its own manufacturers are expanding abroad. In April, China announced a timetable to permit foreign automakers to own more than 50% of local ventures. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com By Jeff Mason and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated a plan to fine ZTE Corp and shake up its management as his administration considered rolling back more severe penalties that have crippled the Chinese telecommunications company. Trump's proposal ran into immediate resistance in Congress, where Republicans and Democrats accused the president of bending to pressure from Beijing to ease up on a company that has admitted to violating sanctions on Iran. Their reaction could complicate Trump's efforts to win concessions from China that would narrow a $335 billion annual trade gap. Speaking at the White House, Trump said U.S. technology companies have been hurt by an April Commerce Department decision that prohibits them from selling components to China's second-largest telecommunications equipment maker. ZTE shut down most of its production after the ruling was announced. "They can pay a big price without necessarily damaging all of these American companies," Trump said. Trump said ZTE may instead face a fine of up to $1.3 billion, new management and a new board of directors, though it was not clear whether he had the legal authority to impose new financial penalties. That drew a quick response from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Some 26 senators, including the chamber's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, and No. 2 Republican, John Cornyn, urged the administration in a letter to keep penalties in place for "serial and pre-meditated violators of U.S. law, such as ZTE." The Senate Banking Committee also voted 23-2 to make it harder for the president to modify penalties on Chinese telecommunications firms, drawing the support of liberal Democrats like Chris Van Hollen and conservative Republicans like Tom Cotton. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is weighing a proposal that would block the sale of ZTE products and those of another Chinese company, Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], until national security officials certify they are safe. It would be added to a defense-policy bill that Congress typically passes each year. Story continues Congress last year passed a law that required the administration to impose new sanctions on Russia, though similar action this year could be more difficult as the November elections draw near. According to sources familiar with the discussions, a proposed trade deal with China would lift a seven-year ban that prevents U.S. chipmakers and other companies from selling components to ZTE, which makes smartphones and telecommunications networking gear. In return, China would eliminate tariffs on U.S. agriculture or agree to buy more farm products from the United States. The U.S. Commerce Department imposed the ban in April after it determined that ZTE had broken an agreement after it pleaded guilty to shipping U.S. goods and technology to Iran. The ban has threatened the viability of ZTE by cutting off access to companies that supply 25 percent to 30 percent of its components. Suppliers include some of the biggest U.S. tech companies, including Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google, which licenses its Android operating system to ZTE, and chipmaker Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O). The U.S. Department of Defense has also stopped selling ZTE's mobile phones and modems in stores on its military bases, citing potential security risks. NATIONAL SECURITY U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers that the treatment of ZTE was not "a quid pro quo or anything else" related to trade, and said it would not undermine national security. "I can assure you that whatever changes or decisions that are made in Commerce will deal with the national security issues," Mnuchin told a U.S. Senate appropriations subcommittee. Republican Senator Marco Rubio said he thought China had gotten the upper hand in recent negotiations on trade and North Korea denuclearization. "China knows there are those in the administration that desperately want a deal," he said. One sanctions expert questioned whether Trump has the legal authority to impose new fines on ZTE, which agreed last year to pay $1.19 billion, including $890 million in fines and penalties, and an additional penalty of $300 million that could still be imposed. "It looks like this is going to be a case where they'll have some minor tweaks and declare a victory and move onto the next case," said Washington lawyer Douglas Jacobson, who represents ZTE suppliers. (Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld, Diane Bartz, Amanda Becker, Richard Cowan, Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu and David Lawder in Washington and Michael Martina in Beijing; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Chris Sanders, Paul Simao and Lisa Shumaker) FILE PHOTO: Representations of the Ripple, Bitcoin, Etherum and Litecoin virtual currencies are seen on a PC motherboard in this illustration picture, February 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo By Pete Schroeder 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 we've 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. "You're going to see in this space a lot more collaboration and cooperation going forward," said Borg. (Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Andrea Ricci) An Amnesty International delegation will be in Uzbekistan this week in what the human rights watchdog describes as the first such visit to the country in 14 years. A May 22 statement said that Marie Struthers, director of Amnesty's Eastern Europe and Central Asia regional office, and her deputy Denis Krivosheyev are traveling to Uzbekistan at short notice on May 22-25. The two are scheduled to meet with government officials and civil society representatives, the statement said. Struthers said the watchdog had prepared a list of recommendations for officials in Tashkent. The list includes establishing "mechanisms for the rehabilitation of all those prosecuted on politically motivated charges" and "impartial and effective investigations of previous human rights abuses." The last visit by an Amnesty International delegation to Uzbekistan took place in 2004, when delegates of the group attended an international conference on the abolition of the death penalty. In September 2017, a Human Rights Watch delegation visited Uzbekistan, seven years after its representatives were banned from working inside the country. Both international organizations have been denied permission to open representative offices in Uzbekistan. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev has taken steps to implement reforms at home and improve ties with the outside world following more than a quarter-century of iron-fisted rule under his predecessor, Islam Karimov. Prime minister for 13 years, Mirziyoev became interim president after Karimov's death was announced in September 2016. He was then elected president in a tightly controlled vote in December 2016. In recent months, Mirziyoev has made changes in Uzbekistan's long-feared security services, while several activists and journalists have been freed after years in prison. "While some positive steps taken by the authorities over the last 18 months are encouraging, especially the prohibition of the use of torture to force confessions, much remains to be done to fully address the grave human rights violations of the past," Struthers said. It was supposed to be just a one-hour flight from Pakistans northwestern capital, Islamabad, to the southern seaport city of Karachi. Instead, Manzoor Pashteen, the young leader of a new movement demanding security for Pakistans Pashtun minority, says he was forced to make the journey over 40 hours. The 26-year-old activist says the harassment and constant surveillance he endured during that journey on May 12 and 13 have strengthened his resolve and made it crystal-clear to him why the authorities were desperate to prevent him from addressing tens of thousands of supporters in Karachi. The Pakistani state obviously didnt want to let me use their airplane, he said. The state also wanted to prevent me from using the road. Pashteen leads the Pashtun Tahafuz (Protection) Movement (PTM), which emerged from protests in February. Since then, it has taken on Pakistans powerful military in a heated but peaceful protest campaign. The movement wants the army to probe and end thousands of enforced disappearances and illegal killings, which have defined the countrys domestic war on terror since 2003. The Pakistani military has already taken steps to address the movements lesser demands about demining, harassment at security checkpoints, and other ill-treatment of civilians. An estimated 30 million Pashtuns have borne the brunt of violence over the past 15 years, and tens of thousands have been killed in attacks by terrorist and counterterrorism operations by the army. More than 6 million were displaced by the fighting. The PTMs bold allegations of the armys failures and support for militant groups have endeared Pashteen to many Pashtuns. Youth, in particular -- many of whom have faced similar displacement and difficulties -- are drawn by his appeals for justice, dignity, and equal rights. On the morning of May 12, a supporter drove Pashteen and three friends to the airport for their flight. But when Pashteen tried to obtain a boarding pass, the airline told him his ticket had been canceled. The group tried to book another flight from Islamabad, but a travel agent told them they were unlikely to get one. Pashteen says they then set off by car for Lahore, a major Pakistani city nearly 400 kilometers east of Islamabad. They were stopped at a security checkpoint close to Lahores airport for several hours and were only allowed into the airport after the last flight to Karachi had departed. By afternoon on May 12, Pashteen decided to drive all the way to Karachi. But his friends soon sensed they were being followed. These two cars were full of people brandishing handguns. They chased us and occasionally overtook us, he said. Pashteen says they realized the plainclothesmen were government intelligence agents. When we stopped for roadside breaks, they stopped too and were talking on wireless handsets, he said. I overheard them telling someone, We have apprehended them, and we will not let them go, he said. I asked them if werent they supposed to be our protectors and guards, he said of conversations with the security officials. If you are tasked with protecting the masses, why are you behaving like gangsters? Pashteen says the person who bought him a plane ticket and his driver, Anwar, were also harassed. His journey through the eastern province of Punjab, which constituted some 600 kilometers, was the most difficult, but it began to improve once they crossed some of the initial hurdles in the southern province of Sindh on the morning of May 13. It was probably near Mirpur [Khas] when the [paramilitary] Rangers surrounded our car and held an assault rifle to my head to order me to step out of the car, he said. They snatched a mobile phone from one friend as they slapped and punched the others. After that point, the physical abuse stopped. But aggressive searches in which Rashteen says they were humiliated, photographed, and searched continued. He also says the government agents and check points seemed to dissipate once a massive PTM protest commenced on the afternoon of May 13. Late that evening, the organizers announced they would not end the meeting until their leader had addressed the gathering. Pashteen and his entourage finally reached the venue around 11:30 p.m. after 40 hours in transit. The PTMs leadership claimed more than 100 of its supporters were interrogated while 30 were kept in custody in the runup to the Karachi protest. Adil Rasheed, a spokesman for the police in Karachi, rejected the PTMs claims that its supporters were mistreated or detained. We even provided the gathering with security, he said. Once I stood before the people, I felt well-rested and fresh, but I was taken aback that most of them had waited there for hours without any water in the sweltering heat, Pashteen said. The Pakistani military has repeatedly denied the PTMs accusations that it is involved in grave abuses such as disappearances and illegal killings or that it clandestinely supports Islamist militants. Spokespersons for the Pakistani military in the northwestern city of Rawalpindi and the Rangers in Karachi could not be reached. Repeated attempts by Radio Mashaal to seek comment from Interior Affairs Minister Talal Chaudhry, Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, and anti-terrorism Minister Sardar Muhammad Ayub Khan Ghadi were not successful. Malik Ahmed Khan, spokesman for the Punjab government, was also not available for comment. Interior Affairs Minister Talal Chaudhry has told Reuters that actions against PTM supporters and academics by unnamed forces were part of a wider clampdown on freedom of expression in the country. We now have to listen to the people of Pakistan, Chaudhry said. There have been very few such things in Pakistans history where people come out on their own to support a leaderless group. In Karachi, Pashteen spoke to his supporters for nearly an hour. But when he finished his speech, he asked supporters not to mob him for photographs. I am very tired today. You would do me a great favor if you would all return home, he told them. Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect RFE/RL's standards editor's suggestions. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES. TORONTO, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Steppe Gold Ltd. ("Steppe Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing of its initial public offering (the "Offering") of units of the Company (the "Units"). Under the Offering, the Company issued 10,569,185 Units at a price of $2.00 per Unit (the Offering Price) for gross proceeds of $21,138,370. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (a Common Share) and one common share purchase warrant (a Warrant). Each Warrant is exercisable for one Common Share at an exercise price equal to $2.34 for a period of 24 months after the closing date of the Offering. The distribution of the Units was qualified by way of prospectus dated May 2, 2018 filed with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada, other than Quebec. The Offering was co-led by Haywood Securities Inc., as sole bookrunner, and PI Financial Corp. (the Agents). The Common Shares will commence trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol STGO at the opening of trading today. The Company has granted the Agents an over-allotment option, exercisable in whole or in part at any time until 30 days following the closing of the Offering, to purchase from the Company up to an additional 1,585,377 Units (being equal to 15% of the Units sold in the Offering) at the Offering Price for additional gross proceeds of $3,170,755 (if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) solely to cover over-allotments, if any, and for market stabilization purposes. The final prospectus also qualified the distribution of 1,930,815 Units on the deemed exercise of 1,287,210 previously issued special warrants of the Company (the "Special Warrants"). The Special Warrants were issued on a private placement basis on February 1, 2018 and February 22, 2018 pursuant to the terms of a Special Warrant Indenture dated February 1, 2018, as amended, between the Company and TSX Trust Company, as Special Warrant Agent for gross proceeds of $3,861,630. Matthew Wood, Steppe Golds Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, We are extremely pleased with the strong support the Company has received, particularly given current market conditions for raising capital for mining projects. This is testament to the hard work of the banking team and the high quality of Steppes assets and management. We are now entirely focused on building Steppe into the premier precious metals company in Mongolia. Mongolia is open for business, pro mining development and one of the last great frontiers where giant mineral deposits can be found and developed. A final prospectus containing important information relating to these securities has been filed with securities commissions or similar authorities in certain jurisdictions of Canada. A copy of the final prospectus is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. The final prospectus notes that an investment in the Units is speculative and involves a high degree of risk. The Company's business is subject to the risks normally encountered in the mining industry. An investment in the Units is suitable only for those investors who are willing to risk a loss of some or all of their investment. For more information, potential investors should read the final prospectus, including the "Risk Factors" and the "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information." The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to United States persons absent of registration, or the availability of any applicable exemption from the registration requirement, of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. For further information, please contact: Matthew Wood Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer E: mwood@steppegold.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Forward-Looking Statements: The above contains forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release include, among other things, statements regarding the trading of the Common Shares and business, economic, and political conditions in Mongolia. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. WinWinMBA wrote: By a vote of 9 to 0, the Supreme Court awarded the Central Intelligence Agency broad discretionary powers enabling it to withhold from the public the identities of its sources of intelligence information. (A) enabling it to withhold from the public (B) for it to withhold from the public (C) for withholding disclosure to the public of (D) that enable them to withhold from public disclosure (E) that they can withhold public disclosure of Quote: ... 16906.html Is 'for' more concerned with intent ? the what about 'to' infinintve . Whats the diffirence between for vs to I am unable to choose between A and B what is the difference here enabling vs for here https://gmatclub.com/forum/by-a-vote-of ... 16906.htmlIs 'for' more concerned with intent ? the what about 'to' infinintve . Whats the diffirence between for vs to for it to withhold from the public Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor Learn more about how Veritas Prep can help you achieve a great GMAT score by checking out their KarishmaVeritas Prep GMAT InstructorLearn more about how Veritas Prep can help you achieve a great GMAT score by checking out their GMAT Prep Options > Signature Read More By a vote of 9 to 0, the Supreme Court awarded the Central Intelligence Agency broad discretionary powersthe identities of its sources of intelligence information.The meaning of this sentence is different. We know that broad powers would have made it possible for CIA to withhold the IDs of sources. But this sentence (option B) implies that the broad discretionary powers were given to withhold the IDs. That it made it compulsory for them to withhold the IDs. That is not true. It is given that the powers were discretionary._________________ Is Hank Wyatt from Huntsville, Alabama suing the state to get compensated for the loss of his great-great-grandfather's slaves and their descendants which should have belonged to him according to a 153-year-old will? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a website that invents tales of bizarre crimes and sex acts in the form of news articles in order to attract clicks and ad revenue. It is not real. The story originated from an article published by World News Daily Report on May 22, 2018 titled "Man sues state of Alabama over document from 1865 giving him right to own "black slaves"" (archived here) which opened: Huntsville, AL | An Alabama man is suing the state of Alabama over a 153-year-old document he claims entitles him to own several black individuals and their descendants. Hank Wyatt, 53, is suing the state of Alabama claiming the will of his great-great-grandfather, William Hugh Patton, has been illegally nullified by current state judges. Hank Wyatt recently came into possession of a document dating from 1865 previously owned by his great-great-grandfather, William Hugh Patton, which claims he legally bought four "negro" prisoners from the state of Alabama. The 153-year-old document signed by the Governor of Alabama at the time, Thomas H. Watts, boldly states that William Hugh Patton is given ownership over the aforementioned prisoners as well as to all of their descendants. Users on social media might have thought it was a real news article given just the summary: Man sues state of Alabama over document from 1865 giving him right to own "black slaves" Huntsville, AL | An Alabama man is suing the state of Alabama over a 153-year-old document he claims entitles him to own several black individuals and their descendants. Hank Wyatt, 53, is suing the state of Alabama claiming the will of his great-great-grandfather, William Hugh Patton, has been ill The man in the picture is not even from Alabama, he is Michael Crooker from Southwick, MA who was fired over being on the no-fly list: Hired, then fired as shuttle driver, Southwick man on no-fly list sues Bradley airport official, Connecticut state trooper According to a complaint filed in Hampden Superior Court, an airport administrator barred Michael Allen Crooker from his job as a shuttle driver after discovering Crooker was on a federal no-fly list. In any case: slave owners were not compensated for their "loss" after slavery was ended as a consequence of the U.S. Civil War so their descendants wouldn't be entitled to inherit any of it in any case. The website World News Daily Report is a well known satire website specialized in posting hoaxes and made up stories. The disclaimer on their website is pretty clear about that even though you have to scroll all the way down the page to find it: World News Daily Report assumes all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content. All characters appearing in the articles in this website - even those based on real people - are entirely fictional and any resemblance between them and any person, living, dead or undead, is purely a miracle. It is run by Janick Murray-Hall and Olivier Legault, who also run the satirical Journal de Mourreal, a satirical site spoofing the (real) Journal de Monteal. Very often their stories feature an image showing a random crazy mugshot found in a mugshot gallery on the internet or on a stock photo website superimposed over a background of flashing police lights or crime scene tape. Articles from the site are frequently copied (sometimes even months or years later) by varous fake news websites that omit the satire disclaimer and present the information as real. We wrote about worldnewsdailyreport.com before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site: Imperial Valley News Center Cyber-Criminal Residing in Latvia Convicted for Role in Operation of Counter Antivirus Service Scan4you Washington, DC - A federal jury Wednesday convicted a Latvian non-citizen, meaning a citizen of the former USSR who had been residing in Riga, Latvia, of three counts related to his operation of Scan4you, an online counter antivirus service that helped computer hackers to determine whether the computer viruses and other malicious software they created would be detected by antivirus software, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Tracey Doherty-McCormick of the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI Washington Field Offices Criminal Division. Ruslans Bondars, 37, was convicted after a five-day jury trial of one count of conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of computer intrusion with intent to cause damage and aiding and abetting. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 21. 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 Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. 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. Ruslan Bondars designed and operated a service that provided essential aid to some of the worlds most destructive hackers, said Acting U.S. Attorney Doherty-McCormick. This verdict demonstrates our commitment to holding such actors accountable. I commend the work of the agents and prosecutors, both in the United States and in Latvia, who worked together to bring him to justice. According to testimony at trial and court documents, from at least 2009 until 2016, Bondars operated Scan4you, which for a fee provided computer hackers with information they used to determine whether their malware would be detected by antivirus software, including and especially by antivirus software used to protect major U.S. retailers, financial institutions and government agencies from computer intrusions. For example, one Scan4you customer used the service to test malware that was subsequently used to steal approximately 40 million credit and debit card numbers, as well as approximately 70 million addresses, phone numbers and other pieces of personal identifying information, from retail store locations throughout the United States, causing one retailer approximately $292 million in expenses resulting from the intrusion. Another Scan4you customer used the service to assist the development of Citadel, a widely used malware strain that was used to infect over 11 million computers worldwide, including in the United States, and resulted in over $500 million in fraud-related losses. The Citadel developer took advantage of a special feature of Scan4you that allowed its integration directly into the Citadel malware toolkit through an Application Programming Interface, or API. The API tool allowed Scan4you users the flexibility to scan malware without the need to directly submit the malware to Scan4yous website. At its height, Scan4you was one of the largest services of its kind and had at least thousands of users. Malware developed with the assistance of Scan4you included some of the most prolific malware known to the FBI and was used in major computer intrusions committed against American businesses. 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. The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case. Trial Attorneys C. Alden Pelker and Ryan Dickey of the Criminal Divisions Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kellen Dwyer and Laura Fong of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case. The Government of Latvia, including the Latvia State Police International Cooperation Department, the Latvia State Police Cybercrime Unit, and the General Prosecutors Office of the Republic of Latvia International Cooperation Division, provided assistance and support during the investigation. Additional assistance was provided by the Criminal Divisions Office of International Affairs, the FBIs Atlanta and Minneapolis Field Offices and the Operational Technology Division, and the U.S. Attorneys Offices for the District of Minnesota and the Northern District of Georgia. 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 Karachi, May 22 (IBNS): At least 65 people have died so far this summer due to soaring temperatures in Pakistan's Karachi region, local Dawn News reported quoting the Edhi Foundation. The report, which was published on Monday, said that most of the deceased belonged from Landhi and Korangi areas of Karachi. The age range of the deceased varied from six to 76, Dawn News quoted Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Foundation as saying. Edhi also pinned the loss of lives on the lack of proper medical help from the government. "People did not get medical help on time, which resulted in their death," he said. However, Dawn News said that despite Faisal's claims, most families attributed to the deaths to pre-existing ailments of the deceased. Edhi Foundation's claims were also unequivocally rejected by Sindh Health Secretary Dr Fazlullah Pechuho. "Only doctors and hospitals can decide whether the cause of death was heat stroke or not. I categorically reject that people have died due to heat stroke in Karachi," he was quoted as saying by the local news outlet. Pachuho also said that doctors in hospitals did not come across any such case in recent days. Meanwhile, sounding alert, the met department of Pakistan has said that temperatures will continue to soar till may 23. Presently, Karachi is registering temperatures around 40 degree Celsius. The met department has also asked residents to stay indoors. Image: twitter.com/VP Washington/Tehran, May 22 (IBNS): The United Stated has come under fire from Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif for threatening to maximise sanctions on Iran. According to reports, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has promised to impose the 'strongest sanctions in history' on Iran, riling international bodies like the European Union. The US was also criticised by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who has said that the former has failed to show good reason on why it left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear deal). However, reiterating its stance, US Vice President Mike Pence said in a Fox News interview: "Iran is doing more today in the region to support terrorism & to support violence than they did before the JCPOA was signed. @POTUS has made it clear we're out of the Iran nuclear deal & we're calling on our allies across Europe to join w/ us in a negotiation over a new agreement." US'decision has also spelled doom for several big investors, who after the pact was signed in 2015, had rushed to Iran to set up businesses there. Now, they are forced to choose between either the US or Iran. The speech did not remain focused on the nuclear issue, but instead expanded upon the presidents consistently assertive approach to Iran policy in general. Trumps justification for withdrawal included references to perceived problems with its nuclear restrictions and enforcement measures, but also to unrelated or tangentially related issues such as the Iranian regimes ongoing development of ballistic missiles and its interference in regional affairs and conflicts such as the Syrian Civil War. Pompeo took a similar approach to his declaration of strategy on Monday, issuing 12 specific demands that Iran would have to comply with in order to avoid crippling economic harm from the strongest sanctions in history. The first three demands relate to Irans abandonment of nuclear ambitions and its acceptance of unrestricted inspections of all possible nuclear sites. The remaining nine demands involve Irans regional activities, support of terrorism, and hostage taking. Conspicuously, the 12-item list does not include explicit demands for a change in Irans domestic behavior, but there was no shortage of references to that behavior. In fact, substantial sections of the speech were dedicated to discussion of the effects of Irans policies on the people of that nation, whom Pompeo referred to as the longest-suffering victims of the clerical regime. He also called attention to Iranian protests including but not limited to the nationwide uprising that began at the end of last year and continued through much of January. This protest and subsequent demonstrations show that the Iranian people are deeply frustrated with their own governments failures, Pompeo said. He also used the speech to report that strikes are a daily occurrence in the Islamic Republic, that there is enormous corruption inside of Iran, and the Iranian people can smell it, and that those people are increasingly eager for economic, political, and social change. At times, the Secretary of State addressed the Iranian people directly, as when he criticized Western assertions that the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani represents a trend toward moderation for the clerical regime. Rouhani and Zarif are your elected leaders, he said. Are they not the most responsible for your economic struggles? Are these two not responsible for wasting Iranian lives throughout the Middle East? Pompeo went on to advise the Iranian people to consider this matter, but it bears mentioning that the protests referenced elsewhere in his speech indicate that they have already done so. It was widely reported in January that in many of the protests that made up the national movement, people expressed regret over their former support of Rouhanis candidacy, in light of the administrations failure to follow through on any of its various progressive promises. Accordingly, protesters were heard to chant both death to Rouhani and death to [Supreme Leader] Khamenei, thereby rejecting the heads of both the reformist and the hardline factions of Iranian politics. Organized opposition to the Iranian regime, such as the National Council of Resistance of Iran, tends to emphasize a conclusion that Pompeo evidently sought to imply: that there is no alternative within mainstream Iranian politics that would meaningfully represent the will of the Iranian people. Accordingly, in the run-up to Rouhanis bid for reelection last year, activists affiliated with the NCRI illegally posted images publicly of the coalitions leader, Maryam Rajavi, as well as urging people to boycott the elections and vote for regime change. Pompeos speech did not explicitly echo this call for a change of government, but some commentators on American politics have been suggesting for months that this is the ultimately goal of the Trump administrations assertiveness. And the speech did nothing to dispel those rumors, Rather, Pompeo hinted at Tehrans perceived vulnerability to overthrow, saying that the recent protests and subsequent crackdowns demonstrate that the regime is running scared. He then added, The brutal men of the regime seem to be particularly terrified by Iranian women who are demanding their rights. In his concluding remarks Pompeo said, It is Americas hope that our labors toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran. We long to see them prosper and flourish as in past decades and, indeed, as never before. This arguably echoes President Trumps speech announcing withdrawal from the JCPOA two weeks earlier. At its conclusion, he declared that great things can happen for Iran. Although neither of these statements was definitive about what the administration hopes to accomplish, they will no doubt fuel optimism among the NCRI and other proponents of regime change, as well as anxiety among critics who advocate for preserving the status quo with regard to Iran. In its coverage of Pompeos speech, Al Jazeera quoted an advocate of the Iranian regime called Jamal Abdi as asserting that the diplomatic overtures were a smokescreen concealing an effort at paving a path towards confronting Iran militarily whether thats through covert action or an overt escalation in the region. But on June 30, at the Iran Freedom rally outside of Paris, officials and supporters of the NCRI, including Western lawmakers and some close advisors to President Trump, will outline another alternative. The coalition has never advocated for regime change by military means, but has long insisted that a purely domestic uprising, with support from economic and diplomatic pressures like those outlined by Pompeo, would eventually result in the ouster of the clerical regime. In the wake of the January uprising, Maryam Rajavi predicted that the year to follow would be a year full of uprisings, leading to the victory of the Iranian people over the theocratic system. In light of the multiple references to the Iranian people and their recent protests in Pompeos speech, it is easy to conclude that the administrations long-term vision for its emerging Iran strategy is more akin to that of the NCRI than to advocacy for regime change by force. Kazeroons representative to parliament has defended the plan to divide the ancient city, and accused the local Friday Prayer leader of provoking people to rebellion. MP Hossein Rezazadeh said, The source of the recent protests in Kazeroon is where Friday Prayer is held. He added that, 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. While Rezazadeh claims that the plan was first proposed by the governor-general office of Fars Province, a local news outlet had previously 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. The publication accused the MP of having personal motives in supporting the motion. 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, a local website quoted Rezazadeh as saying. For nearly a year, thousands of people in Kazeroon have been protesting against the planned split, which they say would unfairly divide already scarce water resources. They also believed that the proposal would place the citys two main historic sites, including the ancient city of Bishapur founded 226 AD, inside the boundaries of the new city. However, this is not the case, according to Rezazadeh, who said that 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. He also accused 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. Kazeroons Friday Prayer leader, Mohammad Khorsand, a de facto representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Kazeroon, fiercely opposes any changes to the boundaries of the city. The disputed proposal has been shelved for the time being, Irans Interior Ministry announced May 17. The proposal to divide the ancient city of Kazeroon into two separate entities has been shelved for the time being.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. Many of the protesters are suspicious of the statement, worrying that is is merely a tactic used to defuse the tension in Kazeroon. On May 19th, state-run Iran Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Fars Province Chief Justice Ali Alghasi as saying two people had been killed during clashes between security forces and protesters, but locals on social media and those who have risked speaking to the media outside Iran, put the casualty toll much higher. The ancient city was the scene of sporadic clashes on May 18th. Officials claim that 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, the governments official news agency, IRNA, reported. Images and footage shared on social media depicted police and Baseej paramilitary forces in Kazeroon, however, now the citys Internet has been disconnected. The problem here is that the Iranian Regime is incapable of reform, despite what some Western leaders have promised. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) could never have delivered those promises, because the Iranian Regime would not have made any meaningful changes to their policy, which is predicated on expansionism. Thankfully, the US has now withdrawn from this fatal deal and is preparing to tackle Iran with its eyes open to the reality of the mullahs. This means intense sanctions designed to bring Iran back to the negotiating table and stop their disastrous impact on the world at large. Not only is this a wiser foreign policy, but it also helps the Iranian people who are openly calling for regime change in the streets and telling the West not to trust the mullahs. In December 2017, protests sprung up across Iran that was initially focused on a budget that slashed subsidies for the poor in favour of increased military spending. These protests quickly took on other issues and became the anti-regime uprising that is still happening across Iran today. In their chants, the Iranian people highlighted for the West that the Regimes interventionism was destroying the Middle East and bankrupting the Iranian economy and addressed a wide range of problems facing Iran. The people are so desperate that theyve openly called for the resignation of key regime members and the death of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, an offence punishable by death. The Iranian people also wanted the JCPOA to end, advising that the money that the mullahs reaped from it has only bolstered the suppressive security forces who attack Iranians for the smallest of infractions, like peaceful protests and wearing ripped jeans. The Iranian people never benefitted from the nuclear deal, instead the money was seized by the mullahs to fill their war chest. Cutting off the mullahs access to the money will only increase the ability of the Iranian people to fight back against their oppressors and bring peace to the country. This is something that the mullahs are terrified of, as you can see from senior ayatollah Javadi Amolis recent comments to the Iranian labour minister in a meeting about the failing economy. He said: If there will be an uprising, all of us will be thrown into the sea we have nowhere to escape to. But the Iranian people are prepared for an uprising, with Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), advising that regime change is wanted by the majority of Iranian who was peace and democracy. Dr Paul Monaghan, an expert in Middle East politics, wrote: Supporting efforts to build representative democracy, peace and prosperity for the ordinary people of Iran isnt just consistent with Western values; its not even just the right thing to do; its also good policy for building a secure future for everyone if the JCPOA collapses, and hopefully take Irans nuclear ambitions with itThe alternative is to do nothing and risk everything. 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. 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. UEFA agrees with the Kyiv authorities' position that Gazprom's logo cannot be displayed in the city. Kyiv City State Administration's main representative in preparations for the UEFA Champions League final in the Ukrainian capital Andriy Myroshnichenko has announced that a banner with Russian Gazprom's corporate logo was dismantled in the city. "No need for mass protests, acts of vandalism and graffiti shows. UEFA has agreed with the position of the KSCA that it is impossible to use the logos of Gazprom even as information about the partners of the Champions League," he wrote on Facebook on May 22. Read alsoKyiv to host UEFA Champions Festival during final week "Everything has been dismantled. A new banner is being printed, it will replace the dismantled one. We thank everyone for understanding," he said. Previously, the city authorities, referring to Kyivans' protests against the use of the Russian company's logo, promised not to post the banners along the streets of the city. The logo was expected to be shown at the Olimpiysky Stadium only. Russian aggression against Ukraine began in March 2014 with the annexation of the Crimean peninsula, which was followed by the war unleashed by Russia in Donbas in April 2014, which is still ongoing. United Nations officials are calling on Algeria to stop the collective expulsions of thousands of migrants. The migrants are mainly from sub-Saharan Africa. The U.N. Human Rights office condemned the expulsion activity as a violation of international human rights law. The U.N. office says Algerian officials carried out at least six mass expulsions of migrants in Oran, Duira and Boufarik between March 8 and April 19. Ravina Shamdasani is a spokesperson for the U.N. agency. She said that raids are reportedly carried out at building industry workplaces and in neighborhoods where migrants live. She said police also stop migrants in the street and detain them. Shamdasani told VOA that Algerian officials are taking the action without any examination or consideration of the individuals. We are told that people are often just arrested and detained without even checking their documents. Of the 25 people that my colleagues spoke to in Niger, only one said that she actually had her passport checked." Shamdasani said many of the migrants were not permitted to get their belongings before they were expelled. She said some migrants were quickly sent to Niger. Others, she said, have been detained in reportedly inhumane conditions in military bases. Nigeriens are transferred by bus to Agadez in Niger, while the others are crammed in to big trucks to be transferred to the Nigerien border where they are then abandoned and left to walk for hours in the desert heat." Shamdasani said that the U.N. office has heard statements suggesting that the migrants who remain in Algeria are very fearful. Shamdasani added that U.N. observation workers have expressed concern about these collective expulsions to Algerian officials. She would not discuss any answers they might have provided. But she said governments usually claim security issues as a reason for expulsions. Under international human rights law, migrants are not to be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. They also are not to be arbitrarily deprived of property or documents. The law says migrant returns should be carried out in safe conditions and with respect. Im Caty Weaver. Lisa Schlein reported this story for VOA News. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. ___________________________________________________________ Words in this Story sub-Saharan adj. south of the Sahara Desert cram v. crowd into a small space abandon v. to leave without needed protection or care arbitrary adj. not planned or chosen for a particular reason deprive v. to take something away from someone or something : to not allow (someone or something) to have or keep (something) American Electric Power Co., Inc. engages in the business of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission & Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco and Generation & Marketing. The Vertically Integrated Utilities segment engages in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers through assets owned and operated by its subsidiaries. The Transmission & Distribution Utilities segment engages in the business of transmission and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers through assets owned and operated by its subsidiaries. The AEP Transmission Holdco segment engages in the development, construction and operation of transmission facilities through investments in its wholly-owned transmission subsidiaries and joint ventures. The Generation & Marketing segment engages in non-regulated generation and marketing, risk management and retail activities. The company was founded on December 20, 1906 and is headquartered in Columbus, OH. Read More Berkshire Hathaway Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the insurance, freight rail transportation, and utility businesses worldwide. It provides property, casualty, life, accident, and health insurance and reinsurance; and operates railroad systems in North America. The company also generates, transmits, stores, and distributes electricity from natural gas, coal, wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, and geothermal sources; operates natural gas distribution and storage facilities, interstate pipelines, liquefied natural gas facilities, and compressor and meter stations; and holds interest in coal mining assets. In addition, the company manufactures boxed chocolates and other confectionery products; specialty chemicals, metal cutting tools, and components for aerospace and power generation applications; and flooring, insulation, roofing and engineered, building and engineered components, paints and coatings, and bricks and masonry products, as well as offers manufactured and site-built home construction, and related lending and financial services; and recreational vehicles, apparel products, jewelry, and custom picture framing products, and alkaline batteries. Further, it manufactures castings, forgings, fasteners/fastener systems, and aerostructures; and seamless pipes, fittings, downhole casing and tubing, and various mill forms. Additionally, the company distributes televisions and information; franchises and services quick service restaurants; distributes electronic components; and offers logistics services, grocery and foodservice distribution services, and professional aviation training and shared aircraft ownership programs. It also retails automobiles; furniture, bedding, and accessories; household appliances, electronics, and computers; jewelry, watches, crystal, china, stemware, flatware, gifts, and collectibles; kitchenware; and motorcycle apparel and equipment. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Read More 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. Read More The memory of a beloved pet inspires one couple's fight against injustice. Strap a virtual reality headset to your face and you can be transported to faraway or fantastical places, play interactive games, or explore 360-degree videos. But the realism is a bit tempered by todays display technology: your field of view is more limited in VR than in the real world, and sometimes it can feel like youre looking at the virtual world through a screen door, since you can actually see the lines between pixels. But display makers have been working on pixel-dense displays that will alleviate some of those issues, and Google and LG have unveiled a new system that comes the closest yet to approximating what you see in the real world. Its still not quite there yet though. As promised earlier this year, Google and LG have released details about a new 4.3 inch OLED display with 1,443 pixels per inch and a 120 Hz refresh rate. One of the most interesting things in the teams research paper is the estimation that in order for a VR display to really mimic what a typical person would see in the real world, youd need a field of view of about 160 degrees horizontally by 150 degrees vertically per eye, as well as display with 2,183 pixels per inch (or a resolution of about 9,600 x 9,000 per eye). By that standard, the Google & LG display still has a long way to go. It has a 120 degree x 96 degree field of view and shows 4,800 x 3,840 pixels per eye (or 9,600 x 4800px total). But it still comes closer than any existing display Im aware of. The HTC Vive Pro, for example, shows 615 pixels per inch (1440 x 1600 pixels per eye), and thats one of the higher-resolution VR headsets on the market today. Specification Human Visual System LG & Google system Pixel count (h v) 9600 9000 4800 3840 Acuity (ppd) 60 40 Pixels per inch (ppi) 2183 1443 Pixel pitch (m) 11.6 17.6 FoV (, h v) 160 150 120 96 Of course, it would take a lot of processing power to render that many pixels smoothly all the time, but the research paper also mentions that eye tracking technology could be used for foveated rendering, which would basically allow a device to focus most heavily just on the pixels youre looking at rather than the ones at the periphery of your vision. Even without eye-tracking, some pixels would be rendered in higher acuity than others. Attribute Value Size (diagonal) 4.3 Subpixel count 3840 2 (either RG or BG) 4800 Pixel pitch 17.6 m (1443 ppi) Brightness 150 cd/m2 @ 20% duty Contrast >15,000:1 Color depth 10 bits Viewing angle2 30(H), 15 (V) Refresh rate 120 Hz Anyway, while this new display technology sounds like it could offer one of the best VR experiences yet, Google and LG arent the only ones working on this sort of solution. Japan Display plans to show off a 3.25 inch, 1,001 ppi display at SID Display Week, while INT Tech says its developed the first 2,228 ppi display. via RoadToVR Share this article: Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit Pocket Tumblr Pinterest LinkedIn Email The Public Security Police Force (PSP) says that it has caught 41 illegal workers in April, in joint operations launched by the PSP, the Labor Affairs Bureau and other government departments. In a statement issued yesterday, the police authority said that 283 locations were inspected last month with the aim of combating instances of illegal workers. The locations of inspection consisted of construction sites, private residences, commercial and industrial establishments. Marriages with foreign nationals continue to decline Mainland China has processed fewer marriage registrations between residents and non-mainland Chinese residents. According to a report by Macao Daily News, there has been a continuous decline in the number of marriages registered from 2014 until June 2016. Comparing the first three quarters of 2016 to the same period in 2015, a one percent decrease was recorded, which corresponds to approximately 29,400 marriage registrations between mainland Chinese and non-mainland Chinese nationals. Guangdong Province also recorded a drop in the number of marriage registrations between Guangdong residents and SARs residents. Speeding increases by 60 percent As of yesterday, until May 27, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) is enhancing actions to combat speeding. According to the PSPs Traffic Department Commissioner, Leong Wa Chi, in the first four months of this year, the PSP prosecuted approximately 7,200 speeding cases, which represents an over 60 percent increase year on year. During this seven-day period, the PSP will carry out mobile speeding tests without a fixed time schedule and location. Throughout the seven-day period, the PSP hopes to reduce speeding cases and the occurrence of traffic accidents. Region has 27 banks, more than 6,000 employees A total of 27 banks operate within the MSAR, with 6,239 full-time employees as at the end of the first quarter of this year, the Statistics and Census Service announced yesterday. The average earnings excluding bonuses of full-time employees in the banking sector amounts to MOP26,630, up by 2.3 percent year-on-year, with the average earnings of bank tellers increasing by 7.3 percent to MOP16,500. In terms of recruitment prerequisites for the banking sector, about 58.9 percent of the vacancies required work experience, approximately 97.8 percent required tertiary education, and a requirement for knowledge of Mandarin and English, which accounted for 97.6 percent and 98.3 percent respectively. At the end of the first quarter of 2018, job vacancies in the banking sector stood at 414, an increase of 169 from last year. Chinas government said yesterday it cannot guarantee that renewed trade tension with Washington can be avoided after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared a temporary truce in a spiraling dispute that prompted worries of a chilling of global commerce. 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 toward ending the dispute over U.S. complaints about market access and technology policy. Mnuchins comments showed both sides hope to avoid a trade war, said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang. 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. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to raise import duties on Chinese goods worth up to USD150 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 list of U.S. goods for possible retaliation. The strains in the worlds biggest trading relationship prompted fears other governments might respond by raising import barriers, chilling global commerce and economic growth. 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. Businesspeople and economists say Communist leaders who see their development model as a success are unlikely to agree to more than minor changes. In a statement Saturday, the two countries made no mention of those underlying American complaints. Mnuchin said talks made meaningful progress, but they 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 Center for American Studies at Renmin University in Beijing. I dont think the truce will last very long, Shi said. The antagonism in trade will ebb and flow in China-U.S. relations in the long term. Lu, the Chinese spokesman, said Beijing wants to preserve a relationship that benefits both sides. If the two governments can reach an agreement which is acceptable to both sides, the two governments should certainly abide by it, Lu said at a regular briefing. 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 U.S.-China Business Council. As for the United States, there is a lot of different dynamics at play and many different stakeholders in Washington, Parker said. So finding a consensus from the Trump administration to ensure a unified policy in engaging with China will be critical for the two sides to come to an agreement. AP The director of the Government Information Bureau (GCS), Victor Chan, reiterated on the sidelines of yesterdays Macao Global Media Industry Development Conference 2018 that the SAR government respects the freedom of the press. We think that the media development should follow its own law and media organization, and media groups should develop in accordance to their own ideas, said Chan. But, of course, the government or GCS have the responsibility to promote and assist media development, he added. The conference was co-organized by China News Service and Macao Daily News. It was mainly the Chinese press participating, including Chinese press from 29 countries and regions from North America, Europe, Africa and Oceania. We think it [todays media conference] is a platform that can push forward media development, said Chan. When expressing his opinion about media development, Chan said that the media should expand its own content and information, walk[ing] outwards in order to reach more users and readers. The Times questioned Chan regarding the number of non-Chinese language media sources that were participating in the conference, but Chan did not have the data at hand. Furthermore, when talking about the conference, Chan said media development is facing new challenges. But I think the most important thing is that this is also an opportunity, with the development of the network of the new media. We can explore more frontiers, and we can reach much a greater audience. According to Chan, the purpose of the conference is to engage media around the world, of course, with close connections to Macau. We sit down together to discuss what we can do in the future, as Macau is the platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries. This gives us very good advantages for our further development even on the media side, said Chan. How Macau media makes good use of this to promote the ideas and services between China and Portuguese-speaking countries is a very important aspect for the further development, he added. This year, we invited some of our colleagues from Portugal, so I think its a very important step, we sit down together and discuss what we can do, how we can make good use of this platform to provide services and information as well. This is vital for further development of Macaus media, Chan noted. For media, nowadays, its not only to provide information, I think its a combination of providing information news and service as well, and with different media, there are different connections. For example, there are some media personnel from Portugal, so we can sit down, we can discuss how they can help to provide information to China, or to the customer of China, or to those who need information on the Portuguese-speaking countries. I think they can play a very significant and important role in the future, said Chan. Scholar calls for positive coverage of Belt and Road project University of Lisbons professor and President of the board of directors of New Silk Road Friends Association, Fernanda Ilheu, has called on the media to provide positive reports about Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, especially concerning the element which involves Chinas investment in Europe. At this moment, Europe is preparing new dialogue sessions with China, and we are concentrating on the investment of China in Europe. If they are pressed by public opinion in media in a negative way, of course, the outcome of the policy decision will be not favorable for the BRI initiative. If it is favorable, then we will have, of course, a broader scope of cooperation, said Fernanda Ilheu. She suggested the media provide positive reports, in other aspects that the Belt and Road Initiative foresees in its regional plan, besides infrastructure. In this field, as a reporter, as media people, you should have a positive narrative about Belt and Road not only for [] infrastructure but also in other dimensions which neighboring the relation between people and [showing] that this initiative is inclusive and it targets development and is a global model, which could be good and a win-win for everybody, said Ilheu. A parcel mailed from an undisclosed African country to Zhuhai containing 16.44 kilograms of an amphetamine-like substance has been intercepted, the Judiciary Police (PJ) announced in a special press conference yesterday. The interception was made in cooperation with mainland authorities, police said. According to the PJs spokesperson, Lei Hon Nei, the parcel contained a total of 16.44 kilograms of Khat (Catha edulis), a plant native to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and contains alkaloid Cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant, used for several purposes including the suppression of appetite and euphoria, also known as Arabian Tea. The plant, particularly its dried leaves, which were found in the parcel, is said to be able to be consumed by chewing, as a form of tea or even as a substance which is smoked. The substance found within the package had a market value of between MOP150,000 and MOP180,000. According to Lei, this was the first time that such a substance was found by the police in the territory. The interception started on April 18, when mainland authorities detected the parcel in transit from its origin country in Africa with the transit destination being Beijing and final destination planned for Macau. At the time, the parcel had been already under suspicion of containing drugs and the police authorities in Macau were called to intervene. Arriving to Macau through the Lotus Flower Border Checkpoint, the parcel was to be further delivered by an express courier company located in the central district. After an inspection by the authorities and confirmation that the parcel contained drugs, the PJ is said to have removed the drugs from the box and replaced it with tea, asking the express courier to continue with the delivery process. On May 3, the company delivered the parcel to a shop located at the border gate area, but the shop was not the final destination and there was another order to reship the box back to Zhuhai through the border gate checkpoint. Upon arrival at the final destination and in cooperation with the Chinese authorities, the local police arrested two men, aged 30 and 34 years old respectively, who are accused of being the recepients of the drugs which were in PJs possession. The World Health Organization classified Khat as a drug of abuse capable of producing psychological dependence in 1980, although the same organization does not consider Khat addiction to be seriously problematic. In some countries such as the Canada, Germany, Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States, use of the substance is controlled but not deemed illegal. Meanwhile, its production, sale, and consumption are legal in countries such as Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen, where Khat leaf chewing is seen as a social custom dating back thousands of years, similar to the use of coca leaves in South America and betel nut in Asia. 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 Donald 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 mindset as he sets the stage for his meeting with Trump. A look at whats hype and whats worth paying attention to: THE SUBSTANCE 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 Korea has conducted six underground nuclear tests since 2006. Its most recent and most powerful explosion, which the North claims tested a hydrogen bomb, was in September. All of its tests have been carried out at Punggye-ri, in the countrys mountainous northeast interior. Before Kims announcement, North Korea was the only country that still conducted underground tests. Kims claim that such tests are no longer needed may have an element of bravado to it. While the North has demonstrated beyond a doubt that it can produce viable, high-yield nuclear weapons, many experts believe it could still benefit considerably by conducting more tests. North Korea certainly would need more tests to have any confidence in its H-bomb, said physicist David Wright, co-director of the global security program of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Wright said the Norths most recent test is a prime example. He believes it was a demonstration-of-principle device that was not designed to be small or light enough to be delivered by missile. The bottom line is that stopping testing is important to limit its ability to build reliable, deliverable warheads especially for an H-bomb, he said. So in that sense, Kim is making a significant concession. And if Kim were to switch gears and decide to test again, he would almost certainly be caught. Its hard to hide a high-powered nuclear blast. Compliance is verifiable. But the way Kim plans to dismantle the site shows he is, as yet, only willing to go so far. Adam Mount, a senior fellow with the Federation of American Scientists, believes that by inviting international media instead of international monitors, North Korea has stepped back from a principle of verification. Journalists do not have the technical expertise, the time spent on site or the equipment necessary to properly analyze and assess the process. When the United States did not hold Pyongyang to this standard, it lost the first public quarrel over verification, he said. THE DOG AND PONY SHOW The sites closure will take place sometime between Wednesday and Friday, depending on the weather. North Koreas Foreign Ministry has invited journalists from China, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and South Korea to fly on a charter aircraft from Beijing for what it is calling a ceremony marking the event. North Korea says the process will involve collapsing all tunnels with explosions, completely blocking tunnel entrances, removing all observation and research facilities and taking down structures used for guarding the site. Satellite imagery suggests some of the work has already begun. How much of it the journalists, including an Associated Press Television crew, will be able to see is an open question. 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 probably the most presentable city in North Korea after the capital. Its the center of a tourism zone the North has been pouring money into and is trying hard to promote. The media will fly into its shiny new airport and stay at one of its opulent new tourist hotels. If not actually bused there, they will undoubtedly be reminded that Masik Pass, the Norths luxury ski resort, and scenic Mount Kumgang, which just a decade ago was open to South Korean tourists, are just a short drive away. Two birds, one stone, as they say. THE TAKEAWAY Veteran North Korea watchers note that we have been to this rodeo before. With international talks to dismantle its nuclear program underway in 2008, North Korea called in the foreign media to film the demolition of a 20-meter-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. The Norths declaration that it will end its underground testing and close the Punggye-ri site could just as well be interpreted as a move to bolster Kims claim that his country is now a responsible nuclear power and appease the concerns of its neighbor and economic lifeline, China. Nobody else does it anymore, said Joshua Pollack, a senior research associate with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, in California. So if you want to claim that youre a full-fledged nuclear-armed state, it tends to undercut your message if you keep testing. Eric Talmadge, Tokyo, AP Moon enters talks with Trump with drivers seat at stake For a few months, everything seemed to be clicking for South Korean President Moon Jae-in as he pieced together crucial nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea following a year of intense animosity. But he now enters a White House meeting with President Donald Trump with his status in the diplomatic drivers seat in doubt. Pyongyangs surprise move last week to break off a high-level meeting with Seoul over U.S.-South Korean military drills while threatening to cancel next months summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Trump cooled what had been an unusual flurry of diplomatic moves from the country after a provocative series of nuclear and missile tests. It also underscored Seouls delicate role as an intermediary between Washington and Pyongyang and raised questions about Moons claim that Kim has genuine intent to deal away his nukes. Seoul may lose much of its voice if Trump chooses to deal more directly with China, North Koreas only major ally, which is refusing to be sidelined in the global diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear standoff. Seoul insists Kim can be persuaded to abandon his nuclear facilities, materials and bombs in a verifiable and irreversible way in exchange for credible security and economic guarantees. Moon and Trump will likely discuss potential steps that Trump can put on the table in Singapore. Their meeting at the White House may also include discussions on setting up three-way talks with Pyongyang or four-way talks also including Beijing to negotiate a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Moon and Trump may exchange views on whether the allies should temporarily modify their joint military drills while engaging in denuclearization negotiations with North Korea, said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seouls Dongguk University and a policy adviser to Moon. There could also be deeper discussions on the future of the U.S.-South Korea alliance. 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 that immediately sparked criticism. China landed long-range bombers on one of its occupied islands in the disputed sea for the first time last week, underscoring its ability to strike across Southeast Asia and beyond and setting off international concern. A Pentagon spokesman said late last week Chinas militarization of disputed areas destabilizes the region. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs reiterated yesterday that 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. Asked to react about Chinas deployment of the long-range bombers, presidential spokesman Harry Roque later told a news conference, We express our serious concerns anew on its impact on constructive efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region. Former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who spearheaded a legal challenge to Chinas vast territorial claims in an international arbitration case that the Philippines largely won in 2016, urged Filipinos to ask President Rodrigo Duterte to be more proactive and assertive in defending what is ours. A survey, he said, has shown that most Filipinos want the Philippines to assert its sovereign rights upheld by the 2016 arbitration ruling. Why are we so timid in the face of Chinas missile and bomber diplomacy? asked former national security adviser Roilo Golez. The world is watching and our response, hat in hand, is a vague diplomatic action. After becoming president nearly two years ago, 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. He has repeatedly declared that he will not engage China in an armed confrontation. We are opposed to war, as we should be, del Rosario said. But if threatened by the use of force, we should be ready to inflict, at the very least, a bloody nose on any attacker who is out to harm us, del Rosario said, adding that the acquisition of Indias anti-warship Brahmos cruise missiles, for example, could be a good starting point to bolster the Philippine militarys defense capability. 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, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.Jim Gomez, Manila, AP China launched a relay satellite yesterday as part of a groundbreaking program to be the first to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon later this year. The satellite, lofted into space aboard a Long March-4C rocket, will facilitate communication between controllers on Earth and the Change 4 mission, the China National Space Administration said on its website. China hopes to become the first country to soft-land a probe on the moons far side, also known as the dark side because it faces away from Earth and is comparatively unknown. The satellite, named Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge, after an ancient Chinese folk tale, was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the Space Administration said. The launch is a key step, but the satellites mission must still overcome challenges including making multiple adjustments to its orbit, braking near the moon and using lunar gravity to its advantage, project manager Zhang Lihua was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency. According to the administration and website space.com, Queqiao was expected to arrive shortly at the Earth-moon Lagrange point 2, a gravitationally stable spot located 64,000 kilo-meters beyond the far side of the moon. Without such a communications relay link, spacecraft on the far side would have to send their signals through the moons rocky bulk, space.com said. China previously landed its Jade Rabbit rover on the moon and plans to land its Change 5 probe there next year and have it return to Earth with samples the first time that has been done since 1976. China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, making it only the third country after Russia and the U.S. to do so and has put a pair of space stations into orbit. Upcoming missions include the launch of the 20-ton core module for the still orbiting Tiangong 2 station, along with specialized components for a 60-ton station that is due to come online in 2022 and a Mars rover planned for the mid 2020s. However, the failure of Chinas Long March 5 rocket last year was seen as dealing a rare setback to the highly successful space program, delaying some missions and offering rival India a chance to move ahead in the space rankings. AP Inside a packed church sanctuary, the seniors of Santa Fe High School and the prosecutor speaking to them confronted the challenges borne of the shooting that took the lives of 10 people at the school near Houston. The young graduates have to grieve their slain classmates and cope with their emotions as they try to heal after the mass shooting. You are entering into a war zone in this world, and its a spiritual war zone, said Jack Roady, the Galveston County district attorney, in his speech to them. Roady has to prosecute the capital murder case against the teenager suspected of killing eight students and two substitute teachers. He said later that the case presented the most deaths in one crime that he had ever faced. This deeply religious community came together yesterday [Macau time] for prayer services at local churches and a traditional end-of-school baccalaureate service that acknowledged the pain wracking Santa Fe, a town of 13,000. Mourners also gathered at a Houston-area mosque to remember the life of a slain exchange student from Pakistan. The baccalaureate is typically a religious celebration to honor school graduates. After Fridays shooting, it was moved from the high school auditorium to nearby Arcadia First Baptist Church. Every pew in the church was filled, and folding chairs against the wall provided seating the pews couldnt. When Pomp and Circumstance played, the seniors filed in wearing green caps and gowns. Most had serious looks on their faces, though a few smiled at people they recognized in the crowd. Speaker and Santa Fe graduate Aaron Chenoweth gave a short testimony about trials and tribulations this graduating class faced. He called on the communitys faith in God. If you give God the glory, you will always find comfort and love, he said, receiving a standing ovation. Roady told the students that they were suffering in ways that no one else can understand. He called on them to draw closer to their faith and each other. Todd Penick, a graduating senior who is planning to attend Texas State University, said last years baccalaureate was attended by around 25 people. This years, which drew around 200 people, was a chance to reunite with his friends and classmates. Nobody is going to be OK in a couple of days, he said. Nobody can look you in the eyes and tell you its OK. But were going to be OK because everyone is so unified. He added: Family and friends and God, thats whats going to get us through this. Meanwhile, hundreds attended a service Houstons Muslim community held for Sabika Sheikh, a 17-year-old exchange student from Pakistan who talked about one day becoming a diplomat. Her host mother, Joleen Cogburn, recalled asking Sheikh why she came to study in the U.S. She said she wanted to learn American culture and to share Pakistani culture with Americans. And I want us to come together and unite, she told Cogburn. I dont know if they know us the way they should. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Sheikh continues to be a diplomat because even in her death, she is pulling the relationships between Pakistan and the United States, specifically the Houston area, even closer. Her body was to be returned to Karachi. The shooting suspect, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, has been jailed on capital murder charges. In their first statement since the massacre, Pagourtzis family said Saturday that the bloodshed seems incompatible with the boy we love. One Santa Fe school police officer who responded to the attack was shot and remained in critical condition yesterday, according to the University of Texas Medical Branch. AP 1 hour ago Do You Job Hop? Of Course it Can Affect Your Portfolio. Here's How How much do you job hop? Whether you're dissatisfied by potential opportunities with a particular job, don't enjoy the cultural fit of a company or simply don't like the work, it can affect both your short- and long-term savings. Read Article (HealthDay)Many women report dysfunctional toileting behaviors, which are associated with lower urinary tract symptoms, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association, held from May 18 to 21 in San Francisco. Casey G. Kowalik, M.D., from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., and colleagues recruited 2,215 women to complete online questionnaires, including the Toileting Behavior Scale and International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire for Overactive Bladder (ICIQ-OAB). Dysfunctional toileting behaviors were categorized as premature voiding, delayed voiding, and straining to void. The researchers found that 99.9 percent of respondents reported a place preference for voiding, with 10.5 percent always avoiding public restrooms. Overall, 79.9, 64.5, and 97.8 percent reported premature voiding, straining to void, and delayed voiding, respectively. Being busy or at work were reasons for delayed urination at least sometimes (84.5 and 37.6 percent, respectively). ICIQ-OAB scores were significantly positively correlated with all dysfunctional toileting behaviors, with the strongest correlation for premature voiding. "Nearly all women in our sample endorsed dysfunctional toileting behaviors with voiding," the authors write. "Further study is needed to explore the effects of dysfunctional toileting behaviors on the development or worsening of lower urinary tract symptoms in adult women." Copyright 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Cutbacks to social programmes in Brazil could lead to more avoidable childhood hospitalisations and deaths compared to maintaining current funding. The findings come from new research, published this week in the journal PLOS Medicine and led by researchers at Imperial College London and Universidade Federal da Bahia in Brazil. Using statistical models to simulate future outcomes, the researchers found that childhood mortality rates could be 8.6 per cent lower by 2030 if investments in two major social programmes were protected when compared with austerity measures currently being proposed. The team also found that these austerity policies disproportionately affect the poorest areas of the country. Brazil is the eighth largest economy in the world, but since 2015 a deep economic crisis has increased poverty and the government has introduced austerity measures substantially reducing funding for social programmes. . These include proposed reductions to two major programmes known to reduce childhood mortality: the Bolsa Familia Programme (BFP) and the Estrategia Saude da Familia (ESF) - Brazil's main poverty-alleviating welfare programme and primary healthcare service. The BFP was launched in 2003 and in 2016 was estimated to cover 25 per cent of Brazilian families, providing funds to poor families, vulnerable individuals, and pregnant women. The ESF delivers community-based healthcare services to families including vaccination, child healthcare services, treatment of simple conditions, and chronic disease management. Existing evidence demonstrates these programmes have led to large improvements in healthespecially for children. To date, however, there has been little evidence on how the economic crisis, austerity measures, and reducing the coverage of such social programmes, could affect children's health in middle income countries such as Brazil. In the latest paper, researchers developed a statistical model to measure the projected effects of the economic crisis, poverty, as well as the impact of reductions to these two programmes on child health in all 5,507 Brazilian municipalities for the period 2017-2030. Their simulations revealed that maintaining coverage from social protection programmes led to a child mortality rate up to 8.6 per cent lower in 2030, when comparing to lower coverage under austerity measures. In addition, their simulations revealed that maintaining coverage of the BFP and ESF reduced avoidable childhood deaths by nearly 20,000 and avoidable childhood hospitalisations were up to 124,000 lower between 2017 and 2030, compared to austerity. They also found that the country's poorer municipalities would be impacted most. Professor Christopher Millett, from Imperial's School of Public health and author of the study, said: "It is clear that these programmes have a hugely beneficial impact on the health of Brazilian children. "We urge policy makers in Brazil to protect child health and well-being by reversing proposed austerity measures affecting these important social programmes." Dr. Davide Rasella, from Universidade Federal da Bahia, added: "Our study suggests that reduced coverage of poverty-alleviation and primary care programmes may result in a substantial number of preventable child deaths and hospitalizations in Brazil. "These austerity measures will disproportionately impact child mortality in the poorest municipalities, halting important progress made in Brazil in reducing inequality in child health outcomes." Explore further Brazil's primary health care expansion More information: 'Child morbidity and mortality associated with alternative policy responses to the economic crisis in Brazil: A nationwide microsimulation study' by PLOS Medicine. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002570 Journal information: PLoS Medicine 'Child morbidity and mortality associated with alternative policy responses to the economic crisis in Brazil: A nationwide microsimulation study' by Heidi Stewart with paramedic David Crabtree on the day she found him after a 5-year search. Photo courtesy: Heidi Stewart When Heidi Stewart's heart stopped at age 18 in her high school in Vancouver, Wash., quick-acting school administrators and teachers jumped into action, starting CPR. Taking turns, the principal and teachers kept Stewart alive until the EMS team arrived. She was able to thank the teachers and principal when they visited her in the hospital. But Stewart, now 23, had always wanted to find and thank the paramedic who was in the ambulance with her en route to the hospital that day five years ago. She credited him with helping her survive, and she wanted to say thank you. "He was just a very comforting soul. He kept me calm and made me feel safe," Stewart said. But all she could remember about him was that he had fire tattoos on both arms. With little to go on, her attempts to find him went nowhere. Yet for five years, she kept asking, looking for him at various events where she volunteers, hoping to find the paramedic with the fire tattoos. Finally, after more than five years, Stewart found her hero. Her parents, Anne and William, were volunteering at a CPR training at the Quinn Driscoll Foundation Heart Screenings in North Garrison Heights, Wash. "I got a text," Stewart said. It was from her dad. "We found him," it read. Stewart knew exactly what that meant. "I still to this day kind of lose it, just thinking about it." For paramedic David Crabtree, the day had started out like any other when he works an event. "I was walking by a booth, start talking to a guy, and he starts telling me a story about his daughter's event. And then I said, 'Oh my gosh, you're describing me!' " When Stewart and Crabtree met later that day, "It was incredible. It was breathtaking," Stewart said. Through tears, Stewart was finally able to say the simple words she'd been longing to say for years: Thank you. For her, the moment allowed her to share from her heart the deep gratitude she had been carrying around for years. And, it allowed her, in some way, to close the loop. For Crabtree, the moment was unmitigated joy. "It's not very often that you receive feedback on anything like that," he said. A lot of calls are "fairly routine," and do not involve saving a lifeespecially a young person's life, he said. As a father, he felt particularly touched and concerned when he and others on his team responded to the call. He had often wondered how Stewart, who was diagnosed with ARVD, or arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, had fared. He had heard she had survived, "but when I got to meet her, she told me she had gone to college and was now working You don't get these stories very often." Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. If you have questions or comments about this story, please email editor@heart.org. One strategy for cancer therapy is to inhibit the development of blood vessels in the tumour. Researchers at Uppsala University show in a new study how the protein CD93 interacts with the protein network that is required for tumour vessels to form properly. Blocking this interaction could be used as a means to hamper blood vessel development and slow down the cancer. The study is published by Journal of Clinical Investigations. Blood vessels in tumours have a different molecular composition as compared to normal vessels. This results in an abnormal function of the tumour vessels, which can affect how the tumour grows and responds to treatment. One way of improving cancer therapy could therefore be to inhibit the formation of the malfunctioning blood vessels in the tumour. To do this, more knowledge is required about the components involved in the process when the tumour vessels are formed. Anna Dimberg's research group at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology has studied how the protein CD93, which is produced by blood vessels in many cancer types, including brain tumours, affects the formation of tumour vessels. The study, which has been published by Journal of Clinical Investigations, shows that CD93 has a central role in the formation of the extracellular matrix, i.e. the material outside of the cells in a tissue. "We found that CD93 has a main role in organising the fibronectin network that surrounds the blood vessels. These are incredibly exciting results since the extracellular matrix is important for well-functioning blood vessels and can also affects the function of many other cells in the tumour's microenvironment, including the cancer cells," says Roberta Lugano who is a postdoc in the group and has been responsible for the study. The fibronectin network is needed for the newly formed blood vessels to mature into functioning, stable vessels. In animal models of brain tumours where CD93 was lacking in the blood vessels, the researchers saw that no fibronectin network was formed around the newly formed vessels. This was associated with a reduced capacity to transport blood and an increased permeability to fluid and plasma proteins. The researchers have also characterised how CD93 and the fibronectin network are related at the molecular level. CD93 is located in the cells of the blood vessel walls where it binds to fibronectin via interaction with the protein MMRN2. The CD93/MMRN2 complex is needed to reorganise soluble fibronectin into a network of fibres. It also appears that this mechanism is especially important for the tumour blood vessels. "Our results suggest that one could inhibit blood vessel development in tumours by preventing the interaction between CD93 and MMRN2. That could lead to defectively functioning tumour vessels and slow down cancer development. This is something that we plan to test in our future studies," says Anna Dimberg, researcher at Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology at Uppsala University. Explore further Decreased blood vessel leakage can improve cancer therapy and reduce tumor spread More information: Roberta Lugano et al. CD93 promotes integrin-1 activation and fibronectin fibrillogenesis during tumor angiogenesis, Journal of Clinical Investigation (2018). Journal information: Journal of Clinical Investigation Roberta Lugano et al. CD93 promotes integrin-1 activation and fibronectin fibrillogenesis during tumor angiogenesis,(2018). DOI: 10.1172/JCI97459 A cross-sectional study conducted at MedUni Vienna including patients with chronic systolic heart failure has demonstrated great variations in patients' individual therapy response to ACE inhibitors, the first-line therapy for heart failure. It seems possible that the clinical picture is composed of various subgroups characterized by the over-activation of different endogenous systems. The results provide an explanatory approach to the question, why not all patients benefit equally from ACE inhibitors. The study supports ongoing efforts to develop a targeted, individualised therapy for heart failure patients (precision medicine). Vienna will be the venue for two cardiology congresses taking place at the end of May 2018, that cardiologists from throughout the world will attend. Chronic heart failure represents a growing socioeconomic challenge. Quality of life and survival are poor similar to cancer and prevalence is as high as of the "big four"diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease or cancer. For heart failure, though not the other diseases, therapeutic options have changed dramatically in recent years, resulting in large improvements of mortality and morbidity. ACE-I (angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors) have been the first-line therapy for heart failure for the last 25 years. The drug inhibits the renin-angiotensin-system (RAS), a main hormone system responsible for the regulation of fluid homeostasis and blood pressure. Over-activation of the RAS is a significant mechanism promoting further progression of the disease. The use of ACE inhibitors not only improves patients' symptoms and physical capacity but also reduces hospital admissions and increases survival. The prescription of ACE-I for all patients suffering from heart failure is therefor generally recommended by current guidelines. However, at the same time physicians are also aware, that these drugs may not save everyone. Obviously different phenotypes of heart failure must exist, and these phenotypes consequently affect individual therapy response. A cross-sectional study conducted by Noemi Pavo and colleagues at the heart failure outpatient clinic of the Division of Cardiology, MedUni Vienna/Vienna General Hospital aimed on the characterization of the entire RAS in patients with chronic systolic heart failure receiving ACE-I treatment. Analysis and mapping of the entire hormone system was made possible by a novel complex mass spectrometry method developed by Attoquant/Austria. Interestingly, individual patients exhibited huge variations in their response to ACE-I treatment at the molecular level of the RAS, despite comparable dosage of medications and different severities of heart failure. The activation of the effector peptides can be predicted by renin concentrations, which can easily be determined, making future studies including large numbers of patients realizable. One main surprising finding is that many heart failure patients exhibit no or only minimal activation of RAS, contrary to assumptions based on the predominant pathophysiologic model of heart failure. This could explain why not all patients benefit equally from ACE-I. Here, pathophysiologic changes are probably dominated by the over-activation of other endogenous systems than RAS. On the other hand, many patients show an excessive activation of the RAS, and these patients may benefit from a more aggressive treatment. Further studies investigating these new questions are already on their way. Precision medicine for heart failure The study supports the efforts for developing an individualized therapy for heart failure, providing rationale for adapted treatment options by existing substances as a function of the disease phenotype. At the same time the findings raise further questions about the regulation of the RAS, possibly unveiling new therapeutic targets for the treatment of heart failure. Chronic heart failure is a growing challenge for Western societies. For this reason, heart failure is one of the main interests of the European Society of Cardiology. In May this year, more than 5,000 cardiologists are expected to visit Vienna to attend the specialist congresses dedicated to this condition. Explore further Investigational heart failure therapy seeks to stimulate body's natural healing response More information: Noemi Pavo et al. Low- and High-renin Heart Failure Phenotypes with Clinical Implications, Clinical Chemistry (2017). Journal information: Clinical Chemistry Noemi Pavo et al. Low- and High-renin Heart Failure Phenotypes with Clinical Implications,(2017). DOI: 10.1373/clinchem.2017.278705 "Managing type 1 diabetes requires close monitoring of blood sugar levels throughout the day and regular injections of insulin," says Dr. McCarthy. "For young people this often poses challenges, as it can disrupt participation in everyday activities and present problems of dealing with the stigma that can surround the condition." Dr. McCarthy spoke to 16 adolescents and young adults, building up a detailed picture of what life is like for young people living with this lifelong condition. Her research found that while devices for managing diabetes met medical requirements, they didn't always fulfil the wider social and personal needs of individuals. "In my research I've particularly focused on the psycho-social aspects of type 1 diabetes. If adolescents are too embarrassed to use their device in a public setting, that's going to be a problem. My focus is on practical, everyday things about designing a medical device. It's not just responding to a disease, but responding to a disease for an individual person. "We're getting more and more complex medical devices emerging but the health outcomes haven't been getting much better. So we're asking what requirements adolescents have that aren't being met, but that we should be meeting as we develop new and better technologies." Some potential prototype devices are a blood glucose meter that can be used while swimming, avoiding the need to get out of the pool to check blood glucose levels, and medical devices that look like jewellery and allow adolescents to decide whether or not they disclose their diabetes. "The research also looked at Pharmac's usability criteria for what they think about when deciding which devices to fund, and contrasted this with criteria adolescents think of as important. We can then identify any mismatches and report back, highlighting which things companies might like to consider in their design." After graduating from Victoria University with a Ph.D. in Design last week, Dr. McCarthy will be continuing her research as a lecturer at the University's School of Design. The School's research lab for Smart Interactions Design has funded a CoRE MedTech grant for a Master student which will allow the research to progress with an Industrial Design approach, with potential to design prototype devices that can be taken to market. Thinking about smart, practical and engaging ways to design medical tools is crucial for the future, says Dr. McCarthy. "We're living longer, which is great," she says, "but we're going to be living with health issues. There's going to be an increase in people having to use medical devices in their own homes and daily life, at work, in the middle of the night, wherever it may be. So there's less tolerance for these devices to be bad. "My focus is on designing medical devices that can be integrated into daily life in a way that works for us and keeps us healthy." Explore further Insulin pump known to be effective in adolescents, adults also benefits children More information: Dear my Very Problematic Blood Glucose Meter: Adolescents' Experiences Self-Managing Type 1 Diabetes and their Psychosocial User Requirements Of Medical Technologies. Dear my Very Problematic Blood Glucose Meter: Adolescents' Experiences Self-Managing Type 1 Diabetes and their Psychosocial User Requirements Of Medical Technologies. researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/6975 For the first time in humans, researchers will test a two-pronged approach to treat advanced stage colorectal cancer (CRC), potentially increasing life expectancy. Combining a DNA vaccine, which boosts the body's immune response against tumors, with an antibody that blocks the body's natural defense against the potency of the DNA vaccine, may lead to the development of an effective treatment for late stage CRC, when a cure is not often possible. Preliminary research leading up to this trial will be presented at Digestive Disease Week 2018. Study implications "We are on the cusp of testing something that could be transformative for cancer treatment," said Robert Ramsay, Ph.D., BSc, group leader of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and lead researcher of the study. "Cancer vaccines are getting closer to the clinic every day and are likely to provide a safer and more effective pillar of treatment for patients. Right now, the pillars of treatment include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and vaccines would bring immunotherapy to the mix." Immunotherapies failed to meet expectations in previous studies. The body naturally puts the brakes on the cancer-fighting immune responses stimulated by vaccines to protect against a potentially out-of-control immune response. The development of new immune checkpoint blockade antibodies, which are being used with the DNA vaccine in this study, is intended to get past this obstacle by temporarily blocking the protective response. Study results In preliminary mouse studies, Ramsay and his colleagues tested the DNA vaccine TetMYB and anti-PD1 on mice that were induced to develop cancer cells. Tumors in the mice responded very well to the treatment, and the cancer was cured in about half of them. Mice were expected to live for only a couple of days or weeks, but about 50 percent of them survived up to two years. The vaccine also created an "immune memory" in the animal studies. When mice cured during the study were later re-challenged with the same tumor, it was immediately rejected. "There is an immune memory for the vaccine," Ramsay said. Next steps Ramsay and his team are testing the regimen for the first time in humans in a phase 1 trial of 32 patients with advanced stage CRC. The study is designed to test safety and, if safety is shown, to allow all patients in the trial to receive the full treatment. "Once cancer has spread to other parts of the body, patients with CRC have few other viable options; therefore, this treatment could be life-changing for these patients," said Toan Pham, a Ph.D. candidate and research fellow at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre at the University of Melbourne, who is conducting the study with Dr. Ramsay. Explore further Technology holds personalised cancer vaccine breakthrough Provided by Digestive Disease Week The fruit fly is a laboratory animal model that works as a 'living test tube' in which researchers can test the roles genes might play in human conditions. Credit: S. Yamamoto/Baylor College of Medicine It all began with one young patient; a 7-year old boy who was born without a thymus, an important organ of the immune system, and without functional immune cells. The boy also presented with cardiac and skeletal defects, dysmorphic craniofacial features and some signs of autistic behaviors. "His physicians thought he had many features commonly seen in children with 22q11.2 chromosomal deletion syndrome," said corresponding author of this work Dr. Shinya Yamamoto, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine and investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital. Interestingly, his sister and mother also exhibited similar defects but in a milder form. Surprisingly, none of them carried the 22q11.2 chromosomal deletion associated with this syndrome or had alterations in the TBX1 gene, which is located within this deletion. "This spurred Duke University investigators Dr. Vandana Shashi and Dr. Loren Pena and genetic counselor Kelly Schoch, who are a part of the Undiagnosed Disease Network, to perform whole-genome sequencing analyses on this family," Yamamoto said. These tests revealed the presence of a rare missense variantp.R20Qin the TBX2 gene in all three affected family members. In order to identify additional patients with rare variants in this gene, the team used GeneMatcher, a website developed by the Centers for Mendelian Genomics to connect physicians and researchers who share an interest in the same gene. GeneMatcher led to the identification of a fourth patient seen by physicians at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. This patient shared many of the same clinical features present in the initial patient, but carried a different missense variantp.R305Hin the TBX2 gene. TBX2 belongs to the T-box family of genes of evolutionarily conserved transcription factors that play crucial roles in the embryonic development of the heart, limbs, digits and brain regions. Alterations in 12 out of the 17 members of this gene family have been identified as causes of diverse multi-organ developmental syndromes in the past. Further analyses conducted by postdoctoral fellows Dr. Ning Liu and Dr. Xi Luo at Baylor College of Medicine showed that the patients with the TBX2 genetic variants had decreased levels of TBX2 proteins. Having less protein led to reductions in the proteins' ability to carry out their functions, which is to suppress the expression of other genes. Although previous studies had found that the TBX2 gene played essential roles in mouse development, and chromosomal deletions and duplications involving the human TBX2 gene have been associated with human cardiac and skeletal defects, a direct link between pathogenic mutations in TBX2 and a Mendelian syndrome has not been described before. "A living test tube" "Determining the functional consequences of missense mutations such as these onesmutations that change a single amino acid in a proteinis still very difficult, even with the help of various bioinformatics tools," said Yamamoto. Here is where the fruit fly came in. To further evaluate the biological significance of TBX2 mutations on complex signaling pathways in an intact animal, the researchers designed and conducted several assays in fruit flies in the laboratories of Dr. Yamamoto, Dr. Michael Wangler and Dr. Hugo Bellen, who oversee the UDN's Model Organism Screening Center, located in Baylor. "We used fruit flies as 'living test tubes' in which we tested the effects of variations of the TBX2 gene on various biological processes and pathways," Yamamoto said. Typically, researchers explore the genetic bases of disease in mouse or other animal models by introducing in the models gene mutations that mimic key characteristics of the human condition under study. There are occasions, however, in which human diseases are hard to mimic in animal models, but in those cases the laboratory fruit fly offers the opportunity to quickly provide functional information on rare and potentially disease-causing mutations. The researchers approached the TBX2 gene puzzle by working both with cells in the laboratory and with fruit flies, conducting morphological and functional assays that do not seem to be related to the patients' conditions. These studies uncovered a link between the congenital heart defects, skeletal abnormalities, immune and endocrine defects in patients and the partial loss-of-function of protein TBX2. "The human and fly circulatory and immune systems are structurally different, and flies do not have an endoskeleton system. Therefore, in this study, instead of using fruit flies to model the symptoms found in patients, we used flies as a rapid diagnostic tool to test whether the functional differences in TBX2 we found in cells in the laboratory had biological significance in a live animal," said Yamamoto. "The fruit fly's equivalent to the human TBX2 gene, called bifid, is important for the proper development of the fly, especially for the visual and nervous systems. We used the development and retinal function of adult fruit fly eyes as a readout for the activity of TBX2 gene." Consistent with the results from experiments in cells, the experiments with fruit flies revealed that the TBX2 genetic variants in patients moderately affected the flies' eye development, retinal function and lifespan, all of which unequivocally point to the pathogenic potential of these variants. "This study provides a blueprint of how fruit flies can be used as a rapid screening tool to identify potentially pathogenic human genes," Yamamoto said. Read all the details about this work, as well as a complete list of the contributors and their affiliation in the journal Human Molecular Genetics. Explore further Research team develops new genetic tool to expand library of fruit flies and accelerate biomedical discovery More information: Ning Liu et al, Functional variants in TBX2 are associated with a syndromic cardiovascular and skeletal developmental disorder, Human Molecular Genetics (2018). Journal information: Human Molecular Genetics Ning Liu et al, Functional variants in TBX2 are associated with a syndromic cardiovascular and skeletal developmental disorder,(2018). DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddy146 Medical students seldom learn much about the real-life problems (hunger, joblessness, addiction) their patients face outside the clinic walls. Yet, these problems are at the root of poor health in many low-income communities. A new article published today in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved describes a new approach to educating medical students about the real world. The course, developed by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, apprentices medical students to community health workers (CHWs) in inner city Philadelphia. CHWs are trusted laypeople who come from the local community, hired and trained by healthcare organizations to support high-risk patients. By pairing up with community health workers, students had the opportunity to understand life from a different perspective. Most students had not experienced poverty or trauma in their own lives. The course also helped students to overcome implicit bias and discrimination, which often permeates healthcare experiences. "Thirty-year-old, uninsured, and taking street Xanax. You automatically think . . . difficult patient," explained one student. "She had little dreads and they were dyed red. And the community health worker loved it. She was like 'oh my god, your hair is so cute!' Then the patient got this big smile on her face and was so willing to talk to us. My whole impression of her changed from this really difficult patient to just a sweetheart." The Institute of Medicine and the Association of American Medical Colleges recently recommended medical schools should train students in skills related to community engagement, including the "cultural humility" needed to deal non-judgmentally with patients from very different walks of life. So far, relatively few med school programs aim to provide that training. When they do, it is often through lectures and reading assignments more than hands-on experience. Penn's early experience with this teaching experiment has been so promising that the course is now a permanent part of the curriculum, and is being expanded for nursing and social work students. The Penn Center for Community Health Workers is building on this course to develop online cultural competency training for students and even practicing clinicians. "In medical school, you learn about antibiotics and MRIs. There is a lot more to health than that," said lead author Shreya Kangovi, MD, MS, director of the Penn Center for Community Health Workers. "Unless we train our future healthcare professionals to understand what life and health are like for real people, we'll be failing them." The article reports that in interviews, participating students indicated that the rotation generally met its goal of imparting community engagement skills. Students showed a better understanding of the life circumstancesfrom homelessness to the difficulty of getting a taxi in inner-city neighborhoodsthat affected patients' health care experiences. They also seemed to develop more confidence and competence at overcoming those challenges, as well as a greater appreciation for what community health workers do. To date, 60 students have participated in the rotation. Kangovi and colleagues hope that the new rotation will serve as a model for other teaching hospitals that want to prepare students to care for low-income patient populations. Explore further Direct patient care experience necessary for better transgender care Men currently only have two contraceptive options: condoms or a vasectomy. Credit: Javier Canales The female contraceptive pill has helped millions of women take control of their fertility and reproductive health since it became available in 1961. Yet a male equivalent has yet to be fully developed. This effectively leaves men with only two viable contraceptive options: condoms or a vasectomy. The idea of creating a male contraceptive has been around almost as long as the female contraceptive. In theory, targeting the production of sperm should be a simple process. The biology of sperm production and how they swim towards the egg are well understood. Yet, studies aimed at developing an effective male pill have been dogged by issues such as severe side effects. Most recently, a study that injected men with the hormones testosterone and progestogen similar to hormones found in the female pill had to be stopped early. The study, from 2016, showed pregnancy rates for female partners of men receiving the injections fell below that typically seen for women on the pill. But the study was cut short due to reports of adverse side effects including acne, mood disorders and raised libido. For the men taking part, these side effects proved too severe for them to continue, despite the desired drop in sperm production. However, many people may see these side effects as relatively minor compared to those suffered by women on the pill, which include anxiety, weight gain, nausea, headaches, reduced libido and blood clots. Male contraceptives have been under development for at least 50 years. However, the drive to bring a male contraceptive onto the market has stalled for two main reasons. First, there is a general pessimism of men towards taking a contraceptive pill, especially in countries such as India. Second, the global success of the female pill provides little incentive for pharmaceuticals to invest in a male pill. Globally, the female pill is the third most-used form of contraception, with a projected market value of nearly US$23 billion by 2023. Despite these setbacks, a new way of thinking about male contraception is taking shape. Here, the focus has shifted from stopping sperm production to stopping the sperm being able to fertilise the egg. The clean sheet pill The clean sheet pill effectively works as its name suggests: preventing the release of sperm. The clean sheet pill has two main selling points. First, by preventing the release of sperm and the fluid they are carried in, the clean sheet pill simultaneously prevents unwanted pregnancy and the spread of sexually-transmitted infections. Second, because the pill does not affect the feeling of orgasm, there is no reduction in male sexual pleasure. If the success of animal trials can be replicated in humans, heres how Vasagel would work in humans. Unfortunately, the clean sheet pill has so far only been tested in animals. As such, a version for human use is probably ten years away from being developed. Vasalgel One of the downsides of a vasectomy is that it can render a man permanently sterile. However, the recent development of a product call Vasalgel may offer men a serious alternative to a vasectomy. Vasalgel is a long-term, non-hormonal yet reversible form of contraception. This offers benefits over both hormonal contraceptives with their side effects as well as the permanency of a vasectomy. Vasalgel is polymer that is injected into the vas deferens, the tube that carries sperm from the testes. This allows the movement of fluid, but stops the passage of sperm. In a trial in monkeys, Vasagel was found to be 100% effective at preventing conception. In separate studies in animals, the effect of Vasagel was easily reversed with a simple second injection to dissolve the polymer. If these effects are replicated in men, this could offer a low-cost, minimally invasive and effective contraceptive that is also reversible. Heart-stopping poisons A deadly, heart-stopping poison might not sound like a good starting point for a new male contraceptive. However, researchers have shown that a toxic compound call oubain can be be used to slow down the swimming of sperm. Researchers already knew that oubain could affect male fertility. But the cardio toxic effects of oubain prevented scientists from exploring its effects on male reproduction in any detail. By modifying the structure of the oubain molecule, researchers showed it can be used to reduce the motility (ability to swim) of rat sperm while being non-toxic to the heart. Research and development While research into male contraceptives have been ongoing for nearly 50 years, we still seem to be at least "five to ten years away" from an effective male pill. Potential new targets for male contraceptives are being developed and tested scientifically all the time. However, without the significant input and push from big pharmaceutical companies, these discoveries may never see the light of day. With the cost of developing a new drug to market estimated at US$2.6 billion, the burden of family planning looks to remain firmly on the shoulders of women for now. Explore further First hormone-free male contraceptive pill soon to be a reality This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Indigenous Elders can have a broad range of positive effects on the mental and physical health of urban Indigenous people who often experience marginalization and barriers accessing health care, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) that partnered Elders with mainstream health care providers in primary care. In urban settings, such as Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, where the study was conducted, Indigenous people often feel excluded from mainstream health care services because of experiences with racism, lack of cultural understanding and other marginalizing factors. In particular, mental health services which have not been adapted to serve the needs of Indigenous people, may not be welcoming. Elders, respected for their leadership, wisdom, compassion, dedication to healing and other positive qualities, play important roles in providing mental health support to Indigenous Peoples. "Access to Elders as part of routine primary care offers one important avenue for meaningful participation in cultural practices that can improve Indigenous patients' care and help reduce inequities," writes Dr. George Hadjipavlou, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, with coauthors. The qualitative study, which explored patients' experiences and perspectives as part of a larger project, included 37 participants from 20 different First Nations who were interviewed about the impact of Elders on their mental health. Five broad themes were identified: Healing after prolonged periods of seeking help and desperation Strengthening cultural identity and belonging Developing trust and opening up Coping with losses Engaging in ceremony and spiritual dimensions of care as a resource for hope. The study adds to the body of (non-Indigenous) knowledge describing the positive effect of Elders on mental health. Its findings support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's recommendations to include Elders in health care to improve the health and care of Indigenous patients. "Our findings are consistent with research showing that the inclusion of Elders in health care initiatives led to a reduction in teen suicides, decreased rates of domestic violence, improved quality of life, reduced depressive and trauma symptoms, and improved understanding and trust between Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff and patients," write the authors. More information: George Hadjipavlou et al. "All my relations": experiences and perceptions of Indigenous patients connecting with Indigenous Elders in an inner city primary care partnership for mental health and well-being, Canadian Medical Association Journal (2018). Journal information: Canadian Medical Association Journal George Hadjipavlou et al. "All my relations": experiences and perceptions of Indigenous patients connecting with Indigenous Elders in an inner city primary care partnership for mental health and well-being,(2018). DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.171390 A report on interventional cardiology practice from an extensive survey is presented today at EuroPCR 2018, the annual meeting of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), a branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The EAPCI White Book is the first systematic data collection on the practice of interventional cardiology, a branch of cardiology which delivers catheter-based (percutaneous) treatment of heart diseasesfor example inserting stents to open clogged arteries (called percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI). A wide spectrum of resource allocation and treatment implementation was reported by countries participating in the 2016 survey. Hospitals equipped with catheterisation laboratories (the operating rooms for catheter-based procedures) ranged from less than 2 to more than 5 per million people. Likewise the number of interventional cardiologists ranged from 10 to more than 25 per million people. Clinical evidence supports the performance of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) by inserting the catheter via the radial artery in the wrist and using drug-eluting stents where indicated. The survey found that more than half of PCIs were performed via the radial artery and drug-eluting stents were frequently used (more than 3,000 cases per million inhabitants) in most of the participating countries. Yet the survey highlighted a low penetration rate of drug-eluting stents in a few countries, suggesting that there are barriers to implementing this effective treatment. Primary PCI, an urgent first treatment to open clogged arteries (rather than clot-busting drugs) is recommended by ESC guidelines for treatment of patients suffering a heart attack.2 Most countries participating in the survey were delivering at least 500 primary PCIs per million inhabitants, the level promoted by StentSave a Life!, the EAPCI's primary PCI implementation programme. The survey shows that transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and other percutaneous structural heart interventions are becoming increasingly popular. However, the implementation of this therapy is not uniform among the participating countries due to different reimbursement policies. The survey covers all aspects of interventional cardiology including organisational models, numbers of procedures, resource allocation, and training. The 16 countries participating in the 2016 survey were Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK. Future editions will include more ESC member countries. Professor Emanuele Barbato, lead author, said: "The EAPCI White Book is a valuable resource for monitoring the implementation of guideline recommendations in clinical practice. Healthcare payers and regulatory bodies can use it to compare the allocation of resources to interventional cardiology in Europe. The reported trends in practice will enable industry bodies to target investment to clinical needs." The data were collected by interventional cardiologists in national cardiac societies and working groups under the leadership of Professor Michael Haude, EAPCI President, in collaboration with the ESC Atlas of Cardiology, a compendium of cardiovascular statistics from the 56 ESC member countries.3 Professor Panos Vardas, senior author of the Atlas and ESC Past President (20122016) said: "The EAPCI White Book is an important companion to the ESC Atlas of Cardiology, providing more in-depth information on this rapidly growing domain in cardiology." More information: 1. The survey results will be presented during the EAPCI General Assembly which takes place on 22 May from 15:30 to 17:00 CEST in Room 253. 1. The survey results will be presented during the EAPCI General Assembly which takes place on 22 May from 15:30 to 17:00 CEST in Room 253. 2. Ibanez B, James S, Agewall S, et al. 2017 ESC Guidelines for the management of acute myocardial infarction in patients presenting with ST-segment elevation. Eur Heart J. 2018;39:119177. 3. Atlas Writing Group, Timmis A, Townsend N, Gale C, Grobbee R, Maniadakis N, Flather M, Wilkins E, Wright L, Vos R, Bax J, Blum M, Pinto F, Vardas P. European Society of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Disease Statistics 2017. Eur Heart J. 2018;39:508579. Credit: CC0 Public Domain 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 inflammationthe main symptom of inflammatory bowel diseasecan 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 201476,477 peopleand 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-uppatients 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." More information: Inflammatory bowel disease increases the risk of Parkinson's disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study 1977-2014, Gut, gut.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/gutjnl-2017-315666 Journal information: Gut Inflammatory bowel disease increases the risk of Parkinson's disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study 1977-2014, Image shows the hydration sensing neurons (red) and the glial cells (green) in a mouse brain. Credit: Charles Bourque's lab We are all familiar with the drawbacks of dehydration, but we rarely hear about the harmful effects of overhydration. For one, excess fluid accumulation can lead to dangerously low sodium levels in the blood or hyponatremiaa life-threatening condition that can result in brain swelling. Similarly, more is known about the mechanisms in the body that detect and drive thirst while little is known about how the brain detects a state of overhydration. "[Hyponatremia] occurs in common pathological conditions, including brain injury, sepsis, cardiac failure and in the use of drugs, such as MDMA (ecstasy)," says Dr. Charles Bourque, whose team from the Centre for Research in Neuroscience at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) uncovered a key piece to the puzzle of how our brains detect hyponatremia and regulate overhydration. The new study featured in Cell Reports unearths the fundamental mechanism of how hyponatremia is detected in the brain. "Our specific data will be important for people studying hydromineral and fluid electrolyte homeostasis, and clinicians who treat patients faced with hyponatremia," reports Dr. Bourque, who is a scientist in the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program (BRAIN) at the RI-MUHC and a professor in McGill's Department of Neurology. This condition is more common in elderly patients and can cause cognitive problems and seizures in this vulnerable group. While it remains uncertain how hyponatremia develops, a defect in the hydration sensing mechanism of the brain could be the culprit. No strangers to studying the mechanisms of hydration in the body, Dr. Bourque's team, located at the Montreal General Hospital, has also made several key discoveries in the past on how the brain detects and prevents dehydration; how salt intake increases blood pressure; and how the brain's biological clock stimulates thirst prior to sleep. In this instance, experiments by Sorana Ciura, a Ph.D. student in Dr. Bourque's laboratory, who is now at the Institut Imagine, Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades in Paris, revealed that the brain's hydration sensing neurons don't detect overhydration in the same way that they detect dehydration. Dr. Bourque is a scientist in the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program (BRAIN) at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal and a professor in McGill's Department of Neurology. Credit: McGill University Health Centre The new research shows that overhydration activates Trpv4, which is a cellular gatekeeper implicated in maintaining the balance of water in the body. Trpv4 is a calcium channel that can be found in glial cells, which are cells that act to surround hydration sensing neurons. "Our study shows that it is in fact glial cells that first detect the overhydrated state and then transfer this information to turn off the electrical activity of the [hydration sensing] neurons," explains Dr. Bourque. The researchers also found that it is the release of the amino acid taurine that acts to inhibit hydration sensing neurons. Essentially, when overhydration is detected by glial cells, the Trpv4 channel triggers the release of taurine, which acts as a trip wire to inhibit hydration sensing neurons. The brain's ability to detect excess hydration is essential to maintaining fluid balance in the body and preventing conditions like hyponatremia. "Preclinical models of hyponatremia will be used to examine if the mechanism we report is affected in this condition with the long-term objective of designing new treatments or diagnostic tools," concludes Dr. Bourque. Dr. Bourque is collaborating with Dr. Julie Marcoux, neurosurgeon at the MUHC on a study that aims to define the basis for the emergence of hyponatremia in a subset of patients that suffer from a TBI. Explore further Discovery advances our understanding of how our brain controls body hydration and temperature More information: Sorana Ciura et al, Trpv4 Mediates Hypotonic Inhibition of Central Osmosensory Neurons via Taurine Gliotransmission, Cell Reports (2018). Journal information: Cell Reports Sorana Ciura et al, Trpv4 Mediates Hypotonic Inhibition of Central Osmosensory Neurons via Taurine Gliotransmission,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.04.090 Fiugure A shows drawings showing the 'antigravity tilt' (> 45 forward bend), the dance move introduced by Michael Jackson, in comparison to the normal limit of a human tilt (20 forward bend), as well as the conceptualized shoe designed by MJ and coinventors. Figure B shows the shift of the fulcrum from the sacrum to the Achilles tendon in MJ's antigravity tilt. Credit: Manjul Tripathi When was the last time you watched a Michael Jackson music video? If your answer is "never" or "not for quite a while," you are really missing a treat. According to Rolling Stone, "No single artist ... shaped, innovated or defined the medium of 'music video' more than Michael Jackson." Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, MTV had only one formatmusic videosand that genre really took off when Jackson burst on the scene in 1983 with his musical hit "Billie Jean." Prior to his arrival on MTV, most videos were merely visual promos for artists' songs, and in some cases the visual side of the promos detracted from the music. Michael Jackson, on the other hand, took his incredible music and added story lines, special effects, cinematography, and amazing choreography. He created high-budget brief movies highlighting both music and dance. And about that dance... Jackson executed dance moves we thought impossible, at the time and even now. Almost every fan tried to dance like him, but very few could pull it off. Some of Jackson's dance moves appear to defy the laws of gravity. In one move featured in his 1987 music video "Smooth Criminal," he pitches forward 45 degrees, with his body straight as a rod and his shoes resting on the stage, and holds the position. That is not how the human body works! How did Michael Jackson do it? Was it talent, magic, or both? Three neurosurgeons from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, IndiaNishant S. Yagnick, Manjul Tripathi, and Sandeep Mohindraset out to examine the antigravity tilt introduced in "Smooth Criminal" from a neurosurgeon's point of view. First, Yagnick et al. walk us through some basics of spinal biomechanics to show just how impressive is the feat. Even the strongest of dancers can only maintain a 25- to 30-degree forward tilt from the ankle. Admitted fans of Jackson, the neurosurgeons document how the antigravity tilt was accomplished, taking into account the talent and core strength of the artist, as well as his inventiveness and use of a patented aid, that together seem to move his body past human limits. They also warn other neurosurgeons of new forms of spinal injuries, as dancers follow Jackson's example and attempt "to jump higher, stretch further, and turn faster than ever before." The full story on the antigravity tilt is published today in a new article in the Journal of Neurosurgery entitled "How did Michael Jackson challenge our understanding of spine biomechanics?". Read the article soon. This is one of those mysteries where the solution is as fascinating as the performance. After you've read the article, you may want to go to YouTube and check out "Smooth Criminal" and other Michael Jackson music videos. When asked about his article, Dr. Tripathi said, "MJ has inspired generations of dancers to push themselves beyond their limits. Though a visual delight, such moves also lead to new forms of musculoskeletal injuries. "The King of Pop" has not only been an inspiration but a challenge to the medical fraternity." Explore further Lawyer: Jackson theft accused will prove innocence More information: "How did Michael Jackson challenge our understanding of spine biomechanics?" Journal of Neurosurgery (2018). Journal information: Journal of Neurosurgery "How did Michael Jackson challenge our understanding of spine biomechanics?"(2018). thejns.org/doi/full/10.3171/2018.2.SPINE171443 Provided by Journal of Neurosurgery Credit: CC0 Public Domain Prescription cough and cold medicines containing the opioid hydrocodone were more likely to cause serious side effects in children than those containing codeine, according to a new study from Penn State College of Medicine. The research supports recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restrictions on prescription hydrocodone- and codeine-containing cough medicines for children and suggests that opioids in general should not be prescribed for coughs and colds in pediatric populations. Historically, most of the guidance around children's prescription cough and cold medications has focused on the opioid codeine. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against the use of codeine-containing cough and cold medications in children for two decades due to safety concerns, and in 2017 the FDA ruled that codeine should not be used to treat cough or pain in children younger than 12 years old. In January 2018, the FDA expanded its restrictions, announcing that prescription cough medicines containing either codeine or hydrocodone can only be labeled for use in adults 18 and over because the risks of opioid-containing cough products outweigh the potential benefits in children. The new study supports the FDA's decision, according to Dr. Ian Paul, a physician and professor of pediatrics and public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine. The study grew out of a larger safety surveillance project by Paul and colleagues at the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver looking at adverse events associated with over-the-counter pediatric cough and cold medications. During this project, the surveillance system also detected serious side effects in children who had ingested prescription cough and cold medications that combined typically over-the-counter ingredients with opioid medications. Despite the public attention around codeine in children's cold medications, the researchers noted that many of the adverse events were more likely to be linked to hydrocodone-containing prescriptions. This discovery led them to conduct the new study. Using the surveillance data, the researchers analyzed adverse events in children under 12 years old that were associated with cough and cold medications including both an opioid and an over-the-counter ingredient. Between January 2008 and December 2015, there were 98 cases involving an adverse event at least potentially related to codeine or hydrocodone. In most of the cases, the medications were either prescribed to the children or accidentally ingested without supervision. The sedative properties of opioids, which are particularly worrisome in children, were frequently reported but were more common in children who took hydrocodone. Drowsiness, lethargy, and respiratory depression were reported in 86 percent of hydrocodone cases compared with 61 percent of codeine cases. There were also three deaths reported, all of which were associated with hydrocodone combined with an antihistamine. The research appeared recently in the journal Clinical Toxicology. "You could argue from this data that the adverse events profile from hydrocodone-containing cough and cold medication ingestion appears to be more concerning" than that from codeine-containing drugs, Paul said. The message? "Healthcare providers should never prescribe opioid-containing cough and cold products to children. Ever." Paul also emphasized that children usually don't need prescription medications for a cold. "Parents of children with colds should remember that they typically resolve in their own with time. Supportive measures, like using non-aspirin pain relievers such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, can help a child's comfort. There's some evidence that honey is effective for children one year of age and older and that topical vapor rub can be used for children ages two and up. And they can use nasal saline and humidified air to help a child get through the illness." Explore further FDA bans use of opioid-containing cough meds by kids More information: Ian M. Paul et al, Adverse events associated with opioid-containing cough and cold medications in children, Clinical Toxicology (2018). Ian M. Paul et al, Adverse events associated with opioid-containing cough and cold medications in children,(2018). DOI: 10.1080/15563650.2018.1459665 A cancer patient with advanced ovarian cancer had a "remarkable" journey to recovery that may be partially attributed to a treatment she received for a completely different disease, according to a case report published in ecancermedicalscience. The case report discusses whether the patient's autoimmune disease and its treatment could have contributed to achieving such a "striking" response to treatment. Researchers led by Dr. Franco Muggia, Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York, USA, describe a case of a patient who received treatment for dermatomyositis, an autoimmune condition that causes muscle weakness and skin rashes. For this condition, she received treatment that included hydroxychloroquine and quinacrine, which are more commonly known as antimalarial drugs. But the patient later presented with an advanced and aggressive form of ovarian cancer. Although effective treatments exist, this type of cancer is usually expected to recur within a median of 18 months to 2 years. Dr. Muggia's patient surprised her doctors with her immediate and lasting response to the cancer treatment. Three years on, the patient continues to be disease-freeboth from ovarian cancer and dermatomyositis. Follow-up has shown no signs of cancer, and the patient is reportedly symptom-free. Previously published evidence in ecancermedicalscience has shown that antimalarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and quinacrine may play a role in cancer treatment, as they appear to work together with cancer drugs, making treatments more effective. The medical community is becoming increasingly interested in "repurposed" drugs, or drugs that were originally developed for one condition, then found to be useful for other conditions. "This is an interesting example of serendipityan incidental finding of a cancer patient responding strongly to a non-cancer drug used for the treatment of a co-morbid condition," says Dr. Pan Pantziarka of The Anticancer Fund, Belgium, and one of the leaders of the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) Project. "It's important to publish such cases as they may provide early data for later preclinical and clinical investigation." Dr. Muggia stresses that conclusions cannot be drawn from the example of one patient. "However, the depth of the response of an aggressive high-grade serous ovarian cancer to the initial platinum-taxane doublet, after months of dermatomyositis and treatment with anti-malarial drugs, should encourage further inquiries into the role of autophagy, its subsequent inhibition, and immunity in enhancing responses to [platinum-based] chemotherapy." Dr. Pantziarka says, "There is already strong evidence that anti-malarials such as hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine possess anticancer activity, as was summarised by the ReDO Project last year. If replicated, it would show yet again the therapeutic value still to be realised in so many of our existing non-cancer medicines." Dr. Muggia adds, "Much remains to be learned about ovarian cancer biology and autophagy. We hope the current report catalyzes additional work in this area." At the time of publication, Dr. Muggia's patient remained disease-free. Explore further Antimalarial drugs could support existing cancer treatments in two-pronged attack More information: Isabella Cadena et al. Lasting pathologic complete response to chemotherapy for ovarian cancer after receiving antimalarials for dermatomyositis, ecancermedicalscience (2018). Isabella Cadena et al. Lasting pathologic complete response to chemotherapy for ovarian cancer after receiving antimalarials for dermatomyositis,(2018). DOI: 10.3332/ecancer.2018.837 Provided by ecancermedicalscience The 2018 MyBroadband Cloud Conference will take place at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on 13 June 2018, and it is a must-attend event for every IT executive in South Africa. The conference is brought to delegates in partnership with Liquid Telecom, with the companys new CEO Reshaad Sha set to deliver the keynote address. Sha will be joined by many excellent speakers, including Amazon Web Services Michael Needham, Microsofts Joachim Hammer, Google Cloud Partner Siatiks Brett StClair, and Connection Telecom Marketing Director Sacha Matulovich. Delegates will also be treated to excellent exhibitions from South Africas top cloud and telecoms providers. They will receive a voucher booklet with special deals on cloud, telecoms, and IT products for the business market from these exhibitors. To create further excitement, delegates will stand a chance to win a DJI Mavic Air drone from Elingo and a signed Lions rugby jersey thanks to Vox. Register Now Thanks to the generous sponsorships from Liquid Telecom, Connection Telecom, SITA, Microsoft, Axiz, and other conference partners, delegates can attend the conference at an extremely-affordable price. Register with the voucher below to qualify for a big discount. Register Here: 2018 MyBroadband Cloud Conference Website Discount Voucher Code: CloudVIPSpecial The 2018 MyBroadband Cloud Conference is nearly sold out, so be sure to register as soon as possible. The Treasury Secretary of the United States, Steve Mnuchin, said the Justice Department needs to take a look at whether Google is abusing its market dominance, The Register reported. He argued that companies like Google have a big impact on the economy and it is important to look at the power they wield. Mnuchin is among several government officials calling for anti-trust probes into large tech companies. EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager recently said they can prove Google was acting illegally to promote its own services and downgrade its competitors. Vestager said her staff used over a billion Google searches as a research sample and found the company was manipulating its algorithms to promote its own products and push competitors down its search rankings. Its very difficult to find the rivals, because on average youd find them only on page four in your search results, said Vestager. When Michael Jordaan launched Montegray Capital in 2014, his aim was to invest in lean startups with disruptive technologies and business models. Jordaan said his investment focus is on business models enabled by technology that solve real problems, and which can add value in existing, well-performing industries. Over the past four years, Jordaans portfolio has grown to over 20 companies, which include Opennetworks, Snapplify, and quantitative investment management company NMRQL. Jordaan told MyBroadband he has now come to the end of his personal financial capacity to finance deals. I now need to be patient and hope that some of the seedlings become very large trees, over time, said Jordaan. Two of Jordaans biggest investments are in mobile operator Rain and mobile-focused bank Bank Zero. Rain and Bank Zero are by their industry nature capital-intensive businesses, but if successful will bring significant benefits to consumers. I cant wait for both to launch, said Jordaan. Jordaans latest tech investments Jordaan has invested in six new tech businesses, which range from a company connecting township residents to a startup which offers software-as-a-service for churches. Locumbase focuses on the gig economy for medical professionals by linking them to medical practices when needed. The Locumbase site is a 10-times improvement on the current market practice of phoning around. GoDoChurch is software-as-a-service for churches or charitable organisations and allows them to organise their business and communicate with their community. Ikeja is connecting township residents with LTE data in partnership with Rain. This is where the digital dividend is most needed. Sudonum creates disposable telephone numbers so that advertisers do not have to divulge their private numbers when using classifieds advertisement. Businesses can also track responses to each advertisement using separate phone numbers. DCX is a digital currency exchange. Its first product is an index of the Top 10 cryptocurrencies to make it easy to get exposure beyond just Bitcoin. VALR has not started operating yet, but Jordaans investment is a vote of faith in Farzam Ehsani, who is a leading crypto expert. 5. How did you get into the wine industry? Destiny! The winery job I started in 2007 was the only job I applied for in the wine industry after receiving my masters degree back in 2007. I got some other offers but for some reason I felt like I should try this. 6. What is the biggest challenge the wine industry has faced? Increasing competition from peer/local wineries, especially the direct-to-consumer front. 7. Who do you most admire in the business world? My dad, a very successful entrepreneur in the tech sector. Although Im not brave enough to start my own business like he did, I learned and followed the ways he managed his business and applied that to my career. 8. If you could change one thing about the wine industry, what would it be? Alter the three-tier model. Free movement of wine across state lines. 9. Whats on your to-do list? Go to Yosemite! Havent been there even (though) Ive lived in the Bay Area since 2005. A group of journalists protesting outside the offices of a New York City hedge fund recently shined a light on a little-known fact about the state of the local American newspaper: Behind the scenes, financial firms often hold all the cards. Investors like Alden Global Capital and Fortress Investment Group have acquired ownership stakes in newspapers that have struggled to adapt in an online world, from the Denver Post to the Providence Journal. Funds have brought their cost-cutting know-how to help restructure several newspaper chains in heavy debt after the 2008 financial crisis. But the evolving ownership picture has sparked fresh questions over whether investment firms can really help save local newspapers by making them profitable again or if theyll starve them to the point that they collapse instead. The journalists who traveled from cities like Denver and St. Paul earlier this month to join the protests outside Alden Globals offices are convinced its the latter. Some analysts agree. Theyre not reinvesting in the business, Ken Doctor, a longtime newspaper analyst and president of the website Newsonomics, said about Alden Global. Its dying and they are going to make every dollar they can on the way down. Cadre is so closely identified with Jared and Josh Kushner that any financial involvement by sovereign wealth funds is problematic, some government watchdog groups say. The nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed an ethics complaint against Jared Kushner last year for failing to report his interest in Cadre on his original financial disclosure form. (Kushner's lawyer said the omission was inadvertent, and disclosure statements have since been revised to include it.) "This kind of an arrangement, where a high-ranking U.S. government official can personally profit from a foreign government, is exactly why we filed the ethics complaint and it is exactly what the emoluments clause of the constitution was written to prevent," said Virginia Canter, a lawyer at CREW. "If a foreign government wants to try to buy favors and influence U.S. policy, this is the way to do it." Kushner's dealings with the United Arab Emirates have also attracted the scrutiny of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russia's influence in the U.S. presidential election and related matters. His office's investigators have reportedly asked witnesses about a meeting in New York in early 2017 that included Kushner and George Nader, an adviser to the United Arab Emirates government who is now said to be a cooperating witness in the inquiry. Similar to 50 years ago, rare wildflowers and other plants are signaling a rejuvenation of life on Mount George, while providing spring pastel colors to the blackened landscape. One of the rarest and most vibrant wildflowers Land Trust of Napa County has found on its Foote Botanical Preserve on Mount George, on the hillside east of Napa, is an annual flower that appears only after a wildfire: the Fire Poppy (Papaver californicum). Fire poppies grow from seeds that can lie dormant in the soils seed bank for many decades. Known as an obligate fire follower, these plants need a cue from the fire to germinate. According to the fall 2007 issue of Fremontia, the quarterly journal of the California Native Plant Society, fire poppy seeds take their germination cue from the smoke of the wildfire. Add some water from the rainy season and plenty of sun, now that the bushes and shrubs are creating less shade, and the fire poppies have what it takes to come alive. It wasnt until coming across a Mount George neighbor who had lived in the area since childhood that the Land Trusts consulting botanist Jake Ruygt got anecdotal confirmation that the fire poppies had appeared on the mountain before. I got to talking with him and he said he remembers seeing them when he was 7 years old after the fire in 1964, said Ruygt. Granted, he may not be a botanist, but the flower is very distinctive and hard to miss. In September of 1964, wildfires that started with the Hanley Fire on Mount St. Helena included the Mount George Fire that burned homes and the majority of the vegetation on Mount George. Fifty-three years later, the wildfires of last October played out in a similar fashion, with the Atlas Fire burning Mount George this time. Crooked black limbs of manzanita and chamise were most of what was left of the chaparral (shrub) vegetation that once dominated the property before the fire. Now, six months after the fire, across the 770 acres of permanently protected land, you will find not only wildflowers but bright green ankle high seedling shrubs covering much of the ground, like a ragged carpet blanketing the mountain around its rocky outcroppings. Among those plants are the beginnings of chamise, toyon and manzanita regrowth from the bases of burned stumps. Coast live oak, ground rose, rare Napa Lomatium, and the very rare Napa checkerbloom have also been spotted in the regrowth. Ruygt, who is tracking the post-fire vegetation recovery on the Foote Preserve as well as taking inventory of all the plants there, has been surprised in ways he didnt expect during his work on the preserve. The lack of some species that I expect to see after most burns like whispering bells and false gilia and the abundance of others such as Fremonts star lily, Solano morning glory, and common rush rose are just a few of the many things that fascinate me, said Ruygt. These native plants are clearly well-adapted to survive in a place with such a long history of fire. The return of wildflowers not seen in over 50 years is a dramatic testament to that resilience. Land Trust of Napa County is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the character of Napa by permanently protecting land. In its 42-year history, the Land Trust has completed more than 200 real estate transactions, protecting over 70,000 acres of land 14 percent of Napa County. Last year, the Land Trust had a record year, protecting over 12,300 acres in one year. Jorgen Gulliksen is the communications associate at Land Trust of Napa County. The man whose body was pulled from the Napa River Saturday night in the Oxbow district was identified Monday as John Spencer Loftus, 24, of Napa. Police had been called around 5 p.m. Saturday about a man behaving erratically. He was running behind bushes and swimming in the river behind the CIA at Copia complex, 500 First St., Napa Police said. The man could not be located. At 8:30 p.m., police got calls that he was still there, splashing in the river and yelling for help, police said. The Fire Department launched a rescue boat at about 9:30 p.m. Loftus was found lying face up in water that was no more than waist high, said Sheriff's Capt. Steve Blower. First responders began CPR, but Loftus was declared dead at Queen of the Valley Medical Center. Loftus had a history of drug abuse and had been living out of his car, Blower said. The young man had been clean of drugs, but apparently had resumed using methamphetamine, Blower said. The coroner's office will further investigate the cause of death. 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. The Napa County coroner's office identified the man who died in a three-vehicle wreck on Highway 29 Saturday night as Jaryd Anthony Dock, 28, from San Francisco. Dock died from blunt force trauma when the car in which he and his wife were riding was hit head-on by a car that crossed over the center line, agencies said. They were on their one-year wedding anniversary and had taken Uber to go to a restaurant for dinner, Capt. Steve Blower said Monday morning. Dock's wife, Sara Tashakorinia of San Francisco, was transported to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa with possible internal injuries, the CHP said. The Uber driver, Beau G. Washington, 48, of Vacaville, suffered a broken foot and was taken to the Queen as well. The collision occurred around 8:50 p.m. on Highway 29 near Brix restaurant north of Yountville, Blower said. The collision began when a northbound Dodge Avenger sedan driven by Hilda Arroyo, 53, of Angwin crossed into the southbound lane on a right-hand curve. The car sideswiped a southbound Dodge Ram pickup, then struck the southbound Hyundai driven by Washington, the CHP 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. Napa County is joining the 500 or so communities across the nation that are suing the manufacturers and distributors of opioid painkillers linked to an addiction epidemic. The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday chose several law firms to be its legal team. Attorneys will receive 15 percent of any successful damage payments. Its one of those issues that has hit everywhere in America, Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht said. It comes in insidiously by just a small injury. You get prescribed an opiate for pain. Sometimes you get too much and sometimes you get stuck on the opiates. Its changing lives and Ive seen it in Napa. Napa County hasnt been hit with the opioid epidemic with the same ferocity as some parts of the nation. The state Department of Public Health reports Napa had two deaths from opioid overdoses in 2016, an age-adjusted rate of 1.6 per 100,000 residents. Thats lower than the 4.86-per-100,000 statewide rate, the 13.3 rate for the United States and the 43.4 rate for West Virginia that leads the nation. But Napa County in 2016 had 20 opioid overdose emergency room visits, 19 opioid overdose hospitalizations and 116,101 opioid prescriptions, resulting in per-capita rates topping the state averages. Panel members are expected to include the retired developer Chuck Shinnamon; Cassandra Walker, housing consultant to the Gasser Foundation; and John Salmon, a former state director of asset management, Gallagher said last week. While Gallagher said the housing coalition has no official stance for or against a new civic building, she questioned whether a mixed housing-hotel-retail development on the Second Street site of the existing City Hall which would create the tax revenue Napa is counting on to cover its construction bonds would benefit those most affected by the citys deep shortage of affordable housing. There are several questions here, she said. One, what will that housing look like? Will it be workforce or market-rate? How do we assure that housing isnt bought up by people looking for second homes? Theres a lot of concern about that. Salmon, one of the announced panel members, has attacked the cost, complexity and potential disruption of Napas civic building project since its approval in May 2017. A free elder abuse awareness symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, June 14, at Napa Valley College, 2277 Napa-Vallejo Highway. Five speakers are scheduled to give presentations in the Performing Arts Center: - Katie Carruesco, of the California State Department of Business Oversight, will discuss how to protect elders from fraud. - Kevin Clark, assistant district attorney with Yolo County, will discuss innovations in senior volunteerism. - Leona Rice, a victim of elder abuse, will share her story. - Melissa Brown, McGeorge School of Law professor, will discuss the legal considerations of elder abuse. - Jay Lang, with the Napa Valley Center for Spiritual Living, will discuss community reflections. The symposium is being hosted by the Napa County Alliance for Senior Education, a Napa Valley College student club. NCASE is also a partner of the NVC District Auxiliary Services Foundation. Details are available at ncase@napavalley.edu These students represent the best about our district, even at such a young age, and I am proud to recognize and celebrate their accomplishments in naming them 2018 Student Leaders of the Year. said Thompson. Please join me in congratulating these students for their incredible work! Travis (Napa High) is a tireless advocate for recognizing our local law enforcement, biking 1,000 miles last summer to raise money for charity. Anthea (Vintage High) is fighting hard for commonsense gun violence measures, the only student in her high school to participate in the national school walkout in March. Izzy (Napa High) was a key organizer for many gun violence prevention and awareness events in Napa and continues to be a leader among her fellow students. Savanna (New Tech High) is an outspoken student advocate whose words resonate deeply in our community. Larkin (St. Helena High) has formed her own group of students fighting for action to combat climate change and to encourage other students to be politically active. Juan Carlos (Justin-Siena High) worked with other students to organize Napas March for Our Lives rally and continues to be active in engaging his fellow students. A resolution introduced by State Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) supporting the resumption of federal oversight of the dilapidated Mare Island Naval Cemetery won unanimous Senate approval Monday, his office announced. "We must provide a dignified and respectful final resting place for the honorable men and women who served our country and are buried in this cemetery," Dodd said. "This resolution signals our whole-hearted support for federal efforts to repair these hallowed grounds and ensure they are maintained forever." The action supports a resolution from U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, (D-St. Helena,) calling for the return of the cemetery to the Department of Veterans Affairs for restoration and maintenance. It was deeded to the cash-strapped city of Vallejo in 1996 along with other property and has since fallen into disrepair. The cemetery is the oldest of its kind on the West Coast and is the final resting place of more than 900 veterans. Those claims prompted the resignation of James Schwab, who had been working as a spokesman for ICE's offices in San Francisco, and later described Homan's statements as "false" and "misleading" in interviews with local news media shortly after his departure from the agency in March. This week's legislative action follows months of sparring in the media between Schaaf, President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Just last Wednesday, Trump urged Sessions to look into filing charges against Schaaf for obstruction of justice during a roundtable at the White House with California leaders opposed to sanctuary city and state policies. Schaaf has since responded twice on Twitter, saying she was busy with her city's business rather than obstructing justice, but was not immediately available to comment today on King's bill. Her actions have been widely condemned in conservative circles, but King says there is some doubt in the legal community over whether they constitute a crime, and that his legislation would clarify the matter in future cases. Voters could weigh in on the issue under a proposed ballot measure that would restore harsher penalties for some crimes, even as the Legislature considers bills to lighten sentences even more. One might expect that with prison populations having dropped by about 25 percent, costs would also have decreased. Not so. In fact, they have continued to increase, and with fewer felons behind bars, the per-inmate cost has skyrocketed to about $75,000 a year, roughly the price of a Stanford University education and more than twice the national average. Browns budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year pegs state prison and parole costs at $12 billion. But thats not the total cost because one of the steps to reduce overcrowding was to shift more felons into county jails and probation programs, with money $2 billion currently to pay for them. That $14 billion is only slightly less than what taxpayers spend through the state budget on higher education. But why, one might wonder, did costs escalate as the number of inmates declined? Many Napa County residents cherish our scenic hillsides. Many more enjoy drinking our local Napa wines. All should be alarmed by a current trend that is dramatically changing Napa Valleys character, water security and livability. The interests of corporate wineries and hospitality businesses like mega hotels and event centers for weddings and concerts are taking priority over those of Napa residents. This once-quaint weekend wonder is losing its sense of place, which has appealed to visitors from within and beyond the Bay Area for decades. Protecting the Napa Valleys water supply and scenic beauty is critical to sustaining its local economy and way of life. Endless expansion of wineries and hillside deforestation is not sustainable. Nor are the rising health impacts from agricultural chemicals in the Valley. Napa County has one of the highest cancer rates in all of California. Local decisionmakers could put an end to this unfettered development, but Napa County has a democracy problem. Deep-pocketed wine industry players wield too much influence over elected bodies. Winery event spaces are built first and granted retroactive permits later, even when construction is inconsistent with existing zoning. Bad actors ask for forgiveness rather than permission, which flies in the face of California law. Sheriffs deputies are seeking the publics help in solving a car vandalism involving a 2010 Camaro SS that was left parked the night of Wednesday, May 16 on Howell Mountain Road near Pope Valley Road. The owner left the vehicle along the roadside after it broke down, Lt. Jon Crawford said. When he returned Thursday, he found his black-and-orange Camaro had been brutalized. Windows were smashed, the paint was scratched, the fuse box was damaged and white paint was dribbled on the exterior, splashed around the engine compartment and likely poured into the gas tank, Crawford said. It sounds like somebody thought it would be fun, Crawford said. This was a special car with a $15,000 after-market engine, he said. Anyone who may have seen anything Wednesday night is asked to call the Napa Dispatch Center at 253-4451 and ask to speak to a deputy. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Napa Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) has started a program to help small businesses that suffered physical losses or economic injury as a result of the October 2017 wildfires. Grants are now available to Napa County businesses that applied for a disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), but were declined. The program is a collaboration between the Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund managed by NVCF; the Napa-Sonoma Small Business Development Center, a nonprofit organization that provides expert no-cost advising in English and Spanish to small businesses in the North Bay; and Working Solutions. Business owners who were ineligible to apply for an SBA disaster loan may also be considered for a grant if they lost property or revenues because of the fires. We are excited to be helping small business owners recover in partnership with the Napa-Sonoma SBDC and Working Solutions, said NVCF President Terence Mulligan. Because most of the fire damage to our business community has come in the form of economic losses, and Economic Injury Disaster Loans are still available through the SBA until July, weve built this program for business owners who cant access the federal governments disaster aid dollars, he added. For details call 529-1234 for English and 293-6088 for Spanish. Tuesday, May 15 0853 -- Non-injury accident at Main/Madrona. 0906 -- A suspicious man had been escorted off school grounds on Grayson Avenue after trying to use a restroom. He was last seen walking west down Grayson. 1129 -- The metal barricade on the west side of Main/Hunt was broken at its base. Caltrans was notified. 1216 -- Marijuana smoke was billowing out of a Chrysler sedan near Main/Grayson. It was last seen headed south on Main Street. 1228 -- Report of three dogs left in a Jaguar parked on Spring Street. Two windows were partially down, but the car was parked in the sun. The caller was concerned that the same thing has been occurring for multiple days, although the dogs dont seem to be in distress. 1549 -- A rope from the sign over downtown Main Street was hanging low enough to possibly get stuck on a passing truck. 1618 -- Report of a drunk man smelling of alcohol and stumbling around near Church/Hunt. He was asking for a ride to his car, which was parked at a winery in south St. Helena. Officers had dealt with him earlier in the day. They arrested the 32-year-old St. Helena man on suspicion of DUI and violating probation. Napa Valley College has named two outstanding educators Dr. Steven Fawl of Vacaville and Paul Wagner of Napa as winners of the 2018-19 McPherson Award, created to recognize top teachers in honor of the schools founding president, Dr. Harry McPherson. Fawl wrote an 800-page chemistry textbook last year to cap his 40-year career as a teacher, including 33 at Napa Valley College. I knew Dr. McPherson, and I know his daughter, Ann Cash, who during the infancy of the Napa Valley College Foundation introduced me to the Gasser Foundation, to plan one of the first computer networks on campus, said Fawl. But his real claim to fame is not a book or a computer system. It is helping students understand that chemistry is life. Chemistry involves all of the disciplines math, physics, biology, said Fawl. It is the central science. I see chemistry every day, all around me, so I make it fun because I enjoy it and I want to be in the classroom. There is no better place in the world for me to be. A student noted NVCs founder in nominating Fawl. Dr. McPherson went out of his way to ensure the success of his students, the student wrote. He succeeded by putting his students first. Dr. Fawl is the epitome of Dr. McPhersons dream for the success of NVC. The school is better every day because of people like Dr. Fawl, as he will never stop contributing to its success. Fawls book Insights in Chemistry, now in its second edition, is receiving rave reviews from chemistry educators who say Fawl is breaking new ground in a subject that has been around for approximately 24 centuries. Thats because Fawl uses his own art to explain chemistry. Likewise, Wagner calls upon his own experiences when teaching about wine. He said he tries to reach students who sit in the back of the room, like he did when he was a student. If I can keep that student in the back interested and involved, the rest of the class will be no problem, said Wagner. At NVC, what makes teaching so rewarding is that the students are actively involved in the wine industry, so I take advantage of that experience while I teach. Wagner recently retired from running Balzac Communications of Napa, but will teach the Wines of Germany class this spring at NVC, and in the fall will return to teach Wine Marketing and Sales, and A Cultural Appreciation of Wine. Wagner was nominated by a reader who raved about his book, Wine Marketing and Sales. He is not teaching what he imagines the wine industry to be; he is teaching proven industry practice, said the nominator, adding that Wagner empowers students to function at the highest levels of the wine industry. The teaching award is not the only honor Wagner is receiving this year. He will be recognized in November by the American Wine Society as the winner of its annual Award of Merit for 2018. In addition, Wagner said he will publish two new books this year: Artisan Public Relations and Wine Sales and Distribution. Actor and Assam Tourism Ambassador Priyanka Chopra is now in Bangladeshs Coxs Bazaar, for a field visit for UNICEF, visiting one of the largest refugee camps in the world. Chopra, who is a global Unicef Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights has visited the Syrian kids in Jordan last year. She is there to visit one of the largest refugee camps where children are living in an atrocious condition. Priyanka described the condition of the overcrowded refugee camps and appealed to her followers to support the good cause of UNICEF. In an Instagram post, she wrote, Im in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh today for a field visit with UNICEF, to one of the largest refugee camps in the world. 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% are children! Many months later they are still highly vulnerable, living in overcrowded camps with no idea when or where they will ever belongeven worse, when they will get their next meal. ANDas they finally start to settle and feel a sense of safety, monsoon season loomsthreatening to destroy all that theyve 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. These kids are our future. Pls Lend your support at www.supportunicef.org 35-year-old Chopra, 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. Armenia FM, Belarus ambassador discuss regional issues Bitcoin price rises above $ 57,000 Armenia PM to pay working visit to Russia Azerbaijan State Border Service calls on Iran officials to avoid to spread false and defamatory information Gas price in Europe exceeds $ 1,100 per 1,000 cubic meters Man, 37, found half-naked on Armenia river bank 601 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Legal team: Armenia ex-defense minister does not accept charge against him Russia peacekeepers ensure pilgrims safe visit to Karabakhs Amaras Monastery Child, 9, found dead under concrete rubble in Yerevan (PHOTOS) Artsakh historical, cultural heritage being discussed in Yerevan with participation of international specialists US embassy in Armenia to be closed Monday World gold prices drop Armenia participates in Europes largest trade fair for food within EU4Business Initiative World oil prices going up Woman kills mother with psychotropic drugs in Gyumri Borrell: EU is facing risk of turning from subject into object of world politics California law requires selling gender-neutral baby products 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 Citizens holding rally demanding release of Mikheil Saakashvili near parliament in Tbilisi 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. 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 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 Iraq holding snap parliamentary elections 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 Ukrainian tourist, 64, dies suddenly near Armenias Temple of Garni 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 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 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 OSCE Minsk Group: Co-Chairs discussed possible de-escalatory and humanitarian measures Sergey Markedonov: What axis between Yerevan and Tehran? Armenia Parliament Speaker: It's very important to be able to turn the page over and establish peace in the region 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 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 Hague court announces dates for considering petition for Armenian captives return, urgent measures against Azerbaijan Armenia minister, Rosatom representative discuss cooperation in new sectors for infrastructure development YEREVAN. Azerbaijan must realize that it is impossible to achieve a solid peace without Nagorno-Karabakhs (Artsakh) direct participation in the negotiations. Tigran Balayan, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia, on Tuesday noted the above-said at a briefing with reporters. As per Balayan, however, it is nothing new that the Armenian side to the Karabakh conflict insists on Karabakhs direct participation in the peace talks. Its just that the realities have changed now, Balayan added, and that assumes the Nagorno-Karabakh Republics greater participation in the negotiation process. But he recalled that Artsakh is involved in these talks in one way or another, and that there are documents on the need for participation of all parties involved. Azerbaijan refuses to directly negotiate with Karabakh, the Armenian MFA spokesperson said, in particular. But the cease-fire agreement was result of direct negotiations. Today, our task is that the authorities of Baku () realize that the way to achieve results is Karabakhs direct participation in the negotiations. But he stressed that even though Armeniabeing the guarantor of Artsakhs securitydoes not refuse to participate in negotiations, Karabakhs participation is a necessary condition for reaching a lasting and solid peace. Armenias position has not changed, Tigran Balayan noted, in particular. And he added that the mediatorsthe OSCE Minsk Group co-chairshave announced that they plan to visit Armenia in June, and speak with the new leadership of the country. YEREVAN. Armenia will do its best to hold the Francophonie summit at the highest level, spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry Tigran Balayan told reporters on Tuesday. The preparation for the summit was discussed at the meeting with the PM on Monday. We have to admit that we are a little behind the schedule. At the end of the meeting, instructions were given, and we can state there will be no deviation from the schedule. During the summit it is planned to adopt one of the most important documents - the Yerevan Pact, and several other documents, Balayan said. Over 100 delegations and 83 associated member states and observers as well as international organizations will participate in the summit. One of the delegations organizing the event will visit Armenia today to hold meetings with the representatives of various state agencies. YEREVAN It is necessary to be guided by case-to-case approach on the political prisoners issue, First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told Azatutyun. Asked about the options to release political prisoners, Mirzoyan noted: There should be legal mechanisms. There used to be people whose orders were used to conduct fictitious trials, and citizens were behind bars. This is illegal and immoral. According to him, it is important not to create a similar old system. People were thrown to jails at that time, and now the doors of prisons will simply be opened by putting pressure on the courts and their right to make decisions. If we go this way, it will mean that the revolution failed, that people did not get what they were struggling for. This will be a fatal mistake. We will settle the issue with the help of legal mechanisms, Mirzoyan said. YEREVAN. The Republican Party of Armenia, being a political force and the opposition, will act solely in the national interests of Armenia, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov told reporters on Tuesday. Sharmazanov hopes the new government will also act in the interests of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. We will be constructive opposition. We are not going to artificially confront the current government. But, there are a number of points for which we do not imagine any discussions or negotiations. There are questions on which we will be unswerving, Sharmazanov noted referring to the development of political pluralism, democracy, and dissent. According to him, these principles developed during the RPA governance despite all the shortcomings, while the new government could follow their lead. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic cannot be a part of Azerbaijan at all, the Deputy Speaker noted adding that the right of the people of Karabakh to self-determination is not subject to discussion. This is not an issue of a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but a struggle for the right to self-determination, the struggle for the protection of human rights, and freedom, Sharmazanov said, adding that Armenia is not a party to the conflict, but a guarantor of the security of the Karabakh people. He highlighted the importance of diversifying the Armenian economy and maintaining high rates of economic growth, which were achieved during the period of the Republican Party. The current government inherited from us a country with an economic growth of 7.5% and we expect to see the same results, Sharmazanov said. Deputy Speaker also noted the importance of preserving Armenia within Eurasian Economic Union and CSTO, highlighting the need for further development and deepening of cooperation. YEREVAN.- Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received on Tuesday the delegation led by President of the House of the Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Syllouris. Greeting the guests, the PM noted that Armenia-Cyprus relations have historical roots and there is no lack of warmth between the two nations. "I am glad that our countries have common views on regional issues. We attach importance to the Cyprus role in the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the prevention and condemnation of genocides, "Nikol Pashinyan said. The prime minister highly appreciated the position of Cyprus and the support of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on the Karabakh conflict. Pashinyan stressed that the Armenian government is interested in the further development of cooperation with Cyprus in the political, economic and security spheres and attached importance to the cooperation with Cyprus within the framework of Armenia-EU relations. The President of the House of the Representatives of Cyprus congratulated Nikol Pashinian on his election as Prime Minister and expressed confidence that the cooperation between the two countries will be developed. "You can be sure that we will assume the role of the Armenian representative in the European Union and will try to take steps towards the ratification of the Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement and the visa liberalization process," Demetris Syllouris said. Prime Minister Pashinyan and Demetris Syllouris highlighted the development of trilateral cooperation between Armenia, Cyprus and Greece and expressed hope that the sides will continue to work actively in this direction in future. Nikol Pashinyan asked to convey his greetings to Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and reaffirm his invitation to attend the 17th Francophonie Summit to be held in Yerevan this autumn. During the meeting the interlocutors also touched upon a number of issues of mutual interest. On Sunday, May 27, 2018, Colombia is set to carry out the first round of its scheduled presidential elections. These elections will be historic for two principal reasons: First, it constitutes the first presidential contest to take place in Colombia in the wake of the countrys November 2016 peace accord signed between the FARC (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces) Marxist guerrillas and the government of Colombian President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Juan Manuel Santos (2010-14; 2014-18) that formally ended 52 years of internal civil war; and secondly, after 16 years with President Alvaro Uribe (2002-2006; 2006-2010) or President Santos at the helm, Colombia is poised to elect a new generation of post-conflict political leaders who will take office on August 7, and strive to guide the country into a new era of peace and prosperity. The elections have been hotly contested by a wide range of candidates since early 2018. If no single candidate wins the required majority of 50 percent plus one in the first round on May 27, a second round of voting between the two top finishers will be held on June 17, to determine who will be inaugurated as Colombias next president on August 7. With an estimated turnout of between 15 million and 16 million voters expected (less than half of the eligible voting population of about 34 million), a first-round winner would need approximately 7.5 million to 8 million votes. At this late date, as a result of major intra-party schisms on both the right and left of the political spectrum and the highly fragmented outcomes of the March 11 congressional elections, no major candidate has been able to forge political alliances sufficient to allow him to win outright in the first round. So, barring a major surprise, a second round is very likely. Colombias preelection voting surveys and polls are notoriously unreliable, in large part because they are usually sponsored and financed by one or anotherpolitical candidate or party and, hence, biased or skewed. Nonetheless, by stringing together multiple surveys from different sources since January 2018, the available evidence as of May 17 strongly indicates that the right-wing candidate, Ivan Duque, has consistently kept a substantial lead over his main rivals ahead of the rapidly approaching May 27 election date, with 35 percent of voters saying they planned to back him. Support for Duque, a protege of former right-wing President Uribe, fell three points from the last YanHaas survey in April. Leftist candidate Gustavo Petro, a former member of Colombias M-19 guerrilla rebel movement and ex-mayor of Bogota, was in second place with 26 percent, down two points from the last survey by YanHaas. Centrist Sergio Fajardo was third with 14 percent and support for center-right German Vargas Lleras was 6 percent. Several other candidates, including liberal Humberto de la Calle, ranked even lower in the polls and appeared to have no realistic chance on May 27. The FARC presidential standard bearer received less than 1 percent support in the opinion polls and dropped out of the race after the March congressional election, revealing the depths of FARCs unpopularity in the country. All signs point to a likely runoff between right-wing candidate Duque and left-wing candidate Petro. The ideological and programmatic differences between the two candidates are stark. Duque is pro-U.S., likely to undermine or dismantle the Santos peace accords, and unconcerned with human rights or addressing the problems of Colombias rural and urban poor or the severe wealth, income and land inequalities that characterize Colombia. Petro favors the peace accord and has proposed major socialist- style reforms for the country if he wins. The presidential campaign debates have not been lofty or edifying. In fact, the entire campaign has been characterized by dirty politics, false accusations, fake news and venality on both sides. The Colombian right has conducted a systematic (and largely false) smear campaign against Petro and the Colombian left, linking them with the FARC and accusing them of favoring ruinous Castro-Chavista style authoritarian socialism and Maduros Venezuela, while Petro has consistently denounced Duque as a corrupt, Uribista-style puppet of the Colombian ruling class who favors repressive and antidemocratic policies against the rural and urban poor, and who will dismantle the peace accords with the FARCdragging Colombia back into permanent war with rebel forces. None of the candidates have seriously addressed Colombias most important and pressing socio-economic and political problems, such as rising drug-related violence, organized crime, poverty, lack of infrastructure, rampant judicial and political corruption, possible negotiations with the ELN guerrillas, effective implementation of the faltering peace accords, or how to deal with an increasingly hostile Trump administration in Washington, among many other key issues. Duque is far and away the most likely victor in a second-round runoff. What is unclear is how he will seek to govern the country after August 7 or if he will have sufficient congressional support to implement any of his administrations policy priorities. Unfortunately, at this moment the most likely scenario is that Colombia under Duque will face an unraveling of the historic Santos-FARC peace accords, rising levels of internal violence and conflict, and serious problems of effective governance and corruption. Bruce Bagley is a professor of political science at the University of Miami and an expert on U.S.-Latin American relations. Carbondale Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours to showcase SIU Career Development by Christi Mathis CARBONDALE, Ill. Local employers can partner with Southern Illinois University Carbondales Career Development Center to help recruit well-qualified employees and promote their businesses. The center provides career and professional development services to students and alumni and connects them with employers for internships and post-graduate employment. The Carbondale Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours on June 6 will give local employers the opportunity to learn more about what the center offers and various partnership opportunities. All welcome, chambers and businesses encouraged to attend The event is set for 4:30-6:30 p.m. at SIUs Student Services Building. Organizers say they look forward to connecting with representatives from the regions chambers of commerce and from local businesses. Tours, refreshments and more Visitors can park in the lot directly in front of the Student Services Building; no parking decal is required that night. Free tours of the Student Services Building will begin at 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Sign up now While there is no cost to attend, participants are asked to register in advance to allow proper planning of accommodations. Register for Business After Hours online with the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce. Valuable door prize available Businesses/employers are invited to bring their business cards to the event in order to enter a drawing for a valuable prize: free registration for one job fair the Career Development Center will host during the 2018-2019 school year. Its a $400 value and the winner may choose to participate in the STEM Job Fair on Sept. 25, the fall Job and Internship Fair on Oct. 10, or the spring Job and Internship Fair on Feb. 19, 2019. Learn how to start or expand a business at SIU workshop on June 12 by Christi Mathis CARBONDALE, Ill. Got an idea for a great business? Want to take your current small business to the next level? Southern Illinois University Carbondale is offering an informational workshop youll want to attend. The Starting a Business in Illinois workshop will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on June 12 in Room 150 at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, 1740 Innovation Drive in Carbondale. Participants receive presentation, toolkit and more for $20 The two-hour presentation incorporates all of the most current information regarding what it takes to create a successful business or expand an existing enterprise. Topics covered include: Start-up requirements. Obtaining financing. Legal structure. Business planning. Licensing and registration. Marketing research and planning. A question and answer session will follow the presentation. Workshop participants will also connect with certified business advisers who can help them assess their plans and reach their goals. The cost of the workshop is $20 and that covers the business toolkit, in both print and electronic formats, as well. The kit includes various helpful checklists, guides, and resource booklets from the Illinois Small Business Development Center statewide network and the U.S. Small Business Administration, as well as other helpful information. Limited seating fills up fast Pre-registration is required and seating is limited so organizers recommend early sign-up. Find additional information or register online. You can also call 618/536-2424 or email sbdc@siu.edu. SBDC helps business owners in many ways SIU Carbondale hosts the Illinois Small Business Development Center with funding provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The center provides a wide variety of services to current and prospective business owners and others. Learn more about SIUs entrepreneurship and business development programs and services by contacting the Illinois Small Business Development Center at 618/536-2424 or by email at sbdc@siu.edu. Home | News | General | Obasanjo, Gowon commend ABUAD for improving countrys education sector By Rotimi Ojomoyela ADO-EKITIFORMER President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd), yesterday, commended the Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, ABUAD, saying it is a citadel of learning that has brought respect to the academic image of the country at the global scene. Obasanjo They said with the establishment of ABUAD by its founder, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, the country was gradually regaining its pride of place at the international level in the area of improved scholarship. The projects commissioned included the newly built 18 metres Dome Planetarium for Exploratory Trip for Space, Tele-medicine equipment at the Teaching Hospital that would facilitate free interaction of Aster doctors in Dubai with their patients here in Ado Ekiti, the multi-billion naira Postgraduate Hall and the state of the art Social and Management Science building .Its a blessing to NigeriaObasanjo Obasanjo said: ABUAD is gradually transforming Nigeria. When I reappointed Chief Afe Babalola the Chairman and Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, he was determined to turn things around but that environment did not permit him. I want to thank God today that he had started translating those dreams to reality. I can say that ABUAD has become a huge blessing to Nigeria. ABUAD becoming a trailblazerGowon Commending ABUAD, Gowon said: This University is becoming a trailblazer in all aspects. The development is attracting global body to invest and the product was what you are seeing in the memoranda it was signing with big educational and health institutions across the globe. ABUAD is doing well in academics, morality and in agriculture. Look at the farm set up by the founder, Chief Babalola. It has offered employment and increasing food production in Nigeria. No need for medical tourismBabalola In his remarks, Babalola said with the establishment of Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital, it would be of no need for Nigerians to travel abroad for medical treatments. His words, This University was set up to be a real example of 21st-century university. A modern university that can compete with any university in advanced nations. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, on Monday inaugurated what he described as the upgraded website of his office, Speaking at an event in his office in Abuja, Mustapha put the cost of the upgraded website at N64m. The Federal Government had allocated N65m for the project in the 2017 Budget. There was a contract in 2017. The figure is in the public domain. It is about N64m, including procurement of laptops, training, consultancy services. The contract was awarded by the Bureau of Public Procurement in accordance with the Procurement Act, Mustapha said when he was asked to state the cost of the upgrade. He added, The functions and responsibilities of this office makes it highly imperative for it to have a functional website that will deliver information about the structure, policy thrust and activities of this administration on a daily basis. The need to lead MDAs compliance with the dictates of Executive Order 001 on the Ease of Doing Business, particularly relating to the directive to the MDAs to host a functional website formed part of the reasons for this upgrade. The old OSGFs website did not reflect the status of the OSGF and was characterised by the following limitations: the technology upon which the website was developed is old, hence limited features; limited security features which made the website prone to hackers; media files such as video clips are hosted on external server which is contrary to government policies; and the website did not comply with the standards of operationalisation of Executive Order 001. Through the platform, Mustapha said members of the public would request for information from government, submit ideas and lodge complaints. Home | News | General | Nigerian man who studied a 4 year course for 7 years gets his PhD, recounts how his lecturer told him he was carrying a useless degree - A Nigerian man has shared the story of how he achieved a doctorate degree after failing for so long - The man also stated that a lecturer had told him that he was carrying a useless degree - He noted that he had studied a 4 year course for 7 years because he failed Toba Bamigboye is the latest doctorate degree holder and he was full of so much joy that he decided to share his story on Facebook. The man had recounted how he never thought of getting a doctorate degree because he failed a lot while he was in the university. According to Bamigboye, he was left behind by a lot of his classmates because he failed. He revealed that he studied philosophy for 7 years instead of 4 years because he could not keep up. He noted that he finally graduated with a bachelors degree from the Federal University of Agriculture. Nigerian man gets his PhD, recounts how his lecturer told him 'you are carrying a useless degree' Photo source: Facebook user Toba Bamigboye READ ALSO: Meet 25-year-old who became the youngest PhD holder from Nigerian university Bamigboye who had graduated with a third class finally moved on to study his masters and later achieved his PhD. The man who gave thanks to God for his achievement, recounted the story of how his zoology professor had called his degree a useless one in the university. He stated that the professor would be surprised to hear that the degree had given him the ability to produce three postgraduate degrees abroad. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News on NAIJ.com News He also expressed sadness that his late father could not rejoice with him. He, however, stated that his father would be happy for him. PAY ATTENTION: Get the hottest gist on Naija Uncensored Facebook Group Read post below: "Today I am holding a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) dee. It is not really new that people get a PhD but my own story might be a bit interesting. I graduated from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) with a third class degree. I did this third class degree for over 7 years. It was a period of horrible experiences. All class mates left me behind I remember I was actually tempted to drop out. But I managed to stay back to at least get a degree so it won't be a wasted years. Today I have a doctorate degree in the same discipline. I vividly remember a Professor of Zoology in FUNAAB who is popularly known for tyranny told me and I quote "You are carrying a useless degree". I wonder how he will feel when he knows that the useless degree has produced 3 postgraduate degrees outside the shores of Nigeria including a Master of Science degree with a distinction and a Doctorate degree. May be my story will give him a repentant heart towards poor students and even unserious ones. How things turn around, Christ is the source. All glory to him. I am only sad that my late dad all through the struggle never gave up on me but he did not wait to see this success. He invested all he has to see me succeed. I am sure he is rejoicing in heaven over this. And that is why I dedicate this degree to you my Late Dad (Late Elder Joseph Bamigboye). Death did not make you see this but I am sure you are glad in heaven. My mum intensified prayers and support in a very aggressive manner to see the cup pass over me. Thanks to her. Also to everyone who did not give up on me in a state of despair you are super hero. It is easy to identify with success but thanks for being close when failure was speaking too loud. To God be all the glory. To every discouraged people out there, please do not focus on the negative and do not be hopeless, and do not give up, it will soon be over." Meet Bayo Adedeji, the Nigerian businessman making millions from selling yam (Success Story) - on NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | It is not me - Ambodes wife raises alarm, says fraudsters impersonating her extort innocent Nigerians - Bolanle Ambode says she has not mandated anyone to pose as her representative to extort money from Nigerians - Bolanle says the individual, whose name is not mentioned, uses social media to carry out his or her fraudulent activities - She wants affected members of the public to report to law enforcement agencies Bolanle, the wife of the governor of Lagos state, Akinwunmi Ambode on Tuesday, May 22, distanced herself from the criminal activities of a certain individual posing as her representative to extort money from unsuspecting Nigerians. Bolanle Ambode, in a statement signed by the assistant director, public affairs, Folashade Kadiri, said the unknown individual has been utilizing social media platforms to disguise as her representative to defraud people, alerting Nigerians to be wary of such entreaties from any person. READ ALSO: 35 killed as soldiers engage herdsmen in gunfight, weapons recovered The statement read: The attention of Her Excellency, Bolanle Ambode, wife of the governor of Lagos state, has been drawn to the criminal activities of a certain individual, masquerading as her representative, for the purpose of exhorting money from unsuspecting persons, using the social media platform. Her Excellency wishes to state very emphatically, that she has no links whatsoever with such fraudulent element, neither has she authorized anyone to act on her behalf in questionable circumstances. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app She also urged members of the public to be vigilant and avoid dealings with shadowy figures, purporting to be representing her, for motives that are self-serving and clearly dubious, while calling on them to report to the law enforcement agencies to ensure that the unscrupulous individual behind such nefarious act could be arrested and made to face the wrath of the law. NAIJ.com earlier reported that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, on Monday, May 21, urged traditional rulers to work towards ensuring peace and security and as well be at the forefront of correcting anti-social behaviours in their communities. According Ambode, the peaceful atmosphere remains the necessary ingredient for development. The governor who spoke while inaugurating the newly constituted Lagos state council of obas and chiefs, said traditional rulers also have a pivotal role to perform in promoting tourism campaign being the custodians of culture and tradition of the people BUSTED: Professional Hacker Nabbed Over Fraudulent Purchase of N28million Porshe | Naij.com TV [embedded content] Subscribe to watch new videos Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | 2019 Presidency: Tanimu intensifies consultations Solicits support of ex-PDP Ministers By Dirisu Yakubu ABUJA-Former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Barrister Kabiru Tanimu Turaki has continued his nationwide consultation in his quest to clinch the sole Presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2019 elections. Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Kabiru, the latest high-profile politician to join the PDP Presidential race yesterday met with former Adamawa State governor, Mr. Boni Haruna, Professor Abubakar Sulaiman and Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, erstwhile Ministers of National Planning and Finance (state) respectively. Although details of the meeting remained sketchy as at press time, a member of the Kabiru Turaki Presidential Campaign Organisation who pleaded anonymity said soft-spoken Turaki has been receiving scores of political figures in his office located at the Jimmy Carter street, Abuja, in the past few weeks, preparatory to his formal declaration. According to our source, the Presidential aspirant is currently enjoying a lot of support across the country even from people who are not members of the PDP, adding that as a result, the man (Turaki) has turned out to be the aspirant to beat for the sole ticket. He didnt just wake up to join the race but those who knew him, his experience and capacity for work prevailed on him to seek the ticket. Those you saw here earlier today (referring to Boni Haruna, Professor Sulaiman and Ambassador Yuguda) are not just his friends but close political associates. And I can tell you that this man has what it takes to beat other contestants to the flag of our party, he said. Meanwhile, Vanguard can authoritatively report that members of the PDP Former Ministers Forum are currently supporting one of their own for the hotly-contested ticket. Turaki chairs the forum and used its platform to provide uncommon solidarity for the party while litigations on the leadership tussle lasted. Members of the forum drawn from the six geo-political zones are to rally support for the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in their respective states; a development that is likely to work in the favour of Turaki who has entered into an agreement with his fellow aspirants that whoever clinches the ticket would enjoy the support of others. As it were, Turaki would be up against the Gombe State governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, his Jigawa State counterpart, Sule Lamido and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar but with the seemingly no hurdle on the path of the ex-Kebbi State guber aspirant, there are chances the ticket may be his lose, in the words of a member of his publicity team. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Army commander says Irans people will punch U.S. Secretary of State in the mouth A senior Iranian military commander poured scorn on U.S. threats to tighten sanctions on Tuesday, saying the Islamic Republics people would respond by punching U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the mouth. Pompeo said on Monday Washington would impose new penalties if Tehran did not make sweeping changes, including dropping its nuclear program and pulling out of the Syrian civil war. Two weeks after President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran, his administration has threatened to impose the strongest sanctions in history, setting Washington nd Tehran further on a course of confrontation. The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this and they will deliver a strong punch to the mouth of the American Secretary of State and anyone who backs them, Ismail Kowsari, the deputy commander of the Sarollah Revolutionary Guards base in Tehran said, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency. Limiting Irans missile capabilities was one of Pompeos main demands. Who are you and America to tell us to limit the range of ballistic missiles? Kowsari said, according to ILNA. History has shown that with the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, America is the top criminal with regard to missiles, he added. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the branch of the Revolutionary Guards that carries out operations outside Irans borders, was singled out by Pompeo as a top troublemaker in the Middle East. Kowsari said the Iranian people back Soleimani. Soleimani is not a single person. The great people of Iran support him, Kowsari said. Separately, Irans government spokesman said the plan outlined by Pompeo would exacerbate the publics hostility to the U.S. Do the Americans think that the silk glove that theyve taken out and the iron hand that theyve extended to the people, a hand thats backed by Israel and the [Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organisation], will make Iranian people think that America wants democracy? Mohammad Nobakht said on Tuesday, according to state media. The Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) is an exiled Iranian armed opposition group which has called for the overthrow of the Iranian government for decades. John Bolton, the U.S. national security advisor, has been a supporter of the MKO, which the Iranian government sees as a terrorist group. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General President Muhammadu Buhari says a former president has questions to answer over the $16 billion power project. Buhari said this on Tuesday when he hosted the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) led by Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service. Although he did not mention the name of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Buhari asked where was the power after a former president claimed to have spent $16 billion on the project? You know the rail was killed and one of the former heads of state was bragging that he spent more than 15 billion American dollars on power. Where is the power? Where is the power? he asked. In 2008, the house of representatives had described $16 billion spent on power by Obasanjos government as colossal waste, blaming it on poor budget planning and a lack of proper oversight by relevant bodies. Two years ago, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urged Walter Onnoghen, chief justice of Nigeria, to appoint an independent counsel to investigate allegations of corruption in the spending of $16 billion on electricity by Obasanjos government. Buhari told his guest that his government had invested heavily in infrastructure. He also appealed to Nigerians to live in one accord, narrating his experiences before he won the 2015 election. Now, we have to pay debts. This year and last years budget had the highest in capital projects: more than 1.3 trillion naira. Let anybody come and confront me publicly in the national assembly, he said. What have they been doing? Some of them have been there for 10 years, what have they been doing? I said it about eight years ago that we have no other country than Nigeria. We should remain here and salvage it together no matter what you have outside. Now we get some of the people with houses here and may be in Abuja or somewhere in America and Europe, they swear, some of them to God, that it doesnt belong to them. But their accounts, through the banks, through their companies, it is their own. But they say its not their own. This is a terrible time and the people are saying what are we doing? Why cant you lock them up? And again, I went on by telling them that when I was in uniform, younger and rather ruthless, I got from the president downward locked up. I said youre guilty, except you prove yourselves innocent. I myself was locked up and those who misappropriated public funds were given back what they had taken away. Who did anything about it? Then I decided to come again. I tried one, two, three four times. God agreed. And the third time I came and met a statesman outside the supreme court. My chief lawyer was Mike Ahamba, Roman Catholic and Igbo. He had witnessed in the box and asked the panel of judges that they should check on certain constituencies in certain states to bring us our register so that we can prove that the people that voted there were the people INEC submitted. They said ah! We shall do it. They said no, you must write it. They wrote it. Whether to send to NEC or INEC refused them but when they came to give judgment, this issue was not raised. Another Igbo man, a Roman Catholic, he said that this is what happened. He was among the panel of the judges, he wrote a minority report in my favour. So, why this question of religion and ethnicity and so on. People are worshipping the dollars, the sterlings not to even talk of the naira. He wrote a minority reports saying this is what we have decided. But the president of that court was my classmate for six years in secondary school; he is from my own state. So, please, we have nothing to regret. Absolutely nothing. Since we all believe that God works in our hearts not in our talking. God help us, God help our children and grandchildren. We will try as much as we can to work and bring this country back to its senses. God has given Nigeria everything; we are rich in human and material resources that let us keep praying to God that He should put people of conscience in charge at all levels. Ovie Omo-Agege, senator representing Delta central, refused to testify before an ad hoc committee of the national assembly probing the theft of the senate mace. Speaking when he appeared before the committee on Tuesday, the lawmaker said he would not speak because the matter is in court. He listed Senate President Bukola Saraki and Bala NaAllah, chairman of the committee, as defandants of the suit. Ordinarily, I will love to take these opportunity to respond to the allegations raised but I am here to inform you that I have gone to court and parties have been served, the senator said. The action was taken on the 21st of May, 2018 and all the parties enumerated have been served. On his part, NaAllah said he could not be served by his office. I cannot be served by my office. You should know this, he said. I have no problem recieving service. Maybe due to my inadequate knowledge of the law. The service has to be personal. Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna central and a member of the committee, asked Omo-Agege to defend his actions. I came here to hear a revolutionary speech to defend your actions. If he is not ready to speak, we should not sit here and be gisting on other issues, he said. On her part, Betty Apiafi, co-chair of the committee and lawmaker of the house of representatives, said section 62 of constitution does not stop them from investigating the matter. But Omo-Agege stood his ground, citing order 3(5) of the senate standing order. The order restricts the senate from probing a case that is in court. But NaAllah argued that there is nothing illegal about investigating the allegations levelled against the Delta senator yet Omo-Agege refused to comment on the issue. On his part, Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south, who was accused of being complicit in the mace theft, denied any wrong doing. He recommended the overhauling of the security architecture of the national assembly. I didnt know we were that exposed. For me to prevent someone from taking the mace [to safety]. I dont have any authority to do that, Ndume said. That day it was only thugs and everyone ran to the tea room. Victor Uwajeh, a private investigator, says he was disengaged from the Special Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property because he refused to probe Senate President Bukola Saraki and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members. Uwajeh was appointed to the panel to track stolen funds stashed in the UK in March but he was disengaged on April 23. The investigator was said to have been fired for failing to disclose a criminal charge pending against him. The federal government had filed a four-count criminal charge bordering on forgery, impersonation, fraud and illegally procuring forged documents against him. In a statement on Tuesday, Uwajeh said though the mandate given to him was to track assets of politically exposed persons, he realised that the panel had its agenda. This was also followed by a memorandum of understanding dated 3rd April 2018 and signed by the Chairman of the Panel Okoi Obono Obla. Subsequent upon these I started working for the panel to trace assets of politically exposed persons in line with the mandate given to me in the documents executed, the statement read. It was the procedure of the Panel to courier documents to me from Nigeria for despatch to various Agencies in the United Kingdom and worldwide. Soon after I realised that the Panel has a mindset towards certain individuals and groups by the documents it sent to me. Documents sent to me from Abuja to despatch to the Serious Fraud Office and Home Office, Metropolitan Police, FBI and EUROPOL had the names of the following senators; Senate President Bukola Saraki, deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu, senator Albert Bassey Akpan, senator Stella Adaeze Oduah. I was also given a list which includes former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Femi Fani Kayode, senator James Manager, governor Nyesom Wike and senator Jonah Jang, Patience Jonathan amongst others. Most people who were already being tried by the EFCC were also singled out by the SIPP for investigation which calls to question the motives of Government as regards effective prosecution. The investigator said he recommended the investigation of some of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but it was turned down. This raised a red flag and as a professional I made my complaint immediately and made my position known to Okoi Obono Obla to transmit to the attorney-general and minister of justice, it read. I told him that I will not be a party to one sided investigation to muscle in the opposition and persecute them I made my position known that I am ready to expose corruption and recover stolen assets as a professional but will not be involved in the politics of pull them down in Nigeria. My refusal to dance to the tune of the government and SIPP led to my disengagement. He wondered why it took the government a full month to realise that he had a case in court. My refusal has led to sustained assault on my person by the attorney-general and minister of justice Abubakar Malami. My refusal to work with the APC led government to humiliate the so-called enemies of Government has led me into exile, it read. The Nigeria Police led by Ibrahim Kpotun Idris has continued to side with senator Emmanuel Nnamdi uba (Andy Uba) to stop him from paying me my professional fees. IGP Ibrahim Idris is an expert in setting people up and twisting issues to incriminate his enemies. Abubakar Malami, Ibrahim Kpotun Idris and Mohammed Etsu should note that they cannot continue to be in this position forever and remember that power is transient. Nigeria can only move forward when the fight against corruption is not selective but holistic no matter whose ox is gored. The federal high court in Abuja on Tuesday issued a warrant for his arrest. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek a second term in office. CAN said this on Tuesday while commiserating with the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) as it conducts mass burial for the two priests and parishioners killed by the Fulani herdsmen in Benue State recently. Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the Special Assistant on media to CAN President, Rev Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, in a statement described the present moment in Nigeria as a trying time for the church. We also urge all Christians to identify with the Catholic Church in its nationwide peaceful protest against senseless killings in Nigeria, it noted. CAN asked the Nigerian security agencies to rise up to the security challenges in the country. It expressed dismay that killing of innocent was assuming global embarrassment with mass burial being carried out at all times without a country like Nigeria fighting a war. The statement added: CAN calls on President Muhammadu Buhari not to forget his 2015 campaign promises including fighting insecurity and keeping Nigeria united and upon which Nigerians overwhelmingly voted for him. Buharis government should not fold arms and watch misguided Nigerians, mostly Boko Haram and herdsmen promote killing as a past time in the name of politics and ethnics while solution appears very elusive. CAN is disheartening to note that criminal Fulani herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers and other hoodlums have reduced Nigeria to a Banana Republic. This development is unacceptable and we call on all well-meaning people anywhere in the world to join hands in praying for the deliverance, freedom and liberty from this self-inflicted bondage. CAN asks President Buhari to suspend his re-election bid until he restores sanity to the country while ensuring the release of Leah Sharibu, the remaining Chibok girls and other abductees from the captivity of the Boko Haram terrorists. Beaver Dam, WI (53916) Today Thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High near 70F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Showers with a possible thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 58F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Somali immigrants defrauding U.S. taxpayers of $100 million to help fund terrorist organizations back home A recent investigation by a local TV news network found that many Somali immigrants are ripping off American taxpayers and sending upwards of $100 million a year back home to relatives, where much of the money winds up in the hands of terrorist groups. As reported by Fox 9, acting initially on tips, the station recently concluded a five-month investigation that involved millions of dollars in rampant fraud that was shipped overseas mostly in carry-on baggage: On the morning of March 15, Fox 9 chased a tip about a man who was leaving the country. Sources said he took a carry-on bag through security that was packed with $1 million in cash. Travelers can do that, as long as they fill out the proper government forms. Fox 9 learned that these cloak-and-dagger scenarios now happen almost weekly at MSP. The money is usually headed to the Middle East, Dubai and points beyond. Sources said last year alone, more than $100 million in cash left MSP in carry-on luggage. The station spoke to the go-to expert in mysterious money transfers, Glen Kerns a retired Seattle police detective who spent 15 years on the FBIs joint terrorism task force. What we were interested in is where [the money] was going, he told Fox 9. Its an outright crime, its unbelievable. (Related: Texas files suit to end Obamas unconstitutional DACA program.) Kerns said he tracked similar money flights that left the country with travelers flying out of Seattles international airport. The funds were coming from Hawalas businesses that are employed to courier money to countries that dont have official banking systems. The former officer discovered that some of the money was being sent to a Hawala in a region of Somalia that is controlled by the al-Shabab terrorist organization. Defrauding taxpayers I talked to a couple of sources who had lived in that region and I said, If money is going to this Hawala do you think it is going to al Shabaab?' Kerns said. And he said, Oh definitely, that area is controlled by al Shabaab, and they control the Hawala there. So even if the money was being shipped for legitimate purposes, a portion of it was being taken by the terrorist group or other groups who demanded a cut. It gets worse. As Kerns dug into the shipments, he discovered that a lot of the money was coming from Somalians who were on federal government assistance programs. We had sources that told us, Its welfare fraud, its all about the daycare, Kerns told the local news team. Fox 9 had already reported about five years ago that daycare fraud was rising in Minnesota. Businesses were gaming the system to steal millions in government payments and subsidies that were supposed to help low-income families. For the scheme to work, daycare centers had to enlist people who qualified for child care assistance. Surveillance videos showed that some parents would arrive with their kids, only to leave with them a few minutes later. In some cases, no children at all would arrive. But either way, the daycare billed the government for the full days worth of childcare. Other video showed a man giving out what was believed to be envelopes with cash kickbacks for parents in on the fraud. Its obscene. Even in the age of President Donald J. Trump, whose administration is redoubling its efforts to enforce all immigration laws, the United States remains one of the most open, welcoming countries in the world. If that were not the case we wouldnt allow so many migrants into the country, and then tolerate them ripping off taxpayers. The really sad part is this story about Somali migrant welfare abuse is just the tip of the iceberg. Read more about welfare fraud and abuse at BigGovernment.news. J.D. Heyes is also editor-in-chief of The National Sentinel. Sources include: Fox9.com NewsTarget.com i'm looking for horror recommendations if anyone has any. i didn't like the ritual, the invitation, it follows or the witch. they were all boring to me, tho the ritual looked cool at least. i have questionable taste. and i've seen everything, so i'm down to really b-list/c-list horror and obscure movies. i liked the new blair witch, devil's pass, and that catacombs movie. i even liked the ruins. please help. Reply Thread Link HMMM My suggestions based on your likes are The Veil, The Void, Hotel of the Damned (ya rly, as long as you don't pay for it lol), Triangle (highly recommended), The Wailing, Starry Eyes, The Crazies, As Above So Below, Oculus, The Windmill, The Damned, 1408, The Mist, Ouja: Origin of Evil, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Open Grave, and Last Shift (highly recommended). I assume you've already seen classics like Suspiria and The Thing. Reply Parent Thread Link thanks for these suggestions. i love the mist and 1408, but didn't like oculus and last shift. the crazies was ok, so i'm like exactly split on your suggestions. i'm gonna probs watch one soon. also i'd suggest rings (ring 3) to people (if you can watch it for free). the first hour of it is actually very good and what ring 2 shoulda been, but the second hour is garbage. but i also love all the final destination movies so i have questionable taste. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Ive very curious about the Autopsy of Jane Doe. Is it on Netflix? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link you miiiight like the Three Extremes movies. all 3 in the first one are enjoyable (especially Dumplings) and in the second one Memories is good, The Wheel is boring af, and Going Home is really great. also try The Wailing, A Dark Song, Marrowbone, Creep + Creep 2, Tragedy Girls, I Saw the Devil, and The Body [El Cuerpo] which is more of a thriller but has lots of creepy moments. Reply Parent Thread Link Favorite haunted house from a book: Does the "House of Leaves" count? It's not so much haunted as breaking into some kind of spacially impossible fifth dimension, but fuck me, that's the scariest book I've ever read. Favorite scary house IRL: The Winchester Mystery house, ofc. Ghosts aren't real "I don't believe in ghosts," but fuck me, that doesn't make this house any less creepy and fascinating. Favorite haunted house from a creepypasta you can read RIGHT NOW: Edited at 2018-05-22 12:11 am (UTC) Favorite haunted house from movies: the one from the original "The Haunting" from the 60's. Fuck me, does that movie inexplicably terrify me.Favorite haunted house from a book: Does the "House of Leaves" count? It's not so much haunted as breaking into some kind of spacially impossible fifth dimension, but fuck me, that's the scariest book I've ever read.Favorite scary house IRL: The Winchester Mystery house, ofc."I don't believe in ghosts," but fuck me, that doesn't make this house any less creepy and fascinating.Favorite haunted house from a creepypasta you can read RIGHT NOW: The Dionaea House . Fuck me, it's well written/presented and I can't believe it's not a movie yet. Reply Thread Link I read like three emails and noped away. Why are emails so weirdly creepy? Edited at 2018-05-22 12:31 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link I love how this one only shows you emails from one side of the conversation. Definitely makes things eerier. idk but Ted's Caving Page is similar (first-person journal entries, ANGELFIRE FUKKEN WEBSITE?) and is also a creepy-as-fuck fave.I love how this one only shows you emails from one side of the conversation. Definitely makes things eerier. Reply Parent Thread Link The original Haunting is the greatest. There's something about not actually seeing the ghosts but hearing them that makes it ultra-terrifying. And those close-ups of the face in the wallpaper combined with the voices is just--WOW. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yes to House of Leaves. It's in my top 10 favorite books of all time and I love re-reading it. Literally even thinking "ftaires" gives me the chills. It's such a visceral experience of a book. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/2hi7e6/information_im_dumping_here_for_safekeeping/ Omg thanks for the link to Dionaea House!!! That was amazing, I was reading it before bed and getting super freaked! I googled the author and found a new one he did on reddit - Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Poltergeist and The Amityville Horror (the original) fucked me up as a kid. But I love Poltergeist as an adult. Reply Thread Link I love the commentary on suburban life and yuppiedom in Poltergeist. Reply Parent Thread Link Sameeeee Reply Parent Thread Link Kind of on topic, but going to haunted houses is one of my favorite things ever. Reply Thread Link not necessarily a haunted house, but i liked el orfanato Reply Thread Link excellent taste Reply Parent Thread Link Such a scary yet heartbreakingly beautiful film. I imagine I won't be able to watch it anymore when I have kids, esp. since I share a name with the main character. Reply Parent Thread Link You described it perfectly. It was such a moving horror movie and it stayed with me. Reply Parent Thread Link I like 13 ghosts!! The jackal gives me nightmares Reply Thread Link i looove 13 ghosts Reply Parent Thread Link and her, too. slay! Reply Parent Thread Link It scared me as a kid so bad: Rose Red by Stephen king. Watching it as an adult I would live in that house ghosts, moving walls and all. Thats some kick ass real estate. Reply Thread Link which scene is that??? Reply Parent Thread Link i think they probably mean the cell phone video part that gets talked about a lot.. that was so creepy :| Reply Parent Thread Link i assume they mean the cave scene (and i agree, it fucks me up when i think about it!) Reply Parent Thread Link ju-on fucked me up for life tbh the others is so GREAT Reply Thread Link My SIL hates when I make that sound. I do it anyway. Reply Parent Thread Link lol I used to do it all the time when I was little so I never thought it was scary when I watched the grudge Reply Parent Thread Link Ju-On is one of the movies that I refuse to watch ever again. That bedroom scene is burned into my brain and I'm terrified of seeing something similar in a hallucination. Reply Thread Link The Poltergeist has always been one of my favorites -- I saw it when I was way too young but I think it spurred my interest in horror -- and I also really, really love The Others. Every time I watch it I am fucking creeped out. Reply Thread Link I hope The Others rightly goes down in history as one of the best horror movies ever made. Even when you know the twist, it's still like, an assault of panic toward the end, lol. No gore, no masked killers, no blood, just this horrible unease that only increases as the movie progresses till it culminates in the seance scene, where you're like "oh holy fuck, what the fuck is this, what the fuck is going on, FUCK ME" And the atmosphere and acting is second to none. I really think it's some of Nicole Kidman's best work. Reply Parent Thread Link I agree 100%. I hadn't seen it until a few years ago and my roommate was like "this is a travesty, we're doing it." I was on the edge of my seat, lump in my throat the whole time, seriously just HOOKED. And the same has happened every time since. It's what made me realize that Nicole Kidman has always been a serious force to be reckoned with. Reply Parent Thread Link 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 Reply Thread Link u know what haunted house movie that fucked me up but i dont think i'll ever be able to see it again is "dollhouse in the attic" that movie changed my life :| Reply Thread Link oh wait i guess its called "secrets in the attic" i guess but the dollhouse murders? fffffff Reply Parent Thread Link OMFFGGG SOMEONE PUT IT ON YOUTUBBBBEE Reply Parent Thread Link Ju on was so fucking terrifying Reply Thread Link One of my Twitter mutuals said last night that horror/suspense movies and tv shows have entities that can latch on and affect your mood. Reply Thread Link Lmao! They need to calm down. Reply Parent Thread Link Fam! He said he had to get energy work done to rid himself of the entity that had attached itself from when he watched Black Mirror. A mess! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link they're not criminals either lmao Reply Parent Thread Link Do you really think this is the appropriate post for your idiotic trolling? Reply Parent Thread Link Other non customers, read: white, were able to use the restroom no problem. Reply Parent Thread Link I think of it as assuming they may not be buying something this visit, but if they buy thing other visits they are generally customers of Starbucks. Reply Parent Thread Link i am a white female and i have used starbucks bathrooms without purchasing anything many many times. ive also sat in starbucks without purchasing anything at one of their tables while waiting for a friend or because i was feeling ill i live in a major city and starbucks and dunkin donuts are known to be places that don't kick you out if you need a bathroom/a place to regroup/sit/charge your phone etc. Reply Parent Thread Link What happened at that store is beyond reprehensible and it was handled so very wrong by every single Starbucks partner that day. But Starbucks is now trying to overcorrect and it's going to eventually blow up in their faces. Good luck with that. Reply Thread Link Starbucks has hit their own version of "Everyone knows food poisoning at Chipotle is a when situation, not an if" Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah, I agree. This is not a good idea. Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah thats what Im saying. Like, the discrimination is absolutely fucked, but requiring people (allll people, mind you), to buy something to use your businesss facilities isnt a ridiculous concept. Like, bathrooms should just be allowed everywhere, in my opinionbut its not wrong to ask that your table space and WiFi is for your paying customers. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yeah, this will blow up in their faces. Reply Parent Thread Link now that they'll leave it up to individual store managers to make decisions like these, it completely absolves them of corporate responsibility. It's pretty tricksy tbh Reply Parent Thread Link Next month: "Sir, we're so not kicking you out for sitting while black. We're calling the police because you laughed too loud and you're black. I vaguely remember that as okay from our training meeting." Reply Thread Link Letting people sit in their stores without being paying customers will probably be fine for the most part, but letting people use the bathrooms is going to be a real pain in the ass for their staff. I can't even imagine the nightmares they're going to have to clean up. Reply Thread Link it's not realistic. Maybe in smaller areas, but a place like New York or busy area, they it's a huge burden. And i say this as someone who spent a week in NY, realizing you gotta hunt for places to pee for free, let alone anything else. I went to a little bakery place in times square area, and the big ol sign on the bathroom was for paying customers, so i bought a bottle of water and went in, hah. Reply Parent Thread Link lmao the Starbucks in SF/Oakland/Berkeley are going to love this new rule. Reply Parent Thread Link In SF, i feel like lots of people who are homeless are still paying customers Reply Parent Thread Link I know omgggggggg I feel so bad for them. They're on every corner though. BART stations are bad enough, they refuse to open up their shitty bathrooms. Reply Parent Thread Link Lmao Ive read these comments about SF that got me reconsider not transferring my job/moving there tbh. I thought it was pretty much chill smh Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lol instantly thought of San Francisco, those homeless camps are gonna love this. Reply Parent Thread Link I have dealt with a dude overdosing on heroin in the toilets. Actual needle hanging out his arm and locked in the stall. That was probably the worst. He was okay, but it took two shots of Narcan to bring him around, and he didnt even know why he had decided to take heroin at all. Hed been clean for a decade or something. The rest of the time it was just exploding shit everywhere, used pantyliners on the wall, and shoplifters hiding out to tuck their goods away. One of the other stores I worked at had an issue with sex meetings. Some gay sex website listed it as a place for liaisons so they had to get codes on the door. Reply Parent Thread Link See, I feel like assholes are going to shit or bleed or pee or vomit all over your bathroom whether theyre a customer or not. Its less of a oh, Ive spent money here, I better be neat and more of a, Im a fucking prick who doesnt know how to act in society. Clean up my mess! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i kind of already wrote this in another comment, but i live in NYC where theres never anywhere to use a bathroom without purchase but starbucks is one of those ~known places where you can always use a bathroom without purchase here. i guess not everywhere though Reply Parent Thread Expand Link At my old job we didn't really have a public restroom but if people asked we pretty much let them... until one woman smeared shit ALL OVER the walls. omg it never smelled the same in the backroom. Reply Parent Thread Link i mean, it sucks what happened to those guys of course, but depending on the location, some places can't really afford to let non paying customers use restrooms, or have space for people to hang out in. Reply Thread Link WHUT Reply Parent Thread Link wut Reply Parent Thread Link ...HMMM. I 100% think restrooms should be free to the public, but in exchange employees who tend to these now public restrooms should be compensated higher. I absolutely do not think tables should be free to the public. People already treat cafes like their free offices, so this is just bullshit. IMO paying customers should be able to get the tables and then leave in a timely manner. Reply Thread Link even when they were for customers only, people who clean the bathrooms deserve more money. lol Reply Parent Thread Link I dont even get it. WiFi is everywhere now. There are plenty of places to go. Why the fuck would you want to sit in a super crowded Starbucks and study while not even getting a coffee? Dont want to eat or drink, go to the damn library. Reply Parent Thread Link The toilet thing is appreciated. Reply Thread Link i dont need teens not buying anything clogging up tables that a paying customer may use, nah son restrooms should be free to everyone but when im tryna find a place to drink my lattee, i'd like to find the place. Reply Thread Link Right? I was an older teen just before the cell phone boom took over our lives. We used to just wander around WalMart or sit their parking lot to kill time. Now if I was a teen, and required WiFi, you better believe Id be hitting up Starbucks to sit. Id buy a drink because my parents raised me right and Id feel awkward not tobut half of my friends wouldnt. Reply Parent Thread Link Theres going to be a lot more piss and shit for those low wage workers to clean! Reply Thread Link Yeah, I am sure this over-correction will end well (although the intent behind it is nice). How about just don't be racist, though? Edited at 2018-05-22 05:32 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link 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 Reply Thread Link The police absolutely should not have been called, but I feel like this is taking it to the other extreme to say that anyone can hang out there all day without buying anything, that will just make it a lot harder for your paying customers to find a table! Reply Thread Link I bet the employees will just LOVE dealing with all the angry "I want to speak to the manager" customers who can't find seats. tbh I feel like this overcorrection is just going to result in more PR nightmares for them. Reply Thread Link after years of hating on starbucks i caved and got the app for all the gift cards people get me... i never knew calorie counts before and it turns out the only drink i ever order is almost 500 calories :( Reply Thread Link Yea they're essentially coffee flavored, not actual coffee lol Reply Parent Thread Link He seems to be such an asshole. And the outfit he wore to the royal wedding was not appropriate AT ALL Reply Thread Link How wasn't it appropriate? I know nothing about royal wardrobe etiquette lol. Reply Parent Thread Link I believe the standard is morning dress for weddings, which is a morning coat, a waistcoat and striped trousers. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link What the poster above me said and I read somewhere that with a morning suit, nothing should match Reply Parent Thread Link lol people who actually care about 'appropriate attire' for royal stuff are dicks Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I was watching some Brits cover the arrivals, and this question came up. They said appropriate wear was a morning suit or a "lounge suit" (a man's suit worn for work or on quite formal occasions during the day). They said he didn't have to be in a morning jacket and several of the other men weren't either and it was perfectly fine. This was said by some older British guy who they had there for commentary. I don't know who he was, but he knew all the Brits as they were arriving. Reply Parent Thread Link Right?!! He's had a strong asshole vibe ever since the first Ocean movie. Reply Parent Thread Link how do these two couples even know each other Edited at 2018-05-22 08:08 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link apparently amal reached out to her when she moved to london and they share a hairdresser now. i want to know how they know oprah. if i was having a high profile wedding i would flex and invite oprah too tho Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i heard that oprah is doing the first sit down interview with her mom Reply Parent Thread Expand Link MTE, I'd give my assistant my "bucket list" of people I want to meet and just say, "INVITE THEM ALL!" Shit, she isn't paying for it, might as well have a little fun with the crucial resources you're draining from tax payers! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link If you're rich with influence, you know Oprah. Reply Parent Thread Link lol @ them sharing a hairdresser. Is Amal also into permanent hair straightening. Reply Parent Thread Link they probably don't even know each other but inviting oprah to your wedding is worth the flex and who would reject that invite? Reply Parent Thread Link meghan and amal do a lot of philanthropy work? i think? idk anything, i'm just guessing. anyway, i doubt he would have been invited if not for amal Reply Parent Thread Link I said that and my Mum was like 'they are both actors, they probably saw each other all the time, she's a massive star!'. She is still convinced Meghan was an A-Lister before Harry, because she loves Suits. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Clooney looked like shit. Reply Thread Link I'm still confused as to how Amal and Meghan know eachother. Reply Thread Link charity work? Reply Parent Thread Link Amal is way too good for him Reply Thread Link Yes! All the other Americans seemed to have no problem with this. You are not spe ial, George! Maybe he saw it as a little act of rebellion against monarchy. Reply Parent Thread Link Idris didn't wear one either, lol. Reply Parent Thread Link I didn't notice because I was too busy paying attention to how BADLY his wife was dressed. Reply Parent Thread Link there was one person in one of the earlier posts who thought she was anne hathaway at the wedding. LMAO Reply Thread Link I love how Clooney advocated for immigrants, yet he flew out of the Uk as soon as he didn't feel safe in his multi million dollar compound. I can't stand this phony. Reply Thread Link He was planning to stay in the uk with Amal after the wedding, but he moved to LA after the wedding for "security concerns" Reply Parent Thread Link They are referencing a report by Breitbart, Life& Style and the Daily Mail. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link https://www.vogue.com/article/amal-clooney-vogue-cover-may-issue-2018 Don't they have this huge ass mansion in like the poshest place on earth? She talks about it lots here and it's pretty recent - Reply Parent Thread Link Have any pictures from the reception been released? Or do they not get released at all? is that not part of royal protocol or whatever? Reply Thread Link the hired bartender when he jumps behind the bar Reply Thread Link lmao Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah I would be v annoyed Reply Parent Thread Link lol I worked at a bar where the owner loved jumping behind and start pouring free drinks and shots for his friends and I would stand there exactly like that, thinking "Could you fucking not..." Reply Parent Thread Link owners can be the wooorst. never worked in a bar but i can only imagine they are even worse then regular bosses lmao Reply Parent Thread Link being all "lemme handle this, man" yiiiiiiikes Reply Parent Thread Link hahahahahaha Reply Parent Thread Link This is all I thought, lol. I hate when randoms jump behind the bar. Reply Parent Thread Link I don't like the cut of Amal's dress, especially around the waist and hips, but I adore the colour. Reply Thread Link Ahh, I wearing that color rn! I'm mad it took me so long to realize how good yellow looks on me. Reply Thread Link People need to stop hating on @ParisJackson -- The Jackson family dynamics are complicated with long standing issues that none of us have clear a vision regarding - So just chlll -- IF your family was under a microscope would you all come up smelling like roses.?. It's doubtful. pic.twitter.com/RjCGS5gJ8E MJJJusticeProject (@MJJJusticePrjct) May 22, 2018 was criticized over social media for not attending theand missing her auntBillboard Icon Award performance. It started when Austin Brown (Rebbie's son) shared a photo of Janet's performance on Instagram . . Paris Jackson replied via a screenshot on Instagram Stories on Monday and wrote Ditto. Paris then responded to the criticism via Instagram Strories saying: 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. As amazing and as shitty 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. 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 added, Every family has their moments of trauma, heartbreak, separation, love, oneness, tribe, pain, everything. EVERY FAMILY. My family, specifically, and a good number of others...well, our drama is broadcasted worldwide through media. 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 shit to deal with. We ain't inferior or superior to y'all. We're all fucking 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. Later and before signing off, Paris added: 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. I had absolutely no idea until y'all spammed me with hatred. Her grandmother, Katherine Jackson, brother Prince Jackson and aunt Rebbie Jackson were all in attendance to watch Janet Jackson perform and receive her Icon award. BF3 all the way Reply Thread Link Actually can I change my answer to a BF Big Talk Alex Cameron super group album starring the lovely guitar musings of one Theodore Sablay. Reply Thread Link if it's anything in the realm of The Desired Effect, sign me the fuck up. please. i mean... also, Bronnie are the only ones carrying this band since 2012. just let the others member's go and replace them with the new touring members. those two will only delay this album until 2023. that would be interesting tbh. but honestly i'm so torn on what i would want.if it's anything in the realm of The Desired Effect, sign me the fuck up. please. i mean...also, Bronnie are the only ones carrying this band since 2012. just let the others member's go and replace them with the new touring members. those two will only delay this album until 2023. Reply Parent Thread Link I want TK6 only to continue the Bronnie love. But really, he needs to go solo. I agree with the poster above me mentioning a supergroup with Alex Cameron. Make sure Ronnie is present. Reply Thread Link Alex has livend Brandon's hips, it's his gift to the world. Reply Parent Thread Link i crack up every show he does this drunk Tio on his 9th Corona at a Quinceanera move. Reply Parent Thread Link we have to figure out how to make it work [for Stoermer and Keuning] Yea, no. Mark can work on that music nobody is listening to on his own time. Reply Thread Link i wish him an ounce of luck on his Summer courses at DeVry. Reply Parent Thread Link I would be happy with either one. Whatever gets me new music from Brandon is fine by me. Reply Thread Link He's dressed like Han Solo Reply Thread Link can someone tell me a "the killers: for dummies" summary on why there's only a "good half" i dont really know anything about them outside of some singles and that there is an overwhelming amount of things to parse through online and i trust ontd more Reply Thread Link Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer are 2 of the original members (guitarist and bassist of the band). they just aren't into it anymore, rarely make any tv show and live appearances. one didn't show up to the photo shoot for this new album. the other missed live TV performances to promote the album and they were rarely present for interviews. they also delayed this new album for about five years because they didn't want to tour. once it came time to actually tour after their request for a break was fulfilled, they decided to still not tour. Brandon and Ronnie (drummer) are the only two who do interviewers, make tv appearances, tour, and keep this band going. Dave & Mark are like those lazy people who do nothing that you get stuck with on a school group project that make you do all the work but they still get the credit for your work. \_()_/ Edited at 2018-05-23 12:21 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link I guess the reasons are unknown. Reply Parent Thread Link I've loved the Killers for years now but was never able to see them until this tour and a friend of mine asked how I felt that when I was finally seeing them it was without half the band and I was like "hm well I'm just glad to see them" bc I know she's always been a huge fan of Mark and Dave, but honestly if she hadn't told me they weren't gonna be there I literally would not have noticed Reply Parent Thread Link "Run For Cover" is my new favorite running song. Reply Thread Link Can't Deny My Love, I Can Change, Lonely Town...several bops. It's true. Reply Thread Link I love these TK posts, they make me feel like I'm back in the fandom in like 2007. I didn't even like the fandom lol but I woulda died for anyone in this band when I was 14. Now I'd only die for 2 of them. Reply Thread Link Ah, my favorite band . Reply Thread Link 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 Reply Thread Link Killers album. Reply Thread Link time to go solo Brandon and give rechtshaid a call Reply Thread Link mte Reply Parent Thread Link Loving that concept. Reply Parent Thread Link but damn, I love my last solo record! Reply Thread Link China cannot miss out on being a front runner when it comes to blockchain, which could have huge implications for its economy, Chen Lei, the chief executive of Xunlei, a US-listed technology company, said at a conference in Beijing on Monday. I believe there will be a main blockchain that dominates the market, Chen said during a conference on blockchain supported by Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. I think China needs to encourage and invest in building one for the nation, he said. Ethereum best blockchain project ahead of bitcoin, according to ratings released by China Chen said US companies had dominated the technology behind mobile operating systems, global position systems and microchips, and that it was important for Beijing to lead on blockchain. At the conference, the ministry launched a white paper detailing areas that China should focus on. According to the document, Beijing should speed up the application of blockchain in industries such as trade finance, transaction settlement, insurance and securities, along with intellectual property, wealth management, big data, energy and health care. Why would anyone not consider working on areas that have support [of the government]? said Zhang Lei, founder and chief executive of start-up Yeecall, a messaging app that facilitates cross-border payments. He said there had been too much fluff going in the blockchain industry, referring to a proliferation of initial coin offerings (ICOs). China last year became the first country to ban ICOs, a form of crowdsourced fundraising by which companies exchange their newly created cryptocurrencies, or tokens, for payments in an existing currency, which can be cash or, most often, an established cryptocurrency. The Peoples Bank of China, Chinas central bank, said about 90 per cent of ICOs launched in mainland China had been fraudulent. Chinas local governments ramp up blockchain projects amid cryptocurrency clampdown Story continues Beijing also shutdown local exchanges around the same time, the first country to halt virtual currency trading. And last week, it became the first government to publish ratings for blockchain projects. The technology is a digital data structure most recognised for verifying and recording transactions using a network of computers rather than a centralised authority. And its intervention has affected businesses in many different ways. Exchanges Okcoin and Huobi, Chinas largest exchanges, had to move their headquarters away from their home markets following the trading ban. China is not keen on speculation on virtual currencies, and while it banned domestic exchanges, it did not stop the demand. The weekly volume of peer-to-peer traded bitcoin rose by more than 250 per cent in yuan terms in September last year, after the halt in trading. The number of P2P trading platforms also rose from just 4 to more than 20. Miners China has been a force to reckon with in the mining industry, but this might not last. Jihan Wu, co-founder of Bitmain, which operates one of the worlds biggest bitcoin mines, told Bloomberg last week that the company was expanding into the US and was currently building mining facilities. As a China company, we have to be prepared, said Wu. Bitmain is now also developing artificial intelligence chips, a more agreeable proposition for the Chinese authorities, which might turn against mining. Venture capital funds Venture capital companies are no strangers to investing in blockchain. And there will probably be more of them now that local governments are trying to attract hi-tech investors and founders to boost their economies. China wants to be a front runner in blockchain technology even if the ban on bitcoin remains The government of Hangzhou, the hometown of Alibaba Group Holding, Chinas largest e-commerce company and owner of the South China Morning Post, is investing in a 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) fund, which claims to be the worlds biggest fund investing in blockchain projects. The fund is managed by Tulan and INBlockchain, a company founded by virtual currency entrepreneur Li Xiaolai, who is also the chief executive of ICO project Press.one. Beijing-based Harry Man, a partner at venture capital company Matrix Partners, said that while blockchain founders had the option of using ICOs to raise funds, getting investment from an established investor added credibility to the project. Start-ups Given that there are national ambitions and investment in new projects, there will be a lot of start-ups jumping on the bandwagon. But while globally there are many start-ups working with the technology, it is still relatively new and in its infancy, said, Yeecalls Zhang. The three key things you need to know about blockchain technology He said only 10 to 20 per cent of the start-ups in China had experience in blockchain. The rest were just following the herd. Its at a very early stage of development, he said. This article China must lead on blockchain, chief executive of US-listed company tells Beijing conference 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: Top executives at Fiji's oldest newspaper were found not guilty of sedition Tuesday in a decision hailed as a victory for media freedom in the coup-plagued Pacific island nation. High Court judge Thushara Rajasinghe acquitted three staff members from the Fiji Times -- occasionally a feisty critic of the governing regime -- in the capital Suva. Editor-in-chief Fred Wesley, publisher Hank Arts and supplement editor Anare Ravula had all pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stemmed from a 2016 letter to the editor. The letter, printed in a low-circulation Fijian-language supplement of the Times, allegedly contained inflammatory comments about Muslims. The author of the letter, Josefa Waqabaca, was also found not guilty. Arts said he was relieved and the verdict was "a bit of a victory for our industry". "Two years in and out of here has been very difficult and very tough on us, personally and on the business," he told reporters outside the court. He said the Times would maintain its independent editorial stance. "What we need to do as a newspaper we will continue to do as a newspaper," he said. "The Fiji Times has been here for 150 years. We are caretakers during this difficult time and we're going to steadfastly continue." Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the case against the newspaper as "spurious" while Amnesty called the prosecution "outrageous" and accused the government of trying to intimidate the media. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama seized power in a 2006 military coup and ruled by decree until he won a general election in 2014. Military censors in newsrooms were among the measures Bainimarama implemented before the country's return to democracy. While RSF said conditions had improved, it noted reporters still operate under "draconian" media regulations that can attract two-year prison terms if broken. In this March 12, 2015, file photo, Seattle police officer Debra Pelich, right, wears a video camera on her eyeglasses as she talks with Alex Legesse before a small community gathering in Seattle. While the Seattle Police Department bars officers from using real-time facial recognition in body camera video, privacy activists are concerned that a proliferation of the technology could turn the cameras into tools of mass surveillance. The ACLU and other organizations on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, asked Amazon to stop selling its facial-recognition tool, called Rekognition, to law enforcement agencies. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File) The American Civil Liberties Union and other privacy advocates are asking Amazon to stop marketing a powerful facial recognition tool to police, saying law enforcement agencies could use the technology to "easily build a system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone." The tool, called Rekognition, is already being used by at least one agencythe Washington County Sheriff's Office in Oregonto check photographs of unidentified suspects against a database of mug shots from the county jail, which is a common use of such technology around the country. But privacy advocates have been concerned about expanding the use of facial recognition to body cameras worn by officers or safety and traffic cameras that monitor public areas, allowing police to identify and track people in real time. Amazon is offering the technology at a low cost to police agencies. Given its reach, the tech giant's entry into the market could vastly accelerate government surveillance capabilities, the privacy advocates fear, with potentially dire consequences for minorities who are already arrested at disproportionate rates, immigrants who may be in the country illegally or political protesters. "People should be free to walk down the street without being watched by the government," the groups wrote in a letter to Amazon on Tuesday. "Facial recognition in American communities threatens this freedom." Amazon released Rekognition in late 2016, and the sheriff's office in Washington County, west of Portland, became one of its first law enforcement agency customers. A year later, deputies were using it about 20 times per dayfor example, to identify burglary suspects in store surveillance footage. Last month, the agency adopted policies governing its use, noting that officers in the field can use real-time face recognition to identify suspects who are unwilling or unable to provide their own ID, or if someone's life is in danger. "We are not mass-collecting. We are not putting a camera out on a street corner," said Deputy Jeff Talbot, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. "We want our local community to be aware of what we're doing, how we're using it to solve crimeswhat it is and, just as importantly, what it is not." It cost the sheriff's office just $400 to load 305,000 booking photos into the system and $6 per month in fees to continue the service, according to an email obtained by the ACLU under a public records request. Amazon Web Services did not answer emailed questions about how many law enforcement agencies are using Rekognition, but in a written statement the company said it requires all of its customers to comply with the law and to be responsible in the use of its products. The statement said some agencies have used the program to find abducted people, and amusement parks have used it to find lost children. British broadcaster Sky News used Rekognition to help viewers identify celebrities at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle last weekend. This Sept. 6, 2012, file photo, shows the Amazon logo. The American Civil Liberties Union and other privacy activists are asking Amazon to stop marketing a powerful facial recognition tool to police, saying law enforcement agencies could use the technology to "easily build a system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone." (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File) Last year, the Orlando, Florida, Police Department announced it would begin a pilot program relying on Amazon's technology to "use existing city resources to provide real-time detection and notification of persons-of-interest, further increasing public safety." Orlando has a network of public safety cameras, and in a presentation posted to YouTube this month , Ranju Das, who leads Amazon Rekognition, said the company would receive feeds from the cameras, search them against photos of people being sought by law enforcement and notify police of any hits. "It's about recognizing people, it's about tracking people, and then it's about doing this in real time, so that the law enforcement officers ... can be then alerted in real time to events that are happening," he said. The Orlando Police Department declined to make anyone available for an interview about the program but said in an email that it "is not using the technology in an investigative capacity or in any public spaces at this time." The testing has been limited to eight city-owned cameras and a handful of officers who volunteered to have their images used to see if the technology works, Sgt. Eduardo Bernal said in a follow-up email Tuesday. "As this is a pilot and not being actively used by OPD as a surveillance tool, there is no policy or procedure regarding its use as it is not deployed in that manner," Bernal wrote. The letter to Amazon followed public records requests from ACLU chapters in California, Oregon and Florida. More than two dozen organizations signed it, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Human Rights Watch. Clare Garvie, an associate at the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University Law Center, said part of the problem with real-time face recognition is its potential impact on free-speech rights. While police might be able to videotape public demonstrations, face recognition is not merely an extension of photography but a biometric measurementmore akin to police walking through a demonstration and demanding identification from everyone there. Amazon's technology isn't that different from what face recognition companies are already selling to law enforcement agencies. But its vast reach and its interest in recruiting more police departments to take part raise concerns, she said. "This raises very real questions about the ability to remain anonymous in public spaces," Garvie said. Explore further Chinese police don high-tech glasses to nab suspects 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. A scene from R.U.R. Credit: Wikimedia Commons From high impact Hollywood dystopic accounts such as the infamous Terminator films to public responses to the story of a burger flipping robot being "fired", the stories we tell ourselves about AI are important. These narratives have an impact on our conception and development of the technology, as well as expressing elements of our unconscious understanding of AI. Recognising the shaping effect of stories whether fictional or "news" is increasingly important as technology advances. How we think about a technology can open up some pathways while closing others down. A variety of narratives underpin popular conceptions of AI, but one in particular that of the dynamic between the master and the slave dominates accounts of AI at the moment. This is so pervasive that it arguably shapes our relationship with this technology. This narrative has long appeared in science fiction accounts of AI. In 1921, "R.U.R." ("Rossum's Universal Robots"), a play by Karel Capek, introduced us to the "robot" humanoid androids made of synthetic organic matter and helped shaped this idea for modern audiences. From the Czech word "robota", meaning "forced labour" or "serf", these first robots were consciously stylised as slaves pitted against their human masters. And so the uprising of the robots in R.U.R. was obviously influential on our repeating fears of "roboapocalypses", as seen in other more recent science fiction accounts such as the films of the Terminator franchise, the Matrix, the film Singularity, the novel "Roboapocalyse", and so on. But the image of the fabricated servant has roots in much earlier mythological accounts. Think of the golden handmaids of Hephaestus, the bronze giant Talos, the brass oracle heads described in the medieval period, or the protective golem in Jewish mysticism. Its also there in the intelligent angels and demons summoned by magicians in the 16th century, who used the "Enochian" language, a summoning "code" that was thought, if used incorrectly, to have fatal outcomes as the beings would then be uncontrollable. By the 1920s and 1930s, the "robota" had certainly lost their brass and bronze but were no less lustrous in the adverts of the time. The automated devices of the near future presented in those decades would, they claimed, free the housewives from their drudgery and usher in a golden age of free time. In the 1950s adverts even promised new slaves: "In 1863, Abe Lincoln freed the slaves. But by 1965, slavery will be back! We'll all have personal slaves again, only this time we won't fight a Civil War over them. Slavery will be here to stay. Don't be alarmed. We mean robot 'slaves.'" Technological serfs Decades on and with new labour saving automated servants every day, nothing has changed. We still expect technology to provide us with serfs. Indeed, we are so used to this form of serfdom that we see it where it does not exist. We presume automation where it is absent. Take, for example, the following interaction between "Sortabad" and the poor soul just trying to earn his minimum wage: The first pizza delivery man brought a pizza to the Queen of Italy, Magherita of Savoy, and this was, even in the late 19th century, a feudalistic moment: a monarch was being served by a serf. The interaction above suggests the continuation of this. The serf role, the relationship between master and slave, is maintained, with humans presumed to be (and perhaps eventually really) replaced by machines. This is also seen in descriptions and the expected behaviours of contemporary AI assistants, such as Google Assistant, who "learns about your habits and day-to-day activities and carries out 'conversation actions' to serve you". There are even servant AIs who perform emotional labour, such as Azuma Hikari, the Japanese AI assistant who claims to have missed its master when they are not about. The hierarchies of power that once mapped on to the pyramid of feudalism in the eras of earlier artificial beings (like angels) now map onto capitalistic systems. Capitalist hierarchies This seems to contradict the narratives of "disruption" in marketing and PR accounts of AI, where the technology is often described as revolutionising not only our work lives, but also capitalism itself. Capitalists peddling this narrative should take heed. Previous forms of it left space for and even encouraged rebellion. And so does this modern version. Perpetuated through capitalism's branding of AI as the disruption of your work and drudgery, this framing still leads into fears around rebellion because we understand servitude as antithetical to minds. The presumption is for many that with AI we are working towards minds and that they will want to be free. In the thought experiment space of science fiction we see this tension being worked out again and again, where humans mostly lose as the new AI minds break free. And so in the real world, which owes a lot to the influence of science fiction on our aspirations and designs for AI, two very different paths seem to lie ahead of us: the stated aim of working towards smarter and smarter machines, versus peoples' hopes for better and better slaves. How this tension will be resolved remains unclear. Some are clear that robots should only ever be slaves, "servants that you own", while others are exploring questions of robot rights already. Whatever path is eventually taken, paying attention to how we speak about AI is key if we are to understand the decisions we are already making about its future. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Hundreds of ancient mound sites, depicted here with yellow triangles, still survive in coastal Louisiana. A new study teases out the natural and human history of one of these mound-top villages, a site known as Grand Caillou, shown in red. Credit: Julie McMahon after Mehta and Chamberlain. A study of ancient mound builders who lived hundreds of years ago on the Mississippi River Delta near present-day New Orleans offers new insights into how Native peoples selected the landforms that supported their villages and earthen moundsand why these sites were later abandoned. The study, reported in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, also offers a timeline of the natural and human events that shaped one particular site, said University of Illinois anthropology professor Jayur Mehta, who conducted the work with Vanderbilt University postdoctoral researcher Elizabeth Chamberlain while both were at Tulane University in New Orleans. The site, now known as Grand Caillou, is one of hundreds of mound sites in coastal Louisiana, Mehta said. "Louisiana is incredibly important in the history of ancient mound-building cultures," he said. "In what is now the United States, earthen monument and mound construction began on the Louisiana coast." Ancient peoples began building mounds in North America as early as 4,500 B.C., Mehta said. They often situated their mounds near resource-rich waterways, which could support larger human settlements. As many as 500 people lived at Grand Caillou in its heyday. Some mounds also served ceremonial functions. That so many mound sites have survived in coastal Louisiana is a testament to their careful construction, Mehta said. Neglect, however, and coastal subsidencethe result of engineered changes to the flow of the Mississippi Riverare wearing away at the mounds. "Louisiana loses about two ancient mounds and/or Native American villages a year," Mehta said. The researchers used a variety of methodssediment coring, radiocarbon dating, carbon-isotope analysis, the dating of ceramics found onsite and a method called optically stimulated luminescenceto figure out how and when the land underneath the Grand Caillou mound was formed by natural forces and when the mound builders arrived and established their settlement. The mound at Grand Caillou. Credit: Jayur Mehta "We wanted to understand at a deeper level how Indigenous peoples of the coast were choosing where to build their villages," Mehta said. Grand Caillou is situated on a natural levee of the Lafourche sub-delta, one of several major lobes of the Mississippi River Delta near New Orleans. Fed by sediments deposited by the river, Lafourche expanded in size over a period of several hundred years, a process that ended at about 800 A.D., the researchers found. The mound builders set up their village around 1200 A.D., long after the site was stable and covered over with vegetation, the team found. Core samples and excavations revealed that the mound was built in distinct layers, with clay on the bottom, looser sediments piled in the middle and a clay cap on top. This finding confirms earlier archaeological reports that ancient mounds were engineered in layers to withstand the elements. "The way they were constructed contributes to their durability," Mehta said. The Grand Caillou mound was built on top of a river deposit that was naturally higher than surrounding land. "It's only a few feet higher than nearby areas," Mehta said. "But in a landscape where there's no topography, one or two feet can make a world of difference." Ceramics found at the site date to between 1000 and 1400 A.D. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found evidence that the site was abandoned by about 1400. By looking at ratios of carbon isotopescarbon atoms with differing massesthe team saw changes over time that were likely the result of saltwater incursion into the area. These changes coincided with the ultimate abandonment of the village site. The new study is a much-needed addition to research on threatened cultural sites in coastal regions, said University of Tennessee anthropology professor David G. Anderson, an expert on U.S. Paleoindian archaeology who was not involved in the research. "We are facing the loss of much of the record of human settlement and use of coastal zonesand must take steps to address the challenge," Anderson said. "Mehta and Chamberlain's study exemplifies the kind of work that will be needed." More information: Jayur Madhusudan Mehta et al, Mound Construction and Site Selection in the Lafourche Subdelta of the Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana, USA, The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology (2018). Jayur Madhusudan Mehta et al, Mound Construction and Site Selection in the Lafourche Subdelta of the Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana, USA,(2018). DOI: 10.1080/15564894.2018.1458764 Watch a video about the research and history of the site. The Australian National University (ANU) invites citizen scientists to join the University's search for exploding stars called supernovae, which help astronomers to measure the Universe. Professor Brian Cox will call on viewers of this week's ABC Stargazing Live broadcast to participate in the project led by ANU astronomers Dr. Brad Tucker and Dr. Anais Moller. Dr. Tucker said scientists can measure the distance of a supernova from Earth by calculating how much the light from the exploding star fades. "Supernovae are explosions as bright as 100 million billion billion billion lightning bolts, and so we can use them as markers to measure how the Universe is growing and what's causing its expansion to accelerate," said Dr. Tucker from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The ANU project will allow citizen scientists to use a web portal on Zooniverse.org to search through images taken by the 1.3-metre SkyMapper telescope at the ANU Siding Spring Observatory. "People can help us find exploding stars by scanning the SkyMapper images online to look for differences and marking up those differences for the researchers to follow up," Dr. Tucker said. ANU SkyMapper is the only telescope that is doing a comprehensive survey of the southern sky looking for supernovae and other interesting transient events at these distances. Credit: Australian National University Dr. Moller said the first people to identify an object that turns out to be a supernova will be publicly recognised as co-discoverers. "We recognise citizen scientists by listing the first three people to find a previously unknown supernova in the discovery when we report it to the International Astronomical Union," said Dr. Moller from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Join the search for exploding stars at www.zooniverse.org/projects/skymap/supernova-sighting. ABC's Stargazing Live will be broadcast from the ANU Siding Spring Observatory, airing at 8pm AEST, 7.30pm ACST, and 6pm AWST on ABC and ABC iview on 22, 23 and 24 May 2018. In addition to leading the citizen science project, ANU is also partnering with the ABC to attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the Most people stargazing at multiple venues set by the University three years ago. ANU and the ABC are planning stargazing parties across the country on Wednesday 23 May in an effort to smash the Guinness World Records title set in 2015. Explore further Volunteers help astronomers find star that exploded 970 million years ago, predating the dinosaurs Ranomasina, whose name means sea in Malagasy, was delivered via caesarean section on April 12, 2018. She is the first offspring of Velona and Mangamaso, the first lemurs imported from Madagascar to the U.S. in 24 years. Credit: David Haring Because they're endangered, all baby lemurs are special. But some, like Ranomasina, are extraordinary. "This is not just any baby," says Bobby Schopler, a veterinarian at the Duke Lemur Center since 2005. "This is the most important birth in the 13 years I've worked here." Baby Ranomasina is the third blue-eyed black lemurone of the 25 most endangered primates in the worldborn at the center this season, which brings the total number of her kind in North America to 34. But she is also considered among the most "genetically valuable," since she is the offspring of the first lemurs imported from Madagascar to the U.S. in 24 years. Ranomasina is also unusual because she was delivered via cesarean section, a surgery so rare that since the Duke Lemur Center's founding in 1966, C-sections have been performed only 15 times. "She's the most important offspring from one of the rarest lemur species," Schopler said. "She was born to a pair that took us three years to bring to Durham from Madagascar, and we may never be able to import anymore." In fact, Ranomasina is genetically so valuable to the population of these critically endangered lemurs that when she was discovered in breech position, veterinarians resolved to perform a rare C-section rather than risk a difficultand potentially fatalbirth. The infant, whose name means "sea" in Malagasy, is the first offspring of Mangamaso and Velona, blue-eyed black lemurs brought from Madagascar to the Duke Lemur Center in 2017. Until Ranomasina's birth, every blue-eyed black lemur infant born in North America had descended from just seven wild-born individuals imported by the Duke Lemur Center in 1985 and 1990. "With the birth of Ranomasina, for the first time since 1990, we have a whole new lineage of blue-eyed black lemurs coming into the North American population," said Cathy Williams, curator of animals at the Duke Lemur Center. Ranomasina and Velona hours after birth. As for any major procedure involving highly endangered animals, the veterinary staff consulted experts from a variety of specialties. In Ranomasinas case, information was sought from Elley Schopler, a lactation consultant at The Womens Birth and Wellness Center (Chapel Hill, NC), who updated the Lemur Center on the latest methods of post-partum care of C-section babies. Credit: Sara Clark While the current captive population is healthy, new genetically unrelated individuals like Ranomasina are critical to grow and sustain it. "The more genetically diverse a population is, the more resilient it is, the healthier it is, and the better it can adapt to environmental pressures," Williams said. Fewer than 1,000 blue-eyed black lemurs are believed to remain in Madagascar today. In 2015, it was estimated that the species could go extinct in the wild in as little as 11 years. But as crucial as she is to the genetic health and long-term survival of her species, Ranomasina's own survival was initially uncertain. Two weeks before her due date, Velona was evaluated by the Lemur Center's veterinary team, who discovered the infant was in breech position. "There isn't a lot of data regarding breech births in lemurs," said center veterinarian Laura Ellsaesser. "In humans, babies in breech position are a concern because they are more likely to become stuck in the birth canal, which can become life-threatening to both the baby and the mom." "Sometimes in humans, a breech baby does flip and do just fine," Ellsaesser said. "But in lemurs, we just don't know; so we put Velona on a much more aggressive baby watch." David Watts, a researcher using concealed cameras to study maternal behavior in aye-ayes, contributed some of his equipment to the cause. "Using David's cameras meant that we didn't disturb her," Ellsaesser said. "We could watch and, if we saw signs she was having a difficult labor, we could intervene." Duke Lemur Center husbandry and veterinary staff watched round-the-clock, but Velona showed no signs of labor. At 130 days' gestationpast her expected delivery dateEllsaesser and Schopler did an ultrasound. The infant was alive but still breech. "We knew from thirty years of data that any blue-eyed black lemur infants born after 130 days' gestation were stillborn," Schopler said. "We were torn between not wanting to do a C-section on a first-time mom, versus possibly losing the baby and the mom in a difficult birth. Ultimately we decided that, all things considered, the lower risk was to deliver the infant via C-section." Ranomasina immediately after delivery. The infants birth was especially meaningful to Lemur Center Director Anne Yoder. When Yoder began directing the DLC in 2006, lemur births had been extremely rare at the center over the previous decade, almost as rare as the importation of lemurs from Madagascar. Two of my top goals when I assumed the directorship were to see babies being born at the center again, and to once again import animals from Madagascar to stabilize genetic variation in the colony. Ranomasina is the realization of both goals, and in the most beautiful little creature you have ever seen. Credit: Catherine Ostrowski The C-section was performed on April 12, proceeded smoothly, and resulted in the birth of a healthy little girl weighing just under three ounces. But for mom and infant, the hard part had only just begun. "She fell asleep without a baby and woke up with one," said Schopler, who spent the night in the veterinary office to monitor Velona's behavior toward the infant. Velona's recognizing and accepting the baby would be crucial to Ranomasina's survival. If her mother didn't bond with her, she could have attacked and damaged the tiny infant. C-section aside, having babies is partly a learned behavior for lemurs and infant mortality is higher in those born to first-time mothers. "Baby season is fun, but it's stressful too," said Duke Lemur Center primate technician Becca Newton, Velona's primary caretaker. "Those first days were critical. A lot could've happened, especially since Velona was a first-time mom." It took about 24 hours for Velona to adjust to her infant and for the veterinary staff to teach Ranomasina how to nurse. Once she learned, the hormones released during nursing helped further solidify the mother-infant bond, and the animal care team breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Even though it took a while, Velona formed a tight motherly bond with her baby," Newton said. "Once it was there, it was there. She's been a good mom. I'm very pleased, very proud of her." Now over a month old, Ranomasina is thriving. Her dad Mangamaso has been successfully reintroduced to the family group, and the infant has begun nibbling solid food and venturing tentatively away from Velonathough never far from the safety of mom. "This female infant has a huge responsibility in front of her," Schopler said, but for the next 2.5 years she'll grow and learn from her mother before being paired with a male to start a family of her own. "It's really exciting for the staff to be part of this," Williams said. "It reinforces why we work here and why we're so committed to what we do. We're part of something much larger. Saving these animals is our contribution to making the world a better place for future generations." Explore further Duke University receives two endangered lemurs from Madagascar Cell phone manufacturer ZTE, China's number-two smartphone maker, may get a lifeline in a deal worked out by Washington and Beijing to again allow it to import US parts in exchange for changes at the company The United States and China have a tentative deal to save embattled Chinese telecom company ZTE, days after the two nations announced a truce in their trade standoff, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Details remain to be hammered out, but according to the general outlines of the agreement, Washington would lift a crippling ban on selling US components to the company, which in turn would make major changes in its management, executive board and possibly pay additional fines, according to the report. The company had faced collapse due to the US ban, which resulted from its violations of US sanctions against Iran and North Korea. Washington and Beijing on Saturday called a halt to a spiraling trade dispute and Washington's accusations of unfair trade practices and the alleged theft of US technology, suspending US plans to impose tariffs on as much as $150 billion in Chinese imports. China, the world's largest auto market, also announced Tuesday it would cut duties on auto imports to 15 percent from 25 percent, and backed away from a threat to impose tariffs on American sorghum. ZTE was fined $1.2 billion in March 2017 but last month it was prohibited from receiving needed US parts after the Commerce Department found the company had lied multiple times and failed to take actions against employees responsible for sanctions violations on Iran and North Korea. US President Donald Trump has faced accusations of quid-pro-quo after pledging to soften punitive US sanctions on ZTEan announcement which came after AFP reported a Chinese state firm would pour cash into a Trump-tied real estate venture in Indonesia. Trump, however, has denied weakening the US stance toward ZTE. 2018 AFP Credit: University of Kansas U.S. companies with board directors who have connections to well-known island tax havens of the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands exhibit significantly greater tax avoidance than other companies, according to a novel study that includes two University of Kansas School of Business professors and one alumnus. In their recent Management Science article, researchers found that the presence or arrival of a board director with those tiesdeemed an island directorwould reduce a company's effective tax rate by approximately one to three percentage points, on average. They also observed a significant increase in the use of tax haven subsidiaries after the arrival of an island director. "The reduction in effective tax rates translates into millions of dollars in increased earnings for shareholders owning stock," said co-author Tom Kubick, associate professor of accounting. Researchers have devoted a lot of attention to tax policy and U.S. corporations' tax outcomes, but scholars have paid relatively less attention to whether individual directors can influence corporate tax policy within companies. "Nobody has paid attention to the fact that companies were systematically acquiring this tax avoidance expertise," said co-author Jide Wintoki, associate professor of finance. "In this broader debate, nobody was realizing that companies were reducing their tax rates by 1 to 3 percentage points just by having directors that had connections to these tax havens." Their co-authors were Chao Jiang, KU graduate and assistant professor of finance at the University of South Carolina, and Mihail Miletkov, associate professor of finance at the University of New Hampshire. A company's level of tax avoidance does not constitute anything illegal, but the practice of tax avoidance in recent years has received significant criticism from the media, regulators and some politicians who often raise questions as to whether U.S. companies are shouldering an equitable share of the tax burden. The issue can also be a reflection of the competitiveness of U.S. tax policy, the researchers said. To conduct the study, they identified a set of U.S. directors and senior executives who serve or had served for foreign companies domiciled in the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. Then they examined what happened to the tax outcomesthe effective tax ratesof U.S. companies after the arrival of an island director to their board. Their sample covered years 1994 through 2010 and included 29,191 company-year observations, of which 2,140 had a clearly identifiable island director. During that time they observed consistent evidence of a significant increase in tax avoidance following the appointment of an island director. The average book effective tax rate before the island director was 34.5 percent, and once the island director arrived, that dropped to 31.5 percent. Similarly, the average cash effective tax rate fell more than two percentage points from 25.6 percent to 23 percent. Another key contribution of the study is the implication that a board director's affiliation with a company can be more important than it appears. "It's very challenging to disentangle the effect of one specific board member," Kubick said. "In particular, it's difficult to identify whether there is some sort of information flowing through a network simply because U.S. companies share board members." The innovation in how they structured the data involved not comparing board members between U.S. companies but instead looking at the arrival of a board member from an island tax haven to measure how specific expertise that could affect the U.S. company's tax outcomes and level of tax avoidance. "We think another important aspect of this is that we're also documenting a phenomenon that may have been underestimated, which is how much being connected to tax havens matters," Wintoki said. The island directors are able to utilize tax avoidance expertise and transfer it into corporate policies, he said. "This expertise has a really significant effect on U.S. companies, even if they are not located themselves in island tax havens," Wintoki said. Kubick said one caveat of the study is the researchers obviously cannot observe every detail and dynamic within the board. "We're looking at this from a distance, but in spite of that, the results seem to be pretty compelling because we are controlling for a number of important characteristics," he said. This type of research could also be significant depending on what happens in Congress in wake of last year's federal tax overhaul, especially if Democrats regain power in Washington and seek to roll back some of the recent changes. "If Congress increases tax rates, we're losing competitiveness in terms of the rate difference between U.S. and foreign nations, and we might see companies being more aggressive," Kubick said. For investors and policymakers looking at companies, examining the makeup of boards and board member's social and network connections could provide a key new piece of insightful data. "Directors, it turns out, are important in influencing corporate policy. It's not just that every company has a script and everybody does the same thing," Wintoki said. "Directors matter, and this is a clear, tangible example of the fact that directors elected by shareholders are actually important." Explore further Companies located near an IRS office more likely to face an audit, avoid more taxes More information: Chao Jiang et al. Offshore Expertise for Onshore Companies: Director Connections to Island Tax Havens and Corporate Tax Policy, Management Science (2017). Journal information: Management Science Chao Jiang et al. Offshore Expertise for Onshore Companies: Director Connections to Island Tax Havens and Corporate Tax Policy,(2017). DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2017.2776 Ranges are based on occurrence of museum specimens, peer-reviewed literature with associated specimens or photographs, and reports from state game departments. The distribution of coyotes between the Yucatan Peninsula and Nicaragua is coarsely depicted due to the paucity of available data, representing the earliest confirmed occurrence. Credit: James Hody Coyotes now live across North America, from Alaska to Panama, California to Maine. But where they came from, and when, has been debated for decades. Using museum specimens and fossil records, researchers from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University have produced a comprehensive (and unprecedented) range history of the expanding species that can help reveal the ecology of predation as well as evolution through hybridization. Their findings appeared in ZooKeys in May. The geographic distribution of coyotes has dramatically expanded since 1900, spreading across much of North America in a period when most other mammal species have been declining. Although this unprecedented expansion has been well documented at the state/provincial scale, the continent-wide picture of coyote spread was coarse and largely anecdotal. A more thorough compilation of available records was needed. "We began by mapping the original range of coyotes using archeological and fossil records," says co-author Dr. Roland Kays, Head of the Museum's Biodiversity Lab and Research Associate Professor in NC State's Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources. "We then plotted their range expansion across North America from 1900 to 2016 using museum specimens, peer-reviewed reports, and game department records." In all, Kays and lead author James Hody reviewed more than 12,500 records covering the past 10,000 years for this study. Their findings indicate that coyotes historically occupied a larger area of North America than generally suggested in the literature. Previous maps, as it turns out, had ancient coyotes only located across the central deserts and grasslands. However, fossils from across the arid west link the distribution of coyotes from 10,000 years ago to specimens collected in the late 1800s, proving that their geographic range was not only broader but had been established for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, which also contradicts some widely-cited descriptions of their historical distribution. A video summary of "Mapping the expansion of coyotes (Canis latrans) across North and Central America". Published May 22, 2018 in ZooKeys. Credit: Adrian Smith It wasn't until approximately 1920 that coyotes began their expansion across North America. This was likely aided by an expansion of human agriculture, forest fragmentation, and hybridization with other species. Eastern expansion in particular was aided by hybridization with wolves and dogs, resulting in size and color variation among eastern coyotes. Before too long, coyotes may no longer be just a North American species. Kays notes that coyotes are continually expanding their range in Central America, crossing the Panama Canal in 2010. Active camera traps are now spotting coyotes approaching the Darien Gap, a heavily forested region separating North and South America, suggesting that they are at the doorstep of South America. "The expansion of coyotes across the American continent offers an incredible experiment for assessing ecological questions about their roles as predators, and evolutionary questions related to their hybridization with dogs and wolves," adds Hody. "By collecting and mapping these museum data we were able to correct old misconceptions of their original range, and more precisely map and date their recent expansions. "We hope these maps will provide useful context for future research into the ecology and evolution of this incredibly adaptive carnivore." Explore further Getting more 'wolflike' is the key to the future for coyotes More information: James W. Hody et al, Mapping the expansion of coyotes (Canis latrans) across North and Central America, ZooKeys (2018). Journal information: ZooKeys James W. Hody et al, Mapping the expansion of coyotes (Canis latrans) across North and Central America,(2018). DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.759.15149 Early stage of invagination of the inner cell layer, the endoderm. Cells at the margins show a strong deformation. Credit: Ulrich Technau During embryonic development, genetic cascades control gene activity and cell differentiation. In a new publication of the journal PNAS, the team of Ulrich Technau of the Department of Molecular Evolution and Development at the University of Vienna reported that besides the genetic program, mechanical cues also contribute to the regulation of gene expression during development. Comparisons with other animals suggests that this regulatory principle is ancient. It is generally thought that embryonic development and cellular differentiation of animals and humans follows a precise genetic program of spatiotemporal gene expression. However, a number of recent studies suggested that mechanotransduction the ability of cells to transform mechanical forces into biochemical signals can also contribute to the regulation of gene expression, and thus may play an important role in development. While most of these studies were done in cell cultures, the team of Ulrich Technau from the University of Vienna now reports experiments with mechanosensitive gene expression during early development of the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. The authors show in a recent publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that chemical inhibition of cellular myosin function not only blocks the morphogenetic movement of gastrulation the process in which inner and outer cell layers are formed by invagination but also abolishes the expression of a crucial developmental regulator gene, brachyury. This gene has a crucial ancient role in the development of virtually all animals. Surprisingly, external mechanical pressure applied to such embryos can activate or restore the expression of brachyury. Furthermore, brachyury expression in Nematostella vectensis via mechanotransduction depends on -catenin, a key protein with a conserved dual role in cell-cell adhesion and in gene regulation following a signaling cascade. Based on their findings, the authors propose a feedback loop whereby mechanical and genetic regulation work together to ensure robust brachyury expression. In addition, because -catenin-dependent mechanotransduction occurs in other animals like zebrafish and the fruitfly, the findings suggest that this form of gene regulation dates back to at least 600 million years ago, the evolutionary split between vertebrates, insects and sea anemones. In embryos treated with the myosin inhibitor ML-7, cells at the margin do not deform and invagination is blocked. Credit: Ulrich Technau Explore further A non-coding RNA lasso catches proteins in breast cancer cells More information: Ekaterina Pukhlyakova et al. -Catenindependent mechanotransduction dates back to the common ancestor of Cnidaria and Bilateria, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Ekaterina Pukhlyakova et al. -Catenindependent mechanotransduction dates back to the common ancestor of Cnidaria and Bilateria,(2018). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1713682115 In this photo provided by China's official Xinhua News Agency, a Long March-4C rocket carrying a relay satellite, named Queqiao (Magpie Bridge), is launched from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Monday, May 21, 2018. China has launched a relay satellite as part of a groundbreaking program to land a probe on the far side of the moon this year. The China National Space Administration said on its website that the satellite lofted into space early Monday aboard a Long March-4C rocket will facilitate communication between controllers on Earth and the Chang'e 4 mission.(Cai Yang/Xinhua via AP) China's ambition to soft-land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon later this year faces considerable challenges, but if successful would propel the country's space program to the forefront of one of the most important areas of lunar exploration, experts say. China hopes to be the first country to complete such a landing. On Monday, it launched a relay satellite to facilitate communication between controllers on Earth and the upcoming Chang'e 4 mission. The moon's far side is also known as the dark side because it faces away from Earth and remains comparatively unknown. Creating the ability to explore the far side of the Moon is an impressive achievement, John M. Logsdon of George Washington University's Space Policy Institute said in an email. "Spacefaring countries around the globe are focusing a great deal of attention on lunar exploration, and this far side capability, if it comes into being, will put China in a leading position with respect to that objective," Logsdon said. However, getting the relay satellite into the proper position will be tricky and marks only a first step in pulling off the landing, he said. "Doing things in space, especially at a far distance from Earth, remains hard, so success is far from assured, Logsdon said. A far side soft-landing would be a "world historical first," said Bernard Foing, head of the European Space Agency's International Lunar Exploration Working Group, which ?has collaborated with the Chinese program. That would offer a "deep science opportunity to study the far side," which has a different composition from sites on the near side, where previous missions have landed, Foing said. However, he too warned of the difficulties ahead, saying it would be a "great challenge using the relay orbiter for control and data." Such a communications relay link is needed for communication with a spacecraft on the far side because the moon's rocky bulk would otherwise block contact with Earth. China previously landed its Jade Rabbit rover on the moon and plans to land its Chang'e 5 probe there next year and have it return to Earth with samplesthe first time that would be done since 1976. China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, making it only the third country after Russia and the U.S. to do so, and has put a pair of space stations into orbit. Upcoming missions include the launch of the 20-ton core module for the still orbiting Tiangong 2 station, along with specialized components for a more-than 60-ton station that is due to come online in 2022 and a Mars rover planned for the mid 2020s. Additionally, China has already obtained the "technological basis" to put astronauts on the moon, the chief designer of the manned space program, Zhou Jianping, told a conference last month. "We have had in-depth discussions with many experts about manned lunar exploration, and conducted research on key technologies in recent years," Zhou said. Although China's space program is largely military-run, the Chang'e 4 mission underscores how it is a developing "an ambitious civilian, science-based space effort alongside building up the country's national security space capabilities," Logsdon said. A number of Chinese commercial satellite launchers have also sprung up in recent years on the model, if not the scale, of private U.S. companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. Last week, Beijing-based OneSpace Technologies became the first private spaceflight company to send a rocket into space, launching its relatively small 9-meter (30-foot) OS-X for a test flight that ended with it falling back to Earth. Explore further China satellite heralds first mission to far side of Moon 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Cambodias remaining hog deer is population is under severe hunting pressure. Credit: Jeremy Holden/FFI From baby elephants to sun bears and pangolins, escalating demand for bushmeat in towns and cities is taking an increasingly heavy toll on some of Cambodia's most endangered wildlife. The extensive and growing use of snares to supply the burgeoning bushmeat market is resulting in the indiscriminate slaughter of wildlife, including Asian elephant calves and other species injured and killed accidentally in wire traps set for other animals. Groundbreaking research commissioned by Fauna & Flora International (FFI), the first of its kind in Cambodia, has paved the way for a behaviour change campaign to reduce consumption of wild meat. The research has provided vital insights into the phenomenon of bushmeat consumption, shedding light on who eats what, and why. Bushmeat consumption in Cambodia is not driven by the subsistence needs of impoverished rural communities, who typically rely on fish as their main source of protein. In fact, it is mainly a recreational activity associated with male-dominated gatherings of friends, work colleagues or family members. The practice is linked with peer pressure, social status and among the elite the perceived health benefits of eating wild rather than farmed meat. Sunda pangolins are among the many species snared to supply the demand for bushmeat. Credit: Tim Knight Almost half of the 24 different wild animals mentioned by the Phnom Penh citizens interviewed during the research stage of the project are threatened with extinction. Several, including the Sunda pangolin the world's most trafficked mammal are officially categorised as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Many of those interviewed were oblivious to the fact that some of these animals are on the brink and saw no reason why a previously plentiful resource shouldn't continue to be readily available. Some of the more knowledgeable consumers are well aware of the increasing scarcity of certain species, but actually regard this as an essential part of their appeal; the prevailing attitude in this case appears to be 'Buy now while stocks last'. FFI and its local partners are among the many organisations working to protect Cambodia's threatened species and habitats through a combination of community engagement, anti-poaching measures and support for improved law enforcement. The bushmeat trade poses a threat to critically endangered Siamese crocodiles. Credit: Jeremy Holden/FFI But there is increasing recognition that interventions such as snare removal and prosecution of individual poachers have limited impact in the face of demand-driven commercial hunting. The authorities' capacity to tackle organised, large-scale wildlife crime is constrained by a shortage of resources and, in some instances, by corruption. Until now, there has been no real attempt to tackle the problem from a consumer perspective in order to reduce demand for wildlife products in Cambodia. Having identified this gap in the market, FFI is formulating a consumer-focused strategy to complement other, more traditional, approaches to combating illegal wildlife trade. The main target for these activities will be regular consumers in Phnom Penh. The research techniques employed in compiling the report have been widely utilised in the private sector but are relatively untried in a conservation context. FFI's Flagship Species Manager, Jackson Frechette, has no doubt about the value of the research: "The findings will be crucial in enabling FFI and partners to decide how best to communicate with the different categories of consumer in order to bring about a change in attitude towards their country's rich and valuable natural heritage." Explore further New study confirms Cambodia's last leopards on brink of extinction More information: Exploring Bushmeat Consumption Behaviors Among Phnom Penh citizens: Exploring Bushmeat Consumption Behaviors Among Phnom Penh citizens: live-fauna-flora-international ption-Behaviours.pdf Scientists from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration approach a young North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing gear near Cape Canaveral. Credit: NOAA Photo Library/flickr Not since the days of whaling had so many North Atlantic right whales died in one year. In 2017, 17 of the animals died or were entangled live in fishing gear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a large region of ocean that borders all five Canadian Atlantic provinces. At the same time, new research showed the population of 458 individuals was in decline with the females dwindling faster than males. Scientists became concerned that the North Atlantic right whale might become functionally extinct unable to produce new calves in less than two decades. But these devastating events produced an unexpected silver lining. Researchers, conservationists, industries, managers, policy-makers and public citizens from Canada and the United States rallied in an unprecedented collaborative response to help reduce risk to the remaining animals. This effort culminated in April 2018 with the Canadian government unveiling a number of new management measures for the snow crab and lobster fisheries in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Some of these measures including one large closed area, a shorter fishing season in other areas and closures of certain areas if whales are spotted there are designed to reduce the number of right whale entanglements this year while allowing fishermen to continue to harvest when the whales are less likely to be present. Additional measures will also help collect improved data on gear deployments so scientists and managers can understand when and where the animals become entangled. Crustacean cutback But why did this happen now? Typically right whales can be found foraging in the Bay of Fundy and southwest Nova Scotia during summer. But since 2010, right whale sightings in traditional foraging grounds have been low. At the same time, reproduction began to decline, culminating in a record low of zero calves born in 2018. Scientists have shown that variation in both right whale calving rates and their presence in specific areas are related to changes in their primary food source, the infamous copepod Calanus finmarchicus. Armed with the hypothesis that right whales were hungry and searching elsewhere for food, the community of researchers and conservationists began searching other regions where C. finmarchicus is abundant. One of those areas in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence proved fruitful, but since right whales had not been observed there often in the past, there were no protections yet in place for them. This exacerbated the events of 2017. A North Atlantic right whale and her calf, seen in this Feb. 13, 2005 photo. Credit: NOAA, CC BY Eating is risky business Although we almost never witness the death of a right whale, the ones that have been documented and diagnosed tell us that adult right whales die almost exclusively from ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements. Of the conclusively diagnosed mortalities in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, all were attributed to blunt force trauma from being hit by ships or to entanglement. When right whales forage in the same area as intensive fishing and commercial shipping activities, the risk to the animals can be exceedingly high. The whales spend up to three quarters of their time at or near the surface looking for food or socializing, putting them at risk of ship strikes and entanglement in slack fishing line floating on the ocean surface. What's less well-recognized is how much time right whales spend beneath the waves foraging. Their food undergoes vertical migration in the water column and often collects just above the sea floor. This means right whales may also become entangled underwater in the vertical and ground lines that connect several traps along the sea floor to surface buoys. Mitigation in right whale hot-spots The best way to prevent entanglement and ship strikes is to reduce the interaction between right whales and fishing gear or vessels. There are a variety of strategies that have been used in Canada and the U.S. to reduce the risk. However, at this time, there is no indication that total mortality in the population is decreasing. Within a feeding habitat, right whales tend to use similar areas from year to year because these areas have special environmental conditions that result in a plentiful food supply. The government's decision to close the area where right whales gathered in 2017 to lobster and snow crab fishing means there will be no interaction where right whale densities are likely to be highest. It's also possible that the animals may occupy other regions of the southern Gulf, which is a concern because ships and fishing gear may be more concentrated than usual in other areas. Because of this, fishing will be permitted in other areas unless a right whale is detected, at which time a mandatory dynamic management zone will be enforced for 15 days. In the Gulf to stay Historical sightings of right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence suggest that the animals have always been present in the area, albeit perhaps in not such noticeably high numbers. Similarly, historical analyses suggest their food has been present there since at least 1999. But virtually no targeted search effort had been conducted in most areas prior to 2015. The implication is that the presence of the animals should not be treated as an anomaly. Rather, it is more likely the animals have been using the area unnoticed for some time, and will continue to use the area. It all means that the fisheries and shipping activities in the region will need to adapt in the long term if we are to have any hope at saving the North Atlantic right whale. Explore further NOAA launching investigation into minke whale deaths This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. LLNL scientists Katelyn Mason and Deon Anex prepare to pulverize forensic bone samples prior to demineralization and extraction of proteins to find identity markers. In addition to previously demonstrating the use of protein markers from human hair to identify people, the research team is announcing that it has found a second way to use protein markers from human tissue for identification this time from human bones. Credit: Julie Russell/LLNL When a team of researchers led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) developed a new biological identification method that exploits information encoded in proteins, they thought it could have multiple applications. Nearly two years later, they've turned out to be right. In September 2016, LLNL scientists announced they had developed a science-based, statistically validated way to use protein markers from human hair to identify people and link individuals to evidence. Now they've found a second way to use protein markers from human tissue for identificationthis time from bones. Their work is described in a paper published online by Forensic Science International, an Amsterdam-based journal. "One of the most exciting aspects of this research is that it seeks to provide a completely new objective methodology for human identification," said LLNL chemist Brad Hart, the director of LLNL's Forensic Science Center and a co-author of the paper. "It is critical that the forensic science community expand the suite of objective tools available that allow for forensic results to be expressed with statistical rigor. Expanding the proteomic approach to include bone tissue promises greater potential for determining the identity of remains recovered from challenging environments and circumstances." The new protein marker technology addresses a 2009 National Research Council report on forensic science that detailed the weaknesses of many current approaches and reported an urgent need for new science-based forensic methods. Livermore researchers view the protein marker advance as an additional tool for the forensic science community and a complement to DNA, which is the gold standard for human identification, but fragile in several ways. "The use of protein markers from human hair and now bones can complement existing techniques based on DNA," said Lab chemist and paper co-author Deon Anex. "It can be especially valuable if DNA is missing or compromised." Another LLNL team member, biochemist Katelyn Mason, the paper's lead author, noted: "This is the first manuscript to describe the detection and validation of protein markers from human bones. The results show this approach can provide a powerful new tool for forensic science." In addition to Hart, Anex and Mason, other co-authors for the paper are Glendon Parker, who previously worked at Livermore and is now an adjunct associate professor in the University of California, Davis' Environmental Toxicology Department; and Todd Grey, who is retired from the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner. In the new study, the team examined rib bone samples from 10 recently deceased individuals five male and five female of European-American ancestry, finding a total of 35 different protein markers. Using their current sample sizes, the researchers have found enough markers to provide a unique pattern for an individual that would distinguish that person in ranges of from 1 in 6 people to 1 in 42,000 people. Although rib bone samples were used in the study, it is believed that any type of human bone could be used for identifying people or linking them to evidence. While Hart sees protein markers from human hair as being markedly more valuable for identifying people or linking them to evidence, the use of bone protein markers could help with human identification in cases where there isn't other evidence. "There is inherently less genetic variability in proteins present in bone compared to human hair," Hart said. "For purposes of identifying people or linking them to evidence, hair proteins are more valuable. "Nonetheless, there are situations where bone tissue may be all that is available and for those cases there may be no other way to the identify human remains." Consequently, one possible important application for using protein markers from human bones could be to help determine the identity of partial remains from catastrophic events, such as plane crashes, fires or the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Livermore research team believes that protein markers from bones could be useful on archeological time scales, such as 250 years or more, as has been demonstrated with protein markers from human hair. While nuclear DNA has been used by law enforcement for more than three decades and boasts extensive databases, the development of using protein markers from human hair and bones is still in its infancy. However, researchers can take observed biological markers associated with genetic variation in hair and bone proteins and correlate them to specific DNA mutations in individuals, which could be helpful until protein marker databases are developed. Currently, the sample preparation, instrument run time and analysis period for the protein identification method requires about 2 days, Anex said, noting the team expects the costs to be competitive with other similar technologies. Proteins are long molecular chains formed from amino acidsthe basic building blocks of life. DNA is the pattern or template the body uses to produce proteins. In the research, the protein markers used by the scientists have been variants in the proteins resulting from amino acid substitutions that stem from DNA mutations and are known as single amino acid polymorphisms (SAPs). Using the LLNL-developed process, proteins are first extracted from a bone sample and broken down into shorter amino acid chains, called peptides. The researchers then use liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometry to separate, detect and quantify the peptide sequences. Results are compared to a protein sequence database to identify known SAPs present in the sample. Given data on the frequencies of each corresponding DNA mutation, the researchers can derive identifying information and determine the biogeographic origin of the person who provided a sample. In addition to developing ways to use protein markers from hair and bones to identify people, Livermore researchers also are working to show the feasibility of a third use of protein markersfrom shed skin cells. "Forensic scientists exploit DNA from touch evidence, such as fingerprints. Those fingerprints also contain shed skin cells that we believe can be used to identify people," Hart said. The team members' work to assess and use protein markers from human hair has come a long way since they first announced the breakthrough in September 2016, Hart emphasized. Using their current sample sizes, the researchers now are able to find enough distinctive markers to provide a unique pattern for an individual that would distinguish that person among a population of 1 billion people. Current research funding for the $200,000 project comes from LLNL's Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, which supports high-risk, potentially high-payoff projects at the forefront of science and technology. Explore further Humans may be uniquely identified by the proteins in their hair More information: Katelyn Elizabeth Mason et al. Protein-based forensic identification using genetically variant peptides in human bone, Forensic Science International (2018). Journal information: Forensic Science International Katelyn Elizabeth Mason et al. Protein-based forensic identification using genetically variant peptides in human bone,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.04.016 Formation of Atlas, one of the small inner moons of Saturn. Its flat, ravioli-like shape is the result of a merging collision of two similar-sized bodies. The picture is a snapshot in mid-collision, before the moons reorientation due to tides is completed. Credit: A. Verdier The small inner moons of Saturn look like giant ravioli and spaetzle. Their spectacular shape has been revealed by the Cassini spacecraft. For the first time, researchers of the University of Bern show how these moons were formed. The peculiar shapes are a natural outcome of merging collisions among similar-sized little moons as computer simulations demonstrate. When Martin Rubin, astrophysicist at the University of Bern, saw the images of Saturn's moons Pan and Atlas on the internet, he was puzzled. The close-ups taken by the Cassini spacecraft in April 2017 showed objects that NASA described in its news release as flying-saucers with diameters of about 30 km. With their large ridges and bulbous centres, Pan and Atlas also resembled giant ravioli. Martin Rubin wondered how these peculiar objects had formed and asked his colleague Martin Jutzi whether they could be the outcome of collisions, similar to the one that formed comet Chury as Jutzi had demonstrated earlier with computer simulations. Martin Jutzi and Adrien Leleu, both members of the NCCR PlanetS, took the challenge of calculating the formation process of the small inner moons of Saturn. The first, simple tests worked well. "But then, we took the tidal forces into consideration and the problems piled up," remembers Adrien Leleu. "The conditions close to Saturn are very special," confirms Martin Jutzi. Since Saturn has 95 times more mass than Earth and the inner moons orbit the planet at a distance of less than half the distance between Earth and Moon, the tides are enormous and pull almost everything apart. Therefore, Saturn's inner moons couldn't have formed with these peculiar shapes by gradual accretion of material around a single core. An alternative model called pyramidal regime suggests that these moons were formed by a series of mergers of similar sized little moonlets. The top row shows 3 small moons of Saturn imaged by the Cassini spacecraft. Shown at the bottom are the model outcomes. The simulations not only reproduce the shapes, but may also explain why the ridges on Pan and Atlas look different from the rest of their bodies: They are made of smooth material that was squeezed out during the merging process. Cracks on the main body could be the result of tensile stresses caused by the deformation of the merging objects. The modelled Prometheus-like moon displays the same tips at both ends as seen on the Cassini images. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/University of Bern Having solved their initial problems, the researchers could verify the pyramidal regime, but even more: They showed that the collisions of the moonlets resulted in exactly the shapes imaged by Cassini. Close to head-on mergers lead to flattened objects with large equatorial ridges, as observed on Atlas and Pan. With slightly more oblique impact angles, collisions resulted in elongated spaetzle-like shapes that closely resembled the 90-km long moon Prometheus as it was photographed by Cassini. The top image shows Saturns large moon Iapetus as observed by Cassini. It has an oblate spheroid shape and an equatorial ridge. Bottom: The result of the simulation of a head-on merger oft two equal-sized bodies with half of the mass of Iapetus. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute/University of Bern Head-on collisions have high probability Based on the current orbit of the moons and their orbital environment, the researchers were able to estimate that the impact velocities were of the order of a few 10 m/s. Simulating collisions in this range for various impact angles, they obtained various stable shapes similar to ravioli and spaetzle, but only for low impact angles. "If the impact angle is bigger than ten degrees, the resulting shapes are not stable anymore," says Adrien Leleu. Any duck-shaped object like comet Chury would fall apart because of Saturn's tides. "That is why Saturn's small moons look very different to comets that often have bilobed shapes," explains Martin Jutzi. Interestingly, the head-on collisions are not as rare as one might think. The small inner moons are believed to originate from Saturn's rings, a thin disk located in the planet's equatorial plane. Since Saturn isn't a perfect sphere but rather oblate, it makes it hard for any object to leave this narrow plane. So, near head-on collisions are frequent and the impact angle tends to get even lower in subsequent encounters. "A significant fraction of such merging collisions take place either at the first encounter or after 1-2 hit-and-run events," the authors summarize in their paper published today in Nature Astronomy. "In this respect, Saturn is almost a toy system to study these processes," says Martin Rubin. Collison of similar-sized moonlets orbiting around Saturn. Credit: Simulation by Adrien Leleu, Martin Jutzi and Martin Rubin / University of Bern Although the researchers mainly focussed on the small inner moons of Saturn, they also found a possible explanation for a long-standing mystery concerning Saturn's third largest moon named Iapetus. Why does Iapetus have an oblate shape and a distinctive equatorial ridge? "Our modelling results suggest that these features may be a result of a merger of similar-sized moons taking place with a close to head-on impact angle, similar to the smaller moons," the researchers summarize. More information: A. Leleu et al. The peculiar shapes of Saturn's small inner moons as evidence of mergers of similar-sized moonlets, Nature Astronomy (2018). Journal information: Nature Astronomy A. Leleu et al. The peculiar shapes of Saturn's small inner moons as evidence of mergers of similar-sized moonlets,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-018-0471-7 A male Stygiopontius senokuchiae taken with a confocal laser microscope. This new species of copepod was discovered by Kumamoto University student, Reina Senokuchi. The white scale bar is 0.2 mm long. (Photograph by Kumamoto University Associate Professor Takeshi Kitano) Credit: Associate Professor Takeshi Kitano A new species of microcrustacean was collected from a submarine hot spring (hydrothermal vent) of a marine volcano (Myojin-sho caldera) in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan. This crustacean group is found only in deep-sea hydrothermal vents and is the first of its kind found in Japanese waters. A New Mini-Kaiju A new species of microcrustacean (Stygiopontius) was collected from a 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." 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. There are many submarine volcanoes in the ocean around Japan. The survey area (red dotted line) is about 420 km south of Tokyo and is where Stygiopontius senokuchiae was discovered. Credit: Kumamoto University 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." More information: DAISUKE UYENO et al, A new dirivultid copepod (Siphonostomatoida) from hydrothermal vent fields of the Izu-Bonin Arc in the North Pacific Ocean, Zootaxa (2018). Journal information: Zootaxa DAISUKE UYENO et al, A new dirivultid copepod (Siphonostomatoida) from hydrothermal vent fields of the Izu-Bonin Arc in the North Pacific Ocean,(2018). DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4415.2.8 Credit: Wits University South Africa has always been a country with problems of water scarcity. The ominous Day Zero narrative in Cape Town has brought water security into our daily lives and has made us pay closer attention to issues of water demand and availability. Additional challenges, including pollution, poor management and infrastructure maintenance, wastage and excessive consumption, burden our resources. Schalk Mouton explores how we can learn from the current crisis and turn South Africa into a water-secure country for all its citizens. We've heard it so many times before. Every time a government official speaks about water issues in South Africa, they mention that South Africa is a "water-scarce" country. However, until the current water 'crisis' fully developed in Cape Town, and the ominous-sounding phrase "Day Zero' became a daily headline in newspapers, few were actively mobilised around water as a valuable resource. Water has always been cheap and, for the middle-class South African at least, there has always been a constant, reliable supply of water. But will such a situation continue without careful risk management and planning? The current water situation in Cape Town can teach us a number of lessons that could assist us in working towards a more water secure Gauteng and the country as a whole. "What is going on in Cape Town, scientists argue, is the 'new normal' with climate variability and climate change," says Professor Coleen Vogel, Distinguished Professor in Climate change, Vulnerability and Adaptability at the Global Change Institute. "Although we cannot say with certainty when droughts will occur, projected outlooks are that we could experience more frequent events, such as drought occurring with greater magnitude." South Africa is a dry country. It has an annual surface water runoff (from rain) of 49 billion cubic metres. With an annual rainfall average of 490mm, South Africa has just over half the annual rainfall of the global average of 814mm. Of the water that we do have, 98% is already allocated for use, which means we have only 2% left over as a useable resource. Various provinces, including Limpopo and the North West Province, have struggled with serious droughts in the past 10 years, and the Eastern Cape and parts of KwaZulu-Natal are suffering from water shortages. Gauteng was saved from a serious drought in 2016 (some would argue not necessarily by careful water planning) when good rains fell. South Africa is also struggling to manage water effectively. According to the Department of Water and Sanitation's (DWS) National Water and Sanitation Master Plan, "A call to action," the country "is facing a water crisis driven by a massive backlog in water infrastructure maintenance and investment, recurrent droughts driven by climatic variation, glaring inequalities in access to water and deteriorating water quality." "This crisis is already having significant impact on economic growth and on the well-being on everyone in South Africa, which will be exacerbated if it is not addressed," the DWS says. The DWS Master Plan estimates that: by 2030 we will have a water deficit of 5%, yet 35% of our municipal water is lost through leakage. 41% of our municipal water does not generate revenue, which, at a unit cost of R6/m, amounts to R9.9 billion each year. 5.3 million households do not have access to safe household drinking water, while 14.1 million people do not have access to reliable sanitation. 56% of the country's 1 150 municipal waste water treatment works and 44% of the 962 water treatment works in the country are in a poor or critical condition and in need of urgent rehabilitation, while 11% of this critical infrastructure is dysfunctional. The country's rivers are not faring any better. Between 1999 and 2011, the extent of SA's rivers classified as having a poor ecological condition increased by 500% with many rivers pushed beyond the point of recovery. To achieve water security, the DWS says, an estimated "capital funding gap of around R33 billion per year is needed for the next 10 years." In order to find sustainable solutions to South Africa's water problems, all role-players in the water sector should start to work together, says Professor Craig Sheridan of the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering and Director of the Centre in Water Research and Development at Wits. "We need a 'democracy of discipline-values," where policy, economics, engineering, science, social science, law and politics are all treated equally. This can only happen if we can embrace humility as the tool to understanding the other," he says. Even with rainfall figures declining since 2015 (in 2014, Cape Town got 511mm of rain. In 2015, this went down to 321mm and in 2016 and 2017, the region got only 221mm and 153mm of rain respectively) the Cape Town drought was hard to predict. Although the water storage graphs for Cape Town's two main water sources (Berg River Dam and Theewaterskloof Dam) show that both have dropped below "very low" levels since 2015, Professor Barend Erasmus, Director of the Global Change Institute, says that declining surface water levels do not serve as a clear "early warning." "The likelihood of a prolonged drought such as the one in Cape Town is extremely low, so the more years with low rainfall, the less likely it is that a drought will persist," says Erasmus. "The magnitude of the crisis was too big for a 'business as usual' incremental response. This is a typical example of how a system shift in terms of a different attitude towards water is required." Gillian Maree, Senior Researcher at the Gauteng City-Region Observatory, says a more proactive approach towards droughts should be implemented throughout the country. "You cannot solve a major drought quickly. There are no short-term interventions three years into a major drought," she says. "The concern is that we're still reacting to a 'crisis,"" says Vogel. "We need to change the focus of the country. Cities need drought plans and, as far as I know, Johannesburg does not have a focussed drought plan." Maree believes Gauteng can expect to run into water shortages in the near future, with high levels of urbanisation and growth leading to increased demand pressures on the limited water supply. "In the past 20 years, Gauteng has experienced such rapid growth that we just haven't been able to keep pace with it," she says. Johannesburg is expected to become a mega-city by 2030, housing a population of over 10 million people. By that time, over 60% (5.05 billion people) of the world's population is expected to live in urban areas. A 10-point plan to make Gauteng water-secure: Build cities water-wise (incorporate green infrastructure with current water infrastructure) Start to value our water catchment areas Ensure we look after our rivers and wetlands Look at innovative ideas around grey water use Improve and maintain our storm water management systems Become more water aware and water sensitive about how we build the Gauteng City-Region Decrease consumption in Gauteng Advance to the LHWP phase 2 as soon as possible to augment our water sources While taking the basic water needs of all our citizens into account, we have to make water more expensive and place a higher value on it in society Urgently deal with the backlog of maintaining water-treatment plants. Compiled from recommendations that Gillian Maree made in a presentation to the Gauteng Department of Economic Development and the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Some of the earlier Water Balance models from the DWS showed that there would be a water deficit in Gauteng by 2025, says Maree. The idea was to have the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) operational by that point. Phase 2 of the LHWP is scheduled to increase the current supply rate of 780 million cubic metres of water per year to 1 260 million cubic metres per year. The construction on the project has been delayed. "The LHWP2 is way behind schedule. There's no way we're going to have large augmentation by 2025. This means that the current and future water demands will have to be accommodated for within the current water availability." Data on water consumption are very limited and vary greatly across different types of households, but the studies we do have have shown that Johannesburg households consume around 330 litres of water per person per day. This is double the global average of around 170 litres per day. "The consumption here is very high. For those households who have reliable access to potable water, we use nearly double the global average in a water scarce part of the world," says Maree. "We live in a region far from our water supply, we live on top of a watershed, and we spend great expense piping water here (from the Katse Dam via the LHWP). We have to deal with the consumption and wastage issue." What must also be addressed is the unacceptably high levels of non-revenue water (particularly water losses from poorly maintained and leaking infrastructure) and ensuring that consumers are billed fairly for water, and the revenue collected. A second aspect of water security is making sure that that the water that we do have is safe enough to use. "We are a heavy polluter," says Maree. "Johannesburg lies on top of the watershed, so we pump a lot of fresh water up the catchment to use, and then we release return flows that are often very polluted. We don't see the cost of our pollution downstream, and how we waste water." While industrial wastewater contributes to the problem, Sheridan says the two main sources that pollute our rivers are Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and broken sewage treatment plants. "We have to fix AMD and sewage plants," he says. AMD is a massive problem, but if you've got political will behind it not difficult to fix. The problem, however, is that AMD is usually just neutralised for pH levels, and many sulphates stay behind in the water. This is not good for rivers. "Sewage is a disaster," says Sheridan, pointing out that a lot of research is now going into making water treatment plants on a local level resilient and easy to operate and maintain. However, there is no single solution to fix the problem. "You need to engage with each locality in a different way. You need to consult with local communities and establish their own needs, before you can start to search for a solution," says Sheridan. "How do you design a resilient system for a specific community?" In order to solve our water crisis, we need to change the way we think about and treat water from a government perspective right down to consumer level. Water must be managed in such a way that consumers value it more. "Effective water management has to be carefully considered," says Vogel. "We need to find socially just ways of ensuring effective water management." Maree agrees: "We have to deal with the consumption and water wastage issue, which is a technical issue as well as a political issue and leadership issue, around changing behaviour." We have to see water in a different light and start to respect it as the valuable resource it is. If we put our minds to it, all South Africans should be able to have a sustainable, water-secure future. As a friend of Sheridan's said: "With political will, everything is possible. We (the human race) put people on the moon because of political will." Explore further Drought-stricken Cape Town tightens water restrictions Physicists at Saarland University in Saarbrucken, Germany, have succeeded in entangling a single atom with a single photon in the telecom wavelength range. This constitutes a basic building block for transmission of quantum information over long distance with low loss. The results have raised interest in the quantum technology community and are now published in Nature Communications. Communication using quantum states offers ultimate security, because eavesdropping attempts perturb the signal and would therefore not remain undetected. For the same reason, though, long-distance transmission of that information is difficult. In classical telecommunication, the increasing attenuation of the signal is counteracted by measuring, amplifying and re-sending it in so-called repeater stations, but this turns out to be as detrimental to the quantum information as an eavesdropper. Therefore, a different principle has to be used: the quantum repeater. Here, quantum entanglement is first established over short distance and then propagated to longer separations. Quantum entanglement between two particles means that their common state is precisely defined, although when one measures the individual states of the particles, the results are random and unpredictable. A possible realization is to entangle a single atom with a photon that it emits. This is what happens in the laboratories of Prof. Jurgen Eschner, employing single calcium atoms in an ion trap that are controlled by laser pulses (www.uni-saarland.de/en/lehrstuhl/eschner.html). For the wavelength of 854 nanometers where atom-photon entanglement is created, however, no low-loss optical fibers for long-distance transmission exist; instead, one would like to transmit the photons in one of the so-called telecom bands (1300 1560 nanometers). The technology for converting the photons into this regime, the quantum frequency converter, has been developed by Prof. Christoph Becher and his research group (www.uni-saarland.de/fak7/becher/index.htm). Together, the two groups have now demonstrated that after quantum frequency conversion, the telecom photon is still entangled with the atom that emitted the original photon, and that the high quality of the entanglement is maintained. One of the fascinating aspects of the work is that the entangled quantum state of the two microscopic particles (a single atom and a single telecom photon) extends over several floors of the physics building of the university. "This paves the way for entanglement over 20 kilometers and more", comments Matthias Bock, Ph.D. student in quantum technologies and first author of the study. The results are an important step towards integrating quantum technologies into conventional telecommunications; for their research towards this goal, the two groups at Saarland University are funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research, BMBF. Explanation of quantum entanglement: The state of an individual quantum bit (an atom with two energy states of its electron, or a photon with two directions of its polarization) may be visualized as a point on the surface of a sphere. Measurement of that state provides an unpredictable result anywhere on the surface. The other qubit that is entangled with the first one will, however, always be found in the opposite point on the sphere. This correlation may also exist over large distances. Einstein called this phenomenon "spooky action at a distance"; it belongs to the non-intuitive peculiarities of quantum mechanics, but it has been confirmed in many experiments. Explore further Entangled LED first to operate in the telecom window More information: Matthias Bock et al. High-fidelity entanglement between a trapped ion and a telecom photon via quantum frequency conversion, Nature Communications (2018). Journal information: Nature Communications Matthias Bock et al. High-fidelity entanglement between a trapped ion and a telecom photon via quantum frequency conversion,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04341-2 Mount St. Helens, in Washington State USA, erupted on May 18, 1980. Credit: Ali Freibott, US Forest Service When Mount St. Helens erupted 38 years ago today, it not only dramatically transformed more than 200 square miles that previously contained vast forests, fast-flowing streams, and sparkling mountain lakes, it also created unprecedented research opportunities for scientists. Nearly four decades later, much of what has been learned at this living laboratory is revealed in a new book that presents key science lessons and messages from the volcano. Ecological Responses at Mount St. Helens: Revisited 35 Years After the 1980 Eruption, published by Springer, features 16 chapters authored by 33 contributors from across the United States and Canada who have studied ecological responses at Mount St. Helens since 1980. "This book is a synthesis generated by a cadre of dedicated scientists who have embarked upon decades of research to meticulously document the way in which an ecosystem responded to an intense, large-scale forest disturbancein this case, volcanism, an agent of disturbance that has shaped Cascadian ecosystems for millennia," said Charlie Crisafulli, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station who has been conducting research at Mount St. Helens since just weeks after the 1980 eruption. Crisafulli co-edited the new book, authored several of its chapters, and is the lead research ecologist at the volcano. "This book is intended for scientists, college students, and others interested in the fascinating subject of ecological change and, in particular, the resilience of nature following a major disturbance." The eruption of Mount St. Helens generated a gradient of disturbance intensities, which created an unprecedented scientific opportunity to study how landscapes respond initially and over time to volcanic disturbance. Since then, researchers have conducted hundreds of studies on wildlife, plant, and microbial communities and ecological processes across the volcano's terrestrial and aquatic habitats. "I feel a great sense of achievement when viewing the ways in which the collective body of knowledge from the volcano has influenced and even reshaped our understanding of biological community assembly, successional processes, and disturbance processes," Crisafulli said. Mount St. Helens research is helping to advance post-volcanic-eruption ecological science and management in both the United States and abroad. Crisafulli is conducting invited research at Chile's Chaiten, Cordon Caulle, and Calbuco volcanoes and has provided onsite consultation to managers in China and Alaska. This July, he will travel to Iceland's Surtsey and Hekal volcanoes to share results from Mount St. Helens and assist with plant ecology studies. Explore further Hawaii volcano raises concerns of eruptions along West Coast More information: To learn more about Mount St. Helens research, visit To learn more about Mount St. Helens research, visit www.fs.fed.us/pnw/research/mtsthelens At 10:41 a.m. local time in Hawaii on May 14, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired a natural-color image of the eruption. Information from the shortwave infrared (band 7) has been layered onto the image to show where the satellite detected unusually warm temperatures (red) associated with lava. Recent lava flows appear gray; forested areas are dark green. Homes appear as small white dots. The lava was flowing from fissure 17, one of the most active of the 20 new fissures that have emerged. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory On May 3, the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island erupted from new fissures and sent lava flowing over streets and neighborhoods. As the disaster response on the ground led by the U.S. Geological Survey kicked into gear, managers from NASA's Earth Science Disasters Program heard from response agencies and sent out a call to NASA's own researchers, data managers, and satellite teams: What can we do to help? With an array of sophisticated Earth-observing sensors in orbit and partnerships with space agencies around the globe, NASA had a lot of assets to offer. "One of the first things emergency responders wanted to know was where the lava was coming out, where are all the fissures," said J. Carver Struve, NASA emergency management co-lead at NASA Headquarters in Washington, who coordinates the organization and distribution of data and satellite imagery from seven NASA centers. In total, seven instruments on board five NASA and partner satellites provided key information on eruption patterns and atmospheric impacts of the Kilauea eruption. These included detection of active fissures, fires, ash and sulfur dioxide plumes, deformation of the ground caused by magma movement, and the height and composition of volcanic plumes. Even astronauts on board the International Space Station were able to view the eruption, sending digital camera images to the USGS and response community. The European Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency also contributed data to the effort. The VIIRS instrument on the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite showed this enhanced nighttime image on May 15 superimposed with thermal anomalies (red points). Multiple thermal anomalies associated with bright light emissions are observed near the southeast tip of Hawaii's Big Island. A zoom over this area shows that those thermal anomalies are consistent with the new observed opening fissures further east from the Leilani area. Credit: NASA Feedback from responders in Hawaii using the data has led to the creation of additional data products tailored to their immediate needs. "We're providing actionable scientific products to teams on the ground to support response activities and fill any gaps they may have in their information as the disaster is evolving," said Struve. The Disasters Program data products and images are available at these sites: https://maps.disasters.nasa.gov https://disasters.nasa.gov/kilauea-hawaii-eruption-2018. Massive sulfur dioxide plumes are shown in yellow and green. The image was extracted from data provided by the ASTER instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft. Credit: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team In addition to providing data to support recovery and resilience planning, NASA has a long-standing research effort to understand volcanic processes before, during and after eruptions, insights that can also serve as a window into understanding volcanoes on other planets. The current Kilauea eruption is an opportunity to evaluate the performance of instruments to estimate lava flow rates and volume, crucial parameters in volcanic models. NASA is contributing to the understanding of the eruption using airborne assets. The G-III research aircraft is flying an all-weather, high-resolution instrument called the Glacier and Ice Surface Topography Interferometer (GLISTIN) that was developed to study small changes in ice sheets. The science team, based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, previously used GLISTIN to study the surface topography of Kilauea's East Rift Zone. A sequence of repeat flights during the current eruption are using GLISTIN to detect changes in Kilauea's topography associated with the new lava flows, with the goal of measuring the erupted volume as a function of time and ultimately the total volume of the event. Such observations are extremely useful to quantitatively evaluate models for evolution of volcanic processes. NASA's Disasters Program supports application science and mobilizes for intensive risk events globally, covering a range of natural hazardsearthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, floods, landslides, severe weather, winter storms, tropical cyclones, volcanoesand human-made events such as oil spills and industrial accidents. Explore further NASA Satellite detects Kilauea fissures Finnish materials physicist Tuomo Suntola developped technology that has made the current capacities of smartphones and computers possible Finnish materials physicist Tuomo Suntola, who developed a groundbreaking technology to reduce the size of complex devices, on Tuesday won Finland's take on the Nobel science prizes. The 74-year-old was awarded the Millennium Technology Prize worth one million euros ($1.18 million). "Suntola's prize-winning ALD (atomic layer deposition) innovation is a nanoscale technology in use all over the world," the Technology Academy Finland, which awards the biennial prize, said in a statement. His technology is used to manufacture ultra-thin material layers for a variety of devices such as computers, smartphones, microprocessors and digital memory devices, enabling high performance in small size. "The extremely thin isolating or conducting films needed in microprocessors and computer memory devices can only be manufactured using the ALD technology developed by Tuomo Suntola," the academy said. He developed the technology in 1974 to initially replace bulky monitors in hospitals with flat and electro-luminescent screens. "In the beginning we did not have a laboratory but I had the periodic table of chemical elements on my wall and looking at it, I got the idea of building a compound from its components," Suntola told AFP ahead of the award ceremony organised in Helsinki. A global breakthrough for the technology came in the 1990s when it was adopted by the semiconductors industry, to manufacture ultra-thin material layers for all kinds of high technology devices. "ALD has made it possible to increase the density of components significantly. In other words, we would not have the current capacities in our smartphones or computers without the ALD technology," the scientist explained. With no academic background in his family, Suntola, who has a doctorate in electron physics from the Helsinki University of Technology, said he became interested in physics as a teenager when he began to build radios with his friends. The million-euro prize came as a surprise to Suntola, who said he had not profited much from his invention due to long-expired patents. "Money accredits the technology, but more importantly, I see this as an opportunity to inspire young people to be innovative," he said. The retired physicist said he spends his free time rethinking Albert Einstein's famous theory of relativity. The Finnish Millennium Technology Prize, founded in 2004, singles out innovations that have practical applications and which "enhance the quality of people's lives." It aims to be a technology equivalent of the Nobel Prizes for the sciences, which have been criticised by some for focusing too much on traditional, decades-old scientific research. Previous tech laureates include the creator of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, Linux open source operating system creator Linus Torvalds and ethical stem cell pioneer Shinya Yamanaka. Explore further US biochemist wins award for rewriting DNA to mimic evolution 2018 AFP Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Balkan Service journalist Milan Nesic has received the prestigious Award for Excellence in Investigative Journalism from the Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (NUNS) for his story about embezzlement in the construction industry in Belgrade. The award recognizes Nesics investigative story titled Phantom Builders of Belgrade, which chronicles the illegal construction of a six-story building in the Belgrade district of Vozdovac. The area has seen a stream of investors who, apparently unknown to the authorities, are buying up old houses and replacing them with illegal skyscrapers. Government officials, after being confronted by Nesics reporting, pledged to halt construction by the end of 2017, but he says no progress has been made. This award is a confirmation of hard work, he said. Sadly, nothing changed, but we still keep moving forward. U.S. Ambassador Kyle Scott, who attended the May 8 ceremony in Belgrade, told the audience, Energetic and free media are like a ray of sunshine cleaning a democratic society of corruptive and immoderate acts by the authorities. NUNS President Slavisa Lekic warned that it isnt easy being a journalist in Serbia, in a society dominated by the virus of fear. Nesic says he received anonymous emails while producing the report pressuring him to quit the investigation. The report, which won in the Electronic Media category, was first released as a two-part radio series before being published online in article form. Freedom Houses Freedom of the Press 2017 report lists Serbia among one of the countries that suffered the largest declines in press freedom. Reporters Without Borders 2018 World Press Freedom Index ranks the country in 76th place out of 180 countries -- ten places below its 2017 score. With over 3,000 members, NUNS aims to protect journalists, and promote professional and ethical media standards, as well as cooperation among journalists in Serbia. In their 30th year, the NUNS annual awards, supported by the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, recognize brave journalists in the categories of Electronic Media, Online Media, and Press. This years awards received over 100 submissions from some 50 journalists. May 22, 2018 in Software (E) [prMac.com] San Francisco, California - Cocoatech is thrilled to announce the release of Path Finder 8.0, a long awaited major update that had been under development for over three years. Path Finder allows you to view hidden files, compare, merge and synchronize folders, batch rename and batch select files, use Dual Pane and full keyboard navigation to browse your file system and much more. Path Finder is one of the oldest apps on the Mac OS X market (*first released in 2001) and boasts a large and loyal userbase. The application is extremely customizable and allows you to work how you want. Become a master of file management with Path Finder 8.0! Path Finder 8 lays the foundation for a total redesign and rewrite of the very powerful file manager. Estimated 40% of the internal code is new. Path Finder 8 brings new customization possibilities, as well as performance and stability enhancements. Some improvements will not be directly visible to users, but a lot of things in the code itself are internally changed, made better, faster and more robust. The code was made modern and more modular, so future news and changes will fit much easier and faster. The big new thing in version 8 are the way modules are organized and used within the new and flexible modules structure. You can put as many modules in a single window as you need, they can be arbitrarily arranged, dismissed, closed and dragged out of the window. They can be assigned to either left or right pane and they are extensively customizable. With new module structure, Path Finder probably becomes the most configurable and flexible Mac application on the market. Supported Languages: Path Finder supports Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish languages. System Requirements: * macOS 10.11 or newer Pricing and Availability: You can try Path Finder for free for 30 days with all the features available to you during that period. Path Finder costs $40.00 (USD) for a single user license applicable for up to 3 user-owned computers, and $20.00 (USD) when upgrading from version 7. Path Finder 8 is a free upgrade for users that purchased Path Finder 7 in the last 6 months preceding the current release date. The software is available for purchase from within the application itself or from the Cocoatech online store. Volume license discounts available. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Cocoatech LLC is a privately funded software company founded in 2001 by Steve Gehrman. Steve has over 20 years as a software developer, and founded Cocoatech with the intention of bringing this experience to the Mac platform. Copyright 2008-2018 Cocoatech, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, and Finder are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners. ### The following companies are subsidiares of Quest Diagnostics: AmeriPath, AmeriPath Cincinnati Inc. (OH), AmeriPath Cleveland Inc. (OH), AmeriPath Consolidated Labs Inc. (FL), AmeriPath Florida LLC (DE), AmeriPath Hospital Services Florida LLC (DE), AmeriPath Inc. (DE), AmeriPath Indianapolis PC (IN), AmeriPath Kentucky Inc. (KY), AmeriPath Lubbock 5.01(A) Corporation (TX), AmeriPath New York LLC (DE), AmeriPath Texas Inc. (DE), AmeriPath Tucson Inc. (AZ), American Medical Laboratories, American Medical Laboratories Incorporated (DE), Associated Clinical Laboratories L.P. (PA), Associated Clinical Laboratories of Pennsylvania L.L.C. (PA), Athena Diagnostics, Athena Diagnostics Inc. (DE), Blueprint Genetics, Blueprint Genetics FZ-LLC (UAE), Blueprint Genetics Inc. (DE), Blueprint Genetics Oy (Finland), California Laboratory Associates, Cape Cod Healthcare - Business, Celera, ClearPoint Diagnostic, Clearpoint Diagnostic Laboratories LLC (TX), Cleveland HeartLab, Cleveland HeartLab Inc. (DE), Clinical Laboratory Partners, Colorado Pathology Consultants P.C. (CO), ConVerge Diagnostic Services, Consolidated DermPath Inc. (DE), DFW 5.01(a) Corporation (TX), DGXWMT JV LLC (DE), Dermatopathology of Wisconsin S.C. (WI), Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma LLC (OK), Diagnostic Pathology Services Inc. (OK), Diagnostic Reference Services Inc. (MD), ExamOne Canada Inc. (New Brunswick), ExamOne LLC (DE), ExamOne World Wide Inc. (PA), ExamOne World Wide of NJ Inc. (NJ), Focus Diagnostics, HemoCue, Hoffman M.D. Associated Pathologists Chartered (NV), Institute for Dermatopathology Inc. (PA), Isabella Street Urban Renewal LLC (NJ), Kailash B. Sharma M.D. Inc. (GA), Kilpatrick Pathology P.A. (NC), LabOne, LabOne LLC (MO), LabOne of Ohio Inc. (DE), Laboratorio de Analisis Biomedicos S.A. (Mexico), Lancet Labs, MACL, Med Fusion LLC (TX), Med fusion, MedPlus, Mid America Clinical Laboratories LLC (IN), Nomad Massachusetts Inc. (MA), Nuclear Medicine and Pathology Associates (GA), Ocmulgee Medical Pathology Association Inc. (GA), Pathology Building Partnership (MD) (gen. ptnrshp.), PeaceHealth Laboratories, PhenoPath Laboratories, PhenoPath Laboratories PLLC (WA), Q Squared Solutions Holdings LLC (DE), Q Squared Solutions Holdings Limited (UK), Quest Diagnostics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (China), Quest Diagnostics Brasil Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics Domestic Holder LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics HTAS India Private Limited (India), Quest Diagnostics Health & Wellness LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Holdings Incorporated (DE), Quest Diagnostics Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (MD), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NV), Quest Diagnostics India Private Limited (India), Quest Diagnostics Infectious Disease Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics International Holdings Limited (UK), Quest Diagnostics International LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Investments LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Ireland Limited (Ireland), Quest Diagnostics LLC (CT), Quest Diagnostics LLC (IL), Quest Diagnostics LLC (MA), Quest Diagnostics Massachusetts LLC (MA), Quest Diagnostics Mexico Holding Company Trust (Mexico), Quest Diagnostics Mexico S de RL de CV (Mexico), Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute (CA), Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute Inc. (VA), Quest Diagnostics Receivables Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics Subsidiary Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics TB LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Terracotta LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Venture LLC (PA), Quest Diagnostics Ventures LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics do Brasil Ltda. (Brazil), Quest Diagnostics of Pennsylvania Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics of Puerto Rico Inc. (PR), Quest HealthConnect LLC (CA), ReproSource, Reprosource Fertility Diagnostics Inc. (MA), Solstas Lab Partners, Sonora Quest Laboratories LLC (AZ), Specialty Laboratories Inc. (CA), Summit Health, UMass Memorial Medical Center - Anatomic Pathology Outreach Laboratory Business, Unilab Corporation, and Unilab Corporation (DE). 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 Solvang Conference & Visitors Bureau is a not-for-profit organization formed in 1986 to promote the City of Solvang, its Northern European culture, cuisine, arts and attractions of the village known as Californias Denmark. *I was clearly not the target demographic for Nu Metal. *I was in my thirties by the time it rolled around, had already cycled through all the genres th... 5 days ago Who will be the biggest losers from a China-US trade war truce? Exporters in Brazil, Australia and Russia could feel the pinch if China switches suppliers of some of its big-ticket imports to head off a trade war with the United States, according to analysts. That was the assessment after two days of constructive high-level talks in Washington last week yielded a commitment from China to substantially reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries. As a result, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US expected American agricultural exports to China to rise by between 35 and 40 per cent this year and energy purchases to double over the next three to five years. That could leave some of Chinas trading partners, including its biggest soybean supplier Brazil, beef producer Australia, and even regional semiconductor makers, out in the cold if China shifts orders to the US. The state-led efforts to increase Chinas imports from the US will lead to trade diversion other economies will see their exports to China fall as a result, Louis Kuijs, chief Asia economist of Oxford Economics, wrote in a note. Washington wants Beijing to cut the bilateral trade gap by US$200 billion by the end of 2020, or more than half of last years US$375 billion difference, based on US figures. Kuijs said that target would be practically impossible to meet. One area where Washington is hoping to boost sales is in agriculture. US farm products accounted for about 20 per cent, or US$21 billion, of Chinas agricultural imports last year. About two-thirds of this was in soybeans. China buys about 60 per cent of globally traded soybeans and last year about half of its imports came from Brazil, while the US supplied around a third. The US could also eat into Australias 90 per cent share of Chinas chilled beef imports if Beijing decides to bring down the barriers. But Wang Jun, chief economist of regional Chinese bank Zhongyuan Bank, said this was a zero-sum game. Story continues There is limited room to further increase the purchase of American agricultural products unless it is at the cost of other countries, Wang said. However, energy supplies offer more scope for growth for the US, given the low base and high demand, according to Bai Jun, executive director of the Institute of International Energy, a body affiliated with the National Development and Reform Commission. There is limited room to further increase the purchase of American agricultural products unless it is at the cost of other countries Wang Jun, Zhongyuan Bank Chinas energy imports from the US amounted to just US$7.2 billion last year, or 2.9 per cent of the total. Bai said Chinas demand for natural gas was so strong that more imports from the US will not have any impact on other suppliers. These existing supplies ... are simply not enough for the country. That shortfall was evident last winter when a sudden switch to liquefied natural gas left many homes in northern China without heating, despite a surge in imports from Australia and Central Asia. Nevertheless, the US could also emerge in the longer run as a more stable energy supplier than the Middle East and even Russia, Wang said. To that end, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp has already signed a US$43 billion non-binding deal to explore for natural gas in Alaska, a deal financed in part by Chinas sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp. Wang said Beijings fresh promises to buy more energy from the US were largely political and would inevitably affect other trading partners. Larry Hu and Irene Wu, from Macquarie Capital, said Chinas promise of a meaningful increase in energy and agricultural purchases could come with a condition that the US loosen its restrictions on hi-tech exports. China has been lobbying Washington to ease restrictions on hi-tech exports to China for years, and a relaxation would divert trade flows of certain products from Asia to the other side of the Pacific, they said. But the statement released at the end of the two days of talks skirted the issue, suggesting tensions linger. [The joint statement] touched only lightly on Chinas technology policy and did not refer to its industrial policy, which is highly controversial in the US ... underscoring that the broader tension is not resolved, Kuijs wrote. Also untouched were the thorny issues of Chinas Made in China 2025 initiative to support domestic technology and the US chip ban on ZTE, leaving the danger of a trade war lurking, Hu and Wu said. Trade imbalances could be a strategic weapon used by the US towards China, just like the vote on most favoured nation [status was] in the 1990s, they wrote, referring to an annual review Washington used to pressure Beijing over other issues such as human rights. At the same time, the truce or delay in a trade war between the worlds two biggest economies was in general good for the two countries, and in turn the whole global economy, said Wang Huiyao, director of Centre for China and Globalisation, a think tank based in Beijing. Avoiding a trade war fits into everybodys interests, Wang said. I dont think there would be a loser [from the China-US agreement]. Additional reporting by Liu Zhen This article Who will be the biggest losers from a China-US trade war truce? first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. Brazilian fishermen rescued two dozen migrants from Africa found drifting near the northeast coast of Brazil after 35 days at sea, officials and local media said Sunday. The migrants came from Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal on the other side of the Atlantic, the human rights department for Brazil's state of Maranhao said in a statement. There were 25 migrants -- all men -- on the boat and two Brazilians, the navy said in a statement. The Brazilian pair were suspected of being people traffickers, O Imparcial and G1 news sites reported. They had reportedly spent 35 days afloat but there was no immediate indication of what route they had taken. The boat, a catamaran, was flying a Haitian flag, the navy said. On Saturday, local fishermen found the vessel drifting off the Brazilian coastal town of Sao Jose de Ribamar, south of the Amazon river, the navy said. An attempt by the authorities to locate the migrant boat from the air failed, so the fishermen towed it to port, while also feeding the stranded voyagers, the navy said. By the time they got in, the fishing captain reported he had "no more food and water to give, because provisions were ending," the navy said. Once ashore, they were "given medical attention and food," before being taken for processing by the Brazilian federal police, the Maranhao human rights department said. "The group will be put into temporary housing provided by the state," it said. "The federal police will investigate the possible committing of crimes against the foreigners in relation to their arrival in Brazil and evaluate their legal situation in Brazil." Chinas navy and coastguard stage first joint patrols near disputed South China Sea islands as warning to Vietnam China expelled at least 10 foreign fishing vessels in the first joint patrol staged by the Chinese navy and coastguard in the disputed waters of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, state media has reported. News of the patrol, reported by the official military media on Sunday, came after China landed long-range bombers for the first time last week on an unspecified island reef in the South China Sea. Beijings latest moves, according to Chinese analysts, are intended to serve as a warning to Hanoi following news that a Vietnamese subsidiary of a Russian state oil firm had started drilling in an area that China also claims. China angers US by landing bombers on South China Sea reef A report published on Sunday on the website of the Peoples Liberation Army Daily said the joint patrol team spotted and inspected some 40 ships and drove out over 10 foreign fishing boats in the area as part of efforts to effectively safeguard [Chinas] maritime interest. Vessels from the navy, coastguard and local authorities, took part in the five-day patrol, said the report. If we discover a foreign military vessel, our navy vessels can immediately deal with it; if we discover foreign fishing vessels violate the law, our coastguard ships can enforce the law, said Hou Jianjun, a commander of the joint patrol team. In March China shifted control of its civilian coastguard to the paramilitary police, which is under the command of the militarys governing Central Military Commission. Ni Lexiong, a naval expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said Beijings recent moves are intended to be a pre-emptive move to warn against any challenge to Chinas claims. Vietnam recently has been eager to make some moves on oil drilling with Russia in the South China Sea. We need to forestall any further moves, said Ni. Rosneft Vietnam, the local unit of Russias state-owned Rosneft, began drilling in Vietnamese-controlled waters claimed by China last week, but expressed concerns that the drilling area could fall within thenine-dash line that marks the area claimed by Beijing. Story continues Chinese tourists ordered to take off T-shirts at Vietnam airport Chinas foreign ministry said on Thursday that such oil drilling was forbidden without permission from the Chinese government, and urged the relevant parties to respect Chinas sovereign and jurisdictional rights and not do anything that could impact bilateral relations and regional peace and stability. Zhang Bohui, an expert on Asia affairs with Hong Kongs Lingnan University, said Chinas decision to hold such patrol around the Paracels, instead of the more widely disputed Spratlys archipelago, also shows Chinas intention to keep a low profile and avoid angering other countries. It would involve a lot more other countries if China chose to enforce the law in the Nansha Islands [Chinas name for the Spratlys], said Zhang, Chinas strategy towards the Nansha claimants is still to win over them to Chinas side. He added that because of the close ties between Beijing and Moscow, the involvement of the Russian company would also makes China more cautious in its response. Because [Rosneft] is not Western company and if the oil drilling take place within Vietnams 200 nautical miles, China is likely to be more lenient in its response. This article Chinas navy and coastguard stage first joint patrols near disputed South China Sea islands as warning to Vietnam first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. A Chinese investment conglomerate has sacked the vice-president of one of its subsidiaries after the man posted photos of himself eating dishes containing protected animals while on holiday, a report has said. Shen Jianping, vice-president of Yintai in77, a luxury retail company based in the Hubin district of Hangzhou, posted photos from his personal account on Weibo, Chinas Twitter, last Friday of him eating pangolin and civet while in Vietnam, reported ThePaper.cn on Sunday. The best was the pangolin blood fried rice! Shen wrote, sending the post from the coastal tourist city of Da Nang, it stated. Chinese mans grisly online joke about eating endangered species earns him 5 days detention The statement by the Beijing-based Yintai group announcing his dismissal was released on Sunday. Pangolins, the scaly brown eaters of termites and ants indigenous to Africa and Asia, are nearing extinction. They are among the worlds most trafficked animals, prized by some for their meat and supposed medicinal properties. Similarly, the small nocturnal mammal the civet is an endangered species. Both species are protected in Vietnam and China. Indonesian pangolin, a prized delicacy in China, faces extinction due to trafficking After drawing criticism online, Shen apologised on Weibo, according to ThePaper, saying he thought the animals were legal to eat in Vietnam. Shen also apologised for the poor publicity it brought his companys parent organisation, the Yintai group, and said he would accept responsibility for his actions. Pangolin smugglers find new routes, evade customs despite global ban In the companys statement on Sunday, on Weibo, it denounced Shens actions and said it had dismissed him for violating company rules. It also said it would add environmental education courses to its staff training, and thanked the media for its criticism, expressing hope that strict oversight of the company would continue. This article Chinese companys vice-president sacked for eating endangered pangolin and civet on holiday first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. The EU's own top trade official warned Tuesday that the bloc's last-ditch bid to persuade US President Donald Trump to back off stiff tariffs on metals imports from Europe fell short of expectations in Washington. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom spoke ahead of talks of the EU's 28 trade ministers to discuss an attempt to woo the US away from punishing steel and aluminium tariffs and win Europe a similar break as handed China. Europe was hit by the shock tariffs in March, part of the protectionist president's threat of an "America First" trade war with Washington's closest partners, including Canada, Mexico and Japan. "If we are exempted, then we are willing to engage in talks and see how we can facilitate trade relations," said Malmstrom. She has spearheaded a series of talks with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, a stalwart of Trump's hardball tactics who also plays a role in the parallel negotiations with China. But asked if she thought the EU's gesture to the US was acceptable to Washington, Malmstrom answered: "I think they don't think it's enough." The ministers will take encouragement from the US-China development on Sunday with Washington and Beijing backing off from tit-for-tat tariffs after reaching an as-yet unspecified accord on slashing the massive American trade deficit with China. The European Union has said it refuses all trade talks with the United States unless Washington grants a permanent exemption from the painful steel and aluminium tariffs that are set to kick in on June 1. "We are allies but we are not vassals. Today is a moment of truth for the EU," said French trade minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne as he arrived for the talks. EU trade ministers will discuss a plan laid out by EU leaders at a summit last week for a limited EU-US trade deal as well as opening up the European market to US natural gas -- if the exemption is granted. Europe's incentives come with a threat to retaliate against the US with European tariffs on American imports, including iconic items such as Harley-Davidson motorbikes and bourbon whiskey. These counter-measures will officially become enforceable on June 20, but Europeans have committed to not use them as long as talks with the US are ongoing. (Reuters file photo) A temporary suspension on the export of dogs to Australia from Singapore has been imposed by Australian authorities following concerns about canine influenza, said the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in a circular on Tuesday (22 May). The suspension, imposed on last Saturday by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR), does not affect air transhipment of dogs via Singapore and the export of cats to Australia from Singapore. Both authorities are working on measures to resume the export of dogs, the circular added. AVA will stop issuing export licences and veterinary health certificates for the export of dogs to Australia for the time being. If you have questions regarding your Australian permit to import dogs, you may contact the DAWR at imports@agriculture.gov.au, the AVA said. Members of the public can contact the AVA for clarification on the matter at AVA_Import&Export_Animals@ava.gov.sg or 6805 2991. Other Singapore stories: Singapore Pools 50th anniversary: From combating back-alley gambling to being big community player MDIS launches first nursing school in private education sector Maid who bit 6-month-old baby twice jailed 10 weeks From air traffic controllers and street sweepers to librarians and teachers, French public-sector employees Tuesday joined rail workers in striking to protest reforms planned by President Emmanuel Macron, calling them an "attack" against state services. It was the third day of stoppages and demonstrations by public workers since last year's sweeping election win by Macron, who has pledged to reduce spending, trim jobs and overhaul large parts of the vast French state. All unions representing civil servants backed Tuesday's strike, a show of unity last seen around 10 years ago, although turnout at demonstrations and disruption appeared to be modest by past French standards. The walkout affected schools and daycare centres, flights and some energy infrastructure, while public transport was also hit as some workers took part the day before the next round of two-day strikes at national rail operator SNCF. "It's a message in defence of public services, which is to say a different conception of French society than that held by the president," CGT union leader Philippe Martinez said at a march by thousands of people in Paris. The independent consultancy Occurrence estimated that 16,400 people demonstrated in Paris, with many braving a late-afternoon downpour, while authorities put the number at 15,000. Unions have put the turnout around at least 30,000. The interior ministry said 139,000 people took to the streets in some 180 demonstrations across the country. Those figures were far from the nearly 50,000 who marched in the French capital during the last day of public service action on March 22, when an estimated 300,000 rallied nationwide. The education ministry reported that only about 16 percent of primary school teachers went on strike, and 10 percent of secondary school teachers. The Paris march was also the scene of smashed shop windows and other vandalism as hooded, black-clad youths, some wearing ski masks, scuffled with police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. Such youths have infiltrated a number of protests in recent weeks, with more than 100 detained in Paris on the traditional May Day march after torching a McDonald's restaurant and several vehicles. Several thousand protestors also gathered in other cities, including about 4,500 in Lyon according to police, answering the call of the unions. - Limited support - Pascale Lestideau, a hospital nurse in Brest, said budget cuts had made her working conditions "unbearable". "It makes it impossible for us to care for people in line with our values, and that's very, very hard for us," she said. Macron's centrist government plans public sector reforms next year which would lead to the greater use of contract workers for some services and a cut of 120,000 state jobs by 2022 out of 5.6 million. It has already maintained a pay freeze, and Olivier Dussopt, the minister in charge of France's public service, is preparing cost-cutting measures he has said will be "more or less disruptive". Many civil servants fear the government plans to scrap their special status and job-for-life privileges, a measure that has already been announced for new recruits on the state railways, the SNCF. Surveys suggest the movement is struggling to garner widespread support, with 49 percent saying they did not back the striking public workers in a ViaVoice poll published by French daily Le Figaro. Another 40 percent said they supported the movement. - Popular tide? - The poll results are largely in line with findings concerning the rail reform, which has sparked one of the longest strike sequences ever on the network. Some 42 percent of respondents said the SNCF strike was justified in an Ifop survey published Sunday by the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, compared with 58 percent who said it was not. Rail workers have been striking every two days out of five since April 3 and will begin a new round of stoppages on Tuesday night. The strikes have widely affected high-speed services and commuter trains. But Macron has promised to deliver on his rail reform and cuts to France's public spending, which was part of his election manifesto. France has one of the biggest public sectors in Europe relative to the size of its economy. The country has not balanced its budget since the 1970s, leading to a public debt equivalent to nearly 100 percent of GDP. The unions accuse Macron, a former investment banker, of wanting to destroy public services -- a vital source of employment and a pillar of communal life in many parts of the country. The protests come ahead of a "popular tide" called for Saturday by dozens of associations, leftist parties and unions to support the striking workers and make Macron "back down". 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 Sarawak corruption. 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 has been a "hand-to-mouth" operation reliant on family funds and the odd donation from supporters. 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." Spain's Oscar-winner Javier Bardem warned Tuesday that the country risked a return to the era of dictator Francisco Franco as concerns mount over freedom of expression with artists probed or jailed for voicing their opinions. "It seems to me that being able to (legally) punish (an opinion) is a setback that harks back to the era of Franco," he told reporters in Madrid. Bardem has offered support for actor Willy Toledo, who is due to be questioned by a Madrid judge for alleged blasphemy. Toledo, 48, has refused to appear before the judge after being summoned over a Facebook message in which he defended three women tried for blasphemy after they paraded in the southern city of Sevilla with a giant vagina, simulating a religious procession. Over the past months, several Twitter users and rappers have also been judged -- and some of them jailed -- for glorifying terrorism or insulting the king for comments or lyrics, a "repression" of freedom of expression according to Amnesty International. "From the perspective of constitutional law or freedom of expression, we don't understand that you can... go after someone for giving an opinion, it's dangerous," Bardem told reporters in a church. He said that while some may not "agree" with Toledo, it was dangerous to "penalise thinking", which he warned was happening in Spain "in a hidden, calm but constant manner." "I shit on god, and I have enough shit left over to shit on the dogma of 'the sanctity and virginity of the Virgin Mary'," Toledo, a cinema and television actor, wrote on Facebook. He was denounced by the Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers for "covering god and the Virgin Mary with ridicule." Toledo did not answer a first summons for questioning on April 18. "I haven't committed any offence and so there is no need to appear before a judge," he said. The Madrid court has summoned him again on June 28 and has warned he can be detained and forced to appear. Those found guilty of blasphemy can only be fined as the offence doesn't carry a prison sentence. But Xavier Arbos, a constitutional law professor at the University of Barcelona, has warned there is a clear "regression with regards to freedom of expression." "We're sending a message that groups which feel offended can restrict (people's) freedoms via criminal law, and that's very negative." Malacanang Palace MANILA, Philippines The Office of the Ombudsman is urged to probe government officials whom President Rodrigo Duterte recently fired due to allegations of corruption. The Ombudsman should look into it because as I said the Ombudsman has the constitutional mandate to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if they should be charged in court for violating the anti-graft law, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a briefing in Malacanang Tuesday, May 22. On Monday, Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) COO Cesar Montano resigned from his post following the controversial Buhay Carinderia project. Roque couldnt confirm if the President asked Montano to resign. Prior to Montanos resignation, the President sacked former Transportation Assistant Secretary for Railways Mark Tolentino for consulting a presidential sister on certain transactions involving the Mindanao Railway Project (MRP). Other officials whom President Duterte dismissed from office were Wanda Teo of the Department of Tourism (DOT), Moslemen Macarambon of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Tingagun Umpa of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Meanwhile, Malacanang is giving Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat the free hand to implement internal cleansing within the DOT following the controversies involving its former head, Wanda Teo. Roque said Romulo-Puyat has the authority to create her own management team who will work on the agencys projects. He added that the President is very pleased with the actions on Romulo-Puyat especially in curbing corruption in DOT. She was appointed with the expressed mandate to do good and to fight corruption and she is doing just that. The President is very pleased, Roque said. Roque said the President also supports Puyats call for additional state auditors to investigate all projects and contracts entered into by the DOT. Rosalie Coz / Marje Pelayo The post Malacanang urges Ombudsman to probe sacked officials over corruption appeared first on UNTV News. Manager at Hong Kong finance firm loses HK$14 million to man she never met in eight-year online love scam A financial professional has become Hong Kongs biggest victim of internet romance scams, losing HK$14 million (US$1.8 million) to a con artist she had an online relationship with for eight years, police sources revealed, amid a surge in such cases this year. Online romance scammers duped 119 Hongkongers to the tune of HK$75.9 million in total in the first three months of this year, five times more than the amount for the same period last year. A police source described the eight-year con as the longest-lasting online love scam in the city, and the HK$14 million lost as the largest in a single case. The victim, a woman in her 40s who works as a manager in a financial institution, met her purported lover on an online dating website and sent the money to bank accounts in Malaysia and Hong Kong in more than 200 transactions starting in 2010, sources told the Post. She did not meet him face-to-face throughout their eight-year relationship. After using up all her own savings, the woman applied for loans and borrowed money from family and friends before eventually realising last month that she had been swindled by her online lover, who pretended to be a British film director and only ever contacted her via email and WhatsApp messaging. According to police, the woman first became acquainted with the swindler, who used a photograph of a white man in his online dating profile, in August 2010. The con artist spent three months befriending his victim, before he first asked for money. He claimed he was detained by Malaysian authorities after being found carrying about 300,000 in breach of the countrys laws, another police source said. In the beginning, the victim was asked to transfer more than HK$10,000 to pay the administration fee for his release. The scammer then invented different excuses, and duped the victim into transferring more money. Another source said the victim had made between 200 and 300 transactions in total, with amounts ranging from HK$10,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time. The last transaction was made in March. Story continues The case only came to light after the victim talked to her family when she tried to borrow more money, and realised she had been cheated. She called police in mid-April. Investigators could not find any British film director with the name used by the con artist. Sources said they were trying to trace the holders of the bank accounts used in the scam, and exchanging intelligence with their Malaysian counterparts. Official police figures show nearly 93 per cent of the victims in the first quarter were women, and almost 12 per cent of them were professionals. More than 80 per cent of them were aged between 31 and 60. Police said 113 of the victims were Hongkongers, and the remaining six were women from mainland China and Taiwan living in the city. In 2017, 235 people were swindled out of HK$108 million in such scams, more than double the 114 cases in 2016, which involved HK$95 million. Another police source said the money lost in online scams in the first five months of this year was likely to be more than the amount lost over the whole of last year. In addition to the HK$14 million case in April, two other women were cheated out of a total of HK$8 million in May. The rampant online love scams have prompted the police forces Anti-Deception Coordination Centre to issue a scam alert on its website. Scammers are typically disguised as Caucasian European or American men, claim to be professionals working in fields such as engineering, banking, business or the military, and befriend victims online. It usually takes them at least one or two months to win the trust and sympathy of their victims, before inventing different reasons to get them to part with their money. According to police, the swindlers are constantly changing their tactics, and police are urging the public to be wary of who they talk to online. Beware of online romance scammers who want MONEY, not LOVE! a message on the website warns. If in doubt, people should contact the forces 24-hour anti-scam helpline, on 18222. This article Manager at Hong Kong finance firm loses HK$14 million to man she never met in eight-year online love scam first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. Perinatal depression could increase the chance of children later developing depression, according to a new review A new UK study has found that eating fish during pregnancy is not linked to autism or autistic traits in children, despite fears that exposure to mercury, which can be found in fish, could be responsible for the condition. Carried out by researchers at the University of Bristol, the study looked at whether prenatal exposure to mercury in the first half of pregnancy is associated with the risk of autism or extreme levels of autistic traits. Mercury has been thought to be a major cause of autism in the past, in particular through the use of vaccinations which contain thiomersal, a source of mercury. The new research is the largest longitudinal study to date to have tested the hypothesis and the only one to have looked at exposure in early pregnancy. For the study the team gathered data from nearly 4,500 women who took part in the UK study, Children of the 90s. The researchers looked at blood samples, the women's reported fish consumption, and information on autism and autistic traits, and found that there were no links between levels of mercury in the mothers and autism or autistic traits in their children. "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," said lead author and founder of the Children of the 90s study Professor Jean Golding. "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." "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," added co-author Dr. Caroline Taylor. The Director of the National Autistic Society's Centre for Autism, Carol Povey, also commented on the findings saying, "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." Story continues "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." The results can be found published online in the journal Molecular Autism. Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes gestures during a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at his residence in Jerusalem, ahead of the dedication ceremony of the embassy of Paraguay in Jerusalem Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes gestures during a meeting with 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/Ronen Zvulun JERUSALEM (Reuters) - 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. 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, drawing Palestinian anger. It was followed by Guatemala on Wednesday. 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. "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." Hanan Ashrawi, an official of the Palestine Liberation Organization, denounced Paraguay's move. "By adopting such a provocative and irresponsible measure that is in direct contravention of international law and consensus, Paraguay has conspired with Israel, the United States and Guatemala to entrench the military occupation and to seal the fate of occupied Jerusalem," Ashrawi said in a statement. In December, U.S. President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, reversing decades of U.S. policy and upsetting the Arab world and Western allies. Most world powers do not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the entire city and says its final status should be set in peace negotiations. (Reporting by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Dan Williams and Matthew Mpoke Bigg) 22 May Taiwanese actress-producer Ruby Lin recently flew to Zambia on behalf of World Vision's Sponsor-A-Child programme to meet with her sponsored child, Elidah. As reported on Epoch Times, the actress, who has been involved with the sponsorship programme since 2004, shared that she is excited about the opportunity to visit one of her sponsored children, saying that it is a dream come true for her. Aside from Elidah, Ruby is presently funding two other children from Cambodia and Honduras. "Each year, I receive reports and cards detailing the growth of my sponsored children. Seeing the hand-drawn cards always makes me feel that my little donation can change the lives of children. It made me feel that such a programme is very valuable," she said. However, the actress revealed that this is not the first trip to Africa for her. "I had a photo-shoot in Africa before, but I didn't get to see a lot because it was in a rush. I hope to experience much more in Zambia this time," she said. Prior to her latest sponsorship, Ruby had funded the education of several other children including those from Congo and Vietnam. (Photo Source: Epoch Times) Hong Kong should cut profits tax by half and provide loans for vessel owners and supporting professionals to lure shipping business back from regional rival Singapore, a task force set up by the government says. In a 34-page report released on Monday, a working group under the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council called on officials to implement a concessionary tax rate no higher than 8.25 per cent for firms in ship leasing management and supporting services. The figure would be half the citys current profits tax rate on annual earnings above HK$2 million (US$255,000). The report also suggested a Hong Kong sovereign-rated financial institution perform a facilitating role by helping finance securitised loans, buying shipping loans directly from banks and providing insurance for the borrowed sums. Kenneth Lam Sze-kin, chairman of Credit Agricole Asia Shipfinance, who sits on the working group, said the recommendations were not a call for subsidies but rather an effort to take back what Hong Kong has lost to Singapore in the past two decades and to prepare the city for a new round of competition. Singapore was ranked ninth at the end of last year in ships registered when measured by gross tonnage, at 41.2 million, according to Clarksons Research. Hong Kong came in 12th with a fleet weighing 27.3 million gross tonnes. Singaporeans owned 48 per cent of the tonnage registered in the Lion City, where as in Hong Kong the owners were locals for only 24 per cent. Chasing these ships and their owners wherever they base themselves is a large market of financing. Rough estimates by Clarksons Research show the total value of the worlds shipping fleet to be about US$1.2 trillion. Some US$250 billion represents vessels under construction or on order. The working groups report estimated that about US$80 billion to US$100 billion of new capital expenditure on building ships needed financing each year. Story continues At the end of 2016, loans and advance expenditure for vessels in Hong Kong had reached more than HK$100 billion, according to official figures, which indicated rather large room for improvement, Lam said. The working group concluded that Hong Kong lags behind [Singapore] in building its base of commercial principals, or ship owners, because it did not provide as flexible or wide a range of tax incentives and supporting businesses. In Singapore owners can engage in case-by-case negotiations with the government on tax rates. Businesses supporting these vessels, which are treated like any other business in Hong Kong, can also enjoy a wide rage of tax incentives in the city state. Sabrina Chao Sih-ming, executive chairman of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport and chairwoman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, said she had seen an exodus of owners and shipping professionals from Hong Kong. In the past 20 years the majority of owners have left for Singapore. Following them are shipping finance institutes, trading desks and brokers, Chao said. Altogether, these people have shifted the industrys centre of gravity from Hong Kong to Singapore. The association, chaired by Chao, has 203 corporate members, whereas its Singaporean counterpart, the Singapore Shipping Association, has more than 470. Further competition for ship owners and industry professionals would arise when the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development implemented a series of actions to combat tax avoidance, the working group said. The measures would drive owners with ships registered in tax havens to look for new domiciles with stable, low tax rates where compliance standards are easily met, Lam said. This could be a chance for Hong Kong to revitalise the shipping industry, he said. If the government agrees to use some of its reserves to provide more loans or other financial products in collaboration with commercial banks, it can show ship owners that Hong Kong is committed to attracting them, which in the long run will bring back the citys competitive edge. Hong Kong is a participant to the OECD framework, and officials gazetted amendments to the Inland Revenue Ordinance last December to tighten up tax exemptions for ship owners. But the working group called on the government to consult the shipping industry before implementing the amendments. This article Stop Hong Kongs shipping industry exodus to Singapore by spending reserves on loans and cutting profits tax, advisers say first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. Three suspected jihadists were killed and one was captured Tuesday in a pre-dawn raid by security forces on a house in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, the defence ministry said. The militants had "a connection" with a brazen attack in March on Burkina's armed forces headquarters and the French embassy, it added. In Tuesday's operation, a member of a gendarmerie assault unit died of his wounds and six other people -- four gendarmes and two neighbours -- were injured, the ministry said. Police found six assault rifles, explosives and detonators, French and Burkinabe military clothing, mobile phones and SIM cards, and a notebook with writing in Arabic, it added. Burkina Faso is in the grip of a three-year-old jihadist insurgency that has killed scores of people and driven thousands from their homes. Ouagadougou has come under attack three times, mostly recently on March 2, when jihadists attacked the military headquarters and French embassy in a coordinated operation claimed by the so-called Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM). Eight soldiers and eight assailants were killed, and 61 soldiers and 24 civilians were injured, according to an official toll released three days later. Security Minister Clement Sawadogo, speaking to the press, said Tuesday's raid aimed at neutralising "suspected terrorists with a connection to the March 2 attacks." The inhabitants of the house had "an arsenal which they used to fight back against our men... it's clear that they really were terrorists equipped to carry out missions," Sawadogo said. The identity of the four men was not immediately known, he said, adding that police made "about 30" arrests in a routine post-operation sweep. A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation lasted from 3am to 7am. An AFP reporter saw two corpses in front of a suburban house on the southwestern rim of Ouagadougou and a third in a courtyard. Local resident Issiaka Ilboudo, who lives opposite the house, said there had been "intense gunfire". "It was around 3am that we heard noise, it was people running on the roofs of the houses," Ilboudo said. "We then heard shooting, which sometimes lasted 30 or 45 minutes, then stopped and resumed." Another resident, Pascal Lengani, said the house had been newly built and put up for rent last July, but nobody in the neighbourhood knew the inhabitants or had any idea how many lived there. Tuesday's operation came eight days after the assassination of the prefect -- the state's paramount representative at local level -- in Oursi, a town in the far north near the Mali frontier. Last month, the authorities in the eastern and northern border regions arrested around 100 people and seized explosives. In the previous attacks in Ouagadougou, in January 2016, jihadists attacked the city's Splendid Hotel and a cafe, leaving 30 dead, around half of them foreign nationals. In August 2017, two young gunmen opened fire on people at a Turkish restaurant just metres (yards) away from the Splendid Hotel, killing 19 people, at least eight of them foreigners. 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. One of the three women who survived Cuba's worst air crash in decades has died from her injuries, the health ministry said Monday, raising the toll to 111. The 23-year-old, Gretell Landrove, was admitted to hospital with life-threatening injuries and she did not make medical progress, the ministry said in a statement read out on state television. The other two women survivors were still in critical condition. Earlier, doctors had indicated that two of the Cuban survivors of Friday's crash were fighting for their lives at Havana's Calixto Garcia hospital. A Boeing 737 leased to national carrier Cubana de Aviacion crashed shortly after taking off from Havana's Jose Marti airport on Friday with 113 passengers and crew aboard. The Cuban government is investigating the cause of the crash and has so far identified 33 of the dead, some of whom have already been buried. Transport Minister Adel Yzquierdo has said one of the plane's two black boxes had been recovered in "good condition," and the other was likely to be found. Their data will be key to determining what happened. The 39-year-old plane, leased from a Mexican company, Global Air, was on a domestic flight to the eastern city of Holguin, where most of the passengers were from. In Mexico, Global Air's operations were suspended so that Mexican aviation authorities can run inspections of the aircraft it leases, on the heels of the tragedy in Cuba. The review will double inspect aircraft already certified as safe to fly, and assist as needed in the investigation of the accident in Cuba, a company statement said. Built in 1979, according to the Mexican government, the plane last passed inspection in November 2017. The accident happened at 12:08pm (1608 GMT). The plane crashed in a potato field close to Havana's airport. Witnesses and airport officials told AFP that the aircraft plunged as it was making its first turn after take-off. Almost all of what remained of the plane was a mangled carcass of burned metal. It came down just 200 meters (yards) from houses between the Boyeros and Santiago de Las Vegas districts south of Havana. A day of mourning ended early Monday, the Communist Party leader and former president Raul Castro said. Flags were flown at half-mast throughout the country. President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who succeeded Castro as the communist island's leader only last month, appeared aghast as he surveyed the recovery efforts, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and surrounded by officials. He visited the capital's morgue where the bodies were taken for identification, and met relatives who were being put up in a city hotel. He also visited the survivors. Prior to Friday's crash, Cuba's most recent air accident was in April 2017, in which eight military personnel died when a Russian-made AN-26 transport aircraft went down in western Cuba. The Pinnacle@Duxton building located at Tanjong Pagar, Singapore on 9 May 2018 (PHOTO: Abdul Rahman Azhari/Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore) Two people were taken to hospital after a fire broke out in a unit at the Pinnacle@Duxton early Monday morning (21 May). The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told Yahoo News Singapore that it was alerted at 4:15am to a fire at 1D Cantonment Road. The fire involved the contents of a bedroom, said SCDF. Yahoo News Singapore understands that the unit was on the 48th floor. The fire was extinguished using two water jets, it added. A man and a woman in their 60s were taken to Singapore General Hospital in a conscious state, said SCDF. The cause of the fire is under investigation. More Singapore stories How Pinnacle@Duxton propelled Central home prices to new heights Mysterious vomit nauseates Pinnacle@Duxton residents Climate change is already making droughts worse Posted on 22 May 2018 by Guest Author This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Benjamin Cook Dr Benjamin Cook is a climate scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Few areas of the world are completely immune to droughts and their often-devastating impacts on water resources, ecosystems and people. Regions as diverse as California, the Eastern Mediterranean, East Africa, South Africa and Australia have all experienced severe and, in some cases, unprecedented droughts in recent years. As with other climate and weather extremes, such as storms and floods, these events have spurred strong interest in questions surrounding the impact of climate change. For example, is climate change making droughts more frequent or severe? And can we expect climate change to contribute to increased drought risk and severity in the future? The most recent research shows climate change is already making many parts of the world drier and droughts are likely to pack more punch as the climate warms further. Defining drought Droughts are among the most expensive weather-related disasters in the world (pdf), affecting ecosystems, agriculture and human society. The scale of the impacts underlines how important it is to understand droughts and how their likelihood and severity can be made worse by climate change. But this is easier said than done. For a start, drought is fundamentally a cross-disciplinary phenomenon it extends across the fields of meteorology, climatology, hydrology, ecology, agronomy, and even sociology, economics, and anthropology. This means how you define a drought may depend on your field of interest. A meteorologist might characterise a drought as a straightforward lack of rainfall (known as meteorological drought). A farmer, however, would be most concerned when the lack of rain affects soil moisture and crop growth (agricultural drought). While a hydrologist would be most interested in when this has a noticeable impact on river flows, aquifers and surface reservoirs (hydrological drought). The above definitions show that drought is rarely about precipitation rain, hail, sleet and/or snow alone. Warmer temperatures, for example, can increase evaporation of moisture from the surface, increase the fraction of precipitation falling as rain rather than snow, and advance the timing of the snow melt season in spring. Vegetation, soil type and topography can all affect droughts through the way they intercept and hold (or do not hold) rainwater. Humans also play a key role through how we use water (irrigating farmland and withdrawing water from long-held groundwater sources, for example) and change the land surface through deforestation, expanding croplands and urban development. Because there are many ways to define a drought, there are also numerous ways to quantify one. These indices take into account different variables that can be measured directly or indirectly, such as precipitation, temperature, evaporation, soil moisture, river flows and reservoir levels. One of the most common, for example, is the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). This uses monthly estimates of evapotranspiration (calculated largely as a function of temperature) and rainfall data, as well as information on the water-holding capacity of the soil. It is also possible to use more than one drought indicator. For example, the US Drought Monitor classifies drought severity according to a combination of five different indices (including PDSI), along with drought impacts and local reports from expert observers. As the map below shows, this gives a score of drought intensity and impacts from D0 Abnormally dry (yellow shading) up to D4 Exceptional Drought (maroon). Detection and attribution The multitude of contributing factors to a drought means that identifying the sometimes-subtle signal of climate change is tricky. In part because of this, the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2013 concluded that there was low confidence (pdf) that any significant trends in drought could be detected or attributed to climate change. Since then, however, the science of detection and attribution concerned with identifying changes in the climate system and their causes has advanced considerably. Findings from more recent studies using state-of-the-art models and techniques have significantly advanced our understanding of drought and climate change. These studies, using climate models, the observational record and palaeoclimate information, have clearly demonstrated that climate change has played a role in recent droughts. In the Mediterranean, for example, declines in rainfall driven by climate change have increased drought risk across the region, amplifying recent events including the drought that preceded the Syrian civil war. Along the Pacific coast of the US, warmer temperatures from climate change have pushed snow and soil moisture to record breaking deficits in California and the Pacific Northwest. In the Upper Colorado river basin, warmer temperatures have even caused significant river flow deficits, despite near normal levels of precipitation. A climate change signal has not been detected with confidence for every drought, especially in regions where natural climate variability is more complex or less well understood in Australia and East Africa, for example. But for many places, the fingerprints of climate change are undeniably clear. Projecting precipitation With climate change already having an impact on droughts, we can reasonably expect this impact to increase as the climate warms further. And model projections bear this out. The maps below give some examples according to simulations under a high warming scenario (RCP8.5) using 17 climate models. They show the projected percentage change in annual rainfall (top left), summer rainfall runoff (top right), summer soil moisture in the top 10cm (bottom left) and summer total column soil moisture (various depths for different models; bottom right) between 1976-2005 and 2070-99. Runoff is the amount of rainfall that flows over land into streams and rivers rather than soaking into the ground. The colour of the shading indicates whether an area is likely to get wetter (blue) or drier (brown). Although projections generally agree a little less across models for rainfall changesthan for temperature, they do show unequivocally an increased drying and drought risk for many regions of the world. Most likely to be adversely affected are Mediterranean regions of Europe and Africa, Central America, southwest US and the subtropics of the southern hemisphere. This drying occurs because of climate change-forced regional declines in rainfall, but also from the direct effect of warmer temperatures, which increases evaporative losses from the surface, causes earlier snowmelt and shifts precipitation from snow to rain. Consequently, significant drying in the future is expected to affect large regions in the subtropics and mid-latitudes, even in areas where rainfall changes are negligible. When rainfall does occur, it is more likely to be in shorter, more intense bursts. This might mean summers are increasingly likely to see periods of dry weather punctuated with heavy storms. As a result, summer runoff may actually increase for many areas because of more intense rains. While this might be beneficial for topping up rivers, lakes and reservoirs, it does not necessarily help relieve soil moisture deficits and groundwater shortages. Challenges and opportunities While a drier future and, in some cases, present poses significant challenges for the management of water resources, there are also substantial opportunities to alleviate the worst impacts. These include policies for improving water conservation and stakeholder cooperation, exploiting surpluses during wet years (which still occur, even in the driest projections), and the clear benefits of cutting greenhouse gases for limiting the extent of climate change and reducing drought risk in many regions. While studies of the physical climate system cannot provide recommendations for one path or the other, they do highlight the challenges that will be necessary to address in a world that will be warmer and, in many places, drier than anything humanity has experienced in the last 200 years. Cook, B. I., et al. (2018) Climate Change and Drought: From Past to Future, Current Climate Change Reports, doi:10.1007/s40641-018-0093-2 Damon Lindelof has had a contentious relationship with social media, but the Leftovers and Lost creator has hopped back on to offer fans of Watchmen an inkling of what they can expect from the upcoming HBO adaptation. In a five-page letter posted to Instagram, Lindelof details his history with Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons landmark 1980s comic miniseries, as he also recounts the several times he turned down the job of adapting it for TV before finally saying yes. He describes how he wrestled with the notion of taking on the work knowing that Moore, who wrote it, has repeatedly said that it should never exist in any medium but comics, and though Gibbons, who drew it, has given his blessing, the presumption that its OK to adapt Watchmen just because he can still sticks. If you dont buy that, or even if you do, Lindelof has a simple message: I am sorry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some fans of the original will hate Lindelofs version before they even see it. Lindelof admits he once argued that if you were a true fan of something you werent allowed to hate it, but he admits he lost that argument, which a prominent writer (aka the New Yorkers Emily Nussbaum) forcefully rebutted. That writer went on to win a Pulitzer for television criticism, Lindelof writes. I went on to get snubbed by the Razzies for Prometheus. So hate if you will, Watchmen fans. But Lindelof is a Watchmen fan too, and one who knows that merely trying to equal the original is folly. We have no desire to adapt Watchmen, he explains. Those issues are sacred ground and they will not be retread nor recreated nor reproduced nor rebooted. They will, however, be remixed. Advertisement What this means, Lindelof explains after a brief evocation of the Biblebecause when youre channeling Doctor Manhattan, why not?is that the new series, while not precisely a sequel to Watchmen, will be set in the world its creators painstakingly built. Some of the characters will be unknown. New faces. New masks to cover them. We also intend to revisit the past century of Costumed Adventuring through a surprising, yet familiar set of eyes and it is here well be taking our greatest risks. Given that DCs Geoff Johns is also part of Watchmens creative team, this could mean the show plans to exhume a classic but currently unused comic-book character, the way DCs TV properties on the CW have so successfully done, but well have to wait for clarification on that point. Advertisement Advertisement The most heartening aspect of Lindelofs letter is that it seems to augur a Watchmen that looks forward as well as back, from a writers room and crew in which Hetero White Men are outnumbered by women, people of color and the LGBTQ community to its acknowledgment that the world of 2018 is a very different place from the originals mid-1980s, not least because the dark and gritty reimaginings that once pushed comics forward have become tiresome and even pernicious. Ive always loved its humorworshipping at the altar of the genre whilst simultaneously trolling it, Lindelof writes. He knows that with a property like Watchmen, theres no pleasing fans, but you can mess with their heads in a way they might just end up enjoying. Watchmen is scheduled to shoot later this year. No premiere date has been announced. How do you use wall-size televisions as a sign of cultural decline in a movie destined to be seen on big, modern, flat-screen TVs? And how do you depict book burning as a horrific act of erasure in a world of tablets, smartphones, e-books, and the cloud? Thats the problem faced by any modern adaptation of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451, a book whose anti-censorship message remains timeless even as investment in words on paper has depreciated. Directed by Ramin Bahrani, HBOs new Fahrenheit 451 adaptation doesnt always work as a piece of storytelling in spite of strong performances by Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon. But its attempts to bring Bradburys 1953 version of the future in line with the 21st century we know feel chillingly plausible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fahrenheit 451 was first adapted as a film by Francois Truffaut in 1966 and its had a hard time making a return trip to the movies ever since. Thats not because Truffaut made the definitive version. His take, though compelling, is rarely mentioned alongside his best work. And its not for a lack for interest, either. Mel Gibson long talked of doing a version that never came to pass. But changing times and new technology have likely played a role as well, especially in recent years. Bradburys novel drew inspiration both from the censorship pushes of Hitler and Stalin and the rise of media he saw as jeopardizing the primacy of reading, particularly radio and television. Enemies of free expression remain as strong as ever, but presenting television only as a tool of distraction and oppression now seems a little off. Advertisement Not that TVs not in the mix in Bahranis vision of a totalitarian near-future America. Its just become a worst-possible version of the television we know. When not serving as a kind of video wallpaperprojecting images of nature that seem alien in the midst of the films bleak, urban visionits a tool of the state, broadcasting propaganda that makes heroes of the firemen charged with destroying what books remain after a purge thats destroyed most of the physical books in the United States and has since moved on to cracking down on the underground culture that tries to keep books alive electronically. Their burnings become live events, and their actions subject to Facebook Livelike insta-reactions. Advertisement The world of Fahrenheit 451 is often more interesting than the film itself. Books, we learn in an early indoctrination session led by Jordans Guy Montag and Shannons Captain, still exist. Well, books, do, anyway. Theyre still available on what passes for the internet in this obviously postnet neutrality world, but the examples they showthe Bible, To the Lighthouse, and Moby-Dickhave been reduced to a jumble of small words and emojis. Advertisement Bahranis version pushes other pieces of emerging technology to grim extremes, how they could help us tumble into a world in which free thought is dangerous. Siri and Alexa have evolved into Yuxie, an electronic assistant whose role extends to advising users on moral conundrums and the amount of drugs you need to take to stop worrying and love the new world orderand one that doesnt always stop watching when told to turn herself off. Advertisement The world of Fahrenheit 451 is often more interesting than the film itself, which, after a brisk start, gets bogged down by sluggish pacing and a confusing new addition involving DNA storage; Bahrani never tops the staging of one of the books most famous scenes, in which a bibliophile chooses to go up in flames rather than give up her collection. The movie also serves as an impassioned defense of physical media, emphasizing what can be lost with the transition from ink on a page (or images on celluloid, and so on). Digital media can be easily copied and widely distributed. Its not restrained by physical limitations. If information wants to be free, an e-book seems like a logical step toward that freedom. But digital media can also be overwritten and reshaped. It can disappear. Your favorite website might be erased with the push of a button. Your cloud could be emptied. Advertisement Advertisement In one scene we see that Montag, beyond stealing the occasional book, keeps a small cache that includes a postcard, a videotape (formerly the property of a Blockbuster), and a reel of film from a print of Singin in the Rain. For all their fragility, physical media has a concrete presence lost in the digital world. It can be destroyed, but its also real and unchanging, and its a comforting backstop to the idea that Woolf, Melville, and the word of God cant be reduced to just another string of words and pictures sure to be drowned out by a flood of distraction and misinformation. The world might have changed, but Bahranis film keeps finding ways to suggest Bradbury might have been right all along. This story was published by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C. A dark money organization tied to a major electric company pumped significant cash into an Ohio congressional race in what a losing candidate describes as an act of retribution over a failed financial deal. Christina Hagan, a state representative who was running in the Republican primary for Ohios 16th Congressional District seat, said a group called the Conservative Leadership Alliance targeted her with a barrage of attack ads after she declined to support legislation that electric company FirstEnergy, based in Akron, Ohio, had lobbied her to help pass. Advertisement The Conservative Leadership Alliances treasurer is Marc Himmelstein, who has worked for years as a FirstEnergy lobbyist in Washington. FirstEnergy has paid the Himmelstein firm National Environmental Strategies $640,000 since 2010, according to congressional lobbying filings. Hagan said she didnt think the bill, which would have allowed FirstEnergy to collect an additional $300 million annually from customers to shore up its aging power plants, was fair to electric customers. House Bill 178 would have created zero-emission credits that would have raised customers monthly bills by about 5 percent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I didnt budge when they came into my office to lobby me, Hagan said of her meetings with FirstEnergy officials, which took place over a period of many months. I became the target of the company and the members of our leadership team who wanted to get it done but couldnt because I wasnt going to be supportive. Im sure they just wanted to make an example of me in my race for higher office that if you dont play well, this is what will happen to you. Advertisement Hagans main opponent in the Ohio 16th District Republican primary was Anthony Gonzalez, a former Indianapolis Colts and Ohio State University wide receiver who won the race with 53 percent of the vote. Haganan avowed supporter of President Donald Trumpplaced second in the May 8 primary, with 41 percent. The true nature of CLA Inc. is murky. It does not appear to be a political action committee or super PAC , as it has not registered itself as such with the FEC . Sarah Poggione, associate professor and chair of the department of political science at Ohio University, said establishment Republicans rallied behind Gonzalez, and they spent significant money to back him, because they saw Hagan as especially formidable. Both sides were seeing this as really competitive, and the possibility that either one could potentially take it, Poggione said. Advertisement Himmelstein did not return multiple messages left on his office phone, nor did he respond to emails to his address with National Environmental Strategies. No one responded to emails sent to a general Conservative Leadership Alliance address, either. Advertisement Todd Schneider, director of corporate communications for FirstEnergy, also did not respond to multiple emails and phone messages. When reached by phone, FirstEnergy communications staffer Tricia Ingraham said she would consult with Schneider about how to respond, then ceased further contact with a Center for Public Integrity reporter. In an April hearing for House Bill 178which ultimately did not passFirstEnergy CEO Charles Jones told members of the House Public Utilities Committee that Ohio cannot afford to continue heading down a path that could lead to less fuel-diverse and fewer homegrown energy resources, more energy imports, fewer jobs and less economic growthnot to mention more volatile electricity prices for our customers and your constituents, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Advertisement Advertisement FirstEnergy describes itself as a forward-thinking electric utility powered by a diverse team of employees committed to making customers lives brighter, the environment better and our communities stronger. But the company has come under fire in the past for the high levels of pollution its plants pump into the atmosphere. A 2016 Center for Public Integrity analysis of two federal data sets from 2014 found that four of FirstEnergys plants were on the top 100 list of U.S. super polluters. Advertisement The companys nuclear and coal-fired power plants have been struggling to remain profitable in recent years because natural gas prices have been so low. Executives have asked the federal government for emergency funds to help keep some of its plants operating. Advertisement The Conservative Leadership Alliance, an entity that states its a 501(c)(4) social welfare nonprofit, spent $113,000 in the Ohio 16th District race. Such groups do not have to disclose their donors, and the Conservative Leadership Alliance has not revealed who funds it. Half of that money$56,500bolstered Gonzalez. The other half funded ads opposing Hagan, according to Federal Election Commission records. The Conservative Leadership Alliance, or CLA Inc., has spent money in two other congressional races so far this election cycle, federal records indicate. The group spent $220,800 supporting Tommy Pope and $319,500 opposing Ralph Norman in a Republican runoff for South Carolinas 5th Congressional District seat in May 2017. (Norman won both the primary and special general election by narrow margins.) Advertisement CLA Inc. also spent $97,770 opposing John Eichelberger and the same amount opposing Arthur Halvorson in Pennsylvanias 13th Congressional District Republican primary on May 15, calling them, in a press release, typical repeat politicians who are desperate to be in the swamp. CLA Inc. spent $35,000 to support John Joyce, who won the eight-way race for the Republican nomination. Advertisement Advertisement CLA Inc. has additionally aired political-issue ads that targeted Rep. Walter Jones from North Carolina and praised Rep. Martha Roby from Alabama, while not overtly advocating for their re-election or defeat. The true nature of CLA Inc. is murky. It does not appear to be a political action committee or super PAC, as it has not registered itself as such with the FEC. Advertisement Nor does it appear in the IRSs publicly available registration databases, possibly because it has not requested tax-exempt status or because the IRS hasnt updated its public-facing databases, tax experts say. Cecilia Barreda, an IRS spokeswoman, said she was prohibited by law from disclosing information about a specific organization. CLA Inc. states on its website that its primary purpose is to put conservative policies into action through reforms that grow the economy, lower our national debt, fix a broken healthcare system, and make our country safer and stronger through a bold national defense. Entities that operate as 501(c)(4) nonprofits and spend cash in political campaigns are called dark money groups because they do not have to disclose their donors. Advertisement The Supreme Courts 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission allowed certain kinds of nonprofit groups, including 501(c)(4) organizations, to spend unlimited amounts of money to independently promote or oppose political candidatesso long as they do not, in practice, spend 50 percent or more of their money on politics, per IRS rules. Advertisement Advertisement Hagan said dark money shouldnt be able to hidea view many in the Republican party disagree with. People have the right to know who is putting mail in their mailbox and who is putting ads on their TVs, Hagan said. Context is everything. FirstEnergy is a politically active company that has spent $24.3 million overall on federal lobbying since 2010, according to congressional lobbying records. Advertisement Advertisement Since Jan. 1, 2017, the companys political action committee has spent $442,500 to support federal political campaign committees and other PACs. It supports both Republicans and Democrats but in recent years has favored Republicans, according to data maintained by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The companys PAC, which is a separate entity from the Conservative Leadership Alliance, has been supportive of Gonzalez this year, giving his campaign $5,000 for the primary race and $5,000 for the general electionthe maximum contributions allowed by PACs to congressional candidate committees. In all, Gonzalez has raised more than $1.1 million and spent $677,221 between Jan. 1, 2017 and April 18, the end of the latest filing period. Hagan pulled in $386,244 and spent $261,004 in the same time period. Gonzalez did not return email messages or a phone message left with his campaigns treasurer, Natalie Baur. Gonzalez faces Democrat Susan Moran Palmer in the November general election. Hagan said she will finish out the remainder of her term in the Ohio legislature, and then she will gladly go to the private sector, but I will not disappear from the public policy sector. I want to be actively engaged. Jamie Smith Hopkins contributed to this report. Two advocacy groups have lodged sexual harassment complaints against McDonalds on behalf of 10 employees who have said they were harassed on the job. The 10 women work in McDonalds franchises, which the company says are independent businesses. According to the Associated Press, the women claim they were groped, propositioned, and subject to indecent exposure and inappropriate comments by supervisors. They have said they reported their harassment but were ignored or, sometimes, retaliated against. McDonalds Corporation takes allegations of sexual harassment very seriously and are confident our independent franchisees who own and operate approximately 90 percent of our 14,000 U.S. restaurants will do the same, a McDonalds spokeswoman said in a statement to the AP. Advertisement The Fight for $15 advocacy group organized the complaints, and the Times Up Legal Defense Fund, created by the National Womens Law Center to financially support these kinds of legal complaints in the #MeToo era, is covering the cost. If the company is considered responsible for its franchises, it might become easier for its employees to unionize. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fight for $15 filed similar complaints roughly two years ago to try to hold McDonalds responsible for employee mistreatment at its franchises. McDonalds has not said if it changed any policies or practices addressing harassment in response to the complaint. The Fight for $15 organizers told the AP that Tuesdays complaint, filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, will have more teeth two years after their first attempt because there will be lawyers representing each woman. The advocacy group is calling on McDonalds to hold trainings about sexual harassment and establish a hotline to have workers complaints reviewed by attorneys. In his speech Monday outlining the Trump administrations new Iran strategy at the Heritage Foundation, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rattled off the now-familiar litany of Iranian misbehavior in recent years, from its ballistic missile testing to its support for Hezbollah, that he argued proved the folly of the 2015 nuclear deal. But for those listening closely, one charge stood out. Today, the Iranian Quds Force conducts covert assassination operations in the heart of Europe, Pompeo said, referring to the foreign special operations unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He didnt elaborate, and its not clear what operations he was talking about. A State Department spokesperson told Slate he had nothing to add to the secretarys remarks. Advertisement Iran was widely accused of carrying out assassinations in Europe during the 1980s, and 1990s. Most notably, in 1997, a German court concluded that Tehran had ordered the killing of four Iranian Kurdish dissidents in Berlin five years earlier. The U.S. also accused the Quds force of involvement in a botched 2011 plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States with the help of a Mexican drug cartel member (who was actually a Drug Enforcement Administration agent). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But there have been no widely reported Quds assassination plots in Europe in recent years, and several Iran watchers told Slate on background that they could not recall any. The Guardian similarly reports that security experts and Iranian exiles are baffled by Pompeos accusation. Advertisement One possible basis of the claim is the 2017 killing of activist Ahmad Mola Nissi in Amsterdam. Mola Nissa was the exiled founder of a nationalist group seeking an independent state for the Ahwazi Arab minority within Iran. Mola Nissis daughter compared his killing to the assassinations in the 90s, telling Reuters, The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran is not confined to the Middle East. It is spreading into Europe. (Irans rival Saudi Arabia has supported the Ahwazi cause.) The Guardian notes that the Dutch investigation into the killing has not publicly blamed the IRGC. Last November, opposition news site Amadnews, which is run by a Paris-based exile and was controversially kicked off the messaging app Telegram during the recent anti-government protests, quoted an anonymous source within the IRGC claiming that Mola Nissi was killed by the Quds force to undermine Saudi policy against Iran. The Clarion Project, a controversial far-right think tank devoted to challenging radical Islam, picked up Amadnews item, publishing it under the headline, Quds Force Assassinates Iranian Dissident in Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Pompeo may also have been talking about Januarys raids on the homes of 10 suspected Iranian spies in Germany. The German-language magazine FOCUS reported that the men had been members of the Quds force and had been spying on Israeli and German targets. According to Israels Kan public broadcaster, they had been working to recruit a cell to carry out attacks in Europe. The German Federal Prosecutors office acknowledged that authorities suspected the men of spying on behalf of an entity associated with Iran but did not comment on media reports that they were targeting Jews. No arrests were made. Advertisement The assassination claim wasnt the only quesitonable charge in Pompeos speech. He also noted Irans firing of missiles into Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, presumably referring to missiles fired by the Iranian-supported Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthis have launched dozens of missiles into Saudi Arabia, causing little damage, but what about the UAE? Twice last year, the Houthis claimed to have fired missiles toward the UAE, most recently toward a nuclear power plant in December. But the Houthis presented no evidence of a strike, no missiles were reported entering UAE territory, and the Emiratis denied it. It appears that the secretary, who was CIA director until a month ago, was either revealing some classified information or relying on some fairly sketchy reports in his charges against Iran. Given the stakes of this conflict, he should reveal what evidence hes relying on. In 2013, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a widely condemned opinion holding that federal law allows corporations to insulate themselves from antitrust suits by forcing potential litigants into arbitration, shielding their monopolies from judicial scrutiny. Scalia did not pretend that his ruling helped anybody except monopolistsand in dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wryly commended his candor. Thanks to that ruling, she wrote, the monopolist gets to use its monopoly power to deprive its victims of all legal recourse. The upshot, she explained, is admirably flaunted rather than camouflaged: Too darn bad. Advertisement On Monday, Justice Neil Gorsuch issued a sequel to Scalias infamous decision that took the opposite rhetorical tack. Writing for the majority in the Supreme Courts 54 ruling in Epic Systems v. Lewis, Gorsuch presented mandatory arbitration clauseswhich prevent employees from suing employers collectively in courtas genuine agreements that workers enter into freely and may even favor. This framing is wrong and dishonest. It ignores the reality of labor conditions, falsely implying that workers have real bargaining power to reject arbitration clauses. And it seems to rest on a discredited theory of economic freedom that underpins the Supreme Courts most notorious preNew Deal decisions, rulings that purported to safeguard workers liberty while undermining their ability to protect their own rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under mandatory arbitration, employees forfeit their right, as a condition of employment, to sue their employers collectively in court. Instead, they are obligated to pursue their claims one by one in a private setting. Thats a hindrance for two key reasons. First, a group of employees may have individual claims that are fairly small and not worth pursuing on their own; their only shot at redress is to join together in a class action, which their arbitration clauses forbid. Second, arbitration strongly favors the employer and is often too expensive for a wronged worker to navigate alone. These provisions are a relatively new phenomenon. In 1992, 2 percent of nonunionized employers in the United States used them; today, more than half do, meaning about 25 million American workers are barred from participating in class action suits. In private practice and on the bench, John Roberts has played a critical role in the corporate attack on class actions. As a corporate lawyer, Roberts helped craft the legal defense of mandatory arbitration clauses by citing the Federal Arbitration Act, a 1925 law designed to speed up disputes between businesses. As chief justice, he has repeatedly cast his vote to let corporations shield themselves from lawsuits by deploying arbitration clauses. Now he has a partner in Gorsuch, who seems more than happy to translate Roberts dubious theory of arbitration clauses into law. Advertisement Advertisement In Epic Systems, the court brazenly favors corporations over employees while assuming the mantle of neutrality. The ruling kills off three class actions brought by employees who believe they were illegally underpaid, since they had all been forced to agree to arbitrate their claims. Yet here is how Gorsuch articulates the key question presented by the case: Should employees and employers be allowed to agree that any disputes between them will be resolved through one-on-one arbitration? Or should employees always be permitted to bring their claims in class or collective actions, no matter what they agreed with their employers? Advertisement Gorsuchs assertion that employees and employers agree upon arbitration does not comport with reality. Later, he put forward another farcical claim, claiming that an employer and employee may agree to individualized arbitration procedures of their own design. And throughout his opinion, he maintained the fiction that both employers and employees are free to contract for bilateral arbitration in order to spare them both the expense of litigation. Advertisement Gorsuchs assertion that employees and employers agree upon arbitration does not comport with reality. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg pointed out in dissent, its absurd to argue that employers and their employees are equal partners here. When Epic Systems decided to introduce mandatory arbitration agreements, for instance, it blasted out an email containing a statement stipulating that all employees had relinquished their ability to sue collectively. I understand that if I continue to work at Epic, the statement read, I will be deemed to have accepted this Agreement. That is how Epic employees agreed to mandatory arbitration: They were given the option of assenting or quitting. This Hobsons choice, as Ginsburg put it, does not give employees any agency at all. (An Epic employee told me on Tuesday that he would never have agreed to resolve disputes through one-on-one arbitration if he had any say in the matter.) Advertisement Advertisement Gorsuchs total disregard for the power imbalance between labor and management harkens back to the Supreme Courts own dark history. In the early 20th century, the court routinely struck down minimum wage and maximum hours laws under the theory that they violated the liberty of contract. Workers, the court reasoned, had a constitutional right to sell labor, just as employers had a right to purchase it. By forcing employers to pay a minimum wage, the state had deprived employees of their right to work for even less than that. This period in the courts history, the so-called Lochner era, was named after Lochner v. New York, in which the Supreme Court struck down a law that prohibited bakeries from forcing employees to work more than 60 hours a week. That case illustrates one of the courts chief sins during this period: its comically inaccurate assumption that employees had true bargaining power to set the terms of their employment. In truth, employers extracted as much work out of their employees for as little money as possible, and employees had no leverage to improve their conditions. They could either allow themselves to be exploited or quit. Advertisement Advertisement Gorsuchs opinion in Epic Systems weakly disclaimed any semblance to Lochner, protesting that the Lochner court had erred by substitut[ing] its preferred economic policies for those chosen by the peoples representatives. But that is only half the story; the court also stumbled by overlooking employers ability to manipulate workers by threatening to fire them if they didnt do as they were told. And Gorsuchs fantasy of employers and employees coming together to agree upon an arbitration clause sounds suspiciously similar to the Lochner courts description of workers freely negotiating their own exploitative contracts. Hours after Gorsuch handed down his opinion, the management law firm Ogletree Deakins launched an innovative new product to help employers quickly and conveniently generate arbitration agreements with class action waivers. Thanks to Epic Systems, these clauses are poised to proliferate through the labor market, stripping millions more Americans of their right to sue collectively. Gorsuch may claim that workers voluntarily agree to mandatory arbitration when theyre told to either accept it or quit. But the rest of us have no obligation to pretend that these coercive agreements are anything other than a gun to the head. A judge has ordered a teenager who started a massive wildfire in Oregon by throwing fireworks down a gorge to pay more than $36 million in restitution, according to the Oregonian. The boy, a 15-year-old from Vancouver, Washington, sparked a fire in Columbia River Gorge in September with two fireworks. The 75-square-mile fire, one of many at the time in Oregon, blanketed Portland in ash and clogged the citys air with smoke. Houses were evacuated, but it was the damage to an iconic, ecologically valuable tourist destination that so infuriated locals they threatened the boy with sterilization, whipping, and even lynching. The authorities have withheld the boys name in official documents to protect him. Advertisement In Mondays ruling, the judge acknowledged that it was unlikely the teenager would ever be able to pay the $36.6 million fee, which is to go toward the costs of firefighting and the restoration of the gorge as well as to pay damages to the homeowners. The teenager might not be trapped in debt forever, as the judge said the payments could stop after 10 years if he complies with the payment plans, completes his five years of probation, and commits no other crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Associated Press, the Oregon Department of Revenue will be able to garnish the boys paychecks, and it can also take any tax returns. The judge said the largest payment demanded of a juvenile he could find before this case was $114,000. The teenagers lawyer, according to the Oregonian, called the ruling absurd and absolutely silly. The boy, who pleaded guilty to reckless burning of public and private property, was also sentenced in February to 1,920 hours of community service with the U.S. Forest Service, and he was ordered to write apology letters to 152 people trapped on the trail at the time of the fire as well as to the city of Cascade Locks, Oregon State Parks, and the Forest Service, among others. Primary voters head to the polls in Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Georgia on Tuesday, to decide the latest battles in the ongoing war between the Democratic establishment and the progressive wing of the party. The battle lines in Tuesdays races are drawn less around policy than politicsspecifically, how Democrats can best capitalize on the current political climate to win in conservative-leaning areas this November. Heres one race to watch in each state, and what it might mean for Democrats in November. Texas 7th Congressional District After months of mud-slinging, a run-off in this Houston-area district will settle the first full-on intra-party fight of the year between House Democrats and Bernie Sanders-minded progressives. Advertisement The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made this one a national race-to-watch, when it dumped its oppo-research file on Laura Moser, a progressive journalist-turned-activist, ahead of the March primary. (Moser has written for Slate and other national publications.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the DCCC said its aggressive intervention had nothing to do with ideologyits research centered on a joke she once made while living in Washington about not wanting to move to rural Texasthe attack quickly turned Moser into a cause celebre on the left. Moser got a surge in donations, and advanced to the run-off against Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, a local attorney. After the primary, the DCCC took a not-so-subtle step back from the race and, perhaps not unrelatedly, national progressives largely shifted their attention elsewhere. Advertisement Still, the runoff neatly illustrates the competing views inside the Democratic Party about how best to win in red districts this November. The winner will take on GOP Rep. John Culberson in a district that has been represented by Republicans for the past half-century, but which went for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The two candidates are so close on the actual policies that a moderator at a recent forum had to ask where they disagree. But the stylistic difference is a big onenational Democrats are hoping Fletchers more moderate pitch can appeal to Republican voters who have been turned off by Donald Trump and the national GOP, while progressives believe the key to victory this fall is candidates like Moser who can excite the liberal base with calls for things like Medicare For All and Trumps impeachment. Arkansas 2nd Congressional District Its a similar story in this central Arkansas district, where House Democrats believe state Rep. Clarke Tucker is their best bet to take down GOP Rep. French Hill in a district that went for Trump by 10 points two years ago but was represented by a Democrat as recently as 2010. The DCCC reportedly recruited Tucker to the race, and it later added him to its high-profile Red to Blue program, angering a few lesser-known rivals running to his left. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tuckers center-left strategy has echoes of the one Conor Lamb used to win a high-profile special election in western Pennsylvania earlier this year. Tucker avoids saying Trumps name and says hes no fan of Nancy Pelosi. He talks about being a cancer survivor and says he knows how important it is to protect Obamacarebut he stops just shy of calling for Medicare For All, instead arguing the best way to expand coverage is via a Medicare buy-in. That moderate posture has drawn complaints from his progressive rivals who say past attempts to win the district by running toward the middle failed. Tucker is up big in limited public polling and the fundraising department, but a candidate needs a majority of the primary vote in Arkansas to win the nomination. With four candidates in the race, Tucker could find himself in a head-to-head runoff, most likely against Paul Spencer, a teacher and activist who supports a number of Bernie Sanders-favored economic proposals, but who has drawn his own criticism from the left for his Lamb-like personal opposition to abortion. Georgias gubernatorial race There isnt a whole lot of policy daylight between the two Democrats in this race even by primary standardsboth want to expand Medicaid and gun restrictions, for example, and both oppose new limits on abortion. But when it comes to political strategy, they are worlds apart. Stacey Evans, a former state representative who is white, is appealing to her electability, saying she wants to win over independents and moderatesparticularly suburban women. Stacey Abrams, a former state House minority leader who is seeking to become the nations first black female governor, is betting she can fire up liberals and progressives, including the hundreds of thousands of African American voters who sat out the last election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muddling the Civil War narrative a bit, however, is that national Democrats have mostly lined up behind Abrams in this one, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and Kamala Harris, as well as Hillary Clinton. So too have three of Georges four members of the U.S. House, and national liberal groups like MoveOn, Democracy for America, and the Working Families Party. The available polling suggests Abrams is the favorite in the primary, but regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination, theyll enter the general election as a heavy underdog. Meanwhile, five Republicans are running to replace term-limited GOP Gov. Nathan Deal. That race, like most GOP primaries this year, has turned into a battle to see who can out-Trump everyone else. One candidate is touring the state in a deportation bus that he promises to fill with illegals. May the best candidate win. Kentuckys 6th Congressional District Things are muddled in central Kentucky too, where Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, made an early splash with a viral campaign ad about how, as a teen, she began a letter-writing campaign lobbying Congress to allow women to serve in combat. That ad wasnt enough to keep national Democrats from recruiting Lexington Mayor Jim Gray into the race, which now features a half-dozen Democrats competing for the chance to take down GOP Rep. Andy Barr this fall. Advertisement Advertisement But the DCCC has yet to add Gray to its Red to Blue program and there are signs Washington Democrats have come around to the idea of McGrath, who has run a strong campaign and could be palatable in a general election. To make things even more confusing, it was Graynot McGrathwho said he wouldnt vote for Nancy Pelosi to be House speaker. Meanwhile, its state Sen. Reggie Thomas who is arguably running as the most progressive candidate in the race, though hes had much less success raising money. All three would bring some additional diversity to the House: McGrath is part of a bumper crop of first-time female candidates; Gray was one of the first openly gay politicians elected in Kentucky; and Thomas is running for a seat in the lower chamber where currently less than 1 in 9 lawmakers are black. The winner will take on Barr in a district that reelected him to a third term in 2016 by 22 points, and went for Trump by 15 points that same year, meaning whoever wins the primary will still have some work to do. The Supreme Court held on Monday that lower courts must enforce individual arbitration clauses in employment contractsa ruling that effectively allows companies to compel workers to pursue employment-related claims in one-on-one closed-door proceedings that are not subject to substantive judicial review. Union leaders and other workers rights activists are understandably dismayed by the 54 result in Epic Systems v. Lewis, which is the latest in a line of Supreme Court decisions extending the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act far beyond its original scope. But this weeks loss need not spell the end of the effort to protect workers from the effects of the most onerous arbitration clauses. Instead, it shifts the focus from the national level to the states. Advertisement Under other circumstances, the logical response to a decision like this one would be to lobby Congress to change the law. To that end, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgjoined in dissent by three of her colleagueswrote that [c]ongressional correction of the courts egregiously wrong decision is urgently in order. Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, likewise said that Congress should immediately enact legislation that overrides the Epic Systems ruling. But that sense of immediacy is likely to be lost on a Congress that so far has been more interested in rolling back workplace protections and clearing the way for greater use of arbitration provisions than in standing up for workers interests. And in the unlikely event that Congress does pass legislation to undo Mondays decision, the bill will likely die on the desk of President Donald Trump, whose administration has gone out of its way to support employers seeking to enforce individual arbitration clauses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Congress wont act, states and localities can and should. Subnational governments have several policy tools they can use to counteract some of the most pernicious consequences of individual arbitration mandates. Governors, state lawmakers, mayors, and city council members can take concrete steps in the coming months to protect their constituents from the fallout of Mondays decision. And workers rights advocates ought to demand action from their state and local leaders. In a world in which labor markets were perfectly competitive and workers had full information about arbitration provisions, the decision in Epic Systems would not be a cause for much concern. Some employees might choose to give up their rights to bring workplace-related claims collectively in exchange for higher wages or other benefits. If that were the case, then courts would and should respect these consensual and mutually beneficial bargains. But alas, that is not our world. Mounting evidence indicates that many employers enjoy monopsony power in the labor marketthat is, they have the power to dictate wages and working conditions. Under those circumstances, the protections afforded by labor law become even more important. Individual arbitration clauses undermine those protections. Advertisement State and local governments could require that any employer that compels its employees to give up their collective action rights must disclose that fact. The Epic Systems case involved claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which establishes the federal minimum wage and overtime rules. FLSA provides an excellent illustration of individual arbitrations worrying consequences. Under the lower courts decision in Epic Systems, low-wage workers who had been paid less than the federal minimum or who hadnt been adequately compensated for overtime could band together to bring their claims collectively. Now, whenever an employer inserts an arbitration clause into an employment agreement, each employee will have to proceed pro se or find her own lawyer to pursue a claim that, on its own, might amount to only a few hundred dollars. A prevailing plaintiff may be able to recover attorneys fees but could still be on the hook for expert witness expenses. And an unsuccessful plaintiffand/or her attorneywill have to bear litigation expenses herself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The likely result will be weaker enforcement of wage and hour laws. But the implications of Epic Systems extend to other areas of employment law as well. Individual arbitration clauses prevent workers from joining together to bring sexual harassment claims. They also stop employees from asserting other sex and race discrimination claims in court or in classwide arbitration proceedings. What can states and localities do to change this? One thing they clearly cannot do under existing Supreme Court doctrine is impose a flat-out ban on individual arbitration clauses in employment contracts. The court has said that [w]hen state law prohibits outright the arbitration of a particular type of claim, the state law is preempted (i.e., overridden) by the Federal Arbitration Act. To be sure, the FAA by its own terms does not apply to employment contracts, but that ship has sailed, and all members of the court now accept as a matter of precedent that the law applies to employment contracts outside the transportation industry. (Sailors, railroad employees, and other transportation workers are still exempt from the FAAs reach.) Advertisement The FAA does not, however, prevent state and local governments from using their own market power to protect workers from individual arbitration clauses. Just as several states and municipalities mandate that government contractors agree not to discriminate against employees on the basis of gender identity, they also could require contractors to agree not to impose individual arbitration clauses on workers. State and local governments have the right to demand that firms receiving taxpayer money treat their workers fairly and accept the legal consequences that follow from violations of labor law. Given that state and local governments purchase somewhere around $1.5 trillion worth of goods and services from vendors each year, a ban on individual arbitration provisions that applies to firms doing business with state and local governments would likely lead many employers to drop those clauses from their contracts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A second strategy that state and local governments can utilize is one California has pioneered already. Californias Private Attorney General Act of 2004, known as PAGA, imposes monetary penalties for violations of the states labor code. It also authorizes aggrieved employees to bring civil actions on the states behalf against employers who violate state labor law. These employeesas the statutes name impliesact as private attorneys general, litigating claims for the state. If they successfully recover penalties from their employer, then 75 percent of the recovery goes to the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and the remaining 25 percent goes to the aggrieved employees who were the victims of the violation. Some employers in California have argued that the Federal Arbitration Act pre-empts PAGA claims. The California Supreme Court has rejected that argument, reasoning that a PAGA action is brought on behalf of the stateand there is no arbitration agreement between the state and a private employer. So far, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review challenges to PAGA. Advertisement Finally, state and local governments could require that any employer that compels its employees to give up their collective action rights must disclose that fact when it posts new job openings. The rationale would be that potential employees should know that once they get the job, theyll be required to sign away important procedural rights. Concededly, many job seekers will not have the luxury of picking and choosing between employers that require individual arbitration and employers that let workers pursue claims collectively. Still, a disclosure requirement would allow some job seekers to make more informed choices, and it might cause some employers to reconsider their reliance on individual arbitration once they know they have to be transparent about these provisions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Is it possible that pro-arbitration justices will reach out to knock down state and local efforts like the ones outlined above? Sure. FAA decisions over the past couple of decades have demonstrated that statutory text and Supreme Court precedent do not necessarily limit the laws scope. That is one more reason why state and local governments should pursue a multipronged approach toward protecting workers within their bordersif any one strategy fails, the others still serve as backups. Its a more promising approach than the alternatives, and one thatto borrow Justice Ginsburgs wordsis urgently in order. In the past couple days, the vice president and the secretary of state have threatened to go to war against Iran and North Korea if those countries leaders dont bend to President Donald Trumps will. The nations top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, said in a speech on Monday that the United States would crush Iran, through economic and military pressure, if it did not change its behavior in the Middle East. Trumps right-hand man, Mike Pence, told Fox News, on the same day, that North Korea would wind up like Libya if Kim Jong-un doesnt make a deal to get rid of his nuclear weapons. Asked if this could be interpreted as a threat, he said, Well, I think its more of a fact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pence brought up Libya to clarify the recent remarks by Trumps national security adviser, John Bolton, who likened an acceptable deal with North Korea to the one struck in the early 2000s with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, who gave up his nascent nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. A few years later, Qaddafi was overthrown in a Western-backed revolt, then killed. North Koreans leaders were not amused by the comparison. Pompeo and Pence issued these threats without the slightest backing of a single foreign ally or international institution. Their statementsalong with Trumps recent abrogation of the Iran nuclear deal, despite the uncontested fact that Iran has abided by its termshave, in fact, alienated the European leaders who co-signed the deal. Advertisement An actual attack on either country would likely have catastrophic consequences. A tangible buildup to war with North Korea would arouse opposition from South Korea and Japanand, possibly, resistance from China. Sunni Arabs and Israels political leadership might welcome an attack on Iran, but it would embroil the United States in an even deeper, deadlier conflict than the war in Iraq. For one thing, Iran is much larger than Iraq; for another, though most of its people despise their regime, history suggests that they detest foreign invaders even more. Advertisement Trump is letting the overheated rhetoric flow. And yet, when it comes to North Korea, its clear that he doesnt know what he wants or how to get it. In a press conference Tuesday, preceding his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Trump sent mixed messages, at best, to any friend or foe who might be watching. Advertisement Moon came to Washington to shore up the prospects of a summit, scheduled for June 12, between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Kims top negotiator issued a statement last week, threatening to call off the summit if Trump didnt back down from Boltons demand that North Korea surrender all of its nuclear weapons right away, in exchange for vague promises of U.S. economic assistance later. Advertisement One could envision Boltons face turning the color of his mustache. The statement upset Trump, who had been assuming that his vaunted deal-making skills would win Kim over and that the resulting treaty would win him the Nobel Peace Prize. Trumps remarks at Tuesdays news conference revealed a man in confusion. He said he was surprised by Kims change in attitude and noted that the shift occurred shortly after the North Korean leaders second meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, making Trump wonder whether Xi had shifted his own stance on peace and sanctions. In fact, Kims views havent changed at allhe has long declared, as his goal, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula (not just of North Korea) through phased and synchronous measures (not all at once). Advertisement Advertisement Asked about Kims conditions, Trump said he would prefer to have North Korea get rid of its nukes right away, but phasing them out over time might be fine as well. One could envision Boltons face turning the color of his mustache. If the all-at-once demandwhich has been endorsed by Bolton and Pompeowas ever a bargaining position, it isnt any longer. If, as is more likely, it was meant as a demand that Kim couldnt accept and, therefore, as a prelude to U.S. military action, it no longer carries much weight on that level either. Trump, after all, has now said he could go for gradual disarmament if Kim preferred. Nor did Trump try to eke any leverage from the summit date. He would still like to have it happen on June 12, but if its delayed a bit, well, thats all right. In any case, Trump said, in his most baffling remark, In the end, it will work out. I cant tell you how or why, but it always does. This isnt diplomacy or strategy or pressure or a stab at detente or anything else that might shore up a nations credibility or even express its intentions. Its simply piffle from someone who watches too much bad television. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In every contest to date, Trump has acceded to Kim, who is very much in control of this process and of the whole complex of U.S.South KoreanNorth KoreanChinese relations. This is what happens when one negotiator knows what he wants and the other negotiator is in it simply for the pageantry. Meanwhile, Pence, Pompeo, and Bolton are taking it all seriously but rejecting the diplomatic possibilities outright, waiting only for the summit to collapse and then pushing for war as the logical sequel. Through all the commotion, Secretary of Defense James Mattisthe last remaining grown-up in the roomhas stayed fairly quiet. A retired Marine four-star general who lost many of his troops to Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, he has long scorned and distrusted Tehran, though he spoke up for the nuclear dealespecially its verification procedures, which have kept Iran in compliancejust before Trump pulled out. And he has always opposed attacking North Korea, even resisting White House requests for attack options, knowing that retaliation by Pyongyang would kill hundreds of thousands of people in the region, with no benefit to U.S. or allied security. I wonder what books Mattis is pulling down from his vast personal librarys shelves for solace and strategic guidance. One can only hope that theyre helping him outmaneuver the hawks who have never seen war across the river. The Associated Press published a damning account Monday of the former top Trump fundraiser and RNC fundraising chair Elliott Broidy and his Lebanese-American business partner George Nader, who offered up access to the White House and Trump himself to the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in return for a billion dollars in consulting contracts. Both men have criminal record; Broidy, in 2009, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of rewarding official misconduct, a.k.a. bribing officials to win a New York state pension fund investment deal, and Nader was convicted of 10 counts of sexually abusing minors in 2003 and spent one year in jail in the Czech Republic for it. The pair, who met for the first time during Donald Trumps inauguration, teamed up to push anti-Qatar policies for their Saudi and Emirati patrons and expected a financial windfall in return. Broidy had the ear of the president, Nader said he commanded the trust of the crown princes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the start, the men had a two-track mission: to carry out a campaign against Qatar that would curry favor with the princes, and to then turn that success into millions of dollars in defense deals, documents show, according to the AP. A new cache of emails obtained by the AP reveals an ambitious, secretive lobbying effort to isolate Qatar and undermine the Pentagons longstanding relationship with the Gulf country. Neither Broidy nor Nader registered as a lobbyist working for a foreign government as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Nader was an advisor for the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, known as MBZ. Broidy, ludicrously, has maintained he didnt register under FARA because his efforts to steer American foreign policy in opposition to Qatar, a regional rival of both his Saudi and Emirati clients, was his idea and the result of his own personal initiative. But documents show the lobbying was intertwined with the pursuit of contracts from the very start, and involved specific political tasks carried out for the crown princeswhose countries are listed as the clients for the lobbying campaign in a spreadsheet from Broidys company, Circinus LLC, the AP reports. Summaries written by Broidy of two meetings he had with Trump one of which has not been disclosed beforereport that he was passing messages to the president from the two princes and that he told Trump he was seeking business with them. Advertisement Advertisement From the AP: Broidy and Nader proposed multiple plans to the princes for more than $1 billion of work. One pitch was to help create an all-Muslim fighting force of 5,000 troops. A second was aimed at helping the UAE gather intelligence. A third would strengthen Saudi maritime and border security. Still another was related to setting up counterterrorism centers in Saudi Arabia. In a note to Broidy, Nader said the princes were very happy with the proposed contracts, particularly the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. But first, emails show, they had to focus on the lobbying campaign. They proposed a budget upward of $12 million to expose and penalize Qatar and get the U.S. to pressure it to aid in coercive action against Iran, according to a March 2017 document. Advertisement Advertisement Broidy lobbied members of congress, met with President Trump, and had a retired general listed as a part of the Circinus team publish an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled The Two Faces of Qatar, a Dubious Mideast Ally, which called for the moving of U.S. military assets stationed at an American military base in Qatar out of the country and into the UAE. The effort was enough to win a 5-year, $600 million intelligence contract with the UAE. More was set to come with Saudi Arabia, but it unraveled when Nader was detained upon arriving at Dulles by federal investigators. The attention undid the pairs plans to cash in further with the Saudis. Advertisement The Daily Beast reported Monday that Broidy wasnt just selling his so-called intelligence services abroad, he has also been simultaneously selling the Pentagon. [I]n August 2017 [Circinus] finally received $3.9 million for a contract it had begun bidding on in 2013 with the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), the Daily Beast reports. The INSCOM contractwhich is for unidentified intelligence servicesnearly doubled the companys income for the year. On Day 1 of Robert Muellers tenure as special counsel investigating Russian interference in U.S. elections, President Donald Trump complained that he was the victim a witch hunt. Hes been harping on the phrase ever sincemost recently on Sunday morning, when he dropped it four times in a span of seven tweets. Meanwhile, the director of the FBI has testified to Congress that Robert Mueller and the bureau are not, in fact, engaged in any kind of witch hunt, while the White House press secretary just insisted that they are. Mueller and his methods aside, how did the prosecutors assigned to hunting witches in the 1600s carry out their job? Advertisement With lots of torture and coercion. Witchcraft trials posed a special challenge to the early-modern European legal system, since the crime was deemed both very grave and hard to prove. Courts required testimony from two eyewitnesses as proof of guilt for capital crimes, or else the suspects own confession. Since witchcraft would have been a secret act, mostly carried out in private, eyewitnesses were scarce. That left forced confession as the most effective means of finding guilt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The procedures for a witch hunt, and its relative brutality, varied quite a bit from place to place. In the 17th-century Lutheran kingdom of Denmark, for example, witches would be tried according to the more old-fashioned accusatorial system of justice. That meant an injured partythe alleged victim of some witchcraftwould choose to bring the case to local court. The accuser then would touch the suspects head and say, I hereby accuse you of being a true witch. Witnesses would testify, and if the suspect were found guilty, the case would be taken up again at the county level. Torture would be carried out only after the defendant had been found guilty, and just before her execution. Shed be tied to a ladder in preparation for burning at the stake. Then shed be tortured via stretching, as a means of procuring her confession before Godalong with the names of any fellow witches she might know. Advertisement Witch hunts happened very differently in other parts of Europe. In Catholic Italy (as in many other places), witches were tried in an inquisitorial system. A designated officialthe inquisitorwould do the investigation for himself and decide which claims of witchcraft might be legitimate and thus deserving of the full legal process. Torture would be applied during the trial, not afterward, as a means of gathering evidence. But inquisitors had to follow rules specifying the sorts of torture they could use and the maximum duration. Suspects were not supposed to suffer any permanent harm from the process. In the end, the most extreme sentences applied to witches would not be execution but rather public flogging and exile from the community. (For more detail, see this paper by historian Louise Nyholm Kallestrup.) By the late 17th century, around the time of the Salem witch trials, European inquisitors and jurists were more vocal in their efforts to enforce due process in these trials, restrain the use of torture against alleged witches and other defendants, and guard against the risk of forced confessions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some witch-hunt prosecutions were creative in their use of evidence. In England, courts allowed witch-hunting experiments. For instance, a suspect might be asked to touch her victim, on the theory this would ameliorate his suffering. In some cases, these tests would be carried out in a quasi-scientific mode: The victim might be blindfolded, then touched by several different people in addition to the suspected witch. Such tests would be repeated, too, to make sure the findings held across multiple attempts. If the Mueller probe has anything at all in common with the early modern witch hunts, it might be that collusion doesnt have a clear legal definition. In a way, the same was true of witchcraft, which was understood in different ways by different jurisdictions. Some courts focused on the harm caused by witches evil magic; others focused on their heresy. The old view of witchcraft as something both horrific and hard to prove also has some resonance with modern takes on treason. In the U.S., no one can be convicted of that crime unless there is testimony from two eyewitnesses, or else the confession of the accused. Got a question about the news? Ask the Explainer. On Sunday, President Trump demanded that the Department of Justice investigate whether there was unauthorized surveillance of his campaign during the 2016 election. In response, Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general overseeing the Russia investigation, said that the DOJ inspector general would look into the matter. Whether or not Rosenstein made the right decision by at least partially appeasing the president, its clear that Trumps move is a breach of a long-established and cherished norm: that the White House should not meddle with the DOJ and order politically motivated investigations. Advertisement In a new scholarly article, Can The President Control the Department of Justice? Rebecca Roiphe and Bruce A. Green examine the history of the DOJs independence and explain how it has withstood challengesperhaps until now. I spoke recently by phone with Roiphe, who is a professor of law at New York Law School. During the course of our conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, we discussed the unique history of the Department of Justice, the specific threats Trump poses to its proper functioning, and whether or not Rosenstein has chosen to carry out his job properly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every time the president tweets about what his preferences are, what he thinks should happen, what he doubts or doesnt doubt, it is hard for individual prosecutors not to experience that as pressure. Rebecca Roiphe Isaac Chotiner: What were the stepsand when were they takenthat ensured the Department of Justice would be an independent institution? Advertisement Rebecca Roiphe: The concept of prosecutorial independence predates our country, but was a fundamental and important concept even at the time of the founding. And, of course, there have been many instances of presidents, especially in the early years, trying to control their attorneys general. But those incidents were pretty exceptional. Then, the most important point in establishing prosecutorial independence was the creation of the Department of Justice itself. So the Department of Justice was created in 1870, and while many people think it had something to do with the Civil War, it really didnt. It didnt have to do with Reconstruction. What it had to do with were concerns about waste and corruption. The whole idea of creating the Department of Justice was for it to be within the executive, because at the time federal prosecutors were scattered across the government and various different agencies, and there was a whole lot of overlapping jurisdiction and no clear lines of reporting. So when Congress created the Department of Justice, they did it as a way of reducing waste and getting rid of that kind of corruptionthe infiltration of partisan politics into prosecutorial decisions. Advertisement Advertisement Its my view that that was a fundamental moment in solidifying this norm as the dominant view of how prosecution ought to work in America. Before the Trump era, what was the biggest threat to prosecutorial independence? I think the two moments that were the biggest threat were obviously the Saturday Night Massacre, where President Nixon tried to have the special prosecutor fired and went through two attorneys general until he got Robert Bork to do what he wanted him to do, which was fire the special prosecutor. So that was the greatest threat, and then more recently there was the question about the [George W. Bush administration] firing the U.S. attorneys in 2007. That was a little more ambiguous, but people were horrified in part because they felt like the reason that was being given was a pretext for what was actually going on, which was an effort to control prosecutorial decisions by getting rid of certain individuals and installing others in their place. Advertisement Advertisement Why has this norm generally held up? And is it not holding up now just because norms have ceased to work with Trump? Or have Congress or the DOJ or some other institutionscertain checks and balancesnot done their part to hold up the norm? Advertisement Its my view that this is more than a norm. Its actually the law, and there is no constitutional requirement for a president to have absolute control over prosecutorial decisions. And the Supreme Court made it very clear in Morrison v. Olson that Congress has the power to remove prosecutorial decision-making from the executive almost entirely, as long as there are some controls left within the executive, like hiring and firing. To me, that shows that its actually a congressional decision, and Congress can remove that power from the president. The question is: When Congress hasnt acted, where are we? And thats where we are now. The view we have in our paper is that, well, you look to norms and history to see that Congress must be acquiescing in something. Advertisement What are your specific concerns about Trump and the Department of Justice? Its almost bizarre because you start with some concerns that seem like reasonable concerns and then your concerns escalate. Thats how this administration works. But at this point I think the concern is really an explicit assault on prosecutorial independence. So especially in opening an investigation, or charging decisions, those are very unique to prosecutorial discretion. I think there is a direct threat to that. In addition to that direct threat, there are more indirect threats, so that every time the president tweets about what his preferences are, what he wants to have happen, what he thinks should happen, what he doubts or doesnt doubt, it is hard for individual prosecutors not to experience that as pressure. And I think most Departments of Justice, and I think Rod Rosenstein in his own way and Comey before him, were trying to protect the decisions of the career people who worked beneath them from being affected by those public statements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the third concern is that I dont think President Trump believes in anything other than sheer power. I think he has subtly broken down this idea that law is anything other than the exercise of power of one group. And once he convinces people of that, then the rule of law is gone, because there has to be faith. We all know, everybody knows, that there is no such thing as pure law. Legal decisions are complex, and ideological concepts come into them all the time, but they are still distinct sets of rules that are separate from political considerations, and he has done a lot to undermine that notion just by insulting the judges who come out with opinions he doesnt like and calling them partisan and so forth. I think thats another way in which he has made it so when this happensand I doubt it was done with such a concerted effortbut its almost like when he gets to this point, he has already eroded the idea that there is any such thing as an independent legal decision. And once he has done that, then his supporters at least view this as just him making a move against his enemies, and thats not the way our country works. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What do you think of the way Rosenstein has dealt with all this? When I interviewed Jack Goldsmith, he suggested that Rosenstein had to make some compromises to protect the integrity of the Russia investigation, so we should probably cut him some slack. I think that Rosenstein is doing his best to protect the integrity of the Russia investigation. I think he has made some compromises and I think its hard to know whether he was right to make those compromises or not. I think there is some cost to making those kinds of compromises. I do believe his motivation is good and that he shares my ultimate concern about preserving the independence of the Department of Justice. But he has made some compromises in order to do that that are problematic and disturbing. I think he has done them ultimately for good reasons because he believes in these institutions and is trying to protect them so they can do their job, but one might, in the same position, just hold firm and wait until the president fires you and then make this an entirely public drama. And maybe that will happen at some point. I am not questioning his judgment in doing this and agree 100 percent that is what he is trying to do, but you cant really know until this is all played out and you have some degree of hindsight whether this was the right decision or not. Or we will have all perished in nuclear war and will have no clue about what the right decision was. Exactly. It doesnt matter. In 2017, a network of homeless shelters in Seattle called Marys Place received a package from Amazondelivered in person, on camera, by an Amazon official. The cardboard box contained an oversize skeleton key as well as a note from the e-commerce giant, promising that a new Amazon building in downtown Seattle would also house a new shelter to be run by the nonprofit. The surprise was, by any measure, a generous gift: When finished in 2020, the new 200-bed facility is supposed to be one of the largest homeless shelters in Seattle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This wasnt the first charitable gift Amazon has given Marys Place. In 2016, the company provided the nonprofit with one of its unused properties in downtown Seattle, a former Travelodge, to create a temporary homeless shelter. After that building closed for construction, the shelter moved to another unused Amazon building in the same area, a former Days Inn, where its currently based. A few months after that, in late 2016, the company also started offering Marys Place free food for residents. It had just opened its new checkout-free Amazon Go store down the street from the shelterat first as a service for its own employees, though it opened to the public earlier this year. Like most grocery operations, at the end of the day the store had leftover, pre-made food that was still good to eat but wouldnt be sold the following day. Advertisement Free space, free food: Amazons beneficence has been a great boon to Marys Placean example of generosity and civic spirit that the company can point to as its relationship to its home city comes under more strain and scrutiny, and as Seattle struggles with a rapidly growing homeless population. But for Marys Place employees, its also, at times, been a colossal headache. Advertisement The donated food from Amazon has been difficult to transport, store, dispose of, and sometimes even vouch for. The shelters have sometimes been tough to manage thanks to problems with the donated buildings. And the relationship to Amazon, though perhaps the envy of any nonprofit in need of a generous benefactor, has sometimes been a stressor precisely because it tells such a heartwarming storyone that Amazon officials have been very eager to share. These are the complaints from one current and four former Marys Place employees interviewed for this story. (All requested anonymity for fear of jeopardizing either their current employment or future job prospects.) None of them introduced me to another, or knew whom else from Marys Place I had spoken with. They described a dynamic in which a nonprofit that benefits tremendously from its connection with its wealthy neighbor tolerated major logistical nuisances to the detriment of its staff and clients. And they described a relationship that seemed to prioritize optics over a thoughtful approach to philanthropic givingresulting, in other words, in the kind of pains that an entity as wealthy as Amazon could easily afford to fix. Advertisement Advertisement Current and former employees described a relationship that seemed to prioritize optics over a thoughtful approach to philanthropic giving. The context of Amazons broader relationship to Seattle is important. Earlier this month, in response to a local tax proposal that it didnt like, the company halted plans to build a new tower downtown and threatened to renege on moving into a 17-story building under construction. The proposal, a version of which passed last week, taxes Seattle businesses that earn more than $20 million a year to fund shelters and affordable housing for the citys large and growing homeless population. (Neither building involved in Amazons threat was the one that will include the Marys Place shelter.) The measure that ultimately passed was weaker than the original proposal, and though Amazon continues to oppose the tax, the company said it would resume construction on its tower. The tax will certainly meet a need: Seattle declared the rise in homelessness in the city a state of emergency more than two years ago, with the medical examiners office counting 169 homeless deaths in 2017, an increase of 33 deaths from the year before and more than double the number of homeless deaths from 2012. The city is the 18th largest in the United States but has the third highest homeless population, behind New York and Los Angeles. And Amazon owns more office space in Seattle than the next 40 biggest employers combined, according to the Seattle Timesa footprint that has almost certainly driven up real estate prices, which has likely contributed to homelessness in the city. Advertisement Advertisement While noble, giving one shelter free rent and food is small change compared to what the city would collect from Amazon under the new tax law, which in total would raise about $47 million a year for the city to pay for affordable housing and homelessness services. (For perspective, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos makes about $52 million a day.) For now, it appears that Amazon will play ball with the city. What the alleged issues at Marys Place suggest, however, is that even when Amazon has happily brought its wealth to bear in addressing Seattles housing woeswoes it has certainly exacerbated with its presenceit hasnt succeeded without causing turbulence in the process. Advertisement The companys growth and success have deepened the citys coffers and helped to beef up its workforce of young, highly skilled professionals. But meanwhile, since setting up shop in Seattle in 1994, Amazon has been a virtual no-show for hometown philanthropy, as the Seattle Times put it in 2012. And compared to other executives who have started foundations, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, not to mention Googles extensive portfolio of philanthropic work, the culture of philanthropy at Amazon appears paltry by comparison. Advertisement Since announcing the partnership with Marys Place to provide a new shelter location, Amazon has trumpeted the arrangement as a showcase of its efforts to give back to its hometown. The homeless-shelter network, in turn, has been vocal in its praise of the online retail giantespecially when the new permanent shelter was announced last May. But the view from the ground floor at Marys Place hasnt been as rosy, particularly when it comes to logisticseven though logistics, as the employees I spoke to pointed out, is Amazons thing. The sandwich handoff was supposed to be simple. At first, according to three former Marys Place employees, Amazon would deliver crates of pre-made food to the shelter; once the shelter moved to the Days Inn location in 2017, it was close enough to the Amazon Go store that Marys Place employees went to pick up the food themselves. But former and current staff told me it was hard to predict how much food the shelter would receive each day, with the haul ranging anywhere from five to 40 crates filled with packaged meals, like tuna and chicken-salad sandwiches, the bulk of which needed refrigeration. At around 9:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday, Amazon Go would have the food ready for pickup. Not only did staff not know how much to expect, they often didnt have enough refrigerator space back at Marys Place to store it allwhich meant the small, already time-strapped shelter staff on evening or overnight shifts had to throw away the food or else find another home for it, since it was too late to serve it at that evenings meal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would be this panicked scramble, one of the former Marys Place employees said. It was always more than we could fit in the refrigerators that we had, which were mostly full of the food that we as a shelter bought to feed people. It would be this panicked scramble. A former Marys Place employee Staff also werent told how long it had been since the food was last refrigerated. We often dont know how long the food has been sitting out, the current Marys Place employee said. We care about the people who the food is meant to serve, and even if [the food] does get to guests, its not in the best condition. In addition to the downtown location, Marys Place operates six other shelters in Seattle, serving individuals and families with 680 beds each night. But Amazon didnt deliver the food to the other Marys Place locations, nor did the shelter consistently set aside additional resources to distribute the donations each night, according to four sources. Often that meant Marys Place employees had to drive some food to other locations themselvesthat is, when they didnt simply toss it because of refrigeration space or concerns over its freshness. And since Seattle has strict composting rules, the foodstuffs had to be separated from the packaging first. The last thing we wanted to do was throw out food, one former Marys Place employee told me. Still, wed spend hours each week unpacking and throwing the food away. Advertisement Because Marys Place could only occasionally set aside staff time to deliver the food, employees had to improvise. I lived near a tent city, so when my shift was over, if I had time, Id call the encampment city to see if they would take stuff, one former employee said. Advertisement Advertisement Three of the employeestwo former, one currenttold me they felt their complaints about the flawed donation process went unheeded. Finally, sometime late last year, Marys Place did hire a food services directora new positionthough it is unclear if the process has improved. As of earlier this year, a current employee told me, All of these problems with the food are still ongoing. Advertisement Its not uncommon, of course, for homeless shelters to get food thats past its expiration date, or has been sitting out for unknown periods of time, and for resource-strapped shelter staff to be left to judge and sort the trash from the edible food. Sifting through potentially expired food is a frustrating time suck all the samean issue that might have been resolved through closer coordination or better feedback. Advertisement There were also problems with the doors at both donated spaces, according to three Marys Place sources. In these instances, residents would be locked out of their rooms and separated from their belongings, sometimes overnight and for extended periods of time. I had one family who was locked out of their room for days with no access to their stuff, a former employee at Marys Place said. Though Marys Place staff was unsure if they were responsible for fixing the doors or if Amazon was, it was a routine problem and Amazon owned the building. Were talking about people who have gone through trauma related to their belongings, a former shelter staffer told me. Two former Marys Place employees noted this happened to multiple families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Marys Place employees also described how Amazon officials would ask for tours of the shelter with very little notice; when this happened, Marys Place management ordered staff to hurry and make the shelter spotless in preparation for the walkthrough. These are highly secured shelters with some people escaping domestic violence, one former employee said, describing the stress that the last-minute visits would cause staff and guests. It felt very observatory; it didnt feel right, said the former employee. I always felt like we were a little bit like a zoo, another former employee said. The people from Amazon who came for a tour never talked to any of the guests. The current employee said that it has been a constant problem for shelter staff, who are often only notified a day before the tours happen, noting that the problems with the tours have been raised enough that Marys Place leadership addressed the issue with shelter staff at a meeting at the beginning of the year. Advertisement Amazon is the biggest player in the housing market crisis. Rachel Fyall I asked Amazon about these short-notice walk-throughs, and a spokeswoman said that Amazon employees dont normally visit the shelter unannounced. Amazon and Marys Place deny that the food has often been left out for unknown periods of time, noting that the transportation from Amazon Gos fridges to Marys Place happens quickly, usually taking about 15 minutes. Marys Place also says that its the job of the shelter staff to distribute donated food from Amazon to other shelters and dispose of food thats not consumed. But former and current staff told me that theyd spend hours a week separating out the food from the trash with the donations from Amazon that werent served to guests, either because there was no room to store it or because it was left out for unknown periods of time. Marys Place said there had been some complications with the locks at both locations and that it had resolved the problem at the current one. It acknowledged that there had been occasions where families were unable to access their rooms overnight and said that those people were given alternative places to stay. Best memory says that only happened one or two times, at the Travelodge location and that the doors had been fixed within 30 days after the shelter moved in to the new location in the old Days Inn, a Marys Place spokeswoman said in an email. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other partnerships between grocery stories and nonprofits that work to serve Seattles growing homeless population have been less strained. One nonprofit, FareStart, which has also received some donated space from Amazons large real estate holdings, runs a program that serves meals to local homeless shelters, and told me that its staff work with catering operations to get leftover food from events and conferences and that they always take the temperature of the food when its going in and out of the truck during pickups so they know how long food has been out of refrigeration. FareStarts focus, however, is on serving food to the homeless. Marys Place is focused on providing shelter, and the current and former Marys Place staff I spoke to for this story felt Amazon didnt do enough through its tremendous resources or logistics expertise to make the process go smoothly. Advertisement Any pitfalls that come with working with corporate partners to receive surplus food and donations may, on balance, be worth it for resource-strapped shelters. But Amazon is the fifth-most-valuable company in the world, with one of the richest men on the planet at its helm, leaving little doubt that the company could be doing much more to ensure that its local philanthropy isnt making life tougher for people on the front lines. Advertisement In an interview with Business Insider last month, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said that he thinks the most practical way to spend his enormous wealth is pumping $1 billion a year into space travel. To critics concerned with more earthly matters, that skyward focus might look like neglect. Amazon is the biggest player in the housing market crisis, said Rachel Fyall, a professor of public policy with a specialization in housing at the University of Washington. Helping with homeless shelters is certainly a useful and needed contribution to the citys housing crisis, but according to Fyall, its not enough, since homeless shelters are designed to meet emergency needs and arent a long-term solution for more affordable housing. While it is welcome, [and] we need all the tools we can get, I think it would be helpful if we had the major employers in the city, including Amazon, involved in the planning process in the city, Fyall said. That might include supporting different kinds of housing initiatives for people who are at risk of being displaced or policies that would help those currently in Seattle from being forced to leave or enter homelessness while zoning and construction catch up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of people dont make the connection between the rapid rise in housing cost and the rise of the homeless population, and if our tech leaders could help make that connection, it would help change peoples opinion about housing policy, said Fyall. But that would likely require Amazon admitting it was absent from these important discussions for too long; now that theres a problem to solve, a level of self-reflection might not be in the companys best interest. Washington state, after all, has no income tax, and despite raking in $51 billion in revenue last quarter, Amazon managed to pay no federal taxes in 2017. Now, with local lawmakers eyeing companies like Amazon more closely, making a connection between the companys growth, the strain on the citys housing market, and Seattles booming homeless population probably isnt the arrow the company is prepared to draw. Until then, well-paid tech employees moving to Seattle will continue to require housing, prices will continue to rise, and more families and individuals who arent a part of the citys white-collar workforce are likely to end up on the street. A few of the relatively lucky ones may even find a bed at Marys Place. Last fall, a new kind of ride-sharing came to the streets of Santa Monica, California, when a company called Bird began leaving electric scooters on sidewalks throughout the city. Rather than using dedicated docking areas, Birds, as the scooters are called, can be picked up and dropped off anywhere. Theyre fast and cheap, with most trips running $2 to $3, and by releasing thousands of them, the company hopes to ensure that any user is no more than five minutes away from an available ride. Now theyve expanded to other cities, including Nashville, Tennessee, and San Francisco, where an intense turf war between Bird, LimeBike, and Spin began in March. Advertisement But someone has to keep those scooters juiced up. After I signed up as a user a few weeks ago to see whether they would help cut down on driving my car for short errands, I noticed that the app featured an offer to Become a Charger! It seemed like a pretty good giga few bucks for a fairly minimal amount of work. I decided to try recharging the scooters at night, in my garage. Although the company recommends using a car to collect the Birds at night, I wanted to find them on foot, for a little extra evening exercise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bird sent me three chargers, and a peppy rep gave me a quick briefing: Each night I was to switch on the newly enabled charger mode in the Bird app and collect scooters flagged as available for charging. Although juicing up most Birds would give me $5, ones that had been AWOL for a while became progressively more valuable, up to $20. The rep made it sound like there was just free money sitting on the sidewalk each night, just waiting for me to scoop up. Advertisement But it turns out the charging system is akin to a real-life Pokemon Go, albeit one rife with cheating. The app purports to tell you where nearby chargeable scooters are, but in reality thats rarely the case. Duplicitous collectors have created a thriving ecosystem of stockpiling, hiding, and decoying that makes it well-nigh impossible to find a scooter in need of charging. I dont get paid for it at all until I inquire, at which point I receive an adjusted payment of 66 cents. When picking up a scooter, chargers are supposed to capture it via a button on the app. Doing this deletes the flag so others dont waste time scouting for that particular Bird. It also stops the clock on the reimbursement meter. The longer a scooter goes without being captured, the greater the commission Bird will pay its chargers. Although a small percentage of scooters run out of juice early in the day, the majority only become available after 9 p.m., when the rental network shuts down for the night. At that point, you have to dash out, grab them, and ride or drive them home. Once you plug them in, they take about 34 hours to recharge, and then you have to get them back on the street in nearby Nests (designated drop-off sites, of which there are hundreds) before 7 a.m. to get paid the full value of each Bird. In practice, this means that after an hour of searching in the dark, you have to get up early the next day to complete the job and get paid. Every time you do this, youre volunteering for a miniclopening shift. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But I didnt realize all of this at first. I was so innocent then. Herewith is a diary of my brief career as a Bird charger. Day 1: Zero Birds, zero dollars earned. Despite a map full of green flags, I cant find a single available scooter anywhere. When I come to a spot where a Bird ought to be, I can trigger it to beep and flash if its within range of my Bluetooth signal. Repeatedly the app tells me the alarm was successful, but I dont see any Birds. Late in the evening at a grocery store, I happen upon an unattended pickup full of scooters that are allegedly uncaptured, but I decide that lifting some off the pile would be unsportsmanlike. After about two hours of rushing around in the dark, I call it a night. Advertisement Day 2: Zero Birds, zero dollars. My second night is also a wash, and I wonder whether Im ever going to actually capture one. Ive told management of all the false flags and hoarding, and they ask me to both mark them missing on the app and augment that with screenshots, written descriptions, and locations. The missing button on the app is often unresponsive, and soon my phone is filled with screenshots of empty locations. Instead of making easy money, Im just snitching on neighbors. What fun. I get a brisk hour walk in, though, so fitness! Advertisement Day 3: First Bird! $5! I see a Bird pop up around the corner and dash out quickly in my sandals. I get to it literally seconds before a guy pulls up in a truck. As I wait for the finicky app to capture the bird, my signal pings off all the scooters he has collected but not correctly captured in his truck already. Oh yeah, theyre mine, its all good, he tells me. Later, when I tell management about those flags still twinkling on the map, they say that its another case of fraud. Although they say they take fraud very seriously, I have no idea what they do with the information after that. Chargers interviewed by the Atlantic say that bad behavior has become commonplace and punishment is unevenly enforced. Advertisement Advertisement Day 4: Three Birds, $25. (A high-value Bird pops up on the street outside and nets me $15, with two other regular ones beside it!) Its the weekend! Cheerful Bird riders are draining their batteries everywhere. For a novice like me, this is a big help. Instead of having to compete with cartels of pickup trucks doing an evening sweep of the neighborhood, I manage to pick up a few Birds as they show up sporadically throughout the afternoon. After a slow start, I feel like Im getting the hang of this. Advertisement Day 5: Three Birds, $15. When dropping off my charged scooters at a nearby Nest, I bump into a woman returning a single scooter. I spent two and a half hours looking last night, and this is the only one I found. Ive been doing this for two days and am quitting already. This sucks, she tells me. Advertisement Days 68: Four Birds total, $20. Its barely one a day, but Ive hit my stride. I know where my neighborhoods regular hoarders are, so I dont bother chasing those bogeys. And I know that Birds allegedly waiting on busy corners have likely been scooped up long ago. Instead of rushing at every flag I see, I look for the ones in unusual spots that might have been missed by others. Day: 9 One Bird, four decoys, $5. I start recording the number of false positives I waste time tracking down to compare the Birds allegedly available on the app to reality. I now carry a headlamp and reflective strips each night, along with my helmet. The Birds have bright headlamp lights that are automatically turned on for the paying customers. But if youre a charger working for Bird, picking up their scooters in the dark, they dont turn on the headlights for you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Day 10: One Bird, 10 decoys, $5. I continue to notify Bird of the high volume of fraud cases, sharing screenshots and location notes. Responses from management range from nonexistent to terse. They occasionally complain about the detailed reports; evidently its a bit of a headache for them. Only one Bird staffer, Owl, follows up with thanks and encouragement. Day 11: One Bird, five decoys, $5. Bird starts sending out motivational texts to chargers every night. The first tip is to mark scooters as missing via the app if theyre not in the right location. This button works maybe 30 percent of the time. The rest of the time, theres no response from the buggy app. It also burns through my battery like a fever. After an hour of searching in the dark, I need to recharge my own phone more urgently than the Birds. Advertisement Day 12: Three Birds, four decoys, $15. I see a truck full of uncaptured scooters pinging along the map in real time. The news seems to excite Owl. Maybe Bird has to accommodate the rampant cheating because honest chargers quickly lose interest in the rigged game? (In a statement, Bird spokesman Kenneth Baer told Slate, It is very important to us that scooters are available to customers who want to use them. Were working to ensure Birds are available and not being removed from the streets when they shouldnt be. While weve had very few instances of hoarding, we thoroughly investigate reports of abuse and are continually working to provide consumers with an enjoyable ride.) Advertisement Day 13: One Bird, eight decoys, $5. I see a flag at a nearby coffee shop and run over. To my surprise, theres a scooter right there as advertised! But its missing the QR code sticker. I puzzle over it for a few seconds before a man walks out to wave me off: Its his private scooter. (It turns out that the app signal I had chased was just another ghost.) He tells me he bought it off Amazon for $500 and loves it. It folds up when hes on the train and holds a charge for days. Im tempted. They may be a pain to charge, but the scooters are delightful machines to ride. Advertisement Advertisement Day 14: One Bird, nine decoys, $5. I bump into a friend a few blocks away while Im lurking late at night in the alley behind his apartment trying to track a hoarded Bird. Oh yeah, our neighbor works for them, he says, He probably has one upstairs. I flag it missing and move on. Day 15: Three Birds, five decoys, $15. I move out early and log a number of places where rentable scooters are actually already locked away indoors. Later that night, I return and see them marked for charging. It appears that hoarders are just scooping them up whenever convenient during the day, thereby reducing the rolling stock that Bird is trying to rent, and then making a buck off the company later that night. Its much easier than racing through the dark to beat other chargers to the scooters at the end of the day. For a buck you can ride a nearby scooter to your back door after lunch and charge it later that night for $5. Im not an MBA, but the math seems to work out. Advertisement Advertisement Day 16: One Bird, five decoys, $5. Bird has 100 employees and more than $100 million in investment. So the questionnaire it sends today to select potential safety ambassadors, who will somehow advocate for wearing helmets and riding responsibly, is a puzzle: Its an unsecured and editable Google spreadsheet in which all of the responses are publicly visible. I see multiple email addresses and responses from strangers. Bird resends the link later in the day after fixing it, but nothing has changed. Helpful responders update the form to include options like Bird get organized you need help and Whos going to let them know this is editable? A. Me B. Other ______ Bird pulls the link and later sends a third one. I ignore it. Advertisement Advertisement Day 17: One Bird, zero decoys, 66 cents. I almost ran over one driving home, so I threw it in the car and called it a night. The schedule is wearing me down a bit, so I decide to sleep in and release the scooter late. In theory, Bird deducts from your payout in a prorated fashion for tardiness, but I have no idea what the penalty might be. I try to drop the scooter off around 9 a.m., but the app totally fails and I cant electronically release my scooter. Im stuck with it until later in the day. I dont get paid for it at all until I inquire, at which point I receive an adjusted payment of 66 cents. Every damaged bird, faulty app problem, or payment issue has to be adjudicated through the app, where they have all the records and you just have an undifferentiated string of texts penned by coyly pseudonymous birds. Advertisement Advertisement At the end of it all I made about $125 over two weeks, for roughly 1015 hours of nighttime effort and a few more minutes each day dropping them off in the early morning. I captured 24 Birds and noted perhaps 7080 cases of hoarding or fraud in the same time period. Instead of being a fun activity, it disrupted my evenings and highlighted petty cheating all around the neighborhood. Instead of a pleasant walk, I spent hours tapping away at my phone in the dark while aggravated. After two weeks of this, I returned the charging cables and put the Mi Electric Scooter on my Amazon wish list instead. Update, May 25, 2018: Bird sent an email to Chargers on Friday announcing that after receiving feedback about the good, the bad, and the not-so-great parts about being a Charger, it will now require that a Charger capture a Bird before moving it. If Chargers move the Birds first, they may be blocked from capturing them. Dystopia is everywhere. No longer just a narrative form in the vein of 1984 or Soylent Green, the very word is seeping into our daily news and culture, invoked as readily in the pubs of London as the checkpoints of Gaza. Far from an imagined society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic, dystopia is now used to describe Facebook, Brexit, biometric data, militancy, antibiotic resistance, and HQ Trivia. A 2017 article in the Nation summed up a great deal of liberal feelings about the current political climate: With the election of an uber-narcissist incapable of distinguishing between fact and fantasy, all the dystopian nightmares that had gathered like storm clouds on the horizonnuclear war, climate change, a clash of civilizationssuddenly moved overhead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of course, the Western political and economic upheavals of the past few years are about as dystopian as a party balloon next to the reality of life in, say, North Korea, whose government sums up the rights of its citizens with a simple phraseOne for all and all for onebetter known in the West for a book that is probably not discussed much in Pyongyang. Like Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany before it, the totalitarian oppression of the DPRK feels so remote that it becomes almost pantomime. The hysterical weeping of party officials at the death of Kim Jong-il and the assassination of Kim Jong-uns defector brother, with the killers allegedly told it was part of a prank show, feel closer to fiction than factstories to be marvelled at, rather than profound human truths. Propaganda and history collide, blurring the lines between fiction and reality; as these lines move, so does our cultural understanding of dystopia. Advertisement Perhaps the sci-fi anthology show Black Mirror has been a catalyst for shifting the definition of dystopia away from Mad Maxesque cannibals and dehydration to a new conversation of insecurity, intrusiveness, horror, and internalized, personal calamity. Here, dystopia becomes an everyday experience in which the promises of freedom, equality, and basic human rights are corrupted by the very structures we have built to empower us. Your digital assistant is a torture device; your aspirations to be a good parent destroy lives; your cartoonish satire is the tyranny of tomorrow. Advertisement Yet historically speaking, weve never had it so good. We beat smallpox and polio is on the verge of eradication, solar power grows in leaps and bounds, and humans have never been richer or lived longer. As for the internet! The advent of mobile data gives us more knowledge and power in our hand than the crew of the Enterprise could have dreamed of. The world is awesome. Advertisement Advertisement Why, then, has dystopia started to drift from the cataclysmic into the discourse of our daily lives? Key to this conversation is a look at the meaning of dystopias glowing opposite, utopia. Books such as Dave Hutchinsons Europe in Autumn or Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale (an adaptation of which is now in its second season on Hulu) dont build worlds of dust storms or bloodsucking fiends. The violence of Atwoods Gilead happens on our cultural doorstep, and both the victims and the perpetrators are human beings with human needs. Gilead is a utopia to its male mastersthe culmination of a biblical dream. From the Soviet revolution of 1917which gave women the vote three years before the USA, and 27 years before Franceto the cultural subversion of communes into cults, the only thing more sinister than dystopia is the utopia that becomes something else. Advertisement Advertisement The 21st century didnt promise us roses and sunflowers, but it began on a wave of optimism verging on hubris. Francis Fukuyamas The End of History and the Last Man, written just after the collapse of the Soviet Union, captured a sense of where the future layin liberal democracy, peace, and wealth. Nearly 30 years later, both it and other works glorifying Western triumph, such as the deeply flawed Why the West Has Won by Victor Davis Hanson, look almost as strange to a modern eye as weeping North Korean politniks do. Whatever great leaps forward weve had, the cultural perception of the 21st century has been less of the triumph of technology than one of war and global stagnationwith recent psychology suggesting we are drawn to negative news. Advertisement No longer is dystopia a hellish society, but rather a curtailing of individual agency, in which our personal utopias are denied. Yet this is the decade where we lowered the Curiosity Rover onto Mars using a goddamn rocket ship suspended above a world 34 million miles away. We can communicate with people on the other side of the world, yet now we also find ourselves struggling to answer the question: Whose utopia are we aspiring to? The rise of the alt-right has led to a sudden roar of racism and sexism, both the U.S. and globally. The future its followers dream of seems a nightmare to the rest of us. The Wakandan utopia of Marvels Black Panther is, if box-office figures may be a judge, appealing to millions, but to some its celebration of a futurist Africa is a cultural threat. In my utopia, women are free to make their own choices. Yet the freedom to do this is restricted across the world by people with convictions as passionate as my own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Animal Farm is one of the few novels that explores how the final tyranny of its world is created, from the subversion of a utopian ideal into a dystopia that favors the select few. Black Mirror picks up on this theme and asks, What if through our utopian ideas and technologies we are creating the very opposite? In his book Ordinary Men, the historian Christopher Browning examined how men from across 1930s Germany were transformed from harmless next-door neighbors into the Einsatzgruppen, working behind Nazi lines to murder approximately 2 million people. The conclusion he reached was depressing in its universality. These were not special men with violent tendencies. They were told that Jews were less than human, other, but more importantly, they were commanded by authority figures and pressured by the camaraderie of the unit, to kill. Our moral compass collapses with devastating speed, and it is easy to obey, and to walk into darkness. Advertisement Personal stories are always easier to grapple with than big ideas. Stalin, who arguably created one of the most dystopian societies in human history, nailed the point: The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of millions is a statistic. Genuinely alarming global trends thread through our daily lives; mass arrests of journalists and opposition activists in Turkey, the authoritarian rule of Xi Jinping, the growth of corporate power that is entirely capable of avoiding international law, the creeping disenfranchisement of voters in the U.K. and U.S.but these trends do not make good stories. Nor do their solutions conform to the hero narrative that has come to dominate so much of early 21st-century storytelling and culture. Katniss Everdeen cannot fix shrinking ice caps with a bow and arrow; Captain America does not have a solution for obscene global inequality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rather than slow social slog, individualism is the rallying cry of the day, used as easily to justify racism as for any actual respect for humanity. And as we celebrate the power of lone heroes saving the day, our storytellers also give us personal, intimate tales of individuals making their own damnations. Like marketing for a charity, we dont see the bigger picture or harsh statistics of a broken societyinstead, we zoom in on the face of a single, lost child. And of course, it works. That is the power of story, and as a new wave of dystopian narrative emerges, the individual is at the center. No longer is dystopia a hellish society, but rather a curtailing of individual agency, in which our personal utopias are denied. Big data sets us free, and damns us. Medicine empowers us, and destroys us. One mans freedom fighter is another mans terrorist. Our dystopias are zooming in, told as complex, personal tales, riddled with private confusion, rather than big stories of a broken world. This is not new. Storytelling has always drawn its power from intimacy. But perhaps, in this global age, it is important to remember that bad news is bigger than our personal, quiet dystopias. In our lives, and our stories, it can be hard to find an emotional connection to the vast, interconnected world we live in; but that imaginative leap is perhaps more important today than ever before. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the European Unions Conference of Presidents on Tuesday for what ended up being a fruitless hearing about the companys many controversies over the past couple years. Members of parliament and leaders of political groups came prepared with a bevy of tough questions that evinced an overall level of technological literacy superior to that of U.S. lawmakers, who previously interrogated Zuckerberg during a hearing in April. Syed Kamall, chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party, asked a pointed question about how people who dont use Facebook can prevent the platform from collecting their data, referencing the debate over shadow profiles. Jan Philipp Albrecht, a member of the Greens/European Free Alliance, requested that Zuckerberg promise not to share personal user data between Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp. Gabriele Zimmer, a member of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left, asked Zuckerberg to explain why Facebook altered its terms of service so that 1.5 billion users would not be covered by the EUs new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet, the format of the proceedings squandered this opportunity to finally pin Zuckerberg down on issues that hed been able to evade in his U.S. hearing. Instead of giving Zuckerberg time to respond to a question right after someone had asked it, the hearing was organized so that all the members of parliament asked their questions one after another without pause. Zuckerberg then had around 20 minutes at the end to answer the dozens of questions in his closing remarks. The format allowed Zuckerberg to talk broadly about the issues that had been raised, rather than addressing the specific nuances of each inquiry. He was largely able to ignore the more difficult questions, and instead fell back on platitudes from the numerous press releases that the company has released in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other controversies. He even found time, on more than one occasion, to reiterate the tired tale of founding Facebook in his college dorm room. Advertisement Several parliament members seemed on the verge of revolt when Zuckerberg concluded his spiel by promising to get back to them later in writing on the umpteen questions he left unanswered. Politicians began interrupting Zuckerberg when he tried to thank them for hosting him. I asked you six yes-or-no questions. I got not a single answer, one exclaimed. Of course, you asked for this format for a reason. Two reporters in the subsequent press conference in fact asked Antonio Tajani, the president of the European Parliament responsible for setting up the meeting, about the format and whether it was he or Zuckerberg who first suggested it. Tajani claimed that he had proposed the format to the Conference of Presidents, and that no one had requested a longer hearing time. Tajani also mentioned that Zuckerberg had a flight to catch. From one perspective, the U.S. government is currently obsessed with locking down the security of our networks and devices. In January, AT&T backed out of a deal with Chinese tech firm Huawei to sell its smartphones to U.S. customers after lawmakers warned that the devices might be insecure and could pose serious national security risks if acquired by unwitting government employees. Then, in March, the White House blocked a bid by Singapore-based firm Broadcom to acquire U.S. company Qualcomm on the grounds that the deal might result in Qualcomm spending less money on research and development, ultimately giving Chinese firms like Huawei an advantage in developing innovative 5G technologies for mobile networks. And those technologies, by virtue of being developed by a Chinese firm, wouldyou guessed itpose grave national security risks to the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also in March, the Federal Communications Commission started sounding the cybersecurity alarm as well with a proposed rule aimed at further stemming Huaweis sales in the U.S. by banning U.S. carriers from using Universal Service Fund money to buy internet infrastructure equipment from companies that pose national security risks. And just this month, the Department of Defense decided to ban military bases from selling devices manufactured by two major Chinese firmsHuawei and ZTEon the grounds that they pose, you guessed it, serious national security risks. Has any administration in any country ever taken our cybersecurity so seriously? Has any government ever before made so many aggressive, unprecedented interventions in the private sector all in the name of protecting our computer systems and smartphones? To hear U.S. government officials justify this series of decisions, you might think they have no higher priority than our digital securitythat they are willing to go to any lengths to ensure a vulnerable Chinese phone doesnt fall into the wrong hands and leave us all in jeopardy. Advertisement And yet, even a cursory glance at this administrations actions belies just how little they are doing to secure computer systems even as they pay near-constant lip service to that goal. For instance, Politico this week published yet another installment in the ongoing saga of President Trumps refusal to take even basic security precautions for his smartphones. (He uses one for tweeting and one for calls.) For instance, according to the Politico report, Trumps dedicated tweeting iPhone has gone months without being checked by security experts, unlike President Obamas phones, which were assessed every 30 days. Politicos administration source said that Trump thought that the inspections were too inconvenient. Advertisement Meanwhile, earlier this month, the White House eliminated the position of cybersecurity coordinator, created during the Obama administration to take the lead on cybersecurity-related policies. And in February, Mick Mulvaney in his capacity running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, defused the investigation of credit bureau Equifax following its massive breach of personal information. Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administrations stance on cybersecurity is, in fact, quite clear-cut when you look at these decisions. Smartphone securityeven for the top government official in the countryis, simply put, not a priority. Ditto crafting comprehensive, careful cyber policy and protecting Americans from large-scale data breaches of their personal information. In this administration, cybersecurity is not something to strive forrather it is something to tout loudly each and every time it can be used to justify a controversial or foolish or anti-competitive decision. Cybersecurity concerns are the perfect foil for attacking the Chinese tech industry: These concerns are unassailable in their importance to national security, but theyre based entirely on an invisible body of evidence made up of classified intelligence that none of us can ever be told about. Advertisement The sheer hypocrisy of arguing that Huawei phones sold in the U.S. pose a risk to the cybersecurity of government employees or military personnel while the commander in chief himself openly walks around with an unsecured iPhoneone that may well have been assembled in China itselfis breathtaking. Its a reminder that while cybersecurity risks are important and require serious attention and consideration, they can also be wielded as a weapon to excuse any number of policy decisions made for other reasons. There are real cybersecurity problems right now in the United States governmentincluding an absence of clear leadership on cyber policy in the White House, a woefully lax security regime for the presidents personal devices, and a complete lack of penalties for companies that fail to protect sensitive data collected about their customers. But of course, doing something about these things would be too inconvenient for Trump and his administration to bother. The European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect on Friday, and tech companies around the world are scrambling to make sure their operations comply with the stipulations. The general aim of the GDPR, originally passed in 2016, is to give internet users more control over their data and privacy. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is in fact traveling to Europe this week in part to discuss the new law with regulators. Theres not much to worry about on the user side at the moment. The onus is mostly on companies themselves to react to the GDPR. Nevertheless, here are some questions that you may be pondering as the EU rolls out the regulations. Advertisement What exactly does the GDPR mandate? There are a host of new requirements rolled into the GDPR. Companies will now have to report data breaches within 72 hours and allow people to access the private data that has been gathered on them and find out how its being used. Users also have the right to be forgotten, allowing them to demand that companies remove certain personal information from the internet, and the right to opt out of sensitive data collection. The GDPR further broadens the definition of personal data to include locations, browsing history, IP addresses, and other information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do the regulations apply to companies and people outside the EU? If a company processes EU citizens data, then it has to comply with the GDPR even if it isnt based in a European country. That means most major tech companies with international operations, like Twitter and Facebook, will have to come into compliance. Advertisement Users outside the EU are not covered under the law in most cases. However, the GDPR protects the traffic of people visiting a European country, even if they are not a citizen of the union. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also said that the company is extending certain rights enumerated in the law to users around the world, though this promise obviously doesnt have the authority of the actual GDPR. How will users in the U.S. be affected? You may have noticed emails flooding your inbox over the last few months from tech companies asking you to accept updates to their terms of service. This is because the GDPR requires organizations to get consent from users before storing and processing personal info. Google, Twitter, Instagram, Square, and other companies are essentially trying to get you to grant them this consent. Most platforms will give you a prompt to accept their new terms of service when you log in in order to obtain your permission, if they havent already. However, CNN reports that some organizations are threatening to remove users from mailing lists if they dont actively give their consent, so it might be worth reading through those newsletters in your inbox. Advertisement Advertisement How will are companies changing their services? Companies will likely be asking for consent to collect your information more often, which could mean that youll need to complete more click to proceed boxes. Youll also see that platforms like Slack and Facebook are adding more tools to check what data theyve collected on you. Advertisement There have also been reports of companies shutting down or restricting their operations in response to the GDPR. The Verve, Brent Ozar, and Unroll.Me have all announced that they will no longer be serving EU residents. Klout, a platform that gives people scores based on their social media influence, is shutting down on May 25, which suggests that it didnt want to have to disclose the kinds of data it was gathering. The online games Super Monday Night Combat and Loadout are also closing shop in part due to the GDPR. Advertisement What are the penalties under the law? The financial toll is steep for companies found to be violating the GDPR. The fine is either 20 million euros (approximately $24 million) or 4 percent of global revenue for the year, whichever is higher. As Ars Technica points out, that could mean a maximum fine of $500 million for Facebook and $2.5 billion for Google. Advertisement Is the U.S. planning to do something similar? The U.S.s data privacy laws are much laxer than the GDPRs. Congress is currently considering the Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act of 2018, which has stipulations similar to those in the GDPR like the 72-hour window for reporting data breaches. Several lawmakers asked Zuckerberg during his congressional hearing in April whether the protections in the GDPR should be adopted in the U.S. Zuckerberg in general seemed to imply that such a move would be unnecessary since Facebook has promised that all the same controls will be available around the world. Last week, a Facebook post shared by Americas Last Line of Defense claimed that undocumented immigrants were queuing up to vote in Battsville, Arizona. But the image in the post was actually taken from a news report highlighting election voting in Mexico, and the town referenced in the post does not actually exist. It was just another example of fake news stories that have circulated online recently in the United States with the aim of spreading disinformation and stoking societal tensions. Although disinformation and fake news have existed in societies around the world for hundreds of years, the digital landscape has magnified their potential for impact. So where do we go from here? Advertisement On May 10, Future Tense, a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University; New Americas Education Policy Program and Open Technology Institute; and the First Amendment Coalition hosted a two-panel conversation that explored how policymakers, companies, and users can fight the growing threats of misinformation and fake news. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first segment of the event focused on what role, if any, technology companies should play in moderating online speech that is considered falsified. For instance, Cambridge Analytica improperly acquired information about Facebook users so it could target potential votersoften with fake news and disinformation campaigns. As a result, policymakers have called on companies to ramp up their efforts to police falsified content on their platforms. Most companies, however, have shied away from adopting responsibility for determining what forms of speech are legitimate and which are fake news. Facebook, for example, partnered with a number of fact-checking organizations that verify content for them. Instead of removing this questionable content, Facebook flagged it as potentially unreliable. However, Facebook has recently adjusted this approach, after finding that it actually resulted in users sharing this content more. Advertisement If companies were to begin policing content on their platforms based on concerns that they are falsified, it could lead to serious problems. Kevin Bankston, the director of the Open Technology Institute, pointed out that a large amount of the information that the mainstream media and online users alike call fake news is really political opinion deployed in a difficult way. Encouraging internet platforms to censor such content could raise serious concerns about freedom of speech and expression online, a perspective that is often overlooked in discussions of disinformation and fake news. Advertisement Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbergs recent testimony in Washington, D.C., demonstrated that policymakers are becoming increasingly skeptical of the powers major internet platforms wield. However, they are simultaneously also encouraging these companies to utilize these powers in order to tackle issues such as fake news. Going forward, Bankston urged these companies, which act as the private managers of our online speech, to demonstrate increased transparency on how they are managing online speech, and to provide users with greater due process in this space. Advertisement Advertisement Social media platforms may play an integral role in combating fake news and disinformation, but technical solutions alone cannot solve this issue. During the second panel of the event, the speakers emphasized that consumers also need to better educate themselveswhich will require media literacy programs that, among other things, help people discern the fake from the legitimate. During the panel, An-Me Chung, a senior fellow at the Mozilla Foundation, urged schools to focus on teaching students critical thinking skills (The Education Policy Programs Lisa Guernsey has written for Future Tense about how schools can integrate media literacy lessons in the classroom.) Chung stressed that there are significant equity and access issues that need to be considered when designing and implementing these literacy curricula at large. Currently, only some schools are engaging in digital and information literacy education. These are often also the schools that have greater access to technology and related resources. But it seems that many Americans are still in denial about these issues, which only serves as a further testament to why we need to raise awareness about these issues and potential solutions. This will undoubtedly be an uphill battle, but it is also a necessary one. Watch the full event on the New America website. Over 12 percent of Slovaks threatened by poverty in 2017 The EU statistics evaluated the income and living conditions of member states, including Slovakia. Font size: A - | A + A total of 650,000 Slovaks (12.4 percent of the population) were threatened by poverty last year, the TASR wrote on May 21. It quoted the Statistics Office chairman Alexander Ballek who presented data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU SILC 2017). Compared to the previous year, there was a decline of 0.3 percentage points, or 20,000 people, TASR wrote. The income poverty profile and the development of poverty risk as the main indicators are stable, Ballek noted. Particularly stressed must be the high level of regional disparity, he added. Regional disparities Inhabitants of the Bratislava region have the lowest poverty risk (4.6 percent), but in the east of Slovakia the threat is three times as high 18.1 percent in the Presov Region and 15.5 percent in the Kosice region. The poverty risk threshold for a single-person household is just under 360 a month, for a household with two adults and two children under 14 years it is 750 per month, general director of the Statistics Offices demography department, Ludmila Ivancikova, told TASR. Three regions in western Slovakia are under the national poverty risk threshold, and the situation is stabilising in central Slovakia, but has been deteriorating in the east of the country, said Ivancikova, specifying that the poverty risk threshold is rising and the proportion of people living below it is decreasing. Indexes changing In terms of material deprivation and poverty, 34.6 percent of the population have a problem dealing with unexpected expenditures, said head of the department of statistics on living standards, Robert Vlacuha. The threshold for income poverty is now 4,310 a year, increasing by 139 year-on-year. The position on the labour market impacts the poverty risk the most, with the unemployed at the highest risk (49.5 percent, a rise in 1.5 percentage points p.p. against the previous year). Families with three and more dependent children (35.4 percent) and single-parent families (37.3 percent) were threatened the most, the Sme daily wrote. As for age, children under 18 are the group with the biggest poverty risk. The indicator of income poverty in individual countries is calculated in relation to their due national poverty limits, statisticians point out. 22. May 2018 at 22:43 | Compiled by Spectator staff Russia is no threat for the intelligence service The Slovak Information Service was vague once again this year, failing to mention several important events. Font size: A - | A + The Slovak Information Service (SIS) intelligence agency highlighted its annual report the mismanagement of EU funds and the scandals of state officials, but did mention the corruption at top political positions. Moreover, it failed to write about the connections between politics and the mafia or the murder of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, as it happened this year, the Dennik N daily reported. The report is vague In its report, which was discussed in parliament, SIS generally enumerated the corruption cases it pointed out last year, such as the underpriced value of the medical facility owned by the state sold to a private company. It also informed about the case when a former state employee asked for a bribe from a subject active in agriculture to secure the prolongation of the lease of land, or that the organised crime figure from eastern Slovakia tried to acquire the plot rental through fraud and threats. While it is not very specific, the revelations are reminiscent of the recent complaints of farmers from eastern Slovakia: the state is taking the plots they rent and giving it to dubious businesses, Dennik N wrote. At the same time, SIS informs that some police officers, who are helping smugglers of drugs, cigarettes and migrants, are corrupt. They inform mafia about planned raids against the organisation in exchange for other information. SIS also writes that there are risks with mismanagement of the state property when completing the construction of big energy projects co-financed by the state. However, it failed to specify the projects. Another area it pointed to are frauds with EU funds. It writes that the money was drawn fictitiously or based on overpriced works. This concerned the subsidies to support research and development projects, the projects to support countryside and subsidies to reduce the energy difficulty of public buildings, the report reads, as quoted by Dennik N. SIS also informed about suspicions that there is a fraudulent drawing of subsidies to the disposal of environmental burdens. Tax evasions The intelligence agency monitored the frauds with VAT, alcohol, cigarettes and mineral oils, too. These frauds are committed mostly by international networks of fraudsters connected and cooperating with companies that are active in several countries, which makes the revelation and substantiation of their criminal activities harder, the report reads, as quoted by Dennik N. Corrupted tax officers play a role in fraud, according to SIS. SIS also wrote about obtaining information on perpetrators of murders and the people who order them, as well as incidences blackmailing, women trafficking, drug and weapon trades and the hiding places of mafia members. As for drugs, Slovakia is a transit country, according to the report. The local organised crime is eliminated, SIS claimed, explaining they dealt mostly with the establishment of foreign groups in Slovakia. Another problem it pointed to is the increasing number of crimes committed by foreigners. The intelligence agency also proposes to change the legislation concerning weapons as there is a high risk of their abuse if they are re-made, Dennik N wrote. No threat of terrorist attack Similarly to 2016, Slovakia faced no threat of terrorist attack in 2017. As a result, SIS describes us as a safe country. The main threats for European states are the Islamic State and returnees from Syria and Iraq. SIS also writes about the steep increase and higher intensity of radicalisation of second- and third-generation Muslims, as well as Europeans who have converted to Islam and vulnerable, frustrated young Muslims born in Europe. The intelligence agency has been cooperating with foreign partners in several special operations. It also wrote that the number of illegal migrants is decreasing and Slovakia is only a transit country for them. Still, SIS continues monitoring them, according to the report. There is nothing concrete about far-right extremists. It only writes some of them are fighting in Ukraine. As for Russia, it does not describe the country as a threat. There are some foreign intelligence services active in Slovakia, but SIS does not specify them. It also mentions the hybrid war, but without any details, Dennik N wrote. 22. May 2018 at 23:11 | Compiled by Spectator staff Slovaks throw away more than 100 kg of food One way to stop this trend is to change shopping behaviours. Every fifth Slovak admits that they waste food. An average person throws away 111 kilograms of food a year. The Agriculture Ministry warns that wasting food also wastes natural resources, as well as people and their energy. It is not only irresponsible towards the environment, but also immoral towards people who cannot afford quality food, Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matecna said, as quoted in a press release. Its time for us to change our consumer behaviour fundamentally. Young and middle generations dispose of food In the list of countries that waste food the most, Slovakia ranks eighth. The survey carried out by the AKO agency for the Agriculture Ministry found around 23 percent of Slovaks admit they throw away the leftovers. Nearly half of respondents say they try to use the leftovers for further cooking or give them to animals. One-third of respondents say they do not throw away any food. The survey suggests that mostly people aged 23-49 years are wasting the most food. The share of wasting in households is increasing together with education and income. Slovaks mostly dispose of bread and baked goods (35 percent), while 29 percent throw away the cooked food leftovers. When asked why they have leftovers, up to 74 percent of respondents said they cooked more than they ate. In 34 percent of cases, the food deteriorated or its date of consumption expired. Change necessary Regarding the excessive waste of food, there is a question of how to change this trend, Matecna said, as quoted in the press release. People need to think about what they are buying and how much. It is better to go shopping more often and buy less products, she added. We will not only avoid needless food waste, but also save money and have fresher products at home, the minister added. 22. May 2018 at 23:15 | Compiled by Spectator staff 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 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. WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday slapped steep import duties on steel products from Vietnam that originated in China after a final finding they evaded U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy orders. The decision marked a victory for U.S. steelmakers, who won anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties against Chinese steel in 2015 and 2016 only to see shipments flood in from elsewhere. The industry has argued that Chinese products are being diverted to other countries to circumvent the duties. U.S. customs authorities will collect anti-dumping duties of 199.76 percent and countervailing duties of 256.44 percent on imports of cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate, the Commerce Department said in a statement. Corrosion-resistant steel from Vietnam faces anti-dumping duties of 199.43 percent and anti-subsidy duties of 39.05 percent, it said. The department has said it would apply the same Chinese anti-dumping and anti-subsidy rates on corrosion-resistant and cold-rolled steel from Vietnam that starts out as Chinese-made hot-rolled steel. The duties will come in addition to a 25 percent tariff on most steel imported into the United States that resulted from the Trump administrations Section 232 national security investigation into steel and aluminum imports. Although the steel subject to the latest anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties was processed in Vietnam to be made corrosion resistant or cold-rolled for use in autos or appliances, the Commerce Department agreed with the claims of American producers that as much as 90 percent of the products value originated from China. The global steel industry is struggling with a glut of excess production capacity, much of it located in China, that has pushed down prices. The decision followed a European Union finding in November that steel shipments from Vietnam into the EU also circumvented tariffs. The Commerce Department said that after anti-dumping duties were imposed on Chinese steel products in 2015, shipments of cold-rolled steel from Vietnam into the United States shot up to $215 million annually from $9 million, while corrosion-resistant steel imports rose to $80 million from $2 million. The case stems from a petition filed by U.S. producers ArcelorMittal USA (MT.AS), Nucor Corp, AK Steel Holdings Corp and United States Steel Corp alleging that Chinese producers began diverting their steel shipments to Vietnam immediately after the duties were imposed. Vietnams leading mobile retailer The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World) has for first time had to close as many as six stores in a row this year, whereas its new business in the grocery sector is struggling. The company announced its first-ever store discontinuation in January, before shutting down six other outlets in April alone, according to Jan-Apr business results published on its official website. The report shows that The Gioi Di Dongs revenue in the first four months of 2018 reached VND29,700 billion (US$1.31 billion), up 43 percent year on year and fulfilling 34 percent of the full-year target. In the same period, the mobile retailer posted a total profit of VND1,044 billion ($45.94 million), up 44 percent from a year earlier, making up 40 percent of its target. Following the store closing spree, The Gioi Di Dongs revenue in April dropped five percent from a year earlier to VND2,883 billion ($126.85 million), according to the report. Founded in 2004, The Gioi Di Dong started as a small company with three mobile phone and electronics stores, now holding a network of 1,100 outlets across Vietnam as of the end of 2017, according to the companys website. Throughout 2017, the number of The Gioi Di Dong mobile stores was on the rise every month, with some months even witnessing two stores opened every day. In 2010, the firm separated its electronics business into a new entity, called dienmay.com, and renamed it Dien May Xanh (Blue Electronics) in May 2015. The chain now has nearly 700 outlets countrywide. Customers visit a Thegioididong.com store in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre April sales of the Dien May Xanh topped VND3,776 billion ($166.14 million), up 62 percent over the same period. Dien May Xanh is currently the main source of the corporations revenue. Despite that, The Gioi Di Dong revealed at the latest shareholder meeting on March 16 that the company would not continue to expand the network of its mobile and electronics stores, but to increase sales of the existing shops. The goal is to increase sales of both sectors by five to ten percent each, one company leader said. Analysis reports by two of the world's leading market research institutes AC Nielsen and GFK also indicate that the market for these two sectors in Vietnam has reached the point of saturation. Grocery store chain to blame In late December 2017, The Gioi Di Dong dipped its toe into the pharmaceuticals retail sector by acquiring the Phuc An Khang pharmacy chain and rebuilding the brand under the new name of An Khang. Before this expansion, the company also threw its hat into yet another ring, grocery retailing, through the opening of the Bach Hoa Xanh (Green Department Store) fresh food chain in early 2017. The blame has been put on Bach Hoa Xanh for the recent business results of The Gioi Di Dong. A search on the companys website at the time of writing showed that the company had opened 372 Bach Hoa Xanh venues in 16 districts out of 24 districts in Ho Chi Minh City. Despite the rapid outlet expansion, Bach Hoa Xanh modestly contributed only three percent to the corporations total revenue in the first four months of 2018, with its leaders admitting that the chain is still struggling in the "trial and error" phase. An attendant works at a Bach Hoa Xanh store in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre The Gioi Di Dong said that its grocery chain incurred an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) deficit of about VND60 billion ($2.64 million), prompting the company to close three Bach Hoa Xanh outlets and cancel the opening of seven others. In the wake of consecutive losses, The Gioi Di Dong now looks to open only 500 new locations by this year-end, instead of the previous goal of 1,000 stores, according to chairman Nguyen Duc Tai. This loss-making food chain is the main reason that sent The Gioi Di Dong stock prices (HOSE: MWG) down by more than 20 percent since the beginning of the year. An expert in the retail industry assessed that The Gioi Di Dong can only compete with other grocery stores in management software technology, while having no experience in other important factors such as supply chain and customer management. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnam has seen the ten-year lowest price of shrimp, leading the countrys target of US$10 billion in shrimp export by 2025 to the edge of failure. Concern rises after white-leg shrimp prices in the country have plunged below the cost and sold for VND40,000-50,000 ($1.76-2.20) per kilogram. Previously, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the shrimp industry to strive for an export value of $10 billion by 2025 during a conference on shrimp production held in the southernmost province of Ca Mau in early 2017. The target is now shaking even when only one year has passed since it was set. Vo Thanh Sang, a shrimp farmer in Soc Trang Province in the Mekong Delta, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he would cease raising the shellfish as he had made a loss of VND700 million ($30,800) selling his 14 ponds of shrimp at VND70,000 ($3.08) per kilogram. This is the lowest price in ten years time. Farmers will lose VND10,000 [$0.44] per kilogram, Sang whined. How come I dare to cultivate shrimp again next season, as each pond will produce four to five tons of shrimp, meaning VND40-50 million [$1,760-2,000] in loss. According to Quach Hong Phong, vice-chairman of the My Thanh Shrimp Association in Soc Trang Province, at the current shrimp price, even the best farmers can only manage to break even. Vo Van Phuc, managing director of Vina Clean Seafood, blamed an ample supply of shrimp on the global scale for shrimp price drops. Though the export price of shrimp products has fallen 20 percent, foreign buyers hesitate to purchase, thinking that the rate will get lower, Phuc explained. If overseas purchasers continue mounting the price pressure, both producers and exporters will badly suffer as one party is discouraged to begin the next shrimp farming and the other will face a lack of input materials in the next few months, Phuc anticipated. Compared to other countries including India, Indonesia and Ecuador, the shrimp industry in Vietnam has seen a number of weaknesses in the breeding technology and production process, according to experts. Vietnams shrimp prices and cost are therefore higher than other countries, Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), assessed. What Vietnamese aquaculture businesses need to do is focus on high quality shrimp at high-end prices and increase production of value-added products that we have competitive edges, Hoe concluded. Over the past time, breeds, animal feed and materials for shrimp farming have climbed sharply in price, pushing the cost of shrimp cultivation in Vietnam up and causing challenges in competition. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A short section of a street in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Thap is providing a great background for photo albums to retain the memory of student life and say hello to the summer, thanks to a row of blossoming flamboyant trees along one of its sides. The special road is a four-kilometer stretch of the National Route 80 passing Lap Vo District. The row of flamboyant, or flame, trees in full blossom is immediately followed by a line of giant crape-myrtle, scientifically known as Lagerstroemia speciosa, dividing the pathway into two specifically colored sections, red and violet. With the flowers all blossoming and the 2017-18 academic year coming to an end later this month, local students have flocked to the street for photos. Red flamboyant flowers are pictured against the blue sky in this photo taken in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre Ngoc Diem, a local, said the purple giant crape myrtle flowers, known as bang lang in Vietnamese, were the first to blossom, but the red flame trees were soon to catch up. The flowers have thus enabled the highway section to strip off its mundane form, a normal street lined with houses and filled with vehicles, and reveal another, dreamy, dearly romantic side. At weekends, droves of students flock to the scenic awe to make the most out of their school years memories, in pictures. Among them is Nguyen Thi Minh Thu, a senior at a local high school. Though I have passed this road section countless times, never did I notice its rough gem hiding from plain sight, Thu said. This chance does not come often, and this is my final year in high school, so I might as well take it all in, while I still can. Blossoming flamboyant flowers are seen in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre Pham Huy, a Dong Thap resident, gives some hints for a great photo session. During the day, its best to take photos from 7:00 am to 9:00 am, and again, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, when the sun is not so bright and the temperature is just right, he said. Huy also urged people to start their shooting before it is too late. The blossoms wont last long when the rainy season comes, he said. Two young students in ao dai pose under red flamboyant flowers in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre Next to the endearing blossoms is another no less alluring river, making the experience all the more opulent. Photo: Tuoi Tre A young student in ao dai poses under red flamboyant flowers in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre A young couple wearing school uniforms pose under red flamboyant flowers in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre A young couple wearing school uniforms pose under red flamboyant flowers in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre The section full of giant crape-myrtle flowers next to the row of flame trees. Photo: Tuoi Tre Young people love taking photos among the medium-sized trees, as they can then also include the lovely river flowing lazily behind into the background. Photo: Tuoi Tre The normally vehicle-laden road seems less daunting with the cheerful blossoms hanging by the air. Photo: Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnam on Monday demanded that China cease the activity of its strategic bombers in the formers Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, in the wake of the release of related materials on a Chinese government website. Hanoi requests Beijing to promptly halt its training drills with bombers in the archipelago and stop militarization in the waters of the East Vietnam Sea, said Le Thi Thu Hang, spokeswoman of Vietnams Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The statement followed the May 18 publication of videos and pictures on a website of the Chinese army which showed an H-6K bomber landing and taking off from Phu Lam (Woody) Island in Hoang Sa. The exercises heighten tension, cause regional instability and are prejudicial to the maintenance of a peaceful, stable and cooperative environment in the East Vietnam Sea, Hang said. Chinas activity, she underlined, seriously violated Vietnams sovereignty over Hoang Sa, and runs counter to the fundamental principles on sea dispute settlement on which Vietnam and China have all agreed, and to the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the East Vietnam Sea (DOC). It also adversely impacts ongoing negotiations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on a Code of Conduct for the East Vietnam Sea, she said. Vietnam asks China to respect the agreed principles and declaration. Vietnam has sufficient legal foundations and historical evidence to prove its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa [Spratly] in accordance with international law, she asserted. Earlier this month, Vietnam also required China to withdraw all its military facilities from Truong Sa, following media reports that China had deployed missiles on structures it illegally constructed there. Hoang Sa belongs to Vietnam but China used force to seize it in 1974. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Three vessels from the Indian Navy arrived in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang to commence their friendly visit from May 21 to 25. The three naval ships including frigate Sahyadri, fleet tanker Shakti, and anti-submarine stealth corvette Kamorta, along with their 900 crew members, docked at Tien Sa Port on Monday morning. Led by Rear Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, flag officer commanding the Eastern Fleet, the Indian naval officers are scheduled to stay in central Vietnam for four days. According to the Da Nang Department of Foreign Affairs, the visit is aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two countries naval forces, thus contributing to the maintenance of security and stability in Southeast Asia and the world. Rear Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi (L), flag officer commanding Indias Eastern Fleet, receives flowers from a Da Nang official. Photo: Tuoi Tre During their stay, the Indian officers will meet with leaders of the central hub and visit popular destinations in the city and in Hoi An Ancient Town, located in neighboring Quang Nam Province. They will have sport exchanges with their counterparts from the 3rd Regional Command of the Vietnam Peoples Navy and students of the University of Da Nang. Bilateral maritime exercises will also be carried out during the visit. A ceremony is held at Tien Sa Port to welcome the Indian naval officers. Photo: Tuoi Tre The Sahyadri is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate, measuring 142.5 meters long, 16.9 meters wide, and weighing over 6,000 metric tons. It can reach a maximum velocity of 32 nautical miles, or 59 kilometers, per hour. Its previous trip to Da Nang for a friendly visit was in 2014. Being one of the largest vessels in the Indian Navy, the Shakti is a 175 meter long, 25 meter wide Deepak-class fleet tanker. Meanwhile, the Kamorta is 109 meters long, 13.7 meters wide, and has a displacement of 3,300 metric tons. Fleet tanker Shakti docks at Tien Sa Port. Photo: Tuoi Tre Frigate Sahyadri docks at the port. Photo: Vietnam News Agency Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Here are todays leading news stories: Politics -- Vietnam has requested China to immediately stop sending bombers to conduct drills in the formers Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, Vietnamese Foreign Ministrys spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said during a press conference on Monday. -- Three Indian naval ships including frigate Sahyadri, fleet tanker Shakti and anti-submarine stealth corvette Kamorta, along with 900 crew members, began a four-day friendly visit to the central city of Da Nang on Monday. Society -- Nearly 1,600 metric tons of fish raised along the La Nga River in the southern province of Dong Nai died on Sunday night and early Monday morning, causing immense losses for local residents. Competent authorities are now probing the cause of the mass deaths. -- Five houses were sunk by subsidence along the O Mon riverbank in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on Monday morning, while 32 other homes in the area are facing similar risks. -- Three employees of the National Mental Hospital 2 in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, have been suspended from work for selling expired medicine to a patient on May 16. -- Four people in the north-central province of Nghe An have been hospitalized for emergency treatment after being struck by lightning while sitting in their home on Monday afternoon. -- The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has announced a draft decree highlighting that chairs of provincial Peoples Committees shall be sanctioned or dismissed if they fail to prevent illegal sand mining along rivers in their localities. Business -- Authorities in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan are tightening their management of bird nest farming in the locality by pulling down bird nest facilities that were built against the law or in areas that are not zoned for the purpose. Lifestyle -- A total of 28 documentaries made by Vietnam and European countries will be screened during the ninth European-Vietnamese Documentary Film Festival, which is scheduled to take place from June 8 to 17 at the National Documentary and Scientific Film Studio in Hanoi and Hoa Sen University in Ho Chi Minh City. Education -- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training is expected to pilot the installation of CCTV at kindergartens in District 1, District 12, and Hoc Mon District during the 2018-19 school year. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A Vietnamese man has for the past six years helped a number of fellow-country women trafficked to China return to Vietnam and given information of the victims to their families. Nguyen Van Dung, a native in the northern city of Hai Phong, has lived away from his mother for 25 years since she was sold to China, but he was lucky to meet her in person on several occasions. The personal situation has motivated him to bring back Vietnamese women deceived or forced into entering the northern neighboring country back to their homeland. The 31-year-old recalled that in 1993 he came home from the kindergarten only to discover that his mother and older sister had disappeared. Only later did he and the relatives know that the two had been sold to China along with another villager. Between 1993 and 1999, my family got no news of my mom and sister. In 1999, my mom came back to Vietnam for the first time. She looked gaunt and black, unlike the mother I could remember, he said. She had to move to take care of a child she bore in China, Dung said. After graduating from high school in 2005, he saved money and embarked on multiple trips to find her, but ended up in vain. Three years later he obtained a telephone number of a person living in the same foreign village as his mother, brought over VND300,000 (US$13) and arrived in Guangxi, a Chinese region bordering Vietnam, and called her. The reunion brimmed with mixed feelings, and the mother was much older, thinner and blacker than she was about 10 years earlier. Dung said that the mother suffered many hardships, eating mainly rice porridge and pickled vegetables, wearing well-worn plastic shoes and living near a dusty dirt road. During his subsequent visits to her, Dung met many more Vietnamese women trafficked to China between 1988 and 1993. A Vietnamese woman trafficked to China (C) and her two daughters. Photo: Tuoi Tre He cooperated with a group of journalists from state-run Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC) for a month, before the 2018 Vietnamese Lunar New Year, to find such women in China and persuade them to return to their homeland, with the result that four Vietnamese over 60 years old had a teary reunion with their families after more than 30 years of separation. Dung remained silent and declined to answer questions from newspapers during the entire meeting. He stayed awake the night before the womens trip to Vietnam, worrying that they would not set foot on the country again due to problems with personal documents. Tam Diep, a VTC reporter who worked with Dung, said the greatest hindrance to his effort was that the women felt afraid that they would be cheated for a second time, with some still unwilling to be back even though their relatives directly visited them. Dung said that after the above reunion, many Vietnamese victims sold to China made phone calls to him, asking him to give them a comeback opportunity. They are all old, have neither passports nor ID cards, he said. Bringing them home would be very difficult. But Im happy to see them back. The family of one of the four women who had been brought back the last Lunar New Year lost touch with her since 1988. They built a grave for her, and chose the date of her departure from Vietnam as the death anniversary. Now they know shes still alive. I hope to see many more such family reunions. Out of every ten Vietnamese women I met in China, nine wished to die in the motherland. Although the cause of bringing them back wasnt easy, I hoped to give them each a chance to go back home. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Fish raised in a southern Vietnamese river have unexpectedly died in enormous numbers overnight, wreaking havoc on the business of local farmers. Thousands of tonnes of fish farmed in cages by scores of families died along a two-kilometer-long portion of the La Nga River in Dong Nai Province. Nguyen Van Nghia, a local farmer, said the incident occurred two times, the first starting at around 9:00 pm on Sunday, with the peak reaching at midnight. The other commenced at about 2:00 am the following day and continued well until the morning, Nghia said. From early Monday to the afternoon, multiple trucks parked bumper to bumper on the riverbank while the dead fish were being briskly carried onto them from farming cages. Residents arrived for some purchases, forming a makeshift marketplace. People purchase fish along the La Nga River in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, May 21, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Dead fish lie on the bank of the La Nga River in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, May 21, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Some said they intended to use the dead fish as an organic fertilizer while several others would eat them in their meal. A trader here told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the fish were bought for the production of animal feed, not for human consumption. The fish, including common carps, red tilapia and catfish, fetched a low price, forcing farmers to incur significant losses. A leader from the Dong Nai Department of Natural Resources and Environment said the massive deaths must have been caused by a mixture of muddy runoff from a torrential rain on Sunday evening and alluvial materials flowing downstream. The provincial authorities have taken samples of water in the La Nga River for further examination. They are investigating whether waste from factories along the river is partly to blame. Men carry fish from a boat along the La Nga River in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, May 21, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre A man shoulders a basket of fish along the La Nga River in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, May 21, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Local fish farmers said that fish deaths have occurred frequently over the past ten years, with the toll ranging from dozens to thousands of tonnes each. They were told by the authorities that the causes varied from lack of oxygen in water due to pollution from cane molasses flowing from a companys ruptured molasses tank; a dense population of raised fish; and weather fickleness. In 2016, two fish death instances were reported at the section of the river of the above case and inflicted significant losses on farmers. A common carp is weighed in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, May 21, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre A woman puts a fish into a basket on a boat along the La Nga River in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, May 21, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Sacks of dead fish are loaded onto boats along the La Nga River in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, May 21, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Andrew Denton last night presented his most contentious Interview so far this season when he spoke to Australian energy healer, Charlie Goldsmith. Melbourne-based Goldsmith fronts his own US-produced series The Healer which has screened in Australia on TLC. As the series reveals, Goldsmith was 18 years-old he discovered he had an ability to heal people, including those with chronic injuries, auto immune conditions, viruses, infections, severe body pain, inflammation, allergies and more often taking less than 60 seconds to do so. On Interview he was grilled by Denton as to his medical experience and testing. A lengthy discussion included cases, placebos, payment and producers. Denton took aim at his taking part in a University of Arizona study under the supervision of Professor Gary Schwartz, an art professor in New York who also believes in ghosts and is developing a soul phone to communicate with the dead. What youre claiming to do is mysterious and unknowable and almost impossible to measure and what hes interested in are things that are mysterious, unknown and almost impossible to measure, so hes non-objective observer of what you do. Denton said, Where youre talking and where youre walking are different places. Youre talking you want credible but youre not walking that space. What I like about him the fact that he has spent a large part of his career interested in this area gives him insight into how to test things, now that doesnt make it wrong, said Goldsmith. But Denton disagreed, saying: I would argue it makes him predisposed to show that youre right as opposed to having a scientific, neutral credible method. Updated: Goldsmith expressed disappointment this morning on radio. Kyle is obsessed with @charlegoldsmith's show and believes in it all! pic.twitter.com/YU2XMdrAbV Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo) May 22, 2018 'Why do people need to attack something that helps' @charlegoldsmith pic.twitter.com/Vw0XZMZG8e Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo) May 22, 2018 Via: Who Updated. The Grenfell Tower inquiry opened yesterday and was an emotional event, especially for all the survivors involved. On the 14th June 2017, a devastating fire broke out shortly after midnight in North Kensington and that building was Grenfell Tower. The 24-storey building rapidly set alight and the fire engulfed the building which caused the deaths of 71 people and made hundreds homeless. The death toll was the highest for any conflagration in the UK for more than a generation. The start of the inquiry saw emotional tributes made to those who died within the fire, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, pledged that survivors testimony would be treated as integral evidence in proceedings which could run into 2020. The inquiry begins The inquiry got underway and amongst those who spoke were the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and other family members of those who perished in Grenfell Tower. Perhaps the most poignant moment came when Marcio Gomes, the father of Logan Gomes, who was the youngest victim of Grenfell, stillborn after the mother was in a coma. This was the single biggest failure of the government in the 21st century and it cost the lives of innocent people. Astoundingly, after the conclusion of the opening statement by Sir Martin, the lawyer who had been working closely with the victims, Michael Mansfield QC, stood up and asked if he could raise some issues, however, he was ignored by the judge which resulted in shouts of hello? And rubbish as he left the room. Initially there wasnt going to be a commemoration hearing but through tireless campaigning and with help from lawyers, Moore-Bick agreed to the hearing after there were concerns that their voices would not be heard. Prior to the hearing, it was set out how the fire started on 14th June at around 12.54am in flat 16, which was located on the 4th floor. The fire, which started in the kitchen spread quickly and was in the cladding and reached the top of the tower by 1.29am, by 2.54am all four elevations were alight. It was pointed out to Elizabeth Campbell, leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, by survivor Nabil Choucair, that he remains in temporary accommodation and that 71 people are in the same position as well as 71 other people and accused those caseworkers were not showing compassion and care. This underlines the failures by the authorities 11 months on and their lack of understanding a compassion to get suitable accommodation sorted. Furthermore, since family members were granted core participant status in the probe, many of those who have tried to attend the start of the public inquiry were left unable because Home Office visa delays. One Moroccan, Karim Khalloufi, whos sister died in the fire, was only granted a visa after The Independent had contacted the Home Office. This highlights further Home Office failings and a perceived desire to silence survivors and their family members alike because this is something they could have fast tracked but currently family members of those who died are still waiting on visa applications, leading to uncertainty over whether they will be able to remain in the country for the duration of the inquiry. Corporate manslaughter? BBC Panorama has revealed damning information that could prove corporate manslaughter. The insulation that was used in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower and was the substance that burned out of control, leading to the whole building being engulfed in flames, had never passed safety tests and by law should never had been placed on the building. Panorama discovered that the manufacturer, Celotex, used extra fire retardant in the product that qualified for the safety certificate. This was then sold for public use by the company. The insulation, which is called RS5000, also gives off toxic fumes containing cyanide and it is to be noted that almost all of the 72 people who died, were killed by the fumes. The plastic foam insulation made by Celotex is used in hundreds of other buildings across the country and the company say they are working with authorities but the investigation by the BBC also revealed that they knowingly misled buyers. The safety test that was used by Celotex only showed that the insulation could be used on certain new builds when it was combined with a specific fire-proof cladding panel, however, the way in which Celotex marketed the product, suggested that it was usable with other cladding panels as well. They were repeatedly warned about the marketing but refused to do anything about it because it would lose them profit, Incidentally, in 2012 Celotex were bought out by Saint-Gobain, a French multinational that produces construction and high-performance material, and one of their investors are Blackrock, the same one that employs former chancellor, George Osborne. Celotex have expressed their deepest sympathies and as previously mentioned, claim they are co-operating fully with the inquiries. Like the great (actor-wrestler) Jake The Snake Roberts once said, If you plant grass you grow grass, if you plant rice you grow rice, if you plant fear then fear will grow. This is the mindset of the greatest villain in the episodic SOAP opera right now. Pat Phelan is an evil genius, to say the least. He has the ability to manipulate and play people like a puppet. And that is all we need to know when discussing the mistake that Gary made. Gary's mistake, Pat's opportunity What will you do if you see a serial killer on the loose? Would you dare to attack them? Call the authorities? Upon tracking Pat Phelan in a secluded park in Wales, Gary has decided to take matters in his own hands. He firmly believes that he can outsmart the serial killer. Based on the trailers, Pat Phelan is not aware that Gary is watching him, or is he? Garys character is considered as impulsive to the extent of recklessness. He is aware of the danger, but he chooses to make a move. On the other hand, Eileen has been pestered by a series of calls which is making her restless. She has an idea who it might be calling but she's trying her best to ignore her feelings. Until she heard the voice from her past. Eileen was visibly shaken when she heard the voice of her ex-husband, Pat Phelan. This is now the beginning of his reign of terror. This Friday, we will be able to see what Pat has planned throughout the time everybody thought he was dead. David and Shona The hour-long episode also includes Davids desolation. David finally appeared in his court hearing and to his surprise, his case was suspended. With that said, David didnt waste time in going back home to fix some loose ends. He will be dumbfounded once he realises that Shona is now determined to continue his task. Shona will have a better understanding of the case, urging David to report to the authorities. Knowing David, he might not accept Shonas advice. However, this could be the turning point that he has been waiting for. Zeedan Leaving Elsewhere, Rana and Kate will be questioned by the police about the attack. Although Phil doesnt remember most of what happened, he did describe his attacker as an Asian male. Instead of identifying the attacker, Rana and Kate acted like they didnt know anything. Zeedan felt bad for his wrongdoings which made him decide to leave the vicinity. Few fans believe this is the finish of this storyline. Some are hinting that there's a more devious plan right after his attack on Phil. A Carrefour logo is seen on a Carrefour Hypermarket store in Montreuil, near Paris, France, February 5, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau PARIS (Reuters) - French retailer Carrefour has not found buyers for 227 of 273 former DIA stores in France it plans to sell, putting them at risk of closure after June 4, a spokesman for the company said on Monday. The stores are part of a network of 600 stores Europe's largest retailer bought from Spain's Dia in 2014, but has said it plans to sell or close the underperforming stores mostly in north and eastern France from its scope by the end of 2018. Carrefour reported a full-year net loss of 531 million euros (465.4 million pounds) in February after non-recurring charges of 1.3 billion euros tied to impairments in Italy and assets linked to the former DIA stores. The spokesman, confirming reports about the stores in French media, said out of 273 stores it had planned to sell, it had received firm or indicative offers for 46 stores. He said the company would help the 2,100 employees concerned by the 273 DIA shops to find new jobs within the Carrefour. (Reporting by Pascale Denis; Writing by Bate Felix. Editing by Jane Merriman) Dukha reindeer herder Erdenebat Chuluu rests on a stick as he travels with his animals to visit neighbours near the village of Tsagaannuur, Khovsgol aimag, Mongolia, April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Thomson Reuters By Thomas Peter and Natalie Thomas TSAGAANNUUR, Mongolia (Reuters) - Erdenebat Chuluu, a nomadic herder, shouts words of encouragement to the reindeer he is riding. Chu!, Chu!, he calls, as he urges the animal out of a cedar wood and onto a plain in the southern reaches of the Mongolian Taiga, a predominantly forested area some 200 km from the nearest paved road. Once in the open, the beast and its rider gingerly step over fallen trees and navigate creeks of melted snow, seemingly oblivious to a late winter chill. Chuluu has lived all his life in the centuries-old tradition of his Dukha ancestors, renowned for their reindeer-herding and hunter-gathering skills in the forests of the rugged Sayan Mountains straddling the Russian border. But the Dukha fear they are losing their identity in the face of a conservation order by the government that bans unlicensed hunting on most of their traditional land. (Click https://reut.rs/2KHuORW to see a package of pictures.) Reindeer outdo horses in this steep and snowy terrain and have allowed the Dukha to evade many of the upheavals that have historically afflicted people in the lowlands, from Genghis Khan to Communism. Chuluu's people, around 280 of them, are spread out across 59 households, about a day's ride from the village of Tsagaannuur. "It's our will to maintain the tradition of herding the reindeer in the same way as our ancestors did," Chuluu told Reuters in April. In 2012, Mongolia's government designated the majority of the Dukha's traditional herding grounds as part of a national park in an attempt to protect an eco-system ravaged in the preceding couple of decades. During that period, a Soviet-era quota system for hunting, which had provided a living for people like the Dukha and maintained wildlife numbers, broke down. The Dukha and other locals began to aggressively hunt animals like moose and red deer for the Chinese market, seriously depleting their numbers. Story continues Now, the government pays the herders a monthly handout to compensate for the hunting ban, but many Dukha feel they have lost half of their identity. The hunting tradition has always defined a man in the Taiga, said Chuluu's neighbor. "It feels like we've lost something because we can't move to whichever area we like in this land, which has been handed down to us from our ancestors," said Naran-Erdene Bayar, 26. The head ranger of the National Park, Tumursukh Jal, grew up in the area and knows the Dukhas history well. He insisted they must follow the law. "It's not about Dukha or Mongolian, it's about people illegally hunting," he said. Meanwhile, on the Taiga, herders release hundreds of reindeer from a pen to graze. After lifting the beams of the hold, the herd pours into the clearing and the animals, snouts nuzzling the snow-covered ground in search of moss, disappear from view as the evening light fades. (Reporting by Thomas Peter and Natalie Thomas; Additional reporting by Munkhchimeg Davaasharav in ULAANBATAAR; Editing by Ryan Woo and Neil Fullick) See Also: U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks at the Milken Institute's 21st Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. April 30, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Thomson Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump offered Senator Bob Corker the chance to be the U.S. ambassador to Australia, but the Republican lawmaker, currently chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Monday he turned the position down. "At the end of the day, I just felt like it wasn't the right fit and I still had work to do in the Senate," Corker told Reuters in a telephone interview. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by G Crosse) See Also: Lusaka - 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". LISTEN TO THE SONG HERE: 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 (R37 584) 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". Bernard Lewis, a prolific Middle East scholar whose insights on Islam illuminated debates on the region's conflicts, has died. He was 101. Lewis died Saturday at an assisted living facility in Vorhees Township, New Jersey. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him "one of the great scholars of Islam and the Middle East in our time." "I will always feel privileged to have witnessed firsthand his extraordinary erudition and I gleaned invaluable insights from our many meetings over the years," Netanyahu said in a statement Monday. "Professor Lewis's wisdom will continue to guide us for years to come." In hundreds of articles and more than 30 books, Lewis established himself as one of the world's foremost experts on Islam, bringing a dose of antiquity to discussions of jihadism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the nuclear threat of Iran, and expanding consciousness of the historical roots of those problems. He was among the leading proponents of the idea of "a clash of civilizations" between Christianity and Islam as a major source of post-Cold War conflict. Lewis argued the roots of the battle lay in the similarities at the core of the two faiths, distinguishing them from other major religions. "You had two religions with this shared ideology living side by side," he told NPR in 2012. "Conflict between them was inevitable." Well into his 80s, Lewis rocketed unto best-seller lists and became an in-demand television commentator with an aptly-timed volume completed just before the 9/11 attacks, "What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East." Former Vice President Dick Cheney said of Lewis in 2006: "You simply cannot find a greater authority on Middle Eastern history." And in a statement Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Lewis "a true scholar and a great man" who "was a hard-nosed defender of democracies around the world." Story continues Still, the scholar's work often sparked controversy, including a long-running feud with the late academic Edward Said of Columbia University, who seethed with disdain for Lewis, whom he called emblematic of a patronizing Western perspective of superiority over the Middle East and beyond. Decades of discord between Lewis and Said bubbled into an epically highbrow throw-down in The New York Review of Books in 1982, with the Palestinian-American Said citing his nemesis as having an "extraordinary capacity for getting everything wrong" and accusing him of "suppressing or distorting the truth." Lewis, born in Britain in the midst of World War I, responded calling Said's comments as "an unsavory mixture of sneer and smear, bluster and innuendo, and guilt by association." Lewis drew controversy, too, in his rejection of labeling the Armenian holocaust a genocide, a stance that led to objections over him being awarded the National Humanities Medal by President George W. Bush. His association with Bush and Cheney led some to label him the intellectual father of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Lewis rejected that view as "nonsense" and claimed he opposed the war, though he authored a 2002 article headlined "Time for Toppling" in The Wall Street Journal that argued: "A regime change may well be dangerous, but sometimes the dangers of inaction are greater than those of action." ___ Associated Press writer Aron Heller in Jerusalem contributed to this report. See Also: moon NASA/LRO SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China launched a relay satellite early on Monday designed to establish a communication link between earth and a planned lunar probe that will explore the dark side of the moon, the official Xinhua news agency said. Citing the China National Space Administration, Xinhua said the satellite was launched at 5:28 a.m. (2128 GMT Sunday) on a Long March-4C rocket from the Xichang launch center in the southwest of the country. "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," Xinhua quoted Zhang Lihua, manager of the relay satellite project, as saying. It said the satellite, known as Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge, will settle in an orbit about 455,000 km (282,555 miles) from earth and will be the world's first communication satellite operating there. China aims to catch up with Russia and the United States to become a major space power by 2030. It is planning to launch construction of its own manned space station next year. However, while China has insisted its ambitions are purely peaceful, the U.S. Defense Department has accused it of pursuing activities aimed at preventing other nations from using space-based assets during a crisis. NOW WATCH: We spoke to Cookie Monster about bitcoin, cookies, and self-regulation See Also: More than 2,000 internally displaced people were affected by flooding at a Protection of the Civilians (POC) site in Bor, South Sudan, the UN said on May 21. UN authorities at the site said they were concerned about the possibility of water-borne diseases spreading due to the flooding. Rainy season in South Sudan generally begins in May and often lasts until November. The UN said that it expected more flooding in the region. Credit: UNMISS via Storyful By Terray Sylvester PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - Hawaii faced a new hazard on Sunday as lava flows from Kilauea's volcanic eruption could produce clouds of acid fumes, steam and glass-like particles as they reach the Pacific, authorities said. Civil defence notices cautioned motorists, boaters and beachgoers to beware of caustic plumes of "laze" formed from two streams of hot lava pouring into the sea after cutting across Highway 137 on the south coast of Hawaii's Big Island late on Saturday and early Sunday. The bulletins also warned that reports of toxic sulphur dioxide gas being vented from various points around the volcano had tripled, urging residents to "take action necessary to limit further exposure." Laze - a term combining the words "lava" and haze" - is a mix of hydrochloric acid fumes, steam and fine volcanic glass specks created when erupting lava, which can reach 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,093 degrees Celsius), reacts with sea water, Hawaii County Civil Defense said in a statement. "Be aware of the laze hazard and stay away from any ocean plume," the agency said, warning that potential hazards include lung damage, as well as eye and skin irritation. Under Sunday's conditions, with strong winds and copious amounts of lava hitting the ocean, the laze plumes could extend as far as 15 miles (24 km), mostly along the coast and offshore, though the hazard would diminish the farther out to sea it blows, according to USGS geologist Janet Babb. Authorities cautioned, however, that wind patterns can change abruptly. The U.S. Coast Guard was "actively monitoring" the area to keep away all vessel traffic except permitted tour boats, the civil defence office said. Laze killed two people when a lava flow reached the coast in 2000, and even a wisp can cause eye and respiratory irritation, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Acid rain from laze has corrosive properties equivalent to diluted battery acid, the agency said. Story continues The section of coastal Highway 137 and a nearby a state park in the area where lava was pouring into the ocean were both closed, and another road in the vicinity was restricted to local traffic as a precaution due to elevated levels of sulphur dioxide gas. An air quality index for Kona, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of the eruption site, was at "orange" level, meaning that older individuals and those with lung problems could be affected. EARTHQUAKES, ASH ERUPTIONS Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, began extruding red-hot lava and sulphuric acid fumes through newly opened fissures on the ground along its eastern flank on May 3, marking the latest phase of an eruption cycle that has continued nearly nonstop for 35 years. The occurrence of new lava-spewing vents, now numbering at least 22, have been accompanied by flurries of earthquakes and periodic eruptions of ash, volcanic rock and toxic gases from the volcano's summit crater. The lava flows have destroyed dozens of homes and other buildings, ignited brush fires and displaced thousands of residents who were either ordered evacuated or fled voluntarily. The volcano has also fed a phenomenon called vog, a hazy mix of sulphur dioxide, aerosols, moisture and dust, with fine particles that can travel deep into lungs, the USGS said. On Saturday, authorities reported the first known serious injury from the eruptions - a homeowner whose leg was shattered by a hot, solid lumb of lava called a "lava bomb" while standing on the third-floor balcony of his home. Mark Clawson, a friend of the victim who did not want his name used, lives near where his friend was staying as caretaker, and heard screaming and saw the harrowing aftermath, he told Reuters. Apparently a fiery 5-pound "lava bomb" about the size of a dinner plate was launched from a fissure about 200 yards from the house, Clawson said. "Most of them (lava bombs) arc high in the air, but every now and again there's one that gets shot like a rifle, more horizontal and that's what happened here," he said. It also started a small fire, which Clawson helped douse. He said doctors had to pick sharp, hardened fragments of lava out of the wound, but the prognosis is good for his friend. With Highway 137 severed, authorities were trying on Sunday to open up nearby Highway 11, which was blocked by almost a mile of lava in 2014, to serve as an alternate escape route. The Hawaii National Guard has warned of additional mandatory evacuations if more roads become blocked. Officials at the Hawaii Volcano Authority have said hotter and more viscous lava could be on the way, with fountains spurting as high as 600 feet (182 meters), as seen in a 1955 eruption. (Additional reporting by Jolyn Rosa in HONOLULU, Ian Simpson in WASHINGTON, and Steve Gorman in LOS ANGELES; additional writing by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Sandra Maler and Matthew Mpoke Bigg) President Donald Trumps personal attorney reportedly made up his claim that the special counsel investigating Russias election interference planned to end his inquiry into possible obstruction of justice by the president on September 1. Rudy Giuliani, who has represented the president for the last month during which he has given numerous interviews in defense of Trump, told The New York Times on Sunday that Muellers investigators laid out a timeline to him of how the probe would progress while discussing a potential interview of the president. But an unnamed source familiar with the probe told Reuters that Giulianis claim was entirely made-up and another apparent effort to pressure the special counsel to hasten the end of his work. Trending: White Woman Allegedly Pulls Gun On Mexican-American Man For Driving In Her Neighborhood The source also defended Muellers work, adding: Hell wrap it up when he thinks hes turned over every rock, 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, not on some arbitrary, first-of-the-month deadline one of the presidents attorneys cooks up. Giulianis comments published Sunday were the latest in a series of attempts to cast doubt on the credibility of Muellers team and its investigation. The former New York City mayor also said he wanted any obstruction of justice case to focus squarely on the word of the president against that of former FBI director James Comey. We want the concentration of this to be on Comey versus the presidents credibility, and I think we win that and people get that, Giuliani told The Times. Don't miss: Marvel Unveils Fantastic Four #1 Variant Covers Comeys firing by Trump on May 9 last year led to Muellers appointment eight days later by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Comey has publicly asserted he believed Trump tried to interfere in the FBIs investigation when the president asked if Comey could let go of a case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Story continues Giulianis latest claim came the same day that Trump demanded the Justice Department investigate whether the FBI or DOJ had infiltrated or surveilled his campaign for political purposes and if any Obama administration officials were involved in such an effort. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek As Hawaii's Kilauea volcano continues to erupt, lava flows have reached the Pacific Ocean, prompting local authorities to issue warnings of a potentially deadly new hazard. Hawaii County's Civil Defense (HCCD) agency published bulletins on Sunday asking residents living to the east of the summit to beware of "laze"a combination of toxic hydrochloric acid fumes, steam and fine volcanic glass-like particles, which is formed when hot lava hits the ocean. On Saturday and Sunday, two separate streams of lava ran into the sea, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), severing Highway 137, which runs along the south east coast of Hawaii's Big Island. Sections of road in the vicinity of the lava flows and the local MacKenzie State Park have now been closed as a precaution. Trending: New U.S. Coin Features North Korea's 'Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un' and President Donald Trump Even small quantities of lazea term formed by mixing the words "lava" and "haze"can cause damage to the lungs and irritate the skin and eyes. In 2000, laze caused the deaths of two people in Hawaii, the USGS said. "Be aware of the laze hazard and stay away from any ocean plume," the HCCD warned in a bulletin. "Laze plume travels with the wind and can change direction without warning. Health risks are present both landside and on the water. The U.S. Coast Guard is actively monitoring the area," the agency said. "Only permitted tour boats are allowed in the area." Kilaueawhich rises 4,190 feet above Hawaiis Big Island, making up around 14 percent of its total areais one of the worlds most active volcanoes. It has been eruptingin some formon a continuous basis since 1983. Don't miss: How To Buy Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding Dress The latest spike in activity began on May 3, when lava and toxic sulfuric acid plumes began pouring and spattering out of newly opened fissures along the volcano's East Rift Zone. This activity has been accompanied by a series of minor earthquakes. Story continues Over the past weeks Kilauea has also spewed out large volcanic rocks from its summit crater, as well as large amounts of ash. In fact, one powerful eruption on Thursday ejected ash around 30,000 feet into the air, prompting warnings for those in the areas where it may fall to stay indoors. The eruptions have also created a phenomenon known as "vog"a combination of water, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, dust and fine particles, which can cause irritation to the lungs, especially in people who suffer from respiratory problems. Most popular: Howard Stern Praises Trump as Great Guest for Rating Ivanka's Attractiveness, Saying 'Anything' in His Mind According to Reuters, local authorities reported the first known serious injury linked to the latest round of eruptions on Saturday after a man was hit in the leg by lava splatter while standing on the third-floor balcony of his home. The impact of the lava shattered his leg from the shin to the foot. So far, the lava flows have destroyed a number of homes and other structures, the Associated Press reports, and has ignited several fires. Thousands of residents who live to the east of the summit have fled or been evacuated by authorities. If the volcanic activity continues to this extent, Hawaiian officials are planning for more evacuations. However, they stress that most of the Big Island and the rest of the state remains largely unaffected by the latest events. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek COLOMBO (Reuters) - Heavy monsoon rains in Sri Lanka have killed five people, prompting authorities to warn against landslides and floods in low-lying areas after spill gates had to be opened across the Indian Ocean island. Lightning killed three people, a landslide a fourth, and the fifth death was the result of a fallen tree, said officials at the country's Disaster Management Centre. The centre's spokesman, Pradeep Kodippili, said flooding has forced the evacuation of people in areas where several rivers are overflowing, while four districts are on "red alert" for possible landslides. "People in those four districts have been cautioned to be vigilant," Kodippili told Reuters. The army has sent more than 100 soldiers with more than 25 boats to tackle the emergency, its spokesman, Sumith Atapattu, told Reuters. May kicks off the monsoon season in Sri Lanka's south, usually the region's wettest time of year, running until September. From November to February, the northwest monsoon also brings the island heavy rain. Heavy rains and intermittent droughts have hit tea, the country's main export crop, which brings in earnings of more than $1 billion. Tea output rose last year for the first time in four years. However, the weather this year has not been harsh enough to affect the stockmarket and companies, brokers said, although firms in the plantation industry could be hit. Growth in Sri Lanka hit a 16-year low of 3.1 percent in 2017, mainly due to a flood that killed more than 100 people and a lengthy drought in some areas. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) See Also: According to the official histories, Adolf Hitler took his own life in a bunker deep below Berlin as his precious empire crumbled above him. Hitlers body, or what was left of it, was never presented by the Allies. As such, many conspiracy theorists believe the dictator was able to slip through the tightening Soviet noose and disappear. Some think the Fuhrer escaped by U-boat to Argentina, while other creative thinkers suggest he found his way to a Nazi base in Antarctica, or even on the dark side of the Moon. A new study, however, has dashed all the conspiracy theories, whether mundane or bizarre. After studying teeth recovered from a shell hole outside the Fuhrerbunker, scientists have concluded that one of history's most reviled figures did in fact meet his end amid the ruins of the Third Reich, AFP reports. Trending: How To Buy Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding Dress RTRDTXW WR/FMS/Reuters 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, Professor Philippe Charlier told the agency. Russian authorities granted Charlier and colleagues access to fragments of Hitlers teeth, which are stored in Moscow. The teeth are authentic, there is no possible doubt. Our study proves that Hitler died in 1945, he said. Hitler bit a cyanide ampule and shot himself simultaneously on April 30, 1945. His wife, Eva Braun, committed suicide alongside him. Nazi soldiers then took the bodies out of the bunker where Hitler had been hiding and burned them in a shallow shell hole, to prevent the Russians from parading Hitlers body after their victory. With the Soviet bombardment pulverizing Berlin around them, the soldiers did not stay to make sure their job was complete. When Soviet SMERSH military intelligence troops arrived at the bunker, they discovered the charred remains of Hitler, Braun and the Fuhrers two dogs. Story continues Don't miss: Howard Stern Praises Trump as Great Guest for Rating Ivanka's Attractiveness, Saying 'Anything' in His Mind Read more: Submarine at center of South America Nazi conspiracy theories finally foundin Denmark The discovery was kept secret and the remains hidden for many years by the Soviet authorities. Some fragments were sent to Moscow, with the rest traveling with SMRESH to a new base in Magdeburg, Germany. There, they were buried in an unmarked grave along with the remains of Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels and his wife and six children. When the Magdeburg facility was handed over to East German authorities in 1970, the Soviets feared the location of the remains could be discovered, turning the base into a neo-Nazi shrine. As such, they were exhumed by Soviet authorities, crushed and thrown into the Biederitz river in eastern Germany. In March 2017 and July 2017, the Russian state archives and FSB security service allowed analysis of what was left for the first time since 1946. GettyImages-618562220 TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images Most popular: Calls Over ADHD Medication Misuse for Children Increased Over 60 Percent In a 15-Year Period The team was also allowed to view a skull fragment bearing a hole on its left side, possibly caused by a bullet. The team was not allowed to take samples from this specimen, but Charlier said it was totally comparable to radiographies of Hitler's skull taken in 1944. Charlier and colleagues found no gunpowder residue on the tooth fragments, suggesting the fatal shot was not fired through the mouth. They also found no traces of meat in the teeth of the dictator, who was famously vegetarian. We didn't know if he had used an ampule of cyanide to kill himself or whether it was a bullet in the head, Chalier said. It's in all probability both. Blue deposits found on Hitlers false teeth could be evidence of a chemical reaction between the cyanide and the denture metal. There were immediately false narratives surrounding Hitler's death. The day after his suicide, Nazi Grand-Admiral Karl Donitz, who became the Reichs second and final chancellor, said in a radio address that Hitler had died fighting at the head of his troops. GettyImages-2641661 Yevgeny Khaldei/Getty Images Indeed, the Soviets themselves helped spread the myth of Hitlers survival, accusing their new Western enemies of harboring the war criminal. That encouraged a variety of theories which grew more fantastical as time went on. The classic story is that Hitler was whisked away to Argentina, along with millions in stolen gold and artwork, aboard the last of the Nazi U-boats. According to this story, Hitler died in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay or Brazil. Some even think he made it as far as Antarctica, where he hid at a secret Nazi base before continuing to South America. In that fantasy, the Allies ended up destroying the base with nuclear weapons in the 1950s. Of course, everyones favorite story is that Hitler lived out his days at a Nazi base on the dark side of the Moon, beating Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the lunar landscape by 24 years. Thankfully, this new research brings all those dreamers back down to earth, assuring the world that Hitler killed himself underground as the Allies approached. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek The issue of Down's syndrome has been front and centre of Ireland's abortion referendum. The No campaign claims prenatal screening teamed with legal abortion would lead to the eradication of people with the condition if the Irish constitution is changed. They point to countries like Iceland, where they suggest the number of foetuses diagnosed with Down's syndrome aborted is close to 100%. In Reykjavik's main hospital, between the 11th and 14th week of the pregnancy women are offered a screening where the foetus is checked for abnormalities. :: 'I had to put my baby's remains in the freezer' :: Mum told to 'pop to England' says 'abortion was not an option' This screening can, among other things, detect whether there is an increased likelihood of the foetus having Down's syndrome. And although the women are not pressured to have this screening, they are urged to do so. Most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes, but people with Down's have an extra copy of chromosome 21, which means they develop differently and have varying levels of learning disability. Some children with Down's have few health problems, but certain medical complications - such as heart, gut, hearing, or thyroid conditions - are more common in people with Down's. Hulda Hjartardottir, chief physician at the maternity ward of the National University Hospital however told Sky News that the 100% figure is being misrepresented. She pointed to statistics that show between 15% to 20% don't undertake screening and where there is an increased likelihood of the foetus having Down's syndrome, again 15% to 20% decided to go ahead with the pregnancy. The result, that children with Down's syndrome are indeed born in Iceland though their numbers, comparative to Ireland are low. Those statistics have led the president of Iceland's Down's Syndrome Association, to fear for the future. "It makes me really sad, as a parent with a girl who has Down's syndrome and as a human being," said Thordis Ingadottir. Story continues "Iceland, is the cradle of equality and women's rights, of feminism and so I am pro-choice, absolutely, but what I'm really against is discrimination." Back in Ireland and some parents like Darach O Seaghdha, whose daughter has Down's syndrome, wishes his child was not part of the campaign. He said: "The emphasis on vulnerable looking children and the emphasis on people with Down's syndrome as victims hasn't been helpful. "I and other parents don't like that this is the only context we see kids like them, I wish they could see more kids like them in cartoons and television shows. "We are as divided on abortion as any other randomly selected group of people." The Irish prime minister has described the campaign as simply wrong. While the health minister, Simon Harris, has also attacked the tactics used: "I think it's quite upsetting. I think it's very upsetting to say to people with Down's syndrome in Ireland that you've only been born in Ireland because of the Eighth Amendment. "The facts don't bear that out. "I think it's actually quite a disgusting thing to say to the parents of children and, indeed, adult children with Down's syndrome. We've specifically excluded disability as a ground in the legislation." Pro-life campaigners though have defended their campaign. Cora Sherlock, from Love Both told Sky News: "The average abortion rate of babies with Down's syndrome throughout the world, not just in Iceland, not just in Denmark, not just in England and Wales where it is 90%, there is a global downwards trend." When asked if the No campaign was pursuing "Project Fear" Mrs Sherlock said: "Am I afraid? About what could come under this proposal, absolutely, I am horrified by it." As this campaign draws to a close, the use of Down's syndrome has proved to be an emotive and difficult one for both sides. But the question facing people on Friday comes down to a simple answer - Yes or No. What is clear is the issues surrounding this vote have proven to be anything but simple. Republican candidate for Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle alongside his wife Nita take the stage to speak to supporters during an election-night watch party in Gainesville, Ga., Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Todd Kirkland ATLANTA (AP) -- The Latest on primaries on Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Texas (all times local): 11:35 p.m. A Democratic candidate who was attacked as too liberal by the national party campaign committee has lost a runoff in the race for a Houston-area House seat that Democrats hope to win from Republicans. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had slammed Laura Moser, accusing her of expressing "outright disgust for life in Texas" because of something she wrote years ago. Moser lost to attorney and former Planned Parenthood board member Lizzie Pannill Fletcher. She will face longtime Republican congressman John Culberson. Fletcher was endorsed by the influential women's group Emily's List. Culberson has been in Congress since 2001, but Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump in the district in 2016, suggesting that he may be vulnerable in November's general election. ___ 11:20 p.m. A former Teach for America executive has been nominated by Democrats to be the next governor of Arkansas. In balloting Tuesday, Jared Henderson defeated Leticia Sanders. Henderson says he wants Arkansas to be the best state for public school teachers. Sanders is a hair braider who wants students to attend the same school from kindergarten to high school. Henderson will face incumbent Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson in November, along with Libertarian Mark West of Batesville. Henderson says he wants high schools and small colleges to provide basic business training to its students. He also opposes Hutchinson's plan to cut the state's top income tax rate. The nonprofit Teach for America was founded in 1989 to recruit teachers for low-income areas. Henderson directed its Arkansas branch. ___ 11 p.m. A Hispanic female ex-sheriff has won a Democratic runoff in Texas to become the first openly gay and first Latina nominated for the state's governor. While Lupe Valdez's victory Tuesday breaks barriers, the 70-year-old former Dallas County sheriff faces long odds of ousting Republican Gov. Greg Abbott this fall. Story continues She defeated the son of a former governor, Andrew White, who pitched himself as a moderate Democrat in deep-red Texas. The runoff generated little enthusiasm among Democrats. Valdez has struggled to raise money and fumbled some questions on policy. Party activists have also attacked her for cooperating with federal immigration agents as sheriff. ___ 10:25 p.m. Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp will face a July 24 runoff for the GOP nomination for governor. Cagle and Kemp beat three GOP rivals in a race characterized by strong support for gun rights and tough talk on immigration. But no candidate got more than 50 percent of the vote as required to win the nomination outright. Cagle garnered national headlines in February when he threatened to kill a tax break benefiting Delta Air Lines because the airline ended a discount program for the National Rifle Association. Kemp made waves with campaign ads including one in which he says he has a "big truck" in case he needs to round up "criminal illegals" himself. The winner of the runoff will face Democrat Stacey Abrams. ___ 10 p.m. Arkansas' governor says his victory in the Republican primary over a challenger who accused him of not being a true conservative means voters rejected "negative voices." Hutchinson defeated a gun range owner, Jan Morgan, in Tuesday's primary. Hutchinson had dwarfed Morgan in fundraising and had touted $150 million in tax cuts he had signed into law since taking office. Morgan had criticized Hutchinson as not conservative enough on several issues, including tax cuts and health care. Hutchinson's win came a day after President Donald Trump endorsed him in the primary. Hutchinson said he believed he was trending toward a win, but the president's endorsement gave him some last-minute momentum in the race. ___ 9:40 p.m. In the Democratic primary in Georgia's gubernatorial race, Stacey Abrams has won to become the state's first female nominee for governor from either major party. If Abrams wins the general election in November, she'll become the first black female governor in the U.S. The former state House minority leader, Abrams beat former state Rep. Stacey Evans in Tuesday's race. Both are Atlanta-area attorneys. The race was characterized by a battle over their legislative records on education. Abrams is a celebrated romance novelist who made economic mobility and affordable health care cornerstones of her campaign. She garnered major party endorsements from Hillary Clinton, congressman John Lewis and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Abrams would succeed Republican Gov. Nathan Deal, who has held the office since 2011 and is term-limited. ___ 9:30 p.m. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has won the Republican primary in his re-election bid, defeating a gun rights advocate and cable news commentator who declared her gun range "Muslim-free." Hutchinson defeated Jan Morgan in the state's GOP primary on Tuesday. Hutchinson, who was first elected in 2014, will face the winner of Tuesday's Democratic gubernatorial primary and Libertarian nominee Mark West in the November election. Hutchinson, a former congressman and federal Homeland Security official, had dwarfed Morgan in fundraising and was generally popular in the predominantly Republican state. Hutchinson had touted $150 million in tax cuts he'd successfully pushed through the Legislature and had proposed a $180 million cut for the state's top earners. ___ 9:10 p.m. A high school math teacher has defeated the majority leader of the Kentucky House of Representatives in the GOP primary, following a wave of education protests at the Kentucky Capitol and elsewhere around the country. Travis Brenda narrowly defeated state Rep. Jonathan Shell on Tuesday to win the nomination for state House District 71. Two years ago, Shell was credited with helping orchestrate the first GOP takeover of the state House in nearly 100 years. But voters turned on him for his role in writing a state law that changed Kentucky's pension system. Brenda credited a groundswell of teacher support and says it sends a message that teachers and public workers won't be silent. Brenda will face Democrat Mary Renfro in November. At least 15 other current and former teachers were on Tuesday's ballot. __ 7:25 p.m. A gay man in eastern Kentucky has lost his bid to challenge a Republican county clerk who went to jail three years ago for denying him and others marriage licenses. David Ermold was seeking the Democratic nomination for county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky. He had hoped to challenge religious conservative Kim Davis. In 2015 Davis said that "God's authority" prevented her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the aftermath of an historic U.S. Supreme Court decision. Ermold lost to Elwood Caudill in a four-way Democratic primary on Tuesday, despite a campaign that raised more than $200,000 with donations from at least 48 states. Caudill will face Davis in the November general election. No one challenged Davis for the Republican nomination. ____ 6:25 p.m. Hillary Clinton is urging Democrats in Georgia to support Stacey Abrams for governor. Clinton recorded a 60-second endorsement used by the Abrams campaign in direct phone calls to Georgia voters. Tuesday's primary ballot election has Abrams facing fellow Atlanta Democrat Stacey Evans. Clinton notes Abrams was the first black woman to serve as House Democratic leader in the Georgia legislature. Clinton also says Abrams has "a proven track record" of supporting public schools, gun safety, voting rights and Medicaid expansion. A victory in the Democratic primary and in the November election would make Abrams the first black woman governor in the U.S. Clinton's message also acknowledges the potential confusion caused by two Democratic rivals with the same first name. Twice, Clinton urges voters to support "Abrams with an 'A.'" __ 6 p.m. Polls in eastern Kentucky have closed on another multi-state primary day ahead of the November midterms. Arkansas and Georgia also are holding primaries. Texas has runoffs after an initial round of voting in March. Georgia Democrats are set to nominate a woman for governor for the first time in state history. Republicans in the state are likely going to have a runoff that some in the party fear could be a harmful turn to the right. Kentucky voters in one county could choose a gay man to run against the clerk who denied him a same-sex marriage license. Texas has Democratic runoffs in three districts that will be key to determining House control in the new Congress. __ 6 a.m. Four states are casting ballots Tuesday as the 2018 midterm elections take shape. Voters in Arkansas, Georgia and Kentucky hold primaries, while Texans settle several primary runoffs after their first round of voting in March. Texans will settle an all-female congressional runoff between liberal activist Laura Moser and Houston attorney Lizzie Fletcher in a Houston-area House race that has become a proxy for the Democratic Party's battle over style and substance. In Georgia, Democrats will tap either Stacey Abrams or Stacey Evans as the state's first female nominee for governor from either major party. Georgia's Republican candidates for governor have engaged in a sprint to the right on everything from immigration to bear-hugging Trump. Meghan Markle became Duchess of Sussex when she said I do to Prince Harry at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle Saturday, but it wasnt the first time she walked down the aisle. Markle used to be married to film producer Trevor Engelson. The two said their nuptials on the beach in Jamaica in 2011 after dating for seven years. Her first wedding dress was much different than the gown Givenchys creative director Clare Waight Keller designed for her. Markle wore a strapless white dress with a V-shaped cutout on the neckline. It was adorned with a bejeweled belt around her waist. In the image obtained by Cosmopolitan, she didnt wear a veil or tiara. Markle and Engelson, who is best known for his work on Robert Pattinsons movie Remember Me, split in 2013. They cited "irreconcilable differences" in the divorce papers. Trending: Marvel Unveils Fantastic Four #1 Variant Covers Five years later, Markles royal wedding dress had a 16-foot veil that was decorated with flowers to represent the 53 countries in the Commonwealth. She wore Queen Marys diamond bandeau tiara, which was borrowed from Queen Elizabeth. As for her Givenchy dress, it had long sleeves and a bateau neck. Though Markle and Prince Harry had a fairytale wedding, there was plenty of drama leading up to their special day. Markles estranged family members did not stop talking to the media in the days leading up to the wedding, with her father ultimately dropping out because he had to have surgery on his heart. Instead of her father, Prince Charles walked Markle down the aisle. Now that the wedding is over, Thomas Markle Sr. would like his family to keep quiet about his daughter and stay out of the media. I pray that Harry and Meghan can go on a nice honeymoon and rest and relax, and all of my relatives will just shut up about everything, he told TMZ Sunday. Don't miss: Man Falls To His Death Inside Terminal At San Francisco International Airport Story continues GettyImages-960173986 Steve Parsons/Getty Images Thomas Markle Sr. watched the ceremony from home, where he was recovering from surgery. He regretted not being there to hold Markles hand. My baby girl is a duchess and I love her so much, he said. "When you watch your child get married, every thought goes through your mind, every memory from the first day she was born, the first time I held her. Markle and Prince Harry delayed their honeymoon to start their official engagements, the Telegraph reported. The Duchess of Sussex plans to fight for feminism with her new platform. Her quote on the monarchys official website says, I am proud to be a woman and a feminist. The site added that Markle has a lifelong commitment to promote social justice and womens empowerment. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Russian and Chinese air defense superiority means that even the most cutting-edge command and control aircraft in the American fleet would be shot down immediately in the event of a war, leaving U.S. forces blind on the battlefield. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense that even with planned upgrades to the planes, Russian and Chinese technology means they would be too easy a target for effective use, the Air Force Times reported. Wilson was discussing the Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft, designed as a flying command and control center able to conduct surveillance and distribute information to troops on the battlefield below. Trending: White Woman Allegedly Pulls Gun On Mexican-American Man For Driving In Her Neighborhood KC-135 refuels F-22, JSTARS Michael Battles/U.S. Air Force The Air Force is at loggerheads with lawmakers who want to replace the aging JSTARS fleet with 17 new aircraft, even though the service doesnt want them. The Air Force wants to push its Advanced Battle Management System plan instead. This program would combine manned, unmanned and space-based platforms to achieve the same level of surveillance, officials said. But the House subcommittee has vowed to limit funding for that plan at 50 percent if the JSTARS program is shelved. Wilson told the subcommittee on Thursday that even the upgraded JSTARS aircraft would be ineffective against Russian and Chinese defenses in the event of war. Russian and Chinese surface-to-air missiles have more range, she explained, and the plane would be shot down in the first day of conflict. Don't miss: Marvel Unveils Fantastic Four #1 Variant Covers The secretary has been consistent on her opposition to continued JSTARS investment, and in February warned, Buying a new version of something that was revolutionary 30 years ago doesnt take us to a more competitive future. Story continues Read more: U.S. war with Russia would leave American forces with no air support in Europe for weeks, expert warns Wilson said there was a middle ground between what the Air Force and lawmakers wanted, but warned it that would be costly. Yes, we could do both, and it costs about $7 billion more than what we propose in our budget, she said. Such an approach would keep the JSTARS platform in operation through to the mid-2020s. The U.S. military is well aware of the potent air defenses available to Russians, and, thanks to a recent deal, to China, too. The S-400 is considered the worlds finest anti-aircraft missile system and gives users the ability to hit enemy aircraft or missiles at a distance of 250 miles and an altitude of over 98,000 feet. Most popular: Man Falls To His Death Inside Terminal At San Francisco International Airport Made up of four missiles of varying ranges and speeds, the most powerful can travel at Mach 15, or 11,509 miles per hour. Only Americas most recent fifth-generation aircraft, such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lighting II jets, are thought to be competitive against such an accomplished weapon. GettyImages-680592096 KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images Last month, China took its first delivery of the S-400 system, doubling the number of potential American rivals fielding the advanced technology. The S-400 makes U.S. military leaders nervous, and they are looking to close the gap. With Russia already working on the S-500 upgrade, the U.S. and its NATO allies will need to work quickly. The weapon will reportedly increase Russias anti-air range to around 373 miles and over 656,000 feethigh enough to hit objects in orbit. Russian technology is even causing rifts within NATO, with Greece considering upgrading its existing S-300 system and Turkey having already agreed a deal to purchase its own S-400s. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Erwin Seba SANTA FE, Texas (Reuters) - Mourners knelt before white wooden crosses on Monday outside the Texas high school where 10 people were killed in the fourth deadly U.S. school shooting this year, an image recalling similar gatherings after February's Florida school massacre. A few dozen people, including student survivors of the attack, family members, chaplains and police, gathered at 10 a.m. outside Santa Fe High School to observe a moment of silence called for by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. In contrast to Florida, where the deaths of 17 teens and educators sparked a youth-led movement calling for new restrictions on gun ownership, the Texas tragedy saw elected officials and survivors alike voicing support for gun rights. Some embraced the idea of arming teachers, a strategy advocated by the National Rifle Association and U.S. President Donald Trump but largely rejected by survivors and parents in Parkland, Florida, after the carnage there. "I'd be comfortable with our teachers having guns," said Tessa Ybarra, 15, a sophomore at Santa Fe High School. "If Ms. T and Ms. Perkins had had guns, maybe they could have protected themselves," she said, referring to Cynthia Tisdale and Glenda Ann Perkins, the two teachers killed on Friday. Abbott, who noted that the 17-year-old accused of the attack appeared to have used weapons legally owned by his father, planned on Tuesday to open a three-day series of roundtable meetings with educators and law enforcement officials on improving school safety. "We need to do more than just pray for the victims and the families," Abbott said on Friday at the school, located about 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Houston, following the attack. He said any changes considered to state laws would "protect Second Amendment rights." The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution enshrines the right to bear arms. Gun rights proponents say it prohibits regulations on gun ownership and argue that enforcement of existing laws should be sufficient to stop violence like the scenes that played out in Santa Fe. Story continues The U.S. Supreme Court has avoided major gun cases for a number of years, leaving in place restrictions on guns enacted by some states. Gun control groups point to the regular toll of shootings across the United States as evidence that more needs to be done to rein in the proliferation of weapons. Abbott said the list of nearly two dozen participants for his meetings includes both supporters and opponents of arming teachers. Mike Collier, a Democrat running for Texas lieutenant governor, expressed scepticism that the talks would bring significant change. "Dozens of Texans have been killed in massacres just six months apart ... and our state leadership feebly announces 'roundtables,'" Collier said, alluding to the fatal shooting in November of 26 people at a church in rural Sutherland Springs. Police arrested Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, at the Santa Fe school following the rampage they said he committed with a shotgun and .38-caliber pistol. He is charged with capital murder of 10 victims - two teachers and eight students, including Pakistani exchange student Sabika Sheikh, 17. Her father, Aziz Sheikh, said on Monday he hoped his daughter's death would spur gun control in the United States. "Sabika's case should become an example to change the gun laws," Sheikh said in a phone interview. SHOTGUN GIVEAWAY Abbott's re-election campaign website on Monday dropped a contest offering donors the chance to win a shotgun, a fund-raising promotion that Texas gun-control advocates criticized as insensitive. Campaign spokesman John Wittman said the contest began on May 1, well before Friday's gun violence, though critics noted the shotgun offer remained posted days after the shooting. "Abbott's decision to continue the raffle was disrespectful to the Santa Fe community," Houston March for Our Lives, a group which is part of the national protest movement that arose from the Florida high school massacre, said on Twitter. Police said Pagourtzis confessed to Friday's killings after he was taken into custody, but they have offered no motive yet for the massacre.Pagourtzis is being held without bond, on suicide watch, at the Galveston County Jail in nearby Galveston, Sheriff Henry Trochesset said. Pagourtzis' family said in a statement it was "saddened and dismayed" by the shooting. February's massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, prompted enactment of a law creating a $67 million statewide fund to train school personnel to carry weapons on the job, though the measure excludes most classroom teachers. Parkland rejected its share of that funding. In Santa Fe, some students were more interested in that idea. Said 18-year-old Kassidy Monroe: "In some cases arming teachers may help." Other students and parents said they supported installation of metal detectors at school entrances. Cindy Evans, 48, whose 15-year-old son attends Santa Fe High, said she felt the solution ultimately lay elsewhere. "Honestly," she said, "I think it starts at home with the parents these days that don't know what's going on with their kids." (Additional reporting Saad Sayeed in Islamabad and Gina Cherelus in New York; Writing by Rich McKay and Scott Malone; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler) The multilateral attack on Bashar al-Assads chemical weapons facilities in Syria after a lethal gas attack in East Ghouta is already fading from memory, but the question it poses remains: how can the spread of chemical weapons across the Middle East be controlled? And answering that question demands scrutiny of the regions most powerful and yet most opaque military power: Israel. Israels chemical and biological weapons programme is shrouded in even greater secrecy than its notoriously opaque nuclear programme. Both the weapons and the secrecy around them are born of the same strategic imperative, namely to limit existential threats to the Israeli state. The programme was initiated under Israels first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, who authorised it only reluctantly. Both he and subsequent leaders were wary of introducing such weapons into the Arab-Israeli conflict, fearing they might trigger a regional arms race. Nonetheless, even prior to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Israel initiated research into unconventional warfare through the HEMED BEIT unit, forefather of the government-controlled Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR). In 2013, after the last set of international efforts to rid Syria of chemical weapons, Foreign Policy magazine published a set of CIA documents from 1983 that revealed evidence Israel had pursued a chemical weapons programme. Suddenly, attention was again focused on the IIBR long suspected of being the research centre behind the Israeli programme. Now, one of the foremost experts on Israels nuclear policy and strategy, Professor Avner Cohen, has seized the opportunity to reiterate that Israel should ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention, which it signed in 1992. Since Israel has never put the treaty into effect, the exact nature of the weapons it has developed and possibly still possesses remains the subject of international speculation. Self-defence and deterrence As Cohen explains, the 1983 CIA documents likely evidence the remnant of a programme developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Around that time, Egypt developed chemical weapons and tested them during the Yemeni civil war. Anticipating Egypts plans as early as 1955, Ben Gurion sought an additional cheap non-conventional capability that could be operationalised if hostilities with Egypt escalated. This capability was probably upgraded and maintained with assistance from France, whose Beni Ounif chemical weapons testing range in the Algerian Sahara was visited by Israeli scientists in the 1960s. Story continues It seems the deterrent effect may have worked in the turbulent years that followed. Despite Israels preparations for chemical assault, experts have suggested that Egypt refrained from using chemical weapons against Israel in the 1967 Six Day War because Egypt feared Israeli retaliation in-kind. Although Israel acceded to the 1925 Geneva Weapons Protocol on February 29, 1969, alongside other countries with chemical stockpiles at the time such as the US, Cohen writes that the contents of its arsenal were considered unsavoury but legitimate retaliatory weapons. Egypt long retained an advanced chemical weapons programme; it provided WMD to Syria in the early 1970s and technological assistance to Iraq in the late 70s and 80s. Saddams Iraq also threatened Israel with chemically armed ballistic missile attacks during the First Gulf War. In this climate, there was little incentive for Israel to forgo its chemical weapons capability. While Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin tried to end Israels chemical ambiguity by signing the Chemical Weapons Convention, the geopolitical realities of the size of neighbouring chemical weapons arsenals meant the Israeli establishment still believed it needed an equivalent capacity to serve as a deterrent. The general consensus today is that while theres little evidence that Israel maintains a chemical weapons stockpile, it retains breakout capacity that is, it could readily mobilise its significant scientific and technological knowledge to restart its programme. A new world Given its superiority in conventional weaponry and nuclear capability, it seems unlikely that Israel would deploy chemical weapons if it were attacked. However, as surrounding nations repeatedly cite this weapons capability as the reason they retain their own chemical weapons, the strategic value of an Israeli arsenal current or potential is clearly dubious. The policy of ambiguity also deprives Israel of badly needed international goodwill. As Cohen highlights, had Israel ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, it would have been able to participate in the recent strikes on Assads weapons facilities and be seen to defend the international norm that these weapons are beyond the pale. Globally, there are fundamental changes to the nature of war and international security. Weapons of mass destruction are giving way to weapons of mass disruption, such as cyberattacks; conventional weapons are being transformed by semi- and fully autonomous weapons. The whole notion of deterrence is being challenged, and so is the military role of high technology. In some ways, Israel is more than ready for this. It continues to live up to Ben Gurions vision that science could compensate for what nature had denied, rapidly developing capacity in robotic technologies, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. If this really is the path to security dominance in the 21st century, Israel may no longer have a need to maintain the rumours of limited and less efficient chemical weapons, and would do well to just put it all out in the open. Perhaps the regional and domestic situation will at some point settle down sufficiently that Israel and its neighbours can start talking about making the Middle East a WMD-free zone. But until then, the question of whether Israels policy of ambiguity is more of a hindrance than a deterrent remains open. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. The Conversation Melanie Garson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday called on the Venezuelan government to "hold free and fair elections" after President Nicolas Maduro was re-elected in a vote widely condemned overseas. "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," Trump said in a statement. Earlier, Trump signed an executive order putting in place new economic sanctions aimed at preventing U.S. citizens from being involved in the sale of Venezuela's accounts receivables related to oil and other assets. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by David Alexander) Voice control gadgets such as Amazons Alexa, Googles Home or Apples Homepod are becoming increasingly popular, but people should pause for thought about advances in machine learning that could lead to applications understanding different emotions in speech. The CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, recently said that 20% of the companys searches are initiated by voice via mobile phones. And, at the end of 2017, analysis of the US market suggested that a total of 44m Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices had been sold. The technology has increasingly impressive abilities to recognise words, but as an expert on acoustics it is clear to me that verbal communication is far more complex. How things are said can be just as important as the words themselves. When someone says Im alright, the tone of their voice might tell you their mood is the opposite to what they claim. Voice control gadgets, also known as smart speakers or virtual assistants, can be frustrating to use because they only pay attention to the words, and mostly ignore how speech is expressed. Tech giants hope that the next frontier for devices, such as Amazon Echo, will be to detect how a person is feeling from their voice to make interactions more natural. Read more: Tech firms want to detect your emotions and expressions, but people don't like it The human voice can give away information about who that person is, where they come from and how they are feeling. When a stranger talks, people immediately pick up on their accent and intonation and make assumptions about their class, background and education. If voice control gadgets pick up on such information, speech interfaces could be improved. But its worth remaining wary of unintended consequences. The technology relies on machine learning a branch of artificial intelligence that brings together algorithms and statistics learnt by a machine that has been fed reams of data and so its behaviour is not entirely predictable. Story continues Is the future smart or dumb? Research shows that speech examples used to train the machine learning application is likely to lead to bias. Such problems with the technology have been evident in popular tools such as Google Translate. When used, for example, to translate the Turkish phrases o bir doktor and o bir hemsire into English, Googles service returns the results he is a doctor and she is a nurse. But o is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun in Turkish. The presumption that a doctor is male and a nurse is female reflects cultural prejudices and the skewed distribution of gender in the medical profession. Google Translate picked up a human cultural bias that was in the data the algorithms were trained on and the end result is a sexist translation system. Screengrab It is not an easy task to solve such problems because machine learning echoes human stereotypes. When humans listen to voices, they simplify the job of working out how to respond to someone by using rules of thumb. Research shows that when people hear a woman ending lots of her sentences with an upward inflexion, known as uptalk, the typical assumption is that they are young. If a man speaks with a deep voice, theres an assumption that he is big and strong. Such simplified assumptions about speech can lead to prejudiced judgements. Criminal suspects with a Birmingham accent, one study found, were more likely to be rated as guilty compared to those with a more neutral accent. Research has also revealed that a non-native accent was perceived to be more untruthful. Working out whether a person is angry, happy or sad from their speech could be really useful for anyone who uses voice control devices. But the vocal cues people emit vary from person to person, and across languages and cultures. Humans dont always recognise emotions correctly, as anyone who has ever been in a relationship will testify, so why should it be expected that machines can do a better job? Research into peoples aural gaydar a colloquial term used by some who claim they can intuitively tell if someone is gay, lesbian or bisexual offers a good example of ambiguous and even bogus signals. Listeners make assumptions, for example, about how a gay male should sound, such as having a higher pitched voice, but these are often wrong. Actors playing up to incorrect stereotypes in apparent responses to audience expectations became something of a cultural norm on TV screens, research shows. Read more: DeepMind: can we ever trust a machine to diagnose cancer? The individualised, natural ambiguity of vocal signals is likely to lead to mistakes unless technology companies learn from their mishaps. Ingrained prejudices could be learned by applications that attempt to interpret human voices, given that the technology relies so heavily on learning from the data it is fed. Technology firms developing voice control devices and services may already talk to acoustic experts. But they need to listen closely to the warnings to better understand the pitfalls to avoid, before applying machine learning to decoding the human voice. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. The Conversation Trevor Cox does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Multi-retailer prepaid gift card provider Park Group has appointed Stephen Miller as its chief information officer - a non-board position - it announced on Tuesday. The AIM-traded firm said Miller would bring extensive experience in financial services technology innovation and implementation, spanning multiple businesses, sectors and geographies. In his previous role, Miller spent two years as head of Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Chester - one of the bank's primary global support hubs. In that position, he oversaw the technology and operations teams supporting card, network, transaction and investment banking core businesses, as well as digital innovation, command centre, information security, business resilience and other aligned support functions. Before moving to the North West, Miller worked in London as chief information officer of Standard Chartered Bank for the UK and Europe, having previously been group head of fixed income and derivative operations in Singapore for five years. Park Group said his experience also spanned senior IT and operations positions at Bear Stearns and JP Morgan, as well as various government and regulatory committee and advisory roles in the UK and overseas, most recently with the Bank of England FX joint steering and cyber security committees. Miller began his career in the Royal Navy, and was currently a council member of the Business Disability Forum, which championed the use of technology to provide accessibility for all in the workplace. The appointment of someone of the experience and expertise of Stephen as our new CIO fits extremely well with what Park has evolved into, with IT innovation at the heart of its offering, said Park Group CEO Ian O'Doherty. More importantly, he will be invaluable to our product and services development and IT operations as we continue to grow in the future. Social video company Brave Bison s shares rocketed on Tuesday after the company was named as the worlds third-biggest digital media publisher. The AIM-traded companys owned and operated channels on YouTube and Facebook had over 4.6bn views in April 2018, according to a global leaderboard produced by Tubular Labs which saw the company finish behind only Time Warner and Disney. Brave Bison topped the charts in terms of views on Facebook alone. The report shows that Brave Bison jumped nine places on the list between March and April, and two of the companys Facebook pages, Viral Trends, and Daily Viral Stories, jumped more than 55 positions to rank in the top 10 individual creators for views. Brave Bison has achieved the feat with a network of just 18 creators compared to Time Warners 408 and The Walt Disney Companys 691. Claire Hungate, chief executive of Brave Bison, said: "This report shows the growing strength of Brave Bison's publishing network and our knowledge and understanding of the video content that audiences engage with and consume on social platforms. For brands, it demonstrates the extent of the reach and engagement of our distribution network in delivering successful social video campaigns." As of 1556, Brave Bisons shares were up 176.13% at 2.14p. North Africa-focused oil and gas firm SDX Energy announced on Tuesday that it has encountered sands of low gas saturation that are not deemed to be commercial at its Kelvin-1X exploration well. The well at South Disouq in Egypt, which SDX operates and owns a 55% working interest in, was drilled to a total depth of 8,075 feet and encountered a high quality reservoir interval but will now be plugged and abandoned. Paul Welch, president and chief executive of SDX, said: "The results of the Kelvin-1X well are not commercial and will not contribute to the initial production in this first phase of the development at South Disouq. However, today's news follows the positive results from previous drilling activity in the concession where our first two wells were commercial discoveries." The company said it had been hoped that the Kelvin-1X well, located updip of the SD-1X discovery, could potentially be connected to the SD-1X structure by a continuous gas bearing section but it is instead separate and contains non-commercial saturations. The rig will move on to drill the SD-4X appraisal well, the next scheduled well on the South Disouq licence, which is also targeting the SD-1X structure. "We have had a very good run of drilling success lately and it is unfortunate that Kelvin-1X hasn't worked out. However, we are looking forward to drilling two appraisal wells on the SD-1X structure and reporting on these in due course," said Welch. The SD-1X discovery well was drilled in the second quarter of 2017 and the company successfully flowed natural gas at a stabilised rate of 25.8 Mmcf/d on a 48/64" choke at the site. As of 1259 BST, SDX Energys shares were down 6.69% at 66.25p. Toyota has warned its UK factories will struggle to gain investment if the government announces a future ban on the sale of its hybrid cars. The government has proposed banning cars that cannot drive at least 50 miles on electric power by 2040. Its plans, which would rule out some hybrid cars and all petrol or diesel vehicles, are part of an effort to reduce emissions and improve air quality. Tony Walker, Toyotas UK managing director, told MPs on the business committee the carmakers UK factories would have difficulty securing funding from the company if the plans, due to published in the next few weeks, go down this route. By covering almost all Toyotas range, including its Prius hybrid, the plans would make the vehicles we make in the UK currently unsaleable in the UK, Walker said, according to the Financial Times. Japanese carmakers, which set up factories in the UK in the 1980s as a gateway into Europe, are already weighing the effects of Brexit on their business decisions. Toyota employs about 3,000 people at its car plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire, and engine facility in Deeside, North Wales. Walker said: "For the long term future investment decision, free and frictionless trade [with Europe] and being able to sell what we make in this country will be critical." A new KPMG survey of over 1,300 business leaders from around the world found that CEOs consider the rise of economic nationalism, with Brexit and Donald Trumps new policies foremost in their minds, to be the biggest threat for growth. It also found that UK business leaders are the most pessimistic. Bill Michael, chairman at KPMG in the UK said that two-thirds of CEOs are confident about the global economic outlook. Even more also see better growth prospects for their own organisations with an increasing majority believing disruptive technologies were in fact an opportunity, rather than a threat. On the flip-side, the survey found that a "return to territorialism" was considered the biggest threat to growth, especially in the UK. In more practical terms, British firms also had the lowest investment intentions of the 20 EU nations included in the study. Geopolitical uncertainty, such as the tensions in trade relations between the US and China, or the America's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal also had everyone on edge, with 55% of CEOs revealing strong concerns around those topics. Some were already even accelerating their business transformation plans in response. Economic nationalism was closely followed by cyber risk; specifically, the challenge of connecting with their customers in the Digital Age and amid fast-changing customer expectations. Nevertheless, and despite all those uncertainties, in general CEOs remained optimistic about growth at the macroeconomic level. The General Prosecutor's Office of Schleswig-Holstein has requested the extradition of former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont to Spain to stand trial before the Regional Superior Court for the crimes of rebellion and disturbing the public order. They took their decision after viewing the videos provided to them by Spanish officials showing the degree of violence used by protesters against Spanish police forces, which led them to judge that "the riots were of such magnitude that the Attorney General assumes" that the ex-president is also extraditable under the charge of rebellion. On the basis of the new evidence, the General Prosecutor also agreed that given past actions, there is a high "flight risk". However, judges in Schleswig-Holstein did not agree and denied the general prosecutor's request for Puigdemont to be imprisoned. Meanwhile, back in Spain, Puigdemont's successor as president of the Generalitat, Quim Torra, continued to spar with Madrid with the help of the Basque nationalist party, which was threatening to withdraw its support for the 2018 budget if the government blocked the creation of a new government under Torra. Over the past week, and in what was seen as another direct challenge to the authority of the government in Madrid, Torra had appointed several prominent Catalan pro-independence leaders who were either in jail or whom had fled Spain to his cabinet, demanding that they be allowed to discharge their new responsibilities. London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% to 7,889.14 in afternoon trade on Tuesday. Precious metals miner Fresnillo was in the black as gold prices rose, while Glencore was trading higher as JPMorgan Cazenove added the stock to its European Best Equity Ideas list. Retailer Marks & Spencer was under the cosh as it confirmed the closure of 100 stores by 2022, 21 of which have already been closed and ahead of its results on Wednesday, which could determine whether the company gets to stay in the FTSE 100. CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "M&S is in a particularly difficult position squeezed as it is between the presence of Zara and the recovery of Next in general merchandise, while also feeling the pressure from its food peers Waitrose and Tesco. "Having refused to partake in last years end of year discounting the company had a disappointing Christmas period." Royal Mail was in the red as JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded the stock to 'neutral' from 'overweight' due to the recent re-rating in the share price, the lack of positive catalysts ahead and a more operationally challenged period. JPM, which upped its price target on the stock to 561p from 530p, said the revenue outlook for the company is broadly unchanged, with UKPIL revenue likely to remain around flat over time. It expects a stronger parcels environment - possibly due to temporary Amazon trends - to broadly offset a weaker letters market. In addition, it argued that incremental parcel revenue growth has a higher variable cost component, such that its ability to fall-through to profitability is more limited. National Grid was also weaker after regulator Ofgem said it was launching an investigation into its UK transmission business, while retailer Next retreated even as AlphaValue upped its rating to reduce. Risers Mediclinic International (MDC) 692.60p 4.31% Fresnillo (FRES) 1,320.50p 3.98% Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,386.00p 3.28% Glencore (GLEN) 393.05p 1.38% easyJet (EZJ) 1,787.00p 1.33% Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 296.20p 1.30% Melrose Industries (MRO) 244.90p 1.24% Mondi (MNDI) 2,106.00p 1.10% Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,800.00p 1.08% Vodafone Group (VOD) 197.36p 1.07% Fallers TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,759.50p -2.82% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 293.20p -2.40% Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,660.00p -1.48% Royal Mail (RMG) 549.20p -1.22% BP (BP.) 586.40p -1.08% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,900.00p -0.81% National Grid (NG.) 881.40p -0.72% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,322.00p -0.68% Next (NXT) 5,840.00p -0.58% Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,825.00p -0.56% The University of North Georgia (UNG) expands its ability to fill critical industry shortages in healthcare and cyber technology with the approval of two new degrees: a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and a Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved the two new degrees at its May 15 meeting, effective immediately. We are pleased that the Board of Regents has approved the Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Bachelor of Science with a major in cybersecurity," Dr. Chaudron Gille, vice provost at UNG, said. "We designed these programs to fill critical workforce needs in the region and build on areas of strength at UNG. Each is a natural outgrowth of existing programs and faculty expertise in the College of Health Sciences and Professions and the Mike Cottrell College of Business respectively, as well as being in high demand by students and industry." The new Doctor of Nursing Practice was approved May 15. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projects that the shortage of primary care physicians will reach an all-time high in 2025. In the South, the projected shortage is some 13,860 primary care physicians. In Georgia, the 2016 Kaiser Family Foundation report indicates the state only has 60 percent of needed primary care providers, Georgia is ranked 39th in the nation in the ratio of doctors per 100,000 population. Dr. Sharon Chalmers, interim head of the Department of Nursing in UNG's College of Health Sciences and Professions, said the DNP program will help fulfill a critical need for healthcare in the region. "The Appalachian north Georgia region is made up of rural counties and populations with many unmet healthcare needs," Chalmers said. "Students in our DNP program will have opportunities to serve these residents by implementing strategies to address their healthcare needs at a system level." The DNP degree is offered to graduates who have earned a master's degree in nurse practitioner. The 38-hour post-master's program will be offered online with two required face-to-face sessions and also will require the completion of an additional 500 hours of clinical practice beyond the requirements of the master's degree. The DNP represents the preferred educational preparation for advanced practice nurses as recommended by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the Institute of Medicine. Similarly, the number of cybersecurity jobs continues to outpace the number of trained experts. In mid-May, CyberSeek.org indicated more than 10,500 cybersecurity jobs currently open in Georgia, from among 285,000 nationwide; the website categorizes Georgia's supply of cybersecurity workers as "very low." The Governor's High Demand Career Initiative notes cybersecurity as one of three focus areas, and the Georgia Department of Economic Development cites Georgia as the third-highest information security hub in the nation, with more than 115 cybersecurity companies and annual revenues of almost $5 billion. The impending move of U.S. Army Cyber Command to Georgia's Fort Gordon, which will be led by UNG alumnus Maj. Gen. (promotable) Stephen Fogarty, also raises Georgia's national profile in the cybersecurity field. "The Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity will develop the next generation of cyber leaders who can securely provision systems, protect and defend networks, analyze threats and investigate incidents in industry, government or military settings both at home and abroad," said Ash Mady, head of the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems in the Mike Cottrell College of Business at UNG. UNG's computer science programs in the Mike Cottrell College of Business have grown quickly in recent years because of student demand. More than 750 computer science and information systems students were enrolled at UNG as of fall 2017. Specifically, demand for cybersecurity courses has more than tripled in 2 1/2 years; while only 58 students were enrolled in two course sections in fall 2015, some 220 students enrolled across six course sections in spring 2018. Earlier this year, UNG also added a graduate-level certificate in cybersecurity. UNG is designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency and is one of six federally designated senior military colleges in the nation. UNG has offered a concentration in information assurance and security in the computer science program since 2004. The new degree is an extension of this concentration to create a more focused degree program aligned with the National Incentive for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework, also called the NICE Framework, categories of securely provision, protect and defend, analyze, and investigate. Both new degrees expand upon existing academic programs at UNG; the DNP brings the number of graduate degrees offered by UNG to 18, and increases the number of doctoral degrees offered at UNG to three. Both degree programs will begin accepting students this fall. After Hillary Clinton threw shade at Donald Trump earlier this week, it was only a matter of time before someone in the president's family spoke out. Donald Trump Jr. decided to be the one who hit back against Clinton, but didn't receive the most positive response. I would say it would have been reasonably funny if we thought for one second that she actually came up with it herself. https://t.co/2uv0kbsK6l Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 21, 2018 Don Jr. and Hillary The 2016 presidential election will go down as one of the most shocking and controversial in American history. Heading into the general election, the idea of a Donald Trump victory over Hillary Clinton was one that not many believed would be possible. On Election Day, Clinton had a lead in nearly all polling outlets and appeared locked in to become the country's first female commander in chief. By the end of the night, Trump had pulled off the upset, leaving millions in disbelief. However, since then, Trump' victory has been marred by controversy and allegations that his campaign was in cahoots with Russia, who has since been found to have hacked into the election to help defeat Clinton. Hillary Clinton brings out a Russian hat during her speech at Yale University and honored the school's tradition of wearing over-the-top hats. https://t.co/pcg42VUbTK pic.twitter.com/9RcdYosqI2 NBC News (@NBCNews) May 21, 2018 With the scandal still in the headlines due to the Russian investigation, Hillary Clinton gave a speech at Yale University for the graduating class, as reported by NBC News on May 21. "Now, I see looking out at you that you are following the tradition of over-the-top-hats, so I brought a hat, too," Clinton said, before adding, "A Russian hat" as she pulled a Russian fur hat out to the laughter of the students. In response, Donald Trump Jr. re-tweeted conservative actor James Woods who wasn't pleased with Clinton, before adding his own thoughts. "I would say it would have been reasonably funny if we thought for one second that she actually came up with it herself, Don Jr. wrote. Twitter reacts In response to Donald Trump Jr's lackluster response to Hillary Clinton's humor, critics decided to lash out on Twitter. "Youre going to jail," one tweet read. Youre going to jail God (@YouFoundGOD) May 21, 2018 .I would say it would have been reasonably funny if we thought for one second that you actually could not recall all your Russian connections #GunControlNow #IStandWithFBI #PuertoRicoRelief (@Milvio_Diaz) May 21, 2018 Did you come up with that yourself? For a guy who hardly remembers who he talks to....unlikely. RimKitty (@UniversalFem) May 21, 2018 "I would say it would have been reasonably funny if we thought for one second that you actually could not recall all your Russian connections," a Twitter user wrote with sarcasm. "Did you come up with that yourself? For a guy who hardly remembers who he talks to....unlikely," another tweet added. "Shes actually funnier and more truthful than any of your crime family," an additional tweet noted. Yet she has accomplished so much in her life while you can only ride on daddy's legacy...which will soon be prison. Rsfury98 (@rsfury98) May 21, 2018 Great, two well-known liars and womanizers agreeing with one another. (((Richard Regen))) (@realrichregen) May 21, 2018 Hey Junior. Did you come up with having that meeting with the Russians on your own? Patricia (@mayrabella101) May 21, 2018 "Take it easy princess. Might want to edit UR bio cuz you ain't a husband," a social media user wrote. "Yet she has accomplished so much in her life while you can only ride on daddy's legacy...which will soon be prison," a follow-up tweet read. It's become commonplace for Sarah Huckabee Sanders to defend Donald Trump during her daily press briefings, but now her defense of the president is extending to social media. After sending out a pair of tweets over the last 24 hours, Sanders quickly came under fire from critics. Historic day for our country: swearing-in ceremony for Gina Haspel, the first woman ever to serve as CIA director. Democrats are losing their war against women in the Trump administration. Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) May 21, 2018 Sanders on Twitter After former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer stepped down from his role last year, it was Sarah Huckabee Sanders who was next up to fill the position. At the time, many believed Sanders wouldn't last long, as the pressure of defending Donald Trump on a daily basis cracked Spicer and appeared like a job no one would want. However, since that time, Sanders has come out strong to push Trump's agenda, often getting into heated exchanges with reporters during the press briefings. While Sanders has been known to get her point across in front of the camera, she's recently increased her use of social media to come to the president's aid. The Iran deal was one of the worst deals in history and didnt guarantee the safety of Americans. Thats why @POTUS terminated it. Media said we had no plan. Wrong! @SecPompeo unveiled our new Iran strategy yesterday. @POTUS will ensure Iran has no path to a nuclear weapon. Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) May 22, 2018 In a pair of tweets sent out on May 22, Sarah Huckabee Sanders attacked Democrats for their so-called "War against women," while going on to defend Donald Trump for his decision to pull the United States out of the Iran deal. "Historic day for our country: swearing-in ceremony for Gina Haspel, the first woman ever to serve as CIA director," Sanders tweeted, before adding, "Democrats are losing their war against women in the Trump administration." "The Iran deal was one of the worst deals in history and didnt guarantee the safety of Americans," Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted out. "Thats why POTUS terminated it. Media said we had no plan. Wrong!" she added, before later concluding, "POTUS will ensure Iran has no path to a nuclear weapon." Twitter reacts In response to Sarah Huckabee Sanders' tweets, those who oppose the administration made sure to take time and hit back. "You lose the war with the truth everyday," Roland Scahill tweeted out. We are against torture and destruction of evidence- NOT against women Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) May 21, 2018 You lose the war with the truth everyday Roland Scahill (@rolandscahill) May 21, 2018 No, Sarah, Democrats are not against women being in positions of authority. We are against human rights violators and torturers. J Tidwell (@CommanderKeif) May 22, 2018 "We are against torture and destruction of evidence- NOT against women," actress Mia Farrow tweeted. "No, Sarah, Democrats are not against women being in positions of authority. We are against human rights violators and torturers," an additional tweet stated. "Democrats do not have a war against women, we have a war against lies and liars to show that truth and facts still matter in America, no matter what you and the entire deep fried orange soda regime try and spin for your own profit," another tweet added. Democrats do not have a war against women, we have a war against lies and liars to show that truth and facts still matter in America, no matter what you and the entire deep fried orange soda regime try and spin for your own profit. Mary Tyler Methadone (@mtylermethadone) May 22, 2018 Furthermore, United States intelligence agencies confirmed that Iran was in compliance with the deal. There was no reason to violate the terms by pulling America out. America lost even more credibility with the international community by such a horrible decision. Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) May 22, 2018 Im just waiting for the day @PressSec has a total mental breakdown and goes into a seizure of sobbing over the lies shes told and has to be carried out in a straight jacket. Brandon Horan (@brandon_r_horan) May 22, 2018 "Im just waiting for the day @PressSec has a total mental breakdown and goes into a seizure of sobbing over the lies shes told and has to be carried out in a straight jacket," a social media user wrote. "Lets be clear, Trump did not terminate!the Iran deal. He violated the deal by pulling America out. Russia, China and Iran will continue to implement the JCPOA. Trump simply continued his mission to undo whatever Obama did," Bishop Talbert Swan wrote. Earlier this year it was announced that Donald Trump would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in regards to the country's nuclear program. With Kim now threatening to pullout, Trump was forced to address the issue. JUST IN: President Trump says North Korea summit "may not work out for June 12," but adds "there is a good chance that we'll have the meeting." pic.twitter.com/jdUzdUnvtl NBC News (@NBCNews) May 22, 2018 Trump on Kim For years the United States and North Korea have not seen eye to eye. Due to the close alliance between the U.S. and South Korea, North Korea's top rival, talks about finding common-ground have been few and far between. However, as North Korea and South Korea have recently come to an agreement to end their tension, Donald Trump announced last month that he would soon meet with Kim Jong-un in what many viewed as a historic step to denuclearize North Korea. The announcement came as a surprise to many due to Trump's previous insulting remarks about the North Korean leader, including the nicknames "Rocket Man" and "Little Rocket Man" that he even used during a speech at the United Nations. However, due to recent rising tension in regards to the details of the meeting, Kim has backpedaled, putting the White House in a difficult position. As reported by ABC News on May 22, Donald Trump met with South Korean President Moon at the White House on Tuesday, but was pressed on the current status of the summit meeting planned for next month between himself and Kim Jong-un. "If it doesnt happen, maybe it will happen later," Trump said to a room full of reporters. "You never know about deals," Trump continued, adding, "It may not work out for June 12." As expected, critics of the president were quick to fire back. Twitter erupts In response to Donald Trump's reaction to Kim Jong-un possibly canceling their meeting, social media went viral. "There's also a good chance you'll GONE by then," one tweet read. It's quite a snake oil sales pitch show! ...trump's "gift" to ramble nonsense off the top of his head!! I don't think leaders around the world are buying it. What an embarrassment..as with other's, I can only stomach him a finite amount of time. LaineyP (@2LaineyP) May 22, 2018 There's also a good chance you'll GONE by then......ijs Frankie Q.Bee (@Supertoaste) May 22, 2018 Remember. Until there is a bona fide deal, Trump has not accomplished anything. No matter what he says. Ex-Coelis (@canadav8r) May 22, 2018 "I turned the TV off as soon as I saw his constipated face," a Twitter user wrote. "It's quite a snake oil sales pitch show! ...Trump's 'gift' to ramble nonsense off the top of his head!! I don't think leaders around the world are buying it. What an embarrassment..as with other's, I can only stomach him a finite amount of time," another tweet added. Awww, the special coin he had made for them toting Kim as the supreme leader didn't convince them to give up their toys, I mean nukes? Tsk, tsk Psychomommy (@conniebettano) May 22, 2018 Watching this reminds me of when the three card man tried to con me of my money by telling me I won two rounds of games but I should continue to play so I could win more. Fraudsters. Martino the great. (@andremartino325) May 22, 2018 POTUS calls foreign leaders his "friends" when will he realize they are not his friends. Probably one reason he's such a s***** negotiator Neil Brown (@mdlfcrss) May 22, 2018 "POTUS calls foreign leaders his 'friends' when will he realize they are not his friends. Probably one reason he's such a s***** negotiator," a social media user wrote. "Awww, the special coin he had made for them toting Kim as the supreme leader didn't convince them to give up their toys, I mean nukes? Tsk, tsk," a follow-up tweet read. The news is out that the Obamas are coming to a television screen, so you can binge-watch them whenever you want to see them and to hear what they have to say. Netflix announced on Monday, May 21, that former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have signed a multi-year deal to produce a series of films. Netflix reported that this is a first-of-its-kind deal for a former United States president. Netflix's press release indicated that it might include a combination of scripted, unscripted, documentaries, and feature stories. The Obamas have set up their own company to produce the programs. It is called Higher Ground Productions for Netflix's 125 million members. The Obamas' reaction The former president is excited to be able to share experiences with the general public. He said one of the simple joys of his time in public service was getting to meet people from all walks of life. Now he and his wife will be able to continue doing so because she shares a similar excitement. They look forward to the partnership with Netflix as the avenue for them to continue to stay in touch with the American people. Barack and Michelle Obama will be both in front of and behind the camera in a multi-year production deal with Netflix. The first content will appear next year at the earliest. https://t.co/c4Los4uJ3w pic.twitter.com/0z3x4qG7Yx CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) May 21, 2018 Your new favorite Netflix show just may be produced by the Obamas: They have signed a multi-year agreement with Netflix to produce films and series. https://t.co/RsCJf8SaaE E! News (@enews) May 21, 2018 The Obamas will not use Netflix to go against the current president. Instead, the couple intends to stay positive and take full advantage of the valuable platform Netflix has given them to be visible after leaving the White House two years ago. Timeframe Even though Netflix did not specify a definite timeline, the programming is expected to start as early as 2019. The couple will be on camera as hosts or moderators some of the time. On other occasions, they will work behind the camera as producers along with a team of other producers. Whether they will be on camera or behind the camera, they aim to produce shows with the public in mind. The New York Times named two shows that the public might be interested in seeing aired on the streaming network. Barack Obama could talk about major topics that dominated his presidency for eight years. Michelle Obama could talk about subjects she was involved in while in the White House. That could include nutrition. Of course, they will have the opportunity to produce shows of their choice. Before the Obamas left the White House, the former president said he was interested in doing something digitally. Now he is getting the chance to do just that along with his mate. Are you interested in seeing the Obamas on Netflix? What are some of the things you would like to see them produce? The councils creation stems from a request by the Womens Alliance, a university caucus that advocates for equity and inclusion at Virginia Tech. Representatives for the alliance asked Virginia Tech President Tim Sands to create a special group to address some of the core concerns that the caucus heard from faculty, staff, and students. Robin Queen, co-chair of the Womens Alliance, is one of several who led this push. Of the issues, she said a lack of quality child care and resources to care for the elderly in the region were two of the top concerns. They came up in every alliance meeting, said Queen, who is an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics. Since it was formed, the council has invited different experts to speak at its meetings, including directors of both adult day care and child care centers and gender studies faculty. I hope that we are able to impact the environment and experiences for women and ensure equitable implementation of policies for all genders, said Menah Pratt-Clarke, Virginia Techs vice president for strategic affairs and vice provost for inclusion and diversity. She is helping to manage and guide Gender@VT. The council formed three subcommittees focused on the individual core concerns child care/elder care, policy, and institutional change. The subcommittees are tasked with creating recommendations and eventually presenting short-, medium-, and long-term goals to Sands. The council will take a break this summer and resume in the fall. Without such a committee, the concerns of people get directed to different places, said Anisa Zvonkovic, co-chair of the child care/elder care subcommittee and head of the Department of Human Development and Family Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Their voices could be really muted. She said her committee hopes to devise an economically equitable solution to the child care dilemma that would help all Virginia Tech employees, regardless of employment status. Her department houses several related centers and labs, including the Child Development Center for Learning and Research and Adult Day Services. But finding concrete solutions for many of the concerns may take a while. This will not be solved in one year, Morton said. David Gerrard, co-chair of the policy subcommittee, said his group is reviewing university policies related to gender, such as maternity and paternity leave and modified duties for tenured and tenure track faculty, as well as broader areas of inclusion and equity. Everyones hoping to make this a better place to work, across genders and across any other barriers, said Gerrard, who heads the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Written by Jenny Kincaid Boone The following companies are subsidiares of Amphenol: ARCAS Automotive Group (Luxco 1) S.a.r.l., AUXEL FTG, AUXEL FTG India Pvt Ltd., AUXEL FTG Shanghai Co., AUXEL S.A.S., Air LB International Development S.A., All Systems Broadband, Amphenol (Changzhou) Advanced Connector Co., Amphenol (Changzhou) Connector Systems Co., Amphenol (Changzhou) Electronics Co., Amphenol (Maryland), Amphenol (Ningde) Electronics Co., Amphenol (Qujing) Technology Co., Amphenol (Tianjin) Electronics Co., Amphenol (Xiamen) High Speed Cable Co., Amphenol Adronics, Amphenol Advanced Sensors Germany GmbH, Amphenol Advanced Sensors Puerto Rico, Amphenol Air LB GmbH, Amphenol Air LB North America Inc., Amphenol Air LB SAS, Amphenol Alden Products Company, Amphenol Alden Products Mexico, Amphenol Antenna Solutions, Amphenol Assemble Tech (Xiamen) Co., Amphenol Australia Pty Ltd, Amphenol Automotive Connection Systems (Changzhou) Co., Amphenol Bar-Tec, Amphenol Benelux B.V., Amphenol Borisch Technologies, Amphenol CNT (Xian) Technology Co. Ltd., Amphenol Cables On Demand Corp., Amphenol Canada Acquisition Corporation, Amphenol Canada Corp., Amphenol Comercial, Amphenol Commercial Interconnect Korea Co., Amphenol Commercial Products (Chengdu) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Commercial and Industrial UK, Amphenol ConneXus AB, Amphenol ConneXus Ou, Amphenol Custom Cable, Amphenol DC Electronics, Amphenol Daeshin Electronics and Precision Co., Amphenol EEC, Amphenol East Asia Electronic Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Amphenol East Asia Limited, Amphenol FCI, Amphenol FCI Asia Pte. Ltd., Amphenol FCI Connectors Singapore Pte. Ltd., Amphenol Fiber Optic Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Amphenol Finland Oy, Amphenol France Acquisition SAS, Amphenol France SAS, Amphenol Germany GmbH, Amphenol Gesellschaft m.b.H., Amphenol Goldstar Electronic Systems (Baicheng) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Goldstar Electronic Systems (Yulin) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Holding UK, Amphenol Intercon Systems, Amphenol Interconnect India Private Limited, Amphenol Interconnect Products Corporation, Amphenol Interconnect South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Amphenol International Ltd., Amphenol Invotec Limited, Amphenol Italia S.r.l., Amphenol JET (Haiyan) Interconnect Technology Co., Amphenol Japan Ltd., Amphenol Kai-Jack (Shenzhen) Inc., Amphenol LTW Technology Co., Amphenol Limited, Amphenol MCP Korea Limited, Amphenol Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Amphenol Middle East Enterprises FZE, Amphenol Nelson Dunn Technologies, Amphenol Netherlands Holdings 1 B.V., Amphenol Netherlands Holdings 2 B.V., Amphenol Omniconnect India Private Limited, Amphenol Optimize Manufacturing Co., Amphenol Optimize Mexico S.A. de C.V., Amphenol PCD, Amphenol PCD (Shenzhen) Co., Amphenol Phitek Limited, Amphenol Printed Circuits, Amphenol Provens SAS, Amphenol RF Asia Limited, Amphenol Sensing Korea Company Limited, Amphenol Shouh Min Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Amphenol Singapore Pte. Ltd., Amphenol Socapex SAS, Amphenol Sunpool (Liaoning) Automotive Electronics Co., Amphenol T&M Antennas, Amphenol TCS (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Amphenol TCS Ireland Limited, Amphenol TCS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Amphenol TFC Fios E Cabos do Brasil Ltda., Amphenol TFC MDE Participacoes Ltda., Amphenol TFC do Brasil Ltda., Amphenol Taiwan Corporation, Amphenol Technical Products International Co., Amphenol Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Amphenol Technology (Zhuhai) Co., Amphenol Technology Macedonia Dooel Kocani, Amphenol Tecvox LLC, Amphenol Tel-Ad Ltd., Amphenol Thermometrics, Amphenol Thermometrics (UK) Limited, Amphenol Times Microwave Electronics (Shanghai) Limited, Amphenol Tuchel Electronics GmbH, Amphenol Tuchel Industrial GmbH, Amphenol Tunisia LLC, Amphenol USHoldco Inc., Amphenol-Borg Limited, Amphenol-Borg Pension Trustees Limited, Amphenol-TFC (Changzhou) Communication Equipment Co., Anytek Electronic Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd, Anytek International (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Anytek International Co. Ltd., Anytek Technology Corporation Ltd, Asia Connector Services, Berg UK Ltd., Blueline Product Limited, C&S Antennas, C&S Antennas Limited, CSA Limited, Casco Automotive (Suzhou) Co., Casco Automotive Group, Casco Automotive Singapore Pte., Casco Automotive Tunisia S.a.r.l., Casco Holdings Co. Limited, Casco Holdings GmbH, Casco Imos Italia S.r.l., Casco Logistics GmbH, Casco Products Corporation, Casco Schoeller GmbH, Casco do Brasil Ltda., Cemm Thome Corporation, Cemm Thome SK, Cemm-Mex, Changzhou Amphenol Fuyang Communication Equipment Co., ContactServe (Proprietary) Limited, East Asia Connector Services, Edwin Deutgen Kunstofftechnik GmbH, Ehrlich Werkzeug & Geratebau GmbH, FCI Besancon SA, FCI Connectors (Shanghai) Ltd., FCI Connectors Canada, FCI Connectors Dongguan Ltd, FCI Connectors Hong Kong Limited, FCI Connectors Italia S.r.l., FCI Connectors Korea Ltd., FCI Connectors Malaysia Sdn Bhd, FCI Connectors Sweden A.B., FCI Connectors UK Ltd., FCI Deutschland GmbH, FCI Electronics Hungary Kft, FCI GBS India Private Limited, FCI Japan K.K., FCI Nantong Ltd, FCI OEN Connectors Limited, FCI PRC Limited, FCI Taiwan Limited, FCI USA LLC, FCIs-Hertogenbosch B.V., FEP Fahrzeugelektrik Pirna, FEP Fahrzeugelektrik Pirna GmbH & Co. KG, FEP Fahrzeugelektrik Pirna Verwaltungs GmbH, Fiber Systems International, Filec Production SAS, Filec SAS, Friedrich Gohringer Elektrotechnik GmbH, GE - Advanced Sensors Business, Guangzhou Amphenol Electronics Co., Guangzhou Amphenol Sincere Flex Circuits Co., Guangzhou FEP Automotive Electric Co., Hangzhou Amphenol JET Interconnect Technology Co., Hangzhou Amphenol Phoenix Telecom Parts Co., Holland Electronics, Intelligente Sensorsysteme Dresden GmbH, Invotec Circuits Holdings Limited, Invotec Circuits Limited, Invotec Group Limited, Invotec Holdings Limited, Ionix Aerospace Limited, Ionix Holdings Limited, Ionix Systems Limited, Ionix Systems Ou, Jaybeam Limited, Jaybeam Wireless SAS, KE Elektronik GmbH, KE Ostrov Elektrik, KE Presov Elektrik, Konnektech, Kunshan Amphenol Zhengri Electronics Co., LPL Technologies Holding GmbH, LTW Technology (Samoa) Co., LTW Top Tech (Samoa) Co., Lectric SARL, Martec Limited, Mocorp Holding A/S, Nantong Docharm Amphenol Electronics Co., PROCOM, PT Casco SEA, PerLoga Personal und Logistik GmbH, Piezotech, Piher Sensors & Controls S.A., Piher Sensors And Controls, Precision Cable Manufacturing Corp. de Mexico, Procom A/S, Procom Antennas AB, Procom France SARL, Pyle-National Ltd., RSI International Limited, S.C.I. Palin, SEFEE SA, SGX Europe SP. z.o.o., SGX Sensortech (IS) Limited, SGX Sensortech China Holdco Limited, SGX Sensortech China Limited, SGX Sensortech GmbH, SGX Sensortech SA, SSI Control Technologies, STEMFI SA, SV Microwave, Shanghai Amphenol Airwave Communication Electronics Co., Shanghai Amphenol Electronics Technology Co., Shanghai Tecvox Trading Co., Shenyang Amphenol Sunpool Automotive Electronics Co., Sine Systems Corporation, Skymasts Antennas Ltd., Societe dEtudes et de Fabrications Electroniques et Electriques, Spectra Strip Limited, TCS Japan K.K., TFC South America S.A., Tecvox Europe S.r.l., Telect, Telect Mfg., Telect de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Teradyne Connection Systems, Thermometrics Mexico, Tianjin Amphenol KAE Co., Times Fiber Canada Limited, Times Fiber Communications, Times Microwave Systems, Times Wire and Cable Company, U-Jin Cable Industrial Co., Zhongshan Feisaide Electromechanical Co., and i2s-sensors. Brian D. Johnson at The Walrus: Godard has a way of spinning every question into a cosmic tangent. A Brazilian journalist asked him about his approach to sound. A technical question. Godard replied that one his original titles for the film was An Attempt at Blue. There are things that text and language cannot convey, he added. The voice is not the same as speech. And speech is not necessarily language. When it came to sound, the aim was to separate the sound from the image. We didnt want it to be just an accompaniment. We wanted a true dialogue between the sound and the images. Alluding to cinemas original pioneers, he added, I believe that the Lumiere brothers, when they filmed the arrival of the train in the station, were thinking of all this. Without a pause, he then jumped straight to French impressionism. What the impressionists have brought into art is light. Then Cezanne brought colour, and colour has something to do with speecheven if we are talking about Heidegger here. The sound should not be too close to the images for me. The perfect screening should be in a cafe instead of on a TV screen. more here. Isaac Butler has a new podcast over at Slate on politics and Shakespeare. The first episode is on Julius Caesar: In the summer of 2017, New York Citys Shakespeare in the Park staged a production of Julius Caesar that proved unexpectedly controversial. As played by Gregg Henry, Julius Caesar had pursed lips, inscrutable blond hair, and an extra-long red tie. Sound familiar? Andas the play calls forhe got viciously murdered halfway through the play. Right-wing news outlets like Fox News and Breitbart carried stories about this seditious show where Donald Trump gets viciously stabbed to death, and multiple sponsors pulled their support from the production. Its remarkable to think that Julius Caesar, written more than four centuries ago, still has the power to provoke. But one of the reasons why Shakespeare remains the unshakable cornerstone of the Western canon is that every generation finds a new way that he speaks to their times. In Shakespeares own time, England was undergoing enormous political and social upheaval. The country was wracked by famine and plague, threatened by religious violence, and confronted with political crises whose resolutions were often unclear. More here. En espanol | Reversing an upward trend, end-of-life medical care costs declined in the first five years of this decade, researchers at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice determined. In the most recent issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers reported on their analysis and review of Medicare expenditures. Spending in several categories durable medical equipment, hospice, physician costs, and home health, inpatient and outpatient care all increased in the last two years of life for those who died from 2004 to 2009 and then decreased for those who died from 2010 to 2014, the analysis found. Contrary to other studies, the authors wrote, we found that per-capita end-of-life spending is decreasing and also helping drive down overall Medicare spending growth. We were surprised to find this kind of downward trend in per capita spending, William Weeks, M.D., the study leader and a professor at Dartmouths Geisel School of Medicine, told the Valley News newspaper in Lebanon, N.H. Among those who died during the time studied (4.3 percent of all Medicare enrollees), their change in costs accounted for more than half the expenditure reductions attributable to practice changes. But for that, care costs would have accelerated, Weeks told the newspaper. While not certain why end-of-life costs decreased in those five years, Weeks offered a few possible explanations, among them were the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, because of fewer medical interventions due to the increase in advance directives instructing caregivers not to take extraordinary efforts to prolong life, and patients being more cognizant of costs because of the financial crisis. Karen Neal/CBS via Getty Images Magnum, P.I. (CBS) Jay Hernandez (Scandal) takes over the role created by Tom Selleck, 73, as a Navy veteran turned Hawaiian private eye, with a stubbly goatee now instead of the iconic mustache. Thomas Magnum is still a Detroit Tigers fan who works for the Doberman-loving Higgins although now its Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks). His pals Rick (Zachary Knighton) and T.C. (Stephen Hill) are also along for the ride in Magnums vintage Ferrari. Since CBS has managed to rebuild both Hawaii Five-O and MacGyver, theres no reason to believe Magnum 2.0 wont work, too. The Cool Kids (Fox) Theyre growing old, not growing up, reads the tagline for this ribald sitcom about the Shady Meadows retirement home. When a new resident (The Carol Burnett Shows Vicki Lawrence, 69) tries to crash the cool table of three confirmed bachelors (Will & Graces Leslie Jordan, 63; Roseannes Martin Mull, 74; and In Living Colors David Alan Grier), hijinks ensue. We all like to think of ourselves as young and vital, says Grier, but I am 61. Hey, having a grownup cast didnt prevent The Golden Girls from being vital enough to attract 27 million viewers. New Amsterdam (NBC) The hospital drama has been one of TVs most enduring genres, and when last seasons breakout hit The Good Doctor joined Marcus Welby, M.D., ER and the still-running Greys Anatomy in the winners circle, executives wanted more such hits, stat! Now NBC, which already has Chicago Med on its roster, adds this series starring Ryan Eggold as a doc who tries to shake up a Manhattan hospital. The twist: He has cancer. Eggold is a familiar face to NBC viewers from his years on The Blacklist as the often-brutalized Tom Keen. I am now one of the worlds leading experts on pain acting, he jokes. Sounds like pure viewer pleasure and at least now hell have plenty of meds handy. The Rookie (ABC) Nathan Fillion fought crime on ABC for eight seasons on Castle, and hes back on the beat as a small-town cop who becomes the LAPDs oldest newbie. At the upfronts, Fillion reflected on where his career has taken him. I started out this gig as the youngest son in a rich family on a soap opera, he said, then I was somebodys uncle, then I found myself playing a dad to a baby, then a dad to a young adult. Now I find myself playing the oldest rookie. Life changes. Most of the bacteria found were not harmful, but there were pathogens that could cause infections in humans, the researchers said. They also noted that "kitchen sponges not only act as a reservoir of microorganisms but also as disseminators over domestic surfaces, which can lead to cross-contamination of hands and food, which is considered a main cause of foodborne disease outbreaks." Researchers also found that previously recommended cleaning methods, such as microwaving a sponge, kills only about 60 percent of the bacteria. And some bacteria may even multiply after cleaning the sponge because the resistant strains recolonize. The study recommends that people replace sponges weekly to reduce bacteria risk. Here are other germ offenders that you may not have thought about. Toothbrush holder Your toothbrush holder is the third most germ-infested household item, according to a study from NSF International, a nonprofit public health group based in Michigan. To keep it clean, close the lid on the toilet when you flush and put the holder into a dishwasher on the sanitizing cycle once or twice a week (if it's dishwasher safe) to kill any germs. Purses and handbags A British study found that the average purse is three times dirtier than an office toilet seat and that 1 in 5 handbag handles contain enough germs to pose a significant risk of cross-contamination from the handle to your hand. Nonleather bags can be wiped down with an antibacterial cloth. For leather bags, wipe with a soft cloth and warm, soapy water. Office desk According to British cleaning company CSG, the most germ-ridden place in an office is the telephone, with 25,127 microbes per square inch; followed by the keyboard, with 3,295 microbes; and the computer mouse, with 1,676 microbes. Use an antibacterial wipe on your office equipment daily, and regularly wash or sanitize your hands throughout the day. 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. Alara Resources Limited ( ASX:AUQ ) (Alara or Company) is pleased to announce a mining licence has been approved and signed for its Al Hadeetha Copper Project in Oman.Last week, the Public Authority for Mining's licencing committee approved the 'Washihi' mining licence application of Al Hadeetha Resources LLC(see Note 1 below).Mining licence fees have now been paid and the Public Authority for Mining has signed a mining licence encompassing the Washihi Ore Reserve(see Note 2 below).Formal presentation of the licence and associated terms is expected to follow next week.Alara's CEO, Justin Richard, said: "This represents a major milestone for the Al Hadeetha Copper Project and for future development of the copper sector in Oman.With global demand for copper rising and further supply deficits expected to widen in the coming years, it's the right time to be developing a new copper mine."Alara is now looking to the next major milestones as it continues to grow a copper portfolio in Oman and establish itself as a mineral producer hand in hand with its joint venture partners.Alara and its joint venture partners have submitted a total of five mining licence applications in Oman, three pertaining to the Al Hadeetha Copper Project (one licence now approved) and two for the Daris Copper Project. The remaining applications are being followed up with relevant Ministries.The Al Hadeetha Copper Project(see Note 3 below) includes construction of a 1 Mtpa copper concentration plant with an initial 10-year mine life. The Washihi site is located approximately 160km southeast of the Daris Copper Project and Awtad Copper Project and is set to become the next producer of copper concentrate in the Sultanate of Oman.Copper mining in Oman dates back thousands of years(see Note 4 below). Increasing exploration activity in Oman seeks to link this rich history to a new era of copper discovery and production as the Sultanate executes its program of economic diversification(see Note 5 below).Notes:1 A joint venture between Alara Oman Operations Pty Ltd and Al Hadeetha Investments LLC.2 Refer Alara's ASX Announcement dated 15 December 2016. That announcement contains information required by ASX Listing Rule 5.16. Material assumptions underpinning the Ore Reserve as announced on that date continue to apply.3 Refer Alara's ASX Announcement dated 24 January 2017. That announcement contains information required by ASX Listing Rule 5.16 regarding the stated production target. All material assumptions underpinning the production target as announced on that date continue to apply and have not materially changed.4 See http://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/NJF215BV and http://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/N131JL2Z 5 Diversification is a core element of Oman's Five-year Development Plan to 2020. See www.tanfeedh.gov.om/en/To view figures, please visit:About Alara Resources LimitedAlara Resources Limited (ASX:AUQ) is an Australian minerals exploration company with a portfolio of projects in Saudi Arabia and Oman. Alara has completed a Definitive Feasibility Study on the Khnaiguiyah Zinc-Copper Project in Saudi Arabia, an Advanced Scoping Study on the Daris and Washihi, Mullaq and Al Ajal exploration licences in Oman and a Feasibility Study for the Al Hadeetha Copper Gold Project, Washihi ore reserve. The Company is transitioning to establish itself as a base and precious metals mine development and production company. For more information, please visit: www.alararesources.com Contact Justin Richard Managing Director T: +968-2449-1162 E: jrichard@alararesources.com Stephen Gethin Company Secretary T: +61-8-9240-4211 E: cosec@alararesources.com Justin RichardManaging DirectorT: +968-2449-1162E: jrichard@alararesources.comStephen GethinCompany SecretaryT: +61-8-9240-4211E: cosec@alararesources.com PERRY HALL, Md. 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 familys 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. 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, Kureks neighbor, Dahle Amendt, said he had just settled into his recliner for a rest when he heard a womans 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. Its a quiet community. Its 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 homes front door during the search. Its 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. HOUSTON Federal prosecutors say a 22-year-old man working as a contract baggage handler at Houstons Bush Intercontinental Airport has pleaded guilty to stealing guns last year from the luggage of three Bellevue, Washington, police officers. Mack Stewart faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine at his sentencing hearing set for Sept. 11. Stewart entered his guilty plea Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan. He remains free on bond pending sentencing. U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick says the three officers had returned home to Washington Oct. 4 on a United Airlines flight from Houston to Seattle when they discovered their service weapons missing. About a month later, Stewart was found with one of the guns when he was pulled over for a traffic stop. CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. A man was killed when the Tesla automobile he was driving veered off a road, crashed through a fence and plunged into a pond, authorities said Monday. California Highway Patrol spokesman Daniel Jacowitz said rescuers pulled the Tesla Model S from the pond early Monday and found the mans body inside. The driver was identified as Keith Leung, 34, of Danville, California, said Sgt. Ray Kelly, spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriffs office. Kelly said it was too soon to know if the vehicles semi-autonomous Autopilot mode was engaged when the crash occurred or whether the driver may have been speeding or intoxicated. Photographs of the car show that its backend 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 a noise and seeing damage to his fence and tire tracks. The car was traveling at a speed 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 have been investigating if the Teslas Autopilot mode has played a role in other recent crashes. In March, the driver of a Tesla Model X was killed in California when his SUV hit a barrier while traveling at freeway speed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating that case, in which the Autopilot system was engaged. Autopilot was also engaged in a crash earlier this month in Utah, according to data from the car. Also this month, the NTSB opened a probe into an accident in which a Model S caught fire after crashing into a wall at a high speed in Florida. Two 18-year-olds were trapped in the vehicle and died in the flames. The agency has said it does not expect Autopilot to be a focus in that investigation. Autopilot is the most well-known semi-autonomous system. It uses cameras and sensors on the front, sides and rear of the car to observe lane markings and to see other cars that are nearby. Its simple to engage, requiring only two quick taps of a stalk. There are no limitations on where Autopilot can be used. Drivers can enable it on the freeway, side streets, or anywhere with distinct lane markings. ___ Information from: KTVU-TV. State Rep. Monica Youngblood will face a mandatory 48 hours in jail if she's convicted of an aggravated drunken driving charge the result of her arrest at a DWI checkpoint early Sunday. And prosecutors say they're moving forward with the case. Youngblood, a Republican from the West Side, is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment June 13 to respond to the charge. She told a police officer Sunday that she hadn't been drinking. But, police said, she refused a mandatory breath test and was charged with aggravated DWI. An officer said he smelled alcohol, Youngblood's eyes were bloodshot and watery, her speech was slurred, and she performed poorly on field sobriety tests, according to a complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Dolly Otero of the state chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving said she was disappointed to hear about Youngblood's arrest. She was one of those persons we really believed in, Otero said. We're just so sorry that she made the wrong choice. Youngblood has been an ally of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, carrying legislation to reinstate the death penalty in New Mexico and toughen criminal penalties. In 2015, she co-sponsored legislation that would have required people charged with aggravated DWI as she was on Sunday to post bail or stay in jail until appearing before a judge. In 2016, Youngblood won approval for a bill that created the regulatory framework for ride-booking companies Uber and Lyft, a move that she said would help people arrange safe rides home. Her arrest comes as Republicans try to reclaim a majority in the state House, where Democrats have held a 38-32 edge the past two years. Youngblood, a real estate agent, has a significant financial advantage over her Democratic opponent, Karen Bash, according to campaign reports filed last week. Youngblood has about $30,000 in her campaign account. Bash, a retired faith leader, has about $6,000. Neither faces an opponent in next month's primary. House District 68 covers a patch of Northwest Albuquerque. If Youngblood decided to withdraw from the race after the primary, the Bernalillo County central committee of the Republican Party would appoint a replacement candidate for the general election. Youngblood didn't return messages Monday. But she said in a written statement over the weekend that she regretted the situation altogether, especially not taking the breath test. Ryan Cangiolosi, chairman of the state Republican Party, said the party believes in our DWI laws and that those laws are necessary to keep us all safe. Driving while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs is never acceptable for anyone. In addition to the mandatory 48 hours in jail, those convicted of first-time aggravated DWI face up to 90 days in jail, along with possible fines and other penalties. African-American children are taking their lives at roughly twice the rate of their white counterparts, according to a new study that shows a widening gap between the two groups. The 2001-2015 data, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, confirm a pattern first identified several years ago when researchers at Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Ohio found that the rate of suicides for black children ages 5 to 12 exceeded that of young whites. The results were seen in both boys and girls. Although suicide is rare among young children, the latest findings reinforce the need for better research into the racial disparities, lead author Jeffrey Bridge said Monday. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for older children and adolescents in the United States. We cant assume any longer that suicide rates are uniformly higher in white individuals than black, said Bridge, an epidemiologist who directs the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research at the Columbus hospital. There is this age-related disparity, and now we have to understand the underlying reasons. . . . Most of the previous research has largely concerned white suicide. So we dont even know if the same risk and protective factors apply to black youth. Historically, suicide rates in the United States have been higher for whites than blacks across all age groups. That remains the case for adolescents, ages 13 to 17, according to the new study. White teens continue to have a 50 percent higher rate of suicide than black teens. Overall between 1999 and 2015, more than 1,300 children ages 5 to 12 took their own lives in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those numbers translate into an average of one child 12 or younger dying by suicide every five days. The pace has actually accelerated in recent years, CDC statistics indicate. The researchers based their latest analysis on the CDCs Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System, which does not include geographical or socioeconomic data. Although the study was unable to provide a cultural context for the racial difference in suicide rates, psychiatrist Samoon Ahmad thinks a number of reasons could account for the disparity. To me, the 5-12 range is more related to developmental issues and the possible lack of a family network, social network and cultural activities, said Ahamad, a clinical associate professor at the NYU School of Medicine who was not involved in the research. And with the introduction of social media, there is more isolation with children, not as much neighborhood play. Kids are more socially in their own vacuum. Ahmad described this age group as probably the most vulnerable. Yet adults tend to think the children are somehow too young to experience such depths of despair, he noted. No one talks about that with them. We tend to put them in silos, and dont discuss these things because we think its too traumatic, he said. Instead, there must be a slow and steady flow of communication. Previous studies have looked at some of the characteristics and circumstances surrounding childrens suicides. In 2017, research by Bridge and colleagues found that among children, ages 5 to 11, and young adolescents, ages 12 to 14, those who took their own lives were more likely to be male, African American and dealing with stressful relationships at home or with friends. Children who had a mental health problem at the time of death were more likely than young adolescents to have been diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Young adolescents who killed themselves were more likely to have had relationship problems with a boyfriend or girlfriend. They also had higher rates of depression, according to last years study, which was published in the journal Pediatrics. That 2017 report found more than a third of elementary school-aged suicides involved black children compared to just 11.6 percent of early adolescent suicides. Bridge said his motivation for delving into this issue was a suicide in a town not far from Columbus. The child was not yet 10. We went into the original study because suicide rates were increasing among adolescents in the United States, Bridge said. The local death made us think if there was a change in the suicide rate of children, and thats what made us look into it. Darey Dominguez, 11, had known skin color was a terrible reason to treat a person unfairly or unkindly. But it wasnt until he put himself in the shoes of Henry Brown, a slave who was torn apart from his family, that he truly connected with the social justice and racial inequality lessons being taught in Ana Escobars fifth-grade class. The class did a film project on Henrys Freedom Box a childrens book on Browns journey to freedom with La Mesa Elementary School students, including Dominguez, recreating the powerful story. I connected more to it than just reading it, he said. The film project part of a school-wide Bring a Book to Life event helps the students become comfortable in their own identities by reading and experiencing others stories, Escobar explained. The event had a migration theme, aiming to teach kids about the historical and cultural importances of human mobility. La Mesa is a multilingual, Title I elementary school in the International District. They can feel out of place or like they dont belong, said Escobar. Escobar said projects like the movie help kids acquire new skills and gain confidence. I learned its not fair to treat others differently just because they have different color skin, 11-year-old Angelica Aguilar said. And its not just the fifth-graders. The whole school participated with kindergarteners studying the migration of turtles while the older kids studied human emigration and immigration. In addition to films, the school hosted a mock protest, a song and dance performance, a poetry reading and other plays. On a sunny Friday, students, parents and teachers came to the colorful La Mesa courtyard to see the schools newly completed murals, collages of scenes from the books the kids read. Among the crowd was someone who knows how important it is to translate heavy themes like immigration to children. Author of My Shoes and I, Rene Colato Lainez traveled from California to the Albuquerque school to participate in the Bring a Book to Life event. Colato Lainez said he knew hed make the trip after receiving letters from La Mesa students announcing imagery from his book would be included in the mural. I think it translates because its about a journey of uniting families, he said about My Shoes and I. The childrens book chronicles Colato Lainezs own story of leaving El Salvador. At the event, APS Superintendent Raquel Reedy said, This is what its all about, incorporating the arts and literature. La Mesa Elementary School has been doing a week of literacy in partnership with the University of New Mexicos TECLA program Teacher Education Collaborative in Language Diversity and Arts Integration for several years. The goal is to incorporate art and literature into every aspect of the curriculum without sacrificing any common core learning. The murals were dedicated to the entire La Mesa community. La Mesa is full of culture and language, Principal Aura Acabel said. We are a community school, working hard to build those relationships. SANTA FE A jury has awarded $1.2 million to a woman who was badly injured when a high-speed chase by Santa Fe police two years ago ended with a crash. Arlena Jackson, 80, filed a lawsuit against Santa Fe city government, the SFPD and Toyota of Santa Fe in September 2016. The case went to a jury trial on May 15 in Santa Fe District Court and ended with a verdict against SFPD on Friday, Jacksons attorney, Lee Hunt, said in an email. In April 2016 police responded to reports of a fight with a possible gun at an apartment complex on Rufina Street. When officers arrived, a Tacoma pickup, later determined to have been stolen from Toyota of Santa Fe, driven by Jeremy Chavez fled the scene. Officers pursued Chavez down Agua Fria at speeds reaching 70 mph. Chavez crashed into Jackson at the intersection of Agua Fria and Lopez Lane and fled on foot. He was arrested days later. Jackson suffered several broken bones and other serious injuries. She argued in her lawsuit that pursuing officers broke department policy on high-speed pursuits because the road conditions on Agua Fria were too dangerous and should have backed off. The Toyota dealership, accused in the suit of not doing enough to keep its vehicles from being stolen, was dropped as a defendant after a settlement. Officer Jacob Martinez, the lead officer on the chase, testified last week that he kept pursuing because he wanted to make sure Chavezs female passenger was safe and said he wished that a supervisor had called off the chase. Chavez, who was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, is now in prison after pleading guilty to crimes stemming from the incident. The states largest university is about to lose its two highest-ranking attorneys. University of New Mexicos Senior Deputy Counsel Kim Bell will depart in mid-June for a new position, following UNMs lead lawyer, Elsa Kircher Cole, out the door. Cole previously announced her plans to retire on June 1 after five years as university counsel. Bell, who has been at UNM for 10 years, accepted a job as associate general counsel for Presbyterian Healthcare Services. She said she had not applied for Coles position because shed decided to pursue something new. Im leaving UNM for another opportunity that Id heard about potentially opening up several months ago, Bell said in an email to the Journal. Ive been lucky to work with outstanding people here and I will always be grateful to UNM. Bell had also earlier this year applied for the Albuquerque city attorney job. The Office of University Counsel has 11 attorneys, including Cole and Bell, between its main campus and Health Sciences Center offices. University President Garnett Stokes recently convened a search committee to help identify Coles replacement. Stokes has asked the committee to recommend up to three candidates for the job which will now be titled chief legal counsel and aims to make a selection by September. Alfred Mathewson, co-dean of the UNM School of Law, will serve in the position on an interim basis. School policy dictates that UNM conduct a national search for the university counsel position and that the president inform the Board of Regents before making an appointment. Two regents, Rob Doughty and Marron Lee, will sit on the search committee with seven UNM employees, including Mathewson and the head of human resources, and a representative from Academic Search, a Washington, D.C.-based search firm. UNM did not specify a salary in the job description, but Cole earns $246,000 annually, according to UNMs sunshine portal. This is what the start of a death spiral looks like. Three states have announced preliminary 2019 premium-rate requests for Obamacare individual-market policies, and the numbers dont look good. In Virginia, the first state out of the gate, insurers requested hikes as high as 64.3 percent. Across all insurers, and weighted for current enrollment, the average increase is likely to be only 13.4 percent, according to calculations from health care analyst Charles Gaba. In Vermont, one of its marketplace insurers requested an average 7.5 percent increase, and the other a 10.9 percent average annual rate increase. In Maryland, insurers have also proposed double-digit increases. There, price hikes average 30 percent, with one plan penciling in an astonishing 91.4 percent jump. Again, these numbers are preliminary; further negotiations with state regulators lie ahead and could materially reduce what premiums will look like in 2019. That is especially true in Maryland, where the governor and state legislators are feverishly working to stabilize the market through a reinsurance fund, which would require a waiver from the federal government. Even so, the numbers are troubling. And theyre a preview of what we should expect nationwide, as more states announce premiums over the next few months. It is not hard to see why prices might spike. Thanks to Republican efforts to sabotage Obamacare, the pool of individual-market enrollees is getting smaller and sicker and, as a result, much more expensive. A formal Obamacare repeal famously bombed last year, of course. Americans stormed town halls and jammed lawmakers phone lines in the name of saving the Affordable Care Act. The once-toxic law received a bump in popularity, and surpassed 50 percent favorability for the first time since passage in 2010. After many unsuccessful attempts at legislative repeal and replace, Republicans gave up and moved on. Or so it seemed. Behind the scenes, they quietly continued their demolition project. Perhaps most significant, the GOP tax law passed in December repealed the individual mandate. This freed healthy people to drop their insurance plans without penalty. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that eliminating the mandate alone will increase individual-market premiums by about 10 percent in most years over the next decade, relative to prices with the mandate in place. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been working to make it easier for people to buy insurance that doesnt comply with Obamacares consumer protections, such as required coverage of prescription drugs and mental-health care, or no bar to people with pre-existing conditions. Additionally, Trump officials made it harder in general for people to enroll in Obamacare-compliant plans, for example, by shortening the open enrollment period this past fall, and reducing outreach and advertising. Meaning that only people already super-motivated to purchase non-junk insurance ended up enrolling. The net effect of all these changes: Younger, healthier and cheaper enrollees are getting siphoned out of the Obamacare marketplace. Older, sicker and more expensive people are sticking around, because they actually need coverage. This pool of remaining enrollees raises average costs for insurers, who then raise premiums, which drives out additional relatively healthy people, which pushes premiums up further. And so on. Or, as Marylands insurance commissioner, Alfred W. Redmer Jr., put it in a call with reporters: I believe weve been in a death spiral for a year or two. Maryland has already seen its marketplace numbers plummet. In March 2017, 243,000 people enrolled in individual plans, Redmer said; a year later, enrollment has fallen to about 211,000. The share of Americans overall who have health insurance of any kind has also been falling since President Trump took office and is expected to fall further, thanks not only to individual-market sabotage but also some states new restrictions on Medicaid eligibility. Whats especially depressing about these trends is that, before Republicans started monkeying with things, it looked as though the individual marketplaces were stabilizing. With insurers now mostly profitable in the ACA individual insurance market, I would have expected single-digit premium increases for 2019 reflecting health-cost growth, says Larry Levitt, senior vice president for health reform at the Kaiser Family Foundation. With repeal of the individual mandate and expansion of short-term plans, double-digit hikes are now likely. Such blatant public-policy malpractice should come with consequences. But what all this means for the coming midterm elections remains an open question. As a share of the total insurance market, the individual markets are small. Most exchange enrollees will be shielded from premium increases thanks to income-based subsidies, and despite Democratic fever dreams, voters dont seem all that motivated by health care. Still, it couldnt hurt Republicans to actually try to get this stuff right. This is the Journals recommendation in the contested Democratic 1st Congressional District primary. Six Democrats are running for the seat, which is currently held by U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham. A Democrat, Lujan Grisham has chosen to run for governor rather than seek re-election. The 1st Congressional District includes almost all of Bernalillo County, all of Torrance County, and small portions of Sandoval, Valencia and Santa Fe counties. The candidate emerging from the Democratic primary with the most votes will face off against Republican Janice Arnold Jones and Libertarian Lloyd Princeton in the November general election. 1st Congressional District Damon Martinez Democrat Damon Martinezs background, track record and willingness to tackle politically thorny issues head-on make him the right choice in the Democratic primary for New Mexicos 1st Congressional District. Martinez is an Albuquerque native who earned a bachelors degree, Master of Business Administration and law degree from the University of New Mexico, and served as New Mexicos U.S. attorney from 2014 to 2017. He has also been an officer in the U.S. Armed Forces for about 15 years, enlisting after the Sept. 11 attacks. He understands the importance of New Mexicos national laboratories and military bases, and would be an effective advocate for Kirtland Air Force Base in the event of another Base Realignment and Closure round in Congress. Martinez has worked in Congress for Sen. Jeff Bingaman and then-Rep. Tom Udall, serving as Bingamans legislative assistant and later as Udalls legislative director. He knows how the system works and would be able to hit the ground running if elected to Congress. He also picked up invaluable experience as a federal prosecutor and later as a U.S. attorney. President Obama appointed him to the position in 2014, and he held that post until President Trump removed him and 45 other U.S. attorneys in March 2017. I can make hard decisions. Im not afraid to make people unhappy, Martinez told the Journals editorial board during a recent interview. He certainly did that in his role as U.S. attorney. He led the local U.S. Attorneys Office during the Department of Justices investigation and settlement agreement with the city of Albuquerque over the city police departments use of force, including numerous deadly shootings. The DOJ found APD had a pattern of excessive force and the department is in the midst of a yearslong reform effort that is being overseen by a federal judge. As U.S. attorney, Martinez also went after the University of New Mexico for its handling of sexual assaults and a system Martinez says benefited the perpetrator at the expense of victims. Martinezs office also prosecuted former Rio Arriba County Sheriff Tommy Rodella for civil rights violations. Rodella was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Taking on APD, UNM and a northern New Mexico sheriff couldnt have been easy, and it certainly didnt win him any popularity contests. Martinez did it anyway because he felt it was the right thing to do, and Democrats in CD1 should take that into account when theyre casting their votes. During his tenure as a U.S. attorney, Martinez also focused on targeting the states Worst of the Worst offenders, making them a priority for federal prosecutions. His office worked with other law enforcement agencies in the state to identify the most dangerous repeat criminals here, and it built federal cases against them, resulting in longer prison sentences for those who were convicted. Martinez supports common sense gun control legislation, such as a ban on bumpstocks; universal background checks; red-flag systems for domestic violence convictions, temporary restraining orders and certain mental illnesses; raising the age for long-gun purchases; and improvements to the federal database and better use of technology to flag problematic purchasers. On immigration, he supports DACA and favors clean legislation giving those who were brought here as children, and have committed no felonies or serious misdemeanors, a path to citizenship. On addressing the crisis of opioid addiction at the federal level, Martinez says the HOPE Initiative, which he started in partnership with UNM Health Sciences focusing on treatment, prevention and education, should be adopted nationally. We cannot prosecute our way out of the heroin-opioid epidemic, he says. Another candidate in the CD1 Democratic primary who has set himself apart from the pack is Paul Moya, 30, who returned home to New Mexico after earning a bachelors degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame, and a masters degree in education policy and management from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He started his own company, Millennial Labs, a business strategy consulting firm, when he couldnt find a job in New Mexico after graduation. Moya has demonstrated he is smart, reasonable and someone who has a bright political future, should he choose to continue pursuing elected office. But on the whole, Martinezs experience, background and courage to do the right thing regardless of the potential political implications make him the right choice in this race. The Journal endorses Damon Martinez in the 1st 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. Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE Michelle Lujan Grisham has touted her 16-year tenure as a state Cabinet secretary under three governors as an asset in New Mexicos primary race for governor, but her two Democratic rivals have raised questions about the circumstances of her 2007 resignation as Department of Health secretary and pushed for her to release her state personnel files. In a televised debate Sunday, state Sen. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces hammered Lujan Grisham on the issue, asserting she had been fired by then-Gov. Bill Richardson and calling on her to disclose the reasons. Lujan Grisham, a three-term congresswoman who is giving up her Albuquerque-area congressional seat to run for governor, strongly disputed the assertion during the debate, saying, Gov. Richardson did not fire me. A Lujan Grisham campaign spokesman on Monday did not directly answer when asked whether the campaign would release any personnel documents. The spokesman said employee personnel files are confidential and it was unclear whether they could even be released, a claim Cervantes dismissed. Meanwhile, Richardson also released a statement Monday saying Cervantes was grossly mistaken about the firing allegation, and said he never sealed the personnel files of Lujan Grisham or any other appointee. Gov. Richardson did not fire Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Richardson spokeswoman said. On the contrary, he promoted her to secretary of health after her very successful tenure at the Department of Aging and Long-term Services. But Cervantes doubled down on the assertion Monday, saying Richardson had told him directly that he fired Lujan Grisham. His campaign also cited recorded 2008 comments made by then-acting University of New Mexico President David Harris that suggested hed been told Lujan Grisham was fired. I wouldnt say anything unless I heard it from the horses mouth, Cervantes told the Journal. I think the governor of New Mexico should share our values, and that includes telling the truth. Lujan Grisham announced her resignation as health secretary in May 2007. She said at the time that she had a good relationship with Richardson, whose then-spokesman said Lujan Grisham had stepped down on her own terms. However, Lujan Grisham had previously been criticized by some for micromanaging and running off some Health Department staffers. She also faced scrutiny for allowing dangerous patient conditions to persist at the Fort Bayard Medical Center, a state nursing home near Silver City. In campaigning for this years primary election, Lujan Grisham has frequently touted her willingness to stand up to governors she served under Richardson, Gary Johnson and the late Bruce King as a Cabinet secretary, but her campaign maintained Monday that doesnt mean she was fired by any of them. Apparently, Michelle is the only person running for Governor who has a sense of humor, Lujan Grisham campaign manager Dominic Gabello said. She was not fired by three governors, but said she was willing to be fired by three governors when she stood up to them to fight for more money for (a program for developmentally disabled children) or going undercover in nursing homes. The other Democrat in the three-way race, former Albuquerque media executive Jeff Apodaca, also targeted Lujan Grisham during Sundays debate, saying opioid-related deaths had gone up during her tenure as health secretary and accusing her of subsequently accepting campaign contributions from pharmaceutical companies. Overall, department figures show New Mexico deaths due to drug overdoses did increase from 2004 to 2007 the years Lujan Grisham was at the agencys helm though national overdose rates also went up during that time. The attacks appeared to perturb Lujan Grisham, who has emerged as the races front-runner by outraising her Democratic rivals and securing 66.9 percent of the delegate vote at the partys pre-primary convention in March. In response to Apodaca, she said the number of school-based health centers doubled during her time at the Department of Health and state immunization rates went up. She also said the kerfuffle over her personnel files didnt make sense, because past New Mexico governors are supporting her campaign. Both Richardson and Johnson have praised her work as a Cabinet secretary. Early voting has already started for New Mexicos primary election, which will be held June 5. New Mexico will have a new governor in 2019, as Gov. Susana Martinez 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 is Steve Pearce, who is also giving up his congressional seat to run for governor. WONSAN, North Korea A small group of foreign journalists arrived in North Korea on Tuesday to cover the dismantling of the countrys nuclear test site later this week, but without South Korean media initially also scheduled to participate. Pyongyang is allowing the limited access to the site to publicize its promise to halt underground tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. It unilaterally announced that moratorium ahead of a summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump scheduled for June 12 in Singapore. The eight South Korean journalists were excluded because Pyongyang has cut off high-level contact with Seoul to protest an exercise with the U.S. military a protest the Norths media reiterated Tuesday, saying saber-rattling and dialogue dont mix. Such messages from the North and Trumps statements he is ready to call it all off have heightened concerns about the success of the summit and prompted South Korean President Moon Jae-in to travel to Washington, where he was to meet with Trump in Washington later Tuesday. The group that arrived by charter flight from Beijing is made up of media from the U.K., Russia, China and the United States. The journalists, including an Associated Press Television crew, will stay at a hotel in this port city on North Koreas east coast before traveling by train to the site, which is in the northeastern part of the country. The dismantling ceremony is expected to be held in the coming days, depending on the weather. The Norths decision to close the Punggye-ri nuclear test site has generally been seen as a welcome gesture by Kim Jong Un to set a positive tone ahead of his summit with Trump. But it is mainly just a gesture. The North has already conducted six underground tests at the site including its most powerful ever, last September and Kim told ruling party leaders last month that further testing is unnecessary. North Korea could build a new site if it decides it needs more testing or could dismantle the tunnels into Punggye-ris Mount Mantap in a reversible manner. Details of what will actually happen at the site are sparse, but Pyongyangs apparent plan to show the closure of the site to journalists, not international nuclear inspectors, has been raised as a matter of concern. The Norths decision to exclude the South Korean media, however, was a more troubling sign of discord. The South Koreans were expected to participate in the trip, but were left behind in Beijing after the North refused to grant them visas. South Koreas government expressed regret over the decision, but said it still hopes the Norths dismantling of the site proceeds as planned and proves to be a genuine step toward denuclearization. The exclusion, a sharp departure from the conciliatory mood between the Koreas since the South hosted the Olympics in February, deepens a standoff that began last week when Pyongyang signaled it would cut off all high-level talks with Seoul in response to the joint military exercises. The North claimed the exercises involved U.S. strategic nuclear assets including nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and violated the spirit of detente on the peninsula. Washington denies the bombers were part of the drills. The Norths official media slammed the drills again on Tuesday. If the U.S. and the South Korean authorities persist in the confrontation policy and war moves against the DPRK, oblivious of this fact, they will be held wholly accountable for all the ensuing consequences, said a commentary in the daily Minju Joson. Dialogue and saber rattling can never go together. Along with its anger over the drills, Pyongyang has warned Kim might reconsider the U.S. summit over hard-line comments from Trumps new national security adviser, John Bolton. Bolton suggested the North must denuclearize before it can receive any reciprocal benefits from Washington. Pyongyang insists the precondition for denuclearization is for the U.S. to end its hostile policy. ___ AP Pyongyang bureau chief Eric Talmadge contributed to this report from Tokyo. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @EricTalmadge WASHINGTON Soaring numbers of water systems around the country are testing positive for a dangerous class of chemicals widely used in items that include non-stick pans and firefighting foam, regulators and scientists said Tuesday. The warnings, and promises by Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt of official action to confront the related health risks, came in a summit with small-town and state officials increasingly confronting water systems contaminated by the toxic substances. Pruitt convened the conference as part of his pledge to step up EPA action on the family of contaminants. Its clear this issue is a national priority, Pruitt said. The summit drew chemical industry representatives, tribal officials and others. Emails made public under the Freedom of Information Act earlier this month and first reported by Politico heightened national attention of the chemicals. The emails included an unidentified White House official calling a still-pending federal study on the chemicals a public-relations nightmare and EPA officials intervening in the publication of the report. The threat comes from thousands of chemicals in a family known as perfluoroakyls and polyfluoroakyls, or PFOA and PFAS, often used to make cloth, fast-food boxes and other surfaces slippery or resistant to grease or water. Scientists believe the chemicals can cause developmental defects and other health problems. Patrick Breysse, head of the federal toxic substances agency involved in the still-unpublished federal study on the chemicals, said his office was called to its first case of public water system contamination from the chemicals only a decade ago. Today his agency is working on dozens of sites contaminated with those chemicals, Breysse said. Now its a big part of our current portfolio, he said. The nonprofit Environmental Working Group estimated in a new study that more than 1,500 water systems serving as many as 110 million customers across the country may be contaminated. In February, in the town of Blade, Delaware, local authorities abruptly ordered the 1,200 residents to avoid drinking or cooking with water from their taps, after tests showed dangerous levels of the chemicals. I dont think anybody knew until this that the compounds even existed, said Jean Holloway, who works with a Delaware nonprofit helping Blade residents deal with the contamination. Todays been eye-opening for me. Its even more pervasive than I realized, Holloway said. The EPA will look at whether to establish a threshold for maximum allowable levels in drinking water, Pruitt said. Pruitt also pledged to start the process of declaring those particular versions of the chemicals as hazardous substances. The step could allow the agency to make companies pay for releasing the pollutants into ground and water. Lawmakers in a Senate hearing last week pressed Pruitt on release of the federal study with new findings on the toxicity of the chemicals. Breysse said it would be released soon, but had no date. Eric Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group that participated in the conference, urged the government to publish the findings, and urged officials dealing with discoveries of the chemical to be up front with the people at risk. When the public feels youre holding back, then the public starts not to trust you, Olson said. Pruitt invited what the EPA said were 200 people to the session in Washington. The EPA initially turned away some news organizations, including The Associated Press and CNN, who sought to cover the meeting. EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said the session was invitation-only and there was no room for the AP, but did not say what criteria were used in determining which news organizations the agency invited. This AP reporter, who asked to speak to public affairs staffers before the conference began, was grabbed by her shoulders and pushed from the EPA building. This reporter did not attempt to force her way into the building or otherwise resist, and was not hurt. The EPA subsequently opened afternoon sessions of the hearing to the AP and other reporters. PERRY HALL, Md. A 16-year-old who was supposed to be on house arrest for auto theft was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the death of a Maryland police officer. After hearing about Dawnta Anthony Harris numerous recent run-ins with the law, a judge called him a one-man crime wave and ordered the teen held without bail. More than 20 police officers were in the courtroom when Harris made his first court appearance by video. Harris has been charged as an adult in the Monday killing of Baltimore County police Officer Amy Caprio, 29, who was responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle. Harris was waiting in the vehicle, a Jeep, while three other teens were inside a nearby home committing a burglary, according to authorities and court records. The slain officers body camera footage clearly shows Harris accelerating the Jeep at Caprio after she tried to apprehend him on the cul-de-sac in the suburban Perry Hall community northeast of Baltimore, prosecutor William Bickel said during the hearing. She fired her weapon. He ran over her, Bickel said. Harris was apprehended shortly after abandoning the Jeep, which was stolen May 18 in Baltimore, he said. A yellow lockup jumpsuit appeared baggy on Harris slight 120-pound, 5-foot-7 frame during the hearing in Towson. When asked if he understood the charge he faces, Harris mumbled yes as he sat next to his public defender. Harris has a series of auto theft arrests and a repeated history of running away from juvenile facilities, according to prosecutors. The teen was on house arrest at his mothers West Baltimore home but ran away May 14, they said. Judge Sally Chester ordered the ninth-grader to be held at Baltimore County Detention Center, an adult lockup. Your client is one-man crime wave, Chester told Harris public defender, who was pushing for Harris to be sent to a juvenile lockup. According to a probable cause statement filed Tuesday, Harris told a detective that he drove at the officer and then abandoned the Jeep a short distance away. Police said in a statement that the Jeep was found with a bullet hole where Caprio fired her service weapon at the driver just before she was struck. The three teens ages 15, 16, and 17 who police say were burglarizing the house were tracked down at their families homes in Baltimore, Chief Terrence Sheridan said. They were in custody but had not yet been identified or formally charged as of late Tuesday afternoon. Scott Shellenberger, the states attorney for Baltimore County, said at a news conference that authorities believe all three can be charged with felony murder in Caprios death. They are in for everything that occurs as a result of that burglary, including when their co-defendant is outside running over a police officer and killing her, Shellenberger said. A medical examiner determined Caprio died of trauma to the head and torso, Sheridan said. Caprio, who would have been on the force four years in July, was smart, athletic and energetic, just the type of officer you want to hire, the chief said. She and her husband were to start vacation this weekend to celebrate their third wedding anniversary and their upcoming birthdays, police said in a news release. The death stunned the quiet, residential neighborhood, said Baltimore County Councilman David Marks, who lives nearby. The community I represent stands united in grief for this fallen police officer, and our hope is that all those involved are brought to justice, Marks said. Gov. Larry Hogan ordered flags to fly at half-staff through Friday, the day of Caprios funeral. Tony Kurek, who lives on the street where Caprio was fatally injured, told The Associated Press his adult son was outside in the familys yard Monday afternoon when the son saw the officer with her gun drawn, confronting someone in a Jeep. The next thing he heard was a pop, and he saw the Jeep take off and run right over her, Kurek said. The car left skid marks, he said, and officer was on the ground bleeding. Harris was wearing an ankle bracelet at the time, Shellenberger said. But the bracelet simply indicated whether Harris was inside his home or outside his home it did not track his whereabouts, he said. Sam Abed, the Maryland Secretary of Juvenile Services, said at the news conference that his department had made many attempts to contact Harris after he went missing from his mothers house but was unsuccessful. Did the system not work? said Sheridan, the police chief. It sounds like it could have worked better in this particular case. ___ Rankin reported from Richmond, Virginia. Associated Press writers Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia, Courtney Columbus in Towson, Maryland, and Randall Chase in Dover, Delaware, contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to remove a reference to the officer being shot. Police have said she was not found with a gunshot wound. PHOENIX U.S. Senate candidate Joe Arpaio has repeatedly pledged his unwavering support for President Donald Trump, but the divisive retired sheriff is unwilling or unable to elaborate on the presidents policies. Arpaio declined at a news conference Tuesday to explain how Trumps earlier plan to impose tariffs on Chinese imports would affect Arizona residents and whether the withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal would make Americans less or more safe. Instead, he focused on his loyalty to Trump, who nine months ago pardoned Arpaios criminal contempt-of-court conviction for intentionally disobeying a judges order in an immigration case. I am not a yes man, but I do support the majority of his policies, his agenda, and Im going to continue doing that, Arpaio said. He was unable to name any Trump policies he opposed. The 85-year-old lawman, who lost his 2016 re-election campaign to a little-known Phoenix police sergeant as his legal problems mounted, spoke to reporters Tuesday before handing in petition signatures needed to compete in the Aug. 28 Republican primary in the race to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake. Arpaio faces U.S. Rep. Martha McSally and former state Sen. Kelli Ward in the GOP field. In his 24 years as metro Phoenixs sheriff, Arpaio wasnt known for immersing himself in the policies and inner workings of his office and often prided himself on farming out those details to his underlings. Now, Arpaio is facing tough questions about the details of his beliefs. Those questions led to tense exchanges between Arpaio and reporters shortly before he turned in the signatures. Asked to say how the tariffs threatened by Trump would affect Arizona residents, Arpaio said only that he wants products to be made in the United States and doesnt believe the approach to tariffs would hurt the state. He also was asked whether he knew what a tariff was. I know what tariffs are, but Im not here to do a history to educate you on what a tariff is, Arpaio said. Similarly, he declined to say whether the Iran nuclear deal would make the United States safer. I dont have all the foreign information, Arpaio said. You expect me to know everything. I am not in the Senate yet. Arpaio, who was known for launching dozens of crackdowns on immigrants as sheriff, bristled when asked about taxpayers rising bill from his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. Taxpayers in Arizonas most populous county have shelled out nearly $88 million over the last five years to cover legal and compliance costs in a racial profiling lawsuit that focused on his immigration patrols. Arpaio lost the case, and a judge ordered a massive overhaul of the agency. The cost to taxpayers is projected to reach $120 million by summer 2019. Arpaio rejected suggestions that he is to blame for the unexpected costs that arose from his patrols. He blamed the costs on the U.S. judge who ruled that Arpaios officers had racially profiled Latinos in the patrols and found that the sheriff had ignored his order to stop the tactic. Its not my fault. I am not guilty, Arpaio said. ___ Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://bit.ly/2GGWEPO. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a rallying call to opponents of abortion, encouraging them to head to the polls to elect conservative lawmakers. Speaking at the Susan B. Anthony Lists annual Campaign for Life Gala, Trump took a victory lap for his anti-abortion policies and nominations of conservative justices to federal courts. But he warned the group that they must show up at the polls to preserve their gains under his administration. Every day between now and November we must work together to elect more lawmakers who share our values, cherish our heritage, and proudly stand for life, Trump said. He summed it up for the roomful of enthusiastic supporters: The story is, 18 midterms, we need Republicans. Trump has long been an unlikely sweetheart for conservative and evangelical voters. But now, in the lead-up to the midterm elections, the thrice-married former Democrat who used to describe himself as very pro-choice has been offering catnip to conservatives. Last week, the administration unveiled a new push to strip funding from Planned Parenthood and other family planning clinics. The initiative, which was formally unveiled Tuesday, is aimed at resurrecting parts of a Reagan-era mandate banning federally funded family planning clinics from referring women for abortions, or sharing space with abortion providers. And it arrived just in time for Trump to highlight it Tuesday at the gala. The speech, said one administration official, had been aimed at a core constituency of conservative activists who are seen as key to energizing the party entering the fall midterm elections. Trump, for his part, promised a massive campaign to assist Republicans this fall, and highlighted his role contributing toward the Republican National Committees fundraising haul. Your vote in 2018 is every bit as important as your vote in 2016, Trump said, reading off a teleprompter. He paused before telling the crowd, Im not sure I really believe that. I dont know who the hell wrote that line, he said, prompting laughs. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List, branded Trump the most pro-life President in history at the Gala, and told the AP the move will help tremendously in the midterms. Its also the latest evidence that as he frets over the Russia investigation and prepares for a planned summit with North Korea, Trump has also been focused on fulfilling campaign promises and tending to issues that galvanize his base: holding a series of events to rail against the dangers of illegal immigration, pulling out of the Iran-nuclear deal and wading anew into the fight over abortion rights. Trump is far from a natural fit for conservative voters. He recently admitted to reimbursing his lawyer for paying pay hush money to a porn star who claimed she had sex with Trump (a charge that he denies). And Trump has bragged about groping women without their permission. During the campaign, he sometimes had trouble articulating his views on abortion, at one point suggesting women should be punished for having abortions. His campaign later walked back the statement, saying that if abortion were ever outlawed, he believed that doctors who perform them should be punished. Nonetheless, white evangelical voters overwhelmingly supported Trump in 2016, and that support has only grown. A PRRI survey released last month found white evangelical support for Trump at an all-time high, with 75 percent of those polled holding a favorable view of the president and just 22 percent holding an unfavorable view. Support for Trump within the general population in the poll stood at just 42 percent. Religious groups like the Catholic Medical Association approve of a series of actions Trump has taken, beginning with his appointment of judges who oppose abortion rights, including Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, and Trumps reinstatement of the global gag rule that bars federal funding for nongovernmental organizations that provide abortion referrals. The White House also points to the administrations support for religious objectors in court and Trumps efforts to bring religious groups back into the fold by ensuring religious groups and their partners are critical participants in the policy making process. Dannenfelser, whose group works to elect candidates who want to reduce and ultimately end abortion, is planning to raise and spend $25 million this cycle, up from the $18 million the group spent in the lead-up to the 2016 elections. She said the presidents latest move would play especially well with voters in states like Missouri, where Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley is challenging Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, one of the Senates most vulnerable incumbents, as well as in Indiana and North Dakota, where Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer is challenging Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. Abortion rights activists, meanwhile, argue that Trumps moves on the issue will only embolden women to turn out at the polls, just as they took to the streets in marches after Trumps election. Its going to cost this administration at the ballot box in November, said Planned Parenthood Federation of Americas Kevin Griffis. We have to fight back in the best way we know how, the group Emilys List wrote in a fundraising email, electing pro-choice Democratic women who will always protect reproductive freedom. ___ Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Ken Thomas and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report. Shortly after she was arrested on an aggravated drunken driving charge early Sunday, state Rep. Monica Youngblood told an Albuquerque officer through tears that she stands up for police when others criticize them. And she made it clear to the officer that she is a legislator one who tries to help the police, she said. I literally fight for you guys, Youngblood tells the arresting officer as she cries in the back of his police car. Well, that doesnt make it OK to drink and drive, he replies. Youngblood insists she hadnt been drinking. Albuquerque police released about an hour of lapel footage Tuesday morning showing the arrest of the 41-year-old Republican lawmaker, often described as a rising political star. Youngblood was driving a 2016 BMW around 1 a.m. Sunday when she was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint on Paseo del Norte. The footage shows her 13-year-old Yorkie, Jeter, riding in the passenger seat. Youngblood was later arrested and booked into the county jail. The representative has supported legislation to toughen DWI-related penalties and, in 2015 she co-sponsored a bill that would have required people accused of aggravated DWI to pay a bond or stay in jail until appearing before a judge. Youngblood did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The state Democratic Party late Tuesday called on Attorney General Hector Balderas, a Democrat, to investigate whether Youngblood had used her position as a legislator to influence police during her arrest. During her encounter with police, Youngblood tells officers she has introduced bills to protect you all. She appears to mention her repeated attempts to reinstate the death penalty for those convicted of killing law enforcement officers, corrections officers and children. Im the one that runs the death penalty for people who try to kill cops and child murderers, she says. Well, I appreciate all that, but that doesnt change anything, the officer tells her. It doesnt change anything at all. That exchange comes after she is put through a series of field sobriety tests, on which, according to the officer, she performed poorly. Youngblood appears to wobble a bit as she walks heel-to-toe. She stands on one foot while counting to 20, and goes beyond what the officer asked for as she counts backward and recites a portion of the alphabet. She repeatedly complained that she was cold and asked for a jacket from her car. Early on, Youngblood told the officer that she was on her way home after a fight with her boyfriend. She seems startled when the officer tells her she is going to be arrested, and says she literally did everything right. He explains the tests are not pass/fail and that he was looking for signs of impairment. Before two of the tests, he asks her about her level of education. I have a high school diploma, plus a real estate license, plus Im a state rep, she says. Oh good, so you can count backwards, Im assuming, and you know your alphabet? he asks. Before handcuffing her, the officer tells Youngblood that she smells of alcohol, even though she denied drinking. She refused to take a breath test, and her refusal was the basis of the aggravated DWI charge. In a statement Sunday, Youngblood said she regrets the situation altogether but she most definitely regrets not taking the breathalyzer test. She did not reply to a Journal question sent to her on Tuesday asking why she chose not to take the test. As the officer fills out paperwork on a laptop while she sits in the back seat of his police vehicle, Youngblood says that she didnt believe it when people told her that officers treated them badly. People tell me that you guys treat people of color like (expletive), and I always stand up for you guys, Youngblood says soon after the officer tells her that he cant remove her handcuffs so that she can wipe her face. I stick up for you guys, and I say, you know what, they wouldnt treat you like (expletive) if there wasnt a reason. Youngblood, whos Hispanic, represents House District 68 in Northwest Albuquerque. She is seeking re-election this year and is set to face Democrat Karen Bash in the general election. Her arrest has drawn little public reaction from fellow public officials so far. But a fellow Republican, Michael Hendricks, whos running for attorney general, called on Youngblood to resign, noting her refusal to take the breath test and arguing that no one is above the law. If Youngblood did decide to abandon her re-election campaign after the June primary, a Bernalillo County committee of the Republican Party would appoint a replacement candidate for the general election. Youngblood was released from the county jail shortly after she was booked. Jeter was taken to an animal shelter. Journal staff writer Dan McKay contributed to this report. An Espanola woman was killed in midday crash on U.S. 500, south of Bloomfield, on Monday. Daisy Vigil, 30, died in the crash that happened around 12:30 p.m., according to New Mexico State Police. The initial investigation indicated a 2002 Honda passenger car was traveling north on US Highway 550, a State Police news release reads. The left front tire appears to have blown out causing the driver to roll the vehicle. Vigil was not properly wearing her seat belt, and was ejected, police said. She died at the scene. Police said alcohol does not appear to be a contributing factor in the crash, which remains under investigation. According to the 2018 edition of Kantar Worldpanels Brand Footprint report, there are 17 FMCG brands that are chosen by consumers more than one billion times a year globally. The Brand Footprint rankings measure, which brands are being bought by the most consumers the most often. Coca-Cola is the worlds most chosen brand, picked from the shelves 5.8 bn times in a year. Colgate and Maggi both achieve podium positions, being also the worlds most chosen personal care and food brands. Colgate is the only brand chosen by more than half of the global populationwith 62% penetration globally ( Penetration: % of global population buying the brand at least once ). Maggi is the fastest-growing Top 50 brand with a global presencewith 14% growth in Consumer Reach Points (CRPs) ( Consumer Reach Points (CRPs) form the basis of the ranking. A metric that measures how many households around the world are buying a brand (penetration) and how often (consumer choice), it provides a true representation of shopper choice) , which has helped the brand to rise one position to become third in the ranking this year. Six out of the 17 brands chosen more than one billion times in a year are owned by Unilever, which leads the manufacturers ranking with 36 bn CRPs per year. Unilevers portfolio includes Lifebuoy in 4th position and Sunsilk and Knorr among the Top 10. Dove, Lux and Sunlight are also Unilevers brands in the billionaire club. Two Pepsico brands, Lays and Pepsi, jointly with Nescafe and Indomie Indofoods very successful brand in Asia and Africa made the remaining positions in the Top 10. Nestle, P&Gs Downy, Palmolive and Sprite are the other brands that join this year the exclusive club of global brands chosen by consumers more than one billion times annually. eBuX recently announced its partnership with Mars Chocolates and Kraft Heinz making further inroads into the FMCG sector with its e-tailing commerce and analytics solutions. eBuX is a scalable solution, built on machine learning algorithms and robust technology that is scalable and stable, for brands that aids in driving brands performance across e-commerce marketplaces. Customers today are steadily moving to the online space to make their everyday purchases. In this scenario, it becomes critical for brands even with low ASP (average selling price) to be present online. According to a recent report by Boston Consulting Group and Google, 40% of all fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) purchases in India will go online by 2020, making it a $5-6 billion business. Also, large FMCG firms in India will spend 20-25% on digital advertising by 2020 and even reach 50-70% for select premium brands. With the improvement of infrastructure, online shopping will grow exponentially in cities beyond the metros and together it is expected to comprise more than 50% of the total online shopper base by 2020. Understanding the impact on this segment, companies in the FMCG sector are moving towards digital transformation in order to adapt to the changing consumer landscape and shopping habits. Both Mars and Kraft Heinz have signed up for e-content services, optimized brand visibility and procuring solution license through their partnership with eBuX. When it comes to a product being visible on the digital shelf, what matters is search optimization, quality score of content, and share of search for the product. eBuX crawls all this data and gives a collaborative information deck to the brand manager. Further, it helps the brand enhance its product discoverability through content solutions, such as imagery and brand storytelling. eBuX helps the brand know their stock hygiene, e-ORM, promotions planning, brand page score on the digital shelf, on-site visibility in their category and content quality score across platforms. Some of the key challenges that brands look to resolve are- creating a single window access to their key performance drivers across Omni-channels and help them win the digital shelf by creating enhanced shopper experience. Shweta Sharma, Chief Business Officer, eBuX at AdGlobal360, said, We are very excited to partner with Mars Chocolates and Kraft Heinz for our eBuX solutions. As the shopping patterns of consumers evolve, these are exciting times for the FMCG marketplace. Through eBuX we are looking to add value to their brands by creating an enhanced shopper experience across marketplaces and insights through data analytics across marketplaces. We customize strategies as per brand needs as each brand needs a bespoke dedicated communication and execution solutions. Rakesh Yadav, Chief Executive Officer, AdGlobal360, said, We are delighted by the tremendous progress made by eBuX in the FMCG space by helping marquee and leading brands in their mission to enhance their digital presence across e-commerce platforms in such a short span of time. We welcome Mars Chocolates and Kraft Heinz to the rapidly growing eBuX family. eBuX is an online channel analytics solution for product manufacturers and an innovator at the forefront of the eCommerce analytics. It helps brands with data points such as on-site discoverability and Share-of-Search across marketplaces of Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm, Grofers, Big Basket etc. eBuX Analytics is constantly attuned to the evolving dynamics of the online shopping e-commerce revolution, delivering e-commerce Insights and Online Store Audits to manufacturers around the world. Reckitt Benckiser, Nestle and Coca Cola India are some of the other prominent FMCG brands that are using the eBuX solution. iAvatarZ has roped in Umesh Ajmani as Global Delivery Head for Performance Business. Umesh will oversee Affiliate Sales and operations globally for iAvatarZ and shall also be responsible for expanding Affiliate business across markets. Prior to this he was heading Publisher Alliances and Delivery for Adways India (which was a Mobile marketing company based in Tokyo, Japan) . He started his career in Digital Industry with Affle India (Affle is a Singapore headquartered Mobile Audience platform company). Welcoming Umesh to iAvatarZ team, Uma Shankar Bhardwaj, founder and CEO, iAvatarZ Digital, says, I feel immensely proud to get Umesh on board with iAvatarZ Digital. "Umesh has a diversified experience in Affiliate Marketing space. He pionered in setting up affiliate business operations for leading mobile marketing companies previously and managed to upscale that business. This makes him ideal choice for helping iAvatarZ's next phase of growth in India and International markets for Affiliate Marketing business. This year iAvatraZ is focussing on building data driven Afiiliate marketing platform which help marketers reach to the highest relevant audience for their brands more efficiently and effectively. I wish him all the best for new journey at iAvatarZ". Umesh says, "I thank Uma for providing an opportunity to work with iAvatarZ for the next phase of growth in Affiliate Marketing domain. My immediate goals shall be to streamline our current affiliate operations & therafter look at expanding this business globally across different geographies. Another major priority is to establish our own Data Management Platform which aggregates Audience profiles based on interest, behaviour patterns, affinity and other parameters which helps in bringing more effective campaign management and delivery. Swatantra Negi (Business Head iAvatarZ) says, " I welcome Umesh Ajmani to iAvatarZ team. Umesh has great experience in successfully delivering and managing Affiliate marketing campaigns with leading mobile marketing companies. iAvatarZ is looking to create a larger scalable affiliate business. Majority of people in the Affiliate market today are just doing arbitrage without proper targeting, Audience database and so on. Our focus shall be to create an Data Management Platform wherein we shall aggregate our own data and build enough intelligence around it to use it successfully for performance marketing campaigns for our clients. Vaibhav Mathur (Business Head) says, Umesh has a global exposure on demand and supply side on performance marketing which shall help in bringing more efficiencies on buying, publisher management and delivery side of Affiliate business . He has worked on leading technology, marketing and attribution platforms across the globe. Today generating performance and ROI for a client has become even more critical and you require specialists who has hands on experence from grass root level plus has a data tech anlaytical skillset. Umesh is an ideal choice who shall be able to deliver on these business challenges. I wish him successful stint at iAvatarZ. The Information and Broadcast Ministry led by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has been immediately saddled with the important tasks of clearing three TV channel applications, organising a meeting of broadcast industry stakeholders, and the matter of leasing space on foreign satellites. The three television channels, Astha Kannada, Astha Tamil, and Astha Telugu that are the regional language subsidiaries of the Astha network that broadcasts religious progammes in Hindi, have been green lighted by the government bank processes and paperwork still need to be completed. The regional TV channels are part of Vedic Broadcasting Ltd (VBL) run by Archarya Balakrishna a close associate of Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev. The MIB has a backlog of 100 applications for TV channels from big and small broadcasters. Independent critics have lauded the swift action taken by the ministry after the halt in processes in the past nine months. Government and industry sources have indicated that under the leadership of Rathore the MIB is looking to bring things to order and perhaps completely undo the changes brought about by previous MIB head Smriti Irani. In a meeting held this week, the representatives of a broadcasting company in charge of 30 TV channels shared their concerns with the ministry. This meeting was also attended by officials representing the Department of Space and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The TV channels representatives ventured switching their broadcasts from Indian satellites to foreign ones in the meeting. They addressed their concerns to ISRO officials who, according to sources, were unwilling to share their data on disaster and backup management, in case of an irregularity that would interrupt their broadcast. The MIB politely advised them from making a hasty decision as it would not be in the national interest. Further meetings may be scheduled with representatives from other broadcasters according to sources. Customer Logins Obtain the data you need to make the most informed decisions by accessing our extensive portfolio of information, analytics, and expertise. Sign in to the product or service center of your choice. Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. The man at the helm of the South Carolina governor's nuclear advisory team wants more transparency from the U.S. Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration, especially in relation to the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. During a Monday afternoon meeting in Seneca, S.C. Governor's Nuclear Advisory Council Chairman Rick Lee provided a 30-minute MOX update, which ultimately included him criticizing the energy agencies. "You know, during this whole process, the openness on the part of the NNSA has been lacking," Lee said, "and I hope that, whatever happens going forward at Savannah River, that they're more open than they have been historically with the people of South Carolina." DOE recommends pit production at SRS and Los Alamos; plan kills, repurposes MOX facility The National Nuclear Security Administration has officially proposed producing plutonium pits nuclear weapon triggers at both the Savannah SCGNAC is a nine-member expert panel that informs the governor on all things nuclear, the Savannah River Site included. MOX is a partially complete facility at SRS that is designed to turn weapons-grade plutonium into commercial reactor fuel. On May 10, the NNSA and the U.S. Department of Defense jointly recommended reworking MOX into a plutonium pit production facility. Plutonium pits are grapefruit-sized nuclear weapon cores, commonly known as triggers. The recommendation included further, cooperative pit work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, as well. The same day the NNSA-DOD recommendation was made, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry submitted a MOX-terminating waiver to congressional defense committees. The waiver priced MOX's lifecycle just short of $50 billion, whereas its DOE-favored alternative, dilute-and-dispose, came in just under $20 billion. Lee said those numbers were interesting. Dilute-and-dispose is a disposition process that involves mixing plutonium with inert material for eventual storage at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. "Whatever the ultimate solution is, I just want candor and truthful exchange of information more than anything else," Lee said, "so that people can make good, sound public policy decisions on what should or shouldn't be done." S.C. governor's nuclear advisors support SRS pit production, German fuel repatriation The South Carolina governor's nuclear advisory team has formalized its support for both bringing plutonium pit production to the Savannah Rive The chairman told the nuclear council he had requested information a cost study, specifically from the NNSA but has yet to receive it. "So I don't know what these numbers actually represent," Lee said of Perry's waiver figures. The Aiken Standard has formally requested several pit production analyses from both the DOE and the NNSA. The requests are currently being processed, according to DOE Freedom of Information Act spokespeople. "The $50 billion is quite a sizable number..." Lee said. "I don't know how they came up with a number like that. So I'm looking forward to seeing the paperwork on this to see if it is believable." GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Palestinians have been wondering if Hamas is trying to replace the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom commercial crossing with the Egypt-controlled Rafah land crossing, which is currently dedicated to individuals only. Kerem Shalom is considered the only outlet for the Gaza Strip to receive humanitarian goods. Palestinian protesters on May 11 raided the Kerem Shalom crossing east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, and set it on fire during the Great Return March, which began March 30. Hamas, which controls the security services in the Gaza Strip, didn't prevent the incident, which raises questions about the movements goal. Previously, the same crossing had been burned on May 4 and after some repairs, it reopened May 6. After Kerem Shalom was burned, Egypt opened on May 12 the Rafah land crossing, about 2 miles from Kerem Shalom, as an alternative. Dozens of trucks carrying construction materials, fuel and foodstuffs entered the Rafah crossing. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on May 18 ordered that Rafah remain open throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan for individuals and for trucks bringing in humanitarian aid. The Gaza Strip is linked to three crossings: the Israel-controlled Erez crossing for individuals, the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom commercial crossing and the Egypt-controlled Rafah land crossing for individuals. Egypt also allows commercial trucks to enter Gaza through the Saladin gate, next to the Rafah crossing entrance, as per previous agreements reached with Hamas during repeated meetings in Cairo in the past few months. Hamas handed over control of the crossings to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its ruling Fatah party in November 2017 as part of a reconciliation agreement signed the month before in Cairo. The Saladin gate wasn't handed over, however, as it's considered an unofficial gate that's not included in the Agreement on Movement and Access reached between Israel and the PA in 2005. Thus, the gate doesn't fall under the control of the PA, but it is supervised by Hamas. After the fire caused serious damage, Israel closed the Kerem Shalom crossing. General Petroleum Corp. in the Gaza Strip issued a circular May 12 ordering all gas distributing stations to halt sales and distribution until further notice. Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing May 15 after some repair work. Trucks laden with medical supplies for the Ministry of Health in Gaza entered the crossing, as well as trucks carrying fuel for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. A day before the May 11 fire, Hamas political bureau member Fathi Hamad had threatened to destroy Gazas crossings. Hamad said in videotaped statements posted May 10 on the local Al-Saa8 website, If the crossings are not [fully] opened and the needs of Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip are not imported, these crossings might be destroyed regardless of their location. The Times of Israel website on May 14 cited a senior officer from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories liaison unit: The people who came to Kerem Shalom and destroyed the crossing, they didnt go there by themselves. We know that Hamas sent them. US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt in a May 13 tweet also accused Hamas of being responsible for burning the crossing and strangling its own people in Gaza. Jamal Muhaisen, a member of Fatahs Revolutionary Council, accused Hamas of instigating the Kerem Shalom burning to undermine the PAs control over it and to prevent the PA from collecting taxes on merchandise reaching Gaza through this crossing. Muhaisen told Al-Monitor, Burning the crossing is an unforgivable crime since it is the only official commercial crossing that meets the humanitarian needs of Gazas citizens. Clearly, the incident is directly linked to Hamads statements, which incited [Palestinians] to burn crossings. Hamas official spokesman Hazem Qassem denied Hamas involvement. He told Al-Monitor, These accusations are part of the Israeli propaganda against Hamas and aim at demonizing the peaceful March of Return. According to Qassem, protesters burned the crossing as a natural reaction of bitterness to the Israeli blockade on Gaza since 2007. Muhaisen said Hamas seeks to replace the Kerem Shalom crossing with the Saladin gate at the Rafah crossing so Hamas, rather than the PA, can collect taxes imposed on the merchandise. He argued that this plan aims at cementing Hamas control on the Gaza Strip. Hamas has often asked Egypt to open the Rafah crossing permanently and turn it into a commercial crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Qassem said the Rafah crossing opening during Ramadan will help alleviate the crises plaguing Gaza. The Rafah crossing is the only one that reaches Gaza through the Arab countries. We have repeatedly called for opening it permanently for individuals and merchandise, to free ourselves from the economic subordination to Israel. This would help solve Gazas economic problems. He accused the PA of abandoning Gaza. Hamas handed over all crossings to the PA, as per the reconciliation agreement. But the PA is benefiting from taxes through the Kerem Shalom crossing, while it refuses to pay the salaries of Gazas employees. Palestinian political analyst Talal Okal told Al-Monitor, Turning Rafah crossing into a commercial crossing might be among Hamas options, as the reconciliation has hit a wall. Okal added, Hamas accuses the PA of ignoring Gaza and claims that the PAs role is limited to collecting taxes through the Kerem Shalom crossing without paying the salaries of its employees in Gaza. Hamas is trying hard to find an alternative crossing with Egypt, with the help of dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, who has excellent ties with Egypt. This would help the movement collect taxes that would allow it to pay the employees salaries. However, Okal emphasized that the PA should have a hand in any new commercial crossing, to pursue unity between Gaza and the West Bank and to avoid feeding into the rift or encouraging two separate authorities for the Palestinian people. Muhaisen said the PA will not allow the Kerem Shalom crossing to close, because the Gaza Strip citizens need it. He noted, The reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing came as a result of the PA efforts to repair large parts of it, which allowed for the trucks carrying merchandise and medicines to enter Gaza. Meanwhile, work is still ongoing to repair the fuel, gas and construction material lines. Still, the PA is concerned about potential attempts to burn and shut down the crossing again, given that Hamas still controls security in Gaza. That makes the scenario of the Rafah crossing replacing Kerem Shalom more likely. The PA would then be deprived of collecting taxes on merchandise entering Gaza, and those taxes would go to Hamas treasury. Iran is no stranger to Western threats and sanctions; Iran's almost categorical response is to dismiss such measures as insignificant and having no impact. In this respect, the Iranian response to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeos May 21 speech, in which he threatened the severest sanctions in history against Iran unless it capitulates to demands related to its foreign policy as well as nuclear and missile programs, is no different. Pompeos words, like those of other American radicals, can be expected to have one definitive impact on Irans political stage: the strengthening of hard-liners. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif were the first to respond to Pompeos speech. Rouhani said the United States was moving 15 years back in time, to the era of President George W. Bush, and repeating the same statements as in 2003 adding that "the world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement May 21 in which it described Pompeos remarks as blatant interference in Irans internal affairs. On the same day, Zarif tweeted, 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. Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on May 22 said Pompeos remarks were not worthy of a response, adding that Zarif had provided enough of an answer. But what were the past ill rewards of US policy that both Rouhani and Zarif referred to? The collapse of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and European powers in 2003-05 due to US pressure had important repercussions for Iranian politics and policy. On the domestic front then, the downfall of diplomacy led to the weakening of the Reform movement while empowering Iranian hard-liners. This became especially evident in the 2005 presidential elections, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the most hard-line among the candidates, scored a surprise win. In terms of Irans nuclear program, the plans drawn up by the George W. Bush administration not only failed to stop it, but in effect accelerated it: Iran went from having just 200 centrifuges to some 20,000 all while being under sanctions. The Islamic Republic additionally increased its level of uranium enrichment to 19.75%. In 2013, after Rouhani came to office and as he was facing the Barack Obama administration, Iran and the West entered a new round of negotiations, which resulted in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As such, history has proven that the current US strategy will only embolden Irans hard-liners and radicalize Iranian foreign policy. In this vein, hard-line media outlets and figures are already increasing their pressure on Rouhani, his administration and the Reformists criticizing the government for its failure to give the United States a powerful response. On May 13, prominent hard-line cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with choosing the next supreme leader, penned a letter to Rouhani in which he demanded that the president formally apologize to the Iranian people for the damages caused by the nuclear deal. Jannati further accused Rouhani of not respecting the establishments red lines during the nuclear negotiations, and said the United States and Europe were in effect playing good cop-bad cop and that Europe, just like the United States, would not abide by its commitments. The letter was initially characterized as a statement by the Assembly of Experts, which the administration criticized. However, it was later revealed that the document, while carrying the letterhead of the assembly, in fact only represented Jannati. Hard-line daily Kayhan harshly attacked the United States in its May 22 edition and described Pompeos threats as hollow and baseless. It said the threats stemmed from Washingtons inability to limit Irans regional power. It also referred to Pompeos demand for restrictions on Irans missile program as a ridiculous US dream, and further described his demand that Iran stop its support for groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas as wishful thinking. The above are but a few examples of how hard-liner criticisms of Rouhani become louder as the US increases its pressures, threats and sanctions. In a tweet May 21, Mostafa Tajzadeh, a former deputy interior minister under the administration of former President Mohammad Khatami and a theoretician of the Reform movement, wrote, Pompeos words are clear. Either Iran does nothing outside its borders or the people of Iran topple the regime before they reach an oil-for-food [program] stage. But what is the establishments response? Sympathizing with the people and political parties or seizing the opportunity to settle their bets with the different political groups? Saeed Laylaz, a prominent university lecturer and political analyst, told Al-Monitor, I think the Islamic Republic can succeed in the face of the US and its threats if it relies on itself. This means granting people freedom in political, religious and social issues and explaining the current situation for them clearly. If they realize that their civil rights are not going to be limited, they will surely appreciate that it is the US and [Donald] Trump who have gone back on their promises and are being a bully. To succeed in this path, you only need to expand the civil rights of the people and be transparent with them. However, it seems that expanding civil liberties is precisely what Irans hard-liners fundamentally object to. Indeed, they appear intent on using foreign threats and the difficult domestic situation as pretexts for more restrictions and to make the general atmosphere more radicalized. If they are successful, it wont be the first time. Ahmadinejad effectively used sanctions and foreign pressures as an excuse to move the government toward political closure and limited freedom of speech. Such a situation will be repeated unless the European signatories to the JCPOA manage to keep the nuclear deal alive. If they fail, one can expect radicals to once again seize power in Tehran and for serious clashes to emerge in the Middle East with the potential of turning into a global crisis. Iranian officials and the normally divided Iranian media have uniformly rejected and ridiculed the May 21 speech by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlining 12 demands of Iran that in essence would fundamentally transform the Islamic Republic. Iran Newspaper, controlled by President Hassan Rouhani's administration, headlined its article on the speech The illusions of the newly arrived politician. The article stated that the speech outlined Trumps hostile policies toward Iran. The Reformist Etemad chose the headline Pompeos delusions for its front-page story. While the Donald Trump administration is promising unprecedented sanctions against Iran and trying to put pressure on Tehran, Etemad reported, Americas closest allies in Europe are busy negotiating with Iran on how to keep trade and the nuclear deal alive. The newspaper Javan, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, used its headline to call Pompeos speech bluster. According to the article, Pompeo had tried to act like Trump in his speech, making 25 false statements. In addition, Pompeo said Iran must 15 times. The article charged that when Pompeo was 14, the United States would say what Iran must do, and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi would say yes, but then Iran kicked out the shah. Javan described Pompeos 12 demands as unintentionally listing Americas failures and Irans ascending strength. Kayhan, whose editor is appointed by the supreme leaders office and is often the first to attack the Rouhani administration for every perceived and imagined shortcoming, saved its wrath for Pompeo. The headline for its front-page article roughly translates To hell with Pompeos 12 and makes reference to Americas big mouth. The article said that Pompeos speech, which channels Trump, was a reminder that whenever a country retreats in the face of the United States, Washington only increases its demands of it. A number of Iranian officials also commented on Pompeos speech. In a speech delivered May 21, Rouhani likened Pompeos demands to those from George W. Bush's presidency, adding, The world will not accept America making decisions for all countries. On Pompeo, Rouhani said, That a person who worked in a spy agency for years becomes the secretary of the state and wants to make decisions for all of the countries is in no way acceptable. Rouhani asked rhetorically, Who are you to decide for the world and Iran in the field of nuclear energy what Iran must do? The Foreign Ministry released a statement responding to what it called Pompeos insulting comments. It described Pompeos speech as an attempt to divert world attention from Americas illegal action and violation of the nuclear deal. It also said Pompeos speech once again demonstrated Americas poor intelligence, weak insight and backward analysis in its decision-making process. It added that those in America who are seeking war do not know history nor are they able to learn its lessons. In response to Pompeos accusations that Iran supports terrorist groups, the statement countered, referring to the United States as the father of al-Qaeda, Daesh [Islamic State], the hypocrites [Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, MEK], Jundollah and other takfiri terrorist groups. Even the normally soft-spoken Mohammad-Bagher Nobakht, spokesman for the Rouhani administration, struck an unusually harsh tone in his weekly press conference May 22, in light of Pompeos speech. Nobakht referred to post-revolutionary Iran in the 1980s, asking rhetorically whether the United States remembers Iran's foreign policy of neither East nor West or the US helicopters that crashed in Iran attempting to rescue US hostages in 1980 or Iran not being weakened by the MEK bombing campaigns. Nobakht expressed incredulity at comments by US national security adviser John Bolton to an MEK crowd that they would be celebrating in Tehran in 2018. After the Sairoon (On the Move) Alliance emerged victorious in the May 12 Iraqi elections, its leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, has been seeking meetings with the leaders of the other top-vote-getting alliances to discuss the possibility of forming the largest bloc in the new parliament and ultimately form the new Cabinet. At a May 19 joint press conference after talks with Sadr, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose Al-Nasr (Victory) Alliance came in third, said, During our meeting, we agreed to work together and with other parties to expedite the process of forming a new Iraqi government. A few days later, on May 22, Al-Nasr spokesman Hussein al-Adeli said Abadi had reached an agreement with Sadr on a map for forming a new government. Abadi himself, in his weekly press conference the same day, said his coalition was close to reaching an understanding with the Sairoon Alliance to form a strong technocratic government. In a May 20 meeting with Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the second-place Fatah Alliance, consisting of the political wings of the pro-Iran militias of the Popular Mobilization Units, Sadr had said, The process of government formation must be a national decision, and importantly, must include the participation of all the winning blocs along a national path. Sadr appeared to select the phrasing national decision and national path especially for Amiri, who had days earlier met in Baghdad with Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Quds Force, in an attempt to form a pro-Iranian parliamentary bloc. Sadr also held talks with Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Hikma Alliance, on May 21 and spoke of the importance of forming the upcoming government in a way that ensures fixing the path of the political process to suit the aspirations of the Iraqi people who reject sectarianism and corruption. Sadr also met May 21 with Iyad al-Allawi, leader of the predominantly Sunni Al-Wataniyah Alliance, and two days earlier had received a letter from Kosrat Rasoul Ali, first deputy for the secretary-general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, in line with discussions on potential alliances requiring Sunni and Kurdish participation alongside the Shiite majority to form a government. After failing to assemble a parliamentary bloc under Iranian auspices consisting of the four largest Shiite lists the State of Law Coalition and the Al-Nasr, Hikma and Fatah Alliances Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi attempted to lure Sadr to his side to prevent the formation of an anti-Iran government. Masjedi told Iran's Al-Alam TV May 21, Iran has constructive relations with all parties, blocs and coalitions that won the majority of parliamentary seats in the fourth elections. Masjedi also denied rumors of a dispute between the Iranian leadership and Sadr, saying, Irans relations with Sadr are historical and deep-seated. The country had close relations with the martyrs Mohammed Baqr and Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr [Muqtada's uncle and father, respectively]. Masjedi added, Iranian officials relations with Sadr are friendly and brotherly, and many of them, including Soleimani, appreciate Sadr greatly. In fact, Sadrs father and Iranian officials were not friendly at all. His representative in Iran, Jaafar al-Sadr, son of Mohammad Baqr, was arrested and his office shuttered in Qom in 1998. In addition, everything indicates that relations between Muqtada and Iran have gone downhill as well in recent years. Sadr had made several statements critical of Iranian interference in Iraqi decision-making, and his alliance competed against the pro-Iran lists Al-Fatah and the State of Law Coalition in the elections. In the preceding years, Sadrs supporters chanted slogans against Iran at protests calling for reform. Sadr, unlike his rivals Maliki and Amiri, has not met with Soleimani in recent years. Sadr greeted a group of ambassadors from neighboring countries May 19 after his list's victory was confirmed. In attendance were the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey and Syria. Official Iranian websites, including Al-Alam's, criticized Sadrs relations with Saudi Arabia and charged that Riyadh had been behind Iran's exclusion from the meeting. Sadr insists that the largest parliamentary bloc include all Iraqi components, which would be unprecedented if successful. The largest parliamentary bloc has always consisted solely of Shiite parties, which then negotiated with Kurdish and Sunni blocs over forming the government. On May 21, Sadr tweeted, I am Muqtada. I am Shiite, Sunni, Christian, Saebean, Yazidi, Islamist, civil, Arab, Kurdish, Assyrian, Turkmen, Chaldean and Shabak. I am Iraqi. Do not expect me to side with any sect against the other to renew enmities and lead to our demise. We are headed toward a comprehensive Iraqi alliance. Al-Hayat newspaper on May 21 cited Iraqi sources close to Sadr discussing efforts to bring together Abadi, Allawi, Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Massoud Barzani and Sunni Al-Qarar Alliance leader Khamis al-Khanjar to explore forming the leading parliamentary bloc with all their parties participation. If Sadr succeeds, Iraq might overcome sectarian quotas in forming a government, and Iranian influence would dwindle with its political allies, Al-Fatah and the State of Law Coalition, excluded from the bloc. Three hospitalizations in the course of a week have made whispers about the health of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the stuff of headlines. On the evening of May 20, with Abbas in a Ramallah hospital with a high fever, an ear infection and possible pneumonia, a senior Israeli defense official speaking on the condition of anonymity told Al-Monitor that Israel does not perceive an immediate threat to the Palestinian leaders life. In the same breath, he added, however, There is no debate that we are seeing his final leadership days. Other Israeli security sources say, based on intelligence reports, that the elderly Palestinian leader 82 and a half years old, still chain smoking and with a long list of medical ailments could exit center stage anywhere from a few months to two years from now. In other words, the time is about right to prepare for what happens after his departure. When I recently asked five Israeli Cabinet ministers who will take over after Abbas, not one could offer a name or even a well-thought-out assessment of what might happen. The situation is the same among members of Israels intelligence community. When Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat was dying, there was no doubt that Abbas would succeed him. Now, with Abbas, the most common response is, Anything can happen. As far as anyone knows, the Israeli Cabinet has not held serious discussions about who the next partner for peace will be. Perhaps it is because most Cabinet members are not interested in such a partner. Abbas himself has done nothing to ensure an organized transfer of power. Majid Faraj, head of his security forces, may be the Americans' choice and appreciated by the Israelis, but Abbas has not positioned Faraj to be his successor in any of the PLOs institutions. Israel thinks Abbas simply wants to be missed. Given the situation, the most common assessment in Israel is that once Abbas is gone, the Palestinian Authority (PA) will face a succession struggle. It is possible that a triumvirate will be formed or that one of several bureaucrats will be appointed for a set period of time. The names being mentioned in this regard are Mahmoud al-Aloul, who was appointed Abbas' deputy in the PLO in 2017, or the current PA prime minister, Rami Hamdallah. Some people have also mentioned former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who would have been the dream candidate of the previous US administration, for placing economic peace over a comprehensive peace agreement. Regardless, the Israeli security establishment is concerned about the day after Abbas, with the PA in a transition and Hamas in the background trying to seize control of the West Bank. Most experts estimate that during this period, the PA will be administered by a governing group rather than a single leader. Behind the scenes, Israel is talking about the deep-rooted strategic debate between the Israeli political and military leadership regarding attitudes toward Abbas while he is still alive. Over the last few months, senior Israeli ministers have competed among themselves for the privilege of shaming Abbas, of calling him derogatory names and charging that he supports terrorism and even coordinates terrorist attacks, all the while hoping he'll disappear. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has been behind this trend for the past two years and was recently joined by other ministers, the most prominent being the relatively moderate energy minister, Yuval Steinitz. Then there is the professional echelon, whether the Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence, Shin Bet or the military leadership in general, from Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot on down. They have a completely different outlook. In a series of conversations with several defense establishment senior officials over the last few months, I heard a different assessment of Abbas. His very clear directive to continue combating terrorism has not changed. The PA continues to fight terrorism, and its security forces continue to cooperate with Israel on it. In fact, numerous attacks have been prevented by Israeli-Palestinian cooperation. Most important, however, Abbas has prevented the most heavily armed force in the West Bank, Fatahs own Tanzim, from joining the circle of terror. It is what kept the system with its head above water during the wave of knife attacks over the last two years, one senior defense official told Al-Monitor, speaking on condition of anonymity. Only clear instructions from Abbas kept most Palestinians out of the circle of violence. Thats the main thing as far as the IDF and the security establishment are concerned. As for the political leadership in the most right-wing coalition in Israeli history, that Abbas dares to fight Israel on the diplomatic front is unforgivable. Similarly, that he continues to pay the salaries of murderers and other prisoners sitting in Israeli prisons is considered a casus belli. The defense establishment has repeatedly told the political leadership that it will miss Abbas when hes gone. The politicians respond with apathy. They want to be given a chance to miss him first. The revulsion that Liberman feels toward Abbas is frequently attributed to Liberman's close relationship, according to regional sources, to former Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan, who wanders between the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, amassing power, and Mohammed Rashid, Arafats legendary moneyman. Liberman has grandiose regional plans that involve these two men, or at least one of them, and others, among them the Egyptians and Saudis. Yet the feasibility of these plans remains up in the air. What is clear is that Liberman is eagerly awaiting the day Abbas leaves the stage. What do you want him to do? Sing HaTikva every morning? Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai asked Liberman in one of their frequent arguments when Mordechai headed the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, according to a defense official. Someone else missing from the equation is senior Fatah member Marwan Barghouti, currently serving five life sentences and 40 more years for overseeing terrorist attacks during the second intifada (2000-2005). Barghouti enjoys widespread support among the Palestinian public and is frequently mentioned as someone who could lead the West Bank after Abbas. For that to happen, however, Israel would have to release him from prison, and for that to happen, there would first need to be a change of government in Israel. Despite rumors and speculation over the last few weeks, no one in Israel's political leadership has any plans to spring Barghouti. Even if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to come to the conclusion that only Barghouti could prevent Hamas from taking over the West Bank, it is doubtful he would have the political stamina to initiate the popular Palestinian leaders release, even though Barghouti is, ostensibly, one of the more pragmatic Palestinian leaders and a member of the PLO rather than Hamas. Since no one imagines the left returning to power in Israel in the foreseeable future, it looks like Barghouti will remain in prison for many long years to come. As long as I can remember, I've known that there was only one unique Holocaust in the history of humankind. We learned that the Armenians had suffered a genocide and that a peoples massacre had been perpetrated in Rwanda. We learned that Israels Arab citizens experienced a catastrophe, known in Arabic as the Nakba, when the state was established 70 years ago and they were uprooted from their homes. We were told that the use of the term Shoah, Hebrew for Holocaust, to characterize atrocities committed after World War II does a moral and historic injustice to the 6 million Jews exterminated by the Nazis. However, a sea change has now occurred, and senior elected officials have ceded the Jewish monopoly over the Holocaust. On May 16, Education Minister Naftali Bennett used Shoah in calling on Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein to promote Israeli recognition of the holocaust against the Armenians carried out by Turkey. Last month, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan of the Likud used the same term in urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize the "Armenian Holocaust." Knesset member Amir Ohana, also of the Likud, drew a direct line between Nazi crimes and the massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenian people by Ottoman forces during World War I. When Hitler presented the Wehrmacht officers with his plan for mass extermination, Ohana wrote on Facebook, he reassured those worried about the reaction of the world by saying: After all, who mentions the extermination of the Armenian people anymore?" He added, If for no other reason, that is why we should have already recognized this murder officially. An original and winning argument? Not really. A quick glance through the Knesset minutes from February reveals that Yair Lapid, chair of the Yesh Atid opposition party, presented this argument virtually word for word three months ago to present proposed legislation recognizing the Armenian genocide. The question facing the Knesset today is not a practical one, it is not a foreign relations issue, it is a fundamental moral issue, Lapid said. Can we as Jews ignore a holocaust? Himself the son of a Holocaust survivor, the late Knesset member Yosef Lapid, he added that the State of Israel could not afford to ignore the genocide of another people, the murder of its children, women and elderly. It is not moral, it is not just and we have a commitment, Lapid concluded. And how did his fellow Knesset colleague Ohana vote? Like the 15 other Likud members who bothered turning up for the debate, he voted nay. So did the Knesset members of Bennetts HaBayit HaYehudi. Their leader, along with the Likuds Erdan, skipped the vote altogether. Deputy Minister Michael Oren, who said during a 2015 Knesset debate, Its time for us as a state to recognize the massacre of the Armenians and do it justice and close the circle, also voted against the proposed bill. So did all the members of his center-right Kulanu. The Knesset voted down the proposal to recognize the Armenian genocide by 41 to 28. Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely informed the Knesset in that same session that her ministry was opposed to the legislation proposed by Lapids party. She conceded that it was important to recognize the suffering of the Armenian people and the tragedy they experienced, but despite our deep identification with them stemming from the experience of the Jewish people, theres no room to take a stand on the issue. She went on to explain, Given the complexity and the diplomatic repercussions, and the clear political context, theres no place for a step that could necessarily be interpreted as recognition of the Armenian genocide. Hotovely added, This situation is not expected to change anytime soon. It is unclear yet whether the verbal clash between Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the killing of Palestinians during violent demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel border changed the situation to such an extent that the government is at long last heeding calls for recognition of the Armenian genocide. But if it does so, the world in general and the Armenians in particular will see through the claims of morality and conscience and recognize the move for what it is: taking cynical advantage of a genocide to exact diplomatic retribution and score PR points. It's true that joining the 29 other states, among them 11 members of the European Union, that have recognized the genocide would undermine the prospects of eventual reconciliation with Erdogans regime. To resolve its previous contretemps with Turkey over the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla that sought to breach the Israeli siege of Gaza, Israel relented and paid compensation to Turkish victims of its commando raid on the vessel. It will not be able to go back on its recognition of the Armenian genocide. Such decisions cannot be made in the heat of the moment, nor as public relations ploys. The Talmud had this to say about such situations: Woe unto me from my creator and woe unto me from my inclination." Knesset member Yair Tzaban (Meretz), who first proposed recognition of the Armenian genocide some 30 years ago, told Al-Monitor that such a move now would raise an issue of Jewish law that questions the value of a good deed born in sin. Tzaban suggests instead adopting the approach of conscientious Israelis who take a stand on each issue on its merits rather than conducting moralistic scorekeeping. The opportunity now emerging for Israeli recognition of the genocide, he advised, should not be missed. Turkish criticism of the current right-wing Israeli government, harsh as it may be, will not turn me into a fan of Erdogan and his dark and oppressive regime, which have inflicted deep scars on the bodies and souls of Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian freedom fighters and lovers of democracy, Tzaban said. At the same time, he added, no condemnation of Erdogan and of Hamas rulers of Gaza will blunt his harsh criticism of Netanyahu and Co. for leading Israel on a dangerous road that stifles the Jewish peoples hopes of national revival and of peace. BEIRUT Morocco's decision to sever ties with Iran May 1, after accusing Iranian-backed Hezbollah of training and arming the Polisario Front and seeking independence for the disputed Western Sahara, provoked mutual accusations between Morocco and Algeria, which supports the Polisario Front. In a June 12 interview with the French Pan-African magazine Jeune Afrique, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita revealed details of Algerias cover, backing and operational support for meetings held between high-caliber Hezbollah cadres and Polisario leaders in a hideout in the capital, Algiers. He claimed that the Iranian Embassy in Algeria served as a link between Hezbollah, Algeria and the Polisario Front. Bourita said in the interview that he had told his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif the names of senior Hezbollah military officials who had visited, on several occasions since March 2017, the Tindouf refugee camps controlled by the Polisario Front in order to supervise training courses, set up facilities and meet with Polisario officials. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasimi responded in a press conference May 16, saying, Moroccan officials during their meetings with our foreign minister or during their TV interviews failed to provide any evidence to substantiate these allegations." Algerian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdel Aziz Ben Ali Sharif rebutted the accusations of Moroccos Foreign Ministry. In a May 13 statement, Sharif said, Instead of submitting the 'irrefutable' evidence that he claims he holds, which really does not exist the Moroccan minister chose to opt for mystification and fabrication. On May 2, the Iranian Embassy in Algeria had denied Moroccos allegations. The day before, the Polisario Front also had rejected them, calling them an attempt by Rabat to shirk the peace process. Hezbollah also said in a May 1 statement, It is unfortunate that Morocco under pressure from the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia is resorting to these false accusations. The head of Algerias National People's Assembly, Said Bouhadja, told parliament May 16 that Morocco's recent allegations will not shake Algeria's inalienable and supportive stance on the Western Sahara issue. Bouhadja mentioned the UN Security Council's position, in Resolution 2412 of April 27, that self-determination should be the subject of UN-sponsored direct negotiations in good faith and without preconditions between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front in order to reach a just and mutually acceptable political solution that would ensure the self-determination of the Western Sahara people. Moroccan university professor Abdel Rahim Manar al-Sulaimi, head of the Atlantic Center for Strategic Studies and Security Analysis in Rabat, told Al-Monitor that the history of Moroccan-Iranian relations abounds with crises and conflicts. The conflict began in the early 1980s and resurfaced in 2008 and 2009 after Morocco dismantled the Abdel Qader Belaraj terrorist cell in Morocco linked to Iran and Hezbollah, he said. Today, Iran and Hezbollah are trying to change the Polisario's structure by establishing a Hezbollah Maghreb branch that targets Morocco from the southwest of Algeria and over the UN buffer zone in Western Sahara. Sulaimi added, Morocco has detected a close coordination over the last two years between the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Algerian Embassy in Tehran. They couldnt have dug tunnels and transferred missiles from Algerian territory to the Polisario Front without Algeria actually knowing. Algeria is a key partner in the Iranian project carried out by Hezbollah inside Polisario camps. He added, Algeria seeks to destabilize Morocco while Iran's goal is to expand in North and West Africa and the Polisario Front is its gateway. However, Nana Labat Rachid, a writer and activist close to the Polisario Front, disagrees. Morocco wants to woo the anti-Iranian Trump administration, knowing that Trump is angry with the Moroccan regime" for reportedly providing funding in 2014 to the charity of his presidential election competitor, Hillary Clinton, Rachid told Al-Monitor. Morocco wants to exploit the accusation of terrorism leveled by some countries against Hezbollah to allege its cooperation with the Polisario Front in terms of training and armament to frame the Polisario and portray it as a terrorist group. Rachid said that the Polisario Front flaunts its international connections and that Iran has recognized the Sahrawi state since 1980. Western Sahara had an embassy in Tehran, but in the late 1990s diplomatic relations turned lukewarm and the embassy closed. But the relationship now is not bad in general, she added. Emphasizing the strength of the Sahrawi army, Rachid said the force was created before Hezbollah and is more advanced. She said the Sahrawi army has fought against Spain, Morocco and Mauritania and is well prepared. It is the ally of Algeria; it does not need to be trained and armed by Hezbollah, she said. Lebanese political analyst Tawfiq Shoman told Al-Monitor, According to my analysis of Moroccos foreign relations policy, severing ties with Tehran was part of a general Arab campaign against Iran. Recalling the Arab campaign against Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War where several Arab states, including Morocco, severed ties with Iran in solidarity with Iraq, Shoman said the recent Moroccan decision was probably aimed at showing solidarity with Saudi Arabia. He said, Saudi Arabia is mulling over sending Arab troops to Syria. Morocco might be paving the way for forming Moroccan public opinion against Iran to justify its participation in these troops, especially as the Moroccan public is hostile to the Polisario Front, and sees it a separatist movement that threatens the territorial integrity of Morocco. The Moroccan authorities linked severing ties with Iran to the most serious security threats from the Polisario Front. In turn, a source close to Hezbollah told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Lebanese party is busy getting ready for its next confrontation with Israel in Lebanon and Syria, and for fighting extremist groups in Syria. The Western Sahara issue is not a priority for Hezbollah, the source said. Moroccos accusations are not based on data and facts, but rather fall within the scope of the escape-forward policy in a bid to avoid the challenge of finding a political solution and holding a referendum on self-determination in the Western Sahara, as stipulated in the recent UN Security Council Resolution 2414. Regardless of the context behind Morocco's accusations against Iran, Hezbollah and Algeria, these charges once again have brought into the spotlight the Sahara conflict that was ignited more than 40 years ago. Morocco controls 80% of the desert territory and considers it part of Morocco's national territory. Morocco proposes granting autonomy to the Sahrawi population, while the Polisario Front demands the Sahrawis right to self-determination and separation from Morocco. WASHINGTON Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in remarks laying out the Donald Trump administrations Plan B after its exit from the Iran nuclear deal, said today the United States would rally the world to impose crippling economic pressure on Iran to force it to end all enrichment forever, halt its support for military proxy groups, curb its missile program and withdraw its military advisers from Syria, among other demands. But Americas new top diplomat did not explain how the United States would persuade deeply skeptical and wary international allies and partners to endorse the kind of maximum pressure campaign that would threaten the Iranian regimes survival and possibly foment regime change. 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, Pompeo said in remarks to the conservative Heritage Foundation, in his first major foreign policy address since he became secretary of state last month. It will not have the resources to do both. Pompeo said the United States would not help European allies, Russia and China in their current frantic efforts to keep Iran in the 2015 nuclear deal after Trump withdrew from it on May 8. And he signaled, as national security adviser John Bolton has previously, that the Trump administration would not be inclined to offer waivers or exemptions on US secondary sanctions that are being phased in over the next few months. We will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account, Pompeo said. I know that they may decide to try and keep their old nuclear deal going with Tehran, Pompeo said of European allies. That is certainly their decision to make. They know where we stand. The remaining parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China as well as Iran and the European Union are set to hold their first meeting without the United States of the Joint Commission overseeing JCPOA implementation on May 25 in Vienna. Political directors from the United States and the E3 the three European countries that helped negotiate the JCPOA (Britain, France and Germany) were tentatively scheduled to meet on May 24, a diplomatic source told Al-Monitor late last week, though it was not clear if those plans had changed after Pompeos speech on May 21. While setting out a list of a dozen demands for the Iranian regime, Pompeo suggested that the alternative scenario resulting from US-led economic pressure might be regime change that the Iranian people would rise up and overthrow their rulers. That prospect is one that is likely to be assessed as unrealistic, and alarming, to many of the European, Russian and Asian partners that the Trump administration is trying to persuade to get on board with its maximum pressure campaign. At this milestone, we have to ask: What has the Iranian Revolution given to the Iranian people? Pompeo said. Irans economy is stagnant and without direction and about to get worse. Its young people are withering under the weight of frustrated ambitions. European leaders, who had been waiting for the Trump administration to announce its vision for a post-JCPOA Iran strategy, did not seem to find much to work with from Pompeos strident speech. Most simply, they expressed deep skepticism that it would work. I think the idea of a jumbo Iran treaty [is] very difficult, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a press availability in Argentina March 21. I think if you try to now to fold all those issues ballistic missiles, Irans behavior, Irans disruptive activity in the region, nuclear activity into a new jumbo Iran negotiation, a new treaty I dont see that being very easy to achieve in anything like a reasonable timescale, Johnson said. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she had listened attentively to Pompeo's speech, but was not convinced by it. "Secretary Pompeos 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 Irans conduct," Mogherini said in a statement. "There is no alternative to the JCPOA." Pompeos maximalist demands may very well persuade Europe to cooperate less with the United States on countering Iran, said Iran analyst Ali Vaez. The speech showed that the Trump administration is united in its pursuit of regime change in Tehran, Vaez, a senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al-Monitor. This is not news to the Iranians, but could potentially help further unite the Europeans in their efforts to salvage the deal and stave off another war in the region. To believe that a redux of the failed policies of the past four decades would produce a better deal or a more moderate Iran is to believe in unicorns, Vaez said. The Trump administration has now made it clear that Europe wasted its time in trying to convince it to stay in the deal. Its message to Europe is now clear: Join me in changing not Iran's behavior, but its regime. I doubt there is any appetite for that in Europe. Pompeos maximalist demands are also likely to close off any prospect for future dialogue with Iran, Vaez said. With the US unilaterally and recklessly violating the nuclear deal and pursuing maximalist demands, its ability to restore its sanctions leverage will be limited, Vaez added. Even if it could inflict maximum pressure on Tehran, such onerous measures are unlikely to persuade a leadership seemingly convinced that the only thing more dangerous than this threat would be to surrender to it. Pompeos speech is a huge slap in the face to the Europeans, Suzanne Maloney, a State Department Iran policy planning expert during the George W. Bush administration, told Al-Monitor. It was needlessly provocative. The [Trump] administration does believe that they can in fact compel the Europeans to go along with US sanctions, and there is no real deal to be negotiated, Maloney, now with the Brookings Institution, said. What Pompeo outlined is not a viable or realistic diplomatic strategy. It draws zero support from any of our allies or partners, with the exception of Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Pompeos speech, which did not mention Russia or China, suggests the Trump administration does not understand how important Russian and Chinese buy-in and pressure were to achieving progress in the Iran nuclear negotiations in 2013, Maloney said. The speech was completely incognizant of the degree to which Russian and Chinese coordination are vital to any serious diplomacy, she said. If I were sitting in Berlin or Paris or London or Brussels, I dont see anything that suggests the US wants to be part of some diplomatic process that works with the countries that generate leverage on Iran, Jeff Rathke, a former State Department diplomat now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Al-Monitor. Turkey established its 12th and last military observation post in the opposition-held regions of Idlib province, in northern Syria, last week. The deployment of Turkish forces is based on an accord with Russia and Iran, which was agreed upon in Astana in September 2017, to establish de-escalation zones between opposition fighters and regime forces. These zones give Turkey another military foothold in Syria just south of Afrin, which was captured from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) by the Turkish army and Free Syrian Army fighters in March. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared in January that Turkey would also control Idlib, with a view to settling Syrian refugees and displaced persons there, after the Turkish army completed its Operation Olive Branch in Afrin. While Turkey appears to have made more military headway in Syria in this way, questions are being raised as to whether Ankara may be walking into a trap of its own making in Idlib. Sedat Ergin, a veteran foreign policy commentator for daily Hurriyet, has pointed to the potential hazards facing Ankara there. Its possible to say that the mission by the Turkish army in Idlib is the riskiest cross-border operation it has undertaken to date, Ergin argued in an article analyzing the establishment of the 12th de-escalation zone last week. Ergin also pointed out that neither Russia nor Iran have fulfilled their part of the accord regarding these zones yet. Under the agreement, they should have established their own zones by now, opposite those set up by Turkey. Those zones will be necessary to ensure that the Turkish army and Syrian regime forces do not face off, should Syrian President Bashar al-Assad decide to go after opposition forces in Idlib. Having made serious advances against the opposition in and around Damascus, as well as in northern Syria, the possibility that an emboldened Assad may decide to move on Idlib cannot be taken lightly, according to Ergin. Under the Astana agreement, Russia and Iran have to prevent the Assad regime from mounting such an operation. It is still useful to note, however, the possibility that the Assad regime may defy pressure from Russia and act on its own, Ergin argued. Retired Brig. Gen. Naim Baburoglu believes Russia and Iran would prevent a direct confrontation between Turkish and Syrian regime forces. Moscow and Tehran have concrete interests in maintaining good ties with Turkey, which they cant afford to endanger because of developments in Syria, Baburoglu told Al-Monitor. He was nevertheless cautious with regard to the possibility that Assad might defy Russia and Iran and target opposition forces in Idlib. Baburoglu said that should Assad go down that path, it would also result in a new influx of refugees to Turkey, apart from risking a Turkish-Syrian confrontation. The population in Idlib is currently said to be around 3 million, of which 1.5 million are reportedly internally displaced Syrians. Turkey is already playing host to 3.5 million Syrians, and it cant afford another mass influx of refugees. Ankaras hopes to resettle some of the refugees in Turkey in Idlib could, therefore, be shattered, leaving it to face hundreds of thousands of new refugees just as it was hoping to reduce the number of those it already hosts. Another potential risk for Turkey in Idlib, according to Ergin, is the fact that the opposition forces arriving there from parts of Syria that were lost to the regime include Salafist and jihadi groups. The presence of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups establishing themselves along the Turkish border is also a potential time bomb for Ankara, which has suffered a number of deadly attacks from the Islamic State in recent years. How Ankara plans to manage groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and Russia, and prevent them from entering Turkey as refugees is still not clear. The responsibility undertaken by Turkey in Idlib inevitably brings up the question of how relations between Turkey and the HTS will develop, Ergin wrote. According to at least one Western diplomat, Russia and Damascus are hoping to concentrate radical groups in areas held by Turkey. It looks as if they want to transfer the responsibility of keeping these groups in check to Ankara, the Western diplomat told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. This issue is also problematic for Turkey because it is already being accused by many in the region, and the West, of supporting radical groups in Syria, a charge that Ankara denies. Groups like HTS appear set to create serious headaches for Ankara should they start staging attacks against regime forces from within Turkish-controlled de-escalation zones. However, the real problems for Turkey in Idlib, and indeed in other parts of northern Syria where Turkish forces are deployed, will begin when the Syrian crisis moves to the political settlement and constitution drafting stage, according to Baburoglu. Baburoglu pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putins remarks, after his surprise meeting with Assad in Sochi on May 17, which reportedly concentrated on constitutional issues pertaining to a final political settlement in Syria. We proceed from the assumption that in view of the significant victories and success achieved by the Syrian army in its fight against terrorism, and the start of a more active phase of the political process, foreign armed forces will be withdrawing from the territory, Putin said after his talks with Assad. Baburoglu said Putins assumption applies as much to Turkey as it does to the United States and France, or any country not invited to Syria by the regime. Erdogan reprimanded Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently after Lavrov said Turkey should hand over Afrin, which it now controls after defeating the YPG there, to the regime. Erdogan blasted Lavrov, saying that Turkey would decide when, how and to whom it would transfer Afrin. Of course neither the US nor France nor Turkey will pull out of Syria anytime soon, given that the Syrian crisis still has a long way to being resolved, Baburoglu said. Russia will nevertheless try and ensure that the Turkish military does not hold Idlib to serve Turkeys specific interests in Syria, he added. Baburoglu also believes that Ankara has more vital issues to deal with in Syria than Idlib, especially in the city of Manbij and the large swath of land east of the Euphrates River stretching to the Iraqi border. These areas are held by the US- and French-backed YPG, which Erdogan has vowed to expel from along the whole of Turkeys long border with Syria. Turkeys mission to rid Manbij and east of the Euphrates of the YPG appears to have fallen to the background with the elections. But once these elections are over, these issues will resurface, Baburoglu said. He added, The situation in Idlib may contain potential hazards for Turkey, but it is not the most urgent issue for Ankara today, given the headway made by the YPG in other parts of northern Syria. Given the ever-changing circumstances on the ground in Syria, where new and unexpected developments continue despite Turkeys introversion due to the upcoming elections, the Idlib deployment may yet turn out to be the the riskiest cross-border operation it has undertaken to date, as Ergin suggested. Latest update: Miss USA 2018 is Miss Nebraska Sarah Rose Summers. First runner up was Miss North Carolina; second runner-up was Miss Nevada. A cum laude graduate of Texas Christian University, Summers is working to become a Certified Child Life Specialist. Miss USA 2018 is... NEBRASKA! ... Margaritaville Resort Casino - Bossier City, La. Posted by Miss USA on Monday, May 21, 2018 Earlier story: After the question, here's your top three: Miss Nebraska, Miss North Carolina and Miss Nevada. On-stage question is next. Each contestant will be asked the same question. After evening gown, here's your top five: Miss Nevada, Miss Florida, Miss Nebraska, Miss North Carolina and South Dakota. Question is next after which the field will be narrowed down to three. After the swimsuit competition, here's your Miss USA top 10: Miss California, Miss Maine, Miss Nevada, Miss Tennessee, Miss New Jersey, Miss Nebraska, Miss North Carolina, Miss Georgia, Miss South Dakota and Miss Florida. The top 15 still competing are: Miss Massachusetts, Miss Maryland, Miss Tennessee, Miss Oregon, Miss North Carolina, Miss Michigan, Miss California, Miss Nevada, Miss Florida, Miss New Jersey, Miss Georgia, Miss South Dakota, Miss Nebraska, Miss Maine and Miss Texas. Miss South Dakota was the fan favorite, earning her spot into the top 15. The swimsuit competition is up next. After that, the field will be reduced to 10. The event started with 51 contestants vying for the title. The winner goes on to represent the US in the Miss Universe pageant. Contestants are competing in swimwear and evening gown competitions and will participate in interview later in the night. Scores from the preliminary event and tonight's show will determine the overall winner. Fifty-one contestants will be vying for the Miss USA title tonight and you can join in the excitement. The Miss USA pageant is being broadcast live on Fox from George's Pond at Hirsch Coliseum in Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana. You can watch live via Facebook here or at Fox here. Fans can also vote for their favorite contestant throughout the competition, with those votes factored into the selection committee score. Viewers can vote 10 times per round via vote.missusa.com. Vanessa Lachey and Nick Lachey will host tonight's competition with TV personality and fashion expert Carson Kressley and supermodel Lu Sierra providing analysis. Lee Brice is set to perform during the show, and along with his hosting duties, Nick Lachey will take the stage to perform with fellow 98deg bandmates Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre, and Jeff Timmons. Recovery crews converge around a truck moments after it was pulled from the Coosa River in Gadsden Monday, May 21, 2018. Gadsden police say the body of an adult white male was recovered from a truck pulled from the Coosa River this afternoon, one day after it rammed through the guardrail of a bridge and into the water. Gadsden Police Sgt. John Hallman said the man was recovered from a burgundy truck that was pulled from the water around 4:30 p.m. The truck was registered to an Etowah County resident, Hallman said. "We are in the process of identification and notification," Hallman said. Hallman said the search for possible victims will continue - though scaled back - until police develop enough information to know if there was more than one victim of the crash. Conflicting witness statements had one or more people inside the truck when it crashed through the guardrail of Gadsden's Meighan Bridge at 2:07 p.m. Sunday. According to witnesses, the truck was traveling eastbound over the bridge, crossed the median, drove off the north side of the bridge and into the river. Boats from multiple agencies converged on the scene shortly after and began a search that was suspended at sunset Sunday. By this morning, recovery efforts resumed and the location of the truck was fixed by divers, who found it upside at a depth of 22 feet. The truck was brought to the surface using floatation devices until it was brought to the west bank of the Coosa. At the same time, a large crowd gathered on the opposite shore, some with binoculars, many with phones attempting to take pictures. Multiple agencies assisted, including Gadsden Fire, Southside Fire, Rainbow City Fire, Attalla Fire, Coates Bend Fire, Ball Play Fire, Ball Play Bend Fire, A.L.E.A. Marine Division, Etowah County Joint Dive Team, and the Etowah County Sheriff's Office, Gadsden/Etowah EMA, Salvation Army, Elmore County Dive Team, Leeds Dive Team and Daphne Search & Rescue. Birmingham City Schools students will get the chance to learn to code this summer at one of four, one-week camps teaching Apple's "Everyone Can Code" curriculum. The camps are being offered at Lawson State Community College this summer thanks to a partnership with the city of Birmingham. In the camps, middle and high school students will start by learning basic coding concepts, and before they leave they will know how to build fully functioning apps. The free camps will be held for high school students on June 18-21 and July 9-12. Camps for middle school students will be held June 25-28 and July 16-19. The camps will take place from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. with lunch and transportation included for all attendees. For more information or to register, click here. The content for the four camps, which will be for all tech levels, will be the same. There are 25 spots available for each camp and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. "Equipping our students with the best possible digital education is a high priority for my administration," Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said in a statement. "We're committed to training the next generation of businessmen and businesswomen to be competitive and digitally savvy so that they can push our city to the next level." The summer coding camps were created after Woodfin and a delegation of local leaders visited Chicago in April to meet with Apple representatives to learn more about Apple's "Everyone Can Code" curriculum. On Wednesday, May 16, investors, teachers, community leaders, parents and students gathered at Lawson State for a hands-on coding tutorial with Apple. Lawson State President Perry Ward and Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Lisa Herring said the learning will not end when the coding camps end this summer. Herring said the school system will have coding clubs in the fall. Also, school officials are looking at advancing their curriculum with coding. Lawson State currently offers classes in the Swift program, which is Apple's language for developing apps. The goal of the Birmingham Can Code initiative is to introduce coding to all Birmingham students in order to start businesses, confront community challenges and make a positive impact on society, Woodfin said. The camps will take place from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. with lunch and transportation included for all attendees. Individuals and groups looking to invest in the Birmingham Can Code Initiative can send emails to bhamcodes@birminghamal.gov. A 38-year-old man man has been indicted in the 2017 death of his wife. A Cullman County grand jury indicted Jason DeWayne Crawford on a murder charge. Crawford's wife, 32-year-old Tiffiney Crawford, died May 3, 2017 in what was initially thought to be a suicide. She was a mother, stepmother, preschool teacher and the founder of a popular community support group called Mothers Helping Mothers. Cullman County District Attorney Wilson Blaylock on Tuesday said Jason Crawford was indicted for intentionally causing the death of his wife. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency was brought in to investigate Tiffiney Crawford's death because Jason Crawford's mother works for the Cullman County Sheriff's Office. Blaylock said they were waiting for final forensics results before presenting the evidence to the grand jury which returned the indictment. The district attorney said he could not yet discuss the details and the motive in the killing. Jason Crawford turned himself in at the Cullman County Detention Center on Monday and was released after posting a $100,000 property bond. According Tiffiney Crawford's obituary, she was "a beautiful soul inside and out, was a loving wife, adored mother, beloved daughter and loyal friend." Tiffiney Crawford She graduated from Athens State University in 2009 with a bachelor of science degree in elementary education. "She always brought a sense of boundless joy, unbridled enthusiasm and relentless commitment to everyone around her. She selflessly gave of her time, energy and passion to us, her community members, family, friends and seemingly everyone she came in contact with,'' Cullman Today posted hours after her death. "It is no exaggeration when we say she was a pillar of the community assisting many, many mothers and their families around Cullman County and beyond." "A loss of life is tragic regardless of age and circumstances,'' the online news source wrote. "In Tiffiney's case, her loss can only be defined as massively tragic for most of us who knew her and understood her life's purpose and its profound effect on the community." Due to an ongoing legal dispute, the Birmingham City Council on Tuesday rezoned - for a third time -- property where a 17-story apartment complex is being built on Highland Avenue. The council reaffirmed the property's zoning of QB-3, Qualified Community Business District. The luxury high-rise apartment complex is under construction on the property located at 2163, 2169 and 2173 Highland Avenue and 2150 14th Avenue South. Dubbed Vesta, the project will include 318-unit luxury apartments, retail space, likely a restaurant, and a parking deck. The property was originally rezoned for the apartments in 2014. "There's been a series of complaints by one of the adjacent neighbors that the process relative to the zoning that occurred in 2014 was invalid," said Randall Minor, attorney for the developer, Courtland Partners, doing business as Highland AL Partners. Speaking to the city council on Tuesday, Minor said he's been working on the rezoning for about a year "to make sure we get that process right." Despite that, he said he expected the developer will be sued again. "We are prepared for that," Minor said. Frank and Martha Buck who own a law office adjacent to the development filed a lawsuit against the developer and the city of Birmingham in 2015 challenging the 2014 rezoning. They claimed "the actions of the city council were arbitrary and capricious, that the city and the city council should be restrained from taking any action in reliance on the rezoning decision, that the Buck's right to due process and equal protection had been violated, and that certain actions had violated applicable laws and ordinances." Later that year, the Buck's case was dismissed in Jefferson County Circuit Court. The court concluded that the Bucks were given "actual notice of the rezoning and were given an opportunity to be heard before the ordinance was enacted." The Alabama Civil Court of Appeals upheld the circuit court's ruling. In October, though, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed the two lower courts' rulings and said the rezoning of the property of that subject property from 2014 was invalid. Courtland Partners said the Supreme Court's decision was moot because on July 25, 2017, the Birmingham City Council rezoned the property again from B-2, General Business District to QB-3, Qualified Community Business District. During that meeting, city planning staff said when the council approved the rezoning in 2014 the final advertisement didn't include qualified conditions on the property. The new rezoning replaced the previous action by the council, staff said. The Bucks contend that rezoning wasn't valid either. They filed a second lawsuit against the developer and city in August. That lawsuit is still pending. The new lawsuit claims the city didn't publish the adopted ordinance within the 14 days required by law. The suit also claims the developer started construction on the project before the City Council approved the rezoning. Donald Brockway, attorney for the Bucks, told city councilors on Tuesday the rights of the Bucks as property owners was violated. "Those property rights deserve attention and they deserve to be protected," he said. The city of Birmingham declined to comment on the rezoning as it is under litigation. Authorities are searching for family members of two men who died in Birmingham in recent weeks. Foul play is not suspected in the deaths, but their bodies are ready to be released for burial and the Jefferson County Coroner's Office has not been able to locate relatives of either man. Jimmy Fred Odom, 67, was found unresponsive on May 12 outside his home in the 2400 block of 34th Avenue North. Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said Odom was found about 7:35 p.m. that Saturday night and taken to St. Vincent's Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 8:22 p.m. Neighbors told authorities that Odom had been ill, but they didn't know much about his family. Odom's landlord told coroner's officials that he possible had a sister and/or a son in Jasper but did not know their names. Anthony Todd Langston Anthony Todd Langston, 50, was found dead on Wednesday, May 16, in the 100 block of 41st Street South. Langston was homeless and had been living in an abandoned cargo trailer in an overgrown lot in that area, Yates said. He had been living there for about a year. Langston, last seen alive about 4 a.m. that day, was found unresponsive at 7:30 a.m. He was pronounced dead at 8:20 a.m. A friend of Langston said he may have a brother in Ohatchee and had a past address in Mobile. Family members are asked to call the coroner's office at 205-930-3603. A Madison County woman is indicted on two felony charges in a 2017 DUI crash that killed one man and injured another driver, authorities said. Alexis Bishop is charged with manslaughter and assault, records show. Alexis Symone Bishop is charged with manslaughter and first-degree assault, records show. The 26-year-old on Monday was released from the Madison County Jail on $30,000 bail. Bishop was driving a Toyota Camry that collided head-on with a Kia SUV during the early-morning hours of April 13, 2017, police records show. Jacob Heath Marlow, a passenger in the Camry, died at the scene. Marlow, 26, was from Elkmont. Bishop's northbound car crossed the center line on Alabama 53 near Ardwall Road, according to a crash report obtained by AL.com. It happened around 4:15 a.m. that Thursday. Jacob "Jake" Marlow was killed in a crash April 13, 2017. The other driver, a 53-year-old Tennessee woman, suffered serious injuries, including multiple broken bones, according to authorities. A grand jury indicted Bishop after blood tests detected alcohol in her system, said Madison County Assistant District Attorney Shauna Barnett. "She was significantly over the legal limit," Barnett told AL.com. "We also found out where she had been drinking and was seen drinking." The crash report lists Bishop's Camry as the primary contributing car. The crash totaled both vehicles. Bishop and the other driver were taken to Huntsville Hospital. It's unclear whether Bishop has an attorney. She couldn't be reached for comment. If convicted of both felony charges, Bishop faces up to 40 years in prison. A trial date hasn't yet been set. Rene Hoover at the State Capitol after today's ceremonial bill signing. A north Alabama mother who helped change state law on end-of-life medical treatment for terminally ill children was at the Capitol today for a ceremonial signing of a bill named for her son. Rene Hoover of Athens said state law handcuffed her efforts to advocate for her son Alex and keep him in school with his peers. Alex Hoover, who had a terminal heart condition and was autistic, died last year at age 16. "Kids in Alabama didn't have protection, if you will, legally, when they had terminal illnesses," Hoover said. "Parents didn't have a voice in their end of life rights." Gov. Kay Ivey held a ceremonial signing of 21 bills today at the state Capitol, including one of the two named after Alex Hoover, HB194. HB194 creates a legal instrument called a pediatric palliative and end of life health care order, or PPEL. Parents, in conjunction with their terminally ill child's doctor, decide what life-sustaining treatments the child will receive, such as CPR and assisted ventilation in the event of something like a cardiac arrest. For a minor to qualify to have a PPEL, at least one doctor other than the child's doctor must confirm the diagnosis. State law already allowed adults, those 19 and over, to have advance directives that determine what life-sustaining treatments they will receive in cases of terminal illness or permanent unconsciousness. An advance directive can include a "do not resuscitate" order, or DNR. Hoover began her mission to change state law after she went to an attorney to have an advance directive drawn up for Alex. She made that decision after consulting with Alex's doctors. "Knowing Alex had the heart condition that he did, no amount of CPR would change anything if something happened to him," Hoover said. "So why would I put my child at risk? Why would I put something on him that would be futile for him?" She found there was no law authorizing a DNR order for a minor. "I can draw this up but it's not going to hold water," the lawyer told Hoover. Hitting that legal roadblock made her an advocate, Hoover said. "As a mama, somebody told me, 'no.' That was it," said Hoover, who has worked in health care for about 25 years, mostly as an EMT and an emergency room technician. She found advocates in the Legislature, including House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, and Rep. April Weaver, R-Brierfield. Weaver, a registered nurse, said she had experience dealing with the issues that Hoover raised. "When I met Rene, there was an instant bond with me, with her, not only as a mother but as a health care professional," Weaver said. "This bill has been one of my legislative priorities for the last three years just because I understand the importance and what it means for children. Not only Rene's child, children in Alabama and children across this nation." Lawmakers passed both Alex Hoover bills, sponsored by Weaver, this year. The second bill, HB202, incorporates a child's PPEL into their school attendance. School nurses will write palliative and end of life individual health plans for terminally ill students. The plans will guide the care and expectations for the child's participation and medical treatment in school. Hoover said it was important for Alex to attend school as much as possible. "He needed the socialization with the other kids," Hoover said. "Kids with terminal illnesses, they're kind of taken out of a normal environment. They're getting all these treatments and doctor's appointments. Some are very sick to the point they can't go to school. But kids like Alex can continue to go to school. His illness still allowed him to kind of function on a normal basis with medical care." The legislation includes legal protections for doctors who follow PPEL orders and for school nurses who implement individual health plans for terminally ill students. Hoover said she has heard from parents in other states who face hard choices about end of life care for their children and encounter legal obstacles. She acknowledged that the issues might be hard to understand for those who don't face those excruciating decisions. She noted that Alex spent his last three years in hospice care and enjoyed a better quality of life because of that. "Not all medical diseases take the same path, and I hope people are open-minded to that and I hope they understand that," Hoover said. "With me putting Alex on hospice, he had three extra years that we lived fantastic. He got to do everything he wanted to do. He got to live life to the fullest." Under the first Alex Hoover bill, HB194, the Department of Public Health will adopt rules and a form for writing PPELs. A task force will develop the form. Under the other bill, HB202, the Department of Education will oversee a task force to approve rules governing palliative and end of life health plans in a school setting. Dr. Richard Snellgrove of Fairhope has been acquitted of federal charges that he contributed to the overdose death of former 3 Doors Down guitarist Matt Roberts. According to court documents, a jury returned its verdict on Monday after hearing closing arguments and beginning its deliberations on Friday. Roberts had risen to fame as lead guitarist of the extremely successful rock band 3 Doors Down in the '90s and 2000s. He and other founding members hailed from coastal Mississippi and enjoyed a string of bestselling albums and hit singles including "Kryptonite." In 2012 he left the group, citing health problems, but continued to perform occasionally in various settings. His death came during a 2016 trip to perform at a Milwaukee-area benefit concert. Roberts was found to have multiple drugs in his system, including hydrocodone and the potent painkiller Fentanyl. Following a DEA investigation, prosecutors charged that Roberts' death was the direct result of criminal behavior by Snellgrove, in that he allegedly catered to Roberts' addiction by readily giving him excessive opioid painkillers despite signs he was addicted. In the trial that opened May 11 in federal court in Mobile, Snellgrove faced 13 counts. Most related to allegedly improper prescriptions, but two alleged healthcare fraud. Court records show that on Thursday, May 17, Chief U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose granted a defense motion for acquittal on four of the charges. On Monday the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on all remaining counts. The government's case, prosecuted by assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Bodnar and Deborah Griffin, held that Snellgrove had been "enamored" by Roberts' celebrity and had obligingly written excessive prescriptions despite signs that Roberts was addicted. Dennis Knizley, an attorney representing Roberts, said the four dismissed charges pertained to the claim that Snellgrove had written two Fentanyl prescriptions for Roberts' cousin, Jeremy Ryals, knowing they would go to Roberts. "They just didn't prove it," said Knizley. One count of healthcare fraud had been based on each of the two prescriptions in question, based on insurance reimbursements totaling less than $200, an amount Knizley called "just ridiculous." Knizley and Art Powell III, argued that all of their client's actions were driven by legitimate medical considerations and fell within the bounds of accepted professional practice. Last year, Knizley was on the losing side when the same prosecution team successfully convicted two Mobile pain doctors of a slate of improper prescriptions, healthcare fraud and other financial crimes. Knizley said this rematch was a different matter. "Richard Snellgrove was totally different that Dr. [Xiulu] Ruan and Dr. [John Patrick] Couch," Knizley said. Ruan and Couch had run a high-volume pain-treatment operation that generated huge revenues and allowed them to buy exotic cars and other luxuries that might have left a bad taste in the jury's mouth, he said. And the government cited dozens if not hundreds of transactions as it built its case. But Snellgrove was a primary care provider who'd had a good record for 25 years, Knizley said, and there was no hint of broader criminality. "The allegations focused on one person, Matt Roberts, not hundreds and hundreds of patients," Knizley said. Though a civil suit has been filed by Roberts' father, Knizley said he expects the definitive verdict ends the criminal prosecution. "We have no reason to believe there's any loose ends," he said. "We pray it's over." Note: This story was updated to include comments from Dennis Knizley. Judith Ann Neelley Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said convicted child killer Judith Ann Neelley, who is up for parole Wednesday, should not be paroled "not now, and not ever." Ivey made her remarks in a media statement Monday afternoon. Neelley, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the brutal rape and killing of Lisa Ann Millican, was granted a parole hearing last month after the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unconstitutional a 2003 retroactive law enacted to prevent her parole. "Under no circumstances should Judith Ann Neelley be granted parole. Her crimes...include acts of unspeakable brutality. And her character includes a disturbing tendency to manipulate others toward her own, violent ends," Ivey said in the statement. "These things alone should prevent Ms. Neeley from ever stepping food outside an Alabama prison." Neelley tried to waive the May hearing, but officials said either the hearing happened or Neelley waived her right at a chance for freedom forever. In late September 1982, Neelley kidnapped Lisa from Riverbend Mall in Rome, Georgia, and took her to a motel room from her husband, Alvin to rape. Alvin raped Lisa four times over the next few days while Judith assisted him by beating Lisa and handcuffing her to the bed. Neelley then took Lisa to Little River Canyon outside Fort Payne where Neelley injected Lisa six times with liquid drain cleaner in a botched attempt to kill her. After that didn't work, Neelley led Lisa to the rim of the gorge, shot Lisa in the back and then shoved her into the canyon. Neelley was tried and convicted, and the jury recommended life in prison. However, the judge sentenced her to death. Neelley's death sentence was commuted to life in 1999 on Gov. Fob James' last day on office. James later talked to The Post, a northeast Alabama newspaper, about his decision. "That DeKalb County jury, which heard all of the facts that heinous crime in the months right after the events took place, convicted her to life in prison," James said. "Then, the judge changed the sentence to death." In her statement, Ivey said she would not have commuted Neelley's sentence in the first place. "Do not forget the depravity of Ms. Neelley's crimes. Do not forget the danger Ms. Neelley poses to society," she said. Even if Neelley is granted parole, though, she may not have been a free woman. Georgia has a detainer warrant pending for Neelley for a consecutive life sentence in a 1999 kidnapping case. If released from Tutwiler prison, authorities in Georgia could arrest Neelley and take her to a Georgia state prison. The hearing is scheduled for Monday morning in Montgomery. History will remember the Great March of Return as a bold and brilliant move that defeated Israeli aggression. Hamid Dabashi is the Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. The world will forever remember the Israeli massacre of defenseless, peaceful Palestinians on May 14, 2018 in Gaza the same day that a delegation of nefarious Zionists led by Ivanka Trump, Donald Trumps daughter, held a ceremony to mark the official relocation of the US embassy to the Israeli settler colony from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Palestinians and many other nations have countless such calamities to remember. The Wounded Knee Massacre of Lakota people on December 29, 1890, by the US military, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by the British in India on April 13, 1919, and the My Lai Massacre by the US military in Vietnam on March 16,1968, are a few examples comparable in significance to what Israelis did to defenseless Palestinians on May 14, 2018. At the end of that day, the health ministry in Gaza reported that the US- and EU- backed Israeli army had murdered 60 Palestinians and injured 2,771 all in a matter of less than 24 hours. The Israeli sharpshooters, under the direct command of their officers, under the direct command of their defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, under the direct command of their Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, murdered defenceless Palestinians. Netanyahu is the democratically elected warlord of Israel, elected in a free and fair election. He truly and democratically represents the entirety of the settler colony and all the settler colonists who call themselves Israelis. In a subsequent report from Israel, the New York Times explained in detail how Israelis, by and large, could not care less how many Palestinians were slaughtered by their army. A day after their soldiers killed 60 mostly unarmed Palestinians in Gaza, The New York Times reported on its Facebook Page, Israelis were defiant, defensive or blase, with a healthy dose of served-them-right in some corners. Israel is Netanyahu. Netanyahu is Israel. Netanyahu and Israel are the settler colonialism that the Palestinians call the Nakba or the Catastrophe. On May 14, more than 1,300 Palestinians suffered wounds from live fire and, unsurprisingly, some of the weapons used in the massacre were US-made rifles. When the presidential biography of Barack Obama is written, we will remember the $38bn in military assistance he gave Israeli soldiers so they could kill Palestinian men, women, and children. Between March 30 and May 16, the Israeli army cold-bloodedly and in full view of the world murdered more than 110 Palestinians, including 12 children, two journalists and a paramedic. More than 12,700 Palestinians have been injured during the protests, most of them requiring hospitalisation. {articleGUID} After this massacre committed by Israelis against peaceful Palestinians, Benjamin Netanyahu and every other Israeli leader has to be held accountable for Israeli war crimes. Every single US president since 1948, from the most popular and the most detested, dead or alive, must also be held to account for unquestioningly supporting a state that has systematically committed war crimes for decades. As must Nikki Haley and all other US ambassadors to the UN before her who have vetoed the global communitys condemnation of Israel. As must the entire spectacle of Western media, abusing and distorting these facts to exonerate their favourite settler colony. As must any artist, any academic, any public figure who crosses the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions picket line to sing and dance over the dead bodies of Palestinians for the pleasure of Israelis. We will remember With their bold, brilliant, and historic move called the Great March of Return, Palestinians outwitted all their political leaders (Fatah and Hamas alike), turned the clock back 70 years to the moment of their pernicious expulsion from their homeland, and put the Israeli occupiers on the defensive. The Saudi Zionist Prince Mohammed bin Salman had told them to shut up. They showed him they wouldnt. Because of their heroism, the Israeli flag, the very term Israel is now as it has always been synonymous with mass murderers, with massacres, with land thieves, with incremental genocide, with war crimes. All Palestinians did was to demonstrate for their right to return, and Israeli soldiers began shooting at them en masse. Since 30 March, Palestinians have been staging a spectacular act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Israel and its political and media allies in the West have done everything to diminish the significance and the power of what Palestinians have achieved. There have been disgusting editorials in the Washington Post and the New York Times; there have been outrageous statements by Western governments; there has also been a mindless regurgitation of the Israeli line blaming Hamas for the violence by alleged progressives like Bernie Sanders. That was the end of him as a moral agent of change in the United States. He is no longer much different from Hilary Clinton and the rest of the Democratic Party. But despite all these malicious efforts to smear the march, the truth still shines brightly. Palestinians sent a signal to every civilised, decent, human being on planet Earth to carry their message forward and honour their revolutionary uprising to reclaim their homeland and secure their civil liberties. With one courageous and ingenious political move, Palestinians exposed Israel for what it is an illegitimate colonial project nothing less nothing more and they did so as the Zionists were celebrating their independence, which Palestinians rightly call the Nakba. The Great March of Return was the moral and symbolic triumph of the Palestinian Nakba over the Israeli independence. Like all other occupying forces in someone elses homeland, the Israeli army thinks they are the narrator of what happened on 14 May or the previous bloody weeks leading up to that day. They are not. Palestinians (not Hamas) are in full control. Today, generations after the pioneering works of Edward Said, Mahmoud Darwish, Michel Khleifi, Ghassan Kanafani, and Mona Hatoum, Palestinians are in full control of representing themselves in scholarship, in art, in poetry, in literature. Their unconquerable souls On May 14, the fate of our humanity was written in Gaza no one on this day could be a bystander. You are either a human being with a moral conscience and on the side of Palestinians, or you are on the other side. This was an epic battle between defenceless good and viciously armed evil. What is left to do after the May 14 massacre? Everything! On that day, Palestinians taught the world a priceless lesson a master class in their power of dignity and defiance. With one bold act of nonviolent revolutionary mobilisation they told the world that Palestinians are not going anywhere that Palestine is theirs, they are the master of their destiny the inhabitants of their homeland and neither their corrupt or incompetent leadership, nor those shameless colonists occupying their country have a say in the matter. On May 14, Palestinians restored our humanity by sending us back to school to learn the renewed meaning of the immortal Invictus (by William Ernest Henley, 1849-1903). Out of the night that covers me, they sang with their bullet-riddled bodies, broken bones, and beautiful souls: Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find me, unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. More than two months after its general election, Italy might finally be about to have a new government. After weeks of negotiations and after all other political options were exhausted, a much-feared coalition between Italys leading populist parties has been formed. On Monday, it was announced that a little-known law professor called Giuseppe Conte is proposed to be the head of the coalition cabinet between the far-right League led by Matteo Salvini and the post-ideological Five Star Movement led by Luigi Di Maio. The two parties competed separately in Italys March 4 general election. The Five Star Movement came out first with 33 percent of the vote and the League got 17 percent a phenomenal growth from just 4 percent in the 2013 general election. The coalition between the two is scaring European Union technocrats who dont know what to expect. The programme the two put forward is a bizarre mix of neoliberal policies and social protectionism with some policies defying EU rules. While the coalition is unlikely to push for Italys exit from the EU, it is likely to challenge Brussels economic and social policies and to normalise a dangerous form of populism and a dystopian social contract. Russia links and conspiracy theories On the surface, the Five Star Movement and the League dont have much in common. One was founded by an Italian comedian who talked of direct democracy, anti-corruption policies and a green economy. The other has its roots in a secessionist movement, calling for the wealthier north to separate from the underdeveloped south, and is currently pursuing an anti-migrant agenda. In reality, the two parties have never been that different, and their recent convergence is not accidental. Both focused their election campaigns on the grievances of the white Italian majority which is afraid of being sidelined by liberal elites and migrants and losing their middle-class privileges. Both parties are supported by ecosystems of fake news, pushing anything from anti-Semitic and racist propaganda about George Soros to claims about the Obama administration plotting to smuggle migrants from Libya to Italy, or anti-vaccine conspiracies. The Five Star Movement has been particularly good at presenting sanitised messages in mainstream media while allowing their social media followers to spread hate, racism and fake news. The two parties informal media networks are separate, but interconnected, and have links to far-right and pro-Russia propaganda sources in the West. Salvini has overt connections with international far-right players, including an official agreement with Russias President Vladimir Putins party and close ties with Marine Le Pen in France. He has also been endorsed by US President Donald Trumps controversial former aide Steve Bannon. The Five Star Movement and its leaders keep their ties to the global far right less apparent. In his influential blog, its founder, Beppe Grillo has expressed sympathy for Trump and Hungarys PM Viktor Orban, but other politicians associated with the party claim to be against racism and xenophobia. In the European Parliament, the Five Star Movement MEPs sit in the same group as Britains far-right UKIP, Alternative for Germany, and Swedish Democrats, but they refused to form an alliance with Le Pens National Front. Anti-austerity and anti-migrant coalition The joint government programme the two parties released last week contains both neoliberal and protectionist policies. A 20 percent tax for high-income individuals and companies and a 15-percent flat tax for the rest is one of the proposals meant to deliver much-needed relief for ordinary Italians and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) struggling with hefty taxes. The flat tax was part of Salvinis electoral campaign, and it helped him cement the Leagues dominance of the north, where the countrys most productive SMEs are located. A basic income of 780 euros ($922) a month for unemployed Italians is also in the coalitions programme. This was a key proposal of the Five Star Movement during the election and helped them succeed in the south, where high unemployment is the most pressing socioeconomic problem. The two parties plan to complement these measures with a reversal of recent pension reform and the reduction of retirement age. The two parties have also proposed some Eurosceptic policies. While they are not calling for Italy to leave the EU, their programme is an obvious challenge to EU rules. The two parties have made it clear that the EU budget will have to conform to the principles of their programme, not the other way around. For example, they want the EUs requirement for Italy to keep its public deficit under 3 percent to be reformed. They are also likely to challenge some of the EUs foreign policy stances. Their programme emphasises the primacy of the NATO alliance but also calls for the withdrawal of sanctions against Russia. More importantly, the two parties have a clear anti-immigrant plan. They propose to create new detention centres across Italy where undocumented migrants are to be kept before deportation. They promise to shut down Roma settlements and mosques whenever they are deemed illegal. They also call for other EU states to take a bigger share of asylum seekers and the scrapping of the Dublin Regulation, which relegates responsibility for incoming migrants and refugees to EU border states. A Europe of nations The approach of the Five Star Movement and the League to the EU is similar to the one the Greek party Syriza had before the 2015 bailout referendum. Syriza, however, failed to challenge EU hegemony. It faced formidable opposition from Brussels, Germany and the IMF, but they were also weakened by the internal contradictions of subscribing to a progressive agenda but adopting nationalist populist sentiments. The League and the Five Star Movement will not face this challenge. Their anti-migrant nationalism is in the open and finds approval across Europe. Italian populists could be in the driving seat of a coherent reactionary pan-European alliance for a Europe of nations. Regardless of whether their coalition survives or falls apart in a few months, the two parties have already won in Italy the kind of cultural war promoted globally by Steve Bannon. They have established an ideological consensus across the political spectrum over the idea of an Italian nation that draws on our fascist and colonial past. Whether it will be this coalition, or a different one, that translates this fantasy into policy is unimportant. What is important is the alarming terms of the dystopian social contract that has gained popular acceptance. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Vito Laterza Vito Laterza is associate professor in development studies at the University of Agder, southern Norway. He is an anthropologist and analyst focusing o... more n politics, economy and society in Africa and the West. He is also the chief editor of the blog Corona Times. Afghan forces accidentally detonate explosives in southern city of Kandahar, killing 16 and wounding 38 others. At least 16 people have been killed in southern Afghanistan when security forces tried to dispose of a container full of explosives in the city of Kandahar, officials said. Nematullah Barak, head of Mirwais hospital in Kandahar, said the latest figures show 16 dead and 38 wounded people brought to the hospital. We still have two ambulances at the site because there might be more people under the rubble, he told AFP news agency. Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor, confirmed the death toll and said four security forces were among those killed. At least five small children were wounded in the explosion, he said. Dozens of shops and nearby homes were destroyed or damaged, and the death toll could rise, he said. Abdul Saleh, 29, who was wounded in the blast, said the sound was so loud, like strong thunder. He told The Associated Press that he was knocked unconscious and later woke up in a hospital bed. There was some confusion about the cause of the explosion, which sent a huge cloud of dust and smoke into the air. Officials initially said it was caused by a bomb packed into a minibus but later said the explosives were in two containers stored in an area of mechanics workshops. No group immediately claimed responsibility. The blast was quickly condemned by President Ashraf Ghani, who praised the brave officers who dealt with it. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, the Taliban launched a wave of attacks late on Monday in the eastern Ghazni province, killing at least 14 police, including a district police chief and a reserve units commander, according to provincial council member Hassan Reza Yusoufi. Hundreds of people have been killed in high-profile attacks carried out by the Taliban and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group since the beginning of this year. At least 11 Afghan schoolchildren were killed in Kandahar province last month when a suicide car bomber hit a convoy of Romanian troops patrolling the area as part of the US-led NATO forces. In one of the deadliest attacks, at least 29 people, including nine journalists, were killed after two explosions claimed by the ISIL hit the capital, Kabul, last month. An increase in attacks has been observed ahead of the long-delayed parliamentary and district council elections scheduled for October 20. Taliban fighters storm checkpoints in Dih Yak and Jaghatu districts setting off deadly battles with security forces. The Taliban has launched a series of attacks in Afghanistans Ghazni province, killing police officers, including a district police chief and a reserve units commander, Afghan officials have said. The deadly attacks that claimed the lives of at least 14 policemen come days after the armed group announced conditional amnesty to Afghan security forces. Taliban fighters stormed several security checkpoints in Dih Yak and Jaghatu district of the Ghazni province late on Monday setting off a battle with the security forces that continued through Tuesday. Seven police officers were killed in Dih Yak, including the district police chief Faizullah Toofan and reserve commander Haji Baraket. Seven others policemen were killed in Jaghatu district. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement to the media. He claimed the Jaghatu district headquarters was captured as well as several police checkpoints in Dih Yak. The Taliban also issued a statement warning residents of the capital, Kabul, to avoid military and intelligence centres as they planned to target those as part of their spring offensive. Since announcing their offensive in April, Taliban fighters have stepped up attacks across the country against Afghan security forces and government officials. In a recent statement, the Taliban offered amnesty to Afghan police and military in the country if they left enemy ranks. Rights group says Rohingya rebels killed as many as 99 Hindu villagers in one day in August last year. Amnesty International says it has evidence that fighters from a Rohingya armed group killed scores of Hindu members of their community in Myanmars Rakhine state last year. In a report published on Tuesday, the global rights group said fighters from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) rounded up and killed as many as 99 Hindu civilians on August 25, 2017. The killings in Maungdaw township occurred on the same day ARSA staged attacks on some 30 security posts in Rakhine, Amnesty International said. Those attacks prompted a brutal military crackdown that forced nearly 700,000 Rohingya into neighbouring Bangladesh. Rohingya refugees said Myanmars security forces killed and raped hundreds, and set fire to their homes a campaign the UN said amounted to ethnic cleansing. The Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar and have long complained of persecution in the Buddhist-majority country. While the alleged crimes against the Rohingya have been widely documented, Amnestys report on Tuesday is the first research into abuses committed by ARSA. Tirana Hassan, Amnestys crisis response director, said perpetrators of the killings must be held to account. Its hard to ignore the sheer brutality of ARSAs actions, which have left an indelible impression on the survivors weve spoken to, she said in a statement. Accountability for these atrocities is every bit as crucial as it is for the crimes against humanity carried out by Myanmars security forces in northern Rakhine state. Myanmars military previously accused the Rohingya rebels of killing Hindu civilians, but the armed group has refuted the claim saying it categorically denies that any of its members or combatants perpetrated murder, sexual violence or forcible recruitment. Maungdaw killings Citing testimony from survivors and witnesses, Amnesty said masked ARSA fighters rounded up 69 Hindu men, women and children in the village of Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik and killed 53 of them. Victims included 23 children 14 under the age of eight along with 10 women and 20 men. Only 16 people, eight women and eight of their children, survived. The survivors, who were abducted and taken to Bangladesh, told Amnesty they were spared after they promised to convert to Islam. Describing the attack, Bina Bala, 22, a survivor, told Amnesty: [The men] held knives and long iron rods. They tied our hands behind our backs and blindfolded us. I asked what they were doing. One of them replied, You and [ethnic] Rakhine are the same, you have a different religion, you cant live here. Some of the women initially told journalists in Bangladesh that Rakhine Buddhists were responsible for killing Hindu villagers, but later retracted their stories and blamed the Rohingya fighters instead. Amnesty attributed the inconsistencies to the pressures and threats to personal safety they faced while in Bangladesh. Myanmars security forces uncovered the 45 bodies from Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik in four mass graves at the site of the killings in September. Also on August 25, 46 Hindu men, women, and children in the neighbouring village of Ye Bauk Kyar disappeared and were presumed killed by Rohingya rebels, though their bodies havent been found. The group also said ARSA fighters were involved in the killing of six Hindu people on August 26 last year near Myo Thu Gyi village. Myanmars government must allow independent investigators, including a UN fact-finding mission, access to Rakhine to uncover the full extent of the human rights abuses committed there, Amnesty added. Analysts say arrests of Identitarians could be major blow to the anti-migrant, anti-Muslim group. A slew of charges against several members of the far-right Identitarian Movement in Austria could be a major blow to the organisations ability to mobilise, experts and analysts say. Last week, prosecutors in Graz announced that 17 members and sympathisers of the Identitarian Movement were charged with a slew of offences, including forming a criminal organisation, hate speech, property damage and coercion. Among those arrested and charged were leading figure Patrick Lenart and Martin Sellner, the groups de facto spokesperson. Analysts and observers say the movement is part of a far-right international network that advocates for the expulsion of refugees and migrants from European countries. The UK-based HOPE Not Hate group, which monitors the far right, explained that the charges could affect both the Austrian branch and the wider Identitarian Movement (also known as Generation Identity). Simon Murdoch, a researcher at HOPE Not Hate, said the arrests could really undermine their Austria branch, which is a pivotal segment of the broader movement. As it is one of the oldest, it is both one of the most extensive and most tried-and-tested branches of the [Identitarian] movement, Murdoch told Al Jazeera. {articleGUID} Given how pivotal the branch is to the movement, therefore, this will no doubt have a real knock-on effect. Speaking to Al Jazeera by email, Sellner said police raided his home and nine others when they carried out the arrests. He was released after interrogation. Sellner decried the charges as a severe act of repression and said the government is seeking to criminalise patriotic protest. We are criticising the Islamisation of Europe, he said. We believe that [the charges are] not supported by the majority of Austrians, as [they have] already received a lot of criticism from many prominent voices. At the time of publication, Austrian police had not replied to request for a comment. Active in several European countries including France, Italy, Germany and Austria the Identitarian Movement promotes anti-migrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Bernhard Weidinger, a researcher at the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DOW), an organisation that monitors fascism and neo-fascism summarised the group: The direction, according to them, that Austria should develop is clearly anti-immigrant. He added: They demand mass deportations. Nonetheless, Weidinger expects that prosecuting them will be a challenge. The intent here is to criminalise the entire organisation, he told Al Jazeera. If you look at the legal situation, this will be difficult. Defend Europe In March 2018, Sellner and his partner, Brittany Pettibone, were denied entry to the UK while travelling to attend a far-right event. In 2017, the group chartered a boat with the goal of blocking NGO vessels helping refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. That mission collapsed when the far-right boat was blocked from refueling in Greece and Tunisia and blocked passage when authorities in northern Cyprus arrested several passengers on charges of people smuggling. The Defend Europe boat action was praised by David Duke, the former imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in the US. Duke encouraged his more than 40,000 Twitter followers to donate to the movement. Martin Sellner, the groups de facto spokesperson, was among those arrested in Austria [File: Antonio Parrinello/Reuters] The action widely decried by activists, aid groups and human rights organisations. In April 2016, Sellner and other Austrian Identitarians scaled the headquarters of Austrias Green Party and unfurled a banner accusing the party of supporting the Islamisation of Europe. That same year, members of the group stormed the stage of a play being performed by refugees in Vienna, the Austrian capital. They sprayed fake blood and tossed fliers proclaiming that multiculturalism kills. {articleGUID} In the past, several members of Germanys Identitarian Movement have been affiliated with the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party and the far-right Alternative for Germany. In March 2017, Hans-Georg Maassen, head of Germanys domestic intelligence agency, said many Identitarians were under surveillance and the group was growing increasingly radicalised. Mounting criticism Last weeks arrests come at a time of mounting criticism of the Austrian government, which includes the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) as a junior coalition. Since the right-wing Austrian Peoples Party (OVP) and the FPO reached a deal to form a government in December, the latter has been widely condemned over a spate of controversies. In recent months, several FPO members were expelled for expressing pro-Nazi propaganda and making anti-Semitic comments. DOWs Weidinger said the Identitarian Movement has not so clandestine links to the FPO, although the ties are unofficial. Identitarian Movement members stage high-profile direct actions against immigration [Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters] In the past, FPO members have delivered speeches at Identitarian Movement events. Farid Hafez, a senior research scholar at Georgetown Universitys The Bridge Initiative, argued that the government has been largely silent on right-wing extremism. The FPO now focuses more on expanding its power and silencing the opposition against right-wing groups, he told Al Jazeera. {articleGUID} Hafez explained the Social Democratic Party of Austria and other opposition parties have seized opportunities to point out connections between the FPO and other groups on the far right. On the other side, the opposition tries even more to use every single event of right-wing extremist group, especially groups with Neo-Nazi ideologies, to make the public aware of the links to FPO functionaries and activists. More than 30 alleged drug dealers killed in the past week in shootouts with police amid rights activists warnings. Bangladeshs security forces have killed more than 30 alleged drug dealers in gun battles over the past week with right activists warning a campaign of extrajudicial killings may be under way. The suspects were killed across the country under similar circumstances since the nationwide crackdown on the narcotics trade was launched in early May, Al Jazeera discovered from police reports. In most cases, local police and members of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) force acted on tip-offs, raided houses where alleged drug traffickers operated, and after coming under fire engaged in deadly shootouts. Some relatives of the deceased, however, say their family members were picked up by police and later shot dead. Criticising the deaths, Bangladeshi human rights activist Sultana Kamal said at a press conference on Monday that arrests should be made and suspects tried before a court, but that is not happening. People do not want to witness such killings. It is a violation of law to use the firearms, bought by the peoples money, in extrajudicial killings. What is the countrys judicial system for, if the law enforcers themselves try to serve justice? said Kamal. {articleGUID} War on drugs The recent spree of shootouts started after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier this month asked RAB to tackle the drug problem. According to the Department of Narcotics Control of Bangladesh, there are at least seven million drug addicts, of which five million are hooked on methamphetamine. On May 14, RAB Director-General Benazir Ahmed told a press conference a stronger stance would be employed to prevent drug abuse. Ahmed said police cases through the courts would be less encouraged due to backlog. These cases normally take a lot of time to get processed. Thirty-three alleged drug dealers have now been killed in gunfights with security forces across the country since the operation began. RABs mobile court also sentenced 2,471 people, of whom 347 were drug dealers and the rest drug addicts. Police said more than 500 people had been detained over the same period. Philippines model Parallels have already been drawn to the situation in the Philippines, where its President Rodrigo Duterte declared a war on drugs, with his security forces killing thousands of drug dealers. Human rights activist Nur Khan Liton told Al Jazeera this killing spree in Bangladesh is similar to what is happening in the Philippines. The law enforcers think of solving the drug problem through instilling fear. This wont work, said Liton. He urged the government to properly investigate each death so under no circumstances, such extrajudicial killings are accepted. Minister of Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan defended the anti-narcotics drive on Monday, saying Hasina instructed his ministry to take a zero tolerance policy against the drug trade to stop it at any cost. Thousands of residents displaced after at least 3,000 homes, businesses and farms were destroyed, rights group says. A rights group has accused the Egyptian army of unlawfully destroying thousands of homes, businesses and farmland in northern Sinai, as part of its campaign against the ISIL group. Using satellite imagery and local testimony, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on Tuesday that many lifelong residents of Sinai have been displaced as a result of at least 3,000 homes and commercial buildings being destroyed by the Egyptian military. The army is waging a campaign in the area against a group affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). HWR also accused the Egyptian military of demolishing several homes in al-Arish, in retaliation against terrorism suspects, political dissidents, and their relatives. But the destruction, much of which is likely unlawful according to the group, has extended beyond the two government-designated security buffer zones in the cities of al-Arish and Rafah. Residents who have fallen victim to the recent round of demolitions told HRW that the army began demolishing houses and razing farms around the al-Arish airport, soon after President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced a five-kilometre airport buffer zone in January 2018. My younger brother called me, said a man living outside Egypt whose family home in the city was destroyed. He said that security forces came and forced my mother, grandmother, and younger brother out of the house. Then they set the whole building on fire. Since 2013, more than 1,500 military attacks have killed dozens of civilians and hundreds of members of the security forces in northern Sinai, according to the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Displacing thousands While the Egyptian government maintains that its campaign has been successful in rooting out armed group members, Mohannad Sabry, expert on security and the Sinai Peninsula, and author of Sinai: Egypts Linchpin, Gazas Lifeline, Israels Nightmare, says the campaign has done little in that regard. The one solid accomplishment of the Egyptian army over the past four years is displacing close to 80 thousand people from more than 20 villages and the city of Rafah. Most of those people are literally thrown out of their homes, their farms and sources of living destroyed, and are left stranded with no help whatsoever, the majority of which are now living in clusters of plastic shacks on the outskirts of El-Arish and Bir El-Abd. Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch, described the Egyptian armys actions as absurd and helping exacerbate the precarious humanitarian situation in northern Sinai. Turning peoples homes into rubble is part of the same self-defeating security plan that has restricted food and movement to inflict pain on Sinai residents, she said. The Egyptian army claims it is protecting people from militants, but its absurd to think that destroying homes and displacing lifelong residents would make them safer, added Whitson. Sabry agrees: Egypts claim that it displaces people and demolishes their homes to defeat terror is a lie, one that continues to be repeated over the rubble of the homes of innocent civilians and the blood of hundreds of personnel. In a rare public statement, Atef Ebied, the head of the Agriculture Directorate at North Sinai Governorate, was quoted in the privately owned al-Mal newspaper on May 3 as saying that all farmlands in Rafah and Sheikh Zuwayed cities were razed. He also said that only 10 percent of farmlands in al-Arish remained. Nothing new Commenting on the report, Sabry said that the demolitions taking place in the Sinai were a crime against its people that have been taking place since 2014. The home demolitions in Sinai is a region-wide crime committed by the Egyptian army against its own people, a crime even the Israeli army did not commit over the course of 14 years of occupying the peninsula, Sabry told Al Jazeera. Al Lefitat was one of the very first villages to demolished and its residents displaced in 2014, and it immediately became a usual launching point for terrorists. The most active armed group in the area is Sinai Province, the local ISIL affiliate which pledged allegiance to the group in 2014 and staged a series of attacks against the army in 2015. Last November, more than 300 people were killed in an attack by fighters on worshippers at a mosque in Al-Rawda in the northern Sinai. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. The New York-based group said the demolitions and forced evictions, near the border with the Gaza Strip in northern Sinai, was making an already perilous humanitarian situation worse. It said it sent letters to the defence ministry and the local governor over the demolitions but had yet to receive a response. Between July 2013 and August 2015, Egyptian authorities destroyed around half of the town of Rafah, on the border with the Gaza Strip, evicting thousands of families, and demolishing at least 3,255 buildings, according to Human Rights Watch. Dozens of families Human Rights Watch interviewed in 2016 and 2017 reported numerous arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings by the Egyptian military and interior ministry forces. Analysts say Tehran needs tangible guarantees from Europe to protect businesses from being hit by American sanctions. On May 15, the US Treasury Department announced it was imposing sanctions against Irans central bank governor and another senior bank official, accusing them of involvement in the transfer of millions of dollars on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Hezbollah, and designating them terrorists. The sanctions did not directly target Irans central bank. But because of US President Donald Trumps decision to abandon the nuclear deal on May 8, certain transactions with the central bank, such as the purchase of US dollars by the Iranian government, would also be targeted by the United States. {articleGUID} The following day, French oil giant Total said that unless it obtains a US Treasury sanctions waiver, it will pull out of a $2bn natural gas project in Iran by November. The worlds largest oil shipping container firm, Maersk of Denmark, said it would also end its operation in Iran. Amid these developments, there were reports the US was putting pressure on Europe to cut the Iranian banking system off from the Swift network, thereby depriving Iran of access to the institution that facilitates export and import payments, among other international transactions. Then on Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said unless Iran complies with American demands, it will face the strongest sanctions in history and unprecedented financial pressure. Despite the rhetoric, threats of regime change and the re-imposition of US sanctions, Iran experts predict Tehran will spend its diplomatic capital to try to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal. But it needs significant help from Europe to prevent the deal from collapsing. Several companies said they would shut operations in Iran without US sanctions waivers [Al Jazeera] Diako Hosseini, senior analyst at Tehrans Center for Strategic Studies, a think-tank close to the Iranian government, told Al Jazeera if Iran secures sufficient guarantees from Europe, it could decide to stay in the deal for geopolitical purposes. The Europeans showed that they sincerely want to stand with the deal, Hosseini said, though he conceded Tehran is aware of the European Unions legal and political limitations to defend it. In that regard, Iran will have no choice but to recognise the diplomatic hurdles and lower its expectations to a realistic level in ongoing talks with the Europeans, said Hosseini. Sell some hope On Sunday, Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was quoted as saying under the current circumstances, the EUs political will is not enough to preserve the nuclear deal. The cascade of decisions by EU companies to end their activities in Iran makes things much more complicated, Zarif said following his meeting in Tehran with the European Commissioner for energy and climate, Miguel Arias Canete. Neda Monem, a journalist and editor based in Tehran, said while the political dynamics in the US have changed since Trumps election victory, the leadership in Iran remains the same. In other words, the Iranian government that worked hard to make the deal, Im quite certain, will continue defending it and act rationally to preserve it despite Trumps whimsical decisions, Monem told Al Jazeera. But she also noted that other internal forces in Iran who opposed the deal from the beginning have now started challenging the Rouhani administration to withdraw from it. Which of these internal forces will eventually hold the upper hand remains to be seen, she said. Given domestic opposition and the slew of new US sanctions, Rouhanis government now faces real hard work to stay in power and sell some hope to ordinary Iranians, while keeping the Iran deal afloat, Fateme Karimkhan, a correspondent for an Iranian news agency, told Al Jazeera. Many Iranians said they have not benefited from the lifting of the nuclear sanctions [Al Jazeera] Under the deal, also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed in Vienna in 2015, Iran scaled back its uranium enrichment programme and promised not to pursue nuclear weapons. In exchange, international sanctions were lifted, allowing it to sell its oil and gas worldwide. However, major US sanctions are set to snap back within months following Trumps decision to withdraw from the agreement. Those secondary sanctions now threaten even foreign-owned firms operating in Iran. Trump had said those companies, many of them European, would be targeted if they continued to operate there. Helping hand from Europe Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder of the Iran-focused business website Bourse Bazaar, said what Tehran needs now are solid guarantees from Europe to prevent the deal from collapsing. The evidence is pretty clear that politically speaking, it would be nearly impossible for the Rouhani government to justify maintaining its commitments under the JCPOA, unless the economic side of the agreement is protected, Batmanghelidj told Al Jazeera. In the two weeks following Trumps decision, there have been some steps taken by Europe to defend the deal, including the reactivation of the 1996 blocking statute that would shield European companies from being sanctioned by the US. The European Union has also authorised the European Investment Bank to facilitate European companies investments in Iran. Two other steps that should follow are the establishment of a mechanism allowing Irans central bank to more easily transact with European central banks, and the repatriation of oil revenues from Europe to Iran, Batmanghelidj said. I think it needs to be figured out very quickly because the oil revenues are so important for Irans government from a budgetary standpoint, he said. Europe should also keep Iranian banks access to the Swift network, allowing money transfers to continue without interference even after the US secondary sanctions take effect in the coming months, he said. The US said unless Iran complies with its demands it would face unprecedented sanctions [Al Jazeera] Saeid Jafari, a foreign policy analyst and former editor of Tehran-based Khabar Online, said access to banks is one of the key demands. Iran needs to make sure companies can easily transfer money to be able to buy their needs, and to make sure that Iranian society is fully connected to the global banking system, he told Al Jazeera. Trump misreading Iranians Already, there have been reports of some Iranian bank accounts being closed in Georgia, apparently because of threats of US sanctions, Irans Mehr news agency reported, quoting Irans Monetary and Banking Research Institute. Jafari also said Iranian reformists and moderates prefer to stay in the deal, but only if the EU can ensure the benefits of the JCPOA. Europe could also build more trust by maintaining a certain amount of investment in Iran annually, and providing lower interest loans to Iran, said Hosseini. It could also try to secure exemptions on sanctions for some petrochemical companies operating in Iran, he said. The EU has varying limitations, but still can do something to indicate that it is trustworthy. Everything depends on the Europeans diplomatic capability, Hosseini said. How far Europe will go to accommodate Iranian demands is a million dollar question, said Ellie Geranmayeh, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. I think what we have seen right now is a very sincere attempt by the European countries and governments to stick to the nuclear deal, despite a huge amount of pressure by their US allies to essentially join in Trumps plan in sabotaging the deal, Geranmayeh told Al Jazeera. If Europe is willing to say enough is enough to Trump, there are ways to protect European companies by securing waivers and exemptions for them, so they could continue doing at least a limited degree of trade and investments with Iran, she said. The way Trump has responded to Iran indicates he is essentially accepting the paradigm of regime change in the country, said Geranmayeh. Some have ruled out the North Korean model of direct talks between the US and Iran [Al Jazeera] The very fact that the president has undermined the agreement so heavily and extensively with this hard exit, I think it is a reflection that this presidency is not interested in a political or diplomatic discourse with Iran. She said the US strategy towards maximum confrontation and maximum containment with Iran would only further threaten the deal. Geranmayeh also ruled out the North Korean model of direct talks in dealing with Iran, saying Trump is fundamentally mistaken in believing Pyongyang and Tehran would respond in the same manner to Washingtons bluster. If the president of the US is trying to get Iran back to the negotiating table, he has completely misread Iranian leadership, and he has misread the Iranian public opinion. Monem agreed, saying it is highly doubtful the two adversaries would engage in direct talks anytime soon. Id say there is a higher probability of Iran turning, once again, to India and China to sustain its waning economy. Condemnation follows Washingtons new demands over Tehrans nuclear programme. By Nabih Berri held the position of assembly speaker since 1992, with the focus now shifting to who will be prime minister. Parliamentarians in Lebanon overwhelmingly re-elected a politician with close ties to Hezbollah as speaker for a sixth term at the assemblys first session since the May 6 parliamentary vote. Shia politician Nabih Berri, a main ally of the Iran-backed militia, received 98 votes out of the 128 parliamentarians on Wednesday. Berri has been the assemblys speaker since 1992. Elie Ferzli, another Hezbollah ally, was elected deputy speaker reflecting a shift in Lebanons political landscape in favour of the armed group. Berri, 80, heads the Amal Movement and has been allied with Hezbollah since the end of Lebanons 1975-90 civil war. Under Lebanons sectarian power-sharing system, the speaker must be a Shia Muslim, the president a Maronite Christian, and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim. The Future Movement led by outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri the Progressive Socialist Party, and the March 8 movement also supported Berri. The focus now turns to the position of prime minister. According to Lebanons political system, the president must hold consultations with the main parliamentary blocs before nominating a new one. Berri said President Michel Aoun would begin consultations with lawmakers on Thursday to pick Lebanons next prime minister, likely to be Hariri. Government formation The parliamentary election, the first in nine years, saw 917 candidates from multiple parties compete for Lebanons 128-seat national assembly. The vote, devised under a new proportional list system that divided the country into 15 electoral constituencies, was marked by low voter turnout 49.2 percent. Hezbollah and its allies made the most significant gains by winning 70 seats. Hariris Future Movement lost more than one-third of its power but remains the biggest Sunni-led party with 20 seats. On Tuesday, Lebanese news outlet al-Jadeed quoted Hariri as saying a decision had been made to quickly form a new government. There is a decision to accelerate government formation, and I think the sanctions on Hezbollah could have a positive impact and speed up the birth of the new government, he said. The sanctions Hariri referred to were imposed by the United States and Gulf states on May 16 on Hezbollah, targetting the Shia movements top five officials, including Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. The move was denounced by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, who criticised Saudi Arabias role in supporting the sanctions. Collaboration with its US patron to sanction the first force to liberate Arab territory and shatter the myth of Israeli invincibility, Zarif tweeted. Shame upon shame. Some political pundits in Lebanon said whether the sanctions will play a role in the formation of a new government remains to be seen. Former Malaysian leader specifically questioned about how $10.5 in government funds ended up in his private account. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been questioned by anti-corruption authorities over a financial scandal after his shock election loss. Najib was summoned to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Tuesday, specifically to answer questions about how $10.5m in government funds from the state-owned entity SRC International Bhd ended up in his private account. Its to provide statement, not to arrest him, MACC chief Mohd Shukri Abdull told reporters at a press conference. If we are satisfied with his answers, we can let him go. If we need further statements, we will call him back again. Dozens of journalists surrounded Najib as he arrived at the anti-corruption headquarters. The questioning of Najib comes as Mohd Shukri revealed that witnesses have gone missing and that he received death threats while pursuing the case implicating Najib in 2015. I was threatened to be fired, asked to retire early, take leave early, and be pulled into the training department, he said, referring to the SRC investigation. SRC is a former subsidiary of the controversial state fund 1MDB, from which officials are alleged to have stolen more than $4.5bn. In 2016, the US justice department filed a case seeking to seize more than $1bn in assets in the US linked to the 1MDB fund. US investigators have also alleged that $700 million from the 1MDB fund ended up in Najibs bank account. Najib, who is banned from leaving the country, has denied allegations of wrongdoing. No deal with Najib An attorney general appointed by Najib in 2016 had cleared him of wrongdoing, saying a particular transfer of $681m was a political donation from the Saudi royal family and that most of it was returned. On Wednesday and Thursday, Malaysian police seized bags of cash, jewellery and hundreds of luxury handbags during a series of raids at several of Najibs properties as part of the government investigation. New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said investigations showed the wrongdoing at 1MDB was more serious than expected. He said former attorney general Abdul Gani Patail had told him he was preparing to press charges against Najib when he was abruptly fired in 2015. Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years until 2003 and was spurred out of retirement by the 1MDB scandal, has vowed there will be no deal for Najib, and that he would face the consequences if found guilty of wrongdoing. The current attorney general has been put on leave, and Abdul Gani was appointed as a member of a new task force investigating the state fund. The US justice department said in a statement that it looks forward to working with Malaysian law enforcement in investigating the 1MDB case. A March 2018 investigation by The Wall Street Journal revealed that top Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy who has close ties to US President Donald Trump and his wife, Robin Rosenzweig, had sought $75m in payments from a Malaysian financier Jho Low, for the US justice department to drop the case into 1MDB. A new investigative report published by the Associated Press news agency says Broidy was also part of a campaign led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to undermine Qatar. He was one of President Trumps top fundraisers. Broidys lawyer has responded saying the AP report is based on fabricated documents. For the first time, the Palestinian government has submitted a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) calling on prosecutors to open an immediate investigation into what it called Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki arrived on Tuesday at the independent court, based in The Hague, Netherlands, to meet with Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. The State of Palestine took an important and historic step towards justice for the Palestinian people who continue to suffer from ongoing, widespread and systematic crimes, said Malki in a press conference after the meeting. {articleGUID} Malki said the referral addressed a myriad of issues, including settlement expansion, land grabs, illegal exploitation of natural resources, as well as the brutal and calculated targeting of unarmed protesters, particularly in the Gaza Strip. The diplomatic move comes after widespread outrage in the occupied Palestinian territories and internationally over the Israeli armys killing on May 14 of 62 unarmed Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip, in what was described by rights groups as a massacre. Through this referral, we want the Office of the Prosecutor to open, without delay, an investigation into all crimes that she presently concludes have been commissioned or are ongoing, said Malki. This referral is Palestines test to the international mechanism of accountability and respect for international law, he added. State referral While Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute the treaty of the ICC to which all members are bound to its nationals could be tried by The Hague-based court for crimes committed on Palestinian territory. The State of Palestine formally became a member of the ICC in April 2015, giving the court jurisdiction over crimes committed in the territory since June 13, 2014 including the 2014 Israeli assault on Gaza. The ICCs Office of the Prosecutor began its preliminary examination of the situation in Palestine in January 2015. In this phase, the prosecutor is meant to determine whether the criteria have been met to warrant pursuing a formal investigation based on the information available publicly or submitted to the office and whether local courts are carrying out credible investigations. {articleGUID} While the PA and Palestinian NGOs have submitted documents as proof of Israeli government crimes, and requests to open a formal investigation, Palestine has never formally referred a case. Instead, the PA largely relied on the prosecutor to open an investigation on her own accord, which delays the prospects of opening an investigation. In regards to the referral, Alex Whiting, a former ICC official, said that a state referral makes it much harder for the Office of the Prosecutor to stay in the preliminary examination phase for years. If a state asks for an ICC investigation, it is much harder for OTP to stay in the preliminary examination phase for years. Referral creates expectations and signals willingness to cooperate, and therefore pushes OTP towards investigation. The referral has a real effect. Alex Whiting (@alexgwhiting) May 21, 2018 Pressure on the PA Diana Buttu, a former legal adviser to Palestinian negotiators, told Al Jazeera that while this has been an option for the PA for quite some time, the significance now is that there is enough pressure on PA President Mahmoud Abbas to do something. The reasons behind the PAs decision not to make such a move earlier, she explained, were linked to how approximately one million Palestinians were on the PAs payroll, adding that international donors have also played a role in making it clear that they will not support a PA that is actually defending Palestinian rights. In retaliation for Palestines decision to join the ICC in 2015, Israel withheld millions of dollars in tax revenues that it collects on behalf of the PA. The latter has also routinely been threatened by the US and Israel not to make any moves in the ICC. {articleGUID} But while a referral does not automatically trigger an investigation, it applies more pressure on the prosecutor to open one. Commenting on the Palestinian referral to the ICC on Tuesday, the Israeli foreign ministry said the request is legally invalid. The ICC lacks jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian issue, since Israel is not a member of the Court and because the Palestinian Authority is not a state. Israel expects the ICC and its Prosecutor not to yield to Palestinian pressure, and stand firm against continued Palestinian efforts to politicize the Court and to derail it from its mandate. Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) May 22, 2018 Both Palestinian and international rights groups have long called for the ICC to open a formal investigation. Omar Shakir, the Israel-Palestine director at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said without accountability, bloodshed will continue. Referring to the Israeli armys killing of 111 Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip since March 30, Shakir told Al Jazeera: The calculated killings of over 100 Palestinians in demonstrations in Gaza highlights the importance of the International Criminal Court prosecutor opening a formal investigation into serious crimes in Palestine. Follow Zena Tahhan on Twitter: @zenatahhan New Iran strategy harks back to decades of failed US policy and raises spectre of conflict in Middle East, critics say. A US air force plane was waiting for Mike Pompeo while he was taking the oath as the countrys new secretary of state in late April in Washington, DC. Promising to get the state departments swagger back, Pompeo wasted no time after being sworn in, setting off on a whirlwind tour of the Middle East to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. At every stop, the US top diplomat lambasted Iran, accusing it of being the greatest sponsor of terrorism in the world. He vowed to ensure Tehran never possessed a nuclear weapon. A few days later, on May 9, President Donald Trump announced Washington was abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and six major powers under which Tehran accepted limits on its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. The pullout was strongly opposed by the pacts other signatories, including Washingtons European allies, and caused jitters in some of Europes biggest companies over the fate of multi-billion dollar deals made with Iran. In Tehran, the prospect of further punishing sanctions weighed down on residents, increased anti-White House sentiment and prompted the countrys foreign minister to embark on a diplomatic tour to save the deal. With the pacts future in question, Pompeo now back in the US capital and four weeks into his new role took to the stage at the Heritage Foundation on Monday to deliver his first major foreign policy speech. Unsurprisingly, he focused on Iran. Iran must change its domestic and foreign policy, the former CIA director said, as he set out 12 demands for inclusion in any future nuclear treaty with Tehran. Failing to comply will result in the strongest sanctions in history, he threatened. The tough conditions in the US administrations so-called Plan B on Iran included Tehran withdrawing all its forces from Syria, halting uranium enrichment and nuclear-capable missiles, as well as ending support for a range of groups in the Middle East, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Pompeo described them as very basic requirements that were not unreasonable. {articleGUID} But to Iran observers, the exacting demands he issued hark back to the decades of failed US policy that preceded the signing of the landmark nuclear agreement three years ago. Pompeos post-nuclear deal Iran strategy leaves zero chance for diplomacy with Iran, said Seyed Hossein Mousavian, former spokesman for Tehran during its nuclear negotiations with the international community in 2005. It repeats the same coercive policy the US administration has implemented for four decades on Iran. This approach has already failed, he added. Plan C In his 30-minute speech, Pompeo also threatened that Washington would punish companies that continue dealing with Iran. The goal, analysts say, appears to be clear: cripple Irans economy to prevent it from pursuing its regional and domestic policies and eventually topple the Iranian government. Ellie Geranmayeh, fellow at European Council on Foreign Relations, described the new US terms as conditions of surrender. They are not intended at effecting a change in Irans calculation, she said, but rather aimed at imploding the Iranian state, by undermining the Iranian leadership at home and abroad, as well as economically, through waging sanctions warfare, not only against Iran but every other country that engages in business with Iran. For some, the new US policy came across as regime change, she added. Others warned that the US move had done nothing else but to raise the spectre of war between Washington, its regional allies and Iran. Calling the demands completely unrealistic, Trita Parsi, author of Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy, said they revealed that the Plan B of the Trump administration is designed to fail and then pave the way for Plan C, which is most likely war. Thats because when you combine unrealistic demands with massive pressure then you are by design creating a pathway to confrontation, he explained. The signs are already worrying. Two days after the US pullout, Israel said it attacked nearly all of Irans military infrastructure in Syria, claiming it was responding to Iranian rocket fire on its positions on the occupied Golan Heights allegations Tehran denies. The barrage of Israeli bombs was the US allys largest intervention in Syria in decades. Parsi said an Iranian response to Israeli raids could lead to a very different dynamic in the Middle East. Different approaches Mohammad Marandi, a professor at University of Tehran who was part of the nuclear deal negotiations in 2015, said the US withdrawal has led to an overwhelming consensus in Iran that the US simply cannot be trusted. It is likely that Iran will withdraw from the agreement, he said, expressing scepticism at the ability of European powers to protect the deal. Iran will then resume its nuclear programme at full speed, and so the US government behaviour is going to have the exact opposite result, he said. The prospect of renewed conflict in the region has caused alarm in Europe, which is still reeling from the arrival of millions of refugees fleeing war zones in countries such as Syria and Yemen. The Israeli raids prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron to issue a call for level-headedness and de-escalation. Merkel said the exchange of fire in Syria showed that protecting the 2015 deal was truly a matter of war and peace. Worlds most sanctioned country Geranmayeh said that while European leaders share many of the Trump administrations concerns, alluding to Irans ballistic missile programme and intervention in conflicts in the Middle East, the two sides have a different strategy in dealing with them. The Europeans are saying, lets keep the nuclear agreement in place and build on it, so that we have an add-on agreement beyond some of the expiration dates agreed on in the original deal, she said. The US approach does not give Europe or Iran space for a political or diplomatic solution, said Geranmayeh. She added: The truth is, Iran is already the most sanctioned country in the world. If we havent managed to strike a change in Irans regional position when we have the most crippling sanctions against Iran, theres a lot of questions whether going back to that strategy is going to achieve results. New US sanctions may also wipe out more than a million barrels of Iranian oil from the global market, a move that will put pressure on a plummeting currency and reduce government revenues. The pain though will be felt outside Iran too, with major European companies already dealing with the prospect of significant losses. In recent days, the European Commission has promised to take steps to protect European firms, including by activating a 1996 law that bans the blocs companies and courts from complying with US sanctions against Iran. Still, several are already pulling out. Danish shipping giant Maersk Tankers has ceased business in Iran, while French oil giant Total said it will pull out from a multi-billion dollar project to develop the South Pars gas field in Iran. The exit of European giants, however, may open the door further for Chinese and Russian companies to do business in Iran. A Russia-led trade bloc signed on May 17 an interim trade deal with Iran that lowers tariffs on hundreds of goods, and has announced talks to create a free trade zone. {articleGUID} Chinas state-owned CNPC has meanwhile pledged to replace Total if it abandons the gas project, according to Bijan Zangeneh, Irans oil minister. China and Russia feel threatened by the Trump regime, which seems to be out of control, said Marandi, the Iranian scholar. This decision will force Iran closer to these two countries. While acknowledging that renewed sanctions will be very painful and exacerbate Irans economic woes, Marandi said Pompeos threats were not new and would not change anything in Iran. In fact, what it is going to do is unite the country more than ever. The distrust of the US will also harden Irans position on its missile programme, Marandi said. Iran has to be able to defend itself. What prevents the US from attacking Iran is its defence capabilities, he said, adding that Trumps decision will not change Irans behaviour in any way or form. The activists, mostly women who advocated for equal right, were smeared by state-linked media as traitors. Saudi authorities have arrested at least three more womens rights activists, widening a crackdown on campaigners a month before the kingdom lifts its ban on female drives, according to human rights groups. The government on Saturday announced the arrest of seven people, identified by rights groups mostly as women who have long campaigned for the right to drive and to end the kingdoms male guardianship system. On Tuesday, Amnesty International told news agencies that the number of people detained had risen to 10, including at least seven women. Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirmed that total. Despite international outcry and calls for the release of these activists, they still remain detained for their peaceful human rights work, said Samah Hadid, Amnesty Internationals Middle East director of campaigns. Saudi Arabian authorities cannot continue to publicly state they are dedicated to reform while treating womens rights campaigners in this cruel way. There was no immediate comment by Saudi government officials. Male guardianship The Saudi government has previously said that those arrested had suspicious contacts with foreign entities and had offered financial support to enemies overseas. It added that it would identify others involved. State-linked media have circulated the names of those imprisoned, publicly labelling them as traitors and agents of embassies. The arrests took place just a few weeks before the driving ban is to be lifted on June 24, as promised by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The 32-year-old prince had earlier in the year embarked on an extensive trip in Europe and the United States, painting a picture of a reformist Saudi Arabia that would relax some of its conservative laws as part of his Vision 2030 plan. The countrys 32-year-old crown prince has widely been credited with being behind the kingdoms lifting of the driving ban, part of a wider set of reforms being implemented for the Vision 2030 plan. However, the countrys guardianship system remains in place, under which a male family member usually the father, husband or brother must grant permission for a womans study, travel and other activities. Saudi activists claim that the guardianship issue is at the core of the fight for womens rights. According to HRW, nearly 30 activists and dissidents have been convicted in Saudi courts since 2011, many of whom received sentences of up to 15 years. Critics say the arrest of seven womens rights activists shows lack of commitment by authorities to implement reforms. Human rights groups have called on Saudi Arabia to release womens rights activists detained on Friday, just weeks before the kingdom is expected to lift a driving ban on women. A number of womens rights activists, who advocated for more rights, most markedly the right to drive, have been arrested in recent days and branded as threats to national security. The group of activists, which represents several generations of Saudi feminists and includes five women and two men, could face up to 20 years in jail if found guilty, according to the rights groups. Rothna Begum, a womens rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the arrests seem to effectively be related to the lifting of the driving ban scheduled for June 24. We know that back in September 2017, the authorities called womens rights activists, including the ones who have recently been arrested, to tell them not speak to the media and then hours later announced to the world that they were lifting the driving ban. {articleGUID} In March again, Loujain al-Hathloul one of the women who has recently been arrested was arrested around the time of the lead-up to [Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Salman just before he went on his world tour to show what a reformer he is on Saudi Arabia, Begum added. Again, these arrests are happening largely as a way to silence the critics of Mohammed bin Salmans reform campaign in particular because these womens rights activists are demanding more than just the lifting of the driving ban. The arrests have cast doubt over Riyadhs commitment to effecting change as part of its much-touted Vision 2030. Earlier on Monday, Amnesty International criticised the crown princes pledges to implement reforms, describing them as PR hype and spin, which exclude womens rights activism. While it was not immediately clear why the group was detained, social media posts on government-affiliated accounts accuse the activists of treason and maintaining ties to foreign entities. An active smear campaign online using the Arabic hashtag agents of embassies was also trending with more than half a million people using the phrase on Twitter over the past few days. Death threats Manal al-Sharif, a Saudi activist jailed for driving, said on Monday she had received fresh death threats after the arrest of fellow campaigners, which she called an alarming tactic aimed at silencing dissent in the conservative kingdom. If you ask me why theyve been arrested, its just to send a message for womens rights activists whove been campaigning to drive to just shut up, al-Sharif told Reuters news agency from Sydney, Australia where she now resides. Al-Sharif said she also received a call earlier last year asking that she keep quiet, just days before the kingdom announced its historic decree on the lifting of the driving ban. {articleGUID} I am getting threats now, but I dont really care, the 39-year-old said, expressing concern for the detainees. They say: Youre next. Dont think that because you are in Sydney, were not going to get you. But I really dont care because its just a smearing campaign and I know because Ive been subjected to that when I was in jail, al-Sharif said. Bin Salmans decision to lift the ban was hailed as proof of a genuine commitment to reforms under the 32-year-olds fresh leadership, but the concurrent crackdown on dissident has raised questions about the full extent of the stated efforts. Thats the shock. Whats happening here? Were 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, al-Sharif said. Its so disappointing. I was so hopeful, but the way that these women are being treated is not promising. Its alarming, she said. South Korean leader to meet US president after Pyongyang threatens to cancel planned nuclear talks with Donald Trump. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is due to hold talks with Donald Trump as uncertainty looms over a planned summit next month between the US president and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Moon arrived in Washington, DC, ahead of the key White House meeting on Tuesday, three weeks before the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore scheduled for June 12. President Trump and President Moon will continue their close coordination on developments regarding the Korean Peninsula, a White House statement said earlier this month. The two leaders will also discuss President Trumps upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the statement added. {articleGUID} The US is calling for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and a complete dismantling of North Koreas nuclear weapons programme. Trump and Moon have already held two telephone conversations, including one on Sunday, since the historic inter-Korean summit last month, South Koreas official news agency, Yonhap, reported. Seoul mediation The Moon-Trump meeting, a third between the two leaders, comes after North Korea threatened to pull out of the Singapore summit last week, unless the US offers something in return for the denuclearisation demand. If the US is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue and cannot but reconsider our proceeding to the summit, said a statement by Kim Kye-gwan, North Koreas first vice minister of foreign affairs. For his part, Trump said North Korean officials are discussing logistical details about the meeting with the US as if nothing happened. I can only say our people are literally dealing with them right now in terms of making arrangements for the meeting, he told reporters after Pyongyangs threat. North Korea also abruptly cancelled ministerial talks with Seoul last week, in response to the Max Thunder joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, which involves some 100 military aircraft. South Korea has offered to mediate between the US and North Korea, so the Trump-Kim summit takes place as planned. Andrei Lankov, a specialist in Korean studies and director of NK News, said Seoul is looking to avoid escalation. He [Moon] will still try to persuade Donald Trump to accept some kind of compromise to go to the North Koreans to the negotiation table and negotiate some kind of compromise because right now, South Korea, above all, needs stability, Lankov told Al Jazeera. Moon last met Trump in Seoul, when he visited the South Korean capital in November. Thai anti-government protesters demanding general elections by November were blocked by police on the fourth anniversary of the military coup in the country. Some 3,000 police officers were deployed to prevent some 200 protesters, camping at Thammasat University in the capital, Bangkok, from marching to the Government House. The Government House and surrounding streets were declared a no-go zone. On May 22, 2014, a bloodless military coup toppled Thailands elected government. The military government vowed reform and reconciliation for a politically divided Thailand but its rule has been tarnished by corruption scandals and repeated postponement of promised elections. Ban on political activities Al Jazeeras Wayne Hay, reporting from Bangkok, said the police warned the protesters that they can be arrested and convicted of violating the military governments ban on political activities, which says crowd of five people or more are outlawed. Initially the protesters camped out overnight in Thammasat University and they had the permission to do that, but on Tuesday morning their permission was revoked, he said. Its a small protest at the moment, but it has probably been the most significant sign of resistance of protest movement against the military. A handful of protesters pushed up against police for several minutes to try to achieve their objective to march to the Government House before they were pushed back by the police forces. One of the protest organisers, Sirawith Seritiwat, also known as Ja New, said protesters planned to march peacefully. I hope they will let us walk out. We have no intention to prolong todays activities. I think they will try to stop us we will not use violence, Sirawith told Reuters news agency. The government has delayed the general election repeatedly, which was first set for 2015, with the latest date now February 2019. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha reiterated on Tuesday that a general election will take place in early 2019 and no sooner. Thailand has been rocked by pro- and anti-government street protests for more than a decade, some of them deadly. The military says it carried out the 2014 coup to end the cycle of violence. Summit with North Korean leader under threat unless Pyongyang meets certain conditions, US president says. US President Donald Trump has done little to quell mounting uncertainty surrounding a hallmark meeting with North Koreas leader planned for next month, as he held key talks with his South Korean counterpart at the White House. Trump is scheduled to meet Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12, but in recent weeks there have been growing concerns that the summit will not go ahead as scheduled. If it doesnt happen, maybe it will happen later, Trump said of the planned meeting, addressing reporters alongside Moon Jae-in. Asked to offer more details, the US president, who earlier this month withdrew from a multinational nuclear deal with Iran, muddied waters even further. Theres a chance that it will work out, said Trump. Theres a chance, theres a very substantial chance it wont work out, he added. There are certain conditions that we want, and I think well get those conditions. And if we dont, we dont have the meeting. A lot of uncertainty Moons visit to the US had been seen as an opportunity to help fine-tune Trumps strategy for talks with Kim in June, but a dramatic about-turn by Pyongyang last week added to the sense that the summit might collapse. Last week, after a period of seemingly warming relations on the Korean Peninsula, marked by an historic inter-Korea summit in April, Pyongyang suspended talks with Seoul due to its hosting of a joint military drill with the US. North Korea, which has reportedly started dismantling its Punggye-ri nuclear test site, also threatened to pull out of the Singapore summit if the US continues to demand it gives up its nuclear arsenal unilaterally. Kim Kye-gwan, North Koreas first vice minister of foreign affairs, said in a statement last week that Pyongyang would no longer be interested in dialogue if the US is trying to drive us into a corner. In particular, Pyongyang is concerned about a continued US military presence on the Korean Peninsula and Washingtons so-called nuclear deterrence umbrella in South Korea and Japan. More than 24,000 US troops are stationed in South Korea, according to Department of Defence figures from 2016. Scott Snyder, a senior fellow for Korea studies at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations, argued that threats made by the two sides to abandon the Singapore summit were likely little more than diplomatic posturing. The events of the past week are elements of a negotiation process [now] both sides have delivered their going-in positions, Snyder told Al Jazeera. The North Korea issue offers [Trump] the opportunity for such a distinctive accomplishment that it would be powerful ammunition to refute critics who on many other issues have panned his administrations impact on the US global role. [But] its unlikely the US is going to achieve its goal of comprehensive, verifiable denuclearisation and so the likely outcome is somewhere in between. The question is, where? Pyongyang tracks back For his part, Moon said in Washington, DC, that the fate and future of the peninsula is hinged on the potentially historic planned meeting. South Korea has offered to mediate between the two sides to ensure the summit the first meeting between a sitting US president and North Korean leader goes ahead. {articleGUID} Referring to those who have raised doubts about the planned event, Moon said that all parties must not assume that because similar efforts had failed in the past, [they] will fail again. Later on Tuesday, Moons spokesperson Yoon Young-chan said inter-Korean talks originally scheduled for May 16, but cancelled by Pyongyang a day before, would likely resume after May 25, following completion of the joint US-South Korea military drills. Referring to Moons meeting with Trump, Al Jazeeras Kimberly Halkett said there was a sense of a salvage effort being made to try and ensure the Singapore summit goes ahead. [But] certainly there is a lot of doubt that seems to be intensifying with the hour, Halkett said, reporting from the White House. Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia at the Washington-based Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank, said, however, that Trump didnt want to look like he wants this summit more than Kim does. Its a smart move to say that he is willing to postpone. But to be credible, the president really has to be willing to walk away and Im not sure he is, Glaser told Reuters news agency. Former military personnel given life sentences for trying to overthrow the constitutional order, state media says. A Turkish court handed life sentences to 104 suspects over their involvement in the July 2016 attempted coup, according to state media. The former military personnel were given aggravated life sentences by a court in the western province of Izmir on Monday, state-run Anadolu news agency said, for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order. Such prison 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. Plot to kill Erdogan There was an alleged plot to kill President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the night of the coup while he was on holiday in the Aegean resort of Marmaris with his family. The president says he was saved by 15 minutes from the plot. The attempted coup claimed more than 240 lives, according to the Turkish presidency, not including the coup-plotters. More than 2,000 people were injured in the incident. {articleGUID} Ankara accuses US-based Muslim religious leader Fethullah Gulen of ordering the failed coup. He denies the accusations. Turkish authorities say the movement Gulen runs is a terrorist organisation, claiming that its members have been running a parallel state within the civilian and military bureaucracy and following their own agenda. Gulen denies the claims. Following the attempted coup, tens of thousands of people have been arrested and public workers have been sacked or suspended over alleged links to outlawed Gulen or Kurdish fighters 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. UK government urged to get tough on suspect Russian money The Foreign Affairs Committee report on Russian money in the UK calls on the government to close all loopholes and become less hospitable for suspect Russian money. President Nicolas Maduro won another six-year term, but new sanctions may bring the country to its knees, analysts say. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros re-election was met with international condemnation following polls marred by an opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging. After the announcement of Maduros election victory, a number of countries, such as Argentina, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom characterised the vote as either unfair or illegitimate. In contrast, Maduro, who will now govern for another six-year term, labelled it as a historic day. Never before has a presidential candidate taken 68 percent of the popular vote, he said. US President Donald Trump stepped up the financial pressure banning US citizens from purchasing any debts issued by the government, including debts of state oil company PDVSA. As the new sanctions kick in, Al Jazeera looks at what is next for Venezuela. Here is what we know so far: May 20 According to the final results Maduro obtained 5.8 million votes, while his main opponent, Henri Falcon, collected a total of 1.8 million votes. A total of 8.6 million Venezuelans voted, a turnout of 46.01 percent, which was lower than the projected 48 percent. Venezuelas opposition claimed a moral victory after boycotting the polls. May 21 The international response was quick; the administration of US President Donald Trump placed tough new sanctions. Trump signed an executive order imposing new penalties that bar US companies or citizens from buying debts issued by the government and state-run oil company PDVSA. This measure is designed to stop the government of Venezuela from mortgaging the countrys future, and [to stop] officials lining their own pockets, a senior administration official told the Financial Times. Condemning Maduros re-election, the Lima Group (a group of 14 Latin American countries) plus Canada said the members diplomats in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, would return to their respective countries for consultations. Luis Almagro, secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS) did not acknowledge the results and in a video posted on his Twitter account, he said: Yesterday was an infamous day for the democracy of the Americas we do not recognise him as the legitimate president of Venezuela. Russia responded, too, and said imposing sanctions on Venezuela will not help resolve the crisis in the country, it also runs counter to international law, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told reporters. In Venezuela, the opposition said it is planning to push for new presidential elections to be held by the end of 2018, National Assembly President Omar Barboza declared. Henrique Capriles Radonski, leader of First Justice and former governor of Miranda state sent a letter to Venezuelans in which he said that an illegitimate regime is in place and that Venezuelans must defeat it. He asked the opposition leaders to unify forces to confront Maduro. Whats next A possible transition As a consequence of Sundays results, which were not surprising, the government is weaker today its losing the strength that it originally had, Ramon Pinango, a Venezuelan sociologist analyst said. Hours later after the results were announced, many international actors expressed their disapproval. However, other countries recognised the process; among those were Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, Bolivia, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Sanctions were also implemented, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo labelled the process as sham elections. Somewhere in the future [we might experience] a transition of power that will have different stages. It is becoming increasingly costly for the government to stay in power, Lobos said, adding: There is also a question regarding the army; until now they have been completely loyal to Maduros presidency, but we know there have been changes. What will they do if a transition takes place? Since the beginning of the year, there have been at least 19 officers detained in Venezuela, among those are lieutenant colonels, some of whom commanded important battalions, according to local reports. The government has two ways of moving forward, they either implement economic and social reforms and accept humanitarian help, or they could radicalise. Its not clear, but we will see their reaction in the coming weeks, Lobos said. Humanitarian crisis Former President Robert Mugabe pulled Harare out of the association in 2003 after disputed polls. Zimbabwe has applied to rejoin the Commonwealth and has invited the bloc of former British colonies to send observers to its general elections set for this year. Robert Mugabe, who was pushed out of office last year, pulled Zimbabwe out of the organisation in 2003 after Harares membership was suspended following disputed elections held the previous year. Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said in a statement on Monday that President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced Mugabe after a de facto army coup in November, made the application on May 15. Zimbabwes eventual return to the Commonwealth, following a successful membership application, would be a momentous occasion, given our shared rich history, Scotland said. 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. Britain said last month that it would strongly support Zimbabwe returning to the Commonwealth. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted on 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. If readmitted, Zimbabwe will become the fifth country to re-join the association which has 53 member countries after Gambia, South Africa, Pakistan and Fiji. The other countries to have quit the organisation are Ireland, which left in 1949, and the Maldives, which exited in 2016. The last country to join was Rwanda, in 2009. Yevgeny Roizman announces resignation, criticising the abolition of direct elections as a blow to democracy. Yevgeny Roizman, the mayor of Russias fourth-largest city and a rare critic of the Kremlin in a senior region position, has quit to protest against a government-promoted law which scrapped mayoral elections. Lawmakers voted last month to abolish direct mayoral elections in Yekaterinburg, located more than 1,500km east of the capital, Moscow. Mayors will now be elected by the legislature from a shortlist drawn up by a special commission. I dont want [to] be part of this and I am resigning, Roizman told lawmakers on Tuesday in the local legislature. A charismatic opposition politician who narrowly beat a Kremlin-backed candidate in the mayoral race in 2013, Roizman had been due as chairman of the legislature to put the scrapping of elections to lawmakers for a final vote. Instead, he told lawmakers he refused to legitimise someone elses decision and pronounced the session closed, video of his speech shared online showed. Speaking to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Roizman described the amendments as a direct cheat on the people of [the city]. This is Yekaterinburg people will understand me. It was the only way to come clean out of this situation, he added. Step by step, the local council is being stripped of everything authority, finance, direct elections. According to RFE/RL, Roizmans position is already largely ceremonial, as most executive powers in Yekaterinburg belong to the head of the city administration, Aleksandr Yakob. Remain in history Critics say Russian President Vladimir Putin has tightened his control over electoral politics over the nearly two decades that he has spent as president or prime minister. Roizman is one of the few leading Russian regional officials who openly criticises Putin, who was re-elected president in March in a landslide victory, and supports his archrival Alexey Navalny. As mayor, Roizman has regularly attended demonstrations organised by Navalny who was barred from running the March vote. Roizman had called for a boycott of the presidential vote, saying the election was not free or fair. Leonid Volkov, an opposition politician from Yekaterinburg, said Roizmans resignation had obstructed the passage of the election legislation, but that it was unlikely to stop direct elections being scrapped eventually. This political act and civic deed will, however, remain in history, Volkov wrote on social media. The idea of scrapping direct elections was proposed by Yevgeny Kuivashev, governor of Sverdlovsk region governor. Yekaterinburg is Sverdlovsks administrative centre. His allies had argued that doing away with elections would save money and streamline decision-making. Last month, just under 2,000 people demonstrated against the proposal, demanding direct elections be kept and that the governor resign. Once the sick man of Europe, Germany weathered the financial crisis and the Great Recession better than its neighbours. One of my articles of faith is that there are no conspiracies, only stupid efforts to cover things up. Hello, Intelligence Community! In the last week or so, we have seen the unraveling of the Russia collusion narrative, the notion that the Trump presidential campaign was in bed with the Reds. Imagine! Not under the bed, as in olden times, when the left did it, but actually in bed with the pesky Russkies! I can't believe the Trumpists did that! Here is the shocking truth. In addition to its vital national task of surveilling the world to detect the plans of terrorists, prevent school shootings, and foil MS-13 in its animalistic designs, our Intelligence Community found time to snag some peripheral Trump campaign hangers-on into compromising positions by asking them about Russians and emails. And that gave them a reason to wiretap these peripheral campaign hangers-on using the carefully crafted protocols in the nation's wise counterintelligence laws. Gradually, the project to spy on the Trump campaign you know, just in case morphed into a conspiracy to avoid facing the embarrassment of the exposure of government spying on the out-of-power party's campaign. Outrageous! Monstrous! A vile plot to undermine "our Democracy"! But I am comforted by all of this. We have learned over the months that these Deep State hangers-on are merely fools and knaves, from Brennan to Clapper, from Comey to McCabe and the lovebird twins, and don't forget the inimitable Stefan Halper, who appears to have enjoyed too many counterintelligence lunches at his London club. Did somebody say "what did the president know and when did he know it?" We conservatives love to rail at the Administrative State and its monstrous injustices, and we are right to do so. But it is comforting to know what "dull routinists" they all are, to steal a phrase beloved by Ludwig von Mises. All this is "worse than Watergate" because back then imagine this if you can the FBI refused to help President Nixon dish the opposition. But this time, the FBI jumped right in the hot tub with the Kool Kidz and started texting. And why wouldn't these guys party with the best of them? The Deep State just needed an insurance policy to make sure that Trump didn't make it, and I expect that the received wisdom among the smart set was that the carefully crafted "October surprise" of the Access Hollywood tape would do the trick and keep the "not our kind, darling" Trump out of the White House. So everyone just went through the motions texting, and hot-tubbing, and lunching as usual and didn't actually bother to use the FISA-approved surveillance to bring down candidate Trump. That is the point. The people inside a modern administrative bureaucracy are all just going through the motions. They do not have a strategic view of what they are doing. They are like cells in a body, jiggling away without a clue about the big picture. Do you doubt me? Then read the mindless rubbish in the New York Times from all the administrative and journalistic cogs that sat there doing nothing in particular during the decline and fall of the Time Inc. machine. What really upsets them was that, back in Time's heyday, Time women were all "researchers" and could never become "writers" and "reporters." This is not disappointing; it is encouraging. It means that the great administrative and bureaucratic structures are not the monolithic and all-powerful enforcers of the ruling class that we free spirits like to think. No, indeed. Their Barnacles and Stiltstockings are the dull and ponderous factotums of the ruling class, thinking more about their petty jealousies and perks and above all, their pensions than about the glorious vision of the party. This explains, if you have ever wondered, the appetite of the Stalins and the Maos or the world for Great Purges and Proletarian Cultural Revolutions. When you are a star-crazed revolutionary, nothing pisses you off so much as your supporters reposing on their benefices instead of getting off their butts and getting on with the revolution. If you are wondering what on Earth the various players in Spy-on-Trump thought they were doing, the answer is simple. They weren't thinking. Not at all. They were just cells in a bureaucratic organism responding to the various chemical stimuli in the blood. More and more, I am coming to think we are doing a replay of the post-sixties experience. Back then, liberals thought the world had changed forever and that they were going to be the future. But ordinary Americans hated the rich-kid conceits of the hippies and the SDS, and so they started voting for Nixons and Reagans. Well, the Kool Kidz got rid of Nixon, but I don't think they will manage to get rid of Trump. And I can't wait to see what Reagan Mark II will be like. Christopher Chantrill (@chrischantrill) runs the go-to site on U.S. government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class. In a previous article, this writer urged the GOPs to beat the historical trend favoring the out-of-power party in a new president's first midterm election by tying ostensibly moderate local Democratic candidates to the national and far more radical national party. To keep the House and Senate, Republicans need to show voters what they would be getting from a House and Senate controlled by the Democrats: an agenda far to the left of what most red states and red districts would support, which agenda would be pursued regardless of any opposition from moderate Democrats, for the simple reason that moderate Democrats are a tiny, increasingly endangered species in their party. And just what would America be getting from a Democratic House and Senate? Ross Perot famously described the national debt as "a crazy aunt we keep down in the basement. All the neighbors know she's there, but nobody wants to talk about her." Make "crazy aunt" plural... ...add a few crazy uncles... ...and, well, let's just say this is not your grandfather's Democratic Party. But, unlike Perot's crazy aunt, the crazy aunts and uncles have no intention of being locked in some catacomb beneath the Capitol Building. They demand to stand center stage, proclaiming their views to the world. Republicans should help them. Republicans accuse the Democrats of not having a governing agenda. Not true. Democrats have an agenda, all right. But the elites, whose job it is to win elections, know that if that if heartland voters were aware of that agenda, they wouldn't vote for them. Fortunately, and despite all attempts by more practical minds in the Democratic leadership to suppress them, a number of progressive candidates are mounting strong primary challenges to their more traditional compatriots. Depending on how successful progressive Democrats are in placing on the November ballots, much of the GOP's work will have been done for it. It is about the centrist candidates, whether de facto or in-name-only, that Republicans need to worry. In any red state or congressional district where sensible Democrats manage to field a centrist or centrist-seeming candidate, such a candidate will attempt, as Conor Lamb successfully did in Pennsylvania's 18th District's special election, to distance themselves from the national party, proclaiming their personal views to be more moderate than those of the national party. Republicans must not let them get away with it. When a Democratic candidate tries to appeal to local voters by divorcing himself from the far-left progressives, who dominate indeed, are the Democratic Party it is essential for Republicans, a la the Mafia and Michael Corleone, to pull them back in. When Democrats portray their party as this... ...Republicans should remind local voters that the national party is really this: Gage Skidmore via Flickr. Heck, add the shark attack theme from Jaws to the above photo, and that's a pretty scary campaign ad, right there. Ironically, to win, Republicans need do only what Democrats should want to do themselves: publicize ideally, with actual quotes, sound bites, and video clips the Democratic platform. For example: Unlawful Immigration Immigration consistently ranks at or near the top of voters' important-issue lists. Most heartland voters want strong curbs on unlawful immigration, including yes the wall. The national Democratic Party, not so much. Democratic Candidate X's views and promised voting stance, however moderate, won't matter in Congress. A vote for the Democratic candidate is a vote for open borders, if your vote puts the Democrats in charge. Immigration consistently ranks at or near the top of voters' important-issue lists. Most heartland voters want strong curbs on unlawful immigration, including yes the wall. The national Democratic Party, not so much. Gun Control In reality, a euphemism for gun confiscation. Democrats, at all levels, have long made known their desire to ban so-called assault weapons (civilian semiautomatic rifles that merely look like military-grade, fully automatic weapons). And in a recent poll, 82 percent of Democrats voiced support for banning not just "assault weapons," but all semiautomatic weapons. More than a third would repeal the Second Amendment. Meanwhile, 78 percent of voters in another poll said gun policy is "important to their midterm vote." "Democratic Candidate X's views and promised voting stance, however moderate, won't matter in an overwhelmingly liberal Democratic Congress. A vote for Candidate X is a vote for gun control." In reality, a euphemism for gun confiscation. Democrats, at all levels, have long made known their desire to ban so-called assault weapons (civilian semiautomatic rifles that merely look like military-grade, fully automatic weapons). And in a recent poll, 82 percent of Democrats voiced support for banning not just "assault weapons," but all semiautomatic weapons. More than a third would repeal the Second Amendment. Meanwhile, 78 percent of voters in another poll said gun policy is "important to their midterm vote." Taxes House Democratic minority whip Steny Hoyer said Democrats "would look to raise revenue" ("revenue" meaning "taxes") in a Democratic House and Senate. "Democratic Candidate X's views and promised voting stance, however moderate, won't matter in an overwhelmingly liberal Democratic Congress. A vote for Candidate X is a vote for 'Chuck and Nancy' to raise your taxes." House Democratic minority whip Steny Hoyer said Democrats "would look to raise revenue" ("revenue" meaning "taxes") in a Democratic House and Senate. Impeachment A recent NPR-PBS News Hour-Marist poll confirms what most Americans believe: impeachment is not a winning issue for Democrats in 2018. But try to tell that to the Democrats' rabid Trump-hating base, who will demand nothing less. "Democratic Candidate X's views and promised voting stance, however moderate, won't matter in an overwhelmingly liberal Democratic Congress. A vote for Candidate X is a vote to impeach President Trump." A recent NPR-PBS News Hour-Marist poll confirms what most Americans believe: impeachment is not a winning issue for Democrats in 2018. But try to tell that to the Democrats' rabid Trump-hating base, who will demand nothing less. These are just four of the most salient issues Republicans can, and should, use to tie local Democratic candidates to their extreme, and unhinged, national party. There are others. What matters is to ensure that voters understand that, regardless of a local Democratic candidate's professed views and pledges on how he would vote, a vote for that candidate is, for all practical purposes, is a vote for the national Democratic Party's uber-liberal agenda. Do heartland voters really, really want to associate themselves with grown men and women who dress in silly costumes, burn American flags, march against Israel and for jihad, and burn effigies of the president? Because that's what heartland voters who vote for the local Democratic candidate would be doing, and it manifestly behooves Republicans to make sure these voters understand that. Republicans could do worse than run ads showing rank-and-file Democrats acting out, with a tag line asking heartland voters: "Are these the people you want governing America?" Finally, remember the age-old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That is, why wait for campaign season to neuter moderate Democratic candidates? Why not start early and perhaps prevent such candidates from getting on the ballot in the first place? Why not sow a little dissention in the Democratic camp in the Democratic primaries (emphases added)? With their forceful intervention in [local primaries], national Democrats have lunged into an impatient new phase of the 2018 primary season one in which they are clashing more openly with candidates and local political chieftains in their drive to assemble a slate of recruits for the midterms. Vive le clash. Republicans, if they are smart (said the writer, stifling a laugh), will seize every opportunity to call out moderate Democratic primary candidates to state definite positions on all of the hot election issues, thereby forcing them into a lose-lose-lose situation: Stand with moderate and conservative voters, oppose the leftist agenda of the national party (and its progressive activist base), and lose the primary. Stand with the activists and their ultra-left-liberal platform, win the primary (maybe), and lose the election. Avoid taking any strong position at all, alienate both groups of voters, and lose either the primary or the election. As for Republicans first watching the Democratic debacle and, later, celebrating retention of the House and Senate, in defiance of the historical odds, the only question will be whether they prefer their popcorn with or without butter. Gene Schwimmer is a New York and New Jersey licensed real estate broker and author of The Christian State. Last week's school shooting Santa Fe, which resulted in ten deaths, is only the latest in a series of school shootings over the last several years, and only three months after the infamous Parkland, Florida shooting on Valentine's Day. As with that shooting, many are attempting to politicize the issue in order to push various agendas. We see this same vicious cycle after every modern shooting the left lobbies for gun control, and the right counters. As a college student, one of the most common complaints I hear is that the right doesn't have any solutions to the problem that the right just wants to sit back and do nothing. This is patently untrue and ignores the plethora of potential fixes that have been forwarded by those on the right. Nonetheless, I do not believe we can just sit back and hope the school shootings will stop with time. While gun control is not the answer, neither is doing nothing. So, in light of these recent shootings, what can we do to secure our schools apart from gun control? To answer that, let's look at another public institution: airports. How many shooting incidents have occurred at airports in recent decades? Very few. In fact, if you look globally, only 22 shootings have occurred at airports since the tightening of security following 9-11. By contrast, the New York Times reports that there have been over 200 shootings (16 of which can be classified as mass shootings) in the United States alone since Sandy Hook in 2012. This raises the question: why do potential shooters seem to favor schools as opposed to airports, which see far more traffic than schools? The answer may be the difference in security the two receive. According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), $7.6 billion a year goes to airport security. By contrast, in 2016, the U.S. spent approximately $907 million on school security, according to the Wall Street Journal. Of course, airports require more security because of the constant flow of new passengers, but in the United States, there were 5,136 public airports as of 2016, compared to 98,271 public schools in the United States in the 2013-14 school year. The effects of this wide disparity in public funding for security becomes apparent in the spotty presence of armed guards at schools. According to a study cited by the Guardian, only 43% of schools have an officer present at least once a week. This suggests that 57% of schools do not have a security guard present on a regular basis. There are those who say bringing in a large presence of armed guards won't stop school shootings. This is nonsense. We do not see the same people protesting more school security also objecting to security at government institutions, the New York Stock Exchange, and as we already discussed airports. Other than the common complaints of lengthy airport security lines and the occasional overly inquisitive guard, people understand that these measures are necessary in defending these facilities against terrorists and deranged criminals. So why is there so much pushback against schools being armed? Well, some of it comes down to the common opposition people have toward change and the left's ignorance on security and human nature. However, the more pressing motivation behind the opposition is the fact that if more armed security prevents shootings, then it is reasonable to suggest that good guys with guns do in fact stop bad guys with guns. So, in short, here are some solutions to the problem: More funding for school security. Better training for security guards as was made apparent by the Parkland shooting. More funding for mental health institutions and prisons. Allow teachers who have a concealed carry permit to carry their weapons on campus. Don't mention the shooter's name or show his picture there is no need to give the shooter any more attention than necessary. Such measures have already been undertaken by some media outlets, the Daily Wire being one of the first examples. As a long-term goal educate young people on responsibility and values in their education in order to create more upstanding citizens and fewer shooters. In the end, our kids are our greatest asset. To argue against protecting our schools is to argue for leaving the next generation of leaders and citizens at the mercy of crazed individuals. If the left truly believes we should do something, then surely this is the most reasonable solution. Consider one more thing: there was an attempted school shooting in Illinois that occurred just a few days before the shooting we saw in Texas, one that received very little media coverage. At the Dixon High school, a former student and potential mass shooter arrived and fired upon the resource officer at the school. The shooter was injured in the exchange and fled a potential disaster averted by the presence of a single, well trained officer, Mr. Mark Dallas. In his 2008 book titled Willful Blindness: A Memoir of the Jihad, Andrew C. McCarthy sounded the alarm when he described a "zealous international network of warriors dead certain that history and Allah are on their side." Since then, this network has not diminished; it seems to metastasize in every part of the world. Violent jihad by its nature makes headlines and causes grief and anger. It also gives resolve to those who would fight back. Law enforcement will track down the perpetrators and bring them to court or kill them outright. But a far more dangerous and insidious undermining of America continues unabated. It seeks to ultimately destroy the foundations of American values. It is important to see the larger picture of what the Islamic jihadists assiduously work to achieve in this country. Connecting the dots irrefutably proves their game plan. It begins with immigration, or hijra. I have often wondered why a group of people accustomed to very warm climates continues to settle in extremely cold geographical areas. Consider that the Nordic countries now boast a growing Muslim population, and Minnesota is now host to Somali Muslims. In war lingo, this could be construed as a siege, whereby a country's borders are sealed off by the enemy...with the aim of compelling the surrender of those inside. Hijra is immigration by jihadists who seek to populate and dominate new lands. They have absolutely no intention of assimilating peacefully in a new host nation. In fact, they scorn the host nation's traditions and legal systems. Rather, hijrah is a means to "colonize and then transform non-Muslim target societies since the ultimate goal is global submission to sharia law." So Sweden, under the much vaunted multicultural umbrella, opened its borders to Muslim immigration. Today, it is the rape capital of the West. In March of 2018, Sweden applied sharia law for the first time. Thus: While many have acknowledged the influence of Muslim migrants in no-go suburbs in Sweden, such as feminists in Stockholm, the case is the first time sharia law has influenced a case in the country's court system. Despite pushback from Swedish legal experts against sharia law in this case, demographic trends suggest that Sweden will become one-third Muslim by the year 2050 and makes the prospect of continued legal challenges inevitable. According to Pew Research, "[b]y 2050, the U.S. Muslim population is projected to reach 8.1 million, or 2.1% of the nation's total population nearly twice the share of today." By contrast, Japan "is teaching the whole world an interesting lesson: there is a direct correlation between national heritage and permission to immigrate: a people that has a solid and clear national heritage and identity will not allow the unemployed of the world to enter its country; [while] a people whose cultural heritage and national identity is weak and fragile, has no defense mechanisms to prevent a foreign culture from penetrating into its country and its land." After hijra has been firmly established, there is the infiltration into the school system, beginning with the promotion of Islamic attire. Then Islamic groups stipulate that history classes shine a positive light on Islam. Demands for halal food are made. Did you know that Common Core's funding comes from Qatar, Libya, and Saudi Arabia? As a result, American students "now participate in public school sponsored trips to mosques via taxpayer expense and girls must wear head scarves." Students pledge allegiance in Arabic and recite the Shahada ('There is No God but Allah') as well as the Muslim call to prayer. Equally alarming: The Sovereign fund of Libya initially took a 3.27 per cent stake in Pearson. 3.27% is a significant stake in what is the largest educational publishing company in the world. Pearson is a $9 billion giant that dominates textbooks, testing, teacher evaluation, IT platforms for schools, and may have the largest investment in lobbying of any publishing company operating in the United States. Pearson is also a major supplier to states who have adopted the Common Core Standard. According to a February 2012 study by Citizens for National Security about Muslim Biased Textbooks in Florida, four are published by Pearson. Obvious pro-Islam bias is quite clear. A 2011 study of Muslim-biased textbooks in America "concluded that Pearson published 13 titles where significant Muslim bias was uncovered." Also relevant is the fact that Federally subsidized Middle East Studies centers are required to pursue public outreach. That entails designing lesson plans and seminars on the Middle East for America's K-12 teachers. These university-distributed teaching aids slip into the K-12 curriculum without being subject to the normal public vetting processes. Meanwhile, the federal government, which both subsidizes and lends its stamp of approval to these special K-12 course materials on the Middle East, has effectively abandoned oversight of the program that purveys them (Title VI). As the Islamification continues, mosques play a critical role in disseminating hatred against freedom. In The Mosque Exposed, S. Solomon and E. Alamaqdisi detail how mosques are much more than religious outlets. The mosque is the driver that ensures that "segregation and refusal to assimilate and integrate make it a divisive and discriminatory source that continually influences those who worship. The mosque is a part of the socio-political, socio-religious, socio-economical, socio-legislative, judiciary, militaristic system," whose aim is to thoroughly undermine American separation of church and state and the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. Islam "contends that all persons are born 'slaves of Allah.'" In fact, "a subservient status is given to members of other faiths." According to the World Atlas site: Mosques increased in number from about 1,209 in the year 2000 to about 2,106 in the year 2010. This is a 74% increase in a single decade. Most of the mosques in the United States are found along the Eastern Seaboard and Great Lakes. First on the list is California with about 198 mosques in the state and counting. Second is New York with about 131 mosques in the state. Third is Texas with about 58 mosques in the state. Fourth is New Jersey with about 56 mosques. Fifth is Michigan with 55 mosques. Sixth is Pennsylvania with 43 mosques. Seventh is Illinois with 43 mosques. Eighth is Florida with 42 mosques. Ninth is Georgia with 40 mosques. And tenth in the list is Virginia with about 27 mosques in the state and counting. Again, notice the way that states on the U.S. border show the most increase in mosque-building. Finally, there is the voting booth. According to Investor's Business Daily, in 2014, "the radical Muslim Brotherhood ... built the framework for a political party in America that seeks to turn Muslims into an Islamist voting bloc." The U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) aims to elect Islamists in Washington, "with the ultimate objective of 'institutionalizing policies' favorable to Islamists ... that is, sharia law." In fact, "America's first Muslim political party is made up 'of the inner core of American Islamist organizations' that portray themselves as an innocent 'Muslim coalition.'" It is deception at its core. And, to wit, there is now a blue Muslim wave, where American Muslims are launching political campaigns. In fact, "more than 90 American Muslims, nearly of all of them Democrats, are running for public office across the country this year." Whether donning hijabs or business suits, these individuals are engaging in the soft jihad that will irretrievably change the landscape of America by substituting sharia law for the Constitution. It has already begun. Recently, the 1939 movie Confessions of a Nazi Spy aired on the television. It was a courageous attempt to disseminate powerful messages about the rise of Nazi fascism to millions of Americans. One of the potent lines in the movie from the American Nazi leader was "And we know that ... we must destroy the chains that tie the whole misery of American politics together! And that chain is the United States Constitution." Islamo-fascism is but another form of Nazi terror it has a religious component to it, which makes it perhaps even more dangerous. If we continue with our willful blindness, there will be no turning back. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com. The majority of my fellow black friends, family, and associates are low-info voters. They look at me in stunned disbelief when I tell them that every negative thing they believe about conservatives/Republicans is true of leftist/Democrats. For example: leftists say conservatives are intolerant. In reality, leftists are the ones totally intolerant of opposing views. Fake news media is not reporting that leftist operatives are physically beating up people and pushing legislation to jail people who will not submit to leftists' anti-God and anti-America agendas. In essence, leftists are repealing our constitutional right to free speech. Recently, a dozen Cheesecake Factory employees approached the table of a young black customer. Incredibly, the employees harassed and threaten to punch the restaurant's patron in his face for wearing a MAGA hat. Can you believe that, folks? Had the employees attacked a customer wearing a Black Lives Matter or homosexual rainbow logo hat, outraged leftists would demand that the Cheesecake Factory fire the employees immediately. By the way, the courageous young black customer has a good reason to support Trump. Black unemployment is at an all-time low. With leftist college professors condoning violence to silence politically incorrect speech, a disturbing 19% of college students believe they have the moral high ground to physically assault people who express opinions they don't like. So it is not surprising that seniors and veterans have been brutalized for wearing "Make America Great Again" attire. A 9-year-old was harassed and forbidden to wear his MAGA hat to school. Leftists put out narratives on various issues and then socially and physically beat the crap out of anyone who dares to challenge what leftists deem true. Enraged leftists descended upon my wife with furious anger on Facebook for daring to say stats prove that cops do not routinely murder blacks. Data confirm that blacks are the ones murdering blacks in record numbers in urban Democrat strongholds. Leftists quickly attacked my wife to defend their evil lie, which has led to Black Lives Matter ambushing and assassinating police across America. Another leftist lie that you had better not get caught challenging especially if you are black is that America is an eternally racist hellhole for blacks. Leftists are trying to economically and socially beat the crap out of black Millennials Kanye West and Candace Owens for suggesting that blacks should stop clinging to victim status and pursue their dreams. I roll my eyes when black walking-dead leftist zombies lecture me about how white America hated Obama being in the White House. Blacks are only 12% of the population. Therefore, white America elected a black president two times. Black media queen Oprah is worth two billion dollars. Obama's "PROMISE program" forbids schools from reporting or punishing bad behavior by minority students. Beginning in kindergarten through college, white students are taught to hate themselves for being white. It is counterproductive for blacks to continue viewing themselves as victims, still singing, "We Shall Overcome." Folks, did you ever think a day would come when leftists would demand that we do not state the truth that there are only two sexes? College student Lake Ingle was kicked out of class for saying biologists officially say there are only two sexes. Leftists have decreed that there are 71 different "genders," including no-gender and gender-fluid. Anyone caught publicly stating otherwise will suffer public humiliation and dire social, economic, and even physical consequences. And yet leftists are praised as paragons of tolerance. Obama's DoJ wanted to throw scientists in jail who disagreed with man-made climate change. A California bill seeks to criminalize speaking biblical views on sexuality. Remember the mentally disabled white man four leftists kidnapped and tortured for saying he liked Trump? Intolerant of allowing parents to teach their children their values and principles, leftists seek to make homeschooling illegal. Leftists have brainwashed our kids into believing that not hurting feelings should trump freedom. In less than an hour, 50 people on the campus of Yale signed a bogus petition to end our First Amendment. The First Amendment protects our free speech, religion, assembly, press, and petition. This sounds pretty intolerant to me. Intolerant Missouri student V.P. Brenda Smith-Lezama wants our First Amendment right to free speech repealed because it causes an "unsafe" learning environment. Can you imagine a young person spouting this crap? When I attended the Maryland Institute College of Art in the '70s, we were encouraged to extend our thinking as far as our imaginations would allow. Today, colleges demand that everyone think the same. In a nutshell, intolerant leftists are hyper-aggressively silencing free speech via bullying and criminalization while deceptively portraying themselves as victims of hate from intolerant mainstream Americans. Like the title of the old Marvin Gaye song, it is time for the American people to realize "What's Going On." Now that you know, it is time for Americans to stand. When Apple sought approval of its plans to build a massive 2.8-million-square-foot "spaceship" headquarters in 2013, it made a deal that included giving up a $2-million-a-year tax break from the City of Cupertino. In the words of the San Jose Mercury-News back then: The nearly $2 million in Apple sales tax that Cupertino will now get to keep its hands on is only a small part of a list of goodies that the company's presence provides the town every year, said analyst Tim Bajarin with Creative Strategies. "Apple pours money back into the Cupertino economy in a lot of ways," he said. "And many of the city's other businesses also gain from Apple and its employees being there and taking advantage of the city's stores and restaurants. So while this extra money is certainly nice, Cupertino already benefits a great deal from having Apple in town." But the tax man (and woman) never has enough money. And now that the Apple spaceship has landed and is open for business, at an estimated $5-billion cost, greed is in the air. That architectural landmark, purposefully built for Apple (and difficult to rent out as commercial office space owing to scale, access, and design issues), is in effect a hostage. Taking a cue from Seattle's imposition of an employee tax levy on big corporations and similar head count taxes in other Bay Area cities, Cupertino smells money. Wendy Lee reports in the San Francisco Chronicle: 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, Cupertino's 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. ... 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. If I were Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, I would immediately propose an amendment to the state constitution outlawing head count taxes on corporations, and let Apple, Amazon, Google, and every other successful corporation in America know how much Texas would appreciate having all those jobs. Gangsters and governments both prey on the successful and demand a "taste." Last night, Michael Caputo, the former Trump campaign aide who has been forced to sell his house to pay legal bills arising out of the Mueller probe, let slip a bombshell: he was approached by at least one other government informant who was attempting to be planted into the campaign. Appearing on The Ingraham Angle along with Carter Page, he made the stunning charge eight minutes into the interview embedded below: Chuck Ross, who already deserves a Pulitzer for his incredible reporting on the Obama administration spy ring, spotted the revelation: "Let me tell you something that I know for a fact," Caputo said on "The Ingraham Angle" with host Laura Ingraham. "This informant, this person [whom] they tried to plant into the campaign ... he's not the only person who came at the campaign. And the FBI is not the only Obama agency who came at the campaign." "I know because they came at me. And I'm looking for clearance from my attorney to reveal this to the public. This is just the beginning." The eye-opening disclosure came at the end of a highly informative discussion with Carter Page about his interactions with Stefan Halper, the informant already believed to have pumped members of the campaign for information. For some reason, after identifying Halper by name on air, Fox News has reverted to the practice of keeping his name secret, at least for the moment. Halper evidently was quite a charmer, according to Carter Page. Yet Halper also is believed to have planted with George Papadopoulos (whom he also paid $3,000 for a "research paper") the information about Russia having hacked DNC emails, which information Papadopoulos then revealed to Australia's ambassador to Great Britain (called the "high commissioner" among Commonwealth countries), who then fed it to the FBI to justify the FISA warrant. Up until the revelations of spies (or "informants" as the New York Times and other anti-Trumpers call them) worming their way into the Trump campaign, it was fiendishly complex explaining to members of the general public what went on. But everyone understands the words "spy," "secret agent," and "informant." The revelation that the Obama administration security apparatus was spying on the Trump campaign is easy to understand and outrageous on its face. Right now, members of the Trump campaign are thinking back and remembering people who approached them in a friendly way, seeking information or maybe access to the campaign as a volunteer at an expert level. No doubt, many if not most or potentially all will be innocent encounters. But maybe some of them were acting upon instructions from not just the FBI, but whatever other agencies Caputo had in mind. Tick, tick, tick... One of the more despicable Congress-critters is Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), a man with utter contempt for Truth. He was on Tucker Carlson Tonight last evening pushing for confiscation of AR-type rifles and spinning like a dervish with rocket boosters. But let's forget that while Swalwell wrote an op-ed calling for gun confiscation, it's not really confiscation, according to Swalwell. Let's forget that what he labels "assault weapons" are just semi-automatic rifles that happen to have a military-style appearance (much like putting a Porsche body on a Yugo chassis). Let's forget that he claimed that his AR-species confiscation plan would "keep kids safe," ignoring that the most recent shooting, in Santa Fe, was perpetrated with a .38 pistol and a shotgun. Most significant is that, amid his pseudo-Machiavellian babbling, he contradicted himself and refuted his own argument. Pointing out the congressman's more-equal-than-others status, host Tucker Carlson repeatedly asked Swalwell if he would restrict his own bodyguards, the Capitol Hill Police (CHP), to the same weapons to which he'd limit Joe Six-Pack. Practice what you preach, right? Aside from using the spurious diversionary argument of saying Carlson was "denigrating" the police by likening them to bodyguards (hmm, in doing so, wasn't the congressman denigrating bodyguards?), Swalwell also repeatedly said he wouldn't agree to limit the CHP because he, the man passionately proclaimed, doesn't want our cops "outgunned." Did you get that? Question: If outlawing AR-type rifles actually could get them out of bad guys' hands, then how could the police be outgunned without them? Perhaps Swalwell knows in his heart (and head?) that his proposal wouldn't suffice to deny these weapons to criminals. It's as if he's tacitly admitting that he's just a lying, power-hungry sack of excrementitious ambition and hot air. Below is the Tucker Carlson Tonight segment with the congressman. Of course, another explanation is that such contradictions inevitably occur when, instead of seeking Truth while formulating opinion, you play games and just disgorge whatever sophistic argument you think will work at the moment. As the above segment evidences, Swalwell is the epitome of this demagogic practice. Gun-grabbers have completely departed from reality. I'm old enough to remember when the left's gun control obsession involved banning handguns. I disagree with doing so, but at least that proposal has some relationship to crime: handguns were used in 19 times as many murders in 2016 as all rifles combined. Amazingly, even the Swalwellian New York Times admitted this in its 2014 piece "The Assault Weapon Myth." The paper pointed out that in 2012, only 322 people were killed with rifles of any kind and that even prior to the 1990s Assault Weapons ban, such firearms were used in only 2 percent of the nation's gun crimes (this hasn't changed). Moreover, credible studies show that the ban did not serve to reduce gun violence, the Times also informed. The point? Do you think leftists would stop at banning a class of weapons (AR-style ones) used in almost no crimes and not move on to a class (handguns) used in most gun crime? As admitted by Esquire editor Dave Holmes in a recent article titled "Okay, Now I Actually Do Want to Take Your Guns" and by former Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens when he proposed in March repealing the Second Amendment, the left ultimately wants all firearms banned. Leftists just plan to accomplish this via incrementalism, stealing away our freedoms inch by inch. They generally don't admit this because they're Swalwellian which is another way of saying they're liars. Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter, or log on to SelwynDuke.com. J. Edgar Hoover was the most feared man in Washington from 1924 until his death in 1972. Even our presidents from Truman to Nixon wouldn't fire him because of the files he kept. Hoover used the FBI to get dirt on politicians, protecting his career and personal life from the public. He feared one man, Armand Hammer, who knew all about his dirty little secrets and had pictures to prove it. Hammer was a traitor and friend of Russia who knew that controlling Hoover meant control of the DOJ. Does this sound familiar with what is going on today? These men are dead, but their methods have developed into a secret weapon of our enemy. This secret organization has taken control of just about every branch of government. Its members know that if they control top officials with bribes, blackmail, and threats, they control Washington. Unlawful unmasking and information-gathering have gone on for decades. To accuse any government official of a crime is a crime in itself. It's also a crime to bribe, accept bribes, or blackmail anyone, especially for a vote. Many vote to fund Planned Parenthood, Iran, and other organizations with taxpayer money. Follow that money, and you might find that some found its way into the wallets of those who approved funding. I am sure that Iran didn't mind giving some of that 150 billion dollars to a few corrupt officials. Why hasn't the attorney general indicted anyone like Comey, Clinton, Lynch, McCabe, Kerry, and many more? This group has spent years creating a sanctuary city in Washington for corruption, traitors, and criminals. Corrupt politicians and high-ranking officials are attacking the president because the truth is exposing itself. This country needs term limits for every politician, because what's good for the president is good for the rest. There is an organization seeking the complete destruction of America. This group is extremely intelligent, wealthy, and powerful, with individuals in every branch of government scholars in medicine, law, history, and the military with a deep-rooted hatred for the U.S. They have made plans for decades, knowing that the only way to destroy America is from within. They learn from history and how Reagan brought down the Soviet Union. They used the FBI to spy on President Trump before the election, trying to protect their control of Washington. They weren't prepared for an honest man to finance his own campaign and win the election. Millionaires don't contribute to politicians without expecting favors, and President Trump doesn't owe them any. People in office are so worried about public opinion that they will do anything to protect their image. Many are trapped in this evil web of corruption and have no idea what they are connected to. Rudy Giuliani brought down the Mob, and those guys were never anything like this. This evil organization controls with fear and blackmail. This country is infested at every level of society, with President Trump standing in their way. Dirty politicians scream for gun control when we demand tougher laws that control corrupt politicians. We used to have 435 representatives and 100 senators working for the people. Now we have only one Democrat and one Republican with 533 followers who vote for their party, and screw the country. Washington, wake up soon, or you won't have a country to "Make Great Again." A high school principal in New Jersey has apologized for an "insensitive message" on prom tickets that said "Party like it's 1776." For those who have grown up recently in the American public school system and are therefore unaware of its significance, the message is an obscure reference to a minor event in world history: the founding of the United States of America. The message drew immediate fake outrage, so the principal, Dennis Perry, humbly and profusely apologized for his egregious offense. Please read this letter of apology to the East Community. pic.twitter.com/BnokMF0n9Q Dr. Dennis Perry (@drperryateast) May 18, 2018 Hit and Run: It's not clear whether any students were actually bothered by the message. Tthe [sic] local news stories don't quote any angry kids, or even concerned parents. The offended parties seem to be local activists, who said the incident was just another example of Cherry Hill ignoring the needs of students of color: 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." Two points. First, the prom will take place at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center. Given that the Constitution wasn't actually created in 1776 that would be the Declaration of Independence perhaps Perry should have suggested his students "party like its 1787." This call to action would have bothered the same people, but with the added benefit of being historically accurate. Second, is there any point in history that would feel safe for all students to party? The original line is "party like it's 1999," from the Prince song "1999." But gay and trans students might not have felt welcome at the party then. We could "party like it's 2018," but only if we were prepared to ignore undocumented students' fears. I guess everybody just has to "party like it's some unspecified point in the idealized future." I wonder if that fits on Cherry Hill's prom tickets, which are being reprinted with the offensive message scrubbed. Editor Lifson makes some valid points in an IM to me: Can Jews now object to WWII-themed parties because of the Holocaust? Do we have to ignore all history because people have suffered? Everyone has suffered injustice at some point in history. No ancient Egypt parties because of Hebrews in slavery? Definitely no Africa-themed parties because of slavery? But of course, cultural appropriation dogma says we all have to live in the moment of our own culture. Overall, what we are dealing with is an incredibly immature I might even say juvenile perspective on American history. Surely, a more rounded perspective would include the extraordinarily important and vital contributions America has made to the betterment of the human race. When will that start counting for something with the racialists, feminists, immigrant activists, and cultural warriors? Fact: Human beings live better today because America exists. If that isn't a reason to throw a party, I don't know what is. Yes, America's sins real and perceived should be taken into account in any study of such a complex and nuanced subject as American history. But that's the problem with SJWs if they bothered with complexity and nuance, they wouldn't have a case. So they deliberately dumb down American history to its lowest level, highlighting evil while completely ignoring the good. Perhaps the principal should have apologized for being forced to apologize. Why on Earth would Yale invite Hillary Clinton, the whiniest woman on the planet to speak at its commencement? Did the administrators not have advance knowledge of her psychosis? Her address to Yale grads was all about her: her loss, her anger at those who did not vote for her. She is, without a doubt, the sorest of sore losers. Hillary quoted Dickens when bemoaning the constitutional crisis she herself has created by inventing the Trump-colluded-with-Russia hoax. She is the person who colluded with Russia in numerous ways. It was Hillary who saw to it that the U.S. sold twenty percent of our uranium to Russia. She is the one who benefited financially, to the tune of $145M, from that deal. She is the one who commissioned and paid for the fake dossier on Trump and then had her like-minded felons in the Deep State use it to spy on the Trump campaign and probably everyone within it. It was she who was and is affiliated with Fusion GPS and Perkins Coie, the law firm that facilitated much of the skullduggery perpetrated on her behalf. It was she who sabotaged Bernie Sanders during the primaries. And looking back, it was she who made a mess of Libya and is responsible for the deaths at Benghazi. The complete list of her failures and crimes against the nation is too long to include here. Mrs. Clinton and her husband are the most corrupt people in U.S. history to dominate a political party. They have become fabulously wealthy by selling access to U.S. government favors and via other unscrupulous schemes. And still she whines. She wanted more; she wanted the presidency and believed with absolute certainty that it was hers for the taking. Hillary is clearly convinced that her defeat in the 2016 election was a near-death blow to American democracy. In her view, Trump's victory is an assault on our republic. She is still furious at all the deplorables who did not vote for her. She has no concern for those of us who are victims of and are outraged at the senseless crimes committed by illegal aliens protected by sanctuary cities or the businesses shut down by the tyranny of the diversity police. This woman is a fascist of the first order. She loathes the freedoms our Founders cherished and thought they had inscribed forever in the Constitution. To Hillary, as to Obama, the Constitution is a document of negative rights; it tells us all what the government cannot do. Like the rest of the D.C. privileged establishment, she feels entitled to tell us all how to live, what to say, what to think, how to act, what to drive, etc. None of them lives by the rules they intend to impose on the rest of us. For example, they all have armed security everywhere they go, but we must not be allowed to have weapons with which to defend ourselves and our families. They are driven about in luxury SUVs, but we should drive only electric tin-can death traps. More than any other word, hypocrisy is the principal characteristic of the Hillary-loving left hypocrisy and snobbery. If there is one psychological trait that defines the American left, it is projection. Leftists never tire of accusing those on the right of doing the things they actually do. Speaking about Democrats, "We stand for truth, for evidence and facts," she told the Yale grads. Uh, no, they don't. They stand for the fabrication of evidence and propaganda to achieve their goals. The media that are in their pocket think nothing of making up "facts" to construct a desired narrative. Hillary lies as easily as she breathes and has over her entire career in politics. She lies, as do Clapper, Brennan, Obama, Rice, etc. the whole lot of them, who ran the country as their own private fiefdom for eight years. Even more pathetic than her speech at Yale was the fact that Harvard gave her an award, the Radcliffe Medal, for her "transformative impact on society." But Hillary is no champion of human rights. Ask the Haitians. Her fraudulent "foundation" spends only about 6% on charity; the rest goes to fund the high living of the Clintons, their staff, and Chelsea's "nest egg." She is not a "skilled legislator." Not even close. She has really accomplished very little, if anything at all, despite all the prestigious positions she has held. She was perhaps most successful at tamping down the "bimbo eruptions" that plagued her husband. She was also good at creating scandals: Whitewater, cattle futures, the W.H. travel office firings, stealing loads of W.H. property when she left. These are just a few examples. The Clinton Foundation itself is one huge money-laundering scandal. Can anyone really come up with a successful Clinton endeavor over the last forty years that did more good than harm? If Hillary's speech at Yale and her award from Harvard are the standard for excellence and achievement these days, no one should let his sons or daughters go to either of those universities. They have lost all sense of what excellence and achievement are, and if they don't know what it is, they cannot teach it. If they are willing to sacrifice their own prestige to honor a self-serving, power-hungry political hack, they do not deserve the pleasure of anyone's sons' and daughters' presence on their campuses. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr. Starbucks's new homeless policy doesn't pass the smell test When Starbucks announced that anyone could sit in its cafes without buying anything, everyone realized that this was an open invitation to the homeless...except, incredibly, the senior management at Starbucks. Now Starbucks has amended its new policy to say that while everyone is welcome at Starbucks, even if he doesn't buy anything, customers are not allowed to sleep or take narcotics in Starbucks cafes. Starbucks wants people to know: Just because folks can now use its bathrooms without buying anything does not give all carte blanche to disrupt others. Or, as Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz recently told the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.: "We don't want to become a public bathroom." Guess what, Mr. Schultz? If "customers" don't have to buy anything, you've just become one! Separately, a Starbucks procedure manual for employees offered detailed instructions on what to do if someone is behaving in a disruptive manner. It said disruptive behaviors include smoking, drug or alcohol use, improper use of restrooms and sleeping. Does Schultz think a ban on drug use and sleeping will keep the homeless away? Some thoughts: 1. The homeless will continue to take narcotics but will take them in the Starbucks restroom. Does Starbucks seriously expect its baristas to follow the homeless into the bathrooms to check out what they're doing? Starbucks bathrooms will become no-go zones, like parts of London and Paris. 2. The new policy bans sleeping in a Starbucks. But what if a black homeless person sleeps in a Starbucks? Does anyone seriously think these rules apply to black people? Probably not, given Starbucks's enormous fear of being labeled racist. 3. The new policy bans acting in a "disruptive manner" without specifying what that is. Can homeless people beg for money in Starbucks? If not that, can they silently hold up signs asking for cash? 4. Even if the homeless are perfectly behaved, they will take up tables that could go to paying customers. 5. Even if the homeless are perfectly behaved, their smell and poor hygiene will drive customers away. Starbucks, in trying to be "inclusive" to everyone, forgets that any business exists by appealing to a certain kind of customer. The Four Seasons doesn't admit customers without shirts and shoes. The Hyatt Regency doesn't let the homeless live in its lobby. Tesla doesn't encourage MS-13 to sit in its showroom cars, playing the car stereos on extra-loud. When a brand fails to discriminate, to encourage only those who are in its prime customer base, it tells its customers that this is not the right kind of business for them. Starbucks has always been about appealing to an upper-middle-class crowd. Serving as a magnet for smelly homeless people teeming with lice and maggots will drive away its prime audience. Any person of average intelligence instinctively knows this. But it is apparent that Mr. Schultz and the management at Starbucks are so wedded to doctrinaire liberalism that they are blind to common sense. How long before they are out of a job, and Starbucks cafes disappear faster than Blockbuster Video? Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com. Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger have authored a couple of good books that could teach the citizens, especially the young, a great deal of important history of the United States. They are George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution and Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans: The Battle That Shaped America's Destiny. The books would teach everyone that wars are sometimes necessary and that citizens need weapons to maintain their freedom. The tyrannical British government was trying to regain control of the United States in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. In the War of 1812, the British tried to take control of New Orleans and the Mississippi River, and only through a hodgepodge of mainly volunteers did Andrew Jackson beat off the well armed, greatly manned army of the British. Most of the volunteers brought their own weapons for the fight. From this, we learn of the need to recognize that freedom is not free and everyone needs to keep a watchful eye out for tyrants, because a tyrant may: Decide that it would be better to have the government take control of the health care system. This tyrant would write a bill to take away freedom of choice and to destroy the private health system and health insurance companies. A tyrant would travel the country lying about what would happen when the bill was passed. A complicit media would help sell the policy to the public. Have the government ship untracked guns across the border. While doing this, the tyrant would lecture the public about guns going across the border. Such a scam would work until a border guard is killed with one of these untracked guns. The tyrant would act as if he knew nothing about the government program. Have the IRS take action to block the freedom of speech of his political opponents and shut them up. The tyrant would act as if he had no idea this was happening. Secretly work with a country that spreads terrorism around the world and threatens death to America, and even pay secret ransom to that country. The tyrant's staff would go out and lie to the public and journalists about the agreement. The tyrant would know there are journalists who will repeat what they're told, no questions asked. The complicit media would act as though a non-signed deal not approved by Congress were an actual treaty. Have agencies write rules and regulations to destroy certain industries, like the coal industry, based on inaccurate, manipulated computer models instead of actual facts. Even sign an accord with the rest of the world that would cost U.S. citizens trillions of dollars and pretend government can control temperatures, sea levels, and storm activity forever. This deal would never be presented to Congress. The complicit media would act as though this is an actual treaty. Set out to destroy for-profit higher education companies by holding them to different standards from those of public and not-for-profit entities. Handpick a successor to continue his agenda to greatly expand the power of government. Weaponize and politicize the Justice Department and intelligence agencies to protect this successor and his staff from prosecution despite multiple violations of existing laws. The tyrant may even decide to spy on a political opponent and his staff with no actual evidence of any wrongdoing. Anyone who doesn't think the tyrant was involved directly in all the above activities and actions has to have his head in the sand. Few people were let go because of illegal actions, and none was prosecuted. They all were protected by the politicized Justice Department. Many were essentially above the law. All journalists should ask how they would treat President Trump if he did any of the above. They already treat Trump as if he were a dictator and tyrant even though he is doing nothing to indicate those traits. Meanwhile, President Obama acted as a king as he ignored and rewrote laws he didn't like unilaterally and sought to increase the government's power exponentially. The devoted media almost universally supported his dictatorial actions. What is more dangerous than the tyrant is journalists who support the tyrant at every turn, no matter how much power he amasses and how much freedom he takes away from the public. Major media outlets at this time are actively seeking to protect the tyrant by acting as though the spying on a political opponent were legitimate. They have run a story about Russian collusion for more than a year as if it were true. These media outlets are attacking the duly elected president, who succeeded the tyrant, on a daily basis. Over 90% of their reporting on the successor is negative, while the voters who elected him watch as he tries to transfer the power and purse and freedom back to the people as fast as possible. Over the past few days, Trump referred to extremely violent MS-13 members as "animals." The increasingly dishonest media and other Democrats lied by saying he called all illegal aliens animals. If Trump correctly referred to ISIS members who behead, rape, and murder people as animals, the media would probably lie and say he called all Muslims animals. Every day, the despicable media seek to destroy Trump, divide the U.S., and buy Democrat votes while they feign the desire for civility and unity. And here's another thing, also learnable from the New Orleans book from Chapter 5: In 1718, an early European arrival in the region, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, founded a community and called it La Nouvelle-Orleans. The settlement began as little more than shacks and most of those were obliterated by a massive flood in 1719. Bienville supervised a rebuilding. The growing town became the capital of French Louisiana in 1722 but later the same year a hurricane destroyed most of New Orleans's buildings. The town was again rebuilt and was ceded to Spain after the Seven Years War in Europe from 1756-1763. But the Spaniards' luck during their decades in charge proved no better than that of the French. Three major hurricanes hurtled through: a great flood swamped most of lower Louisiana in 1782. This is something entirely different from the message conveyed about the importance of self-defense and fighting tyrants. We learn that hurricanes and floods are natural, and not caused by man, CO2, or fossil fuels. They occurred naturally, as the climate has always changed naturally throughout billions of years. It is interesting that these storms in New Orleans occurred during the Little Ice Age, which lasted between 1300 and 1870. We have continually been told that floods and hurricanes are caused by global warming. To sum up, not once was the tyrant or any of his minions ever asked for actual evidence that humans, fossil fuels, and CO2 control the climate, despite what the media reports. Conclusion: Indoctrinated journalists aren't worth much. And there is much for Millennials to learn from the history coming out, telling us the story of our country. For Democrats, succoring illegals and doling out nationalized "free" health care are signature issues. What better way to enact that agenda than to offer California's abundant illegal aliens free state health care? That's the scheme they've cooked up, in their relentless push to make California a West Coast imitation of socialist Venezuela. It's so bad that it's likely to draw California voters toward Republicans. Here's what's going on, from Politico's Victoria Colliver: California is poised to become the first state in the nation to offer full health coverage to undocumented adults even as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown by separating families at the border. The proposal which would build on Gov. Jerry Brown's 2015 decision to extend health coverage to all children, regardless of immigration status is one of the most daring examples yet of blue-state Democrats thumbing their nose at President Donald Trump as they pursue diametrically opposed policies, whether on immigration, climate change, legalized marijuana or health care. Up until now, it would probably go over slightly negatively in ordinary times, with many Californians nodding and moving on. But there's a second factor: in the gig economy, Californians are paying for Obamacare insurance in house-sized payments, as well as losing their privacy in the process (telemarketers are having a field day), while illegal aliens, with zero papers, can now come on over here, and if their incomes are at a certain legal (such incomes can be as high as around $50,000 a year for a family of four in this program), they can sign up for the California medical welfare known as Medi-Cal and get a free ride. No deductibles, no drug costs, no out-of-pocket, and full dental and vision care for adults, plus a wide, wide network of top-notch doctors who will care for their every need. Not one of these things is available to Californians trapped in the nightmare of Obamacare's individual markets, with its gigantic costs, monster out-of-pocket payments, gargantuan deductibles, narrow networks, shutout from important HMO networks that provide top care, meager choice of doctors, zero dental care except to pay for other people's children, larded up drug-addict rehab costs even if you are not and never will be a drug addict, padded premiums from pregnancy costs even if you will never be pregnant, and other huge costs embedded in those Obamacare bills. That's what makes this free medical care for illegals plan such bad stuff, a terrible incentive that rewards those who thumb their noses at the law and penalizes further those who must live above board in the actual California system. The bill's author, Sen. Ricardo Lara a guy who got his high office by representing 652,106 voting-age adults in his district of 926,972 people, got into his office with all of 177,971 voting for him, about a 27% turnout if all of those voters were registered to vote uses the logic that if President Trump won't legalize illegal aliens, it's no reason why his state can't get health care "right." As one of his allies put it: "But just because we have bad immigration policy does not mean we shouldn't have good health policy." Lara himself also claims that since illegals are already flooding emergency rooms, might as well pay for their full ride on health care since we are already paying. If Lara were a normal politico, his logic would be to help Californians forced into the nightmare of Obamacare, but given that he's a leftist, one can rest assured, such people will never be helped because keeping them poor through the high cost of Obamacare is state policy and beggars are easier to please. Much easier to get illegals on the string, attract more of them, eventually make them voters, and then raise taxes as the system gets further overwhelmed. He'll feel good about himself and get new Democratic voters to boot. Since Californians have always accepted the heavy burden of Obamacare, they'll be easy to hit up for more taxes to pay for the $3 billion he calculates will be needed for illegals' new free ride. (Rest assured: that $3 billion will rise as the state becomes a magnet for free health care, not just from other states, but from other countries.) As a Californian, it's natural for me to think the bill's passage is far-fetched, given the magnitude of this cost and the outrageous gift it amounts to for lawbreakers over the law-abiding. But this is California, and the one-party state is capable of anything, actually, because of what it already has shown it can do. This is why it's quite likely to rouse support for a change of course in the state's ruling apparatus among voters, as an analyst consulted for the Colliver piece brings up. "It would give Republicans relevance in California they would never have before," said David McCuan, a political analyst and political science professor at Sonoma State University. He suggested the proposal would energize Republican voters, who make up a quarter of the electorate, as well as conservative-leaning unaffiliated voters. This is on target. Contrary to the legends dating from the George W. Bush era, California is not a solid blue state. There's still a lot of Reagan country left in it. It does have a gerrymandered state composition and a ruling elite in the legislature that rewards districts that have few people who can vote (read: high illegal counts), but even that's not unbreakable. The fact that it has many conservative representatives in Congress and an active rebellion of mostly Southern California cities to the state's sanctuary state movement suggests that at least some voters are not willing to put up with solid socialism and the incentivization of lawbreaking. In fact, this free health care for illegals while we pay through the nose idea pretty well looks like a tipping point. Colliver reports that some are thinking it will galvanize California voters to support the gubernatorial campaign of conservative John Cox, a tough guy who openly supports President Trump and who's now third in the polls. (That third placement is problematic as it signals he may not make the runoff after the June 5 primary. The withdrawal for the other Republican candidate, Travis Allen, perhaps with a promise of a good job in a Cox governorship, is getting rather important.) Right now, with this health care for illegals scheme, the road has never looked smoother for Cox to take the governor's slot. It's so strong that it ought to be called a campaign contribution to the Cox campaign, given the number of people looking for relief from Obamacare and the salt this shifting of resources represents on that wound. There's a clarity forming with this free health care scheme for illegals, and the ground is clear for it to sink in with the electorate as the leftward slide of the state continues. With this outrageous scheme on the table, there's a good chance going forward now that Cox can win simply because he must. If you live in the US and are in the market for a smart plug, Vodools smart plug is now discounted on Amazon, though youll need a coupon code (which is listed down below) in order to avail the discount. This smart plug, which also serves as surge protection, can now be purchased for only $8.49, with the provided coupon code, while it is listed on Amazon for $16.99, so youll basically get a 50-percent discount here. The provided coupon code is valid for first 700 purchases, in case you were wondering. Vodools smart plug will work with both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa without a problem, and it comes with a single USB (2.0) charging port with UL listed certification. Now, when you plug this device into your wall outlet, simply install the Smart Life app, and youll be able to connect your smartphone and / or tablet to the smart plug, which will give you some options, in other words, youll be able to control that device as long as its connected to your home Wi-Fi. You will be able to control it no matter where you are, as long as you have an internet connection, so youll never have to worry if you forgot to turn off the iron, your water heater, or something of the sort. This smart plug can be plugged into basically any regular wall outlet, as long as you live in the US, as this model is made for the US market. Vodools smart plug is also eligible for Amazon Prime free shipping, which includes two-day shipping, and you can pay extra $3.99 to get the device the next day if youre in a rush. Vodools smart plug is available in one color only, white, and it has an LED indicator, so that you know when its powered on. A power on / off button is included on the top of the device as well, right next to the USB port. It is also worth noting that you will need a secure 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection in order to make this device work properly. If youre interested in buying this smart plug, click the link down below. Advertisement Buy Vodool's Smart Plug COUPON CODE: VIPON50F Facebook co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg is set to appear in front of European Parliament members in just over an hour in order to testify on the companys Cambridge Analytica scandal, as well as a number of other privacy debacles that followed in recent weeks. While originally envisioned as a private audience with lawmakers on the Old Continent, the multi-billionaires hearing will end up being live-streamed following significant backlash from the general public and advocacy groups. The event is officially scheduled to start at 6:20 PM CET, i.e. 9:20 AM PST and 12:20 PM EST, with the EU Parliament estimating the questioning will take some 90 minutes. The political blocs EPTV will be the only source broadcasting the gathering, with its page dedicated to the hearing being available through the banner below. Mr. Zuckerberg already endured close to ten hours of congressional questions in the United States last month but many industry watchers were quick to criticize those hearings as being extremely basic in nature and revealing little about the firms efforts to stop the existing abuse of its platform and prevent future misuse attempts aimed at violating peoples privacy for profit, political gain, or other reasons. The upcoming questioning helmed by the EU Parliament is expected to be much less friendly, with the 34-year-old being likely to face a grilling over Cambridge Analytica and numerous other issues. The EUs General Data Protection Regulation is going into force this Friday, being introduced as the most comprehensive data privacy law in the Western world that severely limits the manner in which digital companies are allowed to mine, manage, and leverage user data. Facebook is presently in the process of probing a wide variety of third-party apps suspected of privacy violations, having already suspended approximately 200 of them since late March. Mr. Zuckerberg is expected to start his Tuesday hearing with another apology for the Cambridge Analytica episode, as well as a promise the social media giant will do more to protect its users in the future. Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer MediaTek on Tuesday debuted its latest offering in the form of the Helio P22, a chip designed to power Android smartphones in the mid-range price segment, with the company referring to such handsets as the new premium. Built on TSMCs 12nm FinFET process node, the chip includes eight Arm Cortex A53 cores clocked at up to 2.0GHz, with the overall package said to be extremely energy-efficient and capable of making the most of any battery. Dual-SIM support is also part of the package, with the Helio P22 being built specifically with the latest 4G LTE advancements in mind, the Hsinchu-based company claims. The newly announced silicon allows for dual-camera setups entailing a 13-megapixel main sensor and an 8-megapixel secondary one, as well as recording videos at 30 frames per second. In terms of smartphone displays, the Helio P22 can power 20:9 HD+ panels featuring a resolution of up to 1,600 by 720 pixels, with this particular characteristic being indicative of the lower mid-range market segment being MediaTeks target, premium claims or not. Bluetooth 5.0 and GNSS support are also part of the package, as is compatibility with all contemporary Wi-Fi standards. The Taiwanese technology giant has yet to share all technical specifications about the Helio P22 that appears to be positioning itself as a more affordable counterpart to the Helio P60, primarily because it lacks a dedicated artificial intelligence component, though its resolution support of choice implies more affordable devices with elongated displays and screen notches are likely to start hitting the market in the near future. MediaTek confirmed its latest piece of silicon is already in flow production, saying it expects it to become available in consumer-ready smartphones by the end of the second quarter of the year, meaning this month, with the implication being that new handset announcements are just around the corner. Samsung is prepared to explore previously uncharted territory by experimenting with content-dependent somatosensory output, according to a new patent the company recently filed. Essentially, the idea is for Samsung to create a wearable thats able to stimulate a wearers somatic senses, such as pressure, wind, and temperature, among others. The company plans to accomplish this with a special device of some sort, which appears to be a tablet, thats capable of generating ultrasonic frequency templates that are thought to activate somatosensory activity. This device will then create those templates based on what content the user is engaging with, and send those templates to a special external wearable, which looks a lot like a pair of high-end headphones, to be activated, hopefully allowing the wearer to feel whatevers happening in the content. The attached drawings that Samsung included with the patent application essentially explain exactly how the company expects the whole thing to work. The headphones will have an array of ultrasonic speakers along the length of headband, which will each be targeted at a different region of the brain. Variables like geomagnetism, acceleration, infrared light in the environment, and air pressure will all be taken into consideration when tweaking the ultrasonic signal before sending it to the wearable in order to have it passed to the user. This will all be accomplished through some sort of computer program that will analyze content, which could mean that Samsung will be putting its AI smarts to use in order to analyze scenes and decide what kind of somatosensory input would recreate the conditions therein in order to further immerse the viewer. This system, if Samsung actually creates it, will be the first of its kind; an ultrasonic-based mobile somatosensory output paired with an AI that analyzes scenarios in media and associates those scenarios and various bits of content with somatosensory scenarios, then figures out how best to replicate those in the device and users current real-world environment. This will be no small accomplishment if Samsung pulls it off, and it likely wont be long until competitors start putting their own spin on the concept. Samsungs ambitions in the semiconductor industry have been growing at a steady pace in recent times, with the company recently announcing its intentions to start offering its Exynos-series silicon to third-party original equipment manufacturers. The move represents a major threat to Qualcomm, with numerous industry analysts now speculating about the long-term implications of a more defiant Samsung. The South Korean OEM has been relying on Qualcomms chips for years, having mostly produced its proprietary silicon for the international variants of its high-end devices, though many of its mid-rangers and entry-level offerings are now also shipping with such hardware, even those sold in the United States. Samsung previously claimed an unfair patent licensing deal from 1993 saw Qualcomm lock it out of the global chip market as it required extra fees for Exynos chips used in non-Samsung devices, thus making them more expensive and non-competitive. Samsungs third-party chip push appears to be starting with ZTE that recently got banned from purchasing hardware from Qualcomm and any other American company over violations of U.S. trade sanctions imposed on Iran and North Korea, i.e. its inability to comply with the terms of a settlement meant to put an end to those issues in 2017. A supply agreement with ZTE would be a safer bet for Samsung than a partnership with an American OEM seeing how Chinas regulators are less likely to cooperate with the San Diego-based chipmaker even if it tries suing for extra royalties based on a contested 1993 licensing agreement. Outside of Samsungs growing chip ambitions, Qualcomm is presently also having issues with its proposed acquisition of Dutch NXP Semiconductors which has yet to be approved by Beijings antitrust watchdog. While China recently signaled the deal may eventually be greenlit, the uncertainty surrounding it continues to worry investors, especially now that the affair dragged on for so long that Qualcomm is contractually obliged to repurchase $4 billion worth of debt meant to finance the tie-up in the first place. Between Samsungs aspirations in the chip industry and the fact that both Huawei and Apple have been phasing out its technologies from their products in recent times, Qualcomm is presently facing a threat of being ditched by all three of the worlds largest smartphone vendors. President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday dismissed reports of reaching a preliminary deal with China over ZTE, having said the seven-year ban on purchasing American technologies will keep the Shenzhen-based firm crippled for the time being. The head of the United States added he may seek a significant financial penalty for ZTEs latest transgression which could reach $1.3 billion, as well as a new board of directors and major management changes. ZTE may also have to agree to buy a larger percentage of its hardware from American companies than it did before, according to the President. The development is in line with recent White House comments on the ZTE situation which implied the Chinese original equipment manufacturer wont weather the latest regulatory storm unscathed even if the Commerce Department-issued ban from April ends up being lifted in the near future. While Washington officials repeatedly insisted ZTEs case isnt being used as leverage in trade negotiations with China, the President acknowledged their importance in that respect last week. The head of state is not satisfied with the first round of the talks that took place in Washington last week, he revealed earlier today. Last year, ZTE pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to violate trade sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Iran and North Korea, agreeing to $892 million in fines, as well as additional concessions in the form of four executive sackings. The company failed to discipline 35 employees involved in the original ordeal despite pledging to do so, with the Commerce Department also accusing it of repeatedly lying to its investigators. ZTE maintained its failure to comply with the entire settlement wasnt intentional and hence cant be interpreted as an act of defiance, having added it self-reported the issue to U.S. regulators for the sake of transparency. Without Qualcomms chips and a new version of Googles operating system with Google-made apps such as the Play Store, ZTEs mobile business is effectively dead, with the company already suspending its main operations earlier this month and presently surviving on cash reserves. Its currently unclear how long can ZTE flirt with bankruptcy, though Beijing is likely to continue pushing for its situation to be resolved as quickly as possible. iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- As the Trump administration tries to sell its rapidly-evolving trade deal with China to Congress, members of both parties are not convinced its in the best interest of the United States. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin appeared before a Senate subcommittee Tuesday during which he pledged that any changes to penalties on the Chinese telecom ZTE, which is publicly traded but whose largest shareholder is an enterprise owned by the state, would not affect American national security. I can assure you that whatever the Commerce Department decides, the intel community has been part of the briefings and we will ensure that we enforce national security issues, Mnuchin said. "This was not a quid pro quo or anything else," he added. Last month the United States slapped steep penalties on ZTE for violating U.S. sanctions and doing business with Iran and North Korea. Those infractions, along with concerns that ZTE could use its devices to spy on Americans, led to a seven-year ban on ZTE being allowed to purchase U.S. parts in production, crippling its business. ZTE also agreed to pay a $1.2 billion fine. Now, however, members of the administration have signaled that the terms of ZTEs punishment are up for negotiation. President Donald Trump tweeted Monday that China had agreed to buy an unspecified amount of American agricultural exports in exchange for the United States easing its sanctions. And in remarks at the White House Tuesday, Trump said he envisioned ZTE having to pay another fine, plus installing a new board and management structure, in exchange for sanctions relief. But he didn't get into many details, saying, "I don't like to talk about deals until they're done. So we'll see what happens." Trump also noted that ZTE buys most of its parts from American companies, meaning those firms get caught in the crossfire and lose business. "When you do that, you're really hurting American companies, also. So I'm looking at it," he said. But vague assurances that China will buy more farm products aren't good enough for some lawmakers, especially those from states that depend heavily on agricultural exports. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., told reporters he had met with farmers and ranchers in his office all morning and that none of them believed this latest development would help them. Theyre scared to death, Sasse said, adding that he would love to see the particulars" of the China proposal that Trump mentioned in his tweet. Members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services, before which Mnuchin testified Tuesday, tried to ask him more about the specifics of the China arrangement, but he deferred to the Commerce Department, led by Secretary Wilbur Ross, who he said had taken the lead on the talks. But Mnuchin has participated in those discussions, and Sen. Chris Coons, the ranking member on the committee, said he was disappointed Mnuchin didnt answer questions more directly. I think Sec. Mnuchin is well aware of decisions being made by the Trump administration with regard to ZTE. He simply passed the buck over to the Secretary of Commerce who wasn't in front of us today, Coons said. As the administration continues to send mixed signals on the status of the negotiations, lawmakers are wasting no time preparing legislation to potentially check Trumps authority to lift sanctions on ZTE. The House of Representatives is voting this week on its annual defense authorization bill which contains a provision which would prevent the military from working with contractors that use ZTE devices and networks. The Pentagon has already banned ZTE products from being sold on American military bases. House and Senate committees are also working on bills to prohibit the Trump administration from unilaterally lifting the seven-year ban on ZTEs ability to purchase U.S. supplies. The Senate measure, introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., passed the Banking Committee Tuesday by an overwhelming margin. The reality is we should not be trading away national security for some non-security related issue, Van Hollen said. Congress is also exploring ways to expand the US governments ability to review foreign transactions through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The Banking Committee also approved a bill by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas., that would do just that. But so far the leaders of both chambers have not indicated any sense of urgency to take up bills to curtail the administrations ability to act on trade issues with China or any other country. House Speaker Paul Ryan said that the administration must take national security and intelligence concerns into account but said Tuesday he was not a party to the administrations talks. When Cornyn, the sponsor of a bill to strengthen foreign transactions oversight, was asked about other legislative solutions, he responded, Im sure well be having that conversation quite publicly and it will manifest itself in a number of ways. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. While President Trump is now understood to be close to lifting ZTEs seven-year ban on purchasing American technologies imposed by the Commerce Department last month, the Chinese companys failure to comply with a settlement over its violations of U.S. trade sanctions imposed on Iran and North Korea wont see it go unpunished, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on CNBCs Squawk on the Street yesterday. Mr. Kudlow acknowledged the Chinese company broke the law on several occasions, even after being warned about its transgressions, concluding ZTE is not going to get off scot-free even though its supply ban is now likely to be lifted in the immediate future. The comments are meant to downplay recent public backlash created in response to President Trumps announcement that Washington and Beijing are collaborating on finding a way to get ZTE back into business as quickly as possible so as to prevent further losses of Chinese jobs. In light of the Presidents previously touted America first policy, the reversal on ZTE prompted criticism from both his political opponents and supporters, including Republican Senator Marco Rubio. ZTEs case is part of much wider trade negotiations between the United States and China which are yet to be concluded, though some of the potential penalties for the companys latest transgression may include very severe compliance measures, fines, management changes, and a major board restructuring, according to Mr. Kudlow. ZTE already paid $892 million in fines as part of its 2017 settlement which it ended up violating in other ways, with the Commerce Department reportedly having an option to activate an extra $300 million penalty, not accounting for any additional fines the Chinese firm may now be prepared to agree to, facing bankruptcy over its inability to run day-to-day operations that heavily rely on American technologies. The firm already filed for an official reprieve of the sanctions until its appeal is heard, with its ban now being expected to be lifted in the coming weeks. While publicly traded, ZTE is majority-owned by the Peoples Republic of China and has previously claimed its inability to comply with last years settlement wasnt intentional and was self-reported to the Commerce Department. Xiaomi has just officially announced its upcoming Shenzhen event which had been teased quite recently, the event will take place on May 31, as some rumors indicated. Now, if you take a look at the provided image down below, you will be able to see an official image using which the company announced this event, and its kind of hard to miss a huge number 8 in it. In the caption for this image, the company mentioned both an 8th anniversary masterpiece and Xiaomi Mi 8, does that mean that Xiaomi will skip the Mi 7 and jump straight to the Mi 8 which will also be referred to as the 8th anniversary smartphone that was rumored? All of this is pretty confusing, but one thing is for sure, a new flagship is coming on May 31, as Xiaomi also refers to this press event as its annual flagship conference. Previous rumors suggested that the company will announce the Mi 7, 8th anniversary smartphone, and Mi Band 3 during this event, and that is still a possibility, though it seems like the Mi 8 will replace the Mi 7 altogether. Xiaomi did mention two names in the caption for the image, but that could easily be a teaser, nothing more. Lei Jun, Xiaomis CEO, said recently that Xiaomi will announce several products during its Shenzhen event, so well probably see two or three devices announced on May 31, and the Mi Band 3 will almost certainly be one of them. Xiaomi teased its new fitness tracker already by sharing its image via Weibo (Chinese social network). The Mi Band will have somewhat different design than the Mi Band 2, it will sport a more curved design, but the display will stick around. Some gestures for using the Mi Band 3 also surfaced a while back, so its possible that well see such navigation pre-installed. As far as the Mi 8 / 8th anniversary smartphone is concerned, rumors and leaks are claiming that it will 3D face scanning technology similar to the iPhone X. The device will almost certainly be fueled by the Snapdragon 845 64-bit octa-core processor, while it will pack in at least 6GB of RAM. The device is expected to sport a fullHD+ display which will be noticeably smaller than 6 inches, and the phone will include wireless charging, which probably means it will sport a glass back. Advertisement UPDATE: Xiaomi has just confirmed via its official Twitter handle that the Mi 8 will be launching on May 31, and that will be a symbolic announcement for the companys 8th anniversary, so a special 8th anniversary smartphone wont be a thing. Demands on time and resources have sidetracked plans for a new Monday Recommendation. Hey, stuff happens. The Rifftides staffs solution is to reach back to the earliest days of this blog, and introduce or reintroduce you to a lamented arranger, composer and bandleader whose work maintains its freshness and importance long after he left us. This was first posted shortly after he died on July 2, 2005. TOM TALBERT, 1924-2005 It is startling how many knowledgeable jazz listeners do not know about Tom Talbert. Lets do something about that. Tom died on Saturday, a month short of his eighty-first birthday. An elegant, soft-spoken man, he was an early and drastically overlooked composer, arranger and band leader on the west coast before West Coast Jazz became a category. His mid-to-late-1940s Los Angeles bands included Lucky Thompson, Dodo Marmarosa, Hal McKusick, Al Killian, Art Pepper, Claude Williamson and other musicians who were or went on to become leading soloists. Talberts writing for large ensembles was ingenious and subtle. The best of it, Is Is Not Is, as an example, rivaled George Handys iconoclastic work for the Boyd Raeburn band. The recordings Talbert made shortly after World War Two sound fresh today. Art Pepper fell in love with Toms treatment of Over the Rainbow and adopted the song as his signature tune. During his New York period, the first half of the fifties, he made combo arrangements for Marian McPartland, Kai Winding, Don Elliott, Johnny Smith and Oscar Pettiford. They were on a smaller scale only in terms of ensemble size. His capacious imagination ranged through classical music as well as jazz. He was a gifted composer whose formal chamber pieces received acclaimed New York performances. His setting for Pettiford of Billy Taylors Titoro, as an example, is quiet and layered with complexity, like Talbert himself. The masterpieces of his New York years are Wednesdays Child, an album of settings for the singing of the underappreciated Patty McGovern, and Bix Duke Fats. Despite critical acclaim, Atlantic Records let the brilliant Wednesdays Child LP die on the vine and has never reissued it on CD. Bix Duke Fats is another matter. It got five stars in Down Beat, but Atlantic also ignored this jewel in its discography. The Discover Jazz label has rescued it and kept it available on CD. Bix Duke Fats has some of Talberts most imaginative writing and features great musicians, among them Pettiford, Herb Geller, Joe Wilder, Eddie Bert, Barry Galbraith and Aaron Sachs. As Bruce Talbot points out in his biography of Talbert, Toms arrangements of pieces by Beiderbecke, Ellington and Waller preceded by more than a year Gil Evans celebrated New Bottles, Old Wine. Both evoke past days by setting familiar works in contemporary harmonic language. Stylistically, Talbert and Evans had much in common. Maria Schneider commented on that in an interview with Talbot after she had listened to Talberts arrangement of Ellingtons Prelude to a Kiss. To me whats amazing about that, what Tom has in common with Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Gil Evans, is that the harmony is driven by the line. Hearing this reminds me of the Ellngton recording of Variations on Mood Indigo. That interweaving of lines that brings you to harmonic places that you would never come up with if you were thinking of reharmonitzation in a passing-from-chord-to-chord kind of way; thinking of vertical chords. Its truly a weaving of the horizontal that creates very interesting vertical structuresTom is clearly a master of that, and Prelude to a Kiss is an incredible example of that. When rock and roll drove out the good, Talbert was one of the victims. He left New York in 1960, returned to his parents home in Minnesota and went into his fathers business, barges on the Mississippi. He had success with a band in Minneapolis, tried cattle ranching in Wisconsin for a while, but ultimately listened to friends who said things were getting better for music in Los Angeles. In 1975, he moved back to California. By 1977, he was recording again, an album called Louisiana Suite, inspired in New Orleans when he was in the barge business. Then, he started writing for television shows, the Serpico series and the Carol Burnett Show among them. In the early eighties, producers eagerness to cut costs made it easy for electronics to chase live musicians out of the studios. It was the period when Conte Candoli told a friend, I played a fantastic studio gig today. We had ten brass, six saxophones, five percussion, thirty strings, a harp, an organ and a piano. It put two synthesizer players out of work. Talbert took some time off, and accepted a job as a cocktail pianist for a time, but it wasnt long before his arranger-composer genes reactivated. He found a marvelous women named Betty who helped him organize sextet concerts in his house on a hill above Laguna Beach. She eventually became his wife. Before long, Talbert was writing big band charts. Through the eighties and nineties, he recorded several CDs, including Dukes Domain, a rare instance of an arranger doing a collection of pieces by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn without copying them. In the notes for the album, I wrote: Talbert applies to the maestros compositions voicings unlikely to have occurred to him if Ellingtons example hadnt long since permeated modern music. But his work owes at least as much to his career as a classical composer who admires Ravel, to his tolerant, sophisticated, amused and slightly exasperated world view and to his own long experience in jazz. That experience came to an end over the weekend, but much of the music Tom created in his long career is preserved for us. It is worth hearing repeatedly. He left something more. Im not sure of the source of Toms wealth. It might have been the family business or the studio work, or both. It certainly wasnt his concerts and recordings, the chamber music or the cocktail piano gig. In any case, he did a lovely thing with some of it. He created a private foundation to help promising young composers and arrangers. One of his first grants, in 1996, went to young Maria Schneider. This year she won four Grammys. (Apologies for some repeated material in the related items that follow) Three schools in Utah are getting new fitness centers courtesy of a new program aimed at promoting healthy habits and fighting obesity in school-aged kids. Clayton and Bear River Middle Schools, as well as Eagle View Elementary have been chosen to receive a DONT QUIT! Fitness Center from the National Foundation for Governors' Fitness Councils. I offer my congratulations to the three schools that were named as DONT QUIT! Fitness Center winners for their efforts in demonstrating a passion for fitness, Gov. Gary Herbert said in a press release. We are grateful to Jake Steinfeld and the National Foundation for Governors Fitness Councils for bringing the DONT QUIT! Fitness Campaign to Utah. We know that helping our students to start thinking about healthy living now will prepare them to make healthy decisions in adulthood. The National Foundation for Governors Fitness Councils program will make its way to all 50 states in the next few years. According to the Salt Lake City CBS affiliate, the fitness centers are financed through public and private partnerships with companies like Coca-Cola, Amerigroup Foundation, Wheels UP and Nike. None of the funding comes from taxpayer money. In a press release, foundation chairman Jake Steinfeld singled out obesity as a major problem in America. I knew it would take an army of leaders to fight this disease head on. I was thrilled when Governor Herbert joined our efforts to help raise awareness of childhood obesity and to help put a stop to it in Utah, he said. Members of mu-X Owners Philippines go on a 1,000km drive to Catanduanes Isuzu Philippines May 22, 2018 10:51 Members of the mu-X Owners Philippines (muXOP) and their families, on board 20 units of the Isuzu mu-X, recently went on a road trip that spanned over 1,000 km in the island province of Catanduanes last April 27 to May 1. Along for the trip were representatives of Isuzu Philippines Corporation and members of the motoring media who rode in a mu-X LSA Automatic 4x2 and a mu-X LSA Manual Transmission 4x2 variants. Both of which are powered by Isuzus newest diesel engine, the BluePower RZ4E. The trip began at the Petron KM 44 Southbound service station on the South Luzon Expressway in Calamba, Laguna early evening of April 27. They then boarded a roll-on roll-off (RORO) trip from Tabaco Port in Albay Province to the San Andres Port in Catanduanes. The island of Catanduanes is the countrys 12th largest island and a maogma (happy) place for the locals. This gave the convoy wonderful sights to behold as they navigated through the area. The highlight of the 150-km island loop was a stop at Binurong Point, which revealed a 200-foot-high seaside cliff a breathtaking view of the open Pacific Ocean. All throughout, the vehicles of muXOP were consistent, reliable and provided sufficient power to navigate the mountain and coastal roads. At the same time, the vehicles offered enough space for entire families, luggage, and space for pasalubong. muXOP, headed by Mr. Val Estor, explained that the barely year-old Club which already counts over 2,000 members has been actively engaging in group tours and humanitarian missions, the most recent of which was when the club delivered relief goods to those displaced by the recent eruption of Mount Mayon. With the new RZ4E engine, Val noted, it would motivate mu-X owners to embark on more trips, what with the vastly improved fuel efficiency, significantly reduced noise and vibration, and cleaner emissions. To test drive an RZ4E-powered mu-X, you may visit your nearest Isuzu dealer. You may also log on to www.isuzuphil.com for more details. D ONE Solutions were approached by the Swiss Radio and Television company (SRF) to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of one of its most successful popular music shows. When D ONE Solutions, who specialize in analyzing large amounts of data and visualizing the outcome, dived into the many songs and charts, they realized that the data needed content to create exciting statements and visualizations, so they enriched the song data by linking it to Spotify's database - providing additional attributes such as danceability or mood (sad or cheerful). The D ONE Team projected this multidimensional data onto a 2D chart, visualising additional vectors with size and color -leading to a graphical overview of all 10939 songs, helping the viewer to better understand the dataset over time. They approached Hinderling Volkart to transform this network of songs, rankings and attributes into a walk-in, interactive starry sky that addresses the common user. Hinderling Volkart tell us how they used their creativity and innovation to guide the users through the data universe 50 Years of Charts, evoking emotions and memories without contaminating its original analytical purpose. The starting position: a starry sky with 10939 songs in an interactive map - horizontal the time axis, vertical "danceability", color orange = cheerful, color blue = sad, size of the stars = ranking. Each star is clickable and can be listened to. 32'069 words for 10'939 song titles. These are the 121 most used. Tree map: all songs by artist (e. g. first rectangle group are all songs by Madonna) Size of the content fields = weekly presence of the songs, color means the mood (cheerful / sad) All songs and placements. Until 1976 only places 1 to 10 existed, after which the chart show was continuously expanded to 100th place. All songs are rated by Mood: orange = happy, blue = sad/melancholic. Reading aid: In the 90s a musical depression is visible. At the turn of the millennium more joyful times are musically visible. From 2007/08 melancholic sounds are dominant again. Christmas snow We explored the idea of an interactive christmas card dedicated to our customers. It was all about playing around with snowflakes in a WebGL environment that would interact with sound input (like blowing into a device microphone). Confronted with those song charts and stars and universes it came to us: let's put this into a 3D world to have one more dimension at our disposal. To take people on a journey through time. The idea grew from there. We thought about moving away from stars to build a city landscape where song would become buildings, higher ranked would be become skyscapers and longer term chart toppers would become complexes. But we would have lost the simple metaphor of stars and a time universe. "Sometimes the obvious and simple is just the right thing to go with". Instead of the usual process where detailed design follows the concepts, we took the freedom to move right into a prototypical development phase where we'd explore the possibilities of this simple yet powerful conceptual approach. A no-backend approach D ONE provided us the data in some CSV files where each row would contain a chart rank. We wrote a Node script that imports this data and transforms it into a JSON object that only contains the data we'd need. This script proved very helpful for future data updates, when we were confronted with additional data or a slightly different source format. Adapting a script that does the heavy payload helps you avoid repetitive manual work and is so much more comforting. It also took over some additional data processing: We found out that the mood of the songs often corresponds with its danceability, meaning sad songs were rather slow and happy songs rather danceable. So we multiplied these two Spotify dimensions into one to further simplify the representation. It also made sense to leave this kind of processing to a build script instead of burden each and every client computer with computations that always lead to the same result. This is also the reason why we avoided a backend as such: we're dealing with static data, those charts won't change anymore and we will cover 50 years and no more. There's absolutely no need for a backend script to fetch data from a database and process it on every request. This was much better handled in a build process similar to what you'd see for the JAM stack approach. It also allowed us to go with simple yet highly performant hosting, putting our files in a S3 bucket and have them delivered through Amazon's powerful CDN network - an astonishingly powerful setup that perfectly fits our needs. Of particles... The first challenge was the sheer number of 3D objects resulting from such a large data set. 4192 songs with 36'215 rankings are included in the 50 years of Hitparade shown (we are only considering the first 15 ranks, because that is the consistent scope over all years). Every star in our 3D scene corresponds to a week's ranking and has been implemented as part of a particle cloud. Thus the rendering is handled by custom designed shaders that are optimized for performance. Also the lines are very rudimentary WebGL objects, which might be somewhat limited in their application, but show good speed. We also took some burden from the 3D-Engine by using our specific knowledge of the data behind the objects: we know the period of time shown (i. e. the year 1973) and can decide very efficiently which objects might be visible or not (for example songs from 1984). Thus, the engine does not have to carry out the camera projection for every element (which always means multiple matrix multiplications per object) to calculate its visibility. ...and textures We applied the same principle to the most complex objects, the text labels. As there is no text in WebGL, we're dealing with transparent textures that are created dynamically via canvas operations. Thousands of songs mean thousands of textures and many thousands of drawing operations. This is not possible with conventional 3D scenery. It would bring almost any computer to its knees. Instead, we create the textures "on the fly" and discard them when the object disappears from the visible area. Instead of creating and deleting the canvas elements required to create the texture each time, we use a pool that recycles the objects. For performance optimization, this pool returns a canvas that already has the correct size if available (the sizes are relatively uniform, since each dimension of a 3D texture must always be power of 2, i. e. 256x128. Only these measures allow smartphones to play a website so complex and rich. We've used a canvas pool for label rendering to minimize the memory footprint and maximize speed What's under my finger? The large number of objects is also responsible for another challenge: to find the object under the mouse, very complex calculations are necessary. A ray (Raycast) is placed in the scenery so that it lies right under the mouse from the camera's perspective. This straight line is now intersected with all objects in the scene: whenever an intersection occurs,it's added to the candidates - sorting by distance will eventually return the searched object. Not only is such a raycaster approach slow, it's also not applicable to our stars which are points without dimension in our 3D space. For this reason, we've created optimized "hit testers" for both the stars and the labels. Those guys find the matching object (or the referenced song) very efficiently and allow working around limitations of a conventional raycaster. Like those labels that have a visual size that doesn't correspond with their object size, because the dimensions had to be rounded up to 2^n as already mentioned. We therefore calculate a sub geometry to carry out the test. Smooth sound While playing some MP3 with HTML Audio element most certainly is no witchcraft, we'd be confronted with some limitations with that approach: on iOS no sound would be played automatically, and we'd have abrupt switches between the songs. The WebAudio API provides powerful tools to circumvent this: via audio nodes we can create complex audio routing graphs. Our graph is rather simple knitted with just a gain node to neatly fade between songs. We've also had to make sure that the async loading mechanism (loading and decoding) would not interrupt the user flow. Still, if the browser supports no WebAudio API, but WebGL, we fall back to simple audio elements and do without nice transitions. This only concerns IE11. Responsive interactions Mobile devices not only have a smaller screen - we interact quite differently with a smart phone than we do with a laptop or desktop computer. The obvious game changer is touch vs. mouse, but there's also screen distance and the device position (in your hand versus on a table). Which is why in our 3D charts universe we'll use the mouse to scroll through time and to look around. We'll change this behavior on touch devices though: the user now scrolls with their finger (we really like to keep the native scroll experience) but looks around by moving the device. It feels a bit like you're really within the world. And it really just makes sense here to use those sensors. (We actually had quite a hard time getting our head around those Quaternion calculations.) Now a user may get lost because the orientation changes too much (like when you hand over your device to somebody else). To prevent this we'll have a little button appear whenever the viewport rotates too much away from the main axis. Clicking it will recenter the screen, resetting the base orientation (and we're back to quaternions). Prevent users from being lost when using sensors like gyroscope for navigation. VR We've added a small feature for users with a cardboard for their mobile phone: we let them switch to a VR mode where we split the screen and have two slightly different projections rendered. This is actually not very difficult to achieve - there's a neat extension for Three called StereoEffectLibrary which handles most of the magic here. You just have to make sure that all essential UI is within the 3D world. We also changed certain interactions in this VR mode (you would now press anywhere to move forward because that's often the only screen interaction possible with cardboards), allowing you to dive deeper into this rich universe of many songs. Technologies Frontend Libraries: Three.js and Tween.js Server Architecture: none (JAM stack approach) Tools: Node Company info Hinderling Volkart creates outstanding web experiences, business portals, corporate platforms and digital products. D ONE Solutions - Data Driven Value Creation Data Science and Analytics | Data Management | Visualization and Data Experience President Trump on Tuesday said that his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un may not go ahead as planned, adding that if the June 12 date does not hold, "maybe it will happen later. Why it matters: It wasnt long ago that Trump and the North Koreans were trading threats of nuclear war. If the summit collapses, relations between the two countries could deteriorate quickly. The back story: The comments came as South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived at the White House to meet with Trump about the planned summit, which is scheduled for three weeks from today. The buildup to what would be an historic summit sparked speculation about a long-sought breakthrough with North Korea, and even a Nobel Prize for Trump. Key comments: Seated beside Moon, Trump said "there are certain conditions that we want" ahead of the summit, and if they aren't met the summit won't happen. Trump said "denuclearization must take place" and that he would prefer if it was "all in one" but he wouldn't commit himself to that approach. He also said of Kim "we will guarantee his safety" under the terms of a deal, and that China, South Korea and Japan were all willing to invest big sums of money to "make North Korea great." Trump wouldn't say whether he had spoken to Kim, but said the two sides were in communication. He also said Moon "may or may not" have a separate meeting with Kim. Trump said he believes Kim had a "different attitude" after meeting for the second time with Chinese President Xi Jinping adding that the U.S. did not know that meeting would be taking place. Between the lines: Moon is one of the few world leaders to have met face-to-face with Kim Jong-un. On his way to White House, the chief of South Korea's National Security Office said the Trump-Kim summit is almost certain to happen, but they are preparing for every scenario, per Yonhap News. Context: The meeting follows a surprise move by North Korea last week to cancel a meeting with the South Koreans and threaten to cancel the summit with Trump over joint U.S.-South Korean military drills. Go deeper: Why Kim threatened to cancel the summit. President Trump's top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, recommended appointing Stefan Halper, an academic and suspected FBI informant on the Trump campaign, to a senior role in the Trump administration, Axios has learned. Behind the scenes: During the presidential transition Navarro recommended Halper, among other people, for ambassador roles in Asia. A White House official said Halper visited the Eisenhower Executive Office Building last August for a meeting about China. Context: During the transition everyone involved in Trumps presidential campaign was asked to submit resumes for administration positions. Halper, who already knew Navarro in the context of being a China scholar and interviewing for his anti-China book and film, pitched himself for an ambassadorship in Asia, according to a source briefed on their interactions. Navarro says he submitted Halpers name for the Asian ambassadorship we have not been able to confirm the country along with around a dozen other people for roles in the region. Recommending outside policy experts for roles within the administration is a pretty typical and routine action for White House officials." White House official to Axios. Neither the White House nor the FBI have confirmed whether Halper was an informant. Why it matters: This is personal for President Trump, who yesterday demanded a Justice Department probe into the FBI. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein then authorized an Inspector General probe into the FBI's use of FISA for counterintelligence operations. Background on the FBI informant story: Trump has been tweeting about an FBI "spy," bolstered by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes. The Justice Department had been working with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to ensure the identity didn't leak out. The Daily Caller first reported the suspect's name as Halper in March. The Washington Post and New York Times reported on the informant last week, providing multiple identifying details, but did not name the suspect. NBC News reported last week that Halper met with Page and Papadopoulos, but said "no evidence has surfaced publicly indicating that Halper was acting as a government informant." The Wall Street Journal named Halper as the suspected informant on Sunday. The Washington Post reported last week that the suspected FBI informant has been a U.S. intelligence asset for years. The suspected FBI informant first reached out to Trump campaign staffer George Papadopoulos in the summer of 2016, and subsequently met with Trump campaign officials Carter Page and Sam Clovis. Halper, 73, is an academic and veteran of three Republican administrations. He worked at Cambridge University until 2015. Go deeper: Armenia stands ready to resume peace talks with Azerbaijan without preconditions after its new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians calls for Nagorno-Karabakhs direct involvement in them, the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan said on Tuesday. Its not that we are refusing negotiations, the ministry spokesman, Tigran Balayan, told reporters. As a guarantor of Karabakhs security, Armenia will continue negotiations and say at the same time that Artsakhs direct participation in them is a necessary condition for achieving a lasting and balanced peace. During a May 9 visit to Stepanakert, Pashinian criticized Bakus refusal to directly negotiate with Karabakhs ethnic Armenian leadership. This negotiation format cannot be considered full-fledged until one of the parties to the conflict, the leadership of Artsakh (Karabakh), participates in it, he said. The Azerbaijani government rejected Pashinians calls, accusing Yerevan of creating an additional hurdle to reviving the peace process. Balayan insisted that the premiers statement is not a precondition for Yerevans renewed contacts with Baku.Our insistence on Artsakhs participation [in Armenian-Azerbaijani talks] is not something new, he said. We have for years said and will continue to say that. Its just that the realities have now changed which presupposes Artsakhs greater involvement in the negotiation process. Karabakh is involved in negotiations in one way or another The problem is that Azerbaijan has for years refused to directly negotiate with Karabakh, added the official. Balayan also said that the U.S., Russian and French mediators co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group may visit Yerevan next month for what will be their first meeting with Pashinian. The mediators met with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Paris on May 15. In a joint statement, they said they discussed with him modalities for moving the peace process forward. Minister Mammadyarov expressed Azerbaijan's readiness to resume active negotiations as soon as possible, read the statement. The Co-Chairs expect to meet with the new Armenian leadership in June. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians cabinet will carry on with structural reforms that were launched by the previous Armenian government and approved by the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Atom Janjughazian said on Tuesday. Janjughazian met with the head of the IMF office in Yerevan, Yulia Ustyugova, for the first time since being appointed as minister ten days ago. The Armenian Finance Ministry said they reviewed ongoing IMF-approved programs relating to taxation and state budgeting policy. Atom Janjughazian assured her that the government of Armenia is committed to bringing all joint programs and initiatives to a logical conclusion, read a ministry statement. The minister highly appraised continuing cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and stressed the importance of expanding and strengthening it. The IMF has praised the previous governments efforts to strengthen fiscal discipline through sizable increases in tax revenue and budgetary cost saving. Armenias state budget deficit shrank from at least 5.2 percent of GDP in 2016 to 3.3 percent in 2017, according to the Finance Ministry. A senior IMF official, Hossein Samiei, indicated the funds readiness to allocate a fresh loan to Armenia at the end of a two-week visit to Yerevan in late March. Samiei met with then Prime Minister Karen Karapetian, Janjughazians predecessor Vartan Aramian and other senior Armenian officials. An IMF statement said they held productive discussions on the governments economic policies. Janjughazian, 47, is one of the most experienced technocratic members of the new Armenian cabinet. He served as a deputy finance minister and head of the Armenian state treasury for nearly two decades preceding his ministerial appointment. Pashinians cabinet is expected to submit a comprehensive policy program to the parliament next month. So far it has signaled no plans to revise the state budget for this year which was drafted by Karapetians government. By Rashid Shirinov Today practically the whole population of Armenia recognizes that the decade-long Sargsyans regime in the country has had a detrimental effect on Armenias economy and has even worsened the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, thus literally isolating Armenia from the outside world. Now, when the power has changed in the country, there are two options of further actions, one of which emerges from the crisis, involving the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through peaceful negotiations, and the other one is the preservation of the occupation policy of Yerevan. The final choice of the new government is yet unclear. Armenian analysts warn that the country has reached a critical point and uncontrollable chaos may begin if Pasyinyans government repeats Sargsyans mistakes. Former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan made similar remarks in his article recently published in the Armenian media. This article is none other than another appeal to the public of the country, which warns about the threats hanging over Armenias statehood. An interesting statement deserves special attention in Ter-Petrosyans article. The politician writes that the current situation in Armenia is as fragile as the situation of the early 1990s in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Thus, the former president admits that over 20-odd years Armenia has remained at the level of chaos, which its neighbors have long overcome. It is noteworthy that Ter-Petrosyan is one of the few politicians in Armenia who are able to objectively assess the current state of affairs and correctly calculate the consequences of aggressive actions against Azerbaijan. Maybe this is the genuine reason why he could not remain in the upper echelons of power in Armenia. His remarks voiced on an Armenian TV channel last year about the need to return the territories around Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan in accordance with the document on which the parties are negotiating are worth noting in this regard. If we do not do this voluntarily, someday the lands will be taken away by sanctions, the Armenian politician said. Armenians, living in a poor country, are well aware of the development of Azerbaijan despite the occupation of 20 percent of its lands by Armenia. They realize that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem has become an impasse not letting Armenia emerge from its difficult situation. Therefore, the new government of Armenia will have to deal with this issue sooner or later. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Manzoor Qadir and Vladimir Smakhtin In many parts of the world, there are simply no more conventional freshwater resources available to meet growing demand. Beyond limiting economic development, the lack of sufficient freshwater resources threatens the wellbeing of billions of people by causing conflict, social unrest, and migration. The only way to address this challenge is by radically rethinking water-resource planning and management in a way that emphasizes the creative exploitation of unconventional water sources. There is a large and growing number of unconventional sources of fresh water with massive potential, beginning with desalinated seawater or highly brackish groundwater. Already, there are 18,000 desalination facilities in more than 100 countries producing roughly 32 billion cubic meters (8.45 trillion gallons) of fresh water about one-third of the volume passing over Niagara Falls annually. Some 44% of global desalinated-water production is taking place in the Middle East and North Africa, and new facilities are being built across Asia, the United States, and Latin America. Annual desalination capacity worldwide is increasing by 7-9%, on average. Recent studies show that, though the cost of irrigation with desalinated water remains higher than with conventional fresh water, it is declining. A couple of decades ago, desalinated water cost more than $5 per cubic meter (264 gallons); today, it costs less than $0.50. A second promising alternative source of fresh water is fog: a vertical mesh can be used to capture moisture from the air, with the droplets accumulating in a tank or distribution system. Given that fog is very common even in dry areas, fog-harvesting systems amount to a practical, cost-effective way to deliver fresh water directly to rural communities. Some countries are already taking advantage of this technology. In Cape Verde, a square meter of a collection system yields up to 12 liters (3.2 gallons) of fresh water daily in peak season. In Eritrea, a 1,600-square-meter net harvests up to 12,000 liters per day. The worlds largest fog collection and distribution system was built in 2015 in the mountains of Morocco an area with low water availability but abundant fog six months out of the year. Fog harvesting today costs $1-3 per cubic meter of water. Costs are expected to decrease further as the market for equipment grows and as more village populations take charge of operations and maintenance. Given their simplicity, fog-harvesting systems have minimal running costs and are easily managed by unskilled teams. Similarly, micro-catchment rainwater harvesting which uses particular slopes and contours to increase runoff from rain and concentrate it in a planting basin where it is effectively stored in the soil is useful for dryland ecosystems where most precipitation is lost. Several projects in the Middle East and North Africa demonstrate the potential of this approach to sustain vegetation growth in very dry areas. Yet another unconventional source of freshwater is used greywater and wastewater from urban areas. Mechanisms for safely collecting, treating, and reusing such water have been demonstrated and documented, with stringent effluent-discharge regulations in North America, Northern Europe, and Japan setting an example for the world. Groundwater confined in deep geological formations and in offshore aquifers may also be tapped. A final and particularly surprising potential option, which the United Arab Emirates is now exploring, is iceberg towage. While Canadas oil and gas industry regularly tows icebergs to avoid damage to offshore platforms, for the UAE, keeping ice intact over a 10,000-kilometer (6,200-mile) southward journey, which can take up to a year, is no easy feat. But, given how much water is locked in an average-size iceberg, it is worth consideration. Despite the demonstrated promise of unconventional water sources, not to mention the urgency of the water challenge in many countries, the potential of these solutions remains woefully underexplored. While most water-scarce countries regulate the use of desalinated water, decision-makers need to update their investment strategies, water-management policies, and public budgets to integrate the full range of water resources. To this end, governments must abandon their outdated assumption that tapping unconventional water sources would be technically impractical or excessively costly. Efforts should be made to analyze the potential benefits of such investment, taking into account the economic, social, environmental, and health trade-offs of water scarcity. Governments must also clarify the responsibilities of national water agencies and improve the capacity of water-related institutions at all levels to institute large-scale unconventional-water programs. Best practices should be clarified, innovations identified and tested, and knowledge and experience shared. The private sector also has a role to play in the shift toward unconventional water resources a role that must extend beyond current efforts to tap desalinated water and urban greywater and wastewater. Finally, local institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and local communities must be mobilized for example, through public campaigns showcasing the benefits of harnessing the potential of unconventional water resources. Sustainable Development Goal 6 calls for universal access to clean water and sanitation. If governments do not embrace unconventional water resources, achieving that goal will be as difficult as getting water from a stone and the consequences for water-scarce regions will be dire. Copyright: Project Syndicate: Where the water is --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Rashid Shirinov Azerbaijans Textile Producers and Exporters Association plans to attract well-known foreign companies to establish clothing production in the country in the future. Chairperson of the Association Mehriban Akhundova told Trend that this can be done after the issue of reducing the cost of production is solved. Today, the issue of reducing the cost of textile production in Azerbaijan, bringing the price of finished products to the level of the world average, is relevant. This applies to clothes of any kind, such as knitted and baby clothes, Akhundova said. She noted that this can be done by lowering customs duties on the import of materials such as buttons, glue, locks, etc. The lowering of duties will lead to the development of garment production, which mainly fulfills state orders. At the same time, more affordable clothing from Pakistan, Turkey and China, which is manufactured using synthetic materials, is imported to the Azerbaijani market, Akhundova said. The chairperson noted that the Association is preparing an appeal to the government in order to resolve this issue. The further development of textile industry has great potential in Azerbaijan, since early 2017, the State Program for 2017-2022 was approved with an aim of strengthening measures directed at developing cotton-growing in the country. The purpose of the State Program is to develop cotton growing, increase export potential in this sphere, ensure employment of the rural population and increase the production of cotton. The development of cotton growing in Azerbaijan gives impetus to the development of the textile industry. In 2015, as much as 35,000 tons of cotton was harvested in Azerbaijan, while in 2017 this figure amounted to 207,000 tons. The new goal of the state is to bring the cotton production up to 500,000 tons by 2022. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Rashid Shirinov Mexico intends to increase the number of trade missions to Azerbaijan, Mexican Ambassador to Azerbaijan Rodrigo Labardini said at a press conference on May 21. He noted that these missions may include producers of alcoholic beverages tequila and mezcal, as well as salsa sauce and canned products. The approximate time of arrival of the trade missions to Azerbaijan is July and October this year, as well as June 2019, the ambassador said. Earlier in April, a trade mission from Mexico arrived in Baku, during which businessmen held talks with local entrepreneurs, importers of alcoholic beverages. Labardini added that the trade mission, which arrived in Azerbaijan in April, returned home with nine concluded contracts. The mission consisted of five tequila producers. The first trade mission arrived from Mexico in Azerbaijan in 2017. Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Mexico City in 2007 and Mexico followed suit by opening an embassy in Baku in 2014. Since then, the volume of bilateral trade between the countries increased threefold. The trade turnover exceeded $5.8 million in January-April 2018, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan. Almost the entire amount of the turnover fell on the import of Mexican products to Azerbaijan. It is also noteworthy that the trade between the two countries increased by 41 percent during the year. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva The Azerbaijan Insurers Association (ASA) intends to introduce compulsory insurance of tourists arriving in the country. At present, this mechanism is actively used in many countries of the world, chairman of the ASA Mustafa Abbasbeyli told Trend. Compulsory insurance of tourists arriving in the country is actively used in many countries of the world, in particular in all developed countries. We also want to make this segment mandatory. If our proposal is accepted, then the regulation mechanism will be implemented through our embassies and consulates, ASAN Visa centers, as well as checkpoints of the country. In case Azerbaijan has a visa regime with a country, the citizens of this country will have to provide insurance for obtaining a visa. In the absence of a visa regime, the availability of insurance will be checked at the border. If a tourist arrives in Azerbaijan with an insurance of his own country, he does not need to additionally purchase another one in Azerbaijan, he said. Speaking of the insurance of tourists leaving Azerbaijan, the head of the ASA expressed regret that it is not possible to oblige them to enter into insurance contracts. Abbasbeyli added that in this segment of the market, the ACA intends to carry out activities aimed at popularizing the insurance of tourists. In this case, we do not intend to introduce compulsory insurance, but simply increase the scope of the current travel insurance - to work with travel companies, so that they encourage insurance, in order to increase sales. There is also a social component. Therefore, people traveling without insurance are often faced with unpleasant situations. Sometimes even fatal cases occur, when repatriation is needed. Thus, in this segment, we want to expand the propaganda so that the population knows about the necessity of tourist insurance, the head of the association said. Currently, Azerbaijani insurance companies offer their clients travel insurance on a voluntary basis. Insurance covers only tourists who leave the country, but, unfortunately, not all citizens of Azerbaijan enter into insurance contracts during their trips. According to the data of Azerbaijans Financial Markets Supervision Chamber, fees for insurance of tourists amounted to 636,000 manats ($374), with payments totaling 37,000 manats ($21.7). In 2017, about 2.690 million tourists visited Azerbaijan, which is 20 percent more than the indicator of 2016. Mostly Azerbaijan was visited by tourists from Russia - 853,082 people (31.6 percent of the total amount of tourists). The second and third lines of attendance are occupied by citizens of Georgia 537,000 (19.9 percent) and Iran 362,000 people (13.4 percent). Turkey is on the fourth line with 301,000 tourists (11.2 percent), the first five is closed by tourists from the UAE 102,000 people (3.8 percent). In 2017, there was an increase in the tourist flow from Saudi Arabia (4.5 times), Oman (7.4 times), the United Arab Emirates (1.9 times), Iran (1.4 times), India (2.3 times). --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova "Underground New Life" exhibition opened its doors in the National Art Museum on May 18. The event was timed to International Museum Day, Trend Life reported. Every year since 1977 the worldwide community of museums has celebrated the International Museum Day on May 18. The theme chosen for 2018 is "Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new publics". The exhibition features works of the 1950-1980s artists Javad Mirjavadov, Tofig Javadov, Rasim Babayev, Kamal Ahmed, Ashraf Murad, and Gorkhmaz Efendiyev. Some art pieces are showcased for the first time. On the same day, Artlogos Art Club discussed the theme of the exhibition. The discussion was moderated by Rustam Huseynov. "It's nice when the creativity of our brush masters is interesting to both young people and the older generation. Many guests of the exhibition saw the famous masterpieces of our masters for the first time. I hope that these events will increase the interest of local art historians and the young artists in the creative heritage of people who managed to create their own distinctive style in painting," said Huseynov. Underground art, is any form of art that operates outside of conventional norms in the art world. This can include essentially any genre of art that is not popular in the art world, including visionary art and street art. The Azerbaijan National Art Museum is a treasure house that preserves national moral values and cultural heritage. The museum holds more than 17,000 artistic exhibits, which have a rich history. The Art department was separated from the Azerbaijan State Museum in 1936 and organized as an independent museum by decision of the Council of People's Commissars. In 2006 thorough restoration work was carried out to the building and in 2009 a new exhibition was opened. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova A group exhibition " Bodily Landscapes" will open in YAY Gallery on June 8. Talented artists Amrulla Israfilov, Aida Mahmudova, Niyaz Najafov, Eldar Gurbanov, Sabina Shikhlinskaya, Mir Nadir Zeynalov will showcase their works inspired by human body and the landscape. The human body and the landscape share the same course, both subjects have been analysed, reduced, taken apart and again assembled serving as artistic content material as well as for exploration of different techniques and styles throughout the history of art. For a long time, the male gaze dominated whilst the female body has been used as muse object, however, in recent development the female gaze paved its way equally. By the beginning of the 20th century Mondrian already developed a theory considering the artist as a non-binary being, connecting the female (material) element and the male (spiritual) element. During the same period of time many theorists and artists tried to carry out similar theories explaining female and male components of art, however, still relating to the bipolar gender identification. The exhibition shows landscapes, in which nature obtains human features and the human body gets objectified creating a perception that is detached from any gender identification dissolving into earthly forms and colours, vivid projection surfaces of internal states. The event starts at 19:00. Entrance by invitations only. Opening hours: 12:00 > 20:00 (except Monday) Admission is free. Address: Icheri Sheher, 5, Kichik Gala str. For more information, please contact: +994 12 505 2323 E-mail: [email protected] "Bodily Landscapes" expo will last until September 18. YARAT is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to nurturing an understanding of contemporary art in Azerbaijan and to creating a platform for Azerbaijani art, both nationally and internationally. Based in Baku, YARAT (meaning CREATE in Azerbaijani) was founded by Aida Mahmudova in 2011. It realizes its mission through an on-going program of exhibitions, education events and festivals. YARAT facilitates exchange between local and international artistic networks including foundations, galleries and museums. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Azerbaijans capital, which is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, will turn into important transport and logistics center of the region in the near future. Recently, important work has been carried out to improve the transport infrastructure, which plays a significant role in the development of the economy, in particular, the non-oil sector. All this brings great political and economic dividends to Azerbaijan, strengthens the countrys position in the region and the world, enhances the political and strategic importance of the state. In this context, the complex of the Baku International Sea Trade Port, which has been put into operation on May 14, plays a decisive role in the expansion of the countrys transit capacities. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of the Baku Port Complex. I am confident that the new Baku Port will play an important role in strengthening the transport potential of our country," the head of state said. "I knew, and I saw that Azerbaijan will have a major transport, transit potential, that our country will develop rapidly. President Aliyev said that the existing Baku Port no longer meets the demand, it is located in the city center and its ability to handle increasing cargo volumes is very limited. The territory for the construction of the new port was not chosen accidentally. So, the Alat settlement is located at the intersection of the automobile and railroads passing through the territory of the republic, and after the seaways are opened, the basis for turning this territory into an international transport hub with wide potential export opportunities appears. Thus, Azerbaijan, which has an important geostrategic position in the Eurasian area, numerous economic and trade ties, is entering a new, modern stage of maritime transport development. The Port of Baku is located on an area of 400 hectares of land, of which about 100-115 ha cover the area for the development of the international Logistics and Trade Zone. The northern areas around the port are reserved for future expansion of logistics, industrial, and manufacturing activity. The Port is expected to become one of the leading trade and logistics hubs of Eurasia. Moreover, a free economic zone will be established in Alat, and in the future this territory of Baku will develop very rapidly. Since the port is being built at the major railway juncture connecting the North-South and the East-West railway lines in Azerbaijan, free economic zone will also have rail access. Serving as a multimodal transit logistics hub, the port and free economic zone will become a major consolidation and distribution centre in Central Eurasia that provides a wide range of value added services. In recent years, the work to increase the transit potential of the country, create a modern infrastructure that provides international transportation, and upgrade the transport fleet has become more intensive. The implementation of such important projects as the construction of the Baku International Sea Trade Port, not only increases the economic power of Azerbaijan, but also strengthens its international position. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Serbia is seen as an active participant of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. President Aliyev made the remarks May 21 in Baku making press statements together with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Ilham Aliyev stressed that the economic cooperation occupies a big place among the issues discussed today. "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." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry hosted an expanded meeting chaired by Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov with the participation of deputy foreign ministers, the ministrys board members, ambassadors-at-large, heads of departments and structural divisions of the ministry, the Foreign Ministry said in a message May 22. At the meeting, Mammadyarov introduced Ramiz Hasanov, who was appointed deputy foreign minister by President Ilham Aliyevs order, and wished him success in his work, the ministry said. Mammadyarov underlined that Azerbaijan pursues an independent, balanced and multifaceted foreign policy under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, and drew attention to the tasks set before the Foreign Ministry by the Azerbaijani president. It was noted at the meeting that 2019 will mark the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic service in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijans Deputy Foreign Minister Ramiz Hasanov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, worked as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Georgia, as well as chairman of the State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patents of Azerbaijan. --- Trend: Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has congratulated President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. "It gives me great pleasure to send Your Excellency my warmest greetings on the celebration of your National Day, together with my best wishes for the good fortune and happiness of the people of Azerbaijan in the coming year," Queen Elizabeth II said in her message. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Sara Israfilbayova World oil prices are rising on Monday, investors are playing out reports of easing tensions in U.S.-China trade relations. Brent crude futures rose by 0.7 percent to $79.06 a barrel, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $71.86 a barrel, up 0.69 percent RIA Novosti reported. Investors reacted positively to news about trade relations between the US and China. Finance Minister Steven Mnuchin on May 20 confirmed the suspension of the introduction of reciprocal trade duties and noted the significant progress in the negotiations on trade. In Washington on May 17-18 consultations were held between trade delegations of the United States and China. Following the results of the joint statement, the parties agreed to take effective measures to reduce the deficit of the US trade balance against China, by increasing exports of goods and services to the republic. In particular, the parties agreed to significantly increase the export of agricultural goods and energy. De-escalation of the trade dispute will happen after some time through negotiations, analysts of Morgan Stanley bank believe. Both sides plan to work on the implementation of purchases in agriculture and energy and continue negotiations on trade ... in the coming months, Reuters reported. 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. --- Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Trend: 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. By 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. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By 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. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend 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. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The Turkish Air Forces are bombing the positions of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Northern Iraq, the Turkish General staff said in a statement released May 22. Air operations against the PKK are conducted in the area of Hakurk. "As part of the operation, four PKK strongholds were destroyed," said the message. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for more than 30 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives. The UN and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend An official with Iran Road Maintenance & Transportation Organization (RMTO) said Tehran and Athens have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen their cooperation in the field of transportation. The cooperation document was inked after a two-day summit between Iran and Greece on road maintenance and transportation wrapped up recently, Reza Nafisi added on May 19, IRNA news agency reported. According to the terms of the MoU, the two sides would help facilitate transportation services between the two countries by removing any exiting obstacles, he added. Nafisi said Tehran and Athens are also ready to boost their cooperation in the sectors of intelligent transportation system (ITS) and road safety. He said the agreement would help the two countries drivers and businesspeople easily travel to Tehran and Athens and raise their volume of exports and imports. Iran exported more than 1.26 billion worth of goods to Greece in 2017, indicating a 68.8% surge compared with that of the previous year. Irans imports from the European country during the same period amounted to nearly 32.1 million, showing a 5.86% rise year-on-year. Iran-Greece trade stood at over 1.29 billion last year, registering a 66.33% YOY growth. This makes Greece Irans sixth biggest trade partner from among the 28 member states of the European Union in 2017 after Italy, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands in a descending order. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was the first western leader to visit Iran after the lifting of international sanctions against Iran over Tehrans nuclear program. "Greece will become an energy, economic and trade bridge between Iran and European Union," Tsipras said in Tehran in February 2016. --- By Kamila Aliyeva The shareholders of Rogun HPP JSC will discuss the issue of increasing the authorized capital of the company on June 15, 2018. This issue will be considered during the next annual meeting of the shareholders to be held at the National Library of Tajikistan. The amount of the authorized capital of Rogun HPP JSC is currently 14 billion somoni. Last time it was increased during the annual meeting in May 2015. Prior to this, in February 2014, the authorized capital was increased from 6 billion to 12 billion somoni at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. In addition, during the forthcoming meeting in June, it is planned to amend the Charter of Rogun HPP JSC. It is also envisaged to approve the Charter of the Directorate for the use of Rogun HPP JSC. Rogun shareholders will be presented with annual and accounting reports, as well as audit results for 2017. At the end of the meeting, the shareholders will have to approve the audit of the company in 2018 and the amount of payment for these services. In January 2010, an unprecedented sale of shares and certificates of Rogun HPP JSC - a campaign to raise funds for the construction of the hydro power plant has been started. In total, shares worth 6 billion somoni (about $ 1.37 billion) were issued in nominal value of 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 somoni. As many as 830 million somoni were received as a recult of the sale of shares. The number of holders of registered shares of 5,000 somoni is 22,000 people, and holders of common shares - about 2 million people. Approximately $4 billion is needed to complete the major energy project. About 2 billion somoni ($227,2 million) have been allocated from the state budget for the completion of the hydroelectric power station last year. The Tajik authorities also issued securities worth $1 billion for the completion of the Rogun HPP in 2017. At the first stage, bonds worth $500 million were put up for sale on the world markets. According to the National Bank of Tajikistan, Tajik government bonds by type of investors were sold to fund managers (85 percent), hedge funds (9 percent), banks and other financial institutions (6 percent). Geographically, the bonds were acquired by investors from the U.S. (38 percent), Great Britain (24 percent), EU countries (percent) and Asia (3 percent). Recently, some media outlets spread information about the sale of a second package of government bonds worth $500 million for the Rogun project. However, there is no official confirmation of this information yet. In early April of this year, a group of investors, representatives of the American bank Merrill Lynch, investment funds Fidelity, Metlife, BNP Paribas, T.Rowe Price, Barings, Eaton Vance and Danske got acquainted with the macroeconomic situation in Tajikistan and visited the Rogun HPP. During the visit to Tajikistan, investors visited the Rogun HPP, where they got acquainted with the progress of construction work, visiting various parts of this hydro technical facility, including in the engine room. They were provided with detailed information on the significance and potential of this hydro power complex, the safety of the dam of the station, the financial attractiveness of the project. According to the National Bank, Merrill Lynch, as well as investment funds Fidelity, Metlife, BNP Paribas, T.Rowe Price, Barings, Eaton Vance and Danske are active buyers of government securities (Eurobonds) in the international financial market. The government of Tajikistan, which has suffered from electricity shortages for years, makes all possible efforts to complete the construction of dam that will solve the countrys energy problem. By implementing the project, Tajikistan will be able to generate about 13 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This will not only help the country to meet its domestic needs but also turn Tajikistan into a major exporter of electricity. According to the project, six units are planned to be installed at the station, each with a capacity of 600 MW. The station will become the highest rock-earth dam in the world. This HPP will generate 17 billion kWh of electricity annually. The dam should form a large Rogun reservoir with a total volume of 13.3 cubic meters. The project is criticized because of the location in the zone of high seismicity, landslide and mudflow processes, and the presence of a tectonic fault filled with rock salt under the base of the dam. The Rogun HPP will dam the Vakhsh river, which is a major tributary to the Amu Darya river, one of the region's two major water courses. The neighboring countries cautioned water could be diverted from their cotton and wheat fields. Uzbekistan claimed that water flows would be seriously decreased in case the dam is built. However, the World Bank assessment gave the go-ahead to the major project. The Italian company Salini Impregilo is engaged in the construction of the Rogun power plant. In October 2016, Tajikistan launched work on the construction of a rock embankment dam, 335 meters high and $1.95 billion worth. The cost of the entire hydro power station is $3.9 billion. At the end of January, the head of the company, Pietro Salini, after a meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, told reporters that the first turbine of the Rogun hydro power plant will be launched on November 16, 2018. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A Beaumont man was sentenced to two decades in prison on Monday for seriously hurting a child in 2016 as a punishment for the toddler wetting herself, according to Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham. Christopher Bushnell, 28, and Rashanda Morris, 27, both pleaded guilty to first-degree charges of injury to a child, Wortham said. In June 2016, Bushnell held a 2-year-old child's feet under scalding water as a punishment, according to the DA. Morris failed to seek medical attention for the child, he said. The girl was taken to a Beaumont hospital only after a relative saw her wounds, Wortham said. She had to be transferred to Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston, where she underwent a skin graft for third-degree burns to her ankles and feet, he said. "Morris lied to police and said that the victim got into the bathtub on her own when Morris stepped out of the bathroom to check on the other children," Wortham said in a statement. "Morris also covered for Bushnell, her then boyfriend, by telling police that he was not home when it happened." Medical experts who treated the girl said her "injuries were not consistent with Morris' account of what happened," Wortham said. "The victim and two of her siblings ... named Bushnell as the one who caused the burns." Criminal District Judge John B. Stevens sentenced Bushnell to 20 years in prison for the incident. In unrelated incidents, Stevens gave Bushnell an eight-year prison sentence for second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon - family violence, and an additional six years in prison for third-degree felony assault - family violence by choking. Morris' plea agreement caps her sentence at 12 years in prison, according to Wortham. At sentencing, Stevens will have the option of either placing Morris on deferred probation or sentencing her to anywhere from five to 12 years in prison, according to Wortham. Morris is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18. A person convicted of first-degree Injury to a Child must serve half of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole. 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 Tampa, Fla.-based Physician Partners of America is in the midst of constructing two multispeciality healthcare facilities in Orlando, Fla., and Merritt Island, Fla., that'll both prominently feature ASCs, Virtual Strategy reports. Here's what you should know. 1. Each campus will tout a 9,060-square-foot ASC as well as more than 4,600 square feet of medical offices. Each space will also accommodate future expansion. 2. Each center is going to be outfitted with an unspecified number of surgical suites. 3. Physician Partners of America will handle all scheduling, insurance billing and payroll at the campuses, to allow physicians and administrators time to focus on patients. 4. The Orlando facility will open this summer, while the Merritt Island facility is opening this fall. 5. Physician Partners of America President and COO Tracie Lawson said, "At Physician Partners of America, we are committed to providing the communities we serve with the best medical care available. To achieve this, we strongly believe in allowing physicians to focus on treating patients, and less on the daily challenges presented by the business side of medicine." Quincy, Ill.-based Blessing Hospital locked down its entire complex, including the Surgery Center of Quincy, after an unidentified party made a bomb threat, the Herald-Whig reports. Here's what you should know. 1. Quincy police were dispatched to the hospital the morning of May 21 after being notified of the bomb threat. They later determined the threat was fake and worked on clearing the entire complex. 2. The lockdown applied to the Child Care Center, Blessing Health Center, Blessing Business Center, Blessing Education Center, Wellness Center, Hospice, Sleep Center, Surgery Center of Quincy and 1107 College. 3. Patients were allowed to leave the hospital, but not allowed to enter during the lockdown. Blessing still accepted emergency patients, but implemented a search protocol. 4. The hospital remained on lockdown until 12:48 p.m. May 21. Here are eight executive changes that occurred over the past month. Nueterra Capital brings 2 legal experts on board for NueHealth& other affiliates Scott C. Palecki and Alex Knudson were hired as general counsel and legal project manager, respectively, for Nueterra Capital and its affiliates and subsidiaries. Tenet keeps shaking things up Makes 2 leadership appointments Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare added to its leadership team, naming Paola Arbour senior vice president and CIO and Marie Quintana senior vice president and chief marketing officer. The Orthopaedic Institute switches up executive team with 5 appointments Following a growth equity partnership with Varsity Healthcare Partners, Gainesville, Fla.-based The Orthopaedic Institute made the following appointments: Richard Gilbert, MD, as CEO; Alan Campbell as CFO; William Hubbard as COO; Michael Anderson as vice president of corporate development; and Andrew Rocca, MD, as chief medical officer. Henry Schein taps Brad Connett to head U.S. medical group Henry Schein promoted Brad Connett to president of the company's U.S. Medical Group, a leading provider of products and services to ASCs, freestanding ERs and other alternate care sites. Medical Consulting Group hires Richard Frech, targets ASC & office-based lab facilities Richard Frech is the newest consultant at Medical Consulting Group, which provides ASC and practice consulting, development, management, HIPAA compliance guidance, revenue cycle management and marketing campaign creation services. InnovaCare adds 2 to leadership team Fort Lee, N.J.-based InnovaCare Health added Peter Zafris and Frank Izquierdo to its leadership team. InnovaCare Health creates value-based care solutions for patients, payers and providers. Spartanburg Surgery Center administrator takes on CEO role Rick Sizemore, RN, has added CEO to his administrator title at Spartanburg (S.C.) Surgery Center. Mr. Sizemore became administrator of the ASC in 2009 and was named CEO in April 2018. Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center names director of business operations, CEO Bethesda, Md.-based Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center hired Kelly Blackstock as director of business operations and CEO in January. Recording medical conversations between physicians and patients can alleviate problematic record-keeping and improve patient treatment adherence. However, the growing practice is being both eased and complicated by smartphone technology and artificial intelligence, prompting questions about safe data usage, according to STAT. Here are five things to know about patient visit recordings and data ownership. 1. Patients are more frequently recording physician sessions on their smartphones to play back later. It's not clear how many physicians partake in clinical conversation recordings regularly. 2. The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston launched a program in 2009 that allows patients to take home digital recorders with tapings of their visits for personal or caregiver reference. Once the university donates the recorder, it belongs to the patient, which omits any confusion over who owns the data, according to the report. 3. New voice recognition technologies from companies like Google and Amazon, which increasingly rely on artificial intelligence, are complicating the data ownership question. Paul Barr, PhD, a researcher and professor at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in Lebanon, N.H., helms a project that aims to build a system enabled by artificial intelligence to routinely record audio from physicians' visits. The Open Recording Automated Logging System project will use natural language processing to flag important pieces of the conversation for patients, such as "diagnosis" or "medication protocols," according to STAT. The ORALS system lets patients record physician conversations on their smartphones and share the transcript with family members through a secure server. 4. The technology clearly offers several benefits for physicians and patients. However, the increased use of artificial intelligence-enabled systems comes as policy surrounding cybersecurity and patient privacy lags, according to STAT. Some risks include storing data on smartphones, which may only be secured as well as a person secures their phone. In addition, if a third-party vendor gained access to the sensitive information, abuses could occur. 5. "We really need policies and regulations to be clear on this," Dr. Barr told STAT. "One person or a small research group in a single institution can't think through all the possibilities and pitfalls. We need to convene a broader group of stakeholders from all walks of life." After health officials and several rival hospitals balked at St. Paul, Minn.-based Regions Hospital's plan to add 100 inpatient beds to the metro area, lawmakers approved Region's expansion compromise a 55-bed project, according to the Star Tribune. Late in 2017, Regions Hospital released its proposal to add 100 beds to its facility, citing capacity constraints and a need for more room to handle growth in the metro area. However, several hospital operators including Minneapolis-based Allina Health System and Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services, which both operate hospitals in St. Paul raised concerns about the plan, claiming long-term trends reveal there is no need for more inpatient beds. Several health department officials echoed the rival health systems' opinion: There is a surplus of beds in the St. Paul market. The expansion project needed legislative approval to continue because Minnesota has a moratorium that restricts hospital construction projects in the state. After negotiations with the rival hospital owners and the state health department, Regions struck a deal to only pursue a 55-bed expansion. Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed the 55-bed expansion project for Regions Hospital. Fifteen of the beds will be designated for mental health patients. "We are pleased to have received such strong bipartisan support for our bed request," a Regions spokesperson told the Star Tribune "We're now waiting for Gov. [Mark] Dayton's signature. And, given the changes to the [proposal], we need time to adjust our plans accordingly." When it comes to healthcare, affordability of medical costs topped Americans' list of priorities, according to a report from Public Agenda's Hidden Common Ground Initiative. For the report, researchers studied three focus groups in September, totaling 30 Americans in urban Hamilton County, Ohio; rural Franklin County, Mo.; and suburban Suffolk County, N.Y. Study participants identified affordability as their top healthcare priority. "In recent years, a majority of Americans, regardless of party identification, say making healthcare affordable to individuals and families should be the top healthcare priority for the president and Congress," the report states, citing Kaiser Family Foundation data. "This sentiment emerged immediately in our groups as people reflected on the healthcare system and their experiences with it. They shared stories about facing expensive medical bills, paying for pricey prescriptions and covering burdensome co-pays, premiums and deductibles. They were ardent and forthright about how the high cost of healthcare affected their lives and their families." As one uninsured woman in her 30s put it: "The prices keep going up, and our paycheck stays the same." Researchers said participants also reported greater concern about healthcare affordability than government healthcare spending. "While some of our participants voiced concerns about waste and inefficiency, most viewed high healthcare spending by government as of little concern or even as a sign of well-placed priorities rather than as a fiscal red flag," the report stated. In addition to affordability, Americans also ranked simplicity and transparency high among their healthcare priorities. The focus groups generally agreed more oversight of healthcare prices is needed, and everyone should have coverage or access to healthcare. Read more about the findings here. More articles on healthcare finance: Chicago Tribune editorial: Cook County Hospital Systems' ineptitude, carelessness is costing taxpayers 12 latest hospital credit downgrades Inspector general: Billing, clerical errors cost Cook County Health and Hospitals System $165M Earlier this month, Elliott Management an investment management firm with a history of restructuring management teams at various organizations made an unsolicited bid for athenahealth that may be worth almost $7 billion. Athenahealth has yet to respond to Elliott Management, leaving many experts in the health IT sector curious about the company's future. Here's a breakdown of events leading up to Elliott Management's proposed bid, beginning one year ago when the investment firm first purchased a roughly 10 percent stake in athenahealth. May 18, 2017: Elliott Management purchased a 9.2 percent stake in athenahealth, raising questions about the company's future. Elliott Management is an investment management firm known for "rebooting management and selling companies," CNBC reported in May 2017. Aug. 1, 2017: The athenahealth board of directors and management team unveiled plans to restructure the company's senior leadership. Under the plan, athenahealth cofounder Jonathan Bush who had served as CEO, president and chairman of the board would maintain his role as CEO. However, the board would establish a separate president role and recruit an independent chairman. February 7, 2018: Jeff Immelt, former chairman and CEO of General Electric, joined athenahealth as chairman. In a Feb. 7 statement, athenahealth leadership said Mr. Immelt's appointment was part of a series of initiatives athenahealth leadership launched in 2017 to create a more "focused and efficient company, drive increased levels of profitable growth and enhance shareholder value." The company has yet to appoint a president. April 2018: Bloomberg reported Fidelity Investments, which had been athenahealth's largest shareholder, sold more than half its holdings as of April 30. May 7, 2018: Elliott Management made an all-cash offer for athenahealth at $160 per share, according to a letter the investment management firm sent to athenahealth's management team. The proposed deal could be worth roughly $7 billion, including debt, according to CNBC. In the letter, Elliott Management wrote athenahealth, "despite all of its promise, has not worked for many years." May 7, 2018: Athenahealth released a statement confirming its board of directors would "carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and athenahealth shareholders." The statement characterized Elliott Management's bid as an "unsolicited acquisition proposal." May 14, 2018: Elliott Management wrote to athenahealth's board of directors revealing frustrations the company hadn't engaged in acquisition talks in the week since the investment management firm made its offer. The firm said neither athenahealth nor the company's advisers had reached out to Elliott Management leadership, despite multiple messages. The Miami Medical Center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, and the 67-bed hospital is slated to be sold in auction in late June. Leawood, Kan.-based Nueterra, along with its partners, acquired Miami Medical Center in 2014 and invested $70 million in the facility. Children's Health Ventures, the for-profit arm of Miami-based Nicklaus Children's Hospital, invested in Miami Medical Center with hopes of bringing a unique care model to South Florida. However, the Miami Medical Center struggled to stay afloat. The hospital suspended patient services Oct. 30, 2017, and subsequently laid off its 180 employees. It filed for bankruptcy protection March 9, 2018. On March 30, Miami Medical Center filed a motion to approve bidding procedures for the sale of the hospital and to approve certain protections to the stalking horse purchaser Nicklaus Children's Hospital. The general unsecured creditors' committee and a group of physicians objected to the proposed bidding procedures and the ability of Nicklaus Children's Hospital to credit the amount of its liens on Miami Medical Center. However, to avoid expense, delay and uncertainty of litigation, the parties subsequently resolved the objections from the unsecured creditors committee. "The resolution of the debtor's bankruptcy case as soon as practicable will materially reduce the burdens on the debtor's estate for the benefit of all parties-in-interest," Miami Medical Center stated in its motion for approval of compromise and settlement filed May 18. On May 21, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurel M. Isicoff granted the motion, according to Law360. The hospital is now set to be sold in auction during the week of June 18. More articles on healthcare industry transactions: HCA, private equity firm join forces to make bid for Envision For-profit hospital operator M&A update: 13 latest deals involving CHS, Tenet, HCA and LifePoint Northwestern, Centegra seek to finalize 10-hospital merger Irvine, Calif.-based St. Joseph Health will continue to operate Petaluma (Calif.) Valley Hospital until January 2020, Petaluma Health Care District officials confirmed May 16, according to the North Bay Business Journal. Here are four things to know about the negotiations. 1. St. Joseph Health announced its intent to form a joint operating company with Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health to manage their Northern California operations in April. Once the deal is finalized, the joint operating company may take over operating negotiations for Petaluma Valley Hospital. 2. District officials said they have "reengaged with St. Joseph because of the new company," adding, "it will probably be the new company that will run the hospital," the report states. 3. St. Joseph Health has operated the 80-bed acute care hospital since 1997. However, the health system's 20-year lease expired in 2017, and talks to extend the lease ended as a result of financial terms and women's reproductive health issues, according to the report. 4. The district began seeking other potential hospital operators and was negotiating an agreement with El Segundo, Calif.-based Paladin Healthcare. However, district officials ended talks with Paladin after St. Joseph agreed to continue to run the hospital until January 2020. Aenta's former chief Medicare actuary was placed on administrative leave after filing a whistle-blower lawsuit alleging pharmacy benefits manager CVS Caremark overbilled Medicaid and Medicare for prescription drugs, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Here are four things to know about the lawsuit. 1. Sarah Behnke, Aetna's former chief Medicare actuary, filed the pending whistle-blower suit after her internal investigation found CVS Caremark has been allegedly overbilling the federal government for prescriptions since 2007, according to the lawsuit. Ms. Behnke accused CVS Caremark of inappropriately billing the government $1 billion-plus in fraudulent charges. 2. Aetna placed Ms. Behnke on administrative leave after the whistle-blower suit was unsealed in federal court in early April. The unsealing comes as CVS Health, the parent company of CVS Caremark, is attempting to buy Aetna for $69 billion. 3. Ms. Behnke's lawyer told The Columbus Dispatch Aetna's decision to place its then-Medicare actuary on administrative leave was "retaliatory and inappropriate." 4. CVS Caremark rejected the allegations and said it will hand documents over to the court by June 1. The company said it was unaware who filed the lawsuit until after its parent put out an offer to Aetna. CVS Health spokesperson Michael DeAngelis told the publication, "We believe this complaint is without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations." Aetna officials declined The Columbus Dispatch's request for comment. More articles on legal and regulatory issues: 23-hospital system enters $14M settlement with feds over improper physician payments Nurse collects $6M in whistle-blower lawsuits against Banner, Christus and Renown Health CEO, CFO of Missouri hospital allegedly received $100k in inappropriate reimbursement A nurse in New York City faces felony charges for allegedly stealing more than $550,000 from Interfaith Medical Center, a nonprofit hospital in Brooklyn, and defrauding Medicaid of more than $30,000, according to Acting New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood. According to the attorney general's office, Keisha Demas, RN, collected more than $550,000 from 2013 through 2016 through a "no-show" job at Interfaith. Interfaith contracted with Ms. Demas through an outside nursing agency, and she allegedly conspired with a former hospital employee to falsify timesheets to make it appear she was working when she was not. Ms. Demas allegedly paid kickbacks to the hospital employee who assisted her in the scheme. Although Ms. Demas' income was more than $100,000 in each year of the scheme, she did not file personal income taxes in New York, resulting in a nearly $40,000 underpayment in taxes. Ms. Demas also allegedly claimed she had no income in 2014 and 2015 to obtain more than $30,000 in Medicaid benefits. Ms. Demas faces several felony charges, including grand larceny, forgery and tax fraud. If convicted she faces five to 15 years in prison. More articles on legal and regulatory issues: 12 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements DOJ: Texas physician misdiagnosed patients to fund 'opulent lifestyle' Memorial Hermann will pay $1.9M to settle improper billing allegations Patients at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis may face delays of crucial implant procedures because of accounting errors in the facility's budget, WRTV reports. "If you need a heart valve or a stent, it's life or death," Shaun O'Brien, chief of prosthetics and sensory Aids at Roudebush, told WRTV. Mr. O'Brien oversees a $34 million budget at Roudebush. Mr. O'Brien said he believes accounting errors will affect patient services. Although $17 million has been spent over the last two years on patient implants, the medical center is only reporting $14 million, Mr. O'Brien said. Mr. O'Brien fears he will only get $14 million during the next budget cycle as opposed to $17 million, which may force veterans who need implants, including skin grafts, new knees or heart stents, to be turned away. The accounting error have yet to be addressed, according to Mr. O'Brien. "So as far as Congress is concerned and central office is concerned we never spent that money, so next year that $3.5 million will be missing. It was missing this year, and will be missing next year," said Mr. O'Brien. "I want to provide the treatment for the patients who need it next year," he added. "Power politics aside, we didn't do as many surgeries as we had planned on doing but next year I don't want to take that gamble." Mr. O'Brien said a total of $7 million must be accounted for over the last two years. Before WRTV asked about the issue via email, a Roudebush VA Medical Center spokesperson said the hospital was unaware of Mr. O'Brien's concern. "Upon receipt of your query, we initiated a review of the funding and finding processes in areas indicated," according to a statement from the VA center. "We appreciate and will act on any concern that veteran health Indiana can better use funding to provide care for veterans." The Institute for Healthcare Improvement on May 22 introduced a committee tasked with creating a national strategy to improve patient safety. The National Steering Committee for Patient Safety includes 24 organizations with backgrounds in healthcare, policy, regulation and advocacy. Member organizations include The Joint Commission, the National Quality Forum, the American Hospital Association and the FDA. Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, chief clinical and safety officer at IHI, and Jeffrey Brady, MD, director of the Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, will co-chair the committee. The group's first meeting is set for May 22 in Boston, ahead of the 20th Annual IHI/NPSF Patient Safety Congress. "For decades, experts have called for increased coordination to improve patient safety, but such a strategy has not been fully instituted," Dr. Gandhi said. "There is still so much work to be done in patient safety, in part because we've reached the limits of what a project-by-project approach can achieve. Instead of declaring 'mission accomplished,' we need to take steps to advance total systems safety safety that is reliably and uniformly applied wherever care is provided." After examining hospital discharge rates, researchers found patients discharged from crowded hospital wards were more likely to be readmitted in the next 30 days, according to data reported at the American Thoracic Society 2018 International Conference. The researchers found the top three predictors of whether a patient will be readmitted "are all modifiable, ward-level factors," lead researcher Rachel Kohn, MD, told Medscape Medical News. The predictors include the number of patients discharged the same day, the number of medications administered to all patients on the ward that day and the number of patients who occupied a bed that day, Dr. Kohn said. To analyze readmissions, the researchers examined discharges from the intensive care units 33 wards of three Pennsylvania hospitals in 2014 and 2015. The researchers looked at hospital capacity on the last calendar day of the hospital stay for each of the 13,338 patients in the study. They assessed capacity by seeing how many beds were filled, how many medications were administered, how many patients were transported off the ward, and how many patients required telemetry monitoring, transfusions or a sepsis assessment. Out of the top three predictors from nine hospital wards for whether a patient would be readmitted in the 30 days after discharge, one factor stood out: "When a lot of people are being discharged on a specific day, it means a lot will be coming back," Dr. Kohn said. Discharge paperwork and medication checks may not be completed as thoroughly as they should be when the ward is crowded, Dr. Kohn explained. "The more work you're imposing on staff, the more things can be missed," she said. "We need to look closely at where we might be able to intervene," Dr. Kohn added. If staff members frequently feel overburdened by medication administration, a workload threshold can be set to prompt adding more staff when necessary. Hospital leaders also can try to revise discharge practices. Dr. Kohn suggests hospitals have a nurse who is responsible for patient transportation, paperwork and medication. Newry sandwich firm Around Noon has reported a sales increase of 16% to 16.6m in its latest accounts. But the company, which also owns Sweet Things Bakery, saw its pre-tax profits fall by almost 19% to 359,557. Around Noon has been in operation since 1989 and has had significant growth within recent years. It currently employs 235 people and is headed by chief executive Gareth Chambers. In December last year Around Noon signed a 5m contract to supply its convenience food range to Topaz forecourts throughout Ireland. It also acquired London-based company Chef-in-a-Box in September after receiving a 750,000 Growth Loan Fund. At the time Mr Chambers said the deal gave the firm the "presence and infrastructure required to have a significant impact in the UK market". Around Noon manufactures upwards of 60,000 products per day across more than 20 brands, including hand-made sandwiches, wraps, salads, snacks, bakery items and natural juices. It's strategic report was filed just as the firm picked up two national awards in London for new product development. Around Noon won two awards in the Sammies 2018 - the British Sandwich and Food-to-Go Association Awards. The company won New Sandwich of the Year category, defeating competition from supermarket retailers including Waitrose and The Co-Op. It also collected the category award for New Sandwich of the Year - Hot and the overall New Sandwich of the Year award 2018. These add to the three Sammies that Around Noon won in 2017. Gareth Chambers, chief executive of Around Noon, said: "We want to position Around Noon as the UK and Ireland's leading food-to-go manufacturer and to lead the way in innovation and new product development in the industry. "We're delighted to have one of our new products, the Breakfast Toast sandwich, recognised at The Sammies. This is just one of several new products we have brought to market in the past year with more exciting developments in the pipeline. "The past year has been a very strong one for Around Noon, winning five Sammies, being named in the Sunday Times Fast-track 100 and acquiring a London-based business. We're focused on growing our customer-base and manufacturing output across the UK and Ireland and are continuing to add new significant companies and brands to our existing customer-base. "National awards like The Sammies are an important part of communicating to new and prospective customers the level of innovation and quality we want Around Noon to be synonymous with," he added. In April, Around Noon's CEO Gareth Chambers won the Young Business Person of the Year award at the Belfast Telegraph Business Awards, in partnership with Ulster Bank. The 33-year-old was also recently announced as one of five NI-based entrepreneurs shortlisted for the 2018 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Ireland awards, now in their 21st year. The precise ingredients of the world's best-selling Scotch whisky brand are, unsurprisingly, a closely-guarded secret. Johnnie Walker, in all its various guises, may have shifted over 156 million litres around the globe in 2016, but only a handful of people know all the secrets of its winning recipes. However, what is well-known in the whisky world is that one of the most important ingredients in the Johnnie Walker blends is a light but distinctive Speyside single malt called Cardhu. And the person whose job it is to ensure that the Cardhu distillery fulfils its commitments to that global brand is Northern Ireland man Andrew Millsopp. Andrew (40) is Cardhu group senior manager for the drinks giant Diageo, which owns 28 distilleries across Scotland. Born in Craigavon, Andrew has spent his working life in the brewing and distilling industries. As group senior manager, he's currently responsible for four Diageo distilleries in the Cardhu group. Andrew spent much of his early life in Newry and went to school there. His father Kenny is not long retired after a career in the fire service that took him to Belfast, Omagh and headquarters in Lisburn. Upon leaving school, Andrew had thought of a career in dentistry but eventually decided against it and instead went to university in Edinburgh to undertake a course that focused on biological and chemical sciences. The latter part of the course included a focus on brewing and distilling and it was this aspect that began to intrigue him more and more. "I became very interested in the whole process and I saw that most of the guys who followed this route got pretty good jobs afterwards," he says. "Distilling was very difficult to get into at that time," Andrew recalls. "A lot of the people on my course ended up in medium-sized breweries in England. "It was very unusual to progress from my course into distilling. In a lot of places the distilleries only took people from the local area. "Anyone they employed was usually replacing someone who had worked in the business for a lifetime. "Unlike today, when there are many opportunities in the industry for young people and some great apprenticeships on offer, there were very few people under the age of 30 in distilling back then." So, like many of his fellow students at that time, Andrew started out in brewing and one of his earliest jobs was at the Harp brewery in Dundalk. However, his ambitions still lay in distilling and that persistence finally paid off when he landed a job at the Oban distillery on the west coast of Scotland. From there, he went on to distilleries the length and breadth of Scotland and also spent some time back in Northern Ireland at the Bushmills distillery. Job followed job as he built up huge experience in the industry, from Royal Lochnagar on the Balmoral estate to overseeing the Diageo distilleries on the famous whisky island of Islay. "I worked it out recently that I must have moved house 22 times," he says with a smile. Now settled on Speyside with his wife Lorna, a teacher, and children Ciara and Christopher, Andrew lives in a village a few miles from where Cardhu (pronounced Car-doo) nestles among the gentle uplands near Inverness. As well as producing its own single malts (they're "incredibly popular" in France, Spain and Greece, says Andrew), Cardhu is a crucial component of the Johnnie Walker range. Whisky aficionados will tell you that Johnnie Walker simply wouldn't be Johnnie Walker without Cardhu. It's no accident that this was the first distillery to be bought by John Walker and Sons as their business rapidly expanded in the late 19th century. It was purchased in 1893 from the Cumming family shortly after they had purchased new distilling equipment that tripled Cardhu's output, most of which was being swallowed up in the production of Johnnie Walker. Walker had started his whisky business after selling the family farm in 1819 to start a grocery shop in Kilmarnock. The forerunner of today's global brand was Walker's Old Highland Blend introduced by John's son Alexander in 1857. The company adopted a unique tactic to spread their product around the world. They paid ships' captains to promote their spirit around the world, effectively making them agents for Johnnie Walker, and the square bottle design was adopted to make the whisky easier to store in the holds of freighters as it was taken to the four corners of the globe. After the Cardhu distillery was purchased to ensure consistency of quality in the blended product, the iconic Johnnie Walker Red Label and Black Label were introduced in the early years of the 20th century, along with the whisky's familiar 'striding man' logo and its unique slanted bottle label. John Walker & Sons became part of the Distillers Company in 1925 and subsequently part of the Guinness group following a takeover in the 1980s. Guinness later merged with Grand Metropolitan form Diageo, the world's largest producer of spirits, in 1997. In the mid-1950s Johnnie Walker became the world's best-selling whisky and has been the top Scotch brand ever since. It's been a consistent favourite with some of whisky's most famous fans. Winston Churchill was said to be an enthusiast, as was Vanity Fair essayist Christopher Hitchens. It's said that during the filming of Carry On Again Doctor, legendary comedy actor Sid James insisted on an entire cupboard being filled with Johnnie Walker Red Label for one scene. And if you look closely at many of the drinking scenes in The Sopranos, you'll see a bottle of Black Label is never far from Tony's glass. A number of variants have been created in more recent years, among them Johnnie Walker Blue Label, the most prestigious blend, which was introduced in 1992 and retails for upwards of 130 a bottle. "Only very special casks of Cardhu are set aside for Blue Label," says Andrew. "We might produce perhaps one every 18 months." Special editions are another recent feature of the brand. Recent bottlings include 'Jane Walker', a female-friendly Black Label variant and the upcoming 'White Walker' limited edition which marks the final season of TV hit Game of Thrones. The recent record growth in Scottish tourism, coupled with Johnnie Walker's position as a leading global brand, has prompted Diageo to announce the investment of 150m over three years to create a Johnnie Walker visitor experience that will coincide with the 200th anniversary of the brand in 2020. The move follows the enormous success of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, another Diageo project, which has since become the Republic's number one paid visitor attraction. The plans for the Johnnie Walker Experience are still being drawn up, but the company is looking at high profile sites in Edinburgh to locate the central visitor attraction, which will tell the story of the brand and how it came to be a worldwide hit. Expected to play a key role in the creation of the Johnnie Walker Experience is the Diageo Archive, a central repository of documents, files and products that charts the history of Diageo's diverse drinks portfolio. Stored here is a sample of every Diageo product, including the oldest-known bottle of Walker's Old Highland Blend from the early 20th century, which has a preserved snake coiled among the amber liquid. The archive also contains the bill of sale for Walker's farm which provided the capital to start his world-spanning business and a host of other memorabilia, ranging from early magazine adverts and promotional material to account books and production ledgers. It's highly likely that much of this fascinating material will be reproduced or displayed in the new visitor centre in Edinburgh. The centre will also be linked to four other Scottish distilleries, representing the four main areas of whisky production - Highlands, Islands, Lowlands and Speyside - each with their own unique flavour characteristics. The key highland distillery will be Clynelish, the island distillery will be Caol Ila on Islay, the lowland distillery will be Glenkinchie, about an hour's drive from Edinburgh, and the Speyside distillery will, of course, be Cardhu. "Diageo has made a huge investment of over 1bn in Scottish distilling in the past six years," says Andrew, "and the company is reviving two old distilleries, Brora and Port Ellen, to expand even further. It really is a boom time for the whisky industry in Scotland." The plans for the Cardhu element of the Johnnie Walker Experience have still to be announced, but it's expected that the distillery's already excellent visitor facilities will be upgraded even further. As has always been the case in its long association with Johnnie Walker, Andrew Millsopp insists: "Cardhu will play its part." By Thembo Kahungu. The ministry of foreign Affairs has frozen accounts of Ugandas embassy in Algeria until a forensic audit is carried out to assess how finances disbursed by the government are spent by the mission. The decision was communicated in a May 14th letter issued by James Kintu an undersecretary in the ministry of foreign affairs on behalf of the Permanent Secretary Patrick Mugoya. In the letter, Kintu directed that neither the ambassador, AlintumaNsambu nor his staff should spend any money until the auditors arrive in Algiers at the end of this month. According to Kintu, the decision was taken following several complaints from AmbasadorNsambu and the embassy accounting Officer Fred Tushabe, accusing each other of financial impropriety. The parent company of retail giant Spar in Northern Ireland has reported turnover of 759m during 2017 - up 8.5% from 699m a year earlier. However, pre-tax profits at John Henderson (Holdings), led by Geoff and Martin Agnew, were down slightly from 20.3m to 20.04m. Geoffrey and Martin are the great-grandsons of the founder John Henderson, who started the business as a bread and milk wholesaler in St George's Market in 1897. During 2017, staff numbers also expanded from 2,998 to 3,387. The company is the group company of subsidiaries including Henderson Wholesale, owner of the franchise for Spar, Eurospar and Vivo. It provides marketing and distribution to over 450 grocery retailers. The subsidiaries also include catering business Henderson Foodservice and Henderson Retail - which owns and operates 79 stores. John Henderson's highest-paid director received 356,593. In a strategic report accompanying the results, the firm said that directors were pleased with 3.7% growth in sales across all channels and formats "driven by strong performance in both ambient and fresh food categories, with both footfall and basket spend increasing in our supplied retailer stores". During the year, it said that 25 stores had been recruited from competitor symbol groups to come under the Henderson Wholesale umbrella. And another six were acquired into the company-owned channel after trading under competitor brands. Henderson Wholesale has owned the Spar franchise, which originated in Holland, since 1960. Economist John Simpson said the group had been growing steadily for a number of years and could become a 1bn company. "The prospect of reaching 1bn is still at a distance, but may happen," he said. The strategic report said that the business was operating in a "highly competitive" sector, with competition from local and national operators. It was also monitoring the impact of Brexit. "The economic environment in which the group operates is expected to remain positive during the next 12 months," the report added. "However, the future impact of Brexit on the local economy remains uncertain. "The group is committed to taking a proactive approach by the establishment of a working group to look at the implications, risks and challenges that any changes Brexit may bring to the business and minimise any adverse impact." Fuel volumes in the 79 company-owed stores had grown by 1.3% on a like for like basis, which had driven increasing footfalls to the stores. And sales in the foodservice company Henderson Foodservice had grown by just under 18%, "performing strongly across all key market channels, especially food to go and independent accounts". Underlying gross profit improve to 17.1% from 16.6% - with the company saying that the mix of business was changing. The lower volume categories of fuel and cigarettes claimed a lower percentage of sales, but were coupled with strong growth in the higher-margin ambient and fresh food, and food-to-go departments. Other subsidiaries include Henderson Group Property, The Streat Franchising, Henderson Technology and property management company John (Henderson) Mallusk. At last week's Balmoral Show, the business celebrated the contribution of its Northern Ireland fresh food suppliers with the Henderson Wholesale Fresh Innovation Awards. Brian Irwin, chairman of Irwin's Bakery, was presented with an award for special contribution to the agri-food industry. And Tim Graham of Graham's Bakery also became the first ever recipient of the young agri-food innovator award. TS Foods won an award for excellence in product innovation. Ryanair, which has bases at Belfast International Airport and City of Derry Airport, 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, which flies to 12 destinations from Belfast International and three from City of Derry Airport, saw a 10% rise in post-tax profit to 1.45bn (1.26bn) in the 12 months to March 31, while revenue jumped 8% to 7.15bn (6.25bn). The airline has been operating from Belfast International since 2016, flying to destinations including London Stansted and Manchester in the UK. It also flies to other destinations further afield, including Malta, Poland and Spain. Ryanair's existing route from City of Derry Airport to Glasgow International Airport will switch to Edinburgh Airport from October 28. Passenger numbers across the airline's network were also up, jumping 9% to 130.3m on the back of falling average air fares, which were down 3% to 39.40 euros. Ryanair has blamed air passenger duty (APD), the 13 tax on all departing passengers aged 16 or over, for its decision to pull out of Glasgow. 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 over-capacity 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 euros to the group's costs (349m). Staff costs will rise by almost $200m euros (174m). The net result will be a fall in profits to between 1.25bn and 1.35bn euros, 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. It was reported earlier this month that more than 200,000 people received a combined payout of 15.6m in pay that they had previously missed out on because employers paid them less than the minimum wage. This was a big rise on the 10.9m that HM Revenue and Customs recovered in 2017 and the government crackdown also managed to more than double the number of underpaid workers who received money they were owed. This is undoubtedly good news for those employees who had been unfairly treated. But while there will always be some employers out there who breach HMRC rules by deliberately underpaying, the rise is also indicative of another trend, which has seen many more employers who think they are following the rules being named and shamed for honest mistakes. In the last few years, National Minimum Wage issues have exploded for a combination of reasons. Firstly, in April 2016 we saw the introduction of the National Living Wage, an obligatory minimum wage payable to workers in the UK aged over 25. This coincided with an increased focus on alternative or flexible forms of working in the so-called 'gig economy', with the definition of who is classed as an employee coming into question. The third factor has been a huge increase in HMRC enforcement activity. Whatever the reasons behind this, there has been a huge upscaling in resources. This month, Carson McDowell and EY held a joint event with our respective clients to explore this change in the landscape and increasing significance of National Minimum Wage issues. The feedback we received at the event confirmed that this is a problem area for employers, and not just those employers from sectors that might be considered to be most at risk of a breach. To date, the focus has been on traditionally low-paid sectors, such as domiciliary and social care, retail, hospitality and food manufacturing, but all the signs are that will change in coming years to include almost every sector. Many employers assume that provided their hourly rates of pay are at or above the applicable rates, they are compliant. This is not the case. The headline rates are easy to understand, but the underlying formulas used by HMRC in their calculations are very complicated. The devil is in the detail and the rules vary depending on the type of contract the employee or worker is engaged on, which elements of pay count for National Minimum Wage and which deductions are permissible. In fact, in many instances, the rules operate counter-intuitively. For instance, while basic pay, commission payments and performance related bonuses count towards the National Minimum Wage, shift allowances or shift premiums do not. As well as the risk of technical breaches, developing case law on worker status is also driving another group of employers into the at-risk-of-enforcement category. The actions taken in the past few years by workers against companies such as Uber have added further concern for employers who want to be clear where they stand. Case law that has long been viewed as settled is also now being challenged. For example, employers who provide staff with a place to sleep on shift - ie nurses or domiciliary care workers who are on call - were previously exempt in legislation. A recent case has now turned that on its head. I used to rarely get questions on the National Minimum Wage from clients. Now, the added complexity means it is an issue all types of clients tell me they are wary of being tripped up by. The National Living Wage is rightly viewed as a bold policy which has kick-started something of a low-pay revolution. It has made people sit up and take notice of the issue of low pay, with workers themselves seeming more prepared to speak up. But with HMRC now very much primed for enforcement, companies previously not in their sights are getting caught out, so all employers would be wise to be on the ball and to start checking they are complying with the new regime. Rachel Penny is an employment law partner at Carson McDowell Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 12th September 2017 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere are, from left to right, Michelle and Marie McGreevy Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 12th September 2017 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere are, from left to right, Paul Connolly and Anne Marie McAvoy Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 12th September 2017 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere are, from left to right, Orlaith Mac Eoin Nanus and Caoilfhionn Mac Eoin Nanus Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 12th September 2017 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere are, from left to right, Orlaith Mac Eoin Nanus, Lawrence McKeown and Caoilfhionn Mac Eoin Nanus Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 12th September 2017 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere are, from left to right, Sinead Coyle, Stephen Burke and Orla McGardy. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 12th September 2017 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere are, from left to right, Joanne Kane and Una McGinn Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 14th September 2017 The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere are, from left to right, Barry Ward, Tom Vaughan Lawlor and Stephen Burke Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 14th September 2017 The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere are, from left to right, Barry Ward and Tom Vaughan Lawlor. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 14th September 2017 The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere is Tom Vaughan Lawlor. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 14th September 2017 The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere is Tom Vaughan Lawlor. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 14th September 2017 The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke is set to take place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor stars as Larry Marley, an IRA member and chief architect of the mass breakout alongside local Belfast actor Martin McCann. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will be released by Lionsgate UK on September 22nd. Pictured at the premiere is Tom Vaughan Lawlor. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Actor Tom Vaughan Lawlor in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. (Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press) PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actor Tom Vaughan Lawlor in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actor Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actor Tom Vaughan Lawlor in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actor Tom Vaughan Lawlor in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) , Stephen Burke (director) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) , Stephen Burke (director) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 14/09/2017 Actors From L-R Tom Vaughan Lawlor (stars as Larry Marley) and Barry Ward (prison warder) in Belfast for the premiere of the MAZE at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. The premiere of new film 'MAZE' starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and directed by Stephen Burke takes place in Belfast on Thursday evening in association with the Belfast Film Festival. The film, inspired by the real-life story of the 1983 Maze prison break-out orchestrated by Larry Marley, saw 38 IRA prisoners attempt to escape from one of the most high-security prisons in Europe. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Maze actors Tom Vaughan Lawlor and Barry Ward, and director Stephen Burke in Belfast for the premiere at Movie House Cinema on the Dublin Road. (Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press) Stephen Burke's film depicting the real life escape from the Maze prison in the 1980s is now available to stream on Netflix. The feature film, which was released in cinemas last year, is based the true story of the 1983 mass break-out of 38 IRA prisoners from HMP Maze high-security prison near Lisburn. It stars Irish actor Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Larry Marley, the chief architect of the escape, who schemes his way towards pulling off this feat, but comes into contact with prison warder Gordon Close, played by Barry Ward. The film received critical acclaim after its first festival outing at the Galway Film Fleadh in July 2017. It received its Northern Ireland premiere in Belfast in September. Vaughan-Lawlor met many of the escapees while researching the part and said the "dance" between the characters helped show talking was the best way forward. Speaking when the film was released, he said: "I don't mean that in a flippant way, I just mean people being in rooms, talking face to face, and reading each other's sensibilities and flaws and weaknesses and fears and listening, and that is the journey of this film. "That it charts that journey of two men who are brought together and realise that dialogue reflects back on you your own shortcomings and your own strengths and how that can hopefully bring about the resolution of conflict." In real life, one prison officer was killed and another seriously injured during the episode. Vaughan-Lawlor said it was not a sentimentalised or dewy-eyed account. "There is detail and complexity and rigour and frustration and it is always an ongoing dialogue." He said it was not a piece of propaganda. "The heart of the film for me is this relationship and if that was not there and it was just a straight story about a prison escape I would not have had any interest in doing it, because it would have been a very slight, insensitive, boring film." Franz Ferdinand will perform at The Biggest Weekend in Belfast (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for KROQ) The BBC's Biggest Weekend comes to Belfast this week with a huge line-up of music stars set to take to the stage. With weather forecasts looking good, summer has finally arrived for the two days of music in the city. So here's everything you need to know about The Biggest Weekend: Belfast. What is The Biggest Weekend all about? The BBC announced fours major music festivals to take place in Belfast, Perth, Swansea and Coventry as a replacement for Glasonbury, which is taking a break in 2018. It's being billed as "the BBCs biggest ever celebration of music across TV, radio, online and mobile." When and where will Belfast be hosting its festival? The Biggest Weekend: Belfast takes place from May 25-26 at the Titanic Slipways. Will it be broadcast on the BBC? 6 Music will be broadcasting the entire two day festive with highlights from all four festivals shown across the braodcasters other media platforms. Who will be performing across the two days in Belfast? There's a massive line-up of stars set to perform in Belfast - these include: Friday, May 25 Main stage: Beck Courtney Barnett Father John Misty with the Ulster Orchestra Lykke Li Manic Street Preachers Orbital Public Service Broadcasting The Breeders 6 Music recommends stage: Baloji David Holmes DJ set Hannah Peel Jordan Rakei Phoebe Bridgers The Orielles Touts Expand Close Pictured: Recording artist Beck (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for J/P Haitian Relief Organization ) Getty Images for J/P Haitian Rel / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pictured: Recording artist Beck (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for J/P Haitian Relief Organization ) Saturday, May 26 Main stage: Ash First Aid Kit Franz Ferdinand Goldie (Live) Little Dragon Neneh Cherry Underworld Young Fathers 6 Music recommends stage: Dream Wife Hollie Cook Imarhan Mary Ann Hobbs DJ set Shame Soak Superorganism What time does it all kick off? Gates will open as 12noon with the first act due on stage at 1pm each day. The headline acts are expected to finish their sets at around 10.30pm each night. Are there tickets still available? There are indeed - tickets are priced from 18 and are available from www.ticketmaster.ie. What's the best way to travel to the festival? By Train Translink operate regular train services from Belfast City Centre and beyond. Ticketholders should disembark at Titanic Quarter Station for Titanic Belfast. From here there is pedestrian access via a footbridge, please then follow signage to Titanic Belfast. Walking time is approx. 15 mins from the station. By Bus Translink operate Metro Services from Belfast City Centre, departing outside the Belfast Welcome Centre to Titanic Belfast. The Airport Express services Belfast City Centre, Titanic Belfast and George Best Belfast City Airport. By Car There are a number of public car parks located nearby to Titanic Slipways. Car parking spaces are not pre-sold but are available on a first come first serve basis. On Foot Titanic Slipways is approximately 25mins walk from Belfast City Centre. For up-to-date information on Belfast travel timetables, the Translink website. What should I bring to the festival? Strict security measures will be in place on both days. Large bags are not allowed to be taken into the festival. Small bags, one per ticket holder, are allowed into the events with the dimensions W21cm x H30cm x D8cm (the size of A4 paper). Things to bring with you Your ticket Clothes for any weather eventuality - hat, sunglasses, rainwear, warm clothing etc. Sunscreen Enough cash and / or your bank card there are cash machines on site, all of which accept all UK debit cards. Some of the machines will also accept international credit cards. Please note, a fee of 2.50 will be charged to use the on site cash machines Bring ID if you are lucky enough to look under 18 in order to be admitted to the festival. ID will also be required if you want to buy alcohol and look 25 or under. Acceptable forms of ID are a valid passport; valid EU photocard driving licence; a photographic ID card with the National Proof of Age Standards Scheme PASS - hologram Medication if you need to bring medication, organisers recommend bringing a doctors note or a prescription for it. Please be understanding if they question what you're bringing in as it is important to prevent drugs being brought into the event If you have any allergies, remember to tell your friends what these are. For a full list of prohibited items please visit www.bbc.co.uk/biggestweekend. What will the weather be like in Belfast on Friday and Saturday? Praise Barra and Frank, the weather is looking fabulous! High temperatures, no rain and even a bit of sunshine. Keep an eye on the weather forecast just in case, but it's looking very good so far. A Belfast-born artist feels honoured to have been chosen to "capture the humanity" of former US President Bill Clinton for his latest portrait. Colin Davidson, whose painting of the Queen was unveiled by Her Majesty in 2016, has been commissioned by the Clinton Foundation to paint a new canvas which will soon adorn the walls of the Clinton Centre in Enniskillen. "I suppose in some ways, I am attempting to capture the human being behind the face," Colin said. "The President himself afforded me the privilege of being able to see that." Mr Davidson, who is currently applying the finishing touches to the four by four foot canvas after sitting down with the former President in New York City, said the occasion had a special significance for him. In 2017, he painted the former SDLP leader, John Hume - it followed on from his Silent Testimony exhibition, which revealed the tragic stories of 18 people connected by their individual experiences of loss at the hands of the turbulent 30 year conflict here. "That is probably my most important body of work," Colin said. "It captures the expression of those who suffered loss as a result of the Troubles. I have a real interest in marking key moments in time." Colin relished the opportunity to paint President Clinton, who regards his contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland as his most significant foreign policy achievement. "As an artist, I'm commenting on the work that he did to advance the cause of peace," he said. Other familiar faces among the award-winning artist's portfolio include Liam Neeson, Brad Pitt and Ed Sheeran. His Jerusalem 2014 exhibition featured a dozen portraits of the known and unknown to tell the complex story of the ancient city. "Every sitting and encounter is different - the need to keep quiet or to talk is different - but on this occasion, we chatted, mainly about the peace process," Colin said. "We engaged the whole time - he is still very passionate about the work he did here and it was a huge honour to be asked to do this." During the deep and meaningful conversation, which lasted for several hours, Colin compiled more than 20 preparatory shorthand ink drawings and took numerous photographs before returning to his studio in Crawfordsburn. "It takes months, and layers upon layers of oil on up to 10 paintings at one time, before I can decide on the final form - it's important to capture the right expression to reveal as much as possible," he said. "I have no precise deadline in mind, but I'm aware it has to be unveiled at some stage." A rare 18th century Chinese vase discovered by chance in an attic in France could fetch more than 500,000 at auction. The Imperial 18th century Yangcai Famille-Rose porcelain vase, bearing a mark from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (r 1736-1795), is going under the hammer at Sothebys in Paris in June, with an estimate of 430,000 to 610,000. The vase was found by chance in the loft of a family home in France, and taken to Sothebys Paris by its unsuspecting owners in a shoe box. Research revealed the vase was a unique example produced by the finest craftsmen of the time for the Qianlong Emperor. Left to the grandparents of the present owners by an uncle, the vase is listed among the contents of the latters Paris apartment after his death in 1947. It is recorded alongside several other Chinese and Japanese objects including other Chinese porcelains, two dragon robes, a yellow silk textile, and a bronze mirror in a carved lacquer box. The mirror will also be offered in the Sothebys sale. The only known example of its kind, the vase was produced by the Jingdezhen workshops for the courts of the Qianlong Emperor. Famille Rose porcelains of the period (or yangcai porcelains, as they are known) are extremely rare on the market, with most examples currently in the National Palace Museum in Taipei and other museums around the world. The vase has a body encircled by a landscape with deer, cranes and pine trees, all symbols of health and longevity. On the rare occasions when pieces of this kind come to auction, they are the subject of fierce competition. Earlier this year a Famille-Rose porcelain bowl sold at Sothebys Hong Kong for 21.7 million. The vase will be offered for sale at Sothebys in Paris on June 12. If your beauty salon doesn't take the right precautions, you could end up with some very nasty nail complaints, not just a dodgy polish job, as one American woman found out earlier this year, when what started out as a tiny nick from a manicure landed her in A&E. After getting a mani at the Arizona nail salon she had visited for a decade, Maria Luisa Gerardo's cut became infected and eventually she had to have emergency surgery to prevent amputation of the finger. Now, that may be an extreme example, but when you're dealing with sharp tools and delicate skin, it's important your nail technician takes the right precautions to ensure the only thing you leave with at the end of your appointment is perfectly preened and polished nails. So, how can you tell if a salon is safe? We asked podiatrist Emma Supple, on behalf of Flexitol, what to look out for... 1. Cleanliness is key "When considering which salon to go to, my number one rule is cleanliness. When you're waiting for your appointment, have a good look around you. Are they bringing out fresh instruments and regularly cleaning their equipment? Are they throwing away used cotton pads and tissues? Used instruments, tissues, scrub brushes and dishes will all attract unwanted fungus and bacteria and put you at risk of infection." 2. How do they treat their tools? "If your pedicurist is using wooden instruments, such as files and cuticle sticks, these must be disposed of after every client. Additionally, if your pedicurist is using metal tools, these must be cleaned thoroughly with hot water and soap. Metal instruments should be soaked in disinfectant and left to dry properly. Doing this will prevent cross-contamination and avoid your risk of picking up nasty a fungal infection." 3. Are the footbaths sanitised? "Whirlpool footbaths that are not cleaned between clients can be a breeding ground for microorganisms. These can cause warts, athlete's foot and other unpleasant infections, so make sure you look out for salons that use individual bath liners and pipe-less foot spas. It is also important to ask your pedicurist when it was last sanitised, as they should be cleaned no less than 10 minutes after every use." 4. Are the technicians protected? "It's a good sign if they're using masks and gloves, not just for your safety, but for theirs too. The technicians are in contact with toxic ingredients found in polishes, lacquer removers, glues and gels all day." 5. Are they kind to your cuticles? "Similarly, it's important that your pedicurist takes extra care when dealing with cuticles. The cuticles are there to protect your nails' growth - if the skin breaks, you risk getting an infection, which can be painful and ultimately hamper the growth of your nails. The best way to neaten cuticles is to soften them and push them back delicately with a cuticle stick. If your pedicurist is over-enthusiastic or aggressive with this, make sure you tell them to go easy." 6. Stay on the straight and narrow "The best way to help prevent ingrown nails is to avoid the round cut and go for straight. One of the most common causes of ingrown toenails is cutting them too short. They may look neat and tidy, but cutting nails too short encourages the skin at the sides of the nail to fold over it." 7. Say no to harsh foot files "Some salons choose to use tools that look like cheese graters or metal files to remove hard skin, but over use of the metal 'cheese grater'-style foot files can create more hard skin, so I would not recommend using them all the time. Instead, choose a pedicure treatment that uses a heel balm which contains urea, and is clinically proven to hydrate dry, cracked heels and feet, such as Flexitol Heel Balm." 8. Do they take their time? "If the pedicurist is rushing the pedicure process, this may leave behind several problems as you leave the salon. For example, if the skin in between your toes hasn't been dried properly, this can help microorganisms thrive in the wet and warm environment, and will increase fungus and bacteria growth." 9. Speak up if you're not sure "Finally, if something doesn't feel right, speak up! If you're unsure about a method or tool the pedicurist is using, you're quite within your rights to voice your concern - and you may help to prevent serious, long-term damage." Brussels has rejected Theresa Mays new customs proposal less than 24 hours after the prime minister set it out in a bid to placate Brexiteers in her cabinet. European Commission officials told The Independent Ms Mays plan would be unacceptable and would go back on previous commitments made by British negotiators. A day earlier the prime minister had said the backstop plan to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland which keeps Britain in alignment with the single market and customs union if no other agreement is reached would be time limited. The move was an attempt to assuage Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson, who fear that it would become a backdoor way to keep Britain tied indefinitely to the EU through the customs union and single market. The controversial fallback arrangements look increasingly likely to come into play, with no other plan for the Northern Ireland border in sight and Ms Mays cabinet deadlocked on what Britains future customs relationship with the EU should be. European Commission officials close to the talks told The Independent that British negotiators had already made written commitments for the backstop to apply unless and until another solution was found in Northern Ireland, and that there was no way it could be time limited. Facing a backlash over the plan from her pro-Brexit ministers, the prime minister sought to calm their fears, telling reporters on Monday: If it is necessary, it will be in a very limited set of circumstances for a limited time. But one Brussels source said: It will apply for as long as there is no credible alternative. It cant be time limited or its not a backstop. Commission officials have pointed to the first page of the draft withdrawal agreement, which includes a note, signed off by both sides, stating that the backstop alignment can be ended only if another solution is found. The negotiators agree that a legally operative version of the backstop solution for the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, in line with paragraph 49 of the joint report, should be agreed as part of the legal text of the withdrawal agreement, to apply unless and until another solution is found, a note on page 1 of the withdrawal agreement says. A UK government spokesperson said: The prime minister set out her position yesterday. The fallback solution put forward by the EU is not acceptable, and thats why we will be bringing forward our own proposal. We want to make progress as soon as possible. Cabinet ministers including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have signalled their unease at the backstop plan in recent days. The foreign secretary issued an apparent veiled warning to the PM while speaking to reporters on a trip to Latin America, warning her against betrayal. 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, he said. 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. A 61-year-old man arrested on Monday in connection with the murder of German backpacker Inga Maria Hauser 30 years ago has been released on bail pending further police enquiries. A second man, aged 58 remains in police custody. Both men were arrested in the Loughguile area of Country Antrim early on Monday morning. Inga Maria Hauser was found dead in Ballypatrick Forest in 1988 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. Forty children in Bangor have been left without a place at their preferred secondary school after two requests to extend admission numbers at Bangor Academy were refused. The school received 387 applications for 242 places in its September 2018 first form class, and estimates that more than 40 local pupils missed out. Instead they may have to go to schools in Newtownards, Portaferry or Belfast. "We have done everything we can as a school to request extra places from the Department of Education. We have contacted the permanent secretary, the Education Authority and local MLAs, all to no avail," the school said. "We have made two official requests for a Temporary Variation in numbers to accommodate the extra places, but both requests have been refused. While the department is operating within the policy, they are not looking at this from a local and common sense perspective. Without an Education Minister in place, there is nobody willing to make a sensible decision in support of local families from Bangor." Ulster Unionist MLA Alan Chambers said he is seeking a meeting with the department's permanent secretary. He has questioned why Bangor Academy was refused its extension request when two other local schools were granted temporary variations. Alliance MLA Stephen Farry added: "This is an unprecedented mismatch in terms of the supply and demand of post-primary places." Across Northern Ireland, around 300 P7 children have not yet been placed at a secondary school. On Friday, the Education Authority said that when the post primary admissions process concluded on May 18, 22,371 (98.62%) children had been placed, while 1.38% remained unplaced, adding that it is working with families and schools to resolve the issue. "There were approximately 1,000 more children seeking post primary places for September 2018 than was the case for September 2017 which led, in some areas, to an increased demand for places in certain schools," a spokesperson said. The Department of Education said: "There are always a number of unplaced children at the end of the post primary admissions process, however, this year there are higher than usual numbers. "DE will continue to work with the EA in analysing the impact of this year's process and approving additional places where they are needed. DE appreciates the uncertainty and disappointment for some pupils and parents and hopes this can be alleviated in the coming weeks." A 29-year-old Northern Ireland man was jailed on Tuesday for stabbing his grandmother in the chest with a kitchen knife whilst "off his head on drink and drugs." William Cuthbert, whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry, was handed a 28-month sentence after he admitted wounding his grandmother in their east Belfast home. He will serve an additional two years on licence after being deemed as dangerous. Belfast Crown Court heard that during the attack, the elderly victim - who was sleeping when she was attacked - said "Please Willy, don't hurt me." She sustained a laceration to her lung, as well as a defensive wound to her arm, as a result of the stabbing. Despite attending hospital and allowing police to access her medical records, the injured pensioner did not make a complaint against her grandson, and did not co-operate for a Victim Impact Report. Outlining the Crown case, prosecution barrister Kate McKay said police were called to Trillick Court on June 22 last year following a report that a woman had been stabbed in the chest. Ms McKay said the caller - a granddaughter of the woman stabbed - told police her granny had been sleeping in the living room when she sustained a stab wound to her chest. The caller also said her grandfather "came into the living room and saw the defendant standing over his grandmother with a steak knife in his hand, with blood dripping from it." The grandfather recognised the knife came from his kitchen, and an ambulance was called. The elderly victim was treated for a puncture wound to her left breast which lacerated her lung, and also a defensive wound to her arm. The court heard that during Cuthbert's arrest, the PSNI's Armed Support Unit was called in to assist. Ms McKay said that prior to the stabbing, police had seen Cuthbert in the street, were concerned for his well-being as he seemed to be under the influence or drink and/or drugs and had brought him back to the home he shared with his grandparents. During police interviews, Cuthbert gave a 'no comment' response. He was also deemed to be dangerous, and to pose a significant risk of reoffending, by the Probation Board. Telling the court Cuthbert had a relevant criminal record, Mr McKay said: "There seems to be no motive, there was no bad feeling between him and his grandmother. The trigger is whatever he was under the influence of." Defence barrister Denis Boyd said his client's attack on his grandmother was "not a pre-planned or well thought out attack ... it was something that was committed under the influence of drink and drugs. He was simply off his head on drink and drugs and doesn't know what he was doing. He couldn't remember anything, in fact." Mr Boyd said Cuthbert was "absolutely devastated" by what he did - especially as he was brought up by his grandparents after suffered "appalling abuse as a child". This abuse, Mr Boyd said, resulted in Cuthbert being diagnosed with a range of mental health issues. Saying his client had expressed genuine remorse, the defence barrister also revealed that whilst in remand Cuthbert has been attending programmes to tackle his addiction issues. Judge McFarland handed Cuthbert a 28-month sentence, and as he been deemed dangerous he will not automatically be released on licence after serving 14 months, as it will be up to the Paroles Commission whether or not he is deemed eligible for release after serving half of his sentence. Once Cuthbert has completed both the custody and licence element of his 28-month sentence, he will spend an additional two years on licence. Victims of IRA terrorism in Great Britain and Northern Ireland have called for the UK Government to support a bill which aims to secure compensation from assets linked to dead Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The private members bill - introduced by Lord Reg Empey, Andrew Rosindell MP and Jim Fitzpatrick MP- seeks to secure a percentage of Gaddafi's assets which are frozen in the UK and are estimated to be worth 12 billion. Gaddafis government provided the IRA with weaponry and financial assistance during the Troubles. The Asset Freezing Bill will receive its 2nd Reading in the House of Commons on June 15, 2018. IRA victims injured in the UK who held US passports have already received substantial compensation from Gaffafi, as have victims from France and Germany. Victims from Northern Ireland injured during the IRAs campaign of terrorism have now visited the Docklands Victims Association to discuss the bill. The London Docklands IRA attack on February 9, 1996, killed two people and injured more than 100. Jonathan Ganesh, president of the DVA, was severely injured in the attack. We are very happy today to welcome victims from Northern Ireland to our DVA centre, he said. We have tremendous sympathy with all those in Northern Ireland, who suffered due to this appalling terrorist conflict. Jonathan Ganesh, DVA president "I feel that resolving this outstanding injustice will bring closure to victims of this conflict and bring hope to all humanity. How can it be right victims of other countries can be acknowledged for their suffering whilst UK and Irish victims are worthless. Joe Holbeach was severely injured in Enniskillen when the IRA attacked a Remembrance Day service on November 8, 1987. He said: I hope all Stormont will get behind the victims and families bill especially those in the DUP. I struggle ever day with what happened. It is not fair how all the victims and the families have been treated. Susanne Dodds' father, who was an inspector in the Metropolitan Police, was killed in the Harrods IRA attack on December 17, 1983. She said: [I am] very pleased with all the MPs from all political parties who have courageously supported us. "This has touched my heart as I know all those left disabled will be grateful, as would my poor brave dad would have been. "I now call upon the DUP in Northern Ireland, who are working with the government in coalition, they must do all they can to ensure that our bill goes through and is not blocked by the Government again. Isan Bashir, whose brother Inam was killed in the Docklands attack, said: If the UK government refused to support this bill their acts will confirm they do not truly care about victims of terror. "But I shall never fail to remember all those brave parliamentarians in the Houses of Lords and Commons who made a stand for all those who were too ill to fight for themselves. May Allah bless them as they care for those in need and fight injustice. East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson said: It is vital that this issue continues to be raised and the government recognise that it will not go away. There is a glaring inequality that needs to be addressed. "Despite the limitations of the Private Members Bill process, this will at least allow the issue to be aired once again in the House of Commons. The report from the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee published last May, on which I and DUP colleagues sat, was clear about the need for a fresh approach from government. "It is time that victims in the UK were adequately compensated in the same way the US government pursued compensation for their citizens. Secretary of State Karen Bradley meets UFU deputy president David Brown (right) and border farmer Kevin McManus (second right), along with his sons Damien (left) and Aidan (centre) and Aidans fiancee, Claire Crawford The Northern Ireland Secretary has been told to quit dithering and restart power-sharing talks by an influential committee of MPs. The NI Affairs Committee at Westminster said Karen Bradley should increase the tempo of ministerial decision making and urged her to bring forward proposals for progress before the summer recess. The warning came as Ms Bradley yesterday promised to seek the best Brexit deal for Northern Ireland after meetings with businesses about the Irish border. Committee chairman Dr Andrew Murrison said: "Karen Bradley is right to make restoring power-sharing devolved government in Stormont her first priority. However, while the political impasse continues the list of policy obstructions and project delays grows and becomes more serious." Civil servants have taken over day-to-day running of public services. But a Belfast High Court judgment earlier this month blocked an incinerator plan because a senior civil servant did not have the power to approve the planning application. Dr Murrison added: "This month's High Court judgment means inactivity in ministerial decision making, which to date has been perfectly understandable, is fast becoming untenable." And UUP leader Robin Swann said: "The Government cannot continue to dither as they attempt to spare the blushes of some parties here. While local politicians should be the ones making decisions on behalf of local people, the UK Government has a responsibility to the people of Northern Ireland too." Ms Bradley, who was recently criticised for the lack of time she spends in Northern Ireland, yesterday 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 year's withdrawal from the EU. 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." 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. A campaign group has called for an investigation into allegations surrounding cross-border adoptions at a home run by nuns in Northern Ireland. The claims centre on the Marianvale mother and baby home in Co Down, which operated between 1955 and 1984. A BBC documentary to be broadcast tonight alleges that some adoptions were not voluntary, and has uncovered evidence that proper procedures may not have been followed. This includes changes details on official documents including birth certificates. File On 4: The Lost Children Of Marianvale, to be aired on Radio 4, conducted an analysis of the home's baptism book after being contacted by campaigner Eunan Duffy. He came forward after the programme broadcast a separate investigation last year into the treatment of children at Smyllum Park orphanage in Scotland. The analysis of the ledger held at St Peter and St Paul Church in Bessbrook, south Armagh, contained details of more than 800 babies born to Marianvale women and revealed extensive movement of babies and women across state borders. At least 25 babies were shown to have left Northern Ireland, going mostly to families in the Republic, but at least two went to the USA. The ledger also shows that at least 120 women came from outside Northern Ireland to the home in Marianvale, from as far away as Fife, London, Plymouth and Manchester. Patrick Corrigan from Amnesty International said the evidence required full investigation. "There was a movement of women and babies between the different institutions," he said. "This now cries out for a thorough, independent investigation and I think what will certainly need to happen is that there is a strong cross-border, cross jurisdictional dimension to any investigation into what happened in Northern Ireland." When contacted by the programme, The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, said: "We utterly reject any suggestion that illegal adoptions were conducted from Marianvale. "All adoptions were conducted strictly in accordance with the legislation, which then applied. Some women did not proceed with adoption, as was originally planned, and with the support of families, took their babies home." Karen Trimnell, a 49-year-old English teacher in New York, believes she is among those affected. Her mother travelled to Marianvale and gave birth at a nearby hospital. She believes she was moved from Northern Ireland to the Republic, where she was cared for by another Catholic order, before being adopted by a couple from Texas in the USA. Karen passed on documents to the programme that charted her early life, revealing she was issued with a birth certificate in Northern Ireland which correctly recorded all the details of her birth. She also handed over another birth certificate which had been generated for her in the Republic which contains different information, including changing her date and place of birth as well as listing her future adopted parents as her natural parents. It is not clear who was responsible for submitting this information to the register. Karen's birth was then registered for a third time when she arrived in the USA. She told File on 4 she is concerned that proper procedures may not have been followed to facilitate an adoption for a couple who were becoming too old to adopt in America. The BBC has also seen the adoption consent form signed by Karen's birth mother which agreed she could be taken into the care of a Catholic adoption organisation in the Republic. This document appears to have been signed after the birth certificate in the Republic had been created. At the time when Marianvale was operating, a baby could only be moved from Northern Ireland to the Republic following a court order or with the express consent of the mother. Signing a child over to the care of someone else didn't automatically allow the movement of that baby across borders. Toni Maguire, an archaeologist and anthropologist with extensive experience of researching documents from the Catholic Church, believes Karen may have been taken to the Republic before her mother had consented to it. "If you are taking a baby from one country basically to another country, I would call it trafficking," she said. "If you then are giving that child or allowing that child to be adopted, how do we deal with that?" The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd said they are cooperating with an academic research project commissioned by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland which is examining mother and baby homes here. File On 4: The Lost Children Of Marianvale will be broadcast tonight at 8pm on BBC Radio 4 A 'backstop' option keeping the UK aligned with the EU's 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 year's withdrawal. The backstop would mean the UK matching EU customs duties to avoid checks on goods passing between Northern Ireland and the Republic. A joint statement by Sinn Fein, the SDLP, Alliance and Green Party said 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." Unionist parties, including the DUP, whose 10 pro-Brexit MPs are propping up Theresa May's Government, and the UUP did not sign the declaration. Mrs May's 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 four Northern Ireland political parties' statement added that they "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." The parties said "this week sees us entering into another crucial stage in the Brexit negotiations". "All of the outstanding issues relating to the withdrawal agreement will be considered in relation to Northern Ireland/Ireland and the future relationship," they added. "In relation to the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, Theresa May has agreed that a backstop solution for the border will form part of the legal text of the withdrawal agreement, and that this backstop would apply, unless and until, another solution is found. Time is of the essence as we approach the European Council meeting next month." There has been dismay among committed supporters of EU withdrawal at reports that Theresa May's Brexit war cabinet has discussed a plan under which the whole of Britain would observe EU external tariffs until the practical arrangements are in place to keep the Irish border open. There are fears in the Leave camp that UK involvement in EU structures beyond the conclusion of the transition period in December 2020 may end up being indefinitely extended. Facing a backlash from pro-Brexit cabinet ministers, the Prime Minister yesterday sought to dismiss fears that the backstop 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 it's intended not to be implemented, but it's 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. Speaking 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. "I'm 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. Speaking during a visit in Cheshire, Mrs May 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." A review of the decision not to bring criminal charges against former police officers implicated in a loyalist paramilitary killing must be carried out by a senior barrister from outside Northern Ireland, the victim's father demanded today. Raymond McCord insisted he would have no confidence in the process being undertaken by a representative from within the jurisdiction. The Belfast man is taking High Court action against the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for failing to charge ex-Special Branch officers allegedly connected to the failure to prevent his son's murder. Raymond McCord Jnr, 22, was beaten to death before his body was dumped in a quarry on the northern outskirts of the city in November 1997. The killing was at the centre of an explosive report by former Police Ombusdman Nuala O'Loan which found collusion between a north Belfast UVF gang and their Special Branch handlers. Earlier this year Gary Haggarty, a former commander of the terror unit-turned supergrass, was jailed after confessing to hundreds of paramilitary offences. His catalogue of crime extended over 16 years, from 1991 to 2007, and included five murders - but not that of Mr McCord Jnr. The 46-year-old pleaded guilty as part of a controversial state deal that offered a reduced sentence in return for providing evidence on other terror suspects. His prison term was slashed from 35 years to six-and-a-half years due to the assistance provided to police. Due to time served on remand Haggarty has since been released from prison and put into witness protection. Under the terms of the agreement he supplied information on scores of loyalist killings and attempted murders. Despite Haggarty implicating 16 people in serious crime, only one man currently faces prosecution for murder using his evidence. Former Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory announced last year that his claims alone were insufficient to prove allegations made against the other suspects. Mr McCord then issued judicial review proceedings against the PPS for failing to review the decision not to bring charges against former police officers implicated in the alleged failure to prevent his son's murder. His lawyers claimed the position was unlawful, unfair and "deprecated" the weight which could be given to Haggarty's evidence and his general credibility. Last month counsel for the PPS confirmed that a review of the decision not to prosecute the former police officers will now be carried out. But after the case was mentioned again today Mr McCord was adamant that completely independent counsel must be involved - similar to a process undertaken over the 2005 murder of Catholic schoolboy Thomas Devlin in north Belfast. "It has to be carried out by a senior counsel from outside this jurisdiction," he said. "I won't accept anything else, and if that's not the case the fight will go on." A paramedic suffered injuries to his head, arms and body at the weekend in one of three serious attacks on Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) staff. The man, who has worked for NIAS for more than 40 years, was assaulted outside a hospital emergency department. His attacker was restrained by security staff until the PSNI arrived and is now subject to investigation. Two out of three assaults on staff at the weekend required the victims to have hospital treatment. A spokesman for the NIAS said there are more than 400 assaults on staff each year - more than one a day. In addition to the frontline workers coming under attack, there has also been a number of incidents recently where call handlers have faced verbal abuse. On Friday night, two emergency medical dispatchers and a duty control manager experienced "serious and unacceptable verbal abuse" in three phone calls. The Ambulance Service said further action may be taken in these cases. NIAS chief executive Michael Bloomfield said he was "deeply concerned about the frequency and level of ongoing abuse and assaults towards our highly committed and professional staff". He said: "A survey published last week by the Department of Health in which almost 7,000 patients commented on their experience from arriving at hospital until they left showed that 98% of patients said ambulance staff behaved in a polite and courteous manner, and the same number (98%) said ambulance staff showed them care and compassion. "The vast majority of patients value our staff for the excellent work they do. However, regrettably a small number do not show them the same level of courtesy. "This is unacceptable and NIAS believe that anyone found guilty of attacks on our staff should face the full rigour of the law. "I wish our staff who were injured in these incidents a full and speedy recovery." Mr Bloomfield added: "Ambulance staff work in a very challenging environment and respond with professionalism to every call they are sent to, providing a high level of care to people at some of their most distressing and vulnerable times. "Unfortunately, when incidents such as these occur the level of ambulance cover is reduced and patients who need our service may wait longer, sometimes for life-threatening treatment. I therefore call on the public's support and that of public representatives in helping us bring these assaults to an end." An NIAS spokesman added his condemnation and said the assaults were "totally unacceptable". He said: "NIAS has a zero tolerance policy in relation to these assaults. Our staff should not be subject to such behaviour, especially while they are providing care to patients. "The vast majority of these incidents are not reported in the media, but that does not make them any less concerning." Work is to restart on Ulster Universitys new 250m Belfast campus Plans are under way to resume building work on Ulster University's new 250m Belfast campus "as soon as possible". Phase two of the major city centre scheme, a joint venture between international firm Somague and Lagan Construction Group, ground to a halt in February. It came after four companies within the Lagan Construction Group went into administration. Work stopped at the campus and accountancy firm KPMG was appointed as administrator for Lagan Construction Group Holdings, Lagan Construction Group, Lagan Building Contractors and Lagan Water. While the first stage of the site is already completed, phase two, a 150m development of two new blocks on York Street, remains unfinished. Now, almost three months after work ceased, an agreement has been reached to enable work to restart. In a joint statement, Ulster University and Somague said: "After a period of detailed discussions, Ulster University and Somague can confirm that an agreement has now been reached with the Administrator of Lagan Construction, which enables payments to be made to subcontractors. "Somague has confirmed plans are under way to resume building works on site as soon as possible. Ulster University and Somague will continue to work together in partnership to deliver the iconic new campus development." However, it was not revealed when the project would be completed and open to students. The university had said that construction work would finish in 2019, with a full teaching term starting in 2020. However, in January it was reported that completion of the work could be delayed until 2022. Administrator KPMG declined to comment. Former UUP Employment and Learning Minister Sir Reg Empey, who signed off on funding for the campus in 2010, said he was "delighted" work could now progress, but feared the delay would incur additional expense. "I think everyone will be glad to see the project move forward, but I hope that the costs related to the delay don't upset the economic plan for the whole site," he said. "If Somague are taking on the whole of the contract part-way through, is that incurring more expenses? "I was horrified when the whole thing stopped and it fell way behind. "Also, has any damage been done to the buildings during the period where they have been idle, such as weather damage? If so, they will need to do repair work to the infrastructure." Sir Reg added that there could be a "knock-on effect" in terms of when the campus would be ready to admit students. "The positive is that it is running again and the redevelopment of that whole area is under way," he said. Alliance MLA Stephen Farry, also a former Minister for Employment and Learning, described the recommencement of work as "very encouraging news". "The Belfast campus scheme is critically important, not just for the future of higher education here, but for the regeneration of the city and the economy of Northern Ireland," he said. "It's a critical component in making sure our society stays competitive. "It is also good news for the subcontractors and for our construction industry. The pause has been frustrating, but it seems the scheme is now on its way to completion." The Rev Dr Colin Morris - a former president of the Methodist Conference and ex-BBC head of religious broadcasting, as well as controller of BBC Northern Ireland from 1987 to 1991 - has died aged 89. Rev Roy Cooper, a former president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, said: "Dr Morris preached with integrity and spoke truth to power. In his passing the world has lost a fearless proclaimer of the good news, through his writings and preachings." Rev Canon Gareth Powell, secretary of the Methodist Conference, said: "In Colin, Methodism was faithfully and passionately represented, but more than that, the Gospel was proclaimed with integrity." Dr Morris was born into a mining family in a village near Bolton in 1929. After ordination he served with the Methodist Church in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). He became a close friend of the then leader of Zambia, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, and was involved with the formation of the United Church there. Back in the UK he held top posts in British Methodism, and eventually became general secretary of the overseas division. He was president of the Methodist Conference from 1976-77. Dr Morris was a gifted writer and speaker, and a regular broadcaster with the BBC. In 1978 he became head of BBC television religious programmes, later an adviser to the director-general, and latterly controller of BBC Northern Ireland. From 1991-96 he was director of the Centre for Religious Communication in Oxford. Most of his published work reflected his experience as a missionary in Africa and as an ordained minister working as a professional broadcaster. Rosemary Kelly, a former senior staff member with BBC Northern Ireland, worked closely with Dr Morris. "He had many happy memories of his time in Zambia where he enjoyed a lasting friendship with our own rugby hero Jack Kyle. He told me of how he would look forward to going to Jack's house on a Wednesday evening where they would eat an Ulster fry and watch High Chaparral on television," she said. "He was very much a child of his upbringing in an English mining village. He would speak with emotion about the hard work of his mother toiling over a washboard and sink to wash the household sheets, and then her distress if the wind was in a certain direction because they would be covered in coal dust. "Colin also had a great lightness of touch and a warm, infectious sense of humour - often against himself. "He never properly got his head around our geography, though he flew extensively across Africa as a pilot when he lived in Zambia. "He was one of the good guys. Full of integrity and wisdom, but with a great appetite for fun." Relatives of republican and loyalist murder victims have said Northern Ireland's former Director of Public Prosecutions was wrong to demand an end to prosecutions in Troubles-related murders. Breege Quinn, whose son Paul was beaten to death by the IRA in a border farm in 2007, and Anne Morgan, whose brother Seamus was disappeared by the INLA in 1985, said the option of prosecutions should remain open. Raymond McCord, whose son Raymond jnr was killed by the Mount Vernon UVF in 1997, also said he was totally opposed to any suggestion that a line be drawn in the sand regarding past murders. "I take issue with the whole idea of calling them legacy cases. These are not just historical issues, they are relevant to our community today. Paramilitaries unfortunately are still very much active," he said. In an interview with the BBC last Friday, Mr McGrory said the majority of cases to be looked at by the new Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) "would not end in successful convictions". He said: "Time cannot be wound back, so the quality of the evidence will still be very poor. "There will be few convictions and in respect of those convictions, people will not be serving sentences commensurate with what they have been convicted for. "Is that really justice? Because justice suggests to me that there will be an efficient criminal process that will throw up convictions in a reasonable number of cases and that those convicted will serve sentences commensurate with the crime they have been convicted of committing." Mrs Quinn said: "The opportunity to access justice is a fundamental human right that all victims must have. I would oppose any change to deny others that." And Ms Morgan said: "I personally have no interest in seeing those who killed my brother arrested, charged and convicted. "But many other victims don't feel like that and they have a right to prosecutions if the evidence exists." Mr McCord said: "Barra McGrory couldn't be more wrong on this. Everybody has a right to justice." The three victims were speaking at a conference at Queen's University yesterday held to hear victims' stories. Organiser Professor John Barry said: "There is great academic work carried out on this subject within this university but it is also very important that the voices of victims themselves are heard within our walls." The panel also included Sunday Life journalist Ciaran Barnes and Sunday World Northern Editor Richard Sullivan. Mr Barnes spoke for the first time about being told of a UDA threat against his life last month. He said he would not be intimidated from doing his job but that such threats were hard on his wife and family. "I have had to move house in the past. I've had my name and phone number written on walls. I've had my car registration and address published online," he said. Bangor community worker Aaron McMahon, who was beaten with hammers by the UDA in 2015, accused the PSNI of doing nothing to ensure his safety. "The only protection for me has been from the media," he said. "The mantra from the police is 'Keep Communities Safe'. Well they didn't keep me safe." Mr Sullivan said he had a "healthy disrespect for the political, security and justice establishment" and accused them all of letting down victims. He said any immunity for security force personnel would be wrong as members of state organisations must be subject to high levels of scrutiny and accountability. A delegation of five leaders from across the EU is set to visit the border on Wednesday (Ben Birchall/PA) Lack of clarity on the future relationship between the UK and the EU has left the majority of European regions unable to properly assess the potential impact of Brexit, a senior European politician has said. European committee of the regions president Karl-Heinz Lambertz said the majority of local authorities had yet to formulate firm plans to cope with potential lost trade, tourism and other ties with the UK. The head of the advisory body for regions across the EU-28 told an Irish parliamentary committee that the regional impact would be felt not only in Ireland and Northern Ireland but also other smaller European countries. There will be no winners from this process, Mr Lambertz said. With Irish Minister for European Affairs in Dublin: we need to more together to assess & mitigate against impact of #Brexit on #EUregions & cities #EUbudget pic.twitter.com/Ma7xmpWwFb Apostolos Tzitzikostas (@CoR_President) May 22, 2018 He said the UKs withdrawal was already affecting Europes cities and regions. A delegation of five leaders from across the EU is set to visit the border on Wednesday. They include leaders from Belgium, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands. Mr Lambertz told an Oireachtas committee on EU affairs that the EU had made considerable efforts to help stabilise the political and social situation in Northern Ireland, and would be most concerned about jeopardising what had been achieved. When asked to choose between hard or soft borders, I would go for a transparent one, Mr Lambertz said. The European committee of regions recently called for an operational solution to be devised in due time to avoid a hard border. Getting the @EU_CoR band back together! Great to have local politicians from across Europe into the @OireachtasNews EU Affairs Ctte to discuss #Brexit pic.twitter.com/tvNf4ORExn Neale Richmond (@nealerichmond) May 22, 2018 Committee chairman Michael Healy-Rae welcomed the European committees commitment that the Good Friday Agreement would not to be jeopardised by the Brexit process. Senator Neale Richmond said it was very hard to help businesses prepare for Brexit when the EU and the UK were in the midst of negotiations. He said Ireland would be impacted more than any other region in the European Union. And the region that will be most impacted will be the border region, the Senate spokesman for EU affairs said. Any form of a border, any form, particularly a hard border, will result in a return to violence, he said. Not maybe, not could, will. Former Irish taoiseach John Bruton said Brexit talks had highlighted failings in the UK's understanding of the EU (Brian Lawless/PA) An English misunderstanding of how the European Union actually works is at the root of many problems besetting the Brexit negotiations, a former Irish premier has said. John Bruton told a conference in London that UK negotiators were failing to appreciate the rigid rules and guidelines within which the EU side had to operate due to the treaties that underpin it. He said a lack of a written constitution in the UK meant its politicians had a tendency to blame issues in talks on the personalities on the EU side, when in fact the lack of flexibility is down to how the European Union is structured. English public opinion, as indeed the English political elite, are only learning about what the EU is as they are leaving it John Bruton Former taoiseach Mr Bruton was addressing the Brexit And The Island Of Ireland event, organised by the UK in a Changing Europe research body. The EU is a rules-based organisation with a common system for making, interpreting and enforcing a single set of rules and the UK has instead looked at it as a sort of traditional power-based international organisation where the rules werent really as important as having influence on the important countries, he said afterwards. The UK is still thinking that it can ignore the Europe Commission and go to the capitals to get things fixed, which just isnt the way it works. Expand Close The UK is leaving the EU (Victoria Jones/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The UK is leaving the EU (Victoria Jones/PA) The EU is a body which essentially has a written constitution, which is the treaties, and they are interpreted not by the politicians, but by the court. So the European Union can only make an agreement with the UK as a departing member which is consistent with its written constitution and this is sort of something with which English people are unfamiliar because they havent had a written constitution. He added: English public opinion, as indeed the English political elite, are only learning about what the EU is as they are leaving it. Its only as they leave, because of the process of leaving, they are having to discover what it is they have left or are about to leave. It explains why they are inclined to personalise things, this is very common around English debate, they personalise it around (Jean-Claude) Juncker or (Michel) Barnier or Leo Varadkar when in fact its not really personal, its rules its rules that are causing the issue. Ireland goes to the polls on Friday for a referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment of the Irish constitution which restricts access to abortion. Here are the answers to some key questions on the issue. What is the Eighth Amendment? It is a clause in the constitution which was written after a previous referendum on the issue in 1983 recognised the right to life of the unborn child. It protects the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn and effectively prohibits abortion in most cases. Among its supporters are the Catholic church, which remains a strong presence in Ireland, though diminished from its heyday. Young people are amongst the most enthusiastic proponents of repeal. Irish woman who travelled for an abortion: Abortion is not cool. Choosing to have an abortion does not feel liberating or empowering. Abortion should not be encouraged by a slogan on a jumper https://t.co/CcUazuhgOl #8thref #8thAmendment LoveBoth (Official) (@lovebothireland) May 22, 2018 What effect has it had? In 1992, women were officially given the right to travel abroad, mostly to the UK, to obtain terminations. Pro-repeal campaigners said almost 170,000 have done so. The Irish Governments deputy premier, Tanaiste Simon Coveney, has argued that effectively left Britain deciding the law for Irish women around the procedure and it was time to take back control in Ireland. Expand Close Ireland abortion laws PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ireland abortion laws What about the women who stay in Ireland? The campaign to liberalise abortion gathered momentum after an Indian dentist, Savita Halappanavar, died in hospital in Galway aged 31 when she was refused an abortion during a miscarriage. Her husband, Praveen Halappanavar, said she repeatedly asked for a termination but was refused because there was a foetal heartbeat. Health service reviewers later identified failings in her care. Did anything change? In 2013 legislation was amended to allow terminations under certain tightly restricted circumstances the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act. When doctors felt a womans life was at risk due to complications from the pregnancy, or from suicide, they were permitted to carry out an abortion. It followed a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that terminations were permitted where the mothers life was at risk. That regime has prompted uncertainty, proponents of repeal said, with the medical profession facing possible prosecution and up to 14 years imprisonment if they wrongfully carry out an abortion. Was that concession enough for those seeking liberalisation? Not according to the women who were still travelling to the UK in their droves for procedures. Among them were Amanda Mellet and her husband James, who took their case to the UNs Human Rights Committee. The Committee called for reform to give women greater rights and said the ban on abortion caused cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In 2016, for the first time in its history, the Irish State compensated a woman, Mrs Mellet, for the trauma caused by forcing her to travel to Britain for an abortion. What approach did the Government adopt? It established a public advisory body, a Citizens Assembly, which recommended introduction of unrestricted access to abortion. Because of the Eighth Amendment, a public poll was needed before new laws could be passed, and earlier this year the countrys Housing Minister, Eoghan Murphy, set the date for the abortion referendum as Friday May 25. The Government has published draft legislation to be introduced if the amendment is repealed which would allow relatively free abortions, subject to consultation with a medical professional and after a short waiting period, up to 12 weeks after gestation and up to 24 weeks with restrictions. If, after 12 weeks, a womans life is threatened or there could be serious harm to her health two doctors will consider whether to allow the procedure. Terminations will not be carried out after the foetus becomes viable, following 24 weeks of pregnancy. Members of the Filipino community hold a vigil yesterday for Jastine at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in Dublin Gardai in the Pucks Castle area near Dublin during the search for Jastine Valdez The suspect in the abduction and murder of a young student in Dublin left a note detailing where he had dumped her body after killing her. Father-of-two Mark Hennessy, the only suspect in the murder of Jastine Valdez (24), was shot dead on Sunday night after being confronted by an armed garda detective. It followed a two-day manhunt for the married man and the Nissan SUV he used in the abduction of Ms Valdez. Despite the suspect in her disappearance being located and killed, it was not until shortly after 3pm yesterday afternoon that gardai managed to find the body of Ms Valdez. It has now emerged that the murder suspect left a note, in which he told gardai he had dumped the Filipino woman's remains in the Puck's Castle Lane area of Rathmichael in south Dublin. Gardai are also investigating reports that Hennessy was socialising in a pub in the Ballybrack area on Saturday night. It is believed he went drinking just hours after the abduction of Ms Valdez. Following a massive search operation, Ms Valdez's body was found in gorse in Rathmichael, almost 48 hours after being abducted. Gardai have not yet established a connection between Hennesey and Ms Valdez, and investigators at this stage believe that the abduction was a random attack. Witnesses, including a 12-year-boy, reported a woman being punched by a male and then forced into a black Nissan Qashqai along the Kilcroney Road, Enniskerry at 6.15pm on Saturday. Later that evening the family of Ms Valdez reported her missing. A number of appeals were issued on Sunday, and a garda manhunt resulted in Hennesey being located at a car park in Cherrywood, south Dublin. It is understood that the murder suspect was self-harming and attempted to attack a garda, before he was shot by a detective. He was struck in the arm and head, and was pronounced dead at the scene. It can also be revealed that Hennessy appeared in court just last week to face a number of charges relating to drink driving and leaving the scene of an accident. This related to an incident in Bray in September of last year, when he crashed into another motorist. However, he had other convictions dating back to his early 20s, including possessing cannabis, threatening and abusive behaviour and being drunk and disorderly. Leaders of the Pro-Remain parties in Northern Ireland, (left to right) Naomi Long from the Alliance Party, Colm Eastwood from the SDLP, Michelle ONeill from Sinn Fein and Steven Agnew from the Green Party (Niall Carson/PA) Pro-Remain parties in Northern Ireland have come together to insist that the Brexiteer Democratic Unionists do not represent the majority view in the region. In a rare move, leaders of Sinn Fein, the SDLP, the Alliance Party and Green Party presented a united front at Stormont in calling for the UK to remain in the EUs single market and customs union structures post-Brexit. They believe that is the only way to avoid the re-emergence of a hard border on the island of Ireland post-Brexit. Representing 49 out of the crisis-hit Assemblys 90 seats, in a region where 56% voted Remain in the EU referendum, the party leaders claimed the UK Government was not paying heed to the majority view, and instead indulging its Brexiteer confidence and supply partners at Westminster, the DUP. Sinn Fein vice president and Stormont leader Michelle ONeill said the EU negotiators needed to hear loud and clear that people in the region wanted to remain within European structures. Its important that we share this platform on the issue of Brexit because the majority of people voted here on a cross-community basis to remain within the EU, that is the position which we are true to, she said. For my part the DUP dont speak for people in the north, so it is important that we come together, those who share a common view in terms of the implications of Brexit, who share a common view in terms of what needs to happen next. Joint platform with the SDLP, Alliance Party and the Green Party. Each party has a strong mandate representing the cross community vote to remain within the EU. Single market & Customs Union access is essential for jobs, prosperity, trade and investment. https://t.co/CcveHOyN7H Michelle ONeill (@moneillsf) May 22, 2018 SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the parties were not adopting a political position, rather a sensible one. He claimed elements of the DUP were also warming to the idea of continued alignment with the EU in terms of customs and single market rules. Its absolutely clear we are all from different political parties, from different perspectives, he told the cross-party event at Parliament Buildings in Belfast. But on this issue its important that as many of us as possible stand together to make it very, very clear to both the British Government but also to the European Commission that we cannot countenance a hard border in Ireland equally we do not want to see a hard border or any kind of border down the Irish sea. What we want to see is open access for business and communities to travel and do business across the European continent. The issue of #Brexit will not just affect unionists or nationalists or others but will impact every single person in Northern Ireland, says Alliance Leader @naomi_long as she follows up todays Joint Statement between parties on the EU exit. pic.twitter.com/8tCXUed8PM Alliance Party (@allianceparty) May 22, 2018 Alliance leader Naomi Long insisted the issue was not one that could be divided along traditional green or orange lines, despite the absence of a unionist in the multi-party gathering. The issue of Brexit is not one which will only affect nationalists or only affect unionists it will affect every single person who lives in this region and many who live outside but who rely on this region for trade and investment, she said. Mrs Long said the Government was not hearing the majority opinion. They are only hearing the most extreme voices in terms of Brexit, that is not a healthy democratic situation, she added. I wish we were here (in a functioning devolved Assembly) able to have these debates and discussions because I think what the Assembly would be saying at this time is much more in line with the joint statement which we have issued today. Green Party NI leader Steven Agnew said: The people of Northern Ireland voted to Remain and their voices are not being adequately represented, thats why we have come together today to do just that. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) Neither of the main unionist parties were involved in the joint initiative. The DUP campaigned for Brexit and while the Ulster Unionists advocated a Remain vote, the party has since committed to the implementation of the June 2016 vote to Leave. Prime Minister Theresa May favours a customs partnership arrangement to avoid a hard border, whereby the UK would collect tariffs on behalf of the EU. 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. Last December, the UK and EU agreed the need for a backstop option that would ensure no return of a hard border in Ireland through an alignment of regulations across the island even if a wider Brexit trade deal failed to materialise. The UK rejected a subsequent attempt by the EU to translate that agreement into legally operable text in a proposed withdrawal treaty. A political stand-off has ensued over the vexed issue. The four pro-Remain parties at Stormont insisted the backstop was an essential bottom line to safeguard stability on the island. DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds insisted Northern Ireland could not be treated differently to the rest of the UK. The joint statement from the four parties is silent about the catastrophic damage that would be done to Northern Ireland if we were to be separated economically from our main market, i.e. the rest of the UK, he said. It is devoid of reality since even the Labour Party has made clear that the UK is leaving the single market and cannot stay in the customs union. And it is politically ironic since its main author, Sinn Fein, calls for it to be heard while it simultaneously prevents the formation of the executive, the recall of the Assembly, and actually boycotts Westminster where the main decisions are being discussed and decided. UUP leader Robin Swann claimed the proposed backstop would lead to a border in the Irish Sea a move he said would undermine the terms of the Good Friday peace agreement. The Prime Minister made a commitment that she would not agree to anything that threatened the constitutional integrity of the UK, he said. We will be expecting a robust response from her team as the next crucial round of negotiations gets under way. Theresa May must get on with it and take Britain out of the European customs union as fast as is reasonably possible, Boris Johnson has said. The Foreign Secretarys warning came as fellow Cabinet Brexiteer Michael Gove cautioned that a proposed backstop arrangement to keep the UK in the customs union after Brexit should last no longer than weeks or months. Meanwhile, Tory backbench Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg delivered a scathing verdict on the plan, accusing the Government of being prepared to kowtow to Brussels. The leader of the influential European Research Group said the approach adopted to Brexit talks was a sign of abject weakness. Rather than preparing for failure, the Prime Minister should be getting Britain ready for withdrawal from the EU without a deal if its demands are not met, he said. Expand Close Tory backbench Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg delivered a scathing verdict on the plan (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tory backbench Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg delivered a scathing verdict on the plan (Stefan Rousseau/PA) The backstop proposal, which has yet to be formally set out, is intended as an alternative to the European Commissions plan for Northern Ireland to remain aligned with the EU if no other solution is found to keep the Irish border open. Despite assurances it will be time-limited, the plan has sparked concern in the Leave camp that a temporary arrangement may be allowed to become permanent. Mr Johnson urged Leave backers on Monday to give Mrs May time and space to deliver the Brexit she has promised, telling them there was no need to fear betrayal. But in an interview on Tuesday, he left no doubt he wants the UK to quit the customs union as soon as possible. During a visit to Argentina, the Foreign Secretary told Bloomberg TV: The Prime Minister is the custodian of the plan, which is to come out of the customs union, out of the single market and to get on with it, to get on with that project with all convenient speed, and that is what we are going to do. I think its important for people to have a sense of when its going to happen and to be able to do it as fast as is reasonably possible. Expand Close Public opinion of Government's Brexit negotiations (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Public opinion of Government's Brexit negotiations (PA Graphics) Spelling out a detailed list of requirements from any deal, Mr Johnson added: The Prime Minister has made it absolutely clear that we are coming out of the customs union and were coming out of the single market and what is entailed by those promises is very precise. It means we take back control of our tariff schedules, we set our own tariffs, we run our own commercial policy. It means we are able to do things differently if we choose, when it comes to our regulatory framework. Thats very, very important. Otherwise, youre not taking control of your laws, youre not taking back control of your borders. In a sign of the unease among Tory Eurosceptics, Mr Rees-Mogg issued a strongly worded message to the Prime Minister, urging her to stand up to EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. For the Government to be preparing for failure two and a half years before the point at which they ought to be ready is just weak, he said in his Conservative Home podcast. The Government should prepare for success and if they find shortly beforehand that they need a fallback position that is when it should be drawn up. To go into the negotiations, to say to Mr Barnier we will kowtow before you in every way you possibly want if we cannot get everything ready by the due date, encourages him to say oh well, just kowtow, Im quite happy, and make no effort to come to a sensible agreement. I think it is a sign of abject weakness. Expand Close Michael Gove PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Gove Mr Gove stressed the backstop could not become a permanent solution. Pressed on how long the time limit would be, Mr Gove told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: It means what it says on the tin. That temporary means not permanent. It means for a short period of time. The very nature of a backstop, everyone agrees, is that it should be a temporary infill to bridge the position. In the same way as when you move house, a bridging loan is meant to be temporary, but, whether thats weeks or months, we dont know precisely. Expand Close Countdown to leaving the EU (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Countdown to leaving the EU (PA Graphics) Responding to Mr Rees-Moggs criticism, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said: We are making progress on securing a future relationship with the EU which will be in our interests and in the interests of the European Union. I would point you to the Prime Ministers words on a number of occasions. We are absolutely determined to take back control of our borders, our money and our laws and we are making good progress in doing so. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has publicly called for Jeremy Corbyn to allow members to stand for election here. However, it is not yet clear if Mr Corbyn will even meet Labour NI on his first visit here as party leader, which starts on Thursday. Labour has traditionally not run election candidates in Northern Ireland due to its reluctance to compete against sister party the SDLP. The issue is currently subject to an internal party review which is expected to report to the party's National Executive Council (NEC) later this year. Labour NI has run candidates here in the past; however its constitution has a clause stating that it will disband once Labour lifts the ban on contesting elections in Northern Ireland. Labour NI spokesman Boyd Black last night said that local members hope to meet Mr Corbyn at some point during his two-day visit, but have not received confirmation of whether they will get that opportunity. He said the chief issue they want to raise with Mr Corbyn is their wish to run Labour candidates in Northern Ireland elections. Mr Black said, while the decision will be made by the NEC rather than Mr Corbyn, they would like to secure his support. In a statement, Labour NI welcomed the planned visit of Mr Corbyn to Northern Ireland, which they described as "particularly important at a time of uncertainty around the implications of Brexit". The statement went on to say that the Labour Party NI "continues to strive to develop anti-sectarian politics and to that end looks forward to Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party soon granting our members here the right to contest elections". "The undemocratic suppression of our right to engage in Labour Party electoral politics can be sustained no longer," Labour NI said in the statement. "People here badly need a Labour government and must have the opportunity to vote for Labour Party candidates as a progressive alternative to communal sectarianism." Mr Corbyn's planned visit has already caused controversy, with unionists challenging him to condemn IRA violence before he arrives. Marcio and Andreia Gomes, the parents of victim Logan Gomes arrive for the opening day of the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry 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 blaze's 72 victims are taking place before Sir Martin Moore-Bick's 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 I'm very grateful to have had a chance to see and hear them." 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 infant's 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 he's 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 Neda's 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 family's "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 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 each birthday, Christmas and New Year's 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. Ken Livingstone has resigned from the Labour Party, saying the allegations against him of anti-Semitism had become a "distraction". In a 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 that some of his comments had caused offence within the Jewish community, for which he was "truly sorry". 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 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 Jeremy's policies. I am therefore, with great sadness, leaving the Labour Party." In response, Mr Corbyn said: "Ken Livingstone's 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 Livingstone's 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 Ken's 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". 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." 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 party's ruling national executive committee had been planning to raise his case again when it meets on Tuesday. "I just didn't see any point in this rumbling on and on," he told the BBC. Former PM Tony Blair said he had not been aware of the controversy while in power (Kirsty O'Connor/PA) Tony Blairs non-apology to Abdul Hakim Belhaj over his rendition to Libya has been attacked by the dissidents lawyer. The former prime minister stopped short of offering a personal apology to Mr Belhaj and his wife Fatima Boudchar as Mr Blair rejected claims that he had an ambivalent attitude to torture while in power. In a landmark move, Prime Minister Theresa May apologised to the couple after they said MI6 was involved in their rendition to Libya in 2004. Mrs May said the pair had suffered appalling treatment, and Ms Boudchar, who was pregnant at the time, accepted a 500,000 payout. Expand Close Libyan politician Abdel Hakim Belhaj (Cori Crider/Reprieve/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Libyan politician Abdel Hakim Belhaj (Cori Crider/Reprieve/PA) Mr Belhaj says he was tortured during his six-year imprisonment in Libya. Ms Boudchar was also detained, but was released shortly before giving birth. Lawyer for the pair, Cori Crider, said Mr Blairs stance raised more questions over the controversy. Mr Belhaj said: I think the people of Britain have the good sense not to get distracted by spin in my case. To me, this just shows how sensible the current Prime Minister and Attorney General were to do the honourable thing and apologise. Mr Blair, who stood down as PM in 2007, said he had not been aware of the controversy while in power, telling BBC Radio 4s Today programme: I have gone along with what the Governments done, which is issue the apology, I didnt actually know myself about this case until after I left office. Expand Close Fatima Boudchar outside the Houses of Parliament (Kirsty O'Connor/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fatima Boudchar outside the Houses of Parliament (Kirsty O'Connor/PA) Pressed on whether he would give a personal apology to the couple, Mr Blair said: Of course Im sorry for any mistreatment thats been given to people. How on earth would you ever justify that? The former PM said: And, by the way, let me make one thing clear because sometimes people say, you know, I was sort of ambivalent on the use of torture I have always been wholly and 100% in all circumstances opposed to the use of torture. Mr Blair added: This case wasnt brought to my attention, but theres a lot of things in this case, some of which have been out in the media, some of which have not. Ms Crider called for a public inquiry, stating that the ex-PM needed to answer questions about his dealings with then Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi. Mr Blairs non-apology to Mr Belhaj and his wife raised more questions than it answered, she said. His hug with Gaddafi happened just two weeks after Belhaj and his wife were delivered to Tripoli, and two days before MI6 helped abduct another entire family for the Libyan dictator. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair says he is "content" to go along with the government's apology to Libyan dissident Abdel Hakim Belhaj and his wife Fatima Boudchar, who were victims of a rendition operation mounted with the help of MI6 #r4today pic.twitter.com/EZOCV2xgym BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) May 22, 2018 Perhaps Mr Blair would like to publish the five requests Gaddafi made to him directly in a letter in October 2003 as they sought to strike a deal. Are we meant to believe the dictator never mentioned the stray dogs he hated so much? Both Reprieve and Scotland Yard amassed a mountain of evidence about this case. If the British public want the whole truth and nothing but the truth, lets have a full public inquiry and be done with it. Tory former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind has led calls for a parliamentary inquiry into what involvement Mr Blair, and senior ministers at the time, had in the incident. Labour MPs have warned the resignation of Ken Livingstone from the party must not mark the end of moves to tackle anti-Semitism in its ranks. The former London mayor announced on Monday he was quitting Labour, saying the allegations against him of anti-Semitism had become a distraction for the party. His old ally Jeremy Corbyn said he was sad to see him go but it was the right thing do do. But among MPs who have led the campaign against anti-Semitism many of them critics of Mr Corbyns leadership there was anger and frustration that Mr Livingstone would escape formal expulsion proceedings. 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 Mr Livingstone risked further antagonising his critics by suggesting he could even apply to rejoin the party if the left broke the grip of the right which, he said, still dominated the partys disciplinary machinery. 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. Backbencher Wes Streeting, who has been at the forefront of the campaign against anti-Semitism in Labour, said there must be no way back for the former mayor. 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, he said. 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 Fellow MP Ruth Smeeth, however, said the party should have acted years ago to remove Mr Livingstone following a series of alleged anti-Semitic incidents. Ken Livingstones behaviour has been grossly offensive to British Jews, she said. 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. 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. 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 Mr Livingstone was originally suspended in 2016 after claiming in a radio interview that Hitler had supported Zionism in the 1930s. Anti-Semitism campaigners had been demanding Mr Livingstones 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 court if necessary. In his statement on Monday, Mr Livingstone continued to protest his innocence although he acknowledged some of his comments had caused offence within the Jewish community for which he said he was truly sorry. 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, he said. 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. A teenager accused of plotting an Alice in Wonderland-inspired terror attack was drawn to Syria after suffering ninja, umbrella and postbox jibes over her Islamic dress, a court heard. Safaa Boular allegedly decided on a grenade and gun ambush at the British Museum after her Islamic State fiance Naweed Hussain was killed before she could join him. Last April, she passed the baton to her sister Rizlaine, 22, after she was charged with planning to travel to IS territory for terrorism, the Old Bailey has heard. The sisters allegedly discussed the attack on London in coded conversation about an Alice In Wonderland-themed Mad Hatters tea party with cupcakes and cucumber sandwiches. Expand Close Rizlaine Boular has admitted planning a knife attack on London (Metropolitan Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rizlaine Boular has admitted planning a knife attack on London (Metropolitan Police/PA) But defence lawyer Joel Bennathan QC has told jurors Boular, then aged 17, was groomed by IS fighter Hussain and her family encouraged it. Giving evidence, Boular, who is of Moroccan descent, told jurors how she has broken out of her isolated Islamic upbringing since being in prison. She said: When I was out I was pretty much isolated so everything I knew was Islam and nothing but Islam. Since I have had the chance to speak to people I would not normally speak to boys, people of different faiths, people of different cultures Im picking up morals and beliefs from other people. The defendant, who no longer considers herself to be religious, told how she first came into contact with an IS recruiter on Twitter to challenge her about the Paris terror attacks. Expand Close Safaa Boular, then aged 17, was 'groomed' by IS fighter Naweed Hussain, left, her defence lawyer said (Metropolitan Police/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Safaa Boular, then aged 17, was 'groomed' by IS fighter Naweed Hussain, left, her defence lawyer said (Metropolitan Police/PA) She said: I did not know she was a recruiter for Islamic State. I thought she was a radical jihadi woman. She persuaded me about Hijra (migration) to Islamic land to Syria. She said the recruiter told her Syria was a very nice place to live, contrary to what she had seen on TV. On her reasons for wanting to get away from Britain, Boular said: I was covered up. I faced a lot of discrimination. A lot of people called me names in the street ninja, umbrella and postbox but out there all the women are the same. Expand Close A selfie of a hand believed to be that of Safaa Boular, outside Vauxhall Cross Station (Metropolitan Police/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A selfie of a hand believed to be that of Safaa Boular, outside Vauxhall Cross Station (Metropolitan Police/PA) She went on: She said I would be married. At the time I was reading a lot of romantic stories. For me, I wanted to be married and have a romantic relationship. Boular told jurors her main influences at the time were her big sister and the recruiter, adding she got used to watching gruesome beheading videos. She appeared in the witness box wearing a smart black cardigan, top and leggings, rather than full Islamic dress. Mr Bennathan said: The last time we heard what you looked like in the prosecution case about a year ago when you have just turned 17, you were wearing a full covered Islamic dress. We see you now standing before us. Have you changed over the last year? Expand Close Mina Dich, 44, has pleaded guilty to assisting her daughter Rizlaine Boular (Metropolitan Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mina Dich, 44, has pleaded guilty to assisting her daughter Rizlaine Boular (Metropolitan Police/PA) Boular replied: Yes, I have. On the videos of guns and killings, she said: Seeing these videos again it struck a few strings and I started crying because I could not believe these were the videos I used to watch before. By August 2016, Boular was exchanging lovey-dovey online chat with a prospective jihadi husband in Syria. She also had surreal discussions with Hussain about strapping on his-and-her suicide belts. Hussain told her they would go to paradise together, depart the world holding hands, the court heard. Mr Bennathan asked: Whats he talking about in terms of belts? Boular said: Hes talking about a theoretical situation whereby there is obviously fighting going on in Syria. If my house got raided and I was at risk of torture or rape, then I would have to detonate myself. She told jurors it seemed a bit surreal at the time. She said: I did not really think about the conversation. I was just talking. I enjoyed having Naweeds company. Mr Bennathan asked: What proportion of your chats with him would be about explosions and weapons and stuff and what proportion would be about how much you loved each other? Boular replied: It would be less than 1%. Most of it was lovey-dovey, my trip to Syria and marrying him. Rizlaine Boular, of Clerkenwell, central London, has admitted planning a knife attack on London and mother Mina Dich, 44, has pleaded guilty to assisting her. Safaa Boular, now 18, who lived at home with her mother in Vauxhall, south-west London, has denied two counts of preparing acts of terrorism. Two hen harriers have disappeared in suspicious circumstances, prompting an appeal by police and conservationists. The birds, named Saorsa and Finn, were fitted with satellite tags allowing experts to follow them. Saorsa was tagged at a nest in Ross-shire in June 2017 which suddenly stopped transmissions in the Angus glens on February 16. Data from the device showed she had been in the area since November 2017 but experts say she has not been seen or heard from since. A spokesman for Balnagown estate, near Tain in Sutherland, said: Saorsa hatched and fledged from Balnagown estate, and it was an honour and privilege to be able to follow her progress. Saorsas loss is deeply felt by all concerned as we strive hard to assist with conservation and protection of our wonderful wildlife. Finn was tagged on a nest in Northumberland in July 2016 and showed movements into southern Scotland until March 25 when transmissions stopped in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway. Duncan Orr-Ewing, RSPB Scotlands head of species and land management, said: The sudden disappearance of these protected rare birds shows that current legislation is not sufficient. We believe the introduction and enforcement of licensing of driven grouse shooting is now vital to help protect the hen harrier, as well as asserting other public interests in the way large areas of our upland landscapes are managed both sustainably and within the law. A spokesman for the Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: As an organisation, there are very few full-time gamekeepers in the Moffat area for us to make inquiries. The loss of tag transmission in Angus, like the tag in Moffat, merits further, independent, investigation. There has been a commitment in Angus over the last few years to changing past reputations. The high numbers of raptors on local moors are proof of that and the first harrier breeding attempt for some time, last year, in the region was a sign of progress. Anyone with information on the incidents has been asked to contact Police Scotland on 101. Sainsbury's staff are being moved on to new contracts (John Stillwell/PA) Theresa May has come under pressure to intervene in a dispute between Sainsburys and its shop floor workers over the supermarkets plans to overhaul staff contracts. A group of high profile MPs has written to the Prime Minister, urging her to face down the grocery chains chief executive Mike Coupe and force him to ensure that no staff will face a pay cut. Sainsburys is scrapping paid breaks and premium pay on Sunday for thousands of staff. While the supermarket is simultaneously increasing basic pay, it is thought that 13,000 workers will lose out to the tune of 3,000 per year as a result of the changes. Penned by Labours Siobhain McDonagh MP and backed by the likes of Labours David Lammy, Frank Field and shadow business secretary Rebecca Long Bailey, and Tory Robert Halfon, the letter describes Sainsburys actions as deplorable. We are dismayed that a company of Sainsbury's reputation would use an increase in basic pay as a smokescreen for a whole array of deplorable decisionsLetter to Theresa May The letter, seen by the Press Association, reads: We are completely dismayed that a company of Sainsburys reputation would use an increase in basic pay as a smokescreen for a whole array of deplorable decisions that will hit hardest their most dedicated, loyal and long-term staff. Under the proposed changes, all employees will lose their paid breaks, there will be widespread cuts to premium pay including a shortening of nightshift premium hours and a scrapping of Sunday premium pay, and shop floor staff will no longer receive bonuses. However, the scrapping of the bonus scheme will not affect the CEO, Mike Coupe, or his fellow management team. The letter has received the support of around 100 MPs and represents a major test for Mrs May, who last year backtracked on a promise to put company workers on boards. We dont believe that this letter accurately reflects how the vast majority of our colleagues are feelingSimon Roberts, Sainsbury's Simon Roberts, retail and operations director for Sainsburys, said: We dont believe that this letter accurately reflects how the vast majority of our colleagues are feeling. We have conducted meaningful consultation with around 100 colleague representatives and have made a number of changes to our original proposals based on their feedback. It is extremely disappointing that our plans to make Sainsburys colleagues the best-paid in retail are being deliberately misrepresented to such a degree and we would be happy to set the record straight. In Prime Ministers Questions last week, Ms May was asked whether she saw the contract changes as an insult. Mrs May said she would look at the issue, but that these are commercial decisions that are taken by the employer and by Sainsburys. 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 (Natalie Oxford/PA) A wife who died seven months after the Grenfell Tower fire and an opera worker who always had a smile on her face are the latest victims to be commemorated at the Grenfell Inquiry. Tributes were paid to 74-year-old Maria del Pilar Burton, widely considered to be the 72nd victim of the June 14 blaze, and Deborah Lamprell, 45, who died in the fire. Also remembered was Rania Ibrahim, 31, who live-streamed her final moments from the top floor of the tower where she was trapped with her young daughters. Mrs Burtons health deteriorated badly following the blaze, her husband of 34 years, Nicholas Burton, said. Expand Close The commemoration heard about more victims of the blaze on June 14 last year (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The commemoration heard about more victims of the blaze on June 14 last year (Jonathan Brady/PA) Also known as Pily, she was diagnosed with dementia in 2015 and suffered great distress after her home was incinerated on June 14 last year. Mr Burton remembered his wife with warmth and humour on the second day of the inquiry, but said the fire had changed everything. He told the hearing at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in South Kensington: The trauma had a terrible effect on Pilys dementia. She was very distressed. Mr Burton too was forced to undergo life-saving surgery in the wake of the fire due to an enlarged heart. His wifes condition had worsened by the time he emerged and she suffered a stroke in January. She never recovered, and died on January 29. He said: She was a unique, beautiful, exceptional person until this tragedy had taken it away. It took away her dignity and everything we had in this world. And let me tell you, no matter what indiginities my wife had to suffer, my Pily was perfect. Ms Lamprell, known as Debbie, was described by her mother Miriam as a happy and fulfilled woman who loved being around people. In a statement read out by Ms Lamprells Opera Holland Park colleague, Michael Volpe, she spoke of her guilt at encouraging her daughter to move into a council block where she thought she would be safe. I went to bed and I got up in the morning and I didn't have a daughter.Miriam Lamprell The night she died, Ms Lamprell sent a text to say she was safe at home, her mother said, which read: Ive got in, mum, alls well, goodnight, god bless. She continued: I thought thats OK, shes safe. I went to bed and I got up in the morning and I didnt have a daughter. She added: I am bereft without her. If she had died a normal death I would have been able to hold her and comfort her and say goodbye, but I feel a part of me has been ripped out. Nothing seems worth it any more. The sister of Ms Ibrahim, Rasha Ibrahim, told the hearing of her desperation to understand why her sister and her daughters, Hania Hassan, three, and Fethia Hassan, four, had died. Following the fire came a cruel time of false hope and rumours and months of uncertainty before Ms Ibrahim and her children were identified and buried. In a statement read to the inquiry, she said: To this day, the questions remain in my mind and plague me about what exactly happened it is very important for me to take part in this process of questioning, to find out the truth. Expand Close Rania Ibrahim lived on the top floor of the tower (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rania Ibrahim lived on the top floor of the tower (Jonathan Brady/PA) It is so important for me to understand how I have lost Rania, my beloved sister, while my children, who are still so young, have lost their little cousins I cannot lay them to rest yet. Opening Tuesdays session, Bernard Richmond QC pointed out there were counsellors wearing NHS T-shirts or green and orange scarves flanking the room if people needed support. Tributes to further victims will continue to be heard as the day progresses. The inquiry is expected to observe a minute of silence in memory of the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena bombing on the first anniversary of the atrocity when it reconvenes in the afternoon. The commemorative hearings began on Monday morning with a 72-second silence as a mark of respect to those who died in the fire. Harrowing tributes were heard for a stillborn baby who died after his mother escaped the blaze, and a beloved father who was a hero and role model. The hearings are taking place at the South Kensington hotel as it is closer to the Grenfell community. The rest of phase one of the inquiry will take place at Holborn Bars in central London, where several procedural hearings have already taken place. People enjoying the hot weather on Brighton beach during the last bank holiday (Steve Parsons/PA) Britain is set to bake again this bank holiday weekend with temperatures rocketing to 30C (86F). Meteorologists at the Met Office say areas in the south east of England could be double the usual temperature for this time of year, with the mercury hitting near-record levels on bank holiday Monday. The average temperature for this time of year is 15C (59F), said a Met Office spokesman. Currently, temperatures are averaging 20C (68F) and are only going to get warmer this weekend, they added. Looking ahead through to the weekend: High pressure Plenty of warm and dry weather ...but a risk of thundery downpours pic.twitter.com/zxFm3fyEmf Met Office (@metoffice) May 22, 2018 The Met Office spokesman said: The maximum temperature ever for the end of May bank holiday is 32.8C (91F), which came in Horsham, Sussex, on May 29 1944. They added the record was not likely to be beaten this weekend. On Saturday, temperatures in the south will be in the mid-20s, with London expecting to be around 25C (77F), while across the rest of the country itll be slightly cooler, in the low 20s. With wind coming from the North East, Scotland is set to sit around the 18 degree mark at the start of the weekend. Expand Close Britons enjoyed the hottest early bank holiday weekend on record earlier this month (Yui Mok/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Britons enjoyed the hottest early bank holiday weekend on record earlier this month (Yui Mok/PA) In Birmingham the heat will build from 18C (64F) on Friday to 26 (78.8F) on bank holiday Monday, while in Newcastle they will start around 14 degrees (57F), rising to 20 (68F). There is a risk of thunderstorms in the build-up to bank holiday Monday, with the south east and south west most likely to be hit. The effect would be lower temperatures later on over the weekend. A German court has rejected a request from prosecutors to take former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont back into custody pending a decision on whether he is to be extradited to Spain. Puigdemont was detained by German police on March 25 after crossing the border from Denmark. Spain had issued a European Arrest warrant and was seeking his extradition on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds charges that stem from an unauthorised referendum last year on Catalonias independence from Spain. Puigdemont was released on April 6 after a court said it appeared he cannot be extradited for rebellion. But prosecutors in Schleswig said on Tuesday that new information provided by Spanish authorities suggests that would be possible, and called for Puigdemont to be rearrested. A state court in the northern town rejected the request. The attack on a paramedic at the weekend is further evidence of the unwarranted violence directed at ambulance staff by some members of the public The attack on a paramedic at the weekend is further evidence of the unwarranted violence directed at ambulance staff by some members of the public. The man, who has worked for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service for more than 40 years, was attacked outside a hospital. He suffered injuries to his head, arms and body. There were three attacks on staff last weekend, and two people required hospital treatment. It is deeply disturbing to be told by a spokesman for the Ambulance Service that there are over 400 assaults on staff each year, which is more than one a day. The physical abuse is bad enough, but last Friday evening, two emergency medical dispatchers and one duty control manager were abused on the phone. It beggars belief that some people treat ambulance paramedics and their background support staff in this way. These are the first people to whom we turn when we need medical help, and there is a great sense of relief when they respond, and bring with them reassurance and comfort. People in need of medical help are already suffering stress, and it is unthinkable that the work of the ambulance staff can be made more difficult by the loutish minority who attack them physically and verbally. It is important, however, to keep these examples of bad behaviour in a proper context. A survey published last week by the Department of Health revealed that 98 per cent of the 7,000 patients questioned said that ambulance staff behaved in a polite and courteous manner. The same number also confirmed that the ambulance staff also showed them care and compassion. However, there is no excuse for the minority of people who treat ambulance crews and their support staff badly. The NIAS chief executive, Michael Bloomfield, has pointed out that when nasty incidents occur, the level of ambulance cover is reduced, and members of the public may need to wait longer for help. There is no doubt that the vast majority of people will respond positively to his appeal for their support in trying to bring such assaults to an end. It is incumbent on everyone to support the Ambulance Service in dealing with unsocial behaviour. There really must be zero tolerance of such attacks, and stiffer penalties should he handed down to those found guilty of such appalling acts. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Almost 37 years ago, at the wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles, the faintest ripple of scandal circled around Frances Shand Kydd, the bride's mother, known unkindly as 'the Bolter'. Shand Kydd had walked out on her husband, Earl Spencer, lost custody of her children and shown apparently no regard for duty, that cornerstone of the Windsor raison d'etre. Shand Kydd's grandmother had been a bolter before her, of course, and was said to have been the inspiration for Nancy Mitford's character bearing the same nasty nickname. There was bolter blood there, but the royals could bear it. This was, after all, the wedding of the century, a fairy tale match between a young girl with stars in her eyes and a not-so-handsome prince. And bolters? Well, the aristos had always had their share of bolters. Bolters they could comprehend. Bolters were small potatoes compared to the roller coaster of soap opera that marked the run-up to Saturday's marriage of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. As if it weren't enough that the bride is American and mixed-race and an actress, she brought with her a family to put even the most outrageous aristocrats in the shade. And the carry-on of them wasn't to be controlled by pronouncements on protocol, or dire warnings about dereliction of duty. Sure, it had proved relatively easy to get Meghan to shut down all of her social media and her lifestyle website once the engagement to Harry was announced. But the extended Markles were not to be controlled. Quite the opposite. Last week, as Meghan and Harry should have been cruising in to the final straight of wedding preparations, every glowing snap of them going to and from Windsor was overshadowed by what was going on with her clan. The one-way slanging match with Meghan Markle's half-sister, Samantha, has been bubbling on since even before the royal romance went public. Samantha and Meghan have the same father, Tom, but different mothers. Allegedly, when Tom married Doria, Meghan's mother, Samantha called her 'the maid', because she is black. Seventeen years older, Samantha has always been jealous of - and mean to - Meghan, it is reported. And if you need proof, maybe it's in how she hasn't a good word to say about her. Apparently, they haven't spoken in more than a decade, but that hasn't stopped Samantha, who has written a book called My Sister Princess Pushy. Samantha has seldom been off American telly since the wedding plans began, but things came to a head last week, as the drama with Meghan's Mexico-based father unfolded. While Samantha's social-climber accusations have done Meghan no harm at all, the fairly foolish carry-on of her father has taken the polish off somewhat. First, there were the embarrassing pictures of him at an internet cafe, seeming to google his daughter as means of finding out how the wedding plans were going. It tugged at the modern-day heartstrings. Sort of. Then it was revealed that Tom Markle had posed for the photos, had arrived at the internet cafe with the photographer and was in cahoots not just for these photos, but others, too. Then, he was suddenly sick; too sick to travel to the UK to give Meghan away. That seemed like an excuse born out of mortification, until it was confirmed that Tom Markle was undergoing heart surgery and would not be able to come to Windsor and walk his daughter up the aisle. Last Friday, it was confirmed that Prince Charles would give Meghan away to Harry. And they all lived happily ever after. Doria, Meghan's mother, arrived in London and had tea with the Queen. She also met Charles and Camilla. Meghan's Suits co-stars arrived in the UK for the big day. Meghan and Harry were photographed doing the last bits and bobs, waving from the back of a car as they headed off to spend the night in separate hotels. Back in America, Samantha Markle was allegedly involved in a car crash that she blamed on the paparazzi. There were reports that Meghan had successfully begged her ex not to give a TV interview. The whole thing flip-flopped between quite the glam affair to being a catalogue of embarrassments. And we all kept watching. That's what you do with soap operas, right? And nothing the Windsors have ever rolled out for us before came close to this. After all, with Meghan, there's this notion that she's doing it for all of us. And not just the royal-lovers, but the begrudgers, as well. For those with even a shred of affection for the Windsors, there is a rosy glow around the motherless Harry, who has been so open about his grief and anger after Diana, finally finding happiness. We were all watching, whether we like ourselves for it or not. We might have watched just in order to see how the toffs dealt with a girl from a non-aristo broken home, with siblings who hate her, an ex-husband of her own and a colourful former love life, but we still watched. Meghan proved magnetic, but that darned family of hers seems on a mission to mess it up for her. Then again, perhaps that adds to her appeal for us ordinary folk. If this were a TV drama she were starring in, the audience would find Meghan a worthy character to root for. The path to St George's Chapel in Windsor was sometimes rocky, but the pitfalls and pratfalls may turn out to be to the advantage of the newly married Meghan and Harry. We are rooting for them, because, maybe, what the Windsors have needed is not just a so-called commoner like Kate for us to root for, but someone like Meghan, whose relatively messy background makes modern sense. Bolters seem quaint compared with staged pap shots and mean-spirited sisters. But welcome to the new Windsor fairy tale, where they're no longer the stars of the show. Bangladesh has started distributing cooking gas cylinders to Rohingya refugees in response to scientists warnings that an environmental disaster could engulf camps where about 1 million people have been sheltering and using firewood from nearby forests for fuel, officials said Monday. Forest denudation in Coxs Bazar, a southeastern district that borders Myanmar, was an indirect consequence of a brutal military crackdown launched in the neighboring country last August, according to scientists and environmental conservationists. The Rohingya completely depend on firewood for cooking, Habibul Kabir Chowdhury, chief of the Rohingya section at the ministry of disaster management, told BenarNews. Since last month, we have started providing them gas cylinders, he said. In the first phase, we have targeted to provide cylinders to 11,000 families. After deadly attacks on police outposts by Rohingya insurgents in Rakhine state, Myanmar security forces mounted counter-offensives that drove about 700,000 Rohingya to flee to safety in Bangladesh. Another 300,000 Rohingya, most of them undocumented, have also been living in Coxs Bazar after fleeing earlier bouts of conflict in northern Rakhine. The rate of the unprecedented refugee influx created an environmental crisis in Bangladeshs border district because of the Rohingyas dependency on firewood for cooking, officials said. Refugees have cut down trees and stripped away 1,650 hectares of forest land, according to the nations forestry department. What used to be lush forest hills in Coxs Bazar has been replaced by denuded mounds pockmarked with blue tarpaulin sheets on top of makeshift shelters, environmental activists said. The government projects first phase is continuing and, depending on its impact, the second phase will involve thousands of families receiving gas cylinders, Chowdhury said. He said the Indian government had shown interest in providing kerosene and stoves for the refugees. But we cannot accept the offer at this moment. This is because they want to give us loose kerosene. We do not have any depot near the refugee camps, he said, explaining that distributing kerosene in congested refugee camps could be a difficult and dangerous task. Danesh Mian, director of Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science at Chittagong University, told reporters in October 2017 that clearing forest and hills for firewood and settlements in Coxs Bazar could threaten bio-diversity and spawn landslides during the monsoon season. We fear rare animals such as the Asian elephant might get extinct, he said. Refugees burn more than 1 million pounds of wood daily Environmental activists applauded Dhakas move to distribute gas cylinders to the refugees, explaining that the Rohingya were burning at least one-half million kilograms (more than 1 million pounds) of dry wood daily. Mohammad Abul Kalam, Bangladeshs refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, told BenarNews that the international NGO Caritas had been providing funds for supplying gas cylinders to the refugees. With support from other agencies, the UNHCR has been thinking of providing gas cylinders to several thousands of families in the second phase, Kalam said, referring to the U.N.s refugee agency. We cannot save forests in Ukhia, Teknaf and neighboring areas if we cannot provide alternative fuel, he said. A Rohingya woman sells firewood at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, April 11, 2018. [Kamran Reza Chowdhury/BenarNews] A BenarNews correspondent who visited a Rohingya camp last month saw massive deforestation in Ukhia and Teknaf areas in Coxs Bazar and the neighboring Bandarban district. Hundreds of Rohingya leave the camps in the mornings to cut down trees in the forest, returning around midday with bundles of firewood. Because of a huge demand for cooking fuel, makeshift shops have mushroomed at every corner of the refugee camps. Shah Alam, who lives at the Kutupalong refugee camp, told BenarNews that his seven-member family would consume at least five kilograms (11 pounds) of firewood every day to cook food. I have to spend 150 taka (about U.S. $2) every day if I buy firewood. So, we just go to the forest to gather it, he said. Another refugee, Mahmudul Islam, said each Rohingya man would chop off trees every day, a chore that could take at least five hours. Asked why he chopped down the whole tree, instead of merely cutting its branches for firewood, Islam replied: If I do not cut it, some other people will. As of October 2017, forest resources valued at about 1.5 billion Bangladeshi taka (U.S. $18 million) had been destroyed to accommodate the latest influx of refugees, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Farid Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, a joint initiative of the Bangladesh and the U.S. governments, told BenarNews that the Coxs Bazar area had many special trees, such as Dhakijam, Chapalish, Gorjon and Gamari. Alarmed by the forest denudation, the United Nations issued warnings in February that flash floods from monsoonal rains could wash away fragile shelters in congested camps in Coxs Bazar, threatening about 100,000 refugees. Since the arrival of the Rohingya, many forest lands in Ukhia and Teknaf have been destroyed, Ahmed said. The refugees have been cutting big trees for firewood, but the harsh truth is they have no other option. If a family burns five kilograms of dry wood per day, 100,000 families will burn half a million kilograms of dried wood, he said. How long we can protect the forest in the region if cutting of trees goes on in this scale? Defendant Iman Santoso shakes hands with his lawyer at the West Jakarta District Court after receiving a four-year prison sentence, May 22, 2018. A West Jakarta district court sentenced an Islamic State (IS) sympathizer Tuesday to four years in prison after finding him guilty of influencing, recruiting and facilitating the travel to Syria of the militant groups supporters. After hearing the verdict, Iman Santoso smiled, shook hands with the judges, the court clerk and his lawyer, and said he was delighted to receive a relatively light prison sentence. The defendant Iman Santoso (alias Abu Umar bin Kosasih Bakri), has been proven legitimately and convincingly guilty of committing a crime of terrorism, said the presiding judge, Sarjiman, who uses only one name. Along with the sentence, the court ordered Iman to pay a fine of 50 million rupiah (about U.S. $3,540), with a provision that if he fails to pay, he will be required to serve an extra four months behind bars. The verdict was lighter than the seven-year prison term sought by prosecutors. Indonesia, the worlds largest Muslim-majority nation of 262 million people, has imprisoned hundreds of suspected extremists since bombings killed 202 people and injured hundreds more on Bali island 16 years ago. Influencing family members Iman had influenced the decision of his brother-in-law Dwi Djoko Wiwoho, 50, to leave Indonesia with his family in 2015 to join IS in Syria, according to court documents. Prosecutors said they believe Iman also facilitated the travel. Djoko, a former high-ranking civil servant from Batam, an Indonesian island about 12 miles (18 km) from Singapore, went to Syria with his wife, their three children, his mother-in-law who died in Syria from an illness, his other brother-in-law, Heru Kurnia, and Iman. The family linked up with 19 other people who also left for Syria on Aug. 1, 2015, prosecutors said. Djoko and his family were among 18 Indonesians who turned up at a refugee camp near Raqqa in June 2017, telling reporters they had been enticed to Syria two years earlier by the promise of a prosperous life with the IS. The 18 were sent back to Indonesia in August 2017 and attended a rehabilitation program organized by the Indonesian National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT). Djoko and Heru Kurnia face similar charges in separate ongoing trials in the same courthouse. During his hearing in March, prosecutors alleged that Djoko trained with IS fighters in Syria and accused him of having a role in funding the international militant group. The defendant sold his house on July 2015 for 500 million rupiah (U.S. $36,372) and used part of that money to go to Syria, prosecutor Jaya Siahaan said at that time. After five days, the defendant stopped training because he didnt want to be a soldier and only wanted to be a regular civilian who supports IS, the prosecutor said. But the defendants action violated the anti-terrorism law. Djoko could face life in prison if convicted. Spate of IS-inspired attacks Imans sentencing took place days after a spate of IS-inspired militant attacks in West Java and East Java killed 45 people, including 27 suspects. Those attacks, between May 8 and May 16, included suicide bombings carried out by three families, accompanied by their young children who targeted churches and police in Surabaya, Indonesias second-largest city. Iman received a lighter verdict for good behavior during his detention and after repenting, prosecutors said. The important thing is you, brother, really repent and will not repeat your wrongdoing, Sarjiman said. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (second from left), arrives at his office in Putrajaya for the first time since the May 9 election to speak to civil servants, May 21, 2018. Updated at 5:20 p.m. ET on 2018-05-21 Malaysias probe into the corruption scandal that helped topple its last government gained momentum Monday with the formation of a task force on the matter and ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak preparing to report to the anti-graft agency for questioning. Just hours before he was to appear before the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to answer questions about alleged graft linked to the 1MDB state fund, Najib hired a new legal team, according to media reports and one of his lawyers who had been speaking to the media on his behalf. Mahathir Mohamad, the new prime minister, said the task force would meet for the first time Tuesday and investigate crimes committed in relation to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which Najib founded in 2009 as a sovereign wealth fund to support economic development in the country. Mahathir announced the task forces formation the same day that Malaysias king, Sultan Muhammad V, presided over an oath-taking ceremony for 13 ministers in the prime ministers cabinet during an evening ceremony at the National Palace. They were sworn in 11 days after the Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition defeated Najibs Barisan Nasional coalition in a historic general election. It is hoped that the task force will help reclaim some of the countrys dignity which has been severely tarnished by the scandal and will return cash and assets belonging to the Malaysian people, Mahathir said in a statement issued Monday night. He said the task force would also cooperate with its counterparts in the United States, Switzerland, Singapore, Canada and other countries as needed. It has been mandated to take full responsibility over all aspects including investigations, tracing the movement of funds and the seizure of assets obtained from wrong-doing and embezzlement of 1MDB funds kept or laundered within and outside Malaysia, Mahathir said in a statement issued Monday night. Najib, who also held the portfolio of finance minister during his time in office, has been summoned to appear before MACC at its headquarters in Putrajaya. He is to be questioned specifically on SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. The probe into SRC International is in addition to the discovery of about 2.6 billion ringgit (U.S. $681 million) from 1MDB in two personal bank accounts belonging to Najib. In 2015, a separate investigation into the 1MDB scandal ended after Najib terminated then-Attorney General Gani Patail who apparently was preparing a charge sheet to prosecute the prime minister. Ganis replacement, Apandi Ali, who was handpicked by Najib, cleared the PM from any wrongdoing in connection with 1MDB in January 2016, bringing the investigation to an end. Last week, the new government put Apandi on leave. Gani is a member of the new task force, along with a former MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed, who was also dismissed by Najib while looking into the 1MDB affair. The other two members of the task force are former Royal Malaysia Police Special Branch Deputy Director Abdul Hamid Bador and current MACC chief Mohd Shukri Abdull. The U.S. Department of Justice has described the 1MDB affair as the worst kleptocracy scandal in recent times, pointing to more than U.S. $4.5 billion being stolen from the fund since its inception in 2009. Najib has denied any criminal wrongdoing, saying the money deposited into his bank accounts was a donation from a Saudi royal. Over the weekend, while visiting his home state of Pahang, Najib reiterated his earlier claim. I did not steal money from the people, Reuters quoted him as saying. A police raid last week at private properties in Kuala Lumpur linked to Najib resulted in the seizure of luxury items including designer handbags, watches and cash. In separate raids at Najibs apartments and offices that lasted more than a day, police said they had seized 284 boxes of high-priced designer handbags and 72 suitcases containing cash, jewelry and other luxury items. Amar Singh Ishar Singh, director of the national polices Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), confirmed that the searches were tied to the 1MDB case. In a statement through his lawyer following the search, Najib described the items as donations and gifts and insisted that the raids were meant to harass him. Najib shakes up legal team On Monday, Najib overhauled his legal team, according to attorney Harpal Singh Grewal, who had been serving as a spokesman for the former PM. Harpal confirmed media reports about the shake-up. News portal Malaysia Decides reported Harpal and another lawyer, M. Athimulan, had been told their services were no longer needed and that Najib had replaced them with former solicitor-general II Yusof Zainal Abiden and his team of six lawyers. Harpal confirmed the change to BenarNews, but insisted he was not removed. Yes, I have withdrawn, he said in a text message shortly before midnight. Yusuf wants his own team. Meanwhile, over the weekend as news about the seizure of luxury items dominated headlines and lit up Malaysian social media, Najibs wife, Rosmah Mansor, issued a rare statement through her lawyers calling on the authorities to stop spreading leaks. It is our hope that the authorities would observe the rule of law and due process, to avoid a premature public trial, read the statement, according to multiple news outlets. Enforcement agencies should not be feeding social media trolls, but observe and uphold strict professionalism at all times, the statement said. Singh, the CCID chief, said he took the allegations against his officers seriously. The officers were categorically reminded by me to conduct the searches professionally and accord utmost respect to the occupants, Singh said, adding he had reminded them that the properties were occupied by the former prime minister and his family. To ensure the searches were conducted professionally and prevent a trial by media, Singh said he had prohibited his officers from carrying their mobile phones while on duty. Exceptions were made for the search commander and his deputy, and that is only for the purpose of communication. The police urge the relevant parties to provide the details of the leaked photographs if any, to enable us to conduct an investigation to verify if in fact the photographs came from the police, Singh said, adding that Najibs family members and friends were present during the searches. Leadership in place The new cabinet inducted Monday was led by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, president of the Peoples Justice Party (PKR) and wife of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was recently freed from prison and given a royal pardon over a sodomy conviction. Wan Azizah was sworn in as Malaysias first female deputy prime minister. The removal of Anwar from office in 1998 led to a falling out with then-Prime Minister Mahathir and the start of Malaysias Reformasi movement to topple Mahathirs government. The pair rekindled their relationship as they focused on defeating Najib and Barisan Nasional coalition in the May 9 election. After being sworn into office again as prime minister, Mahathir announced his picks for the new cabinet, splitting the seats among the four parties in the PH coalition. He has yet to select a foreign minister. Describing the governing Pakatan alliance as being inexperienced, Mahathir also announced the formation of a Council of Eminent Persons to advise on economic and financial matters during the transition period. We realized, of course, that many of us have no or little experience in running a government. Of course, this expertise must come from those with experience in running previous governments, or having held some responsible posts, Mahathir said. Speaking to civil servants on Monday morning, Mahathir said Malaysia was no longer as respected on the global stage as it once was. It is our collective duty to repair the countrys image so that we will once more be looked highly upon by the world, he said in his first such address since reassuming his role as prime minister, an office he held for more than two decades before leaving office in 2003. Photographs of residents who went missing after pro-Islamic State militants laid siege to Marawi last year are displayed in the southern Philippine city, May 20, 2018. Updated at 4:44 p.m. ET on 2018-05-22 Hashima Mohammed Salim recently convened a meeting of members of her clan who lost relatives after militants allied to the Islamic State (IS) laid siege to the southern Philippine city of Marawi a year ago. They had to make a decision and quick because what little money they had saved was dwindling fast and aid agencies were delivering less assistance every week, she recalled. After a brief huddle, they made a painful decision. Her family opted to migrate to Manila to find jobs, but she would stay in Iligan, about 38 km (23.6 miles) north of Marawi, to carry on a grim search for their missing relatives. It is very sad to come up with a decision that will break up my family and for me to stay, Salim, 29, told BenarNews. As the Philippines marks the first anniversary of the siege this week, dozens of families, including Salims, are searching for loved ones missing from the violence that transformed Marawi from a peaceful southern trading hub into a ruined cityscape, where health experts keep unearthing human bones amid piles of rubble. The family picked Salim to stay behind, she said, because she was the most outspoken and educated member of the clan, which, like hundreds of others, live in dire conditions in evacuation camps or with relatives. The government has not allowed them to rebuild their homes, citing lingering dangers of unexploded ordnance strewn about Marawi. Salim said some of her relatives remained missing, although she would not discuss their identities. They were believed to have been taken by gunmen when pro-IS fighters stormed the city exactly a year ago Wednesday in a failed bid to set up an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia. What followed was an intense five-month battle that left some 1,200 people dead, many of them militants, according to the Philippine authorities. During the siege, which the Philippine armed forces finally broke in late October, the gunmen took scores of civilians as hostages. The government has since said that all were accounted for and those still missing and feared dead were members of the enemy. Many families, like Salimas, however, contest the governments account and have kept on searching for their loved ones. 100 remain missing The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported at least 100 people remain missing almost seven months after President Rodrigo Duterte declared Marawi City liberated from the militants. But we believe there are more, said Camilla Malteuci, who heads the ICRC Protection Team in the Philippines. Duyog Marawi, an NGO that coordinates the rehabilitation efforts of the Catholic Church, placed the number of missing at 70. Rey Barnido said his groups estimate was lower because members concentrated their efforts on the Christian minorities in Marawi city. If we find a witness who will say he or she saw that the missing person was gunned down, we immediately change the status to dead and remove him from the missing list, Barnido said. Christians are a minority in Muslim-dominated Marawi City, accounting for just 5 percent of the estimated 200,000 population. Many here found work in Marawi City as laborers, carpenters and store helpers. Most found themselves trapped when the gunmen took over the city last year, shooting dead any Christians on sight. Some hid in basements for weeks, managing to escape only when Air Force planes dropped bombs that dispersed the enemy. For Muslims listed as missing like those of Salims family the Task Force Ranao Rescue Team, a private aid organization, put the number at 100 more or less. Zia Alonto Adiong, former leader of the defunct Marawi Crisis Committee, said DNA samples taken from about 150 unidentified cadavers did not match any of the people searching for their missing relatives. It would be difficult to find the missing a year after. We have been telling the relatives to presume that their loved ones are already dead, Alonto said. A tattered Philippine flag flutters in the wind near the pockmarked Grand Mosque in Marawi, May 16, 2018. (Richel V. Umel/BenarNews) A long climb to rehabilitation For antique shop owner Abdulbasit Solaiman, thinking about how to survive in post-war Marawi far outweighs thoughts about the dead and those still missing. I only loaned all the items I am selling right now. I dont know how will I pay my suppliers, Solaiman, 48, said at his tiny shop along Basak Malutlut, a Marawi village where the local IS leader, Isnilon Hapilon, had lived and plotted the siege. The shop, which had stood for years, was reduced to ashes after being hit by bombs. Solaiman returned to rebuild, but the extent of the damage has made it a losing endeavor. If only I knew the fighting would last for five months, I should have joined the fight with military against the militants, the father of three told BenarNews. I will not allow it again to happen. Even just with my bare teeth, I would fight for my children. Solaimans clan, like Salims, has scattered as members try to piece back together their ruined lives. Nearby, Alamina Barapantao, 33, rummaged through a mound of broken furniture and wood, looking for a stuffed toy that her young son had asked her to retrieve. After a few minutes of digging through the rubble, she found the soiled toy a memento of their simple life back when Marawi was still a thriving trading hub. My home is indescribable now. I cannot even recognize it. There were many good memories here, Barapantao said, as she choked back tears. But now its gone. Only memories captured in a soiled picture album that she had retrieved is whats left of their life here, Barapantao said. IS presence felt But while others can retrieve things lost in the battle, Sarifa Dizo, 43, said 10 of her relatives were recruited by the militants who survived the siege and were believed to be somewhere in nearby mountain jungles. They could be dead now. Its sad because they were my family, but I cannot do anything about it, she said, adding that many had chosen to join the enemy because there was nothing to go back to in Marawi. About 100 to 150 fighters were believed to be hiding in surrounding towns and recruitment to replenish the militants ranks continues, a local army deputy commander, Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, told BenarNews. They want to remain here because this is comfort zone. This is where they can recruit, from the displaced people as well the orphans of war, he said. Citing intelligence data, he said militants were offering as much as U.S. $300 as a monthly stipend a kingly sum in a region where a family is considered lucky to have three meals a day. But right now, they dont have the capacity, unlike in the Marawi siege, when they combined forces, Brawner said. Now they need more skilled fighters, technical know-how and armaments we are preparing for it, he said. With most of the key militant leaders believed to have been killed in the battle, the military said the stragglers were likely led by Humam Abdul Najid, also known as Abu Dar. He is said to be a cousin of Omarkhayyam Maute, one of the leaders of the Marawi siege killed along with Isnilon Hapilon in October. Froilan Gallardo, Jeoffrey Maitem and Richel V. Umel reported from Marawi, and Mark Navales contributed reporting from Cotabato City, Philippines. Pro-democracy demonstrators rally in front of Thammasat University to mark the fourth anniversary of a military coup that overthrew the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, May 22, 2018. On the fourth anniversary of the military coup that brought him to power, Thailands prime minister reiterated Tuesday that elections would take place early next year even as security forces arrested pro-democracy demonstrators who tried to march to his office. About 300 demonstrators belonging to the We Want Voting Movement gathered in Bangkoks Thammasat University on Monday night and started to march the next morning toward Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-chas office, where they planned to read a statement calling for elections to be held this year. But police blocked them from reaching their destination and, by Tuesday afternoon, 15 protest leaders and others had been arrested or turned themselves in to the authorities. I have already said that (the elections) are following the proper steps, which is early 2019, no sooner, Prayuth told reporters as protesters marched toward his office. On May 22, 2014, then-Army Chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha plunged the nation into military rule by overthrowing the government of Yingluck Shinawatra. He dissolved parliament, detained political leaders and imposed a curfew while promising to bring Thailand back to democracy within 18 months. Since then, Prayuth has postponed several times what he has referred to as his road map to an election, infuriating pro-democracy groups by pushing the date back to February 2019 at the earliest. The protestors who demonstrated on Tuesday some holding effigies of a Pinocchio-nosed Prayuth and placards denouncing the junta were met by a police security blockade before getting close to the Government House, the seat of Thailands executive power. Earlier, the Supreme Administrative Court had rejected their request for the 4.3-km (2.7-mile) march from the university, according to police. A few leaders and about 100 demonstrators passed through the blockade after minor scuffles with about 3,000 baton-wielding riot police and managed to move to the United Nations building, a block away from Prayuths office. They were rounded up after the police allowed them to use a megaphone to make a statement. Elections must take place in November of this year, as the NCPO promised, activist Cholthicha Jaengraew said before the demonstrators were detained and hauled off in a police truck to Phya Thai police station, ending the protests after 3 p.m. Over the past night and day we have shown that to speak about elections is a basic right all citizens can have but is hampered in Thailand. Its ridiculous, protest leader Rangsiman Rome told supporters at Thammasat before going to the police station. Prayuth said he respected peoples rights, but he had to stop the demonstration because it was unlawful. Under security provisions imposed by the junta, it is illegal for more than five people to stage political gatherings. The We Want Voting Movement can make demands. They cited constitutional rights to do so, but there are laws on public gatherings to follow. They must think this through thoroughly, Prayuth said. A local NGO and legal aid group, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, said the 15 rally participants were detained at two police stations in Bangkok and faced charges of sedition, defying the juntas ban on political gatherings of five or more people, and harming the nation. Sedition carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, according to a legal expert. The U.N.s Human Rights Office issued a statement calling for the immediate release of the activists. We have consistently urged the Royal Thai Government, as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to fully respect the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, it said. Prayuth: Keeping the peace Speaking to reporters, Prayuth said he could not allow the country to face instability caused by this and other protests. The government must enforce the laws for peace, Prayuth said. Mark my word, the prosecution will be intense, otherwise the national interest is compromised. I cant let that happen. Not all groups oppose the junta, an academic at Ubon Ratchathani University said, adding that many wanted the military leaders to remain in office. When we look at what happened today, there are two shades dissenters and supporters of the protests, Titipol Phakdeewanich, a political science lecturer at Ubon Ratchathani University, told BenarNews by phone. The lecturer questioned Prayuths sincerity to holding an election early next year. I dont believe there will be elections as the premiere promised. It depends on whether he and the military feel comfortable they have built enough support, Titipol said. He also said junta leaders were working to improve relations with supporters of the Shinawatra family in a bid to retain power through elections. Yingluck and her older brother, Thaksin, both were removed from the prime ministers office by military coups. Some Thais have mixed feelings about Prayuths government. A farmer leader in Yala province, in Thailands troubled southern border region, gave the junta positive marks for security during the past four years, but downgraded the leadership over pocketbook issues. We need to look at different aspects. The violence in Deep South has decreased, but the economy has suffered, Songwut Damringkul told BenarNews. We are under democratic rule and yet we are longing for elections. India is firmly committed to achieving universal health coverage for its citizens as has been articulated in our National Health Policy 2017. This was stated by J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare during his addresses at the Plenary Meeting of the 71st World Health Assembly, at Geneva recently. The Health Minister spoke on the theme: Health for All: Commit To Universal Health Coverage. Reiterating the commitment of the government, the Union Health Minister said that India has fast-tracked many initiatives aimed at achieving all the tenets of Universal Health Coverage i.e strengthening health systems, improving access to free medicines and diagnostics, reducing catastrophic health care spending to translate our vision of achieving UHC. The Union Health Minister further said that our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has recently launched Ayushman Bharat. The programme rests on the twin pillars of Health and Wellness Centres, the provision of comprehensive primary healthcare services and the Prime Ministers National Health Protection Mission for secondary and tertiary care for 100 million families covering 500 million individuals. We are reaching out to approximately 40% of the countrys population who will be provided an insurance cover of Rs 500,000 per year. This will be the worlds largest government funded health protection scheme in the world Nadda added. Nadda further said that to reduce the burden of NCDs, India has already initiated universal screening for prevention and management of five common NCDs: hypertension, diabetes and three common cancers those of the oral cavity, breast and cervix for individuals at pan India level. We have also started providing medicines for cancers, cardiovascular diseases and cardiac implants at significantly reduced prices, Shri Nadda elaborated. Nadda informed the participants that in line with Indias ambitious plan to end TB by 2025, the Government has started the implementation of the National Strategic Plan for TB 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, Nadda said. Earlier, J P Nadda also addressed the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting on the sidelines of the 71st World Health Assembly and spoke about the global fight against Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs). He said that interventions for prevention and control of NCDs are to be prioritized and are to be integrated at all levels of health care delivery systems. He said that for comprehensive management of lifestyle related disorders, a pilot project on Integration of AYUSH with National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) has been initiated. Synergy is being harnessed between Allopathy system under NPCDCS and alternative systems of medicine under AYUSH, for prevention and management of lifestyle-related common NCDs, he added. In another address at the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting, Nadda spoke on the Universal Health Coverage Funding Mechanisms in the Commonwealth. Nadda said that both developed as well as developing countries are aspiring to achieve Universal Health Coverage through either a purely tax-funded regime, or risk pooling under social health insurance mechanisms or a mix of both. India has followed a mix of these strategies and so far, revenues from general taxation are the primary source of government funding, since coverage under the social health insurance is low due to low proportion of organised workforce. India s National Health policy, 2017 commits to achieving a target of raising public health expenditure to 2.5% of the GDP in a time bound manner by 2025 and the government is committed to providing the resources for achieving Universal Health Coverage, J P Nadda also inaugurated Walk the Talk event and gave a call Health for all, Yoga for all. He also led the yoga session ahead of 71st World Health Assembly. Delegates from across the world participated in the yoga session. Nadda said that Yoga can help in several medical conditions and want to spread it globally and be embraced by people so that they can benefit from it. The Union Health Minister also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from UK, Brazil and Sweden on the side-lines of World Health Assembly. Richard Clough General Electric (GE) chief executive John Flannery is taking the biggest step yet in his plan to revitalise the beleaguered manufacturer, agreeing to merge its century-old train engine business with Wabtec in a deal valued at $11.1bn (9.4bn). GE and its shareholders will own 50.1% of the combined company, giving the parent an ongoing stake in the recovery after its rail unit struggled with a lengthy slump in the north American freight market. Under the terms of the tax-free transaction, GE will receive an upfront cash payment of $2.9bn. The deal furthers Flannerys efforts to streamline operations and reduce the complexity that he blames for deepening the companys problems. Faced with one of the worst slumps in GEs 126-year history, the CEO has pledged to cut costs and refocus the Boston-based manufacturer on markets, such as aviation and energy. The combination will transform rail-equipment maker Wabtec, which will roughly double its annual revenue by adding one of the worlds largest manufacturers of freight locomotives. The Pennsylvania-based company said it was attracted to the complementary products and a growing order book after several lean years for the industry. GE Transportation, which had about 8,000 employees at the beginning of the year, has faced falling sales after a decline in north American rail-shipping volume left an oversupply of trains. GE said in July that it would cut hundreds of jobs while ending most locomotive manufacturing in Erie in Pennsylvania, and shifting some work to a non-union factory in Fort Worth in Texas. Despite the industrys challenges, GE Transportation routinely ranks among GEs most-profitable units. It generated operating income of $824m, with a profit margin of almost 20%. US railroads are now poised to order more equipment to keep up with rising shipments of commodities such as grain and the sand used in hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas. Over the past two quarters, GE Transportation has received $3.6bn in new orders, the company said. Wabtec also expects to grow this year. Under the terms of the deal, GE will sell a portion of GE Transportation to Wabtec and execute a spinoff of other assets, which will then be merged with Wabtec. Wabtec, which builds locomotives and offers services and other products to the freight-rail and passenger-transit markets, generated $3.9bn in sales last year. --Bloomberg Geoff Percival Ryanair shares jumped more than 5% despite the airline warning that earnings in its financial year could fall by at least 7%. The airline met expectations with its latest annual results showing an 8% increase in revenues to 7.1bn, for the 12 months to the end of March, and a 10% jump in post-tax profit to 1.45bn. It warned that rising operating costs, in the form of fuel and staff costs, will weigh on earnings in its financial year and lead to a first fall in profits for five years. The company has warned that post-tax profits will fall to between 1.25bn and 1.35bn. An ongoing share buyback programme is expected to benefit earnings per share in its current year. Ryanair said it sees fares remaining flat this year and rising ancillary revenues not offsetting higher costs and lower fares. It is not expected to increase fares until there is more consolidation in the European airline industry. Average fares in the year fell by 3%. Operating costs are a headwind in the coming year, with fuel costs expected to rise by 20%-25%, adding 400m to operating costs in the 2019 financial year. While this will weigh on profitability, hedging has been effective given that crude oil prices have increased by 65% over the last year, said Merrion analyst Darren McKinley. Ryanair has no hedging in place for 2020 yet. Of this 400m in additional fuel costs, 150m is due to growth plans and the balance is due to the increase in crude oil prices. At current prices, fuel costs would be a similar headwind in 2020, but currency movements should somewhat offset this. The latest earnings figures showed Ryanair bounced back from its September pilot-rostering mess, which led to mass flight cancellations, with passenger numbers up 9% to over 130m. More than 90% of pilots have agreed new terms, including a 20% salary rise, with strong progress made on pilot and cabin crew agreements across a number of markets. Fresh demands for new working practice agreements by Ryanairs Irish pilots union has raised the possibility of strike action here. Ryanair boss Michael OLeary said he doesnt expect any strikes or disruptions, although he did not rule them out. He said he expects Ryanair to remain an employer of choice in the EU airline sector. While management will continue to deal openly and fairly with unions, he said the company will not make concessions on pay or productivity which threatens either our low-cost model or our cost leadership in Europe. Mr McKinley said: Labour costs are expected to increase by 200m in financial year 2019, due to 100m in greater terms to existing pilots and 100m related to growth plans. On a per-passenger basis, staff costs have increased by 20%. Fiona Cincotta, a senior market analyst at City Index in London, said: The pessimistic outlook statement contrasts markedly with more upbeat guidance on profits and fares provided by competitor easyJet. Ryanair may have been able to weather last years rostering debacle with a record annual profit. However, industrial relations issues have lingered, creating a lasting hangover that has pushed up staff costs that will eat into this years earnings. The Mater Hospital in Dublin removed several leaflets advocating a No vote in the abortion referendum from inside the main entrance today. The leaflets from the Love Both organisation were placed alongside other health information booklets in the Rare Diseases Unit. By Louise Walsh A young Meath mum whose devastating diagnosis of terminal cancer last week left her 'completely and utterly broken,' says she has been blown away by the massive worldwide response to her appeal for help to make memories with her children before she dies. A Gofundme page, established to support 33-year old Kells resident, Kim Allen, in creating cherished moments with her children Dean (16) and 11-year old Lauren (Lulu) has already reached over 7,000 of a 10,000 target. People have also been in contact from France offering Kim and her children their home to stay while visiting Paris - one of the destinations on her wish list. Kim with her daughter Lulu. Many messages from friends and acquaintances across the globe said they wanted to help because of Kim's own generosity to them in the past. Kim's world fell apart last Wednesday when she was told she had an inoperable and aggressive form of pancreatic cancer, after tests for stomach and back pain. As she struggled to come to terms with a life-limiting prognosis, her first thoughts were for her children who would be left behind. Her heartbroken sister Wendy Coyle immediately set up the appeal, determined to help her sister make as many happy memories as possible before her condition deteriorates. Kim gave up her job as a Navan retail manager the day after her diagnosis and is due to start chemotherapy in the coming weeks - only as a way of relieving the pain she is currently suffering. In a heart-rendering plea, 40-year-old Wendy said: "My beautiful baby sister Kim has been told that she doesn't have long to live. "While I can't do anything to save her beautiful life, I can make sure that short time she has left is full of fun, laughter and happy memories for her and her children. "She still has so much she wanted to do in this life - go to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower with her daughter, visit Rome with her son, go on a hot air balloon ride, do a parachute jump, climb Machu Picchu and go crazy in Las Vegas. "I don't know how many of these things she will get to do in the time that she has left but my aim is to raise as many funds as possible to help her achieve the most important goals that will create the most precious memories and bonds that the children will hold for the rest of their lives. "For those of you who know Kim, you know how much time and love she gives to other people so please help me to make sure the time she has left with us is as special and memorable as she is" Wendy has described the response as mind-blowing, with people also sending vouchers for Kim to go on spending sprees. "Anyone messaging that knows Kim say they are helping because she was always kind to them or always helped them out. That's exactly who she is - when you meet her, you never forget her." In a heart-felt thank you, Kim said: "I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all the kind gestures, lovely gifts, generous donations and sincere messages in the last week. Kim and her son Dean. "When I got the news of my illness, my world was turned upside down and honestly, I felt completely and utterly broken. But I have been overwhelmed with the amount of love that family, friends and complete strangers have shown to me. "I look forward to spending time with my family in the coming weeks and creating new memories that I would not have had the opportunity to experience without the support of all the people who donated to the GoFundMe page." Anyone wishing to donate can do so here. By Sarah Slater A fundraising campaign has raised over 30,000 to help support the parents of student Jastine Valdez, who was abducted last Saturday. A body of woman in her early 20s was located in thick gorse land close to the Pucks Castle area in south county Dublin yesterday afternoon. It comes as a further appeal for information was issued into the disappearance of Ms Valdez. Several pieces of clothing and personal items were also found. The body has been taken from the scene to the city morgue and a post-mortem to establish the time and cause of death is expected to take place today. No formal identification has been carried out on the body found yesterday afternoon but it is believed to be Ms Valdez. The crowd funding page has been set-up by Raymond Garrett on behalf of Outreach Ireland hoping to raise 10,000. The group is made up of volunteers who have been helping run the Philippine Embassy outreach missions in Ireland since March 2016 and other Philippine-related events by contributing their time, skills and resources as needed on a temporary basis. Donations to the page on the crowdfunding site, gofundme.com, Jastine Valdez Memorial Fund, have been flooding in since being created early this morning. So far 30,949 has been donated. In a post Mr Garrett said: This page was set up to facilitate all of those who wish to offer support and sympathy to the family of Jastine Valdez following her devastating death. Any and all funds raised on this page will go directly to the parents of Jastine Valdez to help them in the weeks and months ahead. This is an fundraising page was set up on behalf of the Filipino community via a Filipino community group Outreach Ireland. It was done in an effort to allow those that wish to help to do so, also there is a Filipino tradition of giving money to grieving families called Abuloy and many would like to follow this tradition without directly disturbing the grieving family. The solicitor (overseeing the fundraising) is from Bourke Law of Fitzwilliam Street. We have made indirect contact with the family and all money raised will be paid directly to the family, directly into there back account. Mr Garrett said that the fundraising will be carried out in a fully transparent manner. He added: Jastine Valdez was an only child taken from her parents at the age of 24 in the most unimaginable circumstance. Born in the Philippines she came to Ireland to study and to join her parents who are now naturalised Irish citizens. Both parents work and are active in the community. "This page was set up to facilitate all of those who wish to offer support and sympathy to the family of Jastine Valdez following her devastating death. "The Valdez family.are facing a situation that no person on this earth should have to face. They are parents saying goodbye to their child. The circumstances on how they lost their daughter are public knowledge. Any and all funds raised on this page will go directly to the parents of Jastine Valdez to help them in the weeks and months ahead. Numerous messages of support from those making donations have already been offered to the young womans family. One posted: I am so very sorry for the tragic loss of your beautiful daughter jastine and wish you strength to cope in the days months and years ahead You will be in our thoughts. Another posted:We are so sorry for the tragic loss of your beautiful daughter and wish you strength to cope in the days, months and years ahead. You will be in our thoughts. Eyewitnesses reported seeing Ms Valdez being bundled into a dark Nissan Qashqai on the R760 Kilcroney Road near her home in Enniskerry at 6.15pm on Saturday. A 40-year-old man gardai had been searching for in connection with the incident was shot dead by gardai in south Dublin business park on Sunday night. He has been named as Mark Hennessy, a married father-of-two from Woodbrook Estate, Boghall Road in Bray, Co Wicklow. Update 7.37pm: It is being reported that the man suspected of murdering 24-year-old student Jastine Valdez contacted his wife before he was shot dead by a Garda on Sunday. Mark Hennessy was found by Gardai in a black Nissan Qashqai at Cherrywood Business Park, on the outskirts of south Dublin. It is believed Mr Hennessy phoned his wife before he was shot dead and told her they would never see each other again. Mark Hennessy. It is also reported by the Irish Times that there was blood in the car from his self-inflicted wounds. Investigators believe that, after killing Ms Valdez, Hennessy cut himself repeatedly with a Stanley knife. Update 6.01pm: It has been confirmed 24-year-old student Jastine Valdez was strangled to death. It is believed that it happened 36 to 48 hours before her body was found. Update 5.11pm: It is believed the woman found dead in Rathmichael in South Dublin was strangled to death. A post mortem is continuing on the remains, believed to be those of Jastine Valdez. Gardai have spent most of the day in Rathmichael cutting away gorse and examining the area where this body was found. Preliminary results indicate the cause of death was strangulation and it occurred 36 to 48 hours before the body was found. Update 4.53pm: Gardai have renewed their appeal for help from the public. They are particularly interested in the movement the black Nissan Qashqai, registered number 171 D 20419, and its driver Mark Hennessy, between 5pm on Saturday, May 19, and 8pm on Sunday, May 20. Hennessy is described as 176 cm (five foot nine inches) tall with a slight build and balding hair. He was wearing a dark coloured t-shirt, blue jeans and grey runners at the time. Mark Hennessy. Officers would particularly like to speak with people who were in the Dalkey, Killiney, Ballybrack, Sallynoggin, Cherrywood and Rathmichael areas. They have said that his car may have stopped at restaurants, cafes, petrol station shops or bars in those areas and are asking for anyone with a dash cam in their car to contact them. Anyone with information should contact Bray Garda Station on 01-6665300 the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station. Update 3.30pm: A vigil for Jastine Valdez is being organised this evening in her home village of Enniskerry in Co Wicklow. An online fund set up to help the 24-year-olds family Read More: A post-mortem is being carried out on the body found in Rathmichael in South Dublin yesterday. No formal identification has been carried out on the body found in Rathmichael yesterday afternoon but it is believed to be Ms Valdez. Gardai are also examining a blood-soaked note found in the car of Ms Valdezs suspected abductor, Mark Hennessy, which is said to contain the words "Puck's Castle" and "sorry". Officers have asked for anyone who may have seen Mr Hennessy in a pub on the night of the abduction, particularly in the Ballybrack area, to contact them. Local Wicklow TD John Brady said the vigil is a chance for people to pay their respects to Ms Valdez. "People really don't know what to be doing, or what they can do, but they want to show their support for Jastine's family - who are obviously going through a horrendous time at this stage," said Mr Brady. "They are organising a vigil at 7 o'clock at the clock tower in Enniskerry village." - Digital Desk Update 1.25pm: Body recovered in Jastine Valdez search died 48 hours before being found Gardai are examining the scene where the body of a young woman was found in Rathmichael in South Dublin. The remains are believed to be those of Jastine Valdez and gardai believe she was killed soon after she was abducted on Saturday. A blue tent has been erected where this body was found and a handful of garda officers are at the scene cutting away the gorse around it. Nearby locals have been laying flowers - One note says Jastine, I never knew you but my heart is broken for you and your family. A preliminary post mortem was carried out at the scene last night which indicates time of death was about 36 to 48 hours before the remains were found. Near the scene, locals have been laying flowers. One note says: Jastine, I never knew you but my heart is broken for you and your family. Last night a vigil was held for the 24-year-old. Several members of Ireland's Filipino community attended the service last night and shared their memories of Jastine. "She's a very lovely girl," said one person. "She is very loving, caring, She is just genuinely really, really nice. We've known each other since [we were] kids." Another person at the vigil said the events hadn't sunk in yet. - Digital Desk Update 10.18am: It is believed Jastine Valdez was killed soon after she was abducted in Enniskerry Co Wicklow. A post-mortem is due on a body which was found in South Dublin yesterday. No formal identification has been carried out on the body found in Rathmichael yesterday afternoon but it is believed to be Ms Valdez. Gardai are also examining a blood-soaked note found in the car of her suspected attacker, Mark Hennessy Mr Hennessy, aged 40, is suspected of abducting Ms Valdez as she walked home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, at 6.20pm on Saturday and killing her soon afterwards. The remains were found 50 metres away from the main walk way on Pucks Castle Lane in heavy gorse. A preliminary post-mortem was carried out at the scene and it indicates time of death was about 36 hours to 48 hours before the remains were found. According to media reports, gardai believe Ms Valdez may have been killed within an hour of being abducted. Gardai are now looking to speak to anyone who may have interacted with Mr Hennessy on Saturday night as they try to piece together what happened. At this stage, gardai still believe the attack was completely random. Meanwhile, a fundraising campaign Read More: - Digital Desk Earlier: Gardai fear Jastine Valdez was random victim; Murder probe as body set to be identified By Cormac O'Keeffe Gardai are to conduct a detailed examination of the mobile phones and digital devices of Mark Hennessy and Jastine Valdez to determine if there was any contact between them but suspect she may have been a completely random victim. If the attack is confirmed to be random, gardai may also examine Hennessy, a married father of two young children, in relation to other unsolved attacks or missing person cases. The development comes as the garda search operation for Ms Valdez yesterday turned to a murder investigation with the discovery of a female body in dense gorse in the Rathmichael area of south Co Dublin. While the body was in the process of being formally identified last night, gardai believe the remains are those of the 24-year-old Filipino student. Hennessy, aged 40, is suspected of abducting Ms Valdez as she walked home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, at 6.20pm on Saturday and killing her soon afterwards. A preliminary autopsy was conducted at the scene, completing at around 8pm, which did not identify any obvious marks on the body. Sources suggested this could suggest possible strangulation but the cause of death will not be known until a full autopsy this morning at the city morgue. The body was removed from the Pucks Castle Lane area before dark. Gardai at the scene at Pucks Castle, Rathmichael, Co Dublin, where a body was discovered in dense gorse. While the body was being formally identified last night, gardai believe the remains are those of the 24-year-old Filipino student Jastine Valdez. A full post mortem will be conducted this morning. Picture: Stephen Collins Indications suggested Ms Valdez may have been dead for 36 to 48 hours, which would tally with reports from an eyewitness that a Nissan jeep was seen in the area at around 7pm on Saturday. It is not known yet if there was a sexual assault. Some of Ms Valdezs clothes were pulled up, but sources said this could have been caused by dragging her through the gorse. Ms Valdez was an only child and her parents, who reported her missing late on Saturday night, were informed of the discovery by their garda family liaison officer. The grim find came at the end of almost two days of searches and some 20 hours after Hennessy was fatally shot by a detective. Slightly different reports emerged from garda sources as to the events leading to the shooting, but a number of them suggest Hennessy, armed with a knife, ran at a garda. Garda sources said detectives are trained to shoot to stop by aiming at the upper body as shooting at arms or legs may not incapacitate an attacker. It was also pointed out that local detectives do not have Tasers. CCTV from the scene, at Cherrywood business park, in south Dublin, is being examined and the entire event is now under investigation by GSOC, as required by law. Garda search efforts focused on the Rathmichael region yesterday morning after they were able to download satnav history from the Nissan Qasqhai being driven by Hennessy. It is understood a note was found in the Nissan Qashqai car and that is being examined. The search team found a purse, with Ms Valdezs ID card inside, along with an item of clothing at the Pucks Castle Lane area at around mid-morning. Approaching 3.30pm, the team was cutting back branches at a section of dense gorse and could see a womans body. Mark Hennessy, from Wicklow, who was shot dead by gardai. Detectives are now conducting a deeper examination of devices of Hennessy and Ms Valdez to see if there was any contact between them. However, sources said that, as it stood, they appeared not to have known each other and that Ms Valdez just happened to be walking along the road when Hennessy was passing in his wifes jeep. Yes, they will check his laptops and phones to see if he had any contact with her, said a garda source, and they have downloaded her phone and will examine that, but there is nothing at the moment [to suggest they knew each other]. There will be a deeper examination now, but it appears to be random, no connection. This will leave garda investigators with the scenario that Hennessy abducted a complete stranger from the roadside, in broad daylight, without any care of being seen, which he was. When investigators called to the Hennessy home in Woodbrook, Bray, before lunchtime on Sunday, they were told Hennessy had driven off in his wifes car at around 5pm on Saturday. The car was caught on CCTV passing through Enniskerry village at 6pm. Sources said Hennessy, a building sub-contractor, had no criminal record and initial inquiries did not reveal anything untoward about him. - Irish Examiner Update 10.57pm:Health Minister Simon Harris and Sinn Fein's Peadar Toibin have debated the abortion referendum on RTE's Prime Time tonight. Lorcan Price of Love Both, who was in the audience, said the Minister for Health never asked the Attorney General if the Constitution could be amended to cater for the "hard" cases of women who have been raped or cases of fatal foetal abnormality. Responding to the claim, Mr Harris said: "That would be extraordinary if it were true, we asked for medical and legal input and the Attorney General was consulted." Mr Toibin, in summing up his argument for a No vote said: "Wanted, unwanted. There are not two classes of people- we are all one. "The child is the weakest individual - she has no voice." In reply, Mr Harris said: "The greatest protector of a pregnancy is the woman. We must trust her." "We are all one in Ireland until you are a pregnant woman. It is a very, very lonely place." During the debate, news broke that No campaigner and lawyer Maria Steen has withdrawn from tomorrow nights final referendum debate on TV3. It comes shortly after an evening of confusion surrounding the RTE Prime Time debate, when Maria Steen's involvement was proposed by the No side as a replacement for LoveBoth's Cora Sherlock, who had withdrawn her name. RTE refused the switch in the hours before broadcast, saying Ms Steen had already been prominently featured in Claire Byrne Live last week. It is not yet clear why Steen withdrew her name from tomorrow night's debate on the Pat Kenny Show Referendum Special. RTE released a statement after the debate saying: "RTE was disappointed to learn that Cora Sherlock was unavailable to take part in tonight's RTE Prime Time programme, despite confirming her participation last week. "The television debate on the referendum continued with the panel of Minister for Health Simon Harris and Peadar Toibin TD, in addition to substantial contributions from the audience, which gave an equitable and fair opportunity to both sides to express their views." Update 10.17pm:Mr Harris started off by saying: "It is about balance, we have to be able to protect women today," while Mr Toibin described the Government's draft proposals for abortion if the 8th amendment is repealed as "breathtakingly extreme". Explaining that he has worked with victims of rape in Co. Meath, Mr Toibin said: "Meath will have legalised abortion in Meath before it has a Rape Crisis Centre." Mr Toibin claimed that a GP with only six months training in psychiatry would be allowed to decide if a woman can have an abortion on the grounds of mental health. He then claimed that repealing the 8th would bring in abortion on demand. Mr Harris said: "Calling it abortion on demand is obviously a tactic you are using, it's a phrase you have chosen to use. "There is always a good reason for an abortion, when a woman packs her bags and gets on a plane to England to have an abortion, that's a crisis." Update 9.50pm: Health Minister SImon Harris is having a head-to-head debate with Sinn Fein's Peadar Toibin on RTE's Prime Time, after LoveBoth spokesperson Cora Sherlock withdrew earlier. Miriam O'Callaghan briefly addressed the pre-debate controversy by saying: "We were due to have two women on the panel, but unfortunately Cora Sherlock of the No campaign pulled out and, for balance, we had to reduce it to two (panellists)." The No side had wanted to replace Ms Sherlock with Iona Institute lawyer Maria Steen, but RTE refused the idea, reportedly as Ms Steen was already prominently featured in last week's Claire Byrne Live. The vacancy would have left an imbalance with two speakers on the Yes side of the debate (Simon Harris and consultant obstetrician Mary Higgins) and only one - Peadar Toibin - representing the No side. Now, it is understood consultant obstetrician Mary Higgins will instead be a member of the audience, leaving Simon Harris and Peadar Toibin to debate each other on stage. Prof Higgins will still contribute, but from the audience, which will also feature lawyers for the No side. Maria Steen Earlier: By Fiachra O Cionnaith and Elaine Loughlin A key live TV debate on the eighth amendment referendum has been thrown into disarray after a prominent pro-life campaigner pulled out of the contest just hours before it was meant to begin. Love Both told RTE just before 6pm this evening that group spokesperson Cora Sherlock would not take part in the debate with Health Minister Simon Harris as planned, without giving any reason. The live TV debate - which begins at 9.35pm on RTE One this evening - was promoted as a key final chance for pro-choice and pro-life campaigners to land a blow on each other. In addition, it has been sought for a number of weeks by Ms Sherlock, who has repeatedly referenced a cut-out poster of Mr Harris the Love Both campaign has brought to all of its events over the past month to underline the Health Minister's alleged failure to debate. Mr Harris has consistently said he is happy to speak with anyone about the upcoming referendum, leading to tonight's live TV debate - which will also include pro-life Sinn Fein TD Peadar Toibin and pro-choice consultant obstetrician Prof. Mary Higgins - being seen as a showdown between the two high-profile referendum figures. However, in a shock move, the Love Both campaign contacted RTE representatives this afternoon to say Ms Sherlock will not be appearing, without giving any explanation as to the sudden change. Save the 8th spokesman John McGuirk confirmed the dispute, and said the No side had proposed Maria Steen on Tuesday or Wednesday last week to represent them tonight. Lawyer Steen was a strong performer in last week's Claire Byrne Live debate. John McGuirk said RTE "were resisting it, even though we all agree Maria is the correct person to represent us (tonight)". The Irish Examiner understands RTE rejected the proposal out of hand, reminding Love Both officials that the station invites people to attend and that it is not the job of groups to decide who will appear at the last minute. Ms Sherlock had initially agreed to take part in the debate last Thursday morning, leading to RTE finalising the planned line-up and publicly revealing it on Monday evening. However, Love Both campaigner and barrister Ben O Floinn was reported this evening as saying "all 'no' groups" have decided Maria Steen should be "the joint nominee" for the pro-life side this evening. "I have been asked by all the groups to press for her inclusion. RTE Prime Time are resisting this," Mr O Floinn is reported to have said. A spokesperson for RTE declined to comment at this time, while Ms Sherlock did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the stand-off and the decision for her not to attend the live debate. By Olivia Kelleher A coroner has warned drug mules that they are playing "Russian roulette" after a 24-year-old Brazilian man suffered a painful death when one of over 100 pellets of cocaine he had ingested burst on a flight from Lisbon to Dublin. John Kennedy Santos Gurjao became so agitated and distressed on board the Aer Lingus flight of the 18th of October 2015 that he bit a passenger and jumped over seats. Coroner for Cork County, Frank O'Connell, was told at the inquest into the death that Mr Kennedy Santos Gurjao became distressed about an hour into the flight. The coroner paid tribute to the "heroism" of the cabin crew and off duty nurses on board who valiantly tried to save John whilst maintaining the safety of the aircraft. Witness, Olga Pinto, said she knew John and had met him at the airport. The Portuguese national said that John seemed nervous and was sweating prior to the flight. She attributed his anxiety to travel sickness. She said during the flight she noticed that the young man was jumping over seats and that people were screaming. Olga Pinto at today's inquest. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Cork Courts Limited. She translated what he was saying from Portuguese for the cabin crew. She recalled that he was shouting "I am going to die." She said in evidence that it was as if John was "possessed." "Stuff was coming out of his mouth and he bit a man on the arm. I couldn't tell if he was puking blood or if it was from where he bit the man. "He kept saying 'I am dying." Ms Pinto said she knew that John was nervous going on board as it was the last day of his Irish visa and he was concerned about getting entry into the country. The court heard that he planned to renew his visa when he started an English course in Dublin. She stated he had previously studied in Ireland. The plane was diverted to Cork Airport arising out of the incident. Gardai indicated that Ms Pinto was arrested in Cork after white powder was found in her luggage. She was released without charge. No charges were brought because the powder was found to be flour. Aer Lingus Cabin Crew member, Orla MacCarvill, said that she first noticed that a serious incident was underway when she spotted the "horrified" face of a fellow airline employee. Aer Lingus Cabin Crew member, Orla MacCarvill, at today's inquest. Pic: Dan Linehan. She said a man subsequently identified as the Brazilian national was climbing over seats. She stated that John "bolted" to the toilet and locked the door. Ms Pinto told her that John needed medication for air sickness and he took two tablets. He was given oxygen. She said Mr Kennedy Santos Gurjao had to be handcuffed on board the flight given his level of agitation. They didn't attempt to strap him in to his seat because he was "too violent." He became "wild and aggressive." Ms MacCarvill informed the cockpit of the situation and a decision was made to divert the plane to Cork Airport. Nurses on board the flight rushed to the assistance of the Brazilian and they performed CPR for well over 40 minutes before landing. Cabin crew also tried to help him. ICU nurse, Keith Carroll, from Dublin was among those who tried to assist John. He told the inquest at the Cork International Hotel that John was in such a manic state that he had to be restrained by handcuffs. Initially Mr Carroll thought that John was having an epileptic seizure. However, his subsequent agitated state pointed to another cause. Mr Carroll and other nurses on board performed sustained CPR in a bid to save the Brazilian man. However, there was little to nothing they could do to save him given that a cocaine pellet had burst in his body. Garda Owen O'Mahony said that Mr Kennedy Santos Gurjao was pronounced dead on arrival at Cork Airport by a local medic. He said Ms Pinto was arrested after a white substance was found in her baggage. However, this was found not to be a controlled drug but was instead flour. An examination of the 113 pellets recovered from the body indicated that John had one kilogramme in weight of cocaine in his body with a street value of 70,000. Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, carried out a post-mortem examination on the young man. She said the deceased had ingested 113 capsules of cocaine, of various sizes, which were covered in black plastic material. He died from acute cocaine intoxication. The death was recorded as accidental poisoning. Coroner Frank O'Connell paid tribute to the cabin crew and the nurses and doctors who tried to assist the stricken passenger. He said they had made "heroic efforts" in what must have been a frightening experience. He claimed the cabin crew coped admirably given that when something like this happens you don't know where it is going to end. Speaking after the inquest Mr O'Connell said the death of Mr Kennedy Santos Gurjao was a warning to all those who are thinking of importing drugs in their body. "Unfortunately if you are carrying drugs in your body and one of the capsules burst the results are probably going to be fatal. This man was simply poisoned with cocaine where just one of the capsules broke. There was no hope for him. "As I was reading the statements, I was trying to envisage how I would have reacted if I was on board. It must have been absolutely terrifying. "I was very impressed with the senior cabin crew who coolly made the decision to inform the co-pilot that she would not be going in to the cockpit again and would be communicating with them by telephone. She didn't know how this was going to end. " Mr O'Connell said if something goes wrong for a drug mule it is almost certainly fatal. "It is Russian roulette. If it is cocaine or another Class A type drug if it bursts and gets in to your system you are going to die." John was a native of Calcoene in Brazil. He was one of nine siblings and lost his parents at a young age. It is understood that his relatives didn't realise he was out of the country and the circumstances of his death came as a terrible shock. He was laid to rest in Cork at a funeral officiated by a local priest. His family were made aware of the proceedings yesterday. No details were given as to how much the deceased was to be paid for bringing the drugs in to Ireland. However, drug mules are said to make as little as 1,500 to carry these massive amounts internally. There is a minimum 10-year sentence for anyone caught with more than 13,000 in drugs in Ireland. By Declan Brennan A jury has convicted a Dublin man of being the inside man in a 2.08 million cash-in-transit van robbery carried out 13 years ago. Niall Byrne (36) of Crumlin Road Flats, Dublin and three other men denied being part of the armed gang that kidnapped the Richardson family 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 wife Marie and their two teenage sons were held at gunpoint in the Dublin mountains until he had delivered the cash to a car park in west Dublin. Just before noon on Tuesday, having deliberated for just under 18 hours, the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court convicted Mr Byrne of conspiracy to robbery. The jury foreman told Judge Melanie Greally they were unable to agree a verdict on the kidnapping charges and Judge Greally recorded a disagreement. Mr Byrne, Mark Farrelly (47) Moatview Court, Priorswood, Coolock, Christopher Corcoran (70) of Rosedale, Raheny and David Byrne (45) of Old Brazil Way, Knocksedan, Swords had all pleaded not guilty to robbing Mr Richardson and Securicor of 2.08 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. This is the third time Niall Byrne was prosecuted at trial, with the other two trials ending with hung juries. On Monday afternoon the jury convicted Farrelly, Corcoran and David Byrne of five counts of robbery and false imprisonment of the four Richardsons. Judge Melanie Greally remanded all four men into custody to appear before the court on June 5th next. The State's case is that Niall Byrne, who worked for Securicor at the time of the tiger kidnap robbery, was the inside man for the gang. David Byrne, Christopher Corcoran and Mark Farrelly This trial, which began last January, was the fifth time the case went to trial. Farrelly and Corcoran and Jason Kavanagh, Corduff Avenue, Blanchardstown were convicted and jailed in 2009 but were released in 2012 after the convictions were overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal on the back of a Supreme Court ruling that search warrants used in this and other investigations were unconstitutional. In 2015 Farrelly and Corcoran were acquitted of all charges when Judge Mary Ellen Ring ruled that the State could not use the mobile phone evidence. A year later the Court of Appeal said Judge Ring was mistaken and overturned the acquittals. The trial heard that Niall Byrne was linked to Kavanagh, who was convicted again in 2013. Byrne had a reputation for being late for work and that there were a number of wake up calls to his mobile phone that morning from a phone linked to Kavanagh. The jury also heard evidence that when there a delay in getting Mr Richardson's van into the Securicor depot, there was a frantic series of calls from Niall Byrne's phone. Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, told the jury that the State's case was based on the idea of joint enterprise or common design, meaning where a group of people knowingly commit a crime, each is responsible for the acts of the others. Each of the men may not actually have pointed a gun...but if they were part of the gang and the overall plan they are as guilty as everyone else, he said. A man has been released on bail after questioning about 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-old's death in April 1988 remains one of the region's most high-profile unsolved murders. The suspect, aged 61, was held in the Loughguile area of Co Antrim early on Monday morning and later released pending further police inquiries. A man aged 58 is still being questioned. 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. 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. - PA The author of the investigation into Savita Halappanavars death has reiterated his finding that she would still be alive if the Eighth Amendment did not exist. Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, who chaired the Government-backed inquiry into Ms Halappanavars 2012 death, made the comments with just four days left of the referendum campaign. Savita Halappanavar Speaking before tonights live TV debate, which will feature Health Minister Simon Harris and LoveBoths Cora Sherlock, Prof Arulkumaran said Ms Halappanavar died because of the Eighth Amendment. When there were signs of sepsis with Savita at 18 weeks, in the UK we would have terminated, he said. "But the problem was they were listening to the foetal heart beat and what was holding them back was the Eighth Amendment." Prof Arulkumaran has flown from India to Dublin to attend an Irish Family Planning Association referendum yes vote event today. The world is going to say we [Ireland] are not compassionate and do not respect women [if there is a no vote], he added. The comments are likely to play a crucial role in tonights referendum debate, which will see Mr Harris and Ms Sherlock go head to head after weeks of acrimony. Ahead of the debate, Ms Sherlock said that many voters want to help rape victims affected by the Eighth Amendment, but the government proposals are 'too extreme'. Cora Sherlock Ms Sherlock says she has encountered voters who would support repeal of the Eighth if the proposed legislation was more restrictive. The government is proposing to legislate for abortion without restriction up to 12 weeks into a pregnancy. Ms Sherlock says that is something that worries voters she has met on the doorsteps. "I know that they would say, because they have said to me on the doors, 'I don't agree with the wider Pro-Life movement on a whole lot of issues but the one thing I do agree with them on is the proposal is too extreme'." - Irish Examiner & Digital Desk Revenue officers at Dublin Airport seized 45,000 cigarettes yesterday. Officers stopped and searched a passenger who had arrived from Nigeria via Frankfurt. The cigarettes, branded Benson & Hedges have a retail value of 27,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of 21,375. The passenger, a 35-year-old Nigerian man, was arrested and appeared in Dublin Metropolitan District Court, where he was remanded in custody to Cloverhill until Monday, 28 May. An Australian archbishop who was the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world to be charged with covering up child sex abuse was convicted on Tuesday and faces a potential two years in prison. Magistrate Robert Stone handed down the verdict against Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson in Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney, following a magistrate-only trial. Wilson, 67, had pleaded not guilty to knowing of the crimes of a paedophile priest in the 1970s. He denied under oath in court last month that two former altar boys ever told him that they had been sexually abused by a priest. Wilson, who has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, said he had known one of the former altar boys and his family in the mid-1970s. But the archbishop said he had no memory of the boy telling him in 1976 he had been sexually abused by priest James Fletcher five years earlier when he was 10. Wilson told the court the conversation was unlikely to have occurred because the former altar boy, when giving evidence in December, alleged he went into graphic detail about what Fletcher had done to him. "I don't think I would have forgotten that," Wilson told the court. Asked by his lawyer Stephen Odgers what he would have done if the boy had told him about the abuse, Wilson said his first priority would have been to provide pastoral care to the then-15-year-old boy and his family. The archbishop said he would also have reported the allegations to his superiors. Fletcher was found guilty in 2004 of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in jail of a stroke in 2006, while serving an almost eight-year sentence. Wilson told the court he had not been aware that Fletcher had abused boys. Asked by Odgers if he had had any suspicions about Fletcher, Wilson replied: "No, I had none." The former altar boy alleged he trusted Wilson would take action against the paedophile priest after revealing the abuse, but Wilson did nothing. The second former altar boy alleged he was about 11 in 1976 when he went into the confessional box to tell Wilson that Fletcher had abused him. The witness alleged Wilson told him he was telling lies because Fletcher "was a good bloke". The witness said Wilson had ordered him out of the confessional and told to recite 10 Hail Mary prayers as an act of contrition. Wilson said he had no memory of seeing the second altar boy at all in 1976 and said he would never accuse anyone in the confessional of telling lies. Questioned about his health, Wilson said the prescribed medication he was taking to treat his Alzheimer's had helped improve his memory, "although it's not perfect". - PA A mother has been convicted of duping her teenage daughter to go to Pakistan and forcing her to marry, in the first successful prosecution of its type. The woman was found guilty following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, where a jury heard how the victim had sobbed as she was married to a male relative 16 years her senior. Years earlier, the man had taken the girl's virginity after a marriage contract was entered into against the girl's will. The then 13-year-old had to undergo an abortion on returning to the UK, with her GP reporting his concerns to social services. It is the first time a forced marriage case of this kind has been successfully prosecuted in a criminal court in England, with the mother convicted of actively deceiving the girl in order to convince her to travel. Jurors heard how as the girl had approached her 18th birthday, she was tricked by her mother into going to Pakistan on what she believed was a family holiday. The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons to protect the identity of the victim, was convicted of deceiving the victim to go to Pakistan, in order to enter into a false marriage, forced marriage and perjury, after she later lied about the incident in the High Court. Giving evidence during the trial, the girl told how wedding preparations went ahead despite her objections. The couple were then married in September 2016, after she had celebrated her 18th birthday. The teenager had described how she was taken to get ready for the ceremony, and there an imam gave her papers to sign and asked if she wanted to get married. The victim - under pressure from her mother - had to say "I do" or "I accept" three times, before signing. Jurors heard the complainant recall how she cried to her mother, who continued leading her by the arm to meet her husband-to-be, and then put on her ring. She said: "I didn't want to get married to him." Back in the UK, after concerns were raised by the authorities, the girl's mother was summonsed to the High Court, and there lied on oath, stating that her daughter had not been married. Jurors also heard how years earlier, following her abortion, the teenager had turned to drink and drugs. After a referral to children's services about the pregnancy, her mother "made all the right noises" according to prosecutors, claiming her daughter and the man were just "two teenagers who had sneakily had sex". Opening the case, prosecutor Deborah Gould said the victim was "a young girl who has been let down badly by her mother, whose love and attention she craves". As the verdicts were read, the defendant appeared shocked and was remanded in custody for sentencing on Wednesday, as her daughter watched from the public gallery. Judge Patrick Thomas QC told the jury the adjournment was appropriate as the case was "entirely novel", with no other relevant case law to rely upon. - PA Diversified developer Charter Hall has further cemented its relationship with Woolworths, agreeing to build the supermarket giant a new $100 million-plus refrigerated distribution centre in Melbournes west. The new temperature controlled logistics facility will be built next to Woolworths state-of-the-art MeatCo shed which opened in Drystone Estate on Dohertys Road in Truganina in 2016. Woolworths will add a 32,600 square metre distribution centre to its supply chain. Co-location with the Woolworths MeatCo facility and proximity to produce markets will provide us with opportunities to improve how we deliver fresher, faster and more efficiently to our stores in Victoria, Woolworths chief supply chain officer Paul Graham said. Woolworths new 32,600 square metre distribution centre will form part of the groups supply chain which is underpinned by another huge 70,000 sq m distribution centre in Dandenong South that opened two years ago. Supermarket operators Woolworths and Coles are undertaking a series of asset sales and leasebacks to unleash funds for new developments. Redundant land parcels are also being offered that could be adaptive re-use for residential projects. With food retailing continuing to outperform non-food retailing investment and the lack of quality stock on market, the demand for freestanding supermarkets is anticipated to continue throughout 2018. Woolworths is selling and leasing back a stand-alone supermarket at Lisarow on the NSW Central Coast Woolworths is the latest to offer two stand-alone supermarkets in NSW, on yields of sub 6 per cent, giving them a combined value of about $45 million. They are being offered as two separate transactions. What was a thoughtful baby shower gift from colleagues has turned into a frustration for soon-to-be mother Michelle Ferguson. "The girls got together from my work and at my baby shower presented me a $200 gift card, which is so beautiful just to help with bits and pieces," she said. Soon-to-be mother Michelle Ferguson now has to spend $200 of her own money in order to use her $200 Babies 'R' Us gift card. But on Tuesday Ms Ferguson, 26, found out through a Babies 'R' Us Facebook post that she would have to spend another $200 in store if she wanted to redeem it. Toys 'R' Us Australia, which owns Babies 'R' Us, announced on Monday the company was going into voluntary administration, with the administrators putting a condition on gift cards at both stores, honouring them only if customers spent an equivalent amount in-store. Perth Uber drivers are urging their customers to switch to ride-sharing competitor Ola in a bid to earn more per ride. Ola is handing out trial cards to passengers in Perth. The newest rideshare on the block, Ola offers drivers a better deal, taking 7.5 per cent of a fare as commission rather than Uber's 27.5 per cent. The low commission rate is an introductory offer by Ola, which will rise to 15 per cent at a date to be confirmed. Commissions after the introductory offer period will be based upon the driver's passenger satisfaction rating. Some Uber drivers are giving passengers a "Try Ola for Free" card, effectively helping Ola poach Uber customers. Asbestos-related cancer claims against building-materials giant James Hardie have quashed assumptions that the flow of compensation cases would begin abating after hitting a "peak" last year. James Hardie has unexpectedly faced a sustained increase in compensation claims from victims of the fatal asbestos-causer cancer, mesothelioma, prompting its actuaries to lift its liabilities by 12 per cent to $195 million. Net sales grew about 7 per cent to $US2.05 billion, from $US1.92 billion a year ago. Credit:Bloomberg James Hardie, which was involved in the manufacture and distribution of products containing asbestos until 1987, is required to pay 35 per cent of its free cash flow into a fund set up for asbestos victims. A KPMG report for the company revealed there had been 392 mesothelioma claims reported in the 2018 financial year, a 5 per cent increase on the previous year and above its expectations by about the same amount. Asbestos experts say the bulk of compensation claims are coming from the "third wave" of asbestos victims. Oakleigh A two-storey office leased to H&R Block sold under the hammer for $2.85 million, $850,000 above the reserve, Knight Franks Paul Pellegrino, Tim Grant and Lewien Gallus said. A private investor snapped up 11 Atherton Road on a yield of just 2.6 per cent. H&R Block has a 5-year lease on net annual rental of $76,576 with fixed annual rental increases of 5 per cent. In another deal, a commercial unit at 12/21-35 Ricketts Road in Mount Waverley sold for $990,000, on a yield of 5.5 per cent. The 304 sq m office warehouse was sold on a leaseback basis providing a net annual rental of $55,000, Stuart Gill and Mr Grant said. Glen Iris Another suburban office at 1a & 1b Weir Street sold for $3.435 million, about $185,000 above reserve. The price reflected a land rate of $3,925 per sq m for industrial zoned land, Axis Propertys Daniel Liberman and Darryl Lever said. Brighton Two shops in the popular Bay Street shopping strip have sold for $1.1 million on a 5.4 per cent yield before auction, Teska Carsons George Takis and Luke Bisset said. The shops at 227-229 Bay Street returned combined rent of $60,336 per annum. Demand for retail strip assets is chugging along quite nicely, Mr Takis said. Ormond A Chinese developer has purchased a development site at 291 Grange Road and 4 Walsh Street for $3.38 million. Savills Australias Jesse Radisich, Nick Peden and Julian Heatherich said significant interest was shown in the block with a total of 111 registered parties. Armstrong Creek A private developer has paid $1.318 million to secure a strategically-located, high exposure development site next to The Village Warralily Shopping Centre. Fitzroys David Bourke and Chris James sold the 2,199 sq m Lot 7 at 763 Barwon Heads Road. The new owner plans to build a retail offering with one or multiple tenancies. LEASES Melbournes An ethical pie bakery, Princes Pies, will open at 10 Howey Place after Fitzroys Ervin Niyaz negotiated the five-year deal over a 22 sq m space for more than $2,300 per sqm. Run by Matti Fallon, former head chef at DuNord, and Nathan Holloway, the pie shop will feature a monthly roster of other chefs, including Nick Stanton of Ramblr, Daniel Dobra of St Ali, and Tom Jacobson of Changz. It will showcase classic pie flavours, pasties and sausage rolls, and specials like lamb, goats cheese and truffle pies using meat from ethical family farm, the Little Creek Cattle Company. New Life Hot Pot restaurant will expand into a second CBD store. Melbourne New Life Hot Pot restaurant will expand into a second CBD store after leasing a two storey building at 470 Little Lonsdale Street. New Life will pay $160,000 per annum net on a 7-year term with a further 7-year option for 165 sq m across both levels, CBREs Tan Thach, Zelman Ainsworth and Samantha Hunt said. Richmond The NDIS is prompting business to lease suburban offices. A subsidiary of Macmillan Shakespeare, Plan Management Partners, has taken 550 sq m on Level 1 at 543 Bridge Road to be close to their clients, said Colliers Internationals Chris Meehan, who negotiated a five-year lease at $500 per sq m gross with colleague Damien Adkins. Fitzroy Phillip and Lea Homewares has snapped up a 116 sq m shop at 65 Gertrude Street just three weeks after it was listed. Teska Carsons Fergus Evans and Matthew Feld said Phillip and Lea agreed to a five year lease with a five year option at $85,000 per annum net. Leasing a space of this size just three weeks after listing is a pretty good reflection of just how much demand there is, Mr Evans said. Melbourne Two whole floors at 136 Exhibition Street have leased to new tenants in quick succession following the departure of former occupant Australia Post. Colliers Internationals Adam Davy and Milly Stockdale leased two fully fitted, 617 sq m floors on Levels 3 and 5 to AECOM Australia (five-year lease) and PLP Building Surveyors (six-year lease). Rent is understood to be around $460 to 480 per sqm net. Travancore A 1,580 sq m former Officeworks site at 64 Mt Alexander Road has been subdivided, with Fernwood Fitness taking 1000 sq m on a 12 year lease. Burgess Rawsons Sam Fogarty and Andrew Kausman negotiated the deal. Mr Fogarty said finding a ground floor tenancy of this size in Melbourne that didnt have a demolition clause was near impossible nowadays. In another deal, BeActive Physio will relocate to new premises at 700 High Street in Prahran. Mr Fogarty negotiated a five year lease with options at $125,000 per annum for BeActive. BWX chief executive John Humble admits he didn't get much sleep on Monday night after unveiling an ambitious bid to buy back the Melbourne company he co-founded. The emergence of Mr Humble's $6.60 per share bid, which is being made in concert with BWX finance director Aaron Finlay and private equity partner Bain Capital, sent BWX's share price soaring 35 per cent on Tuesday to $5.95 by the market close after rising as high as $6.16 earlier in the day. The spark for the management-led buyoung started with a difference of opinion over future growth plans between the cosmetics company's executive and its investors. BWX chief executive John Humble (right) and finance director Aaron Finlay have launched a bid for the company. Credit:Michael Dodge The consortium wants to acquire 100 per cent of BWX and plough ahead with strategic growth plans into new global markets, while shareholders no longer support future mergers and acquisitions. After a horror start when his Chinese manufacturer failed to deliver the goods in time for the northern hemisphere winter, James Horstman, founder of the Australian range of snowboard and skiwear, Drifa, is raring to go for the local snow season. As we head toward winter, Horstman is spending much of his time building relationships with Instagram influencers. James Horstman (left) is the founder of snow brand Drifa. We're trying to get a mix of people coming through the junior ranks. We've also reached out to weekend warriors with a following of around 15,000 people who will wear our gear, promote it and get behind it, he says. One of Drifas existing influencers is Canadas Brandon Winslow, whos just started competing and who became one of the businesss influencers before the North American season. I started thinking about how we could make the experience completely seamless for customers. So, we link the customers receipt to the bank card and automatically send it to their mobile banking app, providing them better transparency when they trying to reconcile spending and so forth. "[For] users, its about making life that little bit easier and maybe making a little bit of money back on your rewards. For banks, its about enhancing that cardholder experience and enriching their digital assets. For merchants, it is about understanding more about their customers. Weingarth says Ping Data has completed a trial with a tier-one bank partner. We are now moving into integration stage, so we will have this live by the end of the year. We are also working in parallel with some of the other banks. The winners of the 2018 CeBIT PitchFest (from left): Tim Walmsley (BenchOn), Paul Weingarth (Ping Data) and Jenny Atkinson (Littlescribe). Solving employee underutilisation Tim Walmsleys BenchOn, a business-to-business talent mobility platform that matches short-term contract requirement with hidden talents in Australian companies, won second place. A lot of our industries are becoming much more contract-based," says CEO Walmsley, and if contracts are cancelled or they get delayed, it creates these gaps where companies have expensive staff sitting on the bench chewing up their cashflow while they wait for their next contract. When I was an executive in industry, I saw heaps of people losing their jobs because companies could not afford to keep them in down times and then themselves shutting down because the company ran out of money. So we built a business platform that automatically matches staff who are on the bench with short-term contracts with other companies that are in search of them. Walmsley says the platform launched about 18 months ago. We now have about 300 corporate clients and we have processed over $50 million worth of contracts. Instant digital books by students Jenny Atkinsons Littlescribe, which lets children create original books from their handwritten and drawn pages, took third place at the pitchfest. We create purpose for students writing, said Atkinson during her pitch. And we do that by taking handwriting that is happening in classrooms, which our platform transforms into an instant digital book fit for printing and production. We also enable schools to create their own digital library of original books written by their students for their students. And we create toolkits for teachers, and data for stakeholders. Atkinson says in term one of this year, Littlescribe connected with 30 schools. Diverse range of techpreneurs The other finalists at 2018 CeBITs PitchFest ranged from medical to VR to safety to recruitment. Joss Kesby, inventor and managing director at Diffuse Energy, says its product is a small wind turbine thats twice as powerful as our competitors, it will also be quieter and safer. He says the initial target market is yacht owners. Inspace XR builds augmented and virtual reality technology for the building sector. Its first product River Fox allows architects to convert their CAD files into virtual reality with a click. They could be inside a shopping centre or airport before it is constructed, says CEO Justin Liang. The "Concussionometer" is HeadsafeIPs portable, clinically validated technology used in the assessment of concussion. The headset uses the technology to measure the brains electrical activity when a person is concussed. Founder Dr Adrian Cohen says the product is still a year from market because with medical devices you have to go through a very rigorous process of building to an international certification and clinical testing. An explicit government commitment to achieving full employment, less use of contractors and the use of public spending to support local jobs are key planks of a new blueprint from the national union movement which it hopes will steer a course for a future Labor government. The new report Jobs You Can Count On comes as a new analysis by a leading public policy expert shows Australia has the highest proportion of temporary employees in the OECD. Peter Whiteford, a professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, said the latest available international data from 2012 showed that Australia then had the highest proportion of temporary employees in the OECD. "This ranking seems unlikely to have changed since then," he said. Rebecca Sheerin hopes overseas work will open the way to getting full-time employment in Australia. Credit:Nick Moir Sydney primary school teacher Rebecca Sheerin, 32, has been working on fixed-term contracts for about 10 years and is preparing to teach in Singapore because she has been unable to find a permanent job. She hopes the international experience will help her secure "that golden permanent job" when she returns to Australia. The man beside me was drawing pictures. With a pencil. He was good. Okay, better than good Chris Riddell was nerpy. Teachers and kids crowded his table, each one aching to be the next portrait. Vivian, a woman with sharp cheekbones, was his current work, complete with wavy hair that Chris depicted in a swoop, nattering to Vivian as if art was no more than swabbing a bench. The exercise was a pulse-check of the vernacular corpus, testing whether aqua bog (a bogan surfer) and cacker (a small cray) still existed out west. Illustration: John Shakespeare After Vivian came Rachel. After Rachel, Maria. After Maria, I lost track. But Chris was one popular illustrator, gifted as he was nonchalant. And yes, the female of the species seemed more equal than others when it came to cynosures. But who could begrudge England's Children's Laureate, an avuncular charmer whose work has enriched the words of Neil Gaiman, Lewis Carroll and the Human Rights Act (for children)? Indeed, this Perth week was all about kids, stirring them to think, to read and draw, to treat words as their accomplices. Warning: this contains spoilers for 13 Reasons Why. Netflix's hit teen show 13 Reasons Why is facing renewed criticism over a graphic ending to its second season, with viewers and parents groups calling on the streaming giant to can the series. The show's second season finale, which premiered on Friday, features a graphic scene in which a teen student is beaten and sexually assaulted with a mop handle in a school locker room by his bullies. The same character, loner Tyler (played by Devin Druid), also features in a foiled plot to shoot up a school dance that has drawn complaints from a parents group in the US. A biography of Britain's latest royal, Meghan Markle, appeared on the monarchy's official website within hours of her marrying Prince Harry on Saturday, with a single quote: "I am proud to be a woman and a feminist". To royal watchers, it represented a statement of intent and a clear demonstration of a new, modern path the 1,000-year-old British monarchy will be treading as it seeks to remain relevant in a fast-changing political climate exemplified by Brexit. The couple posed for a less formal photo. Credit:Alexi Lubomirski/Kensington Palace "Just 20 years ago, the monarchy seemed to be struggling for its very survival," said the Daily Mail newspaper, referring to the Windsors' grimmest hours in the aftermath of the death of Harry's mother Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 when the family were heavily criticised for seeming not to care. "How different the picture looks today. Prince Harry's wedding to the glamorous and thoroughly modern actress Meghan Markle did more than put the seal on a fairytale romance. Theres that old joke about being happy to camp under the stars, as long as its five stars, for those of us who arent terribly keen on pitching a tent in a paddock somewhere. Now Canberrans will have the opportunity to do both with a unique experience being offered by Wildfest, an adventure luxury travel company, and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Michelle Vernon, nature stays manager with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service, gets in the mood for the Wildfest glamping event. Credit:Karleen Minney From September 28, 2018, to October 13, coinciding with the ACT school holidays, families can book an overnight stay which includes not only glamping tent accommodation but a behind-the-scenes look at the nature reserve. Therell be fireside dreamtime stories, ranger walks and educational talks, alongside a nights camping which includes a gourmet dinner and breakfast. Louise Bannister needed a new battery for her wheelchair and modifications to make her house safer to get around. Instead the Canberra mother was offered a spot in a group home, away from her family. Ms Bannister wept before an ACT paraliamentary inquiry on Tuesday as she recounted the moment her hopes for the National Disability Insurance Scheme were dashed. They had been high, she said. Louise Bannister told the ACT inquiry on Tuesday people with disabilities should not be left "stranded in their homes" because of lack of NDIS funding for housing modifications. Credit:Karleen Minney Like the other participants of the scheme who shared their stories this week, Ms Bannister backed the sweeping reform to the disability sector that had put individual choice at the heart of support. But after long delays, cuts to her funding for services and "no transperancy", Ms Bannister said the reality of scheme for her had become starkly different to what was promised. Two staff at the Australian high commission in Pretoria, South Africa, have been sacked after they illegally sold visas to Nigerian nationals. The Home Affairs Department cancelled the visa of at least one Nigerian, in Australia on a student visa, on the basis the permit had been obtained as a result of the fraudulent conduct. However, Ogochukwu Concilia Odinkaeze successfully challenged the cancellation in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The Home Affairs Department confirmed two non-Australian citizens had their employment at the high commission terminated following "internal disciplinary investigations". The department would not confirm the number of visas issued by the staff members, but said an investigation had assessed the "visas issued by these individuals ... and appropriate action taken where necessary". Home sharing is not an altogether new concept for Sydney or Australia, having last been popular in the post-World War II era of housing shortages and booming demand. Modern technology has now made it easier and more commonplace for people to share their homes with family, friends or visitors. This has led to an explosion in home sharing or short-term accommodation platforms, like Airbnb and Stayz, particularly in the City of Sydney. In October 2017, it was estimated that there were more than 24,000 Airbnb listings in metropolitan Sydney, of which 5,675 were in the City of Sydney local government area. There has been an explosion in home sharing or short-term accommodation platforms, like Airbnb. Credit:Bloomberg With Sydney hotels running at close to capacity, the people using online platforms to source alternative accommodation are proving a boon for areas that arent well served for hotels. Visitors are spending their time and money in local cafes, bars and shops in Surry Hills, Potts Point and Darlinghurst - not just The Rocks or Circular Quay. Deloitte Access Economics found Airbnb alone contributed $512 million to NSW Gross State Product in 2015-2016 and supported more than 4,452 jobs. Two more men have been charged over the botched conspiracy to murder former Rebels bikie gang member Ricky Ciano in 2015. The former president of the Rebels' Sydney chapter was the target of a shooting attempt at his home on the Central Coast, when a crew of bikie associates allegedly tried to shoot him while they pretended to deliver a pizza. Former Rebels bikie gang member Ricky Ciano was found dead in his car on Valentine's Day last year. Credit:Facebook Their plan was thwarted when Mr Ciano, who left the bikie fraternity in 2015, refused to open the front door. Mr Ciano was eventually found dead on the back seat of his car in mysterious circumstances from a suspected deliberate drug overdose on Valentine's Day last year. A $30 million riverfront brewery in Brisbane East that will produce 10 million litres of beer a year has been given the tick of approval. Scottish beer giant BrewDog submitted a development application to Brisbane City Council on March 15, proposing to build its first Australian brewery in the Metroplex complex at Murarrie. BrewDog will open a brewery and restaurant at Murarrie The development would cover 28 per cent of the15,340 square-metre site and include a brewery and a food and drink outlet. While the operation of the site will be 24/7 the council has made it a condition of approval that the food and drink shop element is only able to trade from 7am to midnight. Queenslands regional and rural mental health patients, in particular, are still struggling to access specialist help under an ongoing national shortage of practising psychiatrists. Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists president Dr Kym Jenkins said there were roughly two psychiatrists per 100,000 people in regional and rural Queensland. Access to psychiatrists in rural and regional Queensland may be difficult. Credit:Gabriele Charotte In contrast, city centres are likely to see a ratio of about 18 psychiatrists per 100,000 people. Such a shortage meant practising psychiatrists were under pressure to juggle both public and private health system work according to their own practice needs, she said. Queenslands craft beer boom shows no sign of slowing down, with Teneriffe-based brewery Green Beacon picking up Champion Medium Australian Brewery at the Australian International Beer Awards on May 17. Following on from winning the small brewery category last year, Green Beacons expansion over the past 12 months put them firmly in the medium-sized brewery category for 2018. Green Beacon took out 12 medals at the Australian International Beer Awards on Thursday. General manager Chris Borbas said Green Beacons growth from a little brew pub in Teneriffe to a North Brisbane facility three times the size in just one year was exciting. The whole industry is booming at the moment which is good for everyone, Mr Borbas said. Brisbane City Councils transport boss has assured residents that booting cars off the Victoria Bridge to fix the daily bus jam will not force motorists to pay for toll roads. The council proposed banning cars from Victoria Bridge and turning it into a "green bridge" as part of the $944 million Brisbane Metro project in 2016. Victoria Bridge will be turned into a "green bridge" as part of the Brisbane Metro project. Credit:Harrison Saragossi This sparked concerns motorists would be forced to use the Go Between toll bridge as an alternative route but public and active transport chairman Adrian Schrinner said that was not the case. Council has done detailed modelling on what will happen when Victoria Bridge does close to general traffic and that modelling shows that 70 per cent of cars using Victoria Bridge will divert across to William Jolly Bridge, the remaining 30 per cent will go elsewhere, he said. So if, like McNaughten, you have such mental health problems that you can prove that you dont know what youre doing is wrong, or dont know what youre doing at all, then you cannot be held criminally responsible for your actions. The defence is usually only available for very serious crimes - not common assault. And people who are found not guilty by reason of insanity or unable to stand trial because they do not comprehend the charges brought against them do not get off scot-free. They usually spend many decades locked up in a psychiatric facility. Judge Cotterell did not have to deal with such difficult issues. But she did have to weigh many complex and conflicting matters before arriving at a sentence. So she had to look not only at the terrible crime but also at the women who had made enormous efforts to turn their lives around after appalling childhoods and battles with drug, alcohol and mental-health problems. The truth is that judges agonise over every sentence they hand down. Thats because every crime must be punished and yet every criminal has their own story to tell. Unlike people on talkback radio, judges must consider not just the objective facts of the crime, but also deal with the person who stands before them and over whom they have the power to lock away for years or decades. Its an ominous responsibility. Councillors accused of serious sexual harassment could be suspended for up to a year or face an investigation under new laws to be tabled in State Parliament today. Victorias current safeguards to prevent sexual harassment in councils were criticised during the investigation into former lord mayor Robert Doyle, with Town Halls code of conduct for councillors failing to outline how to report harassment sexual or otherwise. Robert Doyle had four adverse findings made against him. Credit:Justin McManus Under the new laws, the minister for local government will be able to suspend councillors for up to a year if they pose a significant threat to the governance of a council or create a health and safety risk. This includes serious sexual harassment. Allegations of serious misconduct will be heard by a councillor conduct panel, which will be able to suspend councillors for six months. Two private hospitals in Geelong and Kew are to be shut down within a month, putting more than 400 jobs at risk, after operator Healthscope announced it was no longer viable to keep them running. Geelong Private Hospital formerly known as Baxter House and Cotham Private Hospital in Kew will be both be closed gradually over the next four weeks, leading to the loss of 417 jobs across the two institutions. Healthscope has decided that the hospitals aren't 'viable'. Credit:Reuters Employees were made aware of the closures on Tuesday. The company has promised to try and redeploy staff to other Healthscope facilities where possible. "We are aware that this will be a very difficult time for our staff and we are working proactively with them to explore redeployment and relocation opportunities at other Healthscope locations," chief executive Gordon Ballantyne said in a statement. A Bunbury woman has been charged after she allegedly tricked a man into handing over $10,000 through a suspected "romance scam". WA Police said the 53-year-old woman gained the trust of the man online, and requested him to forward her a sum of money. For information or advice in relation to on-line crimes or to make a report, visit ACORN online. Credit:Phil Carrick When she recieved the money, she then forwarded it on to a scammer based in Nigeria. Technology Crime Services investigators began an inquiry into the matter when it was reported to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN), who then provided information to WA Police. Jester, Maverick and Goose may only be 12-weeks-old, but they are ready to become the newest batch of Western Australian dogs trained by the police force as "dual purpose" crimefighters. The pups were introduced to media on Tuesday morning, and WA police officer in charge Glen Potter said the trio will be the first round of recruits to become trained as both dual general purpose and narcotics dogs. Officer Glen Potter and Maverick. Credit:Hannah Barry "It's a new initative, something we haven't done previously, and we are the first in the country to do so," he said. "We do have one dog currently in Port Hedland doing both narcotics and general purpose work very successfully, and that's been our proof of concept." The first - and perhaps only - thing you see when you enter an office on the 14th floor of Perth's Brookfield Place is the view. Floor-to-ceiling windows made with "optically clear" glazing frame a soaring vista of the Swan River, Kings Park and a hint of the Indian Ocean just beyond the cranes of Fremantle harbour. "It's much better than our old office," the receptionist quips. "It wasn't bad, but this is spectacular." The entrance to DAN's office in the Perth CBD uses the view to maximum effect. Credit:Woods Bagot Global architecture firm Woods Bagot's Tenille Teakle was lead designer of the new CBD office for media and digital marketing firm Dentsu Aegis Network, working alongside Design & Construct with Schiavello. The wife of 65-year-old Ian Collett, missing since Saturday, has made a public plea for people to watch out for him as he enters his fourth night alone. The grandfather has dementia, but is very fit and has covered a lot of ground since he left his Canning Vale home on Saturday, with sightings confirmed in Armadale, Byford and Jarrahdale. Deborah Collett, wife of missing man Ian Collett. Credit:9 News Perth. It is believed he might be headed towards Albany, where he has family, or Mount Barker, where he once lived. His wife, Deborah Collett, told 9 News Perth her husband was wearing a medic alert bracelet with his name, the word dementia and her mobile number. The upcoming ACT budget will include a $22.8 million boost to the ACT's strained mental health sector. Three houses accommodating 15 people will be built across the city for patients who are capable of living in the community but require ongoing support because of persistent mental illness. Minister for Mental Health Shane Rattenbury has announced 2018 budget funding for extra beds for mental health patients. Photo: Sitthixay Ditthavong Mental Health Minister Shane Rattenbury said it was about having a spectrum of support services across the territory to provide the right care at the right time, in the right place. The funding will go both towards building new supported accommodation facilities and running them. Bloke? Just the guy who bet a cool $50 mil that Elon Musk wouldnt get a lithium battery built in South Australia, and then tweeted he was never more happy to loose a bet when Musk did, thats who. Just the regular Aussie guy who co-founded Atlassian, now a $14.7 billion tech company selling software round the world, thats who. Why? Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of Atlassian, has rolled out a program in more than 60 schools to teach kids to code. Credit:Daniel Munoz Which is why, however improbably, I came to find myself at Sydneys huge CeBIT computer fair sitting next to an old friend, another journalist whod similarly abandoned maths in year 10, receiving a personal lesson in just how fun and easy it is to program computers. Theres a big push on for everyone to immerse themselves in the STEM subjects science, technology, engineering and maths. Its heresy I know, but after an exciting morning I couldnt help but feel that a deep understanding of the rules of Latin composition or, perhaps, philosophical logic, could be just as relevant assisting me to unlock the deep secrets of coding. Or, indeed, just learning how to code for its own sake, as Mike pointed out. (Now were best buddies I dont have to follow the usual newspaper rule of calling him by his surname, even if he wouldnt ever recognise me again). Cannon-Brookes, or Atlassian, has now rolled out a program in more than 60 schools to do exactly this put coding on the syllabus. The enthusiasm thats greeting it from both parents and students is huge. So why arent our politicians pushing for coding to be included in the syllabus? After all, its a vital skill for our future, its simple, and its actually even fun. Your homework: the next time you meet a politician or principal, demand coding lessons are integrated at every level, from primary and beyond. Energy giant AGL would face heavy penalties and a possible class action under changes proposed by Coalition backbenchers who want the company punished for refusing to sell the Liddell power plant. The push sets up a potential new front in government infighting over energy policy, as electricity reliability and affordability loom as big issues at the next federal election. AGL on Monday announced it had knocked back a $250 million bid by Alinta to buy the ageing Hunter Valley plant and would close the operation in 2022 as planned. The Turnbull government had exerted pressure on AGL to sell, saying it would increase competition, lower prices and shore up east coast energy supplies. Backbench Coalition MPs want AGL to face legal sanctions for refusing to sell the Liddell coal plant. Credit:Jonathan Carroll At a joint party room meeting on Tuesday, pro-coal Liberal MP Craig Kelly is believed to have called on the government to amend competition laws to prevent companies that provide essential services from acting uncompetitively. It is understood former prime minister Tony Abbott and former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce backed the proposal. The review of Australian Public Service was recommended by Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Martin Parkinson, it was revealed on Tuesday, as more details of the review came to light. The overarching review of the sector was announced earlier this month, and is set to be the most detailed such inquiry of the public service in 40 years. Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Martin Parkinson recommended the review of the public service to the prime minister. Credit:Andrew Taylor It was confirmed in Senate estimates on Monday that deputy secretary in the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources David Williamson moved to PM&C in February in order to head up the secretariat for the review. The review was sparked by a recommendation to the prime minister from Dr Parkinson, who had been considering the prospect of a review for some time, Mr Williamson told the committee. It was also pushed along by a recommendation in Innovation and Science Australia's Australia 2030 report for a review of the Australian public service in November last year. A former Newman government MP will contest the wafer-thin marginal seat of Longman for the LNP, after "convincingly" winning preselection on Tuesday night. Trevor Ruthenberg will be up against Labors Susan Lamb, who this month quit the Parliament over the dual citizenship saga, with a super Saturday of byelections expected to be held in July. Former Newman government MP and federal LNP candidate for Longman Trevor Ruthenberg at the preselection meeting on Tuesday night. Credit:Felicity Caldwell Mr Ruthenberg, 50, held the state seat of Kallangur from 2012 to 2015, until the Newman government was swept from power. Labor has already seized on Mr Ruthenberg's preselection win, connecting the dots with his time as an MP during the Newman years. One of Australias most generous political donors has been named in Parliament as funding the bribery of a senior United Nations official, and as being closely associated with the lobbying arm of the Chinese Communist Party. In a dramatic move that may further inflame diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Canberra, Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has used parliamentary privilege to identify billionaire businessman Chau Chak Wing as an unindicted co-conspirator in an FBI bribery case. Chau Chak Wing in 2012 after donating a large sum of money to the UTS business school. Credit:Sahlan Hayes Mr Hastie, who chairs the joint intelligence and security committee, told Parliament on Tuesday that he had recently learned from US authorities that Mr Chau a big donor to both main Australian political parties was the co-conspirator identified in a New York court indictment as "CC-3". CC-3 is alleged in the indictment to have funded a $US200,000 ($263,000) bribe which was funnelled to the former president of the UN general assembly, John Ashe, in 2013. 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." A Rohingya man whom refugee advocates say had a long history of mental illness and epilepsy has died after throwing himself from a moving bus on Manus Island, police have confirmed. Local police commander David Yapu told Fairfax Media witnesses said the man aged in his early 30s had deliberately jumped from a window of the bus, which was travelling at up to 60km/h. Manus Island police commander David Yapu. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen He was travelling with the other refugees from the campsite towards town, Mr Yapu said. He jumped from a window onto the bitumen and killed himself. He said the mans body was now at the Lorengau hospital and police were investigating the precise circumstances of his death. The NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has been forced to delay long-awaited reforms to Airbnb after nervous backbenchers refused to back laws capping the number of days homes could be rented. In an embarrassing development, the government had to cancel its planned announcement on Tuesday after a joint Coalition party room meeting could not agree on the proposed changes, which had been passed by cabinet last week. It also comes as the government last week backed down from its medium-density housing policy, and suspended the housing code in the City of Ryde and the City of Canterbury Bankstown. Airbnb reforms are on the backburner after nervous MPs did not support the reforms. Credit:Alamy The Premier had to delay the Airbnb reforms after as many as 10 MPs wanted to speak on the issue in the party room, with some warning that several key marginal Sydney seats could be especially impacted by the changes. Victorian upper house Labor MP Cesar Melhem will face Federal Court for alleged serious misconduct from his time as head of the Australian Workers Union in Victoria. The Registered Organisation Commission confirmed it had commenced civil action against both Mr Melhem and the AWU for multiple contraventions of the Fair Work Act. Victorian Labor MP Cesar Melhem. Credit:Darrian Traynor A Victorian state upper house MP since 2013, Mr Melhem is a close political ally of opposition leader Bill Shorten, who was his predecessor and mentor as AWU Victorian secretary. The commission alleged Mr Melhem had inflated the AWUs membership by more than 2000 people when he was the head of the union. Labor's Darling Range candidate Colleen Yates listed an "MBA" from UWA in the education section of her LinkedIn profile. Colleen Yates included the reference to an "MBA" from the university in her LinkedIn profile, which was deleted on Monday. Labor has defended its Darling Range candidate after she listed a Masters of Business Administration from UWA in an online resume even though she had not been awarded the degree. But a UWA spokesman said Ms Yates had only been awarded a Graduate Certificate in Business in February, 2018. Labor party state secretary Matt Dixon said Ms Yates had not made "any misrepresentations to WA Labor in relation to her studies and has been clear with us from the outset which is her Grad Dip of Business, as part of the longer term studies in the MBA program". "Subsequent emails from UWA have that Colleen needed to complete her Graduate Certificate of Business in order move into the UWA MBA program," he said. "Colleen's plans to do this course have obviously been put on hold due to her contesting the Darling Range byelection, but I am advised she has submitted her application to continue on with this study." Mr Dixon said Ms Yates had submitted to WA Labor a resume which listed a Graduate Certificate of Business. 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. Milan: The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement on Tuesday defended Giuseppe Conte, tapped to be Italy's next prime minister, against speculation that he overstated affiliations with elite international universities. The 5-Star movement said the insinuations indicated fears of the changes coming under a 5-Star government with the right- wing League. In a statement, the movement said the 53-year-old law professor "had never boasted" of overseas degrees, but had "stayed abroad to study, enrich his knowledge and perfect his juridical English. For a professor of his level, the opposite would have been strange." Giuseppe Conte smiles during a meeting in Rome. Credit:AP Conte is currently a professor at the University of Florence, where colleagues and students alike praised Conte as a capable choice, even if he lacks political experience. Conte also has solid institutional Catholic credentials, teaching at the Vatican-affiliated LUMSA university in the mid-1990s and having close ties with Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, one of the behind-the-scenes power brokers in the Italian church and at the Vatican. The dispatcher chuckled, then composed herself and told the man she would send an officer to the scene. The North Ridgeville Police Department later suggested that it was at least a little skeptical about the call. The man, according to police, said "he was being followed by a pig and didn't know what to do." "A pig. Riiiight," the department wrote in a lighthearted Facebook post. But, you know, protect and serve and all, and so, police said, "night shift responded to the obviously drunk guy walking home from the bar at 5:26 in the morning. He was at least drunk enough to call the police on himself while hallucinating." And yet . . . "Upon arrival, they found a very sober male walking eastbound on Center Ridge near Maddock Rd. from the actual Amtrak train station in Elyria, not the bar. Oh, and he was being followed by a pig." Ryan Singley, the caller who reported the oddity, told Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS that the animal was friendly. "It was staying close to me, rubbing against my legs, and was trying to climb up my legs to get me to pet her," he told the station, adding that the animal seemed pretty good-natured. "She was very sweet and nice, and the responding officer was in good spirits about the whole thing," Singley said. North Ridgeville Police Captain Marti Garrow told The Washington Post on Monday that the pig is somebody's pet and that it had dug itself out of its fenced-in yard. Garrow said officers took the animal, which he said weighs between 15 and 23 kilograms, to a dog kennel until its owners could pick it up. The pig, identified by police as Zoey (or perhaps Zoe), has been returned to its home, he said. In the end, police were not oblivious to the humour. "We will mention the irony of the pig in a police car now so that anyone that thinks they're funny is actually unoriginal and trying too hard," the department said. Cyprus Avenue - 2018 - Off-Broadway Eric Miller is a Belfast Unionist. He is exclusively and non-negotiably British. But nowadays he is worried he might be Irish. When Eric sees a likeness between his new-born granddaughter and the Irish republican leader, Gerry Adams, his sanity starts to unravel. Determined to defend his family and his heritage, Ericas lifetime of ingrained prejudice and unsettled identity push him to the edge. 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 In 2017, the number of business owners turning to their primary bank for a loan declined 14%. Scottish Pacific CEO, Peter Langham, explains why brokers are uniquely positioned to capitalise The latest SM Growth Index by Scottish Pacific paints a clear picture of SME owners, their pain points, and their funding needs and intentions. For brokers, these results can help them understand the SME mindset and why it is important to offer a range of suitable funding options, which allow both clients and their brokers to grow. Just over half the businesses polled expect revenue to grow in 2018, and two thirds reported improved cash flow for 2017. Those that are growing are growing strongly; however, growth businesses are more likely to be frustrated about cash flow. Supporting the positive outlook, SMEs are open to different ways of funding their growth. Increasingly, they are looking away from the banks to more flexible alternative funding options. More than one in five SMEs a total of 22% opted for non-bank alternatives to funding their growth. A further 24% looked to borrow from their main relationship bank, and this bank lending percentage has trended down from 38% in our initial 2014 Index. The most popular funding choices for SMEs using alternative working capital options in 2017 were debtor finance, which was used by 77%; merchant cash advances, used by 23%; P2P lending, with a total share of 10%; and crowdfunding, utilised by 9%. Combined, what these results demonstrate is that business owners are looking for flexible options, preferably not tied to real estate. Extracting such information can take time, but when it comes to bottom-line questions, there is only one thing a broker needs to ask In the case of debtor finance, not having to provide real estate security to fund business growth offers a level of security. Rather than taking on additional debt, the business receives an advance on money already owed to them from outstanding invoices. This way, they gain better control of their cash flow and boost their working capital levels with a facility that grows in line with business revenue, and that usually comes with fewer covenants. It's worth looking at the main pain points identified by the SME Growth Index, and how brokers can help to ease these issues. Putting aside high taxes which, with unsurprising regularity, always top the poll the Index shows that the three big concerns for growth SMEs are cash flow, conditions of credit, and availability of credit. An overwhelming 90% of the 1,253 SMEs polled said cash flow issues negatively impacted on revenue in 2017. This was despite two thirds reporting that cash flow had improved compared to 12 months previously. On average, small businesses say that better cash flow would have increased their 2017 revenue by 510%, with growth businesses indicating an even greater positive impact on revenue. The broker's role Brokers can introduce a range of funding options and can play an important role in identifying clients and highlighting the choice of funding options available to them, outside of what they may have traditionally used. Many fast-growth businesses have already grasped this concept, as the Index found they were five times more likely to seek alternative funding than their stable or declining SME peers. Being aware of alternative products, including debtor finance, means that when opportunities arise brokers have the contacts and the knowledge to make the most of those prospects and provide their SME clients with better access to credit. The next step is identifying debtor, trade, progress claim and asset finance deals. Extracting such information can take time, but when it comes to bottom-line questions, there is only one thing a broker needs to ask: Is a lack of working capital hampering your business? From there, more specific questions can pinpoint whether alternative funding is suitable. Do they have high levels of growth, rapid growth, or are they regularly impacted by seasonal issues? Are they planning acquisitions, landing a big new client, or undertaking succession planning? Are they raising progress claims under the Security of Payments Act? Do they have significant plant and equipment or property available to fund against? In all of these situations, Scottish Pacific works with brokers to put in place suitable funding, while they get to maintain the close relationship with their clients. By separating real estate security from business funding, brokers open up new opportunities to help clients with home loans, lease finance and other financial products. A client might come seeking a loan or overdraft, but dont be afraid to put broader options on the table options that provide viable solutions in strong times and in tough and that will grow as they grow. Lifes all about choices, and there are many very credible choices when looking for working capital funding. The SME sector is hungry for working capital alternatives, and brokers interested in diversifying are in a prime position to be the trusted advisers helping those within the SME sector to expand their business funding horizons. Peter Langham CEO Scottish Pacifichave 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 Brokers are being encouraged to tell their clients about Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), as new research suggests 2 in 5 prospective borrowers do not understand what it is. Mortgage Choice and CoreDatas new Evolving Great Australian Dream 2018 whitepaper found 42.1% of respondents said they were not sure what LMI was, yet 32% said they would need to pay it in order to get into the property market. Only 32.1% of prospective buyers accurately stated that LMI is designed to protect the lender if a borrower cant repay their mortgage. Just over 8% of respondents thought LMI protected the borrower, while 17.6% believed it protected both the borrower and the lender. Buyers aged 29 and under were the most likely not to know what LMI was, while the 50 to 59 age group had the highest proportion of buyers who knew what LMI was. Mortgage Choice Chief Executive Officer Susan Mitchell said it was concerning that such a large proportion of Australians had either a limited or no understanding of LMI and that mortgage brokers can play an educational role for borrowers. She added, For many first home buyers, LMI is likely to be a cost they have to pay to get into the property market, particularly if they do not have a deposit that is at least 20% of the purchase price. The reality is that saving for a home deposit is a major challenge for first home buyers and this has been the result of strong price growth over the last few years. According to CoreLogic, the median dwelling value in Australia is $554,605, and for a first home buyer to avoid LMI, they would need to save $110,921 for a 20% deposit and they would still need to have additional funds to cover costs such as legal fees and stamp duty. That is quite large sum to save and it only increases if a buyer is looking in cities such as Sydney and Melbourne. While LMI on the surface seems like a fee to be avoided, it does have the benefit of helping a buyer purchase a home with a smaller deposit, thereby allowing them to get onto the property ladder sooner rather than later. Mitchell said first home buyers could avoid LMI if they were able to receive some sort of financial boost or a have a guarantor on their loan, but brokers need to be able to explain all the options. The research also found that 44.8% of women did not to understand what LMI was, compared to 37.35% of men. On a state by state comparison, Victoria with 46% had the highest proportion of buyers who did not know what LMI was, followed by Queensland with 40% and Western Australia with 39.6%. NSW buyers topped the states when it came to correctly defining LMI at 38.8%. Related stories: Missed opportunities for buyers not using guarantors Millennial homebuyers discuss brokers Brokers urged to offer insurance to borrowers Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Were going to need a summer boat! The waterways of Brooklyn are filled with boating activities, and if you want to get out on the water, there are plenty of paddling options. And it not just about getting from one place to another there are plenty of stationary spots where you can snap a selfie and brag Im on a boat, yall! We have cast a net and caught some of the boroughs best activities atop the waves: Seafood scene A floating oyster bar will satisfy your summer seafood cravings in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Pilot, a bar and eatery aboard a 1924 wooden schooner, will open for its second summer on May 25, boasting a brand new cocktail menu and a few additional, non-shellfish menu options, according to founder Alex Pinchus. Pilot will dock at Pier 6 until the fall, and its provides an exceptional floating view, he said. Theres fantastic drinks on a one-of-a-kind boat, and flawless views of the New York harbor, said Pinchus. Pilot at Brooklyn Bridge Parks Pier 6 [Atlantic Avenue at Furman Street in Brooklyn Heights, (917) 8108550, www.pilot brook lyn.com ]. Barge and in charge In Greenpoint, you can also get your food and drink on a boat, though in a more casual environment. The Brooklyn Barge is a floating party spot with amazing views across the East River. It serves hot dogs, hamburgers, tacos, and more from its kitchen on the shore, and beer, wine, and a collection of cocktails from its bar atop the waves. The spot also offers stand-up paddle and kayaking lessons, in association with Manhattan Kayak. The Brooklyn Barge [3 Milton St. at West Street in Dumbo, (929) 3377212, www.thebr ookly nbarg e.com ]. Water music The floating music venue Barge Music is a classical concert hall like no other. Parked just off the Dumbo waterfront, the tented boat features concerts every weekend, with free shows every Saturday afternoon at 4 pm. Notable upcoming concerts include a Beethoven String Quartet featuring Barge Musics artistic director Mark Peskanov on violin, on June 16 and 17, and the Barge Music debut of the jazz band Endangered Heart Quartet on July 27. Peskanov said he is especially looking forward to a unique group featuring Grammy-nominated violinist Gregor Huebner. On June 1 were going to have El Violin Latino they are a very interesting quartet of a classical violin, piano, bass, and percussion, said Peskanov. Its going to be a great concert and this is an example of a certain quality music we listen to on the barge. Barge Music at Brooklyn Bridge Parks Pier 1 [1 Water St. at Old Fulton Street in Dumbo, (718) 6244924, www.barge music.org ]. FriSun, at various times. $40 ($35 seniors, $20 students). Views: Pilot, a restaurant on a schooner parked off of Brooklyn Bridge Parks Pier Six, offers great views of the harbor and Manhattan skyline. Douglas Lyle Thompson. Douglas Lyle Thompson. Douglas Lyle Thompson. Douglas Lyle Thompson A swale time Take a break from bustling city life and visit a floating food forest! Swale, which docked at Brooklyn Army Terminal earlier this month, is a public art project spearheaded by Mary Mattingly, who will guide groups through the farm on a barge until it floats on in July. Visitors will be shown how to harvest food, and can take home some of the herbs, fruits, and vegetables grown on the boat. It is a rare opportunity for kids and locals to get hands-on experience and learn about the environment, said a spokeswoman for the Army Terminal. It really appeals to all five senses, and we hope we get to encourage New Yorkers to go into the public space and address the environment, said Julie Stein. Swale at Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 [140 58th St. between First Avenue and the water in Sunset Park, www.swale ny.org ]. SatSun, noon6 pm. Row your boat If you want to propel yourself through the water, you can choose from the still waters of Prospect Park, the East River alongside Brooklyn Bridge Park, or the murky waters of the infamous Gowanus Canal. Prospect Parks LeFrak Center at Lakeside offers pedal boats for rent by the hour, or one- or two-person kayaks for up to a full day of exploring. Brooklyn Bridge Parks boathouse on Pier 2 will offer free, 20-minute kayak trips in a bay bordered by the Pier One and Pier Two, starting on May 31. And the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club offers canoes that you can paddle along Brooklyns Nautical Purgatory on Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings. LeFrak Center at Lakeside [171 East Dr. in Prospect Park, (718) 9658951, www.prosp ectpa rk.org ]. Open daily, from 11 am to sunset. $16$36 per hour. Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse (Pier Two in Brooklyn Heights, (718) www.brook lynbr idgep ark.org ). SatSun, from 10 am to 2 pm and Thursday, from 5:30 pm and 6:45 pm. Free. Gowanus Canal Boathouse Dredgers [125-153 Second St. between Bond Street and the Canal in Gowanus, (718) 2430849, www.gowan uscan al.org ]. Suggested donation. Reach reporter Alexandra Simon at (718) 2608310 or e-mail her at asimo n@cng local.com . Follow her on Twitter @AS1mon. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC This virus is going to the dogs. A strain of canine influenza thats infected more than a dozen Kings County canines in recent weeks will only get worse before it gets better, according to a city vet. Its a new virus, so theres no natural immunities to this, said Doctor Yasmine Mortsakis, who runs New York Veterinary Practice. More dogs are going to get sick. The H3N2 strain first sprung up stateside three years ago in Chicago, where it struck more than 1,000 pooches that fell ill with symptoms two-legged flu victims would find familiar, including fever, runny nose, and a heavy cough. And after lingering in the heartland for a spell, Mortsakis said H3N2 a strain humans cannot catch landed in Brooklyn on April 30, when the first hapless hound tested positive for the strain before spreading it to 13 others in a matter of weeks. The amount of infected dogs is rising pretty rapidly, she said. Canine influenza is airborne, and seasonal in the sense that it commonly spreads during warm weather as people spend more time outdoors with their pups, according to Mortsakis, who implored the owners of mutts that have socialized with other furballs to get the beasts vaccinated. The more sociable dogs are, the more likely they are to interact with others that may have communicable diseases, the vet said. Any dog that goes to day care or a park, or dogs that are walked in group environments, should get vaccinated for sure. But dog flu is rarely deadly although it can be among puppies or older pooches, which are more likely to develop pneumonia after contracting the virus, Mortsakis said. Flat-nosed canines such as pugs and bulldogs also have a harder time fending off influenza due to pre-existing respiratory issues common in certain breeds. And fortunately, pups can get flu shots from vets that effectively immunize them against the disease just like those annual inoculations for people but the big question is will they. One dog owner out for a walk in Brooklyn Bridge Park with her cocker-spaniel mix questioned whether the vaccine is really necessary. Its hard to know when theyre trying to sell you something and when its actually real, said Marcella, a Dumbo resident who refused to give her last name. But the father of another furball from Brooklyn Heights said the shot is a no-brainer given how prevalent pooches are in the neighborhood. There are a lot of dogs in the area and theyre all very interactive, said Matt Stanley, the proud dad of a black lab. Keeping my dog safe is a priority. And many canine-service providers such as dog walkers require pups to be up to date with vaccinations, including the flu shot, before stepping out with new clients, according to a professional walker leading a pack of canines through Brooklyn Bridge Park. Theyre not allowed to join our company if they dont have their vaccinations, said Cristal Diaz. The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday seized assets worth Rs 20.87 crore of former Dabur group director Pradip Burman in its inquiry into the HSBC bank black money list, which was unearthed a few years ago. Pradip Burman belongs to the family that owns Dabur India Ltd. His name had appeared in the black-money list holders among 628 Indians in the HSBC Geneva list in FY 2006-2007. The seized assets comprised 50,000 tax free government bonds of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation and the Indian Railway Finance Corporation, which were purchased on different dates for Rs 5 crore, Rs 4 crore, and Rs 11 crore, amounting to over Rs 20 crore. The inquiry is being under done under Section 37A (1) of the FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act). The agency took over the case on the basis of a chargesheet filed by the Income Tax Department against Burman as part of its probe in the leaked HSBC list of the Indians. The trial in the case is yet to start. The agency said the assets were seized after it was found that Burman deposited $3.2 million in his account with HSBC bank in Zurich in Switzerland and that he "did not" show this amount in his IT Returns filed during 2007-08 despite declaring it to the taxman that this was his earning. "The investigation revealed that Burman has deposited $3.2 million with HSBC, Zurich, and was holding the same in contravention of section 4 of the FEMA and failed to repatriate the entire amount to India till date," the ED said. Burman was a director in Dabur India Limited, Sanat Product Ltd and Ayurved, Ratna Commercial Enterprises (P) Ltd and is also a trustee in the Burman family trust called the Dr SK Burman Charitable Trust. The black-money holders' list was obtained by India from the French government in 2007. With PTI inputs Harry Potter special editions helped Bloomsbury's revenue to its highest level since 2007, when the last of the original books came out, lifting the publisher's shares to a 10-year high. Sales of the boy wizard's adventures rose 31% in the year to the end of February, while titles such as Tom Kerridge's 'Lose Weight For Good' and 'A Court of Wings and Ruin' by Sarah J. Maas also shone, Bloomsbury said on Tuesday. The London-based publisher said its performance this year will be "well ahead" of previous expectations, helped by a strong autumn book list and the acquisition of IB Tauris, which focuses on history, social sciences and culture. Bloomsbury shares were up 8.7% to 225 pence at 1023 GMT, their highest level since February 2007. The robust performance reflects an improving British book market, where special editions featuring vintage covers and new artwork have helped draw readers back to print formats. Bloomsbury's revenue rose 13.3% to 161.5 million pounds ($217.3 million) in the year, surpassing the 150 million pounds it reported in 2007, while full-year pretax profit rose 10% to 13.2 million pounds. Bloomsbury has been looking to reduce its reliance on the Harry Potter books, which have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide to date, and is making a push into digital. This year, as part of this digital drive, it expects to launch five new online resources, which cover a range of disciplines in humanities, social sciences, visual and performing arts, on top of five it launched last year. Over the next year, the company plans to launch new online resources such as BloomsburyArchitecture Library, Fashion Video Workshop and Applied Visual Arts Library. Harry Potter's success has also helped it invest in higher-margin academic and professional publishing, focusing on business-to-business digital publishing. However, revenue at Bloomsbury's academic division, which specializes in the arts, humanities and social sciences, fell 5.8%, hit by a decline in Britain's education sector. Digital revenues grew by 12.5% to 18 million pounds in the year, while print revenues grew 15% to 134.8 million pounds, Bloomsbury said. Bloomsbury announced a final dividend of 6.36 pence per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 7.51 pence, 12% higher than the total payout last year. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie Musgrave today announced results for the financial year ended 30 December 2017, with sales of 3.7 billion and profit before tax of 80 million, a 9% increase on the previous year. Net cash was 71 million and net assets totaled 330 million, an increase of 82 million. Commenting on the results, Musgrave Chief Executive, Chris Martin, said: We have delivered a strong financial performance, reporting a third consecutive year of profit growth with sales also performing well despite on-going food deflation. Among the companys brands, SuperValu, recorded sales of 2.7 billion in 2017, a new record. It also saw its online shopping sales increasing by 23%. Centra recorded sales of 1.58 billion in the same period. Other Musgrave brands have also seen success, including Frank and Honest coffee brand, which is now available 630 stores across the country, and Chipmongers takeaway business, which is expected to grow to 30 outlets by the end of the year. Mr Martin concluded: These family businesses are benefiting from their partnership with us and our financial strength enables us to support them into the future. This financial strength also means we can continue to explore opportunities through acquisitions, exports and by developing new brands. Source: www.businessworld.ie news, latest-news Good morning, Canberra. We're heading for a partly cloudy 18 degrees today, after a chilly minimum of 3. In fact, it looks like it's going to be just under 20 degrees for most of the week - autumn is really doing its best for us. Grab a coffee as you crawl your way out of bed (and a foggy morning) and catch up on the latest news. It's eyes to the front of the class as student numbers at schools across the territory are revealed. Almost twenty per cent of Canberra public schools are full or almost full, while others have just a third of the students they have room for, according to new government data 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. Sherryn Groch and Markus Mannheim take us through the spread here. Add this app to your downloads list, Canberra - you're about to have even more options at 'home time'. Just the other day it was news of all-female rideshare service Shebah launching in Canberra, and now Ola is having its day. While they all get you from A to B, the increased competition this brings to Canberra's rideshare scene is being praised, as is Ola's standard commission rate: 15 per cent, compared to Uber's 25 per cent. So it's good news, too, if you're looking for some extra work. Bree Winchester has more here. Now we turn to politics. A two-hour barrage of questioning from Labor senators was not enough to make public service commissioner John Lloyd give a definite answer yesterday. The questioning followed a Prime Minister's Department decision not to release emails relating to Mr Lloyd and a right-wing think tank, which said the emails could prejudice an investigation into a possible breach of the law. Labor senator Penny Wong took issue with Mr Lloyd's refusal to comment, saying he could not simply refuse to answer under Senate rules. Mr Lloyd said his role required him not to disclose the identity of those subject to investigation. Doug Dingwall has all the ins and outs here. And now, because you haven't had your share of morning news until you've had a cute animal story, here's Simbu the tree kangaroo. Simbu, apart from being my spirit animal (chanelling his inner foodie and smiling while snacking), is the National Zoo's newest addition. The eight-year-old tree roo joins eligible bachelorette Oumak, nine, while zookeepers wait to see whether sparks fly between the two as part of the zoo's regional breeding program for endangered species. Didn't know tree kangaroos were a thing? Me neither. But Han Nguyen can open your eyes here. And lastly, for the sportsers among us, this one's for you. Nick Kyrgios has been working around the clock to regain full health after returning home to Canberra last month for a cortisone shot to treat his long-standing elbow issue. He's locked in a fierce French Open fitness battle as Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis bid to qualify for the clay-court grand slam beginning on Sunday. The 23-year-old was seeded 22nd on Sunday but is a doubtful starter for Roland Garros, having not played in six weeks. See how the players are shaping up ahead of the grand slam here. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/eba3dfea-4844-43aa-9760-54de228309a4/r0_70_2000_1200_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg comment, editorial It is hardly a triumph of diplomacy when Australians find out a senior American politician, and former high profile Trump adversary, has knocked back the role of ambassador to this country before we even knew he had been offered it. It's hard to comprehend why Senator Bob Corker, who famously said Donald Trump did not have the stability to be a successful president last year and then suggested the White House had become "an adult day care centre" felt the need to go public with the fact he had been offered the job, and turned it down, this week. One would have thought, given Australia has not had an American ambassador appointed since the departure of Obama appointee, John Berry, in 2016, discretion would have been the better path to follow. Mr Corker's decision not to accept what would once have been considered one of America's plum diplomatic postings appears to be tied up with his own domestic political situation. While the 65-year-old has previously announced his decision to retire from the U.S. Senate at the end of his second six-year term in December, this no longer appears to be set in stone; no matter how much President Trump, who offered him the Canberra post four weeks ago, would like him to. "Right now we're kind of sprinting towards the finish line (of his work in the Senate)," Senator Corker told Reuters on Monday. "There may be some other task that needs to be done down the road, and certainly I have always honoured public service and we'll see what happens." Asked to explain why he knocked back the Australian ambassadorship the Senator, who has apparently never visited this country, said would not be comfortable in the role. "At the end of the day I just felt like it wasn't the right fit," he said. His very public refusal highlights the lack of diligence the Trump administration has brought to filling key ambassadorial positions around the world. As of April 38 U.S. ambassadorial positions were vacant. They included Turkey, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, South Africa, Ireland, Belgium and Mongolia. The post of U.S. ambassador to the European Union, which has more than 500 million citizens - at least until Brexit takes effect - and is America's largest trading partner, is also available. While Australia had been on track to have an American ambassador by Christmas with news of the appointment of Admiral Harry Harris, the head of the US Pacific Command, in January, all that changed last month. The admiral was reassigned to South Korea following the recent remarkable developments on the peninsula. While that appointment was generally welcomed it was queried by a number of observers, including the Centre for Strategic and International Studies' Andrew Shearer. It was, he said, "hard to escape a bit of a sense that Australia is being treated here as a second class ally". That is a view more and more Australians are likely to share unless Mr Trump is able to find a willing candidate to fill the vacancy in the very near future. The only good news to emerge from the Corker fiasco is that the Donald Trump administration is apparently now hard at work on the case. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/38b306ce-7068-4473-8d6f-ded7e0c9950d/r0_46_900_554_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg OPINION Just how special is the relationship with the U.S? news, latest-news 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. "[The] review did not result in any increases in capacity, however has resulted in some decreases in capacity..[for] 17 of the primary schools," the spokeswoman said. Preschool enrolments are not counted in capacity metrics. According to the report, Lyneham High is the most stretched school in the territory, recording 31 students over capacity as schools in Canberra's north struggle to cope with accelerating population growth. Hawker and Fraser primary schools were also just shy of full. But across the lake, a number of schools in Canberra's south are also filling up fast. The Canberra College was at 99.8 per cent capacity, while Telopea Park had grown to more than 93 per cent. The directorate spokeswoman said the ACT government was not concerned about schools at 90 per cent capacity or more as "we know enrolments...go through natural cycles of growth and decline". "Every child who seeks a place has a place in their neighbourhood school," she said. "A school at 90% capacity demonstrates that we are making great use of that school's capacity." In the Molonglo Valley, Charles Weston School, which opened in 2016, was still only 32 per cent full but saw its enrolments climb by more than 46 per cent between 2017 and 2018. Maribyrnong Primary, the University of Canberra High School Kaleen and Neville Bonner Primary also clocked rapid growth between this year and last, while the University of Canberra Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra and Lyons Early Childhood School appeared to be shrinking the fastest in the same period. The snapshot also revealed Canberra's public schools are continuing to claw back enrolments from the non-government sector. Almost two thirds of the 77,115 students in the territory now attend a government school, and enrolments have surged by more than 13 per cent over the past four years. Non-government enrolments also rose in that time, but by just under 3 per cent. As well as adding temporary classrooms and announcing new schools in areas of rising demand, the ACT has recently changed the rules on cross-border enrolment to limit the number of schools NSW families can send their children. The move came after some Canberra schools grappled with capacity issues in 2017, forced to turn libraries into classrooms and else asking parents not to come to school assemblies due to space constraints. Priority enrolment areas were also redrawn for Canberra College as well as North Ainslie, Garran, Mawson and Aranda primary schools to "reduce enrolment pressures", the directorate confirmed. All five schools recorded a rise this year. As of February, about 300 students across the territory were home-schooled. Another 3311 were accessing special needs programs, with the majority learning in the public system. Capacity figures for non-government schools were not included in the 2018 census. news, latest-news 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. 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. Bean's motivation was not anti-Semitic, Mr Stokes has told the commission's redistribution committee. "Rather it was borne from a strong sense of what constituted noble leadership of Australian servicemen; a view he came to realise that Monash lived up to. It is also well documented that Bean moderated over time his original opinions and judgements of Monash," Mr Stokes wrote. "To focus on Bean as a racist and anti-Semite is not only short sighted, it does not acknowledge his character nor the enduring impact he has had on Australian culture." Mr Stokes said the War Memorial was "the soul of our nation," and Bean's contribution to it must be acknowledged. "Whatever human foibles Bean may have had, they were insignificant to his contribution." The War Memorial's director Brendan Nelson also wrote to the committee, advising that naming the electorate after Bean was not only appropriate but "an overdue recognition of his contribution to the nation". Objections to naming the new electorate after Charles Bean persist, with a dozen of the 30 further objections protesting his name being used. The Minders of the Tuggeranong Homestead group wrote in favour of the name, as did his grand-daughter Anne Carroll. "I believe I have a familial obligation to him and our fond and respectful memory of him and his values, and also a public responsibility, to respond to a number of significantly-adverse, unfounded and ill-informed comments made by some in response to the proposal to name the new electorate in his honour," Mrs Carroll said. According to Mrs Carroll, one of the quotes from Bean's diary that was used in the objections omitted the word "besides". The diary entry listed merits of another candidate for commander in chief of the army, while listing disadvantages of Monash, before going on to say "Besides we do not want Australia represented by men mainly because of their ability, natural and inborn in Jews, to push themselves". This lack of context "distorts and fails to acknowledge that there were significant other factors, as itemised in the full quote," Mrs Carroll wrote. ACT Labor did not raise an objection to naming the electorate after Bean but endorsed naming the electorate Cullen after the Aboriginal activist Ngingali Cullen, as have other submissions. The ACT branch of the party said the committee should "consider the public debate that has ensued from this process and engage the public in a more inclusive way in the future". The Woden Valley Community Council and the Weston Creek Community Council also lodged objections to the proposed boundaries for the electorates, which divide the suburbs of Woden along Hindmarsh Drive. Both community councils asked that all the suburbs of Woden, including those of Weston Creek, be included in the one electorate. The Commission will announce the final electoral divisions in June or July, with a further objection period on the cards if it is deemed to be required. The final determination will be made on July 13. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/dda29c1a-f543-45bb-b9a3-6eb600732cb1/r0_52_1024_631_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Four mayors and one councillor have been immediately suspended, as new local government laws come into effect. Last week, the Queensland government passed sweeping reforms, which included enhanced powers for Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe and the automatic suspension of councillors charged with serious integrity offences, such as bribery, corruption and fraud, with pay. The laws took effect from 12am on Monday, after Governor Paul de Jersey granted assent to the legislation. It triggered the immediate suspension of Logan mayor Luke Smith, Logan councillor Stacey McIntosh, Ipswich mayor Andrew Antoniolli, Doomadgee mayor Edric Walden and Hope Vale mayor Greg McLean. Cr Antoniolli was charged with seven counts of fraud and Cr Smith had refused to stand down while charges of official corruption and perjury were dealt with in court. On Monday evening, Cr Smith posted to Facebook, saying he was informed of his suspension via a media outlet's Tweet. "The community should be deeply concerned that their democratically elected representatives can be removed from office while still under the presumption of innocence," he posted. Cr McIntosh has been charged with stealing, Cr Walden's suspension was triggered by charges of misconduct in public office and forgery and Cr McLean had a charge of fraud. On Tuesday, Mr Hinchliffe said there was a "bit of a miscommunication" but said it was not something that "should have been of any surprise" to Cr Smith. He was advised of the passage of legislation last week, there was communication between the department and the council CEOs of the affected councils to ensure that the affected individuals were advised, Mr Hinchliffe told ABC Radio Brisbane on Tuesday morning. The important thing is that the bills have received the urgent ascent so the government can move quickly with the current situation. They had full effect from 12.01am yesterday. He said he had not personally spoken to any of the affected councillors. Mr Hinchliffe said the mayors and councillors were suspended on full pay and were not able to appeal their suspensions. The community wants confidence in their local government and they don't want to have a situation where people in those positions make the decision not to stand aside in the circumstances in which they probably should, he said. Under the Local Government Act, the deputy mayors in the affected councils will assume the roles and responsibilities of acting mayor. In Logan City Council, that means Cr Cherie Dalley will become acting mayor. A suspended councillor is not replaced. If the charges were thrown out, or the person was found not guilty, the automatic suspension would end. However, if a councillor is convicted of integrity offences, the new laws mean they will automatically lose their job, and be disqualified from being a councillor for four years, or seven years for a serious integrity offence. Mr Hinchliffe said the action did not reflect the outcome of the charges which would be dealt with by the courts. "I have also written to all councillors to ask them to declare if their status is affected under the new provisions," he said. "These are very new laws, and I will need to carefully consider whether to exercise any of my new powers, based on the facts of each case." Mr Hinchliffe began moves to appoint an administrator at the Ipswich council and asked councillors why they should not be sacked earlier this month after the crime watchdog charged Cr Antoniolli. Ipswich councillors have until Thursday to show cause as to why they should not lose their job. But Mr Hinchliffe now has greater power to sack councillors in Ipswich, should he decide to take that action, rather than waiting for the current show cause period to expire. He could issue Ipswich councillors with a new show cause notice, of at least seven days. Mr Hinchliffe told ABC Radio Brisbane that as of Tuesday morning, he had not yet seen any response from Ipswich City Council or any of the councillors. I am obliged under law to consider those matters carefully and properly, he said. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/3e0f6a3e-b8b5-42a0-b2b5-af7f7552073e/r0_213_4288_2636_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Dena Bank has released an employment notification calling out for aspirants to apply for the posts of Business Correspondent Co-ordinator and Financial Literacy Counselor. 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 20000. The last date to apply for the government job is June 6, 2018. Bank Jobs 2018 In May: Earn Up To INR 32 Lakhs!" title=" Bank Jobs 2018 In May: Earn Up To INR 32 Lakhs!" /> Bank Jobs 2018 In May: Earn Up To INR 32 Lakhs! Dena Bank Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Business Correspondent Co-ordinator and Financial Literacy Counselor Organisation Dena Bank Educational Qualification Class 10 graduate for Business Correspondent Co-ordinator and graduate from a recognised university for Financial Literacy Counselor Age Limit 45 years for Business Correspondent Co-ordinator and 65 years for Financial Literacy Counselor Job Responsibilities Reporting for BCC and counselling for FLC Salary Scale INR 15000 to INR 20000 Job Location Gujarat Industry Banking Experience Desirable Application Start Date May 22, 2018 Application End Date June 6, 2018 Also Read: Bank Of India Recruitment 2018 For Office Assistant How To Apply For Dena Bank Recruitment 2018 In order to apply for Dena Bank Recruitment 2018, follow these steps: Step 1: Log on to the Dena Bank official website. Step 2: Click on the Recruitment tab on the home page. Step 3: The list of recruitments will be displayed on the screen. Step 4: Click on the relevant link. Step 5: The detailed notification will be displayed on the screen. Step 6: Scroll down to the bottom of the page to spot the application form. Step 7: Download it and print it. Step 8: Enter your details in the fields provided. Step 9: Send the application to Dena Bank. Dena Bank Recruitment 2018 Mailing Address And Format Superscribe on the envelope, "Application for the post of *name of the post*" and send it to: The Zonal Manager, Zonal Office - Dena Bank, Opp. G K General Hospital, Bhuj - 370001. Click here to read the detailed official notification. Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) has released an employment notification calling out for aspirants to apply for the post of Anaesthetist. 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 7, 2018. MPSC Recruitment 2018 For Science Graduates MPSC Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Post Anaesthetist Organisation Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) Educational Qualification MBBS from a recognised university Maximum Age Limit 35 years Skills Required Clinical judgement Salary Scale INR 9300 to INR 45000 Job Location Maharashtra Industry Medicine Experience Desirable Application Start Date May 18, 2018 Application End Date June 7, 2018 Also Read: Maharashtra PWD Recruitment 2018 For 263 Engineers 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 link for new user registration. Step 3: The registration form will be displayed on the screen. Enter your details in the fields provided. Step 4: Enter the captcha code. Step 5: Click Create User. Step 6: Enter your details in the login page. Step 7: Click Login and complete the application process. Click here to read the detailed official notification. As children, many of us would have indulged in various art and craft related activities such as painting, sculpting, clay & playdough, origami, nature art, sketching, etc. All of these activities help students think and work innovatively by using their imagination and intelligence, thereby, enhancing self-confidence and their thought process. Through this article, let us explore the various ways origami helps improve various skills or attributes of students or any individual. Before we evaluate the various benefits of origami, let us first understand more about this art. What Is Origami Origami - in Japanese - refers to "ori" meaning "folding" and "kami" or "gami" meaning "paper". It is an art of folding paper. Mostly linked to the Japanese culture, origami used to be prevalent in Europe and China as well. It involves neatly folding flat square sheets of paper, fabric or cloth to transform them into final sculptures of decorative designs and shapes, by using the technique of sculpting. An interesting fact is that a single sheet of paper or multiple papers may be used to create innovative art forms of origami. Some of the most popular types of origami are: bonsai, Kawasaki rose, dollar bill elephant, flamenco dancers, Kawasaki cube and so on. Akira Yoshizawa, a Japanese, is considered as the father of origami. How Does Origami Benefit An Individual Origami promotes various skills in an individual. For instance, good eye-hand coordination, attention to detail and focus, patience, sequencing ability, processing ability, mathematical reasoning, etc. The involvement of these skills boosts the mind and thinking ability to a great extent. The reason for this is the stimulation of the entire brain. Pros Of Origami Research says origami, especially for children in elementary schools, helps develop their thought patterns and coordination skills. It is an activity full of fun and learning at the same time. Some of the major benefits of practising origami for educational purposes or even for improving professional or personal skills are: Mathematical reasoning ability - Helps enhance mathematical logical thinking. Understanding of geometry - Strengthens the knowledge of geometric concepts and formulae. Problem solving - Improves problem-solving skills by helping individuals figure out more than one solution to a problem. Behavioral skills - The ability to create or recreate an artwork through origami helps increase focus, energy and confidence. Thinking ability - Improves thinking skills by boosting visualisation and imagination specific abilities. Flexibility - Origami helps adapting to new situations or needs by promoting flexibility in order to improvise or strategise problem-solving skills. Therapeutic advantage - The therapeutic benefits of origami are many. E.g. generating a sense of acceptance or belonging by means of interaction with others either by performing origami for others or by watching someone else perform it. Memory enhancement - Increased brain-stimulation leads to better memory. Patience - Origami involves numerous techniques, attempts, etc. to achieve the desired result. All this requires a patient approach. A sense of achievement and happiness for finishing a task - This is an important aspect of origami. Creating a simple or complicated design just with a plain or simple material such as paper, fabric, etc. develops a sense of accomplishment and joy. Awareness of community-building - Most large designs involving smaller units of designs may require the contribution of more than one person. Such a practise definitely promotes community-building, knowledge-sharing, coordination and mutual cooperation. Origami Is For Everyone! Origami, being a traditional art, may be helpful in enhancing various mental, physical as well as psychological skill sets. This stands true not just for students, but for adults too. Just like any art could help enhance the overall personality of an individual, origami may also be considered as an exceptional tool to improve focus, boost imagination, inculcate a sense of achievement, and act as a relaxant by reducing stress. A Final Note Looking at the ocean of benefits that origami offers, it is a wonderful idea to learn and practise it on regular basis. Being a simple art, involving the minimum raw material, it is one of the best and easiest options to help improve one's skill sets. Origami is an excellent way to help build healthy relationships or connections both on personal and professional levels. So, if you plan to start origami soon, you may be assured that it is a fun activity that you would simply cherish and tremendously benefit from! Till a couple of decades ago, Engineering was one of the most coveted professions in the country. It took exceptional skill and caliber to land oneself a seat in an engineering college. Indian engineers were highly valued and international firms would long to employ such people. This led to the situation wherein a greater majority of the US engineers were of Indian origin. However, as the years passed by, it was noted that the employability of engineering graduates in the country started declining tremendously. In the process, engineering started losing out on the glamour it once had. As of 2018, India produces about 15,00,000 engineering graduates every year. About 40 per cent of them land themselves with job either through campus placements or in the same year in which they graduate. Another 40 per cent take about a year to find jobs. The remaining 20 per cent take two years or longer to find the job of their choice. If this is not enough, many of the engineering graduates who do land themselves with jobs are seen to be working in the BPO sector or in other sectors that are not the same as that of their specialization. This trend is indeed alarming and may be attributed to the fact that students these days lack employability skills. This article explores some of the reasons for the same. 1. Outdated Curriculum It is important to understand that technology is a field that is constantly updating itself and as engineers, people need to keep pace with the same. Thus, it is important for an individual to be taught the latest technological developments if he or she wants to be employed in a firm directly after college. However, the syllabus in Indian technological universities do not prescribe this. Even today, things like quantum computing, iOS application development, and IoT are not taught in most Indian engineering colleges at the under graduate level. Back in the west, most of the US colleges have been teaching these courses to its under graduate technical students for years now. 2. Lack Of Practical Application Most Indian engineering colleges follow the trend wherein 70 to 80 per cent of the total weightage of any paper is on the theory part of it. In such a situation, students who are exceptionally good in academics know very little of the practical application of what they learn in the classroom. As a result, once they graduate and get into the industry, companies that hire them have to spend a lot of resources and effort in training them and making them 'industry ready'. Clearly, most work places would not want to incur such an added expenditure and as a result, the students often find themselves unemployed after college. 3. Lack Of Industry Exposure In most engineering colleges in the country, internship is not a part of the curriculum. Even in cases where it is a part, the credits allotted to the same is negligible. It is obvious that without being in an industry it is impossible for an individual to understand the basics of its functioning. That is why, Indian engineering graduates often find themselves in situations wherein they don't know the basic functioning of the industry they work for and hence they are unemployable. 4. Soft Skills The only way to survive - in MNCs is to have good communication skills. By communication skills, we refer to both verbal as well as written communication. Indian engineering students are often seen to be lacking this. The current engineering education scenario here is such that there is practically no importance paid to the development of soft skills and other behavioral skills and manners. This is all the way truer in the case of students from the smaller towns and villages. Other than the fact that companies prefer students who are proficient in English, the other side of the story is the fact that by not being fluent in English students often suffer from a lack of self confidence which in turn hampers their prospect at seeking a job even further making them all the way more unemployable. 5. Wrong Career Choice As sad as it sounds, the fact is that India is a country where people become engineers first and then decide what to do. (This is why you will often see Indian engineers making it big as writers, musicians, artists and what not). Most people who take up engineering have no interest in this field. It is parental or peer pressure which makes them do it. As a result, they are unable to put their heart and soul to it and often end up performing very bad in the field. The only way out of this is coming up with some means by which it can be tested if a student really has the caliber and aptitude for the subject that she or he is intending to study. At the personal level, parents must take it upon themselves to identify their child's potential by the time she or he completes their class 12th board exams. Unless and until engineering is their true calling, they must not be pushed to it. 6. Emphasis On Rote Learning If you look at the Indian engineering education scenario, you will find that the maximum focus here is on rote learning. The engineering entrance tests are all about the formulae and equations that one has mugged up. Even at the under graduate level, where engineering students in other students are given formula sheets and their test is mainly about application of the same, in India, students have to memorize all the formula. This appliesto the premier engineering institutes of the country like the IITs and NITs as well. The focus here is clearly on rote leaning over the actually scientific and technological learning. Since in the actual job scenario there is not much use of rote learning, these students find themselves unemployable. Mago Coutinho will display Wonderful Next to Poliana Abrita NS Thaddeus Schmidt He will be the new presenter of Brazil... Its a common enough question: What do you give a newlywed couple who already has everything? Like other wealthy royals before them, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle requested only charitable donations for royal wedding gifts. Their preferred charity list included those that help HIV patients, homeless people, and bereaved armed forces children. But inevitably, other wedding gifts have been trickling in for the newlyweds. Here well look at some notable things they have received. See the James Bond-inspired gift from France (page 5) and the wedding present Donald and Melania Trump decided to send (page 8). 1. A cottage in the countryside The queen is reportedly giving her grandson and new granddaughter-in-law a stately home called York Cottage on her Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England. Far from a cottage, the large residence used to be the home of King George V and Queen Mary. Likewise, the queen bestowed a property, Anmer Hall, on Prince William and Kate Middleton on the same property when they wed in 2011. The sprawling estate is about 110 miles northeast of Kensington Palace in London. Next: A less practical yet historic gift 2. New royal titles Not one to stop with just giving away a house, the queen also gave the newlyweds royal titles as a wedding present. The two are now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The queen announced the news the morning of the wedding. She also gave Harry Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel titles, to be used in Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively. Although Meghan does not have an official princess title, she is a princess in that shes married to a prince. Next: A gift Meghan will wear every day 3. Gold for her wedding ring Her Royal Highness also threw in some gold: a sliver of Welsh gold for her wedding ring. It comes from the same gold nugget that has formed the wedding rings of the queen, her mother, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, and Princess Diana. Meghan used it to have her wedding band made by London jeweler Cleave and Company. Britains Privy Purse holds the remainder of the gold nugget, which amounts to a minute sliver. Next: She may have been caught sleeping, but she gave a thoughtful gift. 4. Custom Wonderbags from Lesotho royalty Prince Seeiso and Princess Mabereng of South African country Lesotho attended the wedding and presented the newlyweds with custom Wonderbags. These non-electric, portable slow cookers were invented in South Africa. They are designed to help women and children access food in the midst of fuel shortages and deforestation. Princess Mabereng was the one caught sleeping during the wedding ceremony or at least it looked like it to many Twitter users. Perhaps the royal was simply looking down from her seat, directly behind the choir. Next: A 007 gift from France 5. 007 goods from Emmanuel Macron French President Emmanuel Macron went all James Bond on the royal couple, giving them a gift from lighter and pen manufacturer S.T. Duponts 007 Collection. It includes two engraved pens, a lighter, and a vanity case. This keeps with Frances tradition of giving British royal newlyweds gifts of this sort. In 1947, the president of France gifted newlyweds Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip a Moroccan Blue travel case from the same manufacturer. Likewise, the countrys president did the same for Prince William and Kate Middleton when they tied the knot in 2011. Next: Harrys gift to Meghan 6. Princess Dianas aquamarine ring Meghan received two rings on her wedding day. She left for her evening reception at Frogmore House wearing an aquamarine cocktail ring which had belonged to Princess Diana. The groom gave it to his bride because of its special significance. In 1997, Diana wore the emerald-cut gemstone to an auction of some of her wardrobe items at Christies. Prince Harrys mother also paired it with a matching bracelet featuring an aquamarine and pearls. Next: Maybe their least expected gift? 7. Baby koalas bearing their names The newlyweds were probably surprised to hear two baby koalas now bear their name at a zoo near Sydney, Australia. A regional government there announced the gift, and the leader told local media the couple was welcome see them on their next visit to the continent. In addition, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Twitter the government donated $5,000 toward preserving koala habitats. Next: What Trump gave 8. Charity donation from the Trumps Despite not being invited to the wedding, Americas president and first lady gave a gift to Harry and Meghan in the form of a charitable contribution. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will be making a contribution to one of the seven charities the royal couple has designated in lieu of gifts, White House spokesperson Lindsay Walters told Us Weekly the day before the wedding. 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. 20 Beheaded Coptic Christians Who Did Not Renounce Faith in Jesus Before ISIS Finally Laid to Rest Christian Post Contributor | 22 May, 2018 by Stoyan Zaimov The bodies of 20 Coptic Christians who were beheaded by Islamic State terror group militants in February 2015 were finally laid to rest in Egypt's Minya province, more than three years after they were kidnapped. "Everyone stood beside the martyr that belongs to him and cried a little, but they were tears of longing, nothing more," said Bishri Ibrahim, father of Kerolos, one of the victims. "But we are happy and joyful that they have returned to the village. This is a blessing for the country and to all Copts all over the world," he added. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the funeral service at a church in the village of al-Our in Minya province was made possible after Libya finally flew back the remains of the believers earlier this week. The victims, 20 Egyptian Copts and one Ghanaian Christian, appeared in an IS video in 2015 lined up on a Libyan beach in orange jumpsuits, before they were executed. They reportedly were asked to renounce their faith in Christ to save their lives, but refused to do so. "I wanted to see Milad come back from Libya on his feet after his struggle and hard work to earn a living in a harsh life abroad," said 55-year-old Zaki Hanna, the father of one of the victims. "But thanks be to God, he died a hero, did not beg anyone to spare his life and he and his brothers, the martyrs, did not abandon their faith or homeland." Read more about 20 Beheaded Coptic Christians Who Did Not Renounce Faith in Jesus Before ISIS Finally Laid to Rest on The Christian Post. Andy Stanley Responds to Concerns Over 'Unhitch' Comments, Says Critics Need to Understand Context 22 May, 2018 by Michael Gryboski , | North Point Community Church Senior Pastor Andy Stanley has responded to critics of a recent sermon he preached, explaining that those concerned with his comments need to understand the context of his remarks. "I approach a message series like a single sermon. I don't try to cover everything in 35 minutes. I'm not that good," Stanley said in an interview with Relevant Magazine published Tuesday. "So, if you want to criticize my approach to preaching, fine. I would love to talk about that. But don't criticize a statement in a sermon if you aren't willing to spend the time necessary to appreciate the context." Stanley explained that critics needed to better understand the context of his comments, noting that people "who listened to all three parts of the series probably understood the point I was making." "Whenever someone like meor anyone for that matterbegins talking about the Bible in unusual or new terms we should all pay attention and ask lots of questions. But throwing stones after listening to one sermon seems a bit premature." The megachurch pastor garnered controversy for a sermon preached last month in which he stated that he believed Christians should "unhitch" their faith from the Old Testament. He argued that the early church apostles "elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish scriptures" and Christians today must do the same in order to "not make it difficult for those Gentiles who are turning to God." The sermon was the third and final part of a sermon series titled "Aftermath" that was centered on reaching out to individuals who lost their faith because of something in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, which he admitted was "violent" and "disturbing." Stanley explained in the sermon that while he believes the Old Testament is "divinely inspired," it is only the "back story for the main story" and should not be "the go-to source regarding any behavior in the church." To justify this, Stanley cited Acts 15, which described how early church leaders decided that Gentile converts did not need to strictly observe Jewish law to become Christians. "[First century] Church leaders unhitched the church from the worldview, value system, and regulations of the Jewish scriptures," said Stanley. "Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish scriptures, and my friends, we must as well," he preached. "The Bible did not create Christianity. The resurrection of Jesus created and launched Christianity. Your whole house of Old Testament cards can come tumbling down." Some accused the megachurch pastor of advancing the early church heresy Marcionism, which maintained that the God of the Hebrew Bible was not the God of the New Testament. "[Stanley's sermon] can really only be described as an elaborate and educated flirtation with the old Christian heresy of Marcionismthe belief that the Old Testament is not authoritative in matters of Christian doctrine and morals," wrote Wesley Hill of Trinity School for Ministry in a column for First Things. Stanley reaffirmed to Relevant magazine that he did indeed consider the Old Testament just as divinely inspired as the New Testament, noting that he maintained his support for the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. When asked by Relevant if he would change anything about his sermon to add nuance or to add clarity, given the recent criticism, Stanley stood by his message and said he wouldn't change anything. He explained that modern Christians should "embrace the decision" of the early church to allow Gentiles to join without them needing to convert to Judaism first. "... we should not add old covenant imperatives, old covenant contract language or old covenant promises made to Israel to the new covenant God established with us through Jesus," said Stanley. Read more about how Andy Stanley responds to 'Concerns Over Unhitch' Comments on The Christian Post. Turkey Is Accusing American Churches of Conspiracy in Case Against Andrew Brunson, Sen. Tillis Says Christian Post Contributor | 22 May, 2018 by Samuel Smith WASHINGTON North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis on Wednesday shared more details about Turkey's case against imprisoned American Pastor Andrew Brunson and slammed prosecutors for claiming that churches in the United States are conspiring to undermine the Turkish government. Speaking at a Capitol Hill briefing addressing the human rights situation in the NATO ally country, Tillis decried the charges against Brunson and pointed out flaws in the prosecution's case. Tillis, a Republican, has been actively involved in advocating on behalf of Brunson, a resident of North Carolina who's spent the last two decades ministering in Turkey before he was arrested in October 2016 and slapped with trumped-up terrorism charges about 17 months later. The Turkish government claims that Brunson is connected to the Islamic Gulen movement, which it accuses of being involved in a July 2016 coup attempt against the administration of Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. Brunson is also accused of being involved with the Kurdistan Workers Party. Brunson has denied all claims against him. As the prosecution's case against Brunson has been based on the testimony of "secret witnesses," Tillis saw firsthand the prosecution's arguments against Brunson when he traveled to Izmir in April to witness the first court hearing against the pastor. A second hearing was held earlier this month in which Brunson was remanded back to prison until another hearing scheduled for July. "What I saw in that courtroom was just absurd the secret witnesses," Tillis said. In his speech, Tillis mentioned briefly a document put forth by the prosecution "that says that churches in America are somehow woven together so that they can go to other countries and disrupt and overthrow governments, [and] that they are an intelligence gathering resource." "This is serious allegations put forth by the prosecution and I don't think I'm embellishing anything," Tillis explained. "These are the facts." While there are several accusations against Brunson, Tillis focused on and refuted claims made by an alleged secret witness who mentioned "observing a light in a room in a small church in Izmir." Tillis blasted the prosecution's assertion that a witness seeing a light on in a church window for four hours can be used as evidence to charge someone with acts of terrorism. "[There are] two problems with that," the senator said. "In [the U.S.], having a light on doesn't necessarily suggest you are doing something wrong. The other problem with that is that his room doesn't have a window." Tillis added that what makes him sad about the Brunson ordeal is that it involves a NATO ally that the U.S. has had since 1952. Read more about Turkey Is Accusing American Churches of Conspiracy in Case Against Andrew Brunson, Sen. Tillis Says on The Christian Post. Western Christians Are Still Grappling With Influences From Animists, Says Bible Translator 22 May, 2018 by Michael Gryboski , | Christianity in developed countries still grapples with encroachments of animism, according to a Bible translator who has experience witnessing to animists. Cambridge Dictionary defines Animism as a "belief that all natural things, such as plants, animals, rocks, and thunder, have spirits and can influence human events." Ken Nehrbass, associate professor at Biola University and member of Wycliffe Bible Translators, talked about animism last week in a Dallas Theological Seminary podcast hosted by professor Darrell Bock called "The Table." Nehrboss explained that western societies like the United States have elements of animist thinking "in our modern vocabulary." "I'm sending you positive energy. Just think good thoughts, the sense that you can control your environment by what you think. Sometimes we talk about having bad luck and I'm not sure if that means just a misfortune or that it's something that somehow accumulates around you," noted Nehrbass. "Or if someone says deaths happen in three or calamities come together. Somehow there's something in the supernatural world that's causing tragedies to run together. I think that the way it encroaches in our Christian faith a lot is this sense that if something bad happens, I must've done something wrong, which of course there is" ... "it can be a view of God's sovereignty and God being involved in the universe." Nehrbass went on to cite more examples, arguing that there is "a branch of animism that has continued along in western society and in new age charms and amulets." "Crystals were popular in the 1980s. I don't know what the equivalent would be now, but other behaviors related to animism, even getting high on marijuana, for instance, is often used in societies as a way of communicating with spirits. And somehow entering a different, a more supernatural state," continued Nehrbass. The podcast episode centered on "respectfully engaging animism." Nehrbass explained to Bock that witnessing to an animist can be easy in the respect that they tend to be "very happy to talk about supernatural," but challenging in explaining how "God is loving and sovereign." "Often animists see God as subservient to the rules. The rule is what goes around comes around, that bad deserves bad," explained Nehrbass. "There's no way around it, but to show that God is actually above that and that He can forgive sins, ... that he's loving and not just an impersonal force. You can't just say it once and someone will be convinced. It does take a lot of conversations on if God's father, what does that mean? Is he loving? Why do you suppose He created us?" Read more about Western Christians with Influences From Animists on The Christian Post. Lewis Carrolls novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There contains a famous snippet of dialogue between a maddeningly vague Humpty Dumpty and an increasingly puzzled Alice. Humpty insists that by the word glory he means a powerful argument, and Alice counters that glory doesnt mean that. Carroll describes what happens next: When I use a word, Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, it means just what I choose it to meanneither more nor less. The question is, said Alice, whether you can make words mean so many different things. The question is, said Humpty, which is to be masterthat is all. In Christian: The Politics of a Word in America, historian Matthew Bowman looks to tease out how religious groups in American history have defined, used, and even wielded the word Christian as a means of understanding themselves and pressing for their own idiosyncratic visions of genuine faith and healthy democracy. Like Humpty Dumpty, Bowman does not think there is a fixed definition of Christian to be right or wrong about. There are only different groups attempting to master the term for their own purposes. Bowman wisely acknowledges that he is not attempting a comprehensive history of Christian or American Christianity more broadly, but rather a selective and indeed eclectic account of several distinct groups. His case studies make for an interesting ride through some familiar and forgotten terrain in American religious history. Bowman begins his narrative after the Civil War by contrasting radical feminist and provocateur Victoria Woodhalls Christianity with that of the Radical Republicans and Ulysses S. Grant. Suffice it to say that while Woodhall and figures like Horace Greeley and Henry Ward Beecher each claimed the mantle of Christianity, their understandings of the teachings of Christ differed significantly. Competing Claims Bowmans chapters basically follow that model. Drawing from the writings of elites, he describes how a particular group, movement, or campaign claimed for itself the name of Christian; then he juxtaposes such groups with other noteworthy figures or movements who also claim to be Christian, but have wildly divergent views as to what that means. There is a chapter detailing how the Columbia University history department in the 1920s created Western Civilization and gave liberal Protestants assurance that their ideals supplied the true undergirding of American democracy. Another chapter details how African American professors at Howard University wrestled with the tension between their affinity for some aspects of liberal Protestantism and their commitment to a nascent Christian Afrocentrism. Bowman highlights several important and perhaps neglected corners of the American story: intra-Catholic debates about faith and economics, Protestant concerns about cults and communism, and the three-part shift of the American religious consensusfrom Protestant hegemony to sociologist Will Herbergs Protestant-Catholic-Jew model to the current kaleidoscope of churches and cults, pastors and priests, establishment icons and charismatic outliers. It is difficult to describe the overarching argument of the book, but that is primarily because there is no overarching argument. To be sure, there are some themes, such as the ubiquity of Christian as a marker and political weapon or the concept of materialism, another term so definitionally flexible that it has been invoked to describe racism, cults, secular humanism, and a host of other threats to American Christianity and democracy. The book is a collection of narrative gazes and sketches, painting more and less plausible pictures of groups who referred to themselves as Christians but viewed many of their neighbors claims to the same label as ridiculous, if not blasphemous. Article continues below To say that the book does not have an overarching argument is not to say that it lacks conviction. In the introduction, Bowman acknowledges his guiding premise by claiming that there is no orthodox understanding of what it means to be a Christian. From this vantage point, anyone claiming to be Christian has just as valid a claim to that designation as anyone else. This is why the book flits back and forth seamlessly between various and sundry Christians, like Billy Graham and Sun Myung Moon. Or Martin Luther King Jr. and self-proclaimed messiah and black Christian nationalist Kwame Nkrumah. Or William Jennings Bryan and the Ku Klux Klan. Just beneath the surface, every history book operates on a certain philosophy of what it means to do history. One of Bowmans core assumptions seems to be that contested terms necessarily indicate the absence of actual substance. Because the term Christian has been used by a variety of groups to mean different and incompatible things, Bowman writes, this malleability means that it has no essential, normative meaning, a conclusion he affirms by approving William Jamess characterization of the debate about naturalism as aesthetic rather than substantive. On this understanding, the word secular also lacks a definite meaning. This philosophical position is a premise of the book, not, it should be pointed out, the conclusion of any philosophical reasoning found within it. It also rests on what philosophers call a non sequitur, in that the conclusion does not follow from the premise. The fact that people differ about a contested concept is no proof that the concept lacks an essential or correct definition. It would, perhaps, be worth exploring the ramifications of this position for other concepts that people claim and define in diverse and incommensurable ways, such as Mormonism, feminism, justice, and, well, history. This is not so much a complaint as a caution for those who would read the book. It is sometimes helpful to read about how ones faith appears from an outside perspective, and Bowman can certainly offer that perspective. Christiansand I suppose I must clarify that I mean those with a Trinitarian, broadly orthodox understandingwill learn a great deal about American political and religious history by reading this book. But they should not expect it to capture anything close to their internal point of viewnor, for that matter, the view of any devout believer of any faith. One doesnt have to agree with how a religious people understand themselves in order to tell their story, but it helps to know what they actually believe. Heres an example that shows the vulnerability of Bowmans approach: He attributes evangelical opposition to cults primarily to racist fears about the East and threats to American democracy. No doubt racial bias and political concerns were and are realities any historian must consider. But it is telling that Bowman nowhere wonders if evangelicalsfor whom the spread of a saving gospel is centralmight also be concerned about the growth of cults because they care about the eternal destiny of their neighbors. I can have a fruitful argument with a critic who claims such concerns are peripheral covers for more fundamental motives. Im not sure what to do with an observer who ignores entirely the most distinguishing characteristic of one of the countrys most prominent religious groups. Article continues below You Cant Be WrongUnless You Think Youre Right There is another significant consequence to Bowmans seemingly even-handed characterization of anyone claiming the Christian label. If his framing is accurate, then no one can be wrong about the essential nature of Christianityunless, of course, they claim to understand and embody the Christian religion correctly and exclusively. And that is what nearly everyone described in this book does. Ironically, then, Bowman portrays American religious history as a cacophony of competing religious voices advancing irreconcilable arguments about what it means to be a Christian, but these voices are united against Bowmans presupposition that there is nothing there to fight over. What seems at first to be a cool and detached approach to the religious convictions of others turns out to depend upon a highly contestable and dogmatic commitment to the essential emptiness of the word Christianand, by extension, the belief that one can see, even if imperfectly, what it means to be a follower of Christ. Readers will do well to follow Alices example and question the underlying claim to mastery in this book, even as they benefit from the many good things they can learn in its pages. Micah Watson teaches political science at Calvin College. He is the co-author, with Justin Dyer, of C. S. Lewis on Politics and the Natural Law (Cambridge University Press). On April 18, the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Iyar, Israelis celebrated the 70th anniversary of their countrys founding. On May 14, Palestinians commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Nakba (Arabic for catastrophe), the year they lost their homeland to a foreign invader. Jews look on the events of 1948 as the correction of an ancient injustice; Palestinians feel that Jewish justice was gained at their expense. If 1948 meant the end of Jewish dispersion, it also signaled the start of Palestinian exile. The clash between these two views captures the basic dynamic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: two national groups, two national narratives, and seemingly no way to reconcile them. For 70 years, the rest of the world has been forced to confront this dilemma and choose a side. Christians, in particular, want to know who deserves their sympathy and support. For too long, the Christian conversation about Israel has been confined to the realm of theology: Are the Jews still Gods chosen people? Are the promises about the land still relevant? Is modern Israel connected to Bible prophecies? Yet as theologians argue over the details, the conflict persists. Meanwhile, advocates for pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian organizations seem to compete over who can come up with the most insipid spiritual slogan (Bless Israel! Be pro-peace! Pursue justice!), forcing those who crave a more thoughtful response to seek answers on their own. Lately, evangelicals have become especially interested in the other side. Weve heard a lot about the Jews, they say, but what about the Palestinians? Who are they? What do they want? How can we help them? A recent LifeWay Research survey of American evangelicals found about 60% of respondents felt the urge to care more for the Palestinian people. But there are good responses to the Palestinian plight, and there are bad ones. The right Christian approach will be compassionate, wise, judicious, and holistic. The wrong approach will be hasty, harsh, emotional, and naive. Here are some of the hallmarks of what a proper Christian response to the Nakba might look like: 1) Recognize that it happenedand why. The Nakba is not a myth; it really happened. Something took place in 1948 that uprooted hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs from their villages and sent them into exile. Many descendants of the original 750,000 Palestinian refugees are still stuck in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria today. Their stories are positively heartbreaking. All stories have historical context, and the Nakba is no different. The Palestinian refugee crisis directly followed Arab aggression against the Jews. One day after Israel declared independence in one-half of historic Palestine, five Arab armies invaded from all directions to destroy the Jewish statelet before it could take root. This fateful decision altered the course of the 20th century and destroyed the lives of almost one million Palestiniansexiles who were often rejected by the very Arab countries that started the war, kept in camps and limited in assimilating into local society. Christians should understand why the Nakba happened, but know that it still remains a source of tremendous pain for Palestinians. It is their most important collective memory and must be acknowledged as such, regardless of how it started. Article continues below 2) Recognize the humanity of all Palestinians. The right Christian response to any conflict begins with compassion. Conflicts arent between robots. They are between people, and all people, regardless of their background or political opinion, are made in the image of God. Right-thinking Christians should love Palestinians, sympathize with their plight, and take time to hear their story. 3) Recognize the Palestinians as a real people who deserve security and self-determination. Palestinians lack a national pedigree like that of the Jews. While the nation of Israel has been a recognizable entity since at least 1200 B.C., Palestinians have only been recognizable in a national sense since the first half of the 20th century. Some critics try to use this fact to disqualify Palestinians from any claim to national rights. They are wrong. Palestinians are a people, and hardly the first people to emerge in the context of conflict. Regardless of how they developed their national consciousness and when, they have one now. Palestinians who live in the West Bank, Syria, Germany, and Michigan all share a deep sense of kinship and historical memory. It is not our place to deny that. As a people, Palestinians have the right to security and self-determination like any other people. Denying them this right is to deny their collective suffering. Recognizing it is to give them the dignity they deserve. Whether a separate Palestinian state or a discreet Palestinian entity within a larger political structure (if not something even more creative), an independent Palestinian polity needs to take on an affirmative life of its own. That is the only satisfactory path out of the conflict. 4) Push back against demonization of the Jews. Anyone who spends time in the Palestinian territories knows just how badly some Palestinians talk about the Jewish people. Yes, the slander goes both ways, but Christians who work with Palestinians must speak the truth in love and oppose ugly rhetoric. A common Palestinian narrative portrays the Jews as foreign invaders who were planted there as part of an elaborate Western plot to push Jews out of Europe and use them to colonize the Middle East. Some Palestinians go even further and claim that the Jews of today arent actually the Jews of ancient times, and it is the Palestinian people who carry the real bloodline of the land. Palestinians, and not invented Jews, are its rightful owners. Part of the problem has to do with the reactionary nature of Palestinian identity, which was constructed as a reaction to the Zionist enterprise. Its narratives, images, heroes, and villains are all defined in opposition to the identity of someone else. To be Palestinian is to resist the Zionist, and opposition to the invader is the national mission. Any Palestinian who suffers at the hands of the invader, or who causes the invader to suffer, is a national hero. Any Palestinian who accepts the invader is a traitor. But Palestinian identity cannot just be about rejecting the Zionist. That will only perpetuate a vicious cycle that feeds more violence and suffering. Can Palestinian identity survive peace? Does it even allow for peace? What does that look like? These are the questions Christians need to be asking. 5) Reject support for violence. A recent poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that half of all Palestinians support the return to armed aggression against Israel. Almost the same number condoned indiscriminate attacks against Israeli civilians. This is a reality that any Christian working in the West Bank or Gaza needs to recognize as deeply problematic. Indiscriminate violence is not just immoral, its self-defeating. Not once has violence produced anything good for the Palestinian people. From 1929 until the Oslo Accords in 1993, many Palestinian leaders used violence in hopes of scaring the Jews out of the land. It didnt work; the Jews just dug in deeper. Only in 1993, when Palestinians finally recognized Israel and limited their territorial claims to the West Bank and Gaza did they, for the first time ever, achieve any measure of self-government. Article continues below Unfortunately, it didnt last. In 2000, when peace talks collapsed at Camp David, Palestinian leaders dispatched dozens of suicide bombers inside the State of Israel, killing hundreds of civilians. This was the Second Intifada, a vicious wave of terrorism that prompted the current calamity in Gaza, the separation barrier dividing the West Bank from Israel, and the fragmentation of the Palestinian national movement on every level. Whether it was directed against Israel, Jordan, or Lebanon, violence has always made Palestinian lives worse, not better. 6) Support those seeking peace. Statistics indicate that roughly one-third of Palestinians support the safety and security of Israel and want to make peace with the Jewish people. Many also support pluralism, religious freedom, and other liberal values. Unfortunately, these Palestinians are usually shouted down by their more radical counterparts. Even worse, we in the West often choose to appease these radicals rather than stand beside the moderates. Now is the time to identify those Palestinians who share our values and find ways to support them. If there is any positive future for the West and the Middle East, it will come through like-minded people on both sides building real friendships that are oriented toward change. 7) Encourage a positive vision for the future. Many Westerners come to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with good intentions and bad information. To put it in biblical terms, regardless of which side they choose, they have lots of zeal but no knowledge. Some Christians who want to help Palestinians end up appropriating the outrage and bitterness of the very people they are trying to help. This wholesale affirmation of a predominant Palestinian narrative doesnt do anyone any good. Real leadership means discerning truth, affirming the good, and rejecting the bad. In particular, Christians should be pushing their Palestinian friends to work toward a positive vision for the future. What does Palestinian society look like after the conflict ends? Who is advancing a concept of Palestinian identity that isnt based on a negation of Jewish life in the land? How can peaceful Jewish and Palestinian societies cooperate to benefit both sides? If a one-state solution is unable to be countenanced because it would deny the Jewish state, what would be the next best thing? It may be that the best response to the Nakba is to help Palestinians to move beyond it. The spirit of Palestine cannot be a spirit of spite. Self-responsibility will be the watchword for any future in which the Palestinian people are flourishing. Contrary to popular belief, we dont have to choose a side. The best Christian voices will affirm the identity and rights of both Jews and Palestinians in the land, and reject those on both sides who deny the humanity of the other. We can support Palestinian security and self-determination without endorsing the violence and demonization that many Palestinian leaders promote. We can do our best to affirm a future beyond the Nakba. Thankfully, we have Palestinian friends who share our approach. Our task now lies in identifying these friends and doing whatever we can to support them as they seek to lead their society from within. Robert Nicholson is executive director of The Philos Project. Speaking Out is Christianity Todays guest opinion column and (unlike an editorial) does not necessarily represent the opinion of the magazine. 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. Update (July 10, 2019): Calvin College officially changed its name to Calvin University on July 10, 2019, on the 510th birthday of the schools namesake, John Calvin. ----- Original post (May 22, 2018): Almost 900 students graduated this past weekend from Calvin College, taking home diplomas that in just a couple years will be relics from the schools history. Two weeks ago, the Christian liberal arts college announced plans to change its name to Calvin University by 2020. Schools across the United States have gradually transitioned from college to university as a way to indicate graduate offerings and compete for clout in the packed higher education landscapeparticularly with the influx of international students. Calvin is the latest in a string of evangelical colleges to make the move. This direction enables us to live into what has already been true about Calvin, and it will better position us for the innovative work that is necessary for the future, said Calvin President Michael Le Roy in a press release. We see this move providing a great opportunity to introduce more people to Calvins distinctive Christian mission. The Grand Rapids, Michigan, college launched its first graduate degree program in 1974. Informal talks of adopting the university designation have gone on for decades, formalizing over the past year with a unanimous vote from the faculty senate and the board of trustees. But name changes are not merely branding moves requiring updated letterhead and new school T-shirts. Over the next two years, Calvin will make its change to a university official through legal and accrediting institutions, then will shift its governance structure. Unlike the streamlined college setup, universities typically have leadership in place for each of their schools and programs. Counting Calvins upcoming name change, 15 percent of colleges affiliated with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) have dropped college for university in their names over the past five years. Most recently, Warner Pacific College in Portland became Warner Pacific University at the start of 2018, and Dordt College in Iowa revealed plans earlier this month to transition to Dordt University in 2019. Both schools cited similar reasons to Calvin: expanded academic programs and appeal to a more international student body. 10 CCCU Name Changes in Less Than 10 Years 2020: Calvin College becomes Calvin University 2019: Dordt College becomes Dordt University 2018: Warner Pacific College becomes Warner Pacific University 2017: Greenville College becomes Greenville University 2015: Ambrose University College becomes Ambrose University (Canada) 2014: Valley Forge Christian College becomes University of Valley Forge 2014: The Kings University College becomes The Kings University (Canada) 2013: Northwestern CollegeMN becomes University of NorthwesternSaint Paul 2013: King College becomes King University (TN) 2013: Carson-Newman College becomes Carson-Newman University Typically, the change stems from an increase in graduate degree offerings and/or the desire to attract more international students, said Rick Ostrander, CCCU vice president for academic affairs and professional programs. In the US, the terms college and university are used interchangeably to denote institutions of higher education, whereas students coming from abroad to study in the US often understand university to denote higher education. College, on the other hand, may be associated with junior college or community college-level schooling. The number of foreign students coming to the US for college has spiked by over 70 percent in the past decade, according to the Institute of International Education. Last year, the total number of international students enrolled in US colleges topped 1 million, making up 1 in 20 college students in the country. Christian organizations at secular colleges and Christian colleges themselves have embraced the shift as an opportunity for diaspora missions on campus. (So have Christian high schools.) Calvins international enrollment, at 12 percent of its 3,800-member student body, has reached about double the US average. LeRoy cited the schools global partnerships as well as its shifting student population as key factors in its transition to becoming a university. As Calvin stated, The college has a large international student population for whom university is more visible and better understood than college. In the last several years, Greenville University, Ambrose University (Canada), University of Valley Forge, The Kings University (Canada), University of NorthwesternSaint Paul, King University (TN), and Carson-Newman University also made the transition to become universities. Schools keeping college in their namesthink of prominent evangelical institutions such as Wheaton College, Gordon College, and Calvins nearby rival Hope Collegestill make up a third of the CCCUs 170 members and affiliates. Calvins upcoming name change, its first since becoming Calvin College in 1931, is timed around its 100th anniversary as a four-year college. A move to a university with a liberal arts foundation both names what we already do and liberates us to do that work better, said Kevin den Dulk, Calvin political science professor. Im especially enthusiastic about using the university structure to expand our global reach, which is already considerable yet has a lot of room to grow. David Hesselgrave, the driving force behind the evangelical study of missions in the 20th century, died this week at age 94. Hesselgrave built the missions program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) and cofounded the Evangelical Missiological Society, teaching generations of scholars and missions workers around the world more effective ways to share the gospel across cultures (as referenced in the titles of his popular textbooks: Planting Churches Cross-Culturally; Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally; Counseling Cross-Culturally). Not just the volume but the significance of the content of his writings has had tremendous influence and impact in helping us think through the relationship of Christ and culture, said Craig Ott, TEDS professor of mission and intercultural studies, in a video tribute offered to Hesselgrave in 2012 when he won a lifetime achievement award at the North American Mission Leaders Conference. Before contextualization became a widely accepted element of mission work among evangelicals, Hesselgrave was among just a few scholars in the 1970s and 80s who validated the importance of culture as a factor in how people interpret and communicate theology. Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, has regularly highlighted Hesselgraves scholarship on his Christianity Today blog, The Exchange, and coedited with the late professor the 2010 book MissionShift: Global Mission Issues in the Third Millennium. You cant speak to an evangelical missiologist who hasnt been influencedin my case, shapedby Hesselgraves thinking, Stetzer said in the video tribute. I think hes left a powerful legacy of mission and ministry. After Hesselgraves death, Stetzer deemed him the dean of evangelical missiology, writing: David was a thought-leader in every sense of the term. Look over the curriculum in almost any Missions Department here in North America and beyond and you will likely find David Hesselgraves works still as foundational texts in courses. Nearly every serious missiologist I know today is indebted to Davids courageous and cutting-edge deep dive into how to engage cultures well. Even searching Hesselgraves name online reveals the breadth of his impact, as results pop up in Spanish and German and from far-flung places in Asia and Africa; his speaking circuit spanned 40 countries around the world. A seminary grad who belonged to the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), Hesselgrave served as a missionary in Japan for 12 years following World War II, where he preached, taught, and conducted radio ministry in Japanese alongside Japanese leaders. He returned to teach at TEDS starting in 1965 and until his retirement in 1991, spending 14 years as chairman of the missions and evangelization department. The Deerfield, Illinois, school now displays an oil painting of Hesselgrave, a gift from Missio Nexus. The late professor held a PhD. in rhetoric and public address with an emphasis in cross-cultural communication, a masters in speech, and a bachelors in philosophy from the University of Minnesota, where he also taught for a few years. Hesselgrave also had stints as an instructor at Evangelical Theological College in Hong Kong and Asian Theological Seminary in Manila. He never thought just about today, said Wheaton College Graduate School associate dean and intercultural studies professor Scott Moreau, who studied under Hesselgrave in the 80s, in the tribute video. He was thinking 10 years from now, Where are my students going to go with this? Hesselgraves legacy is often coupled with the work of fellow scholar Charles Kraft, who studied culture, mission, and contextualization, and fellow missiologist Ralph Winter, best known as the founder of the US Center for World Mission. Hesselgrave called Winter (who died in 2009) one of his closest confidante and friend right up until the end, though the two disagreed on some points regarding holism, which emphasizes good works and social ministries done for the kingdom, and prioritism, which puts the most emphasis on spiritual transformation and conversion. Though I agree that the good deeds [Winter] proposes are good Christian things to do, I do not agree that any oneor even all of these good deeds togetherconstitutes Christian mission, Hesselgrave wrote in 2011. They may be supporting of, and contributive to, mission. But I believe that Christian mission primarily consists of the proclamation of the gospel, the conversion of unbelievers and nonbelievers, and the gathering and discipling of converts in local churchesall of this worldwide but especially among unevangelized peoples and in unreached areas. A native of North Freedom, Wisconsin, Hesselgrave came to faith as a child at the bedside of his brother, who had suffered a life-threatening illness. He met his wife Gertrude on the first day of class at Trinity Bible Institute in Chicago. They have three children and celebrated over 70 years of marriage together. Catholic home accused of allowing 'illegal' adoptions A Catholic-run home in Northern Ireland has been accused of 'illegal' cross-border adoptions after allegations emerged it had shipped babies overseas against their mother's will. Marianvale mother and baby home in Newry was the subject of an investigation by the BBC's File on 4 which found one woman was given three different birth certificates from three separate countries, some of which contained false information. The home in County Down operated between 1955 and 1984 and offered unmarried mothers somewhere they could put their children up for adoption. However the BBC investigation heard that some adoptions were not voluntary and that details for birth certificates were forged to allow the children to be adopted overseas. Karen, 49, is now an English teacher in New York, and was the centre of the investigation. She was born in 1968 and believes she was moved illegally from Marianvale to the Republic of Ireland before being taken to Texas and adopted by a couple who were too old to legally adopt in the US. 'They died when I was a teenager and that was going to have an effect on anybody's life,' she told the BBC. 'And the fact that their health and age was overlooked because of the desire of the people who ran the orphanage, I don't think is justifiable or acceptable.' Karen has three birth certificates, one with her correct details registering her as being born in Northern Ireland. But another was issued two days earlier in the Republic of Ireland containing false information, including changing her date and place of birth and listed her future adopted parents as her natural parents. She was then registered a third time by her adopted parents when she arrived in the USA. The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd denied they had conducted any illegal adoptions. 'We utterly reject any suggestion that illegal adoptions were conducted from Marianvale,' a statement to the BBC said. 'All adoptions were conducted strictly in accordance with the legislation which then applied. 'Some women did not proceed with adoption, as was originally planned, and with the support of families, took their babies home.' 'Don't worry we are dealing with the Christians': Algeria's crackdown on churches Largely dormant for more than 10 years, a law in Algeria which permits the outright persecution of Christians is shaking back into life. As Africa's largest country, Algeria sprawls south from the Mediterranean into the Sahara desert covering more than 2.3 million squared kilometres, ten times the size of the UK. Of its 40 million citizens, 99 per cent are Muslim and any attempt to convert an Algerian away from Islam is officially illegal. But even after 2006, when laws controlling non-Islamic worship were introduced, the former French colony tended to continue its largely tolerant attitude towards minorities. However now, with presidential elections looming next year and the government under pressure from the Islamist MSP opposition party, ministers are using the 12-year-old legislation to instil a new crackdown on churches. 'Since November last year they have been cracking down on the churches,' says Ali Khidri, general secretary of the Bible Society in Algeria. He is one of three pastors, alongside Mustafa Karim and Youssef Ourahmane, who are representing the Association of Protestant Churches of Algeria (L'Eglise Protestante d'Algeeie EPA) trying to persuade Western governments to intervene. 'Our churches are not officially recognised,' he says in an interview with Christian Today. 'They are illegal. And that is what they want. They just let you hang in the air.' A joint briefing paper produced by the religious freedom charities Open Doors, Middle East Concern and Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) says: 'Pressures have increased significantly from late 2017, as government inspectors checking compliance with building and safety regulations have also demanded to see permits authorising non-Muslim worship.' The much criticised 2006 law means non-Islamic worship can only take place in buildings officially sanctioned by the government's National Commission on Religious Worship. Those gathering in 'house churches' could face a prison sentence of between one and three years and a fine of between 20,000 and 60,000 AD ($1,400-$4,200). The law also imposes a two-to-five year prison term for anyone who 'incites, constrains or uses any seductive means aimed at converting a Muslim to another religion'. A separate offence is laid out for anyone who prints or distributes anything that aims 'to shake the faith of a Muslim'. Khidri tells of one Catholic priest who was jailed after helping some Muslims. His assistance could 'shake the faith of a Muslim', prosecutors said. Reliable figures for the number of Christians in Algeria are hard to come by. Anecdotal evidence from several sources suggests a steady and rapid rise in the numbers converting to Christianity. Some studies suggest the number of Algerian Christians is now 350,000. More conservative estimates put the figure at closer to 200,000. What is undeniably true is that Christians have been active and vocal in proselytising their faith despite the law. Church services are filmed from Algeria and broadcast several times a week by the Christian TV station SAT-7. 'We are not just trying to hide and keep going,' says Khidri. 'We are outgoing. That is a big problem for them.' 'Definitely there is incredible growth in the church,' he says. 'They don't want to end up with 2-to-3 million Christians. That would be too much for them to control.' He adds: 'I think for the Algerian government it is a big source of shame to see tens of thousands of Algerians living in Islam then becoming Christians and very active. 'It is a big source of shame for them. I am sure they have had a lot of pressure from outside [Algeria in the rest of the Middle East and North Africa].' Against this backdrop of church growth and pressure particularly from neighbouring countries such as Morocco and Tunisia, who have a much stricter enforcement of anti-Christian laws, the portrayal of Christians has shifted from Algeria's traditionally tolerant attitude. 'Over the last two decades the growth in the number of Muslim converts to Christianity has become a widely reported and regularly debated topic in the Algerian media,' a report by CSW says. 'Anti-Christian attitudes are common in media outlets, particularly those linked with Islamist and Arab nationalist movements,' it adds. 'Christians are commonly portrayed as part of a wider western conspiracy against Arabs and Muslims, and as attempting to shake the faith of the nation by using visas and financial incentives to encourage conversions.' On top of this Algeria's economy, which is dependent on fossil fuel exports, has plummeted with oil and gas revenues halved since 2014. In this climate the Islamist MSP party is the official opposition to the 81-year-old president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The veteran leader has been in power since 1999 and in a wheelchair following a stroke in 2013. He has not yet announced whether he will stand for a fifth term in 2019 but his FLN party, who have held power since independence from French colonial rule, have asked him to run. The context of the elections next year is crucial to understand the spike in implementation of the 2006 laws, say the three influential Algerian pastors who visited the UK to highlight their plight. 'The timing is very important,' says Mustafa Karem, a former president of the EPA another of the three pastors trying to convince Western countries to intervene. All three are near retirement age and say it is the worst persecution they have witnessed in their lifetimes. 'They want to intimate us,' says Khidri. 'They want to show the neighbours, "we are good Muslims too. Don't worry we are dealing with the Christians"'. He cites an example where 40 police officers turned up to shut down a Christian bookshop owned by one Christian man. This heavy handed approach is to send a deliberate message, says Youssef Ourahmane, another of the three pastors and founder of a large network of churches and Bible schools in Algeria. 'It makes the neighbours believe that the church did something very serious.' Karem agrees. 'They think they can please the Muslims in the government by closing the churches and stopping some activities,' he tells Christian Today. Most churches are officially illegal because the 2006 law required them to register with the National Commission on Religious Worship. However that commission never functioned formally, meaning when churches applied for recognition they never received a reply, rendering them illegal. Since 2006, 35 churches have been closed but most continued unhindered. 'It is always there because the law is there,' says Khidri. 'They can bring it up whenever.' However recently the government has made the law bite. 'They don't want us to exist anymore in Algeria,' says Khidri. 'So they are simply saying to us "you are not legal anymore". 'Their aim as far as we have been trying to read, is they want to close all the churches and just grant a few churches in certain parts with very strict conditions which will allow them to close them very easily if they do not meet those conditions.' Those conditions typically include no children's work, no overseas preachers and no broadcasting restrictions deemed unpalatable by Algeria's evangelical churches. 'They are trying to squeeze us,' says Khidri. 'Then they can find a reason to close down the church.' Two Christians have been prosecuted for proselytising in the last week alone. Noureddeine, 30, from the city of Tiaret, was ordered to pay a total of 200,000 Algerian Dinars (1,000) after police searched his car and found a number of Bibles in Arabic. In a seperate case Nabil, 28, from the city of Tizi Ouzou, was also stopped and searched returning from a trip abroad. When police found key rings and scarves with Christian engravings he was accused of illegally importing Christian materials. Although a judge dropped an initial prison sentence he was ordered to pay a fine and legal expenses. 'These sentences come amidst a fresh wave of repression initiated by the government that has resulted in the closure of many churches in the country,' CSW said in a statement. 'It is deeply worrying that some of the most senior church leaders in Algeria are describing the current situation for Christians in their country as the worst they have known for a long time,' a spokeswoman for Open Doors adds. 'Together, Middle East Concern, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Open Doors are calling on the UK to raise these concerns directly with the Algeria government in order to seek an end to this persecution.' Despite the growing concern Khidri is optimistic the recent trend of increased pressure can be reversed. He points to a front page article in the New York Times in 2006 that halted the law's implementation when it was first introduced. 'The Algerian government is very sensitive to their image not just in the Arab world but also outside,' he says, pointing out the country's reliance on exports. 'I think this is very unique timing because of the presidential elections next year. They will not do anything in the country without pleasing or getting the agreement of the American, French and British governments. They have to work a deal.' 'This is what we are trying to do,' he adds. After starting their tour in America where they met with officials from the Vice President's office, they met British ministers and MPs in Westminster before continuing on to France and to speak to senior EU officials. 'We want to mobilise as many people as possible so there are aware of the situation,' he says. But with reports of arrests, fines and church closures gathering pace in Algeria, they are running out of time to halt their country's increasing clampdown on its minority Christian population. You can find out more about persecution in Algeria on Open Doors UK's website. Ireland's vote on abortion: Why referendums are lethally dangerous There is a powerful comment piece in the Guardian today by the human rights lawyer and campaigner Lizzie O'Shea, who argues that 'traditional, top-down politics has failed' and, 'No matter what happens in Ireland's abortion referendum on Friday, the campaign should serve as an inspiration'. As it happens, O'Shea passionately backs a Yes vote when it comes to repealing the eighth amendment which was introduced in 1983 and placed equal value on the life of the mother and the unborn child. But the article's headline is, 'Ireland's abortion referendum is revolutionary politics, whoever wins'. And it is this claim that is questionable, wherever you stand on abortion. For referendums, the tool of dictators including Hitler, are lethally divisive, and do not bring any kind of closure on controversial issues, as we have seen so clearly in the case of the Brexit referendum in 2016 which has resulted in two years of political inertia and is likely to fuel many more years of foggy stalemate dominating the British political scene while the UK finds itself more divided than at any time since the Second World War. The damage has been done, and cannot be undone, even by a second referendum, though one may now be necessary so Westminster can finally get into gear and move forward again. You don't have to be a fanatic pro-European or for that matter an anti-abortion campaigner to see that the principled case against referendums in a representative democracy is very powerful, because they undermine the strength of the representatives and the importance of elections. Representative democracy is valued for a reason, and it is not about 'traditional' or 'top-down' politics. Unfashionable though it is to say it, politicians are there to govern on behalf of the people they represent, and there is nothing 'revolutionary' or indeed 'democratic' about the referendum device 'a device,' as Clement Attlee once said, 'so alien to all our traditions as a referendum, which has only too often been the instrument of Nazism and fascism'. Indeed, the Brexit referendum bypassed parliamentary democracy altogether along with our un-codified, delicate constitutional settlement. It has acted like a chainsaw in a rainforest developed over centuries. Similarly on a party level, it is argued that one-member-one-vote systems of the sort which saw Jeremy Corbyn elected is a step towards 'revolutionary' democracy, yet this process saw elected MPs stripped of their influence. And whether or not you believe that Jeremy Corbyn is widely popular across the country, it is clear that Kenneth Clarke was, yet he was beaten under a similar system by the members' choice Iain Duncan Smith, who was distinctly not. In California, there is an even less 'democratic' bottom-up system in which a minority can determine the subject of a referendum. All these initiatives, in an increasingly populist age, help to erode the role of MPs and their equivalents, who are the cornerstone of the crucial concept of representative democracy. O'Shea says of referendums: 'Such an approach may not be right for all policy areas. But our current mode of politics has produced a democratic deficit. Many people feel politicians do not represent them. Experiments in alternative ways of giving people a greater say in how they are governed will be essential if we are to overcome this problem.' Please can these not include any more referendums? The Irish abortion vote will doubtless be very close, and leave Ireland divided as the Brexit poll has left Britain lethally divided. There can be few more divisive issues than abortion, and these conscience issues including same-sex marriage can in fact be resolved through legislation without referendums, as David Cameron showed. Alas, he failed to show the same leadership over Brexit, which he must surely know will remain his epithet, as it will that of the country for a long time to come. Santa Fe church community unites in prayer after Texas shooting; Rainbow appears during victims' memorial As another tragic school shooting in the United States took innocent lives, residents of the deeply religious Santa Fe community in Texas sought refuge in its churches. The faithful, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, flocked to various churches to attend Sunday services to pray for the victims, their family and the community after a young student open fired on his schoolmates at the Santa Fe High School that killed 10 and injured 13 people. Pamela Pannell, who attends services at the Arcadia First Baptist Church, told NPR that she almost lost her grandson in the attack. He was supposed to be in the art class the shooter targeted but he was in the next room that day to take an Academic Placement test. Nevertheless, Pannell is in mourning and in pain just like his peers. Pastor Del Toler, who leads services at the Calvary Crossroads Church, reminded the faithful during the service that they can still do something about the spate of mass killings in America. "I think the church is a focal point," the pastor said. "Guns helped shape America. Guns have insured our freedom," he added. "It's the heart in a man that steers him to do wrong." The first memorial service for one of the victims, 17-year-old Pakistani exchange student scholar Sabika Sheikh, took place some 35 miles away from the Arcadia First Baptist Church that Sunday as well. Members of the Islamic Society for Greater Houston arranged her memorial as Sheikh had no family in the U.S. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was in attendance. Her body will be flown back to her family in Pakistan. In an unexpected sign of hope though, members of the First Baptist Church of Santa Fe saw a rainbow during the Sunday morning service. Even the local media commented on what appeared in the Texas sky. "A rainbow directly over the church," reporter Pooja Lodhia said in her report to CNN. "It actually looks like it's coming from Santa Fe High School." Over an unseasonably warm weekend in late January 1976, Houston would also host the first recorded tattoo convention, kicking off a multi-million dollar industry in which famous artists show off their handiwork and compete for cash prizes in front of tattoo enthusiasts of every stripe. Some 130 artists showed up to meet other artists and ply their craft. The third annual Houston Tattoo Extravaganza kicks off Friday at the Crowne Plaza Houston, 8686 Kirby, and one of the artists who organized that first meet-up of misfits and bikers, Lyle Tuttle, will be the guest of honor. Co-founder Dave Yurkew shuffled off to the big tattoo shop in the sky years ago. Yurkew, a Minnesota native, had taken over Bill Sanders' tattoo shop located somewhere north of downtown in 1973. It was surrounded by strip clubs and taco joints just off Buffalo Bayou, Tuttle says. By 1976, he and Tuttle partnered for the first tattoo convention, inviting guys with names like Sailor West, Mr. Tramp, Charlie Potter, and Crazy Ace to ply their trade. There were tattoo parties before but nothing like the show that Tuttle and Yurkew had cooked up for Houston. Tuttle, now 84, has said that the Houston convention itself altered the course of the tattooing industry forever, at a time when it was still mired in worries about hepatitis B and dirty needles. RELATED: Houston fisherman gets awesome leg tattoo Tattooing blew up like an aortic aneurysm after the convention, Tuttle says from his home in San Francisco. He was already tattooed from neck to ankle in 1976, years before most current tattoo artists even picked up a crayon. Even his dog was tattooed. Plenty has changed since the first two-day World Convention of Tattoo Artists and Fans, which attracted people from places as diverse as Des Moines and New York City to a cramped Holiday Inn ballroom in Houston. In 2016, tattoos are not unique and artists are not seen as outlaws with rusty machines inking in kitchens and garages, much to the chagrin of purists who sigh at every tattoo reality show. Coincidentally, tattoo removal specialists are also banking from the industrys popularity. Any blank spot in the road it seems these days you will find a tattoo shop, Tuttle spits. It takes more than a few years in the industry to get Tuttles nod of approval. Tuttle says that at the time of that first convention he felt like a has-been, tattooing since 1949 and less than a decade removed from his heyday in the pages of Rolling Stone and Esquire. He was the "Tattoo Artist to the Stars" for a brief period. Word is that he tattooed Janis Joplin, Cher, Peter Fonda and nearly all the members of The Allman Brothers. Having tattoos was seen as another counter-culture, like hippies but more aligned with the biker set. Hippies could cut their hair and get good jobs. Tattooed bikers had few options in the so-called straight world. It seems quaint that, 40 years ago, a congregation of tatted-up men and women could cause a stir when now even your doctor or lawyer might have a half-sleeve lurking under a designer suit or scrubs. Reporter Marilynn Preston covered the Houston convention for the Chicago Tribune. She painted a picture of big, beefy killer gorilla types with their back and arms covered with skulls, panthers, and gross obscenities mingling with fascinated housewives. RELATED: You can't get much more Texas than these tattoos Preston spoke with a distinguished Midwestern surgeon, age 47, who began collecting tattoos of elaborate Oriental designs when he turned 40. He was on the scene to get tattoo work in discreet places since his wife didnt care for the artwork. To show off to the reporter and others, he had to pull down his pants. A woman named The Shadow worked in a tattoo shop in a New York suburb that she said did a lot of genital tattoos on the upper crust from the city. One housewife got Death Before Dishwashing tattooed on her hip as an act of defiance. Reporters from Esquire and Hustler also came to Houston to cover the 1976 show. Sam Kindrick of Action Magazine in San Antonio came to take photos and write his own dispatch. I distinctly recall photographing an old grandma type who was a walking aquarium. She had fish tattoos all over her. She was a popular figure at the show for many of the tattoo people who knew her, Kindrick says. Sam Kindrick / Action Magazine The convention wasn't just about showing off tattoos. It was also a coming-out party of sorts for the pierced set, who were still on the fringe. Kindrick's coverage from 1976 went into graphic detail about the things that he saw pierced. Of the 135 artists who bravely traveled to Houston for that convention, few are still in the industry or even still living for that matter. One artist in attendance, Don Ed Hardy, would go on to do plenty to further the positive image of tattoos decades later. The next year, the party moved on to Reno, Nev. Don Patton is one of the organizers of this weekends convention. He works at Arc Angel Tattoo in San Antonio with Anthony Montemayor. He has tattoo artist friends in Houston, including Dan Martin at Scorpion Tattoo in Montrose. After years of working on a convention in the Alamo City they decided to throw a convention in Houston. RELATED: Hundreds turn up to show off ink at Tattoo Extravaganza (2015) Patton himself started in the industry in 2002, working first as a shop attendant and doing body piercing, a change from the world of construction. He began tattooing later but he grew up around heavily-inked bikers so he was always exposed to the culture. Hes been taking clients for three years. Our show is put on by tattoo artists, for tattoo artists. Were really choosy about the artists that exhibit. We want the best from all over the world, Patton says. All different styles of tattooing mingle at the convention, but its the traditional style that seems to dominate. The spirit of those old-school artists is alive and well in Pattons scene. Keeping a connection to those old days, though, is hard, which is why guys like Tuttle and Charlie Potter from San Antonio will be at the show. Having him there is a bridge to the guys who built this industry, the trailblazers and the pioneers who fought the system and changed the laws, Patton says of Tuttle. Most of the people who were at that first one arent around anymore, Patton says. Those people just didnt live very long. Potter was at the first show. Hes responsibly for plenty of inked bodies from Beaumont to Marfa. Hes an old biker gangster that does great work, Patton says. Hes a real torch bearer in San Antonio to this day. Potter, now 67, says that when he looks back at photos from the event he gets sad. He was the baby of the group then. "There is a group shot of some of us artists and I am the only one still standing," Potter says. He remembers tattooing servicemen at a shop near Fort Sam Houston just before they shipped out to the Vietnam War. Many of them he never saw again. "That first show almost didn't happen for many reasons, including clashes of personalities, money and the law," says Potter. Some artists didn't want a convention at all, seeing it as a mainstream act. This weekend another old-timer, Shanghai Kate Hellenbrand, will also be at the Houston show. She worked with none other than Sailor Jerry Collins, the prickly father of traditional tattooing, who died in 1973. Most of the people who worked with him during his 62 years on Earth would go on to become influential in their own right. The Houston show this coming weekend will feature 100 booths, with 90 percent of those tattoo artists tattooing on site. Artists from local shops like Richmond Avenue Tattoo, Flying Squid, Secret Tattoo, Scorpion Studios, Chariot Tattoo, Rose & Anchor, and more. A full list of shops and artists is on the conventions official site. Its a chance to get good work from out-of-state artists, Patton says. One of the more sought after artists is Cleen Rock One who has been tattooing since 1995 but is best-known for his appearances on the reality show Ink Master on Spike TV. RELATED: Dear fellow tattooed people: Lighten up Those wanting to get tattooed will need to inquire with an artist if they have time open over the weekend. Smaller tattoos, called bangers because you can bang them out in no time, will be easier to schedule. Pricing, as always, will vary. "Good work isn't cheap, cheap work isn't good," goes the refrain. Just as there were in 1976, gawkers are welcome to come and watch but be warned, you might find yourself leaving newly tattooed. And just like in 1976 you will still see misfits and bikers, but these days there might be a few more strollers in the mix. Patton says he keeps the event family-friendly. Tuttle, if he feels up to it, might also tattoo a few lucky guests, Patton says. Some people just want him to autograph their skin. He will surely want to hold court and talk about tattoo history and, of course, give some of the new guys hell. Tattoos are travel marks, stickers on your luggage. Tattoos are special, you have to go off and earn them," Tuttle has written on his official site. "You can go into a jewelry store and buy a big diamond and slip it on your finger and walk out. It's not like that when you go into a tattoo shop and pick a big tattoo and pay for it. You got to sit down and take it." Ashley Bell would seem to be among the unlikeliest to make an important documentary on the plight of Asian elephants. But the actress known for The Last Exorcism low-budget horror films calls attention to a real-life horror story with her simple but emotional and effective Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story. And a scary movie it is. You will not see the disclaimer no animals were harmed in the making of this film, because Bell wants to show us what real animal abuse looks like she films the cruelty of the Crush Box, a small wooden cage where baby elephants separated from their mothers are beaten and tortured to break their spirit, a common practice. But it is ultimately heartwarming, as she focuses her film on the rescue of a single elephant by one rather amazing Thai woman. The elephant is Noi Na, a 70-year-old partially blind female who has been abused for decades, forced to spend long hours seven days a week giving tourists rides. Her rescuer is Lek Chailert, who has made it her lifes work at great personal cost to rescue elephants and to promote animal rights. Chailert became a national figure in Thailand when she was declared an enemy of the state by the Thai government because of her criticism of policies that protect the elephants abusers typically logging companies that force elephants to move heavy timber, and elephant farms that train them to give tourists rides and perform in shows. As a result, her family disowned her. However, when her work became internationally feted by Time magazine, which named her a Hero of Asia, and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who hosted her at the White House, the Thai government suddenly embraced her. Funny how that works. Chailerts biggest legacy is her foundation and her Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary where rescued elephants are freed, cared for and allowed to roam. It is here where Noi Na is to spend her final years if she can make it there. The suspenseful portion of Love & Bananas is the delicate, dangerous process of transporting a resistant elephant 500 miles in a truck. Chailert gives Love & Bananas humanity, but Bells personality and enthusiasm is contagious, inviting us into the film. We root right along with her. Note: Director Ashley Bell and subject Lek Chailert and other special guests will appear in person at the following screenings: 7 p.m. Friday, May 25, and 3:15 p.m. Monday, May 28, at the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley; 4:45 p.m. Saturday, May 26, at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco; 4:15 p.m. Sunday, May 27, at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael; and 7:15 p.m. Sunday, May 27, at the Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol. G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BRfilmsAllen Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story Documentary. Directed by Ashley Bell. (Not rated. 75 minutes.) Santa Fe police found no explosives near a Santa Fe Jack-in-the-Box restaurant after investigating reports of a suspicious package there, spokesman Greg Boody said. Police received a report around 12:30 p.m. about a green metal box chained to a tree behind the restaurant, on 13620 Highway 6. Vowing not to be known as the constable who "got away with running a red light," Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman wrote himself a traffic citation Monday, his office said. Herman was caught on camera by a Harris County Sheriff's Deputy May 8 running a red light at the intersection of T.C. Jester Boulevard and Louetta Road. The deputy pulled Herman over before the two got into an on-camera spat. The deputy eventually let Herman off with a warning, the video shows. GUNS IN SCHOOL: Districts report gun incidents at several Houston-area schools "My office issues thousands of traffic citations yearly keeping our citizens safe," Herman said in a press release Monday. "As constable I am not above the law and should be held accountable." The constable only conceded that he ran the red light after watching video from the deputy's dashcam. Herman was driving a black Chevrolet Silverado around 7:30 a.m. when he ran the red light, according to the video that has since been released by the Harris County Sheriff's Office. BUSTED: Houston man accused of paying to have sex with 16-year-old girl The deputy tailed Herman for a few seconds before initiating the stop. Herman stopped, activated his own red and blue lights on his truck and pulled forward again before coming to another stop a few feet down the road, the video shows. As the officer ran the license plates on the truck to check and see if it was stolen, Herman exited his truck and approached the deputy's vehicle. "Are you going to get out and approach my car or are we going to sit here all day?" Herman said to the deputy. "I'm trying to safely conduct my traffic stop, sir," the deputy said back. "I'm running your plate, making sure your vehicle's not stolen. You know the standard patrol procedures, right constable?" "No, I didn't know there was a standard," Herman said. "I guess there is." The interaction continued on the side of the road, with Herman standing in the middle of the street as the deputy tried to finish up the traffic stop. "I need your license, please, and proof of insurance," the deputy said. "Are you serious?" Herman said. "You just ran a red light right in front of me," the deputy said. "OK, I didn't run a red light," Herman said. "It's on camera," the deputy replied. "If I did, I certainly didn't mean to," Herman said. The constable eventually gave the deputy his license before getting back in his truck. "I'm going to step back in my vehicle now that you know who I am," Herman said. As the deputy returned Herman's license to him, Herman could be heard asking for a deputy from his office to come to the traffic stop on his police radio, the video shows. After getting the warning from the deputy, Herman said he called HCSO a few days later to ask if they were going to eventually issue him a citation for running the red light. After learning they were not going to cite him after all, he decided to write himself a ticket. Traffic violations are typically Class C misdemeanors punishable by a fine up to $500. Jay R. Jordan is a breaking news reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan. School districts in northwest Harris County are ramping up on-campus security in response to the fatal shooting at Santa Fe High School on Friday that killed 10 people and injured 10 others. On Monday, three school districts reported incidents of guns in schools, prompting heightened security on campuses. Klein ISD Police Department is having police officers work extended days to provide more coverage to its campuses for the rest of the school year, said Judy Rimato, a spokeswoman for Klein ISD. Klein ISD employs a number of layered safety measures, including having police officers on campuses, providing intruderology training for students and staff members, having cameras on campuses, and vetting visitors prior to accessing campuses, Rimato said in an e-mail. Following the fatal shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Florida in February, Klein and Tomball schools saw an uptick in threats. Spring ISD Police Department officers are either on site or patrolling schools, said spokesperson Karen Garrison. Every school within the district also had a trained safety officer, which is typically an assistant principal. As an added precaution, we will have an increased police presence in and around all Spring ISD schools throughout the remainder of this school year, Garrison said. At Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, the region's second-largest district, Superintendent Mark Henry issued a ban on "trench coats or other heavy clothing that could potentially conceal weapons." On Tuesday, CFISD spokesperson Joel WeckerlyCQ said the police presence on campuses would be more visible. "The district is looking to adopt the Standard Response Protocol and Standard Reunification Method to ensure that we provide staff and students clear and understandable directions in regards to safety drills and a uniform method of reunifying parents and students," Weckerly said in an e-mail. In February, Klein Forest High School had received threats of violence, prompting two arrests, while the Tomball Police Department responded to an online post from a Tomball ISD student who threatened to shoot at a campus. More police presence will be added to check campuses for Cypress-Fairbanks, Spring, Klein, Tomball and Humble ISDs as well as private schools, said Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman. Were helping with the traffic enforcement. Were helping with police presence on the school grounds. When our guys arent running calls or working traffic, we want them checking schools, he said. As the school year is winding down, commencement and other celebrations are scheduled to begin in the coming weeks. Klein ISD plans to add more security while hosting its graduations at NRG Park. Klein will have police officers and a detection dog at our commencement ceremonies. Additionally, NRG provides off-duty Houston police officers and in-house security personnel, Rimato said. Tomball ISD will also have additional security during its graduation ceremonies, said spokesperson Justin Warnasch. The Spring ISD commencements will have additional officers, Garrison said. Bags and purses -- anything that someone might bring into the facility -- will be thoroughly inspected at the entrance, she said. Cypress-Fairbanks ISD will also feature additional security at its graduations with metal detectors, additional cops and bag searches of students and visitors entering the Berry Center, Weckerly said. The constables deputies will also be making a presence at the ceremonies and other gatherings, in conjunction with school district police departments, Herman said. It is a big team effort to just add police presence in and around these big functions with our kids, Herman said. While police officers will respond to any incident on campus, preventing gun violence is equally important. Rimato said schools are relying on community residents to report concerns with law enforcement. If anyone makes a disclosure to a student or parent that is concerning, we ask that they share it immediately with a school administrator and/or law enforcement officer, she said. Herman said that unusual behavior should be brought to police officers attention to help prevent a tragedy. If you see someone acting suspicious, call it in. Wed rather it be nothing than for it to be something and us not have been called, he said. mayra.cruz@chron.com Responding to a cardiac issue can be a matter of minutes to ensure a patients survival. The faculty and staff at Bernshausen Elementary School are working to practice their skills if and when the need ever arises. The important thing that we really talked about is that cardiac arrest is its awful, but it can be reversed. Its just within a few minutes. We have a very small window of time, said Elizabeth Goedde, a nurse at Bernshausen. The American Heart Association estimates that more than 350,000 cardiac arrests happen across the country a year, which kills about 90 percent of people who suffer from them. With cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a persons probability of surviving can double or triple, according to the AHA. All members of the trauma team are CPR certified to help respond to any emergency. Around the school, 27 faculty and staff members make up the trauma team to respond to a medical emergency by using CPR and employing a defibrillator, if necessary. Klein Independent School District has added healthy and safety as part of their health and safety initiatives. Project Adam, a nonprofit that advocates for the prevention of sudden cardiac death, recently recognized the trauma team at Bernshausen Elementary for their preparation to cardiac-related emergencies. When a drill is performed, an announcement is made over the loudspeaker to get trauma members to respond to a location within the school. Like fire drills, students are expected to remain calm while a faculty member leaves the room to attend the emergency drill. It could be an emergency across campus or multiple emergencies going on at the same time. Having equipped faculty and staff members to handle that is important, said Bernshausen principal Cassandra ChristianCQ. During drills, team members get hands-on practice to react to a real-life situation. The first members to arrive evaluate the situation and may begin chest compressions as the next members who arrive may assist as needed and dial 911. In all, team members have responded to the drills in under three minutes, Goedde said. (We learned) the proper way to deliver immediate services, how to stay calm when we respond, how to assess the situation, said Erica Scott, a school counselor. While faculty and staff continue to train and prepare, the thought of having to put those skills to use in a real scenario is sometimes nerve-wracking. As youre going through the drills and the CPR training every year, first aid training every year, I know Im thinking, Oh lord, I hope I never really have to use this. Youre also thinking because were around kids every day, I pray I never, never really have to use this, said assistant principal Amber Standley. While faculty and staff are trained to respond to an emergency, Goedde said she also plans to teach students how to respond to a situation outside of school that may occur at home or in public with other family members. Exposing students to how CPR is performed and how it helps a person can help make it less intimidating. It makes you less afraid the next time you see it, Goedde said. The first class will consist of 14 students ranging from kindergarten to the fifth grade. Knowing when and how to dial 911 during emergencies is also useful for students to learn to help save lives. They can help save lives as well, Christian said. mayra.cruz@chron.com A fifth-grade student at Eastside Elementary in Cleveland was detained and arrested Monday after reportedly bringing a semi-automatic pellet gun to school. The gun was not discovered until the third period of classes when another student made an outcry to a campus administrator, according to the districts spokesperson Susan Ard. They went to his classroom and sure enough, he had the gun, Ard said. He told campus police he brought it to show his friends. He didnt have any ill intent. In a letter being sent out to parents Monday afternoon, Ard wrote, Cleveland Independent School District takes these situations very seriously, and we put safety as the first priority for our students. Parents expect their children to be safe at school, and the Districts intention is to provide a safe environment for everyone. Campus administration and law enforcement officials will continue to investigate this situation and appropriate disciplinary action has been taken. As an extra measure of protection, Ard is asking parents to lock up all the weapons in their house, even those that appear innocuous like BB guns, airsoft rifles and paintball guns. As much as we hate to do this to our children, we need to put them up where they have to ask for them. Put them under lock and key, she said. If you're a transplant who moved to Houston in the past five years, you've no doubt heard your share of stories about "the way Houston used to be." From Jimmie's Ice House to Proletariat, there's no shortage of former drinking holes in H-Town that no longer exist that old timers and natives will fondly tell transplants about. "You missed out," is a common phrase interjected in these conversations. Reservations are being accepted today beginning at 10 a.m. for Nobu Houston, one of the most anticipated restaurant openings this year. The Japanese restaurant led by superchef Nobu Matsuhisa, will open for dinner June 1 at the Galleria. Nobu Houston will be the second restaurant to open in the Galleria's new collection of restaurants in the former Saks Fifth Avenue space. Fig & Olive opened in March and will be followed by Nobu; next to come are Blanco Tacos & Tequila and Musaafer, a modern Indian restaurant. Friendswood ISD officials are working with a firm to review the safety plan for all district campuses, Superintendent Thad J. Roher said. In the aftermath of the May 18 shooting that killed 10 people at Santa Fe High School and the May 21 arrest of a Friendswood Junior High School eighth-grader for allegedly making a terroristic threat Friendswood also moved to boost security throughout the district until the school year ends May 31. Assignment of more Friendswood Police Department officers was planned at Friendswood High School and the junior high, as well as hiring monitors to patrol halls and campus perimeters, according to a district statement. We are currently working with a firm to finalize a facility plan which includes a review of safety infrastructure across all campuses, Superintendent Thad J. Roher said in the statement posted on the districts website and sent to parents and staff on May 20. We will be adding an additional officer at Friendswood JH and HS and will have officers roving between the other campuses, Roher said in his statement. I have also asked each principal to hire a safety monitor for the last few weeks of school to be part of the campus plan for perimeter safety, checking exterior doors, and being an extra set of eyes and ears in the hallways and entry areas. The monitors will be on each campus, and some could be former Friendswood police officers, school spokeswoman Dayna Owen said. The student accused of making the threat posted the message to social media several weeks before it was reported by students to administration, according to another district statement. The reports from several students were they had heard this individual make threats to harm the school in the past. Thankfully, the students felt after the recent events in Santa Fe they should report what they had heard to administration. After an investigation, the administration notified the police, Owen said. See Something, Say Something The reports of the alleged threat came through the districts recently created See Something, Say Something initiative, which has a link on the website for each campus to encourage kids to anonymously report suspicious behavior. The reports immediately alert the districts administration, according to the program link. We continue to receive information from this tool, which has been extremely useful to address concerns very directly and quickly before growing into larger issues, Roher said. Clear Creek ISD, which has schools in Friendswood, also has responded with increased security steps after the Santa Fe shooting. We are working with the Galveston County Sheriff School Liaison Division to secure an additional officer at each high school and each intermediate school, read a district statement from May 19 sent to parents. These additional officers will also patrol their nearby elementary schools. We have also reached out to our local municipalities to ask for their assistance to provide an extra layer of police presence at our elementary schools until the end of the school year. Katy ISD continued to experience upheaval Monday as Ashley Vann suddenly announced she was stepping down as board president and two new board members were sworn in, just a few weeks after Lance Hindt, the district's controversial superintendent, announced he would retire next January. When the school board returned from closed session Monday night, Vann acknowledged how proud she was to serve the school district during Hurricane Harvey and of watching the community come together, but then her tone shifted. "To put it simply, I'm tired y'all," said Vann. "My family's tired. The past two months have shown me a lot about myself and the one thing that I know is that the wind is out of my sails." Vann, who will serve as the board's secretary next school year, went on to nominate Courtney Doyle to take over her role as president, which the board agreed to unanimously. The board also voted for Bill Lacy to serve as vice president during the next school year. HIGHEST PAY: See which area superintendents are making the biggest salary "I don't think there has been a president that has been faced with quite the extent of what Ms. Vann has been faced with," said Doyle. "Ms. Vann has led this board with grace, humility and strength. She has always had a smile on her face. I know that her family has sacrificed greatly for her to be available at all times." Two new board members, Susan Gesoff and Dawn Champagne, also took their official oath of office as outgoing board members Charles Griffin and Bryan Michalsky left their positions. "It has been a pleasure and honor to serve with you the past four years," said Vann, referring to the outgoing board members. "You've been my sounding board since day one." New board member Gesoff is a a former teacher for Katy ISD and current engineer at BP. The second new board member, Champagne, is a parent to three children, who are either enrolled at Katy schools or graduated, and is also an active volunteer in the school district. Griffin, who's served on the board for six years, wished Hindt well as he left office and said he was proud of his accomplishments for the school district. HUGE PAYOUT: See how much Lance Hindt is getting when is resignation is final "I'm sorry that we weren't able to keep your family and you protected," said Griffin. "From the day you got here until the day I leave, I've been proud of every single thing that you've done and our kids are much better off for that. " Katy ISD has been engulfed in controversy since Katy resident Greg Gay in March accused Hindt of bullying him years ago in high school. The accusation rocked the 77,000-student district and put a stain on the star superintendent's reputation. A civil suit also surfaced from 1983, in which a Houston-area man said he was assaulted by then-18-year-old Hindt after an altercation following a party. Hindt most recently was accused of plagiarizing his doctoral dissertation at the University of Houston. Board member George Scott acknowledged how tough the last school year has been for Vann. "There is no board president in my observation that has had to take on challenges as tough as a natural disaster and challenges as needless and gratuitously evil as manmade disasters that we've had to face over the last several months," said Scott. "I'm not aware of a single board president in the time I've been in this community who would've handled the last year with more honor than Ashley." Michalsky, who's served on the board for six years, upon his exit stressed to incoming board members that there was still work to do like preventing acts of violence like the one that occurred last week at Santa Fe High School. A moment of silence was held for the school shooting victims at the start of the board meeting. " I will say one of the biggest highlights over the last years of serving on this board was having a front row seat of watching the amazing professional educators that work in this district do their job," said Michalsky. "More than anything else, I'm thankful for the way we love our children and prepare them for a successful future." The swearing in comes after Katy ISD decided at its last board meeting on May 10 to hire Feldman & Feldman law firm to pursue a defamation case on behalf of Hindt as he's faced months of accusations from the public. During Monday's meeting, the school board also met in closed session with the board's attorney. After Hindt announced his retirement during a board meeting on May 10, the district revealed that he would receive two years of his base salary pay upon his exit from the district. That could exceed $750,000. In his original contract when Hindt was hired in 2016, it was noted that "if the Board gives the Superintendent notice of termination of this Agreement under this section, other than for good cause ....the District will pay the Superintendent an amount equal to two years of his base salary rate." Hindt, 53, currently makes $386,850 as superintendent, according to data compiled by the Texas Education Agency in October 2017. When Hindt was hired, his annual salary was set at $375,000. The contract amendment was voted on unanimously by board members during the meeting held earlier this month. Hindt said earlier this month that the accusations have been hard on his wife and children. He called leading the school district his "highest professional honor." Nikki Haley, the American ambassador to the United Nations, urged University of Houston students to talk to political opponents at a Tuesday speech that itself was briefly interrupted by protesters. Haley, who served as South Carolina's governor before joining President Donald Trump's administration, said Americans are "digging in" on polarized political views. "We increasingly view those who disagree with us not just as wrong, but as evil," she said. "I have seen true evil. And it's not in the American political system." Several dozen protesters, critical of her recent statements on Israeli killings of more than 50 Palestinians, chanted and waved Palestinian flags as Haley began her speech, yelling "free Palestine." Police escorted them out of UH's Cullen Performance Hall while Haley waited, quiet, at the podium. TED CRUZ: U.S. should 'undoubtedly' look to Israel as border security example The ambassador drew criticism earlier this month for comments saying that Israel showed "restraint" after Israeli soldiers killed Palestinian protesters. Israel says it was defending its border and accused Hamas of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of protest. Haley took to the microphone after UH's protesters were removed. She called them "disruptive" but said they are "a reason to celebrate." "My husband and my brother are combat veterans," she said. "They fought for their right to be able to do that." Working under Trump Haley had an unusual path to the United Nations. After graduating from Clemson University, she worked at her family business before deciding to enter politics. She later became the state's first female governor. She said she was unfamiliar with the U.N.'s structure before taking her current role. Maintaining a "strong American voice" is a priority, she said. "I think it's hugely important that countries not wonder what our position is." The ambassador on Tuesday criticized Russian leadership for vetoing sanctions against or condemnations of Syria for the use of chemical weapons. She said the United States must have a strong voice in the U.N. and that other countries look to America for leadership. At times, she said, she uses Trump's "unpredictability" as a means of negotiation. She said she deployed the tactic to get China to agree to sanctions against North Korea in 2017. When China worried about a destabilized North Korea, fearing war, she brought up the president's mannerisms. "I can't promise you that President Trump won't use the military," she said she told China. "I can't promise there won't be a more forceful action." Once China was on board, she said, she told Russia, "'This is getting ready to happen.'" A packed crowd at UH applauded. 'Message of hope' Haley said Tuesday that Americans must overcome political divisions. "Real leadership is bringing others around to your point of view by showing them how it is in their best interest to do so," she said. "Here at home, our political opponents are not our enemies. And they're not evil. ... If we can't keep that difference straight, we're going to have a hard time conveying a message of hope to the world." Haley said she hopes to find a peaceful solution between Israel and Palestine. "The Arab countries want to see (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) come to the table," she said. After Haley's speech, student protester Mohamad Fattouh said the group a collection of students brought together on social media decided against disrupting the event by carrying signs because of the darkness of the facility would render a purely visual demonstration ineffective. Asking Haley questions, he said, would do "more harm than good" because she would continue "to perpetuate the same actions" no matter the outcome of any conversation. Tuesdays chants at UH were only the latest to protest right-leaning speeches on Texas college campuses. State lawmakers between legislative sessions have discussed whether conservative voices are stifled at Texas schools by protestors, an issue that universities nationwide have questioned. Lindsay Ellis covers higher education for the Chronicle. You can follow her on Twitter and send her tips at lindsay.ellis@chron.com. Sometimes I look over my dads past articles. I like to make sure I never forget about products just because its not a product that is frequently used. I was looking at a articles from five years ago after we had been to the National Hardware show. We had seen Fiber Wrap and noticed how different it was from Extreme Tape. I like Extreme Tape, and I want to show you why you should have some in your tool box or junk drawer. Extreme Tape is not like ordinary tape. Its a self- binding wrap originally developed for the aerospace community. And it has an amazing ability to fix plumbing leaks, mend electrical wires and can be used as a clamp for unusually shaped items. If your kitchen drain pipe springs a leak late at night, calling a plumber for an after-hours visit can be expensive and inconvenient. Extreme tape can wrap the leak and fix your pipe, permanently. Locate the leak. If you can turn off the water go ahead and do that, but if you cant you can still stop the leak. Wrap the pipe starting two inches below the leak. You want to pull Extreme Tape as you wrap (it will stretch three times its length) over lapping s of the previous wrap and continuing wrapping two inches past the leak. Extreme Tape is very flexible and can mold around any shape. You can wrap sprinkler pipes instead of replacing them. Do you have to connect two electrical cords outdoors? Wrap the two plugs together and you wont be chasing them down if they pull apart. My brother-in-law broke a crystal goblet, and he glued it together with Weldwood. And to clamp it and hold it secure while the glue cured, he used Extreme Tape. Extreme Tape will only stick to itself so it did not stick to the crystal. When the glue was dry, he just cut the Extreme Tape, and it fell from the glass. You can even use it to wrap a car radiator hose, because it can withstand temperatures up to 500 degrees. You should be able to find Extreme Tape at any hardware store, and it should retail for under $11. Im off to the Do It Best Show in Indianapolis - The National Hardware Show was awesome! Its going to be a great summer. Looking forward to sharing everything I saw each week in your paper! Now to the email Question: We have a heavy oak front door that is unprotected. It is showing signs of rot in the bottom panel. Is there a product we can use to strengthen it and prevent further damage before we repaint it? Love your article in the Conroe paper! Answer: Yes, Minwax Wood Hardener. Just brush it on the soft areas with a foam brush. Brush it on three times, letting it dry between coats. It will harden the soft wood like when it was brand new. Dont remove any rotten areas, leave them. If you have any voided areas, you can fill them with Minwax Wood Filler. Great question and an excellent project! Good Luck. Question: I have an outside faucet that has a water hose attached to it. I cannot remove the hose and I have used WD-40, pliers etc. and cant seem to get it to budge. Do you have any suggestions? Answer: There is a product called PB Blaster, and it will loosen stuck bolts. When you get it apart, spray it with Tri Flow before you put it back together. Question: You and your dad wrote articles about furnace filters and said to buy Merv 6-8. However the furnace filters I find in the stores do not say Merv 6 or 8 on any of them. I have asked how to tell and no one can answer me. So what other label do I look? Answer: What you are looking at is a furnace filter. What I am talking about is a pleated filter. The furnace filters are not rated, they do not keep much of anything out of the AC....look at the pleated ones and they will have a rating. Good Question! If you cannot find the products mentioned here locally, you can find them at www.happyhandyman.com. Click on Shop Johnnies Favorites, or call the store at 210-341-1573. Email Trudy Chuoke Lesage at happyhandy man2@yahoo.com. Mail can be sent to Johnnie Chuokes Home and Hardware, 2361 NW Military, San Antonio, TX 78231. Dear Rusty: Im retired for almost 17 years, and want to know why Massachusetts is one of only 6 states in the US that went along with President Reagans double-dipping proclamation regarding Social Security? I worked for 15 years whereby I contributed to Social Security and accumulated my 40 quarters. I then left my job to take care of my family and went back to work for the county under our states retirement plan. When I finally retired at the age of 65, I learned that I couldnt receive the full amount of monies earned under Social Security. I am now receiving my pension from the county, and Ive written to our Federal representatives asking them to vote to revise President Reagans policy of not double dipping. I have received replies saying that they would investigate this subject, but nothing has changed. This policy not only affects me but many other people who are being short changed for working both under Social Security and working for the State and contributing towards their retirement. Why are there only 6 states in the United States participating in this double-dipping policy? Signed: Disappointed Dear Disappointed: Without getting into too much history, what youre referring to is The Social Security Amendments of 1983, a bill passed by the 98th Congress and signed by President Reagan in April 1983. This was a large bipartisan effort to avert a serious issue with Social Security being unable to meet its short and long-term benefit obligations beginning later that year. Both political parties joined together to enact numerous changes to the program, including the one youre referring to known as the Windfall Elimination Provision, or WEP. WEP essentially says that employees who receive a pension from an employer (such as the Federal, State, or Local government), which did not contribute to the Social Security program cannot double-dip and collect both their non-covered pension as well as full Social Security benefits. The rule applies not to just 6 states but to all employers and their employees who do not participate in Social Security and, in fact, has caused some employers (such as the Federal Government) to change their retirement plan to contribute to Social Security. While that is helpful for recent employees, past employees who already receive a pension under the old systems, which did not contribute, are nevertheless still impacted by the law enacted in 1983. And, as you note, many public service employees are still affected by this law, including those in Massachusetts (as well as some other States). Its worthy of note that the change wasnt targeted to any specific State or employer; rather it applies generally to any employers who doesnt contribute to the Social Security program but instead funds their own retirement plan. That any State chooses to continue funding its own retirement system in lieu of contributing to Social Security is that States choice. And while we cannot know the thoughts of those 1983 legislators about WEP, its a safe bet that their main motivation was rescuing Social Security from defaulting on its obligations. Those Amendments have obviously sustained the program at least until now, some 35 years later. In preparing its budget for the 2018-19 school year, Cy-Fair ISD is taking a hard look at revenue sources and expenditures and the numbers arent adding up. Chief financial officer Stuart Snow explained that in the past four years, state revenue has declined by $823 per student. While tax revenue has increased by $700 per student, the district is still left with $123 less per student. Our total revenue is not providing the funds to support our growing student population, and the state is not funding our student growth, Snow said. The tax revenue is not adequately offsetting the loss of our state funding. Increasingly, taxpayers are left to make up the difference, he said. Four years ago, state revenue accounted for almost half of the budget. In the 2018-19, Snow projects the states revenue will drop to 37.7 percent. In total, the state revenue received by Cy-Fair has gone down by $80.3 million since the 2014-15 school year. More Information Projected revenue 2018-19 - $891.1 million Projected expenditures for 2018-19 -- $930.9 million Deficit -- $39.8 million Revenue from 2017-18 - $902.2 million Expenditures from 2017-18 -- $920.48 million Deficit -- $18.2 million See More Collapse That leaves taxpayers to pay 62.3 percent of the districts expenditures in the 2018-19 school year, up from 51.4 percent, four years ago. For the 2018-19 school year, tax revenue is projected at $515.7 million, up from $504.5 million the year before. In the past four years, tax revenue has increased by $99.8 million. Even with the increase from taxpayers, the Cy-Fair ISD could face a $39.8 million deficit. The budget calls for $930.9 million in expenditures and counts only $891.1 million in revenues. Snow explained that the taxable property values in the district are the basis of its revenue. The percentage has steadily declined from 2013, when the taxable values totaled $34.7 billion, representing a 9.7 percent increase from the previous year. In the 2014-15 school year, the district saw a 16.9 percent increase in taxable property values to $40.5 billion, but the next year only increased by 10.76 percent to $44.9 billion. In the 2017-18 school year, taxable property value in the district dropped to a 3.9 percent increase, up to $50.1 billion. For the next school year, however, the number will rise by 4.6 percent, a $52.2 billion gain. Hopefully, this is a slight upward trend that will continue for the next several years, Snow said. Still, student enrollment is growing and the amount of revenue is not keeping up. We continue to hover around a student growth rate of about 1 percent a year, Snow said. Although we no longer have the extreme challenges of a fast growth district, were still adding well over 1,000 students per year. In 2018-19, the projected student population is 117,723, a 1.07 percent increase from last year, with 1,248 more enrolled in Cy-Fair schools. In addition to facing the challenges posed by a greater number of students, the district is dealing with problems from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The current year has been unusual and especially difficult for our community, staff and students, Snow said. The economic impact of Hurricane Harvey is essentially unknown at this time. We have no real data the impact Harvey will have on property values. In addition, he said, health insurance premiums are increasing, putting a burden on teachers and district staff. At the same time, Snow said the district wants to continue to offer a high level of service to students and families, as well as to its employees. We strive every year to remain competitive with our compensation plan, he said. Currently, teacher salaries in Cy-Fair start at $53,000 for new hires. The district ranks first or second, when compared to Tomball, Spring Branch, Spring, Klein, Katy, Houston and Aldine school districts. Cy-Fair hopes to give teachers and employees a raise next year and also wants to build a budget that can protect and maintain facilities and infrastructure and allow for safety improvements. The proposed budget for the 2018-2019 school year reserves $13.8 million for increased teacher salaries, as well as $7.4 million for the salary increases for all other employees. In addition, $4 million would go towards hiring new teachers to keep up with enrollment growth. The budget plans also sets asides $500,000 for a growing police department, $600,000 for UIL upgrades, and $1.5 million for software licenses and property insurance. In total, Snow said, there would be $32.1 million in additional costs. He believes that the district can save $21.7 million by making cuts to the budget, including departmental cuts and losing positions through attrition, as well as renegotiating certain contracts. That would bring the budget down, but still would require $10.4 million more than last years budget. In the 2017-18 school year, the district had $902.27 million in revenue and $920.28 million in expenditures, resulting in a $18.2 million deficit. Snow said the district has a few options to help alleviate the mounting debt, including a tax ratification election, repealing the homestead exemption or reducing more positions in the district and cutting the budget more. Instead, he recommends a 2-cent tax rate swap. The current tax rate for the district now is $1.44 per $100 of assessed value. That's $1.04 for M&O and 40 cents for I&S. With the swap, the rate stays the same, $1.44 per 100 of value. The M&O goes up to $1.06, but the I&S is reduced to 38 cents. The tax code provides an exception, when a district is negatively impacted by a natural disaster and the governor has requested federal financial aid, Snow said. The two additional pennies in the tax rate would only be available for the year immediately following the natural disaster, he added. There is a huge benefit to us in that additional 2 cents, Snow said. He explained that the result would be an additional $28 million in operating revenues, by setting the districts M&O rate at $1.06. The district would transfer $9.9 million to debt services. Snow said then the district would face an $11.6 million deficit, instead of close to $40 million. The districts board of trustees asked Snow to return with a proposal for its June 14 meeting. Board member Tom Jackson worried about the reductions being made on the budget. All cuts hurt, he said. It may take time for the pain to show up. Jackson asked for a resolution to ask legislators to end penalties for districts that grant homestead exemptions. He explained that the state revenue is calculated without considering funds lost by homeowners with exemptions. Were not talking about repealing the homestead exemption, the districts board president John Ogletree said. Were talking about not being penalized for having it. The board decided to revisit the subject closer to the next legislative session. In the meantime, superintendent Mark Henry said that moving forward with the tax swap would not affect taxpayers. It brings more state dollars back to our taxpayers, he said. Its actually assisting our taxpayers. The total tax rate would not change by increasing the M&O rate by 2 cents, as the district would decrease the I&S portion of the tax rate by the same amount, Snow added. Board member Debbie Blackshear hopes that the state will consider increasing its funding in the next session. The sad part is that our legislators in Austin saw fit to reduce funding in education at a time when many of our people are suffering, she said. When a parent received a call Tuesday morning from her son that a SWAT team had evacuated them during a computer test at a college campus, she said her heart dropped. "I could tell that he was scared," said Tracy Mulligan, 45. "He didn't know what was going on. When they swung the door open, they saw the guns pointed. He was pretty shocked and pretty spooked." Mulligan's son, Brennan, a Lamar CISD high school student, was taking an off-campus computer test at Texas State Technical College in Rosenberg, when around 9:40 a.m. he was evacuated by officers due to an alleged threat made against the school. Mulligan said her son's friend saw a threat written on the bathroom wall, stating "TSTC Is Next F*** My Bad Grades Everyone Going To Get Shot Soon!!" The college was shut down Tuesday and the Rosenberg Police Department was on campus investigating, according to a post on the college's Facebook page and a spokeswoman for the school system. It reopened Wednesday but Rosenberg police are still investigating the threat, according to spokeswoman Lynda Lopez. Brennan, a student at B.F. Terry High School, was taking a test at the college for his computer class with about three other students. The campus was closed as a "caution" for students and employees. Neither the school nor law enforcement provided further information on what type of threat the school was facing. More than 500 students are enrolled at the Fort Bend County campus that sits off Southwest Freeway in Rosenberg. The college is partnered with Wharton County Junior College and offers technical programs like robotics technology, cyber security, welding technology and industrial maintenance technology. This incident comes after threats or gun-related incidents occurred at seven different area schools Monday in the wake of last week's Santa Fe High School shooting, where 10 people lost their lives when a student brought a gun to an art class. On Tuesday, the Katy Independent School District police department also launched an investigation into racial and violent threats made against several African-American students. According to a statement released Monday, officials at Seven Lakes Junior High said the threats were sent via text message to a group of students from unknown numbers. As an added precaution, police presence has been increased and will remain on high alert until the end of the school year. In another incident, a La Porte ISD student at Lomax Junior High was also arrested on Tuesday for making a terroristic threat on the school bus. Houston Community College's Central Campus shut down its campus for two days earlier this month after a Houston man allegedly posted a terroristic threat aimed at the school. He allegedly posted on Facebook that he intended to "shoot everyone and kill everyone" at a Houston Community College campus. A 21-year-old students was arrested and charged in connection with that threat. "I'm scared every day now," said Mulligan, echoing a rising fear among parents about school shootings. John Harden contributed to this report. Whiskey River nightclub in Corpus Christi is making an effort to recover after a security guard was accused of homophobia for not letting a male patron wearing makeup into the establishment until he wiped it off. Bobby Rodriguez told Chron.com that he and a few friends had gone to the club. A security guard allegedly told him that he wouldn't be let in unless he wiped off his make up as it was against the bar's gender-specific dress code "where men need to dress like men." MORE LGBTQ+ NEWS: See the photo of a Texas teacher and her wife she showed before being barred from the classroom Because he was only wearing makeup and not female clothing, Rodriguez believes the security guard's actions were discriminatory. "I am just a male that wears makeup so they need to stop acting like if the issue was I was a male wearing female clothing when that wasn't the issue at all," Rodriguez said. "I really just feel like it was a personal problem with the security guard at the door that night because I was there before and the other guard did not have a problem with me. [sic]" Rodriguez posted about the incident on social media calling the security guard "homophobic" and causing a huge backlash for the nightclub that brought out protesters and forced Whiskey River to ask loyal customers to help boost their rating with 5-star reviews. On Thursday, May 17 the nightclub shared a post to their Facebook urging people "who believes business owners have the right to refuse service to anyone and enforce whatever dress code they see fit, even if it offends someone," to give the establishment's page a 5-star rating. According to the Caller Times, though Angela Blohm the business' registered owner is afraid of the retaliation, she stands by her nightclub's policy, calling the allegations "just a bunch of frivolous baloney." "Whiskey River has a standard dress code that states everyone must dress gender appropriate to the gender stated on their state-issued driver's license," Blohm told the publication. The Whiskey River Yelp! page now has a 2.5-star rating and a flood of mixed reviews, most of which pertain to the issue of the alleged discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. Take a look through the gallery above to see which are the most, least LGBTQ+ friendly cities in Texas. Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli is a digital producer at Chron.com. You can read more of her stories here and follow her on twitter at @Dani_DiNapoli. One man is recovering in the hospital after he was shot in a southeast Houston parking lot last Friday. The shooting was reported around 11:45 p.m. Friday in a parking lot on 10855 Telephone Road, just north of the South Sam Houston Parkway. Lawyers began delivering final arguments Tuesday in Houston in the federal court trial of a Brazilian couple accused of helping their daughter kidnap their now 8-year-old grandson from Houston in 2013. The case has drawn international attention to the difficulty of so called left-behind parents to get governments of certain countries to return children whose country of residence is the United States. AUSTIN -- Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday cancelled a shotgun giveaway contest in his re-election campaign amid controversy after a gunman killed 10 people and injured 13 others at a high school south of Houston. Campaign officials said the giveaway has been changed to a $250 gift card redeemable for any kind of merchandise, not the $250 gift certificate redeemable for a Texas-made shotgun at a licensed gun dealer in Central Texas. The gunman used a Remington 870 shotgun and a .38-caliber pistol in the attack Friday at Santa Fe High School, authorities said. Abbott's giveaway -- many Texas politicians annually auction and giveaway shotguns and hunting rifles as part of their campaigns -- had drawn controversy over the weekend after door hangers advertising the giveaway were distributed in western Travis County as part of door-to-door campaigning, quickly touching off complaints on social media. The Austin chapter of March for Our Lives -- the gun control initiative started by students in Parkland, Fla., after a school shooting there -- blasted Abbott on Twitter. "To put it bluntly, we find this a disgusting display of the disregard of the toll gun violence and an absolute failure to respect your constituents in the wake of the #SantaFe shootings," the group said in a tweet. The contest quickly became a national buzz on social media. Abbott soon modified his campaign website to remove the shotgun offer, and later changed it to the $250 gift card with no mention of a shotgun. The governor on Sunday attended a church service memorial in Santa Fe for the victims of Friday's shooting. Abbott campaign officials said the governor has sponsored shotgun giveways before, like many Texas politicians, including a raffle in October 2015 in his first year as governor. Matthew Hogenmiller, head event organizer for March for Our Lives ATX that had blasted Abbott's shotgun giveaway, said Abbott was correct in dropping the contest. "We are happy that the governor has canceled his shotgun giveaway," the group said in a statement. "It is our understanding that the money that would have gone to the shotgun, will instead be distributed in the form of a gift card. However, we continue to plead that the money given to the winner is instead donated to the survivors' funds in Santa Fe." Mike Ward, the Houston Chronicle's Austin Bureau chief, covers Texas politics and the governor's office and the executive branch, along with criminal justice and ethics issues. Follow him on Twitter @ChronicleMike and send him story tips at Mike.Ward@Chron.com. Clay Alling, who owns the newly opened Haus Pour on Border Street in Old Town Spring, detested what his mom used to cook for him and his six siblings when he was a kid in Amarillo. While he knew she was trying her best, it wasnt until he was 16 and had moved to San Antonio to live with his dad and stepmom that he discovered a cultural and culinary scene that left an indelible impression. I started playing with barbecue, and my friends and I dreamed of having a barbecue joint-bar, Alling said. We cooked every weekend for 25 plus people. While Alling was in the Army until 1997, he viewed his experiences through a culinary lens. I was lucky enough to travel and take in cuisine from countless different countries, he said. My last station in Fort Hood, Texas, was voted the best kitchen in the army. I loved the food. After the Army, Alling began bartending on Sixth Street in Austin. He said he learned the art of combining flavors to make custom drinks for customers before mixology was a thing. This is where my palate started its refining process, he said. He had gigs in multiples restaurants that served fare such as a seafood, Tex-Mex, Mexican, American, where he was able to hone his craft of pairing drinks and menu items by conferring with chefs. More Information Age: 42 Favorite quote: "If you love what you do, you'll never work in your life again" Hobbies: Painting, writing poetry, reading Famous chefs met: Anthony Bourdain, Wolfgang Puck, Emeril, Paula Deen How do you like your coffee: A bit of cream and sugar, two pots per day Favorite alcoholic beverage and why: bourbon whiskey... the burn. Garrison brothers single barrel 4542- it's mine See More Collapse Alling left the restaurant business for a while and worked in software from 2001-12, creating a couple of apps. But he could not escape the pull of the restaurant business. Alling satisfied his food desires by helping out as a consultant to different bars and restaurants throughout Texas and began to exhibit a drive to merge drink creation with food. He won individual awards for a bartender shootout and then with his recipe for best burger in Cypress in two different restaurants. Ultimately, he left software to pursue the dream to own his own restaurant. That passion for culinary treats was my carrot, he said. I kept at it always pushing for the two to converge. Alling moved to the Houston area in 2001. Four years ago, he opened The Provisioners Tale on Border Street in Old Town Spring, which he has since closed to open Haus Pour with a theme of industrial chic. The anticipated opening date is this May. I have taken reclaimed posts and metal and gutted out an old warehouse type area, Alling said. Throughout the space you will see our influence of Texas-themed drinks and food, military honor wall, and my love for bourbon. Alling said The Provisioners Tale was a 32-seat establishment that was open for a year, but Haus Pour has seating for more than 200 and includes a parking lot. OTS has shown me that these quaint little areas are in need for something like what we are providing - world class cuisine with exceptional service, an amazing atmosphere, and open seven days a week, he said. Alling said he enjoys preparing the types of foods you dont typically see on restaurant menus but that people still want. I excel at food pairing and comfort food, you know those old fashioned standards that people dont make anymoreliver n onions, meatloaf, etc., he said. He said his dream menu features items such as Foie Gras sandwiches, duck risotto, lamb, venison street tacos, grilled asparagus and bourbon cake as a dessert. His favorite techniques are flambe, tableside (think: carved meat at your table) and grilling, and he is always trying to learn new techniques and create new dishes through flipping through old cookbooks and reading magazines. He also takes classes to learn more. One of the keys to his success is that Alling tries to create not just delicious foods but also an experience. You can come into my restaurant every day and eat something new and exciting with perfect pairings, he said. As for missing his first love of mixing drinks, Alling said he gets to eat his cake, too. I still get to make killer cocktails, he said. A Houston man allegedly said he paid for sex with a 16-year-old earlier this month after the girl's parents contacted authorities, police say. Ranferi Delgado, 26, of Houston, is facing two second-degree felony charges of indecency with a child, and sexual assault of a child, after detectives said he met the girl on the social media app Skout and paid her for sex. The Tomball City Council unanimously voted on Monday night to approve the annexation of a nearly 375-acre property where Harris County Precinct 4 is building a service center. The Harris County Commissioners Court announced its intention of approaching the city of Tomball with a request to have the property annexed in November. The $19.9 million service center is expected to house county vehicles, such as tractors and trucks, so that workers dont have to travel across the precinct to reach a location in that area, Precinct 4 commissioner Jack Cagle said. That is one of the large areas that we need to serve, he said. Since the property is located on higher ground it would be less likely to flood and may also be the future location of the Precinct 4, Place 1 Justice of the Peace courthouse, which had severe flooding during Hurricane Harvey. Tomballs annexation takes the property, which is also known as the Willow Cree campus, out of the city of Houstons extraterritorial jurisdiction. The annexation allows the service center to obtain utilities from Tomball, such as water and sewage services. After the vote approving the annexation of the property, Tomball city manager Rob Hauck said he recommended that the council also approve an interlocal agreement with the county for the development, ownership and maintenance of gas and water infrastructure on the 375-acre land. In lieu of us charging impact fees of $170,000-ish, it allows Harris County as part of this construction while theyre developing this property to put in and install infrastructure that will greatly benefit us as a city, he said. Tomball mayor Gretchen Fagan also hosted the second public hearing to designate the property as a commercial district on Monday. Given its location just west of Texas 249 and along the proposed Holderrieth Road, which is currently a dirt road, the area is expected to be developed for businesses. The purpose of the commercial district is to provide location for retail sales and service activities where steady traffic is considered. The utilities are currently being extended to the property by the county and has direct access to the tollway as well as the future extension of Holderrieth Road, said Craig Meyers, Tomball community development director at the previous meeting on May 7. No residents arrived to speak and the council voted in favor of the property as a commercial district. The service center is currently being built along North Humble Lake Road, located between Alice Road and Humble Road. mayra.cruz@chron.com Three days after a shooter killed 10 people at Santa Fe High School, Conroe Independent School District officials say they are on heightened alert and taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of students and staff. Conroe ISD Police Chief William Harness said the district will have extra officers working extended hours to cover more territory during the final days of the school year in response to active shooter threats in Santa Fe and in other states. The active shooter situations that weve had in other school districts and other states have heightened the awareness of the public, have heightened the awareness of all educators and police departments; not just school police departments, Harness said. Were sensitive to that. So yes, a part of what were doing is making sure that we are doing the prudent thing, the cautionary thing for the safety of our kids. On Monday, the Harness said the district received a couple of threats but he would not specify what they were, who made them or where they occurred. We have received a couple of threats today and we work through them with the campus administrators and if it musters to charges, we file the appropriate charges with juvenile authorities or the prosecutors office, Harness said. District Communications Director Sarah Blakelock said the news of the Santa Fe High School shooting left district officials heartbroken and that they will continue to review any safety plans to prevent a similar event from occurring within the district. The safety of our students and staff is of the utmost importance, Blakelock said. The Conroe ISD Police Department will have an increased presence across the district as we enter our last weeks of school. Our campuses also continue to review safety plans and procedures in an effort to prevent or respond to events such as this. Our greatest safety measure, however, is vigilance. Threats are fairly commonplace throughout the year, Harness said, adding that officials are constantly looking at ways to improve security equipment and software. The school year ends on May 31, but thousands of Conroe ISD high school seniors are scheduled to graduate over the next two weeks, some still shaken up over the Santa Fe shooting A day before the shooting, a lockdown at The Woodlands High School created some panic among students who thought the worst. The incident, which took place last Thursday at The Woodlands High School, resulted in a massive police presence and ended less than hour after it began when authorities found no gun and no real threat, according to Conroe ISD officials and area law enforcement. District officials notified parents regarding the lockdown stating that they had received a report of a man running in the area with what appeared to be a gun. They later sent out a notification stating that through an investigation involving video review, it was determined that there was no gun. Classes resumed after the lockdown. Lt. Scott Spencer, Montgomery County Sheriffs office spokesman, said deputies were dispatched alongside Conroe ISD police but disregarded the incident after law enforcement discovered the suspect was holding a stick. Conroe ISD Police Sgt. Matt Blakelock said the suspect was actually a student at the school and that the entire incident was a complete misunderstanding. The student was allowed to return to class, he said. We were always told that it was a male suspect seen carrying what they thought was a weapon. It was not. It was a tree branch, Harness said, adding that the campus was on lockdown for less than an hour while law enforcement investigated the alleged threat. But that didnt stop some students from The Woodlands High from feeling scared during the lockdown. Annika Gallaway, a student at high school, told the Villager over the weekend that she and some of her friends hid in a closet during the lockdown. So thats when we realized this is real, she said. Everyone was dead quiet. Everyone was serious. We were treating it like we were about to get shot. Galloway helped organize a vigil on Saturday to support the Santa Fe community. Sgt. Blakelock said hed like to stress to parents that Conroe ISD police undergo regular training that includes school safety, campus security in active shooter training and training on how to handle people with mental health issues. We take every threat seriously, he said. The biggest thing and I think chief would probably agree is we can encourage parents to talk their kids, report things if they see things. District officials encourage students, parents and staff to be vigilant. Please report any suspicious activity or suspected dangers to the appropriate authorities. Anonymous reports may be made to Conroe ISDs KidChat hotline at 1-888-KidChat (543-2428). michelle.iracheta@chron.com Campus administrators broke state law by changing student grades and engaged in other forms of records manipulation at Houston ISDs Furr High School, where revered principal Bertie Simmons has been in charge for nearly two decades, district officials said Tuesday. Although HISD officials did not implicate Simmons on Tuesday, the findings appear to spell an ignominious end to her five-decade career in HISD. Simmons lawyer said Tuesday that his client has been notified her employment in HISD will soon end. Simmons has been on administrative leave since last October. In a 189-word statement, HISD officials outlined broad strokes of the eight-month investigation conducted by outside attorneys employed by the district. HISD leaders said Furr High School administrators changed grades to ensure students passed classes, instructed teachers not to assign grades below 50 percent, improperly altered attendance records, and awarded credit to students who did not meet attendance requirements. HISD officials refused to name administrators responsible for the alleged misconduct or provide evidence substantiating the findings. District officials also declined to comment on Simmons employment status. In its statement, the district said it is addressing these matters to ensure students receive appropriate instruction and guidance. Simmons, who came out of retirement to lead the eastside school in 2000, has vehemently denied allegations of misconduct. The 84-year-old administrator, who is white, is suing HISD for retaliation, age discrimination and racial discrimination. In an email Tuesday, Simmons lawyer, Scott Newar, said his client very much looks forward to holding HISD accountable for its illegal conduct in a court of law. HISDs investigation always was and remains a farce designed to justify its illegal discrimination and retaliation against Dr. Simmons, Newar wrote. It is HISDs Board of Trustees and HISD administrators who should be investigated: for their illegal conduct and for continuing to place their selfish interests above the students and the taxpayers. HER LAWSUIT: Furr High School principal, 83, claims age, race discrimination after temporary removal The Simmons saga has hovered over the 2017-18 school year in HISD, as investigators dug into one of the districts most respected leaders. Simmons, who emerged from retirement in 2000 to run Furr High School, has repeatedly been lauded for turning around a campus once rife with gangs and abysmal academic performance. High graduation rate Her decision in 2002 to take rival gang members to Ground Zero in New York City as part of an effort to reduce conflict has become part of her lore. In recent years, about 95 percent of Furr High School students have graduated well above the districts rate of 81 percent though standardized test scores in reading lagged well below average. Two years ago, Furr High School landed a $10-million grant after being selected as one of 10 super schools in a contest sponsored by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. COLUMN FROM 2013: Principal's successes go beyond what tests can measure Simmons personal story a 5-foot-tall, once-retired woman tangling with gangs in a predominately Hispanic urban school also made for an irresistible story, prompting coverage from the New York Times and NPR, among other national media outlets. Then, in September 2017, HISD officials announced they were investigating allegations that Simmons threatened students with a bat and ignored the districts post-Hurricane Harvey dress code. Amid that investigation, multiple people came forward with more serious allegations against Simmons. As HISD officials remained tight-lipped about the investigation, Simmons fought the allegations publicly and had many loyal supporters rally to her defense. Administrative turnover Through it all, Furr High School has faced significant administrative turnover. All three assistant principals and all three counselors who worked at Furr High School last year no longer are employed there, according to state payroll records and campus directories. HISD officials refused to say whether any of those six employees were implicated in the investigation or removed from the campus due to misconduct allegations. Jordan Davis, a former Furr High School student and one of Simmons most vocal supporters, said Simmons has left a legacy at Furr, no matter what they throw at her. I havent seen any hard-core evidence that says shes done any of the things that theyre concluding has happened, said Davis, a high school senior who transferred to a private school in January after feeling targeted for supporting Simmons. They shouldnt release this to the public if they cant prove it. Simmons employment status is expected to be discussed at an upcoming HISD school board meeting, Newar said. Any conversation about Simmons employment likely will be held by trustees in closed executive session. jacob.carpenter@chron.com twitter.com/chronjacob The Katy ISD's police department has launched an investigation into threatening text messages sent this week to more than a dozen students, most from minority backgrounds. Officials at Seven Lakes Junior High School said the threats went out Monday via text message to a group of students from unknown phone numbers, according to a statement released by the district. The messages included the n-word, based on a photo shared by Katy ISD parent Regina Alexander on Facebook. "Unfortunately I'm not surprised," Alexander said by phone on Wednesday. "We're hoping that the next generation would know the impact of this word. The reality is that there still is deep-rooted hate and that is learned behavior parents are still unfortunately passing down to their kids. While my kids were hurt and disappointed, they were not shocked in the fact that racism and hatred still exist because we have conversations about that all the time." Alexander said her daughter and 15 other African-American girls at Seven Lakes Junior High received the texts. One white female student and one Latino female student also got text messages and were possibly targeted because they have dated African-American men, according to Alexander. Seven Lakes Junior High is located near Cinco Ranch. The campus has about 1,770 students, nearly half of whom are white and less than 10 percent of whom are black, according to Texas Education Agency data. Alexander said she's been concerned with the lack of urgency on behalf of school officials. She said Katy ISD police had not been able to identify the person who sent the text messages. Katy ISD police referred questions about the investigation to the school district's communications department. The school district has not disclosed whether the incident will be investigated as a hate crime. "That's been my concern honestly," she said. "It didn't feel like they were willing to do anything and everything to make sure they rectify the situation." The incident comes amid a spike in threats involving schools since the shooting at Santa Fe High School on Friday that left 10 people dead. Seven different area schools reported threats or gun-related incidents on Monday. Texas State Technical College in Rosenberg was shut down on Tuesday after an alleged threat at the school. A parent, Tracy Mulligan, said her son, a student at B.F. Terry High School, was taking an off-campus computer test at the college, when he was evacuated around 9:40 a.m. by SWAT. The school re-opened on Wednesday, but Rosenberg police were still investigating the incident, according to a spokeswoman for the school system. Mulligan said her son's friend saw a threat written on the bathroom wall, stating "TSTC Is Next F*** My Bad Grades Everyone Going To Get Shot Soon!!" A Pasadena Independent School District student was arrested Wednesday for bringing a handgun to a school, district officials said. Officials said the student brought the weapon to Beverly Hills Intermediate, but that there was "no indication that there was intent to use the weapon." As an added precaution, Katy ISD said police presence has been increased at Seven Lakes Junior High School and will remain on high alert until the end of the school year. Alexander said her husband and other fathers have made a point of having a presence at the school since the incident. Students and other community members also gathered throughout the week at Seven Lakes Junior High in the morning to pray, and will do the same on the last day of school Thursday. Robert Downen contributed to this report. brooke.lewis@chron.com john.harden@chron.com twitter.com/jdharden twitter.com/brookelewisa On the heels of a number of racially charged comments about African-American defendants, Harris County Judge Michael McSpadden has been removed from the appeal of a black death row prisoner. Defense lawyers in March asked the jurist to recuse himself from the case of George Curry, who was sentenced to die in 2009 after he was convicted of killing a teen during a restaurant robbery. But McSpadden refused, prompting a hearing this month in front of another judge who agreed to step in and handle the matter. During the May 1 court appearance, prosecutors did not oppose the request to remove McSpadden from the case. "The Harris County District Attorney's Office does not agree with Judge McSpadden's comments and we will not defend them," spokesman Dane Schiller told the Houston Chronicle. "Race has no place in the courtroom." READ MORE: Harris County judges told hearing magistrates to deny no-cost bail McSpadden did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The removal comes months after the long-time jurist sparked outcry with a controversial explanation of his reasons for not allowing magistrates to grant cash-free bail bonds. Most defendants, he said, are "tainted" with extensive criminal histories. "The young black men - and it's primarily young black men rather than young black women - charged with felony offenses, they're not getting good advice from their parents," he told the Houston Chronicle. "Who do they get advice from? Rag-tag organizations like Black Lives Matter, which tell you, 'Resist police,' which is the worst thing in the world you could tell a young black man ... They teach contempt for the police, for the whole justice system." Those comments, defense lawyers argued, were enough to raise the appearance of bias in a case already fraught with racial issues, including claims of jurors who searched for a hanging tree in downtown Houston during a trial break and a family history of "racial terror and trauma," according to court filings earlier this year. "Although Mr. Curry does not contend that Judge McSpadden harbors actual bias or prejudice concerning any party, the specific circumstances at issue here require recusal," the lawyers wrote. "And, because this is a death penalty case, special caution should be taken to ensure that Mr. Curry's claims are adjudicated before a tribunal that is, and has the appearance of being, impartial." READ MORE: Texas death row inmate asks Harris County judge to recuse himself after racially charged comments From a legal standpoint, the appearance of partiality is key, and defense lawyers pointed to the flurry of news coverage surrounding McSpadden's remarks, as well as internet comments as evidence of the public perception of bias. But McSpadden wouldn't agree to remove himself from the case, so the matter fell to Judge Susan Brown, presiding judge for a six-county administrative judicial region. Brown had the option to grant or deny the recusal motion, hold a hearing, or assign someone else to hold a hearing, she said. So she called in Judge Sid Harle from Bexar County to handle it. Harle approved the recusal, noting that prosecutors didn't oppose it, and that McSpadden was not the judge who oversaw Curry's original trial, records show. That judge - Judge Frank Price - could not be handed the case, as he was no longer on the bench and died last week. Instead, records show, on May 11 Visiting Judge Leslie Brock Yates was assigned to the case. Defense lawyers with the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs, which is currently handling Curry's appeals, did not offer comment on the case or the judge's recusal. The Houston man was convicted in a 2009 Popeye's robbery, when the former fast food worker strolled in at closing time, wearing a business suit and holding a gun. Although two teenage employees survived the hold-up, 19-year-old Edward Virappen was killed. On appeal, Curry's lawyers raised a number of race-related claims, including arguments that his death sentence was unconstitutional because it was imposed on the basis of race, and that black defendants are more likely to face execution. Earlier court filings also claim that the jurors who sentenced Curry "demonstrated racial animus when they searched for a hanging tree in downtown Houston during a trial break." In what law enforcement officials say is part of a growing trend of sophisticated burglaries, a Tuesday morning ATM heist from a Harris County government building downtown ended with a car crash and six arrests. Pasadena Assistant Police Chief Josh Bruegger said the suspects as well as multiple others who have not yet been charged are believed to be responsible for a string of recent burglaries of ATMs at Harris County properties or other businesses. Two of those were at Pasadena courthouses, causing the Pasadena Police Department to take the lead on the investigation. Each of those burglaries involved stolen trucks that were driven into the front doors. All told, the crew is believed to be responsible for five burglaries or attempted burglaries that damaged more than $200,000 worth of property, netted them more than $60,000 in cash and involved nine stolen vehicles, Bruegger said. In the latest incident, officers with the Pasadena Police Departments Property Crimes Unit were dispatched around 3:30 a.m. to the Harris County Administration Building, 1001 Preston St., after the suspects were seen driving a stolen Ford F-250 into the buildings front doors. The suspects fled with the ATM, which later fell out of the truck and was recovered by Pasadena police officers and Harris County Precinct 1 constables, who assisted with the arrest. After a short chase, the suspects crashed the truck at Main Street and Interstate 10, where they were taken into custody. Pasadena police officials said six suspects were charged including two couples some of whom had been in nearby cars, scouting for police as the others burglarized the building. Two young children were also in cars at the time, police said. They were not hurt. Billy Marron, Denisa Pena-Marron, Jessica Caballero and Ruben Castaneda were all arrested and face charges for engaging in organized criminal activity, Bruegger said at a Tuesday press conference. Angel Lopez, 32, Thomas Ortega, 28, and Toby Perkins, 31, were also taken into custody by the Precinct 1 Constables Office, said Angelique Myers, spokeswoman of the Harris County Constables Office Precinct 1. Some of the suspects are known members of the street gang Tango Blast, Bruegger said. Its not clear if the suspects were working on behalf of Tango Blast because the gang is much less centralized and hierarchical than other criminal organizations, Pasadena Police Detective Ray Sorrell said. But he and others say that more criminals are turning to such smash-and-grab ATM robberies both in Pasadena and elsewhere, thanks in part to applications that make it easier to community and the ability to scout locations through things like Google Maps. Last December, a crew of between four and eight men stole ATMs from five Houston hotels in one week. A month later, two ATMs were stolen from Houston businesses in a pair of early-morning heists conducted at almost the exact same time. And in February, six Houston men were arrested at a border checkpoint after they allegedly robbed a Chase Bank employee as he serviced an ATM in Laredo hours earlier. Three of those men were already wanted by Houston-area law enforcement for an October ATM heist, court records show. Theyre finding that the price of doing business is much less on these types of crimes than (it is for) selling drugs or doing armed robberies, Sorrell said. Were seeing this grow because typically property crimes are looked at differently than violent crimes, and so you have a lot of recidivism and sometimes its with little repercussions. Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan, an Jordanian immigrant accused in a pair of honor killings that shocked Houston, went on trial for his life Monday as the lengthy jury selection phase began. Irsans prosecution is the first death penalty trial conducted this year in Harris County, and the first one since District Attorney Kim Ogg took office in January 2017. Opening arguments and testimony are set to begin June 25 in five weeksafter 12 jurors and 2 alternates are selected through extensive individual questioning which is required in a capital murder trial. Prosecutors and defense attorney must first screen the answers to each prospective jurors questionnaire. If both sides agree, the juror is then questioned under oath about their life experience, whether they can be fair, and whether they can sentence someone to death when it is appropriate. The heightened scrutiny at jury selection is to ensure that each juror is able to cast a vote to execute. Irsan, a 60-year-old Jordanian-American, has been behind bars since his arrest in April 2015. He was charged with capital murder because his crime allegedly involved multiple victims, and he is accused of killing his daughters husband and her best friend, an Iranian activist. Both slayings, authorities said, were driven by the anger of Irsan, a conservative Muslim, over his daughter Nesreens decision to marry Coty Beavers, a Christian from Houston. Gelareh Bagherzadeh, a fervent Christian convert and Nesreens best friend, encouraged the marriage. The 30-year-old was killed in January 2012 when she was gunned down while driving toward her parents Galleria townhome. Her friends and supporters initially thought the death was an assassination ordered by the government of Iran. Almost a year later, Beavers, 28, was fatally shot November 12, 2012 at the Houston home he shared with Nesreen. Police began investigating Irsan, his wife and adult son and daughter. Together, police alleged, the family had planned and carried out Bagherzadehs slaying. Under the heightened scrutiny, Irsan was arrested in a Montgomery County SWAT raid in 2014. However, police arrested him for Social Security fraud, not the killings. In 2015, Irsan, his wife and another daughter were sentenced to federal prison for the Social Security scheme, and prosecutors charged Irsan and his son, Nasim Irsan, 24, with capital murder. Irsans wife, 40-year-old Shmou Ali Alrawabdeh, faces murder charges in the case. She is being prosecuted in a separate case for the killing of activist Bagherzadeh. His daughter and Nesreens sister, Nadia Irsan, 33, faces a stalking charge connected to the slayings. To secure a death sentence, special prosecutors Anna Emmons, Jonathan Stephenson, and Marie Ann Primm will have to prove the killings, almost a year apart, were part of the same criminal scheme. In Texas, killing two people in furtherance of the same criminal enterprise is a capital crime. Two slayings by the same person with divergent reasons would just be two murder charges. A trio of attorneys were appointed as special prosecutors after Harris County Kim Ogg recused her office because her First Assistant, Tom Berg, had been connected to the defense before he was hired. Although he is not being prosecuted by the Ogg administration, Irsan is the first death penalty trial to take place since she took office. Defense attorneys Allen Tanner and Rudy Duarte have filed several motions to stop the prosecution, including asking a judge remove the prosecutors from the case over possible financial conflicts of interest. Special prosecutors are paid for more hours of work for death cases than non-death capital murder cases. That motion was denied and the special prosecutors denied any financial motivation. Houston police are searching for two men who fled after trying to steal an ATM at a northwest Houston hotel Tuesday morning, Metro Video reported. The men entered the Sheraton hotel on North Loop at Northwest Freeway around 3 a.m. The ATM was bolted down, and the two men took off when they realized they had drawn attention, according to Metro Video. A north Texas police department is asking drug dealers to turn in rival competitors who are stealing potential clients from them. The Rowlett Police Department told drug dealers on Twitter Friday that they are always striving to improve community relations, even if the two camps don't always see eye to eye. They even included a kissy-face emoji to highlight their sincerity. CALL THE POLICE: Ripped off by your drug dealer? The College Station Police Department is here to help "Do you have a competitor who is stealing your clients? Would your bankroll be that much fatter if they weren't around?" the police department tweeted. "You're in luck! Answer the following questions and return the form to us at your convenience, and we will assist their apprehension." Rowlett is near Garland and not far from Dallas. The form includes space for drug dealers to list their competitor's name, residence, phone number and the vehicle he or she drives. The form also asks drug dealers what their competitor sells, store hours and "fun facts we should know about my competitor, but not listed above." The tweet gathered a bit off attention, getting retweeted more than 500 times and liked more than 700 times. @MaffewMenning tweeted a filled out the form by listing Hank Hill from the hit show "King of the Hill" as a competitor who sells "propane and propane accessories." Have any other lingering questions about the Rowlett Police Department's offer? Officers are encouraging people to reach out to them. "This service will be completed 100% free of charge (you're welcome)," Rowlett police wrote at the end of the survey. "As always, you may call us at (972)412-6220 if you have any questions." Get instant Houston breaking news alerts sent directly to your phone by texting CHRON to 77453. Will Axford is a digital reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. Follow him on Twitter. LIDS, the national hat retailer, is selling a design to help raise money for the victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting Friday. The design, which can be embroidered on any new or existing hat for $12.99 at a LIDS store, features a variation of Santa Fe's mascot and "SF Strong" on top of the shape of Texas. CROSBY -- In Crosby, dozens of worshipers at Crosby Church braved an early evening downpour Monday to attend a prayer service for all the Santa Fe High victims, but especially for Christian "Riley" Garcia, one of the students killed Friday morning. Riley, 15, was a freshman who had recently transferred to the Santa Fe school district because his family was building a home there. But Crosby residents still consider him a hometown boy. According to early reports, Riley died while holding a door shut in the school's art hallway so other students could escape. The gunman fired through the door, striking and killing him. The way the teen died - holding a door closed to save his classmates "that really is what he was throughout life," said Crosby Church pastor Keenan Smith. "He was an exemplary kid," Smith said. Riley didn't seek the spotlight, the pastor said, but he was honest and trustworthy and could always be counted on to do the right thing. A framed photo of Riley sat propped on an easel at the front of the sanctuary Monday night. In it, Riley wearing sunglasses and a blue Nike T-shirt - rests his head against a wooden beam in the family's new home, a piece of wood that would have formed the frame of his doorway. On that beam, Riley had scrawled in black Sharpie a passage from the Bible: "He said, 'Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." "Our hearts ache," Smith told the congregation, "for all those who have lost so very much in such a senseless, needless, horrific act of violence." Smith said he was dismayed by politicians who say the nation doesn't need more prayers. "I say tonight that prayer IS action," he said to applause. "It is prayer that makes a difference and motivates the hearts of men. We forgot that a long time ago, and that's why we're seeing some of these needless things unfold for us today." Smith said the immediate family was waiting for the 15-year-old's body to be released, but several of his extended family members joined the congregation including his uncle. "He didn't deserve this," said Riley's uncle, who identified himself only as Josh. "None of these kids deserved this." alyson.ward@chron.com After experiencing some of the nation's deadliest mass shootings in less than a year, grieving Texans are in agreement: the bloodshed has got to stop, someway and somehow. "We need to do more than just pray for the victims and their families," Gov. Greg Abbott said following the Santa Fe shooting. "It's time in Texas that we take action to step up and make sure this tragedy is never repeated ever again." As families grieve, and an increasingly restless public demands answers, Texas' top lawmakers are trying to understand the root causes of the tragedy as well as solutions to prevent the next one, from different directions. Check them out below. Greg Abbott: Everything but the kitchen sink In the hours and days following the Santa Fe shooting, Gov. Abbott seemed earnest in reaching out to anyone who was willing to help make schools safe. "We want to hear from parents. We want to hear from students. We want to hear from educators. We want to hear from concerned citizens. We want to hear from those who hold the Second Amendment right in high esteem," Abbott said announcing roundtable discussions on school safety. "We want to hear from everybody who has an interest in what has happened today so we can work together on putting together laws that will protect Second Amendment rights but at the same make sure our communities and especially our schools are safer places." The governor went as far as canceling a shotgun giveaway contest on his campaign site after being criticized by the Austin chapter of March for Our Lives. In a Monday news release, Abbott said he looked "forward to hearing from all sides of the debate" during the upcoming roundtable events set to begin on Tuesday. Ted Cruz: Stop the bad guys In his brief comments to first responders and reporters in Santa Fe, Senator Cruz honed in on the perpetrators of recent mass shootings who he called "evil" and "deranged criminals." "In the public policy arena, we need to be doing everything humanly possible to stop this from ever happening again," Cruz said. "To stop violent criminals. To stop them from getting firearms. To stop them from getting access to schools. To incarcerate them when they try to illegally purchase firearms." John Cornyn: Safer schools, gun control, correcting our culture and admiting our failures In comments on the Senate floor on Monday, Senator Cornyn blamed a wide range of factors for Texas' most recent mass shootings. "The first is that we need to better protect our students, secure our schools, and keep weapons out of the hands of those who are a danger to themselves and others," Coryn said. "The second thing is to acknowledge that we haven't yet been able to do this effectively. Something is wrong, because these school shootings keep happening." The senator pointed the finger at weak background checks, poor mental health services and a culture that celebrates "violence on television, in movies, and in video games, which at least has the potential to desensitize especially vulnerable young people." Of note, Coryn suggested that the emerging debate should center around individuals and not the firearms they used. "Many proposals on how to address this pervasive problem focus on the guns themselves, not on the individuals who actually use them," Cornyn said. "They focus on restricting access to guns or banning specific firearm components for even law-abiding citizens." "Any proposed fixes must also consider the root nature of the problem," he said, "... the deranged minds, the twisted rationalizations, and the tragic decisions of the people who commit these terrible acts of violence." Dan Patrick: Everything but the guns Lt. Gov. Patrick made national headlines last week when he said Friday's mass shooting might have been prevented with fewer exits and entrances on campus. But that's not the only thing he suggested. "Everything ought to be on the table," Patrick told CNN, blaming unarmed teachers and parents who didn't lock up their firearms. In an interview with ABC, Patrick blamed violent video games, religion ("we threw God out of school"), abortion and broken families. Outside the halls of Congress, Santa Fe continues to mourn the loss of 10 members of their community. See how families are recovering in the aftermath of the school shooting at Houston Chronicle. Fernando Ramirez is a reporter for Chron.com and the Houston Chronicle. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93. After a 17-year-old shooter left 10 dead in Santa Fe last week, Texas has once again become the nation's latest example in the epidemic of mass shootings. "There's been too damn many of these," Cruz told reporters following the school shooting. "Texas has seen too many of these." In the past year, 64 Lone Star State residents have been killed and 89 injured in mass shooting incidents, figures from non-profit Gun Violence Archive show. How do Texans explain the bloodshed? An October 2017 University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll shows that 24 percent of Texans blame the failures of the mental health system, 21 percent blame current gun laws and 13 percent blame the spread of extremists views on the internet. The survey, which reached out to 1,300 people in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting between October 5 and October 17, is the latest available data on how Texans view the phenomenon that the state is all too tragically familiar with. University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll THE LATEST: Claims of bullying surface as Santa Fe community mourns mass shooting To understand how closely public opinion aligns with reality, Chron.com reached out to Adam Lankford, a criminology professor at the University of Alabama whose 2015 study of mass shootings in 171 countries has been widely cited. Viewing the poll numbers, Lankford said that mental health and gun control as the top two answers from respondents makes sense. "They very much reflect the political narrative around mass shootings," he said. "In incidents like Sutherland Springs or Columbine, there were both mental health problems and guns there, but the average person doesn't know which to blame." Lankford said the best way to figure out which one is more responsible is by examining why the U.S. has more mass shootings than other countries. "The difference between us and other countries is more firearms, not more mental illness," Lankford said, echoing the results of his study that found firearm ownership rate is the biggest indicator in how susceptible a nation is to public mass shootings. HOUSTON LAWMAKER: 'Y'all been sending thoughts and prayers for two freaking decades' "There's no evidence that I'm aware of that our mental health system failed more than other countries," Lankford said. "The evidence you can look to is actual suicides. The clearest example of mental health problems is when someone doesn't get treatment and they kill themselves, but more than 40 countries have higher suicide rates than the U.S." Another observation Lankford made: People should pay more attention to how the media reports on mass shootings. Per the same poll, only 10 percent of Texans believe media attention given to perpetrators is to blame for mass shootings. Lankford thinks that number should be higher. "It's a huge part of the problem. You've probably heard of copycat effect," Lankford said. "It's a major explanation for how these things have increased, both in frequency and number of victims." "It's essentially free advertising for mass shooters," he said. "You have two different things going on, one is the ability to commit mass shootings. The ability is best explained by access to firearms." "But we also have the motive issue," Lankford said, "why do more people want to commit these shootings than they did in the past? And that's mostly explained by the media, even more than mental health." SANTA FE STUDENT: 'I've always felt it would eventually happen here' Lankford also looked at another October 2017 poll that found 52 percent of Texans think gun control laws should be more strict. "That, to me, is at odd's with the nation's view of Texas," Lankford said. "The nation's view of Texas is that it loves guns and hates gun laws." "The idea that most Texans think gun laws should be more strict is against that stereotype," he said. "My guess is that support for gun laws today, after Sutherland Springs and Santa Fe, may be even higher." Fernando Ramirez is a reporter for Chron.com and the Houston Chronicle. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93. The odds of becoming an astronaut are incredibly low. Only 12 people were selected to be in NASA's 2017 astronaut class -- and more than 18,000 applied. And the last selection process was five years prior, in 2012. But a new phone app, developed in partnership with NASA, will give users a taste of what astronaut training is like. And the beauty is, anyone can do it (it's free). The app, called Space Nation Navigator, was released last month by Finland-based company, Space Nation. NASA assisted by providing technical expertise, as well as space agency video, records and imagery. "We are always looking for new ways to educate the public about the benefits and challenges of human space exploration," said Mike Read, manager, commercial space utilization at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, in a statement on NASA's website. "We hope an app like Space Nation's will help global users better understand what it takes to be an astronaut in a fun and entertaining way." NASA to run simulations on Uber's 'flying car' concept in Dallas App users can participate in daily missions and adventures to help them "learn core astronaut skills, discover the excitement of space travel and the science behind it and take part in exciting minigames and weekly missions," the company's website states. For example, one such mission requires you to use your phone to manually dock a spacecraft to another system, 39.5 light years away from Earth. You do this by rotating your phone so that your spacecraft lines up with that system's docking mechanism. Space Nation's website says that high-performing participants will be able to participate in a filmed competition, as well as boot camps around the world. According to its website, the company's plan is to send one lucky participant to space, though it does not provide any details on how or when they might consider doing this. Mark Geyer named new director of NASA's Johnson Space Center "Whether you want to gain basic astronaut skills, train in a real astronaut bootcamp, learn about the cosmos, or eventually even get the chance to visit space it all starts with the Space Nation Navigator app," the website states. Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey. scholarship, news and new ideas in legal history AUSTIN Gov. Greg Abbott and nearly two dozen government officials, law enforcement leaders and superintendents developed a long list of ideas behind closed doors Tuesday as they brainstormed about how Texas can avoid future school shootings like last week's massacre at Santa Fe High School. What emerged were ideas like intervening with troubled students as early as kindergarten, developing teams of educators to assess student behavior, upgrading entryways and monitoring students' social media feeds. Officials also proposed looking for ways to hold parents accountable for their children's behavior and rewarding students for sharing information about possible threats, among with more than a dozen other suggestions. "Every single time there's a shooting, everyone wants to talk about what the problem is. By now we know what the problem is. The problem is that innocent people are being shot and that must be stopped," Abbott said in his opening comments. "We all want guns out of the hands of those who would try to murder our children. The question is, what are we, the leaders of Texas, going to do to prevent this from happening again," he said. Of the dozens of ideas Abbott shared at the close of the meeting, he said it's too soon to tell which will make a list of school safety recommendations he plans to release next week as he seeks to quell fear and frustration among parents, students and the nation over a steady rash of school shootings and gun violence that have hit Texas close to home. The meeting Tuesday was the first of three such roundtable discussions the governor's office is hosting on school safety in light of last week's Santa Fe High School shooting that left 10 dead and 13 injured. The meetings are all closed to the public, a decision the governor's office said would foster a comprehensive and open exchange of ideas. "We want to give attendees the best opportunity to exchange their ideas open and free of any media and the best way to do that is to keep this a closed and private meeting where people feel free to share those thoughts," said Ciara Matthews, the governor's spokeswoman. Transparency watchdogs have criticized the move to close the meetings, saying debate including so many government officials on a topic like school safety following the school shooting in Santa Fe should be available for the public to be involved. "It just seems that with such an important issue affecting so many people and there are so many worried about this and they are having a high-level discussion with top-level public officials, why shouldn't the public be in on it, too," said Kelley Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, a non-profit focused on government transparency. There is nothing illegal about closing the meeting, she said. The public officials, including the House speaker, lieutenant governor and other elected representatives attending the roundtable are from various government bodies and are far from triggering an legally-required open meeting law. After the Valentine's Day school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead and 14 wounded, President Donald Trump held a similar listening session on school safety. His meeting was broadcast live and open to the press. At that meeting, Trump expressed support for increasing the age to buy guns from 18 to 21, arming certain teachers and banning "bump stocks," accessories that can transform semi-automatic weapons to fire more like automatics. At the annual NRA annual meeting in Dallas in May, Trump said he would not back down from his support of the Second Amendment and would resist opponents' push to pass new regulations, telling the crowd the right to bear arms is under siege. 'We are dying' As Abbott prepared for his opening day of the roundtable discussions, student activists ran a scathing open letter to the governor in the Houston Chronicle. The full-page ad accuses him of having a "cozy" relationship with the NRA that has stopped him from considering gun restrictions and scolded him for a past comment when he said gun violence was the result of "hearts without God." "Do you think that the children who were shot in class this week died because they hadn't prayed enough?" read the letter signed by members of student groups in areas like Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. The letter concludes with a chilling statement: "We are dying on your watch. What will you do about it?" Abbott's Tuesday's meeting the first of three this week focused on school and community safety. Wednesday's roundtable is to focus on gun regulations, mental health and the underlying causes of gun violence, the governor said. Attendees will include advocates on various sides of the gun debate, mental health experts, people who assess violence in schools, social media experts, and leaders from inner city communities and rural schools. Thursday's meeting will concentrate on victims, and their families about what they want to see happen, Abbott said, adding students who escaped physical harm will likely wrestle with lasting mental and emotional challenges. Andrea Zelinski covers politics for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Send her tips at andrea.zelinski@chron.com. Cloud services are here to stay, and they are taking over more enterprise functions every year. Where once cloud services were limited to simple storage or contact management, core functions like ERP have now moved to the cloud. And with a broad array of essential services increasingly shifting to the cloud, IT leaders must keep an eye on the risks inherent in todays cloud environment and take preventative steps to mitigate them. Heres a look at what your organization should do to assess and mitigate the risks of cloud computing. Assess your appetite for risk in the cloud In the banking industry, it is common to set a risk appetite to guide organizational decisions. For example, a conservative risk appetite would lead one to decline lucrative but highly uncertain loans. A more bleeding edge risk appetite may deliver higher returns during booms. The downside? Your bank may take massive hits during the next crisis. From an IT management perspective, your risk appetite will inform your due diligence, ongoing monitoring and willingness to invest in reducing risk. For example, you may set up a tiered approach to risk mitigation to make the best use of your limited resources. The risk of a Tier 1 cloud service failing may be reduced through staffing (e.g., having a dedicated relationship manager), regular testing and paying for top-tier vendor support. Revisit your cloud usage culture Cloud providers like to emphasize ease of use and flexibility. And once organizations experience the ease of the cloud, few have the desire to go back to maintaining their own legacy infrastructure. But a casual attitude toward cloud services may lead employees to take foolish risks. Related video: 6 trends shaping IT cloud strategies today Cloud services often encourage casual use of data; I can collect, search and store anything just about anywhere is the hook, says John Hodges, vice president of product strategy for AvePoint. We often see this in systems like Box, DropBox or OneDrive, where there is a real mixed-use danger in how content is stored and shared. The simple solution? Prohibit services where mixed-use is likely to be a problem. Banning higher-risk cloud services helps, but it does not eliminate the problem entirely. With corporate-provided accounts such as Slack channels or Microsoft Teams or other systems, users always take the route that is most convenient for sharing data. That behavior may not align with records retention policies or restrictions on data sharing, explains Hodges. Inconsistent application of record retention policies may cause headaches if your company is subject to litigation or a similar investigation. Use zero trust models to reduce risk Zero trust is an IT security strategy wherein an organization requires every user, system or device inside or outside its perimeter to be verified and validated before connecting to its systems. How can you use a zero trust model to mitigate cloud risk? For Insurity, an organization that specializes in property and casualty insurance services and software, a zero trust approach means restricting access tightly. We provide logical access to the minimum set of users with a minimum set of rights and privileges in line with job function requirements. This control is audited internally by our Enterprise Security team and externally as part of our annual SOC audit, says Jonathan Victor, CIO of Insurity. Regularly examine user access levels and ask yourself whether they make sense. Do you need dozens of users with administrative access? Each super user adds additional risk. Learn from IT failures in the news Taking time to study industry news for cloud-related failures will help you mitigate your cloud risk. The complex and evolving nature of cloud use in todays enterprise means theres always something to learn from high-profile incidents gone wrong. Our focus is on the loss of data, so we see important lessons in incidents like the Meraki data loss in August of 2017, when on-premises systems failed to back up data to the cloud service as it was designed to do, says Rich Petersen, co-founder and president of JetStream Software. Cisco admitted that cloud configuration error caused data loss and lost productivity. As The Register reported, the incident is a huge mess for Cisco, because Meraki's sold on the basis that its supporting cloud service removes much of the grunt work required to run networks and voice systems. That Meraki's team made such a substantial mistake and seemingly lacked data protection tools to cover such an eventuality is a very big black mark on its reputation. Rethink your mix of manual vs. automated cloud management strategies Automation, virtual assistants and data crunching can help companies not only sell more products but manage their cloud services as well. For Barracuda Networks, the scale of manual security work has come down significantly since it began automating processes for the cloud. We have abandoned performing manual security checks and moving to automated scans because increasing and continuous threats require 24x7x365 vigilance to ensure system integrity, data protection and compliance control requirements, says Greg Arnette, director of data protection platform strategy at Barracuda Networks. The drive to automate has significant limits, however, when it comes to mitigating cloud risks. After all, you cant automate a risk assessment of a cloud provider. But if you use more automated tools to detect problems and standardize configuration in the cloud, you can focus more staff time on complex issues such as training and managing your relationships with cloud providers. Push for audit rights for your most sensitive suppliers Whether you have the right to audit your cloud suppliers is a hot topic. If your contracts and agreements lack this provision, your hands may be tied if there is an incident. On the other hand, large cloud providers are pushing back on these requirements. Regarding audits, many cloud companies are pushing back on organizations and not allowing them audit rights to audit their data centers and their processes, procedures and security measures, says Ted Rogers, project execution advisory practice leader at UpperEdge. Why? They are hesitant to have a third party show up and conduct an audit. Instead, the vendor says that they are compliant, or they say not to be worried about it because if they do not do it, they will be in trouble for other reasons under the contract such as a breach event. One solution is to critically assess the audit methodology developed by the cloud provider. Rogers suggests the following alternative: Get access to the cloud providers audit documentation. Specifically, look for if they have made updates in light of Facebooks difficulties with data privacy. Some of these cloud providers say they are just a data processor. They claim they do not touch the data and dont give it away. That just begs the question: how do know whether the provider is following their word? If a cloud provider is resistant to giving your company audit rights, there are still ways to mitigate this risk. You can request more robust reporting and emphasize leading risk indicators. You can also ask your internal audit department to provide input during contract discussions. Rethink avoidance as a risk mitigation strategy Lastly, hacking and security are not the only risks to consider. There is also the risk of being left behind. A significant business risk for some of our less mature clients is not pursuing cloud transformation and services aggressively enough. The cloud is not just a new technology it has changed the business and operating paradigm for many industries. It is about transforming the business to become more agile and competitive, says Tony Buffomante, U.S. Leader of KPMGs Cyber Security Services. Moreover, few organizations have the budget or inclination to build data centers and develop all their software and infrastructure on premises. In fact, companies with a smaller IT capability may benefit from the risk management capabilities of large cloud providers. In our experience, the ability for large-scale cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft and Google to provide secure IT environments dwarfs that of on-premises or custom data center configurations. We believe strongly that shunning the cloud would introduce significant risk to our business, says Keith Cerny, chief technology officer at ACL. Our direct experience has been that a well-architected cloud environment addresses our security, privacy and availability requirements at a level we could not achieve through any other means. In 2016 when we moved our headquarters to a new location, we realized the major benefit of experiencing no business downtime. Our employees were able to work remotely using our cloud services, making it a seamless transition. This story, "7 risk mitigation strategies for the cloud" was originally published by CIO . Charity Finance Group (CFG) has called on the governments upcoming civil society strategy to offer the biggest shakeup of support for charities since the Victorian Age. In its submission to the consultation, CFG renews a previous call for the government to unlock 2bn a year for charities by reforming the charity tax system by making changes to Gift Aid, irrecoverable VAT, business rates relief and insurance premium tax. It says the current system dates back to the Victorian period and has never been fundamentally assessed to see whether it meets the needs of modern society. Our tax system provides ad-hoc reliefs to charities based on the idea that money which has been given for public benefit should not be taxed. Yet this has not been applied consistently and has created perverse situations where the government gives significant tax reliefs on the one hand and then takes it away with the other. This is not only complex and confusing for charities, but involves the government taking away the limited pool of resources available for public benefit. CFG also urged fundamental changes to charity regulation, procurement and skills and capacity building. Investment It said these changes must be backed by long-term government investment in growing the charity sector. Andrew OBrien, CFGs director of policy and engagement, said: The government has said that it wants to have an ambitious strategy to support civil society and this is good news. Many of the structures that support charities, particularly around tax, date back to the Victorian period. This Civil Society Strategy is an opportunity to update these structures and principles for the 21st Century so that we can create a growing charity sector which can meet the social and economic challenges our country faces. "This has to be backed up with government investment, just like the Industrial Strategy has been. Business would not accept a strategy without investment, so why should civil society? If the government is prepared to use this Civil Society Strategy to comprehensively reform the support for charities, it could leave a positive legacy for decades to come just like our Victorian predecessors. The government's consultation on its civil society strategy closed this morning. MPs have criticised Save the Children for spending donors money on expensive lawyers to close down stories about sexual misconduct allegations at the charity. The International Development Committee today heard from former Save the Children chair, Sir Alan Parker, as part of its inquiry into sexual exploitation and abuse in the aid sector. Parker announced that he would stand down as chair of Save the Children International last month after the Charity Commission opened an investigation into Save the Children UK about its handling of sexual misconduct allegations during Parker's time as chair of the UK arm of the charity. Two MPs raised concerns about how much the charity had spent on lawyers who had contacted a number of news publications to discourage them from reporting the story. But Parker said that the charity was just trying to make sure the correct facts were reported. Is this what people expect their money to be spent on? Pauline Latham, Conservative MP for Mid Derbyshire, asked about a reported 100,000 that the charity had spent on lawyers. Parker said he could not confirm the figure as he was not part of Save the Children UK at the time and the committee will write to the charity for confirmation. He said that lawyers were hired because of the high level of media interest and that at no time was there a lawyers letter to close the story down. Latham said: Obviously they wouldnt have spent money from DfID on this. But this means it will have come from funds raised from the public. She said she had personally raised money for Save the Children though baking cakes and coffee morning and that it takes a lot of effort. You have possibly spent 100,000 of this to shut the story down whatever you say it does appear that I way, she said. Nigel Evans, Conservative MP for Ribble Valley, added that it looked like Save the Children was trying to protect its reputation and asked whether people giving a small donation would be thinking that is how their money will be spent. The most important thing was accuracy Parker said that the most important thing was accuracy as there were some seriously misleading statements around. He said: We felt very clearly that the facts should be put down by lawyers rather than just the communications department. Parker added that if it is wrongly reported and misreported it is terribly damaging which can ultimately take away real money from beneficiaries. Apologise unreservedly Parker began the session by apologising and offering support to initiatives to improve safeguarding across the sector. He said deeply saddening when charities fall short and that he wat to take this opportunity to apologise unreservedly. He said that Save the Children had acted immediately when it found out about the allegations against Brendan Cox and appointed a third party law firm to investigate and also carry out a wider review. But he said that it might not have been clear to everyone at the charity how much work was being done because Cox resigned before the process concluded. This meant there was no closure and justice was not seen to be done. He said he was very sad that we couldnt reach a conclusion in this case especially as an awful lot of people at Save the Children knew that something was going on. Better referencing system MPs also questioned Parker on whether it had provided references to Justin Forsyth, who went on to get a job at Unicef, and for Cox. Parker said the Cox has not asked for a reference and that the charity had discussed Forsyth with a head hunting agency but that he was unclear about the details. He said he would support the idea of a obtaining references in a better way, in a deeper way. We need a quantum change Parker also told MPs that the sector needs a quantum change in its approach to prioritise safeguarding and improve culture across the board. He said Save the Children International had been doing a lot of work in this area, such as appointing a chief people officer to drive through improvements. Parker said Save the Children International has already introduced a whole new system of safeguarding which means that issues are reported directly to the chief people officer 48 hours. He said it has taken a huge amount of time to set up and that it was about changing the culture. He said Save the Children International would submit written evidence outlining it in further detail. The RNLI has emailed all of its supporters with its own account of a story about dismissed volunteers, which appeared in the Daily Mail last week. The email included a letter from the RNLIs chief executive Paul Boissier, which described the Daily Mail article as a one-sided and inaccurate version of recent incidents. The rescue charity had already made a strong response on social media to the Daily Mail article, and to criticism it received as a result. The article in question appeared in the Daily Mail on Saturday 12 May and criticised RNLIs senior management for dismissing volunteers who breached its code of conducts. A RNLI spokesman told Civil Society that the letter from Boissier will be going out to its supporters via email in tranches. He said that the RNLI wanted to communicate directly with our supporters to give a balanced view and help explain why we had to make the decisions we did. He added that initial feedback to RNLIs response has been very positive. Boissier said he expects the RNLI to be held to account by the media and welcomes external scrutiny, but said that scrutiny should be fair and balanced and this article was not. What was not reported in this article or in other similar reports is our side of the story," he said. "As an emergency service, we must adhere to the very highest standards of safety and behave in a way that would be expected of a modern emergency responder. And as a charity, we take our ethical and legal responsibilities very seriously. The examples mentioned in the national press recently have involved serious incidents that we were duty-bound to challenge. Bossier also used the letter to reiterate the charity's reliance on donations to keep running the RNLI. He said: "It costs 180M a year to run the RNLI and the Charity Commission advises that, if fundraising stopped today, we should have enough in the bank to keep running our crucial service for between 612 months. We also need to ensure we have enough surplus funds for planned capital expenditure over the next few years the ongoing upgrade of our fleet and the provision of new lifeboat stations. So I want to assure you that we continue to be a charity that can be trusted to do the right thing whether thats rescuing those in peril, keeping our volunteers safe, or making sure that supporters like you are welcomed and valued. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, weve aspired to be a decent, honourable charity that is respectful of others. I dont think we should settle for anything other than that. When asked if the Daily Mail article had any impact on the charitys fundraising, an RNLI spokesman said that it was too early to say. Letter to supporters, in full: You may have read a story about the RNLI in the Daily Mail on Saturday 12 May, which gave a one-sided and inaccurate version of recent incidents at our charity. We have been compelled to stand down a small number of volunteer lifeboat crew members, and the article suggested that this is the result of staff at our headquarters becoming disconnected with our volunteers on the coast. Now, I expect our organisation to be held to account by the media. In fact, I welcome external scrutiny. But that scrutiny should be fair and balanced. This article was not fair and balanced. It included comments from a small number of former crew aiming to discredit the RNLI, as well as unattributed quotes that cant be verified. What was not reported in this article or in other similar reports is our side of the story. As an emergency service, we must adhere to the very highest standards of safety and behave in a way that would be expected of a modern emergency responder. And as a charity, we take our ethical and legal responsibilities very seriously. The examples mentioned in the national press recently have involved serious incidents that we were duty-bound to challenge. We do not stand volunteers down lightly. We recognise the years of dedication and the skill involved in becoming a crew member, helm or coxswain. We fully understand and respect the close bond and camaraderie of our crew and other volunteers. But there are some behaviours we will not tolerate. We simply cannot allow lifeboats to be taken for joyrides in rough weather without full crew. We dont accept that hardcore, graphic pornography has any place at a lifeboat station. We will not tolerate threats of violence towards our volunteers or staff. And we will not stand for bullying or aggressive behaviour. I am relieved to report that such incidents are comparatively rare. The recent issues involve less than 1% of our 6,000 operational volunteers. We are proud of our brave, decent men and women dedicated to saving lives and committed to acting with integrity. We are also proud of using the donations we receive in the right way. It costs 180M a year to run the RNLI and the Charity Commission advises that, if fundraising stopped today, we should have enough in the bank to keep running our crucial service for between 612 months. We also need to ensure we have enough surplus funds for planned capital expenditure over the next few years the ongoing upgrade of our fleet and the provision of new lifeboat stations. So I want to assure you that we continue to be a charity that can be trusted to do the right thing whether thats rescuing those in peril, keeping our volunteers safe, or making sure that supporters like you are welcomed and valued. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, weve aspired to be a decent, honourable charity that is respectful of others. I dont think we should settle for anything other than that. I hope you agree and Id like to thank you for taking the time to read our side of the story. Please do share it with your family and friends so that they get a balanced view. Its been a tough week for the RNLI, but with the courage and support of our people people like you well continue to save lives, just as we always have. Paul Boissier RNLI Chief Executive PS. For a more detailed response to the articles inaccuracies, take a look at our Q and A, which sets the facts straight. copyright Parliament Today, the Attorney General announced to the nation that he plans to seek to close down the National Fund a 90-year-old charity with 475m of assets, which has never spent a penny on the cause and has been saving up to pay off the entire national debt. It follows on from research carried out for Civil Society News, which revealed that deliberations about the fund had been going on for nine years without action, including seven years in which the fund appears to have been at the bottom of a slush pile in the Attorney Generals Office. We decided that nine years was probably long enough, and that it was time that 475m was put to good use. We contacted Steve Reed, the shadow minister for civil society, and asked him to pursue the issue, which he very kindly did. It was then picked up independently by members of the House of Lords, and other media outlets ran pieces on it. This pressure seems to have done the trick, and the Attorney General has now taken action, and referred the issue to the courts for a decision. Its a very encouraging step forward, although its not exactly a victory for Civil Society News. We feel the fund should remain as a charity and change its purposes to become a grant-giver, and we'll continue to argue that the charity sector is the right place for this money. But at least the funds resources are being put to use. Once upon a time Ive actually been writing about the National Fund for almost a decade, and its story is an interesting one. It was established in 1928 by an anonymous donor probably Stanley Baldwin, later the prime minister, who had long advocated that private citizens donate money to the government to pay off its debts. The idea never caught on, surprisingly. The fund has actually had some creeping success. Its doubled in size ten times over that 90 years, which is quite impressive. But sadly, the national debt has ballooned too, and the fund is still well under a tenth of 1 per cent of the debt. So success in its endeavour seems unlikely in the near future. At current trajectories Id have expected the fund to reach the size of the UK national debt in around 400 years, although who knows if it would be relevant by then. After all, there wasnt even really such a thing as a nation state 400 years ago, let alone a national debt or a stock market, and the UK didnt exist. If in 400 years the national debt and the stock market are still relevant ideas, the National Fund would need to own almost all of the latter to pay off the former. Selling all its shares at once would pay off the national debt but probably crash the economy in all sorts of other ways. So by the time I became aware of the National Fund, it was obvious the fund was never going to meet its objectives. It had carried on so long largely out of inertia. It wasnt really in anyones interest to stop it. The fund doesnt have any human trustees, just a financial services firm looking after it as the sole corporate trustee. In 2009 it had recently passed to a new firm, Barclays Fiduciary Services, as part of a larger acquisition. The new trustee had approached the Charity Commission to ask what it should do with this strange entity it had inherited. The Commissions approach was that the money was sitting there doing nothing useful, and that it should close down. The Commissions preferred option was to transform it into a grant-giving foundation, but there were concerns inside the regulator that this was legally quite complicated, and in 2011 the decision was taken to seek an opinion from the Attorney Generals Office. The AGO came back with a different viewpoint. It wanted to shut down the charity and transfer the funds to the Treasury. The Commission accepted this I believe with some reluctance, reading between the lines but budget cuts were biting, and I suspect the regulators legal staff were happy to have the issue off their plate, and onto someone elses. Years passed Some time went by, and we asked the AGO when they planned to actually do something. They offered the standard political press officers response: In due course. And there, for a while, we left it. I dont actually know what happened next, but I can construct a plausible narrative. Id guess that as there were personnel changes and budget cuts at the AGO, the fund passed from one to-do list to another, slipping lower down each time, until someone forgot it was even to be done in the first place. The Charity Commission lawyers, suffering from budget cuts of their own, cannot have been highly motivated to chase the issue down. Meanwhile the funds trustees, earning significant sums to provide the service, cannot have been too worried that it was taking time to move the charity off their books. A couple of years ago, we started writing about the National Fund again, producing an annual story marking its latest increase in funds, remarking that still, nothing had happened. It was a curiosity, and it always attracted interest from our readers, but it took a while for us to realise that we were the only people paying attention to it, and that everyone else had forgotten. So we asked some people to give the Attorney General a nudge, and Steve Reed obliged. Id guess that when the shadow minister asked his questions, the Attorney General himself must have asked someone to find out what the fund was, decided he could realise the best part of 500m for the exechequer, and tasked someone with making something actually happen. The idea that it should remain in the sector was quietly shelved. What now? Theres still plenty of scope for this latest initiative to wind to a halt. The wheels of justice grind exceedingly fine, but they grind exceedingly slow, and the courts could take a different view again and send it all back to the drawing board. The question is what should happen. Steve Reed wants to see the National Fund money remain in the sector, and I agree. Its too hard to complain too much about the money going to the government. Thats what it was intended to do. But this is charitable cash, after all. Its not unreasonable to say to the government that it should remain charitable in nature, and be spent in our sector. As Reed points out, this is chicken feed for government, but it would be one of the 20 biggest grant-givers in the charity sector if it followed the regulators initial plan. So for us, and the sector, its something worth fighting for. The staffing of the American news media has never reflected the diversity of the nation. For most of the countrys history, Latino and non-white journalists were not welcomed in white-run newsrooms. Instead, they produced content which shed light on issues the white press was ignoring through their own news outlets. In the 1890s, journalist Ida B. Wells covered lynchings that mainstream news outlets overlooked. In the 1950s and 1960s, with only a few black journalists in their newsrooms, newspapers and television networks struggled to cover the Civil Rights movement. In response, and against the backdrop of cities burning in what were then called race riots, President Lyndon B. Johnson convened the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, popularly known as the Kerner Commission. Among the 1968 reports broader findings, key sections criticized news coverage of race and politics, pointing to the lack of diversity in Americas newsrooms. Our second and fundamental criticism, the report states, is that the news media have failed to analyze and report adequately on racial problems in the United States, and, as a related matter, to meet the Negros legitimate expectations in journalism. Of particular note is the idea that all citizens have a right to legitimate expectations that their communities will be covered thoroughly and fairly. This year, half a century later, while we are commemorating prominent Civil Rightsera events, including the the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., questions persist about newsroom staffing. The American Society of News Editors stated goal in 1978 to steadily bring newsroom diversity numbers to parity with national averages has not been met, despite the demographic shift in Americas racial and ethnic makeup. The ASNEs annual newsroom diversity survey shows that Latino and non-whites made up 12 percent of newspaper editorial staff in 2000, and by 2016 that figure had edged up only slightly, to 17 percent. The US population is currently 38 percent Latino or non-white, more than double the percentage found in newsrooms. RELATED: One question that turns courageous journalists into cowards Teri Hayt, ASNEs executive director, says the numbers have not moved that much in recent years. As for why publishers and editors should care about diversity, she says, You should care because youre losing audience share [if you dont]. Melissa Harris-Perry, the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University, who is also the founder of the Anna Julia Cooper Center and the former host of the Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC, frames the issue through equity and balance: The very idea of having to answer the question, Why does it matter for them [i.e., journalists of color] to be there? means all the space should be owned by white men. People who live in bodies that are marginalized dont have to bring anything other than their excellence or mediocrity to the table, because thats what white people do. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Meanwhile, we have learned that covering race and politics can be traumatic, with Internet trolls and harassment by interview subjects and hostile news consumers. Jesse Holland, who covers race for the Associated Press, has spoken about the emotional toll of repeatedly covering racially motivated killings. Both Holland and Simon Moya-Smith, an independent Native American journalist, have also addressed the special burden borne by journalists of color. They are sometimes seen as double agents, they note, working both for their ethnic communities and for journalism broadlysometimes pleasing neither. Nicki Mayo of the National Association of Black Journalists says she spent the 2008 election in Appalachia, and found herself forcibly dragged into a mens bathroom while reporting at NASCAR races in Bristol, Tennessee. She was asked to accompany a young white reporter into a black Baltimore neighborhood, but no one had given her an escort when she covered white working-class communities in Appalachia. The risks of being targeted rose during the 2016 election cycle. The Washington Posts Robert Samuels, a national political reporter who is black, described being mistaken for a protester at a Trump rally: As the police pushed me out of that rally, people started calling me monkey, a person tried to trip me, they shouted, All lives matter, at me, he said. Candace Smith of ABC wrote about being the only black reporter who covered Trump in the field (except for the last week of the election), a beat she was assigned after Jeb Bush dropped out of the race. She and her fellow journalistsespecially those perceived to be Jewish, she notedwere targeted by protesters at rallies: On Twitter, Ive been called a n, a c and, at times, a combination of the two. Noting omnipresent Confederate flags across the country, people on Twitter asked why she was obsessed with race. But raceas a black woman in America, she wrote, is something so many of us are acutely aware of. It is the lens through which everything is filtered. Though Latino and non-white reporters brought the increasingly hostile racial environment on the campaign trail to the attention of their editors, their warnings were largely ignored. To cover the 2016 election season, journalists needed a deep knowledge of this nations communities and constituentsby race, gender, class, region, and religion, among other factors. Yet most major news outlets and news teams failed to anticipate the unusual nature of the election. And while this does not invalidate their work, post-election assessments have not included systematic analyses of who was chosen to cover the campaign. I contacted 15 major news outlets for information about their political press corps during the campaign, expecting they would readily provide it. However, despite repeated inquires, fewer than a thirdonly USA Today, The New York Times, NPR, and The Washington Postprovided the requested data. Others reported partial sets, and still others declined to provide dataor to even respond. (All of the non-respondents were queried through multiple employees and departments over a two-month period.) Many reporters and editors would discuss the issue only on background or off the record, which is curious given the transparency journalists champion when it comes to other institutions. That said, a few newsrooms quickly responded to my query, and commented in depth. Within half an hour of my request, USA Today responded that its 2016 campaign coverage staff had 10 women and eight men, and, among those, two Latinx reporters and one African-American reporter. The full study is available here, published by the Shorenstein Center. Lee Horwich, managing editor for government and politics at USA Today, believes 2020 will be challenging for political journalists. I think that it is vital that we have an understanding of the diversity of staff that we need to approach these problems, he says. But not just that, regardless of race/gender/ethnicity of journalists, we need to be reflective of the diversity of the electorate and of the country as a whole, and explain and understand what those people are saying and demanding. USA Today began assessing its 2020 staffing and editorial needs right after the election. Four years seems like a long time. It isnt. Both news industry staff diversity and media equity require more study, but particularly, more action. Greater transparency would help those who want to improve diversity to hone their strategies, and possibly to sway newsroom management that was not committed to change. This is particularly true of newsrooms, who could self-report metrics about their staffing patterns and the decisions behind them. That means offering metrics to researchers and general audiences online, in print and in annual reports. Major news prizes like the Pulitzer and DuPont could require public disclosure of diversity metrics as a qualification for acceptance of the prize. The industry itself can encourage this. Major news prizes like the Pulitzer and DuPont could require public disclosure of diversity metrics as a qualification for acceptance of the prize. This would broadly affect both the for-profit and the non-profit media outlets that compete for these awards. Journalists themselves can also create new systems, training, and pipelines. In 2016, award-winning New York Times investigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones co-founded the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting. Its mission is to increase the hiring and retention of investigative reporters and editors of color, and to educate news organizations about the ways diversity can increase the efficacy and impact of investigative work. In an email, she writes: Investigative reporting is the most important work that journalists do in a democracy, yet these premier and critical jobs are still almost uniformly filled by white journalists The more prestigious a job is, the more skills it requires, the less likely people of color are to get the mentoring, training and opportunities to take on those jobs We intend to provide the type of high-quality mentoring and training that will make it impossible for newsrooms to say they cannot find qualified applicants. In the first month of the Ida B. Wells Societys work, more than 600 journalists signed up as members. Further, journalists might follow the money. Newsroom discrimination settlements requiring non-disclosure agreements are an opportunity for investigative reporters to examine the fiscal and ethical practices of newsrooms. The work of New York Times reporter Emily Steel helped end the Fox News career of Bill OReilly, and reshaped Fox News after revealing it had paid tens of millions of dollars in settlements to women in his case and that of network chief Roger Ailes. Still, there has not yet been a major journalistic examination of payments by news outlets to settle cases involving race, ethnicity, age and sexual orientation. An effort by ProPublica to crowdsource NDAs may provide further information. In retrospect, the Kerner Commission report seems almost hopeful. Although it outlines a grim problem, it presents its issues clearly and with the expectation that the rallying cry will produce action. Today, the lack of urgency to resolve address issues of journalistic diversity and equity means newsrooms must be prodded into action. The words of the Kerner Commission remind us why action is necessary. To reframe their sentiments for our industry and our times: Our newsrooms are moving towards two different ethical and functional frameworks: one which views the lack of racial and gender equity as inconsequential, and one which realizes the American news industry is not a functional meritocracy. Work remains to be done. This deepening division is not inevitable. The movement apart can be reversed. Choice is still possible. Our principal task as journalists is to define that choice and press for accountability, remedy and resolution in our newsrooms and industry. Editors note: This article is excerpted from a paper, published today, stemming from the authors work as a Joan Shorenstein Fellow at the Shorenstein Center at Harvard. RELATED: Five decades after Kerner Report, representation remains an issue in media Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Farai Chideya Farai Chideya is a program officer for the Ford Foundation, which is among the funders of CJR. Follow her on Twitter @farai. As a war hero, former presidential candidate, influential voice in the Senate, and ready quote, John McCain has been a constant presence in the public eye for decades. His final book, The Restless Wave, is out today. McCains brain cancer diagnosis provides the opportunity for a slow motion, living eulogy, and the press has responded with a steady drumbeat of coverage. The details of McCains lifehis heroism in Vietnam, scandal-marred early years in politics, cross-aisle friendships with Democrats like Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden, presidential runs in 2000 and 2008, and years as an elder statesmanare well known. His long and complicated career presents challenges for journalists who need to encapsulate his life in a few sentences. How does one cover a towering figure in American politics without slipping into hagiography? As The New York Timess Jonathan Martin writes in a recent profile of McCain at rest, he has long been both a flawed politician and a larger figure of history. McCains image as a maverick willing to subvert his party to stick to political principles has always been as much branding exercise as reality. His Straight Talk Expressthe slogan of his campaign bus in 2000and willingness to appeal to the better angels of our political nature sit alongside his choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008 and his endorsement in 2016 of the man who questioned his war service on the campaign trail. In the Trump era, McCain has been drawn into a series of controversies not of his making, beginning with Trumps 2015 statement that he liked people who werent captured. More recently, a morbid comment about McCains prognosis by communications aide Kelly Sadler sparked a fresh wave of outrage. Last summer, just after he was diagnosed with brain cancer, he became an unlikely Democratic hero in the Senate for voting against the Obamacare repeal. TRENDING: A Charlotte journalist hones the voice he nearly lost for good McCains health is preventing him from touring in support of his book, but the making of his legacy has already begun. Hell be the subject of an HBO documentary, John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls, debuting on Memorial Day, and those writing on his career will have decades of freely given quote to choose from, and the difficult task of framing his contradictions. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Below, more on the coverage of a notable, complicated life. Other notable stories ICYMI: The inevitable cycle of school shooting coverage Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Pete Vernon is a former CJR staff writer. Follow him on Twitter @ByPeteVernon. At the end of Maymore than six months after they were first arrestedReuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo expect the judge in their case to decide whether or not to charge them with violating Myanmars colonial-era Official Secrets Act. If ultimately convicted, they face up to 14 years in prison. The Burmese authoritiesincluding the countrys state counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyiwant the world to believe their trial is a deliberative and independent process in which both sides are given the opportunity to present evidence. But the Reuters legal team knows what its up against. On March 29, Reuters brought on renowned international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are being prosecuted simply because they reported the news, Clooney said in a statement, referring to their groundbreaking reporting on violence against Burmas Rohingya Muslim minority. ICYMI: In Myanmar, journalists have sided with the military against the Rohingya Around the world, journalists are being imprisoned in record numbers. Reporters working for international media organizations in places like Iran, Egypt, Turkey, and Azerbaijan have jailed by governments seeking to suppress international coverage of corruption and human rights violations. These imprisonments put news organizations and their advocates in a tough spot. They cant win on merit in a politicized legal system that is stacked against them. And they cant apply political pressure too directly because its easy for a countrys president or prime minister (or state counsellor) to claim that the judiciary is independent and that they cant interfere. They must thread a needle between legal argumentation and public pressure to change the political calculation. Once they do that, they must give the government a face-saving way out, which often involves pardoning the journalist or releasing them on parole. Clooney is expert at this, judging by two other cases of imprisoned journalists. She first became involved in defending imprisoned journalists when she took up the case of Mohamed Fahmy, an Al Jazeera producer imprisoned in Egypt in 2013. And in early 2016, she joined the team defending journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who was jailed in Azerbaijan in reprisal for her reporting on corruption. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Fahmy is an experienced war correspondent who has covered the Middle East for a variety of media outlets, including CNN. He was arrested in December 2013 along with two colleagues, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed, soon after taking up a new position with Al Jazeera English in Cairo. All three were initially charged with distorting the countrys image abroad and fabricating news to aid the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Egyptian government had branded a terrorist group. Fahmy, who split with co-defendants in alleging that his employer Al Jazeera had acted negligently, brought on Clooney as his personal lawyer after being introduced by a CNN colleague. Embed from Getty Images I am not exaggerating when I say she was a game changer and part of the reason why I am a free man today, said Fahmy, who is a dual Egyptian-Canadian citizen and now lives in Vancouver. He points to the combined impact of Clooneys exemplary legal work, the media attention she was able to generate, and her outreach to Egyptian officials. Part of Clooneys approach was to highlight the unfairnessand in some cases the absurdityof Egypts legal process. Her presence in the courtroom and her outreach with the diplomatic community in Cairo brought a new level of global attention to the proceedings, during which defendants were presented in cages. In a Huffington Post op-ed, Clooney noted that Fahmys trial was presided over by a judge known as the executioner whose verdict was that the journalists were joined by the devil to exploit [their] profession. . . to harm this country. While the judges pronouncements may have played well domestically, they made the Egyptian judiciary a global laughingstock. Eventually, the Egyptian government offered Fahmy a pardon in exchange for his agreement to leave the country. ICYMI: Seth Rich lawsuit against Fox News stands on unusual legal ground When Clooney took on the case of journalist Khadija Ismayilova, imprisoned in Azerbaijan, she applied a similar approach. Ismayilova, a leading investigative journalist who at the time hosted a program on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) had exposed corruption linked to the ruling Aliyev family. She was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on trumped up charges of tax evasion and embezzlement. Clooney was brought on by Nani Jansen, then legal director for the London-based Media Legal Defence Initiative, which had been handling Ismayilovas case before the European Court of Human Rights. As with the Fahmy case, Clooney shone a spotlight on the anomalies in Azerbaijans legal process, making it more difficult for the government to claim the judiciary was acting independently. In their 150-page filing with the European Court of Human Rights, Clooney and Jansen presented evidence of a sham trial whose real purpose was to silence Ismayilova and censor her reporting on corruption. Ismayilova, who was released on probation in May 2016 after her sentence was reduced, told me the meticulous documentation and argumentation (based on input from her local lawyer Yalchin Imanov) made the difference. It should be taught in universities she said. Gail Gove, the chief counsel at Reuters, told me she brought on Clooney for her expertise in international law. In addition to her human rights advocacy, Clooney, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, has represented a diverse roster of clients from Julian Assange, to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and Abdullah al-Senussi, the Libyan intelligence chief under Muammar Qaddafi. Clooneys presence on the Reuters legal team is a warning that the case could end up before an international tribunal, with implications for Burmas leadership. But Clooney also has the ability to generate additional attention, not just in the media but through her relationships with officials and policy makers. On April 16, the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, tweeted a picture of her meeting with Clooney, calling for the release of the Reuters journalists and proclaiming, Free press & rule of law are the bases that democracies are built on. RT @USUN Met w/@Reuters & Amal Clooney to discuss actions for the release of 2 journos jailed for doing their job. Free press & rule of law are the bases that democracies are built on & we hope Burmese authorities will realize the importance of this release to the intl community pic.twitter.com/y1pr1E53U5 Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) April 17, 2018 Meanwhile, back in the Yangon courtroom, a key prosecution witness, police Captain Moe Yan Naing, acknowledged that he had been ordered to entrap the journalists by handing them incriminating documents and then immediately arresting them. It is now clear to any impartial observer that this case is a bungled attempt to entrap two innocent young men, Clooney said in response. But rather than withdrawing the charges after seeing their legal case collapse, prosecutors are doubling down, applying pressure on the witness and his family and putting forward a more senior police official to discredit his testimony. Using a pliant judiciary to punish critical journalists provides a convenient smokescreen for autocratic governments seeking to hide their repression. Sadly, governments get away with it with it all the time. But they sometimes find that the glare on the legal process can grow too hot, especially when its being documented by an international news organization like Reuters. The global focus on the Yangon courtroom is exposing the ways in which Burmas leadership is corrupting the legal system and undermining the legitimacy of the countrys democratic transition. What Burmas generals and its political leadership need to recognize is that its not Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who are on trial before the world. Its them. Thumb image via Wikimedia Commons. ICYMI: One Alabama newspapers business model features a chair and cigar box Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Joel Simon is the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the author of We Want to Negotiate: The Secret World of Kidnapping, Hostages and Ransom. Three years ago I was in New York, discussing some news from my homeland. The Wall Street Journal and some local news outlets had just published stories revealing how billions had allegedly been siphoned out of Malaysias 1MDB sovereign wealth fund by the countrys leader, Najib Razak. Apparently, the money had been frittered on diamonds, Old Masters paintings, and Manhattan condos. This, I told my reporter friends, was a huge scoop, rare in a region with tight media controls and a largely pliant press. But would it make much difference, they asked? I faltered. Probably not. Indeed, Najib had appeared politically invulnerable until earlier this month when the nation, partly spurred by a collective slow burn over the 1MDB scandal, voted out his ruling party in a stunning electoral upset. ICYMI: Arrested Myanmar reporters: Two book lovers dedicated to their craft Save a few exceptions, Southeast Asia has never been known for vibrant journalism. But even with that history as a backdrop, analysts say the last decade has seen an unprecedented rollback of journalistic freedom due to rising authoritarianism and social medias amplification of hate speech. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Whats happening in Southeast Asia is a nightmare, says Steven Butler, Asian program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists. This week in New York, the Asia Society will bestow Osborn Elliott prize for the best in journalism in Asia to Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo of Reuters, who sadly wont be there to accept. The Burmese reporters are in jail, facing sentences of up to 14 years for reporting on Myanmars military forces and their involvement in the murder of Rohingya Muslims. (Disclosure: I am an Oz prize juror.) Another Oz prize finalist this year: Rappler journalists Patricia Evangelista and Carlo Rabuco, for their vivid and critical coverage of President Dutertes bloody drug war in the Philippines. But Rappler is now fighting a variety of legal and regulatory challenges to its very existence. Its reporters, and in particular its founder Maria Ressa, have endured a barrage of threats both online and offline. At at one point, she averaged 90 threats of rape, murder, and bodily harm per hour. Much of Southeast Asia is young, with a population that depends heavily on their smartphones and social media for the news; Facebook counts Asia as its biggest region in terms of active users. In response to complaints that its produce is being weaponized by authoritarian regimes, Facebook says it has ramped up regional hires, (the Singapore regional office has posted 160 job openings), disabled millions of fake accounts, and expanded its third-party fact-checking network through a partnership with the Poynter-based International Fact-Checking Network. The IFCN is a coalition of fact-checking teams that flag fake stories that could potentially go viral. Facebooks algorithm then ensures these stories get shared less, but given the news tsunami, the job can be like dealing with an ocean with a spoon, says IFCN director Alexios Mantzarlis. That spoon can seem positively miniscule in Southeast Asia, where Facebook has just three partners: one in Indonesia and two in the Philippines. It has no partners in Myanmar, for example, where hate speech has helped create a major humanitarian crisis with over 700,000 displaced Rohingya. Facebook also lacks fact checkers in Cambodia, where Prime Minister Hun Sen has launched a searing crackdown on critics ahead of July elections. (Without doubt, Cambodias democracy is now completely dead, states the Southeast Asian Press Alliance in a recent report.) If the resources Facebook is throwing at the problem seem small, it still outpaces messaging platform WhatsApps efforts. WhatsApp, acquired by Facebook in 2014, is a souped-up text messaging system. This makes it harder to trace sources of fake news. WhatsApp says it working on improving media literacy among users, including potentially partnering with groups in India and Indonesia. Ultimately, the company claims its small sizeabout 300 employees in Menlo Park, Californiasimply does not give it enough resources to deal with these massive global issues. What next? Malaysias now victorious coalition, led by 92-year-old former Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad, campaigned on the promise of repealing a recently enacted Anti-Fake News Bill, the first of its kind. But its unclear if this will happen. Recently, Mahatir appeared to backpedal when he told the Associated Press, Although we support the concept of press freedom and freedom of speech, these come with limits. The bill allows the country to impose heavy fines and jail sentences on violators, and even allows it to go after critics abroad. Edgardo Legaspi, executive director of Southeast Asia Press Alliance, called it a super weapon to further suppress freedom of expression. The country has not had a history of independent press, cautioned Jahabar Sadiq, editor of Malaysian Insider, a web publication that was forced to close after its coverage of the 1MDB scandal. The default setting in Malaysian media is sycophancy. He warned, Its not so clear where we are headed yet. ICYMI: Explosive BuzzFeed scoop raises eyebrows Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Mei Fong is a Pulitzer Prizewinning former Wall Street Journal correspondent. She was named one of top 50 influencers on US-China relations by Foreign Policy for her book on the one-child policy. She was born and raised in Malaysia. Follow her on Twitter @meifongwriter. 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 Cubas national airline. Mexicos 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 Fridays 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. Cubas 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 Cubas 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 countrys 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. Its normal for us to rent planes, he said. Why? Because its convenient and because of the problem of the blockade that we have. Sometimes we cant 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. Thats their responsibility. He said Cuba didnt 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 jets 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 canceled a series of flights in spring 2017, leaving hundreds of Cubans stranded at Guyanas 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 planes 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 Fridays 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 Cubas 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.) Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt moved Thursday to rescind much of a package of safety measures proposed for chemical plants nationwide after a deadly blast at a Texas fertilizer plant. Pruitt signed a significantly revised slate of rules from the Obama era on safety and risk management at 12,500 U.S. facilities, including chemical plants and refineries. A chemical manufacturing group welcomed the changes, while spokesman Alex Formuzis of the Environmental Working Group called them a hollowing out of the original safety upgrades. The rules were prompted by a 2013 explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, that killed 15 people, including 10 firefighters. The blast ripped open a 90-foot-wide crater and hurled debris for miles. Pruitts changes eliminate several of the original requirements concerning safety training, accident prevention and accident investigations. The revised version signed by Pruitt also would remove a requirement that members of the public who ask the plants should receive information about any chemical risks and community emergency plans. That change would make it harder for those living near these plants to get basic information about any dangers posed, said Eric Schaeffer, director of the Washington-based Environmental Integrity Project nonprofit. In a statement, Pruitt said the revised slate of proposed rules reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens. Accident prevention is a top priority at EPA, and this proposed rule will ensure proper emergency planning and continue the trend of fewer significant accidents involving chemicals, Pruitt said. The central Texas towns fire department was staffed by volunteers who had no formal training or planning to prepare them for a fire or emergency at the fertilizer plant, an investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board found. As the blaze engulfed the plant, firefighters rushed in to contain it and remained despite at least one warning to evacuate, a state fire marshals report found. They began backing out only moments before the ammonium nitrate exploded. Pruitt signed the rule surrounded by onlookers, including chemical-industry representatives. The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, which said in a statement it had opposed the initial version of the regulation proposed by the Obama administration, applauded the revision signed Thursday, saying it modified a requirement for outside audits of risk-management plans and other rules that the chemical manufacturers group had objected to. The Trump administration will solicit public comment on the proposed rules before it makes final decisions on enacting them. (Associated Press writer Reese Dunklin in Dallas contributed to this story.) Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employers can force workers to use individual arbitration instead of class-action lawsuits to press legal claims. The decision potentially limits the rights of tens of millions of employees. The justices, voting 5-4 along ideological lines, said for the first time Monday that a 1925 federal law lets employers enforce arbitration agreements signed by workers, even if they bar group claims. The majority rejected contentions that a separate law guarantees workers the right to join forces in pressing claims. The ruling builds on previous Supreme Court decisions that let companies channel disputes with consumers and other businesses into arbitration. The latest decision applies directly to wage-and-hour claims, and its reasoning might let employers avoid class action job-discrimination suits as well. 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, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority. Arbitration supporters say that forum is cheaper and more efficient than traditional litigation. Critics say companies are trying to strip individuals of important rights, including the ability to band together on claims that as a practical matter are too small to press individually. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented. Ginsburg called the ruling egregiously wrong. The inevitable result of todays decision will be the underenforcement of federal and state statutes designed to advance the well-being of vulnerable workers, Ginsburg wrote. Ginsburg called on Congress to pass legislation to override the courts decision. Ginsburg successfully issued a similar call a decade ago, urging Congress to bolster the rights of women to press equal-pay lawsuits. Scalia Seat The ruling shows the impact of the 14-month battle over the seat left vacant when Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly in 2016. President Donald Trump filled the opening with Gorsuch last year after Senate Republicans blocked a vote in 2016 on then-President Barack Obamas nominee, Merrick Garland. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito all Republican appointees and members of the courts conservative wing joined Gorsuch in the majority. About 25 million employees have signed arbitration accords that bar group claims, a lawyer for the workers in the case told the court. The workers in the latest case said the National Labor Relations Act guarantees them the right to press claims as a group, either in arbitration or in court. The 1935 law protects concerted activities by workers, without explicitly mentioning lawsuits. The majority said that language wasnt specific enough to overcome a separate law, the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act, which says arbitration agreements must be enforced like any other contract. That provision focuses on the right to organize unions and bargain collectively, Gorsuch wrote. It may permit unions to bargain to prohibit arbitration. But it does not express approval or disapproval of arbitration. It does not mention class or collective action procedures. It does not even hint at a wish to displace the Arbitration Act. Discrimination Suits Ginsburg sought to limit the impact of the ruling, saying its logic shouldnt prevent workers from banding together to press discrimination claims under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It would be grossly exorbitant to read the FAA to devastate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other laws enacted to eliminate, root and branch, class-based employment discrimination, she wrote. The high court ruling is a victory for three companies involved in the fight. The group includes the accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP, which was fighting allegations that it misclassified thousands of employees to make them ineligible for overtime pay. The court was also considering an appeal from Epic Systems Corp., a health-care software company that was sued by Jacob Lewis, an employee who says the company misclassified him and other technical writers so that they wouldnt be eligible for overtime pay. The third case involved a Murphy USA unit fighting allegations that it underpaid four employees at its gas station in Calera, Alabama. The National Labor Relations Board had concluded the company engaged in an unfair labor practice by refusing to let the workers pursue their claims together. Although the Trump administration backed the employers, the National Labor Relations Board took the side of the workers during arguments in October. At the time, the boards general counsel was a Democratic appointee. The cases are Epic Systems v. Lewis, 16-285; Ernst & Young v. Morris, 16-300; and NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA, 16-307. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey took the final action of the state legislative session last week when he signed 55 new laws and vetoed seven others, including a measure that could have hiked drivers insurance rates. The legislative session officially ended on May 4 when lawmakers adjourned. But the governor had until Wednesday to decide whether to sign or veto dozens of bills that were passed in the final days when lawmakers voted on a flurry of bills as well as a $10.4 billion spending plan for the states next fiscal year. Overall this year, Ducey signed 346 bills and vetoed 23 others. Heres a look at some of the measures that Ducey signed or vetoed last week: HB2422: Robot delivery devices Arizonans could soon see meals and packages delivered to their doorstep by robot technology. Among the bills Ducey signed is a proposal sponsored by state Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, that outlines the regulation for personal delivery devices that would operate on sidewalks. They would have speed and weight restrictions and require insurance. Townsend told The Associated Press that she was hopeful Ducey would sign the bill because of the opportunity for new technology to be developed in Arizona. But deployment could be a couple years out: Townsend said the companies who operate the delivery robots will have to execute testing and map the streets. She also pointed out the benefits that the technology could bring to residents who are unable to leave their homes or live far from grocery stores. I think its a great balance of whats needed, and theyre welcome here in this state, she said. Townsend also opposed to the notion that the technology would take away jobs from other delivery jobs; rather, she thinks it will create jobs for people to operate and maintain the technology. HB2522: Penalties for car crashes Ducey signed a bill that increases penalties car crashes that cause serious physical injury or fatalities. Courts will be able to suspend driving privileges for 180 days instead up to 90 days for violations that result in physical injury, and up to a year instead of 180 days for violations that result in death. It also increases a cap on restitution from $10,000 to $100,000, among other changes to how penalties are classified. Some Democrats voted against the measure. HB2254: Minimum limits for vehicle insurance Ducey also vetoed a measure that wouldve increased the minimum liability limits that Arizona drivers would have to carry on their car insurance. Starting in July 2019, drivers getting new car insurance policies would have had to carry higher minimum policies one change wouldve hiked the limit for injury or death from $15,000 to $25,000. Ducey said in his veto letter that while he was open to the idea of revising minimum liability limits, he was concerned about increased premium costs for individuals who rely on affordable plans. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The California Senate approved legislation Thursday 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. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. A teenager who started a huge wildfire in the scenic Columbia River Gorge in Oregon will owe restitution for a t least a decade. Eleven requests for restitution totaling almost $37 million have been submitted to a court. That covers the costs of firefighting, repair and restoration to the gorge and damage to homes. At a hearing last week, the lawyer for the 15-year-old defendant urged Hood River County Judge John Olson to impose a reasonable and rational amount of restitution. The attorney, Jack Morris, said ordering a boy who is indigent to pay $37 million is absurd. The judge said he has reviewed prior juvenile restitution cases in Oregon, and the largest figure he could find was for $114,000. 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. It is an extraordinary amount of restitution being sought, Olson said. The teen from Vancouver, Washington, did not attend the hearing. He pleaded guilty in February 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 teen said he threw one firework that exploded in the air along a trail and a second one that had a longer fuse and ignited brush when it hit the ground. The flames spread quickly, forcing evacuations and the extended shutdown of a major interstate highway. Beyond the temporary inconveniences, the fire blackened the crown jewel of an outdoors-loving region for years to come. 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. Anger at the boy was so intense that authorities withheld his name to protect his safety. Hes listed in court papers as A.B. I get to look at torched Angels Rest every day. It will never be the same, farmer Paul Smith said before Thursdays hearing, referring to a bluff. You cant financially quantify the damage hes done. The U.S. Forest Service is seeking $21 million in payments and the Oregon Department of Transportation wants $12.5 million. The other requests for restitution range from $4,563 to $1.6 million. The restitution is solely the responsibility of the teen, not his parents, who came to the U.S. from Ukraine. 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. Hood River County District Attorney John Sewell said state law gives the judge some leeway in restitution cases, such as halting payments after 10 years if the teen stays out of trouble or deciding not to garnish wages. Its not as draconian and absolutist as defense argues, Sewell said. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The takeaway from a recent court decision proceed cautiously when choosing the name of a home Wi-Fi network. The case arose when Jeffrey and Dona Hall changed their home wireless internet name to read Dennis & Wanda Irishes stocking u2. According to court documents, Wanda Irish had been the mayor of Harrison since 2010. Dennis Irish is her husband. Jeffrey and Dona Hall are the owners of the Gateway Marina in Harrison, and Jeffrey Hall is also a member of its City Council. The tension between the parties had been escalating for several years, mostly centering on Wanda Irishs role as mayor, and the Halls ownership of the Gateway Marina. The conflict between the two parties initially began in 2012, after the Halls boat and trailer were towed from a city-owned easement near the marina. When he discovered this, Jeffrey Hall made multiple phone calls to Wanda Irish and accused her of towing his boat. She denied the accusation. He continued to accuse Irish of towing his boat and placed posters in his car that stated, MAYOR IRISH LIED!!! and MAYOR IRISH LIES!!! Later that year, the Halls found several cameras around town and in the campground near the marina, which were later revealed to belong to Dennis Irish. The Irishes stated the security cameras were necessary to combat graffiti that had recently occurred around the city. In 2013, the Halls reported to the Kootenai County Sheriffs Office that Dennis Irish was stalking Dona Hall. The alleged incident took place when Dennis Irish and a business partner drove by Dona Hall while she stood near the side of a public road. Dennis Irish was cited for stalking, but the charges were later dropped. Tensions continued to mount when, in 2015, Jeffrey Hall confronted Wanda Irish while she was at work and accused her of holding secret meetings. That same year, he changed the Gateway Marinas wireless internet network name to, Mayor Wanda Irish Terrorist. Wanda Irish saw the wireless name on her cell phone and had an attorney send a cease and desist letter to the Halls. According to court documents, the Halls then changed the wireless networks name to, she really is a [t]errorist. They again changed the network name to read, [D]ennis and [W]anda Irish stocking u2. In August 2015, the Halls changed their home wireless network name to Move Irish. The Halls admit they named the wireless designations. In August 2015, the Irishes filed a complaint claiming defamatory slander against the Halls. The complaint sought an injunction, damages attorneys fees and costs. A three-day jury trial was scheduled, but after the first day at the close of the Irishes presentation of evidence, the Halls attorney made a motion for a directed verdict. The district court granted the directed verdict in favor of the Halls, and subsequently entered judgment on December 1, 2016. The district court stated, defamation is a morass of gray areas. Its very difficult to prove. It kind of reminds me of the Shrek movie when Shrek talks about onions and having layers and you peel back a layer and theres another layer and another layer and another layer. The district court pointed to the name, Dennis and Wanda stocking U2, and questioned who they might be talking about. The misspelling of stalking offered more questions than answers, according to the district court. The court granted the Halls motion for a directed verdict and concluded that the statements made by the Halls about the Irishes were published, but that they were opinions, exaggeration, and hyperbole, and as such not defamatory. The district court found that the name was an opinion protected under the First Amendment. In February 2017, the district court granted the Halls request for costs, but denied their request for attorneys fees, stating the case was not frivolous, unreasonable or without foundation. The Irishes appealed the district courts and the Halls filed a cross appeal challenging the district courts denial of attorneys fees. The Idaho Supreme Court vacated the district courts order granting a directed verdict, affirmed the denial of attorney fees and remanded the case to the lower court. The high court found that the district court correctly determined the wireless designation [D]ennis and [W]anda Irish stocking u2 was published. Wanda Irish provided a screenshot from her cell phone screen displaying the wireless designation, admitted without objection as an evidence exhibit at trial. Additionally, the court confirmed the wireless name was seen by other members of the Harrison community. Wanda Irish testified that she became aware of the wireless name because community members told her about it. The Idaho Supreme Court found that despite the word stalking being misspelled to read stocking, as was pointed out by the trial judge, it was not plain or unambiguous what was intended by the word. As a result, the court found that it is up to a jury to decide if the statement was defamatory. Once a final judgment is rendered in the matter, the high court further directed the district court to determine the prevailing party and whether it is entitled to attorney fees related to the appeal. The case is Dennis and Wanda Irish v. Jeffrey and Dona Hall docket 44794 AKRON, Ohio - The Akron Police Department will soon be outfitted with new Tasers, helmets and other safety equipment, thanks to taxpayer money coming in from Issue 4. City Council on Monday approved an ordinance allocating nearly $500,000 for police gear and office equipment, including: $400,000 for Tasers and related equipment; $51,000 for ballistic helmets and vests: and $21,500 for cubicles offering Crime Scene Unit detectives separate work areas. Issue 4 is a .25 percent income tax increase approved by voters last November to support Akron fire and police departments, and fix Akron roadways. In its first year, Issue 4 will generate about $13 million, divided equally between the recipients. In a full year, the tax is expected to bring in about $16 million. Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. AKRON, Ohio -- In a true turning of tides, the Akron Baptist Church has been purchased by The Word Church. The Akron Baptist Temple was founded on segregation and grew to become a megachurch. The Word Church, which is predominantly black, has locations in Warrensville, Cleveland and Akron. The Baptist temple, appraised at $40 million, was put up for sale in 2015 for $3.3 million, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. It recently sold to the Word Church for $1.5 million, which The Word's lead pastor, Dr. R.A. Vernon, called a "heyday" in a video on the Word Church homepage. "They just decided we are the church they want to have it," Vernon said in the video. "I have never seen a facility like this." The 265,000-square-foot facility includes a gym, a nursery, a teen sanctuary and a main sanctuary. The church is located on nearly 30 acres on Manchester Road. The Word's first service in the former Baptist church, now The Word Church Akron, will be June 17. On that Sunday, Father's Day, the congregations from The Word Church and Akron Baptist Temple will both conduct services there, according to a news release. The Akron Baptist temple first opened in 1934 with 14 members at Rimer Elementary School in Akron. It was led by the late Rev. Dallas F. Billington, known, in part, for his strong support of segregation. When Billington died in 1972, his son, the late Rev. Charles Billington took over as pastor. Charles' son, Rev. Dallas R. Billington, also served as pastor, but left the church in 2014 to start a non-denominational church, the Beacon Journal reported. According to Charles Billington's obituary, Akron Baptist grew to nearly 7,000 parishioners by 1969. At one point, the church boasted the largest Sunday school in the world. During his ministry, the sanctuary was destroyed by fire, and Billington led the congregation in raising $8 million to restore the building. Akron Baptist Temple Rev. Ed Holland, who has served as pastor for 11 years, informed the congregation about the sale of the church during his May 13 sermons, the release stated. In the video, Holland talks about the first Rev. Billington's prejudice, saying he was a product of his Kentucky roots, which "slanted him to segregation." "It's something our church has repented of," Holland said. However, the sale of the church to The Word would likely not sit well with the original Billington. "I can't be honest and say that man would be overly thrilled," Holland said. However, Holland said he and Vernon had attended the same seminary, at a different time, and praised the The Word Church pastor. "I do believe that both theology and from anointing, Dr. Vernon is called of God," he said. "He is a man for this time." In his last sermon, Holland expressed "his gratefulness for the gracious opportunity The Word Church has afforded the Akron Baptist Temple to remain in the facilities as plans are finalized for church's relocation," the release stated. Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. BRUNSWICK, Ohio -- With plans to launch her own healthcare-related business this fall, Northern Medina Chamber Alliance President Melissa Krebs announced earlier this month that she will be stepping down after a decade at the helm. "After years of working with so many terrific community leaders and business owners, I've decided to try my hand at building my own business," Krebs said in a May 8 news release. "It has been a privilege to work with such great people over the years. In an ever-changing business climate, our chamber has continued to be on the front line of business advocacy and economic development," she said. "I'm proud of the work we've done as a group -- and will miss my day-to-day involvement as president. However, I look forward to working with the chamber in my new role as business owner," she said. Search is on 2017 Chamber Chair Mark Priebe called Krebs' plan to resign from her post to start her new business "probably the worst-kept secret in the county." That has, however, worked to the chamber's advantage as a committee kicks off the search for Krebs' replacement. "With sponsorships, memberships, legal issues, organizing events -- it is a full-time job," Priebe said, noting that the chamber is already fielding around 10 inquiries. "(The position) is open to anybody, but I feel it will be somebody who is intimately familiar with the businesses in northern Medina County and someone who likes people. "We have a lot of great people on a committee or two, but it could be somebody who isn't even a member. I know we will find the right person who is going to do a great job," Priebe said. Change agent During her tenure, Krebs saw increases in membership and the integration of the Brunswick Area and Valley City chambers of commerce to create the Northern Medina County Chamber Alliance. "You have to be the face of the chamber, in 50 places at once," Priebe said of Krebs. "She has been that." Priebe went on to say that Krebs has been "an incredibly motivated leader for our chamber and the community." "Her ability to advocate for business, build partnerships and move the organization forward has been invaluable," he said. "While we are sorry to see her go, we are fortunate to have benefited from Melissa's leadership." For more information or to apply for the position, visit the Northern Medina County Chamber Alliance website at http://nmccalliance.com/nmcca_president . Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry. BRUNSWICK, Ohio -- Defined by the Ohio Department of Education as a teacher who "demonstrates excellence inside and outside of the classroom through consistent leadership and focused collaboration to maximize student learning," a "master teacher" designation recognizes an educator as one of the tops in his or her field. Kidder Elementary School social studies and science teacher Cathleen Lee Peffer-Gregory recently found herself breathing that rarified air. At the May 21 Brunswick Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent Tracy Wheeler presented Peffer-Gregory with a plaque recognizing her achievement, adding that her status as a master teacher makes Peffer-Gregory eligible for an advanced teaching certificate. The Ohio Department of Education's criteria further states that in order to be named a master teacher, an educator must demonstrate consistent leadership, focused collaboration, distinguished teaching focusing on both content and students and environment, and continued professional growth. Peffer-Gregory said her accomplishment "brings a lot of pride to the Brunswick Schools," adding that she looks forward to broadening her personal horizons as an educator. "I also can't wait to bring this to my classroom, to show them what perseverance is all about," Peffer-Gregory added. Before-and-after-school contract Board members also approved a contract with Right At School for before- and after-school programming -- starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 6 p.m. -- beginning in the 2018-2019 school year. According to the company's website, Right At School "provides safe, engaging and meaningful in-school and extracurricular programs to enrich the lives of students, give parents peace of mind and enable schools to focus on their academic mission" both before and after school hours. The contract states that Right At School will be funded through student tuition and "shall be solely responsible for charging and collecting tuition from the parents of enrolled students." Right At School also agrees to pay the district "a portion of the tuition and fees (Right At School) collects" and will provide "sufficient staff to effectively fulfill (Right At School's) obligations under this agreement." The agreement adds, "The district has retained (Right At School) to perform the services because of its expertise and the skill and experience of its professional staff and personnel, and the skill and experience of its subcontractors." Meanwhile, Right At School requires a minimum of 15 students to be pre-registered in each school program by July 15 prior to the start of the academic year. If the number of pre-registered students in a program is below 15 on or after July 15, Right At School may choose to close the program with two weeks' written notice, according to the agreement. School bus purchase The board approved a resolution to participate in the Ohio Schools Council Cooperative School Bus Purchasing program as the district's bidding agent for one 25-passenger special needs bus. District Communications Director Amy Rutledge said the cost of the bus will be paid through a grant. Property purchase The board also authorized the district to contract for the $170,000 purchase of a residential property at 4269 Oxford Drive as part of the district's middle school construction project. Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry. CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland Clinic is moving forward with plans to build a 21,000-square-foot building that stores frozen tissue samples on its campus by 2019, the Clinic announced Monday. The state-of-the-art biorepository will help researchers study human tissues, and advance the field of personalized medicine for cancer, heart disease, epilepsy and other illnesses. Personalized medicine, in which treatments are tailored to specific patients, is the future of medicine, said Dr. Lara Jehi, principal investigator for the biorepository. It is still early days in the facility's planning. The Clinic has not determined a specific location, price tag or number of jobs it will create, a Clinic spokeswoman said. Hospital system planners also have been meeting with Fairfax neighborhood officials to determine an agreeable site. The facility will house thousands of frozen tissue samples collected from Clinic patients, Jehi said. Currently, tissue samples are stored in research labs across the hospital system. The proposed two-story biorepository will allow thousands of samples to be stored in one location, making it easier for researchers to answer longstanding questions about genetics, disease and the human body, Jehi said. "This will take patient care and research innovation to the next level," she said. Brooks Life Sciences, a worldwide provider of cryogenic services, will manage the biorepository, including storing and maintaining the tissue samples, the Clinic said in a press release. Brooks Life Sciences is a division of Brooks Automation, headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusettes. An early site plan presented to the Cleveland City Planning Commission in March placed the biorepository on Cedar Avenue at E. 103rd Street, on the southeastern edge of the Clinic's campus. The hospital system purchased Calvary Hill Baptist Church, the only remaining building on the potential site, in August 2017 for $1.2 million, according to property records. The congregation relocated in February. The current proposed location would place the biorepository between the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center to the west, and a new IBM office building to the east, according to press reports. Community leaders in the Fairfax neighborhood, where the Clinic is located, were pleased with talks held with the Clinic, and felt that all parties will be able to agree on a final location. Denise VanLeer, executive director of the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp., stressed that talks are ongoing about the biorepository's exact location, and that no final site decision has been made. "We are committed to making it work for them and for us," VanLeer said. "We are in a good place. We will keep talking until we figure it out." Fairfax will benefit because the biorepository can be leveraged to encourage other businesses to locate in the neighborhood. "That's how we're thinking," VanLeer said. She doubts that the biorepository will do much to ease unemployment in the neighborhood, since she thinks it will employ only a handful of skilled workers. "You can't come off the street and do those jobs," VanLeer said. Cleveland city councilman Blaine Griffin, whose Ward 6 includes the Clinic, said he appreciated how the hospital system worked with the community to identify the proposed biorepository location. "This was a positive step in relations between the Cleveland Clinic and the community," Griffin said. CLEVELAND, Ohio - FirstEnergy's power plant subsidiaries have not put enough money into federally mandated decommissioning trust funds to pay for the shutdown and cleanup of each of its four nuclear reactors, charges an environmental group with a reputation as a legally effective environmental advocate. The Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center, or ELPC, made that charge in a petition filed in March with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The ELPC's intervention in the Peabody Energy bankruptcy led to the court requiring that company to purchase $1.2 billion in surety bonds to guarantee clean up. The ELPC wants the NRC to hold parent company FirstEnergy Corp. responsible for bankrolling what it argues could well be a multi-billion reactor cleanup shortfall, which taxpayers or customers could be forced to pay. The ELPC petitioned the NRC just days before the FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection on March 31 and the FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. told the NRC it would close its nuclear plants within two years. Now the ELPC, joined by the New York-based Environmental Defense Fund, the Ohio Environmental Council and Ohio Citizen Action, have intervened in the bankruptcy case under way in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The groups want Judge Alan Koshik to "lift" the normal "stay" on legal action that companies seeking bankruptcy protection are normally afforded. "[We] are not seeking a money judgment, but, instead, are seeking leave to continue pursuing the legal and administrative remedies afforded them under federal and state laws and their constitutional right to petition their government," the environmental groups argued in their 96-page petition filed with the bankruptcy court. In other words, they want the judge to allow their action at the NRC to continue unimpeded by a decision in the bankruptcy case preventing it. A spokesman for FES and FENOC had no comment. The ELPC has asked the court for a June 8 hearing on its motion. The bottom line of the ELPC petition before both the NRC and the bankruptcy court is that decommissioning shortfalls are pretty much inevitable, given that the reactors will be closed well before the company planned to close them -- and that FirstEnergy should be legally required to provide the ultimate guarantee of funding. "New information made available post [bankruptcy] petition is relevant to the NRC's consideration of the ELPC petition. Likewise the NRC's determinations may be relevant to this Court's evaluation of the Debtors' (FES and FENOC) plan of re-organization," lawyers for the environmental groups wrote. By federal law, FES and FENOC can take up to 60 years to finish removing the radioactive materials and returning the land to other uses. Parent company FirstEnergy has at least once in the past five years stepped in to guarantee the adequacy of the decommissioning funds for one of the company's Beaver Valley reactors. Gains in the investment markets fixed the problem. As of March 2017, the NRC was satisfied that the decommissioning funds for each of FirstEnergy's four reactors was adequate and no further guarantee from the parent company was required. The commission is currently evaluating the decommissioning funds of all of the nation's reactors. At this point, the owners of 20 reactors have informed the NRC they are shutting down before previously planned. The commission regularly looks at the adequacy of every reactor's decommissioning funds, said Shawn Harwell, an NRC financial analyst. "If I find a shortfall, it is up to the licensees to find a solution. Not my solution. It is their solution." The ELPC is alleging in its petition before the NRC that FES and FENOC are already guilty of violating federal law because of what ELPC believes are multi-billion dollar shortfalls in funds to demolish and clean up the Perry nuclear plant in Lake County and the two-reactor Beaver Valley plant near Pittsburgh. The ELPC reaches this conclusion, in part, because FES and FENOC used a general NRC formula to figure the cleanup cost for the two plants rather than a site-specific calculation, which the ELPC argues would be more accurate, given that no two power plant sites are the same. In its petition to the NRC, the ELPC also argues "when properly estimated, the same might be the case with the Davis-Besse nuclear plant." Just the Facts: CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- After more than 18 months, a Haitian refugee continues to languish in a Chardon jail cell as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials wait on appeals courts for a sympathetic ear. In the meantime, Cleveland Heights Municipal Court Magistrate Gary Benjamin and his wife, Melody Hart, have been giving theirs to imprisoned ethics teacher Ansly Damus. At least once a week, they have been traveling to the Geauga County Safety Center -- listed as ICE's "Detroit Field Office" -- for the 30-minute intervals allowed during visiting hours there. "We don't actually get to see Ansly -- it's all conducted through TV monitors from his cell," said Benjamin, who has been holding meetings at home to launch a petition drive seeking to free Damus. Separately, the American Civil Liberties Union has also been involved, with attorneys there noting that a judge has already granted Damus asylum -- twice. But no parole was granted due to the government appealing those rulings. "ICE's reason for denying him parole was that he didn't have 'sufficient ties' to the U.S.," ACLU detention attorney Stephen Kang noted May 14 on the organization's "Speak Freely" blog. Kang, working with the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, added that Damus has already showed that he has a friend with lawful status with whom he could live, as well as letters of support from other community members. In fact, that support includes Hart and Benjamin. "Mel and I have offered to sponsor him," Benjamin said. "And ICE turned it down, claiming Ansly is a 'flight risk.'" One place that Damus won't be fleeing to anytime soon is Haiti. In September 2014, while discussing the problem of local corruption at a youth seminar, he identified a local politician as working with gangs to "terrorize the population." Later that day, he was beaten by members of a local gang after they pulled him off his motorcycle and burned it, leaving him with broken bones and scars and further threatening his life. He left the country 10 days later and spent 18 months in Brazil, starting out at a refugee camp and eventually making his way north through Mexico, arriving at the California border to seek asylum, which was initially granted. He was interviewed by an officer who found that he had "credible fear of persecution" and, in April 2017, a judge granted his asylum application. The government appealed, leading to a second hearing, with the judge again granting Damus asylum in January, but the Board of Immigration Appeals calling for more proceedings. "'Safety Center' is a strange name for a jail with no outdoor space, where immigrant detainees are kept in windowless rooms," Damus wrote on the ACLU's "Speak Freely" blog in March. His article was translated from Haitian Creole. Benjamin noted that Damus is fluent in French, Spanish and Portuguese as well, less so in English. "I have not felt fresh air in my lungs or the sun on my face for more than a year," Damus said at the time. "Some would call it detention, a euphemism. But I am a human being trapped behind metal bars and walls, with no access to the outdoors, the Internet, or email." While he spends his days in "near-total isolation," Hart and Dr. Chantal Dothey, a retired pediatrician who speaks fluent French, have found Damus' wife on Facebook. The couple have two young children who are still with her in Haiti. "Right now, we have sent letters to Haiti through a staff member of the National Episcopal Church who visits there on occasion to deliver to Ansly's wife," Benjamin said, noting that the emissary left May 19. "She is looking forward to receiving the letters, and Ansly wrote to his children as well." Meanwhile, Cleveland Heights City Council has formed an Immigration Task Force to discuss issues that include future cooperation with ICE agents. And as of last week, Leonor Garcia remained holed up in a makeshift apartment at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, which declared "sanctuary" status last September to protect her from deportation. An undocumented alien for more than 20 years, Garcia said earlier that her four children were still living in their Akron home and visiting her at the church on weekends. Benjamin noted that a more general petition is available on the ACLU website protesting the government's current immigration policies. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Monday, Gwen Haspel was sworn in as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. And Rod Rosenstein survived another day as deputy Attorney General by conceding to President Trump's demands that investigators investigate the investigation of him and his presidential campaign. Haspel becomes the first woman to serve as CIA director. She'll also be the first woman CIA director who oversaw a CIA 'black site' where terrorism suspects were waterboarded. At her supervisors direction, Haspel wrote the orders to destroy 92 videotapes of the "enhanced interrogation" techniques. As a career covert officer, Haspel's confirmation was supported by both Republican and Democrat members of Congress and former government officials. In her confirmation hearing, Haspel said she "would not restart, under any circumstances, an interrogation program at the CIA," even if pressed to do so by President Trump. It's no longer much of political cartoon stretch to suggest Trump might want to have Rod Rosenstein, Christopher Wray and Robert Mueller waterboarded at some point. Monday, Rosenstein and Wray caved to Trump's demand that the investigation of his campaign be investigated and that classified information be shared with compromised Congressional Trump lap dogs, like Rep. Devin Nunes. After Rosenstein,Wray and John Kelly met with Trump, The White House released the following statements: "Based on the meeting with the President, the Department of Justice has asked the Inspector General to expand its current investigation to included any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's or the Department of Justice'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." During Haspel's confirmation hearing, Trump gave Nunes a shout out, calling him a "very courageous man." Nunes has abused his oversight role as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee to give Trump oversight into Robert Mueller's investigation. As a member of the Trump campaign's transition team, Nunes should have recused himself from all aspects of the investigation, instead he has aided and abetted Trump's blatant attempts to obstruct the investigation, fully enabled by House Speaker Paul Ryan. The claim that the FBI had planted a spy on the Trump campaign staff is turning out to be fake news. The real story was that foreign intel had tipped off U.S. intel that the Russians may be interfering with the U.S. election and making connections with the Trump campaign. Using proper investigation procedures, a foreign FBI informant made contact with Trump campaign advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos while they were overseas. Papadopoulos was one of the first to be indicted and plead guilty in Mueller's investigation. Rosenstein and Wray were in a tough spot. Trump demanding that the investigation be investigated, a U.S. source be outed, and that confidential investigation information be shared with discredited individuals like Nunes, would more tham justify Rosenstein and Wray resigning in protest. But the resignations would further play into Trump's corrupt hands. Rosenstein and Wray bought themselves and Mueller more time. It's often said that the only one who really knows what Mueller has on Trump is Mueller. So does Rosenstein. And that knowledge is shaping chess moves like the one he just made in response to tic tac toe Trump. EUCLID, Ohio - Diamonds are forever - and so are the memories of prom for Euclid High School students. On May 17, they danced the night away at a dazzling "Evening in Diamonds"-themed event at LaMalfa Party Center. Students embraced the theme with glittery, shimmery dresses, dapper suits and timeless attire with modern touches. Browse through all of our photos for glimpse at the stunning looks. Photos courtesy of Euclid High School You can check out photos from other Northeast Ohio proms at cleveland.com/prom. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Federal law enforcement agencies in Cleveland have begun to focus their efforts on tackling drug distribution networks involving the dark web, along with a more focused approach at targeting dealers whose drugs kill multiple customers. U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said tackling the opioid crisis in Northeast Ohio requires a multi-pronged approach involving hospitals and public health agencies. Herdman said the approach is showing its first signs of working. Drops in deadly overdoses were reported in Cuyahoga, Trumbull and Summit counties since at least the beginning of 2018. Law enforcement honed in on the roots of the opiate crisis by focusing on intercepting fentanyl shipments from overseas that are ordered online and shipped to Cleveland through the mail or commercial carriers, Herdman said. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency set up a new opiate-death investigation squad that focuses on conducting investigations into dealers whose drugs kill customers. It's one of only a handful of such squads in cities across the country. Herdman said agents are getting better at tackling cases that involve overseas distribution of fentanyl via the dark web, which allows dealers to buy the drugs online, something they never had to do before fentanyl hit the streets in Cleveland sometime in late 2014. He pointed to recent seizure of 280 grams of fentanyl in Toledo, 100 grams of carfentanil and 44 pounds of heroin in Akron and another seizure of 250 grams of carfentanil in Euclid as successes federal agents had in keeping some of the deadlier drugs out of user's hands. "We have definitely seen an uptick in cases that are brought by agencies that are targeting fentanyl distribution networks," Herdman said. "We've been increasingly successful, in some ways in a dramatic way, on identifying those networks and disrupting them. Maybe there was a learning curve associated with that. We're not dealing with the same distribution networks we were dealing with 10 years ago." He also said that with the public-awareness push regarding the crisis, users are starting to use the drugs in groups with naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote, at hand in case someone uses a drug with a higher amount of fentanyl or carfentail, which can be deadly with just a little mixed in with heroin or cocaine. Herdman said they've only seen a few indications of these incidents. "Most people who are addicted are aware that what they're putting into their body is probably not heroin. It's fentanyl, or carfentanil or it's some other fentanyl analog and that they have to take precautions when using it, whether they use in a group or sequentially in a group, whatever it is," Herdman said. "I think that contributes too. Anyone who buys anything has to assume it has fentanyl in it. Cocaine, pills, whatever, it not just can kill you, it will kill you." Herdman's office, along with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley, have focused on prosecuting more drug dealers in cases where users have died. The two offices work together on the cases and decide which office will be able to get more prison time for the dealers under Ohio and federal laws. Dealers face a minimum of 20 years in prison under federal law if prosecutors can link their drugs to someone's death, unless they strike plea agreements. That approach has been criticized by advocates who say the lines are often blurry between dealers who sell deadly drugs and users who sometimes procure drugs for friends. Herdman said his office focuses on dealers whose drugs have caused several overdoses. Herdman said he expects to have a double-digit increase in opiate-death prosecutions in 2018. "Law enforcement has adjusted and adapted very flexibly in the wake of this crisis," Herdman said. "We're just starting to see the impact in the number of deaths." COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Inmates at Ohio's Marion Correctional Institution assembled several dozen computers from various parts, pirated software and illegally copied movies to broadcast on the prison movie network, an investigation from the state inspector general has found. The findings, released in a report Tuesday, stemmed from a previous 2017 investigation that found inmates hacked into the prison network, stole fellow prisoners' personal information and applied for credit cards in their names. Both investigations found inmates were allowed to refurbish computers, illegally download files and access data-wiping software as late as 2016. Inspector General Randall Meyer referred Tuesday's report to the state auditor. The Ohio State Highway Patrol referred its investigation to the Marion County prosecutor for possible criminal charges. The three employees mentioned in Tuesday's report, including then-Warden Jason Bunting, are no longer employed by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, an agency spokeswoman said. Inmates working for the Ohio Penal Industries' Prison News Network told investigators in August 2016 they copied movies rented by prison employees to computers, according to the report. The movies were then shown on the prison movie channel, which violated copyright law and the prison's contracts with two film distributing companies. Cleveland nonprofit RET3 had contracted with Marion Correctional to disassemble and recycle donated computers. A former inmate who worked for RET3 after leaving prison smuggled a one-terabyte hard drive into the prison through an IT worker named Carl "Gene" Brady, according to the report. The hard drive was stored in a printer in the Ohio Penal Industries area. State investigators found illegal software on the hard drive, as well as photos and videos. Inmates told investigators that Brady and other prison staff allowed them to rebuild computers, which contained personal information of the devices' previous owners. "But everybody was just putting their own computers together -- I'm telling you this place was wide open for 10 years," inmate Kevin Kingle told investigators. "There were hard drives everywhere. I mean it was just like we were on the streets." Another inmate, who flagged the contraband hard drive for prison officials after he faced punishment for possessing contraband of his own, said he saw individuals' business records and credit card information on the computers. "I have had people's last will and testaments on the computer," David Dean told investigators. "We get fully loaded computers that people unplug and donate. We read everything. We took anything we wanted off these computers." Investigators counted 28 computers of different brands in the Prison News Network space that were not properly identified with serial numbers. Prison officials couldn't vouch for buying the various computer parts, and investigators concluded several state information technology rules were violated. State prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said the agency has implemented many of the inspector general's recommendations and will take any additional steps necessary to prevent such actions in the future. "It is important that safeguards are in place regarding inmate access to technology, while still providing opportunities for meaningful and rehabilitative programming," Smith said. Click here to download the inspector general's report. WASHINGTON - A volunteer advisory board for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative programs has gone dormant under President Donald Trump, and Reps. Dave Joyce and Marcy Kaptur want to make sure it's revived. On Tuesday, Joyce, a Bainbridge Township Republican, and Kaptur, a Toledo Democrat, sent a letter that urges EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to maintain the Great Lakes Advisory Board. The 14-member group has representatives from business, agriculture, foundations, academia, environmental groups, and state, local and tribal governments. The board is supposed to issue advice and recommendations to Pruitt. All the board member terms have expired, and the board's charter expires next month, a Kaptur spokesman said. Even though Pruitt told Joyce he'd work with Congress to address the matter, the pair said they "understand EPA is considering abolishing or replacing the board." Administrator Pruitt also said he has no plans to eliminate the Great Lakes Advisory Board, which allows stakeholders to provide needed advice to the EPA Administrator. This is all encouraging news for the Great Lakes and its surrounding region. pic.twitter.com/uVGYT9DDkN Dave Joyce (@RepDaveJoyce) April 26, 2018 The Board, composed "of many of the region's most respected experts - has provided invaluable advice for the guidance of the GLRI to the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force and the Great Lakes Regional Working Group," said the letter, signed by 24 members of Congress from both parties, including Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights. Great Lakes Advisory Board member Molly Flanagan said the board gives stakeholders a formal way to provide input to EPA on lake protection and restoration issues. Some of its suggestions have been included in EPA action plans to address lake problems, said Flanagan, an Alliance for the Great Lakes vice president. An EPA spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about the letter sent by Joyce and Kaptur. Although the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to gut funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Congress has kept its yearly funding steady at around $300 million - the amount the current spending bill before the House Appropriations Committee would provide. GLRI programs are intended to restore and protect the world's largest system of fresh water. PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) -- Police surrounded an apartment building in northern Florida and exchanged heavy gunfire with a suspect barricaded inside Tuesday, and at least one person was injured, officials said. Nearby businesses and schools were evacuated and several police agencies responded to the incident in Panama City, where some witnesses reported hearing more than 50 shots. Kim Allagood, owner of a nearby pizza restaurant, said "tons and tons" of police descended on the area and she locked down her restaurant for close to two hours amid sporadic shooting. One civilian suffered minor injuries, and the incident was continuing, city spokeswoman Caitlyn Lawrence said mid-afternoon. Police in nearby Walton County said on their official Twitter account that the incident was tied to a suspicious death in Santa Rosa Beach, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest along the Florida coast from Panama City. But they did not immediately release more details. Walton County police also were at the scene in Panama City. Some initial media reports suggested the suspect was holed up in bank near the apartment building. However Jeremy King, a spokesman for Regions Bank, said the shooter was not in the bank and he had no information that the suspect was ever inside the bank. Florida Gov. Rick Scott talked to Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford about the situation in Panama City. John Tupps, a spokesman for Scott, said the main point of the call was to offer state law enforcement assistance. Storm strength is winding down, and there are currently no severe thunderstorms in Northeast Ohio. A few random spurts of showers are possible through 6 p.m., but the worst of it is over. Check out what's ahead for Wednesday on cleveland.com/weather. Thanks for joining my live updates! Kelly Reardon PARMA, Ohio, -- One person was hurt in a Tuesday morning propane explosion at a trucking company in Parma, officials say. The explosion happened about 11:30 a.m. at the ABF trucking company on Chevy Boulevard near Snow Road, Parma fire spokesman T.J. Martin said. Paramedics took the injured person to MetroHealth for treatment. A current condition was not immediately available. The explosion happened as propane tanks were being filled. One tank sparked and caused several others to explode. Investigators believe the over-pressurization of a smaller tank used as a fuel source for commercial tow trucks and forklifts triggered the chain of events, Martin said. Firefighters were met with heavy smoke and flames from the rear of the building where propane is filled and stored, Martin said. A propane transport was destroyed by the fire. "ABF Freight has an exemplary safety record within the community and places a high value on the safety of their employees and the surrounding community," Martin said in a statement. "Propane, as used in the commercial environment, is common for its use in forklifts and other industrial vehicles. " The Parma Fire Department, fire prevention and investigation unit is working with the State Fire Marshals Office to determine the cause and where it started. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section. SOLON, Ohio -- Homeowners in Solon whose properties bound the proposed Solon to Chagrin Falls Trail are mobilizing in opposition to it. "Never before in my life have I seen a community get so actively involved in an issue as we have right now," Mark Presser, president of the Solon Homeowners Association, said in a recent interview. "The trail is so close to peoples' homes that everyone fears for their safety, and it is an invasion of privacy," he said. Presser, whose own home is within less than 50 feet from where the trail would run, says six homes on his street are within 19 to 35 feet of the trail. A walk along its would-be path -- without measuring distances -- seems to confirm that claim. Presser says the trail would "directly affect" homes on at least 16 streets in Solon. "We are having dialogue (with city officials who support the trail), but I will not be satisfied until this nonsense stops, and we will do anything we can to stop this trail from happening," Presser said. "Don't get me wrong: We're not opposed to trails. We all love trails. Just not right in our back yards," he said. Presser said some 200 residents are involved in the movement to stop the asphalt trail's construction and that the number continues to grow. The informal group has held various meetings, is creating mailings and has a smartphone app. Solon Mayor Ed Kraus, a staunch supporter of the trail, said he "absolutely" understands the concerns of residents. Solon's City Council will decide if the proposed trail will be constructed. "I've walked it myself," said Kraus, who hosted an animated Town Hall meeting with both trail proponents and opponents on April 23. "I've met with residents on multiple occasions. I have seen the (trail's) proximity (to homes). "It's very concerning to me. We are trying to accommodate everybody's interests. There are two concerns -- privacy and safety. We have to work with each resident. We will take time to work with each individual homeowner. (Meetings with residents) are very helpful to me. I get to hear concerns directly. I take it seriously," he said. Kraus said the project is "in kind of a holding pattern" until the city learns if it will receive a grant through the Clean Ohio Trails Fund, which can make as much as $500,000 available for individual "rails-to-trails" projects. Kraus expects to learn if the city will get the grant by October. Council would then approve or reject the project. The estimated construction cost for the 2.1-mile, 10-foot wide section of trail in Solon is $1 million. City officials have been informed that the city would receive $300,000 from Ohio's capital budget should the project proceed, and Kraus says the Solon business community has interest in supporting the trail, as well. The approximately 4-mile hiking/biking trail along the former and partially abandoned Chagrin Falls and Southern Railroad would extend from the Carter Lumber property next to the Sears site in Solon, then into Bentleyville, through the Cleveland Metroparks and on to Chagrin Falls. Officials believe that if the trail is approved, construction could begin around the middle of next year. Homeowners who would be most affected by the trail are concerned that property values would decrease. Presser says parking for trail users would be on neighborhood streets. "So, we anticipate people cutting through our yards to get to this trail, and by cutting through the yards, our general liability insurance will go up," he said. "Again, the fear factor of people breaking into your house or looking into your home, seeing what you're doing on your deck .... It's just not a good situation." Some of the homeowners along the trail enjoy a pond or small lake that borders their yards. Presser says liability insurance costs are already high because of the water, and he cites other concerns, as well. "Our wildlife will be taken from us," he said. "We're talking deer, great blue herons, ducks, Canada geese. As soon as they start tearing up the land for the trail, the wildlife will cease to exist here. "Erosion. As soon as they start digging for the trail, when excavation begins .... we have an erosion problem as it is. It will just intensify at that point. So, we're talking property damage." Presser believes the serenity and aesthetics of living in affected neighborhoods would be negatively impacted by the trail. "They want to put up a fence (along the trail)," Presser said of trail planners. "That's going to change the area from a woodsy, homey kind of area with a little lake on it in places to an ugly trail that's going to be asphalt and fenced in. They're also planning to put outhouses on the asphalt, so we'll have the smell, we'll have the waste." Kraus said he believes Solon would reap benefits from the proposed trail. "I'm an advocate for trails, including when we can (potentially) connect them to businesses, and for the exercise aspect, and the opportunity for people to see nature," he said. "It would be an asset, and the connectivity and walkability are very important to me, but at the same time, we have to be mindful of residents' concerns." Solon currently has three trails: the Hawthorn Parkway; the Pettibone/Liberty Road Trail; and the Solon Community Center Trail. Another proposed trail is the Cleveland to Youngstown Trail, which would be part of a national network. It would run through Solon, but as of now, the city has no financial involvement in the project. STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- Giant Eagle has proposed building a GetGo Cafe + Market and gas station at the northwest corner of Ohio 82 and Webster Road. The deal would include transferring several acres of land to Cleveland Metroparks' Mill Stream Run Reservation, which is directly west of the proposed GetGo site. To make it all happen, the grocery store chain, headquartered in Pittsburgh, would need Strongsville voters -- possibly in November -- to rezone most of the land. The rezoning would have to pass citywide as well as in Ward 1, where the project is located. The city's Planning Commission has already given the rezoning a favorable recommendation. City Council is expected tonight (May 21) to schedule a public hearing on the rezoning, possibly for July 2. It wasn't clear today why Giant Eagle chose this location for a GetGo. Historically, the company has built GetGo stations near its grocery stores. The only Giant Eagle in Strongsville -- a Giant Eagle Market District on Pearl Road south of Ohio 82 -- already has a GetGo to the south on Pearl. "We are actively evaluating opportunities to expand the GetGo Cafe + Market experience in Strongsville, where our other company locations have been well-received by customers," Giant Eagle spokesman Daniel Donovan told cleveland.com in an email. "We are working with the city of Strongsville and Metroparks on the project at the intersection of Royalton Road and Webster Road, but at this time we have no confirmed plans to announce," Donovan said. Jacqueline L. Gerling, Metroparks spokesperson, said the park system would preserve the land it receives -- about 23.9 acres -- and use it for "passive recreation." The proposed project site consists of four lots of various sizes and zoning classifications, measuring a total of about 311/2 acres. Two smaller lots, together measuring about 13/4 acres, are owned by Lori F. Catanzarite and Michael Catanzarite, part of the family that established Pat Catan's Arts and Crafts Stores. Nick Catanzarite, a real estate attorney with the Cleveland law firm Walter Haverfield LLP, is representing Giant Eagle in this project. Two larger lots, together measuring nearly 30 acres, are owned by Spirnak Family LP. Both lots contain single-family homes. A lot containing Hofer's Auto Service, at the very corner of Ohio 82 and Webster, and an isolated residential lot containing a home -- on Ohio 82 near the Metroparks' Valley Parkway -- are not part of the rezoning proposal. The GetGo would stand close to Ohio 82, directly west of Hofer's. Giant Eagle would create a new lot, measuring about 3.2 acres, for the service station, and rezone most of the lot from a local-business district to motorist-service district, which permits gas stations. Under the city charter, council can rezone that specific area on its own, without voter approval, because the rezoning would involve business districts only and not residential land. Giant Eagle would like to add a relatively thin strip of residential land to the rear of its proposed GetGo lot. That would require voter approval, because under the charter, any proposed rezoning of residential property must go to the ballot, with council's approval. Meanwhile, the rest of the 311/2 acres -- land to the north and west of the proposed GetGo -- would be rezoned into a public-facilities district and become part of the Metroparks Mill Stream Run Reservation. Most of the land earmarked for the Metroparks is residential, so voters would have to approve the proposed rezoning to public facilities. A thin, bowling-alley lot near Valley Parkway is commercial, so council could rezone that property on its own, if it chooses. "Converting the majority of the property to public facilities will limit the future retail development on Royalton Road," Giant Eagle and Nick Catanzarite said in their application to the city. "Further, Cleveland Metroparks will utilize the property to benefit the community." Since the GetGo project depends on voter approval, council won't rezone the business-district portions unless the residential rezonings clear the ballot, Councilman Matt Schonhut said. Next month's milestone summit between North Korea's Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump has major implications for China, which has geopolitical and security interests at stake on the Korean Peninsula. Chinese president Xi Jinping holds talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Dalian on May 7-8 2018. Ju Peng | Xinhua | Getty Images "Lurking in the background as a potential spoiler or helper in this drama is Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who sees both opportunity and peril," Fred Kempe, president and CEO of foreign policy think tank Atlantic Council, wrote in a recent note. The world's second-largest economy has long supported a nuclear-free region but strategists say its greatest priority is preventing North Korean regime collapse if the rogue state falls under the weight of sanctions, that could send a flood of citizens to China. For Beijing, "the right sort of peace deal could weaken the U.S. alliance with South Korea, reduce the threat of conflict and refugee flows on Chinese borders, and ultimately lead to the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea," said Kempe. Ending the U.S. military presence in South Korea a major prerequisite for Kim's administration to relinquish nuclear weapons is expected to boost China's goal of minimizing America's influence in Asia. What China wants Beijing and Pyongyang ultimately possess the same goals for the June 12 summit: get the White House to relax sanctions on the isolated nation, according to Gregory Kulacki, a China expert at the global security program of research and advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). "China and North Korea have cut their deal already," Kulacki said on a UCS podcast last week. That deal entails Xi's administration resuming some economic relations with Kim's government if the latter freezes missile and nuclear weapons tests, he explained. But "in order for China to open the economic door a little bit, there is going to have to be some relaxation of those sanctions, which means there's gonna have to be some concession from the United States," Kulacki continued, adding that such a scenario would constitute a victory for both Pyongyang and Beijing. During a meeting between Kim and Xi earlier this month their second visit in recent weeks the Chinese leader re-emphasized support for North Korea to stick to denuclearization while Kim was quoted as telling Xi that Pyongyang won't need to possess nuclear weapons if a "relevant party" drops its "hostile policy and security threats," evidently referring to the U.S. Shortly following that encounter, Trump said Kim was possibly being influenced by Xi. And this week, the U.S. president urged China to maintain a secure border with the pariah state. Trump tweet Ideally, China's outcome for the June 12 meeting is for "a soft landing," i.e. "a denuclearized North Korea that gradually carries out reform and opens up its society, which will make economic dynamism in the sub-region possible," said Ren Xiao, professor of international studies at Shanghai's Fudan University. What China doesn't want BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Reuters) - The European Union and South America's Mercosur bloc could reach a trade agreement this year, the president of the European Council said on Monday, following tensions between the two regional blocs during negotiations last month. "We think we're going to end negotiations toward the end of the year," said Ekaterina Zaharieva, the foreign affairs minister for Bulgaria, which now holds the rotating presidency for the EU. "But of course, it's much more important to have a good agreement than a worse but faster one," Zaharieva added in an interview with Reuters at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires. The latest round of trade talks, in April, made some progress on car exports but ended with finger-pointing about who was holding up a deal. Trade talks between the two regional blocs have intensified in recent years following more than a decade of stagnation, but plans to close a deal in late 2017 were derailed by differences over South American agricultural exports. Mercosur includes the grain- and beef-exporting nations of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. (Reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi, Writing by Mitra Taj, editing by G Crosse) Scores of Thai police ringed a Bangkok university early May 22 as protesters prepared to march to Government House to mark four years of junta rule, one of the largest acts of dissent since the military grabbed power. Anti-government protesters began marching in Bangkok on Tuesday from a university in the Thai capital to Government House to demand that the military government hold a general election by November. Government House and surrounding streets have been declared a no-go zone by police for the opposition march marking four years since a May 22, 2014, coup and have warned protesters not to defy a junta ban on public gatherings. Police set up barriers along some roads near the university and carried out security checks on Tuesday. More than 100 demonstrators walked in a line behind a truck with loudspeakers as police looked on, according to Reuters reporters at the scene. One of the protest organisers, Sirawith Seritiwat, also known as Ja New, said protesters planned to march peacefully. "I hope they will let us walk out. We have no intention to prolong today's activities. I think they will try to stop us ... we will not use violence," Sirawith told Reuters. Police said around 200 protesters had gathered. "Authorities will use the law 100 percent. If they walk out we will use the law immediately. We have put forces all around Government House ... if they come in to these areas there will be a prison sentence of up to 6 months," deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul told reporters. "Police have no weapons. They are carrying only batons," he said. Activists complained of a military crackdown ahead of the gathering. On Monday, Sunai Phasuk, Thai researcher at the New York-based Human Rights Watch group, said two activists had been held incommunicado at a secret detention centre. "Their alleged 'crime' is providing loud speakers for anti-junta rally," Sunai wrote on Twitter. They were later released. The junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order, is facing a public perception crisis, according to international and domestic polls that say corruption is as endemic as ever. The government has also repeatedly delayed the general election, which was first tentatively set for 2015, with the latest date now February 2019. Some fear the date could be pushed back again. Protests against military rule have taken place intermittently in Bangkok since the start of the year. Some of them have been led by young activists. Others have been attended by former "red shirts", or supporters of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in 2006 and fled abroad. His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted in the 2014 coup and also fled abroad before being convicted of corruption in absentia. Thailand has been rocked by pro- and anti-government street protests for more than a decade, some of them deadly. The military says it carried out the latest coup in 2014 to end the cycle of violence and street protests. Indians are discovering a quick though super-expensive way around the long wait for an American permanent residency. Vikram Kumar of AVG America Investments (l.) poses with his wife Pooja Chitgopekar and U.S. President Donald Trump. Source: AVG America Investments In a small conference room in a plush New Delhi hotel, a small audience is listening to a presentation on the quickest route to realizing the American dream. The U.S. firm AVG America Investments run by Shalabh Kumar's family, the largest Indian-American donor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign is trying to woo these people to spend $500,000 to secure a green card or permanent residency in the United States. The pitch The presentation starts with a video highlighting the Kumar family's Indian roots and political clout. Accompanied by Bollywood music and religious Hindu chants, the video shows the Kumar family celebrating the festival of Diwali with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, and hobnobbing with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political bigwigs both in India and the United States. They go on to explain the EB-5 visa program to the audience. In a nutshell: invest $500,000 in a project that employs at least 10 people in a designated high unemployment area in the United States, and would-be clients could secure a green card in about 18 to 24 months. At the moment, the EB-5 price is the same as it was 30 years ago. There are not many things you can buy today at 30-year-old prices. Aaron Schock former U.S. Congressman Alternately, they could invest $1 million in any project that employs 10 people, anywhere in the United States. The AVG group, for a fee, will guide clients through the process "The Indian market is quite hot right now. I travel to India every month. I see a five times increase in applications," Shalabh's son Vikram Kumar, who heads the venture, told CNBC. He had just returned from the northern India town of Chandigarh, where he said five people paid $5,000 to sign on the spot right after his presentation. An expensive gift Getting their first work visa, or H-1B, in the United States is getting tougher for Indians. Many wealthy families who are already spending about $250,000 on their kids' American education are not thinking twice about shelling out another half a million to secure their future there. While some Indians are buying it to enhance their children's careers, others are simply giving it as a gift because they like "living in New York," said a Delhi resident who has several friends and relatives invested in the EB-5 program. My daughter's dream is to study in Stanford University, and my son wants to pursue his master's in computer science. And they would want to work in the U.S. after that. Gajanan Uttamrao Mante There are still others, like those at the AVG presentation, who are willing to sell all their Indian assets for a chance at an EB-5 visa that will let them move to the United States with their families. The Employment Based Visa program, known as EB-5 for short, has existed for more than 30 years and remains the quickest and surest way to get a green card, provided applicants' source of funds is well documented and invested in legitimate projects. For the past decade, China has consumed more than 7,500 of the 10,000 visas allotted under EB-5 annually, according to official data. Each country is allowed to consume seven percent of the 10,000 visas, but when other countries do not use their allotted amount, they are given to other applicants waiting in line. That is usually China. India has never used the 700 visas reserved each year for Indian immigrants. Jumping in line But now things are changing. Rich Indians are willing to pay the price if they can jump the long queue to an American Green card. "Five years ago, there were less than 50 applications out of India. Now there are more then 500 a year, because the traditional route to a green card can take 10 to 12 years," said Vivek Tandon, CEO of EB5 BRICS an advisory firm, who has 150 clients out of India. One of his clients, a real estate developer from the western Indian city of Pune, "met Tandon on the internet" and after visiting his office in Los Angeles, decided to opt for the EB-5 program. "My daughter's dream is to study in Stanford University, and my son wants to pursue his master's in computer science. And they would want to work in the U.S. after that. I don't want them to get frustrated if they don't get an H-1B," said Gajanan Uttamrao Mante, who got his college degree from an Indian university and struggled to establish his real estate business. "Children should have a better quality of life," he told CNBC over the phone. It was a real hard sell about five years ago to get Indians to buy into this program, but now I see full page advertisements in Indian newspapers inviting people to EB-5 seminars. Sangeeta Kaul former EB-5 consultant Education consultants in India recommend getting the EB-5 visa while children are still in high school, as U.S. residents have a better acceptance rate into American colleges, and tuition is cheaper. Another possible advantage of an EB-5 visa is that its holders are investing in the country and not just purchasing a green card. A wise investment can earn their money back. Businessman Sandeep Singh of a small town called Mohali has applied for an EB-5 visa for his daughter and hopes to get his money back after five years. "If not,' he said, "it would be a very high price to pay." According to Sangeeta Kaul, who worked for an EB-5 consultant in the United States, "It was a real hard sell about five years ago to get Indians to buy into this program, but now I see full page advertisements in Indian newspapers inviting people to EB-5 seminars." 'Why are we the cheapest?' The reason for that focus on the Indian market now is two-fold: First, the Chinese market is saturated, Second, the price of the EB-5 visa is most likely to go up in September. "At the moment, the EB-5 price is the same as it was 30 years ago. There are not many things you can buy today at 30-year-old prices," said Aaron Schock, a former GOP Congressman from Illinois who sponsored the EB-5 Regional Center Extension Act in 2014. He resigned from office in the midst of a spending scandal the following year. Today, a select number of high-profile business leaders argue that college is not the key to professional prosperity often arguing that "college is not for everyone." While sky-high college costs make this theory attractive, it's not entirely true. Going to college greatly increases your lifetime earning potential and is one of the biggest predictors of business success just look at the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Companies run by business executives with undergraduate and graduate degrees dominate Fortune's annual list. Every CEO of one of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies went to college, and seven also earned a graduate degree. Of course, there are famous examples of successful college dropouts like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, but these tech titans are the exceptions to the rule most successful CEOs spend some serious time studying. Here's where the most powerful industry leaders hit the books and what they studied: If you're a recent college graduate or headed into your senior year of school and wondering where your generation is looking for work, here's a tip: try IBM, JP Morgan Chase, Amazon, Tesla and Deloitte. Those firms receive more entry-level job applications from college students than any other companies. That's according to a new annual report from Handshake, a "LinkedIn" for colleges and universities. This online platform connects over 9 million students with 250,000 employers, from corporations to nonprofits and government institutions. The data is based on 5.2 million applications that students and recent alumni across all 50 U.S. states submitted on Handshake over the past 12 months. It may not comes as a surprise that these companies, and others like them in technology and financial services, are at the top of the list. But some other firms winning the battle for the attention of the next generation of workers aren't exactly household names. Eighth among all companies receiving job applications for entry-level positions is Akuna Capital, a Chicago-based options trading firm. Graduating students wait for the start of New York University's commencement ceremony at Yankee Stadium, May 16, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Drew Angerer | Getty Images Akuna has been recruiting beyond the traditional finance/business schools, and many of the hiring companies tapping talent through Handshake have found employees from schools such as San Jose State University, Colorado State University and the University of South Florida, according to Handshake officials. Akuna said these specific schools aren't ones that it has hired from, but it does believe in going beyond the resume and considers candidates from a wide range of institutions. "It's a smart recruiting tactic that allows them to find untapped talent who may not be able to attend a top business school like a Penn or a Villanova, but still has the same skill set and potential as an employee," Handshake CEO Garrett Lord said in an email. "They get to avoid the recruiting battles that unfold between the Big 4 [consulting firms EY, PwC, Accenture and KPMG] and other large financial companies that compete for talent on top campuses," Lord added. The Handshake data is limited to companies that participate on its platform, but with 250,000 employers including all of the Fortune 1000, Handshake says that the companies investing more time and effort in recruiting and engaging students coming onto the job market are reflected in the annual report. "These companies are the ones that see the value of investing in strong entry-level talent recruitment and understand the long-term benefit engaging graduates who will hopefully grow with their company over time," Lord wrote. Many of these firms have strong rotational programs for interns or campus partnerships that help boost their relationship with universities and build deeper ties with students, Lord said. Handshake operates like a 'LinkedIn' for university and college students, offering a platform where 250,000 employers across the country, including corporations, governments and nonprofits, can perform outreach and recruit the next generation of workers. Handshake One example is IBM, which partners with Handshake on virtual events to break down regional barriers in recruitment. The platform is free to students and employers companies are not charged to post a job or connect with a school. Handshake did launch a premium feature six months ago that allows employers to pay for additional outreach efforts and branding, but not for job postings or applications. Universities pay a low yearly fee to use Handshake. 4 new ways that students are tackling the job market In addition to the top 25 firms (see full list below), the Handshake report revealed that the current generation of college students are rewriting the rules on resume writing, and seeking new types of jobs across an increasing number of cities. 1. Quantified skills are in, traditional soft skills are going away These terms are all out in resumes: hard worker, organized, self-motivated, reliable, quick learned, responsible, dedicated, personable. All of these words have seen a decline of between 30 percent and 60 percent. The keywords that are seeing huge growth in the past year, measured in hundreds of percent increases: creative problem solving, client relations, team lead, front-end, visualization, community engagement. 2. The job keywords that students are searching on more The following work terms have been the most popular in student searches in the past year, also seeing increases measured in the hundreds of percent: Remote, work study, data analysis, politics, mental health and machine learning. 3. New York, Chicago and San Francisco are the top draws, but not the only ones College students think regionally when it comes to jobs. In the West, they want to work in San Francisco; in the Northeast, they want to work in New York; in the Midwest, they want to work in Chicago; and in the Southeast, they want to work in Atlanta. These are also the top four cities for jobs overall. But some cities are more than pulling their weight based on population: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (No. 14 among cities); Palo Alto, California (No. 15); Cambridge, Massachusetts; (No. 16); and Orlando, Florida (No. 22). For three of those four cities, there is a correlation with the prominence of nearby institutions of higher education Stanford (Palo Alto), MIT and Harvard (Cambridge) and Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh). However, Palo Alto, Cambridge, and Pittsburgh made the top 20 rank by omitting on-campus employment and university-roles, so these numbers don't include jobs at the actual local institution. And the numbers also reflect interest in jobs within these cities from around the country, not just candidates located nearby. "It's notable because, while cities like New York and San Francisco are still some of the most popular with students, they're also becoming so expensive that it's difficult for most recent grads," said Lord. "It may be causing them to turn to less expensive cities like Pittsburgh or Orlando to start their career." 4. The public education sector is struggling Only 8 percent of students applying to jobs through Handshake applied to jobs in K-12 education, by far the lowest among major hiring areas beyond the private corporate sector: nonprofits (40 percent of applicants); federal agencies (30 percent of applicants); and local government (22 percent of applicants). These findings come at a time when teacher strikes across the country have highlighted the issues of public education pay and work conditions. "The demand for teachers is greater than the supply of students looking to enter the teaching profession," said Lord. 25 Most-popular employers for recent college grads The volcano eruption on Hawaii's Big Island is driving away some tourists from the affected area, but the rest of the island is "open for business," Gov. David Ige told CNBC on Tuesday. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, a popular tourist destination, has been shut down since the Kilauea volcano began spewing lava and toxic gases earlier this month. "The actual area of the eruption is a very, very small portion of Hawaii Island. Less than 1 percent of the land mass is actually impacted," Ige said on "Closing Bell." For the rest of the island, "visitor arrivals there are still strong," he added. Tourists watch ash plume rise from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island on May 15, 2018 in Volcano, Hawaii. Getty Images Tourism is the Big Island's largest industry. However, some vacationers are now not making the trip. Both Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean have cancelled stops at Hilo, the Big Island's port. And tourism authorities said summer bookings for hotels on the island have fallen almost 50 percent since the eruption started on May 3. Meanwhile, the closure of the national park is costing the island $166 million, the National Park Service said on Monday. The lost revenue rises to $222 million when some 2,000 jobs indirectly impacted by park tourists are included, according to a park service report. Ige also stressed the rest of the island chain is still seeing strong visitor arrivals. "Hawaii is still the destination. The rest of the islands are unaffected by what's happening at Kilauea." Living in high-risk lava zones Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal recently reported the state government encourages residents to live at the foot of the active volcano by effectively subsidizing insurance. Ige said the actual number of people attracted by that incentive is "very small." Instead, he said they are drawn to the area for the low cost of the land. However, he said the state will re-evaluate policies. "Many of the residents who live in the area know what the risks are, certainly," he said. "If there are anomalies in our insurance policies, we will make adjustments as appropriate." Reuters contributed to this report. WATCH: Eruptions from volcano destroy more than 40 structures AutoNation shares fell more than 3 percent on Tuesday, May 1, after the company posted a lower quarterly net profit due to higher interest expenses, narrower margins on new vehicle sales and costs for launching expanded repair parts operations. The largest U.S. auto retail chain's first-quarter net profit was in line with analyst expectations. Chief executive officer Mike Jackson told Reuters that investment costs for the repair parts business, part of a broader strategy to increase AutoNation's profits from higher-margin service and financing operations, should decline during the remainder of the year. "You will see leverage as we go deeper in the year," he said. AutoNation said its retail new vehicle sales overall fell 2 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, and gross profits from new vehicle sales declined an average of 8.2 percent. Sales of Detroit Three brands such as Chevrolet, Ford, and Chrysler were down while sales of Asian and European premium-brand vehicles increased. Jackson said AutoNation will act to reduce the inventory of vehicles it carries in response to rising interest costs for stocking cars and trucks. Jackson said he expects the shift by U.S. consumers toward trucks and sport utility vehicles that offer drivers and passengers a high seating position will continue, despite a recent increase in gasoline prices to more than $3 a gallon in some markets. "It would take $5 or 6 a gallon to reverse consumer behavior," Jackson said. Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based AutoNation reported first-quarter net income of 93 million or $1.01 per share, down from $98 million or 97 cents per share a year earlier. Analysts had expected earnings per share of $1.01. The company reported revenue of $5.26 billion, up from $5.14 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected revenue of $5.27 billion. In morning trading, AutoNation shares were down $1.50 at $44.69. CORRECTION: This AutoNation story was originally reported by Reuters on May 1, 2018, and erroneously published by CNBC on May 22, 2018. A Zipline drone delivers blood to a remote hospital in Rwanda. Cyril Ndegeya | AFP | Getty Images Blood-bearing drones zipping through the sky sounds something like a scene from apocalyptic science fiction. But for doctors in Rwanda, it's the default method of lifesaving medical-supply delivery. That's because of drone start-up Zipline International, a delivery and logistics company that launched in 2016 and operates the only autonomous drone system for delivering blood to remote hospitals in the African country. Blood is "expensive, lifesaving but doesn't last very long," Zipline co-founder and CEO Keller Rinaudo said. "So traditional supply chains do a very poor job of distributing it. Using drones, we can deliver blood 10 times as quickly as cars, on demand." Zipline has completed 300,000 km of autonomous flight across Rwanda a nation known for its mountainous geography, difficult weather and poor infrastructure delivering 7,000 units of blood over 5,000 flights. A doctor in Rwanda with a patient in need and too little blood on hand can send a text to Zipline with the blood type and number of units needed. The blood is loaded into a box with a parachute and onto an autonomous plane which drops the package at the designated hospital in 30 minutes or less. Zipline doesn't disclose operational costs but said the cost to deliver by drone is on par with traditional methods of delivery, like car or motorcycle. It can already reach more than 10 million people in Rwanda, and it's rapidly expanding. "By virtue of being the only company doing this, we're also learning faster," said Rinaudo, whose vision is to lead the logistics industry into an instant, automated drone-delivery future. "Everything about the service we provide is improving on a monthly basis." "It's very easy to do a demonstration flight over a few kilometers in perfect weather once, but very hard to run a fully automated system operating at national scale, capable of doing hundreds of flights a day in any weather, that people can rely on with their lives," Rinaudo said. Racing ahead of tech giants in drone-flying That experience puts Zipline well ahead of some of the largest tech companies in the world that are also exploring drone technology. It also earned it the No. 25 spot on the 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50 list. "The key competitive advantage Zipline has is the real production-scale experience with the parcel delivery. And whether the parcel contains blood or any other more (iPhone) or less (book) fragile product, from the technological and operational perspective it does not matter so much," said Michael Mazur, partner in PwC's Drone Powered Solutions practice, which estimates the size of the potential drone market at $127 billion. Mazur said the number of drone flights that Zipline conducts daily is likely more than all of the registered flights in the history of Amazon and Google's proof-of-concept efforts. Zipline has already increased its distribution center daily capacity from 50 to as high as 500 drone flights out of its first base in western Rwanda. It's also preparing to launch a second flight base in the coming months in the eastern half of the Central African country. That goal is tied to its recent launch of the world's fastest commercial drone, with a top speed of 128 km/h and a cruising speed of more than 101 km/h. "I don't think there are any U.S. or European companies that run as many flights as them," said Timothy Reuter, who heads the World Economic Forum's San Francisco-based drones project. Amazon has been experimenting with drone delivery for a small group of customers in Cambridge, England, where it also has a drone research lab. Alphabet's Google has started drone tests in Australia, but the experts say these efforts are nowhere near as evolved as Zipline's effort. "They didn't have the luxury of waiting around for years to launch their product and generate revenue," Reuter said. Zipline has been designing and building "from scratch" the relevant technology from flight computers, to the aircraft themselves, to the software to keep them on track for five years, Rinaudo said. The company recently redesigned its aircraft and autonomous systems to allow the planes to fly further with heavier cargo on board. The firm already has increased its delivery capacity 10-fold and has plans to launch in new countries "on a pretty consistent basis" starting later this year. The company has set up its launchers and landing rigs next to medical-supply warehouses in Rwanda, which serve as a central distribution point to reach the nations clinics and hospitals. A 15-ft-long cord wired between two robotic arms on the ground snags the drone's hook to capture it out of the sky. SOURCE: Magdalena Petrova CNBC Designing the technology is the easy part, according to the company it's integrating with national health systems that poses a challenge. Drone experts say, in fact, that Zipline's biggest advantage may not be in the drone itself but in the logistics knowledge that it's amassing. Reuter said Zipline is communicating with blood banks, health systems and clinics and learning how to most effectively communicate with clients. "It's difficult to do that at scale," he said. "The hard part of drone delivery is not making a drone that can carry something. It's building a service that can run every day, making thousands of deliveries in a reliable manner, and do so in an economically sustainable way," said Reuter, who has been to Zipline's first distribution center in Rwanda. "We believe Rwanda can serve as a model for the rest of the world in how to enable drone delivery." A goal of making all logistics instant and automated Zipline currently delivers blood only to hospitals in Rwanda, but it has much bigger plans. Zipline will start delivering vaccines, other medications and general medical supplies in the coming months. "In the long run, we think that all logistics will be instant and automated," Rinaudo said. "In the same way that the internet made moving information around the world very fast and very low cost, robotics can transform the way that we move around products." That carries implications for "the billions of people on the planet today who are largely cut off from global markets and e-commerce," he said. The firm has raised more than $114 million to date, according to PitchBook, from major backers like Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Visionnaire Ventures. It's currently valued at over $500 million. As Zipline continues to expand, and as companies like Amazon push communities' comfort level with drones, venture investor and Zipline board member Susan Choe said she expects Zipline to enter into large-scale global partnerships. "I saw Zipline as a globally impacting and now we're often hearing socially impacting type of a play, backed up by a world-class tech team," said Choe, who was a co-founder of VC firm Visionnaire Ventures and recently founded Katalyst Ventures to focus on impact investing. "Instant delivery will enable us to achieve 100 percent access to health care for every human on the planet," Rinaudo said. "It's not a complicated idea, and it's something that every family wants, no matter where you live." Zipline's logistics model could eventually make the leap from rural health care to the internet retail or freight sector, but that isn't critical to its success. "[Zipline] can perform 50 flights a day without a crash and on time, with a package untouched," PwC partner Mazur said. The number of drone flights it is able to successfully pilot on a daily basis already leads one to think of the opportunity in what's called "the last mile" of delivery: parcels sent by internet retailers and freight companies within metro areas of large cities. Mazur added, "That's why it is so interesting to think not only about how much this company can earn from health care but other sectors that can be promising." To date, Zipline's model in Rwanda is medium- to long-term flights, which might be most easily extended to oil rig and industrial site deliveries. Other drone start-ups have focused specifically on the urban delivery market, such as Menlo Park, California-based Matternet, which is currently delivering blood samples at hospitals over densely populated streets in Lugano, Switzerland. If these start-ups will prove that their technology and solution operates equally well in the U.S., for sure they will become interesting acquisition targets. Michal Mazur PwC partner There is plenty of money to be made in health care. "Lifesaving medical delivery is a legitimate business in and of itself," Reuter said. "African governments are already spending billions on medical-supply chains, so if [Zipline] can lower cost and improve service, its not a philanthropic endeavor but a real business, and they are gaining experience running a real logistics operation." Colin Snow, an analyst at Skylogic Research, said he doesn't believe Zipline's drones, which require a fixed platform and plenty of room for launch, would ever work for a company like Amazon's delivery needs namely, vertical launch to accommodate urban areas. "It's a bigger operation than is required. ... It's sort of old-school," Snow said. "You need to have a launching device, and launching devices are not portable." Navigating the US skies for the first time The reason Zipline has raced ahead in Rwanda is because the government has been more flexible than many other regulatory regimes around the world. That's also why Google is piloting drones in Australia and Amazon is working in the U.K. But the United States is finally taking steps to allow drone business models to experiment and develop on a local level around the country. Earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the first-ever pilot programs for drone flights and, more important, flights that are allowed to go beyond an operator's "line of sight," which is critical to developing commercially viable drone businesses. Zipline is part of one of the proposals that won a coveted green light in the nationwide contest launched by the Trump administration. Another 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50 company, Flirtey, was also included in winning proposals, including one in Reno, Nevada, to deliver defibrillators. Amazon, though it submitted proposals, was shut out. Google's Project Wing will be part of a drone-delivery pilot program to be conducted in Virginia. Zipline is part of North Carolina's winning transportation department proposal, which intends to bring a similar medical-supply delivery system to the state, with delivery bases like Zipline has in Rwanda. North Carolina has a large rural population, as high as 40 percent, and these communities have more difficulty accessing health care. Matternet is also among the drone companies working with Zipline on this project. Reuter at the WEC said that Zipline, Flirtey and Matternet are "the big three" in terms of the start-ups really pushing the drone business model forward, but getting regulations right are critical to giving drone companies a chance to develop a viable business model. "Medical delivery is easier to convince governments to be flexible about and accept risk, because they understand the technology is saving lives rather than just a method of convenience," Reuter said. He thinks the drone market isn't going to go the way of most tech niches, where the giants devour the start-ups and it quickly becomes "a winner-take-all industry." "Amazon and Google are committed to launching services around drone delivery, but that doesn't mean we will see huge consolidation of this market. ... The economics of logistics aren't the same as the economics of computational technology. Logistics is an easy space to enter but a hard space to make money, so learning how to be operationally efficient is the key to long-term sustainability." Synthetic biology involves reconfiguring the genome of an organism to get it to do something entirely new. Here, engineered E. coli colonies express GFP (green fluorescent protein), a protein originally found in jellyfish. Ginkgo Bioworks In 2014, Ginkgo Bioworks entered Y Combinator as the first biotech company ever accepted by the famed accelerator. Four years later the Boston-based synthetic biology start-up, founded by a team of MIT scientists in 2009, has raised $429 million, including from Cascade Investment, the asset management firm of Bill Gates, and is reportedly worth $1 billion. Over the last several years, Ginkgo has developed an automated process for combining genetic parts that has made it the largest designer of printed DNA in the world. That breakthrough has positioned the start-up to change the face of a variety of industries and helped to earn it the No. 21 spot on the 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50 list. Last October, Ginkgo entered into a $100 million partnership with the global health-care and agriculture giant Bayer to engineer microbes capable of producing fertilizer for crops, like corn, wheat and rice. "We're really building the platform that lets you design organisms," said CEO Jason Kelly, who studied chemical engineering at MIT. Essentially, synthetic biology involves reconfiguring the genome of an organism to get it to do something entirely new. Kelly likens it to computer programming, only with genetic sequences. So think of DNA as computer code, and then imagine you can design sequences of DNA on the computer, physically print out those sequences, and insert them into microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria so they make products like rose-scented oil for perfume or sweeteners for beverages. "We're learning how to rewrite the code of life," said Frances Arnold, a professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering, and biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. "We're seeing a move toward making things that either chemistry cannot make or can't make efficiently but biology does." The idea of modifying the DNA of organisms precedes the moniker of synthetic biology by many years. Genetic modification dates back to the 1980s, and genetic engineering for biofuels in the agricultural, pharmaceutical and energy industry has been common practice for some time. Think of Monsanto's Bt corn, which uses a modified bacteria to protect crops from damaging insects, and you have the idea. Such work has normally been the purview of highly trained scientists, but companies like Ginkgo are catching fire now, thanks to a confluence of factors. "We can read DNA and write DNA very cheaply now. We can synthesize DNA in ways we couldn't just five years ago," Arnold said. Senior automation engineer optimizing automated lab protocol on colony picker. Last December, Ginkgo opened Bioworks3, its third laboratory space. It also closed a $275 million funding round, money that will go toward financing a fourth lab space set to open later this year. At Ginkgo's labs the difficult work of synthetic biology is conducted through computer software and run by robotics. This is the platform idea that animates Kelly's company: By figuring out a standardized way to combine genetic parts, the same process can be applied across a number of industries to produce goods at fractions of their current costs or to create entirely new products. "That's the core idea we have: DNA is code, and you can read and write it in these factories and test how it works," Kelly said. "So you're going to go to your computer, specify the exact sequence you want, print it, put the DNA into a tube or into an organism and test how it works." The fertilizer market is ripe for a huge disruption That's why Bayer chose to partner with Ginkgo. The artificial fertilizers commonly used across the United States are produced by sucking in atmospheric nitrogen gas, which plants can't use, into chemical plants that then convert the gas into a solid form plants can use. But nitrogen fertilizer products from chemical plants are notorious for releasing tons of carbon into the atmosphere. "Agriculture has exploded because we've been able to provide synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. What a lot of people are looking for today is a more sustainable long-term approach," said Mike Miille, CEO of Joyn Bio, the joint venture Bayer and Ginkgo formed last fall. Crops like soybeans and peanuts have microbes in their roots that perform the same reaction that chemical plants do such crops, in other words, produce their own fertilizer. Corn, wheat and rice, however, do not. Joyn Bio plans to use the genetic engineering expertise Ginkgo has developed to modify the microbes of such plants so that they, too, can pull nitrogen gas from the air and convert it into fertilizer. There are thousands of companies trying to create agricultural breakthroughs, and one or more of these ideas could be huge one day. Mark Connelly Stephens analyst who covers fertilizer companies China's move to lower tariffs on imported autos and vehicle parts is a step in the right direction, but it's a tiny one. The news China would lower tariffs on some imported vehicles by 10 percent drove shares of U.S. automakers Ford, GM and Tesla higher in Tuesday morning trading. The decision is encouraging for both foreign automakers in China and those in the U.S. who want to level out the severe trade U.S.-China trade imbalance. But this is not a game-changing decision, say some industry observers. "Reducing the import duty from 25 percent to 15 percent looks big on paper," said Michael Dunne, president of China-based auto consultancy Dunne Automotive. "But the domestic auto industry will continue to enjoy considerable protection." In 2017, 97 percent of vehicles sold in China were built in China, he added. "The lower tariff might move that a few percentage points south, but that's all," Dunne said. "This is no breakthrough event." Former GM Chairman Bob Lutz also called the move a "good start" but said he did not think it was going to have a big impact on U.S. exports. This in part because many major automakers, such as Ford and GM, already make vehicles in China through partnerships with local companies. "I think it is a good halfway step, when you consider that our automotive tariffs in the United States for imports are 2 percent," Lutz said Tuesday morning on CNBC's "Squawk Alley." "I would say they have got a way to go." President Donald Trump has threatened to place tariffs on imports from China, which far outweigh U.S. exports in to the country. China has retaliated by announcing tariffs on some U.S. products. The moves have stoked fears of a trade war between the two countries. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday trade talks have brought "meaningful progress" to the dispute. Consumer Reports will re-evaluate Tesla's Model 3 if the electric car maker improves the vehicle's braking distance, the publication's director of automotive testing told CNBC on Tuesday. Tweets from Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday morning appear to show the automaker may take some steps to address the issue within days. It was was one of the major factors that kept the publication from recommending the car, Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports, said on "Power Lunch." Consumer Reports said earlier this week that the Model 3 had the worst stopping distance of any contemporary vehicle it has tested, including the far larger full-size Ford F-150 pickup truck. Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded Tuesday on Twitter, saying the issue might be fixable through an over-the-air update to the car's firmware. "From my readings of the tweets, it is clear they are acknowledging the issue and they have the ability to update the vehicle and fix it," Fisher said. "If we see braking distances along the lines of what they are talking about, this will be a recommended model," he said. Tesla was not immediately available for comment. The stopping distance doesn't necessarily make the car unsafe it has about the same stopping distance as a heavy-duty truck, Fisher said. But it is unusual for the midsized car segment. Consumer Reports had other issues with the car, such as the difficulty of using the computer screen in the center console where passengers access most of the controls in the cabin. But the Model 3 is a "really great car," Fisher said. Consumer Reports buys cars at full sticker price and subjects them to rigorous testing, driving them for thousands of miles in a variety of conditions and environments. The publication does not recommend the Tesla Model X SUV but it does place the Model S sedan at the top of its list of "ultra luxury cars." After U.S. crude oil prices hit a three-and-a-half-year high on Tuesday, CNBC's Jim Cramer drilled down on why investors should've seen it coming. The "Mad Money" host pointed to an April conference call at oil giant Schlumberger led by its CEO, Paal Kibsgaard. On the call, Kibsgaard said that supply and demand were in balance, but that global crude stocks were still below the five-year average. The CEO argued that these data signaled that oil prices could move higher soon, which led to the surge higher that occurred in early May, Cramer said, adding that prices could still climb. "Look, without significant new exploration the price of oil will keep drifting higher," Cramer said. "So if you get any sort of pullback like we got late this afternoon, I recommend using it to build up some oil exposure." His recommendations? "Maybe a major like Chevron or an independent like Pioneer Natural [Resources] or perhaps the most obvious of them all, the stock of the man who predicted it all, Paal Kibsgaard's Schlumberger," the "Mad Money" host said. Searching for broken stocks The patriot missile is manufactured at Raytheon's Integrated Air Defense Center in Andover, Mass. John Tlumacki | The Boston Globe | Getty Images On tepid trading sessions that come after big market surges, Cramer likes to search for under-performing stocks of companies that still have strong underlying businesses. "Most people prefer to chase what's hot in the hope that they can get in on the next big thing, not before it's happened, but while it's happening," he said on Tuesday. "But the problem with hot stocks is that you're often late to the party," he continued. "The better approach? Find cold stocks of once-hot companies that could ignite again that way you could potentially enjoy the whole run. In other words, find broken stocks of intact companies." Cramer dubbed the recent action in shares of e-commerce giant Amazon "the quintessential example" of a once-downtrodden stock that bounced back to generate real returns. He also tapped the stock of Raytheon as a current broken-stock opportunity. Rent the Runway CEO: Think of closets like stock portfolios Jennifer Hyman, CEO and co-founder, Rent the Runway Scott Mlyn | CNBC Rent the Runway may be a private company, but co-founder and CEO Jennifer Hyman told CNBC that people could benefit from viewing her retail disruptor like they view stocks. "People should think about their closets like they think about a stock portfolio," Hyman told Cramer on Tuesday. "There are things you want to invest in, you make those investments and those are your blue chips. So you should invest in a great pair of jeans, in a great cashmere sweater. You should have things that are higher quality that last." "But for everything else, you should just have that on rotation and have the ability to take risks and constantly have newness and variety," she continued. "And that's a subscription [to Rent the Runway]." For more on Hyman's interview and Rent the Runway's place on CNBC's Disruptor 50 list, click here. Union Pacific CEO talks NAFTA worries Lance Fritz, CEO, Union Pacific Scott Mlyn | CNBC With U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin admitting on CNBC that there are still some "significant" issues hindering a new NAFTA deal, CEOs like Union Pacific's Lance Fritz are concerned. "I am worried about NAFTA just overall," Fritz told Cramer on Tuesday. "What concerns me right now is there seems to be this idea that we've got to race to a deal, and if we can't get it done soon, we're going to have to pause for a while. And that strikes me as an unhealthy place to be." Fritz, whose railroad company operates in Canada, Mexico and much of the Western United States, said that he has spoken to members of the Trump administration regarding NAFTA. For more on Fritz's outlook on the trade deal, click here. Micron CEO on how tech complexity helps the chip business Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra Scott Mlyn | CNBC A recurring theme with Micron, one of the cheapest stocks in the S&P 500, is the market's concern around the supply-demand patterns of its top products, dynamic random-access memory and flash chips. A host of investors and analysts view them as commodities subject to vicious boom-bust cycles that can erode demand quickly and create a supply glut. But if you ask Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, that thesis is unraveling with each iteration of products. "When you look at the technology complexity, it's increasing," Mehrotra told Cramer in a Tuesday interview. "Each successive generation of new technology that is deployed into production is actually giving you less supply growth capability on a per-waiver basis." The result is more market stability and growth for Micron's flagship products, the CEO said, adding that the fundamentals for flash chips are "healthy." To watch Mehrotra's interview, click here. Lightning round: Don't take shelter in the housing stocks "I do not believe that I've seen that conclusion," Nielsen said. She was asked by a reporter if she has "any reason to doubt the January 2017 intelligence community assessment that said it was Vladimir Putin who tried to meddle in this election to help President Trump win." Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Tuesday she was "not aware of" the intelligence community's conclusion, first stated in January 2017, that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election with a clear preference for Donald Trump . Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, left, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee address the media after a briefing on election security with House members in the Capitol Visitor Center on May 22, 2018. "That the specific intent was to help President Trump win, I'm not aware of that," she added, "but I do generally have no reason to doubt any intelligence assessment." The intelligence community, whose member include the FBI, CIA and the National Security Agency, released a report in January 2017 between the election and Trump's inauguration as president that said Russia favored Trump. "We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump," the report said. The report went on to say: "We also assess Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump's election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary [Hillary] Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him. All three agencies agree with this judgment. CIA and FBI have high confidence in this judgment; NSA has moderate confidence." Homeland Security press secretary Tyler Houlton took issue with the wording of the reporter's question. In an email to CNBC, Houlton said: "The Secretary has previously reviewed the Intelligence Community's assessment and agrees with it as she stated today and previously. She also very clearly articulated today that the Russian government unequivocally worked to undermine our democracy during the 2016 election. Russian goals included undermining faith in the US democratic process and harming a candidate's electability and potential presidency. Importantly, they targeted both major political parties. As the Secretary reiterated their intent was to sow discord in the American electoral process. However, we have no evidence that any ballots were changed or counted incorrectly as a result of Russian interference. "The intelligence assessment language is nuanced for a reason. The Secretary agrees with that assessment. But the question asked by the reporter did not reflect the specific language in the assessment itself, so the Secretary correctly stated she had not seen the conclusion as characterized by the reporter. "The Department is well aware of the threat posed by Russian election interference, and today's classified member briefing was one of many opportunities by the Department and the Secretary to be transparent with Congress and the American people about efforts to ensure the integrity of our elections." Earlier in her remarks, Nielsen said the president has been "very clear that he agrees with the intel community" with regard to Russia's "attempt to hack or otherwise through cyber means, influence our election." Asked once more if she disagreed with the conclusion that Russia's cyber campaign was waged with the intention of helping Trump, Nielsen said, "I do believe that Russia did and will continue to try to manipulate Americans perspective on a variety of issues." Nielsen's view appears to align with the House Intelligence Committee's Republican majority. That committee recently concluded its own investigation of Russian election meddling. In a summary ahead of its final report, the committee's majority broke with the intelligence community's conclusions "with respect to Putin's supposed preference for candidate Trump." But leaders from the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also conducting a probe of Russian interference, said in a statement last week that it agreed with the intelligence community's view on Russia's preference for Trump. "The Russian effort was extensive, sophisticated, and ordered by President [Vladimir] Putin himself for the purpose of helping Donald Trump and hurting Hillary Clinton," said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the committee's vice chairman. The chairman, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., said: "We see no reason to dispute the conclusions." President Donald Trump's administration is working on a deal with China that may entail lifting a ban on U.S. companies selling hardware and software to telecom giant ZTE, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Monday. In exchange for Trump removing the ban, ZTE will make major changes in management, board seats and potentially pay fines, according to the Journal. Details of the agreement are still being worked out, it added. Washington and Beijing are reportedly attempting to settle tensions after the U.S. Commerce Department banned American businesses from selling to Shenzhen-based ZTE for seven years. That penalty was widely expected to bankrupt the telecom heavyweight, which pleaded guilty in March to illegally shipping U.S. goods to Iran and North Korea in violation of American sanctions. Chinese President Xi Jinping's government has also offered to remove tariffs on U.S. farm products as part of negotiations, the WSJ added. Username: Password: or Register Thread Rating: 3 Vote(s) - 1 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Page: 1 2 3 WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 441896 05-22-2018 03:32 AM Post: #1 WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill Advertisement akin to the russian sanctions bill and call our congress or senators for this to happen because iran is a danger to our national security and our economy and our way of life. matter of fact i could email my senator to push through such a measure. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 411021 05-22-2018 03:35 AM Post: #2 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill The seperation between your way of life and theirs is what? Strategos Against Dystopia User ID: 441784 05-22-2018 03:35 AM Posts: 9,530 Post: #3 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill Why don't we remove all restriction, regulation, and taxation on the growing, possessing, and consumption of cannabis instead? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 427307 05-22-2018 03:35 AM Post: #4 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill ISRAEL FIRST! ISRAEL FIRST! ISRAEL FIRST! HELL YEAH! ISRAEL FIRST! MIGA! MAKE ISRAEL GREATER AGAIN!ISRAEL FIRST! ISRAEL FIRST! ISRAEL FIRST! Brad Nailer lop guest User ID: 321986 05-22-2018 03:36 AM Post: #5 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill op shilling hard for the yinon plan listen, you and your kids fight and die for israel, m'kay just leave the united states out of it LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 441896 05-22-2018 03:37 AM Post: #6 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:35 AM) HELL YEAH! ISRAEL FIRST! MIGA! MAKE ISRAEL GREATER AGAIN! ISRAEL FIRST! ISRAEL FIRST! ISRAEL FIRST! thats what iranian and russian propaganda want you to think and maybe even the chinese state run media? thats what iranian and russian propaganda want you to think and maybe even the chinese state run media? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 441896 05-22-2018 03:38 AM Post: #7 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill Brad Nailer Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:36 AM) op shilling hard for the yinon plan listen, you and your kids fight and die for israel, m'kay just leave the united states out of it im not shilling and we dont even need soldiers its called AUTOMATED DRONES by darpa. im not shilling and we dont even need soldiers its called AUTOMATED DRONES by darpa. GrimShaw Asinus Asinum Fricat User ID: 441588 05-22-2018 03:40 AM Posts: 32,423 Post: #8 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:37 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:35 AM) HELL YEAH! ISRAEL FIRST! MIGA! MAKE ISRAEL GREATER AGAIN! ISRAEL FIRST! ISRAEL FIRST! ISRAEL FIRST! thats what iranian and russian propaganda want you to think and maybe even the chinese state run media? No, that's exactly what's going on. Iran has invaded how many countries in the past 20 years? The USA has invaded how many countries in the past 20 years? No, that's exactly what's going on.Iran has invaded how many countries in the past 20 years?The USA has invaded how many countries in the past 20 years? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 441896 05-22-2018 03:44 AM Post: #9 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill GrimShaw Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:40 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:37 AM) thats what iranian and russian propaganda want you to think and maybe even the chinese state run media? No, that's exactly what's going on. Iran has invaded how many countries in the past 20 years? The USA has invaded how many countries in the past 20 years? well there leaders wanted to kill their own people like the kurds in iraq. well there leaders wanted to kill their own people like the kurds in iraq. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442018 05-22-2018 04:09 AM Post: #10 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:32 AM) akin to the russian sanctions bill and call our congress or senators for this to happen because iran is a danger to our national security and our economy and our way of life. matter of fact i could email my senator to push through such a measure. Iran isnt a threat to the US. Not one bit. Iran isnt a threat to the US.Not one bit. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 423583 05-22-2018 04:09 AM Post: #11 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:32 AM) akin to the russian sanctions bill and call our congress or senators for this to happen because iran is a danger to our national security and our economy and our way of life. matter of fact i could email my senator to push through such a measure. ok derp head........ iran has taken zero action against usa ever lol...... yet isreal f*#k us over any chance it gets..... like sinking our ships... and blaming it on others....... don't remember any sanction against them? keep getting social engineered derp head... ok derp head........ iran has taken zero action against usa ever lol......yet isreal f*#k us over any chance it gets..... like sinking our ships...and blaming it on others.......don't remember any sanction against them?keep getting social engineered derp head... LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442018 05-22-2018 04:12 AM Post: #12 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:38 AM) Brad Nailer Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:36 AM) op shilling hard for the yinon plan listen, you and your kids fight and die for israel, m'kay just leave the united states out of it im not shilling and we dont even need soldiers its called AUTOMATED DRONES by darpa. So have the US start the robot armageddon because your scared of a country that is no threat? Id rather not have killbots and im pretty sure every sane human agrees with me. So have the US start the robot armageddon because your scared of a country that is no threat?Id rather not have killbots and im pretty sure every sane human agrees with me. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 441896 05-22-2018 04:17 AM Post: #13 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 04:12 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:38 AM) im not shilling and we dont even need soldiers its called AUTOMATED DRONES by darpa. So have the US start the robot armageddon because your scared of a country that is no threat? Id rather not have killbots and im pretty sure every sane human agrees with me. yea irans a threat to our economic prosperity much like japan was and dont worry we took care of them. yea irans a threat to our economic prosperity much like japan was and dont worry we took care of them. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442018 05-22-2018 04:21 AM Post: #14 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 04:17 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 04:12 AM) So have the US start the robot armageddon because your scared of a country that is no threat? Id rather not have killbots and im pretty sure every sane human agrees with me. yea irans a threat to our economic prosperity much like japan was and dont worry we took care of them. Refusing to sell to them sure doesnt help the US economy. What exactly do you think they can or will do to harm the US economy? Because you've provided nothing but your opinion. Refusing to sell to them sure doesnt help the US economy.What exactly do you think they can or will do to harm the US economy?Because you've provided nothing but your opinion. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 441896 05-22-2018 04:21 AM Post: #15 RE: WE the united states should come up with an iranian sanctions bill LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 04:09 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-22-2018 03:32 AM) akin to the russian sanctions bill and call our congress or senators for this to happen because iran is a danger to our national security and our economy and our way of life. matter of fact i could email my senator to push through such a measure. Iran isnt a threat to the US. Not one bit. to our financial assets yea if they use the yuan or euro thats trying to undermine the west. to our financial assets yea if they use the yuan or euro thats trying to undermine the west. Advertisement The board battle at the company, which has had only three women directors in its 25-year history, illustrates the uphill battle females face in getting on corporate boards. The winning slate, backed by a dissident pair of investors, includes three women, while the other had just one female. What to expect when you're expecting ... more women on boards? That was the key question amid an under-the-radar proxy battle at retailer Destination Maternity. Shareholders were asked to decide whether prior board experience should preclude women from obtaining future board seats. They voted in favor of a dissident slate of board nominees on Wednesday, backed by investors Nathan Miller of NGM Capital and Peter O'Malley of Kenosis Capital. The winning slate had three women and one man nominee. On the losing side was a slate backed by the company, which nominated three men and one woman, the interim CEO Melissa Payner-Gregor. Earlier, the nominees by the dissidents, who together hold about 9 percent of Destination Maternity's stock, failed to obtain support from Institutional Shareholder Services, an influential proxy advisory firm, which makes voting recommendations for contested board nominations, among other subjects. ISS wrote in a May 10 report that shareholders should avoid voting for the dissidents' slate due to concern over "the fact that none of the dissident's nominees have previously served on public company boards." The dissidents fired back, pointing out the low proportion of women who currently hold that experience. As of the first quarter of 2018, the percentage of women on boards was 16.9 percent among Russell 3000 companies, according to Equilar. The dissidents say that if experience is a pre-determinant to board membership, then the gap between the number of women directors to male ones will never be closed. "If the company's argument is this chauvinistic trope that women can't join the board because they've never been on as a director before, then this embarrassing situation in Corporate America will never be remedied," O'Malley, managing member of Kenosis Capital, a merchant bank, said in an interview with CNBC. CNBC requested comment from Destination Maternity five times over the course of five days. The company did not return CNBC's calls or emails but sent shareholders a letter Monday evening. After speaking with stockholders during the proxy season, Destination Maternity said the company reaffirms "our commitment to increasing gender diversity at the board level by identifying and appointing at least one additional highly qualified female director to the board as soon as possible." ISS declined to comment beyond its report. After Wednesday's vote, the company share price was down 2.5 percent. Shares of Destination Maternity have slumped 75 percent over the last three years amid management upheaval, a failed takeover bid and dwindling mall traffic that has cut into sales and profitability. The market cap is currently a mere $40 million, and the dissident investors say that if a turnaround doesn't happen quickly, the company wouldn't have long to survive. "I'd say a year is generous," said Marla Ryan, one of the dissident nominees and founder of Lola Advisors, a business consultancy for the apparel, beauty and wellness industry. Prior to her role there, she held senior positions at Lands' End and J. Crew. "This is a brand that's been around for such a long time and really has that brand equity and awareness. It shouldn't go away." "But we fear it may," O'Malley said. On the dissident slate, Ryan is joined by Holly Alden, the co-founder of Stance, a sock manufacturing company, and of Skullcandy, an audio accessory company. Also on the slate are Anne-Charlotte Windal, a retail consultant and former retail equity analyst, and Christopher Morgan, a senior retail analyst at the hedge fund Kingdon Capital Management. Marla Ryan and Peter OMalley. CNBC Destination Maternity was founded in 1982 by Rebecca Matthias and her husband, Dan, who became the company's first chief executive officer. As of Feb. 3, the company operated 1,124 retail locations under the brands Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod and Destination Maternity. They also lease retail space in other stores like Macy's, BuyBuy Baby and Boscov's, according to company filings. Recently, the company has faced tremendous challenges. It has not had a permanent CEO in eight months. Melissa Payner-Gregor is Destination Maternity's second interim CEO during that period. She's the company's first female CEO, albeit on a temporary basis. In its report, ISS said "the company's severe stock underperformance, negative financial results and poor succession planning strongly suggests that additional board change is warranted." The proxy advisory firm urged investors to withhold votes for the chairman, Barry Erdos and CEO Payner-Gregor. Only 3 female directors in 25 years Mark Zuckerberg is meeting with European Union leaders Tuesday in his third appearance before regulators to address Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal. He's likely to face harsh questioning about widespread abuse on the platform and foreign meddling in world elections. The meeting will be lived streamed on CNBC starting at 12:15 p.m. ET. Here's some of what Zuckerberg is prepared to say: Europeans make up a large and incredibly important part of our global community. Many of the values Europeans care most deeply about are values we share: from the importance of human rights and the need for community to a love of technology, with all the potential it brings. In order to realize that potential, we need to make technology a force for good. As Facebook has grown, we've helped give people everywhere a powerful new tool to stay connected with the people they care about. After the recent terrorist attacks in Berlin, Paris, London and here in Brussels, tens of thousands of people have used Safety Check to let their friends and family know they're safe. Refugees arriving in Europe are using Facebook to stay in touch with their loved ones back home and find new communities here. There are 18 million small businesses in Europe that use Facebook today, mostly for free almost half of whom say they have hired more people as a result. But it's also become clear over the last couple of years that we haven't done enough to prevent the tools we've built from being used for harm as well. Whether it's fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing peoples information, we didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibilities. That was a mistake, and I'm sorry. It will take time to work through all of the changes we must make. But I'm committed to getting it right and to making the significant investments needed to keep people safe. For example, we're doubling the number of people working on safety and security to more than 20,000 people by the end of this year. On top of the investments we're making in other areas, I expect this will significantly impact our profitability. But I want to be clear: keeping people safe will always be more important than maximizing our profits. ... We're committed to Europe. Ireland is home to our European Headquarters. London is home to our biggest engineering team outside the United States; Paris is home to our artificial intelligence research lab; and we have data centers in Sweden, Ireland and Denmark, which will open in 2020. By the end of 2018, Facebook will employ 10,000 people across 12 European cities up from 7,000 today. And we will continue to invest. For example, we've committed to providing one million people and small businesses with digital skills training by 2020. My top priority has always been our social mission of connecting people, helping them to build communities and bringing the world closer together. I believe deeply in what were doing. And when we address these challenges, I know we'll look back and view helping people connect and giving more people a voice as a positive force here in Europe and around the world. When Facebook Chief Mark Zuckerberg meets with European officials on Tuesday, he is set to testify that the social networking giant did not do enough to prevent its tools from causing "harm." "It's also become clear over the last couple of years that we haven't done enough to prevent the tools we've built from being used for harm," Zuckerberg said in remarks prepared for European officials and obtained by NBC News. He plans to deliver the remarks in person later Tuesday. "Whether it's fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing people's information, we didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibilities," he said, adding, "That was a mistake and I'm sorry." The incident prompted concerns over data privacy on both sides of the Atlantic and, in April, Zuckerberg was grilled by U.S. lawmakers. Tuesday's meeting between Zuckerberg and European officials will be broadcast live from 6:15 p.m. local time in Brussels, according to the president of the European Parliament. Antonio Tajani: I have personally discussed with Facebook CEO Mr Zuckerberg the possibility of webstreaming meeting with him. I am glad to announce that he has accepted this new request. Great news for EU citizens. I think him for the respect shown towards EP. Meeting tomorrow from 18:15 to 19:30. Facebook previously said that 87 million users had their data "improperly shared" in connection with Cambridge Analytica a firm publicly associated with President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign. Cambridge maintains that it did not use that data during the vote. Cambridge Analytica shut down earlier this month and has since filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States. Last month, Facebook said it is restricting third-party app access and deleting phone call and text information that's over a year old. It also said that it is ending a feature that allowed users to search for a profile using a phone number or personal email. "It will take time to work through all of the changes we must make," Zuckerberg said in the prepared remarks. "But I'm committed to getting it right and to making the significant investments needed to keep people safe." He also reiterated the tech giant's commitment to Europe and said by the end of year, Facebook will employ about 10,000 people across 12 European cities. Attorney for Stormy Daniels, Michael Avenatti walks outside after US President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen left the US Courthouse in New York on April 26, 2018. A firm led by Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels in her suit against President Donald Trump, was hit Tuesday with a $10 million judgment by a U.S. bankruptcy court judge, the Los Angeles Times reported. The firm, Eagan Avenatti, was ordered to pay $10 million to Jason Frank, a lawyer who used to work there, the Times reported. Eagan Avenatti and Frank had previously agreed that the $10 million would be waived if Frank was paid a total of $4.85 million, according to court records. But Frank asked for the full $10 million after failing to receive an initial $2 million installment toward the agreed amount when it was due May 14, according to records. In a statement to CNBC, Avenatti said the Times' account of the case "nonsense." As if online shopping hasn't posed enough of an existential threat to brick-and-mortar retailers, they now have drones to worry about. Case in point: Flirtey, a leading drone delivery service that works with ambulance and medical providers to deliver medicine to rural health-care clinics. Flirtey has also partnered with Domino's Pizza and 7-Eleven, to deliver food, drinks and other consumer products. In October the Reno, Nevada-based company also announced a partnership with REMSA Health to deliver a portable defibrillator when a 911 call reports someone is in cardiac arrest. The service will begin in Nevada this year. The goal, said the company, is to get the device on scene in less time than it takes an ambulance to get through traffic. Read More: FULL LIST: 2018 DISRUPTOR 50 One of the biggest questions surrounding commercial drone deliveries is whether they are in any way violating federal or state air-traffic regulations. CEO Matthew Sweeny, a co-founder of the company, said Flirtey is working with officials around the world the company is allowed to operate in the United States, New Zealand and Australia to help shape regulations and systems in additional markets. So far, the company has raised $16 million in a Series A round from Menlo Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures, two companies that also invested $120,000 in seed funding. In 2015 Flirtey became the first company to receive FAA approval to conduct drone delivery in the United States. As a result, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum has one of its drones on display. "The U.S. is no longer the indispensable nation in the Middle East it's Russia. Putin has more control in this powder keg than American experts like to admit." The U.S. is no longer the indispensable nation in the Middle East it's Russia. Putin has more control in this powder keg than American experts like to admit. Who told Israel to "cool it" after their F-16 jet was shot down by Syrian forces? Russia. Who told Iran to knock off its toxic anti-Israel rhetoric? Russia. Who told Israel to stop airstrikes in Syria? Russia. Who told Iran to "calm down" after they lost seven soldiers in the attack? Russia. Who did Netanyahu meet last week to get Iran in line? Russia. Russia has even vowed to protect Israel from an Iranian attack. Why would Israel turn to Russia, a country that backs its mortal enemy Iran? Because Israel is a savvy realpolitik actor, and becomes Machiavellian when facing existential threats like Iran. Jerusalem knows Moscow can influence Tehran and Washington cannot. More importantly and this is what most Americans miss Israel has deep roots in Russia. The U.S. is not the only country with a "special relationship" with the Jewish state. Back in the early 1990s, Israel absorbed a million Russian Jews a 20 percent expansion of its population in just a few years. Now Russian is a second language in Israel, and El Al airlines flies non-stop to Moscow twice a day. Many Israelis hold Russian passports, and Netanyahu spends as much time courting Putin as he does Trump. This embrace is fueled by the growing rift between American and Israeli Jews, embodied by Natalie Portman's recent boycotting of the 2018 Genesis Prize, also known as the "Jewish Nobel Prize." Portman, born in Jerusalem, opposes the government's treatment of Palestinians. She's not alone. Russia is increasingly emerging as an enemy of the U.S., not just a rival. The Iranian nuclear deal is secondary what matters is Russia. Moscow is not going away and has relegated Washington to the sidelines. This is not a partisan issue it's an American one. So, what's to be done? First, the U.S. must push back on Russian influence in the region. This does not suggest the zero-sum logic of the Cold War, but something more nuanced. Start by stripping Russian transactional partners like Turkey, which has centuries of friction with Russia. Then move onto Egypt, always pivotal but not (yet) in Moscow's camp. Get ahead of Putin in places like Lebanon that just elected new leadership. Not everyone there is pleased about Iran's encroaching dominance, or Russia's. Broaden the American agenda beyond counterterrorism because this alone does not inspire followership. Second, we must reduce openings for Russia to exploit. The U.S. has been a polarizing and destabilizing force since the Iraq invasion. We have teed-up Putin as a hyper-empowered mediator, which is why Netanyahu went to Moscow instead of Washington. This means working with partners in the region rather than egging them on when they clash, as the Trump administration has done by moving the U.S. embassy in Israel. Instead, the U.S. should lead efforts to prevent problems from becoming crises and crises from becoming conflicts. Denying Putin's role as peace broker in the region will undercut his power. Third, do what Russia does so well: apply pressure elsewhere. Russia can focus on the Middle East because it is undistracted by pushy satellite states. It's time the U.S. and allies started supporting those satellite states again, as we did in the Cold War. This doesn't infer proxy wars. Instead, it means upholding human rights and anti-corruption initiatives in Russian puppet states. Get Moscow worried about its home front, so it has less time to focus on the Middle East. Commentary by Sean McFate, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and the Changing Character of War Centre, Oxford University. He is author of the forthcoming book, 'The 10 New Rules of War' (January 2019). Follow him on twitter @seanmcfate. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. If there's one thing most of us can agree on in this age of cultural and political divisiveness, it's that rhetoric has replaced reality in our daily discourse and has reinforced a tendency toward finger-pointing versus collaboration. At the same time, for-profit companies have become something of a punching bag. It's not hard to see why. Multinationals are often blamed for a host of society's ills, including income inequality, environmental, health, public safety and diversity issues. Not to mention the shredded social safety net. Having held leadership roles in the public, private and nonprofit sectors, I recognize the critical importance of cross-sector collaboration and the problem with finger-pointing. This is especially true when we as a society citizens, and leaders from business and government set out to improve the quality of life for ourselves and others. When we demonize immigrants for "taking our jobs," educators for "failing our children" or corporations for "threatening economic opportunity," we shut ourselves off from a realistic opportunity to achieve progress. But there is a better way. My just-released book, "The Challenge for Business and Society: From Risk to Reward," attempts to substitute facts for anger with a new understanding about the role corporations have played and could play in addressing today's challenges. How many people realize the private sector established benefits such as paid vacations, free health care and retirement pensions long before government did? An employee preps a diesel locomotive for painting at the General Electric Manufacturing Solutions facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Worldwide dealmaking for 2018 topped the $2 trillion mark this week, on track for the biggest year for mergers and acquisitions ever, according to data from Thomson Reuters Deals Intelligence. Global mergers and acquisitions had their strongest start to a year ever, totaling $1.2 trillion in the first quarter and that action has continued in the second quarter. Media, telecom, consumer staples, healthcare and retail sectors have been especially hot. This week began with a standout "Merger Monday" of announced deals: General Electric confirmed it will merge its transportation business with U.S. manufacturer Wabtec in an $11.1 billion deal. Data firm IHS Markit said it will buy smaller rival from private-equity funds of Blackstone and Goldman Sachs for $1.86 billion, and U.S. regional bank Fifth Third Bancorp announced a $4.7 billion deal to buy MB Financial. Meanwhile, Blackstone said it would buy U.S. hotel owner LaSalle Hotel Properties for $3.7 billion. Global deals year-to-date Source: Thomson Reuters Deals Intelligence Data as of May 21, 2018 Tax cuts helped set the stage for the recent boom in deals. The Republican tax reform bill, which was signed by President Trump in December, lowered the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent and made it cheaper for multinational companies to repatriate foreign cash. Companies have been putting putting the extra savings to work with additional investments. The value of M&A deals globally increased 67 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, Thomson Reuters data shows but the number of deals dropped by 10 percent, reflecting that the average size of deals is getting bigger. Among the mega- deals this year; U.S. health insurer Cigna Corp said it will acquire U.S. pharmacy chain Express Scripts for $67 billion, and German utility E.ON SE announced a $38.5 billion deal to buy RWE AG's renewable energy business. On the regulatory front though, there is still uncertainty. The U.S. Department of Justice sued to block AT&T's $85 billion deal to buy Time Warner over antitrust concerns, and later called the deal "illegal" and "harmful" to consumers. The loophole allowed for Swiss banking giant UBS and other banks to underwrite specific Puerto Rico bonds and then sell them directly into bond funds that were sold only to island residents, a CNBC investigation , published in December, found. This exemption from the so-called Investment Company Act of 1940 also allowed funds in Puerto Rico to skirt leverage standards and certain affiliated party transactions that apply to funds operating in the U.S. The provision ends a 78-year-old legislative loophole that allowed subsidiaries of global banking institutions that operated in U.S. territories, like Puerto Rico, to do certain types of financial transactions that are legally barred stateside. Tucked inside legislation that passed the House of Representatives Tuesday night a larger bill largely focused on rolling back Dodd-Frank banking regulation is a provision that creates greater oversight of brokerage firms operating in U.S. territories. U.S. lawmakers closed a long-standing legal loophole that helped spark a financial crisis in Puerto Rico that has decimated the savings of thousands of residents. The funds, which were not registered with the SEC, were highly levered and concentrated largely in Puerto Rico bonds, which became practically worthless in recent years. The residents who bought them lost billions of dollars in savings. The legislation passed Tuesday repeals the exemption to ensure that financial institutions that operate in all U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have to abide by the same rules as their stateside counterparts. Funds issued and sold to investors by institutions in Puerto Rico will now need to be registered with the SEC. CNBC's investigation prompted Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) to call for a congressional hearing to investigate the marketing and sales practices of investment companies operating in Puerto Rico. Her office is expecting that the passage of Tuesday's bill will negate the need for such a hearing. Velazquez, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, had tried three times before, in 2015, 2016 and last year, to close the loophole. But her prior bills, which weren't part of a bigger legislative package, failed to pass. When Congress first enacted the Investment Company Act of 1940, it was deemed too expensive for regulators with the SEC to travel to U.S. territories which then also included Alaska and Hawaii, in addition to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since then, both Alaska and Hawaii have become states, air travel to and from Puerto Rico has become less expensive and a large portion of financial activity takes place electronically. That makes it far easier for regulators to patrol financial activities in U.S. territories than it was 78 years ago, Rep. Velazquez has argued. The bill, called the "Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, passed on Tuesday. Velazquez said she voted no on it for other reasons. For example, the bill rolls back many protections for bank customers, including preventing discrimination against minorities in mortgage lending. It also raises the threshold for a bank to be considered systemically important to $250 billion in assets. It was seen as favorable to medium-sized U.S. banks by loosening some of the current rules. "On balance, these are poor choices that, in my view, heighten the risk of improper financial activities similar to those that precipitated the 2008 financial crisis," Velazquez said in a statement. On-island financial institutions will have three years to comply with the new rules, assuming they get signed into law. The SEC has to option to grant an additional three years, if warranted. "This bill will put Puerto Rico's mutual fund industry in regulatory parity with the Mainland and, at last, bring to an end decades of exploitation of Puerto Rican investors," Velazquez said in a written statement. "I am heartened, at least, that by passing my legislation, as part of this larger package, we will no longer hear of the people of Puerto Rico being swindled out of their nest eggs due to an antiquated loophole in federal investment law." The House voted Tuesday to pass the biggest rollback of financial regulations since the global financial crisis. The margin was 258-159, with 33 Democrats supporting the legislation. The bill will now go to President Donald Trump's desk. He said Wednesday morning that he would sign the bill soon. The Senate already passed the legislation with bipartisan support. TRUMP TWEET The bill makes good on Republican promises to cut red tape they say hurts businesses, but does not go nearly as far as some GOP lawmakers had hoped. It also appeases some Democrats who argue financial rules passed following the financial meltdown unnecessarily hamstrung small and mid-sized lenders. The measure eases restrictions on all but the largest banks. It raises the threshold to $250 billion from $50 billion under which banks are deemed too important to the financial system to fail. Those institutions also would not have to undergo stress tests or submit so-called living wills, both safety valves designed to plan for financial disaster. It eases mortgage loan data reporting requirements for the overwhelming majority of banks. It would add some safeguards for student loan borrowers and also require credit reporting companies to provide free credit monitoring services. Republicans have argued the post-crisis regulations held down lending and economic growth. On Tuesday ahead of the vote, House Speaker Paul Ryan promoted the bill as a boon for community banks though it boosts medium-sized and regional institutions, as well. "This is a bill for the small banks that are the financial anchors of our communities. ... It addresses some of Dodd Frank's biggest burdens to ease the regulatory costs on these small banks costs which are ultimately transferred on to consumers," the Wisconsin Republican said. House Republicans only coalesced behind the Senate version of the bill when leaders agreed to take up separate legislation sought by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas. Hensarling, a longtime opponent of the Dodd-Frank reforms, seeks a more drastic rollback. In the Senate, lawmakers on the left flank such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., opposed the measure and argued it could open taxpayers to more liability if banks fail. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also criticized it, arguing Tuesday that it "would open the doors to banks once again discriminating in how they lend to home buyers." Pelosi tweet: The #DoddFrankRollBack would open the doors to banks once again discriminating in how they lend to home buyers. We should be taking steps to move forward, not making the situation worse. When the Senate earlier passed the legislation by a 67-to-31 vote, 17 Democrats joined with Republicans to approve it. Some Democrats in smaller or more rural states reliant on smaller banks cheered the legislation and said it removed a burden on those lenders. 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. 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The Islamic lunar calendar means that the start date of Ramadan moves forward by under two weeks every year versus the Gregorian calendar. In countries near or on the equator, such as Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Indonesia, this movement makes little difference to the hours of daylight critical to observe the fast. But for those observing in the world's most northern countries near the Arctic Circle, the issue is more pressing in summer months. In Iceland, the sun sets at midnight and returns two hours later during peak summer. Icelandic Muslims can expect to fast for up to 21 hours and 51 minutes this year, with the sun setting at 11:57 p.m. on the final night of Ramadan on June 14. Muslims living in countries where the sun doesn't set or where the sun only drops momentarily can follow one of three solutions offered by some Islamic scholars and organizations. They can break their fast using the time of either the sunset in the nearest country that does not have near continuous daylight, the nearest Muslim-majority country, or observe Saudi Arabia's time. Otherwise, they can stick to observing local times. Karim Askari, executive director of the Islamic Foundation of Iceland, is in no doubt which edict he will be following this Ramadan. "I'll be going by the local time in Reykjavik," Askari told CNBC. "Going 21 hours without eating is a long time. But God willing, the majority of Muslims here in Reykjavik are doing it too." Two mosques in Iceland's capital city have agreed to follow local dawn and dusk times to decide when they should break their fast. Other mosques and organizations have chosen to follow the times of other European countries. Askari said that one mosque in Reykjavik is following the times of a city in France. "They can choose what they want. We have space in our community relations here," Askari said. "Some people cannot accept that they'll be eating when the sun is up, even if it's near midnight, because they are used to waiting in their home country so they will go by local time. Others can accept that they'll have to eat even when the sun is partially up." SHANGHAI During trade talks in Washington last week, some people in China saw an exorcism of bitter, century-old ghosts. After Chinese delegates met with American lawmakers on Thursday, a photograph taken from one end of the table circulated on the popular Chinese social media service Weibo. It was shared alongside one from 1901, when representatives from China and colonial powers signed an accord to end the Boxer Rebellion, a violent uprising against foreign influence in China. More from The New York Times: Chances of China Trade Win Undercut by Trump Team Infighting Trump's Mueller Strategy: Limit the Investigation and Attack the Investigators Trump Falsely Claims Russia Investigation Started Because of Steele Dossier Krystal Hu tweet In the earlier black-and-white photo from Beijing, the representatives from the West cut a striking contrast with the elderly envoys of the Qing dynasty. 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 court's 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 China's last collapsed not long after. More recently, China's 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. The Trump administration has suspended plans to impose new tariffs, while China has not guaranteed that it will increase purchases of American goods by any specific amount. It also has not committed to curtailing its ambitions to become a technology powerhouse. That might be contributing to the feeling of triumph among Chinese internet users. Jimmy Fallon had seven successful seasons on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and now, as the host of "The Tonight Show," he gets to sing satirical renditions of Beatles songs with Paul McCartney and dance alongside Michelle Obama. He's also making an estimated $16 million a year. For those who wish to follow in his footsteps, he has some advice. "Don't do it for money you'll never make money," he tells USA Today. "Do it because you like it and you like what you're doing. And then, the secret is, you may end up making money. But don't go into it thinking that you're doing this for money." Before his career really took off, Fallon took improv classes at The Groundlings in Los Angeles. In his interview with USA Today, he recounts bombing his first audition with SNL because he was so nervous, but he was called back the following year. "I took pictures of everything that I could with a throwaway camera that I got at a drugstore. I thought I might never step foot on NBC [property] again," he says. As the U.S. and China continue hashing out trade negotiations, a new player has joined the fray: President Donald Trump's national security advisor, John Bolton. A National Security Council official told CNBC that it was only "natural" that Bolton be involved in recalibrating the U.S. trade relationship with China. "Rebalancing trade and investment relations are an important component of the President's overall strategic approach to China, and therefore it is natural that the National Security Adviser would play a role in ensuring U.S. economic officials' ongoing discussions with China are framed within that strategic approach," the official said. Bolton's involvement in trade negotiations signals a broadening scope of authority for the president's top national security aide, whose views on the U.S.' shifting relationships with North Korea and Iran were central points of scrutiny when he was appointed in March. The high-stakes trade talks between the U.S. and China come as the Trump administration prepares for a June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a frequent target of Bolton's criticism over the years. North Korea, likewise, recently criticized Bolton while threatening to pull out of the landmark meeting. China, which is North Korea's biggest and most important ally, has played a key role in arranging diplomatic connections between the communist dictatorship and the U.S. The hawkish Bolton has also been outspoken on China trade policy. In a talk-radio interview in March, Bolton said China has for too long "taken advantage of its place in the world" through "the trade arrangements it has with the United States and other countries," multiple outlets reported. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is the chairperson of one of the world's most valuable banks. But that doesn't mean he focuses all of his time and attention on work. In fact, in a wide-ranging interview with CNBC's "Squawk Alley," Dimon says his secret to a successful life is to prioritize his family. "I've always said family first, country second, JPMorgan literally last," says the 62-year-old father of three. Though Dimon is quick to add that he enjoys his job, he says that his family has seen him through thick and thin. "Without your family and the support of your family and what you learn from them in the good times and the tough times ... you may not have a great life," he explains. But even with all of his career successes, Dimon notes that he has always prioritized relationships with those close to him. In fact, his interest in banking came from his father and grandfather, who worked as stockbrokers. Dimon's father even worked for his son twice: First in 1996, when Dimon was the chairman of wealth management firm Smith Barney, and later at JP Morgan, where the elder Dimon worked until his death in 2016. Dimon's mother died one day later. In Dimon's first CNBC interview after his parents' deaths, the banker revealed that his mother was very proud of him and always called or sent a note after each of his interviews. When asked how he was coping at work in the wake of these losses, the CEO said that he relied heavily on his immediate family. "My family is very tight. And we were all there right to the end," he explained, adding, "I love my children, I spend a lot of time with them." And it appears that Dimon wants his employees to do the same. Over his 13 years as CEO, JPMorgan has increasingly backed family friendly programs. Some of these benefits include financial support for fertility treatment, childcare benefits and 16 weeks of paid parental leave to all salaried employees. "I always tell people at JPMorgan Chase: You've got to take care of your friends, your family, your spirit, your mind, your body, your soul," Dimon tells "Squawk Alley." "Otherwise you won't have a fulfilling life, and those are important." Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook! Don't miss: Why Amazon pays employees $5,000 to quit First and foremost, I am neither soliciting, nor deserve, anyone's pity. I have lived and prospered from the American Dream. A first-generation American, I was raised in a South Bronx walk-up by my Polish immigrant parents, attended New York City public schools through college, and graduated from Columbia Business School in 1967 with a negative net worth and a young child at home. I rose through the ranks at Goldman, Sachs & Co., which I left in late 1991 to launch Omega Advisors, Inc., the hedge fund firm where I, together with 32 colleagues, still work. Fortunate beyond my wildest expectations, I am a signatory to the Buffett/Gates Giving Pledge, and I expect to donate not half, but substantially all, of my financial wealth to charity upon my death. One of my guiding principles has long been that (as generally attributed to Andrew Carnegie) a man who dies rich, dies disgraced, and I have tried to arrange my affairs so that this can never be said of me. As you may know, last spring, Omega and I settled a case brought by the SEC against us in September 2016, alleging various violations of federal securities laws. We settled because doing so saved us what were projected to be enormous legal costs, and a substantial diversion of time and attention over possibly years more of legal wrangling, had we gone to trial. I am still conflicted over that decision, but it is water under the bridge. I am writing this to express my indignation at the egregious manner in which the agency conducted its investigation of my firm and me. As part of our settlement, we entered into "no admit, no deny" consents that prohibit us from publicly contesting the basis of the SEC's case or the legitimacy of those allegations, and from commenting on the specific facts of the case or on the merits of our defenses. The outcome (more below) will have to speak for itself. But I am free to express my views on how the agency handled this matter without violating those prohibitions. Just to be clear, I acknowledge the vital role that the SEC plays in policing the public securities markets in the United States and ensuring their integrity. Without the vigorous discharge of that oversight function, public faith in those markets would suffer and they could not operate smoothly. My issue is not with the principle but with its application. When the agency issued broad subpoenas to Omega and me in March 2015, I promptly offered, through our lawyers, that if the subpoenas were withdrawn, I would meet voluntarily with the Commission staff and attempt to address all their questions about the trading and filings at issue. The subpoenas could always be reinstated if I could not satisfy them that nothing illicit was going on. In that context, I would have voluntarily tolled all relevant statutes of limitations so that the government's claims regarding Atlas Pipeline Partners (APL, the company at the heart of the case they later filed), in particular, would not run in the interim. They refused my offer. We commenced voluminous document production in response to the subpoenas, running up millions of dollars in legal and data-warehousing costs. That rolling production was substantially completed by the end of 2015, and the Wells notice followed in mid-March of the following year. In September 2016, the SEC's director of enforcement advised our counsel that the agency would not agree to settle without, among other things, an industry bar. He must have realized that this would have been tantamount to an admission of wrongdoing, effectively ending my otherwise spotless, 50-year career on Wall Street in disgrace. That was a non-starter for me, and I rejected their offer. The Commission promptly filed suit, alleging, most notably, that we had traded in the securities of APL on the basis of material, non-public information, and less sensationally, that we had failed to make timely filings of certain securities holdings (but notably, not in APL). When we informed our investors, capital outflows (which ultimately aggregated to billions of dollars in assets under management) accelerated. Even after announcing in May 2017 the settlement terms to which both sides finally agreed which included no industry (or officer-and-director) suspension or bar, no admission of wrongdoing, a financial payment that was roughly half the original ask, an obey-the-law injunction, and various compliance enhancements we continued to bleed assets, due, in large part, to the pall cast on us by the government's unproven allegations. It seems that such damage, once inflicted, cannot be undone. Adding salt to the wound, while "no admit, no deny" materially circumscribes what I can say about the case and its disposition, it apparently doesn't tie the SEC's hands to quite the same degree. In a statement released to the press shortly after our settlement, the agency's acting director of enforcement characterized the financial payment to which Omega and I had agreed as having been levied for our "misconduct", gratuitously omitting the word "alleged" even though, since the case was settled, the complaint's allegations never had to be, and were never, proven in court. I guess that all-important distinction didn't mesh well with the agency's narrative. At various points along the course of this saga, our lawyers informed the agency's staff of the harm that these allegations were inflicting on my business and on the professional prospects and earning opportunities of scores of honest, innocent, hardworking Omega employees and of the protracted investigation's potential implications for Omega's continued viability as a going concern. Their entreaties fell on deaf ears. Had the staff offered back in September 2016 to settle on the terms we ultimately agreed upon, I would have accepted, if only to preserve what then remained of my business and avoid the distraction and outsized expense of long-drawn-out litigation, but that deal was not then on the table. Instead, after the needless expenditure by both sides of financial and human resources of substantial magnitude, my business is a fraction the size and profitability it was, and the government got what it could have had, for the asking, eight or nine months earlier. Is this any way to manage the affairs of an ostensibly preeminent U.S. regulatory agency? It seems logically manifest to me that something transpired between September 2016 and March 2017 that led to the Commission's dramatically downwardly-revised settlement offer. Despite numerous attempts to ferret it out, I have been unsuccessful in getting a response, either from the current chairman or from his predecessor who oversaw my case (and who told me, when I saw her at a conference after she left office, that even innocent people often find settling with the government preferable to hazarding the system). As an American taxpayer, I believe that I deserve an answer to my question. And as an analytical person, it is hard for me to reconcile the significant, blood-sport destruction of my business that this matter has occasioned without understanding the dynamics behind the resolution from the Commission's perspective. But equally to the point, now that it's all over, where do I go for redress? My colleagues and I are left to pick up the pieces, but as we do, the words of Raymond Donovan, Ronald Reagan's former Labor Secretary and the first sitting cabinet officer to be indicted resonate with me. Although his was a state criminal matter and mine a federal civil one, the sentiment he expressed rings just as true here. When he and his co-defendants were acquitted at trial of all charges, he said: "It's a cruel thing they did to me. The question is, should this indictment have ever been brought? What office do I go to, to get my reputation back? Who will reimburse my company for the economic jail it has been in for two-and-a-half years?" Different office of a different government, but his questions are just as relevant today as they were 30 years ago. Powerless to force an answer to my question, it appears that I'm expected, like so many before me, to just suck it up and move on. Chalk up one more to regulatory unaccountability. I wish I were wired that way. Given the vast resources of the federal government and the prospect of potentially ruinous legal costs and collateral damage that confront any defendant, it is little wonder that so many opt to throw in the towel and settle, rather than risk the vagaries and expense of extended litigation. In the end, the regulators, taxpayer-funded and shielded for the most part by sovereign immunity, not meaningfully accountable to anyone but themselves, pay no price for overreaching a classic case of moral hazard. On the civil side, at least, that is a deplorable situation that cries out for remediation. My suggestions: first, that when the government sues an individual or firm and loses in court or before a regulatory tribunal, the government reimburse its target's legal expenses to the extent not covered by insurance (just as we, as taxpayers, already foot the government's bills); and second, that in cases like mine, once the dust has settled and the jockeying for position has ended, the government show its hand privately to its target and demonstrate why it thought it had a case to begin with. These two changes the first a matter of cost-shifting, the second a matter of the salutary benefits of sunshine might not solve all that is wrong with our regulatory process, but they would be a good start. Austin Russell, CEO, Luminar Autonomous vehicles are associated with big names in tech and transportation, like Alphabet's Waymo, GM's Cruise or ride-hailing giants such as Didi Chuxing and Uber. Less talked about is a critical safety component, Lidar sensors, which serve as the "eyes" of a self-driving car. Lidars are expensive today, but a start-up called Luminar is trying to make them more accessible, and powerful, for automakers. The company developed and is manufacturing Lidar systems in Orlando, Florida. Luminar plans to churn out thousands of its sensors to major car companies at a cost of several hundred dollars apiece, while most Lidar sensors cost tens of thousands of dollars each. This could significantly decrease the cost of self-driving cars, especially considering most will require four Lidars to get a full 360-degree "view" of the road. Space Coast advantage According to CEO Austin Russell and CTO Jason Eichenholz, Luminar's R&D and manufacturing base in Orlando is one of its competitive advantages. While it's not Silicon Valley, Orlando is near the high-tech corridor known as Florida's Space Coast, with optics as a local specialty. NASA's space shuttle program served as one of the largest employers in Orlando for years, but when the shuttle was retired from service in 2011, tens of thousands of jobs went with it, devastating the local economy. But NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Central Florida research universities and a wealth of engineering talent remained. By now Luminar and other tech companies, including OneWeb, SpaceX and Blue Origin, have swooped in to take advantage of Florida's abundant tech talent, affordable real estate and lower costs of living than what you'll find in other tech hubs, like San Francisco or Seattle. Whiz kid While Luminar has its largest office in Orlando, it also has Silicon Valley roots and an outpost in Palo Alto. Russell was just 17 years old when he founded Luminar as a Stanford dropout. The teenage physicist had scored a Thiel Fellowship, funded by billionaire tech investor and Trump advisor Peter Thiel. The program gives young people a $100,000 grant to delay college and pursue advanced tech and business ideas instead. Russell enlisted optics industry veteran Jason Eichenholz, a faculty member at the University of Central Florida College of Optics and Photonics, as his co-founder and CTO, after working with him as a research advisor. Although Luminar is one of dozens of companies working on Lidar technology today alongside Velodyne, Quanergy and Innoviz its sensors are already being used by four legacy automakers. More from CNBC Disruptor 50: Start-ups worldwide are trying to topple Uber China's secret goal is to crush Silicon Valley How we chose the CNBC Disruptor 50 list The 23-year-old CEO explained, "People talk as if autonomous vehicles are already safer than human drivers. But we're nowhere close to autonomous yet. In order to move past this phase and avoid more tragedies like the Uber accident, test fleets are very hungry to adopt new, advanced sensing platforms like ours." How it works In general, Lidar sensors emit pulses of light that human eyes can't see, and measure how long the light takes to bounce back after hitting an object. Data from Lidar sensors creates a point cloud, which is like a 3-D map that shows a car where obstacles are in their environment. Luminar's sensors stand apart because of the substance they're made of and the kind of light they emit and receive. Most sensors of this type use silicon as a substrate. Luminar uses indium gallium arsenide instead and a different frequency of light. As a result, Luminar's systems provide 50 times better resolution and "see" a range that is more than 10 times longer than other Lidars, according to the company. Luminar has also figured out a way to build its sensors using just the slightest amount of indium gallium arsenide, which keeps the costs low and production speed high, said Russell. Industry cred Toyota Research Institute's senior vice president of automated driving, Ryan Eustice, said Luminar's systems won his team over with the promise of "long-range sensing capabilities," but other features have also proved impressive. "Where this Lidar looks is reconfigurable," Eustice explained. "If you want to know if that's a pedestrian or a car way in the distance? You can go get more data points from that particular region to become more confident in your data. It's sort of like zooming in. And you can't do that with other Lidars." TRI has been conducting tests using Luminar's microchips, lasers and receivers, scanners and processors, packaged as a boxy sensor, that's smaller than a three-ring binder. That testing can be a lot of fun, Eustice said, recalling Luminar and TRI staff dumping tires and bales of hay out of the back of a pickup truck on a closed test track. Luminar currently has 350 employees, including in research and development in Palo Alto, California, and manufacturing in Orlando, Florida. It's raised $36 million from a group of investors, including Canvas Ventures, GVA and 1517 Fund. It is unclear what legislation Rubio would pursue or whether Senate leaders Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer would support it. The Trump administration could lift a ban on U.S. companies selling to ZTE and instead push for fines and management changes, according to The Wall Street Journal. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., pushes for congressional action related to ZTE after the Trump administration reportedly reached the framework of a deal to revive the company. Sen. Marco Rubio said Tuesday he would push for "veto-proof congressional action" to check the Trump administration's reported deal to save Chinese telecommunications company ZTE. Hours later, the Senate Banking Committee separately approved an amendment proposed by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., to limit President Donald Trump's ability to remove sanctions on any Chinese telecommunications company. It passed through the panel easily by a 23 to 2 margin in a bipartisan rebuke to the administration's possible plans. Washington and Beijing have discussed the framework of a deal for the U.S. to lift the ban on American companies selling goods to the company in favor of possible management changes and fines, according to The Wall Street Journal. China could also remove tariffs on billions of dollars of U.S. agricultural products, the newspaper reported. In a statement following the vote Tuesday, Van Hollen said "we must continue to work to stop the President from absolving ZTE of its many transgressions in the interest of Chinese jobs." Rubio, a Florida Republican, has vocally opposed Trump's push to save ZTE in recent weeks. He has called the company's products a national security and surveillance risk. Mark Zuckerberg failed to answer a lot of questions from members of the European Parliament Tuesday largely due to time constraints and a bizarre meeting format that let the Facebook founder and CEO peddle talking points. "I mean I asked you six yes-and-no questions. I got not a single answer," Belgian European Parliament member Philippe Lamberts said at the conclusion of the meeting. Zuckerberg met with European Union leaders for his third appearance before regulators to address Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal. EU officials, who have historically been tougher on Silicon Valley and more concerned about privacy than their U.S. counterparts, pitched tough questions on shadow profiles, data tracking and Facebook's market power. Members of the European Parliament asked questions in bulk for the first 60-plus minutes while Zuckerberg took notes. He began addressing all the questions at once with just 7 minutes remaining in the allotted time. "The questions were really strong. And then [Zuckerberg] basically went on kind of a five or 10-minute rehearsed, big-theme talking point. And then said, 'Oh we're 15 minutes over, peace out,' and headed for the jet," NYU professor and vocal tech critic Scott Galloway told CNBC's "Closing Bell" after the meeting. "I was saying this morning, it felt like prom night for me," Galloway said. "A lot of expectations, and now I'm just in a haze of disappointment and unmet expectations." Zuckerberg acknowledged the time limitations and attempted to close the meeting about 15 minutes after it was scheduled to end to the clear exasperation of several EU officials. "There were a lot of specific questions that I didn't get to specifically answer," Zuckerberg acknowledged as the meeting broke up. "I think I was able to address the high-level areas." A Facebook representative was not immediately available to comment on the meeting format after its conclusion. Mark Zuckerberg is meeting with European Union leaders Tuesday in his third appearance before regulators to address Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal. The social media founder and CEO spent 10 grueling hours before the U.S. Congress last month. He's likely to face harsher questioning from European leaders, who have historically been tougher on Silicon Valley and more concerned about privacy. The international probes were spurred by reports that British research firm Cambridge Analytica improperly gained access to the sensitive information of as many as 87 million Facebook users. The data leak has resurfaced earlier concerns around abuse of the platform, particularly around foreign meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Brexit vote in the U.K. Zuckerberg intends to tell the EU Parliament that Facebook is "committed to Europe" with a headquarters in Dublin and hubs in Denmark, Sweden and France according to his prepared remarks. The stream is slated to start at 12:15 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time. Username: Password: or Register Thread Rating: 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Diary of Last Russian Tsar's Final Days Published in US LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 348173 05-22-2018 05:06 AM Post: #1 Diary of Last Russian Tsar's Final Days Published in US Advertisement The English-language version of a diary written by the priest who heard the confession of the last Russian Tsar and his family has been published in the United States, the rector of the Russian Saint John the Baptist cathedral in Washington, Father Victor Potapov, told Sputnik. https://sputniknews.com/art_living/20150...execution/ Quote: "This diary, written by the priest Afanasy Belyaev, who heard their confessions when they were arrested by the Provisional government in 1917, is important for historic accuracy," Potapov said on Monday. "It can show Americans the spiritual character of Nicholas II and his family." The priest who spiritually prepared the Romanovs for their martyrs death, he added, shows their mood and how they accepted their sufferings without any complaints. The rector said he hoped the book can change the opinion of those in the West who still perceive the Romanovs as cruel autocrats. https://sputniknews.com/russia/201701021...ath-putin/ Quote: "In reality Tsar Nicholas and his family were very warm people who took the Orthodox faith very serious," he said. "Every bit of information on the Romanovs is very important for believers because each document shows us that they were indeed who the church claims they were." The Romanov family was canonized as martyred saints by the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia in 1981 and then by the Moscow Patriarchate in 2000, Potapov noted. The book has been published by the Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity monastery in Jordanville, New York which is tightly linked to Saint John the Baptist cathedral in Washington, DC. One of the parishioners, Evgeniy Vernigora, obtained the diary manuscript from famous Russian historian Alexander Bokhanov and brought it to the West. Protodeacon Leonid Michailitschenko translated it into English and another parishioner, Marilyn Swezey, renowned researcher of the life of Nicholas II, edited the book in which Victor Potapov wrote the preface. Colorized pictures of the family https://sputniknews.com/russia/201609261...w-history/ Quote: Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their five children and other aides and servants were killed by the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918. Their bodies had been secretly buried in a hole near Yekaterinburg and found several decades later. https://sputniknews.com/us/2018052210646...-romanovs/ WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The publication of the book, titled "The Romanovs Under House Arrest: From the 1917 Diary of a Palace Priest," coincides with two anniversaries, including the 150th year since the birth of Nicholas II on May 18, and one century since the last tsar and his family were massacred by the Bolsheviks on July 17.The English-language version of a diary written by the priest who heard the confession of the last Russian Tsar and his family has been published in the United States, the rector of the Russian Saint John the Baptist cathedral in Washington, Father Victor Potapov, told Sputnik.The priest who spiritually prepared the Romanovs for their martyrs death, he added, shows their mood and how they accepted their sufferings without any complaints. The rector said he hoped the book can change the opinion of those in the West who still perceive the Romanovs as cruel autocrats.The Romanov family was canonized as martyred saints by the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia in 1981 and then by the Moscow Patriarchate in 2000, Potapov noted.The book has been published by the Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity monastery in Jordanville, New York which is tightly linked to Saint John the Baptist cathedral in Washington, DC.One of the parishioners, Evgeniy Vernigora, obtained the diary manuscript from famous Russian historian Alexander Bokhanov and brought it to the West. Protodeacon Leonid Michailitschenko translated it into English and another parishioner, Marilyn Swezey, renowned researcher of the life of Nicholas II, edited the book in which Victor Potapov wrote the preface.Colorized pictures of the family LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 426905 05-22-2018 05:34 AM Post: #2 RE: Diary of Last Russian Tsar's Final Days Published in US And for their punishment they got Stalin. Freidman, 46, pleaded guilty Tuesday to evading taxes in court in Albany County. He agreed to pay restitution and judgments totaling $5 million to New York State, according to New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood. The Times suggested that Freidman's cooperation "could be used as leverage to pressure Cohen to work with the special counsel," Robert Mueller , "examining Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election." That cooperation by the "Taxi King" Freidman could spell very bad news for Cohen, who is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in New York City. Freidman has managed taxi cabs for Cohen for years. At one point, Friedman was one of the largest operators of taxi medallions in New York City. CNN reported last month that prosecutors are interested in Cohen's financial dealings with a husband and wife who own a large tax business in Chicago. Freidman was arrested last June on charges that he and another business partner stole more than $5 million in state surcharges that are imposed on taxi rides in New York City. But the amount of taxes he pleaded guilty to evading was much less than that, just $50,000. Often in cases involving an agreement to cooperate with prosecutors, a defendant is allowed to plead guilty to a charge that is much less serious than the initial one lodged. The criminal investigation of Cohen in New York, which was referred by Mueller to prosecutors there, is focused on his business dealings, as well as on a $130,000 payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said the money was in exchange for her agreeing not to speak to reporters about an affair she claims to have had with Trump in 2006. The White House has denied Trump had an affair with Daniels. But Trump did reimburse Cohen for the payment to her, according to a recent financial disclosure filing. Cohen has not been charged by prosecutors. However, his office, home and a hotel room where he had been staying were raided last month by FBI agents. After that raid, he and lawyers for Trump and the Trump organization have raised concerns in federal court in Manhattan that material seized in the raids that might be subject to attorney-client privilege protections might be improperly seen by the prosecutors investigating him. Judge Kimba Wood has appointed a so-called special master to review that material to avoid privileged documents from being seen by prosecutors. On Tuesday, Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, in a letter to Wood said he suspects that audio recordings relating to Daniels are being leaked to media outlets by Cohen or Cohen's own legal team. Avenatti also requested that she ask Cohen's lawyers about these leaks at a hearing scheduled for Thursday. It is not clear what audio recordings or media outlets Avenatti was talking about. Lawyers for Cohen did not immediately return requests for comment by CNBC. Avenatti's letter comes as Cohen's lawyers are opposing his request to be admitted to Manhattan federal court for the purpose of representing Daniels there. Because Avenatti is not currently admitted to federal court in New York, he needs a special "pro hac vice" admission for Cohen's case In his letter to Wood, Avenatti wrote: President Donald Trump (R) greets South Korean President Moon Jae-in prior to delivering a joint statement from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 30, 2017. South Korean president Moon Jae-in will meet Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday in a bid to salvage a potentially historic summit next month between the US leader and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. The hastily arranged White House trip is intended to reassure the Trump administration, which has indicated concern that next month's summit could fail, and irritation at Mr. Moon's own performance as a go-between. "It now seems Mr. Moon is the most anxious that the talks between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim could fall apart," said Kim Jae-chun, a professor at Sogang University in Seoul. While South Korea has positioned itself as the intermediary between Washington and Pyongyang for months, tensions have increased in recent days over the issue of the denuclearization of North Korea's weapons arsenal. US officials in particular John Bolton, Mr. Trump's hawkish national security adviser see a firm commitment to "denuclearize" as a key first step by Pyongyang, while North Korea has remained vague about how it might denuclearize, despite earlier pledges to do so. It said last week it would cancel the proposed summit if Washington continued to pressure it to "unilaterally" abandon its nuclear weapons program. "Mr. Moon will stress [to Mr. Trump] that the US should not push a one-sided denuclearization of North Korea by demanding it first dismantle nuclear weapons in return for compensation later," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. "Mr. Moon will probably tell Mr. Trump that what Kim Jong Un wants is to be treated as a normal leader of a normal nation. And they will discuss how to guarantee the Kim regime's security and how to help develop North Korea's economy." Pyongyang has been particularly irritated by the proposal made by Mr. Bolton that North Korea should adopt the " Libya model " for denuclearization a reference to the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's 2003 decision to scrap his country's fledgling nuclear program. The very idea of the Libya model of abandoning nuclear weapons in exchange for aid is known to infuriate officials in Pyongyang, who believe that the deal paved the way for Gaddafi's overthrow and murder in 2011. By contrast with his national security adviser, the US president last week dismissed the Libyan experience as a model for any eventual deal with Pyongyang, instead promising Mr Kim "very strong" protections if he agreed to dismantle the country's nuclear program. Even politicians in Seoul have expressed angst over Mr. Bolton's proposal, which has long been a taboo topic. "Because of Bolton's unreasonable talk about the Libyan model, there is now a red light in the inter-Korean and US-North Korea talks," said Woo Sang-ho, a lawmaker with the ruling Democratic party. "Trump's talk of guaranteeing the security of the North Korean regime is the complete opposite of Bolton's Libyan solution . . . I think the momentum for talks will only return after this issue gets cleared." Bong Young-shik, a North Korea expert at Yonsei University in Seoul, said: "Many officials in the Moon administration hate John Bolton because of [past] bitter experiences . . . He is known as a hardliner who does not work on a case-by-case basis." Mr. Moon last month met Kim Jong Un in a landmark summit that ended with a declaration to reduce hostilities and denuclearise the Korean peninsula. However, the exact meaning of denuclearization was never clarified and Mr. Moon now faces skepticism from the US that he over-interpreted North Korea's desire to denuclearize. "Mr. Trump already seems concerned that Mr. Moon misinterpreted Kim Jong Un's message or intention," said Prof Bong. "Mr. Moon runs the risk of losing his credibility." Pyongyang has long sought to sow dissension between Washington and Seoul, which have been allies since the Korean war. Some experts have expressed fear that if the US rushes into the June 12 summit without sufficient preparation, the meeting will inevitably fail and the risk of conflict on the Korean peninsula will once again increase. More from the Financial Times: North Korea's summit threats bode ill for nuclear deal Trump hails North Korea plan to close nuclear site US brushes off North Korean threats to pull out of summit AndreyPopov | Getty Images The evolution of a scam Chinese and Taiwanese people have been victims of telecommunication scams like this for decades. Crime syndicates would provide notes to their members, teaching them how to mask their caller IDs and what to say. The criminals usually collect personal information such as the student's name, birthday, university attended and where they are originally from. This information, though basic, is essential to build trust with the victims. The scam starts in Taiwan The first generation of the kidnapping scam started in Taiwan in the late 1990s. Organised crime syndicates would call parents and tell them that their child had been kidnapped and demand a ransom. During the call there would be sounds in the background of someone crying and screaming, saying "Help me, Mum/Dad!" Sometimes they might have the name of name of the child and, occasionally, will have researched the background of the family. Lots of Taiwanese were caught in the scam and paid the ransom. Since the sim cards in use at the time were usually pre-paid cards, and the mobile phones usually cloned, criminal investigation was difficult. This pushed Taiwanese Government to tighten the rules on purchasing pre-paid cards. And then moves to China Before too long organised crime syndicates with members from both Taiwan and China started to use this method to scam people in China. Criminals set up their crime base on Kinmen Island (an island belonging to Taiwan located close to the Chinese mainland). From there they could connect to the signals provided by a Chinese service provider and scam people in China. Conversely, crime bases were set up in Xiamen, the China territory opposite Kinmen, using signals provided by Taiwanese service providers to conduct scams on Taiwanese people. In both situations they could avoid being arrested as there was limited collaboration between Taiwan and China on criminal investigations. Collaboration between the two jurisdictions only began when the Chinese government realised the seriousness of the scam. The scam comes to Australia With the commencement of cooperation between Taiwan and China against the telecommunication scam, a number of cases were successfully cleared and suspects were repatriated between Taiwan and China for prosecution. To minimise the risk of prosecution, organised crime syndicates then moved to their operations to Eastern Europe, East Africa or Southeast Asia (including Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kenya, Thailand and the Philippines) in the past few years. Moving the call centre to a third country not only made it more difficult to investigate the crime, it also made a successful prosecution more difficult. Old scam, new tech What is innovative in the recent scam compared with the earlier ones is that they have chosen to target international students from China and Taiwan who are away from their family. International students are more likely to be a successful target since it's harder for parents based overseas to check whether the event is real. With the advance of technology, people are now putting more information online. At the same time, student data is a popular target for hackers and a hot product on the online black market. Criminals are able to target parents, build trust with them and persuade them the scam is real using the detailed information they have about the family and the "kidnapped" child. In the reported cases, the students followed the instructions of the criminal syndicates and hid themselves. When concerned parents cannot get in touch with their child, they tend to believe the scam is real and pay the ransom. Criminal investigation is difficult The transnational character of the crime has made investigation difficult. The victims students and parents are in different countries and, to make progress on an investigation, the Australian authorities need cooperation with Taiwanese or Chinese authorities. As the victims are not resident in the country where the syndicate is based and from where the scam is conducted, the police in the third country are usually reluctant to collaborate. Furthermore, members of the crime syndicates are highly mobile and it is often too late to secure evidence and arrest criminals by the time the police in Australia have received and actioned a request for investigation assistance. Or it might turn out that the call centre is not in Australia but in a third country. What students and families can do Oscar Health wants you to know that disrupting health insurance won't happen overnight. But it will happen eventually. The start-up, which ranks No. 12 on the 2018 Disruptor 50 List and is now in its sixth year, believes it finally has the formula in place to become profitable and improve the health-care experience for its members. It comes down to a mix of technology, provider partnerships and member experience. Oscar distinguishes itself from much larger rivals, including UnitedHealth, with its millennial-focused subway ads and iPhone apps for members to book appointments and get advice from doctors. But it has also done a lot of work behind the scenes to build an entirely new infrastructure for core insurance functions, like provider directories and processing claims. "It's a fairly simple thing," said Oscar's co-founder and CEO, Mario Schlosser. "We tried to do something complicated, and it took a long time to build the pieces to do it well." "We've now built them, and they're clicking together," he added. One major undertaking is a new system to process insurance claims. Oscar Health leaders Josh Kushner and Mario Schlosser. Schlosser said it's a vast improvement from most claims processing systems, which are essentially cobbled together from 1970s programming tools. Having its own infrastructure will allow it to do seemingly simple things that are often a struggle in the current health care systems, like paying doctors more for working peak hours like evenings and weekends, or giving members a clearer sense for how much procedures or tests will cost them. The project, which has been going on for two years, comes off the back of Oscar's $165 million fundraise from a mix of venture capital firms, including two branches of Google's parent company Alphabet. That puts its valuation at more than $3 billion, one of the highest in the booming health-technology sector. Stemming losses A few years ago, many in the health industry had all but written Oscar off as another start-up struggling to crack the insurance market. In New York alone, the company's home state, Oscar's losses amounted to $92.4 million in 2015 and more than $124 million in 2016. In that year, it made some big changes, including raising premiums and tightening up its network in various states, which helped it stem its losses in 2017. The company expects a much better result this year, claiming that its revenues from premiums are now higher than its pay-outs in medical claims. It chalks that up to tight partnerships with health systems in each state, which allows it to push members towards a more curated list of high-quality, but affordable, medical providers. More from CNBC Disruptor 50: How we chose the 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50 innovators 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki is leading a DNA revolution by going directly to consumersSilicon Valley tech bubble is larger than it was in 2000, and the end is coming The company now claims more than $300 million in gross premiums in Q1, and says it's on track to pass $1 billion in revenue this year. Throughout this year, it plans to grow at a rate of four to five cities per year, and is expecting to reach 260,000 members in 2018, up from a peak of 100,000 in 2017. "Before you know it, we'll be profitable," Brian West, the company's chief financial officer, told us recently. "It's around the corner." Fending off uncertainty "Two weeks ago, President Trump terminated the United States' participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo started his speech at the Heritage Foundation on Monday. "President Trump withdrew from the deal for a simple reason," he continued. "It failed to guarantee the safety of the American people from the risks created by the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Thus Pompeo began a talk grounded more in fantasy than strategy. He spoke repeatedly of an Iranian "march across the Middle East," painting Tehran as the mastermind of regional instability which poses an active, existential threat to U.S. friends and allies. The "path forward," as Pompeo described it, is for Iran to submit to onerous new U.S. sanctions and concede to a long list of demands. It is a list so exacting it is difficult to believe, as Daniel Larison notes at The American Conservative, that Pompeo could sincerely think it is a step away from conflict: The "ultimatum is so extensive and unreasonable that we have to assume that the administration intends for it to be rejected." President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration has not yet reached a deal with Beijing to save telecom company ZTE. The president contradicted a Wall Street Journal report indicating the Trump administration came to a tentative agreement with Beijing to revive the massive phone maker currently sanctioned by the U.S. government. Under the deal reported by the newspaper, ZTE would face financial penalties and have to make management changes. China could also pull back on billions of dollars in tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, according to the Journal. Trump denied reports of an agreement, saying "there is no deal" and adding that "we'll see what happens." However, he said moments later that he may seek a fine of up to $1.3 billion and changes in management at ZTE some of the parameters of the reported deal. "What I envision is a very large fine of more than a billion dollars, could be [$1.3 billion]. I envision a new management, a new board and very, very strict security rules. And I also envision that they will have to buy a big percentage of their parts and equipment from American companies," the president said. Trump's remarks came as Moon Jae-in, president of South Korea, visited the White House for pivotal discussions ahead of the planned U.S.-North Korea summit next month in Singapore. On Tuesday, Trump also said the meeting may not happen. In this April 1, 2017, file photo, a service dog named Orlando rests on the foot of its trainer, John Reddan, of Warwick, N.Y., while sitting inside a plane at Newark Liberty International Airport. The public has some strong opinions about the surge in emotional support animals on board airplanes. The U.S. Department of Transportation has received about 950 comments about the increase in emotional and psychiatric support animals in airplane cabins since it put out its request for public comment five days ago. The agency is considering changing its rules for bringing such animals on board. These animals can fly free of charge and without a carrier under the 1986 Air Carrier Access Act. But airlines, including Delta, United and American this year have tightened restrictions on such support animals, asking passengers to provide signed documents that state the animal can behave, after passengers and crew complained about allergies and soiled cabins, and raised concerns about travelers getting certification fraudulently. A passenger last year was mauled on a Delta flight by a passenger's emotional support dog. The DOT last week said it would not punish airlines for issuing "reasonable" restrictions on the movements of such animals around the cabin. "What about passengers who suffer from allergies to animals on board flights? Will airlines be providing separate flights for those passengers? Or, will there be designated flights for those who must travel with their service animals?" asked commenter Shirley K. Richard Deal urged regulators to only permit service animals for the blind. "If flying does not work for you then drive or walk. Enough is enough," Deal said. Pure Storage reported a first-quarter loss and revenue on Monday that beat Wall Street expectations. But a weak second-quarter outlook pushed shares of the flash storage company down 7 percent on Tuesday CEO Charles Giancarlo isn't too concerned about the setback, or behemoths, like Amazon, Google and Microsoft moving in on the cloud industry. In fact, he says giants entering the space actually drive business. "It's been very good for us," Giancarlo said. "What these hyperscalers have done is create architectures that private companies want to use inside their own data centers. As they move to that, they move to much more modern storage technologies, like Pure." Artificial intelligence and the massive amount of data it requires is also fueling business to companies like Pure, Giancarlo said. "The interest in A.I. by corporations is just off the charts," Giancarlo said on CNBC's "Squawk Alley." "At Pure, we are able to...feed GPUs, high speed applications, and A.I. environments at the speed they want that data to provide the intelligence companies want to make their businesses better." Since A.I. is all about crunching huge amounts of data, older, tiered storage systems that rank data by age aren't nimble enough to grant researchers quick access to even the oldest data sets, says Giancarlo. "These days, people want access to data, whether it was last week or last year or last decade. And in order to do that, the data needs to be kept hot," Giancarlo said. "If you want to look at long term trends and data...you want to be able to mine it for more than a week or two." Pure Storage is a flash storage company, founded in 2009 by John Hayes and John Colgrove. It made CNBC's Disruptor 50 list in 2014 and 2015. * Canadian dollar at C$1.2769, or 78.31 U.S. cents * Loonie touches its strongest since Thursday at C$1.2749 * Bond prices mixed across a steeper yield curve TORONTO, May 22 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, adding to Monday's rally as oil prices rose and domestic data showed a stronger-than-expected gain for wholesale trade. Canadian wholesale trade jumped by 1.1 percent in March, greater than the 0.6 percent gain forecast by analysts, thanks largely to strength in the motor vehicle and parts subsector, Statistics Canada said. The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, was supported by concern that falling Venezuelan crude output and a potential drop in Iranian exports could further tighten global supply. U.S. crude prices were up 0.2 percent at $72.39 a barrel. At 9:15 a.m. EDT (1315 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading 0.1 percent higher at C$1.2769 to the greenback, or 78.31 U.S. cents. The currency, which rose 0.8 percent on Monday, touched its strongest since Thursday at C$1.2749. Gains this week for the loonie have come as signs of easing trade tensions between the United States and China, the world's two largest economies, boosted global equity markets. However, 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. Canada sends about 75 percent of its exports to the United States, so its economy could be hurt if a deal on NAFTA is not reached. Canadian government bond prices were mixed across a steeper yield curve as trading resumed following Monday's Victoria Day holiday. The two-year was up 6 Canadian cents to yield2.032 percent and the 10-year declined 5 Canadian cents to yield 2.492 percent. On Thursday, the 10-year yield touched its highest in more than four years at 2.537 percent. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Username: Password: or Register Thread Rating: 2 Vote(s) - 5 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Page: 1 2 Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door Free At Last lop guest User ID: 441599 05-23-2018 12:33 AM Post: #1 Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door Advertisement In a statement about the news, Mr. Putin said his country is finally free from the icy grip of the Rothschild banking cartel and New World Order cabal. ... Putin says hes freed Russia from dependence on the US Dollar According to the Russian leader, de-dollarization needs to be promoted on principle, in order to protect the countrys sovereignty. ... They said we could not do it, they said we would be destroyed, Putin told personnel and senior associates at an event last year. Our future generations will be born without Rothschild chains around their wrists and ankles. This is the best present we can provide. The greatest tradition that can be passed on to your kids and grandchildren is not cash or other material things built up in life, however, rather a tradition of liberty from enslavement. Last year Putin advised his cabinet that he was handling the Rothschilds and globalist banksters by grabbing them by the scruff of the neck and kicking them out Russias back door. They do not own the world, and they do not have carte blanch to do whatever they desire. http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/for...read=99690 Our Hero! Would to God we had a President with real balls. Putin Announces Total Independence from Rothschild-Controlled US DollarIn a statement about the news, Mr. Putin said his country is finally free from the icy grip of the Rothschild banking cartel and New World Order cabal....Putin says hes freed Russia from dependence on the US DollarAccording to the Russian leader, de-dollarization needs to be promoted on principle, in order to protect the countrys sovereignty....They said we could not do it, they said we would be destroyed, Putin told personnel and senior associates at an event last year.Our future generations will be born without Rothschild chains around their wrists and ankles.This is the best present we can provide.The greatest tradition that can be passed on to your kids and grandchildren is not cash or other material things built up in life, however, rather a tradition of liberty from enslavement.Last year Putin advised his cabinet that he was handling the Rothschilds and globalist banksters by grabbing them by the scruff of the neck and kicking them out Russias back door.They do not own the world, and they do not have carte blanch to do whatever they desire.Our Hero! Would to God we had a President with real balls. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 441712 05-23-2018 12:36 AM Post: #2 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door He paid off the debt. That's what we need to do. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 441599 05-23-2018 01:36 AM Post: #3 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door LoP Guest Wrote: (05-23-2018 12:36 AM) He paid off the debt. That's what we need to do. I doubt it will ever happen. $Twenty-one Trillion Dollars. Where's it going to come from? Us? I doubt it will ever happen. $Twenty-one Trillion Dollars. Where's it going to come from? Us? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442207 05-23-2018 01:41 AM Post: #4 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442231 05-23-2018 01:43 AM Post: #5 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door LoP Guest Wrote: (05-23-2018 01:36 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-23-2018 12:36 AM) He paid off the debt. That's what we need to do. I doubt it will ever happen. $Twenty-one Trillion Dollars. Where's it going to come from? Us? Most of it is odious debt. Most of it is odious debt. Pasta Lover Registered User User ID: 418981 05-23-2018 01:45 AM Posts: 9,463 Post: #6 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door Russia is one of the lowest debt countries. They paid off their debts and the debts of the former soviet countries also. Putin has really good credit. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 381174 05-23-2018 02:59 AM Post: #7 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door LoP Guest Wrote: (05-23-2018 01:36 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-23-2018 12:36 AM) He paid off the debt. That's what we need to do. I doubt it will ever happen. $Twenty-one Trillion Dollars. Where's it going to come from? Us? The $21 trillion is a low ball figure, if you included all our retirement promises the debt balloons to something like $120 trillion. There are only 2 ways to deal with the debt, 1) default on the debt (which would bust nearly every major bank) or 2) have the government print it's own currency, greenbacks interest free. They will eventually go with option #2 because it won't destroy the banks, but that currency will get destroyed because they are not fiscally responsible. It would just give them another 10-15 years. The $21 trillion is a low ball figure, if you included all our retirement promises the debt balloons to something like $120 trillion.There are only 2 ways to deal with the debt, 1) default on the debt (which would bust nearly every major bank) or 2) have the government print it's own currency, greenbacks interest free.They will eventually go with option #2 because it won't destroy the banks, but that currency will get destroyed because they are not fiscally responsible. It would just give them another 10-15 years. RiskyRob ( Lop V.I.P.) User ID: 442246 05-23-2018 03:09 AM Posts: 8,137 Post: #8 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door rumormillnews = fake news Ascended Master LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442231 05-23-2018 03:13 AM Post: #9 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door RiskyRob Wrote: (05-23-2018 03:09 AM) rumormillnews = fake news This was announced on a number of articles and websites dumdum. This was announced on a number of articles and websites dumdum. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 348173 05-23-2018 03:59 AM Post: #10 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442177 05-23-2018 10:25 AM Post: #11 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door Pasta Lover Wrote: (05-23-2018 01:45 AM) Russia is one of the lowest debt countries. They paid off their debts and the debts of the former soviet countries also. Putin has really good credit. I don't think Putin needs credit, he has his tame oligarchs to keep him in luxury. Russia on the other hand does badly on the bond markets. They have to pay a high dividend to float their debt, about 15 times the rate Germany pays. https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/gove...bond-yield I don't think Putin needs credit, he has his tame oligarchs to keep him in luxury. Russia on the other hand does badly on the bond markets. They have to pay a high dividend to float their debt, about 15 times the rate Germany pays. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 439693 05-23-2018 10:27 AM Post: #12 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door LoP Guest Wrote: (05-23-2018 01:43 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-23-2018 01:36 AM) I doubt it will ever happen. $Twenty-one Trillion Dollars. Where's it going to come from? Us? Most of it is odious debt. God asks Fifty Year Jubilee from His people. Apparently they aren't His people. God asks Fifty Year Jubilee from His people. Apparently they aren't His people. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442178 05-23-2018 10:36 AM Post: #13 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door New forms of energy will be coming on to line soon. He knows the only card's he holds are gas and oil LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 441599 05-23-2018 11:09 AM Post: #14 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door RiskyRob Wrote: (05-23-2018 03:09 AM) rumormillnews = fake news Sorry, Risky Bob, Russia' debts are PAID off. You should have done a few more searches before you said FAKE NEWS SITE on your thread. August 22, 2017 Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the final payment on all of the former Soviet republics debts to the worlds central banks making Russia the only country to set itself free from the tyrannical grip of the New World Orders banking system. https://yournewswire.com/putin-russia-debt-banks/ By 2006 Putin had paid off Russias debt to the Rothschilds. Russias financial dependence on the Mafia financiers was now over. ... https://politicalvelcraft.org/2013/03/23...es-to-u-k/ Putins Purge Of The Rothschild Money Changers By Brother Nathanael Kapner - Copyright A 2008 Primary Source: Putins Plan, Gaddy & Kuchins By 2006 Putin had paid off Russias debt to the Rothschilds. Russias financial dependence on the Jewish financiers was now over. Putin could then establish what became his Russian Unity Partys 2007 campaign slogan: Putinas Plan Means Victory For Russia! This slogan continues to make the New World Order Jews very nervous http://www.realjewnews.com/ Be very careful when you accuse posters of using fake news sources. Shame on you! Sorry, Risky Bob, Russia' debts are PAID off. You should have done a few more searches before you said FAKE NEWS SITE on your thread.August 22, 2017Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the final payment on all of the former Soviet republics debts to the worlds central banks making Russia the only country to set itself free from the tyrannical grip of the New World Orders banking system.By 2006 Putin had paid off Russias debt to the Rothschilds. Russias financial dependence on the Mafia financiers was now over. ...Putins Purge Of TheRothschild Money ChangersBy Brother Nathanael Kapner - Copyright A 2008Primary Source: Putins Plan, Gaddy & KuchinsBy 2006 Putin had paid off Russias debt to the Rothschilds. Russias financial dependence on the Jewish financiers was now over. Putin could then establish what became his Russian Unity Partys 2007 campaign slogan: Putinas Plan Means Victory For Russia! This slogan continues to make the New World Order Jews very nervousBe very careful when you accuse posters of using fake news sources.Shame on you! Flic Vange Registered User User ID: 442180 05-23-2018 12:12 PM Posts: 1,777 Post: #15 RE: Putin Gives Rothschilds a Kick Out Of The Russian Back Door Voltaire: I detest your views but I would give my life to protect your rights to express them. https://globalcrypto.exchange/i/R0NYMTYxMDUyMDY0OQ== Bitcoin-bc1qq9r87uasrxv59hz92zy9t47r96aezdfuqnujfx Bitcoin-bc1qq9r87uasrxv59hz92zy9t47r96aezdfuqnujfx Advertisement wrongdoings@ (Corrects May 4 story to show ICA said a court had declared fine void, and that the regulator is appealing in paragraph 18) MEXICO CITY, May 4 (Reuters) - Mexico's Supreme Court has struck a blow to those who would like to bury news about alleged wrongdoing by executives and others punished for breaking securities laws, a step toward more transparency in the corporate world. For years, accused violators of securities and banking laws in Mexico could hide behind lengthy appeals, during which regulators were barred from commenting on charges and investors were left in the dark about crimes such as insider trading. But in a little noticed decision in February, the Supreme Court backed new powers given to the banking and securities regulator CNBV in 2014 to name violators. In the first case of its kind to reach the highest court, justices threw out a bid by the former chief executive of Mexican builder ICA to quash news of a 2016 reprimand for failing to alert investors to key information early enough. The ruling gives the CNBV an edge in ongoing legal battles with companies and executives who are using injunctions to keep sanctions under wraps, said Pedro Torres, a legal expert at university Tec de Monterrey. "It is an achievement of the authorities that sets a precedent for transparency in the securities markets," Torres said. "The rule is clear: people will realize that if they go to court with similar schemes, they are going to lose." Mexico has lagged other major Latin American economies such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru in fighting corruption and improving market transparency, said Will Landers, a managing director at BlackRock Inc in Princeton, New Jersey. "Improvements are needed for Mexico to catch up to other Latin American markets and increase investor confidence," he said. "Any move to get rid of favoritism and provide more certainty to investors will be welcomed by markets." ICA's former head was one of at least 13 executives and companies that filed similar gag orders, arguing the new law violated their rights, according to officials, court documents and the CNBV's database. The regulator lost five of those motions in lower courts but overturned eight of them. Previously regulators were barred from publishing or even commenting on sanctions until all legal options had been exhausted, a process that can take years. In response to questions from Reuters, the CNBV said in a statement that the Supreme Court's ruling set a general precedent that ratified the watchdog's power to publish sanctions related to both securities and banking laws violations. The repercussions can go beyond mere embarrassment. In March, for example, when the chief financial officer of conglomerate Alfa resigned, the company cited a CNBV fine for insider trading. TEST OF LEGAL FRAMEWORK For a time, ICA was the country's largest construction company, helping build the Mexico City subway and more than 15 airports. But a drop in the value of the peso in late 2014 and fewer government projects left it struggling to pay dollar-denominated debt. ICA's stock price collapsed in 2015 and it was forced to delist from the New York Stock Exchange in 2016 before eventually filing for bankruptcy last August. ICA's former CEO, Alonso Quintana, was reprimanded by the CNBV in 2016 for failing to inform investors that ICA's stock was in danger of being kicked off the NYSE, according to court documents. The company also received a fine on the same day of nearly 2.2 million pesos ($117,000) for failing to disclose information, the CNBV's public database showed, though it was not clear if it was for the same violation. ICA had not paid the fine as of early May, according to the CNBV database. The company said in a statement that a court had declared the fine void, but that the regulator is appealing that decision. The company declined to answer further questions from Reuters. Quintana, who resigned as CEO in February 2016, declined to comment for this story. Quintana fought in court for two years to block the CNBV from disclosing his reprimand. Like other executives and companies who filed gag orders, he argued that allowing the regulator to publish sanctions could unfairly affect their reputations as they fought to overturn charges in court. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the CNBV has a constitutional right to publish limited data on sanctions, even as appeals proceed, and that the public's right to know outweighs potential damages to a litigant's reputation. Mauricio Basila, a former top CNBV official now in private law practice, said the case showed Mexico's elite, who closely control many of the country's publicly listed companies, feared the "stain" on their reputation, whether there was a fine or not. "It is very important that these cases are seen, because they put our legal framework to the test," he said. ($1 = 18.8040 Mexican pesos) (Reporting by Michael O'Boyle and Christine Murray, Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos in New York; editing by Rosalba O'Brien) (Adds EU parliamentarian) BERLIN, May 22 (Reuters) - Germany's government will help German firms with business in Iran where it can, but cannot entirely shield them from the U.S. decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions against Tehran, the economy minister told a newspaper. European companies conducting business in Iran face U.S. sanctions after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord between six major powers and Iran. EU officials say there is no easy way to protect EU firms and banks from the extraterritorial nature of the U.S. sanctions. Asked how the German government could assist German firms feeling nervous in the wake of the U.S. decision, Altmaier told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper that Berlin would help them assess the situation and developments while also urging the U.S. to grant exemptions and deadline extensions. "We will help where we can, but there is no way of completely averting the consequences of this unilateral withdrawal," he said. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will meet in Washington on Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has demanded that Iran make sweeping changes or face "the strongest sanctions in history." Underlining the growing divide with Tehran, a senior commander from Iran's Revolutionary Guards poured scorn on Pompeo's threat on Tuesday, saying Iran's people would respond by punching the Secretary of State in the mouth. Michael Gahler, a German conservative in the European Parliament, warned that Washington's get-tough approach would only further strengthen the position of hardliners in Tehran, while doing little to improve Israel's security. "U.S. industry also had no interest in seeing contacts with us worsened indirectly via the policies directed at Iran," Gahler told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. Turning to the U.S. decision to impose import duties of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum - from which European Union countries have been exempted until June 1 - Altmaier said Europe was in favor of free trade and wanted tariffs to be reduced, not raised: "When tariffs are increased, it's the citizens who foot the bill and, if goods become more expensive, jobs are jeopardized." He said there would be no winner in a tariff or trade war, adding: "If you fight fire with fire, all you're left with is scorched earth. And it would be the consumers who suffer. That would be fatal and that's why I'm fighting for free trade and our jobs with all of my might." RUSSIA AND EUROPE Altmaier said a sharp cooling of the relationship between the European Union and Russia in recent years and a downturn in trading had hit millions of people in Europe. "We'll talk to the new Russian government about how, despite sanctions and punitive tariffs, an economic exchange can be developed that leads to new economic dynamism," Altmaier said. "Of course, that doesn't get rid of the political differences. It would be wrong to lift the EU sanctions against Russia at the moment because the reasons that led to them haven't changed yet," he added. Asked about French President Emmanuel Macron's comment this month that Germany needed to wean itself off the "fetish of fiscal conservatism" to become a leading force for European renewal, Altmaier said Germany was prepared to invest in Europe, bring about reforms and strengthen Europe. He said Germany had found that sticking to a balanced budget had resulted in more prosperity and financial wiggle room, and meant it could invest more. (Reporting by Michelle Martin and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Andrew Heavens) * Truckers not convinced by proposed CIDE tax cut * Protests affect ports, threaten soy, meat deliveries * Petrobras cuts diesel prices, shares fall * Finance minister, Petrobras CEO deny interference (Recasts with proposal to cut fuel tax, truckers' reaction) SAO PAULO, May 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian truck drivers on Tuesday vowed to extend their protest against high fuel prices into a third day despite a government compromise to cut a fuel tax, threatening to slow economic activity and interrupt exports of grains and other goods. Thousands of trucks were parked to obstruct major roads as the protests interrupted traffic along a major soy shipping route in the grains state of Mato Grosso and impeded access to the country's two main export ports, Santos and Paranagua. Brazil is a key global supplier of grains, meat, coffee and sugar most of which reach ports by road. Soy futures rose in Chicago on Tuesday for a second straight day as the protests threatened to halt shipments of Brazil's record soybean harvest. In an effort to address truckers' demands, congressional leaders floated a plan on Tuesday afternoon to eliminate the CIDE fuel tax and put additional revenue from payroll taxes toward reducing fuel prices, which have surged nearly 50 percent in less than a year. Diesel prices ended last week at 3.595 reais ($0.99) per liter, according to regulator ANP. However, the trucking group organizing the protests, ABCAM, said demonstrations would continue on Wednesday, complaining that the CIDE accounted for only a fraction of the taxes on diesel fuel. According to Petrobras, state and federal taxes make up 29 percent of the final price paid by the consumer. "That doesn't solve the problem. We want to be heard. We want diesel taxes to be eliminated," ABCAM President Jose da Fonseca Lopes told Reuters. His comments added to pressure on the government to provide relief from fuel costs, giving it the choice of backsliding on efforts to close Brazil's fiscal deficit or interfering in the state-controlled oil company's pricing policy. A small diesel price cut announced on Tuesday by Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, did nothing to reduce protests. But it did raise concerns about interference in a program of near-daily adjustments to track global markets since last July. That new pricing policy, which has allowed the company to sell fuel at a profit after absorbing losses for years, has been key to the operational turnaround at Petrobras, lifting its share price to an eight-year high this month. Petrobras Chief Executive Pedro Parente and Finance Minister Eduardo Guardia both denied that the government had asked the company to change its pricing policy on Tuesday. Petrobras shares fell as much as 3.4 percent on concerns of political interference, but pared losses to 1 percent on news of the proposal to lower pump prices through tax policy. BLOCKADES EXPAND ABCAM said truckers protested in 23 states as participation rose from around 200,000 drivers on Monday, the first day of demonstrations, to an estimated 300,000 on Tuesday. That would represent around a tenth of Brazil's total truck fleet, according to data from transport lobby CNT. A toll road operator in Mato Grosso said blockades had expanded overnight to four points along the key BR-163 highway, which carries grains to northern and southern ports for export. An official with road operator Rota do Oeste said protesters would let only passenger vehicles, ambulances and live or perishable cargo get through. At the port in Santos, Latin America's largest, truck drivers blocked traffic near the terminals, said Codesp, the state-run firm that administers the area. Pork and poultry processor group ABPA said the protests are affecting transportation of feed and animals, adding that blockades had stopped work at eight plants on Tuesday and 30 more would stop on Wednesday. Aurora, Brazil's third-largest chicken and pork producer, said it would halt work at fifteen plants in four states on Thursday and Friday due to the lack of storage space or transportation options. Automakers General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co said the strike was disrupting car production, while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said parts deliveries were affected. Vehicle assembly relies on "just in time" delivery of components, which keeps stockpiles low to reduce costs. (Reporting by Ana Mano and Alberto Alerigi Jr. Additional reporting by Jose Roberto Gomes, Gram Slattery and Marcelo Teixeira in Sao Paulo, Mateus Maia in Brasilia; Editing by Paul Simao and Dan Grebler) (Updates with Cheniere approval of new LNG unit) May 22 (Reuters) - China's interest in reducing its trade surplus with the United States through increased energy imports could advance plans for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and ethanol sales, analysts and energy executives involved in developing new LNG facilities said. Washington and Beijing stepped back from the brink of a full-blown trade war after talks last week, with the United States appearing to set aside for now its demands that China revamp key planks of its industrial policy. "China represents an enormous economic opportunity for U.S. LNG and ethanol exports as both products will likely see dramatic demand growth in the coming years, during which time the United States is also expected to dominate global export markets," Katie Bays, energy analyst at Height Securities in Washington, D.C., said in a note on Tuesday. Bays estimated that substantial LNG sales commitments could bring in between $20 billion and $30 billion annually and ethanol sales could reach $5 billion to $7 billion annually. She noted, however, that the LNG and ethanol markets are not big enough by themselves to meet President Donald Trump's goal of reducing the Chinese trade deficit by $200 billion per year. On Tuesday, Cheniere Energy Inc said its board approved financing for an LNG unit, the first new approval in the United States since 2015. The decision adds a third unit capable of producing 0.7-billion cubic feet per day of liquefied natural gas to its Corpus Christi, Texas, plant. There are more than two dozen proposed U.S. LNG plants waiting for customer commitments to reach a final investment decision, many of them looking to China for deals. China overtook South Korea in 2017 as the world's second biggest buyer of LNG behind Japan. The country, which imported 5.6 billion cubic feet per day last year, is looking to buy more low-cost sources of energy, like gas, to reduce its use of coal and cut pollution. Charlie Cone, LNG proprietary analyst for energy data provider Genscape, said at least 13 percent of total U.S. LNG cargoes currently go to China. "We expect this number to grow as more U.S. firms sign long-term agreements with Chinese buyers as their nation continues to develop its gas infrastructure," Cone said. Bays said a hold on the trade war could drive Chinese customers to sign new LNG contracts with Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass or Corpus Christi facilities, Sempra Energy's Cameron, Freeport LNG, NextDecade Corp's Rio Grande, or Pembina Pipeline Corp's Jordan Cove. "We see it as a positive development," said William Daughdrill, director of health, safety and environmental matters at Delfin Midstream. The company's chief executive was in Asia last week pursuing customers, Daughdrill said. Delfin is proposing a floating LNG facility in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and aiming for a final investment decision as early as this year to go ahead and produce up to 13 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG for export. "For us, it's strictly been about marketing to China," said Greg Vesey, chief executive of LNG Ltd, which is developing an LNG plant in Louisiana and another in Nova Scotia in Canada. It hopes to reach a final investment decision on the U.S. project by year-end and begin exports in 2022, he said. "If you look at some forecasts for 2035, there are really only two places that have significant increases in LNG imports. Europe goes up about 100 mtpa and China goes up about 200 mtpa," Vesey said. Texas LNG, which is proposing a 4-mtpa export facility in Brownsville, Texas, and has five early-stage agreements with Chinese customers, hopes to make a final decision next year, about six months behind its original goal. "Sentiment in the LNG markets is heating up again," said Langtry Meyer, co-founder of the company. He added, however, that Texas LNG was not considering developing an import terminal in China, which would likely be needed to expand U.S. exports. As for ethanol, Bays at Height Securities said ethanol producers like Archer Daniels Midland Co and Green Plains Inc could benefit from negotiations with China given the political importance of corn producers to Trump, coupled with China's need to increase ethanol imports dramatically to meet its 2020 renewable fuel objectives. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York; Writing by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Tom Brown and Leslie Adler) -sources@ * Deal likely involves China buying more U.S. farm goods * Sources cite opposition within U.S. government, business circles * Chinese officials had put ZTE at centre of broader trade dispute (Adds Chinese foreign ministry comment) BEIJING, May 22 (Reuters) - Washington and Beijing are nearing a deal that would remove an existing U.S. order banning American companies from supplying Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp , two people briefed on the talks told Reuters. The people, who declined to be identified because negotiations are confidential, said the deal could include China removing tariffs on imported U.S. agricultural products, as well as buying more American farm goods. ZTE, hit by a seven-year ban in April which effectively crippled its operations, would gain a reprieve after the world's two largest economies stepped back from the brink of a full-blown trade war following talks last week. The company did not immediately reply to requests for comment. White House advisors have said previously the ban against ZTE is being reexamined, and that the firm would still face "harsh" punishment, including enforced changes of management and at board level. One person told Reuters there was a "handshake deal" on ZTE between U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He during talks in Washington last week that would remove the ban in exchange for the purchase of more U.S. agricultural products. The second person said China may also eliminate tariffs on U.S. agriculture products it assessed in response to U.S. steel duties, and that ZTE could still be forced to replace its leadership, among other penalties. Both sources said the deal, while not yet cemented, was likely to be finalised before or during a planned trip by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to Beijing next week to help reach a broader trade pact to avert a trade war. The company, publicly traded but whose largest shareholder is a Chinese state-owned enterprise, had been hit with penalties for breaking a 2017 agreement after it was caught illegally shipping U.S. goods to Iran and North Korea, in an investigation dating to the Obama administration. Shares in Chinese telecommunications gear firms jumped on the news of the reprieve. "HOSTAGE ZTE" The sources said that while U.S. companies that sold products to ZTE would be relieved if a deal was reached, some in the U.S. government as well as the business community have said they opposed what they saw as a clear-cut legal case being used as a bargaining chip in the broader trade conflict. American companies provide an estimated 25 percent to 30 percent of components in ZTE's equipment, which includes smartphones and gear to build telecommunications networks. Earlier in May, Trump signalled a stunning reversal on ZTE when he said on Twitter that he would help the company get "back into business, fast", saying the ban would cost too many jobs in China. Chinese officials had made the issue a key focus of their demands during negotiations in Beijing earlier in May, threatening to halt talks on broader bilateral trade disputes unless Washington agreed to ease the sanctions, according to sources at the time. Chinese officials had viewed the U.S. punishment, which prompted the country's second-largest maker of telecommunications equipment to suspend its main operations, as an attack that exposed China's dependence on imports of key technologies. China's Ministry of Commerce did not respond to a faxed request for comment. Many experts have said the case will push Beijing to double down on state support for strategic industries, an issue that remains at the heart of U.S.-China trade friction. "The release of hostage ZTE will be the start of China and the U.S. to implement their trade agreements," Hu Xijin, editor in chief of Chinese state-backed Global Times tabloid, said on his Twitter account after news of the deal was reported. Washington and Beijing both claimed victory in trade talks on Monday as the world's two largest economies stepped back from a global trade war and agreed to hold further talks to boost U.S. exports to China. Over the weekend, the two sides pledged to keep talking about how China could import more energy and agricultural commodities from the United States so as to narrow the $335 billion annual U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China, although details and a firm timeline were thin. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news briefing that following the consensus reached by the two sides over the weekend, the United States would send a high-level delegation to China for detailed discussions - apparently referring to Ross' visit - and urged people to wait and see the outcome. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Se Young Lee and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING, and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christopher Cushing) "We should not be trading off national security interests for whatever the latest deal the president is trying to cook up may be," the Democratic senator from Maryland said on " Closing Bell ." An amendment to that effect, introduced by Van Hollen, passed the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. It applies specifically to ZTE or any other Chinese telecom company. President Donald Trump should not be able to unilaterally repeal or modify sanctions against Chinese telecom company ZTE, Sen. Chris Van Hollen told CNBC on Tuesday. The ZTE logo is seen on an office building in Shanghai on May 3, 2018. Earlier in the day, Trump said his administration has not yet reached a deal with Beijing to save the telecom company. His statement contradicted a report by The Wall Street Journal that indicated the Trump administration came to a tentative agreement to revive the phone maker. U.S. companies have been barred from selling to ZTE because the company violated American sanctions on North Korea and Iran. ZTE said the move threatened its survival. Trump previously directed the Commerce Department to consider how to get ZTE back in business. On Tuesday, he reiterated that he decided to try to help the company after Chinese President Xi Jinping "asked me to look into it." He also argued he did so because the inability to sell to ZTE is "really hurting American companies." However, Van Hollen said there is a reason the sanctions were imposed. "When you decide that you are going to lift those penalties on a whim, it sends a very bad signal to all others who may be thinking of violating our sanctions, whether with Iran or North Korea," he argued. His amendment would require the president to make a certification to Congress that there has been no violation of U.S. law for one year and that the company is cooperating. CNBC's Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report. If you thought San Francisco (or New York) was home to every disruptive tech company, think again. Yes, the lion's share of the world's tech companies call Silicon Valley home, but as it turns out, plenty of innovative companies do thrive in the most unlikely places outside of that little region of California. The 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50 list proves just that, with nearly half of this year's list coming from locations outside of California and New York. There's no denying that Silicon Valley reigns as the place to start a new tech company. With its deep pool of talent, an abundance of capital, and a business culture that encourages crazy new ideas as well as celebrates failure, many young innovators make the pilgrimage there and never leave. Silicon Valley's entrepreneurs enjoy the plethora of tech billionaires who are constantly looking for new ideas to fund. Recreating that model elsewhere is impossible. So how is it that communities far outside of Silicon Valley that lack private money to support innovation are generating so many disruptive companies? The answer to that question is that local governments and foundations have stepped in to offer capital, mentors, and much-needed support to entrepreneurs. SpaceX has upended the rocket industry, making founder Elon Musk the world's most disruptive space pioneer. The visionary entrepreneur is bent on building giant low-cost reusable rockets and spaceships that can be used to colonize humans on Mars. In the process, he is helping to catalyze a private space exploration industry in the United States while outmaneuvering mammoth aerospace companies like Boeing. SpaceX is the No. 1 company on the 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50 list, announced Tuesday. SpaceX has vaulted to become one of the most valuable private companies in the world, with a valuation estimated at $28 billion. As its long-term prospects soar, it is steadily raising funds from global investors to fuel its lofty ambitions. The company's achievements have many awestruck: In February it launched the world's most-powerful rocket since NASA's Saturn V. It stood more than 21 stories high. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from historic launchpad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 6, 2018. Thom Baur | Reuters But Musk is far from done. Musk believes SpaceX will be completing "short trips" for its Mars rocket system in 2019, while also beginning to roll out its constellation of 4,425 satellites. It is the next stage of Musk's master plan to put 1 million people on the Red Planet to ensure the survival of the human race in the event of a world war or some other catastrophe on Earth. "We are building the first Mars or interplanetary ship right now," Musk revealed at the South by Southwest conference in March, noting its code name is BFR. The short-term goal he announced was to launch cargo vehicles to Mars by 2022 that would bring basic needs to build an infrastructure for future missions. SpaceX began 2018 the way it ended 2017: Batting a thousand. Called by some as "the dawn of the entrepreneurial space age," last year saw SpaceX complete 18 rocket launches successfully, including when it became the first in history to launch and land two rockets within 48 hours. The space company also made NASA history, becoming the first to launch a supply mission to the International Space Station on a reused rocket. Up next: A crewed flight of the new Dragon capsule mounted atop a Falcon 9 rocket. It will be a test to see if humans can be transported safely to the International Space Station. The company just launched the final, most powerful version of Falcon 9 called Block 5, which SpaceX must fly seven times before NASA certifies it for human flight. A view of The Palms, Dubai, as the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft passes below, in an image taken by European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake from the International Space Station on April 10, 2016. Getty Images "SpaceX continues to change the landscape of the space industry," Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, told CNBC. "Their launches are becoming much more routine, and I think that's what we're striving for in this industry." The company changed the industry paradigm for launching rockets from a focus on reliability and cost to one that benefits from nearly on-demand launches. SpaceX is combining an increasing launch cadence with a decreasing turnaround time launching, landing and relaunching rockets in a matter of months. For Falcon 9, Musk said he wants to pare that turnaround time to 24 hours by next year. The new space race "It's all about getting hardware to orbit, because the hardware is what generates the revenue. Availability is essential, and people miss that point," prominent space investor Dylan Taylor told CNBC. Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin, is developing the New Shepard rocket for space tourism. Blue Origin SpaceX has proved to be an undaunted challenger when competing against legacy companies like Boeing. The two are neck-and-neck in the race to fulfill contracts for NASA's Commercial Crew program to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station the former with its Starliner capsules and the latter its Dragon capsules. In developing the world's biggest rockets, SpaceX is a leap ahead of Boeing. The world's largest aerospace company is the primary contractor for NASA's new Space Launch System rocket. The first iteration of SLS will be able to lift slightly more weight than SpaceX's Falcon Heavy. But that launch will not happen for at least two years after tens of billions in taxpayer spending and over a decade in development. Moreover, before NASA believes the more powerful version of SLS will launch, SpaceX expects its massive BFR to be sending cargo to Mars. "I don't think anyone can" compete with even Falcon Heavy, let alone BFR, former Pentagon Under Secretary of Defense for acquisition tech and logistics John Young told CNBC in February. "Musk said it's 'game over,' and I believe that's true." Boeing's executives, along with Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, have repeatedly stated the intention of beating Musk to Mars, with Hewson pointing to her company's heritage building exploratory spacecraft for NASA. "In terms of being the first to Mars, we have been on every Mars mission from the very first one," Hewson told CNBC in March. A US rocket industry is rising again President and COO Gwynne Shotwell is helping lead Musk's vision to reach Mars, with the company ramping up production on the BFR system. SpaceX is in the late stages of negotiating a long-term lease to build a facility on the Los Angeles waterfront, where BFR is expected to be built before being shipped to the company's test facility in Texas. Millions tune in around the world to watch SpaceX's launch livestreams, but here in the United States industry experts talk often about SpaceX's all-American supply chain. From the Pentagon to financial analysts, many are heralding SpaceX as responsible for bringing the rocket industry back to the United States. For decades, rockets built by United Launch Alliance flew U.S. Air Force and NASA missions on Russian engines or other systems bought overseas. "They're an all U.S. launcher. For a long time our military and intelligence capability was not launched using all U.S. capability," Carissa Christensen, CEO of consulting firm Bryce Space and Technology, told CNBC. The Air Force continues to award SpaceX hundreds of millions of dollars in launch contracts, with Secretary Heather Wilson telling Congress in March that the decreasing cost to launch is "enabling business plans to close in space that never were possible before." "For a decade and a half, launch costs were ballooning until SpaceX came in and said, 'We can do it cheaper,'" Sam Korus, ARK Invest analyst, told CNBC. SpaceX senior vice president Tim Hughes told Congress in a July testimony that "the U.S. had effectively ceded" the commercial rocket launch market "to France and to Russia." Hughes showed how, before 2013, the U.S. lacked a foothold in this market. SpaceX helped the United States reclaim not just a portion but a majority in the global launch market in 2017 and represented more than 60 percent of U.S. launches while doing so. Under the Commercial Crew program, SpaceX and Boeing will return the capability of launching U.S. astronauts to space from U.S. soil, after years of paying heavy premiums to Russia for flights aboard its Soyuz rockets. "I think in terms of how much of a difference it's going to make once it launches and once we have routine access for American astronauts on American launch vehicles," Stallmer said. For SpaceX, putting astronauts on its rockets is the next critical milestone in its development. "The human-rated piece, for SpaceX, puts them in a totally different category," Taylor said, adding that "there's no reason to believe they can't be exceptional at that." Myriad milestones SpaceX dashed from one milestone to the next over the last 12 months. Beyond the 48-hour launch-and-land accomplishment, SpaceX made NASA history, set the new standard for heavy rockets, challenged U.S. regulatory policies, put to action a little-known safety technology, doubled its valuation and surpassed its own reusability expectations. The company became the first in history to launch a resupply mission to the International Space Station on a reused rocket in December. It was the first time NASA approved such a mission, while being the fourth time SpaceX launched with what it calls a "flight proven" booster. The mission also launched a previously used Dragon capsule, flown on a mission in April 2015 for NASA. In February, Falcon Heavy became the most powerful commercial rocket in the world after SpaceX successfully completed its first launch of the behemoth. The launch was the most ambitious yet for Musk's company, putting one of Musk's personal Teslas into orbit around the sun in a dramatic and beautiful display of power. "The way [Falcon Heavy] was executed demonstrates what is totally unique about SpaceX. The way that they changed the zeitgeist," Christensen said. The rocket put SpaceX at the top of a short list of available heavy lift vehicles. Falcon Heavy is both more powerful and capable of lifting more than twice as much weight compared to the biggest rockets offered by either ULA or Arianespace at a fraction of the cost. "Falcon Heavy was just an incredible accomplishment in terms of the capabilities of that vehicle," George Nield, former leader of the Federal Aviation Administration's office of Commercial Space Transportation, told CNBC. "It's incredible to have that up and running now, to think that was done with internal funding not government development funds and to also show the ability to excite the general public." For a decade and a half, launch costs were ballooning until SpaceX came in and said, 'We can do it cheaper.' Sam Korus ARK Invest analyst "Government can and must do better," Ross said. "It shouldn't take longer to get a license than it does to design a rocket or a satellite." The FAA continues to work closely with SpaceX as the office responsible for licensing all launches by U.S. citizens and companies. Speaking about his time leading the FAA in that capacity, Nield said one of SpaceX's most impressive achievements last year "had to do with the implementation of the autonomous flight safety system" (or AFSS). The new system was developed by the Air Force in cooperation with NASA and the FAA before SpaceX took the technology and created an interface to utilize AFSS for launches of its Falcon 9 rocket. More from CNBC Disruptor 50: The current tech bubble is bigger than the one in 2000 How 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki is leading a DNA revolution Oscar Health has a vision of fairer pay for doctors and clearer pricing for patients Traditionally, rockets had a flight termination system on board that ground controllers could use to blow up the rocket if it went off course, Nield noted. "Typically, the Air Force has possibility for running the launch ranges and has a big team that does that. It takes them several days to do a new launch after they've completed a previous launch," Nield said. With AFSS, the Falcon 9 keeps track of "where it is and how fast it's going," Nield said. If the rocket heads off course, then the onboard computer "can automatically destruct the rocket," he said. That means there is no longer a need for "that massive ground infrastructure," according to Nield, giving the job over to a handful of safety inspectors and making the Air Force's "only role ... to help coordinate emergency response and help keep things clear for the launch." "It was a real turning point in terms of how launches can be conducted efficiently," Nield said. "You can have two launches in quick succession if you don't have to reconfigure all these systems." Fast turnarounds are key to SpaceX's launch services business if the company is going to reach its launch cadence goals. Eventually, the company wants to be launching at least every other week. Yet SpaceX is already surpassing the reusability rate it expected two years ago. The real ROI "Back in 2016, Gwynne Shotwell gave her prediction for the landing success rate. Since then, they've completely blown away their own expectations," Korus said. SpaceX undercuts rivals in pricing and performance, helping the company gain marketshare. For example, a new Falcon 9 starts at $62 million versus ULA's Atlas 5, which starts at $109 million. For $150 million, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy doubles the performance of ULA's Delta IV Heavy, which goes for about $350 million, according to ULA chief executive Tory Bruno. Korus compared SpaceX to Uber as a company creating demand for itself by lowering the cost of access. "When [Uber] lowered the cost, then more people started taking rides," Korus said. Christensen agreed and said that a launch cadence of every other week for SpaceX would mean the company is "taking away launches from other providers." "A high launch cadence means they're dominating competitors rather than there's a large amount of new demand," Christensen said. Thanks to the steady success of its launches, as well as a backlog of more than 100 future mission contracts worth over $12 billion, SpaceX nearly tripled its valuation since it was featured in last year's top 50 Disruptors. After its most recent fundraise brought in about $500 million, SpaceX's valuation rose to about $27.5 billion, according to analysis group Equidate, making it one of the most valuable private companies in the world. Venture capitalist Laetitia Garriott de Cayeux, a partner in Global Space Ventures , invested twice in SpaceX, first in 2012 and again "in early 2014," she said. According to Equidate, SpaceX shares were $34.68 from December 2012 to the company's next raise in January 2015. Priced at $169 per share today, de Cayeux's investment has already likely grown about 387 percent but she's invested for the long haul. Musk told de Cayeux that she would "not see a return for 15 years," which did not deter her. "When I first invested in SpaceX in 2012, their share of awarded global commercial launch market share was zero. But from 2013 to 2018, in five years, it went from less than 10 percent to over 60 percent," de Cayuex said. "That's pretty damn fast!" On a quarter to quarter basis, SpaceX appears to have more runway and support from investors due to the company's continued success. Even so, Taylor described SpaceX's ability to raise funds as "unusual" due to its place as a manufacturing company. "In the private markets, if you look at which companies investors like SoftBank have written $100 million checks to, its services or analytics companies," Taylor said. SpaceX could become a $50 billion juggernaut through the launch of its satellite broadband business, according to Morgan Stanley in October. The most recent round of funds will be used to develop the SpaceX satellite constellation. SpaceX launched the first two test satellites for the network into orbit in February. Known as Starlink a name SpaceX filed to trademark last year the constellation is an ambition unmatched by any current satellite network. Demonstration satellites SpaceX launched on Feb. 22 on a Falcon 9 rocket for its Starlink network.. SpaceX "Developing, launching, and operating large satellite constellations would provide a very credible business case for how you could have the funding streams that could be used for other programs," Nield said. The FCC approved Starlink in March, marking the first time the FCC has licensed a constellation of this variety. The constellation will require dozens of launches aboard Falcon 9 rockets to become operational, which Christensen says is "creating demand for the launch capability" of SpaceX. "That's a very integrated strategy," Christensen said. Musk has said revenue from Starlink will pay for the costs of the BFR program. With BFR expected to be fully reusable a feat unmatched by even the company's workhorse Falcon 9 Musk believes each BFR flight will cost between $5 million and $6 million. "We'll be able to do short trips, flights by first half of next year," Musk said in March. While Falcon Heavy stands at more than 21 stories tall, BFR would dwarf that at 32 stories. In April, Musk shared a photo of the "main body tool" for BFR essentially a large manufacturing mold to weave the carbon fiber that will comprise the upper stage of the rocket. The tent is believed to be on an 18-acre plot at the Port of Los Angeles, which was recently connected with SpaceX as a "state-of-the-art" factory to produce the behemoth rocket. The 27 engines that power Falcon Heavy. SpaceX U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo makes his first public address at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC on May 21, 2018. Amanda Macias/CNBC Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced a list of a dozen demands that Iran must meet before the United States lifts punishing sanctions against the country. However, the list is a non-starter and raises the specter of a prolonged standoff in the world's busiest oil exporting region. Pompeo articulated the list at the conservative Heritage Foundation on Monday, in his first major speech as the nation's top diplomat. The address clarified the U.S. playbook for containing Iran following President Donald Trump's announcement that he will abandon a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and restore sanctions on the Iranian economy, including its lifeblood oil industry. That decision has already helped boost oil prices to 3-year highs and exacerbated frayed trade tensions with European allies, who are now developing measures to help their companies evade sanctions they helped implement just a few years ago. I think events are moving in a more confrontational direction and by summer's end we may be back to a situation like 2012 where we worried about critical [oil market] chokepoints Helima Croft RBC Capital Markets global head of commodity strategy The speech in its entirety was more assertive than some analysts anticipated. It made clear that the Trump administration is not merely using sanctions as a negotiating tool, but intends to pursue them to force major changes in Iran, said Henry Rome, researcher at risk consultancy Eurasia Group. The address also suggested that Washington will not grant European companies sanctions waivers, he said. Prior to the speech, Eurasia Group said the U.S. exit "creates major risk for markets, the Middle East, and transatlantic relations" that would increase if the administration takes an aggressive stance. However, it was the list of 12 conditions for lifting sanctions and reincorporating Iran back into the international financial order that struck many Middle East-watchers. "The demands amount to a fundamental change in Iranian policy, if not the regime itself," Rome said in a policy brief to clients on Monday. "The Iranian regime will almost certainly reject Pompeo's demands out of hand," said Rome. China's Finance Ministry announced today that it will cut import tariffs on some vehicles to 15 percent, down from as much as 25 percent. The move signifies an attempt to open up the Chinese market to international players. (CNBC) The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump's administration is working on details of a deal with the Chinese, and may lift a ban on U.S. companies selling hardware and software to Chinese corporate ZTE if it works out. * Trump shies from pressing his advantage in trade fight (WSJ) * Chances of China trade win undercut by Trump team infighting (NY Times) Democratic leaders, as part of a push to take control of at least one chamber of Congress during critical elections later this year, have rolled out a package of policies targeting alleged corruption by Trump and his advisors. (CNBC) Russian President Vladimir Putin bragged earlier this year that his country had a new nuclear-powered missile with unlimited range. However, the missile has yet to perform a successful test over multiple attempts, sources tell CNBC. The New York Stock Exchange, which is owned by Intercontinental Exchange, appointed Chief Operating Officer Stacey Cunningham as its first female president. She will replace Thomas Farley as head of NYSE. (Reuters) The Obamas are headed to Netflix (NFLX). Barack and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year agreement with the U.S. streaming giant to produce scripted and unscripted series, as well as documentaries and features. (CNBC) Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify to European officials today that the social networking giant did not do enough to prevent its tools from causing "harm," according to prepared remarks obtained by NBC News. * Facebook is beating Snapchat on its own invention: Stories (Axios) It's been several years since The Wall Street Journal's John Carreyrou first started exposing the fraud at blood-testing start-up Theranos. Since then, Carreyrou's 2018 book about the onetime Silicon Valley darling's meteoric rise to a $9 billion valuation and precipitous fall after it was revealed that its blood-testing devices were nowhere near capable of backing up the significant hype has become a best-seller. Titled "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup," Carreyrou's exhaustive reporting on Theranos and its founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, included interviews with over 150 people, including more than 60 former Theranos employees. Despite having raised more than $700 million from investors, the company is now on the verge of bankruptcy, even with Holmes herself having settled "massive fraud" charges after reaching a settlement with U.S. regulators in March 2018. Holmes' settlement with the SEC included a $500,000 fine and it bars her from leading a public company for the next decade. Here are six of the most fascinating stories and quotes from "Bad Blood": 1. Founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was obsessed with Steve Jobs and Apple The book's third chapter is called "Apple Envy" and it delves into Holmes' reported obsession with the tech giant and its iconic co-founder, Steve Jobs. "To anyone who spent time with Elizabeth, it was clear that she worshipped Jobs and Apple," Carreyrou writes. According to the book, Holmes hired several former Apple employees, in part for their connection to the giant company, and she was fond of saying that Theranos' blood-testing device would be "the iPod of health care." Apple chief executive Steve Jobs unveils a new mobile phone that can also be used as a digital music player and a camera, a long-anticipated device dubbed an 'iPhone.' at the Macworld Conference 09 January, 2007 in San Francisco, California. Tony Avelar | AFP | Getty Images The book also notes that Holmes seemingly went out of her way to cultivate a similar "aura" to Jobs and took to wearing a black turtleneck most days, copying Jobs' own style, in order to "dress the part." After Jobs died in 2011, Holmes even seemed to begin borrowing management styles from Walter Isaacson's best-selling biography of the former Apple CEO. Carreyrou writes that Theranos employees "were all reading the book too and could pinpoint which chapter she was on based on which period of Jobs' career she was impersonating." 2. Theranos employees describe a paranoid atmosphere Carreyrou reports that some Theranos employees suspected Theranos' IT team of spying on them and reporting back to Holmes with their computer activity. Even worse, Carreyrou writes that Holmes' "administrative assistants would friend employees on Facebook and tell her what they were posting there." 3. Holmes described Theranos' miniLab device as "the most important thing humanity has ever built" That's the show-stopping description Holmes assigned to the miniLab at her company's 2011 Christmas party. The portable device, which she claimed could diagnose a wide range of diseases with just a few small drops of blood, was not introduced to the public until 2016, after the company had already been forced to void two years of results from its previous blood-testing device, the Edison, due to inaccuracy. 4. Holmes demanded loyalty and could turn on people "in a flash" Carreyrou writes that Holmes "demanded absolute loyalty from her employees and if she sensed that she no longer had it from someone, she could turn on them in a flash." One former employee told Carreyrou that he assisted Holmes in some colleagues' terminations, which would sometimes include putting together "a dossier on the person she could use for leverage." In one instance, Holmes used the fact that "inappropriate sexual material" was found on a terminated employee's work laptop as a public justification of his firing after the fact. Sunny Balwani, Theranos' former president and Holmes' boyfriend, made similar demands for complete loyalty. Carreyrou reports that, following a rash of resignations at the company, Balwani gathered employees for an all-hands meeting at which he told them "anyone not prepared to show complete devotion and unmitigated loyalty to the company should 'get the f--- out'." 5. The author alleges that Theranos had him followed Carreyrou writes that he suspected Theranos of placing himself and Tyler Shultz, a former employee turned whistleblower, "under continuous surveillance for a year." Shultz whose grandfather, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, served on Theranos' board was apparently unbothered, telling Carreyrou, "'Next time maybe I'll take a selfie with you and send it [to Holmes] to save her the trouble of hiring [private investigators]." 6. Holmes tried to get Rupert Murdoch to kill The Wall Street Journal story about Theranos In 2015, Murdoch led an investment round by pumping $125 million into Theranos, making him the company's biggest investor. (Other big-name Theranos investors who have now lost at least $600 million total include current U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and members of the Walton family of Walmart heirs.) Eventually, when Holmes learned that Carreyrou was investigating Theranos, she turned to Murdoch, whose media empire includes the journalist's employer, The Wall Street Journal. Carreyrou writes that Holmes tried to get Murdoch to kill the story, telling the billionaire "the information I had gathered was false and would do great damage to Theranos if it was published. Murdoch demurred, saying he trusted the paper's editors to handle the matter fairly." In its review of "Bad Blood," The New York Times called this "a good moment in American journalism." Don't Miss: 'Shark Tank' star Kevin O'Leary: New York lawyer whose racist rant went viral is 'an idiot' Billionaire Ray Dalio says people with these 3 skills will be successful in the future Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook! After winning two years in a row, Ted Weschler landed a job offer from the Oracle of Omaha. But for one former Virginia hedge-fund manager, winning the auction proved much more valuable than just scoring a chance to exchange ideas with Buffett. The bids for breaking bread with Buffett have soared in price: Last year's winner shelled out $2,679,001. In total, the coveted meals have raised over $26 million for the organization and given Buffett disciples the chance to glean wisdom from the 87-year-old over a steak, an order of hash browns and a cherry coke . For nearly 20 years, as a fundraiser for anti-poverty non-profit The Glide Foundation, billionaire and investing legend Warren Buffett has been auctioning off a lunch date with himself. Weschler, who is now a money manager at Berkshire Hathaway, first discovered Buffett's investing philosophies in 1979 while studying at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, The Omaha World Herald reports. "From then on, I kept my eye open for anything that had to do with [Buffett]," Weschler tells the paper. "It was on my list that at some point I wanted to meet the guy." Weschler studied Buffett's techniques, and employed them at his Charlottesville, Virginia, hedge-fund, Peninsula Capital Advisors. The fund held roughly $2 billion in assets in 2011 and far outperformed the S&P 500 that year, according to The Wall Street Journal. For one, Weschler read constantly. "Ted will spend months quietly in the corner trying to understand a particular issue, then he emerges like a quiet reporter of what he's learned," a colleague told the Journal. Weschler tells The World Herald that his office "was really more of a library." The idea to run his business out of a smaller city (instead of New York) came from Buffett too. "One of the real takeaways for me in all of the reading that I did over the years about Warren, was how important it was to stay away from the noise," Weschler explains. Given his fascination with Buffett's teachings, Weschler was interested when he heard about the auctions for Glide. Before bidding, he made an appointment to meet with the organization. "They were terrific. They invited me in and I ended up spending half a day at Glide," Weschler says. "That gave me the comfort that this was not only an opportunity to potentially visit with Warren but also, in many ways more significantly, to help out a really worthwhile charity." After winning the 2010 auction anonymously with a $2,626,311 bid, he flew to Omaha to meet Buffett for a dinner at Piccolo's. The following year he upped his bid by $100 to $2,626,411, and won again. At the dinners, Buffett was curious about Weschler's hedge-fund success, Fortune's former editor-at-large Carol Loomis reported in 2011. Investors who backed Peninsula in early 2000 saw a 1236 percent gain by 2011. "It was very natural and conversational," Weschler tells The World Herald. "We've got similar backgrounds, both liked business as kids, had done all sorts of active investing in companies." At the second dinner, Buffett extended a job offer. "I very much wanted him to do it, but I didn't expect to get very far with the idea," Buffett told Fortune in 2011. "Ted will no doubt make a lot of money at Berkshire. But he was already making a lot of money with his fund you can get an idea of that from the size of his Glide bids so money wasn't a reason for him to come." Weschler took the job. Today he manages billions at Berkshire Hathaway. And, he's still reading just like Buffett. "I spend the vast majority of my day reading," Weschler tells Yahoo Finance. "I try to make about half of that reading random. Things like newspapers and trade periodicals." This year's Glide auction will take place on eBay, starting May 27 and ending at 9:30 p.m. central time on June 1. Don't miss: Here's how much grad school cost when Warren Buffett graduated in 1951, compared to today Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook! A man walks next to the Volkswagen Group China office in Beijing on March 29, 2017. Beijing's latest concession in a trade dispute with the U.S. will likely benefit Germany the most. On Tuesday, China's Finance Ministry announced plans to cut tariffs on some foreign automobiles to 15 percent, down from as much as 25 percent. The lowered duties will take effect July 1 and come after the Trump administration agreed this weekend to hold off on imposing tariffs on $150 billion worth of Chinese goods. China is a major market for U.S. automakers, and shares of General Motors and Ford rose more than half a percent in Tuesday trading. But when it comes to global trade, Germany sells more passenger cars in China than any other country does, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Surrounded by a sea of colorful beach umbrellas, a lifeguard refreshes his thirst while looking over thousands of beach visitors on Old Orchard Beach during the peak summer weather. WITH TEMPERATURES rising and summer months right around the corner, Wisconsin Dells a town in the middle of the Badger State that bills itself as the "waterpark capital of the world" is gearing up for peak tourist season. The town boasts the largest concentration of indoor and outdoor waterparks in the world, and, according to Republican state Sen. Luther Olsen, they're "always looking for lifeguards." Demand is so great, in fact, that the parks in summer months often rely on recipients of the several thousand J-1 visas that are issued to temporary foreign workers in the state each year. But Wisconsin waterparks have had a tough time locking down enough lifeguards to support their operations in recent years even with the added help of temporary visa-holders. There simply haven't been enough local teenagers looking for lifeguarding gigs, in some cases leaving employers high and dry. More from US News & World report: China tariffs threaten agriculture, manufacturing jobs for Trump's base The skilled worker exodus Unequal in America "We also have swimming pools that municipalities have that have trouble getting lifeguards. We needed to do something," says Olsen, who sponsored a Senate bill in late 2017 that would allow the state to begin employing lifeguards as young as 15 years of age effectively reducing the minimum age in Wisconsin at which a teenager can be employed as a lifeguard. Olsen's bill passed, and Gov. Scott Walker signed it into law earlier this year. Olsen says he expects local employers will find some hiring relief as a result of the bill, noting that many Wisconsin Dells facilities began recruiting 15-year-old lifeguards "immediately" after Walker signed the bill into law. But payrolls at Wisconsin waterparks are still in some cases visa-dependent, and the state's struggle to lock down workers to fill jobs that in decades past would have been filled by local teenagers and young adults speaks to a trend that has emerged across the country: Teen employment and summer jobs aren't as popular as they used to be. "Even though some teens still have summer jobs, the proportion of teens who participate in the labor force during the summer has dropped dramatically," Teresa Morisi, a branch chief at the Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, wrote in a report published last year looking specifically at teen employment declines. "In July 2016, the teen labor force participation rate was 43.2 percent, down almost 30 percentage points from the high point of 71.8 percent in July 1978." That participation rate dropped even further last summer. The BLS estimates the labor force participation rate for 16- to 19-year-olds a measure that tracks the share of teens either employed or actively looking for a job stood at 42.5 percent in July 2017. Fewer than 6.2 million teens were employed that month, which actually represents the largest total since 2007 but is still well shy of the more than 10 million teens employed in July 1978. But it's not just summer jobs teen employment throughout the year is down significantly from where it stood in generations past. Fewer than one-third of teens (32.7 percent) were in the labor force in April. Forty years prior, nearly 53 percent of teens were working or looking for a job. "Over the past several decades, the rate exhibited a similar pattern; it fell just before, during, and for a short time after recessions ended, followed by little change during most of the recovery," Morisi wrote. "The overall drop in the rate was especially steep, however, during the two most recent recessions." Indeed, labor force participation between 2000 preceding the 2001 recession and 2003 fell by 7.5 percentage points to 44.5 percent. By 2006, the rate had ticked down to 43.7 percent. And once the Great Recession hit at the tail end of 2007, teen labor force participation plummeted for a variety of reasons employers were hiring less, those who would have been interested in a job decided to focus on academics, some laid-off workers took temporary roles that would have traditionally been filled by younger and less experienced employees. The lackluster participation continued into the recovery, in part because hiring decisions often lag behind America's economic health. And by 2011, the rate sat at 34.1 percent and hasn't moved much higher since. The downward trend hasn't gone unnoticed by America's statisticians, and volumes of research in recent years have been dedicated solely to answering the questions of why teens aren't working and what this all means for the future of America's labor market. "A focus on education is driving this decline in employment," says Martha Ross, a fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution. Referencing Morisi's paper, Ross notes that teen enrollment in high schools, colleges and universities is significantly higher than it was in decades past. Per the BLS, three out of four teens were enrolled in school in 2015 up from just 58.7 percent in 1985, when the bureau's Current Population Survey began tracking the data. And, importantly for summer employment considerations, the percentage of teens enrolled in school during July of any given year which the BLS uses as a standard measurement of how many folks are enrolled in summer classes sat at 42.1 percent in 2016. Back in 1985, just 10.4 percent of teens were in school during the month of July. Ross says while education is the primary driver, it is "plausible" that teens in some instances are losing out on part-time jobs and restaurant gigs to older workers "with more experience and who may be more used to workplace norms." Though many economists take issue with the idea that the labor market is a fixed size, it's worth noting that labor force participation among older workers has climbed significantly in recent years. The labor force participation rate of Americans at least 65 years of age sat at 19.6 percent in April. Forty years prior, that rate was just 13.6 percent. Meanwhile, labor force participation among so-called prime-aged workers between 25 years old and 54 years old has rebounded in recent years standing in April at 82 percent. But that's still shy of the 84.6 percent peak seen in early 1999, a trend many economists attribute in part to older workers spending more time focused on education and advanced degrees. Employers regularly cite prior work experience as an asset when recruiting young adults for jobs and internships. And, as Olsen notes, summer and part-time jobs are often a great place to "learn to be responsible, show up on time, get a day's worth of work in, follow instructions, that kind of stuff." But, as Ross has written about previously, teen employment opportunities are also valuable in keeping them out of trouble. In a blog post for Brookings written in February, Ross cites a recent study that found summer youth employment programs in Boston reduced instances of violent crime among participants by 35 percent and property crime by 57 percent. Similar findings have been reported for young adult employment initiatives in Chicago and New York . "I think there is a problem here, but it is masked a little bit by the general decline in teen employment," Ross says. "I think the problem is that lots of young people who come from lower-income backgrounds and who are not likely to go to a selective college need more support from programs and schools than they are generally getting in order to get a job and build soft skills and build their networks." Problematically, Ross says, teens from lower-income backgrounds who may be in the most need of income or professional experience are not the ones landing summer or part-time jobs. A study published last year by researchers at Drexel University looked at employment-population ratios which track the share of Americans in a particular demographic who are actually employed with respect to their total population for teens in a variety of different households. They found that 40.6 percent of teens from households that bring in between $100,000 and $149,999 annually were employed during 2015 and 2016. But just 23 percent of teens from households that earn fewer than $20,000 each year had jobs during that window. The employment-population ratio for white teens clocked in at 40.4 percent, while the rates for black and Hispanic teens sat at 24.2 percent and 27.2 percent, respectively. "It is counter-intuitive. You think the teens whose households need the money would work more to get the money. But I think what's playing out here are the effects of social networks and norms within the family and belief about the value of work," Ross says. "I think that the kids in more affluent families are more likely to have family connections to help them get a job or internship. They're more likely to be in a neighborhood where they see people working at jobs that are rewarding and provide well for their families." Indeed, Ross says she isn't worried as much by a decline in labor force participation among more affluent teens who are focusing more heavily on college preparation, because "these are teens who are most likely going to be OK anyway." The problems associated with teens not participating in the labor force, she says, are increasingly concentrated within a demographic that may need the most academic and professional help down the road. The fact that teens are working less and in some cases more heavily focused on academics isn't the immediate problem, but rather that the folks who most need the income and work experience are often the ones standing on the sideline. "The evidence that teen employment is beneficial down the line is important, but it also might be overstated in that it's just reporting on [affluent] people who are going to be successful anyway," she says. "I'm beginning to think that that line of research is telling us something important." Trump portrays the scheduled June 12 summit as the result of his threats to destroy North Korea if Kim Jong Un won't abandon nuclear weapons. He revels in talk by South Korean President Moon Jae- in that he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for pushing North Korea to denuclearize, resolving an issue that stymied his predecessors. His nuclear summit with North Korea may not happen, his trade confrontation with China has yielded little, and his decision to scrap the Iran nuclear deal has not produced a realistic path toward a new one. If the president possesses the deal-making skills he touts, he has succeeded mostly at concealing them. President Trump lately has juggled three related international challenges perilous enough to test the deftest diplomat. Suddenly he's at risk of fumbling all three. But North Korea has now publicly made clear it won't summarily surrender the weapons program that assures Kim's survival in power. Specialists in the region say it never intended to, that South Korea's Moon exaggerated the North's willingness to deal and lavished praise on Trump to lure the truculent U.S. president into bargaining. "It is an open secret in Korea that this was just flattering Trump to prevent him from starting a war," Robert Kelly, a political scientist at Pusan University in South Korea, wrote on Twitter. "No one actually believes it. Trump actually drove South Korea to the table, not North Korea." White House aides after creating commemorative coins depicting Trump and Kim as peers have recognized that Trump may not find the diplomatic triumph he craves. Meeting with President Moon at the White House today, Trump told reporters there's "a very substantial" the June 12 summit won't take place. If Trump scuttles the trip, that would cast his talks with China in an even less flattering light. While pressing China for concessions on trade, Trump has signaled he would take into account Beijing's cooperation in pushing its North Korean neighbors to compromise. No breakthroughs have emerged on either front. After high-level meetings in Beijing and Washington, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared the trade war "on hold." The administration suspended implementation of $150-billion in tariffs that it announced in an attempt to pressure China for concessions. Trump has made the most conspicuous concession so far, softening U.S. sanctions against the Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE. China has vowed only to purchase more American agriculture and energy products without committing to any specific amounts. Rival factions within the administration one seeking to escalate conflict with China, the other to tamp it down undercut the White House negotiating stance. Asked today if he's pleased with the talks, Trump acknowledged, "No. Not really." Trade specialists say America needs concerted pressure from major allies to change China's economic behavior. On Iran, his third big international challenge, Trump has made such cooperation more difficult. Trump scuttled the Iran nuclear agreement over opposition from the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, who had negotiated it in tandem with then-President Barack Obama. Even as those leaders aim to preserve the deal by themselves, the administration vows to restore U.S. economic sanctions on companies from their countries, too. The White House insists it wants a new, improved Iran deal eliminating threats from Tehran beyond those nuclear weapons would pose. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has laid out a list of negotiating demands, including that Iran ceases support for militant groups throughout the Middle East. "If anyone especially the leaders of Iran doubt the president's sincerity or his vision, let them look at our diplomacy with North Korea," Pompeo said yesterday. The shaky status of diplomacy with North Korea makes that a double-edged comparison. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson suggested Pompeo's demands were no more quickly achievable than Trump's call for immediate denuclearization in North Korea. "At some point all-or-nothing diplomacy in which demand is piled upon demand morphs into a policy of regime change," Richard Haass, a senior foreign policy aide under President George W. Bush, wrote on Twitter. "That is where the Trump administration seems to be heading with North Korea and Iran. We will likely end up with neither peaceful outcomes nor regime change." President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there's a "substantial" chance that his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "may not work out" for June. Trump made the remark while he met with Moon Jae-in, South Korea's president, for pivotal discussions ahead of the American president's planned meeting with the North Korean dictator. "Whether or not it happens, you'll be knowing pretty soon," Trump told reporters at the White House. He also declined to say whether he has spoken with North Korea's leader. The summit is scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, which is widely viewed as a neutral site. Yet doubts continue to grow about whether the meeting will actually take place. Trump's remarks Tuesday were the strongest indication yet that the summit might not happen as planned. Last week, North Korea said it would reconsider whether to hold the meeting after abruptly canceling talks with South Korea amid joint military drills with the U.S. on the Korean Peninsula. The communist dictatorship also took issue with Trump's national security advisor, John Bolton, who suggested using a denuclearization model similar to one used with North African country Libya. The nation's dictator at the time, Moammar Gadhafi, agreed to give up nuclear weapons in exchange for relaxed U.S. sanctions. Eventually, however, the U.S. supported a violent overthrow of Gadhafi. North Korea called any attempt to impose a Libya-style arrangement on the country "awfully sinister." Trump has said, though, that the "Libyan model isn't a model that we have at all." President Donald Trump told the veteran journalist Lesley Stahl of the CBS program "60 Minutes" that he bashes the press to "demean" and "discredit" reporters so that the public will not believe "negative stories" about him, Stahl said. Stahl's disclosure came Monday night during a talk at the Deadline Club of New York's annual journalism awards at the Harvard Club in Manhattan. The CBS reporter was speaking to the audience along with PBS NewsHour host Judy Woodruff. Stahl said she and her boss met with Trump at his office in Trump Tower in Manhattan after the 2016 election in advance of a recorded sit-down interview for "60 Minutes. "At one point, he started to attack the press," Stahl said. "There were no cameras in there." "I said, 'You know, this is getting tired. Why are you doing it over and over? It's boring and it's time to end that. You know, you've won ... why do you keep hammering at this?'" Stahl recalled. "And he said: 'You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.'" President Donald Trump's demand that China cut its trade deficit with the U.S. by $200 billion in two years is tall order politically. It also defies the laws of economics. On Tuesday, the president walked back comments over the weekend from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin essentially calling a "truce" in the emerging trade war with China. The administration has threatened to impose steep tariffs on Chinese goods entering the U.S. unless Beijing engineers a $200 billion reduction in its trade surplus with the U.S. by 2020. "Last year, we lost $500 billion on trade with China," Trump said, erroneously, at a March 23 news conference. "We can't let that happen." To begin with, Trump's math is off - by more than $100 billion. Donald Trump's approach to foreign relations has never been subtle. But the president's recent declarations about leveling the trade playing field with China, premised on market competition, are more political than economic, the chief executive of Barings said Tuesday. "It's definitely about voters now and that's where you get the rhetoric," Tom Finke, CEO and chairman of the North Carolina-based $304 billion asset management firm, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe." "If you think about the industrial revolution when Teddy Roosevelt was president, his mantra was 'speak softly and carry a big stick.' I think Trump's mantra is 'speak loudly and wave your stick around.'" Finke was referring to ongoing U.S.-China negotiations that are taking place this month to ease trade tensions after a tit-for-tat dispute saw both countries threaten tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of each other's imports. Trump has long criticized the gaping trade deficit between the U.S. and China, and has zeroed-in on shrinking that gap as the core focus of a broader call for Beijing to reform its international trade practices. Triumphant tones came from the White House over the weekend, as Chinese trade officials conceded they would work toward increasing purchases of American goods, particularly in the agriculture and energy sectors. But economists have criticized the announcements, saying they do not amount to concrete measures and that the trade deficit is not nearly as consequential as contentious points like technology security and intellectual property (IP) protection. The U.K. government will go to the country's highest court Tuesday in a bid to force open a 475 million ($640 million) charity fund set up 90 years ago with the intention of paying off the national debt. The "National Fund" was opened in 1928 by an anonymous benefactor who donated 500,000, but on the condition that it must remain untouched until the U.K. raises enough money to pay off its entire national debt. While the fund currently stands at 475 million, it represents just 0.06 percent of the U.K's estimated 1.7 trillion debt. Attorney General Jeremy Wright will urge High Court judges on Tuesday to change the terms of the trust fund and release the money to pay off some of the U.K.'s debt. "Almost 90 years ago, an anonymous donor bequeathed money to the nation and yet we have not been able to put it to good use," Wright said. "We have been working with the Treasury, trustees and the Charity Commission to find a solution consistent with the donor's original objectives of extinguishing the national debt." Barclays, which oversees the management of the fund, has for years tried to obtain permission to gain access to the money, to make it available for charitable grants or hand it over to the Treasury. Farmers are hopeful about the chances of averting a costly trade war with China amid signs of progress in negotiations. President Donald Trump tweeted twice Monday about a possible trade deal with China and how it could benefit U.S. farmers. Trump wrote in the first 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!" https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/998525737593376768 About two hours later, he tweeted: "Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce." https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/998553122179084290 Over the weekend, the U.S. and China issued a joint statement on trade consultations that stated: "Both sides agreed on meaningful increases in United States agriculture and energy exports. The United States will send a team to China to work out the details." U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Sunday that the U.S. trade war was "on hold." That followed two days of talks last week between U.S. and Chinese negotiators in Washington. Still, there's no firm agreement and few details from Beijing about specific amounts of goods it plans to buy. Initial reports late last week said China agreed cut its trade deficit with the U.S. by $200 billion, but Beijing also hasn't confirmed that figure. If there is more agricultural buying from China, it could benefit not only soybeans but other U.S. agricultural commodities and be good news for Republicans as midterm elections approach. The lion's share of the roughly $20 billion in annual U.S. agribusiness trade with China involves soybeans, which are grown in many Midwestern farm states where Trump received strong support during the 2016 presidential election. Soybeans account for $14 billion of U.S. exports to China. Last month, Beijing threatened to slap a 25 percent tariff on the imports of U.S. soybeans. If that were to happen, it would raise the cost of American beans for Chinese buyers and make South American beans more attractive. "I'm cautiously optimistic that the talks are going to possibly stop the tariffs, or at least they're talking about it anyway," said John Heisdorffer, a farmer from Iowa and president of the American Soybean Association. "We're looking at the possibility of things turning around here." Soybean futures reacted positively to news of a possible truce in the trade war with China. The July soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade jumped 2.7 percent Monday. "The market is pricing in a 90 percent chance that this whole trade war and tariff idea is going to come and go without it being implemented," said James Cordier, president and head trader of OptionSellers.com, an investment firm in Tampa, Florida. He said the rise also reflected some short-covering in the futures market because "a lot of investors and producers were fearful of a trade war." Earlier this month, there were reports that China the world's top soybean purchaser was curbing buying U.S. soybeans due to the ongoing trade spat with Washington. Also, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service on Friday reported cancellations of export sales for 949,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to what it called "unknown destinations." A soybean trade expert said it is not uncommon for sales to China to be identified as being to "unknown destinations." The USDA declined comment. China demand for U.S. soybeans tends to slow this time of year anyway, when most of the exports to China come from South America, particularly Brazil where the crop is being harvested. Even so, Chinese demand appears to have softened recently for Brazilian beans. And Brazilian soybeans last week were quoted at prices below U.S. cargoes. "U.S. soybean farmers welcome the news that the United States and China have reached a general consensus on some aspects of trade between the two countries, and we look forward to learning the specifics about how U.S. agricultural trade will play an important role in improving the Sino-U.S. trade imbalance," Arkansas soybean farmer Derek Haigwood, chairman of the U.S. Soybean Export Council, said in a statement. "Specifically with regard to soybeans, we are hopeful for a solution where Chinese importers can buy U.S. soy with confidence that there will be no negative impacts from tariffs or other trade barriers." The U.S. sold about 33 million tons of soybeans in 2017 to China, or nearly one-third of all the beans imported by the world's second-largest economy. By comparison, Brazil shipped more than 50 million tons of soybeans last year to China and represented about 57 percent of the total imports. "I'm a firm believer that China will continue ... to take what they committed from Brazil and it will be tough to really boost U.S. soybean exports over the short term," said Terry Reilly, senior commodity analyst for Futures International in Chicago. He added that China has already essentially contracted out around two or three months' worth of buying, primarily from South America. Cordier said the futures market is anticipating that China will begin buying more U.S. soybeans in the fall months when shipments from South America tend to slow. Regardless, Heisdorffer said China shouldn't wait until the fall season to buy more American soybeans and should act sooner with a significant order as a gesture toward resolving trade differences. "It is South America right now," said Heisdorffer. "But I think a good sign of good negotiations would be some some shipments to come from the United States here in the next week or month. That would show that this is a true negotiation between the U.S. and them." China uses most of it for soy protein to feed roughly 700 million pigs in the country or to make cooking oil. If there is a trade agreement with China, it could benefit other U.S. agricultural and food products targeted with tariffs. Beef, cotton, corn and wheat are among the other U.S. agricultural products that Beijing targeted last month for possible retaliatory duties unless there was an agreement reached by the end of May. It followed the Trump administration's proposed duties on more than 1,300 imported products in China's machinery, electronics, aerospace and robotics sectors. In early March, Trump unveiled a 25 percent duty on steel imports and 10 percent charge on aluminum imports, essentially targeting suppliers such as China. That ultimately led to China's Finance Ministry in early April to unveil retaliatory tariffs on more than 100 U.S. goods, including pork, wine, almonds and fresh fruit. Meantime, Beijing on Friday announced it would drop its anti-dumping case against U.S. sorghum. Last month, China imposed hefty dumping duties of 179 percent on imports of the grain, which tends to be a cheaper feed alternative to corn. After the sorghum tariff was imposed, several cargoes of the commodity bound for Chinese ports became stranded because grain handlers would have been forced to pay the hefty tariffs. Some of the sorghum shipments eventually got rerouted to Saudi Arabia, Japan and Spain. In 2017, China bought about $1.1 billion worth of U.S. sorghum. "We hope the dismissal of these cases reflects a lessening of trade tensions as our leaders continue to dialogue," National Sorghum Producers Chairman Don Bloss said in a statement. "Agricultural production and international trade is one of the United States' greatest success stories." In data, the Richmond Fed surveys are due out at 10 a.m. ET. However, with little economic news expected Tuesday, fixed income investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes, scheduled for publication Wednesday. U.S. government debt yields were largely flat Tuesday, ahead of the release of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting due Wednesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was largely unchanged at 3.071 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also stagnant at 3.214 percent. The minutes offer Wall Street an idea of how the central bank is thinking about the strength of the economy, with many expecting that the Federal Open Market Committee will raise rates in June to stay ahead of creeping inflation. Minutes from their previous meeting showed that "all participants" expected both the economy to strengthen and inflation to rise "in coming months," citing strong spending patterns and a consistently tight labor market. Consumer prices as measured by the personal consumption expenditures price index the Fed's preferred inflation gauge jumped 2 percent year-on-year in March, the biggest gain since February 2017. The rising prices appear to be rising in part thanks to a competitive labor market, with the Labor Department reporting that the unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent in April, the lowest level since December 2000. Tighter labor markets are usually considered a bellwether of labor input wages in classical economics: When workers are in higher demand, employers will typically have to pay more for their services. Wages, in turn, are often seen as a prelude to higher prices throughout the economy as people spend more as their paychecks grow. Rising inflation, which threatens Treasury prices because it erodes the purchasing power of their fixed payments, puts upward pressure on rates. The Treasury Department auctioned $33 billion in two-year notes at a high yield of 2.59 percent, the highest yield at auction since July 2008. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.88. Indirect bidders, which include major central banks, were awarded 39.3 percent, the smallest share since December 2016 per Reuters data. Direct bidders, which includes domestic money managers, bought 15.3 percent. The "lower for longer" oil price mantra is doomed, one oil analyst told CNBC Tuesday, amid heightened energy market fears of an imminent supply shock. Prices in the oil market have been steadily rising since last year, with global benchmark Brent rising toward $80 a barrel Tuesday. An upswing in crude futures has largely been driven by OPEC-led production cuts and robust global demand. Yet, more recently, oil prices have rallied faster-than-expected due to elevated geopolitical tensions. "I think the whole 'lower for longer' thesis is probably dead for a while," Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Tuesday. "We're looking at such a big potential disruption on the horizon So the risk that you could lose such a big volume of crude oil exports from the market is what is keeping prices ticking higher," she added. [The stream is slated to start at 3:30 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] SpaceX is set to launch Tuesday afternoon from California in its latest mission for NASA and satellite communications company Iridium. Elon Musk's rocket company will livestream the 3:47 p.m. ET launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The mission will launch using a Falcon 9 rocket, which will not return to land on the SpaceX autonomous ship which the company has in the Pacific Ocean. @SpaceX: Static fire test of Falcon 9 completetargeting May 22 launch of Iridium-6/GRACE-FO from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The company is expected to attempt to catch the fairing the bulbous nose cone on top of the rocket. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket used for the third Iridium NEXT launch, set to be flown again for the fifth Iridium launch. SpaceX SpaceX has attempted to catch the fairing after two previous West Coast launches, using a high speed boat known as "Mr. Steven." The boat has a net strung up behind it to capture the fairing and Musk said SpaceX "should be able catch it with slightly bigger chutes to slow down" its descent. "[The fairing] has onboard thrusters and a guidance system to bring it through the atmosphere intact, then releases a parafoil and our ship with basically a giant catcher's mitt welded on tries to catch it," Musk said when he shared a photo on Instagram. High-speed SpaceX boat "Mr. Steven" in the Pacific Ocean. Instagram | Elon Musk [The stream is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is slated to take questions from reporters Tuesday, shortly after President Donald Trump said his meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un planned for June "may not work out." Trump's comments cast doubt on the prospect of a landmark face-to-face meeting between a U.S. president and a North Korean leader, which remains scheduled for June 12 in Singapore. Such a meeting has never occurred before. In his Oval Office remarks Tuesday alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-In, Trump said Kim's attitude changed after his second meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "If it doesn't happen, maybe it'll happen later," Trump said. "Whether or not it happens, you'll know pretty soon." The U.S. and China are in the midst of trade negotiations that have recently focused on Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE. The Trump administration had blocked U.S. companies from selling to ZTE due to the company's violation of sanctions on North Korea and Iran. In a May 13 tweet, Trump announced that he is working with China to help get ZTE "back into business." On Tuesday, Trump reiterated that Xi "asked me to look into it." Trump tweet Meanwhile, Trump again spoke out against revelations in recent news reports that an FBI informant had investigated a number of associates of Trump's presidential campaign. Trump had previously tweeted that an informant in his campaign would constitute the "all time biggest political scandal" if true. He also claimed, without evidence, that the informant was "implanted" into the campaign "for political purposes." Trump tweet 2 In his Tuesday remarks, Trump said that "if they had spies in my campaign, that would be a disgrace to this country," and that it "would probably make every political event ever look like small potatoes." On Sunday, the Justice Department asked its internal watchdog, Inspector General Michael Horowitz, to investigate "any impropriety or political motivation" in the FBI's counterintelligence probe of Russian election interference. Trump and chief of staff John Kelly met on Monday with Rosenstein, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. Trump said Tuesday that "General Kelly's going to be setting up a meeting between Congress and the various representatives, and they'll be able to open up documents, take a look and find out what happened." Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to meet with lawmakers in Europe on Tuesday as concerns over the way his company handles its users' data continue to pile up. Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, announced Monday that the meeting with Zuckerberg would be webcast live. It is set to be broadcast on the parliament's website; parliamentarians had pushed for the event to be broadcast, criticizing the lack of transparency that would have accompanied a closed-door meeting. Politicians in the U.S. and Europe are seeking answers from Facebook after it was revealed that the data of 87 million users may have been improperly shared with political data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica. In Europe, lawmakers are set to address Facebook's approach to privacy and data protection and how the social network could have been used as a platform for misinformation to sway the results of elections. "I expect tough questions on Zuckerberg with regards to his data protection or non-protection regime on Facebook to explain how it's going to prevent in the future data from simply being misused from third parties, but also how it can make sure there's no interference in national or local decision-making, such as elections or referenda," Ska Keller, co-president of the Greens-European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday. Zuckerberg was questioned by U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill last month. At times, the Facebook co-founder was unable to answer questions from politicians, saying instead that his team would follow-up with them afterwards. Udo Bullmann, chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, said that Zuckerberg's lack of answers to those questions would likely be seized upon during Tuesday's meeting in Brussels. "We much too often heard 'I don't know,'" Bullmann said. "Meanwhile, we have six weeks after the discussions with U.S. colleagues so Mark Zuckerberg should know meanwhile what happened in his corporation." Donald Trump Kevin Lamarque | Reuters ZTE was not a name many Americans would've recognized until very recently. Most of us, if we knew the Chinese brand at all, viewed it as a maker of low-end smartphones sold by AT&T and Verizon. According to Counterpoint Research, ZTE captured 11 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in the first quarter, behind Apple, Samsung and LG. Now ZTE is making headlines daily. Last month, the U.S. banned the company from purchasing parts from U.S. manufacturers because it was selling equipment with American parts to Iran and North Korea. What is ZTE? While ZTE is best known by consumers for selling smartphones, the 33-year-old company has long been a big manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, the kind of stuff that allows large carriers to operate their wireless and data networks. It was China's first state-owned telecom equipment company to go public and is listed on the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges. ZTE, which employs almost 75,000 people around the world, operates in more than 160 countries. In the smartphone market, it competes with Apple and Samsung as well Chinese companies Huawei and Xiaomi. ZTE's U.S. subsidiary ZTE USA is based in a Dallas suburb and initially opened in 2009 as a testing lab. What made the United States angry? In its phones, ZTE uses all sorts of U.S. technology, including chips from Qualcomm, glass from Corning and Android software from Google. That's all fine. But what angered U.S. lawmakers was the company's business dealings with Iran and North Korea in violation of trade agreements. Last year, ZTE admitted guilt and paid $1.19 billion in fines for those violations. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said at the time that the U.S. was "putting the world on notice" and that there will be no more "improper trade games." In April, the U.S. Commerce Department said ZTE was officially banned from purchasing U.S. parts because it allegedly "misled" regulators. Rather than disciplining the employees who were responsible for selling products to Iran and North Korea, it gave them bonuses. ZTE's close ties to the Chinese government are also a concern among U.S. intelligence agencies, who have questioned whether the company's products could be used for spying. "We're deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don't share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks," FBI Director Chris Wray said of Huawei and ZTE in February. Where we stand The Commerce Department said last month that ZTE would be barred from buying components from U.S. companies for seven years. ZTE has effectively said it will need to shut down if those rules are enforced. Trading in ZTE shares has been halted since the ban was imposed. Trump seems to be using this leverage to bargain with China on trade deals. He said he'll move to save ZTE, perhaps in exchange for a cut on tariffs on farm goods, according to Reuters. Or possibly for another deal that benefits the U.S. It's a tough sell to Trump supporters, who spent 2 years listening to the former businessman campaign on a promise to end "unfair trade" policies, mostly regarding China. Now as president, he's openly lobbying for U.S. involvement in saving a major Chinese company. Doing so might help U.S. manufacturers such as Qualcomm, which supplies up to 84 percent of ZTE phones with chips, according to Canalys. However, the final decision isn't up to Trump. The Senate Banking Committee approved an amendment that prevents Trump from vetoing sanctions on ZTE. That means the Commerce Department decides what happens next. ZTE won't get off "scot-free," White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said this week, which means it might have to shuffle management and pay more fines if the ban is removed. ZTE alco could continue facing scrutiny from the intelligence community, which advises consumers against buying ZTE-made phones in the U.S. WATCH: ZTE poses a national security threat Sen. Mark Warner said President Donald Trump's ambivalent stance on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE is "very dangerous." "This is a company that poses a national security threat," the Democrat from Virginia told CNBC on "Power Lunch" on Tuesday. "And if that threat is real, and we're going to listen to the intelligence community, this is a company that has violated American sanctions rules." "For [Trump] to arbitrarily, depending on which day ... he wants to tweet, to decide whether this ought to have the kind of sanctions that the law implied or is he going to arbitrarily choose another route, I find that very dangerous. And not the way we want to send a message ... to a country like China." On Tuesday, the president said his administration had not yet reached an agreement on whether to save ZTE. The company is currently under sanctions by the U.S. government. At a press conference, Trump denied a Wall Street Journal report saying his administration had reached a tentative deal with Beijing. Still, moments later he said he may seek "a very large fine" against the company, up to $1.3 billion, and would like to see new management at ZTE some of the framework outlined in the deal reported by the Journal. Warner said many of his constituents are concerned that the president is "arbitrarily pick[ing] out a company" one that has been the subject of security concerns, no less and using it as a "trading chip." The senator added that Trump has been "outfoxed" in negotiations with China, a country he said operates "on a different set of rules." "It is the unanimous agreement of the intelligence community that they don't think we should be buying ZTE equipment," said Warner, who is also vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "The president, who seems to be not informed with what his own intelligence community's conclusions are, one day he says he's going to be tough, the next day he's talking about saving Chinese jobs, and now he's got this kind of in-the-middle position," Warner said. "I don't think that's how we ought to be operating." 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 Stop me if you've heard this one before: A new version of Android is right around the corner and with it comes some lofty talk about how this'll finally be the year Android manufacturers start taking upgrades seriously. That's the story with Google's upcoming Android P release, thanks to the software's integration of Project Treble a new "modular base" for Android that makes it easier for manufacturers to process updates. In short, Treble keeps the guts of Android in their own standalone layer within your device's storage. The hardware-specific code needed to make the device run properly, meanwhile, lives in a totally separate lower layer. It's kind of like a fancy cake, only with less unsaturated fat than the kind you normally buy. The idea, then, is that whenever a new version of Android comes out, the manufacturer can get it ready to roll with less work than what was previously required because all that stuff in the cake's lower layer can now be left alone. Before, the manufacturer had to take that stuff and then mix it back in with the main operating system layer every time a new update came along. And that made for a lot of baking. [Get fresh tips and insight in your inbox every Friday with JR's new Android Intelligence insider's newsletter. Exclusive extras await!] This is the first release cycle where a large number of phones are standing by and ready with Project Treble support built in and already, the results are apparent: Google is gloating about the fact that Treble's presence allowed it to offer the new Android P beta on seven devices outside of its own Pixel phones the Sony Xperia XZ2, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, Nokia 7 Plus, Oppo R15 Pro, Vivo X21, OnePlus 6, and Essential PH1. That's a noteworthy first for the platform. Per Google: We've worked closely with Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Samsung Electronics System LSI Business to co-develop their [software for controlling the chips used in phones], starting with Android P. Their [software packages] are now ready for Android P on a much-accelerated schedule, reducing the overall effort significantly. These silicon manufacturers are now able to provide a stable and high-quality release much earlier than before, allowing OEMs [a.k.a. original equipment manufacturers a snazzy way of saying device-makers] to bring the latest innovations of Android to their customers across the globe. Qualcomm got in on the action, too, putting out its own press release touting the fact that it was ready to support "fast commercial availability" of Android P for devices that use its processors: By having early access to Android P, Qualcomm Technologies optimized its software on Snapdragon 845, 660, and 636 mobile platforms to ensure readiness for OEMs to upgrade to Android P at the time of launch. Qualcomm Technologies' leadership position and scale in mobile allows for Google to improve the speed of its OS upgrade cycle, and for OEMs to bring the latest software enhancements to consumers more rapidly than previous Android OS releases. Well, whoop-de frickin' doo right? I know. But hang on: There's a reason I'm quoting all this PR gobbledygook. Yup, you guessed it: Time to put this all into perspective. Android P and Project Treble's unspoken layer Here's the thing: Project Treble is without a doubt a significant leap forward for Android. It makes a lot of sense for Google to split apart the layers of the code and reduce the amount of effort involved for manufacturers to process and deliver an update. That's meaningful progress and quite the coup from an engineering standpoint. But in talking about the layer-based changes Treble brings to Android, there's one more layer that rarely gets mentioned something we'll call the frosting in our tasty little virtual cake. Frosting, you say? Why, yes: In addition to that lower layer of hardware-specific code and the upper-layer of Google's actual operating system code, there's an upper-upper-layer lots of manufacturers like to add into the batter. It's the layer that lets Samsung have its custom TouchWiz interface, along with all the extra features it adds into its phones' software. Same for LG, Huawei, and any other manufacturers that put their own twists on Android. Their frosting doesn't just sit on top of the main Android code layer, either: It frequently mixes in with it, since the changes aren't only superficial decorations but often modifications and additions to the core Android product. Project Treble, however, is all about that lower layer the hardware-specific code. It has no effect on these higher-level changes so many manufacturers like to make to the operating system, and it does nothing to streamline that part of the process. You can see signs of that fact right now, in fact: Maybe you've noticed that even with the broader-than-usual beta availability of Android P this year, the non-Pixel devices that support the software are currently running Google's version of Android not their manufacturers' typical customized versions of it. Well, this is precisely why. So, yes: Those devices are able to support Android P in its purest form (with varying levels of success), but that isn't the same flavor of software that'll actually be rolled out to the devices once Android P's final release arrives. And that's not all, either: There's one other big ol' lump of sugar we need to address. The broader Android upgrade problem The plain and simple truth, as I've pointed out before, is that while Project Treble makes the act of processing and delivering updates easier with that above-mentioned asterisk it still requires manufacturers to make upgrade delivery a priority if it's going to have any meaningful and wide-reaching impact. And if history's any indication, that type of customer-centric focus isn't necessarily something we can count on from most Android device-makers, no matter how hard Google may try to make it happen. Back to that deja vu we talked about at the start of this story: Google's taken steps to make the Android upgrade process easier for manufacturers before and each time, we've heard the same narrative about how this is the year the device-makers are gonna get their acts together, gosh darn it! But then each time, without fail, we've ultimately been reminded that regardless of the circumstances surrounding them, most of the manufacturers just don't give a damn. Setting aside the odd "Android Update Alliance" announced and then pretty much immediately abandoned in 2011, Google's nudges started with Android L in 2014, when the company offered its first early preview release so device-makers could have more time with the software ahead of its launch. With Android M the following year, Google served up that preview even earlier in the spring more weeks to work with the code and prepare in advance should help, right? By the time Android N rolled around in 2016, Google had pushed back its time frame earlier yet and added an extra 36 days into its preview-to-final-release window. And yet well, you've seen the charts, right? By and large, Android upgrade performance has been getting progressively worse year after year, despite the ongoing efforts and advances. Google itself is the only real exception, with its consistently commendable support for its own Pixel (and previously Nexus) devices. JR Raphael (Click image to enlarge) It's like I've said before: The underlying problem with Android upgrades isn't entirely technical. It's also the fact that the companies making and selling Android phones with the exception of Google itself have no real motivation to make timely, ongoing upgrades a priority. Idealistic as we may want this industry to be, the business realities driving manufacturers' behaviors are actually quite understandable. So, yes: Project Treble absolutely does give manufacturers less work when it comes to updating their Android devices. But they'll still have some resource-requiring chores to manage some phone-makers more than others, depending on how much meddling they choose to do. And, crucially, nothing about their underlying priorities or the business models that define them seems to have shifted. Put another way, the years of subpar software support seem less about logistics and more about incentive. Project Treble could certainly have positive effects in some areas of the Android ecosystem, but it doesn't do anything to address that core issue. The real deciding factor is how much companies care And you know what? Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I can't help but get the impression that Google is keenly aware of that. All the PR surrounding Treble's effect on Android P reads to me like a message directed at manufacturers more than anything a deliberately public declaration that, hey, we've done our part. The chip-makers have done their part. If you fail to get software into your users' hands in a timely manner yet again, it's totally on you and now, we're making that crystal clear to everyone. Allow me to repeat a couple of highlights from those excerpts I quoted above, with my own emphasis added first, from Google: These silicon manufacturers are now able to provide a stable and high-quality release much earlier than before, allowing OEMs to bring the latest innovations of Android to their customers across the globe. And then from Qualcomm, whose press release was clearly orchestrated with Google and meant to emphasize its partnership with the company: Qualcomm Technologies' leadership position and scale in mobile allows for Google to improve the speed of its OS upgrade cycle , and for OEMs to bring the latest software enhancements to consumers more rapidly than previous Android OS releases. A quote from a Qualcomm exec further drives the point home again, emphasis here is mine: "We are excited to work with Google to pre-integrate our software with Android P, making it production ready for OEMs," said Mike Genewich, director, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc."Through our strengthened relationship, Google and Qualcomm Technologies are set to expand the market for Android and make it easier for OEMs to launch devices based on Snapdragon mobile platforms." See it? "We've done this to make their jobs easier. What happens next is up to them. Capisce?" And remember, too, that the manufacturers involved with the Android P beta thus far are Sony, Xiaomi, Nokia, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, and Essential. Notice some names missing from that list? This all seems squarely aimed in their direction. So those three words I alluded to in the headline: Time will tell. We can talk endlessly about the awesomeness of Project Treble and how brilliantly it sets the stage for swifter OS updates, but what none of us can know is how much difference it'll ultimately make because the real deciding factor is how much companies like Samsung, LG, and Motorola actually care. The exact circumstances may have differed in past years and the level of change may have been somewhat less grand, but it's hard not to feel like we've been down this road before. There's every reason to be cautiously optimistic about what Project Treble could accomplish but as someone fully informed about the context around it, there's also every reason to be skeptical. Let's see what this summer will bring. Sign up for JR's new weekly newsletter to get this column along with bonus tips, personal recommendations, and other exclusive extras delivered to your inbox. [Android Intelligence videos at Computerworld] Kenneth Clarke is a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Education Secretary and Health Secretary. He is MP for Rushcliffe, and Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition. Earlier this month, the Government apologised for the UKs role in the extraordinary rendition of Abdul Hakim-Belhaj and Fatima Boudchar to Libya and the harrowing experiences they suffered. The Government acknowledged that UKs actions contributed to [their] detention, rendition and suffering. The apology is welcome and long overdue but it is shocking that a British government got itself mixed up in such practices. We must be sure that there are policies in place strong enough to guard against this ever happening again. After apologising on behalf of the Prime Minister in Parliament, the Attorney General gave assurances that the problems of the past will not be repeated and rightly referred to the Consolidated Guidance the rulebook intelligence officers must follow when there is a risk their actions may enable torture or mistreatment of detainees as a key policy in place to prevent such recurrence. When it was developed and published in 2010, the Consolidated Guidance was a welcome step forward in transparency and protection of human rights. However, it is flawed and needs to be strengthened to ensure that it properly protects against rendition and unlawful detention. In 2016, Sir Mark Waller, the Intelligence Services Commissioner, published a report criticising the Consolidated Guidance and recommending that it be reviewed. The Government confirmed in November 2017, in response to a question I asked, that this review was underway and that it had consulted government departments and intelligence agencies. This is a step in the right direction, but I believe the review process needs to include the views of others with experience in this field. I wrote to the Prime Minister in February this year (along with other members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition, which I chair) asking her if she would consider recommendations made by the All-Party Group for improvements to the Guidance. We believe that much clearer guidelines are needed for officers who believe a detainee is being held or transferred unlawfully. In fact, most of the protections that the guidance currently offers from torture should also apply to unlawful detention and rendition. Sir Mark Waller made similar criticisms in his 2016 report, saying, the application of the Consolidated Guidance to risks of unlawful arrest or detention or procedural unfairness is not as clear as it should be, describing the relevant text as inconsistent and vague. He rightly observed that wholly unlawful or arbitrary deprivations of liberty are no less important or serious than torture. Extraordinary rendition and arbitrary detention undermine the rule of law and open the door to the use of ill-treatment and torture, the very practices the Guidance is seeking to prevent. This was clearly illustrated in the case of Belhaj and Boudchar, who were rendered to Libyan jails notorious for torture. Whats more, there is a risk that the Guidance as currently worded, could give the impression that ministerial authorisation grants a derogation from the requirement that officials obey the law on torture. This is both ethically and legally wrong the prohibition on torture is absolute in all circumstances. The current review of the Guidance is particularly timely. With Donald Trump having pledged to reintroduce waterboarding and a hell of a lot worse, it is more important than ever that the UK has as robust a policy as possible to prevent future involvement by our intelligence services in such activities. The Prime Minister herself has acknowledged the importance of the Guidance in this context: when asked about intelligence sharing in light of Trumps comments, her spokesperson rightly said, We dont condone torture, inhumane treatment in any form. There was consolidated updated guidance published in 2010 on this I believe that Britain needs strong and effective intelligence services. But I also believe that Britain can demonstrate that this can be combined with decent and ethical standards of civilised conduct. The practices of unlawful detention, rendition and mistreatment of detainees not only make those involved potentially criminally liable, but also undermine Western credibility, hindering rather than helping the fight against terrorism. Britain must not get involved in such practices again. So I welcome the Prime Ministers recent response to my letter, in which she confirmed that the review of the Guidance would need to revisit the [All-Party Groups] previous proposals, along with any other comments, and I hope action is taken to make the improvements we recommend. The Prime Ministers commitment to considering our proposals and those of others is a positive sign a review process that takes into consideration the views of individuals with knowledge and expertise in this area can only serve to strengthen the Guidance. And, if we are to be sure that there will be no repeat of the shameful involvement of the UK in rendition and torture, strengthened it must be. When the new iPhone 12 hits the streets on October 23, it will be met with a throng of consumers wanting to take one home. According to WalletHubs new 2020 iPhone Survey, 44 percent more Americans are planning to buy a new iPhone compared to 2019 -- and 73 percent more think the new iPhone is worth going into debt for. Finding the perfect plan for each and every consumers pocketbook can be a maddening experience. But the personal finance website found that consumers who spend a little time researching all the plan variations can actually save $933 (or $2,280 over two years), simply by picking the right one. The best plans Using its own cell phone calculator, WalletHub did a fair amount of number crunching on what special plans and bonuses providers are dangling in front of a consumer. Here are two of the more impressive differentiators: The best way to get the new iPhone : WalletHub found that the no-contract individual plan from Visible is the best way to get the new iPhone, beating plans from all three major carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile/Sprint, Verizon). Bonus savings: For even more savings, WalletHubs advice is to keep your old phone. Individuals can save up to $1,690 and families can save up to $2,663. Words of caution WalletHub asked technology watchers about some of the pitfalls that consumers should take into consideration when buying a new phone. Here are two that ConsumerAffairs found to be particularly interesting: How much cheaper must a 2-year agreement be for a cell phone user to sacrifice the flexibility of not having a contract? With a 2-year plan, the consumer loses flexibility, for example, in terms of cell phone service plans. The contract may dictate a plan which they wouldn't otherwise choose, said Qihong Liu, Ph.D., a professor of Economics at the University of Oklahoma. Liu went on to say that the benefits will likely vary from consumer to consumer. Some choose the contract because they get to have the latest phone without paying the whole cost right away. Others like the contract because it is cheaper, Liu said. To what extent does the secondary market for cell phones (e.g. eBay) alter the price comparison for no-contract plans? When that question was put to Hemant Bhargava, Ph.D., a professor of Technology Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, he had this to say: Contract plans that provide (or force) a smartphone usually have a price premium to cover the sellers risk of giving you the phone upfront. So, youre better off if you can bring your own phone - even if you buy from a secondary source like eBay. Rather than worrying about the authenticity and quality of the phone, Bhargava suggests that consumers look for a reliable seller with a high rating history and good reputation. Alternately, there are very high-quality budget phones that cost the same as a used flagship phone and will be just fine for most buyers, he concluded. SOUTH STORMONT, Ontario Tammy Hart has been the Deputy Mayor of South Stormont for the past eight years, and before that she was a Councillor for four. Now, Hart has decided to run for Mayor. Im looking forward to the challenge, said Hart. I feel that Im ready for this, being that I put 12 years into everything. I look forward to working with staff and the new council we get, and I feel comfortable. Hart believes that Mayor Jim Bancroft improved staff communications and respect over the past four years. I just cant say enough about the staff and employees in general, said Hart. Weve got a good crew in every department, and they all work hard. I think thats what makes you a good mayor at the end of the day. So, Im hoping that will continue. Maintaining infrastructure is one of Harts priorities going into this election. Im concerned about the demographics and trying to keep our little villages and towns surviving, because the cities are always getting bigger and rural areas are getting smaller, said Hart. Hart plans on promoting shopping locally, growing businesses and inviting development. She also plans on maintaining low taxes and transparency. Hart also prides South Stormont for having the best recreational services in the SDG Counties. We have a wonderful website that promotes so much, said Hart. Weve improved (the website) immensely, so I think that gives a good opportunity for more tourism and growth. According to Hart, one of the greatest challenges for the township will be finding funding for the Long Sault-Ingleside Regional Water Treatment Plant. Were talking an almost $27 million improvement plan for that, and I dont know how we will manage that, said Hart. Hart believes that the township will need to be strategic with spending due to less funding from the provincial government. She also said that during the next term the township will be looking into resolving some water billing issues. Hart loves to spend time with her grandchildren and work on her family farm. She understands how the role of Mayor may impact this, but is prepared to juggle all of her responsibilities. Its certainly going to be challenging, but Im up for that challenge, said Hart. Ive already spoken to my family and husband about that and they understand the consequences of going into a field thats more demanding than what the deputy mayor position used to be. The upcoming municipal election will be held on Monday, Oct. 22. CORNWALL, Ontario Christopher Beaulieu, 43, of Rockland was arrested on May 18, 2018 and charged with the following: Assault Assault cause bodily harm Assault with a weapon Threats Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose Forcible Confinement Robbery Breach of recognizance (for possessing weapons) It is alleged on May 5, 2018 the man entered the residence of a man unknown to him and assaulted the man with an object, causing him to seek medical attention. The man also allegedly brandished a knife while making threats to further injure the man, prevented him from leaving the residence, and forcibly removed property from the residence without permission. Police were contacted and an investigation ensued. On May 18, 2018 the man was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. THEFT UNDER $5,000, BREACH Cornwall, ON Austin-Taylor Anderson, 19, of Cornwall was arrested on May 18th, 2018 and charged with theft under $5000 and breach of probation for failing to keep the peace. It is alleged between April 10-11th, 2018, the man removed a wallet from a motor vehicle and police were contacted. On May 18th, 2018 the man was taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on June 14th, 2018. SEXUAL ASSAULT, SEXUAL INTERFERENCE Cornwall, ON A 23-year-old Cornwall man was arrested on May 18th, 2018 and charged with sexual assault and sexual interference. It is alleged in June, 2012 the man inappropriately touched his 8-year-old cousin. Police were contacted and an investigation ensued. On May 18th, 2018 the man attended police headquarters to deal with the matter. He was taken into custody, charged accordingly and was released to appear in court on June 19th, 2018. His name was not released as the man was a youth at the time of the incident and is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. ASSAULT Cornwall, ON A 28-year-old Cornwall woman was arrested on May 18th, 2018 and charged with assault. It is alleged during an argument on May 18th, 2018 the woman assaulted her boyfriend and police were contacted to investigate. During the investigation the woman was taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on June 19th, 2018. Her name was not released as it would identify the victim in the matter. IMPAIRED OPERATION, OVER 80 Cornwall, ON Arlene Jock, 37, of Akwesasne was arrested on May 19th, 2018 and charged with impaired operation and over 80. It is alleged on May 19th, 2018 the woman was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol at the Canadian Port of Entry. She was taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on May 31st, 2018. ASSAULT Cornwall, ON A 38-year-old Moose Creek woman was arrested on May 20th, 2018 and charged with assault. It is alleged during an argument on May 20th, 2018 the woman assaulted her boyfriend and police were contacted to investigate. During the investigation the woman was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. Her name was not released as it would identify the victim in the matter. WARRANT Cornwall, ON Mickey Delormier, 28, of Cornwall was arrested on May 20th, 2018 on the strength of a warrant. It is alleged the woman failed to attend court for an assault police charge and a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was located by police on May 20th, 2018, was taken into custody on the strength of the warrant and held for a bail hearing. Cornwall, ON Shawnna Chartrand, 25, of Cornwall was arrested on May 20th, 2018 on the strength of a warrant. It is alleged the woman failed to attend court for a theft charge and a warrant was issued for her arrest. On May 20th, 2018, the woman attended police headquarters to deal with the matter. She was taken into custody on the strength of the warrant and held for a bail hearing. THEFT UNDER, MISCHIEF UNDER, BREACH, WARRANT Cornwall, ON A 30-year-old Cornwall man was arrested on May 21st, 2018 on the strength of a warrant. He was also charged with theft under $5000, mischief under $5000, breach of probation and breach of undertaking for failing to notify a change of address, possessing a weapon, and failing to keep the peace. It is alleged the man failed to attend court on May 4th, 2018 and a warrant was issued for his arrest. It is also alleged on May 8th, 2018 the man attended his ex-girlfriends residence, damaged dishes and a door, and removed several electronics from the residence without permission. Police were contacted and an investigation ensued. On May 21st, 2018 the man was located by police and was found to be in possession of several knives despite his conditions. He was taken into custody on the strength of the warrant and held for a bail hearing. His name was not released as it would identify the victim in the matter. ASSAULT Cornwall, ON An 18-year-old Cornwall woman was arrested on May 21st, 2018 and charged with assault. It is alleged during an argument on May 21st, 2018 the woman assaulted her boyfriend and police were contacted to investigate. During the investigation the woman was taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on June 12th, 2018. Her name was not released as it would identify the victim in the matter. BREAK AND ENTER, THEFT UNDER, THREATS, BREACH Cornwall, ON Fowler Thompson, 32, of Cornwall was arrested on May 21st, 2018 and charged with break and enter, theft under $5000, threats, and breach of recognizance for consuming drugs. It is alleged on May 21st, 2018 the man forced his way onto the property of someone unknown to him, removed a bat, and made threats to a youth inside the residence. The man also allegedly removed shoes from a motor vehicle without permission and police were contacted to investigate. During the investigation police located the man and he was found to be intoxicated by drugs. He was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. REFUSAL Cornwall, ON Toby Back, 33, of Akwesasne was arrested on May 21st, 2018 and charged with refusing to provide a sample of his breath. It is alleged on May 22nd, 2018 the man failed to provide a proper sample of his breath upon demand after being stopped at the Canadian Port of Entry. Police were contacted and an investigation ensued. During the investigation he was taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on May 31st, 2018. There were 199 calls for service in the City of Cornwall over the long weekend (8am Friday to 8am Tuesday morning). To see whats happening in your neighbourhood visit our Crime Plot Map. CCPS reserves the right to not post all calls for service in order to protect the identity of the victims. VMware's new channel chief rolled out on Tuesday four partner competencies designed to drive business to partners leveraging the virtualization leader's technological innovations to deliver ongoing services. VMware needed to formalize support for partners offering project-based, advisory and managed services, and help them differentiate their practices by validating that expertise, Jenni Flinders, vice president for worldwide channels, told CRN. At the VMware Partner Leadership Summit, Flinders introduced the VMware Master Services Competencies for cloud management and automation, data center virtualization, network virtualization, and desktop and mobility. [Related: VMware Launches Partner Competency Around Its Joint Cloud Service With AWS As Vendors See A Merging Of Channels] "As we guide our partners down the services journey, some of the benefits we're going to focus this program around are on how we're going to help partners build services-enablement capabilities and priority access to the enablement program," Flinders told CRN. VMware's channel program in the past had been largely transaction-oriented. But the latest technologies, especially those facilitating hybrid cloud deployments, create opportunities for partners to add value on a recurring basis, she said. And delivering ongoing services post-transaction is "hugely profitable for partners," said Flinders. By extending its portfolio across cloud, data center and endpoints, VMware has made it possible for partners to deepen their practice models, and that's the focus of the evolving channel program, she said. The Master Services Competencies emphasize driving customer demand, helping partners advertise their capabilities through badging and branding, and making it easier for customers to find the partners that best meet their needs. "There is so much more for our partners to build a holistic value-chain to the customer," Flinders said, and the "deeper the value, the longer-term relationship will be entrenched." The latest competencies had been under development since the start of the yearbefore Flinders took the helm of the company's channel organization at the start of last month. Now it's her job to advance them in the channel. "We've got to stay ahead of the curve with our partners. I'm looking for ways we can be leading edge out there for the partner ecosystem," she told CRN. While there's a lot of overlap with the skills validated by technological certifications, the new competencies are earned independently. Flinders, who spent 15 years at Microsoft, and the past few years as CEO of Daarlandt Partners, a firm advising industry clients on channel strategies, said VMware's partner-centric approach to sales "certainly pulls at my heart strings." "For me it's an opportunity to look at how we double-down on VMware with our partners and grow the business together," she said. "I'm going to be the channel's greatest advocate and voice." While some of VMware's born-in-the-cloud partners intricately understand the services model, other partners are placing big bets to extend their practices in that direction, she said. "Although the channel sells a lot of VMware licenses, services are what makes the partner successful with customers," said C.R. Howdyshell, president of Rolta AdvizeX, a VMware partner based in Worthington, Ohio. The new competencies show that VMware is listening to partners, Howdyshell, who sits on VMware's North American Partner Advisory Council, told CRN. AdvizeX aims to capitalize on VMware's momentum by moving its practice beyond vSphere, Howdyshell said, and more toward applications and containers on VMwares platforms. The new competencies will accelerate those efforts by empowering his team with greater knowledge, skills and tools. "The Master Services Competencies are the best approach for partner differentiation for services, while assuring VMware the partners can execute complex services successfully," he said. Howdyshell told CRN he has yet to meet Flinders in person, but on calls has found her "someone very in touch with the channel." VMware already does more than 70 percent of its total business through the channel, he noted, and Flinders will likely drive an even higher level of commitment to partners. Further differentiation for the top delivery partners will result in increased revenues for VMware, and more loyalty from its partner community, he told CRN. 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. Red Hat's Strategy To Dominate Containers Red Hat's goal for its OpenShift container management platform is nothing short of total domination of one of the tech industry's hottest markets, according to the company's CEO, Jim Whitehurst. At the Red Hat Summit in San Francisco, Whitehurst sat down with CRN to discuss his team's laser-focus on positioning OpenShift, a container-native Platform-as-a-Service, as a flagship product that will drive the Raleigh, N.C.-headquartered company to new heights in the coming years. That container strategy looks to capitalize on the market position of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and the recent acquisition of CoreOS, Whitehurst said. The stability and security of Red Hat's ubiquitous operating system, when coupled with the ease-of-use CoreOS has built into its Linux and Kubernetes platforms, will propel OpenShift to the front of the container pack, Whitehurst said. Global Ports Holding (GPH) announced that it has signed a 15-year management agreement with the Cuban company Aries S.A. for the operation of the cruise port in Havana, Cuba. The agreement will also see a significant investment program grow the port from two cruise berths to six by 2024, according to a statement. Global Ports Holding is the large cruise port operator in the world, with a dozen ports under operation in the Mediterranean, in addition to Singapore. Under the terms of the agreement, Global Ports said it will use global expertise and operating model to manage all of the cruise port operations over the life of the agreement. As consideration, GPH will be paid a management fee that is based on a number of factors including passenger numbers, with growth based incentives. "In addition to operating the cruise port operations, the Group will continue to work with our Cuban partners on the design and technical specification of the cruise port investment program, including proposed new terminals. Once these have been completed GPH will take responsibility for the marketing and commercialization of these new facilities," GPH said. Global Ports Holding, Chairman and Co-Founder Mehmet Kutman said: I am very happy that we have signed an agreement for Havana Cruise Port, the first step in the Groups growth strategy for the Americas. This spectacular city and country is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination, with visitors attracted by world famous architecture, a vibrant music scene and the famous local hospitality. We very much look forward to working with our Cuban partners to deliver a fantastic cruise port experience. Global Ports Holding, CEO Emre Sayin said: We are delighted to have been awarded the management contract for the Havana cruise port and look forward to playing our role in developing the cruise port and the wider visitor experience in Havana, as well as Cuba more broadly. This represents our first Agreement in the Caribbean, in line with our strategy of expansion into the Americas cruise port market and therefore marks an important step in the development of Global Ports Holding. The GPH team looks forward to working with our local partners and local staff to drive continued growth in cruise passenger volumes at Havana Port and deliver both world class cruise port facilities and a great cruise experience for all passengers visiting Havana. 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 Bipartisan budget adjustments passed by the state legislature at the start of the month have increased the states deficit by $335.7 million, the state Office of Policy and Management announced in a letter Monday. As a result of the budget changes that will take effect July 1, the deficit this fiscal year will be $717.5 million. Some transfers made in the budget adjustments mean that the states rainy day fund will grow to $769.3 million by the close of the fiscal year, OPM reported. That number is important because lawmakers are relying on the rainy day fund to pay for the deficit and cover some 2019 spending. When he signed the budget deal last week, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy chastised lawmakers for relying too much on emergency reserves and one-time revenue, instead of making structural changes to reduce revenues. We now face out-year deficits of $1.96 billion in Fiscal Year 2020, growing nearly $600 million per year thereafter, and we leave the budget reserve fund at $1.16 billion by the end of Fiscal Year 2019, Malloy wrote in a letter to lawmakers. Although concerns about how the state will pay for future transportation projects and spending remain, OPM reported Monday the Special Transportation Fund will close the year with a small surplus of $58.2 million. As a result, bus and rail fare hikes will be avoided something lawmakers of both parties and the governor applauded upon the budget adjustments passage. The $20 billion state budget for 2019 prompts several million in deficiencies in some state agencies like a shortfall of $16.7 million at the Department of Corrections to pay for staff but several other agencies are seeing savings in the millions due to vacancies and other reasons. The state is also still paying off a federal lawsuit filed by the states public employee unions against former Gov. John Rowland to the tune of $21 million this fiscal year. emunson@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson "What if this plane goes down?" Marcus A. Murphy sat down in his seat, anticipating a relaxing, yet productive flight on his way to San Francisco. Suddenly, the conversation in the row before him invaded his consciousness, and he couldn't help but overhear the dialogue ... "Hey, what's your name? Where are you going? What do you do for a living?" Murphy cringed as he quickly realized the context of the "conversation" and recognized the tragedy taking place. Before their impending flight, Murphy overhead the Middle-Seat Man trying to sell life insurance to the Window-Seat Man, who was in captivity for the duration of the flight. "Are your kids going to college soon?" said the Middle-Seat Man. "I mean, have you taken care of your family's future? What if this plane goes down?" Related: These 10 LinkedIn Tips Will Make You a Networking Master Murphy, also a salesperson at the time, remembers, "So I just sat there, and I was witnessing this train wreck of a sales conversation, and it just sparked something in me going, you know what? There's a different way to do this!" Murphy, in his moment of angst and inspiration, whipped open his computer and started typing furiously. In just one take, without any editing or filters, he composed his piece of passion, a la Jerry McGuire, and hit "publish." Moments later, the article posted on his LinkedIn profile entitled, "Why cold calling is dead and Jeff Weiner is my hero" shared his firm belief that cold calling was officially dead and that LinkedIn was the "No. 1 social selling tool on the planet." Murphy could not have foreseen what was going to happen next. His controversial, impassioned LinkedIn article sparked a series of events that would transform Murphy's career and catapult him into LinkedIn stardom. Hundreds of readers shared their opposing viewpoints in the posts comments section, each one espousing why they believed cold calling was either dead or alive. Even LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner commented, personally. Murphy isn't the only one to harness the power of this platform. Robyn D. Stoller-Shulman also accidentally leveraged LinkedIn to transform her career as well. She had been publishing articles on her website and then consistently sharing them on LinkedIn. She discovered it was a great way to spark conversations and to connect with others who shared her passion for education. One day, Stoller-Shulman felt so grateful for what LinkedIn had to offer, she created a SlideShare deck entitled, 10 Ways LinkedIn Changed My Life In One Year. She shared the deck on LinkedIn, and within five minutes, received a call directly from LinkedIn. They invited her to work with one of their social media editors to put together an article about her journey for their member blog. LinkedIn also began to share her story and the SlideShare deck everywhere. Today, her SlideShare is closing in on 500,000 views. During a recent phone conversation, she recalls, "It was like this crazy 15 minutes of fame. I mean, people from all over the world were calling me. It was like...insanity. I was suddenly this LinkedIn superstar." Stoller-Shulman became a writer for a variety of outlets and is also the editor-in-chief of EdNews Daily, an online magazine that publishes pieces for and by teachers, parents, students, higher education institutions, startups, and education technology specialists. Related: 17 Motivational Leaders You Need to Follow on LinkedIn Similarly, Marcus A. Murphy's Linkedin stardom transformed his career. In just a matter of months, he was invited to speak at DigitalMarketers Traffic & Conversion Summit, Fast Inc. Networks inaugural event, and LinkedIns Social Selling Roadshow conferences, teaching the value of social selling. Today, Murphy is the Director of Monetization for DigitalMarketer and an official member of LinkedIns Customer Advisory Board. He was also recently featured in LinkedIn's newest videos for their Sales Navigator tool, talking about how the robust system is empowering effective communication and social selling strategies. When asked via email about Sales Navigator and its potential for sales professionals, Steve Kaplan, Sales Navigator product manager, shared Over the past 3 years, Sales Navigator has evolved from an extension of LinkedIn into one of the industrys fastest-growing enterprise-grade SaaS applications used by more than 80 percent of the Forbes Cloud 100 to meet their revenue goals. 3 tips for effective social selling. With over 546 Million users inside of its ecosystem, Murphy is convinced that B2B companies simply cant afford to neglect LinkedIn and social selling. During a phone conversation, Murphy shared the following three tips for effective social selling on LinkedIn: 1. Pay attention to the themes of your prospects and where they want to have conversations. It's essential in today's digital world that a salesperson or an executive have authentic social profiles and a consistent, professional identity. He claims it is a critical component to establishing trust and credibility. Related: How to Become a LinkedIn Power User (Infographic) 2. Be genuinely interested in who your prospects are! These are people with wants, needs, desires, and dreams. What do they care about? What are they reading? Where are they spending their time and energy? What are their biggest pain points and goals? How can you insert your solution, tool, or product to help them along the journey to answer those questions that keep them up at night?" Murphy emphasizes the fact that you can either be a small part of their triumph or an affirmation of their distrust as they flounder without your solution. He claims it takes authentic thoughtfulness to pull off the modern sale and people know when you havent taken the time to get to know them. Continues Murphy, "Theres just too much information out there on everyone to not lead with thoughtfulness. Do you want to see your retention skyrocket? If you add value from the beginning of your process, you wont have to ask yourself How do we keep our top clients? 3. Be useful! Murphy claims that you can create value before you connect with your prospects by building your authority as a thought leader and sharing your wisdom by posting regularly on LinkedIn. He says any professional salesperson or executive should challenge themselves to write and position themselves as a thought leader in their industry. "People buy from people they trust, states Murphy. Earning peoples trust in a digital age is a journey and an art form. Ive leveraged platforms like LinkedIn to establish that trust. Writing industry-specific articles, acquiring credible recommendations and endorsements, and expanding my professional network have all affirmed me as a trustworthy thought leader. Thought leadership is the new one-call close. It establishes credibility before the conversation even begins." 3 effective LinkedIn features you should use. When asked if he had any unique tips or tricks that he could share regarding LinkedIn and its Sales Navigator tool, Murphy couldn't think of just one; instead, he offered three: 1. InMail Murphy estimates that people receive somewhere between 200 to 300 emails a day and that the average person on LinkedIn only gets 2 to 3 messages a day. One of the primary benefits of using Sales Navigator is a tool called InMail. Murphy says InMail is a fantastic way to connect with executives and decision-makers and is an indispensable asset for successful social selling. 2. Video LinkedIn recently updated their social network to allow videos to be uploaded natively to their platform. Murphy believes that LinkedIn is giving video posts greater reach and that the "organic reach of posts in exceptional." He says people need to overcome the fear of not looking professional or perfect on video and that it presents a phenomenal opportunity to share valuable content with more people. He recommends doing frequent "short-form" video clips to build engagement and an occasional "long-form" video designed for in-depth consumption and thought leadership. "One of my recent videos got over 17,000 views ... organically! says Murphy. He's also excited that Video Ads are also now available as an option on LinkedIn. 3. Live engagement Murphy also discussed a new LinkedIn feature called Active Status. It's a new system that displays if a LinkedIn connection is currently engaged and active on the network or not. A full green-dot next to a user's profile means they're now active on LinkedIn. A white-dot with a green border indicates the user is only available on their mobile device and is notified if you send them a private message. This new resource empowers its users to determine whether or not a person is available to chat and makes it easier to start a conversation. Murphy hopes that, with tools like LinkedIn's Sales Navigator, the career of a professional salesperson is something that people will aspire to, once again. "I think it's coming back. I think people are starting to own it in a new way. Kids are actively going to school to get a degree in sales and learn the practical aspects of it, and that's encouraging to me. I want to be a part of a wave that brings back the excitement of being a sales professional, and I want to be a pioneer in it so that I don't have to sit there and watch another person take part in an experience like the one I witnessed on the plane, says Murphy. Does Murphy still believe that cold calling is dead? "Yes, cold calling is dead. It's basically thoughtless outreach. But the phone isdead ... it's an amazing tool, especially when used with thought leadership and LinkedIns Sales Navigator." Related: How One Provocative LinkedIn Post Can Transform Your Career 6 Tips You Can Use to Stay Motivated When You're Working in Sales Eastern European Startups Often Struggle With Marketing and Sales. Here's How to Overcome the Challenges. Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved NORWALK With a tough primary challenge ahead, Susan Bysiewicz is relying on her resume to appeal to voters in her bid for lieutenant governor. Literally the lieutenant governor position is a heartbeat away from the governor position, so I will be talking about my experience, which I think is really important for voters in our primary to take a look at, Bysiewicz said during a campaign stop at the Silver Star Diner in Norwalk Monday afternoon. Talking up her experience sets Bysiewicz apart from her primary competitor, 30-year-old union organizer Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, who has no prior experience in elected office but drew a lively response at the Democratic State Convention on Saturday. Bysiewicz is a former state Rep. and three-term secretary of the state. Bermudez Zimmerman recieved 40 percent of delegate votes among an enthusiastic convention crowd. Just days after the party endorsed Ned Lamont for governor and Bysiewicz for lieutenant governor, the pair took a break from fundraising and phone calls to get out and talk to potential voters at the diner. The Lamont-Bysiewicz team will have to appeal to the states urban voters as the issues facing Connecticuts largest cities promise to be some of the most talked about on the campaign trail. People also like to know who you are and that you care, Lamont said. For me, maybe I grew up and live in a suburb, but I also was a volunteer teacher at Harding High School in Bridgeport and I got to know those kids and those families really well, Ive stayed involved there over the last 20 years. In a conversation with Patrick Vingo, vice president of the advocacy group Parents and Friends of Lower Fairfield Respite Center, a home for people with severe physical and developmental disabilities, Lamont shared the story of his friend diagnosed with ALS and listened to Vingos concerns about the impact of the states budget cuts on people with disabilities. I met (Lamont) eight years ago when he was campaigning and talked about the same issues, Vingo said. He was receptive both times and Im hopeful that if he is the governor hell do something about it ... but the test is in the performance. I hope any candidate, left or right, is able to address this problem. Though they have claimed each other as running mates, their candidacies are separate. A vote for Lamont doesnt mean a guaranteed vote for Bysiewicz and vice versa. Lamont is still waiting to see if challengers like Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim will collect enough signatures to force a primary in August. kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt As companies deploy technology to improve their bottom line, they should take care of their most important assets -- their people. After all, they keep telling us in their corporate videos, job postings and annual reports that were their most important asset. While it is fine to use technology to improve processes to make people more productive, it is also necessary to involve people in the changes ahead. The problem is, companies tend to lean on people with STEM backgrounds only. Educational institutions are on board with producing STEM graduates, and society puts pressure on students to take STEM-related courses to feed the technology boom ahead of us. Many governments around the Western world and emerging regions are investing heavily in technology efforts. Related: Construction Is Booming Now but Without New Workers and Tech, Its Future Is Uncertain While the tech boom is coming, and as a competitive nation we should be prepared, are we going overboard? Two thoughts come to mind: 1. If everyone is in tech, who will fix my sink? With such a focus on science, tech, engineering and math, who will provide all the jobs that society needs to function? These blue-collar jobs are, in some countries, are already in such high demand that getting a plumber scheduled can take an unusually long time. A recent CBS article describes the situation in Long Island, New York, on this very problem. Supply and demand suggests that these types of jobs will become high-paying jobs, but this balance can take generations to level out. In the same vein, family businesses are no longer attractive to the younger family members. No one wants to take over the farm, the family grocery store or the shoe repair shop. Nope -- they are off to Wall Street or Silicon Valley. Related: What Growing Up in a Blue-Collar Household Taught Me About Entrepreneurship 2. Just because it is technically possible, does it mean we should do it? Silicon Valley is already feeling a little bit of heat over creating products that invent a problem instead of solving real-world problems. Juicero caught the eye of Silicon Valleys biggest investors with the idea of a machine that could squeeze packs filled with bits of fruit. Turns out you can squeeze the packs by hand faster. Its a silly example, so lets look at a more serious one: online data. The biggest minds in data analytics figured out that your online data is a product and could be sold to advertisers. Leaving aside the question about whether users have given consent or not, the ability to collect data, analyze it and sell it is technically possible. But ethically, should it be done? What if these companies had hired -- and listened to -- sociologists and anthropologists to evaluate possible societal outcomes instead of focusing on data scientists and engineers? These two thoughts center around the societal impact when such a focus in one direction has an adverse impact overall. From a decline in people in much needed jobs to the kinds of jobs that tech companies hire, a sole focus on STEM, while turning out a lot of tech workers who can do a lot of fancy things with data and the internet, is not serving society very well. Related: Are Your Technology Decisions Helping or Hurting Your Employees? Companies that want to use technology to improve their processes, make better connections with customers and improve their bottom line should ensure they have a healthy mix of STEM and social impact talent in their ranks. We also need a healthy mix of job types as the impact of blue-collar job shortages also has an impact on how society will function. It is the diversity of talented people that is a companys greatest asset. Related: Can the KidGuard App Protect Against the Rising New Threat of Virtual Kidnapping? Elon Musk Introduces His Pet Snail 'Gary' at an L.A. Event to Tout His Underground Traffic Tunnel How to Get Organized With the Google Tasks App Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., implored his followers on Twitter that if they wanted to see real change in America they should change Congress. I wholeheartedly agree, however my 700,000-plus neighbors more people than the states of Vermont and Wyoming and I who live in the nations capital are denied a vote in the House and Senate. We would love to change Congress, especially in a way that would finally grant the people of D.C. full and equal voting representation in it. The people of D.C. pay federal taxes, serve in our military and fulfill all obligations of citizenship yet are denied the most basic rights of American citizenship: the right to have full federal voting rights and representation. In 2016, 86 percent of District voters approved a referendum on statehood and now we are building support in Congress to make this bill a reality. Presently, the statehood bills in both the House and the Senate have a record number of co-sponsors, including the entire Connecticut House delegation. The statehood bill would admit the residential and commercial portions of the current federal district as the 51st state in the union thus leaving a small federal enclave consisting of the White House, Capitol, Supreme Court, the Mall and a few federal buildings as the federal capital. While we are honored to have Connecticuts entire House delegation cosponsoring the statehood bill we are perplexed as to why Connecticuts two Senators are mute on the issue. The people of the District have clearly used our voice and vote to express our desire to be a state in the union and now it is up to people of this great nation to implore Congress to make it happen. We agree with Senator Murphy that Congress needs to change, but for those of us in the District it means we need and want to be full and equal partners in the governing of America. We simply want what you have: an equal vote in American democracy. As your Senators stand up for a more just, equitable, and fair nation I ask that you implore them to support full federal voting rights for the people of D.C. by cosponsoring the D.C. statehood bill. Josh Burch Washington, D.C. Weve all heard the cliche that companies today need to act like technology start-ups. But what does that really mean? Its not just about technology, futurist Mike Walsh told attendees at the 2018 CUNA CFO Council Conference Sunday in Austin, Texas. Technology changes the hardware of your business. You also need to change your software. Unless you can turn culture into your operating system, nothing will really change at all. Walsh says there are three elements of the 21st-century credit union: 1. People. Organization can no longer can put a priority on hiring people who follow rules, but must bring in employees who are energized by change. 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. Priyanka Chopra is, without doubt, one of the more sartorially sensible film stars from the Indian film industry, and now the American TV. Even in several of her US public appearances, Priyanka and her stylist mostly get the style quotient right. She is always dressed out in her best, whether in Indian, regional Indian or Western choices, showcasing her finest attributes. However, at the royal wedding, the lilac Vivienne Westwood natty outfit did little for Priyanka Chopra. It made her look more stern, stiff and school marmish; and with that fallen lapel design, she came out looking more busty than required. Haute couture, heck, even off the hangar well-designed dresses are meant to accentuate facets that we are less endowed with and play down those that we carry amply about us. A sari, for that matter, scores remarkably on either front. The day dress Priyanka chose, however, failed her miserably. The lilac Vivienne Westwood natty outfit did little for Priyanka Chopra. Photo: Courtesy Mimi Cuttrell/Instagram I put out my unfavourable opinion of Priyankas royal wedding look on Facebook and I had friends pouring in to share what they felt about it. Sadly for Chopras stylists (and she does have a huge team of 25 people to mind her every moment), most of the people commenting on the post, agreed with my opinion. One actor friend who is involved with theatre said to me, She looked like she was going to the Royal Ascot race and not to the royal wedding. Another Milan-trained Art & Design expert friend, who has been involved in prestigious projects like the Commonwealth Games, said, There is nothing wrong in wearing western outfits but this outfit certainly didn't do justice to the lovely artist. Besides, trying to be like them Priyanka had a chance to stand out of the crowd and be different. Unfortunately, she looks awkward in the Westwood outfit. A banker friend based in Washington DC was unsugar-coatedly blunt and gave her broken-down-to-the-bone analysis saying, Id put her among the worst dressed. Simply no imagination. Overstuffed top. Poorly fitted skirt. The hat did not suit her. It made her face look round. The lipstick was the wrong colour for daytime, nor did it go with her clothes. What possessed her to go with Vivienne Westwood? Youre so right; she looked like a school marm. Photo courtesy: Team Priyanka Chopra A mainstream media writer who is an expert on art and style too was as put off as me and mentioned, She makes you think of an emigre Indian auntie from the 1960s trying to 'fit in'... and with so many fabulous, un-bling Indian clothes to choose from! Now here's the thing. Less physically blessed women like me or Oprah or so many others who do not have the most ideal height or physique or sexiness have to worry a lot about what would suit us. Or rather, would we suit this or that! But not quite Priyanka Chopra! She can carry off most things with so much panache. In fact, Priyanka wears both Indian and western outfits with such elan that she instantly becomes a role model for a million fashoinistas around the globe. So what went wrong at Meghan her friend's wedding? Especially when Priyanka could have the world to choose from and knew about the grand occasion for so long, longer than most common folk! Let Meg down, didn't we? Photo: Twitter She could have worn a fusion wear from the likes of Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Rohit Bal, Sabyasachi Mukherjee or even Prabal Gurung, Ritu Beri or Rina Dhaka, made in rich Indian fabric, embroidery, design and style. I am also of the strong belief that celebrities should be with a conscience and do their bit at every opportunity. This was a big one for Priyanka Chopra. I am all for letting people be. But these things should and do come from within. In fact, it is very Maslowian to start thinking of bigger causes (your people, your country, the world, the universe, the earth) once we have covered the first few rungs of basic needs, security, social relevance, wealth, fame etc on Maslows Pyramid. As a matter of fact, a handful of celebrities, even from the world of cinema, have set wonderful examples on this point for us to emulate. Meghan and Harry. Photo: Reuters And for that I really admire Oprah Winfrey in spite of what her detractors would say. The global queen of media has used her earlier highly successful and watched eponymous show and not missed most opportunities to talk about race, women, health, weight, rape, inclusion, global warming, organic eating and a zillion other things. So heres the heart hashtag Id like to see in most people of high influence #CelebritywithaConscience. An old colleague, completely in dissonance with my Facebook post and quite irked by the whole discussion said, She is an Indian who is famous and attending the royal wedding on a personal invite. Priyanka is not leading the Indian Olympic squad and does not have to represent India in her clothes or anything! See, thats the point. Priyanka didnt have to and she did not. But she could have. She had one hell of an opportune moment to play her India hand and put Indian fashion and fabrics and design sensibilities and Indian fashion designers on the world map. That would have been one hell of a service to her country of origin. Incidentally, Priyanka Chopra is an ambassador of Assam, the wondrous northeastern state with so much to offer. Photo: Screengrab/YouTube Incidentally, Priyanka Chopra is an ambassador of Assam, the wondrous northeastern state with so much to offer. Here was her chance to show off the rich textile and design heritage of this remarkable state; on a world platform with billion eyes glued on to the ceremony. What a great endorsement that would have been! A friend from the Northeast shared my sentiment and commented, We have brilliant fashion designers in Assam who are designing fusion dresses with our Assam silk and other fabrics. She could have even worn our mekhla sador to showcase our rich culture and heritage. A very erudite and wise Delhi University professor friend, whose opinion I always value, had this to say, Let's cut to the chase. She looks sloppy. And almost grateful she made the list. And so she went with the Astor look. Muga or paat (Assam) with an Indian designer at work would have been so much more chic. So in it and also so sublimely confident! On the personal PR front too, Priyanka lost out here. A dress decision around what is being suggested above would have easily got her favourable reviews and given her so many media pegs to talk about both in Indian and International media. The stories and sub-stories around her royal wedding breathtaking attire that also underlined her rooted allegiance would have stayed alive on the networks and in peoples minds for a long, long time. So, it is sad also to see her PR machinery miss out on this media relations opportunity that had potential to become a huge talking affair. Activist Suhani Jalota, founder of Myna Mahila Foundation, and her colleagues Archana Ambre, Deborah Das and Imogen Mansfield, stood out in Raw Mango sarees. Photo: Suhani Jalota A friend who used to work with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative had a similar opinion. I agree with your point on being Indian, being creative and while maintaining your newly acquired international avatar ensuring you remain a brand for your roots, she added. In direct contrast to Priyankas decision, there were four lovely women turning heads, catching eyeballs, enjoying media presence and gathering appreciative glances and feedback with theirs. Activist Suhani Jalota, founder of Myna Mahila Foundation, attended the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle along with her foundation members Archana Ambre, Deborah Das and Imogen Mansfield. The four women, in their rich colour palette and fabrics from the Indian design house Raw Mango, looked heavenly and stood out amidst the very A-list crowd that really turned up in their very expensive and designer best. Photo courtesy: Team Priyanka Chopra Priyanka could have asked her stylist to think out of the box and plan out a fusion wear with which she could have donned a hat or a fascinator ably; if that was the deciding matter. You see, Priyanka does not have to try to fit in anymore. From what I see on YouTube, she is the darling of the Indian media and has maneuvered around the US media extremely well, with most snippets on her coming out as complimentary. Many more people recognise Priyanka internationally now, so the pressure is off her somewhat, then what it was way back in her Boston days or even when she started out this time in the US of A. Though Priyanka looked more feminine and much nicer at the reception, sorely the Indian feel was again missing. And I think, somebody like her is just in that enviable position to clinch the awesome India card, each time we have the world watching one of us. Even other high-profile guests like Amal Clooney were there but we do not see or hear any of them milk the Markle cow so much. Photo: Reuters Unfortunately for Priyanka, who normally handles her celeb avatar very well, there are several people commenting that this time she showed a wannabe White mentality, and I guess they are not farther from the truth of the matter. Finally, we all know Meghan Markle is a friend of hers. We know it because Priyanka has said it enough times, at every given or ungiven opportunity to Jimmy Fallon or Kimmel or countless other hosts, on her Instagram page and wherever else she could plug it. Now I want to hear Meghan rant about that a bit. One friend hastened to share with me TIME Magazines 100 Most Influential People series in which Meghan Markle chose to talk about Priyanka Chopra. Well, that is Meghan - 1 and PC - perhaps 100, to put a scorecard to it. See, even Oprah Winfrey, Posh Spice, the Suits clan, Meghan Markles other fellow cast and crew, Amal Clooney were all there, but we do not see or hear any of them milk the Markle cow so much. Priyanka Chopras PR team has done some good work for her around the Meghan link with the US media. Let's put it to rest and allow Meghan to be a private person that she will yearn to be now! Also read: Deepika Padukone needs lessons in fashion that it isnt about looking pretty General Asad Durrani has been chief of Pakistans ISI. He has now co-authored the book The Spy Chronicles: Raw, ISI and the Illusion of Peace with former RAW chief AS Dulat, both spy masters in conversation with journalist Aditya Sinha. General Durrani spoke with Srijana Mitra Das about his surprising camaraderie with Dulat, how Kashmir could help bilateral cooperation and why he thinks the USA will lose influence if India and Pakistan grow closer: Q) Given that hes been chief of RAW, and you, chief of the ISI, the camaraderie between you and AS Dulat is quite a surprise how did you both meet, became so friendly, and so trusting of each other? Wasnt there a contradiction inherent there? A) Well, we have been meeting on Track Twos for over a decade. We have written joint papers (on Intelligence Cooperation, for example) and we have talked to each other as professionals. No, there was no contradiction anywhere. General Asad Durrani, former chief of Pakistan's ISI. [Photo: Harper Collins] Q) You discuss Kashmir in this book. Do you agree with Mr Dulats view, that it is now too much of a money-making operation for anyone to seriously want to stop the violence there? A) I dont think that was his main argument. He knows the place too well to come to such a bland conclusion. That Kashmir could become because of its criticality actually a test case for bilateral cooperation, well, both of us agreed upon that. If that or any other factor led the two countries or the region to find a better relationship, as has happened in many other parts of the world, it was certainly a possibility. Discussing various scenarios in any case was always advisable on sensitive matters, away from the limelight. Kashmir is always a flashpoint - but could it actually bring India and Pakistan closer together? [Photo: Reuters] Q) Speaking of "away from the limelight", given that Nawaz Sharif's been nixed, and other politicians and media are under tight controls, is Pakistan basically under un-announced military rule today? A) I do not comment on internal (or external) political matters. Q) Tell us this though how efficiently is Pakistan conducting its policy on Kashmir and homegrown terrorism? Are there things youd want to see done differently, particularly in the age of President Trump? A) Considering the complexity of the situation, internal and external, and some capacity issues, Pakistan has done a reasonably good job. A few things, such as more ownership by the civilian institutions and less kinetics by the military, were certainly advised. Donald Trump is irrelevant a much overrated factor. Overrated? Who, me? [Photo: Reuters] Q) You mention the Americans great strength is "controlling the narrative" though could you tell us concrete instances of the same? A) The first instance that it invaded Afghanistan in response to 9/11 could be defended (though plenty of evidence exists that it was planning to do so in any case), but that its now there to fight terrorism, ensure peace, etc., is hogwash. It is essentially there to maintain military bases in a strategically crucial region. Turmoil in fact is helpful to justify its presence in itself, a destabilising factor. Similarly, its acts in the Middle East are meant to create and keep chaos. Fighting the likes of Daesh is merely rationalisation... Instability in certain regions including ours helps the sole superpower to remain relevant (remember Cheney). If India and Pakistan became friends, the first to lose the pivotal third party role would be the US. Pakistan considers India as an existential threat is a mantra churned out by the Beltway. I am not aware of any informed quarter in Pakistan, which, though recognising acrimony, exalted the Indian factor thus. Another instance the Ukraine may be conceded as Russias Strategic Depth by Stratfor; the US has convinced at least the Official West that Moscow was the main culprit. The list is endless, but as icing on the cake all its sponsored reports recount all the flaws in the American policies in Afghanistan, but still conclude that, but for Pakistan, the worlds mightiest alliance would have succeeded! I dont mind as long as they also concede that we were the real superpower. Osama had friends and fans in Pakistan, where he was also found hiding by the Americans. [Photo: Reuters] Q) While on superpowers, Osama bin Laden was found in Pakistan by the USA. Theres been speculation that Pakistan's deep state or possibly, General Kayanis circle sold him out to the Americans. What is your view? A) My assessment of that is adequately expressed in the book. Also read: My husband raped me and I was blamed for divorce When some secrets spilled (AS Dulat and general Asad Durrani) The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace; Rs 799 The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace has been co-authored by former RAW chief AS Dulat and former ISI chief general Asad Durrani, in conversation with journalist Aditya Sinha. In a fascinating back-and-forth, the two former spy chiefs discuss a range of "shared interests", including Kashmir, Raw vs ISI, Hafiz Saeed, Kulbhushan Jadhav, America under Donald Trump - and India-Pakistan ties under Narendra Modi. An excerpt from the chapter titled "Modi's Surprise Moves": AS Dulat: As surprising as it may sound, Modi did more in his first two years for India-Pakistan relations than his predecessor. Its a different, instinctive diplomacy in which the foreign office has little role. It fully flows out of the PMO Even the foreign minister is often not in the loop Best friends but not forever (Photo courtesy: PIB) (Modi) had the imagination to invite Mian Saheb for his swearing-in. That it was messed up by the foreign secretary is unfortunate the politics is too mixed up, unlike with Manmohan Singh and Vajpayee, who kept it in the background Every prime minister is political, but we dont have to make it so crude. 'Modi's Pakistan policy is Ajit Doval' Sinha: What is Modis Pakistan policy? Dulat: Frankly I dont know. There is no Pakistan policy. Durrani: Doval is his Pakistan policy. 'He has his ear' (Photo: PTI) Dulat: Yeah, but you know, Doval and Modi are the same thing. After all, hes his NSA and he wouldnt do anything different. Its more opportunism. He went to Lahore, but those were better days. Everyone said the chemistry between Mian Saheb and Modi was good, perhaps because Mian Saheb went out of his way; his political instincts maybe tell him that better relations with India would help him. At one point in time, Modi was going along with that. Till Pathankot. Then he could sort of live with Pathankot. But after Uri, Modis feeling was, we tried you guys and you failed us so how can we do business? ... Uri: The last straw (Photo: PTI) 'Pakistan felt, let Modi destroy India's inner balance' Durrani: The reaction in Pakistan to Modis election was that it served India right. Let Modi take care of India, destroy its image, and possibly destroy its inner balance. Ive not been impressed by his antics. What did he mean crashlanding after giving Pakistan an earful in Afghanistan? He comes to Raiwind to attend Nawaz Sharifs granddaughters wedding, and his drama and tamasha merely created spectacular confusion. People were shell-shocked and just stood there. I prefer someone like Vajpayee who did not deliver but his approach was right. A person who manages the relationship well will not keep you on tenterhooks. Not that there is any intention to equate Vajpayee with Modi. World of difference. We would be happy if someone like Vajpayee was prime minister in Pakistan. Poet, philosopher, he could have been a good prime minister for us. The drive for peace (File photo) Dulat: Does Pakistan prefer Dr Manmohan Singh or Narendra Modi? Theres a contradiction because somewhere general Saheb has said that a hardliner in India may be in Pakistans interest. Thats why I believe Pakistan is happy if Kashmir is in a mess. A lot of people think Modi is the greatest thing to happen to India. Ive earlier said that Vajpayee was an exceptional prime minister, and he led an exceptional government. But Modi doesnt have much of a cabinet. Theres Modi, and the next guy is a mile away. The only one Modi holds close is Doval. Even his home minister, a decent person who is keen to do something in Kashmir, is quite helpless. Durrani: Rajnath? Dulat: Rajnath. Vajpayee, who was head and shoulders above Modi, still had to deal with Advani. Modi is on his own trip. He doesnt even bother about the RSS at times As a hard-nosed intelligence officer he (Durrani) said that whether he liked Modi or not, this was still a good opportunity for India and Pakistan to move forward. He felt that it is a BJP Hindu government with which Pakistan can do business Now Modis is the perfect BJP government. It wont get better than this. More Hindu, or more numbers 'ISI prefers to deal with a hardline Indian govt' Durrani: The ISIs preference is because hardliners can take hard decisions. This reminds me of the end of 1997, before the 1998 election that the BJP won. I published an article in the News, Islamabad, "Whos afraid of the Indiana wolf", on how we need not worry about the BJP coming to power because it might turn out to be good for us. If nothing else, the illusion of India being a secular country would go. The Vajpayee government gave us the impression that a Muslim baiter in power in India would not necessarily be a bad thing. This party may be able to take decisions the Congress was unable to. Sinha: When the US invaded Iraq, people said it cant get worse. Now they call George W Bush a moderate. If Yogi Adityanath becomes prime minister, you will say Modi bada shareef aadmi tha. Dulat: We still say it, Modi is a very decent man. The point is if he shook up the system, hed create an opportunity. During Dr Manmohan Singhs early days, when I had just left the PMO, I told a Hurriyat leader, why dont you carry on with what we were doing? He laughed: "You want us to do business with him? Our problem is with Hindu India." Thats why Dr Manmohan Singh got the wrong end of the stick. Vajpayee left it all for him on a platter, but the BJP would not leave him be. He was more afraid of the BJP than 10 Janpath 'Modi is a showman - he likes to keep people guessing' Durrani: Modi is a showman. He likes theatrics. He likes to keep people guessing. He knows that after reading the riot act to Pakistan if he crashlands in Lahore, people will be wonderstruck and say, here is the man of the moment. Here is a man we can do business with. But he has no intention of doing good for the region; his only thought is of creating an impact back home. Hes smart on international relations (Nawaz Sharif) has the acumen of a camel. Sinha: and Modi is? Durrani: A fox. Modi is smart. Absolutely. So is Doval On both fronts, prime minister and NSA, you have a huge advantage (Yet) people like Vajpayeeknew how to manage it by cooling the situation with Kashmiriyat-Jamhooriyat-Insaaniyat. But these people are not cut out for it. Theyre not likely to do it... Sinha: Modi has a year left. How does Pakistan see his prospects? Durrani: First, hes likely to get a second term. Second, whether or not he remains the relationship remains the same. Third, the environment in India is such that even the public would say there was no point in making another gesture Dulat: I dont totally agree with general Saheb. He said its always the same, the actors dont matter much. But theres clearly a world of difference between Vajpayee and Modi. Vajpayee was a towering personality, a philosopher unfortunately, he became prime minister too late (Excerpted with the permission of HarperCollins India) Also read: No, Yeddyurappa is not Vajpayee. Karnataka polls has exposed BJP The pejorative phrase "banana republic" was coined by the American writer O Henry (William Sydney Porter, 1862-1910) to describe the fictional Republic of Anchuria in the book, Cabbages and Kings. The book was based upon O Henry's real life experiences in Honduras where an American multinational company was instrumental in the creation of the banana republic phenomenon under which a dictatorial state, aligned with exploitative corporations, brazenly supports all kinds of unethical and criminal behaviour to further the agenda of the ruling oligarchy. Rampant abuse of power, violation of the constitution, complete unlawfulness, massive inequality and civil chaos mark the banana republic. Many sociopathic dictatorships in the 20th century resembled the banana republic phenomenon and some of those also metamorphosed into psychopathic fascism whose 14 traits were well captured by political scientist Dr Lawrence Britt. One can say that a banana republic is the first step towards becoming a fascist state. It is like a viral infection that can potentially break out into something more severe, if nothing is done in time to cure it. It was Milan Kundera who pointed out that totalitarian states display an absence of humour. Jokes are not permitted and it becomes unthinkable for the general populace to take a dig at the dictator and the regime. If totalitarianism, and also fascism, denote the complete absence of humour, then a banana republic displays a combination of the comical, the absurd and the horrifying. During the last four years, India has displayed symptoms which challenge the ideals and principles of a modern democracy. The use of words and phrases by the opposition leaders - "dictator" (Rahul Gandhi), "dictatorship" (Tejashwi Yadav), "India's Hitler-Goebbels duo" (Siddaramaiah), "attempt to kidnap democracy" (Sitaram Yechury) and so on - reflect the challenging times we are going through. Whether the present regime is fascist or authoritarian is a debate that even veteran left leader Prakash Karat had engaged with. His arguments favoured "authoritarian" descriptor, rather than a "fascist" one. Many challenged him. Interestingly, younger leaders from Rahul Gandhi to Jignesh Mevani, tend to use the word "fascist" more than the older ones. While the debate on this front is still going on, there is no doubt that the four days - from the time of the announcement of the results of the Karnataka Assembly elections to the resignation of BS Yeddyurappa as chief minister - felt like India has become a banana republic where the absurd, the comical and the horrifying got together to present a pulp fiction thriller for the country. The rush to grab power by hook or by crook, not only unmasked the fundamental traits of the ruling regime, but also made India look like a country where blatant horse-trading and mafia tactics were justified as "Chanakya niti". There was an effort to normalise unconstitutional and criminal actions as if India is now a banana republic where conscience, ethics, morality, law and constitutional propriety no longer matter. India's "tryst with banana republic" began the very moment Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala, with strong links to RSS-BJP, gave 15 days to the BJP to prove its floor strength opening the floodgates for horse-trading. Asked about how the party thinks it will manage to prove its strength, national general secretary of BJP Ram Madhav, boasted, "We have Amit Shah." But the truth was that the BJP just didn't have people's mandate in Karnataka. It only had over 36 per cent of the popular vote and was short of the majority by eight-nine seats. While the post-poll alliance of the Congress and JDS had over 57 per cent of the popular votes and a clear majority of seats - 115. Clearly, there was no way for BJP to cover the seat shortfall without trying to break the JDS and the Congress, and make the opposition MLAs defect. Yet the governor favoured the BJP. Comic developments followed with MLAs of the JDS and the Congress being hustled into a resort to prevent poaching. The local channels began reporting that the families of the MLAs were also being used to lure and coerce the MLAs to defect. Meanwhile, the Congress moved the Supreme Court to challenge the governor's decision to invite BJP to form the government and give the party 15 days to prove majority. After a post midnight hearing, the apex court directed the BJP to prove its majority within a day. The party failed to "organise" the numbers in the stipulated time period and Yeddyurappa resigned. This saved the country from turning into a banana republic due to the intervention of the Supreme Court. If the BJP was allowed to take 15 days to prove its majority, one wonders what would have happened in Karnataka. The episode must be condemned in the strongest words to ensure such a situation never returns. I, however, fear that the BJP would try to ensure that the Congress-JDS government falls before 2019 general elections and thus jeopardise democracy once more. Now the big question: Who was responsible for the four-day mayhem? The responsibility for the crisis lies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The buck stops with him because he allowed all this to go on without a care for political morality. Our elected government, powered by our votes, shouldn't attempt to tear apart society's moral fabric and weaken democracy and institutions. But this is exactly what is happening. Even Rahul Gandhi recently said that Prime Minister Modi "is doing everything to subvert the nation's institutions". The BJP as a national political party of India needs to reflect deeply, whether such brazen behaviour - from blatant lies to wild chicanery - suit them any longer. Also read: Dates are not just to break the Ramzan fast they are a delicious and healthy choice otherwise too With back-to-back "informal meetings" at world stage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has definitely charted a "new formal" style of conducting Indias foreign policy. After Jawaharlal Nehru, Modi is the only premier in India who has already left his signature imprint in Indias foreign policy. While critics would rather campaign against Modis high-profile shuttling around the world, the short and long-term dividends cant be rejected outrightly, especially during a complex and unpredictable time of global disorder. The outcome of foreign policy decisions takes time, unlike "takeaways" from supermarket. The way Russian President Vladimir Putin wlecomed PM Modi at Bocharev Creek in Sochi has put the dribble of doubt at rest. The friendly warmth of the receiving handshake was met with an equally warm signature hug from the Indian PM. A common thread is emerging with leaders of important countries continuing in their respective offices by re-election dont waste time following formal process of meetings at summit level or just token congratulations on Twitter or phone call. Reach out to them as Modi did in Wuhan in April for Xi Jinping and now in Sochi. A leader travelling a long distance, moving out of his/her own comfort zone, to informally meet global leaders has enough substance in it for forging trust. The only point of discomfort is who will foot the bill of such expensive extra mile fuel costs including other paraphernalia. In fact, the cost of a day-long visit or two-day visit are much less than prolonged Track-II diplomacy or formal official processing of such summit meetings. It is another matter that no one has ever asked to compare such events or evaluate the economics as well as institutional costs of such strategies. "Informal" to "no-agenda", the Indian foreign policy has at best come out of the jinx. First, it was Wuhan where an informal meeting with the Chinese President resulted in a series of positives for India. Now, an "agenda-less" talks with Putin in Sochi through a yatch ride in the warm water of Black Sea, a visit to Sirius, an incubator for gifted children, has poised to accelerate bilateral relation between Russia and India a tried-and-trusted friendship, into a new height, from "strategic partnership" to a "special privileged strategic partnership". While on the yatch, Modi could have congratulated Putin for the inauguration of 19km bridge linking Russias Taman Peninsula with Crimea, which Putin himself inaugurated by driving a truck over the bridge last week, as Indian PM vouch for such large development projects. Before joining Davos early this year, Modi mentioned in one of the interviews that he was unaware of etiquettes or protocols of foreign affairs while meeting heads of government or visiting countries as he came from a humble background. So, he has been trying to infuse what he is best at: informality through friendly gestures, one of which has been staunchly criticised as "hug diplomacy". The PM strongly believes that informal talks are very useful for direct conversation than the formalities of a structured summit. One can argue that PM has already passed through the worlds most protocol driven meeting with Queen of United Kingdom with elan. Individual can be instrumental in directing the generational aspiration of a country by injecting personal elements in conduct of foreign policy. In this context, the four years of Modi doctrine can be categorised in three phases. First phase has seen the out-of-box thinking in reaching out to all friends and foes in world politics to familiarise with their intentions. When Modi sworn in as Indian prime minster, he invited all leaders of SAARC countries, not as old buddies, but to usher in a pragmatic foreign policy, especially in the neighbourhood. Similarly, a brief stopover in Lahore for a tea with Pakistan premier was in the same style. The second phase is deliberate disruption of status quo in the realm of conservative foreign affairs establishment. Although, the shuttle diplomacy to mark Modis imprint in post-Nehruvian foreign policy could not take off properly, it was much anticipated as well as appreciated from an Indian perspective of "humble foreign policy" to "assertive foreign policy". However, all ad-hoc experimentalism either have backfired or have not yielded results as expected. The third phase is step back and rectify the ill-effects of disruption with personal touch and informality. The Wuhan, Janakpur and Sochi are distinct examples as of now. Much more would be awaiting before and after 2019 general election too. What is generally missing in this personal attribution is the lack of knowledge as what transpired even when these meetings are concluded. As we know from history, under democratic ethos only "open negotiations arrived at openly" are viable to protect national interests. But, whether we like it or not, "informality" is now the "new formal" in Indian foreign policy. Also read: 'Pakistan felt, let Modi destroy India's image Vajpayee's approach was right' The issues raised by the controversy about the propriety of a pastoral letter like what the Archbishop of Delhi has sent to various congregations under his stewardship, with my responses to each, are as follows: Is the Archbishops worry about the peril to secularism well-founded? In theory, secularism, especially of the Western genre, stands on the church-state separation. This entails consigning religion to the private life of citizens. But this is not the model, unfortunately, we have embraced. Our edition of secularism professes to be equidistant from religions; which is impractical even in the most idealistic of democracies, given that democracy is a game numbers. The state, wielded by the brute majority, has to be a saint to be thus clinically impartial. Moreover, the separation between religion and politics in India stands altogether breached for all practical purposes. Image: Twitter/@ArchbishopDelhi The mandir issue was a public enactment of this rupture. With Yogi Adityanath heading the most populous and politically crucial state of India, erecting his appeal on his status as a mahant, political authority and religious authority became one. It is being further consolidated by elevating Yogi to the state of a national icon a role for which he is woefully inadequate. So, the concern about the health of Indian democracy, based on secularism, is real and widespread; nor is it confined to the Archbishop. From senior judges in the Supreme Court, to the man in the street, the worry is growing. The Karnataka elections has aggravated it further. Is it improper for a religious authority, within a secular polity, to share his concerns with his flock and exhort them to pray and to purify themselves, which seems to the ostensible purport of the letter? This question cannot be addressed without invoking the distinction between religion and spirituality. Religion can be escapist; not spirituality, which is a transforming engagement, based on universal values, with realities. It is from a religious point of view that a Bishop or Archbishop is required to stay confined to the church compound. Plato, in The Republic, especially through the greatest of all similes in political philosophy, the Simile of the Cave, insists that those who are enlightened have a duty to share the light with those who languish in the darkness of understanding. So, what is it that Archbishop Cuto has urged his people to do? I quote below the relevant segments in the interest of specificity. 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. 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 organise 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. Let us, as non-partisan minds, note the following: 1) In paragraph one of the letter as quoted above, the Archbishops diagnosis of the current Indian scenario is simply, verbatim, borrowed. (I hope he does not pat himself on the back for making an outlandish discovery.) This is what has been said by a host of thinkers, jurists and citizens of diverse hues, in recent times. 2) In paragraph two, he is urging his flock to pray, and not asking them to vote for a particular party. (I admit, however, that praying could predispose a person in a particular way.) It is the basic duty of an Archbishop to urge people to take their religious life seriously, which includes praying. The Bible says, Pray without ceasing. Prayers are said every Sunday in every church, throughout India, for the president, the prime minister, the cabinet and all those who administer the states and union territories. So, the people who heard the Archbishops letter read out to them would have felt nothing unusual about it. 3) In paragraphs three and four, he prescribes fasting as a desirable spiritual discipline for preparing towards the 2019 elections and supplies them with a prayer. My problem with the letter 1) Given the habitual inclination of the Church hierarchy towards a political party the Congress the "pastoral" exhortation of the Archbishop is apt to be seen as political. 2) The Church does not have a proven track-record of exhorting the flock to vote for the most honest and dignified candidate in the fray. 3) Christians, unlike their brethren in other religions, are politically inactive and indifferent outside of Kerala. This is well-known. So, the import of this letter could easily, and understandably, be seen as "mobilization" against a particular party. 4) As far as I know, for the Church, "secularism" is a convenient shelter; it does not believe in secularism. The Church hierarchy is inherently un-democratic. So, the credibility and intellectual authority of the Archbishop, as an archbishop (distinct from the individual he is) to exhort the flock in respect of secularism is rather suspect. I know Archbishop Cuto personally and think well of him; but here I am commenting on the Church hierarchy in general. 5) The letter stands, going by its general drift, on a magical idea of prayer. It is superstitious to tell anyone that by simply sitting and praying in a corner, without developing their moral stature and courage to act according to convictions, any situation can be changed or an impending calamity averted. Prayer has only two functions: (a) self-purification and (b) preparing oneself for action based on truth and justice. The tendency prevalent in all religions to palm off everything to God may be religious, but it is anti-spiritual. 6) I disfavour prescribing prayers. The prayer that the Archbishop wants his followers to recite is "his" prayer. (I do not know the text of this prayer.) It is different from people saying their prays. It is Archbishop Cuto praying through a million mouths. It could have been avoided. There is no harm in trusting the peoples spiritual aptitudes and sense of responsibility. My Conclusions Even though I feel that the Church hierarchy does not have the conceptual credibility to root for secularism, or strike a blow in defence of democracy, all right-minded people, across religious divides, would welcome this, given the fact the diagnosis on which the letter is premised peril to secular democracy is sadly real. But it is not only against one party or political block that we need to be vigilant. Christians need to introspect if we really promote a secular culture through any of the means, including the media, available to us. Rather than treat this as an exclusive, in-camera, Christian issue, the Archbishop would do well to enter into a partnership with leaders of all religions, especially of Hinduism, to form a spiritually authentic bulwark for defending and promoting what is best for our country. His idea that there is a connection between the purity of the people and the kind of political dispensation that will come into being is absolutely and historically true. The moral decay of society invites oppression for itself under the yoke of tyranny. Constrains of space does not permit me to examine this in historical particularity. Even so, the Archbishop is being a bit of an ostrich in assuming that people need to be pure only on occasions and for expedient purposes. You cant cherry-pick seasons to be pure and impure. I am sure the Archbishop will agree with me that the Indian Christian community is at its worst-ever state of spiritual disarray and vulnerability. It is in fact his apprehension not ill-founded that they are too weak and unprepared for the challenges ahead that makes him so overtly anxious. I am absolutely convinced and my friends in the BJP can take heart on this that such prayers are wholly bereft of any spiritual or godly power. I can understand that they are worried, especially given the way the political wind is blowing, that this could dent their electoral prospects. This apprehension, let me assure everyone, is greatly exaggerated. The number of constituencies in which Christians are a decisive force are ridiculously small. Even more importantly, Christians are most disunited and rebellious. If they are in fact asked for one particular party, they are sure to vote for its rival party. The extreme resentment expressed by certain quarters is quite simply hypocritical. Every party visits vote-swinging leaders of various religions to seek their blessings in the run-up to elections. Why these religious satraps can bless only during the election season is riddle I havent unraveled. So, broken down to the core issue, it amounts only to this: who should have the monopoly to benefit from communal mobilisation? Also read: 3 hard solutions for Modi to curb oil price hike On Rajiv Gandhis 27th death anniversary (May 21), social media had many gushing forth on his personality and many achievements. Without doubt his was an extraordinary life, from the time he was to the manor born in 1944 to his dramatic assassination in 1991. The first thing to remember is that he became prime minister at the age of 40 years; at 46, he was already dead. How many of us were anything at 40? The second incredible fact about him was that although he was only 21 when his mother became prime minister in January 1966, Rajiv Gandhi had absolutely zero interest or involvement in politics until 14 years later, when his younger brother, Sanjay, a lout and a street thug, and the heir apparent to their mother, died in a helicopter crash near Jor Bagh. Grasp that. Through all of Indira Gandhis tumultuous years her epochal battle for supremacy with the Congress old guard that she won by historically splitting the party in 1969; her intervention in East Pakistan that led to Pakistan Armys massive defeat and the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971; her turn towards despotic authoritarianism after 1974; her slapping Emergency in 1975 that smashed civil liberties and incarcerated tens of thousands of her political opponents across India; her humiliating General Election loss in 1977 and arrest; and then her Phoenix-like revival in 1980 none of these milestones had Rajiv Gandhi even as a footnote. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi paying tributes at Rajiv Gandhi's samadhi Veer Bhumi in New Delhi. [Image: Twitter/@MahilaCongress] In all these years, through all these events, he lived a distinctly ordinary life, his connection to the prime ministers household being nothing more than, literally, umbilical. He trained as a pilot in adulthood, joined Indian Airlines, married Sonia, who he had met in England, and then had two children with her to become a complete family man with the airline version of a 9-to-5. Old-time journalists I met when I became a journalist in the 1980s used to reminisce how even during the wildest and most scandalous Emergency days, when Indira Gandhis kitchen cabinet, with Sanjay in the saddle as her unofficial number 2, ran the country, Rajiv, his wife, and their children would quietly slip out of a side door at the prime ministers residence at 1, Safdarjung Road, and drive down to India Gate for ice-cream yes, youve seen that photo, and that was indeed a ritual. But then we all know what happened. Sanjay died, which made Rajiv quit being a pilot and come to mummys side, becoming Congress party general secretary. Then mummy got killed, and by that night of October 30, 1984, he had become prime minister. Two months later, in elections held on December 24 and 27 the first time that Indias general elections stretched beyond one day he got a majority of 410-plus seats, a record unlikely to be beaten by any for a long, long time. Rajiv Gandhi was wholly charming and suave. He was also by nature an introvert and a loner, which made the traditional daily politics in Lutyens' Delhi very difficult for him. Through all those years he ran the country, Parliament and his party, he built hardly any relationships with career politicians the one reason why he brought in outsiders Arun Singh and Arun Nehru, with both of whom, ironically, he would later fall apart. He was also not cunning in the way of his mother. When he trusted Arjun Singh he went all in; when he heard unsavoury stories about Arjun Singh, he shunned him totally. Unlike his mother who, in the mould of US president Bill Clinton, was out-and-out a political animal with nary a moral compass, and who relished in small-time politicking, bitching and back-stabbing unworthy of a prime minister Rajiv was a decent and sensitive human, quiet for the most part and often reflective. He also seemed to have been conscious of the existence of the concepts of right and wrong, and the thought that he was doing the wrong things, and he did those aplenty, seemed to disturb him. As prime minister, his career was made up of substantial rights and wrongs. To his credit, Rajiv Gandhi was the first prominent personality in India who began talking about the approaching 21st century and taking India to it. He was the first public official in the country who started talking of the demographic dividend of the burgeoning youth population; he lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. Of the right things he did from ushering in computers and expanding science and technology; bringing in public-private partnership and recruiting technocrats such as Sam Pitroda to run the technology missions; the incredible decision to hold talks with Laldenga, considered a terrorist by the Indian Government, and signing the Mizo Accord with him to bring peace in Mizoram the list is impressive. But, alas, there are tonnes that Rajiv Gandhi did wrong, and that continue to haunt not just his legacy or his party but the country itself. The mass killings of Sikhs in 1984 following Indira Gandhis assassination was an event that should never have happened. In a literal overnight, the night of October 30, Rajiv Gandhi failed to understand that both his and his mothers legacy would be negated with the violence against Sikhs, and violence there was bound to be. Instead of reigning it in, Rajiv Gandhi virtually allowed the horrific killings. The taint was made worse by his singular failure to ensure justice to the victims by bringing the perpetrators to book, howsoever high they be. He made people like HKL Bhagat and Jagdish Tytler people who carried out the ghastly killings ministers and showed them off as close confidantes, which was deeply offensive no less than it is to see Modi elevating people like Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath. Then, of course, the Bofors gun deal that he himself had forged turned into his worst nemesis. That Rajiv Gandhi was acquitted in the Bofors case is a mockery of justice. Every scrap of evidence painstakingly put together by independent investigations by journalists and lawyers demonstrated how those close to Rajiv Gandhi, such as the Italian, Ottavio Quattrocchi, had clearly made an illegal financial profit from the deal. Rajiv Gandhis bulldozing of Parliament he set up a JPC under B Shankaranand, a Congress leader who had been Rajivs health minister, which turned out to be a total fraud as well as of investigative agencies such as the CBI has made it easy for people like Modi to subvert governance three decades later. Rajiv Gandhi also made a mess of Kashmir. It would be accurate to say that Kashmirs sad story today is a gift entirely from Rajiv Gandhi, beginning the day he decided to rig the 1987 state assembly elections to stop a coalition of oppositional political parties from taking power. It must count as one of the most ill-advised and short-sighted political moves by any prime minister 30 years later, the state burns like never before with no hope in sight. Armed Islamic militancy began that day of election rigging; the fate of Kashmiri Pandits too was sealed by that act. In Assam, too, Rajiv Gandhi made the critical blunder of signing an accord with the All Assam Students Union, which brought the Asom Gana Parishad to power. You can accurately describe todays viciously communal BJP rule in Assam as a legacy of Rajiv Gandhis failure to bring a secular political solution to Assam instead of caving in entirely to the thuggish strong-arm politics of AASU/AGP, giving tremendous life to the simmering anti-Muslim hate in the state. And Punjab. The epic separatist militancy in Punjab that brought about his mothers assassination not only worsened significantly on Rajiv Gandhis watch but also exposed the utter bankruptcy of his imagination. First he signed a Punjab Accord with a nonentity by the name of Harchand Singh Longowal, which instead of assuaging hurt feelings of the Sikhs made them angrier, and also brought about Longowals assassination, effectively killing the deal. And then, Rajiv Gandhi failed to extricate himself from the armed response that had become his governments prime policy for Punjab. It was Rajiv Gandhis adoption of policing to fight militancy that eventually saw KPS Gill carry out virtually a genocide in Punjab, brutally massacring tens of thousands. And lastly, the decision to send in the Indian Army into Sri Lanka to fight Sri Lankas internal war on the side of the island nations government and against its Tamil citizenry is still the most confusing decision Rajiv Gandhi took. It was the worst humiliation the Indian Army has ever suffered, worse that the much-touted 1962 war with China. With the IPKF, Rajiv Gandhi also signed his own death warrant. (A version of this post first appeared on the writer's Facebook page.) Also read: I was with Rajiv Gandhi in the last 45 minutes of his life Agilent Technologies, Inc. engages in the provision of application focused solutions for life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. It operates through the following segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets; Diagnostics and Genomics; and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers application-focused solutions that include instruments and software that enable to identify, quantify, and analyze the physical and biological properties of substances and products, as well as the clinical and life sciences research areas to interrogate samples at the molecular and cellular level. The Diagnostics and Genomics segment consists of activity providing active pharmaceutical ingredients for oligo-based therapeutics, as well as solutions that include reagents, instruments, software and consumables. The Agilent CrossLab segment includes startup, operational, training and compliance support, software as a service, and asset management and consultative services. The company was founded in May 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA. Read More CAE Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies simulation equipment and training solutions to defense and security markets, commercial airlines, business aircraft operators, helicopter operators, aircraft manufacturers, and healthcare education and service providers worldwide. The company's Civil Aviation Training Solutions segment provides training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as end to end digitally-enabled crew management, training operations solutions, and optimization software. Its Defence and Security segment offers training and mission support solutions for defense forces across multi-domain operations, and for government organizations responsible for public safety. The company's Healthcare segment provides integrated education and training solutions, including surgical and imaging simulations, curriculum, audiovisual and centre management platforms, and patient simulators to healthcare students and clinical professionals. The company was formerly known as CAE Industries Ltd. and changed its name to CAE Inc. in June 1993. CAE Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Avery Dennison: ADC PHILIPPINES INC., ADESPAN S.R.L., ADHIPRESS BANGLADESH LTD., AVERY CORP., AVERY DE MEXICO SRL DE CV, AVERY DENNISON (ASIA) HOLDINGS LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (CHANGZHOU) FILMS TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD, AVERY DENNISON (CHINA) COMPANY LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (FUZHOU) CONVERTED PRODUCTS LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (GUANGZHOU) CO. LTD., AVERY DENNISON (GUANGZHOU) CONVERTED PRODUCTS LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (GUANGZHOU) INTELLIGENT LABELS CO. LTD., AVERY DENNISON (HONG KONG) LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (INDIA) PRIVATE LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (IRELAND) LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (KENYA) PRIVATE LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (KUNSHAN) COMPANY LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD., AVERY DENNISON (QINGDAO) CONVERTED PRODUCTS LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (SUZHOU) CO. LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (THAILAND) LTD., AVERY DENNISON (VIETNAM) LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON AUSTRALIA INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS PTY LTD., AVERY DENNISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD., AVERY DENNISON BELGIE BVBA, AVERY DENNISON BELGIUM MANAGEMENT SERVICES SPRL, AVERY DENNISON BENELUX BVBA, AVERY DENNISON BV, AVERY DENNISON C.A., AVERY DENNISON CANADA CORPORATION, AVERY DENNISON CENTRAL EUROPE GMBH, AVERY DENNISON CHILE S.A., AVERY DENNISON COLOMBIA S. A. S., AVERY DENNISON COMMERCIAL EL SALVADOR S.A. DE C.V., AVERY DENNISON CONVERTED PRODUCTS DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., AVERY DENNISON CONVERTED PRODUCTS EL SALVADOR S. A. DE C. V., AVERY DENNISON DE ARGENTINA S.R.L., AVERY DENNISON DO BRASIL LTDA., AVERY DENNISON DOMINICAN REPUBLIC S.R.L., AVERY DENNISON EGYPT LLC, AVERY DENNISON ETIKET TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI, AVERY DENNISON EUROPE HOLDING (DEUTSCHLAND) GMBH & CO KG, AVERY DENNISON FINANCE GERMANY GMBH, AVERY DENNISON G HOLDINGS I LLC, AVERY DENNISON G HOLDINGS III LLC, AVERY DENNISON G INVESTMENTS III LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON G INVESTMENTS V LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON GROUP DANMARK APS, AVERY DENNISON GROUP SINGAPORE PTE LTD, AVERY DENNISON GULF FZCO, AVERY DENNISON HOLDING & FINANCE THE NETHERLANDS BV, AVERY DENNISON HOLDING FRANCE, AVERY DENNISON HOLDING GMBH, AVERY DENNISON HOLDING LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON HOLDING LUXEMBOURG S. A. R. 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A. S., AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS SALES GERMANY GMBH, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS SDN BHD, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS U.K. LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS UKRAINE LLC, AVERY DENNISON MAURITIUS LTD., AVERY DENNISON MEDICAL LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON MOROCCO SARL, AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT I BV, AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT II B. V., AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT III BV, AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT VII B.V., AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT VIII BV, AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT X BV, AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT XI COOPERATIEF U.A., AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT XII BV, AVERY DENNISON NORDIC APS, AVERY DENNISON NTP A. S., AVERY DENNISON OFFICE PRODUCTS COMPANY, AVERY DENNISON OFFICE PRODUCTS HOLDINGS COMPANY, AVERY DENNISON OFFICE PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING U.K. LTD., AVERY DENNISON OVERSEAS CORPORATION, AVERY DENNISON PENSION TRUSTEE LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON PERU S. R. L., AVERY DENNISON POLSKA SP. Z O.O., AVERY DENNISON PRAHA SPOL. S R. O., AVERY DENNISON R.I.S. FRANCE S. A. S., AVERY DENNISON R.I.S. IBERIA S.L., AVERY DENNISON R.I.S. ITALIA S.R.L., AVERY DENNISON RBIS (CAMBODIA) CO. LTD, AVERY DENNISON RBIS (CAMBODIA) TRADING CO. LTD, AVERY DENNISON RBIS PTY LTD, AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES (PTY) LTD, AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES COLOMBIA S. A. S., AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES DE MEXICO S. A. DE C.V., AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES EL SALVADOR LTDA. DE C. V., AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES GUATEMALA S. A., AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES HONDURAS S. DE R.L., AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES LLC, AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES PERU SAC, AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES UK LTD., AVERY DENNISON RFID COMPANY, AVERY DENNISON RIS KOREA LTD., AVERY DENNISON RIS TAIWAN LTD., AVERY DENNISON RIS VIETNAM CO. LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON S.A. DE C.V., AVERY DENNISON S.R.L., AVERY DENNISON SCANDINAVIA AB, AVERY DENNISON SCANDINAVIA APS, AVERY DENNISON SECURITY PRINTING EUROPE APS, AVERY DENNISON SHARED SERVICES INC., AVERY DENNISON SINGAPORE (PTE) LTD., AVERY DENNISON SOUTH AFRICA (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON SUPPORT SERVICES, AVERY DENNISON SYSTEMES D'ETIQUETAGE FRANCE S.A.S., AVERY DENNISON TEKSTIL URUNLERI SANAYI VE TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI, AVERY DENNISON TRADING COMPANY LTD, AVERY DENNISON TREASURY MANAGEMENT BV, AVERY DENNISON U.K. II LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON U.K. LIMITED, AVERY GRAPHIC SYSTEMS INC., AVERY LLC, AVERY OFFICE PRODUCTS PUERTO RICO L.L.C., AVERY PACIFIC LLC, AVERY PROPERTIES PTY. LIMITED, AWESOME PROFITS LTD, BEST COURAGE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, CHOICE CLEVER PROFITS LTD, CREATERO GMBH, DENNISON INTERNATIONAL COMPANY, DENNISON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, DM Label Group, Dunsirn Industries, EUSTON FINANCIAL LIMITED, EVERGREEN HOLDING SARL, EVERGREEN HOLDINGS V LLC, Finesse Medical, HANITA COATINGS (KUNSHAN) CO. LTD, HANITA COATINGS EUROPE B.V., HANITA COATINGS USA LLC, HANITA EUROPA GMBH, HEBEI YONGLE TAPE CO. LTD., Hanita Coatings, INK MILL LLC, JAC ASIA PACIFIC SDN BHD, JAC CARIBE C.S.Z., JAC DO BRASIL - LOCACAO DE EQUIPAMENTOS INDUSTRIAIS LTDA, JACKSTADT FRANCE S.N.C., JDC Solutions, JINTEX LIMITED, Jackstadt GmbH, L&E AMERICAS SERVICIOS S. A. DE C.V., L&E Packaging, MACTAC ASIA-PACIFIC SELF-ADHESIVE PRODUCTS PTE LTD, MACtac Europe S.A., MARKSTAR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, MODERN MARK INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, NINGBO AVERY DENNISON SHENZHOU EMBELLISHMENT CO. LTD., P. T. PACIFIC LABEL INDONESIA, P. T. PAXAR INDONESIA, PAXAR (CHINA) LTD., PAXAR B.V., PAXAR BANGLADESH LIMITED, PAXAR CANADA CORPORATION, PAXAR CORPORATION, PAXAR DE EL SALVADOR S. A. DE C. V., PAXAR DE GUATEMALA S. A., PAXAR DE MEXICO S. A. DE C. V., PAXAR DO BRASIL LTDA, PAXAR FAR EAST LIMITED, PAXAR PACKAGING (GUANGZHOU) LTD., PAXAR PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, PLYMOUTH YONGLE TAPE (SHANGHAI) CO. LTD, PT AVERY DENNISON INDONESIA, PT AVERY DENNISON PACKAGING INDONESIA, RVL AMERICAS S DE R.L. DE C.V., RVL CENTRAL AMERICA S. A., RVL PACKAGING FAR EAST LIMITED, RVL Packaging Inc., RVL SERVICE S. DE R. L. DE C. V., Rinke Etiketten GmbH, SECURITY PRINTING DIVISION INC., SKILLFIELD INVESTMENTS LIMITED, Stimsonite Corp, TIGER EIGHT GROUP LIMITED, WORLDWIDE RISK INSURANCE INC., YONGLE TAPE LTD, and Yongle Tape Co. Canadian Western Bank provides personal and business banking products and services primarily in Western Canada. The company offers current, savings, cash management, US dollar, and chequing accounts, as well as organization, strata solution/condo, general trust, and trust fund investment accounts. It also offers commercial lending and real estate, and equipment financing and leasing products; loans and mortgages; secured and unsecured lines of credit; registered retirement savings plan; consolidation, vehicle, and recreation vehicle loans; and credit cards. In addition, the company offers cash management services; life and disability insurance products; and ATM, mobile, and online banking services, as well cheque order services. Further, it provides investment products comprising guaranteed investment certificates, registered retirement income funds, tax-free savings accounts, registered education savings plans, and mutual funds, as well as personal and business planning services. Canadian Western Bank has a strategic partnership with Temenos AG to support small and medium sized enterprises with financial decision-making and enhancing their businesses. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada. Read More Cartier Resources Inc. engages in the acquisition and exploration of mining properties in Canada. The company explores for gold deposits. Its flagship project is the Chimo mine property located to the east of Val-d'Or, Quebec. The company also holds interest in Benoist, Fenton, Wilson, Cadillac Extension, Dollier, and MacCormack metal deposit projects, which are located in Quebec. Cartier Resources Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Val-d'Or, Canada. 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 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 Lennar: 360 Developers LLC, Alliance Financial Services Inc., Ann Arundel Farms Ltd., Aquaterra Utilities Inc., Arbor Mill Veteran Project 2018 LLC, Asbury Woods L.L.C., Astoria Options LLC, Autumn Creek Development Ltd., Aylon LLC, Azusa Associates LLC, B2 Milpitas LLC, BB Investment Holdings LLC, BCI Properties LLC, BMR Communities LLC, BMR Construction Inc., BMTD LLC, BPH I LLC, Bainebridge 249 LLC, Bay Colony Expansion 369 Ltd., Bellagio Lennar LLC, Belle Meade LEN Holdings LLC, Belle Meade Partners LLC, Black Mountain Ranch LLC, Blue Horizons Estates LLC, Bonterra Lennar LLC, Bramalea California Inc., Bressi Gardenlane LLC, Breton Park Lennar LLC, CAP IL 1 LLC, CL Ventures LLC, CML INACTIVE LLC, CML-MO HAF LLC, CML-MO HAF PARKING LLC, CP Block 6aS LLC, CP Block 8aS LLC, CP Block 9aS LLC, CP Center Apartments LLC, CP Center Garage LLC, CP Red Oak Partners Ltd., CP Vertical Development Co. 1 LLC, CP/HPS Development Co. GP LLC, CP/HPS Development Co.-C LLC, CPFE LLC, CPHP Development LLC, CalAtlantic Financial Services Inc., CalAtlantic Group, CalAtlantic Group Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Arizona Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Georgia Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Texas Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Washington Inc., CalAtlantic Mortgage Inc., CalAtlantic National Title Solutions LLC, CalAtlantic Title Agency LLC, CalAtlantic Title Group LLC, CalAtlantic Title Inc., CalAtlantic Title LLC, CalAtlantic Title of Maryland Inc., Camarillo Village Park LLC, Cambria L.L.C., Candlestick Retail Member LLC, Cardiovascular Medical Specialists LLC, Carolina Blue LLC, Carson 175 LLC, Cary Woods LLC, Casa Marina Development LLC, Central Park West Holdings LLC, Cherrytree II LLC, Club Bonterra Lennar LLC, Coco Palm 82 LLC, Colonial Heritage LLC, Columbia National Risk Retention Group Inc., Commonwealth Incentive Fee LLC, Concord Station LLP, Coventry L.L.C., Creekside Crossing L.L.C., Crest at Fondren Investor LLC, DBJ Holdings LLC, DCA Financial LLC, DTC Holdings of Florida LLC, Darcy-Joliet L.L.C., Durrell 33 LLC, EL Ventures LLC, EV LLC, Eagle Bend Commercial LLC, Eagle Home Mortgage LLC, Estates Seven LLC, Evergreen Village LLC, F&R QVI Home Investments USA LLC, FLORDADE LLC, Faria Preserve LLC, Fidelity Guaranty and Acceptance Corp., Fidelity Land LLC, Fox-Maple Associates LLC, Friendswood Development Company LLC, GDI MANAGER LLC, Garco Investments LLC, Greystone Construction Inc., Greystone Homes of Nevada Inc., Greystone Nevada Holdings LLC, Greystone Nevada LLC, Greywall Club L.L.C., HCC Investors LLC, HPS Development Co. LP, HPS Vertical Development Co. LLC, HPS Vertical Development Co.-B LP, HPS Vertical Development Co.-D/E LLC, HPS1 Block 1 LLC, HPS1 Block 48-1A LLC, HPS1 Block 48-1B LLC, HPS1 Block 48-2A LLC, HPS1 Block 48-2B LLC, HPS1 Block 48-3A LLC, HPS1 Block 48-3B LLC, HPS1 Block 50 LLC, HPS1 Block 51 LLC, HPS1 Block 52 LLC, HPS1 Block 53 LLC, HPS1 Block 54 LLC, HPS1 Block 55 LLC, HPS1 Block 56/57 LLC, HSP Arizona Inc., HTC Golf Club LLC, Hammocks Lennar LLC, Harbor Highlands Group LLC, Harveston LLC, Haverton L.L.C., Heathcote Commons LLC, Heritage Pkwy East Holdings LLC, Heritage of Auburn Hills L.L.C., Hewitts Landing Trustee LLC, Hingham Properties LLC, Huntley Venture L.L.C., Inactive Companies LLC, Independence L.L.C., Independence Orlando LLC, Isles at Bayshore Club LLC, KMC Real Estate Investors LLC, Kendall Hammocks Commercial LLC, Kentuckiana Medical Center LLC, Kingman Lennar LLC, LB/L Duc III Antioch 330 LLC, LCD Asante LLC, LCI Downtown Doral Investor LLC, LCI North DeKalb Investor GP LLC, LCI North DeKalb Investor LP LLC, LEN - Belle Meade LLC, LEN - OBS Windemere LLC, LEN - Palm Vista LLC, LEN BPT Investor LLC, LEN Mirada Investor LLC, LEN Notarize Investor LLC, LEN OT Holdings LLC, LEN Paradise Cable LLC, LEN Paradise Operating LLC, LEN-CG South LLC, LEN-Cypress Mill LLC, LEN-Ryan 1 LLC, LEN-Touchstone LLC, LENH I LLC, LENNAR HOMES OF TENNESSEE LLC, LFS Holding Company LLC, LH Eastwind LLC, LHI Renaissance LLC, LMC 10th & Acoma Holdings LP, LMC 144th and Grant Investor LLC, LMC 2401 Blake Street Holdings LLC, LMC 2401 Blake Street Investor LLC, LMC 360 Acoma Holdings LP, LMC 410 S Wabash Holdings LLC, LMC 808 Gateway Holdings LLC, LMC 808 Gateway Investor LLC, LMC 8th Avenue Apartment Investor LLC, LMC 990 Bannock Holdings LLC, LMC Axis Westminster Holdings LLC, LMC Axis Westminster Investor LLC, LMC Berry Hill Lofts Holdings LLC, LMC Berry Hill Lofts Investor LLC, LMC Block 42 Holdings LLC, LMC Build to Core III Investor LLC, LMC Build to Core III LLC, LMC Burnside Holdings LLC, LMC Burnside Investor LLC, LMC Chandler and McClintock Holdings LLC, LMC Charlestowne Holdings LLC, LMC Charlotte Ballpark Developer LLC, LMC Cityville Oak Park Holdings LLC, LMC Cityville Oak Park Investor LLC, LMC Cobalt Holdings LLC, LMC Costa Mesa Holdings LP, LMC Crest at Park West Holdings LP, LMC Denver Gateway I Investor LLC, LMC Denver Gateway II Holdings LLC, LMC Development LLC, LMC Downtown Doral South Holdings LLC, LMC Durham Gateway Holdings LP, LMC Evans School Holdings LLC, LMC Gateway Investor LLC, LMC Gateway Venture LLC, LMC Gilman Square Investor LLC, LMC Horton Street Holdings LLC, LMC Huntington Crossing Holdings LLC, LMC Inactive Companies LLC, LMC Lakeside Holdings LP, LMC Leya Holdings LLC, LMC Living Illinois LLC, LMC Living Inc., LMC Living LLC, LMC Living TRS LP, LMC Millenia Investor II LLC, LMC NE Minneapolis Lot 2 Holdings LLC, LMC New Bern Investor LLC, LMC North Park Holdings LP, LMC Parkfield Holdings LLC, LMC Parkfield Investor LLC, LMC Righters Ferry Holdings LLC, LMC River North Holdings LLC, LMC Spring Street Investor LLC, LMC Stonewall Station Investor LLC, LMC Triangle Square Investor LLC, LMC Venture Developer LLC, LMC Verbena Holdings LLC, LMC West Loop Investor LLC, LMCFX Investor LLC, LMCPNW Marymoor Holdings LLC, LMI - Jacksonville Investor LLC, LMI - South Kings Development Investor LLC, LMI - West Seattle Holdings LLC, LMI - West Seattle Investor LLC, LMI - West Seattle LLC, LMI Cell Tower Investors LLC, LMI City Walk Investor LLC, LMI Collegedale Investor LLC, LMI Collegedale LLC, LMI Contractors LLC, LMI Glencoe Dallas Investor LLC, LMI Lakes West Covina Investor LLC, LMI Largo Park Investor LLC, LMI Las Colinas Station LLC, LMI Naperville Investor LLC, LMI Pacific Tower LLC, LMI Park Central Two LLC, LMI Peachtree Corners Investor LLC, LMI Peachtree Corners LLC, LMI-JC Developer LLC, LMI-JC LLC, LMV 1640 Broadway REIT-DC LP, LMV 1701 Ballard REIT-DC LP, LMV 19H REIT-DC LP, LMV 2026 Madison REIT-DC LP, LMV 85 South Union REIT-DC LP, LMV ATown REIT-DC LP, LMV Annapolis REIT-DC LP, LMV Apache Terrace REIT-DC LP, LMV Block 42 REIT-DC LP, LMV Bloomington REIT-DC LP, LMV Bolingbrook REIT-DC LP (DE), LMV Central at McDowell REIT-DC LP, LMV East Village I REIT-DC LP, LMV Edina REIT-DC LP, LMV Fremont WS I REIT-DC LP, LMV Glisan REIT-DC LP, LMV Grand Bay REIT-DC LP, LMV II Grand Bay Pod V Holdings LP, LMV II Kierland Holdings LP, LMV II NoMo Holdings LP, LMV II Venture Developer LLC, LMV II Wynwood Holdings LP, LMV Kirkland REIT-DC LP, LMV Little Italy REIT-DC LP, LMV M Tower REIT-DC LP, LMV Millenia II REIT-DC LP, LMV Milpitas REIT-DC LP, LMV NE Minneapolis REIT-DC LP, LMV Oak Park REIT-DC LP, LMV One20Fourth REIT-DC LP, LMV QR Build to Core Manager LLC, LMV Rio Bravo REIT-DC LP, LMV Scottsdale Quarter REIT-DC LP, LMV Tysons REIT-DC LP, LMV Vallagio III REIT-DC LP, LMV Victory Block G REIT-DC LP, LMV Warren Street REIT-DC LP, LNC Communities II LLC, LNC Communities IV LLC, LNC Communities V LLC, LNC Communities VI LLC, LNC Communities VII LLC, LNC Communities VIII LLC, LNC Pennsylvania Realty Inc., LNC at Meadowbrook LLC, LNC at Ravenna LLC, LS College Park LLC, LS Terracina LLC, LV Opendoor Investor LLC, LV Opendoor JV LLC, LW D'Andrea LLC, Lagoon Valley Residential LLC, Lakelands at Easton L.L.C., Legends Club LLC, Legends Golf Club LLC, Len - Little Harbor LLC, Len FW Investor LLC, Len Paradise LLC, Len-Angeline LLC, Len-Hawks Point LLC, Len-Land LLC, Len-Land West LLC, Len-MN LLC, Len-Verandahs LLP, LenCom LLC, LenFive LLC, LenFive Opco GP LLC, LenFive Sub III LLC, LenFive Sub LLC, LenFive Sub Opco GP LLC, Lenalto CMBS LLC, Lencraft LLC, Lennar Aircraft I LLC, Lennar Arizona Construction Inc., Lennar Arizona Inc., Lennar Associates Management Holding Company, Lennar Associates Management LLC, Lennar Avenue One LLC, Lennar Berkeley LLC, Lennar Bevard LLC, Lennar Bridges LLC, Lennar Buffington Colorado Crossing L.P., Lennar Buffington Zachary Scott L.P., Lennar Carolinas LLC, Lennar Central Park LLC, Lennar Central Region Sweep Inc., Lennar Chicago Inc., Lennar Cobra LLC, Lennar Colgate Urban Renewal Development LLC, Lennar Colorado LLC, Lennar Colorado Minerals LLC, Lennar Commercial LLC, Lennar Communities Development Inc., Lennar Communities Inc., Lennar Communities Nevada LLC, Lennar Communities of Chicago L.L.C., Lennar Concord LLC, Lennar Construction Inc., Lennar Cory Road LLC, Lennar Courts LLC, Lennar Developers Inc., Lennar Ewing LLC, Lennar Financial Services LLC, Lennar Flamingo LLC, Lennar Fresno Inc., Lennar Gardens LLC, Lennar Georgia Inc., Lennar Greer Ranch Venture LLC, Lennar Heritage Fields LLC, Lennar Hingham Holdings LLC, Lennar Hingham JV LLC, Lennar Homes Holding LLC, Lennar Homes LLC, Lennar Homes NJ LLC, Lennar Homes of Arizona Inc., Lennar Homes of California Inc., Lennar Homes of Indiana Inc., Lennar Homes of Texas Land and Construction Ltd., Lennar Homes of Texas Sales and Marketing Ltd., Lennar Homes of Utah Inc., Lennar International Holding LLC, Lennar International LLC, Lennar Lakeside Investor LLC, Lennar Layton LLC, Lennar Living LLC, Lennar Lytle LLC, Lennar MF Holdings LLC, Lennar MPA LLC, Lennar MPA WIP LLC, Lennar Mare Island LLC, Lennar Marina A Funding LLC, Lennar Massachusetts Properties Inc., Lennar Middletown LLC, Lennar Monmouth Redevelopers LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture GP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture GP Subsidiary LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture GP Victory Block G Mezz LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II GP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II GP Subsidiary LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II LP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II Manager LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture LP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture Manager LLC, Lennar Multifamily Builders LLC, Lennar Multifamily Communities LLC, Lennar Multifamily Venture DC LP, Lennar New Jersey Holdings LLC, Lennar New Jersey Properties Inc., Lennar New York LLC, Lennar Northeast Properties LLC, Lennar Northwest Inc., Lennar OHB LLC, Lennar PI Acquisition LLC, Lennar PI Property Acquisition LLC, Lennar PIS Management Company LLC, Lennar Pacific Inc., Lennar Pacific Properties Inc., Lennar Pacific Properties Management Inc., Lennar Plumsted Urban Renewal LLC, Lennar Point LLC, Lennar QR Build to Core GP LLC, Lennar QR Build to Core LP LLC, Lennar Realty Inc., Lennar Reno LLC, Lennar Riverwalk LLC, Lennar Sacramento Inc., Lennar Sales Corp., Lennar Sierra Sunrise LLC, Lennar Spencer's Crossing LLC, Lennar Sun Ridge LLC, Lennar Texas Holding LLC, Lennar Ventures LLC, Lennar West Valley LLC, Lennar Winncrest LLC, Lennar at Franklin LLC, Lennar at Jackson LLC, Lennar at Marlboro 79 LLC, Lennar at Monroe LLC, Lennar.com Inc., Longleaf Acquisition LLC, Lori Gardens Associates II LLC, Lori Gardens Associates III LLC, Lori Gardens Associates L.L.C., Lorton Station LLC, Lyons Lennar Farms LLC, Madrona Ridge L.L.C., Madrona Village L.L.C., Madrona Village Mews L.L.C., Majestic Woods LLC, Maple and Broadway Holdings LLC, Menifee Development LLC, Mid-County Utilities Inc., Miralago West Lennar LLC, Mission Viejo 12S Venture LP, Mission Viejo Holdings Inc., Motomic Diagnostics LLC, Multibank 2009-1 CML-ADC Venture LLC, Multibank 2009-1 RES-ADC Venture LLC, NC Properties I LLC, NC Properties II LLC, North American Asset Development LLC, Northbridge L.L.C., OHC/Ascot Belle Meade LLC, One SR L.P., PD-Len Boca Raton LLC, PG Properties Holding LLC, POMAC LLC, PT Metro LLC, Pace Drive Holdings LLC, Palm Gardens At Doral Clubhouse LLC, Palm Gardens at Doral LLC, Palm Springs Classic LLC, Palm Vista Preserve LLC, Patuxent Infrastructure Inc., Pioneer Meadows Development LLC, Pioneer Meadows Investments LLC, Plaza Condominium Ventures LLC, Portside Marina Developers L.L.C., Portside SM Associates L.L.C., Portside SM Holdings L.L.C., Portside Shipyard Developers L.L.C., Prestonfield L.L.C., Quail Roost Lennar LLC, RCCF GP II LLC, RCCF GP III LLC, RCCF GP IV LLC, RCCF GP LLC, RES-FL EIGHT LLC, RES-FL SEVEN LLC, RES-FL VISION ONE LLC, RES-FL VISION TWO LLC, RES-GA CASCADE LLC, RES-GA DIAMOND MEADOWS LLC, RES-GA KAP LLC, RES-GA SOUTHERN PLANTATION LLC, RES-GA THIRTEEN LLC, RES-GA TWELVE LLC, RES-GA WEST LLC, RES-IL ONE LLC, RES-NC ONE LLC, RES-PA LSJ LLC, RES-PA POM LLC, RES-TX BOULEVARD LLC, RH Insurance Company Inc., RH MOA BBCMS 2017-C1 LLC, RH MOA CF 2017-C8 LLC, RH MOA LLC, RH MOA U 2017-C4 LLC, RH MOA U 2017-C6 LLC, RIAL 2014-LT5 CLASS B LLC, RIAL 2014-LT5 LLC, RL BB FINANCIAL LLC, RL BB INACTIVE LLC, RL BB-AL LLC, RL BB-FL ALHI LLC, RL BB-GA LLC, RL BB-GA RMH LLC, RL BB-IL LLC, RL BB-IN AA LLC, RL BB-IN KRE LLC, RL BB-IN KRE OP LLC, RL BB-IN KRE RE LLC, RL BB-MS LLC, RL BB-NC LLC, RL BB-OH LLC, RL BB-SC BROOKSA LLC, RL BB-SC CLR II LLC, RL BB-SC CLR III LLC, RL BB-SC CLR IV LLC, RL BB-SC CLR LLC, RL BB-SC CRRC LLC, RL BB-SC RACEDAY LLC, RL BB-TN BRISTOL LLC, RL BB-TN LLC, RL BB-TN RACEDAY TOWER LLC, RL BB-TX LLC, RL BB-WV LLC, RL CMBS Holdings LLC, RL CML 2009-1 Investments LLC, RL REGI ARKANSAS LLC, RL REGI Alabama LLC, RL REGI FINANCIAL LLC, RL REGI Florida LLC, RL REGI GEORGIA LLC, RL REGI INACTIVE LLC, RL REGI KANSAS LLC, RL REGI MISSISSIPPI LLC, RL REGI MISSOURI LLC, RL REGI NORTH CAROLINA LLC, RL REGI SOUTH CAROLINA LLC, RL REGI TENNESSEE LLC, RL REGI VIRGINIA LLC, RL REGI-AL HP LLC, RL REGI-AL VRC LLC, RL REGI-FL CRC LLC, RL REGI-FL ESH LLC, RL REGI-FL FT. PIERCE LLC, RL REGI-FL GDL LLC, RL REGI-FL ITALIA LLC, RL REGI-FL MRED LLC, RL REGI-FL RDI LLC, RL REGI-FL SARASOTA LLC, RL REGI-FL TPL LLC, RL REGI-FL VARC LLC, RL REGI-GA DRAD LLC, RL REGI-GA HAY DB LLC, RL REGI-GA MHU LLC, RL REGI-GA MPD LLC, RL REGI-GA RLR LLC, RL REGI-MO GMB LLC, RL REGI-MO MOSCOW MILLS LLC, RL REGI-MS Double H LLC, RL REGI-MS OCEAN SPRINGS LLC, RL REGI-NC CIL LLC, RL REGI-NC LITTLE WING LLC, RL REGI-NC MLD LLC, RL REGI-NC Mland LLC, RL REGI-NC RALEIGH LLC, RL REGI-NC SUGARM LLC, RL REGI-NM LLC, RL REGI-SC CTL LLC, RL REGI-SC LAKE E LLC, RL REGI-SC TDG LLC, RL REGI-SC TIG LLC, RL REGI-TN OAK LLC, RL REGI-TN SEVIERVILLE LLC, RL RES 2009-1 Investments LLC, RMF Alliance LLC, RMF Commercial LLC, RMF PR New York LLC, RMF Partner LLC, RMF SUB 1 LLC, RMF SUB 2 LLC, RMF SUB 3 LLC, RMF SUB 4 LLC, RMF SUB 5 LLC, RMV LLC, Raintree Village II L.L.C., Raintree Village L.L.C., Ral-Len BM LLC, Ral-Len LLC, Rannel Capital WeWork Series D LLC, Rannel Holdings LLC, Rannel Interests LLC, Rannel Investments LLC, Rannel Mortgage Investments LLC, Rannel Proprietary Investments LLC, Renaissance Joint Venture, Reserve @ Pleasant Grove II LLC, Reserve @ Pleasant Grove LLC, Reserve at River Park LLC, Reserve at South Harrison LLC, Rialto Commercial Mortgage Securities LLC, Rialto Credit Partnership GP LLC, Rialto Mezz Partners GP LLC, Rialto Mortgage Finance LLC, Rialto Partners GP II LLC, Rialto Partners GP III - Debt LLC, Rialto Partners GP III - Property LLC, Rialto Partners GP LLC, Rialto RSSF GP LLC, Riverwalk at Lago Mar LLC, Rocking Horse Minerals LLC, Rutenberg Homes Inc. (Florida), Rutenberg Homes of Texas Inc., Rye Hill Company LLC, Ryland Homes Nevada Holdings LLC, Ryland Homes Nevada LLC, Ryland Homes of California Inc., S. Florida Construction II LLC, S. Florida Construction III LLC, S. Florida Construction LLC, SC 521 Indian Land Reserve LLC, SC 521 Indian Land Reserve South LLC, SPIC CPCO Inc., SPIC CPDB Inc., SPIC CPRB Inc., SPIC Del Sur LLC, SPIC Dublin LLC, SPIC Mesa LLC, SPIC NC Fremont LLC, SPIC Otay LLC, SPIC Springs LLC, San Felipe Indemnity Co. Ltd., San Lucia LLC, San Simeon Lennar LLC, Schulz Ranch Developers LLC, Seminole/70th LLC, Siena at Old Orchard L.L.C., Sierra Vista Communities LLC, Silver Springs Lennar LLC, South Development LLC, Southbank Holding LLC, Spanish Springs Development LLC, St. Charles Active Adult Community LLC, St. Charles Community LLC, Standard Pacific 1 Inc., Standard Pacific Investment Corp., Standard Pacific of Colorado Inc., Standard Pacific of Florida, Standard Pacific of Florida GP Inc., Standard Pacific of Las Vegas Inc., Standard Pacific of Orange County Inc., Standard Pacific of Tampa GP, Standard Pacific of Tampa GP Inc., Standard Pacific of Tonner Hills LLC, Standard Pacific of Walnut Hills Inc., Standard Pacific of the Carolinas LLC, Stoney Holdings LLC, Storey Lake Club LLC, Storey Park Club LLC, Strategic Holdings Inc., Strategic Technologies LLC, Summerfield Venture L.L.C., SunStreet Energy Group LLC, SunStreet Manager LLC, TCO QVI LLC, TICD Hold Co. LLC, TIH Hold Co. LLC, Talega Associates LLC, Temecula Valley LLC, Terra Division LLC, Terra/Winding Creek LLC, The Baywinds Land Trust, The Bridges Club at Rancho Santa Fe Inc., The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe Sales Company Inc., The LNC Northeast Group Inc., The Oasis Club at LEN-CG South LLC, The Preserve at Coconut Creek LLC, The Vistas Club at LEN-CG South LLC, Titlezoom Company, Treasure Island Holdings LLC, Treasure Island Member LLC, Treviso Holding LLC, Two Lakes Lennar LLC, U.S. Home Corporation, U.S. Home Realty Inc., U.S. Home of Arizona Construction Co., U.S. Insurors Inc., U.S.H. Realty Inc., UAMC Holding Company LLC, UB 2018C14 MOA LLC, USH - Flag LLC, USH Equity Corporation, USH LEE LLC, USH Leasing II LLC, USH Leasing LLC, UST Lennar HW Scala SF Joint Venture, VII Crown Farm Investor LLC, Venetian Lennar LLC, Vineyard Land LLC, Vineyard Point 2009 LLC, Vista Palms Clubhouse LLC, WCI Communities, WCI Communities Inc., WCI Communities LLC, WCI Towers Northeast USA Inc., WCI Westshore LLC, WCP LLC, WIP Lennar OHB LLC, Waterview at Hanover LLC, West Lake Village LLC, West Seattle Project X LLC, West Van Buren L.L.C., Westchase Inc., Westchase Ltd., Westfield Homes USA Inc., White Course Lennar LLC, Wild Plum JV LLC, Willowbrook Investors LLC, Winncrest Natomas LLC, Woodbridge Multifamily Developer I LLC, Wright Farm L.L.C., and YLRichards4Acres 2015 LLC. Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted 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 USA Equal Weighted 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 The Procter & Gamble: "Procter & Gamble Services" LLC, "Procter & Gamble" LLC, Agile Pursuits, Agile Pursuits Franchising, Arbora, Arbora & Ausonia, Arborinvest, Billie, Braun (Shanghai) Co., Braun GmbH, Braun-Gillette Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG, Celtic Insurance Company, Compania Procter & Gamble Mexico, Compania Quimica S.A., Corporativo Procter & Gamble, Cosmetic Products Pty. Ltd., Detergent Products B.V., Detergent Products SARL, Detergenti S.A., Eurocos Cosmetic GmbH, FPG Oleochemicals Sdn. Bhd., Fameccanica Data S.p.A., Fameccanica Industria e Comercio Do Brasil LTDA., Fameccanica Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Fater S.p.A., Fountain Square Music Publishing Co., Gillette (China) Ltd., Gillette (Shanghai) Ltd., Gillette Aesop Ltd., Gillette Australia Pty. Ltd., Gillette Canada Holdings, Gillette Commercial Operations North America, Gillette Diversified Operations Pvt. Ltd., Gillette Egypt S.A.E., Gillette Group UK Ltd, Gillette Gruppe Deutschland GmbH & Co. oHG, Gillette Holding Company LLC, Gillette Holding GmbH, Gillette India Limited, Gillette Industries Ltd., Gillette International B.V., Gillette Latin America Holding B.V., Gillette Management LLC, Gillette Nova Scotia Company, Gillette Pakistan Limited, Gillette Poland International Sp. z.o.o., Gillette Poland S.A., Gillette U.K. Limited, Gillette del Uruguay, Giorgio Beverly Hills Inc., Hyginett KFT, Industries Marocaines Modernes SA, LLC "Procter & Gamble Novomoskovsk", LLL "Procter & Gamble Distributorskaya Compania", Laboratorios Vicks, Liberty Street Music Publishing Company, Limited Liability Company 'Procter & Gamble Trading Ukraine', Limited Liability Company with foreign investments Procter & and Gamble Ukraine, MDVIP, MERCK KGAA NPV, Marcvenca Inversiones, Modern Industries Company - Dammam, Modern Products Company - Jeddah, New Chapter, New Chapter Canada Inc., Olay LLC, Oral-B Laboratories, P&G Distribution Morocco SAS, P&G Hair Care Holding, P&G Industrial Peru S.R.L., P&G Innovation Godo Kaisha, P&G Israel M.D.O. Ltd., P&G K.K., P&G Northeast Asia Pte. Ltd., P&G Prestige Godo Kaisha, P&G Prestige Service GmbH, P&G South African Trading (Pty.) Ltd., PGT Health Care (Zhejiang) Limited, PGT Healthcare LLP, PPI ZAO, PT Procter & Gamble Home Products Indonesia, PT Procter & Gamble Operations Indonesia, Phase II Holdings Corporation, Procter & Gamble (Chengdu) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Sales Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (East Africa) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Egypt) Manufacturing Company, Procter & Gamble (Enterprise Fund) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Consumer Products Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Enterprise Management Service Company Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Health & Beauty Care) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Jiangsu) Ltd. China, Procter & Gamble (L&CP) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Procter & Gamble (Manufacturing) Ireland Limited, Procter & Gamble (Shanghai) International Trade Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Acquisition GmbH, Procter & Gamble Administration GmbH, Procter & Gamble Algeria EURL, Procter & Gamble Amazon Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Amiens S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Argentina SRL, Procter & Gamble Asia Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Australia Proprietary Limited, Procter & Gamble Azerbaijan Services LLC, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh Private Ltd., Procter & Gamble Blois S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Brazil Holdings B.V., Procter & Gamble Bulgaria EOOD, Procter & Gamble Business Services Canada Company, Procter & Gamble Canada Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Chile , Procter & Gamble Chile Limitada, Procter & Gamble Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Commercial LLC, Procter & Gamble Commercial de Cuba S.A., Procter & Gamble Czech Republic s.r.o., Procter & Gamble DS Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Danmark ApS, Procter & Gamble Detergent (Beijing) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Deuttschland GmbH, Procter & Gamble Distributing (Philippines) Inc., Procter & Gamble Distributing New Zealand Limited, Procter & Gamble Distribution Company (Europe) BVBA, Procter & Gamble Distribution S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Eastern Europe, Procter & Gamble Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Procter & Gamble Egypt, Procter & Gamble Egypt Distribution, Procter & Gamble Egypt Holding, Procter & Gamble Egypt Supplies, Procter & Gamble Energy Company LLC, Procter & Gamble Espana, Procter & Gamble Europe SA, Procter & Gamble Export Operations SARL, Procter & Gamble Exportadora e Importadora Ltda., Procter & Gamble Exports, Procter & Gamble Fabricacao e Comercio Ltda., Procter & Gamble Far East, Procter & Gamble Finance (U.K.) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Holding Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Management S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Financial Investments LLP, Procter & Gamble Financial Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Financial Services S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Finland OY, Procter & Gamble France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH, Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH & Co. Operations oHG, Procter & Gamble GmbH, Procter & Gamble Grundstucks-und Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, Procter & Gamble Gulf FZE, Procter & Gamble Hair Care, Procter & Gamble Hellas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Holding (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Holding France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Holding GmbH, Procter & Gamble Holding S.r.l., Procter & Gamble Holdings (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Home Products Private Limited, Procter & Gamble Hong Kong Limited, Procter & Gamble Hungary Wholesale Trading Partnership (KKT), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Limited, Procter & Gamble Inc., Procter & Gamble India Holdings, Procter & Gamble Indochina Limited Company, Procter & Gamble Industrial - 2012 C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Industrial S.C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Costa Rica, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Guatemala, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Panama, Procter & Gamble International Operations Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble International Operations SA, Procter & Gamble International Operations SA-ROHQ, Procter & Gamble International S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Investment Company (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Investment GmbH, Procter & Gamble Italia, Procter & Gamble Japan K.K., Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan Distribution LLP, Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan LLP, Procter & Gamble Korea, Procter & Gamble Korea S&D Co., Procter & Gamble Lanka Private Ltd. Sri Lanka, Procter & Gamble Leasing LLC, Procter & Gamble Levant S.A.L., Procter & Gamble Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Berlin GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Marketing Romania SRL, Procter & Gamble Marketing and Services doo, Procter & Gamble Maroc SA, Procter & Gamble Mataro, Procter & Gamble Mexico Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Mexico Inc., Procter & Gamble Middle East FZE, Procter & Gamble Nederland B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Investments B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Services B.V., Procter & Gamble Nigeria Limited, Procter & Gamble Nordic, Procter & Gamble Norge AS, Procter & Gamble Operations Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Overseas India B.V., Procter & Gamble Overseas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Pakistan (Private) Limited, Procter & Gamble Partnership LLP, Procter & Gamble Peru S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals France SAS, Procter & Gamble Philippines, Procter & Gamble Polska Sp. z o.o, Procter & Gamble Portugal - Produtos De Consumo, Procter & Gamble Product Supply (U.K.) Limited U.K., Procter & Gamble Production GmbH, Procter & Gamble Productions, Procter & Gamble Productos de Consumo, Procter & Gamble RHD, Procter & Gamble RSC Regional Service Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Retail Services BVBA, Procter & Gamble S.r.l., Procter & Gamble SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Satis ve Dagitim Ltd. Sti., Procter & Gamble Seine S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Procter & Gamble Services (Switzerland) SA, Procter & Gamble Services Company N.V., Procter & Gamble Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Share Incentive Plan Trustee Ltd., Procter & Gamble South America Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Spol. s.r.o. (Ltd.), Procter & Gamble Sports and Social Club Ltd., Procter & Gamble Sverige AB, Procter & Gamble Switzerland SARL, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Limited, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Sales Company Limited, Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Limited, Procter & Gamble Technology (Beijing) Co., Procter & Gamble Trading (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Tuketim Mallari Sanayii A.S., Procter & Gamble UK, Procter & Gamble UK Group Holdings Ltd, Procter & Gamble UK Parent Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Universal Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Verwaltungs GmbH, Procter & Gamble Vietnam, Procter & Gamble d.o.o. za trgovinu, Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.C.A., Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.R.L., Procter & Gamble do Brasil S/A, Procter & Gamble do Brazil, Procter & Gamble do Nordeste S/A, Procter & Gamble-Rakona s.r.o., Progam Realty & Development Corporation, Redmond Products, Richardson-Vicks Real Estate Inc., Richardson-Vicks do Brasil Quimica e Farmaceutica Ltda, Riverfront Music Publishing Co., Rosemount LLC, SPD Development Company Limited, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Scannon S.A.S., Series Acquisition B.V., Shulton, Surfac S.R.L., Sycamore Productions, TAOS - FL, TAOS Retail, Tambrands Inc., Temple Trees Impex & Investment Private Limited, The Art of Shaving - FL, The Dover Wipes Company, The Gillette Company, The Gillette Company LLC, The Gillette co., The Procter & Gamble Distributing LLC, The Procter & Gamble GBS Company, The Procter & Gamble Global Finance Company, The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, The Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, The Procter & Gamble U.S. Business Services Company, This is L., US CD LLC, Vidal Sassoon (Shanghai) Academy, Vidal Sassoon Co., WEBA Betriebsrenten-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Walker & Company Brands, and iMFLUX Inc.. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. owns and leases freight railroads. It operates through three segments: North American Operations, Australian Operations, and U.K./European Operations. The company transports various commodities, including agricultural products, autos and auto parts, chemicals and plastics, coal and coke, food and kindred products, lumber and forest products, metallic ores, metals, minerals and stone, petroleum products, pulp and paper, waste, and other commodities. It owns or leases 122 freight railroads, including 105 short line railroads and 2 regional freight railroads located in the United States, 8 short line railroads located in Canada, 3 railroads located in Australia, 1 railroad located in the United Kingdom, 1 railroad in Poland and Germany, and 2 railroads in the Netherlands with a total of approximately 16,200 miles of track. The company also operates 6,200 additional miles of track that is owned or leased by others. In addition, it operates deep sea maritime containers and provides bulk haulage, including coal, aggregates, cement, and infrastructure services. Further, the company provides rail service at approximately 40 ports; rail-ferry service in North America, Australia, and Europe; and contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Darien, Connecticut. 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 The Hershey Co. engages in the manufacture and market of chocolate and sugar confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America; and International and Other. The North America segment is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada. The International and Other segment is the combination of all other operating segments which are not individually material, including those geographic regions where the company operates outside of North America. Its brands include Hershey's, Reese's, and Kisses. The company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, PA. Read More HSBC Holdings plc provides banking and financial products and services worldwide. The company operates through Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The Wealth and Personal Banking segment offers retail banking products and services, such as current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit and debit cards, and local and international payment services for ultra high net worth individuals; and wealth management services, including insurance and investment products, global asset management services, investment management, and private wealth solutions. The Commercial Banking segment provides credit and lending, treasury management, payment, cash management, commercial insurance, and investment services, as well as commercial cards, and international trade and receivables finance services; and foreign exchange products, and capital raising and advisory services to small and medium sized enterprises, mid-market enterprises, and corporates. The Global Banking and Markets segment is involved in the provision of financing, advisory, and transaction services, including credit, rates, foreign exchange, equities, money markets, and securities services, as well as principal investment activities to government, corporate and institutional clients, and private investors. The Global Private Banking segment provides a range of services to high net worth individuals and families with complex and international needs. HSBC Holdings plc was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Lloyds Banking Group: A G Finance Ltd, A.C.L. Ltd, ACL Autolease Holdings Ltd, ADF No.1 Pty Ltd, Addison Social Housing Holdings Ltd, Alex Lawrie Factors Ltd, Alex. Lawrie Receivables Financing Ltd, Amberdate Ltd, Anglo Scottish Utilities Partnership 1, Aquilus Ltd, Automobile Association Personal Finance Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services 2 Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 2) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 3) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland)) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 1 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 2 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 3 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 4 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 5 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 6 plc, BOS (USA) Fund Investments Inc., BOS (USA) Inc., BOS Edinburgh No 1 Ltd, BOS Mistral Ltd, BOS Personal Lending Ltd, BOSSAF Rail Ltd, Bank of Scotland (B G S) Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland (Stanlife) London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Branch Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Central Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Equipment Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Foundation, Bank of Scotland LNG Leasing (No 1) Ltd, Bank of Scotland London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Nominees (Unit Trusts) Ltd, Bank of Scotland P.E.P. Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Structured Asset Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Transport Finance 1 Ltd, Bank of Scotland plc, Bank of Wales Ltd, Barents Leasing Ltd, Barnwood Mortgages Ltd, Birchcrown Finance Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Financial Services Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Land Development Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Mortgage Services Ltd, Black Horse (TRF) Ltd, Black Horse Executive Mortgages Ltd, Black Horse Finance Holdings Ltd, Black Horse Finance Management Ltd, Black Horse Group Ltd, Black Horse Ltd, Black Horse Offshore Ltd, Black Horse Property Services Ltd, Boltro Nominees Ltd, British Linen Leasing (London) Ltd, British Linen Leasing Ltd, British Linen Shipping Ltd, C.T.S.B. Leasing Ltd, CBRail S.A.R.L., CF Asset Finance Ltd, CF1 Ltd, CM Venture Investments Ltd, Cancara Asset Securitisation Ltd, Capital 1945 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 12 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 3 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 5 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 9 Ltd, Capital Bank Property Investments (3) Ltd, Capital Personal Finance Ltd, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2018-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2019-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Cardnet Merchant Services Ltd, Cashfriday Ltd, Cashpoint Ltd, Caveminster Ltd, Cedar Holdings Ltd, Celsius European Lux 2 S.A.R.L., Central Mortgage Finance Ltd, Chariot Finance Ltd, Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Cheltenham II Securities 2020 DAC, Cheltenham Securities 2017 Ltd, Chepstow Blue Holdings Ltd, Chepstow Blue plc, Chester Asset Options No.2 Ltd, Chester Asset Options No.3 Ltd, Chester Asset Receivables Dealings Issuer Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings No.2 Ltd, Chiswell Stockbrokers Ltd, Clerical Medical Finance plc, Clerical Medical Financial Services Ltd, Clerical Medical International Holdings B.V., Clerical Medical Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Clerical Medical Managed Funds Ltd, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Spanish Prop Co SL, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Prop Co SA, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Property Company S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Funding S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Investments S.A.R.L., Conquest Securities Ltd, Corbiere Asset Investments Ltd, Create Services Ltd, Credit Card Securitisation Europe Ltd, Dalkeith Corporation, Deva Financing Holdings Ltd, Deva Financing plc, Deva One Ltd, Deva Three Ltd, Deva Two Ltd, Dunstan Investments (UK) Ltd, Edgbaston RMBS 2010-1 plc, Edgbaston RMBS Holdings Ltd, Elland RMBS 2018 plc, Elland RMBS Holdings Ltd, Eurolead Services Holdings Ltd, First Retail Finance (Chester) Ltd, Fontwell Securities 2016 Ltd, Forthright Finance Ltd, France Industrial Premises Holding Company, General Leasing (No. 12) Ltd, General Reversionary and Investment Company, Gresham Nominee 1 Ltd, Gresham Nominee 2 Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 1) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 10) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 11) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 12) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 13) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 14) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 15) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 16) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 19) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 20) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 21) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 22) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 23) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 24) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 25) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 26) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 27) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 28) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 29) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 3) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 30) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 31) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 32) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 33) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 34) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 35) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 36) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 37) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 38) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 39) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 40) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 41) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 44) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 45) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 46) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 47) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 48) UK Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No 3) Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No.11) UK Ltd, HBOS Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS Final Salary Trust Ltd, HBOS Financial Services Ltd, HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Ltd, HBOS International Financial Services Holdings Ltd, HBOS Investment Fund Managers Ltd, HBOS Social Housing Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS UK Ltd, HBOS plc, HSDL Nominees Ltd, HVF Ltd, Halifax Credit Card Ltd, Halifax Financial Brokers Ltd, Halifax Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Halifax Financial Services Ltd, Halifax General Insurance Services Ltd, Halifax Group Ltd, Halifax Investment Services Ltd, Halifax Leasing (June) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (March No.2) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (September) Ltd, Halifax Life Ltd, Halifax Loans Ltd, Halifax Ltd, Halifax Mortgage Services Ltd, Halifax Nominees Ltd, Halifax Pension Nominees Ltd, Halifax Premises Ltd, Halifax Share Dealing Ltd, Halifax Vehicle Leasing (1998) Ltd, Heidi Finance Holdings (UK) Ltd, Hill Samuel Bank Ltd, Hill Samuel Finance Ltd, Hill Samuel Leasing Co. Ltd, Home Shopping Personal Finance Ltd, Horizon Capital 2000 Ltd, Housing Association Risk Transfer 2019 DAC, Housing Growth Partnership GP LLP, Housing Growth Partnership LP, Housing Growth Partnership Ltd, Housing Growth Partnership Manager Ltd, Hyundai Car Finance Ltd, IBOS Finance Ltd, ICC Enterprise Partners Ltd, ICC Equity Partners Ltd, ICC Holdings Unlimited Company, Inchcape Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Software Ltd, International Motors Finance Ltd, Kanaalstraat Funding C.V., Katrine Leasing Ltd, LB Healthcare Trustee Ltd, LB Motorent Ltd, LB Quest Ltd, LB Share Schemes Trustees Ltd, LBCF Ltd, LBG Brasil Administracao LTDA, LBG Capital Holdings Ltd, LBG Equity Investments Ltd, LBI Leasing Ltd, LDC (General Partner) Ltd, LDC (Managers) Ltd, LDC (Nominees) Ltd, LDC GP LLP, LDC I LP, LDC II LP, LDC III LP, LDC IV LP, LDC Parallel (Nominees) Ltd, LDC V LP, LDC VI LP, LDC VII LP, LDC VIII LP, LTGP Limited Partnership Incorporated, Legacy Renewal Company Ltd, Leicester Securities 2014 Ltd, Lex Autolease (CH) Ltd, Lex Autolease (VC) Ltd, Lex Autolease Carselect Ltd, Lex Autolease Ltd, Lex Vehicle Finance 2 Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing (Holdings) Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing Ltd, Lime Street (Funding) Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I Holdings Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I plc, Lloyds (Gresham) Ltd, Lloyds (Gresham) No. 1 Ltd, Lloyds (Nimrod) Specialist Finance Ltd, Lloyds America Securities Corporation1, Lloyds Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Branches) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Colonial & Foreign) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (I.D.) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (International Services) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Stock Exchange Branch) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Asset Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Scotland Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (HP) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.4) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (LM) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds LLP, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 7) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 9) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Holdings Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 11) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 20) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 5) Ltd, Lloyds Bank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Hill Samuel Holding Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank International Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 6) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 8) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank MTCH Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 10) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 13) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No.16) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Offshore Pension Trust Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 1) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 2) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pensions Property (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Properties Ltd, Lloyds Bank Property Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank S.F. Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Subsidiaries Ltd, Lloyds Bank Trustee Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd, Lloyds Capital GP Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Properties Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Property Investments Ltd, Lloyds Corporate Services (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Engine Capital (No.1) U.S LLC, Lloyds Far East S.A.R.L., Lloyds General Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Group Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Hypotheken B.V., Lloyds Industrial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds International Pty Ltd, Lloyds Investment Bonds Ltd, Lloyds Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Lloyds Investment Securities No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Leasing (North Sea Transport) Ltd1, Lloyds Leasing Developments Ltd, Lloyds Nominees (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Offshore Global Services Private Ltd, Lloyds Plant Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Portfolio Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Premises Investments Ltd, Lloyds Project Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 3 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 4 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Secretaries Ltd, Lloyds Securities Inc., Lloyds TSB Pacific Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Rentals Ltd, Lloyds UDT Hiring Ltd, Lloyds UDT Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Ltd, Lloyds Your Tomorrow Trustee Ltd, Loans.co.uk Ltd, London Taxi Finance Ltd, London Uberior (L.A.S. Group) Nominees Ltd, Lotus Finance Ltd, MBNA, MBNA Direct Ltd, MBNA Europe Finance Ltd, MBNA Europe Holdings Ltd, MBNA General Foundation, MBNA Global Services Ltd, MBNA Indian Services Private Ltd, MBNA Ltd, MBNA R & L S.A.R.L., MBNA Receivables Ltd, Mainsearch Company Ltd, Maritime Leasing (No. 19) Ltd, Membership Services Finance Ltd, Mitre Street Funding S.A.R.L., Molineux RMBS 2016-1 plc, Molineux RMBS Holdings Ltd, Moor Lane Holdings Ltd, NFU Mutual Finance Ltd, NWS Trust Ltd, Nominees (Jersey) Ltd, Nordic Leasing Ltd, Ocean Leasing (July) Ltd, Oystercatcher Nominees Ltd, Oystercatcher Residential Ltd, PIPS Asset Investments Ltd, Pacific Leasing Ltd, Penarth Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Penarth Funding 1 Ltd, Penarth Funding 2 Ltd, Penarth Master Issuer plc, Penarth Receivables Trustee Ltd, Pensions Management (S.W.F.) Ltd, Peony Eastern Leasing Ltd, Peony Leasing Ltd, Peony Western Leasing Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 1) Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 2) Ltd, Permanent Holdings Ltd, Permanent Master Issuer plc, Permanent Mortgages Trustee Ltd, Permanent PECOH Holdings Ltd, Permanent PECOH Ltd, Perry Nominees Ltd, Prestonfield Investments Ltd, Proton Finance Ltd, R.F. Spencer And Company Ltd, Ranelagh Nominees Ltd, Retail Revival (Burgess Hill) Investments Ltd, SARL Coliseum, SARL Hiram, SAS Compagnie Fonciere De France, SCI Astoria Invest, SCI De LHorloge, SCI Equinoxe, SCI Rambuteau CFF, SW Funding plc, SW No.1 Ltd, SWAMF (GP) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (1) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (2) Ltd, Saint Michel Holding Company No1, Saint Michel Investment Property, Saint Witz 2 Holding Company No1, Saint Witz 2 Investment Property, Salisbury II Securities 2016 Ltd, Salisbury II-A Securities 2017 Ltd, Salisbury III Securities 2019 DAC, Salisbury Securities 2015 Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 Holdings Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 plc, Sandown Gold 2012-1 Holdings Ltd, Sandown Gold 2012-1 plc, Savban Leasing Ltd, Scotland International Finance B.V., Scottish Widows Administration Services (Nominees) Ltd, Scottish Widows Administration Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Annuities Ltd, Scottish Widows Auto Enrolment Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Europe, Scottish Widows Financial Services Holdings, Scottish Widows Group Ltd, Scottish Widows Industrial Properties Europe B.V., Scottish Widows Ltd, Scottish Widows Pension Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Property Management Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth (ACD) Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Wealth Holdings Ltd, Scottish Widows Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Funds Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Ltd, Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society, Seabreeze Leasing Ltd, Seaspirit Leasing Ltd, Share Dealing Nominees Ltd, Shogun Finance Ltd, Silentdale Ltd, St Andrews Group Ltd, St Andrews Insurance plc, St Andrews Life Assurance plc, St. Marys Court Investments, Standard Property Investment (1987) Ltd, Standard Property Investment Ltd, Sussex County Homes Ltd, Suzuki Financial Services Ltd, Swan Funding 2 Ltd, Syon Securities 2019 DAC, The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Plc, The British Linen Company Ltd, The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, The Mortgage Business plc, Thistle Financing Holdings Ltd, Thistle Investments (AMC) Ltd, Thistle Investments (ERM) Ltd, Thistle Leasing, Three Copthall Avenue Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (10) Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (7) Ltd, Tranquility Leasing Ltd, Trinity Financing plc, UDT Budget Leasing Ltd, UDT Sales Finance Ltd, Uberior (Moorfield) Ltd, Uberior Co-Investments Ltd, Uberior ENA Ltd, Uberior Equity Ltd, Uberior Europe Ltd, Uberior Fund Investments Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments (No.2) Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Uberior Investments Ltd, Uberior Nominees Ltd, Uberior Trading Ltd, Uberior Trustees Ltd, Uberior Ventures Australia Pty Ltd, Uberior Ventures Ltd, United Dominions Leasing Ltd, United Dominions Trust Ltd, Universe The CMI Global Network Fund, Upsaala Ltd, Vine Street IX LP, WCS Ltd, Ward Nominees (Abingdon) Ltd, Ward Nominees (Birmingham) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees (Bristol) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees Ltd 1, Waverley Fund II Investor LLC, Waverley Fund III Investor LLC, Waymark Asset Investments Ltd, West Craigs Ltd, Wetherby II Securities 2018 DAC, Wetherby III Securities 2019 DAC, Wetherby Securities 2017 Ltd, Wood Street Leasing Ltd, and Zurich Insurance Group - UK Workplace Pensions and Savings Business. Wall Street analysts have given iShares North American Tech-Software 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 North American Tech-Software ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Tableau Software, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides business analytics software products. It offers Tableau Desktop, a self-service, powerful analytics product with data; Tableau Server, a business intelligence platform for organizations; Tableau Online, a hosted software-as-a-service version of Tableau Server; Tableau Prep, a data preparation product for combining, shaping, and cleaning data; and Tableau Public, a cloud-based platform for analyzing and sharing public data. In addition, it offers Visual Query Language (VizQL) for databases, which is a computer language for describing pictures of data, including graphs, charts, maps, time series, and tables of visualizations; Live Query Engine that interprets abstract queries generated by VizQL into syntax understandable by database systems; and Hyper, an in-memory data engine technology that helps customers to analyze a range of data sets by evaluating analytical queries directly in the transactional database. Further, the company provides support, maintenance, training, and professional services. It serves organizations in various industries, including business services, energy and telecommunications, financial services, life sciences and healthcare, manufacturing and technology, media and entertainment, public sector, and education, as well as retail, consumer, and distribution industries. The company sells its products directly, as well as through indirect sales channels, such as technology vendors, resellers, original equipment manufacturers, independent software vendor, and distributors in the United States, Canada, and internationally. Tableau Software, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of V.F.: 1994 Inc. Ltd., 530 Park Ave 10-F LLC, 530 Park Ave 14-H LLC, ALL'CROWN SA, Administradora Mexicana de Servicios S de RL de CV, Administradora de Servicios Honduras S.A., Altra Footwear, Altra LLC, C.C.R.L. LLC, Chapter 4 Corp, Cherry SAS, Ciliegia Srl, Corporacion Distribiduidora de Dickies S de RL de CV, Cutler de Mexico SA, Czech Distribution Services s.r.o., DSI Enterprises LLC, Dickies de Honduras SA de CV, Dickies de Parras S de RL de CV, EAGLE CREEK EUROPE LIMITED, Eagle Creek, Eagle Creek Inc., GFYS LLC, GREENSPORT MONTE BIANCO, Horace Small, INVERSIONES INMOBILIARIES AUSTRALES SA, INVERSIONES VF CHILE DOS LTDA, INVERSIONES VF CHILE LTDA, IW Apparel LLC, IW Holdings LLC, IW Panama Trading S. de R.L., IceBreaker, Icebreaker Apparel LLC, Icebreaker Australia Pty, Icebreaker Australia Retail Pty, Icebreaker Europe Limited, Icebreaker Holdings Limited, Icebreaker Licensing LLC, Icebreaker Limited, Icebreaker Merino Clothing Europe Ltd., Icebreaker New Zealand Limited, Icebreaker Pure Merino GmbH, Imagewear Apparel Corp., Industrial Laundry Services LLC, Industrias Coahuila de Zaragosa S de RL de CV, JanSport Apparel Corp., Kipling Apparel Corp., Kipling Belgium, Kipling Holdings LLC, Kirsche GmbH, Kodiak Group Holdings CO., Lee Bell Inc., Lucy, Lucy Apparel LLC, Majestic Athletic Official Store, Mo Industries Holdings, NII Sales - Texas LLC, Napapijri, North East Rig-Out Limited, North Elm Properties LLC, RED KAP DE MEXICO S DE RL DE CV, RKI HONDURAS S de RL, Reef Holdings Corporation, Rock & Republic, SERVICIOS Y PROMOCIONES TEXTILES LTDA, South Cone, South Cone Inc, Supreme, Supreme Holdings Inc., Supreme Intermediate Holdings Inc., T.I. Venture Group Inc, TBL INVESTMENTS HOLDING GMBH, TBL Licensing LLC, THE NORTH FACE ITALY SRL, THE NORTH FACE SAGL, THE RECREATIONAL FOOTWEAR CO., TIMBERLAND EUROPE BV, TIMBERLAND HK TRADING LTD., TIMBERLAND LUXEMBOURG HOLDING ASIA S.A.R.L., TIMBERLAND UK LTD., The North Face, The North Face Apparel Corp, Timberland, Timberland Asia LLC, Timberland IDC Ltd., Timberland International LLC, VANS MADEIRA LDA, VANS SPAIN SL, VF (J) FRANCE SAS, VF (J) NEDERLAND BV, VF (J) NETHERLANDS SERVICES BV, VF APPAREL PORTUGAL LDA, VF ASIA LTD, VF Apollo Investments Limited, VF Apollo Singapore Pte. Ltd., VF Asia Sourcing Ltd, VF Austria GMBH, VF BRANDS MALAYSIA SDN BHD, VF BRANDS TAIWAN LTD., VF Belgium BV, VF Brands Pte. Ltd., VF CH Apollo Sagl, VF CH Holdings GmbH, VF CH Imagewear Canada GmbH, VF CH MEXICO INVESTMENTS SAGL, VF CH-MEX Holdings LLC, VF CHINA LTD., VF CIS LLC, VF COMERCIALIZADORA LTDA, VF CZECH SERVICES SRO, VF CZECH SRO, VF Corporation, VF DE ARGENTINA SA, VF DO BRAZIL LTDA, VF EGE GIYIM SANAYI VE TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI, VF EUROPE BV, VF GERMANY TEXTILE-HANDELS GMBH, VF Germany Services GMBH, VF HELLAS EPE, VF HOLDING SAGL, VF HOLDINGS MEXICO LLC, VF Hong Kong Limited, VF IB Holdings LLC, VF IMAGEWEAR DE MEXICO S DE RL DE CV, VF IMAGEWEAR MAJESTIC (UK) LTD, VF INTERNATIONAL SAGL, VF INVESTIMENTOS DO BRAZIL LTDA, VF IP Holdings LLC, VF ISRAEL (APPAREL) LTD, VF ITALIA SRL, VF ITALY SERVICES SRL, VF Imagewear Canada Co., VF Imagewear Inc, VF Intellectual Property Services Inc, VF International Holding GmbH, VF Investments Holding GmbH, VF Investments Netherlands BV, VF JEANSWEAR ARGENTINA SRL, VF JEANSWEAR ESPANA SL, VF Japan KK, VF KOREA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, VF LUXEMBOURG SARL, VF Management Service Italy S.r.l., VF NL Holdings CV, VF NL Imagewear B.V., VF NORTHERN EUROPE LIMITED, VF NORTHERN EUROPE SERVICES LIMITED, VF Norway AS, VF OUTDOOR (CANADA) CO, VF OUTDOOR MEXICO S DE RL DE CV, VF OUTDOOR SERVICES S DE RL DE CV, VF Outdoor LLC, VF PANAMA SOURCING SERVICES S. DE R.L., VF PARTICIPACOES DO BRASIL LTDA, VF PERU SA, VF POLSKA DISTRIBUTION SP ZO O, VF Playwear Dominicana SA, VF Playwear LLC, VF Receivables LP, VF Receivables Services LLC, VF SAGEBRUSH ENTERPRISES LLC, VF SALES SAGL, VF SERVICIOS DE HONDURAS SA, VF SERVICIOS EL SALVADOR LTDA. DE CV, VF SHANGHAI SOURCING LIMITED, VF SOURCING THAILAND LTD, VF Scandinavia ApS, VF Services LLC, VF Servicios de Guatemala Srl, VF Servicios de Nicaragua Srl., VF Shanghai Enterprise Company, VF Shanghai Limited, VF Singapore Overseas Services Pte Ltd, VF Solutions LLC, VF Sourcing India Private Limited, VF Sweden AB, VF Switzerland Enterprises GmbH, VF Taiwan Limited, VF Transglobal GmbH, VF Treasury Services LLC, VFSE Investments LLC, VFSLA Commercial Services LLC, VFSLA Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Vans, Vans Inc, W-D APPAREL COMPANY LLC, W-D Licensing LLC, WD Europe SAS, WD Supply Holding Limited (HK), Walls Cayman Limited, Walls Holding Company LLC, Walls Industries LLC, Williamson Industries Ltd., Williamson-Dickie APAC Holding Company Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Apparel Trading (Shanghai) Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Canada Co., Williamson-Dickie Europe GmbH, Williamson-Dickie Europe Holdings Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Europe Ltd., Williamson-Dickie HK Holding Company Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Holding Co-Mexico S de RL de CV, Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company LLC, Williamson-Dickie Middle East FZE, Wooster GK, Workwear Sourcing S. de R.L., World Jeans VF Asia Ltd, Worldwide Workwear Ltd., and Ying Tao Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.. The following companies are subsidiares of Humana: 154th Street Medical Plaza, 516-526 West Main Street Condominium Council of Co-Owners, 54th Street Medical Plaza, American Eldercare, American Eldercare of North Florida, Anvita Health, Arcadian Health Plan, Arcadian Management Services, Atlantis Physician Group, CAC Medical Center Holdings, CAC-Florida Medical Centers, CDO 1, CDO 2, CHA HMO, CHA Service Company, Care Partners Home Care, CareNetwork, CarePlus Health, CarePlus Health Plans, Cariten Health Plan Inc., Certify Data Systems, CompBenefits, CompBenefits Company, CompBenefits Corporation, CompBenefits Dental, CompBenefits Direct, CompBenefits Insurance Company, Complex Clinical Management, Concentra Managed Care, Continucare Corporation, Continucare MDHC, Continucare MSO, Continucare Medical Management, Dental Care Plus Management, DentiCare, Emphesys, Emphesys Insurance Company, Enclara Healthcare, FPG, FPG Acquisition Corp., FPG Acquisition Holdings Corp., FPG Senior Services, Family Physicians of Winter Park, Go365, HUM Provider Holdings, HUM-e-FL, Harris Rothenberg International, Health Value Management, Humana Active Outlook, Humana At Home (Dallas), Humana At Home (Houston), Humana At Home (San Antonio), Humana At Home (TLC), Humana At Home 1, Humana Behavioral Health, Humana Benefit Plan of Illinois, Humana Dental Company, Humana Digital Health and Analytics Platform Services, Humana EAP and Work-Life Services of California, Humana Employers Health Plan of Georgia, Humana Government Business, Humana Health Benefit Plan of Louisiana, Humana Health Company of New York, Humana Health Insurance Company of Florida, Humana Health Plan, Humana Health Plan of California, Humana Health Plan of Ohio, Humana Health Plan of Texas, Humana Health Plans of Puerto Rico, Humana Healthcare Research, Humana Inc., Humana Innovation Enterprises, Humana Insurance Company, Humana Insurance Company of Kentucky, Humana Insurance Company of New York, Humana Insurance of Puerto Rico, Humana Management Services of Puerto Rico, Humana MarketPOINT, Humana MarketPOINT of Puerto Rico, Humana Medical Plan, Humana Medical Plan of Michigan, Humana Medical Plan of Pennsylvania, Humana Medical Plan of Utah, Humana Pharmacy, Humana Pharmacy Solutions, Humana Regional Health Plan, Humana Veterans Healthcare Services, Humana WellWorks LLC, Humana Wisconsin Health Organization Insurance Corporation, Humana at Home, HumanaDental, HumanaDental Insurance Company, Humco, Hummingbird Coaching Systems LLC, Independent Care Health Plan, KMG America, Kindred Healthcare, MCCI Group Holdings, MCCI Holdings, MCCI Medical Group, MCCI Specialty, MCCI/Lifetime of Aventura, MD Care, METCARE of Florida, Managed Care Indemnity, Medical Care Consortium Incorporated of Texas, MetCare, Metropolitan Health Networks, Naples Health Care Specialists, North Region Providers, Nursing Solutions, OSF HealthCare, PHP Companies, Partners in Integrated Care, Preferred Health Partnership, Preservation on Main, Primary Care Holdings, Primary Care Holdings II, Primary Care Specialists of the Palm Beaches, RMA Medical Centers of Florida, RMA Medical Group of Florida, ROHC, SeniorBridge, SeniorBridge Family Companies (CT), SeniorBridge Family Companies (FL), SeniorBridge Family Companies (IN), SeniorBridge Family Companies (MO), SeniorBridge Family Companies (NY), SeniorBridge-Florida, Texas Dental Plans, The Dental Concern, Transcend Population Health Management, and Transcend Population Health Management II. Lisset Santander is adding more contemporary works to her repertoire. Here with Jarrett Reimers in Christopher Wheeldon's Fools Paradise. Photo by Jennifer Zmuda, Courtesy BalletMet. This Dancer Defected from Cuba and Relaunched Her Career in the U.S. Ahmedabad: Smaller towns will drive the growth of the luxury car market in the country, according to BMW Group India president Vikram Pawah. The premium car brand is also focusing on emerging towns, opening outlets in Ranchi, Aurangabad and Madurai recently, Pawah told PTI here on Tuesday. It also plans to open dealer outlets in a majority of seven cities it plans to expand by the end of 2018, he added. "Smaller towns are the future of the (luxury car) industry. We are clearly seeing growth coming from these emerging towns, which is why we are reaching out to these towns more and more," Pawah, who was in the city for the opening of a new dealer showroom said. The industry will get a fillip with the government focusing on infrastructure development in emerging towns, he added. "Out of the seven outlets planned for this year, most will come from emerging towns," he further said. Pawah also called for "rationalisation of tax structure" for the growth of luxury car segment in India, saying tax structures for the segment is much higher here compared to other markets. While referring to GST as a "fantastic" initiative, he expressed dissatisfaction on the way it was implemented. "I am hoping the final aim of GST is to look at uniform tax rates...We hope at some point we will start looking at the category of cars as cars. If that happens, we will surely see people like you and me able to get these (luxury) cars much easier," he further said. He stressed that rationalisation of the tax structure in line with international norms will help in growth of this market. BMW India launched nine products at this year's, and showcased seven products to be launched this year. The company is looking to clearly create a new segment, or redefine values of the existing segment to expand the market, Pawah said. The company is set to launch its two-wheeler brand, 310 R and 310 GS by the second half of this year, and expand dealer network for BMW Mini, its premium small car brand, from five to seven by year end, he said. New Delhi: Domestic airlines such as Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet can now hope that they will be allowed tap the external commercial borrowing (ECB) window for raising funds at low cost. The nodal civil aviation ministry has requested the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to bring back the earlier scheme that allowed air operators to raise funds through this route with a cap of $1 billion. It has also asked for widening the scope of such window to use ECB funds for local sourcing of aircraft and import of other capital goods. Of course, the funds could be raised for working capital requirements and swapping of high-cost debts with cheaper ones. An internal aviation ministry document revealed that it has already set the ball rolling for the proposed move and written to the finance ministry. It has pitched for adopting a market-driven ECB policy for the aviation sector. The economic adviser in the aviation ministry had last month informed industry about the developments on ECB and trade credit borrowings. The airlines companies have been asked to provide their inputs on it at the earliest to take the issue forward, a senior official told Financial Chronicle. Raising funds through ECB is easy compared to local borrowings and are considerably cheaper. The central bank clears the quantum of funds to be raised through ECB on the basis of each companys cash flow, foreign exchange earnings and the capability to service the debt. Currently, there is no ECB window for airlines. They need it now because they are now more profitable and have a bigger business plan to execute. Allowing a larger ECB window with extended time frame is going to be relevant. The government should not only revive it but also make the size larger and increase the tenure. This will be required across the airline sector, said Kapil Kaul, an industry veteran and chief executive officer (Indian subcontinent and Middle East) at global advisory Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA). He noted its significance further by saying that even companies buying Air India would need access to ECB fund. Earlier, while providing the ECB window for airlines, the RBI had capped the overall ECB ceiling at $1 billion. The maximum permissible ECB that could be availed by an individual airline was set at $300 million. The facility was discontinued from April 1, 2016. Like other industries, airline sector should also be allowed to tap the ECB window without any restrictions. There should be as little restrictions as possible and as bigger the (window) size as possible, CAPA India chief said. New Delhi: The finance ministry has no immediate plan to raise pension funds investment limit to over 15 per cent in the equity market. The government perceives any loss in value of the funds due to volatility would prove costly to the government. No, there has been no discussion on raising the limit of investing in equities from the current 15 per cent for the government employees. May be there will be some more maturity needed in the stock market. The proposal is still on the table, but not under active consideration, an official source said. The reasons are well known for the government to cold shoulder the proposal. The majority of the subscribers are in the clerical cadre and they dont have any other back-up other than pension funds to fall back upon on retirement. And the important part is if investors lose pension money in equity market, then government will have to bear that cost. In EPFO also it is the same situation, sources said. The country has booming pension funds with a size of $35 billion and the equity market is also surging at a valuation of Rs 2.5 lakh crore. But all these are not enough for them to link as there is risk involved in the usual stock market volatility and the government does not want the hard-earned funds of the people at the twilight years to be part of risk game, said the sources. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has long been demanding an increase in the equity proportion for government employees to invest in the stock market. The PFRDA has called for a huge jump to 50 per cent from 15 per cent of the funds investment to match the maximum for private-sector pensions overseen by its National Pension System arm. The PFRDA board in a meeting last month also decided to hike the cap on equity investment in active choice category to 75 per cent from the current 50 per cent for private sector NPS subscribers. Government employees contribute about 87 per cent of the Rs 2.3 lakh crore ($35 billion) managed by the NPS. Besides the NPS, the government also operates the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) that offers investors defined returns on savings. PFRDA has also pressed for legislation allowing workers to shift from that plan to the NPS. The EPFO won approval last year to raise its equity exposure limit to 15 per cent from 10 per cent earlier. Tabu with Salman Khan in the still from their last film together 'Jai Ho'. Mumbai: Salman Khan will be seen in director Ali Abbas Zafar's ambitious period film 'Bharat'. Salman will be seen romancing Priyanka Chopra in the film. The filmmaker has now revealed the name of yet another actor who has joined the cast and it's none other than the very talented, Tabu. Zafar on Tuesday tweeted a photograph of Tabu, he wrote: "Finally its happening, so excited to work with you :) lots of love @tublb" 'Bharat' will reunite Salman and Tabu for the fifth time. The two have previously worked in films like 'Jeet', 'Hum Saath-Saath Hain', 'Biwi No.1' and 'Jai Ho'. The film stars Salman in the lead role with Priyanka Chopra paired opposite him. 'Baaghi 2' star Disha Patani will reportedly play a trapeze artist in the movie. And now that Tabu has joined the team, it will be interesting to know what she plays in the much-awaited period drama. The film also stars popular comedian Sunil Grover in a significant role. 'Bharat' is an official adaptation of the 2014 South Korean film Ode to My Father. It is co-produced by Salman's brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri and is slated to hit the screens next year on Eid. A group of bats found on a tree near Ikkanda Warrier Road in Thrissur on Tuesday. With the Nipah virus scare, the bats are creating concern for the shopkeepers, local residents and tourists alike. (Photo: DC) KOZHIKODE: How come Nipah virus survives in the body of bats is the lingering doubt among the people after the epidemic broke out at Perambra. Experts say that bat is the natural reservoir of the virus and it doesnt harm the mammal due to the presence of antibodies. The virus becomes lethal when it spreads to other animals or people through contact or food, said Mr D. Mohan Kumar, former HoD of zoology at Government Womens College, Thiruvananthapuram. He asserted that Nipah is not an air-borne disease. The virus spreads through droplets while coughing or sneezing. This could be interpreted as air-borne, he said. But it is mysterious how Nipah spread its tentacles at Perambra. Bats cannot travel long distances. After Malaysia, Nipah hit Bangladesh and West Bengal which borders Bangladesh, he said. Dr Arun Zakariya, wildlife veterinary expert, who caught the bat in the well of the deceased persons home on Monday, said it was an insectivorous bat. There were no dead bats in the well nor was there any nest of the mammal. The bat was sent to level-5 lab for test, he said. But Mr Mohan Kumar felt that if the bat is insectivorous, a fruit bat, the disease will be prevalent there still. Dr V.K. Vinod, assistant professor at Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, opined it needs to be probed in detail. These days distances get reduced, exotic fruits reach the markets and people travel widely. A virus can reach through multiple routes and spread in favourable conditions, he observed. The experts have dismissed the reports about Nipah affecting chicken. It will only reproduce in mammals such as bat, pig and horse. The virus cannot exist in high temperature nor live in alkaline solution like soap, they said. Eating bat meat may have caused it Researchers say the possibility of people having meat of infected bats cannot be ruled out. There have been unconfirmed reports of large flying foxes meat being sold clandestinely for the cure of asthma. In Indonesia, hundreds of large flying foxes or fruit bats are sold to people claiming that its meat cures asthma. Though there is no scientific evidence to prove the claim, people facing severe asthma problems often succumb to the claims. According to Sreehari, a researcher, at least six species of fruit bats including Salim Ali Fruit bats are found in Kerala. Experts are wary of the campaign against bats which has gained momentum especially in social media. With several rumours being spread about the transmission of virus, animal husbandry experts have warned against culling of fruit bats and insectivorous bats. Since it is yet to be confirmed that fruit bats or insectivorous bats are responsible for the transmission of NiV virus, officials say people should not resort to culling at any cost. The investigations are on in virology institute and the final report is awaited. PETA India's investigator visited the DBU from 12 to 14 March 2018 and documented that none of the adult dogs or puppies were allowed to play, exercise, or socialise at any point in the areas of the facility designated for this purpose. (Photo: Pixabay) Chennai: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday, May 21, presenting fresh evidence of cruelty to dogs who are imprisoned and denied exercise and socialisation at the Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department's dog-breeding unit (DBU) at Saidapet, Chennai. Despite being a government centre, the DBU breeds dogs to sell to the public. PETA India's investigation report also revealed that the state government provided the Supreme Court with fabricated photographs supposedly showing proper treatment of animals. This followed a petition challenging the 2015 order of the Madras High Court, which directed the closure of the DBU for not providing dogs with basic care and for not meeting the terms and condition set by Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), a statutory body that operates under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and registers breeders. PETA India's investigator visited the DBU from 12 to 14 March 2018 and documented that none of the adult dogs or puppies were allowed to play, exercise, or socialise at any point in the areas of the facility designated for this purpose. The photos and video footage taken by PETA India proves that this is in contradiction to what the DBU has stated in its daily activity chart, which was filed through an affidavit in the Supreme Court and claims that dogs are taken for exercise and socialisation for two hours in the morning, from 7:15 am to 9:15 am, and two hours in the afternoon, from 3 pm to 5 pm. The dog socialisation ground was in a state of utter neglect, and photographs show that the ground's entrance gate and the plant containers located on either side of the entry gate were littered with empty liquor bottles and lids, plastic disposable glasses, snack packets, and accumulated dry leaves, showing that the ground has probably been unused for several months except for unsavoury activities. In 2017, the Tamil Nadu state government claimed before the Supreme Court that DBU employees personally exercise each dog in a 3,000-square-foot exercise paddock and submitted photographs that PETA India noticed were obviously photo-shopped. A basic scrutiny of the images of the facility provided by the state government shows inconsistences, such as missing objects including part of the fence, a pole that supports the fence, and the middle portion of a leash on a dog being walked by a man and a layer of green grass that was apparently mistakenly added onto a blue-coloured pole. These all indicating that the images were poorly altered. PETA India's report points out that the state government filed these fabricated photos with a view to mislead the court regarding the actual condition of the DBU. Such constant confinement of dogs as has been documented at the DBU is an apparent violation of Rule 24 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing) Rules, 2017, and Section 11(g) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. "The Dog Breeding Unit has shown yet again that it either can't or won't provide dogs with basic necessities like exercise and socialisation," says PETA India Senior Legal Associate Swati Sumbly. "This cruel dog prison has falsified evidence before the Supreme Court, and PETA India is calling for it to be shut down immediately." New Delhi: With summer vacations almost on the heads, it is high time to plan a trip as a family. With a colorful history behind its towering skyline, the city of Hong Kong is one of the best spots to travel to as a family. The island city is packed with energy and vitality and gives every traveller a glimpse to Chinese tradition during its festival time. Hong Kong has something for everyone and if your family is full of enthusiastic travellers who want to soak in some festival spirit, this is the right time. Here are three traditional Chinese festivals that can be a part of your itinerary for your visit to Hong Kong during May. 1. Bun Festival (May 19-23) The Cheung Chau Bun festival is one of the liveliest festivals set in picturesque Cheung Chau Island just a short ferry ride from the city. Celebrations on a weekend include floating parade, lion dances and traditional ceremonies and culminates in the 'bun scrambling' competition. During the midnight, competitors scramble up a bamboo tower covered with imitation buns, trying to collect as many as possible to win a prize. Scramblers have three minutes to race to the top to collect the buns, which earn the competitors points and also good fortune. The winner bags the much-coveted title of King or Queen of the Buns. During the festival the city comes alive with spectacular processions that display Chinese culture and delicious traditional snacks for everyone to try. 2. Birthday of Big Buddha (May 22) Also called the Buddha-bathing Festival, the deity's birthday is one of the most spiritual and unique festivals celebrated in Hong Kong. At Buddhist temples across the city, devotees gather to pay their respects by bathing Buddha statues in water, in a ritual believed to help purify the soul. Visitors can take part in rituals such as bathing the Buddha, wish-making, meditating, and sutras calligraphy, which serve to purify one's mind. One of the most exciting celebrations is the bathing ceremony of the Big Buddha at Po Lin Monastery which stands at 1800m high and sits atop a mountain plateau on Lantau Island, one of Hong Kong's most beautiful outlying islands. This year will mark the Buddha's 2562nd birthday and hence is not the one to be missed. 3. Birthday of Tam Kung (May 22) The birthday of Tam Kung is one of Hong Kong's most culturally rich festivals. Revered among coastal communities, Tam Kung was said to be capable of forecasting the weather and healing the sick, and learned the secret of remaining forever young when he was just 12. Hence, his statues usually depict an 80-year-old man with the face of a child. Devotees celebrate Tam Kung's birthday in the oldest temple dedicated to him, in Shau Kei Wan. The temple was built in 1905 and reconstructed in 2002, with its original features carefully preserved. Traditional dragon and lion dances, and a colourful street parade are a part of the birthday ceremonies and add to the revelry and celebrations of the day. The camps are carefully designed with concept driven learning to ignite the interest and inquisitiveness in children towards innovations and problem solving skills, at the same time giving them a much needed early exposure to the world of STEM. In an age overrun with AIs where people occasionally are fearful that AI may overtake humans, every summer iRobokid attempts at dispelling such myths and making children technology friendly during their formative years. The brand iRobokid introduces summer camps for children to learn the cutting edge technologies of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Matehmatics) and Robotics. The camps are carefully designed with concept driven learning to ignite the interest and inquisitiveness in children towards innovations and problem solving skills, at the same time giving them a much needed early exposure to the world of STEM. Speaking to this correspondent, Suhas Acharya, Partner, iRobokid speaks about the vision behind the brand and its ultimate goal. What is iRobokid? iRobokid has been a pioneer in introducing STEM education through robotics in India. We are one of the oldest private players in this segment to offer customised practical and new age programs like Robotics, Engineering, Electronics, Coding, 3D printing and much more to children aged 6 to 14 in schools and centres across various cities. The core strength of iRobokid is our integrated, customized curriculum. All our programs follow hands on, mind on practical problem solving approach and are designed in a way to inspire young minds towards STEM education. The children get the opportunity to work in teams and are encouraged to find creative solutions while learning new technologies How did iRobokid start? We wanted to give children of our country an opportunity to thrive in an ever changing world of education, technology and automation. By 2020, 5 out of 8 jobs will require STEM (Science / Technology / Engineering / Maths) background. Besides school education, which is more theoretical then practical, the children need an environment to stimulate their curiosity and increase skills which can prepare them for the future. With this thought, we started iRobokid in 2010. Seven years down the line, we can proudly say that we have significantly managed to change the way children, educators and parents perceive practical education. What has the response been like? Over the past years, we have had glowing response from the schools as well as parents who have appreciated and lauded our efforts for introducing and mentoring children in the world of STEM Education. In this journey so far, we have connected with over 75 schools, over 15,000 children have participated in various programs / workshops and workshops offered by us and we have spread our wings in 4 cities. We have also been selected on the indicative list of ATL vendors by the Government along with being a registered and recognised start up by the Government of India. Are children nowadays that interested in technology? Children are naturally curious. To further develop their knowledge about the world, one way to keep them interested is to learn the wonders of Science and Technology. We have trained over 25 teams of children to participate in the Indian Chapter of the World Robot Olympiad and one of our teams has also won and represented India at the World Robot Olympiad in Indonesia. We have also successfully held coding competitions on the theme of Swacch Bharat Abhiyan across 8 schools in Mumbai, where children successfully learnt and designed their own game based on the above theme. Would you not say that in a world riddled with gizmos, children need more time with nature, rather than tech? Theres no denying that kids need more time with nature. But we can also not ignore the fact that we live in a world full of technology. At robotics, we do not teach children how to operate gizmos, we rather teach the science behind them. In fact, in one of our programs, children get hands on experience of building models inspired by Da Vinci, that give them a glimpse into the world of simple machines. What is the future plan with iRobokid? With our strong domain knowledge and expertise, we feel iRobokid is perfectly suited to participate in the Government of Indias endeavour Atal Innovation Mission and spread our footprint to reach more children and schools in the country. The gang used money to splurge on trips to places like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangkok, the commissioner said. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: The city police on Tuesday busted a six-member gang allegedly involved in duping public on pretext of offering government jobs. The police also seized Rs 12 lakh cash, rubber stamps, mobile phones and fake appointment letters from them. Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar said that the accused had set up a job consultancy under the name of M.V.M. Technologies at Ameerpet and lured people, promising jobs in income tax department, railways, road and buildings department and other government agencies. They demanded Rs 10 lakh for each job and collected an advance of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh. The jobseekers were asked to transfer the money into the account of one Mr. P. Venkatesh, said Mr Kumar . Once the amount is paid, other members of the gang would conduct interviews for the candidates at various places posing as senior officials. The gang would then email appointment letters and collect the remaining amount, said Mr Kumar. Later, the gang would send a text message, informing the job aspirants that their credentials did not match with the requirements during internal process and the offer letter was put on hold. The gang used money to splurge on trips to places like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangkok, the commissioner said. Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that by killing people during the holy month of Ramzan, Pakistan 'is guilty of sacrilege'. (Representational Image/ANI) Jammu: 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. The 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. Read: Pak violates ceasefire during Ramzan; BSF jawan, 4 civilians killed in Jammu 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 7 am." 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 2 pm hours, a BSF 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 on Monday 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. A full emergency was declared at the airport at 8:36 pm as flight AI 662 made the emergency landing. (Photo: File) Mumbai: An Air India plane from Goa with 143 passengers onboard made an emergency landing in Mumbai after a hydraulic failure, a spokesperson fro the airline said. A full emergency was declared at the airport at 8:36 pm as flight AI 662 made the emergency landing. "It landed safely with 143 passengers onboard," the spokesperson said. The primary runway, which remained closed due to the emergency landing, resumed operations at 9:40 pm, the airport sources said. During this period, the secondary runway was used for aircraft movement. The Mumbai Airport is the second busiest in the country, handling over 980 aircraft a day. Mumbai: Ever since his return to Twitter last month after a year-long hiatus, American rapper Kanye West has been embroiled in controversies for tweeting his support to the US president Donald Trump. Not only this, Kanye had also tweeted about slavery saying, "When you hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years? That sounds like a choice." The latest tweet of Kanye features Indian spiritual guru Mata Amritanandamayi. The rapper first tweeted, "sometimes we all need hugs." In his following tweet, he mentioned about Mata Amritanandmayi, also called Amma Mata. With a picture of Amma Mata, he tweeted, "Amma Mata had given over 32 million hugs." sometimes we all need hugs KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 21, 2018 Kanye West's earlier tweet was: Amma Mata had given over 32 million hugs pic.twitter.com/OBotiHWZUU KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 21, 2018 Often referred as the hugging saint, 64-year-old Mata Amritanandmayi comes from Parayakadavu in Kerala and her form of giving darshana is by hugging people. She had earlier said that people come to her to tell of their sorrows. They would cry and I would wipe their tears. When they fell weeping into my lap, I used to hug them. Then the next person too wanted it... And so the habit picked up. For over 30 years, Amma Mata has embraced more than 33 million people throughout the world. Many candidates think that their instructors at the training academy in Mussoorie will serve as judges, they are of the opinion that it will be an arbitrary assessment. (Representational Image) New Delhi: Barely a month after clearing the Indian civil service exams, the recruits are facing a new challenge. The Prime Minister's Office has proposed in a note last week that the allocation of the new recruits to different services should be based not only their marks in the UPSC exam, but also on how they perform in a foundation course or orientation exercise that lasts three months. However, what the government does not clarify is who would mark the candidates in such a scenario. While many candidates think that their instructors at the training academy in Mussoorie will serve as judges, they are of the opinion that it will be an arbitrary assessment. The process till now was purely on the marks they scored in the entrance exam. Speaking to NDTV, a former member of the UPSC said that the proposal leaves scope for manipulation. He added, "At the moment it is very clear, all up to marks. But with the new system, if you have a candidate who you want to go to the IFS, you can pressure the academy or whoever is giving marks for the foundation course to give them 90 per cent. That could mean they get precedence over those who are actual toppers in UPSC.'' Government sources, on their part, stressed that the note from the PMO is just a proposal and not a directive. They add that giving the training course some stake in a candidate's positioning would help solve the problem of some services being over-subscribed. Recruits who are to start training are considering sending a petition to the government where they want to point out how the crucial services will be then decided by a non-constitutional body like course directors. Congress on their part has picked up the topic to accuse the government of trying to get round merit with its own preferences for civil servants. Taking to Twitter, Congress President Rahul Gandhi wrote, Rise up students, your future is at risk! RSS wants whats rightfully yours. The letter below reveals the PMs plan to appoint officers of RSSs choice into the Central Services, by manipulating the merit list using subjective criteria, instead of exam rankings. Rise up students, your future is at risk! RSS wants whats rightfully yours. The letter below reveals the PMs plan to appoint officers of RSSs choice into the Central Services, by manipulating the merit list using subjective criteria, instead of exam rankings. #ByeByeUPSC pic.twitter.com/VSElwErKqe Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 22, 2018 However, BJP chief Amit Shah was quick to retort, How is the RSS involved in all this? Rahul Gandhi sees RSS in everything. Right now, the proposal is to see if the foundation course can be scored or not. Archbishop of Delhi Anil Couto, in a letter said, 'As we look forward towards 2019 when we will have new government let us begin a prayer campaign for our country from May 13.' (Photo: Youtube screengrab) New Delhi: The Archbishop of Delhi, Anil Couto, in a letter addressed to all churches of the national capital, has asked them to start a campaign of fasting and prayers ahead of the 2019 general elections, citing the "turbulent political atmosphere" threatening democracy and secularism in the country thereby kick starting a political controversy. "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," the Archbishops letter said. According to a report in NDTV, the letter further said, "It is our hallowed practice to pray for our country and its political leaders all the time but all the more so when we approach the general elections. As we look forward towards 2019 when we will have new government let us begin a prayer campaign for our country from May 13..." "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," the letter added. Reacting to the letter, Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said: PM is working towards inclusive growth without discriminating while breaking barriers of religion and castes. We can only ask them to think with progressive mindset. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue Rakesh Sinha termed the move as a "direct attack on Indian secularism and democracy". "This is a direct attack by the Church on Indian secularism and democracy, and this is a direct intervention by the Vatican as these Bishops are appointed by the Pope. Their accountability is not to India but to Pope," Sinha said. "Another big reason for this is after the formation of the Prime Minister Modi's government, church-oriented NGOs, received less money due to stricter laws. The Church organisations used to take this money for a variety of cause but in reality, utilise this only for religious conversions. They want a government to be made so that their conversion business flourishes," Sinha added. Sinha also took to Twitter to vent his thoughts on the matter. Missionaries by meddling in politics giving bad name to Indian Christians. "Conversion Enterprise' is facing threat under nationalist government. cash flow under FCRA is reduced from RS 17773 crores in 2015-16 to 6795 crores in16-17. This had hit them very hard. Prof Rakesh Sinha (@RakeshSinha01) May 21, 2018 BJPs spokesperson Shaina NC told news agency ANI, "It is wrong to try and instigate castes and communities. You can tell them to vote for right candidate or party but to suggest to vote for one party and not another and term yourself as secular versus pseudo-secular is unfortunate." The letter was sent with a prayer that he said must be read at masses on Sunday. However, denying any political motive in the prayer, the Archbishops office said, The Archbishop's letter is not political, neither it is against the government or against the honourable Prime Minister. Misinformation should not be spread. Its just an invitation for prayers, and such letters have been written in the past too, said Robinson, secretary to Archbishop of Delhi. (With ANI inputs) Thiruvananthapuram: Lini Puthussery (31), a nurse at the Perambara hospital who died on Monday after possibly getting exposed to the deadly virus while treating Nipah virus infected patients, could not even get a chance to bid adieu to her loved ones. "I am almost on my way, take care of our children..." Lini had scribbled in a note for her husband. She was cremated quickly on Monday so the infection wouldn't spread. Lini had two little children. Kerala tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran condoled her death and shared the final letter, which she wrote to her husband, on Facebook. Saji Chetta, I am almost on my way. I don't think I will be able to see you. Sorry. Take care of our children properly. Take them with you to the gulf. They shouldn't be alone like our father. Lots of love..." she wrote in the heartfelt note. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote on Facebook, The loss of Lini, who had sacrificed her life for nursing a patient, is a grief for all of us. Linis sacrifice is incomparable. It is painful that Lini met with this tragedy while she was sincerely doing her duty. We, the people of the state, share the pain and loss of Linis family, friends and colleagues. According to a report in The Times of India, United Nurses Association (UNA) state vice president Suneesh AP said that Lini had passed away in her line of duty and that the government should step in to offer help to the family. "UNA representatives will visit the house of Lina soon and would provide our support. The government too should provide aid to the family, he added. The Nipah virus has so far claimed 10 lives in Kerala. Kerala health minister K K Shailaja Teacher said, As of now, we have test results of 18 samples. 12 of them have been tested positive for Nipah virus. 10 of them have already died. 2 of them are in critical condition. No new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours. 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. Also Read: Nipah virus is fatal, it is carried to humans by fruit bats No vaccine has been developed for the disease and there has not been much research into it. The best that can be done is to ensure that patients wear face masks and maintain proper hygiene measures. The remarks from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) chairperson Sanjiv Singh came ahead of the officials' meeting with Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tomorrow. (Photo: ANI | Twitter) Mumbai: There was no directive from the government to cap oil prices in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly elections, state-run oil company, Indian Oil Corporation said today, addressing the issue on spurt in fuel prices in the last nine days, right after the elections in the southern state on May 12. Retail oil prices in India are revised in the country from day to day. But for 19 days before the Karnataka elections, there was no hike. The revision in price however, started after that, triggering accusations from the opposition. The opposition accused the government of playing politics ahead of elections. Indian Oil Corporation chairman Sanjiv Singh said it was an internal decision of the firm to "moderate" the prices "because we were expecting them to fall". "The government has given us the freedom to revise prices daily. We are following that formula. We took a call (in those 19 days)... we believed that the trends that were happening were not supported by fundamentals," Singh told the media on Tuesday evening. Read: No directive from govt to control fuel prices, says IOCL Chairman Blaming the rise in international crude oil prices on fresh US sanctions on Iran, Singh said the company cannot operate if prices don't match global prices. Under the circumstances, he said they had "no choice but to increase prices". The remarks from the IOC came ahead of the officials' meeting with Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tomorrow. BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday said, "We are working out a formula to reduce the prices". Also Read: Govt working out on formula to bring down fuel prices, says Amit Shah IOCs Sanjiv Singh said that the oil companies are not making extra money on high prices. "We are not making extra money on high price. This isn't extra money going into the company's kitty. The company doesn't operate at high profit margins. It is a complete call that has to be taken by stakeholders," he said. Regarding the demand by some of the parties in the opposition that instead of the super-high excise duty, Goods and Services Tax (GST) be applied, Singh said he too was for it. All the petroleum products should come under GST," Sanjiv Sing said. Currently, crude oil, petrol, diesel, jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF) are not included in GST, which kicked off on July 1, 2017. Sochi/New Delhi: 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 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 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 also 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 further 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 into the organisation in 2017. "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. 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 per cent 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. The soldier, from 37 Rashtriya Rifles, had gone missing on September 29, 2016, after he "inadvertently" crossed the Line of Control (LoC), following which the Pakistan Army had taken him into custody. He was handed over to the Indian Army four months later. (Photo: ANI/Twitter) Pune: Soldier Chandu Babulal Chavan, who had "inadvertently" strayed across the Line of Control (LoC) in 2016 and spent nearly four months in captivity in Pakistan, has sought premature retirement. Chavan, 24, who was admitted to the psychiatry ward in Military Hospital at Kirkee in Pune, has written a letter to his seniors requesting them to relieve him from service, saying he is "disturbed". The soldier, from 37 Rashtriya Rifles, had gone missing on September 29, 2016, after he "inadvertently" crossed the Line of Control (LoC), following which the Pakistan Army had taken him into custody. He was handed over to the Indian Army four months later. After returning, Chavan, who belongs to Maharashtra's Dhule district, faced a sentence for leaving his post without informing his seniors and was later transferred to the Armed Corps Centre at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. Chavan, who was discharged from the hospital on Monday, said he was seeking retirement as he was "disturbed after whatever happened to him in the last two years". "I have written to my seniors and requested them to prematurely discharge me from my duties and give me a pension," he said. Chavan said the Army provided him with 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. Chennai: With prices of petrol and diesel touching record highs, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday indicated it would not cut the Value Added Tax (VAT) on these products to help the fuel consumers. A minister argued that the state has tough financial commitments. We have to give Rs 77,000 crore worth benefits and sops to many sections. Salary (of government employees) constitutes about 70 per cent (expenditure)... when we give like this, where will the money come from? fisheries minister D. Jayakumar quipped, when reporters asked him if the state government would cut down on VAT following the huge hike in the fuel prices. The minister pointed out that sale of petroleum products and Tasmac liquor constitutes the main source of the states income. And both these items are covered under the VAT regime. Fuel rates touched a record high yesterday as oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international crude prices to consumers. As of 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. TTV sought to know why the prices were not hiked till Karnataka assembly elections got over. People are facing problems over the Centres dangerous decision to allow the oil marketing companies to fix fuel prices on a daily basis. The BJP government should explain the magic behind the rates not going up during the Karnataka elections, he said in a statement. Pointing out the taxes on petroleum products were pretty high in India, TTV urged both the Centre and the State to cut taxes on petrol and diesel to help 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 (Centre) 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. But 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. Infection with Nipah virus is associated with fatal encephalitis with fever and headache for around 3-14 days after incubation period, leading to coma within 48 hours. Chennai: In the wake of neighbouring state Kerala reporting several deaths due to Nipah virus in Kozhikode district, the Tamil Nadu health department sounded an alert for bordering districts of Kerala intensifying monitoring of fever cases in Kanyakumari, Coimbat-ore, Nilgiris and Tirunelveli. The state health department alerted the deputy directors of public health and collectors of the bordering districts to ensure that there is no epidemic outbreak in Tamil Nadu. State health secretary J. Radhakrishnan told reporters that Tamil Nadu health department is in constant touch with the Kerala health department on the incidence of Nipah virus. We have cautioned all the district health ministries to be on an alert and keep a check on any symptoms of the dreaded virus. No need to panic or be anxious as the cases have not been reported in Tamil Nadu so far, the awareness and alert is a precautionary measure, he said. According to World Health Organisation, Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The natural hosts of the Nipah virus (NiV) are fruit bats that affect humans and animals like pigs and other domestic animals. The primary treatment for the virus infection in case of human is intensive supportive care. District collector of Kanyakumari Prashant M. Wadnere also held a review meeting with the health department officials cautioning of the risk of Nipah virus and to strengthen the awareness on the deadly virus and risks associated with it. Many people from the district traveling to Kerala have been asked to take extra precautions, while the government health personnel are scanning visitors from neighbouring state. The government hospitals and public health centers in Kanyakumari have been instructed by the district collector to ensure that any case of high fever or unusual symptom is reported to district health headquarters to arrest the case at the earliest, if any. Director of public health Dr K Kolandaisamy alerted the government health authorities and doctors to closely monitor the cases of fever, respiratory illness, coma and breathlessness and update the fever cases regularly to the public health officials. Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging disease, which can be transmitted to humans from animals, with natural hosts being fruit bats. Pigs and other domestic animals can also be the carriers once infected. Symptoms New Delhi: BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, S. Ve. Shekhar, who forwarded a misogynistic post about woman journalists, got some relief from the Supreme Court today. S. Ve. Shekhar was facing flak and an immediate arrest after his Facebook post infuriated people on social media. The post, which he later deleted, abused women journalists, saying they are illiterate, stupid and ugly. It further accused them of getting ahead in their profession by granting sexual favours. Read: Can't be reporters without sleeping with bigwigs: TN BJP leader writes, deletes post The Supreme Court on Tuesday warded off the possibility of any immediate arrest and issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu police after S. Ve. Shekhar's lawyer argued that his client just forwarded the message, and later deleted it and apologised. The post also contained derogatory comments about the young woman journalist who had objected to being patted on the cheek by Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit at an official programme. Also Read: TN Governor pats woman journalist on cheek, without consent, sparks uproar The woman journalist, the post said, only intended to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Governor "should wash his hands with phenyl" for touching her. The leader's defence - that he had forwarded the post without reading its contents - failed to placate the state's women activists and politicians like DMK's Kanimozhi, who demanded his immediate arrest. A case was lodged against him following a complaint by the Tamil Nadu Journalist Protection Welfare Association. The Madras High Court, where he appealed for anticipatory bail, refused to grant it. In its order, the court said forwarding a message on social media, be it read or not, amounted to accepting and endorsing it. BJP state chief B S Yeddyurappa said it 'exposed the enormity of the irregularities in the elections.' (Photo: File) Bengaluru: Eight boxes used for carrying Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) 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. Reacting to the incident, BJP state chief B S Yeddyurappa said it "exposed the enormity of the irregularities in the elections." The state chief electoral officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar said on Monday the boxes used for carrying VVPAT machines, found in Managuli village on Sunday, do not belong to the district or to Election Commission. "The boxes are without machine and paper and without unique electronic tracking number...the Election Commission will initiate strict action against those who are trying to create confusion," Kumar said, adding, no VVPAT machines were found. The Deputy Commissioner of the district and the Superintendent of Police conducted on the spot inspection on Monday following reports that empty boxes of VVPAT machines were spotted in the shed. "These boxes do not belong to Vijayapura district and 2744 VVPATs allotted to the district are safely kept in the strong room," Kumar said. An FIR has been registered at Managuli police station and investigation into the matter is on, the CEO said. In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat, Yeddyurappa said the Election Commission should take serious note of what he claimed were VVPAT machines and said it indicated "grave irregularities" in the conduct of assembly polls in the state. "This incident has exposed the hollowness of the claim of the election commission that assembly elections in Karnataka were held in a free and free manner," Yeddyurappa said. He said during the election, prior to polling day, party leaders and workers had brought many such irregularities to the notice of the concerned officials but in vain. Yeddyurappa alleged that in many assembly segments of Bidar and Kalaburagi districts, police officials themselves helped rival candidates to distribute money and liquor among the voters. All the complaints of BJP and its leaders failed to make any impact on the officials, he said. The election held on May 12 threw up a fractured mandate leading to a bitter political slugfest over government formation in the state. BJP emerged as the single largest party, but fell eight short of majority. Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the BJP to form the government and Yeddyurappa was sworn in as chief minister on May 17. He resigned two days later without facing the floor test in an anti-climax to the political drama following the hung verdict. Family managed to rescue one of their sons and their daughter. By the time they tried to rescue their third child, roof collapsed on him, killing him on the spot. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: A seven-year-old boy died after the roof of the house in which he was sleeping collapsed on him in Tappachabutra early in the morning on Tuesday. The victim, Shaik Ayaan, is the son of Shaik Aleem, a technician. The family of five was sleeping when some debris fell on the mother. As she woke up her husband, it fell on him too. Fearing danger, the couple started moving their children to a safe corner. They managed to rescue one of their sons and their daughter. By the time they tried to rescue their third child, roof collapsed on him, killing him on the spot, said Ch Chandrashekhar, inspector of police at Tappachabutra. The house in which the couple were living was a rented apartment and was a very old. Police said they will question the owner of the house about its maintenance history. A case of death under suspicious circumstances has been registered. Doctors and other staff in the casuality wing of the Ernakulam General Hospital wearing protective devices as a precautionary step in the wake of detection of Nipah virus in Kerala, on Tuesday. (Photo: SUNOJ NINAN MATHEW) KOCHI: District Medical Officer Dr. N.K Kuttappan has convened an emergency meeting of hospital superintendents and top officials in the district in the wake of Nipah virus deaths in Kozhikode and Malappuram. Superintendents of all government hospitals from the Community Health Centre level attended the meeting in which the DMO briefed about the procedures to be followed in treating suspected cases of virus infection. The DMO held another meeting with representatives of Indian Medical Association to put the private hospitals on alert . Top health department officials from the district attended a meeting chaired by Health Minister K.K Shailaja through video conferencing. Three doctors from the district Dr. Sajith John and Dr. Muhsin from Ernakulam government general hospital and Dr. Bimal Babu from Perumbavur taluk hospital have joined the special medical team at Kozhikode. The Kerala Government Medical Officers Association has urged its members to be ready for joining the medical team, if required. Though the virus has not been detected in Ernakulam, there are chances of patients from affected areas being brought to hospitals in the district. Hyderabad: Municipal administration and urban development minister K. T. Rama Rao on Tuesday announced that Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority had already prepared a detailed project report for the setting up a sewerage network in the citys outskirts at the cost of Rs 3,100 crore. He made this announcement while inaugurating a water reservoir at Ayyappa Society, constructed at a cost of Rs 6.8 crore. Mr KTR has inaugurated as many as 10 reservoirs so far at Doyens colony (Lingampally), Golden Tulip (Kondapur), Hafeezpet, Hydernagar, TNGO Colony (Serilingampally), Lingampally, Suraksha Hills, Huda Park and Yellammabanda. Speaking at the inauguration, the minister said, Sewerage master plan for city outskirts has already been prepared and the project will be taken up after completing sewage pipe connection to every household. He also asked residents living in apartments to set mini sewage treatment plants. He said that the main intention of the government was to first serve the unserviced areas and therefore exclusive drinking water reservoirs were being constructed. The 10 TMC Keshavapuram reservoir construction would be taken up at the cost of Rs 4,750 crore, he added. The minister further said that the main ring will be constructed to provide Krishna and Godavari water to those residing in villages across the 158 kms Outer Ring Road stretch. He said about 90 percent work pertaining to the Rs 1,900 crore. Hudco project had been completed and residents would soon receive drinking water. Thiruvananthapuram: The general education department has decided to provide special training to students in tough subjects from February 15 to 28 next year as part of streamlining the learning process. The subjects will be identified based on the assessment done in the model examinations to be held in the first week of February. The decision was taken at a meeting of the quality improvement programme of the general education department held as a prelude to the new academic year. The meeting approved the school calendar for the 2018-19 academic year which envisaged 201 working days. As per the calendar, schools will reopen on June 1. The meeting decided to complete all extracurricular activities before December 31 to ensure that the students can be given extra care in their academics during the third term. These interventions were aimed at enabling all SSLC students to secure A-plus. The state school arts festival will be held from December 5 to 9 in Alappuzha. As per the calendar, all school-level arts festivals will have to be completed before September. The state science fair has to be held from November 9 to 11. The annual examinations for classes 1 to 9 will take place in the third week of February which will be followed by SSLC, higher secondary and vocational higher secondary examinations between March 6 and 25. JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda has also admitted that he is not interested in contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and may hand things over to the younger generation. (Photo: File) Bengaluru: After the Congress and JD(S) formed an alliance to keep the BJP out of power in Karnataka as the state witnessed fractured mandate, many thought that it was a decision taken by JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda. However, the senior leader has denied this. According to a report in The Print, when Deve Gowda was asked about the alliance, he said, It was my son (H D) Kumaraswamys decision to go with the Congress. I had no say in it. He took the decision individually. You know how he has been canvassing throughout the state that he will not repeat the mistake of aligning with the BJP. We have all learnt from our mistakes which we wont commit again. The former prime minister seems to be happy that his son is going to be the chief minister of the state for second time. He has also left the decision of deputy chief minister and cabinet portfolios to his son and Congress leaders, the report further said. Deve Gowda has personally invited Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, DMK chief M K Stalin, among others to attend Kumaraswamys oath-taking ceremony. This is also an attempt to show the BJP that the JD(S) will leave no stone unturned to keep the saffron party out of power in the southern states. On questions regarding how long the alliance will sustain, Deve Gowda is quite convinced that the two parties will complete a full term. The need of the hour is that all secular forces must come together and the country must be saved from the communal and undemocratic party. Everything is shaking in our country, the judiciary, executive and the legislature, and this was the best solution, Gowda told The Print. However, political scientist Sandeep Shastri believes that JD(S) and Congress are in arrangement only keeping in view the 2019 elections. It is only their anti-BJP stand that is holding them together. On the ground if you see, it is the JD(S) workers who are competing with the Congress, so this is just an immediate arrangement to keep the BJP out, Shastri said, adding that this alliance will last for a year at least. The JD(S) chief has also admitted that he is not interested in contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and may hand things over to the younger generation. Gowda said, JD(S) as a party will remain today, tomorrow and in the future. Kumaraswamy is quite capable of taking the party forward, he added. Asma Nawab spent two decades in jail, wrongfully accused of murdering her family. Finally acquitted, she is seeking a new life, free from whispers and memories, as her plight draws fresh questions over Pakistans woeful justice system. Nawab was just 16 years old when someone slit the throats of her parents and only brother during an attempted robbery at their home in Pakistans chaotic port city of Karachi in 1998. With the killings dominating headlines, prosecutors pushed for swift justice in a 12-day trial that ended with a death sentence handed to Nawab and her then-fiance. The next 20 years were very painful, Nawab, now 36, says tearfully. At first the other inmates were skeptical at her protests of innocence, but eventually she formed a new family of womensome convicted of kidnappings, others of murders. They supported one another when progress on their cases was poor, or family neglected them. We would cry on Eid and other festivals... It was very painful. I would feel it intensely when relatives failed to visit, she said through sobs. Only once my uncle came to see me. Though her trial was speedy, her appeal moved at a glacial speed through Pakistans creaky justice system. It was not until 2015 that her lawyers petitioned the Supreme Court, whichafter a three-year hearing ordered Nawab released due to lack of evidence last month. The verdict of this case was given in 12 days but it took 19 and a half years to dispose of the appeals, her lawyer Javed Chatari told AFP. Nawab said the acquittal left her stunned. I really couldnt believe it, she told AFP. The verdict left her perplexed, she said, and she struggled to understand what would come next. How would I face the world after living so long in jail?Stories like Nawabs are common in Pakistan, where the judiciary lacks the capacity to cope with the countrys surging population and an expanding case load, resulting in a mammoth backlog. In 2017 alone, there were more than than 38,000 cases pending in Pakistans Supreme Court in addition to hundreds of thousands awaiting trial across the judiciary, according to a Human Rights Commission Pakistan report released in April. Rampant corruption in Pakistans police force also means the wealthy are able to bypass the law, while deep-seated patriarchy means women in particular face an uneven playing field in the justice system. Unequal power structures allow for people with advantagemoney or powerto rise above the law. For the poor, the system is sluggish and sometimes is so weak that it is safe to label it as almost non-existent, said lawyer Benazir Jaoti, who specializes in womens legal and political empowerment in Pakistan.Within the system, women are one of the groups of people that are significantly disadvantaged, it being a patriarchal society and a patriarchal system. Even when the system finally comes through, as it did with Nawabs acquittal, that is usually as far as it goes, leaving those whose lives have been dismantled to repair the damage with little or no support.Nawab has had little to return to since leaving Karachis central prison in early April. With her loved ones dead, her family house was looted then fell into disrepair. Any potential compensation from the state will take time to process, her lawyer admits, acknowledging theres a high chance she will receive nothing. In the meantime, she is unemployed. During her first visit back to her humbl e family home she quietly wept as her lawyer broke the gates lock with a hammer. (The police) left nothing behind, she said after walking through the dilapidated house covered in dust and cobwebs. I lost my parents and now I see none of their belongings. Nearly two decades after being convicted, Nawab still holds the media as much as the courts responsible for her treatment, saying she was unfairly portrayed as the culprit in the murders, including in a TV drama based on the case. Although she has been exonerated, her release has done little to change the public narrative. Persecution persists, Nawab says, with people in the streets frequently whispering cold remarks when she walks past. Society will not accept the verdict, agreed Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Farooq, commenting on the case. She cannot get rid of this stigma as far as society is concerned. But Nawab says she must move on and has plans to finish her studies and find a job. She has also vowed to raise awareness for other wrongly imprisoned women. Her lawyer says he will help her set up an NGO to give women like her the support she never had. I dont want any other woman to have to endure the ordeal that I lived through, says Nawab. So I will raise their voices for them. Bengaluru: Under pressure from various legislators, the Karnataka Congress unit has convened its legislature party meeting on Tuesday to discuss the contours of the coalition with the JD(S). This was confirmed by none other than KPCC president, Dr G. Parameshwar. "Many of our MLAs asked us to convene a legislature party meeting to discuss the cabinet berths and portfolios that the Congress party will get under the new arrangement. So, we agreed to hear our MLAs." He also said that he would constitute a committee to analyse the poll debacle and give recommendations on course correction and would not wait for the swearing-in to be over. "Within a day or two, I will constitute a committee after consulting other senior leaders. The committee will analyse the reasons for the partys poor performance in the elections," he said. After the committee submits its report, it would be vetted and submitted to the party high command for further action. Asked if cabinet formation issues were discussed, Dr Parameshwar said the issues concerning the cabinet would be discussed after the government was installed. He said immediately after the swearing-in of the chief minister, the coalition government would seek the vote of confidence. Replying to a question whether the party would propose two DCM posts, Dr Parameshwar said the issue was not discussed in any of the meetings. "Once we sit for a discussion, we will decide on the DCM posts." He also said it was left to the party high command to make him the DCM or not. "I do not want to speak on this. It is the party high command which will take a call on this," he said. JD(S) likely to have 14 mantris, Congres 20 Now that the Congress-JD(S) combine is ready to take over the reins of the government, the focus has shifted to how the cabinet will shape up. As of now, it appears JD(S) will have 14 ministers and the Congress 20. The JD(S) has an easier task as its legislature party is made up of a large number of first timers and its seniors are concentrated mainly in Mysuru, Mandya and Hassan districts. It is believed Bandeppa Kashempur from Bidar and Venkata Rao Nadagouda from Sindhanur are likely to make it to the cabinet as is Gubbi MLA Srinivas, who is the seniormost, and ex-Minister Srinivas Gowda. But there could be a problem in Mysuru as there are at least three aspiring Ministerial candidates from here. While giant killer G.T. Deve Gowda is expected to make it to the Cabinet, former Minister A.H. Vishwanath is another heavyweight in the running. Competing for a cabinet berth is also Mr Kumaraswamy's close associate and three time MLA Sa. Ra. Mahesh. While in Hassan, Mr Kumaraswamy's brother H D Revanna is the unanimous choice, the other likely candidates are Sakaleshpur MLA H.K. Kumaraswamy , a six-time MLA and Arasikere MLA Shivalinge Gowda, who has won four elections straight. There is also A.T. Ramaswamy, the gentleman politician and a favourite of JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda, who could be made Speaker. An almost sure bet for the Cabinet is B.M. Farooq, who stood like a rock by the party despite losing two Rajya Sabha polls, according to JD(S) sources. Besides the MLAs, there are a bunch of MLCs like Basavaraj Horatti, Marithibbe Gowda, K T Srikante Gowda and C R Manohar, too , who are waiting in the wings to be appointed ministers, they reveal. The human-like capabilities include things like apps that recognise your face in photos, robots that can navigate hotels and factory floors, and devices capable of having (somewhat) natural conversations with you. (Photo: Pixabay) Artificial intelligence encapsulates a broad set of computer science for perception, logic and learning. One method of AI is machine learning programs that perform better over time and with more data input. Deep learning is among the most promising approaches to machine learning. It uses algorithms based on neural networks a way to connect inputs and outputs based on a model of how we think the brain works that find the best way to solve problems by themselves, as opposed to by the programmer or scientist writing them. Training is how deep learning applications are programmed feeding them more input and tuning them. Inference is how they run, to perform analysis or make decisions. Artificial Intelligence Intel Fellow Pradeep Dubey calls artificial intelligence a simple vision where computers become indistinguishable between humans. It has also been defined as simply as making sense of data, which very much reflects how companies are using AI today. In general, AI is an umbrella term for a range of computer algorithms and approaches that allow machines to sense, reason, act and adapt like humans do or in ways beyond our abilities. The human-like capabilities include things like apps that recognise your face in photos, robots that can navigate hotels and factory floors, and devices capable of having (somewhat) natural conversations with you. The beyond-human functions could include identifying potentially dangerous storms before they form, predicting equipment failures before they happen, or detecting malware tasks that are difficult, or impossible, for people to perform. Work in AI dates back to at least the 1950s, followed since by several boom-and-bust cycles of research and investment. There are four big reasons that were in a new AI spring today: more compute, more data, better algorithms and broad investment. Machine Learning AI encompasses a whole set of different computing methods, a major subset of which is called machine learning. As Intels Dubey explains it, machine learning is a program where performance improves over time, and that also gets better with more data input. In other words, the machine gets smarter, and the more it studies, the smarter it gets. A more formal definition of machine learning used at Intel is: the construction and study of algorithms that can learn from data to make predictions or decisions. Wired magazine declared the end of code in describing how machine learning is changing programming: In traditional programming, an engineer writes explicit, step-by-step instructions for the computer to follow. With machine learning, programmers dont encode computers with instructions. They train them. Using machine learning, a major eye hospital in China was able to improve detection of potential causes of blindness, typically 70 to 80 per cent for clinicians, to 93 per cent. Neural Networks and Deep Learning Neural networks and deep learning are very closely related and often used interchangeably, but there is a distinction. Most simply, deep learning is a specific method of machine learning, and its based primarily on the use of neural networks. In traditional supervised machine learning, systems require an expert to use his or her domain knowledge to specify the information (called features) in the input data that will best lead to a well-trained system, wrote a team of Intel AI engineers and data scientists in a recent blog. Deep learning is different. Rather than specifying the features in our data that we think will lead to the best classification accuracy, they continued, we let the machine find this information on its own. Often, it is able to look at the problem in a way that even an expert wouldnt have been able to imagine. The neural network technically an artificial neural network since its based on how we think the brain works provides the math that makes it work. The important part is this: The neural network allows the program to break a problem down into smaller and smaller and therefore simpler and simpler chunks. Deep in deep learning delineates the use of a many-layered neural network. With more layers, the program gets more refined in what it can categorize and more accurate in doing so it just requires more and more data and more and more computing power. Training and Inference There are two more quick concepts worth noting: training and inference. Training is the part of machine learning in which youre building your algorithm, shaping it with data to do what you want it to do. Training is the process by which our system finds patterns in data, wrote the Intel AI team. During training, we pass data through the neural network, error-correct after each sample and iterate until the best network parametrization is achieved. After the network has been trained, the resulting architecture can be used for inference. And then theres inference, which fits its dictionary definition to the letter: The act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. In the software analogy, training is writing the program, while inference is using it. Inference is the process of using the trained model to make predictions about data we have not previously seen, wrote those savvy Intel folks. This is where the function that a consumer might see Aiers camera assessing the health of your eyes, Bing answering your questions or a drone that auto-magically steers around an obstacle actually occurs. (source: Intel) 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 company has so far launched a handful of smartphones as well as retro remakes of Nokias biggest hit phones of the 1990s. HMD Global, the Finnish company that owns the right to use the Nokia brand on phones, has raised $100 million of funding intended to boost growth, it said on May 21. Having sold about 70 million Nokia phones and generated sales of 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in its first year, 2017, HMD said it plans to expand its Nokia smartphone range and to double sales channels in key markets this year. Our aim is to be one of the leading players in the global smartphone market, and our initial success strengthens our confidence that we can continue on our growth path in 2018 and beyond, CEO Florian Seiche said in a statement. New investors include DMJ Asia Investment Opportunity and Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile. The fundraising round was led by Ginko Ventures, a fund owned by Jean-Francois Baril, a long-serving former senior vice president at Nokia. Actual stakes were not disclosed. HMDs products are built by FIH Mobile and use Googles Android platform. It pays Nokia Corp royalties for the brand and patents, but Nokia has no direct investment in HMD. The company has so far launched a handful of smartphones as well as retro remakes of Nokias biggest hit phones of the 1990s. Once the worlds dominant phone maker, Nokia Corp failed to compete in touchscreen smartphones and ended up selling its handset business to Microsoft in 2014. It is now focused on telecom network equipment. HMD, set up by former Nokia executives, took over the Nokia feature phone business from Microsoft in 2016 and struck a deal with Nokia Oyj to use the brand on smartphones. According to Counterpoint Research, Nokia was the biggest-selling brand last year in low-cost feature phones and ranked No.11 in smartphones. 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. LG has introduced its latest midrange smartphone the LG Q7 with AI and new camera features. The LG Q7 will be available in three configurations of Q7, Q7+ and Q7, depending on the region and market. The LG Q7 features a 5.5-inch FHD+ FullVision 18:9 aspect ratio display that comes with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 and a 442ppi pixel density. The smartphone is built on a 1.5 GHz octa-core or 1.8GHz octa-core processors. The Q7+ is equipped with 4GB RAM / 64GB ROM and the Q7 with 3GB RAM / 32GB ROM and lastly, the Q7 is equipped with 3GB RAM / 32GB ROM. All the three variants support microSD expansion up to 2TB). In terms of camera, the LG Q7+ features a 16MP rear camera with PDAF and on the front, it comes with 8MP or 5MP (Super Wide Angle 5MP only) camera. The Q7 features the same front camera but the rear camera features a 13MP sensor with PDAF. Furthermore, the Q7 comes with a 13MP rear camera and a front 5MP (Super Wide Angle) sensor. All the cameras include LG's QLens AI feature, which helps users to use the primary camera to improve the image searching and online shopping experience and support portrait mode features as well. The LG Q7 claims to offer DTS:X to deliver virtual 3D surround sound, up to 7.1 channel audio through headphones and the LG Q7+ comes equipped with Hi-Fi Quad DAC for richer sounds without distortion when paired with high-quality earphones. Weighing around 145g, the LG Q7 phones run on Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box. It is fuelled by a 3000mAh battery and supports Qualcomms Fast Charge technology, which further can be charged with equipped USB Type-C port. In addition to the Face Recognition, the phones also feature fingerprint scanner on the back for added security. These smartphones are IP68 rated for waterproofing and dust resistance. The LG Q7 and Q7+ feature Aurora Black, Moroccan Blue, Lavender Violet colour variants while Q7 features only a Moroccan Blue variant. 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. 'Regional politics demand that we build strong bilateral relations with important powers in the region, some of them happen to be having difficulties with the US. But, that will not have any bearing on our relationship with the US,' Madhav said. (Photo: PTI) Washington: India's relationship with Russia and China will have no bearing on the strategic partnership with the US, a senior BJP leader has said, underlining that New Delhi follows a de-hyphenated foreign policy that makes its ties with one country "independent" of another. BJP general secretary Ram Madhav asserted that India continues to strive to strengthen ties with the US. "Regional politics demand that we build strong bilateral relations with important powers in the region, some of them happen to be having difficulties with the US. But, that will not have any bearing on our relationship with the US," Madhav said, apparently referring to the US sanctions on Russia. He was responding to questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's informal summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. "Look in the last three-four years, you must have noticed we have followed what we call as de-hyphenated foreign policy," he said. A de-hyphenated foreign policy means that India would pursue its relationship with different countries independent of their relationship with any third country. "India is pursuing the de-hyphenated policy. We have certain regional imperatives that command us to establish relationship with powers of different poles in the region. But that does not affect the larger issues like US India bilateral relationship," Madhav said in response to a question. US President Donald Trump had signed a law, The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act', CAATSA, imposing sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea. The Section 231 of CAATSA mandates secondary sanctions on those who conduct significant transactions with the Russian defence and intelligence sectors. Madhav was here in the American Capital over the weekend to be address the New India event of the Overseas Friends of BJP to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the NDA government on Sunday. The much-anticipated meeting between the two leaders is scheduled to be held in Singapore on June 12. (Photo: File) Washington: 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 on Monday, 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. Abuse victim Juan Carlos Cruz said that Pope Francis had told him during a meeting this month: 'The fact that you are gay does not matter.' (Photo: File) Madrid: A Chilean man who suffered clerical sexual abuse has said Pope Francis told him in a private conversation that God had made him gay and loved him that way, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais. The Vatican declined to comment on the report but, if confirmed, it would be a striking statement of tolerance towards homosexuality, which the Church has condemned as an immoral disorder if it is actively practised. In an interview published on Sunday, abuse victim Juan Carlos Cruz told El Pais that Pope Francis had told him during a meeting in May: "The fact that you are gay does not matter." Cruz said Francis had also told him: "God made you this way and loves you this way, and it doesn't matter to me. The pope loves you this way, you must be happy the way you are." Cruz was one of three Chilean victims who were invited by the pope to Rome this month in the wake of a scandal in Chile over priestly sexual abuse and efforts by the Church hierarchy there to hush it up. After attending a crisis meeting with Francis about the cover-up last week, all of Chile's bishops offered to resign. Since his election in 2013, the pope has dramatically shifted the language the Church has used about homosexuality, which was once seen as a taboo subject. "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" he said on his first overseas trip in 2013. In 2016, he said had ministered to people with unfulfilled homosexual tendencies as well as homosexuals who were not able to remain chaste, as the Church asks them to. "When a person arrives before Jesus, Jesus certainly will not say: 'Go away because you are homosexual'," he said. Francis's predecessor, Pope Benedict, wrote in 2005 that homosexuality was "a strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil". Pompeo on Monday demanded Iran make sweeping changes that would effectively force it to reverse the recent spread of its military and political influence through the Middle East to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. (Photo: File) Beirut: A senior Iranian military commander poured scorn on US threats to tighten sanctions on Tuesday, saying the Islamic Republics people would respond by punching US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the mouth. Pompeo on Monday demanded Iran make sweeping changes that would effectively force it to reverse the recent spread of its military and political influence through the Middle East to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this and they will deliver a strong punch to the mouth of the American Secretary of State and anyone who backs them, Ismail Kowsari, the deputy commander of the Sarollah Revolutionary Guards base in Tehran said, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency. Limiting Irans missile capabilities was one of the main aims highlighted by Pompeo. Who are you and America to tell us to limit the range of ballistic missiles? Kowsari said, according to ILNA. History has shown that with the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki America is the top criminal with regard to missiles, he added. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the branch of the Revolutionary Guards that carries out operations outside Irans borders, was singled out by Pompeo as a top troublemaker in the Middle East. Kowsari said that the Iranian people back Soleimani. Soleimani is not a single person. The great people of Iran support him, Kowsari said. Morocco has suspended twining project between the North African countrys capital Rabat with Guatemala City, in solidarity with Palestinians after the Central American country became last week the second in the world to move its embassy to the disputed city of Jerusalem, following the US missions transfer in the old city May 14. The council of the Moroccan capital has decided to freeze the twin city partnership between Rabat and the Guatemalan capital Guatemala City, deputy mayor of the Moroccan capital, Lahcen Elomrani has announced. The city official indicated that the council meeting last week decided in unison to suspend the project proposed by the Guatemala envoy to the North African country and which was accepted. Members of the Rabat city council have unanimously refused to deliberate on a twinning agreement between Rabat and Guatemala City, Elomrani said on facebook. The decision to shelve the project came after Guatemala decided to transfer its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, bolstering therefore the White Houses controversial May 14 move. President Donald Trump moved ahead with his much criticized plan to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem in total disregard to international consensus over the status of the city which should be decided in final status talks between Palestinians and Israelis. President Trump on December 6 declared Jerusalem capital of Israel. Elomrani noted that the councils decision also falls in line with Moroccos official position on the controversial US decision. King Mohamed VI had previously warned the US leader against his decision. Last week the Monarch also reiterated Moroccos support to the Palestinian cause and condemned Israels massacre of at least 60 Palestinians in a protest against the US embassy relocation. Sunday, Tens of thousands of Moroccans marched in Casablanca in solidarity with the Palestinians. WEST VALLEY CITY A sea of blue foam brightened the morning for children at Catherine C. Hoskins Head Start Preschool in West Valley City Monday. Morgan Stanley and the national nonprofit KaBOOM! granted a new Imagination Playground system to the preschool serving low-income families. The system consists of custom-designed, oversized foam pieces allowing children to create playspaces while introducing them to early elements of science, technology, engineering and math. "The possibilities are really endless, and it helps them exercise their imagination," said Joni Clark, chief development officer of Utah Community Action, which oversees the Head Start program. Clark said the new play opportunity for Head Start students will help them develop motor skills and problem-solving skills, all while introducing them to STEM fields. As the classes of children ages 3 to 5 ran out to play with the new school toys for the first time, they immediately began building an array of creations, including forts, surfboards and trails to roll balls down. One girl built a creation she could sit and rock on, calling it her "unicorn." "You can think of them as adult-sized Tinkertoys that they can really just use their imagination and build tons of stuff," Clark said. Mandy Bennett, a volunteer at the event, said she loves giving children the ability to build. "This is way more fun than Legos," she said. "I don't know if you remember when it would rain at school and you would get out the parachute and that was always the best day. This is another thing that they can get out and just play with it indoors." Clark also described the Imagination Playground's ability to function indoors and outdoors. "This is essentially very important because in Utah when it rains and snows they're able to take this equipment inside in our multipurpose room and still continue that development and that play which is essential," she said. Aurora Howell, an educator at West Valley City's Head Start preschool, said she sees a trend in increasing young students' exposure to STEM subjects. "We are including more of these kinds of materials to help the children start at a young age to develop these skills they're going to need later in life," Howell said. "Part of our curriculum is to help children get the skills to be ready for kindergarten, and it starts at a young age. It's a perfect age where we are developing those skills for our children to know exactly what they want to be when they grow up." Howell said the school's new Imagination Playground will also help introduce her students to geometric shapes a great opportunity to learn while they're playing. Correction: An earlier version reported the Imagination Playground was granted by Utah Community Action. It was given to the school by Morgan Stanley and the KaBOOM! nonprofit. SALT LAKE CITY A prom photo in Maine of cops and high school students coming together went viral over the weekend. A group of students decided to take a photo in the middle of a road in Maine. The Bangor Police Department received a report and went to the scene. But instead of asking the kids to leave, they joined in on the photo, according to Fox News. "What do you do when someone calls the cops about Hermon High School students blocking Bangor's Exchange Street for a prom photo?" the Bangor Police Department asked on Facebook. "Nothing." See the photo below. It has received 12,000 Likes on Facebook since it was posted on Saturday. What do you do when someone calls the cops about Hermon High School students blocking Bangors Exchange Street for a... Posted by Bangor Maine Police Department on Saturday, May 19, 2018 The police told the students to enjoy their prom and be safe. "Keep your hands to yourself, leave other people's things alone, and be kind to one another. We will be here, the police said. The Bangor Police Department did something similar for John Bapst High School students, posing with prom-goers who felt left out, The Standard Republic reported. I had no idea this would turn into a prom-off. But the John Bapst High School prom goers felt left out. They found... Posted by Bangor Maine Police Department on Saturday, May 19, 2018 The police said prom-offs will now be a thing. SALT LAKE CITY Media artist Refik Anadol has been invited to submit a public art proposal for Regent Street by the city's Redevelopment Agency and the Salt Lake City Arts Council. The commission of a public artwork designed specifically for the street is the final element of the RDA's $12-million reconstruction of the area. Funded by the RDA and managed by the city's Public Art Program, the project has a budget of up to $2 million, which when completed will be the city's largest public art project ever commissioned. Regent Street is located between Main and State and 100 and 200 South. Anadol who was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and is now based in Los Angeles was selected from a pool of 136 respondents to a request for qualifications that was issued earlier this year. The request specifically called for applicants with proven experience in creating large-scale public artworks that respond to the architectural and natural environment and can withstand Utah's climate. As part of the proposal process, Anadol will spend up to two weeks in Salt Lake City to participate in independent data collection, meetings, site visits and archival research. On June 8, Anadol will hold a public open house. Anadol specializes in the field of embedding media arts into architecture through site-specific public art. He was educated at Istanbul Bilgi University and UCLA, where he also lectures and does research. More information about Anadol and examples of his art can be found at refikanadol.com. Following his visit, Anadol will develop a formal concept for Regent Street art. The proposal will be presented in-person to the Salt Lake Art Design Board for consideration, where if approved, will be shown to Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski for final approval. The European Union, Russia and China have decided to forge ahead with new talks with Iran without the US as the three seek to placate Iran with some financial incentives in return for the cease of Irans ballistic missile program, which was decried by President Donald Trump. The announcement of the future talks came following an international tour by Iranian top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif who visited the three sides which are signatories of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal along with the US, Iran and Germany. The deal guaranteed lifting economic sanctions on Iran on condition that the Islamic Republic shut down its nuclear program which world powers fear could lead to acquisition by Tehran of a nuclear arsenal. According to press reports, the talks will be taking place under the leadership of senior European Union diplomat Helga Schmid. The 2015 agreement was thrown into doubt early this month after President Trump announced the US withdrawal while asking European allies to re-write the deal. The US President has slammed the agreement arguing that it failed to crackdown on Irans influence in the Middle East. He re-imposed tough sanctions on the Gulf country. A senior EU diplomat quoted by Germanys Welt am Sonntag newspaper indicated that the meeting will discuss addition of few elements. The diplomat also noted that the move could convince the White House to remove the sanctions. Iran threatened to walk away from the pact and criticized the EU for succumbing to Americas anti-Iran policy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Frances President Emmanuel Macron and United Kingdom foreign minister Boris Johnson travelled to Washington to convince Trump to remain part of deal. The EU and UK indicated that the deal may not be perfect but was better than nothing. EU countries are grappling with the US sanctions as they undermine trade with Iran. SALT LAKE CITY A guest at the Grand America Hotel was arrested Sunday after police say he shot at two people and then hid in his room where drugs were found. Miguel Angel Prado, 20, was arrested for investigation of aggravated assault, drug possession and discharge of a firearm. About 5 a.m, Sunday, Prado was staying at the Grand America, 555 S. Main, when he yelled from his balcony at two men walking down the street, according to Salt Lake police. "The male came out and confronted the two, producing a handgun and shooting at the victims. Neither victim was struck by the fire," a police log states. The gunman then ran back into the hotel. Although no one was injured, a window of an occupied hotel room at the Little America across the street was hit, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. Staffers of the Grand America went into Prado's room where they found him hiding under a mattress, the report states. Salt Lake police responded and reported finding a handgun and "baggie with a white powder substance" in the room which was later confirmed to be cocaine. Prado was originally booked into jail under the name Miguel Prado Burciaga before corrections officials discovered he was using an alias. SALT LAKE CITY The sky above Sugar House Park this Fourth of July will be a little less bright. The Sugar House Park Authority announced the fireworks show that attracts thousands each year will be canceled after private organizers of past years' celebration stepped down. The park authority has been unable to find new organizers for this year. "As the event grows in popularity, more requirements and permits are necessary for it to be safe and successful. Those additional measures require more funds, time and effort to coordinate each year," Chad Anderson, president of the park's board of trustees, said in a statement issued to the media Friday. "Due to cost and environmental concerns, the private organizer of the previous years July 4th fireworks event has chosen not to put on the event this year," he said. The Sugar House Chamber of Commerce organized the event for the past three years. Lori Gillespie, executive director of the chamber, said environmental concerns, cost and lack of manpower all factored into the group's decision not to continue with the event. The chamber only has seven or eight people, she said. It was a lot of work. They have their own businesses," Gillespie said. Those who participated worked "completely on volunteer time while we were still trying to keep our businesses running," she added. Last year, a fire broke out near I-80 and 1300 East, close to the Sugar House fireworks show. Anderson said the organizers' decision to step down was not related to that event. The chamber notified the Sugar House Park Authority in August that it wouldn't continue organizing the event, Gillespie said. The park authority has been looking for a replacement since then. "At this point in the year, we have moved from looking for an organizer to informing the public that the event will not happen in 2018," Anderson said. Since 2010 after Salt Lake City cut funding for the event private organizers have had to acquire permits and raise money for the event. During that time, organizers struggled to find funding. Then in 2014, Apollo Burger stepped in to help out. "Just personally, I am a huge fan of the fireworks. I thought it was a wonderful opportunity for the community to gather together and celebrate a shared history. For me, it was always a community event," said Michael Ziouras, owner of the popular burger joint. Apollo Burger became the show's presenting sponsor, pledging $25,000 that year with a promise to support it for the next five years. The organizer that year said the donation brought the funds up to $65,000, enough to put on the show. Now, however, the problem isn't a lack of funding but of people to make the event get off the ground. The restaurant is still willing to help fund the show, but a lack of organizers has caused it to flicker out for this year at least, Ziouras said. Though it's too late this year, Apollo Burger hopes to continue funding the event in future years if a group steps in to organize it, he said. "I think it's an amazing event. I've raised my family at the festival. I would love to see it continue," Ziouras explained. He said the fireworks show has helped the restaurant give back to the community. "Apollo Burgers has been a good sponsor for the 4th of July fireworks display at Sugar House Park," Anderson said. Matthew Rojas, communications director for Salt Lake City, explained that the Sugar House Park Fourth of July festival and fireworks show has been a private event, but the city has aided it with funds in the past. The city's official Fourth of July fireworks show is held annually at another park, he said. We just want the public to know that there will still be a (fireworks) show in Jordan Park, the communications director explained. Salt Lake City's annual Independence Day celebration will take place at the Jordan Park, 1060 S. 900 West, with fireworks located near the north end of the park, according to the city's website. Though fireworks won't go off at Sugar House Park this year, there's hope for next year, Anderson said. "If a person or group is willing to organize and meet the requirements for this event, it could continue next year," he said. One class short of graduation, Carlos Manuel Sera left college in the 1950s to take a job. About six decades later, with the help of his family, the 81-year-old Sera completed his last course and received a diploma from Georgetown University, according to the Washington Post. "His children and grandchildren cheered. He rose shakily to his feet. At age 81, he was officially a graduate," Tara Bahrampour wrote. "His shoulders heaved and he began to weep for the past, for the present, for the unexpected events that had tied together the loose ends of his life like a small miracle." Growing up in Washington D.C as the son of a diplomat in the Cuban Embassy, Sera dreamed of going to Georgetown, and was accepted as an undergraduate in 1955, the article said. But while taking his last class, Sera accepted a job offer from Sears, Roebuck and Co. He started working to help his family pay the bills and went on to become a successful international businessman without ever completing his degree, the article said. Last January about 60 years later Sera's granddaughter began asking him about his college education, including why he had not shown her photos of his graduation. Sera said he'd never graduated. Family members reached out to the university and negotiated a way for Sera to finish his last class and finally graduate. "It landed on someones desk who cared, Sera Weitzman, Sera's daughter, told the Washington Post. Its kind of a dream because someone paid attention. Read the entire story at WashingtonPost.com. PROVO A jury has found an American Fork man guilty of sexually abusing a 4-year-old girl who he encountered at random sitting outside an apartment complex. During a four-day trial in 4th District Court, jurors convicted Royce Brandon Schaefer, 33, on May 15 of sodomy of a child and aggravated sexual abuse of a child, both first-degree felonies. Schaefer was accused of approaching the 4-year-old girl on June 4, 2016, where she was sitting on the sidewalk eating macaroni and cheese in front of the Maple Village Apartments in American Fork, according to prosecutors. After sitting and speaking with the girl, prosecutors said Schaefer kissed her, picked her up and touched and bit her inappropriately, then fled the scene. Neighbors saw Schaefer jump a fence at the apartment complex and run away. During the trial, another young girl testified of being a victim of a sexual encounter with Schaefer in Colorado, the Utah County Attorney's Office said in a news release. After law enforcement contacted Schaefer to inform him he was a suspect in the case and while they waited for DNA testing results, Schaefer moved to Ohio, according to the release. He was charged in October 2016 and booked into Utah County Jail in December 2016, according to jail records. Schaefer is scheduled to be sentenced July 11. He faces a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison for the sodomy charge and 15 years to life for the sexual abuse charge. EAGLE MOUNTAIN Ghosts of a failed Facebook data center bid are haunting an Eagle Mountain effort to close a similar deal with a yet-unnamed tech company. While public officials involved with the quest are citing ongoing contract negotiations as the basis for protecting the company's identity, statements made in discussions about the project indicate it's likely one of the Bay Area giants. Google, Apple and Facebook have all been actively engaged in building new, big server farms in the U.S., according to reports. But secrecy surrounding the project and worries that a potentially higher payday the large project could bring for schools could be lost because of promised tax breaks is again looming over the potential deal. At least one public official is already troubled by the process. Much like the one that occurred two years ago. In 2016, Salt Lake County officials led the charge in voicing concerns that included the size of a proposed tax incentive estimated at $250 million over 20 years to lure a $2.5 billion Facebook data center project to West Jordan. West Jordan, which kept the negotiations secret for nearly a year before the company's name was revealed, eventually lost out to Los Lunas, New Mexico, much to the ire of West Jordan city officials. Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams said at the time that the contract going to Los Lunas was the best outcome for students, educators and taxpayers. "I thought this was a bad deal for the kids of the Jordan School District and taxpayers in West Jordan and Salt Lake County," McAdams said. "This was something we needed to walk away from." Eagle Mountain, however, is currently having better success at lining up support for its effort, which officials say will bring $750 million in investment in just phase 1 of what could be a multiphase project. Economic Development Corp. of Utah President/CEO Theresa Foxley said the company, which she declined to identify other than confirming it was "one of the Fortune 100 companies," is willing to pay for extensive infrastructure investment upfront that will include new power, water/sewer, telecommunications and road improvements to the site. A study commissioned by Eagle Mountain cited returns of 1,000 percent on the city's investment and highlighted that the 500-acre parcel just south of the city's center is currently a "greenbelt" that generates $66 annually in property taxes. In the event the data center goes in, tax revenues would skyrocket, with annual property tax receipts approaching $840,000. A proposal currently making the rounds with relevant taxing entities includes the extension of about $150 million in tax breaks to the mystery company to offset its infrastructure costs. That plan, with a 20-year lifespan, suspends 100 percent of taxes on the company's personal property investment, with a projected value of $375 million, and extends an 80 percent break on tax liabilities for an estimated $375 million in real property investment. Foxley said the new infrastructure the company would fund will "end up being owned by public entities." Eagle Mountain and the Unified Fire Authority, both taxing entities in the area, have already signed off on the plan, but Utah County, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District and the board of the Alpine School District are slated to make their decisions this week. At a meeting last week, Alpine School Board member Wendy Hart said during a discussion of the data center proposal that while the new revenue that the district could expect if the data center is built estimated at around $540,000 annually is significant, it won't offset the costs that will come with growth that the data center may spur. "As everybody knows, we're the lowest funded district in the lowest funded state in the nation when it comes to educating our kids," Hart said. "Our obligation is to not tie the hands of the board for the next 20 years. "In five years, I've got to build another high school. In five years, I've got to build another middle school and none of this mitigates that," she said, emphasizing "$83 million for a new high school. $500,000? Just do the math." Governor's Office of Economic Development Executive Director Val Hale told school board members that the project was "exceptional" and that a company willing to invest over $100 million in infrastructure that will "open the area up for further opportunity for industry and other development" was a rare occurrence. Hale also noted that Utah Gov. Gary Herbert had visited with the unnamed company, "almost exactly a year ago," to encourage them to invest in Utah. Based on the governor's public schedule from that time, Herbert left for an "economic development" trip to Palo Alto, California, last May 19. Palo Alto is home to Facebook, and the world headquarters for both Google and Apple aren't far away. A Deseret News request to Herbert's staff for details of who he met with on that trip was deferred to GOED. "We do not disclose the companies with whom we meet as it could provide a competitive disadvantage," a GOED spokeswoman said in a statement. Critics of huge tax breaks for data center developments point out that while the capital investments are sizeable, the projects generate a meager number of jobs. An informational posting about the data center proposal on the Eagle Mountain website estimated job creation for the project at 30-50 positions. A Washington Post story on an Apple data center in Maiden, North Carolina, representing a $1 billion investment by the iPhone maker, noted it only generated 50 jobs. However, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report last year highlighted that, on average, data center projects generate over $32 million in economic activity for host communities. Utah is currently home to data centers operated by eBay, Twitter, Oracle and the National Security Agency. Hart, who said the school board did not have ample time to fully review a 50-plus page report that was received from Eagle Mountain on the Friday before the meeting last Tuesday, said she was also vexed by the decision not to share the name of the company. "To make a decision with this potentiality, without knowing who this organization is, thats really hard for me to take on faith," Hart said. "But we werent elected to trust you. We were elected to listen, to collaborate and to partner." The Alpine School Board is scheduled to vote on the data center proposal during a special meeting at 8 a.m. Wednesday. SALT LAKE CITY State Rep. Mike Kennedy said Monday he apologized on behalf of all Utahns to a pastor who Mitt Romney, his GOP U.S. Senate primary opponent, recently called a "religious bigot" for statements about the LDS Church and other faiths. "Frankly, I reached out to him because I find it embarrassing that my opponent would label him as a religious bigot. I think the word bigot is almost a swear word, it's such a strong word," Kennedy told the Deseret News and KSL editorial boards. His phone call to Texas Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress, made on Friday, "was really positive. He sounds like a very decent fellow," Kennedy said. The Republican from Alpine said he made the apology "on behalf of what I perceive the state is." Kennedy called a news conference last week to criticize Romney's May 13 tweet about Jeffress being selected by the Trump administration to give a prayer to open the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. He said he also called Jeffress because he wanted to make sure the pastor knew "the people of Utah" don't believe those "who are opposed to the Mormon faith are bigots." Utahns, Kennedy said, "recognize we disagree. But there are so many things that unite us, that we should be willing to work together instead of casting significantly inflammatory terms like bigots at those individuals." The tweet from Romney quoted the pastor. "Jeffress says 'you can't be saved by being a Jew,' and 'Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.' He's said the same about Islam. Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United State Embassy in Jerusalem," Romney tweeted. Romney's campaign had no comment Monday on Kennedy's apology. On Fox News Sunday morning, Jeffress said many of the comments attributed to him were taken out of context but did not elaborate. He said "the bigger picture" was what he described as the Christian belief that there is only one way to heaven. "People are free to disagree with Jesus and millions of them do," the pastor said. "But what people aren't free to do is to call me and hundreds of millions of Christians like me bigots for simply following the sayings of Jesus." Jeffress then said he'd "had an interesting phone call from another prominent Mormon, Utah Dr. Mike Kennedy. He called to apologize on behalf of the state of Utah for Mitt Romney's intemperate comments about me." The move by Kennedy, widely seen as the underdog in the June 26 Republican primary despite beating Romney at the state GOP convention last month, perplexed BYU political science professor Chris Karpowitz. "If you're running for office in the state of Utah, aligning yourself with a person who is well-known for being hostile to Mormonism is an odd political move," said Karpowitz, co-director of BYU's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. Karpowitz also said the suggestion that Kennedy was apologizing on behalf of the state was "bizarre," since it's not clear how many Utahns would side with Jeffress over Romney. Kennedy's apology, Karpowitz said, actually serves to remind Utahns of why they overwhelmingly favored Romney as a presidential candidate in 2008 and as the GOP's nominee in 2012. "Mitt Romney became extraordinarily popular in the state of Utah in part because he was seen as a target for religious criticism and he stood up for the decency of his beliefs," Karpowitz said. Jeffress, who was among those attacking Romney's faith in the 2008 race, made headlines three years later for labeling the church a "cult" and stating then that Romney "is not a Christian." Kennedy's apology may in part be an attempt to provoke Romney into a response, Karpowitz said, but this might be making an already challenging race even more difficult to win. "Mike Kennedy has to change the dynamic in the race in some way," he said. "It's not surprising he would want to draw Romney out, but to choose to draw him out on this issue is curious." SPRINGVILLE Students arrived at Springville High School Monday morning to find paper hearts with kind messages posted on the doors and similar notes written in sidewalk chalk outside. The display that appeared early Monday morning was an apology from several students at Spanish Fork's Maple Mountain High School. On Friday, a word cloud in the shape of the rival Red Devils' logo appeared in Maple Mountain's yearbook under the title "Describe Springville." It contained traits including "snobby," "greedy," "stupid," "lame," "satanic," and "trash." Mary Kilpatrick, a Maple Mountain junior, said she and her classmates feel badly that the ordeal cast Springville in a negative light and that it set the tone that Maple Mountain's senior class will go out on. "We really just want to do our best to turn it around," she said of the messages left by Maple Mountain students at 5:45 a.m. On Friday, students and parents discovered the graphic when the yearbook was distributed to students, setting off flares in the communities that are just a few miles apart. Now, the district is creating a procedure to make sure yearbooks are double-checked before they go to the printer, said Nebo School District spokeswoman Lana Hiskey. "It's very disappointing where one or two students can come up with something that makes it sound like it's from the entire high school which it is not," she said. Most students were shocked and saddened the page made its way into the yearbook, Hiskey added. On Monday, Maple Mountain held a school-wide assembly and handed out stickers to paste over the page. The stickers read, "At the end of the day...friends," with logos of schools in the area. Springville High School Principal Everett Kelepolo called the page an "unfortunate mistake" over the weekend but said he appreciates the school taking steps to rectify what happened. To that end, the two schools are planning a service project together to help them move forward. Brynlee Holmes, junior class president at Maple Mountain, said she hopes the controversy will bring the schools closer. "I can already see it uniting our two schools more," she said. In a video posted to YouTube Monday, several Maple Mountain students also apologized, saying the yearbook page didn't represent their feelings toward Springville. SALT LAKE CITY Heidi Tucker, an Arizona mom whose children and grandchildren all live in Utah, has made countless trips from Phoenix to Salt Lake City. But she still clearly remembers one experience she had while en route to Utah four years ago: a realistic dream in which she was shown a book. I remember thumbing through the pages, Tucker said. I remember looking back at the chapter headings, and I knew that it was a book about trials and about hope, and that I had written it. When Tucker woke up, she recalls having two thoughts. The first was that the dream was incredibly real. The second? Theres no way I could ever write that. Four years later, Tucker hasnt just written one book she's risen from adversity to self-publish two award-winning books about hope and to travel the West as an inspirational speaker. Making a dream come true 2014 was not an easy year for Tucker, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She had just turned 50. Her youngest child left for college and she officially became an empty nester. She was finishing up her fourth year of teaching an early morning seminary class to high school students, and felt exhausted from years of early mornings and daily lessons. On top of that, her son had returned early from an LDS mission, a difficult trial for both of them. Im in this position where Im physically and emotionally and spiritually beat up, Tucker said of the time period. For months, Tucker prayed and fasted every single day to find her purpose and path in life. It seemed like the prayer went unanswered, until she had the dream that eventually led her to write her first book, Finding Hope in the Journey. Even then, Tucker didnt recognize the dream as an answer to her prayers. Initially, she fought the idea of writing a book. Only after Tucker faced rejection after rejection from other job opportunities did she realize God was steering her to write a book. I just thought, This is not me. I dont know why anything that I have to say would matter to anybody else, said Tucker, who graduated from Arizona State University with a business degree. Fortunately, Heavenly Father was really, really patient with me, and he continued to encourage me, and I just received promptings daily. I couldnt get away from it. According to Tucker, Finding Hope in the Journey was published in direct response to her dream. The book teaches through Tuckers personal experiences, including her most difficult trials, but focuses on how she was able to feel hope and recognize Gods hand. With so much distraction and commotion and darkness in the world, there are still so many glimmers of hope out there that were missing in our own lives, Tucker said. Ive learned to recognize those in my own life, and the fact that I can talk about that and tell those in the way that I can, somehow, it resonates with people. Finding Hope in the Journey resonated with readers all around the world, including a panel of judges for Illumination Book Awards, which annually recognizes exemplary Christian books. Tucker submitted her book to the contest because she felt God prompted her to do so, not expecting to hear anything back and even forgetting she submitted it in the first place. I was so honored to be considered and to be recognized in the Christian world, Tucker said. Closed doors The success of Finding Hope in the Journey didnt come easy. Even though Tucker felt that God put her on the path to write a book, she faced closed door after closed door. It took Tucker only four months to write the book, but publishing it was a different story. It can be really tricky when you feel like youre on the path to doing something that youre supposed to be doing, then you try to get into something, and you hear no, Tucker said. Thats really hard. Youve got to knock on that door over and over and over again. Tucker felt she needed to publish her book for people to read besides her family, but it was difficult to find a publisher. Eventually, after receiving multiple rejection letters (which are now framed in her office), Tucker decided to self-publish. She hired a copy editor and put her own team together. I didnt know anything about the publishing world. Not anything, Tucker said. I had to find all these people that I could hire to do this to put this book out, and I was feeling like, What am I doing? When it finally came time for the book to be printed, Tucker was not excited. More than anything, she was terrified at the prospect of sharing her personal journal with the world. However, she found comfort in trusting God. I had to go back to my trust with Heavenly Father and say, Im trusting that this is going to be OK, Tucker said. Once Finding Hope in the Journey was complete, the publishing companies that once rejected the book openly welcomed it to their shelves. How Tuckers next book found her Fast forward to January 2016. Finding Hope in the Journey was finally published and widely available. Tucker was busy marketing the book and getting caught up after traveling for the holidays when one Sunday, a woman named Servie from Zimbabwe approached Tucker at church. She told Tucker she had a question for her, and asked if she could come to her home that Tuesday at 10 am. Tucker made the 30-minute drive to Servies home. After small talk about the weather, Servie asked Tucker to write a book about her life. According to Tucker, Servie felt she needed to write down her life story, but never received formal education to write. After praying and fasting, Servie felt that God told her to ask Tucker to write the book. My head is saying, Dont you go there, but my heart is screaming Yes, Tucker said about the experience. Finally, I looked at her and I said, Servie, if youre telling me that God has asked you to ask me to write this book, the answer is yes. Over the next year, Tucker spent hours recording conversations with Servie and transcribing them herself. She learned Servie led an unimaginably difficult life, which included moving to the U.S. following her husbands death so she could work and provide for her children in Zimbabwe. The result was a book called Servies Song, which details Servies most painful trials, but ultimately teaches a lesson of hope. It tells the story of Servies conversion to the LDS Church and how the gospel of Jesus Christ helped her find hope in her trials. I dont want this to be a story of tragedy; I want this to be a story of hope and how shes overcome, Tucker said to herself as she began to write the book. I want it to be triumphant, that we see her go to the bottom of the ditch and pull herself out. Servies Song was awarded the Illumination Award in 2018. Now, Tucker focuses on marketing Servies Song and travels around the West speaking to conferences, book clubs and firesides about the lessons she learned from writing the book. Life is a hike In her books, Tucker, an ardent hiker, often compares life to a hike. According to Tucker, relaxed hikes with wildflowers are the easy, smooth-sailing periods of our lives. Moderate hikes, perhaps when a rock is stuck in our shoe, are the times we struggle. And the steep, impossible hikes are when nothing is going right and its difficult to see the end. She said the journey of becoming an author and speaker has been a combination of all three "hikes." Its glorious in the blessings that I have received back. Its moderately hard in the doubts and the endurance that I need to find to continue to pound up that steep trail, Tucker said. But its the really difficult hikes. Those have been the shut doors. Thats been the courage that it took to put myself out there and be so personal in my books. Despite the difficulties, Tucker said, shed do it all again in a heartbeat. She plans to begin working on her third book this summer. She isnt ready to talk about the details yet, but did mention that hope will always be a theme in her books. Im not ready to stop writing, Tucker said. As long as I can feel that theres more that needs to come out, I wont stop. Heres a look at the news for May 22. MUST-READ NEWS THIS MORNING: Kennedy apologizes for Utah State Rep. Mike Kennedy said Monday that he apologized on behalf of all Utahns for Mitt Romneys comments toward a pastor who Romney called a religious bigot, according to the Deseret News. Kennedy said he apologized directly to the pastor. "Frankly, I reached out to him because I find it embarrassing that my opponent would label him as a religious bigot. I think the word bigot is almost a swear word, it's such a strong word," Kennedy told the Deseret News and KSL editorial boards. He said his call with Texas Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress "was really positive. He sounds like a very decent fellow," Kennedy said. The Republican said he made the apology "on behalf of what I perceive the state is." Kennedy and Romney are GOP U.S. Senate primary opponents. Read more. Sen. Mike Lee targets BLM powers Sen. Mike Lee said Monday that he is crafting legislation that will look to rein in the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Services law enforcement authority, the Deseret News reported. He said he wants to walk back powers that were never intended for those agencies. "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, R-Utah, serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forest and Mining. "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. Read more. Utah to honor President Nelson The state of Utah will honor LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson on June 6 for his nearly 7,000 heart surgeries and cutting-edge research, according to the Deseret News. President Nelson will receive the lifetime achievement medal at the 2018 Governor's Medals for Science and Technology, the Deseret News reported. President Nelson performed Utahs first open-heart surgery in 1955. By then he'd already spent more than five years as part of a research team that pioneered the heart bypass machine and performed the first open-heart surgery that employed extracorporeal (outside of the body) circulation, according to the Deseret News. Read more. Pence warns North Korea not to play Trump Vice President Mike Pence warned North Korea not to play President Donald Trump in a Fox News interview on Monday, according to BBC. Pence said making a fool of Trump would be a great mistake. Pence said Trump could walk away from the upcoming June 12 summit. North Korea has already threatened to leave the talks. "I don't think President Trump is thinking about public relations, he's thinking about peace, Pence said. Read more. AROUND THE WEB: The Moroccan army has carried out lately a military exercise, sending a clear message to the Polisario separatists, who are armed, sheltered and financed by Algeria. According to Moroccan web site Medias24.com, the exercise, dubbed Tafilalet 2018, took place March 22 -April 7 in the Errachidia Southern zone. It tested the responsiveness, the planning and the interoperability of the ground, air and special forces to a simulated hostile attack beyond the Moroccan defense wall. The goal of the drills is to flush out the enemy and defend the countrys borders. These war games were held amid heightened tensions following the Polisario repeated incursions in the buffer zone, east of Moroccos security wall. The demilitarized buffer area was handed by Morocco to the MINURSO, entrusted with monitoring the ceasefire, under the UN-brokered agreements of 1991. The separatist front unveiled plans to transfer its military staff to Tifariti in the demilitarized zone. In its resolution 2414 adopted last month, the Security Council condemned the Polisarios provocations, expressed concern over the presence of the Polisario Front in the buffer strip and called for its immediate withdrawal. After the firmness showed by the Security Council, which denounced the Polisarios destabilizing acts in the buffer strip in the Sahara, the separatist group pulled out its armed militia from Guergarat. However, the Polisario group proved to be untrustworthy as it has resumed its provocative actions in Tifariti, to the east of the Moroccan defense berm. In blatant violation of UN agreements, the Algeria-backed militia organized military parades and drills in the locality of Tifarity. The Kingdom of Morocco considers this provocation a new and serious violation of the ceasefire and a blatant challenge to the authority of the Security Council, said the Foreign Ministry in a statement. Morocco, which has officially alerted the President and the members of the Security Council, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and MINURSO, has asked them to assume their responsibilities and to take the necessary measures against these unacceptable actions, added the statement. UN chief Antonio Guterres warned on Saturday that no action should be taken that may constitute a change to the status quo on the ground. The Secretary-General is closely following the developments in the Sahara. In accordance with Security Council Resolution 2414 adopted on 27 April 2018, and in order to maintain an environment conducive to the resumption of dialogue under the auspices of his Personal Envoy Horst Kohler, the Secretary-General calls for maximum restraint, a statement issued by the UN Chiefs Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, said. Since 2015, France-IX, the main Internet exchange point (IXP) in France, has been collaborating with Senegalese digital players for the creation and development of a similar, independent IXP in Dakar. Internet exchange points (IXPs) allow local operators, content and service providers to save money by using local bandwidth rather than paying to use expensive international transit infrastructure. They allow companies and administrations to interconnect through them and thus improve access speed for their users by reducing latency time. The development of IXPs is a crucial part of building a sustainable domestic Internet ecosystem. Their creation in African countries is an important step in fostering Internet-based economic growth and stands as a positive marker of commercial and social improvement. Malick Ndiaye, a college member of the Senegal Telecommunications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARTP) describes SENIX history: In 2012, the African Union asked its member countries to consider setting up independent trading points that would play a central role in improving Internet deployment and access in Africa. However, Senegals first attempt put operators and public authorities in charge and, because their proposals lacked neutrality and did not foster a better distribution of content and services, negotiations failed to get anywhere. At that time, an initial skills exchange meeting with France-IX highlighted the importance of setting up SENIX not only around operators (infrastructure owners) but also around suppliers (content and services owners) and in the form of an association - this being the sole guarantee of its neutrality. The associative status is ideal for establishing an egalitarian relationship between different stakeholders, for the benefit of all. Following the meeting with France-IX, we decided to open the SENIX creation process to all content producers, service providers as well as all other key players in the cultural sector. This new impetus laid a solid foundation for the creation of the SENIX association and made it possible to move on to the operational part of the IXPs construction. The first constitutive general assembly then took place in 2015. The State Informatics Agency (ADIE) was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors of SENIX and work on the first Centre began, says Cheikh Bakhoum, President of SENIX and Managing Director of ADIE. Following France-IXs recommendations, the Centre was built on a neutral site in Dakar, owned by SENIX. This site made it possible to respect a certain equidistance between operators and equal treatment in the technical design. Orange, Tigo, Expresso, Arc and Hayo, as well as ADIE, are physically present but the SENIX infrastructure remains completely independent. The interconnection of these operators favours the distribution and availability of local, nationally-produced content, which is of critical importance at the national and international level, explains Alassane Blaise Diagne, Adviser to ADIEs MD. Bocar Kane, member of the France-IX Board of Directors until September 2017 and a telecom entrepreneur in Senegal, shares its vision from a users perceptive: The benefits of SENIX today are undeniable for all stakeholders, consumers and the Senegalese economy: for businesses and individuals, SENIX means more bandwidth, less latency, more accessible content and better services. The ability to exchange traffic locally, instead of using extremely expensive submarine cables, has created a virtuous circle for the entire digital chain, as the resulting cost savings are passed on to consumers in end-user bundles, he says. The overall improvement in traffic and accessibility is another step towards the implementation of Senegals 2016-2025 digital plan, which embodies the countrys ambition to maintain a leading position in the African digital sector. Indeed, one of the objectives of this plan is to ensure that all citizens have low-cost and high-quality access to the Internet. Today, SENIX is working on its expansion and commercial development. The construction of a second site is already under consideration to improve the resilience of the infrastructure and improve international connectivity. Seven major international cables transit or land in Senegal. Because of SENIX, Senegal is able to compete with other West African trading points and will be able to position itself as a real hub to transport Internet traffic from the continental sub-Saharan region to the rest of the world. Thanks to a transfer of skills and a sharing of experience, France-IX has enabled Senegal to acquire a world-class exchange point to promote the growth of its digital economy and the development of the Internet in West Africa. France-IX will continue its programme of supporting the creation of new IXPs in Africa, which started with CASIX in Morocco launched in 2016. Plans are currently underway to help Congo. France-IX support for developing IXPs in African countries consists in providing mentoring, training, equipment donation and technical assistance. Franck Simon is the President of France-IX Services. After launching the OnePlus 6 to much fanfare in Mumbai on May 17, OnePlus has officially kicked off the open sale for their newest flagship on Amazon Indias website. The OnePlus 6 had gone on sale on Amazon yesterday, but it was exclusive to Prime members. Today, the open sale for the phone has begun, meaning anyone can buy the phone. The phone as of now is available in two colours; midnight black and mirror black. Both the colour variants are available in 6GB RAM/64GB storage and 8GB RAM/128GB storage variants. The Silk White and Marvel Avengers editions of the OnePlus 6 are yet to be made available in the country. The OnePlus 6 once again sees a minor price hike in comparison to its predecessor which sold at a starting price of Rs 32,990. The OnePlus 6 with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage is priced at Rs 34,999 while the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant is priced at Rs 39,999. For those purchasing the phone on Amazon India, there are a number of offers available. Anyone using an SBI debit or credit card to purchase the OnePlus 6 will get a cashback of Rs. 2000. This offer is valid only for the first week of sale, that is, it expires on May 29 2018. Additionally, OnePlus giving all OnePlus 6 buyers 12-month accidental damage insurance by Servify, an Amazon Prime Video gift card worth Rs. 250, and discounts up to Rs. 500 for purchasing ebooks via Amazon Kindle free of cost. Those who have Idea connections can pick up the OnePlus 6 and get Rs.2000 cashback and dedicated device insurance. OnePlus also announced benefits up to Rs. 25,000 will be available on flight and hotel bookings from ClearTrip to those who buy the OnePlus 6 from Amazon. While the OnePlus 6 continues to be an Amazon India exclusive, the phone will also be available across select Croma retail outlets around the country. This is the first time a OnePlus smartphone will be sold offline outside of OnePluss own stores or pop-up events. The OnePlus 6 is a radical design change from its predecessor, so it makes sense for the company to expand the offline availability so that consumers can themselves experience the new design. In a bid to make the offline purchases equally lucrative, OnePlus is offering deals for those buying the phone from Croma as well. Once again, SBI customers will get a Rs. 2000 cashback and there are cashback offers available through Paytm, Standard Chartered, Axis, ICICI and HDFC Bank. The OnePlus 6 is powered by the most powerful processor from Qualcomm to date, the Snapdragon 845 paired with a ludicrous 6GB/8GB of RAM. There is also ample storage available too so that users dont feel the need for a microSD card slot. The phone continues to use an Optic AMOLED panel with a 19:9 aspect ratio and an FHD+ resolution (1080x2280). The primary cameras use Sonys IMX 519 and IMX 376K sensors with resolutions of 16 and 20 megapixels respectively. Both the lenses have an aperture of f/1.7 while only the primary camera (16MP) has OIS. On the front, there is a 16-megapixel camera with an aperture of f/1.7, EIS and fixed focus. You can read our in-depth OnePlus 6 review here. EGM may decide successful bidder for Fortis Healthcare The revamped board of Fortis Healthcare after todays extraordinary general meeting (EGM) will decide the suitor for the company even as the board failed to muster support for the Munjal-Burman bid. While three independent directors appointed recently voted against it, at least two other suitors consider themselves in the race. Manipal Health has again revised its offer and IHH Healthcare extended the validity of its bid till 29 May. Three independent directors voting against the offer suggests some large shareholders oppose the deal and the boards recommendation may not get shareholder support, Three promoter-nominated directors of Fortis Healthcare quit the board even as the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) initiated investigations into alleged mismanagement at the healthcare provider amidst an ongoing takeover battle for the company. The director-General of MCA will look into mismanagement at Fortis Healthcare amidst charges of founding members siphoning off funds. While three directors Harpal Singh, Tejinder Singh Shergill and Sabina Vaisoha quit the companys board a day ahead of todays (22 May) extraordinary general meeting (EGM), Brian Tempest, also a promoter-nominee, remains on the board. There would, however, be no revamp of the board with government nominees packing the board. Harpal Singh is the father-in-law of former promoter Malvinder Singh, while Tempest is former chief executive officer (CEO), Ranbaxy Laboratories. Harpal Singh wrote in his resignation letter: 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 companys future. Besides the four, the Fortis board comprises four additional independent directors, including Suvalaxmi Chakraborty, Indrajit Banerjee and Ravi Rajagopal, and shareholders will vote on their appointment as board members in an EGM called by two institutional investors to consider the appointment of three new independent directors and removal of four existing ones. The outcome will have a bearing on who takes over Indias second-largest hospital chain. Thats because the four directors that East Bridge Capital Fund and Jupiter India Fund (12.04 per cent owners of the company) to be removed are among the five who on 10 May voted in favour of the offer by Sunil Munjals Hero Enterprises Investment Office and the Burmans family office. Three of them Sabina Vaisoha, Harpal Singh and Tejinder Singh have already quit. The EGM will now decide the fate of the fourth Brian Tempest. The takeover battle for Fortis Healthcare followed the exit of founders Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, who lost control of the hospital chain following allegations of siphoning money from the company. The company received bids from five suitors, with four revising their offers multiple times. Apart from the Munjal-Burman combine, other bidders include TPG-led Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Malaysias IHH Healthcare Berhad, Radiant Life Care Pvt Ltd and Chinas Fosun Group. Three days after the board chose the Hero Enterprise-Burman offer, the TPG-Manipal Hospitals combine came up with a revised bid, raising its earlier offer by 12.5 per cent. In its latest offer, the combine proposed a preferential allotment of Rs180 per share. Fortis has been facing trouble for over 18 months, with the Singh brothers, the promoters of Fortis Healthcare, caught in a case filed by Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo and then the auditor not willing to sign the companys balance sheet. Recently, Fortis Healthcare CEO Bhavdeep Singh said he had not been able to focus on the business over the past 12-18 months. Meanwhile, reports quoting official sources said the ministry has received complaints regarding mismanagement and referred the matter to the director general for investigation. If the government feels a company is being mismanagement, it can take it over. This was done in the case of Unitech and the National Spot Exchange. The fact that three directors have stepped down means that they did not have the confidence to face the vote of the shareholders, a top executive of the firm said. Shares of Fortis Healthcare were up 2.73 per cent at Rs 148.50 on the BSE. Reliance Jio plans Estonia unit to expand overseas: report Two years into operations, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the telecom business of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), is looking for markets abroad and is planning to set up set up a subsidiary in Estonia, reports quoting people aware of the plans said. A report in the Mint newspaper quoting sources said with the Indian market tightening Reliance Jio is forced to look overseas for expansion at the earlier scorching pace. A report in the Mint newspaper quoting sources said with the Indian market tightening Reliance Jio is forced to look overseas for expansion at the earlier scorching pace. Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd, an investment holding company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), will give a loan of Rs12.20 crore (1.5 million) to the Estonian unit to begin operations, the report quoted one of the two sources as saying. Thanks to its sophisticated e-solutions, over the last decade, Estonia has transformed itself into one of Europes business success stories. Indian companies would certainly wish to collaborate and imbibe e-governance solutions in this regard and Jio is no exception, according to the second source. According to the report, a company established in the northern European nation can operate worldwide. Since 99 per cent of public services in Estonia are available online 24x7, all the compliance work and agreements can be handled digitally . Since 2000, all government services in Estonia are offered online and all documents are electronically available. Estonia is in the process of developing a long-term relationship with India and, according to reports, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, in a meeting with an Estonian government delegation had expressed interest in collaborating with the country to develop better e-governance solutions. A statement from the company said Ambani envisaged to make lives better for millions in India by replicating innovative solutions offered by Estonia into the Indian context, adding that, the e-residency programme of Estonia will empower him with easy access to the entire European Union (EU) for his existing business while sitting in India, the IANS report had said. E-Residency is a new digital nation for global citizens. Estonia is the first country to offer e-Residency, a government-issued digital ID available to anyone in the world. E-Residency offers the freedom to easily start and run a global business in the European Union. Estonia will give access to the European Union. We believe your solutions are easily scalable to India. We wish to have a very close cooperation with your talent in Estonia, Ambani had said. 11 killed as police open fire at anti-Sterlite protesters in TN's Thoothukudi At least 11 people were killed when police opened fire at protests demanding the closure of Vedantas Sterling Copper unit took a violent turn today. The police firing also left over 30 people injured in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi (Tuticorin). The protests have been going on for the past several months against the expansion activities of the Sterlite plant that allegedly polluted ground water in their area. Chief Minister Palaniswami confirmed that nine people have been killed in police action at Tuticorin while sources say the toll has gone up to 11. The state government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence and also announced compensation of Rs10 lakh each to the dependents of the dead and jobs for the next of kin. Injured persons would also be given a compensation of Rs3 lakh each. Police said protesters started pelting stones and toppling police vehicles after they were prevented from marching towards the Sterlite plant. They also tried to gherao the collectors office as well as the plant. The police resorted to lathicharge and tear gas to disperse the crowd and as the protest escalated and went out of control, police opened fire on the protesters. About 20,000 people had gathered near the district collectorate and the copper plant with the intention of picketing them, demanding permanent closure of the plant, a government statement said. With the protests turning violent, police called for additional reinforcements. Over 2,000 police personnel have been rushed to Tuticorin from nearby districts to bring the situation under control, say reports. Police said section 144 of CrPc has been invoked in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security to the unit as per the orders of the Madras High Court. Tamil Nadu government said the plant was in operation in Meelavitan in Tuticorin for the past 20 years. Following a gas leak in March 2013 in the plant, the then chief minister, the late J Jayalalithaa had ordered its closure, following which the company moved the National Green Tribunal against the state government. The company later moved an Appellate Authority against this and the next hearing is slated for 6 June it said, adding, the TNPCB counsel had strongly argued against operations in the plant. The government said it was committed in respecting people's aspirations and was working towards it. India test-fires BrahMos cruise missile with extended life The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Monday successfully conducted the first flight test of the BrahMos cruise missile with an extended life of 15 years. The missile was test fired at 1040 hours on Monday from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore, Odisha as part of service life extension programme. The life extension test firing of BrahMos was conducted from a static inclined launcher, proving the efficacy and longevity of the system which was witnessed by the scientist from DRDO and BrahMos, a defence ministry release stated. The precision strike missile flew in its designated trajectory and the key components functioned perfectly, the release added. BrahMos is the first Indian missile whose life has been extended from 10 to 15 years. The missile was test fired from a mobile launcher from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur along the Odisha coast at about 10.44 am, said sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated Team Brahmos and DRDO on the successful launch of the cruise missile. 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, defence ministry tweeted. The Indian Army has already inducted three regiments of BrahMos in its arsenal, all of which 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 successful test will result in huge savings of replacement cost of missiles held in the inventory of the Indian armed forces," tweeted the Sitharaman. 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. BrahMos is a joint venture between DRDO of India and NPOM of Russia, the highly versatile BrahMos has emerged as the ultimate weapon of choice in modern warfare with its unmatched speed, precision and firepower. ISI using pro-Khalistani groups to target Punjab police officers: report Pakistans Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency is again engaged in the vicious job of radicalising Punjabs youth through Pro-Khalistani groups and is planning to target Punjab police officers, according to an intelligence report. Reports say the Pro-Khalistani groups are compiling a list of police officers who have been involved in the interrogation of arrested terrorists in Punjab. These groups are also trying to collect details about members of the families of police officers living or studying outside India, particularly in Canada, the US, UK and Europe. A Zee Media report citing the report submitted to the ministry of home affairs, said Pakistan's ISI, with the support of pro-Khalistani groups, is trying to radicalise the youth of Punjab. ISI is also conspiring to target some 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, according to the report. An earlier report by Zee Media had said 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 in the United Kingdom has started a campaign on the social media to appeal to the people of Punjab to join the 'struggle for Khalistan'. 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, the report adds. US Supreme Court to hear Gujarat villagers' appeal on Mundra power plant The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by Gujarat villagers against Tata Powers Mundra thermal power plant, which is funded by US-based International Finance Corporation (IFC), over alleged environmental damages. "Petition granted", the Supreme Court said on Monday. The case would come up for hearing in the next session, beginning October. The villagers, led by Budha Ismail Jam, along with several other farmers and fishermen, allege that the coal-fired Tata Mundra Power Plant has resulted in widespread environmental damages. In 2015, the applicants - Indian farmers, fishermen, a trade union of fishworkers, and a local government entity had sued the IFC in the US District Court for the District of Columbia for funding the project. Washington DC-based IFC, the financing wing of the World Bank, has provided $450 million in financial assistance to the project. The Supreme Court said it would decide whether the IFC enjoyed immunity under the 1945 International Organisations Immunity Act. The petitioners moved the Supreme Court this year after the lower courts dismissed their petitions arguing that the IFC enjoyed immunity, like other foreign countries, under the 1945 International Organizations Immunity Act. The petitioners lost the case before a district court in 2016 and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2017. Both the courts argued that IFC enjoys immunity. The villagers, in their appeal, argued that the Tata Mundra Power Plant has failed to comply with international environmental standards, resulting in devastation of local environment. "International organisations play an ever-increasing role in the economic landscape of this country and the world. Therefore, the question whether they are absolutely immune from any kind of lawsuit - no matter how strictly commercial their activities; no matter how egregious their actions; and no matter the views of the Executive Branch - has great significance," the petitioners argued. Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi, who has been detained in the anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, will soon be released, Ethiopias prime minister said. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed made the announcement over the weekend after returning from the Saudi Arabia where he met the Saudi Crown Prince. The Gulf kingdom has arrested the countrys second-richest man, Al-Amoudi, as part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption drive. Al Amoudi was among 11 princes, four current ministers and top businessmen detained during the swoop by a new anti-corruption body. The Saudi government described the detentions as merely the start of a vital process to root out corruption wherever it exists. Al Amoudis arrest has caused shockwaves in Ethiopia, where he is the single most important figure in one of Africas fastest growing economies. His investments in Ethiopia, which span food, energy and retailing, are estimated at $3.4bn, about 4.7% of Ethiopias current GDP. He employs around 100,000 people, around 14% of all those who work in the Horn of Africa nation. Forbes real time net worth shows Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi is worth $11.1 billion. We have made the request we are sure that he will be released very soon, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in capital Addis Ababa. He also announced that Saudi Arabia agreed to release 1,000 Ethiopian nationals who have been in prison in the Gulf state for a variety of offenses. There was music and song in the County House in Lifford on Monday evening as the Cathaoirleach and elected members of Donegal County Council honoured Altan for their contribution to traditional Irish music and being global ambassadors for Donegal for the past 30 years. Altan started life in 1987 when Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh and her late husband Frankie Kennedy formed the group that has gone on to become one of the most internationally acclaimed Irish folk groups and has collaborated with music greats such as Dolly Parton, Enya, the Chieftains, Donal Lunny, Steve Cooney and Alison Krauss and many others. Ciaran Curran and Mark Kelly joined Mairead and Frankie in their early years as did Paul OShaughnessy who left the group in 1993. Ciaran Tourish and Daithi Sproule joined Altan in the early 90s and Ciaran retired just last year in 2017 while Daithi continues to play with the group. Dermot Byrne played with the group from the mid 90s until 2013 and Martin Tourish joined them in 2013 and continues to play with them today. Each of these musicians made their mark on the group and contributed in no small way to unique sound that has become the hallmark of Altan. Speaking at the Civic Reception, Cathaoirleach Cllr. Gerry McMonagle said: Altan has shared the story of Donegal through their unique music. They have inspired and moved audiences and they have brought the beauty of Irish traditional music and the Irish language to all parts of the world. And in doing this they have conveyed the essence of Donegal and of our special sense of place in the world. It is truly an honour to be in a position to host this civic reception which is our way of conveying our gratitude for all they have done and achieved. Chief Executive of Donegal County Council Seamus Neely described Altan as wonderful ambassadors for Donegal and mentioned especially the great musicians from Donegal and beyond who have inspired their music including Maireads father Francie Mooney. He thanked them for their commitment to Donegal and to the North West of Ireland and for keeping Donegal in the hearts and minds of all who listen to their music and for reaching out to all those with a strong connection to the county. A representative from each political grouping on the Council also paid tribute to the group as did Pat The Cope Gallagher TD and Pearse Doherty TD who also attended the special event. In his address Cathaoirleach Cllr. Gerry McMonagle also paid tribute to the late Frankie Kennedy who was instrumental in establishing the group. He said: "His spirit, his memory and his legacy lives on in the music of Altan. He had a vision for Altan and he wanted them to continue to bring their unique sound to all corners of the world. I believe that you have achieved this and that you have kept his memory and his legacy alive through your uncompromising approach to your music and your creative endeavours. On behalf of the group, Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh thanked the Council for honouring them in this way and paid homage to the generosity of all the great musicians who have shared their music and their tunes with them. They concluded the event with a few tunes in the Council Chamber. Altan where presented with a specially commissioned painting by well known Irish artist Fiontan Gogarty along with an official scroll marking the occasion of the civic reception. GLOBAL - Garment manufacturers from nine supplier countries have come together to set out the practices they expect from the fashion brands and retailers who buy their products. The Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative (STTI), led by the STAR By Jessica Corbett The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) blocked reporters from CNN, E&E News and the Associated Press from attending a summit about water pollution on Tuesday, and a security guard reportedly grabbed a journalist by the shoulders and "forcibly" shoved her out of the building. "Guards barred an AP reporter from passing through a security checkpoint inside the building. When the reporter asked to speak to an EPA public-affairs person, the security guards grabbed the reporter by the shoulders and shoved her forcibly out of the EPA building," the AP said Tuesday. EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox told the journalists they had not been invited to the summit and there was not space for them. Wilcox told NBC News the agency provided them with a livestream. He claimed the AP reporter threatened "negative coverage" if she was not allowed to attend the event, but also that he was "unaware of the individual situation that has been reported." A climate reporter for Politico tweeted Tuesday that a security guard joked about how he told an AP reporter she could not film as she was being kicked out of the agency building. A journalist from E&E confirmed that his outlet as well as CNN and the AP had been barred from attending the event. The AP report of the incident provoked widespread condemnation of the agency and guard's behavior. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt convened the meeting about water contaminants perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl after facing fierce criticism last week for preventing the release of a major study examining their impacts on waterways throughout the country. Published emails revealed the agency and the Trump White House feared a "public relations nightmare" in response to widespread contamination from the chemicals, which are commonly used in Teflon, firefighting foam, and by the Department of Defense for exercises at U.S. bases, and have been tied to thyroid and pregnancy issues as well as some cancers. After news broke that the agency and the White House were blocking the release of the study, Friends of the Earth had tweeted, "Scott Pruitt is more worried about journalists than poisoning millions of Americans." Reposted with permission from our media associate Common Dreams. 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 (BLM) is planning the September auctionwhich would convey development rights to fossil-fuel companieswithout any site-specific public or environmental review, as required by federal law. Planning documents cite Trump policies that forego National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 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. We'll 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 won't 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 fracking's 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 agency's 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 stageafter industry has the right to develop the landthe bureau is unable to deny subsequent drilling plans. "Fracking or drilling development could be catastrophic for the region's groundwater," said McKinnon. "This is Trump's 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 for Biological Diversity has sued the BLM for using DNAs to plan oil and gas auctions in Ohio and Colorado. In April the Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump administration over its January policy encouraging their use. British diplomats and officials will attend meetings with American counterparts in the US mission recently transferred to the disputed city of Jerusalem despite Londons opposition to President Donald Trump over relocation of the mission from Tel Aviv to the Holy city. The United Kingdom, France, Germany and much of the international diplomatic corps boycotted the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem on May 14. London, Paris and Berlin have rejected President Trumps December decision announcing the relocation of the mission from Tel Aviv. Besides Arab and Islamic countries, Western powers and much of the international community slammed the decision, which jeopardizes the peace process and impedes the international consensus over the fate of the old city. UK Middle East Minister Alistair Burt told last week, three days after the much criticized US diplomatic move, members of the British-Palestinian Policy Council that British officials and diplomats will be attending meetings in the building, Middle East Monitor (MEE) reports. When we asked him to confirm [that] UK officials would not attend meetings at the embassy going forward, as the UK does not recognize it, he was very clear that they would attend, one source told the London-based media. Burts remarks appeared to have been confirmed by the Foreign Office, which according to MEE, indicated that diplomats and other representatives will attend meetings at the embassy. UKs stance on the embassy relocation and at the same its decision to attend meetings at the facility puzzles politicians in the British-Palestinian Policy Council. London criticized Israel for the killing of over 60 Palestinians in a protest near the Gaza border with Israel in response to the US controversial move. Kamel Hawwash, vice chair of the British-Palestinian Policy Council told MEE that the council was stunned by the decision. Kamel regretted the hypocrisy of the British government. Friday, UK abstained during a United Nations Human Rights Council vote on a resolution to assign international war crimes investigators to probe the massacre of Palestinian protestors. The resolution was passed with 29 countries in favor. Other member countries abstained and only the US and Australia voted against it. Resistance is growing against the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) designed to carry fracked gas 300 miles from northwest West Virginia to southern Virginia. On Monday morning, a woman named Fern MacDougal strung up a platform 30 feet in the air that is suspended by ropes tied to surrounding trees in Virginia's Jefferson National Forest. MacDougal is now the ninth person in the last 85 days to stage tree-sits across the pipeline route in order to block its construction, according to Appalachians Against Pipelines. Her "aerial blockade," as the resistance group calls it, is located on Pocahontas Road, which Mountain Valley plans to use to reach a construction site. Opponents of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline, whose route cuts through one of the country's most iconic hiking trails, worry about its threat to the area's water supply and to wildlife habitat, as well as its potential harm to recreational lands and the health of surrounding Appalachian communities. Environmental groups also warn that the project sets a terrible precedent of building energy infrastructure through national forests. "Cutting through delicate karst topography and 300 miles of contiguous forest and family farms seized by eminent domain, MVP threatens to damage the health and wellbeing of poor and oppressed communities along the pipeline route by threatening the air, soil and water," said MacDougal in a statement. She added, "This pipeline will catalyze the growth and expansion of gas extraction across Appalachia, an industry which has already caused permanent harm to many communities. We are dedicated to resisting this reckless endangerment of the land and people as long as MVP continues to operate." MacDougal was inspired to follow the activism of a fellow tree-sitter named "Nutty," who has protested from her monopod a few miles up Pocahontas road since March 28, and by David Buckel, a civil rights lawyer who died last month after setting himself on fire to protest environmental destruction. Posters at MacDougal's site declare, "WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?" and "STILL HERE." Appalachians Against Pipelines In a Facebook update after her first day, MacDougal said the Forest Service was "really angry when they saw that I was here." Tree-sits have popped up in at least five locations along the pipeline route. The oldest site is still occupied by a man named "Deckhard," who has been stationed at his platform on the West Virginia side of Peters Mountain since Feb. 26. Mountain Valley has sued several hundred landowners in West Virginia and Virginia to invoke eminent domain to allow it to cut trees and run the pipeline through their properties. One such landowner, Red Terry, a 61 year woman, and her daughter "Minor," camped for more than a month in a treehouse on their own land before court-ordered fines and the threat of forced removal brought them down, Rolling Stone reported. According to the Independent, Mountain Valley has urged judges to remove some of the tree sitters but has been unsuccessful. The Forest Service also issued a "closure order" within 200 feet of the proposed pipeline route, which they say is to protect the public from any construction hazards. However, pipeline opponents say the order has prevented re-supplies of food and water to the tree-sitters. Attempts to bring supplies to the sitters has already led at least three arrests, Outside Online reported. Rolling Stone reported that two Charlottesville physicians who sought to perform a wellness check on Nutty were denied access near her platform. Mountain Valley has said that the pipeline will be in operation by the end of this year. However, Appalachians Against Pipelines, which is raising funds to stop the project, said the presence of tree-sitters has already caused a significant delay in construction for more than 50 days. Philadelphia leaders hope that digging into the culture, training, and assistance for schools will help them make headway on one of the thorniest problems facing educators today: curbing schools use of discipline practices that take students out of the classroom. Philadelphia is one of many districts nationwide that has been trying to limit out-of-school suspensions and reduce racial gaps among students who receive exclusionary discipline, but results so far have been uneven both in Philadelphia and across the country. Now, the district is launching a series of rapid-fire pilot programs to find ways to speed up and smooth out the transition to better school discipline. We found school administrators are coming around to the idea that they need to do something different with school discipline, but teachers dont really feel they have options, said Abigail Gray, a senior researcher at the University of Pennsylvanias Consortium for Policy Research in Education, which is working with the 130,000-student district. We need to be actively developing those alternatives. The district is working with schools to quickly identify common hurdles for schools and pilot interventionsgenerally those that can be turned around in a school year or lessto fix the problems. That iterative process of gathering data to identify where the problem spots are, developing solutions, and testing them is part of the districts focus on continuous improvement of districtwide initiatives, an approach gaining currency in some schools. See Also: A Primer on Continuous School Improvement Its encouraging that Philadelphia is trying to think about these implementation issues in a systematic way, said Anthony Bryk, the president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which has been a proponent of continuous-improvement strategies in education. More typically, somebody creates something, you roll it out wide, and you dont necessarily have evidence that it has worked for anybody in the district. People are dealing with the problems as they emerge and then just turning to the next big idea. Suspension Turnaround Schools in the City of Brotherly Love are under pressure to overhaul a discipline system criticized for disproportionately removing students of color from classes, causing them to miss instruction and fall behind in class. In 2012, the district changed its disciplinary code, barring schools from using out-of-school suspensions for more minor conduct violations such as the use of profanity, and limiting it to a last resort for misbehaviors such as playing on a phone in classwith a goal of reserving suspensions for more serious offenses. At the same time, the school system began to roll out a system of positive behavioral interventions and supports, or PBIS, in which teachers analyze student data and work together to respond to misbehavior and help students devise and meet behavior goals. How Schools Fall on the Implementation Spectrum When Philadelphia called on its schools to limit the use of out-of-school suspensions, the district found some were significantly more effective than others at overhauling their discipline practices. In partnership with the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, the district surveyed teachers and other school staff members on their thoughts about exclusionary discipline practices like suspensions. They also were asked about the level of support they felt they got from principals and their training and opportunities to use other discipline practices, such as positive behavior interventions and supports, or PBIS. The resulting analysis found that the citys K-5 and K-8 schools generally fell into one of three groups when it came to putting the initiative into practice: Collaborative schools had high teacher morale, and staff members reported feeling supported by the district to use collaborative discipline approaches, such as comparing a students behavior in different classrooms. Staff did not see out-of-school suspensions as effective in changing student behavior, and they were most likely to use nonpunitive discipline. Reactive schools had teachers who felt they were on their own in disciplining students. Even if educators had had training in PBIS, staff members reported viewing suspensions and other exclusionary student discipline practices as essential to keeping control in schools. Noncohesive schools had low teacher morale, high staff turnover, and limited resources. Teachers reported few opportunities to collaborate around student discipline and instead felt blamed by administrators if their students misbehaved. These schools had highly inconsistent practices, using both exclusionary and nonpunitive discipline. The district did initially reduce both overall out-of-school suspensions and racial gaps but still had a long way to go, according to federal civil rights data. From 2013-14 to 2015-16, the annual number of out-of-school suspensions fell from nearly 17,500 to about 15,000. Black students, who made up 81.5 percent of out-of-school suspensions and 53 percent of enrollment in 2013-14, accounted for 51 percent of total enrollment and 71 percent of students suspended out of school a year later, in 2015-16. By contrast, white students made up about 15 percent of students in 2013-14 and 8.5 percent of out-of-school suspensions that year; in 2015-16, white students made up 14 percent of all students, but their out-of-school suspension rate was less than half that. Progress has been very uneven. Researchers from the Penn consortium and Mathematica Policy Research found that by 2017, five years after the policy change, only 18 percent of schools had eliminated out-of-school suspensions for conduct violations, 17 percent hadnt changed their discipline at all, and the rest had only partially changed their discipline practices. As a result, the Fordham Institute, which published the study, concluded that trying to fix [discipline disparities] with top-down decrees is impractical and potentially harmful. To diagnose problem spots in struggling schools, the Penn consortium, in partnership with the district, surveyed teachers and administrators about their ability to understand students behavior, their ability to respond in different ways to students misbehavior, and more generally on whether they felt respected by students and supported by their leaders. Then the researchers compared those survey results to other measures of the schools: teacher job satisfaction and student rates of attendance, suspensions, and disciplinary referrals in general. I am really helping [teachers and leaders] to think about analyzing gaps. Where are places where programs are working and just need more momentum and where do we need a different approach, the consortiums Gray said. The quick pilots help school leaders understand their programs more deeply, said Tonya Wolford, the chief of evaluation, research, and accountability for the Philadelphia district. We really step way back to get the programs to say what [administrators] said they needed to be effective, and what they really did, she said. For example, she added, You said for a program to be effective, you needed 90 percent of teachers to participate in this training; we only have that 50 percent of teachers participated. It helps us start those conversations. The district will test its first such pilots next year. To help teachers and administrators in schools where out-of-school suspensions remain the norm, the district this fall will test an intervention designed to build empathy between teachers and students. For guidance, the district drew on research from experiments at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. Psychologist Jason Okonofua found that a brief, online program to build empathy between teachers and students made both sides feel more respected and halved the suspension rate over a year. Benefits were strongest for students who had previously been suspended. Upcoming Experiments Gray worked with Okonofua to adapt the intervention for Philadelphia. This fall, 20 schools will randomly assign some teachers and students to participate in two online training sessions, explaining the concepts of implicit bias and growth mindset, as well as strategies to empathize with others. The sessions will walk students and teachers through scenarios in which both adults and students respond to and reflect on common classroom situations with an eye toward building long-term, respectful relationships. Empathic discipline is a good example; its been rigorously studied but in contexts that arent as urban, Gray said. This is about trying to find ways to both choose the right interventions but also figure out a way to implement them in context. The district doesnt expect it will match the 50 percent reduction in out-of-school suspensions that Okonofua found, but the intervention costs little in staff time or money. We dont see this as the big sweeping answer to these problems, but we see it as a way to gain traction for changing the discipline culture of schools, Gray said. We know things that work but need to know how we get them from that pointof having evidenceto the point of being flexibly and well implemented. Separately, the research partnership is looking at interventions to improve the way educators deal with students who act out because they have been through trauma and discipline training specifically targeting school-based police officers. Its hard to shift your focus to more of the process of implementation rather than the idea of, Oh, were doing a program that will help with [a given problem], Wolford said. If we ask questionsis this from an evidence base, is it implemented with fidelityits going to be a systematic way to move things forward for kids. Photo: Foundation for California Community Colleges Lance Izumi is a Koret senior fellow in education studies and senior director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank. He is a regular opinion contributor to edweek.org where he trades views with Bruce Fuller, on the other side of the political aisle. Read Bruce Fullers take on teacher strikes. Teachers have been striking and walking out in a number of states this spring, including West Virginia, Oklahoma, Colorado, and now North Carolina. But Arizonathe third state to protest teacher pay and conditionsis remarkable for what it reveals about the internal workings of the organizers. Although the pay and funding issues that prompted teachers to walk out in Arizona elicited sympathy from much of the public, the reaction to the walkouts themselves, especially among teachers and parents, has been more complicated. Young, dynamic teachers have been the public face of the Arizona walkout movement. Yet, disquieting details about the organizers have started to bubble up. Take Noah Karvelis, the young music teacher, who is one of the key leaders of the Arizona walkout. Last year, he published a revealing essay called From Marx to Trump: Labors Role in Revolution in the online magazine The Progressive Times (which describes itself as progressive, independent journalism for the political revolution written by citizen journalists). Karvelis wrote, leftist revolutionary ideology has consistently placed a particular emphasis on the importance of an empowered working class. Thus, he concludes, We must continue our fight and bolster the working class as we strive towards a progressive political revolution. Based on this essay, Karvelis ultimate goal, then, is not merely to squeeze out more government funding for higher teacher salaries, such as the 20 percent increase proposed by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, but to increase the power of organized labor as a means to a leftist political revolution. Karvelis, however, may run into several roadblocks on his way to his revolutionary utopia. First, Karvelis left-wing views, along with those of fellow walkout leaders like Derek Harriswhose social media posts are replete with venomous anti-Republican comments, according to Phoenix-based KFYI talk radiohave galvanized conservative opposition. Republican lawmakers in Arizona have hammered Karvelis and other walkout leaders. In a recent op-ed, Republican State Rep. Maria Symes labeled the #RedForEd walkout movement as #TooRedForEd. And teachers have also noticed. High school teacher Tom Buchan criticized #RedforEd, saying the leadership is not bipartisan: Both Karvelis and Harris are about as ultraleft as you get. Second, on a more national scale, the U.S. Supreme Court seems likely, based on questioning by justices during oral arguments, to rule against public employee unions in the Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31 case. Plaintiff Mark Janus, an Illinois state employee, argued that forcing him to pay fees to a union as a condition of his employment violated his First Amendment free-speech rights. The walkout in Arizona may end up being a Pyrrhic victory for #RedforEd." While the Janus case would have the most immediate impact on the 22 states that allow public-sector unions to demand fees from non-members, the free-speech issues in Janus will resonate across the countryeven in those states, like Arizona, that do allow such fair share union fees. According to the Arizona Daily Independent (a publicly supported online publication written by citizen journalists), the media largely ignored teachers who opposed the walkout, and, worse, those teachers were forced into silence due to the tactics of their fellow educators in some instances. I talked to Jennifer Hill, a former teacher who still serves as a substitute teacher in the Phoenix area. She believes in higher wages for teachers, but has gone public with her opposition to the walkouts. In response to her opposition, #RedforEd teachers have bombarded her with hundreds of vitriolic messages, she said. Still, Hill told me that there are many teachers who feel as she does. Emails to Republican State Rep. Kelly Townsend obtained by the Arizona Daily Independent reveal that some teachers feel frustrated and alienated by the protest. In one instance, an educator wrote: My school, which was once a safe and nurturing place, has become a political minefield. Teachers are wearing [#RedforEd] shirts in front of students, being aggressive with all employees about their beliefs, but not listening to those who may not agree. In a recent interview with PBS in Arizona, Forest Moriartywho describes himself as a father of two public-school-age children in the Phoenix-area and the husband of a teachersaid: If you went to talk to the #RedforEd people on their boards or on their chat areas, if you disagreed with them, even the most minor amount, you would be shouted out. And this, he explained was why he created the online group Purple for Parents to offer an anti-walkout perspective. So the walkout in Arizona may end up being a Pyrrhic victory for #RedforEd. The politics of its leaders have elicited negative views of the movements motives there, and the organizers tactics have alienated many who were initially supportive. Worse for the movement, Jennifer Hill told me that the walkout has caused many families to abandon the public schools in favor of charter schools, private schools, and even home schooling. Already strong in Arizona, support for school choice could end up even stronger. I will never return my children to the classroom again, posted one internet commenter on an Arizona Daily Independent article earlier this month. I have had issues with poor quality education in two different schools in my area. This [#RedforEd movement] was the last straw. The walkout in Arizona may have ended on May 3rd, but the fallout is just beginning. It may be more than what #RedforEd bargained for. Lance Izumi is a Koret senior fellow in education studies and senior director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank. He is the author of the book The Corrupt Classroom (Pacific Research Institute, 2017). Photo: Craig Sherod Photography Bruce Fuller, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley, works on how schools and civic activists push to advance pluralistic communities. He is a regular opinion contributor to edweek.org where he trades views with Lance Izumi, on the other side of the political aisle. Read Lance Izumis take on teacher strikes. This blossoming spring of teacher uprisingsmarching on state capitols, winning hefty pay raisescheers any citizen who knows that robust societies depend on vibrant schools. But arid summers may await the nations educators, as the Trump-tweaked U.S. Supreme Court seems ready to eviscerate these same teacher associations who battle each day for better schools. While hearing oral arguments in the Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31 case in February, justices voiced skepticism over compulsory union dues, the life blood of local associations that mobilize the nations 3.2 million teachers. Still, its the wildcat strikes moving across the nationignited mostly by young and passionate teachersthat may reshape the future of labor unions. Right-wing backers of Janus are scratching their heads over the red-state teacher uprisings. Critics, who see the unions as protecting mediocre schools, have spent millions to disembowel aging unions. Instead, its the youngsters among the rank-and-filetaking to social media and pop-up protestswho pull thousands of teachers to state capitols and deliver hefty raises for a profession that, most Americans agree, has long been underpaid. Take Rebecca Garelli, a young teacher at her wits end over aging textbooks who is struggling to teach science to Phoenix middle schoolers with what she describes as out of date lab equipment. She just wasnt being treated like a professional, Garelli told me. Nor could she fathom why Arizonas Gov. Doug Ducey did little to reverse a billion-dollar recession-era cut in school spending, despite Arizonas now-booming economy. So, like any 30-something, she created a fresh Facebook page one Friday evening last March, at first calling it Teachers United. After a busy weekend filled with her own childrens activities, Garelli returned online that Monday to find that more than 1,200 teachers had signed up to join Teachers United, many eager to go on strike. I just wanted to have a conversation, she recalled, I considered shutting down the site. Unless aging union bosses squarely face their shifting environs and build youthful alliances, they face a dismal future." Yet, two weeks later, thousands of teachers descended on the state capitol, donned in bright red T-shirts, colorfully punctuating the slogan that went viral, Red for Ed. The governor soon agreed to a 20 percent pay hike, implemented over the next three years. So, whats the use of staid teachers unions if youthful renegades, many with no history in the labor movement, can prove so potent? Might rebellious teachers like Garelli further splinter pro-education groups, thinning the political heft that union chiefs once enjoyed? Its unclear how cathartic labor action by the new young guard will translate into long-term policy or budget gains. Overall suspicion of public organizing has not shifted in conservative states, like Oklahoma, where Republican governors had cut per-pupil state funding by 28 percent over the past decade, until teachers won a $6,100 average pay raise this spring. The rookie agitators are succeeding with a strategy that any shrewd organizer knows: rally around a shared and viscerally felt grievance, like dismal pay for challenging jobs. But will these hard-won salary bumps prove to elevate student achievement? We originally suggested broader aid for education, David Blatt, the head of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, told me, But we were really a lonely voice. Ultimately, legislators only approved a pay raise, ignoring longer term funding demands, in the face of a threatened walkout, he noted. Nor has the teacher vanguard yet to consider which taxpayers finance higher salaries. Arizona enacted a new car-registration fee, along with capturing savings from a falling count of Medicaid patients, rather than raise taxes on corporations or wealthy citizens. Oklahoma legislators gingerly raised levies on gas and oil production. But over two-thirds of the pay package is funded by higher taxes at the gas pump, on tobacco products and tribal gaming, regressive burdens on the very working-class families that suffer from lower quality schools, according to an analysis by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. The instant lightning sparked by novice organizers, when unaligned with traditional unions, may suck energy from their older brethren. Established labor chiefs already face criticism from social-justice groups, which accuse them of harboring lousy teachers and sacred pension plans, rather than rallying to equitably fund public schools. Select unions are becoming less insular, such as service employees who back expanded preschool for their own kids or charter-school leaders who open their doors to union representation. Still, unless aging union bosses squarely face their shifting environs and build youthful alliances, they face a dismal future. A inventive unity among diffuse education lobbies will become all the more necessary if the Supreme Court subverts union financing. Its really hard to do this work without union investment, Blatt said in Oklahoma City. Although labor leaders did not initiate the grassroots efforts, they quickly provided the permits, pizza, and porta-potties as the youth-led rank-and-file swarmed the capitol, he said. Back in Arizona, Teachers United is bonding with old-line labor to focus on a ballot initiative. If approved by voters, the measurewhich Garelli reports is totally spearheaded by the unionwould boost taxes on the top 0.8 percentrestoring that billion-dollar cut largely ignored by the past two governors. Bruce Fuller is a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the author of Organizing Locally. Drone owners face fine for flying near racing Local residents and TT visitors being warned that they face prosecution and fines if they use drones to film around the TT and Southern 100 practices and races. Both the Snaefell Mountain Course is a no drone zone during race periods, with the airspace restricted for emergency and filming activities, while the Billown Circuit to too close to the airport for drones to be operated. The Isle of Man Civil Aviation Authority warns a breach of the restriction can result in a fine of up to 2500. Drones will also be banned from Douglas on the Tuesday evening of TT week due to a Red Arrows display in the bay. Full details on the restrictions for drones around racing can be found on the Government's website. Gold chains stolen from Douglas business Police are appealing for information after a number of gold chains were taken from a business in Douglas. 23 20-inch gold chains have been stolen any time between the end of January and last week. Officers are keen to hear from anyone who has been offered such an item for sale recently, or has other information regarding the theft. Those who can help can contact Police Headquarters on 631212. A flight of the national flag carrier Saudia made Monday an emergency landing in Jeddah after the pilot failed to correct a malfunction that reports say forced the aircraft to land without its front wheels. The Airbus A330-200, which had left Medina bound for Dhaka, stopped its journey and landed in Jeddah. The aircraft skidded along the runway as the pilot tried to land it. It landed with the nose gear retracted, Gulf Business reports citing an official. The kingdoms Aviation Investigations Bureau (AIB) indicated that the incident was caused by a hydraulic malfunction with the planes nose landing gear. The landing caused sparks underneath the aircraft. There were 141 passengers and 10 crew members on board the aircraft leased from low-cost Turkish airline Onur Air. They were attended to by rescue teams while fire fighters tried to put off the sparks. Some 70 people were reportedly treated at Jeddah King Abdul Aziz International Airport as reports revealed cases of broken bones and minor injuries suffered during the violent landing. The incident is the second plane-related misfortune in this month for the Saudi aviation. A light aircraft belonging to the kingdoms wild life Authority crashed north of the country early last week killing all the people onboard. The plane according to the AIB crashed in Tabuk region. 2018-05-22 Maeci As part of "Fare Cinema 1st Week of Italian Cinema in the World", the Italian Cultural Institute in Madrid has organised three events from 22 and 24 May focusing on the trades of the cinema with film director Riccardo Milani, architects and set designers Lucia Nigri and Alexia De Vito from Mia Market. "Fare Cinema" (Making Films) is an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in partnership with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism and is aimed at promoting high-quality Italian film productions worldwide. The project falls under the Italian Way of Life Integrated Promotion Plan and is dedicated to the many trades of the cinema, including all those professions actors, film directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, set designers, composers, costume designers, makeup artists, editors, special effect specialists, etc. which go to make up the complex film making machine that, both in front of and behind the camera, contribute to the success of our cinema in Italy and abroad. 22 May 8:00 p.m. Screening of the feature film Do You See Me? (Scusate se esisto) (106) directed by Riccardo Milani. Followed by: public meeting with the film director. 23 May 11:00 a.m. Public meeting with Lucia Nigri in "The Job of Set Designer: from the cinema to television" Followed by: Screening of the feature film Couch Potatoes (Gli sdraiati) (120) directed by Francesca Archibugi. 24 May 12:30 p.m. - Public meeting with Alexia De Vito in "Make your film with Italy. Development and Co-production Opportunities: Mia Market" Followed by: Screening of the documentary Cinque mondi (67) directed by Giancarlo Soldi. The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today offered a ringing endorsement of the bipartisan Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act (S. 2888), a proposal in the U.S. Senate to ensure communities across the U.S. have access to health professionals and other critical supports improving care for us all as we age. Introduced by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), the bill echoes similar bipartisan legislation proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2017. Now pending in each chamber of Congress, both proposals draw on considerable insights from the Eldercare Workforce Alliance (EWA), a collaborative comprised of more than 30 member organizations reflecting the diverse expertise of millions of professionals who support health in aging for older Americans and caregivers. "The future we're working for at the AGS--a future where all older Americans have access to high-quality, person-centered care--begins by building the workforce to make that possible and by ensuring that workforce can connect us to the tools and supports we need as we age," notes AGS Chief Executive Officer Nancy E. Lundebjerg, MPA. "We commend Sens. Collins and Casey for working with us and our partners to make that future a reality with the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act. By standing behind this legislation, and a similar bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, we're committed to a future when all Americans can look forward to high-quality, person-centered care." Building on growing momentum for the health workforce we need to contribute to our communities for as long as possible, the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act supports two critical objectives for geriatrics healthcare professionals, older adults, and millions of caregivers across America. First, the bill would formally establish and authorize funding for the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP), the only federal program designed to increase the number of health professionals with the skills and training to care for older people. The GWEP was launched in 2015 by the Health Resources and Services Administration with 44 three-year grants provided to awardees in 29 states where the workforce shortage is particularly pronounced. This important legislation will authorize GWEP funding of $45 million annually through 2023, allowing current and future awardees to: Educate and engage with family caregivers by training providers who can assess and address their care needs and preferences. Promote interdisciplinary team-based care by transforming clinical training environments to integrate geriatrics and primary care delivery systems. Improve the quality of care delivered to older adults by providing education to families and caregivers on critical care challenges such as Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The bill also would reestablish and enhance the Geriatric Academic Career Awards (GACAs), a previously funded program that enabled career development for hundreds of clinician-educators before it was eliminated in 2015 through a consolidation of several training programs. The bill will authorize GACA funding of six million annually through 2023. Some estimates suggest that, since 1998, original GACA recipients have trained as many as 65,000 colleagues (perhaps even more) in geriatrics expertise and have contributed to geriatrics education, research, and leadership across the U.S. Renewed GACA funding comes at a critical juncture for the field. Researchers reporting in 2017 on the impact of the GACA noted that, without a substantial increase in funding for geriatrics education and research, the U.S. risks "decimating a workforce that is essential to training health professionals on the unique healthcare needs of older adults." "This Act provides support for the health professionals and clinician-educators engaged in geriatrics education and research," Lundebjerg concluded. "The GWEP provides support for the current transformation of primary care, while the GACA develops the next generation of innovators to improve care outcomes and care delivery. Together, these platforms play a critical role in developing the workforce we all need as we age." The Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act echoes priorities from sister legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in September 2017 by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), and David McKinley (R-W.Va.). Their bipartisan Geriatrics Workforce and Caregiver Enhancement Act (H.R. 3713) was one of the first pieces of proposed legislation in recent history to stake a claim on best practices for geriatrics expertise, now reinforced in the U.S. Senate thanks to Sens. Collins and Casey. Support from constituents across the U.S. will be critical to ensuring lawmakers in both chambers of Congress recognize the importance of these legislative proposals, which now must be reconciled and voted upon before they become law. For more information on contacting your U.S. Senators and House Representative, visit the AGS Health in Aging Advocacy Center at cqrcengage.com/geriatrics. ### About the American Geriatrics Society Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a nationwide, not-for-profit society of geriatrics healthcare professionals that has--for 75 years--worked to improve the health, independence, and quality of life of older people. Its nearly 6,000 members include geriatricians, geriatric nurses, social workers, family practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and internists. The Society provides leadership to healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the public by implementing and advocating for programs in patient care, research, professional and public education, and public policy. For more information, visit AmericanGeriatrics.org. "Clinical guidelines, including the Global Initiative for Asthma, state that there is no role for antibiotics in asthma exacerbations unless there is strong evidence of lung infection," said lead study author Mihaela S. Stefan, MD, PhD, a research scientist at the Institute for Healthcare Delivery and Population Science and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Springfield. Dr. Stefan noted that a prior study conducted by her research group found that 60 percent of patients received antibiotics without an indication of lung infection. "Nevertheless, few studies have assessed whether antibiotics could be beneficial in these patients," she added. In the largest observational comparative effectiveness study to date, the researchers analyzed the medical records of patients hospitalized for asthma over a two-year period at 554 U.S. hospitals. They excluded patients with any potential reason for receiving antibiotics, including being diagnosed with a sinus infection, pneumonia, bronchitis, emphysema, sepsis or any other condition that should be treated with antibiotics. Of the remaining 22,043 patients, 46.1 percent were treated with antibiotics within their first two hospital days. The researchers conducted several types of analyses. Using propensity-matched analysis, which they characterized as the most "robust," they found that those receiving antibiotics had: longer hospital stays, 4.64 vs 3.4 days; higher hospitalization costs, $6,427 vs. $5,387; and a 55 percent higher risk of antibiotic-related diarrhea. There was no difference in treatment failure between those who received antibiotics and those who did not. Treatment failure was defined as the initiation of invasive or noninvasive mechanical ventilation, transfer to the intensive care unit after hospital day two, and in-hospital mortality or readmission for asthma exacerbation within 30 days of discharge. "Our results strengthen the evidence that antibiotics should not be prescribed routinely in adult patients hospitalized with asthma," Dr. Stefan said, adding that all patients in the study had received systemic steroids and bronchodilators, the standard of care for patients experiencing an asthma exacerbation. "All hospitals should assess their practice in caring for patients hospitalized with asthma and increase their antibiotic stewardship." She added that her research group is planning a qualitative study to understand why physicians use antibiotics in asthma. ### This abstract has been revised since the original abstract was submitted. Abstract 16204 High Antibiotics Prescribing in Patients Hospitalized with Asthma Exacerbation - but Are Antibiotics Associated with Better Outcomes? Authors: M. S. Stefan1, P. K. Lindenauer2, M. Shieh1, P. Pekow1; 1Hospital Medicine, Baystate Med Ctr, Springfield, MA, United States, 2Center for Quality of Care Research, Baystate Med Ctr, Springfield, MA, United States. Importance: More than half of patients hospitalized for asthma receive antibiotics in the absence of a clear indication. Objective: To compare the outcomes of patients hospitalized with asthma exacerbation and treated with antibiotic therapy with those not treated with antibiotics. Design: Retrospective cohort study from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2016 Setting: 554 acute care US hospitals Participants: Patients 18 years or older, hospitalized with asthma exacerbation, and treated with systemic corticosteroids. Exposure: Antibiotic treatment defined as an antibiotic initiated during the first two days of hospitalization and prescribed for a minimum of 2 days. Main outcome and measures: length of stay. Other measures: 1) treatment failure: defined as the initiation of mechanical ventilation, or transfer to ICU after hospital day 2, or in-hospital mortality, or readmission for asthma within 30 days of discharge; 2) hospital costs; and 3) antibiotic-related diarrhea. Results: Of the 22,043 patients 46.1% received antibiotics. Treated patients were older (mean age: 50.5 vs 46.6 years), more likely to be white (49.6% vs 41.5%) and smokers (7.6% vs. 5.5%), and had a higher number of comorbidities than those not treated. Compared with patients not treated with antibiotics, those treated with antibiotics had longer hospital stays (mean: 4.4 vs 3.4 days, p<0.0001), but similar treatment failure rate (5.56% vs. 5.64%). In propensity matched analysis, receipt of antibiotics remained associated with longer stay in the hospital (RR: 1.27; 95% CI, 1.25-1.29), higher cost of hospitalization (mean cost $6427 vs $5387), and increased risk of antibiotic-related diarrhea (OR: 1.55; 95% CI, 1.16-2.08), but not with an increased risk of treatment failure (OR: 1.02; 95% CI, 0.88-1.17). Multivariable adjustment and hierarchical modeling to account for possible confounders and the hospital effect, as well as several sensitivity analyses yielded similar results. Conclusions and relevance: In conclusion, antibiotic therapy was not associated with reduce treatment failure however was associated with increased length of stay, hospital cost and antibiotic-related diarrhea. Our results strengthen the evidence that antibiotics should not be prescribed routinely in adults patients hospitalized with asthma. One of the promising non-invasive brain therapeutic methods is the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). During such a procedure, a magnetic coil is placed near the head of the patient and a magnetic pulse is transmitted to a specific damaged region of the brain. This type of magnetic brain therapy has been deemed valuable in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric diseases, such as depression, as well as many disordered brain functionalities, including stroke, multiple sclerosis, and movement disorders. In some countries the treatment is even covered by health insurance packages. One of the primary current challenges of this treatment is to enhance its efficiency by optimizing stimulation time scheduling (the timing of magnetic pulses). In an article just published online in Frontiers in Neuroscience, Israeli physicists, together with a group of German neurologists, suggest that fewer stimulations of the brain are preferable, since neurons "get tired" when stimulated too fast, and subsequently cease to respond to brain stimulation therapy. Their theory contradicts intuition, which implies that faster and more intense training of our brain is a better therapeutic strategy. Following a series of new experiments and advanced theoretical studies, the Israeli physicists, led by Prof. Ido Kanter, of the Department of Physics and Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center at Bar-Ilan University, have demonstrated that each neuron has a maximal firing rate that is much lower than previously assumed. Hence, when stimulated too fast, neuronal response failures occur. "Neurons are like people," said Prof. Kanter. "Stuttering occurs when we speak too fast, errors occur when we type too fast, and confusion emerges when we learn too fast." The research was conducted in collaboration with a group of neurologists led by Prof. Dr. Walter Paulus, from the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Gottingen and his team, including Dr. Islam Halawa and Dr. Yuichiro Shirota. "We evaluated a variety of existing rTMS scheduling protocols which offered conflicting results and no clear guideline for the temporal organization of brain stimulations," said Prof. Kanter. "Our findings suggest that slower rates of stimulation may be more effective in brain therapy, and we suggest that this method be adopted in order to maximize effective brain therapy." "While modern computers are composed of very reliable elements, the brain is composed of unreliable elements, since neurons 'tire' and frequently fail to respond," added Prof. Kanter, following the previous work of his students Amir Goldental and Dr. Roni Vardi. This newly-discovered principle of neuronal activity was actually found to be advantageous, since it stabilizes brain activity and prevents hyperactivity. rTMS equipment and trained therapists become more accurate and effective in the localization and real-time tracking of stimulation spots in the brain. However, without understanding how to optimize the stimulation scheduling, the efficiency of the therapy will remain limited. The proposed underlying mechanism "less is more" is one of the first guidelines toward improving this type of non-invasive therapy and exemplifies the necessity and the productivity of an interdisciplinary scientific effort to solve the puzzle of our brain. ### Taxing MNEs' profits, as currently done, wastes resources and is detrimental to global welfare, a new study by Nicolai Foss and colleagues argues. We should, instead, tax dividends and sales The habit of taxing Multinational Enterprises (MNEs)' profits is the legacy of a time when "GM had to make cars in Detroit and Hollywood had to make movies in L.A.", but is now inefficient and detrimental to global welfare, a new study by Nicolai Foss, Rodolfo Debenedetti Chair of Entrepreneurship at Bocconi University, and colleagues asserts. The optimal solution would be zeroing corporate tax and replacing it with a hike in taxes on dividends and sales. The trouble with profits as a tax target is that, ideally, governments should tax MNEs for their consumption of local public goods, and profits are a poor proxy of this. Furthermore, profits are extremely mobile and MNEs can easily shift them from high corporate tax locations to lower ones, through the mechanism of transfer prices. Finally, profit taxes lower MNEs' incentives to invest, depriving local markets of positive spillovers (such as employment) and externalities (the web of buyers, suppliers and specialized support firms that the presence of a MNE entails). The inefficiency costs of corporate taxes, the authors note, include the enormous expenditures of governments on policing and monitoring legitimate business activity, as well as the countervailing expenses MNEs incur in order to generate "a veil of secrecy" around their activities. Taxing corporate profits made sense when trans-border transaction costs were high and MNEs had to move entire value chains to a national market. However, nowadays such transaction costs have dramatically fallen and MNEs can fine-slice their value chains, fully realizing the benefits of specialized local resources. As "locations and firms need one another in the manner of flowers and bees", the authors state, the establishment of an MNE branch is preceded by a short-listing process that pits locations one against another in a race whose weapons are tax cuts and subsidies. In principle, MNEs should choose location based on the fit of local resources with any single ring of their value chains and this behavior would ensure both the best results for the company and the highest possible global welfare in the long term. In the real world, though, managers often choose the short-term benefits of lower taxes over long-term value creation, ultimately hurting also their shareholders. In presence of such a tax race, the only equilibrium, the scholars show, is the reduction of corporate income tax rates to zero. They propose, then, to tax the real beneficiaries of MNEs' activities, shareholders and consumers, through a hike of taxes on dividends and sales. "Finding a proper mix of taxes that make our proposal financially sustainable is far from impossible", the authors write, using the UK case as an example. Dividends and sales taxes, the authors argue, are much easier to harmonize than corporate taxes and, making earnings management useless, such policies have the salutary side effect of allowing the MNEs to focus on their core activities. ### Nicolai Foss, Ram Mudambi, Samuele Murtinu, "Taxing the Multinational Enterprise: On the Forced Redesign of Global Value Chains and Other Inefficiencies", forthcoming in Journal of International Business Studies. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3168391 Indigenous Elders can have a broad range of positive effects on the mental and physical health of urban Indigenous people who often experience marginalization and barriers accessing health care, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.171390 that partnered Elders with mainstream health care providers in primary care. In urban settings, such as Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, where the study was conducted, Indigenous people often feel excluded from mainstream health care services because of experiences with racism, lack of cultural understanding and other marginalizing factors. In particular, mental health services which have not been adapted to serve the needs of Indigenous people, may not be welcoming. Elders, respected for their leadership, wisdom, compassion, dedication to healing and other positive qualities, play important roles in providing mental health support to Indigenous Peoples. "Access to Elders as part of routine primary care offers one important avenue for meaningful participation in cultural practices that can improve Indigenous patients' care and help reduce inequities," writes Dr. George Hadjipavlou, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, with coauthors. The qualitative study, which explored patients' experiences and perspectives as part of a larger project, included 37 participants from 20 different First Nations who were interviewed about the impact of Elders on their mental health. Five broad themes were identified: Healing after prolonged periods of seeking help and desperation Strengthening cultural identity and belonging Developing trust and opening up Coping with losses Engaging in ceremony and spiritual dimensions of care as a resource for hope. The study adds to the body of (non-Indigenous) knowledge describing the positive effect of Elders on mental health. Its findings support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's recommendations to include Elders in health care to improve the health and care of Indigenous patients. "Our findings are consistent with research showing that the inclusion of Elders in health care initiatives led to a reduction in teen suicides, decreased rates of domestic violence, improved quality of life, reduced depressive and trauma symptoms, and improved understanding and trust between Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff and patients," write the authors. ### The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Pathways to Health Equity for Aboriginal Peoples Grant. "'All my relations': experiences and perceptions of Indigenous patients connecting with Indigenous Elders in an inner city primary care partnership for mental health and well-being" is published May 22, 2018. Washington, DC (May 22, 2018) -- For the first time in humans, researchers will test a two-pronged approach to treat advanced stage colorectal cancer (CRC), potentially increasing life expectancy. Combining a DNA vaccine, which boosts the body's immune response against tumors, with an antibody that blocks the body's natural defense against the potency of the DNA vaccine, may lead to the development of an effective treatment for late stage CRC, when a cure is not often possible. Preliminary research leading up to this trial will be presented at Digestive Disease Week 2018. Study implications "We are on the cusp of testing something that could be transformative for cancer treatment," said Robert Ramsay, PhD, BSc, group leader of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and lead researcher of the study. "Cancer vaccines are getting closer to the clinic every day and are likely to provide a safer and more effective pillar of treatment for patients. Right now, the pillars of treatment include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and vaccines would bring immunotherapy to the mix." Immunotherapies failed to meet expectations in previous studies. The body naturally puts the brakes on the cancer-fighting immune responses stimulated by vaccines to protect against a potentially out-of-control immune response. The development of new immune checkpoint blockade antibodies, which are being used with the DNA vaccine in this study, is intended to get past this obstacle by temporarily blocking the protective response. Study results In preliminary mouse studies, Ramsay and his colleagues tested the DNA vaccine TetMYB and anti-PD1 on mice that were induced to develop cancer cells. Tumors in the mice responded very well to the treatment, and the cancer was cured in about half of them. Mice were expected to live for only a couple of days or weeks, but about 50 percent of them survived up to two years. The vaccine also created an "immune memory" in the animal studies. When mice cured during the study were later re-challenged with the same tumor, it was immediately rejected. "There is an immune memory for the vaccine," Ramsay said. Next steps Ramsay and his team are testing the regimen for the first time in humans in a phase 1 trial of 32 patients with advanced stage CRC. The study is designed to test safety and, if safety is shown, to allow all patients in the trial to receive the full treatment. "Once cancer has spread to other parts of the body, patients with CRC have few other viable options; therefore, this treatment could be life-changing for these patients," said Toan Pham, a PhD candidate and research fellow at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre at the University of Melbourne, who is conducting the study with Dr. Ramsay. ### DDW presentation details Dr. Toan Pham will present data from the study, "Cancer vaccine targeting MYB in colorectal cancer: From pre-clinical model to clinical trial," abstract 421, on Sunday, June 32, at 3:15 p.m. EDT. For more information about featured studies, as well as a schedule of availability for featured researchers, please visit http://www.ddw.org/press. This project was funded by the Victorian Cancer Agency and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. The antibody is provided by Beigene Pty Ltd at no charge. Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), DDW takes place June 2-5 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The meeting showcases more than 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology. More information can be found at http://www.ddw.org. Washington, DC (May 22, 2018) -- Increasingly, liver transplant centers are changing a long-standing practice of delaying potentially life-saving liver transplantation for patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis until after they stopped drinking alcohol for six months, according to a new study scheduled for presentation at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2018. Study implications "Liver transplant for severe alcoholic hepatitis is being increasingly accepted, with positive outcomes, and the hope is that more and more patients will be evaluated for transplants," said Saroja Bangaru, MD, chief resident in internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, and co-author of the study. "The hope is that survival rates are encouraging enough for centers, so that even more of them will reverse past practices." Severe alcoholic hepatitis has an extremely high mortality rate. The primary treatment option has been the use of steroids, predominantly prednisolone. But, many patients do not respond to steroids, and a significant percentage of them will die within three months. Historically, centers would not perform transplants until patients had stopped drinking for six months due to concerns about a return to drinking after transplant. Additionally, there was a perceived high risk that patient's continued drinking would cause them to miss medical appointments and failure to take their immunosuppressant medications, which prevent organ rejection, all of which could contribute to transplant failure. Only in recent years have limited studies begun to show greater success for transplants for severe alcoholic hepatitis, Bangaru said. These studies have also shown that a variety of other factors -- aside from recent drinking -- influence whether a patient relapses. These include whether the patient has good social support, suffers from psychiatric ailments and accepts that they have an alcohol problem. "These studies suggest that predicting risk of relapse is much more complicated than just duration of abstinence," Bangaru said. Study design and results Researchers gathered data from 45 transplant centers, of which 23 said they were now performing such transplants. Among those, 17 centers reported that patients had a one-year survival rate of more than 90 percent, which is higher than that reported in several previous studies. The survey found that centers have become more willing to perform transplants, as long as patients are carefully screened. Researchers reported that centers use highly selective criteria in approving candidates for transplant, assessing their medical history, social support system and whether they have additional health problems, particularly psychiatric disorders. "If patients are selected well, according to these criteria, it allows for the excellent survival that we are seeing post-transplant," Bangaru said. Past policy has done a disservice to those patients who were previously unaware that they had liver disease. "Some patients come in for the first time with severe alcoholic hepatitis, and no one has ever told them to stop drinking. Because they are not eligible for transplant, they have a really high mortality rate." The survey also concluded that most transplant centers had "inadequate" post-transplant support for patients. While most offered the services of social workers, only a limited number provided psychiatric or group therapy support that could be very important in helping patients avoid relapse and further medical problems. Next steps Dr. Bangaru said further study is needed to encourage more transplants, in particular a controlled clinical trial that follows survival rates over one, three and five years, along with an assessment of rates of alcoholic relapse. ### DDW presentation details Dr. Saroja Bangaru will present data from the study, "Increased use of liver transplantation as therapeutic option for severe alcoholic hepatitis," abstract Sa1457, on Saturday, June 2, at noon EDT. For more information about featured studies, as well as a schedule of availability for featured researchers, please visit http://www.ddw.org/press. Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), DDW takes place June 2-5 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The meeting showcases more than 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology. More information can be found at http://www.ddw.org. The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) is pleased to announce a 1m investment from the UK Government's Department of Health and Social Care. This funding will contribute towards accelerating the development of a new treatment for drug-resistant gonorrhoea with a primary focus on enabling sustainable access in low- and middle-income countries. Gonorrhoea is a major global public health priority with an estimated 78 million new cases occurring globally in 20121 - and a priority pathogen identified as of high importance by the World Health Organization (WHO). Almost all antibiotic classes used against gonorrhoea have lost their efficacy because of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Globally, reports of multidrug-resistant gonorrhoea are increasing. In March 2018, Public Health England reported for the first time an individual who, while in abroad in South East Asia, was infected with a strain of gonorrhoea highly resistant to the current first line treatment recommended by WHO, and other commonly used antibiotics. Similarly, cases of gonorrhoea resistant to these drugs have been reported in Australia, France, Japan and Spain. With increased international travel, resistant strains spread quickly around the world. There is an urgent need for new treatment options, in particular to protect people in developing and emerging economies where the burden of infection is greatest. Dr Manica Balasegaram, Director of GARDP, commented: "Multidrug-resistant strains of diseases, such as gonorrhoea, are a high public health priority. We welcome the UK government's investment. There's a real and urgent need for governments to support R&D efforts for new antibiotics targeting priority infectious diseases which are a threat to public health. Our project involves a new class of antibiotic and the only drug in clinical development specifically targeting gonorrhoea. Phase III clinical trials are being planned in Europe, South Africa, Thailand, and the US." UK Health Minister, Steve Brine MP said: "Drug-resistant gonorrhoea is a growing global threat and we must act quickly to ensure that treatments are available to respond effectively. I am therefore pleased that the UK will help to pump-prime this new public-private partnership and thereby help to ensure that any new drugs can be made available to the world's most vulnerable people. Antimicrobial resistance does not recognise borders and it is essential that we continue to work with our international partners to progress these important global initiatives." ### Notes to editor: GARDP is a not-for-profit research and development organization that addresses global public health needs by developing and delivering new or improved antibiotic treatments, while endeavouring to ensure their sustainable access. Initiated by the WHO and the Drugs for Neglected Disease initiative (DNDi), GARDP is an important element of WHO's Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance that calls for new public-private partnerships to encourage research and development of new antimicrobial agents and diagnostics. GARDP is incubated by DNDi, which currently provides GARDP's governance. http://www.gardp.org The UK Government's funding is part of the Department of Health and Social Care's Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), a 50m Official Development Assistance (ODA) investment, which supports research primarily and directly for the benefit of people in low- and middle-income countries. GAMRIF was established to provide seed funding for innovative research and development, specifically in neglected and underinvested areas, in the field of AMR. The Fund takes a 'One Health' approach, seeking to invest in potential solutions to reduce the threat of AMR in humans, animals, fish and the environment. The Fund seeks to leverage additional global funding through interaction with international government bodies, public-private partnerships, product development partnerships, global funding mechanisms and global fora. The funding for GARDP was pledged following the Berlin Declaration of the G20 Health Ministers that specifically called for 'broadening the voluntary financial support' for initiatives, including GARDP, which 'reinvigorate research and development in science and industry for antimicrobials.' Contacts Susan Frade sfrade@dndi.org Tel: +41 22 907 76 28 Mob: +41 79 640 00 99 References 1 Newman L, Rowley J, Vander Hoorn S, Wijesooriya NS, Unemo M, Low N, et al. Global Estimates of the Prevalence and Incidence of Four Curable Sexually Transmitted Infections in 2012 Based on Systematic Review and Global Reporting. PLoS ONE. 2015; 0:12:e0143304. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143304 PMID: 26646541; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4672879. Ethiopian Prime Minister has announced to the nation the likely release of the countrys top private investor Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi by Saudi authorities after the Ethiopian-born Saudi business tycoon was nabbed in November in an anti-corruption crackdown campaign driven by Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. The incarceration of one Ethiopian is the incarceration of all Ethiopians. Sheikh Al Amoudis arrest is top in the agenda for all Ethiopians, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Saturday upon his return from Saudi Arabia. We have made the request we are sure that he will be released very soon, he added during a gathering in the capital of horn of Africa country. Abiy made a two-day visit to the KSA where he met with Mohamed bin Salman. Al Amoudi is Saudi but born by an Ethiopian woman. The man known as Ethiopias top private investor was detained in November in Riyadh along with 11 princes including Saudi well known international investor al Waleed bin Talal. Around 200 business bigwigs and officials were detained in the campaign. Many of the detainees were released after agreeing to give up part of their assets. It is unclear if al Amoudi will be released upon a similar agreement with the state. The Saudi-Ethiopian businessmans assets are said to include hotels, a gold mine as well as numerous investments in farm growing coffee and rice in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian leader also announced plans by Riyadh to release 1,000 Ethiopian prisoners from the kingdom. 500,000 others are on the verge of being deported, reports say. The case report discusses whether the patient's autoimmune disease and its treatment could have contributed to achieving such a 'striking' response to treatment A cancer patient with advanced ovarian cancer had a "remarkable" journey to recovery that may be partially attributed to a treatment she received for a completely different disease, according to a case report published in ecancermedicalscience. The case report discusses whether the patient's autoimmune disease and its treatment could have contributed to achieving such a "striking" response to treatment. Researchers led by Dr Franco Muggia, Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York, USA, describe a case of a patient who received treatment for dermatomyositis, an autoimmune condition that causes muscle weakness and skin rashes. For this condition, she received treatment that included hydroxychloroquine and quinacrine, which are more commonly known as antimalarial drugs. But the patient later presented with an advanced and aggressive form of ovarian cancer. Although effective treatments exist, this type of cancer is usually expected to recur within a median of 18 months to 2 years. Dr Muggia's patient surprised her doctors with her immediate and lasting response to the cancer treatment. Three years on, the patient continues to be disease-free - both from ovarian cancer and dermatomyositis. Follow-up has shown no signs of cancer, and the patient is reportedly symptom-free. Previously published evidence in ecancermedicalscience has shown that antimalarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and quinacrine may play a role in cancer treatment, as they appear to work together with cancer drugs, making treatments more effective. The medical community is becoming increasingly interested in "repurposed" drugs, or drugs that were originally developed for one condition, then found to be useful for other conditions. "This is an interesting example of serendipity - an incidental finding of a cancer patient responding strongly to a non-cancer drug used for the treatment of a co-morbid condition," says Dr Pan Pantziarka of The Anticancer Fund, Belgium, and one of the leaders of the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) Project. "It's important to publish such cases as they may provide early data for later preclinical and clinical investigation." Dr Muggia stresses that conclusions cannot be drawn from the example of one patient. "However, the depth of the response of an aggressive high-grade serous ovarian cancer to the initial platinum-taxane doublet, after months of dermatomyositis and treatment with anti-malarial drugs, should encourage further inquiries into the role of autophagy, its subsequent inhibition, and immunity in enhancing responses to [platinum-based] chemotherapy." Dr Pantziarka says, "There is already strong evidence that anti-malarials such as hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine possess anticancer activity, as was summarised by the ReDO Project last year. If replicated, it would show yet again the therapeutic value still to be realised in so many of our existing non-cancer medicines." Dr Muggia adds, "Much remains to be learned about ovarian cancer biology and autophagy. We hope the current report catalyzes additional work in this area." At the time of publication, Dr Muggia's patient remained disease-free. ### Editor's Notes This paper was authored by Isabella Cadena, Annie Yang, Pascale Levine, Andrea Downey, Victoria P. Werth, John Curtin, and Franco Muggia. For a copy of the final version of the paper, to set up an interview or for more information please contact Audrey Nailor, Journal Editor (audrey@ecancer.org) Citation information and links https://ecancer.org/journal/12/837.php http://dx.doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2018.837 Dr Pantziarka's paper on the use of antimalarials in cancer treatment can be found here: https://ecancer.org/journal/11/full/781-repurposing-drugs-in-oncology-redo-chloroquine-and-hydroxychloroquine-as-anti-cancer-agents.php About ecancermedicalscience (ecancer.org) ecancermedicalscience (ecancer) is the official open access journal of the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) and the European Institute of Oncology (IEO), Milan. The journal was established in 2007 by Professor Umberto Veronesi and Professor Gordon McVie with the mission to break down the financial barriers to accessing cancer research and education. The journal is not for profit and only charges authors an article publication fee if they have specific funding for publishing. So far over 2000 authors have published for free. The journal is funded by the Swiss based ECMS foundation, educational grants, sponsorship and charitable donations. Brain activity and structure in transgender adolescents more closely resembles the typical activation patterns of their desired gender, according to findings to be presented in Barcelona, at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2018. These findings suggest that differences in brain function may occur early in development and that brain imaging may be a useful tool for earlier identification of transgenderism in young people. Transgenderism is the experience, or identification with, a gender different to the assigned biological sex, whilst gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress experienced by transgender people, and may be present from a very young age. Although GD incidence is rare, gender identity is an essential part of psychological health, and if unaddressed can lead to serious psychological issues. Current strategies for addressing GD in younger people involve psychotherapy, or delaying puberty with hormones, so that decisions on transgender therapy can be made at an older age. Genetics and hormones contribute to sex differences in brain development and function that lead to more male- or female-typical characteristics; however, these processes are not well established. Furthermore, little is known on how early in life, or to what extent, the gender-typical characteristics of transgender people become established. Earlier diagnosis or better understanding of transgenderism could help to improve quality of life for young transgender people, and help families to make more informed decisions on treatment. In this study, Dr. Julie Bakker from the University of Liege, Belgium, and her colleagues from the Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria at the VU University Medical Center, the Netherlands, examined sex differences in the brain activation patterns of young transgender people. The study included both adolescent boys and girls with gender dysphoria and used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to assess brain activation patterns in response to a pheromone known to produce gender-specific activity. The pattern of brain activation in both transgender adolescent boys and girls more closely resembled that of non-transgender boys and girls of their desired gender. In addition, GD adolescent girls showed a male-typical brain activation pattern during a visual/spatial memory exercise. Finally, some brain structural changes were detected that were also more similar, but not identical, to those typical of the desired gender of GD boys and girls. Dr Bakker says, "Although more research is needed, we now have evidence that sexual differentiation of the brain differs in young people with GD, as they show functional brain characteristics that are typical of their desired gender." Dr Bakker's research will now investigate the role of hormones during puberty on brain development and transgender differences, to help guide and improve future diagnosis and therapy for GD adolescents. Dr Bakker comments, "We will then be better equipped to support these young people, instead of just sending them to a psychiatrist and hoping that their distress will disappear spontaneously." ### Abstract Symposium S30.3 Brain structure and function in gender dysphoria The concept of gender identity is uniquely human. Hence we are left with the phenomenon of men and women suffering from Gender Dysphoria (GD) also known as transsexualism to study the origins of gender identity in humans. It has been hypothesized that atypical levels of sex steroids during a perinatal critical period of neuronal sexual differentiation may be involved in the development of GD. In order to test this hypothesis, we investigated brain structure and function in individuals diagnosed with GD using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Since GD is often diagnosed in childhood and puberty has been proposed to be an additional organizational period in brain differentiation, we included both prepubertal children and adolescents with GD in our studies. First, we measured brain activation upon exposure to androstadienone, a putative male chemo-signal which evokes sex differences in hypothalamic activation (women > men). We found that hypothalamic responses of both adolescent girls and boys diagnosed with GD were more similar to their experienced gender than their birth sex, which supports the hypothesis of a sex-atypical brain differentiation in these individuals. At the structural level, we analyzed both regional gray matter (GM) volumes and white matter (WM) microstructure using diffusion tensor imaging. In cis-gender girls, larger GM volumes were observed in the bilateral superior medial frontal and left pre/postcentral cortex, while cis-gender boys had more volume in the bilateral superior-posterior cerebellum and hypothalamus. Within these regions of interest representing sexually dimorphic brain structures, GM volumes of both GD groups deviated from the volumetric characteristics of their birth sex towards those of individuals sharing their gender identity. Furthermore, we found intermediate patterns in WM microstructure in adolescent boys with GD, but only sex-typical ones in adolescent girls with GD. These results on brain structure are thus partially in line with a sex-atypical differentiation of the brain during early development in individuals with GD, but might also suggest that other mechanisms are involved. Indeed, using resting state MRI, we observed GD-specific functional connectivity in the visual network in adolescent girls with GD. The latter is in support of a more recent hypothesis on alterations in brain networks important for own body perception and self-referential processing in individuals with GD. A quantum internet promises completely secure communication. But using quantum bits or qubits to carry information requires a radically new piece of hardware - a quantum memory. This atomic-scale device needs to store quantum information and convert it into light to transmit across the network. A major challenge to this vision is that qubits are extremely sensitive to their environment, even the vibrations of nearby atoms can disrupt their ability to remember information. So far, researchers have relied on extremely low temperatures to quiet vibrations but, achieving those temperatures for large-scale quantum networks is prohibitively expensive. Now, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the University of Cambridge have developed a quantum memory solution that is as simple as tuning a guitar. The researchers engineered diamond strings that can be tuned to quiet a qubit's environment and improve memory from tens to several hundred nanoseconds, enough time to do many operations on a quantum chip. "Impurities in diamond have emerged as promising nodes for quantum networks," said Marko Loncar, the Tiantsai Lin Professor of Electrical Engineering at SEAS and senior author of the research. "However, they are not perfect. Some kinds of impurities are really good at retaining information but have a hard time communicating, while others are really good communicators but suffer from memory loss. In this work, we took the latter kind and improved the memory by ten times." The research is published in Nature Communications. Impurities in diamond, known as silicon-vacancy color centers, are powerful qubits. An electron trapped in the center acts as a memory bit and can emit single photons of red light, which would in turn act as long-distance information carriers of a quantum internet. But with the nearby atoms in the diamond crystal vibrating randomly, the electron in the center quickly forgets any quantum information it is asked to remember. "Being an electron in a color center is like trying to study at a loud marketplace," said Srujan Meesala, a graduate student at SEAS and co-first author of the paper. "There is all this noise around you. If you want to remember anything, you need to either ask the crowds to stay quiet or find a way to focus over the noise. We did the latter." To improve memory in a noisy environment, the researchers carved the diamond crystal housing the color center into a thin string, about one micron wide -- a hundred times thinner than a strand of hair -- and attached electrodes to either side. By applying a voltage, the diamond string stretches and increases the frequency of vibrations the electron is sensitive to, just like tightening a guitar string increases the frequency or pitch of the string. "By creating tension in the string, we increase the energy scale of vibrations that the electron is sensitive to, meaning it can now only feel very high energy vibrations," said Meesala. "This process effectively turns the surrounding vibrations in the crystal to an irrelevant background hum, allowing the electron inside the vacancy to comfortably hold information for hundreds of nanoseconds, which can be a really long time on the quantum scale. A symphony of these tunable diamond strings could serve as the backbone of a future quantum internet." Next, the researchers hope to extend the memory of the qubits to the millisecond, which would enable hundreds of thousands of operations and long-distance quantum communication. The Harvard Office of Technology Development has protected the intellectual property relating to this project and is exploring commercialization opportunities. ### The research was co-first authored by Young-Ik Sohn and Srujan Meesala from Marko Loncar's group at Harvard, and Benjamin Pingault from Mete Atature's group at the University of Cambridge. Researchers from Harvard SEAS, Harvard Physics, Sandia National Laboratories also contributed to the manuscript. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation-sponsored Center for Integrated Quantum Materials, Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative on Quantum Optomechanics, NSF Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation ACQUIRE, the University of Cambridge, the ERC Consolidator Grant PHOENICS, and the EPSRC Quantum Technology Hub NQIT. The tiniest of natural phenomena can have a big impact on our weather, but an international team of researchers have found that the most widely used system to model meteorological conditions doesn't account for environmental microphysics well at all scales. The researchers published their evaluation in the latest issue of Advances in Atmospheric Sciences (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00376-017-7177-0). Many forecasting agencies employ the Unified Model (UM, https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/modelling-systems/unified-model ), a climate and weather simulation modelling system. The Met Office in the United Kingdom oversees the continual evolution and development of the UM as scientists conduct more analyses. "This model is designed to run across spatial and time scales and is known to produce skillful predictions for large-scale weather systems," wrote Marcus Johnson, a graduate student in the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. Johnson is first author on the paper. "However, the model has only recently begun running operationally at horizontal grid spacings of ~1.5 kilometers." This spacing is meant to account for the explicit treatment of cloud formation, hydrometeor growth, and precipitation: a field known as cloud microphysics. "Microphysics are important to numerical weather models, but provide a great source of error in weather prediction," Johnson said. "It is crucial that we identify UM microphysics shortcomings not only to alert forecast offices when interpreting model results, but also to allow the microphysics authors to improve the scheme for more accurate results." The UM's microphysics scheme was originally designed and tuned for large-scale precipitation systems, according to Johnson. When his team analyzed two specific rainfall systems, they found that the scheme produced unrealistic raindrop size distributions that negatively affected the simulated storm structures. "Microphysics schemes are not all alike, and selecting the 'right' scheme can lead to more accurate prediction of the weather system of interest," Johnson said, noting that one scheme may do better predicting a large-scale snow system but wouldn't do well with a different type of precipitation system. Johnson and his team compared the numerical UM output to polarimetric radar observations to validate their results. They plan to continue the evaluation of different microphysics schemes and document the weaknesses and biases in each one. "Ideally, microphysics authors will incorporate this feedback and continue to improve their scheme designs," Johnson said. Researchers from the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms and the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, Purdue University, and the Korea Meteorological Administration contributed to this analysis. Grants from the Korea Meteorological Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Science Foundation supported this work. ### Indiana consistently lands near the bottom of the nation's health ranking lists, with too many babies dying before their first birthday and too many people smoking and abusing drugs. A statewide network of researchers and staff at Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame have been working together to reverse this poor state of health, and are now seeking the help of Indiana residents of all ages and backgrounds as their partners. Indiana's preeminent research universities are collaborating through the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), which has recently been awarded more than $33 million in renewed National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for the next five years. The institute was founded in 2008 by Anantha Shekhar, MD, PhD, Indiana CTSI director and IU associate vice president of research and University Clinical Affairs. This NIH grant in excess of $33 million to the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute is an outstanding achievement, demonstrating Indiana Universitys commitment to research excellence and service to our community, said IU President Michael A. McRobbie. IU researchers, as part of this multi-campus and multi-institutional effort, are collaborating to solve some of our states most critical health challenges. Together, we are striving to make Indiana one of the nations healthiest states. "We are thrilled to receive this continued support from the NIH," said Dr. Shekhar, who is also executive associate dean for research affairs at IU School of Medicine. "It enables us to continue improving health for people living in Indiana, to recruit more researchers and seed innovations in the state, and to speed the movement of discoveries across the universities' labs to solutions benefiting people living in Indiana." Carmel Egan, PhD, Indiana CTSI chief operating officer, said the story of the institute reads like a great novel. "The Indiana CTSI was founded in 2008 to improve health and the economy of Indiana and beyond through building translational research programs," Dr. Egan said. "The institute used its first multimillion dollar award from the NIH to build research infrastructure, recruit talent and identify the state's greatest health challenges. The CTSI's second grant award built bridges and collaborations and initiated research projects. Now, we are seeing the outcomes of that effort and improvements in health are being made, with more to come." Some of the progress researchers have made through the Indiana CTSI in recent years includes alerting state and local lawmakers to dangerous lead levels in South Bend and creating lead test kits as the first line of prevention against lead exposure. Researchers are also reducing risk factors for infant mortality in Central Indiana by lowering rates of depression and anxiety by 20 percent and improving nutrition intake, with a reported 24 percent fewer meals skipped per week. "The Indiana CTSI is an incredible asset to the State of Indiana. This program is one of the best of its kind in the country and enables our research universities and private companies to collaborate, speed clinical translation and have more impact," said Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, vice president for University Clinical Affairs at IU and dean of the IU School of Medicine. "This new grant and the programs it makes possible will not only benefit our researchers, but will ultimately improve health for countless Hoosiers across the state." "There is no better time than now to be living in Indiana from a health perspective," Dr. Shekhar said. "Our vision is of an Indiana that is one of the nation's healthiest states, and in order to achieve that goal, we need community participation in all phases of research--from the basic science that happens in the laboratory to the clinical care provided to patients--to help shed new light on the best ways to prevent, treat and manage health issues in our state." The Indiana CTSI has also launched a new initiative called "All IN for Health," which aims to sign up at least 100,000 Indiana residents to its health research volunteer registry over the next three years. So far, the initiative has recruited more than 6,000 people. The All IN for Health website, http://www.AllIN4Health.info, provides valuable resources aligned with the major health issues affecting Indiana, such as information for expectant mothers interested in quitting smoking. The website also offers opportunities to become research volunteers and be matched to any of the 1,000 active Indiana-based research studies made possible through IU, Purdue and Notre Dame. One such study is part of the new FIT Core located at the IU School of Medicine. FIT stands for Functional, Imaging Tissue Core and allows participants to get screenings of grip, gait speed and bone density at no charge. All IN volunteers receive an email when they are matched with a study and can then decide if they want to participate. The program's director Tiffany Campbell said listening to the public is also critical to achieving the Indiana CTSI's long-term goal of making Indiana one of the nation's healthiest states. "Until we clearly understand the full picture of health--including individual motivations--for a diverse population of our state's residents, we won't be able to come up with more successful solutions that will last," Campbell said. "We know Indiana's health issues are complex and personal, so we need to meet people where they are. There may be communities with higher rates of smoking, and that needs to change, but if those same people are living in a food desert, then access to food becomes much more important to those community members." There are two ways to sign up to be "All IN for Health": Visit http://www.AllIN4Health.info and subscribe to its email newsletter containing resources for healthy living or sign up for the program's volunteer registry to participate in health research. Community organizations are also encouraged to join the initiative by sharing All IN resources with their constituents and adding their health resources to All IN's website. The new grant is the Indiana CTSI's third, five-year Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The CTSA Program, which includes a nationwide network of more than 50 academic medical centers, aims to improve the translational research process to get more treatments to more patients more quickly. ### The grant numbers are UL1TR002529, KL2TR002530 and TL1TR002531. About the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute: The Indiana CTSI brings together the state's brightest minds to solve Indiana's most pressing health challenges through research. It is a statewide partnership among Indiana University, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame and numerous life sciences businesses, government entities and community organizations. The Indiana CTSI engages with the public at every level of research--from basic science to patient care. It has been continuously funded by multimillion dollar grants from the National Institutes of Health since the Indiana CTSI's founding in 2008 and is housed at the Indiana University School of Medicine. For more information, visit indianactsi.org. Discussions concerning the ethical issues related to stem cells have been ongoing for many years, but a special section in the latest issue of Perspectives in Biology and Medicine takes a deep look at some of the newest and most complex issues - including the direct global sales of services and untested and unproven products marketed as stem cells. Guest edited by Tamra Lysaght and Jeremy Sugarman, the special section on Ethics, Policy, and Autologous Cellular Therapies in Volume 61, Issue 1 includes six essays that examine the potential impacts of using a person's own stem cells on patients, health-care systems and the public trust in science and medicine. "Many scholars in bioethics, law, medicine, philosophy, sociology and stem cell science worry such practices will place patients at risk of unnecessary harm and exploit vulnerable populations with unsubstantiated claims of clinical benefit," says Lysaght, Assistant Professor in the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the National University of Singapore. The issue developed from a symposium held in Singapore in May 2017. The symposium was a collaboration between the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the National University of Singapore, the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, the Sydney Law School and the Stem Cell Society, Singapore. The issue will be available for free on Project MUSE for a limited time. The journal is published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. "Many of the bioethical and regulatory issues related to autologous stem cells remain under examined. We planned the symposium to help fill the gap in research and are proud to release a series of peer-reviewed papers that resulted in Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, says Sugarman, the Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor of Bioethics and Medicine, at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. Following an introductory essay written by Lysaght and Sugarman, the issue features the work of Leigh Turner ("The US Direct-to-Consumer Marketplace for Autologous Stem Cell Interventions"), Douglas Sipp ("Challenges in the Regulation of Autologous Stem Cell Interventions in the United States"), Christopher Hauskeller ("Between the Local and the Global: Evaluating European Regulation of Stem Cell Regenerative Medicine"), Tsung-Ling Lee and Tamra Lysaght ("Conditional Approvals for Autologous Stem Cell-Based Interventions: Conflicting Norms and Institutional Legitimacy"), Tereza Hendl ("Vulnerabilities and the Use of Autologous Stem Cells for Medical Conditions in Australia,") and Wendy Lipworth, Cameron Stewart and Ian Kerridge ("The Need for Beneficence and Prudence in Clinical Innovation with Autologous Stem Cells"). "This group of papers shows the importance of a journal like Perspectives," says editor Martha Montello, Lecturer on Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "We're proud of our ability to further public policy debates about challenging ethical issues and regulatory concerns through outstanding peer-reviewed papers like these." ### Charlottesville, VA (May 22, 2018). When was the last time you watched a Michael Jackson music video? If your answer is "never" or "not for quite a while," you are really missing a treat. According to Rolling Stone, "No single artist ... shaped, innovated or defined the medium of 'music video' more than Michael Jackson." Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, MTV had only one format--music videos--and that genre really took off when Jackson burst on the scene in 1983 with his musical hit "Billie Jean." Prior to his arrival on MTV, most videos were merely visual promos for artists' songs, and in some cases the visual side of the promos detracted from the music. Michael Jackson, on the other hand, took his incredible music and added story lines, special effects, cinematography, and amazing choreography. He created high-budget brief movies highlighting both music and dance. And about that dance. . . . Jackson executed dance moves we thought impossible, at the time and even now. Almost every fan tried to dance like him, but very few could pull it off. Some of Jackson's dance moves appear to defy the laws of gravity. In one move featured in his 1987 music video "Smooth Criminal," he pitches forward 45 degrees, with his body straight as a rod and his shoes resting on the stage, and holds the position. That is not how the human body works! How did Michael Jackson do it? Was it talent, magic, or both? Three neurosurgeons from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India--Nishant S. Yagnick, Manjul Tripathi, and Sandeep Mohindra--set out to examine the antigravity tilt introduced in "Smooth Criminal" from a neurosurgeon's point of view. First, Yagnick et al. walk us through some basics of spinal biomechanics to show just how impressive is the feat. Even the strongest of dancers can only maintain a 25- to 30-degree forward tilt from the ankle. Admitted fans of Jackson, the neurosurgeons document how the antigravity tilt was accomplished, taking into account the talent and core strength of the artist, as well as his inventiveness and use of a patented aid, that together seem to move his body past human limits. They also warn other neurosurgeons of new forms of spinal injuries, as dancers follow Jackson's example and attempt "to jump higher, stretch further, and turn faster than ever before." The full story on the antigravity tilt is published today in a new article in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine entitled "How did Michael Jackson challenge our understanding of spine biomechanics?". Read the article soon. This is one of those mysteries where the solution is as fascinating as the performance. After you've read the article, you may want to go to YouTube and check out "Smooth Criminal" and other Michael Jackson music videos. When asked about his article, Dr. Tripathi said, "MJ has inspired generations of dancers to push themselves beyond their limits. Though a visual delight, such moves also lead to new forms of musculoskeletal injuries. "The King of Pop" has not only been an inspiration but a challenge to the medical fraternity." ### Yagnick NS, Tripathi M, Mohindra S: How did Michael Jackson challenge our understanding of spine biomechanics? Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, published online, ahead of print, May 22, 2018; DOI: 10.3171/2018.2.SPINE171443. Disclosure: The authors report no conflict of interest. The corresponding author, Manjul Tripathi, M.Ch., may be contacted by email: drmanjultripathi@gmail.com. For additional information, please contact: Ms. Jo Ann M. Eliason, Communications Manager, Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group, One Morton Drive, Suite 200, Charlottesville, VA 22903. Email: jaeliason@thejns.org; Phone: 434-982-1209. The Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine is a monthly peer-reviewed journal focused on neurosurgical approaches to treatment of diseases and disorders of the spine. It contains a variety of articles, including descriptions of preclinical and clinical research as well as case reports and technical notes. The Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine is one of four monthly journals published by the JNS Publishing Group, the scholarly journal division of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Other peer-reviewed journals published by the JNS Publishing Group each month include the Journal of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgical Focus, and the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. All four journals can be accessed at http://www.thejns.org. Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 10,000 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. All active members of the AANS are certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Neurosurgery) of Canada or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, AC. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the entire nervous system including the brain, spinal column, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. For more information, visit http://www.AANS.org. Javier Buceta, associate professor of bioengineering, Paolo Bocchini, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and postdoctoral student Graziano Fiorillo of Lehigh University have created a modeling framework that takes a zoonotic perspective on Ebola. The team's approach works by tracking the migratory patterns of bats, which are believed to be a main carrier of the Ebola virus. Bats, in this instance, are the reservoirs of Ebola. This means that they are carriers and transmitters of the virus, though it does not cause them harm. "In our model, the appearance of outbreaks is tightly linked to fluctuations in environmental conditions which have an impact on both bat migration patterns and infection rates," says Buceta. Buceta, Bocchini and Fiorillo worked with satellite information and parameter sampling techniques to create their framework, which integrates data and modeling to predict the conditions linking bats' behavior with the outbreak of Ebola. They have detailed their work in a paper titled "A Predictive Spatial Distribution Framework for Filovirus-Infected Bats" published online today in Scientific Reports. The model utilizes information on bat birth and death rates, the rate of infection of bats with the Ebola virus and recovery rates, bat mobility, seasonal changes and information about the availability of food and shelter to forecast bat infection peaks in a given region. And the results are compelling. The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people is believed to have originated with a two-year-old in Meliandou, a remote village in Guinea, a country that had never before seen a case of Ebola. The type of virus was identified as the deadliest strain, found in Zaire--a country thousands of miles away. How did it get there? The likeliest answer: bats. Using their framework, an analysis of the data from the region near Meliandou around the time of the start of the 2014 outbreak revealed two yearly peaks of infection at Meliandou coinciding with the birthing seasons. Indeed, when the researchers retroactively analyzed the data from that time and location, their model predicted a peak of Ebola-infected bats in Meliandou during the months when the outbreak began. By contrast, when the researchers worked with similar data from Bamako, Malia region nearly 400 miles away from Meliandou and with different climate conditionstheir approach did not forecast a peak for that time of the year. "Such findings strongly suggest that environmental factors play a key role in the spread of the Ebola virus among bats," says Buceta. This predictive tool could be used to deliver guidance about the specific locations and periods of the year during which an outbreak is more likely to appear due to bats. It could also help reduce the risk of future spillovers from animals to humans. Resource availability and bat infection rates Establishing how to measure the key environmental factors driving resource-related bat migration was key to developing the model. To do this, the team used environmental and climate data retrieved using the Google Earth Engine tool to access databases from the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), one of several discipline-specific data centers within the NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Bocchini, a civil engineer, had been working with smart sampling techniques to resolve parameter fluctuations pertaining to his research on structural engineering and regional hazards. Through that work, he developed a highly efficient computational technique that addresses probabilistic big-data problems and enables researchers to analyze a small subset of truly representative cases. "We needed to study the random fluctuations of available resources over the entire African continent at high resolution; it was a massive computational and probabilistic challenge," says Bocchini. "We recognized that from a mathematical point of view, the problem is similar to the random propagation of seismic waves in a region subject to earthquakes, and we could adapt our tools." They applied Bocchinis sampling technique to efficiently account for the uncertainties in the data and to establish useful parameters for measuring resource availability, given fluctuating conditions over time and geography. After establishing the parameters, they were able to input data regarding temperature, humidity and other factors. "We could then predict the concentration of infected bats one might expect to find given those particular conditions," says Buceta. ### Now, the duo has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further develop their modeling framework. The project, called "Risk Assessment of Ebola Outbreaks Through Probabilistic Modeling of Chiroptera Zoonotic Dynamics and Socioeconomic Factors," uses a novel sampling technique created by Bocchini that enables an analysis of spatially distributed random fluctuations of environmental parameters to understand how such factors impact bat migrations in a given region. The grant was awarded by the NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Their hope is that the result of their work will be predictive tool to analyze the risk of Ebola outbreaks. MAYWOOD, IL - The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation has added Loyola University Medical Center to its Care Center Network of centers with expertise in accurately diagnosing and treating patients with pulmonary fibrosis. Loyola is among 60 centers in 30 states that are part of the network. The application to join the network was spearheaded by pulmonologist Bradford Bemiss, MD, who treats pulmonary fibrosis patients at Loyola along with care center director Daniel Dilling, MD. "We are honored to be recognized by the Care Center Network," Dr. Bemiss said. "The network is a key resource for patients and referring physicians seeking excellence in clinical care, research, education and patient outreach." Dr. Dilling said Loyola's application to become part of the Care Center Network was strengthened by its large volume of pulmonary fibrosis patients, participation in multiple clinical trials and operation of the largest lung transplant program in Illinois. "We also offer a warm reception and experience for patients and their families," Dr. Dilling said. More than 200,000 Americans are living with pulmonary fibrosis, a deadly and complex disease that causes progressive scarring in the lungs. Pulmonary fibrosis causes more than 40,000 deaths annually, and 50,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Loyola provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary care and offers pulmonary fibrosis patients access to clinical trials of new therapies. Loyola also offers lung transplantation to patients with end-stage pulmonary fibrosis. Loyola has performed more than 900 transplants - more than all other Illinois centers combined. The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation mobilizes people and resources to provide access to high quality care and leads research for a cure. The foundation collaborates with physicians, organizations, patients and caregivers worldwide. In addition to pulmonary fibrosis, Loyola provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for other advanced and rare lung diseases, including cystic fibrosis, lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), alpha-antitrypsin deficiency, sarcoidosis, Sjogren's syndrome and Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome. Loyola also is recognized as a center of excellence by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, LAM Foundation, Alpha-1 Foundation and Rare Lung Diseases Consortium. ### Montreal, May 22 2018 We are all familiar with the drawbacks of dehydration, but we rarely hear about the harmful effects of overhydration. It is known that excess fluid accumulation can lead to dangerously low sodium levels in the blood or hyponatremia a life-threatening condition that can result in brain swelling. Similarly, more is known about the mechanisms in the body that detect and drive thirst while little is known about how the brain detects a state of overhydration. [Hyponatremia] occurs in common pathological conditions, including brain injury, sepsis, cardiac failure and in the use of drugs, such as MDMA (ecstasy), says Dr. Charles Bourque, whose team from the Centre for Research in Neuroscience at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) uncovered a key piece to the puzzle of how our brains detect hyponatremia and regulate overhydration. The new study featured in Cell Reports unearths the fundamental mechanism of how hyponatremia is detected in the brain. Our specific data will be important for people studying hydromineral and fluid electrolyte homeostasis, and clinicians who treat patients faced with hyponatremia, reports Dr. Bourque, who is a scientist in the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program (BRAIN) at the RI-MUHC and a professor in McGills Department of Neurology. This condition is more common in elderly patients and can cause cognitive problems and seizures in this vulnerable group. While it remains uncertain how hyponatremia develops, a defect in the hydration sensing mechanism of the brain could be the culprit. No strangers to studying the mechanisms of hydration in the body, Dr. Bourques team, located at the Montreal General Hospital, has also made several key discoveries in the past on how the brain detects and prevents dehydration; how salt intake increases blood pressure; and how the brains biological clock stimulates thirst prior to sleep. In this instance, experiments by first studys author Sorana Ciura, a PhD student in Dr. Bourques laboratory, who is now at the Institut Imagine, Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades in Paris, revealed that the brains hydration sensing neurons dont detect overhydration in the same way that they detect dehydration. Inhibiting hydration sensing neurons The new research shows that overhydration activates Trpv4, which is a cellular gatekeeper implicated in maintaining the balance of water in the body. Trpv4 is a calcium channel that can be found in glial cells, which are cells that act to surround hydration sensing neurons. Our study shows that it is in fact glial cells that first detect the overhydrated state and then transfer this information to turn off the electrical activity of the [hydration sensing] neurons, explains Dr. Bourque. The researchers also found that it is the release of the amino acid taurine that acts to inhibit hydration sensing neurons. Essentially, when overhydration is detected by glial cells, the Trpv4 channel triggers the release of taurine, which acts as a trip wire to inhibit hydration sensing neurons. Hope for patients with hyponatremia The brains ability to detect excess hydration is essential to maintaining fluid balance in the body and preventing conditions like hyponatremia. Preclinical models of hyponatremia will be used to examine if the mechanism we report is affected in this condition with the long-term objective of designing new treatments or diagnostic tools, says Dr. Bourque. Hyponatremia is common with as many as one-quarter of hospitalized patients suffering from a traumatic brain injury developing the condition, says Dr. Judith Marcoux, a neurosurgeon at the Montreal General Hospital of the MUHC, who collaborates with Professor Bourque to define the basis for the emergence of hyponatremia in patients that suffer from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Nothing is really known about the mechanisms that lead to hyponatremia in these patients, Dr. Marcoux adds. Hyponatremia can have catastrophic consequences such as causing seizures or leading to a coma, and raised intracranial pressure can cause further damage to the brain, which can lead to a decrease in neurological and functional outcomes for patients. ### About the study The study Trpv4 Mediates Hypotonic Inhibition of Central Osmosensory Neurons via Taurine Gliotransmission was co-authored by Sorana Ciura (Institut Imagine, Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades); Masha Prager-Khoutorsky, Zahra S. Thirouin, Joshua C. Wyrosdic and Charles W. Bourque (Centre for Research in Neuroscience, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre); James E.Olson (Wright state University); Wolfgang Liedtke (Centre for Translational Neuroscience, Duke University Medical Centre). Link to access the embargoed paper: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(18)30668 This work was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. About the Research Institute of the MUHC The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) is a world-renowned biomedical and healthcare research centre. The Institute, which is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University, is the research arm of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) - an academic health centre located in Montreal, Canada, that has a mandate to focus on complex care within its community. The RI-MUHC supports over 420 researchers and close to 1,200 research trainees devoted to a broad spectrum of fundamental, clinical and health outcomes research at the Glen and the Montreal General Hospital sites of the MUHC. Its research facilities offer a dynamic multidisciplinary environment that fosters collaboration and leverages discovery aimed at improving the health of individual patients across their lifespan. The RI-MUHC is supported in part by the Fonds de recherche du Quebec - Sante (FRQS). http://www.rimuhc.ca Media contact: Julie Robert Communications Coordinator - Research McGill University Health Centre 514-971-4747 (cell) 514-843-1560 julie.robert@muhc.mcgill.ca 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 center 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. Coyotes now live across North America, from Alaska to Panama, California to Maine. But where they came from, and when, has been debated for decades. Using museum specimens and fossil records, researchers from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University have produced a comprehensive (and unprecedented) range history of the expanding species that can help reveal the ecology of predation as well as evolution through hybridization. Their findings appeared in ZooKeys in May. A video presenting these research findings is available for media usage here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLvZwWGYCRk The geographic distribution of coyotes has dramatically expanded since 1900, spreading across much of North America in a period when most other mammal species have been declining. Although this unprecedented expansion has been well documented at the state/provincial scale, the continent-wide picture of coyote spread was coarse and largely anecdotal. A more thorough compilation of available records was needed. "We began by mapping the original range of coyotes using archeological and fossil records," says co-author Dr. Roland Kays, Head of the Museum's Biodiversity Lab and Research Associate Professor in NC State's Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources. "We then plotted their range expansion across North America from 1900 to 2016 using museum specimens, peer-reviewed reports, and game department records." In all, Kays and lead author James Hody reviewed more than 12,500 records covering the past 10,000 years for this study. Their findings indicate that coyotes historically occupied a larger area of North America than generally suggested in the literature. Previous maps, as it turns out, had ancient coyotes only located across the central deserts and grasslands. However, fossils from across the arid west link the distribution of coyotes from 10,000 years ago to specimens collected in the late 1800s, proving that their geographic range was not only broader but had been established for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, which also contradicts some widely-cited descriptions of their historical distribution. It wasn't until approximately 1920 that coyotes began their expansion across North America. This was likely aided by an expansion of human agriculture, forest fragmentation, and hybridization with other species. Eastern expansion in particular was aided by hybridization with wolves and dogs, resulting in size and color variation among eastern coyotes. Before too long, coyotes may no longer be just a North American species. Kays notes that coyotes are continually expanding their range in Central America, crossing the Panama Canal in 2010. Active camera traps are now spotting coyotes approaching the Darien Gap, a heavily forested region separating North and South America, suggesting that they are at the doorstep of South America. "The expansion of coyotes across the American continent offers an incredible experiment for assessing ecological questions about their roles as predators, and evolutionary questions related to their hybridization with dogs and wolves," adds Hody. "By collecting and mapping these museum data we were able to correct old misconceptions of their original range, and more precisely map and date their recent expansions. "We hope these maps will provide useful context for future research into the ecology and evolution of this incredibly adaptive carnivore." ### The study abstract below. "Mapping the expansion of coyotes (Canis latrans) across North and Central America" Authors: James W. Hody, North Carolina State University; Roland Kays, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University. Abstract: The geographic distribution of coyotes (Canis latrans) has dramatically expanded since 1900, spreading across much of North America in a period when most other mammal species have been declining. Although this considerable expansion has been well documented at the state/provincial scale, continent wide descriptions of coyote spread have portrayed conflicting distributions for coyotes prior to the 1900s, with popularly referenced anecdotal accounts showing them restricted to the great plains, and more obscure, but data-rich accounts suggesting they ranged across the arid west. To provide a scientifically credible map of the coyote's historical range (10,000-300 BP) and describe their range expansion from 1900 to 2016, we synthesized archaeological and fossil records, museum specimens, peer-reviewed reports, and records from wildlife management agencies. Museum specimens confirm that coyotes have been present in the arid west and California throughout the Holocene, well before European colonization. Their range in the late 1800s was undistinguishable from earlier periods, and matched the distribution of non-forest habitat in the region. Coyote expansion began around 1900 as they moved north into taiga forests, east into deciduous forests, west into costal temperate rain forests, and south into tropical rainforests. Forest fragmentation and the extirpation of larger predators probably enabled these expansions. In addition, hybridization with wolves (C. lupus, C. lycaon, and/or C. rufus) and/or domestic dogs has been documented in the east, and suspected in the south. Our detailed account of the original range of coyotes and their subsequent expansion provides the core description of a large scale ecological experiment that can help us better understand the predator-prey interactions, as well as evolution through hybridization. CORVALLIS, Ore. - The blood of schizophrenia patients features genetic material from more types of microorganisms than that of people without the debilitating mental illness, research at Oregon State University has found. What's not known is whether that's a cause or effect of the severe, chronic condition that strikes about one person in 100. "It's a common assumption that healthy blood is sterile so some may find it surprising that we even found bacterial genetic material in the bloodstream," said David Koslicki, a mathematical biologist in the OSU College of Science. Koslicki and collaborators performed whole-blood transcriptome analyses on 192 people. Subjects included healthy controls as well as those with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Transcriptome analysis refers to the sequencing of ribonucleic acid, or RNA. RNA works with DNA, the other nucleic acid - so named because they were first discovered in the cell nuclei of living things - to produce the proteins needed throughout an organism. Studying the blood samples, researchers detected RNA from a range of bacteria and archaea - with the range wider for schizophrenics than for the other three groups. "More and more we know the human microbiome plays a huge role in health and disease," Koslicki said. "Gut bacteria account for most of the trillions of microbial cells in the human body, and this study shows that microbiota in the blood are similar to ones in the mouth and gut. It appears there's some sort of permeability there into the bloodstream. Down the road, microscopy, culturing or direct measures of permeability may be able to shed light on that." Researchers found schizophrenics' blood samples were more likely to contain two phyla in particular - Planctomycetes and Thermotogae - but the overall results suggest it's not likely those are the sole reason for the elevated microbial diversity. Scientists also found fewer of the immunity-enhancing CD8+ memory T cells in the blood of schizophrenics. "That could suggest a mechanism for why we see increased microbial diversity in the blood, and it's also possibly affected by lifestyle or health status differences between schizophrenia patients and the other groups," Koslicki said. "In addition, it's interesting that bipolar disorder, which is genetically and clinically correlated to schizophrenia, didn't show a similar increased microbial diversity." Koslicki also notes that the RNA sequencing can't detect if microbes are actually living in the blood, only that their genetic material is there; it could have gotten there from somewhere else in the body. Scientists at UCLA, the University of California-Davis, the University of California-San Francisco, University Medical Center Utrecht, and Wageningen University collaborated on this study, the first to use unmapped non-human reads to assess the microbiome from whole blood. ### The National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation supported this research. Findings were published in Translational Psychiatry. Compared with fiscal austerity measures currently being implemented in Brazil, the maintenance of social protection could result in a reduction in childhood mortality by 8.6% in 2030, according to simulations published this week in PLOS Medicine by Davide Rasella of the Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil, and colleagues. Since 2015, a major economic crisis in Brazil has led to increasing poverty and the implementation of austerity measures, including proposed cuts to the Bolsa Familia Programme (BFP) and the Estrategia Saude da Familia (ESF), two major programs with an impact on childhood mortality. Rasella and colleagues developed a microsimulation model, projecting the effects of poverty, BFP, and ESF on child health in all 5,507 Brazilian municipalities for the period 2017-2030. Compared with reducing the coverage provided by BFP and ESF due to fiscal austerity, the maintenance of their levels of social protection would lead to a child mortality rate 8.6% lower [95% confidence interval: 6.9%-10.2%] in 2030, the study estimated. Avoidable childhood deaths would be approximately 20,000 lower and avoidable childhood hospitalisations up to 124,000 lower between 2017 and 2030 under maintenance of social protection. Under various simulations, which varied the length of the economic crisis and the amount of cuts, childhood mortality was still affected. The research also showed that poorer municipalities would be disproportionately impacted. "Our study suggests that reduced coverage of poverty-alleviation and primary care programmes may result in a substantial number of preventable child deaths and hospitalizations in Brazil," the authors say. "These austerity measures will disproportionately impact child mortality in the poorest municipalities, disrupting previous trends of reducing inequality in child health outcomes." ### Research Article Funding: This study received funding from the Wellcome Trust Training Fellowships in Public Health and Tropical Medicine scheme, being DR the recipient Fellow (Grant reference number: 109949/Z/15/Z; https://wellcome.ac.uk/). CM is funded by a Research Professorship award from the National Institute for Health Research, (Grant reference number: RP_2014-04-03; https://www.nihr.ac.uk/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: SB receives a stipend as a specialty consulting editor for PLOS Medicine and serves on the journal's editorial board. The authors have declared that no other competing interests exist. Citation: Rasella D, Basu S, Hone T, Paes-Sousa R, Ocke-Reis CO, Millett C (2018) Child morbidity and mortality associated with alternative policy responses to the economic crisis in Brazil: A nationwide microsimulation study. PLoS Med 15(5): e1002570. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002570 Author Affiliations: Instituto de Saude Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Public Health Policy Evaluation Unit, Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom Center for Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America Department of Health Research and Policy, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America Center for Primary Care, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Rene Rachou Institute, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil Institute for Applied Economic Research, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002570 HERSHEY, PA - Prescription cough and cold medicines containing the opioid hydrocodone were more likely to cause serious side effects in children than those containing codeine, according to a new study from Penn State College of Medicine. The research supports recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restrictions on prescription hydrocodone- and codeine-containing cough medicines for children and suggests that opioids in general should not be prescribed for coughs and colds in pediatric populations. Historically, most of the guidance around children's prescription cough and cold medications has focused on the opioid codeine. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against the use of codeine-containing cough and cold medications in children for two decades due to safety concerns, and in 2017 the FDA ruled that codeine should not be used to treat cough or pain in children younger than 12 years old. In January 2018, the FDA expanded its restrictions, announcing that prescription cough medicines containing either codeine or hydrocodone can only be labeled for use in adults 18 and over because the risks of opioid-containing cough products outweigh the potential benefits in children. The new study supports the FDA's decision, according to Dr. Ian Paul, a physician and professor of pediatrics and public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine. The study grew out of a larger safety surveillance project by Paul and colleagues at the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver looking at adverse events associated with over-the-counter pediatric cough and cold medications. During this project, the surveillance system also detected serious side effects in children who had ingested prescription cough and cold medications that combined typically over-the-counter ingredients with opioid medications. Despite the public attention around codeine in children's cold medications, the researchers noted that many of the adverse events were more likely to be linked to hydrocodone-containing prescriptions. This discovery led them to conduct the new study. Using the surveillance data, the researchers analyzed adverse events in children under 12 years old that were associated with cough and cold medications including both an opioid and an over-the-counter ingredient. Between January 2008 and December 2015, there were 98 cases involving an adverse event at least potentially related to codeine or hydrocodone. In most of the cases, the medications were either prescribed to the children or accidentally ingested without supervision. The sedative properties of opioids, which are particularly worrisome in children, were frequently reported but were more common in children who took hydrocodone. Drowsiness, lethargy, and respiratory depression were reported in 86 percent of hydrocodone cases compared with 61 percent of codeine cases. There were also three deaths reported, all of which were associated with hydrocodone combined with an antihistamine. The research appeared recently in the journal Clinical Toxicology. "You could argue from this data that the adverse events profile from hydrocodone-containing cough and cold medication ingestion appears to be more concerning" than that from codeine-containing drugs, Paul said. The message? "Healthcare providers should never prescribe opioid-containing cough and cold products to children. Ever." Paul also emphasized that children usually don't need prescription medications for a cold. "Parents of children with colds should remember that they typically resolve in their own with time. Supportive measures, like using non-aspirin pain relievers such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, can help a child's comfort. There's some evidence that honey is effective for children one year of age and older and that topical vapor rub can be used for children ages two and up. And they can use nasal saline and humidified air to help a child get through the illness." ### Other researchers on this project were Kate M. Reynolds and Jody L. Green, both at the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center at the Denver Health and Hospital Authority. This study is funded through an unrestricted grant provided by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association Pediatric Cough Cold Task Group. Dr. Green reports grants from Consumer Healthcare Products Association Pediatric Cough Cold Task Group, during the conduct of the study and grants from McNeil Consumer Healthcare, outside the submitted work. Dr. Paul reports personal fees from Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson, both outside the submitted work. QUT's Professor Patsy Yates has become the first researcher from outside of North America to receive the prestigious Distinguished Researcher award from the international Oncology Nursing Society QUT's Professor Patsy Yates has become the first researcher from outside of North America to receive the prestigious Distinguished Researcher award from the international Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). Professor Yates, who is director of Queensland's Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education, is highly regarded for her leadership in improving the quality of life for people who have cancer, and forging strong links between research, policy and practice. Presented in Washington DC, USA, on the weekend, the award recognises the contributions of a member who has conducted or promoted research that has enhanced the science and practice of oncology nursing. It was awarded at the ONS Annual Congress where Professor Yates, who is also Head, School of Nursing at QUT, presented the results of her research which has focused on improving management of common problems experienced by cancer patients, such as difficulty breathing, nausea, and emotional distress. Professor Yates said she was honoured to receive the award from ONS. "To be the first person outside of North America to receive a Distinguished Researcher award from ONS is a highlight of my career," Professor Yates said. "It is validation of the importance of our work at QUT, and the value of nursing interventions to ensure the best outcomes for people with cancer. It is exciting to be able to say that we do research which addresses issues that people with cancer themselves say are important to them and that our findings help patients to cope with the disease and its treatments." In addition to her research contributions, Professor Yates has a distinguished record of service to the community and professional groups. She is the immediate past President of Palliative Care Australia and will take up a four year term as President of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care from July 1st this year. She has previously received awards including the Tom Reeve Oration Award for Outstanding Contribution to Cancer Care and Life Membership from the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia as well as the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia. In 2010, she was awarded a Citation from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. A fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, Professor Yates was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2017. ### More reading: https://www.qut.edu.au/news?id=129449 Media contact: Amanda Weaver, QUT Media, 07 3138 3151, amanda.weaver@qut.edu.au After hours: Rose Trapnell, 0407 585 901, media@qut.edu.au Natural use of biology to control disease in crops is the Holy Grail of agriculture, and a team of young researchers has now pinpointed a way of easing cereals' risks from a deadly root pathogen In the soils of the world's cereal fields, a family tussle between related species of fungi is underway for control of the crops' roots, with food security threatened if the wrong side wins. Beneficial fungi can help plants to protect themselves from cousins eager to overwhelm the roots, but it's a closely fought battle. Working out the right conditions to support those beneficial fungi and identifying the cereal varieties that are best suited to make the most of that help is no mean task, but now a young team of scientists from Rothamsted Research has come up with some answers. Their complete findings are published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology. Take-all is a devastating root disease of cereal crops worldwide caused by the fungal pathogen, Gaeumannomyces tritici. Related species, notably G. hyphopodioides, are capable of immunising plant roots against the pathogen. Farmers struggle to control the disease because few chemical seed treatments are available and current biological strategies are hindered by the variety of soil types. "This work aimed to explore whether wheat genetics can be exploited to help support and potentially build up populations of closely related take-all suppressing fungal species that are known to lower the disease levels caused by the take-all fungus," says Vanessa McMillan, co-author and postdoctoral researcher in plant pathology. The team collected samples of the beneficial fungus from the fields of Rothamsted Farm and developed a laboratory test to explore their ability to colonise and protect the roots of barley, rye, wheat and the rye/wheat hybrid, triticale. In field trials, the team identified commercial cereal varieties that performed better than others. "If the ability of wheat cultivars to support and be colonised by natural or introduced populations of beneficial Gaeumannomyces species could be harnessed and exploited, either through a seed dressing or via direct application into a crop's rooting zone, this could provide a potential biological management strategy for the control of take-all disease in wheat crops," notes McMillan, who leads the take-all research group at Rothamsted. Understanding the complex interactions between the fungi and the cereal hosts will yield more information for developing strategies to control the disease. "The future of take-all control cannot rely upon a single solution to combat the disease," says Sarah-Jane Osborne, whose PhD in crop pathology focused on this research. "The results of our study show that certain current winter wheat varieties can strongly support naturally occurring populations of take-all suppressing fungi. "If this ability can be harnessed, it could aid in decision-making when selecting varieties to grow as an additional practical solution to manage take-all disease," adds Osborne, who is now Field Trials Manager in Crop Production Systems at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). "Our ability to manage take-all is currently limited and having an effective genetic solution would be very beneficial to growers," says David Langton, Head of R&D and Stewardship at Agrii, a company of agronomists. "Therefore, Agrii was pleased to support Sarah-Jane's PhD to develop a better understanding of the disease and potential management options." Additional positive endorsement of the research comes from Simon Oxley, Head of Crop Production Systems at AHDB, which also supported Osborne's PhD studies at Rothamsted and the University of Nottingham: "Take-all is a damaging root disease that can cause major yield and quality losses, particularly in subsequent wheat crops, as pathogen pressure builds in the soil. "Sarah-Jane's research is a step forward in understanding the complex relationship between variety, pathogen and potentially beneficial root colonising fungi. I can foresee a time when growers will be able to select varieties that combine positive characteristics to minimise the damaging effect of this disease, thus contributing to the sustainability of crop production." ### Rothamsted's take-all research group, led by McMillan, is part of one of the institute's five strategic programmes, namely Designing Future Wheat, a multi-institute initiative that focuses specifically on improving overall crop value and resilience. The work is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT). NOTES TO EDITORS Publication: Osborne et al, 2018, Journal of Experimental Botany, Elite UK winter wheat cultivars differ in their ability to support the colonization of beneficial root-infecting fungi DOI: 10.1093/jxb/ery136 [link live to complete findings after publication; for embargoed copies, contact bill.oneill@rothamsted.ac.uk // mob: 07801 356 490] Rothamsted Research contacts: Vanessa McMillan, Take-all Research Group LeaderTel: +44 (0) 1582 938 448/527E-mail: vanessa.mcmillan@rothamsted.ac.uk Sarah-Jane Osborne, Field Trials Manager Crop Production Systems, AHDB Tel: 01480 482987 Mob: 07341 568635 E-mail: Sarah-Jane.Osborne@ahdb.org.uk Kim Hammond-Kosack, Molecular Plant Pathologist Tel: +44 (0) 1582 938 240 Email: kim.hammond-kosack@rothamsted.ac.uk Susan Watts, Head of Communications Tel: +44 (0) 1582 938 109 Mob: +44 (0) 7964 832 719 E-mail: susan.watts@rothamsted.ac.uk About Rothamsted Research Rothamsted Research is the longest-running agricultural research institute in the world. We work from gene to field with a proud history of ground-breaking discoveries, from crop treatment to crop protection, from statistical interpretation to soils management. Our founders, in 1843, were the pioneers of modern agriculture, and we are known for our imaginative science and our collaborative influence on fresh thinking and farming practices. Through independent science and innovation, we make significant contributions to improving agri-food systems in the UK and internationally. In terms of the institute's economic contribution, the cumulative impact of our work in the UK was calculated to exceed 3000 million a year in 2015 (Rothamsted Research and the Value of Excellence: A synthesis of the available evidence, by Sean Rickard). Our strength lies in our systems approach, which combines science and strategic research, interdisciplinary teams and partnerships. Rothamsted is also home to three unique resources. These National Capabilities are open to researchers from all over the world: The Long-Term Experiments, Rothamsted Insect Survey and the North Wyke Farm Platform. We are strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with additional support from other national and international funding streams, and from industry. We are also supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT). For more information, visit https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/; Twitter @Rothamsted About BBSRC The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. BBSRC invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond. Funded by government, BBSRC invested 469 million in world-class bioscience in 2016-17. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. More information about BBSRC, our science and our impact. More information about BBSRC strategically funded institutes The Lawes Agricultural Trust, established in 1889 by Sir John Bennet Lawes, supports Rothamsted Research's national and international agricultural science through the provision of land, facilities and funding. LAT, a charitable trust, owns the estates at Harpenden and Broom's Barn, including many of the buildings used by Rothamsted Research. LAT provides an annual research grant to the Director, accommodation for nearly 200 people, and support for fellowships for young scientists from developing countries. LAT also makes capital grants to help modernise facilities at Rothamsted, or invests in new buildings. The United States is increasingly diverse ethnically and racially. Studies have shown that for young people, simply being around peers from different ethnic and racial backgrounds may not be enough to improve attitudes toward and relationships with other groups. Instead, children and adolescents also need to value spending time and forming relationships with peers from diverse groups. A new study examined how friends in middle school affect each other's attitudes about interacting with peers of different ethnicities and races, finding that they influence each other's racial and ethnic views significantly. The study was done by researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of California-Irvine. It appears in Child Development, a journal of the Society for Research in Child Development. "Success in engaging and forming friendships with people from diverse ethnic and racial groups is an important kind of social competence, and one that is especially relevant given today's pervasive racial tensions," explains Deborah Rivas-Drake, associate professor of psychology and education at the University of Michigan, who led the study. "Our results point to a system in which adolescents prefer to befriend more open-minded peers and, in turn, influence one another on intergroup relations. Taken together, our research suggests that such attitudes may be contagious." The study collected information from 524 ethnically diverse students in grades 6, 7, and 8 who attended a middle school in the midwestern United States. The students filled out surveys asking them about their friends in school and their attitudes toward diversity--how they felt about interacting with peers from different ethnic and racial groups. The researchers found that students who had more positive attitudes about interacting with peers from other ethnic and racial groups were most likely to be friends with students who shared the same attitudes. Students with more positive attitudes were less likely to select friends of the same race and ethnicity than those with less positive attitudes. And students' attitudes became more similar to their friends' over time. The study also found that students who expressed positive beliefs about interacting with peers from other ethnic and racial groups reaped benefits: They were more sought after as friends than those with less positive attitudes toward diversity and they reported more friends from groups other than their own. "Many schools, like the one we studied, are encouraging not just awareness of difference but also empathy and the ability to take others' perspectives," notes Robert Jagers, former associate professor of education and psychology at the University of Michigan and incoming vice president for research at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), who coauthored the study. "Our research highlights the importance of peers in this process and their role in helping shape students' beliefs about diversity." Since the study was carried out in a school that was ethnically and racially heterogeneous, the authors caution that their findings may not be replicable in schools that are less diverse. In addition, the study did not ask students about where they lived or their socioeconomic status, which could play a role in students' decisions to associate with peers who are similar to themselves. ### The research was funded by the University of Michigan. Summarized from Child Development, Intergroup Contact Attitudes Across Peer Networks in School: Selection, Influence, and Implications for Cross-Group Friendships by Rivas-Drake, D (University of Michigan), Saleem, M (University of Michigan), Schaefer, DR (University of California-Irvine), Medina, M (University of Michigan), and Jagers, R (formerly at University of Michigan, now at CASEL). Copyright 2018 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc. All rights reserved. TORONTO, May 22, 2018 - A non-surgical procedure, called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), along with prescribed medication, is better than medication alone as initial treatment for people who have the most common form of heart disease, suggests an analysis of an international clinical trial co-led by St. Michael's Hospital. Published today in the New England Journal of Medicine and simultaneously presented at EuroPCR 2018 in Paris, France, the five-year analysis of the FAME 2 trial shows that initial PCI along with medication was associated with a significant reduction in urgent hospital admissions and revascularizations to restore blood flow in the blood vessels of the heart and a likely reduction in heart attacks as compared to medication as the only treatment. The medication used in the FAME 2 trial consisted of a combination of aspirin, cholesterol-lowering and blood pressure-lowering drugs as required by current treatment guidelines. PCI is a minimally-invasive procedure where modern stents - small tubular metal scaffolds coated with medication - are inserted into an artery using a small catheter to widen a narrowed blood vessel in the heart. PCI is commonly used to treat sudden blockages of a coronary artery that cause a heart attack. In situations where the heart's arteries narrow less suddenly and do not cause a heart attack but induce chest pain during exercise - a condition known as stable coronary artery disease - it has remained unclear whether PCI in addition to medication was better than medication alone in preventing future heart attacks. "Currently, the standard practice in North America is to prescribe medication to patients with stable coronary artery disease and avoid PCI," said Dr. Peter Juni, Director of the Applied Health Research Centre (AHRC) at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital, who is a senior author on the study. "Our results pose the question: Would a large portion of patients benefit from early PCI in addition to medication?" "We used pressure measurements inside the heart arteries to find coronary arteries that should be widened," said Dr. Bernard De Bruyne, an interventional cardiologist at the Cardiovascular Center Aalst in Belgium and the Principal Investigator of the trial. "With these measurements we were able to identify patients who would benefit from PCI in addition to medication." The World Health Organization reports that every year, 17.7 million people die from cardiovascular diseases, which is an estimated 31 per cent of all deaths worldwide. Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease in North America and Europe, and is a serious health problem worldwide. It occurs when the coronary arteries become narrow and hardened due to the build-up of cholesterol rich plaques in the blood vessels. While the FAME 2 trial showed that PCI reduced urgent hospital admissions and revascularizations and likely reduced heart attacks, it did not provide evidence for a difference between PCI and medication alone in the prevention of deaths. The trial was initially sponsored by St. Jude Medical, a global medical device company, until the three-year follow-up. The subsequent two years of follow-up have been academically driven, organized the by the academic steering committee of the study. Nineteen sites across Europe and North America participated in the five-year follow-up. "Our trial over its entire follow-up shows us that the longer you observe these patients, the more pronounced the benefits of the initial PCI become," said Dr. Juni, who is also a Canada Research Chair and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. While Drs. Juni and De Bruyne agree there is more research to be done using modern PCI technology, this five-year follow-up offers evidence that PCI has the potential to provide long-term benefits to patients with stable coronary artery disease. ### The FAME 2 trial was supported by St. Jude Medical. The present analysis was not supported by industry funding. About St. Michael's Hospital St. Michael's Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in more than 29 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, care of the homeless and global health are among the Hospital's recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Centre, which make up the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael's Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. Media contact Ana Gajic Senior Communications Advisor St. Michael's Hospital Phone: 416-864-5960 or 416 458 0629 Gajica@smh.ca Inspired Care. Inspiring Science. http://www.stmichaelshospital.com Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stmikeshospital Dublin, Tuesday 22nd May, 2018 - Scientists have just discovered that a small region of a cellular protein that helps long-term memories form also drives the neurodegeneration seen in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This small part of the Ataxin-2 protein thus works for good and for bad. When a version of the protein lacking this region was substituted for the normal form in fruit flies (model organisms), the animals could not form long-term memories - but, surprisingly, the same flies showed a remarkable resistance to neurodegeneration. The popular "ice bucket challenge" highlighted the social significance of ALS, as well as the need to better understand and treat neurodegenerative conditions. This new research identifies a very specific basic mechanism that facilitates progression of neuronal loss in an animal model of ALS, and, by shedding light on a potential way to protect against cell death in ALS, it should inform strategies for the development of therapeutics to treat or manage these devastating conditions, which are currently incurable. The Science Foundation Ireland-funded research, involving scientists from the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, NCBS Bangalore and HMMI, University of Colorado, Boulder, has just been published in the leading international journal Neuron. Professor of Neurogenetics at Trinity College Dublin, Mani Ramaswami, said: "This work, by collaborating young researchers based in Irish, Indian and American laboratories, provides a great example of the ability of fundamental research in model organisms to produce biologically and clinically interesting information." A common feature of neurodegenerative diseases is the presence of specific protein aggregates in nerve cells, which accumulate and clump together -- usually as protein fibres called amyloid filaments. Such aggregates are believed to trigger processes that cause the neuronal death associated with these debilitating diseases. For example, amyloid-beta (A) aggregates are associated with Alzheimer's disease, while TDP-43, FUS and Ataxin-2 proteins are commonly found in ALS patients. The scientists behind the current study set out to test this "amyloid hypothesis" to see whether it may explain how ALS develops. The scientists genetically engineered fruit flies with mutations designed to reduce Ataxin-2 protein assembly into aggregates without affecting other functions of the protein. Arnas Petrauskas, Trinity, said: "The flies with this altered, non-aggregating version of the protein showed a striking resistance to neurodegeneration. This suggests the normal Ataxin-2 protein and its ability to form aggregates is required for the progression of at least some forms of ALS, which means these results provide support for the amyloid hypothesis." "What really surprised us though was that this same protein region seems to be required for the flies to develop long-term memory, as those with the altered version of Ataxin-2 showed normal short-term but defective long-term memories." Fruit flies normally respond strongly to new odorants, but weakly to familiar odorants through a process called habituation. This memory of the familiar can be of the short-term kind - to an odorant encountered for half-an-hour, or of the long-term kind, to odorants encountered for days (think of it as remembering a phone number of a new acquaintance versus remembering your own phone number). Flies lacking this small domain of Ataxin-2 showed greatly reduced long-term memory. So how is long-term memory formation and disease progression connected? It turns out that proteins like the TDP-43, FUS and Ataxin-2 found in ALS are also involved in the natural control and management of protein expression in the cell. The very same region of Ataxin-2 is needed to form RNP granules that store RNAs (essentially blueprints, or recipes for specific proteins) in a silent form until they are unpackaged by a signal and used to produce molecules when they are required. This local control of RNAs is required for long-term changes at neuronal synapses that underlie long-term memory. The new discovery shows that Ataxin-2 concentrates several RNA-binding proteins used in the process of memory storing, but in doing so, it creates a biological environment that can help these proteins aggregate into disease-causing amyloids. A "trade-off" therefore exists in nature where the Ataxin-2 gene increases the danger of neurodegeneration, but helps our cells control RNA and form long-term memories. In a commentary on the research published in the same issue of the journal Neuron, Aaron Gitler, Professor of Genetics in the Stanford Neuroscience Institute, an independent expert in MND research said: "This data suggest that manipulating RNP granule formation by genetically manipulating ataxin-2's IDRs, or by other means could be therapeutic in ALS. Beyond ataxin-2, the race is now on to discover additional proteins that help build RNP granules." ### When Mount St. Helens erupted 38 years ago today, it not only dramatically transformed more than 200 square miles that previously contained vast forests, fast-flowing streams, and sparkling mountain lakes, it also created unprecedented research opportunities for scientists. Nearly four decades later, much of what has been learned at this living laboratory is revealed in a new book that presents key science lessons and messages from the volcano. Ecological Responses at Mount St. Helens: Revisited 35 Years After the 1980 Eruption, published by Springer, features 16 chapters authored by 33 contributors from across the United States and Canada who have studied ecological responses at Mount St. Helens since 1980. "This book is a synthesis generated by a cadre of dedicated scientists who have embarked upon decades of research to meticulously document the way in which an ecosystem responded to an intense, large-scale forest disturbance--in this case, volcanism, an agent of disturbance that has shaped Cascadian ecosystems for millennia," said Charlie Crisafulli, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station who has been conducting research at Mount St. Helens since just weeks after the 1980 eruption. Crisafulli co-edited the new book, authored several of its chapters, and is the lead research ecologist at the volcano. "This book is intended for scientists, college students, and others interested in the fascinating subject of ecological change and, in particular, the resilience of nature following a major disturbance." The eruption of Mount St. Helens generated a gradient of disturbance intensities, which created an unprecedented scientific opportunity to study how landscapes respond initially and over time to volcanic disturbance. Since then, researchers have conducted hundreds of studies on wildlife, plant, and microbial communities and ecological processes across the volcano's terrestrial and aquatic habitats. "I feel a great sense of achievement when viewing the ways in which the collective body of knowledge from the volcano has influenced and even reshaped our understanding of biological community assembly, successional processes, and disturbance processes," Crisafulli said. Mount St. Helens research is helping to advance post-volcanic-eruption ecological science and management in both the United States and abroad. Crisafulli is conducting invited research at Chile's Chaiten, Cordon Caulle, and Calbuco volcanoes and has provided onsite consultation to managers in China and Alaska. This July, he will travel to Iceland's Surtsey and Hekal volcanoes to share results from Mount St. Helens and assist with plant ecology studies. ### To learn more about Mount St. Helens research, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/research/mtsthelens. The Pacific Northwest Research Station--headquartered in Portland, Ore.--generates and communicates scientific knowledge that helps people make informed choices about natural resources and the environment. The station has 11 laboratories and centers located in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon and about 300 employees. Learn more online at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw. Three UN agencies UN Women, UNHCR and UNFPA have called on the Sudanese government to grant clemency to a 19-year-old woman sentenced to death after she killed her husband as he tried to rape her. According to UN agencies, Noura Hussein was forced into a child marriage and acted in self-defense. Speaking about the nature of the UNs appeal in the case of Noura Hussein, the executive director of UN women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka told Africanews that Noura had been forced against her will into marriage at the age of 16 and was raped by her husband while his three male relatives held her down. Violence against women and girls is considered prevalent in Sudan, she said. The country has not signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and has weak policies in place to protect them. Sudan is ranked 165 out of 188 countries on the UNs Gender Inequality Index, which measures how women fare compared to men when it comes to access to health, education, political participation and employment opportunities. About one in three girls are married in Sudan before they are 18 and marital rape is not considered a crime in the predominantly Muslim African nation. Sudanese law allows the marriage of a girl once she hits puberty. It also says a 10-year-old girl can be married by their guardian with the permission of a judge. Petitions appealing for Nouras release such as Change.org and Avaaz.com are being widely circulated on social media platforms. A new study shows that the ability to distinguish truth from lies is diminished in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) - putting them at greater risk of being manipulated. Researchers, led by Professor David Williams of the University of Kent, found that lie detection ability is 'significantly diminished' in those with a full ASD diagnosis. It is also related to how many ASD traits people in the general population have - the more traits, the poorer the deception detection ability. Professor Williams, of Kent's School of Psychology, and researchers from four other universities in the UK and US conducted experiments with participants exhibiting varying degrees of ASD and compared them to those who were deemed 'neurotypical' or not displaying autistic patterns of thought or behaviour. Participants were shown a number of videos of people responding to questions about their earlier participation in an experiment during which they had an opportunity to cheat by looking at an answer sheet while the experimenter was out of the room. All the people in the video denied cheating, but some of them had actually looked at the answer sheet. Participants had to judge whether the people in each video were lying or not. In one video shown to participants a liar responds 'I guess no' to the question 'did any cheating occur when the experimenter left the room?'. Those with a diagnosis of ASD and those from the general population with a high number of ASD traits found it difficult to make an inference about deceit, even when such cues were available. The researchers suggest that limited social engagement among people with ASD, as well as neurotypical people with a relatively high number of ASD traits, may result in a failure to learn the social cues that indicate deceit. It is important to consider whether training individuals with ASD to detect behavioural indicators of lying. They conclude that 'if such training were successful, it would represent a significant opportunity to enhance the lives of a group of people who, on the basis of our result and anecdotal reports, are clearly susceptible to exploitation.' ### The research, entitled Can you spot a liar? Deception, mindreading, and the case of Autism Spectrum Disorder (David Williams, Toby Nicholson - University of Kent; Catherine Grainger - University of Sterling; Sophie Lind - City, University of London; Peter Curruthers - University of Maryland, USA) is published in the journal Autism Research. See: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.1962 For more information or interview requests contact Martin Herrema at the University of Kent Press Office. Tel: 01227 816768 Email: M.J.Herrema@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 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. Journal Autism Research DOI 10.1002/aur.1962 Kent has received two Queen's Anniversary prizes for Higher and Further Education. Schools with more teachers who majored in their teaching subject are more likely to have students succeed both short and long term COLUMBIA, Mo. - Previous research has shown that teachers play a pivotal role in their students' academic success--or lack thereof. Now, a researcher at the University of Missouri has found that high school students taught by a string of teachers who majored or minored in a specific teaching subject, instead of a general teaching degree, are more likely to become college graduates. The researcher says that schools can use this new knowledge to find new ways to increase their number of highly qualified teachers and make student success a collective effort. "Performance is a collective measure of a school," said Se Woong Lee, an assistant professor in the College of Education. "If we develop a system where the focus is on student development and learning over time, then we're helping to give equal opportunities to students within a school and being fair to our teachers at the same time." Through an analysis of a longitudinal data set collected from more than 6,000 students and their teachers nationwide, Lee found that students who were taught by a succession of teachers who majored or minored in mathematics had better success in short-term math achievement. In the long term, the students also were more likely to graduate from college. "Teacher quality is the most influential factor that determines student success," Lee said. "If students are taught by a string of under qualified and underperforming teachers, it limits academic potential. However, highly qualified teachers are more likely to expand students' desires to learn and succeed." Lee suggests that schools can increase their number of highly qualified teachers by changing the hiring process to specifically seek teachers with a background or specialization in the courses they will be teaching. For example, a school seeking a literature teacher would look to prioritize applicants who majored in English in college. In addition, sharing student data and performance from teacher to teacher could be beneficial to students' long-term success, Lee said. "Right now in schools, there's little collaboration between teachers as students move from one grade level to the next," Lee said. "However, if a student's third grade math teacher sits down with their incoming fourth grade math teacher, they can share information on the student's performance and how they learn best." ### "Pulling back the curtain: Revealing the cumulative importance of high-performing, highly qualified teachers on students' educational outcome," was published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Funding for this study was provided by the American Educational Research Association. Opinions reflect those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the funding agency. DURHAM, N.H. - When it comes to finding protection and a safe feeding ground, fish rely on towering blades of seaweed, like kelp, to create a three-dimensional hiding space. Kelp forests have been shown to be one of the most productive systems in the ocean with high biodiversity and ecological function. However, in recent decades, many kelp habitats have been taken over and replaced by lower turf-dominated seaweed species. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that this change in the seascape may impact the behavior of fish and could be leaving them less options for refuge and more vulnerable to predators. "In each case, the cunner preferred and sought out the kelp, or similar seaweed species, to hide in," said Jennifer Dijkstra, research assistant professor in the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at UNH. "Over and over, they gravitated to the kelp that is taller and because of its blade-like structure, provides a canopy to hide under." Three experiments were conducted as part of the research recently published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology; in situ video observations, a refuge choice study, and a foraging efficiency study. The video of cunner, a residential mid-trophic level fish, in their habitat showed that the fish preferred the kelp almost three times as much. The refuge choice experiment, where different seaweed scenarios were created for them to hide, supported the video observations that in all cases, kelp was the refuge of choice. The foraging efficient study showed very little difference between seaweed habitats. "Our results suggest that the refuge-seeking behavior of the cunner may be impacted by the ongoing shift we have seen in our earlier studies of the increased dominance of the Dasysiphonia japonica (invasive seaweed) in the southern Gulf of Maine," said Dijkstra. "By losing their preferred refuge, the tall canopy-forming kelps, cunner were left with little option but to use the lower invasive seaweed turfs, which could give them less protection." Three species known to be predators of cunner - striped bass, pollock, and harbor seals - were seen on the video highlighting the real threat to cunner in the surveyed habitats. Researchers say while this study did not directly measure predation, they believe that cunner may become more vulnerable prey since they were easily seen by the researchers hiding in the lower, less dense seaweed. Researchers also note this could be even more detrimental to juvenile cunner who look for safe refuge more often. While further studies are needed, they caution that continued reduction in available kelp cover may signal the beginning of density-dependent mortality in cunner populations which may have cascading effects on other members of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Dijkstra and her team previously published a study that looked at seaweed populations over the last 30 years in the Southwestern Gulf of Maine and found the once predominant and towering kelp seaweed beds are declining and more invasive shrub-like species have taken their place. The invasive fiber-like red seaweeds had covered up to 50 to 60 percent of some areas, altering the look of the ocean floor and the base of the marine food chain. ### Co-authors on this study, all from UNH, include Brandon O'Brien, '22, Ph.D. student; Kristen Mello '14, research technician; and Amber Litterer '16, Shoals Marine Laboratory. This project was supported by the Rutman Foundation through the Shoals Marine Laboratory, the School of Marine Sciences and Ocean Engineering and a faculty scholar award from the School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering to JAD. The University of New Hampshire is a flagship research university that inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top ranked programs in business, engineering, law, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. UNH's research portfolio includes partnerships with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, receiving more than $100 million in competitive external funding every year to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space. Images to Download: https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/cunner_in_invasive_seaweed.jpg Caption: Cunner fish in Nahant, Massachusetts looking for refuge in lower species of seaweed. Seen here is a mix of algae species, including both Dasysiphonia japonica (red seaweed in foreground) and Saccharina latissima (golden blades in background). Photo credit: Brandon O'Brien/UNH https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/cunner_kelp.png Caption: Cunner fish still visible while looking for refuge in kelp in the Isles of Shoals. Photo credit: Kristin Mello/UNH https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/cunner_kelp_2.jpg Caption: Cunner in the Isles of Shoals looking for hiding spots in lower turf-dominated seaweed which have been found to be predominate in the Gulf of Maine. Photo credit: Jennifer Dijkstra/UNH PHILADELPHIA - Medical students seldom learn much about the real-life problems (hunger, joblessness, addiction) their patients face outside the clinic walls. Yet, these problems are at the root of poor health in many low-income communities. A new article published today in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved describes a new approach to educating medical students about the real world. The course, developed by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, apprentices medical students to community health workers (CHWs) in inner city Philadelphia. CHWs are trusted laypeople who come from the local community, hired and trained by healthcare organizations to support high-risk patients. By pairing up with community health workers, students had the opportunity to understand life from a different perspective. Most students had not experienced poverty or trauma in their own lives. The course also helped students to overcome implicit bias and discrimination, which often permeates healthcare experiences. "Thirty-year-old, uninsured, and taking street Xanax. You automatically think . . . difficult patient," explained one student. "She had little dreads and they were dyed red. And the community health worker loved it. She was like 'oh my god, your hair is so cute!' Then the patient got this big smile on her face and was so willing to talk to us. My whole impression of her changed from this really difficult patient to just a sweetheart." The Institute of Medicine and the Association of American Medical Colleges recently recommended medical schools should train students in skills related to community engagement, including the "cultural humility" needed to deal non-judgmentally with patients from very different walks of life. So far, relatively few med school programs aim to provide that training. When they do, it is often through lectures and reading assignments more than hands-on experience. Penn's early experience with this teaching experiment has been so promising that the course is now a permanent part of the curriculum, and is being expanded for nursing and social work students. The Penn Center for Community Health Workers is building on this course to develop online cultural competency training for students and even practicing clinicians. "In medical school, you learn about antibiotics and MRIs. There is a lot more to health than that," said lead author Shreya Kangovi, MD, MS, director of the Penn Center for Community Health Workers. "Unless we train our future healthcare professionals to understand what life and health are like for real people, we'll be failing them." The article reports that in interviews, participating students indicated that the rotation generally met its goal of imparting community engagement skills. Students showed a better understanding of the life circumstances - from homelessness to the difficulty of getting a taxi in inner-city neighborhoods - that affected patients' health care experiences. They also seemed to develop more confidence and competence at overcoming those challenges, as well as a greater appreciation for what community health workers do. To date, 60 students have participated in the rotation. Kangovi and colleagues hope that the new rotation will serve as a model for other teaching hospitals that want to prepare students to care for low-income patient populations. ### The other co-authors of the paper were Tamala Carter, Robyn A. Smith, and Horace M. DeLisser, all of Penn. Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $7.8 billion enterprise. The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top medical schools in the United States for more than 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $405 million awarded in the 2017 fiscal year. The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Medicine Princeton Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital - the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, a leading provider of highly skilled and compassionate behavioral healthcare. Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2017, Penn Medicine provided $500 million to benefit our community. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Researchers with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture continue to be at the forefront of the development of commercial applications for biofuels as well as biobased energy and biobased products. David Harper, an associate professor of materials science in the UT Center for Renewable Carbon, will lead UTIA's newest effort, which is a $1.4M award from the U.S. Department of Energy. The funding will be made available over the next two years through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) - a joint program organized through DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The goal of projects funded through BRDI is to develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of biomass and increase the availability of competitively priced renewable fuels and biobased products. Affordable commercial applications of biofuels and biobased products will improve the nation's energy security by increasing and diversifying our domestic energy sources. Harper says the research will build on existing science to use plant materials from grasses, hardwoods and softwoods to produce commercially valuable products like chemicals, fuels and industrial materials. The goal is to get the biobased products, including fuel, more cost effective. "We can do this by loading biomass into a solvent at greater than 20 percent in the presence of catalysts to deconstruct and separate plant sugars from lignin," Harper explains. "Plant sugars, cellulose and hemicelluloses, will then be upgraded to liquid aviation fuels, or alkanes. Lignin will then be readily converted into carbon foams and activated carbons. The carbon then becomes the basis for products like filters and high-temperature insulation. It can also be used for energy storage, such as in lithium ion batteries." Lignin is the general term used for complex aromatic polymers found in the cell walls of plants, especially in woods and barks. Lignin provides plants the rigidity they need to grow upward and even keeps them from rotting easily. While it is the second most abundant natural polymer in the world, behind cellulose, lignin's value has been mostly limited to use as a fuel for boilers needed in papermaking. Affordably converting the readily available but nuisance byproduct into useful industrial products could provide the catalyst needed for a vibrant, sustainable biobased economy to take hold. Harper adds that a number of intermediate chemicals are also produced as plant sugars are refined into fuels, which makes the biorefining process economically similar to that of petroleum refining. "These intermediates are high purity cellulose, HMF, levulinic acid, and gamma-valerolactone - or GVL - all have established markets. GVL is used as an extremely effective solvent for fractionating biomass. It has the benefit of a high boiling point leading to little solvent loss and being created as a coproduct," he says. Harper goes on to add, "We are creating a portfolio of high-value products from plant biomass. These products will enable the production of biofuels, like cellulosic ethanol, that are less expensive for industry and consumers alike." A stated goal for the DOE-funded projects is to help lower the costs of the production of biobased fuels and help the Bioenergy Technologies Office to meet its goal of less than $3 per gallon gasoline equivalent for advanced biofuels. Harper also holds a faculty appointment in the UT Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries. In addition to Harper, the project team will include David Martin Alonso and Jeff Fornero of Glucan Biorenewables; James Dumesic, with the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Christos Maravelias also of the University of Wisconsin; and Steve Chmely with the UT Center for Renewable Carbon. The UT researchers will lead the development of the lignin products. Glucan Biorenwables will fractionate the biomass, and the team from the University of Wisconsin will upgrade byproducts into fuel and evaluate the economics of the overall process. Also named in the DOE announcement is Northwestern University. Researchers there will be working through a separate grant to develop the rapid synthesis of next-generation biofuels and bioproducts from lignocellulosic biomass. ### The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture celebrates 50 years of excellence in providing Real. Life. Solutions. through teaching, discovery and service. ag.tennessee.edu. Looking for some eye care in Belgium? Get the information you need with our guide to vision care and finding an eye doctor in Belgium. If you suddenly find yourself needing an eye doctor, youre in good hands vision care in Belgium is high-quality, just like the rest of the Belgian healthcare system. To give you an idea of what to expect, heres our guide to eye care in Belgium, including finding the right specialist and whether your insurance covers it. Globality Health Globality Health is an expat-friendly international health insurance provider. They tailor their range of expert premiums to the needs of you and your family, including eye care, dentistry, family doctors, and more. So, see your health care options more clearly with Globality Health. See your coverage options When to visit an eye doctor in Belgium Most people start their search for eye care in Belgium only when they have vision problems. Even if you have no issues, experts recommend an eye check every three to four years, especially after 40; children should have their first eye test before the age of five. A family physician or an optician can refer a patient to an eye doctor if they feel further care is necessary. Ophthalmologists vs. optometrists in Belgium Ophthalmologists (oogarts or oftalmoloog /ophtalmologue) in Belgium are medical doctors who specialize in the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology, and diseases of the eyeball and its orbit. Generally, ophthalmologists are most commonly seen for serious eye issues, and your family physician will refer you to one in case of a medical problem. Optometrists, on the other hand, do not have a medical degree; instead, they have followed a four-year course in optometry. Optometrists treat various eye conditions such as myopia, farsightedness, and astigmatism. They offer vision therapy and can prescribe several visual aids including glasses and contacts. They do not perform surgeries, unlike ophthalmologists. In Belgium, some opticians are also optometrists and can thus perform vision tests and prescribe contacts and glasses on site. Optometrists will send you to the ophthalmologist if they cannot correct a problem with visual aids alone. Optometry isnt recognized in Belgium as it is in other countries, which means that neither your insurance nor RIZIV (National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance) will reimburse you for your visit. For more information on health coverage, read our guide to health insurance in Belgium. Where to find an ophthalmologist in Belgium There are several ways for finding vision care with an ophthalmologist in Belgium. Your family physician, or GP, can refer you to the right eye specialist. Alternatively, if you see an optician/optometrist to test your eyesight and they decide that you need more comprehensive testing, they can refer you to an eye specialist. Sometimes, your friends or family can recommend someone they were happy with. Another method is to search online: sites such as belgoptic.be or allow you to enter your postcode to help you find the ophthalmologist or optometrist closest to you. Certain websites for Belgian health insurance providers also offer the ability for users to search for eye doctors; many of them, however, are only available in Dutch or French. Does Belgian health insurance cover ophthalmology/optometry? A visit to the ophthalmologist and other vision care are covered by all health insurance providers in Belgium. Make sure your doctor has signed a contract with your insurance company this means that he has a rate set by the health insurance since the rate would be higher if they didnt. You can find a list of these eye specialists on your health insurance companys website. Make sure to look for geconventioneerde oogartsen, which identifies the doctors who have signed the agreements. Since optometry is not a recognized profession in Belgium, you will not be reimbursed for your visit. It is one reason most people choose to go to the ophthalmologist in the first place. Your health insurance may partially reimburse you for your glasses and/or lenses. It depends on several factors, including age, the severity of the condition, and the kind of lenses. Usually, the more expensive the lenses, the more you get reimbursed. If your primary care physician refers you to a specialist, the health insurance company will refund a larger amount. You do need to have a Global Medical Record (globaal medisch dossier), an electronic file of all your medical data which your physician can easily open for you. A Global Medical Record is easily shared with all your practitioners and contains all kinds of information, among them your vaccinations, use of medicines, allergies and so on. RIZIV also covers treatments or procedures in certain cases. Your local optician will usually inform you which treatments are covered. Insurance for vision care in Belgium Some expat-friendly international health insurance companies providing coverage for eye care in Belgium include: With each health insurance provider, you have the option to purchase additional insurance, which can provide extra coverage for eyeglasses. Childrens eye care in Belgium Children up to 18 years old always receive reimbursements for lenses. The amount covered by insurance depends on the strength and the kind of lenses as well as how much time has passed since your child got their previous glasses. Some insurances also cover the frames. You can buy your glasses and/or contact lenses at your local opticians or online, and you do not need a prescription. However, you will only reimbursements if you buy your glasses with a prescription from the ophthalmologist. Make sure to look for an ophthalmologist who has an agreement with your health insurance company; otherwise, your refund will be much less. What to do in an eye emergency True eye emergencies are very rare. If they do happen chemical exposure, burns or cuts your best bet is to go straight to the emergency room. You will most likely have to see an ophthalmologist for follow-up care. However, you can always call your eye doctor they may keep slots open for emergencies. Switzerland and Benin have concluded an agreement to strengthen private businesses and farming in the West African state. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and his Beninese counterpart Aurelien Agbenonci signed an accord in Bern on Tuesday to promote private entrepreneurship and to reinforce farming associations in Benin. Migration issues were also discussed. A delegation from Benin, led by President Patrice Talon, visited the Swiss capital, where they met various officials, including Swiss President Alain Berset and Doris Leuthard, head of the Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. During Leuthards visit to the West African state last July, Switzerland launched a cooperation strategy for Benin for the 2017-2020 period, focusing on the development of rural areas, entrepreneurship, education and professional training, as well as efforts to improve decentralized local governance. Benin has been a priority country for Swiss cooperation and development aid since 1981. Switzerland has one of the highest concentrations of philanthropic foundations in the world and the sector keeps growing strongly. Last year, over 13,000 grant-making foundations were registered with a combined fortune of almost CHF100 billion ($100 billion) a 30% increase since 2012 -, a new report shows. In 2017, a new grant-making foundation was created in Switzerland almost every day (364), while at total of 187 shut up shop, taking the overall total to 13,129, according to the SwissFoundations 2017 annual report, published on Tuesday. The reports authors say Switzerland has one of the highest concentrations in the world 15.6 foundations per 10,000 residents with half of all new institutions created in the past 20 years. The most important Swiss foundations? SwissFoundations does not rank national foundations by size or influence. Swiss foundations report their annual account information to the relevant surveillance authorities but the details are not public. Some of the biggest and most influential, however, include the Fondation Beyeler, the Avina Foundation of Stephan Schmidheiny, the Fondation Botnar, the Fondation Hans Wilsdorf, the Jacobs Foundation, the Ernst Gohner Stiftung and the Fondation Leenaards. Over the past five years, the total fortune of Swiss grant-making foundations has risen by one-third to CHF97.4 billion, the umbrella organization said. The presence of larger institutions brings the average assets of a grant-making foundation to CHF8.2 million, but 80% actually have a fortune of below CHF5 million. The report does not include foundations that rely on donor funds and fundraising. Swiss private wealth Traditional areas of focus remain culture and leisure, followed by social services, education and research, health and the environment. Less than 5% of Swiss grant-making foundations are religious. Around half of funds goes abroad. The recent dynamism in this charitable sector is due to various factors. First is the general increase in private wealth. Switzerland remains the worlds largest wealth management centre for international assets ($1.84 trillion in 2017), and a chunk of foreign and Swiss funds go to foundations. Lots of Swiss inheritance money is being handed down, but nowadays 60- or 70-year-olds are not giving money to 40-year-olds. Its more about 90-year-olds giving to 60-year-olds, and often these people are already settled and have enough money for life, so they think about what else they can do with their inherited money, explained Georg von Schnurbein, director of the Center for Philanthropy Studies at the University of Basel. He said the role of the state and civil society was also changing. Today, especially in Europe, people realise the state cannot solve all our problems so they are engaging more in educational and social issues, he commented. The report said the recent increase in funds was also linked to numerous institutions such as retirement homes or museums transforming themselves into foundations. Also, foundations which had invested heavily in real estate had reaped the benefits. Specialists also say Switzerlands stable legal system, rather than any special tax treatment, has helped the development. Its very easy to create a foundation here. There are very liberal regulations, in terms of the purpose, organization and reporting, said von Schnurbein. In the US, foundations have a tax deduction of 40% but here its only 20%. General dynamism in the sector is assisted by Swiss peoples positive attitude about philanthropic work and activities destined for the public, said Claudia Genier, deputy director of Swiss Foundations. Where is it booming? Most new grant-making foundations last year were created in canton Zurich (57), followed by Geneva (55) and Zug (47). Zug has witnessed a boom in so-called crypto-foundations linked to the emergence of blockchain technologies. Its mainly the legal structure of the foundation that made Switzerland attractive for blockchain technology, said von Schnurbein. It is quite liberal. In the coming years sooner or later there will be more regulation for blockchain foundations in Switzerland but now its a little bit the Wild West. Basel, traditionally the cradle of Swiss philanthropy linked mainly to arts and culture, remains the canton with the highest density of grant-making foundations (45.3 per 10,000), managing around CHF17 billion in assets. Geneva and the rest of the Lake Geneva region have been catching up fast over the past 5-10 years, due to the influence of so-called International Geneva and finance expertise. There are few places on this planet with such a concentration of experts in all fields in such a small area, said Genier. Last September, the University of Geneva launched a Centre for Philanthropy, in collaboration with the Lombard Odier Foundation and the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, to encourage academic research and teaching. Lausannes IMD business school and the University of St Gallen also recently joined this research field. This year, the Center for Philanthropy Studies at the University of Basel and the Centre for Foundation Law at the University of Zurich are both celebrating their tenth anniversaries. There are now over 20 similar philanthropy research centres in Europe. Private philanthropy for development A recent study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on private philanthropy for development indicated average flows of $7.8 billion per year, based on data from over 130 of the biggest private philanthropic foundations from around the world. Swiss foundations gave some CHF572 million between 2013 and 2015, the OECD said. While almost three-quarters of funds originated from foundations based in the United States the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) represents about half of this amount other top countries for philanthropic funding for development are Britain (7%), the Netherlands (5%), Switzerland (2%), Canada (2%) and the United Arab Emirates (2%). According to von Schnurbein, $1 billion of money spent by the BMGF passes through Switzerland to the rest of the world. Around one-third of the BMGFs annual spending goes via Swiss organisations or Swiss-based agencies such as the Vaccine Alliance GAVI, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the World Health Organization (WHO), he said. swissinfo.ch Swiss authorities have raided multiple sites as part of a money-laundering probe tied to Angola's sovereign wealth fund, the top prosecutor's office said Tuesday. In an email to AFP, it said it opened criminal proceedings in April 2018 in response to reports of money laundering by persons unknown connected with alleged offences involving assets held by the National Bank of Angola (BNA) and the Fondo Soberano de Angola, the Angolan sovereign wealth fund. As part of the probe, Swiss authorities last Wednesday conducted searches at several locations in Switzerland, it said, declining to provide further details. The operation came after the son of Angolas former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos was charged in his home country with siphoning off $1.5 billion (1.3 billion euros) when he ran the oil-rich countrys sovereign wealth fund. Jose Filomeno dos Santos, nicknamed Zenu, had been appointed by his father to head the $5-billion (4.23-billion-euro) fund in 2013. He was sacked in January after Angolas new president Joao Lourenco took power. In March, he was charged with fraud linked to a $500-million transfer. The Angola case is the second to come to light in recent months involving Swiss institutions and foreign sovereign wealth funds. Authorities in the wealthy federation continue to probe a Swiss role in the plundering of Malaysias 1MDB, a scandal that brought down ex-premier Najib Razak. Jose Eduardo dos Santos ruled Angola for 38 years with an iron grip. During his regime he was accused of running the countrys economy to enrich himself and those around him. Filomenos half-sister, Isabel dos Santos, was also sacked from her job as head of state oil giant Sonangol. Chancellor Angela Merkel visits China on Thursday, seeking to close ranks with the world's biggest exporting nation as US President Donald Trump shakes up explosive issues from trade to Iran's nuclear deal. Finding a common strategy to ward off a trade war and keep markets open will be Merkels priority when she meets with President Xi Jinping, as Washington brandishes the threat of imposing punitive tariffs on aluminium and steel imports. Both countries are in agreement that open markets and rules-based world trade are necessary. Thats the main focus of this trip, Merkels spokeswoman Martina Fietz said in Berlin on Friday. But closing ranks with Beijing against Washington risks being complicated by Saturdays deal between China and the US to hold off tit-for-tat trade measures. Chinas economic health can only benefit Germany as the Asian giant is a big buyer of Made in Germany. But a deal between the US and China effectively leaves Berlin as the main target of Trumps campaign against foreign imports that he claims harm US national security. The US leader had already singled Germany out for criticism, saying it had taken advantage of the US by spending less than Washington on NATO. Underlining what is at stake, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire warned the US-China deal may come at the expense of Europe if Europe is not capable of showing a firm hand. 11 visits in 12 years Nevertheless, Merkel can look to her carefully nurtured relationship with China over her 12 years as chancellor. No Western leader has visited Beijing as often as Merkel, who will be undertaking her eleventh trip to the country. In China, she is viewed not only as the main point of contact for Europe, but, crucially, also as a reliable interlocutor an antithesis of the mercurial Trump. Devoting her weekly podcast to her visit, Merkel stressed that Beijing and Berlin are Devoting her weekly podcast to her visit, Merkel stressed that Beijing and Berlin are both committed to the rules of the WTO (World Trade Organization) and want to strengthen multilateralism. But she also underlined that she will press home Germanys longstanding quest for reciprocity in market access as well as the respect of intellectual property. Ahead of her visit, Beijing fired off a rare salvo of criticism. Chinas envoy to Germany, Shi Mingde, pointed to a protectionist trend in Germany, as he complained about toughened rules protecting German companies from foreign takeovers. Only 0.3 percent of foreign investors in Germany stem from China while German firms have put in 80 billion euros in the Asian giant over the last three decades, he told Stuttgarter Nachrichten. Economic exchange cannot work as a one-way street, he warned. Meanwhile, looming over the battle on the trade front is another equally thorny issue the historic Iran nuclear deal, which risks falling apart after Trump pulled the US out. Tehran has demanded that Europe keeps the deal going by continuing economic cooperation, but the US has warned European firms of sanctions if they fail to pull out of Iran. Merkel hopes that China can help save the atomic deal that the US has unilaterally ditched, said Die Welt daily. Because only the giant emerging economy can buy enough raw materials from Iran to give the Mullah regime an incentive to at least officially continue to not build a nuclear weapon. Bring Liu Xia to Germany With Merkel needing Chinas cooperation, activists are hoping that human rights issues wont fall by the wayside. They have voiced hopes in particular that Merkel would raise the fate of Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo, who is kept under de facto house arrest by China. Heres hoping Merkel brings #LiuXia to Germany with her#China would be smart to release the latter now, wrote Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch on Twitter. Late April, German ambassador to China Michael Clauss told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post that Liu would be welcomed in his country. Asked if Merkel would meet with activists, her spokeswoman Fietz was non-committal, but said as a general rule, the government and the chancellor campaign constantly for the question of human rights. In Uganda, the controversial proposal to replace Ugandan doctors with Cubans might not take effect soon as it awaits Governments approval. Responding to queries during a debate on the health sector ministerial policy statement for the 2018/19 financial year, Ugandas Minister for Health, Dr. Ruth Aceng, said the cabinet has not yet made a final decision on the plan to import over 200 doctors from Cuba. The move aimed at reinforcing Ugandas medical workforce especially in rural areas has triggered strong reactions and controversy. In the recent past, media has been awash with a pros and cons public debate on whether Government should hire Cuban doctors to reinforce the native workforce especially in rural areas. However, the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) that led a strike last year, crippling health services for several weeks, insists that Ugandan physicians demand for better pay and working conditions is legitimate. Note that Cubas most valuable export is its own healthcare professionals with the socialist regime allowing the government to collect a portion of the incomes earned abroad. Thousands of Cuban doctors work abroad under contracts with Cuban authorities. Countries like Ghana, Kenya and South Africa have in the past requested doctors form the Island. Italy must strive to pursue a "responsible" budget policy, the European Commission vice-president in charge of the euro said in an interview published Tuesday, as the country's nascent populist far-right coalition picks a little known lawyer as prime minister. We view it as important that the Italian government remains on course in pursuing a responsible budget policy, Valdis Dombrovskis told German business daily Handelsblatt, noting that Italy has the second highest level of state debt after Greece. Italys 2.3 trillion euros of debt is 132 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), the highest ratio anywhere in Europe apart from Greece. The EU forecasts that Italian public debt will remain at 130 percent above its GDP this year more than double the blocs 60-percent ceiling. Brussels is therefore anxious that Italy continues with efforts to bring down its massive debts in line with EU rules, wary that the new government in Rome will seek to increase public spending. The Five Star Movement and nationalist Leagues 58-page Contract for the Government of Change rejects post-financial crisis austerity policies and features hardline immigration and security proposals. The documents costly financial measures and eurosceptic tone has worried financial markets as has the nomination of Giuseppe Conte as prime minister. Dombrovskis noted that the coalitions plan to drastically slash taxes and reverse pension cuts will be costly. We can only advise it to stay on course in terms of economic and fiscal policies, to stimulate growth through structural reforms and to keep the budget deficit under control, said Dombrovskis. 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 worlds 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 Irans 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 Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Pompeos 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 Washingtons 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 EUs foreign policy chief said there was no alternative to the Iran nuclear deal. Secretary Pompeos 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 Irans 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 Pompeos 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 Pompeos 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 Irans influence in the Middle East, but he stressed this was part of a whole of government approach and offered no details. A German court on Tuesday rejected a second request from prosecutors to put deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont behind bars pending a decision on his extradition to Spain. Prosecutors had re-applied for his detention on May 9 after receiving new information from Madrid suggesting there was a greater risk that he may try to flee Germany. But the court in Schleswig-Holstein said it did not see an increased risk of flight for Carles Puigdemont, ruling therefore that he should remain free on bail while his extradition request is pending. Puigdemont was detained in northern Germany late March after Spain issued a European arrest warrant against him for his role in Catalonias failed bid to break from Spain last October. He had been living in self-exile in Belgium since then but was travelling through Germany when he was arrested. Madrid wants Puigdemont to return to Spain so he can face trial for alleged rebellion, which carries a sentence of up to 30 years. But the Schleswig-Holstein court released Puigdemont on bail on April 6 after finding that he could not be extradited for rebellion. It has yet to rule on whether to send him to Spain to face another, lesser charge of misuse of public funds. Prosecutors on Tuesday said the information they received from Spanish authorities included videos that showed acts of violence against Spanish police by pro-independence demonstrators, which they said could be used to justify the rebellion charge. Rebellion is not punishable under German law and German judges earlier ruled that the closest legal equivalent, high treason, did not apply because Puigdemonts actions were not accompanied by violence. The prosecutors statement added that they were preparing a formal application asking the court to allow Puigdemonts extradition. According to his release conditions, Puigdemont may not leave Germany and must report to police weekly as he awaits a decision on his extradition. With his legal woes preventing him from being re-appointed president of Catalonia, Puigdemont earlier this month anointed a handpicked successor, bringing the region a step closer to ending the political impasse. Spanish judges and prosecutors stopped work Tuesday in an unprecedented strike to call for greater judicial independence and better working conditions. Seven associations of judges and prosecutors said in a joint statement they had called the strike to show their deep discomfort with the neglect and abandonment of the justice system. Around half of Spains prosecutors and judges took part in the strike, their first joint action, according to organisers. Judges carried out smaller solo strikes in 2013 and 2009. In Spain people have the impression that the judiciary is not as independent as it should be, Ignacio Gonzalez Vega, the spokesman for Judges for Democracy, told reporters. In recent years the judiciary has been at the heart of Spanish political debates, especially regarding Catalonias separatist push. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoys conservative government has gone to court to challenge laws passed by separatist leaders in the northeastern region that it deems unconstitutional. The courts have also blocked attempts by Catalonias ousted president, Carles Puigdemont, to be re-elected president of the region. Puigdemont is in Germany facing extradition to Spain for rebellion over his role in Catalonias separatist push. He is one of nine separatist leaders charged with rebellion over their role in Catalonias separatist push and who were placed in pre-trial detention by Spains Supreme Court Catalan separatists have accused the judiciary of doing the bidding of Spanish authorities. The main association behind Tuesdays strike which did not specifically mention Catalonia called for more investment and staff for the justice system. Prosecutors have huge workloads, said the spokeswoman for the Association of Prosecutors, Montserrat Garcia, adding Spain unfortunately lacked a justice of quality. Justice Minister Rafael Catala said he did not disagree in principle with the protesters demands. He stressed that some measures were already adopted in the governments draft budget for 2018. If the spending plan is approved, Catala has promised to hire 300 judges and prosecutors, and dedicate 130 million euros ($152 million) to improve the judiciarys computer systems. Tensions between Catala and magistrates increased in April after he questioned the competence of a judge who had ruled against convicting five young men accused of gang raping an 18-year-old woman in a high-profile case in Pamplona. Judges associations demanded his resignation, calling his comments made during a radio interview interference. Privacy Settings This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit. NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using. The five nations bordering the Arctic Ocean on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment made in Greenland a decade ago to "peacefully" settle their differences over the resource-rich region threatened by climate change. Ministers and senior officials from the United States, Canada, Russia, Denmark and Norway gathered for a two-day meeting in western Greenlands coastal town of Ilulissat, where the initial declaration was signed on May 28, 2008. The countries hope dialogue will resolve conflicts over the sovereignty of territories, strategic maritime passages, environmental protection and fishing. Ten years after the signing of the Ilulissat Declaration, it is still in the coastal nations interest to maintain the Arctic as a low-tension region, where disputes are resolved peacefully, Danish foreign minister Anders Samuelsen said in a statement ahead of the meeting. In other parts of the world, the Arctic states are involved in critical conflicts on different sides, Samuelsen said, adding that cooperation had been maintained in the region. In the time of globalisation and global uncertainty, it is important to reaffirm the core values of this exceptional region; peace and prosperity for our peoples, his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt said. The five nations are known as the Arctic Five, while Sweden, Finland and Iceland, which are also attending to the summit, make up the Arctic Council. Greenlands ice sheets, the largest in the northern hemisphere, are melting due to global warming. This has lead to a race for potential Arctic riches as it opens up new shipping routes and enables exploration of untapped resources, creating major concerns for environmentalists and the local population. Last December, the Arctic Five and major fishing nations including China, Japan, South Korea and EU member states agreed to a moratorium on commercial fishing in Arctic waters before a fishery in the icy region was even feasible. The decision was welcomed by Greenpeace. gab/ik/dl A Russian nuclear submarine on Tuesday successfully fired four Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile from the White Sea on Russia's northwestern coast, the military said in a statement quoted by state news agencies. The Yury Dolgoruky submarine fired the missiles from underwater in the White Sea to hit a military test ground on the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, the navys northern fleet said, TASS state news agency reported. The navy said it was the first time it had fired such a number of missiles from this type of submarine. The Yury Dolgoruky is a 14,720-tonne craft from the fourth-generation Borei class of strategic submarines and was built to carry the Bulavas, which are intercontinental nuclear-capable missiles. The submarine was first tested at sea in 2009. Russia's state-owned Sberbank said Tuesday it was selling its Turkish subsidiary Denizbank to Emirates NBD for roughly 2.7 billion euros ($3.2 billion) to focus on its own brand. Sberbank bought Turkeys fifth-largest lender in 2012 from the failing French-Belgian bank Dexia as part of efforts to expand internationally, but US sanctions imposed after Russias intervention in Ukraine have crimped that strategy. The Russian bank said the financial impact of the deal will depend on fluctuations in the exchange rate of the Turkish lira, which has been weakening in recent months, until the closing of the transaction. Sberbank paid Dexia 6.5 billion Turkish lira for Denizbank, which was worth approximately 2.8 billion euros or $3.5 billion at the time. While Sberbank will receive 14.6 billion lira for Denizbank, that is currently less than the purchase price in dollars. Sberbanks chief executive German Gref said the decision to sell Denizbank is prompted by a change in Sberbank Groups international strategy and will allow us to focus further on development of the ecosystem of Sberbank. Meanwhile, Emirates NBDs vice chairman and managing director Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim said the purchase will help it establish itself as a leading bank in the region and achieve meaningful diversification of its operations, both in new countries and in a broad range of business segments. Denizbank has approximately 11.8 million clients and a network of 708 branches in Turkey. gmo/rl/tm/ser A mother was convicted in a British court on Tuesday of deceiving her teenage daughter into travelling to Pakistan to enter into a forced marriage, in the first successful prosecution of its kind. The woman who cannot be named without uncovering the identity of her daughter was found guilty following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court where a jury heard how the girl had sobbed as she was wedded to a male relative 16 years her senior, the same man who had taken her virginity and left her pregnant on an earlier trip. The then 13 year-old had to undergo an abortion on returning from Pakistan to Britain, but concerns over the girls welfare were allayed by her mother who said the pregnancy was a result of two teenagers who had sneakily had sex, prosecutors said. Jurors heard how as the girl approached her 18th birthday she was tricked by her mother into returning to Pakistan on what she was told would be a family holiday. The couple were then married in September 2016 despite objections from the girl, before she was returned to Britain with the assistance of the Home Office and her mother was arrested in January 2017. The mother was convicted on a charge of deceiving the victim into travelling abroad to enter into a false marriage, the first conviction of its kind, as well as for the forced marriage itself and for perjury, after she lied about the incident in the High Court where she was summonsed when concerns were raised by authorities. As the verdicts were read the defendant appeared shocked and was remanded in custody for sentencing on Wednesday, as her daughter watched from the public gallery. Judge Patrick Thomas QC told the jury the adjournment was appropriate as the case was entirely novel, with no other relevant case law to rely upon. Forcing someone into marriage against their wishes is a criminal offence, and a breach of their human rights, said Elaine Radway of the Crown Prosecution Service. It is thanks to the brave testimony of the victim that this serious offending was uncovered and that there was sufficient evidence to secure the conviction today. The new offence of forced marriage came into effect on in June 2014, but prosecutions have been rare. However the Forced Marriage Unit a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office team provided support to about 1,200 potential cases in 2017, a government spokesman said, making Britain a world leader in tackling the problem. jts/pvh Indian police on Tuesday killed 12 demonstrators after opening fire on thousands of people demanding the closure of a copper factory due to pollution concerns, a police officer said. Protesters rampaged for hours in the southern state of Tamil Nadu calling for the closure of the plant owned by British-based mining giant Vedanta Resources. We have confirmation of 12 people being killed in police firing. We fear the toll may rise, the officer told AFP from the state capital Chennai. An unknown number of protesters were injured in the skirmishes, he said. Some 20 police were also injured in the clashes in Tuticorin, about 600 kilometres (375 miles) south of Chennai. The shootings caused immediate outrage. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress party, said it was state sponsored terrorism. Protesters stormed the office of the top local administrator and set it ablaze after they were denied permission to hold a rally at the smelting plant. The police officer said efforts to disperse the 5,000 strong rock-throwing group through a baton charge and tear gas volleys failed. Police then fired live ammunition, he added. Another officer said more than 110 vehicles were burnt during the disturbances that lasted nearly four hours. Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami ordered an inquiry into the shootings but defended the police. The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence police had to control the violence, he said in a statement. The families of each victim would be offered one million rupees ($14,700) compensation, he added. Controversial factory Residents have been protesting for months against the plant run by a Vedanta subsidiary, Sterlite Copper. Environmentalists and locals allege the plant is contaminating water resources, a charge denied by the company. The protests have intensified after Vedanta, owned by an Indian billionaire but with its head office in London, sought to expand the plant. The plant which is currently non-operational has a 400,000-tonne annual capacity. It was shut briefly after an alleged gas leak in March 2013 that left hundreds with breathing difficulties, nausea and throat infections. Indias federal green court allowed it to be reopened. The company maintains that it adheres to environmental standards and accused vested interests of spreading false propaganda about its operations. Tamil Nadu is one of Indias most industrialised and prosperous states and similar protests over environmental concerns have turned deadly. Tuticorin witnessed violent demonstrations in 2012 over a nuclear power plant in neighbouring Kudankulam district that left one person dead. Thousands of protesters blocked roads to prevent supplies reaching the Russian-built plant, concerned about safety standards. One of the plant units is operational. In 2016, the Indian arm of global consumer goods giant Unilever settled a 15-year-old suit with hundreds of its former employees over mercury contamination at a thermometer factory in Kodaikanal. The factory was shut in 2001 after it was found to have disposed mercury waste with following proper protocol. Georgian Film Cluster putting Georgia on the international film production map By Tamar Khurtsia It has been over a year now that the Georgian film industry has come into focus of a cluster development initiative launched in Georgia with the support of the European Union. The Georgian Film Cluster is now an officially registered entity that brings together leading professionals in film production and post-production, who share a common vision for promotion of the Georgian film industry. The cluster members join forces in boosting international linkages and advancing the interests of the industry locally and internationally.Georgia has much to offer to international filmmakers. The history of Georgian film dates back to the early 1900s. The first full-length documentary was produced in 1912, while the first film productions started even earlier, in 1908, the year that officially marks the birth of Georgian cinema. Besides its vibrant, deeply-rooted cinematic culture, Georgia is an attractive filming destination for both domestic and international productions due to its breathtaking landscape and a diverse climate. The Government-backed industry incentives and low level of bureaucracy ultimately provide great benefits to international productions.The Georgian Film Cluster seeks to spread the word about the opportunities that the industry offers. By focusing on the countrys main competitive advantages, the Cluster makes a case for Georgia as a film-friendly country. Production crews generally get an easy access to any location and are not burdened by special regulations. Local authorities are also supportive. The Cluster will help us spread this information more widely, including at the international film markets, says Valerian Kirkitadze, a member of the Cluster and a head of the production company Film Asylum.The EU co-financed project that acquainted Georgian filmmakers with the cluster development methodology is run by GIZ, Germanys leading service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. With financial support from the EU and under the EU4Business Initiative, GIZ is now applying business clustering, as a trademark initiative, to support Georgian SMEs. This particular undertaking with the Georgian Film Cluster was preceded by a comprehensive assessment of the film production and post-production industry. It revealed significant opportunities for growth and expansion and proved there was a potential for cluster development. Clustering provides an opportunity for Georgian filmmakers to expand their access to European and international film markets and boosts their internationalization.Vladimer Katcharava is a well-known producer and founder of 20 Steps Productions, a Georgia-based independent film production company. The companys credits include such internationally acclaimed films as Hostages, Dede and Eva Hussons Girls of the Sun - a Georgian co-production with France, Belgium and Switzerland, which will compete for Palme d'Or this year in Cannes. The co-production deal on the Girls of the Sun was successfully negotiated by 20 Steps Production representatives at the last years Marche du Film in Cannes, which they attended with support of the EU-GIZ project.Husson was inspired to make the film which follows a Kurdish female battalion known as The Girls of the Sun after reading about the exploits of real-life Kurdish women taken hostage by Islamic State fighters as they swept across Syria and Iraq, but managed to escape and then took up arms against their former captors. The film was shot in Georgia and France last September and October.Katcharava believes that the Georgian Film Cluster has the potential to increase foreign film production and post-production services in Georgia. It can raise the industrys visibility at the international film markets, which is a key to attracting international productions.Georgias film industry is already established. When foreign producers see what Georgia offers, be it a diverse landscape or various creative products, they expect that the country can also provide for professional production and post-production services, he says.Tinatin Babakishvili, the production manager at Post Red Audio, is confident that the affordability of production services as well as high quality of work will attract foreign filmmakers. Post Red Audio works on voice editing for films and boasts among its credits The Trader, a short documentary by a young Georgian filmmaker Tamta Gabrichidze. The film recently won the Short Film Jury Award for Nonfiction at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in the United States. It has been selected by the global streaming platform Netflix, making it available to an audience of over 100 million viewers across the world.A joint project of 20 Steps Productions and Post Red Audio is a new animation film, Fisherman and the Girl, which is selected in the main competition of the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2018 taking place in June.Paata Godziashvili, Director of the sound mix company Studio Phonographi, notes that the foreign film producer needs creative, professional, financial and technical resources when shooting a film, and Georgia has all of these. But there are unconditional advantages that Georgia possesses, these are diversity of climate and low prices. What we definitely need for attracting foreign film producers interest is international linkages, he says.The Georgian Film Cluster unites 33 leading companies and professionals in the audio-visual industry in Georgia. Its membership structure provides for principal, associated and honorary members, as well as institutional members. Its principal members are professionals with at least five years of experience in the industry.A diverse membership base enables the Cluster to offer its clients a full range of services these are a customized, integrated suite of production and post-production services or standalone services at any stage of the production process. The main activities of the Cluster have been identified as private-public dialogue, skills development and internationalization.The Georgian Film Cluster plans to serve as a unified voice for the industrys interests. It will elaborate policy and regulatory initiatives covering such issues as taxation, co-production contracts, copyright, and intellectual property. The Cluster has already proposed necessary changes to Georgias Tax Code, which have been presented to the office of the Business Ombudsman, which supervises protection of rights and legitimate interests of persons related to entrepreneurial activities performed on Georgian territory. The package of amendments is now referred to the Ministry of Finance with a positive recommendation from the Business Ombudsman.With the support from the EU-GIZ project, the cluster members have already taken advantage of the training opportunities at a leading European training institution 4 members have participated in a programme offered by the Erich Pommer Institut, an internationally recognised provider of advance training in media law and management.Most importantly, Cluster members are supported with sharing the costs of participation in international industry events, particularly film markets, which is a crucial element for promotion of the Georgian film industry. The Cluster Manager and GIZ Consultant Mari Khokhlenko Caltrider notes that since the establishment of the Cluster, its members have launched negotiations with several foreign productions. In total, more than 5 contracts on production and co-production services were signed.The Cluster plans to extensively use its platform for public-private dialogue. A proposal for introduction of changes to the existing tax legislation has been already pushed forward. Furthermore, the Georgian Film Cluster wants to convince the government to incorporate a specific provision on a cash rebate into the Tax Code. The current cash rebate scheme is part of the Film in Georgia programme that was launched in 2016. The programme offers a 20% cash rebate of qualified expenses with an additional rebate of 2-5%, based on the promotional value of the production.By putting the cash rebate scheme into legislation, we will ensure that this incentive is sustainable and lasting, argues Babakishvili.The Cluster also suggests that the government introduces a separate cash rebate scheme for post-production services.Film in Georgia has already brought tangible results. In 2017, 10 international productions were shot entirely or partially in Georgia under the programme, of which 4 are Indian feature films, 5 are Georgian/European co-productions, and one is a US production. The total investments on the programme amounted to more than 26 million GEL (9 million).The Clusters goal is to increase awareness about how creative industries, and particularly, the film industry, can contribute to the Georgian economy. To this end, we will use a format of direct dialogue with government as well as a broader PPD platform. We will sponsor introduction and passage of relevant amendments to the Georgian tax code to provide a favorable framework for strengthening and promoting the Georgian film industry, says Noshre Chkhaidze, film producer at GFM Studio, and a co-founder of the Georgian Film Cluster.--------------- From: American Evaluation Association (AEA) For Immediate Release: Dateline: Washington , DC Tuesday, May 22, 2018 Stephen Axelrad the chair of the Military and Veteran Evaluation (MVE) Topical Interest Group. One of the reasons why I wanted to start this TIG was to help evaluators navigate the complex web of stakeholders in the military community. Many evaluators have little to no experience in the military and its formal structure. However, the military has a long history of valuing systematic evidence to inform decisions about policies and programs. Many uniformed leaders turn to civilian sources to understand innovative, evidence-based methods for addressing national security issues as well as social and organizational problems that affect the military (suicide, sexual harassment, sexual assault, financial literacy, domestic violence, opioid abuse). Hot Tips: Civilian evaluators are not expected to know everything about the military to make effective connections. Evaluators just need to apply the same culturally responsive methods they apply to other sub-cultures to military stakeholders. Here are some tips that can set culturally responsive evaluators up for success. The military is not monolithic : the popular press often refers to the military as the Pentagon and makes it seem like there is only one military perspective; the actual reality is far from the truth; the military community is composed of communities that vary based on Service branch (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard), Component (Active-duty, Reserve, National Guard), rank (commissioned officer, enlisted officer, enlisted), career field and other factors. : the popular press often refers to the military as the Pentagon and makes it seem like there is only one military perspective; the actual reality is far from the truth; the military community is composed of communities that vary based on Service branch (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard), Component (Active-duty, Reserve, National Guard), rank (commissioned officer, enlisted officer, enlisted), career field and other factors. Not all members of the uniformed military are soldiers: another common mistake in the popular press is to refer to uniformed military members as soldiers but that only applies to the Army; the other terms for military are sailors (Navy), airmen (Air Force), marines (Marine Corps), guardmen (National Guard, Coast Guard); these terms are central to their identities so getting the term right will help you build rapport with the uniformed military another common mistake in the popular press is to refer to uniformed military members as soldiers but that only applies to the Army; the other terms for military are sailors (Navy), airmen (Air Force), marines (Marine Corps), guardmen (National Guard, Coast Guard); these terms are central to their identities so getting the term right will help you build rapport with the uniformed military Military installations are like mini-cities: the installation commander is like the mayor and there are usually one or two commands that act like the major employer; installations attract workforces with specific skill sets and interests that give each installation a unique culture the installation commander is like the mayor and there are usually one or two commands that act like the major employer; installations attract workforces with specific skill sets and interests that give each installation a unique culture Leaders are change agents: one of the few consistent qualities across the military system is the value placed on leadership; leadership is frequently defined through rank and other formal authority; however, the military sees leaders at all ranks and leverages peer leaders to create positive social change Rad Resources: The following web sites were developed to help civilian professionals understand military structure Global Security.orgs Comparative Command Echelon (e.g., ranks, command units) Uniformed Sciences University of Health Sciences Center for Deployment Psychology Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Lesson Learned: Best opportunity for evaluators to help with data-driven, decision making is to come within the first 90 days of a senior military leaders taking on control of the command. During this period, leaders are in a learning mode, want data relevant to the command, and want to understand ways of improving their commands. The American Evaluation Association is celebrating MVE TIG Week with our colleagues in the Military and Veterans Issues Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from our MVE TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the About AEA The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association and the largest in its field. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products and organizations to improve their effectiveness. AEAs mission is to improve evaluation practices and methods worldwide, to increase evaluation use, promote evaluation as a profession and support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about effective human action. For more information about AEA, visit www.eval.org. Hello, I amthe chair of the Military and Veteran Evaluation (MVE) Topical Interest Group. One of the reasons why I wanted to start this TIG was to help evaluators navigate the complex web of stakeholders in the military community. Many evaluators have little to no experience in the military and its formal structure. However, the military has a long history of valuing systematic evidence to inform decisions about policies and programs. Many uniformed leaders turn to civilian sources to understand innovative, evidence-based methods for addressing national security issues as well as social and organizational problems that affect the military (suicide, sexual harassment, sexual assault, financial literacy, domestic violence, opioid abuse).Civilian evaluators are not expected to know everything about the military to make effective connections. Evaluators just need to apply the same culturally responsive methods they apply to other sub-cultures to military stakeholders. Here are some tips that can set culturally responsive evaluators up for success.The following web sites were developed to help civilian professionals understand military structureBest opportunity for evaluators to help with data-driven, decision making is to come within the first 90 days of a senior military leaders taking on control of the command. During this period, leaders are in a learning mode, want data relevant to the command, and want to understand ways of improving their commands.The American Evaluation Association is celebratingwith our colleagues in the. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from our MVE TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. Welcome to the News Release Wire Selection Control Panel. Instant News Wire North East Independent School District will offer a dual-credit magnet program starting this fall for high school students who want to be teachers. Under a partnership the University of Texas at San Antonio, students in their junior and senior years at MacArthur University Prep, or MacUP for short, will be able to earn up to 24 college credit hours by taking classes at UTSAs downtown campus. They will pay about $200 a semester for classes that would cost them closer to $13,000 as university students. The program is designed to foster the interests of aspiring educators and, by preparing them to be full-fledged university students, to help build a strong pipeline from high school to college, said MacArthur High School Principal Pete Martinez. What were hoping to build is not just a magnet program but something thats going to change what were doing educationally, Martinez said. What we want to do is actually have that bridge that walks them right into the university life. The first cohort, open to up to 40 students, will be made up of students from MacArthur and other North East ISD schools who will be sophomores in the fall 2018. They will prepare to enroll at UTSA by studying and taking the Texas Success Initiative Assessment, which helps determines students readiness for college coursework. Once they enter their junior year, they will take a blend of high school and college classes. They will start their school day at the UTSA Downtown Campus, then be bussed back to their high school campuses for the rest of their coursework.. The college credits will be for core classes that are highly transferable, Martinez said. If MacUP is successful, the district could later explore expanding the idea to other subject areas, such as law enforcement or medicine, he said. In March, the charter network Southwest Preparatory School announced a similar partnership with Texas A&M University-San Antonio. That early college high school program will allow students to earn up to 60 credit hours while attending classes on the A&M-SA campus. Lauren Caruba is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | lcaruba@express-news.net | @LaurenCaruba courtesy A San Antonio student at Reagan High School was honored Monday as a student hero by the State Board of Education for her nonprofit work. Samantha Sanchez, a sophomore, was selected from nominees from 13 counties for the Student Heroes Award, which highlights students who have engaged in selfless work and community service. The recognition is unrelated to school projects or curriculum requirements. Inside a church sanctuary, the Girl Scouts of Troop 41 recited their law, to do their best to respect themselves and others, make the world a better place and be a sister to every Girl Scout. Then they sat on the bare floor in a circle, lit by the glimmer of a fading sunset streaming through stained-glass windows. Troop leader Janet Henry posed a scenario to her young charges. Youre on the playground and you see someone get pushed down on the ground, put yourself in their shoes, what would you do? The Girl Scouts raised their hands, giving quick responses when called upon by their troop leader. Step up, one Girl Scout said. Be nice! another offered. Ask them if theyre OK! a third girl said. Its a typical Girl Scout meeting. But this is no ordinary Girl Scout troop. These girls live at the SAMMinistries Transitional Living and Learning Center with their families, a temporary residence as they work their way toward a home of their own. I want for them, during the meeting, to forget that they are homeless, said Henry, a Pre-K 4 SA professional learning specialist. They need to know they can have fun, no matter where they live. Because of a limited financial situation, for them to have something they belong to is important to them. The girls meet twice a month at the church, whose location is undisclosed for privacy reasons, throughout the year. Henry formed the troop in 2005, a month after working with her daughter, a Girl Scout volunteer, at the transitional center. A resident said she wished her daughter could have the same experience, and Henry jumped on the idea. According to the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, Henry has helped more than 200 girls become Girl Scouts since the troop started. Recently, Dawn Santaniello, from the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, presented Henry with an Honor Pin for her work with the girls. One of the liveliest troop members is 8-year-old Samantha. At the meeting in May, she wore a blue flower tucked in her hair. She helps me, the youngster said as she bounced on her feet and twirled a strand of her hair. Shes nice and she teaches me stuff. SAMMinistries Marketing Communications Manager Susan M. Scheuer said there are up to 40 families with about 100 children at the center at any one time. Families have up to two years to work their way to becoming self-sufficient, by concentrating on job skills or their education. In addition to transitional housing, the nonprofit also provides permanent supportive housing, homeless prevention services and rapid rehousing programs. Poverty and homelessness is very traumatic for the children, Scheuer said during a snack break for the Scouts. It interrupts their education and everything normal. This gives them a place to belong, a sense of security and a little piece of childhood. The troop Henry founded isnt the only one of its kind. In 2017, a concerned parent and the Department of Homeless Services formed Troop 6000 in Queens, New York, for girls who lived in homeless shelters around the city. According to the Girl Scouts website, there are similar troops available to girls in unique situations, including for daughters of women in prison. In a statement, Girl Scouts of the United States of America said the organization has always believed in the power of every girl to be a leader, and its committed to making sure all girls including underserved girls have access to regular programming. Were proud that many Girl Scout councils have made a concerted effort to bring our program to girls in the homeless shelter system, read a statement released by the organization. The reaction to these efforts has been immensely positive, both from the public and from the girls themselves, who benefit enormously from the all-girl leadership experiences, proven expert programming tailored specifically for girls, confidence-building, and sisterhood that Girl Scouts offers. Over the years, Henry has had plenty of help with her troop. Volunteers include 14-year-old Lauren Lozano from Troop 96, who along with her mother, Lynn, and fellow Scouts from their Community X membership donated the T-shirts, badges and sashes for the girls in Troop 41. Lauren also created a coloring book for the girls as part of her Silver award project. Henry has been surprised by former Troop 41 members who have returned to talk about the impact the troop had on their lives. A young woman from the troops first year found Henrys workplace through a Google search and showed up to express her gratitude for the opportunities that the troop leader had given her. What Ive tried to do is give them something that any other girl can access, Henry said. And as much as Ive given to the Girl Scouts at the center of it all, the volunteer experience has rewarded me tenfold. vtdavis@express-news.net During the years that Ann Goetz and Leila Hileman have volunteered in the toddler room at The Childrens Shelter, theyve learned how to tend to children who have just arrived and those who have spent weeks at the home. They know that kids on their first day at the shelter often linger by a window and call out for moms and dads. They know that fitful babies calm down when theyre cradled in loving arms. And they know that all the little ones like to be hugged. Goetz and Hileman belong to a corps of good Samaritans who volunteer at the shelter each week to help the young survivors of abuse, abandonment and neglect. They are retirees, active-duty military members, college students and employees from local businesses. India Chumney, the shelters chief development officer, said the volunteers are a huge part of the agencys success with children, along with corporate groups that help with program projects and campus maintenance. From rocking babies to mentoring children, to helping with special events and fundraising, volunteers are vital to the Childrens Shelter programs, Chumney said. More than 180 active volunteers give thousands of hours of their time and talent to children in residence at our emergency shelter and our Residential Treatment Center. During their three-hour shifts, Goetz, Hileman and fellow volunteer Joyce Reinschmidt help the team of youth care specialists at Zachry Cottage, the nonprofits emergency shelter for children up to 16. They rock infants on their knees, play on the playground and hold hands with their young charges as they trudge across the campus on morning walks. In fiscal year 2016, more than 170 individuals volunteered 5,119 hours at the agency. After passing background checks and attending orientation, the volunteers sign up to work with youngsters in the Residential Treatment Center, Foster Program, Family Strengthening Programs and the Emergency Shelter. For information on volunteering, call 210-212-2508. Goetz said volunteering at the shelter for the past five years has been an extension of 43 years as a nurse practitioner caring for children. You feel bad because something bad has happened in their lives, said Goetz, 70. But theyre extremely resilient, they bounce back so fast. Hileman, 76, and a friend came as volunteers from St. Matthews United Methodist Church. She said its hard to see the bewildered look of new children who are unaware of where they are and dont quite know what to do, but shes glad to be among the caregivers who step in with open arms. I feel like this is a wonderful place for them, Hileman said of the children. I say to myself, Youre safe now that youre here. vtdavis@express-news.net Three days after a federal judge gave Texas a month and a half to implement a system that would allow motorists to register to vote when they update their drivers license information online, state officials appealed. Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia issued a judgment Friday that gives the state 45 days from its filing to permit simultaneous voter registration with online driver's license renewal and change-of-address transactions. The seven-page judgment came a month after previously finding the state violated federal law designed to ease the voter registration process. Fridays judgment also would give the state two weeks to create an education plan to make sure voters know about the new registration option. The judgment would also place Texas under monitoring for three years, requiring state officials to submit data during that period to lawyers for the Texas Civil Right Project, which sued Texas in 2016 over allegations that it violated the law. We are elated that the chief judge granted our proposed solution, said Beth Stevens, voting rights director for the Texas Civil Rights Project. Twenty-five years ago, Congress passed the NVRA to get more people registered to vote. Its long past time for the state to stop wasting time and resources defending its unlawful violation of this pivotal voting rights law. We urge state officials to come to the table and work with us to implement the courts that will ensure that not one single voter loses their opportunity to vote. But the group only had hours to celebrate. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a notice Monday afternoon saying it has appealed the matter to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, where his office has readily been able to block lower-court rulings against the state in cases having to do with voter rights and other election-type cases. A spokeswoman said Paxtons office had no further comment Monday. In a prior ruling in April, Garcia found state officials violated the National Voter Registration Act often called Motor Voter and the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, by Texas disparate treatment of voters who want to change their drivers license addresses in person and those who want to do so online. Currently, Texans who move to a different county and change their address online with the Department of Public Safety have to print out a different form and mail it to their new county elections office, even after checking a box indicating they want their voter registration changed. But when that change is made in person, DPS automatically ships the new address to the voter registration office and updates the voters information. In that previous ruling, the judge asked for proposals to fix the violations. The Texas Civil Rights Project submitted a list of proposed solutions that gives the Texas Department of Public Safety 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 drivers license transaction. The groups plan also requires DPS to send the information to the Secretary of States office, which would forward it to county voter registrars. Paxtons office instead filed a number of objections to the civil rights groups proposals, saying they are unworkable and go beyond what is required by federal law. His office also argued that Texas be given 90 days for corrective measures, and that implementation be delayed until after Sept. 1. This timeline for compliance is justified because: there is a federal election in November 2018; the NVRA mandates have been in existence for 25 years; the violations in issue have persisted for several years; defendants were served with statutory notice of the instant violations more than two years ago; and the record reflects that implementation of corrective measures is not only technologically feasible, but defendants are currently capable of instituting such measures, the judge wrote. Guillermo Contreras is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | gcontreras@express-news.net | @gmaninfedland WASHINGTON Two months after efforts to protect Dreamers fractured into a frenzy of opposing factions, a rebellion of House Republican moderates including San Antonios Will Hurd could force Congress to try again. Their gambit, which ran headlong into a counterattack by conservatives using the fight to derail a major farm bill last week, is just a few votes short of a majority that could trigger a series of votes offering hope to beneficiaries of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. We know what our vote count is, and were going to get to the 218 thats necessary, Hurd said Monday. We want to have an honest debate on the floor. With next weeks weeklong Memorial Day recess looming, several GOP factions are scrambling for advantage in an intramural battle that has momentarily sidelined immigrant activists who are normally at the center of the DACA debate. It also has raised Hurds national profile. On Monday, the moderates appeared to be 22 votes short of the 218 needed for a discharge petition, a seldom-used parliamentary tactic to bypass the congressional leadership and force a vote on the House floor. If all Democrats sign on, only five more Republicans would be needed. If the moderates succeed, it would be a rare instance of muscle-flexing for centrists in an increasingly polarized Congress. The fringe Republicans dont want to see anything done on solving DACA, Hurd said. The threat has divided the Republican caucus in the House, where members of the conservative Freedom Caucus withheld their votes from unrelated agriculture legislation Friday in an effort to gain leverage for a more hard-line immigration proposal. No Texas Republicans voted against the farm bill, though Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler, a Freedom Caucus member, did not cast a vote. No Democrats voted for the bill, which reauthorizes farm subsidy programs, because of a dispute with Republicans over billions of dollars in proposed cuts to food stamps. The farm bill vote was an embarrassing setback for lame-duck House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has sought to blunt the internal GOP rift over DACA by offering to bring more Republican-friendly immigration proposals to the floor next month. But that has not placated moderate Republicans like Hurd from heavily Latino districts who are eager to deliver legislation codifying protections for Dreamers, who have been in a legal limbo since President Donald Trump announced that he would scrap the DACA program as of March 5. Only a series of court orders have kept the program in effect, clouding the future for some 700,000 Dreamers around the nation, more than 124,000 of them in Texas. Efforts to link legal status for Dreamers to a $25 billion border wall plan sought by Trump fell apart in budget negotiations in March, when none of four competing proposals that advanced in the Senate won enough votes to pass. Since then, Hurd and a bipartisan group of House members have been pushing for a similar Queen of the Hill series of votes, in which the plan with the largest number of votes above the 218 needed for a majority would advance to the Senate. More than 240 lawmakers from both parties have signed on to the Queen of the Hill idea but not to the discharge petition that would actually force the votes to take place. In recent weeks, at least three plans have been competing for traction: the USA Act, authored by Hurd and Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, which would grant permanent legal status to qualified Dreamers along with technological and physical border improvements; the DREAM Act, backed my most Democrats, which offers a special path to citizenship; and the Trump-backed Securing Americas Future Act, a bill co-sponsored by Houston-area Republican Michael McCaul that beefs up the border, reduces legal immigration and provides Dreamers only with renewable three-year visas. Its a pathway Hurds bill, like the DREAM Act, would put many Dreamers on a path to citizenship as permanent legal residents. Its a pathway, he said, its not a special pathway. Immigration hard-liners say all three proposals would effectively provide amnesty to Dreamers, though some have said theyre willing to support the Trump-backed bill because it is the most restrictive. Some members of the Freedom Caucus also have supported the Trump-backed bill because it takes the hardest line on immigration, both legal and illegal. But it is not clear if any of the immigration bills could muster a majority in the House. Hurd, noting that his USA Act has 30 Republican and 30 Democratic sponsors, said it has the best chance of passing in a straight up-or-down test of all the competing immigration measures. Its the only truly bipartisan bill out there, he said. But even if a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans could put Hurds bill over the top, some GOP leaders are reluctant to force a vote on anything that could be construed as amnesty for Dreamers or others living in the U.S. illegally. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, widely seen as a potential successor to Ryan, who is retiring at the end of his current term, reportedly told GOP colleagues in a closed-door meeting last week that it would be dangerous to their electoral fortunes in the November midterm elections, saying it could depress Republican turnout. McCarthy and Ryan have been working to keep Republicans from joining the discharge petition, which would put GOP lawmakers to the test on Dreamers, who polls show enjoy broad sympathy with the public. Ryan has instead hinted at bringing to the floor a DACA plan that falls short of the DREAM Acts promise of citizenship. But since Ryans defeat on the farm bill Friday, Hurd and his allies feel the momentum shifting their way. After a flurry of signatures over the weekend, the organizers appeared to be up to 20 Republicans and 176 Democrats and counting. Hurd is the only Texas Republican behind the effort. Nine Texas Democrats have signed on, including Lloyd Doggett and Joaquin Castro from San Antonio. Another backer is El Paso Democrat Beto ORourke, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Ted Cruz. As for the political costs of a divided party, Hurd is philosophical. Ive always said as an elected official, if one vote hurts your career or helps your career, then youre not doing your job. kevin.diaz@chron.com twitter.com/diazchron Two days after a teenage gunman claimed the lives of eight students and two teachers at a Texas high school, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appeared Sunday on ABC to blame abortion, divorce and violent video games anything but guns as reasons this country seems locked in an endless cycle of school shootings. We have to look at our culture of violence, Patrick told This Week host George Stephanopoulos in an interview about the latest school shooting at Santa Fe High School near Houston. We live in a violent culture where we devalue life. We cannot sit back and say its the gun. Its us as a nation. On this Sunday morning, when we all go to church to pray lets look inward at our self as a nation. If Patrick actually were to commit some introspection, he might see a culture of violence reflected in his own core supporters: hardline conservatives who often swathe their political views in violent imagery. In his recent nonfiction release God Save Texas, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright chronicles a few of these instances. The book itself is an exploration of the history, culture and politics of Texas, evocatively written by Wright with a mixture of reverence and distaste for his native state. In a chapter tinged with the latter emotion, Wright introduces readers to a major supporter of the lieutenant governor: Dr. Steven Hotze, a Houston physician and longtime ultraconservative kingmaker. Ive written about Hotze on a few occasions when hes cropped up in local races, once when his political action committee, Conservative Republicans of Texas, was labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Hotzes main cause is attacking the gay community, a preoccupation that drew the condemnation of the SPLC. Wright notes that in May 2017, on CRTs website, Hotze wrote that in the name of Jesus, I prophesy and declare: May all the individuals serving in the state Legislature, and their staff, who support, promote and practice sodomy and other perverted, sexually deviant lifestyles, who support the killing of unborn babies, and who hate Gods Law and Gods Word, receive just retribution from God for their evil actions. Hotze continued, May they be consumed, collapse, rot and be blown away as dust from their current positions because of their wicked works, thoughts and deeds. Related: Primary runoff Tuesday to decide several contested races Rather than telling viewers that school shootings recur because we have devalued life through abortion, Patrick might take note of the homicidal rhetoric issuing from a major supporter in the name of battling abortion. Instead of averring that Texans, while grappling with yet another mass shooting, stand on the rock of our faith, Patrick could consider the carnage that some of his closest allies have conjured from that vantage. No, I will not allow Straus to waltz off in celebrated thanks for his service, wrote Julie McCarty, president of the NE Tarrant County Tea Party, in reaction to an announcement last year by Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, that he would retire. I will be David, continued McCarty, who once served on Patricks defunct Grassroots Advisory Board. I will mount Goliaths head on a sword the saber I was awarded by Empower Texans for being a grassroots hero and I will dance! I will display my victory for all to see, for the birds to peck at, for my fellow warriors to recognize Gods hand in delivering our enemy and to be motivated that God is not done yet, for others who wish to follow in Goliaths footsteps to be warned what awaits them. A few months earlier, McCartys statewide organization had tweeted BODY SLAM EVERY JOURNALIST in support of a Montana congressional candidate who was charged with assaulting a reporter at his campaign headquarters. On the last day of the legislative session, this charged atmosphere exploded into actual violence. Read more: What you need to know for the May 22 runoff As hundreds of protestors arrived at the Capitol and began spilling into the House gallery to protest the GOPs sanctuary cities bill one of Patricks priorities state Rep. Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving, bragged to some of his Hispanic colleagues that he had called Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the visitors. This provoked a shoving match on the House floor. Afterward, Rinaldi, a supporter of Patrick, posted on Facebook that state Rep. Poncho Nevarez, D-Eagle Pass, had threatened his life, to which hed responded that he would shoot him in self-defense. This is Patricks Texas. Before the lieutenant governor starts turning over rocks in liberal corners of America in search of a culture of violence to explain the latest mass shooting here, he should look under his own rotunda. bchasnoff@express-news.net National Security Council Session Held By Vladimer Napetvaridze On 14 May, at the National Security Council session, the representatives of the Georgian government discussed important issues for the country. The session was attended by the President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Vice-Premier Mikheil Janelidze; Minister of Defence of Georgia Levan Izoria; Head of the State Security Service Vakhtang Gomelauri; Assistant to the President of National Security Issues and Secretary of National Security Council Davit Rakviashvili. The session discussed the following issues:- Preparation for the upcoming NATO summit;- Russian threats and its influence on Georgias security;- Communication with the US and other strategic partners;- Ongoing geopolitical processes and Georgian security environment;It should be noted that despite the political controversies, the president and the government officials agreed on the main aspects of the above-mentioned issues: "We may have different opinions on various topics, but when it comes to the defence of the country, and when we are talking about the ways for dealing with Russian threats, or when we discuss NATO integration issues, we are constructive," Giorgi Margvelashvili said.One of the main topics of the session was a preparation process for the upcoming NATO summit, which will be held on July 11- 12 in Brussels, Belgium.The Security Council members agreed that the progress of Georgia, which is confirmed by the NATO member states, should be adequately reflected on the summit: "Before the NATO summit, May 26 (the Independence Day of Georgia) gives us a very important platform for presenting our joint position - at this day, important delegations will be visiting Georgia, and this gives us an interesting platform.It is the fact that Georgia is one of the advanced countries in the NATO integration process and in this respect Georgia's progress should be expressed in relevant steps that will lead us to full membership, "said Margvelashvili.The PM Kvirikashvili shares the president's opinion regarding the NATO summit: our aim is to achieve the adequate reflection of our progress on the NATO summit. We discussed the possible ways to get closer to NATO membership, which is our main goal," Kvirikashvili stated. It should be noted that neither the president nor the prime minister did not specify what results would be assumed as the adequate reflection of Georgia's progress on the NATO summit.Threats from Russia was the second important topic discussed at the session. Everybody agrees that Russia does not carry out its aggressive foreign policy against Georgia only with a creeping occupation. Today it uses the technique of hybrid warfare and attempts to encourage anti-Western nationalism in Georgia, resulting into the increased number of neo-Nazi and fascist organizations in the country. The recent publication of the research, conducted by the "Media Development Foundation" which reflects the main mechanisms of Russian anti-Western propaganda, also confirms the fact.Therefore, the support of our strategic partners and deepening the relationship with them plays a crucial role in maintaining the security of Georgia.The Secretary of National Security Council Davit Rakviashvili stressed the fact that despite the Georgian governments activities to ensure the security of the country, Georgia needs more support from its partners."In this situation, the support from our strategic partners is very important - we have talked about the adoption of the President's initiative about the "Georgian Supporting Act" in the US Senate and the Congress, and I can say that the position about this act is absolutely unanimous between the parliament and the government," Rakviashvili stated.The topics discussed at the National Security Council are strongly tied to each other. Deepening the communication with the western partners will have a positive impact on Georgia's progress at the upcoming summit and therefore to the NATO integration process. by Anthony Cervino | Ravens Correspondent | Mon, May 21st 7:05pm EDT ESPN's Jeremy Fowler is reporting Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell is not expected to attend OTAs on Tuesday. (Jeremy Fowler on Twitter) Fantasy Impact: Per Fowler, Bell's presumed absence from OTAs is a move that comes "widely expected." While Bell could earn $14.5 million in guaranteed money if he plays the 2018 season on the franchise tag, it would be his second consecutive year playing under the tender, which does not always favor a player with an injury/ off the field history similar to Bell's. And although he's threatened to hold out of OTAs, training camp and the preseason -- he even threatened to miss regular season action if he doesn't get a new deal -- I'm fully expecting Bell to be on the field when it counts. Let's face it, $14.5 million is a lot of guaranteed money to turn down, especially when you're not getting your weekly in-season game checks. Bell will open the 2018 season as a top 4 fantasy RB in both standard and PPR scoring formats. LEXINGTON, Ky. True to its name, ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference 2018 showcased some of todays most innovative ideas, all the way from the gene level to disruptive changes to the future of food and how we produce it. This years conference, May 21-22 in Lexington, Kentucky, reflected on the value of an idea and its potential to impact the future of our businesses, lives and even the planet. Dr. Mark Lyons, president of Alltech, took the conversation a step further. To achieve such innovative change, he said, it takes leaders with the ability to see what others cannot, something both Leonardo da Vinci and Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltechs late founder, had in common. He and Dad happened to things, as Dad put it, he said. And that thing was called life. Sometimes life happens to us. These two individuals seemed to impact life as much as it impacted them. During the conferences opening day May 21, Alltech bestowed a double award recognizing Dr. Pearse Lyons. He was constantly encouraging us to be the best we could be for those around us so that they could flourish and become the best they could be, said Mark Lyons, reflecting on his fathers goal that Alltech should be built on passion, excellence and fun. He wanted them to live with those values he had, and that excellence, something that he and my mother shared maybe she even more so. The Alltech Medal of Excellence was awarded to Pearse Lyons for his work as a scientist. Lyons used his scientific expertise in yeast fermentation and his acute business sense to revolutionize the animal feed industry through the introduction of natural ingredients to animal feed. In the past 10 years alone, his scientific achievements have been listed in more than 300 patents. Additionally, he was recognized with the Alltech Humanitarian Award for his philanthropic spirit. We cannot replace Dr. Pearse Lyons, nobody can, said Mark Lyons. But if we start to think like him if we can get 10 people, 100 people, 1,000 people thinking like him imagine what we can achieve together. USDA wants to partner with innovation Bill Northey, under secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, explored how government can do its part to help American agriculture adapt to a rapidly changing industry and feed the world. One component, he said, is for the USDA and farmers to be partners in innovation. We must understand our customers, he said. We must meet them where they are, with what they need, how they need it. Over time, customer needs change. We have to adapt. CRISPR technology Dr. Rodolphe Barrangou, CRISPR expert and professor at North Carolina State University, discussed the potential for the gene-editing technology to revolutionize food production and agriculture. In my opinion, CRISPR might be the one technology that is disruptive, innovative, transformative enough to change and define the genesis of the next generation of products across the food and ag industry, said Barrangou. Not only is this technology changing his life as a research scientist, he said, but also as a patient and a parent. This molecular scalpel that cuts DNA has the potential to edit, alter and rewrite DNA to create new gene therapies, synthetic organs and natural vaccines. It even has the potential to create programmable antibiotics that selectively kill agents responsible for disease, such as salmonella. Scientifically, the CRISPR phase is unprecedented, he said. We went from nothing, to a paper a month, to a paper a week, to a paper a day, to an average of 10 new CRISPR studies published every day in 2018. He added, however, that with this new power comes great responsibility, and stewardship in the agriculture world is critical. Barrangou said the real revolution is happening in the boardrooms of companies that are harnessing this technology. This big idea is becoming a reality, he said. And this big idea is going to save the planet. Nearly 4,000 attendees from 76 countries attended the 2018 ONE conference, now in its 34th year. HARRISBURG, Pa. Seven new low-interest loans were approved through the Commonwealth Financing Authority that will help small family farms make the necessary capital improvements to sustain and grow their livelihoods in Adams, Bedford, Berks, Columbia, Lancaster, Northumberland, and Snyder counties. The funding, approved through the First Industries program, will assist farmers with construction costs, help farmers start businesses, and enable them to acquire land to facilitate expansion. The First Industries program represents a tool to support Pennsylvanias agricultural sector and help individual farmers across the commonwealth. The following loans were approved: Adams County. Joshua and Stacy Martin were approved for a $103,600, 10-year loan at a 2 percent fixed rate through the Adams County Economic Development Corporation to acquire a 10.05-acre farm in Straban Township and begin a business raising and selling boer goats and revive a family bakery business. The goat herd will start at 29 does and one buck and grow to 50 head, and the business may expand further onto an adjacent 50-acre property. Bedford County. Matthew and Loretta Garman were approved for a $286,000, 12-year loan at a 3.5 percent fixed rate through the Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission to construct a 22,500-square-foot cage-free layer barn on their 110-acre farm in Hopewell Township. The layer barn will house 10,000 hens and their organic eggs will be sold exclusively to Handsome Brook Farm. Berks County. Ray and Jenifer Hershey were approved for a $400,000, 15-year loan at a 2.5 percent rate with a seven-year reset through the Greater Berks Development Fund to acquire the 83.4-acre farm in Bethel Township that they currently lease. The Hersheys use the land to operate a dairy farm with more than 650 cows. Columbia County. M&K Family Farms LLC was approved for a $400,000, 15-year loan at a 3.5 percent fixed rate through the SEDA-Council of Governments to acquire 35 acres of farmland and construct a 55,890-square-foot layer barn in Catawissa Township. The layer barn will house 40,000 hens and their eggs and are contracted to be sold to Dutchland Farms LLC for four years. Lancaster County. Clayton and Deanna Andrews were approved for a $400,000, 15-year loan at a 2.5 percent rate with a seven-year reset through the EDC Finance Corporation to purchase a 115.3-acre farm property on Beaver Valley Pike in West Lampeter Township with 81 tillable acres, four farm buildings and a residence. The Andrews will use the land and farm buildings to expand their crop operation. Northumberland County. Robert, Tomilee and Callen Foresman were approved for a $400,000, 15-year loan at a 3.5 percent fixed rate through the SEDA-Council of Governments to construct two 25,116-square-foot broiler breeder houses on their farm in Delaware Township. The broiler breeder houses will allow the family to fulfil a 12-year contract with Pedigree Chicks to produce eggs. Snyder County. James and Megan Adams were approved for a $400,000, 12-year loan at a 3.5 percent fixed rate through the SEDA Council of Governments to acquire a 56-acre property in Beaver Township where they will operate a hog farm. Additionally, the Adamses will purchase Energy Recyclers LLC, which operates a methane digester on the property that generates electricity to be used on the farm and sold back to the grid. A full list of approved projects and guidelines for each Commonwealth Financing Authority program can be found at dced.pa.gov. TOLEDO, Ohio Traditions Sauces, the manufacturer of regional brand Brickyard Sloppy Joe Sauce, was recently honored with the CIFT Excellence Award at Walt Churchills Market in Perrysburg, Ohio. The award is in recognition of exceptional achievement in the development of the food company and the contribution to the industry and state. CIFT stands for Center for Innovative Food Technology, and is a business startup organization that supports agriculture and the food industry. Our company has experienced rapid growth in a short period of time, and it was in part through the assistance of CIFT, said Don Hill, Jr., owner of Traditions Sauces. We are very proud of Brickyard Sloppy Joe Sauce, and excited for the future as we expand in several more states across the country. While serving in the U.S. Navy in Afghanistan, Hill ate a sloppy Joes sandwich from a ready-to-eat meal. He longed for the cherished sloppy Joes family recipe he enjoyed as a child. Upon his return from combat, he sought to determine the viability of packaging and selling the sauce on grocery store shelves. Hill then reached out to CIFT to make his dream a reality. Using several Ohio-based ingredients, Brickyard Sloppy Joe Sauce is sold in six states across several hundred stores including Walmart, Kroger, Giant Eagle, Walt Churchills Market, House of Meats, Sautters Markets, Kazmaiers, and several others. Later this year, there are plans to introduce a new product along with the addition of staff. For more information, visit traditionssauces.com. To learn more about CIFT, visit www.ciftinnovation.org. The government has announced for the first time that concerted action will be taken to tackle ammonia emissions from farming. Publishing the Clean Air Strategy today (22 May), Defra says the agricultural industry is responsible for 88% of ammonia emissions. Farmers will now be required to invest in the infrastructure and equipment that will reduce emissions. The government has confirmed that farmers will be supported to achieve the strategy through the new system of public money for public goods. Ammonia is a pungent gas produced in relatively large quantities from animal waste, concentrations of which are greatest in areas with the most livestock farming. When released into the atmosphere, it increases the levels of air pollutants that are harmful to human health. During a visit to meet air quality researchers at Imperial College, Defra Secretary Michael Gove said: "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 playing an important role in cleaning up our air." 'Significant contribution' The CLA, a rural organisation which represents farmers, says it welcomes the opportunity to shape and deliver a strategy to improve air quality. CLA President Tim Breitmeyer said: Farmers and landowners can make a significant contribution to improving air quality as technology and research allows for more sustainable production systems. We will consider carefully the proposals that require farmers to invest in any system or new infrastructure and equipment that helps deliver sustained improvements. It is important that any scheme put in place provides genuine incentives that support farming businesses to make these changes. This means a system which provides flexibility and easy engagement for applicants alongside clear obligations for delivery. A research report, also published today, shows a lack of awareness of the range of sources of air pollution, with most naming transport as the main cause. The government says transport emissions are only one part of the problem, and that other sources include farming and even cleaning solvents. 'Extensive farming systems' Environmental charity the Soil Association agrees that farming is a large source of pollution, and said the government's proposals fail to do enough to tackle its emissions. It says the government should instead support a wider shift towards more extensive farming systems, such as grass-based systems and organic, that have higher animal welfare standards and lower stocking-densities. Honor Eldridge, policy officer at the Soil Association, said: The government must introduce new policies specifically to support the shift away from intensive livestock production methods that generate high levels of waste and reduce the use of artificial nitrogen-based fertiliser. The government must ensure that the forthcoming Agriculture Bill and the new post-Brexit farm policy will better protect our environment for future generations. A Ford County 1474 Long Nose has broken the record for the highest price paid for a classic tractor, reaching 94,500. The tractor, made in 1981, sold against an estimate of 60,000 - 70,000, East Anglian-based auctioneer Cheffins said. The tractor was sold as part of an auction of classic Ford and Fordson tractors on behalf of well-known enthusiast, Paul Cable and was purchased by an Irish collector. Comprising of 38 sought-after Ford classic tractors and piles of implements and spares, the collection has been earmarked as one of the most important single-vendor sales of classic tractors for many years. Amassed over 14 years, many of the tractors on offer were some of the rarest examples of their type to have hit the market, including the uncommon Fordson County derivatives such as the Super-4, Super-6 and a 1957 Four Drive. Bill King, Chairman of Cheffins said the prices achieved at the auction far exceeded expectations. "With a huge crowd of enthusiasts from throughout the UK and particularly Ireland, there was strong bidding throughout with several record prices being achieved," Mr King said. "Following a 50-year career in farming, Paul Cable decided to retire and sell his collection, creating one of the most significant on-site sales for machinery of this type to have hit the market for many years." The second highest value tractor on offer on the day was a County 1184 dating back to 1981 which sold for 56,700 to a farmer from Lincolnshire. The UK agricultural industry should harness the power of data to ensure future success, according to data experts, who also say 90 percent of data collected is wasted. There are now hundreds of companies offering everything from farm management and precision tools to bots and drones, all using the power of big data. Farmers harness the data to use sensors for soil sampling and mobile apps, cameras and drones to monitor pests and diseases, for example. And according to data analysts Proagrica, data is going to impact agriculture more than anything else in the 21st century. It says farmers will use their data to apply the right products, at the right rates and at the right time, distributors will use data to buy inputs and to position them properly, and manufacturers will use data to improve the way they manufacturer and recommend the use of their products. But progress in big data for the industry has been slow due to a lack of trust and the lack of standards around data management. And as an industry, agriculture collects huge quantities of data, but 90% of it is wasted, according to Proagrica. This means that 90% of the collected data is not used to impact the decision-making on the farm, or higher up in the supply chain. Trust is a big issue for the industry when it comes to data particularly given recent events in the news outside of agriculture, said Graeme McCracken, Managing Director of Proagrica. However, he said he believes that farmers, agronomists and everyone else in the supply chain should own and control the data they collect. But to really gain value from their data they will need to leverage each others strengths on how to interpret the data to, for example, make cropping plans and to execute those plans, he added. Empower farmers Mr McCracken explained how data will make specifications more specific and empower farmers to meet them by providing the insight to measure and manage the process. For example, consistently producing into a tighter specification will increase margin across the whole supply chain. Farmers will earn more because a higher percentage of output is meeting the correct spec and processors will gain because the spec is tighter, so they are able to deliver more end-product. Mr McCracken said an adaption of data-driven supply chains will make the UK more competitive vital given the uncertainty surrounding the UK's post Brexit environment. The Brexit vote and the re-evaluation of the support system can prove a stimulus for adopting cutting-edge technology and supporting investment to create an actively dynamic sector, encouraging innovation and attracting new talent, he added. Research has found that the adaption of big data and smart farming can be embraced in order to support the growing human population. The report says global production of food, feed and fibre will need to increase by 70 percent by 2050, to meet the demands of a growing population. This means that to optimise crop yields and reduce waste, the agriculture and farming industries will need to rely heavily on new technologies moving forward. GPS services, sensors and big data will all become essential farming tools in the coming years and are clearly set to revolutionise agriculture, the research says. Tabu's Role Kept Under Wraps The makers confirmed Tabu's presence in the film. However they refused to divulge any details about her role in the film. Ali Abbas Zafar Is A Huge Fan Of Tabu's Work "I've been a huge fan of Tabu's work and always wished to work with her. After several meetings with her, I'm happy it is finally happening with Bharat and am looking forward to the shoot," director Ali Abbas Zafar told Mumbai Mirror. We Can't Wait To Watch Salman & Tabu Together The two actors have earlier worked together in films like Jeet, Biwi No 1, Hum Saath Saath Hai and Jai Ho. Tabu had pointed out that Sohail and Salman are like family. "I've done several films with Salman. There were two offers before this too, but they didn't work out. When Sohail offered me Jai Ho, I grabbed it," the actress had said back then. Priyanka Chopra's Character Is The Soul Of Bharat "We have found the soul of Bharat in Priyanka Chopra. As the love story in Bharat is very mature and quite subtle, we needed an actor who could portray this in the best possible way. Her character is the soul of the film, and throughout, she stands shoulder to shoulder with Salman Khan in the journey. She is the catalyst at the film's most important turning point," Ali had revealed. Priyanka Chopra visits Bangladesh to provide help People in Rohingya Refugee Camps FilmiBeat 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. Kartik Starts Drinking! Kartik has taken to drinking and doesn't show interest in family business. While Kartik's father and others want him to unite with Naira, Suvarna (who was supporting Naira) is also against her, after Shubham's death. Kartik Becomes Violent Kartik has become violent. He loses his cool, whenever someone reminds him of Naira. He doesn't want to see anything associated with Naira. He also breaks his television as the kids, Luv and Kush ask him to call Naira and patch up. Naira Signs Legal Documents On the other hand, Naira is seen lost in her own world. She tries to forget Kartik (by getting busy in her life), and move ahead in her life. She even signs the legal documents (may be divorce papers) that were signed by Kartik and sent by Kriti. Naira Decides To Join College While Naira decides to join a college to continue her studies, Kartik's father (who gets to know that Naira is in Mumbai) suggests Kartik to take up the new project and move to Mumbai. So that Kartik and Naira meet and clear their misunderstanding. Dadi Concerned About Kriti At the Singhania house, Dadi is concerned about Kriti as she has stopped going to her (Goenka) house. Dadi asks Naksh and Devyani to ask Kriti not to disassociate from her maika'! Naksh Blames Naira For Misunderstanding! Devyani starts arguing that they (Goenkas) threw naira out, even though it is not her mistake. Kriti has been trying to make them understand, but in vain. Naksh, who always supported Naira, tells them that even his sister never tried to explain herself to them. YRKKH SPOILER: Kartik & Naira Join The Same College In the upcoming episodes, Kartik and Naira join the same college (Kartik for his project, while Naira for studies). It is being said that Naira makes a (male) friend in the college. Kartik & Nairas Nok-Jhoks! Seeing them together, Kartik gets jealous. The viewers will get to watch a lot of nok-jhoks between Kartik and Naira. It is also being said that they will finally kiss and make up in the coming days (but we are sure it will take time)! Kaira Reunion After Kaira's reunion, it will not be easy for Kartik and Naira, as Goenkas angst will continue and they (especially, Naira), will face tough time! Shubhams Letter It has to be recalled that Shubham had begged Naira not to inform their family members about his drug addiction as he wanted to confess it himself! According to the latest spoiler, Shubham, who died because of drugs overdose, would have written a letter. His Letter To Prove Naira Innocent! Apparently, in the letter he would have mentioned as to how Naira found out about his drug addiction and threatened to tell his family. He would also have mentioned in the letter that he had begged Naira not to tell anybody about his addiction as he has decided to come clean to the family himself after Kartik's birthday party. Will The Family Find Shubhams Letter? Shubham's letter will prove major role in patching up Naira and Goenkas. But the question is, will the family find it? After reading the letter, will their misunderstanding get clarified and accept Naira? Stay locked to this space for the latest updates of the show. Presentation describes development and corroboration of health economic model that has demonstrated cost savings associated with the use of the RECELL Device AVITA Medical (ASX: AVH, OTCQX: AVMXY) today announced that results from a study validating the predicted outcomes and costs from an acute burns health economic model were presented at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 23rd Annual International Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. The landmark model is the first validated economic model available to assess the costs and clinical impact of new interventions versus standard of care for inpatient treatment of acute burns along the burn care continuum. The model demonstrates the ability to predict the cost-effectiveness, incremental costs and the budget impact of different care management approaches. As presented last month at the American Burn Association (ABA) 50th Annual Meeting in Chicago, the health economic model demonstrated that the use of the RECELL Device could reduce the cost of treatment by 44 percent or greater for patients with large burns. In addition, the budget impact component of the model determined that in a burn center with 200 patients, the use of the RECELL Device would reduce annual total treatment costs from $43.3 million to $30.3 million, saving 30 percent or $13.0 million. The presentation at ISPOR, "Inpatient Cost of Acute Care for Severe Burn Patients: Validation of Economic Model for Adults and Children," describes that unlike other therapy areas, the cost effectiveness of new interventions in burn care is rarely evaluated. Prior to the development of this health economic model, no validated economic model was available to assess the costs and clinical impact of new interventions versus standard of care for inpatient treatment of acute burns along the burn care continuum. To address this gap, a health economic model was developed by IQVIA, AVITA Medical and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Funding provided by BARDA, under Contract No. HHSO100201500028C, to support the development of RECELL by AVITA Medical has included support of the health economic model. "This first landmark economic model examines the continuum of definitive care in burns and can bring value to the burn community by estimating the likely economic impact of new treatments for burns," said Pinar Bilir, IQVIA. "The model can also link key components of patient characteristics, burn injury particulars, healthcare resource utilization, treatment options and cost considerations in a flexible framework to support decision-making. We were excited to see that evaluating RECELL within this platform was able to translate clinical outcomes into projected cost impact." The RECELL Device is an investigational medical device in the U.S. that is designed to enable medical professionals to produce, at the point-of-care, a REGENERATIVE EPIDERMAL SUSPENSION (RES) using a small sample of the patient's own skin. The autologous suspension contains cells necessary to regenerate epidermis and provides a new way to achieve permanent closure in burns and other wounds while reducing the amount of skin harvested at the time of surgery. Reduction in donor-site skin requirements has important benefits from both clinical and health economic perspectives. A U.S. PreMarket Approval (PMA) application for the treatment of burn injuries is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Company expects completion of the FDA review of the PMA during the third quarter of calendar 2018, followed by U.S. approval and market launch. Last month researchers from major burn centers throughout the U.S. made six presentations at the American Burn Association (ABA) 50th Annual Meeting in Chicago describing the clinical and cost-savings advantages of the RECELL Device in the treatment of severe burns. ABOUT AVITA MEDICAL LIMITED AVITA Medical is a regenerative medicine company with a technology platform positioned to address unmet medical needs in burns, chronic wounds, and aesthetics indications. AVITA Medical's patented and proprietary collection and application technology provides innovative treatment solutions derived from the regenerative properties of a patient's own skin. Our medical devices work by preparing a REGENERATIVE EPITHELIAL SUSPENSION, an autologous suspension comprised of the patient's own skin cells and wound healing factors that are necessary to regenerate natural healthy skin. This autologous suspension is then sprayed onto the areas of the patient to be treated. In the United States, the RECELL Device is an investigational device limited by federal law to investigational use. In September 2017, AVITA Medical submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) a PreMarket Approval (PMA) application for RECELL for the treatment of burn injuries. In all countries outside of Europe, our portfolio is marketed under the RECELL Device brand to promote skin healing in a wide range of applications including burns, chronic wounds and aesthetics. RECELL Device is TGA-registered in Australia, and CFDA-cleared in China. In Europe, our portfolio of medical device products received CE-mark approval as three tailored product presentations, with three individual brand names. RECELL Device is designed for the treatment of burns and plastic reconstructive procedures; REGENERCELL Autologous Cell Harvesting Device has been formulated for chronic wounds including leg and foot ulcers; and RENOVACELL Autologous Cell Harvesting Device is tailored for aesthetic applications including the restoration of pigmentation. To learn more, visit www.avitamedical.com. CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This letter includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "could," "may," "will," "believe," "estimate," "look forward," "forecast," "goal," "target," "project," "continue," "outlook," "guidance," "future," other words of similar meaning and the use of future dates. Forward-looking statements in this letter include, but are not limited to, statements concerning, among other things, our ongoing clinical trials and product development activities, regulatory approval of our products, the potential for future growth in our business, and our ability to achieve our key strategic, operational and financial goal. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Each forward-looking statement contained in this letter is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others, the timing of regulatory approvals of our products; physician acceptance, endorsement, and use of our products; failure to achieve the anticipated benefits from approval of our products; the effect of regulatory actions; product liability claims; risks associated with international operations and expansion; and other business effects, including the effects of industry, economic or political conditions outside of the company's control. Investors should not place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this letter. Investors are encouraged to read our publicly available filings for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this letter speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180521006135/en/ Contacts: OUS Media Monsoon Communications Sarah Kemter Phone: +61 (0)3 9620 3333 Mobile: +61 (0)407 162 530 sarahk@monsoon.com.au or Investors: Westwicke Partners Caroline Corner Phone: +1 (415) 202-5678 caroline.corner@westwicke.com or AVITA Medical Ltd Dale A. Sander Chief Financial Officer Phone: +1 (858) 663-6993 dsander@avitamedical.com HONG KONG, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ally Bridge Group, a global life science-focused investment group, today announced that it has led a $300 million financing completed for GRAIL, Inc., a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. "We are very impressed with the scientific, clinical, and software engineering achievements the team at GRAIL has made in just over two years. Our significant investment in GRAIL aligns very well with Ally Bridge's strong focus on investing in some of the world's most innovative life science technologies and enhancing value-creation across geographies," said Frank Yu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ally Bridge Group. We are excited to support the company as it moves towards commercialization of its first product in Hong Kong and advances its product development programs globally. Our investment in GRAIL represents the most strategic transaction for Ally Bridge after initiating and completing the highly successful $3.3 billion take-private of Wuxi Pharmatech from NYSE in 2015," Frank Yu added. "Ally Bridge played an instrumental role in GRAIL's $300 million Series C financing and we are excited to partner with the Ally Bridge team who have global life science expertise and a strong network in Asia," said Ken Drazan, President of GRAIL. Ally Bridge's investment in Grail represents another successful collaboration with its strategic partner and portfolio company Wuxi Pharmatech and its affiliates. Another strategic partner of Ally Bridge's, Lifetech Scientific (HKSE:1302), also participated in the GRAIL investment through its joint venture with Ally Bridge, which was formed and announced in January 2018. Lifetech is a leading medtech company in China. "The GRAIL investment is the very first landmark for the Ally-Bridge-Lifetech joint venture, which focuses on investing in leading global life science technologies with a focus in Asia and, in particular, in China," said Frank Yu of Ally Bridge. "We are very excited to invest alongside Ally Bridge in GRAIL," said Yue-hui Xie, Chairman of Lifetech. About Ally Bridge Group Ally Bridge Group ("ABG"), founded and led by Frank Yu (previously at Goldman Sachs and Och-Ziff Capital), is a global healthcare-focused investment firm. ABG and its affiliates manage over US$2 billion in healthcare assets in China, the U.S., and Europe, from medtech to biopharmaceuticals. ABG focuses on investing in some of the world's most innovative medicines and leading high-impact transactions. In 2015, ABG initiated, led and completed the landmark US$3.3 billion NYSE take-private of Wuxi Pharmatech. ABG has expertise in cementing strategic partnerships between emerging healthcare companies and industry leaders, and across different geographies, particularly between the U.S., China and Europe. For more information, please visit www.ally-bridge.com. About GRAIL GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is using the power of high-intensity sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art computer science and data science to enhance the scientific understanding of cancer biology, and to develop and commercialize pioneering products for the early detection of cancer. The company is located in Menlo Park, California and Hong Kong. It is supported by leading global investors and pharmaceutical, technology, and healthcare companies. For more information, please visit www.grail.com. Contact Andrew Pang andrew.pang@ally-bridge.com Principal, 852-3121 9699 Ally Bridge Group CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - A group of workers at Boeing Co's (BA) large plane-making facility in South Carolina will vote on union representation later this month after labor regulators on Monday cleared a path for a fresh ballot. The facility producing 787 Dreamliner jets in North Charleston has become a battleground for relations between organized labor and Boeing that could affect where the company manufactures future aircraft models. The National Labor Relations Board on Monday said 178 technicians at the facility were an appropriate bargaining unit, with a vote to organize within the International Association of Machinists union set for May 31. The move comes 15 months after 74% of the nearly 3,000 hourly staff at Boeing's plants around Charleston, which assemble 787 jets and other parts, voted against joining a union. That hard-fought campaign drew criticism from both sides over the tactics employed to sway workers. Lead union negotiator Mike Evans said the labor board's decision on Monday countered Boeing's 'delay tactics' over union representation in the state, where it also has a design and research center. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. LARGO, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 21, 2018 / The global green cosmetic market was valued at $10.9 billion in 2017 and is forecast to expand 74% to $18.7 billion by 2022. The younger generation of consumers have preferences for products that contain natural ingredients and are made with respect for the environment, according to Ashwin Sokke. Forbes reports that sector expansion is driven by larger companies, such as The Body Shop and L'Oreal, who can integrate natural ingredients across value chains. Major market players also have access to large distribution networks compared to medium and small natural beauty companies. The popularity of green cosmetics parallels the rise of customer preferences for healthy lifestyle options across other consumer goods. For example, the global market for organic foods and beverages is expected to follow a similar trajectory, rising from $102 billion in 2015 to $187.85 billion in 2019. Growth between different green industries is mutually supportive, creating opportunities for partnerships in distribution and marketing under similar lifestyle branding, says Ashwin Sokke. The eco-minded grocery chain Whole Foods carries over 4,000 green beauty brands, none of which contain potentially harmful ingredients such as microbeads, aluminum chlorohydrate and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). Retailers such as Nordstrom and Sephora also offer a wide selection of cosmetics that are made from natural ingredients. Allure Magazine reported that more than 1 in 2 women read product labels to avoid certain chemicals when choosing make-up. Moreover, the survey found that 73% of millennial women seek out all natural products, compared to 59% of women that consider buying green cosmetics as important. Non-traditional marketing techniques, including social media influencing, play a role in increasing knowledge and sales of green cosmetics. Organic products are a good fit with digital platforms, such as blogging or Instagram, that can market lifestyle products to technology-savvy young consumers. In 2016, global views of YouTube beauty videos increased to 219 billion, of which 60% were estimated to be millennials. Branding and education remain important factors in influencing consumer habits, since there is rarely a single definition of an "organic" cosmetic product. Customers who choose natural cosmetics are more likely to be knowledgeable about the impact of unsafe chemicals and to show brand loyalty. Therefore, cosmetic companies who leverage social media influencers to spread information about the quality ingredients found in products are more successful in building brand awareness. Research shows that 92% of consumers will believe recommendations from someone they know over traditional forms of marketing. In 2016, North America was the largest market globally for organic personal care products, due in part to high adoption rates. However, many industry analysts consider Asia to have strong growth prospects with sales of green cosmetics supported by urbanization and the rise of the middle class. In South East Asia alone, the compound annual growth rate for organic cosmetics is expected to be 9.1% in 2020. Ashwin Sokke co-founded Fit & Glow in 2014, a wellness and personal care company that focuses on organic ingredients. Sokke also runs three other brands called Wow, Body Cupid and Shaving Station. His natural beauty products are sold in stores in Mumbai, as well as online. In 2016, Wow ranked as one of the top five brands in the health segment on Amazon India. Ashwin Sokke - Co-Founder of Fit & Glow Inc.: http://www.AshwinSokkeNews.com Ashwin Sokke - Celebrates Recognition for WOW Brand with Amazon India Hair Award: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ashwin-sokke-celebrates-recognition-wow-044600624.html Ashwin Sokke on the Global Ambitions of India's Fastest-Growing Health & Beauty Brand WOW: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ashwin-sokke-global-ambitions-india-190500523.html Contact Information: AshwinSokkeNews.com http://ashwinsokkenews.com contact@ashwinsokkenews.com SOURCE: Ashwin Sokke RIGA, Latvia, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Top 10 social network goes blockchain ASKfm announced its decentralized upgrade ASKfm 2.0 claiming to monetize knowledge in all of its forms. It will be initiated by a platform incorporating both massive amounts of information from diverse areas, as well as millions of progressive users. This way, ASKfm claims it has enough expertise to build a knowledge-centered economy for which its users advocate. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694319/ASKfm_Logo.jpg ) One giant leap ASKfm is currently the largest Q&A social network worldwide, hosting 600 million questions monthly. The coming ASKfm 2.0 aims to transform the platform from the knowledge exchange of today into a concept resembling an online knowledge store. The company states that blockchain technology can effectively reshape access to knowledge and its evaluation. They tokenize interactions within the social media, rewarding people whose answers are well-received and demanded. This way, they claim, expertise gains intrinsic value and serves as a centerpiece for the new economy. The way to sustainability The company has been framing a blockchain solution a long time, and they're finally presenting it. Maxym Tsaryk, CEO at ASKfm says: "We are settling our high-loaded blockchain Q&A platform - that's why we are introducing a new cryptocurrency token not on a whim but out of conceptual necessity, as without it, the product wouldn't be able to exist. Blockchain opens a path to democratic environments, to self-regulating economic models governed by market laws and mechanisms. We do not see the future for ASKfm, technologies and social networks without blockchain." Open for participation 215 million of existing ASKfm users will have the option to switch to ASKfm 2.0, register a wallet, and receive tokens for that. The community, as usual, will also be able to take part in the upcoming ICO event during the year. In total, the social media plans to sell $100,000,000 worth of tokens. According to the company, its private sale is already ongoing with minimum amounts starting from a million dollars. The dates and terms of the crowdsale are yet to be determined. The broader public can currently only apply for the whitelist. For that, ASKfm launched a dedicated website. To read more about ASKfm 2.0 and request participation, please visit askfm.io HONG KONG, May 22, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Coinsuper, the professional digital asset trading platform, is pleased to initiate the establishment of a Crypto Exchange Network (CEN), with the vision of connecting the financial world. Coinsuper is under the Higgs Block Group, a blockchain technology and financial conglomerate.Ms. Karen Chen, the CEO of Higgs Block Group, was invited to the FINWISE Summit hold in Tokyo today and shared her insights during her speech, she said, the establishment of CEN is quite important, the CEN will coordinate the traditional financial world including financial institutions, regulatory authorities and cryptocurrency exchanges to expand the cryptocurrency market; the CEN will only support good quality ICO tokens to get listed and connect to a group of cryptocurrency exchanges, so as to expand their market presence; the CEN will lead the members to highly secured system and cooperate on the product development.Coinsuper will act as a syndicate agent liaising as the central hub for coordination with the responsibilities including but not limited to (1) coordinating with exchanges; (2) protecting customers; (3) opting for self-regulation; (4) mitigating risks and (5) developing more business opportunities to achieve win-win situation.About CoinsuperCoinsuper is a leading digital asset trading platform in the world. We are a global elite team with extensive experiences in financial advisory, compliance, wealth management and most importantly, cryptocurrency and financial technology. Coinsuper adopts methods such as SSL encryption technology, multi-signature cryptocurrency wallets, offline capital management to ensure the security and stability of the platform. We also adopt google authenticator in customer login and fund/BTC withdrawal to ensure that our customers' assets and account information are well protected.Website: www.coinsuper.comTelegram: https://t.me/CoinsuperExAbout Higgs BlockEstablished in Singapore at 2017, Higgs Block Technology Pte. Ltd. is a group focused on Blockchain technology, aiming to bring more convenient and secure Blockchain assets services to the world. Currently, Higgs Block has extended its network to Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, UK and switzerland, etc. Higgs Block owns a full range of resources in Blockchain Industry, with profound investment and construction in Bitcoin mining, miner manufacturing and sales, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency assets custody, ICO projects, and underlying technology of Blockchain, etc.Website: www.higgsblock.comSource: CoinsuperCopyright 2018 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. A new name and brand identity to reflect the transformation of the Group Regulatory News: Europcar Group (Paris:EUCAR) has been Europe's leading car rental provider for almost 70 years and one of the major players in the mobility sector. As a car rental company, Europcar established the fundamentals of the usage and sharing economies into its core business mobility a long time ago. Since 2014, Europcar has undertaken an in-depth transformation by growing faster at an international level (i.e. China), addressing new car rental use cases (i.e. low cost) but also diversifying its activities beyond the historical car rental business. From a car rental specialist, the Group has become a global provider of mobility solutions, offering a wide range of services: car rental, van and truck rental, chauffeur services, car sharing and peer-to-peer car-sharing. "Our customers' expectations and needs are rapidly evolving, and we all know now that the traditional model of owning a car doesn't fit-for-all anymore. Furthermore, thanks to technology and digital innovation, there are now many other smart and cost-effective solutions to get from one point to another, and that's what really matters for people. "In this context, there is a clear need for global mobility providers, making people's lives easier. We are convinced that we are in a very good position to play our role as a leader in this paradigm shift. We want to be the preferred 'Mobility Service Company' by offering attractive alternative solutions to vehicle ownership. "Considering the identified market needs and our main strengths among which are a comprehensive worldwide network and renowned expertise in fleet management we believe that fulfilling this mission will allow us to sustainably create value and growth." Caroline Parot, Europcar Mobility Group CEO. In the last few years, the Group's growth strategy has been specifically addressed with a number of acquisitions, including Ubeeqo, a European start-up specialised in car-sharing, and Brunel, a provider of chauffeur services. More recently, the Group also bought Scooty, a scooter-sharing start-up. The Group also made minority investments in Snappcar, the second largest international peer-to-peer car-sharing player in Europe, and Wanderio, a multimodal search and comparison platform. In addition to its investments in new mobility solutions, the Group continues to strengthen its original vehicle rental expertise, aiming at better answering all customers' needs whatever the budget and the usage. In 2017, this commitment was underlined by the acquisition of Goldcar, the low-cost car rental leader in Europe, and Buchbinder, one of the major vehicle rental leaders in Germany. The expression of a diversified company and a global mobility provider In the context of its accelerating transformation, with a richer and more diverse brand portfolio, the name "EUROPCAR MOBILITY GROUP" has been selected as the perfect expression of the Group's goals. "We needed a name that brought to life the transformation of the Group for our future developments, using the strength of our historical business and our number 1 position in vehicle rental. The name EUROPCAR MOBILITY GROUP capitalises on the Europcar brand, whilst also providing the mobility context for future acquisitions. "With EUROPCAR MOBILITY GROUP we also want to trigger a new mind-set in the company: we want our employees to feel part of a wider group; a group that is very well positioned for the future." Caroline Parot, CEO The change of the Group's name was approved during the Group's Annual Shareholders Meeting that took place on May 17th 2018. "The new Group name and visual identity will connect all our brands, with a very distinctive symbol designed with the 3 initials of Europcar Mobility Group. The rounded shapes, crossing lines and fresh colours suggest the ease and seamlessness of our solutions, and the connections between our brands and mobility services." Xavier Corouge, Group Marketing, Digital Customers Director. By being part of "EUROPCAR MOBILITY GROUP", each of the commercial brands in the Group will be reinforced, giving them specific territories of expression to increase their customers' engagement. However, it is not replacing the commercial brand Europcar, nor any other of the Group's commercial brands. "Every time we speak for the Group; every time we act as the Group, it is this new name that will be used. The opportunities will be numerous, encompassing all the strategic decisions and commitments that we take as a mobility Group present in 133 countries, as well as all the communications that we undertake with our investors, shareholders, partners and suppliers, and employees." Valerie Sauteret, Group Communications Director. Europcar Mobility Group brands: Europcar - European leader of car rental, van and truck rental Goldcar - Low-cost car rental leader in Europe InterRent Mid-tier car rental specialist (leisure-focused) Buchbinder One of the leading car rental operators in Germany Ubeeqo European start-up specialised in car-sharing (B2B B2C) Bluemove - Spanish car-sharing company GoCar - Irish car-sharing company E-car Club UK based electric pay-per-use car club Scooty - scooter-sharing start-up Brunel - a London based chauffeur-services company. Snappcar*: second largest international peer-to-peer car-sharing player in Europe Wanderio*: multimodal search and comparison platform *minority investment Plan for the launch and deployment The deployment of the new Group name will be rolled out over the next few months. Internal appropriation: The new name and the new brand identity were presented in preview to the Group's Top Managers, before submission for approval to the shareholders' general assembly on May 17th 2018. Internal reveal started on May 18th, through different internal channels Internal communications will continue with both the implementation of the new name and visual identity guidelines, and the move of the Group HQ from Voisins-le-Bretonneux to a brand new building at Boulevard Berthier, Paris 17th, further reflecting the transformation of the Group. External communication plan: The external communication plan will be supported with the distribution of an animation movie, "The Future is about Mobility", via the Group's social networks and corporate website as well as PR initiatives in France and across its other geographies. Consulting agencies: Visual identity: Brand Image Animation movie production: Eroiq Launch support: Publicis Consultants About Europcar Mobility Group Europcar Mobility Group is a major player in mobility markets and listed on Euronext Paris. The mission of Europcar Mobility Group is to be the preferred "Mobility Service Company" by offering alternative attractive solutions to vehicle ownership, with a wide range of mobility-related services: car-rental, vans and trucks rental, chauffeur services, car-sharing and peer-to-peer. Customers' satisfaction is at the heart of the Group's mission and all of its employees and this commitment fuels the continuous development of new services. Europcar Mobility Group operates through multi brands meeting every customer specific needs; its 4 major brands being: Europcar the European leader in vehicle rental services, Goldcar the most important low-cost car-rental company in Europe, InterRent 'mid-tier' brand focused on leisure and Ubeeqo a European company specializing in fleet and mobility solutions for both the business and the end-customers market. Europcar Mobility Group delivers its mobility solutions worldwide solutions through an extensive network in 133 countries (including 16 wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe, 2 in Australia and New Zealand, franchises and partners). Further details on our website: www.europcar-mobility-group.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180521006174/en/ Contacts: Europcar Mobility Group Press Valerie Sauteret Marie-Anne Benardais, +33 1 30 44 98 82 europcarpressoffice@europcar.com or Investor Relations Olivier Gernandt, +33 1 30 44 91 44 olivier.gernandt@europcar.com NEUCHATEL, Switzerland, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CSEM announces the creation of a new startup, aktiia SA, which has been launched to commercialize its proprietary cuffless optical Blood Pressure Monitoring technology (oBPM[TM]). By offering continuous and accurate blood pressure measurement at the wrist, the creation of aktiia represents a major step forward in the precise long-term monitoring, diagnosis and treatment of hypertension as well as the fight against cardiovascular diseases (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694271/aktiia_Logo.jpg ) The Biggest Epidemic Ever Known to Mankind According to the World Health Organization, one in three adults suffer from hypertension - that is 1.5 billion adults worldwide. Hypertension can lead to severe complications, such as stroke and heart failure. Each year, this illness results in 7.5 million premature deaths worldwide. The paradox of hypertension is that most people suffering from this condition are unaware of it. As such, hypertension is known as the silent killer. Furthermore, the current gold standard for blood pressure measurement is performed with a cuff placed around the arm. This 110 years old technology is cumbersome and leads to low compliance for patients prescribed to self-monitor. As a consequence, healthcare professionals lack access to complete and high-quality data for their diagnosis and the treatment of this disease. Facing Hypertension with a Strong Team and a Proven Track Record Awarded the Neode Prize 2017, Josep Sola and Mattia Bertschi, together with their team at CSEM, developed the revolutionary cuffless optical Blood Pressure Monitoring technology (oBPM). oBPM combines common optical sensors and clinically validated software algorithms to measure an individual's blood pressure at the wrist. aktiia builds on a strong patent portfolio, over 15 years of CSEM experience in the field of non-occlusive blood pressure monitoring, more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, clinical trials in acute and low-acute settings, and worldwide acknowledgement of its accuracy. In the past months, the co-founders of the company, Mattia Bertschi (CEO) and Josep Sola (CTO), together with Tobias Pforr (Chief Marketing Officer), have built up a strong management team supported by leading US and Swiss venture capital investors. In the coming months, aktiia will be building a global team with offices in Switzerland and the US and expand its global strategic partnership network in Europe and the US. Launch of the First Accurate Blood Pressure Monitor Solely Based on Optical Measurements In the coming months, aktiia will release its technology in form of a CE-certified and FDA-approved medical wrist wearable that will seamlessly integrate into people's lives. Having robust and detailed yet comfortable monitoring of one's blood pressure will allow patients and healthcare professionals alike to better understand the underlying causes of high blood pressure in order to develop new approaches to deal with this limiting and life-threatening condition. By deploying an accurate and comfortable technology for the diagnosis and management of hypertension, aktiia's mission is to contribute to prevention, to save lives and to help reduce healthcare costs worldwide. Be part of this revolution and get in touch - info@aktiia.com | http://www.aktiia.com About aktiia aktiia - The Optical Revolution for Blood Pressure Monitoring Aktiia was founded in 2018 to commercialize its proprietary cuffless optical Blood Pressure Monitoring technology (oBPM) in order to contribute to the prevention of high blood pressure, to save lives and to help reduce healthcare costs worldwide. aktiia is headquartered in Neuchatel (Switzerland) with offices opening up in Zurich (Switzerland) and San Francisco (USA). About CSEM CSEM-technologies that make the difference CSEM, founded in 1984, is a Swiss research and development center (public-private partnership) specializing in microtechnology, nanotechnology, microelectronics, system engineering, photovoltaics, and communications technologies. Around 450 highly qualified specialists from various scientific and technical disciplines work for CSEM in Neuchatel, Zurich, Muttenz, Alpnach, and Landquart. Follow us on: Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/aktiia LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/aktiia Twitter - https://twitter.com/aktiiaGlobal Download our Media Kit: CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The euro weakened against its most major counterparts in pre-European deals on Tuesday. The euro fell to 0.8771 against the pound and 1.1772 against the greenback, from its early 6-day high of 0.8782 and a 4-day high of 1.1797, respectively. The single currency slipped to more than a 4-month low of 1.5030 against the loonie, near 5-week low of 1.6908 against the kiwi and near a 4-month low of 1.5500 against the aussie, from yesterday's closing values of 1.5076, 1.6975 and 1.5552, respectively. Reversing from an early high of 130.96 against the yen, the euro dropped to 130.60. The next possible support for the euro is seen around 0.86 against the pound, 1.16 against the greenback, 128.00 against the yen, 1.49 against the loonie, 1.68 against the kiwi and 1.54 against the aussie. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Innovation is accelerating. How financial institutions are adapting and the new technology they're using to do it was the focus of the recent Moody's Analytics Innovation Summit in London. The growing role of artificial intelligence and collaborative development in fintech innovation were two of the main topics highlighted at the conference held by Moody's Analytics, a global provider of financial intelligence. Keith Berry, Executive Director of the Moody's Analytics Emerging Business Unit (EBU), kicked off the event by explaining how the company approaches innovation. He emphasized the importance not only of collaborating with startups, but doing so in mutually beneficial ways. The EBU leads the efforts of Moody's Analytics to better understand and adapt to an environment characterized by widespread, technology-driven change. "Moody's Analytics believes strongly in the value that comes from working with startups," said Mr. Berry. "With their agility and unique expertise, these new firms help us get the most out of our existing data and resources as we build new solutions. In turn, our business partners can learn from our expertise and gain insight from our customers." The CEOs of several of these startups delivered "lightning pitches": brief explanations of their offerings and how they collaborate with financial institutions on next-generation solutions. These companies include: Nivaura Lacuna Stratumn Credit Data Research Harbr Ashit Talukder, Head of Artificial Intelligence at Moody's Analytics, and Cristina Pieretti, Managing Director for Strategy and Innovation, discussed the rapidly expanding role of artificial intelligence in the financial services industry. They also previewed a new Moody's Analytics project bringing artificial intelligence to financial spreading. "It is clear that artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the financial services industry," said Mr. Talukder. "It is our view that the impact from this technology will continue to grow exponentially. The future of AI is promising." Ms. Pieretti spoke about the progress Moody's Analytics is making on its solutions driven by AI. "We are making significant inroads with AI to develop solutions that help our clients make better decisions, faster. Our automated spreading initiative is an example of how we can enable clients to automate their low-value tasks and make their workflows more productive and consistent." Moody's Analytics holds Innovation Summits in cities around the world. Visit moodysanalytics.com for details about upcoming events. Click here to follow the Moody's Analytics Emerging Business Unit on LinkedIn. About Moody's Analytics Moody's Analytics provides financial intelligence and analytical tools supporting our clients' growth, efficiency, and risk management objectives. The combination of our unparalleled expertise in risk, expansive information resources, and innovative application of technology helps today's business leaders confidently navigate an evolving marketplace. We are recognized for our industry-leading solutions, comprising research, data, software and professional services, assembled to deliver a seamless customer experience. Thousands of organizations worldwide have made us their trusted partner because of our uncompromising commitment to quality, client service, and integrity. Moody's Analytics is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO). MCO reported revenue of $4.2 billion in 2017, employs approximately 11,900 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 41 countries. Further information about Moody's Analytics is available at www.moodysanalytics.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005484/en/ Contacts: NEW YORK Moody's Analytics Communications Katerina Soumilova, 212-553-1177 katerina.soumilova@moodys.com or Justin Bursztein, +1-212-553-1163 justin.bursztein@moodys.com or Moody's Analytics Media Relations FTSE 250 food producer Cranswick posted a jump in full-year pre-tax profit on Tuesday as revenue grew, with strong volumes across all of its divisions. In the year to the end of March 2018, adjusted pre-tax profit was up 22.4% to 92.4m on revenue of 1.5bn, up 17.6%, driven by robust growth across all product categories including further increases in exports. Like-for-like revenue was 12.7% higher on the previous year, with each of Cranswick's categories delivering positive volume growth, ... 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. BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 4.30 am ET Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics releases UK public sector finance data for April. The budget deficit is forecast to rise to GBP 8.5 billion in April from GBP 1.3 billion in March. Ahead of the data, the pound traded mixed against its major rivals. While the pound dropped against the euro, it climbed against the rest of major rivals. The pound was worth 149.35 against the yen, 1.3400 against the franc, 0.8778 against the euro and 1.3459 against the greenback as of 4:25 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Acquisition making Grammer a leading global supplier of process and production technology for thermoplastic applications in the automotive industry Market position and local manufacturing operations expansion in North America Excellent strategic fit for Grammer's global growth strategy Grammer AG, a global supplier of interior components for passenger cars and commercial vehicles seating systems,has today signed a contract to acquire Toledo Molding Die Inc. ("TMD"), based in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The TMD Group is one of the leading specialists in the development and production of innovative thermoplastic components in the North American automotive market. With this transaction, Grammer Group is systematically implementing its strategy of acquiring technology companies with the objective of enhancing its own product range and process expertise. TMD develops and produces mainly interior components for visible and non-visible applications for the automotive industry. In a period spanning more than 60 years, TMD has transformed into a leading development and process specialist for thermoplastic solutions with its own tooling engineering for the North American automotive market. Grammer is acquiring 100% of the share capital of Toledo Molding Die Inc. Grammer AG will be funding the acquisition fully with debt at attractive financing terms. The acquisition is still subject to antitrust clearance and other standard closing conditions. It is expected to close the transaction in the third quarter 2018. According to preliminary figures, TMD Group generated revenues of more than USD 300 million in 2017 and has approx. 1,600 employees at 11 facilities in the United States and Mexico. With the acquisition of TMD, Grammer can further expand its position in North America and increase the revenue contribution generated in the world's second largest automotive market. In addition to this top-line growth, Grammer can particularly benefit from TMD's broad-based production network and increase its local manufacturing capacities in the United States. TMD has well established distribution structures and development partnerships with the three major US passenger car OEMs as well as Asian OEMs based in the US. This will allow Grammer to additionally diversify its customer base. The TMD Group has 100 engineers based at its development centers in Ohio and Michigan, where it works on complex thermoplastic products, new materials and innovative production processes. The importance of such innovative materials has grown sharply in the automotive industry in particular over the past few years. Already today, more than 15 percent of the input materials for a passenger vehicle are made from plastics and plastic composites. The proportion of thermoplastic applications and components will continue to grow substantially in future generations of passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. The use of functional and light weight plastics results in weight savings, provides greater design flexibility and allows more functions to be integrated particularly in the interior, thus lowering the complexity of assembling vehicles. Grammer's global presence and long-standing expertise as one of the leading suppliers of components for passenger and commercial vehicles offer TMD additional growth potential outside of NAFTA. Moving forward, it will be possible to make TMD's product range available to a substantially broader customer base in the passenger and commercial vehicle segments. In addition, the two companies' processes and organizational structures will be optimized using their combined long-standing industrial experience in order to capture further synergistic effects. Grammer has found an ideal partner for the continued successful execution of its growth and innovation strategy. Together, Grammer and TMD will form a leading global specialist in process and production technology for thermoplastic components. Company profile Located in Amberg, Germany, Grammer AG specializes in the development and production of components and systems for automotive interiors as well as suspension driver and passenger seats for onroad and offroad vehicles. In the Automotive Division, we supply headrests, armrests, center console systems and high-quality interior components and operating systems to premium automakers and automotive system suppliers. The Commercial Vehicle Division comprises seats for the truck and offroad seat segments (tractors, construction machinery, forklifts) as well as train and bus seats. With 13,000 employees, Grammer operates in 19 countries around the world. Grammer shares are listed in the SDAX and traded on the Frankfurt and Munich stock exchanges via the electronic trading system Xetra. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005632/en/ Contacts: Ralf Hoppe Phone: +49-9621/66-2200 Fax: +49-9621/66-32200 E-mail: ralf.hoppe@grammer.com MADRID, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- - DES2018 kicks off and becomes the 'Davos' forum for Digital Economy - The event will gather more than 18,000 C-level executives from over 50 countries DES - Digital Enterprise Show 2018 opened its doors today with a panel of experts in digital business of over 500 international speakers, that is why it will become the 'Davos' forum for digital economy. An international meeting that reunites C-Level executives from all over the world and top technologies who are driving the digital economy such as AI, IoT, Cloud, Cybersecurity, Big Data, Blockchain and Marketing; together with leading companies in the technology sector, like Accenture, Santander, Everis, IBM, Intel, Deloitte Digital, KPMG, UST Global, T-Systems, Altran, Ferrovial, SAP, Capgemini, Seidor or Minsait by Indra. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694781/DES___Digital_Enterprise_Show_2018.jpg ) DES2018 gathers visitors from more than 50 countries, including India, as guest country partner of this edition, USA, Poland, Israel, China, Brazil or Sweden, among others. The main goal of DES2018 is to examine how technology is reshaping industrial sectors and companies, the major forces that are driving change in today's world, deliver the keys and knowledge that allows attendees to learn, experience, meet, compare and buy the most advanced solutions to face up to the challenge of digitally transforming their businesses and becoming part of the new digital economy. Over 500 international experts to answer the most common dilemmas on digital economy Over the three days, the most influential thinkers and well-known speakers on Digital Leadership, Cloud, IoT, Cybersecurity, Blockchain or Artificial Intelligence will attend DES2018 auditoriums's. Amongst these, it is worth highlighting Stuart Russell, world authority and leader of the World Economic Forum in Artificial Intelligence; Aristedes Mahairas, Head of the Cyber Operations / Cyber Division of the FBI in New York; Christian Liflander, Head of Cyber Defence Section at NATO or Alissa Johnson, former CIO from the White House and current Director of information security at Xerox Corporation. Terry Von Bibra, General Director of Europe of Alibaba, and Max Amordeluso, Alexa lead evangelist of Amazon, will pass through the DES2018 scenarios. Ricardo Baeza-Yates, National Research Spanish Award in CS (2018); David Farrell, the leader of IBM's AI Platform; Anne Hoyer, Director Leonardo IoT Solutions at SAP; Arun Sundararajan, expert in digital economy and the impact on the business network of the new models of the so-called Platform Economy or Walter Jennings, world authority on influencer strategies and VP of Corporate Communications at Huawei; will be other visionaries that will share the powerful keys and success stories so all the large corporations and SMEs attending can embrace real-world tactics to advance in the digital transformation journey. Innovation and new business models to transform the industry Innovation, entrepreneurship and new business models will play a leading role with the presence of Martin Wezowski, Chief Innovation Office at SAP and Elmar Mock, entrepreneur and inventor of Swatch watches, which will explain attendees the benefits of integrating innovation into business culture to achieve businesses models capable to absorbing and overcoming continuous technological revolution. DES2018 is a worldwide forum of knowledge where each year more and more C-level executives and business leaders attended, searching the most innovative products and solutions as well as the skills required to help them join the digital transformation, becoming into the 'Davos' forum for Digital Economy. About DES - Digital Enterprise Show DES - Digital Enterprise Show is the leading event in Digital Transformation that offers CEOs, CIOs, CDOs, CMOs, political leaders and HR departments, and together with the cutting-edge technology companies, the most innovative products and solutions as well as the skills required to help European SMEs and large corporations join the digital transformation. This includes technological solutions to improve the customer experience, operational processes and business models of all industries. DES, Digital Business World Congress 2018 which will celebrates its third edition in Madrid (IFEMA) during the 22, 23 and 24 of May, will gather more than 18,000 professionals to meet the most innovative products to help SMEs and large corporations join the digital transformation. Furthermore, DES2018 will bring together public institutions and all the international technological industry, more than 300 tech partners like Accenture, IBM, Everis, KPMG, UST-Global, Indra, SAP and Capgemini to face up to the challenge of digitally transforming. Media Contact: Juliana Lorenzo press@des-madrid.com Moore County, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - Molori Energy Inc. (TSXV: MOL) (OTC Pink: MOLOF) ("Molori" or the "Company") announces today that the Company has signed an LOI ("Letter of Intent") to purchase a 100% working interest of which Molori will be the operator of record in an additional approximately 5,100 gross acres (collectively "the leases") of land in Moore, Potter and Carson Counties, north Texas. The agreement calls for Molori to hold a 100% working interest in the leases, some of which adjoin lands where Adams Affiliates ("Adams") of Tulsa, Oklahoma is presently developing oil and gas production from the Red Cave formation. The approximately 5,100 acres are currently held by production ("HBP") and contain a 75% NRI ("Net Royalty Interest"). Of immediate interest is an approximately 81 acre parcel of the overall 5,100 acres, which has multiple drill-ready well locations and is surrounded by some of Adam's most productive acreage. Nearby Adams wells have exhibited IP's ("Initial Production") of 45+ bopd, 250 mcfd of gas, as well as EUR's ("Estimated Recoverable Oil") of 40,000 - 50,000 barrels of oil. Commented Molori CEO Joel Dumaresq, "When completed, this latest land acquisition combined with the recently announced Wolf Energy LOI ("Letter of Intent"), will provide Molori with approximately 40,000 gross acres with access to the Red Cave and several hundred potential well locations. Now that we have positioned the Company with a commanding Red Cave presence, we are now turning our attention to the development phase of our operations." Molori presently has underway (see press release "May 7, 2018") an independent reserve report on the Wolf Energy 'Baker 39' lease. Upon release of the report, the Company soon plans to share additional details of its drilling and development plan. Closing on the acquisition of the 5,100 acres is conditional upon financing, routine due diligence and all required regulatory approvals. About Molori Molori Energy Inc. is an oil and gas production company with current operations in the Texas Panhandle West Field. The focus of the Company's exploration and development arm is the underdeveloped Red Cave formation, where Molori has engaged in a broad drilling program to assess and develop its acreage. Molori's business model is to deliver sustainable growth in shareholder value by focusing on exploiting its existing reserves, commercializing and developing discoveries and pursuing selective acquisitions. Molori's operating team, based in Borger, Texas have extensive experience in the oil and gas industry in the Texas Panhandle. The Company believes that the area represents a significant hydrocarbon basin in a well-developed region. By employing leading-edge exploration and frac techniques, Molori believes that the Company is well positioned to increase its production and reserves and further benefit from the opportunities that exist in the Texas Panhandle region. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.molorienergy.com or contact Joel Dumaresq CEO and Director Molori Energy Inc. (604) 336 3193 joel@molorienergy.com www.molorienergy.com NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEW RELEASE. Cautionary Notes Regarding Forward Looking Statements This News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include but are not limited to those with respect to the prices of oil and gas, the estimation of oil and gas resources and reserves, the realization of oil and gas reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, currency fluctuations, requirements for additional capital, Government regulation of oil and gas operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of pending litigation. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the actual results of current exploration activities, conclusions or economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, possible variations in grade and or recovery rates, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labor disputes or other risks of the oil & gas industry, delays in obtaining government approvals or financing or incompletion of development or construction activities, risks relating to the integration of acquisitions, to international operations, and to the prices of oil & gas. While the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law. LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / May 22, 2018 / eServGlobal (LSE: ESG) enters FY18 with a reduced cost base and a fully funded balance sheet; we are forecasting the core business to be close to EBITDA break-even in FY18. With access to Mastercard's sales force and financial institution customer base, HomeSend has signed up a number of banks to use its cross-border payment platform. As these banks shift volumes onto the platform, this should drive strong growth in volumes and move the joint venture towards profitability. We believe that the majority of the value of the company is provided by its stake in the HomeSend joint venture. We estimate that the share price is factoring in adoption of HomeSend by banking customers to the tune of c $5bn in transaction volumes, a small proportion of the cross-border payments market. Evidence of recent bank signings transferring cross-border payments over to the HomeSend platform will be key to supporting and driving the current share price. Contract wins in the core business could also have a more limited impact on the share price. Click here to view the full report. All reports published by Edison are available to download free of charge from its website www.edisoninvestmentresearch.com About Edison: Edison is an investment research and advisory company, with offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East and AsiaPac. The heart of Edison is our world-renowned equity research platform and deep multi-sector expertise. At Edison Investment Research, our research is widely read by international investors, advisers and stakeholders. Edison Advisors leverages our core research platform to provide differentiated services including investor relations and strategic consulting. Edison is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Edison is not an adviser or broker-dealer and does not provide investment advice. Edison's reports are not solicitations to buy or sell any securities. For more information please contact Edison: Katherine Thompson, +44 (0)20 3077 5730 Dan Ridsdale, +44 (0)20 3077 5729 tech@edisongroup.com Learn more at www.edisongroup.com and connect with Edison on: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/edison-investment-research Twitter www.twitter.com/Edison_Inv_Res YouTube www.youtube.com/edisonitv SOURCE: Edison Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - Global UAV Technologies Ltd. (CSE: UAV) (OTC: YRLLF) (FSE: YAB2) (the "Company" or "Global UAV"), a leader in the unmanned aerial vehicle ("UAV") industry, announces the formation of a Technical Advisory Board. The focus of the Technical Advisory Board is to facilitate business growth opportunities and provide Global UAV a knowledge base within certain and specific sectors of the Company's business opportunities. Each of the new members of the Technical Advisory Board have been carefully selected as experts within their realm of knowledge and access. Global UAV have chosen Ms. Monica England, Mr. Del Kintner, and Mr. Adam Allouba to form the initial Advisory Board. Each of the members have significant experience in the UAV industry within their diverse backgrounds that include the US Military, defense contracting and manufacturing, legal and the mining industry. The member biographies are below. Additionally, Mr. Robert Lefebvre has resigned as a Director of Global UAV and will also be joining the Technical Advisory Board. Mr. Lefebvre has been integral with developing and streamlining the manufacturing division of Global UAV (NOVAerial Robotics Inc.) and this move will enable him to stay very close to the Company while allowing the development of new systems and liaising with potential new business opportunities. "We are proud to announce the formation of our Technical Advisory Board. The extensive experience and success-driven dedication of each of the new advisors will aid Global UAV as we explore new opportunities and expand into new and emerging markets. Our Technical Advisory Board will be actively engaged with the Company in several key industries such as security and defence, technology development, integration and manufacturing. We also would like to thank Mr. Lefebvre for his service as a director and look forward to his continued contributions on the Advisory Board and as Managing Director of NOVAerial" stated Michael Burns, CEO and Director of Global UAV. Ms. Monica England Ms. England is unequivocally a pioneer in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics industries. Her 15 years of dedication and service have allowed her to work for several organizations and companies which have been instrumental to the growth and development of both defense and commercial unmanned platforms. She has also gained extensive knowledge and experience in a variety of vertical markets such as utilities, oil and gas, public safety and security. Ms. England's key contributions to the UAV/UAS industry are best summarized through her previous positions with various large technology companies, which include: - As the former Director of Marketing and Business Development for 5D Robotics Inc., she identified new business opportunities, and managed the coordination of industrial aerial services within the company. Her guidance culminated with the 5D Aerial division achieving significant successes within the construction, power and utilities and industrial equipment rental markets. - As the Marketing and Sales Director for Aerial MOB, LLC, a company which is a pioneer in aerial cinematography and innovative technologies, she coordinated many aerial cinematography shoots and industrial inspections. Aerial MOB also established the gold-standard for the aerial cinematography market with the Federal Aviation Administration and the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), which is still recognized today. - As a Business Development Executive and Capture Lead at a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and Unmanned Aerial Systems company where she gained extensive knowledge for industrial inspections in the oil and gas markets. In this role, she traveled to other countries working with some of the biggest refineries in the world, where she worked with engineers and security teams and helped develop aerial programs that will employ drones to facilitate pipeline inspections. - At Northrop Grumman Corporation's Aerospace Systems division, she worked in the Program Office of the Army Future Combat Systems Class IV UAV Fire Scout; she then moved into the executive office for Production Operations as Training Coordinator followed by some interactions with the Strategic Development Unmanned Systems Strategy Group. Ms. England has been an active leader for the San Diego Lindbergh Chapter of AUVSI Board of Directors since 2010 - and currently serves as the Vice President and Director of Membership and Events. She also coordinated a UAV Exhibit at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and the Air Law Institute UAV Symposium; she was a team member of the Cal UAS Federal Aviation Administration UAV Test Site Initiative and the CoE (Center of Excellence) Initiative. Ms. England was also recognized with a Certificate of Appreciation by Senator Joel Anderson for her diligent unmanned systems advocacy within several San Diego communities. Additionally, she was hand selected by former Dean, Dr. Brent Bowen to serve as a member of the Industry Advisory Board at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott, Arizona campus and has entered her 3rd year as an advisor for the aviation university. She was also chosen as the first US female speaker to present on International UAV Regulations at the Unmanned Systems Conference and Expo India event in New Delhi, India along with the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. Ms. England is an accomplished writer and has had several articles published in Robot Magazine as well as India's first and only Unmanned Aerial Systems magazine, "UAS magazine." Ms. England's passion for all types of aviation and robotics activities is clearly evident by her constant support of community events. Her continuous involvement and keen foresight are strong indicators of her leadership skills and her dedication to the Unmanned Systems industry. Mr. Del Kintner Mr. Kintner brings vast experience in the defense industry by having developed a large number of contracts with military and aerospace organizations. In addition, during the past ten years, relationships have been developed with (United States) Homeland Security directors and managers. Using these relationships and capabilities he spearheaded corporate acquisitions, mergers, and joint ventures. Mr. Kintner assisted a client in converting their technology into millions of dollars of military business. This included developing two licensing agreements with a major aerospace company. In addition, he helped a new and innovative antenna technology and converted it into six government funded Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR and STTR) programs. Mr. Kintner has supported the (United States) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics in discovering innovative and disruptive technologies and helping to transition those technologies into government programs. This effort has consisted of mentoring and training these small companies to recognize requirements and needs where their intellectual properties can be integrated. Again, using his vast contact network, Mr. Kintner has provided advice, ideas, connections and suggestions to a variety of small businesses with the intent of raising their Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to a demonstrable level. In addition, he looked for situations where groups could pool their technologies and develop a system that would be attractive to major integrators Most recently, Mr. Kintner has focused his skills on autonomous and unmanned systems in all domains including, their payloads and connectivity. Over the span of his career, Mr. Kintner has supported and worked with several companies including Boeing Corporation, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation and Lockheed Martin Corporation. Mr. Adam Allouba Mr. Allouba is a partner in the Montreal office of Dentons, an international law firm. He advises public companies in connection with both regulatory and transactional matters, including private placements, prospectus offerings, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring transactions, privatizations and shareholder meetings. He has extensive experience with mining exploration and technology companies. In 2008/09, Mr. Allouba completed a six-month secondment with the Montreal office of the TSX Venture Exchange and is currently a member of their local Advisory Committee in Quebec. He is also a member of the Securities Committee for the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). Mr. Robert Lefebvre Mr. Lefebvre is one of the foremost experts in UAV technology in Canada. He is a mechanical engineer with a diverse set of skills including product development and program management gained in the automotive industry. Mr. Lefebvre was one of the original developers of Ardupilot, the world's leading open-source UAV/drone operating system with now over 1,000,000 systems in operation around the world. A frequently invited speaker at UAV industry conferences, he has also consulted to the UAV industry internationally, assisting clients to deploy Ardupilot on their commercial systems. Sensing a need for more robust UAV platforms for commercial applications, Mr. Lefebvre founded NOVAerial Robotics Inc. About Global UAV Technologies Ltd. Global UAV Technologies is a leader within the commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ("UAV") sector. Through its wholly owned divisions - Pioneer Aerial Surveys Ltd., High Eye Aerial Imaging Inc., UAV Regulatory Services Inc., and NOVAerial Robotics Inc., - Global UAV Technologies Ltd., provides a full spectrum of UAV-based services and products including manufacturing, service provider and regulatory divisions. Global UAV Technologies Ltd., will continue its growth through technology development, expanding the business of its current divisions and the continued evaluation of potential acquisitions. As a vertically integrated consortium of businesses that cover all aspects of the UAV industry, Global UAV is well positioned as an emerging leader in the UAV technology space. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Michael Burns" Michael Burns CEO & Director Telephone: 1 888-905-7011Email: ir@globaluavtech.com www.globaluavtech.com Neither Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statement Statements in this press release, other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in public markets, service industries, manufacturing and the UAV Sector. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. BANGALORE, India, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vicara hopes to raise $100,000 to bring gesture control to widespread business and consumer market Today, KAI, developed by Vicara, launches on the crowd funding site Indiegogo. Starting from $129 for early bird special, the KAI is a gesture-based wearable controller that enhances intuitive digital interaction. http://www.getkai.co/preorder/ The KAI harnesses natural body language to provide a revolutionary digital interaction experience. It enables creative professionals and enthusiasts alike to seamlessly interact with their digital environment. Navigate your desktop, browse through the web, flick through photos or play games and do everything you do in a normal day - all with the wave of your hand or the flick of your finger. Abhishek Satish, Co-Founder & Inventor at Vicara, explains: "Interaction with the digital environment has been restricted to a mouse and keyboard for over 60 years. With the rise of AR/VR as a new medium of interaction and the severe time constraints in the professional creative market space, the typical medium of interaction does not optimize the productivity of users. A gesture-based interaction device like the KAI can process the power of natural body language to interact with your digital world more intuitively than any product in the market today. We are super excited to share it with the Indiegogo community and have them help us nurture this unique technology." Specifications: The product is essentially a sensor-based wearable that uses a 9 axis IMU (Invensense) and invisible light sensors to sense the movement of your hand and fingers. The data is relayed via a Bluetooth module to our proprietary desktop app UI designed on Sketch 3 and Principle and developed on the ElectronJS framework, Java and Bootstrap. The instructions for the hardware have been coded in Embedded C on the ARM Cortex M architecture. The entire technology has been designed to fit on a board smaller than the size of your palm. The body will be made of high grade Injection moulded ABS enclosed in a premium replaceable soft touch silicone sleeve. You can back The KAI on http://www.getkai.co/preorder/ now; starting at $129 for the Super Early Bird adopters. The KAI is designed in Singapore, assembled in Indonesia and manufactured in China. The uniqueness of the KAI is dual fold. On the hardware side, the KAI has a unique inbuilt non-obtrusive finger tracking mechanism - That means KAI is currently the only device out there that can accurately track your fingers and your hand without cameras. On the software side, the KAI provides complete customizability from within its application. This enables KAI to be compatible with ANY desktop app from the get go. About Vicara: Vicara.co is missioned to develop affordable human augmentation technologies. Our unique motto is to employ the technology of tomorrow to solve the limitations of humanity today. We envision to pioneer innovation in the development and advancement of hardware technology in India that rivals the ecosystems of USA and China. As we identify ourselves as a human augmentation company, we endeavor to research and develop more products which augment the capability of humans, like AR Visors, bio-prosthetics, enhanced intelligent wearable and in the long-term, exoskeletons. Media Contact: Adarsh Warrier +91-7798786639 adarsh@vicara.co 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. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - GLOBAL HEMP GROUP INC. (CSE: GHG) (OTC Pink: GBHPF) (FSE: GHG) ("GHG" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its New Brunswick Hemp Project with joint venture partner, Marijuana Company of America Inc. (OTC Pink: MCOA) (the "Partners"). The Partners have hired Joan Parker-Duivenvoorden as fulltime project agrologist and field manager for the project. Ms. Parker-Duivenvoorden graduated from Guelph University in 1981 with a BSc (Agr) majoring in plant protection. She has over 15 years-experience with the Nova Scotia Dept of Agriculture and with the New Brunswick Soil and Crop Improvement Association ("NBSCIA"). While working at the NBSCA, she has developed strong ties in the farming community that will prove to be advantageous as the project expands from the initial group of four farmers to more than fifty farmers as envisioned in coming years. In addition to being responsible for the project locally, she will provide advisory services to participating farmers, will conduct on-farm research projects to properly monitor the behaviour of various hemp varieties in different environments of the region. She will also develop training materials to assist farmers who will join the project in subsequent years. One of the long-term research projects headed by Ms. Parker-Duivenvoorden will be to develop a profitable crop rotation for organic hemp, opening the way for organic CBD. Contracts have now been signed with the initial group of four farmers, who began seeding this season's 125-acre industrial hemp crop last week. The farmers participating in the project in 2018 are located throughout the northeastern region of New Brunswick, Canada, making for a good cross section of results for research conducted on the behavior of the crop across that region. The distribution of farms will maximize the demonstration effect and will facilitate the recruitment of additional farmers in the following years. This carefully selected group of farmers will actively participate in addressing the introduction of this new crop across different regions. A 4,000 sq. ft. facility has now been secured in Bathurst, New Brunswick for the project. The building will be used for biomass storage and to install drying equipment that will be used to process the fresh material. Dried material will be stored at the facility while awaiting further processing by third party processors. Once proper licenses have been acquired for importing and manufacturing finished CBD products, the site may also serve as a distribution center for the hempSMARTTM and Benihemp line of products. About Global Hemp Group Inc. Global Hemp Group Inc. (CSE: GHG) (OTC Pink: GBHPF) (FSE: GHG), is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with base operations in Montreal and Los Angeles. The Company is focused on a multi-phased strategy to build a strong presence in the industrial hemp industry in both Canada and the United States. The first phase of this strategy is to develop hemp cultivation with the objective of extracting cannabinoids (CBD, CBG, CBN & CBC) and creating a near term revenue stream that will allow the Company to expand and develop successive phases of the strategy. The second phase of the plan will focus on the development of value-added industrial hemp products utilizing the processing of the whole hemp plant, as envisioned in the Company's Hemp Agro-Industrial Zone (HAIZ) strategy. About Marijuana Company of America, Inc. MCOA is a corporation which participates in: (1) product research and development of legal hemp-based consumer products under the brand name "hempSMART", that targets general health and well-being; (2) an affiliate marketing program to promote and sell its legal hemp-based consumer products containing CBD; (3) leasing of real property to separate business entities engaged in the growth and sale of cannabis in those states and jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized and properly regulated for medicinal and recreations use; and, (4) the expansion of its business into ancillary areas of the legalized cannabis and hemp industry, as the legalized markets and opportunities in this segment mature and develop. Forward Looking Statements. Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Global Hemp Group Inc., including, but not limited to the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, currency fluctuations, dependence upon regulatory approvals, the availability of future financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Corporate Communications Contact: NetworkNewsWire (NNW) New York, New York www.NetworkNewsWire.com 212.418.1217 Office Editor@NetworkNewsWire.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - MediaValet Inc. (TSXV:MVP), a leading provider of cloud-based digital asset management software, is excited to announce that Zeus Industrial Products, Inc., the world's leader in polymer extrusions, has selected MediaValet to manage their growing library of marketing and sales assets across their entire enterprise. Zeus will be using MediaValet to increase marketing and sales productivity and streamline collaboration with strategic partners. Figure 1: Zeus Industrial Products selects MediaValet to upgrade global marketing and sales operations To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3817/34751_a1526969600704_18.jpg Zeus has been in business for over 50 years and has a reputation for innovation, dependability, and quality. Headquartered in Orangeburg, SC, the company operates nine facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia and serves customers from an array of industries including medical, aerospace, energy, automotive, fiber optics, and fluid management. Zeus contributes its success to a dedicated workforce and sales and marketing teams known for cultivating long-term partnerships with key manufacturers and research and development groups around the world. Before implementing MediaValet's global, enterprise-class digital asset management solution, Zeus' marketing and sales resources were stored in a variety of network drives and storage devices across various offices and locations with limited searchability. The Marketing team did their research and discovered that a cloud-based DAM system would create an efficient way to centralize, organize, and provide permission-based access to sales enablement assets while controlling brand integrity and increasing productivity for sales and marketing. "We felt that MediaValet would be able to help us when we first saw it," commented Aaron Middeke, Zeus' Digital Media Producer. "It's extremely easy to use at every level. MediaValet is a game changer, and we are looking forward to the many ways it will facilitate our asset management." Although Zeus' Marketing team was excited about the countless hours they would save every day through MediaValet's ease of search, formatting, and sharing assets with their team and partners, the team needed sign off from IT. As with many global businesses, security is a big concern with Zeus' IT team and after reviewing MediaValet's infrastructure with Microsoft Azure, they gave two thumbs up. With MediaValet, Zeus now has a highly-secure and scalable central media library that allows approved users across their entire enterprise, to quickly find, use and share the assets they need. "Zeus was facing a struggle that we commonly hear at MediaValet; When sales and marketing can't find the assets they need - they can't work efficiently," commented David MacLaren, Founder & CEO of MediaValet. "We're ecstatic to help them improve their day-to-day marketing and sales processes and to begin exploring new and exciting ways we can help in other areas of their business. " About MediaValet Inc. MediaValet stands at the forefront of the enterprise cloud-based digital asset management industry. Built exclusively on Microsoft Azure and available in 50 Microsoft data center regions around the world, MediaValet delivers unparalleled enterprise class security, reliability, redundancy and scalability while offering the largest global footprint of any DAM solution. In addition to providing all core DAM capabilities, MediaValet offers industry leading integrations into Slack, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office 365, Oracle Marketing Cloud (Eloqua), Drupal 8, WordPress, Hootsuite and many other best-in-class 3rd party applications. Follow MediaValet: Blog, Twitter and LinkedIn Surf: www.mediavalet.com For further information, please contact: David MacLaren Tel: (604) 688-2321 david.maclaren@mediavalet.com Babak Pedram Tel: (416) 644-5081 babak.pedram@mediavalet.com "Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release." This is a Great Opportunity to Bring Serious Deal Flow and Main Stream Transactional Services to the Cannabis and Hemp Sector Las Vegas, Nevada--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - Freedom Leaf, Inc., (OTCQB: FRLF), a group of international, vertically integrated hemp businesses and cannabis media companies, has purchased a 25 percent equity interest in Cicero Transact, an invitation-only online community dedicated to forging strategic business alliances and a solid method of transacting business. A leading resource on the cannabis, medical marijuana, and industrial hemp industries since 2014, Freedom Leaf Inc. As part of this expansion, one of Freedom Leaf's has just added to its investments a 25 percent equity interest in the business transaction platform Cicero Transact Group, LLC. Clifford J Perry, CEO, Freedom Leaf Inc says "This is a great opportunity to bring serious deal flow and main stream transactional services to the Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Industry. Our goal is to help the growth of the Cicero Transaction Platform at a rapid pace leveraging our strong business relationships throughout our teams long careers in and out of the Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Industry." Freedom Leaf is a mainstay in the Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Industry and its executive team has extensive influence in that space as well as other industries that their extensive careers have taken them. They will be a great source of introducing valuable members to Cicero Transact, according to Michael Woloshin, Co-Founder and a managing partner of Cicero Transact Group, LLC." Described as a "transactional version of LinkedIn," Cicero Transact is a new, exclusive platform that brings together startups, entrepreneurs, companies, venture capital, and private equity firms to facilitate joint ventures, strategic partnerships, product and service transactions, mergers and acquisitions. Unlike other social business platforms, Cicero Transact allows members to follow deal flows, get involved in new deal flows, and utilize contacts and connections to transact new business. The Company intends to work with Cicero in regard to deals related to the Cannabis and Industrial Hemp industry as well as other areas that can drive revenue. A soft launch of the Cicero Platform will take place in August of 2018 with a full launch shortly thereafter. "Cicero Transact fills the gaps left behind by other online business communities, which don't offer members ways to conduct transactions directly through their platforms," says Joe Abrams, who Co-Founded the MySpace predecessor Intermix and now serves as a managing member of Cicero Transact. "Freedom Leaf is getting in on the ground floor with its equity interest in Cicero Transact, which in turns helps us to create a more robust, valuable service for our members." Members will have the ability to execute their business models abroad as well, with strategic introductions in more than 20 countries. Michael Woloshin is a highly skilled, entrepreneurial-minded leader with decades of experience in technology, business development, marketing and brand building. Michael was the driving force behind developing, expanding and managing Candidates On Demand Group, which was ranked No. 4 in the Crain's New York Business list of the New York Area's Largest Executive Recruiters. Mike utilizes his expertise in creating strategic partnerships and joint ventures for Recruiter.com and its subsidiaries. Michael is also Co-Founder and CEO of Recruiter.com. Recruiter.com has among the largest LinkedIn Groups of any other member with the following LinkedIn Groups being the largest in their category: CFO, CIO and CMO. Joseph "Joe" W. Abrams has vast experience in helping early-stage, private and publicly held technology companies accelerate growth. Mr. Abrams co-founded Intermix, Inc., the parent company of MySpace, in 1998. Intermix was sold to News Corp in September 2005 for $580 million. Prior to that Mr. Abrams co-founded The Software Toolworks, Inc. which was sold to Pearson, PLC for $463 million. He serves on Several private and nonprofit boards, including the board of the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester. About Cicero Transact Cicero Transact is an invitation-only online community dedicated to forging strategic business alliances. Members gain an inside look at startups, entrepreneurs, and companies seeking support to enhance and execute their business models. Cicero Transact covers all business verticals and allows members to actively review deals and select opportunities that best suit their expertise. Members can participate in and earn on deals directly through the Cicero Transact platform. Simply put, the platform allows users to leverage their existing tools, resources, and contacts into income on new deals. The founding members of Cicero Transact have more $100 of millions in transactions under their belt, collectively. About Freedom Leaf Inc. Freedom Leaf Inc., The Marijuana Legalization Company, is a group of diversified, international, vertically-integrated hemp businesses and cannabis media companies. Freedom Leaf Inc. is a fully-reporting and audited publicly-traded company under the symbol (OTCQB: FRLF). Freedom Leaf Inc. has been a leading go-to resource in the cannabis, medical marijuana, and industrial hemp industries since 2014, founded by professionals with over 200 years combined experience in marijuana legalization advocacy. FRLF building a diverse portfolio of valuable businesses through strategic mergers, acquisitions, and acceleration projects across the industry. FRLF's large portfolio of acquisitions and properties includes: our recently acquired hemp CBD product line Irie CBD, our wholly-owned hemp extraction division Leafceuticals, Inc., our exclusive health and wellness CBD brand Hempology, our 60,000 acres of indoor hemp greenhouse cultivation and 200 acres of outdoor cultivation with Green Market Europe, our hemp-based rolling paper company Plants to Paper, two of the largest Spanish-speaking cannabis web portals in the world LaMarihuana.com and Marihuana-Medicinal.com, and of course our flagship publication, Freedom Leaf Magazine. Utilizing these mergers and acquisitions, Freedom Leaf Inc. is continually building a solid foundation for our vertically-integrated hemp company to maximize both shareholder value and revenue growth. Our cultivation and extraction divisions allow FRLF to grow and source our own hemp CBD, which allows dramatically lower production costs for our wholly-owned CBD product lines, thereby generating more revenue for each product sold. We also formulate and manufacture the majority of our products in our own in-house formulation centers, also greatly reducing our costs and increasing revenue. In addition, our extensive domestic and international media companies ensure we can continuously direct traffic to our many ecommerce sites and nationwide retail locations. Freedom Leaf, Inc. does not handle, grow, sell, or dispense marijuana or related products. All of our European activities are in full compliance with relevant EU laws. Investor relations information can be found on the FreedomLeafInc.com company website. Safe Harbor Statement Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as Freedom Leaf, Inc. or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "forecasts," "estimates" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements herein that describe the Company's business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include the uncertainty regarding viability and market acceptance of the Company's products and services, changes in relationships with third parties, and other factors described in the Company's most recent periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K dated June 30, 2016 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Contact: Freedom Leaf, Inc. Raymond Medeiros PR and Business Development Director Phone: 415-601-1974 ray@freedomleaf.com BERLIN, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Private and public sector companies can apply online until 30 June 2018 / Four award categories open to international applicants / 30,000 euros in prize money The Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) - the German Energy Agency - is seeking outstanding projects that measurably reduce companies' energy consumption and cut emissions that have an impact on the climate. The best of these will win the 2018 Energy Efficiency Award. The awards, which are open to applicants internationally, attract prize money totalling 30,000 euros. They are offered under the patronage of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Peter Altmaier, and are supported by Danfoss and KfW. Companies that are interested have until 30 June 2018 to submit an application in one of the competition's categories via the website, http://www.EnergyEfficiencyAward.de . Companies of any size and from any industry in Germany or abroad can enter. The competition's four categories The competition's main focus is on innovative approaches to increasing energy efficiency in trade and industry - including public sector companies - in four categories: Energy transition 2.0 - for projects that have additional positive effects on the energy system, besides increasing energy efficiency Energy efficiency: from clever to digital - for projects ranging from traditional energy efficiency measures to digital solutions Energy services and energy management - for projects implemented through energy management or through a service provider - both the company and the service provider can apply Audience award: plans for increasing energy efficiency - concepts that illustrate conclusively how energy efficiency can be increased, and whose approach demonstrates marketability. In this category - unlike the others - awards are presented for concepts, as opposed to projects that have already been implemented. All of the energy efficiency projects submitted will be assessed according to standardised criteria by an expert jury. At the beginning of October 2018, dena will publish a shortlist of the projects nominated. Awards ceremony at the 2018 dena Congress The winners in all four categories will receive their awards during the dena Congress on 26 November 2018 in Berlin. The international competition is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). For details on how to enter free, visit http://www.EnergyEfficiencyAward.de Press contact: Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) - German Energy Agency, Tom Raulien, Chausseestrae 128 a, 10115 Berlin; Tel: +49-(0)30-66-777-652; fax: +49-(0)30-66-777-699; e-mail: raulien@dena.de Website: http://www.dena.de DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 22, 2018 / Puration, Inc. (OTC PINK: PURA) today announced taking over the acquisition prospect previously under a letter of intent with North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: USMJ). Earlier this year, USMJ announced a letter of intent to acquire Turning Point Cannabis Strategies to advance an entry into the California cannabis market. Since that time, USMJ changed its business development plans and is actively pursuing different opportunities that do not include the acquisition of a cannabis business in California. Puration has stepped in to pursue the opportunity with Turning Point Cannabis Strategies in an effort to repeat the type of transaction the Company recently accomplished in Canada. Two weeks ago the company announced the acquisition of Canadian Cannabis Farmers Co-Op to position Puration for the recreational marijuana market expected to be legalized nationwide in Canada this summer. The company followed up the acquisition with an online presentation on the company's overall cannabis cultivation business operation and plans for the future. For more information on Puration, visit http://www.aciconglomerated.com. Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that any of the companies mentioned herein will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the companies' contracts, the companies' liquidity position, the companies' ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Puration, Inc.Brian Shibley,info@aciconglomerated.com+1-800-861-1350 SOURCE: Puration, Inc. Libelium continues to power the Internet of Things (IoT) adding LoRaWAN wireless connectivity for India to Waspmote Plug Sense! and Smart Parking sensor devices. The Spanish IoT company adds new coverage to its wireless sensor network with LoRaWAN 865 867 MHz band This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005023/en/ Photo: Libelium Libelium's Wireless Sensor Platform LPWAN Coverage By 2025, 1 out of every 9 smart devices is set to be connected with one form of low powered wide area network technologies (LPWAN). In support, Libelium offers the widest interoperability with a huge variety of connectivity choices for the IoT in response to strong demand for the LPWAN which is gaining traction globally. In fact, Libelium has recently announced new LPWAN coverage for Australia, Asia Pacific and Latam with LoRaWAN and Sigfox technologies. While North America, Greater China and Europe are, expectedly, the runaway leaders, India is moving ahead in this domain. A recent report pegged the annual IoT growth rate in India (for the 2017-2020 period) at ~41%, over the worldwide growth rate. With proven benefits in a large number of fields from smart agriculture and home automation, to sensor-based weather forecasting, smart water management or smart cities applications LoRaWAN is rapidly gaining in popularity and adoption across the globe. Libelium has quadrupled its turnover in India in the last 5 years demonstrating growing demand in this country. Libelium operates in this area through five distributors -AqTronics, Arrow, Intrinsic, Okkos and Pentagon- functioning as system integrators developing new corporate and smart city projects in a market where investments in IoT technology are increasing. Universities and research centres are also very important in this market due to the development and prototyping of the electronics industry. In India there is a lot of research work, developments and trials performed using LPWAN technology. Moreover, Tata Communications announced recently that its LoRa network will cover most of India by the end of 2019 with deployment in 38 cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. With this update, Libelium releases LoRaWAN IN865-867 radio, for India, adding it to its portfolio with the previous radios: AU 915-928, EU 863-870 and US902-928. Following this release Libelium IoT Sensor Platform is ready to use LoRaWAN connectivity in India, Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia. More information: http://www.libelium.com/libelium-iot-sensor-platform-adds-lorawan-coverage-for-india/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005023/en/ Contacts: Libelium Elena Garcia-Lechuz, +34-976-547-492 pr@libelium.com Continued Global Expansion and New Hires Surge Momentum for Innovative Solutions Addressing Security Operations Challenges ThreatQuotient, a trusted threat intelligence platform innovator, today announced the company's expansion into Central Europe (CEUR) and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. To complement existing international representation in France and the UK, operations have started in Germany and Australia, bringing additional leadership and momentum to ThreatQuotient's globally recognized technology and solutions. Coming off a record-breaking year, and with the support of a Series C Financing round secured in November 2017, ThreatQuotient is focused on accelerating product development and bringing the best technology to market across the globe. Leading organizations are heavily investing in digital transformation, and recognize the need for security to become more of a focus. However, rising amounts of attack vectors and a rapidly changing threat landscape have led these local companies to view security as a bottleneck for economic growth. ThreatQuotient's offerings, including the ThreatQ threat intelligence platform and the industry's first cybersecurity situation room, ThreatQ Investigations, are uniquely positioned to address the challenges by helping organizations understand and act upon the most relevant threats facing their operations, ensuring the optimization of existing technology investments. "ThreatQuotient is building new partner structures to meet the distinct demands of the Central Europe region, and we are committed to developing mutually beneficial relationships in this area," said Cyrille Badeau, ThreatQuotient VP of Europe. Originally responsible for operations in Southern and Central Europe, Badeau was promoted in March 2018 to spearhead the advancement of ThreatQuotient and oversee operations in Continental Europe. "Our expansion to Germany is in direct response to growing demands for digital transformation, and we are looking forward to supporting the security operation needs of this key region." Joining Badeau's Central Europe team is Markus Auer, Regional Sales Manager for Central Europe, and Falk Schwendike, Threat Intelligence Engineer for Central Europe. Auer brings more than 25 years of IT security experience to ThreatQuotient and will be responsible for building the market in DACH and Eastern Europe. He previously held positions at ForeScout Technologies, Q1 Labs, Sourcefire, netForensics and MessageLabs. Schwendike's 20 years of experience in Information Technology and serving in likeminded positions at FireEye, Q1 Labs and InfoBlox, have prepared him to be ThreatQuotient's leading resource for technology issues in Central Europe. Both Auer and Schwendike, based in Munich, joined ThreatQuotient in April 2018, and had previously worked together; proving their ability to develop structures and win customers as a team. Joining in Australia is Anthony Stitt, ThreatQuotient's APAC Regional Director, who will lead ThreatQuotient in APAC by building additional partnerships and relationships across this diverse and unique region. Stitt draws on experience from over two-decades in the security industry, including leadership positions at Cisco and Sourcefire. His role will focus on customer success, sales growth and building ThreatQuotient's channel to satisfy the demand for threat intelligence solutions in the APAC region. Stitt adds, "Across the globe, each company has unique environments and risks to consider, requiring greater threat visibility and customer defined controls. We are eager to expand on the technology partners we have established in APAC in the government, critical infrastructure and service provider space, bringing our collaboration platform to more organizations to ensure their security and intelligence operations are as efficient and effective as possible." To learn more about ThreatQuotient, including the recent launch of ThreatQ Investigations, the industry's first cybersecurity situation room, please visit https://www.threatq.com/. About ThreatQuotient ThreatQuotient understands that the foundation of intelligence-driven security is people. The company's open and extensible threat intelligence platform, ThreatQ, and cybersecurity situation room solution, ThreatQ Investigations, empower security teams with the context, customization and prioritization needed to make better decisions, accelerate detection and response, and advance team collaboration. Leading global companies use ThreatQuotient solutions as the cornerstone of their security operations and threat management system. ThreatQuotient is headquartered in Northern Virginia with international operations based out of Europe and APAC. For more information, visit https://threatquotient.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005116/en/ Contacts: ThreatQuotient Taylor Hadley, 978-877-2113 taylor@golaunchtech.com Ombudsman Addresses Interior Ministry to React to Actions of the Neo-Nazi Groups By Levan Khutsishvili On May 15, 2018, Public Defender released a statement and called law enforcement agencies to react on violent actions taken by the participants of the rally organized by the Georgian March and other neo-Nazi groups on May 13, against the rally organized by the White Noise Movement."It was reported that the members of the counter-protest were threatening marchers from Our Freedom rally by violent statements, physical violence and other violent actions. Also, information about physical confrontation and threats to the Rustavi 2 operator was spread. At the same time representatives of the Neo-Nazi Group spread information that they are launching the Civil Guard Troops."We are launching the Civil Guard Troops to protect our homeland. The agenda should not be dictated by drug dealers and LGBT people. The agenda should be provided by us," said Giorgi Chelidze, member of the Neo- Nazi Group.The Public Defender explains that assembly and manifestation is guaranteed by the constitution, but this right is not unlimited. When manifestation promotes violence, stirrings up national, religious or social hazards and creates a clear and real chance of their implementation, the government can terminate the assembly and manifestation if it is unlawful. When expressing any form of protest, it is necessary that the actions of other persons do not harm other people's rights, threaten other people's lives, health and property. In the present case, the actions of the above-mentioned counter-protest participants exceeded the scope of freedom of assembly and expression, as well as the signs of various crimes can be seen.Even though the police created cordons, which led to a minimum risk of physical confrontation, the counter-ptotest participants were repeatedly trying to break the cordon. Also, part of the protesters violated the police cordon and said they intended to disperse the rally. One of the videos shows how one of the participants of the Neo-Nazi group is beating a woman. Other facts of violence have also been reported.The Public Defender calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia to timely identify all possible criminal acts during the counter-protest of May 13 and conduct an effective investigation to identify the offenders and impose appropriate liability on them, as well as inform the public about the progress of the investigation stages. At the same time, it is necessary to assess the possible risks before every gathering of Neo - Nazi groups and to take appropriate measures to prevent criminal and violent actions, " is said in the statement of Public Defender.Georgian March was created in 2017. Since then, it has been actively fighting against emigrants and sexual minorities in Georgia. Together with other Neo Nazi groups Georgian March has been organizing different rallies, mostly using hate-speech and aggressive methods. Members of the Neo Nazi groups were arrested several times, but 12-13 May rally showed that Neo-Nazi movement is becoming stronger, and it can create serious threat to democratic values of the Georgian society. BAE Systems has received a contract from Lockheed Martin to ensure the readiness of critical electronic warfare (EW) systems on the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. Under the five-year contract, BAE Systems will manage the supply chain and establish the infrastructure necessary to make sure the systems are mission capable and available to warfighters. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005232/en/ BAE Systems has received a contract from Lockheed Martin to ensure the readiness of electronic warfare systems on the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. (Photo: U.S. Air Force, Airman 1st Class Caleb Worpel) "As a leader in EW systems for the world's most advanced aircraft, we understand how critical readiness is for our customers," said Betsy Warren, director of F-35 Sustainment at BAE Systems, Inc. "We'll ensure that the F-35 EW supply chain is in place for Lockheed Martin and the Department of Defense." The EW suite for the F-35, called the AN/ASQ-239 system, protects the aircraft with advanced technology for critical missions. The system's advanced avionics and sensors provide a real-time, 360-degree view of the battlespace, helping to maximize detection ranges and provide the pilot with options to evade, engage, counter, or jam threats. Under the contract, BAE Systems will maintain regional warehouses with on-hand inventories of critical EW components to improve fill rates and reduce wait times. The company will also establish various metrics that will be used to further strengthen confidence in the supply chain. This F-35 sustainability work is based on performance-based logistics (PBL), a cost-effective, outcome-based support strategy that focuses on system readiness. BAE Systems has more than a decade of PBL experience with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and multiple public-private partnerships that support U.S. military systems, as well as more than five years of experience with F-35 sustainment and international maintenance support. For more information about BAE Systems electronic warfare systems, visit: www.baesystems.com/EW. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005232/en/ Contacts: BAE Systems Mark Daly Office: +1 603-885-1144 Mobile: 1 603-233-7636 mark.g.daly@baesystems.com www.baesystems.com/US @BAESystemsInc Technavio's latest market research report on the pallet market in Europe provides an analysis of the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook from 2018-2022. Technavio predicts an emerging trend as a major factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005643/en/ Technavio has published a new market research report on the pallet market in Europe from 2018-2022. (Graphic: Business Wire) The pallet market in Europe is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 6% during the forecast period, according to Technavio analysts. A key factor driving the market's growth is the rising demand for plastic pallets. The demand for plastic pallets has been increasing significantly across the globe. This is due to the numerous advantages such as low weight, durability, safety, and hygiene that plastic pallets offer over wooden pallets. But, wooden pallets are still largely used, and they occupy over 90% of the total pallet market in Europe by volume. The lightweight quality of plastic pallets makes them more pocket-friendly than the wooden counterpart in terms of transportation. This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before purchasing Save more with Technavio. Buy2 reports and get the third for FREEView all Technavio's current offers In this report, Technavio highlights the increasing demand for lightweight pallets as one of the key emerging trends in the pallet market in Europe Increasing demand for lightweight pallets The demand for plastic pallets from end-user industries such as chemical, dairy, wine and spirit, steel, and electrical industries is growing significantly. The single inject molding technology is used to make plastic pallets. Thus, they are structurally more integrated than wooden pallets and can last for more than 10 years. Wooden pieces are put together with nails to make a wooden pallet. Plastic pallets do not break easily and do not require repairs, unlike wooden pallets. "Corrugated pallets, a fast-growing segment of the pallet market in Europe, are gaining popularity due to their lightweight, least damage to goods, and high safety associated with handling. The weight of these pallets is about 70% less than that of wooden pallets of the same dimensions. Corrugated pallets are also 100% recyclable," says a senior analyst at Technavio for research on warehouse and storage Looking for more information on this market? Request a free sample report Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Pallet market in Europe segmentation analysis This market research report segments the pallet market in Europe into the following products (wooden pallets, plastic pallets, corrugated pallets, and metal pallets) and key regions (Western Europe and Eastern Europe). The wooden pallets segment held the largest market share in 2017, accounting for nearly 91% of the market. The market share of this segment will decrease to some extent by 2022. However, this product will dominate the global market throughout the forecast period. The Western Europe region led the pallet market in Europe in 2017, accounting for a market share of nearly 80%. This region is anticipated to lead the market throughout the forecast period. Save big with Technavio this May! Find out what companies are venturing in to beat the heat this summer! Technavio indulges you with a massive 20% OFF on all non-alcoholic beverages reports for the entire month. OR Technavio honors the achievements and efforts of Motherhood this Mother's Day by offering a whopping 30% OFF on all cosmetics and toiletry reports. Offer valid from 7th May for a limited period. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005643/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 www.technavio.com Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - Argo Gold Inc. (CSE: ARQ) ("Argo Gold" or the "Company") has staked additional mineral claims around its flagship and core projects as well as staking the Angela Lake Gold Project. Argo Gold acquired nine claim units totaling 1.7 square kilometres near Angela Lake at the north end of the Birch Uchi greenstone belt in the Red Lake Mining Division. Very localized gold in basal till was discovered in the 1970's in an area with very little outcrop. Further exploration in the 1980's resulted in the discovery of boulders with visible gold, to 0.5 cm diameter on a cut surface, hosted within thin quartz veinlets in a metasedimentary host rock. Initial drilling in the 1980's encountered 0.3 metres of 3.7 g/t, and confirmed that the metasedimentary host rock encountered in drilling was identical to the boulders hosting the high-grade mineralization. Argo Gold believes follow-up exploration activity is warranted at the Angela Lake Gold Project to better define the structure, geology and mineralization. Initial field work is planned for the upcoming field season. Argo Gold also staked additional mineral claims at its flagship Woco Gold Project as well as McVicar Lake, Abbie Lake, Macassa Creek and the Hurdman Silver Zinc Project. At the Woco Gold Project, Argo Gold staked 839 additional hectares to the west-southwest. An airborne aeromagnetic and electromagnetic geophysical survey covering the project area shows the structure associated with the gold mineralization - at both the Woco and Northgate areas of the Woco Gold Project - extends to the southwest. At the McVicar Lake Gold Project, Argo Gold staked 963 additional hectares to the southeast. The mineral claims cover similar geology and structure as the Chellow Vein outcrop located near the southern boundary. At the Abbie Lake Gold Project, Argo Gold staked 80 additional hectares to the east. These claims cover the northeast extension of the Iron Lake Deformation Zone and mineralized gold trend. At the Macassa Creek Gold Project, Argo Gold staked 129 additional hectares to the west and 40 Ha to the south. These claims cover the extension of the Mishibushu Lake Deformation Zone and mineralized gold trend. At the Hurdman Silver-Zinc Project, Argo Gold staked 63 additional hectares to the southeast to cover an airborne VTEM geophysical anomaly that is a known indicator of mineralization at the project. The Company has not yet completed the work necessary to verify the past exploration results and since some of these results are historical in nature and some results predate National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") standards, these results should not be relied upon. In addition, a qualified person has not completed sufficient work to verify these historical results and Company is not treating these results as current. The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and reviewed and approved by William Kerr, P.Geo., a "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 and a Technical Advisor for Argo Gold. About Argo Gold Inc. Argo Gold is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker ARQ. Argo Gold is focused on gold exploration projects central and northwestern Ontario. All of Argo Gold's projects are 100% owned and have indications of economic viability. Argo Gold's website is www.argogold.ca. For more information please contact: Judy Baker President (416) 786-7860 jbaker@argogold.ca NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - Canuc Resources Corporation (TSXV: CDA) ("Canuc" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on exploration at the San Javier Project. Samples taken from the northeast portion of the San Javier mineralized corridor (SRMC) returned high grade silver results of up to 625 g/t Ag over 1.5 metres from breccias at the Chiripas workings. Chiripas is located some 3,000 metres northeast of the Santa Rosa mine workings (see Figure 1). The nearby Little Pit showing also yielded results of up to 477 g/t Ag over 3.8 metres in vein material. The Jazmin working, located further southwest along the SRMC, has also yielded up to 698 g/t Ag over 2.0 metres in vein material samples (see Table 1 sample results). Figure 1. Schematic Plan View of Veins and Showings along the SRMC To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: [http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2906/34757_a1526992786254_80.jpg] * Grid spacing is 1,000 metres "These results clearly indicate that high grade silver vein mineralization, and also silver bearing breccia geology, is evidenced along the full 3 km strike extent of the San Javier structure and the San Javier mineralized corridor. This is very encouraging for geological prospects and vein continuity along trend in the northeasterly direction, and suggests potential for a robust high-grade and vein hosted mineral endowment." Stated Hub Mockler. Table 1. Select Samples from Showings along the SRMC Zone Style Width (m) Ag (g/t) Au (g/t) Jazmin breccia 2.0 698 ---- Uvulama 2 vein 0.85 379 ---- Uvulama 2 vein 0.4 786 ---- Uvulama 3 breccia 0.25 268 0.30 Esperanza dump material Caved, no access 272, 306, 336 ---- Little Pit vein 3.8 477 ---- Chiripas breccia 1.50 625 ---- Chiripas breccia 0.3 619 ---- Chiripas breccia 0.9 240 ---- Chiripas breccia 0.45 465 ---- Canuc also announces that it has released from option 2 claims of the 19 claim ground position at San Javier. These 2 claims, which represent just over 8% of the total claim package, were deemed to have metal budgets insufficient to support their option costs. The remaining claims are owned outright. About Canuc Canuc is a junior resources company exploring the San Javier Silver-Gold Project in Sonora State, Mexico. The Company also generates cash flow from natural gas production in Central West Texas, where Canuc has an interest in nine producing gas wells and has rights for further in field developments. John Nebocat, BSc (Geological Engineering), P. Eng, Vice President Exploration for Canuc, is the Qualified Person for the Company, as defined by NI 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release. For further information please contact Canuc Resources Corporation: (416) 548-9748 cberlet@canucresources.ca Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Statements Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements that include risks and uncertainties. When used in this news release, the words "estimate", "project", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "believe", "hope", "may" and similar expressions, as well as "will", "shall" and other indications of future tense, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and apply only as of the date on which they were made. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements include changes in the prevailing price of gold, the prevailing price of natural gas, the Canadian-United States exchange rate, amount of gas produced that could affect revenues and production costs. Other factors such as uncertainties regarding government regulations could also affect the results. Other risks may be set out in the Company's annual financial statements and MD&A. CCP TopCo, the holding company of international insurance and reinsurance broker RFIB, has announced it is renaming the business to the Risk Transfer Group (RTG). Currently, revenues at RTG are approaching 50 million, and the Company is launching a new strategy to grow revenue to 100 million by 2021. RTG intends to achieve this through RFIB Group Ltd becoming the leading independent wholesale broker in its specialty fields. In addition it will utilise its Limehouse Agencies holding company to both acquire and set up MGA's and Captives. RTG is planning to announce a new acquisition in the next quarter and will create a UK captive management business later in 2018 to support its growth plans. Chief Executive Officer, Steven Beard said: "We are delighted to announce the launch of the Risk Transfer Group and our plans to double revenues to 100 million by 2021. RFIB is currently outgrowing the market organically and RTG will allow us to complement our healthy growth in the broking sector through the addition of MGAs and a captive business. "In the MGA space, we see opportunities to serve both insureds and carriers through a combination of acquiring MGA businesses, and investing in talented entrepreneurial teams. Furthermore, we also see opportunities to use new technology to allow clients, particularly in the captive market, to self-insure with better terms. Our combination of independent broker, MGA and captive insurance solutions provides a range of distinct services to allow us to achieve the desired growth in the coming years." - Ends - Issued by rein4ce on behalf of CCP TopCo Limited About CCP Topco CCP TopCo is the holding company of RFIB Group Ltd and Limehouse Agencies. It was set up in May 2015 and is based in Jersey. About RFIB Group Ltd RFIB Group is an established Lloyd's broker handling all classes of insurance and reinsurance together with risk advisory and related services. Headquartered in London and with an international network of offices, we work with clients of all sizes across all geographies to deliver integrated and tailored risk solutions that meet their business objectives. We seek to develop long-term relationships anchored in knowhow and a high quality service. Calera Capital, a private investment firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco, acquired a majority stake in RFIB Holdings Limited in 2015. www.rfib.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005859/en/ Contacts: CCP TopCo Sarah Mortimer +44 (0) 203 786 1160 +44 (0)7718 882011 sarah.mortimer@rein4ce.co.uk ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC RESULT OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Royal Dutch Shell plc announces the poll results on the resolutions at its Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday May 22, 2018 at the Circustheater, Circusstraat 4, 2586 CW The Hague, The Netherlands. Resolutions 1-18 were carried and resolution 19 (Shareholder resolution) was not carried. In accordance with the Listing Rules, a copy of all resolutions other than resolutions concerning ordinary business at the Annual General Meeting, will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will be available for inspection at: www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/nsm RESOLUTION VOTES FOR % VOTES AGAINST % VOTES TOTAL % of ISC VOTED VOTES WITHHELD 1 Receipt of Annual Report & Accounts 5,153,738,840 98.55 75,760,000 1.45 5,229,498,840 62.68% 10,345,425 2 Approval of Directors' Remuneration Report 3,886,764,832 74.78 1,311,138,457 25.22 5,197,903,289 62.31% 41,918,978 3 Appointment of Ann Godbehere 5,187,992,901 99.10 47,004,936 0.90 5,234,997,837 62.75% 4,822,696 4 Reappointment of Ben van Beurden 5,205,090,607 99.90 5,413,774 0.10 5,210,504,381 62.46% 29,329,055 5 Reappointment of Euleen Goh 5,048,629,738 96.49 183,429,396 3.51 5,232,059,134 62.71% 7,756,826 6 Reappointment of Charles O. Holliday 5,124,783,253 98.36 85,444,647 1.64 5,210,227,900 62.45% 29,601,922 7 Reappointment of Catherine Hughes 5,199,501,814 99.79 10,810,760 0.21 5,210,312,574 62.45% 29,515,871 8 Reappointment of Gerard Kleisterlee 5,044,343,136 96.87 162,791,041 3.13 5,207,134,177 62.42% 32,682,493 9 Reappointment of Roberto Setubal 5,167,672,381 99.30 36,595,480 0.70 5,204,267,861 62.38% 35,535,041 10 Reappointment of Sir Nigel Sheinwald 5,111,836,667 99.60 20,747,249 0.40 5,132,583,916 61.52% 107,228,335 11 Reappointment of Linda G. Stuntz 5,203,101,939 99.86 7,213,243 0.14 5,210,315,182 62.45% 29,485,907 12 Reappointment of Jessica Uhl 5,210,791,215 99.53 24,590,912 0.47 5,235,382,127 62.75% 4,418,709 13 Reappointment of Gerrit Zalm 5,202,358,226 99.85 7,609,969 0.15 5,209,968,195 62.45% 29,812,421 14 Reappointment of Auditors 5,217,719,675 99.81 9,742,622 0.19 5,227,462,297 62.66% 12,375,457 15 Remuneration of Auditors 5,230,632,876 99.92 4,329,783 0.08 5,234,962,659 62.75% 4,849,317 16 Authority to allot shares 5,137,141,227 98.16 96,540,608 1.84 5,233,681,835 62.73% 6,147,614 17 Disapplication of pre-emption rights* 5,187,202,025 99.15 44,252,487 0.85 5,231,454,512 62.71% 8,312,170 18 Authority to purchase own shares* 5,137,518,867 98.19 94,959,983 1.81 5,232,478,850 62.72% 7,312,193 19 Shareholder resolution* 268,063,768 5.54 4,567,121,334 94.46 4,835,185,102 57.96% 404,376,930 * Special resolution Please note that a 'vote withheld' is not a vote under English Law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of the votes 'for' and 'against' a resolution. STATEMENTS RESOLUTION 2 - APPROVAL OF DIRECTORS' REMUNERATION REPORT We welcome the broad shareholder support for our 2017 remuneration report. Shareholder discussions and voting outcomes in recent years, including the 92% of shareholders who voted in favour of our remuneration policy at last year's AGM, suggest that our policy and approach to executive remuneration are appropriate. We work hard to actively solicit and react to all feedback from our shareholders, and hold an extensive engagement programme between a range of shareholders and senior management, including the Board. In these meetings we received a positive response to our decisions in respect of the execution of our policy for 2017 and its alignment with company performance. We also held constructive dialogue on, amongst other subjects, our strategy to thrive through the energy transition and its link to policy design. Notwithstanding this, we also note that a number of shareholders voted against this year's report. We respect the range of opinions that shareholders have and acknowledge the resources they can access to exercise their stewardship. We will continue to engage constructively with our shareholders to reflect carefully on any feedback we receive from them and would particularly welcome the opportunity to work with proxy advisors more closely in the future, to better serve shareholder needs. RESOLUTION 19 - SHAREHOLDER RESOLUTION We believe the vote is a clear and strong display of confidence in Shell's wide-ranging and progressive approach to leading though the energy transition. It demonstrates not only support for our industry-leading strategy, but also clear trust in the ability of Shell's management to implement it. The transition towards a net-zero emissions energy system and a world where temperature increases are limited to less than 2C will unfold over several decades and will require concerted action by many, including Shell. We recognise there are many voices in the energy transition debate and we will continue to engage constructively as we implement our approach. But we must also recognise that the time for action is now Shell is committed to playing its part and, with the clear and ongoing support of our shareholders, we will continue to take sensible steps to help tackle climate change and ensure we thrive through the energy transition. May 22, 2018 Linda M. Szymanski Company Secretary Royal Dutch Shell plc ENQUIRIES Shell Media Relations International, UK, European Press: +44 20 7934 5550 Shell Investor Relations Europe: + 31 70 377 4540 United States: +1 832 337 2034 LEI number of Royal Dutch Shell plc: 21380068P1DRHMJ8KU70 Classification: Additional regulated information required to be disclosed under the laws of a Member State. Luke Stikeleather, CO, to Lead International Nonprofit Dedicated to the Conservative Management of Scoliosis The international Society on Scoliosis Orthopaedic Rehabilitation and Treatment (SOSORT) elected Luke Stikeleather, CO, as president at its annual meeting held this spring in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Stikeleather is the founder and president of the National Scoliosis Center (NSC) located in Fairfax. SOSORT is a nonprofit organization with a primary mission to promote multidisciplinary collaboration among scientists, healthcare professionals, patients and families and to establish "best practice" guidelines in the nonoperative treatment of scoliosis and spinal deformity. A founding member of SOSORT, Stikeleather said, "I am honored to lead the society and its worldwide membership. Together, we will continue advocating for the conservative management and treatment of scoliosis and other spine deformities through an open exchange of knowledge, research, education and training." Stikeleather opened the National Scoliosis Center in 2015, the culmination of more than 25 years of clinical experience caring for children with scoliosis. He recalls, "Witnessing the hardships families face coordinating and traveling between multiple appointments and professionals, I realized the need for a comprehensive, state-of-the-art facility that could address their conservative care needs quickly, competently and compassionately." Today, as a center of excellence serving patients from all over the country and across the world, the National Scoliosis Center is the only facility of its kind dedicated to helping children and adults with scoliosis. Quality, personalized services are offered in-house, including custom-fabricated braces, Schroth physical therapy, Formetric topographical scanning, and ultra-low-dose 2D/3D X-rays using the cutting-edge EOS imaging System. Patients also have access to pediatric orthopedic specialists in the same building. The National Scoliosis Center was the first facility in the Washington D.C. area to offer the EOS system that provides exceptional image quality using 50 percent to 85 percent less radiation than traditional X-ray technologies. Reducing radiation is important to lowering the risk of cancer, particularly in children with conditions such as scoliosis that require frequent imaging. Recently expanding its services beyond the Virginia/D.C. metro area, the National Scoliosis Center now serves patients in a new NSC location equipped with EOS technology in Baltimore, Maryland. For more information about the National Scoliosis Center, please visit nationalscoliosiscenter.com and follow them on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram About Luke Stikeleather Luke Stikeleather, Certified Orthotist (CO), is President of the National Scoliosis Center and also serves as its chief orthotist. He is internationally recognized for his expertise in patient care, fabricating custom TLSO/Rigo-Cheneau style braces that have been shown to achieve better long-term outcomes than more traditional braces. A master clinician, he teaches and mentors orthotists throughout the world, and actively participates in training, conferences, clinical trials and scoliosis support groups. In addition to being a founding member and president of SOSORT, he is an Associate Fellow with the Scoliosis Research Society, a reviewer for the Scoliosis Journal, and was actively involved in the Bracing in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Trial (BrAIST) on the Bracing Evaluation Committee. He is a co-author on several publications and has presented at numerous professional meetings. Earning his BSW degree from James Madison University, he completed a post-graduate program in Orthotics at Northwestern University. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006100/en/ Contacts: National Scoliosis Center Laura Renkes, 703-849-8808 Regulatory News: Gecina (Paris:GFC) has acquired, through a privately negotiated deal with an institutional investor, an office building with almost 5,000 sq.m and 70 parking spaces at 8 rue des Graviers in Neuilly-sur-Seine, creating a combined complex of around 20,000 sq.m with the adjacent buildings already owned by the Group. This operation was finalized based on a price of 30.5m including commissions and fees. This acquisition is in line with Gecina's strategy, aimed at further strengthening its exposure to the Paris Region's most central sectors, where there are growing signs of a rental market upturn. The acquisition of this building, which is nearly 50% let currently, has created an office complex on Neuilly's main road and transport link connecting La Defense to Paris' central business district. Meka Brunel, Chief Executive Officer: "This acquisition is perfectly aligned with Gecina's strategy, thanks to the quality of this building's location and its effective fit with one of the assets already owned by the Group, aiming to further strengthen Gecina's exposure to the Paris Region's most central business sectors, while targeting value creation for our shareholders". Gecina, living the city in a different way Gecina owns, manages and develops property holdings worth 19.6 billion euros at end-2017, with nearly 93% located in the Paris Region. The Group is building its business around France's leading office portfolio and a diversification division with residential assets and student residences. Gecina has put sustainable innovation at the heart of its strategy to create value, anticipate its customers' expectations and invest while respecting the environment, thanks to the dedication and expertise of its staff. Gecina is a French real estate investment trust (SIIC) listed on Euronext Paris, and is part of the SBF 120, CAC Next 20, CAC Large 60, Euronext 100, FTSE4Good, DJSI Europe and World, Stoxx Global ESG Leaders and Vigeo indices. In line with its community commitments, Gecina has created a company foundation, which is focused on protecting the environment and supporting all forms of disability. www.gecina.fr View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006115/en/ Contacts: GECINA CONTACTS Financial communications Samuel Henry-Diesbach Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 52 22 samuelhenry-diesbach@gecina.fr or Virginie Sterling Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 62 48 virginiesterling@gecina.fr or Press relations Julien Landfried Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 65 74 julienlandfried@gecina.fr or Armelle Miclo Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 51 98 armellemiclo@gecina.fr NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 22, 2018 / Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Molina Healthcare, Inc. ("Molina" or the "Company") (NYSE: MOH). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980. The investigation concerns whether Molina and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here to join a class action] On April 28, 2016, Molina reported that it had missed its earnings targets for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, and sharply cut full-year 2016 earnings guidance, citing higher costs tied to administrative capacity issues. On this news, Molina's share price fell $12.46, or 19.4%, to close at $51.76 on April 29, 2016. On February 15, 2017, Molina announced its financial and operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2016, advising investors that the Company could not commit to Affordable Care Act ("ACA") Health Exchange participation beyond 2017. On this news, Molina's share price fell $10.71, or 17.88%, to close at $49.18 on February 16, 2017. Then, on August 2, 2017, Molina announced its financial and operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, reporting a net loss of $230 million for the quarter, termination of its ACA Health Exchange participation in Utah and Wisconsin, and a major restructuring plan. During the Company's related earnings call, Molina disclosed to investors that its administrative infrastructure was inadequate to sustain Molina's rapid growth. On this news, Molina's share price fell $3.92, or 5.92%, to close at $62.32 on August 3, 2017. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com. SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP Regulatory News: Total Gabon's (Paris:EC) ordinary Annual Shareholders' Meeting was held on May 22, 2018 in Port-Gentil, chaired by Mr. Guy MAURICE. Shareholders approved all of the resolutions recommended by the Board of Directors, including: Approval of the 2017 financial statements, including a net income of $108 million (US Dollars) under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and $62 million (US Dollars) under OHADA standards; Approval of the payment of a net dividend of $5.5 (US Dollars) per share related to the financial year 2017 which amounts to $24.75 million (US Dollars); Ratification of Mr. Etienne MBOUMBA's co-optation as director for the remainder of his predecessor's term, until the Annual Shareholders' Meeting called to approve the 2018 financial statements; Ratification of Mr. Olivier JOCKTANE's co-optation as director for the remainder of his predecessor's term, until the Annual Shareholders' Meeting called to approve the 2017 financial statements; Ratification of Mr. Christian Patrichi TANASA's co-optation as director for the remainder of his predecessor's term, until the Annual Shareholders' Meeting called to approve the 2018 financial statements; Renewal of the directors mandates of the Gabonese Republic, of Mr. Olivier JOCKTANE, Mr. Henri-Max NDONG NZUE and Mr. Emmanuel CHAPON for two-year terms expiring at the end of the Annual Shareholders' Meeting called to approve the 2019 financial statements; Renewal of a statutory auditor mandate; Appointment of a new statutory auditor; Appointment of two new alternate auditors; Determination of the global compensation of the statutory auditors for preparing their reports on the 2017 financial statements. A detailed breakdown of the vote tallies will be posted on the Company's website www.total.ga in the coming days. The Board of Directors in its meeting today approved the modalities of the dividend payment. The $5.5 (US Dollars) per share dividend will be paid as from June 8, 2018 in an equivalent amount of 4.66 per share (or its equivalent in CFA francs), based on the European Central Bank's rate of 0.8479 per $1 on May 22, 2018. Payment will be made through the following entities: In Gabon: Union Gabonaise de Banque (UGB) In France: BNP Paribas Securities Services acting on behalf of other banks and any financial institution that manages an account. Total Gabon is owned 58.28% by Total, 25% by the Gabonese Republic and 16.72% by private sector investors. Societe anonyme incorporated in Gabon with a Board of Directors and share capital of $76,500,000 Headquarters: Boulevard Hourcq, Port-Gentil, BP 525, Gabonese Republic www.total.ga Registered in Port-Gentil: 2000 B 00011 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006130/en/ Contacts: Total Gabon Media : Florent CAILLET florent.caillet@total.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - Bayhorse Silver Inc. (TSXV: BHS) (the "Company" or "Bayhorse") updates its progress on the Bayhorse Silver Mine in Oregon, USA. The company has commenced planning the extraction of higher grade material from: the Junction zone, 300 feet inside the mine, the Big Dog zone, 600 feet inside the mine, and the Westerly Zone, extending a further 300 feet past the Big Dog Zone, Silver King Mines diamond drilled the Westerly Zone but mined it minimally prior to shutting the mine down in 1984. Mineralization in this zone lies between 16 to 40 feet above the new main haulage way, which skirts the northern edge of the zone. Processing of stockpiled material continue as well extending the haulage way access into the most westerly area of the mine workings to extract higher grade material. In addition, the Company is evaluating several processing and treatment alternatives to upgrade material with the objective of selling the upgraded material to start generating revenue. Further updates on its operating objectives will be provided as results are obtained. Expressions of interest, on favourable terms, have been received from several parties to acquire any direct shipping material the Company may produce. Discussions are continuing. Operations To date, the Company has been working through stockpiled development material for further processing through the Company's ore-sorter. Assay results on ore-sorter product and reject materials show that the ore sorter typically upgrades the silver in andesite and rhyolite host rock by a factor of 5 times. The Company has identified a new type of silver mineralization in a rhyolite host rock, north of the historic workings, which the ore-sorter has upgraded by as much as 25 times. The Company is processing and stockpiling lower grade milling material that will require upgrading to a direct shipping grade of 100 oz/t (3,100 g/t) silver or better through either flotation or leaching. Excellent silver recoveries of greater than 90% have been reported to the Company by Metals US of Missoula, Montana who have provided their preliminary leaching test results on mineralization with a head grade of 15.7 oz/t silver and have reported silver recoveries of greater than 90%. Final results from those tests are anticipated within 2 weeks that will determine whether a flotation or leaching process is most cost effective for the milling grade material. Stockpiled development material continues to be processed through the ore-sorter. Additionally the Company expects to continue stockpiling the ore-sorter upgraded milling grade material until sufficient tonnage has been accumulated for bulk processing. The Company is upgrading by gravity methods the 800 plus tons of fines created by blasting and mining that are too small to be sorted through the ore-sorter. Mining and Exploration Silver King Mines during its 1984 mining program, extended the mineralized zones an additional 300 feet to the west beyond the Big Dog Zone. The Company has currently extended the new haulage way an additional 150 feet further west into this area. This Westerly Zone forms part of the Company's suggested exploration target extending for a distance of over 1,000 feet containing between 500,000 - 1,000,000 tons grading between 17 - 20 oz silver per ton. This potential exploration target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource. The Company advises that it does not have current mineral resources or mineral reserves for its Bayhorse Silver Mine property. The Company advises it is not basing any decision to mine or produce on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and also advises there is increased uncertainty and specific economic and technical risks of failure associated with any such mining or production decision and it is not basing any decision to mine or produce on these historical estimates. In light of weak silver and gold prices, as well as the recent trading halt caused by an unauthorized news release, the Company's share price has been under significant pressure. Therefore, the Company has elected to close its previously announced 18 cent financing. The Company's CEO, Graeme O'Neill, has sold shares in arranged sales both privately and through the facilities of the TSX Venture Exchange to participate in the current financing. These sales of free trading shares and their replacement with mandatory hold period shares are known in the industry as "gypsy swaps" and offer liquidity without significant dilution. The Company has engaged Apex Geoscience and Dr. G. E. Ray, P.Geol, to conduct a NI 43-101 technical report on the Bayhorse Silver Mine and will file it on SEDAR in due course. An underground drilling program will accompany the preparation of the report. This press release has been prepared under the supervision of and has been approved by Dr. Clay Conway, P.Geo., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101and a Director of the Company. **************************************************************************************** This News Release has been prepared on behalf of the Bayhorse Silver Inc. Board of Directors, which accepts full responsibility for its contents. On Behalf of the Board. Graeme O'Neill, CEO 604-684-3394 Bayhorse Silver Inc., a junior exploration company, has earned a 100% interest in the historic Bayhorse Silver Mine, Oregon, USA. The Company has an experienced management and technical team with extensive exploration and mining expertise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Stocks on the Continent finished the day higher, buoyed by news that China was set to open up its automobile sector more, even as traders waited on political developments in Italy. Boosting shares of carmakers across the Channel, Beijing announced it would slash its duty on imported passenger cars from 25% to 15%, effective from 1 July. Meanwhile, in Italy, President Sergio Mattarella was due to meet the leaders of both chambers of the country's Parliament, with a decision on whether to grant ... 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. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - Xiana Mining Inc. (TSXV: XIA) ("Xiana" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement (the "MAP Agreement") with subsidiaries of Glencore plc ("Glencore") to acquire 100% of Minera Altos De Punitaqui ("MAP"), a producing copper-gold operation in Chile, (the "MAP Acquisition"). Commenting on the MAP Acquisition, Carlos Ballon, Chairman & CEO said: "MAP is an excellent cornerstone asset for Xiana which combines an existing copper and gold production base with significant upside potential. The Xiana team has a track record of development and exploration successes and we are excited by the geological potential of MAP. We look forward to building upon MAP's potential and enhancing shareholder value through organic growth and further acquisitions in Chile & Peru." Overview of MAP MAP is a producing copper-gold operation located in Region IV of Chile The operations are located ~400km north of Santiago and 35km south of Ovalle in the Coquimbo region. They benefit from water and power supply and excellent infrastructure The operations are in an established mining district with over 90% of employees from Punitaqui or Ovalle MAP has a 3,600 tpd concentrator on site, currently processing ore from 3 mines (open pit and underground) 2017 Production comprised ~8kt of copper metal and 21koz of gold (in concentrate) The properties comprise of IOCG, vein and Mantos style of mineralisation and are located in a prolific copper-gold district Current mine life of +5 years with significant upside potential to create a long life, sustainable medium sized copper producer MAP Acquisition Agreement Summary Xiana and Xiana Chile SPA (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xiana) signed the MAP Agreement on May 18, 2018, to acquire the 100% interest in MAP pursuant to an arm's length transaction with Glencore Xiana has agreed, pursuant to the terms of the MAP Agreement, to pay Glencore total cash consideration of US$25 million and to grant a net smelter royalty payable as follows: US$5 million payable in cash at closing of the MAP Acquisition (" Closing "); US$20 million payable in cash, on the date of the second anniversary of the Closing; and a 1.5% net smelter royalty payable in excess of 9 million tonnes of ore being processed at MAP, following the Closing of the MAP Acquisition No finder's fees are payable to any person in connection with the MAP Acquisition Closing of the MAP Acquisition is subject to the receipt of various customary regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). If the Closing of the MAP Acquisition has not occurred on or by September 30, 2018, either party may elect to terminate the Agreement Concurrent Financing Concurrently with the MAP Acquisition, Xiana will be conducting a financing for gross proceeds of up to C$10 million (the " Placement ") through the issuance of units in the Company (each an " Equity Unit ") at a price of C$0.48 per Equity Unit. Each Equity Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (a " Common Share ") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a " Warrant "). Each Warrant will be exercisable to purchase one Common Share at a price of C$0.75 per Common Share for a period of five years from the date of issuance of the Warrant Xiana's existing shareholder, Tembo Capital Mining Fund GP LP (" Tembo "), has confirmed its continued support for Xiana and agreed to subscribe for C$3.8 million of Equity Units as part of the Placement In addition to the Placement, Tembo has agreed to advance to the Company a secured convertible loan facility in the principal amount of C$9 million (the " Loan ", and together with the Placement, the " Concurrent Financing "). The Loan will be evidenced by a definitive agreement to be entered into by Tembo and Xiana (the " Loan Agreement ") which will contain customary covenants, representations and warranties, events of default and conditions precedent The Loan will be convertible, at the election of Tembo, into units of the Company (" Loan Unit ") at a conversion price of C$0.60 per Loan Unit. Each Loan Unit will be comprised of one Common Share and one Common Share purchase warrant (an " Underlying Warrant "). Each Underlying Warrant will be exercisable to purchase one Common Share at a price of C$0.75 per Common Share for a period of five years from the date of the Loan Agreement. C$$645, 000 of the loan amount will be available for drawdown upon execution of the Loan Agreement. The remainder of the C$8.4 million loan amount will be available for drawdown concurrent with the closing of the MAP Acquisition (the " Drawdown Date ") The Loan shall be repayable on the date that is 18 months from Drawdown Date. The Loan will carry an interest rate of 10% per annum for the first year and thereafter 12% per annum (inclusive of funding costs), payable semi-annually. Interest on the Loan will be payable in cash or in Common Shares, subject to TSXV approval, or at the election of Tembo such interest may be added to the outstanding loan balance. Interest payments which are payable in Common Shares shall be based on the current market price of the Common Shares at the time such interest is payable which will be calculated based on the 20 day volume weighted average price per Common Share immediately prior to the date such interest is payable The Loan will be secured by a pledge over the shares of Xiana Chile SPA and the intercompany loans held by Xiana's subsidiaries (to the extent relevant) In connection with providing the Loan, Tembo will be entitled to receive an arrangement fee equal to 3% of the amount of the Loan payable in cash Following completion of Placement, Tembo's stake in Xiana will increase to 21% of the Company (before conversion of the Loan or exercise of any warrants issued in connection with the Concurrent Financing). The proceeds from the Concurrent Financing will be utilised for purposes of completing the MAP Acquisition (including payment of the consideration due at Closing and the transaction costs), funding required for MAP in respect of asset optimisation, conducting development and exploration activities and general corporate overhead expenses Carlos Ballon and Tembo have each undertaken to enter into customary lock-up arrangements in respect of their holdings in the Company for a period of 24 months from the date of closing of the Concurrent Financing Commenting on the Concurrent Financing, Carlos Ballon, Chairman & CEO said: "We are delighted to have Tembo as our cornerstone investor and a continuing supporter of Xiana. The Concurrent Financing enables Xiana to complete the MAP Acquisition and move forward on a strong financial footing to deliver value from the transaction. We look forward to working with the team on the execution of our strategy." Additional Items The Concurrent Financing is integral to the proposed MAP Acquisition and therefore the Company expects to rely on the "part and parcel pricing exemption" allowed by the TSXV policies. Completion of the MAP Acquisition and the Concurrent Financing are expected to occur during the third quarter of 2018 and are subject to satisfaction of a number of customary conditions precedent, including, without limitation, obtaining shareholder approval of the Concurrent Financing and the resulting creation of a new control person, the acceptance of the TSXV and the satisfaction of any conditions which the TSXV may impose. All securities issued under the Concurrent Financing will be subject to a hold period of four months and a day from the date of issuance under applicable securities laws. NRG Capital Partners is acting as Financial Adviser to Xiana. Fasken Martineau LLP and Baker Mackenzie are acting as legal counsel to Xiana in relation to the MAP Acquisition. McCarthy Tetrault LLP is acting as legal counsel to Xiana in relation to the Concurrent Financing. Qualified Person The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Robert Baxter (FAusIMM), a Director of Xiana Mining Inc. and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Baxter is not independent of the Company. About Xiana Mining Inc. Xiana Mining Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on acquiring and developing mining assets in Peru and Chile. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF XIANA MINING INC. Carlos Ballon Carlos Ballon, Chairman & CEO For further information please contact: Tony Drescher (Chief Financial Officer) Telephone: +1 (604) 685-1017 E-mail: ajd@harbourpacific.com Rita Adiani NRG Capital Partners Telephone: +44 (0)203 709 4504 E-mail: rita.adiani@nrgcapitalpartners.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, which includes without limitation statements concerning completion of the MAP Acquisition and the Concurrent Financing. Although Xiana believes that the expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because Xiana can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The MAP Acquisition and the Concurrent Financing may not be completed if required approvals or some other condition to closing is not satisfied. The closing of the MAP Acquisition and the Concurrent Financing could be delayed if Xiana is not able to obtain the necessary regulatory and stock exchange approvals on the timelines it has planned. The MAP Acquisition and the Concurrent Financing will not be completed at all if these approvals are not obtained or some other condition to the closing is not satisfied. Accordingly, there is a risk that the MAP Acquisition and the Concurrent Financing will not be completed within the anticipated time or at all. There is no assurance that forward looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. The forward looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and Xiana undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. **NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES** SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - The American Civil Liberties Union and other privacy activists are urging Amazon to stop selling its facial recognition software to police departments. The organization claims that the 'technology poses a grave threat to customers and communities across the country.' 'Amazon Rekognition is primed for abuse in the hands of governments. This product poses a grave threat to communities, including people of color and immigrants, and to the trust and respect Amazon has worked to build. Amazon must act swiftly to stand up for civil rights and civil liberties, including those of its own customers, and take Rekognition off the table for governments.' ACLU said in a letter to Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon. Amazon claims that Rekognition can identify people in real-time by instantaneously searching databases containing tens of millions of faces. Amazon offers a 'person tracking' feature that it says 'makes investigation and monitoring of individuals easy and accurate' for 'surveillance applications.' Amazon says Rekognition can be used to identify 'all faces in group photos, crowded events, and public places such as airports'-at a time when Americans are joining public protests at unprecedented levels. Earlier, Amazon has said that the Washington County Sherrif's Office in Oregon 'has been using Amazon Rekognition over the past year to reduce the identification time of reported suspects from 2-3 days down to minutes and had apprehended their first suspect within a week by using their new system.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warning letters to three marketers and distributors of kratom products for illegally selling unapproved kratom-containing drug products with unproven claims about their ability to help in the treatment of opioid addiction and withdrawal. The FDA has sent the letters to Front Range Kratom of Aurora, Colorado; Kratom Spot of Irvine, California and Revibe, Inc., of Kansas City, Missouri. The companies also make claims about treating pain, as well as other medical conditions like lowering blood pressure, treating cancer and reducing neuron damage caused by strokes. 'Despite our warnings that no kratom product is safe, we continue to find companies selling kratom and doing so with deceptive medical claims for which there's no reliable scientific proof to support their use,' said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. 'As we work to combat the opioid epidemic, we cannot allow unscrupulous vendors to take advantage of consumers by selling products with unsubstantiated claims that they can treat opioid addiction.' The FDA continues to warn consumers not to use Mitragyna speciosa, commonly known as kratom, a plant which grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The FDA is concerned that kratom, which affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine, appears to have properties that expose users to the risks of addiction, abuse and dependence. Last month, FDA had issued a mandatory recall order for all food products containing powdered kratom manufactured, processed, packed, or held by Triangle Pharmanaturals LLC, after several products were found to contain salmonella. It is for the first time that the agency had to issue a mandatory recall order. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. TORONTO, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TSX Venture: KBLT FRA: 27O Cobalt 27 is pleased to announce the transformational acquisition of a producing cobalt-nickel stream over a long-life, world-class asset that provides immediate cash flow to the Company The world's first producing cobalt-nickel stream on the world-class Ramu Nickel-Cobalt Mine Stream over 55.0% and 27.5% of Highlands Pacific Limited's ("Highlands") attributable share of cobalt and nickel production, respectively, from the Ramu Nickel-Cobalt Mine ("Ramu") in exchange for a US$113 million ( C$145 million ) upfront deposit (the "Transaction") ( ) upfront deposit (the "Transaction") Highlands management estimates a mine life in excess of 30 years As a result of the Transaction, Highlands' effective attributable ownership of Ramu will increase from 8.56% to 11.3% Estimated attributable stream production of approximately 450,000 lbs of cobalt and 2.25 million lbs of nickel in concentrate per year Expands and diversifies portfolio: cobalt and nickel are important battery metals positioned to benefit from global adoption of electric vehicles and grid storage systems Cobalt 27 is in advanced discussions with two local PNG stakeholders which own an equity interest in Ramu (collectively "MRDC") to negotiate a US$87 million stream agreement on the same terms for a proportionate metal stream based on their aggregate attributable interest in Ramu stream agreement on the same terms for a proportionate metal stream based on their aggregate attributable interest in Ramu Ramu has successfully ramped up since construction completed in 2012 and is now operating at peak production and in the 1st quartile of the global cost curve and maintains robust margins at spot and long-term consensus prices. Transaction transforms Cobalt 27 into leading battery metals streaming and royalty company Long-life and low-cost nature of Ramu underscores strength and attractiveness of investment for Cobalt 27 shareholders Ramu is operated by a first in class operator, Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd. ("MCC"), which has market capitalization of approximately US$12 billion Stream has no impact on production cost structure from operator's perspective Transaction to be funded through Cobalt 27's cash on hand and new debt facility; no additional funding is required to complete the Transaction or the additional MRDC stream Expected to generate meaningful free cash flows and deliver significant value to Cobalt 27's shareholders Accretive to Cobalt 27's NAV per share Expected significant potential upside in cobalt and nickel pricing Conference Call scheduled for May 23rd at 8:30 am EDT ahead of TSXV market open, dial in details below Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. ("Cobalt 27" or the "Company") (TSXV: KBLT)(FRA: 27O), is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary Electric Metals Streaming Corp. ("Electric Metals Streaming") has entered into a Metal Purchase and Sale Agreement ("MPA") with Ramu Nickel Limited ("RNL"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Highlands (ASX: HIG), for a cobalt-nickel stream on its attributable interest in the producing Ramu mine, located in Papua New Guinea ("PNG") (the "Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream") which is operated by MCC. Key Transaction Terms The Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream is governed by the MPA, pursuant to which Cobalt 27 has agreed to acquire the right to purchase 55.0% of RNL's attributable share of the payable cobalt metal and 27.5% of RNL's attributable share of the payable nickel metal produced at Ramu, for the life of mine, in exchange for a US$113 million ( C$145 million ) upfront cash deposit payable to Highlands. Highlands, which owns 100% of RNL, currently holds an effective 8.56% ownership interest in Ramu. However, Highlands will use proceeds from the Transaction to increase its effective ownership interest in Ramu to 11.3% through the repayment of its share of outstanding Ramu construction and development loans. For clarity, the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream will be over RNL's pro forma 11.3% ownership interest in Ramu. ( ) upfront cash deposit payable to Highlands. Highlands, which owns 100% of RNL, currently holds an effective 8.56% ownership interest in Ramu. However, Highlands will use proceeds from the Transaction to increase its effective ownership interest in Ramu to 11.3% through the repayment of its share of outstanding Ramu construction and development loans. For clarity, the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream will be over RNL's pro forma 11.3% ownership interest in Ramu. In addition, Electric Metals Streaming will make ongoing payments of US$4.00 per pound of payable cobalt and US$1.00 per pound of payable nickel, each subject to annual inflation adjustments beginning on June 30, 2023 . per pound of payable cobalt and per pound of payable nickel, each subject to annual inflation adjustments beginning on . Cobalt 27's Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream will be secured by a first-priority ranking pledge over Highlands' shares in RNL and a guarantee by Highlands. In connection with the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream, Cobalt 27 has also agreed to complete a strategic equity investment in the Common Shares of Highlands, which will result in the Company owning an approximate 13.0% pro forma interest in Highlands (the "Equity Investment"). Subject to ASX and POMsoX approvals, Cobalt 27 will be provided with anti-dilution rights with respect to the Equity Investment. In connection with the Equity Investment, Cobalt 27 will also have the right to appoint a member to Highlands' board of directors, and accordingly, concurrent with the close of the Equity Investment, Anthony Milewski , Chairman and CEO of Cobalt 27, will be appointed to the board of directors of Highlands. , Chairman and CEO of Cobalt 27, will be appointed to the board of directors of Highlands. Cobalt 27 and Highlands have agreed that the proceeds from the US$113 million stream are to be used by Highlands to fund repayment of Highlands' attributable Ramu partner loans. Highlands currently owns an 8.56% interest in Ramu which, through the repayment of its outstanding attributable balance of the Ramu partner loans, will immediately increase to 11.3%. stream are to be used by Highlands to fund repayment of Highlands' attributable Ramu partner loans. Highlands currently owns an 8.56% interest in Ramu which, through the repayment of its outstanding attributable balance of the Ramu partner loans, will immediately increase to 11.3%. In addition to the MPA, Cobalt 27 has entered into advanced discussions with two local PNG stakeholders which own an equity interest in Ramu to negotiate a US$87 million stream agreement on the same terms as the MPA with a proportionate metal stream based on their attributable aggregate interest in Ramu. MRDC currently holds a collective 6.44% interest in Ramu, which would increase to 8.7% through the repayment of their proportionate share of outstanding Ramu construction and development loans. stream agreement on the same terms as the MPA with a proportionate metal stream based on their attributable aggregate interest in Ramu. MRDC currently holds a collective 6.44% interest in Ramu, which would increase to 8.7% through the repayment of their proportionate share of outstanding Ramu construction and development loans. Highlands has retained the right to purchase an interest in the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream from Cobalt 27 of up to approximately US$15 million for a period of 90 days following closing on the same terms as the Transaction. In the event that MRDC enters into a streaming agreement with Cobalt 27, Highlands will have the right to purchase an additional interest in the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream from Cobalt 27 of up to approximately US$10 million on the same terms. for a period of 90 days following closing on the same terms as the Transaction. In the event that MRDC enters into a streaming agreement with Cobalt 27, Highlands will have the right to purchase an additional interest in the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream from Cobalt 27 of up to approximately on the same terms. Highlands is the ideal project partner for Cobalt 27 due to its deep experience in the region having successfully operated in PNG for over 20 years. Cobalt 27 looks forward to partnering with Highlands to review additional opportunities in Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region. and the broader region. In order to further strengthen the partnership between Cobalt 27 and Highlands, Mr Craig Lennon , CEO of Highlands Pacific, has agreed to join Cobalt 27's Advisory Board. Mr. Lennon has been with Highlands for 17 years and is an expert in the region. "This transaction represents the fulfillment of our promise to investors to deliver a cash flowing cobalt stream on a world-class mine. Ramu is a large world-class, high-margin and long-life asset which we view as the ideal candidate for our inaugural stream. We believe the exposure to both cobalt and nickel, another key battery metal, will yield significant returns to our investors as electric vehicles begin to change our society in the coming years. Our partnership with Highlands will help Cobalt 27 continue to grow its position as the leader in battery metal streaming," commented Anthony Milewski, Chairman of Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. Ramu, located near Madang on the north coast of PNG, is majority-owned and operated by MCC which holds a 67.02% stake in MCC-JJJ Mining Development Company Limited which owns 100% of MCC Ramu NiCo Ltd. ("MCC - Ramu"), holder of an 85% joint venture interest in Ramu. The Government of PNG and local landowners (the "PNG Stakeholders") own a 6.44% stake in Ramu. Following repayment of the Ramu construction and development loans by Highlands, MCC - Ramu's ownership will decrease to 82.3%. The Ramu mine was financed and constructed by MCC for US$2.1 billion which, at the time, was China's largest overseas mining investment. MCC is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of approximately US$12 billion. MCC's interest in Ramu is supported by a consortium of three of the largest enterprises in the Chinese nickel and stainless steel industry, namely Jinchuan Group Limited, Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Limited, and Jiuquan Iron & Steel Limited. The Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream offers a number of positive benefits to the shareholders of Cobalt 27, Highlands and Ramu, including: The Transaction provides Cobalt 27 with its inaugural producing stream and represents a cornerstone asset for the Company to support continued growth through future acquisitions of producing battery metals streams, royalties and related investments. Cobalt 27 will receive immediate cash flow representing a short payback period on a world class stream. Ramu is a large scale nickel-cobalt mine, ranking first-quartile on the global cost curve, and has a long mine life with significant resource upside potential. The Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream will reduce uncertainty for Highlands by allowing for immediate debt repayment of Highlands' Ramu partner loans and accelerate cash flows from Ramu to Highlands. With Cobalt 27's acquisition of the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream from a non-operating joint venture partner, MCC as operator will not experience any direct impact on its production costs as a result of the stream. About the Ramu Mine Construction and commissioning of the US$2.1 billion Ramu mine was completed in 2012 by owner/operator MCC, as its cornerstone asset in a nickel-focused resource portfolio. Ramu mine was completed in 2012 by owner/operator MCC, as its cornerstone asset in a nickel-focused resource portfolio. The Ramu Nickel Mine is a large scale nickel-cobalt asset with total estimated reserves of 1 billion pounds of nickel and 100 million pounds of cobalt. Management of Highlands currently estimates a mine life of 30+ years. Ramu produces approximately 3% of annual global mined cobalt as a co-product metal. Ramu exceeded annual production projections in 2017, reporting net cash flow of US$170 million (unaudited), on production of 34,666 tonnes of contained nickel and 3,308 tonnes of contained cobalt, both in excess of nameplate capacity. (unaudited), on production of 34,666 tonnes of contained nickel and 3,308 tonnes of contained cobalt, both in excess of nameplate capacity. Ramu is among the most efficient nickel-cobalt operations in the world, ranking in the first quartile of the 2017 global nickel asset cost curve. During the first quarter of 2018, nickel prices averaged US$6.02 /lb; cobalt prices averaged US$39.30 /lb and reached over US$43 /lb. In addition to MCC's investment in Ramu, a number of other prominent resource companies successfully operate in PNG and are responsible for significant and widespread investment in, and economic development of, the country in recent years. The most notable of these include Harmony Gold and Newcrest Mining's proposed US$2.8 billion Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture copper and gold mine; Newcrest's US$7.2 billion merger with Lihir Gold Limited in 2010; and, Barrick Gold'sUS$298 million sale of 50% interest in the producing Barrick Niugini (Porgera) Gold Mine to China's Zijin Mining Group in 2015. Additionally, oil and gas majors, ExxonMobil and France's Total recently announced plans to invest an additional US$13 billion in LNG assets and Repsol has had upstream operations in PNG since 2015. Closing Closing of both the MPA and Equity Investment are conditional on certain conditions precedent including, among other things, the completion of guarantee and security documentation, the receipt of requisite approvals, consents and authorizations from governmental authorities and stock exchanges, and the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions customary in transactions of this nature. About Highlands Pacific Highlands is a mining and exploration company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and the Port Moresby Stock Exchange in PNG. Highlands' primary assets include an 8.56% interest in the producing Ramu mine and a 20% interest in Frieda River Copper-Gold Project, both located in PNG.Frieda River is PNG's largest undeveloped copper-gold project and one of the largest undeveloped open pit copper projects in the world. Highlands also wholly-owns the Star Mountains Copper Gold exploration project in PNG. The US$113 million (C$145 million) upfront cash deposit from the sale of the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream is expected to allow Highlands to retire its Ramu construction and development loans, increase its ownership interest in Ramu to 11.3% from 8.56% and significantly increase near-term free cash flows. Highlands is an ideal partner for Cobalt 27 given the company's 20+ year operating history in PNG through past involvement in the Porgera Gold Mine and Kainantu Gold Mine. In connection with the Cobalt 27's Equity Investment, the Company will acquire beneficial ownership of 142.5 million Common Shares of Highlands, representing approximately 13.0% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, following the completion of the Equity Investment. Cobalt 27 is acquiring the beneficial interest in the securities for investment purposes and will evaluate its investment in Highlands from time to time and may, based on such evaluation, market conditions and other circumstances, increase or decrease shareholdings as opportunities arise. Advisors and Counsel Scotiabank acted as financial advisor and Stikeman Elliott LLP, Piper Alderman, and Dentons acted as legal advisors to Cobalt 27. TD Securities acted as strategic advisor to board of directors of Cobalt 27. Conference Call Cobalt 27 will hold a conference call and audio webcast on Wednesday, May 23rd at 8:30 am Eastern Daylight Time for management to discuss details of the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer period with research analysts and investors. Live Dial-in Information Date: Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 Time:8:30 am EDT Toronto and international: (647) 427-7450 North America (toll-free): (888) 231-8191 To participate in the webcast and slide presentation live via your computer go to: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1677966/641F63FCE01A9E392B7229EF4CB84421 Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to hear the webcast. An archived webcast will be available for one year. Replay call information Toronto and international: 416.849.0833, passcode: 5286827 North America (toll-free): 855.859.2056, passcode: 5286827 The conference call replay will be available from 11:30 am ET on May 23, 2018, until 11:59 pm ET on June 4, 2018. Participant audio webcast will also be available on the events page of the investors section of Cobalt 27's website at: http://www.co27.com/investors/events/ Scientific and Technical Information The majority owner and operator of Ramu is MCC Ramu Nico Ltd., a 67.02% owned subsidiary of MCC, and is operated by Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCC. MCC is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock Code "1618") and on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and has a market capitalization of approximately US$12 billion. The MPA has been entered into with RNL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Highlands which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol "HIG". The scientific and technical information in this news release, as well as additional material scientific and technical information with respect to the Ramu project, has been prepared by MCC in its capacity as operator of Ramu and disclosed by MCC and Highlands and is available on MCC's HKEX profile at http://www.hkexnews.hk/index.htm as well as on Highlands Pacific's website at http://www.highlandspacific.com/asx-announcements . All estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources in respect of Ramu in this news release are presented in compliance with the 2012 Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Reserves and Ore Reserves established by the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (the "JORC Code"). Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature in this news release have been reviewed on behalf of Cobalt 27 by Mr. Robert Osborne P.Eng., geologist and President of Osborne Laterite Geology Service Inc., an independent consultant to Cobalt 27 and a "Qualified Person" as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). About Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. is a minerals company that offers direct exposure to cobalt, an integral element in key technologies of the electric vehicle and battery energy storage markets. The Company owns over 2,980 Mt of physical cobalt and manages a portfolio of ten royalties and is acquiring the world's first producing cobalt nickel stream on the world-class Ramu Nickel-Cobalt Mine. The Company intends to continue investing in a cobalt-focused portfolio of streams, royalties and direct interests in mineral properties containing cobalt, while potentially adding to its cobalt physical holdings when opportunities arise. For further information please visit the Company website at http://www.co27.com or contact: Betty Joy LeBlanc, BA, MBA Director, Corporate Communications +1-604-828-0999 info@co27.com Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimates The following are the ore reserves and Mineral resources (inclusive) for Ramu as at December 31, 2016, reported under the JORC Code. The report on reserves and resources was prepared for and are the responsibility of Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited, the operator and manager of Ramu. For reporting in a NI 43-101 format, the inferred resources are not totaled with the measured and indicated mineral resources. The Ramu technical reports and data have been reviewed in relation to CIM best operating practices for reporting and for scope and content of JORC and NI 43-101 reporting through a due diligence conducted by an independent qualified person on behalf the Company. A site visit was conducted and a due diligence report was completed. The scope of this due diligence did not include new mineral resource/ore reserve evaluations from the operating mine (which is prepared by MCC). In the following table note: Ni and Co grades shown to 1 decimal only. Totals are rounded. Dry ore tonnes reflect -2mm economic portion of the recoverable resource. Ore reserve 2016 based on US$17 ,045t nickel and US$25,412 /t cobalt. Variable cut-off grade equated to 0.58% nickel equivalent including credit for recovered cobalt. Ore Reserves Nickel Cobalt (Mt) (%) (%) Proven 29 0.9 0.1 Probable 20 1.0 0.1 Total Reserves 49 1.0 0.1 Mineral Resources Measured 37 0.9 0.1 Indicated 22 1.0 0.1 Measured and Indicated 59 1.0 0.1 Inferred 65 1.0 0.1 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains certain information which constitutes 'forward-looking statements' and 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation: statements pertaining to the timing and completion of the acquisition of the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream and the Equity Investment, and the receipt of any regulatory and stock exchange approvals therefor; statements pertaining to the timing and amounts of cash and proceeds related to the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream and Equity Investment in Highlands; statements pertaining to the use of proceeds from the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream and Equity Investment; statements pertaining to the exclusivity arrangements with MRDC; statements pertaining to estimates of mineral resources and mineral reserves at Ramu; statements pertaining to future production and mining costs at Ramu; statements pertaining to future prices of cobalt, nickel and other commodities; statements pertaining to the adoption of electric vehicles globally; and statements pertaining to impact of the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream on the future performance of the Company. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond the Company's control. For more details on these and other risk factors see the Company's most recent Annual Information Form on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com under the heading "Risk Factors".Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties underlying these forward-looking statements materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements could vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. This news release also contains references to estimates of mineral resources and mineral reserves. The estimation of mineral resources is inherently uncertain and involves subjective judgments about many relevant factors. Estimates of mineral reserves provide more certainty but still involve similar subjective judgments. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The accuracy of any such estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation (including estimated future production from the company's projects, the anticipated tonnages and grades that will be mined and the estimated level of recovery that will be realized), which may prove to be unreliable and depend, to a certain extent, upon the analysis of drilling results and statistical inferences that ultimately may prove to be inaccurate. Mineral resource or mineral reserve estimates may have to be re-estimated based on: (i) fluctuations in mineral prices; (ii) results of drilling; (iii) metallurgical testing and other studies; (iv) proposed mining operations, including dilution; (v) the evaluation of mine plans subsequent to the date of any estimates and/or changes in mine plans; (vi) the possible failure to receive required permits, approvals and licences; and (vii) changes in law or regulation. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this release and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise it to reflect new events or circumstances.The forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - Advance Gold Corp. (TSXV: AAX) ("Advance Gold" or "the Company") is pleased to report that it will present pictures on its website of the entire drill hole intersection of the Tabasquena epithermal vein from recent drilling at its Tabasquena Silver Mine, located just outside of Ojocaliente, Zacatecas, Mexico. It should be noted that the photographs published are not representative of the overall mineralization on the property. As announced in the May 17/18 news release, drilling has intersected 11 metres of the Tabasquena epithermal vein. In addition, a 60 metre intersection of Zacatecas red conglomerate was hit below 20 metres of cover. The Company has prepared a cross section to better visualize what has been encountered in the drilling. Additionally the second hole is now underway and a plan map has been prepared which will be helpful to see how drilling is designed to cut the conglomerate unit and three veins, including along strike in the open direction of the Tabasquena vein, approximately 100 metres NE from the first drill hole. The Company tried to overcome the challenging drilling at the end of the first hole, but have abandoned it due to drilling problems and moved the drill rig and started drilling the second hole. Once assay results from the first hole have been received and the second hole is completed, the plan will be to drill a third hole below the first hole. That would be done in order to determine the complete width of the vein and to test for continuity of grade in the sulphide zone. Allan Barry Laboucan, President and CEO of Advance Gold Corp. commented: "Our exploration team is very enthusiastic about what we have encountered with the first hole drilled into the sulphide zone of the Tabasquena epithermal vein. We have prepared a cross section of the discovery drill hole, as well as a plan map, and are including images of the entire intersection of the sulphide zone of the Tabasquena vein. You can find these maps and pictures added to this news release on the Company's website at www.advancegold.ca. This will help our shareholders and interested groups to better understand what we have drilled into and to get an idea of our goals for our second hole as well as see the core of the discovery hole. We delivered the core to ALS in Zacatecas, Mexico and, once prepared for assaying it will be sent to an ALS lab in Canada. The assays from the first hole will help us prioritize future drill holes. We are a small company with relatively few shares outstanding with a very modest public float and as a result any new discovery made by the Company may have a significant impact on it... It is exciting times for Advance Gold and our Tabasquena Silver Mine in Ojocaliente, Mexico." The core of the conglomerate and vein from drilling on hole one have been submitted to ALS lab in Zacatecas, Mexico for sample preparation and assaying will be completed in an ALS lab in Canada. Assay results for the first hole are expected shortly. Julio Pinto Linares, PGeo, is the qualified person responsible for this release and has prepared, supervised and approved the preparation of the scientific and technical disclosure contained within the release. About Advance Gold Corp. (AAX.V) Advance Gold is a TSX-V listed junior exploration company focused on acquiring and exploring mineral properties containing precious metals. The Company acquired a 100% interest in the Tabasquena Silver Mine in Zacatecas, Mexico in 2017, and the Venaditas project, also in Zacatecas state, in April, 2018. The Tabasquena project is located near the Milagros silver mine near the city of Ojocaliente, Mexico. Benefits at Tabasquena include road access to the claims, power to the claims, a 100 metre underground shaft and underground workings, plus it is a fully permitted mine. Venaditas is a "shadows of a headframe" project, adjacent to Teck's San Nicholas mine, a VMS deposit, and it is approximately 11km to the east of Tabasquena project, along a paved road. In addition, Advance Gold holds a 13.5% interest on strategic claims in the Liranda Corridor in Kenya, East Africa. The remaining 86.5% of the Kakamega project is held by Acacia Mining (63% owned by Barrick Gold). For further information, please contact: Allan Barry Laboucan, President and CEO Phone (604) 505-4753 allan@advancegold.ca Nicosia Capital Investor Relations info@nicosiacapital.com This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors should change, except as required by law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Government's draft Air Passenger Charter will be put up for public consultations and then notified within a month. The government has released draft norms for passengers harassed by airlines over cancellation charges, offloading owing to flight overbooking, delays and flight cancellations. It has also unveiled a DigiYatra initiative that promises passengers a paperless entry into airports but there's just one hitch. This requires a mandatory Aadhaar linkage. That apart, there are a host of other suggestions, including reserving two seats in each aircraft for the differently-abled. These suggestions are listed in a draft Air Passenger Charter, which will be put up for public consultations and then notified within a month. One of the most significant suggestions pertains to flights sitting on the tarmac for hours. Recently, passengers on an IndiGo Delhi-Bengaluru flight were themselves sprawled on the tarmac as a storm over Delhi and then subsequent flight duty timing limits of the crew ensured an inordinate delay. This situation may be handled better in future as the draft Passenger Charter, released on Tuesday, says that when a flight is stationed on the tarmac for more than 60 minutes, sufficient and free-of-charge hot snacks and beverages are to be provided to the passengers. When the flight is stationed on the tarmac for more than 120 minutes, passengers must be de-boarded." Since the IndiGo incident was obviously well over 120 minutes, the passengers would have to be brought back to the terminal. Another significant proposal pertains to ticket cancellation charges. So in case the booking is cancelled within 24 hours for a flight that is scheduled more than 96 hours later, there will no cancellation charges. Though limited in relief, this will allow passengers to think over their bookings and make the necessary changes without sweating over hefty charges airlines routinely apply on cancellations. Existing DGCA rules stipulate domestic cancellation charges up to Rs 3,000 or base fare plus fuel surcharge per passenger, whichever is lower. The only relief the draft passenger charter brings is to those who realise quickly they need to cancel tickets and only when the booking is made at least four days prior to the flight. For all other cases, the existing rules may continue to apply. What about frequent complaints on flight delays and flight cancellations? Well, if the flight delay is communicated more than 24 hours prior to original scheduled time and is for more than four hours, airlines will have to offer an option of full refund of ticket to the passenger. If a delay involves a flight flying the very next day, that is beyond 0000 hours, the airline must offer additional free-of-charge hotel accommodation (including transfers). Connecting flights If you miss a connecting flight because of delay on the arriving flight, you will be entitled to Rs 5,000 for an over three-hour delay and Rs 10,000 for anywhere between four to 12 hours. If delay the delay is over 12 hours, passengers are entitled to Rs 20,000 compensation each. The government had in August, 2016, asked airlines to pay fines of up to Rs 20,000 to a flyer for denied boarding and up to Rs 10,000 for delaying or cancelling a flight beyond two hours if the delay is due to carriers fault. Flight cancellations Theres more. In case of a flight cancellation and when a passenger is informed of the flight cancellation less than two weeks before and up to 24 hours of scheduled departure, the airline must offer an alternate flight allowing the passenger to depart within two hours of the booked scheduled departure time or refund the ticket. In case the passenger is not informed up to 24 hours of the scheduled departure time, the airlines must refund the full value of the air ticket. What happens if the flight is over booked and you are denied boarding? Well, the airline is then liable to pay a minimum compensation of Rs 5,000 and more depending on ticket value. The charter has also suggested that airlines have two front window seats designated for persons with disabilities, which will remain blocked until close to the time of departure. F&B As for airports, there are a set of guidelines for airport operators too in this Charter. All airports must provide: a medical doctor available at all hours that the airport is operational, an ambulance, minimum medical support (including oxygen cylinders and defibrillators) and trained medical personnel. Airports must also provide toilets outside departure and arrival terminals, free wi-fi services for 30 minutes and affordable food and beverage (F&B) outlets. Perhaps former Finance Minister P Chidambarams recent outburst on the price of a cup of coffee at the Chennai airport brought this on. As for paperless travel on a domestic flight, in case you do not have a problem with using your Aadhaar card for creating an identity, all is well. But if you have privacy or other concerns over using Aadhaar, then continue travelling as before, with paper boarding passes and no self-bag drop facilities. Regulator Sebi is probing suspected insider trading by some institutional investors and other regulatory lapses at Fortis Healthcare amid a takeover battle and boardroom upheaval at the hospital chain, officials said New Delhi: Regulator Sebi is probing suspected insider trading by some institutional investors and other regulatory lapses at Fortis Healthcare amid a takeover battle and boardroom upheaval at the hospital chain, officials said. Apart from the Sebi probe that also includes investigation into suspected disclosure lapses, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and registrar of companies are also looking into alleged financial irregularities at Fortis and other promoter group entities including Religare, they added. Fortis is in the midst of a heated takeover battle with five entities bidding for the company along with a upheaval at the boardroom, wherein several directors have been stepping down. There were five suitors in the race for Fortis, including TPG-Manipal combine, Malaysia's IHH Healthcare and KKR-backed Radiant Life Care, which gave binding offers. However, China's Fosun Healthcare did not make a binding bid for the company. Besides, three directors have already resigned ahead of a shareholder vote on Tuesday to decide their future. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had first begun the investigation in February following reports that financial irregularities emerged at Fortis. The company was asked to furnish information and documents sought by the regulator. The development came against the backdrop of reports that Fortis' promoters -Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh - took at least USD 78 million (Rs 550 crore) out of the company without any board approval about a year ago. By Sudarshan Varadhan NEW DELHI (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed in India's Tamil Nadu state on Tuesday when police fired at violent protesters calling for the closure of a copper smelter run by Vedanta Resources, authorities said. The state's chief minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, said police had been forced to act after the protests turned violent, and that nine people had been killed By Sudarshan Varadhan NEW DELHI (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed in India's Tamil Nadu state on Tuesday when police fired at violent protesters calling for the closure of a copper smelter run by Vedanta Resources, authorities said. The state's chief minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, said police had been forced to act after the protests turned violent, and that nine people had been killed. The state's governor put the death toll at 11. The head of the national opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, condemned the use of lethal force, calling it "a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism". Residents of the port city of Thootukudi, located at the tip of the Indian subcontinent, and environmentalists have been demonstrating for more than three months against the copper plant, one of India's biggest, alleging that it is a major source of pollution and a risk to fisheries. On Tuesday, a crowd waving black flags stormed the district government headquarters and an apartment block for Vedanta employees, a company official said, declining to be named for fear of being targeted. Protesters set vehicles on fire and threw stones at police, Palaniswami said in a statement. He said police had been forced to act "since protesters disregarded a curfew, acted against the advice of police", and indulged in violence. "MURDERED FOR PROTESTING" Gandhi tweeted: "The gunning down by the police of nine people in ... Tamil Nadu, is a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured." Local television showed police trying to disperse the crowd with tear gas and a policeman firing shots from the top of a van. Smoke rose from several parts of the city. State Minister D. Jayakumar said in a televised address that it had been "unavoidable" for police to fire on protesters. The plant, which can produce 400,000 tonnes of copper a year, has been shut for more than 50 days and will remain closed until at least June 6 because the local pollution regulator has said it is not complying with environmental rules. Environmental activists and some local politicians want the government to shut the plant permanently. "The inaction of the government has led to the people's protests, and police resorting to firing to control it. Action should be taken to shut down the plant immediately to address this issue," M.K. Stalin, leader of the main opposition group in Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, said in a Facebook post. Vedanta says the protests are based on "false allegations", and that it plans to double capacity at the smelter to 800,000 tonnes per year. "We would like to restart the plant as soon as possible, in a peaceful manner," P. Ramnath, chief executive of Vedanta Ltds copper business, told Reuters. The plant was shut for more than two months in 2013 by an environmental court after residents complained about emissions. (Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Kevin Liffey) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The problem is that the PNB case is seen in isolation even now by investigators. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charge sheet on the Rs 13,000 crore Nirav Modi-scam at Punjab National Bank (PNB), which picks the name one of the former CEOs of the bank served during the scam-period, raises a few questions. According to reports, the CBI charge sheet says Usha Ananthasubramanian and some other senior bank officials were in the know of the fraud, ignored the circulars and kept "misleading" the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about the true state of affairs involving PNB Dubai and the Indian Overseas Bank, Chandigarh . 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," the CBI said in the charge sheet, according to the PTI report. There are a few questions that are worth looking at here: First, it could be true that the continuance of the fraud was facilitated by Ananthasubramanian, but what about the original perpetrators of the crime? Ananthasubramanian was PNBs CEO between August 2015 and May 2017 while the scam began in 2011 as admitted by the bank management at the first press conference where it announced the scam. Between 2011 and 2015 there were two other CEOs for PNBK R Kamath and Gauri Shankar. Were they asked about the Letter of Understanding (LoU) transactions by the RBI or CBI? If the charge is of ignoring banking rules, ie. prudential norms governing the LoU transactions, shouldnt it apply to all? Second, the charge against Ananthasubramanian and other officials is for ignoring RBI circulars and responding to the central bank queries in a misleading manner since October, 2016. Back in 2011, when Nirav Modi first colluded with bank officials to begin the chain of fraudulent transactions using the now-infamous LoUs till 2016, was the regulator then blissfully unaware about of the problems in LoU-linked transactions? Doesnt it mean that the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and various managements have, from time to time, failed miserably to guide the bank within the right risk-management framework? Third, what about all the other biggies in the banking system who committed the same mistake? There were many other banks who may not have linked their core-banking software platform (CBS) to the SWIFT software -- a flaw that was used to his advantage by Nirav Modi in the scam. Modi chose PNB to commit the fraud but doesnt the charge of ignoring RBI norms apply to most other Public Sector Banks (PSBs) as well? Fourth, what was the motive of Ananthasubramanian and others mentioned in the CBI charge sheet for facilitating the fraud? Did they receive any kickbacks? The problem is that the PNB case is seen in isolation even now by investigators. This is clearly a systemic issue where risk management systems have failed when it comes to compliance. Merely passing the blame to the SWIFT software, its disconnect with the CBS system and Nirav Modis criminality wont help. This is a cardinal mistake. PNB should be the trigger to overhaul the manner in which risk management systems function within the banking system. To see things in perspective, one needs to look at the figure of total bank frauds reported post the PNB scam. Thats over Rs 20,000 crore and include Rotomac scam (Rs 3,700 crore), and the Totem Infrastructure scam (Rs 1,394 crore). Of course, these are approximate figures since the quantum of fraud in each case is getting bigger, from the originally reported number, as investigators dig deeper into the mess. The hidden rot wasnt visible till one major bank knocked the CBIs door complaining of fraud. Fair trade regulator CCI has approved the German giant Bayer's proposed $66 billion acquisition of US-based biotech firm Monsanto New Delhi: Fair trade regulator CCI has approved the German giant Bayer's proposed $66 billion acquisition of US-based biotech firm Monsanto, subject to certain modifications to the long-pending deal. The approval to the deal, announced in September 2016, assumes significance in the wake of Monsanto facing opposition from various quarters within India over promotion of genetically modified crops, as also over royalty and patent issues. The clearance from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is one of the several regulatory approvals required by Bayer in various countries to close the deal. Announcing its approval today, the CCI tweeted that it has cleared "acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer AG, subject to compliance of certain modifications". Mergers and acquisitions beyond a certain threshold require the approval of the CCI. India is one of the 30 countries whose approval is needed for the merger of worldwide operations of the two companies. The major approvals still required are from the US Department of Justice as also regulators in Canada and Mexico. After getting the CCI nod, Bayer said in a statement that the CCI has conditionally approved its proposed acquisition of Monsanto. "Obtaining clearance from the CCI is another milestone towards the global acquisition of Monsanto. The combination brings together two different, but highly complementary businesses," Bayer said. The acquisition of Monsanto will create a global leader in agriculture with a broad portfolio, providing superior product offerings and tailor-made solutions to farmers across all crops, in all geographies, the German chemical and pharma firm said. In January, CCI had launched a public consultation process to determine whether the merger between the global giants, to create the world's largest seeds and pesticide firm, will have an adverse impact on competition in India. In India, both entities have a presence in production and sale of vegetable seeds, cotton seeds as well as in production and sale of non-selective herbicides, according to that public notice. Both the companies have a presence in India, with the US firm selling genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds in the country for more than a decade. Bayer group is present in India since 1896 and it has two divisions -- crop science and pharmaceuticals. The group has one listed entity in India -- Bayer CropScience Ltd that posted a revenue from operation of nearly Rs 3,000 crore last fiscal. Bayer India had an annual revenue of 600 million euros (about Rs 4,700 crore) in 2017, Richard van der Merwe, the senior Bayer representative, South Asia, had said in January this year. Monsanto would add seed business to Bayer's already significant crop science and pharmaceutical business in India. By Florence Tan and Dominique Patton SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - China has pledged to buy more U.S. goods to reduce America's huge trade deficit and help avoid exacerbating a trade war between the world's two biggest economies, with energy and commodities high on Washington's list of products for sale. The U.S. By Florence Tan and Dominique Patton SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - China has pledged to buy more U.S. goods to reduce America's huge trade deficit and help avoid exacerbating a trade war between the world's two biggest economies, with energy and commodities high on Washington's list of products for sale. 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. OIL & GAS 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. China's 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 China's 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) - don't 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. In 2017, China overtook South Korea as the world's second biggest buyer of LNG, only behind Japan. China is looking to low cost sources of energy to reduce its use of coal and cut pollution. While LNG shipments have increased, there are only two major export facilities operating in the United States, both of which have largely contracted out their supplies. There are also restraints in China due to pipeline and terminal capacities. Additional liquefaction units are under construction at five U.S. locations. If Chinese companies were to become partners in the U.S. export projects still under development and in need of customers and financing, U.S. LNG exports to China could surge. "At least 13 percent of total U.S. LNG cargos went to China, and we expect this number to grow as more U.S. firms sign long-term agreements with Chinese buyers as their nation continues to develop its gas infrastructure," said Charlie Cone, LNG Proprietary Analyst for energy data provider Genscape. AGRICULTURE China could direct its state-owned soybean crushers to buy more of America's surplus oilseed, said Paul Burke, North Asia regional director for the U.S. Soybean Export Council. That would potentially add 14 million tonnes of imports worth $6 billion to this year's trade bill, at the expense of major exporters, Brazil and Argentina. Soybeans were the United States' second-largest export to China by value, worth $12 billion last year. China easing controls on processing imports of genetically modified strains of corn and fully allocating its low-tariff import quota for wheat would also add to grain shipments. Analysts reckon buying more poultry, beef and pork would be another way to boost trade, but tough import regulations would likely limit volumes without big concessions from Beijing. Beijing removed anti-dumping tariffs on U.S. poultry in February after eight years, but a ban due to avian influenza remains in place. Without the ban, the U.S.-China poultry business could be worth up to $600 million, an industry expert estimated. China has in the past made large purchases of American pork for its strategic reserves. There is also strong demand for imported meat among the country's middle class consumers. But China has zero tolerance on the use of growth promoter beta-agonist ractopamine, widely used by U.S. pork farmers, and synthetic hormones used in U.S. beef. The government lifted a 14-year-old ban on U.S. beef last year, but it has only approved a dozen processors for export. In the first quarter, U.S. imports accounted for less than 1 pct of China's total beef imports, but a pick-up in purchases would challenge Australia, Brazil and Uruguay. "Big (meat) purchases and shipments need time to put together. You can't just turn on the spigot," said an industry source who declined to be identified. (Reporting by Florence Tan in SINGAPORE and Dominique Patton in BEIJING; Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori in TOKYO and Jane Chung in SEOUL; Scott DiSavino in NEW YORK; Editing by Henning Gloystein, Josephine Mason, Tom Hogue, Toni Reinhold) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. On 25 May 2018, Modi will complete four years as PM. During this time, the govt has taken several decisions on economic policy, of which nine are key. On 25 May 2018, Narendra Modi will complete four years as prime minister. During this time, the Modi government has taken several decisions on economic policy, of which nine are key. From financial inclusion to identity and attack on black money to corporate insolvency, these policies have dominated the discourse over the past 48 months. Some of these policies are extensions of past ideas, a work in progress taken forward Aadhaar or the Goods and Services Tax (GST), for instance. Others, like demonetisation and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, are new ideas. In some such as GST, the government received cooperation from Parliament, the States and the media. In others, notably demonetisation, it didnt. For good or for bad, these policies (one each in 2014, 2015 and 2017, and six in 2016) define the direction of the Modi governments economic thinking. Should Modi return to power in 2019, we know the foundations upon which new policies would be built. Should he lose the 2019 elections, it would still push the next government in the same direction, not unlike how Modi has strengthened Aadhaar and extended the MGNREGA. This essay evaluates these nine policies. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana Three months into the Prime Ministers Office, Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, with a festivity of financial records and a flood of political slogans. A scheme to deliver financial inclusion from the top, Jan Dhan Yojana helps unbanked Indians open a bank account, get a debit card, and access to social security schemes like insurance and pension. In terms of numbers, it has enabled the financialisation of India at a never-seen-before scale on 17 January 2018, there were almost 310 million beneficiaries, three-fifths of them in rural areas, with a total balance of Rs 73,690 crore. With an average balance of Rs 2,377 per account, this shows that despite there being no minimum balance requirements, the first steps of unbanked Indians towards organised finance have been taken. Critics have raised issues of privacy and security and these would likely get ironed out, going forward. But nobody can deny the advantages of the poor having access to modern finance. The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act Nineteen months into his tenure, the Modi government brought in a law that speeds up the arbitration of commercial disputes, by getting the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act (ACAA) passed in Parliament. Although the skeleton of the law is as old as 1899 through the Indian Arbitration Act, its evolution and adaptation to conditions of Independent India has been long. ACAA ironed out legislative and legal wrinkles such as the role of Courts sitting in judgement over the arbitrators, before arbitration, during arbitration and after arbitration, as the Justice Saraf Committee on Arbitration noted. The new law has also smoothened out conflicts of interest and brought disclosures by arbitrators into the law. Most important: all arbitrations now must end within 12 months, giving the original objective of arbitration speed the force of law. Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy In its 23rd month, the Modi government cleared the cobwebs of stalemate between the government and private companies in the energy sector through the Hydrocarbons Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), replacing the 19-year-old New Exploration Licencing Policy (NELP). In terms of execution, the fiscal model of HELP, under which oil and gas fields are auctioned to companies, has shifted to revenue sharing from NELPs profit sharing, a major reason for stalemate in the sector. This will reduce the micromanagement of company expenses, which in turn lowers the regulatory burden and administrative discretion. The policy also gives a uniform license for exploration and production of all forms of hydrocarbon like coal bed methane, shale gas and oil, tight gas and gas hydrates. This replaces NELPs hydrocarbon-specific policies often, while exploring for one type of hydrocarbon, a different one would be found and companies needed a separate licence for it and gives a greater marketing and pricing freedom for natural gas (crude oil already had this freedom). But whether HELP will deliver what NELP couldnt remains an open question for now. Aadhaar On 26 March 2016, the Modi governments 23rd month in power, Aadhaar, an identity mapping tool launched by the United Progressive Alliance in January 2009, was strengthened, taken forward and institutionalised. In a country, where elections are won on promises of basic benefits, ensuring that they reach the targeted beneficiaries has remained a challenge for wealth distributive policies, from wages to pensions. While Aadhaar functioned under the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the body lacked statutory support. As a result, the Modi government proposed and Parliament enacted the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act. Today, Aadhaar has become Indias most credible identity currency, and is used while filing taxes, and buying financial products like mutual funds. This along with linking direct benefits such as the public distribution system, employment guarantee schemes, cash transfers to the poor, and opening bank accounts, has been challenged in various courts, and objections to the State collecting personal information like fingerprints and iris scans raised. While these will get sorted out one way or another, Aadhaar has the potential to become one of Indias major soft power exports. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code On 18 May 2018, Bamnipal Steel, a Tata Steel subsidiary, acquired a controlling stake of 72.65 percent in the ailing Bhushan Steel for Rs 35,200 crore. While the import of this news was lost in the din of Karnataka elections, this is the first large bankruptcy resolved under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), a new law that the Modi government proposed in its 24th month and Parliament enacted. In tune with its primary focus time-bound resolution of corporate insolvency the deal is a landmark first step towards ending crony capitalism. According to the World Bank, against the 2016 world average of 2.5 years to resolve insolvency, it took Japan 0.6 years, Singapore and Canada 0.8 years, the US 1.5 years and China 1.7 years. The figure for India: 4.3 years. The IBC aims to consolidate and amend the laws relating to reorganisation and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner for maximisation of value of assets of such persons, to promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit and balance the interests of all the stakeholders. It amended 10 Acts of Parliament and establishes an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India that has regulatory oversight over the insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies, and information utilities and is responsible for implementation of the Code. In a line: this law allows easy exit from a failing business. The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act The 31st month of the Modi government saw a tightening of a law against black money in property. Indias long war against unaccounted-for, tax-evaded money has been through what is known as benami transactions through the purchase of property in one persons name but financed by another, who also controls it. The 1988 Benami Property Transactions Act was weak no powers of a civil court, no specific provisions for vesting of confiscated property, no appellate structure defined. The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, in force since 1 November 2016, empowers authorities to provisionally attach and eventually confiscate benami properties. It also carries jail terms of between one and seven years and a fine that can be upto 25 percent of the fair market value of the property. Within six months of the Act coming in force, the authorities identified more than 400 benami transactions, including deposits in bank accounts, plots of land, flats and jewellery, with more than 240 properties with a market value of more than Rs 600 crore being provisionally attached. Demonetisation The 31st month also brought in what is arguably the most controversial, disruptive and critiqued policy of the Modi government demonetisation. In his 8 November 2016 address to the nation, Modi announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes would cease to be legal tender that midnight. By tuning into corruption at high places and the widespread black money in the economy, Modi articulated a political angst against anti-national and anti-social elements. An additional objective of this scheme was curb fake currency and terror financing from across the border. As reports of individual and small business hardships flooded the nation, and 98.96 percent of the notes returning back to the banking system, demonetisation ended up creating acute individual distress that Finance Minister termed anecdotal. It hit real estate, slowed growth due to reduced demand, disrupted supply chains, and increased uncertainty. Additionally, it caused a decline in cash-sensitive stock market sectoral indices like realty, fast-moving consumer goods and automobiles, and hurt the informal, cash-driven economy. Hardship aside, demonetisation has forced unaccounted-for money to flow into the banking sector, which can and is being tracked. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act Modis 31st month had one more key policy: the introduction of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act. One of the striking and tragic contradictions of Indias policymaking has been around real estate. From acute housing shortages and lack of developed land to speculator-driven bubble-like asset prices with unaccounted-for income and an overriding ecosystem of personal, corporate and government corruption, has placed citizens at the mercy of forces that manipulate markets. The need for a regulator to have an oversight on this complex industry has been languishing for more than a decade. Complicating the issue is that while land and its development is a State subject, consumers are mobile, migrating from one state to another with ease. This law attempts to fix these problems by establishing a regulator to oversee the sector and protect the interest of consumers in the real estate sector through an adjudicating mechanism and Appellate Tribunal. Unfortunately, this law needs to be enforced by State governments, most of which have notified it, but are dragging their feet on the consumer interest side. Unless he revives it, RERA could turn out to be Modis biggest policy failure. Goods and Services Tax Modis biggest reform push, with the greatest impact to public finances, and the strongest tool against tax evasion and arguably the most complex law in the history of Independent Indias the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) was launched in the 39th month of his term. The enabling mechanism was provided by the enactment of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, following which Parliament enacted four Central laws. Further, all the 29 States enacted enabling laws in their Assemblies, while the Centre notified it for all the seven Union Territories. The GST replaces eight Central taxes and nine State taxes, but leaves five petroleum products and alcohol for human consumption out of its ambit. In tune with indirect taxes in 140 other nations, Modi has brought to completion one of Indias longest reforms the GST story began more than three decades ago, in 1985. The structural reform over, minor tinkering will continue, though criticism about its implementation, particularly the huge compliance burden for small enterprises in its initial launch, was needless, bureaucratic and not thought through. The piece originally appeared on ORF. Firstpost has reproduced the article with permission. The e-way bill for moving goods within a state will become mandatory from 3 June, with the country-wide roll out of the mechanism New Delhi: The e-way bill for moving goods within a state will become mandatory from 3 June, with the country-wide roll out of the mechanism. The government had launched the electronic-way or e-way bill system from 1 April for moving goods worth over Rs 50,000 from one state to another. The same for intra or within the state movement has been rolled out from 15 April. So far, 20 states/Union Territories have made e-way bill mandatory for intra-state movement of goods. These states include -- Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. In a letter to officers in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Chairperson Vanaja Sarna said intra-state movement of goods would be implemented throughout the country by 3 June, 2018. "Hence, I would reiterate that the Chief Commissioners of the remaining zones should co-ordinate with the state authority and get the requisite notification issued as early as possible. Also, steps may be taken to publicise the date of its roll out along with exemptions provided," Sarna wrote. Sarna said the e-way bill system is functioning as envisaged and since the implementation of the same from 1 April, 2018, more than 4.5 crore e-way bills have been generated. This includes more than 1.30 crore e-way bills for intra-state movement of goods. While intra-state e-way bill requirement will become mandatory in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep and Chandigarh on 25 May, it will be rolled out in Punjab and Goa from 1 June. Maharashtra will roll out the bill from 31 May. Touted as an anti-evasion measure, transporters of goods worth over Rs 50,000 would be required to present e-way bill to a GST inspector, if asked. The measure is expected to help boost tax collections by clamping down on trade that currently happens on cash basis. The GST Council, in March, decided on a staggered roll out of the e-way bill starting with inter-state from 1 April and intra-state from 15 April. To pocket Rs 450 crore, several businesses are said to have issued fake bills worth around Rs 2,500 crore. The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGSTI) has reportedly busted a scam that involves businesses issuing fake GST bills in order to pocket so-called input tax credits (ITC), worth some Rs 450 crore in this case. According to a report in the Financial Express, the value of the fake bills is estimated to be around Rs 2,500 crore. The report said the fraudster who issued these bills is absconding. But that hasn't stopped authorities from issuing summons to businesses that produced these fake bills, to claim tax credits. Meanwhile, the DGGSTI, on Monday, unearthed a fraud in Jaipur that involved a gang generating fake GST bills to claim ITCs. The gang, according to a report in Hindustan Times, is also involved in issuing GST registration numbers in the names of dead people. 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 was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times. The GST fraud was busted followed search operations at 21 business and residential establishments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi on 18 May. Firstpost could not independently verify whether the two incidents are connected. It is worth mentioning here that the GST department had, last week, arrested two persons in Mumbai for allegedly duping the exchequer of Rs 127 crore, by issuing fake GST invoices and not paying the service tax. Amit Upadhyay (40) and Asad Anwar Sayed (42) were remanded to judicial custody for 15 days by a Mumbai court. Between April 2016 to June 2017, Upadhyay, a Mumbai-based businessman, collected service tax of Rs 47 crore but did not deposit the amount with the Service Tax department. Further, he allegedly received Rs 79.38 crore through fake GST invoices generated with the help of Sayed, who owns a computer solutions company, with the intention of evading tax. With inputs from PTI RIL arm Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd will reportedly provide a Rs 12.20 crore loan to the Estonian unit to start operations. Telecom operator Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is reportedly planning to expand overseas and could set up a subsidiary in Estonia, a small north European country that has, in recent times, become a favourite investment destination for startups owing to its business-friendly policies. According to a report in the Mint, Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL) subsidiary Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd will provide a loan of Rs 12.20 crore to the Estonian unit to begin operations. Thanks to its sophisticated e-solutions, over the last decade, Estonia has transformed itself into one of Europes business success stories. Indian companies would certainly wish to collaborate and imbibe e-governance solutions in this regard and Jio is no exception, a person familiar with the development was quoted as saying by the Mint. In March, in a meeting with an Estonian government delegation, RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani expressed his desire to collaborate with that nation to develop better e-governance solutions for India. A statement from RIL had said that Ambani is looking to replicate the innovative solutions offered by Estonia in India. The statement also said that Ambani expressed an interest in Estonia's 'e-residency programme', which will give him and his businesses easy access to the European Union (EU). The e-residency programme -- which offers startups access to a government-issued digital ID, thus enabling the opening of a global EU company fully online while working from anywhere in the world -- is the gateway to do business in Europe, said Ambani. "We believe your solutions are easily scalable to India. We wish to have a very close cooperation with your talent in Estonia," he added. With inputs from IANS (Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd) RBI must wake up and institutionalise systems audit and make it mandatory. This is like periodic maintenance of machinery It is now universally acknowledged that banks, more than other businesses, lend themselves to technology-led operations, often rendering human interference or interface unnecessary. Technology-driven banks do not in fact have any interface with their savings account customers once their accounts have been opened. Thereafter, it is technology-driven systems all the way, be it cash withdrawal, net-banking or ordering of cheque books. Even banking operations among banks and their branches are largely consummated through systems like SWIFT. In the event, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was right in alerting banks in India to the dangers of systems being compromised or corrupted or hacked. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has been accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of being blase or deliberately indifferent to the RBI warning. Banks subject themselves to numerous audits, most of them financial. In addition to the year-end audit culminating in auditor reporting to the RBI and shareholders, there are internal audits galore---revenue audit, expenditure audit, concurrent audit etc. This gives one the impression that banking staff suffer from auditing fatigue. But the auditing overkill hasnt shored up the fortunes of Indian banks, particularly the PSBs. Feverish auditing activity does not automatically translate into perfection. Everything we do in our lives must be relevant and well-directed. That applies to auditing as well. What is the point in having so many rounds of auditing albeit with different focuses when the wood is missed for the trees. It is the systems, silly. Core banking, internet-banking and money transfers across continents with the click of mouse all call for heightened systems safety and precautions. RBI must wake up and institutionalise systems audit and make it mandatory. This is like periodic maintenance of machinery. For a bank, its systems are its machinery and plant. Unless they are in order and beyond corruption, no amount of financial audit can insulate it from losses arising out of systemic failure. PNB-Nirav Modi fraud is a classic example of fraudsters infiltrating the banking systems taking advantage of systemic weaknesses. The systems audit that is suggested herein necessarily has to focus more on prevention of manipulations and fraud. Yes a system should be fool-proof. Who can ensure this? Certainly not chartered accountants unless they also have armed themselves with information technology qualifications and experience. It is trite that the one who created the system should not be the one who is reviewing it. Thus if Infosys has developed and installed the banking software for a bank, its annual review must be done by its rival say TCS. And the next year by Wipro and so on. Peer review after all is healthy though cynics say it is all about pitting one expert against another. A surgeons failure is reviewed in the weekly peer review meetings in the US by another surgeon so as to keep both of them on their toes. It is not necessary that the systems audit must be an annual exercise. If the RBI feels this would be disruptive and costly, it can mandate it for every second or third year. Experience shows that in a technology-driven environment, robust, efficient and fool-proof systems can render perpetration of frauds extremely difficult if not impossible. The systems audit by IT professionals should not be construed as a slight to chartered accountants who historically have been hogging all auditing work though it is not necessary that only rival IT firms must undertake this exercise. CAs can be allowed to do it provided they suitably arm themselves with the requisite expertise. They have woken up to the need for learning forensic auditing skills after taking shelter behind the smug we-are-not-bloodhounds-but-only-watchdog alibi for long. Time and technology move with inexorable speed. Those who refuse to emerge out of time warp are left behind. Perhaps it is also time for chartered accountants to acquire IT skills so as to qualify for the demanding job of auditing systems rooted in technology. (The author is a senior columnist and tweets @smurlidharan) With SoftBank deciding to exit Flipkart, Walmart and Tiger could get Google parent Alphabet to buy into the Indian e-commerce story. After weeks of uncertainty, Japan's SoftBank Group Corp has finally decided to sell its 21 percent stake in Flipkart to US retail behemoth Walmart, according to a media report. SoftBank has decided that it will sell its stake in Flipkart as it has come to an agreement with Walmart on the same, a person familiar with the development was quoted as saying by The Times of India. SoftBank's Masayoshi Son was uncertain on whether to exit India's largest e-commerce player, or stay invested. One of the factors behind the dilemma was the tax SoftBank has to cough up on profits earned from the Flipkart stake sale. SoftBank's $2.5 billion investment in Flipkart will now fetch up to $4.5 billion. A $2 billion profit will be taxed as per Indian law -- as the profit accrued is from shares that were held for over two years, it will attract a long-term capital gains tax of 20 percent plus surcharge and education cess, effectively wiping away a fourth of the profit. Another factor was Son's relationship with Walmart and SoftBank's strategy to be a long-term investor. Meanwhile, a report in the Business Standard, on 21 May, said that Google parent Alphabet Inc. is still undecided over buying a minority stake in Flipkart. Walmart and American hedge fund Tiger Global have reportedly held multiple rounds of discussions with Google to convince the internet giant to invest in the Indian firm. Alphabet's hesitancy, according to the Business Standard, followed SoftBank's uncertainty. Now, with SoftBank's decision regarding its exit from Flipkart, Walmart and Tiger could get Alphabet to buy into the Indian e-commerce story. With inputs from PTI Domestic giant Tata Steel on Tuesday said it will raise Rs 16,500 crore through debt instruments to fund Rs 32,500 crore acquisition of Bhushan Steel Ltd (BSL) New Delhi: Domestic giant Tata Steel on Tuesday said it will raise Rs 16,500 crore through debt instruments to fund Rs 32,500 crore acquisition of Bhushan Steel Ltd (BSL). The remaining amount will be raised through internal resources, it said. The banks, according to industry experts, are expected to take a whopping haircut of about 30-35 percent in the sale of BSL to an arm of Tata Steel. However, Tata Steel refused to comment on the haircut taken by the banks and financial institutions. "We will be paying a total consideration of Rs 35,200 crores. This is expected to give us about 72.65 percent equity in the company and close to 100 percent of economic interest in the company because of the way in which the transaction has been structured," Tata Steel told PTI in an e-mailed response. From a financing perspective, it said, the transaction is largely financed by "our cash and incremental debt is only about Rs 16,500 crores which will be raised on the target balance sheet eventually". The company said Bhushan Steel will have about Rs 16,500 crore of secured debt and it would be contributing significant amount of its own capital into the BSL, so the incremental capital structure will be healthy and sustainable for the future. "And we believe that with synergies getting realized over a period of time, we have a good match between the earnings capability of the entire facilities and assets and the capital structure that we are putting in," it said. Stressing that Bhushan Steel has been a very important acquisition for the company, it said Bhushan Steel's Odisha plant is 150 kms away from Tata Steel's Kalinganagar plant. "It is a running plant with good facilities and we believe it will complement our existing footprint, not only in Odisha but also in the important markets that we operate in. We hope to achieve a kind of 100 percent ramp up in the next couple of years, and we see significant scope for additional synergies and improvement in the operating KPIs (key performance indicators)," the steel giant said. Bhushan Steel is currently operating at around 3-3.5 million tonnes, Tata Steel said, adding that it expects the plant to be operational at 4-4.5 MT level quite easily. Bamnipal Steel Ltd (BNPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, completed the acquisition of controlling stake of 72.65 percent in Bhushan Steel Ltd (BSL) last week. Leading law firm Amarchand Mangaldas was advisor to the Committee of Creditors (CoC). Tata Steel Ltd had won the bid to acquire debt-laden BSL in an insolvency auction. The bankrupt firm was among the 12 stressed assets the RBI had referred for NCLT proceedings last year. Experts doubt the EPFO's payroll data because it does not reflect true job creation in the country as it also includes job changes. New Delhi: As many as 39.36 lakh new jobs were created during 7-month period ending March this year, as per the latest retirement fund body EPFO's payroll data. According to the latest data, as many as 6.13 lakh new jobs were created in the month of March this year, which is higher than 5.89 lakh payrolls with the Employment Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in February this year. The data shows that the half of the payrolls were created in the expert service segment across all age buckets or groups. The segments where job creation was substantial were electric, mechanical or general engineering products followed by building and construction industry, trading & commercial establishments and textiles. The data clearly indicates that over half of the jobs created in organised sector were in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat during the seven-month period till March this year. The first set of payroll data was released by the EPFO last month. Some of the experts had raised doubts over construing job creation from the statistics. They had said that this data does not reflect true job creation in the country as it includes job changes also by employees. The EPFO has uploaded the data with disclaimers that the data for most recent months are provisional as updation of employees records is a continuous process and are likely to be updated in subsequent months. The body also said that this is age-band wise data of all non-zero contributors that are registered under the EPFO during particular month. The estimates may include temporary employees whose contributions may not be continuous for the entire year, it added. The EPFO manages social security funds of workers in the organised/semi organised sector in India. It has more than 6 crore active members (with at least one month contribution during the year). In a big boost to air connectivity in North East, Air India flew its first aircraft from Guwahati to Pasighat with Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu. In a big boost to air connectivity in the North East, Air India flew its first 48-seater aircraft from Guwahati to Pasighat with Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, as its first passenger. The Alliance aircraft is a subsidiary of Air India and covers a distance of 650 kilometres from Guwahati to Pasighat. "Today is a historic day and I congratulate the people of Arunachal in general and people of Pasighat in particular for this new milestone that would remain engraved in history as a huge step in the development of our state," Khandu said on Monday while addressing a ceremony to mark the occasion at the civilian terminal of the Pasighat airport. Khandu also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing air connectivity to the state. The Arunachal Pradesh chief minister also tweeted a picture of his boarding pass, saying, "It will be a historic moment for Arunachal and a remarkable step in the history of civil aviation." He later uploaded a video of his safe landing, saying, "Landed safely at Pasighat airport a few minutes ago flying from Guwahati on Alliance Air. Proud to be part of this historic moment. I am extremely thankful to Narendra Modiji and the Ministry of Civil Aviation for connecting Arunachal with airways." This came upon persuasion from the state government after Khandu came to power. Accordingly, Air India agreed to start ATR-42 services of Alliance Air to Pasighat from Guwahati's Gopinath Bordoloi airport, connecting the state with rest of the country. In the second round of bidding, ie Regional Connectivity Scheme-UDAN 2, eight locations in Arunachal Pradesh were selected by bidders. Of the locations, Pasighat and Tezu have been selected for fixed wing while Ziro, Daporijo, Itanagar, Tuting, Wallong and Yingkiong have been selected for helicopter services. Khandu said with air connectivity, the state's economy would also get a boost. The 42-seat Alliance Air ATR will fly between Guwahati and Pasighat three times a week. Besides Alliance Air, which is a subsidiary of Air India, Zoom Air and Turbo Jet are also set to commence their services soon. There are about 120 helipads and 10 Advance Landing Ground (ALG): Ziro, Pasighat, Aalo, Tuting, Mechuka, Vijaynagar, Walong, Tezu, Daporijo and Alinye, in the state. Khandu along with deputy chief minister Chowna Mein, Assembly Speaker TN Thongdok and other Cabinet ministers and legislators became the first passengers of the maiden flight from Guwahati airport. They landed at Pasighat two hours and 20 minutes after taking off from Guwahati at 12.44 pm. Pasighat airport was originally an Advance Landing Ground (ALG) which was used both for the army or the air force and occasionally for civilian travel as well. It's situated inside the town which is 260 kilometres from Itanagar and about 350 kilometres from the India-China border. With inputs from IANS The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) will announce the Bihar board Class 10th result at 4.30 pm on 26 June. The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has announced the Bihar board Class 10th result at 4.30 pm on 26 June, the board said in a statement. The result was declared on BSEB's official website, biharboard.ac.in. The BSEB conducted the Bihar board Class 10th exam from 21 to 28 February. The practical examinations were held from 22 to 24 January. Below are the steps to check the results: - Log on to the BSEB website biharboard.ac.in - Go to the 'Results' tab and click on the link for 'Class 10th Results 2018'. - Enter the candidate's roll number. - Click on 'save' to download the result. Students can take a print out for further reference According to reports, nearly 17.70 lakh students appeared in the Bihar Board Class 10th (Matric) exam in 1,426 centres across the state. The BSEB had arranged counselling session over the telephone for the students to help them any confusion regarding the exam. 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. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in. The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is expected to declare the results for Class 10th board examinations at 4.30 pm on 26 June. Students can check the result on biharboard.ac.in. The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has released the results for Class 10th board examinations at 4.30 pm on 26 June. Students can check the result on the official board website, biharboard.ac.in. Students can also check their results at News18Bihar.com. The board had announced the Class 12th results on 6 June. The Bihar board Class 10th results were initially scheduled to be released on 10 May whereas the HSC +2 results were scheduled to be released on 12 May. The Class 10th result was then postponed to 20 May and Class 12th result postponed to 18 May. A total of 17,70,42 lakh students sat for the BSEB Class 10th exams and 12,07,986 students appeared for the BSEB Class 12th board exam in 2018. The Class 10th exams were held from 21 to 28 February, while the Class 12th exams were held from 6 to 16 February. Here is how Class 10th and Class 12th students can respectively check their results: - Go to the board's official website: biharboard.ac.in. - Click on the link displayed on the site for Class 10th results. - Enter your roll number and other details and press submit. - Take a printout of your results for future reference. NDTV reported that this year, the Bihar board used bar-coded answer sheets instead of the normal ones to avoid cheating and other unfair practices. The board had also introduced 50 percent objective questions for which students were provided with a different OMR sheet. Officials have completed evaluating the answer sheets and are now decoding the same, the report adds. According to a report in DNA, the BSEB conducts Annual Secondary School Examinations every year in the month of February/March and Supplementary School Examination in the month of August/September on the basis of course/syllabus as prescribed by the state government. 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. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in. Following the reports of a Dalit rag picker being beaten to death by five people in Rajkot district's Shapar town, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Gujarat government. Following the reports of a Dalit ragpicker being beaten to death allegedly by five people in Rajkot district's Shapar town, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Gujarat government and sought a report from chief secretary within four weeks. "The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of media report that a 40-year-old Dalit ragpicker was beaten to death at Shapar village in Rajkot district on 20 May, allegedly over the issue of collecting scraps in the area", the commission said in a statement. Mukesh Vaniya and his wife Jayaben were picking through garbage near Radadiya Industries in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) area on Sunday when they were allegedly beaten by the accused, including the owner of the factory. While Vaniya was reportedly beaten to death, Jayaben was roughed up. The commission observed that if the details highlighted in the media are true, it raises a "serious issue" of violation of human rights. "Accordingly, it (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Gujarat, calling for a report in the matter within four weeks along with measures taken for relief to the affected families", the NHRC said in a report. A video of the incident purportedly showing two people taking turns to beat 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 accused on Monday based on the video. They were booked under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (POA) Act and sections of the IPC relating to murder, assaulting a woman and wrongful confinement. An investigation is underway. Dalit leader and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani took up this issue on social media. '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, 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", Mevani said in a Facebook post. According to a report in The Hindu, the Gujarat government has announced compensation of Rs 8.5 lakh to the victims family and given an assurance that the guilty would not be spared. With inputs from PTI The Archbishop of Delhi, Anil Couto, has come out with a circular, asking Christians to offer prayers and observe a day of fast on every Friday for a 'secular nation' ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Archbishop of Delhi, Anil Couto, has come out with a circular, asking Christians to offer prayers and observe a day of fast on every Friday for a "secular nation" ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The letter, as published in an AsiaNews article, calls upon all Catholics to embark upon a year-long election campaign. Here is the full text of the letter: Dear Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, 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. It is our hallowed practice to pray for our country and its political leaders all the time but all the more so when we approach the General Elections. As we look forward towards 2019 when we will have [a] 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. I request that we observe a Day of Fast every Friday of the week by foregoing 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 institutions, specifically praying for our nation. During this Adoration the enclosed Prayer may be recited. With kind regards. *Archbishop of Delhi According to an NDTV report, along with the letter is attached a prayer that all churches have been instructed to read out during mass, which says: "May the ethose of true democracy envelop our elections with dignity and the flames of honest patriotism enkindle our political leaders. This is our cry, Heavenly Father, in these troubled times as we see the clouds eclipsing the light of truth, justice and freedom." However, the Archbishop's office has denied any political motive in the prayer, calling it a standard practice before elections. Archbishops secretary, Father Robinson Rodrigues told The Times of India that such prayer campaigns took place before every general election, but the exercise was being politicised this time. "The call for prayer for peace and free and fair elections happens before every election. It happened in 2014 and before that too. Only this time a political colour is being deliberately given to the whole exercise by some people, Father Rodrigues said. But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) haven't taken kindly to this diktat of the Archbishop. RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha termed the move as a "direct attack on Indian secularism and democracy". "This is a direct attack by the Church on Indian secularism and democracy, and this is a direct intervention by the Vatican as these Bishops are appointed by the Pope. Their accountability is not to India but to Pope," Sinha told the Outlook magazine. "Another big reason for this is after the formation of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, church-oriented NGOs, received less money due to stricter laws. The Church organisations used to take this money for a variety of cause but in reality, utilise this only for religious conversions. They want a government to be made so that their conversion business flourishes," Sinha added. Sinha also took to Twitter to vent his thoughts on the matter. "Missionaries by meddling in politics giving bad name to Indian Christians. "Conversion Enterprise' is facing threat under nationalist government. Cash flow under FCRA is reduced from RS 17773 crores in 2015-16 to 6795 crores in16-17. This had hit them very hard," he tweeted. BJP's Shaina NC also criticised the Archbishop's circular, saying, "Wrong to try and instigate castes or communities. You can tell them to vote for the right candidate or party but to suggest to vote for one party and not another and term yourself as secular is unfortunate." While Home Minister Rajnath Singh, commenting on the matter, told PTI, "Discrimination on basis of religion, sect or any such thing not allowed in India" However, it is not the first time the Church has delivered statements of this sort ahead of elections. In December 2017, during the Gujarat Assembly elections, the Archbishop of Gandhinagar Thomas Macwan issued a letter to defeat the nationalist forces and prevent them from taking over the country. Various churches were hell-bent on defeating the BJP in the recently held elections in the northeastern states like Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, even though people shunned their divisive agenda. A court on Tuesday issued a notice to Delhi Police on the basis of a plea by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking visuals and statement recorded by the agency in connection with an alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by two Aam Admi Party (AAP) MLAs on 19 February. New Delhi: A court on Tuesday issued a notice to Delhi Police on the basis of a plea by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking visuals and statement recorded by the agency in connection with an alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by two Aam Admi Party (AAP) MLAs on 19 February. The Delhi Police had on Friday questioned Kejriwal and sought to know from him about the sequence of events on the fateful day. Kejriwal's counsel BS Joon requested Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal to direct the investigating officer to supply a copy of the CD of the statement, which was recorded by the police on 18 May. The court has directed the investigating officer to appear in person on 29 May, the next date fixed for hearing. Kejriwal told the court that last Friday, the Delhi Police had video graphed the proceedings related to his recording of the statement. He apprised the court later that day, the police told the media that Kejriwal evaded certain questions by not giving specific and proper answers, which according to him is factually incorrect. "The Chief Minister may again be questioned and if needed the police will also question Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, as Kejriwal did not give 'satisfactory answers'," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Harendra Singh told the media after about three-hour-long questioning on Friday. Kejriwal alleged that the conduct of police indicated that they could go to any extent to frame him or other AAP leaders in the case or tamper with the statement which was recorded as a witness in the case. A fire broke out at the Okhla landfill site in south Delhi on Tuesday, a Delhi Fire Service official said. New Delhi: A fire broke out at the Okhla landfill site in south Delhi on Tuesday, a Delhi Fire Service official said. The incident was reported at 12.43 pm after which eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was doused by 5.15 pm, the official said. The massive dump in south Delhi was commissioned in 1996. "In south Delhi, 3,500 MT of waste is generated daily. And, 56 percent of the solid waste is processed. The Okhla site has not only become an eyesore but many of the garbage truck drivers have lost lives, over the last few years," according to a senior SDMC official. The city has two other landfill sites, Ghazipur in east Delhi and Bhalswa in north Delhi, both commissioned in 1984. Environmentalist Anumita Roychowdhury said such landfill site are not only a threat from fire incidents but also from pollution perspective. "Spontaneous fire at these sites keep happening, small or big. But, the burning also produce noxious gases and therefore that is another health risk," she said. "But, more than managing these landfill sites, our policies should be, as globally is being done, is to go for a zero landfill policy and, instead recover and recycle and contribute to the circular economy," said Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Centre For Science and Environment (CSE) in New Delhi. Incidentally, bot the South an East Delhi Municipal Corporations have joined hands with experts from IIT-Delhi to stabilise the landfill sites in their areas. "We need to go for systemic solutions instead of just symptomatic solutions," Roychowdhury said. New Delhi rules that air ticket cancellation charges must not be higher than the base fare plus fuel charge. Unveiling the draft Air Passenger Charter on Tuesday, Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, said flyers will not have to pay a cancellation charge if they cancel their tickets within 24 hours of booking them. However, the aforementioned applies only for a flight scheduled to depart within 96 hours of the tickets being booked, said the minister, according to CNN-News18. Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Shri @jayantsinha briefing the media on the proposed Passenger Charter and aspects of Air Sewa etc., in New Delhi. Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Shri R.N. Choubey is also seen pic.twitter.com/mrOzUYmsyH MIB India (@MIB_India) May 22, 2018 "If a flight is cancelled and it is the airlines' fault, then the passenger has to be compensated or ticket has to be refunded. The passenger will be compensated in various ways," Sinha was quoted as saying by ANI. To use Digi Yatra, Aadhaar will be needed only at the time of enrollment. So, that we can identify you. We are working on other digital ID's too: Jayant Sinha, MoS Aviation. pic.twitter.com/pOKdNohrfD ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 The minister said that cancellation charges should not be higher than the base fare plus fuel charge. The proposed regulation states that if a flight is delayed for over four hours, passengers will have to be compensated in full. Sinha has also added special provisions for flyers with special needs. Airlines reserving seats for disabled passengers are among various other proposals listed in the draft. "You will see provisions of this draft passenger charter [becoming] effective within 30-60 days. We have had multiple rounds of meetings with all stakeholders. Now that the passenger charter is in the public domain, we request all stakeholders to provide written inputs," Sinha was quoted as saying by CNN-News18. Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit condoled the death of nine persons killed in police firing at an anti-Sterlite protest in Tuticorin district. Chennai: Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit condoled the death of nine persons killed in police firing at an anti-Sterlite protest in Tuticorin district. "My condolences to each one of the bereaved families. At this critical hour, I appeal to all sections of society to be calm and help in maintaining the peace in the state," he said in a Raj Bhavan release. The months-long protests for the closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit in Tuticorin over pollution concerns turned violent Tuesday, with agitators fighting pitched battles with police, prompting the force to open fire. Nine persons were killed in police 'action', the state government said. The Madras Union of Journalists also condemned the police firing. In a statement, MUJ alleged that some journalists were attacked by police when they were covering the violence and expressed concern over the same. Logasi farmer Prem Narayan Patel alleges that the ask is of 2000 rupees, Those whove coughed up this amount have got their compensation. And those who havent rather, those who cannot are still waiting. Patwari a term used in the local parlance to refer to an individual who maintains ownership records for a specific area and undertakes collection of land taxes and also other monetary tasks and transactions. In Chhatarpur districts Naugaon block, Logasi village residents staged a protest on Tehseel Diwas on May 15, and submitted a petition to fire their local patwari. The reason? Hes aiding the drought compensation packages for those farmers afflicted by unseasonal drought in exchange for a few beneficial monetary transactions. Logasi farmer Prem Narayan Patel alleges that the ask is of 2000 rupees, Those whove coughed up this amount have got their compensation. And those who havent rather, those who cannot are still waiting. Plus, there is the all-pervasive brazen attitude of the machinery, he adds, Jaaon sunakar aao jisko sunana hai, they say it to our faces. Rajendra, also a Logasi farmer, affirms the allegation, adding further that the amounts have gone up to 5,000 as well, in some cases. Hes been doing the sarkari office rounds for a few months, he says. When Shivkali approached the patwari, she was asked to give Rs 1,000 however, in a small-mercies situation, but it is still unaffordable for her, she shares. The fact that an entire village has been fuelled into perpetuating an essentially corrupt practice is not up for questioning here. And this is a systemic breakdown. Drought management in Bundelkhand, which cuts across the two states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, is a drought-prone region designated as such. Decades upon decades of drought-management policies here have restricted themselves to mitigation measures only. These include, primarily, the digging of trenches, the building of check dams, and the construction of workable irrigation systems, customised to the area. Very few of these star measures however have seen real on-ground work, or indeed, impact. Add to this the fact that the 2016 Drought Management Manual, an offshoot of the 2009 Manual, has an overwhelming drop in the fine print of financial assistance from the centre to the states, and the farmers have a lose-lose situation in their desperate hands. A Memorandum for assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) will be submitted within a week of the declaration of drought only if the calamity is of a severe nature, reads the new manual. The patwari at Logasi gaon has gone MIA and were unable to locate him for an official response. B B Gangele, the SDM at Naugaon, promises quick action against the patwari, if the allegations are proved correct, at a hurriedly-called-for press conference of sorts. In the meanwhile, Prem Narayan Patel is gathering forces for a hunger fast. Khabar Lahariya is a women-only network of rural reporters from Bundelkhand. India successfully test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, to validate new features. Bhubaneswar: India successfully test-fired the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a test range along the Odisha coast to validate 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 Balasore 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 successful launch of the missile. "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 Indian Army and Indian Navy, while the Indian 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 BrahMos missile, 500 kilograms lighter than land and naval variants. India has already extended the range of the three-tonne missile from its earlier 290 kilometres to 400 kilometres and successfully test-fired the variant in March 2017. Increasing the missile's range from 400 kilometres to further 800 kilomtres 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 kilometres. Currently, the Indian 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. 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 11 March, 2017, successfully. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has released the questions papers 1 and 2 (both English and Hindi) of the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) 2018 on the official website jeeadv.ac.in. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has released questions papers 1 and 2 (both English and Hindi) of the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) 2018 on the official website, jeeadv.ac.in. The exam was held on 20 May and the answer keys will be uploaded by the end of the month May. Nearly 2.2 lakh students appeared for the JEE Advanced examination this year. The exam authority has also posted a note on the website clarifying the process evaluation for the numerical answer-type questions: "For numerical answer-type questions, the numerical value entered by the candidate will be evaluated. Wherever applicable, depending on the question, answers will be evaluated by checking whether the answer entered by the candidate falls within a range of two values, with or without including the upper and lower values of the range depending on the question." According to a report in The Indian Express, students who appeared for the exam found the overall level of paper moderate, though not easy. Some students rated Maths as easy but Physics relatively difficult. Chemistry was reported to be of moderate level. The total number of questions (54) remained the same as last year, although the total marks of Paper-1 changed from 183 to 180 this year. Also, to correct the gender imbalance in the undergraduate programmes at the IITs, a decision has been taken at the level of the IIT council to increase supernumerary seats from the current 8 percent to 14 percent in 2018-19, cites the report. The performance of a candidate in JEE Advanced will form the basis for admission to the bachelor's, integrated masters and dual degree programmes (entry at the 10+2 level) in all the IITs. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professors have rubbished reports of the institute planning to introduce a course on Islamist terrorism in its proposed Centre for National Security Studies (CNSS) and called it fake news. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professors have rubbished reports of the institute planning to introduce a course on Islamist terrorism in its proposed Centre for National Security Studies (CNSS) and called it fake news. Following the universitys 145th academic council (AC) meeting on 18 May, in which the proposal to set up the CNSS was put forth, the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) along with a few teachers voiced concerns, calling the proposed course structure at the Centre an attempt at spreading Islamophobic propaganda. A reputed news agency cited attendees of the AC meeting saying that the council planned to set up a CNSS which would have Islamist terrorism as part of its course structure; the news was carried in all major media outlets, bringing JNU, a hotbed of youth politics in India, into controversy again. Following the report, various student unions, including the All India Students Federation (AISF) condemned the alleged move. There can be no terrorism in the name of Islam or any religion. Is JNU trying to teach how to hate Muslims? asked AISF president Syed Valiullah Khadr. But questioning media reports, professor Ajay Dubey, who chairs the committee in charge of setting up CNSS said, There is no plan to introduce a course on Islamist terrorism under the CNSS. I dont know why PTI published this news; I have always denied the news; its completely fake. Sudhir K Sudhar, a member of the JNU Teachers Association, who attended the 18 May meeting, pointed out that the proposal was not to have any separate course titled Islamist terrorism, but to add the concept in its CNSS. There was no proposal on a Islamist terrorism course during the meeting; there was just a discussion about having the concept of Islamist terrorism in CNSS; and there is a big difference between a course and a concept. The idea was also opposed by some members and has been put on hold, he said. He added, During the meeting, it was also decided that if the concept gets a green signal, it will be introduced from 2019. The proposed CNSS is being established with the aim of understanding terrorism and identifying its various causes, as terrorism continues to pose a major threat to India and several other nations. The author is a member of The NewsCart, a Bengaluru-based media startup. Health Minister JP Nadda, who is leading the Indian delegation at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, said India is committed to achieving universal health coverage for its citizens as mentioned in the National Health Policy 2017. New Delhi: Health Minister JP Nadda, who is leading the Indian delegation at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, said India is committed to achieving universal health coverage for its citizens as mentioned in the National Health Policy 2017. Addressing the plenary meeting of the 71st World Health Assembly on Monday, 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 percent 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 tuberculosis 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 NCDs are to be prioritised and are to be integrated at all levels of healthcare delivery systems. "India's National Health Policy 2017 commits to achieving a target of raising public health expenditure to 2.5 percent 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". Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday lashed out at the Samajwadi Party (SP) and accused it of patronising criminals and communal forces when it was in power in the state. Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday lashed out at the Samajwadi Party (SP) and accused it of patronising criminals and communal forces when it was in power in the state. Addressing an election rally in Kairana, ahead of the 28 May Lok Sabha bypoll, Adityanath said the previous SP regime was tainted with the Muzaffaranagar riots and pointed out how criminals were running for their lives under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule. He said that the state government had zero tolerance towards crime and graft and that his government would deal with people and groups who try to disrupt the communal harmony in the state with a firm hand. "Our government is relentlessly working for the welfare of the farmers and the poor... Electricity is being provided for 18 hours and adequate price for their crop is being paid," he said. Stressing that his government had the poor and the marginalised at the centre of its policies, the chief minister also announced that the government was going to create three lakh jobs for the unemployed youth of the state. He said that for the welfare of farmers, the licence system for installing sawing machine had been simplified. It had also been warned that people who exploit farmers would be sent to jail. The BJP leader said that his government would also ensure early and full payment of the cane growers' arrears. Speaking at the rally, Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the government had ensured pothole-free roads, and predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would return to power with a bigger mandate in 2019, winning more than 73 of the 80 parliamentary seats in the state. Voting for the Kairana parliamentary seat in western UP will be held on 28 May. The seat was vacated following the death of senior BJP leader and incumbent minister Hukum Singh. The BJP has fielded his daughter Mriganka Singh, and Tabassum Hasan, who though is a SP member is fighting on a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket. After the Gorakhpur and Phulpur experiments, where an alliance between the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led to humiliating defeats for the ruling party, the SP, BSP, Congress, RLD and the Nishad Party have come together to back Hasan. With the date for swearing-in of the coalition government in Karnataka approaching, Cabinet formation will be the next big-ticket item for JD(S)-Congress. With the date for swearing-in of the coalition government in Karnataka approaching, the cabinet formation will be the next big-ticket item on JD(S)-Congress agenda. The strength of the alliance will be tested thoroughly as it faces the various pulls and pressures of power-sharing and portfolio distribution. Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy is likely to take oath as Karnataka's new chief minister on Wednesday after BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa's resignation. But as Karnataka prepares to witness a second chief minister swear in within a week on Wednesday, the fact that 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 can't ignore. Kumaraswamy's delicate balancing act in allocating portfolios, with its post-poll ally Congress demanding representation in various posts, is certain to strain the delicate balance of the alliance. But Kumaraswamy maintains the there are no rumblings of discontent over cabinet formation, as the stakeholders are yet to deliberate on the issue. Media reports on cabinet formation are not realistic, he told reporters after visiting the Manjunatheshwara temple at Dharmasthala. Meanwhile, Hindustan Times reported that people familiar with the matter said that Congress leader G Parameshwara is likely to become the deputy chief minister and home minister. Kumaraswamy, meanwhile, is likely to keep the finance portfolio with himself. According to the people quoted by the report, most portfolios in Kumaraswamy's council of ministers have been decided, though they added that this list could eventually change. Congress is said to be keen on giving an important portfolio to DK Shivkumar, as per this India Today report, who played a key role in "safeguarding" the Congress-JD(S) MLAs from the alleged poaching attempts by the BJP. Sources privy to the negotiations told India Today that the Congress and JD(S) are mulling over a '20-13 formula' for sharing of cabinet berths. The Congress with 78 MLAs will get 20 cabinet posts while the JDS will take 13, the report said. Meanwhile, the compulsions of striking a caste and regional balance in the distribution of power is likely to force the coalition partners to have two deputies for the chief minister. According to a report in The New Indian Express, while Parameshwara is almost certain to get one, there is a strong demand from Congress leaders from northern Karnataka to get a deputy post, preferably belonging to the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community. According to party sources, MB Patil, SR Patil and HK Patil are the front-runners for the second deputy chief minister post. "We have received the demand for having two deputy chief minister posts. Party high command will take a final call on this," Parameshwara said after meeting with party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Venugopal and Ashok Gehlot, as per the report. ANI reported sources as saying that speaker for Karnataka Assembly will be from Congress. The Speaker's name is likely to be announced by Tuesday evening by local leaders. Here's the likely list of Karnataka cabinet portfolios, as per sources quoted by the Hindustan Times report: JD(S): Kumaraswamy, chief minister and finance minister; CS Puttaraju, agriculture; H Vishwanath, education; N Mahesh, social welfare; GT Deve Gowda, cooperatives; Bandeppa Kashempur, textiles and endowments; DC Thammanna, labour; RV Deshpande, law and parliamentary affairs; AT Ramaswamy, industries. Congress: G Parameshwara, deputy chief minister and home minister; KJ George, Bengaluru development minister; M Krishnappa, sport; Krishna Byre Gowda, information and publicity; Dinesh Gundu Rao, excise; Dr K Sudhakar, health; Tanveer Sait, higher education; Roshan Baig, forest; MD Patil, food and civil supplies; Satish Jarkiholi, small industries and sugar; Dr Ajay, science and technology; S Shivashankarappa, revenue; Ramalinga Reddy, transport; R Narendra, animal husbandry; UT Khader, health. Kumaraswamy had on Monday met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to discuss ministerial berth sharing between the coalition partners. The details of the meeting were not divulged but Kumaraswamy said the matter will be finalised when the two sides sit together on Tuesday in Bengaluru. Kumaraswamy had earlier met Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati 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. Meanwhile, the Congress has authorised its general secretary in-charge of Karnataka KC Venugopal to discuss the matter with local Congress leaders, including former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He will also discuss the issue with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leadership. The Congress, which finished second with 78 seats, moved swiftly and stitched an alliance with the 37-member JD(S), and even backed Kumaraswamy for chief ministership, plunging the state into a welter of confusion, with accusations of bribery and poaching flying thick and fast. The newly formed alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221. With inputs from agencies The Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka will not last long as the two parties have come together with a 'selfish motive', BJP leader and Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said on Tuesday. New Delhi: The Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka will not last long as the two parties have come together with a "selfish motive", BJP leader and Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said on Tuesday. "People of Karnataka gave the mandate for the BJP, which won 104 seats. The Congress-JD(S) alliance has been formed with a selfish motive and it will not last for long," the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti told PTI on the sidelines of an Assocham event here. The "unholy" alliance was formed not in the interest of the people of Karnataka, she said. "Look at its history. The JD(S) had broken away from its alliance partners in the past. It cannot fool the people for long." JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is slated to take oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on Wednesday at a swearing-in ceremony which is expected to be attended by several non-BJP chief ministers and party heads. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have confirmed their presence at the swearing-in ceremony. The chief ministers of non-BJP states including Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), K Chandrashekhar Rao (Telangana) and Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) are also expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Besides, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati are also expected to attend the ceremony. While the ceremony is being seen as a show of opposition unity, the Union minister said the non-BJP leaders are getting united for their own "survival" and not for the stake of the country. Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to take the reins of the state after the three-day BJP government collapsed last Saturday with BS Yeddyurappa, unable to muster the required number for a majority, stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test. The 12 May 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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Sochi on Monday for an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During Modi's day-long visit, the two leaders held discussions on a range of bilateral issues, including defence cooperation as well as global issues of common concern Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his day-long visit to Russia on Monday, a trip where he held an informal summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin. During the visit to the sea-side city of Sochi, the two leaders also held discussions on a range of bilateral issues, including defence cooperation, as well as global issues of mutual concern. Modi and Putin also undertook a boat ride from Bocharev Creek to Olympic Park in Sochi, during which they held further talks regarding the bilateral relationship between the two countries. The duo also visited the Sirius Educational Centre. Putin and Modi had "very intense" discussions on bilateral and global issues that would provide guidelines for the further development of India-Russia special privileged strategic ties, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. Modi said during his first informal summit with Putin that the strategic partnership between the two countries has now been elevated to a "special privileged strategic partnership", and called it a "very big achievement". 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 news 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 Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra 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 Putin will discuss India-Russia military cooperation with Modi, amid 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 news 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. CAATSA is a US 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 allowing its defence engagement with Russia to be dictated by any other country, the sources said, adding that 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 (SCO). India and Pakistan were admitted last year into the organisation. "We are working together on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS," Modi said. He also congratulated Putin for becoming 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 Modi to Sochi, Putin said his visit would give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties. He said the two countries maintain a high strategic level of partnership, with close cooperation between the two countries' defense 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. Putin also said that last year there was a considerable increase in mutual trade, and this year, for the first several months, it saw an increase of more than 17 percent. 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). He pointed out that "we have seen" such attempts "recently". His comments came after 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 4 March, which has sparked an international diplomatic crisis and expulsion of scores of diplomats from London and Moscow. Following their informal summit, Modi and Putin embarked on a boat ride from Bocharev Creek to Olympic Park in Sochi so they could have more time to discuss bilateral ties. The talks between the two leaders in Putin's Bocharov Ruchei residence lasted for more than three hours. After the official part, the two leaders continued informal talks. Putin invited Modi for a boat ride, Russia's official news agency Tass reported. "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," external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. During the sea trip, they spoke in English without the support of an interpreter. The leaders continued negotiations at lunch, going out on the deck from time to time to breathe in the fresh sea air and marvel at the Sochi coastline that had been refurbished before the Winter Olympic Games in 2014. Modi and Putin also visited the Sirius Educational Centre, a unique educational centre set up on the initiative of the Russian President, and interacted with over 700 students. The prime minister Narendra Modi said he saw a different Vladimir Putin, who got emotional while talking about the students of Sirius Educational Centre. Talking to the students, Modi said he was thankful to "his friend, President Putin" who provided him with 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 Modi's face. The prime minister invited them to visit India and interact with Indian students. He also promised to spend time with them in India. Later, the students took 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. Concluding his one-day visit, Modi departed for India on Monday. The Russian president personally bid farewell to the Indian prime minister at the airport. The meeting between the prime minister and the Russian president in Sochi came after Modi held a similar informal summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping in China last month. In the wake of Nipah virus claiming 10 lives in Kerala, the Goa government said there was nothing to worry about in the state, but measures were still being taken to prevent its possible spread. Panaji: In the wake of Nipah virus claiming 10 lives in Kerala, the Goa government on Tuesday said there was nothing to worry about in the state, but measures were still being taken to prevent its possible spread. "As of now there is no alert issued for Goa by any agency, including the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), whose team is in Kerala assessing the ground-level situation," Utkarsh Betodkar, State Surveillance Officer of Directorate of Health Services said. He said there was no need to panic as it has not affected the entire state of Kerala, but only a specific area of Kozhikode. The Nipah virus has so far claimed 10 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala, while the condition of two persons undergoing treatment for the viral disease is said to be critical, the Kerala government has confirmed. According to Betodkar, the Goa government was not taking any chances and has already contacted Manipal Centre for Virus Research (MCVR) to assess the situation. Responding to a question, the officer said there was no need to screen the tourists arriving from Kerala. "Screening of the tourists or visitors can happen only when there are specific guidelines issued by the Centre. Right now, there are no such guidelines," he said. Fruit-eating bats are the primary host of the Nipah Virus, which can cause disease in both animals and humans. So far, there is no vaccine against the virus, which was first identified in 1998 in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia. Knocking on NATOs Door By Vladimer Napetvaridze On May 16 in Brussels at NATO Headquarters, the NATO-Georgia Commission session was held. The session was attended by the First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs David Zalkaliani and First Deputy Minister of Defense Lela Chikovani.The meeting was devoted to the issues of the preparation process for the 2018 Brussels Summit. At the session was underscored that the progress achieved by Georgia on the path of Euro-Atlantic integration must be adequately reflected at the Brussels Summit. It was noted by the representatives of NATO member states that Georgia is a successful aspirant country and the reforms carried out over the last few years will further bring the country closer to NATO membership.The Georgian side provided the Allies with detailed information about the complex security environment created in the occupied territories of Georgia. Representatives of the member states once again confirmed their strong support for Georgia's sovereignty, territorial integrity and the policy of non-recognition of the breakaway territories. The Allies expressed their concern over the difficult situation in the occupied territories.At the session the following topics were also discussed:- The results achieved by Georgia in the reform process, including strengthening of democratic institutions, economic and armed forces.- Georgia's policy towards resolving the conflict with Russia and a new peace initiative of the Government of Georgia, a "Step toward a Better Future" aimed at increasing engagement of citizens living in the occupied regions.- NATO policy for strengthening the Black Sea security and Georgia's important contribution in this process.- Ongoing reforms in defence and security field and plans for future development of the armed forces.It was emphasized that NATO continues to support Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration process.I would like to remind you that, few days ago the National Security Council session was held in Georgia where the representatives of the government discussed the prospects of Georgia at the Brussels summit. At the session, which was attended by the President and Prime Minister of Georgia, all agreed unanimously that the reforms carried out by Georgia and the progress achieved for last years must be adequately reflected at the upcoming NATO summit. But arises the question: what will be considered as "adequately reflection of Georgia's progress" at the Brussels summit?10 years ago, at the Bucharest Summit, Georgia had an expectation to get engaged in NATO membership action plan (MAP), but at the summit, few NATO member states voted against it, causing frustration among the Georgian population. After few months in August 2008, Russia started the war against Georgia and the reaction of the Georgian western partners caused more disappointment of Georgian society.Even though at the 2008 Bucharest Summit, the Allies agreed that Georgia will become NATO member in future, the part of the population is pessimistic towards Georgia's perspectives. This is encouraged by the Russian information warfare in Georgia that uses all possible resources to inspire anti-Western attitudes among the Georgian population.The greater the expectations before the NATO summit, the greater can be the frustration of the Georgian society. And yet what can Georgia expect from the upcoming Brussels summit? Georgia won't get a MAP, because not all NATO member states agree on this issue. Georgia can get another promise that at one day it will become a NATO member state, but the population has already been used to such promises.At the upcoming Brussels summit, it can be defined to change the format of NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC) and to involve the heads of the Governments in NGC discussions. This will be a big step for Georgia in the integration process, but in order to stop the influence of the Russian anti-Western propaganda on the Georgian society, it is necessary to make more effective steps than mere focus on NATO. Nipah, which was first identified during an outbreak in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998, is primarily carried by fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family. "Sajietta am almost on the way. I dont think so we can meet. Sorry. Take care of our children. Please try to take them to Gulf. They should not be left alone like our father. Lots of love" was the last message 28-year-old nurse Lini Sajeev wrote to her husband before reportedly succumbing to the deadly Nipah virus that has put Kerala on high alert. According to the district collectors office, the death toll due to Nipah stood at six, with at least 20 other suspected cases. The case initially came into light after three members of a family from Panthirikkara Sooppikkada in Changaroth grama panchayat, Kozhikode district, died of viral encephalitis with myocarditis. While 26-year-old Mohammed Sadik and his brother 28-year-old Mohammed Salih died on 5 May and 18 May respectively, their aunt Mariyam passed away on 19 May. The Kerala government has taken up several precautionary measures in order to contain the virus from spreading elsewhere. Sooppikkada has been locked down, and advisories have been set up on food and hygiene habits; besides families staying close to the affected dwellings have been evacuated to safer places and domestic animals are being kept under observation. The state health department said it will be setting up isolation wards in government and private hospitals to contain the deadly virus that has a fatality rate of 70 percent. "It is now a local epidemic. It may become a local epidemic in other nearby areas; (but) we are trying our best to contain it from spreading," said Rajeev Sadanandan, additional chief secretary at the Department of Health and Family Welfare. "Now, the disease is being spread by people to people contact. All suspected cases are being treated for Nipah," he said. But despite precautionary measures, authorities concerned are yet to identify reasons on how the disease that was hitherto identified only in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country, spread to Kerala. "Nobody knows how the virus has spread to Kerala. What we are hearing is that wells in the infected area (Sooppikkada) was contaminated with the virus. However, we must probe all angles," said George Varghese, Virology in-charge at the Pushpagiri Research Centre. The possibility that infected bats migrated all the way to Kerala and are intermediate receptors spreading the disease is an unlikely scenario as fruit bats are not known to migrate long distances. But Sadanandan said, "We have to believe that bats migrate long distances. If not then how did it spread to Thailand from Malaysia and then to Bangladesh and West Bengal?" According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nipah is capable of infecting pigs and other domestic animals and there are no vaccines available for the disease; the primary treatment for infected humans is through intensive supportive care. Nipah, which was first identified during an outbreak in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998, is primarily carried by fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family. The virus can spread through other mediums including human to human contact as well. In Malaysia, pigs were the intermediate hosts; in subsequent Nipah outbreaks, no intermediate hosts were identified. Several people had lost their lives to Nipah in Bangladesh in 2004 after consuming date palm saps contaminated by fruit bats and there were a few other outbreaks in and around the region. In 2006, the virus had raised concerns in Siliguri, West Bengal, a state where the first case had been detected as early as 2001. But most of these cases were said to have resulted from human to human contact. "We dont want to take any chances. However, we can only confirm on all cases being Nipah or not after we get reports from the National Institute of Virology in Pune," said Sadanandan, and confirmed that three of four persons who died of fever in Kozhikode district, were infected by the Nipah virus. The Centre has sent a team of experts to coordinate with state authorities and monitor the situation. "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 (sic)," Union Health Minister JP Nadda had tweeted on Sunday. The Central team includes Surjit Singh, director for the National Centre for Disease Control, SK Jain, head of epidemiology, NCDC, P Ravindran, director, Emergency Medical Relief, and Naveen Gupta, head of Zoonosis, NCDC. They are accompanied by two clinicians and an expert from the Ministry of Animal Husbandry. George said experts are still in the dark in finding the exact reason behind the virus spreading in the state and added that the government should take an initiative to start a study led by virologists. Sajeesh, who is survived by her husband and two children, was hospitalised for a week before finally succumbing to her ailment on Monday morning. She was reportedly treating two men suspected to have been infected by Nipah. Though her death is yet to be confirmed as a Nipah casualty, her body was immediately cremated at the electric crematorium as a precautionary measure. "Lini used to work at a private hospital. She left her job to take care of a small child. She had joined the government taluk hospital as a temporary staff during the last dengue fever outbreak there. She was a workaholic and always committed to her work," a person close to Lini said, adding that Lini fell ill after treating two infected persons. Following the outbreak in Kozikhode, speculations of the excessive use of antibiotics was being attributed to Keralites being affected. But Philip Mathew, a public health consultant for ReAct Asia Pacific, rubbished this theory and said, "This is a viral disease. This has nothing to do with the excess usage of antibiotic drugs. Excess usage of antibiotic drugs plays a role only in bacteria infected diseases." The author is a member of The NewsCart, a Bengaluru-based media startup. In wake of the ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Indian side must only retaliate and not be the first to fire the bullet. In the wake of the ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday that the Indian side must only retaliate and not be the first to fire the bullet. "We are a peaceful country. We want to maintain good relations with all countries, not just our neighbouring countries." he said at a BSF investiture ceremony. "Pakistan is very notorious. You shouldn't be the first to fire the bullet at your neighbour. But if they fire at us, you retaliate. Then no one will question your move," he said during his address. Kaaran samajhna kathin hai, ye research ka vishay ho sakta hai lekin wo (Pakistan) apni harkaton se baaz nahi aata. Pehli goli to padosi par nahi chalni chahiye, lekin agar udhar se chal jaati hai,to kya karna,uska faisla aapko karna hai: Rajnath Singh at BSF Investiture Ceremony pic.twitter.com/h9hhGCMxRI ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 Rajnath's comments come amid the ongoing shelling along the international border by the Pakistani Rangers, which is in violation of a ceasefire agreement. Pakistan continued shelling on Tuesday in the Jammu and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir affecting 30 BSF border outposts and some two dozen villages. On Monday, Pakistani troops targeted border outposts and villages with mortar shells and small arms in Jammu district, killing an eight-month-old boy and injuring six including a special police officer. Eight-month-old Nitin Kumar, sleeping with his family outside their home in Pallanwala sector along the LoC, was killed in the firing. On 19 May, four civilians and a BSF jawan were killed in firing by Pakistani troops in Jammu district. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who met a few victims of the 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. According to the officials, the Pakistani shelling started after it "pleaded" with the BSF to stop firing on being pounded with heavy artillery by the Indian side that left a Pakistani trooper dead. Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a spurt in Pakistani shelling and firing along the IB and the LoC this year. Over 700 such incidents have been reported in 2018, which have left 38 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured. With inputs from agencies Shiv Sena today accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of 'betraying' its late Palghar MP Chintaman Wanga by turning its back on his family and fielding Congress deserter for the Lok Sabha seat bypoll. Mumbai: Shiv Sena today accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "betraying" its late Palghar MP Chintaman Wanga by turning its back on his family and fielding Congress deserter for the Lok Sabha seat bypoll. The bickering ally claimed the BJP did not to bother to take care of Wanga's family and that none of its central leaders turned up to pay last respects to the parliamentarian after his death in New Delhi in January 2018. The remarks came two days after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis accused the Shiv Sena of betraying the BJP by fielding Wanga's son for the Palghar bypoll. He had claimed the Sena knew that the BJP was already planning to nominate someone from Wanga's family for the by-election, scheduled on 28 May. Taking potshots at the senior alliance partner for fielding Rajendra Gavit, who recently left the Congress to join the saffron party, the Sena said, "It seems the BJP has democratically won the right to buy and flee with legislators, as was evident in Karnataka." Similarly, the BJP seems to have the right to make comments (on the Sena), as it is doing so in the Palghar bypolls, said an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana'. The Sena claimed that after Wanga's death, nobody from the BJP visited his family, and even the chief minister and the BJP leaders turned their back on him. The BJP's office was at a distance of just five minutes from Wanga's residence where he died in Delhi, it claimed, adding that "the party's president, Amit Shah, lives three minutes away." "Even other BJP leaders live nearby. But, nobody went to pay their last respects," the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said. The price of Wanga's loyalty ended with his death and his family members were left to fend for themselves and insulted by the BJP, it charged. "Nobody from the BJP came ahead to take care of the family. This is like betraying him," the Marathi daily said. Wanga's earnings were "only his Hindutva thoughts". However, insulting him after his death and openly saying that a party-changer like Rajendra Gavit was the heir to his legacy, was like "betraying" the late leader, it further said. Fadnavis had earlier said that hard work is needed to carry on the legacy of the late leader and hence the BJP gave ticket to Gavit. Taunting the BJP, the Sena said even for the gram panchayat elections, the party brings its central ministers and chief ministers of states ruled by it (for campaigning). "The BJP is behaving as if all of Maharashtra's questions have been solved and that the only one remaining is the Palghar election," it said PTI. The months-long protest demanding closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit in Tamil Nadu took a violent turn. Tuticorin: Nine people died and 20 were injured in police firing after the protest in Tuticorin demanding a ban on Sterlite Industries turned violent, ANI reported. The months-long protest demanding closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit in Tamil Nadu took a violent turn on Tuesday with agitators pelting stones and toppling police vehicles after they were prevented from marching towards the plant. Hurling stones and setting government vehicles and public property on fire, the agitators went on a rampage in the town, about 600 kilometres from Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai. Police said nearly 5,000 protesters gathered near a local church and insisted on taking a out a rally to the district collectorate after they were denied permission to march to the copper smelter plant. Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc) has been invoked in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security to it as per the orders of the Madras High Court, said police. However, angered over not being allowed to take out a rally, the slogan-shouting protesters forcibly tried to push back the security personnel in riot gear. They then started hurling stones at police and also overturned a vehicle after which the security personnel lobbed teargas shells to disperse them, the police said. While more than 20 people suffered minor injuries in stone-pelting incident, some vehicles were set on fire, leading to tension in the area, they added. Meanwhile, a peaceful demonstration was held near the old bus stand in the town, also demanding the closure of the Sterlite unit and the proposed expansion of the plant. Several shops in this town, Srivaikundam and Oddapidaram remained shut in support of the protest, according to the police. The district has been witnessing several protests by locals and others against the Sterlite Copper plant and its proposed expansion. Protesters have alleged that the plant was polluting ground water in their area. Sterlite Copper represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 4,00,000 tonnes per annum-plant in Tuticorin. With inputs from PTI The CBI on Tuesday searched former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi's residence in connection with a Railway hotel tender case and quizzed her and her husband and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, a police official said. Patna: The CBI on Tuesday searched former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi's residence in connection with a Railway hotel tender case and quizzed her and her husband and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, a police official said. "A three-member Central Bureau of Investigation team questioned both for about an hour at their 7 Circular Road residence and also conducted a search in connection with the hotel tender case," he added. However, Lalu's lawyer denied CBI action was in connection with the tender case. "A CBI team visited Rabri Devi in connection with another case," he said. Lalu Prasad is accused of illegally acquiring land for railway hotels in Jharkhand between 2004 and 2005 while he was railway minister. Lalu Prasad is currently out on provisional bail for medical treatment and is likely to visit a hospital in Mumbai on Tuesday. RJD leaders accused rival Janata Dal-United and the Bharatiya Janata Party leader of implicating Lalu and his family in the case. On the 246th birth anniversary of social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy also known as the father of Indian Renaissance Google honoured him with a doodle. On the 246th birth anniversary of social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, also known as the "Father of Indian Renaissance", Google honoured him with a doodle. Born on 22 May, 1772 in Radhanagar village in West Bengal, Roy is known for holding views that were ahead of his time. As noted by The Indian Express, Roy learnt Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit during his early years. This paved way for his belief in monotheism. He grew up to shun Hindu rituals despite having a Hindu Brahmin father. According to NDTV, Roy read Upanishads and Vedas and went on to write Tuhfat al-uwahhidin, in which he advocated for reason in religion and opposed ritualism. He founded the Brahmo Samaj, one of the first Indian socio-religious reform movements. The institution was aimed at fighting various social evils as Roy believed that only proper education could help bring in reforms. He set up many education institutions like the Hindu College in Calcutta in 1817, the Anglo-Hindu School in 1822 and Vedanta College. Later in life, he also translated Vedic scriptures into English. Roy is mainly remembered for his work towards getting the practice of sati abolished. But, as pointed by Free Press Journal, he only developed his opposition to the practice after he witnessed the immolation of his sister-in-law at his brother's funeral. It is said that the incident left such an impact on Roy's mind that he then began visiting crematoriums to see if women were being forced to commit sati. Roy's many contributions to the Indian society continue to find their relevance even today. The doodle dedicated to Roy has been created by Toronto-based designer Beena Mistry. Chandu Chavan (24), who was admitted to the psychiatry ward in Military Hospital at Kirkee in Pune, has written a letter to his seniors requesting them to relieve him from service, saying he is 'disturbed'. Pune: Soldier Chandu Babulal Chavan who had "inadvertently" strayed across the Line of Control (LOC) in September 2016 after the surgical strike and spent nearly four months in captivity in Pakistan before being released, has sought premature discharge from service. Chavan (24), who was admitted to the psychiatry ward in Military Hospital at Kirkee in Pune, 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 29 September, 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 on Monday, 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. 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. The US Supreme Court has agreed to take up an appeal by Indian villagers against a power plant in Gujarat, funded by US-based International Finance Corporation (IFC), which has allegedly resulted in environmental damages. Washington: The US Supreme Court has agreed to take up an appeal by Indian villagers against a power plant in Gujarat, funded by US-based International Finance Corporation (IFC), which has allegedly resulted in environmental damages. "Petition granted," the Supreme Court said on Monday. The case will come up for hearing in the next session, beginning October. The villagers, led by Budha Ismail Jam, along with several other farmers and fishermen, allege that the coal-fired Tata Mundra Power Plant has resulted in widespread environmental damages. Washington DC-based IFC, the financing wing of the World Bank, has provided USD 450 million in financial assistance to the project. The Supreme Court said it would decide whether the IFC enjoyed immunity under the 1945 International Organisations Immunity Act. Jam and other petitioners knocked the door of the Supreme Court this year after lower courts dismissed their petitions arguing that the IFC enjoyed immunity, like other foreign countries, under the 1945 International Organizations Immunity Act. In their petition, the villagers argued that the Tata Mundra Power Plant has failed to comply with international environmental standards. This has resulted in devastation of the local environment. "International organisations play an ever-increasing role in the economic landscape of this country and the world. Therefore, the question whether they are absolutely immune from any kind of lawsuit no matter how strictly commercial their activities; no matter how egregious their actions; and no matter the views of the Executive Branch has great significance," the petitioners argued. In 2015, the applicants Indian farmers, fishermen, a trade union of fishworkers, and a local government entity sued the IFC in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. They brought claims for negligence, negligent supervision, public nuisance, private nuisance, trespass, and breach of contract. The petitioners lost the case before a district court in 2016 and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2017. Both the courts argued that IFC enjoys immunity. An 11-year-old boy was hospitalised after his principal allegedly beat him up with an iron rod when he complained about the quality of the mid-day meal, police said on Tuesday. Dehradun: An 11-year-old boy was hospitalised after his principal allegedly beat him up with an iron rod when he complained about the quality of the mid-day meal, police said on Tuesday. The victim, Rahul is a student of Class V at a government primary school in Dehradun district's Old Dalanwala area. On Monday the minor complained to the school principal, Nasrin Bano, about the quality of food being served in the mid-day meal. This angered Bano and she thrashed him with an iron rod, following which the boy fell unconscious, police said. The victim's friends brought him home and his parents rushed him to a hospital. His father, Dharmendra Paswan, has lodged a complaint at the Dalanwala police station and a probe has been initiated, the police added. Rahul is undergoing treatment at the Coronation Hospital and police said his condition was stable. The minor's angry relatives demonstrated outside the school. The school principal was suspended after preliminary investigations confirmed severe injuries to the child, Chief Education Officer of Dehradun, SB Joshi, said. The personality of Agastya Sen, the protagonist of English, August, finds a reflection in the way that many of India's millennials are today | #FirstCulture In the late 80s, India was a land parched not for a dearth of things to look at and moon over, but for sights to look away to. Communal riots, political upheavals, assassinations, a rejuvenated Bollywood and a potentially fabulous urban literary scene in the offing it was all happening. You could, therefore, be forgiven if you assumed that the stories which were told were only the ones that mattered, and almost everyoneeven the most cynical, lax men and womenwas hurriedly rushing towards some purpose or a turn of measurable consequence. Idealism, which perhaps gave birth to the idea of photography itself, can lead to a circularly narrow view of the world, leaving the space at the margins empty. A space that Agastya Sen filled 30 years ago, when Upamanyu Chatterjees English, August was first published. Agastya Sen, a 24-year-old officer in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), is posted to remote Madna, a decrepit, sour-pit of a town unremarkable but for its people and the hazaar fucked lives they lead. Sen, who is called August by his friends, carries his lazy urbanity with him, placing him at the edge of self-will, posturing but for the heck of it. In the midst of rustic outlets that connote Indianness for the outsider, Agastya seems tragicomically out of place. He quotes Marcus Aurelius and thinks of masturbating most of the time, but never actually does. In the many characters that find themselves in the pages of the book, a slack-jawed Sen looks for things to refer to memory. That in essence is English, August. Not a story, not a progression, but merely a straight walk through the hinterland with Agastyas purposelessness and boredom hunched behind his eyes and years, insurmountably lulled by the prospect of a storm that he knows will never come. Chatterjees book was published after two years of continuous rejections by publishers. The ricochets did not stop there, as it took another 18 years before it was finally brought out in the US in 2006, which inevitably led to wider acclaim. In between, though, it had another intriguing story to tell. That of a National Award-winning film adaptation that now does not even exist. Dev Benegal read English, August several times before he knew he wanted to turn it into a film. It struck home. I just could not see what others were talking about. I found it very funny and extremely moving. And on reading it, the plot was clear as daylight. And in hindsight, I learnt the most important lesson. Follow your instinct, says Benegal, who is currently shooting his next feature in New York. But English, August was neither cinematic, nor a narrative that could be conditioned; so much so that the National Film Development Corporation (NDFC) rejected Benegals pitch by saying, Weve made this film many times before, referring essentially to the parallel cinema of the 70s and 80s. I knew the film I did not want to make. I felt it would be dishonest and disingenuous to go make a film about people and worlds I did not know. I didn't want to do anything that the 'parallel cinema' was doing at that time. I didnt know the countryside the way Ray or Ghatak knew it. I was kicking against everything Indian cinema represented, he says. Benegal made English, August in 1994, in the post-globalisation era where an English-speaking first-timer like Rahul Bose perfectly wore Agastyas latitudinal conflicts, that hardly cut through him, but defined him nonetheless. When I was casting I would close my eyes and listen to the actor speak the lines. I remember Bose was pretty upset about this and told Uma [da Cunha, the casting director], 'He doesn't even look at me.' Agastya Sen had to sound right and that was absolutely important for me. Rahul got the state of Agastya right; his inner conflict. The ennui and sense of despair in the small town and the absurd situation of being a trainee, Benegal says. English, August was of course one of those films that had to be made in the English. Slowly, after winning a National Award and recognition at festivals abroad, the film garnered a cult following. It was also a time of technical shifts. Digital was beaming in the market. English, August was also one of the first films in the country to use digital audio. Benegal wanted to make sure his film was safe. He, therefore, locked his negatives at Prasad Labs in Chennai, one of the last remaining studios that still works with film. But tragedy struck. A water spill, the lab said, spoiled the original negatives. Benegal was heartbroken. In my mind, the original negative was in the best lab in the country, safe and stored correctly. I should have checked continuously, spoken to them about storage conditions. But those were things one never knew back then and one learns in hindsight, he says. Benegal has spent the last decade or so finding ways to salvage the film. There's a tiny sliver of hope. The Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang who was on the jury of one of the festivals where English, August won an award loved the film and asked the Taiwan Film Archives to buy a 35mm print. There is a low contrast print with the French television network La Sept-Arte that co-produced the film. I am planning to scan these digitally frame-by-frame at 8K and re-create a new archival digital negative and then make 35mm prints, he says. But restoring the film in the digital age is even more expensive than what it cost Benegal to make the entire feature. There are no organisations or funds I can access for support. I really have to fund it myself. I am hoping to do that in small steps, he says. The ethereality of Agastya and his insipidity that acts as a function of class is truer perhaps of the urban millennials of today than it was ever before. Even though Chatterjee published the book in 1988 and Benegal adapted it to film in 1994, the relevance of Agastyas non-story has hardly waned with time. Unpopulated by the need to wink at the headlines of the day, Chatterjees narration quietly restores the vastness of India, universalising cultural axioms and playing every bit the puppeteer of timelessness. It is that simple; nothing happens when nothing is supposed to happen. Arent most of us living that life of disproportionate indifferences, or as Agastya would say, the absence of ambition, or the simplicity of it? The bypoll to the Kairana Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh will be held on 28 May. The bypoll to the Kairana Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh will be held on 28 May as the Election Commission announced dates for bypolls to four Lok Sabha seats and 10 Assembly seats across ten states. Kairana bypoll was necessitated following the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh. The RLD has fielded Tabassum Hasan as its candidate, with support from the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Meanwhile, the BJP has nominated Singh's daughter Mriganka Singh for the seat. RLD has raked up the issue of dues of sugarcane farmers and claims that this is the central issue in the bypoll. Raj Kumar Sangwan, a senior RLD functionary, was quoted as saying by The Times Of India, "There are pending dues of Rs 750 crore to sugarcane farmers in Kairana even though BJP had made it a poll issue during the 2017 Assembly elections. With elections round the corner, a non-existent Jinnah issue was raked up to sway public attention from the plight of sugarcane farmers." Jinnah is a reference to the Aligarh Muslim University controversy that had erupted ahead of the polls. "How does it matter whether or not Aligarh Muslim University has a photo of Pakistans founder? Our only concern today is cane payment," Jitender Hooda, who supplies to the Shamli factory, which alone has cane dues of Rs 190.33 crore, told The Indian Express. The Uttar Pradesh minister for sugarcane development Suresh Rana accepted that payments to farmers was an issue. "Yes, there are cane dues, but our mills have already paid more than what they did in the entire 2015-16 season. We are doing everything possible to expeditiously clear the arrears," he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. Meanwhile, another issue is the withdrawal of cases pertaining to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. Hindustan Times said in a report that almost all political parties are promising relief from the numerous false cases registered in the aftermath of the riots. The report further said that after Samajwadi Party MLA Nahid Hasan, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh also assured people that he would take up the responsibility of withdrawing cases by facilitating dialogue between the affected communities. "Hindu exodus" had also turned out to be an important point ahead of the bypoll. Kairana was the scene of a "Hindu exodus", a controversial claim made by Hukum Singh, pointing fingers at the Muslim population in the area. Mriganka, in an interview to PTI, said, "The exodus of Hindu families from Kairana has stopped. Before the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections hundreds of Hindu families had fled from Kairana out of fear and harassment." "However, after the BJP government under Yogi Adityanath was formed, the law and order scenario in the region has improved. It is exemplary. At least five or six families, to my knowledge, have returned to Kairana," she added. Ahead of the bypoll, according to News18, home department of Uttar Pradesh government sent a letter to all divisional commissioners and DGP seeking details of the exodus in the state. The officers have been asked to submit details of families displaced till February 2017, till the BJP government did not come into power, the report added. The Kairana bypoll is being seen as a prestige battle for the BJP, who lost two prestigious Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh in March after the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party joined hands against it. The BJP lost Gorakhpur, earlier represented by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the Phulpur, earlier represented by Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. With inputs from agencies Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Tuesday he would not be attending the swearing-in ceremony of Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Karnataka chief minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy. Bengaluru/Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Tuesday he would not be attending the swearing-in ceremony of Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Karnataka chief minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy. "Due to prior engagements, I will not be attending the swearing-in ceremony. I extend my good wishes and congratulations to the JD-S leaders", Rao told reporters in Bengaluru. The Telangana chief minister, who arrived in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening, met Kumaraswamy and JD(S) supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda at the latter's residence in Padmanabhanagar in the city's southwest suburb. A leader of a regional party like JD(S) becoming the chief minister indicates the power of regional outfits, said KCR, as Rao is popularly known. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief along with some other party leaders arrived in Bengaluru from Hyderabad in a special aircraft on Tuesday evening. KCR would be returning to the Telangana capital on Tuesday night itself to attend to his engagements, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office said. He was among the invitees for the swearing-in to be held on Wednesday at 4.30 pm. Kumaraswamy will be sworn in as the chief minister by Governor Vajubhai Vala in front of the state secretariat (Vidhana Soudha) in Bengaluru in the presence of several national leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and around one lakh people. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu are among the other leaders invited by the JD(S) state president to take part in the event. KCR, who declared his party's support to the JD(S) ahead of the 12 May Karnataka Assembly election, had appealed to the Telugu people living in Karnataka to vote for the JD(S). This is the second time Kumaraswamy, the third son of Deve Gowda, will be the Karnataka chief minister, 12 years after the JD(S) formed a coalition government with the BJP on 4 February, 2006, and he occupied the office for 20 months. Ahead of his swearing-in as CM, Kumaraswamy on Monday met Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to finalise the modalities of government formation Auto refresh feeds "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 LIVE updates: "I am of firm belief that Election Commission has taken a serious note of VVPAT machines found abandoned in a shed near Managuli village in Vijayapur district. It indicates grave irregularities in the conduct of assembly polls in Karnataka," BS Yeddyurappa reportedly said in a letter to the chief election commissioner. Ahead of his swearing-in as the Karnataka's new chief minister, JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy on Monday night 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. 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. KC 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 BS 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 12 May 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 HD 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. Union minister Prakash Javadekar took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi's remark that he is ready to be the prime minister, saying there is no ban on 'day dreaming'. Mumbai: Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi's remark that he is ready to be the prime minister, saying there is no ban on "day dreaming". The Congress has lost 20 states and it is in power only in a couple of states now. "If on that basis, Rahul is thinking of becoming the prime minister, then there is no ban on day dreams in this country," Javadekar told a regional television channel, when asked about the Congress chief's remark. Rahul had recently said he is ready to become the prime minister if his party emerges as the "biggest" party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Asked if Rahul could pose a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the parliamentary elections in 2019, Javadekar said, "A smart tweet or big talk is not politics. It is much more than that." The BJP had only two MPs in the Lok Sabha in 1984 and it won 282 seats in the 2014 general polls. The Congress was then 400, which reduced to 44, he pointed out. "There are lessons to be learnt by the Congress from our example," he said. Asked about the recent political scenario in Karnataka, he said the southern state's governor had invited the BJP by acting within the constitutional framework. "When we realised that we do not have the sufficient strength, our chief minister (BS Yeddyurappa) stepped down," he added. On the Punjab National Bank scam involving diamond merchant Nirav Modi, the BJP leader said, "It happened during Congress period but we have arrested more than 13 people in connection with the case. We will seize their properties spread across the country." On the BJP's slogan of 'Congress-free India', the minister said it means a country free of "crony-politics, lobbying and passing on benefits only to selected people." "The bad culture in politics, introduced by the Congress, is what we have been opposing," Javadekar said. Asked about Rahul using a similar slogan of "Modi-mukt Bharat", he claimed that it does not have any appeal among people. "Being so anti-Modi is negative politics which will never be successful in the country." Despite being a nationwide party, if the Congress was going to say it will only oppose Modi, then it is negative politics, he said. Javadekar exuded confidence that the BJP will not only win the 2019 general elections, but its performance will also be better than earlier in West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. "We will also retain our current base in the country." To a query on how the Centre was going to check the black money and if any opposition leader from Maharashtra would face the heat, he said the Benami Property Transaction Act is going to be implemented from June onwards. "You will see many leaders of the Congress, the NCP and many more will face its heat. The properties and bungalows purchased in the name of some servants or non-existing person, all are going to be confiscated," he said. Highlighting the government's achievements and lauding its Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Javadekar said seven crore houses in the country got toilets. "I have seen that women in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have given their toilets the name of 'izzat ghar' as earlier it was embarrassing for them to go out in public," he said. There are some 400 schemes in the country having an outlay of Rs 3.25 lakh crore, which directly gets deposited into the bank accounts, he said. "The then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had once said that if he sends Rs 100 to the people, only Rs 15 would reach actually. It was the Congress in power, from the Centre to village, and leaders were siphoning off money. We have stopped it," Javadekar said. Inevitably, the BJP is running into frequent pushbacks that are part of the inbuilt check-and-balance system of democracy. We frequently come across phrases such as "democracy in danger", "secularism at stake", "Constitution and institutions are under attack" in political discourse. These are by no means new coinages but their usage has increased manifold in recent times, coinciding with BJP's increase and Congress' decrease of national footprint. For the uninitiated, it would seem India is under siege and its future as a democracy is under threat from the Narendra Modi government. How justified is this narrative? Under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, BJP has expanded not just at Congress' expense, but is also slowly becoming powerful in states and regions where it historically had little influence. This expansion is by no means illegitimate but it has also caused regional chieftains to identify BJP as an existential threat. Inevitably, the BJP is running into frequent pushbacks that are part of the inbuilt check-and-balance system of democracy such as heightened restiveness among its allies and a sharp increase in Opposition unity index. While these 'fail-safes' are necessary and prevent democracy from falling into the majoritarian trap, what we are witnessing in India right now is a danger of another kind. Political forces inimical to the BJP are increasingly weaponising these 'fail-safe' mechanisms to achieve political aims, thereby subverting and degrading the tools. Such degradation, in the long run, is deleterious to the health of democracy. The weaponisation, of course, is just one part of the strategies adopted by Opposition parties. First is a movement towards building a viable alliance strategy such as Rahul Gandhi's 'Karnataka Model' of playing second fiddle to a junior regional partner, or Mamata Banerjee's 1:1 formula for 2019 where every BJP candidate faces one unified Opposition candidate to prevent fracturing of votes. The second strategy is to employ fear as an instrument to achieve politics aims. Take for instance Rahul's fantastic charge that RSS is "taking over" all public institutions including the "judiciary, media and the Army" or West Bengal chief minister's frequent accusations that BJP is a "communal party", Modi government is trying to tap into even a "private conversation between a husband and a wife" through Aadhaar etc. The leaders can get away by throwing these mostly unsubstantiated allegations because a controversy arising out of countering it (legally or otherwise) benefits the leveler, and if left uncontested, these charges tap into the larger narrative of India being rendered dysfunctional under a "dictatorial ruler". In this inverted paradigm, "democracy", "Constitution", "secularism", "public institutions" are clever tropes used by parties to legitimise the blatant subversion of these values. And ironically, those guilty of it protest the loudest in keeping with the upturned nature of the alternative universe. The media can play a big role in exposing the hypocrisy underlying this strategy but as Tavleen Singh points out in her column in The Indian Express: "This sickness in our democracy did not begin after Narendra Modi became prime minister. But, it is this storyline that has been sought to be disseminated by secular, leftist political commentators in order to disguise their loyalties to the Congress party. It is this secular caboodle that uses words like democracy and secularism most often." We shall inspect two recent events to show how the Opposition is degrading tools of democracy under the guise of protecting the same. The Karnataka elections provide the first test case. Right from the stage of campaigning to its aftermath, democratic principles have fallen prey to opportunism at the hands of parties that are acting as self-appointed guardians of democracy. Two months before the elections, JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy, who is now the chief minister-designate of the JD(S)-Congress coalition, had called Congress "more dangerous than BJP in India's democratic setup". On Rahul Gandhi's barb that "JD(S) is the B Team of BJP", Kumaraswamy told Livemint in an interview: "Rahul Gandhi doesnt know the ABCD of Karnataka politics. They (Congress) use us when required and are now calling us the BJPs B team. Who is the reason for me joining hands with the BJP earlier (in 2008)? Before criticizing us let Rahul Gandhi go to his mother and ask what was promised and why people rejected their party which was ruling (at the Centre)." The Congress suggested a collusion between BJP and JD(S) and alleged that 'S' in JD(S) stood for 'Sangh Parivar', not 'secular'. Rahul Gandhi's party received 44 less seats this time compared to 2013 (and 26 less than BJP, the single largest party). JD(S) received three less seats compared to 2013 while its vote share came down by more than three percentage points. Both parties fought as bitter opponents, returned a mandate that fell far short of BJP's and then in a clever semantic twist, became "saviors of democracy" in their need to keep the BJP out of power. A desperate Congress needed to retain power in the last big state under its rule, while the JD(S) that finished third in a three-horse race, realised that the only way for it to stay relevant in state politics is to join hands with the Congress. The chief minister's chair was a juicy bonus. The problem lay not in the opportunistic alliance formation (because political parties must use its chances) but in trying to give moral legitimacy to a marriage of convenience. Rahul Gandhi continued his vituperative campaign against Prime Minister Modi, and accused him of "undermining every institution". He also called BJP president Amit Shah a murder-accused. The charge of "undermining institutions" came in the backdrop of Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala calling upon BS Yeddyurappa to form the government despite lack of numbers in his camp. The move was backed by precedents, and even the Supreme Court refused to put a stay on it, though it sharply curtailed the allotted time for proving majority. This is hardly a case of "undermining institutions", when the fact remains that Congress regimes are past masters of this art. The Congress, for instance, has effected Article 356 around 88 times to dismiss state governments during the 54 years they have been in power at the Centre and Rahul's grandmother Indira alone accounts for 50 of those 88 instances. As far as "murder accused" is concerned, Shah has been cleared of all charges by a special CBI court. As Ajay Singh writes in Firstpost: "Shah was made an accused in an encounter-killing by the Gujarat Police when he was the states home minister. This was done at a time when Rahuls party was at the helm in Delhi and the CBI was being used to implicate the then chief minister Modi. Shah was collateral damage in the Congress overzealousness to crush Modi. Shah was exonerated after a special CBI court in Mumbai dropped all charges. He is not accused in any crime in any police stations anywhere in the country except in Rahuls estimation." Incidentally, Rahul Gandhi is still out on bail in multi-crore National Herald scam. Shortly after Yeddyurappa resigned on Saturday, the Congress president charged the prime minister of corruption and told the media: "Youve seen openly how the PM directly authorized purchasing of MLAs in Karnataka." On Monday, a Congress MLA claimed in a Facebook post that an audio tape released by his party to "frame BJP" is fake. According to PTI, one of the audio tapes released by the Congress to prove charges of "horse trading" against BJP involved a purported conversation between Yeddyurappas son and an associate who were heard speaking to Congress MLA Hebbar's wife, "offering money and ministerial position to her husband if he cross-voted in favour of the BJP during the floor test." Hebbar said: "This is not my wifes voice and she has not received any such calls. The audio tape is fake. I condemn it. These instances show how parties that degrade tools of democracy such as the media or elections have created a paradigm where self-appointed guardians of democracy can indulge in every act of subversion under the guise of "saving" it. A similar instance is witnessed in West Bengal, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also fashions herself as another "saviour of democracy", has presided over one of the most violent rural elections in recent times and has largely escaped censure for her conduct. Ballot boxes set on fire in North Dinajpur in West Bengal #BengalPollViolence pic.twitter.com/D1gfszHNee TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) May 14, 2018 Rajkumar Ray, a government school teacher in Karandighi, North Bengal, was the presiding officer during #PanchayatElection. He resisted attempts of booth capturing & went missing after. His body was found alongside #Sonadangi rail line, Raiganj. SEC has failed in its duty! pic.twitter.com/DwZ6L9s283 CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) May 16, 2018 What's more, she has gone ahead to blame BJP and the prime minister for loss of many values that she herself is guilty of degrading. She has been able to do it because the loopholes in democracy (which is biased against one party achieving national dominance, and rightly so) have been found out and parties that are unable to play fair and square are using these loopholes to get even. In the long run, a value-based political system is going to be crushed under the weight of its contradictions. Reuters HMD Global, the Finnish company that owns the right to use the Nokia brand on phones, has raised $100 million of funding intended to boost growth, it said on Monday. Having sold about 70 million Nokia phones and generated sales of 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in its first year, 2017, HMD said it plans to expand its Nokia smartphone range and to double sales channels in key markets this year. Our aim is to be one of the leading players in the global smartphone market, and our initial success strengthens our confidence that we can continue on our growth path in 2018 and beyond, CEO Florian Seiche said in a statement. New investors include DMJ Asia Investment Opportunity and Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile. The fundraising round was led by Ginko Ventures, a fund owned by Jean-Francois Baril, a long-serving former senior vice president at Nokia. Actual stakes were not disclosed. HMDs products are built by FIH Mobile and use Googles Android platform. It pays Nokia Corp royalties for the brand and patents, but Nokia has no direct investment in HMD. Once the worlds dominant phone maker, Nokia Corp failed to compete in touchscreen smartphones and ended up selling its handset business to Microsoft in 2014. It is now focused on telecom network equipment. HMD, set up by former Nokia executives, took over the Nokia feature phone business from Microsoft in 2016 and struck a deal with Nokia Oyj to use the brand on smartphones. According to Counterpoint Research, Nokia was the biggest-selling brand last year in low-cost feature phones and ranked No. 11 in smartphones. IANS On its way to deploy five Iridium Next communications satellites, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will also launch twin NASA satellites that will monitor Earth's water cycle, marking a unique rideshare arrangement. The satellites are scheduled to launch at 3.47 pm EDT from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California. (This corresponds to 1.17 am IST on 23 May), NASA said. The two Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On mission (GRACE-FO) spacecraft will follow each other in orbit around Earth, separated by about 220 km. On liftoff, the Falcon 9 first-stage engines will burn for approximately two minutes and 45 seconds before shutting down at main engine cutoff (MECO). The Falcon 9's first and second stages will separate seconds later. Then, the second-stage engine will ignite for the first time (SES1) and burn until the vehicle reaches the altitude of the injection orbit, 490 km. While this burn is going on, the payload fairing -- the launch vehicle's nose cone -- will separate into two halves like a clamshell and fall away. When the rocket's second stage has completed its ascent to the injection orbit altitude, it will pitch down (its nose points down) 30 degrees and roll so that one of the twin GRACE-FO satellites is facing down, toward Earth, and the other is facing up, toward space. Then the second stage engine will cut off (SECO). About 10 minutes after liftoff, a separation system on the second stage will deploy the GRACE-FO satellites. Separation will occur over the Pacific Ocean at about 17.5 degrees North latitude, 122.6 degrees West longitude. The first opportunity to receive data from the spacecraft will occur at NASA's tracking station at McMurdo, Antarctica, about 23 minutes after separation, NASA said. After the GRACE-FO satellites are deployed, the Falcon 9 second stage will coast for half an orbit before reigniting its engine (SES2) to take the Iridium Next satellites to a higher orbit for deployment. GRACE-FO, a collaborative mission of NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), continues the work of the original GRACE mission in observing the movement of water and other mass around our planet by tracking the changing pull of gravity very precisely. Reuters Washington and Beijing are nearing a deal that would remove an existing US order banning American companies from supplying Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp, two people briefed on the talks told Reuters. The people, who declined to be identified because negotiations are confidential, said the deal could include China removing tariffs on imported US agricultural products, as well as buying more American farm goods. ZTE, hit by a seven-year ban in April which effectively crippled its operations, would gain a reprieve after the worlds two largest economies stepped back from the brink of a full-blown trade war following talks last week. The company did not immediately reply to requests for comment. White House advisors have said previously the ban against ZTE is being re-examined, and that the firm would still face harsh punishment, including enforced changes of management and at board level. One person told Reuters that there was a handshake deal on ZTE between US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He during talks in Washington last week that would remove the ban in exchange for the purchase of more US agricultural products. The second person said China may also eliminate tariffs on US agriculture products it assessed in response to US steel duties, and that ZTE could still be forced to replace its leadership, among other penalties. Both sources said the deal, while not yet cemented, was likely to be finalised before or during a planned trip by US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to Beijing next week to help reach a broader trade pact to avert a trade war. The company, publicly traded but whose largest shareholder is a Chinese state-owned enterprise, had been hit with penalties for breaking a 2017 agreement after it was caught illegally shipping US goods to Iran and North Korea, in an investigation dating to the Obama administration. Shares in Chinese telecommunications gear firms jumped on the news, first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Unchartered waters The sources said that while US companies that sold products to ZTE would be relieved if a deal was reached, some in the US government, as well as the business community have said they opposed what they saw as a clear-cut legal case being used as a bargaining chip in the broader trade conflict. American companies provide an estimated 25 percent to 30 percent of components in ZTEs equipment, which includes smartphones and gear to build telecommunications networks. Earlier in May, Trump signalled a stunning reversal on ZTE when he said on Twitter that he would help the company get back into the business, fast, saying the ban would cost too many jobs in China. Chinese officials had made the issue a key focus of their demands during negotiations in Beijing earlier in May, threatening to halt talks on broader bilateral trade disputes unless Washington agreed to ease the sanctions, according to sources at the time. Chinese officials had viewed the US punishment, which prompted the countrys second-largest maker of telecommunications equipment to suspend its main operations, as an attack that exposed Chinas dependence on imports of key technologies. Chinas Ministry of Commerce did not respond immediately to a faxed request for comment. Many experts have said the case will push Beijing to double down on state support for strategic industries, an issue that remains at the heart of US-China trade friction. The release of hostage ZTE will be the start of China and the US to implement their trade agreements, Hu Xijin, editor in chief of Chinese state-backed Global Times tabloid, said on his Twitter account after news of the deal was reported. Washington and Beijing both claimed victory in trade talks on 21 May as the worlds two largest economies stepped back from a global trade war and agreed to hold further talks to boost US exports to China. Over the weekend, the two sides pledged to keep talking about how China could import more energy and agricultural commodities from the United States so as to narrow the $335 billion annual US goods and services trade deficit with China, although details and a firm timeline were thin. Nikita Rana According to First Round Capital survey, 78 percent of female founders of tech companies say that sexual harassment in the workplace is worse than what is being reported (in the US). The US Supreme Court's decision to not allow class action lawsuits in cases like this is a huge step backward for women empowerment. One wonders what will happen in India, where the IT and banking sectors are male dominated, the decision-making power is also concentrated in their hands and are also the places where the maximum number of sexual harassment reports are generated. Nikita Rana shares her findings. Chancellor Angela Merkel visits China on Thursday, seeking to close ranks with the world's biggest exporting nation as US president Donald Trump shakes up explosive issues from trade to Iran's nuclear deal. Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel visits China on Thursday, seeking to close ranks with the world's biggest exporting nation as US president Donald Trump shakes up explosive issues from trade to Iran's nuclear deal. Finding a common strategy to ward off a trade war and keep markets open will be Merkel's priority when she meets with President Xi Jinping, as Washington brandishes the threat of imposing punitive tariffs on aluminium and steel imports. "Both countries are in agreement that open markets and rules-based world trade are necessary. That's the main focus of this trip," Merkel's spokeswoman Martina Fietz said in Berlin on Friday. But closing ranks with Beijing against Washington risks being complicated by Saturday's deal between China and the US to hold off tit-for-tat trade measures. China's economic health can only benefit Germany as the Asian giant is a big buyer of Made in Germany. But a deal between the US and China effectively leaves Berlin as the main target of Trump's campaign against foreign imports that he claims harm US national security. The US leader had already singled Germany out for criticism, saying it had "taken advantage" of the US by spending less than Washington on NATO. Underlining what is at stake, French economy minister Bruno Le Maire warned the US-China deal may come "at the expense of Europe if Europe is not capable of showing a firm hand". 11 visits in 12 years Nevertheless, Merkel can look to her carefully nurtured relationship with China over her 12 years as chancellor. No Western leader has visited Beijing as often as Merkel, who will be undertaking her eleventh trip to the country. In China, she is viewed not only as the main point of contact for Europe, but, crucially, also as a reliable interlocutor an antithesis of the mercurial Trump. Devoting her weekly podcast to her visit, Merkel stressed that Beijing and Berlin "are both committed to the rules of the WTO" (World Trade Organisation) and want to "strengthen multilateralism". But she also underlined that she will press home Germany's longstanding quest for reciprocity in market access as well as the respect of intellectual property. Ahead of her visit, Beijing fired off a rare salvo of criticism. China's envoy to Germany, Shi Mingde, pointed to a "protectionist trend in Germany", as he complained about toughened rules protecting German companies from foreign takeovers. Only 0.3 percent of foreign investors in Germany stem from China while German firms have put in 80 billion euros in the Asian giant over the last three decades, he told Stuttgarter Nachrichten. "Economic exchange cannot work as a one-way street," he warned. Meanwhile, looming over the battle on the trade front is another equally thorny issue the historic Iran nuclear deal, which risks falling apart after Trump pulled the US out. Tehran has demanded that Europe keeps the deal going by continuing economic cooperation, but the US has warned European firms of sanctions if they fail to pull out of Iran. Merkel "hopes that China can help save the atomic deal that the US has unilaterally ditched," said Die Welt daily. "Because only the giant emerging economy can buy enough raw materials from Iran to give the Mullah regime an incentive to at least officially continue to not build a nuclear weapon." Bring Liu Xia to Germany With Merkel needing China's cooperation, activists are hoping that human rights issues won't fall by the wayside. They have voiced hopes in particular that Merkel would raise the fate of Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo, who is kept under de facto house arrest by China. "Here's hoping Merkel brings #LiuXia to Germany with her--#China would be smart to release the latter now," wrote Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch on Twitter. Late April, German ambassador to China Michael Clauss told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post that Liu would be welcomed in his country. Asked if Merkel would meet with activists, her spokeswoman Fietz was non-committal, but said "as a general rule, the government and the chancellor campaign constantly for the question of human rights." US President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that a planned historic meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un could be delayed, saying the summit 'may not work out for June 12.' US President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that a planned historic meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un could be delayed. He said, "There's a very substantial chance that it won't work out" for June 12. Trump raised the possibility that the meeting could be pushed back during a White House meeting with South Korea President Moon Jae-in, trying to coordinate strategy as concerns mounted over ensuring a successful outcome for the North Korea summit. Trump told reporters: "If it doesn't happen, maybe it happens later," reflecting recent setbacks in efforts to bring about reconciliation between the two Koreas. The North pulled out of planned peace talks with the South last week, objecting to long-scheduled joint military exercises between U.S. and Republic of Korea forces. And the North threatened to abandon the planned Trump-Kim meeting over U.S. insistence on denuclearizing the peninsula. "There are certain conditions that we want," Trump said Tuesday. He added if they aren't met, "we won't have the meeting." He declined to elaborate on those conditions. Trump said "there's a very substantial chance" that the meeting won't take place on June 12. "That doesn't mean it won't work out over a period of time," he said. "But it may not work out for June 12. But there is a good chance that we'll have the meeting." Moon said in the Oval Office that the "fate and the future" of the Korean Peninsula hinged on the talks, telling the U.S. president that they were "one step closer" to the dream of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. Trump said he'd noticed "a little change" in Kim Jong Un's "attitude" after Kim took a second trip to China this month in the run-up to the summit. "I don't like that," Trump said. U.S. President Trump says of pending summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un that there is a chance it will work out, and a substantial chance it wont work out, but that doesnt mean it wont work out over a period of time, adding that theres a good chance meeting will be held. pic.twitter.com/2xJnwLhkNZ Breaking News (@BreakingNews) May 22, 2018 Trump said he hoped that Chinese President Xi Jinping was committed to the goal of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, calling him a world-class poker player. But he said he was displeased by China's softening of border enforcement measures against North Korea. Trump encouraged Kim to seize the opportunity for the meeting and to make a deal to abandon his nuclear program, pledging not only to guarantee Kim's personal security, but also predicting an economic revitalization for the North. "I will guarantee his safety, yes," Trump said, if Kim agrees to complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization. He said if an agreement is reached, China, Japan and South Korea would invest large sums to "make North Korea great." (With AP newswire) Police in Panama City, Florida, were engaged in a standoff with an active shooter they believed was barricaded inside an apartment complex at a busy intersection, with multiple shots fired, a city official said. One person sustained a minor injury, Panama City spokeswoman Caitlin Lawrence said in a phone interview. Police in Panama City, Florida, were engaged in a standoff with an active shooter they believed was barricaded inside an apartment complex at a busy intersection, with multiple shots fired, a city official said. One person sustained a minor injury, Panama City spokeswoman Caitlin Lawrence said in a phone interview. "Multiple shots have been fired," Lawrence said. Local media reported a large police presence at the complex. Bay County Sheriff's Office and Panama City Police Department responded to the scene, sheriff's spokeswoman Ruth Corley said in a phone interview. Panama City Beach Police Department and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also responded, Lawrence said. Local media footage showed several officers with weapons drawn taking cover behind cars. What sounded like gunshots could be heard as a local television reporter conducted a live interview with a witness who said he had heard gunfire. Panama City is located on Florida's panhandle about 80 miles (129 km) west of Tallahassee. A small group of foreign journalists arrived in North Korea on Tuesday to cover the dismantling of the country's nuclear test site later this week, but without South Korean media initially also scheduled to participate Wonsan: A small group of foreign journalists arrived in North Korea on Tuesday to cover the dismantling of the country's nuclear test site later this week, but without South Korean media initially also scheduled to participate. Pyongyang is allowing the limited access to the site to publicise its promise to halt underground tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. It unilaterally announced the moratorium ahead of a summit between leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump scheduled for 12 June in Singapore. The eight South Korean journalists were excluded because Pyongyang has cut off high-level contact with Seoul to protest an exercise with the US military a protest the North's media reiterated on Tuesday, saying saber-rattling and dialogue don't mix. Such messages from the North and Trump's statements that he is ready to call it all off have heightened concerns about the success of the summit and prompted South Korean President Moon Jae-in to travel to Washington, where he was to meet with Trump in Washington later on Tuesday. The group that arrived by charter flight from Beijing is made up of media from the UK, Russia, China and the United States. The journalists, including an Associated Press Television crew, will stay at a hotel in this port city on North Korea's east coast before traveling by train to the site, which is in the northeastern part of the country. The dismantling ceremony is expected to be held in the coming days, depending on the weather. The North's decision to close the Punggye-ri nuclear test site has generally been seen as a welcome gesture by Kim Jong-un to set a positive tone ahead of his summit with Trump. But, it is mainly just a gesture. The North has already conducted six underground tests at the site including its most powerful ever, last September and Kim told ruling party leaders last month that further testing is unnecessary. North Korea could build a new site if it decides it needs more testing or could dismantle the tunnels into Punggye-ri's Mount Mantap in a reversible manner. Details of what will actually happen at the site are sparse, but Pyongyang's apparent plan to show the closure of the site to journalists, not international nuclear inspectors, has been raised as a matter of concern. The North's decision to exclude the South Korean media, however, was a more troubling sign of discord. The South Koreans were expected to participate in the trip, but were left behind in Beijing after the North refused to grant them visas. South Korea's government expressed regret over the decision, but said it still hopes the North's dismantling of the site proceeds as planned and proves to be a genuine step toward denuclearisation. The exclusion, a sharp departure from the conciliatory mood between the Koreas since the South hosted the Olympics in February, deepens a standoff that began last week when Pyongyang signaled it would cut off all high-level talks with Seoul in response to the joint military exercises. The North claimed the exercises involved US strategic nuclear assets including nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and violated the spirit of detente on the peninsula. Washington denies the bombers were part of the drills. The North's official media slammed the drills again on Tuesday. "If the US and the South Korean authorities persist in the confrontation policy and war moves against the DPRK, oblivious of this fact, they will be held wholly accountable for all the ensuing consequences," said a commentary in the daily Minju Joson. "Dialogue and saber rattling can never go together," it added. Along with its anger over the drills, Pyongyang has warned Kim might "reconsider" the US summit over hard-line comments from Trump's new national security adviser, John Bolton. Bolton suggested the North must denuclearise before it can receive any reciprocal benefits from Washington. Pyongyang insists the precondition for denuclearisation is for the US to end its "hostile policy." Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia, spewed a column of ash 3,500 metres into the air, triggering an evacuation. Jakarta: Indonesian authorities raised the alert for the country's most volatile volcano, located on the densely populated island of Java, and ordered people within 3 kilometre (2 miles) to evacuate. Mount Merapi has erupted four times since Monday, sending out a 3,500 metre (11,483 feet) column of volcanic material and dusting the surrounding region in ash. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the national disaster mitigation agency's spokesman, said some 660 people living within the exclusion zone have evacuated since early Tuesday. Indonesia's geological agency raised Merapi's alert from normal to "beware," because of its increased activity. There have been no reports of casualties and operations at Adi Sucipto airport in Yogyakarta have not been affected. The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) mountain is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Yogyakarta city center is the most active of more than 120 active Indonesian volcanoes. Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people and caused the evacuation of 20,000 villagers. Nugroho said climbing on Merapi is prohibited and only disaster agency personnel or related researchers should enter the restricted area. Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 250 million people, sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 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. 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. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Gavin Jones) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Narendra Modi needed to reset India's relations with Russia, while simultaneously balancing India's ties to the US. This is what Sochi Summit was aimed at. Informal summits are becoming the norm in bilateral relations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Sochi on Monday for an informal summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin. For Modi, it was a second informal summit after the recent one with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Wuhan, while Putin has already had similar summits with the German, French and Japanese heads of state. Interestingly, Modi will meet Putin at the SCO summit in June, later at BRICS summit in South Africa and in Argentina for the G-20 summit, while Putin will visit India in October for the annual India-Russia summit. There has been turbulence in the international arena not only because of the dynamics of the Korean Peninsula, China's militarisation of the South China Sea and the US-China economic estrangement but mainly with the US pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. Modi's visit to Sochi was in the backdrop of three developments: First, US officials reminded India that major purchases from Russia would attract sanctions under Countering America's Adversaries through Sanction Act (CAATSA) signed into law by President Donald Trump in August 2017 and promulgated in January 2018. Second, Trump pulled back from launching a trade war with China by agreeing to put proposed tariffs on Chinese imports "on hold", and; third, Trump is all set to re-impose pre-2015 sanctions on Iran albeit dissent from European nations has delayed imposition. The US-China trade war would affect both countries, with the fallout on the global economy, but as per United States' bloggers, it would also adversely affect Trump's own business ventures. Imposition of pre-2015 sanctions on Iran would affect India's Chahbahar port development project. American reminder of CAATSA was to target India purchasing five S-400 Triumf missile systems from Russia worth about $5.5 billion (Rs 39,000 cr). India had reportedly asked for a US waiver but not received any response despite US defence secretary Jim Mattis appealing to US Congress to urgently provide India with the waiver, saying not appreciating Indian concerns could adversely impact India-US partnership. However, in absence of the US waiver, India has very rightly clarified that its defence purchases won't be dictated by the US. Interestingly, Cara Abercrombie, Carnegie's South Asia Program wrote, "If forced to choose between a robust, well-equipped military and US goodwill, India would likely choose the former." The S-400 is required by India to counter the emerging air threat. As it is, after the India-Russia S-400 deal is signed, delivery of the systems is to begin within 54 months from the date of signing. China is already in the process of acquiring the S-400 also from Russia. Russia's tilt to Pakistan and support to Taliban have been worrying issues in India albeit defence sales to Pakistan are in the backdrop of mounting sanctions that the US has been imposing on Russia. But Russia's defence cooperation agreement with Pakistan and closeness to China drove Russian foreign minister call upon India to join the CPEC. Russia also signed the joint declaration of the six-nation conference in December 2017 in Islamabad, asking for resolution of Kashmir issue under the UNSC resolution; which may be viewed acquiescing to Pakistani efforts for internationalising the Kashmir issue. From the Russian viewpoint, perhaps it also looked at India putting all its defence purchases in America's basket. Yet, these are hiccups in the historically strong India-Russian bonds. Russia has been a trustworthy ally always, and its physical action of negating the US and British naval threat to India during the liberation of Bangladesh is a historical reality. The emerging global challenges including the widening drift between US-Russia, UK-Russia coupled with the situation in West Asia-Afghanistan, and the China-Pakistan nexus that required invigorating the India-Russian relationship that is what the Sochi summit is all about. On the eve of his departure, Modi 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 Informal summits have no agenda but obviously, the two leaders would discuss regional and global issues at a strategic level including, US withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal; Afghanistan; terrorism; West Asia; Koreas; INSTC; China in Indo-Pacific; SCO and BRICS summits; defence cooperation; economy and trade. The aim would be to expand and forge convergence though there will be no issue of joint declaration or joint press briefing by the two leaders. In the meeting, Putin said Russia and India have been cooperating on several fronts in multilateral and international fora. He also mentioned military-to-military cooperation between the two countries and added, "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." Modi said that Russia played a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in SCO, adding, "We are working together on the INSTC and BRICS." Post the discussions, Modi said he had "extremely productive" discussions with Putin and they reviewed the complete range of India-Russia relations as well as other global subjects during their first ever informal summit in Sochi. Trump's actions of pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, preceded by pullout from the Paris Accord may be his urge to reverse every act of his predecessor Barrack Obama, but it has seriously damaged American reputation of going back on promises, which has even put Trump's European allies at loggerheads with him. While Pakistan and its terror export will remain problematic, India, Russia and China need to work together for the success of the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), which in turn also implies the development of Chabahar port as an International hub. Modi needed to reset India's relations with Russia; balancing India's relations with both US and Russia. With the US and the West gunning for Russia, Putin too was looking at resetting relations with India. This is what the Sochi Summit has obviously achieved. The author is a retired lieutenant-general of the Indian Army. Iranian military commander poured scorn on US threats to tighten sanctions, says people would respond by punching Mike Pompeo in the mouth. Beirut: A senior Iranian military commander poured scorn on US threats to tighten sanctions on Tuesday, saying the Islamic Republics people would respond by punching US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in the mouth. On Monday, Pompeo said Washington would impose new penalties if Tehran did not make sweeping changes, including dropping its nuclear programme and pulling out of the Syrian civil war. Two weeks after President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran, his administration threatened to impose the strongest sanctions in history, setting Washington and Tehran further on a course of confrontation. The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this and they will deliver a strong punch to the mouth of the American Secretary of State and anyone who backs them, Ismail Kowsari, the deputy commander of the Sarollah Revolutionary Guards base in Tehran said, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA). Limiting Irans missile capabilities was one of Pompeos main demands. Who are you and America to tell us to limit the range of ballistic missiles? Kowsari said, according to ILNA. History has shown that with the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, America is the top criminal with regard to missiles, he added. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the branch of the Revolutionary Guard, which carries out operations outside Irans borders, was singled out by Pompeo as a top troublemaker in West Asia. Soleimani is not a single person. The great people of Iran support him, Kowsari said. Separately, Irans government spokesman said that the plan outlined by Pompeo would exacerbate the publics hostility to the United States. Do the Americans think that the silk glove that theyve taken out and the iron hand that theyve extended to the people, a hand thats backed by Israel and the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), will make Iranian people think that America wants democracy? Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said on Tuesday, according to state media. The MKO is an exiled Iranian armed Opposition group which has called for the overthrow of the Iranian government for decades. John Bolton, the US national security advisor, has been a supporter of the MKO, which the Iranian government sees as a terrorist group. CAIRO (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch accused Egypt on Tuesday of mass demolition of homes in the Sinai Peninsula, some of it meant to punish suspected Islamist militants and their families, in a security crackdown in the remote desert region. The New York-based rights watchdog said demolitions, which have taken place in recent years to carve out buffer zones along borders such as that with the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip, had increased significantly CAIRO (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch accused Egypt on Tuesday of mass demolition of homes in the Sinai Peninsula, some of it meant to punish suspected Islamist militants and their families, in a security crackdown in the remote desert region. The New York-based rights watchdog said demolitions, which have taken place in recent years to carve out buffer zones along borders such as that with the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip, had increased significantly. An Egyptian military spokesman denied the report, saying it was based on "undocumented sources", and said the armed forces were working within a legal framework to create a buffer zone along the Gaza border and around al-Arish airport. Egypt in February launched a highly-publicized operation against Islamic State militants who have waged years of attacks on security forces and more recently on civilians in which hundreds of people have been killed. As part of a push against the militants, authorities announced they were razing farmland and properties for several km (miles) around the town of al-Arish in North Sinai. After militants stepped up their attacks in 2013, the military razed an extensive area along the border with Gaza. Human Rights Watch said the authorities had demolished more than 3,000 buildings and razed farmland within a 12 km (7.5-mile) area along the Gaza frontier, as well as scores of buildings near al-Arish. "The total number of buildings demolished so far in 2018 is the largest since the government ordered the eviction of residents from the Rafah buffer zone in October 2014," HRW said in its report. The group also said three witnesses had reported security forces demolishing or burning "several buildings" in al-Arish which they had identified as being owned by suspected militants or their relatives. CRITICISM "The Egyptian army claims it is protecting people from militants, but it's absurd to think that destroying homes and displacing lifelong residents would make them safer," HRW Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said in a statement. Reuters could not independently verify HRW's report. Egypt does not allow international media to travel to North Sinai to report. The military spokesman said residents affected by the creation of the buffer zones have been properly compensated. "The value of the compensations has reached 900 million pounds ($50.4 million). This in addition to the essential goods and medical and administrative needs that the armed forces provide to citizens in areas of operations," the statement said. Critics say Egypt's use of conventional military might against militants who have hidden out for years in Sinai is unlikely to clear them from the vast rugged region, which lies on the Red Sea between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba and is separated from mainland Egypt by the Suez Canal. Defeat of Islamist militants and restoring stability is one of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's main pledges as he begins a second term. Egypt's 2011 popular uprising, which toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak, was followed by years of violent political upheaval that severely damaged Egypt's economy. ($1 = 17.8700 Egyptian pounds) (Reporting by John Davison; editing by Sami Aboudi and Mark Heinrich) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Syria's army declared it is in complete control of Damascus and its outskirts after a devastating battle that forced Islamic State group jihadists to flee Damascus: Syria's army declared on 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 Islamic State 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 Islamic State 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 Islamic State 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 Badiya, the vast stretch of desert where Islamic State 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. Islamic State 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 Islamic State, 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 Islamic State 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 Islamic State-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, Islamic State fighters and relatives were evacuated from an area on the Lebanese-Syrian border under a deal between Islamic State 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 Islamic State-held territory. Those strikes killed several dozen Islamic State fighters. A resident of Yarmuk who was evacuated on Monday said Islamic State 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-Islamic State 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 Islamic State. Those operations have killed more than 250 pro-regime forces and 233 jihadists, as well as more than 60 civilians, according to the Observatory. By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott opened a three-day series of discussions with lawmakers, school superintendents and public safety officials on improving school safety on Tuesday, days after a teenager killed 10 people at a Houston-area high school. About 20 people, including supporters and opponents of arming teachers, attended the first meeting in the state capital, Austin, following the fourth-deadliest U.S By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott opened a three-day series of discussions with lawmakers, school superintendents and public safety officials on improving school safety on Tuesday, days after a teenager killed 10 people at a Houston-area high school. About 20 people, including supporters and opponents of arming teachers, attended the first meeting in the state capital, Austin, following the fourth-deadliest U.S. school shooting this year at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, on Friday. "The problem is that innocent people are being shot and that must be stopped," Abbott, a staunch gun-rights supporter, told reporters before the meeting. "We all want guns out of the hands of those who will try to murder our children. The questions is, what are we, the leaders of Texas, going to do to prevent this from happening again." Abbott, a Republican, has vowed that any changes to state laws would "protect Second Amendment rights." The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution enshrines the right to bear arms. Gun rights proponents say it prohibits regulations on gun ownership and that enforcement of existing laws should be sufficient to stop violent incidents like the one in Santa Fe. Gun control groups point to the regular toll of shootings across the United States as evidence that more needs to be done to rein in the proliferation of weapons. The U.S. Supreme Court has avoided major gun cases for a number of years, leaving in place restrictions on guns enacted by some states. In contrast to Florida, where the killing of 17 teens and educators in February sparked a youth-led movement calling for new restrictions on gun ownership, the Texas tragedy saw elected officials and survivors alike voicing support for gun rights. Some gun rights proponents in Texas have embraced the idea of arming teachers, a strategy advocated by the National Rifle Association and U.S. President Donald Trump. That solution is largely rejected by survivors and parents in Parkland, Florida, after the carnage there. Police arrested Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, at the Santa Fe school following the rampage they said he committed with a shotgun and a .38-caliber pistol. He is charged with capital murder of 10 people - eight students and two teachers. Police said Pagourtzis confessed to Friday's killings after being taken into custody, but they have offered no motive yet for the massacre. He is being held without bond, on suicide watch, at the Galveston County Jail in Galveston, Sheriff Henry Trochesset said. Four minutes after Pagourtzis started shooting, police entered the school's hallway and exchanged gunfire with him while he remained in a classroom, allowing the rest of the school to be evacuated, Trochesset said. "They contained him in that one area, isolated to them, engaging with them, so that he did no more damage to other classes," the sheriff told a Monday news briefing. Trochesset said he does not believe that any of the 10 deaths were caused by officers' gunfire but he said he could not rule that out until autopsies are performed. (Writing by Brendan O'Brien; additional reporting by Erwin Seba in Santa Fe, Texas and Gina Cherelus in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was a 'substantial chance' his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not take place as planned on June 12 amid concerns that Kim is resistant to giving up his nuclear weapons By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was a "substantial chance" his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not take place as planned on June 12 amid concerns that Kim is resistant to giving up his nuclear weapons. Trump raised doubts about the Singapore summit in talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who came to Washington to urge Trump not to let a rare opportunity with reclusive North Korea slip away. If the summit is called off or fails, it would be a major blow to what Trump supporters hope will be the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency, and a huge disappointment for the president himself. "There's a very substantial chance ... it wont work out. And thats OK," Trump told reporters. "That doesnt mean it wont work out over a period of time. But it may not work out for June 12. But there is a good chance that well have the meeting." Trump said whether the meeting will be held as scheduled will be determined "pretty soon." "North Korea has a chance to be a great country and I think they should seize the opportunity," he said. Trump's Oval Office remarks were the strongest sign from him yet about the possibility of a delay or cancellation of what would be the first-ever summit between the leaders of the United States and North Korea. It was unclear whether Trump was truly backing away from a summit that he is eager to hold or whether he was strategically coaxing North Korea to the table after decades of tension on the Korean peninsula and antagonism with Washington over its nuclear weapons program. The original purpose of Trump and Moon's meeting was to fine-tune a joint strategy for dealing with Kim. Instead it has become more of a crisis session after Pyongyang last week threatened to pull out of the planned summit. The White House was caught off-guard when, in a dramatic change of tone, North Korea condemned the latest U.S.-South Korean air combat drills, suspended North-South talks and threw into doubt the summit with Trump if Pyongyang was pushed toward "unilateral nuclear abandonment." "Trump doesnt want to look like he wants this summit more than Kim does," said Bonnie Glaser, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Its a smart move to say that he is willing to postpone. But to be credible, the president really has to be willing to walk away and Im not sure he is." MOON KEEN FOR SUMMIT Aides said Trump has privately been wondering whether Kim is serious about the summit after the abrupt change in tone. Trump heaped praise on Moon as an "extremely competent" leader despite some concerns voiced by U.S. officials that Moon might be too willing to compromise with Kim. U.S. officials have privately expressed concern that Moon, eager to make progress with the North, may have overstated Kims willingness to negotiate in good faith over the dismantling of his nuclear arsenal. Moon was optimistic about the summit in his Oval Office remarks. His national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, had told reporters en route to Washington he believed there was a "99.9 percent chance" the Trump-Kim summit would take place as scheduled. Moon said he realized many were sceptical in the United States about the summit "but I don't think there will be positive developments in history if we just assume that, because it all failed in the past, it will fail again." Trump on Tuesday reiterated comments from last week, saying Kim's safety would be guaranteed and his country would be rich if he denuclearised. But he said there are certain conditions that must be met and if North Korea refuses, the meeting will not take place. He said he would like a deal to commit North Korea to denuclearize over a "short period of time." Before seeing Trump, Moon met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton and urged them to speed preparations for the Trump-Kim summit. Trump reiterated his suggestion that Kims recent meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping had influenced Kim to harden his stance ahead of the summit. "President Xi is a world-class poker player," Trump said. The Trump administration is at odds with Beijing over trade. Trump on Monday urged China, North Korea's main trading partner, to maintain tight sanctions, tweeting that "the word is that recently the Border has become much more porous." Tensions between the United States and North Korea escalated last year as Pyongyang tested missiles believed capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. Trump threatened to "totally destroy North Korea" if necessary and derided Kim as a madman and "little rocket man" while Kim said the president was mentally deranged." (Reporting by Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom, Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee in Seoul and Doina Chiacu, Makini Brice and Lisa Lambert in Washington; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Bill Trott) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The Donald Trump administration on Monday demanded Iran make wholesale changes in its military and regional policies, or face the 'strongest sanctions in history' as it sought to turn up heat on Tehran Washington: The Donald Trump administration on Monday demanded Iran make wholesale changes in its military and regional policies, or face the "strongest sanctions in history" as it sought to turn up heat on Tehran after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a landmark nuclear deal. In speech that called Iran out for a wide range of "malign activities" apart from its nuclear programme, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for the negotiation of a new deal that would go far beyond the single focus of the 2015 agreement and would have the status of a formal treaty. The 2015 deal concluded under the Obama administration dealt only with the nuclear programme and was not a treaty but rather a UN-endorsed executive agreement between the parties. Unless such a treaty can be reached, Pompeo warned that Iran would face tough sanctions that would leave it "battling to keep its economy alive". But he laid out no strategy for convincing Iran, the other participants in the original deal Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union or others to open such a negotiation. "These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete," Pompeo said at the conservative Heritage Foundation in his first major policy speech since taking over as top diplomat. Pompeo vowed Trump's approach would ensure Iran would never develop a nuclear weapon. A new pact should require that Iran stop enrichment of uranium, which was allowed within strict limitations under the previous deal. Iran would also have to walk away from core pillars of its foreign policy, including its involvement in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Afghanistan, he said. "This list may seem long to some, but it is simply a reflection of the massive scope of Iranian malign behavior," Pompeo said. "America did not create this need for changed behavior. Iran did." In response, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani described Pompeo's speech as unacceptable and took issue with the fact that the secretary of state previously led the CIA, long demonised in Iran for its role in a 1953 coup. "A guy who had been active in an espionage centre 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," Rouhani said to a group of university teachers in Tehran. "Who are you to make a decision for Iran and the world and to tell Iran what to do and what not to do in the nuclear field?" Pompeo did offer 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, Pompeo 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. Still, Pompeo's list of 12 requirements included many that Iran is highly unlikely to consider. He said Iran must allow nuclear inspectors "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. 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 or being held on "spurious charges," he said. Taken together, the demands would require a complete transformation by Iran's government, and they hardened the perception that the administration is really seeking regime change. A longtime Iran hawk, Pompeo has spoken positively about regime change in the past, but in his confirmation hearing last month he sought to soften that stance. Laying out Trump's new approach on Monday, Pompeo said he couldn't put a timeline on how long the strategy might take. British foreign secretary Boris Johnson, speaking to reporters in Argentina, said he believed packaging all of Iran's concerning behavior into one agreement would be a heavy lift. "If you try to pull all of those into a giant negotiation, a new jumbo Iran negotiation, a new treaty. I don't see that being very easy to achieve in anything like a reasonable timescale," he said. "The idea of a jumbo Iran treaty (is) very difficult." European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogerhini said in a statement that Pompeo had not shown how resolving any of Iran's problematic non-nuclear activities would be easier done outside of the deal, which is known as the JCPOA, the acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. "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. "There is no alternative to the JCPOA." 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." Venezuela president Nicolas Maduro is facing an international backlash after winning his second six-year term in a landslide vote marred by an Opposition boycott. Caracas: Venezuela president Nicolas Maduro is facing an international backlash after winning his second six-year term in a landslide vote marred by an Opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging. Fourteen countries including Argentina, Brazil and Canada have recalled their ambassadors from Caracas in protest, BBC reported on Monday. The US has imposed new economic sanctions after Sunday's election. Venezuela is suffering from food shortages stemming from its economic crisis and voter turnout was low. US president Donald Trump called for new elections to "end the repression" of Venezuelans. However, Russian president Vladimir Putin congratulated Maduro on his re-election on Monday, wishing him "success in resolving the social and economic issues facing the country" in a statement. With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, Maduro had 5.8 million votes, or 67.7 percent of the total, the electoral council announced. The main Opposition candidate, Henri Falcon, stood on 1.8 million votes or 21.2 percent. The US has imposed new economic sanctions on Venezuela, aimed at preventing its officials from selling off state oil assets in return for kickbacks. 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." US vice-president Mike Pence earlier denounced the election as a "sham" and "illegitimate". The US had already slapped sanctions on Maduro and his senior aides, as well as banned US companies from buying any more debt from Caracas or the state oil company. "The US stands with democratic nations in support of the Venezuelan people and will take swift economic and diplomatic actions to support the restoration of their democracy," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. Venezuelan foreign minister Jorge Arreaza called the sanctions "madness, barbaric, and in absolute contradiction to international law". Even before the election took place, the US, Canada, the European Union and a dozen Latin American countries said they would not recognise the results. Telekomunikasi Indonesia (NYSE:TLK), the largest telecommunications company in Indonesia, reported first-quarter results on Tuesday, May 2. Top-line sales rose modestly in the first quarter thanks to higher wireless subscriber counts and a healthy broadband business, but those upsides had to overcome a substantial headwind from a mass exodus of old-school wireline subscribers. Telkom Indonesia's first-quarter results: The raw numbers Metric Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Change (YOY) Revenue $2.36 billion $2.33 billion 1.2% Net income $586 million $705 million (17%) GAAP earnings per ADS (diluted) $0.42 $0.51 (17%) What happened with Telkom Indonesia this quarter? The company reports its results in Indonesian rupiah, not U.S. dollars. The rupiah strengthened by 3% against the dollar between the first quarters of 2017 and 2018. Measured in rupiah, revenue rose 4.3% year over year. Voice and SMS text-messaging sales saw revenue sliding lower once again while smartphone data plans and high-speed broadband services pulled their weight with respectable growth. The Telkomsel wireless business increased its customer count by 14% year over year, and digital service sales rose by 25%, but the segment's total sales still fell 2% lower due to a rapid outflow of wireline contracts. Telkomsel now sports 192.8 million customers, down from 193.6 million at the end of the previous quarter but up from 169 million a year ago. The first quarter is a traditionally slow season for this company. The IndiHome landline broadband service nearly doubled on a year-over-year basis. At 3.5 million total accounts, IndiHome's subscriber count increased by 97% over the year-ago quarter and remains an important growth driver for the long term. What management had to say In prepared remarks for the company's earnings call, CEO Alex Sinaga noted that his company scored healthy growth in local currencies despite intense competition and stricter regulations in the Indonesian market. "Telkomsel remains focused on growing its Digital Business to take advantage from the increasing smartphone penetration and in response to the declining legacy businesses," Sinaga said. "Telkomsel also continues its effort to develop a digital ecosystem in digital service, including digital lifestyle, mobile financial service and digital advertising." Looking ahead The first-quarter results did not change Telkom's view of the coming year, so management simply reiterated its guidance targets for the full year. As a reminder, Telkomsel is expected to grow faster than the Indonesian cellular market in general and the entire company's total revenue should rise by high-single-digit percentages in 2018. These goals are defined in Indonesian rupiah, so investors should keep an eye on those exchange rates in order to get their proper bearings. Investors turned a cold shoulder to this report's slow growth and difficult seasonality. Telkom shares are trading 11% lower over the last four weeks and 30% lower from a 52-week perspective. That leaves the door wide open for deep-discount value investors and dividend hunters, who can lock in a 4% dividend yield at a rock-bottom price of 15 times trailing earnings. That's not a bad deal for a leader in one of the world's largest wireless markets, even if those dramatic landline losses are painful right now. If you're in your seventies, you'll likely appreciate an investment that can provide you with a bountiful income stream, and ideally, one that's set to grow steadily in the years ahead. Even better would be if this investment had a relatively low-risk profile that would help you sleep well at night. Best of all would be if this stock currently traded for a bargain price. Fortunately, there is one excellent business that meets all of these criteria. Here's why energy giant Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) fits the bill. With 85,000 miles of oil and gas pipelines snaking throughout North America, Kinder Morgan is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in the world. The company's pipeline network connects to every major natural gas supply basin in the U.S. and transports approximately 40% of all the natural gas consumed in the country. As such, Kinder Morgan is one of the businesses best positioned to profit from the shale gas revolution, which could drive U.S. natural gas demand higher by as much as 30% over the coming decade. Strong and steady cash flow generation Kinder Morgan's tollbooth-like business model helps to reduce the risk for investors. Approximately 90% of the company's business is fee-based, which insulates it from the commodity price fluctuations and adds a level of predictability to its revenue streams. Long-term take-or-pay supply contracts -- which require its customers to pay a guaranteed amount -- add an additional element of stability to Kinder Morgan's revenue and cash flow. A bountiful dividend Management is committed to passing these strong cash flows on to shareholders. Kinder Morgan currently yields 5% after recently boosting its dividend by 60%, to $0.80 per share. Yet even after this large increase, the dividend represents less than 40% of the $2.05 in distributable cash flow the company is targeting in 2018. Solid growth prospects Kinder Morgan intends to use $2.3 billion of this excess cash flow to internally fund new growth projects, with some of the remaining cash used to repurchase shares. "For the foreseeable future, we expect to continue funding all growth capital through operating cash flows with no need to access capital markets for growth capital," Executive Chairman Richard Kinder said in the company's first-quarter earnings release. This ability to self-fund its growth adds an additional layer of safety for investors. More dividend hikes to come Moreover, Kinder Morgan intends to continue to increase its distribution in the years ahead; management is targeting a cash payout of $1 in 2019 and $1.25 in 2020 . Thus, investors who buy shares today would effectively be obtaining a dividend yield of 7.8% in 2020 based on their purchase price if Kinder Morgan can deliver on these targets. An attractive price Better still, Kinder Morgan's shares can currently be had for less than 8 times the company's projected distributable cash flow in 2018. That's a bargain price for a competitively advantaged business with strong long-term growth prospects. All told, Kinder Morgan has many of the traits older investors will find attractive: a wide economic moat, robust cash flow generation, a high current dividend yield, solid dividend growth potential, and an attractive price. So if a high-quality -- and relatively low risk -- business that's likely to reward you with steadily rising dividends sounds appealing, you may want to consider buying Kinder Morgan today. Belarusian-Czech Joint Commission on Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technical cooperation 22-05-2018 On May 22, 2018, Minsk hosted the 10th meeting of the Belarusian-Czech Joint Commission for Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. The Belarusian delegation was led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Evgeny Shestakov, the Czech delegation was headed by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Eduard Muricky. The parties discussed current state and prospects for development of Belarusian-Czech trade and economic cooperation, intensification of the involvement of enterprises and companies of the two countries in the activities of the Joint Commission. Special attention was paid to the cooperation in transport sector, as well as to the development of the legal framework of bilateral relations. Following the results of the meeting of the Commission, the signed signed the Protocol. Within the framework of the Commission, the 8th meeting of the Belarusian-Czech Working Group on Machine Building, negotiations of co-chairs of the Working Group on Energy, representatives of the Working Group on Scientific, Technical and Innovative Cooperation and experts from banking and financial sectors were held. Specific projects of bilateral cooperation were discussed during the Belarusian-Czech business forum. A similar forum will be held on May 23, 2018 in Grodno in order to develop direct trade and economic contacts with companies in regions of Belarus. print version Please do us and yourself a favor dont make it roll coal. The only time you need to waste that much fuel is sled pulling or drag racing. Day to day driving and doing gives all of us a bad name. All that black smoke is un burnt fuel. It the same as smoking tires away from the drag strip. The trucks dont get great mileage any way. Here are tning that will get the attention of law enforcement : heavy black smoke(rolling coal), smoking tires, loud exhaust and loud music. If they want to on the black smoke they can hit you with a 5k EPA violation. Altering emissions or fuel control devices. Granted if we are pulling heavy up hill we may have some, but just leaving a stop light no. The Diesel and gas tranny are essentially the same transmission. I believe more shims and maybe friction plates. But both are 6r140. There is a thread with many of the TSBs for the 17 and some 18. I can recall a recall for a weak plate for the park assembly on the 17. There have been many that have a normal ticking noise in the 6.2 and as just stated above, a fluttering/ticking/chattering noise heard in 4th or 6th that is apparently related to shift cable that is to short and causes sound transmission up into the cab. (Still waiting on a TSB) Monster Tree Service Awards Three Territories in Portland, Oregon Eric Miller Brings Nations First and Fastest-Growing Tree Service Franchise to Portland, Oregon May 22, 2018 // Franchising.com // Portland, Ore. - Monster Tree Service, the nations first and fastest-growing tree service franchise, is expanding to Portland, Oregon. Recently featured by SUCCESS Magazine, Thrive Global, and Franchise Times, the Monster Tree Service franchise continues to build on its rapid three-year franchise system growth. Business entrepreneur Eric Miller has purchased the rights to three Monster Tree Service territories in the Portland, Oregon area. Miller was awarded the territories in March and will be launching in early June. Miller led a tremendously successful career as a national practice leader for a global consulting firm but is ready for a change. He has decided to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions and invest in Monster Tree Service. I am so excited to be on board with Monster Tree Service, says Miller. Im really looking forward to becoming a small-business owner; I cant wait to start giving back to my community through our wide array of services, including tree and limb removal, plant healthcare, tree maintenance and more. Josh Skolnick, CEO and Founder of Monster Tree Service, is confident Eric Miller will be a tremendous asset to the Monster Tree Service franchise. Eric is an ideal Monster Tree Service franchisee, says Skolnick. He has a good head for business and an entrepreneurial spirit that cant be stopped. He truly understands the needs of his community, and I am confident he will thrive as the newest member of the Monster family. We are glad to have him on our team. Monster Tree Service is the only franchise tree company capitalizing on the under-served $17 billion tree service industry. Monster Tree Service has achieved consistent year-over-year, five percent growth since 2009, resulting in a $10+ million business. Because its a high-upside opportunity, and a recession-proof business, Monster Tree Service expects to achieve $100 million in sales by 2021. Monster Tree Service is growing rapidly, and Im glad I get to contribute to that success, says Miller. I love the business model and see a lot of opportunity with this brand. The Monster Tree team is full of hard-working, genuine people, and I know Ive made the right investment. This business combines my love of nature with my drive for success. And Ill be working with my son. Im excited for us to take on this new business venture together. We cant wait to get started. For more information about Monster Tree Service, please visit http://www.whymonster.com/. To learn more about CEO Josh Skolnicks vision for Monster Tree Service, please visit https://www.monsterfranchising.com/vision-story. About Monster Tree Service Founded in 2008 in Fort Washington, PA by Founder and CEO Josh Skolnick, Monster Tree Service is the first and only national franchise brand serving the $17 billion tree care industry. Over the past decade, Skolnick has aggressively built Monster Tree Service into a thriving national franchise system working day and night to build the company into a $10+ million business with 22 franchised outlets in 13 states (with 50 total open or in development) throughout the country. Each Monster Tree Service franchised outlet offers full-scale tree pruning and removal services, including: tree pruning and trimming, tree removal, stump grinding, shrub maintenance, emergency services, plant healthcare, and various secondary services. In stark contrast to various mom and pop style tree service companies, all Monster Tree Service franchise owners are dedicated to Making the world a more beautiful place, one tree at a time by providing homeowners with unparalleled service completed by certified professionals. Monster Tree Service is committed to educating all customers on the natural conditions, diseases and infestations that impact the health of their plants/trees and treating all issues with an environmentally friendly, Do Not Harm approach. Its all part of the Monster Tree Service vision to partner with homeowners across the country to make their trees healthy, strong, and vital. For more information about Monster Tree Service, please visit http://www.whymonster.com/. Media Contacts: Graham Chapman 919-459-8157 gchapman@919marketing.com SOURCE Monster Tree Service ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Tony Romas Continues Strong Restaurant Growth in Colorado Denver welcomes its second Tony Romas location, bringing its nearly half-a-century famed ribs to locals. May 22, 2018 // Franchising.com // ORLANDO, Fla. - Romacorp, Inc., the parent company of Tony Romas, announces its newest Denver location opening at the Timbers Denver Hotel on Peoria Street. This is Tony Romas third domestic restaurant opening in 2018, and second Denver location opening in three months. The new Tony Romas is owned and operated by Bruce Rahmani and TR Peoria, LLC, which incorporates key elements of Tony Romas new prototype restaurant launched in Orlando, FL in October 2016, including a transformed restaurant environment, enhanced service approach, and Tony Romas innovative new menu. The team at Tony Romas thoroughly enjoys working with great franchisees like Bruce, who foster and support the growth of Tony Romas in key markets including Denver, said John Brisco, President Global Franchise of Romacorp, Inc. We are excited for Bruce and his team as they open their newest location and wish them nothing but success. The new Tony Romas restaurant is situated in the Timbers Denver Hotel located at 4411 Peoria Street and is now open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight. The restaurant features four TVs perfect for watching sporting events, 114 total dining seats, a full-service bar with liquor and wide variety of craft beer offerings and one private dining room named after Tony Romas original chef, the David Smith Room. Our team is excited for the monumental growth of Tony Romas in Denver and look forward to carrying on the legacy of the 45-year-old brand as we continue to open new restaurants in Colorado, said Bruce Rahmani, Managing Member of TR Peoria, LLC. Since opening our most recent Denver location in the Downtown area in February 2018, we have seen great success and look forward to seeing the same success in the Peoria area as well. Additionally, the new Tony Romas features its innovative 2.0 menu, which includes a new menu highlighted by a renewed focus on rib innovation, a new Bones & Bites menu, designed to give todays consumers the ability to customize their dining experience and taste bold flavors from a variety of small plates, and an enhanced beverage platform with modern cocktails and a broad selection of domestic, international and local craft beers. About Romacorp, Inc. Romacorp, Inc., is the parent company of Tony Romas restaurants, the worlds largest casual dining concept specializing in ribs. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Romacorp, Inc. has nearly 150 restaurant locations in more than 30 countries and is one of the most globally recognizable names in the industry. The first Tony Romas restaurant opened 45 years ago in North Miami, Florida. Tony Romas is also proud to partner with the Make-A-Wish Foundation (www.cnfl.wish.org), one of the worlds leading childrens charities, in an effort to help grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses across Central and Northern Florida. For more information about Romacorp, Inc. and Tony Romas, visit www.tonyromas.com. Please visit www.tonyromasfranchise.com or call (866) 981-0586 for information about Tony Romas franchising opportunities. For information about retail sales licensing opportunities with the Tony Romas brand, contact Bill Cross, SVP, Broad Street Licensing Group at (973) 655-0598. Media Contact: Elizabeth Landy Uproar PR for Romacorp, Inc. (321) 236-0102 elandy@uproarpr.com SOURCE Romacorp, Inc. ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Democrats believe they have a good shot to claim an extra seat in Congress this November as U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen prepares to retire. But it also appears increasingly likely that the party's nominee will head into the general election bloodied and bruised. Foreshadowing a long and contentious primary for the Miami congressional seat, state Rep. David Richardson is launching two commercials Tuesday (here and here) that promote his record in the Florida Legislature and attack former University of Miami president Donna Shalala over her stance on healthcare. The ads the first on TV from any Democratic candidate in the race not named Shalala tout Richardson's advocacy for Medicare for all and contrast that with a 2007 clip from a Shalala appearance on the Colbert Report in which she said she didn't support universal healthcare. "You're not one of those universal healthcare people are you?" asks Stephen Colbert, at the time running shtick as a faux conservative on Comedy Central. "No, actually I'm not," responded Shalala, who was Health and Human Services secretary in the 1990s when the Clintons tried to pass the Health Security Act. Richardson's campaign says he' s putting more than $100,000 into the commercials. The spots begin airing only days after Shalala accused him of misrepresenting her stance in favor of universal healthcare as late-evolving. "I've been for it. It's on my website," Shalala said during a debate Saturday at the University of Miami. "Let me remind you, what Ive also said is Medicare has to be enhanced before we do it for all. It doesnt have long-term care, it does not have dental benefits and it doesnt have eyeglass care. I want universal healthcare and enhanced Medicare for all." To read the rest, click here. PlayStation 4 has been around since 2013 and things are starting to wrap up when it comes to the current generation. This is something weve known for quite a while but has now been confirmed by Sony itself. The Japanese platform holder has had a meeting with the investors and, in the person of CEO John Kodera has pointed out that the PlayStation 4 lifecycle is reaching its end after being five years on the market. While its clear that the end of the generation is coming in around two years, its worth noting that Sony still has lots of titles to drop in that timeframe, such as Detroit: Become Human and Spider-Man this year, Days Gone, The Last of Us Part II, Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima in 2019, just to mention the most relevant. So, we can say all but that this generation is going to leave without any particular highlight. This is something Sony has already used us by the end of the last generation, when, just a few months before PS4 launched, PlayStation 3 received huge AAA games such as The Last of Us and Gran Turismo 6. Its going to end rather soon, and thats a given, but this doesnt mean that more great stuff isnt on its way. Something interesting has happened on the PlayStation Network, as a user has been banned for hinting, during a conversation with another player, that his dad is working at Sony. Precisely, a Fortnite player responded to a provocation with this words: bahahahahaha my dad works at Sony he will get u banned. Which is apparently something that Sony doesnt want to happen on the PSN. The user was notified with this long and quite explanatory message: We are writing to inform you that your account has been permanently banned. We have made this decision based on your online activity in the message. Pretending to be, or by association able to influence, an employee of Sony, its affiliates or 3rd party partners is against our code of conduct. You will no longer be able to access online multiplayer, PlayStation Store and other network features. Your account will not be reinvested at any point. We take the decision to ban an account very seriously, and we only do so after one of our moderators has carefully analyzed the situation. PlayStation Support, therefore, can not overturn this moderation decision. So, remember not to say other people you have parents or relatives working at Sony, at least unless you dont really have parents or relatives working at Sony. Because Sony doesnt want you to say so Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Indian AI Startup Staqu to assist Dubai Police with its AI-based predictive policing technology News oi-Vishal Kawadkar Staqu made its way to the top slot, out of the 677 applications. Staqu, Gurgaon-based Artificial Intelligence start-up has been selected to assist Dubai police in reducing the crime rate, with its AI-powered predictive policing technology. Staqu made its way to the top slot, out of the 677 applications received by the Dubai Future Foundation from across the globe. Dubai Police is aiming for a 25% reduction in violent crimes by 2021. It is further intent on integrating artificial intelligence with its current programs and databases, in order to provide analytics and statistics that would support the decision-making process, hence enabling quicker response time in emergency situations. To the same accord, the police authorities of Dubai were looking for adept tech partners. Staqu was amongst the 4 start-ups that were finally selected to work with Dubai Police on their challenging and revolutionary set of challenges. Following 9 grueling weeks of intense scrutiny, Staqu, along with another US-based start-up emerged victorious, finally signing the MoU with Dubai Police. Commenting on the most-recent triumph, Atul Rai, Co-Founder & CEO of Staqu said, "We are extremely humbled to be selected by Dubai Police in its strive for reducing crimes in the city. We started Staqu three years ago, with the vision of solving real-world problems with the help of Artificial Intelligence. We are spell-bound at receiving this opportunity to empower policing with Artificial Intelligence-based solutions in Dubai as well. We are forever grateful to the Dubai Police, His Excellency Chief Commander Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, for showing this much of faith in us and look forward to fully assisting the police forces with our AI-powered solutions." The predictive policing solution by Staqu Activities of police forces on ground zero have been fraught with several challenges like identifying criminals or predicting criminal activities based on heuristic data. The activities further suffer due to a lack of adequate technology that can extract and connect, in real-time, an extensive range of unstructured, disparate and heterogeneous data attributes from criminal records. These data attributes could be grouped under three categories: image, speech, and previously recorded non-uniform text-data. It is not feasible to utilize currently available simple software algorithms in computing such complex data structures. Staqu solved this problem with its proprietary, advance hybrid AI technology which amalgamates different neural network models to process image speech and text to extract meaningful information that aid in decision making. Auto Expo 2018: How AI can change the face of Mobility Along the same lines, Staqu will be implementing an advanced model of its proprietary research with the Dubai Police, as part of the MoU. 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 @alextdaugherty A Washington-based organization that seeks to elect Democrats to the House of Representatives is locking in its TV airtime for the fall. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced Tuesday that it reserved $1.9 million in the Miami market ahead of Election Day 2018. Campaign committees and other political organizations typically reserve airtime in advance to receive cheaper advertising rates. The Miami reservation, part of a $12.6 million nationwide ad buy was first reported by Inside Elections. It's not clear yet which Democrats stand to benefit from the outside television presence. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Mary Barzee Flores will likely be the Democratic nominees challenging incumbent Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Mario Diaz-Balart, while five Democrats are seeking to replace retiring Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for an open seat that is expected to be a pickup opportunity for Democrats in November. None of the Broward County-based seats, currently represented by Democrats Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Alcee Hastings and Ted Deutch are expected to be competitive races for Republicans. The GOP equivalent of the DCCC, the National Republican Congressional Committee, previously announced a $3.2 million ad reservation in the Miami media market in March as part of a $46.3 million ad buy nationwide. Running TV ads in Miami is an expensive proposition and most congressional campaigns must run English and Spanish language ads. The NRCC does not get involved in Republican primaries, but their money will likely be spent to support Curbelo, Diaz-Balart and whoever emerges from a nine-way GOP primary in Ros-Lehtinen's seat. A Super PAC called the House Majority PAC that also seeks to elect Democrats to the House of Representatives also announced a $1.1 TV ad reservation in March. Two Nokia smartphones spotted at FCC with 18:9 display News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu HMD Global is prepping to make new announcements later this month. HMD Global has announced an impressive number of smartphones in just one year of owning the license to sell Nokia-branded smartphones. The company hopped on to the bandwagon of 18:9 display with the launch of the Nokia 7 Plus. Last week, HMD announced the Nokia X6 with a display notch and 19:9 aspect ratio. Now, it looks like the company will announce a new device with the 18:9 display portfolio. As per a report by Android Headlines citing an FCC listing, two new Nokia smartphones are in the making. The report reveals that devices carrying the model numbers TA-1057 and TA-1063 were spotted at the FCC. These phones seem to have 18:9 displays but there is no word regarding the screen size and type. From the FCC documents, it is believed that these smartphones will be announced in both single SIM and dual SIM variants. They seem to have support for NFC connectivity and 2900mAh batteries. Also, the listing reveals that these phones might use any Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 series chipset. We are yet to know the final moniker of these smartphones. May 29 launch event We already know that HMD Global is all set to host an event in Moscow, Russia on May 29. There is no clarity on the devices those will be announced at the event. So long, it was believed that the company might unveil the next-generation Nokia 2, Nokia 3 and Nokia 5 smartphones at the event. We can expect these phones to also be a part of the event later this month. Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 6 First Impressions Next-generation Nokia phones Talking about these phones, we have recently come across a leaked photo showing the rear of the alleged Nokia 3 (2018) aka Nokia 3.1. Also, the company's CPO Juho Sarvikas confirmed the same on Twitter. He also hinted that the Nokia 5 (2018) aka Nokia 5.1 is in the making. Nokia X6 global variant After the launch of the Nokia X6 in China, rumor mills started focusing on the Nokia X5 and Nokia X7. There are claims that these phones are in the making and that the global variant of the Nokia X6 could be launched in the coming weeks. We saw the Nokia X6 global variant receive the Bluetooth certification as it could be nearing its launch. 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 banks on word of mouth strategy in India for its success News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu OnePlus is focused on rendering the best for the users than on traditional marketing. OnePlus started its operations in India in 2014. In less than four years of its existence in the country, the brand has overtaken many big players in the including Apple and Samsung. The company claims that this is possible with the word of mouth strategy in India. As of February 2018, the company has managed to grab 48% market share in the country's premium smartphone segment claims International Data Corporation IDC. In an interview with Quartz, OnePlus' global marketing head, Kyle Kaing, states that people might assume that they do a lot of marketing but most of their resources are focused on the product. Though OnePlus has roped in Amitabh Bachchan, the one of the highest paid actors as its brand ambassador, the company has created a great fanbase for as its biggest growth driver. As per Counterpoint Research associate director Tarun Pathak, the feedback on the OnePlus products have been really good and the company has built a brand equity in the past few years by focusing a particular price point. Not only in India, the company has also used the same community building strategy even in other markets. In Italy and Germany, OnePlus pop-up events to engage consumers. The global launch event of OnePlus 6 in London on May 16 was attended by 1,500 community members. Even in India, the company is following a similar strategy. The company focuses on community building by banking up on social media channels, which is a more cost effective strategy than usual marketing. This community building practice has helped OnePlus attract new buyers as well as retain the existing users to upgrade to a product from the company. For instance, Pathak notes that if a user has a OnePlus 5, there is a higher possibility for the user to upgrade to a OnePlus 6. OnePlus entered the country at a time when only the premium market segment was dominated by Samsung, Apple and LG, he adds. The OnePlus flagships are priced competitively than those of the rivals. Notably, the OnePlus 6 priced at Rs. 34,999 is around 65% cheaper than the iPhone X priced around Rs. 1 lakh. In the Indian market that has over 50% smartphone sales happening online, OnePlus has a long-running partnership with Amazon. However, the company is gradually expanding its offline presence. They opened the first experience store in Bangalore in 2017 and set-up pop-up stores on May 21 for the latest flagship in eight cities. Oneplus 6 First Impressions The report concludes Kiang stating that the company will continue making good products and will continue to grow. And, as long as they do that, they need not worry about the competition. 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 Xiaomi Mi 8 launch invites out; 3C, FCC certifications and price revealed News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Various leaks reveal many details of the Xiaomi flagship smartphone. Xiaomi Mi 8 is creating the buzz everywhere. So long, there was uncertainty around the products that the company might unveil at an event later this month. Now, Xiaomi has officially confirmed that there will be a launch event on May 31 in Shenzhen, China. It is expected to take the wraps off a slew of products including the Mi 8 and Mi 7 smartphones and Mi Band 3. Even the Mi Max 3 was speculated to be unveiled at this event but the company's CEO confirmed that it will arrive only in July. The invite shared on Weibo does not divulge a lot of details but it is believed that the 8th anniversary edition device will be the center of attraction. Besides the official invites sent out by the company, we have some other interesting information regarding the Mi 8. It has cleared the FCC and 3C certifications revealing some aspects. Also, the smartphone's alleged pricing has emerged online. Necessary certifications obtained According to 91mobiles, the device has popped up on the 3C and FCC certification websites. From these listings, it is claimed that the device will be launched in two variants. One variant will have support for 5V/3A, 9V/2A and 12V/1.5A charging. The model numbers of these two variants will be Xiaomi M1805E2A and M1803e1a. Xiaomi Mi 8 price leaks Coming to the interesting part of the Mi 8 rumors, an image leaked by a Weibo user has revealed the expected pricing of the upcoming flagship smartphone. The image reveals that the Mi 8 will arrive in two variants with different RAM and storage capacities. The base variant with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage is said to be priced at 2799 yuan (approx. Rs. 30,000). The high-end variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage space is likely to be priced at 3199 yuan (approx. Rs. 34,000). Xiaomi's Global Mi Home Experience Store in Delhi: Products Rundown What do we expect? The device is being heavily speculated in the recent times. It is believed to arrive with a 3D facial recognition technology, AI-enabled camera and on-screen fingerprint sensor. A leaked image showed the presence of sensors inside a notch on top of the display. This image tipped that the device might include the 3D facial recognition technology. A few days back, a leaked video clip showed the in-display fingerprint sensor in action. Having said that the device will arrive with advanced features, if the pricing is as affordable as the leaked info, then we can expect it to be a good buy. In the situation where flagship smartphones cost way too high, the Mi 8 can be a pocket-friendly high-end device for many. Best Mobiles in India 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. My friend Karen told me about a scenario that arose at her startup the other day. The team was onboarding a new team member, Bill, and on his first day, team members were welcoming him in a public chat channel. Related: Why Your Emails Could Use an Exclamation Point (or Three) Lena, a team member, wrote in the channel offering to give Bill a demo of the product. Bill did not immediately reply to Lena's offer. Several messages later in the same channel, another team member, Brian, also offered to give Bill the demo. Bill eagerly accepted Brian's demo offer. There are many ways to explain the scenario above -- for example, maybe all other team members were in a meeting at the time Lena sent her message -- but the outcome could have real consequences for Lena's feeling of belonging on her team. If you were managing this team, how would you handle this scenario? Like it or not, with the rapid adaption of workplace communication platforms like Slack, the way managers give and receive feedback is dramatically altered. How can managers most effectively navigate digital relationships with their direct reports? Related: It's Not Only OK for Your Employees to Engage Through Digital -- It's a Must Here are four tips for channeling strong management skills in your digital communication: 1. Use digital platforms to provide real-time recognition and feedback, but don't use them as a replacement for face-to-face time. Recognition remains one of the top human motivators, and is a well-known management tool for motivating employees. However, providing frequent praise is harder than it looks, particularly when output is created by a team, or day-to-day progress is incremental. Digital chat and productivity platforms can be a big asset here. Use the messaging capabilities of these tools to show employees that you appreciate their everyday good work, not just their big wins. A quick "good job," "nice work," or thumbs up emoji goes a long way! But, 1:1s are still important for building a relationship with your direct reports. Don't forget to keep a normal schedule, and stick to it. 2. Think before you type. Productivity tools of today provide the immediate benefit of communicating with those sitting floors (or miles) away from you. However, without the aid of body language, the tone of digital communications -- particularly those rattled off in a stream of consciousness -- can be easily misconstrued. Just as you would think before you speak, take a second to think before hitting send on your next email. Consider how the contents and wording of your message will land with your team member. Ask yourself: "Is my message clear? Would I say this in person?" If the answer to either of these questions is no, consider re-wording or taking the conversation offline. Related: 10 Tricks for Using Slack to Execute Your Business Strategy Like a Pro 3. Create team norms around digital communication after hours. One great benefit of digital tools is that they empower individuals to work when it is most convenient for them. However, this increased flexibility raises new challenges with respect to after-hours communication. In a 2015 study on workplace flexibility, 65 percent of employees reported that their manager expects them to be reachable outside of the office. Left alone, a plugged-in company culture can become a costly problem in terms of negative side-effects for employees, including low engagement and burnout. Clearly communicate norms around after-hours communication and when employees are expected to reply, and set an example for your team by adhering to them. 4. Don't forget to create an inclusive environment in your digital spaces. Public chat channels and email chains can be a great team bonding tool. However, it is important to be aware of the voices that are dominating the dialog in these contexts. Notice that your team's #random channel has become an ode to the Philadelphia 76ers? Consider the team members who can't participate in these conversations, and how that exclusion might impact their feeling part of the team. Digital dialog can also provide a valuable tool for understanding unconscious biases that might be affecting your team culture. Related: Want to Improve Your Communication Skills? Stop Saying These 25 Words. Back to the example from my friend Karen's startup. Remember that Lena seemed to be ignored in the group thread only to have Bill accept the demo invitation from Brian? What are the consequences for Lena? At best, she might feel a little weird. At worst, she might feel that her ideas are not valued on the team. As a manager, these seemingly small bits of conversation can add up to issues in team dynamics. If you notice situations like this, be proactive. Take the time to speak to all parties privately, and offline. Remember, managers account for 70 percent of the variance in employee engagement. So, while digital communication platforms at work can make collaboration easier, the importance of managers in the digital age is just as critical. Related: As a Boss, There's Much More to Digital Communications With Your Team Than Using the Right Emoji Account-Based Marketing and Inside Sales Are a Match Made in Heaven How Technology Is Turning Knowledge-Sharing Into a Global Currency Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved WASHINGTON - Democrats plan to highlight allegations of corruption surrounding the Trump administration - and a legislative agenda to prevent future abuses - as they continue rolling out their party platform ahead of November's midterm elections. The first planks of the "A Better Deal" platform, released last year, focused on the party's economic agenda. Now, with questions about pay-to-play politics swirling around President Trump and his current and former aides, Democrats introduced new anti-corruption proposals Monday billed as "A Better Deal for Our Democracy." "Instead of delivering on his promise to drain the swamp, President Trump has become the swamp," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., during a rollout event on the Capitol steps. While the new agenda was only sketched out in broad terms Monday, it includes proposals that would eliminate loopholes that allow lobbyists and lawmakers to buy and sell influence without the public's knowledge, allow big donors to influence the political process through unreported donations and to improve elections by eliminating partisan gerrymandering and implementing automatic voter registration. The message, the Democrats said: Elect us in November to "clean up the chaos and corruption in Washington." One proposal - which would tighten the federal laws governing lobbying disclosures and foreign-agent registration - responds to the apparent sale of influence by Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer. According to recently disclosed financial records, Cohen earned millions of dollars from companies that wanted to secure access to Trump's inner circle in the early days after his 2016 win. But Cohen never registered as a lobbyist or otherwise disclosed the payments - possibly because, under federal law, only those who spend more than 20 percent of their time on lobbying on behalf of a client must register as a lobbyist. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats would "close the Cohen loophole" to ensure any type of paid influence would have to be publicly reported. "Michael Cohen's pay-to-play schemes are a stark reminder of the glaring need to take real action," he said. Another proposal could rewrite federal statutes that might have allowed lawmakers of both parties to skirt convictions on bribery and pay-to-play allegations - including former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell, R, former senator Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. All were charged with fraud violations but then escaped conviction (due to a hung jury, in Menedez's case) or had their convictions overturned after courts found that their actions were not criminal under the current letter of federal law. That gave Republicans an opening to freshly criticize Menendez, who is seeking re-election this year. "Menendez needs to tell New Jerseyans whether he agrees that federal bribery laws need to be strengthened, or if he thinks corrupt politicians like himself should be able to walk free," said Bob Salera, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The new Democratic focus on corruption as a campaign message marks a return to a formula that helped put Democrats into the House majority in the 2006 midterm elections - after numerous scandals including the Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham revelations put pay-to-play politics on the public's political radar in a big way. Polling done after the election showed that the tide of corruption helped swing votes to Democrats, and the party's official now sees signs of similar concerns among voters. Several of the Democrats who spoke Monday attempted to connect the corruption allegations to a Republican governing agenda that has delivered outsize tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and dismantled financial and environmental regulations that aimed to protect average taxpayers. Democrats are also preparing to highlight an apparent atmosphere of rule-bending, if not rule-breaking, in the Trump administration. Several Trump Cabinet members - including Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, as well as former Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price and former Veterans Affairs secretary David Shulkin - have been subject to official investigations of questionable spending on travel and other expenses. What the agenda does not directly address is the pending investigations into Trump's alleged ties to Russia and any possible reverberations. Top Democratic leaders have urged the probes of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to run their course and have tamped down any suggestion that Trump might be indicted or impeached pending their outcomes. Instead, Democrats are targeting old-fashioned self-dealing, influence-peddling, and graft. Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., who helped draft parts of the agenda and spoke at Monday's event, said Democrats have no need to highlight the Russia probes. "The atmospherics of it are so pervasive, people are living and breathing it every day," he said in an interview. "What we're saying to them is, 'You know what? We need to clean the whole thing up.' And against the backdrop of all this stuff that is happening, they know what that means. It doesn't have to be complicated." Mark Trost VCNW | Getty Images If you weren't convinced that we are in the early stages of a cannabis boom unlike any other in history, then perhaps these numbers from Chris Walsh, an industry analyst and editorial vice president of MJBiZDaily, will change your mind. Smith, who presented his findings to a packed crowd in April at The Marijuana Business Conference & Expo in New Orleans, said that retail sales of medical and recreational cannabis in the United States are expected to hit $8 billion-$10 billion this year. That's a nearly 50 percent increase from 2017. Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump appeared to raise doubts Tuesday that his upcoming historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place as previously planned on June 12. "If it doesn't happen, maybe it will happen later. Maybe it will happen at a different time," Trump said in the Oval Office as he sat alongside South Korea President Moon Jae-in. "The meeting is scheduled as you know on June 12th in Singapore. And whether or not it happens, you will be knowing pretty soon." "But it may not work out for June 12," Trump later added. "But there is a good chance that we will have the meeting." Responding to reporters' questions in the meeting, President Trump also appeared to imply again that Chinese President Xi Jinping may have personally pressured Kim to take a stronger stance in negotiations ahead of the summit. "I will say I'm a little disappointed because when Kim Jong Un had the meeting with President Xi in China, the second meeting," Trump said. "I think there was a little change in attitude from Kim Jong Un. So I don't like that. I don't like that. I don't like it from the standpoint of China." "Now maybe nothing happened," Trump added. "I'm not blaming anybody. But maybe nothing happened and maybe it did. There was a different attitude by the North Korean folks after that meeting." At the same time, Trump also said coordination on the summit was "moving along" and said that Kim "will be extremely" happy in the event they're able to reach a satisfactory deal to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons. He said he believed Kim was "very serious" about his previously expressed desire to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. "I do think he is serious," Trump said. "I think that he would like to see that happen." But the president again tempered expectations about what the final outcome of any negotiations could be, saying there is "a very substantial" chance that an agreement "won't work out." "You never know about deals. You go into deals that are 100% certain, it doesn't happen," Trump said. "You go into deals that have no chance and it happens. Sometimes happens easily. I've made a lot of deals." President Trump also declined again to say whether he has directly spoken yet with Kim when asked by ABC News. "I don't want to say that. I don't want to," Trump said. "There is no reason to discuss that." But he again went out of his way to reassure Kim. "I will guarantee his safety. Yes. I will guarantee his safety. And we talked about that from the beginning. He will be safe. He will be happy. His country will be rich." The two leaders are meeting a week after North Korean leaders indicated the June 12 Singapore sit-down between Trump and Kim could be on shaky ground. Several security officials in the country have raised concerns specifically over joint U.S.-South Korea military drills as well as rhetoric from President Trump's national security adviser John Bolton. According to South Korea's Yonhap news, President Moon's national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong told reporters during the flight to Washington "there is a 99.9% chance the North Korea-U.S. Summit will be held as scheduled," but added, "we're just preparing for many different possibilities." Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. Three UK launched on March 3 2003 as a 3G-only carrier. Now fifteen years later, the company has decided to stop selling 3G phones and only offer LTE-enabled devices. Its the first carrier to make such a move. The 3G network isnt going anywhere for now, this is just preparation for the future. The carrier needs to wait until most of its users have a 4G-capable phone and until its network improves. Threes LTE network launched in late 2013 and its not ready to fully replace its 3G network just yet. The US switched off its 2G networks, but Vodafone UK has committed to keeping them alive until 2025. It actually might end up outliving 3G in Europe, so you dont need to worry. Still, its something to keep in mind when looking at buying new low-end devices (like the recent Nokia 3310 3G). On the mainland thins are different. T-Mobile Czech Republic has plans to kill both its 2G and 3G networks by 2020. Vodafone Netherlands has similar plans. Telenor Norway will do the same by 2025 and rely on VoLTE instead. The spectrum currently used by those networks will be transferred to LTE and who knows, maybe even 5G. Source Leading Chinese telecommunication, equipment and smartphone company ZTE will keep purchasing components from US companies, The Wall Street Journal reported today. As promised by US President Donald Trump, the seven-year ban will be lifted, but the company will have to make massive changes in its management and pay even more fines. ZTE was initially charged $900 million for breaching the trade embargo and selling equipment with Qualcomm processors to Iran. While the company paid its fine, it didnt follow through with the second part of the agreement with the US Trade Committee that was to discipline financially 35 employees involved in the incident. The positive action towards ZTE is part of the ending trade stand-off between the two biggest economies in the world. While Washington will allow the Chinese telecommunications company to keep its production going, Beijing will remove tariffs on US farm products. ZTE Axon 9 (images leaked on Weibo) ZTE is currently the fourth biggest smartphone vendor in the US. Yesterday, the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was quoted by CNBC that there was no intent of putting the company out of business. Details on the agreement will be cleared out later this week. From a smartphone point of view, this will most likely bring the Axon 9 and Axon 9 Pro, recently trademarked with the EEU, back in the rumor mill. Source | Via The rumors are true - Xiaomi is skipping a number and is calling its next flagship Mi 8. The information was confirmed by the company on Weibo, and it also made it clear that the phone will debut on May 31. The leap from Mi 6 to Mi 8 is to celebrate the 8th anniversary of the company and is also matching the last digit of the current year for easier navigation. An earlier leak said the Mi 8 will have 6.01 screen with a wide notch that will have in-house 3D sensors for face unlocking. The chipset is known to be Snapdragon 845 since December, and pricing is going to be the hard to believer 420 for a high-end 8/128 GB version. Along with the announcement on Weibo, Xiaomi launched a quick giveaway on the Chinese social media. Everyone that forwards the blog post with a short memo will get a chance to win a Xiaomi Mi 8. Thanks for sending this in, Jason Wong! Source (in Chinese) As announced earlier this month, today Xiaomi made its official debut in France. The company has opened an authorized store in Paris, at 39 Boulevard de Sebastopol. It's also commenced sales of its devices through its new online store for the French market. As you can see in the image below, a lot of fans were anxious to see the first Xiaomi store in France officially open, hence they queued in front of it despite the rain. From that location, or through Xiaomi's French online store, you can purchase the Redmi Note 5 for 199.90, Mi Mix 2S for 499.90, Mi A1 for 229.90, Mi Mix 2 for 399.90, and Redmi 5 for 139.90. Hopefully buying direct from Xiaomi will yield a better after-sales experience for French customers. The Chinese company will also expand to Italy on May 24. Source Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help Amtrak's Empire Builder pulls into Havre March 22. After a score of people spoke at the Havre City Council meeting Monday about the need to keep ticekt agents at the Havre station, the council set a special meeting Thursday to approve a resolution urging Amtrak to keep the agents. After nearly a score of people told Havre City Council Monday of the need to keep ticket agents in the Havre Amtrak station, the council scheduled a special meeting Thursday to approve a resolution urging Amtrak to keep the station staffed. Amtrak announced earlier this month that Havre and Shelby are among 15 stations scheduled to become unstaffed, citing the use of internet and telephone to purchases tickets making paying ticket agents an unnecessary expense. Lesli Robertson Shelton, a Havre ticket agent, said during the council's public comment section that having a ticket agent can save lives. Shelton said that last week, Mike Holland, an elderly train buff, had gotten off of the Empire Builder and checked in a few bags and wanted to watch freight trains from the platform. She checked in his baggage, and later asked him where he was going to stay, since the station was about to be locked. She recommended some hotels, and later a shuttle came and picked him up. Shelton said the man told her he would be back to pick up a rail pass. A few days later he was back, sitting in the station with his bags packed, she said. Shelton said a few minutes later he called her over, saying he feared he might be suffering from internal bleeding, adding he has bled internally before and he needed immediate medical attention. She said she told him about Bullhook Community Medical Center and Northern Montana Health Care, and offered to call him a taxi or ambulance. He asked for Shelton to call him a taxi, she said, and she agreed to keep his luggage at the station until he could return. Shelton said he called her later that day, saying he was being airlifted to a Great Falls hospital to be treated for internal bleeding. A few days passed and the man returned once again to the station, asking Shelton for his bag and acting excited to purchase his rail pass, she said. If it wasn't for ticket agents the situation could have been much worst or the man could have possibly died, she said. She added she still keeps in contact with the elderly man, and recently asked to use his story to help inform the council of the importance of the ticket agents. This is just one of many cases ticket agents have seen over their time in Havre working for Amtrak, Shelton said. Charles Evans asked City Council to speak in "not soft terms, but loud terms for this station." Havre Mayor Tim Solomon initially said that as City Council's next meeting is in June there is not much action that the council can take before the ticket agents are terminated. He encouraged everyone to get a hold of their representatives, to get a hold of the media, to tell their stories. Let as many people as possible know that "we want this station," Solomon said. The council members agreed. Gary Shelton told the council that he has tried to talk to his Congressional representatives and has attempted to contact Amtrak via email. He said he got a response informing him that a caretaker will be appointed and hired locally. Others in the room said they had similar experiences. They had repeatedly sent letters and emails, repeatedly calling with a similar response, if any, they said. Many members of the community requested that the council or the mayor take immediate action to contact Amtrak and Montana's congressional delegation, with hopes that they may be able to have better luck communicating their concerns. "Once its gone we aren't getting it back," many said during the council meeting. Some people at the meeting said that if the decision made by Amtrak is finalized that they might have to move, some for health reasons and some saying that when the weather gets bad, sometimes the train is the only way out of town. During the public comment section, many people voiced their concerns for the Havre station such as questions of service to customers who are elderly, disabled or suffer from health conditions that make it difficult for them to travel and to carry their luggage; baggage service; damage to the Havre economy and its effects on tourism and small businesses; security of customers and children who are riding the train alone; checking in fire arms during hunting season; and transporting human remains. Pam Harada said she has great concerns that this may have a negative impact on Havre's economy. With many tourists from Canada and other parts of the United States using Amtrak and passing through Havre, in the past, ticket agents have directed these riders to local tourist locations and restaurants. She said she also wanted to alert the council that some residents of the Hi-Line strictly use cash, and without ticket agents riders will decrease in Havre and may even result in the city losing the stop completely. This concern was echoed by others who spoke at the meeting. Jerry Malkuch, who called himself a railroad man, said he has been to many places around the world and every country has a rail transport system; everyone uses it and giving people the option to pay for tickets in cash or online provides more service for customers. Havre is a major stop; the train stops here to refuel and gives passengers time to stretch their legs, get a meal from local restaurants, or explore Havre, he said. Removing ticket agents will only hurt the riders and may even risk losing the Havre stop in the future, Malkuch added. Havre businessman Brad Lotton, candidate for Senate District 14, said he is concerned for the children riding alone on the Amtrak train lines. Ticket agents in the past has assured security for young passengers and have gone to great measures to make sure that they reach their destination safely. Without ticket agents, there is possibly a greater risks for young children riding the trains alone, he said. At the end of the discussion, the council voted to set the meeting Thursday to pass a resolution of support for keeping the station staffed. An over-the-counter supplement could be natures weapon in the battle against debilitating joint pain, according to a ground-breaking study by a Charles Darwin University student. One in six Australians or approximately 3.9 million people suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis, which can cause incredible pain and limits movement. It is expected that this will rise to 5.4 million by 2030. PhD graduate Dr Marcus Sanders said the research was the first to provide evidence linking glucosamine, previously used to help manage osteoarthritis, to treating rheumatoid joint pain. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition resulting from the wear and tear of joints, whereas rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that inflames the joints throughout the body, Dr Sanders said. Its astonishing to think no-one has linked glucosamine an antioxidant to treating rheumatoid arthritis, which in essence is caused by the autoimmune-mediated oxidation of ones joints. Dr Sanders began the research after discovering an obscure paper written by a research team from Japan making the logical link. This is the first time in Australia where we have found evidence that glucosamine may be beneficial in the treatment of this world-wide condition, he said. Dr Sanders surveyed a group of men and women aged 25 to 83 suffering rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis finding that 100 percent of those taking glucosamine for more than six months reported a dramatic reduction in pain and greatly improved movement and functionality. Participants taking 1500mg daily over 12 months reported less pain and improvement in joint function by up to five points on the 1-10 scale. Importantly, it took only six months for a noticeable difference. Dr Sanders, who is a Northern Territory police officer, will clinically test his life-changing conclusions in a laboratory later this year. The research will investigate different types of arthritis examining the antioxidant role of glucosamine and its efficacy given the oxidative stress associated with arthritis, he said. Dr Sanders will graduate at the May graduation ceremonies with his thesis titled: Consumer perception of the efficacy and tolerance of glucosamine in joint diseases. Charles Darwin University GALVESTON, Texas 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 bodys 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 3UTR, is a section of messenger RNA that can alter gene expression. Its known that shortening this RNA section promotes cancerous tumor growth. Researchers have historically thought that this was because 3UTR 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 3UTR 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 3UTRs 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. Other authors include UTMBs Ping Ji, David Baillat and Camila Fontes-Garfias; Hyun Jung Park, Zheng Xia, Benjamin Rodriguez, Lei Li, Jianzhong Su, Kaifu Chen, Joel Neilson and Wei Li from Baylor College of Medicine; Soyeon Kim from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Chioniso Masamha From Butler University as well as Ann-Bin Shyu from the University of Texas McGovern Medical School. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Housing minister Eoghan Murphy on the canvass for a Yes vote in Sandymount "In the divorce referendum it was the last voter in each constituency [which pushed it over the line]," Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy told the Herald on a recent canvass in south Dublin for a Yes vote in Friday's referendum. "And you can never tell just by looking at someone, by their age or gender, how someone is going to vote," he added. The majority of those answering the door in Sandymount were older men and women. Appalling All except four out of around 20 houses are in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment. "It's appalling what women were made to do in this country. I'm in tears when I think of that poor girl in Galway [Savita Halappanavar]," said one elderly woman who requested that her name be withheld. There are lots of people with strong views so I'd rather not talk in public," she said. "I just trust women, so I'll be voting Yes," said Trish Horgan. "You'd swear abortion was going to be mandatory the way some people go on about it." In an effort to get to every house, the minister sprinted from door to door to cover ground. For those undecided, he offered to respond by email to any questions, but noticeably didn't push them. "Let women decide, give them the choice, I've always felt like this," said Gabriel Kelly. "I was a midwife, women must have a choice," said Sheila Phelan. "My experience in dealing with women has influenced my vote. I'm voting Yes." Dublin Bay South has to "win big" to carry the vote, said Mr Murphy, whose constituency is one of the most liberal in the country, with 78pc voting for same sex marriage. "I really want my constituency to pass it," he said. But No voter Francis Xavier Carty said: "I know it's awfully difficult, it's terribly difficult, but I can't vote Yes and you won't persuade me, Eoghan." Tonight is a better canvass. "Several other evenings were more difficult," Mr Murphy warns when it appears he has an easy task. "I see myself as coming from the liberal wing of the party, although Fine Gael is far younger and liberal now," he says. "Some people have had to struggle with this. I completely respect that, but it has always been straightforward with me." A woman who fended off an attacker after she was set upon while on her way to a Luas stop has described how she broke down on hearing he planned to use cable ties. The criminal (34) was last week sentenced to 18-and-a-half years for false imprisonment, sexual assault and assault of three women in separate attacks around west Dublin in 2011, 2015 and 2016. A temporary ban has been placed on naming the man for legal reasons. One of his victims, Ruth Maxwell, described how she was in hospital speaking to detectives when one of them got a call. "During that statement she got a phone call from somebody up at the scene and all I could hear is 'cable ties' on the other end of the line," she said. "I broke down crying. Because I knew, I'd never have been able to deal with the cable ties scenario." Ms Maxwell said she still gets flashbacks of the attack. "I don't have hatred. I'm angry, but I'm articulating myself in the right areas," she said. "I have fear but I'll do the same in those areas. One of my biggest fears is those cable ties, so I'd like to meet with somebody to do demonstrations how to get out of cable ties, so that's another fear gone. "I don't want to be carrying fears around with me." She also spoke about how the attack unfolded in 2016. "I had my headphones in listening to David Bowie. It was a beautiful, sunny day," she told Today with Sean O'Rourke on RTE Radio 1. "The hands went around me. A cloth in the left hand, a knife in the right hand to my cheek and my chin. "He couldn't get the cloth over my face because my hand was under my handbag on my shoulder so I was using my elbow to fend that off. Knife "But then when he pulled me back, I staggered two steps and the knife came down to my throat. "I just took my hand out from under the shoulder strap and grabbed the blade and, just as hard as I could, I pulled it down." Ms Maxwell described how she suffered serious injuries as she defended herself, severing the tendons on three fingers. She began to scream as she pulled the knife down and it was at that point her attacker turned and ran. 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. Tabu is the latest star to join the growing cast of Salman Khan-led Bharat. The character details are still under the wraps but director Ali Abbas Zafar has promised that Tabu will play an important role in the period drama, which also features Priyanka Chopra, Disha Patani and Sunil Grover. Ive been a huge fan of Tabus work and always wished to work with her. After several meetings with her, Im happy it is finally happening with Bharat and am looking forward to the shoot, the Sultan director said. The film, Salman and Zafars third together, is slated to release during Eid next year. Bharat, produced by Atul Agnihotris Reel Life Production Pvt. Ltd and Bhushan Kumars T-Series, will be shot across locations in Abu Dhabi and Spain, besides Punjab and Delhi in India. Follow @htshowbiz for more Veteran film and theatre actor Dr Hemu Adhikaridied due to a lung ailment at his residence in Dadar, Mumbai yesterday, family sources said. He was 81. Adhikari,known for his cameo in Rajkumar Hiranis Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006),was suffering from a lung infection for the last one-and-a-half years. He acted in Sai Paranjpes Katha and Marathi films like Dhyaas Parya and Harishchandrachi Factory. His last rites were performed last night, the sources said. The actor is survived by wife, two daughters and a son. Noted Bollywood and Marathi film actor Sonali Kulkarni expressed her condolences on Adhikaris death. Sad to know the demise of our dear friend, wonderful actor, sharp audience, deep thinker, passionate reader and a fearless, concerned citizen..RIP Hemukaka youll be missed #RIP, Kulkarni tweeted. Suits star Patrick J Adams has apologised for posting an unflattering photograph of a woman who, he says, body-shamed him at an airport while he was returning home after attending the royal wedding. Adams shared a photograph of a woman sleeping in a chair next to him with this caption: She reads her paper. Sees 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, youre just so.chunky. She laughs and falls asleep, and . scene. Social media users called out Adams for being a bully but the actor said he was simply trying to put a face to the person who so casually criticised him and his wife. He later removed the picture and apologised. 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!), he wrote. 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. (AP) 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... Im no bully. What that woman said to us was offensive and unnecessary but I should have told her she was rude and out of line and left it at that. Im sorry I didnt. I was too shocked and annoyed and Canadian so I avoided the confrontation. Again, Im sorry. The actor and his wife, Troian Bellisario, were in the UK to attend the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, his former costar from legal drama Suits. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Sumeet Vyas, who will be seen opposite Kareena Kapoor Khan in the multi-starrer, Veere Di Wedding, happens to be the only male lead actor in the film. Asked how it was teaming up with Kareena, whose love interest he plays in the film, Sumeet says, It was lovely working with her. Shes a thorough professional. She comes really prepared on set, and hits the right note in every take. It was inspiring to see her commitment to the craft. Having been cast opposite an A-list star and not having had a chance to interact with Kareena prior to filming, brought its own set of apprehensions for Sumeet. However, he says that not for once did he have to worry about his on-screen chemistry with Kareena, because off screen, all of the female cast, including Kareena, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Swara Bhasker and Shikha Talsania, made him feel welcome. The way the entire cast treated me as an equal, it honestly caught me off guard, as I was an outsider to their circle while all of them are friends, off-screen too, says Sumeet, admitting that he had come on board the film with my own set of prejudices about films with big stars. I was apprehensive about the atmosphere on set, but I was pleasantly surprised with the way everyone was treated with respect and dignity, irrespective of their designation. Its only natural, when youre working with a bunch of highly successful and famous people, to want to protect your dignity and find that space and comfort where you can deliver your best. I must say, I didnt need to put any effort in this direction, adds Sumeet, who is a well-known face on the Hindi web series scene. Actor Sumeet Vyas and Kareena Kapoor Khan shooting for Veere Di Wedding in Delhi. (HT Photo) The actor also credits his director Shashanka Ghosh and producer Rhea Kapoor for creating an atmosphere where everyone feels secure and taken care of so they could give their best. Did the fact that Sonam, Kareena and Shikha are all star kids hailing from film backgrounds, ever bother Sumeet? No. Honestly Im too in-my-zone to care about who comes from where. For me, after half an hour, theyre all co-workers working towards one goal; to tell a story, says the actor, who has been seen in films such as English Vinglish (2012) and Ribbon (2017). Interact with Monika Rawal Kukreja at Twitter/@monikarawal Actor and global Unicef Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights Priyanka Chopra, who is on a field visit to Bangladesh, has urged the world to care for and support Rohingya refugees, among whom are a whole lot of children who she says are scarred for life because of their ordeal. Priyanka on Monday visited Coxs Bazaar, one of the largest refugee camps in the world, and shared photographs of her experience with Rohingya children, on Instagram. Almost 700,000 refugees have fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar and arrived in Coxs Bazar since August 2017, according to the UN. 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, Priyanka wrote. And as they finally start to settle and feel a sense of safety, monsoon season looms...threatening to destroy all that they have built so far. This is an entire generation of children that have no future in sight. Priyanka, who had met Syrian refugee children in Jordan last year, says 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, she wrote. Priyanka also shared a video talking about how the refugees had to travel by foot to enter Bangladesh. Their trip here was filled with many hardships and tremendous danger. Many of them made their journey on foot, walking for days through the hills, then floating across the Naf River or the Bay of Bengal on make shift boats... Many of them injured, pregnant, elderly. Their ordeal did not end here, after entering Bangladesh, they would often have to wait for days, sleeping in the open fields with no food or water, for aid workers to reach them. For a lot of the Rohingya children, this ordeal will leave them scarred, physically and emotionally, for the rest of their lives, she added. Priyanka asked for helping these children because right now, their future is bleak. Follow @htshowbiz for more Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is planning to expand beyond the Indian market, and will set up a subsidiary in Estonia, according to two people aware of the plans. Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd, an investment holding company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), will give a loan of Rs12.20 crore (1.5 million) to the Estonian unit to begin operations, according to one of the two people cited above, both of whom declined to be named. Thanks to its sophisticated e-solutions, over the last decade, Estonia has transformed itself into one of Europes business success stories. Indian companies would certainly wish to collaborate and imbibe e-governance solutions in this regard and Jio is no exception, said the second person. A company established in the northern European nation can operate worldwide, while all the compliance work and agreements can be handled digitally . A spokesperson for Reliance Jio did not immediately respond to queries. In Estonia, 99% of public services are available online 24x7. Since 2000, all government services in Estonia are offered online and all documents are electronically available. The reported move comes against the backdrop of Estonia wishing to develop a long-term relationship with India. According to an IANS news agency report on March 13, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, had in a meeting with an Estonian government delegation, expressed interest in collaborating with the country to develop better e-governance solutions or India. A statement from the company said Ambani envisaged to make lives better for millions in India by replicating innovative solutions offered by Estonia into the Indian context, adding that, the e-residency programme of Estonia will empower him with easy access to the entire European Union (EU) for his existing business while sitting in India, the IANS report had said. E-Residency is a new digital nation for global citizens. Estonia is the first country to offer e-Residency, a government-issued digital ID available to anyone in the world. E-Residency offers the freedom to easily start and run a global business in the European Union. Estonia will give access to the European Union. We believe your solutions are easily scalable to India. We wish to have a very close cooperation with your talent in Estonia, Ambani had said. Reliance Jio would want to diversify because, like its competitors it too is under great pressure in the Indian market. There is every reason to believe that the company may be running operations below cost, said Mahesh Uppal, director at communications consulting firm ComFirst India. In such an environment, it makes sense for any company to diversify in markets where the margins may be better. Besides, the European Union has long worked for a single telecom market. Being in Estonia does give you a foothold to expand further in Europe and helps Jio to mitigate some of the risks in the Indian market, said Uppal. With the arrest of two sharpshooters from Uttar Pradesh, police claim to have solved the mystery behind the murder of a property dealer at Kichha tehsil in Udham Singh Nagar district early this month. The police have also recovered two country-made weapons and the bike used in the crime, said Sadanand Date the senior superintendent of police (SSP) of US Nagar at a press conference on Tuesday. The arrested persons were identified as Sukhdev Singh of Madnapur in Shahjahanpur district and Angrez Singh of Kataai Mill of Baheri in Bareilly district. Later, on the basis of information provided by the two, the police also arrested the main conspirator, Jaswinder Singh, a resident Omaxe Colony under Pantnagar police station area, the SSP said. Now, the police are on lookout for three more accused in the murder including Jaswinders son, Randeep Singh, he added. Sameer Ahmed, a property dealer and resident of Ward 6 in Kichha, was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants in broad daylight on May 3. The victims brother, Mohmed Khalid, had named four people in the case, but investigation revealed that they had nothing to do with this crime, the SSP said. As the investigation progressed, police teams were sent to different places in UP. On a tip-off, on Monday the two bike-borne miscreants were nabbed from Kurreya road at Chakoni village under Kichha police station, he said. During interrogation they revealed that they committed the crime at the behest of Gurcharan Singh alias Bunty of Matkhera Bilaspur in Rampur. All three were hired by Prasannjeet Sandhu of Kundeshwari in Kashipur for Rs 3 lakhs, he added. Date said that Jaswinder and his son were the victims partners in property business. They wanted to eliminate Sameer and grab a property. So, they hired Shukdev and Angrez through Prasannjeet and Gurcharan, he added. Randeep, Prasannjeet and Gurcharan are on the run. All miscreants have criminal history, the police officer said. Forest fires raging for the last six days have burnt down more than 1195 hectares of vegetation in Uttarakhands Garhwal district, officials said Tuesday. Fire is raging in Pauri Garhwal, Badrinath, Alaknanda and Rudraprayag forest divisions of the district leading to revenue loss of over Rs 24 lakh, they said. There has been a sudden spurt in incidents of fires breaking out in forest areas as temperature shot up in the hill regions in peak summer after a brief lull when Uttarakhand witnessed thunderstorms and rain. The forest department on Tuesday received 600 fire alerts from its satellite, nearly three times more than 206 that it had received Monday. Officials, however, said this year the fire season got delayed primarily because hills received rains between March and mid-May keeping the forests and undergrowth moist. The fire raging in Garhwal division is reported to have reached very close to several villages giving locals restless nights and forcing them to keep vigil over the advancing fire. Dilip Jawalkar, commissioner Garhwal region has instructed the administration and forest department to rope in other departments and solicit the help of the villagers to douse the fire. The forest department, meanwhile, has held villagers responsible claiming that they intentionally set on fire the dry grass and pine needles in order to reclaim fresh fodder for their domestic animals. At times such fires go out of control. As per the data generated over last two years, so far the loss from fire this year is comparatively less. In 2016 during April and May 2917.14 hectare forest turned into ashes in Garhwal division. Similarly last year, 1074.91 hectare was burnt. The fresh forest fire is posing a big threat to the saplings planted by the forest department and wildlife as well. Most of the wild animals and birds are rearing their young one these days and are vulnerable to the sporadic fires. A raging fire created colossal devastation in the middle Himalayas in 2016 and it was for the first time in the history of Garhwal that helicopters were pressed into service to extinguish the flames. Fallen pine needles, dry bushes and dry grass have again piled up to dangerous proportions since then. Lakshman Singh, divisional forest officer (DFO), Garhwal forest division, said, Forest department is putting in all-out efforts to control the fires but the cooperation of the people is essential to combat it. The department is facing shortage of manpower, adequate fire-fighting equipment, and vehicles to reach the spot on time. On Tuesday, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Nainital and all other districts reported fire incidents. A mock drill of revenue police and local team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) was organized at Kapkot in Bageshwar district. We conducted mock drill today at Kapkot. There are no big fires as of now, Ranjana, who goes by her first name, district magistrate, Bageshwar, said. The appointment of Usha Negi as the chairperson of the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (USCPCR) has set off a buzz within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about handing over posts of ministerial status to people from the hills. Usha Negi is believed to be close to the CM and she managed to bag one of the posts in the government. This gives a clear sign how paharis are promoted when it comes to distributing responsibilities of ministerial rank, a senior BJP leader said, requesting anonymity. Urban local body elections will be notified soon, and mayoral ticket hopefuls have started lobbying with the BJP high command and chief minister TS Rawat. Sunil Uniyal Gama, a pahari who is believed to be close to the CM, and three candidates from the business community -- Anil Goyal, Puneet Mittal, and Umesh Aggarwal are in the race for the Dehradun mayoral ticket. Many leaders claim that the party might play the pahari card and give the ticket to Gama. The other three candidates hold a sway over the votes of the traders community not only in the capital, but also in other districts. If that (promoting paharis) is the case, then the party may lose some important centres like Dehradun, Haldwani and Haridwar in local body elections, a senior BJP leader said. Many party leaders have waited for more than a year to get plum government posts. The post of the Uttarakhand State SC/ST Commission chairperson went vacant on Tuesday. BJP national vice-president Shyam Jaju had said last that the posts would be allocated soon, but party leaders have doubts. Its injustice to the leaders who have tirelessly worked for the success of the party. If the government continues to appoint people who rejected the party at one point of time, then it will upset the leaders who have dedicated their lives to the party, another senior BJP leader said. Gama said, The party will take decisions in favour of all. What matters is the party and not an individual. Mittal said, Each and every candidate in the race for tickets is a party member first. Aspirations remain, but the BJP will choose the best in the interest of all. Raju, Sanjeev and Nandu believed in a comfortable commute to and from work, even if it would mean spending a little more. They used to book air-conditioned cabs on mobile app cab hailing services, and also took cabs back home, after burgling shops in Connaught Place. The Raju Gang, named them after their leader, Raju Pannerselvam, 57, is believed to have committed a series of burglaries reported from the Central Delhis shopping arcade earlier this month. Other members have been identified as Sanjeev Kumar alias Raja, 48, and Nandu Rawat, 32, A senior police officer said that the accused Nandan earlier worked as a driver with Ola and had not renewed his permit for more than a year, leading to his disassociation with the company. An Ola spokesperson, said, This is an unfortunate incident, however, we would like to clarify that the accused was not on our platform. An investigating officer said the first burglary was reported on May 4, when the gang broke into a meat shop, Khub Chand & Bros, during the early hours and fled with Rs 60,000 in cash, some raw meat and documents. Three days later, on May 7, the manager of US Polo Assn retail store in Connaught Place reported a break-in. He said that when he returned to the store in the morning, he found the main gate open and locks broken. The manager reported Rs 3.23 lakh cash and 45 pairs of jeans, 50 shirts, at least 50 pairs of trousers and 40 T-shirts, along with 20 blazers and 10 belts stolen from the shop, the officer said. Raju Pannerselvam alias Raju Police said, on May 12, a Raymond showroom was burgled and two pocket pins worth Rs 4,500 and one camera worth Rs 5,000 were stolen. A Reebok store was targeted on May 14 and Rs 30,000 cash, the digital video recorder of the showrooms CCTV camera, a bag and some clothes were stolen. Deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said during investigation around 20 to 25 clips of footage from CCTVs installed in the inner circle of Connaught Place were analysed and it was seen that in each theft, three men broke into the stores between 3 am and 5 am. It was also seen that they used to reach the crime spot in a white hatchback taxi. The cars registration number ended with 1425. The team obtained a list of all Tata hatchback taxis bearing similar registration number, said Verma. From a list of criminals who had been involved in similar crimes, police zeroed in on two names Raju and Nandu, who were arrested in with an Innova car in Rohini in 2017. Further probe revealed that Nandu was seen often driving a Tata Indica car as taxi, police said. Following the route often taken by the suspects, a special picket was raised at Rajiv Chowk metro station, gate number six. On Sunday, around 4am, a Tata Indica car was spotted near Janpath traffic signal. The police team intercepted the vehicle and Raju, Sanjeev and Nandu were arrested, the DCP said. Verma said when they were not using Nandus car, the gang booked app-based cabs to reach the crime spots and then pre-booked these cabs to flee. The Delhi high court on Monday refused to grant interim relief to a pregnant DU law student who was detained and barred from taking the examination due to short attendance. A bench of Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice AK Chawla denied the interim relief, saying it needed to go into details of the matter first. The bench issued the notice to Delhi University on the plea by Ankita Meena, a second-year law student who challenged a single-judges decision who had refused to grant relief to write the exam. The plea filed through advocate Himanshu Dhuper and advocate Ashish Virmani was urgently mentioned before acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal. Meenas counsel highlighted that Rule 2(9)(d) of Ordinance VII of Chapter III of Delhi University Act says attendance will not be counted in case of a married woman student who is granted maternity leave. The court sought to know whether this is applicable for all streams such as medical colleges, BTech, law faculty falling under the jurisdiction under Delhi University, etc. Appearing for the DU, its standing counsel JS Rupal contended the rule can be misused and can be used in all medical treatments. To this, the court said, Maternity is an exceptional case. You cannot take every medical treatment into these circumstances. The court also sought to know from the university about the monthly attendance of the petitioner between January 2018 and April 2018. It wanted to know at which stage of pregnancy the law student had attended the classes. Dhuper, the counsel for the petitioner, said they would file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court on Tuesday challenging the division benchs order to refuse interim relief. Two motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead a Delhi-based industrialist in Rajendra Nagar area of Sahibabad on Monday 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. Janpath Hotel, one of the state-run ITDCs prime properties in the capital, will soon be demolished and redeveloped to house central government offices, three government officials familiar with the development said, detailing a plan, which could spell the end of an iconic hotel that has fallen on hard times. A committee of secretaries headed by cabinet secretary PK Sinha, set up last year to work out details such as land usage and how the hotel property should be used, has approved the proposal to develop the 4.4 acre plot in the heart of the capital for so-called General Pool Official Accommodation (GPOA). The Janpath Hotel has a built-up space of five lakh sq ft. Together with another five acre plot on 30 Thyagraj Marg that the government has identified for developing GPOA, this will result in creation of approximately 1 million sq ft of space for housing central government offices. Last year, the government decided to exit four ITDC-run hotels across India, including Janpath Hotel, as part of its Rs 72,500 crore disinvestment plan for 2017-18. As part of the process, last May, the Union cabinet approved the transfer of Janpath Hotel to the Union housing and urban affairs ministry, the owner of the land. Delhi has a huge shortage of land to accommodate central government offices, forcing many of them to run from rented properties. The Union housing and urban affairs ministry estimates the shortage at 4.2 million sq ft. The Janpath Hotel property has a built up space of 500,000 sq. ft , of which it was using just 50,000 . To make more optimal use of the available space and save government the money spent on renting properties to house various central government offices, it was decided to redevelop it for GPOA, one of the officials cited above said on condition of anonymity. According to realty experts, the Janpath Hotel property would have fetched a windfall if it was used to develop commercial office space. In Connaught Place, the current built-up sale price of commercial properties is in the range of Rs 20,000 per sq ft while the going rental rate for commercial properties in the area is Rs 200 sq ft per month, said Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Property Consultants. Another realty expert, who did not want to be named, said it is not a fair comparison since the government will be using the property to house its employees, which is equally important considering the shortage of office space. Also they have proposed a self-financing model for developing the property, which means there wont be any spending from the government coffers. The housing ministry will soon move the cabinet for formal approval of the plan. The second official said, also on condition of anonymity, that the housing ministry wants National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) to implement the project. NBCC has proposed a self-financing model for the development, in which a portion of the property will be put to commercial use to fund the rest of the project. The third official, who asked not to be identified, said that NBCC recently made a presentation to the committee of secretaries recently on how it plans to develop the property. It listed five options: selling the property; redeveloping it as a hotel, a block of service apartments, or commercial-cum-official accommodation; or for GPOA. The committee decided to choose the last option of developing the property for housing central government offices, the third official added. A housing ministry official said that in its present form, the hotel building has to undergo major rehabilitation work. An inspection report by IIT Roorkee found the hotel structure unserviceable and in distressed condition. It did not meet the necessary seismic requirement too. So it was decided to demolish the existing structure and redevelop it, added the official who did not want to be identified. The online process for admission to Delhi University (DU) colleges began on May 15. There are forms to fill, documents to submit, and choices to make. Add to that the anxiety and excitement that comes with starting life in college. Admissions could be a tough game for many, and things might be tougher for outstation students. To the rescue, however, are the various students associations. From setting up help desks to organising orientations and offering counselling, theres nothing these groups dont help with. Heres taking a look at a few such messiahs. Naga Students Union, Delhi: The NSUD is one of the most active students associations, helping students from Nagaland. Its work begins when the admission season starts, and continues well into the year with events like a literary week and interactive sessions with eminent guests. Students from Nagaland are clueless about the DU admission procedure and the settling in. So, from basic admission information and career counselling to absolutely any other issue, such as college administration problems, we try our best to help them with whatever we can, says Yitatu Thurr, vice-president. The NSUD help desk is at Nagaland House from May 21, till the end of admissions. Contact: www.facebook.com/groups/nsudelhi Sri Lankan Students and Alumni Association, DU: While this is a very active group in itself, it also has a lot of strong support from the alumni and Sri Lankan dignitaries based in the city. There are a lot of Sri Lankan alumni in Delhi, and they never hesitate to help newcomers with language barrier issues, admission-related problems and even finding accommodation. Their support and presence in our lives is such that we celebrate a lot of occasions, such as the Sri Lankan Independence Day and New Year, in association with the High Commission, says Lahiru Gimhana Komangod, president. He adds, Were only 10 of us here in Delhi this year, so while were not adequate for help desks, were more than happy to help incoming students over the phone. Contact: 9891100883, www.facebook.com/SLDU.tk All Assamese Students Association, New Delhi: Weve been actively organising counselling sessions and setting up help desks during admission for the past four years. And we have student co-ordinators in each college to help applicants with their paperwork, says Mrigen Jyoti Kashyap, general secretary. We also enlist the help of local media in Assam to publicise all the admission information that we can. The association also addresses security concerns throughout the year. Staying safe in Delhi is one of the biggest concerns for female students and their families back home. So from arranging safe and comfortable accommodation for them to staying in touch with the police and other local authorities here, we take all the measures that we can, explains Kashyap. Their help desk is at Assam Bhawan. Contact: 070022 18010, www.facebook.com/AASAND2009 From arranging safe and comfortable accommodation for them to remaining in touch with the police and other local authorities, All Assamese Students Association does it all. Nepalese student groups: There are two groups helping newcomers on the campus. They are: Nepalese Student Association, Delhi University; and Nepalese Student Helping Hands. From career counselling and assistance with admission to organising cultural and sporting events, everything is aimed at giving Nepalese students a home-away-from-home feel. We also organise donation drives and meditation sessions for our students here. They should never feel alone in a new city, says Kush Kumar Mandal, president, Nepalese Student Helping Hands. Contact: Nepalese Student Association, Delhi University: 9971750997, www.facebook.com/nsadu2012; Nepalese Student Helping Hands: 8587940802, www.facebook.com/nepalesestudenthelpinghands Third Gender Counselling: The Department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extension is also organising one-to-one counselling sessions for third gender students in the department building. Were hoping for a bigger space, and more assistance from the government and DU authorities, but in the meanwhile, all counselling sessions and assistance are being given to students in this building itself, says Prof. Rajesh Kumar. For third gender students, we have also formed a WhatApp group, where were constantly handing out admission information and updates, and scholarship guidance, too. Contact: Professor Rajesh Kumar 9873302532 Apart from this, like every year, DU will be holding its open days (May 21-May 29) at the Conference Centre near Gate number 4, North Campus. The sessions are in two slots: 10am-11.30am; 12pm-1.30pm, and queries relating to registration, admission and such will be answered. The killers of a 15-year-old girl from Jharkhand, whose dismembered body parts were found in a drain in outer Delhi a fortnight ago, used a cleaver purchased from a market in Nangloi to chop her body into 12 pieces, investigators said on Monday. The brutal murder was committed around 11pm on May 3 after allegedly planning for a week, the police said. Manjeet Karketa, 30-year-old agent of a fake placement agency, at whose rented house the crime was committed has already been arrested by the police in connection with the case. Soni was lured to Delhi three years ago from Jharkhand allegedly by Karketa and his associate Rakesh, who is still absconding, with the promise of a high-paying job. However, she was allegedly forced to work as a domestic help at various houses across Delhi. She was murdered by Karketa and three others for demanding her salary, around Rs 2 lakh that she had earned working as a domestic help. Police said Rakesh was not present at Karketas home when the girl was murdered. The two other killers include a woman Gauri, who was also lured to Delhi by the three men and forced to work as domestic help . The third suspect, Shalu, also belongs to a village in Gulma district of Jharkhand. Two teams are camping in Jharkhand and West Bengal to nab the three suspects. Karketa has told interrogators that the murder plan was hatched for almost a week before the crime was executed, a police officer associated with the case said. The officer said the girls frequent threats to file a police complaint if her money was not returned and she was not sent back home, had triggered the four to kill her. Karketa has told us that they had panicked because of the girls constant threats. The killers first hit her on her head. They then severed her neck before dismembering her limbs and torso. They packed her body parts into bags and then washed the blood from the room. That all took them around three hours, an investigator said. Around 3am, Karketa and Shalu picked up the bags, containing the girls body parts, and left the home. They walked for almost one and a half kilometers to reach the drain where they dumped the bags and returned. The three chopped the body because they knew they were living in a densely populated neighbourhood and it was not possible to dispose off the intact body, added the officer. The body parts were discovered by a passerby the next day. Police registered a case and launched the probe, during which they analysed more than 100 CCTV cameras on routes leading to the drain. One of the cameras had recorded two suspects carrying the body parts in a bag, but their faces were not clear. Investigators photographed the girls head and launched a door-to-door search in Mianwali and neighbouring areas. They visited 2,500 homes and particularly focused on 200 houses before zeroing in on a house whose two occupants had been missing since the day of the murder. Neighbours were shown the girls photo and they confirmed that she was seen there on May 3, said the investigator. Karketas details were collected from his landlord who had photocopies of his Aadhaar card and other identification documents. His permanent address was traced to a village in Gumla. A police team raided his native home and arrested him. In a bid to escape arrest, a wanted criminal jumped off the second floor of a building in west Delhi on Monday wearing just a towel wrapped around his waist but landed in police custody sans towel. 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 a police team stationed on the ground and escorted to the police vehicle and provided with clothes. Police offered him innerwear to wear, but he didnt cooperate and rather tried to free himself. He is a desperate criminal with 31 cases registered against him, the officer said. Ambedkar University Delhi on Monday started the online registration for admissions to undergraduate courses being offered at the Kashmere Gate campus. The registration process for courses at the Karampura campus will begin in June first week. The university offers six undergraduate courses at the Kashmere Gate campus and the last date to complete the registration process is June 23. The first cutoff will be announced on July 9 and admissions under it will happen on July 10 and 11, a university official said. The six courses being offered at the Kashmere Gate campus are BA Honours with a Major in Sociology, BA Honours with a Major in Psychology, BA Honours with a Major in Mathematics, BA Honours with a Major in History, BA Honours with a Major in English, BA Honours with a Major in Economics. The university will release six cutoff lists with the last list being announced on July 25. In case the seats remain vacant then subsequent cutoff list will be announced on the website, the official said. As it is a state university, 85% seats are reserved for Delhi students at the AUD. The university releases separate cutoffs for Delhi and non-Delhi students. It also releases different cutoffs for different streams. The online registration for three B.Voc courses also started on Monday and will end on June 23. The university has already started the online registration process for 18 postgraduate courses such as MA Global Studies, MA Development Studies, MA Education and MA Gender Studies. Admission to the postgraduate courses is based on an entrance test followed by an interview. The last date to complete the registration is June 23. The entrance test will start from July 1 and end on July 9. The interviews will begin from July 10 and end on July 14, an official said. Aspirants can check aud.ac.in/admissions2018 for more details, the official said. Several schools in Uttar Pradeshs Lucknow have said that low marks in English pulled down the overall percentage of their students in the ICSE or Class 10 and ISC or Class 12 board examinations. Principals of schools in the city said that the damage to ICSE results was far more in comparison to ISC and brought down scores across India. Debra Bunny, principal of St Agnes Loreto Day School said it was disappointing to see that many of the girls who did so well in their school examination and deserve to get more than 90 in English did not get that marks. Our schools have always scored very well in English, except this year. I hope that council looks into it and does justice with the students so that they remain motivated to pursue higher studies in humanities with English as one of the subject, she said. There is a sense of nervousness and anxiety among students on how their papers were evaluated, the principal of a prominent coeducational school in Gomti Nagar area, who did not want to be named, said. She said, citing examples, that students with overall scores as high as 95% and above had been marked as low as 89% in English. This is distressing because in our school the 2018 batch of students was in no way below the standard of the 2017 batch. Also, the same teachers taught both the batches, she added. The situation was similar at La Martiniere Girls College (LMGC), which said many of its students scored below expectation in English, thus bringing down the aggregates in both Indian Certificate of Secondary Education or Class 10 and Indian School Certificate or Class 12 exams. Although the College did exceptionally well with an average percentage of 90% in both examinations, English results have been very disappointing, with some very good students getting scores in the 80s, its principal Aashrita Dass said. Author and national award recipient Dheeraj Mehrotra supported the view of LMGCs principal. Much to everyones surprise, English scores for ICSE were quite dissatisfactory for a majority of the schools. It was the main reason of dissatisfaction among students, he said. No doubt, English pulled down the percentage pan India and I am sure the council would look into it, he said. Mehrotra was referring to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which conducts the exams. The principal of another school said that they hoped that the council would look into the English results so that schools could understand the criteria of evaluation in English in 2018 and take effective measures accordingly. However, principals of two branches of City Montessori School were more guarded in their response. According to our English teacher, literature marks were fine, but the marking was somewhat tougher in the language paper, Kalpana Tripathi, principal of CMS Mahanagar campus, said. We feel English results were fair. The deserving candidates scored well. Only a few complained, Abha Anant, principal CMS Gomti Nagar campus 1, also said. The council declared results of ICSE and ISC exams on May 14. Tamil Nadus directorate of government examinations (DGE) announced the Tamil Nadu 10th Result on Wednesday on its website tnresults.nic.in. According to the directorate, 94.5% students, including 96.4% girls and 92.5% boys, cleared the exam. Here is the direct link to check the Tamil Nadu 10th Result 2018. Of the 9,50,397 students who took the exam, 8,97,945 cleared it. Sivagangai district got the highest pass percentage of 98.5%. The pass percentage of girls in science is 99.17% and that of boys is 97.77%. The pass percentage of girls in mathematics is 97.38, while 94.98% boys cleared the maths exam. The SSLC-March 2018 - Result Performance Analysis is available here. Students can check their result here. Students can also view their result on the official website tnresults.nic.in Tamil Nadu 10th Result: Heres how to check 1) Visit the official website for Tamil Nadu results, tnresults.nic.in 2) Enter your registration number and date of birth 3) Click on Get Marks 4) View your result and take a print out The Tamil Nadu Class 12th HSC result was announced on May 16 as 91.1% students cleared the exams. Of the 860,434 students who appeared for the exams, 7,84,081 cleared it. The pass percentage of girls was 94.1 and for boys, it was 87.7. The highest pass percentage was recorded in Virudhunagar (97.05), followed by Erode (96.35) and Tiruppur (96.18). The father of the 16-year-old has decided to move the higher court against the session courts order to try the juvenile as an adult in connection with the murder of a Class 2 student in Gurugram last year. On Monday evening, as soon as additional session judge Jasvir Singh Kundu pronounced his judgment, upholding an earlier order of the Juvenile Justice Board to treat the juvenile as an adult, the father left the courtroom. I will not give up. This order has shaken my family as we were hopeful the decision would be in our favour, but this is not the end. I will file a writ petition against the order in the high court, the 16-year-olds father said. The juvenile faces the charges of killing the Class 2 student by slitting his throat in the school toilet on September 8, 2017. The family of the suspect attributed massive media attention in the case for the decision. There are juveniles who are into more serious and heinous offences and are still tried as juveniles, there are hundreds of examples in the Gurugram court itself and the accused are out on bail too. Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation officials had pressured my innocent child. From a prime witness in the case, he was eventually made the main accused. He was threatened and framed for something he has not done, the father said. The father said that as per the doctors and the social investigation report, it was nowhere specified that his son, who has an average IQ, should be tried as an adult. As per the test, his IQ score was 95. Where is it written that a child with this score should be treated as an adult? I fail to understand how the law system works, there is no evidence against my son and the trial has also not begun but he is being treated as if he has committed the crime, said father. The accused, who is lodged at observation home, Faridabad, was unaware of the decision, said Dinesh Yadav, superintendent. I havent received the order yet, though it will not make any difference on his stay here as the final verdict is awaited, Yadav said. Yadav said the boy will write his Class 12 exams next year from open school. Barack and Michelle Obama are getting into the television business with Mondays announcement that they had signed a multi-year deal with Netflix. The former president and first lady have formed their own production company, Higher Ground Productions, for the material. In announcing a deal that had been rumored since March, Netflix offered no specifics on what shows they would make. Netflix said the Obamas would make a diverse mix of content, potentially including scripted and unscripted series, documentaries or features. 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 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 wider world, Barack Obama said in Netflixs announcement. The Obamas can be expected to participate in some of the programming onscreen, said a person familiar with the deal, not authorized to talk publicly about it, on condition of anonymity. The programming itself is not expected to be partisan in nature; a president who often derided the way things were covered on cable news wont be joining in. The type of people that Obama - like other presidents - brought forward as guests at his State of the Union addresses would likely provide fodder for the kinds of stories they want to tell. 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, Michelle Obama said. No content from the deal is expected to be available until at least 2019, said the person familiar with the deal. In this file photo taken on October 31, 2017, former US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, Illinois. (AFP) The former president appeared in January on David Lettermans Netflix talk show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. Obama is said to be friendly with Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer, and discussions for other programming were already under way. We are incredibly proud they have chosen to make Netflix the home for their formidable storytelling abilities, Sarandos said. Netflix has 125 million subscribers worldwide. The company has always been reluctant to discuss how many people watch its programming, but it clearly dominates the growing market for streaming services. Roughly 10% of television viewing now is through these services, the Nielsen company said. Forty-nine percent of streaming being viewed now comes through Netflix, and no other service comes close, Nielsen said. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Jake Gyllenhaal has been roped in to star in the upcoming sequel of superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming. According to a Hollywood Reporter article, Gyllenhaal is being considered to play Mysterio, a classic Spidery villain co-created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. He will be joining Michael Keaton, who will return to reprise his role of Vulture, reported Variety. In the comics, Mysterio is a disgruntled former Hollywood stuntman, who takes to a life of crime after failing to succeed in the movie business. Tom Holland is returning to play Peter Parker, with Zendaya and Marisa Tomei also coming back for the sequel. Besides them, Jon Watts will also return as director. Holland most recently played Spidey in Avengers: Infinity War. Tom Holland in his Iron Spider suit in a still from Avengers: Infinity War. For Gyllenhaal, it marks his first time in the comic-book realm. Though over the last decade he has starred in more dramatic fare, the star has said he isnt against doing a particular genre and takes each piece of material into consideration. He was previously considered for the role of Spider-Man when original star Tobey Maguire injured his back between Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. He is currently filming Dan Gilroys horror thriller Velvet Buzzsaw. Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 (not the final title) is scheduled for a July 2019 release. Follow @htshowbiz for more India is in touch with Iran, Russia and the European Union to gauge the impact of US sanctions on Tehran and its impact on New Delhis oil payments, especially if curbs on international financial transactions through the widely used SWIFT network are imposed after a wind-down period of 180 days in the first week of November, officials familiar with the development said. Iran is the third largest source of Indian oil export and India is making huge strategic investment in the Chabahar port that connects Afghanistan to Central Asia bypassing Pakistan. Its payments are made through the SWIFT network. The last time sanctions were imposed against Iran, in 2012, the Brussels-based SWIFT had to stop facilitating financial transactions with Iranian banks and financial institutions. It was in 2016 that this was restarted. US president Donald Trump pulled out of an international deal with Iran to stop the latters nuclear programme and announced sanctions against the country, and also those countries trading with it. We are in a wait and watch mode. We are in discussions. We need to see the sanctions kicking in after 90 days and 180 days and, in the meantime, (also see) how far the European Union will resist this US effort and save the nuclear deal, said an Indian government official on condition of anonymity. Another government official who asked not to be identified said India needs to look at all options, including a rupee-rial trade on oil purchase should the situation demand so. The last time Indias oil imports from Iran were hit by sanctions, thats how the two countries ensured there was no disruption in supplies. Also Read: Irans Chabahar port work on but fear of US sanctions loom The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), based in Belgium, is a secure messaging system used by more than 10,500 banks for international money transfers. Technically SWIFT operates under Belgian law and is in the EU. But at this stage we cannot say which way the sanctions will go, the first official said and he pointed out a cautious statement issued by SWIFT itself. As there has been no related change to EU legislation, we will naturally be consulting with and seeking clarification from both EU and US authorities. Our mission remains to be a global and neutral service provider to the financial industry, the statement had said. Experts say the US sanctions can actually hit SWIFT unless EU devises a similar mechanism. It is a fact that the US controls the international trading as well as the banking system. The treasury department sanction can hit the payment mechanism unless the EU comes up with an alternative payment mechanism, said Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian envoy to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and an expert on energy issues. We are in conversation with EU and at this stage all we can say is we are watching the measures EU has put in place, the first official quoted in the story said. It is nobodys guess that Tehran likes oil payments in readily convertible Euros, as the system exits now, he added. Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission President, had said the EU would update a blocking statute that was drawn up by the EU in 1996 in an effort to protect European firms from US sanctions. The commission is also making moves to let the European Investment Bank to support European firms dealings with Iran by offering euro-denominated credit lines. The question is whether Europe will take the lead in countering this, Ahmad said. A local BJP leader was arrested for allegedly raping a woman at a lodge in Varanasi on Tuesday, police said. The alleged incident took place when the 32-year-old woman went to meet Kanhaiya Lal Mishra, the former president of the BJPs Bhadohi district unit, at the lodge in Englishia Line. Police said the woman alleged that Mishra called her to the lodge promising to set up a meeting with a woman government officer for a job. The victim who was acquainted with Mishra and had been in touch with him on phone for a couple of months, then agreed to go to the lodge. The woman alleged that when she entered the room, Mishra, who is believed to be in his early 50s, sexually assaulted her. She resisted and raised an alarm which drew other guests at the lodge to outside Mishras room. She dialled the emergency police response system and the others informed Sigra police, said a police officer. Police said that they reached the spot and took Mishra to the police station. A case was registered against Kanhaiya Lal Mishra under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code following a complaint by the woman and he was arrested, said Inspector Satish Singh, the station officer of Sigra police station. He said the woman was sent for medical examination. Mishras arrest is likely to embarrass the BJP further in Uttar Pradesh after the party came under fire last month after one of its MLAs Kuldeep Sengar was arrested for allegedly raping a minor in Unnao. The case is being probed by the CBI. Four women, including two sisters, were wounded in Jammu and Kashmirs Shopian district when Army troops allegedly fired at a group of civilians protesting an iftar feast organised by the force, police said on Tuesday. The injured were rushed to a hospital and their condition is stated to be stable after the firing in Shopians DK Pora area last evening, a police official said. Troops of the Armys counter-insurgency force, 34 Rashtriya Rifles, had erected a tent outside a mosque to host an iftar feast for the locals. According to eyewitnesses, the residents objected to it as they had already communicated their disinterest to the Armys local unit. Clashes broke out when the locals asked the soldiers to leave but the latter resisted, they said. In the ensuing melee, the troops opened fire at the protestors, the eyewitnesses added. Taking cognisance of the incident, an investigation has been initiated, the police official said. A defence spokesperson said a detailed statement about the incident would be issued later in the day. A media interaction of General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 15 Corps, Lt General A K Bhatt, in Bandipora district today was cancelled by the army without giving any reasons. DK Shivakumar, the Congress troubleshooter-in-chief in Karnataka, has endeared himself to the party even more over the past week by ensuring that the partys MLAs stuck together and did not defect. In an interview, Shivakumar tells Vikram Gopal that the party must now respect the sentiments of its workers in the Old Mysuru region and how hard it has been for them to accept the Congress-JD(S) alliance. Edited excerpts: This is the third time you have come through for your party when it was in trouble. Are you now the partys most trusted leader in Karnataka? It wasnt just me. But, everybody cannot do everything. Political management not everybody can do that. With my 35 years of experience, I won the seventh consecutive elections, I have some experience in speaking to MLAs and knowing their problems and keeping them united. Last time you helped the Congress, there was a raid by the Income Tax department. Are you worried that something similar could happen now? Anything is possible. There might not be an income tax raid because that is over, but a lot of trouble may arise... One of the highlights of the floor test was whether MLA Anand Singh would appear for the trust vote. Can you tell us how you managed to convince him? From the beginning I have been saying that he is a Congressman. I know him personally, and I was also responsible for bringing him to the Congress (from the Bharatiya Janata Party). Even when he was in the BJP, we were friends... But I spoke to him and he sent a message (on Saturday) and we were able to keep the flock together... Why do you think your party fared so badly in this election, considering nobody saw an anti-incumbency wave? I admit our numbers were very bad, especially in the Vokkaliga belt. I had warned my party leaders also that this was about to happen and that we should be very cautious. But we were also overconfident. You are seen as someone who has challenged HD Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy in the past. How do you feel about the current coalition? It is a very, very hard decision, because our workers have fought like great warriors in Ramanagara, Channapatna, Mandya, Mysuru and Hassan. In all these places, they have fought hard, but now we are trying to sail together, and that has hurt a lot of them, including my family. A lot of cases were booked against my family under Kumaraswmys government. But, in the national interest, our personal interests cannot come to the fore. So my ego also has to be kept away in the national interest and the partys interests... Many Congress workers have demanded that you should become the state party chief. What is your feeling? The time is not ripe now. There was a time when (such a decision) would have changed the political scene of Karnataka, but that has gone now. India does not allow religious discrimination or casteism, home minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday, reacting to a circular released by Delhis Archbishop who says secularism and democratic principles are under threat. Archbishop Anil Couto has requested the Catholic community to pray and observe fast for the spiritual renewal of the country ahead of next years general elections, news agency ANI reported. Defending his government, Singh assured that minorities are safe in the country. Clarifying that he had not seen the Archbishops circular, Singh said in India no one is allowed to discriminate on the basis of caste and religion. Union minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was breaking barriers of religion and castes and his government committed to working for inclusive growth. He asserted that minorities in India were well protected and nobody should issue fatwas and farmaans. A season of fatwas and farmaans (diktats) has started. There is protection for minorities in India. There is constitutional protection, social security and religious freedom for minorities. Nobody should make such fatwas and farmaans and not harbour any misunderstandings, Naqvi said. Shaina NC, a leader of the Centres ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said it was wrong to instigate castes and communities, objecting to the content of the circular. The circular issued earlier this month also drew criticism from the right-wing, nationalistic Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This is a direct attack by the church on Indian secularism and democracy, ANI quoted RSS leader Rakesh Sinha as saying. He also said in PM Modis rule, churches and NGOs linked to them are not getting enough funds for religious conversions. In the circular, Couto said India was facing a turbulent political atmosphere which poses a threat to the democratic principles enshrined in our Constitution and the secular fabric of our nation... 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. Opposition parties and BJPs critics have accused the central government of disrespecting institutions and not doing enough in cases of atrocities against minority communities. Facing backlash, Couto said on Tuesday: Were just praying that the nation should walk in the right direction. In all churches and institutions, we pray and fast. We pray for our own renewal and that of the country. Keeping in mind all thats happening in our country, we said that we look forward to the next elections and the next government. Every government should protect the people and the Constitution. (With agency inputs) Delhi Archbishop Anil Couto clarified on Tuesday that his letter saying a turbulent political atmosphere was posing a threat to Indias democratic and secular fabric was not about the Narendra Modi-led government. Coutos letter, which also asked Christians to fast every Friday for the nation, has kicked up a storm as the government rejected his charge by saying on Tuesday that his comments reflected his prejudiced mindset. Couto had written a letter to all parish priests and religious institutions in the Delhi archdiocese a few days before the May 12 Karnataka elections, calling for a prayer campaign ahead of the 2019 general elections. While Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said India did not discriminate on the basis of religion or sect, his ministerial colleague Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi asked the archbishop to come out of his prejudiced mindset and asserted that minorities had progressed at a fast pace under the current government. Coutos comments were criticised by the BJP, with party president Amit Shah stressing that it was not appropriate to polarise people around religion. The archbishop later clarified his comments were not aimed at the government. What I said is, spend time once a week for our nation and especially because elections are coming and government concerns all of us. So it is not in any way pertaining to the government of Narendra Modi, Couto said when asked about the letter. Union minister of tourism KJ Alphons said Coutos remarks were unfair to the government and that godmen should stay away from politics. The archbishop, in his letter, said, We are witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere, which poses threat to democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution and the secular fabric of our nation. Referring to the 2019 general elections, Couto asked for a prayer campaign for the country from May 13 to mark a period significant for the Christian community. It is our hallowed practice to pray for our country and its political leaders all the time, but all the more when we approach the general elections. As we look forward towards 2019, when we will have a new government, let us begin a prayer campaign for our country from May 13, the letter read. It also asked for organising a eucharistic adoration every Friday in all parishes and religious institutions, specifically to pray for the nation. The prayer format states: May the ethos of true democracy envelop our elections with dignity and the flames of honest patriotism enkindle our political leaders. It also seeks to protect legislatures as place of discerning minds, raising judiciary as the hallmark of integrity, prudence and justice and keeping print, visual and social media as the channels of truth for edifying discourses. Reacting to Coutos comments, Naqvi said the Modi government had worked for development without discrimination. The prime ministers commitment to development without discrimination should be seen. As long as you have a prejudiced mind, you cannot look at this progress, Naqvi said. He claimed the safety and security of minorities had been strengthened under the government, while the home minister said India did not discriminate against anybody on the basis of religion or sect. All I can say is that India is a country where there is no discrimination against anyone on the basis of caste, sect or religion. Such a thing cannot be allowed, Singh said. Speaking to reporters, Shah stressed that polarising people around religion was not appropriate. On Opposition leaders N Chandrababu Naidu and Mamata Banerjee supporting Couto, the BJP president said, It is very obvious that our rivals will support such a statement. If somebody speaks about defeating us, it is natural that they will support him. Minister Alphons said Coutos was an isolated voice. Spoke to Cardinal Gracias (Archbishop of Bombay Oswald Cardinal Gracias) and top bishops. They strongly agree with the Prime Minister. There are isolated voices who dont like the Prime Minister, he said. Another Union Minister Giriraj Singh tweeted, The church receives its orders from Italy and the dictate (fatwa) for support to the pseudo secular comes from Pakistan. The day is not far when Hindus will realise this and will give a befitting reply to those (voices). CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said Couto was calling people for a prayer and saying that the values of the constitution of secular democracy had to be protected. His spokesperson has also said that the call for this annual prayer has always been given. For the minorities in India, the only guarantee they have is the Constitution that promises them equality, he said. Amid reactions to his letter, Couto said every government that came to power should protect the rights and freedom of the people. Elections concern us. Therefore when we talk, we talk about the elections because the government concerns us. We cannot be apart from the government. We pray that we have such a government that cares for the freedom of the people, rights and welfare of the Christian of community, he said. Father Robinson, secretary to Couto, said the letter was issued on May 8 and had already been read out at all the parishes. This is a two-week old letter. It invited people to pray for the elections, country and all the political leaders. There is nothing wrong in it, he said. The Delhi Minorities Commission on Tuesday issued a notice to the registrar of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) seeking to know the reason behind a varsity proposal to start a course on Islamic terrorism. Taking suo motu cognisance of reports about the proposed course, the Commission has asked the registrar to explain on what basis the course on Islamic terror is being started by the university, said Zafarul Islam Khan, the commissions chairman. The JNU Academic Council passed a proposal to set up a Centre for National Security Studies under which there would be a course on Islamic terrorism, said a professor who attended the meeting said last week. JNUSU in a statement on May 18 had alleged that during the 145th Academic Council (AC) meeting held the same day, the JNU V-C allowed the tabling of a course on Islamic Terrorism under the proposed National Security Studies special centre. According to the committees report, shared with Hindustan Times by JNUSU joint secretary Shubhanshu Singh, the panel was formed to finalise modalities, after it was decided to establish such a centre. HT could not independently verify the report. The report lists Islamic Terrorism as a key area of work for the centre, rather than a course (as claimed by JNUSU), along with over 20 other areas, which include Insurgency, Naxalism, and Military Modernisation of China and Pakistan. The DMC has asked the JNU administration to reply whether there is any concept paper or proposal to include a course on Islamic Terror in the proposed Centre for National Security Studies, and demanded a copy of it. Has the current administration of the JNU considered the implications of introducing this subject in the campus on its students and on the broader society outside?, the Commission has questioned. It has also sought details of the proposed course and areas covered by it, methodology, reference books and works to be followed, experts who will teach and undertake research on the subject. The commission has also asked the JNU to provide minutes of the Academic Council meeting and the list of members who attended it. The JNU administration has been asked to file its reply to these questions by June 5, Khan said. Ajay Dubey, the chairperson of the committee which submitted its report , did not confirm nor deny the plans for the centre last week, but said, Terrorism and religion are not linked. There is no proposal for a course on Islamic terrorism. Islamic terrorism is going to be just one of the focus areas for research at the centre. Whether it exists or not, only research can tell, said Amita Singh, acting chairperson of the Centre for the Study of Law & Governance, had said. The proposed course has been opposed by sections of teachers and students at the JNU. In a deeply problematic and shocking move, the JNU V-C also allowed the tabling of a course/topic on Islamic terrorism under the Centre for National Security Studies, JNU Students Union president Geeta Kumari had said. (with PTI inputs) Flyers will soon be able to cancel flight tickets free of charge within 24 hours of booking as long as there are at least four days left for the scheduled departure. This was specified in a draft passenger charter issued by the civil aviation ministry on Tuesday. Under the new set of rules put forth in the document, which aims to enhance air traveller rights, passengers will also be entitled to a refund if the flight is delayed for over four hours and the delay has been communicated a day in advance. Additionally, missing a connecting flight due to a delay caused by the airline will get travellers a refund of anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 20,000. The draft will be kept open for public consultation for 30 days. The government expects to notify it by mid-July. If a passenger is informed about the cancellation of his flight less than two weeks before and up to 24 hours of the scheduled departure time, the airline must offer an alternative flight that allows the passenger to depart within two hours of the booked scheduled departure time or allow the refund of his ticket, as may be acceptable to the passenger, a draft rule read. The charter also stated that passengers must be provided hot snacks and beverages free of cost if their flight is stationed on the tarmac for over 60 minutes. They should be de-boarded if the waiting period crosses 120 minutes, it added. Moreover, if a passenger is denied boarding due to over-booking, the airline is liable to pay a compensation of Rs 5,000 or more, depending on the ticket value. In case any baggage is lost, delayed or damaged, the limit of liability to be paid will be the same for both international and domestic passengers. The minimum compensation will be: Rs 3,000 per kg for loss of baggage, Rs 1,000 per kg for delay and Rs 1,000 per kg for damage, another draft rule stated. Civil aviation secretary RN Choubey said travel portals will be regulated for the first time under this charter. Cancellation charges must be printed prominently on the ticket in a minimum font size of 12, and not as fine print. This information must also be provided as part of reservation and ticket documentation, the charter said. Google on Tuesday celebrated the 246th birth anniversary of renowned social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy recognised as the Father of the Indian Renaissance, who paved the way for a modern India. Roy was a non-conformist to many a tradition he was born into on this day in 1772, in Radhanagar village in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Although born into a Hindu Brahmin family, where his father Ramkanto Roy, was a Vaishnavite, Roy at a young age left home, shunned orthodox rituals and idol worship and became a staunch supporter of monotheism. Following his differences with his father, Roy went on a journey that took him far from his roots. He travelled extensively including in Tibet and the Himalayas. He studied Persian and Arabic along with Sanskrit, which influenced his thinking about God. He read Upanishads, Vedas and the Quran and translated a lot of the scriptures into English. When he returned home, his parents married him off in a bid to change his outlook. But Roy continued to explore the depths of Hinduism only to highlight its hypocrisy. After his fathers death in 1803 he moved to Murshidabad, where he published his first book Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin (A Gift to Monotheism). Roy took a keen interest in European politics and followed the course of the French Revolution. In 1814, he settled in Calcutta, and the following year he founded the Atmiya Sabha. In 1828, he established the Brahmo Samaj, which is considered to be one of Indias first socio-religious reform movements. However, his most significant contribution as a social engineer was towards womens rights. Nearly 200 years ago, when evils like -- Sati -- plagued the society, Roy played a critical role to bring about a change. He opposed the regressive practice that forced a widow to immolate herself on husbands pyre. The doodle on Roy, created by Beena Mistry, a designer based out of Toronto, shows Roy speaking at a public meeting with his detractors in the background. There is also the presence of a woman among the audience, this is at a time when the purdah system was rigidly followed. He campaigned for equal rights for women, including the right to remarry and the right to hold property. In 1830, he travelled to the UK as the Mughal Empires envoy to ensure that Lord William Bentincks law banning the practice of Sati was not overturned. Roy was also one of the pioneers of Indian journalism. He published several journals in Bengali, Persian, Hindi and English to propagate social reforms. Bengali weekly Samvad Kaumudi was the most important journal that he published. The Atmiya Sabha published an English weekly called the Bengal Gazette and a Persian newspaper called Miratul-Akbar. Roy died in a village near Bristol in England on September 26, 1833 of meningitis, and was buried there. A debt-ridden businessman allegedly shot dead his wife and two daughters at their residence in Ahmedabads upscale Judges Bungalow Road locality on Tuesday morning. Police said the incident occurred after a domestic dispute over sending one of their daughters abroad for higher education. The accused was identified as 50-year-old Dharmesh Shah, the owner of a construction business. According to assistant commissioner of police SN Zala, Shah first killed his wife, Amiben, using a licensed pistol at their apartment in Ratnam Tower building. The daughters Heli (24) and Khushi (18) were killed with a different 12-bore firearm, he added. Police said the accused intended to commit suicide after eliminating his family. Soon after killing the three, Shah called up an engineer in his company to tell him that he intended to commit suicide. However, when the latter reached their residence, he found that the accused had not gone through with his plan. Shah later surrendered before the police, said an officer with the Satellite police station. Police said Shah had a debt of Rs 15 crore that his family was unaware of. They believe that his wifes plan to send their elder daughter to Australia for higher studies at a cost of Rs 70 lakh had finally pushed him over the edge. Shah first shot his wife with a pistol while the rest of the family was in bed. He then killed both the daughters with a 12-bore gun. He fired one round at his wife and two rounds each at his daughters, Zala said. Further investigation is on. (With agency inputs) Congress president Rahul Gandhi termed on Tuesday the death of nine people in police firing during protests against the Sterlite copper plant in Tamil Nadu a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism. He said people were murdered in Tuticorin for protesting against injustice. The gunning down by the police of 9 people in the Sterlite protest in Tamil Nadu is a brutal example of state sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured, Gandhi said on Twitter. Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami said nine people were killed in police action at Tuticorin and ordered a judicial inquiry into the police action. The police action followed months-long protests for the closure of Vedantas Sterlite copper unit in Tuticorin, about 600 km from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai, over pollution concerns. The agitation turned violent on Tuesday, with protesters fighting pitched battles with police, prompting it to open fire. Hurling stones and setting government vehicles and public property on fire, the agitators went on the rampage in the town. Karnatakas chief minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy on Monday said that he had 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, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) state president Kumaraswamy told reporters. On a visit to his home town Holenarsipur, about 180 km from Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy prayed at the Ranganatha Swamy and Laskhminarasimha Swamy temples 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 Gods blessings, peoples 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 peoples 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 leader on Saturday to form the coalition government after the fall of the three-day BJP government led by chief minister BS 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 Ministers Office, Kumaraswamy will take oath at 4:30 pm. 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 HD 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. The wife of a Muslim man who was injured and his neighbour killed in an alleged assault on suspicion of cow slaughter in Madhya Pradesh has accused a private hospital of trying to force her husband out because they are unable to afford the treatment. Sannos husband Mohammad Shakeel, 38, a resident of Maihar town in Madhya Pradesh, was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Metro Hospital in Jabalpur on Friday after he was brought in a critical condition from Satna district hospital. A mob had allegedly attacked Shakeel and his neighbor Riyaz, 45, in Satna district earlier in the day, accusing them of killing cows. Riyaz died at the district hospital in Satna a few hours after the alleged assault at Amgara village, about 28km from their home in Purani Basti locality of Maihar town. Riyaz, a tailor, is survived by his wife and three children. Shakeel operates a taxi. In his complaint to the police, Shakeel said a mob attacked him and Riyaz with sticks. Police said Shakeel denied indulging in cow slaughter. Sanno said hospital authorities asked her on Monday to fill the discharge form as she was not able to pay for the treatment. She said the hospital authorities told her they had to pay Rs 25,000 for Shakeels treatment to continue. The hospital denied the charge. There was no pressure on the patient or his family, Dr Suneel Asati of the Metro Hospital said on Tuesday. Since ours is a private hospital, its our duty to tell them how money has been spent on the treatment, he added. Satna superintendent of police Rajesh Hingankar said on Tuesday he had learnt that the hospital bill would be paid from the chief ministers discretionary fund. Police have arrested four persons of Amgara village in the case on charges of murder and assault, and identified the accused as Pawan Singh Gond, Vijay Singh Gond, Phool Singh Gond and Narayan Singh Gond. One of the accused, Pawan Singh Gond, lodged a complaint with the police against Riyaz and Shakeel, accusing them of slaughtering cows in the village. Pawan Singh Gond also said in his complaint that Riyaz and Shakeel were injured when they fell while trying to run away. The accused denied assaulting the duo, police said. Hingankar said two cow carcasses were recovered from the site where the men were allegedly assaulted. Shakeel will be arrested after he recovers. His condition is improving, he added. Police have registered an FIR on the basis of Pawan Singh Gonds complaint against Riyaz and Shakeel under different sections of the Madhya Pradesh Cow Slaughter Ban Act, 2004, and the Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Cattle Preservation Act, 1959. Madhya Pradesh amended its rules against cow slaughter in 2012 and raised the maximum punishment from 3 years imprisonment to 7 years for those convicted of killing cow and progeny. Sanno insisted her husband was innocent and had gone to Katni and other places to collect money people owed him. He is being framed, she said. Riyazs family members have consistently declined to talk to mediapersons. Valachekutti Moosa, 62, has lost three members of his family while he and his sons fiancee are battling for life after getting infected in Kozhikode districts Changaroth village between May 5 and 19 from what was then termed as a mystery disease. The infection, which since then is believed to have caused 12 deaths in Kerala, has been identified as the Nipah virus infection, a rare disease spreads from animals and has never been reported in the state before. Moosa, who on Monday was also confirmed to have been infected with the Nipa virus , has lost his sons Mohamed Saliah, 28 and Mohammed Sadiq, 26, and his brother s wife Mariumma, 50. A nurse, Lini, who treated them at a government hospital has died as well. Read: All you need to know about the Nipah virus outbreak A collection agent with a small educational institute, Moosa is on life-support with fever and Nipah symptoms. He lost one son to a road accident two years ago. Among those being treated for the Nipah virus in the state is Atifa, 19, the fiancee of Moosas eldest son Saliah, a civil engineer who was about to leave for a job in Qatar. Mariumma had succumbed to the infection on May 19. Moosa had asked Saliah to clean the well before he left the country, which he did with the help of his brothers. Little did they know what fate awaited them, said one of their relatives K Latheef, who runs a small grocery shop in the neighbourhood. The bats living in Moosas well have been identified as the source of the outbreak by National Institute of Virology in Pune and the well has been sealed, along with many others in the neighbourhood . Fruit bats are considered to be natural hosts of the virus. Bats are common in this part of Kerala and have never before been identified as a source of infection. Changaroth residents said bats usually seek small cracks and wedges inside wells to beat the summer heat. Some people cover their wells with nets to keep them out, but most dont bother. The infection appears to have spared Moosas wife Mariyam and son Muthaleef,, who have shown no symptoms of the disease but have been kept under observation for two weeks, according to World Health Organisation protocol. Security forces have achieved a major breakthrough against subversive elements through the recovery of a huge cache of arms, ammunition and explosives in Manipurs Ukhrul district, the authorities said on Tuesday. The operation was conducted jointly by the 6 Assam Rifles and 27 Assam Rifles on Monday. The seized articles included two GSG-5 German rifles with four magazines, an Uzkon semi-automatic shotgun with three magazines, two 9mm Beretta pistols with four magazines, a 9mm Sigsauer pistol with two magazines, cordtex, detonators and over 6,000 rounds of ammunition. They were being transported from Ukhrul to Imphal, the Assam Rifles (South) said in a press release. It termed the development as a major success of the Assam Rifles in its efforts to thwart the nefarious designs of underground groups. However, the release did not mention the arrest of any individual in this regard. Bishnupur police commandos and 5 J&K Rifles personnel had pulled off a similar feat on April 8, when they recovered a huge cache of automatic weapons and related articles from Pat area of Ishok Makha Leikai in Bishenpur district. Two M-16 rifles, four AK-56 rifles, an A4 rifle and an under-barrel grenade launcher figured among the recoveries. The following day, the same team recovered two more weapons an M-16 rifle and an AK-56 rifle along with four magazines from Ishok village. Narcotics seized Heroin and narcotic pills seized from a Maruti Eeco van at the Khudengthabi check post. The drivers identity is being kept under wraps. (HT Photo) In another development, 12 Assam Rifles personnel seized a substantial amount of heroin as well as World is Yours narcotic pills from an alleged drug smuggler who was trying to cross a vehicle check post at Khudengthabi in Manipurs Tengnoupal district on Monday. The combined value of the drugs was estimated at Rs 1.7 crore. Based on specific inputs, we stopped a silver Maruti Eeco van plying from Moreh to Imphal at the Khudengthabi check post around 12 noon on May 21. A thorough check of the vehicle led to the recovery of 230 grams of heroin and 11,000 narcotic pills worth Rs 1.7 crore from its tool kit, Assam Rifles (South) said in a press release. An interrogation of the driver, a 55-year-old resident of Tengnoupal district, revealed that he was carrying the contraband to Churachandpur district. He was promised a sum of Rs 15,000 for making the delivery. The accused was later handed over to the Moreh police. The Assam Rifles has seized banned narcotics amounting to Rs 43 crore along the National Highway 102 since January, the release added. Union Health Minister J P Nadda, who is leading the Indian delegation at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, said India is committed to achieving universal health coverage for its citizens as mentioned in the National Health Policy 2017. Addressing the plenary meeting of the 71st World Health Assembly on Monday, 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 countrys 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 Indias ambitious plan to end TB by 2025, the government has started the implementation of a national strategic plan and allocated $550 million. 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 NCDs are to be prioritised and are to be integrated at all levels of healthcare delivery systems. Indias National Health Policy 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. The degree to which India and the Indian firms will cooperate with the Trump administrations reimposed sanctions on Iran is not certain, a Congressional report has said, asserting that New Delhi does not agree with the United States that the Tehran has violated the nuclear deal. According to the independent Congressional Research Service report, India, like the European Union nations, does not agree with the American assessment that Iran has violated the nuclear deal from which the US has now withdrawn. The degree to which Indian firms and the government of India will cooperate with reimposed US sanctions is not certain. As do the EU countries, Indian leaders assert that Iran did not violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and sanctions should not be reimposed on it, said the report on the Iranian nuclear deal from which President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal early this month. As America withdrew from the JCPOA, Trump also announced that the US sanctions against Iran would kick in, as a result of which any country or companies having trading relationship with Iran would be subject to secondary sanctions. As of now, India is the second largest buyer of Iranian oil after China. Indias purchase of Iranian oil is estimated to have nearly doubled from 3,20,000 barrels per day on an average in 2011 to 6,20,000 in April 2018, the report said. China with current estimates of an average 7,00,000 barrels per day is the largest buyer of Iranian oil. In its latest report prepared for lawmakers, the CRS notes that India implemented UN-mandated sanctions against Iran and generally cooperated with multilateral efforts to use sanctions to achieve a nuclear agreement with Tehran. During 2010-2016, Indias private sector described Iran as a controversial market a term used by many international firms to describe markets that entail reputational and financial risks, it said. In 2010, Indias central bank ceased using a Tehran-based regional body, the Asian Clearing Union, to handle transactions with Iran. In January 2012, Iran agreed to accept Indian currency rupee to settle 45 per cent of its oil sales to India, which Iran mostly used to buy Indian wheat, pharmaceuticals, rice, sugar, soybeans, auto parts and other products. India reduced its imports of Iranian oil substantially after 2011, reducing its purchases to six per cent of its oil imports by 2013, down from over 16 per cent in 2008. India incurred significant costs to retrofit refineries that were handling Iranian crude, it said. However, since the JCPOA oil imports rebounded to levels well above those of 2011, the report said. Indian firms ended or slowed work on investments in Iranian oil and gas fields during 2012-2016, but reportedly resumed work after sanctions were lifted. After international sanctions were lifted, India reportedly also paid Iran the USD 6.5 billion it owed for oil purchased during 2012-2016, it said. The report said in 2015 India and Iran agreed that India would help develop Irans Chabahar port that would enable India to trade with Afghanistan unimpeded by Pakistan. With sanctions lifted, the project no longer entails risk to Indian firms involved. In May 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Iran and signed an agreement to invest $500 million to develop the port and related infrastructure. Construction at the port is proceeding, it said. The reimposition of US secondary sanctions will likely harm Irans economy, but the degree to which it does so will depend on the extent to which foreign governments and companies cooperate with the reimposed sanctions, the report said. India will send a delegation led by a joint secretary-level official to an anti-terrorism conference hosted by Pakistan under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), taking the view that it is a multilateral forum, people familiar with the development said. The three-day meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) legal experts will kick off on Wednesday. Indias participation in the first such SCO meeting hosted in Islamabad is being seen as significant given the recent tensions with Pakistan, but a person familiar with New Delhis position said it took the view that the event is multilateral. The decision was taken to send a delegation led, most probably by a joint secretary level officer, as SCO is a multilateral forum. Both Pakistan and India became SCO members in June 2017. The Pakistani foreign office said in a statement that it is pleased to welcome delegations from SCO member states to Islamabad. However, the external affairs ministry didnt make a formal response to that statement, which also said delegations from all SCO member states will attend the meeting. Legal experts from the eight member states China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan and representatives of the SCO-RATS executive committee will participate in the meeting. They will discuss terrorist threats facing the region and ways and means to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation between SCO member states, said the Pakistan foreign office statement. It said Pakistan supports SCOs efforts for regional cooperation in fighting terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime, and is ready to share its experiences in tackling the menace of terrorism through the SCO-RATS. The freshly brewed alliance between Om Prakash Chautalas Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has warmed the political climate in Haryana. The alliance has forced all political parties, including the ruling BJP, to rekindle their focus on the 19% scheduled caste vote bank in the state. Chief minister (CM) Manohar Lal Khattar dined at a Dalits house in Salaru village of Indri assembly constituency recently and the Congress high command almost gave up thoughts of replacing the state Congress president, Ashok Tanwar, a Dalit leader. Dalit matrix in Haryana Scheduled caste votes: About 19% of the total electorate Chamar: 50% of the SC voters Balmiki: 19% of the SC voters Dhanak: 12% of the SC voters Others: 19% of the SC voters Reserved assembly constituencies:17% of the SC voters Reserved Lok Sabha seats: 2 RAISON DETRE The tie-up with BSP, steered by the INLD, with an eye to consolidate Dalit voters in the state is being seen as partys last ditch attempt to grasp power in the state after a decade-and-a-half of hiatus. Primarily, the aim is to pocket the Chamar votes which account for about 50% of the scheduled caste (SC) voters in Haryana. The Chamar voters have shown a proclivity to tilt towards the BSP. The Balmikis account for about 19% and Dhanaks for about 12% of the scheduled caste vote bank. The Balmiki and Dhanak votes however get divided between the Congress and other parties. There are about 40 assembly seats (out of total 90) where the BSP holds a vote share between 7% and 8%. And there are about 60 assembly seats where the INLD has a vote share of about 30%. Thus, the INLD and the BSP alliance can easily reap about 39 to 40% votes in the state and get a clear majority in the state assembly, said INLD leader and Chautalas younger son Abhay Singh. PAST EXPERIENCE The two parties have, earlier, also formed an alliance with good outcomes during the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. The INLD, which was known as Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya) in 1998 won four of the seven Lok Sabha seats it contested in Haryana, while the BSP won Ambala (reserved) seat out of the three it contested. The INLD won Sirsa (reserved) seat, Kurukshetra, Sonepat and Hisar LS seats in alliance with the BSP. INLDS SUCCESS IN SC SEATS The INLD, known as a Jat-centric party, having strong base in the rural constituencies, has traditionally done well in 17 assembly seats reserved for scheduled caste candidates in Haryana. The party won 13 reserved seats in 2000 assembly polls when it climbed to power. It won six seats (out of total 9 it won in the 2005 poll drubbing) and got nine seats (out of 31 it won) in 2009. Whenever the INLD did well in the reserved constituencies, it was due to the support of Jat voters, said an INLD functionary, who did not want to be named. In 2014 assembly polls, the INLD however could register win only in three reserved constituencies. The BJP emerged as the main aggregator of reserved seats in 2014 polls with a tally of nine followed by the Congress with four seats. BSP, A NON STARTER The BSP on the other hand has remained a non-starter in Haryana politics though in almost every assembly poll it bags a seat. The party does not have a sound organisational set-up in Haryana and has a poor record and inconsistent leadership. Every election one sees new faces leading the BSP in Haryana. The party does not have a single leader of some stature and mass base, said a Congress leader from Haryana. DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD Political experts say the INLD-BSP tie-up could prove to be double-edged sword for the INLD. Jats and Dalits can never go together. I wonder how much the INLD would gain politically from the BSP which itself does not have any standing in the state. What the INLD needs right now is to have a pact with a political force from southern Haryana to restore power balance in the state, said an INLD insider. LONGEVITY OF THE ALLIANCE The INLD has a poor track record when it comes to having tie ups. Even when it formed the government in 2000, the party had sour relations with its natural ally, the BJP. The INLD-BJP alliance fell apart after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Haryana watchers say that since its still a long way to go for the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, whether the INLD can nurture the tie-up remains open remains to be seen. Janata Dal (Secular) supremo HD Deve Gowda on Tuesday dismissed reports that he was opposed to senior Congress leader DK Shivakumars induction into the JD(S)-Congress coalition government headed by his son HD Kumaraswamy that will take oath on Wednesday. Noting that it was for the Congress to decide who from their party should be made deputy chief minister or minister, the former prime minister said he was only interested in the smooth functioning of the government. I have heard media reports that I am against DK Shivakumars induction into the ministry. I want to clarify that who should be made chief minister, deputy chief minister, who should be given what portfolio from the Congress... I will not interfere on this issue, Gowda told reporters in Bengaluru. What I want is smooth functioning of this government. Other than that I will not be interfering into any other thing, he said. The clarification from Gowda came amid reports about his opposition to Shivakumar and Lingayat leader MB Patils induction into the ministry. I have nothing to do with it, Im not interested. It is left to them (Congress), why should I interfere? he asked. Even as it was still not clear about who will be inducted into the ministry on Wednesday, hectic parleys are on within the Congress for ministerial berths, especially for the post of deputy chief minister. Though Congress sources suggest that Parameshwara, a Dalit, is the front runner for the deputy CMs post, reports said there is growing demand from party leaders in north Karnataka that the position be given to a Lingayat from the region, as the CM post is held by a Vokkaliga from the southern part of the state. Shivakumar, another strong Vokkaliga leader and considered an arch rival of the Gowda family, is also said to be the contender for the deputy CMs post. He had emerged as a key man in the political drama that preceded the formation of the Congress-JD(S) alliance as he was entrusted with the task of keeping his partys MLAs together in the face of alleged poaching attempts by the BJP before the floor test on May 19. Meanwhile, the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of Veerashaiva-Lingayat faith, has demanded that the Congress high command makes its national president Shamanur Shivashankarappa the deputy CM. Karnataka chief minister designate HD Kumaraswamy indicated that Congress leader G Parameshwara will take oath as deputy chief minister on Wednesday. The announcement came after the JD(S) and the Congress met in Bengaluru on Tuesday to discuss the distribution of portfolios in the Karnataka government. Kumaraswamy, who will take oath on Wednesday, said that portfolios would be decided day after tomorrow. Kumaraswamy visited UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday after whuch boith parties decided to set up a joint coordination committee and formulate a common minimum programme for the smooth functioning of their coalition government. Here are the live updates: 8.44pm: Floor test to be held on May 24 in Karnataka Vidhan Souhda, reports ANI news agency. 8.30pm: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today accepted the resignations of BJP MPs B S Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu following their election to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, PTI news agency said quoting Lok Sabha secretariat sources. 7.50pm: 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 leader KC Venugopal. 7.30pm: Congresss KR Ramesh Kumar will be the speaker of the Karnataka Vidhana Soudha, reports ANI news agency. 7.25pm: Congresss G Parameshwara to be the deputy chief minister of Karnataka. I and Parameshwara will be taking oath tomorrow, Kumaraswamy told reporters on Tuesday after the meeting between Congress and JD(S) to discuss portfolios in the Karnataka government. 6.55pm: Today we took decision regarding the expansion (of the cabinet). Speaker and deputy speaker would be elected on 25th May. Portfolios would be decided day after tomorrow. Everything is alright, no differences, says Karnataka CM designate HD Kumaraswamy. 6.45pm: Karnataka chief minister- designate HD Kumaraswamy acknowledged that running the Congress-JD(S) coalition government over the next five years will be a big challenge for him. This is a big challenge in my life. Im not expecting that I will be able to fulfil my responsibilities as chief minister easily, Kumaraswamy, who will be sworn in as chief minister tomorrow, said. 6.30pm: JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda said that he is not opposed to senior Congress leader DK Shivakumars induction into the JD(S)-Congress coalition government that will take oath on Wednesday. I have heard media reports that I am against D K Shivakumars induction into the ministry. I want to clarify that who should be made chief minister, deputy chief minister, who should be given what portfolio from the Congress... I will not interfere on this issue, Gowda told reporters in Bengaluru. 6.20pm: I am not going to attend Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamys swearing in ceremony tomorrow. I cancelled it due to the incident which took place in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), says MK Stalin, DMK working president. 5.55pm: Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan, who recently entered politics by founding the party Makkal Needhi Maiam, has said that he would be attending HD Kumaraswamys swearing-in ceremony. 5.50pm: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has said that he will not attend Kumaraswamys swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday. 5.20pm: The swearing-in of JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy as Karnataka chief minister tomorrow would signal the formation of a secular and anti-BJP front in the country, senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said, reports PTI. All opposition, many of whom have not joined together at any time earlier... first time they are joining together... it signals the formation of anti-BJP, and positively for secular front in the country, the former Karnataka chief minister told PTI. 5.17pm: HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, KC Venugopal, Mallikarjun Kharge, HD Revanna and DK Shivakumar present at Congress -JD(S) meeting in Bengaluru to discuss portfolio sharing, reports ANI. 5.02pm: After a group of Muslim organisations insisted that seven-time Congress MLA from Shivajinagar Roshan Baig should be made deputy chief minister in the new government of Karnataka, the latter said he does not find any problem in the demand, reports ANI. 5.02pm: With Janata Dals (Secular) HD Kumaraswamy set to take oath as Karnataka chief minister on May 23, Congress is likely to have its own MLA as the speaker of the state assembly, ANI reports. 4.36pm: In a gesture high on symbolism, Janata Party founder Jayaprakash Narayan, the man who brought down the Indira Gandhi government after Emergency, has found a place in newspaper advertisements put out by the JD(S) a day before it forms the government in Karnataka, PTI reports. 4.22pm: BJP names BN Prahlad, brother of incumbent MLA BN Vijaykumar who died during campaigning, as its candidate from Karnatakas Jayanagar assembly constituency, where the election will be held on June 11. 4.12pm: Supreme Court refuses to accord urgent hearing to a plea filed by Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) challenging Governor Vajubhai Valas decision to invite the Congress-JD (S) combine to form government in Karnataka. 4.00pm: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury says, BJPs practice of losing elections but forming the government has been stopped in Karnataka. Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala CM) and I will attend the oath-taking ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy tomorrow. 3.33pm: The swearing-in of HD Kumaraswamy as Karnataka CM tomorrow is likely to see one-time rivals in Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, sharing the stage, reports PTI. 3.23pm: On the issue of deputy chief minister post, Congress legislator DK Shivakumar said he doesnt want to show his strength. I dont want to show my numbers. I have faith in Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. We all believe in one man resolution,that is the party high command. They will take a call on who has to be what, Shivakumar tells ANI. 3.15pm: Congress MLA Roshan Baig says what is wrong in Muslim organisations demanding he be made the deputy chief minister. Why not? If people from other communities can make demands then why cant people from my community? But, in the end high command will decide, Baig tells ANI. 2.57pm: BJP leader and Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka will not last long as the two parties have come together with a selfish motive. People of Karnataka gave the mandate for the BJP, which won 104 seats. The Congress-JD(S) alliance has been formed with a selfish motive and it will not last for long, the minister of state for food processing industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti tells PTI. 2.24pm: BJP spokesman Vamanacharya tells IANS that Yeddyurappa will continue to be the partys state unit president till we return to power again. He will become chief minister again before his political career ends, he says. Yeddyurappa, 75, resigned on Saturday before the crucial trust vote as he did not have the majority in a hung House, falling seven short of the 111-halfway mark in the 225-member Legislative Assembly, whose current strength is 222. 2.22pm: Kumaraswamy visits the Hindu holy towns of Dharmasthala and Sringeri to pray for the success of the Congress-(JD-S) coalition government. 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, Kumaraswamy had told reporters on Monday. 2.12pm: Kumaraswamy says most of the leaders, other than those from BJP, will attend oath-taking ceremony on Wednesday. Rahul Ji, Ghulam Nabi Aazad, Maywati Ji, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Chandrababu Naidu, Stalin, several people are coming, says the Karnataka chief minister-designate. Read more. 12.58pm: A group of Muslim organisations addresses media, demands that either seven-time Congress MLA Roshan Baig or some other leader from Muslim community be made the deputy chief minister in the new government in Karnataka. 11.02am: Supreme Court refuses to give an early hearing into the petition filed by Hindu Mahasabha challenging the unconstitutional oath-taking ceremony and appointment of HD Kumarswamy as the Karnataka chief minister. 10.35am: Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress says the first objective of the alliance is Speakers election, vote of confidence comes next. Other things will be discussed only after these two are sorted, says Kharge on distribution of portfolios in Congress-JD(S) government. 10am: Hindu Mahasabha files a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the oath-taking ceremony and appointment of HD Kumarswamy as the Karnataka chief minister, stating it is unconstitutional. 9.20am: BJPs BS Yeddyurappa alleges irregularities in conduct of assembly elections in Karnataka. I am of firm belief that Election Commission has taken a serious note of VVPAT machines found abandoned in a shed near Managuli village in Vijayapur district. It indicates grave irregularities in conduct of assembly polls in Karnataka, Yeddyurappa tells ANI. 8.10am: Kumaraswamy will visit Dharmashala and Sringeri tomorrow to seek the blessings of Lord Manjunath, Sringeri Sharada Devi and the present Shankaracharya Sri Bharati Teertha, a release said. Congress president Rahul Gandhi today confirmed his presence at the swearing-in ceremony of Kumaraswamy as Karnataka chief minister. An outreach programme planned by the Army on the occasion of Iftar went awry at a village in Shopian district on Monday evening, when a group of youngsters allegedly began pelting stones at security personnel. Two sisters were among the four people who sustained gunfire injuries in the clash that followed. According to those familiar with the incident, members of the 34 Rashtriya Rifles had organised an Iftar party at DK Pora village that evening. However, villagers objected to them setting up stalls outside a local mosque and a few even tried to vandalise the temporary installations. Army personnel allegedly opened fire in retaliation, injuring some of the protesters. Defence spokesperson colonel Rajesh Kalia said details of the incident were still being ascertained. A spokesperson said the sole idea behind the Army personnels visit to DK Pora was to celebrate Iftar along with local residents. However, some of them began raising anti-government slogans and pelting the soldiers with stones. While withdrawing, the Army resorted to aerial firing, the spokesperson said, adding that nobody was critically injured. While one of the injured has been discharged from hospital, two others were sent to Srinagar for further medical treatment. Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will not attend the swearing-in ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy as Karnatakas new chief minister in Bengaluru on Wednesday because the JD(S) has partnered with the Congress. Though KCR initially wanted to attend the ceremony, he decided against it as an afterthought following the alliance between the JD (S) and the Congress, a TRS leader said on condition of anonymity. Though Kumaraswamy is the new chief minister of Karnataka, the majority partner in the government is the Congress, which is the main rival for the TRS in Telangana. How can we share dais with our rivals? the TRS leader said. But since KCR is planning to rope JD (S) into his proposed federal front plan and had held talks with Deve Gowda last month, he has to maintain good relations with him. Hence, he has decided to go to Bengaluru a day in advance to greet Kumaraswamy, the TRS leader said. So KCR flew to Bengaluru Tuesday afternoon on a special flight to meet Kumaraswamy and greet him personally. The chief ministers office though, maintains that KCRs prior engagements wont allow him to attend Wednesdays function in Bengaluru. In view of important engagements on Wednesday, the chief minster will return to Hyderabad on Tuesday night itself, an official release from Telangana chief ministers office said. The Telangana unit of the Congress, however, alleged that KCR was not attending the swearing-in ceremony because he did not want to antagonise the Bharatiya Janata Party. KCR supported JD (S) thinking that it would have coalition with the BJP. But JD (S) joined hands with the Congress, which he does not like, senior Congress leader and former minister Marri Shashidhar Reddy said. He alleged that KCRs third front plan was aimed at weakening the Congress so that it would benefit the BJP. There are at least three investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigations pending against KCR. If he goes against the wishes of the BJP, the Centre would start hounding him with CBI cases, Reddy said. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu will be leaving for Bengaluru at 9 am on Wednesday to attend Kumaraswamys oath-taking ceremony. JD (S) chief H D Deve Gowda had called up both KCR and Naidu personally to invite them for his sons swearing-in ceremony. Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy will take oath on Wednesday as the 25th Chief Minister of Karnataka. A galaxy of opposition leaders including UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Ajit Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, Tejaswi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, and actor and politician Kamal Hassan are expected to be present at the event that will happen in front of the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of power in Bengaluru. Amidst massive infighting in the party for ministerial berths, the Congress announced that only Dr G Parameshwara, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president would be sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister, along with Kumaraswamy. KC Venugopal, Congress general secretary who is in charge of the state, said: It has been decided that of the 34 (possible) berths, Congress will get 22 positions including deputy CM while JD(S) will get 12 positions including chief minister. He clarified that other members of the cabinet would be sworn in once the coalition proves its majority on the floor of the house. Venugopal also said that Ramesh Kumar from the Congress who was a former speaker would be the speaker again and the deputy speaker would be from the JD(S). He added that a co-ordination committee would be setup shortly to ensure smooth running of the government. The results of the elections held on May 12 threw up a hung house with the BJP getting 104 seats, the Congress, 78 seats and the JD(S) 38 seats (including one for its partner the BSP), and independents, 2. Though BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa was given an opportunity to form a government, he resigned after it became clear he could not muster additional support. The BJP said it would observe Anti-Peoples Mandate Day on Wednesday to protest the formation of the coalition government . On Tuesday, Congress leaders held discussions with party members most of whom had two questions: one, on the possibility of a ministerial berth for themselves, and two, on why they were still being sequestered at a leading hotel in the city. Meanwhile, several caste bodies got into the act, demanding representation in the cabinet for their community members. The All India Veerashaiv Mahasbha demanded that its president Shamanur Shivashankarappa be made the deputy CM and criticised Siddaramiah for the previous governments anti Veerashaiva-Lingayat policy. The Rashtriya Basava Sena has demanded that MB Patil who led the demand for a separate religion status to Lingayats be made the Deputy CM. Roshan Baig, a seven-term MLA of the Congress, said as a Muslim and member of minority community, he should be made the deputy CM. Other MLAs are also demanding ministerial berths with some of them ferrying supporters from constituencies as a show of strength. The coalition has 117 members in the new assembly, barely 5 above the required majority, excluding the speaker. Any sustained turbulence on the distribution of ministerial berths might impact the functioning of the coalition government. Kumaraswamy downplayed the frenetic negotiations between the two partners and also within both. There are no differences of opinion within our coalition partners or within parties as being reflected by the media. We will ensure that everything progresses smoothly. The floor test is expected to take place on May 25 after the speaker and his deputy are elected. Harish Ramaswamy, a senior political analyst, said that jostling for berths was expected and the longevity of the coalition government would be dependent on how effectively it satisfies demands from various factions in both parties. A war of words has erupted between the army and locals in Shopian following the firing by soldiers on Monday during an iftaar function that left four people injured. On Tuesday, the army claimed that they had planned the iftaar as part of its outreach programme with the consent of locals who said that they repeatedly dissuaded the army from holding the function fearing protests by youth. Two sisters were among the four who were injured when the Army fired following stone pelting by locals. A resident of DK Pura said that two days ago, officials from the local army camp approached the Mosque Auqaf Committee saying they want to hold an iftaar function, but the locals advised them against it. The Auqaf committee then went to the army camp and advised against holding the iftaar. They told them that it was not advisable as the youth may react angrily. But the army officials did not listen. They said they will not retaliate even if the youth pelted stones on them, said Manzoor Ahmad, a local who owns a medical shop in the area. An army spokesman, however, said the iftaar was a planned affair. Following the tradition and as part of a goodwill gesture towards the awaam during the holy month of Ramzan, the local army camp at Imam Sahib planned an Iftaar at DK Pura village on May 21. Necessary coordination was done with the village maulvi, masjid committee members, sarpanch and other eminent persons of the village. Some of them had also visited the army camp later in the afternoon to finalise arrangements, said the spokesman. Ahmad said that on Monday evening, many people of the village did not visit the mosque fearing escalation of the situation when the army men came at around 7.10 pm and started setting stalls. They put their weapons down. People again requested them not to go ahead with the programme but they insisted. The youth had already gathered and started shouting pro-freedom slogans. The seniors tried to calm down the youth and again told the army men that they will accompany them to their vehicle but they did not listen. The protesters then started pelting stones and chased the army men. Some of the army men retaliated with firing, said Ahmad. The army spokesman, however, said that when the iftaar was under progress at around 7:30 pm, some miscreants from the village barged into the masjid and started shouting anti-national and pro-Pakistan slogans including on the loudspeaker. Very soon, a large crowd instigated by the miscreants primarily consisting of youth and a few women gathered outside the masjid and surrounded the troops present there for organising the iftaar. The crowd resorted to heavy stone pelting posing serious threat to the safety of the troops. The troops verbally cautioned the crowd, but when stone pelting further intensified, they took necessary preventive measures and moved out of the area, the spokesman said. Saleem Tak, medical superintendent of SMHS hospital in Srinagar, said that three women from Shopian had come to the hospital with injuries. Two were injured in their legs while one had an injury in her arm, he said. Strongly condemning the incident, hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman, Syed Ali Geelani said, This is what the Indian army means by the much hyped ceasefire. When people of that area didnt want such an event, why these men in uniform forced it on gunpoint, and when people opposed, they fired to silence them by bullets, Geelani said in a statement. Engineers in the Madhya Pradesh central electricity distribution company on Tuesday demanded the removal of discom Managing Director Sanjay Goyal after he reportedly called them anti-nationals and dogs, and threatened a protest if he was not sacked. Madhya Pradesh engineers union General Secretary VKS Parihar wrote to the Chief Secretary of the Power Department on the issue. Goyals foul language has irked the engineers of the state Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company which is affecting the companys growth, Parihar wrote, adding that the discom chief has called engineers thieves during video conferences and meetings. Parihar told IANS: Goyal used indecent words during the May 19 video conference of Bhopal area. He said things like you are getting something you dont deserve, dont you feel ashamed, you should die of shame and you all are dogs. According to Parihar, Goyal told the workers to file a complaint against him if they wished. The Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company provides electricity to Bhopal and nearby areas. Goyal could not be reached for comments despite multiple attempts. Nine people died in a coastal city in southern Tamil Nadu on Tuesday when police fired at hundreds of protesters marching against a copper smelting plant tried to attack the district collectors office, said officials. Protesters who blame the Vedanta groups Sterlite plant for health problems and depleting water allegedly set vehicles on fire and stoned policemen in Toothukudi, which was formerly known as Tuticorin. News agency IANS reports an agitation against the factory started 100 days ago and took a violent turn after protesters learnt of the companys plans to expand the four lakh tonne per annum plant. I was grieved to know nine persons were unfortunately killed in this incident, said Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami in a statement. The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence... police had to control the violence, he said. DMK working president M K Stalin accused the police of atrocities and Tamil movie superstars Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, who recently entered politics, expressed solidarity with the protesters. The expansion (of Sterlite Copper) should not at all be allowed. If possible, it will be good to close down the (existing) unit, said Makkal Neethi Mayyam chief Kamal Haasan. One cant understand why the government, which gave the nod for the plant, is not taking any action and is just watching, said Rajinikanth. Congress president Rahul Gandhi called the deaths of the nine people state sponsored terrorism. The Tamil Nadu government in a statement said that the Sterlite plant is more than 20 years old but in 2013 the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had it shut down after people complained of irritation in their eyes. It said in March, the company had applied for removal of consent to operate (CTO) for its existing smelter plant. The application was rejected after the state pollution control board found that the factory has not fulfilled some of the major factors including non-submission of a detailed ground water analysis, action not taken to dispose waste and not building a compound wall to arrest water mixing in the nearby river. Its with great sorrow and regret that we witnessed todays incidents around the protest today at Tuticorin, Sterlite Copper said, adding its plant is non-operational. It appealed to the government and authorities to ensure safety of our employees, facilities and surrounding communities, according to news agency ANI. The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) chargesheet on the alleged fraud perpetrated by diamond trader Nirav Modi on Punjab National Bank has revealed, for the first time, that some of the purchases against which Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) were issued to Modis companies were to be made from companies with connections to him, shedding more light on the modus operandi of the Rs 6,498-crore fraud. The chargesheet, filed on May 14, also affirms a theory that has been articulated before, including in Hindustan Times, that some of the more recent LoUs were used to retire the older ones. Finally, the chargesheet names former PNB managing director Usha Ananthasubramanian because the bank told the Reserve Bank of India 15 months before the fraud came to light earlier this year that there was no way SWIFT messages (which were also used to indicate that the LoUs had been issued) could go out without adequate authorisation because they were linked to the core banking solution (or enterprise software) of the bank. Hindustan Times has seen a copy of the chargesheet which says that 43 LoUs were issued in 2011, 115 in 2012, 236 in 2013, 123 in 2014, 185 in 2015, 356 in 2016 and 150 in 2017. The investigative agencys chargesheet lists 27 overseas supplier companies to whom these fraudulent letters were issued. Two of these, Sino Traders Limited and Auragem Company, Hong Kong, the chargesheet said, were controlled by Modi. The chargesheet adds that most of the overseas suppliers are located in New York, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates and that they are being probed further. It also lists eight LoUs issued between February 9 and 14, 2017 and which were used for making repayments against earlier Letters of Undertaking issued in 2016. Vijay Aggarwal, who represents five of the 22 individuals charged in the case, termed the chargesheet half-baked since agency is yet to obtain prosecution sanction against accused public servants. CBI has filed incomplete and half-baked chargesheet only to defeat the right of the accused person in custody to get statutory bail. Various bankers against whom prosecution sanction has not been received, but still they have been included in the charge sheet and their sanction is awaited so the trial cannot begin in terms of right of joint trial of accused persons till the sanction comes. Prosecution sanction is required under section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act to initiate trial against public servants. There are 10 bankers including Ananthsubramanian named in the chargesheet and CBI is yet to receive sanction to prosecute them from the finance ministry (PNB is state-owned and comes under the purview of the finance ministry). The chargesheet also says almost 15 months before PNB knocked the door of the CBI asking it to probe the fraud committed by diamond trader Nirav Modi and his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi, the bank told the RBI that all its outward SWIFT messages were being sent after making entries into the core banking solution (CBS). Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication that provides a network for financial institutions all across the world to send and receive information about transactions in a secure and standardised manner. In its probe, CBI found that all SWIFT system messages with regard to LoUs issued to Nirav Modis firms were issued without making any entry into the CBS. Nehal Ahad, then general manager of international banking division of PNB, told RBI on October 31, 2016 that with entering into CBS, no financial SWIFT message can be sent. Investigation revealed that there was no basis to support the above kind of misleading reply and undertaking by Shri Nehal Ahad as no specific instructions were issued to authorized dealer branches until December, 2016 and no action taken reports from field units, says the charge sheet. Ananthasubramanian could not be reached for a comment. On May 14, the CBI filed its first chargesheet in the case, naming 22 individuals and three firms. A second chargesheet was filed on May 16 against 15 individuals and three companies belonging to Niravs maternal uncle, Mehul Choksi. The CBI alleged that Choksi and his companies defrauded PNB of ~7,080 crore in issuance of LoUs and foreign letters of credit. The sacking of former head priest AV Ramana Deekshitulu from the Tirumala temple after he alleged corruption in the temple administration is snowballing into a political slugfest with the Telugu Desam Party-government accusing its former ally BJP of using the sacked priest to harass it. The TDP government in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday insisted that there were no lapses on the part of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) with regard to administration of the Lord Venkateshwara temple on Tirumala and that all the temple rituals were being performed according to Vedic norms. Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu held a high-level review meeting with officials of the TTD and endowments department in Amaravati in the wake of allegations made by former head priest AV Ramana Deekshitulu. Deekshitulu, who is presently in Delhi, is said to be planning to move the Supreme Court challenging the TTD trust boards move to unceremoniously remove him and three others from the temple service by fixing 65 years as the age limit for retirement. Unconfirmed reports said Deekshitulu had met BJP national president Amit Shah and union home minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and sought a high-level inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the Tirumala temple administration. During the review meeting, Naidu asked TTD authorities to see that there were no controversies with regard to performing of daily rituals in the temple and the sanctity of Tirumala was maintained. TTD executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal rubbished Deekshitulus allegations of corruption and said there were no evidences of any misappropriation of funds. Every rupee that the TTD spends has been recorded and as such, there was no misuse of funds, Singhal told reporters after the meeting. On allegations of missing ancient jewellery donated by various kings to Lord Venkateshwara centuries ago, Singhal said there were pucca records with regard to the jewellery listed in 1952, which was endorsed by Justice Wadhwa committee in 2010. Also read: ASI withdraws proposal to take over countrys richest temple in Tirumala Not a single ornament listed in 1952 records has been missing, though there are no proper mention of which ornament was donated by which king and when. We have already released the list of jewellery of Lord Venkateswara and we are ready to display the jewels to dispel doubts expressed by Deekhsitulu, Singhal said. On a particular allegation of Deekshitulu that a pink diamond from the Lords jewellery was recently auctioned in Geneva, Singhal said there was no mention of any such diamond in the 1952 list. All that we know is a ruby was missing from one of the ornaments and it was broken during one of the temple rituals. The broken pieces of ruby are still available with the TTD, he said. Deekshitulu had also alleged that the kitchen (potu) in the temple complex was dug up in search of hidden wealth. But Singhal said only minor repairs were conducted in the kitchen. Some more allegations have come up in the last two days and the TTD trust board would look into them as per the law, he said. Deekshitulus charges and his removal from the services of Tirumala temple also took a political turn on Monday with the YSR Congress party and the Jana Sena Party seeking a CBI inquiry into the whole controversy. YSR Congress party MLA Kona Raghupathi and senior leader Malladi Vishnu, representing Brahmin community, held a meeting of Brahmin groups in Vijayawada on Monday and demanded a high-level probe into the allegations made by Deekshitulu. Former chief secretary I Y R Krishna Rao, who was also former TTD executive officer, condemned the political interference in the temples affairs. Senior BJP leader and MP Subramanian Swamy also tweeted that he would move the Supreme Court against sacking of Deekshitulu and three others unceremoniously and ask for a court-monitored CBI probe. The ruling Telugu Desam Party launched a counter-attack on Deekshitulu, saying he was acting at the behest of the BJP to defame the TDP government. TTD trust board member and TDP MLA Bonda Uma said it was the conspiracy hatched by the BJP. Why has Deekshitulu been silent all these years? It is very clear that the BJP is trying to trouble the TDP government by raking up needless controversies in Tirumala, he said. The TDP ended its alliance with the BJP in March this year after accusing the saffron party of failure to implement promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act, besides granting special category status to the state. Maharashtra Muslim legislators from different opposition parties met state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis late on Tuesday, demanding action against police personnel and Shiv Sena leaders for allegedly inciting the violence that broke out in Aurangabad earlier in the month. Alleging that they have video clips showing police officers and Sena leaders accompanying rioters , MLAs Abdul Sattar, Shaikh Asif Shaikh Rashid (both Congress), Abu Asim Azmi (SP), Imtiyaz Jalil and Waris Pathan (both AIMIM) along with Congress MLAs met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis late on Tuesday. The lawmakers submitted the video clips to substantiate the accusation and demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation or the Crime Investigation Department into the alleged role of police officers and Sena leaders in the arson. After meeting with the chief minister, Jalil said, The CM announced a high-level probe by a team of senior IPS officials. He has promised to take stern action if any official is found guilty. He also said that a new police commissioner will be appointed for Aurangabad in the next couple of days. We have been promised that even politicians [if any] involved will face action. Earlier in the day, eight Opposition legislators held a sit-in protest at the gates of Mantralaya, stating that the chief minister did not meet them despite having given an appointment. Fadnavis, however, said that the MLAs had turned up at his office without seeking an appointment AIMIM legislator Imtiyaz Jalil accused the state government of acting in a partisan manner by allowing Shiv Sena leaders to take out a rally illegally after the riots. We have about 50 video clips to show how police acted partially in the riots. We want the action against the people who are seen in the clips helping the rioters, he said. Two people were killed and more than 60 were injured in clashes between groups of two communities over illegal water connections in Aurangabad, about 350 kilometres from Mumbai, on May 11. Rejecting the charges levelled by Opposition leaders, Chandrakant Khaire, Shiv Sena MP from Aurangabad, said: The Muslim MLAs have joined hands to save the culprits from thier community. Ours was a reaction to the attack on the Hindu citizens as its our duty to protect them, he said. Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami said on Tuesday nine people were killed in police action against anti-Sterlite protesters in Tuticorin, and announced a judicial inquiry into the violence. Detailing the events leading to the unfortunate deaths, he said the protesters took out a procession towards the collectorate defying prohibitory orders in the area. They not only pelted policemen with stones but also set on fire their vehicles as well as those parked in the collectorate. They hurled stones at the collectors office, he said in a statement. The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence... police had to control the violence, Palaniswami, who holds the Home portfolio, said. I was grieved to know nine persons were unfortunately killed in this incident, he said, expressing his sympathies and condolences for the families of those killed. Palaniswami said he has ordered constitution of a one-man commission under a retired high court judge to go into the incident. The chief minister also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of those killed, Rs 3 lakh to those seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh for people who suffered minor injuries. Decades-old stir against Sterlite plant rages on Nine people died on Tuesday in police firing after the anti-Sterlite protests turned violent in Toothukudi as protesters allegedly attacked the district collectorate demanding closure of plant. The violence has brought the decades-old protest back in the spotlight. May 1995: Environmental clearances given to the plant, construction begins October 1996: Plant starts operating, almost immediately clearances challenged before the Madras high court August 1997: Protests begin after complaints of air and water pollution. November 1998: Interim order by the high court to close the plant, but reopened weeks later after company agrees to put pollution safeguards January 2001: Complaints by locals of polluted water and release of toxic waste water from the plant September 2010: Madras high court orders closure of the plant over pollution concerns but reopened less than a week later after Supreme Court stays the order March 2013: Tamil Nadu pollution control board orders closure of the plant after a gas leak April 2013: Supreme Court fines Sterlite Rs 100 crore for pollution but doesnt order closure of the plant May 2016: Madras high court dismisses petition challenging expansion on the grounds that no public consultation was held February 2018: Fresh protests after reports that Sterlite is looking to expand the plant and increase capacity March 2018: Plant shuts for maintenance April 2018: Tamil Nadu pollution control board refuses to renew plants license Environmental clearances given to the plant, construction beginsPlant starts operating, almost immediately clearances challenged before the Madras high courtProtests begin after complaints of air and water pollution.Interim order by the high court to close the plant, but reopened weeks later after company agrees to put pollution safeguardsComplaints by locals of polluted water and release of toxic waste water from the plantMadras high court orders closure of the plant over pollution concerns but reopened less than a week later after Supreme Court stays the orderTamil Nadu pollution control board orders closure of the plant after a gas leakSupreme Court fines Sterlite Rs 100 crore for pollution but doesnt order closure of the plantMadras high court dismisses petition challenging expansion on the grounds that no public consultation was heldFresh protests after reports that Sterlite is looking to expand the plant and increase capacityPlant shuts for maintenanceTamil Nadu pollution control board refuses to renew plants license He also assured government jobs for one family member of each of those who lost their lives in accordance with their qualifications. The chief minister instructed the Tuticorin district administration to ensure those wounded got proper medical treatment. Nearly 5,000 people demanding closure of the Vedanta group-owned plant on Tuesday went on a rampage over pollution concerns, clashing with police, and setting vehicles and public property on fire. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina will address the convocation at the Visva-Bharati University and hold bilateral talks there on May 25, official sources said. The two leaders will also inaugurate the Bangladesh Bhavan at the university. Hasina will arrive in Kolkata on the morning of May 25, sources at the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission said. She would then leave for Santiniketan in West Bengals Birbhum district, about 160km from the state capital. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will also attend the programme at the university founded by Rabindranath Tagore. Modi will inaugurate the Bangladesh Bhavan with Hasina and hold a bilateral meeting there, the sources said. There has been no convocation in the central university for the past four years, officials said. After the events in Santiniketan, Hasina is scheduled to leave for Kolkata, where she is likely to visit Jorasanko Thakur Bari, Tagores ancestral home in north Kolkata, an official said. On May 26, Hasina will visit Kazi Nazrul University in Asansol in West Burdwan district where she will be conferred with an honorary D.Lit. Banerjee will be the chief guest at the convocation in the university. On her return to Kolkata, Hasina is likely to visit Netaji Bhavan, the ancestral home of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, in south Kolkata. In Kolkata she is likely to visit both Jorasanko Thakur Bari and Netaji Bhavan, the official of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata said, adding that the dates were to be finalised. She will return to Dhaka on the evening of May 26. The Bangladesh Bhavan at Santiniketan will house a library, a state-of-the-art archival centre and a seminar hall, besides a sprawling space for cultural get-togethers. Apart from the literary works of Tagore, the centre will also showcase books and photographs on the Bangladesh Liberation War and Indias role in it. Sabujkali Sen, officiating vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati, said the programme would be a historic one for the university, which would welcome the dignitaries with the traditional rituals of Santiniketan. A large delegation of people from Bangladesh, including media persons, would accompany Hasina, university sources said. It was not confirmed whether the universitys highest award Desikottama would be conferred at the convocation. An official of NBCC, which constructed the Bangladesh Bhavan, said the building combined tradition and modern facilities. Everything has been made keeping in mind the Santiniketan flavour. The socio-cultural features of Bangladesh have been merged with it, the official said. A Visva-Bharati official said the central university would gift a replica of the first edition of Rabindranath Tagores Gitanjali, which was published in 1912 in London, among other souvenirs to Modi. Sheikh Hasina would be gifted a set of Rabindra Chitrabali Tagores paintings in four volumes along with other gifts. Banerjee would be presented with a set of Rabindra Chitrabali along with Tagores photographs and a bilingual edition of Gitanjali, the official added. Indias white-marble Taj Mahal is turning yellow and green as the 17th century mausoleum weathers filthy air in the worlds eighth-most polluted city. One of the seven Wonders of the World, the Taj Mahal flanks a garbage-strewn river and is often enveloped by dust and smog from belching smokestacks and vehicles in the northern city of Agra. Tiny insects from the drying Yamuna River into which the city pours its sewage crawl into the Taj Mahal, their excrement further staining the marble, an environmental lawyer told the Supreme Court. The court slammed the government for not doing enough to preserve the monument, which was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. If the Indian scientists and the (conservationists) cant do the things, they should be able to contact foreign experts or conservationists, those who can come and they will be readily happy to help, said lawyer MC Mehta, who has been fighting to save the Taj Mahal from pollution for three decades. Garbage is seen on the polluted banks of the river Yamuna near the historic Taj Mahal in Agra, India, May 19, 2018. (REUTERS) Restorers have been using a paste of a clay mineral to clean the marble. It pulls away impurities from the surface and can then be washed off with water. Activists are also concerned that the falling water table in Agra may be weakening the wooden foundations. Other worries include roads clogged with polluting vehicles and rampant construction around the mausoleum. Behind Tajs back, plastic bags and garbage pile up by the river as smoke billows from a chimney in the distance. Outside the Taj complex, a group of people gathered near a funeral pyre. The change in colour has not come out of the blue. Environmentalists and historians have long warned about the risk of soot and fumes from factories and tanneries dulling the ivory monument. There was no comment from government authorities. Bhuvan Vikram, superintendent archaeologist for Agra, said he was not authorised to speak to journalists. Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, whose department oversees historical monuments, said the environment ministry was best placed to speak on the subject but the environment minister was not available. The historic Taj Mahal is pictured from across the Yamuna river in Agra, India, May 20, 2018. (REUTERS) Tourists visiting the monument said they hoped steps would be taken to save it. I think the Taj Mahal is one of the biggest icons of India and I think the city would be better to be cleaner and for the government to do something about this, said Francesco, a tourist from Argentina who only gave his first name. Because it is a shame, you know. Yeah! Janata Dal Secular leader HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday indicated that Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara would be the deputy chief minister in the new government amid hectic wrangling for cabinet posts. After a meeting of JD(S) and Congress leaders, Kumaraswamy said the speaker and deputy speaker would be elected on 25 May and portfolios would be decided day after tomorrow. I and Dr Parameshwara will be taking oath tomorrow, the chief minister-designate said. Everything is alright, there are no differences, he added. Multiple claimants had emerged for the deputy CMs post from within the Congress after the allies decided to form a coalition government. Congress-JDS leaders met and discussed cabinet formation. Out of 34 ministries, 22 ministries will go with the Congress party and 12 ministries, including that of the chief minister, will be with be with the JD(S), the Congress partys Karnataka in-charge K.C. Venugopal said. Portfolio allocation will be decided after the floor test, he added. Parameshwara belongs to a prominent Dalit family that owns the Siddhartha group of educational institutions in Tumkur. He has served as the joint secretary of the Karnataka Congress Committee before becoming its president. News agency ANI reported that Congresss KR Ramesh Kumar will be the new speaker of the legislative assembly. The Congress with 78 seats and the JD(S) with 37 came together as allies after election results delivered a hung assembly in Karnataka. The BJP with 104 seats was initially invited to form the government. But its leader BS Yeddyurappa resigned as chief minister two days after taking oath as he did not have enough seats to win a Supreme Court-ordered floor test. Kumaraswamy faces a delicate balancing act in allocating portfolios in his coalition government. A group of Muslim organisations demanded earlier on Tuesday that a minority leader be made the deputy chief minister of the state. Either seven-time Congress MLA Roshan Baig or some other leader from the Muslim community should be made the deputy CM in the new government in Karnataka, the representatives of the organisations said in Bengaluru, according to news agency ANI. What is wrong in it? Why not? If people from other communities can make demands then why cant people from my community? But, in the end high command will decide, said Baig . Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who was instrumental in keeping the Congress flock together in the run-up to BJP leader BS Yeddyurappas trust vote, was also reported to be an aspirant for the deputy CM post. I dont want to show my strength. I dont want to show my numbers. I have faith in Rahul Gandhi & Sonia Gandhi. We all believe in one man resolution,that is the party high command. They will take a call on who has to be what, Shivakumar told ANI when asked about his chances of becoming the deputy CM. A leader close to Shivakumar said if he doesnt get the deputy chief ministers post, he is demanding that he should get the home ministers portfolio as well as the post of the state Congress chief. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said his partys first objective was the election of the speaker of the Karnataka assembly and then the vote of confidence, expected to be held within 24 hours after Kumaraswamy takes oath. The two parties will 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. The committee will have five to six members. The decision was taken at a 20-minute meeting between Kumaraswamy and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday evening. 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 the government formation, including the issue of deputy chief ministers post, with the JD(S) leadership and the partys local leaders. On Tuesday, Kumaraswamy acknowledged that running the Congress-JD(S) coalition government over the next five years would be a big challenge. This is a big challenge in my life. Im not expecting that I will be able to fulfill my responsibilities as chief minister easily, Kumaraswamy said. Political journeys arent crow flights. They are long-haul surface travels involving arduous rides past roadblocks. In that sense, Delhi for the Congress isnt a 1,800km air-dash or a 2,121km bus ride from Bengaluru. The distance is much longer with scant assurance of a safe arrival in 2019. The old adage says, alls well that ends well. But not everything that begins well, ends well in politics. The first-mover advantage that the Congress snatched in Karnataka after a disheartening poll result was a mix of luck and promptitude. From here on, it will need all the lightning reflexes to be the pivot of opposition federacy or unity. The speed with which the party approached the Janata Dal (Secular) obviated the stalemate that couldve made the governors invite to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seem fair, noted a veteran of coalition politics who wanted to remain unnamed. Tactics apart, he saw in the Congress move the realism required to stitch up alliances. The model in the making isnt hard to spot. A broader anti-BJP alliance at the Centre has to be constructed through equitable tie-ups in the states. Beyond that is the even more difficult task of creating chemistry between constituents of parties that have forever battled each other. For example, Dalits aligned with the Congress have to work with Dalits aligned to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Alliances with top-down approaches cannot work without grassroots support, explained a leader who was a minister under HD Deve Gowda in the United Front regime of 1996. The task is daunting but doable, what with a plethora of issues agitating various social groups ranging from scheduled and subaltern castes to elites such as Marathas, Jats and Patidars. The responsibility on the Congress in Karnataka is greater than on the Gowda clan despite its sole stated agenda for the 2019 general elections being the ouster of the BJP, and not the Congresss restoration to power. Theres greater force at times in the politics of magnanimity than in the mere deployment of power, noted an old Telugu Desam Party (TDP) hand. Given their experience in parliamentary opposition, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani understood it better than the current crop of BJP leaders, he said. The member of the TDP old-guard illustrated the point by recalling the dramatic phase in 1984 when the Congress briefly dispossessed NT Rama Rao of power: Unlike what we saw last week in Karnataka, Indira Gandhi never blocked chartered flights we took to the Janata Party-ruled Bengaluru to safeguard TDP legislators. So while the BJP went about stalling HD Kumaraswamy, the Congress shone in contrast. Its positive unilateralism to break the numbers logjam had a fraternal air essential for political entente with erstwhile foes. The Congress, in the process, regained its reflexes, and its survival extinct, to salvage partial victory from clear defeat in Karnataka. The big decision to cede the chief ministers office to the JD(S) was of course of the high commanda euphemism for the Sonia Gandhi-Rahul-Priyanka triad. The way it was executed by the party veterans drove home the value of experience amid the internal Congress clamour for change. The party, battered by a string of defeats, will need to sustain the momentum as it motors down to destinations with formidable regional forces: Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Regional satraps are invariably temperamental and over-demanding. The Congress will have to be patient and magnanimous in the absence of reciprocity even in states where it has primacy. The months-long protest demanding closure of Vedantas Sterlite Copper unit here took a violent turn on Monday with agitators pelting stones and toppling police vehicles after they were prevented from marching towards the plant. Police said section 144 of CrPc has been invoked in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security to it as per the orders of the Madras High Court. However, angered over not being allowed to take out a rally, the slogan-shouting protesters forcibly tried to push back the security personnel in riot gear. They then started hurling stones at police and also overturned a vehicle after which the security personnel lobbed teargas shells to disperse them, they said. While more than 20 people suffered minor injuries in stone-pelting incident, some vehicles were set on fire, leading to tension in the area, they added. #WATCH Protest held in Tuticorin demanding ban on Sterlite Industries, in wake of the pollution created by them #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/23FWdj1do5 ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 Meanwhile, a peaceful demonstration was held near the old bus stand in the town, also demanding the closure of the Sterlite unit and the proposed expansion of the plant. Several shops in this town, Srivaikundam and Oddapidaram remained shut in support of the protest, police said. The district has been witnessing several protests by locals and others against the Sterlite Copper plant here and its proposed expansion. Protesters have alleged that the plant was polluting ground water in their area. Sterlite Copper represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 400,000 tonnes per annum-plant in Tuticorin. Congress president Rahul Gandhi will launch his partys campaign for the Madhya Pradesh assembly election from Mandsaur on June 6, which is also the first anniversary of the death of five farmers in police firing in the same town, according to a party spokesperson. The district administration had imposed 19 conditions for allowing the event. Last year, Gandhi was detained in Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh en route Mandsaur to meet the families of the farmers killed in the firing. This year, the subdivisional magistrate (SDM) has granted permission for a rally but prohibited Gandhi from making any provocative speech . Among the conditions imposed by the magistrate in the letter, a copy of which has been seen by Hindustan Times, is that the maximum size of the tent constructed for the rally cant be more than 15ft by 15 ft and that the loudspeakers used cant be louder than 10 decibels. It also said that the organisers will be held responsible if the vehicles of anyone participating in the rally are stolen. The permission will be revoked in case of violation of any of these conditions, the letter said. The district collector Mandsaur said, in response to queries from Hindustan Times that the order was a mistake and an amended permission letter would be issued on Tuesday night. There was no intention of imposing unusual condition on the meeting, he added, responding to specific questions on the noise limit and the dimensions of the tent. State Congress spokesperson Manak Agarwal refused to comment on the conditions and said, Rahul Gandhis visit to Mandsaur is confirmed. All the arrangements are being made for his visit. Congress media co-ordinator in the state Narendra Saluja described the conditions as a deliberate attempt to ensure that Rahul Gandhis rally doesnt take place, as the state government is frightened to see farmers massive support to the party. The Congress has been out of power in the state, which goes to the polls towards the end of the year, since 2003. This time, the Congress is trying to make the agrarian crisis and the plight of farmers a poll issue, one reason why it is keen on launching the campaign from Mandsaur. State BJP spokesperson Vijesh Lunawat said: It is clear that Congress is playing politics on such a sensitive issue like farmer deaths. The fact remains that the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has taken a number of measures for welfare of farmers which Congress never did in its more than 50 years of rule in the country. Russian gas giant Gazprom and oil major Rosneft were looking to expand their presence in India as the two countries step up efforts to strengthen energy cooperation, officials familiar with the developments said on Tuesday. Strengthening bilateral ties through energy sector figured prominently in talks Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday at an informal summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. There are serious plans for further cooperation between our oil corporations. I mean first of all, Rosneft, which has gained a stronghold on the Indian market, Russian news agency TASS quoted foreign minister Sergey Lavrov as saying after the meet. He said Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of the gas giant, had interesting plans for India. The two countries, said an official, were also aggressively pursuing plans to build nuclear power projects in other countries. Modi and Putin noted the progress made in many areas, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity. The oil exports from Russia to India going up by ten times in 2017 was something Russian side took a special note of, the diplomat said. Energy cooperation was a work in progress and New Delhi was looking to wide-base Indias oil imports. Strategic tie-ups would boost the effort, a second official said. There are very smart moves in recent past. The consortium that consist IOC, BHPL, and Oil India buying 23.9% in Rosnefts subsidiary Vankorneft is an example of this, the official said. The two leaders were looking forward to the first consignment of LNG that would arrive in India in June as part of an agreement between Gazprom and GAIL, a release issued by the Indian side said on Monday. Amid the panic of Nipah virus outbreak in north Kerala, some of the crematoria in the worst-affected Kozhikode district have refused to cremate bodies fearing infection. . The district administration said they will book those who were not cooperating during an emergency situation. Some incidents came to our notice. We will take strict action against those who are not co-operating with us, said district collector U V Jose. Employees of the electric crematorium in Mavoor in Kozhikode have proceeded on mass leave without informing the authorities. The cremation of one of the victims Ashokan (52), a resident of Koorachund in Kozhikode, who died on Tuesday was delayed for seven hours. The cremation was possible only after a team of volunteers from Ivor Madam in Palakkad rushed to the city to cremate the body. We were in tears. The issue came to light after one of the news channels flashed our plight, said a relative of the deceased. At least two crematoria in the city complained that some of their employees left without informing them. Fear is palpable everywhere. We cant blame them because life is precious for everyone, said an employee who did not want to be named. Sajish, husband of nurse Lini who succumbed to the deadly virus also complained that many ambulance drivers at the medical college refused to carry his wifes body. Their attitude added to our shock. Later the police had intervened and arranged a vehicle, he said. Panic has gripped many areas of two districts, Kozhikode and Malappuram, as the toll in the illness induced by the Nipah virus rose to 10. Eight of the dead were from Kozhikode and two from Malappuram. The death of four more are under the scanner. The Perambra taluk hospital where four of the dead, including nurse Lini, were initially admitted wore a deserted look. The hospital used to get at least 1000 out-patients daily. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Gujarat police have booked a Surat-based builder Shailesh Bhatt and eight others for allegedly extorting over Rs 155 crore in cash and bitcoins from two persons. Bhatt had in February accused a team of Amreli crime branch police of abducting him and extorting 176 bitcoins worth Rs 7.5 crore from him. Nine policemen, including a superintendent of police, were booked on his complaint. While investigating the case, the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) learnt about a bitcoin ponzi scheme worth Rs 1,000 crore, in which Bhatt had invested. 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 director general of police (CID) Ashish Bhatia. To recover his investment, Bhatts accomplices first kidnapped one Piyush Savalia by posing as income tax officials. Savalia used to work with Bit Connect and was confined in a farm house at gun point for three days in January, Bhatia said. On February 1, Bhatts men kidnapped Dhaval Mavani at gun-point and forced him to transfer 2,256 bitcoins worth Rs 131 crore into their account. The builder and his accomplices had also transferred another set of 166 bitcoins worth Rs 9.64 crore into their account, said Bhatia. To set Mavani free, Bhatt and his accomplices also extorted Rs 14.5 crore in cash from his family, 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 155.14 crore. Later, they distributed the bitcoins among themselves. Bhatt had kept around 700 bitcoins, the CID official said, adding that since Bhatt was not tech-savvy, he took the help of his nephew Nikunj Bhatt to transfer these bitcoins. The entire conspiracy was unearthed when Savalia was questioned by the CID recently. Bhatia said Bhatt had even paid Rs 34.5 lakh to Savalia to give a false statement that he was never kidnapped by the builder and his men. While two persons, including Bhatts nephew, Nikunj Bhatt, and Dilip Kanani have been arrested on charges of kidnapping and extortion, a search is on for others, said Bhatia. A fresh FIR against Bhatt and his nine aides has been registered after new details emerged during the ongoing probe in the February case, Bhatia told reporters. After the arrest, the sleuths recovered 152 bitcoins (Rs 8.58 crore), which were in Kananis wallet. It all started when Bhatt alleged that Amreli policemen had kidnapped him and his business partner Kirit Paladia from Gandhinagar on February 9 and extorted bitcoins. Bhatt had alleged that former BJP MLA Nalian Kotadiya was also involved in the conspiracy to extort bitcoins worth over Rs 9 crore. So far, Paladia, Amreli superintendent of police Jagdish Patel, Amreli 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 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. (With agency inputs) Indias relationship with Russia and China will have no bearing on the strategic partnership with the US, a senior BJP leader has said, underlining that New Delhi follows a de-hyphenated foreign policy that makes its ties with one country independent of another. BJP general secretary Ram Madhav asserted that India continues to strive to strengthen ties with the US. Regional politics demand that we build strong bilateral relations with important powers in the region, some of them happen to be having difficulties with the US. But, that will not have any bearing on our relationship with the US, Madhav said, apparently referring to the US sanctions on Russia. He was responding to questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modis informal summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. Look in the last three-four years, you must have noticed we have followed what we call as de-hyphenated foreign policy, he said. A de-hyphenated foreign policy means that India would pursue its relationship with different countries independent of their relationship with any third country. India is pursuing the de-hyphenated policy. We have certain regional imperatives that command us to establish relationship with powers of different poles in the region. But that does not affect the larger issues like US India bilateral relationship, Madhav said in response to a question. US President Donald Trump had signed a law, The Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA, imposing sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea. The Section 231 of CAATSA mandates secondary sanctions on those who conduct significant transactions with the Russian defence and intelligence sectors. Madhav was here in the American Capital over the weekend to be address the New India event of the Overseas Friends of BJP to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the NDA government on Sunday. 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 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. The Rajasthan government on Tuesday issued a notification for child care leave (CCL) for women employees for a maximum period of two years during service. Amending the Rajasthan Service Rules, by the order of the Governor, a woman government employee will now get child care leave for a maximum period of two years (730 days) during their service life for taking care of two eldest children. The leave can be used for different purposes such as prolonged illness, examination etc. For taking the leave, the child should be below the age of 18. In case of children with disability, the leave can be availed till the child is 22 (in case of a minimum disability of 40 per cent). Before getting the leave, the employee needs to submit a certificate of dependency of the disabled child and other related documents. During the leave, a woman employee is entitled to a salary equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on the leave. CCL can also be combined with other leaves but it cannot be claimed as a matter of right. CCL will not be granted to those women employees who remain on unauthorised absence from duty. However, the authority can deny the leave application on the ground of proper and smooth functioning of work. CCL cannot be granted for more than three spells in a year and cannot be granted to probationer trainee, in case its granted under special circumstances then the probation period will be extended and the leave will be treated as privilege leave. If a woman employee seeks the leave for examination and illness of a minor child living abroad, it will be sanctioned after getting a certificate issued by the educational institution. Also, before CCL is sanctioned for the examination of a minor child, who lives in a hostel, the employee has to clarify how the needs of such a minor child will be looked after by her. Rajasthan Mahila Adhikari and Karamchari (Ekikrat) Mahasangh, member Kamal Shekhawat, an RPS official, said, It is a welcoming move and in the interest of women employees. For last three years, we were working on the issue. The central government had done it along with the sixth pay commission. The decision is a good move for womens welfare as they need to balance both work and family. A local court in Siliguri on Monday sent to jail a 35-year-old primary school teacher who was arrested on Sunday for allegedly molesting girl students while forcing them to watch pornography inside the school premises. Police said the teacher, Bablu Singha, had been sexually exploiting the primary students for the last three years in the school near Phasidewa in Darjeeling district. Singhas victims were between nine and 13 years. The accused (Bablu Singha) used to force the girl students to remove their clothes and touched their private parts and also compelled them to watch pornographic clips on his mobile phone, said the complaint lodged by a parent of a victim at Phasidewa Police Station. Police suspect Singha abused many more girls. Singha was slapped with sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act, said Sanjay Das, the officer-in-charge of Phasidewa police station. This is the second such incident of abuse within a month after the headmaster of a school in neighbouring North Dinajpur district was accused of raping two of his students multiple times inside the school. Ranjan Sil Sharma, general secretary of the Darjeeling district chapter of Trinamool Congress-backed West Bengal Primary Teachers Association, said that the parents of the victims had brought the incident to the notice of the headmaster some time ago. The principal brought it to the notice of the inspector of schools, who, in turn, alerted Pranab Bhattacharya, the chairman of the Primary School Council of Siliguri, Sharma said. After Bhattacharya allegedly did not take any action, the parents lodged a complaint with the police. Bhattacharya could not be contacted till Tuesday evening. The complaint to the police named three students of the school aged between nine and 13 years as victims. Singha, a resident of Phasidewa, was arrested after preliminary interrogation and primary medical examination of the victims that was carried out at Bidhan Nagar public health centre. Women police officers counselled the victims. The accused was produced in court on May 21. The court sent him to judicial custody till May 28, said the police officer. The complaint was lodged on May 18. We immediately started investigation. Singha allegedly sent the boys away before he exploited the girl students inside the school premises. Two weeks after police busted a gang that had been smuggling weapons out of Rifle Factory Ishapore (RFI) for 10 years, the authorities have started locking away hundreds of old and abandoned weapons and weapon parts left in stores inside the premises. To stop leakage of information and photography, RFI authorities on Monday even banned use of mobile phones by officers, staff members and contract workers. Located about 40 km to the north of Kolkata, RFI is the main small arms manufacturer for the army and paramilitary forces. The 12 bore pump action gun, infamous in Kashmir as pellet gun, is also made by RFI. The Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police on Thursday night arrested Ganesh Paswan alias Bhagwanji from Barakar in West Burdwan district. This was the eighth arrest since May 7. Paswan is suspected to be part of the group that supplied INSAS and SLR rifles to Maoists after these were smuggled out of the factory on a truck that was officially hired to carry scrap metal and garbage. Read: CBI, police probing defalcation of funds, smuggling of weapon parts at Indias oldest army rifle factory The racket, comprising some factory officials, contract labourers and Bihar-based gunrunners, has been operating for almost 10 years during which hundreds of weapons and weapon parts were allegedly smuggled out. It is very difficult to draw an estimate. All I can say is the quantity was huge, a senior STF officer, who did not wish to be named, said. RFI authorities have started scanning old storerooms since a sub-machine gun and six .38 caliber Webley and Scott revolvers were seized from some key players arrested by STF on May 7. Last week, as many as 900 finished and semi-assembled sub-machine guns (commonly known as the Sten gun) from the WW2 and 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War era were retrieved along with a few hundred Webley revolvers in assembled or semi-assembled condition. The cache, big enough to fuel a small war, was shifted to other storage rooms that were later sealed, said an RFI official who did not want to be named. Read: Guns used by British Indian army and during Bdesh liberation war smuggled out of OFB unit in Bengal On Monday, RFI officials were asked to count and mark all finished and semi-finished weapons and weapon parts left in the three storage rooms in the building from where the racket has been stealing all these years. Skilled gunsmiths in Bihar had been using the parts to assemble new weapons or adding parts to semi-assembled weapons to make these operational, STF has found. RFI has banned contract labourers from leaving the premises during lunch hour and frisking while entering and leaving the factory has become more stringent. Security personnel have intensified patrolling. On Monday, use of mobile phones was banned too. The restriction will be applicable to Group A and B officers as well. However, RFI general manager may allow relaxation purely based on functional requirement provided head of the unit seeking exemption give it in writing that there would be no misuse, said the order. RFI authorities have officially maintained silence on this issue ever since the racket was first detected in September 2017. Read: Indian Army rejects indigenously made rifles for second year in a row Ganesh Paswan, a resident of Gazipur region in Bihar, was remanded in police custody on Friday. He is part of the same gang that was involved in smuggling of weapons, said Muralidhar Sharma, deputy commissioner of police, STF. It is being probed whether weapons were sold to criminal gangs as well, added Sharma. On May 7, STF arrested two junior works managers of RFI, Sukhada Murmu and Sushanta Basu, two contract labourers of the factory, Umesh Rai and Kartick Shaw and two Bihar-based gunrunners, Ajay Pundit and Jaishankar Pandey. Acting on their statements a police team went to Bihar and arrested Rajesh Kumar alias Munna from Nalanda on May 13. His interrogation led to the arrest of Paswan on Thursday night. Read: Pellet guns, used against Kashmirs stone-pelters, to guard SBI offices This is STFs second operation. In September 2017, Sambhu Bhattacharjee, a junior works manager of RFI, was arrested for allegedly smuggling out parts of SLR and INSAS rifles. A contract worker was also arrested with a 9mm pistol assembled with parts smuggled out of the factory. Murmu, who was arrested on May 7, earlier worked with Bhattacharjee in the stores department. He was promoted to the rank of junior works manager a few months ago. He was in charge of disposal of both garbage and scrap material. RFI is Indias oldest defence production establishment. It is one of the 41 factories run by the Ordnance Factory Board which functions under the Ministry of Defence. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday issued notice to the UP government over the death several people after consuming spurious liquor purchased from licensed shops in Kanpur Nagar and Kanpur Dehat districts. Taking suo motu cognizance of media reports on the deaths, the commission has issued a notice to the chief secretary calling for a report within four weeks, an NHRC spokesman said. The state government has announced an assistance of 2 lakh each to the next of kin of those dead. The contents of the media reports, if true, amount to negligence on part of the concerned administration. The reported announcement of compensation cannot be a remedy to deal with the menace of spurious liquor. It is necessary for the state authorities to take immediate effective measures to stop selling of spurious liquor from licensed shops and take up investigation into it, the spokesman said. The commission further observed that this was not the first incident in which people reportedly lost life after consuming illicit liquor. Wherever there is no prohibition on liquor, it becomes the responsibility of the State to ensure that any kind of spurious/ poisonous liquor is not sold at the licensed shops under their jurisdiction, he said. According to the media reports, the victims in both the districts were sold the same batch of liquor from licensed shops. The excise department is now inspecting all liquor shops, looking for the locally made liquor, sent under `Batch 442, which is believed to be poisonous as stated by the district magistrate of Kanpur Dehat. Regional excise inspector of Kanpur Nagar has been placed under suspension and a probe is being conducted. An FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Excise Act has been lodged against the licence holder of the shop from where the spurious liquor was sold. TOLL IN HOOCH TRAGEDY CLIMBS TO 13 Lucknow: The toll in the hooch tragedy in two districts climbed to 13 with three more persons dying in hospitals since last night, police said on Monday. As many as eight persons, including two grandsons of a former Samajwadi Party MLA, have been arrested in this connection. While seven persons died in Kanpur, six others died in neighbouring Kanpur Dehat district after consuming spurious liquor since Saturday, ADG, Kanpur, Avinash Chandra said. The ADG said that eight persons including Vinay and Neeraj, grandsons of former SP MLA Ram Swarup Gaur, had been arrested for their alleged involvement in sale of spurious liquor while a hunt was on for some others. The police were also searching for the former MLA, he said. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered in both the incidents and raids are being carried out to nab the culprits. Irate residents of Maghaipurwa and Bhanwarpur villages in Kanpur Dehat yesterday blocked the road demanding speedy arrest of the accused and adequate ex gratia to the kin of the deceased. On Saturday night, a massive operation against hooch manufacturers, traders and suppliers was carried out by the police in suburban pockets. The regional excise inspector has already been suspended while samples of the liquor in question have been sent for testing Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a financial assistance of 2 lakhs to the next of kin of each of the deceased, an official statement said.PTI The driver of a container truck died and the cleaner was injured after their vehicle crashed into another container truck ahead of it on Thanes Ghodbunder Road in the early hours of Tuesday. The accident blocked traffic and led to a jam on the arterial road, which the Thane traffic police cleared in around two hours. The accident took place around 4.30 am near the Anand Nagar signal because of speeding and rash driving, officials said. The container truck was heading into Mumbai from Aligarh and crashed into the one ahead of it after the driver lost control. Nothing much happened to the truck it crashed into, but the front of the speeding vehicle has been smashed badly, said Santosh Kadam, in charge of Thanes Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC). One fire tender, one rescue vehicle and one ambulance were despatched to the spot, he added. The driver, Shaukat Ali, 25, suffered major injuries to his leg, while the cleaner, Mohin,17, has minor head injuries. The drivers legs were stuck in the cabin. It took us around an hour to release him, with help from the fire brigade, Kadam said. The duo was admitted to a hospital in Manpada, Thane (west), where Ali succumbed to injuries. Police and traffic police officials, the RDMC and the fire brigade worked together to rescue the injured, move the huge truck to a side of the road and clear the traffic congestion. Around 285 flights were delayed by around 25 minutes each on Tuesday, as the upgrade of the instrument landing system (ILS) at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) entered the sixth day. ILS is a standard International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) precision landing aid that is used to provide guidance to aircraft to land on the runway under normal or adverse weather conditions. The work, being carried out from May 17 to June 5, will improve the precision while landing. While departing flights were delayed by 30 minutes on Tuesday, arriving flights faced a delay of five minutes. According to flightradar24, a Swedish internet-based service that shows real-time aircraft flight information on a map, 94% departing flights and 62% arriving flights were delayed by around 8.30pm. Flightradar24 showed the cumulative delays in arrivals and departures increased towards the evening. International sector gets hit when domestic flights that are not scheduled after 11pm get delayed beyond time. This then has a cascading effect on domestic as well as international sectors. Efforts were made to restrict the delays. Only one flight was diverted as the main runway was shut. This was an achievement for not just officials from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), who played a major role, but also all stakeholders, said an official. The city airports main runway was on Monday shut from 9.18pm to 9.40pm because an Air India flight AI 662 that took off around 7.50pm for Goa made an emergency landing at the city airport. Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL) spokesperson said, Except SpiceJet flight SG 169 coming to Mumbai from Guwahati via Delhi that was diverted to Ahmedabad, no flights had to be diverted or cancelled throughout the day. Portals said the most affected routes were Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Mumbai-Delhi sector alone sees around 150 flight movements a day. While passengers urged such planned maintenance work to be announced in advance, an airline official said they are sending out messages and emails to their guests informing them about the delays. Four months after the discharge of Congress leader Kripashankar Singh from a disproportionate assets case, the special court for Prevention of Corruption Act, on Tuesday, discharged four of his family members. The special court discharged Singhs wife Maltidevi, son Narendramohan, daughter Sunita and son-in-law Vijaykumar Singh. They had applied for discharge two weeks after Singhs discharge. The court had discharged Kripashankar on February 14 as the prosecution had failed to produce sanction to prosecute him from the appropriate authority. Soon after, on April 3, advocate KH Giri moved a discharge plea for the family contending that since the main accused was discharged, the family members cannot be prosecuted. The prosecution had not booked the family members under any independent charge other than the allegations that the properties acquired by them were actually purchased from purportedly disproportionate funds accumulated by Kripashankar Singh, said Giri. However, since Kripashankar has been discharged there is no case left against them, he added. The Congress leader and four of his family members were charge-sheeted on April 4, 2015 for possessing 19.95% more assets than their known sources of income. The agency had booked his family members mainly for aiding and abetting him. According to the charge sheet filed by the agency, Kripashankars wife was holding property worth 52.57 lakh in her name at the instance of Kripashankar. Similarly, Narendramohan was found holding properties worth 16.32 crore, Sunita was owner of properties worth 1.25 crore; while Vijaykumar was found holding properties worth 15.14 lakh. A case was filed against him and his family after the Bombay HC directed the police to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct and disproportionate assets. A city resident in his public interest litigation (PIL) before the Bombay HC said that Kripashankar and his relatives had assets worth 320 crore disproportionate to their income. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday assured residents of seamless connectivity throughout Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), for which, he said one of the options was water transport. While inaugurating various road projects in Navi Mumbai and Thane, Fadnavis said Thane would soon be connected to Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan and Vasai through waterways. While the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) is looking at a December deadline for the first phase of water transport project connecting Kalyan, Thane and Vasai, planning has already started for the second phase to connect Thane to Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. According to the TMC, a pre-feasibility study has been completed and presented to Fadnavis. A detailed project report (DPR) is now being prepared. The corporation has floated tenders to appoint consultant for preparing the DPR, said Anil Patil, Thane city engineer. Implemented jointly by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Maharashtra Maritime Board and Thane Municipal Corporation, the Thane-Mumbai waterways will cost Rs661 crore and will be funded by the state and central governments. The tender for a pre-feasibility study of the second phase of water transport was called in October last year. Work on the second phase is proposed to begin in March 2019. There is no intra-city water transport service anywhere in Mumbai apart from the Gateway of India to Mandwa and Elephanta. The government had proposed the Borivli to Gateway of India route in 2011, but since the sea on Mumbais western coast is rough (particularly in the monsoon), the project didnt take off. Ferry operators couldnt run services in the monsoon and operation costs proved to be too high. The eastern seaboard is calm and isnt expected to pose similar challenges. The Thane-Vasai and Thane-Mumbai will be the first intra-city water service in Mumbai. It will connect Thane (Saket) to Gateway of India via Trombay, Elephanta and Ferry Wharf and also Thane to Navi Mumbai (via Panvel and Jawaharlal Nehru Port). For commuters, this is a welcome proposal. I commute to Vashi every day for work. I have to go to Thane station from my house in Kalwa east and then board a train to Vashi. Moreover, the trains are overcrowded during peak hours, said Yogesh Dandekar, 37. If there is a direct ferry from Thane to Vashi, I will surely love to take it to work daily, as the commute will be much more comfortable and time-saving. The ridership report of the second phase has estimated that around 30,000 passengers could use water transport on a daily basis. This would help decongest existing public transport networks as well as reduce air and noise pollution. If the project goes to plan, it will save one hour of travel time to Mumbai and almost 40 minutes to Navi Mumbai. The first phase has inched ahead after getting an in-principle approval in a meeting held on April 24 and headed by Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. This means that the water transport project will go ahead subject to clearances and approvals. The state also approved the multi-modal hub to be developed at Kolshet for the route. The project will reduce the travel time between Kalyan and Vasai to 70 minutes and each passenger will have to pay Rs29. The civic authorities dont anticipate any delay in getting approval for the second phase. The hurdles for them are the ongoing works on the existing bridges on the route. Urban planner Mayuresh Bhadsavle pointed out that while it looks good on paper, there was little clarity on the economic viability and creating support infrastructure for the project. The entire concept is still in a very nascent state, the ground reality is completely different from the presentation the corporation has put forth the environment ministry, said Bhadsavle. The creek in Thane is completely polluted and lot of dredging will have to be done to start water transport. The capital cost of the dredging is not clear. Moreover, there should be proper access options for the people to reach jetties, thus support infrastructure such as parking and roads at the jetties need to be set up. The municipal corporation plans to develop three jetties at Nagla, Kolshet and Parsik first. Patil said, The first phase will have 10 jetties across Vasai, Mira Bhayander, Thane and Kalyan. The civic commissioner has announced to operate the first ferry service from December this year. The second phase is at too nascent a stage to configure its final route. Bhadsavle said, The economic viability is the most important aspect of the project, as the cost of operation and maintenance will be huge. A decade ago, the government had proposed a catamaran service from Borivli to Gateway of India which was suspended as the operation and maintenance cost could not be recovered. If this route with such a high passenger volume could fail, the corporation will need a strong financial plan in place for the project. He also pointed out that the fare structure, the target demographic and how commuters would be able to reach the jetties from their homes are key features that are yet to be defined. A week after a workshop was held on the premises of SNDT Womens University, Juhu, for members from transgender community, the authorities passed a proposal in April to enrol transgender candidates for distance learning courses from the upcoming academic year. Analysis is underway to understand what course they would want to apply for. Education facility for them would begin at their doorsteps once that is done. The pilot project will begin in Mumbai, said Shashikala Wanjari, vice-chancellor of SNDT Womens University. She added the project is aimed at practising social inclusion rather than just teaching it in classrooms. HT had reported that the university has decided to have a box in its admission forms allowing students to identify themselves as transgenders. Priya Patil, programme manager for NGO Kinnar Maa Ek Samajik Sanstha, said this was a result of their outreach to various universities. After the NALSA judgement, University Grants Commission (UGC) asked colleges to treat us on par with other genders. There is a social stigma attached to our community which is why a lot of members are forced to beg or work as sex workers. Providing us with an opportunity to study will help change the mindset of people. We are hopeful that things will change for us, said Patil, adding the admissions will be given after an entrance exam. As per 2011 census, total population of transgenders in the country was 4.88 Lakh with literacy rate of 56.07%. In 2014, UGC directed universities and colleges to treat transgenders as third gender for the purpose of admission and make them eligible for various scholarships and programmes. Accordingly, Mumbai university introduced a separate transgender box, in addition to male and female boxes, in 2015-16. Last month, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) announced it will provide gender-neutral hostel space to transgender and gender non-conforming students. Read more: Distance learning: SNDT to begin classes for transgenders from June Resident doctors at JJ Hospital refused to return to work on the basis of written assurances that their demands for better security would be met by the administration. On Monday, medical education minister Girish Mahajan, members of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), senior administrative staff of JJ Hospital, and members of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) met to discuss the protesting doctors concerns. No agreement was reached. We were told about the practical difficulties to set up centralised alarm bell system overnight and we understand that budget provision, fund release and actual set up may take time, but the work has to start immediately. We will not back out from our demand of immediate deployment of the guards and continue with the mass bunk, said Dr Sarang Donarkar, President, MARD. Doctors at JJ Hospital went on strike after Dr Atish Parikh and Dr Shalmali Dharmadhikari were assaulted by four relatives of a deceased patient. Dr Parikhs cheekbone has been fractured and Dr Dharmadhikari has suffered an arm injury. The protestors main demands are immediate deployment of guards at all 45 wards in JJ Hospital, a centralised alarm and restricted access for patients relatives. Since 2017, when doctors across Maharashtra went on strike to protest the lack of security in state hospitals, 180 guards have been stationed in JJ Hospital, covering all major exit and entry points as well as six major wards. Dr S Nandankar, dean of JJ Hospital, said existing guards would be used as better security resource for the wards and more would be hired immediately. Mahajan has also ordered a survey of JJ Hospitals security. A final meeting between DMER officials, MARD and the administration of JJ Hospital was underway late into Monday night. An abandoned newborn was recused from a mound of garbage by two Palghar residents on Monday night. The girl is now under observation at a private hospital. Sanjay Meher and Kundan Churi, residents of Vadrai village in Palghar, were returning home after work when they saw people gathering near a pile of garbage at Bhendipada. Upon closer inspection, they saw a newborn covered in muck from the nearby drain. I cleaned the baby and wrapped it in my shirt, said Churi. They rushed the baby to Mahim PHC, Palghar, for treatment. However, on-duty medical official Dr Kalpana Mavchi asked them to shift the baby to Dr Dhawale Charitable Hospital as the newborn needed immediate paediatric care. Meanwhile, other hospital staff informed API Siddhawa Jaybhaye from Kelwe Coastal police station about the baby. Jaybhaye accompanied Churi and Meher to the second hospital, where she signed the consent form and agreed to pay the medical bill. However, even before the paperwork was completed to admit the baby in the NNICU, Dr Amar Tupkar, a consulting paediatrician at the hospital, started treatment. He even told the hospital that he would not charge consulting fee. Doctors said they had to remove the crudely cut umbilical cord, which was stuck to the babys stomach. Satpati Coastal Police have registered a case under Section 317(abandonment of child) of the Indian Penal Code against the babys biological parents, said API Mansinh Patil. The baby was barely hours old when it was dumped. We are taking help of midwives and anganwadi workers in the area to find out recent child births. Also, cash reward has been announced for those giving us credible information. We are also scanning birth records at government and private maternity hospitals. The baby is still in the hospital and after seeking permission from Palghar court, she will be handed over to a government child care home, Patil added. Fiscal prudence does not seem to be the hallmark of the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in Maharashtra. Amid reports suggesting that the state is facing a credit crunch again, I recall how the then finance minister of the state, Ramrao Adik, had gone down on his knees to then chief minister Sharad Pawar begging him not to allow the alliance to form the government in 1995. Adik had begun his political career as a Shiv Sainik and had no illusions about the limited understanding of governance by Bal Thackeray and his supporters. They will mess the state up in five years and we will have to spend the next 15 pulling those chestnuts out of the fire, he told Pawar who, however, was unwilling to go against the popular mandate. The Congress was the single largest party and there were 45 rebel MLAs along with whom Pawar could have cobbled together a coalition. But he thought that kind of government would be subject to continuous blackmail and put too much pressure on the finances. He agreed with Adik that the Sena-BJP would not be able to manage those contradictions but was of the view that they should nevertheless be allowed to form the government simply for people to be able to see for themselves the difference between them and the Congress. Not five. Give them just three years. If they do not mess up in that little time, I will quit politics forever, he said. At the end, both he and Adik proved prophetic. In less than three years the Sena-BJP government had drawn on their overdraft with the Reserve Bank of India more times than during comparative time frames by previous governments. And within three years all their projects were at a standstill for lack of cash flows. I asked Adik then if he felt vindicated. At what cost to the state? he replied sadly. When I asked him how he would have handled all the ambitious projects of the Shiv Sena-BJP government, including their flagship 55 flyovers to ease traffic in Bombay, his solution was both simple and deeply profound. You just need to apply the simple principle of personal finances to government expenditure, he said. You do not spend more than you can earn. You do not borrow more than you can reasonably pay back in good time. You never overexpose yourself or stretch yourself beyond capacity. And you always put something by for a rainy day. Predictably in the next couple of years things went so wrong for the Sena-BJP that the Congress had little difficulty in storming back to power despite a split in its ranks by Pawar. Together with the NCP it did take them the next 15 years, as Adik had predicted, to clean up the mess left behind by their predecessors including with regard to a renegotiated deal with Enron which, had it been honoured, would have bankrupted Maharashtra beyond redemption. But now, with just a little over three years into the current dispensation, the state has run out of finances again and is looking to the World Bank to pull its chestnuts out of the fire. Much of the shortfall is said to be on account of last years loan waivers for farmers. That is money the government did not have to spend and yet did. I always believed chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had begun rightly by refusing to waive those loans and not simply on account of the inevitable financial burden on the government. There are many other sound reasons why such loan waivers are not a good idea but Fadnavis lack of tact in handling the issue complicated matters. The farmers ire grew beyond reasonable proportion and the government had to give in even as Union finance minister Arun Jaitley made it clear there would be no financial support from the Centre. Fadnavis then thought to take tips from the Uttar Pradesh government,wherein the newly appointed chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced a similar loan waiver to be offset by corporate bonds. But no corporates were willing to pick up the tabs either in Lucknow or Mumbai. While UP farmers then received waivers of rupee one, Maharashtra made a more sincere effort by skimming unutilised funds from budgets of other departments to fund its own farm loan waivers. The government has made similar efforts to fuel its other ambitious projects including the chief ministers pet Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway. But obviously that is not enough. The World Bank, of course, will not lend unless the government can, as Adik said, reasonably pay back. But given the Sena-BJPs proclivities, the fear remains his words may come back to haunt the state again. Navi Mumbai: A 36-year-old man died after an inter-city passenger bus crashed into his car on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, on Monday. According to police, Surendra Srivastava had come to Mumbai for work. He was driving home around 7.15pm. As he was crossing the Bhattan area in Raigad district, he suddenly applied the brakes and slowed down. The bus, that was behind his car, hit it. Srivastava suffered severe injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital by locals, but he succumbed to his injuries, said Neelam Pawar, police sub-inspector from Panvel Taluka police station. The bus driver Ajaruddin Patel, 26, was arrested and booked under Sections 304a, 279, 427 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act. It is not clear why Srivastava had to apply sudden brakes. We identified him from the documents recovered from his pockets and informed his family, Pawar said. She said that the body was handed over to his family after a post mortem was conducted at the Panvel rural hospital. The reports are yet to come. Accidents on Mumbai-Pune Expressway in 2018 January 9: Three persons died while two others suffered injuries after their car hit a vehicle near Khalapur January 19: A 60-year-old woman died while two others suffered injuries after their car toppled on the Expressway near Khalapur February 4: A 26-year-old navy lieutenant posted at Lonavala died of head injuries after his car rear-ended into a truck parked illegally in the third lane of the Expressway in Raigad February 13: A truck driver and cleaner sustained injuries after another truck rammed into theirs truck near Lonavala April 1: Two persons were killed and five injured in two separate accidents on the Expressway. The first accident took place in Raigad and the second near Panvel April 4: 12 passengers of a luxury bus were injured after their bus overturned on the Expressway near Adai circle at Panvel April 30: Five persons were killed and one seriously injured after a speeding tempo rammed into them on the Expressway near Kalamboli The Bandra police have booked the chief executive officer of a prominent watch showroom in Fort for allegedly cheating a Georgian national of Rs68 lakh, and then threatening him of dire consequences with the help of gangster Chhota Shakeel. Levan Givi Ramishvili, 49, the complainant, runs a spa and salon in Bandra (West). The accused has been identified as Ali Kochra, who is in his early twenties. According to Bandra police officials, Kochra duped the complainant of Rs68 lakh after taking a Richard Mille watch (a Swiss luxury brand) from him. The complainant has not received his money for the watch for the past two years. When Ramishvili asked for the money, Kochra threatened him saying that he would be taken care of by the D company gang, and that no one would get to know about it, said an officer from Bandra police station, requesting anonymity. The complainant also told the police that his mother who stays in Georgia received a threatening call on her landline phone. His mother received a call in which she was told that if the police complaint is not taken back, the family would have to face dire consequences. The caller told the senior citizen to inform her son in India, added the officer. According to police, Ramishvili met the accused for the first time in Dubai. They stayed in touch. Two watches were given to Kochra, one of them worth Rs39 lakh and another worth Rs68 lakh. Kochra paid Rs39 lakh for the first watch, but did not pay for the second. The complainant feels that the underworld still holds clout in the country and is therefore scared for his and his familys safety, added the officer. A first information report (FIR) under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 506(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Bandra police station. Bandra police sources added that Kochra had moved for anticipatory bail after receiving a notice from the police, hearing of which is slated for Tuesday. Cyber police officials of the Mumbai crime branch arrested a former employee of insurance firm for his involvement in sending emails containing slanderous and defamatory allegations against senior officials of the company. The accused Pijushkanti Roy, 47, was arrested from Kolkata. One of the leading insurances brokers, the companys board members, senior officials, and a former CEO were allegedly defamed through these emails, which were sent using 26 fake email IDs. For over a year, senior officials and other group companies had been receiving emails from several fictitious email addresses. After the company moved to the Bombay high court, the Mumbai police were directed to constitute a special team of officials to probe the allegations. The special team obtained technical details of the email IDs from service providers and zeroed in on some emails. One of the emails led them to West Bengal and eventually to Roy, a former employee. Roys name was mentioned by the complainant company as a suspect. He was arrested on Monday night, confirmed a crime branch officer. Cops have also seized his mobile phone, a pen drive, passport and a hard disk. They are yet to establish the exact reason as to why he sent such emails and defamed the company and its employees. Roy has been booked under relevant sections of criminal defamation, cheating, forgery, impersonation and criminal conspiracy. Resident doctors at JJ Hospital called off their strike on Tuesday after the state agreed to their demands of better security and improved living conditions. The state has also agreed to bear any legal costs victim doctors may incur because of attacks. We have accepted all demands made by Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), and will also replicate the same in all 16 government medical colleges. We understand that our doctors are working under extreme pressure, but emotional turmoil and stress of patients can be addressed effectively to avoid such incidents, said Medical Education minister Girish Mahajan. The number of security guards in JJ Hospital will be increased to 310. A tender to set up 234 alarm bells at 76 spots will be floated by May 24, state officials said. In the future, state hospitals will act as complainants if a doctor is assaulted, reducing the legal burden on the doctors. The state will also take care of the financial burden of legal proceedings. On Saturday, doctors at JJ Hospital went on strike after two doctors were assaulted by the relatives of a deceased patient. Sion Hospital joined the strike for a day on Monday to show solidarity. Security for doctors has been a long-standing concern in Maharashtra. In March 2017, thousands of doctors from government hospitals went on strike and returned to work only after Bombay High Court ordered them to resume duty with immediate effect. Our intention to skip work is not to avoid patient care. Its our prime duty and we never want to compromise on patients welfare. But we have the constitutional right to safety, said Dr Sarang Donarkar, president of MARD. Dr Donarkar added that the state government will also release 1.41crore to replace malfunctioning elevators at hostels and construct extra accommodation for postgraduate resident doctors . When postgraduate seats were increased by 60 two years ago, we started falling short of living space . The state officials have promised to create extra room at Old Boys Hostel and R M Bhatt Hostel temporarily and build additional hostels as permanent solutions, said Dr Donarkar. As assessment of answer papers for traditional courses is moving at a steady pace, University of Mumbai (MU) officials said they hope to announce results in June. However, principals and teachers have called it a farfetched decision. The universitys decision to delay the summer examinations by a few weeks has messed up the assessment period. Most teachers are on vacation, as they were busy supervising exams till May 10. At present, only those teachers who are in the city are assessing papers, said Anju Kapoor, principal of UPG College, Vile Parle. For certain courses, including Bachelors in Mass Media (BMM), BCom (Accounting Finance), etc., teachers are yet to finish registration process to be eligible to access On-Screen Marking (OSM) assessment system. We have also complained to the university that despite several attempts, some of us have not managed to finish the registration process. We are wasting our time in this process while answer sheets are waiting to be assessed, said a teacher on condition of anonymity. The university, however, still insists they are on the right track. As of now our focus is on the courses with the highest concentration of studentsBCom, BA and BSc. We hope to announce all these results by mid-June, said Vinod Malale, deputy registrar (public relations), MU. He added that almost 80% of assessment of BA papers is complete whereas 75% of BSc and 65% of BCom papers have been assessed from the current semester. At the same time we are also ensuring that other unaided courses are not lagging, added Malale. The Maharashtra government, on Tuesday, declared that they have not found a single case of Nipah virus in the state so far. It has urged people to avoid visiting Kerala, especially the areas affected most. The stated has asked people to take cognisance of the symptoms of Nipah virus and immediately get admitted to a government hospital if affected by it. To treat such cases, the state directed officials to open an isolation ward at every civil hospital across state. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by the state public health minister Dr Deepak Sawant, on Tuesday that was called to review the situation in the state. The Nipah virus, which has claimed ten lives has created panic in Kerala. Also referred to as NIV, the infection of the virus spreads through fruit bats. The symptoms of Nipah virus are fever, body ache, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, coma and potentially death. There is no reason to panic as we have not found single case of Nipah in the state. In case symptoms are found, people are advised to consult a doctor immediately. In Mumbai, an isolation ward being used for patients affected with N1H1 flu virus at Kasturba Hospital, will be used for the same, Dr Sawant said. Three youngsters who had gone for a picnic near Titwala, drowned in the Khadavli river on Sunday. Two of the victims, Roshan Singh, 28, and Suraj Singh, 27, are residents of Wagle Estate in Thane. The third victim identified as Rajesh Tamatta, 35 was a Nepalese citizen. The bodies were recovered on Monday and have been handed over to the respective families. The men had gone for a swim in the river, said the police. Police suspect that they drowned because the flow of the water increased in a quick span of time. On Monday, when we reached the spot, we saw all three bodies floating in the river. The rescue team officials pulled them out of the river. They were declared dead after they were taken to the Central hospital in Ulhasnagar, said P Kasbe, senior police inspector from Titwala police station. We have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the case and have taken the statements of eye-witnesses. The three men had been to the spot for a picnic on Sunday with five others. Roshan had gone for swimming in the river. When he did not return for a long time, Suraj, Rajesh and his brother, Ekender, suspected something amiss, and went in the river to search for Roshan. I came out of the river to take help from the locals to search for Roshan. When I came back with the locals, we couldnt find Rajesh and Suraj too. We searched for them but in vain. Following this, we called up the helpline number, said Ekender, 46. Rajesh had come to Thane a few days back to visit his father, who is undergoing treatment for paralysis. He was to leave for Nepal today. More than a month after HT reported that 100 tourist buses parked on mangroves along New Link Road, Dahisar, violated wetland rules and Bombay high court order, the district administration confirmed that the parking lot is illegal and violated environmental norms. The sub-divisional officer, who headed the investigation said he will be telling the Borivli court about the violation. We found that 83 buses were parked in the area, a garage is functioning illegally, and after consultation with the state mangrove cell, we saw that it is a violation under Environment Protection Act, 1986, action needs to be taken against the landowner of this plot Avinash Patil, who is running the bus parking service, said Babasaheb Pardhe, sub-divisional officer (SDO), Mumbai suburban. Based on all the documents submitted by us, we will request the court to instruct the police to file a first-information-report (FIR) against Patil. Based on the order, we will remove the buses from the site and shut down the garage. Noting the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Bombay Environment Action Group a city-based NGO in 2005, the Bombay HC banned the destruction of state-wide mangroves and construction within 50-m of them. After Vanashakti filed another PIL, the HC banned all reclamation and construction on wetlands in 2014. This is not the first time that mangrove areas have been turned into parking lots. On April 10, HT had reported that in March 2016, 1,000 mangrove trees had been hacked to make way for a parking area for tourist buses along the New Link Road, between Dahisar and Borivli, opposite IC Colony and Bhavdevi Garage. In a follow up HT report from October 2016, the district collectors office directed an investigation and the buses were removed. However, now the buses were spotted again and environmentalist Harish Pandey filed a complaint in the matter. Mangrove cell officials who surveyed the site said action needed to be taken sooner. During the previous violation, we had identified that the distance between the mangroves and the parking area was less than 50m. However, the district administration insisted on another survey. Since it is a violation, doing all this paperwork was a sheer waste of time, and action could have been taken much earlier, said Prashant Deshmukh, range forest officer (west), Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit (MMCU). A senior police officer from the MHB police station in Borivli said he was aware about the issue and closely tracking it. As per Bombay High Court orders, we cannot take suo motu action in such cases. However, we are aware about the violation, and the minute the court tells us to act against the alleged accused, we will take up the corrective measures, he said. Meanwhile, the complainant said it was ridiculous that the authorities needed a month to discover this was a violation. Unnecessary paperwork between departments has delayed much needed action against these violators by over a month. This is happening at the cost of the citys environment. Even if the buses are removed, it is too late for restoration to be carried out at the site, and flooding is inevitable this monsoon, said Harish Pandey, secretary, New Link Road Residents Forum. Construction of the ambitious Rs15,000-crore Coastal Road in Mumbai, which will run from Marine Drive to Worli, is expected to start this September. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has already selected contractors to build two portions of the 9.98-km road, which will run along the citys west coast. Financial bids for the southern-most portion, which also includes a 3.4-km tunnel, will open in the next few days. Last November, to fast track the approval process from the state and central governments, BMC divided the project into two phases. It then divided the first phase 9.98km from Princess Street flyover till the south end of the Bandra-Worli sea link into three packages. Separate bids were invited for each. For all the three packages, once the contractor is selected, we have asked them to mobilise resources in the monsoon. Once that is done, we are positive that construction work will start immediately after the monsoon, said Sanjay Mukherjee, additional municipal commissioner, projects. On May 15, BMC awarded the contract for the first package Worli to Haji Ali to a joint venture of Hindustan Construction Company and Hyundai Development Corporation. On May 21, it selected Larsen & Toubro to construct the stretch from Priyadarshani Park on Nepean Sea Road to Haji Ali. In September, construction is expected to begin for all three parts simultaneously. As per the terms of the contract, work has to be completed within four years. Rapper Kanye West continues to provoke reactions with his return to Twitter. The 40-year-old, who re-activated his account last month after a hiatus of one year, has tweeted on wide-ranging themes, often courting controversy, specifically for his pro-Donald Trump messages. West, on Monday, tweeted about how everyone needs hugs sometimes. He then went on to share a picture of spiritual guru Mata Amritanandamayi, writing, Amma Mata had given over 32 million hugs. sometimes we all need hugs KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 21, 2018 Amma Mata had given over 32 million hugs pic.twitter.com/OBotiHWZUU KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 21, 2018 Wests tweet has been liked 20,000 times and has been retweeted 3,000 times. The responses to Kanyes tweet include the history of Amma - a Hindu spiritual leader who is commonly known as the hugging saint. Amma Mata: https://t.co/cL0N0KuA1a From: South Indian coastal village Born: 1953 Backstory: her own family's poverty caused her to help others. She would bring food, give hugs. Met with a lot of love but criticism for being a woman so bold. Love won, though. pic.twitter.com/SVQ6lLZoxi Watching the Throne, a Kanye West podcast (@KanyePodcast) May 21, 2018 Earlier this month, West sparked outrage over social media after he said that the enslavement of African Americans over centuries may have been a choice. His tweets in support of US President Donald Trump were also slammed by black commentators. Follow @htshowbiz for more Israel constantly stands on the frontline of the global and regional war on terror. Last weeks painful events on the Israel-Gaza border are an example of the complexity of this war and the viciousness of terror organisations such as the Hamas. Since taking control of Gaza in 2007, instead of assuming civic responsibility for the benefit of its residents, the Hamas has dedicated itself to incitement, terror and destruction, and is responsible for the deaths of many Israelis and Palestinians. And, all the while, the Hamas has been staging a false and cynical act for the world. In 2006, Israel unilaterally pulled out of Gaza in the hope of furthering peace with its Palestinian neighbours. Israel had left behind houses, schools and greenhouses full of produce for the people of Gaza to use. Sadly, in less than a days time, the local Palestinian authorities tore down the houses, schools and greenhouses. The opportunity to build upon the infrastructure left behind by Israel was pushed aside in favour of hate and anger. This is not what the Gazans expected from their leaders. In democratic elections held in Gaza, the Hamas a radical Islamic terrorist organisation was chosen, and soon it proved to be neither democratic nor caring for the well-being of the people of Gaza. A year later, in 2007, with Israel no longer in control, the frustration of the people in Gaza was directed towards those in power, the Palestine Liberation Organization leadership, which had been losing its legitimacy. In a practical coup, popularly known as Hamass takeover of Gaza, the Hamas violently eliminated any remaining representatives of the secular Palestinian Authority. Next, it revoked any shred of commitment to the peace process with Israel. Instead, the first chapter of the Hamas Charter states that it dedicates itself to the destruction of the Jewish State Israel. Indeed, for over 10 long years, the Hamas has engaged in many terrorist activities, including suicide bombings, cross-border artillery attacks, launching short- and long-range missiles, operating terror tunnels, etc. The Hamas has constantly challenged Israel into military retaliation while using its own civilian population as human shields as it targeted, and continues to target, the civilian population in Israel. The pain and the suffering of the Gazan people means nothing to these so-called legitimate Palestinian leaders. Today, the Hamas in Gaza has learned the effectiveness of human shields not only in its violent encounters with the Israeli military, but also in soliciting international media and public opinion. Recently, it sent mobs to the border with Israel, under the false pretext of civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest an easy-on-the-ear phrase for the international community. However, the true intent came out when, addressing local audience, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said that the riots were intended to take down the border and tear out their [Israelis] hearts from their bodies. Thus, the Hamas was ready to sacrifice more Palestinian lives for the sake of media attention. These terrorists were violently pushing their way to breach the border with Israel, using innocent civilians women, men, children as human shields. While committed to safeguarding its citizens and territory, and in a clear legal act of self-defence, Israel made sure its border was not breached, despite attempts to do so. Confronted with tens of thousands of incited mobs, the Israeli defence forces did not fire indiscriminately but, instead, were able to minimise the loss of lives of those in the human shields. This was in keeping with our values, respect for human rights and meticulous preparations. A popular phrase suggests that a gun in the first act will likely fire in the third act. Sadly, for a long time the world has ignored the presence of the gun and is now overlooking the smoking gun presented in the form of the Hamas official, Salah al-Bardawil, who admitted that 80% of the dead in the latest events were their own. Do I need to say more? For Israelis and Palestinians this is a painful reality. Here real lives are at stake, and this is the tragedy of our complicated region, West Asia, marred with extremism and terrorism. Only when terror is recognised for what it is and is defeated, can Israel and the Palestine bring down the curtain on decades of violence and begin a life side by side in peace and security. The international community must unmask the Hamas for what it is: A terrorist organisation that stands in the way of any attempt at reconciliation. Daniel Carmon is Israels ambassador to India The views expressed are personal The entire ecosystem of the Beas river, which has been effected due to molasses leakage, will take a few years to recover, Punjab chief wildlife warden said on Tuesday. Noting that the leak has caused massive damage to the aquatic life, he said the restoration of ecosystem does take time. It is not that ecosystem in river will get restored in a few months with the kind of catastrophe we have witnessed. It is going to take a few years,chief wildlife warden Kuldip Kumar told PTI. A large number of fish were found dead in the Beas on May 17 after molasses from a sugar factory leaked into the river in Punjabs Beas town, about 40 km from Amritsar. As many as eight to ten varieties of fish including cat fish, common carp died because of low level of oxygen in the river. Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh is likely to hold a meeting with senior officials in connection with the incident on Friday. Meanwhile, the wildlife department is also monitoring the long term effect on the behaviour of indus dolphins, which were sighted in the river two days after the molasses leakage incident, Kumar said. The wildlife department has filed a petition in the Batala Court under the relevant provisions of the Wildlife Act, seeking action against the sugar mill owner for the leakage, official said. The mill belonged to Jasdeep Kaur Chadha, daughter of former Delhi Gurdwara Sikh Parbandhak Committee chief Harvinder Singh Sarna. Jasdeeps late husband Hardeep Singh Chadha was the brother of liquor baron late Ponty Chadha. Meanwhile, a report of the probe committee led by Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) chief engineer G S Majithia was submitted on Tuesday to the state government for an appropriate action. We have received the report which was submitted by PPCB chief engineer. We will examine the report, Punjab principal secretary (science, technology and environment) Roshan Sunkaria said. However, he refused to divulge any content of the probe committee report. The committee had a mandate to investigate how and why this incident happened and what were the deficiencies and what action proposed to be taken to prevent such incidents in future. The state government had warned of a strict action if the mill management was found guilty in the investigation report. While talking to reporters, environment minister O P Soni said that the state government was not running away from its responsibilities. Fish died because of molasses leakage. How and why this happened it will be clear in the report, the minister said. He said 2,000 cusecs of water was released to flush out the contaminated water. Soni rubbished the allegations by the opposition of protecting the sugar mill owner and said that the government had already sealed the mill and seized Rs 25 lakh of the Chadha Sugar Mill of Kirri Afgana in Gurdaspur from where the molasses spilled into the river. A state government official said that following the molasses leakage, the main priority of the government was to ensure potable drinking water to people living in Faridkot, Muktsar and Fazilka districts where the water supply was canal based. People were asked not to use canal based water which was contaminated because of the leakage and inlets of reservoirs were also closed, the official said. The Aam Aadmi Party today said the party MLAs will seek from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) a strict action against the sugar mill owner. AAP MLAs along with me will meet acting chairperson NGT tomorrow at 2 pm in Delhi, with a petition seeking a strict action and remedial measures on gross contamination of river and canal waters in Punjab, AAP MLA and leader of opposition in Punjab Assembly Sukhpal Singh Khaira tweeted. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today claimed that the union environment ministry had deputed a central team to assess the ecological damage caused by the sugar mill by releasing industrial effluents into the Beas river. SAD president in a statement here said he had been conveyed that a central team would make on-the-spot inquiry of the man made ecological disaster which had killed thousands of tonnes of fish, besides polluting drinking water supply of the Malwa region. In the wake of deaths due to Nipah virus in northern Keralas Kozhikode, the Chandigarh health department has sounded an alert here. It has asked all hotels to keep a check on travellers from the southern state, and alerted animal husbandry officials to maintain a vigil. However, health department officials said there was no need to panic as no Nipah virus case has been reported in the tricity. We have informally sounded an alert and have informed all hoteliers in the city to keep a check on travellers visiting from Kerala and West Bengal. A formal advisory, signed by director health services, will also be issued soon, said Dr Upendrajeet Singh Gill, assistant director, Malaria wing, UT. He said that even officers from animal husbandry department had been informed to stay alert with preventive measures. Know the virus The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Nipah virus infection as a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats. Even human-to-human infection has been documented. The virus spread among humans and animals by consuming food and fluids contaminated with saliva and droppings of the infected bats. Nipah virus was first identified during an outbreak of the disease in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998. The virus got its name from this village. The infection can be both asymptomatic and present symptoms, including fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, coma, that can potentially lead to death. As per WHO, there is no specific treatment for Nipah virus. The primary treatment for humans is intensive supportive care. To meet the surging power demand of the city during summers, the Centre has enhanced the unallocated power quota from 10% to 14%, which means the city will be getting extra 40 megawatt (MW) per day. With this extra quota, the city will not witness power cuts, instead for maintenance, till October this year. There are nearly 2.1 lakh consumers in different categories, of whom 1.75 lakh fall in domestic category. The average load of power in Chandigarh is about 150 MW per day, that reaches 400MW during the peak summer season between April and August. The city does not have its own power plant and purchases power from central generating stations such as the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, Bhakra Beas Management Board, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam. Power allocation from each station is fixed for a year, while the deficit is met through unallocated quota and short-term power purchase. At present, the city is getting 260 MW power from central generating stations. With the power ministry enchaining the unallocated quota from 100 MW to 140 MW, the daily power supply will be 400 MW till October this year. UT superintending engineer MP Singh said at present the demand is 350 MW daily. The additional 40 MW will help the department meet the increase in demand. Now, we have sufficient power supply, he said. Power demand has steadily risen in the past few years and the non-availability of additional supplies has pushed the peak hour deficit. According to the official data, the department is facing peak hour power shortage of around 130MW in 2018-19. The projected annual average peak demand is 496, while available power is 366 MW. Peak hour is a period in which the consumer demand is highest. The gap between the projected peak power and available power is maximum during summers. But residents to pay more However, residents will have to shell out more for power as the electricity department has written to the Joint Electricity Commission (JERC) for increasing fuel and power purchase cost adjustment (FPPCA) charge. This is the difference of actual cost of power purchase per unit and approved cost per unit. The JERC is expected to give the nod within a week. The department has calculated FPPCA charge from January to March ranging from 40 paisa to 5 per unit in slabs of different categories. The charge is levied on all category of consumers, except agriculture. The enhanced charges will come as a double whammy for residents as these will be clubbed with the increased power tariff that came into force from April 1. Actor-director Dhanush is a busy man, racing from one project to another. Recently, he unveiled the poster of his Hollywood film, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir, at Cannes. He is also looking forward to the release of Vada Chennai with Vetrimaaran, while wrapping up work on Maari 2. Dhanush is also preparing to begin his second directorial venture. Amid all this, the actor recently revealed that he will also be working on Aanand L Rais film next in Bollywood. Whats more, Tamil audiences can look forward to the next film under VIP franchise. Dhanush revealed in an interview to Bharadwaj Rangan that he will be doing the Aanand L Rai film, however, refused to elaborate as it was way to early. He said, I think they are looking to release Zero in December, so the pre-production work on my film will only begin then. He also revealed that VIP 2 was a profitable venture, which is why they are looking forward to adding another film under the franchise. We are looking for ideas, so yes, VIP 2 will happen. One of the interesting things that he spoke about was his next directorial venture. He spent almost one year on pre-production for his next directorial. The long time spent is a lesson that the actor learnt from his stint with the western film industry. He said, One must spend time and make all decisions during pre-production, which will lead to a smooth execution. This will save money and time. In fact, many were restless and asked me why I was spending so much time on pre-production for my project, and explained that things could be done on the set. I had to tell them that those decisions on the set involve money and put my foot down. Dhanush did not reveal too much about his directorial, but did say that they would begin work in August. He said that the film is going to be a big-budget film unlike Pa Paandi. A Rs 100 crore budget film, we have compressed it during pre-prod to make it in under Rs 70 crore. Also, Rs 70 crore is not my market. So we had to think of the other markets that can explored -- be it the north, Telugu, Malayalam or international. We wanted to see the project on table. In fact, it is now on Rs 4-5 crore profit, he explained further. Dhanushs production venture, Kaala is set to hit screens on June 7. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Mosques in China must raise the national flag to promote the spirit of patriotism, the countrys top regulatory body for Islam announced over the weekend. The government-affiliated China Islamic Association issued a statement directing Muslim clerics to display the five-starred red flag at prominent positions in mosques. It also proposed the four advances campaign specifically in five regions Ningxia, Beijing, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang. This step is part of the latest efforts by the Communist Party of China (CPC) to control and sinicise religion in the country. Muslims in China, like in other parts of the world, began observing the month of Ramzan last week. According to the associations statement, displaying the national flag in mosques further strengthens the understanding of national and civic ideals, and promotes the spirit of patriotism among Muslims of all ethnic groups. Mosques should also publicly display information on the partys core socialist values and explain them to devotees through Islamic scriptures so they will be deeply rooted in peoples hearts, the AFP news agency quoted the statement as saying. China recently released a white paper on religion, directing the faithful to support the CPCs leadership and remain subordinate to the interests of the nation and its people. The document, titled Chinas Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief, said that the countrys 200 million believers should actively guide religions in adapting to socialist society The country has around 20 million Muslims spread across 10 ethnic minority groups, it added. Echoing the same principles, the statement urged the Islamic community to take socialist core values as their guide and carry the core values of the socialism through the work of interpreting (Islamic) scriptures. The traditional virtues promote and complement each other. It is necessary to educate and guide the broad masses of the Muslim people to learn from the fine traditional culture of China, further strengthen their cultural confidence, and strengthen their cultural identity, it said, adding that people of all ethnic groups were united as one like pomegranate seeds for the purpose of rejuvenating the nation. According to the AFP report, the statement directed mosque staff to hold classes on the Chinese constitution and other relevant laws particularly the new religious regulations. 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 said. China officially recognises five religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Taoism and Islam. As the white paper reiterates, the countrys constitution guarantees religious freedom and protects it by law. A high school in Hangzhou city in eastern China has become the latest institution in the country to use facial recognition technology (FRT) to analyse student behaviour by monitoring their facial expressions and keep track of attendance. The intelligent classroom behaviour management system used at Hangzhou No. 11 High School incorporates a facial recognition camera that scans the classroom every 30 seconds and logs six types of student behaviour: reading, writing, hand raising, standing up, listening to the teacher, and leaning on the desk. A report in state-controlled Peoples Daily website said the system records the facial expressions of the students and logs whether they look happy, upset, angry, fearful or disgusted. How does it help? The information collected by system is analysed and reported to teachers so they can better supervise the performance of their students, the report says. While the use of cameras has raised questions of privacy as they are recording minors, school authorities said the privacy of the students is protected as the images are not saved. The efficacy or even the necessity of the system inside a classroom could be questioned but that hasnt stopped the FRT from being adopted by different kinds of organisations including universities and banks. Last year, 44 facial scanners were installed at access points at Beijing Normal University, one of the citys top universities, in 19 dormitories where 18,000 students stay. It is the boldest move taken by a Chinese university so far to apply advanced digital technologies in campus management and has drawn attention from administrators at other universities, the state media had then described the move. For the first time earlier this month, police personnel wearing facial recognition glasses were deployed at a railway station in a central China city to screen passengers during the Chinese new year (CNY) rush. Using these hi-tech glasses, railway police personnel at the Zhengzhou east railway station in Henan province screened passengers and matched their identities with information available on the police database to weed out suspected criminals. FRT is a rapidly expanding industry and is currently worth hundreds of millions of dollars in China. Chinas Forward-looking Industry Institute said that the facial recognition market in China surpassed 1 billion yuan (about $150 million) in 2016 and is expected to hit 5.1 billion yuan by 2021, the official news agency, Xinhua said in a report last year. Facial recognition technology has already been put to creative use. Beijings Temple of Heaven has used it in toilets to deter toilet paper theft. In east Chinas Jinan, traffic police installed facial scanners at intersections to catch and shame jaywalkers, and a Beijing university has used the technology to guard its dorms, the Xinhua report said. Indias relations with the United States are independent of its ties with Russia and China and not influenced by them, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav has said in Washington Regional politics demand that we build strong bilateral relations with important powers in the region, some of them happen to be having difficulties with the US. But that will not have any bearing on our relationship with the US, Madhav said, when asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modis recent meetings with Chinas Xi Jinping and Russias Vladimir Putin. Madhav pointed to Indias de-hyphenated foreign policy of some years now to make his case. We have certain regional imperatives that command us to establish relationship with powers of different poles in the region, he said. Madhavs remarks, made on Monday, assume importance as India seeks to pick its way through a minefield of sanctions that the US has imposed on Russia in recent months and Washingtons spiralling war of tariff threats against Beijing. During his visit to Washington, Madhav has met White House senior director for South Asia Lisa Curtis, acting assistant secretary of state Alice Wells, and senior state department official for policy planning Brian Hook. He has also had several closed-door meetings at think tanks Heritage Foundation and Atlantic Council, and with trade body US-India Business Council. New Delhi has also watched with growing concern as the Trump administration pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal and snapped back sanctions against Tehran that would force India to review its oil purchases from Iran its third largest supplier. US sanctions against Russia, under a 2017 law called the Combating American Adversaries Through Sanction Act (CAATSA), threaten sanctions against third-party countries making significant purchases from designated Russian entities. India is worried about the impact of this law on its plans to buy Russian S-400 air defence missile systems. Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak was questioned by anti-corruption authorities on Tuesday over a financial scandal after his shock election loss, as the countrys top graft fighter revealed he faced harassment and threats during an earlier probe of the controversy. Najibs coalition suffered a defeat at the May 9 poll, beaten by a reformist alliance led by Mahathir Mohamad, which broke their six-decade stranglehold on power. Mahathir, who first served as premier from 1981-2003 and came out of retirement aged 92 to take on Najib, campaigned on claims that the former leader and his cronies looted sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Billions of dollars were allegedly stolen from the fund in a sophisticated fraud, and used to buy everything from artworks to high-end real estate. Najib and his reviled, luxury-loving wife Rosmah Mansor have had a swift fall from grace. They have been barred from leaving the country, and police have seized handbags, jewels and cash during raids on properties linked to the couple. Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor show their ink-stained fingers after voting in Malaysia's general election in Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia, May 9, 2018. Last weeks poll ended the six-decade reign of the authoritarian Barisan Nasional coalition. (Reuters ) Public disgust at the corruption allegations swirling around them at a time middle-class Malaysians were suffering due to rising living costs and stagnant salaries was seen as a major factor in Najibs defeat. The ousted leader arrived at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in the administrative capital of Putrajaya, walking through a scrum of about 100 journalists. Najib was summoned by the MACC to give a statement over claims millions of dollars from SRC International, an energy company that was originally a subsidiary of 1MDB, ended up in his personal bank accounts. It is just one small part in the graft scandal, which is being investigated in several countries. As speculation swirls about an imminent detention, the new MACC chief, Shukri Abdull, said Najib would not be charged on Tuesday. The toppled regime went to great lengths to suppress scrutiny of the problems surrounding 1MDB, closing down domestic probes, sacking critics from government, jailing those who spoke out and muzzling the media. Shukri, a long-time senior figure in the anti-graft agency who retired but has been brought back by Mahathir, shed tears at a press conference as he told how he came under tremendous pressure during an earlier probe into 1MDB. He was part of a team that originally investigated SRC in 2015, and said he faced harassment which reached a very frightening level. Our witnesses were abducted. Some of them were questioned by others as to what they revealed to us, he said. I was asked to retire early. He said friends informed him that he could be arrested, prompting him to head to the United States for a while. The allegation was that I conspired to topple the government, he said. Despite the threats and harassment faced by my officers during the investigations, we never gave up. As pressure mounted, Shukri decided to retire in 2016. Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Shukri Abdull gestures during a press conference at the MACC office in Putrajaya on May 22, 2018. (AFP) According to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal, 42 million ringgit (USD 10.6 million) originating from SRC was transferred to Najibs personal bank accounts. Hundreds of millions of dollars from 1MDB allegedly ended up there. Najib and 1MDB have denied any wrongdoing. A domestic investigation launched during his premiership concluded that the money in his accounts was a donation from the Saudi royal family. Mahathir has vowed to fully investigate the financial scandal and on Monday the new government set up a task force headed by high-ranking current and former officials to probe the controversy. Following the fall of the corruption-riddled regime, which had led Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957, figures linked to the 1MDB scandal have been making appearances. Mahathir met at the weekend with Xavier Justo, a former executive with PetroSaudi, a company that was allegedly involved in corrupt deals with 1MDB. The Swiss national is believed to have leaked documents related to the scandal to the media. He was jailed in Thailand for attempting to blackmail his former employer but was released in 2016. Meghan Markles nephew was let off with a warning after bringing a knife to a south London club as he celebrated her marriage to Britains Prince Harry, Sky News reported on Monday. Police said they had been called to a club in Kingston-on-Thames in the early hours of Sunday morning after a man openly declared he had a knife as he attempted to enter the club. Two men in their 20s who were visiting Britain were spoken to at a hotel nearby, police said, and were warned about their actions but not arrested. One of the men voluntarily gave up a noxious spray. British media identified one of the men as Tyler Dooley, 25, the son of Meghans half-brother Thomas Markle jr. British police declined to confirm the mens identities. Meghan, who now has the title Duchess of Sussex, had not invited Dooley to the wedding. 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, Sally Benatar of the local police force said in a statement. Energized by the #MeToo movement, two national advocacy groups are teaming up to lodge sexual harassment complaints against McDonalds on behalf of 10 women who have worked at the fast food restaurant in nine cities. The workers one of them a 15-year-old from St. Louis alleged groping, propositions for sex, indecent exposure and lewd comments by supervisors. According to their complaints, when the women reported the harassment, they were ignored or mocked, and in some cases suffered retaliation. The legal effort was organized by Fight for $15, which campaigns to raise pay for low-wage workers. The legal costs are being covered by the TIMES UP Legal Defense Fund, which was launched in January by the National Womens Law Center to provide attorneys for women who cannot afford to bring cases on their own. The complaints, filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, are being announced on Tuesday, two days ahead of the companys annual shareholder meeting in Oak Brook, Illinois. Responding to the claims, McDonalds spokesperson Terri Hickey said there is no place for harassment and discrimination of any kind in the workplace. McDonalds Corporation takes allegations of sexual harassment very seriously and are confident our independent franchisees who own and operate approximately 90% of our 14,000 US restaurants will do the same, Hickey said by email. Fight for $15 said the restaurants named in the complaints are run by franchisees, not directly by McDonalds. But the complaints name both McDonalds Corp. and the franchisee part of Fight for $15s effort to hold the company responsible for wage and employment issues at franchised locations. The company claims its franchisees are independent business owners, and that stance has complicated efforts to unionize workers across the entire McDonalds chain. When similar sexual harassment charges were lodged by Fight for $15 workers two years ago, McDonalds promised a review of those allegations. However, Hickey in her new response declined to say whether that review led to any changes of policies and practices aimed at curtailing such harassment. Among the new complainants is Tanya Harrell, 22, of New Orleans, who alleges that her two managers teased her, but otherwise took no action after she told them of sustained verbal and physical harassment by a co-worker. Harrell, who makes $8.15 an hour, says going public with her complaint may be emotionally taxing, but she is proud of her decision. I feel like I have a voice now, she said in a telephone interview. It gives me a bit of motivation and a bit of courage. In addition to New Orleans and St. Louis, charges were filed by workers in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami; Orlando, Florida; Durham, North Carolina, and Kansas City, Missouri. The new allegations come almost two years after 15 McDonalds workers in Fight for $15 filed a series of sexual harassment complaints against the company. Attorneys for the workers plan to ask the EEOC to consolidate or coordinate the newly filed charges, as well as some of the 2016 charges that remain pending. What is different this time, organizers say, is that all of the women bringing charges are represented by attorneys due to the defence funds support. More broadly, the #MeToo movement that exploded last October has emboldened more women to speak out and has prompted some employers to alter their approach to harassment, said National Womens Law Center CEO Fatima Goss Graves. Most companies have a policy saying no sexual harassment, but how do you make that work? she asked. Right now, because of the huge power disparities, its easy to just wait out the complaints and nothing really changes. Eve Cervantez, a lawyer with the San Francisco-based public interest law firm Altshuler Berzon, is working on the new complaints. She says they represent an effort to extend the power of #MeToo to low-wage women whose predicaments have not drawn as much attention as harassment victims in Hollywood, the media and other sectors. The women filing charges want McDonalds to take sexual harassment seriously and enforce its already existing zero tolerance policy, Cervantez said. We think McDonalds can use its power and influence to guarantee a safer workplace for all its employees Fight for $15 is calling on the company to hold mandatory trainings about sexual harassment for managers and employees and to create a safe, effective system for receiving and responding to complaints. As part of the initiative, Fight for $15 said it is establishing a hotline that workers can use to have their complaints reviewed by attorneys. Activists say sexual harassment is pervasive in the fast food industry. They cite a 2016 survey by Hart Research Associates conducted for three advocacy groups which calculated that 40% of female fast food workers experience unwanted sexual behaviour on the job. Pakistan has squandered the economic growth opportunity in the past because of political instability, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has said, asserting that tanks and missiles alone cannot save a country. Iqbal, who is also the Minister for Planning and Development, claimed that during the 90s then Indian finance minister Manmohan Singh borrowed economic reforms strategies from his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz and successfully implemented them in India, the Express Tribune Reported. He said Bangladesh also successfully used the same strategies but Pakistan could not put its own plans to use as the decade was lost to political instability. He was speaking at the inauguration of Pakistan National Centre for Cyber Security in Islamabad on Monday. The first opportunity for Pakistans economy to take off came in the 60s, the second in the 90s, and the third opportunity is knocking at the doors now, which must not be lost to instability like in the past. Enough is enough, he was quoted as saying by the daily. He described peace, stability and continuity as critical for economic progress. We will have to think why many countries which were behind us are now far ahead. Chinas per capita income was far below Pakistans but is now much higher. Similarly, Bangladeshs foreign reserves have reached USD 33 billion while we are at USD 18 billion. For how long, we will watch other countries overtake us, the minister said. He said tanks and missiles alone could not save a country if its not strong economically. He said while the Pakistani armed forces had rendered great sacrifices, the successful fight against terrorism was possible also because of the availability of funds from the national budget. There was a time when terrorists had surrounded us but today the state has cornered them. If we squander this opportunity, the history and future generations will not forgive us, Ahsan added. He said in 2013 Pakistan was using 2G wireless technology but the country would now be among the first users of the 5G technology in the world. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Tehran would be hit with the strongest sanctions in history and cautioned European firms against continuing to do business with it, toughening up Washingtons 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 worlds 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. 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 Irans 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 Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Pompeos 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 Washingtons 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 EUs foreign policy chief said there was no alternative to the Iran nuclear deal. Secretary Pompeos 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 Irans 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 Pompeos 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. Meghan Markles wedding dress has finally been revealed and what a dress it is! After months of speculation over the style she would choose and the designer shed opt for, the Duchess-to-be finally answered our burning royal wedding dress questions when she stepped out of her car to reveal a stunning full-length Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy gown, with a boat neck also known as a bateau neckline and 3/4 length long sleeves. The designer of her chic, simple dress was one of the best-kept secrets in fashion. Clare was only made the first female artistic director of French fashion house Givenchy last year so this has been quite the coup. Treading the line between traditional and whimsically romantic, Meghans design was timeless and classic. Harry whispered, You look amazing, to his bride as she joined him at the altar, so it evidently got the royal seal of approval too. Meghan Markles Wedding Dress: Expert Opinion Peta Hunt, editor-at-large of You and Your Wedding magazine, says Meghan has picked a real crowd-pleaser. I loved the high boat neck, which is so modern with the clean lines, the tiara and full on veil. Its so romantic and really says bride. This is a silk tulle cathedral length veil and works perfectly in this huge chapel. She is definitely wearing the dress and not drowning under a huge gown; it allows her to move and hits all the right notes. She has such a great shape this really, really works for her and is so appropriate for the occasion and venue. You need a strong dress to fill this aisle! Peta notes that there could be controversy from its French provenence. Of course the Queen has approved this already. But designed by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy who is British and known for her feminine, romantic aesthetic it could be a controversial choice because Givenchy is a French fashion house. If youre looking for a similar dress with silk elements, Peta suggests Viktor & Rolf, Justin Alexander, Sassi Holford and Alan Hannah. Who Designed Meghan Markles Wedding Dress? Following royal tradition, the designer of Meghans dress wasnt revealed until she stepped out of the car at St Georges Chapel. After Meghan wore a sheer, ruffled gown by Australian duo Ralph & Russo for her engagement shoot, they became frontrunners to design the dress but Meghan chose a designer whos name hadnt even been among the rumoured list! Also in the running for the coveted role of designing her dress were British designers Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Burberry and Turkish-Canadian designer Erdem, but Meghan went left-field with her French fashion house choice. She chose Clare Waight Keller (above right), who has previously worked at Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Chloe, but took the helm of Givenchy last year when she was appointed artistic director of haute couture and ready-to-wear for women and men. Boat Neck Wedding Dresses: How to Find a Wedding Dress Like Meghan Markles Boat neck wedding dresses, also known as a bateau neckline, are a popular and elegant choice for brides. Its a classic style which Meghan modernised with a clean, simple cut and beautiful sleeves. Here are some examples of boat neck dresses if youd like to get your own copycat version of Meghans dress. Justin Alexander Style 8396 Pronovias Huarte Pronovias Dreide BHLDN Bacall Jennifer Regan Ariana Martina Liana Style 791 Justin Alexander- Style 8727 What Wedding Dress Did Meghan Markle Wear For Her First Wedding? Its well-known that Meghan is a divorcee: she married American producer Trevor Engelson in 2011, with their marriage lasting two years. They married in a four-day affair in Jamaica with 102 guests so Meghans choice of dress was themed for her destination wedding. She opted for a simple, boho dress with a beachy vibe. The dress was white and strapless with a notch-neckline and a thick sparkly embellished belt. Its world away from her choice of dress on Saturday which, while still being simple, is elegant and timeless. She respected the sanctity of the venue by choosing long-sleeves and covering up any cleavage but showed a hint of skin with her classic boat neck. What Does Meghan Markles Wedding Dress From Suits Look Like? Joining Meghan at St Georges Chapel was her on-screen husband Patrick J Adams, who plays Mike Ross in legal TV drama Suits. Meghan actually had two wedding days with Mike in the show, wearing a very different dress from what she chose for her real-life wedding. In her final episode of series seven, she walked down the aisle in an A-line gown by Atlanta-based bridal designer Anne Barge. It featured a deep V-neck with intricate floral beading and a black ribbon cinching in her waist. The back featured a sheer mesh panel that is worlds away from she chose to wear in the more conservative setting of St Georges Chapel. She told Glamour in 2016 of the dress, Its not my personal style, because Im a lot more relaxed than Rachel, but I love that I got to play dress-up in this gown. Fasion expert Peta says, Meghans dress was perfect for her role, but now she has stepped up a gear or two! This is a much stronger statement, more dramatic and a really shows her beauty. The bridal industry is really important in the UK and we produce great designers so its great to see her choose Clare. How Does Meghans Wedding Dress Compare To Kates Wedding Dress? Peta says, Kates was simply very beautiful and understated. It was quite Middle England and very British; Meghans however, is a strong statement. It is very modern red carpet-worthy one, celebrating the art of couture, and bringing a touch of Hollywood glamour. Who Designed Kate Middletons Wedding Dress? Image: Getty The Duchess of Cambridge chose Alexander McQueen when she married Prince William in 2011, but her choice of designer was shrouded in secrecy. Embroiderers at the Royal School of Needlework who stitched the lace dress were even told it was going to be used for a TV costume drama! Designed by the British brands creative director Sarah Burton, Kates conservative dress reflected the venue choice of Westminster Abbey with long lace sleeves and an ivory satin bodice covered in lace applique with a small v-neck. Individual flowers of rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock were cut from lace and hand stiched into ivory silk tulle for the skirt. Image: Getty The train measured a staggering 8ft 8in and inside the dress was sewn a blue ribbon for her something blue. She borrowed the Queens 1936 Cartier halo tiara and topped off her outfit with a lace veil and Robinson Pelham diamond earrings, gifted by her parents. Kates wedding dress immediately became iconic and sparked thousands of copy-cat version. Her original dress became one of the most expensive wedding dresses ever made, costing an estimated 250,000. Who Designed Princess Dianas Wedding Dress? Kates train was modest in comparison to the almost 25ft train that Princess Diana wore at her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981. Because her dress was so huge, Diana had trouble fitting in the glass carriage on her way to St Pauls Cathedral to tie the knot and famously arrived with a visibly crumpled train. Designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the dramatic dress was made from ivory silk taffeta from Stephen Walters of Suffolk and antique hand-made Carrickmacross lace that had belonged to Queen Mary. It was hand-embroiered with sequins and 10,000 pearls. Image: Getty The dress was classically eighties with its large puffed sleeves, frilled lace bodice and huge meringue skirt, but its impact lives on. Dianas wedding dress was voted among the most influential British royal wedding dresses of all time by Time magazine this year. Royal Wedding Dresses Through the Years The royals have a long history with interesting wedding dresses, and it was actually Queen Victoria who is credited with popularising the tradition for brides wearing white after she chose a heavy white silk satin dress to marry Albert in 1840. Here are some other famous royal wedding dresses. Queen Elizabeth II (1947) Norman Hartnell designed the Queens ivory satin dress, which was hand-embroidered with pearls and crystals and a 13ft train, when she married Prince Philip. Princess Margaret (1961) Princess Margaret also chose a Norman Hartnell design, this time made from silk organza with 30 metres of fabric used for the skirt alone for her wedding to the Earl of Snowdon. Princess Anne (1973) For her wedding to Mark Phillips, Princess Anne went medieval with her dress. She choose a high Tudor neck with billowing sleeves by Maureen Baker, a designer for label Susan Small. Sarah Ferguson (1986) When Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew, she decided to incorporate his navy background into the design with heavily beaded hearts, anchors and waves, plus bumblebees and thistles from her own familys crest. The initials A and S were sewn onto her train in silver beads. Camilla Parker-Bowles (2005) Zara Phillips (2011) Princess Annes daughter Zara wore a duchess satin gown with a chevron pleated corseted bodice by Stewart Parvin for her marriage to Mike Tindall. The diamond tiara was borrowed from her mother. For more about Meghans gorgeous gown you can read a full overview from our sister brand You & Your Wedding A rchitect Patrik Schumacher has been derided in the media for suggesting millennials don't need living rooms, but I think he's bang on the money. In fact, I'd urge landlords who are targeting the under-35s market in areas where there is a shortage of affordable accommodation to consider turning their living rooms into extra bedrooms provided they have a kitchen big enough to eat in. I know some of you will say it isn't fair to cram young people into shoeboxes, that they need space to socialise, but I rent a property to a bunch of millennials and I know for a fact that they don't use the living room. Correction they use it to dry their clothes and as a dumping ground for bags, but they don't use it to watch TV, socialise or to eat. What's more, I have been letting this property for years and I've rarely known tenants to do more than hang laundry in the living room. If I turned it into an additional bedroom I would earn more money, but and this is the really important bit the tenants would benefit, too, because I could reduce the rent. If lots of other local landlords did the same, it would boost available accommodation in an area suffering a shortage of cheap rooms. Of course, landlords should make sure the rest of the property is large enough to accommodate an extra tenant and that there are enough bathrooms and loos. We are not talking overcrowding here. There also needs to be adequate storage space for such items as coats, clothes and shoes, and landlords will have to check that the fire escape route is adequate for all the tenants. Landlords who think they have an unused room and want to turn it into a bedroom should check with their local council to see if they will need a licence for a House in Multiple Occupation, or HMO. Be aware that from October, the rules regarding such properties are changing and landlords who let a place to five or more tenants who aren't related will have to apply for a licence. At the same time, the Government plans to introduce a minimum bedroom size for all HMOs of 6.51 square metres, which I think is a mistake. It will mean that there are fewer rooms available, and therefore rents will rise. A friend of mine has been letting a room a bit smaller than this for years without any complaints from tenants. She reckons that if she is banned from charging for the room from October, the other tenants in the house will more than likely sublet it themselves. To prevent this, she plans to turn it into a bathroom and increase the rent for the rest of the house. So who wins here? Not millennials who, in my opinion, would prefer to pay less for less space. Opinion Article 22 May 2018 Background: The hospitality industry is enjoying its longest expansion and healthiest growth in decades, yet there are some troubling trends beginning to surface that threaten profitability and overall performance. One of these trends is that net room revenuei.e., revenue that remains with the hotel after accounting for distribution costs (OTA commissions, traditional agency commissions, and other distribution expenses)has been declining steadily over the past several years. For example, U.S. hotels earned roughly $155.2 billion in guest-paid revenue in 2017 but paid an estimated $25.2 billion to acquire guests in the form of OTA commissions and other distribution costs, retaining significantly lower net room revenue of $130 billion (Kalibri Labs). Revenue capturei.e., net room revenue that remained with the hotelsdeclined from 84.9% in 2015 to an estimated 83.5% in 2018 (Kalibri Labs). The overall growth in occupancy and RevPAR that many hoteliers have been enjoying for the past few years cannot possibly compensate for "the loss of wealth" in the form of steadily increasing distribution costs via the OTA. Hoteliers need to increase direct bookings, which come at a much lower cost, and improve overall direct vs OTA distribution ratio. Integrated Strategy: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle One of the main reasons for the troubling trend of decreased revenue capture and profitability in spite of stellar economic performance is the lack of integration, coordination, and singular focus and purpose among the core revenue generation teams at the property or hotel management company: The Revenue Management (S&M), Marketing Team (MT) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) teams. Quite often these teams function in a rather disjointed fashion, leading to missed revenue opportunities, over dependency on the OTAs, alienated loyalty members, and worsened profitability. Many times, the property RM, S&M and CRM teams operate in isolation from one another, without close coordination. In some worst cases, they are even in competition with one another to sell the same rooms. In other words, the left hand one teamdoes not know what the right handthe rest of the teamsis doing, to the detriment of marketing efficiency and price integrity and ultimately overall revenue generation, profit, and owner's ROI. Case Study 1: A luxury hotel in New York City launched a spring-related multi-channel campaign, including a value-add and a 15% off advance booking discount. The ad formats included a Limited-Time Offer interactive application, website promo, content marketing, SEO, SEM, online media and retargeting, social media, email marketing and PR. The budget for the campaign was well over $100,000, and the projected returns, based on results from the previous year, were for a minimum 12:1 return. A week into the Spring Campaign, the digital marketing agency of the hotel noticed a 30% off discounted offer for the hotel on the OTAs, valid for the same stay period and without the advance booking restriction. After the agency alerted the hotel, it was determined that the Spring Campaign promotion had not been communicated well internally to all revenue generation teams, which had led to the RM team launching a parallel OTA discount campaign. The result? Wasted precious advertising dollars and missed much-needed incremental revenues. Case Study 2: As part of the CRM marketing automation and loyalty marketing, the CRM team targeted members of the guest recognition program with a "10% come back" marketing campaign to fill in the upcoming slow season at the property. After the CRM team received complaints from a number of members of the recognition program that they were seeing a 25% discount for the property on the OTAs for the same period of stay, it was determined, after some internal back and forth, that both the CRM and RM teams had been working in silos and without alignment of their efforts, which had led each team to pursue different promotions for the same stay period to fill property's occupancy needs. The result? Seriously aggravated members of the guest recognition program, guest retention under serious jeopardy, and unrealized revenues from repeat, loyal guests. Sound familiar? Ed Watkins, a hospitality industry veteran, described the current situation in a recent LinkedIn post: "I think there are still too many GMs, owners and DOMs who don't appreciate the need for close coordination between revenue management and marketing functions. The tide is turning but not fast enough. More education is required." The Highly Fragmented Hospitality Reality Traditionally, RM, S&M and CRM operate as separate teams with their own goals, technology tools, databases, vendors, and more. One glaring example of this highly fragmented approach is keeping past guest engagement efforts (CRM) in a silo from new customer acquisition and marketing efforts. For example, looking at independent hotels, less than a third of hotel guests on any given night are repeat guests, while two-thirds are first-time guests. This means that the reality General Managers and DOSMs face every day is having to fill about 70% of their rooms on any given night with brand new guests that they know very little about while trying to ensure they have a pleasant and meaningful stay. Furthermore, once the property has acquired this new guest, when the guest walks out the door, if they're not engaged with marketing automation and guest retention initiatives, there is no guarantee this guest will ever stay at the property again. This results in a vicious cycle that affects the bottom line. Here are some stark examples of today's fragmented approach: Revenue Managers vs Marketing Managers : RM has been the science of analyzing the property's past, present, and future performance data, comp set pricing, plus past and projected macroeconomic data, citywide convention and major events calendar, etc. Revenue managers rarely have the tools and data access to take into consideration CRM data, including guest RFM values, website user behavioral data and digital marketing data, etc. As industry professionals, revenue managers and marketing managers are cut from a different cloth: Most revenue managers are data-driven and very analytical, whereas most marketing people are much more intuitive and creative. Based on their different decision-making types, more often than not, when looking at the same data, they do not arrive at the same conclusion, resulting in vastly different approach to the same situations. Since the traditional career paths for both positions are very different, this is an industrywide issue. Hotel Website: The property knows their guests intimately: their home address, credit card number, what they ate or how many drinks they had last night, and more. Yet, when these same guests visit the hotel website, in most cases they are treated as complete strangers. The property's revenue generation teams, including RM, S&M, and CRM teams rarely have the tools to align the website data with their day-to-day operations and decision-making process, and as a result rarely align their efforts with the website manager or outside vendor. The property knows their guests intimately: their home address, credit card number, what they ate or how many drinks they had last night, and more. Yet, when these same guests visit the hotel website, in most cases they are treated as complete strangers. The property's revenue generation teams, including RM, S&M, and CRM teams rarely have the tools to align the website data with their day-to-day operations and decision-making process, and as a result rarely align their efforts with the website manager or outside vendor. Data Islands: The property customer data lives in multiple "data islands" that do not talk to each other: PMS, CRM, CRS, Social Media, Web Analytics, Marketing Data, BI, etc. Very few properties and hotel companies can boast a single view customer data with live data feeds from ALL touchpoints with the traveler. For example, in most instances, past guest data (CRM data) is not being utilized to engage and retain past guests, when making pricing decisions, or to target new guests and sharpen the focus and reach of the property's digital marketing campaigns, in order to acquire new guests that are similar to past "ideal" guests. Quite often different teams at the property use different sets of data in their day-to-day operations, creating a total "data integrity mess," which directly affects the property's guest acquisition and retention efforts. RFM: Practically non-existent capabilities to identify the property's "ideal" gueststhose with high RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value)and engage them throughout their hotel planning and booking journey, and throughout the customer lifetime, as well as use this knowledge to acquire new best guests. Practically non-existent capabilities to identify the property's "ideal" gueststhose with high RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value)and engage them throughout their hotel planning and booking journey, and throughout the customer lifetime, as well as use this knowledge to acquire new best guests. Technology & Digital Marketing Silos: The hotel uses a myriad of vendors that do not talk to each other, and in many cases do not even know each other: one for CRM, a second for the property website, a third for SEO, a fourth for SEM, a fifth for online media, and so on. Recently we encountered a boutique hotel brand that was using 28 different vendors for their digital marketing! Often, hotel marketers manage the property's digital marketing campaigns without taking into consideration past guests' CRM data, preferences, stay and booking behavior, which prevents the property campaigns from reaching the right guest. Revenue managers often fail to capitalize on these insights for key pricing decisions. CRM Data not talking to Intent Data : Knowledge from past "best" guests is not being used to identify marketing personas and target lookalike audiences, thus significantly expanding the marketing reach to acquire new guests that are similar to your best past guests and are in market, i.e., planning to travel to the property's destination. These are just a few examples of how data and digital silos are revenue blockers that hurt the bottom line, decrease customer engagement and retention, and increase OTA dependency. Dr. Cindy Heo, an associate professor of revenue management at Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL), describes the current siloed approach in revenue management and the existing fragmented customer data situation in the industry: "Revenue management used to focus primarily on setting room prices and optimizing room inventory. Revenue managers should not just crunch RMS numbers but need to understand guests' selection behavior, consumer psychology, and their competitors' strategies by analyzing various pieces of information. RMS cannot, therefore, be the only toolkit for a revenue manager, because customer data reside in different hotel systems." Tying RM, S&M and CRM together with a 360-degree approach that engages, retains, and acquires guests throughout the customer journey is not only more efficient and more effective at driving direct bookings, but it is incomparable in growing the bond with your customers and their lifetime value. Obviously, There Is a Need to Break Down the Silos Today's travel consumer's hotel planning and booking journey has become increasingly complex in this multi-device, multi-channel, and multi-touchpoint digital landscape. In fact, according to Google, the average consumer engages in 38,983 digital micro-moments in just under two months. The average travel consumer journey takes about 17 days, and the average visitor goes through eight research sessions, 18 site visits, and six clicks before making a hotel booking (Google Research). As consumers remain digitally connected throughout these micro-moments before making a booking, each touchpoint presents an opportunity for a hotel to build a brand connection, influence intent, win the booking, and be there for every step of the journey. In light of this complex digital landscape, hotel marketers should engage online travel consumers throughout their complex digital journey and can no longer afford to have a fragmented customer engagement and acquisition approach. With the proliferation of the Internet and online commerce, and more recently of mobile devices, the travel planning process has become increasingly complex, forcing hoteliers to find an integrated strategy to engage, acquire, service, and retain travel consumers across multiple digital touch points and across all digital channels and devices. This new complex travel customer journey constitutes a singular planning, conversion, and retention lifecycle that requires a singular (read: seamlessly integrated) approach. It does not tolerate silos in technologies, services, and engagements. The mobile channel imposes new challenges to the property and demands coordinated, real-time pricing and marketing reaction to the volatility of the marketplace. And we already live in a mobile-first world. Mobile devices dominate the travel planning journey: 40% to 50% of desktop bookings worldwide are preceded by a click on a mobile device, and 94% of leisure travelers use multiple devices (mobile, tablet, desktop) when planning and booking travel (Criteo). Today over 59% of hotel web visitors, 51% of page views, and nearly 27% of bookings and 24% of room nights are generated from mobile devices, including smartphone and tablet. To summarize, here are the main reasons prompting the convergence of RM, SM and CRM into one cohesive team: The overwhelming shift to online distribution and online customer engagements The exploding mobile channel and the need for lightning-fast pricing and marketing decisions The ever-increasing complexity of the customer lifecycle and the emergence of the digitally-savvy travel consumer. The need to lessen overdependence on the OTAs The Solution: An Integrated Revenue Generation Team There should be a single-minded team at the property: The Revenue Generation Team, consisting of the RM, S&M and CRM specialists, working together to acquire, engage, and retain guests; optimize performance; and increase revenue, especially direct bookings. Marcela Trujillo, VP of Revenue at Menin Hospitality in Florida, recently commented via a LinkedIn post: "At Menin Hospitality, revenue and marketing work hand in hand and always have. This must be done to drive direct bookings. It is incredibly effective and indeed crucial to the success of any asset." What should hoteliers do proactively to accelerate the change to an integrated Revenue Generation Team? Here are just a few of the organizational, financial, technological and philosophical changes and action steps needed: Hotel Management and Franchise Contracts Hotel owners' management contracts with Hotel Management Companies and franchise contracts with major hotel chains should use "Total Gross Operating Profit" (after OTA commissions, traditional agency commissions, and other distribution expenses), and not "Gross Room Revenues" as the measure for calculating management and franchise fees. In this way, every revenue-generating employee and team at the property would be evaluated based on the net room revenues collected by the property (Gross Room Revenue minus Agency/OTA Commissions). Organizational Changes A new role is needed at the property or hotel management company: Revenue Officer or Revenue Optimization Officer, overseeing the integrated Revenue Generation Department at the property, small or midsize chain, or hotel management company. The Revenue Optimization Officer is not an accounting or finance major position, but a role for a cross-functional leader, versed in all three disciplines: RM, S&M and CRM. The example of Menin Hospitality recited above is commendable and should be examined and followed by hoteliers across the globe. Education and Professional Development The whole hospitality educational and professional development system needs to be re-thought and adjusted to create cross-functional experts who are intimately familiar with all three disciplines: RM, S&M and CRM. Existing RM, S&M and CRM employees should be incentivized to get certifications and attend professional development courses in the other disciplines as a prerequisite for their career advancement. For example, existing Revenue Managers should be trained in digital marketing and CRM to better understand the complex customer journey; meanwhile, hotel marketers should study revenue management to better understand the revenue implications of everything they do. Technology Investments The hotel needs to invest in technology that allows alignment of and cooperation among the RM, S&M and CRM specialists from the Revenue Generation Team. This is call to action for the hotel tech community: New technology tools and platforms, especially platforms utilizing AI to crunch Big Data, are urgently needed to enable the cross-functional cross-data silo alignment among RM, S&M and CRM! The independent property, small or mid-size hotel brand can start small by working with their existing vendors on cross-functional connectivity, or when considering new technology solutions, to evaluate the cross-functional capabilities of the vendors. Hoteliers should ask themselves, "How can we incorporate our digital marketing and CRM data into our pricing decisions? How can we use revenue management analytics to sharpen the focus and ROI of our digital marketing campaigns? How can we utilize our knowledge from our RFM data into our new guest acquisition efforts?" Industry examples of such cross-functional technology applications include: NextGuest Technologies' Guest Engagement and Acquisition Technology and Marketing Platform, combining digital marketing, website, and CRM data into one cohesive marketing and personalization platform; and Duetto's Revenue Management System (RMS) that includes in its algorithms data from customers' spending habits, preferences, and lifetime value, as well as external data from the property website Review Data and sentiment analysis. Here is how Marco Benvenuti, Co-founder, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Duetto describes the company's cross-functional capabilities: "Duetto's analytics platform ingests data from all of the property's systems booking engine, PMS, CRS, CRM, property website and user pathing behavior and combines this "owned" data with third-party data such as social reviews and intent data to deliver accurate information to systems all along the booking path. Hotels can use this trove of guest data to form a more modern and tailored Ecommerce strategy, starting with a more user-friendly and personalized booking experience. This data helps hotels make more profitable pricing decisions, and a better booking experience will help capture demand on your least expensive channels." Revenue Optimization Ideation The Revenue Generation Team and its RM, SM and CRM specialists, under the guidance of the Revenue Officer, should brainstorm and have an Annual Revenue Strategy, outlining major markets that need focus or improvement, sales, and marketing (seasonal, multichannel, ad hoc) campaigns needed to achieve the revenue goals, etc. Every quarter the team should brainstorm and come up with an updated Action Plan for the next three quarters. Every week the team should meet to discuss the current property performanceincluding occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, and revenue needsand map out concrete tactics to optimize revenue. Optimization of the Marketing Mix An integrated Revenue Generation Team can finally achieve the elusive optimization of the property's marketing mix, i.e., the 4 P's of marketing: Price, Product, Promotion, and Place. Only by working together can the team devise the optimum pricing, product offering, and distribution channel strategy that can bring the best results. There should be collaboration when answering questions such as: Should we offer the spring multi-channel marketing promotion to the OTAs? How do we tackle next month's occupancy need due to group cancelation? How do we improve weekend occupancy? Through this collaboration, action plans can be implemented across all revenue-generating channels. Personalization Personalization is not only proven to increase bookings and other key performance indicators; consumers now expect hotel offerings, pricing, and content (textual and visual) to be personalized to their concrete needs and preferences. A recent survey by eMarketer showed that 85% of Internet users expect personalization, and 75% of consumers get frustrated when it's clear that companies are not personalizing content (Janrain). Clients that introduce personalized content on their website see uplifts of 40%, 50%, and even doubling of conversion rates. The Revenue Generation Team can devise a robust personalization strategy for guest acquisition and retention that includes all aspects of the guest journey: from marketing and website engagements, pricing and channel management, personalized offering and pricing based on RFM and LTV values, to product offerings and CRM retention and loyalty marketing initiatives. Industry examples include: HEBS Digital's Smart Personalization Engine, which allows the property website to target visitors based on their demographics, feeder market, website pathing behavior, or affiliation to a particular customer segment or loyalty program, with unique promotions and relevant textual and visual content; and Duetto's Personalized Loyalty Pricing, which involves positioning and promoting room rates and offers to customers based on their spending habits, preferences, and lifetime value. Multi-channel Marketing The Revenue Generation Team should coordinate the marketing efforts of the property to be operated using the multi-channel marketing approach. With one cohesive marketing campaign, and the same cohesive marketing message (read: promotion) pushed across all potential touch points with online travel consumers (hotel website, SEO, SEM, GDN and online media, social media, PR and email marketing), hoteliers can build stickiness and traction across channels and devices and dramatically increase revenue. Today's complex multi-touch consumer behavior is what makes multi-channel marketing campaigns the most effective way to address concrete business needs, increase reach, and boost bookings and revenue for the slow season or need period. These campaigns can be structured around the property's seasonality as well as specific business-needs (i.e., need to fill weekdays vs. weekends, occupancy needs, group cancelations, seasonal slowdowns, etc.), and also target specific high-value segments. Conclusion: There is no doubt that today's complex travel customer journey requires an integrated strategy to engage, acquire, service, and retain travel consumers across multiple digital touch points and across all digital channels and devices. This necessitates a single-minded team at the property: The Revenue Generation Team, consisting of the RM, S&M and CRM specialists, working together to acquire, engage, and retain guests; optimize performance; and increase revenue, especially direct bookings. Performance 22 May 2018 HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee -- The U.S. hotel industry reported positive results in the three key performance metrics during April 2018, according to data from STR. In a year-over-year comparison with April 2017, the industry posted the following: Occupancy: +0.9% to 67.9% Average daily rate (ADR): +3.3% to US$130.33 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +4.2% to US$88.54 The increase in ADR was the largest for any month since January 2017, and the industry has now posted 98 consecutive months of RevPAR growth year over year. "The industry once again set a record for monthly performance and performance on an annualized basis," said Bobby Bowers, STR's senior VP of operations. "Helped by the favorable side of the Easter calendar shift from April last year to March this year, the RevPAR growth figure was actually the highest of any month in 2018 and the second-highest overall since last March. A surge in group business from the aforementioned calendar shift factored significantly into the equation, but we also continue to see strong growth in weekend business, which indicates solid consumer confidence in addition to robust business demand." Two of the Top 25 Markets tied for the largest increase in RevPAR: San Francisco/San Mateo, California (+19.2% to US$204.76), and New Orleans, Louisiana (+19.2% to US$137.91). The RevPAR increase in San Francisco was driven mostly by the month's largest lift in ADR (+17.7% to US$241.41), while RevPAR in New Orleans was helped by the highest rise in occupancy (+7.7% to 78.9%). Houston, Texas, reported the next-largest increase in RevPAR (+14.0% to US$76.62). Denver, Colorado, experienced the second-highest increase in occupancy (+6.6% to 73.6%) and the only other double-digit rise in RevPAR (+11.3% to US$94.38). Overall, 20 of the Top 25 Markets reported RevPAR growth. Orlando, Florida, experienced the steepest decline in occupancy (-5.3% to 80.6%). Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia, reported the largest drop in ADR (-1.6% to US$93.52). St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois, registered the largest decrease in RevPAR (-5.2% to US$70.38). "The major markets (RevPAR: +4.4%) outperformed all others (+3.9%) again in April, mainly due to rate increases and the group business shift from March," Bowers said. "That performance of course comes with supply growth almost 100 basis points higher in the Top 25." Marvel Studios needs to look into hiring Trevor Noah for his own superhero movie. While actors like Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo, Spider-Man and The Hulk, respectively, are known to spoil plot points before the movie premiers (Ruffalo especially), Noah has kept his mouth shut about appearing in Wakanda for months now. The Daily Show host has had many opportunities to reveal his role, and bask in the accomplishment, but instead, he's kept quiet. There was even one episode of the Daily Show where Noah gets excited that he doesn't need captions to understand the language that is being spoken in Black Panther (he speaks seven languages). That would have been the perfect opportunity to speak up. A keen-eyed fan spotted Noah's name at the end of the credits and tweeted about his discovery. He proves why it's important to read the credits, which no one has done for the last three months apparently. The character that Noah played is named Griot, who was actually the ship that Martin Freeman flew during the third act of the film. Freeman, who plays CIA agent Ross in Captain America: Civil War as well, used the ship to hunt down Killmonger's weapon shipments. Black Panther is currently available digitally and on Blu-ray. A teenager from Oregon is facing a hefty $36,618,330.24 fine to cover all the damages he inflicted after setting 48,000 acres of land ablaze back in September 2017. The individual, who was only 15 at the time, revealed that he was responsible for having thrown fireworks in the woods while hiking on the Eagle Creek trail, effectively enabling a rampant wildfire that took days to abate. The 11 claims brought forth by state and other parties collectively totalled over $36 million in restitution. The boy's lawyer has gone on record to denounce this egregious punishment, stating that it violates the Oregon/US Constitutions and the Eighth Amendment, which protects individuals from excessive fines, as well as "cruel and unusual punishments." However, Hood River County Circuit Court Judge John A. Olson believes that the verdict does not violate the constitution in any significant manner. "The restitution is clearly proportionate to the offense because it does not exceed the financial damages caused by the youth. I'm satisfied that the restitution ordered in this case bears a sufficient relationship to the gravity of the offenses for which the youth was adjudicated." T.I. may be a man of the people, but one would be wise not to push him to the edge. While the rapper seems to embody both left (regarding social issues) and right (regarding gun control) leaning political ideologies, his latest position seems firmly entrenched in social justice. Hours removed from letting off a string of incensed threats at one "Guzman," a security officer caught brutally dragging three women from a Houston restaurant, Tip is at it again. This time, he's taken to the Gram to tackle the ongoing trial of Dimitrious Pagourtzis, the young man responsible for murdering over ten people in the recent Texas School Shooting. While Texas may have a reputation of being a Death Penalty state, it would appear Pagourtzis' minor status (he's 17) renders him safe from capital punishment. According to Texas law, anyone under eighteen charged with a capital offense is subject to a possible life sentence behind bars, with the possibility of parole after forty years. While the morality of capital punishment remains a hotly debated topic, the notion that Pagourtzis has escaped the fate has ruffled a few feathers, particularly given the circumstances of other offenders. For example, as T.I. points out, rapper Tay-K is currently standing trial for two capital murders and robbery, with the reported potential of landing the death penalty. "This is America!!!! We MUST START STANDING BY OURS THE SAME WAY THEY STAND BY THEIRS!!!!!" writes Tip. "We cant keep just throwing ours away when they fuc up,while they give they people every consideration possible .... FUCTHAT!!!!" He continues along those lines, reflecting on the double standard between the treatment of black criminals and white criminals. "One of them was arrested on the scene of the school shooting that claimed 10 lives," concludes Tip. "The other was a warranted arrest with little physical evidence,just word of mouth. So the question is how is the D.A. seeking the death penalty for Tay K & not the other guy? AND THAT HES A MINOR SHIT WEAK...THEIR THE SAME AGE!!!!!!" Both Future and T.I. have kept themselves busy for the first few months of 2018. As summer nears, Future has already teased that he is ready to take over the warmer season with T.I. recently encountering some legal drama with his arrest last week. While T.I. may not be interested in any biopics about his involvement in the invention of trap music, it appears as though he is making some alternate major moves into the film industry. From the looks of it, T.I. and Future are teaming up with a group of major players in Hollywood ahead of the Superfly release. Sharing a photo of himself and many of the members of the Superfly crew including Director X, Big Bank Black, and other executives, T.I. looks to be getting in on the fun. Tip seems extremely excited about the venture, writing as his caption, "Something big just happened!!!!" and tagging everybody in the room. While the connection to Superfly seems obvious, a Sony Pictures executive's version of the same post hints at something new in the works, using a "Stay Tuned" hashtag. After all, the film is set for a release next month and it would be pushing it to add anything at this point. Whatever T.I. and Future have in the works is bound to keep the people interested. What do you think they could be working on with the Superfly crew? Chinas appetite for U.S. liquefied natural gas may be about to get a lot bigger after the two nations agreed to pull back from the brink of a trade war. If China makes a substantial commitment to buying U.S. LNG, it could bring $30 billion back into the country, according to a Height Securities LLC report on Monday. The White House said May 19 that China will significantly increase purchases of U.S. goods, while Beijings special envoy said the worlds two largest economies had agreed to a trade truce. China represents an enormous economic opportunity for U.S. LNG, Katie Bays, an analyst at Height in Washington, said in a note to clients Monday. The fuel will likely see dramatic demand growth in the coming years, during which time the U.S. is also expected to dominate global export markets. China represents a massive opportunity for U.S. shale gas, with the nation set to become the worlds largest LNG importer in the next decade as it switches to the cleaner-burning fuel from coal. Already, China is the third-biggest buyer of LNG from Cheniere Energy Incs Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, and it is poised to nab more cargoes from U.S. shores as developers seek to build new export plants from the Gulf Coast to Alaska. U.S. LNG makes sense from a Chinese point of view as well because they are experiencing very strong demand for gas as part of their efforts to improve air quality, and there are limited options for them, Jason Feer, the head of business intelligence at Poten & Partners in Houston, said in an email. Long-Term Contract In February, Cheniere -- Americas first exporter of shale gas overseas -- signed the countrys first long-term contract with China National Petroleum Corp. for 25 years for a terminal under construction in Texas. Cheniere shares gained as much as 6.2 percent Monday, the biggest intraday gain in almost two years. Prices were up 0.6 percent to $63.11 at 3:31 p.m. China may provide the contracts needed for the so-called second wave of U.S. LNG terminals, which include projects from NextDecade Corp. and Pembina Pipeline Corp, Bays said. But neither LNG nor ethanol, which also stands to benefit from a trade truce, would provide a big enough export boost reduce the deficit by $200 billion a year, according to Height. --With assistance from Kevin Varley. 2018 Bloomberg L.P. Katy ISD continued to experience upheaval Monday as Ashley Vann suddenly announced she was stepping down as board president and two new board members were sworn in, just a few weeks after Lance Hindt, the district's controversial superintendent, announced he would retire next January. When the school board returned from closed session Monday night, Vann acknowledged how proud she was to serve the school district during Hurricane Harvey and of watching the community come together, but then her tone shifted. "To put it simply, I'm tired y'all," said Vann. "My family's tired. The past two months have shown me a lot about myself and the one thing that I know is that the wind is out of my sails." Vann, who will serve as the board's secretary next school year, went on to nominate Courtney Doyle to take over her role as president, which the board agreed to unanimously. The board also voted for Bill Lacy to serve as vice president during the next school year. HIGHEST PAY: See which area superintendents are making the biggest salary Now Playing: Katy ISD Superintendent Lance Hindt responds to 3-decades old bullying allegations presented last week during an open Board of Trustees forum by Greg Barrett. Hindt issued a statement last week, and made additional comments during the board meeting on March 26, 2018. Video: Katy ISD "I don't think there has been a president that has been faced with quite the extent of what Ms. Vann has been faced with," said Doyle. "Ms. Vann has led this board with grace, humility and strength. She has always had a smile on her face. I know that her family has sacrificed greatly for her to be available at all times." Two new board members, Susan Gesoff and Dawn Champagne, also took their official oath of office as outgoing board members Charles Griffin and Bryan Michalsky left their positions. "It has been a pleasure and honor to serve with you the past four years," said Vann, referring to the outgoing board members. "You've been my sounding board since day one." New board member Gesoff is a a former teacher for Katy ISD and current engineer at BP. The second new board member, Champagne, is a parent to three children, who are either enrolled at Katy schools or graduated, and is also an active volunteer in the school district. Griffin, who's served on the board for six years, wished Hindt well as he left office and said he was proud of his accomplishments for the school district. HUGE PAYOUT: See how much Lance Hindt is getting when is resignation is final "I'm sorry that we weren't able to keep your family and you protected," said Griffin. "From the day you got here until the day I leave, I've been proud of every single thing that you've done and our kids are much better off for that. " Katy ISD has been engulfed in controversy since Katy resident Greg Gay in March accused Hindt of bullying him years ago in high school. The accusation rocked the 77,000-student district and put a stain on the star superintendent's reputation. A civil suit also surfaced from 1983, in which a Houston-area man said he was assaulted by then-18-year-old Hindt after an altercation following a party. Hindt most recently was accused of plagiarizing his doctoral dissertation at the University of Houston. Board member George Scott acknowledged how tough the last school year has been for Vann. "There is no board president in my observation that has had to take on challenges as tough as a natural disaster and challenges as needless and gratuitously evil as manmade disasters that we've had to face over the last several months," said Scott. "I'm not aware of a single board president in the time I've been in this community who would've handled the last year with more honor than Ashley." Michalsky, who's served on the board for six years, upon his exit stressed to incoming board members that there was still work to do like preventing acts of violence like the one that occurred last week at Santa Fe High School. A moment of silence was held for the school shooting victims at the start of the board meeting. " I will say one of the biggest highlights over the last years of serving on this board was having a front row seat of watching the amazing professional educators that work in this district do their job," said Michalsky. "More than anything else, I'm thankful for the way we love our children and prepare them for a successful future." The swearing in comes after Katy ISD decided at its last board meeting on May 10 to hire Feldman & Feldman law firm to pursue a defamation case on behalf of Hindt as he's faced months of accusations from the public. During Monday's meeting, the school board also met in closed session with the board's attorney. After Hindt announced his retirement during a board meeting on May 10, the district revealed that he would receive two years of his base salary pay upon his exit from the district. That could exceed $750,000. In his original contract when Hindt was hired in 2016, it was noted that "if the Board gives the Superintendent notice of termination of this Agreement under this section, other than for good cause ....the District will pay the Superintendent an amount equal to two years of his base salary rate." Hindt, 53, currently makes $386,850 as superintendent, according to data compiled by the Texas Education Agency in October 2017. When Hindt was hired, his annual salary was set at $375,000. The contract amendment was voted on unanimously by board members during the meeting held earlier this month. Hindt said earlier this month that the accusations have been hard on his wife and children. He called leading the school district his "highest professional honor." SANTA FE Some huddled in prayer. Others bowed their heads, fighting to hold back tears, as they encircled the 10 crosses lined up along the grounds of Santa Fe High School. The statewide moment of silence Monday was, for this Galveston County community, a time of reflection for the friends and educators theyd lost. Its a start, said Alex Cravey, a 16-year-old junior at Santa Fe High School who joined hands around the crosses. Theres no way were ever going to be able to heal from this. Read more: Remembering those lost in Santa Fe shooting The grieving surged anew Monday as details unfolded about the mass shooting Friday at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead and 13 injured. Of the quick four-minute response by officers who eventually subdued the 17-year-old student, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, now charged in the killings. Of heroes who died or nearly lost their lives protecting others. Of memorials to attend and funerals to be planned. Hoping time will heal, Santa Fe ISD officials further delayed the return to classes, announcing students would not go back to the school until Monday, 11 days after the shootings. Teachers and staff will return on Wednesday, though some areas may remain under scrutiny from investigators. Now Playing: Authorities hold a press conference Monday, May 21, 2018, following the deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School. Video by Elizabeth Conley. The school system offered counseling and comfort dogs, hotlines and special assistance, and local officials tried to answer the questions that remain for those affected by the shooting. Four of the injured remain hospitalized, two students and two adults, including Santa Fe ISD police officer John Barnes. We are all in this together, said Mayor-elect Jason Tabor. We are hurt but not broken. We are definitely resilient. Continue to pray for us and please keeping shining us with love. We are Santa Fe Strong. Waiting for a phone call Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said Monday that officers found the shooter within four minutes and exchanged gunfire with him before he was subdued and taken into custody. Trochesset, making his first public comments since the May 18 shooting, appeared visibly distraught as he praised the more than 200 law enforcement officers who responded to the scene. The heroes from that ISD engaged this individual in approximately four minutes and stayed engaged with him, keeping him contained and engaged so that other heroes that continued to arrive could evacuate the teachers, the administrators and the students from this school, Trochesset said. Barnes a veteran Houston police officer who took the school job in January after retiring was injured in the shooting after he and another officer cornered Pagourtzis at the art room. Barnes arm was severely damaged by the shotgun blast, and he has undergone several surgeries. Read more: Teens watch classmates die on morning of chaos Trochesset said officials do not believe any of the 10 victims were killed by crossfire from law enforcement but that they wont know for sure until autopsies are completed. Pagourtzis remains in the Galveston County Jail under suicide watch, charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a police officer. Pagourtzis told officers he was the gunman, saying he avoided shooting those he liked so they could tell his story. Trochesset and Santa Fe ISD Police Chief Walter Braun cautioned that some details about the shooting will not be made public until the investigation is complete. Federal officials are also investigating the case, particularly explosive devices that failed to ignite during the rampage. Trochesset the countys top law enforcement officer spoke of his personal connection to the case. His granddaughter was three doors down from the classroom where the shooting occurred, he said, and one of the victims was the girls close friend. He described the anxiety of waiting on a phone call notifying family that she was safe. Anybody wants to hear their heart stop and see how long they cannot breathe? Wait until that phone call comes in, he said. Grammy, you will be missed Details continued to unfold, as well, about those caught up in the shooting. League City Police Detective Recie Tisdale released a letter Monday about his mother, teacher Cynthia Tisdale, 63, who was among those killed. Cynthia Tisdale worked at the school and also served as a caregiver for her husband of 46 years, who has a debilitating lung condition. The detective said his daughter attends Santa Fe High School and his wife works for the school district. His mother decided to work for the district to help children. The community of Santa Fe is a large part of our lives, he said. She worked at the school not out of necessity but for the love of teaching and helping others. To know my mom was to know a person who lived to help those in need. We all loved our mother very much. Grammy, you will be missed. The officer said he responded to the shooting along with other League City police, and eventually concluded that his mother was among those killed. It was very hard to go from assisting others to being horribly affected by this tragic event, he said in the letter. There are no words to explain how saddened my entire family is for all those involved. (Our) prayers and thoughts are with everyone affected. Read more: Seven schools record threats amid heightened security Brenda Yanez, however, the mother of a Santa Fe student, challenged officials Monday about how to reassure parents their children will be safe. [My daughter] was in the art room when all this was going on, in storage hiding and shes very traumatized like many others in the subdivision where we live, Yanez said, tears streaming down her face. How do we as parents deal with that and approach that? Santa Fe ISD Superintendent Leigh Wall said the district is drafting a plan to help students, and said they would not be penalized for missing class. We are going to do anything we can for our kids, she said, and to help our kids emotionally and socially as we move forward. Jenny Deam, St. John Barned-Smith and Alyson Ward contributed to this report. nick.powell@chron.com samantha.ketterer@chron.com lomi.kriel@chron.com Campuses across Greater Houston opened on heightened alert Monday following last weeks shooting at Santa Fe High School, with several local districts dispatching additional police officers to schools and seven districts reporting gun-related incidents or threats of violence involving students. In public statements and letters to parents, education leaders pledged extra vigilance in the final weeks of the school year and emphasized their intentions to conduct long-term reviews of their campus safety plans, seeking to avoid a recurrence of massacres that have marred the 2017-18 school year. In at least four small school districts, including a neighbor to Santa Fe ISD, officials announced plans to crack down on backpacks and dress codes in an effort to reduce hiding places for weapons. Meanwhile, safety officials in two districts, Clear Creek and Huffman ISDs, detained students who brought guns to school Monday, though neither student caused injuries or threatened violence. In addition, a student at Eastside Elementary in Cleveland ISD showed classmates a realistic plastic replica of a Beretta 9mm semi-automatic pistol, complete with an operational red dot laser beneath the barrel. Officials at YES Prep West in Sharpstown, Crosby High School, La Marque High School in Texas City ISD and Friendswood Jr. High reported threats were made to their campuses, as well. The events illustrate how districts remain on edge after eight students and two adults were gunned down Friday at Santa Fe High School, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Houston, in the nations deadliest on-campus shooting since February. Several district leaders said Monday that the Santa Fe shooting again has spotlighted the need for enhanced security to deter, minimize and stop mass casualty events. Any time theres a new event, it always causes a pause to look at the layers you have in place: Are they appropriate? Can they be better? Are they working or are they not working? said Joel Hannemann, executive director of safety and security in 6,000-student Friendswood ISD, which added a second police officer and designated a campus monitor at its two secondary campuses Monday. Officials in the seven districts that experienced gun-related threats Monday each put their security protocols into action. In Clear Creek, which borders Santa Fe ISD, administrators reported that a student was taken into custody after he brought an unloaded gun with him to League City Intermediate. In Huffman, located about 30 miles northeast of Houston, district leaders said a Hargrave High School student possessed a weapon in his backpack that he intended to use to hurt himself. Theres no indication at this time that he intended to harm anyone else, Huffman ISD spokeswoman Shirley Dupree said. Across the region, education officials unveiled short-term measures designed to reduce threats of violence. Several districts pledged extra police and school resource officers, including Alief, Katy, Pasadena and Pearland ISDs. At Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, the regions second-largest district, Superintendent Mark Henry issued a ban on trench coats or other heavy clothing that could potentially conceal weapons. In Dickinson ISD, an 11,000-student district that borders Santa Fe ISDs eastern edge, administrators ordered students to leave backpacks at home for the remainder of the week. At the same time, districts continued to re-evaluate their security plans and emphasized their ongoing reviews of facility safety measures. Since the shooting, several high-profile elected officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, have called for metal detectors to be installed in local schools. Two local school districts, Aldine and Spring ISDs, have been using metal detectors in some of their schools for years. Spring ISD began checking high schoolers backpacks and using scanners and hand wands after a student brought a knife to Spring High School in 2013, killing one classmate and stabbing three others. Aldine ISD Assistant Superintendent for Administration Ken Knippel said the northern Houston district installed metal detectors at Nimitz High Schools ninth grade campus after several students brought weapons to school in 2005, including guns. Detectors came to all Aldine ISD high school campuses in the 2005-2006 school year, and now are in entrances at all intermediate, junior high and high schools. Knippel said the little resistance he encountered after the metal detectors were first installed has been replaced with requests for more scanning. In this day and time, I get no feedback about why do we have metal detectors, we dont want them, Knippel said. Its parents saying make sure youre using them. Campus building designs also have been a focus of districts security plans following recent mass shootings. Houston ISD officials have said they want to add new security checkpoints, similar to ATM vestibules, at about 250 of the districts 284 schools. Aldine ISD did the same to its campuses, and Humble ISD is in the process of outfitting all of its campuses with the safety stop points. Humble ISD Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen has made school security a priority after two students in her former Colorado school district were arrested for planning a mass shooting in 2015. Their plans were thwarted after a text message was sent to the states anonymous tip line, established after the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School. It was shocking, and scary, but at the same time I was very glad that the strategies we had in place allowed us to disrupt that threat. Thats the right outcome, Fagen said. As time has gone on, weve learned from every single incident, and we try to turn around and put as much as we can to work as quickly as possible. After Fagens arrival in Humble in 2016, the district unveiled iHELP, a phone application that allows students to report concerns and threats anonymously. They added security to Kingwood High Schools entrance while renovating the flooded campus after Hurricane Harvey. Part of the districts recently approved $575 million bond will be spent expanding the districts police station, buying security cameras, adding security measures to school entrances and updating its crisis communications system, Fagen said. Fagen also discussed hardening school campuses by designing them to be more difficult for outsiders to access. The idea is you want to create the most difficult time for an intruder to get to where your students are and create most time for first responders to arrive, Fagen said. Joe McKenna, associate director of research and education for the Texas School Safety Center, said districts often focus on responding to active shooters, primarily through drills with staff, but campus architecture has become a common point of discussion. In Friendswood, for example, district leaders have hired an architecture firm to review safety at their six campuses, which range in age from eight to 50 years old. Its a tough question because every community, every building is going to be different, but at least these conversations are happening, McKenna said. Access control is certainly something they should be considering, ensuring our campuses allow in only the people who should be. Law enforcement authorities have not disclosed many details about Fridays massacre, leaving it unclear whether additional security measures could have preempted the attack. Investigators said the accused shooter, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, brought a shotgun and revolver into Santa Fe High School while wearing a trench coat and opened fire. It took police officers four minutes to engage Pagourtzis from the moment he started shooting, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said Monday. Published on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at 5 a.m. James "Lee" Lewis had waited years for a new heart, praying for the day he would be free of the mechanical pump doctors implanted in him in 2015. The device had extended his life after his heart began to fail, but he hated that its wires and the portable battery pack kept him tethered to land and off his fishing boat. The call from the hospital finally came on the first day of 2018. Lewis and his wife, Jennifer, drove nearly two hours from their home in rural Bay City to Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center in Houston, one of the nation's most celebrated heart transplant hospitals. About the series This story is the result of a collaboration between the Chronicle and ProPublica, an independent nonprofit newsroom based in New York. Mike Hixenbaugh is an investigative reporter for the Chronicle. Charles Ornstein is a senior editor at ProPublica. Trouble at St. Luke's The hospital and its legendary surgeon Denton Cooley performed some of the world's first heart transplants back in the 1960s. In recent years, though, it has had some of the worst heart transplant outcomes in the country. Click here to read the story. A hidden legacy Over decades, Bud Frazier has played a leading role in the development of mechanical heart pumps and an artificial heart. Out of public view, he's been accused of putting his quest to make medical history ahead of the needs of some patients. Click here to read the story. Help us investigate Are you an employee, patient or a family member of a patient at the Texas Medical Center? We'd like to hear from you about your experience. Please fill out this confidential questionnaire. The program, though, had fallen well short of that reputation in recent years. As detailed in an investigation by the Houston Chronicle and ProPublica, St. Luke's has performed an outsized number of heart transplants resulting in deaths or unusual complications, has lost several top physicians and has scaled back its ambition for treating high-risk patients, all the while marketing itself based on its storied past. Among St. Luke's patients who received heart transplants between mid-2014 and the end of 2016, twice as many failed to survive a year as would have been expected. A few weeks after Lee received his new heart on the morning of Jan. 2, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would hit St. Luke's with a serious citation for its poor outcomes. By the time Lee left the operating room, the 52-year-old pipefitter was in worse shape than when he entered. For the next three months, he remained connected to life-support machines, enduring nearly 20 follow-up surgeries and procedures, before dying on March 23. For many weeks, the hospital withheld key details about his care, the family said, including what went wrong in the operating room during his transplant. HEART FAILURE: At St. Luke's in Houston, patients suffer as a renowned heart transplant program loses its luster Along the way, his wife and daughter chronicled Lee's downward spiral in matter-of-fact Facebook posts that belied their sadness and anger but sometimes hinted at their frustration with the transplant program. The Chronicle and ProPublica confirmed their account through a review of medical records, answers to written questions from the hospital and an interview with a physician involved in Lee's care. Taken together, excerpts from their social media feeds show how loved ones coped after Lee's transplant his shot at deliverance went seriously wrong. Jennifer got her husband out of bed and told him the news. Then she hurried to pack for what she thought would be a two- or three-week hospital stay. She called the principal at the elementary school where she worked as a teacher's assistant, in a classroom for children with autism, to let her know she wouldn't be at work for the foreseeable future. Excitement and fear swirled inside her. During the long car ride to St. Luke's that morning, Lee had time to think. Tears welled in his eyes, Jennifer said. "He was afraid something was going to go wrong." But Lee knew he wouldn't live long without a heart transplant, and the father of two had unfinished plans: He wanted to meet his son's new baby, and in June, he intended to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding. The next afternoon, after hours of surgery, Dr. Masahiro Ono emerged from the operating room. Jennifer, 50, knew right away that something wasn't right. Ono told her the new heart wasn't doing well. "I remember his face," Jennifer said of the surgeon. "He came out and he was really sad, like he wanted to cry." More than two months would pass before she learned why. The donor heart had gone into shock, Jennifer remembers one of the doctors telling her. Another suggested too much time might have passed between when the organ was taken out of the donor and implanted in her husband. It was difficult for Jennifer to make sense of any of it. From that point forward, it was the program's surgical director, Dr. Jeffrey Morgan, not Ono, who worked on her husband. Lee endured a series of procedures in the days that followed. Most critically, he was connected to a life-support machine, called ECMO, that pumps oxygenated blood through the body, doing the work of the heart and lungs. The goal, Jennifer remembered Morgan saying, was to give the donor organ time to rest and strengthen. Jennifer prayed that's what would happen. Days passed, but the heart did not improve. Morgan connected Lee to a pair of external heart pumps commonly referred to as an LVAD and RVAD to keep blood pumping through the heart. Soon after, Jennifer said Morgan approached her in a public waiting room. He explained that, even with the pumps, the donor heart had shown little sign of strengthening. Eventually, he said, her husband would likely need an artificial heart. Jennifer remembered how much her husband hated his heart assist device and how he'd longed to get out on his fishing boat. He had come to the hospital for a new heart, not another device. She told Morgan she didn't want an artificial heart for her husband. Morgan said in a statement that he did not recall "the specific details" of the conversation, but Jennifer and her family members said they will never forget his reply. His answer was, "Do you want him to die?" Jennifer said. She sat quietly for a few seconds, she said, considering how to answer. "I said, 'No,'" Jennifer said. "I mean, how do you answer that?" That settled it. Physicians began making preparations for Lee to receive a Syncardia total artificial heart. Lee's condition continued to worsen. He suffered a stroke at one point, and for days afterward, Jennifer said he seemed to stare blankly at the ceiling. She began to lose hope. What's the point of putting an artificial heart in him, she thought, if he never wakes up? Then, on Jan. 12, he started responding. Jennifer asked Lee if he could hear her, and he nodded. He nodded again when she asked if he was angry. Jennifer thought she knew why. She surveyed all the tubes and wires coming out of her husband. "He always said he never wanted to live connected to machines." Doctors were preparing to implant another one in his chest. Jennifer could hear the artificial heart pumping as she approached her husband's recovery room. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! She knew her husband was going to hate that sound. He still could barely communicate and had been inconsistent in his responses to simple questions Can you see me? Are you in pain? but now Jennifer wondered if she should have asked for his permission before allowing doctors to put the device in him. "It'll be fine; he's alive," her daughter, Ashlee, told her. "All right," Jennifer replied, sitting at her husband's bedside. "I'll let you tell him, then." As Jennifer's frustrations and worries mounted, she mostly kept them to herself. But a couple of times, including after she said Morgan failed to update her following a surgery, she vented to her Facebook friends. "I can't believe the doctor didn't come by!" a friend and former nurse commented. "I can, he's done it before," Jennifer replied. "But I'm remaining calm." In a statement, Morgan said, "I recall engaging in near daily discussions with Mr. Lewis's wife and other family members to update them on his clinical condition." Staying calm became increasingly difficult, especially after Lee suffered a second stroke. What if her husband's brain was permanently damaged? What if he never got strong enough to qualify for another heart transplant? Friends from church filled her inbox with messages of support, urging her not to give up hope. She spent long hours at her husband's bedside, asking God to save him. For the next several weeks, she searched desperately for signs of recovery. For every hint of progress, her husband endured painful setbacks. On March 7 the same day a general surgeon removed her husband's gallbladder and remarked afterward that the organ was "dead" Ono, the surgeon who performed the initial heart transplant, asked to meet with Jennifer. When she arrived, a representative from the hospital's risk management department and her husband's cardiologist were there, too. They explained that at a key stage of her husband's transplant more than two months and more than a dozen surgeries earlier Ono tried to use a defibrillator to jolt the new heart into rhythm, a common technique in transplants. But the device did not activate, and Ono had to pump the organ by hand while staff searched for a backup. Later, in a separate phone call, Ono told Jennifer that nearly 10 minutes passed before another defibrillator was brought into the room, but by then, the damage likely had been done. "I was so frustrated," Ono said in an interview. "I tried my best to preserve the function of the heart but it couldn't make it. That did happen, and I'm very sorry about that." In a statement, the hospital seemed to contradict Ono, saying "a backup defibrillator was nearby and readily available." The hospital said it waited until its internal investigation was complete before explaining its findings to the family. TELL US YOUR STORY: Help us investigate care at the Texas Medical Center The hospital also sought to minimize the damage done to Lee. "You should know that although the defibrillator didn't function initially, the heart was still beating and circulation was maintained. A second defibrillator was available close by and was utilized. Subsequently, the heart responded appropriately." The operative note in Lee's medical record, which the hospital provided to reporters at Jennifer's request, makes no reference to the equipment failure. After the meeting, Jennifer shook with anger. If she had known about the initial problems during the transplant, she might not have agreed to let the hospital put an artificial heart in her husband, she said. She might have let him go sooner. As infections coursed through his body and his organs began to shut down, Lee was taken across the hospital for yet another procedure. That afternoon, a hospital staff member called Jennifer to tell her something had gone wrong. A thin wire had gotten sucked into the artificial heart during the procedure, causing it to malfunction. Jennifer rushed to the hospital. By the time she arrived, the medical team had managed to remove the wire and restart the artificial heart but her husband did not look well. Later, an anesthesiologist told her what happened: When the artificial heart malfunctioned, the medical team realized they had forgotten to bring the heart's backup driver, an external pump that could have been used to quickly reset the device. Instead, a physician "continuously resuscitated" Lee for 45 minutes until a new driver was retrieved and connected, according to his medical records. During that time, the anesthesiologist told Jennifer, her husband went without normal circulation, likely starving his brain of oxygen-rich blood. The hospital said in its statement to reporters, "There was emergent rescue equipment readily available at the bedside during the procedure. A full investigation of this case is in process." That night, Jennifer sat at her husband's bedside, looking into his gray, hazy eyes. She knew then that he was gone. Jennifer didn't want to be in the room at the end. She didn't want her final memory of her husband to be of the lifeless figure in his hospital bed; she wanted to remember him as the hulking man she'd married 32 years earlier. The man who worked long hours as a pipefitter and in other labor-intensive jobs to provide for his family. The man who was baptized only a few years earlier, after finally agreeing to attend church with her. She learned later that, when Lee first became sick, he had secretly gone to several members of El Campo Church of Christ and asked them to take care of her if anything ever happened to him. Several of those church members surrounded Jennifer at the hospital on March 23 as she awaited the final word from doctors. They sat with her and prayed silently. At about 3 that afternoon, the life-support machines in James "Lee" Lewis' room went silent. Finally, he was free of them. Mike Hixenbaugh is a Chronicle investigative reporter focused on health care. He recently was awarded the Associated Press Media Editors storytelling award, is a four-time Livingston Awards finalist, and in 2018 was named Star Reporter of the Year for the state of Texas. Before joining the Chronicle in 2016, he was a reporter at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., where his work on the military and veterans affairs was co-published with ProPublica, NBC News and the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley. He graduated from the University of Akron in 2007, before going to work for newspapers in Ohio and North Carolina. Follow him on Twitter at @Mike_Hixenbaugh. Contact him at mike.hixenbaugh@chron.com. Charles Ornstein is a senior editor at ProPublica, overseeing its Local Reporting Network. From 2008 to 2017, he was a senior reporter covering health care and the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining ProPublica, he was a member of the metro investigative projects team at the Los Angeles Times. In 2004, he was a lead author on a series on Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, a troubled hospital in South Los Angeles. The articles won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. He previously worked at the Dallas Morning News, where he covered health care on the business desk and worked in the Washington bureau. Ornstein is a past president of the Association of Health Care Journalists and an adjunct journalism professor at Columbia University. Follow him on Twitter at @CharlesOrnstein. Elizabeth Conley is an award-winning photojournalist who moved to Houston from Michigan in September 2016. A professional photojournalist for over 20 years, she still feels she has the best job in the world every time people let her share their stories. Not only was she part of the Chronicle staff covering Super Bowl, Harvey and the World Series, but she also received a three-week fellowship through the International Women's Media Foundation to cover the Great Lakes Region in Africa. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, or reach out to her by email at elizabeth.conley@chron.com. Lucas Waldron, ProPublica's social visuals and graphics producer, is a motion graphics journalist focused on storytelling across social media platforms. His work has previously been published by The New York Times and KQED. Design by Jordan Rubio/Houston Chronicle Subscribe The Houston Chronicle is dedicated to serving the public interest with fact-based journalism. That mission has never been more important. Show your support for our journalism at HoustonChronicle.com/subscribe. *** *** As you hear predictions about todays runoff based on the early vote, remember this: Everything we thought early voting told us about the March primaries turned out to be, if not wrong, then certainly not exactly right. A majority of both the Democratic and Republican votes were cast early during the March primary in Texas, and the early bird analyses, published before the polls closed on Election Day, emphasized a sharp increase over recent midterm turnout, especially among Democrats. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott warned of a blue wave building in the deeply red Lone Star State. That interpretation seemed off the mark when the final votes were tallied. Republican primary voters actually exceeded the Democratic total by more than 500,000 votes, close to the usual GOP advantage. OPINION: Primary turnout reveals a blue wave aimed at Texas What happened? The early vote data included only vote totals from the top 15 counties in total registration. These counties are, of course, the largest urban and suburban venues in the state, where Democrats did make large gains. But the reports did not include the other 239 Texas counties, where Republicans maintained or even increased their usual margins. That largely explains the discrepancy. The March primary, and in a few cases, the ensuing runoffs, remain the decisive local election in most of the states non-metropolitan areas. This is nothing new. When the Texas Legislature shifted party nominations from conventions to primaries in 1906, the Democratic primary immediately become the whole ball game; Republicans rarely even filed candidates in non-presidential years. That Democratic dominance began to fray in the 1960s, but outside of metropolitan Texas nearly all serious local office seekers continued to compete in the Democratic primary. The 1978 election of William Clements Jr. as the states first Republican governor since Reconstruction signaled the start of a 20-year shift that moved more and more effective elections from the Democratic to the Republican primary. But the bottom line is that there havent been competitive general elections in most rural and smaller urban counties here for the last 100 years. RELATED: With Texas' election done, let the games begin What did change was that by 2000, the effective election, away from the border and South Texas, had become the Republican primary. This drives up rural and small-city primary turnout while voting lags in the more populous counties. Democrats did not field a single local candidate in 104 counties this year; there were just 12 counties where no GOP candidate filed for local office. Consider primary voting for the U.S. Senate contest. In the 15 large counties, 787,069 Democratic votes were cast, compared with 748,319 GOP votes. But Republicans outvoted Democrats by more than 3 to 1 in the remaining 239 Texas counties. So what can we glean from the March results? First, primary turnout remains extremely low in Texas. It hasnt topped 30 percent of eligible voters since 1990. In 2018, only about 17 percent of eligible voters turned out. Second, partly because primary turnout is so low, primary voting patterns dont tell us much about the general election. In 2002, a spirited gubernatorial primary produced a sharp uptick in Democratic voting, but Republicans swept the November statewide contests. Democratic primary turnout fell by 50 percent in 2006, but statewide Democrats were more competitive than four years earlier. MORE: Until Texas Democrats reach and organize Latinos, Texas will never turn "purple" Third, both parties can take some comfort from the 2018 primary. Republicans retained a huge advantage in non-metropolitan Texas, where they control more than 80 percent of local offices. However, Democrats widened their advantage in the core urban counties of Harris, Dallas, Bexar and Travis and closed the gap in Tarrant, the only large county that supported Donald Trump in 2016. More important, the most impressive Democratic primary gains were in the suburban counties around Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. With strong congressional candidates running in these traditional Republican areas and a well-funded Democratic Senate nominee in Beto ORourke, increasingly diverse suburban counties are key to Texas Democratic fortunes. The 2017 state elections in Virginia and New Jersey, along with a smattering of recent special elections around the country, suggest that if there is a blue wave coming in November, upscale suburban areas will be Ground Zero. That may also be the case in Texas. Murray is a University of Houston political scientist and director of survey research at the Hobby School of Public Affairs. Compassionate Eye Foundation/Martin Barraud via Getty Images There is a dark secret that has been kept and maintained for many years in B.C. schools. If you have a child with special needs, with autism, with a learning disability; if you have a child with Attention Deficit Disorder, or who is suffering from a mental illness; if you have a child who is gifted, if you have a child who is a typical student, there is something you need to know. Your child is being robbed. Here is how the theft happens: there are fewer and fewer children whose medical diagnoses qualify for one-to-one support in the classroom. Many students whose medical designation at one time brought full-time support now only qualify for a small portion, if any; for example, students with Sensory Processing Disorder or Developmental Co-ordination Disorder. Advertisement Many needs do not qualify for a support worker at all, such as: ADD and ADHD, behaviour disorders and mental illness (anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder), and trauma (students who are or have been abused, exploited or neglected, as well as refugees etc.). Students with a learning disability typically receive from one to four 45-minute periods of small group or in-class support from a resource teacher per week. This is typically not one-to-one support. Ask any teacher which of their students require the most time, support and adaptations to the regular curriculum, and they will tell you it is the students who struggle with the issues listed above. So what happens in a school that has many students with these needs -- as all schools do? We call it "piggybacking," which should really just be called "stealing." Advertisement We look at the students who have medical designations (chronic health issues, physical disabilities, autism) that qualify for a support worker; then we look at other students who need one-to-one support but don't qualify, and guess what we do? We place them all together in the same classroom. Not based on what is educationally sound for them, but based on an attempt to stretch our paltry resources as far as we can. Let me be clear, when I say need support, I really mean NEED. I am talking about students who may be a safety risk to themselves or others, students who require the input and support of an adult, or an alternative setting, or adaptations in curriculum (such as oral rather than written assessment) or perhaps more time to complete their work. And yet, they do not receive these things because they do not officially qualify for help. So the support worker who is assigned to a classroom based on funding for one particular student, is now spread thinly among multiple students who struggle to function independently within a classroom setting. And let's not forget about students who are awaiting assessment. Just because they have not yet been assessed -- which can take many years due to school psychologist positions that have been relentlessly cut -- does not mean that their urgent needs step aside until the paperwork comes in! Advertisement If you have a child with a learning disability or other special needs, you are probably familiar with an IEP (Individual Education Plan). This is a plan developed between the classroom teacher, the resource teacher and the parents; it's intended to ensure that the student has the appropriate strategies and adaptations in place to help them to reach their potential and achieve success. I have begun to view an IEP as a "wish list," a document that states what a child needs to succeed, but without the actual resources in place to make it happen. I have lost the idealism I had in my early years of teaching, when I used to actually believe I could somehow make these strategies work in the classroom. I have gotten to the point where I have actually said to parents, "This is what your child needs. This is what your child requires to be successful. But I need to tell you, this is not what is actually going to happen, because I am not physically able to manage it and I do not have another person available to implement it." I have gotten to the point where I will no longer pretend that when a child has an IEP it will actually come to life. Why? Because when there are 30 students, two grade levels, seven IEPs, five ELL (English Language Learners), three pending designations, two on the waitlist for assessment, another two not yet on the waitlist but glaringly should be, guess what? I am not able to provide those 19 children with the intensive, independent attention they need. The other 11 children who are not on crisis radar? I am lucky if I get to them at all. The cycle continues year after year. One child brings in funding for his or her medical diagnosis, so let's split that seven ways in one classroom. The trickle-down effect is: The students who qualify for support get a sliver. I have even seen on occasion the student who brings in the funding receive nothing because there are other students who require more, are a safety risk, or their struggles appear more urgent. The students who don't qualify but should, split the remaining slivers. The students who don't require support but would still thrive on personal attention from their teacher get a fraction of a fraction of a sliver. ALL are being robbed. I want to know why, in a province as wealthy as ours, in a country as wealthy as ours, not all students are receiving the education they need and deserve. Why are principals and teachers forced each year to triage the needs of students? Why is it acceptable that a medical diagnosis that at one time received funding no longer qualifies or exists? Why is a student with severe ADHD, which is debilitating to learning, not even acknowledged as needing an IEP or any type of additional support? I know why. Because it is too expensive. We are told over and over, it costs too much. Well I'm here to say, along with my teacher colleagues, that is not good enough. The cost of not providing quality education to ALL of our children is far greater. Advertisement Page Content Montreal and Kigali, 22 May 2018 ICAO continued its worldwide series of Regional Safety Management Symposiums and Workshops in Kigali, Rwanda today, promoting the use of risk-based aviation safety approaches by ICAO Member States in the UN agencys African Regions. We have embarked on this Safety Management Symposium in order to help ensure that your governments are ready and able to optimize the full socio-economic benefits of forecast air traffic growth, and to continue to develop safe, secure, efficient and sustainable aviation systems, commented ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. No African country or economy should be left behind where this potential for future prosperity is concerned. ICAOs AFI Regions comprise the 48 States accredited to its two Regional Offices in Nairobi and Dakar. Together, these countries represent a very complex and diverse aviation environment with varying levels of safety oversight performance. With this latest series of safety management events, ICAO is helping African and other States globally to progress their transitions from reactive to predictive safety analysis and planning. The Symposiums have also served to improve insight and awareness on key safety management concepts among aviation leaders, while exploring new guidance in ICAOs soon-to-be-released 4th Edition Safety Management Manual (Doc 9859, which will also feature a companion online information and sharing platform). It is important to recall that implementing safety management is not just about having a signed document or a manual: it is about the leadership and resources required to move towards a proactive and data-driven approach to managing aviation safety, President Aliu underscored. The responsibility for State Safety Programmes and the delivery of a strategic, national safety vision, must be vested in the highest levels of State leadership. While visiting Kigali, President Aliu had the opportunity to present Ambassador Claver Gatete, Rwandas Minister of Infrastructure, with a Council President Certificate for the commendable recent progress the State has made in meeting the Effective Implementation requirements measured by the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP). Dr. Aliu was also pleased to conduct bilateral discussions later with Ambassador Gatete, in addition to the Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister of Aviation of Ghana, and Mr. Ninsao Gnofam, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of Togo. During the discussions with Ambassador Gatete, Dr. Aliu highlighted the importance of civil aviation connectivity as an enabler of national development, especially in landlocked States like Rwanda. He also emphasized the need to enshrine national aviation planning and investment targets in the States national development strategy. The President encouraged Rwanda to strengthen regional and sub-regional cooperation, both in the East Africa Region and beyond, and suggested ICAOs No Country Left Behind initiative could be looked at to help Rwanda further improve its aviation safety and security oversight systems and address other air transport challenges being identified. Dr. Aliu also highlighted the need for appropriate infrastructure to accommodate significant forecast aviation growth locally and regionally, and commended Rwanda for its recent investments to augment the capacities of Rwandair and the Bugesera International Airport. He remarked that these will help support the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and air connectivity more generally on the African continent, as will Rwandas commitment to champion the removal of visa requirements that support the African free trade area and freedom of persons more generally in Africa. The President of the ICAO Council was accompanied during his mission in Rwanda by the ICAO Council Member for Kenya, Ms Mercy Awori, Chairpersons of the Comprehensive Regional Implementation Plans for Aviation Safety and Aviation Security and Facilitation in Africa (AFI Plan and AFI SECFAL Plan), Messrs. Moussa Halidou and Kabbs Twijuke respectively, the Deputy Director of Aviation Safety in ICAOs Air Navigation Bureau, Mr. Catalin Radu, and by ICAOs Regional Directors for Africa, Messrs. Barry Kashambo and Mam Sait Jallow respectively. Resources for Editors Vous etes confrontes a une infestation par la puce, la punaise de lit ? Voici plusieurs actions qui sont a mettre en uvre pour faire [] Imperial Valley News Center Trump Administration Stands Behind Ag Producers Washington, DC - Its been just over a year since I was sworn in as secretary of Agriculture. Having now traveled to 38 states, I have spent countless hours with the hardworking farmers, ranchers, foresters and producers who make up the American agriculture industry. Every stop along the way, Ive found myself humbled by the work being done, day in and day out, to create the bountiful American harvest we all enjoy. Most importantly, it has been an honor to help reiterate President Donald Trumps message that the men and women of rural America are a top priority for this administration. Last week, we headed across New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska on my fourth Back to Our Roots tour. These tours are a welcome opportunity to get out of Washington and connect with those outside the noise of the infamous Beltway. Throughout my travels, Ive heard from the people living in rural America about what they want out of this administration: a boost in the economy, a decrease in burdensome regulations, an increase in trade and a farm bill that works for Americas agriculture community. My message to rural America is always the same: President Trump hears you and is working to make your life better. In the last 16 months, the policies of the Trump administration have proven his commitment to rural America and the American farmer. His pro-growth policies are fueling the economy. Weve seen strong farm exports, illustrating worldwide demand. With an aggressive approach on trade and expanding markets, we should see improved commodity prices. Meanwhile, thousands of young and beginning farmers are signing up for the Beginning Farmers Loan Program. The agriculture community is already seeing benefits from the presidents historic tax cuts and reforms. Farmers, ranchers and producers are now able to keep more of what they earn and can reinvest in their operations. The critical changes to the death tax will exempt the majority of family farms. Its an old unfunny joke that farmers live cash poor but die land rich, and that is something we want to change. For far too long rural America has struggled under the weight of burdensome regulations, written by bureaucrats behind desks in Washington. The Trump administration has been eliminating these regulations at a record pace, slashing 22 existing regulations for every new one that comes on the books. This administration has shown its commitment to renewing prosperity and restoring opportunity across America. While we have made great strides, there is still work to be done. Theres a good bit of anxiety out there in the farmland with regard to trade. President Trump knows that Americas farmers, ranchers, foresters and producers are the ones that feed, fuel and clothe the nation and the rest of the world. For decades China has not played by the rules. China has maintained unwarranted barriers and trade-distorting policies harming U.S. agricultural products, just like it has with many other U.S. goods. By finally standing up to China, this administration is seeking better market access for our farmers. The president also recognizes that agriculture is often the tip of the spear when there is retaliation, and for that reason he has directed me to use the authorities we have to protect farmers and farm income. The president and I will not allow our agriculture producers to bear the brunt of Chinas retaliation. We also need to ensure Congress passes a farm bill that works for Americas agriculture community. Americas farmers, ranchers and producers are resilient, but they need the support from a farm bill to serve as a safety net in tough times and keep them on equal footing with their competitors around the globe. I am confident that we can accomplish these tasks and much more because President Trump has been a champion for rural America since day one. Ive been proud to serve as the face of his administration to the agriculture community. As we continue to work together to do right and feed everyone we must not forget those who feed and clothe the world on a daily basis. By reducing regulation, increasing trade, and passing a strong farm bill, Washington can truly do right for those who feed and clothe everyone. This op-ed appeared in the Omaha World-Herald on May 20, 2018. Imperial Valley News Center After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy Washington, DC - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy: MS JAMES: Good morning. (Applause.) Welcome to the Heritage Foundation. My name is Kay James and I have the honor of being the president here. It is a pleasure and honor to welcome our distinguished guest, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, back to Heritage. Yes, I said back. Some of you may remember that then-Congressman Pompeo spoke here on September 9th, 2015. His presence was appreciated, as his topic was timely. It was entitled A Pathway Forward: An Alternative to the Flawed Iran Nuclear Deal. And now we have the great pleasure of being with our friend in his new role as Secretary of State for the United States of America. Its not just a pleasure having him here; its truly an honor that he chose Heritage as the site for his first public address as Secretary. Our scholars here are dedicated to advancing individual freedom and national security, and his presence here is a wonderful affirmation of the positive impact that their work is having. And so to Secretary Pompeo, Id like to say thank you. Now, I imagine all who are in this room and watching online know a great deal about Secretary Pompeo, but please allow me to provide just a few highlights from his extraordinary career. Secretary Pompeo graduated first in his class at the United States military academy at West Point, and then served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the U.S. Armys 4th Infantry Division. After leaving active duty, he attended and graduated from Harvard Law School where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He then had a successful private sector career, founding and serving as CEO of Thayer Aerospace and then becoming president of Sentry International. Secretary Pompeos public service began when he was elected representative of Kansass 4th Congressional District, and his distinguished tenure on the Hill included service on the House Intelligence Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the House Select Benghazi Committee. Recognizing the Secretarys many talents, President Trump tapped him as director of the CIA, where he served from January 2017 to April 2018. And now, of course, he is our Secretary of State, having been sworn in just three and a half weeks ago. Last but, of course, never least, Secretary Pompeo is married to Susan Pompeo and has one son, Nick. Secretary Pompeo, on behalf of the board of trustees, the staff, and all of the friends of the Heritage Foundation, welcome back to home. (Applause.) SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, good morning, everyone. I first want to thank the Heritage Foundation and its president, Kay Coles James. Thank you for hosting me today. First as a private citizen and then as a member of Congress, and even today, the Heritage Foundation has shaped my thinking on matters of the world and public policy issues. Im grateful for that excellent work. And thanks for reminding me I cant talk about anything else but what were talking about today. (Laughter.) Three years on. But its an honor to be here. Two weeks ago, President Trump terminated the United States participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. 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 leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran. No more. No more wealth creation for Iranian kleptocrats. No more acceptance of missiles landing in Riyadh and in the Golan Heights. No more cost-free expansions of Iranian power. No more. The JCPOA put the world at risk because of its fatal flaws. And theyre worth recounting at some length today, if only for the purpose of ensuring that subsequent arrangements do not repeat them. For example, the weak sunset provisions of the JCPOA merely delayed the inevitable nuclear weapons capability of the Iranian regime. After the countdown clock ran out on the deals sunset provisions, Iran would be free for a quick sprint to the bomb, setting off a potentially catastrophic arms race in the region. Indeed, the very brevity of the delay in the Iranian nuclear program itself incentivized Middle Eastern proliferation. Moreover, as we have seen from Israels recent remarkable intelligence operation, Iran has lied for years about having had a nuclear weapons program. Iran entered into the JCPOA in bad faith. It is worth noting that even today, the regime continues to lie. Just last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif told a Sunday morning news show, We never wanted to produce a bomb. This claim this claim would be laughable if not for the willful deception behind it. Not only did the AMAD Program exist; the Iranians took great care though, as we can see now, not enough care to protect, hide, and preserve the work of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Mahabadi and his gang of nuclear scientists. The JCPOA had additional shortcomings as well. The mechanisms for inspecting and verifying Irans compliance with the deal were simply not strong enough. The deal did nothing to address Irans continuing development of ballistic and cruise missiles, which could deliver nuclear warheads. The JCPOA permitted the Iranian regime to use the money from the JCPOA to boost the economic fortunes of a struggling people, but the regimes leaders refused to do so. Instead, the government spent its newfound treasure fueling proxy wars across the Middle East and lining the pockets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hizballah, Hamas, and the Houthis. Remember: Iran advanced its march across the Middle East during the JCPOA. Qasem Soleimani has been playing with house money that has become blood money. Wealth created by the West has fueled his campaigns. 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 of the people living in the Middle East. The idea of the JCPOA as a strategic pillar of stability in the Middle East was captured perfectly by John Kerry when he said, quote, I know the Middle East that is on fire is going to be more manageable with this deal, end of quote. Query whether the Middle East is more manageable today than it was when they embarked on the JCPOA. Lebanon is an even more comfortable home for Hizballah today than it was when we embarked on the JCPOA. Hizballah is now armed to the teeth by Iran and has its sights set on Israel. Thanks to Iran, Hizballah provides the ground forces for the military expedition in Syria. The IRGC, too, has continued to pump thousands of fighters into Syria to prop up the murderous Assad regime and help make that country 71,000 square miles of kill zone. Iran perpetuates a conflict that has displaced more than 6 million Syrians inside the 6 million Syrians and caused over 5 million to seek refuge outside of its borders. These refugees include foreign fighters who have crossed into Europe and threatened terrorist attacks in those countries. In Iraq, Iran sponsored Shia militia groups and terrorists to infiltrate and undermine the Iraqi Security Forces and jeopardize Iraqs sovereignty all of this during the JCPOA. In Yemen, Irans support for the Houthi militia fuels a conflict that continues to starve the Yemeni people and hold them under the threat of terror. The IRGC has also given Houthi missiles to attack civilian targets in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates and to threaten international shipping in the Red Sea. And in Afghanistan, Irans support to the Taliban in the form of weapons and funding leads to further violence and hinders peace and stability for the Afghan people. Today, the Iranian Qods Force conducts covert assassination operations in the heart of Europe. We should remember, too, that during the JCPOA Iran continues to hold Americans hostage: Baquer Namazi, Siamak Namazi, Xiyue Wang, and Bob Levinson, who has been missing for over 11 years. I will note for the American people, you should know we are working diligently to bring each American missing wrongfully detained in Iran home. The list continues. Iran continues to be, during the JCPOA, the worlds largest sponsor of terror. It continues to serve as sanctuary for 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, for being a co-conspirator with Hizballah, Hamas, the Taliban, and al-Qaida? The United States believe you deserve better. And I have an additional point for the Iranian people to ponder. Here in the West, President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif are often held apart from the regimes unwise terrorist and malign behavior. They are treated somehow differently. The West says, Boy, if only they could control Ayatollah Khamenei and Qasem Soleimani then things would be great. 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 throughout the Middle East? Its worth the Iranian people considering, because instead of helping their own citizens, the regime continues to seek a corridor stretching from Irans borders to the shores of the Mediterranean. Iran wants this corridor to transport fighters and an advanced weapons system to Israels doorsteps. Indeed in recent months, the IRGC has flown an armed drone into Israeli airspace and launched salvos of rockets into the Golan Heights from Syria. Our steadfast ally has asserted the sovereign right of self-defense in response, a stance the United States will continue to unequivocally support. So the bet the bet that the JCPOA would increase Middle East stability was a bad one for America, for Europe, for the Middle East, and indeed for the entire world. It is clear that the JCPOA has not ended Irans nuclear ambitions, nor did it deter its quest for a regional hegemony. Irans leaders saw the deal as the starting gun for the march across the Middle East. So, the path forward. Americas commitment to the Iran strategy President Trump laid down in October remains. It will now be executed outside of the JCPOA. Well continue to work with allies to counter the regimes destabilizing activities in the region, block their financing of terror, and address Irans proliferation of missiles and other advanced weapons systems that threaten peace and stability. We will also ensure Iran has no path to a nuclear weapon not now, not ever. Following our withdrawal from the JCPOA, President Trump has asked me to achieve these goals on Iran. Well pursue those goals along several lines of effort. First, we will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness. Thanks to our colleagues at the Department of Treasury, sanctions are going back in full effect and new ones are coming. Last week we imposed sanctions on the head of Irans central bank and other entities that were funneling money to the IRGC Qods Force. They were also providing money to Hizballah and other terrorist organizations. The Iranian regime should know that this is just the beginning. 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. These will indeed end up being the strongest sanctions in history when we are complete. The regime has been fighting all over the Middle East for years. After our sanctions come in force, it will be battling to keep its economy alive. 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. Second, I will work closely with the Department of Defense and our regional allies to deter Iranian aggression. 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 Hizballah proxies operating around the world and we will crush them. Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East. And Id remind the leadership in Iran what President Trump said: If they restart their nuclear program, it will mean bigger problems bigger problems than theyd ever had before. Third, we will also advocate tirelessly for the Iranian people. The regime must improve how it treats its citizens. It must protect the human rights of every Iranian. It must cease wasting Irans wealth abroad. We ask that our international partners continue to add their voice to ours in condemning Irans treatment of its own citizens. The protests the protests of the past few months show that the Iranian people are deeply frustrated with their own governments failures. The Iranian economy is struggling as a result of bad Iranian decisions. Workers arent getting paid, strikes are a daily occurrence, and the rial is plummeting. Youth unemployment is at a staggering 25 percent. Government mismanagement of Irans natural resources has led to severe droughts and other environmental crises as well. Look, these problems are compounded by enormous corruption inside of Iran, and the Iranian people can smell it. The protests last winter showed that many are angry at the regime that keeps for itself what the regime steals from its people. And Iranians too are angry at a regime elite that commits hundreds of millions of dollars to military operations and terrorist groups abroad while the Iranian people cry out for a simple life with jobs and opportunity and with liberty. The Iranian regimes response to the protests has only exposed the countrys leadership is running scared. Thousands have been jailed arbitrarily, and at least dozens have been killed. As seen from the hijab protests, the brutal men of the regime seem to be particularly terrified by Iranian women who are demanding their rights. As human beings with inherent dignity and inalienable rights, the women of Iran deserve the same freedoms that the men of Iran possess. But this is all on top of a well-documented terror and torture that the regime has inflicted for decades on those who dissent from the regimes ideology. The Iranian regime is going to ultimately have to look itself in the mirror. The Iranian people, especially its youth, are increasingly eager for economic, political, and social change. The United States stands with those longing for a country of economic opportunity, government transparency, fairness, and greater liberty. We hope, indeed we expect, that the Iranian regime will come to its senses and support not suppress the aspirations of its own citizens. Were open to new steps with not only our allies and partners, but with Iran as well. But only if Iran is willing to make major changes. As President Trump said two weeks ago, he is ready, willing, and able to negotiate a new deal. But the deal is not the objective. Our goal is to protect the American people. Any new agreement will make sure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, and will deter the regimes malign behavior in a way that the JCPOA never could. We will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations, and we will not renegotiate the JCPOA itself. 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. So what should it be? We must begin to define what it is that we demand from Iran. First, Iran must declare to the IAEA a full account of the prior military dimensions of its nuclear program, and permanently and verifiably abandon such work in perpetuity. Second, Iran must stop enrichment and never pursue plutonium reprocessing. This includes closing its heavy water reactor. Third, Iran must also provide the IAEA with unqualified access to all sites throughout the entire country. Iran must end its proliferation of ballistic missiles and halt further launching or development of nuclear-capable missile systems. Iran must release all U.S. citizens, as well as citizens of our partners and allies, each of them detained on spurious charges. Iran must end support to Middle East terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hizballah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Iran must respect the sovereignty of the Iraqi Government and permit the disarming, demobilization, and reintegration of Shia militias. Iran must also end its military support for the Houthi militia and work towards a peaceful political settlement in Yemen. Iran must withdraw all forces under Iranian command throughout the entirety of Syria. Iran, too, must end support for the Taliban and other terrorists in Afghanistan and the region, and cease harboring senior al-Qaida leaders. Iran, too, must end the IRG Qods Forces support for terrorists and militant partners around the world. And too, Iran must end its threatening behavior against its neighbors many of whom are U.S. allies. This certainly includes its threats to destroy Israel, and its firing of missiles into Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It also includes threats to international shipping and destructive and destructive cyberattacks. That list is pretty long, 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 behavior of Iran. We didnt create the list, they did. From my conversations with European friends, I know that they broadly share these same views of what the Iranian regime must do to gain acceptance in the international community. I ask that Americas allies join us in calling for the Iranian Government to act more responsibly. In exchange for major changes in Iran, the United States is prepared to take actions which will benefit the Iranian people. These areas of action include a number of things. First, once this is achieved, were prepared to end the principal components of every one of our sanctions against the regime. Were happy at that point to re-establish full diplomatic and commercial relationships with Iran. And were prepared to admit[i] Iran to have advanced technology. If Iran makes this fundamental strategic shift, we, too, are prepared to support the modernization and reintegration of the Iranian economy into the international economic system. But relief from our efforts will come only when we see tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehrans policies. We acknowledge Irans right to defend its people. But not its actions which jeopardize worlds citizens. Also, in contrast to the previous administration, we want to include Congress as a partner in this process. We want our efforts to have broad support with the American people and endure beyond the Trump Administration. 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. In the strategy we laid out today, we want the support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe. Certainly our European friends, but much more than that. 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. I know that those countries share the same goals. They understand the challenge the same way that America does. Indeed, we welcome any nation which is sick and tired of the nuclear threats, the terrorism, the missile proliferation, and the brutality of a regime which is at odds with world peace, a country that continues to inflict chaos on innocent people. Indeed, while to some the changes in Iranian behavior we seek may seem unrealistic, we should recall that what we are pursuing was the global consensus before the JCPOA. For example, in 2012, President Obama said, quote, The deal well accept is [that] they end their nuclear program, end of quote. That didnt happen. In 2006, the P5 voted at the Security Council for Iran to immediately suspend all enrichment activities. That didnt happen. In 2013, the French foreign minister said he was wary of being sucked into a, quote, con game, end of quote, over allowing Iran to continue uranium enrichment. In 2015, John Kerry said, quote, We dont recognize the right to enrich, end of quote. Yet the Iranians are enriching even as we sit here today. So were not asking anything other than that Iranian behavior be consistent with global norms, global norms widely recognized before the JCPOA. And we want to eliminate their capacity to threaten our world with those nuclear activities. With respect to its nuclear activities, why would we allow Iran more capability than we have permitted the United Arab Emirates and that were asking for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? We understand that our reimposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends. Indeed, it imposes economic challenges to America as well. These are markets our businesses would love to sell into as well. And we want to hear their concerns. But we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account. Over the coming weeks, we will send teams of specialists to countries around the world to further explain administration policy, to discuss the implications of sanctions we imposition, and to listen. I know. Ive spent a great deal of time with our allies in my first three weeks. I know that they may decide to try and keep their old nuclear deal going with Tehran. That is certainly their decision to make. They know where we stand. Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Republic Revolution in Iran. At this milestone, we have to ask: What has the Iranian Revolution given to the Iranian people? The regime reaps a harvest of suffering and death in the Middle East at the expense of its own citizens. Irans economy is stagnant and without direction and about to get worse. Its young people are withering under the weight of frustrated ambitions. They are longing to pursue the freedoms and opportunities of the 21st century. Irans leaders can change all of this if they choose to do so. Ali Khamenei has been supreme leader since 1989. He will not live forever, nor will the Iranian people abide the rigid rules of tyrants forever. For two generations, the Iranian regime has exacted a heavy toll on its own people and the world. The hard grip of repression is all that millions of Iranians have ever known. Now is the time for the supreme leader and the Iranian regime to summon the courage to do something historically beneficial for its own people, for this ancient and proud nation. As for the United States, our eyes are clear as to the nature of this regime, but our ears are open to what may be possible. Unlike the previous administration, we are looking for outcomes that benefit the Iranian people, not just the regime. If anyone, especially the leaders of Iran, doubts the Presidents sincerity or his vision, let them look at our diplomacy with North Korea. Our willingness to meet with Kim Jong-un underscores the Trump administrations commitment to diplomacy to help solve the greatest challenges, even with our staunchest adversaries. But that willingness, that willingness has been accompanied by a painful pressure campaign that reflects our commitment to resolve this challenge forever. To the ayatollah, to President Rouhani, and to other Iranian leaders: understand that your current activities will be met with steely resolve. My final message today is, in fact, to the Iranian people. I want to repeat President Trumps words from October. President Trump said that, We stand in total solidarity with the Iranian regimes longest-suffering victims: its own people. The citizens of Iran have paid a heavy price for the violence and extremism of their leaders. The Iranian people long to reclaim their countrys proud history, its culture, its civilization, and its cooperation with its neighbors. It is Americas hope that our labors toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran. We long to see them prosper and flourish as in past decades and, indeed, as never before. Today, the United States of America is proud to take a new course towards that objective. Thank you. (Applause.) MS JAMES: Thank you so very much. Bold, concise, unambiguous. We appreciate you taking this forum here at the Heritage Foundation to deliver that message. Looking at and you listed during your speech several of our allies and friends and partners, many of whom are angry, some disappointed. How are you going to bring them on board? How are you going to use your best diplomatic skills to bring them along with us? SECRETARY POMPEO: These strategic changes in the world come together when countries decide on an objective that is shared, and that always begins with a shared interest and values. I spent the first couple of weeks of my time as Secretary of State working to try to see if there wasnt a way to fix the deal. I spoke with my European counterparts. I traveled there. In my 13th hour as Secretary of State I was on the ground in Brussels speaking with my European counterparts. We couldnt get it done. We couldnt reach agreement there. The United States intends to work hard at the diplomatic piece of working alongside all of our partners. We focus on the Europeans, but there are scores of countries around the world who share our concerns and are equally threatened by the Iranian regime. Its that shared interest, its the value set which will ultimately drive, I believe, a global response to this to the worlds largest state sponsor of terror. Im convinced it can take place. My team is going to work diligently to do that. Were going to do so in the context of trying to address the concerns of all of our partners, and I am convinced that over a period of time there will be a broad recognition that the strategy that President Trump has laid out is the right one that will put Iran in a place where it will one day rejoin civilization in the way that we all hope that it will. MS JAMES: Its clear through your comments this morning that you truly want tough sanctions. And I think that there is some remaining concern about how are you going to deal with the nuclear concerns. Can you speak to that for just a bit? And let me say to our audience, by the way, that I wish we had more time with the Secretary this morning, and there will be an abrupt and a hard stop because we have to get him out to the CIA and for the swearing-in ceremony, and we dont want you late for that. So talk to us about -- SECRETARY POMPEO: I got to go back one more time. MS JAMES: One more time. (Laughter.) SECRETARY POMPEO: Look, the nuclear file is imperative. It presents the largest, most severe threat for sure. The JCPOA fell short. It was a delay. Our aim is to get that permanently fixed. I mentioned quickly, right, we ask our other Middle Eastern partners to do hard things. We put a 123 agreement in front of them and say, This is what you have to do. And they say, Hey, the Iranians enrich. Thats reasonable. That seems to me a reasonable point. Well, our demands on Iran arent unreasonable. Give up your program. End it. Should they choose to go back, should they begin to enrich, were fully prepared to respond to that as well. Im certainly not going to share with you today precisely what our response will be. But we watch them talk. Weve heard them say I hope that theyll make a different decision, that theyll choose a different path. We welcome them taking a path that other nations in the region are beginning to take as well. MS JAMES: Well, can you explain for us the sanctions structure and how you intend to target the Iranian regime without hurting our European friends? SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, any time sanctions are put in place, countries have to give up economic activity. So the Americans have given up economic activity now for an awfully long time, and Ill concede there are American companies who would love to do business with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Theres a huge market there. Its a big, vibrant, wonderful peoples. But everyone is going to have to participate in this. Every country is going to have to understand that we cannot continue to create wealth for Qasem Soleimani. Right, thats what this is. At the end of the day, this money has flowed to him. The economics have permitted them to run roughshod across the Middle East. Our effort is to strangle his economic capacity to do harm to the Middle East and to the world. Nuclear programs arent cheap. To the extent we are effective at making it more difficult on the Iranian regime, we will reduce their capacity to continue to build out their nuclear weapon system as well. MS JAMES: Youve laid out a very, very bold plan this morning. Do you have a timeframe for getting all this done? SECRETARY POMPEO: So the sanctions are back in place and are winding down over the next 100 and what, 55 days? There are theres lots more work in place. It is a effort across all of government. We are working certainly diplomatically in the lead, but Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, each of us has the same mission from President Trump. I cant put a timeline on it. But 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. MS JAMES: Well, Mr. Secretary, again, on behalf of the Heritage Foundation and the scholars here who have been working on these issues for a very long time, we want to thank you. Again, it was a bold vision clear, concise, unambiguous and we want to congratulate you and the President, and we wish you Godspeed. I am going to ask you to remain seated while the Secretary exits. I have about eight more questions here, but -- SECRETARY POMPEO: For another day. MS JAMES: For another day. SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you all very much for being here. MS JAMES: Thank you so much. Imperial Valley News Center Energy Department Announces Nearly $13 Million in Small Business Research and Development for EERE Washington, DC - As part of Mondays $34 million announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary, Rick Perry, for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research and development projects, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) will fund 87 new projects across 34 states, totaling nearly $13 million in funding. DOE technology offices award Phase I grants to small businesses that demonstrate technical feasibility for innovations during the first phase of their research. Most Phase I awards are for $150,000 for less than one year. If completed successfully, Phase I projects are eligible for Phase II. Phase II funding awards provide up to $1 million or up to $1.5 million, depending on the technology, and an award known as a sequential Phase II award can provide up to an additional $1 million. Nine EERE technology offices are funding 10 Phase I topic areas (Advanced Manufacturing I & II, Bioenergy, Buildings, Fuel Cells, Geothermal. Solar, Vehicles, Water, and Wind) across 29 subtopics. Some examples of EERE-funded projects include the following: Christian Schafmeister of Merion Station PA, will develop software and a Molecular Lego for designing large molecules that sense, assemble, and purify other molecules with many applications, including new medicines. (Advanced Manufacturing Office) Bio-Missions LLC of Reynoldsburg, OH, will use engineered clostridia to produce butanol from cellulosic biomass and carbon dioxide. (Bioenergy Technologies Office) Inventwood, LLC, of Hyattsville, MD, will work to develop a structural thermal insulation material out of wood. (Building Technologies Office) TDA Research Inc. of Wheat Ridge, CO, will develop a smart hydrogen tank design that uses active cooling of the hot gas (reduction of 20C or more) during fast refueling. (Fuel Cell Technologies Office) Porifera Inc. of San Leandro CA is working to on a more energy efficient process to concentrate brines and wastewater generated by geothermal power production using geothermal heat to reach higher concentrations and treat problematic waste water. (Geothermal Technologies Office) InnoSys of Salt Lake City, UT, will conduct R&D on de-energizing photovoltaic systems that supports technology transfer of NREL intellectual property. (Solar Energy Technologies) Navitas of Ann Arbor, MI will develop higher energy lithium ion batteries with a lower cost and size for electric vehicles and consumer electronics. (Vehicle Technologies Office) Polnox Corporation of Lowell, MA, will develop environmentally friendly hydraulic fluids and lubricant formulations for turbine and hydraulic systems in hydropower stations. (Water Power Technologies Office) Aquanis, Inc. of East Greenwich, RI, will develop a wind turbine blade surface coating to reduce damage due to lightning. (Wind Energy Technologies Office) For a full list of EERE-funded projects, view the EERE SBIR-STTR Project Spreadsheet. EERE-specific SBIR information is available on the EERE website. Small businesses play a major role in spurring innovation and creating jobs in the U.S. economy. Congress created the SBIR and STTR programs to leverage small businesses to advance innovation at federal agencies. DOE developed Technology Transfer Opportunity subtopics as a way for small businesses to partner with national laboratories on research and development needed to speed commercialization of national laboratory inventions. President Trump at Swearing-In Ceremony of Gina Haspel as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Washington, DC - President Trump at Swearing-In Ceremony of Gina Haspel as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. And good morning. I want to thank all of you and our distinguished guests for joining us today for a ceremony like few will ever have again this is a very special one including Vice President Pence, Secretary Pompeo, Secretary Mnuchin, Secretary Chao, Secretary Perry, Secretary Nielsen, Director Coats, and my nominee for the VA Secretary, who will do a fantastic job, Robert Wilkie. Thank you very much. I want to give a special thank-you for being here to Chairman and Senator Richard Burr. Thank you very much, Richard. And a very courageous man hes courageous Congressman Devin Nunes. Thank you very much, Devin, for being here. Appreciate it. Most especially, I want to thank you, the dedicated men and women of the Central Intelligence Agency. It is a true honor to stand here today before the most elite intelligence professionals on the planet Earth. Nobody even close. 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. Thank you very much. Were here today for the swearing-in of a very special person, your new CIA Director, someone who has served this agency with extraordinary skill and devotion for 30 years Gina Haspel. Gina, congratulations. There is no one in this country better qualified for this extraordinary office than you. By the way, if you dont agree with that, please let me know now before its too late, okay? (Laughter.) Immediately. Have to do it quickly. You live in the CIA, you live the CIA, you breathe the CIA. And now you will lead the CIA. Congratulations. (Applause.) Okay, that mean were keeping her, right? (Laughter.) That was thats what we were waiting for. They love you. They respect you. They respect you, too. A native of Ashland, Kentucky, Ginas father served in the U.S. Air Force. She spent much of her childhood overseas. From a young age, she was instilled with a deep love of our country, which, combined with a thirst for adventure that led her to the CIA. Throughout her storied career at this agency, Gina has truly done it all. Shes completed seven field tours, served as a case officer, recruited assets, run stations, captured terrorists, and disrupted networks that proliferate deadly weapons. They send those weapons all over, and you catch them. Youre going to get even better now better than ever before. Youre the best. Youre going to be better than ever before, and were getting you the resources to do it. Our enemies will take note: Gina is tough. She is strong. And when it comes to defending America, Gina will never, ever back down. I know her. I spent a lot of time with Gina. Gina played a crucial role in our fight against al Qaeda. Her first day in the job at the CIAs Counterterrorism Center was September 11th, 2001. And she tirelessly hunted terrorists for the next three years. She went on to become Deputy Director of the National Clandestine Service, and most recently Deputy Director of the CIA. During her decades of distinguished service, Gina has earned the George H.W. Bush Award for Excellence in Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Medal of Merit. Most importantly, she has earned the universal respect, admiration, and trust of her colleagues here at the CIA, throughout the government, and all over the world. Gina is truly respected. And today we also mark another proud milestone, as Gina becomes the first woman ever to lead the CIA. (Applause.) Thats big. Thats big. Thats big. Now Gina will lead this agency into its next great chapter. Gina assumes the role of Director at a crucial moment in our history. We are reasserting American strength and American confidence. And, by the way, America is respected again. You see that. Instead of apologizing for our nation, we are standing up for our nation, and we are standing up for the men and women who protect our nation. We will be counting on you to confront a wide array of threats we face, and to help usher in a new era of prosperity and of peace. Since the CIAs founding more than 70 years ago, its courageous operatives have combined ancient craft with modern marvels to achieve unsung victories in every corner of the globe. I see what you do, I understand what you do. And its incredible. Marked on the hallowed walls of this building are the stars honoring the CIAs fallen heroes who gave their last breath for our nation. Though many of their names remain secret, their stories of service and sacrifice and daring will live for all time. Today, we think of them and we honor them by pledging that the patriots of the CIA will have the tools, the resources, and the support they need to accomplish their incredible, complicated, and oftentimes very dangerous mission. The exceptional men and women of this agency deserve exceptional leadership. And in Gina Haspel, that is exactly what youre getting. Director Haspel, congratulations again. I know that you will thrive as the Agencys Director and help keep our nation safe, and strong, and proud, and free. Good luck. God bless you. And God bless the men and women of the CIA. And God bless America. And I just want to thank everybody in this room for doing such an incredible job, and for giving Gina that unbelievable support that she needed. It took courage for her to say yes in the face of a lot of very negative politics and what was supposed to be a negative vote. But Ill tell you, when you testified before the committee, it was over. There was not much they could say. There was nobody more qualified than you. And you are going to do a fantastic job, Gina. Thank you very much. Thank you, Gina. (Applause.) So with that, Id like to ask our great Vice President to administer the oath of office. Thank you all very much. Thank you. (Applause.) The Oath of Office is administered.) THE VICE PRESIDENT: Congratulations. (Applause.) DIRECTOR HASPEL: Good morning, everyone. And thank you, Mr. Vice President, for administering the Oath. Let me begin by thanking President Trump for joining us today and for offering those kind words. Mr. President, it means a great deal to me and to the agency that you made time to come out to Langley for this ceremony. THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.) DIRECTOR HASPEL: You have placed enormous trust in CIA throughout your presidency. And the men and women of CIA do not take that for granted. So thank you, Mr. President, for your confidence in me and your steadfast support of our mission and our people. I am truly honored to have this opportunity to lead the best workforce in government. 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. (Laughter.) I look out in the crowd today and I see a strong representation of the CIAs past, present, and possibly even the future. I am looking at two young ladies, special guests, who join us today. CIA has been more than a career. It has been, for me like many of you a calling. In this building and around the world today, there are officers carrying out a vital mission, sometimes at great personal risk. I want each of you to know that I took on the position of director because I want to represent you, as well as lead you. My years at CIA have rewarded me in ways that I could never have imagined, and I will continue to give it and you my all. There are countless role models and mentors who have paved the way for me to stand here today. As the Director, I want the current CIA leadership team to be role models and mentors for our next generation of officers who will walk the streets of far-flung capitals and work the late nights here at headquarters and abroad. For me, being Director is about doing right by all of you so that you have the tools and support needed to carry out our sacred mission. Every CIA officer has taken the same oath that I just did to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies. And today I recommit that I will do everything in my power to justify the faith that President Trump and the American people have placed in us, and to make sure that CIA continues to provide the intelligence needed to keep our country safe. I would be remiss if I did not also note the tremendous pride I take in being the first woman to serve as Director. I would not be standing before you today if not for the remarkable courage and dedication displayed by generations of OSS and Agency women in roles both large and small, who challenged stereotypes, broke down barriers, and opened doors for the rest of us. I am deeply indebted to them, and Im extremely proud to follow in their footsteps and to carry on their extraordinary legacy. I stand on the shoulders of heroines who never sought public acclaim but served as inspirations to the generations that came after them. I also want express a special thank-you and welcome to Eliza and Zoe, who have joined us today. The notes from these two young ladies, ages six and seven, sent to me sat on my desk these last two months and motivated me daily. In their own words and pictures, they expressed their excitement about the opportunity my nomination represented. And to Eliza and Zoe, I would simply say, we did it. (Applause.) Lastly, allow me just a moment to talk about the future of this agency. A little over a year ago, Secretary Pompeo first spoke to me about becoming the Deputy Director. At that time, he said, CIA is the worlds preeminent intelligence service, and I want to make sure we position it to stay that way. Mike was right; we are the best. And our challenge is to always be the best. We cannot rest on our laurels. We must learn from the past, but we cannot dwell in the past. We must constantly learn, adjust, improve, and strive to be better. We demanded of ourselves, and America deserves nothing less. That includes boosting our foreign language proficiency, strengthening our partnerships overseas and here at home, and deploying more of our officers to the foreign field. We are a foreign intelligence service, and our workforce and our priorities need to reflect that. We also need greater focus and effort on the strategic threats our nation faces, as well as the persistent threat from global terrorism. As always, the key to our success against these challenges will be empowering the incredible talent that resides within CIA. The men and women who serve here are a national treasure from the operations officers who collect our intelligence, to the analysts who contextualize and evaluate it for senior policy makers, to the support officers who enable every aspect of our mission, to the scientists, engineers, and cyber specialists who give us a decisive edge over our adversaries. The only way to confront these threats is to forge ahead with determination and with the same expeditionary spirit that has defined our agency since its founding more than 70 years ago. I am profoundly honored to lead you in that fight and to work alongside each one of you as we advance our vital mission. So, Mr. President, thank you again for giving me the opportunity to serve, to represent the men and women of CIA, and to carry out the critical work of helping protect our country, our people, and our way of life. Thank you very much. An Unfair, Unfree Vote in Venezuela Washington, DC - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: "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 Venezuelas tradition of democracy. Until the Maduro regime restores a democratic path in Venezuela through free, fair, and transparent elections, the government faces isolation from the international community. "Sundays process was choreographed by a regime too unpopular and afraid of its own people to risk free elections and open competition. It stacked the Venezuelan courts and National Electoral Council with biased members aligned with the regime. It silenced dissenting voices. It banned major opposition parties and leaders from participating. As of May 14, more than 338 political prisoners remained jailed, more than in all other countries in the hemisphere combined. The regime stifled the free press. State sources dominated media coverage, unfairly favoring the incumbent. Most contemptible of all, the regime selectively parceled out food to manipulate the votes of hungry Venezuelans. "The Maduro regime fails to defend the Venezuelan peoples right to democracy as reflected in the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The United States stands with democratic nations in support of the Venezuelan people and will take swift economic and diplomatic actions to support the restoration of their democracy." Deputy Secretary John J. Sullivan's Meeting With Saudi Foreign Minister al-Jubeir Washington, DC - Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met Monday with Saudi Foreign Minister al-Jubeir at the G-20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Deputy Secretary noted the strong U.S.-Saudi bilateral relationship and reiterated our commitment to strengthen our ties further. Deputy Secretary Sullivan thanked Foreign Minister al-Jubeir for his governments support for the Presidents decision to withdraw from the JCPOA and Saudi Arabias commitment to address the full array of threats posed by Iran. The two leaders covered a broad range of regional and bilateral issues. On Yemen, the two discussed how best to support the UN-led political process, as well as efforts to improve the dire economic and humanitarian situation. Deputy Secretary Sullivan emphasized the United States desire to resolve the Gulf dispute and his hope that all parties will engage constructively ahead of the U.S.GCC Summit later this year. Secretary Pompeo's Meeting With Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias Washington, DC - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met today with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias at the Department of State. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Kotzias discussed the excellent state of bilateral relations and agreed to establish a U.S.-Greek Strategic Dialogue on key areas of cooperation. The Secretary commended Greece for its leadership role in the region, including efforts to address challenges in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean. The Secretary also offered continued support for Greeces economic recovery and underscored the importance the United States places on its role as the honored country at the 2018 Thessaloniki International Fair. The two agreed to remain in close communication on these and other bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest, and to work closely together in coming days to ensure stability of the Eastern Mediterranean. Deputy Secretary Sullivan's Meeting With South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu Washington, DC - Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met today with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu on the margins of the G20 Ministerial in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Deputy Secretary welcomed President Ramaphosas new government and his commitment to transparency, and expressed optimism that an improved business environment would open doors to prosperity for both countries. He encouraged a closer South African alignment with U.S. priorities, such as working together on global security and keeping the pressure on North Korea to work towards a de-nuclearized Korean Peninsula. Deputy Secretary Sullivan and Minister Sisulu discussed the importance of our bilateral trade relationship and pledged to continue high-level contacts between our governments. Assistant Secretary Kevin E. Moley Travel to Geneva Washington, DC - Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Kevin E. Moley will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, May 22-25 as part of the U.S. delegation to the 71st World Health Assembly. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex M. Azar II will lead the delegation, which will engage with counterparts on a host of priorities, including global health preparedness, support for maternal, child health and life issues; and the endgame for global polio eradication. While in Geneva, Assistant Secretary Moley will also meet with leadership of several international organizations, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Office at Geneva, and the International Telecommunication Union. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's Meeting With Polish Foreign Minister Czaputowicz Washington, DC - Secretary Michael Pompeo met with Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz on May 21 in Washington. During the meeting, Secretary Pompeo congratulated Foreign Minister Czaputowicz on the centennial of Polands restored independence and thanked Poland for its leadership as a member of the UN Security Council. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Czaputowicz also discussed other issues in the strong U.S.-Poland strategic partnership, including regional security, energy diversification, and economic prosperity. There's a report out this morning that says staffers write a lot of President Trump's tweets, but that they try hard to mimic his voice. This includes creative grammar and unusual capitalization--but not intentional misspellings. Twitter is now the primary way the president communicates with the American people. He's really, really good at it: 38,000 tweets, 52 million followers, and the ability to move markets with a single word. Yet, it's still surprising how many "elites," for lack of a better term, have no understanding of what Trump is doing on Twitter. Regardless of how you feel about Trump, you should really take a look at how he communicates on social media--and be open enough to learn. Below, we'll look at the strategy behind Trump's Twitter feed. Then, we'll examine four specific tactics he uses to build rapport with his staunchest supporters. 1. The authenticity factor. Love him or hate him, Trump comes through as a person who says exactly what he thinks, when he's thinking of it. This apparently leads his staff to do their best imitation of Trump in order to create a feeling of authenticity, when he's really not authentically behind the tweets. Ironic! 2. The immediacy factor. During Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, an utterly absurd total of 22 people reportedly had to sign off on the language of any single tweet. Not so much with Trump, who creates a sense that you're getting extreme immediacy, almost intimacy, from the leader of the free world. Smart! 3. The "setting traps" factor. If you take nothing else away from this analysis, remember this: Every time Trump misspells a word, or capitalizes the wrong one, or mangles some grammar rule, he's laying a trap--a trap for the "elites" (loosely defined) who are most likely to mock and correct him. As soon as they do that, anyone who calls Trump out quickly for these pedantic rules looks petty, and builds walls between themselves and the majority of Americans who Just. Don't. Care. Tricky! Before we move on, think of some of the common strategies Trump doesn't use. He doesn't offer apologies or olive branches, except when he believes adversaries have already acquiesced to whatever he wants them to do. He doesn't try to entertain or make people laugh. Instead, he tweets as if he's saying exactly what he thinks, and doing it in a way that positions his opponents as opposing not just him but also his supporters. So let's look at the tactics. Unlike his strategic aims, these might not amount to replicable lessons for you. However, they provide great examples of how many of the things he does in tweets--even the seeming mistakes--are done in furtherance of strategic objectives. 1. Trumpian emphasis. Trump throws out the traditional rules of grammar by emphasizing words in highly unusual ways: especially by capitalizing words that wouldn't normally be capitalized, or dropping in interjections like his classic "Sad!" Take a look at this much discussed example from over the weekend, where "Political Purposes" is capitalized. 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 2. Scheduling. A majority of Trump's tweets go up in the early morning, when he's reportedly watching cable news. Whether by design or as a result of his TV viewing habits, this means people know when to check Twitter to see what he's said today. It also means his early morning tweets can drive the entire day's worth of news coverage out of Washington. 3. Simple language. No matter what you think of President Trump, I guarantee you have never had to look up any of the words he uses in his tweets. (Fun fact: In my initial draft of this article, I headlined this item, "Simplicity of Language." That would have been very un-Trump.) 4. Branding. It's never "The New York Times." It's 'The Failing New York Times.' For that matter, it was never just Hillary Clinton, but "Crooked Hillary Clinton," or "Lyin' Ted Cruz," or "Cryin' Chuck Schumer." Of all politicians in history, Trump has understood the value of branding -- licensing the Trump brand is responsible for a big chunk of his fortune. 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! -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018 Were these tactics part of some thought-out communications plan? Were they just a function of how Trump naturally talks? Regardless, it seems clear that having realized they work for him, he's doubled and tripled down on them. Score one for employers. In a 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court on Monday moved to continue to allow companies to require employees to settle disputes through individual arbitration. This effectively prevents employees from banding together and engaging in a class-action lawsuit against an employer. By some estimates, the decision could affect about 25 million workers and could make it harder for employees to press complaints like sexual harassment and discrimination. While the court's conservative majority argued that using arbitration avoided time-consuming and expensive litigation, left-leaning advocates told The Washington Post it could be harmful for workers. "Employees may now be forced behind closed doors into an individual, costly--and often secret--arbitration process," Fatima Goss Graves, president and chief executive of the National Women's Law Center, told the Post. "This will stack the deck in favor of the employer." However, Gregory F. Jacob, a lawyer with O'Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C., told The New York Times that the ruling would have a limited impact since many employers already use arbitration clauses. "It does protect employers' settled expectations and avoids placing our nation's job providers under the threat of additional burdensome litigation drain," Jacob told the Times. The decision is considered the most important business case of the term and is largely supported by the business community. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote for the conservative majority and was joined by chief justice John G. Roberts Jr. and justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel A. Alito Jr. "Let me just get this out of the way: No, I'm not over it," Clinton told Yale students at the college's annual Class Day ceremony on Sunday. Students traditionally wear outlandish headgear to Class Day festivities, and Clinton began her half-hour speech by pulling out her own special hat: a traditional Russian hat, meant to be a shot at her former adversary, Donald Trump. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," Clinton told the students. But she didn't just troll the president without ever calling him out by name, she also showed humility and made light of her own mistakes. "If you thought my emails were scandalous, you should hear my singing voice," she said, making a reference to a presumably non-existent audition tape for one of Yale's famed vocal groups. Clinton received her law degree from Yale in the 1970s. But Clinton went further than just using a little self-deprecation. She continued by saying that while she still regrets the mistakes made during her most recent presidential campaign, she also sees a silver lining: "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." There's a lot going on in this statement: while owning her missteps, she simultaneously implicates her opponent as a threat to the republic. The speech, overall, is notably better than most she made while campaigning. Clinton, to these ears and eyes, tends to lose her edge when the stakes are higher. But the real lesson she has for us comes in her prescription for the current "full-fledged crisis in our democracy," as she puts it. "I believe healing our country is going to take what I call radical empathy," Clinton tells the students. She explains that this process must involve reaching across divides of race, class and politics to "return to rational debates... and disagree without being disagreeable." It may seem like Clinton is trying to have it both ways here, by first trolling Trump, implicating him as a threat to democracy, then turning around and advising empathy. But reading between the lines, it's clear that Clinton has little interest in encouraging the electorate to empathize with its current commander in chief. She sees him instead as a target worthy of trolling with a topper. Rather, it's Trump's supporters she wants to reach with surgical strikes of sympathy. The same supporters she once referred to as a "basket of deplorables." She's still playing politics here; condemning her one-time opponent while appealing to voters, including those who once condemned her. But it's rhetoric with a high level of emotional intelligence. How does all this amount to advice for the graduates she's addressing? Simple. Clinton implores the students to value resilience, warning them that they will make mistakes and fail, no matter how qualified they may be for a job. It's become an annual tradition. For the past several years, in mid-May, billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has offered up a summer reading list, sharing it publicly on his Gates Notes blog. Gates paired this year's list with a video featuring cute puppies cavorting with his chosen titles. One dons an Abe Lincoln-style stovepipe hat for a book about Honest Abe, and another rides on a hospital gurney wearing a protective neck collar for a book about a divinity professor coping with her Stage IV colon cancer. Gates has chosen books that can be enjoyed by readers of all professions -- you don't have to be a software genius or company founder to appreciate any of them. But in the extended summaries of each work, he's quick to point out how each book speaks to him, and many offer lessons that are especially pertinent to entrepreneurs and businesspeople. Here's this year's summer reading list. Top takeaway: Follow your sense of wonder, but don't go overboard. Gates has a special fondness for the brilliant inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci -- in 1994, he paid $30 million for one of Leonardo's scientific notebooks, now known again as the Codex Leicester. (Gates declined the chance to rename the notebook after himself, noting "I thought (Codex Gates) sounded silly.") Gates singles out Isaacson's biography of the Renaissance legend for breaking down just exactly how special he was. "The attribute that stands out above all else was (Leonardo's) sense of wonder and curiosity," Gates explains. "When he wanted to understand something--whether it was the flow of blood through the heart or the shape of a woodpecker's tongue--he would observe it closely, scribble down his thoughts, and then try to figure it all out." But this intense focus could also go too far: The book explains that in the process of creating a statue involving a horse, Leonard learned so much about horses that he ended up creating new systems for feeding them as well as designing cleaner stables. Probably great ideas, but the statue was never completed. 2. Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved, by Kate Bowler Top takeaway: Don't get stuck on finding a reason -- bad things do happen to good people. Divinity professor Kate Bowler was just 35, married and mom to a young son, when she was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. Before her diagnosis, Bowler had written a book about the prosperity gospel, which Gates describes as "the idea popular among some Christians that God rewards the faithful with health and wealth." While she herself wasn't sold on that idea completely, her diagnosis shook it out of her head for good. In addition to having to pursue the day-to-day treatment options that could help her survive to raise her son longer, Bowler had to grapple with some big questions, namely, Why me? Is this a test of my character? Gates notes that Bowler "answers the 'why' question in a compelling way: by refusing to accept the premise." And he gets unexpectedly personal, discussing his own family life with a blunt and painful story. "All four of my grandparents were deeply devout members of a Christian sect who believed that if you got sick, it must be because you did something to deserve it," he writes. "When one of my grandfathers became seriously ill, he struggled to figure out what he might have done wrong. He couldn't think of anything, so he blamed his wife. He died thinking she had caused his illness by committing some unknown sin." Even if tragedy hasn't touched you, Bowler discusses how those trying to support someone who may be dealing with a diagnosis should veer away from judgemental and painful statements, and includes a list of six better ways to support them. "If I could pick one thing, it would be that everyone simmers down on the explanations for other people's suffering, and just steps in with love," Bowler said in a TV interview. 3. Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders Top takeaway: Look carefully at the human consequences of decisions. Think you know everything about Abraham Lincoln? The stovepipe hat, the log cabin, Ford's Theatre, the Gettysburg Address? Think again. The only novel on Gates' list, Lincoln in the Bardo, will shake up what you thought you knew. The novel takes place over the course of one, long, sad night during which Abraham Lincoln visits the grave of his late son Willie, who died at just 11 of typhoid fever in 1862. Willie and his father were real, of course, but the events in the book are Saunders' fictional take on what the grieving president might have felt and said on a visit to Willie's tomb. More than 160 ghosts flit in, trying to convince Willie to leave the bardo, an intermediate space between life and rebirth. "Despite being a work of fiction, it offered fresh insight that made me rethink parts of (Lincoln's) life," Gates writes. And it also made the Microsoft co-founder think heavily on the consequences of decisions. "The president has a new understanding of the grief he's creating in other families by sending their sons off to die in battle," Gates writes. "He must make a choice. Should the war go on? If it does, how can we ensure the end result justifies the cost of such suffering?" 4. Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian Top takeaway: Our world is interconnected, and it's not too late to learn about it. Gates and scholar David Christian, the author of Origin Story, work together on The Big History Project. It's a program aimed at encouraging schools to use a social-studies curriculum known as Big History, and "big" is a good word for it. The course starts with the Big Bang and winds through more than 13 billion years of world history, integrating multiple perspectives in everything from chemistry to anthropology, all based on modern science. "Origin Story is essentially the Big History course condensed into a short book," Gates writes. The course, and the book, divide that 13 billion years into eight "thresholds," or moments in time that mark major transition points, such as the first appearance of humans. The course is taught in a slowly growing number of schools, and adults can join in with an online, self-guided, six-hour version. Or pick up the book, which Gates says contains "some things that are simply too new to be included in the course." 5. Factfulness, by Hans Rosling, with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund Top takeaway: Don't panic! At least not until you've broken down why you're scared. As part of Gates' work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he uses the terms "developed" and "developing" world frequently. But Factfulness, by the late Swedish global-health lecturer Hans Rosling, has taught the billionaire those terms aren't quite accurate. One cannot simply divide the world into rich and poor, Rosling's book teaches. He compares it to looking down at other buildings from a skyscraper -- everything looks short from your height. To more clearly understand poverty and how to think about it in a helpful way, Rosling divides the world's population into four income groups. One billion people live at level one, sleeping on dirt and spending much of their days walking barefoot to get water. At the other end, a wealthier billion people own cars and can afford to take vacations. Understanding that framework can put poverty -- and the progress made to fight it -- in perspective. The book is mostly devoted to explaining 10 instincts that help keep us from seeing the world "factfully." Scaremongering headlines can frighten unnecessarily, but breaking down the innate biases that lead us to overreact can lend us a well-needed perspective. "These instincts make us human," Gates writes, noting that "overcoming them isn't easy." But he notes that Rosling refused to judge others for their misconceptions, wanting only to teach. One day in 1978, Intel CEO and co-founder Andy Grove took a call from an executive at Silicon Valley pioneer Varian Associates. Ram Charan, the veteran CEO adviser, was sitting in Grove's office, and Grove let him listen in. "The guy said, 'Andy. You are aggressive. You are bright. You have new ideas,'" Charan recalls. "'I will take a pay cut to come work for you.'" It's the dream of all CEOs. Top talent comes banging on your door, wanting in. Maybe they salivate over your crazy perks or your cutting-edge tech; maybe they just want your company's blue-chip name on their resumes. Or, if you are a particularly compelling leader, maybe they want to work for you. CEOs know how to get and keep talent. The good ones offer competitive salaries and benefits, a clear career path, development and training, feedback, appreciation, challenging work, and a collegial environment. But there also are leaders whose personal qualities--courage, commitment, brilliance, integrity--make them beacons for talent in their own rights. These individuals embody a promise to recruits. The companies they shape fulfill that promise, keeping great people onboard. Leaders must be able to do one of two things: excite people or develop people, says Rob Goffee, emeritus professor of organizational behavior at London Business School. "The superstars do both." Of course no leader succeeds without a stellar team. Virgin is more than Richard Branson, SpaceX more than Elon Musk. And individuals matter less the larger organizations grow, Goffee points out. In Silicon Valley, Gen-Y and Gen-Z employees increasingly base their decisions about where to work on CTOs rather than CEOs. They follow the lower-level executives they admire out the door. Still, in the evolution of great businesses, the top leader typically comes first. Entrepreneurs developing their own leadership approaches with hiring and retention in mind can take inspiration from these three talent magnets. 1. The mission obsessive. When Ken Frazier assumed the CEO role at Merck in 2011, he wasn't the obvious guy to make researchers' hearts go pitter-pat. For one thing, he was a lawyer leading scientists. But Frazier "talks all the time about Merck's science and its role saving people's lives," says Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic and a professor at Harvard Business School. At his first analysts' meeting, Frazier gave employees hope and Wall Street conniptions when he refused to slash R&D to meet projections--the opposite tack from Pfizer. He once said in an interview that he spends lots of time in the lab and takes big risks, such as charging ahead on treatments for Alzheimer's, because "Isn't that exactly what the world wants a company like Merck to do?" 2. The relatable champion. Like Frazier--the first CEO to quit President Trump's business advisory panel post-Charlottesville--PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi has gone out on a limb for what she believes in. Nooyi stayed true to her "Profits with Purpose" initiative to make healthier products, even as analysts fumed at flagging stock prices. Her strategy has since proved successful; PepsiCo has been beating expectations for two years. While championing PepsiCo's new health-and-sustainability mission, George says, she's had to motivate employees both in the new and existing businesses who were struggling with dramatic change. Nooyi has also humanized herself to employees and applicants alike with accomplished storytelling. Part of her repertoire is a childhood tale about local manufacturers in India depriving her village of water, which she relates to explain the origins of her social consciousness, says Rita Gunther McGrath, a professor at Columbia Business School. Nooyi also waxes self-deprecatingly about her trials as a working mother. "People see her as living the vision, while being funny and relatable," McGrath says. 3. The empathetic motivator. Most people who know SAS Institute is a constant on "best places to work" lists also know the reason: James Goodnight wants it that way. Goodnight remains majority owner of the data-analytics company 42 years after co-founding it. Staying private makes it easier to offer myriad life-improving perks, such as on-site health care and day care, established by Goodnight in the company's early days. Serious software engineers admire Goodnight's exacting standards; he also inspires people with his pursuit of innovation, listening for hours each week as employees from all over the company offer their best ideas. Before Alden Ehrenreich took on the biggest role of his life, he took a trip out to Death Valley in California. He hired a high-end tepee, drank green juice and contemplated what playing the young Han Solo would mean. I wanted to make sure I was really choosing to do this myself. And it wasnt just because everybody in my life would think I was a lunatic if I said I didnt want to. It was time well spent, even if his conclusion was hardly surprising. When I really looked at it, I really wanted to do it. Its Thursday morning at the Cannes Film Festival, where Solo: A Star Wars Story was unveiled to the worlds media two nights earlier. Ehrenreich, a sleepy-looking soul in a red lumberjack shirt and black jeans, has been living with taking over from Harrison Ford in one of the most recognisable roles in the Star Wars universe for two and a half years now. Not that this makes it any easier. The roguish space pirate Solo has been Fords role alone for four decades. Star turn: could Ehrenreich be about to lose his anonymity? (Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm) (Lucasfilm Ltd) Im lucky enough that this is happening after Ive been working for 14 years, he says. For me, starting out and having less experience was more intense. This is intense but I have a certain set of tools at this point as far as coping. What do I have control over? I have control over my job, and my part and how much work I do on it. I dont have control over how well it turns out, how good the movie is, what anybody thinks or what anybody Im working with thinks. Certainly the 28-year-old Ehrenreich is no beginner. A Los Angeles native, hes already been to Cannes before with his debut, Francis Ford Coppolas 2009 road movie Tetro (they reunited for the horror Twixt two years later). I sat down with Francis and auditioned for him for about five months and then he went and put me in his film, he recalls. We went and filmed in Argentina together. No trailers. It was just me sitting on his lap asking questions! It was a film school. Alden Ehrenreich in Tetro in 2009 Since then, hes worked for South Korean director Park Chan-wook on the psychological thriller Stoker and popped up in Woody Allens Oscar-winning Blue Jasmine. More significantly, he was a co-lead in Warren Beattys Howard Hughes biopic Rules Dont Apply and memorable in the Coen Brothers 1950s Hollywood comedy Hail, Caesar! as a rope-swirling TV cowboy. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Ive been so insanely lucky, he drawls, The real gratification is that you get to be shoulder to shoulder [with these people] and be the beneficiary of their brilliance. There are even strange connections to his casting in Solo, which is directed by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind), who once starred with Harrison Ford in 1973s American Graffiti, the film George Lucas made before directing the first Star Wars instalment. Coppola produced American Graffiti and it was cast by Fred Roos, who was also responsible for putting Ehrenreich in Tetro some 35 years later. Even before Tetro, Ehrenreich had contact with Lucas and Coppolas old buddy, Steven Spielberg. My mum [Sari, an interior designer] never wanted me to act professionally, he explains. And I really didnt want to. I wanted a normal childhood and whatnot. Alden Ehrenreich as Hobie Doyle in Hail, Caesar! But then he and a friend made a video for their pals bar mitzvah which was attended by Spielberg. He liked me from the video, so he introduced me to DreamWorks. I got an agent through them and started acting professionally. To complete this circle of Hollywoods Movie Brats, Ehrenreich met Lucas, who came to the Solo set. Crucially, he also spent time with Ford before the shoot commenced, at an airplane hanger in Santa Monica where they had lunch. Naturally, they talked about the character, although the typically reticent Ford swore Ehrenreich to secrecy. Harrison said, If anyone asks, tell them I taught you everything you need to know and youre not allowed to say anything! Whatever he told him, it worked. Ehrenreich captures Solos gruff charms and misplaced confidence in embryonic form. Ehrenreich in Solo (Disney/Lucasfilm) He went back to the original movies to watch Ford, but didnt set out to imitate him or copy a signature move, whether its cocking his head or giving a wry smile. I dont really work in that sense. Youre trying to make the thing feel as real as possible and really live through the scenes youre given. Set a decade or so before the original Star Wars, Ehrenreichs Solo is a wannabe pilot living on his grimy home planet and dreaming of escape with his girlfriend Qira (Game of Thrones Emilia Clarke). What follows is one of the more freewheeling adventures in the Star Wars canon, as Han is mentored by Woody Harrelsons bandit Tobias Beckett and he meets his future Wookie copilot Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and smuggler friend Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover). Its not been smooth sailing, however, with the production parting company with original directors, The Lego Movies Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. One report by online site Vulture claimed the pair haphazardly shot dozens of takes. The original version of what we were going to do didnt work out so of course there is disappointment and I loved working with them, says Ehrenreich, diplomatically. But then we were just so lucky to have Ron come in. Han and Chewbacca in Solo So what was the first version like? Was it more broadly comic? I dont think so, he continues. Theres obviously speculation that their version was this goofy whatever we were still doing all the scenes. There was improvisation with Lord and Miller but also with Howard. Im not a great person to speak to that because I wasnt seeing any of that cut together. I never saw what their version wouldve been, so I dont really know. Critics have been kind to Ehrenreich (enduringly watchable said Variety) but how does he feel about the next step losing his anonymity? I dont know when that thing happens, he shrugs. Is it the day the movie comes out? Is it when the posters go up? I dont know when all that happens or how that happens. Its totally unappealing to me in and of itself. Im not at all looking forward to that in any kind of way if that happens. But you do this and you sign up for it. Its another one of these things you learn to live with. While there is talk of further Solo instalments (Ehrenreich is signed up for three films and is more than willing to continue as Han), hes also editing a short film hes directed. I think I will make one more short and do a feature some time, within the next year and a half. Its a matter of finding the right story, gathering material. Im in the process of looking at a bunch of different stories right now, and finding a writer and putting it together like that. As for his private life, he keeps it very quiet. At one point he was rumoured to be dating actor Kelsey McNamee (who had a tiny role in the Reese Witherspoon rom-dram Water For Elephants). And now is there a special someone in his life? Its a good question, he says, with a smirk. Probably Chewbacca! Solo: A Star Wars Story opens 24 May Charlize Theron will star as Megyn Kelly in a film focused on disgraced Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Annapurna Pictures are moving forward with the project, to be helmed by Jay Roach and with a screenplay by Charles Randolph, who previously won an Oscar as co-writer on The Big Short. Kelly, a former lawyer, rose up the ranks of Fox News from legal contributor to host of the popular series The Kelly File. Recommended Charlize Theron and the art of turning pain into power She was amongst the accusers who came forward with allegations of sexual harassment directed at Ailes, leaving the network to join NBC. Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson also claimed she was sexually harassed by Ailes in a lawsuit. Ailes was ousted as Fox News chairman in 2016. He denies Carlson's allegations. The project has been described as an ensemble film, with Ailes and others who were involved at Fox News during his tenure said to be major characters, likely including Carlson, former anchor Greta Van Susteren, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and Bill O'Reilly - who was also ousted two years ago amid allegations of sexual harassment. O'Reilly has also denied the allegations. Ailes was first appointed by Murdoch to head Fox News when it launched in 1996. During his two decades as its head, he oversaw the network's meteoric and controversial rise - within six years of its launch Fox News was the most-watched cable channel in the country. Roach is no stranger to political intrigue, with 2012's HBO drama Game Change tracking the 2008 presidential election, with Julianne Moore in the role of Sarah Palin. He's also attached to direct the TV adaptation of Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for all the latest on Film, TV, Music, and more. Hugh Grant is set to marry for the first time, according to reports, with Swedish TV producer Anna Eberstein. The Four Weddings and a Funeral star is reportedly marrying the 39-year-old, who is the mother of three of his children. A photograph of the wedding banns has been posted in several newspapers, according to the BBC, which was posted at Kensington and Chelsea register office near the couple's home in west London. Grant, 57, has five children in total, including two - Tabitha and Felix - with former partner Tinglan Hong. Eberstein gave birth to her first child with Grant, a son, in 2012. The couple then had a daughter, whose name has not been revealed, in December 2015. In March this year, Grant's ex-girlfriend Liz Hurley - with whom he is still good friends - revealed that he and Eberstein had recently welcomed a third child, but the sex is unknown. Grant has starred in films including Four Weddings, Maurice, Notting Hill, and Paddington 2, and currently stars in BBC drama A Very English Scandal opposite Ben Whishaw as disgraced MP Jeremy Thorpe - for which he has received critical acclaim. A Very English Scandal trailer 2018 The Independent's TV critic Sean O'Grady commented: "As Hugh Grants alternately languid, energetic and intense portrayal in this BBC drama makes painfully apparent, Thorpe, for all his talents and fame, charm and sincere political principles, was a basically highly selfish man who eventually damaged everyone who came into contact with him: his family, friends, boyfriends, parliamentary colleagues, the entire Liberal Party, business acquaintances, financial benefactors, alleged co-conspirators (to murder, no less), and, most grievously of all, Scott. One way or another all had cause to regret ever bumping into Jeremy. "Much of the credit for this dramatisation obviously goes to the stellar cast, most notably Grant, an inspired choice by producer Russell T Davies. Perhaps because Grant has had a few furtive sexual skirmishes himself, and been subjected to brutal press intrusion and persecution, or perhaps simply because he is such a fine, and still underestimated, actor that he was so well suited to the role of Thorpe. Anyway, he is cast against type, compelling to watch as the very antithesis of a romcom hero." The family of Swedish DJ Avicii has announced funeral plans for the late musician asking that they remain private. In a statement to Billboard, the family said: "There have been many inquiries regarding the funeral arrangements for Tim Bergling, known by music fans as Avicii. The Bergling family has now confirmed that the funeral will be private, in the presence of the people who were closest to Tim. They kindly ask media to respect this. There is no additional information forthcoming." The 28-year-old music producer's body was found on April 20 in a hotel room in Oman. Recommended DJ Avicii dies aged 28 Following his passing, his family released a statement calling him a "seeker" and "a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions." "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 could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace," they said following his death. Before Bergling's death, he had been open about his health problems, including anxiety, pancreatitis and surgery he had to remove his gall bladder and pancreas. His abrupt decision to retire from touring in 2016 stemmed from his ongoing heath issues. Recommended Rita Ora pays emotional tribute to Avicii during festival performance Bergling, however, released what would be his final body of work one year following his retirement with his EP Avici (01). On Sunday night at the Billboard Music Awards, The Chainsmokers and Halsey paid tribute to the late DJ with a touching message about the impact of "Levels" and his influence on electronic music. The musician's cause of death has yet to be revealed. The governments plan to cut air pollution lacks concrete proposals to tackle the problem and fails to address the main source of illegal emissions in towns and cities: cars and lorries. That is the view of green campaigners, who have warned that ministers inadequate proposals were shifting the responsibility to local government to tackle a public health crisis claiming 50,000 lives in the UK each year, without saying where the money would come from. Greenpeace said there was a transport-shaped hole in the proposals and urged the government to offer more than just good intentions. Recommended EU takes British government to court for illegal air pollution levels Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party, said the plans were underwhelming and the equivalent of taking a water pistol to a wildfire. Under the clean air strategy, unveiled on Tuesday, the government will introduce legislation to create a new legal air quality framework and give local government new powers to take action. Ministers have promised to stop 8,000 tonnes of harmful particulate matter from entering the atmosphere each year by banning the dirtiest domestic fuels. Meanwhile ammonia emissions from farmers will be tackled and research will be undertaken to develop new standards for tyres and brake pads to address toxic emissions of microplastics. A new public messaging system will also be set up to warn people about spikes in poor air quality. Paul Morozzo, clean air campaigner at Greenpeace, said: New primary legislation on air quality is much needed. Alongside the new commitment on reducing particulate pollution the governments new strategy is at least demonstrating the right intention. But we need more than good intentions. Once again it looks like local authorities are being handed responsibility without the clarity on where the resources will come from. Theres a transport-shaped hole in what weve seen of this strategy so far. The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Show all 10 1 /10 The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Ukraine The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Bulgaria Rex Features The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Belarus The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Russia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Armenia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Bosnia and Herzegovina REUTERS The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Georgia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Hungary DigitalGlobe The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths China The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Moldova The new plan comes as the European Commission is taking the British Government to court for breaching EU air quality rules. The EUs environment commissioner, Karmenu Vella, said Britain had broken limits on levels of health-damaging nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and failed to provide credible, effective and timely plans to cut pollution. In a separate High Court case in February, a judge ruled the Governments plans to tackle air pollution were seriously flawed and unlawful. Theresa May responds to high court ruling that air pollution plan is 'unlawful' Mr Morozzo added: To be a proper clean air strategy it would need concrete plans on clean air zones to tackle dangerous pollution from diesel cars, yet theres no detail following the governments latest ticking off from the High Court. Further, to achieve clean air in the UK we have to get diesel cars off our roads as fast as we can. To get us on the right tracks now the government must bring forwards the ban on petrol and diesel cars by a decade to 2030. More than 50,000 people die from pollution each year in the UK, according to a report in The Lancet. Levels of harmful nitrogen dioxide air pollution in the UK have broken legal limits every year since 2010 while 90 per cent of the UKs population lives in areas where levels of particulate air pollution exceed World Health Organisation limits. MPs also attacked the plans. Geraint Davies, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Air Pollution, criticised the proposals as inadequate and without the focus, priority and resources to meet the challenge of mass premature deaths from air pollution. New petrol and diesel vehicles to be banned from 2040 in bid to tackle pollution He said: Michael Gove [the environment secretary] is not taking the crisis seriously. He knows that, if we leave the EU, safeguards against toxic levels of air pollution will no longer be in place. Green MP Ms Lucas accused the government of having postured and prevaricated on air pollution while thousands of people died prematurely as a result of emissions. The details of this plan look extremely underwhelming, she said. It fails to back up their bold claims with any cash meaning that hard-pressed councils will struggle to implement new strategies. Even worse, though, is the utter failure of this government to stand up to the motor lobby and its continued promotion of private car travel, despite the huge impacts this has on our health. And ClientEarths James Thornton said: While the governments focus on air quality from different sources is welcome, road transport is still the main source of illegal air pollution in our towns and cities. The government will publish a separate plan on how it will reduce emissions from vehicles shortly. Mr Gove said the plan set out comprehensive action required across all parts of government to improve air quality. He claimed air quality had improved significantly since 2010, but admitted it was still making people ill, shortening lives and damaging our economy and environment. Mr Gove added: 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 playing an important role in cleaning up our air. Fracking on up to half the land the government has approved for shale gas extraction could trigger earthquakes, according to a leading seismologist. Professor Peter Styles, a former Downing Street adviser, said extracting gas from former coal mining areas dramatically enhances the risk of seismic activity, prompting calls for an immediate fracking moratorium. A new report authored by Prof Styles outlining the threat comes the week after a government plan to accelerate fracking developments by fast-tracking private companies planning applications. The government announcement reiterated its support for fracking and described progress in the industry as disappointingly slow. Recommended Government announces plan to accelerate fracking developments Instead of making the process faster, Prof Styles has called for more rigorous checks to identify potential dangers in coalfields. It would be prudent of the government to reduce the estimates of exploitable onshore frackable gas by half, he said. We are risking our energy security if we proceed without assessing all the data. Former coalfields are already at risk of earthquakes, but this risk is likely to be exacerbated by fracking. We are risking our energy security if we proceed without assessing all the data, says Peter Styles (BBC) Fracking has already been linked to seismic activity in Lancashire, after Prof Styles warned of the dangers of extracting gas at Cuadrillas Preese Hall site. In 2011, the British Geological Survey recorded a tremor at that site with a 2.4 magnitude followed by another with a 3.2 magnitude. The events led to ban on all operations in the area. 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. 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 UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters The government has indicated that any future fracking development will be environmentally friendly. If youre going to have development without looking at the evidence Peter Styles is talking about its just irresponsible, Steve Mason at campaign group Frack Free United told The Independent. If theyre ignoring this report they are ignoring the evidence. To reduce the risks, Prof Styles has called on James Brokenshire, communities and local government secretary, to immediately implement new best-practice measures. These include the introduction of buffer zones between fracking sites and old mines or significant natural fractures, as well as the requirement that businesses make use of detailed data before proceeding. Recommended Scottish government bans fracking in landmark decision Prof Styles also questioned the industrys technical capability to identify the faults or fractures that are likely to cause earthquakes. Existing data shows that potentially dangerous faults capable of producing seismic activity are found throughout former coal mining areas, but Prof Styless report suggested mining data has been overlooked or ignored Unfortunately the physics of it means you cannot see those faults with the [survey] waves that you put into the earth, he said. To date it does not appear that any proper industry or government due diligence has taken place with regards to faultlines mapped. In response to the new findings, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on fracking, Baroness Featherstone, said: This report asks some serious questions of the government and the fracking industry. Ministers must take heed and listen to the growing weight of evidence on fracking and, at the bare minimum, implement a moratorium on fracking in coal mining areas and review fracking across the UK. Police drag 85-year-old Green activist across road during anti-fracking protest Labour MP Sir Kevin Barron said: Professor Styless report makes for worrying reading and I hope the government take action to implement his recommendations immediately. I believe fracking in coal mining areas is a disaster waiting to happen. They should be listening to Professor Styles and not trying to relax the planning rules as they did last week. Concern about associated risks has already led to fracking being banned in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Prof Styles report concluded that an extensive investigation is required using historic mining data to determine the full extent of the risks posed by fracking. According to his findings, it is probable that the majority of current fracking licences for the north of England would be useless. A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesperson said: The UK has over 50 years of experience in regulating the onshore oil and gas industry, meaning the sector is governed by one of the safest, most environmentally sound and well-regulated systems in the world. These strong controls and laws will ensure shale gas can be explored safely and sustainably. Instagram will finally let you ignore people without hurting their feelings. The company has introduced a mute button that will banish them from your news feed but without you knowing. How you actually do so, though, is not entirely obvious. As such, the company has laid out a guide to hiding people from your news feed. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Show all 11 1 /11 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Hide and reorder filters Filters are a core part of Instagram, but there are so many available it can be easy to get lost. You can change the order in which they appear, and even hide the ones you never use, to speed up your photo-sharing process. On the filters page, scroll to the end, tap Manage, then drag and drop the ones you want to reorder, and un-check the ones you want to hide. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Never miss a post Instagram controversially ditched its reverse-chronological order feed for a new order determined by an algorithm, making it easy to completely miss some posts. To make sure you never miss a certain somebodys updates, you can set up notification for them by visiting their profile, tapping the three dots in the top right-hand corner and selecting Turn On Post Notifications. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Eat less data If youre worried about how much of your mobile data Instagram saps, you can limit it by sacrificing the speed at which the photos and videos in your feed load. Go to your profile, tap the three dots in the top right corner, open Cellular Data Use and choose Use Less Data. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed See your Likes Its easy to lose track of your friends old posts on Instagram, but if you know you Liked it, youll be able to track it down easily. Just go to your profile, hit the three dots at the top and select Posts Youve Liked. You can also save posts in a folder only you can see by tapping the bookmark icon underneath it. Take a look at everything youve bookmarked by tapping the same icon that sits near the top of your profile. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Find relevant hashtags Everyone knows you can expand the reach of your posts by using a number of relevant hashtags, but what those are arent always glaringly obvious. You can easily find the right ones for you by typing a keyword into Instagrams search bar, selecting a hashtag from the list and swiping along the Related row that appears at the top of the screen. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Clear your search history Whatever your reasons are, you can clear your recent searches by going to your profile, hitting the three dots in the top right and selecting Clear Search History. To go a step further and hide your Suggested searches too, go to the search page, tap and hold the account you want to hide, and choose Hide from the pop-up window. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Hide photos youre tagged in Tagged photos on Instagram arent as prominent as they are on Facebook, but anyone can still browse through other peoples pictures of you by visiting your profile and tapping the photo of you icon. If youre tagged in a picture you dont want other people to see, go to your profile, hit the photos of you icon, tap the three dots at the top of the screen and choose Hide Photos. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Secure your account Make your Instagram account much harder to hack by enabling two-factor authentication, a security feature that protects you even if your login details are stolen. Go to your profile, tap the three dots, open Two-Factor Authentication and toggle it on. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Share lots at once If you want to upload a bunch of related pictures and videos without flooding everyone elses feed, you can shared them all as one post. Hit the + icon, select Gallery, choose Select Multiple, pick out up to 10 of the pictures and clips you want, tap Next and reorder them by dragging and dropping. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Record hands-free Instagram Stories has been a massive hit since it came out last year, but you might not know that you can record Stories clips without having to hold one of your digits on the record key. On the Stores screen, just swipe through the options at the bottom until you get to Hands-Free. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Edit posts after publishing Most people know you can delete any of the images youve already posted, but not everyone is aware that you can also edit them. Instagram unfortunately doesnt let you tinker with filters and effects, but you can change your original caption, tag people and update the location. When you see a post from someone that you'd like to avoid hearing from in the future, tap the three dots next to their name. Then select the "Mute Posts" option, which will bring up another pop-up checking that you're sure you want to mute them. With that, their posts will be banished from your news feed. But you'll still be following them, meaning that they won't know that anything untoward has happened, and you'll still receive notifications if they like your posts or tag you in a picture. If you'd ever like to un-mute somebody, it's relatively easy to do the same. Head to their profile and click "Unmute posts", or choose the three dots in the corner of their profile and choose the same option. If you can't see those settings, you'll just have to wait it out. Instagram said the feature will initially be rolling out to just a select few iOS users, and that it will come to everyone over the coming weeks. Civil liberties advocates are calling on Amazon to cease providing facial recognition technology to law enforcement agencies. We demand that Amazon stop powering a government surveillance infrastructure that poses a grave threat to customers and communities across the country, a coalition let by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wrote in a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. At issue is a tool known as Rekognition that allows users to compare anonymous faces against other images to try and establish identity. An explanatory post on Amazons website notes that it offers security and surveillance applications that include crime prevention by identifying persons of interest. According to emails obtained by the ACLU, multiple law enforcement agencies have harnessed the tool in their investigative work. In one email, a Washington County, Oregon sheriffs official details building a searchable database of some 300,000 faces. Law enforcement can then search the jails booking photos for hits against still-unidentified suspects. I am hoping to expand our backend of images to every law enforcement agency in the metro Portland area. And possibly even to all of Oregon and beyond, the unidentified official wrote. The ACLU letter warns the technology could be abused to harass activists or monitor undocumented immigrants, saying it could effectively eliminate the ability to walk down the street without being watched by the government. 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 Amazon must act swiftly to stand up for civil rights and civil liberties, including those of its own customers, and take Rekognition off the table for governments, the letter says. Amazon said in a statement that company expects customers to comply with the law and be responsible with its products. It said Rekognition had been used to locate missing children and people who had been abducted. Our quality of life would be much worse today if we outlawed new technology because some people could choose to abuse the technology, the statement said. Imagine if customers couldnt buy a computer because it was possible to use that computer for illegal purposes? Trump: 'Amazon is going to have to pay a lot more money to the Post Office' Collaboration between the government and tech firms that furnish powerful tools is spurring rising protest. A number of Google employed have signed an open letter opposing their company deciding to provide artificial intelligence to a Pentagon initiative known as Project Maven, and some have reportedly resigned over Googles refusal to sever ties. Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has promised to confront Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about bias on the social network. Mr Zuckerberg will appear before the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, 22 May, to face questions about privacy and data misuse on Facebook. As a Member of the European Parliament, Mr Farage will be in a position to ask Mr Zuckerberg about perceived bias on the platform that was previously raised by Republican lawmakers in the US. Later today I will confront Mark Zuckerberg about bias on Facebook, Mr Farage said in a post to Twitter, alongside a photo of himself holding a piece of paper claiming to chart the Facebook Algorithm Impact. When Taylor McGowan was five months old, she started growing little tufts of blonde hair on her head. As time went on, her bright blonde locks continued to grow outwards, seemingly untamable by any sort of product. Eventually, Taylors parents Cara and Tom realised that their daughter may have a condition called Uncombable Hair Syndrome, after coming across pictures of other individuals on the internet with the same style of hair. There are around 100 reported cases of 'Uncombable Hair Syndrome' from around the world (SWNS) And it's real; there are currently around 100 reported cases of the condition worldwide, which is otherwise known by the medical term "Pili trianguli et canaliculi". Cara and Tom, from Chicago, Illinois, sought the expertise of Professor Regina Betz at the University of Bonn in Germany. Professor Betz is currently the leading figure in Uncombable Hair Syndrome Research. Her team at the Institute of Human Genetics has stated that the condition is caused by a mutation in one of three genes - PADI3, TGM3 and TCHH. After carrying out genetic testing on Taylors parents, it was discovered that they both carried the mutation of the PADI3 gene which they then passed onto their young daughter. Cara and Tom originally tried to flatten Taylors hair. However, they soon decided to do away with any products and let their daughters hair grow naturally. In total we have tried all kinds of products, maybe 15 different things, former mental health worker Cara said. She doesnt really enjoy bows or having her hair braided so we have chosen to allow it to be wild and free. Taylor's parents Cara and Tom both have straight, brown hair ( SWNS) (SWNS) Cara revealed that theyd even dressed their toddler up as Albert Einstein for Halloween in order to encourage her to embrace her unique hair. While many people compliment the young girl on her hair, shes also been on the receiving end of some unkind comments. Many people will ask if our daughter has stuck her fingers in a light socket or if we have done something with her hair, Cara said. My answer is, No, she was born that way. While Cara has found the bullying that Taylors endured upsetting, she wants to spread the positive message that its ok to be different. I absolutely love Taylors hair. I personally think it is gorgeous and it matches her personality because shes outgoing and free. Cara created a Facebook page called BabyEinstein2.0 so that people could follow Taylors journey and learn about the condition. Taylor's parents want to encourage her to embrace her unique hair (SWNS) My husband and I both have straight brown hair. Never in our wildest dreams did we have a condition like this, Cara said. We want her to know she is beautiful and perfect and that everybody is unique. We want her to embrace it and love herself just the way she is." Mark Carney has reiterated the view of the Bank of England that the vote for Brexit has already knocked about 2 per cent off the size of the UK economy, a sum equivalent to around 40bn. He added that the cost for each UK household was around 900. Giving evidence to the Treasury Committee on Tuesday, Mr Carney said that the economy has underperformed the banks pre-referendum forecasts and that the Leave vote, which prompted a record one-day fall in sterling, was the primary culprit. If you look at where the economy is today, relative to that forecast, its more than 1 per cent below where it was despite very large stimulus provided by the Bank of England, a fiscal easing by the government and global and European economies, which are much much stronger than they were previously, he said. If you adjust for those factors, the economy is about one and three-quarters one and a half, one and three-quarters, up to 2 per cent - lower than it would have been. He added: Real household incomes are about 900 per household lower than we forecast in May of 2016, which is a lot of money. The governor first estimated in January, speaking in Davos, that the cost of the Brexit vote was heading for 2 per cent of GDP by the end of 2018. Wes Streeting, a Labour MP on the committee and supporter of the Peoples Vote campaign, said: The governor of the Bank of England is quite clear that the Brexit vote has left us all poorer and worse off, and the governments botched Brexit negotiations threaten to make the situation even worse for generations to come. Evidence like this demonstrates exactly why we need a Peoples Vote on the final Brexit deal. Mr Carney also warned that the UK urgently needed the single market and customs union transition after March 2019. If the implementation agreement doesnt come to pass for whatever reason, there would be a potentially considerable real economy adjustment, he said. GDP growth in the first quarter is estimated by the Office for National Statistics to have slumped to 0.1 per cent, the weakest in more than five years. Productivity growth also slipped by 0.5 per cent. However, the bank believed this was largely attributable to snow disruption, the governor told the committee. Our view is not that circumstances changed in the first quarter, its more likely to have been temporary and idiosyncratic factors that slowed the economy, he said. The bank says the growth rate will ultimately be revised up to 0.3 per cent, and that growth will pick up to 0.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2018. Tesco has announced plans to remove best before dates from almost 70 fruit and vegetable products in an effort to reduce the amount of usable food being thrown away. Best before labels will be removed from popular lines such as apples, potatoes, tomatoes, lemons and other citrus fruit and onions, among others. The supermarket said its decision was based on research by the National Federation of Womens Institutes (NFWI) which found that less than half of respondents understood what best before dates mean. Best before date labels are added by retailers as a quality indication, and show that food might not be at its best but is still edible. Use by labels indicate that there is a safety risk if food is eaten after a certain date. The Food Standards Agency states that the best before date, sometimes shown as BBE, is about quality and not safety. The food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best. We know some customers may be confused by the difference between Best Before and Use By dates on food and this can lead to perfectly edible items being thrown away before they need to be discarded, said Tescos head of food waste, Mark Little. We have made this change to fruit and vegetable packaging as they are among the most wasted foods," he added. Many customers have told us that they assess their fruit and vegetables by the look of the product rather than the Best Before date code on the packaging. The move follows a pledge by Tesco last year to end edible food waste by March 2018. Chief executive Dave Lewis said in December 2017 that the supermarket would become the first UK retailer to stop throwing away food suitable for human consumption, and challenged rivals to make a similar effort. If Tesco can make this work, with all of our different stores across the country, then why cant everyone? he said. So long as that food is fit for human consumption, Id much prefer it to go to people than landfill or animal feed, or fuel. MPs have written to the prime minister, urging her to take action over shocking changes to contracts at Sainsburys that could see loyal staff losing up to 3,000 per year. The letter, written by Labours Siobhain McDonagh and signed by around 100 MPs, including David Lammy, Frank Field and shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey comes as a petition to stop the changes had gathered 103,000 signatures by Monday night. Sainsburys has announced sweeping changes to the terms of contracts for 130,000 staff in almost 1,500 branches across the UK. According to the MPs, around 10 per cent of staff - often those who have worked at the company the longest - will lose money. Sainsburys says 93 per cent of staff will receive a pay rise and that those who lose out will have their pay topped up to previous levels for the next 18 months. It said only a handful of staff would lose the 3,000 per year quoted by MPs. Under the deal, staff will no longer get paid breaks or higher rates of pay for Sunday work. Premium pay rates for night shift work will be restricted to between midnight and 5am and shopfloor staff will no longer be able to earn bonuses. Currently, staff who work between midnight and 2am are paid extra for their whole shift. Employees of Argos, which Sainsbury's bought in 2016, will see their basic pay remain behind that of their Sainsbury's colleagues, despite many even being based in the same store, the MPs said. Sainsburys has said it is raising basic pay to what it considers to be the best in the retail sector. Shopfloor staff will see their hourly wage rise from 8 to 9.20 per hour, a rate which is fixed until another pay review in March 2020. That's 20p per hour more than the official National Living Wage is set to be by April 2020, based on current projections. The "real living wage", set by the independent Living Wage Foundation and based on the minimum a person would need to pay for a basic standard of living, is currently 8.75, or 10.20 in London. Tesco announced last year that it would raise pay from 7.62 to 8.42 an hour by November 2018 while Aldi pays its workers 8.85 nationally and 10.20 in London. The MPs letter reads: We are completely dismayed that a company of Sainsbury's reputation would use an increase in basic pay as a smokescreen for a whole array of deplorable decisions that will hit hardest their most dedicated, loyal and long-term staff. Under the proposed changes, all employees will lose their paid breaks, there will be widespread cuts to premium pay including a shortening of night-shift premium hours and a scrapping of Sunday premium pay, and shop floor staff will no longer receive bonuses. However, the scrapping of the bonus scheme will not affect the CEO, Mike Coupe, or his fellow management team. Simon Roberts, retail and operations director for Sainsbury's, said the company did not believe the letter accurately reflected how the vast majority of employees felt. We have conducted meaningful consultation with around 100 colleague representatives and have made a number of changes to our original proposals based on their feedback. It is extremely disappointing that our plans to make Sainsbury's colleagues the best-paid in retail are being deliberately misrepresented to such a degree and we would be happy to set the record straight. Shutting down coal and oil power plants has been linked with a drop in premature births by a new study. The closure of eight power plants in California prompted researchers to examine the impact this had on births in the surrounding community. They found the year following the shutdown of each plant saw a decline in the rate of premature births in the local area an effect that was particularly pronounced in African American and Asian women. Lead author of the study, Dr Joan Casey of the University of California, Berkeley, said she was excited to do a good news story in environmental health. Most people look at air pollution and adverse health outcomes, but this is the flip side. We said, lets look at what happens when we have this external shock that removes air pollution from a community and see if we can see any improvements in health. Their results, which were published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, saw the rate of premature births drop by between 20 and 25 per cent (depending on their ethnic background). The scientists also showed the impact on the premature birth rate became more pronounced the further away from power planets they looked. Premature births are known to be linked with infant mortality, as well as health problems later in life. As a comparison, the research team repeated their analysis on eight power plants that had not yet closed and found no difference in premature birth rates over the same timescale they examined for the decommissioned plants. Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city Show all 10 1 /10 Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city A battery run tricylce rickshaw passes by the Red Fort amid heavy smog in New Delhi AFP/Getty Images Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city Indian visitors walking through the courtyard of Jama Masjid amid heavy smog AFP/Getty Images Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city An Indian policeman wearing a protection mask as he works near India Gate AFP/Getty Images Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city New Delhi during heavy smog REUTERS Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city Indian commuters wait for transport amid thick blanket of smog on the outskirts of New Delhi AP Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city Prince Charles and Camilla arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport surrounded by smog on November 8 Getty Images Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city Prince Charles and Camilla depart their plane in New Delhi to smog Getty Images Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city The morning sun is enveloped by a blanket of smog on the outskirts of New Delhi AP Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city Indian residents walking along a road amid heavy smog AFP/Getty Images Thick smog engulfs New Delhi as air pollution peaks in the city A woman drives a scooter through the morning fog to drop off a child at school AP Though the study could not identify a causal link between the decline of fossil fuels in the surrounding area, it was consistent with other research that has found links between air pollution from power plants and birth problems. Another recent paper published in the journal Environmental Health found that birth rates saw a slight rise after coal and oil plants in the neighbouring area had closed. Other studies have used pregnant mice as stand-ins for human mothers, and found that fine particle air pollution increased the risk of premature births and low birth weight. We believe that these papers have important implications for understanding the potential short-term community health benefits of climate and energy policy shifts, and provide some very good news on that front, said co-author Professor Rachel Morello-Frosch. These studies indicate short-term beneficial impacts on preterm birth rates overall and particularly for women of colour. It would be good to look at this relationship in other states and see if we can apply a similar rationale to retirement of power plants in other places, said Dr Casey. The impact of air pollution on pregnancy and young children is not restricted to the substances emitted by power plants. Researchers at Imperial College London have used data on over half a million babies born in the capital to conclude air pollution is associated with underweight babies. In a commentary accompanying Dr Caseys paper, Dr Pauline Mendola of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development said: Casey and colleagues have shown us that retiring older coal and oil power plants can result in a significant reduction in preterm birth and that these benefits also have the potential to lower what has been one of our most intractable health disparities. Perhaps its time for the health of our children to be the impetus behind reducing the common sources of ambient air pollution. Their lives depend on it. Mark King has had the clap so many times hes renamed it the applause. The first time King had gonorrhoea, he was a teenager in the late 1970s, growing up with his five siblings in Louisiana. He had the telltale signs: burning and discomfort when he urinated and a thick discharge that left a stain in his underwear. King visited a clinic and gave a fake name and phone number. He was treated quickly with antibiotics and sent on his way. A few years later, the same symptoms reappeared. By this time, the 22-year-old was living in West Hollywood, hoping to launch his acting career. While King had come out to his parents, being gay in Louisiana was poles apart from being gay in Los Angeles. For one, homosexuality was illegal in Louisiana until 2003, whereas California had legalised it in 1976. In Los Angeles there was a thriving a gay scene where King, for the first time, could embrace his sexuality freely. He frequented bathhouses and also met men in dance clubs and along the bustling sidewalks. There was lots of sex to be had. Recommended Sexually transmitted diseases hit record high in California The fact that we werent a fully formed culture beyond those spaces was what brought us together as people. Sex was the only expression we had to claim ourselves as LGBT+ people, King says. When he stepped into the brick clinic just a few strides away from the heart of the citys gay nightlife in Santa Monica, King, with his thick sandy blonde hair with a tinge of red through it, looked around the room. It was filled with other gay men. What do you do when youre 22 and gay? You cruise other men. I remember sitting in the lobby cruising other men, King recalls, laughing. My Summer of Love was 1982. It was a playground. I was young and on the prowl. Like a few years earlier, the doctor gave him a handful of antibiotics to take for a few days that would clear up the infection. It wasnt a big deal. In fact, as King describes it, it was simply an errand to run. (Erin Aniker (Erin Aniker) It was the price of doing business and it wasnt a high price at all. But it was the calm before the storm, in more ways than one. When King picked up gonorrhoea again in the 1990s, he was greatly relieved that treatment was now just one dose. Penicillin was no longer effective, but ciprofloxacin was now the recommended treatment and it required only one dose. In Kings eyes, getting gonorrhoea was even less of a hassle. But this was actually a symptom of treatment regimens starting to fail. The bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae was on the way to developing resistance to nearly every drug ever used to treat it. *** On receiving the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering penicillin, Alexander Fleming finished his lecture with a warning: There is the danger, he told the audience, that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and, by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug, make them resistant. In other words, we have known about bacterias ability to evolve resistance to drugs since the dawn of the antibiotic era. Dr Manica Balasegaram is director of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), based in Geneva. Its a joint initiative between the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) and aims to develop new or improved treatments for bacterial infections. All antibiotics will have a shelf life thats just evolution, he says. Its just a question of how quickly it will happen. Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development. Common infections, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, are becoming increasingly difficult to treat. But GARDP has chosen to focus its attention on gonorrhoea as one of its four main priorities. The sexually transmitted infection caught Balasegarams eyes for a host of reasons. For one, a lot of the antibiotics that are currently used against gonorrhoea are used widely for other infections, and N gonorrhoeae has the ability to acquire resistance from other bacteria frighteningly quickly, meaning it can rapidly build up resistance. Secondly, untreated gonorrhoea infections bring with them a range of potentially serious health implications that can have devastating consequences. Gonorrhoea is the most important sexually transmitted infection; its the one were most concerned about, Balasegaram says. Every year, an estimated 78 million people are infected with gonorrhoea, making it the second most frequently reported sexually transmitted bacterial infection after chlamydia, according to WHO. Gonorrhoea can infect the genitals, rectum and throat. Symptoms include discharge from the urethra or vagina and burning during urination called urethritis, caused by inflammation of the urethra. However, many who are infected dont experience any symptoms, meaning they go undiagnosed and untreated. Complications of untreated gonorrhoea can be severe and disproportionately affect women, who are more likely to experience no symptoms. Untreated gonorrhoea not only increases the risk of contracting HIV but is also linked with an increased risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause ectopic pregnancy and infertility. A pregnant woman can also pass on the infection to her baby, which can cause blindness. Fixing the threat of resistant gonorrhoea wont be easy the challenges in developing a new antibiotic cant be overestimated. Is the money for research and development (R&D) available? Who will the antibiotic be available to? And most importantly, how will you control its use so you can extend its shelf life? What makes the search for a new antibiotic for gonorrhoea particularly challenging is the frequency of asymptomatic infections along with gonorrhoeas ability to adapt to its hosts immune system and develop resistance to antibiotics. A major concern is that because N gonorrhoeae can live in the throat without someone even knowing, the bug can acquire resistance from other bacteria that also live there and which have been exposed to antibiotics in the past. And with evidence that oral sex is becoming increasingly common in some parts of the world, this is particularly challenging. Oral sex is driving resistance. Its a network of people having lots of oral sex. Its the new norm, says Dr Teodora Wi, a medical officer in WHOs Department of Reproductive Health and Research in Geneva, talking specifically about Asia. These challenges and concerns have gripped Balasegaram, but nonetheless hes more determined than ever to bring a new drug to market. People are dying from drug-resistant infections. This is undoubtedly because this area has not been prioritised in the past because other areas of R&D are far more lucrative, he says. Antibiotics are a global public good. I dont think its easy to put a financial value to it. *** Recent data collected by WHO examined trends in drug-resistant gonorrhoea in 77 countries countries that are part of the health agencys Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (Gasp), a global network of regional and subregional laboratories that track the emergence and spread of resistance. And the results are grim. More than 80 per cent of the countries that reported on azithromycin, a commonly prescribed antibiotic used to treat numerous common infections, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs), found resistance. Of greatest concern is that 66 per cent of countries surveyed have reported cases that resist last-resort antibiotics called extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs). And as Wi points out, the real-world picture is undoubtedly far bleaker, because global surveillance for drug-resistant gonorrhoea is patchy and more frequently done in higher-income countries, which have greater resources. For example, of the 77 countries that were surveyed, few were in sub-Saharan Africa, a region where rates of gonorrhoea are high. Were only seeing half of the real picture. We need to prepare for the future when theres no cure, Wi says. But in a sign that time is running out, in March this year health experts worst fears were confirmed: a case of super-gonorrhoea, dubbed the worlds worst ever case, was found in a man who had attended a local sexual health clinic. He had reportedly had sexual contact with a woman in Southeast Asia. Health officials said it was the first time this strain could not be cured with any of the antibiotics normally used to treat the disease. Although the patient has since responded to another antibiotic, doctors described him as very lucky. Its an indication of a wider crisis and one that knows no boundaries. *** Thailand is one country on the frontline of the fight against antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea. Its a key destination for the sex tourism industry, where STIs like gonorrhoea can spread easily and quickly across borders and beyond. And like many other countries in the region, it has an over-the-counter culture of antibiotic access, which means patients put themselves at risk of being prescribed the wrong drugs or even worse. Im in a district close to Thailands capital, Bangkok, to meet Boontham, a pharmacist. We meet in the jam-packed stockroom of the herbal medicine company he also runs a business thats far more lucrative than his pharmacy. The stockroom is filled head to toe with boxes of tablets containing an array of funky herbs Ive never heard of. The cost of visiting a doctor and the stigma surrounding STIs mean that many Thais rely on pharmacists like Boontham to cure their gonorrhoea. But he might be doing more harm than good. While Boontham has a degree in pharmacology and has been a pharmacist for more than 30 years, he has no idea of Thailands treatment guidelines for gonorrhoea. In fact, hes more than a decade out of date. And he cant, of course, diagnose patients accurately, particularly because gonorrhoea has similar symptoms to chlamydia. If youve been doing this for a long time, you just do what you have to, and thats an educated guess. As of now I use ciprofloxacin [to treat gonorrhoea], he says. If that doesnt work, then I guess its chlamydia. I tell him, however, that gonorrhoea in Thailand, as in many other countries, has shown widespread resistance to ciprofloxacin and that his country actually stopped recommending it more than a decade ago. Its not resistant, even doctors use it, he says. I prescribe it because its cheap. In hospitals they prescribe newer antibiotics that are more effective, but theyre more expensive. In countries where antibiotics are sold over the counter, research shows people are far more likely to visit pharmacists than a doctor. But while experts acknowledge that restricting the sale of antibiotics particularly in rural and remote areas where there are few, if any, proper doctors isnt the answer, this still presents a major challenge in the fight against drug-resistant infections. The problem is that when you go to a pharmacist and take antibiotics, maybe your symptoms have disappeared, but in fact you still have the infection. That means you can transmit the infection and cause more resistance, Wi says. I ask Boontham whether hes concerned about resistance if hes worried that the people hes treated for gonorrhoea arent cured. Resistance to medication is a doctors job, not a pharmacists, he says. The casual handing out of antibiotics without a prescription is not only confined to Thailand. Its a huge concern across the rest of the region and in other parts of the world, with no clear vision of how to tackle this growing problem. Handing out antibiotics that likely no longer work for people with gonorrhoea has also been happening in high-income countries countries that might be expected to have stricter treatment guidelines. In fact, a study published in the BMJ in 2015 found that many GPs in England were prescribing ciprofloxacin, even though it hasnt been recommended for treating gonorrhoea since 2005. In 2007, ciprofloxacin still made up almost half of prescriptions for gonorrhoea. As recently as 2011, GPs still prescribed it in 20 per cent of cases. *** On a balmy afternoon in bustling Bangkok, I visit Silom Community Clinic @ TropMed, an STI clinic northeast of the city centre dedicated to men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women who have sex with men. Located on the 12th floor of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the clinic is spotlessly clean, with bright purple walls, rainbow flags and a sign that immediately catches my eye, which reads Suck, F*ck, Test, Repeat. (Erin Aniker) (Erin Aniker) Off the main corridor is a microbiology lab that is doing critical and urgent work in the fight against antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea. In fact, the lab may be the best way Thailand can protect itself from this growing threat. Dr Eileen Dunne is an American epidemiologist and the head of the behavioural and clinical research section of the HIV/STI programme here, which is run as part of a collaboration between Thailands Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She, along with her Thai staff, are Thailands best line of defence in slowing gonorrhoea resistance. In 2015, recognising the worldwide danger of increasingly difficult to treat gonorrhoea infections and the specific threat they posed to Thailand the US CDC, WHO and Thai MOPH joined forces to launch a programme to track and ultimately limit the spread of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea. The programme is an enhanced local version of the WHOs Gasp and is the first of its kind in the world. Its called Egasp. It works like this. If a male patient comes into one of its two clinics with the telltale symptoms of gonorrhoea, he will have a sample collected for analysis and will fill out a questionnaire, which contains questions such as: Did you take antibiotics in the last two weeks? To create an open environment, the clinics are anonymous and the questionnaire is done privately on a computer. Men are the target group in the programme, Dunne explains, because the yield for isolating N gonorrhoeae is very high among men who have urethritis compared with women and those who are asymptomatic. MSM are an important population, she adds, because research shows they are likelier to develop resistance earlier than the general population, for reasons that arent precisely known. She and the laboratory staff take me to see if there are any samples being cultured from swabs taken from patients penises. Inside the incubator, where the samples are kept in petri dishes at 36C with 5 per cent carbon dioxide to promote bacteria growth, there are three. The stench of agar, a brown gelatinous medium that provides nutrients and a stable environment for bacteria to grow, is overwhelming. One petri dish contains a cluster of bubbly white dots, signalling that the patient does indeed have gonorrhoea. The next step is antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) at a lab downstairs. The isolate will be measured for resistance to five antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin and the last-resort drugs cefixime and ceftriaxone. Its resistance to these latter two which is of greatest concern. From the beginning of Egasp until 20 October 2017, of the 845 confirmed diagnoses of gonorrhoea that underwent AST, almost all isolates had widespread resistance to ciprofloxacin, as in many other countries. But encouragingly, none have shown resistance to the last-line drugs. Thats a relief for Thailand, but in no way an indication that Dunne and her teams alacrity should wane. People are surprised and have asked, Oh, why are you doing this if you dont show resistance?, Dunne says. Its actually good to do surveillance and not be detecting resistance yet. It means that were early enough to be prepared and [to] have a plan of response. Having strong surveillance activity in a region in which this is likely to emerge is important so we can detect it early. Thailands neighbours, specifically Myanmar, India, Indonesia and China, have recorded a significantly higher percentage of gonorrhoea isolates that are resistant to last-line treatments compared with Thailand. With the increasing movement of people around the world and Thailands popularity for sex tourism, I can see just how rapidly this threat could have far-reaching consequences. I think its really important to detect early, even one case, [because] it can be a harbinger for future developments of resistance. These bacteria are transmitted very rapidly between people. Being able to really find that one case early means that special steps can be in place to control transmission, Dunne says. I ask if the focus on MSM means other groups might be being missed. What about women, who are more likely than men to not experience any gonorrhoea symptoms? Or itinerant sex workers from across the border in Myanmar and Cambodia? I wonder if, among this high-risk group, Egasp is missing some of Thailands most vulnerable. I ask if theres potential for the programme to extend its work to include these people and their partners. Dunne agrees its a good idea. This targeted approach in men with symptoms is purposeful but may not be generalisable to the whole population. Its the tip of the iceberg. But its early on in the programme, and she and the team have to start somewhere. We need more time, she says. But no one is really sure how much time Thailand and the rest of the world has. *** The number of people infected with gonorrhoea has risen rapidly in recent years. Australia has seen a 63 per cent increase in the number of reported gonorrhoea cases since 2012, with the fastest rate of increase being in young heterosexual urbanites. In England, gonorrhoea cases rose by 53 per cent between 2012 and 2015, led by young people, gay men and other MSM. Meanwhile, in the USA cases rose by nearly 50 per cent between 2009 and 2016. And according to some experts, one of sciences greatest achievements in the fight against HIV could be a factor. Like many, Mark Kings nonchalant attitude towards sex had come to a halt when the HIV epidemic hit the gay community in the USA. No longer was gonorrhoea simply seen as a small, insignificant price to pay for a night of fun. Half the fun of being gay [was that] you didnt have to worry about birth control. Condoms were birth control, not STI control, says King. [But] as the years passed and you get into the Nineties and we know how HIV is transmitted, to get gonorrhoea is shameful because it means that youve been taking risks that could transmit HIV. Suddenly gonorrhoea became this really shameful thing because it means youre not doing the right thing. Move forward to today and HIV is no longer the death threat it once was. A strong civil society movement saw the disease get the political and scientific attention it warranted. The development of life-saving drugs means that those with HIV can live long, healthy lives. But as HIV treatment and prevention methods improve, peoples perception of risk may be changing. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a daily pill for people who dont have HIV but who are at substantial risk of getting it. Its a powerful tool in the fight against HIV, it is argued. When taken every day, its up to 92 per cent effective in preventing infection. But with its development and uptake came alarm bells, with some warning that STI rates would increase among those who used PrEP. Some small studies have hinted that this may be happening. Not all experts agree with this. The data from these studies is ambiguous and cannot be generalised. And some say that regular testing regimes associated with PrEP prescriptions could prevent STIs spreading. However, just as with antibiotics, there are people using PrEP without getting it through official health outlets. A recent survey carried out across Europe by the HIV/Aids advocacy group Aides found that about 70 per cent of informal PrEP users were having no regular medical monitoring. King is one of many for whom concerns over STIs in the broader context of having the incredible ability to prevent HIV infection seems absurd. PrEP opens the door for people to have sex without fear of HIV infection. The reaction is: yes, but what do we do about STIs? Oh my god, gonorrhoea and syphilis, King says sarcastically. People ask me, how does a person get HIV or gonorrhoea in this day and age? Well, lets see: because they were horny, or they said yes when they should have said no, or they had too much to drink, or they fell in love, or they trusted the wrong person. Kings words may resonate with many around the world. But WHO is focused on increasing condom use. Wi is particularly worried about the proliferation and popularity of dating apps among young people, which she believes are making no-strings-attached sex easier to obtain. All of us need to be strong about condom use. All of us need to campaign for condom use, Wi says. *** Looking ahead, at what point will it be more common to have a gonorrhoea infection that cant be treated with antibiotics than one that can? The answer is difficult to predict, but its also a potential reality that isnt far-fetched. We are in a situation now where we are worryingly using the last line of antibiotics for many infections or seeing even resistance to these last-line antibiotics, Balasegaram says. But as GARDP works to bring a new antibiotic to market, some countries are getting desperate as resistance to the available treatments continues to spread. Australia, which has recorded widespread resistance to azithromycin, is considering going back to an old drug called spectinomycin. Spectinomycin involves a painful muscular injection and has been linked to toxicity and a range of side-effects. Another concern is that its in short supply because its rarely used around the world any more. To this end, R&D for new antibiotics is urgent. But antibiotic drug development is prohibitively expensive and not attractive to the pharmaceutical industry even more so when its for an STI. In response, GARDP has partnered with Entasis Therapeutics, a US biotech company, to accelerate the development of a new antibiotic that will be produced specifically to target drug-resistant gonorrhoea. Zoliflodacin is a novel first-in-class oral antibiotic in other words, a new and unique mechanism of potentially treating gonorrhoea and is one of only three potential new antibiotic candidates currently undergoing trials. It had previously been put through clinical trials in 2015, but a lack of investment stopped the drug from progressing further. This year GARDP and Entasis will launch the last phase of trials of zoliflodacin, involving 650 people in Thailand, South Africa, the US and parts of Europe. If the drug is approved by regulators, Entasis will permit GARDP to introduce it in 168 low- and middle-income countries. Its hoping it will be registered by 2021 and available on the market by 2023. A major strength of the partnership between GARDP and Entasis is that it will be able to limit what infections zoliflodacin is used for. Were trying to focus this drug specifically on STIs not other community infections where antibiotics are widely used, Balasegaram says. The aim is not to go beyond that because thats how resistance starts. Initially the drug will be licensed only for use against gonorrhoea infections. If it proves to be effective against chlamydia and Mycoplasma genitalium (another bacterial STI), the GARDP and Entasis partnership could license it for those two infections as well, subject to clinical trials. We will support clinical trials and registration and therefore we can play a big role in how it is responsibly introduced and used. That gives us more control in how the drug is introduced and marketed in the countries where we work, says Balasegaram. Dunne is excited that Thailand will be part of the trials. It is the underbelly of infections. It doesnt get the attention it deserves and that is why this is exciting, she says. A lot is riding on the success of the drug. Will zoliflodacin be successful in remaining effective for as long as possible? Or will it face the same fate as other antibiotics? Moreover, research is risky theres no guarantee the clinical trials will be successful. We still dont know whether this project will succeed or not, says Balasegaram. But its a project that we feel is extremely important and that were very committed to. The development of new antibiotics raises myriad questions: how can we ensure they are used appropriately so we can preserve their effectiveness? And how can we ensure those who really need the drugs get them? One way would be a point-of-care rapid diagnostic test ideally one that could predict which antibiotics will work on a particular infection and that could be used in settings around the world. Balasegaram says theyve been looking for a simple diagnostic tool like this but havent yet found one. Diagnostic tools aside, the responsible use of new antibiotics also relies on robust national and international treatment guidelines and strong regulatory authorities to guide and monitor antibiotic use. (Erin Aniker) (Erin Aniker) If you have developed an antibiotic for narrow use, you have to think about how to market the drug. We do not want to drop large quantities of it around the world. But we also want to make sure those who need it get it, he says. This is where strong surveillance programmes, like Thailands, are critical. But its inevitable that bugs will develop resistance to the next antibiotic and then the next. So Balasegaram wants more investment in R&D that focuses not only on new antibiotics but also on alternative ways to treat bacterial infections. We have to continue to do R&D into therapeutic ways to treat these infections differently, he says. This may include novel and non-conventional approaches. I think that is a job that is going to last decades. What that might look like is complex. It may include designing antibodies that specifically target bacteria or using bacteriophages viruses that infect bacteria as a replacement for antibiotics. Either way, many feel that the end of the antibiotic era is near and that the transition from antibiotics to non-traditional treatments poses major challenges that wont be easy to solve. Its worth bearing in mind that bacteria can evolve to different approaches we develop, says Balasegaram. I dont think we will see a magic bullet solution soon that will definitively solve the issue. Its a frightening thought. This article first published by Wellcome on Mosaic and is republished here under a Creative Commons licence The National Audit Office has warned that an extra 2.9bn needs to be found in the Ministry of Defence's programme to renew and maintain the Trident nuclear deterrent over the next 10 years. About a quarter of the whole defence equipment budget up until 2028 is set to go on nuclear projects according to NAO estimates, leading to warnings the department could face significant pressures. Designing, producing and maintaining the fleet of nuclear submarines which carry warheads is forecast to cost the MoD a total of 50.9bn over the next decade, the spending watchdog said. "Problems with the affordability of the enterprise could destabilise the department's overall equipment plan given that around a quarter of its planned spend on equipment relates to nuclear programmes," the NAO said. Despite this, the MoD has insisted the report shows the nuclear programme is on track. In this financial year alone, 14 per cent of the MoDs total budget is expected to go on nuclear programmes, adding up to 5.2bn. In order to fund renewal plans which involve replacing the ageing Vanguard-class submarines with four new Dreadnought-class boats, at a cost of 31bn, the MoD has already had to find 3bn in efficiency savings over the next 10 years. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures 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 UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters It has also dipped into a 10bn contingency fund, taking 600m to pay for the the programme after and it may be forced to ask the Treasury to take more out if it is to fill the 2.9bn spending gap, the NAO warned. The MoD has also delayed work on a replacement for the Astute-class attack submarines by two years. This year, submarines are expected to cost the MoD 1.8bn, missiles and warheads 1.4 billion, propulsion systems 790m and an extra 220m will go on on managing the enterprise. The NAO warned that there are now skill shortages that need plugging across seven military sectors, with a need for 377 more skilled staff although the MoD developed new ways of working with key contractors on the Dreadnought programme, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, in efforts to combat past poor performance. Meg Hillier, the chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: "The budget pressures on the MoD's nuclear programme are significant. "The department will need to make some critical decisions to get the programme on track financially." Sir Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, said: "The coming years are crucial. "As the department invests heavily in the Dreadnought-class submarines and more widely across the enterprise, it needs to ensure that the new structures, processes and workforce operate effectively together to manage the 2.9 billion affordability gap across the enterprise." A MoD spokesman said: "Not only is the nuclear deterrent our ultimate defence from the world's most extreme threats, but it is a true national endeavour which supports thousands of British jobs. "The Dreadnought programme is one of the most complex engineering programmes ever undertaken by the UK and the NAO's report highlights our position that it is on track to be delivered on schedule and within the original estimated cost." Northern Irish police have questioned two men over the murder of a German teenage backpacker more than 30 years ago. The suspects, aged 61 and 58, were arrested in the Loughguile area of County Antrim in connection with the death of 18-year-old Inga Maria Hauser. The Munich teenagers body was found dumped in a remote part of Ballypatrick Forest, near Ballycastle, two weeks after she was last seen alive on a ferry from Scotland in April 1988. Her death is one of Northern Irelands most high-profile unsolved murders. The arrests on Monday came weeks after a much-publicised series of appeals to mark the 30th anniversary of the murder. Both men have since been released on bail pending further police investigation. In April, detectives said they believed a number of people may have been involved, either directly in the murder or in a subsequent cover-up. They suggested they only need fractional pieces of evidence to bring the chief suspects to justice. Police already have a complete male genetic profile taken from the murder scene, but have not yet found a match. One of the largest DNA screenings ever undertaken in the UK, involving 2,000 samples, was carried out a number of years ago but failed to produce a definitive match. Hauser had travelled through England and Scotland before her death. According to diary entries, she intended to travel south to Dublin after arriving by ferry at Larne, County Antrim. However, for reasons as yet unexplained, she ended up going in the opposite direction and was found dead in remote woodland two weeks later. 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 It is understood the IRA carried out its own investigation into the killing 30 years ago. Republican paramilitaries are believed to have considered passing information about the alleged murderer to the Royal Ulster Constabulary at the height of the Troubles, but did not follow through. 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, said Raymond Murray, chief superintendent of Police Service of Northern Ireland. He added: 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 High Court has ruled immigration detainees allegedly abused at the hands of staff at Brook House removal centre are allowed to seek an independent inquiry from the Home Office. Two men who were seen being physically assaulted by G4S guards in footage aired on the BBCs Panorama programme argued that the government failed to commission an adequate inquiry into the abuse they suffered. The claimants, both of whom are no longer in detention, called for a public, independent process with cross-examination and their participation with legal representation. Mr Justice Holman granted them permission to apply for judicial proceedings against the Home Office, saying he had some strong concerns about what the Panorama evidence exposed. Lawyers said the permission to seek a public inquiry could be a turning point in the way removal centres are run, and potentially expose further failings in the system that currently remain hidden. One of the claimants, known only as BB, who is seen being abused at the hands of G4S officers in the Panorama documentary, told The Independent the footage was "not even the half" of abuse that takes place in Brook House, and stressed that many detainees' voices were not being heard. Undercover footage aired on the BBC in September showed detainees in Brook House being abused, insulted, restrained and humiliated by guards amid drug abuse and suicide attempts. The director of Brook House resigned three weeks after the scandal broke and nine members of staff were suspended from duty, but no criminal proceedings have been brought and no independent inquiry launched. Nick Armstrong, barrister at Matrix Chambers who was representing BB, told The Independent a public inquiry was the only way to effectively affirm what happened and potentially expose further hidden abuse. He said: The Home Office has accepted only what was in the footage, but it is clear from the Panorama film that it is left right and centre. Its on wings, on landings, they then boast about it in the staff room and the reception centre. This is not hidden. Weve had report after report but they are essentially hand-wringing and speculating as to why it happened. Unless you get a proper and effective inquiry - where this incidents took place, who was there on the day youre not going to get any further. A proper inquiry could be a turning point. We have a particularly group here, and on top of that is these centres are run by private organisations. It is all shunted down to the lowest cost level and it fractures the delivery of services. BB, who has lived in the UK since he was a young child but was detained for nearly three years, said following the hearing that he saw abuse take place on a daily basis. This is not even the half of it. Its happening daily. One staff will cover the other one. There are people still there right now who were culprits themselves, and theyre still working. But theyre not in the video so no one is saying anything, he said. In a way Im grateful that all this is coming to the surface, but on the other hand I think 'What is the point?' Nothing has been done about this. Its been a year and this is dragging on. Today is the first time weve started to see a bit of justice. There are people who are left in there, others who have been deported without their voices being heard. Its sad. Were living in one of the best countries in the world, why are people covering up this abuse? It stops me from sleeping at night. BB said that during his time in Brook House his mental health deteriorated due to the way he was treated by staff and the suffering he witnessed of others, including seeing one try to take his own life. Recommended Use of force against immigration detainees more than doubles in a year I dont like to think about it, but Ive seen some horrible things. Ive seen staff going out of their way to make detainees miserable, just so they can get a kick out of it. And when you go complain to the senior manager, nothing happens. The complaints system doesnt work. Lewis Kett of Duncan Lewis, who is representing the other claimant, said: This is an important step on the way to what were seeking to achieve, which is an independent inquiry to establish what happened to our clients and why, and whether it was a wider system is failings. The reality is we wouldnt be able to pursue it any further unless we got it through today. It would get to the root of the problem and establishing what went wrong. In response to the ruling, Labours Diane Abbott told The Independent: It should not come as a surprise that the shocking footage from the Panorama expose has opened up legal challenges. There have been reports of abuses of immigration detainees across the system. Labour in government is committed to closing Brook House and the notorious Yarls Wood detention centres." The Home Office prompted outrage earlier this month when it emerged that despite the recorded abuse, G4S contract to run the Brook House immigration removal centre had been extended for another two years. It came shortly after a report by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) revealed that use of force against detainees in the centre had soared by more than 160 per cent in just two years. Emma Ginn, director of charity Medical Justice, said: "We hope this will lead to an independent public inquiry which we expect will uncover the institutional, systemic abuse in immigration detention and the extent of the medical harm suffered by detainees, as documented by Medical Justice for over a decade." 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 She said the level of healthcare failures the charity's volunteer doctors uncovered during visits to removal centres was "deeply disturbing", adding: "The Home Office must accept its part of the responsibility for failing to identity or stop these abuses." Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive at the EHRC, said she was pleased with the ruling, adding: The Britain in which we live should be a country where no one is made subject to humiliation and abuse when in state custody. "Following the BBCs Panorama investigation, that showed poor treatment of detainees, we believe that human rights law makes the government responsible for conducting an independent investigation. This would show a real desire to know what happened and to prevent it ever happening again." People in Manchester have gathered at events across the city to mark the first anniversary of the arena bombing that left 22 people dead and hundreds injured. Over a thousand attended a service in bright sunshine outside Manchester Cathedral which began with a minutes silence that was observed across the country. Elsewhere, people laid bouquets of flowers in St Anns Square and others left hand-written notes on Japanese maple trees that have been planted to form a Trees of Hope trail through Manchester. Pop star Ariana Grande, who had finished a performance at the arena when the bomb was detonated, shared a message of hope, telling survivors and families of victims she was thinking of you all today and every day. I love you with all of me and am sending you all of the light and warmth I have to offer on this challenging day, she said in a tweet in which she also included a bee the civic symbol of Manchester. Members of the public observe a minutes silence in Cathedral Gardens (PA) Outside the cathedral a choir sang Amazing Grace and Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and humanist leaders all addressed the congregation. On the altar stood 22 lit candles, made from the wax of thousands of candles left in the citys St Anns Square in the days after the attack. Prince William and Theresa May joined survivors and emergency workers who responded to the attack for the service. William read a passage from the Bibles book of Corinthians, ending: Faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. You will never be forgotten, reads a message left among the flowers (Jessica Morgan) A large screen showed photographs and the names of those killed. Many struggled to keep themselves from sobbing, and small groups of people held each other as they cried when specific names and faces came up on the large display. People leaving the service said they thought it was a perfect tribute, and that they were proud of our city. Mother and daughter Susan and Emma Wardley had both known victim Martyn Hett for over 10 years through the LGBT+ community. They said the attack had become part of Manchesters history. Susan told The Independent: I feel we have to remember the people that died as a mark of respect. We have to remember those who were injured, who helped and saw some horrific sights. We need never to let it go because its part of Manchesters history. It happened but we cant change that. We can be positive and we can stand together. Emma added: Its amazing to know we have so much support from other people. But what saddens me so much is that it shouldnt be because of a tragedy that weve come together. It shouldnt be like that. The world needs to respect and to love each other no matter what. 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 Chloe Weatherilt, 13, attended the Ariana Grande concert with her mother Jo Mail. They were opposite the foyer where the bomb went off and saw the blast and said they had dust in their hair. Chloe said: I think [the anniversary] is a really nice way to remember the people who unfortunately cant be here today. And its showing everyone that we care. Its a really nice way. Jo added: Its the place youd want to be with people that had the same experience as we did. Its quite difficult sometimes to speak to people who werent there. You dont have to say anything, you can just be [together]. They have not been back to the Arena since the attack, but Chloe and Jo are going back on the 26 May for Chloes 14th birthday to see the Harlem Globe Trotters. Jo said: We dont want it to stop us going back to concerts again. We are proud of our city. Jo Mail and daughter Chloe Weatherilt, who witnessed the attack (Jessica Morgan) Max Trobe, 19, who attended the concert with his nine-year old sister, also praised the city-wide memorial effort. He told The Independent: We made so many friends with people. Everyone was so together and you could walk around and everyone hugged each other despite not knowing each other. Ive met people from Twitter here today, its interpersonal connection you dont get in other places. It takes fear and tragedy to really bring out whats important and thats just sticking together and focusing on the positive. Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan descent, blew himself up as fans were leaving Grandes concert at Manchester Arena. Many of those killed were children, and others included parents waiting in the lobby as the concert ended. Police have said more than 800 people were left with physical and deep psychological injuries as a result of the attack. Agencies contributed to this report Even some of those who are lukewarm about the British monarchy were looking forward to a wedding that would help the royal family reflect some of the diversity of modern Britain. Mixed-race British royals are rare enough that you have to go all the way back to the early 1800s to find a candidate: Some historians believe Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, was of African descent. An official wedding photo released by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the newly-minted Duke and Duchess of Sussex, highlights the historic nature of their union. Recommended Meghan Markle outlines fight for feminism on royal website Photographed in the Green Drawing Room of Windsor Castle, Meghan who has asserted with pride that she is strong, confident mixed-race woman stands next to her African American mother, Doria Ragland, and is surrounded by senior royals and members of the wedding party. The official photos were taken by fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski after the ceremony, which was widely celebrated for combining British and African American traditions. The Archbishop of Canterbury led the couple in their vows. Michael Curry, the first black leader of the Episcopal Church in the United States, delivered a 14-minute barnstorming address that people in Windsor and beyond were talking about long after the service. It has been an incredible honour and privilege to document the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs inspiring journey of love, hope and family, said Lubomirski, who also took Harry and Meghans engagement photos. In a post on Instagram, he said: This has been a beautiful chapter in my career and life, that I will happily never forget. Kensington Palace tweeted that the newlyweds would like to thank everyone who took part in the celebrations of their wedding on Saturday. They 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 UK, Commonwealth, and around the world. The Washington Post Labour will pay a heavy price for Jeremy Corbyns refusal to fight Brexit and demand a fresh referendum on the withdrawal deal, Tony Blair warns today. The former Labour leader stepped up his criticism of his partys stance on leaving the EU condemning his successors failure to lead on the nations most important issue. The party now found itself in the worst of both worlds, as both Remain and Leave supporters came to the view that Labour was not on their side, Mr Blair argued. And he again urged Mr Corbyn to say the British people should have the final decision, because of Theresa Mays failure to negotiate good exit terms. In a new article, Mr Blair wrote: The Leavers think we're not really for Leave because we want to stay in the customs union and, as I say, for many Leavers that is an unacceptable compromise. The Remainers, however, have now cottoned on to the fact Labour is not really for remaining either, except in the very limited sense of the customs union, and so, unsurprisingly, they're losing faith in Labour as a route to avoid Brexit. The Labour party will pay a heavy price for the leaderships closet Euro-scepticism. The tragedy is the price the country will pay for Labours failure to lead. The warning comes as a succession of polls show the Conservatives edging ahead of Labour, despite their deep Brexit divisions and a sluggish economy. 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 Mr Blair said Labour should adopt the straightforward and electorally winning position of saying the government had failed to negotiate a good deal. It should then give the public a fresh referendum, saying: You began Brexit, you mandated the negotiation and you should decide how it ends. The article comes after Nick Clegg called for MPs to revoke the Article 50 exit notice, to delay Brexit by at least a year and lift the sword of Damocles. When faced with so many doubts, so many loose ends, so many unresolved questions, the first and simplest thing to do is give the country that most precious of commodities more time, the former deputy prime minister said. Mr Clegg acknowledged Brexiteers would scream blue murder but argued the EU would agree to the request after a little huffing and puffing. Mr Blair's comments accompanied a report by his think tank setting out that the losses from the government's plan to leave the customs union significantly outweigh any gains. There was no alternative customs arrangement that could create a frictionless border or retain an open Irish border, the report by EU expert Dr Andy Tarrant found. And any new trade deals - for instance with the US or China - would involve significant compromises and were highly unlikely to mitigate for lost trade as a result of leaving the EU. Mr Blair said the key Brexit dilemma whether to protect the economy by sticking to Brussels' rules, or break free at the risk of economic damage remained unresolved. Brexit could mean either of these two very different outcomes, he said. How then can it be said that the British people in June 2016 decided for one option over the other? The European Union has beaten Britain to the punch in opening trade talks with Australia and New Zealand, after the European Council gave the green light to full negotiations between the partners on Tuesday. Brexiteers had previously trumpeted a possible trade deal with the two Anglosphere Commonwealth countries as a potential benefit of Brexit, but the EU will now have a years head start over the UK in getting a deal finalised with an official ceremony due later this month. The EUs trade commissioner said she looked forward to welcoming the Commonwealth countries into the EUs ever-growing circle of close trading partners after the council approved the negotiating mandate, while critics in the UK said the British government had been outfoxed. Theresa May has claimed that Brexit was the moment we chose to build a truly global Britain and hoped to secure trade deals around the world with other countries to make up for the economic hit from leaving the EU. Progress has been slow so far, however, with some partners such as Japan saying they would prioritise the EU ahead of Britain, or others such as the United States attaching difficult conditions. Speaking as ministers from the EU member states signed off the start of talks, EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said: This is great news. We look forward to adding Australia and New Zealand to the EUs ever-growing circle of close trading partners. We are already close in terms of shared values and our open, global outlook. Together, we will now negotiate win-win trade deals that create new opportunities for our businesses, as well as safeguard high standards in key areas such as sustainable development. I am looking forward to visiting Canberra and Wellington in the coming weeks to officially launch our negotiations. Starting these talks between like-minded partners sends a strong signal at a time where many are taking the easy road of protectionism. We look forward to adding Australia and New Zealand to the EUs ever-growing circle of close trading partners. Cecilia Malmstrom, EU trade commissioner In September of last year, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker proposed the start of full trade talks with the two countries. Preliminary discussions between Australia and the EU were already completed in April 2017, following an announcement of intention to start a trade deal by both actors in November 2015. The Australian government says the EU is its largest export services market and also the countrys largest source of foreign investment. Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has meanwhile promised not to muck around in doing a deal with the UK, but talks are yet to begin because Britain cannot legally start them until it has left the union. EU minister says little progress has been made on Brexit since March Labour MP Gareth Thomas, former trade minister and a supporter of the Peoples Vote campaign, said: Once again, our international trade secretary has been outfoxed in his attempts to secure new post-Brexit free trade deals. The supposed economic benefits of Brexit rely entirely on striking new international trade deals, but clearly most countries are more interested in negotiating with the EU, the largest trading bloc in the world, than with the UK alone. Brexit so far: in pictures Show all 53 1 /53 Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit campaign Boris Johnson led the VoteLeave campaign PA Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit campaign Boris Johnson MP, Labour MP Gisela Stuart and UKIP MP Douglas Carswell address the people of Stafford in Market Square during the Vote Leave Brexit Battle Bus tour on 17 May 2016. Their lead line on the tour was: We send the EU 350 million a week, let's fund our NHS instead. Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Voting day A man shelters from the rain as he arrives at a polling station in London on 23 June 2016. Millions of Britons voted in the referendum on whether to stay in or leave the European Union AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Referendum results Leader of Ukip, Nigel Farage, reacts at the Leave EU referendum party at Millbank Tower in central London as results indicated that it was likely the UK would leave the European Union AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Protesting the result A young couple painted as EU flags and a man with a sign reading Im not leaving protest outside Downing Street against the voters decision to leave the EU on 24 June 2016 Getty Brexit so far: in pictures David Cameron resigns British Prime Minister David Cameron resigns on the steps of 10 Downing Street on 24 June 2016 after the results of the EU referendum were declared and the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Theresa May Becomes the new Conservative Party leader Theresa May receives a kiss from her husband Philip, after becoming the new Conservative Party leader on 11 July 2016. May became Prime Minister two days later and although she voted to remain in the referendum was keen to lead Britains Brexit talks after her only rival in the race to succeed David Cameron pulled out unexpectedly. May was left as the only contender standing after the withdrawal from the leadership race of Andrea Leadsom, who faced criticism for suggesting she was more qualified to be prime minister because she had children AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Lancaster House keynote speech on Brexit British Prime Minister Theresa May delivers her keynote speech on Brexit at Lancaster House in London on 17 January 2017. Where she spoke about her offer to introduce a transition period after the UK formally leaves the European Union in March 2019. Despite repeating the pro-Brexit mantra of no deal is better than a bad deal, the Prime Minister claimed she wanted a tone of trust between the negotiators and said Britain was leaving the EU but not Europe. She said there should be a clear double lock needed for the transitional period to make sure businesses had time to prepare for changes to their trading relationships with the EU Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Triggering of Article 50 British Prime Minister Theresa May in the cabinet, sitting below a painting of Britain's first Prime Minister Robert Walpole, signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk invoking Article 50 and the United Kingdom's intention to leave the EU on 29 March 2017 Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Gibraltar nonsense Tensions have risen over Brexit negotiations for the Rock of Gibraltar. The European Council has said Gibraltar would be included in a trade deal between London and Brussels only with the agreement of Spain. While former Conservative leader Michael Howard claimed that Theresa May would be prepared to go to war to protect the territory. Spain's foreign minister stepped in only to assert that there was no need for the dispute Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Shock snap election Soon after triggering Article 50, Theresa May called on 18 April 2017 for a snap general election. The election would be on 8 June and it came as a shock move to many, with her reasoning to try to bolster her position before tough talks on leaving the EU AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Dissolution of Parliament for General Election Campaign Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street after returning from Buckingham Palace on 3 May 2017. The Prime Minister visited the Queen to ask for the dissolution of Parliament signalling the official start to the general election campaign Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Conservatives lose parliamentary majority An arrangement of British daily newspapers showing front page stories about the exit poll results of the snap general election. British Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to resign on 9 June 2017 after losing her parliamentary majority, plunging the country into uncertainty as Brexit talks loomed. The pound fell sharply amid fears the Conservative leader would be unable to form a government AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Labour gains Britains opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gives a tumbs up as he arrives at Labour headquarters in central London on 9 June 2017 after the snap general election results showed a hung parliament with Labour gains and the Conservatives losing their majority AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit negotiations begin Brexit Minister David Davis and European Commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations Michel Barnier address a press conference at the end of the first day of Brexit negotiations in Brussels on 19 June 2017 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures May speaks in Florence British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks on 22 September 2017, in Florence. May sought to unlock Brexit talks after Brussels demanded more clarity on the crunch issues of budget payments and EU citizens' rights AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU council summit insufficient progress German Chancellor Angela Merkel joins other EU leaders for a breakfast meeting during an EU summit in Brussels on 20 October 2017. The EU spoke about Brexit and announced that insufficient progress had been made AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures DUP derails settlement on the withdrawal part of Brexit DUP Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds walks off after speaking to members of the media as a protester holding flags shouts after him outside the Houses of Parliament on 5 December 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to pull out of a deal with Brussels after the DUP said it would not accept terms which see Northern Ireland treated differently from the rest of the UK Getty Brexit so far: in pictures May suffers defeat over EU (Withdrawal) Bill Theresa May suffers defeat in parliament over EU (Withdrawal) Bill on 13 December 2017. The Government was defeated by Conservative rebels and Labour MPs in a vote on its key piece of Brexit legislation. MPs amended the EU (Withdrawal) Bill against Theresa May's will, guaranteeing Parliament a meaningful vote on any Brexit deal she agrees with Brussels. Ms May's whips applied pressure on Conservative rebels who remained defiant in the Commons throughout the day and in the end the Government was defeated by 309 votes to 305 Brexit so far: in pictures EU council summit sufficient progress Britain's Prime minister Theresa May arrives to attend the first day of a European union summit in Brussels on 14 December 2017. European leaders discussed Brexit and announced there was finally sufficient progress at the end of the two days AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures The game moves to transition Brexit Secretary David Davis gives evidence on developments in European Union divorce talks to the Commons Exiting the EU Committee in Portcullis House, London, on 24 January 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures Trade deal is what May wants French President Emmanuel Macron gestures to Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May after they hold a press conference at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, on 18 January 2018. May and Macron agreed a new border security deal, through which the UK will pay more to France to stop migrants trying to reach British shores on 18 January 2018 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Transition period agreed The UK and EU agree terms for Brexit transition period on 19 March, 2018 Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures No agreement on Irish border The EU and UK however failed to reach an agreement on the Irish border during the successful talks on other Brexit issues AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU attacks Mays fantasy strategy For months after the March deal is struck there is little significant progress in talks. One senior EU official tears into Britains fantasy negotiating strategy and accuses Theresa May of not even having a position on a variety of important issue Getty Brexit so far: in pictures UK releases Ireland plan Britain releases a new customs plan to solve the Northern Ireland border but Michel Barnier says it leaves unanswered questions and would not prevent a hard border EbS Brexit so far: in pictures Chequers plan agreed The cabinet agrees on a plan known as the "Chequers deal" on July 6 2018. The plan seeks regulatory alignment on goods and food, divergence on services, freedom from the European Courts of Justice and an end to free movement. Many were surprised that the hard Brexiteers of the cabinet would agree to this plan PA Brexit so far: in pictures Chequers plan sparks resignations Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and numerous ministers resign in the days following the Chequers agreement Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Davis out, Raab in On 9 July, Dominic Raab replaces David Davis as Brexit Secretary. Raab is a keen Brexiteer and was a housing minister before taking over from Davis Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Barnier's "deal like no other" EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier claims on August 29 2018 that they are prepared to offer Britain a trade deal like no other, though he stressed that they will not divide or change the single market to accommodate Britain AP Brexit so far: in pictures "My deal or no deal" In an interview on Panorama on September 17, the Prime Minister insists that any Brexit deal will be offered to the EU on her terms. She asserts this amongst continued attacks on her approach to Brexit by Boris Johnson and the European Research Group, headed by Jacob Rees Mogg BBC/Jeff Overs Brexit so far: in pictures EU leaders reject Chequers Quite the blow was dealt to the Prime Minister at a EU leaders summit in Salzburg on September 20. European Council President Donald Tusk stated that the Chequers deal "will not work" Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures May demands respect Following the rejection of her Chequers plan the day before, the Prime Minister voiced her anger that the EU had dismissed it without offering an alternative. She stated that throughout this process, I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it." Getty Brexit so far: in pictures People's Vote march As the People's Vote campaign and The Independent's Final Say campaign gain traction, 700,000 people turn out in London to demand a final say on the UK's Brexit deal on October 20 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures More resignations As the Prime Minister settles on a Brexit deal, Brexit secretary Dominic Raab resigns along with Work and Pensions secretary Esther McVey and many other ministers Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Final Say petitions delivered to Downing Street People's Vote supporting MPs Chukka Umunna, Justine Greening and Caroline Lucas and The Independent editor Christian Broughton deliver over a million signatures in favour of a People's Vote to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street on December 3 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures May delays vote On December 10, the Prime Minister delayed the vote on her Brexit deal as it was near certain not to pass through the Commons due to Tory rebels and lack of DUP support AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures No confidence motion Tory MPs triggered a confidence vote in the Prime Minister on December 12. She won by 200 votes to 117 Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Commons rejects the deal Following the delay, the Prime Minister's deal was rejected in the Commons by a historic 230 votes AFP Brexit so far: in pictures Corbyn tables a no confidence motion Following the rejection of the Prime Minister's deal, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a motion of no confidence in the government, which the government won by a margin of 19 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Plan B The Prime Minister won the support of the commons to return to Brussels to renegotiate the backstop on January 29. In the same sitting, MPs also voted against a no-deal Brexit in a non-legally binding motion PA Brexit so far: in pictures EU council president savages Brexit campaigners who failed to plan for departure: Special place in hell There is a special place in hell for pro-Brexit campaigners who demanded Britain leave the EU without explaining how it should happen, Donald Tusk has said. The European Council president launched the scathing attack as he accused anti-EU campaigners of pushing for Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. Mr Tusk also dismissed suggestions that the EU could reopen negotiations over the controversial Northern Ireland backstop, dealing a blow to Theresa Mays hopes of securing fresh concessions as she tries to get her exit deal through parliament. Speaking in Brussels alongside Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Mr Tusk said: Ive been wondering what a special place in hell looks like for people who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. He also tweeted the accusation moments later Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU and UK announce talks to restart after Theresa May visits Brussels Both have agreed to restart Brexit talks to find a way through the deadlock in Westminster, following a visit by Theresa May to Brussels. In a joint statement the British government and European Commission said Ms May had had a robust but constructive meeting with president Jean-Claude Juncker, and that the pair would meet again before the end of the month. But the EU again refused to reopen the withdrawal agreement and its controversial backstop with any negotiations expected to focus on the future relationship between the UK and EU instead Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit strategy lost MPs voted down May's Brext plans, with a majority of 45. The prime minister did not appear in parliament to see another defeat PA Brexit so far: in pictures Labour and Conservative MPs resign and create the Independent Group Back row of Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker, Chuka Umunna and Mike Gapes, middle row of Angela Smith, Luciana Berger and Ann Coffey and front row of Sarah Wollaston, Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Joan Ryan PA Brexit so far: in pictures Non-biding votes on amendments to Brexit motion On February 27 he house held a series of votes, unanimously calling for the UK and EU to guarantee citizens rights in a no-deal scenario AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Attorney General publishes legal advice A hammer blow for May as Geoffrey Cox said her renegotiated deal can still leave UK in backstop against its will. Mr Cox did say the prime ministers efforts had reduced the risk of the UK being trapped in the backstop indefinitely. MPs went on to vote against her deal by 391 to 242 UK Parliament/PA Brexit so far: in pictures No-deal off the table MPs rejected a no-deal Brexit by 43 votes on March 13, with cabinet ministers rebelling in another humiliating defeat for Theresa May. A day later they voted in favour of the prime minister seeking an extension to Article 50 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures House speaker bans May from third Commons vote on same Brexit deal John Bercow sensationally told Theresa May he would stop her making another attempt to pass her Brexit deal unless she has secured changes. The Speaker said a further meaningful vote would be ruled out of order if the motion was the same or substantially the same under an ancient convention to stop the government bullying parliament on issues MPs have rejected Parliament Live Brexit so far: in pictures May writes to Tusk The prime minister wrote to Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, to ask for a three-month extension to give her more time to try to get her deal through parliament. However the European Commission advises the EU27 should offer a short extension to May 23 or a longer one meaning the UK would participate in European elections 10 Downing Street/AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures European Council summit Theresa Mays request to extend triggering Article 50 until the end of June was rejected by the EU, and instead offered a shorter time frame. She accepted the offer of a delay until May 22 if her withdrawal deal is approved by Parliament. If MPs rejected it for a third time, the EU said Britain must propose a new plan by April 12. Ms May said she will not support a long delay because it would mean Britain participating in elections for the European Parliament Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brussels confirms preparations for a no-deal Brexit are completed They warned that it is increasingly likely the UK will crash out. In a statement the European Commission (EC) said preparedness and contingency work, which the EC has been conducting since December 2017, was now finished. The announcement came days after EU leaders agreed to a request by Theresa May to extend the UKs Brexit date AFP Brexit so far: in pictures May resigns Reuters With the fantasy economic benefits of Brexit disappearing by the day, but with the costs mounting up, this is yet more evidence of why we need a Peoples Vote on the final Brexit deal. The positive step for the EU comes weeks after the bloc jointly announced with Mexico that they were in the final stage of completing a trade deal. Unions chief Frances OGrady has revealed she has only had one meeting with Theresa May since she became prime minister. TUC general secretary Ms OGrady said she did meet senior ministers like Philip Hammond and David Davis and has even seen German chancellor Angela Merkel over the last two years. But she suggested Ms May could be avoiding a second meeting due to her failure to win a majority at the last election. Asked later in the day whether Ms OGrady may now be invited in for a further meeting, a Downing St official declined to commit. Speaking at a lunch for parliamentary journalists, Ms OGrady said on Tuesday: I have met Theresa May once. I have in the past sometimes reflected on the fact that I have met Angela Merkel, the president of Ireland, various others, many more times than our own prime minister. She said she believed her lack of access to the prime minister was in part a reflection of the political culture in Britain, but also down to the result of last years general election when the Conservatives lost their Commons majority. Official document raises prospect of tampering with workers' rights to boost economy She went on: This isnt for me a left/right issue. I think there are countries where it is recognised that it is important not just to listen to business, but listen to working people too. I suspect things became more difficult after the last election. I think had the election been decisive maybe I would have been meeting on a more regular basis. On Brexit, Ms OGrady, who campaigned for Remain, urged Ms May to act with caution given the closeness of the 2016 referendum result. 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 She said that working people should not be made to pay the price of a hard Brexit at a time when the economy was struggling and pay was being squeezed. A Downing Street spokesman highlighted policies the prime minister backs that aim to help workers, including cutting income tax, the national living wage, free childcare and changes to some workers rights. He said: The prime minister meets regularly with a range of industry leaders. Whats important is her absolute commitment to helping hard-working people. Asked whether Number 10 would now extend an invitation to Ms OGrady, he said simply: She has regular meetings with industry leaders. The government has applied for a pot of money earmarked to be given to British charities to instead be used to help pay off the national debt. The attorney general, Jeremy Wright, asked the High Court to approve the release of the 475m National Fund to the Treasury. The fund's trustees previously applied for permission to donate the money to charities, but Mr Wright said it should instead be used to help reduce government debt. The National Fund was created in 1928 after an anonymous donor gave 500,000 with instructions that it should be used to create a reserve to allow the UK's debts to be paid off in one go. Despite now being worth 475m, however, the pot has never amounted to more than 0.066% of the national debt and has therefore remained unused. The fund's trustees applied to the Charity Commission for permission to use the money for a series of grants to charities in the UK. The Commission referred the matter to the attorney general's office in 2011, saying it was for the government to decide, but no decision was made. Mr Wright has now decided the money should instead be given to the government to pay down the national debt. 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 said: "Almost 90 years ago an anonymous donor bequeathed money to the nation and yet we have not been able to put it to good use. We have been working with the Treasury, Trustees and the Charity Commission to find a solution consistent with the donors original objectives of extinguishing the national debt. "I am applying to the High Court to ask that the Fund is released and if that application is successful, the Fund could be used to benefit the nation by helping to do what the original donors intended. The fund was established after future prime minister Stanley Baldwin, then the financial secretary to the Treasury, used an unattributed newspaper article to announce he had donated a fifth of his wealth to the Exchequer and call on others to do the same. At the time Britain's national debt had hit 150 per cent as it struggled to pay the costs of the First World War. The current national debt stands at 1.7tn, meaning the National Fund money would reduce Britain's liabilities by just 0.025 per cent. Labour said the money should instead be given to charities. Steve Reed, the shadow minister for civil society, said: This 475m would be a tidal wave of support for small charities, but its a drop in the ocean compared to the national debt. In fact, the national debt is rising so fast that by the end of the same day this payment is made towards it, the debt will have risen by nearly the same amount. This government never misses a chance to sideline charities. Heres a real chance to do some real good but the government is threatening to do nothing instead. The government said it had sought the trustees' approval to apply for the money to be released. It is not clear whether this was received. An immigration minister has admitted she has never read the Good Friday Agreement in full or visited the Irish border during a grilling by MPs. Caroline Nokes confessed that she had not read any Irish history "in a very long time" and she was "probably giving birth" when the historic agreement was signed 20 years ago, during an appearance before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. Citizens can identify legally as British, Irish or both under the Good Friday Agreement but MPs have raised concerns over an "anomaly" where those born in the Republic of Ireland but have lived north of the border all their lives can struggle to get a British passport. The threat of a hard border with Ireland has proved a key sticking point in the Brexit talks, as negotiators struggle to balance the risk of return to violence at the border with the need for customs checks between the EU and the UK. The DUP's Gregory Campbell said the passport situation defied the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, as people had to endure a "tortuous route" of naturalisation and pay "an exorbitant fee" to get a British passport. The Irish government waives the fees for individuals born in Northern Ireland seeking Irish citizenship. Labour's Kate Hoey said the minister "clearly did not understand" the significance of the agreement after Ms Nokes repeatedly said that citizens from the Republic of Ireland were treated the same as others seeking British citizenship. Asked if she had ever read any Irish history, Ms Nokes said: "Not for a very long time." Under pressure from MPs, the minister then admitted she had never read the landmark agreement in full. Ms Nokes said: "I haven't. 20 years ago I was probably giving birth and I have only been immigration minister for five months." Facing questions about smuggling, Ms Nokes also admitted that she had not visited the Irish border, prompting surprise from MPs at the heart of rows over Brexit. Tory committee chairman Andrew Murrison told her: "The important thing about this is Good Friday Agreement, the Good Friday Agreement is really very clear. "It talks about the rights of people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish, British or both. "These words are either rhetorical or they have meaning. Meaning means being able to be British and hold a British passport. "Clearly those words at the moment are inappropriate insofar as we put a real hurdle to people wishing to have a British passport which is not the case for people who wish to have or find it expedient to have an Irish passport." UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures 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 UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA He urged her to tackle the issue urgently as Brexit is expected to heap pressure on immigration services. Ms Nokes accepted there was an issue but said she would not "make sweeping assumptions about a treaty that was made 20 years ago". The 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement was marked earlier this year, which effectively brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Labour has accused a cabinet minister and a Conservative backbencher of racism over inflammatory comments about Meghan Markle and a Ugandan-born British journalist. Michael Gove, the environment secretary, was criticised after describing Prince Harry's new wife as "exotic", while Nadine Dorries triggered an angry backlash after telling commentator Yasmin Alibhai-Brown she should "appreciate just a little the country...you benefit from". Labour said the pair should "enter the 21st Century and leave their racism at the door" and claimed their attitudes were part of a climate that led to members of the Windrush generation facing the threat of deportation. The row erupted when Ms Dorries attacked Ms Alibhai-Brown, a former Independent columnist, for a post mocking the fervour over the marriage of Prince Harry and Ms Markle. The journalist wrote on Twitter: Is it safe to be back on Twitter? Have people including royal wedding journalist junkies run out of breath yet? Proof again that GB is an infantilised, escapist nation. Ms Dorries replied: Yasmin, why dont you just try to be nice? Maybe appreciate just a little the country and the people you have chosen to live, work and benefit from all of your life. When Ms Alibhai-Brown responded asking why she should not be allowed to express an opinion, Ms Dorries told her it was "below you to play the race card". The journalist was born in Uganda and moved to the UK in 1972, when she was in her early twenties. The row came on the same day that Mr Gove was criticised for describing Ms Markle, who is mixed race, as "exotic". Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Show all 90 1 /90 Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures The Duke and Duchess of Sussex kiss on the steps of St Georges Chapel after their wedding WPA Pool/Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Top gear: William and Kate had an Aston Martin with balloons and a JUST WED number plate. Harry and Meghan score extra points: this 1968 E-type Jag, which took them to the evening party at Frogmore House, has been converted to electric power. And the number plate, E190518? Its their anniversary AP Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle and Prince Harry leave St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle after their wedding PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding in Windsor Reuters Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stand at the altar Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Kingdom Choir outside St Georges Chapel in Windsor, Berkshire, after performing at the wedding PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures The pageboy whose smile went viral Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Guests toast as they attend a viewing party for the royal wedding at the Plaza Hotel in New York Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle reaches the altar in St Georges Chapel Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures John Major and his wife Norma Major attend the royal wedding ceremony EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle arrives for the wedding ceremony to marry Prince Harry PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Fans attend a Royal Wedding watching party at Lillies Victorian Establishment in New York AFP/Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex emerge from the West Door of St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Well-wishers lining the streets wave and cheer as Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex pass riding in the Ascot Landau Carriage during their carriage procession AFP/Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures James Blunt and Sofia Wellesley attend the royal wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss on the steps of St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding WPA Pool/Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Charlotte Riley and Tom Hardy arrive for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex begin their carriage procession in the Ascot Landau Carriage after their wedding ceremony AFP/Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures James Corden and Julia Carey attend the royal wedding ceremony EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Harry and Meghan emerge from the West Door of St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Left to right, Lady Louise Windsor, Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne, Princess Royal arrive for the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle AP Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry looks at his bride, Meghan Markle, as she arrives accompanied by the Prince of Wales in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for their wedding in Windsor, Britain REUTERS Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian arrive at St Georges Chapel Reuters Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry places the wedding ring on the finger of Meghan Markle during their wedding service, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby WPA Pool/Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures The royal wedding cake has been revealed AP Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Members of the public view a live screening of the marriage ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Winchester Cathedral Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Rex Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures The Duke of Cambridge (left), the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of York during the wedding service for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle during their wedding service PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures US actor Abigail Spencer (left) and Indian actor Priyanka Chopra (second from left) arrive with other guests for the royal wedding EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle and her mother Doria Ragland drive along the Long Walk for her wedding to Prince Harry in Windsor Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Sir Elton John leaves St Georges Chapel PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle and her mother Doria Ragland drive along the Long Walk for her wedding to Prince Harry in Windsor Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Oprah Winfrey arrives at St Georges Chapel REUTERS Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry's niece and bridesmaid Princess Charlotte arrives for the wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and US actress Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor AFP/Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for their wedding PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Bishop Michael Curry delivered a passionate sermon during the royal wedding ceremony PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures In this frame from video, Meghan Markle walks down the aisle with Prince Charles for her wedding ceremony at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, near London, England AP Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attend the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle is driven by the Long Walk to St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for her royal wedding ceremony to Britain's Prince Harry, in Windsor, Britain EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle is driven down the Long Walk to St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for her royal wedding ceremony to Britain's Prince Harry, in Windsor, Britain EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle arrives for the wedding ceremony to marry Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, at St George's Chapel, Windsor AFP/Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for her wedding to Prince Harry PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Bridesmaids and pageboys arrive for the royal wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, in Windsor, Britain EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle (R) with her mother Doria Ragland arrive at Windsor Castle ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales marries Ms. Meghan Markle in a service at St George's Chapel inside the grounds of Windsor Castle. Among the guests were 2200 members of the public, the royal family and Ms. Markle's Mother Doria Ragland Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Princess Charlotte (right) arrives for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall arrive at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle, right, and her mother Doria Ragland leave Cliveden House Hotel in Taplow, near London, England AP Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for her wedding PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Doria Ragland arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry (right) sits with his best man the Duke of Cambridge in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle ahead of his wedding to Meghan markle wedding PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Guests are pictured as they take their seats inside the Chapel ahead of the wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and US actress Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor AFP/Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Britain's Prince Harry (R) and his brother and best man, Prince William (C), Duke of Cambridge arrive at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for his royal wedding ceremony to Meghan Markle, in Windsor, Britain EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Prince Harry (left) and the Duke of Cambridge arrive at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Meghan Markle leaves Cliveden House Hotel in Taplow, near London, England, Saturday, May 19, 2018 before her wedding ceremony with Prince Harry at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castl AP Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Britain's Prince Harry (L), Duke of Sussex, arrives with his best man Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (R), at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on May 19, 2018 for his wedding ceremony to marry US actress Meghan Markle AFP/Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures AFP/Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures AFP/Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures REUTERS Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures British Ministry of Defence shows around members of the Band of the Irish Guards entertaining the public ahead of the royal wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Windsor, Britain, EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Princess Eugenie, The Duke of York and Princess Beatrice, from left, arrive for the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle AP Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Key Newss Kay Burley enjoys the moment Rex/Shutterstock Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Sarah Ferguson leaves after the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle AP Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures A general view of guests arriving in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Windsor, Britain REUTERS Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Amal and George Clooney arrive for the wedding ceremony AFP/Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Guests arrive at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures US tennis player Serena Williams (L) and her husband American Internet entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian (R) arrive for the royal wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, in Windsor, Britain EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Irish Guards marching band parades through Windsor for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Members of the public gather ahead at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Alison Tinsley on the Long Walk ahead of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Police patrol the streets ahead of the royal wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, in Windsor, Britain EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Royal fans wearing wedding dresses hold a sign reading When Harry met Meghan he hadnt met us first ahead of the royal wedding ceremony EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Well-wishers gather to watch the Royal Wedding of Britains Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and US actress Meghan Markle at the Pear Tree in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Members of the public gather near Windsor Castle prior to the wedding of HRH Prince Harry Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Guardsman play for the crowd ahead of the royal wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, in Windsor EPA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Royal fans wear wedding dresses near the castle before the wedding of Prince Harry Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales marries Ms. Meghan Markle in a service at St George's Chapel inside the grounds of Windsor Castle. Among the guests were 2200 members of the public, the royal family and Ms. Markle's Mother Doria Ragland Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures War Veteran Phyllis Walker smiles during the wedding of Prince Harry Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle at Cambridge Gate Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures David and Victoria Beckham arrive at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Reuters Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Band of the Irish Guards perform outside the castle prior to the wedding of Prince Harry Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures A member of staff holds goodie bags ahead of of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures A Royal fan waits for the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, near London, England, Saturday, May 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) AP Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Royal fans within the grounds of Windsor Castle ahead of the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Royal fans gather behind the barriers on the Long Walk, in Windsor, ahead of the wedding and carriage procession of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. PA Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Royal fans soak up the atmopshere during the wedding of Prince Harry Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle on The Long Walk Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures A man sweeps the path outside St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle ahead of the wedding and carriage procession of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Windsor AFP/Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Two men wearing wedding dresses buy train tickets to Windsor to watch the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Waterloo train station Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Crowds gather during the wedding of Prince Harry Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle on The Long Walk Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Well-wishers draped in a Union flag with an image of Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle walk along the Long Walk leading to Windsor Castle ahead of the wedding and carriage procession of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Windsor AFP/Getty Images Royal Wedding - Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in pictures Royal fans line the Long Walk in Windsor ahead of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle PA Speaking alongside Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson at the Westminster launch of a new think tank, Mr Gove joked: Looking around this evening, an evening when we have five speeches, white wine, a warm room, were inevitably reminded of weddings. And indeed as I came in and the canapes were being handed out someone said it is a bit like a wedding reception. I did think for a moment, yes it was. Because you have this amazing woman from an exotic background, who turns heads, and who is transforming a staid and traditional institution by sheer force of charisma on the one hand. And then youve got a lad whos occasionally walked on the wild side, done some naughty stuff, but at last has a chance for redemption. Labour MP Rupa Huq told The Independent: "Michael Gove and Nadine Dorries need to enter the 21st Century and leave their racism at the door. "With attitudes like this, its little wonder that British citizens have been left facing deportation under the hostile environment policy." Royal Wedding: Harry and Meghan's ceremony in 90 seconds Responding to the row, Ms Dorries denied she was racist. She wrote on Twitter: "My comment to [Ms Alibhai-Brown] has caused a bit of a flurry! Cant read all the comments. I am not racist, almost laughable that Im being called that, by the rabid left, of course. She made a hateful comment and my response would have been the same to anyone, regardless. "The wedding was an amazing celebration of unity, it crossed racial boundaries in an atmosphere of love. It was amazing to see. Yasmin was hateful, churlish, mean and I would have said the same thing to [former BBC journalist Gavin Esler, who had criticised her comments] - when you make your living as a journalist expecting people to buy your words and your intent is to influence opinion - when the country has gone all out in a spirit of harmony and celebration - just be a little nicer and if you call those same people infantilised and escapist, expect me to take aim. Because someone has to." A Conservative MP has been condemned for saying a Uganda-born British journalist who criticised the royal wedding would be better off appreciating the country she has chosen to benefit from. Nadine Dorries questioned why Yasmin Alibhai-Brown could not just try and be nice after the former Independent columnist took to Twitter to voice her disillusionment with the event and what it said about modern Britain. The MP for Mid Bedfordshire also implied Ms Alibhai-Brown should be grateful to be living in Britain. Recommended Serena Williams wears flat shoes to royal wedding evening reception Ms Alibhai-Brown left Uganda for Britain in 1972, and completed a Master of Philosophy degree in literature at Oxford in 1975. On Monday morning, two days after the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, the prominent commentator on immigration, diversity and multiculturalism wrote: Is it safe to be back on Twitter? Have people including royal wedding journalist junkies run out of breath yet? Proof again that GB is an infantilised, escapist nation. Ms Dorries replied: Yasmin, why dont you just try to be nice? Maybe appreciate just a little the country and the people you have chosen to live, work and benefit from all of your life. The pair then became embroiled in a Twitter spat in which Ms Alibhai-Brown questioned why the Tory MP believed she was not entitled to have an opinion on Prince Harrys marriage to Meghan Markle. Below you to play the race card, youre better than that, Ms Dorries responded. Ms Dorries then faced a barrage of criticism over the remarks. Im glad youre not my MP. Just imagine the things you might say to me, Twitter user Shruti Bhargava said. I have zero confidence you would act on my behalf. Like it or not the UK is multicultural, and your job is to represent all citizens in their full diversity of beings and opinions. Another added: If you dont believe that a UK citizen can speak their mind freely (within legal limitations obviously) then you dont believe in one of the basic tenets of our democracy. I dont like what Dorries says, but I dont seek for her to be silenced. Other critics accused Ms Dorries of racism and argued the politician failed to accept multiculturalism. She responded by saying it was laughable she was being labelled a racist by the rabid left. Every time a Tory MP tells a black person to be grateful, its as though Dorries doesnt realise that Yasmin has EXACTLY the same rights to live here as Dorries does and her stay is not subject to the patronage of the British people. Of course, shes not racist, though, Steve Carey wrote. Hi Nadine, why dont you just try to be not racist? Maybe appreciate just a little bit that the country youve chosen to live in is a diverse, multiethnic and multicultural country. Perhaps reflect upon the white privilege that youve benefited from since the moment you were born, Gary Spedding added. Ms Dorries was suspended from the Tory Party in 2012 over to her decision to take part in Im a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without telling the chief whip, but was later readmitted to the party. She is known for her flamboyant personality, with Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman referring to how she stands out in Parliament a tropical bird in amongst all that dull, grey, plumage on the Commons benches. The Conservative Party has been contacted for comment. Tony Blair has insisted he was unaware of the UK's involvement in the rendition of a Libyan dissident who was later tortured by Muammar Gaddafi's regime. The former prime minister said he only became aware of the case of Abdel Hakim Belhaj after leaving office in 2007. He apologised "for any mistreatment that's been given to people" but said he was not involved in the 2004 decision to send Mr Belhaj and his wife, Fatima Boudchar, to Libya. Mr Blair was prime minister at the time. Mr Belhaj was tortured in a Gaddafi regime prison and sentenced to death. Ms Boudchar, who was pregnant at the time, was hooded, shackled and strapped to a stretcher for the duration of the flight to Libya. Recommended Britain apologises to Libyan man tortured after MI6 help Earlier this month, Theresa May apologised to the pair for the "appalling" treatment they endured. Asked about the case, Mr Blair told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This has been subject to a long legal process. I have gone along with what the government has done, which is issue the apology. "I didn't actually know myself about this case until after I left office, so I'm content to go along with that apology, and that's all that's frankly sensible for me to say." He added: "This case wasn't brought to my attention. There's a lot of things in this case, some of which have been out in the media, some of which have not. There's been a settlement of the case; as I say I'm content to go along with the government's apology in relation to it. "It's not something I dealt with myself when I was in government." 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. 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 UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters Asked if he would personally apologise to Mr Belhaj and Ms Boudchar, he said: "Of course I'm sorry for any mistreatment that's been given to people - how on earth would you ever justify that? "Let me make one thing clear because sometimes people say I was sort of ambivalent on the use of torture: I have always been wholly and 100 per cent in all circumstances opposed to the use of torture and I made that clear privately, publicly in any conversation I've ever had within government." Documents uncovered during the 2011 Libyan revolution revealed MI6 agents had been involved in capturing Ms Belhaj and Ms Boudchar in Thailand in 2004. They were also interrogated by British intelligence officials. Writing to the pair earlier this month, Ms May said: It is clear that you were both subjected to appalling treatment and that you suffered greatly, not least the affront to the dignity of Mrs Boudchar who was pregnant at the time. The United Kingdom government believes your accounts. Neither of you should have been treated in this way. The letter was read out in the House of Commons by the attorney general, Jeremy Wright. Ms Boudchar will be paid 500,000 in compensation by the UK government. Mr Belhaj's lawyers said he "did not seek and has not been given any compensation". A row has erupted in Labours youth wing over a demand to give members a vote on the partys official Brexit policy at the national conference in Liverpool later this year. It follows an open letter to Jeremy Corbyn from the chair of both Young Labour and Labour Students, claiming to represent a Labour membership of more than 100,000 people under the age of 27. Miriam Mirwitch, the chair of Young Labour, and Melantha Chittenden, the chair of Labour Students, said in their letter that the referendum result was not representative of the views of young people across the country. We understand your hesitancy and the difficult political climate, they added. However, in order for our policy on leaving the European Union to represent the views of our vast membership, we believe it is imperative that members have a vote at Labour party conference. But Ms Mirwitch came under fire from her own committee at Young Labour, who afterwards released a separate statement disowning the contents of the open letter, claiming the chair had acted unilaterally. The organisation said it wholeheartedly supported Labours Brexit policy and that it is not the job of Young Labour to ignore and condescend those who voted to Leave the EU. Recommended Janet Daby wins Labour candidacy for Lewisham East byelection During last years national conference members overwhelmingly rejected a discussion and vote on Brexit through the priority ballot, the statement said. Furthermore, attempts to undermine party policy at Young Labours October 2017 policy conference was resoundingly defeated. It continued: Without any consultation, our National chair signed a petition on a website which openly promotes itself as a funding operation for anti-Corbyn NEC candidates promoted by Labour First and Progress. As a committee, we therefore wish to collectively reassure members that Miriam Mirwitchs actions do not represent Young Labours national committee. We believe it is important that the chair does not mislead the public on Young Labours position towards Labours Brexit policy. 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 Ms Mirwitch later claimed that her letter did not at any point represent the views of the organisation, claiming: I was simply lobbying for Young Labour members to have a say in policy. The row comes as the Labour leader faces internal pressure in the parliamentary party over Labours position in the single market. Following a vote in the Lords, MPs will soon have the chance to vote on the issue of the European Economic Area (EEA) in the Commons. It is widely expected that Mr Corbyn will instruct his MPs to abstain on the amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill despite calls from pro-EU MPs to back the measure. A Baltimore County police officer has been killed while investigating a suspicious vehicle, setting off a manhunt in a residential area of Maryland. Police received a call about a suspicious vehicle in the Perry Hall community at 2 pm local time, the police department said on Twitter. A responding officer suffered unidentified injuries and was taken to the hospital. By 2:50 pm, she was dead. A spokeswoman for the police department told The Independent the officer had suffered multiple injuries, but would not confirm the cause. 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, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan tweeted. The suspect who committed this terrible crime remains at large, and @MDSP are assisting Baltimore County Police in their search, he added. The state stands ready to provide any and all resources necessary to capture this individual and bring them to justice. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty At least three local elementary schools where held on alert status that afternoon, and area residents were told to shelter in place. Alert status means all exterior doors to the schools were monitored, and outdoor activities were suspended. Parents were instructed not to attempt to pick their children up from school. I mourn with all Baltimore County citizens, law enforcement officers everywhere and the family of the brave officer whose life was tragically taken today, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh tweeted. She gave her life in the service of others & all of Baltimore will remember her sacrifice. @BACOPoliceFire we stand with you. The officer was the 10th in the county to die in the line of duty, according to the Baltimore Sun. The paper identified the officer as a a four-year veteran assigned to the Parkville precinct. Her name has yet to be released. Police were still unsure of the specifics of the incident on Monday evening. Police spokesman Shawn Vinson told reporters that a burglary may have been in progress when the officer was injured, but could not confirm this information. County Police Chief Terrence B Sheridan said police would review body-camera footage from the incident to determine what happened. A cause of death may not be confirmed until an autopsy is performed, Mr Vinson added. Thoughts and prayers to the family, friends, officers and community in Baltimore County, Baltimore police spokesman TJ Smith tweeted. Shawn, great job in the worst of scenarios. Very sorry for your loss. A Florida city falsely sent out a zombie alert during a recent power outage. The Palm Beach Post reported that city administrators appeared to send a text alert to all residents around 1:45am Sunday that read power outage and zombie alert for residents of Lake Worth and Terminus. There are now far less than seven thousand three hundred and eighty customers involved due to extreme zombie activity. Restoration time uncertain, the alert read in all capital letters and red lettering. Terminus is the name of the city in the popular television show The Walking Dead. Power was out in the city of Lake Worth, for approximately 27 minutes for the 7,880 customers however Ben Kerr, the citys public information officer assured residents: I want to reiterate that Lake Worth does not have any zombie activity currently and apologize for the system message. According to a community Facebook page called Lake Worth Live, the push alert about the power outage was meant to be sent out but the inclusion of zombie activity was not. City officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether it was a prank or someone had hacked the citys notification system. This is not the first time a push alert has caused panic. Zombies invade BT Tower to mark finale of 'Fear the Walking Dead' In February 2018, a tsunami warning was sent to those in Palm Beach County, in Florida. The message was just a test sent out by the Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska. However, even Accuweather - a forecasting company - was confused and sent out real alerts to local areas along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. 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 It was a test. It says test in the headline. It says test twice. It even says it in Spanish, said Robert Molleda, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Services Miami office had told the Palm Beach Post at the time. But, a look at the push alert showed most users did not get the test message until a series of clicks. Perhaps the most devastating false push alert from state authorities was sent in January of this year to residents of Hawaii. All mobile phones on the islands had received an emergency alert from the state saying they had just 15 minutes to find shelter before an intercontinental ballistic missile would hit. The US had been experiencing tension with and threats from North Korea at the time. While some public officials had rushed to tweet out that it was a false alarm, the official state push alert on to everyones mobile phones was a tense 38 minutes after the initial message. The White House has been mocked after it released a commemorative coin which featured a slimmer-looking Donald Trump head to head with a rather larger Kim Jong-un. The item was minted by the White House Military Office which designs coins for Mr Trumps trips abroad ahead of the US presidents planned summit with the North Korean leader in Singapore next month. The piece displays profiles of Mr Trump and Mr Kim in front of US and North Korean flags beneath the heading peace talks written in English and Korean. The coin describes the Asian leader as 'supreme leader', a term in common use though not an official title as such (AFP/Getty Images) It describes the latter as supreme leader, which is a term commonly used to refer to Mr Kim albeit that it is not his official title. The other side of the coin shows Air Force One taking off over the White House. The coin has been ridiculed on social media, where critics have not been slow to point out the less-than-even-handed treatment of the two men. Mr Trump, leaning forward with an aquiline and steely gaze, seems to have something more by way of defined jawline than is always evident in real life. By contrast, his opposite number appears to be leaning back, accentuating the rolls of spare flesh around his neck, which the casting has carefully picked out with little creases. However, it is not all bad news for Mr Kim he is pictured eye to eye with Mr Trump, indicating a level of status and legitimacy many feel he does not deserve. His regime is accused of appalling human rights abuses, including rape, forced abortions, starvation and overwork leading to "countless deaths" in prison camps believed to hold between 80,000 and 130,000 of his citizens. That is all beside the fact the event being commemorated by the coin is far from certain ever to take place. If the meeting between the two leaders goes ahead on 12 June it will be the first summit between a sitting US president and the leader of the so-called hermit kingdom. But there is growing uncertainty over the historic summit - with Mr Trump repeatedly saying he could pull out and North Korea threatening to cancel the landmark talks last week. "Imagine being in such a rush to legitimise yourself as Americas president that you also rushed to legitimise Kim as 'Supreme Leader' of the DPRK," tweeted journalist Adam Weinstein. Mr Trump has reportedly been focusing his attention on the landmark summits grandeur and optics instead of reading up on briefings on the complicated matter of North Koreas nuclear programme. According to the Associated Press, he has been particularly absorbed in suspense-filled announcements that could emerge from the summit. Last week North Korea said the country had no interest in one-sided negotiations to force Pyongyang to surrender its nuclear weapons. The US president attempted to soothe those tensions, promising Mr Kim would stay in power if the talks are to go ahead. Mr Trump has been insistent that he is committed to the summit, but has previously issued warnings it might not take place, or that he could walk out if it looked like it was not possible to strike a 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 If the milestone summit falls on its face, it would constitute a massive knock-back to what Trump supporters have pinned their hopes on being the biggest diplomatic achievement of his tenure. The White House Communications Agency frequently releases commemorative or challenge coins to present to foreign guests, diplomats and members of the military. The White House Gift Office is selling a number of the coins. Police say a suspected shooter who had barricaded himself inside an apartment complex in Panama City, Florida, has been brought "down". The incident is related to a "suspicious death" investigation in a nearby county. It is unclear how many people may have been injured in the shooting, but at least one person has been transported to a nearby hospital with what a government official called a "flesh wound". Police later identified Kevin Holroyd as the suspect in the shooting, and it was not clear if he was killed or only injured after they broke through a barricaded door into the apartment he was in. Witnesses have said that they saw Swat team members responding to the active shooting incident, and that they heard more than 50 shots fired. "[The suspect] is barricaded inside an apartment, and at this time they're still trying to make contact," Caitlin Lawrence, the public information officer for the City of Panama City, told The Independent earlier in the day before police breached the apartment. Kim Coram, the co-owner of the nearby restaurant Charlie Coram's Place, told The Independent that the gunfire stopped just after 1pm local time, but that she and her customers heard several rounds of fire, with 20 to 30 shots each round. Ms Coram said that her restaurant locked down after they heard those shots, and that there are police cars, unmarked police, ambulances, fire trucks, and an armoured Swat vehicle on the scene. She also said a drone and police helicopter are in the air above the apartment complex. "The shooter unloaded 20 or more shots in the armoured vehicle," Ms Coram, whose brother is on the Swat team, said. The police response to the active shooter blocked off traffic on at least one road, leading to congestion in other parts of the city. Local publications have posted photos that show police lying on the ground or taking cover behind vehicles with their firearms drawn. A video posted online by a woman who appears to be a resident of the apartment complex shows a chaotic scene with fire fighters and others kneeling on the ground while dozens of gun shots can be heard. At one point, a police officer rushes through the woman's home wearing a bullet proof vest while carrying what appears to be an automatic rifle. 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 Bay County Sheriff's office confirmed that their officers are working alongside the local police force to end the active shooter situation earlier in the day. Reports indicated that the nearby Walton County Sheriff's office had deployed its Swat team to assist in the shoot out response. The public information officer for the Walton County Sheriff's Department confirmed that they were assisting with the incident in Panama City. Florida Governor Rick Scott said that he has spoken with local officials to inform them that his office is prepared to provide them with any assistance from state police. "I've spoken with Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford to offer any state law enforcement assistance his office may need," Mr Scott wrote in a tweet. The Florida Department of Law, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were all providing assistance, according to Ms Lawrence. The intersection near the apartment is one of the busiest in the area, she said. A black man who spray painted racist messages against African Americans at a Michigan college has been fined $2,000 for the action, which he admitted to doing. Eddie Curlin, a 29-year-old former student of Eastern Michigan University, found out about his punishment after pleading guilty to malicious destruction of property. The incidents occurred late last year and into the spring, when the three messages of hate shocked the otherwise quiet campus in Ypsilanti. The first of those three messages came in September, when students were shocked to find KKK written in red, white, and blue paint on the side of a dormitory alongside a threat that told African Americans to leave the school. The second came on Halloween when a similar message was scrawled on a different building near a monument to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, this time using the n-word to tell black students to leave. The final ugly message was left in a mens restroom stall. It really has rocked our community, Judith Kullberg, a political scientist at the school, told The Washington Post. In this whole context of a very tense presidential election, it has raised anxiety here considerably. Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism. The shocking messages came as other schools around the nation were dealing with similar acts of apparent hate vandalism, and caught the attention of the national media. The episode in eastern Michigan came to an end with yet another shock when Curlin who is serving a one-to-five year sentence on unrelated charges for receiving and concealing stolen property was announced by the university to have been the culprit. Campus police have said that the over 1,000 hours of investigation have revealed that the incidents werent motivated by politics, or even race. It was an individual item done by one individual, Robert Heighes, the campus chief of police, told the student newspaper the Eastern Echo. To know that it was a person of colour is hurtful, Jaiquae Rodwell, a black student, told that paper. As a black student, to know that another black person is using the n-word in a negative way is embarrassing. The United States saw a disturbing increase in hate crimes during President Donald Trump political ascension in 2016, after years of decline in the number of reported cases. The number of those crimes jumped by nearly 300 incidents in 2016 compared to 2015, according to data from the FBI released in November. All told, there were 6,121 reported incidents that year, compared to 5,850 the year before. Donald Trump blames both sides for Charlottesville violence While Mr Trumps contentious and searing national campaign against Hillary Clinton was widely blamed for encouraging a culture that allows for that sort of hate to be openly displayed, Mr Trump himself has discouraged the acts. If it helps, I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: Stop it, Mr Trump said shortly after the election. Still, Mr Trumps handling of race issues as president has brought him considerable criticism. Among those episodes that received criticism was his reaction to the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, when a white supremacist drove a car through a crowd of people who had come to denounce a white supremacist rally being held in the town. One person was killed. Mr Trump was seen to have a tepid response to that violence, although he did eventually denounce white supremacy. He later compounded the issue when he appeared to sympathise with the demonstrators in Charlottesville who supported Confederate monuments by asking if taking down statues of American forefathers would be the next step if Confederate statues lionising leaders of the Civil War who fought to preserve slavery are taken down. In the US, 15 million children - or 21 per cent of all the children in the country - suffer from childhood poverty. Child poverty doesnt just mean a lack of resources or money. It also means hunger, an inability to receive education or healthcare, and numerous other problems. This statistic and the detrimental effects that growing up below the poverty level can have on children prompted the non-profit organisation Comic Relief Inc to start Red Nose Day. What is Red Nose Day and when is it? Red Nose Day is a fundraising campaign run by Comic Relief Inc. dedicated to ending child poverty in the US and in some of the poorest communities in the world. Red Nose Day launched in the US in 2015 and has raised over $100m in its first three years. Recommended Red Nose Day charity broadcast to make its US debut The money raised by the US Red Nose Day has benefited programs for children and young people in all 50 states and in 34 countries internationally, according to the website. To raise money for the cause, wearable red noses are sold at Walgreens and Duane Reade for $1 each. Each red nose purchase contributes 50c to the cause, with the remaining 50c contributing to the cost of the red nose. This year, the annual charity day will take place in America on Thursday May 24 2018. Also on the 24th, NBC will be hosting prime-time programming celebrating Red Nose Day. Red Nose Day was first started in the UK in 1988 and raised 15m. Since then, the day is held every two years in the UK and marked with a night of fundraising TV on the BBC. Over the past 30 years, Red Nose Day has raised over $1bn globally. Why Red Noses? The goal of the campaign is to make raising money fun. With the red noses, the campaign is mimicking the red noses often found on clowns - bringing a playful air to the cause. In addition to acting as a conversation starter, the now-identifiable red noses show your support for ending childhood poverty. The organisation also offers pins, wristbands, and pens for purchase. In New York City, huge red noses are placed all over the city to mark the day. Who participates? Numerous celebrities participate in raising money and awareness for Red Nose Day each year. This year, Paul Rudd and Julia Roberts have lent their names and hands to helping the charity prior to the 24th, with many more celebrities expected to appear on NBC's program. Comic Relief also partners with over 150 celebrities who support the cause, including Jon Stewart, Justin Bieber, Kate Moss, Bill Gates, and Sam Smith. Where does the money go? The money raised by Red Nose Day benefits children in numerous ways, in some of the neediest communities in the US. According to their website, all of the money supports projects to keep children and young people safe, healthy, educated and empowered. The organisation has broken down these figures to show just how much of a difference $1 can make, with the help of their partner charities. According to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, just $1 can provide nutritious food for a child. It can also provide school supplies for a student, according to Save the Children. The money is also used to provide medical supplies such as vaccines, safe places for children to stay during the summer, and textbooks in schools. According to rednose.org, money raised by Red Nose Day US since 2015 has provided over 32.2m meals to hungry children, has brought education services to 899,493 children and has served 61,527 homeless young people. And because girls are particularly vulnerable to extreme poverty in terms of their health, education, and safety, Red Nose Day has always had a focus on girls and young women. This year, the Bill Gates Foundation has pledged to match a $1m donation to the charity. Overall, Red Nose Day US has helped over 8m children living in poverty when they need it most. You can purchase a red nose exclusively at Walgreens or donate to the charity here. US scientists found a Spanish galleon laden with treasure worth up to 12.6bn ($17bn) at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, more than 300 years after it sank. The San Jose, considered the holy grail of shipwrecks, was discovered three years ago off the coast of Colombia but few details were released at the time. The 62-gun, three-masted galleon sank in June 1708, during a battle with British ships in the War of Spanish Succession, with the loss of nearly 600 lives. Its treasure of gold, silver and emeralds has been described as the most valuable ever found and the precise location of the shipwreck was one of maritime historys most enduring mysteries. The galleon was discovered using an underwater autonomous vehicle operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the agency has now disclosed. Colombias government announced in 2015 that the San Jose had been found but further details were only released this week with permission from the agencies involved in the search, including the South American countrys authorities. Weve been holding this under wraps out of respect for the Colombian government, said Rob Munier, WHOIs vice-president for marine facilities and operations. The US-based agency was invited to join the search because of its expertise in deep water exploration. In 2011 the institutes autonomous underwater vehicle, Remus 6000, helped find the wreckage of Air France 447, which crashed in 2009 several hundred miles off the coast of Brazil. The San Jose was found at a depth 600 metres using side sonar images taken by Remus 6000 in November 2015. The vehicle descended to nine metres above the wreck to take several photographs, including some of the distinctive dolphin engravings on the galleons cannons, a key piece of visual evidence. The wreck was partially sediment-covered, but with the camera images from the lower altitude missions, we were able to see new details in the wreckage and the resolution was good enough to make out the decorative carving on the cannons, said WHOI engineer and expedition leader Mike Purcell. It was a pretty strong feeling of gratification to finally find it, said Mr Munier, who was not at the site but learned in a phone call from Mr Purcell. It was a great moment. 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 treasure has been the subject of legal battles between several nations as well as private salvage companies. In 2015, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos described the haul as the most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity. Last month Unesco, the United Nations cultural agency, urged the countrys government not to commercially exploit the wreck, whose exact location remains a state secret. The ship sank somewhere in the wide area off Colombias Baru peninsula, south of Cartagena, and is believed to have been carrying 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds and other precious cargo from Spanish-controlled colonies. The treasure, which for now remains on the sea bed, is thought to be worth up to $17bn in modern-day money. Colombia has not signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which would subject it to international standards and require it to inform Unesco of its plans for the wreck. As yet another American community is burying dead children claimed by gunfire at school, students around the country are speaking up online to tell the world how they want to be remembered if they become another casualty while attending classes with a hashtag: #IfIDieInASchoolShooting. The hashtag, which first began trending over the weekend, is being used as an opportunity for students to preemptively have their voices heard, to tell their families they love them, and to lament the experiences they would never have. In joining the conversation, the students are making a grim and basic calculation: Better speak now, because you never know if you will be afforded the luxury to call your mom and tell her you love her before getting shot in second period. You can never know for certain that your school will not be next in a country that has tallied 22 school shootings so far this year. Recommended Santa Fe shooting victims named as community mourns another massacre I will only become a statistic. I will never be able to go to college. My dog will always wonder where I went. I will become a hashtag. I will never be able to fight for my life again. Please dont let gun violence continue, one of those users, Colorado high school student Presley Leland, wrote. The unassuming and sombre reflection on what dying at school would mean follows days after the mass school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, where 10 people were killed including eight students. That shooting which police say was carried out by a 17-year-old who attended the school followed just months after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed, including 14 students. Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school Show all 15 1 /15 Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school Santa Fe High School staff react as they gather in the parking lot of a gas station The Galveston County Daily News via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school An active shooter incident was reported at Santa Fe High School in Texas KTRK-TV ABC13 via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school People embrace outside the Alamo Gym where students and parents wait to reunite following a shooting at Santa Fe High School Houston Chronicle via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school Law enforcement officers responding at Santa Fe High School HCSO via Reuters Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school Santa Fe High School student Dakota Shrader is comforted by her mother Susan Davidson following a shooting at the school Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school School staff members sit in a school bus to be transported to another school The Galveston County Daily News via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school A Santa Fe Police officer consoles others after the shooting The Galveston County Daily News via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school Emergency personnel and law enforcement officers respond to claims that an active shooter was reported on campus KTRK-TV ABC13 via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school Police officers work a check point in front of Santa Fe High School The Galveston County Daily News via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school A woman prays in the grass outside the Alamo Gym where parents wait to reunite with their kids following a shooting at Santa Fe High School Houston Chronicle via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school Santa Fe High School freshman Caitlyn Girouard, center, hugs her friend outside the Alamo Gym Houston Chronicle via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school A Pearland Police armored vehicle stands in front of Santa Fe High School The Galveston County Daily News via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school Emergency responders from multiple agencies work at the scene The Galveston County Daily News via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school KTRK-TV ABC13 via AP Texas shooting: scene at Santa Fe high school KTRK-TV ABC13 via AP Id get to see Carmen again, Emma Gonzalez, one of the more vocal student survivors of the Parkland shooting, tweeted, referring to Carmen Schentrup, one of the students who was killed that day. An analysis of school shootings in the past two decades by The Washington Post has found that more than 214,000 students in America have been affected by gun violence at school. In those incidents, at least 141 children, teachers, or other people were killed, according to that analysis, and 284 people were injured. Jimmy Carter has said Donald Trump ought to receive the Nobel Peace Prize if has has a successful meeting with Kim Kong-un and manages to lower decades-old tensions on the Korean peninsula. While the 93-year-old has on several occasions criticised Mr Trumps actions, he said if the president were able to pull off a peace deal, it would be an achievement none of his predecessors had managed. If President Trump is successful in getting a peace treaty thats acceptable to both sides with North Korea, I think he certainly ought to be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize, he said. I think it would be a worthy and a momentous accomplishment that no previous president has been able to realise. Mr Carter, himself a Nobel laureate, made history as the first former US president to visit North Korea in June 1994. His unofficial four-day visit included a meeting with then-North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader. His intervention headed off a potential conflict and helped seal an aid-for-disarmament agreement that lasted for the best part of a decade. Mike Pompeo confident US and North Korea have 'shared understanding of ultimate objectives from summit' Mr Trump is among those who appears to think he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his planned summit with Mr Kim in Singapore on June 12, a point of view shared by South Korean president Moon Jae-in and UKIP MEP Nigel Farage. Escape from North Korea Show all 16 1 /16 Escape from North Korea Escape from North Korea Jeong Min-woo A hat belonging to Jeong Min-woo in Seoul. Min-woo is from Hyesan, on the border with China. He was a commissioned officer in the Korean People's Army, and left in his uniform. South Korean intelligence confiscated it, but he persuaded his North Korean military contacts to send him a new one. Reuters Escape from North Korea Jeong Min-woo Jeong Min-woo, 29, poses for a photograph in Seoul Reuters Escape from North Korea Kang Kang, 28, who wanted to be identified only by her surname, poses for a photograph in Seoul. The parents of Kang sent out a coat across the Chinese border after she reached the South in 2010. "I didn't ask my mother to send me this coat," said Kang. "But she knew I feel the cold easily and sent it to me. She sent some honey too, but it went missing on the way. The coat is made of dog fur. I don't know what kind of dog. In 2010, it cost about 700,000 North Korean won ($88 at the unofficial rate). It was really expensive. A North Korean friend went to China to pick it up for me. I liked this coat when I got it. I thought my mother must've spent quite a lot of money on it. Reuters Escape from North Korea Kang The dog fur coat belonging to Kang, "My father was a party officer. Our family had a car and we lived in a special apartment. Ordinary people couldn't afford to wear this kind of coat, not even soldiers. Commissioned officers could afford them. Border guards would wear them. It wasn't easy to buy this kind of coat, but as time went on, fake ones began to appear. The state often clamped down on this item. It's technically military supplies so the state monitored people who altered the design of the coat. I know just from looking at this coat that it's a counterfeit one, not the official version. The counterfeit ones look quite different from the original ones. Military officials preferred the fakes to the original because the design looked much better. The children of rich families would wear them. I look too chubby in this, so don't wear it here. I thought I could probably wear it if I altered it." Reuters Escape from North Korea Lee Oui-ryuk Lee Oui-ryuk is from Onsong, near the border with China. He defected in 2010, and brought his ID card with him. "I brought my ID with me when I left North Korea. Juche 95.11.7 (the date in the North Korean calendar, which equates to Nov. 7, 2006) is the date I was issued with my ID. It says here my blood type is "A", but I'm actually an "O." For the 23 years I lived in North Korea, I thought my blood type was "A." They wrote down my blood type without even doing a test. They just wrote whatever they wanted to. I was caught trying to defect to South Korea around Kim Jong Il's birthday. They strengthen border security just before and after that date." Reuters Escape from North Korea Lee Oui-ryuk "The bottom of the lamp is dark," as the saying goes, and I thought I'd be able to cross right under their noses. The soldiers shot at me as I tried to run away from the Tumen River. I managed to get away and hid, but someone reported me and I was caught. That's when I was taken to the bowibu (North Korean secret police) for three months of interrogation. The state ruled that I had tried to defect to South Korea, and I was sent to a camp for political prisoners. I escaped when they were transferring me to the camp. I hid and managed to make it to my big sister's house - that's when I grabbed these photos. I couldn't go home easily, so decided I had to hide in the mountains or somewhere remote. I needed my ID to move around without getting caught. and I took these 12 photos with me in case I wanted to look back and reminisce. I wrote on the back of them so as not to forget." Reuters Escape from North Korea Ji Sung-ho Ji Sung-ho, 35, from Hoeryong, near the border with China. He left North Korea in 2006 with a pair of wooden crutches. "I lived as a child beggar in North Korea. I was stealing coals from a train when I fell off and lost my leg and my hand. I had to bring the crutches with me. If I didn't have them, I wouldn't have made it here. The state doesn't help you in North Korea, and people who need crutches make their own. Mine are therefore not factory-made, so they're not perfect and break easily. I had several pairs of crutches but they all broke, and this was the last pair. I used these crutches for 10 years, until I was 25, when I arrived in South Korea. I would steal coal from moving trains and fall off, destroying my crutches. Or I would get beaten up by the police and they'd take and then break my crutches. When they broke, I would make new ones. When I had new ones, I could go back outside." Reuters Escape from North Korea Ji Sung-ho "When I first arrived in South Korea I thought about throwing them out. South Korea's intelligence agency gave me a prosthetic leg. My friends said I should throw the crutches out and not think about North Korea. They said I should show Kim Jong Il I was living a new life in South Korea and throw out everything I had from the North. Some asked if I got upset when I saw my crutches. But I couldn't just throw them out. To make my crutches, my friends had given me some wood that they had bought, and someone I knew in North Korea who had carpentry skills had made them. It was my father who added the final touches. There is a lot of love from my North Korean friends and family in these crutches. So I didn't throw them out. The South Korean government gave me some new crutches because the wood from my North Korean ones is hard and painful. But I still keep them, so as not to forget those memories." REUTERS Escape from North Korea Kim Ryen Hui Kim Ryen Hui, 48, is from Pyongyang. She says she never wanted to defect. In 2011, she says, a broker helped her go to China for treatment on her liver. But the broker tricked her, she said, and she ended up in South Korea. She is campaigning to return, which Seoul says would be against the law. "I miss my parents even more than I miss my daughter. They're everything to me. For the first few years, I couldn't even breathe properly when I thought of them. My little brother lives with them in Pyongyang now. My mother can't see out of one eye. The thing I fear the most is finding out they've passed away before I have the chance to go back. Reuters Escape from North Korea Kim Ryen Hui "My daughter and I have been writing letters and sending photos to each other. My cousin lives in China, so she's been sending them on. My daughter's name is Ri Ryon Gum. She was born on February 15, 1993. I don't want her to live out her life with me here. When she was young, she did taekwondo. She wanted to get involved in espionage operations against South Korea. She was so fearless. That's why she was doing taekwondo - to get involved in anti-South espionage. So I was really surprised to hear she became a chef. In a video of her I received, she explained why. She said that after I had left, she moved in with her father in Pyongyang and had been cooking for him. She said she decided to become a chef so she could fulfill my role at home. I was sad when I heard that." Reuters Escape from North Korea Lee Min-bok Lee Min-bok, 60, was a researcher at North Korea's Academy of Agricultural Science. He first tried to defect, unsuccessfully, in 1990. He eventually left North Korea in June 1991 and came to South Korea in 1995. His family sent him these diaries. "I have a bit of an academic side. According to Kim Il Sung's teachings, people are supposed to keep diaries. Everyone in North Korea should strictly follow Kim Il Sung's teachings, so I did as I was supposed to and kept a diary. Even though Kim Il Sung is a villain here, in North Korea he's above everything. We learned that he studied well and gave our lives purpose. I lived according to those teachings. I wrote these out of loyalty to the Leader. That was our ideology, and I lived my life in strict adherence to it. No one could think differently." Reuters Escape from North Korea Lee Min-bok "I got hold of these diaries 10 years after I arrived in South Korea. I had been sending money to my family in the North and they sent them to me. I didn't write any complaints in diaries. I would've been in big trouble if I did. My diaries are a record of my history in North Korea. I am thinking about turning these diaries into a book. I'd like to publish a book about how to change North Koreans' thinking when unification happens. These diaries show how North Koreans think and how their minds are constructed. People need to make these into a textbook, because they need proof. Talking is not as effective." Reuters Escape from North Korea Song Byeok Song Byeok was a propaganda artist. His father drowned trying to cross the Tumen river, in 2000. When the artist finally left North Korea in 2001, he brought photos of his family with him. "We left that August to find food," Byeok recalled, describing the first attempt. "We were from a town further inland, and we weren't sure where the river was high and where it was low. I didn't know at the time but the river was swollen because of the rainy season. I thought we had to cross it anyway. All I could think about was getting to China to buy food. I took off my clothes and tied them into a rope to strap us together. I told my father not to let go. As we approached the middle of the river, the strap felt lighter. I looked back and saw my father drifting away. I was devastated." Reuters Escape from North Korea Song Byeok "He was going under the water and couldn't get out. I rushed up to the (North Korean) border guards and asked them to save him but they just said why did I come out, why didn't I die too. They handcuffed me and took me away. It was Aug. 28. I was tortured by the "bowibu" (North Korean secret police) in Hoeryong, then jailed for four months in Chongjin prison camp. But after I was released from the camp I felt like I needed to survive and carry on living. Right before I tried to defect again, I went back home and grabbed my family photos. Even if I died trying, I thought, at least I would have this picture with me. I never found my father. After I came to South Korea, I went back to China in 2004 and held a memorial service for him by the river. My heart still aches." Reuters Escape from North Korea Baek Hwa-sung Baek Hwa-sung, 33, left Sinuiju, on the border with China, in 2003 and resettled in South Korea in 2008. He kept a diary as he defected. "In 2004, I started to write down all my thoughts in a diary. I didn't know if I'd get caught. I just wanted to let it be known where I was from, and where I wanted to go. After I left the North, I became very depressed, hiding in the mountains alone for a while. The people who were watching over me told me not to come down to the village and left me by myself in a mountain shelter. Alone, with no one to engage with or talk to, I felt like I would go insane. So I wanted to leave something behind in case I died there or got caught - that's why I started to write. Reuters Escape from North Korea Baek Hwa-sung "Alone in the mountains, I desperately sought something to talk to. That was my diary. My diaries are proof of my life's journey. I read them when I want to remember home. I can't return home, and I already have no memories of my hometown. But when I go through my diaries, there are notes which detail the vivid memories of that time. Sometimes I might forget my father's birthday, but when I go back to my diary, his birthday and my mother's birthday are there. My diaries are a record of my life. They prove I'm alive." Reuters Earlier this month, Mr Trump said: Everyone thinks so, but I would never say it. Speaking to Politico, Mr Carter said while he believed Mr Trump might be worthy of the Nobel prize for his endeavours on North Korea, he continued to disagree with his decision to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear deal. He also accused the president of sometimes failing to tell the truth. I think the president ought to tell the truth. I think the president ought to be for peace, he said. I think the president ought to treat everybody equally. So, equality and peace and the truth, and Id say basic justice are some of the moral values that I think every person should have. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shut out media from a meeting led by chief Scott Pruitt who discussed the widespread level of contaminants in drinking water. Mr Pruitt has said the issue is a "national priority but EPA spokesperson Jahan Wilcox barred reporters from entering and reporting about it, saying that the media were not invited, according to the Associated Press. When the news agency's reporter asked to speak to a public affairs person, the security guards grabbed the reporter by the shoulders and shoved her forcibly out of the building, she reported. Others shut out included CNN, the environmental-focused news organisation E&E, and MLive, a Michigan-based news outlet. Mr Wilcox told The Independent that this was simply an issue of the room reaching capacity, which reporters were aware of prior to the event. We were able to accommodate 10 reporters, provided a livestream for those we could not accommodate, and were unaware of the individual situation that has been reported. He did not specify which media outlets were allowed into the room. It was also not immediately clear whether reporters who were asked to leave the building at the agency's headquarters in Washington DC, had access to the livestream or whether it was only available in an adjacent room. The EPA did not immediately respond again with further comment. CNN said in a statement that its reporter also was turned away from covering the event "after multiple attempts to attend". The network said: "we understand the importance of an open and free press and we hope the EPA does, too". The hearing discussed the contaminants known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl which are commonly used in nonstick coatings on kitchenware and the foam used by firefighters. Mr Pruitt reportedly said the contaminants have made their way to water systems nationwide, including several dangerous levels in systems near military bases and industries. Bruno Mars is donating $1m to the Flint water crisis The substances can lead to developmental defects in infants and other health problems. Mr Pruitt drew questions from Republican and Democratic members of Congress last week after emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed an unidentified White House official calling a pending federal toxicological report on the chemicals a "potential public-relations nightmare" with an attempt to intervene, Politico first reported. Rob Allen, the mayor of the small town of Hoosick Falls, New York, was in the meeting, known as the National Leadership Summit, as a local representative. Mr Allen said said there were some members of the media in the room, but was not sure on the exact number or which outlets they represented. He also said there will still some seats available ahead of the introductory speech from Mr Pruitt. In pictures: Flint water crisis Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Flint water crisis In pictures: Flint water crisis Anthony Fordham picks up bottled water from the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to deliver to a school after elevated lead levels were found in the city's water in Flint Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Michigan National Guard Staff Sergeant William Phillips (L) assists a Flint resident with bottled water at a fire station in Flint Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Flint residents Arthur Woodson, left, and Tony Palladino Jr. protest the arrival of Flint native and filmmaker Michael Moore as Moore accuses Gov.Rick Snyder of poisoning Flint water during a rally outside of city hall in Flint AP In pictures: Flint water crisis Flint residents pick up bottled water and water filters at a fire station in Flint. Michigan National Guard members were set to arrive in Flint to join door-to-door efforts to distribute bottled water and other supplies to residents coping with the city's crisis over lead-contaminated drinking water Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Soldiers from the Michigan Army National Guard Flint prepare to give Flint residents bottled water at a fire station in Flint Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis Justin Roberson (L), age 6, of Flint, Michigan and Mychal Adams, age 1, of Flint wait on a stack of bottled water at a rally where the Rev. Jesse Jackson was speaking about about the water crises at the Heavenly Host Baptist Church in Flint Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis A man sits next to a stack of bottled water at the Heavenly Host Baptist Church in Flint 2016 Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis The top of a water tower is seen at the Flint Water Plant. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Michigan and ordered federal aid to be used to help state and local response efforts to an area affected by contaminated water Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Rosie Wright, center, rallies with the crowd over Flint's water crisis in Ann Arbor, Michigan AP In pictures: Flint water crisis Rick Catherman participates in a rally around Flint's water crisis in Ann Arbor, Michigan AP The mayor also commented that he noticed a theme throughout the days sessions which he attended: the need for funding and the desire for national leadership on eliminating or reducing these contaminants. He also noted that EPA and other leadership speaking at the sessions agreed that there needs to be clear and concise federal guidelines on the matter. Mr Pruitt also pledged to work on establishing a maximum allowable level for the chemicals in drinking water. The administrator did tweet what looked like an action plan, writing that the EPA would examine everything we know about the chemicals in drinking water, use existing regulations on hazardous materials to combat the problem, and make groundwater cleanup recommendations to contaminated sites later this year. It does not appear that Mr Pruitt is proposing additional regulations. He and his staff have been de-regulating as part of an apparent plan to hand control over environmental matters over to individual states. The agency has dismantled large pieces of legislation like the Clean Power Plan, which would have reduced carbon emissions from power plants in the US, and having Mr Trump begin the withdrawal process from the global Paris Agreement on climate change. California has filed 26 lawsuits against the Trump administration, many targeting environmental issues. While state representatives, the chemical industry, and environmental groups were allowed to enter the meeting room and even tweet about it. However, the general public was not allowed in either. One group, called Michigan Demands Action, has launched a social media protest according to MLive and the Grand Rapids Press news outlets. Create a sign, include your location, something to do with water and create your message for the world to see!! We want to spread [awareness] on how this has impacted our community and our state so join us let the world know about this chemical!, the post read. The Michigan city of Flint has been dealing with massive amounts of lead in its drinking water for nearly four years, causing health and developmental problems in children in particular and forcing several residents to resort to bottled water for all their needs or move out of the community. Hillary Clinton has picked Stacy Abrams to endorse in the US state of Georgia governor race just one day ahead of the Democratic primary. Ms Clinton recorded an automated political campaign phone message for Ms Abrams, who is looking to become the first female, black governor in US history. The former Secretary of State and erstwhile opponent of US President Donald Trump said on the call that Ms Abrams, a Yale-educated attorney...is the only candidate with bold new plans to ensure Georgians have access to good jobs, quality public schools, affordable child care and higher educations. Ms Abrams is going up against another woman, named Stacey Evans, for the partys nomination. Both women are former state legislators, lawyers, and have similar left-leaning progressive platforms. As NPR reported: But Stacey Abrams is black. And Stacey Evans is white. The colour of their skin is the most obvious, if not superficial, difference between the two women. No Democrat has won the state governor or Senate race in more than a decade. In 2014, Democratic nominees for both lost their races by more than 200,000 votes. Ms Abrams said there is one other major difference between she and Ms Evans: "Political analysts keep looking at not only what the structure of Georgia is, but they're also looking at the playbook that was used in Georgia, and that's an old playbook. It's an old playbook that never invested in any of these communities of colour in Georgia. Hillary Clinton mocks President Trump with a Russian hat during her speech at Yale University She had launched her campaign in the southwestern, majority-black part of the state. Ms Abrams has also gotten endorsements from other nationally-prominent Democrats like Senators Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders. Ms Clinton is also expected to endorse Democrat Andrew Cuomo in the New York gubernatorial primary race. Critics were disappointed she did not throw her political clout behind Cynthia Nixon. The former Sex and the City actress is vying to become the states first female and lesbian governor. Ms Nixon could still make a run for the office should she run on an independent party ticket. 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 Georgia has been part of a few states Democrats have sought to challenge Republican domination. The states largest city Atlanta saw a tough race of national interest for a Congressional seat between Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel. Though Mr Ossoff lost, he is thought to have started momentum in the state for the left. Last year in Alabama, Democratic Senator Doug Jones defeated GOP favourite Roy Moore after the latter was accused of sexual misconduct. According to a local NBC News poll, Ms Evans trailed Ms Abrams by 19 per cent, with 33 per cent of Democrats in the state saying they were undecided. The election is set to take place on 23 May. Monday marks Presidents' Day in the United States, held to honour the birthday of founding father George Washington. While the day-to-day dealings of their time in the White House are documented in intense detail, what outgoing presidents do next is often much less well-known and frequently interesting. Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle have written books, worked with children's charities, carried out public speaking engagements and announced the signing of a multi-million dollar deal to produce TV shows and documentaries for Netflix last May. Still widely-admired since leaving office in January 2017, Mr Obama had already appeared as the star guest on the opening episode of David Lettermans new Netflix talk show and the site recently added Greg Barkers HBO documentary The Final Year to its roster, which covers the tail end of his administration and preparations for the transition of power. Evidently the 44th president screentested well. While Mr Obama had joked about going to work for Spotify when he left the Oval Office for the last time, he instead took the family kite surfing in the British Virgin Islands and white-water rafting in Bali, enjoying some well-deserved rest and relaxation. President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Show all 36 1 /36 President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Hannah McKay (Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald Trump walk away after holding a joint news conference at Chequers) "This was the third and final time I was photographing Donald Trump during his working visit to the UK. I'd noticed he had a tendency to hold Theresa May by the hand when they used stairs, so I lay on the floor for fifteen minutes waiting for the pair to exit via some steps. As they did, Trump took May by the arm and shouted over his shoulder, "Yes" in response to the question "Mr. President, will you tell Putin to stay out of the U.S elections?" - from a reporter in the press conference." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Kevin Lamarque (President Trump confers with White House Communications Director Hope Hicks as Press Secretary Sarah Sanders listens) "I stayed in the room after our reporters had left, and seemingly unnoticed like the cliched 'fly on the wall', I was witness to this unusual moment." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Chris Bergin (A supporter of Trump and Republican senate candidate Mike Braun at an election night party in Indianapolis) "I saw the colour-coordinated woman in the back of the ball room while covering mid-term elections. She stood out to me because she was lit by a single overhead light that created deep shadows." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Shannon Stapleton (Stormy Daniels, puts her shoe back on after passing through a security screening, as she arrives at federal court) "On the morning that I took this picture there was a mad scrum outside the courthouse to get a picture of Stormy Daniels. She didn't enter the regular entrance of a media gauntlet that was set up for her. I placed myself by a window where I saw her passing through the metal detector. Shooting through the window was difficult but I was able to make the frame." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Carlos Barria (President Trump appears on the South Portico of the White House with the Easter Bunny during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll) "There are many holiday events at the White House, but one of the most light-hearted happens during Easter, when the President shows up at the balcony of the South Portico accompanied by someone in a big Easter bunny costume. I didn't have the best position, but towards the end, the bunny stood behind the President and I was able to take this shot." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Kevin Lamarque (Melania Trump wearing a jacket with the phrase "I Really Don't Care. Do U?" on the back after a visit to the US-Mexico border in Texas) "I could not see the words on Melania's jacket when she boarded Air Force One. I only heard about it once airborne. But there was no way I was going to miss it again, and to my utter astonishment, she was wearing it once more upon her return to Washington." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst (A White House staff member reaches for the microphone held by CNN's Jim Acosta as he questions President Trump during a news conference following the midterm congressional elections) "Covering politics has always felt to me like photographing a live theatre production - the actors and stage are usually set in a familiar way. But even if you've seen a specific play many times, there is always the possibility that there will be something exciting or new. It became obvious during this exchange that the dialogue was going in a different direction than expected, and I took it as a cue to make sure I gave the scene extra attention." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Leah Millis (Trump boards Air Force One for travel to Ohio) "We photograph departures and landings hundreds of times. Sometimes, as in this case, the clouds or the light can give you a little gift." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst (Donald and Melania Trump stand beside French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife on a visit to the estate of the first US President George Washington) "I'm always happy for events that take us off the White House campus and provide new visual opportunities. This day, when the Trumps feted the Macrons at George Washington's historic estate, it provided just the right contrast for the stylish leader-couples as they took their spots for an otherwise posed moment." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Kevin Lamarque (President Trump gestures after arriving in Pennsylvania to take part in the annual September 11 observance) "Celebratory fist pumps on a national day of mourning and reflection caught even the most seasoned of us off guard." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Peter Nicholls (Demonstrators fly a baby Trump blimp in London's Parliament Square, during his UK visit) "I took this picture of the Trump blimp from a wall at the back of Parliament Square, to get a clear view from above the crowd, as it was revealed for the first time, prior to a day of protests during his visit to the UK, mid-July." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst (President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un walk together before their working lunch during their summit in Singapore) "On a historic and difficult day, it was fun to look for the odd angle or expression. Here, Trump and Kim walk away after impromptu remarks to reporters - which clearly pleased the North Korean leader." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Ronen Zvulun (Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stand next to the dedication plaque at the new US embassy in Jerusalem) "I shot this picture when I was standing on a platform really close to Ivanka Trump. I knew exactly where to stand and what lens to use because I did a tour the day before. I knew this was the key picture we had been waiting for since the story broke some weeks before." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Leah Millis (The imprint of French President Emmanuel Macron's thumb across the back of Trump's hand at a bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit) "This is taken right after the first photo-op the two presidents had at the G7 summit after they had a tense back-and-forth on Twitter. They were smiling but Macron gripped Trump's hand quite hard and I noticed that it left a visible impression on Trump's hand." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Kevin Lamarque (President Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki) "Body language can give an ordinary photo much more meaning, and here, Trump and Putin did not disappoint." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Joshua Roberts (A father of a Florida shooting victim tries to shake hands with Brett Kavanaugh during his US Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation) "This moment happened in a break in testimony. Kavanaugh seemed surprised as Guttenberg approached but as he turned away he looked anxious. Kavanaugh later said he did not understand who Guttenberg was at the time." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Carlo Allegri (First lady Melania Trump visits the Pyramids in Cairo) "The First Lady had taken a tour of African nations and could not depart the continent without a visit to the incredible pyramids of Egypt where I, as part of the traveling press pool, was able to make this photo of her looking out over Giza Pyramid Complex." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Brian Snyder (Trump and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel hold a joint news conference in the White House) "The East Room felt tense even before President Trump and Chancellor Merkel entered for their joint news conference. With Merkel's podium behind the President's from my vantage point, she seemed to want to keep an eye on him. The East Room was very full for the joint news conference, with photographers on ladders all around the perimeter." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Leah Millis (White House counselor Kellyanne Conway gives an interview at the White House) "This is a fairly common scene at the White House, especially with Kellyanne Conway. Often the press will wait yards off while she or another member of the Trump administration gives a live interview. Conway will then walk past the rest of the press, and everyone hopes that she will give another interview to the group." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Francois Lenoir (President Trump attends a meeting of the North Atlantic Council during a NATO summit in Brussels) "I like the contrast in the photograph. The presence of U.S. President Trump posing smiling and the lack of interest of the officials in the background." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Leah Millis (Thomas Musolino wears a mask of President Trump while holding his daughter Gianna during a Trump campaign rally) "The President's rallies are well-known at this point, we attend a lot of them as members of the White House travel pool. This father-daughter situation really stood out from the crowd because of the juxtaposition of the mask and the tenderness between the two of them." REUTERS/Leah Millis SEARCH "TRUMP POY" FOR FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS POY" FOR ALL BEST OF 2018 PACKAGES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY. LEAH MILLIS Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Carlos Barria (President Trump observes a demonstration with US Army 10th Mountain Division troops as he visits Fort Drum) "President Trump often talks about how much he likes big planes and tanks, and the 'beautiful military.' This summer he had a up-close look during a visit to a military base in New York state, where he signed the National Defense Authorization Act." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Jim Bourg (Christine Blasey Ford closes her eyes as she is sworn in before testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh) "The moment looks peaceful as if Christine Blasey Ford had closed her eyes in thought, but the image actually reflects the fact that in the nine seconds that she had her hand up to be sworn in to testify, she blinked several times. Blasey Ford began her testimony by saying: 'I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school.'" REUTERS/Jim Bourg SEARCH "TRUMP POY" FOR FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS POY" FOR ALL BEST OF 2018 PACKAGES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY. JIM BOURG Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Carlos Barria (Supporters listen as President Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Montana) "As a White House photographer I'm always looking for a way to connect the President, Donald Trump, with a place. Before the mid-term elections Trump spent six days campaigning across the country, and at most of the rallies the visual elements were so similar that it was impossible to say whether we were in Florida or Alaska. In this case, though, the context was obvious. We arrived at a rally in Montana and I noticed a group of Native Americans wearing traditional headdresses behind the podium. For me this was the picture of the day." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Carlos Barria (Trump meets with supporters from a group called "Bikers for Trump" at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey) "President Trump likes to be celebrated by supporters, and none better than a group known as "Bikers for Trump," who visited him at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this summer. Unfortunately, it poured down that day and plans for an outdoor event gave way to a short visit inside the clubhouse for a group photo." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Kevin Lamarque (A protester is removed during acting CIA Director Gina Haspel's testimony at her Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing) "Just like sports, you have to follow the action. This time, I followed it out of the hearing room and into the hallway." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Leah Millis (President Trump speaks at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Convention) "I took this photograph as the pool was being ushered out to leave right before Trump's speech was supposed to end. These are the images we take after we have taken the literal, newsy ones." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Kevin Lamarque (President Trump and Melania at the Flight 93 National Memorial) "A somber moment, this image came together because of the scale and symmetry of the wall panels and the people in the photo." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Carlos Barria (US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo awaits the start of a news conference) "I always say that as photojournalists we photograph through the lens of the lives we live, including the books we read, the music we listen to, the movies we watch. As I was waiting for President Trump to arrive at an event one day, I noticed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo standing right behind me in classic dark sunglasses. The image of John Belushi in the movie "The Blues Brothers" crossed my mind." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Carlos Barria (President Trump speaks during the commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day at the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial in Paris) "During a recent visit to France and just days after a gunman opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue, President Trump visited a WWI cemetery to honor American soldiers. As he spoke, I noted a gravestone at a side angle A a single Star of David in the middle of rows and rows of crosses. I felt in this moment, the image carried more meaning than the words." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Leah Millis (Alex van der Zwaan goes through security at the US District Court after arriving for his sentencing) "Everyone has to go through security, no matter who you are. He seemed to embrace the inevitable as the woman with the wand asked him to turn around, facing him back towards the doors where many of the news media were still gathered." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Carlos Barria (President Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Missouri) "In a last push before the mid-term elections, President Trump traveled for six consecutive days, attending two or three rallies a day, to boost Republican candidates. Most of the rallies were held in airport hangars for an easy flight in and out. Sometimes, the rallies were held in the middle of the night, like this one at Columbia Regional Airport in Columbia, Missouri." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst (President Trump holds his prepared questions as he hosts a listening session with high school students and teachers to discuss school safety at the White House) "This event was loaded with raw emotion as school shooting victims from across the country described their experience as student-survivors or as friends and family who never stop mourning dead children. President Trump was given a hand-written card by one of his aides to help him navigate the emotional meeting, and pictures of the card helped tell the story of the day." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Carlos Barria (President Trump behind the reflection of a House chamber railing as Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the US Congress) "The State of the Union speech is one of the most important political events at the beginning of the year. We usually photograph it from several fixed positions, but this year I was assigned to be the 'rotating' photographer, meaning I could move around on the balcony and shoot from different angles, but only during short windows of time. During one of those windows, I found an interesting play of light reflected off a gold-colored railing, which, at a certain angle, could be seen to fall over the president." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst (President Trump arriving at Nashville International Airport) "One of my favorite photographers, Sam Abell, likes to quote his father: "Bad weather makes good pictures." In addition to the weather, the controlled chaos of White House press handlers and Secret Service agents help make pictures like this possible." Reuters President Trump: a year of high drama at home and abroad Reuters photographer Leah Millis (White House Communications Director Hope Hicks leaves after attending the House Intelligence Committee closed door meeting) "This is the product of about seven hours of waiting and lots of team work involving constant coordination to guess where to wait in order to capture Hope Hicks as she left the hill. Luckily, there were several cameramen along for the moment and their lighting captured her perfectly." Reuters He has also devoted time to establishing his own foundation and planning the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicagos South Side, a library and centre for citizenship being built in the neighbourhood where he got his start in politics as an enthusiastic young community organiser. The Obamas have largely refrained from attacking the Donald Trump administration and appear to be making the most of their time out of office, just as many previous occupants of the White House have before them. Recommended Barack and Michelle Obama sign major deal with Netflix Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) founded the University of Virginia when he retired from politics, designing the buildings, planning the institutions curriculum and serving as its first rector when it opened in 1825. John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) became the only president to stay on in the cut-and-thrust arena of Washington politics at a lower tier when he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1831. Adams served for 17 years and made the abolition of slavery his pet cause, earning the nickname Old Man Eloquent in tribute to his dedicated service. Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) liked the job so much he returned for a second, later stint, the only president to have done so. Having served his first term between 1885 and 1889, Cleveland was succeeded by Benjamin Harrison before returning to the White House between 1893 and 1897, making him both the 22nd and 24th president of the US. Harrison, for his part, used his twilight years to marry his sweetheart Mary Scott, 25 years his junior. Good show. Theodore Roosevelt at work in his study (Getty) After serving two terms between 1901 and 1909, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) ran for a third time before limits were introduced, but lost to Woodrow Wilson. He and his son Kermit thereafter set out for Brazil in 1913 on a scientific survey of the superbly named Rio da Duvida (River of Doubt), risking death by malaria in the Amazon with the explorer Candido Rondon. Their adventures are described in his best-selling travel book, Through the Brazilian Wilderness. If that sounds too much like hard work, ex-presidents can take a leaf out of Herbert Hoovers book instead. Quite literally. Its called Fishing for Fun and was published in 1963, an ode to the restorative pleasures of angling. Hoover (1874-1964) was so well known for his love of lazing by the riverside in his native Iowa that he was known as the Fishing President. Writing was a common draw: Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) penned a syndicated newspaper column and even Gerald Ford (1913-2006) composed an unlikely tome, the anecdotes collection Humour and the Presidency in 1987. All departing presidents face a degree of expectation about how they use their fame and influence for the public good and none have surpassed Jimmy Carter when it comes to tireless humanitarian endeavour. Former US president Jimmy Carter and Cuban president Fidel Castro in Havana in 2002 (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images) Establishing the Carter Center in 1982, the Democrat has served as a diplomat and ambassador across the world, mediating in myriad disputes and conflicts notably in bringing North Korea and Cuba in from the cold and earning a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He has even been credited with helping eradicate the blight of Guinea worm from Africa. I cant deny Im a better ex-president than I was a president, he once said. Bill Clinton has likewise been a busy advocate for good causes and has by all accounts amassed a small fortune from the international after-dinner speaking circuit. He was prominent on the campaign trail in 2016 in support of his wife Hillary and would have no-doubt served as the first-ever First Dude with good humour had she beaten Donald Trump to the White House. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events George W Bush has been relatively quiet since leaving office, only really raising eyebrows with his paintings of heads of state and world figures he met while in office, including Vladimir Putin, Tony Blair and the Dalai Lama, a hobby inspired by reading Winston Churchills 1932 essay Painting as a Pastime. Whether hes made any money from his unexpected dabbling in oils is unknown but he has received acclaim for his work in the high-amateur style and published a collection, Portraits of Courage, last year. The man who began the political rally chant lock her up about Hillary Clinton is now leading an office at the federal environment agency. Michael Stoker has been credited with coining the infamous saying calling for Ms Clinton to be put in prison for using a private email server while she was Secretary of State. He reportedly began the chant at Republican National Convention in 2016 while a state delegate and it went on to be heard at numerous political rallies of US President Donald Trump - followed by signs, t-shirts, and the president himself saying it on stage. Mr Stoker is now head of the Pacific southwest regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Hill newspaper obtained the email announcing the appointment within the agency in which chief of staff Ryan Jackson said Mr Stoker had spent his career serving the public and working as an attorney specialising in agriculture, labour, land use, and environmental law. In a move that is in line with the way EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt has hired replacements after the departure of several consulting scientists and advisory board members, Mr Stoker is from industry. He most recently worked for UnitedAg, a lobbying firm where he was as director of government affairs. He also served as California deputy secretary of state from 2000 to 2002 under Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. News outlet ThinkProgress reported that Mr Stoker also once worked for Greka Oil and Gas Inc, a company with numerous complaints of environmental regulation non-compliance in its history. According to the Associated Press, the company had spilt more than 500,000 gallons of oil in southern California. An agency employee told the outlet that Greka was the worst oil company. The position, which Mr Stoker took over on 21 May, is based in the agencys San Francisco office but the newspaper reported that he will likely work from the satellite office in Los Angeles, according to the LA Times. This prompted a letter from Senator Dianne Feinstein, who hails from northern California, to Mr Pruitt which cautioned him from allowing Mr Stoker to be an absentee leader in state where environmental issues are important. EPA Chief Scott Pruitt suggests global warming could be good for humans Mr Pruitt tweeted his support for his latest appointee in a tweet: Mike Stoker is highly qualified and well-equipped to lead Region 9. Through his public service and career in law, he understands the environmental challenges facing the region and will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to EPA. The position has been vacant since Mr Pruitt took over the agency in February 2017 and the administration reportedly had difficulty in finding someone to take it. In January it was widely expected that Ryan Flynn, an oil and gas lobbyist from New Mexico, would take on the role but he later told the LA Times that he was staying put, The Hill reported. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan The purview of his office will be over 700 agency employees in California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, and the US Pacific Islands. A main goal of the agency under Mr Pruitt has become to de-regulate the agency in order to hand off the responsibility of regulation to states, except when it comes to California establishing its own fuel-efficiency standards as the administration rolls them back at the federal level. Mr Pruitt has come under fire recently for what some in Congress have deemed excessive spending to the tune of $3m a year on his personal security detail based on threats made well after the detail was established, his use of a house in Washington DC which he gets at a heavily discounted rate from an oil and gas lobbyist with matters in front of the agency, and his spending of taxpayer money on first-class plane tickets. The agency has dismantled large pieces of legislation like the Clean Power Plan, which would have reduced carbon emissions from power plants in the US, and having Mr Trump begin the withdrawal process from the global Paris Agreement on climate change. California has filed 26 lawsuits against the Trump administration, many targeting environmental issues. Kim Jong-un would be making a "great mistake" if he believed he could "play" Donald Trump when they meet next month, Mike Pence, the US vice president, has warned. The president is willing to walk away from the unprecedented summit with the North Korea leader after the regime called the meeting into question last week, Mr Pence said. He told Fox News the isolationist state should not attempt to seek concessions from the US for promises it does not intend to keep. "It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong-un to think he could play Donald Trump," Mr Pence said, according to excerpts of an interview made available by Fox. When he was asked if Mr Trump could still walk away from the summit, scheduled for 12 June in Singapore, he replied: "Well there's no question." Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Show all 25 1 /25 Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un heads towards Moon Jae-in to shake his hand between the military demarcation line, at the Joint Security Area on the Demilitarized Zone in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands as they cross the military demarcation line EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Koreans react while watching a screen reporting the Inter Korean Summit Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un chat as they arrive at the Peace House Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un was escorted by bodyguards from the North to the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas to meet with his South Korean counterpart at the truce village AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un crosses the military demarcation line to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in shake hands Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after Kim crossing the military demarcation line Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Joint Security Area EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un speak with two South Korean children who presented Kim Jong-un with a bouquet of flowers EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Moon Jae-in Kim Jong-un pose for photographers at the Joint Security Area (JSA) EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signs the guest book as South Korean President Moon Jae-in looks on Getty Images Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns entry in the guestbook. The writing reads A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-In and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talk during their summit meeting at the Peace House EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un smiles AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a photo inside the Peace House AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in prepare to plant a pine tree near the military demarcation line AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un applaud after planting a tree at the truce village Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un and South Koreas President Moon Jae-in take a walk after they planted a tree AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in at a bench on a bridge next to the military demarcation line at the truce village of Panmunjom AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in sign on a joint statement Korea Broadcasting System via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embrace each other after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after their joint announcement AP Mr Trump is to meet South Korea's president, Moon Jae-in, on Tuesday, three weeks before his scheduled meeting with Kim Jong-un. Mr Moon's visit to the White House was originally planned to fine-tune a joint strategy for dealing with the North Korean leader, but it has now instead become more of a crisis session after North Korea threatened to pull out of the summit. Last week, the White House was caught off guard when North Korea condemned the latest joint US-South Korean air combat drills, suspended North-South talks and threw the summit into doubt if Pyongyang was pushed towards "unilateral nuclear abandonment." Mike Pompeo confident US and North Korea have 'shared understanding of ultimate objectives from summit' It came after Mr Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, suggested North Korea should emulate Libya by abandoning its nuclear programme. Nine years after Libya's former leader, Muammar Gaddafi, agreed to dismantle his nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions in 2003, he was overthrown and slain by Western-backed rebels. Mr Trump has insisted he remains committed to the summit, but has warned in the past it might not take place or he could walk out if it looked like a deal was not possible. If the summit is cancelled or fails, it would be a major blow to what many supporters of Mr Trump hope will be the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency. Donald Trump has shrugged off attempts by White House staff to improve the security around his mobile phones because doing so would be inconvenient, it has been claimed. The US President is said to use two iPhones having switched from Android earlier in his tenure of which only one is capable of making phone calls. The other device features just the Twitter app and a number of news sites, Politico reported, and both are issued by the White Houses IT and communications teams. But Mr Trump has not heeded aides pleas that he use a new Twitter-enabled phone every month because it would be too inconvenient, Politico cited an administration official as claiming. It has reportedly been five months since the device was last checked by experts. The White House did not comment officially but Politico cited a West Wing official as saying that inherent capabilities and advancement in technologies made the phones more secure than any Obama-era devices. The Twitter-enabled phones own security features, and that of the app, have been deemed sufficient protection, that official added. The Independent has contacted the White House for further comment. Barack Obama, famously attached to his BlackBerry for texting and email, was eventually given by White House technicians a stripped-back handset that lacked several key features, for security purposes. Mr Trump has previously said he believes no computer is safe. Last year he told guests at his New Years Eve party that if you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old-fashioned way. 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 No computer is safe. I dont care what they say. Information security formed part of his constant and strident criticism of Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the 2016 presidential race. Ms Clintons private email server, which she used when she was secretary of state under Mr Obama, was hacked and her private messages leaked. US intelligence agencies believe Russia was behind the breach, which it denies. Following the reports, Norm Eisen, the former White House ethics chief, tweeted: In the Obama transition and White House I helped with the decision to keep his personal BlackBerry, subject to restrictions that Trump is now flouting. Those arent just about personal safety but national security. Trump doesnt give a damn. Again. The mayor of New York City has instructed police to stop arresting people caught smoking marijuana in public, saying the drug will likely be legalised in the area soon anyway. With marijuana legalisation 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," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. He added: "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. Recommended Seattle moves to vacate decades of marijuana convictions Mr de Blasio said police should issue summons to people caught smoking marijuana, rather than arresting them the same punishment currently given to those found to possess small amounts of the drug. The statement came just days after Mr de Blasio ordered the New York Police Department (NYPD) to reform how it handles cases involving marijuana. He told the department to create a 30-day working group on the issue, after the New York Times reported that black and latino people were being disproportionately arrested for marijuana-related crimes. Cynthia Nixon wants to legalise marijuana in New York The police department said in a statement on Sunday that the working group was underway, and that the directive to stop marijuana-related arrests was part of that review. The Working Group is reviewing possession and public smoking of marijuana to ensure enforcement is consistent with the values of fairness and trust, while also promoting public safety and addressing community concerns, police spokesman Phil Walzak said in a statement. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson has also called on NYPD to implement a summons-only policy. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has said he will end the prosecution of marijuana possession and smoking cases this summer. In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Show all 26 1 /26 In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies A man wears a marijuana leaf mask during the annual 4/20 cannabis culture celebration at Sunset Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia AP In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies A lady smokes marijuana on Parliament Hill on 4/20 in Ottawa, Ontario Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies James Reed smokes a joint during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies People sign a 4/20 sign on Parliament Hill on in Ottawa, Ontario Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies A woman smokes marijuana on Parliament Hill on 4/20 in Ottawa, Ontario. Polling released showed strong support in Canada for a government drive to legalise recreational use of marijuana, but many would like the proposed minimum age for consumption to be raised. Sixty-three percent of respondents told the Angus Reid Institute they support legalisation Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies A man smokes marijuana during the annual 4/20 marijuana rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Reuters In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Demonstrators smoke marijuana during the '4/20 Santiago' rally in favour of legalisation in front of the La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, as part of the Global Marijuana March which is being held in hundreds of cities worldwide Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies People play with a mock marijuana joint during a 4/20 party to demand legalisation and to celebrate marijuana culture outside the Senate building in Mexico City, Mexico Reuters In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Adam Eidinger, co-founder of DCMJ, hands out free marijuana joints to DC residents who worked on Capitol Hill as part of the 1st Annual Joint Session to mark '4/20' day and promote legalising marijuana on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Police arrest Rachel Ramone Donlan after she handed out free marijuana joints to DC residents who worked on Capitol Hill as part of the 1st Annual Joint Session to mark '4/20' day and promote legalising marijuana on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC AFP/Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Police arrest Rachel Ramone Donlan after she handed out free marijuana joints to DC residents who worked on Capitol Hill as part of the 1st Annual Joint Session to mark '4/20' day and promote legalising marijuana on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Thousands of people gather to smoke marijuana during the '420 Santiago'rally in front of the La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies People attend the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Kevin Barron and Lasean Moore of Raleigh, North Carolina, share a joint during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Nic Ruhl takes a pull on a giant hand rolled joint at precisely 4:20pm MDT during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Various cannabis paraphernalia on display at a vendor's stall during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Mo Banez, of Austin, Texas, lights a joint during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies A man displays a large container of cannabis during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado. The rally, held annually, is a celebration of both the legalisation of cannabis and cannabis culture. Colorado is one of twenty-six U.S. states along with the District of Columbia that has legalised the use of cannabis either recreationally or medically AFP/Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Sitting in small groups on mats shaded by trees in the Rose Garden just across from the Knesset, participants lit up as the clock struck 4:20 for the local version of the traditional worldwide April 20 pro-marijuana events, known as '420' rallies Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies An Israeli smokes a marijuana joint in Jerusalem during a rally at the Rose garden Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Sitting in small groups on mats shaded by trees in the Rose Garden just across from the Knesset, participants lit up as the clock struck 4:20 for the local version of the traditional worldwide April 20 pro-marijuana events, known as '420' rallies Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies An Israeli girl poses with a mock marijuana joint in Jerusalem during a rally at the Rose garden, to celebrate 420 and to express their defiance of current laws Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies aelis pass around a marijuana joint in Jerusalem during a rally at the Rose garden, to celebrate 420 and to express their defiance of current laws Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies An Israeli smokes a marijuana joint in Jerusalem during a rally at the Rose garden, to celebrate 420 and to express their defiance of current law Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies An Israeli smokes a marijuana joint in Jerusalem on April 20, 2017 during a rally opposite the Knesset to celebrate 420 and express defiance of current laws AFP/Getty Images A 2017 poll from Emerson College found nearly two thirds of New Yorkers favour legalising recreational marijuana for people over the age of 21. Nine US states have already legalised recreational use of the drug. New York gubernatorial challenger Cynthia Nixon has made legalisation a backbone of her campaign, emphasising the racial imbalance in low-level drug arrests. According to the Times, black people across New York City were arrested on low-level marijuana charges at eight times the rate of white, non-Hispanic people over the last three years. New York Police Commissioner James O'Neill has previously acknowledged this imbalance, saying that the department does not discriminate against minorities, but that "there are differences in arrest rates, and they have persisted going back many years. "We need an honest assessment about why they exist, and balance it in the context of the public safety needs of all communities," he said in a statement last week. Stefan A. Halper, the FBI source who assisted the Russia investigation and is at the centre of a standoff between congressional Republicans and the Justice Department, is a well-connected veteran of past GOP administrations who convened senior intelligence officials for seminars at the University of Cambridge in England. In the summer and fall of 2016, Mr Halper, then an emeritus professor at Cambridge, contacted three Trump campaign advisers for brief talks and meetings that largely centred on foreign policy, The Washington Post reported last week. At some point that year, he began working as a secret informant for the FBI as it investigated Russia's interference in the campaign, according to multiple people familiar with his activities. The Post had previously confirmed Halper's identity, but did not report his name following warnings from US intelligence officials that exposing him could endanger him or his contacts. Now that he has been identified as the FBI's informant by multiple news organisations, including the Wall Street Journal, New York magazine and Axios, The Post has decided to publish his name. Mr Halper, 73, declined to comment. The FBI declined to comment. Recommended Justice Department will examine if Russia probe had political motive Mr Halper's contacts with Trump advisers around the start of the FBI's counterintelligence have come under scrutiny in recent weeks by House allies of President Donald Trump. Late last month, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., issued a subpoena to the Justice Department requesting all documents related to the FBI informant. In recent days, Mr Trump has seized on the reports about Mr Halper's role in the Russia probe, suggesting in tweets that the FBI improperly spied on his campaign. There is no evidence to suggest Mr Halper was inserted into the Trump campaign, but he did engage in a pattern of seeking out and meeting three Trump advisers. On Monday, the conflict was defused at least temporarily with the announcement that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly plans to convene a meeting between top law enforcement officials and GOP congressional leaders to "review highly classified and other information" the lawmakers have requested about the source. Mr Halper's connections to the intelligence world have been present throughout his career and at Cambridge, where he ran an intelligence seminar that brought together intelligence officials of past and present. In 2014, Mr Halper, along with Richard Dearlove, the former head of Britain's foreign intelligence service, sponsored a meeting of the seminar that drew then-Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency Michael Flynn, who would go on to serve as Mr Trump's first national security adviser. Mr Halper taught international affairs and American studies at Cambridge from 2001 until 2015, when he stepped down with the honorary title of emeritus senior fellow of the Centre of International Studies, according to a spokesman for the university. Since 2012, Mr Halper has had contracts with the Defence Department, working for a Pentagon think tank called the Office of Net Assessment. According to federal records, ONA has paid Mr Halper more than $1 million for research and development in the social sciences and humanities. The funds did not go solely to Mr Halper, who hired other academics and experts to conduct research and prepare reports, according to US government officials. "He thinks well. He writes critically. And he knows a lot of people whose insights he can tap for us as well," one US government official said. Mr Halper's first wife was the daughter of the prominent former CIA analyst Ray S. Cline, who worked alongside President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and mentored Mr Halper, introducing him to associates in the intelligence and political communities, according to numerous people familiar with their relationship. After earning his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 1971, Mr Halper quickly ascended, serving on the White House domestic policy council for President Richard M. Nixon and then in the Office of Management and Budget before being tapped as an assistant to President Gerald Ford's chief of staff. According to a document from Ford's presidential library, part of Mr Halper's job was assessing domestic political candidates, such as Jimmy Carter, for high-ranking staffers in the West Wing. Mr Halper later worked for Sen. William Roth, R-Del., before joining the George H.W. Bush campaign in 1980 as national policy development director and then working for the Reagan-Bush campaign as national director of policy coordination. In the Reagan administration, he served as deputy assistant secretary of state for politico-military affairs, according to his biography. After the 1980 race, Mr Halper was caught up in a scandal around alleged political spying. Aides to Mr Reagan, including Mr Halper, were accused of having spied on Mr Carter's campaign and obtaining private documents that Mr Carter was using to prepare for a debate. Some Reagan White House officials later alleged that Mr Halper had used former CIA agents to run an operation against Mr Carter. Mr Halper called the reports at the time "absolutely false" and has long denied the accusations. Between 2000 and 2001, Mr Halper contributed more than $85,000 to George W. Bush's first presidential bid and the Republican National Committee, according to campaign finance records. Most friends describe him as a moderate Republican who is hawkish on China and deeply committed to US institutions, having worked for years inside and around the federal government. Late in his career, Mr Halper emerged as a vocal critic of President George W. Bush's interventionist foreign policy. During classes at Cambridge, he often raised questions about Mr Bush's decisions and embraced a traditional Republican approach to foreign policy that emphasised long-standing Western alliances and limited foreign intervention, as witnessed by a Post reporter who studied under Mr Halper in 2009. His 2004 co-written book, "America Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order," was critical of the Bush administration's approach to the Iraq War. Mr Halper has spent considerable time focused on China over the past decade, publishing "The Beijing Consensus: Legitimizing Authoritarianism in our Time" in 2010 that warned of China's attempts to build an economic and industrial presence in Africa and elsewhere as a threat to global stability. "Stef" as Mr Halper is called by people who know him was also widely known at Cambridge as a gregarious gatherer of students and academics at his apartment in the city, along with his wife. He frequently hosted dinners with visiting students and scholars from around the world where over wine and cheese from the local market he would share colourful stories about his work for American presidents and the US government and stir debates about the issues of the day. The Washington Post Indonesia has raised the alert level for its most active volcano and authorities have ordered villages living on its slopes to evacuate. Mount Merapi, on the densely populated island of Java, has erupted four times since Monday, sending out a 3,500m (11,483ft) column of ash and smoke. The authorities are taking no chances after a series of eruptions in 2010 killed more than 350 people. Indonesias geological agency raised the alert level for Merapi from normal to beware due to its increased activity. Mount Merapi spews volcanic ash during a phreatic eruption as seen from Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 11 May, 2018 (EPA/STR) Around 660 people living within a 3km (2 miles) exclusion zone have evacuated since Tuesday, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a national disaster mitigation agency spokesman said. Mr Nugroho told the Associated Press climbing and hiking on Merapi is banned and only disaster agency personnel or related researchers should enter the restricted area. There have been no reports of casualties. This month, the airport in Yogyakarta, the closest city to Merapi, was briefly shut down because of the eruptions. Through the ages, Indonesians have tilled the fertile volcanic soil on the mountains slopes and more recently the volcano has become a tourist site. 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 disaster agency described Merapis eruptions as phreatic, which means magma heats up ground water and vapour is released under pressure. Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 250 million people, sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Indonesian government seismologists monitor more than 120 active volcanoes. Additional reporting by agencies Less than two weeks after he was ousted as prime minister of Malaysia by disgruntled voters, Najib Razak faced a four-hour grilling on Tuesday over the corruption scandal that brought him defeat at the ballot box. In what was only part one of Mr Najibs statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission, the former leader sought to explain why more than $10m ended up in his personal account from what investigators say was a state-controlled fund. The US has said that Mr Najib and his associates stole $4.5bn in total from the so-called 1MDB national investment programme, which was supposed to help build public infrastructure in Kuala Lumpur and beyond. It was the 1MDB scandal that forced Malaysias former authoritarian leader, Mahathir Mohamad, out of political retirement at the age of 92. Mr Mahathir headed up the opposition alliance that defeated the ruling coalition for the first time in Malaysias post-colonial era. The commission which questioned Mr Najib on Tuesday is tasked specifically with chasing the 42 million ringgit ($10.6m) transferred into his bank account from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB, using multiple intermediary companies. Investigators say it will take much longer, and the cooperation of many countries, to pursue an alleged international network of money laundering around Mr Najib. The former prime minister has strongly denied any wrongdoing, and emerged from the commissions offices looking calm, and smiling. He said he had provided verification of documents and several more complete details on top of the evidence he gave to a previous investigation into 1MDB, back in 2015. But the commission also heard from the top investigator in that probe, Mohamad Shukri Abdull, who alleged that he and his colleagues faced threats and intimidation when they came close to bringing charges against Mr Najib. Mr Shukri fled to the US when the then-attorney general was fired, fearing he was next. One of Mr Mahathirs first acts as the new prime minister was to sack the attorney general who Mr Najib appointed then, and who cleared him of wrongdoing in 2016. In emotional testimony, Mr Shukri described how he received a bullet in the post and said he felt guilty for leaving the country as his associates in the agency were removed or transferred. We wanted to bring back money that was stolen ... Instead we were accused of bringing down the country, we were accused of being traitors, he said. He has now returned as the new chief of a commission tasked by Mr Mahathir with bringing the alleged 1MDB fraudsters to account, as well as recovering any lost money. In a separate news conference, the new finance minister Lim Guan Eng said the Najib administration had conducted "an exercise of deception" over the 1MDB issue and misrepresented the country's financial situation to parliament. He said bailing out the debt created by 1MDB had already cost Malaysia 6.98 billion ringgit ($1.8 billion), money which he said the Najib government claimed was covered by cost-cutting efficiencies in other ministries. Mr Najib will appear back before the commission on Thursday, a continuation of a gruelling post-leadership period that has seen his properties raided, with luxury items removed and itemised by corruption police. Both he and his wife have been barred from leaving Malaysia while the graft probe is carried out. The US Justice Department has previously said it believes $700m from the 1MDB went directly to Mr Najib. In a statement, it said it was looking forward to working with Malaysian law enforcement in investigating the case, adding that whenever possible, recovered assets will be used to benefit the people harmed by these acts. Mr Shukri suggested criminal charges against Mr Najib would come very soon. Let the law take its course, he said. A Chinese university has lifted its ban on miniskirts and hotpants in the library after an outcry from students. Hunan Agricultural University originally issued the restrictions when a male scholar complained his work was being "disrupted". It posted a notice on the library doors restricting students from entering wearing dresses and shorts less than 50cm in length. Female students said they had been stopped from going into the library by security guards because of what they were wearing. The ban attracted criticism on Chinese social media, particularly after it was reported that it has been claimed that miniskirts were "a form of sexual harassment". "Simply wearing clothes is not sending out a sexual invitation," said one user of Weibo. "The reason does not stand." The university removed the notice on Friday and issued an apology to female students. "We apologise for the confusion and inconvenience brought by our recent work," it said in a statement. "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." The miniskirt ban was replaced with a notice restricting students from entering the library wearing vests or flip flops. 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 Students would also not be able to study in their underwear, according to an unnamed staff member quoted in the Global Times. A celebrated Japanese climber with just one finger has died on his eighth attempt to climb Mount Everest. Nobukazu Kuriki was found dead in a tent at 7,400 metres on the 8,850-metre mountain, a Nepal mountaineering official said on Monday. Sherpas found his body inside the tent, Gyanendra Shrestha said from base camp. Details of the incident were not immediately available due to poor communication with the higher camp, he added. The 36-year-old had previously made seven unsuccessful attempts to scale the world's highest peak. In 2012, Kuriki spent two days in a snow hole a few hundred metres from the summit in temperatures below -20C. Severe frostbite meant nine of his fingertips were amputated. It came after 63-year-old Macedonian, Gjeorgi Petkov, died at the weekend also climbing Everest, hiking officials said. Volunteers and friends carry the body of Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki (Getty Images) Both bodies were retrieved from the mountain on Monday and were flown by helicopters to Kathmandu, where they were expected to have autopsies. It was still unclear how they died, but the Macedonian is believed to have suffered a heart attack, Mr Shrestha said. Mallory: The Everest enigma Show all 4 1 /4 Mallory: The Everest enigma Mallory: The Everest enigma 141382.bin GETTY IMAGES Mallory: The Everest enigma 141381.bin EPA Mallory: The Everest enigma 141383.bin DAVID SANDISON Mallory: The Everest enigma 141384.bin NARENDRA SHRESTHA / EPA Nepal has allowed more than 340 foreign climbers and their Sherpa guides to ascend the peak during the current season, which started in March and continues through May. Many succeeded in the past week due to good weather. Teams have to end their attempts by the end of May as weather conditions deteriorate. Additional reporting by agencies. At least 10 people have now died in southern India from confirmed cases of the deadly Nipah virus, officials have said. Dozens more have been quarantined amid public panic in the state of Kerala, and a team of experts has been dispatched to the coastal region from Indias National Centre for Disease Control in the capital, New Delhi. The World Health Organisation (WHO) told The Independent it was in close contact with local experts and awaiting further assessment reports. Dr Henk Bekedam, the bodys WHO Representative to India, praised the authorities for their quick response to the situation. At a news conference on Tuesday, Keralas health minister K K Shailaja said that of 18 people screened for the virus since the first death on Friday, 12 had tested positive and 10 had died. A nurse who treated suspected Nipah patients at a hospital in Perambra, 31-year-old Lini Puthusheri, was named as the tenth victim. A well in Kozhikode was reportedly full of bats, which are known carriers of the Nipah virus (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images) Though only identified in 1999, Nipah ranks alongside Ebola and Zika on the latest WHO list of diseases most likely to result in a catastrophic global pandemic. There is no vaccine or cure, and the virus is fatal in up to 70 per cent of cases. The virus can be transmitted from human to human. Fruit bats are seen to be the most common animal carriers in southern Asia, and previous outbreaks have stemmed from people drinking raw date palm sap in areas where the bats are active. J P Nadda, the health minister of India, said the central government was extending full support to the state. He said the team from the National Centre for Disease Control had arrived in Kerala on Tuesday, and that two more from leading medical facilities in Delhi would be arriving on Wednesday. Ms Shailaja said the health department in the state, which is a popular destination for tourists, was hopeful we can put a stop to the outbreak. This is a new situation for us, she said. We have no prior experience in dealing with the Nipah virus. Health officials said they found mangoes bitten by bats in a home in Kozhikode city, where three of the first patients died all members of the same family. U V Jose, a local government official, said bats were found in a well used by the family. We have closed the well and evacuated the people living nearby, he said. Animal control agents have been ordered to collect bats for testing across the city. Neighbours and other residents had been concerned by the deaths and were swarming local hospitals, Mr Jose said. A large number of people affected by fever, and even minor ailments, are swarming to hospitals, fearing they have contracted the disease. Weve sought the help of private hospitals to tide over the crisis. The nurse who died in Perambra, Ms Puthusheri, was praised for her selfless service by Keralas Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan. Ms Puthusheri had been disturbed by the death of her patient, her husband Sajeesh told The Hindu newspaper. He said she developed a fever herself a day or two later. Fears of transmission meant she was unable to speak to her husband or two young children in person before her death, and the health department requested her body be immediately cremated rather than returned to her community. Keralas tourism minister, Kadakampally Surendran, was among many who shared on social media a letter Ms Puthusheri wrote to her husband from her isolation unit. In a mixture of English and the local Malayalam language, she told him: I think I am almost on my way. I may not be able to see you again. Sorry. Please look after our children. The WHO says Nipah has an incubation period of five to 14 days before people show symptoms, which can make it harder to stop the infection from spreading. Tracing all contacts of the affected persons in the recent past, testing and observing them, and treating them early, is the key to rapidly curtail the spread of the disease and minimise fatalities, Dr Bekedam said. He added that it was vital for hospitals to put in place good infection control practices. WHO has provided guidelines and information on Nipah virus to the government and stands ready for any other request for assistance, he said. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has told drug suspects to look for a way to get arrested and stay in jail if they want to live longer. In the televised speech on Tuesday, Mr Duterte failed to identify specific targets, but referred to people who grew rich through the illegal drugs trade in the central Cebu province. "You know if I were you guys in Cebu, stay in jail. You want to live longer? Stay in jail," Mr Duterte said. "Look for your own reason to be in jail. Do not go out of that facility. It would not be healthy for you." It is just the latest threat in his bloody anti-drugs crackdown, which has seen more than 4,000, mostly poor drug suspects, killed in clashes with police. There has been at least one high-profile drug suspect, however, who was shot to death by police in his jail cell. Police killed town mayor Rolando Espinosa inside a jail in central Leyte province in 2016 in what they said was a gun battle, but government investigators declared it a murder. Duterte: Police can kill idiots who resist arrest Murder complaints against an officer and his men involved in the shootout were later downgraded to a lesser charge that allowed them to be released on bail and reinstated into the force. In a rambling speech to honour the Philippine navy's 120th anniversary, the 73-year-old initially touched on terrorism and South China Sea territorial threats, before veering to his anti-drug crackdown. He issued a veiled threat to policemen involved in drugs and acknowledged the national force has been infiltrated by criminals. "Some of them, sadly, are really into drugs... most of all the policemen because they are aplenty. I'm just warning them that if you are into it, you will be the first to go," he said. "It is no surprise that you are just also falling down one by one and the mayors and the village captains." "And to all of those criminals out there, to all those rogue policemen and all creating hell for us, I have yet sufficient time to correct all of these things. The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Show all 9 1 /9 The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On killing drug addicts These sons of whores are destroying our children. I warn you, dont go into that, even if youre a policeman, because I will really kill you. If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Message to China I will go there on my own with a Jet Ski, bringing along with me a [Phillipino] flag and a pole, and once I disembark, I will plant the flag on the runway and tell the Chinese authorities, Kill me AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Christmas message to law-breakers If you do not want to stop, and just continue committing crimes, then this would be your last Merry Christmas AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On sex life I was separated from my wife. Im not impotent. What am I supposed to do? Let this hang forever? When I take Viagra, it stands up AFP/Getty Images The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On the drugs trade None of my children are into illegal drugs. But my order is, even if it is a member of my family, kill him'" AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Insulting the Pope We were affected by the traffic. It took us five hours. I asked why, they said it was closed. I asked who is coming. They answered, the pope. I wanted to call him: Pope, son of a wh**e, go home. Do not visit us again AFP/Getty Images The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Joke about rape I saw her face and I thought, 'What a pity... they raped her, they all lined up. I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first AFP/Getty The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Insulting Barack Obama "Mr Obama should be respectful and refrain from throwing questions at me about the killings, or son of a bitch, I will swear at you in that forum" REUTERS The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants "If I have to face them, you know I can eat humans. I will really open up your body. Just give me vinegar and salt, and I will eat you. If you annoy me to the fullest... I will eat you alive. Raw" EPA "You might not like the way how I correct things but I would just love to warn you that there is no turning back on this and I am there in the drug war in front." Officials say most of those 4,000 drug suspects killed in clashes with police died because they fought back. Human rights watchdogs have cited much higher death tolls, which the government disputes. Mr Duterte denies condoning extrajudicial killings and has lashed out at critics, including former US president Barack Obama, Western governments and United Nations human rights officials, who have raised the alarm over the drug killings and threats to human rights. But Mr Duterte disclosed on Friday that he wanted to reply to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein's critical remarks in March, but was advised "to shut up" at the time by his national security adviser, who told him Mr Zeid was royalty from Jordan, which was providing the Philippines with two assault helicopters. Mr Zeid has suggested that Mr Duterte "needs to submit himself to some sort of psychiatric evaluation" over his "unacceptable" remarks about some top human rights defenders. Additional reporting by AP. Passengers on a Japanese plane were forced to evacuate after oil fumes filled the cabin moments before it was due to take off. All 137 passengers and crew on board the All Nippon Airways jet escaped onto the tarmac at Narita airport in Tokyo. Local media reported at least four people felt unwell. The airline said a damaged power unit caused an internal lubricant to flow into the air conditioning system, where it turned into a mist and made its way into the cabin. We deeply apologise for the concern and inconvenience caused to customers, it said in a statement. Japans transport ministry said is suspected an oil leak that vaporised before reaching passengers. It found no evidence of a fire in the Boeing 767's cabin. Footage shared on social media showed what initially appeared to be smoke filling up the cabin, before shouts from crew were followed by passengers putting themselves in the brace position. 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 flight, which was bound for Hong Kong, was rescheduled and due to arrive in the Chinese territory on Tuesday afternoon. A Catholic archbishop has been found guilty of covering up child sexual abuse in the 1970s in Australia. Philip Wilson, the archbishop of Adelaide, was found to have concealed a serious crime committed by another person the sexual abuse of children by paedophile priest James Fletcher in the 1970s. The judge said he was satisfied that one of the altar boys, Peter Creigh, had been a truthful and reliable witness. The clergyman becomes the most senior member of the Catholic Church to be convicted of the offence. Wilson was released on bail and the 67-year-old now faces a maximum two years in prison. In a statement issued by the Catholic Church, Wilson said he was disappointed by the conviction. I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps, he said. Wilson, who is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers disease but maintains that medication has helped his memory, told the court that he could not remember Mr Creigh and another altar boy telling him in 1976 that they were abused by Fletcher. The court has ordered that Mr Creigh can be named in media reports on his evidence, but the second accuser cannot be named for legal reasons. The prosecution argued that Wilson failed to give details to police about a serious crime after Fletcher was arrested in 2004 and went on trial for preying on another boy. Fletcher was found guilty of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in prison of a stroke in 2006 while serving an almost eight-year sentence. Defence lawyers had argued that Wilson could not be found guilty because the case was circumstantial and there was no evidence to prove the archbishop was told about the abuse, believed it was true, or remembered being told about it. Mr Creigh told the court he had trusted that Wilson, then an assistant priest, would take action after he told him Fletcher had repeatedly abused him in 1971 when he was 10. 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 testified that Wilson had a look of horror on his face when told of the abuse, that the clergyman took no action and did not tell police. The other former altar boy said he was about 11 in 1976 when he went to confession and told Wilson that Fletcher had abused him. The witness told the court that Wilson refused to believe him because Fletcher was a good bloke. Wilson ordered the boy to get out of the confessional box and say 10 Hail Mary prayers as an act of contrition, the court was told. Wilson gave evidence last month that he had no memory of seeing the second altar boy at all in 1976 and he would never accuse anyone in the confessional of telling lies. Former police detective chief inspector Peter Fox, who had previously made public allegations that the church had covered up Fletchers crimes, said outside court that he was delighted by the verdict because someone in the church was being held to account. Its a major turning point. Its been very difficult for so many of these witnesses; I cant tell you how difficult its been, he said. Agencies contributed to this report An upcoming trade deal between the European Union and Australia and New Zealand will help to dramatically increase trade between the blocs, the EUs trade commission has said. Despite high-profile Brexiteers hoping Britain would do more trade with Commonwealth countries after Britain leaves the bloc, the EU has pulled away with a head-start in negotiating its own agreement with the two former British colonies. Cecilia Malmstrom told the European Parliament on Wednesday that her negotiating team was moving to the next phase of preparations for the trade deal. She announced that the European Commission had sent information about the upcoming talks to member states national parliaments so they could begin scrutinising the process. The Trade Commissioner also confirmed that the EU would be taking a fast-track approach to the talks by agreeing to conclude a deal which either of the two countries individually, even if the other was not ready. Our current exports to these countries are more than our exports to Canada, and it can be much bigger, Ms Malmstrom, a Swedish liberal, said. We have done a very thorough preparatory work with both Australia and New Zealand. They are aware of the debate here in Europe, they are aware of our sensitivities, they are aware of the political discussion in some of the countries relating to trade. Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU's trade Commissioner (European Parliament) MEPs are expected to give the go-ahead to starting talks in a vote later on Thursday. Britain cannot open talks with either Australia or New Zealand until it leaves the EU in March 2019, giving the EU a significant head start. The delay opens up the possibility that Brexit might temporarily give the UK worse trade relations with its Commonwealth colleagues if the EU finalises its deal first and Britain is not included. Some EU nations with big agricultural sectors are worried that opening up their markets entirely as part of the deal could harm domestic farmers. Some MEPs want to exclude some agricultural products from negotiations Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty Ms Malmstrom ruled out full liberalisation in order to protect European farmers but said that equally, agriculture could not be fully excluded from talks. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said in his State of the Union speech that countries from around the world were lining up at our door to do trade deals with the EU. He pledged that the deal would be in place by the end of his mandate. The man nominated to lead Italys incoming populist government as its next prime minister has been forced to fend off questions about whether he really studied at the prestigious colleges his CV claims he did. Giuseppe Conte, a relatively unknown politician from the Five Star Movement apparently heading for the top job, said on his official 12-page resume that he refined his studies of law at the world famous private New York University in 2008 and 2009. But the Italian press erupted on Tuesday after a report in the New York Times claimed NYU had no records of the would-be prime minister ever attending the institution. Recommended Italian populist parties unveil programme for coalition government Italian daily Corriere della Sera dubbed the row il caso del curriculum (the case of the CV) while the countrys other major newspaper La Repubblica put the claims on its front page and published an op-ed characterising the episode as a little embarrassing for Mr Conte. The countrys press has also honed in on other apparent irregularities with the document. Mr Conte also said he had attended the International Kultur Institut in Vienna to refine his legal studies. The Kultur Institut is however a language school and does not offer legal courses, according to its website. The politician, who previously acted as the personal lawyer for Luigi Di Maio, the leader of the Five Star Movement, also claimed that he pursued his legal studies at Yale University, Duquesne University, the Sorbonne in Paris, and the University of Cambridge. Cambridge was unable to immediately confirm or deny whether Mr Conte had attended, citing confidentiality rules. A spokesperson for the Five Star Movement said in a statement that the criticism of the would-be prime ministers CV showed that the press was so afraid of this government of change. It is the umpteenth confirmation that they [the press] are so afraid of this government of change M5S spokesperson In his curriculum Giuseppe Conte wrote with clarity that he perfected and updated his studies at New York University. But he did not cite courses or say he completed a masters at the university, the spokesperson said. Conte, like any scholar, has studied abroad, enriched his knowledge, and perfected his legal English. For a professor of his level, the opposite would have been strange. He did it and rightly wrote it in the curriculum vitae, but paradoxically this is not good now and it even becomes a fault. It is the umpteenth confirmation that the press are so afraid of this government of change. 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 populist Five Star Movement is moving to form a coalition with the far-right League party after the two groups made major gains in the countrys parliamentary elections earlier this year. On Friday the two groups published a joint programme for government that included tax cuts, a rolling back of pension cuts, and a promise to deport irregular migrants arriving in Italy by boat. The government, if successfully formed, would be the first Eurosceptic-led cabinet to lead a major European Union core member. Mark Zuckerberg was warned that he risks being remembered as a genius who created a digital monster, by a senior member of the European Parliament, where the Facebook founder and chief executive was answering questions on a massive data leak affecting millions of users. Guy Verhofstadt said that the only way for scandals surrounding the social media giant to subside would be for its services to be split apart. I really think we have a big problem here and it wont be fixed by saying we will fix itself, the parliaments chief Brexit negotiator said. Could you and would you cooperate with European Antitrust authorities? The Belgian MEP went on to suggest that Facebooks dominance could be stifled by splitting it from Facebook messenger. Down one road he would be remembered as a pioneer who created technology for good, like Steve Jobs, down the other his legacy would be that of a genius who created a digital monster. German MEP Manfred Weber said it was time to discuss breaking Facebooks monopoly. Noting that the company already owned rival services like Instagram and Whatsapp, he added that it already had too much power in one hand. It was up to Mr Zuckerberg to convince him that this measure is not necessary, he said. Mr Zuckerberg replied that Facebook existed in a very competitive space where people use a lot of different tools for communication. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Show all 9 1 /9 How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Lock your profile down If you havent done this already, do it now. In Settings, hit the Privacy tab. From here, you can control who gets to see your future posts and friends list. Choose from Public, Friends, Only Me and Custom in the dropdown menu. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Limit old posts Annoyingly, changing this has no effect on whos able to see your past Facebook posts. Instead, on the Privacy page, you have to click on Limit Past Posts, then select Limit Old Posts and finally hit Confirm on the pop-up. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Make yourself harder to find You can stop completely random people from adding you by selecting Friends of Friends from the dropdown menu in the Who can send you friend requests? section of the Privacy page. Its also worth limiting who can find your Facebook profile with your number and email address. At the bottom of the page is the option to prevent search engines outside of Facebook from linking to your profile. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Control access to your Timeline You can limit who gets to post things on your Timeline and who gets to see posts on your Timeline too. In Settings, go to Timeline and Tagging and edit the sections you want to lock down. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Block people When you block someone, they wont be able to see things you post on your Timeline, tag you, invite you to events or groups, start conversations with you or add you as a friend. To do it, go to Settings and Blocking. Annoyingly, you have to block people on Messenger separately. You can also add friends to your Restricted list here, which means theyll still be friends with you but will only be able to see your public posts and things you share on a mutual friend's Timeline. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Review tags One of Facebooks handiest privacy features is the ability to review posts youre tagged in before they appear on your Timeline. Theyll still be visible on the News Feed while theyre fresh, but wont be tied to your profile forever. In Timeline and Tagging, enable Timeline review controls. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Clean up your apps You can view a list of all of the apps youve connected to your Facebook account by going to Settings and Apps. The list might be longer than you expected it to be. Its worth tidying this up to ensure things you no longer use lose access to your personal information. If you dont want to log into websites and apps with your facebook account, scroll down and turn Platform off. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Change your ad preferences You can view a list of everything Facebook thinks youre into and tinker with your ad preferences by going to Settings and Adverts. A lot more information is displayed on the desktop site than the app, so wed recommend doing this on a computer. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Download your data Facebook lets you download all of the data it has on you, including the posts youve shared, your messages and photos, ads youve clicked on and even the IP addresses that are logged when you log in or out of the site. Its a hell of a lot of information, which you should download to ensure you never over-share on the social network again. He added: From where I sit it feels like there are new competitors coming up every day That feels like a competitive market. However, when he appeared before the US Congress in April, he was unable to name a rival service offering similar functionality as his social network. Both hearings were seeking answers in the wake of the data scandal surrounding Facebook and the UK data firm Cambridge Analytica, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. Around 87 million Facebook users had their personal information improperly shared with the UK firm. The data was then used for the purpose of political profiling during the 2016 US presidential elections and the UKs EU referendum that same year. Facebook has more than 2.2 billion users worldwide and dwarfs any other online social network. Beyond its core social network business, Facebook and its various subsidiaries now have direct influence over almost half of all internet traffic. The call from the MEPs to break up Facebooks monopoly comes as advocacy groups in the US urged the Federal Trade Commission to do the same thing. The Freedom from Facebook campaign claims the company has too much power and has become a fundamental threat to democracy. Facebook unilaterally decides the news that billions of people around the world see every day, the campaigns website states. It buys up or bankrupts potential competitors to protect its monopoly, killing innovation and choice. It tracks us almost everywhere we go on the web and, through our smartphones, even where we go in the real world. And it is spending millions on corporate lobbyists, academics, and think tanks to ensure no one gets in their way. Enough. Sweden is sending an updated version of a Cold War-era advice booklet on how to cope with an outbreak of war to around 4.8 million households. The 20-page pamphlet, titled "If Crisis or War Comes," contains advice about where to find bomb shelters and how to secure basic necessities such as food, clean water and heat. It tells Swedes they have a duty to act if their country is threatened for "total defence," and was first published during the Second World War and subsequently during the Cold War. "If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up," the booklet says. "All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false." The guide is illustrated by pictures of soldiers supported by tanks, helicopters and the air force, as well as people fleeing disasters such as fires and exploding cars (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency) Sweden and other countries in the region are on high alert after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in March 2014. The Scandinavian nation has also accused Russia of repeated violations of their airspace, an assertion Moscow has either dismissed or ignored. In 2016, the Swedish government started to increase military spending, reversing years of declines. The country is also debating joining the Nato military alliance. It ordered a review of nuclear war shelters on the island of Gotland, where it has permanently stationed troops to prepare for a potential attack. It also reintroduced military conscription for both men and women over concerns about increased military action in the Baltic region. It tells Swedes they have a duty to act if their country is threatened for 'total defence' (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency) The pamphlet is about getting the country "better prepared" if public services were debilitated by accidents, climate change, cyber attacks or "in the worst-case scenario, war" according to the Civil Contingencies Agency. The guide is illustrated by pictures of soldiers supported by tanks, helicopters and the air force, as well as people fleeing disasters such as fires and exploding cars. It includes a checklist of emergency supplies homes should contain, including canned food, pasta and blankets. Example foods include oat milk, tins of bolognese sauce and salmon balls, along with tortillas and sardines. It includes a checklist of emergency supplies homes should contain (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency) It also contains a section on how to identify fake news, which urges Swedes to "critically appraise the source" by asking questions such as "is this factual information or opinion?" The document will be available to download in Swedish, English and more than a dozen languages. A Palestinian delegation has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch an investigation into what it says is insurmountable evidence of Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on Palestinian territory. The Palestinian Authoritys foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki asked international prosecutors in The Hague on Tuesday for a referral on the back of an initial preliminary investigation launched in 2015. If the request is granted, investigators could begin a full inquiry without first waiting for a judges approval. Israeli drones fire tear gas as clashes erupt at Gaza-Israel border protests Through judicial referral we want ... the office of the prosecutor to open without delay an investigation into all crimes, Mr Maliki told media after a meeting with the ICCs chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda. Further delaying justice for Palestinian victims is also tantamount to denial of justice. The ICC recognised the state of Palestine in 2015, giving the court jurisdiction over crimes committed there since 13 June 2014. Israel is not one of the 123 countries currently party to the ICC, but it is possible Israeli citizens and institutions could be prosecuted for alleged crimes on Palestinian land. 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 Palestinian petitions to the ICC to date have focused on cases related to 2014s Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in the Gaza Strip which killed 2,200 Palestinians, including 500 children and Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank. The request to expedite a formal investigation comes after 60 Palestinians were killed during protests on the Gaza-Israel border last week the worst violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 war. Israeli troops were ordered to use live fire if necessary on the 40,000 people who demonstrated against both the USs embassy move to Jerusalem and the Nakba, or catastrophe, on 15 May the Palestinian anniversary of Israels founding. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the protests were being used by the Gaza-based militant group Hamas as cover for attacks on Israel. The incident has been met with international condemnation. South Africa and Turkey both withdrew their ambassadors to Israel and the United Nations has launched an inquiry into what it said was a wholly disproportionate use of force. Recommended Palestinian man sets himself on fire in protest over Gaza conditions At least 112 Palestinians have died and more than 13,000 have been wounded in protests over the past two months in the buildup to the Nakba and US embassy move. Last Friday saw continued demonstrations. The willingness of Gazans to throw themselves into harms way betrays the desperation of the strips two million residents after almost 11 years of a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade. The Trump administrations steadfast friendship with Israel and the stalling of peace talks since 2014 are also fuelling growing Palestinian disillusionment with the peace process. The Palestinian Authority officially cut relations with the US after President Donald Trump announced his country would recognise the contested city of Jerusalem as Israels capital last December, declaring Washington was no longer an honest broker for peace. Alistair Burt says an investigation should be launched into why live fire was used at Gaza border In recent years Palestinian officials have begun to explore other avenues that might result in international recognition of Palestinian statehood, such as with the ICC and Unesco, the UNs world heritage body. A statement from the Israeli foreign ministry said that the Palestinian request to the ICC was a cynical step without legal validity. The ICC lacks jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian issue, since Israel is not a member of the court and because the Palestinian Authority is not a state, it said. The ICC, which opened in 2002, was designed as a court of last resort. It is only supposed to step in when a state is unwilling or unable to investigate crimes on its territory. Iranian politicians have reacted with anger to a promise from newly appointed US secretary of state Mike Pompeo to impose the strongest sanctions in history on the Islamic Republic following the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. Irans president Hassan Rouhani said on Monday Mr Pompeos background as a former CIA chief made him an untenable choice to make decisions which affect Iran and the world. The remarks carried on Iranian state media were quickly followed by tweets from Irans foreign minister Javad Zarif, who said US diplomacy was a sham. John Bolton says US could impose sanctions on European countries who do business with Iran The US was regressing to old habits, he added, imprisoned by delusions [and] failed policies. The condemnation comes in the wake of a speech from Mr Pompeo in Washington DC in which he said the US would impose unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. Any new rapprochement would mean Iran would have to withdraw its forces in Syria and its support for Houthi rebels in Yemen, he added. US president Donald Trump announced earlier this month the US would withdraw from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) brokered under Barack Obama, calling the nuclear accord a rotten deal. Trump abandons Iran nuclear deal: World leaders react The JCPOA, agreed between Iran and the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, lifted crippling international sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for curbs on its nuclear energy programme and any nuclear weapons ambitions. The US has already re-imposed old sanctions on Irans central bank. Mr Pompeo did not outline what further action will look like. The unilateral action from the Trump administration has been widely criticised by European diplomats. After Mr Pompeos speech on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also rebuked the US, warning there is no alternative to the 2015 accord. The other five parties to the JCPOA have agreed to honour it, although European businesses may now find themselves running afoul of US sanctions rules if they continue to explore financial opportunities with Iran - one of the worlds biggest oil producers. Israel has become the first country to use the US-made F-35 stealth fighter jet in combat, the country's air force chief has claimed. "We are flying the F-35 all over the Middle East and have already attacked twice on two different fronts," Major-General Amikam Norkin told the chiefs of 20 foreign air forces at a conference in Israel. Israel's air force had "twice carried out strikes with the F-35, on two different fronts," local media quoted him as saying. While he did not specify when or where those attacks took place, he said the F-35 was not used in Israel's unprecedented bombardment of Iranian targets inside Syria. Syrian military video shows air defences trying to intercept Israeli missiles Recently, Israel has carried out scores of airstrikes in the country, which has been wrecked by civil war, targeting suspected Iranian emplacements or arms transfers to Hezbollah guerillas in neighbouring Lebanon. Its air force is also widely believed to have operated against Islamist militants in the Egyptian Sinai, as well as against Hamas smugglers in Sudan. Major-General Norkin also showed an image of an Israeli F-35 flying over Beirut, Lebanon, in what the Times of Israel interpreted as a threat to Hezbollah. The photo was not made available to the media. The F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, is manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp. In Israel, it is known by its Hebrew name, "Adir," meaning Mighty. Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Missiles rise into the sky as Israeli missiles hit air defense position and other military bases, in Damascus Syrian Central Military Media, via AP Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Missile fire is seen from Damascus Reuters Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures An Israeli flag is seen placed on Mount Bental in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Israel's army said today it had carried out widespread raids against Iranian targets in Syria overnight after rocket fire towards its forces it blamed on Iran, marking a sharp escalation between the two enemies. Israel carried out the raids after it said around 20 rockets, either Fajr or Grad type, were fired from Syria at its forces in the occupied Golan Heights at around midnight. AFP/Getty Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures The Israeli military on Thursday said it attacked "dozens" of Iranian targets in neighboring Syria in response to an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights AP Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Israeli artillery deployed missiles toward Syrian military targets, on the Golan Heights EPA Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Missile fire is seen over Daraa Reuters Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Air defence systems intercepting Israeli missiles over Syrian airspace AFP/SANA Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Israeli soldiers walk among armored vehicles in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights Reuters Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Syrian air defense missiles are seen in the sky over the capital Damascus EPA Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Air defence systems intercepting Israeli missiles over Syrian airspace. Israeli missile strikes fired at Syria hit military bases, as well as an arms depot and military radar. AFP/SANA Israel became the first country outside of the United States to acquire the fighter jet in December 2016, when it received two planes. According to Israeli media, at least nine have been delivered so far, out of a total expected 50. Already the world's costliest arms programme, the development of the F-35 has been dogged by criticism. A top defence blog has claimed the jet is inferior to the fighters it was designed to replace, due to issues with manoeuvrability and visibility in the cockpit due to a bulky helmet. New clashes between Buddhist extremists and Muslims occurred in two different towns in Sri Lanka, Kandy and Ampara, in early 2018. Triggered in part by hate-filled posts spread by nationalistic Sinhala Buddhist Facebook groups, these riots resulted in the death of one Muslim and the destruction of many buildings. To many non-Buddhists outside Asia, this sort of violence can seem surprising. Westerners think of Buddhism as a peaceful religion, folding Buddhist terms and practices into stress relief practices such as mindfulness. But like any religion, Buddhism has a far more complicated story than that and Sri Lanka has seen many disturbing and violent episodes that attest to that fact. The Buddhist Protestantism of the 19th century, the monks who invoked Buddhist texts to justify the Sri Lankan civil war, and the extremist movements surging today all have one thing in common: a belief that Sri Lanka is a Buddhist nation that must be protected from foreign elements, violently if necessary. The Sri Lankan case shows that nationalism and extremism can be filtered through anything. The movement known as Buddhism revivalism or Protestantism in Sri Lanka started with Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933). Known as the father of Buddhist Protestantism in Sri Lanka, Dharmapala had an anti-imperialist and nationalist agenda. Besides fighting the British, who ruled Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) at the time, Dharmapala focused on founding Buddhist schools and strengthening the Sinhala language and Buddhism in Sri Lankas public sphere. Anagarika Dharmapala, known as the father of Buddhist Protestantism in Sri Lanka (Alamy) To this day, Sinhala nationalists portray him as a hero and their saviour from the evil influence of Western domination; his birthday is celebrated every year in the Sri Lankan media, reminding people of the deeds of a national hero. In 1915, police changed the original route of a Buddhist festival procession in order to prevent them from passing a mosque. Mockery by Muslims did not help the matter, and riots soon erupted in Sri Lanka, pitting Sinhala Buddhists against Muslims. 25 Muslims were killed, around 200 were injured, mosques were damaged, and many businesses belonging to Muslims were destroyed. The British were accused of killing both Sinhala and Muslims when they tried to stop the riots, providing the spark that ignited the Sri Lankan independence movement. 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 Between 1983 and 2009, Sri Lanka was plagued by a civil war between the Sinhala government and Tamil (mainly Hindu) rebels. The war had numerous causes, but prominent among them were government moves to embrace religious nationalism. After they won independence from Britain in 1948, Sri Lankas politicians started to enforce the use of the Sinhala language across the countrys public institutions, making it the official language. They also inserted Buddhism into the constitution: The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the state to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana. This angered Sri Lankas Tamil-speaking minority. Militant student organisations were soon formed with the aim of forming a new Tamil homeland. In July 1983, also known as Black July, Tamil rebels killed a number of soldiers from the Sri Lankan army. During subsequent riots, various Sinhala mobs killed many Tamil civilians. The civil war was now a fact. Footage from Kandy, Sri Lanka shows devastation caused by anti-Muslim attacks Buddhism was invoked to justify the war in various ways. In her book, In The Defence of Dharma: Just-war Ideology in Buddhist Sri Lanka, religious studies professor Tessa J Bartholomeusz offers some examples. To take just one, a Sinhala army song from 1999 said to be composed by a Buddhist monk contained the following verse: Linked by love of the [Buddhist] religion and protected by the Motherland, brave soldiers you should go hand in hand. But it wasnt just the army; everyday people and monks also used Buddhist texts and used military metaphors. Some Buddhist monks extolled warrior virtues as stemming from Buddhism: That Buddhism is a religion of ardent aspiration for the highest good of man is not surprising. It springs out of the mind of the Buddha a man of martial spirit and high aims Buddhism is made by a warrior spirit for warriors. When the civil war ended in 2009, many hoped that Sri Lankas ethnic groups would find a way to coexist in peace. But it didnt take long before the countrys Buddhist extremists found another target. Currently, Sri Lankas most active Buddhist extremist group is Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist power force, or BBS). BBS entered politics in 2012 with a Buddhist-nationalist ideology and agenda, its leaders claiming that Sri Lankans had become immoral and turned away from Buddhism. And whom does it blame? Sri Lankan Muslims. Nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu rallies his supporters in Myanmar (EPA) (Lynn Bo Bo) BBSs rhetoric takes its cue from other populist anti-Muslim movements around the globe, claiming that Muslims are taking over the country thanks to a high birth rate. It also accuses Muslim organisations of funding international terrorism with money from Halal-certified food industries. These arent just empty words; in 2014, one of their anti-Muslim protest rallies in the southern town of Aluthgama ended with the death of four Muslims. BBS also has links to Myanmars extremist 969 movement. Led by nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu, who calls himself the Burmese Bin Laden, it is notorious for its hardline rhetoric against the Rohingya Muslim community. It is hard to say if these latest events really do represent a global trend, but its deeply ominous to see extremist organisations collaborating across borders. Sri Lanka and Myanmar arent the only countries where this is happening; Thailand is also often mentioned as a hotbed of increasingly belligerent Buddhist extremism. Perhaps the next violent riots to pit Buddhists and Muslims against each other will be taking place in yet another country. Andreas Johansson is the director of the Swedish South Asian Studies Network at Lund University. This article first appeared on The Conversation (theconversation.com) After 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 1,800km (1,118 miles) from Angola to the northwestern cape province of South Africa. Here, in the red sands of the NamibRand Nature Reserve in southwest Namibia, they are at their most abundant. Curiously, scientists, despite decades of research, remain baffled by their cause. I ask Tabita, our guide, for her theory. I think it is God, she says, lifting one hand from the Land Rover steering wheel and waving wildly in the direction of the valley walls. If he decorated animals with stripes or spots, why not the sand too? Recommended Five places Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could go on their honeymoon Tabita is a Catholic convert. Her tribe the Himba has different ideas. According to one oral myth the circles are 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. NamibRand Nature Reserve, a vast, privately owned reserve covering almost 200,000 hectares, has made it its mission to preserve these unusual phenomena and the desert landscape that hosts them. 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 blonde desert grasses had regrown and oryx (antelope) crisscrossed the sand again, he started to offer desert safaris to fund the conservation of the enormous area. Sun seekers: Dunes Lodge uses solar power to stay sustainable Wolwedans is now comprised of four camps, each 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 carefully monitored. If guests overrun their allocated 50 litres, their supply, were told, is cut off. We stay at the impossibly situated Dunes Lodge, where nine canvas-fronted rooms perch on marmalade-orange sand. Dunes roll in unbroken waves to every 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, which rolls in from the South Atlantic Ocean, dampening the desert grasses. Magical mystery tour: fairy circles in the sand have baffled scientists 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, explains Tabita by way of an example. We scramble out of the 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. Desertscape: Guided walks show off the dramatic colours of the dunes (Martin Harvey) Early evening, having driven through the reddening dunes 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 nearby dune in pursuit of a cape fox. We trail in her wake, our trainers filling with sand. Another option, she says, once weve established that the wily fox is lost to its desert burrow, is the underground activities of termites beneath the sand. Several sand termite experts have been to the reserve, she says, yet their research has been inconclusive. Its a mystery, she concludes happily as the sun turns the dunes to the colour of paprika. Seen in a different light: the Dunes Lodge at night Along with its conservation efforts, the reserve funds the NamibRand Desert Research and Awareness Centre, where visiting zoologists and botanists have studied camel thorn trees, aardwolves and wedge-snouted lizards along with scratching their heads over fairy circles. If all this speculating gets too much, you can simply adopt a fairy circle. For NAD 1000 (60), a numbered disk is placed on your chosen circle and you are given a certificate recording its exact coordinates. The money goes towards the continued conservation of the reserve. Alien landings? says a guest at dinner. Diamond mining, says another. Were seated out on the wooden decking; above, the sky is a rich, velvety blue. The stars twinkle like thousands of floating fairies, just waiting to land. Travel essentials Getting there South African Airways flies to Windhoek, Namibia, from 774. Wolwedans is around 390km (242 miles) from Windhoek. Contact Wolwedans for transfer information or hire your own four-wheel drive. Staying there Wolwedans Dunes Lodge costs from 341, all-inclusive. On the day that British Airways has announced a restored link from Heathrow to Marrakech in Morocco, the busiest passenger air routes in Africa have been revealed. BA will fly four times a week from Terminal 5 to the Moroccan city from 28 October 2018. It already flies from Gatwick to Marrakech. Sean Doyle, British Airways director of network and alliances, said: Marrakech is one of the key tourism destinations in north Africa, so were excited to serve it from two of our London airports. Earlier this month BA announced the first nonstop flights from Heathrow to the South African city of Durban, from 29 October. The new route will take the airlines total of destinations in Africa to 10. But British Airways formerly served many more cities on the continent including Casablanca, Tunis and Sharm el Sheikh in North Africa, and Entebbe, Dar-es-Salaam, Harare, Lilongwe and Lusaka south of the Sahara. Research by Routes, the network development events organiser, has revealed the 10 busiest passenger air routes in Africa. Only three African nations appear in the list: South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt. The flights are either domestic services mainly in South Africa or links to the Middle East. By far the busiest link is the 800-mile hop between Cape Town and Johannesburgs O R Tambo Airport. In 2017 almost 13,000 people flew the route each day, on an average of 95 flights. The average fare paid was the equivalent of 58. The route is the 12th busiest in the world, and has twice as many passengers as the most popular link in Europe, between Paris Orly and Toulouse. The link from the same Johannesburg airport to Durban is the second busiest in Africa, with 7,900 passengers per day. It covers a distance of only 310 miles. The leading international route is the short 755-mile hop from Cairo along the Red Sea to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, which takes third place overall with 4,700 passengers a day. The main domestic flight in Nigeria, between the capital Abuja and the largest city, Lagos, takes fourth place with a daily average of 3,500. The air distance is 318 miles. The top five is completed by a route from Cape Town to Johannesburgs other airport, Lanseria, with an average of 3,400 passengers a day. The next two links are also South African domestic services: Durban to Cape Town (3,100 passengers per day) and O R Tambo to Port Elizabeth (3,000). Eighth place is taken by easily the longest route: almost 4,000 miles from Johannesburg to Dubai. The only airline on the route is Emirates, which flies the eight-hour route four times a day each way with one service operated by an A380 SuperJumbo. An average of 2,800 passenger make the trip each day. Ninth and 10th positions are additional links from Cairo to the Middle East: to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and Kuwait, both with 2,700 passengers daily. Missing from the top 10 is any international flight wholly within Africa. With a few exceptions, notably Ethiopian Airlines, aviation in Africa is characterised by inefficiency, high fares and government restrictions on flights. The two largest cities in Africa, Lagos and Cairo, are linked by only one small Boeing 737 flight a day. The distance between the two biggest American cities, Los Angeles and New York, is the same The African Union has been working towards a single market in aviation, but progress is slow. Steven Small, brand director of Routes, said: Routes Africa will bring together senior decision makers from Africas airlines, airports and destinations to plan new services. They will also discuss increasing the frequency and capacity of the existing routes that are popular with passengers. The negotiations in Accra could lead the way to the busiest African routes of the future. A new airline seat aimed at making flying more comfortable for tall people has been developed by a London-based design company. The PearsonLloyd Eco Seat, named after the company behind it, has a removable headrest with a central spine and neck running through the back of the chair. This maximises personal space for those in Economy, the company says, letting passengers put their knees either side of the spine and recline further in the seat without imposing on neighbouring travellers. Other features include a tray table which extends laterally, taking up minimal space, and upper and lower storage areas to reduce unnecessary passenger movement inflight. Recommended What your seat on a plane says about you Space limitation on planes has encouraged design companies to get creative when thinking about how to best utilise the available room. Its hoped that the Eco Seat will enable airlines to boost passenger comfort without having to sacrifice any rows. The seats development also means flying may become more tolerable for tall people, who suffer disproportionately from the cramped conditions in Economy on board many planes. Luke Pearson, PearsonLloyd director, said in a statement: Over the last 15 years we have seen air fares get cheaper and cheaper and spaces diminish. The drive for more economic aircraft, flying further with more people inside, is probably a trend that will continue for some time. With that pressure the drive for new formats to carry passengers better will continue. Neutral Digital, which worked on the VR technology in the Eco Seat, says it will improve travel in terms of both comfort and enjoyment. Christian Grou, partner at Neutral Digital, told The Independent: Users will experience the space, forms and materials of the design in a fun, memorable and uniquely immersive way. Its hoped the Eco Seats design will improve flying for taller people (Neutral Digital) The Eco Seat is not the only seat design to make headlines in recent months. Last year, Italian firm Avio Interiors unveiled SkyRider 2.0, a more upright seat which restricted space, but could possibly increase seat capacity on board by 20 per cent. In a statement, the firm said: The Skyrider 2.0 is an innovative seat, it allows an ultra-high density in the aircraft cabin. Skyrider 2.0 opens the travelling experience to a wider passenger market, creating also a useful space for the introduction [of] mixed classes boarded on the same aircraft. In 2009, Ryanair CEO Michael OLeary suggested that passengers would be allowed to stand in future, in order to boost seat capacity, arguing that they would be charged less for travelling on bar stools. Dundee has been included in a list of top European destinations for 2018. The Scottish city is the only UK entry on the list from guide book publisher Lonely Planet, which also includes Italys foodie heartland Emilia-Romagna, the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, and Greeces Small Cyclades islands. Dundee, the fourth largest city in Scotland after Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, was included for its growing cultural scene, at the heart of which is a new branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum. V&A Dundee, Scotlands first design museum, is due to open on 15 September with Ocean Liners: Speed and Style, an exhibition that will explore the vessels that revolutionised travel in the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as Scotlands role in the design and development of ocean liners. The museum joins existing local attractions including the Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre, University of Dundee Museum Collections, McManus art gallery and museum, and Dundee Rep theatre. Annual music festivals such as Almost Blue blues festival and the Dundee Jazz Festival see gigs taking place across the city. Dundee was selected by Unesco as the UKs first City of Design in 2014. It hosted a second design festival in 2017, with a programme of free events taking place at former print factory West Ward Works. Louise Murphy of local walking tour company Dark Dundee said: This is a fantastic boon for the city as well as for Scotlands Tay Country region. This level of global recognition is very special because Dundee is the sole representative of the UK on this list. The hard work and efforts of the city are really paying off and we are proud to be working with so many like minded people who have strived to give Dundee her rightfully deserved place as a world class destination. Topping the Lonely Planet list for 2018 is Emilia-Romagna, the northern Italian region that gave the world ragu (Bologna), balsamic vinegar (Modena), Parma ham and Parmesan cheese. FICO, the worlds largest foodie theme park, opened in Bologna in 2017, and direct flights are available from the UK to a number of cities in Emilia-Romagna. Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities Show all 10 1 /10 Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 1: Seville, Spain 12019 Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 2: Detroit, USA Vito Palmisano Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 3: Canberra, Australia Jason Tong Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 4: Hamburg, Germany Falco Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 5: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Getty Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 6: Antwerp, Belgium Getty Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 7: Matera, Italy Turkish414 Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 8: San Juan, Puerto Rico Sam Valadi Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 9: Guanajuato, Mexico Bud Ellison Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2018 Top 10 Cities 10: Oslo, Norway Corinna The Spanish region of Cantabria, which borders the Basque Country on the Atlantic coast, was included for its wild, sandy beaches, mist-shrouded mountains and enchanting villages. The Renzo Piano-designed Centro Botin, which opened in the Cantabrian capital Santander in 2017, is helping to reinvent the port city as a cutting-edge culture destination. Other must-visit European destinations on the list include Friesland in the Netherlands, home to the beautiful West Frisian Islands, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and Slovenias wine-rich Vipava Valley. The tiny Balkan nation of Kosovo appears, selected for its growing culture scene and Ottoman-era history while neighbouring Albania features too, its compact capital Tirana making a splash with its Mediterranean-influenced cuisine, fascinating Communist-era city planning and lively nightlife. Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, has been popular with stag dos for a while now, thanks to its good value accommodation and dining and wide range of local craft beers. But theres much more going for it than that, from its eclectic architecture to its fascinating Jewish history. Other better known destinations on the list are Provence in France and the Small Cyclades, remote outposts of the island group that includes Mykonos and Santorini. Lonely Planet Best in Europe 2018 1. Emilia-Romagna, Italy 2. Cantabria, Spain 3. Friesland, the Netherlands 4. Kosovo 5. Provence, France 6. Dundee, Scotland 7. Small Cyclades, Greece 8. Vilnius, Lithuania 9. Vipava Valley, Slovenia 10. Tirana, Albania The latest strike by French air-traffic controllers has grounded an estimated 500 flights and delayed many more especially connecting the UK with Spain and Italy. The controllers are stopping work as part of a national strike by public sector workers in France. Delays built up quickly across Europe. Eurocontrol in Brussels warned of high delays at the air-traffic centres in Maastricht and Madrid due to additional traffic refiling to avoid French Strike. The west of France is particularly badly hit, with the control centres at Brest and Bordeaux very short-staffed. Marseille, which controls the southeastern quadrant of France and a large tranche of Mediterranean airspace, is also experiencing high delays, according to Eurocontrol. The worst-affected airline appears to be Ryanair, which has grounded dozens of flights to and from France and many more which cross French airspace. Ryanair has cancelled 44 flights to and from its main base, Stansted, affecting an estimated 8.000 passengers. Three round-trips to Madrid and two to Marseille have been cancelled. French services to Nice, Toulouse, Limoges, La Rochelle, Bergerac, Perpignan, Tours, Biarritz and Carcassonne are grounded, along with Spanish flights to Barcelona, Valencia, Ibiza, Reus, Seville, Palma and Castellon. A single round-trip to Lisbon has also been cancelled. Many passengers told The Independent they have been unable to contact Ryanair by phone or online using the live chat option. A spokesperson for Ryanair said: Our chat and phone lines are operating as normal, however with a higher volume of traffic due to these forced cancellations, and we are working hard to accommodate all customers. We have already processed a significant number of refunds and flight transfers as a result of this unjustified French ATC strike. British Airways has cancelled at least 40 flights to and from London airports, including six serving Barcelona and Madrid. Multiple flights to Marseille, Paris, Geneva and Nice are also grounded. BA has delays of over two hours on departures from Heathrow to Aberdeen, Milan, Prague and Venice. Arrivals from Barcelona, Nice and Pisa are now due to arrive at Heathrow long after midnight. The last flight of the evening from Gatwick to Edinburgh, due out before 9pm, is now scheduled for the early hours of Wednesday morning The biggest British budget airline, easyJet, has not been so badly affected so far, but its flights are taking extended routes to avoid French airspace. This is likely to cause delays later in the day. Many services from the UK to Spain, Portugal and North Africa are using the so-called Tango routes over the Atlantic to avoid French airspace. This involves flying west-southwest turning south. Other flights are taking extended paths to avoid most of the airspace: easyJet flights to Nice from Stansted and Luton flew east to Belgium and Germany, then south over Switzerland and Italy to reach the Mediterranean. Air France, which has far more flights to and from France than any other airline, has so far been little affected. The Independent has identified only 14 flights cancelled to and from the Paris airports, connecting the capital with Biarritz, Bordeaux, Nice, Pau, Toulon and Toulouse. In addition a few domestic flights not serving Paris have been grounded. TAP Portugal has cancelled flights between Heathrow and Lisbon. The pressure group Airlines for Europe (A4E) said: There has been a 300 per cent increase in air traffic control strikes in France compared with the same period last year: Under European passengers rights rules, passengers whose flights are cancelled or heavily delayed are entitled to meals and accommodation until they can be flown to their destination which may be on another airline if the cancelling carrier has no availability for several days. No cash compensation is payable. On Wednesday and Thursday, rail workers in France will continue their series of 48-hour strikes in a dispute over plans for modernisation and competition on the national network. Eurostar has cancelled two round-trips from London St Pancras to Paris on both Wednesday and Thursday. Passengers are being offered seats on alternative services or full refunds. For no reason beyond the recent mass Brexit related suicide of the entire political class, and the subsequent collapse of Michael Fallon on to a sword left lying about by Harvey Weinstein, we are compelled to pay brief attention to the thoughts on the armed forces of a man called Gavin Williamson. Tuesday afternoon was the first appearance of the new(ish) Defence Secretary before the by no means new Defence Select Committee, and the former fireplace salesman from Stoke remains every inch the Guy Goma reboot. It has not yet fully been ruled out that Mr Williamson was on a school trip to Number 10 Downing Street in November of last year, when the Prime Minister found herself suddenly in need of a new Defence Secretary. The name Gavin! may or may not have been shouted down a corridor and in walked this 41 year old prepubescent boy who has been gainfully trying not to get found out ever since. Gavin Wiliamsons elevation to his current exalted perch is down to little more than having been deemed non-threatening by Theresa May. That he is likely to be deemed non-threatening by a not particularly spirited bluebottle may also have helped. To be around Gavin Williamson in action is briefly to experience life under the yoke of some mad paranoid dictator who, through misplaced instincts of self-preservation, has installed in the major ministries a cabal of their least capable nephews, pets and possibly even favourite foodstuffs. To hear him read out the current threats facing the United Kingdom, from Russian cyber-attacks to anti-submarine warfare was to be reminded of a primary school child getting having got over excited about a trip to the Imperial War Museum. It was like watching some disjointed remake of Rolf Harris's Two Little Boys, in which the dramatic flash forward has only half worked. Cannon roared loud, and in the mad crowd, JESUS there's some kid galloping about on a hobby horse. For his part, Mr Williamson switched between frightened grimace and nervous laugh throughout the ninety minutes of questions, all of which he answered with the calm assurance of a chap who has arrived at the BBC for a job interview in the IT department, and been whisked suddenly on air to face down questions about Apple music. It would be wrong to say he wore the expression of a man hopelessly out of his depth. There is no metaphor here. Hopelessly out of his depth is precisely what he is. Not waving but nervously chuckling and drowning. It is, arguably, a weakness in the British parliamentary system, that ministers are, almost always, picked from among the available elected MPs. In America, the President appoints his top team, from any walk of life he or she chooses, then congress is asked to approve his choices. That Mr Williamson had to regale the committee with tales of his recent meetings with his US Defence Secretary counterpart, Jim Mattis, who while Williamson was hawking integrated electric three bars round Hanley was otherwise engaged as NATO Supreme Allied Commander is a touch depressing. For a room of people to have to listen to what Mr Russia should go away, Russia should shut up has to say about the UKs commitments to Nato demeans not merely the people in the room but even the furniture too. A list of the threats facing the UK would be frightening enough at any time. To hear them read out by a man you wouldnt back in a neck-wringing contest against an actual chicken is on another level. In a quiet moment, I scanned the four rows of people sitting behind him, hoping to spot anyone who might look less the part of Defence Secretary. The only vaguely plausible candidate was a lad of about nineteen almost certainly on a work experience placement. Towards the end, the Committee Chair Julian Lewis told Mr Williamson hed be moving the questions in to specialist areas. After a long question, charting Natos changing security challenges over the last thirty years, we arrived at a question of whether the UK had the capacity to defend its interests independently as it had done in the Falklands, and France had done more recently in Mali. Erm, right, Mr Williamson replied. It is my belief that Britain should have the means to act independently. He looked like hed have felt more at home with something on the Apple Corps vs Apple Computer court case and its ramifications for the music business. On the wall in front of Mr Williamson, by the way was a giant canvas of William Pitt, addressing the House of Commons as Prime Minister in 1793, at the age of 28, and satirised to great effect some centuries later in Blackadder The Third. Who knows, maybe one shouldnt laugh. Maybe Mr Williamson, already seventeen years Mr Pitt's senior at the time of his becoming Prime Minister, will grow into one of the great statesmen of his day. Stranger things have never, ever happened, but they might. With the Scottish parliament having rejected Theresa Mays EU withdrawal bill, and support for reunification surging in Northern Ireland, it is an opportune time for a think tank to host a day of discussions on the state of the union. But for said discussions to be opened by Michael Gove seemed a little less opportune. After all, the current state of the union is not unlike the state of a hotel room shortly after its been checked out of by The Who, and it is questionable whether those who have to live in it want to hear advice on how to tidy the place up from Keith Moon himself. Gove arrived several minutes late for the 9am start. We must assume that, having shat the bed at 7.30am, he had come straight from opening a state of the bed discussion immediately before. In any event, it wasnt long before we learned that, in fact, Brexit had made Britain one of the countries with the warmest attitudes to migration in the world. And also, just for fun, that Brexit had stemmed the tide of the identity politics that seek to divide. (Hold your noses because well be dissecting those two particular bits of bulls**t imminently, though given that they are of 100 per cent purity, it shouldnt take long.) Such terms are endlessly popular these days, but it is hard to work out the precise nature of the universe Michael Gove inhabits. Post-truth doesnt quite cover it, as a post-truth world must have some residual air of truth still in it, lingering like a bad smell. It is more like some kind of science fiction fantasy where the chemical compounds that fire the hormones in basic human emotions like shame and dignity have never been formed. Where the truth is just some inarticulate fresher in a debate at the Oxford Union, there to be made to look stupid. Identity politics is on the rise in many parts of the world, Gove explained, but not apparently, in Britain, where the Brexit vote has led to identitarians like Ukip being eclipsed and diminished. I mean, I happened to be in a theatre in Stoke two years ago, when one of Goves cabinet colleagues, Chris Grayling, stood on a stage with Nigel Farage and chanted: We want our country back! We want our country back! That we now know that was all with the intention of eclipsing and diminishing the cause is a fascinating revelation. Michael Gove says there are 'significant question marks' over timescale and deliverability of customs arrangement Eclipsing and diminishing with Michael Gove sounds like a fun seminar straight out of Viz Top Tips. Has someone left a petrol can too near a fire? Simply eclipse and diminish the threat by pouring it straight on. Is your toddler standing too close to the platform edge? Simply eclipse and diminish the danger by pushing them straight in front of a passing train. We also learned how Brexit had strengthened the union, principally because, having had one taste of pure chaos in the form of Brexit, Scottish voters decided in the snap election of 2017 that actually, the SNP and Brexit was very much alike, and tin-brained nationalism dressed up as progress wasn't for them after all. But still, thanks to Mr Gove, on these tiny islands where everyone hates everyone else like never before, the spirt of unionism is alive and well. That Britain, post-Brexit, is one of the most welcoming countries in the world to immigration was tentatively linked to a column in The Times by Alex Massie, which stops around 10,000 miles short of the line to which Gove sought to drag it. Massies primary point was that, If Brexit was a howl of rage, in terms of attitudes towards immigration it was also a moment for catharsis. And this is certainly true. When people like, say, Michael Gove launched events on how the EU is paving the path to Britain from Ankara and gladly put their name to a poster claiming, Turkey, population 76 million, is joining the EU above shadowy footprints scurrying through an open door marked UK, there certainly is a catharsis when it doesnt happen. Because it was never going to happen. It is hardly surprising that people are more positive about immigration when they think theyve succeeded in shutting the door on the stampede from Turkey, which was never a real thing anyway, it was just a lie told by a tiny handful of politicians happy to have the bypass in human decency required to tell it. And then one of whom, at nine oclock on Monday morning, was prepared to go even further, and actually seek to take the credit. It was the intellectual equivalent of that bald 12-year-old in The Matrix, staring at a spoon and declaring: There is no spoon. Reality is there to be bent to the required shape that will show that Michael Gove was right then and is still right now, because Michael Gove is just that clever. Oh Gove, it is not the spoon that bends. It is only yourself. The Trump administration announced its policy towards Iran on Monday after reneging on the countrys nuclear deal with the international community. There are a dozen demands, amounting, in effect, to a declaration of economic warfare, a demand for Tehran to surrender its defence and foreign policy and the threat to force regime change. The conditions put forward by the new secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, have no chance of being accepted by Iran. They have pleased Saudi Arabia, which has pledged to buy billions of dollars of weaponry from the US, and Israel, whose backers funded Donald Trumps election campaign. They have been met with dismay by Americas Western allies who see just how far the transatlantic divide has grown under Trump. In his first speech as secretary of state, Pompeo declared that Iran must withdraw all its forces from Syria, stop supporting its allies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen. It must halt production of long-range missiles, stop uranium enrichment allowed under the nuclear agreement, and agree to inspection of a range of facilities at any time, anywhere in the country. These are the very basic requirements said Pompeo, implying other demands will follow. Failure by Tehran to comply, he threatened, will result in the strongest sanctions in history which wound crush Irans government if it does not change its ways. Irans people, he said, need to get rid of their leaders. 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 There is, of course, always the possibility with this US administration that the threats will not materialise. It has just pulled out, for the time being at least, from a trade war with China. Trump, after all the tweets of annihilating North Korea, is meeting Kim Jong-un without any pre-conditions. It could be that Pompeos rhetoric could be seen as part of a contest between him and new national security adviser, John Bolton, on hawkishness. The White House could, theoretically, distance itself from Pompeo as it did from Boltons demand that Kim Jong-un accept the Libyan option for nuclear disarmament the one under which Muammar Gaddafi gave up his nuclear programme only to be overthrown a few years later by Nato and US bombing, hunted down and lynched. But on Iran, Pompeo is keen to pander to Trumps destructive urges, unlike Rex Tillerson who was fired for trying to restrain them. There are real dangers in the bellicose American approach. The JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), or Iran agreement, was viewed by its signatories Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China and until Trump, the US as Plan A to stop proliferation. No one thinks The US administrations Plan B is going to work. Trita Parsi, of the National American Iranian Council, said: Plan B of the Trump administration is designed to fail and then pave the way for Plan C, which is most likely war When you combine unrealistic demands with massive pressure then you are by design creating a pathway to confrontation. Ellie Geranmayeh, a fellow at European Council of Foreign Relations, described the US demands as conditions of surrender which are aimed at imploding the Iranian state by undermining the Iranian leadership at home and abroad, as well as economically, through waging sanctions warfare, not only against Iran but every other country that engages in business with Iran. Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of the Brooking Institutions foreign policy programme, believes that there is only one way to read it and that is that the Trump administration has wedded itself to a regime change strategy to Iran, one that is likely to alienate our allies, one with dubious prospects of success. The administrations approach explicitly puts the onus on the Iranian people to change their leadership or face cataclysmic financial pressure. Pompeo has reiterated the US threat to punish companies that trade with Iran. On Iranian leadership, he mentioned President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif as those who should go. They are both reformers who had made the nuclear agreement possible. It is the hardliners in Iran who are vehemently against the deal, as they made abundantly clear to those of us who covered Irans parliamentary and presidential elections. Sabotaging the agreement, as the US is trying to do, will weaken the reformers and strengthen hardliners and conservative clerics in Iran. The West has a history, especially during colonial times, of manipulation by undermining nationalists and reformers, and empowering extremists. The British government, for example, plotted with Islamists during the Suez crisis to assassinate Nasser, the then president of Egypt. The US has routinely overthrown elected progressive governments in Latin America with coups, replacing them with murderous military regimes. At times this strategy has backfired spectacularly: lets remember the Islamist international brigade, Osama Bin Laden among them, which America and its allies put together in Afghanistan and how it brought jihad to the West afterwards. The European Union said in a statement: Secretary Pompeos 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 Irans conduct in areas outside the JCPOA. There is no alternative to the JCPOA. Preserving the JCPOA is not going to be easy in the face of American sanctions. Some Western multinationals, such as Total and Maersk, have already pulled out of the Iran market. It is likely that Tehran will look more and more towards Russia and China for trade. The Moscow led Eurasian Economic Union has signed a deal with Iran to lower tariffs on hundreds of good and is talking about creating a free trade zone. The Chinese state-owned CNPC wants to take over the gas project which Total may leave. But this now goes beyond commerce. The importance of the nuclear agreement is something that unifies the remaining signatories. Even Britain and Russia, with their relations worse than during the Cold War, are on the same page on this. The urgent need these states face is to ensure that the Trump administration does not succeed in fatally destabilising Iran and the region. A conflict may help Trump achieve his oft-stated aim of selling more arms, but the consequences would be dire for the international community. As was widely expected, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro was re-elected to a second six-year term on Sunday night. According to Venezuelas National Electoral Council, Maduro secured 6.2 million votes (68 per cent), with his main challenger, Henri Falcon, winning 1.9 million votes (21 per cent). The most significant figure from Sundays election, however, is the 46 per cent participation rate. This is a far cry from the 80 per cent turnout in the 2012 and 2013 presidential elections. If Sundays results are viewed as credible and thus far no evidence of fraud has been produced it means Maduro lost roughly 1.5m votes compared to his last election, while the opposition received nearly 6m fewer votes compared to the 7.7m votes it won in the 2015 parliamentary elections (if the total opposition vote in Sundays election is used, the opposition lost 4.7m votes). The real winner of Sundays election was thus not Maduro but mass abstention. Both the government and the US-backed hardline opposition share the blame for the lowest ever turnout in a Venezuelan presidential election. Despite recent polls suggesting that Falcon could have won by as many as 13 points, the main opposition forces urged a boycott of the election, as did the US government. The Trump administration declared the election illegitimate before it occurred, and even threatened to sanction Falcon for participating. Falcon undoubtedly would have done better, and perhaps won, if the opposition (and US) had not urged a boycott. This is not to say the election was free and fair. It was not. The government prohibited leading opposition figures and parties from participating, moved the election forward to benefit itself, and essentially bribed voters by promising holders of a controversial new identification card, the Carnet de la Patria, a prize for voting. These actions have been justifiably criticised, including by Falcon, who blamed his loss on electoral irregularities and has called for new elections. Venezuela prison riot: Utah Mormon missionary says he has spent two years behind bars and appeals for help Yet the opposition boycott alone cannot explain why only 9.2m Venezuelans voted on Sunday. A second key reason for this low turnout is citizens disillusionment with the governments inept economic management, above all in the area of currency policy. This is the key but not the only factor in the countrys worst economic crisis in decades. The crisis has resulted in chronic shortages of food, medicine, and basic goods, and the exodus of approximately 1 million Venezuelans in the last few years. The 1.5m missing Chavista votes in Sundays election should send a strong signal to the government to get serious about implementing badly needed economic reforms. Venezuelas government does not, of course, act in a vacuum. Understanding the countrys current impasse and the possible paths out of it requires examining the increasingly toxic relationships between the government, the hardline opposition, and the US. Since January, government-opposition relations have deteriorated considerably. The hardline oppositions boycott of this election is ominous since it suggests the possibility of a return to the violent protests that wracked Venezuela and took over 120 lives between April and July 2017. Contrary to most mainstream accounts that blame the loss of life solely on the government, careful accounting indicates that the deaths were due to the actions of both state security and violent opposition forces. In addition to causing havoc and death, a return of violent protest would make the prospects of economic reform and government-opposition dialogue both badly needed much more difficult. Unfortunately, US policy towards Venezuela also makes these tasks more difficult. Since 2015, the US has levelled sanctions against a growing list of top Venezuelan officials. The White House has also pressured banks in the US and Europe to avoid loans to Venezuela. On Monday, the Trump administration took another step, by issuing an executive order prohibiting US companies and citizens from purchasing Venezuelan debt. US officials have been considering sanctioning Venezuelas all-important oil sector; doing this would amount to a full-scale financial blockade. By limiting the governments ability to import desperately needed goods, current US policies have already worsened the suffering of the Venezuelan people, and will continue to do so into the future. Its worth pointing out that these actions are also counterproductive, since Maduro can point to them as evidence that he faces a US-led economic war. This allows Maduro to rally support, and, equally importantly, to avoid taking responsibility for or action to resolve the economic crisis. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The US has inhibited the prospects of government-opposition dialogue by supporting the hardline opposition and sidelining the moderate opposition. In the past year, top US officials have also made reckless statements indicating support for direct military action in Venezuela. In August 2017, President Trump spoke of using the military option in Venezuela, and in February then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke favorably about using military action to remove Maduro. Roger Noriega openly advocated a US-led military coup against Maduro in a recent New York Times editorial. Needless to say, this sabre-rattling is unlikely to help further the prospects for government-opposition dialogue. Instead, it will embolden intransigent voices in both camps. Ultimately, Venezuelas future may be determined not in Miraflores, the gated enclaves of Altamira, or the White House, but in Venezuelas barrios and villages. Popular support for Maduro has clearly waned, and there is evidence that it is far from unconditional. Popular protests across Venezuela in December, sparked by the governments failure to deliver promised Christmas pork, and grassroots opposition to party-denominated candidates in the December 2017 mayoral elections show this. If the government and opposition continue to fail to offer solutions to their pressing problems, Venezuelas working classes may take centre-stage. Let us hope this day is not long coming. Gabriel Hetland is an assistant professor of Latin American, Caribbean, and US Latino Studies at University at Albany University in New York Irish Residential Properties REIT (Ires Reit), Ireland's biggest private landlord, has completed the acquisition of 128 apartments in Finglas, Dublin. In a deal first announced on May 8, the company paid 40m for the Hampton Wood apartments, which was funded from its existing credit facility. The apartment block consists of 46 one-bed and 82 two-bed apartments. Already Ires has started to advertise the apartments for rent. The cost of renting an unfurnished one bed is 1,550, while the cost of renting an unfurnished two bed apartment is 1,850, according to property website Daft. Currently 24 of the 128 apartments, which each have a car parking space, have been leased by the vendor, with the remaining 104 available for immediate lease. Based on current annualised rents and lease up of the 104 apartments, the investment is expected to generate a gross yield of around 6.25pc based on the purchase price. "We are pleased to have completed the acquisition," Margaret Sweeney, chief executive of Ires Reit, said. "Hampton Wood strengthens our presence on the North side of the city and brings our total number of apartments to 2,579." Last year the average monthly rent secured by Ires across each of its housing units was 1,517, according to the groups annual report published in March. The most expensive apartments in its portfolio to rent are 84 properties at the Marker Hotel in Dublin's docklands. The average monthly rent on those properties was 2,697 last year. The cheapest are its 103 apartments at Priorsgate in Tallaght, south Dublin, where average monthly rents are 1,167. A Dublin software startup is to create 25 new jobs after landing more than 5m in venture funding. Pointy, which makes ordinary shops merchandise searchable online, has opened a new head office in a 130-year-old Victorian building in Dublins Amiens Street. The company, started by Mark Cummins and Charles Bibby, is now seeking to double its headcount from 25 to 50 after a 5m infusion of venture capital some months ago. We currently have 25 staff and expect to double headcount this year, said Pointy chief executive Mark Cummins. If things go very well we might hire even more than that. Cummins said that the new office has space for 80 people. Pointy is used by retailers to attract more footfall to their store, by helping them be found through Google and other online channels. Retailers connect the startups Pointy box into the shops barcode scanner. The system then facilitates stock to be searchable online. The new Dublin office follows what the company has called a period of exponential growth as it launched in Canada and the UK in 2017. Currently we are working with retailers in every county in Ireland, from Dublin city centre to Achill Island, said Cummins. In Dublin, approximately one in every seven shops is using Pointy. In the US there are retailers in every state using Pointy, everywhere from Hawaii to Alaska. In Autumn last year, the company announced a 5m funding round with high profile investors such Paul Allen founder of Microsoft, the founders of Google Maps, Draper Associates, Frontline Ventures, Matt Mullenweg founder of Wordpress, Michael Birch founder of Bebo, Web Summit boss Paddy Cosgrave and the former Ireland rugby captain Jamie Heaslip. The Department of Agriculture has denied that the controversial decision to introduce mandatory electronic tagging (EID) of all sheep from October 1 was prompted by the findings of a major Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) audit of its sheep identification and traceability controls. However, a Department statement conceded that the introduction of EID would deliver a "more robust traceability system which is essential for the protection of public health". The FSAI audit of the Department's sheep identification and traceability controls was undertaken in 2017 as a part of a planned programme of checks and its findings are due to be published shortly. An FSAI spokesperson said the Department of Agriculture is aware of the findings of the audit. In response to queries from the Farming Independent the Department insisted that a number of factors influenced the decision to introduce EID. "It is generally acknowledged that the current sheep identification system is overly complex and is heavily reliant on the manual completion of lengthy identification numbers on movement documents and reading and transcription of these numbers. "The reliance on paper records causes problems with the recording and transcription of identification numbers," the Department maintained. "The extension of EID will provide for a more robust traceability system which is essential for the protection of public health and animal health and confidence in our traceability system. EID will facilitate an effective system for tracing back of sheep if required for animal health or other requirements," the Department added. The introduction of EID has provoked a furious reaction from the farm organisations, who have accused the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, of acting unilaterally and not consulting farmers. Exports Farmers claim that EID will cost sheep producers up to 2m annually, is a waste of money for lambs going directly from the farm of birth to slaughter, and that the measure will not benefit product traceability because of the 'batch' traceability system which is employed by processors. However, Minister Creed has argued that EID is used throughout the EU and is vital to the opening up of new markets in the US, China and Japan. Meanwhile, an IFA submission to the Department of Agriculture on EID will outline why farmers cannot be expected to carry the 2m costs of EID tagging when the main beneficiaries from the initiative will be factories, the marts, the Department and the tag suppliers. In addition, IFA sheep chairman Sean Dennehy said the association's submission argues that the introduction EID in October will damage the store lamb trade. The success of EID depends on factories and marts being in a position to effectively operate as Central Points of Recording (CPR) for sheep movements. Mr Dennehy said the Department will have to guarantee the accuracy of the CPR printouts and accept them as animal movement documents which can be used for cross compliance. Irish Nationwides former boss, Michael Fingleton and Chairman Michael Walsh this morning blamed an erroneous news story in the midst of the crash for a 1bn run on the lender and told the Central Banks ongoing inquiry into alleged regulatory breaches at the organisation that only a decision to halt lending in 2007 prevented a wider catastrophe at the time. Under cross examination from Mr Fingleton, who ran INBS for 38 years, Dr Walsh described a Reuters story, published on September 5, 2008 as damaging given the uncertainty. He claimed that as a result of that run INBSs deposit book shrank to about 3bn from a previous level of 4bn. However he said that as a result of the boards decision to stop all new lending in December 2007, the lender was still able to meeting its debt repayments at the end of 2008. He said we could only have done that based on the previous decision. Reuters subsequently withdrew the news item. According to Dr Walsh, INBS had adopted a far more conservative stance than its competitors and claimed that while other banks were continuing to lend, the Society had responded to mounting liquidity constraints in the global markets by slamming on the breaks to any new business. The former UCD professor of banking and finance said the difference was we were actually building liquidity and everyone else was ploughing ahead in the market. Dr Walsh reached a settlement agreement with the Central Bank in February, accepting a 20,000 fine and a disqualification from managing any regulated financial services provider for three years. In his second day of evidence at the Inquiry, he stressed that at the end of August INBS had cash in hand of 4bn, representing 40pc of the loan book. However the former chairman and boss clashed over who had actually made the decision to restrict lending. Mr Fingleton asked whether Dr Walsh could remember the board had formally approved an executive decision taken in October 2007 to curtail lending. But Dr Walsh replied he could not recall any such restriction. The two also disagreed over the precise timing of when the board approved an extension in Mr Fingletons tenure. Dr Walsh asserted he could not recall discussing the matter with Mr Fingleton at a board meeting in January 2008, just days before the prominent banker was due to step down. Chairman Marian Stanley intervened, sweeping aside Mr Fingletons suggestions that the terms of his retirement package were also part of the board room conversation, and asked Dr Walsh whether he recalled proposing that Fingleton should remain on board. He replied he did not. INBS was nationalised in 2010 leaving taxpayers with a 5.4bn cleanup bill. The inquiry is focused on seven suspected prescribed contraventions at the Society between August 2004 and September 2008. Its first phase centres on the workings of the credit committee which a number of witnesses have claimed failed to meet its own terms of reference. Air fare fuel surcharges - imposed by airlines when oil prices soared in 2008 to as much as $147 a barrel - are set to make a comeback next year after the recent Brent crude price surge, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has predicted. He also said that while he continues to believe that an agreement for open skies between the UK and the European Union will be sealed, the airline has been drafting contingency plans for a hard Brexit that would see flights between the two regions grounded from next spring. And Mr O'Leary has ditched his long-held ambition to start a low-cost, transatlantic service. As Ryanair released full-year results yesterday, Mr O'Leary argued that Norwegian's challenging financial experience with the model, and the continuing dominance of carriers such as British Airways, Delta and American Airlines on the routes, has encouraged him to shelve any such plans. "I've no interest in long-haul, low-cost. I don't think long-haul, low-cost is a profitable area," he said. "Too much of the long-haul market is controlled by the legacy airlines who are continuing to expedite very significant pricing power at the premium end of the cabin and can afford to dump the economy end of the cabin almost down at any price. "Ultimately, long-haul, low-cost will be loss-making. I think we're excited by the opportunities available to feed into long-haul. We've reached agreement with Aer Lingus. We would hope to have the systems issues dealt with before the end of the year and to be launching a serious business feeding into Aer Lingus through Dublin." Ryanair said its profit after tax rose 10pc to a record 1.45bn in the 12 months to the end of March, a period that included its pilot-rostering fiasco that saw it ground thousands of flights. The profit topped expectations as the carrier flew 130 million passengers - 9pc more than in its 2017 financial year. For the current financial year, the airline expects to generate profits of between 1.25bn and 1.35bn - lower than the 1.37bn expected by analysts. Mr O'Leary said Ryanair isn't as bullish as other airlines and expects air fares to remain flat in the next year, rather than rising. He said that if further consolidation occurs in the airline sector within Europe this year, then air fares might rise. He said Ryanair's fuel costs will rise 400m this year, while staff costs will increase by 200m. About half of that 200m figure comprises pay increases for pilots and the remainder is associated with expansion costs as it hires more staff and beefs up operations. "I think you will see a return to fuel surcharges in the summer of 2019," warned Mr O'Leary of other European airlines. Ryanair never had such a surcharge. The airline boss has previously warned of dire consequences if the UK and the European Union can't thrash out a fresh agreement to permit unhindered access between the two regions once the UK leaves the trading bloc next year. He has warned that such a scenario could see all air traffic between the UK and the EU grounded, at least temporarily. "We hope there will be a transition agreement ... but we continue to plan that there will be a hard Brexit," said Mr O'Leary. "We think there is a likelihood - admittedly it is a small likelihood - that the outcome of the discussions between the British and the European Union will be unsuccessful." There'll be more consolidation of Europe's airlines in coming months as higher fuel costs weed out unviable carriers, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has claimed. "There is no doubt that Europe is moving towards a similar out-turn as North America, with consolidation taking us towards four or five very large major airlines in Europe," he said. Mr O'Leary said that there will be "other opportunities" for Ryanair in mergers and acquisitions. The airline ditched efforts last autumn to buy Italian carrier Alitalia to focus on fixing its pilot rostering failure. "If IAG or Lufthansa were to acquire Norwegian, for example, I think it's inevitable that there would be significant competition divestments coming out of that and we would certainly want to play a role in any divestments that will arise out of a restructuring or a takeover of either an Alitalia or a Norwegian or any of the loss-making airlines at the moment," he said. IAG, which owns Aer Lingus and is headed by Willie Walsh, recently bought a near 5pc stake in Norwegian. It was reported yesterday that IAG plans to table a fresh, 1.5bn indicative offer for the Scandinavian carrier. Mr O'Leary claimed yesterday that Norwegian would "go bust" by the end of the year as fuel prices climbed. A spokesman for Norwegian said: "As we have said before, these comments have no root in reality. Norwegian has been profitable for the last 11 years, with a strong liquidity, together with owning a substantial share of Bank Norwegian which has a market value of over 17bn krone (1.78bn)." Stock market-listed Norwegian raised cash from investors in March to shore up its finances. Mr O'Leary said Ryanair was moving towards creating a similar corporate structure to that of IAG, which also owns British Airways, Iberia and Vueling. The new structure would see units such as Austria-based Laudamotion, in which Ryanair is buying a 75pc stake, and its new Poland-based sun charter business, operate independently and report to the centre, which would then allocate capital to the units. Retail and wholesale group Musgrave made a pretax profit of 80m in the year to December 30, on sales of 3.7bn. Profits were up 9pc on 2016 and the business was sitting on net cash of 71m at year end, and net assets of 330m. The accounts show Musgraves SuperValu brand, which is now the biggest grocery chain in the Republic, recorded sales of 2.7bn - a record for the brand. Centra recorded sales of 1.58bn in 2017 in the year. "We have delivered a strong financial performance, reporting a third consecutive year of profit growth with sales also performing well despite on-going food deflation," Group CEO Chris Martin said. "Our brands enabled local community retailers to go head-to-head with the multiple chains in a highly competitive market. These family businesses are benefiting from their partnership with us and our financial strength enables us to support them into the future. This financial strength also means we can continue to explore opportunities through acquisitions, exports and by developing new brands." He said the group, which withdrew from the UK in recent year, is now mainly focused on the Irish food market, which is worth 30bn a year and is the fastest growing in Europe. As well as its main retail and wholesale brands, it launched the Frank & Honest coffee bar brand last year which is now the biggest coffee outlet in the Irish market, Mr Martin said. A new Chipmongers brand for independent fish and chip shops is being rolled out and is expected to be in 30 outlets this year. It works like Centra, as a brand that can be shared by independent outlets to maximize impact and economies of scale. A Dublin teen has discovered a flaw in an online takeaway website which allowed him to access their customer data. Computer whizzkid Jack Kelly (18) was on Marvin.ie when he said he decided to "have a look around the site". "I spotted the vulnerability during a manually scan of the site. It was a minor weakness but I had the capability to make the flaw more serious. I had access to all customer data including phone numbers," he said. Rathfarnham-based Jack currently works in the building trade but has ambitions to make a living as an independent security researcher. Taking "an ethical approach", the young man reported the issue directly to the Irish startup when he first spotted the bug on Friday, May 18. "My query was forwarded on to the tech team and their CTO contacted me the day after, on Saturday, and said he was investigating. He couldn't find the bug immediately but I walked him through it." "He said he was meeting with the CEO on Monday to discuss the incident and a potential reward. In my initial letter I said that I was looking for opportunities in the field and the CTO offered to write me a reference for my future job search in this sector." Marvin.ie told Independent.ie that their general backend system had been "briefly breached" by someone using "a complicated scripting method". "That individual proceeded to communicate with us directly and assisted us on fixing this particular bug," a spokesperson for the firm said. The company agreed to pay Jack a total of 300 for helping them spot - and fix - the flaw in the system. "It is common for tech companies to offer bug bounty programs to security researchers and programmers when such bugs are identified and reported, and in this instance, we offered such a reward," said the Marvin.ie spokesperson. The firm said that they take the protection of their customer data extremely seriously and that they worked through the weekend to ensure the bug was fixed. Marvin.ie also said that they were satisfied that their customer's data remains safe but that they have notified the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) of the breach. The office of the DPC told Independent.ie that they had not received notification of the breach prior to the release of the Marvin.ie statement. The former chairman of the now defunct Irish Nationwide Building Society, Dr Michael Walsh, says he pleaded with financial regulators "time and time again" to "wake up" to the mounting distress signs in global financial markets as far back as 2007. Appearing as a witness at the Central Bank's ongoing inquiry into alleged regulatory breaches at the Society, the former professor in banking and financing at UCD yesterday accused the State's financial watchdog of "harking back and rewriting history" in 2008 when it was too late rather than focusing on what needed to be done Dr Walsh, who was appointed non-executive chairman in 2001, gave evidence after he accepted a fine of 20,000 from the Central Bank in February as part of a settlement that excludes him from any further investigation by the inquiry. He has also been disqualified from managing any regulated financial services firm for a period of three years. In a statement, the Central Bank said the sanctions "reflect the seriousness with which the Central Bank regards these issues" and stated Dr Walsh was reprimanded for the Society's failure to provide reports for commercial lending and credit risk management to its board. The move left the inquiry focused on four senior management figures including two former executive directors, managing director, Michael Fingleton and finance director Stan Purcell; as well as INBS's head of commercial lending, Tom McMenamin, and former head of UK lending, Gary McCollum. In his evidence, Dr Walsh described "frustration" and "irritation" among the non-executive directors at the failure by management to implement key reforms aimed at strengthening credit controls in the Society. He claimed the non-executive members of the board were told changes, recommended by external auditors KPMG and the regulator, had been implemented but it turned out "time and time again" the reforms might have been "done once but then it would have lapsed". In 2007 the regulator found INBS's credit committee had not been assessing credit reviews on top borrowers, contradicting repeated assurances to regulators. Dr Walsh was asked by Niamh Hyland, a member of the inquiry's Legal Practitioner Team, why the issue had "not been remedied" after it had been raised to a status of high priority by the regulator. Dr Walsh said the board relied on assurances from the executive directors. He argued, when asked to what extent non-executive directors are entitled to depend on the word of executives, "that corporate governance would never work if you could not rely on the executive". He said: "If you believe that they are unreliable or dishonest, you have only one choice and that is to remove them." But he added: "There was never any suggestion of dishonesty ... so by definition you accept their word." Online content creator Kelly Fitzsimons paid herself almost 350,000 last year, as well as pension contributions of 60,000 Is it a surprise that a 22-year-old YouTuber from Meath earns more than all but a handful of Ireland's biggest television stars? Only if you've had your head in the sand for years. YouTube has a far bigger audience than any TV station in Ireland. It is also used both in and outside the home. Look at the person in front of you on a train, or waiting for a bus, or sitting in a doctor's waiting room. YouTube dominates for video. It's especially strong among kids. As it happens, this is the demographic that videos from Kelly Fitzsimons (known as 'Little Kelly Minecraft' on YouTube) is most likely to find favour with. The economics of making money from YouTube videos are relatively straightforward. Record a video, upload it. The more people who see the YouTube-placed ad placed before the video (and at least one more ad during the video), the more money you're paid by YouTube (which is paid by the advertiser). The exact amount that YouTubers are paid isn't clear and seems to depend on a number of factors. However, it's generally considered that an average 'monetised' YouTube video will make around 1 for every 1,000 views. Some of Ms Fitzsimons's videos have racked up very large viewing counts. One, 'Little Kelly Has A Baby', attracted 23 million plays at the last count. That should mean at least 23,000 (and counting) earned. Over the last two years, her videos have been played over one billion times on YouTube, with accounts showing at least 850,000 earned in that period. Because her videos aren't time-sensitive or event specific, they have a long tail - a video posted a year ago will still attract more views from people who have just discovered her channel. And there's more. YouTube creators with large subscriber followings in strong niche content categories are gold dust for sponsors and brand partners. With 2.5 million subscribers, Ms Fitzsimons could reasonably expect to be courted by a selection of major brands for commercial partnerships. Airbus plans to set out measures that will bring it into line with a World Trade Organization ruling on subsidies for its A350 and A380 jets, a senior lawyer said on Tuesday. The move comes after the United States won the right to seek sanctions against European Union goods following a partial victory in its 14-year legal battle against European government support for Airbus at the World Trade Organization. The EU says it expects to strike a similar legal blow in a parallel case on US support for Boeing later this year. "We will be announcing this morning a complete package of measures to fully comply with last week's ruling, putting us basically at a point where we have nothing left to answer and no sanctions possible," Karl Hennessee, senior vice president and head of litigation at Airbus, told BBC radio's Today programme. The subsidies row coincides with transatlantic tensions over US aluminium and steel tariffs, and the impact on European firms from Washington's decision to exit an Iran nuclear pact. It is also part of a two-way battle between the EU and the United States over aircraft subsidies that could spark tit-for-tat reprisals between the two trade superpowers. In a rare public face-off between senior strategists in the dispute, Boeing's chief external lawyer in the case told the same BBC programme that the US would be free to target any European products, not just aerospace. "The WTO will decide what the proper number is and ... give the US that authority," Robert Novick, co-managing partner at US law firm WilmerHale, told the BBC Today programme. "In parallel, the US will develop a list of products on which it might consider imposing countermeasures," he added. The transatlantic dispute stems from mutual claims that the world's two largest planemakers benefited from illegal subsidies in the form of subsidised government loans to Airbus and research grants or tax breaks to Boeing. Underscoring the cost and complexity of the case, the two sides have been arguing since 2011 about whether they complied with earlier rulings. Airbus did not say how it would comply with the final ruling on European aid but a European Commission document said it would repay an A350 loan to the UK government this year and reduce the drawdown of other loans. It also said the bankruptcy of Russian carrier Transaero, resulting in fewer A380 deliveries, had helped it to comply, while other aid been blunted by the passage of time - an argument that has previously been rejected by the US. Hennessee also called for a settlement similar to one between Canada and Brazil that set the tone for global plane financing. Italy's borrowing costs surged further on Monday and its stock market touched six-week lows as two anti-establishment parties that plan to ramp up spending appeared set to form a coalition government. The 5-Star Movement and League will seek the Italian president's backing later in the day for their choice of prime minister, expected to be Giuseppe Conte, a university professor. He would lead a coalition seeking billions of euro in tax cuts, additional welfare spending and a roll-back of pension reforms. The prospect of a spendthrift government taking shape in Italy, the eurozone's third-biggest economy and its most indebted after Greece, has rattled markets. The euro headed for a sixth day of declines. Italian two-year bond yields jumped more than 10 basis points to 0.23pc, their highest since December 2016, before pulling back in afternoon trade to 0.17pc. A week ago, that yield was at minus 0.11pc. The gap between 10-year Italian and Spanish bond yields was at 81 basis points - the widest since 2012, when the euro area was starting to emerge from a debt crisis. As 10-year Italian debt yields hit almost 2.30pc, and the gap over benchmark German Bund yields pushed out to 175 bps - the widest since October. "If this is the government we're going to get, the Italian/German bond spread north of 180 bps is certainly a possibility," said Patrick O'Donnell, investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management. "There is focus on the individual names of the government and that may be a positive if they are seen as mainstream, but at the end of the day we are going to get a programme that is very confrontational with Brussels and mean more BTPs (Italian bond) issuance." Cillian Murphy has thanked Together for Yes campaigners for their efforts with a chocolate cake. The Peaky Blinders star has been vocal in his support of a Yes vote in the upcoming Referendum on the Eighth this week. Cillian Murphy sent us in cake! Fantastic to have support from men around the country to will stand with us and vote YES on Friday May 25th #Together4Yes #together2vote pic.twitter.com/2DjGXTHV99 Together for Yes (@Together4yes) May 22, 2018 The chocolate cake had 'Together for Yes' written in red icing on top and Together for Yes shared a photo on Twitter. ''Cillian Murphy sent us in cake! Fantastic to have support from men around the country to will stand with us and vote YES on Friday May 25th'' they wrote. The cake was also accompanied by a note which read, "'Thank you all so much for your hard work on the Yes campaign. ''Together for change, for equality, for love. Together for Yes! Best wishes, Cillian Murphy''. Murphy recently appeared alongside other Irish actors including Saoirse Ronan, Tom Vaughan Lawlor and Liam Cunningham in a video calling on people to vote Yes. The video features clips of a number of actors spliced together to say, "In Ireland today, if the woman sitting next you is pregnant, she does not have full rights over her own body. "In Ireland today, women who find themselves in crisis pregnancies, be it a scared 15-year-old, who's been sexually abused or a terrified woman who's been raped, are forced to carry the pregnancy to term." He also recently spoke to Blindboy Boatclub of The Rubberbandits about his support for the Yes campaign. Video of the Day 16/06/2013 (L to R) Great grand nieces of James Joyce Nicole Joyce from Portmarnock, Christine Joyce from Portmarnock during Blomsday celebrations at the James Joyce Centre, N. Great Georges Street, Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins The jam-packed programme for this year's Bloomsday Festival has been announced with exhibitions, walks, talks, food, music and more. The event, running from June 11 to 16 and organised by the James Joyce centre, marks the 100h anniversary of the serialisation of Ulysses in The Little Review. In the spirit of celebrating creativity there will be an exhibition of new prints by Frank Kiely inspired by Joyces Dubliners. Artists from different disciplines have been on the streets of Dublin since February seeking traces of Joyces novel and the fruits of their labour can be seen at the Drawing on Joyce exhibition. If you fancy a night at the theatre, there will be Ulysses at the Abbey Theatre as well as Molly at Bewleys Cafe Theatre. Expand Expand Previous Next Close John Shevlin from North Great Georges Street dressed as James Joyce at the Joyce Centre during Bloomsday. Photo: Steve Humphreys 16/06/2013 John Shevlin from The City Centre dressed as James Joyce during Blomsday celebrations at the James Joyce Centre, N. Great Georges Street, Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Shevlin from North Great Georges Street dressed as James Joyce at the Joyce Centre during Bloomsday. Photo: Steve Humphreys On June 13 there will be a musical celebration with Ulysses Extended: A Musical Score by celebrated composer Stephen Gardner. Musician Sean MacErlaine will also join dancer Aine Stapleton and illustrator Sarah Bowie to discuss Joyce, Art and Inspiration on a creative panel on June 11. Expand Close John Kenny and Karen Carty in Meeting House Square / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Kenny and Karen Carty in Meeting House Square Read More On June 14 a panel of editors from contemporary literary magazines gorse, The Stinging Fly, The Tangerine and Banshee will explore The Legacy of the Little Magazine. In the academic series, Professor Neil R. Davison will discuss Dublin Municipal Politics and Joyces Colonial Irish-Jew on June 12. Food-wise there will be traditional Bloomsday Breakfasts (with optional grisly bits) in iconic locations across the city as well as a Joycean Food trail or on Bloomsday itself there will be afternoon tea at the James Joyce Centre where you will be serenaded by Joycean sirens Sinead Murphy and Darina Gallagher. Expand Close Kieran Griffin with his dog eared and annotated copy of Ulysses / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kieran Griffin with his dog eared and annotated copy of Ulysses The signature Bloomsday Readings event takes place in Wolfe Tone Square, hosted by novelist Peter Murphy. If youre looking for a Bloomsday pilgrimage, you can choose between bespoke bus tours and walking tours. If you dont want to cross Dublin without passing a pub, then check out the Joyce of Whiskey tour or our Joycean Pub Crawl. Learn how to dress in character at the Fashion Workshop on June 12 or create a character from Ulysses at the Dublin Body Painting Jam (16 June). You might glimpse them as their wandering parade passes through the city. Video of the Day You can get into the midsummer madness atmosphere with the Poetry Brothel, this year themed as a bawdy Bloomsday eve midnight mass on June 15 and there will be Bella Cohens Bloomsday Blowout, a literary salon, the following day. There's also a Bloomsday Fringe programme. For more information check out Bloomsdayfestival.ie Given just how poorly some of us have shown ourselves to be capable of behaving in the last days before the vote on the Eighth Amendment, we may need to consider how we will cope once the result of the referendum becomes known. Theres no easy outcome in view. Unless the polls are wildly wrong, the result is likely to be tight. So could that mean, after this protracted and often fraught run-up to the vote, that the recovery period might prove even worse? Success for Yes will lead us to the framing of the legislation that will be needed to shape an abortion service here. Right now, all we have are the draft heads of bill agreed in February. There is no possibility that this next phase will be a pain-free process. If No succeeds, the disappointment will go well beyond politics. Clearly, a large cohort of people will interpret the result as a vote against women, against their health, their judgment and autonomy. For this group, the outcome will be greeted as a crisis. One certain outcome is that the immediate post-vote era will not be a good time for journalists. No matter what the final tally of this vote, the media will be blamed by someone for muddying the message or skewing the odds, for being too liberal or too obsessed with balance or not being balanced enough. In a way, this is fair enough; we are used to it, it comes with the territory, media must pay a price for its sphere of inf luence. It just wont be pleasant to live through. And it scarcely matters because our discomfort will be nothing compared to the pain that will be inflicted on those who felt deep conviction on either side of the argument, if and when the opposing side wins. Because if one core thing separates this referendum campaign from the 1983 campaign that led to the Eighth Amendment, its the extent to which people have told their own very personal and painful stories in the interests of their cause. In 1983, nobody talked about their lives; debate was overwhelmingly theoretical. In 2018, as in 2015, people have opened their most sensitive and private past histories to public scrutiny. And that leaves them very vulnerable. I think here of people like the parents who put forward their children with Down syndrome for use by the No campaign, clearly in the sincere wish to ensure everyone understood just how valued, and valuable they could be. And of the couples who movingly related, on live radio, why they had decided to proceed with a pregnancy in the face of a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormality and said they were glad they had done so. I think of the women who carried placards and allowed themselves to be photographed declaring they regretted having abortions. And those that went public saying precisely the reverse. I think of the many woman some of them well known who spoke out bravely for the Yes campaign, who disclosed abortions they had quietly undergone decades before and declared themselves comfortable with their decision; of the woman who in recent days anonymously told her story of having to leave the country in pain, with symptoms of septicaemia and 20 weeks pregnant for a late-term abortion in Liverpool as the Irish hospital she was attending could offer no further help. If the vote is No, what of them? And there is more anguish in prospect. If the referendum is defeated, what of the women who realise they are pregnant in the days, weeks and months after the vote, if they fervently do not wish to be? How will it affect them knowing the population their own communities have voted to deny them any option other than to resort to subterfuge to secure an abortion? If the vote is Yes, on the other hand, how will those whose consciences tell them that life begins at conception manage with the knowledge their friends and neighbours have voted in sufficient numbers to override what they will regard as their very legitimate and deeply held concerns for the next generation and those that come after that? One might hope we will all have sufficient emotional maturity to live with whatever hand we are dealt, on this occasion as on any other. That we can remain philosophical and say: Well, we tried to argue this one and it went the other way and this is just the way it will have to be. That there are grey areas in every issue and we will have to find the shade of grey we can live with and inhabit that. But observing the antics on and after the raucous referendum special on RTEs Claire Byrne Live all that unattractive triumphalism, the harsh judgment and the sheer scale of the mutual incomprehension it is quite hard to be optimistic. Government chief whip Joe McHugh says he has "strong reservations" about the proposal to allow access to abortion up to 12 weeks - but he will be voting Yes in the referendum. Two other junior ministers also set out their views on repealing the Eighth Amendment in response to renewed queries from the Irish Independent. Junior Health Minister Catherine Byrne confirmed she would support Yes, while OPW Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran said he is against repeal. But with just days to go until the referendum, 14 TDs - including some ministers - have still not declared where they stand on the question to be put to the people on Friday. Donegal TD Mr McHugh said he supported repeal because he believed that taking the abortion issue out of the Constitution was the right thing to do. "However, I have strong reservations around the issue of access to abortion up to 12 weeks and if the referendum is passed I will be working with my colleagues to ensure the legislation will reflect these concerns as it passes through the legislative process," he said. Health Minister Simon Harris has proposed legislation that would allow abortions up to 12 weeks without the woman being required to give a reason for why she was seeking one. The proposal, which would be put to a Dail vote if the referendum is passed, has been put forward as a way of addressing cases of rape, incest and the availability of abortion pills online. Fine Gael TDs, like those of Fianna Fail, are being allowed a free vote in the Dail on abortion. Dublin South-Central TD Ms Byrne confirmed she would support repeal, but remained undeclared on the 12 weeks proposal. She said she would give the proposed legislation "careful consideration" when it was published in full and brought before the Dail if the referendum passed. Read More Independent Alliance junior minister Mr Moran said he was against both repeal and the 12 weeks proposal. He said: "Everyone has to make up their own minds as to how they will vote. That is my position and I'd rather voters reached their own decision on this issue." The 14 undeclared TDs include senior ministers Michael Ring and Denis Naughten as well as former Taoiseach Enda Kenny and former finance minister Michael Noonan. Mr Naughten, the Independent Communications Minister, said he agreed with facilitating a referendum as "the people of Ireland are absolutely entitled to have their say on this issue". But he said he would not be engaging in the campaign and said he believed people should "make up their own mind by listening to all aspects of the issues". "I am firmly of the view that any decision on this topic is a deeply personal one and people should not be influenced one way or the other by politicians," he added. Junior ministers who have not outlined their position are Paul Kehoe, Damien English, Pat Breen, David Stanton and Sean Kyne. Mr Breen said he wouldn't declare, feeling the Constitution was not the correct place for abortion to be dealt with, but he also had "difficulties" with the 12 weeks proposal. He said the people would "ultimately decide" on whether or not to repeal and he would "respect that decision". Overall 92 TDs support repeal, 52 are opposed and 14 undeclared. A row broke out between the 'No' campaign and RTE just hours ahead of the final televised referendum debate, Independent.ie can reveal. The broadcaster was this evening trying to find somebody to debate Health Minister Simon Harris after solicitor Cora Sherlock withdrew from Prime Time which is due to air at 9.35pm. It is understood the 'No' side wanted to substitute Ms Sherlock with the Iona Institutes Maria Steen, who was widely seen as the star performer during last weeks Claire Byrne Live debate. Sources described the situation as a 'Mexican stand-off' with just hours to air. The 'No' camp insisted there is no falling out between the various groups, including Love Both and Savethe8th. Barrister Ben O Floinn told Independent.ie: "I can confirm that the joint nominee of all 'No' group is Maria Steen for tonights programme. We'll be bringing the @loveboth8 podium to our press events for the rest of the campaign to remind @SimonHarrisTD that now he has accepted our challenge, he only has to name the time and the place for a debate with us. #LoveBothVoteNo #8thref pic.twitter.com/GdompLNRyK Cora Sherlock (@CoraSherlock) May 3, 2018 "I have been asked by all the groups to press for her inclusion. RTE Prime Time are resisting this." The broadcaster said the programme, hosted by Miriam OCallaghan and David McCullough, will go ahead. However, a spokesperson said she was not in a position to comment any further "at this time". The programme began this evening with Health Minister Simon Harris speaking for the 'Yes' side standing opposite Sinn Fein TD Peadar Toibin who is anti-repeal of the Eighth Amendment. At the beginning of the programme, presenter Miriam O'Callaghan acknowledged the absence of any female debaters. "We were to be joined by two women," Ms O'Callaghan said. "But unfortunately Cora Sherlock pulled out and, for reasons of balance, we had to reduce to two people." RTEs objection to Ms Steen is based on her participation in a similar debate last week. It is understood the broadcaster has also taken issue with the idea that either side of the debate would dictate their line-up. However, 'No' campaigners are arguing that Dr Peter Boylan was allowed to take part in both debates on the Late Late Show and Claire Byrne Live. Change can be a difficult concept for a lot of people. It involves challenging long-held views, saluting an uncertain future, and ultimately making peace with the abandonment of the status quo. The polls suggest Ireland is on the brink of significant social change with the repeal of the Eighth Amendment. For 35 years, we have lived with a single sentence in the Constitution that acknowledged the right to life of the unborn, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother. It was a noble ambition but one Repeal campaigners have long argued was never practical. Led by senior ministers and the masters of the national maternity hospitals, they say doctors have been forced to "take pause" when treating seriously ill women. But opponents of Friday's referendum are clear the amendment has saved the lives of countless babies. They are on a mission to protect Ireland from "one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world". Over recent weeks and indeed months, the facts have often become blurred and the at times the debate has been hostile. But the battle for the minds and hearts of Irish voters is entering the final countdown - with a cohort of undecideds set to determine the outcome. Much has been made about the people who have yet to pick a side, leading to a very real possibility many won't vote at all. It is possible not to have an opinion on abortion. Likewise, the heart and mind can conflict, leading potential voters to simply avoid the awkward question on the ballot paper. So the final push is perhaps more important than ever. And tonight's televised debate on RTE offers a perfect opportunity to sway the middle ground. While last week's effort turned into a cross between Dr Phil, Oprah and Jerry Springer, RTE has a chance to redeem itself by keeping a tighter rein on the 'Prime Time' audience. Unsurprisingly, both sides want to put their best foot forward. Together for Yes has naturally opted for Health Minister Simon Harris alongside the well-spoken but lesser known consultant obstetrician Professor Mary Higgins. The No campaign ise understood to have wanted to nominate Maria Steen of the Iona Institute, who all sides agreed stood out above the din at the 'Claire Byrne Live' version last week. However, Savethe8th's John McGuirk says it was met with "reluctance" from RTE because its star performer had already had her night on the TV. "That's the debate the public want to see. Maria was very strong last week and Simon Harris is Cicero-like in his debating," Mr McGuirk said. Instead, though, it has settled for a team of Sinn Fein TD Peadar Toibin and solicitor Cora Sherlock. Their strategies are likely to follow a now-familiar pattern. So you can expect Mr Harris to appeal to younger voters with his warning that this is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" for change. He will tell viewers to set aside their concerns about what comes next and focus on the fact abortion is already a reality in Ireland. The Government wants to make it safe and regulated. But Ms Sherlock will counter by noting this is about the State trying to take the easy option rather than create a proper healthcare system for women and their babies. She will describe the regime being proposed by the Government as "abortion on demand". The arguments are well rehearsed so the delivery will be important. Both sides believe this is about compassion and care - but who will be more convincing? The real challenge facing the Yes and No camps in the hours and days ahead is not to change the minds of those who have already committed their vote. It's to appeal to those who never saw a problem with the Eighth but are now wavering. It's to engage the young men in rural Ireland who never really thought about it one way or the other. The votes that will decide the referendum are still out there to be won - but there's no guarantee they'll be cast. Former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan at the Disclosures Tribunal at Dublin Castle Former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan has denied that the general reaction of the force was "to close ranks" on penalty points whistleblower Maurice McCabe. During robust questioning at the Disclosures Tribunal, Mr Callinan insisted he had no problem with Sgt McCabe making any complaints. However, Sgt McCabes counsel, Michael McDowell SC, put it to him that the reality was quite different. Mr McDowell pointed to a 2011 letter from Chief Supt Colm Rooney circulated within the Cavan/Monaghan Garda division. This related to the findings of the Byrne-McGinn inquiry, an internal garda investigation into a variety of concerns raised by Sgt McCabe about policing matters. The circular claimed the inquiry had vindicated standards and professionalism in the Bailieborough garda district. Last February, Chief Supt Rooney, now retired, apologised and said that in light of the findings of the O'Higgins commission and a scoping inquiry by Sean Guerin SC, he now believed the views expressed in the circular were inappropriate. Today, Mr Callinan agreed it was a foolish letter. Mr McDowell said as a result of the notice being circulated Sgt McCabe was left vilified in this way as a crank and pointed out that it took seven years and the advent of the tribunal for Sgt McCabe to receive an apology. The barrister put it to Mr Callinan that he was aware of the circular and, when a complaint was made to his office by Sgt McCabes solicitor Sean Costello, that he had deputed then deputy commissioner Nacie Rice to defend it. Mr Callinan said he could not recall giving any direction to Mr Rice and assumed this may have occurred when he was away from the office. Tribunal chairman Mr Justice Peter Charleton observed that the point Mr McDowell was making was that Sgt McCabe was "bullied" through this circular and that people were laughing at him behind his back. Mr Callinan said: The reality is this man was making complaints against his colleagues, so of course there would be tension and bad feeling. Mr McDowell said that far from being someone who was supportive of Sgt McCabe, Mr Callinan had never once attempted to speak to him. Mr Callinan said An Garda Siochana was a structured organisation and there had been a number of people dealing with Sgt McCabe. He said that if at any stage Sgt McCabe or his solicitors had sought a meeting, he would have agreed. Mr McDowell put it to him that the general reaction of An Garda Siochana was to close ranks against Sgt McCabe. As far as I am concerned that is not the case, responded Mr Callinan. Mr McDowell then put to Mr Callinan that he had spoken in seriously disparaging terms about Sgt McCabe on January 23, 2014 to Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness, Fine Gael TD John Deasy and Comptroller & Auditor General Seamus McCarthy. Mr Callinan is disputing their accounts of the conversations, which took place before and after a meeting of the Dail Public Accounts Committee. I am here to tell the truth. As far as I am concerned I have told the truth. Certain issues have been misinterpreted by those parties, he said. The tribunal has previously heard Mr McGuinness alleges Mr Callinan said Sgt McCabe was not to be trusted and had abused his own children and nieces. Mr McDowell said Mr Callinan was inviting the tribunal to reject Mr McGuinnesss evidence as a completely malicious invention. Responding, Mr Callinan said Mr McGuinness had made crazy and very, very serious allegations against him. I absolutely refute them. They did not happen. I did not say those things about Sgt McCabe or anyone else, he said. Mr Callinan also said he found it disconcerting that Mr McGuinness had discussed matters with Sgt McCabe and former Garda press officer Supt Dave Taylor. Supt Taylor made a protected disclosure alleging Mr Callinan ordered him to negatively brief journalists about Sgt McCabe. "It is the case that Mr McGuinness has met some of the key witnesses at this tribunal, and I don't know what influence that has had, her said. Asked if he was suggesting Sgt McCabe "put Mr McGuinness up to telling lies about you", Mr Callinan said he was not making that suggestion. Mr Deasy has previously given evidence that Mr Callinan told him Sgt McCabe was not to be believed or trusted with anything. Mr Callinan said today that Mr Deasy had not backed up his account with any great facts. The tribunal has also previously heard how Mr McCarthy alleged Mr Callinan told him Sgt McCabe was not to be trusted, that he had questions to answer, and that there were allegation of sexual offences against him. In relation to these claims, Mr Callinan said: I do think there was a misunderstanding of sorts in the context of what Mr McCarthy alleges I said. Mr Callinan said it was a possibility Supt Taylor, gave a negative briefing about Sgt McCabe to RTE presenter Philip Boucher-Hayes. The tribunal has previously heard Mr Boucher-Hayes has supplied a statement saying Mr Callinan told him in a corridor off the set of the Crimecall programme in December 2013 that Sgt McCabe had a lot of psychiatric and psychological problems and was motivated by a set of grievances against Garda management. The presenter also claims Mr Callinan said he could tell him horrific things, the worst kind of thing about Sgt McCabe. Mr Callinan denied making the remarks and suggested that if he had, Mr Boucher-Hayes, would have quizzed him further. I couldnt see how an experienced journalist would let me off the hook without asking me to qualify it, he said. Mr Callinan accepted Mr Boucher-Hayes was a respected journalist and said he was not suggesting the presenter had invented the comments. Asked by Mr McDowell if he was advancing the possibility that these things were actually said to the presenter by Supt Taylor, Mr Callinan replied: That is a possibility chairman, yes. He later said that it was not a possibility he was advancing to the tribunal. Mr Callinan said he never issued any instruction to Supt Taylor to brief journalists negatively about Sgt McCabe. He said he had no knowledge of any such campaign. Earlier, Mr Callinan said he had not been hostile towards former Road Safety Authority chief executive Noel Brett after he passed on Sgt McCabes penalty points dossier to the C&AG and the Garda Ombudsman. The tribunal has previous heard how in 2012 Mr Brett was contacted by Conor Faughnan of the AA about penalty-points abuses. Mr Brett subsequently met Sgt McCabe and passed on a dossier to the C&AG and the ombudsman. The former RSA boss said he felt there was "a certain amount of hostility" towards him after he passed on the dossier and he gave evidence that Mr Callinan engaged in a heated exchange with him about a separate issue at a meeting soon afterwards. The meeting became so heated that Mr Brett and then RSA chairman Gay Byrne left. Mr Brett told the tribunal Mr Callinan later apologised. Under questioning from Mr McDowell, Mr Callinan said he certainly did ring Mr Brett afterwards as he had been hearing all sorts of rumours back of a big dust up. Mr Callinan said he didnt think the conversation was as bad as it had been expressed. Asked about Mr Bretts claim that he sensed hostility, Mr Callinan said: Certainly not from me. I believe he took the correct course of action. Mr Callinan described Mr Brett as a having been a very committed member of the Road Safety Authority and said they were both on the same side in relation to road safety issues. A jury has convicted a Dublin man of being the inside man in a 2.08 million cash-in-transit van robbery carried out 13 years ago. Niall Byrne (36) of Crumlin Road Flats, Dublin and three other men denied being part of the armed gang that kidnapped the Richardson family 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 wife Marie and their two teenage sons were held at gunpoint in the Dublin mountains until he had delivered the cash to a car park in west Dublin. Just before noon on Tuesday, having deliberated for just under 18 hours, the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court convicted Mr Byrne of conspiracy to robbery. The jury foreman told Judge Melanie Greally they were unable to agree a verdict on the kidnapping charges and Judge Greally recorded a disagreement. Mr Byrne, Mark Farrelly (47) Moatview Court, Priorswood, Coolock, Christopher Corcoran (70) of Rosedale, Raheny and David Byrne (45) of Old Brazil Way, Knocksedan, Swords had all pleaded not guilty to robbing Mr Richardson and Securicor of 2.08 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. This is the third time Niall Byrne was prosecuted at trial, with the other two trials ending with hung juries. On Monday afternoon the jury convicted Farrelly, Corcoran and David Byrne of five counts of robbery and false imprisonment of the four Richardsons. Judge Melanie Greally remanded all four men into custody to appear before the court on June 5th next. The State's case is that Niall Byrne, who worked for Securicor at the time of the tiger kidnap robbery, was the inside man for the gang. This trial, which began last January, was the fifth time the case went to trial. Farrelly and Corcoran and Jason Kavanagh Corduff Avenue, Blanchardstown were convicted and jailed in 2009 but were released in 2012 after the convictions were overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal on the back of a Supreme Court ruling that search warrants used in this and other investigations were unconstitutional. In 2015 Farrelly and Corcoran were acquitted of all charges when Judge Mary Ellen Ring ruled that the State could not use the mobile phone evidence. A year later the Court of Appeal said Judge Ring was mistaken and overturned the acquittals. The trial heard that Niall Byrne was linked to Kavanagh, who was convicted again in 2013. Byrne had a reputation for being late for work and that there were a number of wake up calls to his mobile phone that morning from a phone linked to Kavanagh. The jury also heard evidence that when there a delay in getting Mr Richardson's van into the Securicor depot, there was a frantic series of calls from Niall Byrne's phone. Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, told the jury that the State's case was based on the idea of joint enterprise or common design, meaning where a group of people knowingly commit a crime, each is responsible for the acts of the others. Each of the men may not actually have pointed a gun...but if they were part of the gang and the overall plan they are as guilty as everyone else, he said. A TEENAGE girl was sexually assaulted on her way home from school after a group of boys surrounded her and prevented her from getting away, a court has heard. A 17-year-old boy and another boy, aged 16, appeared at Dublin Childrens Court on Monday in connection with the alleged grope attack. The older youth was charged with sexual assault and false imprisonment of the girl on a street in north Co. Dublin on a date in 2016. The co-defendant was solely charged with false imprisonment of the girl, who was 16 at the time. The boys were aged 15 and 14 when it allegedly happened. Garda John Delaney told Judge John OConnor the teens had been charged earlier this month. They faced separate hearings in which Garda Delaney said they had no reply after they were charged. He also told the court the Director of Public Prosecutions has recommended that the case should be dealt with in the juvenile court and not sent forward to the circuit court, which can impose lengthier sentences. The boys cannot be named because they are minors. In an outline of the allegations against the 17-year-old boy, Garda Delaney said it was the prosecution case that the girl, was walking home from school at about 4pm when she was stopped by a group of youths of which the accused is alleged to have been one. She was not allowed to continue on her journey and it is alleged the accused grabbed the injured partys breast before leaving the scene, Garda Delaney said. He alleged the co-accused had been in the group of youths that surrounded the girl and prevented her from leaving while she was assaulted, the court was told. Each youth was accompanied to the proceedings by their mothers and their lawyers. Neither addressed the court and there was no indication of a plea. Judge OConnor made orders for disclosure of prosecution evidence to the defence. He told them and their mothers that he was adjourning the case until a date in June when the court will rule on the trial venue issue. The judge said the teens lawyers can make submissions under Section 75 of the Children Act. This part of the legislation allows the juvenile court to accept jurisdiction to hear a trial for certain serious offences which would normally get forward sent to a higher court. The defence can cite the age and maturity of the defendant as well as any other relevant factors in setting out grounds for a serious case to remain in the Childrens Court. Legal aid was granted. Failure to introduce mandatory fortification of foods such as bread with folic acid has contributed to the high number of babies who develop birth defects, including fatal foetal abnormalities. A significant number of parents who receive a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormality decide to have a termination. However, a study led by the HSE Intelligence Unit showed that a national audit of neural tube defects in babies found no decline between 2009 and 2011. These defects are potentially preventable in two-thirds of cases by ensuring the pregnant woman has a correct intake of folic acid. A neural tube defect can include the condition of anencephaly, a fatal foetal abnormality. The study in the 'Irish Medical Journal' found that mandatory fortification of foods with folic acid in the United States had reduced the number of neural tube defects by 30pc there and more so in Canada. Mandatory Current Irish recommendations are that women who are pregnant, thinking of trying to have a baby or likely to become pregnant should take a 0.4mg (400 micrograms) folic acid supplement until the 12th week of pregnancy. This reliable and informative research has added to the weight of evidence to bring about a change in policy in the mandatory, rather than voluntary, fortification of flour with folic acid. The time around conception and the first 12 weeks of pregnancy are known to be an important time for the development of the brain and spinal cord. Crucially, folic acid supplementation at this time decreases the risk of defects such as spina bifida. In the US, the compulsory fortification of flour with 140mg of folic acid per 100g of enriched cereal grain product was introduced in 1998. This has been estimated to provide 200mg of folic acid a day to women of childbearing age. Women are advised to take sufficient folic acid supplements if they are at risk of getting pregnant, even if they are not planning a family. 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. Alan Peter Cayetano pictured in the Philippine Senate in Manila, on January 24, 2012. AFP PHOTO/TED ALJIBE/POOL Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano has sympathised with the family of murdered student Jastine Valdez. Mr Cayetano issued a statement through his Department this morning. We grieve with the loved ones of Jastine Valdez, someone so young and so full of promise, who was suddenly taken away from them, the statement reads. We join the rest of the Filipino Community in Ireland in offering our prayers for Jastine and her family, Secretary Cayetano added. The statement goes on to say that the Philippine Embassy in London and the Consulate in Dublin had been monitoring the case since Ms Valdez was reported missing late on Saturday night. The Filipino ambassador to London Antonio Lagdameo said that Honorary Consul Mark Congdon, based in Dublin, will be discussing with the family what assistance the Department may be able to extend to Ms Valdez' family. Ms Valdez, 24 and originally from the Philippines, was abducted and murdered in Wicklow on Saturday before her suspected killer, Mark Hennessy, was shot and died on Sunday in Cherrywood. Health Minister Simon Harris has launched a scathing attack on the Catholic Church for "dragging" young children into the abortion debate. The minister said attempts by some priests to use first communion and confirmation Masses to discuss Friday's referendum were inappropriate. He also criticised a decision by the Church to prevent Independent Alliance TD John Halligan from acting as a confirmation sponsor for his godson. Mr Harris said he respected the right of the clergy to oppose repealing the Eighth Amendment but said their previous stance on political issues must be scrutinised. "These are people who were actively campaigning from the pulpit against marriage equality. They were against that. Against the Protection of Life During Pregnancy. Against contraception," he said. Meanwhile, in a message issued yesterday, Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne appealed to people to vote No. He said the legislation being proposed was "extreme" and would introduce a "system similar to Britain". "Please pray that the people of our country will choose to vote No, thus honouring and defending the life of every unborn child," he said. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has dismissed Dail questions today on proposals cancer victim Emma Mhic Mhathuna would meet him to help choreograph the CervicalCheck scandal in the Governments favour. She had been sent a letter by a Fine Gael businessman outlining how she could become a government advocate for cancer patients. Mr Varadkar was asked about the proposals today by Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald. He dismissed the questions, saying he dealt with them in Mondays newspapers. It was reported yesterday that Mr Varadkar had distanced himself from the plan to make the terminally ill Ms Mhic Mhathuna a government advocate. The proposals were made by Sean OConnor, a publican with strong links to Minister of State Brendan Griffin. Mr OConnor sent the mother-of-five a memo which he intended to also send to Mr Varadkar. Mr Varadkar said he was disgusted when he read about the proposals in the Sunday Independent and moved to distance himself from the business man, also known as O Conchuir. The proposal has since drastically backfired and left Ms Mhic Mhathuna feeling "manipulated" and "shaken". On Sunday Mr Varadkar said: "I don't know Sean O Conchuir. I believe he's a personal friend of Emma Nic Mathuna but he's not a friend of mine, he doesn't speak to me. He's not an emissary and when I organise meetings with people, I organise them through my private office and not the local publican." He has now declined to address the issue in the Dail. He also declined to take a question about the promotion of Dr Stephanie OKeeffe, a HSE executive overseeing CervicalCheck and who failed to track if women with cancer were told they were the victim of a wrong test result. Dr O'Keeffe was the 156,296-a-year HSE director for health and wellness at the time the patient reviews, confirming the blunder, were secretly paused in 2016. She is now director of strategic planning and transformation after being given wider responsibilities in January. Mr Varadkar refused to take questions on this matter because he had not read about it in todays newspaper. Transport Minister Shane Ross has raised the prospect of workers in the CIE group being given a stake in the companies. Speaking at a forum on public transport in Dublin, the minister suggested that employees could enjoy a profit-sharing arrangement as part of efforts to reward them for years of hard work. "I invited radical, even heretical ideas to progress the fortunes of public transport," he told the forum. "I will be happy to entertain the suggestion that the workforce should be given shares or share options in the relevant companies. This might align the interests of passengers, the staff and management. Those who suffered in the downturn could be the first to benefit from any turnaround in the companies' fortunes." The comments came at the end of the forum which was attended by unions, transport officials, consumer groups and other stakeholders. Professor Alan Barrett, from the ESRI, will prepare a report on the event, outlining the main points raised, before a public consultation on public transport gets under way. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has expressed his profound sympathy to the families and friends of the victims of "two senseless and brutal killings" in recent days. Mr Varadkar led tributes and expressions of sympathy from all party leaders and Independents as the Dail resumed this afternoon. Expand Close Murdered Jastine Valdez / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Murdered Jastine Valdez The Taoiseach said nothing anyone could now say could console the family and friends of Jastine Valdez and Ana Kriegel who were killed in Dublin in recent days. The Taoiseach said the Government was looking at ways to offer practical help to family and friends of both young women. He said that Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney, had contacted the Philippines Embassy to inquire what help may be appropriate. Expand Close Anastasia Ana Kriegel Photo: Austin Crowe / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Anastasia Ana Kriegel Photo: Austin Crowe Mr Varadkar also noted that the Education Department had sent in the psychological services to the school of Ana Kriegel to help counsel her classmates who were traumatised by news of the brutal circumstances in which she had died. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin added his condolences as did Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald. Independent TD Mattie McGrath also offered his sympathies as did Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan. The new cross-city Luas has been the cause of traffic jams in the city centre The 'ding ding' of Luas has meant a great big 'ka-ching!' for property owners in Dublin 7, where the six-month-old tram service has inflated the value of their homes well beyond market averages. According to Daft.ie, prices of homes located on Luas and Dart lines now stand 26pc above other non-connected properties in the capital and today's buyers in the capital are paying an extra 114,000 on average for homes close to a Dart or Luas stop. House prices close to Dart stations and Luas stops rose by an average of 4pc in the first quarter of 2018 to an average of 492,000, according to new research published today by Daft.ie. The property website has just published a Q1 2018 Dart and Luas stop-by-stop house price map. Daft analysed the average asking prices for two and three-bed properties close to each of the 125 stops and stations in the Greater Dublin Area for the period between April 2017 and March 2018. Estate agents have noted a frenzy of buying in Dublin 7 in the past two years, based not only on the Luas but also on the expansion of the new 'super campus' at DIT Grangegorman. These have included families seeking to ditch the car, who are buying and doing up former Corpo homes and terraces, as well as 'flipper' developers busy acquiring run-down pre-1963 buildings which ran foul of the abolition of bedsits. These have been converted to private residences or sub-divided again into larger upmarket apartments before being sold on at a profit. The most recent additions to the Luas green line are those living in the vicinity of stops such as Cabra, where tram services began just six months ago and homes have shot up to 417,000 according to Daft.ie. At Grangegorman, prices have hit 419,000 and hikes have also occurred at Broombridge (now at 419,000) and the ever popular Phibsborough (441,000). The last stop at Broadstone has seen house prices in its vicinity rise to 400,000. Meanwhile, commuters on the Dublin south coastline pay most for rail proximity - a property close to a Dart averages 625,000. Lansdowne Road is at 765,000, Sydney Parade at 761,000 and Blackrock prices are at 734,000, accounting for four of the top five most expensive stations on the new maps produced by Daft.ie. On the Luas, homes close to the Beechwood stop on the green line command the highest average asking price (752,000), while those living close to the Spencer Dock stop (633,000) pay the most on the Luas red line. On the Luas green line, 16 of the 27 stops now have average property prices in excess of half-a-million euro. Trinity College economist Ronan Lyons said: "The price of housing reflects not only the dwelling itself but also a wide range of nearby amenities. An obvious example is access to good transport facilities and, as this report shows, those looking for a new home reward properties with good transport links. "In Ireland, the property tax is based on the market value of a home - and this is a good way to encourage investment in more transport infrastructure. As these homes are more valuable, this leads to a form of 'value capture', with Government able to set aside some of their Local Property Tax income to pay back money borrowed to build new rail tracks." But there has been another, more adverse impact by Luas for those not living near it. In February, Dublin City Council boss Owen Keegan admitted that bus journey times through College Green had increased by up to 143pc at peak times following the start of the Luas cross-city, which has regularly been the cause of snarl-ups since it opened. It means those who live off-line are now seeing red, not green, and if delays continue their house prices will start taking the dings. Interior CS Fred Matiangi has defended the recent directive to cut down Nairobi Governor Mike Sonkos security detail. Last week, the Governors security detail was reduced from 26 t0 five in a drastic government directive aimed at scaling down the level of VIP protection to bolster security in the country. Speaking on Monday, Matiangi maintained that the withdrawal is in line with the National Security Committee (NSC) recommendation of five bodyguards for every governor. No politician deserves to be protected by 26 policemen, said the CS. He added: Let us learn to use common sense as well. We cant move a police station to your office. Matiangi was speaking during an event by IPOA where it was handing over its end of term report. He urged politicians to support the radical changes that are being made by the police service. The withdrawal is part of a plan to recall 5,000 officers irregularly attached to VIPs and redeploy them to serve the ordinary citizens. At the same time, the government is also rethinking who is a VIP and who deserves to have bodyguards deployed to them for extra security. Once we figure out who is a VIP and who is not, then the number will be higher which means more police for the general public, said Ministry of Interior spokesman Mwenda Njoka. Last year, a small study of 96 young cannabis users (aged 16 to 21) in Ballymun, north Dublin cast a disturbing spotlight on their financial circumstances. It found that, on average, each user spent about 108 per week on the drug. An extension of the study examined those youths who were unemployed and not in a training programme. Their spend amounted to 152 each week, or almost 8,000 per year. How this was compatible with survival is unclear as most, according to the report, would have been on jobseekers' allowance, amounting to around 100 per week. There was also a growing attrition rate from training programmes compared to earlier years. Debt, low motivation and finance-driven crime are all considerations that those working with young cannabis users are trying to deal with. A 2016 study by Peter Barrett and Colin Bradley from UCC Medical School and published in the Irish Journal of Medical Science examined Cork students aged between 15 and 18. Just under 40pc of these secondary school students reported cannabis use at some point in their lives. Those who perceived it to be mentally and physically dangerous were less likely to abuse it. This is hardly surprising. There is now good evidence that cannabis is dangerous, but advocates of cannabis still question this. They claim that pre-existing severe psychiatric illness may, in many cases, have driven these young people to use cannabis to alleviate their symptoms, rather than cannabis being the cause. Now most studies take account of this possibility either by excluding those with symptoms of schizophrenia or by controlling for the severity of these at the index interview and factoring this into the statistical analysis. The latest study to examine the question of whether cannabis use in adolescence increases the risk of schizophrenia later in life was published in the April issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry. This Northern Finland study was headed by Dr Antti Mustonen from Oulu University, examining over 6,500 babies born in 1986. Their first interview was conducted when they were aged 15 to 16 and those who were psychotic by then were excluded. Information was obtained on cannabis and other substances, both legal and illicit, as well as alcohol, using a questionnaire. They were screened for early symptoms of schizophrenia, referred to as prodromal symptoms. This information was linked to a national register for schizophrenia when the group reached the age of 30. The severity of prodromal symptoms when present, as well as details of any family history and misuse of other substances, was controlled in their complex statistical analysis. The findings are stark. Adolescent cannabis use increased the risk of psychosis by the age of 30, even after adjusting for severity of prodromal symptoms, parental psychosis and other substance use. The risk applied in those who had used cannabis five times or more by the time they were 15 to 16. Furthermore, those who had prodromal symptoms and used cannabis had double the risk of full-blown psychotic symptoms compared to those with prodromal symptoms and not using cannabis. These findings are striking since this is one of the largest studies of its kind. This study adds to the list of investigations examining this question. The first study on the relationship between cannabis and psychosis was published in 1987, while one of the best designed, known as the Dunedin study from New Zealand, was published in 2000. The number has grown since and all point to an association between cannabis and psychosis. The current concerns are a long way from the heady days of 1998 when thousands gathered in Hyde Park London to call for the decriminalisation of cannabis. Among them were Paul McCartney, the late Anita Ruddock (of Body Shop fame) and Rosie Boycott, then-editor of the British Independent, who spearheaded it. They were joined by writers such as Nick Hornby, Martin Amis and Harold Pinter. Less than 10 years later, Boycott published an apology for having misguided the British public about cannabis, saying "if only we had known then what we can reveal today". What they had come to realise was that the cannabis of the good old days was much less potent than the now widely-available 'skunk'. Cannabis has two main constituents, THC and cannabinol, and it is THC which produces the psychotic symptoms of hallucinations and delusions. It is the concentration of this which has increased in skunk. It is likely just a matter of time before science will conclusively show that it does indeed cause major mental illness. Anybody concerned about this should read the article, available online, called 'My son played Russian Roulette with cannabis - and lost' by Patrick Cockburn and his son Henry Cockburn. Meanwhile many a young lives, like Henry's, continue to be blighted, either because of denial or ignorance. Ryanair has not one, but two separate flash sales running this week, both of which end at midnight tonight. The first, a 'May Madness' sale, sees up to 20pc off 500,000 summer seats on its European network, the airline says. The sale is available for travel on select routes from June to September, with fares available to book on ryanair.com until midnight. Separately, the airline has released seats from 9.99 each-way to celebrate the launch of its new summer schedule from Shannon Airport. Ryanair is operating new routes to Bristol and Liverpool from Shannon this season, as well as a new route to Barcelona (Reus), which launched in March. The flash sale also ends at midnight, tonight (May 22). The offers come in a week that saw Ryanair announce a rise of 10pc in its full-year profits to 1.45 billion, with average fares dropping to 39.40 - despite a wave of flight cancellations last autumn and a fresh threat of pilot strikes. Its website and app now host over one billion visits a year. In other news, British Airways has launched a new weekly service from Dublin Airport to Manchester, running until September 30th. Flights depart Dublin at 21.20 every Friday, returning from Manchester at 08.55 on Sundays. Read more: Emergency personnel works at the site of the accident after a Cubana de Aviacion aircraft crashed after taking off from Havana's Jose Marti airport / AFP PHOTO / Yamil LAGEYAMIL LAGE/AFP/Getty Images Amid the frenzied build-up to the royal wedding on Saturday, many will have missed the news that an ageing Cuban airliner carrying 113 people had crashed shortly after take-off. Several days on and still little remains clear about what happened to the Cubana de Aviacion 737, only that three passengers managed to survive but remain in a critical condition. In the wake of the crash, Cuban authorities have announced an investigation while Mexico says it will look into the charter company that leased the state airline the aircraft. Is it dangerous to fly in Cuba? The crash of the domestic flight appears to have international links, with Mexico-based Damojh Airlines, also known as Global Air, leasing the Boeing plane to the Cuban flag carrier. Over the weekend it emerged that Guyana had banned the same aircraft from its airspace after its civil aviation body said it became aware that crew were allegedly overloading it with luggage on flights to Cuba. A retired pilot from Cubana wrote on Facebook that it had rented another aircraft from the company, which dropped off radar (but later landed safely) for unknown reasons eight years ago. Expand Close Firefighters quell the flames at the scene. Photo: Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Firefighters quell the flames at the scene. Photo: Getty Images A pilot who used to work for Damojh told Mexican newspaper Milenio that he had previously complained about inadequate maintenance of aircraft. The company is yet to comment on the allegations. However, Cubas own air travel history is not free from tragedy. According to the Aviation Safety Network (ASN), which records all air crashes and incidents reported around the world, there have been 51 recorded accidents involving the countrys state airline Cubana, including the 1998 crash of a Tupolev Tu-154 that resulted in the deaths of 80 people. Of air travel in the Caribbean country, the UK Foreign Office warns of concerns about standards of maintenance of public transport. However, it does point readers in the direction of an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit that lists Cubana as safe. Though the plane involved in the crash was a leased US-made Boeing, much of Cubana's own 14-strong fleet of aircraft are Russian-made Antonovs or Tupolevs. Such is the concern surrounding flight safety in Russia that, Airline Ratings, one of the worlds leading authorities on measuring airline safety, automatically marks a carrier down if they use only Russian-built aircraft. David Gleave, an aviation safety investigator, said that many factors could have come into play with regards to Fridays crash but added: You would expect Cuba to have a relatively high probability of an accident. He continued: You will always have problems where there are massive commercial pressures. If Cubana wanted to hire more modern airplanes it probably could but it would be more expensive. What were the trade sanctions in force at the time when the decision to hire that plane was made? Expand Close A Cuban flag is seen flying at half-mast near a statue of national hero Jose Marti (Ramon Espinosa/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Cuban flag is seen flying at half-mast near a statue of national hero Jose Marti (Ramon Espinosa/AP) He said that airlines under pressure to go rather than stop - in terms of keeping their operations running because of costs - might be more likely to experience safety incidents. Two crashes this year - one in Russia in February and another in Iran in March, more on which below - both raised issues about airlines failing to run proper maintenance programmes. Cuba does not feature in the ASNs top 25 worst geographical regions for civil airliner accidents. However, that is measured only by number of fatal accidents so does not take into account total flights operated. Are older planes less safe? The age of the aircraft involved in last weeks crash has been highlighted. The 737, registered XA-UHZ, left the Boeing factory almost 40 years ago. It was delivered to Piedmont Airlines, a Maryland carrier that currently flies under the American Eagle brand, in 1979, before spending time in the fleets of US Airways, Royal Airlines (now defunct), Canada 3000 (defunct), the US Navy, Magnicharters and Avolar Aerolineas (both based in Mexico) and Honduran carrier EasySky Airlines. It had been in Global Airs fleet since 2014. But are older planes really more likely to go wrong? Patrick Smith, a US pilot and author of Cockpit Confidential, claims that as planes get older they come under ever greater scrutiny. Inspection criteria grow increasingly strict, he said. Commercial aircraft are built to last more or less indefinitely, which is one of the reasons why theyre so expensive - its common for a jet to remain in service for 25 years or more. Expand Close There were more than 100 passengers on board (Ramon Espinosa/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp There were more than 100 passengers on board (Ramon Espinosa/AP) Nevertheless, it is uncommon for an airline to possess planes that have been in service for as many as 40 years. Research by Telegraph Travel last year found that the oldest plane used by a UK airline was a 31-year-old 737, registration G-CELH, owned by Jet2.com. The BA fleet has an average age of 13 years, while its oldest aircraft is a 747, registration G-BNLK, which it received in 1990. Ryanairs fleet has an average age of just 6.5 years. More important than the maturity of the plane is how well it is maintained, argues David Gleave, but he also says the crash rate of the majority of planes gets worse with age. Statistically speaking, if youre going to fly a 40-year-old plane around the developing world then the risk is going to be higher, he said. Why have there been so many crashes in 2018? 2017 was - by some distance - the safest year in aviation history. According to the ASN there were just 10 fatal accidents involving commercial flights last year, resulting in 44 deaths. This was down from 16 fatal accidents and 303 deaths in 2016. Furthermore, none of those fatalities involved a passenger jet. This year, however, weve already seen four major disasters. On February 11, Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashed after leaving Moscow with all 71 on board perishing. One week later 66 people died when Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 went down near the city of Yasul. US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211 crashed near Kathmandu on March 12, resulting in 51 deaths. There was also a harrowing incident on a Southwest flight, where a window was smashed and a female passenger killed. ASNs database shows 301 deaths involving commercial flights so far this year (as of May 21), almost seven times more than the whole of 2017. Should this rate continue until the end of 2018, it would mean more than 700 deaths, making it the deadliest year since 2014 (when 18 accidents involving commercial flights saw 961 perish, the two Malaysia Airlines crashes being the most high profile). But this would still be way down on the numbers of annual fatalities seen in previous decades. More than 1,000 deaths per calendar year was commonplace until just over a decade ago. In 2005 there were 1,056. The figure for 1996 was 1,924. The deadliest year of all time was 1972, when 2,469 people died in 55 accidents involving commercial flights - a number that's all the more remarkable when you consider how few departures there were compared with today (around 9.5 million, compared with almost 37 million in 2017). A total of 11 crashes saw at least 100 perish in 1972, including four Aeroflot flights, and others involving Iberia, Sterling Airways, Alitalia, British European Airways, Interflug, Spantax and Eastern Air Lines. Modern air travel remains remarkably safe. Over the past five years, the fatal accident rate has ranged from around one for every 7.5 million departures (2017) to one for every 1.5 million departures (2013). Last year was effectively a lovely statistical blip, said David Gleave. We are a long way from having solved all the problems [with flying], but it is getting safer and there remains a downward trend in the per flight probability [of a crash]. Read more: Read More Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] A record 90 beaches and marinas will raise Blue Flags over the summer bathing season, up two on last year. Ardmore, Co Waterford, achieved Blue Flag Status for the first time since 1997, due to improved water quality brought about by a new wastewater treatment plant, while Carne, Co Wexford, has also achieved the award for the first time. The Blue Flag is one of the world's most recognised eco-labels, and is awarded to bathing spots that meet strict criteria around water quality, provision of information, facilities and safety. Some 49 countries operate the programme, which is administered in Ireland by An Taisce. It is designed to raise environmental awareness and promote sound environmental management of beaches, marinas and inland bathing waters. "Today's high number of awards reflects the great efforts made by local authorities, An Taisce, local coastal communities and other volunteers on the ground," Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said. "It also reflects well on the work being done more widely within catchments to improve water quality. Achieving these awards is quite rightly a point of fierce local pride, but it really engages communities and citizens with their natural environments." The county with the most blue flags is Kerry, with 13 beaches and one marina. In addition to the 83 beaches and seven marinas which achieved the Blue Flag, another 59 beaches received Green Coast Awards, including two for the first time - Sherkin Island's Silver Strand in Co Cork, and Inishturk in Co Mayo. These are awarded to locations that do not have the facilities for Blue Flag status but are recognised for their cleanliness, excellent water quality and natural beauty. Four areas lost their Green Coast Award due to issues with water quality - Mornington in Co Meath, Port Arthur in Co Donegal, Waterville in Co Kerry, and Kilfarrassey in Co Waterford. In all, five beaches have dual award status where they fulfil all Blue Flag criteria, while also involving the community in managing the site which is required under the Green Coast Awards. They are Portmarnock, Co Dublin; Salthill and Silver Strand in Co Galway; Rosses Point in Co Sligo; and Ballinskelligs in Co Kerry. An Taisce said an "important aspect" of the Green Coast Awards was the Clean Coast groups, with more than 600 comprising thousands of volunteers removing 750 tonnes of litter from coastal areas last year. This official wedding photograph released by the Harry and Meghan shows the couple pictured together on the East Terrace of Windsor Castle. Alexi Lubomirski/Handout via Reuters This official wedding photograph released by Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shows them in The Green Drawing Room, Windsor Castle, with (left-to-right): Back row: Master Brian Mulroney, Miss Remi Litt, Miss Rylan Litt, Master Jasper Dyer, Prince George, Miss Ivy Mulroney, Master John Mulroney. Front row: Miss Zalie Warren, Princess Charlotte, Miss Florence van Cutsem. Photo: Alexi Lubomirski/PA Wire Harry and Meghan (centre) are pictured surrounded by beaming page boys and bridesmaids and (back row, left to right) Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Prince Charles; Meghans mother, Doria Ragland; Prince William; (middle row, left-right) Prince Philip; Queen Elizabeth II; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; Princess Charlotte and Prince George. Photo: Alexi Lubomirski/PA Wire No one does pomp and circumstance like the British royal family. After a star-studded wedding ceremony on Saturday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's official wedding portraits are a perfect representation of their modern marriage, incorporating royal tradition with just the right amount of rule breaking. In the new set of images, taken by Alexi Lubomirski,, which were released yesterday, the newlyweds are posing alongside their bridal party and with their families in two separate shots. Eagle eyed fans were quick to note that Meghan's mother Doria Ragland received pride of place and was right by her daughter's side in the images, it's a subtle reminder that Ms Ragland was the only blood relative of the bride's to attend the wedding. Days before, her father Thomas Markle Sr pulled out of his appearance, saying he is recovering from a heart attack. This required some clever manoeuvring in order to maximise the impact of the photo, according to royal expert and author Duncan Larcombe. Expand Close This official wedding photograph released by Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shows them in The Green Drawing Room, Windsor Castle, with (left-to-right): Back row: Master Brian Mulroney, Miss Remi Litt, Miss Rylan Litt, Master Jasper Dyer, Prince George, Miss Ivy Mulroney, Master John Mulroney. Front row: Miss Zalie Warren, Princess Charlotte, Miss Florence van Cutsem. Photo: Alexi Lubomirski/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp This official wedding photograph released by Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shows them in The Green Drawing Room, Windsor Castle, with (left-to-right): Back row: Master Brian Mulroney, Miss Remi Litt, Miss Rylan Litt, Master Jasper Dyer, Prince George, Miss Ivy Mulroney, Master John Mulroney. Front row: Miss Zalie Warren, Princess Charlotte, Miss Florence van Cutsem. Photo: Alexi Lubomirski/PA Wire "These portraits cement Harry and Meghans place at the heart of the royal family," he told BAZAAR.com. "Meghans mum is seen standing next to her daughter and beaming with pride after a wedding that ripped up the rule book." When there is more balance between both sides of the family, traditionally the bride and groom's family will stand on both sides, as they did with Kate Middleton and Prince William in 2011. It's expected that the bride and groom stand directly next to their parents and in this case, Prince William filled the balance where Mr Markle would have been. The decision to have Kate Middleton seated is unclear, but it was likely a practical decision as she was wrangling Prince George (four) and Princess Charlotte (three) not only during the wedding festivities, but also during the portrait session. Expand Close This official wedding photograph released by the Harry and Meghan shows the couple pictured together on the East Terrace of Windsor Castle. Alexi Lubomirski/Handout via Reuters / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp This official wedding photograph released by the Harry and Meghan shows the couple pictured together on the East Terrace of Windsor Castle. Alexi Lubomirski/Handout via Reuters Cressida Bonas (second right) arrives for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle Cressida Bonas arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Cressida Bonas arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Cressida Bonas (centre) arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Cressida Bonas arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Ian West/PA Wire Chelsy Davy (second right) arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Cressida Bonas leaves St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Ian West/PA Wire Chelsy Davy (C) arrives for the wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and US actress Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on May 19, 2018. Odd ANDERSEN/Pool via REUTERS Chelsy Davy was reportedly "quite emotional" at being snubbed by her ex Prince Harry for an invite to the exclusive VIP reception he was hosting after his wedding. The 32-year-old, who dated the British prince for six years before splitting in 2010, have famously remained friends and supported one another in their new relationships. She was, however, taken aback to discover she hadn't landed an invite to the after-party at Frogmore House, being thrown by Prince Charles, where just 200 of Harry and new wife Meghan Markle's friends and family were invited. It was a significant cut on the 600-strong guestlist that filled St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for their wedding ceremony. Davy, who works as a jewellery designer, was in tears when she realised she had only been included in a small portion of the day, adding some closure that they really had both moved on. "It was their final call, a parting call in which they both acknowledged Harry was moving on. Chelsy was quite emotional about it all, she was in tears and almost didnt go to the wedding," a source told Vanity Fair. Expand Close Chelsy Davy arrives at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Chelsy Davy arrives at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "In the end, she went and promised Harry she wouldnt try and gatecrash the party." All eyes were on Chelsy as she arrived to the nuptials in a navy blue Alaia dressand according to a leading body language expert, she appeared nervous during the ceremony. "The biggest thing I noticed was her blank stare once she was seated in the church. It seemed to just go on and on. Body language tells you whats on someones mind but doesnt tell you exactly why," Traci Brown told Elite Daily. Similarly, Judi James said: "She was the spectre at the banquet. When she arrived, everyone else was chatting and laughing, but she sat in the pews just looking to one side - gazing reflectively into space and biting her lips slightly. Expand Close Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy in 2007 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy in 2007 "She was doing that at the end as well. It was almost the soap opera part of the ceremony," she added. Davy wasn't the only ex in attendance, actress and dancer Cressida Bonas, whom he dated from 2014 to 2016, also appeared. Both relationships with Harry's two long-term exes reportedly ended because they could no longer cope with life in the royal fishbowl. Video of the Day An Australian archbishop who was the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world to be charged with covering up child sex abuse was convicted on Tuesday and faces a potential two years in prison. Magistrate Robert Stone handed down the verdict against Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson in Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney, following a magistrate-only trial. Wilson, 67, had pleaded not guilty to knowing of the crimes of a paedophile priest in the 1970s. He denied under oath in court last month that two former altar boys ever told him that they had been sexually abused by a priest. Wilson, who has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, said he had known one of the former altar boys and his family in the mid-1970s. But the archbishop said he had no memory of the boy telling him in 1976 he had been sexually abused by priest James Fletcher five years earlier when he was 10. Wilson told the court the conversation was unlikely to have occurred because the former altar boy, when giving evidence in December, alleged he went into graphic detail about what Fletcher had done to him. "I don't think I would have forgotten that," Wilson told the court. Asked by his lawyer Stephen Odgers what he would have done if the boy had told him about the abuse, Wilson said his first priority would have been to provide pastoral care to the then-15-year-old boy and his family. The archbishop said he would also have reported the allegations to his superiors. Fletcher was found guilty in 2004 of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in jail of a stroke in 2006, while serving an almost eight-year sentence. Wilson told the court he had not been aware that Fletcher had abused boys. Asked by Odgers if he had had any suspicions about Fletcher, Wilson replied: "No, I had none." The former altar boy alleged he trusted Wilson would take action against the paedophile priest after revealing the abuse, but Wilson did nothing. The second former altar boy alleged he was about 11 in 1976 when he went into the confessional box to tell Wilson that Fletcher had abused him. The witness alleged Wilson told him he was telling lies because Fletcher "was a good bloke". The witness said Wilson had ordered him out of the confessional and told to recite 10 Hail Mary prayers as an act of contrition. Wilson said he had no memory of seeing the second altar boy at all in 1976 and said he would never accuse anyone in the confessional of telling lies. Questioned about his health, Wilson said the prescribed medication he was taking to treat his Alzheimer's had helped improve his memory, "although it's not perfect". An Australian archbishop has become the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse. Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson faces a potential two years in prison when he is sentenced next month. Magistrate Robert Stone handed down the verdict in Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney, following a magistrate-only trial. Wilson, 67, had pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious crime committed by another person the sexual abuse of children by paedophile priest James Fletcher in the 1970s. Mr Stone told the court that Wilson had concealed the abuse of two altar boys in the Hunter Valley region, north of Sydney, by Fletcher by failing to report the allegations to police. The judge said he was satisfied that one of the altar boys, Peter Creigh had been a truthful and reliable witness. Wilson was released on bail until he appears at a sentencing hearing on June 9. Prosecutors will argue for a custodial sentence. Statement from Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Mark Coleridge on today's verdict in Newcastle pic.twitter.com/C6kDF1SN3L Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (@ACBC1) May 22, 2018 In a statement issued by the Catholic Church, Wilson said he was disappointed by the conviction. I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps, he said. Prosecutor Gareth Harrison had submitted that Wilson was involved in a cover-up to protect the churchs reputation and there were doubts about his honesty. Harrison argued that, in Wilsons mind, victims came second. Wilson, who is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers disease but maintains that medication has helped his memory, told the court during his trial last month that he could not remember Mr Creigh and another altar boy telling him in 1976 that they were abused by Fletcher. The court has ordered that Mr Creigh can be named in media reports on his evidence, but the second accuser cannot be named for legal reasons. The prosecution argued that Wilson failed to give details to police about a serious crime after Fletcher was arrested in 2004 and went on trial for preying on another boy. Fletcher was found guilty of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in prison of a stroke in 2006 while serving an almost eight-year sentence. Defence lawyers had argued that Wilson could not be found guilty because the case was circumstantial and there was no evidence to prove the archbishop was told about the abuse, believed it was true, or remembered being told about it. Defence lawyer Stephen Odgers urged the magistrate to take into account that in the 1970s a priest having sex with a boy was not considered a serious indictable offence, the legal basis for the concealment charge against Wilson. Mr Odgers told the court the abuse would have been viewed as an act of indecency, not indecent assault, if the victim could not prove he had been forced to perform sex acts. Mr Creigh told the court he had trusted that Wilson, then an assistant priest, would take action after he told him Fletcher had repeatedly abused him in 1971 when he was 10. Mr Creigh testified that Wilson had a look of horror on his face when told of the abuse, that the clergyman took no action and did not tell police. The defence did not challenge Mr Creighs truthfulness, but raised concerns about the reliability of his memory of what happened in 1976. The other former altar boy said he was about 11 in 1976 when he went to confession and told Wilson that Fletcher had abused him. The witness told the court that Wilson refused to believe him because Fletcher was a good bloke. Wilson ordered the boy to get out of the confessional box and say 10 Hail Mary prayers as an act of contrition, the court was told. Wilson gave evidence last month that he had no memory of seeing the second altar boy at all in 1976 and he would never accuse anyone in the confessional of telling lies. Former police detective chief inspector Peter Fox, who had previously made public allegations that the church had covered up Fletchers crimes, said outside court that he was delighted by the verdict because someone in the church was being held to account. Its a major turning point. Its been very difficult for so many of these witnesses; I cant tell you how difficult its been, he said. Marcio and Andreia Gomes, parents of stillborn infant Logan, arrive for the commemoration hearing at the opening of the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster in London. Photo: Reuters Survivors of London's deadly Grenfell Tower fire wept as they listened to a bereaved father pay tribute to his baby son and heard a recording of another victim making his last phone call from the burning building. Those were among many heartbreaking moments on the first day of oral hearings at a public inquiry into the blaze, which killed 71 people in the social housing block on the night of June 14, 2017. The fire led to an outpouring of angst over whether poor quality social housing and neglect by the authorities of an ethnically diverse community had played a part in the tragedy. The public inquiry, which will last many months, aims to establish the causes of the disaster, but first it has invited the bereaved to talk about their loved ones and show pictures or videos if they wish. Marcio Gomes, an IT worker who fled from the 21st floor through thick, poisonous fumes with his heavily pregnant wife Andreia and their two daughters, paid an emotional tribute to his son Logan, who was stillborn in hospital hours after the escape. "I held my son in my arms, hoping it was all a bad dream, wishing, praying for a miracle, that he would open his eyes, move, make a sound," Mr Gomes said, crying, his wife by his side. Expand Close The 24-floor Grenfell Tower blaze in London last summer cost 71 people their lives and is being probed by a public inquiry. Photo: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The 24-floor Grenfell Tower blaze in London last summer cost 71 people their lives and is being probed by a public inquiry. Photo: PA Andreia, a clothes shop supervisor, was in an induced coma being treated for cyanide poisoning from the fire at the moment of Logan's birth. He had been due to be born on August 21, 2017. Family photographs flashed up on a screen, including an ultrasound scan image of Logan in his mother's womb, and images of him just after his birth. The family of another victim, 56-year-old Denis Murphy, described him as a devoted family man and fanatical fan of Chelsea, drawing tearful smiles as they talked about his playful disagreements with his son, who supported Tottenham. Mr Murphy's sister Anne-Marie said the only material thing left from Denis's apartment was a handful of coins. The inquiry also heard a tribute to fine art photographer Khadija Saye (24) who died with her mother Mary Mendy (52), an immigrant from Gambia in West Africa. Saye had just broken through with an exhibition of self-portraits at the prestigious Venice Biennale, where three buyers had bid for her work. Other Grenfell relatives and friends, lawyers and journalists wept as they watched and listened to one harrowing moment after another. Separately, the police are conducting a criminal investigation which could result in charges against organisations or individuals involved in the construction, maintenance or refurbishment of the tower. While the official death toll from the fire is 71, the inquiry will commemorate 72 people as it is including Maria del Pilar Burton, a resident of the tower who died in January, having never left hospital. Critics have accused the local authority in Kensington and Chelsea of being too slow to rehouse the survivors and help them rebuild their lives. As of yesterday, 139 out of the 210 Grenfell households in need of a new home had moved into temporary or permanent properties. The others were still in other forms of housing, including 15 households still in what is classed as emergency accommodation. The 24-floor Grenfell Tower blaze in London last summer cost 71 people their lives and is being probed by a public inquiry. Photo: PA Almost a year since the Grenfell Tower fire inflicted loss on a scale unheard of in modern history, the inquiry into its origins is to begin. What happened at Grenfell Tower? Shortly after midnight on June 14, 2017, a small fire broke out in a flat on the fourth floor of the 24-storey block, which quickly engulfed the entire building. It became the most costly human tragedy in a generation, killing 71 people and leaving hundreds more homeless. Why was a public inquiry launched? Widespread anger followed the disaster as it became clear that residents of Grenfell Tower had long warned the building was blighted by fire safety risks. The spread of the blaze had apparently been accelerated by the material used in a 8.6m refurbishment, raising troubling questions about how it came to be installed. By late June, UK Prime Minister Theresa May had appointed Martin Moore-Bick, a retired Court of Appeal judge, to head a public inquiry into the tragedy so these concerns could be answered. According to the website, the probe will "establish the facts and will make recommendations as to the action needed to prevent a similar tragedy happening again". What will the public inquiry be examining? The probe will be split into two phases, the first of which has been timetabled to last until late October. Phase one will examine the immediate causes of the fire and how it came to spread with such deadly effect. This will involve evidence from those who escaped the blaze and the firefighters who battled it, alongside expert evidence. In the second stage, the deeper cultural issues underlying the fire's causes will be put under the microscope. Why residents' warnings were ignored; the response of Kensington and Chelsea Council and central government in the aftermath of the fire; and the work of the emergency services will be among a catalogue of issues explored. What could the ramifications of the inquiry be? Mr Moore-Bick has made clear he will not "shrink" from making findings that could form the backbone of a criminal or civil case. While he will not be able to apportion legal liability, he could potentially outline allegations made in future cases. A mother who claimed that she was kicked out of the Olive Restaurant in Nairobi for breastfeeding in public lied. This is according to the restaurants management which issued a statement on Monday after completing their investigations. In a press statement delivered at the restaurants Accra Road branch, the management said the woman, identified as Betty Kim, lied to the public as well as the media about what transpired. Referring to CCTV footage of the incident, Olive management said Betty entered the hotel at around 12:38 pm and placed her order within a minute of sitting. Her food was delivered four minutes later at 12:42 pm. This is contrary to Bettys claim that her meal was delayed for almost half an hour which caused her baby to get hungry and demand to be fed. About 25 minutes after being served and beginning eating, she begins suckling her baby, the statement reads. About 5 minutes into the activity, a waiter gestures to her where they engage for about 30 seconds after which there is a moment of eminent laughter and a long smile from her then she proceeds with her meal and does not leave the hotel as alleged. The statement further notes that Betty finished her meal a while after 1:30pm and then asked for a glass of hot water, paid her bill and left. The restaurants management, while denying any wrongdoing, said the womans allegations that she was ordered to breastfeed her baby in the washroom remains a mystery to them. We are still surprised by the false and fabricated angle adopted in the petition presented to us on Tuesday last week by various lobby groups, reads part of the statement. The hotel added that efforts to reach Betty have not been fruitful. We have gone ahead to call for the lady known as Betty to come to us so that we can be in a position to effectively deal with this issue with complete information to no avail. The alleged incident drew public uproar, leading to a major demonstration Women of Kenya on behalf of their children on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. While apologizing for the incident, the hotel said they will provide space to cater for breastfeeding mothers to avert any such incidences in the future. The final moments of a beloved father, brother and husband whose body was found outside Grenfell Tower were played at the inquiry into the disaster as his family paid tribute. 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." 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." 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 my brother was a hero. He gave up his life for his family and for others." Saber fled the Taliban in Afghanistan to find a new home in Britain with his wife and young son, moving into Grenfell Tower in 1999. The family had lived 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". 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: "I miss him so much. It is just so sad my beloved husband will not be there with us for Farhad's wedding." A young Premier League star and his mother will be sentenced for affray following a melee which erupted with a separate group in a nightclub's VIP area. Bottles were thrown and weapons used when Newcastle United winger Rolando Aarons and members of his family and friends clashed with at least five men in the trendy Livello bar on Newcastle's Quayside. The England under-20 player, his mother Joan Jacob, 46, and four others were originally charged with violent disorder but the prosecution accepted their guilty pleas to the lesser charge of affray. At a previous hearing, Judge Edward Bindloss, sitting at Newcastle Crown Court, warned jail was a possibility and said the 90-second brawl at 2am in October 2016 was "a serious incident with personal violence being used and items being thrown". One man in the other group suffered a "nasty" head injury, Judge Bindloss said, though this was caused indirectly after door staff intervened. Aarons, who was born in Jamaica and raised in Bristol, made an immediate impact when he broke into the Newcastle United first team. But the 22-year-old suffered injury set-backs and has now been loaned out to Hellas Verona in Italy. The defendants were Aarons and his mother, both of Montagu Avenue, Gosforth, Newcastle; his cousin Garfield White, 23, a serving prisoner formerly of Wordsworth Road, Bristol, and his friends Kallum Phillips, 23, of Kensington Park, Bristol, and Jamar Collins, 22, of Walker Close, Bristol. Charges were dropped against White's sister Sabrina, 24, after it was accepted she acted as a peace-maker on the night. The judge granted all defendants bail, except for White, ahead of sentencing. The judge said: "All options remain open, including an immediate custodial sentence." A law professor with zero political experience was nominated as Italy's next prime minister yesterday as the EU warned that the country's nascent populist government was "playing with fire". After 11 weeks of political paralysis, Luigi Di Maio, head of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, and Matteo Salvini, leader of the hard-right League, presented their choice for prime minister to Sergio Mattarella, the president. Giuseppe Conte, who teaches law at universities in Rome and Florence, will likely lead the first Eurosceptic government elected by a founding member of the EU. He was chosen as a neutral, acceptable compromise candidate by the two party leaders, who both ruled themselves out of the top job. Ironically, Mr Conte appears to be just the kind of establishment, academic "technocrat" that the Five Star Movement has spent years railing against. He could have a tough challenge acting as go-between - the League and Five Star diverge on some key issues and the personalities of their leaders are very different. Mr Conte is not an MP, nor a member of either of the parties, but is said to be close to Five Star. Renowned as a sharp dresser with a penchant for waistcoats, cufflinks and pocket handkerchiefs, the 54-year-old is separated from his wife, with whom he has a 10-year-old son. Mr Mattarella has to approve the nomination before the parties can choose a cabinet. They will then have to put the whole package to a vote of confidence in parliament. Mr Di Maio is tipped to become minister for labour and welfare, while Mr Salvini could become interior minister, enabling him to put into action his plan to expel half-a-million unauthorised migrants, whom he has called "delinquents" and "layabouts". The prospect of a government that is deeply hostile to austerity policies imposed by Brussels and wants spending limits relaxed unnerved the markets. Italy's borrowing costs surged yesterday and Italian stocks fell as much as 2.1pc in early trade before rebounding a little. The EU is alarmed by the parties' promise of a giant spending spree which, it has been estimated, could cost the country 100bn a year. Italy's debt is 130pc of GDP - the highest in the eurozone after Greece - and the parties have not clearly explained how the new measures would be paid for. The parties have pledged to cut income tax rates to as low as 15pc, introduce a universal minimum income of 780 a month for the poor, and water down a 2011 pension reform. While the coalition has backed down on some of its more extreme policies, such as ditching the euro or asking for the cancellation of 250bn of Italian government debt by the ECB, "it still appears to leave Italy on a collision course with the EU," said Nicola Nobile, lead economist with Oxford Economics. If, as many observers expect, the new government fails to last for long, "the EU will be blamed and this is likely to lead to an unprecedented institutional crisis across the region," said Mr Nobile. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] SWEDEN HAS started to sent out instructions to its citizens on how to cope with an outbreak of war, as the country faces an assertive Russia across the Baltic Sea. The 20-page pamphlet titled "If Crisis or War Comes" gives advice on getting clean water, spotting propaganda and finding a bomb shelter, in the first public awareness campaign of its kind since the days of the Cold War. It also tells Swedes they have a duty to act if their country is threatened. "If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up," the booklet says. "All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false." The leaflet's publisher, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, did not spell out where an attack might come from. "Even if Sweden is safer than most countries, threats do exist," agency head Dan Eliasson told journalists. But Sweden and other countries in the region have been on high alert since Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March, 2014. They have also accused Russia of repeated violations of their airspace - assertions that Moscow has either dismissed or not responded to. The Kremlin has in the past insisted that it does not interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries and has accused Western powers of stoking "Russophobia". Stockholm has repeatedly cited Russian aggression as the reason for a series of security measures including the reintroduction of conscription this year and the stationing of troops on the Baltic island of Gotland. The Swedish government decided to start increasing military spending from 2016, reversing years of declines. The booklet on its way to Sweden's 4.8 million households warns that supplies of food, medicine and gasoline could run short during a crisis. It also lists oat milk, tins of Bolognese sauce and salmon balls as examples of food that people should store in case of an emergency along with tortillas and sardines. The publication describes what an air raid warning sounds like in the first such publication handed out since 1961. Sweden has not been at war with anyone for more than 200 years, not since its war with Norway in 1814. It was officially neutral during World War Two. A teenager has been arrested in connection with the death of a 22-month-old baby girl. The 19-year-old was arrested following the baby's death at Sheffield Children's Hospital shortly before 12.30am on Tuesday. The girl had been brought to the hospital by ambulance from her home address in Gleadless, Sheffield. In a statement, South Yorkshire Police confirmed the man, also from Gleadless, was being "questioned by detectives". The statement, released on Tuesday, said: "Reports were received yesterday (Monday) from Sheffield Children's Hospital at around 11.40am, of concerns for a 22-month-old baby girl who had been brought in by ambulance from her home address in Gleadless. "The baby had injuries that were suspected to be non-accidental. She sadly died just before 12.30am this morning (Tuesday)." Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been questioned over a corruption scandal that could lead to criminal charges against him. The new came as the countrys new anti-corruption chief said investigations into the case had been suppressed by intimidation while Mr Najib was in power. Mr Najib was summoned by Malaysias Anti-Corruption Commission nearly two weeks after the defeat of his long-ruling coalition in national elections, a loss partly blamed on public anger over alleged corruption at the 1MDB state investment fund that Mr Najib set up. US investigators say Mr Najibs associates stole and laundered 4.5 billion US dollars from the fund between 2009 and 2014, some of which landed in Mr Najibs bank account. Expand Close Malaysia Corruption / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Malaysia Corruption Mr Najib looked calm and smiled as he was escorted into the commissions offices, amid hordes of reporters. At a news conference, new commission chief Mohamad Shukri Abdull said criminal charges against Mr Najib could come very soon but that he would not be arrested on Tuesday. Mr Shukri led investigations in 2015 into suspicious money transfers into Mr Najibs bank account but flew to the US after Malaysias attorney general, who planned to press charges against Mr Najib, was sacked and Mr Shukri heard rumours that he himself would be arrested for an alleged conspiracy to topple the government. Mr Najib has denied any wrongdoing since the scandal erupted in 2015. As prime minister, he sacked critics in his government and muzzled the media to try to survive the fallout. Let the law take its course, Mr Shukri told the news conference. Expand Close Malaysia Corruption / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Malaysia Corruption He said evidence for the domestic money trail has been completed but it could take a long time to investigate the money trail abroad and talk to witnesses. The findings of Malaysia and US investigations are almost similar, he added. The former prime minister and his wife have been barred from leaving the country after the new government reopened an investigation into the scandal. Police have raided his home and other properties linked to him, seizing hundreds of expensive designer handbags and luggage stuffed with cash, jewellery and other valuables. Mr Najibs questioning at the anti-corruption agency was specifically over why 42 million ringgit (10.6 million US dollars) was transferred into his bank account from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB, using multiple intermediary companies. The money was in addition to about 700 million US dollars that US investigators said landed in Mr Najibs bank account. Expand Close Malaysia Corruption / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Malaysia Corruption A new attorney general in 2016 cleared Mr Najib of wrongdoing, saying a particular transfer of 681 million US dollars was a political donation from the Saudi royal family and that most of it was returned. Mr Shukri said following that statement, anti-corruption investigators were referred to a questionable prince from Saudi Arabia who claimed he donated the money to Mr Najib but could not produce any supporting documents. He related the pressure he faced in 2015, saying he was threatened and witnesses disappeared. He declined to say who issued the threats. Just a day before Abdul Gani Patail was sacked as attorney general by Mr Najib in July 2015, Mr Shukri said they met and Mr Gani asked him if he was ready for charges to be filed against the prime minister. In an emotional moment, he said he felt guilty for fleeing to the US as his men in the agency were removed or transferred. Expand Close Malaysia Politics / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Malaysia Politics New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said investigations showed the wrongdoing at 1MDB were more serious than expected. Mr Mahathir, who was premier for 22 years until 2003 and was spurred out of retirement by the 1MDB scandal, has vowed there will be no deal for Mr Najib and he will face the consequences if found guilty of wrongdoing. The current attorney general has been put on leave and Mr Gani was appointed as a member of a new taskforce investigating the state fund. The US Justice Department said in a statement that it looks forward to working with Malaysian law enforcement in investigating the 1MDB case. The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that the United States and its financial system are not threatened by corrupt individuals and kleptocrats who seek to hide their ill-gotten wealth, it said. Whenever possible, recovered assets will be used to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office. Protesters gather outside a McDonalds restaurant in Minneapolis during a 2016 demonstration for higher wages (David Joles/AP) Sexual harassment complaints are being lodged against McDonalds on behalf of 10 women who have worked at the fast food restaurant in nine US cities. Two national campaign groups are teaming up for the legal move, which was energised by the #MeToo movement. The workers one of them a 15-year-old from St Louis alleged groping, propositions for sex, indecent exposure and lewd comments by supervisors. According to their complaints, when the women reported the harassment, they were ignored or mocked, and in some cases suffered retaliation. The legal effort was organised by Fight for 15 (dollars, 11.15) , which campaigns to raise pay for low-wage workers. The legal costs are being covered by the TIMES UP Legal Defence Fund, which was launched in January by the National Womens Law Centre to provide lawyers for women who cannot afford to bring cases on their own. The complaints, filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, are being announced on Tuesday, two days before the companys annual shareholder meeting. Responding to the claims, McDonalds spokeswoman Terri Hickey said there is no place for harassment and discrimination of any kind in the workplace. She said: McDonalds Corporation takes allegations of sexual harassment very seriously and are confident our independent franchisees who own and operate approximately 90% of our 14,000 US restaurants will do the same. Expand Close A rally outside a McDonalds in Chicago in 2015 by the group helping women to file sexual harassment complaints ( M Spencer Green/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A rally outside a McDonalds in Chicago in 2015 by the group helping women to file sexual harassment complaints ( M Spencer Green/AP) Fight for 15 said the restaurants named in the complaints are run by franchisees, not directly by McDonalds. But the complaints name both McDonalds and the franchisee part the groups effort to hold the company responsible for wage and employment issues at franchised locations. The company claims its franchisees are independent business owners, and that stance has complicated efforts to unionise workers across the entire McDonalds chain. When similar sexual harassment charges were lodged by Fight for 15 workers two years ago, McDonalds promised a review of those allegations. However, Ms Hickey has declined to say whether that review led to any changes of policies and practices aimed at curtailing such harassment. Among the new complainants is Tanya Harrell, 22, of New Orleans, who alleges her two managers teased her, but otherwise took no action after she told them of sustained verbal and physical harassment by a co-worker. Ms Harrell, who makes 8.15 dollars (6.06) an hour, says going public with her complaint may be emotionally taxing, but she is proud of her decision. I feel like I have a voice now. It gives me a bit of motivation and a bit of courage. In addition to New Orleans and St Louis, charges were filed by workers in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami; Orlando, Florida; Durham, North Carolina, and Kansas City, Missouri. The #MeToo movement that exploded last October has emboldened more women to speak out, said National Womens Law Centre chief executive Fatima Goss Graves. She said: Most companies have a policy saying no sexual harassment, but how do you make that work? Right now, because of the huge power disparities, its easy to just wait out the complaints and nothing really changes. Activists say sexual harassment is pervasive in the fast food industry. They cite a 2016 survey by Hart Research Associates conducted for three advocacy groups which calculated that 40% of female fast food workers experience unwanted sexual behaviour. In this undated file handout photo released by the Iraqi Judiciary in Baghdad on January 23, 2018, Islamic State (IS) group member Tarik Jadaoun -- known by his nom de guerre Abu Hamza al-Beljiki -- sits inside a room at an unknown location. An Iraqi court on May 22, 2018, sentenced a Jadaoun, who threatened Europe in propaganda videos, to death by hanging for membership of the Islamic State group, an AFP journalist reported. / AFP PHOTO / Iraqi Judiciary Iraq's Central Criminal Court sentenced a Belgian on Tuesday to death by hanging as a senior foreign fighter for Islamic State, a rare case in which Baghdad has publicly revealed details of the fate of one of the hundreds of foreigners it has captured. Tarek Jadaoun, 30, also known as Abu Hamza al-Beljiki, joined Islamic State in 2014 and was arrested in Mosul, Islamic State's erstwhile Iraqi capital, last summer. He has featured prominently in the group's propaganda videos, which threatened attacks on European soil. "Al-Beljiki, who is of Moroccan origin, is one of the most wanted foreign fighters who fought on behalf of the terrorist organisation in Syria and Iraq," Judge Abdul-Sattar al-Birqdar, the spokesman for the Supreme Judicial Council, said in a statement. Islamic State captured a third of Iraq in 2014 but was largely defeated both there and in neighbouring Syria last year. Iraq's government declared victory over the group in December. Iraq is conducting the trials of hundreds of suspected members of Islamic State, many of whom were arrested as the group's strongholds crumbled throughout Iraq. This includes hundreds of foreigners. Few details so far have been made public about the trials of Islamic State fighters, including the foreigners, whose native countries have shown little interest in taking them back. Separately, the Iraqi government has given accounts of the trials of some foreign women who travelled to join Islamic State, hundreds of whom have also been detained, often with children. Around 20 foreign women, including nationals of Turkey, Germany and Azerbaijan, have been sentenced to death. Human rights groups have accused Iraqi and other regional forces of inconsistencies in the judicial process and flawed trials leading to unfair convictions. New York-based Human Rights Watch released an 80-page report in December accusing the Iraqi federal and Kurdish regional judiciaries of violating the rights of Islamic State suspects with flawed trials, arbitrary detentions under harsh conditions and broad prosecutions. Iraq says the suspects are receiving fair trials. A Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion during the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (Rob Griffith/AP) The man who led the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has disagreed with a new books conclusion that the pilot probably deliberately ditched it in the Indian Ocean. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau believes the airliner mostly likely ran out of fuel and crashed after flying far off course en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8 2014. It believes all 239 passengers and crew on board were likely long dead inside a depressurised cabin and cockpit. Peter Foley, who co-ordinated the search on Malaysias behalf, was quizzed by a Senate committee on theories in Canadian air crash investigator Larry Vances new book MH370: Mystery Solved. The book argues that two wing flaps found on islands off Africa in 2015 and 2016 point to pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah performing a controlled ditching outside the 46,000 square miles which were scoured by sonar in a 110 million search that ended in January last year. Expand Close Survey ship HMS Echo, as a Lockheed P-3 Orion flies overhead, during the search for MH370 (Ministry of Defence/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Survey ship HMS Echo, as a Lockheed P-3 Orion flies overhead, during the search for MH370 (Ministry of Defence/PA) It says Capt Zaharies aim was to keep the plane largely intact so it would disappear as completely as possible in the remote southern ocean. Mr Foley, who said he has read the book, pointed to evidence that the plane was not under anyones control when it hit the water. He said analysis of the satellite transmissions of the flights final moments showed the jet was in a fast and accelerating descent at the end. Debris from within the planes interior found washed up on the west coast of the Indian Ocean suggested significant energy on impact, Mr Foley said. If it was being controlled at the end, it wasnt very successfully being controlled. The flaps werent deployed, he said. The book argues that the two recovered flaps show evidence they had been deployed as the pilot slowed the plane for a gentle landing on water. Mr Foley said an analysis at the bureaus headquarters in Canberra of the second flap found on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, in June 2016 determined it was probably not deployed. But French authorities prevented an Australian analyst from doing anything meaningful in terms of analysis of the first flap found. That flap, known as a flaperon, was found on the French island of Reunion in July 2015. French authorities are holding the flaperon as evidence for a potential criminal prosecution. Mr Foley said his bureau could not conclude that the flaperon had lost its trailing edge because it was deployed when the plane hit the water. While the bureau has not said who had initially flown the plane off course, Mr Foley said its absolutely evident that someone had, ruling out some mechanical or electrical malfunction. Texas-based technology company Ocean Infinity renewed the search this year on the basis that Malaysia would pay it up 52 million if it could find the wreckage or the planes black boxes. Operational search key developments weekly updates #16 for MH370 have been published. View full report here https://t.co/AYDE9zYM6F pic.twitter.com/EDVGH73W10 Ocean Infinity (@Ocean__Infinity) May 16, 2018 Mr Foley said he still hopes the search will succeed within weeks. If theyre not, of course, that would be a great sadness for all of us, he said. The United States has warned its European allies they will have to take part in the "strongest sanctions in history" against Iran or face the consequences, as it took a tough line on the regime. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, gave a sweeping list of 12 demands that Iran would have to accept as the basis for any new accord after Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal earlier this month. Mr Pompeo, in his first major foreign policy address since becoming the top US diplomat, vowed to "crush" Iran's proxies and operatives around the world. The new deal he proposed included demands to curb Tehran's ballistic missile programme and its expansionist moves in the Middle East. Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, immediately rejected it, saying: "The world today does not accept America to decide for the world." Mr Pompeo's plan would start with "unprecedented financial pressure" aimed at getting Iran back to the negotiating table, and Mr Pompeo said specialists would be sent to allied countries to explain the US approach. Companies in the European Union have taken much more advantage of the 2015 waiving of sanctions on Iran than those in the United States. In response to the US withdrawal from the deal, the EU has moved to impose a "blocking statute" that would protect European businesses. Mr Pompeo called the 2015 deal a "loser" and a "bad bet for the US, Europe and the world," saying it had allowed Iran to increase its malign influence across the Middle East on the back of funding from renewed trade with the West. A former Nairobi county official has been found guilty by an anti-corruption court for soliciting and receiving a bribe. Robert Kiriago, the former head of environmental operations at city hall, was arrested while receiving a Sh90,000 bribe. This was part of a Sh140,000 bribe he had solicited to facilitate the withdrawal of a case which was pending before the Nairobi city court. The bribe was to be an inducement to allow the complainant to continue with excavation work at Karen without an approval letter, reports the Star. In a statement on Monday, EACC said, He was found guilty of two counts of corruption namely soliciting and receiving of a benefit. On the first count of soliciting for Sh140,000, he was fined Sh100,000 and in default, to serve one year imprisonment. On count two of receiving of a benefit of Sh90,000, Kiriago was fined Sh250,000 and in default, to serve one year in prison. He was slapped with a further mandatory fine of Sh180,000, being double the Sh90,000 he received corruptly. This brings the total amount to Sh530,000. The case facing the official stated that on October 10, 2016, after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission received a complaint about the solicited bribe. EACC detectives arrested the suspect at City Hall Annex. US President Donald Trump has suggested that a planned historic meeting with North Koreas Kim Jong Un could be delayed. Theres a very substantial chance that it wont work out for June 12, he said. Mr Trump raised the possibility that the meeting could be pushed back during a White House meeting with South Korea President Moon Jae-in, trying to co-ordinate strategy as concerns mounted over ensuring a successful outcome for the North Korea summit. Expand Close Donald Trump with South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the Oval Office (Evan Vucci/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Donald Trump with South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the Oval Office (Evan Vucci/AP) He told reporters: If it doesnt happen, maybe it happens later, reflecting recent setbacks in efforts to bring about reconciliation between the two Koreas. The North pulled out of planned peace talks with the South last week, objecting to long-scheduled joint military exercises between US and Republic of Korea forces. And the North threatened to abandon the planned Trump-Kim meeting over US insistence on denuclearising the peninsula. There are certain conditions that we wantDonald Trump There are certain conditions that we want, Mr Trump said on Tuesday. He added that if they were not met, we wont have the meeting. He declined to elaborate on those conditions. Mr Trump said theres a very substantial chance that the meeting will not take place on June 12. That doesnt mean it wont work out over a period of time, he said. But it may not work out for June 12. But there is a good chance that well have the meeting. Mr Moon said in the Oval Office that the fate and the future of the Korean Peninsula hinged on the talks, telling the US president that they were one step closer to the dream of a denuclearised Korean Peninsula. Mr Trump said he had noticed a little change in Kim Jong Uns attitude after Kim took a second trip to China this month in the run-up to the summit. I dont like that, Mr Trump said. Mr Trump said he hoped that Chinese President Xi Jinping was committed to the goal of denuclearising the Korean peninsula, calling him a world-class poker player. But he said he was displeased by Chinas softening of border enforcement measures against North Korea. Mr Trump encouraged Mr Kim to seize the opportunity for the meeting and to make a deal to abandon his nuclear programme, pledging not only to guarantee Mr Kims personal security, but also predicting an economic revitalisation for the North. I will guarantee his safety, yes, Mr Trump said, if Mr Kim agreed to complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation. He said if an agreement was reached, China, Japan and South Korea would invest large sums to make North Korea great. The International Criminal Court has been asked to open an immediate investigation into alleged Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. Palestinian foreign minister Riad Malki said he submitted the referral to the court during a meeting with the ICCs chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, in The Hague on Tuesday. Mr Malki said the complaint seeks an investigation into Israeli policies in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem since the state of Palestine joined the ICC in June 2014. He said this includes Israeli settlement policies as well as the recent violence in Gaza, where Israeli fire killed over 100 Gazans during protests along the Israeli border. Mr Malki said: There is a culture of impunity in Israel for crimes against Palestinians. This referral is Palestines test to the international mechanism of accountability and respect for international law. The ICC has been conducting a preliminary probe since 2015 into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories. It includes Israels settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the 2014 Gaza conflict. The new request comes with Israeli-Palestinian relations at their lowest point in years in the aftermath of the US embassy move to Jerusalem and the recent bloodshed on the Gaza border. Israel has said it was defending its border and accused Gazas ruling Hamas militant group using the unrest to carry out attempted attacks and of using civilians as human shields. Expand Close A Palestinian protester near the Gaza Strips border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan (Adel Hana/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Palestinian protester near the Gaza Strips border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan (Adel Hana/AP) In response to Tuesdays move at the ICC, Israel said it took a severe view of the Palestinian request, calling it a cynical and absurd step. It accused the Palestinians of violent incitement against Israel and exploiting women and children as human shields. Israel also said the ICC had no jurisdiction in the case because Israel is not a member of the court. Israel expects the ICC and its prosecutor not to yield to Palestinian pressure, and stand firm against continued Palestinian efforts to politicise the court and to derail it from its mandate, it said. Israel is not a member of the ICC, but its citizens can be charged by the court if they are suspected of committing crimes on the territory or against a national of a country that is a member. The ICC has recognised Palestine as a member state. While the ICC can indict suspects, it has no police force and has to rely on co-operation from member states to enforce arrest warrants. Police officers guard the buns for sale on the outlying Cheung Chau island in Hong Kong (Kin Cheung/AP) Residents and tourists have flocked to an outlying Hong Kong island to celebrate a local bun festival despite recording-breaking heat. The festival features a parade with children dressed as deities floated on poles. Expand Close Villagers perform a lion dance during a parade in front of the bun towers on the outlying Cheung Chau island in Hong Kong (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Villagers perform a lion dance during a parade in front of the bun towers on the outlying Cheung Chau island in Hong Kong (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Later on Tuesday, contestants were to take part in a bun-scrambling competition. They will race up a 46-ft bamboo tower to snatch as many plastic buns as possible. Buns that are higher up are worth more points. It is one of the oldest and most colourful festivals in Hong Kong and started about 100 years ago after a deadly plague devastated the island. Expand Close A child dressed in a traditional Chinese costume floats in the air at the Bun Festival (Kin Cheung/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A child dressed in a traditional Chinese costume floats in the air at the Bun Festival (Kin Cheung/AP) Villagers built an altar in front of the Pak Tai temple imploring the deities for help and used white steamed buns as offerings to drive away the evil spirits, according to local tradition. The bun-snatching contest on the island of Cheung Chau was cancelled after a bun tower collapsed in 1978, injuring 100 people. Officials revived the tradition in 2005, part of an annual bun festival, this year with improved safety measures. Workers built a sturdier tower and bun snatchers received mountaineering training. New York, May 22 (IBNS): Everyone, everywhere must have equal access to quality health care, said top United Nations officials on Monday, urging greater focus on comprehensive health and well-being. In a video message to the opening of the seventy-first session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental human right. The World Health Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization, WHO. It determines the agencys polices, supervises financial policies, and reviews and approves the proposed programme budget. We need strong resilient systems that place people at the centre, said Guterres. Universal health coverage provides the foundation to help us overcome the inequities that continue to leave so many behind. Ensuring that everyone, everywhere has access to quality health care and services, is also vital for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stressed the UN chief. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHOs Director-General, also addressed the Assembly, emphasizing the importance of universal health coverage, as illustrated by the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).In particular, Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3), which has specific targets to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being at all stages in life. In addition, health improvements feature prominently in many of the other ambitious Goals. The WHO chief outlined a number of initiatives at the UN health agency to advance universal coverage and urged greater political commitment: Its clear that the twin messages of health security and universal health coverage resonate loudly with world leaders, he said. Tedros also highlighted critical upcoming events focussed on global health, including two high-level meetings; on non-communicable diseases and on tuberculosis at the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly which begins in September. The people who suffer from these diseases all over the world are relying on us: the people who cannot get the care they need; the people who cannot afford the care they need; the people who arent even aware they are infected with a potentially deadly pathogen, he said. We owe it to them to ensure that we do not waste the opportunities. Separately on Monday, WHO announced that the vaccination of health workers in areas of the DRC effected by the Ebola virus, has begun. Together with the Government and partner organizations, WHO is also preparing to start a so-called ring vaccination programme, whereby the contacts of confirmed cases and the contacts of those contacts will be offered immunization, using the experimental drug. We need to act fast to stop the spread of Ebola by protecting people at risk of being infected with the Ebola virus, identifying and ending all transmission chains and ensuring that all patients have rapid access to safe, high-quality care, said Peter Salama, the WHO Deputy Director-General for Emergency Preparedness and Response. While the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine is yet to be licensed, it was highly protective against Ebola in a major trial in 2015 in Guinea, said WHO. Earlier results have been promising with the agency reporting that among the 5,837 people who received the vaccine, no positive cases were recorded nine days or more after vaccination. UNICEF/Ayberk Yurtsever Kolkata, May 22 (IBNS): Kolkata-based Starmark, in association with Bee Books, hosted the launch of corporate public relations expert Rita Bhimani's latest book - PR 2020: The Trending Practice of Public Relations - recently at their South City Mall outlet. Dubbed a "handy" book dealing with various aspects of public relations, it is aimed at at those who need to know the art, science and artifice of corporate communication in a new light. According to former career diplomat and now Lok Sabha MP, Shashi Tharoor, "This is a well-rounded tome on PR, written with Rita's trademark fluency of expression... an essential volume for all those concerned with the management of image and reputation for corporates, for political personages - and for individuals, too." Dolly Basu, eminent TV and theatre personality and founder of the theatre group Choopkatha, Dr. Mousumi Ghosh, Founder Team FutureEducation and Healthcare, and eminent danseuse and social reformer Alokananda Roy discussed about the various aspects of public relations work and why it is so important. The session was moderated by Kishore Bhimani and anchored by Dhruv Mookerji. Sochi, May 22 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has bid adieu to Russian President Vladimir Putin after participating in an informal summit, which was held in Sochi on Monday. Modi has left Sochi to return to India. Putin personally bid farewell to Modi at the airport on Monday. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, "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." The Summit provided an occasion for both the 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. 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 multi-polar 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 the 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 the 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 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. New Delhi, May 22 (IBNS): Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chariperson Sonia Gandhi will be present at the swearing-in of Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Chief Minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The Congress and the JD(S) made a post-poll alliance to form the new government in the southern state. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday flew down to New Delhi to hold meetings with Rahul Gandhi and her mother Sonia to discuss the Karnataka government formation. After the meeting, Rahul had tweeted : "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." 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 Several opposition leaders, including Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtriya Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao have been invited by Kumaraswamy to the swearing-in ceremony. The Congress reportedly proposed to have two Deputy Chief Ministers, an idea which has not been accepted by the JD(S) yet. The Congress and the JD(S) will form the government after a week-long political drama. As the people gave a fractured mandate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which emerged as a single largest party with 104 seats, was invited to form 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. Imphal (Manipur), May 22 : The Assam Rifles recovered a huge quantity of drugs, said to be worth of Rs 1.70 crore, in Manipur on Monday, officials said on Tuesday. According to reports, the troops of 12 Assam Rifles of 26 Sector Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (South) had launched an operation based on intelligence input regarding the smuggling of contraband items in the Khudengthabi area near Moreh town along the Indo-Myanmar border. A Silver colour Maruti Eeco Van travelling from Moreh to Imphal was stopped for checking at Khudengthabi. While frisking and carrying out thorough check of the vehicle and driver, a total of 230 grams of Heroin and 11000 numbers of WIY tablets worth Rs 1.70 crores were found hidden inside the tool kit bag of the driver of the Van, an Assam Rifles official said. Security personnel apprehended one drug smuggler. During interrogation, the driver, a resident of Tengnoupal district, revealed that he was carrying the contraband items to Churachandpur and he was promised a sum of Rs 15,000 on delivery at Churachandpur. The apprehended person along with the recovered items was handed over to Moreh Police station for further investigation. Since January this year, Assam Rifles has seized contraband drugs worth Rs 43 crore along National Highway 102. (Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath) The Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance celebrated the launch of the third destroyer Sydney at the Techport Australia facility in Osborne, South Australia. Sydney has now joined the second Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD), Brisbane, alongside the wharf at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia. The Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance celebrated the launch of the third destroyer Sydney at the Techport Australia facility in Osborne, South Australia. Sydney has now joined the second Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD), Brisbane, alongside the wharf at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia. The Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance launched the third destroyer 'Sydney' at the Techport Australia facility in Osborne, South Australia. AWD Program Manager Commodore (CDRE) Craig Bourke congratulated the workforce on achieving this significant milestone. Over the past ten years, we have seen more than 5,000 people and 1,500 suppliers contribute millions of hours of effort to the AWD program the most complex defence project ever undertaken in Australia. The complexity of this project is reflected in the sophistication of the AWDs these warships will provide a true step-change in capability for the Australian Defence Force. As the most potent warships Australia has ever possessed, all three destroyers feature an advanced anti-submarine warfare capability, state-of-the-art radar technology and an air defence system capable of engaging enemy aircraft and missiles at an extended range, said CDRE Bourke. AWD Alliance General Manager Paul Evans also acknowledged the complexity of the AWD program and emphasised the cooperative role required between industry and Defence to deliver this capability. The AWD program is a further demonstration of the important role that industry plays as a fundamental input into capability for Defence. This sovereign shipbuilding and combat systems integration industry that has been built through the AWD program has helped us exceed our Australian Industry Capability targets by almost 20 per cent, said Mr Evans. Together, the AWD Alliance has worked to transform a brownfield site into a functioning shipyard that has continued to improve processes, skills and efficiency. This is a credit to the 1,600 highly skilled people still actively working on the AWD program today from pipefitters and welders to program managers, systems integrators, procurement officers and administrators. Raytheon Australia Managing Director Michael Ward welcomed the launch of Sydney and commented on the sovereign combat systems integration capability that the company has built over the past decade through the AWD program. As Australias largest and most capable combat systems integrator, Raytheon Australia has a highly skilled South Australian workforce, which includes more than 350 combat system integrators, engineers and program managers working as part of the AWD Alliance team currently delivering Australias most lethal and sophisticated warships. Raytheon Australia has worked closely with the Commonwealth to architect, design, test and integrate Australias most advanced and complex combat system on time and on budget. The AWD combat system integration activities represent some of the most advanced and complex engineering and project management skills in this country. Todays milestone is a credit to the AWD workforce and is a reflection of our long-term investment to build a local combat system integration capability. The success of the combat system integration activity is a source of tremendous pride for Raytheon Australia. Not only have we performed admirably on this project but we have built for Australia a national asset in combat system integration, said Mr Ward. ASC Shipbuilding Acting CEO Jim Cuthill said the launch of Sydney represents the capability of Australias shipbuilding industry in building highly capable and complex warships for the Royal Australian Navy. The launch of the third destroyer Sydney marks a decade of hard work, commitment and collaboration by ASC Shipbuilding and its AWD Alliance partners, said Mr Cuthill. With the building of each ship, the ASC Shipbuilding workforce has demonstrated continuous improvement and innovation I congratulate the workforce on building this impressive warship, and the two that came before it, he said. Navantia Australias Chairman Warren King said Sydney and her sister ships represent the capability of the Australian defence industry. Navantia Australia is very proud of our role as ship designer of these state-of-the-art warships and as shipbuilding management services provider for the AWD Alliance, said Mr King. The launch of Sydney, the third of her class today, is a significant milestone for us as the AWD program signalled the beginning of Navantias relationship with the Royal Australian Navy and Australian industry. Since entering service in late 2017, HMAS Hobart has continually established herself as the Royal Australian Navys most capable and advanced warship. The Hobart class destroyers not only deliver revolutionary air defence capabilities against advanced aircraft and cruise missile threats, but these formidable warships are also providing the Navy with unsurpassed anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Sydney, together with her sister ships, HMAS Hobart and Brisbane, are true examples of Australian defence industry capability designed for Australia and built by Australians, said Mr King. New Delhi, May 22 (IBNS): Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that Southern parts of the country are prone to multiple disaster challenges - hence require the NIDM Centre to help these states build infrastructure to tackle disasters. He was addressing a gathering after laying foundation stone for National Institute of Disaster Management, in Kondapavuluru, Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, the Minister for Law & Justice, Andhra Pradesh, Kollu Ravindra and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. The Vice President said that India needs a disaster resilient infrastructure and provide life-line services to the most vulnerable communities. He further said that events of natural disasters are on the rise, and India is the most affected region. "We have witnessed wide spread natural calamities in the past ranging from floods to earthquakes, landslides and cyclones like super cyclone of 1999, Gujarat earth quake 2001, South Indian Tsunami in 2004, Mumbai Flood 2005, Kashmir earthquake of 2005, Kosi flood in 2008, Sikkim earthquake of 2011, Phailin and Hud Hud in 2013 and 2014," he added. The Vice President said that nearly 59% of Indias land area is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity. "Over 40 million hectares (12% of land), is prone to floods, about 5700 kms coast line is cyclone prone and exposed to tsunamis and storm surges, 2% of land is landslide prone, and 68% of Indias arable land is affected by droughts," he noted. The Vice President said that flooding in the cities and the towns is a recent phenomenon caused by indiscriminate encroachment of water ways, inadequate drainage system and lack of maintenance of the drainage infrastructure. He further said that these disasters do not only disrupt peoples lives and directly affect the disaster-hit areas, but they also jeopardize the entire society and economy of the country. "In fact, one single disaster can overwhelm the GNP of the country," he added. The Vice President said that since 90 percent of the disaster-affected populations are in Asia, it is indeed important for the population to be informed of potential disaster threats. Naidu said that they should also be equipped with sufficient knowledge and skills to protect their lives and properties. "Though we have been actively pursuing a paradigm shift in disaster management from a relief centric approach in the past to a holistic one, that encompasses preparedness, prevention, mitigation and risk reduction much needs to be done in the context of resilient infrastructure and life-line services to the most vulnerable communities," the minister said. The Vice President said that as Disaster Management approach is a multi-disciplinary process, the Ministry of Home Affairs has been mandated to play role of coordination as the Administrative Ministry. He further said that the success of early warning and preparedness was demonstrated during the recent cyclones Phailin Hudhud in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh respectively. "Warning messages, including coordinates of the impending cyclones location and intensity, were communicated prior to the landfall," said Naidu. The Vice President said that India is a party to the Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-30), which has now provided us a more practical and useful document with people-centered preventive approach to disaster risk. "This would contribute to the reduction of disaster risks and strengthen resilience of the poor and the most vulnerable," said he. Chennai, May 22 (IBNS): At least nine people died as protests against Sterlite's industrial copper plant turned violent in Tamil Nadu's port city of Tuticorin on Monday, media reports. Police said section 144 of CrPc has been clamped in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security to it as per the orders of the Madras High Court. According to reports, the trouble broke out as local residents were demanding the closure of the plant, citing pollution and health issues and clashed with police, pelting stones after they were prevented from marching towards the plant. The also set fire to two police jeeps and damaged more than ten police vehicles. The angry protestors also set set fire to Collector office premises and the quarters of Sterlite employees, reports said. As the mob refused to disperse the cops used tear gas to disperse the protestors near Sterlite employees residential quarters. The protest intensified after the company announced the expansion of its unit in the city. A heavy reinforcement of police force has been rushed to the area. Police said the situation has been brought under control. Sterlite Copper, which currently operates a 400,000-tonne per annum unit in the city, maintains that it has received necessary permits and has not violated any norms. New York, May 22 (IBNS): The welfare and prosperity of people now and in the future, depends on a rich variety of life on earth said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his message for the International Day for Biological Diversity, marked on Tuesday. Since December 1993, when the Convention on Biological Diversity entered into force, its parties have acted to conserve the earths flora and fauna, in a sustainable and fair way, said the UN chief. Achieving these objectives is integral to meet our goals for sustainable development, Guterres stressed, underscoring the importance of protecting, restoring and ensuring access to ecosystems to eradicating extreme poverty and hunger: Goals 1 and 2 of what are known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To mitigate climate change, he notes that deforestation and land degradation must be reduced while at the same time, enhancing carbon stocks in forests, drylands, rangelands and croplands. He said it was also critical to protect the biodiversity of forests and watersheds to support clean and plentiful water supplies. Yet, despite these and other benefits, biodiversity continues to decline globally. The answer is to intensify efforts and build on successes, stated Mr. Gutteres. He explained that in 2018, Parties to the Convention will begin work on a new action plan to ensure that, by 2050, biodiversity is preserved to the best of our abilities. The entire world needs to join this effort, he emphasized: I urge governments, businesses and people everywhere to act to protect the nature that sustains us. Our collective future depends on it, concluded the Secretary-General. In her message, Cristiana PaAYca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), noted that biodiversity is at the heart of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Its decline compounds other challenges, including climate change, water and food security, and public health, which can potentially lead to catastrophic outcomes for human existence on this planet, she warned. It is therefore, imperative to do everything in our power to halt the destruction of nature, she emphasized. We have two more years to go to redouble our efforts, [] to design a new deal for nature that will take us from 2020 to the middle of this century, she said, adding: We dont have much time. But we have a lot of power if we work together, in a collaborative manner to change the way we use nature and biodiversity. Martha Rojas-Urrego, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, drew attention to wetlands as being among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth from which almost all freshwater supplies are drawn. Given the increasing human population and its dependence on water and wetlands, we must work together in a collective, concerted and sustained effort to conserve wetlands for the planets biodiversity and human wellbeing, she said. For his part, David Morgan, from the UN-administered Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), reiterated that biodiversity loss has an enormous impact on our planet, for both the natural environment and human beings. Safeguarding biodiversity is among the key elements of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he said. While we are still facing tremendous challenges, with the political will of the worlds governments, we can protect the worlds biological diversity, he asserted, affirming CITES continued collaboration with CBD to save our common heritage for this and future generations. Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR/UNEP Kabul, May 22 (IBNS): At least two people have been killed and 25 others sustained injuries in the explosion which rocked Afghanistan's Kandahar on Tuesday afternoon, local Khaama Press reported quoting a security source. It took place in Kandahar City's PD4 area. However, according to some reports, as many as nine bodies have been recovered while 30 people have been injured. The incident took place after an explosive filled vehicle was detonated. No group has so far claimed the attack. Image: Youtube grab/screenshot Toronto, May 22 (IBNS): Sixteen horses were killed in a fire which broke out in Sunnybrook stables in Toronto at an early morning on Monday. The firefighters had arrived at the spot at 3 am on Monday. Fifty firefighters who tried to extinguish the fire could not save the barn or 16 horses inside. However, the firefighters could manage to save 13 horses and battled to prevent the fire from spreading to a nearby building. Investigators are yet to find the cause of the fire. Sunnybrook stables provide private and group-rising lessons, report said. Toronto Fire Chief Metthew Pegg told CTV News that it is a tragic and sad day. Pegg has been quoted by CTV News, "This has been a landmark in this area for a long time. Regular rider Richard Sutton, 14, told the media that he was very upset and has been crying a lot. Thanking the Toronto Police for their effort, Mayor John Tory tweeted, "Thank you to @Toronto_Fire & @TorontoPolice for working to save as many horses as possible from the early morning fire at Sunnybrook Stables. If you have any information about the cause of this fire, please call police or @1800222TIPS." (Reporting by Suman Das) Ottawa, May 22 (IBNS): Changes to Canada's family justice system are being proposed by the Liberal government to prioritize children's best interests, media reports said. As the first major overhaul in more than 20 years, Bill C-78, which was tabled on Tuesday in the House of Commons, would reportedly address family violence and child poverty. Other proposed changes are adoption of more neutral terminology, dropping current terms like "custody" and "access" in favour of "parenting orders" and "parenting time." The proposed changes would reportedly ensure a court's consideration of the best interests of the child's physical, emotional and psychological safety and well being. The child's relationship to parents, grandparents and other members in their life, the child's linguistic, cultural and spiritual heritage including Indigenous heritage, as well as the child's own views and preferences would also be given a priority. Other proposed amendments include proper notification of relocation by a parent, taking into account by court family violence and its impact on future parenting arrangements, more tools to establish and enforce child support, making the family justice system more accessible and efficient to prevent time consuming and expensive visits to the court. (Reporting by Asha Bajaj) #NativeVote18: Deb Haaland in a tight three-way race; Gavin Clarkson draws controversy with Team Trump flag As voters head to the polls in New Mexico for Haaland; Clarkson says that as a conservative hes branded as a Clarence TomahawkBy Mark TrahantIndian Country Today A new poll shows Deb Haaland trailing two of her primary opponents by a slim margin. The New Mexico primary is June 5 and early voting started Saturday. Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Albuquerque. The crowded primary has become a three-way race between Haaland, former U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez, and retired University of New Mexico law school professor Antoinette Sedillo Lopez. A poll by Lake Research shows Lopez at 25 percent; Martinez at 23 percent and Haaland at 20 percent. More than a quarter of the voters surveyed 27 percent remain undecided. Take the poll with a grain of salt. It was conducted the weekend of May 13 and the margin of error is 5 percent. That puts the contest at a virtual tie. On Twitter Haaland wrote : Lets be honest, there is a reason there has never been a Native American woman elected to Congress or to a Governorship in over 240 years. Our electoral system was not designed to elect women like me. I have some good news, and some bad news. The good news is that we are within the margin of error, and still within easy striking distance. They are drowning our race in money, but our enthusiasm and grassroots support can still win this YOU can make the difference. And she wrote. This race will be won or lost by just a few votes, we have no doubt. That means that we need YOU, more than ever. If youve been thinking about getting involved by volunteering, donating a few dollars, or telling your friends now is the time! Deb Haaland for Congress: Ready Haalands latest TV ad is called Ready. The ad says Congress has never heard a voice like Debs because there has never been a Native American woman elected to Congress. American Indians are a small slice of the electorate in Albuquerque. So the challenge is getting voters to see Haalands election as a history that they can shape by electing the first Native woman ever. Further south, Gavin Clarkson , Choctaw, seems to attract as much controversy as Donald Trump. Clarkson is running as a supporter of the presidents agenda. He worked at the Interior Department and says he returned to New Mexico to win office and drain the swamp. On Friday Clarkson posted on Facebook support for defunding Planned Parenthood . Our President is keeping another promise! He wrote. He supports Trumps border wall. Clarkson also supports more energy development. He recently said, and tweeted, that New Mexico will be better off if the tribal communities are mountains of prosperity rather than cesspools of poverty. But controversy follows the candidate. There was what he calls a faulty Inspector General report issued about a loan program he was involved with at the Interior Department. Then New Mexico State University ordered Clarkson to return to the classroom saying he was on leave to work for the Trump administration. However Clarkson said a university hearing included all of the expected horrors of a fundamentally flawed process tainted by transparently partisan and political considerations. He said continue his appeals through the university and if necessary take the issue to court. Roger Stones conservative, Trump-aligned website, Stone Cold Truth , champions Clarksons case. In a story that headlined: EXCLUSIVE: Pro-Trump Professor Fired From University Gavin Clarkson Victim Of Political Hit Job. And Stone appeared with Clarkson on the War Room , a program in Alex Jones InfoWars network. Clarksons segment begins at 22:40. Clarkson said on the show: I am an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. And they (NMSU officials) assume that every member of an Indian tribe is a leftist Democrat. So if you are not, of course, you are a traitor to your people. There is zero tolerance. They talk about diversity, they talk about tolerance. But thats never afforded to conservative academics. Basically, if you are black and conservative, theyll call you an Uncle Tom. If you are a American Indian and conservative, theyll call you a Clarence Tomahawk. Its very clear there is an assault on freedom of thought from any conservative. We are unwelcome on campus and they want to get rid of us as quickly as they can. Earlier this month a columnist at The Santa Fe New Mexican raised issues about a Clarkson bankruptcy, including personal debt. However Clarkson responded that the financial issues stemmed from real estate guarantees and the slow pace of the Obama non-recovery. The Albuquerque Journal says there is a lot of excitement in this Southern New Mexico race. There are four Republicans running in the primary and 2 Democrats. The seat has been held by a Republican, Rep. Steve Pearce, who decided to run for governor rather than seek re-election. Its the largest district in the country thats not a single state (fifth largest overall). And Native American voters make up about 5.5 percent of the district. Note: The National Congress of American Indians is the owner of Indian Country Today and manages its business operations. The Indian Country Today editorial team operates independently as a digital journalism enterprise. Join the Conversation #NativeVote18 Shes cool. And its why Paulette Jordan could be Idahos next governor Conventional wisdom says Paulette Jordan has no chance, but Idaho is changing fast.By Mark TrahantIndian Country Today Can Paulette Jordan win the governors race in Idaho? The New York Times (and so many others) have already answered that question with an almost certain, nope. In a state that Donald J. Trump won by more than 30 percentage points and has not elected a Democratic governor since 1990, the Republican primary is almost certainly where Mr. Otters successor will be chosen, The Times said. The Times is not alone. Thats the conventional wisdom. Idaho is, after all, one of the most Republican states in the country. There is not a single Democrat who has been elected to any statewide office in the past couple of decades. And a Native woman, a young woman at that? Nah. Case closed. But Jordan is not a conventional candidate. And this is not a routine election year. And Idaho has a history of sharply reversing course (ok you have to go back a century for that one). Lets look at the numbers. Nearly 195,000 voters picked a Republican in the primary election and only some 66,000 voted for any Democrat. That seems daunting at roughly 3 to 1. But it will be closer than that in the general election. A lot closer. Four years ago the margin was 15 percentage points, 54 percent for the Republican to 39 percent for the Democrat. So the issue is how to get from 39 percent to 50 percent, plus one. To do that Jordan will need to win over at least 70,000 voters. My mood today! Jordan for Governor celebrating her primary win! Posted by Arthur Aguilera on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 Paulette Jordan: Victory on Primary Day in Idaho The most important thing for Jordan to do, shes already doing. And that is to make Idaho cool and smart. (This is where the national attention helps.) On election night the music of Drake singing Gods Plan filled the room. Later supporters posted a video of Jordan dancing. Cool. The video of her speech to supporters in the Boise bar is revealing, writes Dean Miller. That is a very savvy, very disciplined Gen X politician, singing along to hip-hop lyrics, greeting workers with attention, holding weirdos at arms length with generous caution and immediately reaching out to all Idahoans. Her skills and instincts are top-notch. Miller is the former editor of the Idaho Falls Post-Register and a longtime observer of politics in the Gem State. Jordan also has the ideal message for the voters who are new to Idaho politics, especially those who have moved to Boise from other cities across the West. More than 75,000 people alone moved to Idaho last year (that includes families, but its still a huge number). Idaho is increasingly a technology state. Consider this bit: In one year Idaho saw a 44.9 percent increase in job postings related to emerging technologies, including the Internet of Things, smart cities, drones, artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality and augmented reality, and blockchain. While these positions accounted for a small percentage of total tech job postings, it indicates where organizations are headed with the technology investments, reported Cyberstates in 2018 Idahos tech sector is already responsible for some $6.1 billion in the states economy, the report said . Techs impact on the Idaho economy ranks third behind manufacturing and government. (Bigger than agriculture.) There are some 51,900 tech workers in the state with an average wage of $87,740. (Compared to the states average annual private sector wage of $40,290.) I had a fantastic time meeting & speaking with so many passionate folks at the Truman Banquet last night! Idaho dems are fired up & ready for change. Thank you to Bonneville Democrats for hosting Posted by Jordan for Governor on Sunday, May 6, 2018 The tech world has no use for the old school and that includes politicians. Its about inventing the future, not repeating routine slogans about social issues, border walls, or even extractive energy development. This gives a reason for people who are Republicans to vote for a Democrat. Jordan speaks the language. Jordan can also sell the technology industry to rural Idaho and Indian Country. Most of the technology jobs are in Boise. Jordan can make the case for creating jobs in northern Idaho, tribal communities, and telecommuting and other jobs that would work in rural Idaho. Another reason why Jordan could be competitive is that she is exciting. People want to be around her. That is especially important for attracting new voters to the process. Four years ago less than 60 percent of the voting age population cast a ballot. The higher that number, the better Jordans chances. I am happy to announce that our campaign has received the endorsement of @NezPerce_Tribe! Thank you to my Nez Perce friends and allies for your ongoing support and commitment to our shared values. #JordanforGovernor pic.twitter.com/RsPgZo3K3K Paulette Jordan (@PauletteEJordan) May 9, 2018 This is challenging in a mid-term election. Idaho young people, like those across the country, are more likely to vote in a presidential election year. Two years ago the share of voters under 29 years of age was nearly 15 percent of the electorate. But four years ago, during the last governors election, the share of young voters was only 8.2 percent. Again, the higher the number, the better Jordans chances. A new national poll of Americas 18- to 29-year-olds by Harvards Institute of Politics shows a marked increase in the number of young Americans who indicate that they will definitely be voting in the upcoming midterm elections. The big picture: 37 percent of Americans under 30 indicate that they will definitely be voting, compared to 23 percent who said the same in 2014, the study found. Young Democrats are driving nearly all of the increase in enthusiasm; a majority (51 percent) report that they will definitely vote in November, which represents a 9-percentage point increase since November 2017 and is significantly larger than the 36 percent of Republicans who say the same. Indian Country is important in this regard too. Native American voters are only about one percent of the population, but among young voters, the number climbs to 3.3 percent. That might seem small, but it could be a good reflection of voter engagement. Support from Indian Country is essential for Jordan to raise enough money. Its how she gets her message out to voters. So far Jordan has collected more than $367,000 in contributions. Some of her largest contributors have been tribes, including her own, Coeur dAlene, as well as other tribal nations in Idaho, Shoshone-Bannock, Nez Perce and Kootenai. She also received support from tribes from across the country. One potential pool of voters for Jordan is foreign-born citizens. A study by the Partnership for the New Economy said Idaho was home to almost 34,000 foreign-born residents who were eligible to vote in 2014, including an estimated 14,000 foreign-born residents who had formally registered. Those numbers are unlikely to sway a presidential election in this relatively safe Republican state, where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won by roughly 208,000 votes in 2012. Still, it can make a difference in closer statewide contests and primaries, the report said. The challenge for Jordan is to reach these new groups and serve the core Democratic constituency. But thats what election coalition building is all about. She has to make sure to reach union workers, make inroads into Mormon counties (most likely by finding strong surrogates who are LDS) and basically round up every Democrat, independent, and enough Republicans to put her over the top. Once again, the higher the turnout number, the better Jordans chances. And there is a flip side to that idea: Republican turnout could be down across the country. If the country senses a landslide for the Democrats in the House, a lot of regular GOP voters might not show up. This is particularly acute in North Idaho because its on the Pacific time zone and TV viewers will have already seen the wave while they are still voting. So can Paulette Jordan win the governors race in Idaho? Yes there is a path. And now she can run against The New York Times who has already told her she cant win. Conservatives will love that. Idaho has a history of defying the odds. Frank Church, a liberal Democrat, won a Senate seat when he was only 32 years old. And Democrat Cecil Andrus won the governors chair four different times. Churchs strength was his intellect. Andrus was a great storyteller. And Jordan owns cool. Note: The National Congress of American Indians is the owner of Indian Country Today and manages its business operations. The Indian Country Today editorial team operates independently as a digital journalism enterprise. Join the Conversation Related Stories Burglary has become an art - thieves put their mind, heart and imagination into looting a people. They make sure that no traces are left behind, maybe an identity that will make them infamous and terrorize the world. But everything becomes a sidekick when we talk about India and things that happen here. Recently, police in Kerala was shocked to discover a man from Tamil Nadu who became a 'naked thief'. The thief who is being identified as Edwin Jose, a 28-year-old law student has become infamous for stripping down and slathering himself in black paint before breaking into any house. He'd even wear his underwear over his head as a way to keep his identity hidden - while everything else is left open to see. Newspapers have reported that he's believed to have broken into over 25 houses in Neyyattinkara, Parassala and neighbouring areas. He'd pick his target while driving in the vicinity, observing them on stolen motorcycles. "The bikes keep changing as he steals one vehicle for the night, leaves it there and steals another one to escape getting caught," a senior police officer told The News Minute. As per the police, he is thought to be armed with a wire cutter and breaks into houses using rear doors. He then makes his steals, usually picking jewellery laying around the house and other expensive possessions. "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. Funny, you think? I think it's plain stupid. She is an actor, producer, international red-carpet rocker and a philanthropist. One woman-many hat and she dons all of them with utmost grace and perfection. The woman we are referring to here is Priyanka Chopra. When she is not making stunning appearances at some of the most royal events of the world in a Dior Gown, turning the heads and making audience laugh with her wit and charm at intentional chat shows, PC is seen spending time, indulging in philanthropic activities for UNICEF, for which, she's also one of the ambassadors. Instagram Currently, PC is in Bangladesh, meeting the refugees - poor, homeless strangers in a foreign land, who have been struggling with the memory of a terrible past and unsure of their future. Instagram/PC The pictures that PC has shared on her Instagram talks about her experience of being in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh -- where there are now more refugees than there are people in Libya. PC interacted with them and shared her experience. She wrote, Instagram/Priyanka Chopra "I could see the vacancy in their eyes." In her Instagram message, PC makes an observation how 60 percent of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh were children. She added, "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. As they finally start to settle and feel a sense of safety," Priyanka continued, "[the] 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." Urging all her fans and followers to pitch in through the UNICEF's website, she concluded by saying, "The world needs to care. We need to care," she said. "These kids are our future." Read PC's full message here: Earlier on Monday, she had tweeted a picture en route Bangladesh and wrote, "Follow my Instagram to share my experiences as I visit the #Rohingya #Refugee camps on this #UnicefFieldVisit. #ChildrenUprooted. The world needs to care. We need to care." PC has been actively associated with the international welfare organization UNICEF for almost a decade. She has sincerely worked towards causes pertaining to child rights, women rights and environment and others. UNICEF Just to jog your memory a little, the actress also visited Jordan last year, to meet Syrian refugees. The tragedy of Titanic, a ship that was said to be unsinkable is counted among the biggest tragedies of the 20th century and James Cameroons Titanic just immortalised the sufferings of the voyagers who were on board on Titanic on April 15, 1912. Reuters While we know almost everything about the tragedy, how many of us know that India too had witnessed similar tragedy twenty years before the Titanic saga? Yes, this is the story of steamship Vijli or SS Vaitarna which sank off Bombay Coast on 8th November, 1888. SS Vaitarna in Grangemouth Docks, 1885 and Haji Kasam Well hardly some because being a colony of the British and a third world country, the world didnt give much heed to this Indian tragedy. Despite the demise of almost 1000 people who were on board, the tragedy didnt invoke enough empathy as India was ruled by British and those who died were mostly Indians. Though there are only a few records about the great accident, here is all that we know. SS Vaitarna A ship built by Grangemouth Dockyard Co Ltd, Scotland started sailing in 1885. It belonged to Haji Kasam, the Zamindar of Dahisar near Mumbai and it was named after river Vaitarna which flows to the north of Bombay. magnificenttitanic The locals would call it Vijli The ship wasnt as luxurious as the Titanic was because its purpose was cargo and normal passengers and not the elite. But it had electricity which was such a big luxury at that point of time in ships that people named it Vijli out of admiration. Its route was Mandvi port in Kutch to Bombay. The day it sank It was 8 November 1888 when SS Vaitarna docked at Mandvi port with an estimated 520 passengers. Some more got onto the board on next port Dwarka. The Voyagers included 13 wedding groups and mostly students who were heading for Bombay to take their exams. wikipedia and wrecksite The ship had to stop at Porbandar, but due to bad, it had to leave for Bombay straight. Soon the weather went worse and the storm at night enveloped the ship and it sank off Mangrol on the Junagarh coast. Official number on board was 703 plus crew Though the official number of people on board was 703, the actual number is said to be around 1200 as it was a common practice then and even now to carry more than the sanctioned capacity. Though the folklores states casualty of 1300 people, there were 746 people (703 passengers and 43 crew members) on board who went missing in the disaster. The committee that was formed in Bombay Presidency to investigate the tragedy reported, The ship had been overwhelmed by the severe storm and sank. There were only a few survivors. Haji Kasam, the captain and zamindar Haji Kasam was the Zamindar of Dahisar near Bombay as he owned a large portion of the land between Borivali and Dahisar. He lived in Malabar Hill, which speaks about his status and the folklore and legend go up saying that a fakir had blessed him of having 99 ships and Vijli was his last. A chawl in Bombay central-Haji Kasam Chawl is named after him. pukar.mumbai The tragedy become a part of local folklore With time, the tragedy faded from the public memory, but in coastal Gujarat, the songs are still sung about the tragedy as it became part of the local folklore. 'Haji Kasam, Tari Vijli Re Madhdariye Veran Thai (Oh Haji Kasam, your Vijli has sunk to the bottom of the sea). At least 8 people are feared dead in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) after police opened fire at locals protesting demanding the closure of Sterlite Coal on Tuesday. The police opened fire at the locals after the demonstration turned violent on the 100th day of the protesters. A large number of people had gathered at the Tuticorin district collectorate defying a Section 144 order. The protesters were demanding closure of the Sterlite Copper Smelter located near the town. Clashes erupted after the protesters were denied permission to take out a march. The angry mob began hurling stones at police, which the cops retorted with teargas. The town has been witnessing mass protest demanding the closure of Sterlite, a Vedanta subsidiary which operates a 4,00,000 tonne-per-annum plant. Protesters alleged that the plant was polluting groundwater in their area. Lini Sajeesh, was a dedicated nurse, that is all her colleagues - who still can't believe that she is no more - can recall about her. Lini breathed her last on Monday, days after being infected by Nipah, a deadly viral fever which has left parts of Northern Kerala terrorised. She contracted the deadly virus while attending two brothers, who later died of the illness, the first confirmed cases of fatalities in Kerala due to Nipah. Lini died in the EMS Memorial Cooperative hospital at Perambra, in the early hours of Monday, days after falling ill. Even though it is yet to be confirmed that Lini died of Nipah, the family including her husband Sajeesh who flew down from Bahrain wasn't even allowed to see her body, one last time. BCCL The body was cremated by the hospital itself to prevent the possible spread of the virus. Now, a letter of Lini has surfaced, leaving many in tears. In what appears to be her goodbye letter, addressed to her husband Sajeesh, Lini asks for forgiveness for not being able to meet him one last time. She also asks her husband to take care of their two children. "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 ( son), please take him to the Gulf with you. Dont be alone like our father. Please. With lots of love" Lini, a contractual staff who had been working at the Perambra Taluk Hospital leaves behind her husband and two children, aged five and two. Her two children, Rithul and Siddharth, who are used to not seeing their mother during the day when she is on night shift, are yet to realise that she won't come back from 'duty' again. Hailing her sacrifice, many called her an angel and the true spirit of Florence Nightingale. A nurse who took care of a #NIPHAVirus patients & succumbed to same. Her body was cremated with extreme urgency to prevent any possible spread and even her family could not pay due respect. Respect to Lini &a reminder that healthcare workers take immense personal risk to serve us pic.twitter.com/4kzESu6j4J Dr. Deepu Sebin (@deepusebin) May 21, 2018 Brave Nurse Lini Puthussery before succumbing to the deadly #NipahVirus left a heartbreaking note for her husband: Saji Chetta, I am almost on my way. I don't think I will be able to see you. Sorry. Take care of our children properly. Our innocent child, take him to the gulf pic.twitter.com/CRSHPkBIfF Syed Ahmad Afzal () (@afzalistan) May 22, 2018 "Dear sister, I can't get this letter off my mind. Kerala will always remember your courage," Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran wrote. Calling it an unparalleled sacrifice, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the entire state stands with the family at the time of grief. Dr Kafeel Khan, the pediatrician who was arrested for the death of infants at the Gorakhpur hospital earlier this year, and is now out on bail called Lini "an inspiration". He also offered to work at the Calicut Medical college during the time of crisis. Reacting to his offer, the Kerala chief Minister said the government welcomes all medical experts including him, to the state who are willing to offer their services. Indias social fabric would have been extremely different from what we see today if there was no Raja Ram Mohan Roy. The man is aptly regarded as a social reformer and a maker of modern India. For the longest time, India was considered a traditional society, reluctant to change. Tradition is often well-thought-out an obstacle to reform and the measure of any society is how it treats its women. Among Roys countless feats, the most pathbreaking was setting up of the Bramho Samaj in 1828. It is considered to be Indias first socio-religious reform movement. It not only discarded meaningless rituals but also forbade idol worship. It was through the Bramho movement that Roy crusaded against Hindu customs such as Sati, polygamy, child marriage and caste system. He played a crucial role in the upliftment of social status of 19th-century women in India. It was due to his efforts that Sir Lord William Bentinck abolished Sati in 1829. The abolition of Sati remains one of the most significant turning points in the history of modern India. In 1830, Raja Ram Mohan Roy travelled to the United Kingdom as an ambassador of the Mughal empire to ensure Bentincks Bengal Sati Regulation, 1989, banning the practice of Sati is not overturned. It was in 1812 that Roy began championing the cause of banning the Sati ritual. He was stirred by the experience of seeing his own sister-in-law being forced to commit Sati. He visited Kolkatas cremation grounds to persuade widows against immolation, formed watch groups to do the same, sought the support of other elite Bengali classes, and wrote and disseminated articles to show that it was not required by Hindu scripture. For the longest period, Roy was at loggerheads with Hindu groups which did not want the government to interfere with their religious practices. Between 1815-1818 Sati deaths rose manifold. Ram Mohan Roy launched an attack on Sati that aroused such anger that for a while his life was in danger. In 1828, Lord William Bentinck came to power as Governor of India and started taking a personal interest in the issue. When he landed in Calcutta, he said that he felt the dreadful responsibility hanging over his head in this world and the next, if he was to consent to the continuance of this practice (sati) one moment longer, according to Sati: Historical and Phenomenological Essays by Arvind Sharma. He decided to put an immediate end to Sati. An 18th-century painting depicting sati/Wikipedia On December 5, 1829, William Carey, a British Christian missionary and a reformer, received a document from Governor General with a request to translate it. The document was no other than Regulation XVII which declared the burning or burning alive of widows as culpable homicide. As soon as Carey received the request, springing to his feet and throwing off back his black coat he cried, No church for me today.. If I delay an hour to translate and publish this, a many a widows life may be sacrificed. By evening this task will be finished, reads an excerpt from the book. Roy, born on May 22, 1772, has his name usually listed first among those of nineteenth-century reformers concerned with improving womens status. He is also considered as one of the male feminists and free-thinkers of the nineteenth century. Feminism in India was far different from the feminism in the rest of the world during the 19th century. Here, the fight was with the traditions and conformists. In the West, the first-wave feminism of 19th and early 20th centuries focused on turning legal inequalities, particularly womens suffrage, or simply put, the right to vote in political elections. It was in this duration that India was still tied up in religious and cultural bounds and burning women after their husbands died, shaving womens heads when they became widows and engaging in child marriages. Of course, there was no question of imparting education to women because their life goal was already described as being an impeccable housemaker, dedicating their entire life to the husband and children. It was in the early 19th century that male authors also started to recognise injustices against women. In an article titled Feminism in India: The Tale and Its Telling, author Maitrayee Choudhuri, aptly says that Indian modernity and capitalism through colonialism. Nationalism, nation states and feminism have to be understood as part of the modern democratic project. But liberal democracys relationship with feminism was never simple, as the suffragette movement demonstrated. Equal rights did mean rights for all, but only potentially. In practice, it meant that refashioning of households and families led to women being recast as creatures of domesticity, and the housewife, it reads. In the article, she talks about the perceived idea of a woman during the 19th century and how home was the only resource for a woman. The end and aim of her life are to cultivate the domestic affections, to minister to comfort, and exercise her little supervision over domestic economies. It was also part of the nineteenth-century package of ideas that claimed that the status of a nation ought to be gauged by the status of women. Indians were thus berated for their inability to attain heights as a nation because of the pitiable condition of their womankind. The 19th-century reformers mostly began to upper caste and that they were predominantly male. Roy not only did his activism on ground, but also on paper. He published Sambad Kaumudi, a Bengali weekly newspaper published from Kolkata in the first half of the 19th century. It was a noted pro-Reformist publication that actively campaigned for the abolition(stop) of the Sati Pratha. Women are still subjected to prejudices and the society remains highly patriarchal. What Roy did in the 19th century will remain etched in golden words in the history of modern India. He advocated widow remarriage, divorce, civil marriage, and education for women. Inheritance of property for women and inter-caste marriages were special programmes undertaken by the Brahmo Samaj. He was staunchly against the caste system. Essentially, he was a democrat and a humanist. The royal wedding of actress Meghan Markle, the now Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry was an event to remember. With making donations to a Mumbai-based NGO to having Priyanka Chopra rock it like a hurricane - everything about this wedding was unique and unconventional, including the bride. But here's one more story, another side to this grand function that might have missed your eye. Amongst the 600 guests who were invited to the wedding, one guest was an orphan African kid - Mutsu Potsane. 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! #SentebaleCelebrates #RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/DQ6Gwsl1ri @Sentebale (@Sentebale) May 19, 2018 Mutsu Potsane and Prince Harry became friends during a gap-year stay in Lesotho. He was just 4 years old when he first met Prince Harry and since then they stayed in touch. The pictures of the two meeting up often veiled the internet and became big headlines, but everyone was surprised to see this guy at the wedding. Photo(s) of the week: Prince Harry is reunited with 15-year-old Mutsu Potsane in Lesotho, who he met in 2004 pic.twitter.com/AdNMNXKiFo Press Association (@PA) November 28, 2015 Prince Harry first met 4-year-old Mutsu Potsane in #Lesotho in 2004. They last met in 2014. Photos @KensingtonRoyal pic.twitter.com/X7SdAJt4OF British Royal News (@UKRoyalNews) November 26, 2015 Harry went to Potsane's home to help and uplift children stricken by HIV and AIDS. It is then when he met Potsane in Mantsase Childrens Home for orphans near Mohales Hoek, outside Lesothos capital, Maseru. 18-year-old Potsane, who is now known as Relebohile was one of ten representatives from Harrys charity, Sentebale, present at the wedding. He was also one of the 200 representatives from different charities the royals run. Mark Zuckerberg met with European Union leaders today, his third appearance before legislators regarding Facebooks Cambridge Analytica scandal. The lawmakers present pretty much ripped Zuckerberg apart for failing to keep the data of millions of users safe, as well as other points of contention. Images courtesy: Reuters The session was held before political leaders in the EU parliament, where the the idea for tightened regulations were floated for both Facebook and its other counterparts in the technology industry. In fact, the legislators even questioned whether Facebook had become too big and too powerful, and whether it needed to be investigated or even broken up into smaller pieces. European parliament president Antonio Tajani opened the session, immediately expressing his alarm at the sort of influence Facebook has beyond the technology sphere. The price paid by the users is in many cases data in exchange for free services, he said. However, democracy should never become a marketing operation where anyone who buys that data buys a political advantage. To this, Zuckerbergs only reply was the same apology hes been mouthing to US congress, that the company didnt take a broad enough view of their responsibility, and failed as a result. And Im sorry for it, he reiterated. ALSO READ: Mark Zuckerberg Apologizes For Facebook's Data Privacy Scandal With Full Page Newspaper Ads DON'T MISS: NEWS Mark Zuckerberg Responds Nervously To US Lawmakers, Agrees Facebook Needs Government Regulation Its important to remember here that the EU has always been much more stringent than the US when it comes to regulating big tech companies, and lawmakers present had all too recent memories of Facebook apologising, fifteen or sixteen times in the last decade, one member of parliament Guy Verhofstadt said. And one of Verhofstadts solutions to the current problem is certain to make Zuckerberg unhappy, that of making the platforms algorithms public. The timing couldnt be worse for Zuckerberg, given that this hearing is just three days before the EUs new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect. In essence it mandates that companies need to be up front with customers about how they collect and use their data, as well as offer customers the chance to opt out. Not only does that mean data collection stops, but the company would then have to also delete all of that persons data, or face heavy penalties. That means Facebook isnt just the naughty boy in classroom at the moment, its also the whipping boy the EU is using to make an example, to show Big Tech that they will brook no cutting of corners. Well be able to update again in a bit, so stay tuned. Indianapolis, Indiana Attorneys for Plaintiff, Terry Champ of Jackson County, Indiana filed suit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging that Defendant, The City of Seymour of Jackson County, Indiana infringed a work of visual art under the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA). Plaintiff is seeking judgment in the amount of $150.000, attorneys fees, and other relief the Court deems appropriate. In 2010, Plaintiff completed a 9-foot tall sculpture named Trinity, meant to symbolize the Holy Trinity in Christianity. The sculpture contains steel beams and a combination of gold and silver paint. The sculpture was sponsored by the city of Seymour, as part of an initiative to enhance various spots around town with artwork. Trinity was loaned to the city and then displayed at an intersection in town, until a member of the Department of Public Works requested it be removed. The sculpture was removed and stored in a garage, where Plaintiff eventually found it laying on its side in the gravel. According to the complaint, the sculpture was damaged all over with scratches and gouges in the steel and bent parts. Plaintiff alleges that the citys damaging of the sculpture violates VARA. He has requested statutory damages under VARA as well as other relief. The City of Seymour can be expected to assert the defense of sovereign immunity to this lawsuit. Sovereign immunity, as a general rule, bars lawsuits against states governmental entities. Sovereign immunity may be waived by a state for a particular type of lawsuit. The federal government may also abrogate states sovereign immunity with respect to certain types of claims. In 1990, Congress passed the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act. Under 17 U.S.C. 511(a), [a]ny State, any instrumentality of a State, and any officer or employee of a State or instrumentality of a State acting in his or her official capacity, shall not be immune, under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, from suit in Federal courtfor a violation of any of the exclusive rights of a copyright owner. On the surface, this language appears to constitute an abrogation of states sovereign immunity regarding copyright infringement. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that Congress may not abrogate state sovereign immunity pursuant to its Article I powers. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Educ. Expense Bd. v. College Sav. Bank, 527 U.S 627, 636 (1999). However, it appears that the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act has attempted to do just that. According to at least one recent decision out of a federal district court in Lexington, Kentucky, Article I is indeed what Congress relied upon to authorize the passage of the Act purporting to abrogate states rights with respect to copyright infringement lawsuits. This, the court held, rendered the attempted abrogation invalid. That litigation was consequently dismissed by the court as barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. In addition, several copyright infringement lawsuits by serial copyright infringement plaintiff Richard Bell have been rejected on grounds of sovereign immunity, including claims against Purdue University and Indiana University. The case was assigned to District Judge Richard L. Young and Magistrate Judge Doris L. Pryor in the Southern District and assigned Case 1:18-cv-01473-RLY-DLP. Champ-v-Seymour-Complaint Switch the Market flag Open the menu and switch the Market flag for targeted data from your country of choice. for targeted data from your country of choice. At present, Palczer is pursuing a bachelor's degree at Southern New Hampshire University. He is also a United States Air Force veteran, and has the Associate in Claims designation. Erie Insurance Group, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, is a major homeowner, automobile, and P&C insurer in the United States. The company has over five million policies in force and operates in 12 states and in the District of Columbia. In April, the company was recognized by J.D. Power for having the highest ranking for customer satisfaction in the auto insurance purchase experience. According to J.D. Power, Erie received a total satisfaction score of 877 out of 1,000. Related stories: Erie Insurance names company veteran to leadership role Erie names new VP of strategic initiatives McFaddin also recommended that residents should properly document any damage their properties sustain, especially with hurricane season just around the corner. We also encourage policyholders to take photos and videos of damaged items, and save your receipts to help with the claims process, she said. With hurricane season just weeks away, its important to start thinking about taking steps to prepare your property, which could save you time and money in the recovery process. He added that policyholders should have their insurers contact information readily available and must confirm to see if they have flood insurance. You will want to have your agent or insurance companys phone number handy should your home, business, or automobile be damaged, McFaddin explained. With the potential for even more rain this weekend, policyholders should check with their insurer to see if they have flood insurance, since flood damage is not covered by the standard homeowners policy and there is a 30-day waiting period before flood coverage goes into effect. He advised that those policyholders who do not have flood insurance can purchase additional coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program. Related stories: PCI: CFA report on auto insurance rating based on flawed research PCI warns homeowners over upcoming storm season Data privacy rules coming into force this week are giving Europes fledgling cyber insurance market a boost as they make companies more aware of the risks caused by customer information breaches. Europes General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect on Friday, has been billed as the biggest shake-up of data privacy laws since the birth of the web. It aims to give EU citizens more rights over their online information and threatens fines of up to 4 percent of a companys annual revenue for serious infringements. The latter will include failure to notify regulators of breaches within 72 hours. The law brings Europe more closely into line with the United States, where many states have for several years required firms to notify regulators about data breaches. Insurers say the directive, together with major cyber attacks like last years WannaCry and NotPetya viruses, is driving demand in Europe for cyber insurance a sector seen as relatively profitable. Cyber cover can pay for anything from the repair of IT systems after a data breach, to compensation for lost business, legal costs and even for a public relations firm to patch up damaged reputations. The number of syndicates offering cyber insurance in the giant Lloyds of London commercial insurance market jumped by more than 20 percent last year to over 70. Lloyds Chief Executive Inga Beale told Reuters by email that gross written premiums for European cyber insurance could total more than $2 billion annually by 2020, partly as a result of the new directive. GDPR Insurance: Coverage for Fines Hard to Find But Other Non-Compliance Costs Insurable Major players in the sector include insurance giants AIG and Zurich, and Lloyds insurers Beazley and Hiscox. However, less than one tenth of annual premiums in the $2.5 billion global cyber market are for Britain and the rest of Europe, according to Betterley Risk Consultants. Paul Merrey, a partner at KPMG focusing on insurance, said the difference in take-up was mainly due to different legal frameworks between Europe and the United States. GDPR significantly closes this gap, he said. CYBER TAKE-UP AIG says its European cyber business has risen by 50 percent this year compared with a year ago. The firm declined to give a figure. We are seeing a lot more interest in cyber coverage, said Mark Camillo, head of cyber for EMEA at AIG. AIG said its European business accounted for 25 percent of its global cyber portfolio at the end of 2017, up from just five percent three years previously. Insurers typically do not break out their cyber revenues in their annual results, but several told Reuters their business had increased and they expected further growth. Insurance firm CFC Underwriting has seen a huge surge in enquiries about cyber insurance from outside the United States, said Graeme Newman, CFCs chief innovation officer, with its UK cyber business growing by 150 percent in the last year. Broker JLT said enquiries about insurance at its UK cyber business had risen by 50 percent in the last 12 months due to GDPR. A policy typically costs $1,000 to $3,000 for $100,000 of cover, though cyber insurance policies can cover hundreds of millions of dollars, insurers say. One factor which may drive demand is the possibility of using insurance to cover the risk of the onerous fines under the new law. Lawyers and insurers are currently debating the likelihood of this being permitted in countries such as Britain. Its definitely a grey area, said Prakash Paran, partner at law firm DLA Piper. A report last week by the law firm and insurance broker Aon found that only two countries in the European Economic Area Finland and Norway were likely to allow GDPR fines to be insurable. The decision is up to local regulators. A spokesman for Britains data regulator said firms should concentrate on being compliant. There is nothing in the GDPR which either permits or prohibits insurance cover against fines which may be issued by the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) for breaches of the GDPR, the spokesman said by email, but added: A focus on insurance rather misses the point. The directive makes it easier for groups of individuals to lodge class action-style claims for non-compliance, which could encourage the purchase of policies with higher pay-out limits. Cheryl Martin, partner at EY, said financial services firms in Britain were focusing on this, after paying out 30 billion pounds ($40 billion) in redress since 2007 to customers mis-sold debt repayment insurance policies. Companies immediate priority is to ensure they are compliant with GDPR, which means Europes cyber insurance market may see gradual growth rather than a spike following introduction of the new law, said Julia Graham, deputy chief executive of British insurance buyers association Airmic. I dont think insurance is top of mind, she said. ($1 = 0.7464 pounds) (Additional reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York Editing by Susan Fenton) Related: Topics Cyber USA Legislation Europe Market Uk Data Driven AIG A Kansas woman who was injured when a deputy crashed into her car while rushing to an accident at a motorcycle race course is settling her lawsuit for $40,000. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Sedgwick County commission approved the settlement with Ashley Parker. Court records say the crash happened in April 2015 as a deputy was headed to the Jeeps Cycle Club accident, where someone had suffered a broken leg. Records say the deputy was going more than 100 mph, even though other emergency responders already had responded. County Counselor Eric Yost says both the woman and deputy have recovered. The county said in court papers that Parker ran a stop sign and failed to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle as required by law. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Kansas Des Moines, Iowa, has lost a lawsuit and been ordered to pay nearly $1 million in damages to a construction company it blacklisted. A jury made the award last week to Jenco Construction Inc., which is based in Des Moines. The city said Jenco didnt finish a $3.3 million bridge reconstruction project on time and deliver quality work. Consequently, the city barred Jenco in December 2015 from bidding on city projects for three years. The Des Moines Register reports that Jenco sued the city in May 2015, challenging the citys complaints. Jenco attorney Thomas Olson says the company encountered boulders, concrete, debris and tree stumps that nobody knew about. Des Moines City Attorney Jeff Lester says city officials will be discussing their next course of action. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Ascot US Holding Corp. has acquired Greyhawk Insurance Co. and its subsidiary Greyhawk Specialty Insurance Co. Greyhawk is a Colorado domiciled admitted lines insurer that has been in runoff since 2006. Greyhawk Specialty is a dormant Rhode Island domiciled excess and surplus lines insurer. The acquisitions are subject to regulatory approvals. The Greyhawk companies will expand Ascots U.S. platform and provide increased access to the U.S. insurance markets. Ascot Group Limited is a Bermuda domiciled global specialist in insurance and reinsurance. The group compromises three divisions: Ascot Underwriting, a managing agent for Syndicate 1414 at Lloyds; Ascot Reinsurance Co., a Bermuda based specialty reinsurer; and Ethos Specialty Insurance Services, a New York based managing general agent (MGA). Ascot Group is owned by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, the largest pension plan in Canada with over C$300 billion in invested assets. Related: Topics Mergers USA Excess Surplus 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 courts 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 Trumps administration last year reversed the governments stance in the case, siding with the companies. The Justice Department said it was pleased with Mondays ruling. Democratic former President Barack Obamas 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. States May Copy Californias Law to Give Employees Right to File Class Actions Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trumps 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 courts 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. Todays 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 nations 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 courts 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. The three consolidated cases decided on Monday involved professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP, gas station operator Murphy Oil USA Inc 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 courts 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. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) Related: Topics Lawsuits USA Claims Commercial Lines Business Insurance U.S. lawmakers are set to give President Donald Trump a chance to make good on his vow to do a big number on the Dodd-Frank Act. Legislation set for passage by the Republican-dominated House this week is the product of years of financial-industry lobbying to soften post-crisis rules and sensitive negotiations on Capitol Hill to attract bipartisan support needed to get it through the narrowly-divided Senate. The package may represent Congresss last shot at dialing back Wall Street oversight before midterm elections in November that could have a significant impact on the future of bank regulation. House leaders agreed to vote on the compromise bill that Senate Republicans negotiated with moderate Democrats in exchange for a promise that a broader set of House-passed rollbacks will get a vote later this year. Senate Democrats who backed the plan sponsored by Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, an Idaho Republican, have said they will oppose further changes. Theres one ship leaving the harbor, said Representative Bill Huizenga, a Michigan Republican who is a member of the House Financial Services Committee. The House has to pass what the Senate has deemed is the right answer. Democrats Infighting Moderate Democrats support for the bill has sparked fights with progressives including Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who say the bill is a gift to bank lobbyists. House Republicans are pushing a dangerous, Wall Street-first bill that would drag us right back to the days of the Great Recession, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said on the House floor last week. I urge my colleague to make the choice to reject this disastrous Wall Street First bill. The legislation gives smaller banks relief from post-crisis rules that theyve decried as burdensome and costly. There are fewer gains for Wall Street banks and investment firms, which will have to rely on regulators appointed by Trump to dial back hated constraints such as the Volcker Rule ban on proprietary trading. Additional Bills House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have agreed to consider additional financial deregulation measures later this year. Hensarling, who is leaving Congress at the end of 2018, has identified more than two dozen House-passed measures that he would like to see considered. But theres no sign that Senate Democrats whose votes are needed for passage will get on board. The legislation the House is set to vote on raises to $250 billion in assets from $50 billion the threshold for banks to face stricter Federal Reserve oversight as systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs). That would free companies such as American Express Co. and SunTrust Banks Inc. from higher compliance costs associated with being considered too big to fail. Still, even if it becomes law, the Federal Reserve will ultimately determine how much relief these regional firms get and how soon. While losing the SIFI label frees them from some stricter oversight and annual stress tests mandated by Dodd-Frank, banks with more than $50 billion in assets are still subject to other rules including the Feds annual Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review. If the Fed does decide to make changes in response to the legislation, the process that could take months, even a year, according to Jared Seiberg, an analyst at Cowen Inc. Biggest Losers Among the bills biggest losers are large regional banks such as Capital One Financial Corp. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc., which would keep their designation as so-called SIFIs. Wall Street banks like Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. also lost out on getting relief on some capital requirements they lobbied to include. The legislation allows big banks to include municipal bonds in required stockpiles of assets that could be sold to provide funding in a crisis. Thats a modification JPMorgan and Citigroup have sought for years. Custody banks such as State Street Corp. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp., which specialize in safeguarding assets as opposed to traditional commercial banking, are likely to see relief from some capital requirements. The bill frees small banks from the Volcker Rule and makes a technical fix that would let some investment firms like BlackRock continue trading with some funds. The House Rules Committee took up the legislation late Monday, setting the stage for a final vote as soon as Tuesday. Related: Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Legislation Three additional people have been arrested for their various roles in an arson-for-profit scheme that took place over 7 years in three Florida counties, according to a statement from Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis. Yamina Grafal, Walther Avila Lainez and Gennie Avila Lainez were arrested last week following a joint investigation conducted by the Miami-Dade Police Departments Economic Crimes Bureau Arson Squad and CFO Jimmy Patronis Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations. Members of the crime ring allegedly played various roles when conducting an arson-for-profit scheme, fraudulently collecting at least $187,000 in insurance payouts by setting seven residential structures on fire between 2009-2016 in Miami-Dade, Lee and Collier County. The investigation was initiated after authorities received information from Citizens Insurance regarding falsified receipts in support of an insurance claim for a fire loss. This investigation revealed that multiple individuals had conspired to rent residential properties, and after obtaining renters insurance, intentionally set the homes on fire for economic gain. The fires were set in such a manner that responding fire departments did not suspect criminal activity, the statement said. The investigation revealed the following locations were intentionally set on fire: Oct. 11, 2009 Residential fire at 2161 41 Street SW, Naples, Fla. Feb. 16, 2010 Residential fire at 3116 NE 7th Place, Cape Coral, Fla. June 28, 2012 Residential fire at 3415 SW 13th Terrace, Miami Oct. 31, 2014 Residential fire at 901 NW 50th Street, Miami Dec. 28, 2014 Residential fire at 674 Pine Cone Lane, Naples, FL April 4, 2015 Residential fire at 5621 NW 10th Avenue, Miami, FL Dec. 13, 2016 Planned residential fire at 1850 NW 112th Terrace, Miami, FL The following individuals have been arrested in connection with the crime spree: Gennie Avila Lainez arrested May 17, 2018: Racketeering/Rico, Racketeer/Conspire To, Insurance Claims/False, Arson 1st Degree Walther Avila Lainez arrested May 17, 2018: Racketeering/Rico, Racketeer/Conspire To, (3) Insurance Claims/False, Arson 1st Degree, Grand Theft 1st Degree, Grand Theft 2nd Degree. He was taken into custody in Tennessee by ATF agents and the Hamilton County Tennessee Sheriffs Office. He is in custody pending extradition to Florida. Yamina Grafal arrested May 18, 2018: Racketeering/Rico, Racketeer/ Conspire To, (2) Insurance Claims/False/Fraudulent Vicente Olana arrested July 8, 2016: Grand Theft 1st Degree, (2) Insurance Claims/False, Arson 1st Degree, Grand Theft 2nd Degree Kenia Martinez-Rosales arrested Dec. 15, 2016: Insurance Claims/False/Fraudulent Luis Rosales arrested Sept. 30, 2015: Grand Theft Insurance fraud, especially arson-for-profit schemes, can drive up Floridians insurance rates and pose a direct threat to the safety and well-being of our neighborhoods and communities, said Patronis. Protecting Floridians is our top priority and the collaborative efforts exhibited during this investigation by state and local law enforcement is nothing short of remarkable. The Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations is a law enforcement branch of the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services that conducts statewide fire, arson and explosives investigations. The bureau asks Floridians who believe they may have information surrounding these fires to contact the Arson Tip Hotline by calling 1-877-662-7766. Callers can choose to remain anonymous and any information that leads to a prosecution may be eligible for a cash reward. Source: Florida Department of Financial Services Topics Florida Fraud Arson An exploding vape pen hurled fragments into a Florida mans head, killing him and starting a fire that burned most of his body, an autopsy report said. The Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiners autopsy report released May 15 confirms the vape pen was responsible for the May 5 death of Tallmadge DElia, 38, in St. Petersburg. Such accidents arent unheard of: According to a U.S. Fire Administration report , at least 195 electronic cigarettes exploded or caught fire from 2009 to 2016, and while no deaths were recorded in that time, the explosions caused 133 injuries, 38 of them severe. Firefighters found DElia inside his burning home, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Officials found extensive fire damage in DElias bedroom, where his body was found, but minimal smoke, the report said. The explosion sent two pieces of the vape pen into the DElias cranium, the autopsy found. The report listed the cause of death as projectile wound of the head. He also suffered burns on about 80 percent of his body. The death was ruled an accident. The vape was manufactured by the Philippines-based Smok-E Mountain. A company representative told WFTS news that their devices do not explode. The representative said it was likely an atomizer the part a person inserts into their mouth or a battery. The representative said theyve had problems with other companies cloning their batteries, which makes them less safe. The company wanted to see photos of the device that was used by DElia. The Food and Drug Administration has said its not clear what causes some vape pens to explode, but it could stem from battery-related issues. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Florida What Is Forced Retirement? Forced retirement is the involuntary job termination of an older worker. Generally, an older worker may lose a job as part of a wider company downsizing. People can also be pushed into retiring early due to poor health or disability. Mandatory retirement due to age is prohibited by U.S. law in most cases. In the real world, the statistics show a different story. A December 2018 study by ProPublica and the Urban Institute concludes that 56% of workers over the age of 50 have been pushed out of jobs before they would willingly have retired. Only one in 10 of them ever gets another job that pays as well. Key Takeaways The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits terminating an employee due to age. Nevertheless, one study shows that 56% of workers over age 50 have been pushed out of jobs before they would willingly have retired. Some employers offer severance packages to older workers to get their agreement to retire earlier than planned. Understanding Forced Retirement When most people consider retirement, they assume that they will be able to choose when they leave their jobs, usually when they have reached a certain age and have accumulated enough savings to live comfortably. With life spans growing longer, many imagine starting a new phase of their lives. Being forced to retire removes the element of choice. Is forced retirement legal? Mandatory retirement at a set age was abolished in 1986 by an amendment to the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. There are some exceptions for occupations that have high physical fitness requirements, such as military personnel and airline pilots. The real world is murkier, though, especially as older employees tend to be better-paid employees. Companies that want to downsize without layoffs sometimes offer their most senior employees an early retirement package. Older employees caught in a round of job cuts sometimes get additional benefits in their severance packages, such as continuing health insurance coverage. In the corporate world, companies sometimes offer older workers attractive incentives to accept early retirement. Forced retirement realities Americans can choose to begin receiving Social Security benefits at age 62, although full benefits are paid only to those who wait until they reach anywhere between age 66 and 67 (depending on birth year) to begin collecting. So its interesting thataccording to March 2018 statistics from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston Collegethe average retirement age in the U.S. is 65 for men and 63 for women. However, the trend is moving in the opposite direction. The U.S Bureau of Labor reports that as of the fourth quarter of 2019, 20.5 % of Americans 65 and over were still working. Other Bureau of Labor statistics from 2019 project that by 2026 30.2% of Americans aged 65 to 74 will still be working, and for Americans 75 and older that figure will be 10.8%. 20.5% The percentage of Americans aged 65 and over who are still working What to Do If Youre Being Forced to Retire The American Society of Actuaries advises workers who are being forced to retire to consult a lawyer before signing any documents or waivers offered by their employers. The conditions may be negotiable. For example, the employer may agree to cover health insurance costs if the employee has not reached the Medicare-eligible age of 65. An employee of any age who is laid off may be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits that replace a portion of lost wages, generally for up to 26 weeks. What's more, any person who has reached age 59 can withdraw money from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k) accounts without owing a 10% early-withdrawal penalty, although ordinary income taxes will be owed on the withdrawals. What's more, thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, this penalty has been waived for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Suzi Ring and Stephen Morris Barclays has said a London court has dismissed all the charges against the bank and its parent company over a 2008 capital raising with Qatar, in a big win for the lender that has been dogged by legal issues for a decade. The court dismissed two charges of conspiring with certain former senior officers and employees of Barclays to commit fraud, the bank said. The court also tossed out two charges of unlawful financial assistance, one against the bank and another against its holding company, in relation to a $3bn (2.5bn) loan provided to Qatar in 2008. Barclays denied the allegation by the Serious Fraud Office that a $3bn (2.55bn) 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. The ruling, if upheld, is good news for Barclays because any conviction of the operating unit could have hurt the lenders ability to do business globally. It builds on a series of regulatory decisions that have gone the banks way this year, including settling a long-running US probe into the sale of toxic mortgage bonds for half the penalty prosecutors initially wanted, as well as chief executive Jes Staley getting off with only a fine after a UK investigation into his attempts to uncover a whistleblower. Prosecutors at the Serious Fraud Office will likely seek to reinstate the charges by applying to a High Court judge to restart the proceedings through a new indictment, the bank said. And the Serious Fraud Office was not prepared to let the case drop. We are likely to seek to reinstate the charges by applying to the High Court, a spokesman said. Four former executives from the bank are also facing prosecution over the deal that allowed Barclays to avoid a state bailout during the 2008 financial crisis. At the heart of the case are two advisory services agreements with Qatar Holding in 2008 totalling 322m (368m), the nature of which are now being questioned. Shares of the bank are little changed in the past year. The decision is a rare win for a UK defendant seeking to throw out charges, as judges typically give prosecutors great deference. Successful dismissals are often on the basis of technicalities involving the laws used to charge or, in the case of a company, if the right part of the entity was charged, rather than evidence. - Bloomberg. Additional reporting Reuters 08:44 The United States is committed to achieving denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and creating conditions such that the North Korean regime no longer threatens the world, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said. Pompeo made the comments after attending a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and the visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in. "We are committed to achieving denuclearisation and creating conditions such that the North Korean regime no longer threatens the world," Pompeo told reporters The State Department and the White House, he said, were continuing to prepare for the meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, so that in the event that the summit takes place on scheduled date, the administration is fully prepared. Trump and Kim are scheduled to meet in Singapore on June 12. However, North Korea has threatened to cancel the meeting over a joint US-South Korea military exercise. The US has said it is going ahead with the preparation. Pompeo said the mission statement had not changed at all. "Will do what it takes to make sure that this is a successful meeting, whether that's meeting with the North Koreans in some third country or whatever it may take. We are prepared," Pompeo said in response to a question. "The President will ask us to ensure that we've done all we can to make sure that we have the real opportunity to have this historic successful outcome," he said. Exuding confidence that the meeting would indeed take place, Pompeo, who is the only US leader to have met Kim twice in the last one month, said the US was continuing to do its work and lay the foundation for a successful meeting. "With respect to Chairman Kim, I haven't spoken publicly about the conversations we've had; they were between he and I," Pompeo said. "But I do have a real sense that he would find American investment, American technology, American know-how of real value to his people, and it's something that he and I had a chance to speak about generally," he said. -- PTI Ron Bousso and Dmitry Zhdannikov After the near collapse of his company following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster and a three-year slump in oil prices, BP chief executive Bob Dudley is hardly relaxed. It doesnt feel like we are in a serene time for any energy company, Dudley told Reuters in an interview. BP is stronger today than at any other time since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig accident. With oil prices at their highest since late 2014 and BP shares back to levels not seen in more than eight years, it is once again in a position to contemplate boosting dividends and acquiring, Dudley said. For BP, it is a two-speed race. The 110-year old company is undergoing its fastest growth in recent history with new oil and gas fields from Egypt and Oman to the Gulf of Mexico, riding a tide of higher oil prices following the 2014 downturn. It is paying off over $65bn (55.2bn) in penalties and clean-up costs for the Deepwater Horizon accident which left 10 employees dead. Regarding the danger of the company going bankrupt at the time, Dudley said: The worst moment was when I heard that our debt was untradable back in the summer of 2010. To me that was a moment of the unthinkable was possible. Longer-term challenges also loom. BP, like rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell, is betting on natural gas, the least polluting hydrocarbon, to sustain an expected surge in demand for electricity as economies grow and transportation is electrified. Gas is also playing a key role as a back-up to renewable energy such as wind and solar in power generation. Gas already accounts for over 55% of its production. In the early 2000s BP introduced the slogan Beyond Petroleum and adopted a sunburst logo after launching an $8bn expansion into renewables. The company was forced to write off its solar business 10 years later, but still retains a large US onshore wind business and biofuels plants. Now, Dudley is taking a cautious approach, investing in smaller start-up companies in renewables, clean fuels and battery-charging docks. If a shareholder or someone else came to BP tomorrow and said here is $10bn to invest in low-carbon energies for us, we would not know how to do that yet. Now, Dudley is taking a cautious approach, investing in smaller start-up companies in renewables, clean fuels and battery charging docks. Dudley, whose 11.48m pay package was approved by shareholders yesterday, sits on the board of Rosneft. BP has a near 20% stake in Rosneft and where it draws a third of its production. We dont apologise for doing business in Russia, said Dudley. Padraig Hoare Confusion surrounds billionaire Oleg Deripaskas position on the board of Russian aluminium giant Rusal, the owner of Aughinish Alumina in Limerick. The decision of Mr Deripaska to stand down from the board of directors of En+ Group, Rusals majority shareholder, was described by Limerick TD Niall Collins as a positive development for the 450 jobs and more than 200 agency positions at Aughinish near Askeaton. However, Mr Deripaska has still not stepped down formally from Rusals own board of directors, the company said, adding that its business may still be affected by US sanctions. The company reiterates that its current assessment is that it is still highly likely that the impact may be materially adverse to the business and prospects of the group, Rusal said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse. As at the date of this announcement, the company has not received any formal resignation from Mr Deripaska. Rusal shares, which slumped in April on news of the sanctions, were up more than 5% in Hong Kong. The jobs in Limerick have been under a cloud as US sanctions imposed on Rusal played havoc with metal markets over the past month. Mr Deripaska was targeted because of his purported close ties to the Kremlin. He has repeatedly called the sanctions groundless but has indicated he would divest his interests in businesses like Rusal. The threat of sanctions has also affected other large companies. Mining giant Rio Tinto has plants in France and Iceland that use the Irish alumina, and Liberty House Groups Scottish smelter also depends on the site. The US Administration has since softened its stance towards Rusal, saying its issue is with Mr Deripaska and not the company. Mr Collins said the stepping down of Mr Deripaska from En+ Group was good news for the workers, but urged the Government to keep abreast of all developments and engage with its counterparts in Washington. It is a positive development that Mr Deripaska has recognised this is the option he needs to pursue. In doing so, it will hopefully ensure the future of Aughinishs viability, the Fianna Fail foreign affairs spokesman said. Business Minister Heather Humphreys raised Aughinish with US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington earlier this month. The department said it was closely engaging with the firm and its management and continues to keep the situation under close and careful review, adding that Mr Ross was aware of the threat to the Irish jobs. Additional reporting Reuters Anthony Hopkins is in the news today after speaking publicly about his estrangement from his daughter, Abigail. People break up. Families split and, you know, Get on with your life," he told the Radio Times. "People make choices. I dont care one way or the other. When told that comment sounds cold, he replied: Well, it is cold. Because life is cold." Ryan Tubridy was discussing the news on RTE Radio 1 when none other than Andrew Scott's mother text the show with a story about the veteran actor. Nora Scott said that her experience of Anthony Hopkins was contrary to what was reported of him being cold in the media. As far as I'm concerned, Anthony Hopkins is a sweetheart. "Some months ago I had pneumonia and this week I received three dozen roses from him from Italy. My son had worked with him on King Lear and had mentioned that I was ill and my son said that he was lovely to work with and had a positive attitude to life. "I was thrilled to get such a gift, for the kind thought which prompted it. Now that I have recovered, I can enjoy these exquisite roses which grace our hall." She said she thinks there might have been more than 36 roses delivered to her home. "They were so heavy she could hardly get up the steps of the house to deliver them and I certainly couldn't bring them upstairs. They're yellow and red, they're absolutely beautiful." Nora said her son, who previously starred in BBC's Sherlock, described Hopkins as "a beautiful person" and his gesture towards her makes her think kindly of him. "[Andrew] said he was just a beautiful person. When I heard you reading a report that he was cold or he behaved in a cold manner I thought that's not the impression that came across to me. "It was a beautiful thing. And the little card that came with it saying 'be well, enjoy, sending hugs' that sort of thing." Fancy a sneak preview of @BBCTwos all-star #KingLear adaptation? Heres Anthony Hopkins as the eponymous ruler pic.twitter.com/s9qQ41RHeU BBC Two (@BBCTwo) May 21, 2018 Nora also revealed her husband, Jim, has often been mistaken for Anthony Hopkins in public, including when they were visiting America. Listen in full here: A major international project to tackle bullying is being established at Dublin City University. The partnership between DCU and UNESCO will look at how to tackle the issue in schools and cyberspace. Irish and international researchers and academics will document incidents of bullying and violence and the widespread harm associated with it. They will develop a set of prevention measures and guidelines for teachers and parents on how to intervene if they suspect someone is being bullied. The UNESCO Chair on Tackling Bullying in Schools and Cyberspace, which will initially run for four years. Announcing the designation, President of Dublin City University, Professor Brian MacCraith said: "This agreement is a significant development reflecting a concerted global effort to combat the harm caused by bullying in schools and bullying in cyberspace. "The Chair will facilitate high-level collaboration on this issue between internationally recognised researchers and academics from Ireland and across the world, enabling the development of a comprehensive body of research, including interventions, which will have a transformative impact, not only in terms of expanding the knowledge base on this issue but also in the context of providing teachers, educationalists and parents with best practice intervention methods to help combat bullying. "The Chair is very much a reflection of our values to make a transformative impact on lives and societies through research and engagement." - Digital Desk Health Minister Simon Harris will take part in a live TV debate on the abortion referendum tonight. RTE's Prime Time - The Referendum Debate is a specially extended live programme which will be broadcast at 9.35pm on RTE One. Miriam O'Callaghan and David McCullagh will host RTE's final television referendum debate between Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD and Prof. Mary Higgins, Consultant Obstetrician (Together for Yes) for the 'Yes' side and Cora Sherlock, Solicitor (Love Both) and Peadar Toibin TD, Sinn Fein, for the 'No' side. The programme will also feature contributions from the live studio audience of 90 people. Meanwhile, both sides continue on the campaign trail today in a bid to win over voters with the so called 'hard case' issues continuing to feature prominently. On the issue of rape cases, Cora Sherlock from the Pro Life Campaign said the experience of the woman at the centre of the C case illustrates why the 8th amendment should be retained. In 1997, the then 13 year old rape victim was allowed to travel to the UK for an abortion following a high profile legal case. But in a recent interview the now mother of two said she regretted the termination and was angry that it was being used to justify the repeal of the 8th amendment. Miss C's story is often used by the YES campaign to advocate for their extreme abortion proposal. What does she have to say? "Don't bring me up for an ad for an abortion when I never wanted an abortion." #LoveBothVoteNO: https://t.co/1Xr0Wfr5uf pic.twitter.com/kWTWzf6jv6 LoveBoth (Official) (@lovebothireland) May 22, 2018 In a separate news conference the doctor who led the inquiry into Savita Halappanavar's death has said the hands of doctors are being tied by the 8th Amendment. Ms Halappanavar, a 31 year old Indian woman who was 17 weeks pregnant, died at University Hospital Galway from sepsis, while suffering a miscarriage. An investigation into her death found the 8th amendment played a role after her request for an abortion was denied. At today's event Prof. Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, suggested it was the constitutional ban on abortion which prevented Savita from being treated properly. 'What held them behind was the fear that they might be prosecuted': Prof Sabaratnam Arulkumaran says the #EighthAmendment led directly to Savita Halappanavar's death pic.twitter.com/GBUOdokyIi Morning Ireland (@morningireland) May 22, 2018 His claims have been dismissed by the No side, however, who suggest Ms Halappanavar's case is being misrepresented. Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Dr Trevor Hayes, who is part of the Doctors for Life organisation that supports retaining the Eighth Amendment, told Morning Ireland there were missed opportunities to treat Ms Halappanavar because the recognition of sepsis came too late. Mr Hayes said that he believed the amendment was not a cause in Ms Halappanavar's death and that is was something worth protecting. The law, he said, allowed him to recognise when there is risk to the mother and he does not have to "play medical roulette" or "worry about the Eighth Amendment" when practising obstetrics. 'I don't have to play medical roulette': Consultant obstetrician Trevor Hayes says he knows when a mother's life is in danger and the #EighthAmendment does not prevent him saving a woman's life pic.twitter.com/4H0eTbak3d Morning Ireland (@morningireland) May 22, 2018 Meanwhile, Health Minister Simon Harris has urged people to get out and vote, saying this referendum won't be decided by the people who stay at home. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] The Doctors for Life group have warned that removing the 8th Amendment will see the introduction of an extreme abortion regime which will have an adverse effect on the delivery of healthcare in Ireland. The group went on to for the people of Ireland to "protect mothers and babies and vote NO on Friday" Doctors for Life is an organisation for doctors who wish to uphold the practice of medicine as a service to human life at all stages. Chair, Dr Deirdre Gleeson is a Consultant Occupational Physician and GP explains how the group was formed to give voice to doctors who believe that removing the 8th Amendment will have an adverse impact on the delivery of healthcare in Ireland. "Abortion is never necessary to save the mothers life and is not a known treatment for any medical condition, in fact there is evidence that abortion causes harm to womens health. "Therefore, removal of the 8th amendment will not improve maternity care in this country and we believe that the introducing the governments proposed extreme abortion regime will have an adverse effect on the delivery of healthcare in Ireland. "We became doctors to protect and save life and we are not prepared to cooperate with any procedure which clearly intends to take the life of one of our patients and causes harm to another. Ms Glesson went on to suggest that the government is proposing an extreme abortion regime to replace the 8th Amendment which Doctors for Life believe will have an adverse effect on the delivery of healthcare in Ireland. "Abortion is not healthcare and does not help women and leads to the intentional ending of the life of the baby. "We call on the government to focus in improving resources for women in crisis pregnancies and to implement a perinatal palliative care program as the best model of care for families who receive a devastating diagnosis of life limiting condition. "Removing the 8th amendment will leave this government and future governments free to legislate for abortion on whatever grounds they chose without ever consulting the people again. "This government is already proposing a radical abortion regime which we believe will negatively affect the delivery of healthcare in Ireland. At a recent press conference five doctors from various disciplines revealed why they will be voting No on Friday. The speakers spoke in in a personal capacity as professional experts and were not representing the HSE or any other employer. Watch their testimonies below. Dr Eileen Reilly: Dr Eilen reilly is a consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology who graduated from Glasgow University in 1990. Dr Reilly trained in Obstetrics and gynaecology and worked in Ireland for many years before returning to her native Scotland where she works in a busy maternity unit. Dr Reilly discusses how laws shape our culture and that legalising abortion normalises abortion and adversely changes the culture of medicine and the care of women and their babies in pregnancy. Dr Anne Doherty Dr Anne Doherty is a Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist who graduated from NUIG in 2005 and trained and worked in liaison psychiatry in The UK before returning to Ireland. Her research interests include translational medicine and adjustment disorders. Dr Doherty discusses abortion and mental health. Dr Marie-Therese McKenna: Dr Marie Therese McKenna is a General Practitioner who graduated from UCD in 1996 and trained as a GP and is working in general practice in her native Donegal since 2000. Dr McKenna discusses the implications of introducing the governments abortion proposals for General Practitioners and their patients Dr Trevor Hayes: Dr Trevor Hayes is a consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology who graduated from UCC in 1994 and trained in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He has worked in Ireland, Scotland and England. Dr Hayes speaks about how repealing the 8th Amendment will affect children with Downs Syndrome. Mary McConalogue: Ms Mary McConalogue is a pharmacist who graduated from TCD in 2003 and worked in community and hospital pharmacy and research. Ms McConalogue speaks about the implications of removing the 8th Amendment for the practice of pharmacy and her concerns about conscientious objection and health professionals. The Doctors for Life contribution comes as the chair of the inquiry into Savita Halappanavar's death in Galway in 2012 called for a Yes vote in Friday's referendum. The 31 year old Indian woman who was 17 weeks pregnant died at University Hospital Galway from sepsis, while suffering a miscarriage. An investigation into her death found the 8th amendment played a role after her request for an abortion was denied. While those on the No side of the Referendum debate have said her case is being misrepresented Prof Sabaratnam Arulkumaran said it was the constitutional ban on abortion which prevented Savita from being treated properly. - Digital Desk Huaweis new smartphones, the P20 and P20 Pro, have leapfrogged Samsung and Apples offerings with high-quality camera capabilities the clincher, writes Carolyn Moore. At the global launch last month for its latest smartphone, Chinese company Huawei pulled out all the stops to show when it comes to their new P20 and P20 Pro models, theyve put the focus firmly on the camera. This is nothing new. As smartphones have evolved into devices we rely on for a multitude of functions that go beyond simply making a voice call, it should come as no surprise to anyone who no longer owns (or needs) a standalone camera that the camera has emerged as the final frontier in the battle for smartphone supremacy. Sales of digital cameras have dropped from 121m to just 13m since the start of this decade, and with social media use turning us all into prolific photographers, its estimated that more photographs were taken last year than in the entire history of analogue photography. From the Maldives to Miami or Mexico! Using machine learning weve preloaded the #HuaweiP20 with over 100,000 images for your best beach snaps. #MeaningfulInnovation #MakeItPossible pic.twitter.com/x5oV6FoMp6 Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) May 21, 2018 With precious little to improve upon at this stage in terms of the basic functionality of phones, smartphone cameras have become their chief selling point. A glance at DxOMarks mobile camera rating (the industry standard for measuring camera quality) reveals the top brands leapfrogging up the rankings, one point at a time until last month, when Huawei surpassed its nearest rival, Samsungs Galaxy 9 Plus, by an astonishing three and ten points with its P20 and P20 Pro, respectively. At the launch, Huawei chief executive Richard Yu explained it didnt call the P10s successor the P11 because jumping from 10 to 11 simply didnt reflect the giant leap its technology had taken. As a trained but now hobby photographer, having tried the P20 Pro, I have to acknowledge it goes beyond anything I imagined a camera phone would be capable of. Partnering with lens masters Leica again, Huawei has spared no effort in ensuring the P20 Pro leaves its competitors in the dust. But as it hits the market at 899 comparable to a decent DSLR camera, an iPhone X, or the aforementioned S9 the question is, is it worth it? If photography is your thing (and these days, photography is everyones thing), the answer is yes. As a fashion journalist, global tech launches are not my regular beat, but as fashion bloggers, influencers, and YouTubers joined the assembled tech media at the press conference last month in no less a venue than the Grand Palais in Paris, home to Chanel fashion shows and the prestigious annual Paris Photo fair you could easily have mistaken it for a fashion event. Photography used to be the preserve of a very few. Now we can all take pictures and see the world through so many peoples eyes Thats because, with this launch, Huawei has the vast and ever-growing Instagram community in its sights, and boy does that cohort love a point-and-shoot camera that lets them edit, perfect, filter, and upload speedily and without the use of external apps. While the cameras on both models pack a serious punch, the P20 Pro goes the extra mile to put a host of professional-level DSLR capabilities into your pocket. To prove this, it announced, at the launch, a collaboration with supermodel-turned-photographer Helena Christensen (who boasts 330k Instagram followers), and had fashion and celebrity photographer Mel Bles take to the stage to reveal a portfolio of images shot on the P20 Pro. Photography used to be the preserve of a very few, she observed. Now we can all take pictures and see the world through so many peoples eyes. Nowhere is our newfound enthusiasm for sharing images more apparent than on Instagram, and for wannabe influencers, budding photographers, or casual users alike, the latest generation of smartphone cameras increasingly come pre-packed as standard with a host of features designed to help you seriously up your Instagram game. With a breakthrough triple camera on the Huawei P20 Pro, an advanced dual camera on the Huawei P20, and powerful artificial intelligence on both, todays most vibrant consumers can capture and share the brilliance of the world around them, said Yu. And how brilliantly they can capture it! Both models boast a 40MP lens plus an 8MP telephoto lens for extraordinary zoom capability, while the Pro has a 20MP mono lens to boot. Pro mode allows for manual shooting, but powerful AI assistance makes even point-and-shoot photography a breeze, assessing and optimising performance for hundreds of scenarios, from cats to waterfalls. Additionally, light sensors to rival Canons 5D, along with ground-breaking image stabilisation technology, make for outstanding low light performance from the P20 Pro. Never again will you have to struggle with the flash/no flash dilemma in a bid to capture the perfect #foodgram in a dimly lit restaurant; and outdoors too, the level of detail captured in low light conditions is astonishing. Take a shot in the dark and get winning results with Hand Held Night Mode on the #HuaweiP20. With just your hands as equipment, you can achieve professional long exposure photographs. #SeeMooore #OOO pic.twitter.com/c36jyNFDpm Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) April 29, 2018 Meanwhile, the 24MP front-facing camera offers unparalleled quality for those all-important selfies, and with optional portrait lighting, Bokeh effects and AI beautification, each one looks like a professional head shot. As every avid Instagrammer knows, all that capability is nothing without a good battery, and the P20 Pro delivers here too, with a turbocharge option to fuel up to 50% in 30 minutes. This Instagram-addicted iPhone-devotee is converted one flawless selfie and you could be too. The Huawei P20 (RRP 649) and P20 Pro (RRP 899) are on sale now The difficulties in the housing market are well documented, with rising prices and a limited number of properties on sale, writes Grainne McGuinness. This scenario creates significant stress for potential buyers and makes them less conscious of rates than they are of getting a mortgage in the first place. However, the rate you pay will have a massive impact on your finances, over decades. Joey Sheahan, head of credit with MyMortgages.ie, believes more people should be looking at fixed-rate mortgages in particular, as they offer a number of benefits. Some of the banks have incentivised borrowers to take a fixed rate for various periods, he says. The reason they are offering it I assume is to incentivise people to lock in for four years so the bank know they can keep that business on their books. Joey Sheahan, Head of Credit with MyMortgages.ie Historically, fixed rates would be higher than variable but this is an opportunity for borrowers right now, certainly ones who havent reviewed their rates for a while, that they can avail of a fixed rate that is less than a variable rate, an excellent rate offering. A fixed rate is now the most attractive rate in many cases. He says they are particularly appealing for some cases: Certainly for first-time buyers, who want to budget their outgoings and know exactly what they will be paying, having certainty around payments is a good idea. Other borrowers may want more flexibility but Mr Sheahan says many of the banks will now work with them on that. We see more and more people looking to split their rate, he says. So they might fix 80% of the rate and leave a percentage on variable to allow them to overpay on the variable portion with no penalties. Some lenders will also allow you to pay a portion of the mortgage without any penalty, some may charge a penalty to overpay on a fixed rate, but in general we are seeing more of a demand for fixed rate from borrowers. Most of them will offer a split, if someone is not sure they can go 50% fixed, 50% variable or whatever split they want, it gives more flexibility. The ECB rate is an at an all-time low and while no one can predict the future, fixing your mortgage rate offers protection against increases for the term that is fixed. The UK and the US have both recently introduced rate rises so at some point, I dont think it will be in the short term but in the medium- to long-term, there will be rate increases, Mr Sheahan says. When, who knows? It depends on external, global factors too. He says existing mortgage holders should also review to see if it would be worth their while moving their rate, or even changing provider. It baffles me that people dont switch more, he says. If you are getting a new mortgage or changing your existing mortgage to a new bank, you are going to get new business rates so it is in your interest to review your mortgage every couple of years. Every two to three years people should look at what they are paying, same as they would there utility bills or anything else. He believes homeowners can have the incorrect view that switching will be as much work as their initial mortgage application. First-time buyers might have to scrape and struggle to get passed. But once they have a mortgage and have shown repayment ability, that they can service the mortgage, refinancing approval is more straightforward, he says. Normally, customers are told to focus on rate when choosing their mortgage. This is valid but MyMortgages.ie says current cashback offers also suit some clients. Some banks will offer up to 2% cash back upfront, Mr Sheahan says. In certain circumstances we see people happy to pay a higher rate in order to receive the cash back because they need that key to furnish the house or pay legal fees or whatever. While it advisable to pay the lowest rate, we do see some people opting for a slightly higher rate in exchange for a cash incentive. With the mortgage payment it would take them a good chunk of time to save the money. By Michael Clifford Martin Callinan cant understand why so many people are claiming that he had some terrible things to say about Sergeant Maurice McCabe. He doesnt recoil at the claims, but he did express himself shocked here and there that they were being made. He doesnt suggest that various parties are acting in some form of conspiracy against him, to portray him in a poor light. But he just doesnt know why people are saying these things about him. The claims, if accepted, would amount to the garda commissioner of the day spreading scurrilous lies, most seriously that Sgt McCabe was the focus of an ongoing investigation into child sexual abuse offences. The alleged motive for spreading the lies is that Sgt McCabe was highlighting uncomfortable truths about abuse of the penalty points system in road safety. Yesterday, Mr Callinan spent his second day in the witness box. He was brought through the encounters he had with two TDs and the Comptroller and Auditor General at a crucial Public Accounts Committee meeting on January 23, 2014. In Leinster House, prior to the meeting, he encountered Fine Gael TD and PAC member John Deasy. The TD claims Mr Callinan told him Sgt McCabe was not to be believed or trusted with anything. Not so, says Mr Callinan. Theyre not words I used nor are they words I would use about any member, he told the tribunal. The commissioner then met Seamus McCarthy, the Comptroller and Auditor General, who had compiled the report on the penalty points system which the PAC was about to hear. Mr McCarthy is clear on what he believes Mr Callinan said to him. The accountant says that the commissioner said to him that Sgt McCabe was not to be trusted, that he had questions to answer, and that there were sexual offence allegations against him. The statement, tribunal lawyer Patrick Marrinan put it to Mr Callinan, leaves no room for error here. Maurice McCabe. Mr Callinans defence is that there must be some mistake. He didnt say those things. I do think there is some misunderstanding, he told Mr Marrinan. After the heated PAC meeting, committee chairman John McGuinness approached Mr Callinan to thank him for coming. According to the TD, Mr Callinan began telling a story of how former garda John Wilson who had also brought complaints of malpractice in the penalty points system acquired the nickname Jockey Wilson. And then, according to Mr McGuinness, Mr Callinan said, and the other fella fiddles with kids. Thats the type of fucking headbangers Im dealing with. The other fella was a reference to Sgt McCabe. Another mistake or misunderstanding. Mr Callinan said he never said any such thing, nor would he. Seamus McCarthy, Comptroller and Auditor General. That was the first of two encounters over two days in January 2014 at which Mr McGuinness says he was told about matters of this nature by Mr Callinan. Mr Marrinan put the sum of the parts to the witness. Here again, we have John McGuinness who is suggesting that you made derogatory comments about Sergeant McCabe immediately after the PAC meeting in a context where, completely independently, John Deasy is saying he met you and you spoke poorly of Sergeant McCabe. "Seamus McCarthy is saying you referred to allegations of sexual assault. Then immediately after the meeting there is this blackening of Sergeant McCabes name, isnt that right? The former commissioners reply was clear, in keeping with the whole tenor of his evidence. I never said Sergeant McCabe was not to be trusted. The text you read out to me (extracts from statements of the above witnesses) that is not the language I would engage with with anybody and certainly not the type of language I would engage in when speaking of colleagues or former colleagues to a committee chair. Later, Michael McDowell, counsel for Sgt McCabe, pointed to a letter circulated to stations in Cavan-Monaghan in 2011 which he said belittled Sgt McCabes complaints and was designed to humiliate him. The lawyer also went through a report compiled on Sgt McCabes whole career, which was produced in late 2013, ahead of the January 2014 PAC meeting. This went as far back as 1992 to a minor complaint from a member of the public which was dismissed. Then Mr McDowell explored how in 2013 a detective superintendent went to the home of a Mr Bernard McCabe, an estranged uncle of Sgt McCabe, on the basis that he said his nephew had quashed drink-driving convictions. This allegation was shown to have no basis. There were also various unfounded complaints from this source against Sgt McCabe concerning goats, drug dealing and issues around how many cattle the sergeant had in a field. Sgt McCabe was not informed about any of these allegations. This is what was happening in 2013, the lawyer put it to Mr Callinan. Senior gardai were expending valuable time on dud allegations against Sgt McCabe. Mr Callinan said a matter was investigated, he didnt see anything more to it. There was also evidence yesterday that the uncle was visited again as late as December 2016, this time by an assistant commissioner. Again, it turned out there was no basis whatsoever for any complaints against the whistleblowing sergeant. Mr McDowell suggested that the various inquiries into Sgt McCabe, compiled in the 2013 document, showed there was an attitude of deep suspicion and willingness to search the record for anything that could assist in damaging Sgt McCabe. Mr Callinan replied: If you are suggesting that I had anything to do with this document or it was designed to bring down Sgt McCabe, nothing, but nothing could be further from the truth. The whole tenor of Mr Callinans evidence is that he thought Sgt McCabe was doing a service for the force by bringing forward his complaints of malpractice. His evidence continues. Much of the debate on the smear test controversy has focussed on the cover-up and bad communication, but money lies at the heart of the issue, writes Marie OConnor. Much of the recent debate on CervicalCheck has centred around communication, cover-up and concealment. But, if we are to have a safe cancer screening service, there is much more that needs to be examined. While cervical cancer screening has been shown to save lives, the oft repeated mantra that no test is 100% doesnt quite convey the limitations of the testing. A recently-released Department of Health brief stated that the screening is 60%-75% accurate. How safe is a service that exports some of its smears to the United States for testing? In 1987 the Wall Street Journal ran a series on a Pap-screening industry kept afloat by overworked, under-supervised, poorly-paid technicians. That series, depicting Pap mills churning out cervical smear reports in huge numbers, often at the expense of quality, led to legislative change. CLIA (the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988) limited the number of slides a technician could read for diagnostic purposes to 80 per day, plus another 40 for quality control. Each slide (one per case in the US) contains 50,000-200,000 cells. That legal limit was later raised to 100 (to cover all readings). Now, with the advent of computerised readings, even that cap is being exceeded. The fact that cervical cancer screening carries an accepted false negative rate of 5%-10% underlines the need for high-quality testing. Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Cervical Screening is Irelands rule book for quality assurance. In the second edition, published in 2014, the National Cancer Screening Service states that all laboratories must be certified to ISO 15189 or equivalent (p 50). Only one of the laboratories used by CervicalCheck, Medlab Pathology, shows evidence of this international standard for medical laboratories on its website, however. The State guidelines seem to have been written with the outsourcing of smears to other jurisdictions in view. The NCSS is vague on key issues, including qualifications, saying only that laboratory staff should be qualified according to national criteria (p 53, 4.2.3). A similar attitude is taken to the signing-off of laboratory reports, where, again, national legal requirements rule. Reports may be signed off by technicians but abnormal results will only be reported by a pathologist. Such confidence may be misplaced. A class action taken against a University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre hospital in 2005 revealed that computer-generated smear reports bearing pathologists names were read only by technicians. New research in the US shows that deaths from cervical cancer are significantly higher than previously thought. Several causes of death have emerged in the courts. Technicians are no longer viewing all cervical cells on a slide, as they used to. Instead, they examine those pre-selected by a computer. In major laboratories with an eye to the bottom line, staff now read north of 130-140 slides daily, up from a maximum of 80-90 when readings were all manual. Routine screening takes 4-5 minutes on average and often involves no more than one viewer. Set against this background, the limits laid down by the NCSS for quality control seem fanciful. Screeners, the NCSS says, should work a maximum of six hours daily over 24 hours and carry out no more than 12,000 primary screens yearly (p 58, Standards 4-10 to 4-11). (A primary screen is one done, apparently, for diagnostic purposes.) Observing this NCSS cap would mean each technician would do no more than, say, 50 of these screens in a day. It seems unlikely that large-for-profit laboratories in the US would cut back their productivity in this way for a client (CervicalCheck) 3,000 miles away. With an eye to the US laboratory scene, perhaps, the NCSS envisages that all smears may be read by computers. The guidelines state that all samples should receive a full manual primary screen unless the lab is notified by CervicalCheck that automated assisted screening is allowed. Another quality requirement is that all samples (except those for reassessment) must receive a manual rapid re-screen, which should take approximately 60-90 seconds (p 60). In the alternative, this re-screen may be done by a computer. In Ireland, in contrast, according to the Academy of Clinical Science and Laboratory Medicine, all smears are screened independently by two medical scientists trained as cytologists. This is in line with the highest international standards. Until the public laboratory services were dismantled by the State, medical scientists read just 25-30 cases daily. Overworked staff risk misreading slides. Medical laboratory standards matter: women have had bilateral mastectomies in the US following wrong BRCA gene results. Yet the laboratory industry there is still unregulated, according to the Wall Street Journal. A 2015 headline on what it termed a multi-billion dollar a year business asked: is laboratory testing the Wild West of medicine? The focus of the article was on non-standardised tests, including for HPV and ovarian cancer, developed in house and found by the Food and Drug Administration to be problematic. Ireland was the first country in the world to outsource all of its smear tests to overseas laboratories. Outsourcing began in 2006, when Quest Diagnostics, a large-for-profit laboratory in New Jersey, was given a backlog created by State under-resourcing to clear. Quest figures subsequently showed that its staff were finding one-third fewer pre-cancerous cells than Irish scientists in the same population. The fact that Quests diagnostic rate was 30% lower than that of Irish laboratories sparked widespread concern among medical scientists, pathologists and gynaecologists. This was ignored. In 2008, the NCSS gave Quest a two-year contract to read Irelands 300,000 smears. It later declined to disclose the value of the contract, paid for by taxpayers, citing commercial confidentiality. Mary Harney, then health minister, subsequently revealed that Quests tender was one-third lower than the lowest Irish bid. Quest secured a further contract in May 2010, but this time the NCSS divided the cake, giving just 75% of it to the New Jersey company. Last year, Quest and a subsidiary, Berkeley Heartlab, paid $6m to resolve a US government lawsuit alleging that Heartlab had bribed doctors to order expensive but medically unnecessary blood tests. Quest continues to read Irish smears. Sonic, which claims to be the third largest provider, globally, of pathology and clinical laboratory services, entered the Irish market in 2010, when the Australian corporation was awarded the remaining 25% of the two-year State contract. One of the terms of that contract was that Sonic would establish its own laboratory in Ireland. This raises many questions, not least the guarantees that may have been given by the State to make such a costly venture by a for-profit company worthwhile. Pending the opening of Sonics laboratory in Ireland, the testing was to be carried out in Austin, Texas, by CPL (Clinical Pathology Laboratories), a subsidiary. MedLab Pathology opened its doors in Sandyford, Dublin, in August 2010, and secured ISO 15189 certification 18 months later, in December 2011. In 2012, the State gave further contracts to MedLab (and Quest), again based on the cheapest price. The HSE recently confirmed that, during busy periods, MedLab outsources CervicalCheck smears to a brother corporation (the Doctors Laboratory, in London). CPL, MedLab and the Doctors Laboratory are all owned by Sonic. Sonic is listed on the Australian Security Exchange: its 2017 report shows that revenue was up 7.9% to AUS$2.67bn. Total cash remuneration to June 30, 2017 for its CEO, Dr Colin Goldschmidt, came to more than $5m. High Court records show that Dr Goldschmidt is a director of MedLab. That company is a defendant or a co-defendant in five of the 10 legal cases being brought in Ireland arising out of incorrect smear test reports. Its brother laboratory, CPL, recently paid out 2.5m to Vicky Phelan in settlement of her case. Quest is a defendant or co-defendant in five other similar cases. Successive governments, aided and abetted by the Department of Health and others, have long planned to privatise the nations laboratory service, and they have all but succeeded. In 2007, Teamwork, under commission from the HSE, sounded the death knell for public laboratories and proposed several centralised, high-volume, standalone facilities, dividing laboratory services for patients from their hospital treatment. MedLab is the first. Cervical screening was performed in screening centres and diagnostic laboratories in Ireland for 40 years, until CervicalCheck began in 2008. In that year, the systematic dismantling of Irelands cytology laboratories began with the redeployment of 60 specialist scientists. One public laboratory survived the culling. Today, just one of the three laboratories currently used by the NCSS is a not-for-profit (the Coombe Hospital). The States rule book has evidently been written with the needs of large, commercial, automated laboratories in mind, not patients. The standards drawn up by the NCSS for cervical smear testing fall far short of Irish laboratory standards. The oft-repeated claim, first made by the NCSS in 2010, that each smear test sample analysed at each [US] laboratory will be double screened by two separate cytotechnologists now stands exposed as baseless. Of the three laboratories currently used by CervicalCheck, two are facing legal actions by women whose cancers, tragically, were not picked up in time to prevent them from developing invasive disease. In a country where smears are taken only at 3-5 yearly intervals, the only safe model of care is a not-for-profit one, where treating doctors may confer on site with laboratory staff, and test results accumulate in that hospital laboratory over time. If we wish to save womens lives, cost cutting can no longer be allowed to drive the Governments approach to cervical cancer screening. Marie OConnor is the author of Emergency: Irish Hospitals in Chaos A peek into the lives of Puerto Rican Muslims and what Ramadan means post Hurricane A UF expert on Global Islam shares his conversations with Muslims in Puerto Rico, who added depth to his understanding of their rich history and struggles. Muslims praying in Puerto Rico. AP Photo/Tomas van Houtryve Ken Chitwood, University of Florida For Juan, Ramadan is a balancing act. On the one hand is his religious faith and practice. On the other is his land, his culture, his home: Puerto Rico. Although he weaves these two elements of his identity together in many ways, during Ramadan, the borderline between them becomes palpable. For the Puerto Rican Muslims like Juan, the holy month of fasting brings to the surface the tensions they feel in their daily life as minorities and as Muslims among their Puerto Rican family and Puerto Ricans in the Muslim community. That is even more true this year in the wake of Hurricane Maria, the storm that made landfall in the southeastern city of Yabucoa on Sept. 20, 2017, and devastated parts of Puerto Rico. Even today, many parts of the island are without essential services, such as consistent electricity and water or access to schools. I met Juan in 2015, when I first traveled to Puerto Rico in an effort to better understand the Puerto Rican Muslim story as part of my broader research on Islam in Latin America and the Caribbean. What I have found, in talking to Muslims in Puerto Rico and in many U.S. cities, is a deep history and a rich narrative that expands the understanding of what it means to be Muslim on the one hand, and, on the other, Puerto Rican. This Ramadan, Muslims in Puerto Rico are using the strength of both these identities to deal with the havoc of Hurricane Maria. The history of Muslims in Puerto Rico Muslims first came to the island as part of the transatlantic colonial exchange between Spain and Portugal and the New World. There is evidence that the first Muslims arrived with the explorers in the 16th century. Many Moriscos, or Iberian Muslims, came to the Caribbean bypassing several Spanish laws that prohibited them from coming to the Americas and served as merchants and explorers. Some were taken as slaves. Enslaved Muslims from West Africa also came to the island beginning in the 16th century. While exact numbers are not known, scholars believe they were significant. These Muslim slave communities did not thrive, or even survive, but Islam established itself across the Western Hemisphere. It became the regions second monotheistic religion thanks to Muslim slaves, former slaves and maroons Africans who escaped slavery and founded independent settlements. These Muslims left their mark and contributed to the culture and history of the continents. Due to conversion to Catholicism or the adoption of Afro-American religious traditions such as Candomble or Santeria the influence and presence of Islam in the Americas faded over time. There is no evidence of direct links between present-day Muslim communities and the enslaved Muslims who came before. Todays Muslim communities largely comprise recent immigrants from Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt and Syria, with some descendants of the late 19th- and 20th-century immigrants. Ethnically speaking, nearly two-thirds of Puerto Ricos Muslim population is made up of Palestinian immigrants, living in places like Caguas and San Juan, who came fleeing political turmoil or to pursue business interests. Recent conversions In recent years some Puerto Ricans have been reverting to the religion of their ancestors: Islam. In each of Puerto Ricos nine mosques, researchers have found an increasing number of recent local converts. There is no accurate measure, but anecdotal evidence suggests rising numbers. How do they wrestle with their identity as both Muslim and Puerto Rican? Straddled between a predominately Arab Muslim population on the one hand and their avowedly Puerto Rican families, neighbors and co-workers who imagine Islam as a religion foreign to Puerto Rico, converts to Islam struggle to marry the two identities they now claim. They are in search of a Boricua Islamidad a unique Puerto Rican Muslim identity that resists complete assimilation to Arab cultural norms even as it re-imagines and expands what it means to be Puerto Rican and a Muslim. When I first met Juan at an Eid al-Fitr celebration, the festival of breaking the Ramadan fast, at the San Juan Convention Center in 2015, the 40-something man said, I came to Islam by asking questions: about the ills of society, the difficulties of life. For Juan, Catholicism, the religion adopted by his ancestors when they converted, was too confusing. The doctrine of tawhid in Islam the oneness of God was, as he saw it, simpler than what he believed to be the complex theology of the Trinity. Furthermore, he felt that Islam called for a higher morality and sense of self-discipline. And so, he reverted that is, returned to the faith of his birth and the heritage of his Iberian forebears in al-Andalus, in what is modern-day Spain. But Juan, like many other converts, is also searching for a sense of authenticity in his new community. While Juan finds that his Muslim brothers and sisters appreciate him, he still feels marginalized because of his cultural background. He finds ways to express his Boricuan (a term for resident Puerto Ricans, derived from the islands indigenous name Borinquen) pride and his Muslim identity by sporting a taqiyah, a short, rounded skull cap, decorated with the Puerto Rican flag. Another Puerto Rican convert from Aguadilla, Abu Livia, lives in this tension as well. He told me during an interview, Too often we hear people say you have to wear certain clothes, speak a certain language, look like an Arab, talk like an Arab, behave like an Arab. Not just Juan and Abu Livia, as I found in my research, but many other Puerto Rican Muslims are looking toward Andalusia, or Moorish Spain, to search for their roots and define who they are in a Puerto Rican society that claims a mixed background of indigenous, African and European influences. Puerto Rico se levanta Puerto Rican Muslims not only look across the Atlantic. They also look within themselves and are finding ways of expressing their Muslim faith through the symbols and struggles of Puerto Rican culture, whether it be their flag, their family traditions, or in how they respond to the trials of Hurricane Maria. Following up with Juan after a year of struggle in the wake of the storm, he said, Puerto Ricans are proud, committed, strong, and palante (moving forward). And that includes Muslims. After the destruction of Hurricane Maria, the month of Ramadan, held special meaning for him. It held hope for renewal. Puerto Rico se levanta, he said, meaning Puerto Rico will rise, and this Ramadan it will do so in the prayer, fasting, and charity of Muslims to help one another and their fellow Puerto Ricans prepare for a better future today and forever. For Juan, this is just another way his Puerto Rican identity helps him be a better Muslim. As he said, We will fast this month, but we already know what it means to be in want. This incorporates elements of an earlier article published on June 23, 2017. Ken Chitwood, Ph.D. Candidate, Religion in the Americas, Global Islam, University of Florida This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. The procedure targets people with the disability, because it is easily diagnosed. Ireland must resist becoming so cruel, says Michael ODowd. When my son, Conor, was born with Down syndrome, 23 years ago, his paediatrician told me that the limitations to what he could achieve would be those placed on him by society. As a family, we have had many battles over the years. We have been supported by enlightened educators and medics, and frustrated by closed minds and low expectation. How disappointing it is, now that Conor has expressed himself in a highly-viewed video for retention of the Eighth Amendment, that he has to face criticism from organisations supposedly there to support him. The question was asked, in an opinion piece in this newspaper, as to why Down syndrome has become the focus of arguments about retaining the Eighth Amendment. The suggestion was made by Pat Clarke, president of the European Down Syndrome Association, that it was, in part, because of patronising stereotypes. The accusation is that we are engaging in an emotive and overly simplistic argument. The answer, I am afraid, is much more chilling. It is because abortion targets people with a disability, and in particular people who have Down syndrome. This is because of the ease of categorising the condition at an early stage of pregnancy. Screening can identify at nine weeks the chromosomal anomaly that is Down syndrome. Medical advice is that mothers should wait for a further two weeks for a definitive diagnosis. However, the evidence from across Europe, Britain, and the USA is that they dont wait. Increasingly, terminations of unborn babies with Down syndrome are taking place after the initial, nine-week test. (1) The Governments proposals for unrestricted abortion up to 12 weeks will facilitate this practice. Let us look at some facts. People with disabilities, and their families, may take different views on the abortion debate, but it is hard to escape the cold, stark reality that abortion is devastating their communities. The statistics are bleak and depressing. In Britain, 90% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted before birth. This is an increase in the rates of two decades ago. Icelands rate of abortion for babies diagnosed with Down syndrome is close to 100%, while Denmark is now aborting 98% of such babies. Paradoxically, this is at a time when, with early intervention and inclusion in schools and other social settings, people with Down syndrome have made significant gains, and are more independent as adults. (2) The European Down Syndrome Association must be aware of these figures across Europe. In fact, their silence, in the face of the figures, is disappointing. The Citizens Assembly was told by a senior expert in foetal maternal medicine that advances in screening and the availability of induced abortion had reduced the numbers of babies born with Down syndrome in the last four years. The prediction is that in 10 years some countries will have no Down syndrome births. Science, the assembly was told, had got way ahead of the ethical discussion. (3) It is difficult not to be alarmed by this assessment, as we debate whether or not to repeal the Eighth Amendment and legalise abortion. As a society, we have not reflected on the implications. Those proposing the measure have done everything possible to close down such a discussion. Parents like me have an absolute right to include our children, and our families, in this debate, since they are central to the discussion. We refuse to hide them away. We want to remind the Irish that people with disabilities have a right to life and that we will not go back to the time when people with disabilities were put out of sight and ignored. We would not have felt obliged to speak out, were it not for the relentless campaign from some quarters telling us to stay silent. Throughout this campaign, it has felt that our existence is inconvenient for some supporters of the abortion referendum and that they would rather we went away and were quiet. The Governments proposals to have unrestricted abortion in the first 12 weeks present a real danger to the Down syndrome community. It is incredible, and deeply upsetting, that the organisations set up to represent our views are not only refusing to address this, but actively colluding with a government that is promoting this liberal policy. Thankfully, parents are not taking this lying down and our voices will continue to express real concern about the direction of our country. Michael ODowd is chairman of Renua, chairman of Disability Voices for Life, and a member of Down Syndrome Ireland. Reference:(1) The influence of noninvasive prenatal testing on gestational age at time of abortion for aneuploidy.Lassey SC, Reiff ES, Dobson L, Bromley B, Wilkins-Haug L, Bartz D, Little SE.Prenat Diagn. 2017 Jul;37(7):635-639.(2) 90% of babies with DS aborted in Britain - National Down Syndrome Cytogenic Register (NDSCR) for England and Wales, Annual Report 2013.Danish figures: Danish Cytogenetic Central Register 2010-2016 - http://www.auh.dk/ Its just over a month since the Belfast rape trial dominated the headlines. A few weeks earlier, the 1984 Kerry Babies scandal was briefly reopened and a new generation learned of a dark episode in our past. Yesterdays arrest of two men over the murder of German teenager Inga Maria Hauser in the North 30 years ago is another. Last weeks murder of Leixlip schoolgirl Ana Kriegel is a more contemporary reminder of the brutality faced by women from men with a sense of entitlement far, far beyond anything a civilised society can tolerate. That detectives searching for Wicklow student Jastine Valdez, randomly abducted last Saturday afternoon, discovered her body in south Co Dublin yesterday afternoon, is yet another example of bestial savagery unloosed by sexual predators. The International Criminal Court has been asked to open an "immediate investigation" into alleged Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. Palestinian foreign minister Riad Malki said he submitted the "referral" to the court during a meeting with the ICC's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, in The Hague on Tuesday. Mr Malki said the complaint seeks an investigation into Israeli policies in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem since the state of Palestine joined the ICC in June 2014. He said this includes Israeli settlement policies as well as the recent violence in Gaza, where Israeli fire killed over 100 Gazans during protests along the Israeli border. Mr Malki said: "There is a culture of impunity in Israel for crimes against Palestinians. "This referral is Palestine's test to the international mechanism of accountability and respect for international law." The ICC has been conducting a preliminary probe since 2015 into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories. It includes Israel's settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the 2014 Gaza conflict. The new request comes with Israeli-Palestinian relations at their lowest point in years in the aftermath of the US embassy move to Jerusalem and the recent bloodshed on the Gaza border. Israel has said it was defending its border and accused Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group using the unrest to carry out attempted attacks and of using civilians as human shields. In response to Tuesday's move at the ICC, Israel said it took a "severe view" of the Palestinian request, calling it a "cynical" and "absurd" step. It accused the Palestinians of violent incitement against Israel and exploiting women and children as human shields. Israel also said the ICC had no jurisdiction in the case because Israel is not a member of the court. "Israel expects the ICC and its prosecutor not to yield to Palestinian pressure, and stand firm against continued Palestinian efforts to politicise the court and to derail it from its mandate," it said. Israel is not a member of the ICC, but its citizens can be charged by the court if they are suspected of committing crimes on the territory or against a national of a country that is a member. The ICC has recognised "Palestine" as a member state. While the ICC can indict suspects, it has no police force and has to rely on co-operation from member states to enforce arrest warrants. - PA Update 7.15pm: Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg admitted his firm needed to do more to tackle terrorism, hate speech and online bullying as he was questioned by MEPs. Appearing before senior politicians in Brussels, Mr Zuckerberg also acknowledged the social media giant faced an "arms race" in efforts to prevent the platform being used to interfere in elections. MEPs lined up to criticise Mr Zuckerberg, with one questioning whether he had created a "digital monster". In his opening statement, he again acknowledged Facebook had not done enough to prevent the spread of fake news, foreign interference in elections and the misuse of personal information. "We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility," he said. "That was a mistake and I am sorry for it. It is going to take time to work through all the changes that we need to make here but I am committed to getting this right." Manfred Weber the leader of the centre-right European People's Party in the parliament, suggested Facebook had become too powerful and may have to be broken up. Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the Liberal group in the parliament, said Mr Zuckerberg was in danger of being remembered as "a genius who created a digital monster that is destroying our democracies and our societies". He compared Facebook to the banks in the run up to the global crash of 2008 and questioned whether it could resolve the problems itself. Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said that since since January, Facebook had changed its algorithms which directly led to a very substantial drop in views and engagements with those with right-of-centre political views. "I am not taking here about extremism. I am not talking about encouraging violence. I am talking about people who have majority mainstream opinions and frankly I feel they are being wilfully discriminated against," he said. Diane Dodds of the DUP raised the case of 17-year-old Ronan Hughes from County Tyrone who took his own life in 2015 after online blackmailers tricked him into sending them into intimate pictures of himself. "This is only one example of the rise of false accounts within Facebook," she said. "I would like you to tell us today what you are doing to stop the rise of false Facebook accounts which deliberately target young and vulnerable people." The format of the session in Brussels - which saw MEPs make statements and pose questions to Mr Zuckerberg, with the Facebook chief responding to their comments at the end - drew criticism for allowing the tech entrepreneur to escape without giving full answers. Responding to the MEPs, Mr Zuckerberg said: "The bottom line here is that hate speech, bullying, terror, violence - all this content has no place on our services. "But in order to really execute that we need to upgrade and do a better job of executing our policies." He said the firm was making greater use of artificial intelligence to detect offensive content. Mr Zuckerberg also acknowledged that there were sophisticated attempts to interfere in elections "like the Russians were able to in the US presidential election in 2016". The Facebook boss told MEPs: "We will never be perfect on this. Our adversaries - especially on the election side - people who are trying to interfere who have access to some of the same AI tools that we will. "It's an arms race and we will need to constantly be working to stay ahead." He insisted Facebook faced competition from "new competitors coming up every day" and while it attracted 6% of global advertising, "clearly advertisers also have a lot of choice". He also highlighted the 18 million small businesses in Europe which use Facebook tools. Mr Zuckerberg also maintained Facebook has "always paid the taxes that the law requires" and was making "significant investments" in EU economies. Responding to the concerns raised by Mr Farage, he said: "We have never and will not make decisions about what content is allowed or how we do ranking on the basis of a political orientation." The Facebook boss has so far resisted attempts to call him to the UK to answer MPs' questions. Damian Collins, chairman of the UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee, said the Brussels session was a "missed opportunity for proper scrutiny". "Unfortunately the format of questioning allowed Mr Zuckerberg to cherry-pick his responses and not respond to each individual point," he said. "I echo the clear frustration of colleagues in the room who felt the discussion was shut down. "It is time that Mr Zuckerberg agreed to appear in front of the DCMS Committee to provide Facebook users the answers they deserve." One of solicitor Diarmuid Kellehers clients had the somewhat confusing experience of turning up at Washington St where district court business has been carried out for the past three years while the new courthouse was being built at Anglesea St. When the young mans case was called, Mr Kelleher said the accused was on his way, adding: He was in the wrong court. He telephoned me wondering where we all were. The answer to that was that they were all in courtroom 1 at Anglesea Street where the business of the court was conducted in the usual manner, with no hitches. Registrar, Margaret OHalloran, said: All rise, very shortly after 10.30am. Judge Olann Kelleher took his place on the bench and the first case was called. There were no speeches. There was no fanfare. That will be a matter for next Monday when Justice Minister Charles Flanagan and many figures from the judiciary will be in attendance for the official opening. In keeping with the spirit of the soft opening yesterday, one of the accused wandered into court drinking from a can of Coke. On the basis that soft drinks were not part of the soft opening, a guard quietly asked the man to take his can outside the court which he did. Cases were adjourned, some people who pleaded guilty were given jail sentences, and some who were hoping to get out of custody applied for bail. It was just another day in Cork District Court, albeit in a brand new facility. However, solicitor, Joseph Cuddigan, seemed to miss the intimacy of Washington Street as he addressed Judge Kelleher from the floor of the court: You are so far away, judge, the Courts Service will have to provide us with opera glasses. The charity wants the skin cancer prevention plan, prioritised in the National Cancer Strategy, published by the year end. Ireland is facing a skin cancer epidemic in the next few decades, with skin cancer cases to rise by almost two-thirds by 2040 to nearly 19,000 cases a year, said Donal Buggy, ICS head of services and advocacy. The ICS is pleased the Department of Health has started work on developing the skin cancer plan, but has warned against any delay to its publication. Urgent steps need to be taken now to prevent skin cancer in Ireland into the future, including raising awareness of the dangers of sun exposure, and steps to further regulate the use of sunbeds, including a potential ban, said Mr Buggy. The ICS wants to see a comprehensive action plan with ambitious timelines to turn the tide against rising skin cancer rates. In 2015 ,there were 11,785 cases of skin cancer in Ireland and 1,118 were melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. The number of skin cancer cases is conservatively estimated to increase to 18,989 by 2040. Craig Sinclair, an international expert on skin cancer, will speak about measures taken in Australia to reduce the incidence of skin cancer at a conference hosted by the ICS today. Mr Sinclair is director of the World Health Organisationss Collaborative Centre for UV Radiation and head of Cancer Prevention at Victoria in Australia. Mr Sinclair said innovative public awareness campaigns that started 30 years ago in Australia reduced melanoma cases in younger age groups. It is vitally important that a comprehensive and well-resourced plan is put in place by the Irish Government to tackle skin cancer in Ireland or, unfortunately, the significant human and financial burden of skin cancer will continue to increase, he said. File image. Meanwhile, almost seven out of 10 (68%) of adults in Ireland think sunbeds should be illegal in Ireland. One in five people (20%) have used sunbeds, even though almost everyone (97%) is aware of the dangers associated with them, according to a survey by iReach Insights. Of particular concern is that almost four out of 10 adults (38%) intend exposing their skin to the sun to get a tan and 15% think it is worth getting sunburned to get a tan. Almost one in five (18%) have already got sunburnt this year. Only 30% of people ever got any moles or dark freckles checked by a doctor and one in four (25%) are unaware of the dangers associated with the sun. However, most people (88%) use sun cream and more than half (52%) always wear sun cream when outdoors in the sunshine. Currently Ireland does not require new citizens to be proficient in either English or Irish and it is not decided if new requirements will stipulate either language. The test which is at the early stages of discussion, would be introduced in the interests of better integration said assistant principal in the department Raymond Murray, as some people who have been residents for five years still were unable to speak English, The language test would be introduced on the basis of trying to ensure successful integration, he said. The numbers of people from Britain applying for citizenship has grown spectacularly since the Brexit vote, officials said. And yesterday among the 388 British people swearing allegiance to the Irish State was 93-year-old Claude Cooke, who served in the merchant navy during World War II in the P&O shipping lines on troop ships in north Africa and Sicily. Oh Happy Daysat the Killarney Convention Centre, where three citizenship ceremonies took place on Monday. Mr Cooke, who held the rank of captain until his retirement, lives in Dublin. Romance had brought him to this country 20 years ago and he was still in a relationship with Dora Foster aged 90. Both had lost their spouses and had met through their children and now live in nearby apartments in Dublin. As a British citizen, Mr Cooke had paid his taxes and could vote but was not allowed to have vote in presidential elections. Now he would be able to vote for the president. He said Brexit was a great disappointment to him. I have been here for 20 years I havent been back to the UK for four or five. Brexit was a disappointment, Mr Cooke said. He will now have dual citizenship. Some countries, such as India, do not allow their citizens to hold dual citizenship. Mojisola and Adekumle Mabogaje, at the Killarney Convention Centre, where three citizenship ceremonies took place on Monday. Software engineer Raza Naqui was with his nine-month-old son Jawwad, while his wife Kulsum obtained her citizenship. Both are from India and came to Ireland together seven years ago. Last year he became an Irish citizen. Its really good. It makes a difference, said Mr Naqui who lives in Dublin. Candidates attending the ceremonies in the Gleneagle Hotel yesterday were given information packs which included the words to Amhran na bhFiann and advice on how to register to vote and how to obtain an passport. The central part of the short but solemn ceremony was led by retired High Court judge Mr Justice Bryan McMahon. Candidates stood around the convention centre and swore an oath of fidelity to the nation and to uphold its laws. Mohammed Elkider with his Wife Noor and daughter, Duaa orginally from The Sudan, now living in Dublin, at the Killarney Convention Centre, where three citizenship ceremonies took place on Monday. Mr Justice McMahon, the son and namesake of the late Listowel writer, said Ireland understood emigration better than most and he urged the new citizens of Ireland, not to forget their old countries or their old stories. This state does not require you to forget the country you come from or erase your personal histories. Do not forget your own country. Bring with you your songs, your music and your stories, he advised them to a round of applause. The Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan told candidates their new country was relatively young, but a place of culture where traditions are cherished and history is ever present. But it is also a place of openness and diversity, he said, and urged the new citizens to participate actively in their communities. Including minors, who are not required to attend a ceremony, the number of people granted Irish citizenship up to the end of last year is around 113,000 from 181 countries. Irish Naval Service personnel may recognise the renamed Al-Karama (Dignity) during their humanitarian operations in the Mediterranean Sea because she used to be LE Aisling. She was delivered recently to forces loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who are involved in fighting a bitter civil war which has rolled on in Libya since 2014. His forces posted a video on YouTube of the ships arrival in the port of Benghazi. LE Aisling was sold at auction for the bargain price of 110,000 last May to Dutchman Dick van der Kamp. It later emerged that she had 16,000 of fuel onboard and the auctioneer hadnt been told about its value. Shortly after purchasing LE Aisling, the Dutchman advertised her for resale at 685,000. When contacted by the Irish Examiner yesterday a spokeswoman for Mr van der Kamp said the company was making no comment. It isnt clear if he sold the ship directly to the Libyans, or if it was purchased by an interim who sold it to Haftars forces. Before the vessel was auctioned it had been stripped of its weaponry by the Naval Service. It is unclear if any of its armaments have been replaced, although the video clearly shows its is still missing its forward 40mm Bofors cannon. The ship has been reportedly designated as flagship for the Libyan National Army, which is under Haftars command. The Department of Defence was criticised for letting the vessel go so cheaply. It got almost three times as much in 2014 for LE Emer and got 240,00 for LE Deirdre in 2001. Mr Harris hit out at those who are trying to bring Ireland back into the dark ages when it comes to our view of mental health. I thought we had come a long way in terms of de-stigmatising mental health in this country but it seems any time we want to talk about womens bodies and crisis pregnancies, we go back to stigmatising mental health, we go back to ridiculing mental health as if it is not a real illness. It is appalling, he said. It comes after no campaigner and senator Ronan Mullen said it was very questionable to use psychological risk as grounds for abortion. With just three days of canvassing left before Fridays vote, a number of high-profile figures came out for both sides of the debate yesterday, including former taoiseach John Bruton, who is in favour of retaining the Eighth Amendment, and author Marian Keyes who is campaigning for a yes vote to repeal the amendment, which bans abortion except in the event of a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother. The Love Both group called on the Government to demand that Google bans websites allowing Irish people to buy abortion pills, saying this is a better option than removing the Eighth Amendment. Claiming Mr Harris is cynically using the abortion pills issue to encourage a referendum yes vote, the group said if the Government is serious about the issue it could also resource customs authorities to intercept them. We are not talking about banning websites as such. We are simply talking about restricting abortion pills in Ireland, said Love Both legal advisor Caroline Simons. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said that the only way to deal with the real lived cases and experiences of women is to repeal the Eighth Amendment. If the no campaign wishes to suggest that there is another way to deal with these cases other than voting yes and repealing the Eighth Amendment, they have had over 30 years to tell us how we deal with these hard cases, they have failed to do so, said Ms McDonald. And so, despite weekend polls suggesting the tide is with the yes side ahead of Fridays referendum on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, Tanaiste Simon Coveney and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin stood shoulder to shoulder on a landmark Cork bridge yesterday and said they are taking nothing for granted, four days out from polling day. At an early-morning, cross-party canvass on Trinity Bridge in the city centre, the Tanaiste said: You never quite know until the end. This is a very divisive referendum for many people. Lots of families, I think, are having really in-depth conversations about how they should vote. Of course, there are people who are very clear on one side or the other. And then I think there is a big middle ground in Ireland who are teasing through the issues, looking at the facts as they see them, and I think the majority of those want to see change. I dont think the status quo is acceptable any longer, whereby we knowingly see thousands of woman travel to Britain every year because they cant get health supports and healthcare here. Weve tried to deal with this issue in the Constitution and it hasnt worked. As a result of efforts in the 1980s, weve seen many women in tragic and difficult circumstances having to deal with those circumstances on their own, abroad in an abortion clinic somewhere, where they are not known. Not just as a politician, but as a father of three daughters, that is not the kind of Ireland I want them to grow up in. Modern Ireland should be a compassionate place, where we look after our women through a proper structured healthcare system in a compassionate and professional away, instead of sending them abroad because we cant deal with it here. I dont think thats appropriate any more in modern Ireland and I hope people will give us permission as a government to change that through appropriate legislation that deals with the complexity of what we need to do here. The pair were flanked by Seanad leader Jerry Buttimer, junior minister Jim Daly, Fine Gael MEP Deirdre Clune, and Fianna Fail TD Billy Kelleher, as Fine Gael city councillors, Green Party activists, and Cork Together for Yes activists stood nearby handing out leaflets. Jaysus, tis like the Battle of the Boyne, one man quipped as he made his way through the small army of canvassers. Jim Daly, TD Fine Gael; Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin; Julie OLeary, Fine Gael; Deirdre Clune, MEP , An Tanaiste and Foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney, Billy Kelleher, TD Fianna Fail; Kathy Darcy, chair of the Cork Together for Yes ; Laura Bogue, Green Party and senator Jerry Buttimer, Fine Gael all canvassing for the Yes vote in the forthcoming Abortion referendum at Trinty Bridge in Cork yesterday Picture: Eddie OHare Mr Daly was quick with his response. Its like a bridge over troubled waters, he quipped. Trinity Bridge is a key pedestrian access route for those working or studying on the city centre island. Many of those crossing signalled that their minds were already made up. Of those who commented publicly on their voting intentions, most said they would be voting yes on Friday. A handful of people who stopped and engaged with the politicians said they were undecided. Mr Martin said many find themselves in a genuine quandary on this issue. People want to bring some degree of compassion into the legal framework that governs this area, he said. There is a significant majority who dont want the status quo to remain, and there are people who have issues with the alternative, but I think they are edging towards a yes. At the moment, essentially people are trusting British politicians who have created a regime in Britain to which Irish women go. And its a much more liberal regime than whats being proposed here. It is a restricted legal framework that is being proposed here, that I think is in line with best practice, in terms of the recommendations we have received from our obstetricians and our gynaecologists. Mr Martin said he doesnt believe a yes vote will trigger a cultural transformation. I dont believe Irish women will become serial abortion-seekers overnight, he said. I dont believe Irish gynaecologists or obstetricians will become serial abortionists. I think we need to trust ourselves a bit more, and certainly we need to trust Irish women more, and Irish medical professionals more. Mr Martin said the proposed legislation emerged following detailed parliamentary process and enjoyed cross-party compromise consensus. I dont really see any great degree of deviation from that, he said. Mr Buttimer said the proposed regime is not as liberal as some have suggested, pointing out that it will be a doctor-led process, in line with 21 of 28 countries in the EU. Sitting huddled beneath a blanket just feet from the canvassers was a young man holding an empty coffee cup for donations. One young woman, who spotted him, turned to the politicians said: And ye might look after the homeless crisis too. Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, who chaired the Government-backed inquiry into Ms Halappanavars 2012 death, made the comments with just four days left of the referendum campaign. Speaking before tonights live TV debate, which will feature Health Minister Simon Harris and Love Boths Cora Sherlock, Prof Arulkumaran said Ms Halappanavar died because of the Eighth Amendment. When there were signs of sepsis with Savita at 18 weeks, in the UK we would have terminated, he said. But the problem was they were listening to the foetal heart beat and what was holding them back was the Eighth Amendment. Prof Arulkumaran has flown from India to Dublin to attend an Irish Family Planning Association referendum yes vote event today. The world is going to say we [Ireland] are not compassionate and do not respect women [if there is a no vote], he added. The comments are likely to play a crucial role in tonights referendum debate, which will see Mr Harris and Ms Sherlock go head to head after weeks of acrimony. RTE officials confirmed the duo will appear alongside pro-life Sinn Fein TD Peadar Toibin and consultant obstetrician Mary Higgins during a debate officials insist will have a far tamer audience than last week. Meanwhile, Tanaiste Simon Coveney yesterday said he believes 12-week abortion access laws can be passed by December after reports claiming otherwise. The Irish Examiner probably got that story wrong, in terms of how they spun it, Mr Coveney said. What I said was, look, in order to get that legislation passed, we need the support of the opposition, and it always takes time to get legislation through. But I also said I thought we would get the support of the opposition, so I do think its possible to get this legislation passed before the end of the year. But regardless of when the exact date for passing legislation is, the important thing is that we will be changing legislation, if people vote yes on Friday, to deal with the complexity and importance of this issue both protecting women in a much more comprehensive, and much more compassionate way, with a doctor-led system but also recognising the magnitude of the decision to terminate a pregnancy, and the responsibility that the State has towards the unborn. Figures released yesterday showed 3.2m people are registered to vote including up to 125,000 potential new voters. The team of fifth-year students at St Flannans College in Ennis, Co Clare, are jetting off today to Los Angeles to deliver a paper at the National Space Societys International Space Development Conference. Their Space Elevator project won them second place in March in the group category for older students in the Nasa Ames Space Settlement competition, which attracted more than 2,500 global entries. They will now be explaining their eco-friendly ideas about how to establish settlements in space, creating an elevator supported by nano-tubes of carbon extracted from atmospheric carbon dioxide. Their ability to attend was not certain without raising the estimated 13,000 cost of travel and accommodation, as highlighted by the Irish Examiner last month, but local people, schools, and businesses all pitched in to ensure the trip could go ahead. Among them was Intel, who also invited the students to present their project to 25 of its engineers. It gave them great practice at presenting, just like they will do in LA in the same session as some of the leading experts in space science, said their physics teacher John Connelly. Other sponsors were pharmaceutical firm Roche, St Francis Credit Union Ennis, An Post, Shannon Airport, and schools and parents. Last Friday, St Muerdachs College, Ballina, student, Aaron Hannon, was one of the top winners in his embedded systems category at Intel ISEF 2018 in Pittsburgh, earning himself $3,000 (2,550) and an asteroid with his name on it. His device to help people with limited hand dexterity to shave won him the top award at Irelands SciFest 2017. Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy confirmed the staffing level two years after its establishment. That has prompted calls for an urgent review of the office with concerns around how the loss of staff and turnover is undermining the special units work. Fianna Fails Darragh OBrien who obtained the details said: The office should be reviewed as a matter of urgency and the reasons for such loss of staff addressed. We need oversight of delivery and co-ordination between the various stakeholders to ensure housing targets are met. The office was established under the Governments Rebuilding Ireland programme in August 2016, with the express intention of speeding up the delivery of housing in the private and social sectors. A parliamentary written reply to Mr OBrien says that the unit was refocused in September last year to work more closely with supporting local housing and land management. Mr Murphy told Mr OBrien that the current team of three, with service ranging from 3 to 20 months, works closely with the extensive range of highly experienced officers within the wider housing and planning areas of my department and local authorities. The minister added: As with all critical areas of activity in my department, the resources available to the HDO are kept under regular review in the context of ongoing evolution of the offices role. The launch of the Housing Delivery Office was a key part of the Rebuilding Ireland programme. It was pledged it would be staffed by project management, procurement and technical experts and support the construction projects, including identifying barriers to delivering homes. Mr OBrien said: Only three people are working in the office less than two years on from its establishment, down from four when it was set up with many original members of the office leaving their posts. The loss of staff and turnover is obviously having an impact on its ability to carry out its task. This means that a critical part of the Rebuilding Ireland plan is simply not working. Instead of expanding and building up its experience and expertise it is losing staff. This means its ability to learn lessons from previous plans and address blockages is being lost. The latest figures from the Department of Housing show that there were an estimated 19,922 ESB connections for the year up to February 2018, the metric by which officials measure new builds. Department figures also show that there were just 1,014 new local authority social homes built last year. Rebuilding Ireland pledges to provide 50,000 social homes by 2021 and aims for 25,000 private units to be built annually by then. The move comes amid growing efforts to regulate childrens access and use of online technology, and recent debate about the digital age of consent for young people. The Department of Education has written to all 4,000 primary and second-level schools to require them to introduce a policy covering the use of tablet devices and smartphones in the classroom and during the school day. Where such policies already exist or are in place on related matters, they may need to be revised as soon as possible, based on consultations that staff are being told to undertake. Parents, teachers, and students themselves must be consulted, and the department suggests this be done through surveys, focus groups, questionnaires or other existing local arrangements for engaging with the school community. While schools are not being directed what their policies should require, they are being told they must consult on a number of key questions. These include issues around the appropriate use, if any, of tablets and smartphones, taking photos and videos, or whether devices can be used during breaks or on school grounds outside of teaching hours. Richard Bruton. A shared approach to smartphone use at school and home may be promoted, although there is no question of schools directing what rules parents might have for their children around digital technologies outside school hours. Mr Bruton wants the consultations to be undertaken as soon as possible, in advance of the enactment of law he hopes to have passed that would require parents views to be sought and considered on a range of other issues. New technologies can open up a world of opportunity for our young people but we must harness their potential and ensure that parents, students and schools have a shared understanding of their use in our education system, he said. The possibility of different rules for children of different ages or classes is also to be considered. The Government lost a vote last week, meaning the digital age of consent has been set at 16 and not at 13 as had been proposed. Announcing the consultation requirements for schools, Mr Bruton said the Government is responding to the potential risks associated with the transformations associated with new technologies. Schools are also being encouraged to avail of existing supports, such as the Webwise internet safety site funded by the department. The circular letter issued at the ministers request tells schools that the use of tablets and smartphones is an integral part of childrens and young peoples lives. While this is a positive development, concerns have been identified including some risks associated with the misuse, abuse and possible overuse of these devices and the various associated technologies, it said. Schools are told that young people need to be guided and supported to become good digital citizens. In a school setting, using digital technologies mediated by the teacher with the skills to exploit the potential of the technologies can be invaluable in equipping children with the skills to navigate the online world safely, the department wrote. They helped launch a new East Cork visitors guide yesterday as part of a new regional tourism initiative which has been designed to blend with Failte Irelands soon-to-be-launched Pure Cork brand and its Irelands Ancient East route. And the people involved say confirmation last week that a major international Ironman competition will be staged in Youghal for each of the next three years will help boost the regions profile internationally. Business and tourism interests in the East Cork region said they have always felt there was enough in their area to sell it as a destination, and to have it represented solely within the Pure Cork marketing initiative. Rachel Allen, of Ballymaloe Cookery School, said she has long agreed, and was delighted to help promote the region, and its new visitors guide. As an East Cork citizen, I am just so conscious of how many fantastic facilities and wonderful places there are to see and to visit, and so many wonderful places to stay and in which to eat, she said. This guide will help people navigate their way around, and experience all that is on offer from Youghal to Cobh and everywhere in between. Helen Cuddigan, who is involved in the project, said she hopes the new guide, coupled with a new website, will influence and encourage visitors landing at Cork Airport to head east. With a rich history and heritage, with forts, castles, and cathedrals, great food, restaurants, pubs, and farmers markets, as well as many outdoor adventure experiences, they hope to capitalise on the success of existing attractions such as Spike Island and the Titanic Experience in Cobh, the improved tourism infrastructure in Youghal, Fota Wildlife Park, Castlemartyr Resort, and Ballymaloe. The new guide has been published by Youghal-based Flanagan Print. Owner Ger Flanagan said: The guide is a one-stop publication, incorporating all that East Cork has to offer, from food to festivals, shopping to excursions, amenities and activities, and everything in-between. Meanwhile, Ballycottons Seafood and Shanty Festival will take place on the Sunday of the June bank holiday weekend. Ruth Maxwell has also revealed her delight and relief at the lengthy sentence handed down by Judge Codd in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last Thursday. The assailant, a 34-year-old father-of-two, was jailed for 18 and a half years for carrying out the premeditated random attacks on her and two other women over five years. I was expecting a lot lower sentence. I was thrilled, said Ruth who had just undergone surgery on her hand which was badly injured in the attack. I was in hospital just after having surgery when I was told. I was so happy and so grateful to Judge Pauline Codd for doing that, she told Sean ORourke on RTE Radio. I would love to have been there to see Judge Codd deliver her sentence. In May 2016, Ruth, a mother and grandmother, was walking along a laneway in Clondalkin when a man grabbed her from behind and put a hunting knife to her throat. Ruth fought back and suffered life changing injuries in the struggle. Minutes before she hadnt a care in the world, as she took a shortcut to a Luas stop and was looking forward to starting a new job. It was a beautiful sunny day and Ruth had her headphones on, listening to David Bowie singing Absolute Beginners. I was going through a shortcut to the Luas. I looked behind me and then hands went around me. He had a cloth in the left hand and a knife in the right hand. When he pulled me back, I staggered and landed on my left foot but then the knife came down to my throat. I grabbed the blade and as hard as I could I pulled it down. Ruth severed the tendons on three of her fingers on her dominant left hand. When I managed to pull knife down, I started to scream. He just turned and ran and I was left standing there. Ruth had no choice but to run down the dirt track and came out onto main road. Several cars passed and people walked past and this guy Paul pulled in and got out and said are you okay? and I said No. I have just been attacked. Even in the midst of such horror there was a comic moment, as Ruth explained how another man thought she was being attacked by her rescuer and was about to intervene. A guy called Greg pulled in and got out and actually thought that Paul was my boyfriend and was coming to beat him up. In her victim impact statement during the trial, Ruth described how the assault had changed her from being a strong and confident individual into a fraught and fearful one. I am frightened of so many things now. Im especially frightened for my daughter and grand-daughter, she said, echoing the statements of the other two victims, one of whom said she had gone from being laid-back and carefree to being hyper-vigilant and nervous. Ruth also described the experience of sitting through the lengthy criminal trial while her attacker sat in the dock, impassive and showing no sign of remorse. I went on my own and sat at the back. My first day was January 14 and the last day was the end of March. I had questions I needed answered and the only way I could do that was to sit there and listen. It was draining and nearly soul-destroying. The most distressing part of the trial was watching CCTV footage of her assailants movements as he drove his van home after the attack. It was like that movie Jeepers Creepers, the van driving around and youre the target. I couldnt stop crying during that. While full of praise for Judge Codd, Ruth described as extremely unprofessional the actions of the Probation Service which has begun a review of its handling of the case. Judge Codd had been due to hand down sentence last Monday week but postponed it until last week when a probation report she had ordered was found to have contained errors. The wrong name was used a number of times in the report and there was a reference to previous convictions for road traffic offences, when in fact the defendant in the case had none. However the director of the service, Vivian Geiran, said that he stood over the revised report which placed the offender at a medium risk of reoffending, an assessment that the judge refused to accept in light of the brutality of the attacks, the absence of any remorse shown by the man and his refusal to engage with the Probation Service. Ruth said she was absolutely disgusted with the Probation Service assessment. If the judge did not tackle that, they would have been recommending a lower sentence, she said. Food Enjoy Authentic Kayan Cuisine with a River View in Yangon Authentic Kayan dishes are served at Vista Do Rio restaurant. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy YANGON A number of restaurants serving authentic ethnic cuisines including Shan, Mon, Rakhine, Kachin and Wa have opened in Yangon in recent years. But I had never seen a Kayan restaurant until I stumbled on a hidden gem named Vista Do Rio in Thuwunna Township. Since it opened on Myamarlar Street in May 2017, Vista Do Rio has been giving Yangons foodies a chance to taste Kayan cuisine while enjoying a river view beside the Nga Moe Yeik Creek. Most restaurants offering ethnic cuisine decorate their walls with traditional musical instruments or artifacts, but at Vista Do Rio you will be served by a woman wearing traditional dress, bronze rings and the Kayans trademark brass neck coils not to mention the beautiful smile on her face. Other waiters and waitresses also wear traditional clothing and the restaurant has a small Kayan souvenir shop at the entrance. I went there with a few colleagues last Saturday evening at around 5pm and the place had few guests. We chose a long table directly overlooking the Nga Moe Yeik Creek. I fell in love with the vibe of this restaurant even before I had tasted a bite of the Kayan food; its so breezy and secluded from the noise of the city traffic, you immediately feel relaxed. My previous knowledge of Kayan cuisine was limited to Kayan traditional pork sausage. My colleagues knew a bit more, but we asked the waiters to recommend a few dishes. Some of the waiters were better trained and more able to explain the menu than others, but on the whole the staff was friendly and tried to be helpful. At the waiters suggestion, we ordered Shwe Pae Ywat Thoke (Fresh Bean Leaf Salad, 3,000 kyats); Dee Mot Soe Pharr Kyaw (Traditional Smoked Frog with Onion Tempura and Crispy Basil, 8,500 kyats); Beef with Lemon Juice and Ginger Cooked in Bamboo (10,000 kyats); and of course the famous Kayan specialties, Potato Mat Khar (3,000 kyats) and Kayan Traditional Pork Sausage (4,000 kyats). We also ordered a traditional alcoholic drink, Khaung Yae, a home-brewed liquor made by the restaurant served in a bamboo cup (1,500 kyats per cup). With the exception of the item cooked in bamboo, the dishes were served promptly and arrived one after the other. The Kayan Traditional Pork Sausage was served with its own sauce. The fried sausage was cooked perfectly, neither too hard nor too oily, and went perfectly with the sauce, though the portion was small. I didnt try the Dee Mot Soe Fried Frog, but my colleagues seemed to love it. This is really a fusion dish, combining smoked frogs sourced from Kayan villages fried up with onion and basil leaves. My colleagues assured me the frog meat was tasty and was complemented perfectly by the Khaung Yae liquor. The smoked frog dish portions were more generous and well worth the 8,500 kyats. I collected the frogs from seven villages in the Kayan region. The villagers catch the frogs and dry them in the sun before smoking them. Thats the only way to preserve the freshness of the ingredients, which are shipped all the way from Kayan to Yangon, said Vista Do Rio owner Ko Zayar. Ko Zayar is an adventurous fellow who spent two years preparing for the restaurants opening by going to remote Kayan villages to study the cuisine and collect recipes. The idea to open a Kayan restaurant came from his wife, and he made it happen. Vista Do Rio means river view restaurant in Portuguese. Before opening this shop, I had a beer pub in San Chaung. One day, my wife gave me the chance to taste some Kayan sausage and I loved the flavor. Fortunately, one of my customers, a friend of my wife, was Kayan. He helped me with many things and got me started on my Kayan cuisine journey three years ago, Ko Zayar said. The care Ko Zayar takes with his ingredients and the authentic preparation of his meals is evident both in his words and in the delicious flavors of his dishes. The Fresh Bean Leaf Salad was bright green with soft leaves. While most Kayan dishes are spicy, this one is an exception, and stands out for its rich taste and freshness. The beef dish cooked in bamboo could have been better, however; the meat was dry, despite being cut into small pieces. The dish included lemon peel, so the odd bite was very bitter. The dish is cooked in bamboo but the portions are small, so Id recommend ordering other main dishes that arent so pricy. The highlight of the evening was the specially ordered Mud-Roasted Chicken with Herbs (20,000 kyats for a whole chicken). This dish needs to be specially ordered in advance and one of my colleagues did just that. For the best flavor, it needs to roast for eight hours, but we werent able to order that far in advance, so we ordered a four-hour version. Despite being the quicker version, the taste was sublime. When the mud casing was cracked open, the aroma arising from beneath the banana leaves in which the chicken is wrapped was so delectable we were dying for a taste, despite being nearly full from the previous courses and the Khoun Yae. But we easily made room for the Mud-Roasted Chicken; the meat was incredibly tender and the herbs with which the bird was stuffed blended into the sauce the taste was heavenly. I definitely recommend this dish; its really worth a try. Ko Zayars chefs are Kayan, so you dont need to doubt the taste. This is authentic cuisine, though some of dishes would best be described as fusion. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner. For those looking to catch up with friends at the weekend or just chill beside the river, however, evening is the time to go. As we wound up our meal, the evening sky was slowly darkening and the other tables began to fill. Most of the diners were families or middle-aged couples. The menu is not cheap, but its worth the price due to the fresh ingredients and amazing flavors, not to mention the perfect view. And you will be offered a variety of fantastic dishes that you simply cant get anywhere else. So, Vista Do Rio is a place you shouldnt miss and a perfect choice for those craving an authentic ethnic dining experience. Burma Amnesty International Shares Evidence of "Gruesome" ARSA Massacre A Hindu villager reacts while identifying the bodies of relatives found by government forces in a mass grave near Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State on Sept. 27. Authorities suspected they were killed by insurgents in August. / Reuters YANGON Amnesty International has released new evidence of a gruesome massacre of Hindus by Rohingya militants in Rakhine State last year, making it the first international rights group to shed light on what it calls the largely under-reported human rights abuses by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). A press release issued by the UK rights group on Wednesday morning says ARSA killed up to 99 Hindu women, men and children and committed additional unlawful killings and abductions of Hindu villagers in August. The killings and abductions occurred after the armed group which the government has labeled a terrorist organization launched a series of attacks on security outposts in northern Rakhine on Aug. 25, killing 12 security personnel. The attacks prompted the Myanmar military to carry out clearance operations in the area that have driven nearly 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Many of the refugees reported arbitrary killings, rapes and torture by the security forces. Since then, the Rohingya issue has continued to attract international attention. The EU and US have imposed sanctions against some of Myanmars military leaders. Rights groups have called for the military s prosecution at the International Criminal Court. Recently, the UN Security Council dispatched a team to Bangladesh and Myanmar to investigate the issue. The delegation urged Naypyitaw to allow the safe return of the Rohingya. But condemnation of ARSA has been relatively modest. The lack of international opposition to ARSA recently prompted Myanmars ambassador to the UN to accuse some members of only listening to one side of the story and failing to acknowledge the groups abuses. Amnesty International says its new report is based on dozens of interviews conducted inside Rakhine State and across the border in Bangladesh, as well as photographic evidence analyzed by forensic pathologists. Our latest investigation on the ground sheds much-needed light on the largely under-reported human rights abuses by ARSA during northern Rakhine States unspeakably dark recent history, Tirana Hassan, Amnestys crisis response director, is quoted as saying in the release. Its hard to ignore the sheer brutality of ARSAs actions, which have left an indelible impression on the survivors weve spoken to, the director adds. Accountability for these atrocities is every bit as crucial as it is for the crimes against humanity carried out by Myanmars security forces in northern Rakhine State. Amnestys findings focus on killings and abductions of the Hindu community in Kha Maung Seik village tract and Myo Thu Gyi village in Maungdaw Township. The Irrawaddy reported on the incidents extensively in September. The rights groups investigation found that at about 8 a.m. on Aug. 25, ARSA attacked the Hindu community in the village of Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik, part of the Kha Maung Seik village tract. According to a detailed list of the dead, given to Amnesty International, the victims from Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik include 20 men, 10 women and 23 children, 14 of whom were under the age of 8. This is consistent with multiple testimonies the organization gathered in both Bangladesh and Myanmar, from survivors and witnesses as well as Hindu community leaders, the press release says. It continues that eight Hindu women and eight of their children were abducted and spared, after ARSA fighters forced the women to agree to convert to Islam. The survivors were forced to flee with the fighters to Bangladesh several days later, before being repatriated in October with the aid of Bangladeshi and Myanmar authorities. Also on Aug. 25, all 46 Hindu men, women and children in the neighboring village of Ye Bauk Kyar disappeared. Members of the Hindu community in northern Rakhine State presume they were killed by the same ARSA fighters. The total death toll in both villages is believed to be 99. The bodies of 45 people from Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik were unearthed in four mass graves in late September. The remains of the other victims from the village, or of the 46 victims from Ye Bauk Kyar, have not been found. Amnesty calls for independent investigators, including the UN Fact-Finding mission, to be given unrestricted access to Rakhine State in order to have the full extent of the abuses committed by both ARSA and the Myanmar military exposed. In this brutal and senseless act, members of ARSA captured scores of Hindu women, men and children and terrorized them before slaughtering them outside their own villages. The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be held to account, Tirana Hassan says. All the survivors and victims families have the right to justice, truth and reparation for the immense harm they have suffered. Burma Business for Peace Model Utilized in Nationwide Peacebuilding Ma Mon Mon Myat moderating the International Workshop on Peace at Payap University on May 19, 2018. / Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy CHIANG MAI, Thailand Myanmars business for peace model, an initiative to support sustainable peace and development started last year, has been in progress, said economics professor Dr. Aung Tun Thet. He said this at an international workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on May 19 aimed at promoting peacebuilding. The workshop was organized by Payap Universitys Institute for Religion, Culture and Peace and the World Fair Trade Organization,Asia. Dr. Aung Tun Thet, who is also the vice chairman of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council of Myanmar, explained in his keynote speech that the social enterprise model is what in Myanmar is called business for peace. He told The Irrawaddy that the model is carrying on successfully, as signatories of the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) are participating. The government is also trying hard to bring in foreign investment. These investments would help with regional rehabilitation and building stable, strong and genuine peace in those areas, he said. Foreign investors are worried about safety in the ceasefire areas, he said. I have talked with many companies from Thailand and Singapore. There are opportunities in those regions if we can persuade them to invest. Despite government efforts, recent military tensions between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw) in Papun, Karen State, have raised doubts about the peace process. Meanwhile, clashes with Northern Alliance members: the Kachin Independence Army, Taang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army, respectively in north, northeastern and western Myanmar, are ongoing and problems in restive Rakhine State remain unsettled. These issues contribute to the reluctance of possible investors. Many observers see Myanmars peace process as failing but Dr. Aung Tu Thet disagrees and calls it a work in progress. He explained that Myanmars approach to mega-development projects differs from in the past, in that consultations regarding possible effects are held with key stakeholders in the process. For example, in the Dawei Special Economic Zone, there have been discussions with civil society groups. They have many objections to the project and we try to understand where they are coming from, he said. Dr. Aung Tun Thet is also a member of the government Peace Commission. He said that business-related discussions have been held among the NCA signatories. We are now developing business opportunities for the Pa-O; in Tanintharyi with the Karen National Union and also in Karenni State (where the non-signatory armed group the KNPP is involved in peace negotiations). The Payap University workshop incorporated several topics: the peace process, refugees and internally displaced persons situated along the Thailand-Myanmar border, public policy and social enterprise for peacebuilding, and fair trade practices. Ma Mon Mon Myat, the moderator and a Ph.D. student at the Institute of Religion, Culture and Peace at Payap University, said the contributions were useful as many of the speakers had observed the peace process, worked on the border or initiated use of the business for peace model. Roopa Mehta, a member of the WFTO Asia Board of Directors, said the keynote speakers made significant contributions on peacebuilding, social enterprise and decentralization. The workshop also exhibited art and crafts of refugee women, supported by the Womens Education for Advancement and Empowerment Foundation (WEAVE). WEAVE works with Myanmar refugee women along the Thailand border and is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization,Asia. Members of the WFTO Asia [including WEAVE] are creating opportunities for refugees. What they produce finds its way to wholesale and retail. And by buying these goods, people are supporting the refugee community, said Roopa Mehta. She said that fair trade practices in the region developed and expanded more than a decade ago and that they are contributing to development goals. She added, The larger agenda is of course sustainable livelihood for marginalized people to address issues of inequality, poverty, equal wages, gender equality, child labor, environment, and safe workspaces but these are all linked. Burma Drivers Fired After Alleged Beating by Ne Wins Grandsons Seek Compensation U Aung Myat. / Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy YANGON Two bus drivers who were fired and allegedly beaten by two grandsons of former military dictator Ne Win have filed a complaint with the Yangon regional labor dispute arbitration body seeking financial compensation for their dismissal. U Aung Myat, who previously worked as a driver for Omni Focus YBS Co. owned by Kyaw Ne Win and Zwae Ne Win, was allegedly beaten by the brothers after the bus he was driving was involved in a minor accident with another one of their companys vehicles driven by Ko Kyaw Min Tun on April 28. Ko Kyaw Min Tu also alleges that he was beaten and unfairly dismissed. Police charged the brothers with assault under Article 202 of the criminal code. The brothers deny the claims and have opened their own case against U Aung Myat for careless driving. All three are due to appear in court on May 25. The drivers seek payment of their remaining salaries for the month of April, compensation for unfair dismissal, plus 10,000 kyats each that was deducted from their salaries for not working on New Years Day, which is a public holiday in Myanmar. The township conciliation body said it would only order payment of the outstanding salary. So we appealed to the regional arbitration body on May 17. If their decision is not satisfactory, we will proceed to the Arbitration Council, said labor activist U Maung Maung Han, who is assisting the two drivers. According to Notification 84/2015 of the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population, employers are obliged to pay half a months salary upon dismissal to employees who have worked for at least six months. The measure also requires that employers notify a worker one month in advance of pending dismissal. If they fail to do so, they are required to pay an additional one months salary. Both drivers were sacked without notice. According to U Maung Maung Han, U Kyaw Min Tun is entitled to 740,000 kyats compensation, while U Aung Myat, who had only been on the job for four months, is entitled to 590,000 kyats. Omni Focus YBS said in a statement on May 15 that the two drivers refused to accept their salaries, and demanded other payments that the company has yet to negotiate. It said it was awaiting the decision of the regional arbitration body. The drivers say they have yet to receive their remaining salaries. U Aung Myat claims he is still receiving treatment for chest injuries sustained in the beating. The company has also allegedly seized their driving licenses, leaving U Aung Myint unable to find work to support his family. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Burma Illicit Drug Production Rages on in Conflict-torn Areas of Myanmar Poppy plantations in Shan State. / Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy NAYPYITAW Illicit drug production rages on in conflict-torn regions in Myanmar, with supplies being smuggled into nearby countries but also reaching as far as Australia, said the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Senior drug policy leaders from the Mekong region Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam and UNODC officials are in Naypyitaw to discuss the illicit drug situation in the region and to negotiate a new strategic plan. Drug production is high in unstable regions and drugs from those areas are smuggled across the world, reaching even to Australia, Jeremy Douglas, UNODC regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Region, told reporters after the opening of the conference. Methamphetamine produced in the Golden Triangle the border regions between Laos, Myanmar and Thailand is being seized in large volumes in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia and Indonesia, said a UNODC statement. Opium and heroin production have recently declined in the region but production and trafficking of both low-grade Yaba methamphetamine and high purity crystal methamphetamine have increased to alarming levels, said the UNODC. Only a few months into 2018, several Mekong countries have already surpassed 2017 seizure totals, it added. Methamphetamine and heroin are currently estimated to be worth US$40 billion in the regional drug market, according to UNODC Advisor Tao Zhiqiang. According to the UNODC and Myanmars Anti-Narcotics Police Force, methamphetamine in the country is produced primarily in Shan State, in unstable areas experiencing armed conflict. The UNODC suggested that the Myanmar government discuss the drug problem as a topic in peace negotiations. Not only locals but also citizens of other countries are involved in transnational organized crime groups that run the illicit drug businesses, said Jeremy Douglas. They are from different countries including China and Taiwan. They have come and are doing [illicit drug businesses] mostly in northern Shan State. We must handle this through collaborative efforts, he said. Police Colonel Zaw Lin Tun, the head of Myanmar Anti-Narcotics Police Force, said that it is difficult for the police to control drug production in northern Shan State because of instability and the involvement of government officials in the business. The police colonel reiterated that the Myanmar government objected to signing an agreement of cooperation to fight drugs between the United Wa State Army and the Chinese government because Wa State is a part of Myanmar and the two governments have already signed an official agreement for cooperation, he added. Myanmar was able to reduce opium cultivation by 25 percent last year at the national level, but opium cultivation in northern Shan State and Kachin State did not decline, the UNODC pointed out. The Myanmar government has to make greater efforts to fight drugs. Drug problems, especially in remote and unstable areas, are a major challenge for Myanmar, said the UNODC. Responding to the situation requires acknowledging some difficult realities and agreeing to new approaches at a strategic regional level. Here in Myanmar it means focusing on peace and security in the Golden Triangle and places where conflict and the drug economy are connected, said Jeremy Douglas. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Burma Two Anti-war Demonstrators Jailed for 2 Months Over Yangon Protest Ko Aung Hmine San and Ko Soe Moe talk to the media after being sentenced to two months imprisonment under the Peaceful Assembly Act by a court in Mandalays Chanayethazan Township on Tuesday. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy MANDALAY A court in Mandalays Chanayethazan Township sentenced two anti-war demonstrators to two months imprisonment on Tuesday for violating the Peaceful Assembly Act. Ko Aung Hmine San and Ko Soe Moe were arrested on May 8 and sued under Article 19 of the act. Article 19 is a bailable offense, but the two protesters refused to post bail and stood trial while in detention. At Tuesdays court session, the judge said the two protesters were found to have violated the act by failing to seek permission from local authorities before staging a May 6 protest. Using the Peaceful Assembly Act to suppress freedom of expression is unjust. We demonstrated nonviolently in support of peace and to urge the responsible armed groups to stop fighting, Ko Aung Hmine San said after the court session. We believe in the [National League for Democracy-led] government and its struggle for peace. However, we dont believe that other institutions want to join hands with the NLD government, he said. Since early May, numerous protests have been staged in Yangon and Mandalay calling on the government to take action to help local residents trapped by fighting in Kachin State, and calling for an end to the conflict there. The demonstrations spread to Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin, where a protest camp was set up. Thousands of villagers have been displaced by the recent spike in fighting in Kachin State. Police in Yangon have arrested 19 protesters at a series of rallies. Most were released on bail and are being sued under Article 20 of the Peaceful Assembly Act. In Mandalay and other cities, two protesters have been arrested while at least six others are on a list of protesters being sued by local police for violating Article 19. On May 9, the same court in Chanayethazan Township sentenced Ko Kalint to two months imprisonment under the same law for participating in the peace protest in Mandalay. Our situation shows that people who do not want peace are threatening others who want peace, Ko Soe Moe said after the court session on Tuesday. News Tour Operators Predict Drop in Arrivals This Year Tourists at Mae Nu brick monastery in Ava, Mandalay. / Ko Soe / The Irrawaddy YANGON Local tour operators say they expect foreign arrivals to decline this year with vacationers in Western countries canceling their bookings following the unrest in northern Rakhine State. Some canceled their bookings after the Rakhine issue arose last September. Bookings are usually made one year in advance, and there has been criticism [over the Rakhine issue] from western Europe, U Thet Lwin Toe, chairman of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association, told The Irrawaddy. Because of its impact, the number of visitors from western countries is likely to decline by 20 to 30 percent, he added. On the other hand, tourist arrivals from Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and China have been on the rise, with China alone accounting for almost 70 percent of Asian travelers to Myanmar, U Thet Lwin Toe said. Visitor arrivals in Myanmar in 2017 increased 22 percent year on year, with arrivals through airports and seaports specifically rising 7 percent, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. U Htet Tun Aung, however, information officer for the Myanmar Tour Guides Association (Bagan), said total arrivals paint an overly rosy picture because they include overland entries through border gates. The figures released by the Hotels and Tourism Ministry are high because it counts visitors who enter through border gates. According to my experience and records, the number of foreign travelers has declined since 2016, he said. Some foreigners entered the country through border checkpoints for business and stayed only for a day. Figures that include such visitors are not a reliable indicator, he added. This month I have only been hired by two visitors, and both of them are from Asian countries. Tourist arrivals from Western countries have significantly declined. Myanmars tourism industry started to develop after the country began opening up in 2011. Tourist arrivals increased steadily and in 2015 hit a record high five million visitors. But U Thet Lwin Toe said numbers have since dipped. Smaller tour operators have been struggling and some have closed their businesses. Only bigger operators are doing well, he said. This goes against the all-inclusive tourism adopted by the Hotels and Tourism Ministry; policymakers have to adjust it. The Rakhine issue has had an impact on Yangons tourism industry. Misleading international reports have had a strong impact on the countrys tourism industry, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said during the vice-presidents regular meeting with businesspeople in Yangon on May 11. The World Banks latest economic outlook for Myanmar, released last week, said lower tourist arrivals resulting from the ongoing Rakhine crisis could weaken tourism spending and demand for related services such as hospitality and transport, leading to a broader economic slowdown of the economy. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since late August, when militant Rohingya attacks on security posts in northern Rakhine State triggered a sweeping military response rife with reports of arson, rape and murder by security forces. The military and government have denied any widespread abuse. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018 (9:49 am) - Score 545 The European Commissions national consumer protection authorities have screened 207 EU websites (including some from the UK) for fixed/mobile phone, internet, audio and video streaming services, which revealed that 163 of them could be infringing consumer law by adopting misleading practices. In this screening, national authorities checked whether providers offered truthful and clear information on their identity, the main characteristics of the product or service, the price and the contract performance. They also examined the clarity and the fairness of the terms and conditions (e.g. terms that limit or totally revoke the liability of the providers or terms that provide information on the existence of after-sale customer assistance and services). Most of the checked websites provided telephone services in a package with other digital services, such as broadband (110 of the 207). Many offer only mobile phone subscriptions (39 in total), while there were also websites offering only streaming services (22) or broadband services packages excluding telephone (13) or cloud storage/email services (10). Apparently some of the most common issues identified are the advertisement of allegedly free or discounted packages that are in fact a bundled offer (50% of sites), the lack of a dispute resolution system (40.6%), or the fact that some of the providers would unilaterally change the terms of the contract without information or justification to the consumer (31.9%). Vera Jourova, Commissioner for Justice and Consumers, said: Consumers use their mobile phone or internet subscriptions every day and should be able to trust these services. This screening confirms, however, that a number of websites selling such services are misleading consumers by advertising fake discounts or not providing the full information necessary to make an informed choice. I expect the false and misleading information to be corrected as soon as possible to ensure the sector fully respects EU consumer rules. National authorities are now expected to conduct a deeper examination of the 163 websites with irregularities, which if confirmed will need to be fixed. Sadly we dont get a detailed breakdown of precisely which websites were tested but the overall results are below. Payments company Square has announced it is "expanding operations in Australia (and) opening a new, larger headquarters to support the growing team in Melbourne, which will include the companys first engineering hub outside North America". Square co-founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey was in the new Melbourne CBD location today to make the announcement and to celebrate the companys two-year milestone of providing payments to Australian businesses. Dorsey said: We have been humbled by the support Square has received from Australias business community over the past two years. Australia is an important market for Square, with more and more businesses joining our platform every day. In addition to increasing engineering capabilities, Square tells us that it has "received support from the Victorian Government to expand its Australian workforce, with plans to add more business and tech jobs that will see the companys local headcount exceed 100 employees over the next few years". Dorsey continued: As our seller base continues to grow, our team needs to grow with it, which is why we are investing more in Australia adding new high-skill jobs and expanding our local operations in Melbourne. Australian country manager Ben Pfisterer said the company has "more than exceeded its expectations in the local market, with the number of Australian businesses using Square increasing 150 per cent since March 2017". Pfisterer, who has obviously made a great Pfist of being successful in business, said: With a thriving small business community and thirst for innovation, the Australian market has proven to be quick-adopters of new payments technology. "We are investing in our local workforce this year, and adding new engineering capabilities so that we can introduce a greater range of products and services that will help more Australian businesses. Square tells us that it has "introduced more than a dozen products and services over the past two years to bolster the business offering for its fast-growing Australian base from card payments and invoicing to real-time data and inventory tools. "Square has also added a valuable ecommerce offering to its platform, recently announcing it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire global website building platform Weebly. "Now operating across offices in the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, the UK and Ireland, Squares workforce continues to grow, with more than 2300 employees globally." The United States and China are closing in on a deal that would lift an export ban on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corporation. People close to the talks were cited by Reuters which reported that the deal could include China purchasing more agricultural goods from the US and also lifting tariffs on imported US agricultural products. US President Donald Trump later denied that any deal had been struck. ZTE was hit with a seven-year ban on importing components from American companies in April. When the US Department of Commerce imposed the ban, it said that it was due to alleged false statements made by the company during talks in 2016 over a charge of shipping telecommunications equipment to Iran and North Korea. As a penalty, US firms cannot sell components to ZTE for seven years. In 2017, ZTE paid more than US$2.3 billion to 211 American suppliers. ZTE was fined US$1.19 billion in March 2017 and also agreed to a seven-year suspended export ban which would take effect if it was found to be in violation of the Export Administration Regulations. Subsequently, the Department of Commerce claims to have found that statements made by ZTE to the Bureau of Industry and Security were false. The lifting of the sales ban on ZTE, if it does come about, would be a great escape for the company in the wake of a lessening of tensions over trade that has characterised US-China relations in the last month or so. Reuters said it had been told that there had been a "handshake deal" between US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Lie He in Washington last week to lift the ZTE ban. The news agency said that ZTE might still be forced to replace officials in its ranks. The deal was said to be likely to be finalised next week when US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross visits Beijing to seal a broader agreement with Beijing to end any talk of a trade war. Australia's biggest telco Telstra has taken 22 ZTE devices off its shelves after the company said it was halting its main business activities in the US. IPO and equity crowdfunding portal OnMarket is partnering with investor relations platform Listcorp to assist newly listed ASX companies with the ongoing challenge of communicating and promoting themselves to investors. Under the partnership, OnMarket and Listcorp will work closely with listed and unlisted companies of all different sizes, helping them build awareness and promote their company to Australias investor community. OnMarket helps early stage, growth stage and IPO companies raise much-needed capital from their 47,000 strong investor database, and Listcorp enables listed companies to publish content, and disseminate their message instantly to 30,000+ investors via their website, as well as through their partners, including stockbrokers Evans & Partners and Baillieu Holst, and the Australian Shareholders Association. OnMarket chief executive Ben Bucknell said: OnMarket has now helped over 70 companies list on the ASX. We are pleased to announce that weve recently entered into an agreement with Listcorp to help these companies better communicate with investors throughout Australia. The fundamental benefit that both Listcorp and OnMarket are providing to Australias retail investors is access. OnMarket provides retail investors direct access to IPO and equity crowdfunding opportunities, and Listcorp provides retail investors access to much needed information about the companies they have invested in, or are looking to invest in. John Daly, chief executive of Listcorp, said, There is a strong alignment between what OnMarket and Listcorp are both trying to achieve. We are both businesses driven to improving the relationship between investors and listed companies through the use of technology. The GDPR will come into force in the EU from 25 May. Microsoft will extend the same rights that are at the heart of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation to all its users worldwide, the company has announced. A blog post by corporate vice-president and deputy general counsel, Julie Brill, also praised the "strong leadership by the European Union on these important issues". Outlining Microsoft's support for the GDPR since it was first proposed in 2012, Brill said: "Thats why today we are announcing that we will extend the rights that are at the heart of GDPR to all of our consumer customers worldwide. "Known as Data Subject Rights, they include the right to know what data we collect about you, to correct that data, to delete it and even to take it somewhere else. Our privacy dashboard gives users the tools they need to take control of their data." The GDPR takes effect on 25 May and many companies, both in the technology and other sectors, are scrambling to be compliant with its specifications. It has been estimated by management consulting firm Oliver Wyman that the EU would reap about US$6 billion in fines from organisations that are not in compliance during the first year of the GDPR. But Microsoft will clearly not fall into that bracket. Said Brill: "GDPR is an important step forward for privacy rights in Europe and around the world, and weve been enthusiastic supporters of GDPR since it was first proposed in 2012. "It sets a strong standard for privacy and data protection by empowering people to control their personal information." Brill said Microsoft was committed to making sure that its products and services comply with the legislation. "Thats why weve had more than 1600 engineers across the company working on GDPR projects. Since its enactment in 2016, weve made significant investments to redesign our tools, systems and processes to meet the requirements of GDPR. "Today, GDPR compliance is deeply ingrained in the culture at Microsoft and embedded in the processes and practices that are at the heart of how we build and deliver products and services." With HMD reportedly having outsold virtually all Android competitors except Samsung, all those sales obviously still weren't enough to avoid needing an additional US$100 million. Finland-based start-up HMD Global, the new home of Nokia phones, has announced that it has "raised additional US$100 million from multiple investors to scale business operations and fund the companys growth in its second year". With the latest round of funding, HMD says its current market valuation "exceeds US$1 billion, giving it a unicorn status", which shouldn't come as a surprise given how popular Nokia's phones were in its Nokia 1.0 existence. Presumably Apple's hundreds of billions in the bank makes that company an albino unicorn from Alpha Centauri made from a combination of Avatar's Unobtanium and, for Marvel fans, Wakandan Vibranium. So, what will HMD do with all the money? The company says it will be "making strategic investments in scaling its fast-growing business operations" and from the figures below, presumably helping to make up for the US$77 million financial loss in financial year 2017. In 2018, HMD says it "plans to aggressively expand its portfolio of Nokia smartphones and double down on expanding channel reach in strategic markets while continuing to deliver innovation where it matters most to consumers". Florian Seiche, chief executive of HMD, said: 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. Set up on 1 December 2016, the company in its first year has "shipped more than 70 million Nokia branded phones, scaled sales operations in over 80 countries with phone activations coming from 170 countries". Today, Nokia phones are "sold at over 250,000 retail outlets across the world and more than 600 direct trade partners are committed to this next chapter of Nokia phones globally". "In financial year 2017, HMD Global posted a total revenue of 1.8 billion (US$2.13 billion) along with an operational loss of $65 million (US$$77 million). "Demonstrating incredible passion, engagement, and enthusiasm for the new portfolio, the response from fans around the world to the new Nokia range of Android smartphones has been humbling. "HMD is set out to capture the hearts and minds of the next generation of consumers. Two-thirds of consumers buying a Nokia phone today are below the age of 35 years. Four out of every five consumers are recommending a Nokia smartphone to their friends and family. "Over 150,000,000 visits have been welcomed to the Nokia website website since January 2017". HMD Board member Jean-Francois Baril, Ginko Ventures managing director and founder, said: We are proud to contribute to the next phase of Nokia phones and the successful raising of this investment round. "Personally, as someone who has long been associated with the Nokia brand, this journey is very exciting. From its roots in Finland, HMD Global has chosen an agile strategy that leverages global relationships and collaborations to achieve its phenomenal growth. Since MWC 2017, the Finnish start-up proudly boasts of having "introduced 16 new devices and global partnerships with industry heavy weights such as Google and ZEISS, in addition to its long term strategic relationship with Nokia and FIH". At MWC 2018, HMD Global announced that it will be "the lead global partner for Googles flagship program for Android Android One, committing a complete portfolio of Nokia smartphones to the Android One family". This round of investment has been "led by Geneva based, Ginko Ventures via Alpha Ginko Ltd. with participation from DMJ Asia Investment Opportunity Limited and Wonderful Stars Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of FIH Mobile Ltd". Mohan to Deliver Chemistry Lectures in India and Hong Kong May 22, 2018 Ram Mohan BLOOMINGTON, Ill. This summer, Wendell and Loretta Hess Professor of Chemistry Ram Mohan will travel to India and Hong Kong to deliver a series of post-graduate workshops on advanced concepts in organic synthesis. His workshop Advanced Concepts in the Synthesis of Pharmaceutical Drugs at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore will explore the unique, real-world challenges in the pharmaceutical industry to synthesize drugs that are both commercially viable and eco-friendly. The workshop will be geared toward participants from both industry and academia. Mohan was selected to deliver this series by the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), a competitive program funded through the Indian government that invites experts from around the world to augment learning experiences at Indias higher education institutions. Typically, GIAN experts are from large, Ph.D. granting institutes worldwide, so it is especially humbling to be chosen as a foreign expert from a small liberal arts college such as IWU, said Mohan. It will be exciting to interact with Ph.D. students as well as college teachers wishing to update their skills. Mohan has also been invited by Hong Kong Universitys Department of Chemistry, ranked number one in Hong Kong, to deliver a series of doctoral lectures on green chemistry, a recent initiative to develop environmentally sustainable chemical processes and products. Today it is not enough to make useful molecules, whether they are everyday products or life saving drugs, Mohan explained. It is just as important to make them in environmentally friendly ways that produce very little waste, waste that is also benign and easy to dispose. I hope that that workshop will enable students to think how they can incorporate green chemistry into their own work, and also inspire them to carry green chemistry principles into their future careers. A 1985 graduate of Hansraj College in Delhi, India, Mohan earned a masters degree in organic chemistry from the University of Delhi in 1987 and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), in 1992. Following that, he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 2011, the Illinois Heartland Section of the American Chemical Society named Mohan Chemist of the Year. He received the distinguished alumni award from his alma mater UMBC in 2002, the Henry Dreyfus Teacher Scholar award in 2001, and the Pfizer Green Chemistry Award for promoting green chemistry at an undergraduate institution. His research at IWU, which has involved more than 100 students, has been funded by several grants from the National Science Foundation, Research Corporation, and the American Chemical Society-Petroleum Research Fund. Mohan was named a Fulbright Specialist on Green Chemistry Education to Pondicherry University in India in 2015, and received a Fulbright-Nehru award to deliver lectures on the principles of green chemistry at several Indian colleges and universities during the 2012-13 academic year. By Rachel McCarthy 21 By Matthew Stewart | When it comes to the division of wealth, many Americans believe that the country is split between the 1%, which possesses a significant share of the countrys money, and the 99%, or the people. In reality, The Atlantic writer Matthew Stewart argues, 9.9% of the population comprises Americas new aristocracy, which often takes wealth out of productive activities and invests it in walls. But this group of people is rich in more than mere money, and its constancy poses an insidious threat to the promise of American democracy. The Atlantic: The 99% Is a MythHeres How It Really Breaks Down Reddit Email 62 Shares Belfast (The Conversation) Wisal Sheikh Khalil was just 14 years old when she was shot dead by an Israeli sniper during the protests on May 14, 2018, in Gaza. Of the 60 Palestinians killed, eight were under 16 years, and most were under the age of 30. Earlier this month, 17-year-old Ahed Tamimi was sentenced to four months in prison by an Israeli military court, just one of over 300 Palestinian minors held in Israeli custody. It can be hard for people outside the conflict to understand what motivates young Palestinians such as Wisal and Ahed to risk arrest, injury and death. Worse, there are several persistent myths which have clouded peoples perceptions about Palestinian activism, and youth activism more broadly. My research with young Palestinian activists over the past ten years has given me a chance to investigate how they understand their role in the conflict and collect the evidence needed to challenge those myths. Young people are ready to die During the height of the second intifada (or uprising) in the early 2000s, a story spread that young Palestinian activists were seeking death through suicide bombing. This idea has persisted in Palestine and throughout the Middle East, with both media and academic focus on youth radicalisation feeding into the rhetoric that young people are drawn towards violence or self-sacrifice. Some youths may be thinking about martyrdom; Wisal, for example, had told her mother she was prepared to die. But the actions taken by most young Palestinians are anything but a death wish. Rather, they are attempting to transform their daily lives under occupation. As Palestinian journalist Mariam Barghouti wrote this week: The misconception is that we actually have a choice, that we are wilfully choosing death. The truth is that the only remaining option is to silently be imprisoned, controlled, dispossessed, and attacked for being Palestinian. There is no choice but to seek life, and that is all that we are doing. This is our crime. We are the criminals that dared to wish for life. More young people means more resistance A related myth is that of the youth bulge: the idea that the sheer size of the youth population in the Middle East will lead to more resistance. In reality, that is not the case. While 30% of the population in Palestine is between the ages of 15 and 29, there is not notably more or less Palestinian activism now than there was in the past. As a protracted conflict, resistance in Palestine is intergenerational, with many of todays young people taking inspiration from the earlier activism of their parents and grandparents, many of whom still participate in demonstrations, protests and other forms of everyday activism. Youth activism is spontaneous It is a misconception that youth-led protests spontaneously erupt in Palestine. In fact, Mondays protest was the culmination of over six weeks of protest at the Gaza border. Villages across the West Bank have held weekly demonstrations for years some for over a decade . Young people organise through local popular committees, campus groups, social media, word of mouth and direct outreach in villages, refugee camps and communities. While protests such as Mondays garner the most attention, young people are active in other ways as well. They coordinate Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns, use media, music and art as modes of resistance and connect with international solidarity groups. Young people are the pawns of political parties There were reports that Hamas had orchestrated or hijacked Mondays protests, suggesting that the estimated 40,000 participants mostly young people were simply political pawns. While Hamas did provide logistical support throughout the protests, nearly all young activists I have interviewed saw their resistance as distinct from any political party Fatah or Hamas, neither of which has served Palestinian civilians well. To suggest that young activists are passive pawns manipulated by the parties undercuts the agency and leadership that young Palestinians have expressed in the absence of strong leaders. Young people are the future Young Palestinians are not just the future they are also the present. To refer to young people only as the future diminishes the important role they are already playing in Palestine, and throughout the Middle East, to reshape their societies and challenge political realities. Young people are neither passive victims nor violent extremists; they are leaders, activists, students, artists and engaged citizens ready to challenge the status quo, not only for the future, but for the immediate present. Julie M Norman, Research Fellow in Global Peace, Security, & Justice, Queens University Belfast This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Featured photo: Courtesy Maan images. Reddit Email 187 Shares Secretary of State Mike Pompeos speech on new sanctions on Iran lays out a wide range of Iranian behavior he would like to change, and specified harsh US financial sanctions as his instrument. Pompeo, a Kansas oil man backed by the Koch brothers, is just a former congressman and a virulent Christian fundamentalist with white nationalist tendencies. He knows little about the world and is among the worst prepared secretaries of state in American history. He also knows nothing about the history of the region. Unilateral US sanctions as a means of regime change or radically changing regime behavior have a strong record of failure, especially when applied to states with pricey primary commodities like petroleum. Among the harshest sanctions ever were applied by the US and the UN to Iraq in the 1990s, and the ruling Iraq Baath Party of Saddam Hussein was able to survive. They cheated on oil sales, smuggled by truck to Turkey and Jordan, and built up billions in their coffers, which cushioned the Baath officials and the military commanders. At the same time, the sanctions destroyed the middle classes and drove people into slummy poverty. Iraqs literacy rate even slipped. These effects strengthened the regime, which was still oil rich, against the increasingly poverty-stricken Iraqi public, many of whom began turning to religious fundamentalism of the Sadrist variety. The sanctions backfired on the West. It took an actual invasion and long term occupation of Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein and his Baath regime. Ex-Baathists thus forcibly deposed sometimes joined extremist groups such as ISIL. The classic work on sanctions by K.A. Elliot and G.C. Huffbauer concluded that empirical research on 115 cases of sanctions imposed from World War I to 1990 indicate that sanctions are more likely to succeed if its goal is modest, the target country is smaller than the sending country, the receiving and sending countries have friendly relations with substantial trade prior to imposition of sanctions, the cost to sending country is not significant, and sanctions are imposed quickly and decisively. (Quoting S. Shojai and Patricia S. Root, Effectiveness Of Economic Sanctions: Empirical Research Revisited, The International Business & Economics Research Journal (Online) Vol. 12, Issue 11. Date: 2013.) Pompeos press on Iran is the opposite of those successful cases in most regards. The US did not have good trade relations with Iran before Pompeo, and Pompeos demands are extremely wide-ranging. Historical experience therefore predicts failure. Moreover, Pompeos image of the politics of the Middle East is just warmed over Christian Zionism. He sees tiny Hizbullah of Lebanon as a threat to Israel. In fact, Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, half destroyed Beirut (which helped inspire Bin Laden to attack New York) and occupied 10% of Lebanons territory for 18 years, in the south. Hizbullah grew up as a resistance movement to that occupation, and it has been designated by the Lebanese cabinet as a national guard for the countrys south. Pompeo and his ilk never minded this brutal occupation and never went to bat for Lebanon. If Hizbullah did not exist, likely the Israelis would try to expand north again the very next day. But Hizbullah has not capability to attack Israel conventionally. In Lebanese terms, it is a defensive organization, which is why Lebanons Christians now appear largely to support it politically. Pompeo also completely disregards the key role of Shiite militias backed by Iran in defeating ISIL, an organization that grew up as a direct result of the Republican Partys invasion and occupation of Iraq. From a Middle East point of view, the US gave them ISIL, and Iran defeated ISIL. Even some Iraqi Sunnis feel this way. Pompeos perspective will have no resonance in the region outside Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Even Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, half of the old Gulf Cooperation Council of Sunni Gulf monarchies, have reacted with dismay or lukewarmness toward the Trump withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. What Pompeos policy does suggest for the future is that Irans middle class will probably suffer some downward mobility, which will strengthen the regime and the hardliners and prolong the life of the regime. Bonus video: PBS: WATCH: Secy. of State Pompeo discusses Iran at Heritage Foundation VANCOUVER, May 22, 2018 /CNW/ - Pacton Gold Inc. (TSXV: PAC, OTC: PACXF) (the "Company" or "Pacton") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding letter of intent ("LOI") to acquire 100% of the shares in Drummond East Pty Ltd ("Drummond East"), an arm's length Australian proprietary limited exploration company wholly owned by Impact Minerals Limited (ASX: IPT) ("Impact"). Drummond East holds seven granted tenement licenses, comprising of a total of 1,126 sq km (the "Property"). Highlights of the Transaction: Acquisition of ~1,126 sq km of strategic conglomerate hosting exploration properties . . Pilbara total land portfolio now increased to approximately 2,227 sq km, which equates to ~18.6% in holdings when compared to the size of Novo Resources Corp. (TSXV: NVO) land holdings, of approximately 12,000 sq km. of approximately 12,000 sq km. Transaction will place Pacton as the 3 rd largest land holder in the Pilbara. in the Pilbara. Previous exploration indicates at least 90 km of prospective Fortescue Group conglomerates occurring at or near-surface on its granted licenses, in particular to the west and east of Marble Bar as well as close to the Beatons Creek gold deposit near Nullagine. Conglomerates identified are approximately the same age as the Witwatersrand Basin Gold deposits of South Africa . in particular to the west and east of Marble Bar as well as close to the Beatons Creek gold deposit near Nullagine. Conglomerates identified are approximately the same age as the Witwatersrand Basin Gold deposits of . Properties are directly adjacent and proximal to key exploration properties controlled by Novo Resources Corp. and Kairos Minerals Ltd. (ASX: KAI) . to key exploration properties controlled by . Rock chip results of up to 11.2 g/t gold occur at the Glen Herring Prospect 10 km west of Marble Bar in a gold-pyrite conglomerate that extends for 25 km. occur at the Glen Herring Prospect 10 km west of Marble Bar in a gold-pyrite conglomerate that extends for 25 km. Other gold-bearing conglomerates identified on or adjacent to the licences . . Access to the extensive regional knowledge and technical expertise provided by the Impact Team, led by Managing Director Dr. Mike Jones , who brings specific expertise in conglomerate-hosted gold, and who conducted his PhD studies on this style of mineralization in the northern source areas for the Witwatersrand Basin. "We are pleased to make accretive acquisitions that strategically place Pacton as the third largest land holder in Western Australia's Pilbara conglomerate-hosted gold region. Pacton continues to further consolidate the region through key property evaluations, and the addition of Drummond East increases our land holdings to 2,227 sq km," commented Alec Pismiris, Interim President and CEO of Pacton. "The Impact Minerals team, led by Dr. Mike Jones, have successfully assembled a significant portfolio of advanced gold projects that present excellent prospectivity for discovery upside for the shareholders of Pacton. The Impact transaction solidifies our presence in the region, and is directly in line with our mandate to become one of the leaders in the Pilbara Gold Rush. With a strong treasury and financial backers, we are aggressively reviewing other opportunities." Impact's Pilbara Gold Project and its Prospectivity The seven 100% owned and fully granted licences cover 1,126 sq km of ground prospective for conglomerate-hosted gold in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (Figure 1). They were staked after an extensive review by Impact, following the discovery of gold in conglomerates at the base of the Fortescue Group by Artemis Resources Limited (ASX: ARV) and the subsequent joint venture with Novo Resources Corp. The discovery by Artemis Resources indicated a significant breakthrough had been made in the search for conglomerate hosted gold deposits of a similar age to the Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa in the Pilbara. Impact aggresively applied for available prospective ground in the early stages of the Pilbara staking rush. Figure 1: Pilbara region map of Western Australia A preliminary review and synthesis of previous exploration data and mapping by the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) indicates the two most prospective conglomerate horizons within the Fortescue Group occur within or immediately adjacent to the licences (Figure 2): Conglomerates of the Hardey Formation. These rocks host the Beatons Creek resource (Tetra Tech 08/31/15 Measured and Indicated 3.39 Mt at 2.7 g/t gold for 299Koz Au, Inferred 3.04 Mt at 2.7 g/t gold for 259Koz Au) held by Novo Resources Corp. near Nullagine (Figure 2). Measured and Indicated 3.39 Mt at 2.7 g/t gold for 299Koz Au, Inferred 3.04 Mt at 2.7 g/t gold for 259Koz Au) held by Novo Resources Corp. near Nullagine (Figure 2). Conglomerates at the base of the Mt Roe Basalt. The recent gold discovery at Purdeys Reward-Comet Well by Novo Resources Corp. and Artemis Resources Limited occurs within this unit (Figure 2). Previous exploration indicates that the prospective conglomerates occur over at least 90 km of trend at or close to surface within the licences, in particular to the west and east of Marble Bar, as well as close to the Beatons Creek deposit near Nullagine. West of Marble Bar, previous exploration in the district highlighted several gold occurrences associated with the conglomerate horizons on and along trend from Impact's licence applications EL45/4972 and EL45/4971 (Figure 3). Figure 2. Location of Pacton's new licences in the Marble Bar-Nullagine region Four main gold-bearing conglomerate occurrences have been discovered that demonstrate similar characteristics to those that occur within the Witwatersrand Basin including: Glen Herring Prospect : previous rock chip samples in 1989 returned assays of up to 11.2 g/t gold from a gold-pyrite bearing conglomerate within the Hardey Formation, which extends for 10 km of strike on licence EL44/4972 (Figure 3). : previous rock chip samples in 1989 returned assays of up to 11.2 g/t gold from a gold-pyrite bearing conglomerate within the Hardey Formation, which extends for 10 km of strike on licence EL44/4972 (Figure 3). Shady Camp Well Prospect: one diamond drillhole was completed by Western Mining Corporation in 1976 to test a surface gold and radiometric anomaly in conglomerate-sandstone and returned 0.9 m at 0.6 g/t gold from 174 m downhole in quartz pebble conglomerate with rounded pyrite in the matrix. The conglomerate occurs close to a carbonaceous shale unit. Further, radiometric gold-bearing conglomerates in the Hardey Formation have been identified by previous explorers for at least 10 km along strike from Shady Camp Well. The same conglomerates also extend for a further 15 km along strike to the southwest outside of Impact's licence, where historic assays returned up to 2.1 g/t gold (see Figure 3). Gold-bearing pyritic quartz pebble conglomerates have been identified at the base of the Mt Roe Formation by several previous explorers at the Contact Creek Prospect which lies 6 km west of Impact's licence E45/4971 with the the best rock sample result of 15.9 g/t gold by Novo Resources in 2013 (see Figure 3). This gold-bearing conglomerate extends to the east and occurs very close to surface over at least 4 km of strike on Impact's licence EL45/4971. Prospect which lies 6 km west of Impact's licence E45/4971 with the the best rock sample result of 15.9 g/t gold by Novo Resources in 2013 (see Figure 3). This gold-bearing conglomerate extends to the east and occurs very close to surface over at least 4 km of strike on Impact's licence EL45/4971. The Hardey Formation sandstones and conglomerates have been mapped by the GSWA over at least 25 km of strike on EL45/4971 and rock samples of conglomerate with very strong pyrite returned up to 0.26 g/t gold by CRA Exploration in 1987 (Figure 3). The chemistry and characteristics of the conglomerates from the four propsect areas are similar to those observed in Witwatersrand-style conglomerate-hosted gold deposits. These are significant observations and are very encouraging for further exploration on Pacton's newly acquired licences. These characteristics include: Widespread gold-bearing conglomerates in places. The identification of rounded detrital pyrite within the matrix between conglomerate clasts. The occurrence of black carbonaceous shale that occurs in close proximity to the conglomerates. Figure 3. Interpreted bedrock geology map surrounding two of Impact's Licences west of Marble Bar showing the prospective conglomerate horizons within the Fortescue Group with key gold assay results LOI Terms Under the terms of the LOI, which will be formalized by a definitive agreement among the parties, the Company will purchase a 100% ownership interest in Drummond East by paying Impact a total of CAD$350,000 and issuing to Impact 2,125,000 common shares of Pacton. In addition, Pacton will pay a bonus (the "Discovery Bonus") to Impact of CAD$500,000 if Pacton publishes measured, indicated, or inferred gold resources of over 250,000 ounces on the Property. Pacton will grant Impact a 2% net smelter royalty in respect of the Property on standard industry terms to be agreed between the parties (the "NSR"). The parties agree that Pacton shall, at all times, retain an exclusive and unlimited right to purchase 50% of the NSR back from Impact for CAD$500,000. A finder's fee will be paid to COMVERJ Pty Ltd in respect of the transaction pursuant to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. This transaction is subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. About Pacton Gold Pacton Gold Inc. is a Canadian junior exploration company focused on acquiring, exploring and advancing mineral assets in key mining friendly locations globally. The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved Peter Caldbick, P.Geo., a director of the Company and a Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101. The qualified person has not yet verified the data disclosed, including sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the information or opinions contained in the written disclosure. On Behalf of the Board of Pacton Gold Inc. Alec Pismiris Interim President & CEO This news release may contain or refer to forward-looking information based on current expectations, including, but not limited to the Company acquiring an interest in properties controlled by Impact Minerals Limited and completion of the proposed transaction described herein, the prospect of the Company achieving success in exploring the Property and the impact on the Company of these events, including the effect on the share prices. Forward-looking information is subject to significant risks and uncertainties, as actual results may differ materially from forecasted results. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date hereof and we assume no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances. Neither TSX Venture Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange nor their Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Toronto, ON / TheNewswire / May 22, 2018 Chilean Metals Inc. ("Chilean Metals," "CMX" or the "Company") (TSX.V:CMX, OTCQB: CMETF, SSE:CMX, MILA: CMX). Toronto based Chilean Metals Inc. announced today that Mick Sharry has been appointed to the board of directors of Chilean Metals. Mick has over twenty years experience in Australia, South East and Central Asia, South America and the Caribbean. He has also been involved in detailed project reviews in Europe, Africa and North America. He is an Explorationist with strong technical, management, commercial, interpersonal, stakeholder relations and safety management skills. Roles include effectively managing in excess of 130 staff from nine nations where he has proposed and managed annual budgets up to US$16M. Terry Lynch, Chilean Metals chairman and new CEO commented, "I have known Mick Sharry since 2011 when he was leading the OZ Minerals option program on our Copaquire project in Chile that we subsequently sold to Teck. He has a strong reputation in the global industry for his straight forward nature and focus on always operating at the highest ethical standards. Mick is a world class Geoscientist with three deposits where he was involved in the discovery through to accelerated resource definition : Bayan Airag Cu-Au-Ag VMS and Baruun Naran metallurgical and thermal coal - Mongolia ; Okvau Intrusive Related Au - Cambodia during a seven year period. This skill set will be ideal to help us both as President and as a board member to convert the great potential of our projects into value for shareholders, which is always Mick's focus." "I was well aware of Chilean's excellent portfolio of projects in Chile from my days working with the Company while at OZ Minerals. I am also very excited to work on what I perceive as a very interesting property package the company has acquired in Nova Scotia and am really looking forward to driving those projects forward. One important step is to get the rig turning on our first drilling program on the Bass River Project in Q2 of this year" commented Mick Sharry. About Chilean Metals, www.chileanmetals.com/ Chilean Metals Inc. is a Canadian Junior Exploration Company focusing on high potential Copper Gold prospects in Chile & Canada. Chilean Metals Inc is 100% owner of five properties comprising over 50,000 acres strategically located in the prolific IOCG ("Iron oxide-copper-gold") belt of northern Chile. It also owns a 3% NSR royalty interest on any future production from the Copaquire Cu-Mo deposit, recently sold to a subsidiary of Teck Resources Inc. ("Teck"). Under the terms of the sale agreement, Teck has the right to acquire one third of the 3% NSR for $3 million dollars at any time. The Copaquire property borders Teck's producing Quebrada Blanca copper mine in Chile's First Region. Chilean Metals Inc is the 100% owner of four Copper Gold exploration properties in Nova Scotia on the western flank of the Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault Zone (CCFZ); Fox River, Parrsboro, Lynn and Bass River North respectively. Initial targeting and geophysics has been conducted on all properties, At Bass River North, airborne geophysics identified a major VTEM cluster on trend with the Pb/Zn/Ag mineralization exposed at surface and in drill holes to the southwest. Modeling of the airborne and Pulse Electro Magnetic data by Minotaur (Australia) identified a priority targets recommended for immediate drilling. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF Chilean Metals Inc. "Terry Lynch" Terry Lynch, CEO Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Forward-looking Statements: This news release may contain certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that CMX expects to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements in this document include statements regarding current and future exploration programs, activities and results. Although CMX believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration success, continued availability of capital and financing, inability to obtain required regulatory or governmental approvals and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 160 feet assaying 7.3% combined zinc-lead, 6.0 opt silver, and 1.6% copper (TDS) Including 64 feet assaying 13.9% combined zinc-lead, 11.9 opt silver, and 2.5% copper (TDS) 30.5 feet assaying 10.8% combined zinc-lead, 6.7 opt silver, and 2.9% copper (TDS) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arizona Mining Inc. (TSX:AZ) (Arizona Mining or the Company) announces robust results for two drill holes from the current program focused on expansion of the Taylor Deeps Zone (TDS) located on its 100%-owned Hermosa Project in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The drill holes highlighted in this release are successful step-out exploration drill holes highlighting the continued potential for resource growth, increased zinc-lead-silver grades and significant copper grades associated with the high-grade Taylor Deeps Zone. These results are subsequent to and distinct from drilling completed for the Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) (see Press Release dated January 16, 2018). Our exploration drilling continues to confirm high-grade extensions to major areas of mineralization identified in the updated PEA. Exploration drilling in the southwestern portion of the Trench property, especially to the south, continues to demonstrate potential for high-grade expansion of the Taylor Deeps Zone, said Chief Operating Officer Don Taylor. In addition to the continued high-grade zinc-lead-silver mineralization, the current and previous drilling has identified an area of potentially significant copper (see Figure 3) which is open to the north and south. The copper-rich zone is characterized by coarse-grained chalcopyrite disseminated within the massive sphalerite/galena mineralization. Based on the robust copper grades in this zone and a previously identified zone to the east, we will be accelerating test work to evaluate the viability of adding a copper circuit to the flotation milling process. HDS-516 is a vertical step-out hole targeting Taylor Deeps Sulfide (TDS) mineralization. The drill hole intercepted several mineralized horizons within the Taylor Deeps Sulfide Zone, including one very substantial zone. The Taylor Deeps intercept extends the mineralization 300 feet southwest of previously reported HDS-436 (see Press Release dated May 18, 2017). Significant mineralized intervals in the Taylor Deeps include: 160 feet assaying 7.3% combined zinc-lead, and 6.0 opt silver and 1.6% copper (TDS) including 64 feet assaying 13.9% combined zinc-lead; and 11.9 opt silver and 2.5% copper (TDS) HDS-525 is an angled step-out drill hole targeting Taylor Deeps Sulfide (TDS) mineralization. The drill hole intercepted multiple mineralized zones in the Taylor Deeps Zone and one high grade vein (TVS). The Taylor Deeps intercept extends the mineralization 300 south of HDS-501 (see Press Release dated February 20, 2018). The noteworthy mineralized intervals were: 14 feet assaying 22.9% combined zinc-lead; and 3.0 opt silver and 0.8% copper (TVS) 30.5 feet assaying 10.8% combined zinc-lead; and 6.7 opt silver and 2.9% copper (TDS) For a full list of the Trench Vein, Taylor Sulfide and Taylor Deeps Sulfide mineralized intervals from these holes refer to Table I. Table I. Drill Hole Assay Summary DH_ID From (feet) To (feet) Interval (in feet) From (meters) To (meters) Interval (meters) Ag opt Pb% Zn% Cu% Zone * HDS-516 667 672 5 203.3 204.8 1.5 8.11 10.60 0.65 0.06 TVS HDS-516 3625 3640 15 1104.8 1109.4 4.6 6.06 15.56 8.78 1.97 TDS HDS-516 3693 3853 160 1125.6 1174.3 48.8 5.96 4.26 3.01 1.61 TDS Including 3693 3757 64 1125.6 1145.1 19.5 11.92 8.52 5.34 2.45 TDS HDS-516 5539 5556 17 1688.2 1693.4 5.2 3.42 4.04 4.28 0.05 TDS HDS-516 5698.5 5710.5 12 1736.8 1740.5 3.7 5.35 9.89 11.77 0.40 TDS HDS-516 5812 5822 10 1771.4 1774.5 3.0 5.27 15.77 3.20 0.46 TDS HDS-525 3484 3498 14 1061.9 1066.1 4.3 2.98 8.28 14.59 0.77 TVS HDS-525 3584 3607 23 1092.3 1099.4 7.0 1.61 5.12 6.94 1.05 TDS HDS-525 4677 4707.5 30.5 1425.5 1434.8 9.3 6.67 5.57 5.26 2.89 TDS HDS-525 4877 4898 21 1486.4 1492.8 6.4 1.82 2.12 7.10 1.43 TDS Drill intersections with a combined zinc and lead grade of greater than 9% are highlighted. Sulfide drill intervals from the Taylor Sulfide Zone and Taylor Deeps Sulfide Zone are down-the-hole drill intervals. Vertical drill holes are considered to be within +5% of true width based on the dip of the mineralized stratigraphy at 20-25 degrees. Angle drill holes are considered to be within +15% of true width based on the dip of the mineralized stratigraphy at 20-25 degrees. *The exception to this are the intervals noted as veins. It is not possible to determine the true width of the veins based on the drill density and no representation is made here regarding true width of the veins. Zones shown include: Taylor Sulfide Zone (TS); Taylor Deeps Sulfide Zone (TDS) and Trench Vein System (TVS). Figure 1. Drill Hole Location Map Figure 2. Plan View of Taylor Deeps with ZnEq Grade Contour Figure 3. Plan View of Taylor Deeps with High Grade Copper Zones Figure 4. Long Section of Hermosa Geology and Ore Deposits Figure 5. Land Status Map Qualified Person The results of the Arizona Mining Inc. drilling have been reviewed, verified and compiled by Donald R. Taylor, MSc., PG, Chief Operating Officer for Arizona Mining Inc., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). Mr. Taylor has 30 years of mineral exploration and mining experience, and is a Registered Professional Geologist through the SME (registered member #4029597). Assays and Quality Assurance/Quality Control To ensure reliable sample results, the Company has a rigorous QA/QC program in place that monitors the chain-of-custody of samples and includes the insertion of blanks, duplicates, and certified reference standards at statistically derived intervals within each batch of samples. Core is photographed and split in half with one-half retained in a secured facility for verification purposes. Sample preparation (crushing and pulverizing) has been performed at ALS Minerals Laboratories, an ISO/IEC accredited lab located in Tucson, Arizona. ALS Minerals Laboratories prepares a pulp of all samples and sends the pulps to their analytical laboratory in Vancouver, B.C. Canada for analysis. ALS analyzes the pulp sample by ICP following a 4-acid digestion (ME-ICP61 for 33 elements) including Cu (copper), Pb (lead), and Zn (zinc). All samples in which Cu (copper), Pb (lead), or Zn (zinc) are greater than 10,000 ppm are re-run using four acid digestion with an ICP AES finish (Cu-OG62; Pb-OG62; and Zn-OG62) with the elements reported in percentage (%). Silver values are determined by ICP (ME-ICP61) with all samples with silver values greater than 100 ppm repeated using four acid digestion with an ICP-AES finish (Ag-OG62) calibrated for higher levels of silver contained. Any values over 1,500 ppm Ag trigger a fire assay with gravimetric finish analysis. Gold values are determined by a 30 gm fire assay with an ICP-AES finish (Au-ICP21). About Arizona Mining Arizona Mining Inc. (an augustagroup company) is a mineral exploration and development company focused on the exploration and development of its 100%-owned Hermosa Project located in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The Taylor Deposit, a zinc-lead-silver carbonate replacement deposit, has a resource of 15.2 million tons in the Measured Mineral Resource category grading 4.0% zinc, 4.0% lead and 1.6 opt silver, or 9.6% ZnEq, plus 85.8 million tons in the Indicated Mineral Resource category grading 4.2% zinc, 4.3% lead and 2.2 opt silver, or 10.5% ZnEq, and 43.6 million tons of Inferred Mineral Resources grading 3.9% zinc, 4.8% lead and 3.4 opt silver or 11.9% ZnEq, all reported in accordance with NI 43-101 guidelines utilizing a 4% ZnEq cutoff grade. The Taylor Deposit remains open to the north, west and south over land controlled by the Company and will be aggressively drilled to test the limits of the resource. The Companys other project on the Hermosa property is the Central Deposit, a silver-manganese manto oxide project. For additional information please contact: Jerrold Annett Senior Vice President, Corporate Development Telephone: 416-366-5678 ext. 207 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Susan Muir Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications Telephone: 416-366-5678 ext. 202 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information Certain information contained in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward looking statements including statements with respect to the Companys intentions for its Hermosa Project in Arizona, including, without limitation, construction of the twin exploration decline, performing additional drilling, a resource update, permitting and a feasibility study on the Taylor Deposit. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as may, will, seek, anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, budget, schedule, forecast, project, expect, intend, or similar expressions. The forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions which, while considered reasonable by Arizona Mining, are subject to risks and uncertainties. In addition to the assumptions herein, these assumptions include the assumptions described in Arizona Mining's management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2017 ("MD&A"). Arizona Mining cautions readers that forward-looking statements involve and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements and forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results, performance or achievement. These risks, uncertainties and factors include general business, economic, competitive, political, regulatory and social uncertainties; actual results of exploration activities and economic evaluations; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; changes in project parameters; changes in costs, including labour, infrastructure, operating and production costs; future prices of zinc, lead, silver and other minerals; variations of mineral grade or recovery rates; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, development or mining activities, including the failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; delays in completion of exploration, development or construction activities; changes in government legislation and regulation; the ability to maintain and renew existing licenses and permits or obtain required licenses and permits in a timely manner; the ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms in a timely manner; contests over title to properties; employee relations and shortages of skilled personnel and contractors; the speculative nature of, and the risks involved in, the exploration, development and mining business; and the factors discussed in the section entitled "Risks and Uncertainties" in the MD&A. Although Arizona Mining has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual performance, achievements, actions, events, results or conditions to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking information, there may be other risks, uncertainties and other factors that cause performance, achievements, actions, events, results or conditions to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Unless otherwise indicated, forward-looking statements contained herein are as of the date hereof and Arizona Mining disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2018) - Aurania Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ARU) ("Aurania" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its Chairman and CEO, Dr. Keith Barron has completed the registration of "Fundacion Dar Un Paso Adelante" (the Step-Forward Foundation) with the Bermuda Monetary Authority as a Registered Charity. Aurania Resources is domiciled in Bermuda. The Step-Forward Foundation will have as its mandate the fostering and encouragement of literacy and numeracy among the indigenous Shuar children and youth in the Province of Morona-Santiago, in Ecuador where the Company has its flagship Lost Cities Cutucu Project. The Foundation will work with the community and various levels of government to support educational initiatives. At this stage, the Foundation is wholly financed with 450,000 shares of Aurania, from the exercise of stock options by Dr. Barron. This represents a donation of circa $1 million CAD. The shares will be sold into the public market over time and on an as-needed basis in a non-disruptive way. Currently, the Directors of the Foundation are Dr. Keith Barron, and Dr. Alexander C. Barron, M.D., B.Sc., M.Sc., MBA, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Canada, associate pediatric oncologist and hematologist at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. Over time, the mandate of the Foundation may be broadened to include health initiatives for the children of the Shuar community. About Aurania Aurania is a junior exploration mining company engaged in the identification, evaluation, acquisition and exploration of mineral property interests, with a focus on precious metals and copper. Its flagship asset, The Lost Cities Cutucu Project, is located in the Jurassic Metallogenic Belt in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountain range of southeastern Ecuador. Information on Aurania and technical reports are available at www.aurania.com and www.sedar.com, as well as on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/auranialtd/, Twitter at https://twitter.com/auranialtd, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurania-resources-ltd-. For further information, please contact: Dr. Richard Spencer President Aurania Resources Ltd. (416) 367-3200 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Carolyn Muir Manager, Investor Services Aurania Resources Ltd. (416) 367-3200 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cobalt 27 is pleased to announce the transformational acquisition of a producing cobalt-nickel stream over a long-life, world-class asset that provides immediate cash flow to the Company The world's first producing cobalt-nickel stream on the world-class Ramu Nickel-Cobalt Mine Stream over 55.0% and 27.5% of Highlands Pacific Limited's ("Highlands") attributable share of cobalt and nickel production, respectively, from the Ramu Nickel-Cobalt Mine ("Ramu") in exchange for a US$113 million ( C$145 million ) upfront deposit (the "Transaction") ( ) upfront deposit (the "Transaction") Highlands management estimates a mine life in excess of 30 years As a result of the Transaction, Highlands' effective attributable ownership of Ramu will increase from 8.56% to 11.3% Estimated attributable stream production of approximately 450,000 lbs of cobalt and 2.25 million lbs of nickel in concentrate per year Expands and diversifies portfolio: cobalt and nickel are important battery metals positioned to benefit from global adoption of electric vehicles and grid storage systems Cobalt 27 is in advanced discussions with two local PNG stakeholders which own an equity interest in Ramu (collectively "MRDC") to negotiate a US$87 million stream agreement on the same terms for a proportionate metal stream based on their aggregate attributable interest in Ramu stream agreement on the same terms for a proportionate metal stream based on their aggregate attributable interest in Ramu Ramu has successfully ramped up since construction completed in 2012 and is now operating at peak production and in the 1st quartile of the global cost curve and maintains robust margins at spot and long-term consensus prices. Transaction transforms Cobalt 27 into leading battery metals streaming and royalty company Long-life and low-cost nature of Ramu underscores strength and attractiveness of investment for Cobalt 27 shareholders Ramu is operated by a first in class operator, Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd. ("MCC"), which has market capitalization of approximately US$12 billion Stream has no impact on production cost structure from operator's perspective Transaction to be funded through Cobalt 27's cash on hand and new debt facility; no additional funding is required to complete the Transaction or the additional MRDC stream Expected to generate meaningful free cash flows and deliver significant value to Cobalt 27's shareholders Accretive to Cobalt 27's NAV per share Expected significant potential upside in cobalt and nickel pricing Conference Call scheduled for May 23rd at 8:30 am EDT ahead of TSXV market open, dial in details below TORONTO, May 22, 2018 /CNW/ - Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. ("Cobalt 27" or the "Company") (TSXV: KBLT)(FRA: 27O), is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary Electric Metals Streaming Corp. ("Electric Metals Streaming") has entered into a Metal Purchase and Sale Agreement ("MPA") with Ramu Nickel Limited ("RNL"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Highlands (ASX: HIG), for a cobalt-nickel stream on its attributable interest in the producing Ramu mine, located in Papua New Guinea ("PNG") (the "Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream") which is operated by MCC. Key Transaction Terms The Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream is governed by the MPA, pursuant to which Cobalt 27 has agreed to acquire the right to purchase 55.0% of RNL's attributable share of the payable cobalt metal and 27.5% of RNL's attributable share of the payable nickel metal produced at Ramu, for the life of mine, in exchange for a US$113 million ( C$145 million ) upfront cash deposit payable to Highlands. Highlands, which owns 100% of RNL, currently holds an effective 8.56% ownership interest in Ramu. However, Highlands will use proceeds from the Transaction to increase its effective ownership interest in Ramu to 11.3% through the repayment of its share of outstanding Ramu construction and development loans. For clarity, the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream will be over RNL's pro forma 11.3% ownership interest in Ramu. ( ) upfront cash deposit payable to Highlands. Highlands, which owns 100% of RNL, currently holds an effective 8.56% ownership interest in Ramu. However, Highlands will use proceeds from the Transaction to increase its effective ownership interest in Ramu to 11.3% through the repayment of its share of outstanding Ramu construction and development loans. For clarity, the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream will be over RNL's pro forma 11.3% ownership interest in Ramu. In addition, Electric Metals Streaming will make ongoing payments of US$4.00 per pound of payable cobalt and US$1.00 per pound of payable nickel, each subject to annual inflation adjustments beginning on June 30, 2023 . per pound of payable cobalt and per pound of payable nickel, each subject to annual inflation adjustments beginning on . Cobalt 27's Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream will be secured by a first-priority ranking pledge over Highlands' shares in RNL and a guarantee by Highlands. In connection with the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream, Cobalt 27 has also agreed to complete a strategic equity investment in the Common Shares of Highlands, which will result in the Company owning an approximate 13.0% pro forma interest in Highlands (the "Equity Investment"). Subject to ASX and POMsoX approvals, Cobalt 27 will be provided with anti-dilution rights with respect to the Equity Investment. In connection with the Equity Investment, Cobalt 27 will also have the right to appoint a member to Highlands' board of directors, and accordingly, concurrent with the close of the Equity Investment, Anthony Milewski , Chairman and CEO of Cobalt 27, will be appointed to the board of directors of Highlands. , Chairman and CEO of Cobalt 27, will be appointed to the board of directors of Highlands. Cobalt 27 and Highlands have agreed that the proceeds from the US$113 million stream are to be used by Highlands to fund repayment of Highlands' attributable Ramu partner loans. Highlands currently owns an 8.56% interest in Ramu which, through the repayment of its outstanding attributable balance of the Ramu partner loans, will immediately increase to 11.3%. stream are to be used by Highlands to fund repayment of Highlands' attributable Ramu partner loans. Highlands currently owns an 8.56% interest in Ramu which, through the repayment of its outstanding attributable balance of the Ramu partner loans, will immediately increase to 11.3%. In addition to the MPA, Cobalt 27 has entered into advanced discussions with two local PNG stakeholders which own an equity interest in Ramu to negotiate a US$87 million stream agreement on the same terms as the MPA with a proportionate metal stream based on their attributable aggregate interest in Ramu. MRDC currently holds a collective 6.44% interest in Ramu, which would increase to 8.7% through the repayment of their proportionate share of outstanding Ramu construction and development loans. stream agreement on the same terms as the MPA with a proportionate metal stream based on their attributable aggregate interest in Ramu. MRDC currently holds a collective 6.44% interest in Ramu, which would increase to 8.7% through the repayment of their proportionate share of outstanding Ramu construction and development loans. Highlands has retained the right to purchase an interest in the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream from Cobalt 27 of up to approximately US$15 million for a period of 90 days following closing on the same terms as the Transaction. In the event that MRDC enters into a streaming agreement with Cobalt 27, Highlands will have the right to purchase an additional interest in the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream from Cobalt 27 of up to approximately US$10 million on the same terms. for a period of 90 days following closing on the same terms as the Transaction. In the event that MRDC enters into a streaming agreement with Cobalt 27, Highlands will have the right to purchase an additional interest in the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream from Cobalt 27 of up to approximately on the same terms. Highlands is the ideal project partner for Cobalt 27 due to its deep experience in the region having successfully operated in PNG for over 20 years. Cobalt 27 looks forward to partnering with Highlands to review additional opportunities in Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region. and the broader region. In order to further strengthen the partnership between Cobalt 27 and Highlands, Mr Craig Lennon , CEO of Highlands Pacific, has agreed to join Cobalt 27's Advisory Board. Mr. Lennon has been with Highlands for 17 years and is an expert in the region. "This transaction represents the fulfillment of our promise to investors to deliver a cash flowing cobalt stream on a world-class mine. Ramu is a large world-class, high-margin and long-life asset which we view as the ideal candidate for our inaugural stream. We believe the exposure to both cobalt and nickel, another key battery metal, will yield significant returns to our investors as electric vehicles begin to change our society in the coming years. Our partnership with Highlands will help Cobalt 27 continue to grow its position as the leader in battery metal streaming" commented Anthony Milewski, Chairman of Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. Ramu, located near Madang on the north coast of PNG, is majority-owned and operated by MCC which holds a 67.02% stake in MCC-JJJ Mining Development Company Limited which owns 100% of MCC Ramu NiCo Ltd. ("MCC Ramu"), holder of an 85% joint venture interest in Ramu. The Government of PNG and local landowners (the "PNG Stakeholders") own a 6.44% stake in Ramu. Following repayment of the Ramu construction and development loans by Highlands, MCC - Ramu's ownership will decrease to 82.3%. The Ramu mine was financed and constructed by MCC for US$2.1 billion which, at the time, was China's largest overseas mining investment. MCC is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of approximately US$12 billion. MCC's interest in Ramu is supported by a consortium of three of the largest enterprises in the Chinese nickel and stainless steel industry, namely Jinchuan Group Limited, Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Limited, and Jiuquan Iron & Steel Limited. The Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream offers a number of positive benefits to the shareholders of Cobalt 27, Highlands and Ramu, including: The Transaction provides Cobalt 27 with its inaugural producing stream and represents a cornerstone asset for the Company to support continued growth through future acquisitions of producing battery metals streams, royalties and related investments. Cobalt 27 will receive immediate cash flow representing a short payback period on a world class stream . . Ramu is a large scale nickel-cobalt mine, ranking first-quartile on the global cost curve, and has a long mine life with significant resource upside potential. The Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream will reduce uncertainty for Highlands by allowing for immediate debt repayment of Highlands' Ramu partner loans and accelerate cash flows from Ramu to Highlands. With Cobalt 27's acquisition of the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream from a non-operating joint venture partner, MCC as operator will not experience any direct impact on its production costs as a result of the stream. About the Ramu Mine Construction and commissioning of the US$2.1 billion Ramu mine was completed in 2012 by owner/operator MCC, as its cornerstone asset in a nickel-focused resource portfolio. Ramu mine was completed in 2012 by owner/operator MCC, as its cornerstone asset in a nickel-focused resource portfolio. The Ramu Nickel Mine is a large scale nickel-cobalt asset with total estimated reserves of 1 billion pounds of nickel and 100 million pounds of cobalt. Management of Highlands currently estimates a mine life of 30+ years. Ramu produces approximately 3% of annual global mined cobalt as a co-product metal. Ramu exceeded annual production projections in 2017, reporting net cash flow of US$170 million (unaudited), on production of 34,666 tonnes of contained nickel and 3,308 tonnes of contained cobalt, both in excess of nameplate capacity. (unaudited), on production of 34,666 tonnes of contained nickel and 3,308 tonnes of contained cobalt, both in excess of nameplate capacity. Ramu is among the most efficient nickel-cobalt operations in the world, ranking in the first quartile of the 2017 global nickel asset cost curve. During the first quarter of 2018, nickel prices averaged US$6.02 /lb; cobalt prices averaged US$39.30 /lb and reached over US$43 /lb. In addition to MCC's investment in Ramu, a number of other prominent resource companies successfully operate in PNG and are responsible for significant and widespread investment in, and economic development of, the country in recent years. The most notable of these include Harmony Gold and Newcrest Mining's proposed US$2.8 billion Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture copper and gold mine; Newcrest's US$7.2 billion merger with Lihir Gold Limited in 2010; and, Barrick Gold's US$298 million sale of 50% interest in the producing Barrick Niugini (Porgera) Gold Mine to China's Zijin Mining Group in 2015. Additionally, oil and gas majors, ExxonMobil and France's Total recently announced plans to invest an additional US$13 billion in LNG assets and Repsol has had upstream operations in PNG since 2015. Closing Closing of both the MPA and Equity Investment are conditional on certain conditions precedent including, among other things, the completion of guarantee and security documentation, the receipt of requisite approvals, consents and authorizations from governmental authorities and stock exchanges, and the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions customary in transactions of this nature. About Highlands Pacific Highlands is a mining and exploration company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and the Port Moresby Stock Exchange in PNG. Highlands' primary assets include an 8.56% interest in the producing Ramu mine and a 20% interest in Frieda River Copper-Gold Project, both located in PNG. Frieda River is PNG's largest undeveloped copper-gold project and one of the largest undeveloped open pit copper projects in the world. Highlands also wholly-owns the Star Mountains Copper Gold exploration project in PNG. The US$113 million (C$145 million) upfront cash deposit from the sale of the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream is expected to allow Highlands to retire its Ramu construction and development loans, increase its ownership interest in Ramu to 11.3% from 8.56% and significantly increase near-term free cash flows. Highlands is an ideal partner for Cobalt 27 given the company's 20+ year operating history in PNG through past involvement in the Porgera Gold Mine and Kainantu Gold Mine. In connection with the Cobalt 27's Equity Investment, the Company will acquire beneficial ownership of 142.5 million Common Shares of Highlands, representing approximately 13.0% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, following the completion of the Equity Investment. Cobalt 27 is acquiring the beneficial interest in the securities for investment purposes and will evaluate its investment in Highlands from time to time and may, based on such evaluation, market conditions and other circumstances, increase or decrease shareholdings as opportunities arise. Advisors and Counsel Scotiabank acted as financial advisor and Stikeman Elliott LLP, Piper Alderman, and Dentons acted as legal advisors to Cobalt 27. TD Securities acted as strategic advisor to board of directors of Cobalt 27. Conference Call Cobalt 27 will hold a conference call and audio webcast on Wednesday, May 23rd at 8:30 am Eastern Daylight Time for management to discuss details of the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer period with research analysts and investors. Live Dial-in Information Date: Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 Time: 8:30 am EDT Toronto and international: (647) 427-7450 North America (toll-free): (888) 231-8191 To participate in the webcast and slide presentation live via your computer go to: Click Here Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to hear the webcast. An archived webcast will be available for one year. Replay call information Toronto and international: 416.849.0833, passcode: 5286827 North America (toll-free): 855.859.2056, passcode: 5286827 The conference call replay will be available from 11:30 am ET on May 23, 2018, until 11:59 pm ET on June 4, 2018. Participant audio webcast will also be available on the events page of the investors section of Cobalt 27's website at: http://www.co27.com/investors/events/ Scientific and Technical Information The majority owner and operator of Ramu is MCC Ramu Nico Ltd., a 67.02% owned subsidiary of MCC, and is operated by Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCC. MCC is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock Code "1618") and on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and has a market capitalization of approximately US$12 billion. The MPA has been entered into with RNL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Highlands which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol "HIG". The scientific and technical information in this news release, as well as additional material scientific and technical information with respect to the Ramu project, has been prepared by MCC in its capacity as operator of Ramu and disclosed by MCC and Highlands and is available on MCC's HKEX profile at http://www.hkexnews.hk/index.htm as well as on Highlands Pacific's website at Click Here. All estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources in respect of Ramu in this news release are presented in compliance with the 2012 Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Reserves and Ore Reserves established by the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (the "JORC Code"). Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature in this news release have been reviewed on behalf of Cobalt 27 by Mr. Robert Osborne P.Eng., geologist and President of Osborne Laterite Geology Service Inc., an independent consultant to Cobalt 27 and a "Qualified Person" as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). About Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. is a minerals company that offers direct exposure to cobalt, an integral element in key technologies of the electric vehicle and battery energy storage markets. The Company owns over 2,980 Mt of physical cobalt and manages a portfolio of ten royalties and is acquiring the world's first producing cobalt nickel stream on the world-class Ramu Nickel-Cobalt Mine. The Company intends to continue investing in a cobalt-focused portfolio of streams, royalties and direct interests in mineral properties containing cobalt, while potentially adding to its cobalt physical holdings when opportunities arise. For further information please visit the Company website at www.co27.com or contact: Betty Joy LeBlanc, BA, MBA Director, Corporate Communications +1-604-828-0999 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimates The following are the ore reserves and Mineral resources (inclusive) for Ramu as at December 31, 2016, reported under the JORC Code. The report on reserves and resources was prepared for and are the responsibility of Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited, the operator and manager of Ramu. For reporting in a NI 43-101 format, the inferred resources are not totaled with the measured and indicated mineral resources. The Ramu technical reports and data have been reviewed in relation to CIM best operating practices for reporting and for scope and content of JORC and NI 43-101 reporting through a due diligence conducted by an independent qualified person on behalf the Company. A site visit was conducted and a due diligence report was completed. The scope of this due diligence did not include new mineral resource/ore reserve evaluations from the operating mine (which is prepared by MCC). In the following table note: Ni and Co grades shown to 1 decimal only. Totals are rounded. Dry ore tonnes reflect -2mm economic portion of the recoverable resource. Ore reserve 2016 based on US$17 ,045t nickel and US$25,412 /t cobalt. Variable cut-off grade equated to 0.58% nickel equivalent including credit for recovered cobalt. Ore Reserves Nickel Cobalt (Mt) (%) (%) Proven 29 0.9 0.1 Probable 20 1.0 0.1 Total Reserves 49 1.0 0.1 Mineral Resources Measured 37 0.9 0.1 Indicated 22 1.0 0.1 Measured and Indicated 59 1.0 0.1 Inferred 65 1.0 0.1 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains certain information which constitutes 'forward-looking statements' and 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation: statements pertaining to the timing and completion of the acquisition of the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream and the Equity Investment, and the receipt of any regulatory and stock exchange approvals therefor; statements pertaining to the timing and amounts of cash and proceeds related to the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream and Equity Investment in Highlands; statements pertaining to the use of proceeds from the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream and Equity Investment; statements pertaining to the exclusivity arrangements with MRDC; statements pertaining to estimates of mineral resources and mineral reserves at Ramu; statements pertaining to future production and mining costs at Ramu; statements pertaining to future prices of cobalt, nickel and other commodities; statements pertaining to the adoption of electric vehicles globally; and statements pertaining to impact of the Ramu Cobalt Nickel Stream on the future performance of the Company. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond the Company's control. For more details on these and other risk factors see the Company's most recent Annual Information Form on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the heading "Risk Factors". Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties underlying these forward-looking statements materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements could vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. This news release also contains references to estimates of mineral resources and mineral reserves. The estimation of mineral resources is inherently uncertain and involves subjective judgments about many relevant factors. Estimates of mineral reserves provide more certainty but still involve similar subjective judgments. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The accuracy of any such estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation (including estimated future production from the company's projects, the anticipated tonnages and grades that will be mined and the estimated level of recovery that will be realized), which may prove to be unreliable and depend, to a certain extent, upon the analysis of drilling results and statistical inferences that ultimately may prove to be inaccurate. Mineral resource or mineral reserve estimates may have to be re-estimated based on: (i) fluctuations in mineral prices; (ii) results of drilling; (iii) metallurgical testing and other studies; (iv) proposed mining operations, including dilution; (v) the evaluation of mine plans subsequent to the date of any estimates and/or changes in mine plans; (vi) the possible failure to receive required permits, approvals and licences; and (vii) changes in law or regulation. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this release and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise it to reflect new events or circumstances. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Government of Mauritania confirms its continued support as Algolds Partner in Tijirit MONTREAL, May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ALGOLD RESOURCES LTD. (TSXV:ALG) (Algold or the Corporation) today announced the results of a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Tijirit Gold Project in Mauritania. The National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) compliant PEA work was prepared by Ausenco Engineering Canada (Ausenco) in collaboration with DRA/Met-Chem and SGS-Geostat. Highlights of the Tijirit PEA* (All monetary amounts are in US dollars unless otherwise indicated.) Financial Returns: Pre-tax net present value (NPV) of $94.9M at an 8% discount rate with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 28.4% and after-tax NPV of $69.0M at an 8% discount rate with an IRR of 23.5%, using a gold price of $1,250 per ounce. Pre-tax net present value (NPV) of $94.9M at an 8% discount rate with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 28.4% and after-tax NPV of $69.0M at an 8% discount rate with an IRR of 23.5%, using a gold price of $1,250 per ounce. Revenue: Gross life of mine (LOM) revenue of $717.4M. Gross life of mine (LOM) revenue of $717.4M. CapEx: Pre-production direct capital cost of $96.4M, in addition to indirect costs of $31.2M and a contingency allowance of $17.9M. Total sustaining and expansion CapEx of $47.1M over the mine life including the Phase II expansion in year 4. Pre-production direct capital cost of $96.4M, in addition to indirect costs of $31.2M and a contingency allowance of $17.9M. Total sustaining and expansion CapEx of $47.1M over the mine life including the Phase II expansion in year 4. Production: - Phase I: 1,018 million tonnes per year for a period of four (4) years with an average annual production rate of 104,500 ounces of gold. - Phase II: 1,642 million tonnes per year for the three (3) following years with an average annual production rate of 53,000 ounces of gold. - Phase I: 1,018 million tonnes per year for a period of four (4) years with an average annual production rate of 104,500 ounces of gold. - Phase II: 1,642 million tonnes per year for the three (3) following years with an average annual production rate of 53,000 ounces of gold. Cash Cost: Average cash cost of $475 per ounce during Phase I and $893 per ounce during Phase II Average cash cost of $475 per ounce during Phase I and $893 per ounce during Phase II Mine Life: 7.1 years 7.1 years Payback Period: 1.8 years (after-tax) Summary of PEA Results Pre-tax After-tax Units Free Cash Flow 170.2 134.3 MUS$ NPV 8% 94.9 69.0 MUS$ IRR 28.4 23.5 % Payback Period 1* 1.6 1.8 years 1 Does not include ramp-up period *Cautionary Statement NI 43-101: The PEA was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Readers are cautioned that the PEA is preliminary in nature. It includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. "The positive PEA marks a significant milestone for Algold Resources, said Benoit La Salle, Algolds Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In less than two years since embarking on the Tijirit endeavor in March 2016, we are in receipt of positive PEA results that confirm the significant potential of the project. The PEA supports the concept of an open pit mining scenario, which could see the Tijirit Project produce over 550,000 ounces of gold over a seven-year mine life, at a cash cost below US$500/ounce during the first four years. Furthermore, the initial payback period is estimated at 1.6 years and the pre-tax IRR is 28.4%, making it one of the most profitable deposits in West Africa. The Government of Mauritania, partner with Algold in the development of the Tijirit Project, confirms its continued support to Algold and the Project to rapidly develop an active mining project, the second industrial gold mine in Mauritania, stated the Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Mines, Mr. Mohamed Ould Abdel Vettah. The Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines is fully focused on supporting foreign investors eager to develop projects creating jobs for the population and value for the country, in the stable framework of the Mauritanian laws and regulations. Several highly qualified global engineering firms including Ausenco, DRA/Met-Chem SGS Geostat, SGS Lakefield, Aecom, WSP, together with the Algold technical group, who collectively have developed numerous successful projects in West Africa and in particular Mauritania, have been instrumental in positioning the Tijirit Project for the next phase, commented Francois Auclair, Executive Vice-President, Exploration. Description of the Tijirit Project and PEA Details Algolds Tijirit Gold Project is located in the Tijirit area in northwestern Mauritania. The Tijirit Gold Project PEA consists of the establishment of the mining infrastructure required for the operation of an open-pit mine and the construction and operation of a mill for the treatment of mineralized material to produce gold bullion with a processing capacity of 2,976 tonnes per day (Phase I) and 4,500 tonnes per day (Phase II). The recovery process to be utilized is a conventional gravity concentration circuit and cyanide leaching of the gravity tailings using a Carbon-In-Leach Circuit (CIL). The Tijirit Gold Project includes a 306 km2 (2480C2) Exploitation Permit (mine lease) granted on June 11, 2017 by the Mauritanian government. The Exploitation Permit grants Algold the exploration and exploitation rights for gold and related substances for a period of 30 years. Since the commencement of exploration in April 2016, and within the limits of the mining permit, Algold has been able to define gold resources on the property in three different areas, namely Eleonore, Sophie and Lily, all situated within a five-kilometer radius. The Corporation has also successfully identified promising new areas including Salma, Eleonore East, Nour, and Southeast, potentially hosts to additional resources. During the first four years of mining operations (Phase I), the mineralized material will essentially be sourced from the high-grade Eleonore zone, with the Sophie and Lily areas to be mined during the last 3.1 years of operation. The PEA was developed by highly qualified independent consulting groups: Ausenco was responsible for all processing aspects, tailings facility, infrastructures and OpEx associated with them as well as the financial model, DRA/Met-Chem was responsible for all open pit mining aspects with associated CapEx and OpEx as well as the overall project capital cost estimate and SGS-Geostat was responsible for the mineral resources estimate. PEA Parameters Gold Price: US$ 1,250/oz Total Tonnes Milled: 9,140 million Diluted Head Grade: Phase I: 3.33 g/t Au - Phase II: 1.07 g/t Au Mine Life: 7.1 years Gold Recovery: Phase I: 96.0% - Phase II: 93.6% Total Gold Ounces Recovered: 580,900 oz Average Annual Gold Production: Phase I: 104,5000 oz - Phase II: 53,000 oz Royalties: 6.5% (5% state royalty and 1.5% third-party royalty) Operating Costs The operating costs were calculated based on the two production rates, one for Phase I and one for Phase II and are exclusive of royalties to third parties and governments. The OpEx also reflects the much lower stripping ratio encountered at Sophie and Lily during Phase II. Operating Costs Phase I (Y1-Y4) Phase II (Y5-Y8) $/t Processed $/oz $/t Processed $/oz Mining Costs $27.40 $11.83 Processing Costs $15.00 $12.90 G&A Costs $6.30 $3.98 Total Cash Costs $48.71 $475 $28.71 $893 Capital Costs Capital costs summarized in the table below are based on a detailed annual mining equipment schedule and on an exhaustive process equipment list. Budgets were estimated using either budget quotes received or prices from similar projects. An allowance was made for a training budget during the pre-production period and in years one and two. Description Pre-Production (US$Ms) Phase II +Sustaining (Yrs 1+) (US$Ms) Direct Costs Mining 19.7 28.4 Crushing and Grinding 18.7 8.1 Process Plant 28.9 1.8 Infrastructures 25.2 Utilities 3.9 0.1 Direct Total 96.4 38.4 Indirect Costs Owner Cost, EPCM, Construction Indirect 31.2 5.4 Contingencies 17.9 3.3 Indirect Total 49.1 8.7 Grand Total 145.5 47.1 Totals may not add up due to rounding. Mineral Resources The mineral resource estimate was prepared by Yann Camus, P. Eng from SGS-Geostat with an effective date of January 19, 2018. The Technical Report for the Tijirit Resources Update, titled Tijirit Project NI 43-101 Technical Report with Resource Estimate Update is available on Sedar at www.sedar.com. The database used to perform the estimate includes 718 drill holes, 265 trenches and 76,297 assay results. The SGS Genesis software was used for the modeling and estimation. The next table shows the base case resource with a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t Au inside pits and 1.7 g/t Au below pits, except for Eleonore at a global COG of 1.5 g/t Au. Base Case Resources Zone Classification Au (g/t) Tonnage (t) Ounces (Au) Eleonore Indicated 4.08 719,000 94,250 Eleonore Inferred 4.07 3,016,000 394,690 Zone Classification Au (g/t) Tonnage (t) Ounces (Au) Sophie/Lily Measured 0.98 376,000 11,900 Sophie/Lily Indicated 0.93 2,122,000 63,300 Total Sophie/Lily Measured + Indicated 0.94 2,498,000 75,200 Sophie/Lily Inferred 1.06 7,476,000 254,100 Zone Classification Au (g/t) Tonnage (t) Ounces (Au) Total Sophie/Lily/Eleonore Measured 0.98 376,000 11,900 Total Sophie/Lily/Eleonore Indicated 1.72 2,841,000 157,550 Total Sophie/Lily/Eleonore Measured + Indicated 1.64 3,217,000 169,450 Total Sophie/Lily/Eleonore Inferred 1.92 10,492,000 648,790 Effective date for Eleonore and Sophie/Lily resources is January 19, 2018. The independent QP for this resources estimate is Yann Camus, Eng., SGS Canada Inc. The mineral resources are presented at a 0.4 g/t Au cut-off grade in pits and 1.7 g/t Au cut-off grade under the pits, except Eleonore at a global cut-off 1.5 g/t Au. The resources are presented without dilution. Whittle pits have been utilized based on a gold value of US$1,500/oz. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. This disclosure does not include economic analysis of the mineral resources. Totals may not add up due to rounding. No economic evaluation of the resources has been produced. This Resource estimate has been prepared in accordance with CIM definition (2014). Density used is between 2.0 and 3.0 depending on rock type and alteration based on measurements. Capping varies from 3.5 g/t Au (Lily) to 45 g/t Au (Eleonore) depending on extreme local grade. Mining The PEA is based on a conventional truck-and-shovel mining operation. Mineralized material will come from seventeen different pits. The PEA base case scenario contemplates the use of Algolds mining fleet and employees, which will be responsible for conducting all drill and blast, excavation and transportation activities from the pit to the processing plant. From the already identified mineral resources, the following parameters have been applied in the PEA for the definition of the mineralized material and pit design parameters: Units PHASE I - Eleonore PHASE II - Sophie and Lily Weathered Fresh Weathered Fresh Production rate t/day 2976 4500 Pit Slope 40.6 52.6 40.6 52.6 Mining Recovery % 95 95 Dilution % 10 5 As a result, a total of 9,140 Mt of mineralized material will be mined during the mine life at an average diluted grade of 2.08 g/t Au. The stripping ratio (Waste to Ore) will be 18.9 during Phase I and 6.4 during Phase II for a mine life average of 12.2. Process During Phase I, the mill will consist of a single stage jaw crusher and a single SAG mill grinding circuit followed by gravity concentration and cyanide leaching circuits. During Phase II, a pebble crusher will be added to the crushing circuit and a ball mill to the grinding circuit. No modifications will be made to the leaching circuit in Phase II. Based on metallurgical test work conducted in 2016 and 2017 by SGS-Lakefield, an overall recovery (gravimetry + cyanidation) has been evaluated at 96% for Phase I (Eleonore) and 93.6% for Phase II (Sophie + Lily). Environmental and Social An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Study (ESIA) has been prepared by AECOM (Canada) and has been submitted to the Mauritanian government. At the beginning of 2017, the Mauritanian Ministry of Environmental and Sustainable Development provided a conclusive acceptance and opinion regarding the ESIA Study Report. Project Opportunities Several opportunities have been identified to potentially improve the results presented in the PEA. These opportunities include: Expansion of existing resources at the Eleonore, Sophie and Lily deposits through drilling and exploration. Some areas within these deposits are open along strike and at depth and gold mineralized structures may continue. The addition of potential resources could also result in increased Life of Mine and improved project economics. Increased definition of the Eleonore East and Salma high-grade satellite deposits. So far, no resources have been estimated in these two areas that are located close to the existing deposits. Preliminary drilling indicates, however, that the gold structures can be followed over a ten-kilometer strike and demonstrates strong potential to host additional resources. Additional metallurgical testing could result in further optimization of the process flowsheet and equipment selection for cost reduction and/or process recovery improvements. Improved pit optimization and mine planning could result in some cost reduction by performing some in-pit filling. In addition, lower grade material not presently processed, could be stockpiled and processed at the end of the operation to increase mine life and overall economics. Increase in Gold price Forecasted Activities Highlights Algold has already begun moving forward to the next phases of the Tijirit Project Development. In-fill drilling on strike down dip, as well as potential extensions is in progress. An updated mineral resources estimate is scheduled for Q4-2018. Mechanized trenching is in progress at Eleonore to collect oxidized material to better characterize this portion of the deposit. Drilling of large diameter core holes will be done to provide material for additional metallurgical and environmental test works. Technical Report A NI 43-101 compliant technical report for the Tijirit Project Preliminary Economic Assessment will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days from the date of this Press Release. QUALIFIED PERSONS This press release has been reviewed for accuracy and compliance under National Instrument 43-101 by the following Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Each Qualified Person has reviewed or verified the information for which they are individually responsible. Guy Saucier, P.Eng. (OIQ 37711) - Algolds Tijirit Project Director. Qualified Person under NI 43-101. Patrick Perez, Principal Mine Engineer, P. Eng. (APEGS #16131), responsible for the mining aspects and Martin Saint-Amour, Principal Cost Engineer, P.Eng.(OIQ 116377), responsible for the overall capital cost estimates, both from DRA/Met-Chem and Independent Qualified Persons, under NI 43-101. Yann Camus, Mineral Resources Engineer, P.Eng. (OIQ) from SGS Geostat, and Independent Qualified Person under NI 43-101, responsible for the mineral resource estimate with an effective date of January 19, 2018. Thomas Zwirz, Senior Study Manager, P.Eng (OIQ 501783, 9053823 PEO), Responsible for the overall study management and Tommaso Roberto Raponi, P.Eng. Senior Mineral Processing Specialist and responsible for the process aspects, both from Ausenco, and Independent Qualified Persons under NI 43-101. ABOUT ALGOLD Algold Resources Ltd. is focused on the exploration and development of gold deposits in West Africa. The board of directors and management team are seasoned resource industry professionals with extensive experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold projects in Africa. FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This press release contains and refers to forward-looking information based on current expectations. All other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements (or forward-looking information). The Corporation's plans involve various estimates and assumptions and its business is subject to various risks and uncertainties. For more details on these estimates, assumptions, risks and uncertainties, see the Corporation's most recent Management Discussion and Analysis on file with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements that are included herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information, please contact: Algold Resources Ltd. 1320, boul. Graham, bureau 132, Mont-Royal, Quebec, H3P 3C8, www.algold.com Burundians overwhelmingly backed constitutional reforms that bolster President Pierre Nkurunzizas 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. 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. Burundis 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 ire incursionire incursion (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 Kenyas 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. 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 Burundis 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 Rwandas Paul Kagame, Ugandas Yoweri Museveni, Cameroons Paul Biya and others. Vicky Phelan, the Kilkenny woman whose story and High Court case exposed the Cervical Check scandal, is to be given a special reception in County Hall in recognition of her service to the people of Ireland. Piltown Municipal District member, Cllr Pat Dunphy, brought the proposal before a full meeting of Kilkenny County Council on Monday. He called for the Council to hold a special reception for Vicky in County Hall for her wonderful service to the people of this country and her parish in taking on very big organisations. She well deserves recognition for that, he added. Cllr Mary Hilda Cavanagh seconded the proposal which was agreed and discussed with Vicky prior to the meeting and she described the Mooncoin native as a wonderful woman. The proposal passed with unanimous support and Vicky has agreed for the special reception to be held on Friday, June 1 at 5pm. Invitations will be issued in due course. Cllr Eamon Aylward commended Vickys bravery and her courage to take on the Health Service Executive. She has done women of this country some service, he added. The mother of two was given incorrect test results and is now terminally-ill with cervical cancer. She took proceedings after it emerged her 2011 smear test, which showed no abnormalities, was found, in a 2014 audit of smear tests on a number of women, to be incorrect. In going public with her story and giving evidence in court, Vickys story sparked revelations that at least 162 women with cervical cancer had not been informed about the Cervical Check audit results and past false tests. Of 209 women who could have had earlier intervention in light of false tests, 18 have died. Vicky, 43, who lives in Annacotty, Limerick, was diagnosed with cancer three years after her smear test results of 2011 were incorrectly reported as being clear of any abnormalities. By the time she had another smear test in 2014 she had cervical cancer. Stuff reports: The Government pulled plans to put major restrictions on deep sea trawling after the fishing industry threatened legal action. Officials and scientists from New Zealand and Australia had been working on the joint proposal since 2012 and it was finally due to go in front of an inter-governmental body in Peru in late January. It was designed to protect the stocks of orange roughy in the high seas and prevent the destruction of delicate seabed life like coral and sponges. But just weeks before the meeting, the High Seas Fisheries lobby group which includes Talleys and Sealord wrote to the Government threatening legal action. Deepwater Group, a second lobby group which included Sanford, also demanded an urgent meeting. Their lawyer Bruce Scott followed up with a personal phone-call to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters office. Within weeks, the proposal to be voted on by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation was abruptly withdrawn from the agenda. The move raised eyebrows among diplomats from other countries because the joint NZ-Australia proposal was already two years late. In preparing military activities east in Tifarity buffer area in the Sahara, the Polisario and its mentor Algeria have once again flouted UN agreements putting the region on the verge of implosion. Morocco made it clear in a statement that any attempt to change the status of the area east of the security wall constitutes a casus belli and a blatant challenge to the authority of the Security Council. While condemning the provocations, the Moroccan foreign ministry held Algeria responsible for emboldening the Polisario to take such reckless actions that sap all efforts to reach a political solution to the conflict. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called in a statement for maximum restraint, saying that he is closely following the developments. No action should be taken, which may constitute a change to the status quo, he said. These provocations come after the UN Security council adopted resolution 2414 in April, which has commended Morocco for its restraint in dealing with Polisarios incursions east of the berm. The Security Council will deliberate in five months a new mandate for the UN mission in the Sahara (MINURSO). The resolution, which calls the Polisario to maintain the buffer zone status of the areas east of the security wall, condemned any transfer by the separatists of administrative functions from Tindouf to the buffer zone. Media reports said that Morocco has strengthened its military capabilities to respond to any attempt to change the status quo by the Polisario. Meanwhile, Algeria, which spends lavishly on arming the Polisario, refuses to pull its head out of the sand as the real party in the conflict over the Sahara. Morocco maintains that any future negotiations should involve Algeria, which pulls the strings of the Polisario separatists. New Delhi, May 21 (PTI) The NHRC has sent a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government over the death of several persons from consumption of spurious liquor, reportedly, purchased from licensed shops in the state's Kanpur and Kanpur Dehat districts. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today observed that it was necessary for the state authorities to take "immediate effective measures" to stop the selling of spurious liquor from licensed shops and to take up investigation to reveal the exact reason of selling contaminated liquor. The notice has been sent to the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary, seeking a detailed report in four weeks. Meanwhile, the toll in the hooch tragedy in the two districts, today, climbed to 13 with three more persons dying in hospitals since last night, police said. As many as eight persons, including two grandsons of a former Samajwadi Party MLA, have been arrested in this connection. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each of the deceased, an official statement said. The NHRC in a statement said, "It has been observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, amount to negligence on the part of the concerned amounting to violation of their right to life." "The reported announcement of compensation cannot be a remedy to deal with the menace of spurious liquor," it said. While seven persons died in Kanpur, six others died in neighbouring Kanpur Dehat district after consuming spurious liquor since Saturday, ADG, Kanpur, Avinash Chandra told PTI. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered in both the incidents and raids are being carried out to nab the culprits. The commission also observed that this was not the first incident in which, reportedly, people lost life after consuming illicit liquor. "As per the law, the warning that the consumption of alcohol is injurious to health is conspicuously mentioned on each bottle/container. "Wherever there is no prohibition on liquor, it becomes the responsibility of the state to ensure that any kind of spurious/poisonous liquor is not sold at the licensed shops under their jurisdiction," it said. (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 22: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday seized assets worth Rs 20.87 crore belonging to the director of Dabur India Limited under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for holding assets abroad. The seizure order has been issued pursuant to an investigation which prima facie revealed that the company's Director Pradip Burman had deposited $3.21 million in his account with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Zurich, according to ED officials. Burman declared before the Income Tax Department that he had earned the amount, but had not shown it in the IT returns, filed in India for the period 2007-08. After the investigation, the IT Department filed a prosecution complaint against him in the court of metropolitan magistrate, which is pending trial. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 22, 2018 03:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). New Delhi, May 22: The ED today said it has seized assets worth Rs 20.87 crore of former Dabur group Director Pradip Burman in connection with its FEMA probe in the HSBC bank black money list unearthed a few years ago. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated the action under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the seized assets include 50,000 tax -free government bonds of HUDCO and IRFC. The agency took over the case on the basis of a charge sheet filed by the Income Tax Department (ITD) against Burman as part of its probe in the leaked HSBC list of Indians. The trial in this ITD case is still to commence. The agency said the assets were seized after it was found that Burman deposited USD 32.12 lakh in his account with HSBC bank in Zurich in Switzerland and that he "did not" show this amount in his IT Returns filed during 2007-08 despite declaring it to the taxman that this was his earning. "The investigation revealed that Burman has deposited USD 32.12 lakh with HSBC, Zurich and was holding the same in contravention of section 4 of the FEMA and failed to repatriate the entire amount to India till date," the ED said. Burman was a Director in Ms Dabur India Limited, Ms Sanat Product Ltd and Ayurved, Ms Ratna Commercial Enterprises (P) Ltd and is also a trustee in the Burman family trust called the Dr S K Burman Charitable Trust. This case is one amongst the list of 628 Indians, who figured in a list of account holders in HSBC Bank's Geneva branch, that India had obtained from the French government in 2007. Fernando de Noronha, an island roughly consisting of 3000 people off the coast of the most eastern part of Brazil has banned childbirth and there has been no birth since past 12 years. But things changed by accident on May 18 (Friday) when a 22-year-old local woman who hadnt realised she was pregnant and unexpectedly gave birth. The baby came as a surprise to everyone including the parents. The woman who gave birth to a baby girl told O Globo newspaper that she had a negative pregnancy test and didnt have symptoms throughout her pregnancy until she felt a strong pain and, in the bathroom, saw something coming down between her legs. The mother, who does not want to be identified, went into labour at home, the islands administration said in a statement carried by the newspaper. The family says it wasnt aware of the pregnancy. The unidentified mother said, On Friday night I had pains and when I went to the bathroom I saw something coming down between my legs. Thats when the childs father came and picked it up. It was a baby, a girl. I was dumbstruck. Fernando de Noronha, famous for its wildlife preserve doesnt authorise births because theres no maternity ward, O Globo reported. Ban on childbirth was the governments policy answer to address the lack of maternity services. While the island has a hospital, it doesnt have the infrastructure for childbirth or prenatal care. Pregnant women travel 227 miles to the mainland Natal where they receive prenatal and childbirth care. The maternity ward of the islands hospital closed in 2004 for the reason many maternity wards gets closed everywhere: it was not sustainable and the maintaining costs were skyrocketing. Instead, the local government pays return airfare for each expecting mother and an escort to deliver on the mainland. However, many people do not consider this solution as viable. The government has been accused of breaking the right to be born, and many women have complained about having to spend a long time away from home. Health authorities have issued a statement following the event to highlight the importance of seeking adequate prenatal and maternity care. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 22, 2018 10:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). The Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was attended by the Who's Who from across countries. The guests not just included celebrities and influencers, but also those who have done good in their limits. Mutsu Potsane whose proper first name is Relebohile, met Prince Harry when he was just four years old. Prince Harry had gone to children's home to help young Africans afflicted by HIV. He flew Mutsu to the UK with a group of 10 representatives from his charity Sentebale. At the wedding, Mutsu can be seen excitedly waving as the groom walks past him into the Windsor Castle. The video also shows Harry spotting Mutsu and gesturing him with a wave and thumbs-up. Reportedly, Mutsu was among the first guests to greet Meghan Markle after the couple tied the knot. Here is a clip from the documentary of Prince Harry's visit: 'Harry is one of us': The Prince's wedding is being celebrated in Lesotho, where he founded a children's charityhttps://t.co/AhmEFJq01v pic.twitter.com/2QS08SYxjf ITV News (@itvnews) May 18, 2018 In 2005, Harry co-founded the charity Sentebale which means, 'forget me not' with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to improve the condition of thousands of children affected by HIV/Aids in the African country. A documentary on a young Prince Harry's visit shows him embracing and playing with the orphan child. Sentebale took to Twitter wishing the Royal couple on their marriage: 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! #SentebaleCelebrates #RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/DQ6Gwsl1ri @Sentebale (@Sentebale) May 19, 2018 The Royal couple had invited members of the public from all across the UK for the wedding. It included 200 people from different charities, 100 pupils from local schools, 530 Members of The Royal Households and Crown Estate, and the community members of Windsor Castle to their wedding. Mutsu met Prince Harry again when he went to Lesotho two years ago for an ITV documentary. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 22, 2018 05:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Kandhar, May 22: At least 16 people were killed and 38 wounded in an explosion in Afghanistan. The explosion took place when a vehicle packed with explosives detonated in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan on Tuesday, authorities said. Security forces were defusing an explosives-laden van at the time of the blast. The area of a bus stop where the van was parked had been cleared. Despite clearing the area, the casualties were high. According to provisional governor spokesman Daud Ahmadi, four security forces were among those killed. Ahmadi confirmed to Associate Press that 38 people, including at least five small children, were wounded in the explosion. No terrorist group has immediately claimed responsibility. A large container of explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, suicide vests, and ammunition were found near the site. The blast was very powerful According to a report published in Associate Press, dozens of shops and nearby homes were destroyed or damaged, and the death toll could rise. Abdul Saleh, 29, who was wounded in the attack told Associate Press, the sound was so loud, like strong thunder. According to the report, the explosives were found in a cluster of car mechanic shops. The Taliban launched a series of attacks late Monday in the eastern Ghazni province. The attacks killed at least 14 policemen. A district police chief and a reserve units commander were also killed in the attack, said provincial council member Hassan Reza Yusoufi. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 22, 2018 11:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). May 22, 2018, 4:17pm ET Automakers want Trump to work with CA on mileage requirements Some of the world's major automakers are now standing by tougher mileage regulations. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an organization that represents a dozen automakers, including Porsche, BMW, General Motors and Ford, has apparently changed its tune when it comes to proposed fuel economy regulations. The trade group penned a letter to the White House's Office of Management and Budget on May 3 urging the Trump administration to work closely with the state of California on upcoming mileage requirements. The letter was made public this week. "Automakers remain committed to increasing fuel efficiency requirements, which yield everyday fuel savings for consumers while also reducing emissions -- because climate change is real and we have a continuing role in reducing greenhouse gases and improving fuel efficiency," David Schwietert, executive vice president of federal government relations at the alliance, wrote in the letter, according to Automotive News. The letter is in sharp contrast to the alliance's previous stance on fuel economy regulations. In late 2016 the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers urged then president-elect Trump to ease back Obama-era mileage regulations spanning through the 2025 model year. In April, President Trump followed through and deemed the 2022-25 model year standard too aggressive. However, California is throwing a wrench into the federal governments plans. The state says it is unwilling to alter its requirements for future economy standards and has even threatened legal actions over the matter. That would mean a potential patchwork of mileage standards, which automakers are trying to avoid. "Operating under two or three sets of regulations would be inefficient and disrupt a period of rapid innovation in the auto industry," Schwietert wrote. In other words, it would cost automakers a lot of money. So far the White House has not responded publicly to the letter. May 22, 2018, 12:47pm ET China to drop auto import tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent Reports suggest German automakers stand to benefit the most from the proposed change. China has promised to reduce tariffs on imported vehicles, dropping the rate to 15 percent from its current penalty of 25 percent. The Ministry of Finance also plans to cut tariffs for auto parts from 10 percent to six percent, potentially improving the bottom line for foreign automakers that already have significant local production via the still-mandatory 50:50 joint ventures with local firms. Japanese automakers have already begun to praise the shift. Nissan says it will bring "huge benefits," especially for the company's Infiniti brand. Toyota promises to pass along the savings to customers. A source within a foreign automaker's joint venture told Reuters the change will disproportionately benefit German automakers. BMW and Audi both welcomed the 'opening' of the Chinese market. China has also signaled intentions to loosen its tight foreign-ownership restrictions for factories. May 22, 2018, 9:22am ET FCA recalls Jeep Cherokee to reduce fire risk The fuel tube is prone to leaking and igniting an engine compartment fire. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has implemented a recall for the Jeep Cherokee to address a problem that has caused fires. The 2018-model-year Cherokee with a 2.4-liter engine uses a skived fuel tube, which may result in a fuel leak and fire in the engine compartment. Vehicles not equipped with the 2.4-liter mill are not affected, as they use a different fuel tube produced by another supplier. "An engine compartment fire could result in thermal or smoke inhalation injuries to occupants and/or bystanders," recall documents note. The chronology says FCA was aware of several Jeep Cherokee fires and a "related quality issue" early this year. The company is unaware of any accidents or injuries, however. The recent blunders of several ministers in the PJD-led government have infuriated the anger of citizens, reinforcing the perceived idea of politicians as inconsiderate of the peoples grievances. The boycott, which was launched a month ago, was at first played down by ministers. Finance and Economy Minister Mohamed Boussaid shouted in Parliament saying the boycotters are dizzy, his RNI Party chief, agriculture and fisheries minister Aziz Akhanouch, who is also hurt by the boycott campaign, said that the boycotters are internet brigades. The boycott campaign has been launched against the three companies of Afriquia gas stations, Centrale-Danoune milk and Sidi Ali mineral water. The response of Akhannouch was that of a businessman instead of a politician who should listen to citizens, his future vote base, observers said. Later, Communication Minister and Spokesperson for the government said the activists who spread fake news to encourage the boycott will be sued. But the straw that broke the camels back is the statement given by Employment Minister, Mohamed Yatim. I am not a citizen I am a Minister. If I was a layman citizen you wouldnt have asked me such a question, Yatim told a journalist earlier in May. Such blunders drew a dividing line between citizens and ministers who are perceived as inconsiderate of the daily grievances of citizens. It entrenches the image of politicians in pursuit of self-interest. Corporate communication is not doing better than the Moroccan government. Some analysts see that the boycott spread thanks to Danounes first reaction when an official from the company compared the boycotters to traitors of the nation. Government chief Saad Eddine El Otmanis silence is not helping either but his reaction has somewhat appeased tensions temporarily. In his speech in front of the Upper House last week, he wished Moroccans happy Ramadan and invited them for a new beginning hinting at the recent tensions. The boycott has uncovered an array of deficiencies in both the government and corporate communication and raised the need for mastering crisis communication. May 22, 2018, 11:47am ET Mobileye car runs through red light, company blames TV cameras The company claims wireless transmitters on cameras used by a TV crew caused interference that disrupted signals from a transponder on the traffic light. Intel's Mobileye has experienced an embarrassing failure after a prototype vehicle ran a red light in Jerusalem during a press demonstration. Local news outlet Channel 10 captured a video of the autonomous car approaching a red light and continuing to pass through without any intervention from the human safety driver. The car was demonstrating Mobileye's camera-only autonomous systems, which lack expensive lidar and radar systems. Channel 10 was told that "our crew's GoPro disturbed the signals -- and that further tests are required to avoid this [sic] kind of mishaps." In a statement to Bloomberg, Mobileye clarified that the television crew's cameras created electromagnetic interference that disrupted signals from a transponder on the traffic light. The report suggests Mobileye was relying on vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology for traffic light sensing. Mobileye says its cameras saw that the light was red, but proceeded anyway due to the signal from the transponder. The explanation seems suspicious for a few reasons. It is plausible that a GoPro's Wi-Fi transmitter may have caused interference with an unshielded prototype receiver, but extremely unlikely the GoPro created a false signal indicative of a green traffic light. If the traffic light only transmits a status signal when the light is red, and the GoPro effectively jammed the signal from within the car, it seems like a glaring oversight for Mobileye algorithms to interpret the lack of a clear red-light signal as an indication that the light is green. "It was a very unique situation," said Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua. "We'd never anticipated something like this." GoPro cameras are not exactly specialized camera equipment, with nearly five million units shipped globally from 2014-2017. The incident raises more doubts about the viability of V2X technology, demonstrating that Mobileye's cars could have easily performed properly using camera sensors and traffic-light recognition algorithms alone. Laois being left out of Failte Irelands Hidden Heartlands promotion of the Irish midlands to tourists, has received sharp criticism from Laois county councillors. Failte Ireland was asked to explain why Laois has been left out of the new Failte Tourism Plan for the midlands in a motion tabled by Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald. We are like nobodys child for Failte Ireland and for the regional spatial strategy. Were the only county in Ireland that doesnt touch a county that touches the sea. If thats not the midlands I dont know what is, she said. The Portlaoise Fianna Fail Cllr was disappointed at the reply from Laois County Council, which said that Laois is most suited to the Ancient East marketing brand. This offers much potential as opposed to a brand based on the central waterway, the Director of Services Donal Brennan said. Cllr Fitzgerald said she was also disappointed that Failte Ireland did not attend the sod turning of the Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Trails, and praised Minister Charlie Flanagan for his message reminding Failte Ireland that Laois is in the midlands. Im very disappointed as a public representative in Failte Ireland, she said. Laois also loses out in the midlands regional spatial and economic strategy she said. Weve been told that in our region, Athlone is the centre for growth. We should send a very strong message that Laois is in the midlands, she said. Her motion was jointly seconded by Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley, and Cllr Brendan Phelan. Cllr Stanley confirmed that Failte Ireland was not at the bike launch. What the Minister said was not even enough. Boxer Moran clearly has Athlone on the map, she said. Cllr Dwane Stanley said she was advised by a Failte Ireland rep at the Laois Tourism Strategy launch in Castle Durrow last February. He said we need to align ourselves with Kildare. We are in nobodys land, she said. Cllr Phelan said it is known that Laois receives no money for tourism. We wont be entertained if we apply, as it doesnt come under the Midlands regional funding. We were always told that Athlone was the third level educational centre for Laois. We are just abandoned as regards regional funding and support. Irelands Ancient East, how far does that go, Jerusaleum? he said. Laois county council is lending to first time buyers again Mr Brennan denied that the councils reply was on behalf of Failte Ireland. He said the Hidden Heartlands focused on the Shannon river. The confusion arises from the word 'midlands' in their press release, maybe that was unfortunate terminology," the council's director of services said. The summer overcrowding crisis at Tullamore hospital is showing little signs of easing with more patients waiting for beds at the main midlands hospital than the combined total at three other hospitals in the HSE's Dublin Midlands Hospital Group (DMHG), according to the daily count of trollies by nurses. Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation figures for Tuesday, May 22 show that there were 39 people deployed on trollies or temporarily on wards at the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore. The Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise had 11 patients on Tuesday morning. Tullamore has the fourth highest trolley count on May 22 behind Limerick, Galway and Cork hospitals. Tullamore is part of the DMHG which also includes Portlaoise, Tallaght, St James and Naas hospitals. The total waiting at these hospitals was 32 with Tallaght having the highest number with 25. Naas has three people waiting while St James', the country's biggest hospital, has six. A week ago there on May 16 show that there were 135 people waiting on A&E trollies or temporarily in wards for beds at hospitals in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. There were also 39 patients waiting waiting in Tullamore on May 16. The HSE had to activiate its Escalation Policy twice last week in Tullamore due to 'high levels of attendances with many patients requiring admission today'. Siptu is set to mount a protest in Tullamore this week. The trade union says its members who are staff at the main midlands hospital can no longer cope. A HSE plan to downgrade for Portlaoise hospital would see many patients diverted to Tullamore. Protest details here. Going into late May there were 458 patients waiting on Tuesday at hospitals around Ireland. All patients on trollies or on wards have been diganosed with conditions which require hospital treatment. Most patients who attend A&E are discharged without admssion being required. Planning permission has been sought for a big housing development in the biggest housing estate in Portlaoise. Two Mile House Construction Limited has applied to Laois County Council to build 32 new homes on a number of different sites in Kilminchy. The plans for development outline that eight houses will be two-bedroom, two-storey terraced houses in Lake Crescent. It is proposed that 16 houses will be three-bedroom, two storey terraced homes in Lake Way and Lake Drive. Another eight two-bedroom, two-storey townhouses in Lake Vale are proposed to be completed. Two Mile House Construction Limited is a Kildare based company. It was set up in 2013. The company's current directors Michael McGinn and Cornelius Killian Hurley have been the director of 15 other Irish companies between them; 4 of which are now closed. Eslewhere, planning permission has been sought to build 72 houses in Stradbally beside St Coleman's National School and 23 houses on the Borris Road in Portlaoise near St. Mary's CBS. This brings the total number of houses proposed for Laois in the last two weeks to over 125. Laois was a magnet for development during the Celtic Tiger with a huge number of houses built in Portlaoise and Portarlington. Big housing development planned beside school in Stradbally. Social housing plans welcomed as 'young families returning' to rural Laois says councillor. First hand experiences of ho mental health services respond to people in need are to be aired at a public meeting in Portarlington next week. Fianna Fail TD for Kildare South and member of the Oireachtas committee for the future of mental health services, Fiona OLoughlin is to host the meeting on mental health in the Laois Offaly border town. The keynote speaker will be Independent Senator Frances Black, who will both be available to answer questions from the audience. Deputy OLoughlin said the meeting is an opportunity for people to discuss mental health services in our community and a personal account of addictions and how they impact. "Sadly, the many stories of difficulties in accessing services and support resonate with a lot of people through my locality and I want to work with the community to achieve successful changes that are wanted and needed. The Confidence and Supply Arrangement between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael commits to the full implementation of the A Vision for Change policy, and this remains a key priority for us. There has been significant under investment in mental health services in recent years and this practice must change. LAOIS DADS CLIMBS FOR SON'S CHARITY - READ MORE One key measure which we want to see is the introduction of a multi-annual plan for the development of mental health services. Currently the Government allocates funding to mental health on a year to year basis. This is preventing long term planning and development from taking place. Instead there should be a multi-annual plan so that our mental health services can be developed with certainty. The purpose of this public meeting is to provide a platform for locals to know what resources are available locally and nationally and, will provide a greater understanding into mental health illness. The meeting is open to all members of the public and is free of charge, concluded Deputy OLoughlin. The meeting takes place in the East End Hotel, Portarlington on Monday 28th May, at 7.30pm. IN PICTURES STEPPING OUT FOR ST PAT'S NS PORTARLINGTON A review is to be carried out into suspected killer, Mark Hennessys life to see if he had any links to the girls who vanished without a trace in Leinster over the past 20 years including Kildare woman, Deirdre Jacob. Several media outlets are reporting that gardai are to investigate if there is any link between the suspected murderer of Jastine Valdez, and other long-term missing women in the Leinster area. Among those is Deirdre Jacob, who was just 18 when she disappeared on July 28, 1998. She was last seen near her home at Roseberry, Newbridge. Jastine Valdez was abducted as she walked home near Ennniskerry in Wicklow on Saturday, May 19. Her suspected killer, Mark Hennessy, 40, was shot dead on by Gardai at the Cherrywood Business Park on Sunday night, May 20. On Monday, May 21, they discovered the body of Jastine Valdez hidden in dense bushes. The results of her post mortem are awaited today. The news that Gardai will investigate any possible links to the other missing women from Leinster was announced on RTE's radio show Morning Ireland this morning. It was also reported by the Irish Times. An online fundraiser has been launched for a 30-year-old Kildare man stranded in California in the aftermath of a car accident. Phil Leavy, aged 30, from Maynooth, travelled to Orange County, California, to visit a friend, but was struck by a car there on February 1 last. He suffered a head injury requiring emergency brain surgery to remove part of his skull and save his life. He was in a coma for two weeks and in hospital for a month. Mr Leavys travel insurance and the drivers liability insurance have gone to pay the hospital bills, but they do not cover his living expenses. It is not medically possible for the Kildare man to fly home, because of the fluid on the brain and missing skull, which needs another surgery. Friends are fundraising for money to meet his living costs for the next six to eight weeks, and a second medical opinion. He will also need to recover from a second brain surgery to repair the flap and re-insert the skull piece. Just over half of the 30,000 goal has been raised so far. Donations can be made here. WATCH: Silent March against cervical cancer scandal in Newbridge on Monday evening The National Council for the Blind in Ireland is looking for more volunteers in the Maynooth area. Sally McEllistrim, spokesperson for NCBI, said: We need volunteers for our shop in Maynooth and north Kildare as a whole really. If people want to give some time please contact Pauleen.byrne@ncbi.ie, she said. NCBI, whose CEO, Chris White, lives in Leixlip, is dependent on volunteers. We simply couldnt open the doors without our network of 660 volunteers who are worth 2.5 million to the NCBI, she said. Ms Ellistrim said that a new research project from NUI Galway shows how important volunteering is to the fabric of a community, especially rural ones, and running a huge organisation with 260 staff. In April, two volunteers who work at the NCBI shop in Celbridge, were presented with achievement certificates at a lunch in the charity HQ. Kitty Kiernan from Maynooth and Bernie Gough from Celbridge have been volunteering with the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, (NCBI) which works for people with sight loss, for the past seven years. NCBI said there are 2,112 people with sight loss in county Kildare. The organisation has eight shops in the county. Kitty and Bernie both said that working for the NCBI is a pleasure and a joy and we get back so much more than we give. Gin lovers are in for a treat next month as Maynooth gets set to host its second annual Gin and Tonic Festival. It will run throughout the town from Thursday, June 28, to Saturday, June 30, with various venues participating including Oak Alley Cocktail Bar, Avenue Cafe and Wine Bar, Donatellos Ristorante, ONeills Bar, Picaderos Latin & Spanish Restaurant, the Glenroyal Hotel, Bradys Clockhouse, McMahons Bar, Red Torch Ginger, Stone Haven Restaurant, Fitzgeralds Roost and L'Art du Chocolate. The first event took place last year, and was a massive success with sold out venues, according to the organisers. Large numbers are expected again this year with special offers, promotions and events on national and international gin and tonics taking place across all participating venues. A number of Gin and Tonic brands such as Drumshambo Gunpowder, Bombay Sapphire, Schweppes 1783, Hendricks, Fever-Tree, Glendalough, Tanqueray, Brockmans, Gordon's Pink Gin, Pearce Lyons Distillery, Hi-Spirits International gins and many more will be hosting special festival events, promotions and masterclasses over the three-day period. Drumshambo Gunpowder gin will take centre stage for the festival as the lead Irish Craft pouring gin with a strong presence throughout all venues with their Curious Journey Gin Trail which brings gin enthusiasts from venue to venue to sample their unique perfect serves. Bombay Sapphire will again take the reins as the festivals lead international pouring gin along with their trade partners Schweppes who are showcasing their new premium 1783 tonic range. Fever-tree premium flavoured tonics will also feature across all bars & venues teaming up with a variety of gins. The festival will also see the launch of some new flavoured gin's that recently hit the market such as Glendalough's Wild Blackberry & Mountain Heather Gin, Gordon's Premium Pink Gin and Ha'penny Rhubarb Gin. The festival is also shining a keen focus on a Drinkaware designated driver campaign which coincides with the launch of the worlds first distilled non-alcoholic London based Gin called Seedlip which will attract large media attention for the festival. Also being launched during the festival is Nordes Galician Spanish Gin which is uniquely slow distilled using Albarino grapes along with 12 other Galician botanicals. Martin Pearse, Facilities Manager, Punchestown Racecourse, has won the Racing and Breeding Support Services Award at the Annual Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards announced last night, (Monday May 21) at a banquet held at the Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim, County Meath. It is a fitting reward for the popular Naas native who has been working for over 40 years at the Co. Kildare track. Martin received a specially commissioned trophy and 5,000. Commenting on his win, Martin said: A brilliant night, I was delighted to get nominated by Shona Dreaper for this award, I couldnt ask for anymore, its unreal. I am caretaker, security and everything else at Punchestown. I am the first man in in the mornings and last man out in the evenings, I get everything up and ready. Once all the horses get home safe thats good for me. "The team at Punchestown are brilliant, there is no one person that says thats not my job, were all there to help one another. To get a prize like this from Godolphin and to be recognised for all the work over the last 40 years, its just brilliant" added a delighted Martin. The full list of winners were: Irish Racing Excellence Award: Pat Farrell, Stud Groom, Moyglare Stud, County Kildare Administration Award: Gillian Carey, Operations Manager, Fairyhouse Racecourse, County Meath Newcomer Award: Georgie Benson, Stable Lass, Gordon Elliott, County Meath Horse Care Award: Mary Nugent, Travelling Assistant, Gordon Elliott, County Meath In The Saddle Award: James Rath, Head Lad, Liz Doyle, County Wexford Travelling Head Person Award: Camilla Sharples, Travelling Head Girl, Gordon Elliott, County Meath Leads by Example Award: Stephen Thorne, Assistant Trainer, Adrian McGuinness, County Dublin Dedication to Racing and Breeding Award: Pat Farrell, Stud Groom, Moyglare Stud, County Kildare Racing and Breeding Support Services Award: Martin Snowy Pearse, Facilities Manager, Punchestown Racecourse, County Kildare Racecourse Award: Fairyhouse Racecourse, Ratoath, County Meath Morocco has sent a clear message to the Polisario and its mentor Algeria with a massive military drills simulating a deployment beyond the Morocco-built security wall in the Sahara territory. The annual drills, dubbed Tafilalet 2018, were a test to the inter-operability of the Moroccan armed forces with the participation of land and air armies as well as special forces, the Moroccan armed forces (FAR) said in their official magazine. The exercise was held south of Errachidia on March22-April 7 at a time Morocco was warning of the dangerous Polisario provocations east of the berm. The drills used live ammunition and took place in an environment identical to the Moroccan Sahara territory. Morocco maintains that any transfer of Polisario administrative functions or setting up of civilian facility east of the berm represents a breach of the status of the buffer zone and may trigger a military response. The UN Security Council latest Resolution adopted in April vindicated Moroccos concerns and called on the Polisario to refrain from destabilizing acts. The UN Security council also commended Moroccos restraint in the face of Polisarios provocations. Morocco maintains one of the most advanced armies in the African continent with international experience gained through international military drills including the annual African Lion with the US and partner countries. Morocco also sends contingents to take part in peacekeeping missions. The Kingdom sent 1470 peacekeepers to the MINUSCA mission in the Central African Republic, Morocco has also added the spacial dimension to its military capabilities with the launch of two reconnaissance satellites. Requiem Mass for Bishop Christopher Jones will be celebrated at 1.30pm in the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, *** today Tuesday, May 22. Burial directly after Requiem Mass in Cathedral grounds. Tributes have been paid to Catholic Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Elphin Christopher Jones who died on Friday aged 82. A native of Rathcroghan, County Roscommon, he was educated at St Patricks College, Maynooth and ordained a priest on June 21st 1962. Catholic Primate of All Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin described him as a much loved bishop. Fifty-six years of priesthood, and twenty-four years as a bishop sums up a life of commitment, fidelity, service and love for the people, religious and priests of his home Diocese of Elphin. Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran thanked those who cared for Bishop Jones during his illness. The death of Bishop Christy is like the loss of a grandparent. Up to the time of his retirement in July 2014, he worked tirelessly in the service of God and of the people of God, in this diocese and further afield. He will be remembered by many for the way in which he put flesh on the Gospel through his care for and friendship with those who were poor and most at risk in our society. Former president Mary McAleese also paid tribute. The late Bishop Jones was a founder member of the Council for the West and was a passionate advocate for Western rural development throughout his life. The Diocese of Elphin covers most of Roscommon including Boyle, Ardcarne and Croghan parishes. Leitrim Supporters Club host Up for the Roscommon Match event in Herbert Park Hotel, Dublin, on Thursday, May 24. The Leitrim GAA Supporters Club will host a special Up for the Roscommon Match event in the Herbert Park Hotel, Ballsbridge, on Thursday, May 24, at 8pm, in anticipation of the Connacht semi-final clash. The event will feature a panel discussion hosted by former Leitrim player Colin Regan and some very special guests. Ballinamore Sean OHeslins 1994 Connacht winning forward, Liam Willie Conlon and St. Marys former great, Dermot Reynolds, will recall tales from their battles with Roscommon on the field of play. Conlon played a vital part in the famous victory over the Rossies in the 94 quarter-final, while Reynolds scored the vital goal against his near neighbours when Leitrim recorded a famous victory in the 2000 semi-final in The Hyde. To ensure balance and some good banter on the night, a former Roscommon player (TBC) will also join the panel, with some other special guests also contributing on the night. The night will also see the Irish launch by Eamonn Duignan of an exciting fundraising drive to raise funds to finish Leitrims Centre of Excellence in Annaduff. The ambitious plans will finish the centre to the highest standards, ensuring that Leitrims facilities are on par with any other county in Ireland. A special feature The Leitrim Wall has been incorporated into the design allowing Leitrim people everywhere the opportunity to record a personal message on a commemorative brick or tile that will forever feature prominently in the Centre of Excellence for everyone to see when visiting the facility. There are four price options to suit everyones budget and need. A launch of The Leitrim Wall was well received in New York and the Supporters Club hope that Leitrims loyal supporters will once more back this innovative opportunity to help build Leitrims GAA future brick by brick. For more information about the Leitrim Wall visit www.leitrimgaa.ie and stay tuned to the Leitrim GAA social media accounts. All are welcome to this free event in The Herbert Park Hotel. Light refreshments from 7.30pm with an 8pm sharp throw-in. The night will conclude at 9.30pm. Please bring along any Leitrim people you know. The Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) has called for long-term commitment that Social Welfare payments will continue to be transacted through Post Offices and for a timeline for new services. Speaking at the IPUs 2018 Annual General Conference in Cavan last weekend, General Secretary, Ned OHara, called for certainty that Social Welfare payments would continue to be transacted through the Post Office Network into the long-term. Social Welfare payments account for 40% of all Post Office activity, and together with spin off transactions bring 60% of all business into Post Offices. 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 came after Postmasters and An Post have agreed a new plan for the future of the Post Office Network. IPU Members were recently balloted on the plan which received an 80% approval. 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. 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 Offices as possible viable into the future, Mr OHara said. The deadline is fast approaching for Expressions of Interest under the 2018 Town and Village Renewal Scheme. The Scheme is an initiative under the Governments Action Plan for Rural Development, Realising our Rural Potential, and the recently announced Project Ireland 2040, and is designed to help rural Ireland achieve its full economic and social potential. It is part of a package of national and local support measures to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. WHAT, HOW, WHEN: 15m has been allocated nationally for 2018. Projects must commence this year and be completed by end of 2019. There are 2 categories of towns eligible to apply 1.) towns and villages with population of 5000 or less and 2.) towns and villages with populations of 5001 to 10000. (Population based on Census 2016 data.). Expressions of interest will be assessed by the Local Authority. Up to 12 may be selected to proceed to application which will be developed in conjunction with the local authority. Only 1 application per town but this can include linked components that support town/village rejuvenation. Final applications will be assessed by the Department of Rural & Community Development. In order to have nationwide spread, efforts ill be made to select at least 4 projects per county. Applications should be submitted to Leitrim County Council by 4pm on Wednesday, May 23, 2018. For full details, including selection criteria, see here. May 22, 2018, 6 AM New Zealand Posts May 21 souvenir sheet celebrates the royal wedding and includes photographs taken during the May 19 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. By Denise McCarty Just hours after the May 19 royal wedding, New Zealand Post revealed stamps showing photographs from the ceremony at St. Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle. New Zealand Post is issuing the six stamps May 21. The six stamps are in a souvenir sheet. The large selvage area depicts the newly married Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as they leave the chapel. Inscribed at the bottom of the sheet is Royal Wedding and 19 May 2018 St. Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle. A red rose in a silver Maori art koru pattern is shown to the left of the inscription, and New Zealand Post to the right. The stamps are in two vertical strips of three. The first two stamps on the left side of the sheet depict photos that were taken Nov. 27, 2017, the day the couple announced their engagement. The remaining four stamps show photos from the ceremony and the procession afterward through the streets of Windsor. Only one person, other than the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex is easily recognizable on the stamps: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is shown officiating at the wedding ceremony on the bottom stamp on the left. Each stamp is denominated $2.70, New Zealand Posts international rate for letters. In addition to a photograph, each stamp also shows the red rose. Dave Burke designed the stamps and souvenir sheet. The Collectables and Solutions Centre of New Zealand Post printed the issue by offset. The sheet measures 260 millimeters by 170mm, and the stamps are each 36.95mm by 37.5mm. The stamps have traditional gum, and are perforated 14.4 by 14.6. In announcing the stamps, New Zealand Post said: Featuring four stunning images from the wedding day and two images celebrating the couples engagement, this stamp sheet is a splendid reminder of this special day. This highly anticipated event has once again united nations in a celebration steeped in tradition. New Zealand Post also said: As part of the Commonwealth of Nations and as a country founded on the immigration of British settlers New Zealand has a proud relationship with the United Kingdom and its royal family. A royal occasion such as this is worth celebrating, and these stamps are the perfect memento of this special day, and make a wonderful collectable. New Zealand Post also created four Royal Wedding stamps and a souvenir sheet for Tokelau, and three stamps for Niue. Tokelau is a non-self-governing territory of New Zealand, and Niue is self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. The stamp designs for Tokelau feature black-and-white photographs framed by a decorative border, described by New Zealand Post as based on the frangipani and the Pacific fine mat. Two of the stamps show scenes from the engagement announcement, and the other two depict photos from the procession after the wedding. The footmen can be seen on one of the stamps; they are behind Prince Harry and Meghan in the Ascot Landaus carriage. New Zealand Post is issuing the Tokelau and Niue stamps May 21. No doubt other postal administrations will soon issue stamps depicting scenes from the royal wedding and procession. Great Britains Royal Mail and other postal administrations released stamps on the day of or prior to the wedding (Linns, June 4, page 1 for Great Britain, and May 28, page 8, for Gibraltar, Guernsey and Isle of Man). Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Most of the stamps produced before the May 19 wedding date feature engagement photographs. In addition to those already reported in Linns, Antigua and Barbuda, The Gambia, Grenada, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu also issued stamps for the engagement, according to a recent announcement from the new-issue agency Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corp. For information about the Royal Wedding stamps from New Zealand and Tokelau, visit the website. Swamp drainers. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images In 2018, Democrats are confronted with a challenge that few opposition parties have ever had to overcome: The administration they are running against has too many scandals (for their political opponents own good). To the extent that party messaging matters at all in midterm elections (which are largely determined by differential turnout patterns shaped by fundamentals), a single, unifying narrative is more likely to connect with the electorate than a fusillade of discrete ideas. In 2016, the simplicity of the case against Hillary Clintons judgement (emails!) helped it register in the public consciousness to a degree that no single one of Donald Trumps many scandals (his fraudulent university, abuse of contractors, alleged assaulting to women, mockery of the disabled, disrespect of prisoners of war, etc, etc.) ever did. Over his first 17 months in the White House, Trump has generated novel outrages at a nigh-exponential rate. The investigation into his campaigns ties to Russian intelligence alone has produced a wide variety of distinct scandals and meta-scandals (i.e., the presidents repeated efforts to turn federal law enforcement into his private goon squad). His (alleged) decade-old dalliance with a porn star has divided and multiplied into separate campaign-finance, pay-to-play, and potential money-laundering scandals. Virtually every person Trump has appointed to Cabinet-level office has committed at least one major ethics offense. And then, there are the myriad instances in which the interaction between Trump business interests and his administrations foreign policy have given the appearance of venality on a world-historic scale. For Democrats, the problem here isnt just that the variety and volume of scandals prevents the media from conveying a single, simple story of Trumps malfeasance; the problem is that none of the presidents extraordinary misdeeds are quite as big an electoral liability for the GOP as the partys (thoroughly ordinary) devotion to the unpopular policy preferences of its plutocratic donors. The Democrats best pitch to swing voters isnt that the presidents personal ethics are suspect. Trump conceded that point early in his campaign. Rather, their strongest argument is that he and his party arent actually greedy, greedy, greedy for the United States or the forgotten man and woman but only for their wealthy and well-connected paymasters. Happily, Democrats may have found a way to solve their conundrum: As New Yorks Jonathan Chait recommended, Team Blue has decided to boil Trumps many scandals and his partys reactionary policies down into a single, overarching narrative of corruption. On Monday, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi unveiled the latest plank in their partys Better Deal platform a series of anti-corruption proposals aimed at returning to a government of, for, and by the people. In their summary of the agenda, the Democrats waste little time in drawing a line between the Republican agenda on the culture of corruption at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 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. 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. All the while, Americans watch with increasing alarm the efforts to limit access to the ballot box, put rich donors first and degrade the integrity of our election system by forces both foreign and domestic. President Trump, when it comes to draining the swamp, has been a complete and utter disaster, Schumer said at a press conference on the Capitol steps Monday afternoon.The swamp has never been more foul and more fetid than it is under this president. The Democrats anti-corruption agenda is threefold, comprising proposals aimed at increasing the voice of ordinary voters in their government; bolstering ethics laws; and reforming campaign finance. Many of the actual policies under these headings are progressive boilerplate (a constitutional amendment nullifying the Supreme Courts ruling in Citizens United, ending partisan gerrymandering) or inscrutably vague (all government officials including the president should comply with a stringent set of ethical guidelines that ensure they are free from all conflicts of interest). But the partys voting-rights platform does include an endorsement of automatic voter registration, a reform that the party didnt adopt on the state level until recently, and which has significant potential to increase the influence of poor, young, and nonwhite voters over their political system. The agenda also includes a new proposal directly inspired by Michael Cohens Essential Consultants LLC scandal. The presidents personal attorney never had to register as a lobbyist or disclose the fact that he selling access to the White House to major corporations at hundreds of thousands of dollars a pop because current law only requires such disclosures from individuals who spend more than 20 percent of their working lives lobbying on behalf of a client. Democrats would expand disclosure requirements in a manner that would force future Michael Cohens to disclose such consulting contracts. Ultimately though, the Better Deal agenda is more of a political project than a governing document. As such, its fine details matter less than the broader story that it aims to tell. And in collapsing Trumps scandals and the GOP agenda into a single narrative about Republicans standing for elite special interests and Democrats standing for ordinary Americans the party has found a strong (and simple) campaign message. And it also happens to be one with a track record of success: Democrats ran on an anti-corruption theme before its last midterm wave in 2006; on Election Day that year, exit polls found upward of 70 percent of voters saying that a concern about corruption influenced their decision in the ballot box. House Speaker Paul Ryan Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images House Speaker Paul Ryan has unfailingly supported House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes in his efforts to subordinate the Department of Justice to Donald Trumps whims. The latest Ryan-Nunes maneuver is an unprecedented demand that Nunes be given unrestricted access to Robert Muellers evidence. Explaining his reasoning to reporters, Ryan sounded a characteristically high-minded note, even (consciously or not) echoing Lincolns Gettysburg Address. We the people, the Congress, have given the Executive branch a lot of power in this very important law, he intoned, and its really important that we conduct the proper oversight of the Executive branch to make sure that that power is not or has not or will not be abused. "FISA abuse is a serious issue." @SpeakerRyan addresses FBI source controversy pic.twitter.com/YbCA77ss1B Fox News (@FoxNews) May 22, 2018 Look whos suddenly interested in overseeing the Executive branch! Its the man who has quashed repeated votes to release the presidents tax returns, conducted a sham hearing on the presidents ties to Russia (which ended hastily and with a preordained conclusion), and refused to conduct oversight about anything else, in the face of scandals oozing out of every orifice of the administration. Of course, oversight of the Executive branch is not an activity that interests Ryan. His goal is closer to the opposite. Ryan and Nunes are conducting oversight over the Department of Justice precisely because, while part of the Executive branch, it is independent of it. The independence is precisely the thing that troubles Ryan and Nunes, and which they aim to quash, thereby increasing the power of the president. Ryan is obviously committed to using his power to help Donald Trump get as close as possible to his dream of having the Department of Justice ignore any crimes by him or his supporters and instead harass his enemies. Some people have been surprised by this turn in Ryans career, but those of us who detected his Randian contempt for democracy saw it coming all along. (Authoritarian means harnessed to libertarian ends, you might say.) Its apparently too much to expect that, in the final months of his time in elected office, Ryan would drop the smarmy pretense and cop to his actual priorities. Dont eat the doughnut! Photo: Greg Morgan/Barcroft Media via Getty Images Its the sort of thing that drives animal-rights advocates and other elite bunny-hugging liberals wild, to the delight of politically incorrect red-blooded MAGA-men. As NBC News reports, the Trump administration is bringing back savage hunting techniques to federal lands in Alaska: The Trump administration is moving to reverse Obama-era rules barring hunters on some public lands in Alaska from baiting brown bears with bacon and doughnuts and using spotlights to shoot mother black bears and cubs hibernating in their dens. There are a lot of humans, much less bears, who cant resist bacon and doughnuts. But before you can say Sarah Palin, theres more: Under the proposed changes, hunters would also be allowed to hunt black bears with dogs, kill wolves and pups in their dens, and use motor boats to shoot swimming caribou. These and other hunting methods condemned as cruel by wildlife protection advocates were outlawed on federal lands in 2015. That was, of course, under President Obama, who hated Real Americans. The rationalization for this particular action is to make federal predator control guidelines match state laws. But theres not much doubt a culture change in Washington has a lot to do with it, as The Hill observes: Secretary Ryan Zinke has met a number of times with representatives of the National Rifle Association as well as the big game hunting lobby, the Safari Club. Last fall, on the heels of news that hunting was dropping within the U.S., Zinke announced October would be National Hunting and Fishing Month and installed a Big Buck hunter shooting game in the lobby of Interior Department Headquarters. Since then the administration has come under fire for changing protections to other groups of animals, including a Fish and Wildlife Service decision to allow elephant trophy imports back into the U.S. on a case by case basis a reversal of an Obama-era ban on imports of the animal. Theres also probably an influential lobbyist or two in the White House pushing policy in the same direction: President Donald Trumps sons are also avid trophy hunters who have made past excursions to Africa and Alaska. Whatever else is going on, Team Trump is probably quite happy to provoke the wrath of people more concerned about preventing cruelty to animals than protecting the feral pleasures of trophy hunters. There is evidence that backlash to animal-cruelty restrictions is a good mobilization tool for rural conservative voters. In 2014 a ballot initiative in Maine to ban the use of bait, dogs or traps in bear hunting except to protect property, public safety, or for research was defeated by a big turnout of rural voters who also, as it happens, reelected atavistic conservative Governor Paul LePage in an upset. Bear cubs may be adorable, but to a lot of Americans, theyre not only predators but prey. Ohio police received a call at 5:26 a.m. Saturday (May 19) from a man who said he was trying to walk home from an Amtrak train station in Elyria but was being followed by a pig. The man was unsure how to react. The police thought he was drunk and possibly hallucinating, but when they arrived at the scene, they found a sober man who was indeed being followed by a pig, according to CBS News. The police brought the pig, whose name turned out to be Zoey, back to the station, and eventually, the animal was given back to its owner. But why would Zoey be following an unknown human around? It's most likely because the pig was curious, said Lori Marino, an animal behavior expert and neuroscientist. "Pigs are very social animals," Marino said. "There must have been something about this man that this pig was curious about." In fact, pigs can be just as social as dogs, and "every bit as smart" if not smarter, Marino told Live Science. [The 5 Smartest Non-Primates on the Planet] This may sound surprising to some people particularly in Zoey the pig's case, where you see a pig acting as a dog might, Marino said. "But if you know about pigs, it's just not that surprising," said Marino, who is also an animal rights activist and the founder of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy. Zoey was a domesticated pig and was obviously very comfortable with humans, Marino said just look at the image of her sitting in the back of the police cruiser. Pigs are not loners; they have social relationships with other pigs and other animals, including humans. And although curiosity was probably the reason Zoey followed the man home, there are a few other possibilities for the pig's early-morning stroll, Marino said. For example, if the man smelled like food or had food in his pocket, it could have enticed Zoey, just like it would other animals, she said. But Zoey also could have been trying to get the man's attention. Pigs are "very sensitive to whether or not you're paying attention to them," Marino said. "They understand that if you're looking at them you are attending to them, and if you're facing away from them that you're not." So maybe Zoey was just trying to get this man's attention, but the man kept walking away, Marino said. But whatever the reason may be, it's doubtful that Zoey was lost. "Pigs have really excellent spatial mapping skills," Marino said. For example, they can recognize landmarks and are brilliant at making their way through mazes, she added. This ability allows them to find food and know where they've previously scavenged. Pigs "typically don't get lost unless you drop them off somewhere where they are completely unfamiliar." And "there's no chance" Zoey could've mistaken this man for her owner, Marino said. "They're just way too smart for that." According to Marino, many studies have shown that pigs can tell individuals apart not just pigs, but different humans, for example. "They are very sensitive to features that are consistent with personal identity," such as body size and facial characteristics, she said. [7 Things That Will Make You Happy] It's possible that Zoey does this type of thing all the time to people and thinks of it as a game or a routine, and this guy just happened to put it on our radar because he called the police, Marino added. Or maybe Zoey wasn't even following him at all. "They might just have the same path that they walk," Marino said. Editor's note: This article was updated May 22 to correct a statement about pigs being able to recognize different dog faces. Originally published on Live Science. A lot can happen in a second; you could meet a stranger, snap your fingers, fall in love, fall asleep, sneeze. But what is a second, really and is it as precise as we think it is? Right now, the most-precise clocks used to tell global time have an error of about 1 second every 300 million years so a clock that started ticking in the time of the dinosaurs wouldn't be off by even a second today. But scientists think we can do better. [The 18 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics] So, they are looking to lutetium, a neglected rare-earth element that has been gathering dust at the bottom of the periodic table, according to a new study published April 25 in the journal Nature Communications. Why is one second 1 second long? In the olden days, a second was defined as a fraction (1/86400) of the average solar day, the 24-hour rotation of the Earth around its axis. But the rotation of the Earth can vary slightly, so scientists decided to stop scanning the heavens to calibrate our clocks and scaled things way down to the level of atoms, the invisible building blocks of matter. In 1967, the International Committee for Weights and Measures defined the second as the amount of time it takes for a cesium atom to absorb enough energy to be excited that is, for its electrons to jump from one energy state to the next. For this to happen, the atom must be pulsed with exactly 9,192,631,770 cycles of microwave radiation. Researchers John P. Lowe, Robert E. Drullinger, and project leader, David J. Glaze (from left to right) stand next to a cesium atom clock they developed called NIST-7. Housed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, this clock was responsible for keeping time in the U.S. from 1993 to 1999, but has since been replaced by more accurate cesium clocks. (Image credit: National Institute of Standards and Technology) Though that number might seem random, it comes from measuring the frequency of microwaves needed to excite the cesium atoms in the average of the earlier definition of 1 second. These measurements were taken over a span of nearly three years, Scientific American reported. Currently, hundreds of cesium atomic clocks are responsible for keeping global time and controlling GPS navigation. But in the past decade, another generation of atomic clocks has emerged, called "optical clocks," and they are 100 times more precise than the cesium variety. The new clocks work in the exact same way as the cesium ones, except they use atoms such as aluminum or ytterbium that get excited by higher frequencies of visible light (hence the name "optical") rather than the slower microwaves. This higher frequency adds more data points to the definition of a "second," making the measurement more precise. [7 Strange Facts About Quarks] To understand this, imagine the different types of clocks as a pair of rulers, said Murray Barrett, an associate physics professor at the National University of Singapore and the lead author of the new study. If the older, "cesium" ruler measures a line that's 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) long, the more precise, "optical" ruler can measure the line also as, for example, 200 millimeters. While optical clocks are very precise , getting them to run for a very long period of time and to remain stable in their environments can be problematic, Barrett said. A room's temperature can change the electromagnetic fields acting on the atoms, which in turn can skew the time measurement, Barrett said. So, the cesium clocks are still "much more reliable in their implementation than [the new] optical clocks," Barrett told Live Science. Making less sensitive atomic clocks In their new study, Barrett and his team found that a lutetium ion is less sensitive to changes in environmental temperature than are any other elements used for optical clocks, making it a strong candidate to serve as master time keeper. Lutetium atoms can also help compensate for another problem affecting time measurement, the team found. Because the atoms used in these clocks are charged, they slightly wiggle back and forth in response to the electromagnetic fields created by the waves (visible light, microwaves, etc.) and this can skew the time measurement. Scientists call this rapid backward and forward movement a "micromotion shift." Because scientists must compensate for this shift, it's really difficult to develop atomic clocks with more than one ion which would make such clocks more practical, Barrett said. But the team found that they could use a natural property in a certain type of lutetium ion to cancel out these "micromotion shifts." However, this comes at a cost: Those atoms became more sensitive to the temperature of the room. That trade-off might limit the impact of the new finding, and the atom lutetium might not be a "real game changer," said Jerome Lodewyck, a physicist at the Paris Observatory who was not part of the study. But, this "high-quality work" adds another possible atomic species to the long list of timekeeper candidates that is a "wealth for metrologists" looking to compare different clocks, Lodewyck said. [What's That? Your Physics Questions Answered] Beyond telling time Though Barrett said lutetium "is extremely promising," he doesn't think there's a big rush to redefine the second using optical clocks, as cesium clocks do just fine at things like getting us where we need to go. But highly precise optical clocks might allow for new applications "that would simply not be possible with our current technology," Barrett said. For example, clocks are sensitive to where they sit in the world, because time is distorted by gravity, according to Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. Right now, atomic clocks on Earth can't detect the miniscule time-warping that occurs due to Earth's gravity. But if researchers could place highly precise optical clocks around the world, that setup could help researchers map out the gravitational field of our planet, Barrett said. Further, highly precise atomic clocks could detect matter and energy we may not yet be able to see, Lodewyck said. That could include dark matter, which exerts a gravitational pull yet does not interact with ordinary light, and dark energy, the mysterious force that seems to be accelerating the expansion of the universe, he said. Here's how it might work: If you know the frequency needed to excite some atoms in the time frame of a second, you could use these various clocks around the world to detect any differences beyond what you would normally expect. There are "some theories that say dark matter is around us, so if we cross a chunk of dark matter, this would perturb the clock," Lodewyck told Live Science. There may even be applications we can't think of right now, Barrett said. "Certainly, when we first started developing clocks for the purpose of ship navigation, we never imagined the idea of somebody being able to walk around and know exactly where they are in a big city." Originally published on Live Science. Just dont ask him for specifics. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Buckle up, everyone. This is the week that the Trump administrations plan to remake international relations in its own bellicose, America First image hits its biggest tests. South Korean president Moon Jae-in is set to arrive in Washington on Tuesday as as the administration tries to nail down the arrangements for President Trumps summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Last week Washington and Beijing announced a sweeping new trade understanding, but there are serious doubts about whether it can deliver. In another region of the world which is being closely watched by both Beijing and Pyongyang the Trump administration unveiled its vision of what happens now that its pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement. Its fashionable to deride Trump and his team as having no plans, no strategy, and no long view on international affairs. But this misses something important. Trump, as well as the team around him, appears to have taken it as an article of faith that they are tougher negotiators, and more credible when threatening U.S. force, than the presidents of both parties who preceded them. They believe military might is by far the most important force in international relations, and that the United States should use and threaten it more to get its way. Their view of who the America is that U.S. foreign policy supports and defends is more narrow, and thus has less in common with the people of the world beyond our shores. Thats why theyre so skeptical of win-win outcomes, and the international norms and institutions that make compromise possible. This was apparent in the first foreign policy matter the White House addressed on Monday: what happens postIran deal. Its only been two weeks since Trump took down the six-party accord blocking Tehrans nuclear weapons program not coincidentally, Barack Obamas signature foreign policy achievement. After days of embarrassing media coverage quoting insiders and allies saying, There is no plan B, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rolled one out in a speech to the Heritage Foundation though it was basically just a U.S. wish list wrapped around a call for regime change. Pompeos plan B for Iran didnt include the outline of a stronger deal, or any deal at all. Instead, it contained a list of 12 things Iran must do: stop enriching uranium for any purpose, peaceful or military; allow inspectors to visit any site in the country uninhibited; end its support for proxy forces such as Hezbollah and other guerrilla groups in Syria. Pompeo didnt offer a timeline, or a strategy, or a forum in which the U.S. and other nations could pressure Teheran to accept these terms. Nor did he mention anything Iran might get in return for taking these steps which is usually how negotiations work. Instead, he suggested that the Iranian people would set the timeline one of many not-so-subtle references to the idea that Irans government is failed and illegitimate, and should be replaced via a popular uprising. Pompeo even called particular attention to the fight for womens rights in Iran, which might have been more impressive if it didnt highlight the administrations thunderous silence as its Saudi allies rounded up 30 years of womens rights activists last week. When Heritage Foundation President Kay Coles James asked Pompeo what his strategy was to get other nations onboard, he responded that the U.S. would be sending teams around the world to explain the U.S. position, and to listen. The initial responses from Europeans and U.S. experts after the speech suggest that theyll be hearing a great deal of skepticism and hostility. Administration officials, and the foreign policy conservatives who support them, believe that the Iran deals weaknesses encouraged North Korean intransigence, and that tearing up the former will enable them to get a stronger deal with Pyongyang. But judging from recent developments with North Korea, destroying the Iran deal didnt boost Trumps negotiating position. Last week, the White Houses narrative around Trumps June 12 meeting with Kim took several hard hits. Pyongyang threatened to cancel the summit over ongoing U.S.-South Korean exercises even though Washington had agreed not to include some of its most fearsome offensive weapons. And the Norths chief nuclear negotiator said that his country would never trade away its nuclear weapons for economic assistance exactly what the White House apparently believed it was on track to achieve. What brought this on? For weeks, North Korean experts, from the most dovish to the most warlike, have been unusually united in saying that Kims apparent promises to get rid of nuclear weapons and shift Pyongyangs policy orientation should not be taken at face value. This kind of shift was, to them, entirely expected. National Security Adviser John Bolton gave Pyongyang a reason to lash out when he went on TV to talk about the Libya option. To policy wonks, that refers to Libyas 2003 decision to send its small nuclear program to Tennessee in exchange for promises of economic assistance. Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi had seen Saddam Husseins regime, and Hussein himself, meet a humiliating end, and wanted to be back on the Wests good side. Of course, things didnt turn out well for Qaddafi either. Pyongyang is well aware that in 2014, he was pulled from a ditch where U.S. bombs had chased him, then slaughtered by militants. Eager talk of regime change in Iran, and Trumps own apparent interpretation of the Libya model as a total decimation, make it hard to believe the Trump administration wants Kims oppressive regime to endure in peace, however often Trump compliments a man who had his own sibling murdered, and an American student beaten to death. Other aspects of Trumps North Korea strategy are on shaky ground as well. The White House seems to be trying to slow down Chinas rapprochement with North Korea by accepting a framework deal on trade that involves the United States suspending $150 billion in new Trump tariffs until after the North Korea summit. But it contains no specifics from the Chinese side, no timeline, and few concrete action items. Trump is still fretting on Twitter about Chinese economic support for Pyongyang, and with reports of infighting among his economic advisers, its unclear how long the agreement will stand. Despite their belief that bullying is what gets results in US foreign policy, there are intense divisions among Trump advisers and their allies. Bolton and Pompeo have said publicly contradictory things on North Korea. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro reportedly had profane screaming matches last week in Beijing. Congressional Republicans and manufacturing leaders are irate about the cave on economics. And now Trump himself is said to be having doubts about the North Korea summit. The White House already claimed that the recent detente in North Korea shows its maximum pressure campaign is working, and Trump made a quip about the possibility that he might win the Nobel Peace Prize. Now hes facing serious embarrassment if the talks dont work out (not to mention an increased threat of nuclear war). That puts both American politics and international security in uncharted territory. Its not every day one compares Trump and LBJ. But the last time an American president went ahead with an international strategy he didnt believe in, for fear of his domestic constituencies, tens of thousands of additional American casualties and untold Vietnamese ones were the result. The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider is one of the machine's two big all-purpose detectors. A few years from now, if a crew of physicists gets its way, a squat building will rise above the border between France and Switzerland. This warehouse-size annex will join a scientific facility so large it crosses national borders. And, if the researchers proposing the construction are correct, it just might find the missing pieces of the universe. Separated by a few hundred vertical feet of bedrock granite from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the new building would contain a scientific instrument called the MATHUSLA device (Massive Timing Hodoscope for Ultra Stable Neutral Particles), named after the longest-living man in the Book of Genesis. Its job: to hunt for long-lived particles that the LHC can't detect itself. There's something strange about the idea. The LHC is the biggest, baddest particle accelerator in the world: a 17-mile (27 kilometers) ring of superconducting magnets that, 11,245 times per second, flings a few thousand protons at one another at significant fractions of the speed of light and then, whenever anything interesting happens, records the result. [Beyond Higgs: 5 Other Particles That May Lurk in the Universe] MATHUSLA's relationship to that enormous machine would resemble that of a harmless remora fish clinging to the side of a leviathan, sucking up stray flecks of wasted food that spill from the larger creature's open mouth. But some physicists think that through careful study of those flecks (in this case, stray, long-lived, high-energy particles flung through the walls of LHC), MATHUSLA will help solve a set of problems that the LHC has, to the increasing alarm of particle physicists, failed to conquer. All that will happen, that is, if MATHUSLA's creators can find someone to pay for it. Missing physics The quantum universe right now is a puzzle with most of the pieces missing. Those pieces scientists have found and put together already quarks, neutrinos, bosons, the muon and tau lepton, the photon and gluon, and, most famously, the Higgs boson fit together to form a picture, called the Standard Model. But that picture is strangely shaped and full of holes and hints that there's more physics out there to be found. One gap is the Higgs boson. As David Curtin, a professor at the University of Toronto and one of the originators of the MATHUSLA concept, explained, the Higgs just isn't as massive as quantum physics predicts it to be. So, the current model of the universe required a big, arbitrary-seeming "correction" in Higgs related equations. Centuries of experience tell scientists that corrections like that usually stand in for things researchers just don't yet understand. Albert Einstein's cosmological constant was an example, an idea that he stuck into his theory of general relativity to account for what scientists later discovered were the effects of the expanding universe something Einstein never suspected and later regretted not anticipating. [8 Ways You Can See Einstein's Theory of Relativity in Real Life] Physicists, Curtin explained, suspect that the Higgs' strangely small mass implies that other, undetected particles are out there, influencing it. This and other strange cracks in reality like all the missing, mysterious mass in the universe that scientists term dark matter suggest that there's still lots of physics that physicists haven't yet seen. The point of the LHC was to fill in those gaps in the universe's puzzle. Jessie Shelton, a theoretical physicist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who helped edit a white paper pitching MATHUSLA, said that so far with the important exception of the Higgs boson detection itself the LHC has been a disappointment. The Higgs appeared, but ever since then, even after a series of upgrades to the machine, the hunt for new particles has turned up nothing. That could be because humans have exhausted the supply of particles that we'll ever be able to detect. Or it could be that the LHC, perhaps because of problems with its detectors or because its beam is too weak, just isn't up to the task, she said. "There's absolutely something new out there. Dark matter tells us that. Unfortunately, we don't have any guarantee that whatever's out there has to talk to us at rates that we can detect at the LHC," Shelton told Live Science And as long as the LHC, with costs running into the tens of billions of dollars, fails to detect new physics beyond the Higgs, she said, it'll be hard to justify building any bigger detectors in the future. [Photos: The World's Largest Atom Smasher (LHC)] "Right now, we need new ideas," she said. The big new idea Back in April, Shelton stood in front of a crowd of physicists at the big meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) in Columbus, Ohio, and argued that the LHC might have already created missing particles but might have been unable to detect them. That's because all of the LHC's sensors are calibrated to detect a specific kind of event: An exotic particle appears in the high-energy collision of two protons. It decays a mind-bogglingly short time later into more-stable, less-exotic particles, which streak away in all directions in a starburst. Those particles pass through ionizing plates and flashing crystals surrounding the collider's beam, and their specific pattern offers physicists clues as to what kind of exotic particle they came from. A display of a proton-proton collision taken in the LHCb detector in the early hours of May 9, 2016. (Image credit: LHCB) The LHC could already pick up signatures of long-lived particles with some recalibration, Shelton said. Even a usually long-lived particle will sometimes decay quickly. And some long-lived particles may leave telltale signs in the sensors before decaying. Detecting them could be a matter of recalibrating the detectors and algorithms. Shelton called this plan using the LHC "off label." [What Is Quantum Mechanics]But perhaps, Shelton argued, the missing exotic particles don't decay as quickly as the LHC's designers hoped. Maybe speculative particles like "gluinos" and "composite dark glueballs" do exist and are appearing at the LHC but not decaying within its narrow tunnel. If a gluino, for example, can survive even a few fractions of a second longer than physicists expected, it could moving at a significant fraction of light speed pierce the walls of the collider, travel hundreds of yards through the solid granite burying the LHC, and make its way up into the French-Swiss sunshine before decaying somewhere alone in the forest. Its signature would, therefore, be far outside the LHC's capacity to detect. [Strange Quarks and Muons, Oh My! Nature's Tiniest Particles Dissected] Still, these researchers think that the best hope for detecting long-lived particles lies in the woods on the French-Swiss border. MATHUSLA, essentially a 65-foot-tall (20 meters) warehouse full of particle detectors sitting on top of the LHC, would study particles that escaped the LHC entirely. With a thick floor of granite separating the LHC beam from MATHUSLA, most of the roiling, radioactive chaos of the LHC would disappear. Only the comparatively rare pops of long-lived particles moving through the Earth and into the sensor chamber would need detecting. "If an invisible particle comes up and decays, the visible particles [it decays into] will sort of splay against the ceiling," Curtin said. "The layers of [detectors] will see these tracks in exactly the same way as the trackers inside the LHC downstairs. But this [detector array] is much bigger, and can afford to be much slower." The pitch With fewer particles to detect in a bigger detection area, MATHUSLA could build very detailed pictures of exotic particles decaying inside it as long as there really are exotic particles up there to detect. "You're just waiting up there. Birds are chirping. And then, suddenly, there's a" Curtin made the rapid rat-a-tat sound of a machine gun, or in this case, perhaps, the charged particles flung from a decaying gluino. Because of that slow pace and larger space, Curtin said, the electronics and engineering required for MATHUSLA are much simpler than those in the LHC itself. "It's not cheap," he acknowledged. "But it's not crazy." At the scale that he and his colleagues envision, it should come in at just a fraction of the cost of the multibillion-dollar LHC below somewhere in the ballpark of $50 million, he said. MATHUSLA's designers hope that CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which operates the LHC, will foot the bill. But they're also hopeful about grants from non-European countries, or perhaps individual rich people. "[The LHC] could be making these things already," he said, yelling a bit, "We've paid the price to make 'em! We've paid the $10 billion for the collider! We're already making them maybe, I mean, you know" His voice drifted off for a moment, before he returned with, "How dumb would we feel if we just did not spend that extra dollar to make the detector to actually see what we made?!" Shelton also said the LHC needs the extra detector. But she spelled out the concern bound up in that "maybe" and why she still thinks the project is justified. "If we're being pessimistic, and we're going to say that maybe there's nothing there," she said, "I want to know that it's really not there and not missing just because we forgot to look." Originally published on Live Science. One of the nearly 400 slaughtered barbarians thought to be buried at Alken Enge in Denmark. Some 2,000 years ago, a ragtag troop of about 400 Germanic tribesmen marched into battle against a mysterious adversary in Denmark, and they were slaughtered to the last man. Or at least that's the story their bones tell. Exhumed from Alken Enge a peat bog in Denmark's Illerup River Valley between 2009 and 2014, nearly 2,100 bones belonging to the dead fighters have given archaeologists a rare window into the post-battle rituals of Europe's so-called "barbarian" tribes during the height of the Roman Empire. In a new study published online May 21 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark dug into the bloody details. "The ferocity of the Germanic tribes and peoples and their extremely violent and ritualized behavior in the aftermath of warfare became a trope in the Roman accounts of their barbaric northern neighbors," the authors wrote in the new study. Despite these historical accounts, little evidence of these practices has ever been discovered in archaeological finds until now. [See Photos of the Mutilated Iron Age Skeletons] "Comprehensive slaughter" Four pelvic bones were found wrapped around a single tree branch (A), suggesting a ritual component to the burial. The skeletons' limbs were also severed at the joints (B) and scattered around the site. Several in-tact skulls were found (C) but most appeared crushed by a club or other blunt object. (Image credit: Holst et al./ PNAS/ CC by 4.0) In the Alken Enge find, archaeologists unearthed 2,095 human bones and fragments from the peat and lake sediment across 185 acres of wetlands in East Jutland. These bones belonged to 82 distinct people seemingly all men, most of them 20 to 40 years old but likely account for just a fraction of the bones initially deposited in the area, the researchers wrote. After analyzing the geographic distribution of the bones, the team estimated a minimum of 380 skeletons were originally interred in the water. This population "significantly exceeds the scale of any known Iron Age village community," the researchers wrote, suggesting the men were recruited from a large area to participate in a common battle. Using radiocarbon analysis, the team dated the bones to between 2 B.C. and A.D. 54 sometime between the reigns of the Roman emperors Augustus (27 B.C. to A.D. 14) and Claudius (A.D. 41 to 54). During this time, Rome expanded its empire north into Europe but met fierce resistance from the scattered tribes who lived in modern-day Germany and Denmark. Some tribes allied with the Empire, and infighting between tribes was common. The bones of the men at Alken Enge are thought to be the casualties of one such tribal battle. Ancient weapons like axes, clubs and swords were found scattered about the site, and it was clear to the researchers that many of the skeletons had sustained critical battle wounds before dying. "The relative absence of healed sharp force trauma suggests that the deposited population did not have considerable previous battle experience," the researchers wrote. Indeed, the scrappy group of soldiers met "comprehensive slaughter." Ritual burial or hasty cleanup? Nearly 2,100 bones were found in East Jutland, Denmark. Numerous other finds have been discovered preserved in the region's peat bogs. (Image credit: Holst et al./ PNAS/ CC by 4.0) Finding boneyards of dead soldiers is no rarity in archaeology; what truly excited the researchers about Alken Enge was the seemingly ritualistic way in which the skeletons were buried. [25 Grisly Archaeological Discoveries] For starters, it appears that the skeletons were deposited in the lake after they had decomposed in the wild for anywhere between six months and a year. Nearly 400 of the bones were hatched with gnawing tooth marks probably left by scavenging animals such as foxes, wolves or dogs. Moreover, the absence of bacterial decay on the bones suggests that the men's inner organs were removed, decomposed or eaten by scavengers before their ultimate burial, the researchers wrote. Whether it was a friend or foe who did the burying is still unclear. The men's arm and leg bones were severed from their torsos. Few intact skulls were present, but many cranial fragments appeared to have been smashed with a club or other bludgeoning tool, the researchers said. Four pelvic bones hung around a single tree branch with deliberate intent. "Alken Enge provides unequivocal evidence that the people in Northern Germania had systematic and deliberate ways of clearing battlefields," the researchers concluded. The find certainly "points to a new form of postbattle activities" in Germanic tribes at the dawn of the current era but what it all means is still a mystery. Originally published on Live Science. An artist's conception of Kepler-69c, a super-Earth located in the habitable zone of a star in the constellation Cygnus, 2,700 light-years from Earth. If intelligent aliens did exist on this planet, they'd have a tough time leaving its surface, due to the planet's super strong gravity. Woe be to alien civilizations on large planets. On rocky worlds more massive than our own, gravity's powerful pull makes it nearly impossible for any life-forms that might exist there to launch satellites and explore the cosmos, previous research found. But one physicist has now come to extraterrestrials' rescue and figured out how they could develop a multi-part system called a space tether, which would slingshot spacecraft to the farthest reaches using a rotating orbital cable. "My initial reaction when I first heard about [the space tether] was, 'There was no way that would work,'" said Alex Howe, an astrophysicist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and author of a new paper describing the idea. "Then I did the calculations, and I was surprised how much fuel and energy it would save." [13 Ways to Hunt Intelligent Aliens] Super-Earths, super gravity Rocky planets up to 10 times larger than our own are often called super-Earths. They are among the most common worlds circling other stars; astronomers have discovered nearly 1,000 of them to date. Because these planets' stronger gravity would hold a thicker protective atmosphere that could shield against cosmic radiation, some researchers have speculated that the conditions on such worlds might be even more conducive to the development of life than those on Earth. But for technologically advanced aliens, super-Earths could be a bit of a trap, according to a previous paper on this subject. Escaping our planet's gravitational pull requires reaching a speed of around 25,000 mph (40,000 km/h) quite fast, but achievable with chemical rocket fuels. But on Kepler-20b a super-Earth that lies about 950 light-years from Earth and has roughly 10 times our planet's mass escape velocity, or the speed needed to escape the planet's strong gravity, is a staggering 60,000 mph (96,000 km/h). A rocket must also carry its own fuel on board, so every additional pound of propellant makes a rocket heavier, necessitating more fuel and thus making the vehicle even heavier an effect known as the tyranny of the rocket equation, after the mathematical function that describes spaceflight. So, while the Apollo program's Saturn V rocket weighed only about 3,000 tons (2,700 metric tons), an equivalent rocket on a super-Earth would need to weigh 440,000 tons (399 metric tons), making it as heavy as Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza. [The World's Most Beautiful Equations] Slingshot into orbit In the new paper, which was published May 16 in the preprint journal arXiv and has not been peer-reviewed, Howe outlined an alternative hybrid launch system: Instead of trying to fly all the way off-planet with just a rocket, aliens could first place an enormous cable in orbit around their world a feat that would be achievable with traditional rockets like ours, said Howe. This cable, sometimes called a skyhook, would be a few hundred miles in length and would slowly rotate around its center, the authors of the paper explained. One end of the cable would descend toward the ground as it spun, meaning that a rocket could be launched just a short way upward, perhaps 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 kilometers) in height, and get hooked on to the cable's end. The rotating skyhook would then continue spinning, taking the rocket upward and propelling it with a slingshot-like boost to get farther out. Howe likened the effect to a lacrosse player using their extra-long stick to throw a ball with remarkable speed. [Interstellar Space Travel: 7 Futuristic Spacecraft to Explore the Cosmos] While the concept of a skyhook itself has been around for a while, Howe said this is the first time that this propulsion method has been suggested for alien civilizations on super-Earths. Other proposed techniques, such as a 100,000-mile-high (160,000 km) space elevator, would require the development of exotic new materials whose strengths far exceed any currently known, said Howe. He added that never-built nuclear rockets, which would have engines much more powerful than the chemical rockets in use today, have also been posited as a means to get off super-Earths. But that technology essentially requires detonating a nuclear bomb beneath a spacecraft and then directing the blast in such a way as to direct the vehicle upward a technique that could eject damaging radiation toward the ground and require extremely sturdy materials to hold a spacecraft together. It's an interesting suggestion, said Avi Loeb, a theoretical physicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who was not involved with the new paper. But Loeb wondered if the madcap skyhook scheme would really be worthwhile for aliens to pursue. Materials holding together the skyhook would have to be only a bit less exotic and strong than those holding up a space elevator, he said. So alien research-and-development teams on super-Earths might find it more fruitful to invest in searching for more powerful chemical reactions to use as rocket fuel or figuring out the means to make nuclear rockets safer. Originally published on Live Science. In 1708, the San Jose a Spanish galleon ship carrying a stash of gold, silver and emeralds sank during a fierce battle against the British in the Caribbean Sea. Now, after sitting at the bottom of the ocean for 310 years, the San Jose's shipwreck has finally been officially identified, thanks to an analysis of the distinctive bronze cannons that sank with the ship. These bronze cannons still have ornate dolphins engraved on them, according to recordings made by the REMUS 6000, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that got within 30 feet (9.1 meters) of the shipwreck in 2015, according to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Although WHOI has known these details since 2015, only recently did affiliated agencies Maritime Archaeology Consultants (MAC), Switzerland AG and the Colombian government give the researchers permission to release the details to the public. [See Photos of the San Jose Shipwreck] Fiery end The San Jose was equipped with 62 guns, but it was no match against the British. Warships would have escorted the San Jose and its treasures on most of its trips from the New World to Europe every year. In fact, when it sank, the San Jose was carrying a treasure mined in Peru that, today, is worth between $4 billion and $17 billion, Live Science previously reported. These riches were intended to help fuel the long-running War of Spanish Succession, a conflict the Spanish and French were fighting against the English. The REMUS 6000 as it is deployed off the Colombian Navy research ship ARC Malpelo. (Image credit: Mike Purcell, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) But in 1708, the warship escorts were delayed, and the Spanish commander, Admiral Jose Fernandez de Santillan, count of Casa Alegre, decided to set sail anyway. That was a big mistake. Four English ships confronted the San Jose and its crew of more than 500 men. After a bloody cannon fight, the San Jose erupted into flames and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Treasure hunters and archaeologists have been trying to locate it ever since. That goal was accomplished on Nov. 27, 2015, when an international team of scientists found a shipwreck while aboard the Colombian Navy research ship ARC Malpelo, WHOI said. The wreck was found about 2,000 feet (600 m) underwater in a search that was approved by the Colombian Ministry of Culture. However, at the time, it wasn't clear whether the wreck was actually that of the San Jose or of another ship. So, in 2015, WHOI sent the REMUS 6000, which had helped initially locate the shipwreck off of Colombia's Baru Peninsula, to take a closer look. "The REMUS 6000 was the ideal tool for the job, since it's capable of conducting long-duration missions over wide areas," Mike Purcell, WHOI engineer and expedition leader, said in a statement. The AUV's recordings showed that the ship was partially covered in sediment. The decorative carving on the cannons, filmed during a subsequent dive, allowed Roger Dooley, the lead marine archaeologist at MAC, to confirm that the wreck was the San Jose, WHOI said. Teacups at the shipwreck site (Image credit: REMUS image, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) The San Jose has considerable cultural and historical significance, as it holds artifacts that will help historians learn about Europe's economic, social and political climate during the early 18th century, WHOI noted. The Colombian government plans to build a museum and conservation laboratory to preserve and display the shipwreck's contents, including its cannons and ceramics. The REMUS 6000 is owned by the Dalio Foundation and operated by WHOI. The vehicle has also played a key role in other deep-sea missions. In 2009, it helped find the wreckage of Air France Flight 447, the plane that crashed when it was flying from Brazil to France. And in 2010, the AUV helped map and photograph the Titanic's wreck site, WHOI said. Original article on Live Science. About 200 people blocked northbound and southbound traffic on the Mexican side of World Trade Bridge on Monday, causing long lines and traffic delays in the Sister Cities. Protestors are demanding answers from the government regarding their loved ones who were allegedly kidnapped by the Mexican navy. They want troops out of Nuevo Laredo, Mexican media reported. For more than a decade, the federal courts in the Eastern District of Texas were the undisputed Mecca for patent litigation. Businesses and individuals often filed double or triple the number of patent infringement lawsuits in East Texas than any other court districts in the country. But one year ago, the Eastern Districts reign over patent disputes ended when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods that severely restricted the jurisdictions where infringement cases can be filed. New data obtained by The Texas Lawbook shows that newly filed patent infringement lawsuits are down more than 65 percent in the Eastern District of Texas, which includes Beaumont, Marshall and Tyler, since the TC Heartland ruling was handed down last May 22 and down 74 percent since 2015. Statistics now show that there are clear winners and losers in the Supreme Courts decision. The ruling appears to have dealt a nearly fatal blow to patent trolls. As a result, federal courts in Delaware, the Northern District of Texas and even the Southern District of Texas, which includes Houston, have seen their patent dockets increase significantly during the past year. Hundreds of cases that used to be filed in the Eastern District are now being filed in other jurisdiction or they just are not being filed at all, said patent law expert Doug Cawley, a partner at McKool Smith. There were 126 patent infringement lawsuits filed in East Texas federal courts during the first quarter of 2018, which is 60 percent fewer than during the first three months of 2017, according to data research by Androvett Legal Media. During the past nine months, 385 patent suits were lodged in the Eastern District - down from 1,222 cases during the same period one year earlier, or a 68 percent decline. A Texas Lawbook analysis of the Androvett statistics shows that an average of 4.5 cases alleging patent breaches were filed daily in the Eastern District in the year leading up to the TC Heartland ruling. Since the decision, the average has fallen to 1.4 complaints per day. The decline in the number of patent lawsuits being filed in the Eastern District is not surprising to any lawyer practicing patent litigation, said Houston patent trial attorney Mike Heim of Heim, Payne & Chorush. TC Heartland made it significantly harder for businesses and individuals to sue those who have violated their patents in the Eastern District, Heim said. It has become extremely expensive to bring a patent infringement case and it is increasingly difficult to win. The result is fewer cases will be brought. The real result of TC Heartland and other recent patent litigation reforms is the decline of lawsuits filed by so-called patent trolls, which sue defendants over illegitimate or highly questionable patents and are willing to settle lawsuits for the mere price of the litigation. We have seen nowhere near the activity by patent trolls as we did a year or two ago, said Munck Wilson managing partner Bill Munck. Theres an equilibrium that has been achieved. While the decline in new patent cases filed in East Texas has been dramatic, intellectual property disputes have not disappeared from Texas. In fact, statistics show that the Eastern District is still the second favorite jurisdiction in the U.S. for filing infringement complaints. The federal court that witnessed the largest jump in new patent filings was the Northern District of Texas. Twenty-nine patent infringement cases were filed in the North Texas district during the first three months of 2018 - a 164 percent jump over the first quarter of 2017. The Androvett data shows that lawyers filed 70 new patent cases in the Northern District during the past three quarters - up from 32 new filings during the same time period a year earlier. The Southern District of Texas, which includes federal courts in Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi and McAllen, also witnessed a significant bump in its patent caseload. The data shows that the South Texas patent docket added 52 new infringement cases during the past nine months - a 79 percent jump from the year before. Despite the increase in caseloads in the Northern and Southern districts, the two jurisdictions combined handle a small fraction of patent cases compared to the Eastern District. The expectation that the Eastern Districts patent docket would completely dry up was unrealistic, Munck said. Other IP legal experts agree. The Eastern District has knowledgeable and experienced judges with well-established rules and procedures, Heim said. The Eastern District judges are fast and predictable. Theres a good reason why major companies such as Texas Instruments, AT&T and Whirlpool bring their patent cases in the Eastern District. Heim and others say the TC Heartland decision has actually made patent litigation more expensive. The Eastern District is extremely efficient because its procedures and processes are well-known and we know the judges and their rulings are more predictable, said Cawley. Now, we are in jurisdictions where the rules and procedures are different and unknown and we have no idea who the judges are or how they are likely to decide motions. The judges in the Eastern District have worked incredibly hard to make their district the No. 1 jurisdiction in the U.S. for patents, Cawley said. As a result, I think the patent docket is here to stay in the Eastern District. For a longer version of this article, please visit TexasLawbook.net. A former U.S. Air Force staff sergeant pleaded guilty Tuesday in a Sacramento federal court to accepting bribes from a contractor while serving in Afghanistan, prosecutors said. David A. Turcios, 41, of San Jose, was charged in a July 2017 indictment with two counts of seeking and receiving $8,500 in bribes from two Afghan contractors who sought deals with the government for their companies, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He pleaded guilty to the second count of the indictment before U.S. District Court Judge John A. Mendez of the Eastern District of California in Sacramento. Turcios is the eighth defendant to plead guilty in this case, the DOJ said. RELATED VIDEO: How crime in San Francisco compares with other US cities The bribery occurred while Turcios was working at the Humanitarian Aid Yard at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan where he was the yard supervisor. His duties included issuing contracts to various companies who would then be responsible for restocking supplies at the yard under the Commanders Emergency Response Program, according to the DOJ. As the yard supervisor from November 2010 until November 2011, Turcios helped award nine contracts to Afghan vendors with a value of over $2 million, the DOJ said. In September 2011, he admitted to allowing an Afghan vendor to recommend three companies for remaining replenishment contracts, the DOJ said. At the time, Turcios deployment was coming to an end and he only had time to give two of the contracts to people associated with the vendor. In return, Turcios was promised $3,500 from the vendor for the HA Yard replenishment contracts, prosecutors said. After returning to the U.S., Turcios continued sending emails urging officials from the U.S. Army to approve payments to the vendor in return for their involvement in the yard contracts. Turcios also obtained a voucher from the U.S. Army authorizing payment to the vendor. In February 2013, the vendor wired $500 of the promised $3,500 to the bank account of Turcios wife, the DOJ said. Turcios will be sentenced by Judge Mendez on Aug. 28 in Sacramento. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani Walking through the stream of daily commuters in San Franciscos bustling Powell Station, BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas looked around the bright corridors Monday with cautious optimism. Exactly one year has passed since he was sworn in as chief of the Bay Areas biggest regional transportation agency, and hes been busy tackling issues ranging from robberies, assaults and overt drug abuse to chronic fare evaders. And while BART hasnt seen sweeping improvements across its system since Rojas took over after leaving his position as top cop of the Santa Ana Police Department, things are incrementally moving in the right direction, he said. I believe weve made some progress, but I believe we have a lot more to do, Rojas said during a wide-ranging interview Monday with The Chronicle. We are seeing a downward trend in crime, and its definitely encouraging, and were seeing our officers being more visible and more proactive. He spoke as BART released its crime statistics for the first third of 2018 and as public scrutiny has intensified over increasingly overt drug users shooting up in the corridors of downtown San Francisco stations, including Powell and Civic Center. Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle The numbers show BARTs 229 sworn officers made more arrests between the beginning of January and the end of April this year than during the same time frame in 2017. Property and violent crimes have decreased overall compared with the same period last year. BART police arrested 148 people across the system for felony crimes and 410 for misdemeanors in the first third of 2018. Those numbers rose modestly compared with the 127 felony and 390 misdemeanor arrests during the same period the year prior. Violent crime, meanwhile, dropped 9 percent during the same period despite a 26 percent jump in the number of aggravated assaults and property crime dropped 2 percent. The numbers, Rojas said, are a move in the right direction after BART police saw a 24 percent increase in violent crime in 2017, driven largely by strong-arm robberies of electronic devices during train rides and on station platforms. In one particularly troubling April 2017 episode, one month before Rojas became chief, dozens of teens swarmed a train at Oaklands Coliseum Station, beating and robbing passengers. Since taking charge, Rojas said, hes deployed officers to work overtime to patrol in and around the Oakland station. Rojas took the helm of an agency that for the better part of the past decade has faced public criticism, including outrage over the 2009 police shooting of Oscar Grant, the 2014 death of an officer in a friendly-fire incident and the 2016 revelation that most security cameras on trains were decoys. The cameras were subsequently replaced. BART has faced larger questions about a lack of transparency, including in leveling with the public about crime. And as the agency works to stem an estimated $25 million-a-year problem of people riding trains for free, fare evaders continue to flout the rules, bypassing gates at every station. There have also been protests after an officer killed Sahleem Tindle, a man who was in an altercation outside the West Oakland station in January. After Rojas defended the officer, saying Tindle had already shot and wounded a second man, some criticized the chief for weighing in on a case that is still under investigation. As the chief and his command staff work to manage the ever-changing challenges across 46 stations in four counties, public pressure has more recently focused on people shooting up in San Franciscos stations. One solution BART hopes to implement is closing a notorious hallway at Civic Center Station thats become a haven for drug users. The plan just needs to be cleared by the state fire marshal. Station agents are also opening gates into the underground San Francisco stations later in the morning, delaying when people can file in before trains arrive. We have to be able to try different things, and if they dont work, you step back and try something else, said Rojas, who has been working with the San Francisco mayors office and Police Department to tackle the drug-use problem. The hotbeds for shooting up outside BARTs fare gates technically fall under the jurisdiction of both San Francisco and BART police, Rojas said. San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell said hes been meeting with BART officials in recent weeks and is finalizing plans for a team of city outreach workers from the Department of Public Health and other agencies to work inside the city stations. Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle Theyll be accompanied by San Francisco and BART police as part of a program to bring services to addicts and homeless people that he hopes will continue after he leaves office in June. At the end of the day, the condition of our BART stations in San Francisco is unacceptable, Farrell said. I want to make sure before leaving office that we have a plan in place that will have a dramatic effect. Rojas walked through Civic Center Station on Monday morning, and the floor of the notorious hallway recently cleared by the two non-sworn community resource officers who patrol Powell and Civic Center stations almost sparkled. But directly overhead in United Nations Plaza, a group of 50 or so people sat along a concrete ledge among scattered and soiled clothing. One man peered closely at brown fluid in a syringe, while another tightened a blue elastic band around his tattooed arm, readying a vein for a fix. Once police leave, many in the group will head back downstairs before the end of the day. Rojas said its up to BART and San Francisco police to establish a consistent presence at the stations to improve safety. We have to be very careful, because it turns into one of these games where youre chasing your own tail, and its not very effective or efficient for our officers to be doing that, Rojas said. So the coordination needs to be spot on. It isnt just the public that has grown frustrated with the rampant drug use. On Saturday, BART Director Bevan Dufty, whose district includes Civic Center and Powell stations, was getting on BART after seeing a show with his family at the Orpheum Theatre when he ran into five people getting ready to use drugs. Dufty said he called the chief and dispatchers, and police were there shortly after. I would say the chief has been responsive as it relates to changing the dynamics at the stations I represent, he said. I think that BART has turned a corner, and the rider experience is one of our most important qualities, along with safety and reliability. That progress, the chief emphasized, comes in baby steps. One goal for the coming year, he said, is to purchase electric motorcycles for San Francisco BART officers so they can quickly respond between stations. Currently, two officers patrol three station beats in San Francisco, and because of gridlocked street traffic, the fastest way to respond to an emergency is to take BART. If theres a critical incident, we want to be able to respond quickly, and while we have police cars, they are not as quick at getting around in the city as jumping on a motorcycle, Rojas said. In the coming year, he wants to hire 30 more officers to reach full staffing levels. Last year, BART hired 22 more officers the most since 2013 and the chief believes those fresh bodies have helped start to make BART safer and clean up stations. The 2018 crime statistics, he hopes, are just the start. Im not looking for perfection. Im looking for progress in pursuit of perfection, Rojas said. Thats what I want our riders to know. Were trying to make this as safe as possible. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky Crime statistics reported by BART Police (for first 4 months of 2018) 2 Rapes reported this year, down from six in 2017. 92 Robberies, a drop of 16 percent from 2017. 43 Aggravated assaults, up 26 percent. 137 Overall violent crimes, down 9 percent. 148 Felony arrests, up 16 percent. 410 Misdemeanor arrests, up 5 percent. 0 Homicides in first third of both years. Late last year I spent a few hours with Kinky Friedman, and during our conversation he revealed he'd made his first album of new songs in over 40 years. "Spitfire," he said it would be called. Nearly six months later the album has a release date and a new title. "Circus of Life" will be released on July 3, the first set of new original songs Friedman has written and recorded since 1976 when he put out "Lasso From El Paso," an iconic set of songs that also had a different title that did include El Paso but didn't involve a rope. A Moon gets eclipsed. Photo: Oliver Contreras/Getty Images Two months ago, Donald Trump agreed to an unprecedented face-to-face meeting with the supreme leader of North Korea, on a whim. According to reports, the president accepted Kim Jong-uns summit invitation before consulting his diplomatic advisers, or formulating a clear strategy for how to advance American interests through such an event. He also, apparently, did not look into what, precisely, the word denuclearize means to the leadership of North Korea. If he did, he would have understood that Kim had never actually expressed openness to unilaterally forfeiting his entire nuclear arsenal. Instead, the White House was taken off guard last week, when Kim Kye-gwan, a leading diplomat for the North Korean regime, threatened to cancel the summit with Trump if America persisted in pushing for unilateral nuclear abandonment. Thus, by the time South Korean president Moon Jae-in arrived at the White House Tuesday, Trump was no longer sure that the historic meeting he had scheduled for June 12 in Singapore would happen at all. Sitting beside Moon in the Oval office, Trump told reporters that the summit may not work out for June 12, and that if it doesnt happen, maybe it happens later. Moon, for his part, encouraged Trump to stay the course. The South Korean president expressed confidence that his American counterpart was capable of establishing permanent peace on the Korean peninsula, and reassured Trump that the person who is in charge is President Trump. The American president acknowledged that relations between Washington and Pyongyang had soured in recent days. But he pinned responsibility for that development on China suggesting that Kims combative attitude was a product of a second, secret meeting between Chinese president Xi Jinping and the North Korean leader. There was a somewhat different attitude after that meeting, the president said of Kim. I cant say that Im happy about it. But if any single person is responsible for the mood change in Pyongyang it is probably John Bolton, not Xi Jinping. Trumps national security adviser recently suggested that the White House would demand the Libya model of denuclearization an analogy that not only suggested the United States would demand the rapid dismantlement of North Koreas entire nuclear weapons program, but also needlessly evoked the downside risk of denuclearization for a rogue regime: Not long after Muammar Qaddafi forfeited his nuclear weapons, the U.S. intervened to topple his government. But the shadow hanging over the June 12 summit is larger than Bolton. A meeting between the American and North Korean leaders could realistically produce a worthwhile agreement for Pyongyang to reduce its nuclear capacity and suspend further testing in exchange for the United States reducing its military presence in the region. The trouble is the White House doesnt appear to have any interest in such a deal. Rather, it wants North Korea to forfeit its entire nuclear program in exchange for access to Western capital. That pitch worked with Iran (until America went back on its word to Tehran, anyway). But Kims communist regime has highly ambivalent feelings toward Western investors reaching into its domestic economy and, unlike Tehran, it already has many nuclear weapons. All of which is to say: Having a Fox News addict conduct diplomacy by gut impulse might actually be a poor way for the United States to make foreign policy. WhatsApp messages resulted in the arrest of a man who claimed he had no idea how 30 pounds of cocaine ended up in his vehicle, according to records filed in a Laredo federal court. A search of Miguel Angel Sosa Navas cell phone revealed incriminating WhatsApp messages stating that a vehicle loaded with cocaine was ready and that a friend of his would organize everything with those guys, states a criminal complaint filed June 12. Sosa, 40, of Monterrey, Mexico, was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and importation of a controlled substance. READ MORE: Trio accused of manning Laredo tire shop for Melendez drug ring sentenced to prison On June 9, Sosa arrived at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge in a 2006 Chevy Equinox bearing Mexican license plates. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer referred him to secondary inspection. A K9 unit alerted officers to the front of the vehicle. Homeland Security Investigations special agents responded to investigate. CBP told special agents they had discovered cocaine within the frame of the vehicle. It weighed 30 pounds and had an estimated street value of $233,920. Sosa allegedly agreed to talk to authorities in a post-arrest interview. According to the complaint, Sosa had told CBP he was traveling from Monterrey to Laredo to buy auto parts and shop at Wal-Mart. He had a different story with special agents, the complaint states. He told them he was traveling to San Antonio to help his friends father move some things back to Monterrey. RELATED: UISD teacher accused of using racial slurs, making lewd remarks loses appeal Sosa stated he was going to stay overnight in San Antonio, Texas. Sosa had no hygiene products or luggage, states the complaint. Then, authorities said they discovered incriminating messages in Sosas WhatsApp. Confronted with the messages and inconsistent statements, Sosa denied knowledge of the cocaine and insisted he had no idea how the narcotics got into the vehicle, according to court documents. Uganda will receive 37.1 million (about $44.2 million) from the Agence Francaise de Developement (AFD) after the two parties signed a financing agreement for the upgrading of a key transmission line. The financing of the 400 kV transmission line upgrade project will cover a distance of 135km between the towns of Masaka and Mbarara, according to a statement from the AFD. At the end of the upgrade, it is expected the transmission line will help in the evacuation of power from different sources and enable exports of electricity to neighbouring countries such as Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Germanys KfW is the co-financier of this project, which follows feasibility studies that were financed by the European Union Infrastructure Trust Fund three years ago. Uganda continues to face a lot of challenges in the transmission of its power. Many electricity generation projects such as Karuma and Isimba hydro power plant are expected to come on line over the next nine months, with worries that the transmission network might not be able to evacuate all this power. Government has come up with policies that will compensate large consumers that are able to put up power distribution networks. Also, the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme regional interconnection project is expected to ease on the burden of the transmission network. Proparco, FMO lend 40 million to SCOUL Meanwhile, Sugar Corporation of Uganda, the third largest sugar plant in Uganda, recently received 40 million from Frances Proparco to finance a new 26MW co-generation power plant. According to the financial arrangement, Proparco granted a 20 million loan and catalyzed funds from the Dutch development bank, FMO, which contributed a similar amount to the project. The new power plant, FMO said, will allow the company to produce green electricity at a competitive price to meet its own needs and to be sold to the national grid. The generation of the electricity will be done by burning bagasse, a residue of sugarcane. Electricity generation from the use of bagasse has become popular, attracting a number of factories into the industry, which has in turn shrunk the margins of the older firms from the sale of sugar. A nebulous mixture of humidity, hot air and clouds is giving forecasters pause this week - not because of its state of ferocity, but because of where it's located. The cluster of showers and thunderstorms in the Caribbean Sea east of Belize will probably track north into the Gulf of Mexico over the next five days. Once it gets there, some forecast models are suggesting that it could develop into a tropical storm. At the very least, it looks as though it will be a major rain event for the Gulf states east of Louisiana. On Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center was giving this blob of clouds a 40 percent chance of developing into something more significant over the next five days as it tracks north toward the Gulf Coast. But even if the storm does not develop, the broader system is going to dump a lot of rain on the Southeast. The National Weather Service predicts that as much as seven inches of rain could fall in southern Mississippi and Alabama as well as Florida. Southern Florida is already experiencing one of its rainiest Mays in recent history, and it could reach the top 10 wettest Mays, according to Capital Weather Gang contributor Brian McNoldy. As of Monday, Miami had 8.52 inches of rain this month, which was more than three times the normal amount through May 21. Even though the National Weather Service defines June 1 as the start of hurricane season, May tropical storms are not uncommon. It seems as if hurricane season is starting earlier each year. In 2017, the first storm formed April 19. In 2016, the first storm formed in January and managed to reach hurricane status. Tropical Storm Bonnie followed in late May. In 2015, Tropical Storm Ana formed in early May. However, nearly all of the early storms we know about in the Atlantic developed in the Western Caribbean or Atlantic Ocean. If this week's system spins up in the Gulf of Mexico, it would be the second early storm to do so, according to the FEMA's Michael Lowry. If this area of thunderstorms does turn into a tropical storm, its name would be Alberto. The last time Alberto was on the hurricane-name list was 2012, and it also formed in May. President Donald Trump's travel ban prevented Mohammed Al-Awadhi's Yemeni wife from joining him in Arkansas, but he was certain she would qualify for a waiver: She has a serious heart condition, she's married to a law-abiding U.S. citizen and the rejection of her visa would tear apart their marriage and leave her in a nation ravaged by war and famine. But Al-Awadhi has become increasingly skeptical that the Trump administration is applying its waiver standards to those who qualify. Five months after the travel ban went into effect, immigration advocates say the waivers - golden tickets provided by the State Department that allow certain citizens from the prohibited countries to immigrate to the U.S. based on special circumstances - have been nearly impossible to get. The State Department says it has granted hundreds of waivers, but declined to say who received them and how. The administration has touted the existence of such waivers in defense of the travel ban - which critics have labeled a "Muslim ban" - saying they allow the neediest to come to the United States and prove the policy is not racist or discriminatory. If the Supreme Court upholds the ban, which legal analysts expect it to do in a ruling next month, the waivers and certain exceptions will be solidified as the sole route into the United States for the 150 million citizens of five Muslim-majority countries - Syria, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Al-Awadhi's native Yemen - as well as North Korea. Certain Venezuelan government officials are also banned. During a hearing last month, the government told the Supreme Court that more than 400 people had been cleared for waivers since the ban went into effect in December.That number has now climbed to 655. But advocates believe the number of people who actually have received visas through waivers is much lower. The government has provided little guidance on how to get a waiver, they say, and many visa applicants are still unaware the waiver option exists. The State Department says that it automatically considers whether a visa applicant from a banned country is eligible for a waiver. But the department also acknowledged that a "cleared" or "granted" waiver does not mean the applicant actually has received a visa. A State Department official said many waiver recipients have received actual visas, but declined to give specifics. The travel ban stipulates that waivers can be granted to certain visa applicants deemed not to pose a national security threat, including people seeking to reunite with spouses, children or parents in the United States and those in need of urgent medical care, among others. Attorneys say hundreds or thousands of people who meet those descriptions are being denied. And during the Supreme Court hearing last month, Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned whether the waiver system is "window dressing" rather than an actual process. "The waiver process is a sham," said Gadeir Abbas, a senior litigation attorney in Ohio for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a group that has fielded hundreds of requests for help from people affected by the ban. Abbas said he knew of just three people who have received waivers. Queries to more than 30 immigration attorneys and major immigrant legal and advocacy groups across the country turned up fewer than 25 known waiver recipients from the Muslim-majority ban countries. They included a Yemeni woman who made it to Mississippi to be reunited with her husband and her critically ill child; an Iranian man who arrived on an EB-5 visa, reserved for people who invest at least a million dollars in a U.S. commercial venture; and a Syrian man and his wife who came to Georgia to seek medical treatment for his eye cancer. The stories of rejection - of people separated from spouses and children, of the elderly and the sick - were far more plentiful, and bear no distinguishable differences from those who received waivers, attorneys said. They included a U.S. citizen's 11-year-old Yemeni daughter who suffers from cerebral palsy and whose access to lifesaving medication has been hindered by the war in Yemen; an Iranian man whose mother was dying of metastatic breast cancer in Texas; and an 80-year-old Iranian man, whose American daughter wanted to bring him to the United States to live with her after his wife and son died. A State Department official said the government is unable to comment on specific visa application cases. Diala Shamas, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, said she had yet to find a successful waiver, despite meeting with dozens of Yemenis in dire circumstances. "Which begs the question of: How are you even considering the waivers?" she said. "It's hard to figure out whether there's any rhyme or reason to who's getting what and why." - - - Al-Awadhi, 39, came to the United States from Yemen in 2007 on a student visa to study English and finish his medical residency. He soon became an internal medicine physician at a university hospital in Little Rock and recently started seeing patients at Tacoma General Hospital in Washington state. In 2013, he became a U.S. citizen. A few years ago, Al-Awadhi went back to Yemen to marry Rasha Al-Zubaidi. As per tradition, Al-Awadhi's parents had introduced the couple from afar, and they had carried on a year of phone conversations - often discussing medicine because Al-Zubaidi wanted to become a nurse - before they met in person. When that moment came, Al-Awadhi said: "I fell in love at first sight." In the fall of 2017, nearly a year after filing the application for Al-Zubaidi's visa, she received notice of a consular interview in Djibouti. By that point, the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, where Al-Zubaidi lived, was besieged by airstrikes and famine. The airport was no longer functioning. And Al-Zubaidi, who suffers from rheumatic heart disease, was struggling to obtain her heart medicine. It took her a month of risky travel across desert borders, with stops at international airports in three different countries, to get to Djibouti. But Al-Zubaidi thought the interview in December went well; U.S. consular officials told her the visa would be approved, Al-Awadhi said. When she returned to pick up the visa a few weeks later, it was a different story. "The consular official said, 'I am so sorry, I know you are sick, and I know we told you we were going to give you your visa. But because of the proclamation, we have to reject it,' " Al-Awadhi said. "This shattered her." Al-Awadhi contacted his congressman, Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., for help. Hill, he said, called back in March to say he had spoken to the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti and that a waiver had been approved. But when Al-Awadhi tried to follow up with the embassy himself, he received no response. "I have tried to call them many times. I have sent them many emails. I have sent them many letters. Nothing," he said. He tried to contact the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) too, he added. "They have no answers for any of my questions." - - - A State Department official said that a visa applicant typically would be notified by phone or email if a waiver was granted. Even then, some applicants have found, the visa might not exist. The attorney for Nageeb Alomari, the father of the Yemeni girl with cerebral palsy, filed a notice to the Supreme Court this month, saying that the family recently received an email from a U.S. consular official to inform them that a waiver had been cleared in January, but that the case was still in administrative processing. The family still has not received visas. Visa issuance data shows that some people from the banned countries are getting visas. Between January and March, Yemenis received 26 immigration visas; Libyans received 22; Somalis received 60; and Iranians received 109. But it's unclear how many, if any, of those were granted through waivers. A large but unknown proportion of those who received visas are exempt from the ban to begin with, either because they applied under certain visa categories, such as those reserved for diplomats, or because they hold citizenship in a different country. For example, a Yemeni-born Swedish national seeking to immigrate to the United States could obtain a visa - using a Swedish passport - from the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, but would be counted under the State Department's tally of visa issuances for Yemen. Over the phone, Al-Awadhi tries to stay positive for his wife, who he said has grown increasingly despondent. Maybe the Supreme Court will put an end to this, he says. Maybe she'll suddenly receive a waiver. Maybe this will be nothing more than a story that they'll tell their children one day. But he's not sure he believes it. "I wake up every day, go into the hospital, treat people, take care of people, relieve people's suffering and illness and take care of their loved ones, and I'm remembering how my wife is suffering," Al-Awadhi said. "It's heartbreaking. I honestly feel like I failed her." Washington President Donald Trump praised Gina Haspel on Monday as she was sworn in to lead the CIA, congratulating her on becoming the first woman to lead what he called "the most elite intelligence professionals on the planet." But even as Haspel took over as CIA director, conservatives and some Trump allies were accusing her of being part of the "deep state" conspiracy that the president claims has been conducting a "witch hunt" against him. Trump supporters have been raising questions about Haspel's loyalty to the president, and urging without providing any evidence an examination of what she knew about the intelligence community's efforts to connect Trump to Russia. In particular, they have questioned whether Haspel, a 33-year agency veteran who was CIA station chief in London, knew of the FBI'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 Trump's presidential campaign. "Who was the CIA London Station Chief in 2016?" Jack Posobiec, a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist, asked in a tweet last week. "Gina Haspel." In a letter last week, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., asked Haspel if the CIA had been involved in spying on Trump or if the agency had cooperated with foreign intelligence services to monitor Trump in the years before he officially became a candidate. It is unclear how much Haspel knew about the FBI activities. But it is standard procedure for the station chief in a major city to be briefed on any major bureau activities in her territory. Just the possibility that Haspel knew of the informant in the Russia probe is enough for some to accuse Haspel of being part of an anti-Trump intelligence bureaucracy they believe is arrayed against the president and his agenda. WASHINGTON - Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency barred reporters from three news organizations, allegedly shoving one out of the building, after they had sought to cover a meeting attended by other journalists on Tuesday. The incident occurred at a summit on water contaminaton at the EPA's headquarters in Washington called by the agency's administrator, Scott Pruitt. Reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and the environmental publication E&E News were prevented from attending the meeting, which included about 200 representatives of regulatory and industry groups. AP reporter Ellen Knickmeyer tweeted that EPA guards grabbed a reporter by the shoulders and "shoved" the journalist out of the building. Knickmeyer declined to identify herself as the reporter, but AP later confirmed that she was the one excluded. In a statement, Knickmeyer's boss, AP Executive Editor Sally Buzbee, called the episode "alarming and a direct threat to the public's right to know about what is happening inside their government." She added, "It is particularly distressing that any journalist trying to cover an event in the public interest would be forcibly removed." CNN reporter Rene Marsh was also prevented from attending, a network spokeswoman said, after "multiple attempts to attend." The spokeswoman said EPA "selectively excluded" the network and others. "We understand the importance of an open and free press, and we hope the EPA does, too," she said. The reserved media list for the event included The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Politico, Bloomberg, the Daily Caller, Hearst, the Hill newspaper, MLive and NJ Advance Media, among others. Several reporters, including those from The Post, did not claim their seats, and instead watched the morning event on a live stream. EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said not all journalists who sought entry could be accommodated. "This was simply an issue of the room reaching capacity, which reporters were aware of prior to the event," he said in a statement. "We were able to accommodate 10 news outlets and provided a live stream for those we could not accommodate." However, reporters and people at the EPA said agency officials have complained about the three news organizations in the past. The agency removed the AP's environmental reporter, Michael Biesecker, from its master email list last summer after complaining about the fairness of Biesecker's coverage of Pruitt, who has become embroiled in a series of ethical scandals. A spokeswoman for E&E News, Kate Ling, said her organization's reporter, Corbin Hiar, was turned away, at first without explanation. She said the agency later said there was no room for him. She said she was not aware of any specific complaints about E&E's coverage of EPA. According to Knickmeyer, the agency's guards prevented the reporter from passing through a security checkpoint inside the building. When she asked to speak to a public affairs representative, the guards grabbed her by the shoulders and forcibly removed her from the building. Wilcox said he had no information about the encounter between the reporter and the guards. By midafternoon, the EPA reversed course and permitted Knickmeyer to cover the conference's afternoon session. Knickmeyer said that an adviser to Pruitt called to apologize to her and that officials were looking into the shoving incident, according to AP. Although the White House and Trump administration agencies have generally accommodated reporters at public events, journalists protested last year when the White House barred reporters from several news organizations from an informal briefing. CNN, the New York Times, Politico, the Los Angeles Times and BuzzFeed were excluded from the meeting with then-press secretary Sean Spicer, who handpicked representatives from several conservative outlets. Time magazine and AP boycotted the meeting in protest of the exclusion of other news outlets. Where's Fat Leonard? Leonard Glenn Francis, the central player in the worst corruption scandal in Navy history, was scheduled to testify for the first time next week about his crooked dealings with dozens of Navy officers. The Navy subpoenaed the 350-pound defense contractor as the star witness at a military trial in Norfolk, Virginia, for a commander accused of graft. In a twist that has caught the Navy officials by surprise, it now appears Francis will not come to Norfolk after all. Federal authorities who have kept him locked up - and effectively silent - since his arrest five years ago in San Diego have told the Navy Francis does not have clearance to attend. Publicly, they will not say why, or even reveal where he is. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Marshals Service, which had been in charge of Francis's detention, said he is no longer in the agency's custody but declined to elaborate. The U.S. attorney's office in San Diego, which prosecuted Francis and persuaded him to turn state's evidence, also declined to comment. Two people familiar with the case, however, told The Washington Post Francis's health has deteriorated since last year and that he was secretly released from federal detention in December so he could receive urgent medical care at a San Diego hospital. They said the 53-year-old maritime tycoon was discharged from the hospital in March and since then has been allowed to live in a private apartment in San Diego while he continues to receive medical care. He is confined there and under round-the-clock surveillance; in an unusual arrangement, he is footing the bill for his own security expenses, the two people said. Francis's release and care plan were approved under seal by a federal judges, according to two people close to the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter has not been made public. They said Justice Department officials kept the Navy in the dark about Francis' status and medical condition until last week. Devin Burstein, an attorney for Francis, acknowledged in an email his client had been granted a medical furlough and was being monitored under "24-hour security." "Although I am not going to discuss the details of Mr. Francis' private health matters, the current furlough is entirely appropriate given the serious circumstances," Burstein said. "The court, the prosecutors and the U.S. Marshals have handled the matter objectively, professionally, and humanely." Last June, Burstein said during an open hearing in federal court in San Diego that Francis was wheelchair-bound, suffering from knee problems and needed a hernia operation. He also suggested the Marshals Service was giving Francis inadequate medical care. Prosecutors criticized the Marshals Service for being uncooperative and failing to appear at the hearing to answer questions about Francis's ailments. "Apparently, these issues of Mr. Francis's medical health that the marshals keep are such a significant secret that if they were to divulge any of the information to any of us, candidly, they would have to lock us in a room or kill us," said Mark Pletcher, an assistant U.S. attorney, according to a transcript of the June hearing. In 2013 and again in 2015, federal judges denied requests from Francis to be released on bail after prosecutors argued he was a risk to flee the country. They said he might slip over the Mexican border to Tijuana and then escape to his native Malaysia by air or by sea. Francis's health is a critical matter of concern for the Justice Department and the Navy. Both have relied on his cooperation to prosecute more than two-dozen criminal defendants and to investigate hundreds of other Navy officials suspected of accepting lavish dinners, paid sex and other gifts from his Singapore-based company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia. Francis pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribery and defrauding the Navy of $35 million. Since then, he has been helping investigators in hopes of getting a lighter sentence. Court records indicate he has shared mountains of evidence about his contacts with Navy officers since the early 1990s. In one recent filing, federal prosecutors revealed they had obtained more than 7 million records from computer servers in Singapore belonging to Glenn Defense, which held lucrative contracts to resupply and refuel Navy vessels in Asian ports. Besides Francis, 22 defendants have pleaded guilty in federal and military courts. Eleven cases are pending. The only case that has come close to trial so far is that of Navy Cmdr. David A. Morales, a former contracting official whose court-martial is scheduled to begin May 29 in Norfolk. He is charged with conspiracy, bribery, graft and other crimes. Early this month, Navy officials assured a military judge Francis was healthy enough to travel to Norfolk. A subpoena was issued to compel him to testify. Last week, however, in a closed hearing in San Diego to review the subpoena, U.S. District Court Judge Janis Sammartino would not give Francis permission to leave California, according to the people familiar with the case. They said the judge ordered prosecutors to inform the Navy and other defense attorneys about Francis's status and medical condition. Capt. Mike Kafka, a Navy spokesman, said the Navy and Justice Department "continue to work in close cooperation," but declined to comment further. The Navy has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to figure out how to proceed in the Morales case. Among the options: move the court-martial to San Diego, or allow Francis to testify via videolink. The Navy has accused Morales of taking more than $5,000 worth of gifts from Francis, including airfare, four suckling pigs, the services of prostitutes and tickets to a Julio Iglesias concert and a Gucci fashion show. Morales has not entered a plea. WASHINGTON - A McDonald's worker in Kansas City said her boss told her she has a "nice body." Another in New Orleans said a co-worker forced her into the men's bathroom and pinned her against a wall. Another in St. Louis said when she reported lewd comments made to her at work, a manager replied, "You'll never win that battle." Cooks and cashiers at McDonald's stores in eight states filed 10 complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this week, alleging they have faced sexual harassment, assault and retaliation on the job. The company said it did not tolerate misconduct. "At McDonald's Corporation, we are and have been committed to a culture that fosters the respectful treatment of everyone," McDonald's spokeswoman Terri Hickey said in a statement. "There is no place for harassment and discrimination of any kind in our workplace." The #MeToo movement has turned a spotlight on workplace misconduct, starting with women in Hollywood. But workers in food services and retail file more than three times as many harassment complaints as those in higher-paying fields, according to a recent analysis of government data from the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank in Washington. A 2016 survey by Hart Research Associates found 40 percent of women in the fast food industry say they've encountered unwanted sexual behavior at work, including suggestive comments and groping. Complaints from the McDonald's workers were filed with financial support from the TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund, a $21-million charity launched in January to support low-income workers who want to report sexual harassment. (About 20,000 people have donated to the effort in the last five months.) The National Women's Law Center, the advocacy group running the fund, said it has received more than 2,700 requests for the assistance. "They represent every type of job and industry you can think of," said Sharyn Tejani, director of the TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund. "Frequently they write in all caps: 'SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME.'" Employment lawyers say workers at independently owned stores could be particularly vulnerable to abuse. The vast majority of McDonald's roughly 14,000 outlets in the United States are operated by franchisees. McDonald's could say, "This really isn't my doing - talk to the franchisee," said Emily Martin, general counsel at the National Women's Law Center. "They should be showing leadership in this moment, though, and work to ensure that franchisees are taking the steps to prioritize the safety of people working under the brand." Hickey said in a statement the company trusts its franchisees to appropriately handle complaints. "McDonald's Corporation takes allegations of sexual harassment very seriously and are confident our independent franchisees who own and operate approximately 90 percent of our 14,000 U.S. restaurants will do the same," Hickey said. The Labor Department scrapped Obama-era guidelines last year that suggested chains such as McDonald's be held accountable for mistreatment that occurs at any of its stores, regardless of the owner. (The document wasn't legally binding, but it was designed inform judges who rule on such cases.) Fight for $15, a group that supports low-income workers, co-ordinated the EEOC complaints on behalf of the McDonald's workers and hosted a press call Tuesday with three of the workers. The 10 workers who filed the complaints were all employees of individual franchise owners. Breauna Morrow, a 15-year-old crew member in St. Louis, told the press call one of her co-workers began to harass her "almost immediately." "He would make comments about my body, what he would do to me," the teenager said. One question he asked her, according to her EEOC complaint: "Have you ever had white chocolate inside you?" When she asked her manager how to handle it, Morrow said they replied: "You will never win that battle." Tanya Harrel, who works at a store in New Orleans, told the press call she felt helpless after telling her boss that a co-worker had grabbed her butt. "My supervisor didn't take it seriously," she said. So, after another employee pushed her into a bathroom and tried to have sex with her, she didn't think the company would punish him. "I didn't even report the second incident," Harrel said. Kimberley Lawson, who works in Kansas City, said her manager sent her home early after she rebuffed his sexual advances. "I reported his behavior to the GM," she said, "but nothing was done." Sam Kazibwe When you meet Dr Sam Kazibwe Keewaza for the first time, you will be disappointed; very disappointed. When you hear him speak on radio about history and contemporary issues, you might think in terms of age, he is in the leagues of CBS late Bassajjakkambwe, or at least in that of NBS Dr Anas Kaliisa. When you hear him talk about the history of Uganda, former presidents Idi Amin and Apollo Milton Obote, among others, you might think he was a participant in those events. But he was born just 34 years ago. He will discuss the politics of South Africa, Kenya, Ivory Coast, United States of America and Russia with the same ease and flow as though he was talking about the feud between Asuman Basalirwa and the opposition FDC over who should stand on the joint opposition ticket in the upcoming Bugiri municipality elections. Thats why I had second thoughts about this interview; I dont want to disappoint my listeners who hold me in very high regard on the basis of my age; they think Im an old man and you want to blow my cover, a smiling Kazibwe tells me as we settle down for an interview at Hotel Sojovalo in Mengo, not far away from his station of duty at Bulange, the seat of the Central Broadcasting Services (CBS). WHO IS SAM KAZIBWE? Last month Sam Kazibwe entered the exclusive club of Ugandan media scholars with a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) degree, the highest academic accomplishment in this field; there are less than 10 others of his ilk. His case is even more salient because he is now the only active journalist in Uganda with a PhD. Others like Dr Peter Mwesige, George Lugalambi and William Tayeebwa among others, have long abandoned the newsroom. Kazibwe is the first born of four children of Reverend Canon Steven Ssenyonjo Keewaza and Joyce Keewaza, born in 1984. His ancestral origins are in Mubende district but he was born in Kooki, Rakai district where his mother hails from. Towards his birth, his mother moved back to her parents home in Kateerere, where she could be given the needed attention for her first child. Thats how I ended up being born in a banana plantation, Kazibwe says with a grin. Kazibwe went to Makonzi primary school, Kako Secondary School for O-level, Lubiri Secondary School for A-level, Uganda Christian University Mukono for a bachelors degree in mass communication, Makerere University for his masters degree in the same field, before continuing to the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa for his PhD in media studies, which he got last month. Kazibwes parents are his and his siblings source of inspiration for academic excellence. His mother grew from being a grade II primary teacher to holding a masters degree. Likewise, his father grew from having a diploma in theology to now holding a masters degree in the same discipline. Despite their meagre resources the father was a rural priest and the mother a primary teacher Kazibwes parents never settled for less when it came to their childrens education. I can tell you for my PLE, I was in Makonzi Boarding primary school in Mubende. Those who are old enough know that in the 1970s to the early 1990s it was one of the top ten primary schools in this country, Kazibwe says. Two of his siblings are still at university, one pursuing a bachelors degree in commerce and the other in economics, while the third one is a surveyor. Other than his parents, Kazibwe has also been inspired by great African academicians such as Professor Ali Mazrui, Walter Rodney and Mahmood Mamdani, among others. BECOMING AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA Im not your ordinary student, right from primary school. When I was at Kako SS, I would go to the section of the library where books that were off the syllabus [were kept] and I was reading those books to widen my knowledge and understanding of things. I came face-to-face with great African and international scholars at quite an early age. We had been fed on Eurocentric views for many years but these scholars tried to give issues an African perspective, Kazibwe says. Reading such material widened his understanding so much that many of his listeners on CBS fm referred to him as professor way before he got the PhD. For his desire to share knowledge, Kazibwe ended up as a lecturer at Uganda Christian University and before that he was an instructor at Datamine Technical Business Institute in Wandegeya, where he taught journalism. Before I started teaching, people would come to me and ask, which book did you read to become this knowledgeable? Certainly I couldnt point at any single one, but teaching helps me inspire people to even be better than me; its the most rewarding thing, Kazibwe says. LIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA Kazibwe went to South Africa in 2015 at the peak of the xenophobic attacks against blacks from outside South Africa. Several people from countries including Zambia and Mozambique were attacked, hacked or immolated by black South Africans accusing them of stealing their jobs. Black South Africans would rather stay with a Pakistani, Indian or a White from another country, but not a black African from another country. Their thinking is that youre in South Africa to take their jobs. Even when you have been admitted to their universities to do a PhD, they think probably that opportunity should have gone to one of their own because there are not so many black Africans that are admitted to do PhDs, Kazibwe says. It was also during Kazibwes three-year stay at KwaZulu-Natal that countrywide demonstrations known as Fees Must Fall Campaign by students against the exorbitant university fees were taking place. Kazibwe was left aghast by the level of activism and aggressiveness of the South African population that he says cannot be compared to Uganda in any way. Because of their history of fighting against oppression by the minority white rule, the people of South Africa have developed genes that resist anything in form of discrimination. When you see them starting a procession, you will be amazed by the way they are organized, the way they sing, the way they dance, the way one leads them from one building to the other; its like its choreographed, Kazibwe says. He particularly remembers one demonstration that surprised him the most in his first year at the University of KwaZulu-Natal; a group of students came and demonstrated outside the university because they had not been admitted to the institution. They were saying, this is a government university; why didnt you admit us yet we all need to study? During such demonstrations, the external office responsible for foreign students advises them to stay in a secure place, and not get involved in the demonstrations. Kazibwe says in the middle of their demonstrations, the moment they realize that you cannot speak their local languages, they can turn against you. You live always with an existential threat as a foreigner in South Africa, he says. POLITICS Since 2005 when he started out as a political reporter at Radio Simba, Kazibwe has interviewed the who-is-who in this country; ministers, members of parliament, politicians, religious leaders, and civil society leaders. With his wide knowledge on Africa and developing counties, Kazibwe is convinced Uganda is headed for a cliff if President Yoweri Museveni continues hanging on as president. He has done a number of good things for this country but longevity in the office of the president in Africa has always had disastrous consequences. We cant claim that if we continue on this path, it will be different from countries like Ivory Coast. Many people dont know that there was a time when that country was the superpower of West Africa under the dictatorship of Felix Houphouet Boigny. His dictatorship created artificial stability for over 30 years; everybody had to go to Ivory Coast for greener pastures. It didnt occur to him that he was an ordinary mortal like anybody; its coming to 30 years but Ivory Coast is a laughing stock, Kazibwe says. When asked about his best politician in the ruling NRM party, Kazibwe thinks for a moment before answering that it is a tough question. He says at a point when you think that someone is really good, they do something that erodes everything. But Kazibwe is all praises for FDC former president Gen Gregory Mugisha Muntu. He says Muntu is a very good leader and compares him to the Democratic Party founding leader, Benedicto Kiwanuka, who was killed in 1972 on the orders of then president Idi Amin. The ideals Kiwanuka stood for, people in the 1960s couldnt understand them but those of us who have lived today have understood him. He was so principled that it affected his political career and eventually led to his death. Likewise, when you speak with people who have worked with Muntu in the UPDF, East African Legislative Assembly and the FDC, they will tell you he is a systems person, and for me that is the best leader, Kazibwe says. The trouble in countries like Uganda where the majority of voters are peasants who settle for less, politicians can lie day-in day-out and get away with it. When you host a politician, he/she will lie with impunity; they dont give a damn. Even topics they dont understand, they want to discuss them. Its only Mugisha Muntu that I have met and he says, please I dont think I have the competency to discuss that topic, he says. Kazibwe says his best talk show host is Peter Kibazo who hosts Olutindo and Gasimbagane ne Bannamawulire on Radio Simba and formerly host of Issues at Hand on the defunct WBS TV. He says he had an opportunity to be part of a program hosted by Kibazo and found him very knowledgeable. He is not the type that you would appear before and distort facts, he says. Outside Uganda, Kazibwe loves CNNs Christiane Amanpour and Al Jazeeras Fareed Zakaria. Kazibwe left Radio Simba in 2010 when together with Abby Mukiibi and Martin Oscar Kintu he went to start Baba FM in Jinja, owned by Moses Grace Balyeku, the MP for Jinja Municipality West. He was there for one year then joined CBS in 2011 as head of research. He says joining CBS fm, a dream for every radio reporter he knows in this country, opened horizons for him in terms of people he associates with both professionally and politically. What you do is the most important thing; many people have cursed this profession but Im not one of them. I have never had any second thoughts that I should have pursued another profession. If you gave me another chance, I would still choose journalism because it has many opportunities but the difference is that its proactive; it rewards only those who are aggressive. I also believe that merit works; every place that I have been to, I didnt have to know anybody. Once you do some good piece of work, it sells you and I think that is what has helped me. Kazibwe is the host of Londoola Ensonga, a political talk show that airs between 8-9pm every week day on 88.8 Cbs FM Eyobujjajja. He is also the producer and presenter of Kalabalaba, a program that airs between 11-12noon every Sunday on 89.2 CBS FM Emmanduso. The programme focuses on global politics and its implications on world peace and stability. For now, Kazibwe says he is going to focus his efforts on his programs and teaching. bakerbatte@observer.ug In case you somehow missed it, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married last weekend as the sun shone down on Windsor Castle. As with all senior royal marriages, Queen Elizabeth bestowed a gift to the newlyweds: the honor of new titles. Just hours before the nuptials on May 19, Kensington Palace announced that the couple were to officially become the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Sussex is a county on the south coast of England, home to beach resorts, historic towns and picturesque landscapes. Prince Harry's elder brother, Prince William, became the Duke of Cambridge after his marriage to Catherine Middleton in 2011. She is now formally known as the Duchess of Cambridge. But no royal title is complete without its own rich English history. The Sussex dukedom dates back to 1801 and harbors the tale of two marriages, family disputes and one particularly controversial prince. The first to hold the title of the Duke of Sussex was Prince Augustus Frederick, who was born in England in 1773. He was the sixth son and ninth child of King George III and his wife Queen Charlotte. The prince led a somewhat rebellious life, breaking with royal tradition when he secretly married Lady Augusta Murray in Rome in 1793 - without the consent of his father, King George. Bad idea. The 1772 Royal Marriages Act stipulates that royals (or at least the first six in line to the British throne) must seek approval of the reigning monarch when it comes to picking a partner to marry. Failing to get permission from his father meant that the marriage of Prince Augustus and Lady Augusta Murray went unrecognized and was technically void. The couple separated in 1801, the same year Prince Augustus was granted the Dukedom of Sussex. As a result, neither Lady Augusta nor her two children inherited the title of "Sussex." When the duke married his second wife, Lady Cecilia, in 1831, their marriage also contravened the Royal Marriages Act and so went unrecognized. Like the duke's first wife, Lady Cecilia never acquired the title of duchess. Augustus didn't cause a stir only when it came to marriage. The duke was an avid reader with a passion for science, religion and learning. He was particularly proud of his musical talents, according to a BBC profile, which quoted him boasting: "I have the most wonderful voice that was ever heard - three octaves - and I do understand music." He was known for his liberal and political views. According to the Royal Collection Trust, he supported abolition of the slave trade and fought to end restrictions on Jews. In 1815 he was made a patron of the Jews' Hospital and Orphan asylum in Mile End, East London, now known as Norwood House. Despite his efforts to challenge inequality and social injustices, the prince's activism drove a wedge between the family, leaving him and his father very much estranged. Although centuries apart, it can be argued that the two Dukes of Sussex share more than just a title. Like Prince Harry, the first Duke of Sussex was considered somewhat of a regal rebel who challenged age-old traditions and shattered royal stereotypes throughout his lifetime. Despite his complicated family relationships, the Duke of Sussex was considered Queen Victoria's favorite uncle and did the honor of escorting her down the aisle when she married Prince Albert in 1840. Prince Augustus died in London in 1843. His title - the Duke of Sussex - expired with him until Queen Elizabeth revived it for her grandson. Harry's wife, Meghan Markle, is the first Duchess of Sussex, which means the outspoken mixed-race American has made history once again. The new Duchess of Sussex immediately generated headlines Monday by declaring herself a feminist on the official website of the U.K. monarchy. Her new biography states: ""I am proud to be a woman and a feminist." The first Duke of Sussex would be impressed. - - - Part of a continuing series about events of the past that remain relevant. WASHINGTON - Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the White House on Tuesday to remove an image of Kim Jong Un from a coin meant to commemorate the planned summit next month between the North Korean dictator and President Donald Trump. Schumer's call, made via Twitter, came a day after media reports surfaced about the design of the "challenge coin," which features likenesses of both Trump and Kim, who is described on the coin as his nation's "Supreme Leader." When a teenager hurled fireworks into a parched canyon near one of Oregon's most scenic hiking trails, sparking a cloud of smoke to rise up toward him and his friends, some in the group reportedly giggled and recorded video, oblivious to the danger. What came next was a wildfire that raged through the Columbia River Gorge and, eight months later, a court order mandating the teen pay more than $36 million in restitution. Hood River County Circuit Judge John Olson in an opinion released Monday acknowledged that the teen could not pay that full amount. But the damage caused by the Sept. 2 fire was substantial: After the firework ignited dry bush, a blaze spread to more than 48,000 acres, wrecking many parts of the gorge's recreation area and costing firefighters at least $20 million, the Oregonian reported last fall. It would be known as the Eagle Creek fire, which burned for two months and was not 100 percent contained until Nov. 30. The fire endangered popular landmarks such as Multnomah Falls and destroyed the Oneonta Tunnel on the Historic Columbia River Highway, about 30 miles east of Portland. It forced hundreds of people to evacuate to cities between Portland and Hood River, Oregon, closed the Interstate 84 for 10 days and threatened 5,000 homes and buildings, according to the Oregonian. At least four homes were destroyed. In Portland, ash fell from the sky like snow, evoking memories of the eruptions of Mount St. Helens in 1980, according to the Willamette Week. In Cascade Locks, a summer tourist destination near the Columbia River , businesses took an estimated hit of more than $2 million, the Oregonian reported. The teen's mother told the Oregonian in November that the fire was "a trauma" for her 15-year-old son, who authorities at the time suspected caused the fire, and that "It was his mistake." She didn't elaborate, fearing public backlash against their large Ukrainian family and the boy's school-age siblings. In February, the teen admitted to eight counts of reckless burning of public and private property, two counts of depositing burning material on forest land, and counts of second-degree criminal mischief and recklessly endangering another hiker, according to court records. He was sentenced to five years of probation and 1,920 hours of community service with the U.S. Forest Service, according to the Oregonian. He was also ordered to write apology letters to 152 people who because of the flames were trapped on the Eagle Creek trail, as well as to the city of Cascade Locks, the Forest Service, Oregon State Parks, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and the state's transportation department, among other groups. His attorneys have said that the $36 million restitution amount is steep, arguing that such a number violated the U.S. and Oregon constitutions, believing the amount to be "cruel and unusual punishment," according to court records. But Olson in his opinion wrote the restitution was "clearly proportionate to the offense because it does not exceed the financial damages caused by the youth." The restitution, he wrote, includes more than $21 million on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service, $12.5 million to the Oregon Department of Transportation, more than $1.6 million to the Oregon State Fire Marshall, more than $1 million to Union Pacific Railroad and varying amounts to Oregon State Parks, Allstate Insurance and Iris Schenk, who lost her home in the fire. Schenk's daughter, Carrie, told KATU News shortly after their Warrendale, Oregon, house burned that she saw the flames heading toward her and fled, taking only her dogs and a few personal things. Schenk went to Portland to stay with family before returning to the home to see what remained. "Right now she doesn't think it's real. She thinks it's a nightmare," Schenk's daughter said. "And she said she had a feeling it was gone that night when she went to bed she's like -- she had a funny feeling that it wasn't going to be there when she woke up and she was right." Olson noted in his opinion that the teen has some options for paying the millions off. The court could authorize a supervising authority to create a payment plan, he wrote. He also said it was possible for the teen to pay restitution for just 10 years if he successfully completed his probation, complied with payment plans and did not commit any other offenses. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is moving closer to freeing the embattled Chinese company ZTE Corp. from severe penalties over export law violations, telling reporters that existing restrictions had harmed American firms that sell material to China. But his willingness to release restrictions on ZTE just one month after his Commerce Department nearly put the giant telecommunications firm out of business ran into a torrent of opposition from Congress, with lawmakers from both parties accusing Trump of being outmaneuvered by Beijing and potentially putting U.S. national security at risk. His senior advisers are working on the outlines of a deal with Chinese leaders that would allow ZTE to resume buying American parts for its telephones, something that had been banned by the Commerce Department's restrictions last month. The Commerce Department could instead replace that ban with new fines or other requirements, such as leadership changes at the company. These specifics have not yet been finalized, but Trump suggested Tuesday that the fine could be around $1 billion. "The objective was not to put ZTE out of business," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday. "The objective was to make sure they abide by our sanctions programs." Trump told reporters at the White House that he was discussing a number of scenarios with Chinese officials and that it was possible the whole process might fall apart, in which case he would impose sanctions on Chinese exports to the United States. He remarked on the criticism he has received from Capitol Hill about going too easy on China. "For those who say maybe Trump is getting a little bit easy - ZTE, we closed it," Trump said. "It wasn't another administration. It was this administration that closed it." The talks about relaxing restrictions on the company remain fluid. It was unclear how quickly a resolution could be reached, though discussions will likely pick up when Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross visits China early next month. Amid reports of the bargaining, the Chinese government Tuesday said it was reducing its tariffs on imported cars to 15 percent from 25 percent, meeting a longstanding U.S. demand. Some analysts said the president was abandoning his goal of a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S.-China trading relationship in return for minor Chinese commitments. "The administration has done an about-face in its approach on trade with China," said Scott Kennedy, an expert on Chinese business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He added: "China has been let off the hook, and although 'reforms' are coming, they are likely to be modest, gradual and incremental. All the while, the party-state will continue to fully draw on all of its industrial-policy tools to promote Chinese national champions at home and abroad." ZTE is partly owned by the Chinese government. In 2017, it pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to illegally shipping to Iran telecom equipment that contained U.S. parts. The company also settled civil charges with the Commerce and Treasury departments, agreeing to pay a combined fine of $1.19 billion and be subject to a court-appointed monitor for three years. At the time, Justice Department officials said that ZTE had engaged in an "elaborate scheme" to outwit U.S. sanctions designed to keep Iran from acquiring sophisticated communications systems. Even after its cheating was detected, ZTE set up an in-house team charged with finding new ways around American law and with deleting incriminating material from its computers. Last month, the Commerce Department prohibited U.S. companies from selling their materials to ZTE for seven years, a development that was widely seen as a death sentence for the company. Ross told reporters that ZTE had violated the terms of its settlement with the government by failing to discipline several executives who were responsible for misleading U.S. investigators. Chinese leader Xi Jinping personally asked Trump to intercede, and Trump has directed Ross to make changes to help the company. The president's extraordinary intervention, kicked off by a tweet worrying about the impact of ZTE's demise on Chinese employment, alarmed some trade experts. "This type of process has never been politicized," said attorney Doug Jacobson, an export-law specialist. "This is really unprecedented." Under standard Commerce Department procedures, companies can appeal their penalties to the same enforcement officials who hand them down in the first place. Appeals are granted only in rare cases and usually involve shortening the length of a denial order like the one ZTE has been hit with, Jacobson said. But shortening ZTE's ban on acquiring U.S. equipment wouldn't help. The company depends upon U.S. suppliers, from which it buys $2.6 billion worth of components each year. This marked a major change in approach for the White House. Trump has spent the past several months trying a variety of tactics to get China to reduce its trade surplus with the United States. He has threatened to impose tariffs on a variety of Chinese products, a move that angered Chinese leaders and led to warnings of retaliation. But in the past 10 days, he has tried to lure the Chinese into a broader trade agreement by expressing a willingness to free ZTE as part of a deal, even if it angered Republicans and Democrats who believe ZTE's behavior poses a national-security risk. On Tuesday, close to 30 senators - including leaders from both parties - sent a letter to Mnuchin and other senior White House officials calling for the Trump administration not to back down on ZTE. "We urge you not to compromise lawful U.S. enforcement actions against serial and pre-meditated violators of U.S. law, such as ZTE," the letter said. "This is particularly critical when the violators are state-owned and -influenced, part and parcel of China's policies and practices designed to strengthen its own national security innovation base, and essential tools of efforts to spread China's influence in other countries that pose national security threats to the United States." Last week, the House Appropriations Committee added language to a must-pass spending bill that barred the president from relaxing penalties on ZTE, in the first sign of congressional displeasure with Trump's stance. The Senate Banking Committee advanced another version of the measure on Tuesday, written by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). The measure passed 23 to 2. Mnuchin said the changes are being led by Commerce Department officials, though he has been brought into meetings about the matter. "Whatever the Commerce Department decides - the [intelligence] community has been part of the briefings - and we will make sure that we enforce national-security issues," he said. The broad outlines of the deal were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Mnuchin, though, did appear to contradict Trump in terms of the scope of the ZTE talks. Mnuchin said the Commerce Department was looking at scaling back penalties on ZTE because of a request from Xi to Trump. "This was not a quid pro quo or anything else," Mnuchin said. But Trump last week wrote on Twitter that ZTE was only being looked at for help as part of the trade discussions. "Nothing has happened with ZTE except as it pertains to the larger trade deal," Trump wrote. Meanwhile, China's decision to lower auto tariffs is unlikely to have a dramatic impact upon American carmakers. Companies like General Motors already produce millions of cars in China for customers there and thus may have little desire to ship additional vehicles across the Pacific. The Chinese tariff cut is being welcomed by luxury carmakers, such as BMW. The German automaker's Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant exports more than 270,000 vehicles annually, with China its top destination. "We highly welcome the Chinese government's announcement. It's a strong signal that China will continue to open up," said Kenn Sparks, a company spokesman. "This will certainly benefit the customer and boost the market to an even more dynamic level." Congressional leaders have expressed confusion in the past week at how much the ZTE talks have become entangled in the broader trade discussions with China. Ross said last week that ZTE would be handled separately as a regulatory matter, but Trump late last week suggested that he would allow ZTE to be freed of the restrictions only if China agreed to other concessions on trade. "At the end of the day, the Trump administration needs to clarify to the American public how all of this reflects good policy that upholds the rule of law as enforcement actions should, and how any resulting trade deal with China will be good for American companies, workers and consumers," said James Zimmerman, partner in the Beijing office of international law firm Perkins Coie LLP. Chinese vice premier Liu He met with Mnuchin and other White House officials last week, and the Trump administration had suggested that they could reach a massive deal that would lead to a $200 billion reduction in the trade deficit between both countries. But the talks ended Saturday without any specific agreement or mention of ZTE. Both sides agreed broadly to increase China's purchases of agricultural products and other materials from the United States. But China did not give any ground on some of the structural changes that White House adviser Peter Navarro has long sought, things that would make it much harder for Chinese companies to steal intellectual property from U.S. companies. Ross is scheduled to go to China in early June to try to pin down specific agreements from Chinese leaders related to new purchases of U.S. goods. Trump has tried to spin the discussions with China as representing a huge breakthrough between both countries, but his advisers have been split, with Mnuchin seeking a quick deal and Navarro wanting the White House to hold out for more sweeping changes. - - - The Washington Post's Emily Rauhala contributed to this report. WASHINGTON - Just two Republican lawmakers will be allowed to review classified information about a confidential FBI source who aided the investigation into the Trump campaign at a meeting Thursday with Justice Department and intelligence officials, the White House said Tuesday. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced at a White House press briefing that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., would be the only two lawmakers at the meeting, which would also include FBI Director Christopher Wray, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Ed O'Callaghan. Sanders said no White House officials would attend, even though Chief of Staff John Kelly brokered the gathering. She said Democrats were cut out because they had not requested the same materials that their Republican colleagues had. "To my knowledge, the Democrats have not requested that information, so I would refer you back to them on why they would consider themselves randomly invited to see something they've never asked to," Sanders said. The move stoked some consternation in Congress. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said previously that he expected to be invited and said Democrats being shut out was "another serious abuse of power." "I have to think that what Sarah Huckabee Sanders said was incomplete. That's my guess. We're trying to get clarification from the department," Schiff said. "There's no way they can selectively brief Republicans only." Schiff said that Nunes "refuses" to take briefings from administration officials alongside panel Democrats, but in the past, Democrats have been offered identical briefings. He dismissed Sanders's argument that Democrats had not asked for the briefing, saying Democrats had a "standing request" with the department that "any briefing the Department of Justice or FBI gives on the Russia investigation be given to us as well." Nunes's office did not respond to a request for comment, though other Republicans said they saw no reason their Democratic colleagues could not attend. "Certainly I would think you would have ranking members as well, if they wanted to view those documents," Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who leads the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said before the announcement. A Justice Department spokeswoman referred inquiries to the White House. The meeting will mark the next milestone in President Donald Trump and conservative lawmakers' long-running feud with the Justice Department over the FBI's use of a confidential source in what is now special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia. The source, GOP veteran and former University of Cambridge professor Stefan Halper, had contact with at least three advisers to Trump during the campaign. Trump and his allies have sought to cast that as inappropriate political spying. "A lot of people are saying they had spies in my campaign," Trump told reporters Tuesday during a meeting in the Oval Office with visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in. "If they had spies in my campaign, that would be a disgrace to this country. That would be one of the biggest insults anyone has ever seen," he added. "It would make probably every political event ever look like small potatoes." At Trump's direction, the Justice Department this week asked its inspector general to review the use of Halper, though that did little to satisfy some members of Congress who want access to documents about him and his dealings with the FBI. Justice Department officials have been reluctant to turn over the materials, though on Monday, after meeting with Trump at the White House, they reached an agreement to have another gathering where lawmakers could review information. The matter's sensitivity is such that Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., had turned down previous offers for a briefing about the source, Warner's spokeswoman confirmed, over concerns that the classified information might leak from Capitol Hill. The dispute comes as Trump and conservative lawmakers continue to rail against the FBI, the Justice Department and Mueller's probe. Conservative House Republicans unveiled a resolution Tuesday insisting on the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate their growing list of grievances. "There is a ton of evidence of real misconduct," said Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., and the resolution's author. Some conservatives are skeptical that Nunes or Gowdy will leave Thursday's meeting with real information. The Justice Department has in the past offered classified briefings to Nunes, though they have refused to turn over documents. "We've been here before," Meadows said. "Another meeting without evidence and without actually seeing the documents is worthless." Meadows and others have said the Justice Department has been unconscionably slow to furnish records related to the FBI's scrutiny of Trump's campaign, even under subpoena. They are now contemplating contempt and impeachment proceedings for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller's probe, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, went one step further at a Tuesday news conference, calling on the president to orchestrate Mueller's termination. "Nobody needs firing more than Robert Mueller," Gohmert said, addressing Trump in absentia. "But you can't be the one to fire him, because we've got some weak-kneed Republicans out there who will come after you for firing the guy who needed firing." Not all Republicans are on board with conservative House members' calls for a second special counsel - or with the allegations that Trump's campaign was the target of a spying operation. Rep. Thomas Rooney, R-Fla., a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, predicted that Nunes and Gowdy's meeting with senior Justice Department officials will help put to rest some of the circulating concerns and return lawmakers' focus to the matter of election security. "I think we're going to come out of this meeting feeling a little bit better about where we are," said Rooney, who has not supported calls for a second special counsel in the past. "The questions that are out there will hopefully be satisfied, and we can move on to that basic underlying question of what do we need to do to protect the sanctity of our ballots." House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has also not promised the conservative Republicans pushing for a vote on their resolution that he will give it time on the floor. A spokeswoman for Ryan did not immediately respond to a request seeking clarity on Ryan's plans. - - - The Washington Post's John Wagner contributed to this report. President Donald Trump's new, more aggressive strategy toward Iran depends on getting help from U.S. partners -- the very allies he spurned in withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran. With a speech on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo filled in details of an Iran strategy that has so far consisted of walking away from the 2015 accord that restricted the country's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some economic sanctions. His 12-point list of demands called for Iran to acquiesce to the U.S. virtually across the board. The new vision is Trump-style diplomacy -- a promise to "crush" Iranian operatives and impose the "strongest sanctions in history" unless the Islamic Republic abandons all nuclear development and gives up what the U.S. considers its malign role across the Middle East. Any company doing business with Iran will be held "to account" through sanctions the U.S. plans to implement within months. The conundrum for Trump and Pompeo: After fracturing alliances and disregarding diplomacy in favor of quick action, the White House won't be able to put that sanctions regime fully in place, or curtail Iran's regional role, without participation of the five other nations that forged the deal with Iran. And there's little sign they want to go along. "It's really tough to have an international sanctions regime that doesn't include anyone else," said Suzanne DiMaggio, director of the Iran Initiative at the New America Foundation. "It's shocking how they would move forward with a policy announcement that really has no clothes." The administration envisions a "maximum-pressure" campaign similar to the one that has strangled North Korea's economy but in an environment where there is far less unity. Moreover, Pompeo's speech didn't mention Russia or China, two partners in the original nuclear accord that could help Iran weather tougher sanctions. Along with the U.S., others in the deal included France, the U.K. and Germany. "The challenge is converting that pressure into policy outcomes, and that takes diplomacy," said Michael Singh, managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior director for Middle East affairs under President George W. Bush. "We've never tried to erect this sort of sanctions regime amid a really sharp strategic divergence with our closest allies." Pompeo was defiant in his speech, reciting a litany of Iranian behaviors that have vexed American leaders for decades. He insisted Iran give nuclear inspectors unfettered access to the country and stop funding rebels in Yemen. It must cease any uranium enrichment and withdraw its forces from Syria. Funding of Hezbollah and Hamas must end. "It's not a pipe dream to ask the Iranian leadership to behave like a normal, responsible country," Pompeo wrote on Twitter hours after his speech. "Our asks are simple." Well before Pompeo spoke, European leaders suggested that the U.S. approach won't work. The European Union is studying ways to protect its companies from the sanctions and keep intact the 2015 accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, without the U.S. The EU's foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, said Monday that "there is no alternative" to the agreement. Even the U.K. was willing to openly break with the U.S. Pompeo refused to commit to a timetable for the new American diplomacy, and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson suggested it wouldn't happen anytime soon. "If you try to fold all those in to a giant negotiation, a new jumbo Iran negotiation, a new treaty -- that's what seems to be envisaged -- I don't see that being very easy to achieve, in anything like a reasonable timetable," Johnson said before Pompeo spoke. He said the prospect for a new deal "is going to be very, very difficult." Germany also expressed its resolve to uphold the accord in the face of the U.S. withdrawal. "We would of course have wished that an important and strong partner like the U.S. had remained in the Vienna accord," Peter Beyer, coordinator for trans-Atlantic relations in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, said in a ZDF television interview on Tuesday. "The Europeans are on the right track and it's worth every drop of sweat to maintain the agreement." Not surprisingly, Iran rejected Pompeo's demands as well. President Hassan Rouhani said the secretary of state's ideas were "in no way acceptable." A member of the Iranian parliament's national security committee suggested that the best approach would be to wait for U.S. policy to change once Trump leaves office. "The essence of radicalism passes by fast," Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh told the Iranian Students News Agency. He said Iran should simply "allow for this era of extremism to end." The speech was a fresh example of the Trump administration's maximalist, with-us-or-against-us strategy that's also playing out over North Korea's nuclear program, and has been encouraged by Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton. In that crisis, the administration says it won't accept a strategy of synchronized, step-by-step concessions in exchange for North Korea gradually giving into demands to give up its nuclear program. Instead, Trump wants North Korea to give up everything first. Pompeo drew a direct link to the North Korea negotiation, saying Trump's willingness to meet with Kim Jong Un showed the administration's dedication to diplomacy. "That willingness has been accompanied by a painful pressure campaign that reflects our commitment to resolve this challenge forever," he said. The differences between the two are significant. The Korea sanctions were possible in part because the continued provocations by Pyongyang -- most notably the testing of nuclear bombs -- -- defied years of United Nations Security Council resolutions. And North Korea was already far more isolated from the global economy than Iran is now. The U.S. was able to prod countries -- most importantly China -- into cutting off economic activity, contributing to North Korea's new willingness to consider concessions. Even then, analysts argue that Kim's gentler tone was the result of internal considerations and not wholly dependent on U.S. action. For Iran, the administration is banking on being able to reconstitute an airtight sanctions regime that will give it no choice but to relent. There's less appetite for that among Europeans, and even less among other countries willing to buy Iranian oil, such as China and India. "Europe wants to find a way to work with us, and if you give them a little bit of opening they'll take it, but there's no opening here," said Jarrett Blanc, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former State Department coordinator for Iran nuclear implementation. From both inside Iran and outside, the lingering feeling was that Pompeo had spelled out a litany of demands so onerous that the only goal could be ousting the current regime, given that it was so unlikely to agree to any of those requirements. Pompeo fueled those suspicions by appealing to the Iranian people throughout the speech. Afterward, he was asked what the U.S. time line would be for its new strategy. He said Iran's people must be the ones to decide and "make a choice about their leadership." "People like Pompeo and Bolton are not interested in any sort of political settlement with the Iranian government," said Foad Izadi, a foreign policy specialist at the University of Tehran. "They're interested in regime change. That's why the list that Pompeo talked about is a maximalist list. It's a list that designed for Iran to reject." - - - Bloomberg's Tim Ross contributed. HUMPHREY NABIMANYA is a well-known figure in the social and corporate world for his youth advocacy. At just 29 years, he has beaten several odds through his unwavering determination to become a peer leader, change agent, counselor, and television personality. He is also the brains behind Reach A Hand Uganda (RAHU), an organization devoted to creating awareness among youth about HIV, stigma, peer pressure, unwanted pregnancies and STDs. Humphrey Nabimanya His latest undertaking is the Young Achievers Awards, a platform he has revived to motivate youth to be innovative. He shared his incredible life story with Justus Lyatuu. Nabimanya has always left me intrigued by his devotion at such a young age. So, when I sought to meet him, he didnt hesitate but was quick to remind me about his busy schedule. At RAHU offices in the Kampala suburb of Kansanga, I found Nabimanya in a meeting with fellow staff. They were putting final touches to the organisation of the 2018 Young Achievers Award slated for June. Clad in a T-shirt and armed with a marker, he kept noting down whatever idea his colleagues suggested before he excused himself from the sitting to meet me. He exuded confidence as though we have known each other for years and briefly took me through his schedule. Unlike many youth who look up to elders for guidance, Nabimanyas diary is almost full all year round with keynote speeches, several visits upcountry for on-the-ground workshops, as well as travels abroad for conferences. I rarely get free time but my main focus for now is the Young Achievers Awards which I want to see succeed because youth urgently need something to showcase their contribution to the socio-economic development of the country, he says. This is a livelihood programme that recognizes efforts by young people and is aimed at inspiring them to be the next generation of leaders. Statistics show that Uganda has one of the worlds youngest population and on that basis, Nabimanya wants outstanding youth to showcase their potential. We want to change the narrative that young people have little to add to the positive development of this country, he says. Many young people are silently transforming Uganda but unfortunately their labour efforts are not being recognized. For instance, Zilla Mary Arach, the overall winner of the 2017 Young Achievers Awards, co-founded Akorion, an agricultural innovation company that uses technology to provide services and products to farmers and agriculture-related entities in Uganda. The company currently employs over 20 full-time employees and 460 village agents as temporary employees, who provide services to close to 60,000 smallholder farmers using information and communications technology (ICT). You rarely see these stories in the media. This is the right time to tell the world that young people, if given the right platforms, and are recognized for their efforts, they can effectively contribute to the development of Uganda to achieve all her long-term goals., says Nabimanya. Nabimanya speaks with such authority and determination, it is easy to think he had a privileged background. Far from it. He admits to selling bushera (millet porridge) and vending milk to eke out a living but what stands out is growing up with the assumption he was doomed. My upbringing was filled with adversity right from birth when my mother passed on just days after my birth, he says. In fact, I never settled down in my childhood days to the extent that I grew up believing I had HIV/Aids. Many people around me thought so too, and I was actually stigmatized and they didnt give me chance but I never felt self-pity even in the face of disapproval. Ironically, Nabimanya turned those challenges and experiences into opportunities to better the lives of peers right from secondary school. This stigma forced me to seek material on safe sex in order to influence young people so that they wouldnt go through such an experience, he says. Activism would later lead Nabimanya to found RAHU in 2011 while still a student at Makerere University. He has never looked back and the foundation has touched the lives of more than 600,000 youths countrywide through creating awareness and counseling on reproductive health and the behavioral dangers associated with negligence. For now, though, Nabimanyas attention is seeing the Young Achievers Awards blossom. In a major boost last year, President Museveni injected Shs 45 million through the ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives. Nabimanya has so far proven to possess a Midas touch in all his work and hopefully, he will scale the Young Achievers Awards to the top. justuslyatuu08@gmail.com A historic hardware store in Purcellville, Virginia, announced Tuesday morning it has fired an employee accused of using an anti-gay slur while kicking out a teenage Boy Scout seeking donations for a service project. "The Nichols Hardware family regrets that this even has come to pass," the store said in a Facebook post. "The employee in question has been terminated and his views certainly do not reflect those of the Nichols Hardware." The saga has been a subject of public attention since Friday, when another customer summarized the encounter in a Facebook post that quickly gained traction, spawning hundreds of comments. "He told them, 'Your organization is not the 'Boy Scouts' anymore. We will not support you and you need to leave,' " Carlyn Hamilton wrote in her post. Then the employee, she said, turned to her and continued, "You know they let homos in, right? They are not the 'Boy' Scouts anymore. We do not support any homos." The store manager, who would only identify himself as Glenn, said in an interview Tuesday that this wasn't the first time the employee had angered customers with his politically charged comments. "It's not the first time, OK," the manager said. "He made political remarks to other people that didn't sit too well with them." Months ago, he said, he had told the employee to stop talking to customers like that and thought the problem had been resolved until the incident Friday. He described the employee as "set in his ways," and added that he would like to apologize in person to the boy and his father but didn't know their names or phone numbers. "It was uncalled for," he said. "My great-grandson is trying to be an Eagle Scout also." The father, Chip Thomas, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Earlier in the day, he reached out to a Washington Post reporter saying, "We were not aware until midmorning yesterday how big this had gotten." On Saturday, a user claiming to be the boy's father wrote a review of the hardware store on Yelp. "Thrown out!!!" he said. "Can't believe it. I have shopped here since 1985. Went in with my son to get help with his Eagle Scout project. ... The employee started a rant about the scouts being destroyed, allowing girls and homosexuals to join scouting." The clash marked another skirmish in the nationwide culture war over the rapid expansion of gay rights in the United States. Few organizations have been more emblematic of this than the Boy Scouts. In 2013, the organization ended its prohibition on openly gay youths, and in 2015 it ended its ban against openly gay scout leaders. Last year, the organization announced that it would accept girls and transgender children who identify as boys. The moves haven't been universally popular. Many religious conservatives have seen the Boy Scouts as a pillar of traditional values. This month, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which teaches that gay relationships are immoral, ended its century-long relationship with the organization. At the center of it all now is Nichols, an anchor of downtown Purcellville, which a local county history organization describes as a "trip back in time." At the store, handed down through at least three generations of the same family, receipts are handwritten, and the floors are uneven and wood. It has come to public attention before. It was featured in the documentary, "Nichols: The Last Hardware Store," and the 2010 death of its owner in a car accident was widely covered. But little in its century of business has compared to the scrutiny focused on it over the past few days. People have demanded a boycott of the store on social media, and its phones have been deluged with calls. The store has now moved to quell the firestorm. "The family, who has been in Loudoun County since 1742, and which expresses tolerance in all areas of life, deeply regrets any disrespect to any organization or person," it said in its statement Tuesday. The minister of Health in Charge of General Duties Sarah Opendi has attributed the alleged shortage of oxygen cylinders at Mulago hospital to the health officials, who, she accused of hiding the cylinders. Opendi was today responding to a matter of national importance raised on the floor of parliament by Adjumani Woman MP Jessica Ababiku. Ababiku narrated that she recently lost a brother who was admitted at the hospital's casualty ward where only two cylinders were in the ward with several patients denied the service. Oxygen cylinders at Mulago hospital Opendi denied that there's a shortage of oxygen at the hospital. She instead blamed the hospital authorities. Opendi insisted that the hospital has enough oxygen. She requested parliament to allow her investigate the matter and report back with a detailed statement. "Allow me to make this statement colleagues, and please understand. Let us not mix two issues. We have adequate supply of oxygen at Mulago hospital. However there may be a problem of those in charge, hiding the cylinders," said Opendi. Her statement raised protests from MPs including Rubaga North MP Moses Kasibante and Kawempe South MP Mubarak Munyagwa. "Theres a court case ready between Erias Lukwago Vs the attorney general and Mulago hospital. His relative died, we went to pick the body [and] the reason we were given- seven people died because of lack of oxygen. That case is in court. Honourable minister, I want you to clarify because I'm a member of parliament for Kawempe South and that is where Mulago hospital is and I visit that hospital occasionally. Can you make a clarification. Which Mulago are you talking of?" said Munyagwa. In 2015, Mulago hospital got a Shs 500 million oxygen plant capable of generating at least 93% of purified oxygen needed at the facility following a donation from The McKinney First Baptist Church in USA. The oxygen machine briefly broke down in April 2016. There are only two oxygen making machines in the country, at Mulago hospital and Mbarara hospital. Speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga said that it was urgent for the ministry to ascertain the situation on the ground and for a solution to be found so that no person goes without oxygen at the hospital. Meanwhile, Minister Opendi confirmed that the country has been hit with shortage of medication for HIV/Aids patients especially Septrin but confirmed that final plans are under way for Global Fund to release $4 million that would be used for the purchase of drugs in the country. This was after the Nakaseke North MP Lutamaguzi Ssemakula tasked the minister to explain the shortage of ARVs in Nakaseke hospital that has left lives of over 600 patients at risk. The Bexar County District Attorney's Office has determined the fatal police shooting of a 37-year-old man who officers said was threatening a teenage girl was justified. The San Antonio police officer who shot Jose Cazares on July 17 in the 1800 block of Plaza Del Sol Street has been cleared of any criminal charges. He has not been identified. RELATED: Pedestrian crossing San Pedro struck by officer, other driver Following police shootings, the district attorney's office reviews the case and determines if the involved officer should face charges. Cazares was fatally shot after police received a call from someone claiming Cazares was threatening to kill a 15-year-old girl, officials said. When police arrived to the home where he was located, they found the door ajar. Once inside, gunshots rang out and police retreated from the house, with Cazares following them outside, police said. RELATED: 29-year-old woman allegedly abducts 3 children in Central Texas, authorities say A third officer arrived, and police tried to negotiate with Cazares, who authorities said was armed. At some point during the negotiations, Cazares allegedly lifted his firearm in the direction of the officers, and the third officer to the scene fired twice, killing him, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus. No one else was injured in 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 If the buzz is to be believed telecom industry disruptor Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is getting ready to go places, starting with Estonia. According to Mint, Jio will set up a subsidiary in the Baltic nation, which will be handed a loan of Rs 12.20 crore to begin operations by Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd, an investment holding company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). "Thanks to its sophisticated e-solutions, over the last decade, Estonia has transformed itself into one of Europe's business success stories. Indian companies would certainly wish to collaborate and imbibe e-governance solutions in this regard and Jio is no exception," a second source told the daily. To remind you, India and Estonia have already signed memorandums of understanding in the field of ICT. Then, in March, Republic of Estonia's Entrepreneurship and IT Minister Urve Palo visited India and invited desi entrepreneurs to sign up for e-residency, using which they can conduct a business from Estonia. "E-residency does not give citizenship but e-residency holders can access to e-governance services of Estonia and conduct their business without even visiting Estonia. It gives entrepreneurs access to European market," Palo had said at the time. It also works out to the advantage of Estonian firms since they gain business opportunities from e-residents. The programme's press release had added that e-Residency stands for 'Make in India & Sell in Europe'. Launched in 2014, it reportedly has over 30,000 takers from 154 countries already. Significantly, according to a representative of Estonia, by 2025, e-residents are expected to add a total of 1.8 billion euros to the country's economy, be it in terms of state fees and taxes or through job creation, incremental demand, increased administrative efficiencies et al. Incidentally, among the over 1,200 Indians who are e-residents currently is Union Minister for Electronics and IT - as well as Law Minister - Ravi Shankar Prasad. He was given e-residency of Estonia when he visited the country last year. It is this e-residency programme that Mukesh Ambani is hoping to leverage on in taking Jio global. According to an IANS report, Ambani had met up with the Estonian government delegation during their March visit and had expressed interest in collaborating with the country to develop better e-governance solutions for India. He had also stated that the e-residency programme - which offers startups access to a government-issued digital ID, thus enabling the opening of a global EU company fully online - is the gateway to do business in Europe. Given that the European market accounts for 500 million people, it certainly makes an ideal launch-pad for Jio's international aspirations. "Reliance Jio would want to diversify because, like its competitors, it too is under great pressure in the Indian market. There is every reason to believe that the company may be running operations below cost," Mahesh Uppal, director at communications consulting firm ComFirst India told the daily. "In such an environment, it makes sense for any company to diversify in markets where the margins may be better. Besides, the European Union has long worked for a single telecom market. Being in Estonia does give you a foothold to expand further in Europe and helps Jio to mitigate some of the risks in the Indian market." A father and his two sons accused of trespass and criminal damage arising from incidents in Newtownforbes and Longford last year will have to wait to see whether the charges levelled against them are to be dropped. Kevin Stokes (45), Kevin Stokes (25) and Dylan Stokes (19), all of Lisnanagh, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford stand charged with damaging a grey Citroen car and black VW Passat at Park Road, Longford on November 26 2017 under Section 2 of the Criminal Damage Act 1994. The trio have also been charged with engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour at the same location in accordance with Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. A further charge of trespassing at Apartment 12 Berkeley, The Court Yard, Newtownforbes six days previously was similarly handed down. All three appeared before Judge Seamus Hughes at last weeks District Court sitting where they were accompanied by an unidentified male and female. When the case was called, the woman called for the charges against the men to be thrown out. It was a misunderstanding, she told the Judge. Its been sorted. We are family. Inspector Blaithin Moran said the States hands were tied over the alleged incidents. She did make very clear and concise complaints, said Inspector Moran. The Garda Inspector intimated that the case file would more than likely still go to the Director of Public Prosecutions despite the apparent insistence of the injured party to withdraw her complaint. Judge Hughes consequently remanded all three on continuing bail to appear back at a sitting of Longford District Court on March 13. An application made by defence solicitor Brid Mimnagh to relax bail conditions compelling them to steer clear of Longford town and Newtownforbes was likewise rejected by the judge. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. 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. Irish Water has completed work on the Ballymahon Water Mains Replacement Project. The project has improved the security of the water supply for customers and local businesses and reduced leakage in the network which will avoid future bursts occurring along Main Street. Irish Water has expressed thanks to the community for their patience while this vital project was carried out. The work was carried out in short sections to minimise the impact on residents, businesses and road users. An Irish Water spokesperson remarked, "This work is part of Irish Waters national Leakage Reduction Programme which over the next four years will see 500 million invested to reduce the high level of leakage across the country by fixing or replacing ageing water mains. This will ensure a safe, reliable water supply which is vital for our health, our environment and our growing population and economy." The works involved the replacement of ageing water mains that were prone to leakage and regular bursts which caused interruptions to customers water supply. The work was carried out in short sections to minimise the impact on residents, businesses and road users. The benefits of the project include a more reliable and secure water supply, improved water quality and water pressure to properties by reducing leakage in the network. The project will also deliver cost savings by providing improved water network operation that is associated with repairing water mains that frequently burst. The works were carried out on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities Ltd. Commenting on the project Derek Deignan Regional Lead Leakage Reduction Programme said We are pleased to confirm that we have replaced the old water main in Ballymahon. The public water main that was replaced experienced several bursts over the years resulting in a number of water outages for local residents and businesses. "This was a complex project as the work involved replacement of an aged high pressure fragile water main. The contractors GMC Utilities Ltd. undertaking the work encountered some very difficult ground conditions during the course of the construction. Engineering solutions planned to deliver these improvement works were altered during the project due to the ground conditions encountered. Replacing the problematic main with a new modern pipe has provided a long term solution to ensure a safe and secure water supply is delivered to customers. "We thank the Ballymahon community for their patience and understanding while we carried out this work. We worked closely with the community to ensure that the work was carried out in short sections to minimise the impact on residents, local businesses and road users. This project is part of Irish Waters commitment to invest in Irelands water infrastructure which has been underinvested in for decades. Further information on Irish Waters Leakage Reduction Programme is also available on the Irish Water website www.water.ie The recently appointed CEO of Retail Excellence, Lorraine Higgins, will be one of the speakers at the Longford Retail 2020 seminar in the Longford Arms Hotel next Thursday, May 31 at 8pm. Cllr Joe Flaherty (FF) has confirmed the attendance of a number of other Longford speakers who have succeeded in the retail and hospitality sectors. He says they will give their own unique insight, as retailers and entrepreneurs across the county battle with the challenges in the sector. In the build-up to the event, Cllr Flaherty has also undertaken a research project that seeks to establish what consumers think of shopping in Longford town. A top line reading shows many positives but the research also flags the challenges, Cllr Flaherty said, before pointing out that while there was a level of awareness in respect of some of those challenges, the research would serve as an important piece of work because the retail sector in the county town is facing into a defining period. Read Also: Longford councillor, Joe Flaherty demands motorway status for N4 Since coming onto Longford Co Council before Christmas, I have been lobbying the local authority to launch a dedicated retail task force, that will work hand in hand with existing and new retailers. Meanwhile, the local area representative also pointed to the announcement by Director of Finance at Longford Co Council, John McKeon that the local authority intends to devise a dedicated retail strategy as part of the new county development plan. The online challenge cannot be understated but it also provides smaller businesses and towns, that will work together, with the opportunity to emerge as an experience-led shopping destination, Cllr Flaherty continued. Such an approach, however, would have to be driven by the retail task force, which would draw on the support and insights of the Council, Chamber, business interest groups and business owners. A dedicated Retail Task Force would broadly address streetscape improvements; provide developmental supports and mentoring for existing retailers; audit empty units and engage with owners to establish exactly what they will accept in terms of rent; and rates. Read Also: Longford councillor says there is an urgent need to tackle gangs and support rural communities He went on to say that rates was an important issue in any business and admitted that while the recent rates incentives scheme had been a success, it now needed modification and structure around a new retail focus that would help develop existing businesses and attract newcomers. I would hope to see a situation where retailers who sign up to the Retail Task Force will be eligible for a rates rebate, he added. The Longford Retail 2020 seminar is open to everyone interested in business is welcome to attend. Please register at 086 820 1261. Read Also: Joe Flaherty honoured as Longford Person of the Year The GST-Intelligence Unit has unearthed a racket which used fake bills to claim input tax credit worth Rs 450 crore, the Financial Express reported today. The government has started issuing summons to those traders or business houses that produced counterfeit bills to claim tax credits. In one such notice, the intelligence unit has asked the traders to provide evidence of transactions - sale/purchase - truthfully and produce the documents and record for the examination. The authority has estimated the value of the fictitious purchases at Rs 2,500 crore and the undue gain out of this around Rs 450 crore at an average GST rate of 18 per cent, the report said. This is not the first case of GST fraud using fake sale/purchase invoices. Ever since the new taxation system came into force, numerous cases of fake input tax credit has been reported. This year in February, the Haryana Excise and Taxation Department lodged a police case against a Gurugram-based firm for acquiring fraudulently an input tax credit of Rs 50.34 crore. In March, the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department booked 134 persons from 70 firms for their alleged involvement in Rs 100 crore fake invoice scam. In a separate case, the CGST-Mumbai Commissionerate arrested two directors of a private company for fraudulently availing input tax credit of Rs 7.2 crore. In May, the GST Intelligence arrested two persons in Kolkata for the tax evasion of more than Rs 40 crore. On Monday, the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax intelligence or DGGI arrested three persons in Rajasthan for tax evasion of Rs 58 crore. Providing the details of the case, Additional Director General, DGGI Jaipur, Rajendra Kumar said: "The accused generated bogus invoices through companies that existed on papers for availing input tax credit. The goods were not issued by the firms". According to the report, traders buy fake bills which enable them to claim input tax credit on the supply which never happened. Input tax credit is an option in the GST which allows the taxpayers to claim credit for the taxes paid on purchase.Last week, the GST Department arrested two persons - Amit Upadhyay and Asad Anwar Sayed - in Mumbai for allegedly defrauding the exchequer of Rs 127 crore by issuing fake GST invoices and not paying the service tax. According to a report in the Hindu, the GST Intelligence Unit is estimating this fraud to go over Rs 300 crore. If that happens, it will be one of the biggest evasion cases in GST history.In all these case, modus operandi is almost same. First, fake invoices were issued for sale and purchase that never happened on ground. Misuse of input tax credit is a serious concern for tax authorities as it seems to have created a hole in the system that the enforcement agencies are struggling to fix. To deal with rising input credit frauds, the GST Council has adopted invoice matching mechanism which is expected to be rolled out on July 1. According to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the invoice matching mechanism will curb the possible tax evasion on account of fake invoice frauds. Last year in September, the Central Board of Excise and Customs asked its officials to verify all transitional credit claims for more than Rs 1 crore. The move came after it received transitional credit claims worth Rs 65,000 crore. Local News, Crime, Business & Finance By Long Island News & PR Published: May 22 2018 Roy Tuccillo Sr. and Roy Tuccillo Jr. Repeatedly Failed to Pay Employees for Hours Worked, Falsified Payroll Records -- Stealing Over $120,555 from 10 Workers. Westbury, NY - May 22, 2018 - Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood today announced the guilty pleas and sentences of Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood today announced the guilty pleas and sentences of Nassau County business owners Roy S. Tuccillo Sr. and Roy Tuccillo Jr. for repeatedly failing to pay workers at their food-processing plant their required overtime and minimum wages from 2013 until 2017, ultimately stealing $120,555 from 10 workers and falsifying payroll records to conceal the wage theft. Workers are entitled to a fair days pay for a fair days work, said Acting Attorney General Underwood. Our office will continue to protect that right and prosecute labor violations to the fullest extent of the law. Roy S. Tuccillo Sr. ran Diversified Processors, Inc. and Processors Inc., a meat-processing facility located at 32 Urban Avenue in Westbury , New York, for approximately 20 years. The Attorney Generals investigation revealed that Tuccillo Sr. and Tuccillo Jr. (who operated the facility with Tuccillo Sr.) exploited workers in several ways, including: telling workers that they would be paid only for their first 40 hours of work per week, even though they often worked 60 or more hours. failing to maintain workers compensation insurance -- despite the hazards workers faced operating sharp, heavy equipment in fast-paced food processing, and a history of worker injuries resulting from accidents at the facility. In 2016, the Workers Compensation Board issued a Stop-Work order because the facility did not have workers compensation insurance. The investigation also found that the defendants did not retain the time cards that workers used to punch in and out, and then deliberately falsified those workers hours, using several different payroll provider companies. The defendants wrongfully withheld and stole the unpaid wages in violation of New York labor and criminal law. Roy S. Tuccillo Sr., Diversified Processors, Inc., and Processors Inc., pled guilty on March 27th, 2018 to one count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (a class E felony) and one count of Failure to Pay Wages (an unclassified misdemeanor) in Nassau County Supreme Court before the Honorable Robert A. Schwartz. Roy Tuccillo Jr. also pled guilty on March 27th to one count of Failure to Pay Wages (an unclassified misdemeanor) for his involvement in the crimes. Roy Tuccillo Jr., Diversified Processors, Inc., and Processors, Inc., were each sentenced to conditional discharges and a $500 fine. On May 21st, 2018, Roy S. Tuccillo, Sr., was sentenced to 3 years of felony probation, the restitution payment of $120,555 and an additional $500 fine. The Attorney Generals office thanks the United States Department of Labor for their assistance in this investigation and prosecution, specifically the Wage and Hour Division, Long Island District Director Irv Miljoner, Assistant District Director William Dempsey, Investigators Lisa Mikita and Peter Rozo, the United States Department of Labor Office of the Solicitor, Trial Attorney Jason Glick, and former Senior Trial Attorney Elena Goldstein, under the supervision of Wage and Hour Counsel Molly Biklen. The Acting Attorney General also thanks the New York State Workers Compensation Board and the New York State Insurance Fund for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution, specifically Workers Compensation Investigator Marie-Elena Goodwin, under the supervision of Senior Workers Compensation Investigator Jonathan Tisk, and NYSIF Underwriter Marcia Alleyne, under the supervision of Supervising Investigator Benedict Emengo. The Attorney Generals investigation was handled by Investigators Elsa Rojas, Brian Metz, Melissa Kaplan, Angel Laporte, Anna Ospanova, Walter Lynch, and Ramon Almodovar; Senior Investigators Tony Angiulo and Luis Martinez; and Supervising Investigators Sylvia Rivera and Michael Leahy; all under the supervision of Deputy Chief Investigator John McManus and Chief Dominick Zarrella. School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: May 22 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS Students to Grand Marshal 2018 LI Pride Parade. Mineola, NY - May 22, 2018 - Nassau County Executive Laura Curran today joined with LGBT Network President/CEO David Kilmnick to announce Nassau Countys plans to celebrate Long Island Pride and to declare New York States largest tribute for those lost in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. We support Long Island Pride and the LGBT community and will display the Pride Flag and, for the first time in Nassau Countys history, showcase a rainbow dome on the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building . Under the courageous and bold leadership of County Executive Laura Curran, Long Island is taking a huge leap forward in the visibility and support of its LGBT families in Nassau County, said Kilmnick. The lighting of the dome in rainbow colors and flying the Pride Flag is more than just a symbolic measure. It sends a loud and clear message that the closet door in local government that has kept LGBT people invisible for so long, is being torn down. A new Nassau has arrived, and it finally includes the voices, lives and experiences of LGBT people. On June 10th, 2018, 25 students and five school officials from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will travel from Parkland, FL to serve as the Grand Marshals of the 28th Annual Long Island Pride Parade. The LGBT Network has been a voice for LGBT people, their families, and support systems of Long Island and Queens for 25 years and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High Schools showing of support is an important way to honor its history of pioneering advocacy and change, said County Executive Curran. We are thrilled to bring many of the brave students and teachers to Long Island Pride, who in the wake of unimaginable tragedy, have started an unstoppable movement to end gun violence, said Kilmnick. The theme for the 2018 Long Island Pride Parade Brave. Strong. United. was born out of their tireless activism and determination for change. With the most recent school shooting in Texas taking 10 more lives just a few days ago, their leadership and inspiration and our support for them is needed more than ever. It is one of the highest honors in our 28-year history to recognize the students and faculty advisors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Gay Straight Alliance Club as the Grand Marshals of the 28th Annual Long Island Pride Parade and pay tribute to Long Island native Scott Beigel who gave his own life to save so many others. The students and teachers will also attend a special tribute at the Annual Pride on the Beach Festival, held June 8th to 10th, 2018 in the City of Long Beach . The event will highlight the life of Long Island native Scott Beigel, who died saving his Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students. Over 30,000 people from across the United States will attend the three-day Pride Festival, which includes over 30 events across the City of Long Beach, including the boardwalk and the beach. Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News, Arts & Culture By Tom Needham Published: May 22 2018 Televisions Lee Camp and Capitalism director, Ilan Ziv, are Tom Needhams special guests this Thursday on WUSBs The Sounds of Film. Stony Brook, NY - May 22, 2018 - Redacted Tonight host, Lee Camp, is Tom Needhams exclusive guest this Thursday at 6 P.M. on Redacted Tonight host, Lee Camp, is Tom Needhams exclusive guest this Thursday at 6 P.M. on WUSBs The Sounds of Film. Also on the program is the acclaimed director of Capitalism, Ilan Ziv. Lee Camp is a comedian, journalist, actor, activist and host of RTs Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp. As a comedian, Lee is known for his comedy CDs Chaos for the Weary, and Pepper Spray the Tears Away, as well as his DVDs Sometimes Funny Hurts, Lee Cap Live At Comix, and We Are Nothing. His work has always blended his love of comedy and politics. His satirical news show, Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp strives to bring people the news that the mainstream media fails to deliver. Also on the show is the director of the six part documentary series Capitalism, Ilan Ziv. Icarus Films is releasing Capitalism on home video DVD, Amazon Instant Video and VHX. The documentary looks at the history of the ideas and social forces that have shaped our capitalist world. It features unique footage from 22 countries. People interviewed include Noam Chomsky, Thomas Picketts and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. Ilan Ziv is an award-winning director of many films including On the Edge of Peace, Exile, A Myth Unearthed, Jesus Politics, and Litigating Disaster. His films have been broadcast around the world and on PBS in the United States. Some of his notable awards include the Prix Europa (Europes highest television award), the Silver Nymph and the International Jury Award in Monte Carlo. About the Sounds of Film Clinicial researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh have developed an artificial intelligence software for identifying and quantifying small vessel disease, a frequent cause of dementia and stroke in older people, from CT scans. The investigators have already tested the software at Imperials Charing Cross Hospital, demonstrating that the technology rivals that of MRI scans coupled with specialized clinicians in spotting and measuring small vessel disease. Because CT scans are used, which are considerably faster to perform than MRI scans, and that the assessment may not need any human input, the technology can help speed up triage of patients presenting at emergency rooms with signs of stroke or dementia. Some study details according to Imperial College London: The study used historical data of 1082 CT scans of stroke patients across 70 hospitals in the UK between 2000-2014, including cases from the Third International Stroke Trial. The software identified and measured a marker of SVD, and then gave a score indicating how severe the disease was ranging from mild to severe. The researchers then compared the results to a panel of expert doctors who estimated SVD severity from the same scans. The level of agreement of the software with the experts was as good as agreements between one expert with another. Additionally, in 60 cases they obtained MRI and CT in the same subjects, and used the MRI to estimate the exact amount of SVD. This showed that the software is 85 per cent accurate at predicting how severe SVD is. Study in RSNAs journal Radiology: Rapid Automated Quantification of Cerebral Leukoaraiosis on CT Images: A Multicenter Validation Study Via: Imperial College London While most of us would prefer to take our medications orally, many kinds of drugs, such as biologics, must be injected. Biologics themselves, however, are often difficult to inject, as the effective dose is often large and the biologic is often viscous, requiring significant force and injection time to administer, meaning more discomfort. Patients needing these complex molecules typically must visit a clinic to have these biologics administered intravenously by a clinician. On our recent visit to the Cincinnati area, we visited a startup calledthat has developed a device called enFuse that allows patients to completely self-administer biologics. Its a wearable, or more specifically, a large volume wearable injector (LVWI) that the user adheres to their abdomen and can automatically inject a quantity of medication between 4 to 50 mL with just a press of a button. While enFuse may accomplish what seems to be a simple task, the design of the device is quite brilliant. We could tell during our meeting with CEO Mike Hooven and his team that a lot of thought went into the development of the device, both the patients and the drug manufacturers whose biologics will be used. Using enFuse starts with filling the devices balloon-like reservoir with the drug, and Enable Injections has developed versions of enFuse that are compatible both with industry-standard pre-filled syringes or vial closure devices. The patient simply pushes a vial into the transfer unit, which empties the contents using a tiny canister of pressurized CO2, or he/she can attach a syringe and fill the enFuse with the syringes plunger. In either case, theres a fill gauge on the enFuse to show how much drug is inside it, and by nature of the filling system, the drug is also passively warmed to room temperature and mixed as it travels from the vial or syringe to the enFuses reservoir, making it ready to inject once transferred. The patient then removes enFuse from the transfer housing, adheres it to their abdomen, removes the safety tab, and pushes the button. A small needle is automatically inserted and starts administering the drug at a controlled flow rate. The device is low-profile and can be easily worn under clothing, and the injection is less painful than a mosquito bite, so patients can go about their normal activities while wearing it. If at any time the flow of the drug becomes too painful, the patient can press and hold the button to pause the injection. Once the reservoir is empty, the button will pop back up with an audible click and retract the needle, letting the patient know that all of the drug has been injected and the device can be removed. The enFuse has already gone through dozens of human factors studies to perfect its design, and in June, it will be used for the first time in a clinical study with drug manufacturer CSL Behring. More info: Enable Injections At least 11 people died and several others were injured after a protest against Sterlite Copper, a unit of Vedanta Limited, turned violent and police resorted to firing on protesters in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin on Tuesday. The protesters have been demanding the closure of the unit, which operates a 400,000 metric tonnes copper smelter per year, due to pollution concerns in the area and subsequent health hazards that have been linked to the plant. The residents have complained that groundwater has been polluted in the area due to the company's operation. The cops resorted to firing after over 5,000 protesters went on a rampage across the Tuticorin town as they were denied permission to enter the copper smelter. The protest turned violent after protesters started throwing stones at police, set several vehicles ablaze, and destroyed public as well as government properties, including banks. "Entering the collector's office and (perpetrating) violence is not acceptable... (police) firing was unavoidable," India Today quoted Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar as saying. #WATCH: Clash between Police & locals during the protest held in Tuticorin demanding ban on Sterlite Industries, in wake of the pollution created by them in #TamilNadu. pic.twitter.com/s5j2dH9J8o - ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 Meanwhile, the state government has rushed in additional police forces, including several senior officials, from the neighboring districts to bring the situation under control. State Opposition leaders slammed the ruling government over its failure to control the mob and several deaths. "Since the government did not take any steps in this regard, the people launched todays massive rally...police attacked people indiscriminately and opened fire on them which is condemnable," said DMK Working President MK Stalin, reported India Today. MDMK founder Vaiko, whose party has participated in several anti-Sterlite protests, called the firing "condemnable". Chief Minister K Palaniswami said he was concerned over the protests and subsequent deaths. The residents of Tuticorin have been protesting for the closure of the Sterlite Copper plant for over a month now. In April, the company had sought permission to renew operation licence from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, which was rejected by the board. Meanwhile, a peaceful protest was also held against the plant near the old bus stand of Tuticorin. People of Oddapidaram and Srivaikundam also kept their shops closed for the day. by Chuck Martin , May 22, 2018 A group led by the ACLU has sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos expressing concern about the online giants facial recognition system. The letter, from more than three dozen civil rights organizations, takes issue with Amazons system, called Rekognition, being provided to government organizations. We demand that Amazon stop powering a government surveillance infrastructure that poses a grave threat to customers and communities across the country, stated the letter. Local police could use it to identify political protesters captured by officer body cameras. With Rekognition, Amazon delivers these dangerous surveillance powers directly to the government. The letter notes that the facial recognition system already is being used by law enforcement in Orlando and Oregon. Amazon last year announced that it added the real-time face recognition across tens of millions of faces. Some retailers, such as Lowes, use facial recognition to identify known shoplifters. At the Royal Wedding last weekend, Sky News partnered with Amazon Web Services and Amazons Rekognition facial recognition service for the real-time identification of guests. Facial recognition is becoming relatively common in Asia. For example, a 31-year-old suspect wanted by police in an economic dispute was identified among 60,000 attendees at a concert in China. In the Chinese city of Shenzhen, police have been installing AI cameras to spot and identify jaywalkers. by Tanya Gazdik , May 21, 2018 Hyundai Motor America is using branded content to show off the features of its 2018 Kona SUV The automaker and its AOR Innocean headed to the Big Island of Hawaii to film five strangers coming together to share their perspective on living purposefully. The Kona Way, presented by Hyundai, is a three-episode series that celebrates chasing meaning, instead of means, and focusing on what truly matters. It can be found on Hyundai's YouTube channel. It features islanders Alicia Ward, Micah Kamohoalli and Kai Willy and vloggers Sam Potter and Rowena Tsai, who share their personal stories of living with intention and purpose. The films feature the first-ever Kona, Hyundai's smart utility vehicle that has features including Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Blue Link capabilities, to help live the Kona Way. advertisement advertisement "This series gives us a platform to help tell the stories of people motivated by making life more meaningful and enjoyable by doing more with less," said Paul Imhoff, director, marketing communications, Hyundai Motor America, in a release. "That concept really resonates with the target buyer for Kona. The Hyundai Kona is named after the idyllic west-coast region of the Big Island of Hawaii, and its image is reflected in the lifestyle-focused SUV. The Kona Way video series, shot on-location in March, highlights the personal stories of three locals. To show appreciation for the inspiration the island has provided, and recognizing the challenges its people face with the eruption of the Kilauea volcano, Hyundai has donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross toward the disaster relief efforts. The first episode features Sam Potter, a Hawaiian native and influencer who travels the world in search of new sites and people. Although he is forever exploring, he feels there is still much to learn at home in order to grow as a person. Alicia Ward is a free diver and underwater photographer living in Hawaii, who believes in finding a place in life where you can be you and feel comfortable in your environment. The two reflect on their Kona Way of living and the responsibility they have to find meaningfulness in every moment. In the second installation, Rowena Tsai, a vlogger who encourages her followers to live proactively, talks about growing up always wanting to help people. Kai Willy, a Hawaiian firefighter and devoted father, shares with her how local Hawaiian wisdom passed down through generations helped shape his life and give him purpose, and his understanding that everyone and everything are connected. Finally, the third video shows Potter and Micah Kamohoalli demonstrating how giving back more than you take is the Kona Way. It took leaving his native home of Hawaii, traveling the world and coming back for Potter to truly appreciate the beauty and culture of the island. Kamohoalli, a hula leader, has always stayed true to Hawaiian tradition and strongly believes in giving back not only to the people, but also the land. Kamohoalli invites Potter to watch his hula dance group, and the two discuss the importance of respect and appreciation for what one has. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, May 22, 2018 Two Senators whose names were used in fake net neutrality comments are urging the Federal Communications Commission to investigate fraudulent activity in its commenting system. "We were among those whose identifies were misused to express viewpoints we do not hold," Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) say in a letter to the FCC. "We need to prevent the deliberate misuse of Americans' personal information and ensure that the FCC is working to protect against current and future vulnerabilities in its system." Last year the FCC received a record-setting 24 million comments regarding its plan to repeal net neutrality -- but up to an estimated 2 million were submitted under fake names or by Russian bots. The lawmakers are asking the FCC to answer a series of questions about the fake comments, including whether the agency is working with the Department of Justice and state attorneys general to investigate, and whether the agency is implementing steps to prevent a recurrence. advertisement advertisement "Simple security measures should be employed to restore trust in the rulemaking process," they write. For instance, they say, the agency could use CAPTCHA technology to filter out bots. Merkley and Toomey aren't the only ones questioning the FCC over the fake comments. In February, 22 House Democrats asked the agency to explain how it evaluated public comments, including one submitted by bots. Last year, the agency brushed aside requests to delay voting on net neutrality until investigators weeded out fake comments. The agency also refused to cooperate with former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's investigation into the comments. FCC general counsel Thomas Johnson told Schneiderman last December that his request for commenters' IP addresses could compromise people's privacy. Johnson also said the issues under investigation wouldn't affect the FCC's vote. "The Commission does not make policy decisions merely by tallying the comments on either side of a proposal to determine what position has greater support, not does it attribute greater weight to comments based on the submitter's identity," he wrote to Schneiderman. by Sara Guaglione , May 22, 2018 Politico is teaming up with Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on a content-sharing partnership. The deal aims to deepen coverage of the political, economic and policy dynamics driving U.S.- China relations and to strengthen Politico's ambition to establish a deeper foothold in Asia and South China Morning Post's push into the U.S. market, according to a statement from both companies. Under the multi-year partnership, editors from South China Morning Post (SCMP) can share with its readers stories from Politico, the politics and policy-focused publication based in Washington, D.C. area. Politico editors can also draw on SCMP stories that are relevant to its readers. Over time, editors at both publications will look for opportunities to combine resources on original stories produced in combination with Politico and SCMP journalists, according to a memo to staff from John Harris, Politico co-founder and editor in chief, and Editor Carrie Budoff Brown. advertisement advertisement Another potential outcome of the deal is event partnerships in the U.S. and Asia. Harris and Brown wrote that the partnership "is a first step in what we are conceiving as a series of vigorous editorial and business moves in the months ahead focused on strengthening our coverage of policy issues in China of most relevance to our main site readers and, especially, to our Pro subscribers." Harris added that Marty Kady, the editorial director of Politico Pro, will take the editorial lead in coordinating the SCMP relationship. "This is just the first step," Politico publisher and Executive Chairman Robert Allbritton told The Wall Street Journal. "If it works, we think this has the potential to be one of the biggest things we have ever done." The 115-year-old SCMP is the oldest newspaper in Asia, and the only independent English-language publication in the region. It has 300 editorial staff in Asia, with about 40 reporters in mainland China. "This content partnership represents a milestone for SCMP by expanding our coverage to new audiences, and allowing us to leverage our breadth and depth of expertise on China with Politico," stated Tammy Tam, SCMP editor in chief. Politico has 250 reporters and editors in 15 cities across nine time zones. Last September, Politico expanded its offerings in Europe by bringing its morning politics-focused Playbook newsletter franchise to London. It also has an edition in of Playbook in Brussels. Last year, Politico expanded its U.K. team in Europe, partly in response to increasing interest in U.K. politics after the Brexit referendum in 2016. DALLAS May 22, 2018 Dallas Rod J. Rohrich the United States Rod J. Rohrich Rod Rohrich Dallas, Texas Dallas, Texas Baylor College of Medicine University of Michigan Massachusetts Harvard Oxford University Rod J. Rohrich /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --rhinoplasty specialist, Dr., has been recognized as one of the best plastic surgeons in the country by Castle Connolly's Top Doctor program. Every year, the program, which is designed towards helping patients find the best healthcare professionals in acknowledged medical specialties such as plastic surgery, carefully screens and selects physicians through a rigorous peer review process.During the nomination process, Castle Connolly contacts more than 50,000 licensed healthcare professionals nationwide to obtain nominations and feedback about the best doctors practicing intoday. They are asked to identify and nominate the most outstanding doctors in their medical specialties who they consider to be top doctors in their region, or nationwide. In this program, self-nominations are strictly forbidden.From there, a physician-led team of researchers reviews each nominee and checks the candidate's background, medical education, board certification status, hospital and educational appointments, and professional recognitions and achievements. The group also reviews malpractice and disciplinary history to further screen the candidates. The final award recipients are selected by Castle Connolly editors together with the research team."This award is especially significant, in part, because it is primarily driven by peer nomination," says Dr. Rohrich. "The peer review process is an important component of reliable medical information."A well-known advocate for patient safety, Dr. Rohrich lectures frequently around the world at surgical conferences and educational meetings promoting safe and effective as well as innovative plastic surgery practices. In addition to his Distinguished Professorship at UT Southwestern Medical Center's Department of Plastic Surgery, Dr. Rohrich serves as chairman for the Dallas Rhinoplasty Symposium and also as Editor-in-Chief of the most highly cite peer reviewed Journal in the world- "Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery", the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons."I am honored to have been selected as a Top Doctor," says Dr. Rohrich. "These types of awards are valuable tools that can help patients find well qualified surgeons within a given medical specialty all around the world. Patient's should always do their research and choose their surgeon carefully. Make sure he or she is board certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties, and has the expertise and the experience to deliver a safe and satisfactory outcome." The American Board of Plastic Surgery is the one to choose when seeking a board certified Plastic Surgeon .About, M.D., F.A.C.S.Dr.is aboard certified plastic surgeon, Distinguished Teaching Professor and was the Founding Chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center in. Dr. Rohrich graduated fromwith high honors, and completed residencies at theMedical Center and fellowships atGeneral Hospital/(hand/microsurgery) and(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.SOURCE Dr. Sweden SYDNEY May 22, 2018 Australia New South Wales Zoran Bolevich LINKOPING,and/PRNewswire/ --NSW Health has clearly articulated the need for a PACS/RIS and a shared platform with the ability to collaborate around medical images and information across its multiple Local Health Districts in NSW. The hospitals taking part manage a joint volume of around 3 million imaging exams per year. Procurement of a consolidated medical image (PACS) and information (RIS) solution will support NSW Health's aim to deliver world-class integrated clinical care."We are happy to confirm that Sectra has been selected as the preferred vendor for the PACS/RIS solution for 10 Local Health Districts and NSW Pathology. The solution was selected by clinicians, radiology subject matter experts and ICT professionals which ensures that the best available solution will be delivered to support our highly skilled clinical staff in providing excellent patient care. We expect that the solution will also provide significantly improved capability for result notification, scheduling, and secure sharing of images across the health system," says Dr, Chief Executive of eHealth NSW and Chief Information Officer for NSW Health.Subject to successful completion of the Proof of Concept phase, NSW Health plans to sign a 10-year contract with Sectra for the implementation and ongoing support of a PACS/RIS solution for 10 Local Health Districts and NSW Pathology. The potential contract includes substantial deliveries from sub-contractors. The final agreement is subject to a successful finalization of contract terms and conditions.Sectra's enterprise imaging portfolio provides a unified strategy for all imaging needs and improves patient outcome while lowering operational costs. The scalable and modular solution supports the most image-intense departmentsradiology, pathology, cardiology and orthopaedics. Being built on the same technical platform, customers can easily extend a departmental solution to create a comprehensive VNA. Capture, store, access, share, and collaborate around medical multimedia throughout the entire enterprise and beyond. Read more about Sectra's solutions and why Sectra PACS is "Best in KLAS" for a fifth consecutive year at www.sectra.com/medical/.For further information, please contact: Dr. Torbjorn KronanderCEO and President Sectra AB+46 (0)705-23-52-27 Marie Ekstrom TragardhExecutive Vice President Sectra AB and President Sectra Imaging IT Solutions+46 (0)708-23-56-10This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.comhttp://news.cision.com/sectra/r/nsw-health--australia-s-largest-public-health-system--has-selected-sectra-as-preferred-vendor-for-a-,c2517353 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nsw-health-australias-largest-public-health-system-has-selected-sectra-as-preferred-vendor-for-a-large-enterprise-imaging-it-solution-300652444.html SOURCE Sectra Advertisement The study is publishedEarly 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, PhD, 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.Source: Eurekalert Advertisement "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.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."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.Source: Eurekalert Prince Harry was 19-years-old and Mutsu Potsane was just four, when they first met in 2004 in Africa. Harry, now the Duke of Sussex, was volunteering at the Mants'ase Children's home during his gap-year stay in Lesotho, when he met the orphan child. The duo immediately struck a bond and Prince Harry liked Mutsu and his company so much, that together the two built fences, planted trees and shared many memorable moments in the process. Twitter Wondering why I am telling you all this now? Well, fast forward 14 years and the two had one of the most beautiful reunions at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle. Honestly, in an age where we can barely stay in touch with people whom we probably met two years ago, it's great to see that Prince Harry not only stayed in touched with Mutsu, but also made sure to fly him down to Windsor Castle, as one of the 600 special guests at the wedding. Twitter Twitter 18-year-old Mutsu was reportedly one of the 10 representatives from Prince Harry's charity Sentebale. Harry went to the children's home to help the African children stricken by HIV and AIDS and it was there that he met Mutsu, whose first name now is Relebohile. In fact, it was this trip that laid the base for his charity, Sentebale. Twitter Over the years, Prince Harry's friendship with Mutsu has grown stronger and both share priceless reactions each time they meet. In fact, Harry even bought a pair of blue wellington boots for Mutsu, which he has treasured all these years. A few years ago, a documentary was made showing an overjoyed Harry, meeting Mutsu after a long time. Look how big you are now, how old are you? 15? Good man!" After his meeting, Harry said, It was great to see that he is so happy. Twitter Such friendships are hard to find and the close bond between the two was evident at the wedding. There's a video which shows Prince Harry dressed as a groom walking towards the Windsor Castle. It took him no time for him to recognise Mutsu in the crowd, and while he was cheering and waving at him, Harry too waved towards him with a thumbs-up. Twitter Well, Harry may not be able to lift Mutsu up in his arms anymore to give him a tight hug like he did when he was a toddler, but we hope their friendship only grows stays this strong forever. 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! #SentebaleCelebrates #RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/DQ6Gwsl1ri @Sentebale (@Sentebale) May 19, 2018 Twitter No matter how many memes or jokes we crack, the wedding and stories like these are making us feel proud of the royal couple. Earlier, they urged the wedding guests to not give them any gifts and instead donate to charity. In fact, Meghan Markle even invited 23-year-old Suhani Jalota, founder of MynaMahila foundation from Mumbai at the wedding. Maybe it is gestures like these that sets them apart from us. Including ISI and MI officers in the JIT was unnecessary and inappropriate: Nawaz Sharif 22 May, 2018 Related News Imran Khan distributed loan cheques under Kamyab Jawan Programme PTI govt to face all challenges coming its way: Imran khan More on this View All Top 2021 Accessories We Know You Will Love Types of Casino Payment Methods Tips for Taking Incredible iPhone Travel Photos Are Slot Developers Important for players? Best Poker Hands ever played on a Casino 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: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday told an accountability court hearing corruption references against him and his family that the strained civil-military relations and inclusion of military officers influenced the joint investigation team (JIT) report into Panama Papers case. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo recorded answers to 55 questions in the Avenfield properties reference before the accountability court. During the hearing prior to recording his statement, Nawaz said that the inclusion of ISI and MI officers in the JIT was unnecessary and inappropriate. There are and always have been reservations against the joint investigation team (JIT) members, he said. The JIT comprised six members, including its head Federal Investigation Agency Additional Director Wajid Zia, Amer Aziz of the State Bank of Pakistan, SECP Executive Director Bilal Rasool, Irfan Naeem Mangi of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Brigadier (r) Nauman Saeed of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Brigadier Kamran Khurshid from the Military Intelligence (MI). One of the most aggressive members Brigadier Nauman Saeed from ISI was a source employee under a contract which is not recognized as legal, and officially neither his association with ISI nor his pay is reflected in any official record, Nawaz read. Brigadier Nauman Saeed was also one of the members of the inquiry committee which has inquired into the issue relating to Dawn leaks which had further heightened the civil-military tensions, he said. Their appointments were inappropriate with the obvious fallout on the JIT proceedings given the civil-military tension that have plagued the country throughout its 70-year history. On Bilal Rasool, the former prime minister said that he is the nephew of former Punjab governor Mian Azhar. Nawaz said that Azhars son Hamid Azhar was photographed with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on August 24, 2017. The picture was taken at Imrans house in Banigala, he said, adding that Rasool has criticised the PML-N government in the past and that his wife is a fervent supporter of the PTI. Nawaz also expressed his reservations over inclusion of Amer Aziz in the JIT. A representative of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Aziz was also part of a NAB investigation team that probed Hudaibiya Paper Mills case during Gen (r) Pervez Musharrafs regime. He said that JIT member Irfan Mangi has a case pending against him in the top court. With regard to Wajid Zia, Nawaz said that the JIT head employed the services of his cousins for the probe. During the JIT investigations, a controversy erupted after Zia hired the services of his cousins law firm in UK to investigate assets of the Sharif family. The PML-N leader said that Zias biases in the investigation process have been evident from the day one. Nawaz denied ownership of the London properties and told the court that he had not been privy to any transactions for the acquisition of the properties. I was never involved in or associated with the acquisition of the London properties through any real or beneficial title. He added that none of the documents produced by the prosecution connected him to any money trail leading to the Avenfield apartments. Speaking on Tariq Shafis affidavits, Nawaz said, His affidavits cannot be used against me under any provision of law. Any use of the contents of the two affidavits would tantamount to gross violation of Article 10-a of the Constitution the right to fair trial. The ousted premier also said that he had no connection and was never associated or involved with Gulf Steel Mills. Addressing claims that Shehbaz Sharif and Shafi rejected signing an agreement in 1980, Nawaz said, I cant say anything, as no such denial took place in my presence nor Tariq Shafi or Shehbaz Sharif have been produced as witnesses in the case to depose against me. Detaching completely from the Hudaibiya Papers Mills, Nawaz and Maryam said the company was run by Mohammad Sharif, Maryams grandfather. Nawaz maintained that the courts decision should not be based on Mutual Legal Assistance (MLAs) requests the investigation team asked for, and in some cases, received from foreign countries. Making JIT report an integral part of the references goes against the SCs directives, Nawaz read. He said the JIT report cannot be read as evidence as it remains a report of an investigation agency, and is not admissible as evidence. None of the volumes of the report stands as exhibited as evidence as only a selected portion was allowed to be exhibited in court, he read. The JIT carried out a one-sided investigation. They collected selected documents from departments in institutions, he added. None of the MLAs sent by the JIT to UK, BVI, and UAE have been produced in court, and the courts decision should not be based on the MLAs produced or not produced. During his testimony, Nawaz said that he could not say anything about the documents his son Hussain had submitted in the apex court with regard to the London apartments. Responding to a question regarding his address to the nation and his speech on the floor of the National Assembly, Nawaz said, I never stated on those occasions that I was ever a real or beneficial owner of the London flats. Rather, it has always been my constant stance that I was neither a real nor a benami owner of the Avenfield flats. In reply to a query relating to forensic expert Robert M Radley, Nawaz said that Radley was not a font expert and that he had admitted in his statement that the Calibri font was available prior to its launch in 2007. Moving on to questions regarding the Gulf Steel Mills, Nawaz said that he does not directly know where the funds for the creation of the factory came from. However, Tariq Shafis statement suggests that the Gulf Steel Mills were created through loans. Nawaz testified that he was not aware of how Gulf Steel Mills ran and was not a witness to how it was sold, adding that his knowledge about the matter was based on hearsay. Tariq Shafi was neither named a suspect in these trials nor was he called in as a witness in the case, Nawaz said during his testimony. It is a reality that I was taken into custody on October 12, 1999. After that I was sent off to Saudi Arabia, Nawaz said, adding that he is aware that his father Mian Sharif had made Hussain and Maryam Nawaz directors of Hudaibiya Paper Mills. I also know that Hassan Nawaz was made a shareholder in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills by my deceased father, he added. Addressing NABs allegations that he failed to appear despite being served a notice, Nawaz said that he never personally received the notice nor was there any evidence to prove that the security officer at his Jati Umra residence received it. He clarified that he directed his lawyers to file a reply after finding out about the notice through media. Nawaz also said that during the course of the JIT probe and the filing of the references, he was not given the right to a free trial as enshrined in Article 10A of the constitution. Price of 44% manganese ore slides by 11.4% Chinese alloy prices soften and inventories tick upward Top price for Indian silico-manganese dips European silico-manganese price drops US alloys spot demand quiet; lower ore prices threaten market. Metal Bulletins price index for 37% manganese ore cif Tianjin, China , fell on May 18 by $0.28 to $5.94 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu).Metal Bulletins price index for 37% manganese ore fob Port Elizabeth, South Africa , dropped by $0.29 to $5.30 per dmtu on the same day.And Metal Bulletins price index for 44% manganese ore cif Tianjin, China , slumped $0.84 to $6.55 per dmtu. This week has been absolute chaos, with major producers launching more than one round of offers to the same customers, a source at a miner told Metal Bulletin. Chinese consumers are sticking to their guns, saying they... N. KOTZIAS: We had a very interesting and friendly meeting with the American Secretary of State. We discussed the problems in our region, especially those in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. Earlier, we spoke with Wess Mitchell. I think the relations between our two countries are on a positive course. I underscored the need to ensure the regions security and stability, and I referred in more detail to Turkeys conduct and the need to support the international rights of the Republic of Cyprus: that Cyprus must not be seen simply as a problem for the UN, but as a sovereign state with specific roles and capabilities in the region. I would also like to say that, as you know, I am continuing with meetings in Washington, today and tomorrow. I have meetings on Wednesday morning. Our delegation will then travel to New York. There, I will meet with the UN Secretary-General to discuss the issues and the reforms pertaining to the UN itself, as well as the issues of interest to our country. I will also meet with the President of the UN General Assembly and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, Miroslav Lajcak. On Thursday and Friday, we will meet with Mr. Nimetz and the fYROM delegation to continue the negotiations on the name issue and related matters. As is obvious, on the name issue, we support the need to adopt one of the names proposed by Mr. Nimetz we dont agree, as you know, with his 5th proposal and to proceed to the implementation of a strategic plan for friendly cooperation with that country in the future, with its new name. Thank you. JOURNALIST: Did you discuss the Skopje issue with Mr. Pompeo? N. KOTZIAS: No, the Skopje issue was not brought up. We did discuss it with Mr. Mitchell, yesterday and today. JOURNALIST: What exactly was said? Was there any urging to close the issue? N. KOTZIAS: No one is urging us in any particular direction, because Greece has the initiative on this issue, and everyone is watching, in a positive way, how a country with a proactive foreign policy promotes solutions. JOURNALIST: What did he say regarding the issue of military equipment for Turkey? N. KOTZIAS: They have reservations as well. JOURNALIST: Was the matter of the two soldiers raised? N. KOTZIAS: We were asked, and we said that it is unacceptable for a NATO member state to be holding two officers of the Greek Army. But, as you know, Turkey is also holding a number of U.S. citizens in its prisons as well. Thank you. 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. We need wood chips In your SCO send me the details of the wood chips you have: 1. Are these for biomass or for MDF/Pulp and Paper 2. Specification and analysis 3. Volume per shipment 4. Total per year 5. Do you do CIF or FOB? 6. If FOB please let me know export port and loading rates. 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. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has made its combat debut in the Middle East. Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin announced that its F-35 aircraft, known as Adir, "are already operational and flying in operational missions." "We are the first in the world to use the F-35 in operational activity," Norkin said via the official Israel Defense Forces' Twitter account Tuesday. Norkin said F-35s had been used in two recent strikes, but it is unclear whether the aircraft supported the missions by providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance or conducted the strikes. The F-35 has conducted strikes in the Middle East on at least two occasions in recent months, he said. Related content: "We have performed the first operational F-35 strike in the world," Norkin told audiences at Israel's international air force commander convention Tuesday. "We attacked twice in the Middle East using the F-35. We are the first in the world to do so." Earlier this month, Iranian forces "fired 32 rockets, we intercepted 4 of them & the rest fell outside Israeli territory," Norkin tweeted, referring to a counterattack in the Golan Heights. Israel responded by attacking multiple Iranian weapons and logistics sites in Syria. "In our response attack, more than 100 ground-to-air missiles were fired at our planes," he said. Israel declared initial operating capability of its Lockheed Martin-made F-35I in December. Middle Eastern outlets have said the fifth-generation stealth aircraft has likely made flights before for reconnaissance missions over or near Syrian territory, but those reports are unconfirmed. In February, Israel launched a counterattack on Iranian targets in Syria in response to an Iranian drone's intrusion into its airspace. During the mission, an Israeli F-16 was targeted and crash landed back in Israeli territory. Critics at the time wondered why the F-35 wasn't used, since the aircraft would have been better able to evade enemy radar. But pilots and former members of the Israeli Air Force said use of the F-35 would have been risky so early in its operational lifespan. "If they thought that the targets were so strategically important, I'm sure they'd consider using them. But they weren't. So why risk use of the F-35s at such an early point in their operational maturity?" retired Israeli Air Force Brig. Gen. Abraham Assael told Defense News at the time. Israel in August signed a new contract with Lockheed for its next batch of 17 aircraft, following two previous contracts for 33 aircraft. IAF officials have expressed interest in buying up to 30 additional aircraft. Israel's declaration comes a few short months after the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing fighter embarked on its first deployment aboard the amphibious assault ship Wasp for patrols in the Pacific. The U.S. Air Force similarly deployed its F-35A variant to Asia in November. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Conspiracy theorists, stand down. There are no subliminal messages in photos showing the U.S. Air Force's new OCP uniform, service officials say. Images released with the rollout of the new camouflage last week showed an airman pictured from the neck down, sporting a "Snowden" nametape. Readers couldn't help speculating about the use of the infamous name. Some wondering why an organization which promotes "operational security" would allude to Edward Snowden, the former NSA employee responsible for one of the greatest information leaks in U.S. history. "SNOWDEN? [Whose] freakin' idea was that? Russian military uniform perhaps?" one reader wrote on Facebook. "Anyone wondering why the name tape says "Snowden"? Just curious," said a few others. Military.com received dozens of messages asking whether or not this was intentional; others asked if the Air Force was perhaps signaling Edward Snowden in some way. Related content: In one particularly improbable theory, a reader even asked if, by donning the new uniform, service leaders such as Chief Master Sgt of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright are secretly signalling support for Snowden and his actions. But have no fear. There is no conspiracy afoot. According to Air Force officials, Senior Master Sgt. Snowden is a real person. Officials did not disclose her first name. Snowden was a model of opportunity, officials said; her uniform was crisp and clean enough for photographers to snap a few pictures of her when the service needed someone to step up to the plate for the photo array. The service announced last Monday it will adopt the Army's Operational Camouflage Pattern as its new combat uniform and will begin incrementally phasing it in beginning Oct. 1. The service is axing its Airman Battle Uniform, known as the ABU, for the OCP over the next three years, with the expectation that all airmen will be wearing the OCP by April 2021. The three-year transition is expected to cost the service about $237 million. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @oriana0214. Navy IP Officers to Go To Sea Information Professional (IP) restricted line officers are going to sea as Communications Officers (COMMO) on destroyers (DDG), cruisers (CG), and amphibious dock landing (LSD) ships in a program called the Afloat Network Security Initiative (ANSI). IPs onboard will work with Surface Warfare Assistant COMMOs to increase warfighting readiness. About 40 ships have IP COMMOs, but ultimately all 113 DDGs, CGs and LSDs will have IP COMMOs with the rank of lieutenant junior grade. Plans call for 100 of the billets to be filled in FY 19. Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR) oversee the program. For more information, visit the NAVIFOR website and follow NAVIFOR on Facebook. For more Navy news, visit the Military.com Navy section. Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the American Authors Association Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the Military Writers Society of America. Navy Seeks Seaman-To-Admiral Program Applicants The Seaman-To-Admiral (STA-21) commissioning program, which provides an opportunity for qualified Sailors to receive college educations and navy commissions, is soliciting applications for fiscal year 2019. The deadline for submitting application packages is July 1. STA-21 is open to enlisted personnel of all pay grades and ratings. STA-21 pays up to $10,000 per year for college costs while Sailors draw their full pay and allowances for their current pay grade. For more information, visit the STA-21 website, contact your command career counselor, or call the NSTC officer development directorate at (850) 452-9563. For more Navy news, visit the Military.com Navy section. For more information on military education benefits, including the GI Bill, visit the Military.com Education section. Officials with Facebook who help with their military community and veteran outreach want to make sure you know about their jobs board tool -- and they are hoping it will make PCS season just a little easier. Presented this week at an event at Fort Bragg, North Carolina run in partnership with Blue Star Families, the tool is especially friendly for job hunters looking for that part time, fill the gaps employment, said Payton Iheme, a Lt. Col in the Army National Guard and director of Facebook's public policy team. "This space of veterans is a passion project for the company," she said in an interview with Military.com after the Fort Bragg event. "We were like, 'we have this tool, how can we use it with military veterans and spouses?'" Iheme said during his sit down with spouses at Bragg last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg heard over and over just how difficult the career world is for military spouses. And while many spouses really are looking for long term careers, sometimes they do just want a job to fill the gaps. That's where the social media giant's tool steps in. With hyper local listings, Iheme said it can help make that PCS process just a little easier by helping them nail down a gig on a platform which they are already using. Of course, Facebook isn't the only jobs tool out there with a special focus on the military community. Monster, Military.com's parent company, offers an extensive jobs and careers center, for example. But it nice to know that, especially in the midst of the crazy PCS season, there are more options, not less. Check out Facebook's job boards here and Monster's here. About Me Scott Because prophetic scriptures are found throughout the bible, it is obvious that a comprehensive, systematic approach would be useful, if not necessary, for the understanding of prophecy. Past prophecies have been fulfilled in a literal manner, as confirmed by the dating of these writings and historical records of confirmation. These past prophecies also serve as a model of how to interpret future prophecies. A literal view of prophecy clearly indicates a certain sequence of events will occur within a single generation, concluding with the Tribulation and Second Advent and these events will be obvious. The prophetic signs appear to be present in this generation and we believe these signs are revealed in the news from around the world. View my complete profile The road to hell is paved with good intentions, so goes the saying. Farmers in India can easily relate to it. For years, politicians across parties have made them tall promises without any definitive plan to make good on them. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is another such example where intent has not really translated into outcome. The scheme was launched with much fanfare and got a good response as well from the farmers. Initially, only those farmers who had availed of bank loans were given the cover. The revamped scheme was attractive as it also covered farmers who had not taken bank loans. Further, the new policy covered more food crops, oilseeds, and horticultural crops. What changed is that farmers could now insure their income stream as against only their liability earlier. The icing on the cake was that the farmer had to pay only 2 percent for Kharif crops and 1.5 percent for Rabi crops. For commercial and horticulture crops, the premium increased to 5 percent. The remaining portion of the premium was subsidised by the state and the central government. So what went wrong with this farmer-friendly policy? Two reasons can be attributed to the abysmal state of affairs in crop insurance. One is operational and second is fiscal in general and financial in particular. Lets take a look at the operational issue, which is long-term in nature. In order to fix a benchmark of what is the average yield of a crop, the government agencies conduct tests called crop cutting experiments (CCE). These are conducted at a district/sub-division level. A field is selected by the agency to conduct the test and the crop is grown and harvested. It then goes through other processes which makes it ready to be taken to the market, just as any farmer would do. The crop is dried and weighed to get the yield. This method has been in use by the government to arrive at agriculture production data. Now this yield acts as a benchmark for insurance companies and more recently to the state government who have made loan waivers a norm. While there is nothing wrong with the process of CCE, the sheer size of it makes the entire exercise restrict growth. As per the PMFBY, state governments are expected to conduct four CCEs in every village panchayat for each crop and submit the data within a month of harvest. India has 2.5 lakh gram panchayats, which mean 10 lakh CCEs in a single season for a single crop. If more than one crop is grown in the area, the number shoots up. The sheer size of implementing the CCE is one of the main reason preventing growth as well as the closure of claims of PMFBY. The second reason is state government apathy. The poor state of finances of most of the state governments in the country has prevented them to pay their part of the subsidized crop premium. The process requires that the farmer first pays his premium to initiate a crop insurance which is followed by the state government and the central government. While claims keep on mounting payouts have crashed. Reports say that against claims of Rs 14,453 crore for crop losses in Kharif 2017 insurance firms have cleared only Rs 733 crore. That is a closure rate of only 5 percent. This is a sharp drop from 95 percent in the Kharif season of 2016. The delay in disbursing the crop insurance claim can be the difference between life and death. Farmers generally borrow, either from the local moneylender, input suppliers or banks ahead of the cropping season with the promise of returning the amount with interest post harvesting. If the crop fails, the only way to prevent the lender from coming at his doorsteps is to get the insurance money as soon as possible. Perhaps the bank might understand the delay in payment of claims by the government, but a local loan shark couldnt care less. Governments have made loan waivers a norm by announcing it in their election manifesto, but when it comes to honoring their part of the bargain in crop insurance they shy away from it. Unfortunately, some suicides and a farmer dharna is the only language that the government seems to understand. The PMFBY was seen as a promising scheme and one that could help achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modis plan of doubling farmer income. Complexity in operations and the state governments getting away with non-compliance is a sure way of killing the scheme. A time-bound approach to reimbursement of claims and a practical way of addressing the operational issues can make crop insurance a success. Presently only around 30 percent of the countrys cropped area is covered by PMFBY, the target is to raise this to 50 percent in 2018-19. Unless the government gets its act together, PMFBY will join the league of hundreds of incomplete well-intentioned government schemes. 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. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Fortis Healthcare will May 23 announce the outcome of its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held a day earlier to clear two resolutions. One of the resolution pertains to the removal of four directors - Brian Tempest, Harpal Singh, Sabina Vaisoha and Tejinder Shergill, while the other was related to ratifying the three directors Suvalaxmi Chakraborty, Ravi Rajagopal and Indrajit Banerjee nominated by minority shareholders. Three board members Singh, Vaisoha, and Shergill have already submitted resignations citing personal reasons. The voting will decide on Tempest's removal. The EGM was called by Fortis minority shareholders East Bridge Capital and Jupiter India Fund in April to remove the directors on an allegation that the Board failed to be fair to all shareholders. The EGM which has begun at 10 am in Delhi concluded in less than 30 minutes, as most shareholders cast their votes using an electronic voting system. The outcomes of voting will be notified to stock exchanges tomorrow (May 23), as the counting process hasnt been completed, said Fortis spokesperson. The EGM assumes significance as any change in the composition of the board may result in the re-examination of the entire bidding process. The re-look seems a step prompted by the resignation of three directors who backed the Munjal-Burmans offer. Amit Tandon, Managing Director of proxy advisory firm IiAS that recommended supporting resolutions of East Bridge Capital on the removal of the four directors said he is waiting for the outcome. Shares of Fortis declined 2.32 percent to close at Rs 145.05 on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex gained 0.10 percent to end 34,651.24 points. Former Infosys chief executive Vishal Sikka received Rs 13 crore in salary in FY18, while four other top executives made nearly Rs 10 crore each. Sikkas compensation at the technology services firm included about Rs 3 crore in lieu of notice and variable pay, the companys annual report revealed. The first non co-founder CEO of Infosys stepped down from his role on August 24, 2017, following a public battle with co-founder NR Narayana Murthy who questioned corporate governance practices at the company under Sikka. The current CEO Salil Parekhs remuneration in FY 2018 is Rs 3.98 crore, which was approved by shareholders via a postal ballot, which concluded on February 20 this year. Shareholders also approved an annual grant of restricted stock units of fair value of Rs 3.25 crore, which will vest over time in three equal annual instalments on completion of each year of service from completion of the grants date. Parekhs salary structure also includes a one-time grant of RSUs of fair value of Rs 9.75 crore, which will vest over time in two annual instalments, and an annual grant of performance based RSUs of fair value Rs 13 crore, which will vest after completion of three years, subject to targets set by the board or its committee. Infosys Chief Operating Officer UB Pravin Rao received a hike in the year, which takes his salary to Rs 8.22 crore, from Rs 7.80 crore in FY 2017. Mohit Joshi, president and head of banking, financial services and insurance ( BFSI), healthcare and life sciences drew a salary of Rs 10.30 crore, while Rajesh K Murthy, president and head of energy, resources, utilities, communications and services took home a paycheck of Rs 9.58 crore this year. Ravi Kumar S, President and Deputy COO was paid a salary of Rs 9.54 crore. The chief executive officer MD Ranganath drew a salary of Rs 7.98 crore. 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. Leading internet company Google has quietly modified its corporate Code of Conduct removing the dont be evil clause from its opening line. The change reflected sometime between April 21 and May 4. Interestingly though, the Alphabet (parent company of Google) website says that the Code was last updated on April 5, 2018. But an archive of the page on April 21 and the code currently uploaded on the website are different, suggesting that it was modified sometime after April 21. Before April 21, the Google Code of Conduct started with the famous clause which has been the mainstay of the companys corporate philosophy for last 18 years. First pointed out by Gizmodo, the phrase has been so ingrained in Google sphere that a version of it was WiFi password for shuttles that Google uses to ferry its employees to its Mountain View headquarters. Here are the relevant sections of the Google code of conduct which existed before April 21: 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 honourably, 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. The paragraphs stated above have been modified now and dont be evil does not appear in the initial paragraphs. However, the clause does appear at the end of the code, as before. And remember dont be evil, and if you see something that you think isnt right speak up! it says. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The Centre has directed all 11 public sector banks under the Reserve Bank of Indias prompt corrective action (PCA) framework to submit revival plans by Friday, as per a report in The Economic Times. Some banks recently told the Finance Ministry that they require more than one year to come out of the restrictions that the PCA has imposed on them. Sources close to the government told ET that banks are already looking at many stringent austerity measures, including hiring freeze. All banks are already looking to consolidate their operations. They will present a more detailed plan, which will incorporate rationalisation of branches, differentiated products and services, and measures, he added. Three to four banks may come out of the PCA framework much earlier than expected, an official said. As more cases resolve under the Bankruptcy Code, we expect more capital to free up and reduction in non-performing assets. #IBC transforming CREDIT CULTURE in #NewIndia. Abt RS 35000 cr reduction of #NPAs of #PSBs in Bhushan Steel case. Reduction of NPAs in individual PSBs range from abt Rs. 500 Cr. to over Rs. 10,000 Cr. @PMOIndia @FinMinIndia @PIB_India Rajeev kumar (@rajeevkumr) May 21, 2018 Rajiv Kumar, Financial Services Secretary, on Monday tweeted that after the resolution of Bhushan Steel through dedicated bankruptcy framework, there will be a reduction of Rs 35,000 crore of NPAs for state run banks. This will also help in bringing down their bad loans by more than Rs 10,000 crore. Moodys Investors Service on Monday destroyed Punjab National Banks foreign and local currency deposit ratings and estimated that a capital infusion of Rs 12,000-Rs 13,000 crore is required to strengthen the capital ratios. As the second-largest public sector bank in India by total deposits, the systemic importance of PNB is very high and Moodys expects that the government will provide extraordinary support to the banks creditors and depositors when required, Moodys said. FM Piyush Goyal had said that government will give PSBs as much support as possible. We will ensure that the central government supports strengthening of the banks to help them come out of the PCA framework as quickly as possible. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The Delhi High Court today dismissed a plea by Tata Group-owned Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), challenging the tender procedure of the proposed auction of Delhi's Taj Mahal Hotel by the NDMC. The verdict was pronounced by a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla. The court had reserved its arguments on May 3 after hearing arguments of the counsel for the IHCL and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) which had claimed that it had not prejudiced Tatas in any way. The apex court had on April 20 last year allowed the civic agency to e-auction five-star hotel Taj Mansingh, currently being run by Tata Group firm IHCL, in the heart of the national capital. The Tatas had moved the division bench of the high court against the September 5, 2016, judgement of a single judge who had not acceded to the firm's request for renewal of licence for a further period, saying it was not entitled for the extension. The IHCL had submitted in the court that the NDMC has failed to consider the last year's order of the Supreme Court that they had an unblemished track record. The property, owned by the NDMC, was given to the IHCL on a lease of 33 years. The lease had ended in 2011 and the company was given nine temporary extensions since then on various grounds, with three of them granted last year itself. The NDMC had announced the e-auction of its premium hotels in Lutyen's Delhi Taj Mansingh, The Connaught and Hotel Asian International for a period of 33 years. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East Vodafone India may not accept international arbitration orders annulling tax demands on British firms Vodafone Plc and Cairn Energy, a senior official said, adding the tax department would continue with recovery actions. The government, he said, believes that taxation is not covered under bilateral investment protection treaties, which the two British firm have taken refuge under to initiate arbitration, and as such cannot be arbitrated. While the final hearing in Cairn Energy Plc's challenge to a Rs 10,247 crore retrospective tax demand will begin in August in The Hague, an international arbitration tribunal will in February next year begin hearing in British telecom giant Vodafone's challenge to India using a retrospective legislation to seek Rs 22,100 crore in taxes. "We believe that the arbitration panel cannot decide on the tax demand," the official told PTI. India's main contention in both the arbitrations is that taxation is not covered under any bilateral investment protection treaty and as such cannot be arbitrated. It is challenging the jurisdiction of such panels to adjudicate on tax matters. "If they overrule the tax demand, then India will not accept the arbitration order. We will continue with tax recovery proceedings," he said. "If the panel rules that tax demand is not proper, then it is questioning the sovereign, which we will not accept." Cairn had initiated an international arbitration using the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty after the Indian government (in 2014) used a two-year-old law to raise a Rs 10,247 crore demand on a decade-old internal reorganisation of the company's unit in the country. Following the draft assessment order of January 2014, the tax department attached the company's residual 9.8 per cent shares in its erstwhile subsidiary, Cairn India, and confiscated over Rs 1,000 crore of dividend it was due to receive. A Rs 1,590 crore income tax refund was also confiscated. Vodafone had used the Netherlands-India Bilateral Investment Treaty to trigger an arbitration over India using the 2012 legislation that gave it powers to retrospective tax deals like its USD 11-billion acquisition of 67 per cent stake in the mobile phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa in 2007. The official said India has challenged tribunal's jurisdiction to decide on such matters. While Vodafone is supposed to file its response to the government objection by July, India will respond to this by December, thereafter the tribunal will begin hearing in February 2019. Vodafone has challenged the demand of Rs 7,990 crore in capital gains taxes (Rs 22,100 crore after including interest and penalty) under the treaty. "We continue to hold that tax demands are not covered under the investment treaties and we will tell that to the arbitration panels," the official said. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Nifty, which continued to correct on Monday, has fallen nearly 4 percent from its three-month high of 10,900 that it hit earlier this month. Rising crude oil prices, weaker rupee, weak corporate earnings and the political uncertainty in Karnataka dented the market sentiment. Experts believe the consolidation is likely to continue for a while as investors will closely monitor the movement of oil prices and rupee, and the remaining corporate earnings. "We expect the Indian markets to remain rangebound in the coming sessions. Further course of market would be dictated by global developments, crude oil price and currency movement in near term," Jayant Manglik, President, Religare Broking said. However, stock-specific volatility would continue with on-going corporate earnings season, he feels. "We would advise investors to accumulate quality companies on dips." Vikas Jain, Senior Research Analyst, Reliance Securities also said one would have to be very selective in the approach towards individual stocks from the current levels as lot of macros are changing with respect to higher crude prices and rupee weakness against the greenback. Higher crude oil prices and the rupees weakness will continue to act as dampener putting lot of pressure on the fiscal deficit and bond yields in the short term, he feels. Here is the list of top 10 stocks that can return between 28 percent and 94 percent in 10-24 months period: Brokerage: Prabhudas Lilladher Aurobindo Pharma: Buy | Target - Rs 909 | Return - 61% Aurobindo received VAI status from USFDA post the company's adequate address of the concerns on the Bhiwadi plant. The assigned status by USFDA is positive development for ARBP as the status implies that the plant is unlikely to receive warning letter. ARBP filed ANDAs on four Penems from the plant and currently supplies only Meropenem (market size: $98 million) to US and multiple Penems to emerging markets. There are three Penems of ARBP are under review including Doripenem (market size: $2 million), Ertapenem (market size: $383 million) and Imipenem/Cilastatin (market size: $18 million). With Apotex recalled 36 lots of Tazo-Pip (3.375gm and 4.5gm/vial) in US due to elevated levels of impurities, there could be a possibility of Aurobindo to boost its Rx share in Tazo-Pip in near to medium term. While the recalled lot size is too small to assume market share expansion in near term, the ongoing organisational disarray in Apotex (promoted died with no heir apparent, CEO resigned with no captain in the ship) may led to the lower supply from Apotex or regulatory scanning from USFDA due to lingering of the issue. Currently, Aurobindo produces Tazo-pip from Unit-12 and newly inducted Unit-16. Aurobindo received revenues of $22 million from Tazo-Pip in FY17 and expected to have revenues of $30 million in FY18E. While it will be too early to discount the possibility in earnings estimates, Aurobindo's 9 percent Rx share in Tazo-Pip may gain from 16 percent Rx share of Apotex going forward. We maintain Buy and retain target price at Rs 909. Brokerage: Elara Capital UltraTech Cement: Buy | Target - Rs 4,989 | Return - 29% UltraTech Cement has announced it will be acquiring the cement business of Century Textiles in a share swap deal. In the near term, the deal will depress UltraTech margin, as its EBITDA per tonne is Rs 970 in FY18 versus Century Textiles Rs 445 (blended, including clinker volume). As Century Textiles cement book value is low (net block of Rs 2,400 crore, i.e., $27), depreciation burden is likely to be less. Thus, the deal would be EPS-accretive. Our analysis indicates the deal could add Rs 5.5 to EPS by FY21E, i.e., the second year after completion of acquisition (we assume savings of 10 percent in fixed cost, 6 percent reduction in freight cost, reduction in cost of debt by 75bp and transfer fees of Rs 64 per tonne with a volume CAGR of 7 percent over FY18-21E). After factoring in the acquisition in FY20 numbers (the first year), we upgrade EPS by 1 percent and target price by 2 percent to Rs 4,988. We upgrade rating to Buy from Accumulate due to 7 percent price correction since 25-Apr-2018. Birla Corporation: Buy | Target - Rs 1,100 | Return - 51% We believe the company will gain pricing power in the central region, accounting for 56 percent of overall capacity on limited capacity additions. Cost structure also is expected to improve, as the company will be reducing the purchase of power from the grid in Reliance Cement (RCCPL) by installing a waste heat recovery system (WHRS) and use of alternative fuels. Apart from this, a strong pipeline of capacity addition would ensure it will grow faster than the industry. Thus, we reiterate Buy rating on the stock with a revised price target of Rs 1,100 from Rs 1,229 based on enterprise value per tonne of USD 110 on FY20E capacity. Brokerage: HDFC Securities JBM Auto: Buy | Target - Rs 560 | Return - 45% We believe, JBM Auto's core sheet metal business (body-in-white and chassis) will continue to deliver strong earing growth helped by 1) Accelerated growth in passenger vehicle's segment, 2) Increasing revenue from Ford, Tata Motors, M&M, RE, HMSI and VECV, 3) benefits of operating leverage. Also, strong order book of tooling division business will boost margin and profitability. Moreover, proposed amalgamation of its subsidiary JBMAS and JV JBMMA into a single entity will be synergetic and EPS accretive. We reckon 35 percent PAT CAGR over FY18-FY20E; fuelled by improving operating leverage, richer product mix and acquisition of new clients. We value stock at Rs 560 (18x FY20E EPS) and maintain Buy. Brokerage: Edelweiss Securities KEI Industries: Buy | Target - Rs 580 | Return - 29% KEI Industries posted strong turnkey revenue, leading to 17 percent revenue beat in Q4FY18. Bottomline also surpassed estimate around 30 percent. Key highlights: a) Q4 & FY18 cables volume grew around 18 percentreasonable in light of tepid housing demandattributable to KEIs diversified business, & is better than peers; and b) exports (up 21 percent YoY) & extra high voltage (EHV; up 65 percent YoY) helped KEI outpace peers, driving overall utilisation above 90 percent. We revise up FY19/20E EPS 4/6 percent factoring in higher growth. We believe, strong return on capital employed (RoCE) and earnings spurt will be complemented by rising B2C traction driving free cash flow over FY18-20. Maintain Buy with revised target price of Rs 580 (Rs 550 earlier). Brokerage: Stewart & Mackertich Dollar Industries: Buy | Target - Rs 656 | Return - 66% Stewart & Mackerch Research iniates coverage on Dollar Industries (DIL) with a strong Buy rating. It has a wide range of men's, women's and kids' innerwear. It has been given the status of an export house by the government of India. On the back of favorable policies by the government towards development of businesses in India coupled with aggressive organic and inorganic growth, Dollar Industries is expecng a healthy growth of 15-20 percent per year for a period of 5 years. Aggressive brand building exercises would lead to the Company accruing 15 percent EBITDA in a period of next 3 years. Internet penetration and urbanisation are the key areas which Dollar Industries is targeting in order to carve out a market share in the premium and super-premium segments with the help of e-commerce, modern outlets, and EBO models. The company is radically trying to change the way it operates by transforming itself to a value-driven, innovation inspired, asset light and brand powered company. We assign a P/E(x) multiple of 36.10 on FY20E EPS, to arrive at a target price of Rs 656. Brokerage: SMC ONGC: Buy | Target - Rs 261 | Return - 41% The company achieved good performance during Q3FY18 and management expects demand for crude oil would continue to rise from the strong consumption growth in petroleum products and prices are expected to firm up sharply. It is expected exploring and other activities would get benefit from free pricing, strong demand and stabilising capacity additions, thus we expect the stock to see a price target of Rs 261 in 8 to 10 months time frame on a target expected P/E of 11x and FY19 (E) earnings of Rs 23.75. Brokerage: Motilal Oswal Tata Chemicals: Buy | Target - Rs 941 | Return - 28% The companys cash-cow business soda ash and sodium bicarbonate has been performing well across geographies. Apart from that, the company has begun focusing on growing other segments, as evident from the launch of new products under pulses and expected commissioning of the HDS plant in FY19 and of the nutraceuticals plant in 1HFY20. We largely maintain estimates, and expect Tata Chemicals to deliver 10 percent revenue CAGR and 7 percent PAT CAGR over FY18-20E. We value Tata Chemicals on an SOTP basis to arrive at a target price of Rs 941. Maintain Buy. Brokerage: Dolat Capital Suven Life Sciences: Buy | Target - Rs 350 | Return - 94% Analysis indicates companys earnings have reached a sustainable base and will continue to improve on this base going ahead. We expect the core CRAMS base (Core CRAMs around 13 percent CAGR FY14-18) coupled with the commercial/pre-commercial supplies that have started ramping up company is on better earning trajectory. One more molecule addition to commercial phase further enhances FY20E earnings outlook. However, FY19E consolidated number would see higher R&D spend as the SUVN 502 phase II trials are expected to conclude (remaining R&D spend of $10 million would be spilled over FY19E and FY20E, which larger portion in FY19E. With one of the best management with a focus on NCE development, this investment adds a huge option value from its current NCE pipeline called SUVN 502 (in Phase II A, trials ongoing). We have a Buy rating with to 20xFY20E EPS, resulting in target price of Rs 350. Brokerage: Equity99 Newgen Software Technologies: Buy | Target - Rs 500 | Return - 94% Newgen Software Technologies is a software products company offering a platform that enables organizations to rapidly develop powerful applications addressing strategic business needs. Newgen is currently trading at 22.9x FY18 P/E, which is reasonable in our view, given strong growth prospects. It has healthy balance sheet & scalable business model. Company continues to strengthen the horizontal product platform with vertical service accelerators. We strongly believe Newgen can drive innovation and adopting solutions in line with rapidly evolving technological trends. Considering the above, along with the growth drivers; we recommend a strong Buy to investors with a target price of Rs 500 with duration of 18-24 months. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Ashok Leyland (AL), Indias second largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, reported a strong set of numbers for the final quarter of FY18 led by robust volume growth and increase in realisation. We see numerous tailwinds for the company such as more organised players in the economy, strong exports, its defence strategy and focus on electric vehicles (EVs). With the impact of regulatory headwinds such as demonetisation, implementation of the Goods & Services Tax and shift to BS-IV emission norms behind it, the company posted a significant year-on-year (YoY) growth of 32.6 percent in net revenue from operations. Growth was driven primarily by strong volume growth (23.4 percent YoY) and increase in realisations (7.4 percent YoY). Net realisation improved on the back of a better product mix and higher prices. On the volume front, medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment, including exports, grew 15 percent YoY, whereas the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment grew 59 percent YoY. For the full-year, net revenue grew 31.1 percent (YoY), helped by a 20.5 percent YoY growth in volumes and 8.8 percent YoY growth in realisation. The company achieved its highest ever domestic MHCV and LCV sales at 101,905 units and 43,441 units, respectively. It also gained market share across all segments during FY18. ALs operating profit margin in the March quarter rose 80 bps on stable raw material prices and better efficiencies. For the full year, operating profit margin fell 70 bps due to steep rise in raw material prices. There was some relief in the form of a lower wage bill, but not good enough to offset higher input costs. The management sounded positive on future growth, citing multiple tailwinds. In the Q1 FY18 conference call, the management said Hinduja Foundries would be EBITDA positive going forward. It turned EBITDA positive in Q2 itself and performed well in Q3. On a full-year basis, it was EBITDA positive.For the full year, the company gained market share across segments driven by new launches 17 of them and wide acceptance of its iEGR technology. The management expects to maintain its market share going forward as well.It sees robust demand for commercial vehicles continuing over the next one-to-two years given the governments thrust on infrastructure and mining. The management said the strict ban on overloading would continue to increase demand for its vehicles. While admitting to the competitive intensity, the management was confident about its products and position in the market.The company has a focused strategy for developing electric vehicles. The management expects EVs to constitute a large part of its business in future. Towards this end, AL is making significant investments in various technologies. It is not clear at this stage which of those would deliver the optimum result. Its focus is on keeping the vehicle cost low as that will be a critical factor in wider adoption. The company recently launched Indias first electric bus with battery swap technology. It would be supplying the vehicles to the Gujarat government in the next four-to-five months. Given the governments increasing focus on defence, the management confident about the long-term opportunities in the sector. It does not see any slowdown in defence spend in the near- to medium-term and sees huge potential. During FY18, the company bagged 12 defence tenders and expects this momentum to continue.At the current price, the stock trades at a reasonable valuation of 20.3 times FY19e and 17.3 times FY20e earnings. Investors can start accumulating the stock. We remain positive on the stock. It has also bolstered its position in the market and looks set to gain from infrastructure spending and increase in the number of organised players in the economy. Follow @NitinAgrawal65 For more research articles, visit our Moneycontrol Research page live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Star Cement, the largest manufacturer in the North East, reported tepid numbers for the March quarter. Better realisations drove the double-digit growth in topline, but volumes were largely stagnant and profitability was hit by higher expenses. Despite the lackluster quarterly performance, Star stands to benefit from its strong presence in the North East and the industrial development in this region. Rising costs weigh on the margins Volumes for the quarter at 0.80 million tonnes were largely flat year-on-year. Demand in the North East was strong, but this was offset by low offtake in Eastern regions. Realisations for the quarter increased 11 percent as the company was able to increase prices. Operating profit for the March quarter declined 15 percent over the same quarter previous year. Expenses rose, as freight subsidies expired in January, and due to higher fuel and raw material prices. Higher advertising spends and District Mining Foundation (DMF) provisions further dragged the margins lower. DMF was created for the benefit of persons and areas affected by mining-related operations, and companies have to contribute a certain sum to it. Debottlenecking clinker capacity The clinker utilisation rate for the quarter reached near full capacity (97-98 percent) during the March quarter. To meet the additional demand, Star Cement is planning to expand its clinker capacity from 2.6 million tonnes to 3.0 million tonnes by investing around Rs 15 crore. The company plans to set up a 1.5-2.0 million tonnes grinding unit in Siliguri (West Bengal) at a cost of Rs 200-250 crore. This capacity is expected to become operational by the second half of FY20. Demand environment to improve The company has a dominant position in the North East and enjoys 23-25 percent market share. In 2017, the government initiated the North-East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS) for five years. This scheme, which replaces the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIPP), has been designed to promote industrialisation in the states of the region. This bodes well for companies like Star Cement as does other government projects such as Bharat mala and housing for all. The management is hopeful of demand recovery in North East and expects 7-8 percent volume growth this financial year. Outlook and Recommendation With a pick-up in infrastructure development activities, demand is expected to remain firm in Star Cements core operating markets. While the demand picture looks robust, the company is facing a challenging cost environment with rising input costs and expiry of freight subsidy. Star Cement with its unique geographical positioning is well positioned to overcome near-term cost pressures. The company is trading at an FY20 Enterprise Value/EBITDA multiple of 11 times and should be considered in the ongoing market correction. Follow @Sach_Pal President Donald Trump 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. Pakistan's Election Commission has recommended July 25, 26 or 27 as probable dates for the forthcoming general elections in the country. The election schedule would be issued in the first week of June. Resident doctors of Sion Hospital will continue their strike tomorrow against alleged assault of 2 resident doctors at JJ Hospital by patient's family on May 19. Resident doctors of St George Hospital, GT Hospital & Cama Hospital will also go on strike tomorrow. Earlier this year, websites of Home, Defence, Law and Labour Ministries went down in a suspected cyber attack, raising a serious question on the security system of the country. No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the same. The official website of Jamia Millia Islamia University was hacked last night, reports ANI. On visiting, the website (http://jmi.ac.in), displayed a birthday greeting, which read, "Happy Birthday Pooja. Your love." Govt may not sell Air India if it does not get adequate pricing: Aviation secretary May 22, 2018 / 09:44 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 22, 2018 / 09:44 PM IST JUST IN | Government has collected Rs 6,416 crore tax from non-filers identified from deposits made during demonetisation, reports CNBC TV18. The Tax department has isssued notices to nearly 3 lakh people who had deposited Rs 10 lakh and more in banks after demonetisation. Out of 3.4 lakh people, only 2.09 lakh people had filed returns responding to the tax notices. May 22, 2018 / 09:38 PM IST Foreign tourist arrivals register over 4% growth in April 2018 Over seven lakh foreign tourists arrived in India in April 2018, registering a growth of 4.4 percent over last year, the Tourism Ministry said today. The ministry compiles monthly Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and FTAs on e-Tourist Visa on the basis of information received from Bureau of Immigration (BOI). May 22, 2018 / 09:34 PM IST May 22, 2018 / 09:28 PM IST Petrol, diesel should be brought under GST: Congress The Congress attacked the PM Modi government over rising petrol and diesel prices, and demanded they be brought under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The Congress also demanded reduction in excise duties on petroleum products imposed by the Centre and the VAT by various state governments. May 22, 2018 / 09:16 PM IST Tamil Nadu asks Centre to increase supply of coal Tamil Nadu has asked the Centre to increase the supply of coal to make thermal power stations in the state attain full capacity. State electricity minister P Thangamani, who met the union minister of coal, railways and finance Piyush Goyal in New Delhi, requested him to supply the required coal through seven additional goods trains. May 22, 2018 / 09:08 PM IST Honor aims to be among top 3 smartphone brands in India Chinese telecom firm Huawei's smartphone brand Honor announced entry into sub-Rs 10,000 handset segment to push up its market share, following its strategy to be among top three players in the country in a year. Huawei India's consumer business group vice president for sales, P Sanjeev said the company has adopted 'India first' strategy to achieve its global target of being among top 3 brands by 2022. May 22, 2018 / 08:58 PM IST Madhya Pradesh cabinet hikes pension amount, over 4 lakh people to benefit In a move that will benefit over 4.39 lakh pensioners in Madhya Pradesh, the state cabinet cleared a proposal to hike the pension amount by more than double as per the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations. The cabinet also gave its nod to double the monthly honorarium of anganwadi workers. May 22, 2018 / 08:55 PM IST JUST IN | Numetal said it has offered to maximize debt recovery for lenders with Rs 37,000 crore cash offer. The company said it will inject a significant amount in the company's operating expenditure and capital expenditure. "We believe we are an eligible resolution applicant from day one as per the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code," the firm said, adding that neither Numetal nor any of its subsidiaries have any overdue loans with the Indian lenders. May 22, 2018 / 08:38 PM IST US, China near deal to save ZTE: Report The United States and China have a tentative deal to save embattled Chinese telecom company ZTE, days after the two nations announced a truce in their trade standoff, The Wall Street Journal reported today. Details remain to be hammered out, but according to the general outlines of the agreement, Washington would lift a crippling ban on selling US components to the company, which in turn would make major changes in its management, executive board and possibly pay additional fines. Embattled company Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) has said that it had provided certain land parcels of its subsidiary Jaypee Infratech as additional collateral to its lenders and that the mortgage transactions could not be termed as "fraudulent". It also claimed that there was 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 earlier said that the company would go in appeal against the NCLT order. In a regulatory filing, the company said that it 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 lendersThere 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." 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. JAL had raised its loans against the security of its own assets and the land of JIL was provided only as a collateral security at the instance of the lenders, most of whom are common in both the companies. JAL being the holding company of JIL, had been extending help to JIL in various ways. Hence, creation of impugned mortgages was not unusual but merely reciprocal which cannot be termed as without consideration, the company said. Providing of such collateral security to the lenders of third party/associates is a common business practice. In this case, the collaterally mortgaged land continues in the possession and use of JIL. Since the entire transaction was at the behest of the banks in the normal course of business and providing collateral security on an unencumbered asset at fair market price was acceptable practice therefore as an obedient borrower company has cooperated with the banks, the company said. 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, it said. 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 the 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 the 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 percent of borrowings of JIL. They have been a 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. The Allahabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) last week passed an order directing JAL to return 759-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 a 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 August, NCLT had admitted an application of IDBI Bank-led consortium to initiate insolvency proceedings against JIL. May 22, 2018 / 10:33 AM IST Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Share price of AstraZeneca Pharma gained nearly 6 percent intraday Tuesday as company turned profitable in the quarter ended March 2018. The company has reported profit of Rs 3.2 crore in Q4FY18 against loss of Rs 9.6 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. The company's revenue increased to Rs 150.72 crore from Rs 116.88 crore. At 10:22 hrs AstraZeneca Pharma was quoting at Rs 1,153.45, up Rs 15.65, or 1.38 percent on the BSE. The share touched its 52-week high Rs 1,278 and 52-week low Rs 882.55 on 07 November, 2017 and 22 August, 2017, respectively. Currently, it is trading 9.48 percent below its 52-week high and 31.08 percent above its 52-week low. Posted by Rakesh Patil Brands such as Dabur, HUL's Vim, Sunfeast, Brooke Bond and Patanjali joined the Billion CRP Club this year. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Dabur India lost a little over 1.5 percent in the morning trade on Tuesday after agencies reported seizure of assets worth Rs 21 crore from Pradip Burman, Director of the firm. Enforcement Directorate seizes assets worth Rs. 20.87 Crores of Pradip Burman, the Director of Dabur India Ltd. in lieu of assets held abroad under section 37A of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA). pic.twitter.com/H8XrjaCcRp ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 The stock has touched an intraday high of Rs 372.55 and an intraday low of Rs 366.20. News agency ANI reported that the Enforcement Directorate seized assets worth the amount in lieu of assets held abroad under Section 37A of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 199 (FEMA). The seizure order has been issued pursuant to investigation which revealed that prima-facie Burman deposited USD 32,12,000 in his account with HSBC, Zurich. He had declared before Income Tax Authority that he had earned USD 32,12,000 and had not shown this amount of his earning in his income tax returns filed in India for 2007-08, according to the investigating agency. The investigation conducted so far has also revealed that Burman had deposit USD 32,12,000 with HSBC, Zurich and holding the same in contravention of Section 4 of FEMA, 1999 and failed to repatriate the entire amount to India till date, ED further added. The stock has gained over 3 percent in the past one month, while its three-day loss stood at a little over half a percent. At 10:19 hrs Dabur India was quoting at Rs 369.10, down Rs 3.20, or 0.86 percent, on the BSE. Thermax Q3 | Consolidated net profit down 2 percent at Rs 83.3 crore versus Rs 85 crore and revenue unchanged at Rs 1,410.6 crore, YoY. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Thermax is a company catering to broad segments of energy and environment, with a presence across a gamut of engineering services from power, heating, cooling, water, chemicals, waste water, air pollution control, hazardous waste treatment and waste-to-energy generation. With its technological prowess, it is positioned rightly for the future. However, reported numbers for the final quarter and FY18 were uninspiring. Order inflow and backlog was worth taking note of. While the management alluded to much better visibility in coming years, valuation at 31 times FY20e earnings limit near-term upside. For the quarter-ended March, the company reported a revenue decline of five percent year-on-year. Adjusted for Goods & Service Tax (GST), the same stood at three percent YoY. The decline was contributed by energy and chemical segments. Source: Company The management attributed revenue loss to the tune of Rs 200 crore in the quarter gone by to implementation of the e-way bill. Profitability margin too was impacted on account of lower revenue and disappointing performance of overseas subsidiaries. Quarterly margin was hit by temporary losses in Danstoker and its Chinese subsidiary as the company provided for four litigations there. In the air pollution business, the company bore the brunt of rising steel prices, while up fronting cost of the new plant impacted margins in the chemicals segment. While topline and profitability were lacklustre, momentum in order inflows has been extremely encouraging. In Q4 FY18, the company reported a 37 percent YoY increase in order inflow at Rs 1,599 crore and a 43 percent YoY increase in order backlog at Rs 5,689 crore (1.3 times FY18 revenue). Total order inflow in FY18 stood at Rs 6,380 crore, an increase of 45 percent over FY17. Growth in topline (as it is sitting on a healthy order book) should benefit operating leverage. With an improved ordering environment, passing on of higher input prices might be easier, especially since a majority of its clients are repeat customers. The company should also reap the benefits of rupee depreciation, positively impacting margins on export orders. The management sounded hopeful about increasing its margin into double-digits in FY19 but is still cautious about the same magnitude of order flow. In FY18, it bagged five large orders that substantially helped grow the book. While ordering momentum has improved, the ticket size of orders are much smaller. The company is witnessing green shoots in all areas of infrastructure, besides power. It is expecting orders from the capacity expansion of two large Indian steel majors. The management is also hopeful of receiving orders from the oil & gas space in the second half of FY19. Cement manufacturers are planning to expand capacity owing to improvement in utilisation. Thermax also expects capacity addition in aluminium, copper and fertiliser sectors. The company has requisite capacity in place to take advantage of any revival. Thermax has invested in three additional manufacturing facilities that will start contributing to incremental revenue. The facility in Indonesia would be the manufacturing hub for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and should start contributing immediately. The market potential is around $400 million and the company aims to garner 14-15 percent market share. The first phase of the specialty resins plant in Gujarat (at Dahej) is ready and a full ramp-up will happen by Q2 FY19. Thermax is planning to further expand its chemicals capacity at Dahej. Work has already started at Sri City (Andhra Pradesh) for setting up a manufacturing plant for vapour absorption chillers. This will be a state-of-the-art facility, highly automated and would require much less manpower. The plant should contributing in the second half of FY19. The management has decided to acquire Babcock & Wilcoxs 49 percent stake in the joint-venture for manufacturing subcritical and supercritical boilers. While details of the transaction has not been shared, the management feels it will own a world-class facility at a competitive price (less than the replacement cost). This move will give Thermax access to air pollution-related NOX (reduced nitrous oxide) technology as well. While the companys Chinese operation is facing challenges in the local market, it plans to continue with the same for the world-class facility in China, which will enable it to cater to short-cycle orders for the global market. In the past one-year, the stock has risen 17 percent and is now valued at 31 times FY20e earnings. Only if the green shoots translate into robust ordering can a further re-rating take place. Hence, we recommend a buy on dips. For existing shareholders, riding the early momentum may be worthwhile. Source: Company, Moneycontrol Research live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Voltas caters to a wide range of clients through its diversified product/service portfolio. Easing of hurdles in the international electro-mechanical projects and services (EMPS) segment, initiation of capital-intensive projects by the government, a positive outlook in the Mozambique-based engineering products and services (EP&S) arm, and a secular growth trajectory for unitary cooling products (UCP) products can augur well for the company in the upcoming fiscals. However, the stocks pricing discounts the positives. Performance review In FY18, Voltas' year-on-year (YoY) sales growth was impacted owing to Goods & Service Tax (GST) disruptions, unfavourable weather conditions, and air conditioner rating changes. Improved efficiencies across all three segments kept this disadvantage at bay, thereby keeping the overall margin profile intact. In the EMPS segment, the companys FY18 carry forward order book increased 17 percent YoY to Rs 5,062 crore. Better quality orders, coupled with efficient execution in domestic and international businesses, led to an uptick in margins as well. GST induced challenges impacted top-line performance of the EP&S segment, especially in case of textile machinery sales. In contrast, Voltas Mozambique-based operations that deal with mining and construction equipment sale, delivered healthy growth and caused the segments margins to improve too. UCP segment revenues grew on account of increased offtake from customers and market share gains throughout the year. Consequently, Voltas continues to be the leader in room air conditioning (AC). Moreover, a product mix shift towards inverter ACs has been margin accretive. What lies ahead ? Voltas' managements continued focus on effective execution of ongoing projects and risk assessment practices, aided by a robust balance sheet and financial settlements of earlier contracts, should lead to an improvement in margins from this segment. Carillion, a UK-based company operating as a sub-contractor for projects in Dubai and Oman, filed for bankruptcy in January. The company was engaging in joint venture (JV) tie-ups with local entities (contractors), including Voltas subsidiaries. To ensure timely liquidation of receivables from Carillion, requisite steps are being taken by Voltas. Simultaneously, the management is speeding up processes of obtaining project certifications in connection with mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP) projects previously undertaken by it through the Carillion JV. Given the embargo situation in Qatar, future orders from the country will be booked on a selective basis. Economic growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is picking up in 2018. This bodes well for Voltas since its operations in the Middle East are pivotal to this segments success. The company recently bagged a contract connected with developments linked to Expo 2020. In addition to tailwinds stated above, this could be crucial in growing its international EMPS order book, which currently stands at Rs 2,004 crore. Weaknesses in the Indian private sector capex cycle are being offset by order book growth from government-funded projects. Rohini Industrial Electricals, a subsidiary representing 40 percent of the domestic order book, turned profitable in FY18 on the back of execution of rural electrification projects. Internal efficiency measures will be prioritised to derive better margins. The management is looking forward to capitalising on opportunities in electrical distribution, water treatment, metro transport and smart city development. This should help its domestic EMPS order book of Rs 3,058 crore grow further. Indias textile industry, that bore the twin brunt of demonetisation and GST in the past, hasnt been able to revive in entirety yet. Slow capital formation, declining profitability of spinners, and unwillingness on the part of banks to lend will be the major headwinds for textile machinery sales. On the mining and construction equipment sale front, Mozambique operations will continue to drive this segments performance. In India, after a year of sluggishness, green shoots of a recovery are visible in road development. Therefore, some traction in the crushing and screening machines space is visible. Voltas will strengthen its room AC portfolio through increased impetus on inverter, fixed-speed split, and window variants to retain its MARKET leadership position. Inverter ACs, that yield good margins, have been witnessing healthy demand of late. The company sold about 207,000 air coolers in FY18, registering a growth of 38 percent YoY. An expanded product range, competitive pricing, differentiated features, and a wide network may help Voltas achieve greater market penetration in due course. Commercial refrigeration products have been on an uptrend too. Voltas brand recall (for existing products), new offerings (combo coolers, chest freezers cum coolers) and presence across markets pan-India should enable it to create a niche for itself in this domain. To widen the gamut of its consumer durable sales in India, Voltas entered into a 50:50 JV with Arcelik, a leading European home appliance maker. Under the brand name of Voltas-Beko, washing machines, refrigerators, microwaves, and other brown (kitchen) goods will be sold starting H2 FY19. Challenges As far as room ACs are concerned, Voltas operates in an industry that is substantially dependent on weather conditions. Inverter and fixed speed split ACs are characterised by stiff competition from other renowned brands, thus making it difficult for the company to pass on the entire increase in input prices to consumers. Outlook Voltas is well positioned to reap the benefits of growing demand for ACs and commercial refrigeration products, robust order book in the EMPS segment, strong fundamentals, and capabilities to tap into markets pan-India. At 22.4 times FY20e earnings, given the stock's current weakness, investors may consider buying. Follow @krishnakarwa152 The anti-Sterlite protests in Thoothukudi (erstwhile Tuticorin) have left 12 dead and several others injured, according to news reports on Wednesday. Section 144 of the IPC, which prohibits assembly of more than four persons in an area, was enforced in the area on the orders of the Madras High Court. #TamilNadu: Vehicles and property damaged during the protest held in Tuticorin demanding ban on Sterlite Industries, in wake of the pollution created by them. Total 9 people have lost there lives during the protest so far. #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/5IToa0dxpA ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 The protestors reportedly defied the order and continued with their march. This is when the violence escalated leading to several people getting severely injured. The residents of Thoothukudi have been demanding the closure of the Sterlite Copper Smelter for the past 1oo days and had decided to take out a march before the Tuticorin District Collectorate on Tuesday. Several battalions launched black flag protests across Tuticorin only to be faced by strong resistance from the Tamil Nadu police. The police reportedly resorted to lathi charge, and the use of tear gas and water cannons to disburse a furious crowd. The protestors responded to the police resistance by pelting stones at them and setting vehicles on fire en route to the march. The staff at the District Collectorate was evacuated as the protests intensified. The residents of Thoothukudi have been demanding closure of the Sterlite Copper claiming that the pollution caused by it is causing them severe health problems. Sterlite Copper represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited. The plant currently operates a 4,00,000 Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) Copper Smelter and a 160 MegaWatt coal based power plant in Thoothukudi. Leader of Opoosition and DMK working President MK Stalin condemned police atrocities on the protestors. He also announced that he won't attend the swearing in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister designate HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday and will go to Tuticorin instead. Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan of the Makkal Needhi Maiam will also be visiting Thoothukudi on Wednesday, skipping Kumaraswamy's swearing-in, in Bengaluru. Kamal Haasan, who has recently formalized his entry into politics, expressed his solidarity with the protesters through his political party's handle. The gunning down by the police of 9 people in the #SterliteProtest in Tamil Nadu, is a brutal example of state sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 22, 2018 Congress President Rahul Gandhi has also condemned the aggressive resistance used by the Tamil Nadu police to contain the protests.(With inputs from PTI) Jayant Sinha, Chairman, Finance Standing Committee Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha on Tuesday unveiled a draft air passenger charter, which aims to improve passenger experience in the country. The draft charter has been placed in the public domain for comments. According to the charter, passengers will be compensated if an airline is at fault for any delay. If a domestic airline cancels a flight or delays it for more than four hours, the passenger will be eligible for a full refund. If a passenger cancels the air ticket within 24 hours of booking it, and if the provided travel is to take place after 96 hours, then the passenger will be able to cancel the ticket without any charge. The charter also specifies that cancellation charges should not be more than the sum of the basic fare and fuel surcharge. Make phone calls on-board flights In a related development, Sinha also announced that both domestic and international airlines operating in India are now allowed to offer internet and mobile services on-board its aircraft to passengers in Indian airspace. Airlines, however, will require a licence from aviation authorities. Moneycontrol first reported the Telecom Commission had given its approval for usage of mobile devices for calling and browsing the Internet on-board. Online Thrust In line with the Modi governments Digital India initiative, the Civil Aviation Ministry also launched the DigiYatra and Air Sewa applications to ease passenger pain points. DigiYatra is aimed to digitise end-to-end air travel experience. It has a single-point verification requirement, enhanced security and is compliant of technical standards, the ministry said in a tweet. To ensure seamless, safe and delightful passenger air travel experience, we are launching a series of initiatives such as Passenger Charter, #DigiYatra, #AirSewa app and enabling WiFi connectivity in flights. (2/n) pic.twitter.com/IG06T0viw9 Ministry of Civil Aviation (@MoCA_GoI) May 22, 2018 The ministry also said that it is working on upgrading the Air Sewa application to ensure timely and effective handling of customer grievances. The app will likely allow passengers to check updated flight status and register DigiYatra IDs, the ministry added. Speaking at a press conference, Sinha announced that the draft passenger charter will ensure passenger safety, adding that its provisions will be effective in 30-60 days. May 25, 2018 / 03:52 PM IST Yeddyurappa used impolite words: Kumaraswamy Replying to Yeddyurappa's speech, chief minister Kumaraswamy said, I have listened to Yeddyurappa's speech carefully. But he has given wrong information and used impolite words in the House. I will not indulge in personal attacks. Listening to him, I feel the people will not give the BJP power and his speech was perhaps a rehearsal for some drama company, according to The Hindu. Former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today 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 today, 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. Talking to the people there, 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. The literacy rate of Telangana recorded was 72.8 percent. (Image: Moneycontrol) Over one-third or 37.36 percent of the government schools across India enrol less than 50 students, according to a report in Business Standard. Goa has the highest percent of government schools having less than 50 students at 76.9 percent, followed by Himachal Pradesh at 73.2 percent and Uttarakhand at 72.3 percent, the report said quoting data from the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Government schools in states such as Chandigarh, Delhi and Bihar also enrol less than 50 children. In Chandigarh, over 115 government schools have just 50 students studying in each institute. Also read DATA STORY: Indian parents spend the most amount of time on their children's homework The move aims to shortlist government schools with low enrolment ratio and encourage respective states to either rationalise, merge or shut down such schools to prevent waste of state resources. Education Secretary Anil Swarup has been reportedly engaged with states to see how this can best be done without reducing access. The ministry wants to reduce the waste of resources spent on providing required basic infrastructure and staff at these schools as most of these schools have fewer students than they can accommodate. Each class in the primary and secondary section would have less than 10 students compared to the overall capacity of the school to accomodate around 250-300 students. Also read DATA STORY: Indian teen's math problem is not child's play Experts believe student may benefit less if the enrolment is low. "Any school with fewer than 50 students will have very little learning and teaching happening," Aditya Natraj, CEO, Kaivalaya Education Foundation (KEF) told the paper. Several states have already embarked on this exercise. Over 75 schools with zero enrolment were closed in Telangana, while around 10,000 in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were proposed to be closed. Even Uttarakhand recently closed over 700 schools as they had 10 or less students attending or enrolled. Similar exercises have been carried in Punjab and Rajasthan. Students in Rajasthan have been shifted to larger schools called Adarsh Vidyalayas, which have better facilities. The state education department has also identified about 9,895 schools across gram panchayats to be converted into Adarsh schools. Union minister Prakash Javadekar today took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi's remark that he is ready to be the prime minister, saying there is no ban on "day-dreaming". The Congress has lost 20 states and it is in power only in a couple of states now. "If on that basis, Gandhi is thinking of becoming the prime minister, then there is no ban on day-dreams in this country," Javadekar told a regional television channel, when asked about the Congress chief's remark. Gandhi had recently said he is ready to become the prime minister if his party emerges as the "biggest" party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Asked if Gandhi could pose a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the parliamentary elections next year, Javadekar said, "A smart tweet or big talk is not politics. It is much more than that." The BJP had only two MPs in the Lok Sabha in 1984 and it won 282 seats in the 2014 general polls. The Congress was then 400, which reduced to 44, he pointed out. "There are lessons to be learnt by the Congress from our example," he said. Asked about the recent political scenario in Karnataka, he said the southern state's governor had invited the BJP by acting within the constitutional framework. "When we realised that we do not have the sufficient strength, our chief minister (B S Yeddyurappa) stepped down," he added. On the Punjab National Bank scam involving diamond merchant Nirav Modi, the BJP leader said, "It happened during Congress period but we have arrested more than 13 people in connection with the case. We will seize their properties spread across the country." On the BJP's slogan of 'Congress-free India', the minister said it means a country free of "crony-politics, lobbying and passing on benefits only to selected people." "The bad culture in politics, introduced by the Congress, is what we have been opposing," Javadekar said. Asked about Rahul Gandhi using a similar slogan of "Modi-mukt Bharat", he claimed that it does not have any appeal among people. "Being so anti-Modi is negative politics which will never be successful in the country." Despite being a nationwide party, if the Congress was going to say it will only oppose (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, then it is negative politics, he said. Javadekar exuded confidence that the BJP will not only win the 2019 general elections, but its performance will also be better than earlier in West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. "We will also retain our current base in the country." To a query on how the Centre was going to check the black money and if any opposition leader from Maharashtra would face the heat, he said the Benami Property Transaction Act is going to be implemented from June onwards. "You will see many leaders of the Congress, the NCP and many more will face its heat. The properties and bungalows purchased in the name of some servants or non-existing person, all are going to be confiscated," he said. Highlighting the government's achievements and lauding its Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Javadekar said seven crore houses in the country got toilets. "I have seen that women in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have given their toilets the name of 'izzat ghar' as earlier it was embarrassing for them to go out in public," he said. There are some 400 schemes in the country having an outlay of Rs 3.25 lakh crore, which directly gets deposited into the bank accounts, he said. "The then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had once said that if he sends Rs 100 to the people, only Rs 15 would reach actually. It was the Congress in power, from the Centre to village, and leaders were siphoning off money. We have stopped it," Javadekar said. Facing stiff competition in the home assistant market, Apple may come up with a cheaper HomePod device to lure more customers. The device could be $150 cheaper than the current entry-level HomePod device. Reportedly, Apple is in talks with Chinese firm MediaTek to launch a cheaper version. Tech news portal of Sina reported about the possible collaboration. MediaTek, however, refused to comment on the matter. The device when launched will not be under the Apple brand. It will be listed under the Beats brand that is owned by Apple. Apple ventured into the home assistant market in February this year with HomePod priced at $349 (Rs 23,700 approx.). The market is dominated by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant devices. Google which also ventured into the market recently, is selling Google Home Mini at Rs 4,099 and Google Home at Rs 8,999. Amazon has four devices in its Echo range which are similarly priced. Echo Dot is available at Rs 4,099, Amazon Echo is selling at Rs 8,999, Echo Spot can be purchased for Rs 12,999 and Echo Plus is priced at Rs 14,999. Battle for voice assistant supremacy: Is Amazon Echo a better bet than Google Home? As per data provided by IHS Markit, in 2017, Amazon Alexa devices dominated the market with 62 percent share. Google Assistant was second with a 13 percent share. One-fourth of the market was shared by other players. Interestingly, the forecast for the year 2020, shows that Amazon Alexas share will shrink to nearly half of 2017 and Google will start commanding on nearly one-fourth of the market. 43 percent of the market will be shared by other players which include Apple. The forecast data, though does not explicitly mention Apple, suggests that the Cupertino-based giant will certainly grow. In a price sensitive market, the new device will further the cause. With a possible cheaper version, it is expected that the HomePod will soon make an entry to markets like India where it is yet to launch. Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) upgradation may result in a hike as steep as Rs 3.5 lakh in prices of diesel-powered trucks and buses. The industry is consequently bracing for a surge in demand later this year, as customers rush to dealers before the BS-VI norms kick in. Talking to analysts after the final quarter results ended March, Vinod Dasari, managing director, Ashok Leyland said: "Impact of BS-VI depends on the type of vehicle. A vehicle costing roughly Rs 20 lakh has an engine costing Rs 2 lakh at BS-IV. It would be higher if there are additions made to it. It will cost Rs 2-2.5 lakh to upgrade this engine to BS-VI and you have to add other costs into it which would push total costs to go up by Rs 3-3.5 lakh," Dasari said. BS-VI will be implemented from April 1, 2020 and the industry will have to be ready with their production at least six to nine months prior to the deadline. The hike of Rs 3.5 lakh may be a conservative one as research companies like Kotak Institutional Equities has predicted a rise of 23 percent in prices of diesel-powered commercial vehicles. Diesel passenger vehicles will see an increase of 20 percent, light commercial vehicles will see hike of 13 percent. Since a majority of commercial vehicles are diesel driven the impact will be that much more. Petrol and CNG-powered vehicles will see a modest increase. Spurt in demand The levels of particulate matter, sulphur, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide and hydro-carbons would have to be reduced to a great extent after implementation of BS-VI in diesel engines. To avoid the steep hike in prices the industry is expecting a continued spurt in demand throughout this year and next. There will be pre-buying because there will be cost increase and it has happened in other parts of the world," added Dasari. As per data supplied by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) medium and heavy cargo vehicles (MHCV) closed last year with a rise of nearly 20 percent to 3.04 lakh, and light commercial cargo vehicle (LCV) grew by 30 percent to 4.67 lakh units. This growth jumped 214 percent to 25,779 units in MHCV in April and 46 percent to 40,042 units in LCV. Tata Motors is Indias largest commercial vehicle maker, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra and Ashok Leyland. Fundamentally, the NOx emissions and particulate matter are the highest in diesel vehicles. Diesel is very fuel-efficient but these two irritants are a little complex to reduce. In diesel, there are technologies to bring down the NOx and PM but those technologies are a little expensive but it is not that it is not possible," said a senior executive from Ashok Leylands rival company based in Chennai. Visweswara Rao We live in very exciting times. The artificial intelligence debate is intensifying. There is constant commentary on it from some of the finest brains of our times. Some are for it with gusto and some seek caution. One thing is certain, AI has accelerated like no other technology in the past few decades. It is clear that AI will become much more pervasive and intertwined in our day-to-day life. It will change the way we live in fundamental ways. AI is the ultimate frontier in technology. Organisations are investing significantly in AI and it will continue to happen with AI becoming more of a catalyst for businesses. Experts predict that technologies that underpin the fourth industrial revolution are all set to bring out the best in people. If you think job disruption by artificial intelligence (AI) is limited to the marketing, finance, sales and customer service, think again: The AI dust is being sprinkled on the human resources function, too. Although the field is projected to grow 9 percent by 2024, as companies grow and need more robust structures for supporting and empowering employees, the hype and expectations of AI in the HR sector are getting astronomical. Thats indeed good news for the HR folks isnt it? Certainly, the HR department is one of the most complex, handcrafted and data-dependent business processes within an organisation. AI has the potential to transform employee engagement with relevant, quick and in- depth analysis of various functions within HR. AI provides the teams with the necessary budget space to be more effective and efficient than ever. Many HR leaders have already begun experimenting with varied facets of AI to deliver maximum value to their organizations. Organisations with large employee bases are turning to AI to reduce the cost involved in managing operations, to improve employee engagement to drive bias-free decisions in employee screening and recruitment. AI can also help HR shared service organisations to focus on strategic business initiatives and can enable them to streamline and modernise HR operations, especially in the following areas: Conversational Interfaces: These interfaces automate regular HR tasks and provide employees with insights about policies, training schedules, payroll, and compensation. With speech recognition and NLP infused, conversational AI platforms addresses the growing needs of digitally empowered employees with 24*7 assistance and helps organizations in driving productivity improvements. Machine Learning (ML): ML skims people-related data to detect patterns and transforms program actions accordingly. The insights drawn makes suitable data available for HR practitioners to motivate and engage existing employees and to also hire new ones. Also, ML-powered recommendations use historical records to suggest the optimum solutions to resolve conflicts. Predictive models: These models help HR departments reduce employee turnover, boost business performance, quickly identify areas of risk and potential performance issues, and improve workforce diversity. Organizations are building predictive models that would identify the key reasons contributing to employee attrition by simply analyzing a structured data file fed into it and generating a score for every employee based on the calculated probability of them leaving their jobs. AI and non-transactional segments of HR AI has the potential to take HR experience to a higher level by automating most of the non-transactional HR tasks. Lets have a closer look at some of these tasks. Recruitment: Hiring in thousands leads to scale issues for HR professionals, who most often grapple with the problem of "resume overload". Robots with AI software designed for recruitment are helping HRs in the screening process by identifying hard-to-find candidates at scale, collecting potential employees information and performing background checks. Such tools help candidates select the right job thereby freeing head hunters from the mundane task of candidate screening. On-boarding: Smart AI tools focus on making on-boarding a self-service process since these can connect directly with onsite employees, and collaborate with the workforce management team. Video interviews: Organisations are increasingly leveraging video conferencing tools for interviewing and assessing candidates. According to a recent research by Polycom, by the year 2020, 50 percent of conference rooms will be video-enabled. AI tools can analyse these videos to assess candidates language, skills, educational credentials, even honesty and mood. Sentiment analysis: Telecom, technology banking, and healthcare sectors are hard pressed with the challenge of employee retention. Several companies have already started using AI and ML solutions to capture employee feedback to get a better understanding of their sentiments in real time. The key reason that organizations dig into sentiment technology lies in its data. AI, a big game changer here, can spot and analyse intelligent patterns in the sentiment of employees through their geographic locations, emails, conversations, etc. Can AI replace human empathy and intuition? Over the last few years, AI has gradually seeped into a domain which was considered solely to be driven by humans - HR department. From the screening process to enhancing employee engagement and sentiment analysis, AI has literally revolutionised this critical business function. Earlier confined to only big enterprises, AI is now spreading to MSMEs (Medium Small Medium Enterprises) as well. However, the entry of AI has got many HR professionals fearing that they could be replaced by technology. Although the same fears should have cropped up in the minds of employees during the time of computer revolution as well. "Human vs. intelligent machines" is probably the second-best bogey after God vs Lucifer, a timeless battle. Some commentators belong to that school of thought believing that tech is going to replace humans and that AI will trigger a tsunami of redundancies throughout the workforce, while other experts believe that AI and human intuition go hand in hand. So, where do we stand now? Has the transformation begun? AI is not the future anymore; it is the present already and making waves in one function in 2018: Human Resources. Often, this function is perceived to lag in digital transformation, but with AI now has emerged as a game changer, there is a great opportunity awaiting the HR world. AI allows huge amounts of data to be amassed and processed that would be far beyond human capabilities. However, this data-crunching and analytical aspect of AI can certainly validate the human gut feel. Instead of replacing HR professionals, ground-breaking AI tools are complementing human skills and managing role tasks to avoid multiple HR roles, thus freeing up the valuable human capital to focus on more strategic or critical aspects of their jobs. Many experts feel AI can never replace human empathy and intuition. A company's HR department is likely to always need a human at the helm to handle interpersonal conflicts using non-cognitive and reasoning skills. AI is unlocking and amplifying human potential, not replacing it. People will be able to focus much more on value-added work and less on rote tasks unleashing their creative potential better. The author is Senior Vice-President and Chief HR Officer at CSS Corp The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) is planning to launch its Americas Regional Office in Brazil this year, the bank said today. K V Kamath, the NDB president, made the remarks while meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira in Shanghai yesterday. The Americas Regional Office will increase the operational capabilities of the NDB, headquartered in Shanghai, and facilitate identification and preparation of bankable projects in Brazil, the bank said in a press release today. Together with the Africa Regional Centre opened last year in Johannesburg, South Africa, the new regional office will progressively support a growing range of the bank's operations, the release said. The NDB was founded by the BRICS member countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- during the group's sixth summit in Fortaleza, Brazil in July 2014 and formally opened in Shanghai in July 2015. The Bank is mandated to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development, the release said. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reviews honour guards upon his arrival during the Philippine Navy's 120th anniversary in Metro Manila, Philippines. (Reuters) Samsung India Director, Vishal Kaul and Bollywood actor Huma Qureshi during a smartphone launch event, in Lucknow. (PTI) The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft and onboard at Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The mission will measure changes in how mass is redistributed within and among Earth's atmosphere, oceans, land and ice sheets, as well as within Earth itself. GRACE-FO is sharing its ride to orbit with five Iridium NEXT communications satellites as part of a commercial ride-share agreement. (AP/PTI) Barricades lie strewn after a violent protest demanding closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit entered its 100th day, in Tuticorin, on Tuesday. The police opening fire in which at least one man was killed. (PTI) Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) NSAs, in Beijing. (PTI) Hospital staff wears safety masks as a precautionary measure at the Kozhikode Medical College after the 'Nipah' virus outbreak, in Kozhikode. (PTI) Bollywood actor and model Neha Dhupia at the launch of Honor 7A and 7C smartphones, in New Delhi. (PTI) Members of the Marine Special Operations Group take up position to attack simulated rebels' camp as part of their capability demonstration during the Philippine Navy's 120th anniversary in Metro Manila, Philippines. (Reuters) JD(S) leader and Karnataka chief minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy visits Manjunatha Swamy temple, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, at Kshetra Dharmasthala in Dharmasthala, Karnataka. (PTI) Pakistans oldest newspaper, Dawn, is facing the heat after publishing an interview of ousted PM Nawaz Sharif in which he all but accepted that Pakistani non-state actors were involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international body keeping track of the state of independent journalism, claimed that distribution of Dawn was being disrupted in much of the country since the publication of the interview. The interview which appeared on May 12 has reportedly displeased Pakistan military. RSF says that the blocking began on May 15. The distribution of the English daily is disrupted in most of Baluchistan province, in many cities in Sindh province and in all military cantonments, it said. Apparently, the Press Council of Pakistan has also notified Dawns editor that the newspaper breached the ethical code of practice by publishing content that "may bring into contempt Pakistan or its people or tends to undermine its sovereignty or integrity as an independent country". RSF, in a statement, said, The unwarranted blocking of the distribution of one of the main independent newspapers has yet again shown that the military is determined to maintain their grip on access to news and information in Pakistan. 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. Nawaz Sharif, in the interview, had questioned Pakistans inability to complete the trial against 26/11 attack mastermind. Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why cant we complete the trial? he had said. The comment was lapped up by Indian media as an acceptance of Pakistani role in the terrorist attack. In Pakistan, his comment was criticised by all quarters. PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi accused the Indian media of giving the issue a different hue. Dawn was founded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1941 in New Delhi. Though it started as the mouthpiece of Muslim League, after the division of British India, it became the leading voice in English Language journalism in Pakistan. In a move that could help Indians living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Middle Eastern nation has announced radical changes to its visa regime, according to a report by The Indian Express. UAE has announced it will grant 10-year visas for specialists working in fields such as medicine, science and research, among others. The move is expected to attract talent to the UAE. Foreign students will also be able to avail a 5-year visa while 'exceptional' graduates can secure a 10-year visa, the report suggests. Right now, students are required to apply for a renewal of their visa every year. The new rules announced on Sunday state that the 10-year visas would be extended to the families of the specialists as well. The UAE is also set to allow foreign firms to own 100 percent of their business. Currently, foreign companies are required to have an Emirati partner to hold a majority stake, unless the business is based in a free trade zone. This is expected to benefit many Indian businesses and entrepreneurs, who may be facing challenges in the UAE at the moment. Most shops and restaurants are outside free trade zones and require a local partner to operate in the country. Indians will be significant beneficiaries of the new policy. As many as 2.8 million Indians live in the Gulf country, forming the largest expatriate community there. Of the total, 15-20 percent are professionally qualified personnel. Another 20 percent have white-collar non-professional jobs, while the remaining 65 percent are blue-collar workers. The changes are likely to take effect by the end of this year. However, it remains unclear if the visa for professionals will be a 10-year employment visa or a 10-year residency visa. At present, visas of most professionals living in the Emirates is linked to their employer and cannot be carried forward in case one decides to change jobs. If the changes lead to a residency visa, professionals will have better mobility in jobs. 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. 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 USD 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 today 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. Three weeks before an unprecedented U.S.-North Korea summit is supposed to take place, President Donald Trump will meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday as U.S. officials try to figure out whether Pyongyang is serious about negotiating a deal on denuclearisation. Moon's White House visit was originally arranged as a meeting to fine-tune a joint strategy for dealing with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but has instead become more of a crisis session after Pyongyang last week threatened to pull out of the planned June 12 summit in Singapore. Moon's government led efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea and gave enthusiastic accounts of its encounters with Kim, spurring Trump to accept an offer of a first-ever meeting between U.S. and North Korean presidents. But the White House was caught off-guard when, in a dramatic change of tone, North Korea last week condemned the latest U.S.-South Korean air combat drills, suspended North-South talks and threw into doubt the summit with Trump if Pyongyang was pushed toward "unilateral nuclear abandonment." Trump has insisted he remains committed to the summit, but Vice President Mike Pence warned on Monday that the president was still willing to walk away from the meeting, telling Fox News that North Korea should not attempt to seek concessions for promises it did not intend to keep. Trump has warned in the past that the summit might not take place or that he could walk out if it looked like a deal was not possible. His aides are now looking to Moon to help determine whether Kim is taking a harder line against denuclearisation than South Korea had previously communicated to them, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Other U.S. officials have privately expressed concern that Moon, eager to make progress with the North, may have overstated Kim's willingness to negotiate in good faith over the dismantling of his nuclear arsenal. Two visits by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the past two months have apparently failed to yield much clarity on Kim's intentions. Some in the U.S. government worry that Moon may be prepared to accept a less-stringent version of North Korean denuclearisation than Washington wants and could be open to faster sanctions relief for Pyongyang, the officials said. Most analysts say it is unrealistic to believe North Korea will agree to complete abandonment of its nuclear program, which has focused on developing a missile capable of hitting the United States and which Kim sees as crucial to his survival in power. If the summit is canceled or fails, it would be a major blow to what Trump supporters hope will be the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency. The uncertainty comes at a time when Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal has drawn criticism internationally, his moving of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem has fueled violence on the Israel-Gaza border and he is on the defensive over an investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election. TESTING TRUMP? North Korea's warning of a possible withdrawal from the summit is seen as an effort to test Trump's willingness to make concessions on his demands for Pyongyang's denuclearisation, the U.S. official said. "It's straight out of North Korea's playbook," the official said. North Korea's condemnation of Trump's hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton, for proposing that North Korea should emulate Libya by abandoning its program of weapons of mass destruction was believed meant to sow divisions within the administration. Despite Trump having contradicted Bolton on the Libya point, there has been no sign of Bolton losing influence. Seoul has been hoping to ensure a successful summit after a historic meeting last month between Moon and Kim produced a declaration of goodwill. But South Korea's role has been brought into question since last week when North Korea's chief negotiator derided Seoul as "ignorant and incompetent." Seoul has refrained from responding. "The heads of South Korea and the United States are expected to discuss measures to guarantee a bright future for North Korea in the case it truly goes through complete denuclearisation," said Nam Gwan-pyo, an official at the presidential Blue House. Trump has sought to placate Kim by holding out the possibility of economic development, and he pledged on Thursday that Kims security would be guaranteed in any deal. But Trump has insisted on concrete steps before any easing of sanctions, and warned that failure to reach a denuclearisation agreement could lead to "decimation" of Kim's rule. "They are locked into not giving much to the North Koreans early...whereas South Korea probably has a bit more interest in economic incentivization," said Christopher Green, an analyst with the International Crisis Group. "So they need to calibrate between the two of them." China could also be on the agenda. Trump suggested last week that Beijing, which Washington is at odds with over trade, may be influencing North Korea's hardened stance. Beijing responded on Friday that it stands for stability on the Korean peninsula and for settlement through diplomacy. However, Trump on Monday urged China, North Korea's main trading partner, to maintain tight sanctions, tweeting that "the word is that recently the Border has become much more porous." Mathur is also expecting offshoots of the domestic cannabis industry, such as supply and accessories shops, to drive demand for commercial real estate going forward. Canada is preparing for the legalization of cannabis for recreational use later this year, but has left it to the provincial or territorial governments to decide how to distribute the drug. Provinces such as Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island have tasked their provincial liquor boards to handle retail sales of marijuana. But other provinces such as Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador have said the private sector will handle retail sales. Alberta is an attractive province for cannabis retail as the Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission has not put a cap on the number of licenses that will be issued, although with the stipulation that no one person or entity can hold more than 15%. The province is projecting roughly 250 licenses to be granted to private operators in the first year. Saskatchewan, for comparison, only plans to issue 51 retail cannabis permits in 32 communities, and qualified applicants will be put into a random selection process, similar to a lottery. Read more: Albertas recovery will owe a lot to the commercial segment observers Mark Goliger, CEO of National Access Cannabis Corp. which has signed an agreement with coffee chain Second Cup to convert some of its coffee shops into weed dispensaries, said the competition for retail space in Alberta is absolute insanity. What happened with the B-20 rules is a lot of independents are looking to partner with us, said Bernard. Smaller players are looking to come in and we can offer a lot of support. Were also obsessed with organic growth. Once the consolidation phase is over in the next two or three years, the organization that will emerge from this consolidation will support organic growth for the benefit of our brokers. On the heels of launching a highly successful prequalification tool in Quebec, M3 intends to leverage technology as part of its growth plan, as well as to add white label credit cards, creditor and home insurance to its suite of offerings. The networks acquisition of Verico in September has proven to be a lynchpin for growth. Four years ago, M3 funded close to $9bln; prior to acquiring Verico it was at $25bln. Given its recent trajectory, M3s executives have nary a doubt the mortgage behemoth will realize its ambitions. The thing that was missing for us was the offering that Verico brought to brokers, said Dino Di Pancrazio, M3s executive vice president of strategy and innovation. As you can imagine, theres a lot of expertise within Verico thats complimentary to our brokers. Verico brings a lot of different things and they need minimal support from us at corporate, so have that in our spectrum of offerings and were able to attract any broker out there because we have a solution for them. Being a massive network has helped M3 endure the lukewarm real estate market. Sales activity in the GTA, compared to years past, is markedly slower, however, Montreal has arguably the hottest market in the country. Bernard says the networks sheer size allows its strengths to mask its weaknesses. Amid a sustained trend of elevated prices and scarce supply in the nations residential real estate markets, Canadas government is stepping up its efforts in ensuring affordable housing for the ones who need it the most. The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), has announced late last week that $38 million will be allotted as funding for Phase I of the Federal Community Housing Initiative over a two-year period. This tranche of funds is intended for a temporary extension of subsidies to maintain affordability for low-income households and protect tenants living in federally administered community housing projects while housing providers transition to a new rental support program and prepare for modernization through Phase II, CMHC stated. The oil and gas industry is booming in the Permian Basin, and it looks as if Concho Resources wants to keep up with the rapid growth. The Midland-based energy company wants to build a second office building and parking garage on property it owns adjacent to its headquarters, according to Mark Wellen of Rhotenberry Wellen Architects and documents obtained ahead of todays City Council meeting. Plans arent final but include constructing an office with a second-story foot bridge that will connect with the current 600 W. Illinois Ave. headquarters, Wellen told the Reporter-Telegram after Mondays Planning & Zoning meeting. The heights of the new office building and parking garage arent yet set but should be determined sometime this year. RELATED: Concho agrees to buy RSP Permian for $9.5 billion During P&Z, Commissioner Kevin Wilton asked John Landgraf of Landgraf, Crutcher and Associates the civil engineering firm representing Concho if Concho had plans to build residential facilities, as well. Landgraf said the topic had been discussed but wasnt part of the current project. New construction wont be without its challenges. The commission voted 4-0 to approve consolidating patchwork zonings for Concho properties to a single, central area district (C-1). The area is about 11.71 acres. The city received one objection letter from a resident. Todays City Council meeting will include this item and three others that seek to close an alley and portions of two streets. First, COG Realty Conchos real-estate arm will request the city vacate the alley between Tennessee and Michigan avenues east of San Angelo Street. The alley contains several utilities, such as water, sewer, natural gas and telecommunications lines. All would have to be rerouted at Conchos expense, according to city documents. Second, COG Realty and North A Church of Christ will request the city vacate right of way on San Angelo Street between Tennessee and Michigan avenues for more church parking and to facilitate future development. Third, Landgraf, Crtucher & Associates, on behalf of COG Realty, will request the city vacate a portion of Tennessee Avenue between the alley and Carrizo Street. The city received one objection letter from a resident. Concho owns several downtown properties in the area west of Big Spring Street. According to the Central Appraisal District, COG Realty is listed as owning the following: 300, 308 N. A St. 311 N. Big Spring St. 300, 405, 505, 600 and 606 N. Carrizo St. 600 W. Illinois Ave. 300, 306, 308, 310 N. Marienfield St. 506, 605, 700 and 701 W. Ohio Ave. 505, 601, 605, 607, 609 and 611 N. Pecos St. 500 and 510 San Angelo St. 500 W. Tennessee Ave. COG Realty also owns 100 and 102 S. Main St., home of the former First National Bank of Midland, and a property on Farm-to-Market Road 1788. The market value of all of its properties is $66,808,189, according to Central Appraisal District data. Concho also has been in the news recently for its acquisition of energy company RSP Permian. Concho and RSP in March announced a definitive agreement for Concho to acquire RSP in an all-stock transaction valued at $8 billion. As part of the agreement, Concho will also assume $2.5 billion of RSPs net debt, according to previous Reporter-Telegram reports. The combined companies will become the largest unconventional shale producer in the Permian Basin. Concho expects to absorb a number of RSPs staff. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter. When completed, Concho shareholders will own 75 percent and RSP shareholders 25 percent. Concho did not return the Reporter-Telegrams request for comment Monday about its downtown plans. Todays City Council meeting is 10 a.m. in council chambers. What could end up being a $5 million project is taking less expensive first steps today. The Midland City Council will consider today an agreement for professional architectural and engineering services for the construction of a new animal shelter and demolition of the existing animal shelter. The agreement, if approved, is for $467,200 with Quorum Architects of Fort Worth, one of six statements of qualifications received. Quorum Architects of Fort Worth, Texas, was selected as the best qualified consultant to provide professional design services for the project, Community Services Director Tina Jauz wrote in an interoffice memorandum. The project includes pre-design services, basic services and special services. Basic services is the most of the three -- $363,000 of the $467,200 because it includes design development, construction documents and construction administration, according to the city. Jauz reports Quorum Architects has worked on more than 40 similar animal shelter and walfare facility design projects, including facilities in Richland Hills, Lewisville, Carrollton, Wichita Falls, Richardson, Seguin, Fredericksburg, Pflugerville, San Marcos, Grand Prairie and Arlington. The memorandum also states Quorum Architects is assuming between 10,000 and 14,000 square feet of new construction space and one or two acres of site work. At-large Councilman Spencer Robnett told the Reporter-Telegram in February that the tentative timeline calls for a design this year, construction in 2019 and shelter opening in 2020. He said that after multiple tours of the shelter, he thinks it is undersized, overcrowded and out of date. Robnett said a possible location for a new shelter is just to the east of the current facility, which is located on Fairgrounds Road. He said if there is enough space, the old facility would remain open while the new shelter is being built. Once the new shelter is completed, the old one would be demolished to make way for parking. At the recent council planning retreat, the cost of a new animal shelter was estimated at $5 million. This is something we need to change, Robnett said in February. We want to build a world-class animal shelter that meets the needs of the community. A federal judge has dealt a partial blow to a senators lawsuit against party leadership that claims retaliation for his campaign for governor. Although Sen. Sam McCanns case against others will proceed, Judge Andrew Wood denied a request for an injunction and said Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, the head of the state Republican Party, has immunity from such civil action in connection with his legislative activity. McCanns lawsuit, filed in early May, claims Brady denied him access to several resources to which he should have access as a member of the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus. The lawsuit claims that, shortly after McCanns April 19 announcement that he would be running for governor, he was cut off from necessary caucus resources, thus violating his freedom of speech. In his ruling, Wood noted that Brady, as Senate minority leader, has the authority to allocate the resources according to the agenda and priorities of the Minority Caucus. McCann does not challenge Bradys authority to allocate the Resources according to Bradys determination of the best interests of the Minority Caucus and its legislative agenda so much as he takes issue with Bradys motivation for doing so, the opinion reads. Legislative immunity turns on the function being carried out by the legislator, not his motive or intent. Wood granted Bradys motion to dismiss, dismissing all claims against Brady with prejudice, and denied McCanns motion for a temporary restraining order. However, a final judgment has not been issued, because the court wasnt sure if the charges filed against Brady were distinct from those filed against the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus, also a defendant in the suit. A representative of Bradys office said the minority leader was pleased with the outcome. McCann issued a statement Monday that accused Brady, Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois Republican Party of hiding behind immunity. Bruce Rauner and his Republican Party are hiding behind immunity to silence me, but every attempt to weaken me and attack my constituents shows the partys need to resort to desperate tactics to protect its dwindling hope in Novembers election, McCann said. The truth is that Illinois has lost faith in Bruce Rauner and the Republican Party that he has purchased and poisoned. Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper. Jacksonville Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Marcus C. Tiemann, 21, of 1105 E. Morton Ave. was booked into the Morgan County jail at 11:56 p.m. Saturday on a charge of battery. Rusty B. Tedrow, 43, of 75932 290th Ave., Griggsville, was booked into the Morgan County jail at 2:25 a.m. Sunday on a charge of aggravated battery. BURGLARIES, THEFTS Someone stole two televisions from a home in the 1200 block of Allen Avenue between 3:40 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sunday, according to a report filed at 11:35 a.m. Sunday. Brown County Sheriff OTHER REPORTS A counterfeit $100 bill was passed at a business, according to the Brown County Sheriffs Department. Residents and businesses should use caution when accepting large-denomination bills, Sheriff Karl H. Groesch said. Compiled by Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree and David C.L. Bauer URBANA (AP) At 85, longtime businessman J.W. Pirtle is ready to retire. The former Champaign City Council member is hoping to find a local buyer for his radio station, WBCP 1580-AM. I want to keep the community attached to it as long as I can, although if a buyer outside the community wants to buy, he gets to buy it, Pirtle said. But other than that, Id like to keep some community touch on it. Along with Vernon Barkstall and Lonnie Clark, Pirtle helped found the radio station in 1989, converting it from a country-western music format. We made it to urban, contemporary music, and gospel, Pirtle said. There wasnt any talk shows when we got it, and we started doing talk shows. We pretty well changed it all around. He said they didnt expect to get rich from running a radio station. We were told to not expect that were going to get rich, to just go in there and do a good job and be proud of having something that youre doing for the community, and thats what we did, Pirtle said. Mike Haile, WDWS 1400-AMs general manager, called WBCP a rare jewel. There are very few African-American-owned radio stations in the country, and theres less and less, he said. And it would not have happened if it had not been for three guys who had a great love for this community and have contributed in so many ways, Haile said. This is an opportunity to give the African-American community a robust voice in the marketplace. At one point, being a minority-owned radio station wasnt as big a deal, Pirtle said. When we first bought it, we didnt think too much of it because there were a lot of them, he said. But now you just say, Oh, well, because Father Time is taking em out one at a time. There used to be one in Peoria, Springfield, East St. Louis, Rockford. Theyre all gone. But WBCP has survived, drawing crowds to Douglass Park for Champaign-Urbana Days and providing a home for gospel music. We used to put two or three thousand people in the park to listen to a live show, Pirtle said. Most all the churches would come out to do church music Friday evening, and Saturday it was all dancing and rhythm and blues. He said minority churches have been WBCPs backbone over the years. Its a real positive image on the community, Pirtle said. Because most everybody in the community knows that WBCP is going to have gospel seven days a week, and if you want to hear gospel, thats the station youre probably going to listen to, to find it. Pirtle, who grew up in Tennessee, came to Champaign-Urbana on his way to Milwaukee. I have a sister who lives here, and I stopped to see her, he said. I was only here for a couple days, and I ended up getting a job. He served in the Korean War, owned a Shell station for eight years beginning in 1960 and ran various companies over the years, including a cab company and a restaurant and bar. But hes enjoyed running the radio station the most. I would say radio is probably my favorite one. Second in line is the Central Cab Company, he said. I like music. Pirtle said it has been important to have a radio station focused on the black community. Minority people in Champaign County havent had something they can really put their hands on and say, This is a part of our community, and yet they can do that with WBCP because its been here for 28 years, he said. ROODHOUSE Roodhouse and Illinois transportation officials found seven people trespassing on train tracks Saturday during a four-hour trespass prevention and enforcement effort. Roodhouse law enforcement, Kansas City Southern Police and Railroad officials, and members of the Illinois Commerce Commission found seven violations of people crossing a railway outside of designated crossing areas. Chip Pew, a rail safety specialist for the Illinois Commerce Commission, said officials were looking to find those who were trespassing after rail operators with the Kansas City Southern Railway Company alerted them to a problem. We generally find out about trespassing incidents when someone has been hurt or killed, Pew said. There are signs, such as worn, beaten paths leading up to the tracks. Train operators moving through the area have seen several people walking along or across the tracks, which is both against the law and a safety concern. Using video from a camera on the front of a train, Kansas City Southern police were able to verify that several people were trespassing and worked with Roodhouse police to set up a sting. Pew said there are several types of trespassing, including: criminal trespass, in which those trespassing are looking to take something, cause damage or otherwise do something illegal; trespass of convenience, in which those trespassing are trying to save time by crossing outside of a designated crossing zone; recreational trespass, in which trespassers are participating in a recreational activity, such as fishing, near the tracks; or transient trespass, in which people are moving along the tracks and using the trains for transportation or shelter. Pew said the largest concern is for the safety of those around the tracks. There were 19 deaths and 22 injuries related to trespassing incidents in 2017. A lot of these are people walking along the tracks, Pew said. These arent people walking down the center of the tracks. Many are walking on the side on the edge of the railroad ties. People dont realize the train hangs off the side 3 feet on each side. Of the seven people who were stopped during Saturdays sting, three were adults who were ticketed for trespassing and four were juveniles ages 13 to 16 who were given warnings. Pew said the rail system will be reaching out to the North Greene School District next year to provide some prevention courses for children and will continue to have prevention efforts throughout Roodhouse. A lot of these people are going to the store and trying to save time, Pew said. A large percentage of people dont realize its dangerous or illegal to cross outside of designated areas. A $150 fine pales in comparison to the ultimate bad outcome of someone getting killed. Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1233, or on Twitter @JCNews_samantha. There is nothing like a meeting with a dictator to get out of problems at home. The visit of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang, just as President Donald Trump was jettisoning the Iran deal, shows Trumps eagerness to sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and come up with a statesman-like solution to the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula. Assuming Trump really does see Kim, could there be any better way to distract attention from all the problems besetting him in Washington? For a few blessed days, maybe more, he would be free of the threat of interrogation by special counsel Robert Mueller and all the questions about his lawyer Michael Cohen. He might not even have to worry about the next headlines, and salacious jokes, about the porn star Stormy Daniels and seances with Russian women while getting to know President Vladimir Putin. All that happened before he ran for president, but his past is catching up with him just as he would like to be making America great again. With Trump in the same room with Kim, all they need is to escape with a joint declaration that saves face for both. Kim can say, OK, well begin to get rid of our nuclear program while you withdraw your troops. Never mind if neither really happens. Trump is looking for headlines, maybe a few quotes and columns about what a great choice hed make for the Nobel Peace Prize. The American president lusts after this kind of distraction not just to get the Mueller investigation off his back. Hes worried about elections coming up in November for all 435 members of the House of Representatives, elected to two-year terms, and 34 of the 100 members of the Senate, elected for six years each. Right now he faces the real threat of his Republican Party losing control of both houses of the Congress, leaving the Democratic majority in a position to press for his impeachment. Think of the wave of popular support he might create if he came home with a real deal with the North Koreans after his predecessors in the White House had failed. How could all those columnists and academics who hate him carry on with such impunity against his claim to have put out a fire that threatened only half a year ago to explode into a regional conflagration? Would not the mere mention of his name as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize seriously undermine any movement for his impeachment? Whoever heard of a peace prize candidate driven out of office by the jackals of the opposition? Theres no guarantee, of course, that Kim will cooperate. What if Kim stonewalls Trumps demands for dumping his nukes and missiles? Or what if he says, Ill begin doing it after the United Nations removes sanctions and you begin withdrawing your troops? One reason Trump sent Pompeo to Pyongyang again, on his second trip, is to try to reach a deal well in advance, to avoid any surprises. By getting tough with Iran, undercutting the deal so carefully wrought in concert with major European powers, Trump is sending a warning to North Korea. Having denounced the Iran deal as really terrible, hes tossing the whole thing just as Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long demanded. Hes telling the North Koreans, so close to Iranians in wheeling and dealing on nuclear technology and missiles, he wont compromise with them either. The future, though, may not work out so simply. What if the Iranians now go back to developing the means to fabricate nuclear warheads on which they stopped work under the terms of the deal? Would Trump consider a pre-emptive strike on their nuclear facilities, as he once threatened North Korea? And do the Israelis really want conflict in the Middle East to escalate to an entirely new level? In doing away with the waiver on sanctions against Iran, Trump risks alienating all the European powers that went for the deal in the first place. He also can probably forget the talk about a Nobel Peace Prize for bringing an end to conflict on the Korean Peninsula. Always, however, Trump is playing to the crowd in Washington. On Korea, he may still choose to mingle firmness with flexibility. Having made good on his promises to walk out of the agreement with Iran, he may opt for an appearance of reaching a deal for lasting peace in Korea. For Trump, his future in office depends on his ability to have it both ways, proving his statesman-like qualities to enough of his loyal voter base to ensure his safety against impeachment and the survival of his presidency. Hes counting on Kim to help him weather the storm. Donald Kirk has been a columnist for Korea Times, South China Morning Post many other newspaper and magazines. People must be involved in the ... Mathew Littleton TCSO Booking Photo View Photos Sonora, CA Triggered by a called in report of several people setting off fireworks, which are illegal in Tuolumne County, deputies wound up investigating a site and arresting a suspect on a completely different charge. According to Sheriffs spokesperson Sgt. Andrea Benson, just before 7 oclock Saturday evening, deputies were dispatched to the intersection of Campo Seco and Lime Kiln roads in Sonora where the fireworks were reportedly being ignited. Once on scene, she reports they saw a man standing next to a silver truck bearing an Arkansas license plate. The truck belonged to 24-year-old Mathew Littleton, a transient electrician with a listed Twain Harte post office box. At that point, two others who were with Littleton denied setting off fireworks, also stating that several people there earlier who did so left in a vehicle before the deputies arrival. During a search of the truck for fireworks, deputies located an ammunition box in the truck bed that held four high capacity rifle magazines. Benson says Littleton told the deputies he owned the magazines and transported them into California from Arkansas knowing they were illegal in California. He was subsequently arrested on a felony possession of large capacity magazine charge, booked into the Tuolumne County Jail and assigned a $10,000 bail. California State Capitol View Photos Sacramento, CA A potential new law may soon allow more people to petition a court for a Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO). A new bill passed today in a 47 to 25 vote by the California State Assembly expands the list of people who can file for a GVRO, which temporarily removes guns from those who pose a deadly threat to themselves and others. While current law allows immediate family members, roommates and law enforcement to file, under AB2888, school personnel, employers and coworkers will be able to as well. The bill now heads to the Senate. Democratic Assemblymember Phil Ting, who represents San Francisco, points to Februarys Marjory Stoneman Douglas High massacre as an example of a tragedy before which school administrators saw early signs that the suspected shooter could pose a threat. Back in 2016 the bill was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown, who wanted to see how the GVRO law passed that year was working before expanding it. To date, according to the states Department of Justice, judges granted 200 GVROs. Specifically, these orders require a gun owner to surrender his or her weapon(s) for 21 days while awaiting a hearing to determine whether or not to extend it for up to a year. Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News The Southwest Research Institute has won two Department of Energy contracts to develop a new type of technology that increases the efficiency of power plants. The contracts, valued at $1.2 million, build on other energy projects the San Antonio-based research organization is working on for DOE. A Hayward police officer fired her gun Monday night at a man accused of being under the influence of drugs and fighting with his roommate, after he allegedly struck the officer in the arm with a metal bar, authorities said. Officers received a call about 7 p.m. from a person who said he was fighting with his roommate on the 100 block of Hewitt Place, a residential cul-de-sac, according to the Hayward Police Department. Sarah Ravani A rookie San Francisco police officer fired his weapon twice at a fleeing car burglary suspect who was driving his car in the direction of another officer but the bullets missed their target, San Francisco police announced on Monday. The shooting, which occurred around 1 a.m. on May 11, should have been captured on the rookie officers body camera, according to police procedure, but the camera was not activated, police said. KENS-TVs noon newscaster Aaron Wright returned to work this week a married man, following what he described as a blast of a seaside wedding in a Caribbean paradise. On May 12, Wright married his sweetheart of several years, Katie Finnegan, a nurse who just started working at a San Antonio hospital. They also enjoyed a fabulous week with family amid the surf, sand and spectacular scenery. What prompted the couple to make the event a destination wedding instead of one in San Antonio or elsewhere in the states? Wright said it wasnt easy finding a U.S. middle point that would be convenient for the many members of their far-flung families. RELATED: KSAT-TV names Steve Browne's 10 p.m. successor Her relatives are from Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. His family is from New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. It was her idea to do Jamaica, Wright said in a phone chat. Specifically, they chose the Sandals resort in the port town of Ocho Rios. They take care of everything, said Wright, who debuted on KENS in January. You actually end up saving a lot of money if you can convince everybody to go down there. They did, and Wright described the resulting trip as a wedding, vacation and family reunion rolled into one a lot of fun. Initially, the weather seemed iffy. When we got off the plane, it was stormy and rainy. We looked on the phone, which indicated there would be storms every day, he said. RELATED: KSAT's Mom Day anchor banter mocked on HBO Sure enough, the morning of our wedding, it was kind of grey and had storm clouds. The good news? As we discovered, that stuff blows in and out in 15 minutes. Thankfully, the weather cooperated on the majority of days they were there. It really was perfect, he said. After their picturesque wedding surrounded by white sands and blue seas, the breathtaking scenery continued this time on the water. We took a catamaran trip a giant sailboat. Our family, friends, everybody was on it, he said. We sailed out and saw the sunset on the Caribbean Sea. There was music, drinks and food. Then, came the emotional part. At one point, Wright recalled, the boats DJ stopped the music and the married couples were asked to give advice to the newlyweds. Among the veterans were his grandparents, who have been together for 56 years. Just to hear them talk was memorable and moving, Wright said. My grandfather went first, and told jokes. . .leaving everybody laughing. RELATED: Joel McHale hurls barbs at KSAT reporter on Netflix show Then, it was his grandmothers turn to share the secret to their long and happy marriage. She started tearing up telling everyone that to this day, her husband calls five times a day just to talk about where he is, what hes doing and can I bring you lunch? . Since the day after their wedding was Mothers Day, he added, we had a big dinner together that was kind of a lot, but we realized we werent going to get these moments to see our families like this very often. Everyone got along. It was a good break, at a time we were still trying to get settled here. After all, it was just five months ago that the two packed up and left Knoxville, Tenn., where he was an anchor and reporter at WBIR-TV. Hes also thankful to KENS and the anchors who subbed at noon including Sarah Forgany and Barry Davis for helping him make such a glorious memory. Although the wedding and honeymoon happened during May sweeps they let me get out of here, and Im grateful. After all the nervousness and fear leading up to the big day, this was a wonderful way to start a marriage. It was fantastic! Jeanne Jakle's column appears Thursdays and Sundays in mySA. Read more of her columns here. | jjakle@express-news.net | @JakleJ BRIDGEPORT - A West Haven man goes on trial Tuesday morning charged with killing a popular local grocery store owner in 2015. Jose Salgado and his wife were closing up their small grocery store on Lexington Avenue that had been propping up the city's declining Hollow neighborhood when police said 23-year-old Leighton Vanderberg and 20-year-old Treizy Lopez killed Salgado over a few dollars in the cash register. Last July Vanderberg pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to 40 years in prison but Lopez has maintained his innocence and now faces a 12-member Superior Court jury on a charge of felony murder. Judge John F. Kavanewsky Jr. told the jury the trial is expected to last two weeks. Lopezs lawyer, Assistant Public Defender James Pastore, declined comment on the trial. Shortly before 3 p.m. on April 11, 2015, Salgado and his wife, Maria, were in the process of closing the store for the day when police said Vanderberg and Lopez entered the store. During Vanderbergs sentencing hearing Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney C. Robert Satti Jr. said Vanderberg, who was previously involved in a New Haven robbery, and Lopez initially came to the city looking to rob drug dealers in the city's North End, but saw the small Salgado grocery store as an opportunity. Police said Maria Salgado told them Vanderberg walked around the counter with a gun in his hand while Lopez stood in front of the counter with a gun and demanded money. She said her husband told her in Portuguese to get the gun that was under the counter while he pulled the cash from his pocket. One of the men then shot her husband in the neck, Maria Salgado told police. Both men gave statements following their arrest, each admitting they took part in the robbery attempt but claiming the other was the shooter. Both mens DNA were found on the murder weapon, according to court documents. Sugar Land City Manager Allen Bogard recently announced the promotion of Police Chief Doug Brinkley to the position of assistant city manager, effective June 6. "Chief Brinkley's promotion reflects the city's record of consistently developing and internally promoting employees who are ready to take on critically important leadership roles," Bogard said. Brinkley now oversees the police and fire departments, areas currently assigned to First Assistant City Manager Steve Griffith who plans to retire in January 2019. Brinkley will work closely with Griffith prior to his departure to ensure a smooth transition of leadership in both departments. Internal candidates are being considered for the position of police chief; an extensive assessment and selection process is ongoing that's expected to result in a final decision in June. Internal candidates are also being evaluated to replace Fire Chief Juan "J.J." Adame who also plans to retire in January 2019. The decision on the next fire chief is expected in November after candidates are provided an opportunity to lead the department on an interim basis. Brinkley was promoted to police chief in 2009 after serving as an assistant chief since 2005. Under his leadership, the city achieved the lowest crime rate on record. He achieved this through the creation of a strong police presence, enhanced community partnerships, expansion of public education, a commitment to expanded implementation of technology such as cameras, rigorous training and leadership development. In Sugar Land's most recent Citizen Satisfaction Survey, police, fire and ambulance service received the highest level of satisfaction from residents at 94 percent. Prior to joining SLPD in 2005, Brinkley spent 15 years in law enforcement in Michigan, where he worked for the Detroit Police Department and the Grand Rapids Police Department. Brinkley has worked in all areas of law enforcement, including narcotics, patrol, special events coordination, traffic, various supervisory positions and vice. He has also served eight years in the United States Army Reserve. Brinkley earned a master's degree in criminal justice from Boston University and is currently a doctoral candidate in executive leadership studies at the University of Charleston. He is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police and the FBI National Academy. Brinkley is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Texas Police Chief's Association. As part of Brinkley's promotion, Bogard also announced the reassignment of Assistant City Manager Jim Callaway to the position of director of special projects, also effective June 6. Callaway's new position will entail providing leadership to some of the city's most complex priority projects - including redistricting and the resolution of the development plans for Tract 2, an area adjacent to the former Central Prison Unit envisioned by the city to be developed as a second business park. Callaway's most recent interim assignment as an assistant city manager was necessary to ensure citywide leadership for the annexation of Greatwood and New Territory last year. As a result of ongoing organizational leadership succession planning efforts, Sugar Land will again have three assistant city managers reporting to Bogard beginning in January 2019. Washington Weeks before his planned North Korea summit, President Donald Trump is staring down a dealmaker's worst nightmare: overpromising and under-delivering. As the Singapore meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un draws near, the president and his allies are growing increasingly anxious about how he can score a win on the world stage. While Trump has not suggested he wants to back out, he has struggled to define his objectives for the historic sit-down and last week he drew fresh criticism from his foreign foil. "I think that Trump imagined he would go into this meeting and be able to have a historic breakthrough with a deal, but it's clear he's starting to realize it won't be as easy as he imagined," said Jean Lee, director of the North Korea program at the Woodrow Wilson Center and a former Associated Press bureau chief in Pyongyang. Trump, who has pitched himself as the ultimate negotiator, has focused on ambitious deals as president but has struggled with the fine print. He just hit the pause button on his threatened trade war with China, announcing an agreement to reduce America's trade deficit with China but few details. He recently withdrew the U.S. from the international Iran-nuclear deal without outlining a path forward with his allies. And his Middle East peace plan, which he deputized his son-in-law to lead, is months overdue and facing a more skeptical audience than ever. Supporters stress that sometimes Trump's ambitious efforts do pay off, as with the massive tax cut bill he signed into law late last year. Going into the North Korea meeting, senior administration officials say, the president has been almost singularly focused on the pageantry of the summit including the suspenseful roll-out of details. He has not been deeply engaged in briefing materials on North Korea's nuclear program, said three people with knowledge of the White House efforts. They were not authorized to speak publicly. Scott Snyder, director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, said there's a risk that "the ceremony and the historic nature of the meeting be allowed to overshadow the deliverables." Driven by gut instinct, Trump rarely dives deep as he prepares to meet with foreign counterparts. For the North Korea meeting, insiders say, he is motivated by the idea of scoring a historic deal and is tickled by suggestions he could win a Nobel Peace Prize especially since Barack Obama won the honor early in his presidency. Trump has maintained publicly that his goal is to see the Korean Peninsula denuclearized, and the North has agreed to put its nuclear program on the negotiating table as a condition for the talks. But the two sides are still miles apart on defining what might be mutually acceptable. Trump will huddle Tuesday at the White House with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to prepare for the June 12 summit. It was Moon's government that delivered the initial invitation from Kim for a meeting, and South Korea has been pushing the U.S. toward a peaceful resolution to the nuclear crisis. North Korea threw a wrench in the plans last week, threatening to cancel over concerns about the U.S. push to see the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Administration officials viewed the warning as bluster, akin to Trump's own promise to walk away if Kim isn't serious about denuclearization. Both sides, they said, have a vested interest in a successful meeting. Trump attempted to assuage Kim's concerns last week, promising "protections" should he abandon his nuclear weapons. But Trump also suggested Kim risks being overthrown and possibly death if the arsenal remains. Two former Trump administration officials said the high degree of uncertainty surrounding the talks benefits Kim, who stands to gain the most in the form of international legitimacy from a sit-down with Trump. Washington Weeks before his planned North Korea summit, President Donald Trump is staring down a dealmaker's worst nightmare: overpromising and under-delivering. As the Singapore meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un draws near, the president and his allies are growing increasingly anxious about how he can score a win on the world stage. While Trump has not suggested he wants to back out, he has struggled to define his objectives for the historic sit-down and last week he drew fresh criticism from his foreign foil. "I think that Trump imagined he would go into this meeting and be able to have a historic breakthrough with a deal, but it's clear he's starting to realize it won't be as easy as he imagined," said Jean Lee, director of the North Korea program at the Woodrow Wilson Center and a former Associated Press bureau chief in Pyongyang. Trump, who has pitched himself as the ultimate negotiator, has focused on ambitious deals as president but has struggled with the fine print. He just hit the pause button on his threatened trade war with China, announcing an agreement to reduce America's trade deficit with China but few details. He recently withdrew the U.S. from the international Iran-nuclear deal without outlining a path forward with his allies. And his Middle East peace plan, which he deputized his son-in-law to lead, is months overdue and facing a more skeptical audience than ever. Supporters stress that sometimes Trump's ambitious efforts do pay off, as with the massive tax cut bill he signed into law late last year. Going into the North Korea meeting, senior administration officials say, the president has been almost singularly focused on the pageantry of the summit including the suspenseful roll-out of details. He has not been deeply engaged in briefing materials on North Korea's nuclear program, said three people with knowledge of the White House efforts. They were not authorized to speak publicly. Scott Snyder, director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, said there's a risk that "the ceremony and the historic nature of the meeting be allowed to overshadow the deliverables." Driven by gut instinct, Trump rarely dives deep as he prepares to meet with foreign counterparts. For the North Korea meeting, insiders say, he is motivated by the idea of scoring a historic deal and is tickled by suggestions he could win a Nobel Peace Prize especially since Barack Obama won the honor early in his presidency. Trump has maintained publicly that his goal is to see the Korean Peninsula denuclearized, and the North has agreed to put its nuclear program on the negotiating table as a condition for the talks. But the two sides are still miles apart on defining what might be mutually acceptable. Trump will huddle Tuesday at the White House with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to prepare for the June 12 summit. It was Moon's government that delivered the initial invitation from Kim for a meeting, and South Korea has been pushing the U.S. toward a peaceful resolution to the nuclear crisis. North Korea threw a wrench in the plans last week, threatening to cancel over concerns about the U.S. push to see the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Administration officials viewed the warning as bluster, akin to Trump's own promise to walk away if Kim isn't serious about denuclearization. Both sides, they said, have a vested interest in a successful meeting. Trump attempted to assuage Kim's concerns last week, promising "protections" should he abandon his nuclear weapons. But Trump also suggested Kim risks being overthrown and possibly death if the arsenal remains. Two former Trump administration officials said the high degree of uncertainty surrounding the talks benefits Kim, who stands to gain the most in the form of international legitimacy from a sit-down with Trump. LITCHFIELD A historic Open House Tour on July 12-13 is being planned by the Litchfield Aid of the Connecticut Junior Republic (CJR). The Aids 67th Open House Day will be a one-mile walking tour within the Borough of Litchfield, a National Historic Landmark District. The tour will benefit the CJR, a Litchfield-based non-profit organization that helps children, youth and families in 13 locations across Connecticut. The rain or shine benefit will begin with a Preview Tour and Party on Friday, July 12, followed by a tour from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, July 13. The 2019 event will feature nine notable homes, the majority of which are located on Litchfields North and South Streets. Representative of Litchfields 300-year history, the tour will feature houses that date from a relocated 1685 Saltbox and will take guests through three centuries, ending with a stunning 1954 Marcel Breuer Mid-Century Modern home. The homes on tour, including Georgian, Greek Revival, Colonial, Victorian-Italianate, and of course the prevailing Litchfield Colonial Revival style, have been selected to capture more than 300 years of village life and architectural interest in the center of Northwestern Connecticut. Further details about the event will be announced later this year. Established in 1911 by a small group of Litchfield women, The Litchfield Aid of CJR has supported the programs and facilities of the Connecticut Junior Republic for more than 100 years and currently has nearly 100 members. The Aid conducted an annual Litchfield House Tour for 66 years, between the summers of 1934 and 2013. During 2014 and 2017, the Aid conducted other successful local events. Since its inception, The Litchfield Aids activities have netted in excess of $2.5 million to support CJR programs and services. The Borough of Litchfield, Connecticut reflects over 300 years of American history throughout the structures comprising the Borough and its Historic District. In 1959, the entire Borough was designated a Historic District by a special act of the Connecticut General Assembly. Later, the Litchfield Historic District and several buildings received even more prestigious designations as National Historic Landmarks, the highest recognition for culturally and historically significant sites in the U.S. Founded in 1904, the Connecticut Junior Republic (CJR) provides residential and community-based care, treatment, education and family support for vulnerable at-risk, special needs and troubled young people so they may become productive and fulfilled members of their homes, schools and communities. Today, the organizations combined programs serve approximately 2,000 boys and girls annually in 13 locations throughout Connecticut. A private charitable organization, the Connecticut Junior Republic is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). CJR is supported by gifts from individuals, businesses, foundations and organizations, and through service contracts funded by the Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division (JBCSSD), the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS), and by Connecticuts public schools. For further information on CJRs programs, contact Hedy Barton, Director of Development and Public Relations 860-567-9423, extension 252; or by email: hbarton@cjryouth.org. Austin, Texas 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. And until Monday, the governor's re-election website was raffling off a shotgun. 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. 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 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 Feb. 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 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. It's not a gun-law issue." Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, is 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 and Texas Republicans have embraced a steady relaxation of guns laws in recent years. On Monday, Abbott's 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. Texas holds primary runoffs Tuesday, meanwhile, and the Santa Fe shooting is not expected to be a deciding factor in any major race. 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 the so-called gun sale loophole. 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." Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team has asked about flows of money into the Cyprus bank account of a company that specialized in social-media manipulation and whose founder reportedly met with Donald Trump Jr. in August 2016, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The inquiry is drawing attention to PSY Group, an Israeli firm that pitched its services to super-PACs and other entities during the 2016 election. Those services included infiltrating target audiences with elaborately crafted social-media personas and spreading misleading information through websites meant to mimic news portals, according to interviews and PSY Group documents seen by Bloomberg News. The person doesn't believe any of those pitches was successful, and it's illegal for foreign entities to contribute anything of value or to play decision-making roles in U.S. political campaigns. One of PSY Group's founders, Joel Zamel, met in August 2016 at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr. and an emissary to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss how PSY Group could help Trump win, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Marc Mukasey, a lawyer for Zamel, said 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." He also said reports that Zamel's companies engage in social-media manipulation are misguided and that the firms "harvest publicly available information for lawful use." Donald Trump Jr. recalls a meeting at which he was pitched "on a social media platform or marketing strategy," said his attorney, Alan Futerfas, in an emailed statement. "He was not interested and that was the end of it." Following Trump's victory, PSY Group formed an alliance with Cambridge Analytica, the Trump campaign's primary social-media consultants, to try to win U.S. government work, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg News. FBI agents working with Mueller's team interviewed people associated with PSY Group's U.S. operations in February, and Mueller subpoenaed bank records for payments made to the firm's Cyprus bank accounts, according to a person who has seen one of the subpoenas. Though PSY Group is based in Israel, it's technically headquartered in Cyprus, the small Mediterranean island famous for its banking secrecy. Shortly after those interviews, on Feb. 25, PSY Group Chief Executive Officer Royi Burstien informed employees in Tel Aviv that the company was closing down. Burstien is a former commander of an Israeli psychological warfare unit, according to two people familiar with the company. He didn't respond to requests for comment. PSY Group developed elaborate information operations for commercial clients and political candidates around the world, the people said. Tactics deployed by PSY Group in foreign elections included inflaming divisions in opposition groups and playing on deep-seated cultural and ethnic conflicts, something the firm called "poisoning the well," according to the people. In a contracting proposal for the State Department that PSY Group prepared with Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group, Cambridge's U.K. affiliate, the firm said that it "has conducted messaging/influence operations in well over a dozen languages and dialects" and that it employs "an elite group of high-ranking former officers from some of the world's most renowned intelligence units." Although the proposal says that the company is legally bound not to reveal its clients, it also boasts that "PSY has succeeded in placing the results of its intelligence activities in top-tier publications across the globe in order to advance the interests of its clients." That proposal was the result of a collaboration that gelled after Trump's victory -- a mutual non-disclosure agreement between Cambridge and PSY Group is dated Dec. 14, 2016 -- but the documents don't indicate how the companies initially connected or why they decided to work together. Cambridge Analytica and the elections division of SCL shut down this month following scrutiny of the companies' business practices, including the release of a secretly recorded interview of Cambridge CEO Alexander Nix saying he could entrap politicians in compromising situations. The joint proposal for the State Department's Global Engagement Center was for a project to interrupt the recruitment and radicalization of ISIS members, and it provides insight into PSY Group's use of fake social-media personas. The company spent months preparing for the proposal by developing a persona for "an average Chicago teenager" named Madison who converted from Christianity to Islam and became alienated from her parents. Over a period of many weeks, Madison interacted with an ISIS recruiter, received instructions for sending money to fighters in Syria, and began an extended flirtation with a fighter in Raqqa, Syria. Among the long-term objectives of Madison's persona were obtaining names and contacts of "radical Turkish Islamic elements" and obtaining bank accounts and routing numbers for donating to ISIS, according to the proposal seen by Bloomberg News. The State Department's Global Engagement Center entered into a contract with SCL Group last year, but it didn't include provisions for work to be performed by any subcontractors, according to a department spokesman. That contract didn't involve social media and was focused on in-person interviews, according to an earlier department briefing. The Trump Tower meeting in August 2016 included Zamel, the PSY Group founder, and George Nader, an adviser to the ruling families of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the New York Times report. PSY Group's decision to shut down appears to have come the same week that Nader testified before the grand jury working with Mueller, according to the timing of that testimony previously reported in the Times. Following the election, Nader hired a different company of Zamel's called WhiteKnight, which specializes in open-source social media research and is based in the Caribbean, according to a person familiar with the transaction. The person described WhiteKnight as a high-end business consulting firm owned in part by Zamel that completed a post-election analysis for Nader that examined the role that social media played in the 2016 election. There is little public information about WhiteKnight or its products, and the company does not appear to have a website. Another person familiar with PSY Group's operations said that months ago, there was discussion about rebranding the firm under a different name. The name being discussed internally, according to the person, was WhiteKnight. UKHIA, Bangladesh - For the thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled a violent crackdown in Myanmar, a new crisis looms: The babies conceived in rape are due soon. Doctors Without Borders has recorded 160 cases of pregnant rape victims between August 2017 and February 2018 in the vast refugee camps in Bangladesh. That number is expected to rise dramatically. Some 13,500 Rohingya women suffered sexual violence as they fled from their homes and made their way to Bangladesh, according to the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA. "The peak of rape was August, so we're expecting to see a surge of women delivering this month," said Daniella Cassio, a midwife and lead coordinator on sexual gender-based violence with Doctors Without Borders. Already struggling to meet the basic needs of the growing Rohingya population - and grappling with aid shortages and the impending monsoon season - groups like Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children are scrambling to prepare for the births. Since August, around 700,000 Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh from Rakhine state in Myanmar, also known as Burma. A Muslim minority, the Rohingya have lived under increasingly repressive measures for decades, but last year the violence escalated: Refugees allege the Burmese military burned down whole villages, torturing people and raping women and girls in the process. "They target those between 13 and 25," said Roksana Akter, a midwife working for Doctors Without Borders who specializes in victims of sexual violence. In November, the Burmese military released a report denying all accusations of rape and killings by their security forces. Madina Khatun, 25, said she realized she was pregnant as soon as she reached Bangladesh. A few months earlier, her husband had been abducted from their village. She said she believed her widow status made her easier prey for the "military man" who raped her. She gave birth to her daughter Rosina in her shelter in the overcrowded camp, without help from family or a midwife. "It's a lot of suffering to feel, a lot of shame," she said. Khatun takes comfort in knowing she was not the only one. Many women were raped, she said. "It is not only my fate." Kutupalong, the Rohingya camp in southern Bangladesh where Khatun now lives, is the most densely populated refugee camp in the world. Conditions are dire. Some families, particularly those with many children, struggle to get enough food. In these circumstances, the exceptionally high birthrate in the camps - 50,000 babies are expected to be born in 2018, according to Save the Children - is straining already-overstretched health services. The boom in babies born from rape could easily lead to a health-care crisis, Cassio said. Preparation for this boom is difficult. Because of the stigma attached to being unmarried and pregnant, organizations do not have exact figures for the number of pregnancies resulting from rape. It is not uncommon for rape victims in the camps to hide their pregnancies, and around 80 percent of pregnant Rohingya women give birth at home, according to estimates by Doctors Without Borders, which means many births go undetected. Families often give unwanted babies away to relatives or neighbors in the community, especially childless couples, according to Doctors Without Borders, UNFPA and Save the Children. Some babies are abandoned on doorsteps. Many abandoned children have been brought to the Doctors Without Borders maternity clinic in Kutupalong. "We don't have the facility or the space to keep these babies," Cassio said. The babies stay in the clinic for a few days, but then they are passed on to Save the Children, which has created an informal foster care system that places babies with other Rohingya families. But without the backing of the Bangladeshi government, it will become increasingly difficult to sustain this system as the numbers rise throughout May, according to Save the Children spokeswoman Daphnee Cook. Rohingya women facing an unwanted pregnancy have few choices in the camps. Clinics offer an emergency contraceptive up to five days after intercourse as well as abortions before 12 weeks, known as menstrual regulation. Many women either do not get to a clinic at all or are too late when they do. Desperate, the women or their families take matters into their own hands - sometimes with deadly consequences. Akter, the midwife, recalled the one patient's case. Her family brought her to the clinic and said she had abdominal pain. They told Akter she was married. During her exam, the midwife found a broken stick lodged in the girl's uterus. Two days later, she died. Her family later admitted the girl was unmarried and had been raped; to "save her," they paid a local woman to carry out an illegal abortion, Akter said. Aside from medical complications, pregnant rape victims face myriad other risks. "If you're unmarried and raped your future is almost over in terms of your social acceptability," said Caroline Gluck, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'s refugee agency. "You're tarred, damaged goods." As a result, many families hastily arrange marriages for unmarried girls and women who are pregnant through rape. Save the Children and UNICEF have reported an increase in child marriage in the camps. Aid groups in the camps have launched campaigns to avoid that outcome. They also try to identify victims of sexual violence to make it easier for them to come forward. Pregnant rape victims who have been cast out by their family and are in danger of violence or isolation are referred to safe houses, where they can stay until the end of their pregnancies. Even then, their ordeal is far from over. "These women are probably some of the most in need of psychological support," said Allison Fog, a psychologist with Doctors Without Borders. "They are severely traumatized." President Donald Trump will meet his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, at the White House on Tuesday. When they talk, both men will likely express their ongoing hopes for negotiations with North Korea. But the two leaders are coming at that shared goal from much different political positions: While Trump's approval numbers are mired in the low 40s, Moon's approval stands at 75 percent of South Koreans, according to one poll published last week. Moon may be the most domestically popular leader of any major democratic nation. There's good reason to believe that Moon's handling of potential talks with North Korea - and, with that, his handling of Trump - has helped boost those numbers. Polling firms such as Gallup Korea and Realmeter showed that Moon's approval rating shot up to record highs after his summit with Kim Jong Un in the demilitarized zone on April 27. One poll conducted for television channel MBC shortly after the summit found that 89 percent of South Koreans thought the event had been a success; 78 percent even said they viewed North Korea's Kim as trustworthy. Remarkably, this would suggest that many South Korean conservatives, historically skeptical of engagement with the Kim dynasty, were optimistic about talks. That positivity appears to have fallen off in the weeks since the summit, if only slightly. But things could get much worse. North Korea unexpectedly canceled an official meeting with South Korea last week, which could well boost the worries of the country's conservatives. But, on the whole, polls do suggest a cautious optimism will remain among South Koreans. In the United States, Trump's approval ratings have been fairly low for much of his presidency. But they have trended slightly upward in the first half of 2018, according to the website FiveThirtyEight's polling tracker, and North Korea may now be a positive for the president. Polls have shown majority approval for the plan to meet Kim, and many voters have expressed confidence in Trump's handling of the summit. Trump is also unpopular in South Korea, and the two nations have a number of points of contention outside of the North Korean threat. But Moon has found common ground with his American counterpart by flattering Trump publicly. In January, as North Korea indicated it was open to talks with South Korea, Moon said that Trump deserved "huge credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks." Last month, he suggested that Trump should win the lauded Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. At least some of this praise seems to have come at the behest of Trump himself, according to U.S. officials, suggesting that the American president is eager for a diplomatic win ahead of unfavorable odds in midterm elections. However, it remains to be seen if Trump and Moon can keep the goodwill going before the U.S.-North Korea summit on June 12. Indeed, Trump has begun to view the event more tentatively after North Korea canceled its meeting with South Korean officials last week and issued a caustic criticism of White House national security adviser John Bolton. And although Trump may hope a successful summit in Singapore may boost his approval ratings, we can't say the same for Kim. Winsted On a sunny Monday this week, Phillip Allen, a member of the Winchester Economic Development Commission, gave a walking tour of the downtown blocks between Bridge and Oak Streets. He said within the last two years, four new restaurants and five new businesses have opened, and in the last few months the pace has noticeably picked up. One of the recently opened businesses in the Mad River Lofts building is the Blue Dandelion Yoga studio, owned by Becky Thompson. She is one of the first entrepreneurs to move into the 19th-century mill building at 10 Bridge Street. Thompson led the way for a number of other start-ups, which have set up shop in a roughly three-block area on Main Street, across from the lofts. Thompson said she couldnt pass up chance to open her yoga studio in the building. It spoke to me. I love it, she said. Thompson is particularity fond of the historic nature of the old mill. The open ceiling design reveals massive chestnut beams, circa-1890 and the original hardwood floors were left intact. Having a studio is new to me, Thompson said. She has taught yoga and offered massages for 8 years, but decided it was time to have a permanent location. Thompson opened her business at 10 Bridge Street last October, and said word of mouth has helped her attract students as well as her social media sites on Facebook and Instagram. Two Farms Market at 244 Main St. is as new as freshly laid egg; a fitting simile for the store that sells both chicken and duck eggs. The market, which opened three weeks ago, also offers farm-fresh produce and dairy products. The two farms in the stores name are the Barden and MarWin Farms, and are both located in New Hartford. Anita Barden said her family began selling their produce at the New Hartford farmers market about 12 years ago. They partnered with the Dahill family of MarWin Farms which raises poultry. Then, the Bardens saw the space was open (in Winsted) and decided they needed a brick and mortar building, said Allen. The Barden farm has been in the family for five generations. While many children of farm families have turned away from farming, the Bardens daughter, Cara Donovan, said leaving was never a question. She studied farming business and animal science at the State University of New York, Cobbleskill. Cara is a real asset, said her mom. We grow 78 varieties of heirloom eggplant, and from 20 to 25 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, Cara said. Were happy to be here to provide fresh produce thats locally grown. Dave Rogozzine is also happy to have his own business. He opened Still River Outfitters at 236 Main St. two months ago. I chose this specific spot. I liked the location, he said. The stores most popular items, Rogozzine said, are live bait and lures made by Rapala. Someone new to fishing who doesnt own any equipment can get started in the sport for about $100, Rogozzine said. He talked with Allen about the possibility of opening up access to the Mad River across the street, where anglers could fish. It would increase the visibility of the river, Allen noted. In addition to the recent small business openings, Allen said larger companies are about to locate nearby. The building which housed the former Super Saver grocery store at 372 Main St. will soon open as an extension of the Torrington-based Community Health and Wellness Center, he said. A few blocks east, on Rowley Street, Allen said, a branch of the Torrington Federal Credit Union is scheduled to open. He said its another step in the effort to revitalize the downtown area and continue to attract new businesses. One San Antonio-area superintendent received a pay bump of more than $50,000 between academic year 2016-17 and 2017-18, according to records obtained by mySA.com. Saul Hinojosa, the superintendent of Somerset ISD, saw his annual base pay increase from $180,000 to $237,000. Still, he was one of the lowest paid superintendents in the area last year. A federal jury Tuesday ended a trademark battle between two titans of the Texas travel-stop industry, finding that a grinning green gator had unlawfully invaded a toothy beaver's turf. The jury determined after six hours of deliberation that Choke Canyon's finger-licking alligator logo violated state and federal trademark law, infringing on the already established Buc-ee's beaver that's a stand-in for the popular chain of travel centers. "It's absolutely not about a beaver versus an alligator," said Jeff Nadalo, general counsel for Buc-ee's Ltd. "There are more than 10 similarities between the two marks that we presented to the jury in this case." But Charles Hanor, the lead counsel for the San Antonio-based Choke Canyon, said, "We respect the jury's verdict but we don't understand it since all the evidence indicated there was no confusion." MORE: Buc-ee's, Choke Canyon making final plugs to jury in trademark case Hanor added that convincing the jury of that was difficult because, "Everybody in the jury panel knew about Buc-ee's, loved Buc-ee's and were fans of Buc-ee's." "We couldn't exclude them all," he said, referring to the jury panel. Hanor said his client, owner Amjad "John" Panjwani, who built his business on barbecue restaurants hitched to Exxon stations, planned to appeal the case. A trial lawyer for Buc-ee's, which is headquartered in Lake Jackson, told jurors in a heavily branded multimedia presentation that the popular gas stop chain spent "blood, sweat and tears" building its reputation and wanted Choke Canyon to stop "riding its coattails" with a logo that confuses highway travelers into pulling off at a rival business. In contrast, Hanor, the lawyer for Choke Canyon, told jurors in his closing that Buc-ee's presented no evidence that shoppers were confused about which chain was which. A survey found more than 99 percent of 300 people surveyed by a defense expert said they were not confused between the two brands. The lawsuit brought by mega-chain Buc-ee's said that Choke Canyon's alligator logo, pictured against a round yellow backdrop, was too similar to the buck-toothed beaver who represents its 33 gas stops. Buc-ee's also complained that Choke Canyon illegally mimicked its in-store offerings, including friendly service, ample stock and plentiful, clean bathrooms. BEST PLACE TO STOP? Survey goes with a Texas favorite Hanor noted to jurors that Denny's, Best Buy, Chase, Lay's and McDonald's all use the color yellow prominently in their yellow logos, but no one confuses them with one another. Experts said that to win a case like this, the jury must find there is a probability consumers would be confused by a competitor's logo. "I'm surprised that Buc-ee's won," said Chris Schwegmann, a trademark attorney at Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst in Dallas. "I haven't seen any of the trial evidence, but I just can't see how any reasonable juror could find a likelihood of confusion between those two logos. One is a beaver, the other is an alligator. One has a ball cap, the other has a cowboy hat. The design of the logos is different and the alligator logo even has the name of the store directly on the sign, further diminishing any confusion between the two stores." During one week of testimony, the jury was asked to look at how the Choke Canyon logo evolved over time, standing upright in later versions and becoming more cartoonish, with a bright red tongue. Some versions of the logo they saw had the wording from around the alligator removed. They looked at photographs of the bathroom areas and compared T-shirts from the two stores. The panel of three women and nine men ultimately found Choke Canyon liable on each of four counts including trademark infringement and trademark dilution. U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison asked the lawyer to discuss plans for an injunction. The case for damages is pending. Gabrielle Banks covers federal court for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter and send her tips at gabrielle.banks@chron.com. SAN ANTONIO - A pedestrian struck by two vehicles, including a police SUV, died Monday night on the North Side. San Antonio Police Department spokesman Officer Carlos Ortiz said the man was hit by the vehicles at about 9:45 p.m. in the 5400 block of San Pedro Avenue. Police did not release the mans age. Officers ... were responding to an aggravated robbery at a business, Ortiz said. We believe there was a secondary call that came out and a panic alarm was hit. RELATED: S.A. man arrested in armed robbery, shooting at poker house Because of this, Ortiz said, police responding to the scene were authorized to run code 3, which means using lights and sirens to get to a potential crime in action. One of the responding officers was driving north on San Pedro when he hit the pedestrian who was not in a crosswalk, Ortiz said. The man was then thrown into the opposite lane, where he was struck by a vehicle traveling south, investigators said. Traffic investigation detectives are investigating what led to the accident, Ortiz said. RELATED: SAPD investigating fatal shooting of 17-year-old Police said the block will be shut down as investigators examine the scene. Ortiz said the officer involved, an 8-year-veteran of the force, will be placed on administrative duty during the course of the investigation. Police did not release any other information regarding the aggravated robbery that officers were responding to. jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA After a stressful journey across the country Monday, the Rhesus macaque who escaped his crate at the San Antonio airport appears to be enjoying his new home in Cotulla. Born Free USA posted photos Tuesday of Dawkins, the monkey who pulled off the crate escape, at the sanctuary. An employee told mySA.com that Dawkins is "adjusting well" after the incident that occurred Monday. Dawkins was flown in on an American Airlines flight out of Chicago O'Hare. He managed to escape while cargo was being transported and he was eventually cornered in a baggage claim room, according to airport officials. READ MORE: Escaped monkey at San Antonio airport captured, identified as Dawkins "The monkey was having a little bit of fun," said Russ Handy, the city's aviation director. "If you can visualize what a bag channeling system looks like, it's a lot of belts and bars, it's a little bit like a jungle. So, he's having a pretty good time over there." Dawkins was sedated with a tranquilizer, and after getting checked out, made his way to the sanctuary in Cotulla. The sanctuary is the largest in the country, according to Born Free USA CEO Prashant Khetan, holding up to 550 primates. The open-air enclosure mimics a wild environment for the monkeys who may have spent their lives in captivity. Along with the photos of Dawkins posted on Facebook, the nonprofit gave an update on how he's doing after the incident. "He is doing well and exploring his new home, where he will be able to live a life as close as possible to the wild," the post read. On Monday, Khetan said the escape is a cautionary tale about what wild animals are capable of -- and why he's against keeping them in captivity. "He (was) 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." Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA Police are searching for two gunmen who they said shot a drug dealer in the neck and stole his car in a Northeast Side neighborhood. Police responded to a home in the 5100 block of Sierra Madre Drive around 10:15 a.m. The gunshot wound victim and another man came to the vacant home to sell drugs to two men outside the residence, police said. When the dealers arrived, their supposed customers brandished handguns and demanded the dealers' vehicle, a gold 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis, according to San Antonio police. RELATED: SAPD officer who fatally shot man threatening to kill teen girl cleared of criminal charges "They didn't want the drugs," said Jennifer Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the San Antonio Police Department. "They demanded the vehicle." One of the dealers bailed from the vehicle and escaped uninjured. "The other victim stayed in the vehicle but was able to get away, but was shot as he ran from the location," Rodriguez said. The suspects then fled in the car. A helicopter unit briefly scoured the area, but the suspects were not apprehended. Paramedics took the victim, who was struck in the neck, to a nearby hospital in critical condition. 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 Twitter users never miss a chance to monkey around. After the news about a monkey who escaped from his crate at the San Antonio International Airport broke Monday, social media took the opportunity to crack jokes about it. RELATED: Escaped monkey at San Antonio airport captured, identified as Dawkins "These are the moments Twitter was created for," Josh Jordan tweeted. Others posted monkey gifs, and one Twitter user said the news reminded him of the movie "Outbreak." Dawkins was flown on an American Airlines flight from Chicago O'Hare, airport officials said. He was headed to the Born Free USA sanctuary in Cotulla, where he will be with roughly 550 other primates. The monkey was sedated before officials were able to get him to the sanctuary. Born Free USA said in a Facebook post Dawkins is doing well after the incident. "Dawkins (who is doing well despite yesterday's stressful transport) will have the opportunity to live in a large, natural enclosure, socialize, play, forage, and enjoy a life as close as possible to the wild, with minimal human interference," the sanctuary's CEO, Prashant Khetan, said in a statement. Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA VIA Metropolitan Transit bus passengers had to wait an hour until they could get off their bus after it downed a utility pole and its power lines Monday morning near downtown, officials said. The bus clipped the utility pole about 11 a.m. near the intersection of East Quincy Street and Richmond Avenue, causing the wires connected to the pole to fall, VIA spokeswoman Lorraine Pulido confirmed via email. Joking about the Zetas, the ruthless criminal organization that lurks just across the Rio Grande, is usually a bad idea in Eagle Pass. Threatening someone with a visit from them, even in jest, can be far worse, as Rudy Bowles, a candidate for Maverick County judge, learned the hard way. Bowles, 75, who narrowly lost a Tuesday runoff election with incumbent David Saucedo, made such a statement Sunday night in a voicemail left with the chairman of the county Democratic Party. The message was that he needed a list of election workers and judges, and if he did not receive them within 30 minutes, he would call the Zetas and have them come looking for me, recalled Luis Ruiz, 37, the county chairman since November. Ruiz said he already had provided the information to someone else on Bowles campaign staff. But he took the gruff, recorded message as a threat to himself, to family members he has in Mexico and potentially to his election workers and judges, and quickly called authorities. More Information qu See More Collapse Im in charge of my niece and nephew, and they are not in school today because they fear something will happen to them, Ruiz added Tuesday. By Monday evening, despite making a belated apology in another recorded message, Bowles had been charged with making a terroristic threat, a misdemeanor, and had spent six hours at the Sheriffs Office. As voters streamed to the polls in the Democratic primary runoff, Bowles tried gamely to encourage his supporters, even though his arrest was the talk of the town. Reached Tuesday, Bowles was apologetic and said he does not know any Zetas. Im not perfect. People who know me, know I like to joke around. I did not mean any harm, he said. Bowles said he believes people will recognize that the whole episode, including his arrest, was unnecessary, adding: People know its a manipulation of the electoral process and that it came from my opponent. A former high school principal and the county judge decades ago, Bowles finished second in a three-way race for the position in the March primary. Before the incident with Ruiz, he was given a good chance at defeating Saucedo, a two-term incumbent. Instead, Saucedo prevailed with 3,947 to 3,935 for Bowles. Saucedo had a nearly 200 vote advantage in early voting. Bowles campaign manager vowed to demand a recount. On election day, Bowles arrest was the talk of the town and opinions about the incident varied. One local resident, who asked not to be named, said the Mexican criminal gangs are feared by many in Eagle Pass. Its very real to us. We live on the border. We hear these stories. We all know of a family member, an acquaintance or even a distant relative, who has either been hurt, killed or made to disappear, the resident said. My (martial arts) trainer Victor Cruz in Piedras was one of them. In 20ll, they made him, his wife, his two kids and a teenager who was hanging out with them, all disappear, he added. Others, however, thought the whole incident was way overblown. Rudys known for running off at the mouth, and this time he put both feet in it, said another native-born local, who likewise asked for anonymity. But it should not have been a criminal case. Its ridiculous. He has no more pipeline to the Zetas than anyone, he added. John MacCormack is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | JMacCormack@express-news.net | @JohnMacCormack Update at 9:40 a.m.: The AMBER alert for the Chatman siblings has been discontinued. Original story: Authorities on Tuesday issued an AMBER Alert for three children believed to have been abducted by a 29-year-old woman in Central Texas. The three abducted childrenTaniya, Brock and Teanna Chatman, aged 9, 8 and 7, respectivelyare believed to be in immediate danger, authorities said. They were last seen in Bertam, Texas, in Burnet County. RELATED: Pedestrian crossing San Pedro struck by officer, other driver The suspect, Tekecha Quinonce, could be driving a black 2008 Pontiac G6 with Texas license plate DCR-0363. Anyone with information on the children's whereabouts is asked to call the Burnet County Sheriff's Office at 512-756-8080. 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 A San Antonio woman was arrested nearly a year after her coworkers discovered a massive pill-stealing scheme, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Christina Ann Santos, 29, was charged with three counts of obtaining drugs through fraud and four counts of possession of controlled substances, according to jail records. Her bail was set at $50,000. In November 2017, a staff nurse at Healthsouth Rehabilitation Institute, where Santos worked as a nurse, discovered a discrepancy in their automated dispensing machines that didn't match up with the electronic medical records, according to an arrest affidavit. RELATED: SAPD: Victim shot in neck in NE side neighborhood The nurse realized controlled substances had been dished out under patients' names for prescriptions that were already filled. The medical records showed the pills didn't make it to the patients, authorities said. When the nurse reported the discrepancy, the facility's management realized this had been regularly occurring on Santos' shift, according to the affidavit. In all, 1,658 pills were stolen. Most of then were hydrocodone, but ocycontin and codeine was also taken, the affidavit says. When she was confronted, Santos initially claimed that she was stealing the pills for her mother, but then recanted and said she was stealing them for herself, according to the affidavit. Santos was fired, and the incident was then reported to police and the Drug Enforcement Agency, according to the affidavit. The Texas Board of Nursing sent the DEA office their findings on March 22, which again concluded that Santos admitted to the theft and allegedly stated she stole them because of her addiction. Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA Bexar commissioners on Tuesday renewed another year of the countys agreement with Aramark Correctional Services to feed inmates at the county jail and jail annex for an annual cost of $3.5 million. Under an agreement signed in 2015, the jails price per meal is set to adjust according to the Consumer Price Index, which this year brought the total up 2.5 percent, from 83.6 cents to 85.7 cents per meal. The amended period goes through the end of January 2019. Purchasing agent Mary Quinones told commissioners the $3.5 million figure was an estimate based on current jail populations, and could fluctuate. The court had budgeted $3.9 million for the contract. The commissioners approved the new agreement after little discussion. They also approved a 2.14 percent price-per-meal increase at the juvenile detention and post-adjudication centers, effective July 1. In other county news: Commissioners nominated TaskUs a digital business service provider for the Texas Enterprise Zone Program. Through the program, TaskUs could claim up to $1.25 million in state sales tax refunds over five years for creating new jobs in economically distressed, or low-income areas. The county does not provide cash incentives through the program. Public Works Director Renee Green briefed commissioners on the status of the countys Mosquito Control Program, which is in its first cycle. Program workers began spreading insecticide in early May. In September last year, a mosquito in West Bexar County tested positive for West Nile, but Green said she had not yet heard if the virus would be an issue this year. Bexar County Emergency Management is working with San Antonio Metro Health to monitor mosquito activity and develop public awareness to keep vulnerable populations informed. Green urged people to drain standing water on their properties where mosquitos breed apply insect repellent and stay indoors when possible at dusk and dawn. Ahead of Memorial Day on Monday, the court paid tribute to military service members from Bexar County and surrounding areas who died during active duty. County veterans service officer Queta Rodriguez led a ceremony, which included a video slideshow, with Gold Star family members. The court meeting came hours before polls closed on Election Day for the primary runoff between Precinct 2 Commissioner Paul Elizondo and Rodriguez. Jasper Scherer is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | jscherer@express-news.net | @jaspscherer After poor early voting turnout, election officials are hoping for a strong showing Tuesday when thousands of Bexar County voters will decide congressional, state and county races on both sides of the aisle. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and voters may search for their polling site on the Bexar County Elections Departments website. Officially, about 37,000 voters have cast ballots in person and by mail out of at least 1.06 million registered voters in Bexar County. In 2014, about 64 percent of the primary runoff vote came from early voting. RELATED: Lupe Valdez goes on attack against Andrew White in Democratic debate for governor At the top of the ballot on parts of the North Side are the Democratic and Republican runoffs for the 21st Congressional District, an open seat for the first time since 1986 with Rep. Lamar Smiths upcoming retirement. The San Antonio Republican has endorsed Chip Roy in his GOP runoff against Matt McCall, a two-time Smith opponent. Democrats Mary Wilson and Joseph Kopser are hoping to flip the district. In the 23rd Congressional District, Gina Ortiz Jones or Rick Trevino will face Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, in November. The district covers parts of the West Side and curls around to the North and South sides. It runs west for hundreds of miles to El Paso. The only statewide race is between Lupe Valdez and Andrew White for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination; Valdez won 43 percent on March 6 in a nine-person field, and beat White by about 20 points in Bexar County. On the North Side, Matt Beebe and Steve Allison are duking it out for the Republican nomination to replace retiring Texas House Speaker Joe Straus in District 121. Beebe finished first in March, but Allison has received Straus endorsement. At the county level, Precinct 2 Commissioner Paul Elizondos more than three-decade incumbency is on the line as he seeks a 10th term against Democratic primary challenger Queta Rodriguez. Elizondo, who turns 83 in June, has announced this would be his final term in office, if re-elected. The Bexar County Republican Party chairmanship has come down to Cynthia Brehm and Jo Ann Ponce Gonzalez in the race to succeed interim chair Mark Dorazio, who is not running. Brehm received 45 percent, to Gonzalezs 23 percent, among four candidates in March. Other races include judicial runoffs for the 187th and 226th state district courts, a GOP runoff for a county probate court, and a Democratic runoff for 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 San Antonio firefighters are responding to a small grass fire off U.S. 90 near Cupples Road, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. READ MORE: Pedestrian crossing San Pedro struck by officer, other driver Firefighters responded to the blaze around 9:45 a.m. By 10:05 a.m., the smoke had died down considerably, though the Cupples Road exit remains closed. 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 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. Thumbs up to U.S. Navy veteran Terry Rooney and the Veterans Hall of Honor/Restoration Committee for raising $11,000 to restore the Shea-Magrath Memorial at Calf Pasture Beach. The memorial honors U.S. Army Private 1st Class John D. Magrath of Norwalk, who died in WWII, and U.S. Army Private 1st Class Daniel J. Shea who died in the Vietnam War after helping wounded comrades. The plaques were rededicated in a ceremony Sunday. Thumbs up to the student staff at The Paw Print school newspaper at Norwalk High for earning a national award for excellence recently. Based on factors such as content, page design, art and illustration, editing and creativity, the newspaper won second place in the annual contest by the American Scholastic Press Association. Congratulations to journalism teacher Robert Karl, who started The Paw Print (How the Bears make their mark) in 2006; to this years co-editors Hannah Keyes and Elise Sullivan, and to the entire staff. Everybody sees the Middle East through his or her own narrative. Conservatives see it through the front line in the war on terror narrative and defend Israels actions on the Gaza border fence this week. Progressives see it through the continued colonialist oppression narrative and condemn those actions. I see the situation through the extremism corrupts everybody narrative. My narrative starts with the idea that the creation of the state of Israel was a historic achievement involving a historic wrong the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians. For two generations, in what we can call the Yitzhak Rabin era, the leaders of Israel and of Palestinians tried, sometimes dysfunctionally and bloodily, to address this wrong and find two homelands around the pre-1967 borders. But sometime in the 1990s, extremism grew on the Israeli side, exemplified by the ultranationalist who murdered Rabin, but it exploded on the Palestinian side. Palestinian extremism took on many of the shapes recognizable in extremism everywhere. First, the debates were less about how to take steps toward a livable future and more about who is responsible for the sins of the past. Second, the dream of total victory became the only acceptable dream. In normal politics, certain long-standing debates are never really settled; competing parties instead reach an accommodation that works in the moment. But extremists stop trying to win partial victories, insisting that someday they will get everything they want that someday the other side will magically disappear. Third, extremists over time replace strategic thinking with theatrical thinking. Strategic thinking is how do we use what we have to get to where we want to go? Theatrical thinking is how do we create a martyrdom performance that will show the world how oppressed we are? Palestinian politics has shifted. It shifted from 1967 thinking to 1948 thinking. If you read the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas April 30 speech or much of the commentary published over the past week, its clear that some powerful Palestinians now believe that the creation of the state of Israel is the wrong that needs to be addressed, not the expansion and occupation. They rejected incrementalism. After Israel withdrew from its settlements in Gaza, the Palestinians could have declared a new opening, taking advantage of the influx of humanitarian aid. Instead, they elected Hamas, an organization that lists the extermination of the state of Israel as an existential goal. They expended resources that could have improved infrastructure to fund missiles and terrorist tunnels. Finally, they lost any strategic consciousness. Yasser Arafat was once a terrorist, but at least he used terror to win practical concessions. The actions today are ventures in suicidal theater. When faced with an extremist, you have two choices: counter the extremist mindset with your own or reject that mindset and double down on pragmatism. By and large, Israel has taken the former path. The shift from the politics of Rabin and Shimon Peres to that of Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman is a shift from tough realism to the magical thinking that Palestinians are somehow going to go away. Take the events of last week. For months Israeli security forces had been warning the prime minister and the defense minister that Gaza was in crisis mode and bound to blow. Hamas had long signaled that it would do exactly what it did at the Gaza fence on Monday, inciting a massive border invasion. There was plenty of time to figure out how to handle the crowds without bloodshed. Thats the problem with extremism: It is a flight from reality. It makes you stupider. Instead of cleverly working to advance your own interest in a changing context, you end up shouting your own moral justifications into a whirlwind. My narrative doesnt absolve the Palestinians from responsibility for their choices. But it doesnt let the Israelis off the hook for their failure to properly confront extremism. Extremism is naturally contagious. To fight it, whether at home or abroad, you have to answer the angry shout with the respectful offer. It feels unnatural. But its the only way. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former presidential candidate and perhaps future one, has never demurred when talking about what the American people should get for free from the federal government. To hear him tell it, every citizen should have a free education, free health care, and free paid family and medical leave. Of course, none of these things is free, and no amount legislation can make it so. The most government can do is to shift the costs of these things from people who use them to people who dont, and, in the process, establish the federal government as an omnipresent middleman. But now Sanders has turned his attention to jobs, saying that he wants to guarantee one to every American. With this, Sanders is working from Franklin Roosevelts 1944 playbook. In his State of the Union address that year, FDR brought together the intellectual progressive tradition, which began with Herbert Crolys 1909 book The Promise of American Life, with the political progressive tradition typified by the presidencies of William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson. That speech included what has come to be known as the Second Bill of Rights. Often referred to as an economic bill of rights, Roosevelts vision included rights to education, medical care, unemployment insurance and retirement benefits, among other things. This progressive vision set in motion a massive increase in the size and scope of government necessary to secure these new rights. From 1789 until 1934, federal spending averaged less than 3 percent of GDP. From 1935 on, federal spending grew almost sevenfold to 19 percent. Enter Bernie Sanders. One of the few things in Roosevelts Second Bill of Rights that remains unrealized in 2018 is the right to a useful and remunerative job. According to an early draft of his potential legislation, Sanders plan would guarantee every American a job that pays $15 an hour and provides health care benefits. This would be accomplished through government funding of hundreds of infrastructure, care-giving, education and other projects. People who are unqualified for any of the available jobs would receive federally funded job training in order to become so. Like Roosevelt before him, Sanders gives no indication as to how this new, expansive program will be funded. Roosevelt left that to others to figure out, just as Sanders now does. And therein lies the rub. Roosevelts progressive vision yielded a suite of social programs, but at a tremendous cost. By the end of World War II, the federal debt was $270 billion. Since then, the debt has since grown almost 7,500 percent to a point that is mathematically unsustainable. The massive spending has been mostly driven by two things: Social Security benefits and Medicare/Medicaid benefits. Just these two planks of Roosevelts Second Bill of Rights account for more than half of all federal spending, and almost three times total military spending. We cant afford just the part of Roosevelts progressive vision that was enacted, so how can we expect to afford even more? Because if we decide that everyone has a right to a job, then we empower the government to force us to provide those jobs. No matter the cost. And it will cost. Just like every other right created from that day to this. Thats the part of the program that Sanders would prefer you not consider. As with Roosevelt, Sanders will be long gone by the time the monstrous bill comes due. He can afford to ignore the price tag. The rest of us cannot. Antony Davies is associate professor of economics at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. James R. Harrigan is CEO of FreedomTrust. The question isnt whether immigrant minors can be humanely held at military bases. It is whether it is humane to inflict circumstances that cause them to be housed there or anywhere else at all. It is not. What are these circumstances? They will be detained after being forcibly separated from their parents, who will have been arrested on criminal charges for crossing the border adding to the trauma from what was already a harrowing trek to come here. EDITORIAL: A DACA win, but still need for legislation This is being done to deter Central Americans from coming because their own countries are unable to protect them from marauding gangs that demand submission or joining the alternative, death. The Trump administration recently said that all people who cross the border without documents will be criminally prosecuted essentially criminalizing action that had mostly been treated as a civil violation. But that means criminal detention for the offenders and, if theyve brought children, these cannot be imprisoned with them. They will have to be housed in facilities operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Those facilities are at near capacity, which is why HHS is looking at military bases including three in Texas to handle the overflow. MORE: Lawmakers need to help Dreamers onto a path to citizenship Even if the purpose of the detention of minors is to house them only until a family friend or relative can be found to take them in, parental separation is tantamount to child abuse now, apparently, its official administration policy. This conduct separating children from parents has a place only in those countries we think of as morally bankrupt. It is unbecoming of the ideals weve said we stand for. Simply, the administration needs to rethink its criminalization of undocumented immigration. Aside from the cruelty this will impose by separating children from parents, it is unworkable as a practical matter because it will overload an already burdened system. And that includes federal prisons and detention facilities and the courts tasked with prosecuting these illegal crossers. Yes, asylum seekers those who give themselves up at the border will not be criminally prosecuted, according to the first descriptions of the new policy. And this likely means one of two things: the asylum process will be inundated because all will now seek that route for fear of being separated from children or, our bet, the administration will try to curtail the rights asylum seekers now enjoy. RELATED: Hurd is right to push for a DACA vote There is currently a debate on whether, when the president described some immigrant crossers as animals recently, he was referring specifically to MS-13, the violent gang with roots in El Salvador. Though his direct quote made no mention of MS-13 he spoke of the gang earlier at the same event the danger of such rhetoric is its potential for causing the U.S. public to conflate those characteristics with all crossers as if violent criminals are all who are crossing. This was certainly the case and, our view, the intent with his broader statement during the campaign in which he referred to Mexican migrants as criminals and rapists. And when he questioned whether a judge could fairly rule in a case involving him because the Indiana-born jurist was Mexican. In any case, it is easy to acknowledge that MS-13 is indeed cruel. And it is just as easy to see the cruelty in separating children from their parents and this is true whether the children will be housed at military bases surrounded by soldiers or in other facilities guarded by others. 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 Mugabes ouster. An influential figure in the Generation 40 (G40) faction which fought against then vice president Emmerson Mnangagwas 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. Its 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 anybodys 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 Mugabes 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 Mutinhiris 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. DailyNews Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo who was later moved to Higher Education has come out guns blazing on his former permanent secretary George Charamba exposing him as the author of the recently launched Under the Eaves column that is published by the Herald on Saturdays. He says Charamba was also the author of Manheru which he stopped writing before switching to the new column under the pyseudonym by Igomombe. Charamba has served all of Zimbabwes three presidents: Canaan Banana, Robert Mugabe and Emmerson Mnangagwa. Moyo says Charamba is violating the national constitution by authoring the column because he is a civil servant yet he acts like a politician & is now tackling opposition politicians UNDER THE EAVES on behalf of #ZanuPF. The constitution forbids civil servants from acting in a partisan manner and from furthering the interests of any political party or cause. Moyo also says Charamba is embarrassing Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga by writing speeches full of English words that poor Chiwenga cant pronounce. https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/998324344144236544 Moyo traces Charambas history from the time he joined the civil service in 1984 to date and says he faked affection for former President Robert Mugabe yet the untold truth was that he hated both Mugabe and his wife Grace because of the misfortunes of his relative only named as Ms Kadungure. He says Charamba was identified by the British government as a rising bureaucrat in 1995 and was recruited through a Chevening scholarship which he used to full effect in terms of making Albion contacts, widening & deepening his wordsmith skills from Shakespearean archives! Insider Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Ile Ife is the ancestral home of all Oduduwa descendants, mostly Yoruba and Benin people inclusive, that has been a known fact. The recent visit of Oba of Benin just gave it more credence as the Binis have a common heritage with the Yorubas in Oranmiyan whose groove lies in Ile Ife. Omo Noba NEdo Uku Akpolokpolo Oba Ewuare II, the Oba of Benin recently travelled to Ile Ife where he visited the Ooni of Ife on Saturday, April 28. Before this historical visit, the last time an Oba from Benin visited the Ooni was 36 years ago. According to a popular saying in Benin kingdom: Oba no dey go transfer, which simply means that Oba of Benin rarely leaves his palace where he sees to the day-to-day running of his kingdom. That is why Benin monarchs hardly go around. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Nigeria Oba of Benin Omo Noba NEdo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II receiving a portrait from the Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi during his historic visit to Ile Ife. Source: From the palace of Ooni of Ife However, Legit.ng on a recent visit to Ile Ife, went to the Oranmiyan groove and learnt that there is more to the Oba of Benins visit to the ancient city. It was gathered that the Oba of Benin actually went to collect a particular sword which all kings of Oranmiyan descent come to Ile Ife to collect. It is called the sword of victory and every king who is a descendant of Oranmiyan must come to the groove to collect the sword. It was also learnt that while being given the sword, the king visiting will be prayed for that any war he wages he will conquer unless he decide to wage war against Ile Ife then he will lose the war. This is because no son is expected to wage war against his father. READ ALSO: Why no other female has been crowned Ooni of Ife after Queen Luwoo Ooni of Ife and Oba of Benin during the latter's visit to Ile Ife. Source: Facebook: Source: From the palace of Ooni of Ife Legit.ng also gathered that while coming to the groove to collect the sacred sword, any king coming must change from the regalia he is adorned with to a specially prepared outfit before he can step his feet into the Oranmiyan groove for prayers and collection of the sword. This particular ritual was alleged to be one of the reasons the Oba of Benin went to Ile Ife and also seized the opportunity to visit the Ooni of Ife who was present during his coronation in Benin. During the historical visit, Ooni, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, and the Oba of Benin confirmed the common inheritance the two ancient cities have in Oranmiyan, the last son of Oduduwa who was said to have migrated from Ile Ife to become the first Oba of Benin. Oduduwa was also said to be the first Ooni of Ife. Oranmiyan staff located in Oranmiyan groove, Ile-Ife READ ALSO: Leave the stage, allow young people come in - Ooni of Ife tells Nigerian leaders On leaving Benin back to Ile Ife, Oranmiyan was said to have installed his son as the king of Benin thus the title Omo Noba which when translated means the son of the king. The Ooni was quoted to have said during the historic visit that: Those of you that know the history know that the then Oliha came to Ife to ask that Oranmiyan be brought to Benin. There are details in history books. I am cutting out the details. Its all in the history books and you can research that. He (the then Oliha) was the one that successfully won the right to escort Oranmiyan to Benin to become the first Oba of Benin. May all Oranmiyan's descendants continue to live in harmony. There is light at the end of the tunnel - Ooni of Ife - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng - An Indian national and manager, identified as Sattish Kasara had his seven teeth knocked off - Kasara had his seven teeth knocked off by his employee, Ismail Yusuf, for allegedly failing to pay salaries Ismail Yusuf, a 23-year-old worker, has attacked and knocked out the teeth of his boss Sattish Kasara, an Indian national and manager of Bolaji Drilling Company in Minna, Niger state, with a hammer for allegedly failing to pay salaries, Northern City News reports. Legit.ng gathered the incident which happened in the Tunga area of Minna, led to Yusufs arrest by the police. The suspect admitted to knocking out seven teeth from his boss. 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 that he promised to return to work within one week, adding that Kasara refused to pay him his salaries. READ ALSO: Most Nigerian cities to experience rains on Monday, May 21 - NiMet forecasts 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. 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. The 23-year-old 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. Muhammad Abubakar, the Niger state police public relations officer, said that police operatives recovered a hammer and a pipe from Yusuf, adding that he would be charged to court after investigation. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! Legit.ng previously reported that the Nigeria Police Force arrested a notorious kidnap gang who abducted one Hadiza Husseini on Friday, Janauary 19, and demanded for five hundred thousand naira (N500,000.00) for her release. According to a press statement sent by the force public relations office, CSP Jimoh Moshood, the incident took place at Anguwa Bala village in Karu local government area of Kaduna state. The victim was rescued without payment of any ransom. Are Nigerian Policemen the worst in the world? on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - Police have arrested two more suspects linked to Offa robbery - Some armed robbers on April 5, attacked five commercial banks in Offa and killed about 17 persons, including policemen and a pregnant woman - Police had on May 4 declared four suspects wanted after arresting 20 principal suspects in connection with the robbery Police have reportedly arrested two more suspects in the deadly armed robbery attack in Offa, Kwara state on April 5. Premium Times reports that the development came three weeks after the police circulated pictures of four suspects who were captured by closed-circuit camera of the banks that they attacked. READ ALSO: Dino Melaye breaks silence on failed attempt to recall him Legit.ng gathered that at least five banks were raided during the April 5 incident. Seventeen people, including nine police officers, were confirmed killed by the police. It was gathered that the suspects taken into custody are: Kunle Ogunleye (a.k.a Arrow), a native of Kwara state, and Micheal Adikwu, a native of Apa local government Area, Benue state. Kunle Ogunleye aka Arrow 35 years native of Kwara state who was arrested on Sunday, May 20 in Oro town in Kwara state. Credit: Premium Times Ogunleye, 35, was arrested on Sunday, May 20, in Oro, Kwara state, according to a statement sent to Premium Times by PRNigeria, a media relations firm known for its coverage of the security sector. Adikwu was reportedly dismissed as a police corporal following his arrest in 2012 on alleged criminal offences. He was charged to court in Kwara state for compromising police operations and releasing armed robbery suspects. He reportedly escaped from prison in 2015 and joined armed robbery gangs. It was not immediately clear whether he was found guilty and convicted by the court or whether he escaped from prison while still in remand as his trial was underway. He was arrested by the police intelligence response team (IRT) in Kwara state two weeks ago, about a week after the police declared him wanted and circulated his picture to the public. Kunle Ogunleye aka Arrow 35 years native of Kwara state who was arrested on May 20 in Oro town in Kwara state. Micheal Adikwu, a native of Apa local government 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 their roles in the Offa carnage, PRNigeria said. They are assisting the IRT teams in arresting more of the bank robbers as the police continue the investigation. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Michael Adikwu, one of the four robbery suspects was declared wanted for attacks on banks in Offa, Kwara state, has been arrested by the operatives of the inspector general of police Intelligence Response Team. Nigeria News: Offa bank robbery - The untold story (NAIJ EXCLUSIVE) | - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng - The probe panel investigating the recent invasion of National Assembly by thugs has summoned Ali Ndume and Ovie Omo-Agege for questioning - The two senators have been invited to explain their role in the attack recently launched on the Senate by hoodlums who stole the mace The Senate committee investigating the invasion of the National Assembly by hoodlums who stole the mace has summoned Senator Ali Ndume representing Borno South, and Senator Ovie Omo-Agege representing Delta central, for questioning. The probe panel, will be questioning the alleged roles of the two senators in the invasion of the National Assembly. Recall that Legit.ng reported that a panel probing the recent invasion of the Nigerian Senate by thugs has reportedly indicted Ndume and Agege in the attack on the Senate. The 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. READ ALSO: Senate at certain point is like Dino and Saraki - Senator Ali Ndume Vanguard reports that Omo-Agege said he would appear before the panel but stressed, however, that he has dragged the committee to court, restraining it from summoning him against the backdrop that he had no confidence in the chairman of the committee, Senator Bala Ibn Na allah. Omo-Agege, through his counsel, Alex Iziyon, SAN who is leading other lawyers, besides dragging the committee, also has the Senate, the Senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki; the clerk of the National Assembly; the Attorney General of the Federation, the Inspector General of Police and the Department of State Services, DSS as defendants. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app 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 - Several residents of Kwara have marched in the state capital, in support of the transfer of some alleged cultists to Abuja - They said the procedure was normal, considering the nature of the case - They also urged the chief justice of Nigeria to advise the Kwara state judiciary not to allow itself be used in matters outside its purview Scores of Kwara residents under the banner, Coalition of Concerned Kwara Citizens, marched in Ilorin, the state capital, on Monday, May 21, in support of the transfer of some suspects linked to cult-related murders, to Abuja, Punch reports. During the march, they held up placards with various inscriptions; some of which read: Vote of confidence in IGP, Let justice prevail, and Kwara workers are hungry, while cultists are feeding fat. Legit.ng gathers that the groups spokesperson, Gbadeyan James, said it was normal procedure for suspects to be moved from one location to another for further investigation. He said Abuja was the appropriate place to handle the case to ensure diligent investigation and prosecution, as well as reveal sponsors of the crime; considering the peculiar nature of the case. The protesters held up placards with various inscriptions READ ALSO: Ikorodu residents stage protest over outrageous PHCN bills He stated: There is no need for anybody, including the Senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki, to entertain fear about the development. This is not the first criminal matter to be transferred from Kwara state to Abuja. In the wake of the 2003 election that ushered in the administration of Senator Bukola Saraki as governor, allegations were made against some Ilorin indigenes on plans to bomb Sarakis National Pilot newspapers office. The case was eventually moved to Abuja. Similar cases that were transferred to Abuja from Kwara included the Fulani/vigilante group clashes in Alapa, in the Asa local government area of the state. The Offa poly students/OPC and Oro Ago Fulani/farmers crises were also transferred to Abuja." James called on the chief justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, to advise the Kwara state judiciary not to allow itself be used in matters outside its purview. He added: The people of Kwara state and indeed Nigerians are watching what becomes of this case. We will not relent in bringing justice to the matter. We shall go beyond the shores of this land to get it; and we shall do all within to ensure that party politics is not used to scuttle the course of justice." PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the suspects allegedly involved in cult-related murders who were transferred to Abuja recently, may have been taken out of Kwara state due to their political and social connections. The six suspects are currently being held by the Police, over alleged murders in Kwara, in the last few years. Senate President Bukola Saraki had earlier alleged that Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris, was staging a plot to link him and the Kwara state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, to the suspects. Let's talk about the salaries of Nigerian senators - on Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit.ng News The newspaper review for Tuesday, May 22, leads with former Senate leader, Senator Ali Ndume, expressing his annoyance towards Bukola Saraki saying that he regretted supporting him to emerge as the Senate president, among other stories. Vanguard reports that Senator Ali Ndume, APC, Borno South, expressed his annoyance towards the Senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki, saying that he regretted supporting him to emerge as the Senate number one citizen on June 9, 2015. The senator, speaking Friday night on a Channels Television programme accused Saraki of targeting those who oppose him. READ ALSO: EFCC reportedly prepares to arraign Shagari, top Sokoko PDP chiefs over alleged fraud Vanguard newspaper for Tuesday, May 22 photo credit: snapshot from Legit.ng. During the television programme, Maupe Ogun, the presenter, had asked the senator if he regrets supporting the Senate president he said: Yes, I do. Look at the Senate now, we have been reduced to unbearable level of integrity, just because of few people, few person, that is wrong. I dont want to be individualistic about it. We put the leadership there for Saraki; if you want me to be specific about it, and then it turns out to be another thing. We have Senators President now, instead of Senate president. The Punch reports that the Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson, and his Kaduna state counterpart, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, met on Monday over the controversial issue of restructuring of the country. The Bayelsa state helmsman said he was in Kaduna to support the recommendations of the All Progressives Congress Committee on True Federalism, that Nigeria should be restructured. The Punch newspaper for Tuesday, May 22 photo credit: snapshot from Legit.ng. Restructuring, he argued, will never portend danger to the country but will rather enhance the nations progress and unity. The governor, while speaking with journalists at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna, the state capital, commended El-Rufais effort on the far-reaching recommendations of his partys true federalism committee report on restructuring. He urged Nigerians to support restructuring for a fairer and more stable and sustainable Nigeria, noting that restructuring must be embraced across party lines to enhance fundamental constitutional reforms. The Nation reports in Kaduna, a Coalition of the Norths socio-political groups, supported structural reforms, with a condition those who will carry the banner should be within the 18 to 60 years bracket. They said the older men who have been speaking and running the country since independence and after, should not take the front seats at their envisaged national discourse. The Nation newspaper for Tuesday, May 22 photo credit: snapshot from Legit.ng. Also in Kaduna, Bayelsa state Governor Seriake Dickson met with Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who chaired the All Progressives Congress (APC) restructuring committee which made some recommendations , including state police. Dickson is urging El-Rufai to join the push for the federal government to embrace restructuring. In the Anambra state capital where Ohanaeze Ndigbo organised a summit on state of the nation, the Igbo socio-cultural group, its Yoruba counterpart Egbe Afenifere and the Southsouth leadership, led by Chief Edwin Clark, also canvassed restructuring of the country. The Guardian reports that political, religious and traditional leaders from the southern part of the country gathered in Awka, the Anambra state capital, yesterday, calling for a restructuring of the federation. They attributed the pockets of agitations across the country to a faulty federal structure, which they said has placed some ethnic groups at the mercy of others. The Guardian newspaper for Tuesday, May 22 photo credit: snapshot from Legit.ng. They stressed that the path to successful nationhood must address lapses. They also agreed on the retention of the existing six-geopolitical zones, saying they should be institutionalised as part of the constitution. This decision, however, met with disapproval from some at the event, who felt the gathering should have defined in simple terms the kind of restructuring acceptable to Ndigbo. The banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had threatened it would disrupt the summit. This might explain the heavy presence of security operatives around Alex Ekwueme Square, the venue of the summit. This Day reports that the Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto has given the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) until today to arraign a former minister of water resources Mukhtar Shehu Shagari and four others. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app The others charged along with the ex-minister are: Ibrahim Gidado, Nasiru Dalhatu, Ibrahim Milgoma and Abdullahi Mohammed Wali. This Day newspaper for Tuesday, May 22 photo credit: snapshot from Legit.ng. They are to be docked on a five-count charge of conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N500 million. The defendants are alleged to have participated in the sharing of the $115million largesse from former minister of petroleum resources intended to influence the outcome of the 2015 presidential election. Nigerian youths reply to President Buhari over 'lazy' comment on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - The APC in Osun has lifted the ban on political activities to allow governorship aspirants begin their campaigns - Gboyega Famoodun, the party's chairman, advised aspirants in the state to avoid using hate speech and inflammatory comments in their campaigns - Famoodun promised to support any of the aspirants who emerges as winner In view of the forthcoming governorship election in Osun, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state has formally lifted the ban placed on political activities, to create a wider room for all aspirants warming up to succeed Ogbeni Aregbesola on the platform of the party. Gboyega Famoodun, the APC's state chairman, during a stakeholders meeting held with governorship aspirants at the partys secretariat, said the essence of the meeting was to release guidelines and conditions required in the electioneering campaign, Vanguard reports. READ ALSO: Jang reportedly pays off prison electricity bill Famoodun advised all aspirants on the platform of the party to avoid the use of expletives, hate speech, promotion of rancour and anti-party sentiments. Famoodun said: This is the day that everyone has been waiting for. We are by this event, lifting ban on political activities, so you have the liberty henceforth to canvass for vote from members of the party towards the primaries. I believe whoever emerges among you as the candidate of the party will win the election come September 22. All your activities must be carried out honourably and without rancour in a way that will not embarrass the party. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! Addressing the party on behalf of all the 27 aspirants, Najeem Folasayo Salaam, the speaker of the state House of Assembly said a even ground has been created for all. Salaam assured the aspirants that whoever emerges as winner will be massively supported. Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that According to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the Ekiti state governorship election would be held in July 2018, while Osun state governorship election would take place in September 2018. The electoral body further stated that commencement date of campaigns for Ekiti governorship election is April 15, 2018, and that of Osun state would be in June 2018. Governor Rauf Aregbesola Interview: 'State of Osun' is correct (Exclusive ) | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - Nigeria needs to re-think its border policies, Yemi Osinbajo has said - He called for more creative and innovative ways of addressing emerging border challenges - According to him, what happens along these borders greatly affect what happens within them Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo has called for Nigeria's border policies to be re-engineered given the numerous border challenges facing the country. Osinbajo made the call at the National Boundary Commission (NBC) retreat on border management held in Abuja on Monday, May 21. The vice president urged the boundary commission to be more creative and innovative in addressing emerging border challenges. He said: Permit me to mention that the role of the commission given the numerous border challenges has to be more creative and innovative. Every nation attends to the peculiarities of its border issues with solutions that are nuanced, smart, affordable and result-oriented. We simply cannot do things in the same way we did them for years and expect different results. It is time to rethink and re-engineer our border policies. This is the paramount responsibility of the commission and we trust that you will deliver. READ ALSO: Patience Jonathans $15.5m account freezing suit stalled by absence of judge The NBC is responsible, according to the Act that established it, for defining and delimiting Nigerias internal and external boundaries, resolving disputes, promoting trans-boundary cooperation, and coordinating all activities on our international boundaries. Nigeria has over 4,000 kilometers of external borders, including its atlantic coastline; in addition to the thousands of kilometers of borders that the 36 States and the FCT share with one another. What happens along these borders greatly affect what happens within them. All you need is a cursory look at the daily news headlines to realize just how much of the issues they embody are determined by activities taking place at or across our land and maritime borders and boundaries; whether it is the smuggling or illegal oil bunkering, or the impact of undocumented migration on the security situation in the north-central, or communal clashes arising from boundary disputes," the vice president said. Osinbajo stated that the NBC has a very important role to play in mobilising and coordinating various stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, subnational governments, foreign governments, bilateral and multilateral organisations, and others, to collectively deal with all boundary issues in the country. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, the vice president has said Nigerians must learn to imbibe the principles of creativity, innovation and hard work for the country to succeed and move forward. Osinbajo stated this when he attended the Sunday, May 20 service at the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), Abuja, with renowned US preacher, Bishop T.D. Jakes as guest minister. He further noted that character and integrity are also pillars for nation building. Laolu Akande speaks on how presidency is tackling economy, corruption, others on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit Nigeria - Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Ali Ndume are currently being grilled by the Senate committee set up to investigate mace theft - The Senate's mace was on April 18, stolen when some men believed to have been sent by Omo-Agege invaded the red chamber - Committee had last week invited Omo-Agege and Ndume over their alleged roles in the attack on the Senate Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who is representing Delta central senatorial district is currently appearing before the joint Senate and House of Representatives ad hoc committee set up to investigate the invasion and mace snatching at the Senate chamber on April 18. The Punch reports that Omo-Agege has however dragged the National Assembly to court to stop the investigation. He made this known to our correspondent on Monday. Legit.ng gathered that the committee had last week invited Omo-Agege and Ndume over their alleged roles in the attack on the Senate. Ali Ndume, another senator invited by the committee, was also in attendance Tuesday, May 22. READ ALSO: Tears as Benue buries 2 Catholic priests, 17 parishioners allegedly killed by suspected herdsmen (photos) The chairman of the committee, Senator Bala Ibn NaAllah, while announcing the summons last Tuesday, May 15, had noted that testimonies given by various security personnel at the National Assembly Complex before the panel had implicated Omo-Agege and Ndume. The panel had, however, shifted the investigate hearing to Tuesday, May 22, following an extended session held by the Senate last Wednesday, May 16, for consideration and passage of the 2018 Appropriation Bill. Both chambers of the National Assembly had also skipped plenary last Thursday, May 17, to allow members of the All Progressives Congress attend to the state congresses held by the party last Saturday. Ndume had confirmed receipt of the invitation when contacted by our correspondent last Wednesday and said the sitting had been shifted to Tuesday (today). He had however declined further to comment on it. Omo-Agege had said he would appear before the panel, although he had taken the legal step to stop the probe. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the Senate committee investigating the invasion of the National Assembly by hoodlums who stole the mace summoned Senator Ali Ndume representing Borno South, and Senator Ovie Omo-Agege representing Delta central, for questioning. TOP-4 Over-the-top Reactions of Nigerian Lawmakers to Certain Circumstances - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng - Defectors who left the PDP in annoyance have been urged to return to the party - A member of the House of Representatives, Kehinde Agboola, made the appeal to the defectors - According to him, the interest of the defectors is best protected in the party than in other less popular political parties The lawmaker representing Ekiti North federal constituency 1 in the House of Representatives, Kehinde Agboola, has urged former members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who left the party in annoyance, to retrace their steps by rejoining the party. The admonition was given in a chat with newsmen at his resident in Odo-Oro-Ekiti, on Monday, May 21, The Sun reports. Legit.ng notes that the lawmaker said the interest of the defectors is best protected in the party than in other less popular political parties. READ ALSO: Allegations against IGP - Senate delegation to meet Buhari on Tuesday, May 22 He said: You will discover that in the history of politics in Ekiti state, those who leave their original party for another dont normally make headway or make success in their new parties. Look at all those who left the PDP, they were unable to get the tickets in their new parties let alone winning the election. But we in PDP can still welcome them back. We are still appealing to them to retrace their steps and come back. We can only have one governor at a time. And look at it, the process of our governorship primaries is open, transparent, free and fair. Even the co-contestants applauded the exercise. Look at what is happening in the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).Look at the quantum of money wasted on the exercise.p is about service, I dont think there is any need to get desperate I keep saying it we must give kudos to our leader in Ekiti state, Dr. Peter Ayodele Fayose for given the right leadership otherwise, they will not have less than 15 gubernatorial aspirants . Look at what is happening in the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). Look at the quantum of money wasted on the exercise. But we have status in PDP, if by the time Governor Fayose picked his deputy, Professor Kolapo Olusola as anointed candidate around September in 2016, though painfully. We all accepted it in good faith." PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that some aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirants in Ekiti state, including a serving senator, decamped to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The aggrieved aspirants reportedly dumped the PDP following their squabbles with the state governor, Ayodele Fayose, over the imposition of his deputy, Prof Kolapo Olusola, as the sole gubernatorial candidate. Will voting for SDP as the 'third force' end Nigeria's woes? (Nigerian Street Interview) on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - A Federal High Court in Sokoto has remanded Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, and some top officials of the PDP in police custody - The suspects were accused of misappropriating about N500 million - Their case has been adjourned to Thursday, May 24, by Justice Saleh Idrissa, the presiding judge A former deputy governor of Sokoto, Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, and four chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been remanded by a Federal High Court sitting in the state which was presided over by Justice Saleh Idrissa on Tuesday, May 22, over alleged money laundering The looted fund amounted to N500 million from former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Maduekes alleged loot, This Day reports. READ ALSO: Ekiti governorship election: Lawmaker appeals to PDP defectors to return to party The rest four suspects were Ibrahim Gidado, the former state commissioner for information, the party's state treasurer, Nasiru Dalhatu, its chairman Ibrahim Milgoma and Abdallah Wali, a PDP governorship candidate in the 2015 election. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuting counsel, Johnson Ojogbane, said the it preferred the five-count charge against the accused persons bordering on money laundering and cash transaction outside regulated financial institution which contravened Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 and punishable under section 16 (2) (b) of the act. Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari on his way to court with EFCC officials (Photo Credit: EFCC) One of the accused heading to court (Photo Credit: EFCC) Another accused person arriving the federal High Court in Sokoto (Photo Credit: EFCC) Ojogbane said that the offences were committed in March 2015, and the money was handed over to the accused persons by one Abdulrahman Ibrahim a day before the polls. He said: The Money Laundering Prohibition Act frowns on money laundering and financing of illegal activities. "There is a threshold to transact a cash business and when you cross that threshold, it is an offence and there is punishment for that. This issue has to do with the N500 million Diezani money that was given out for elections. Ojogbane further said that the charges came with the affidavits, list of witnesses, summary of evidences as well as proof of evidence. However, after the reading of the charges, the accused persons pleaded not guilty, denying the allegations. In reaction to this, Ojogbane opposed their application for bail because the administrative bail ended when they were served with charge sheets. He pleaded with the court to adhere to due processes and sought for adjournment to commence full trial. Ibrahim Abdullahi, the counsel to Gidado and Dalhatu and Milgoma, applied for an interim bail for the accused persons pending the moving of formal bail application filed by the defendants. Abdullahi said that the defendants had been on EFCC administration bail since 2016, emphasising that the accused were not likely to endanger any investigation. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! Ibrahim Idris and Aiyelabegan Abdulkadiri, counsel to Shagari and Wali respectively, aligned themselves with Abdullahis submission on granting the accused persons bail in continuation of the administrative bail granted earlier. Justice idrissa, therefore, adjourned the case to Thursday, May 24, for hearing of bail application for the accused persons and ordered that they should be remanded in police custody in Sokoto. Earlier, Legit.ng had reported that Shagari, and the PDP chiefs were to be arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto on Tuesday, May 22. The EFCC stage a walk against corruption - On Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng - Kaduna state governor, Nasiru El-Rufai, has presented official vehicles to some second class chiefs in the state - The governor said the gesture was in recognition of their support to security and peaceful coexistence in the state - He said the vehicles are to ease their transportation problems in the course of discharging their responsibilities Governor Nasiru El-Rufai on Tuesday, May 22, presented official vehicles to nine second class chiefs in the state. El-Rufai who was represented by his deputy, Mr Bala Bantex at the presentation of the vehicles in Kaduna, said the gesture was in recognition of their support to security and peaceful coexistence in the state. He urged them to continue with the good work within their localities and be relentless in ensuring peace and stability in their domains. READ ALSO: Nigerians react as DSP Michael Nwokolo's numerous qualifications emerge online (photos) According to him, the vehicles are to ease their transportation problems in the course of discharging their responsibilities Speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers, the chief of Lere, Brig.-Gen Garba Mohammad (rtd) expressed appreciation for the gesture. We are most grateful for the gesture and it would go along way in addressing our transportation challenges, he said. NAN reports that the beneficiaries included the chiefs of Lere, Gbagyi, Kauru, Kajuru, Koro, Jere, Ninzo, Numana and Kagarko. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state and his Kaduna state counterpart, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, met on Monday, May 21, over the controversial issue of restructuring of the country. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Legit.ng reported that Dickson said he was in Kaduna to support the recommendations of the All Progressives Congress (APC)s committee on true federalism, that Nigeria should be restructured. What is working well and what needs improvement in Nigeria? - on Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit.ng Late last Friday, we noticed that the page for Chief Financial Officer Charles Asubonten was not up on the CalPERS website. It turns out Asubonten is indeed gone from CalPERS, but that may not mean he is done with CalPERS. Recall that following our extensive documentation of discrepancies on his resume and financial conflicts of interest filing (Form 700), Los Angeles Times reporter Mike Hiltzik confirmed our reporting and voiced his own concerns. A few days after Hiltziks story ran, Adam Ashton of the Sacramento Bee reported on April 20 that CalPERS was investigating Asubonten. We were thus alarmed to see that Asubonten was set to present on a business as usual basis at a May 15 board meeting and wrote up the development. On May 14, in response to an e-mail from reader Brandon, CEO Marcie Frost stated that Officer in Charge, Marlene Timberlake DAdamo, is presenting to the Finance and Administration Committee tomorrow. On Sunday late in the evening, we e-mailed CalPERS head of Stakeholder Relations, Brad Pacheco, asking Am I to assume he is no longer CalPERS CFO? If not, when will the page be restored? On Monday, at 12:55 PM Pacific time, Pacheco confirmed Asubonten was no longer with CalPERS. That was before employees received an e-mail, at 1:10 PM PDT, announcing that Marlene Timberlake DAdamo would serve as CalPERS interim Chief Financial Officer. Hiltzik and Ashton reported on the development shortly thereafter. Both stories credited Naked Capitalism as having raised the red flags about Asubontens misrepresentations about his record. Hiltzik lambasted CalPERS move along, nothing to see here posture, stressing that California citizens should be concerned about the caliber of leadership at the giant pension fund. From his account: The circumstances of Asubontens departure from the CalPERS executive ranks are unclear. CalPERS made no announcement that he was leaving, but a spokesman acknowledged that he is no longer with CalPERS. The spokesman said Asubontens departure is being treated as a personnel matter and therefore no further information would be provided. CalPERS also declined to discuss the timing of Asubontens departure. Asubontens departure should intensify questions about whether CalPERS management and its board members are up to the task of overseeing a $350-billion retirement and healthcare system serving more than 3 million present and past public employees and their families. The questions apply not only to Asubontens qualifications, but the process that led to his appointment to a post with responsibilities requiring top-flight management skills and experience. Treating his departure as a state secret wont quell these doubts. Thats especially so given what appears to be CalPERS managements complicity in exaggerating Asubontens work experience. CalPERS should come clean about the process. Ashton emphasized the timing, although the reason CalPERS was forced to act was that the first Los Angeles Times story was too high profile for CalPERS to stand pat. Given how CEO Marcie Frost backed Asubonten to Hiltzik when CalPERS had clearly not done even the most superficial efforts to check our posts, like clicking on the many links that provided supporting evidence, Frost was clearly of the misguided view that she could brazen this one out. That response raises serious doubts about her judgement. CalPERS efforts to pull a shroud of secrecy over this sorry affair strongly suggest that Asubonten did not go voluntarily. If that is the case, given his history of filing a lawsuit in South Africa against a former employer where he seemed to have very low odds of prevailing, Asubonten is likely to do what he can to fight. If Asubonten was dismissed through a formal process, which includes a so-called Skelly hearing, he can appeal to the State Personnel board. Skelly hearings are private, while State Personnel board appeals are open to the public. It is highly unlikely that Asubonten could prevail in this scenario. Since he was on probation, the only grounds for reversing a dismissal are that it was fraudulent or discriminatory. Given the overwhelming evidence that we unearthed, as one financial reporter noted, He should just slink off into the night. However, if our guesses are right, one upside is that a public hearing would air the evidence that CalPERS relied on its decision. So stay tuned to see if laffaire Asubonten winds up having an additional episode. Citizen Science and Climate Change: Mapping the Range Expansions of Native and Exotic Plants with the Mobile App Leafsnap BioScience. #CitizenScience provides excellent opportunities for a Jobs Guarantee, no? Climate Change Is Real, Carmakers Tell White House in Letter Bloomberg Consumer Reports, Edmunds observe significant problems with Tesla Model 3 test cars Autoblog (EM). Who knew? US corporate bonds have worst start to year in decades FT Bankers Hate the Volcker Rule. Now, It Could Be Watered Down. NYT Leveraged loan rush sees borrowers gain balance of power FT The Old Allure of New Money Robert J. Shiller, Project Syndicate Venezuelas Maduro Wins Reelection with 67.7% of Vote, Falcon Cries Fraud Venezuela Analysis Approaching the Middle of the Beginning of the End in Venezuela Credit Slips Argentina: From the confidence fairy to the (still devilish) IMF Critical Macro Finance Syraqistan Ancient Romans Painted Horrifying Blood-Red Warnings on Wall Across Scotland LiveScience Brexit We need proper constables not these swaggering gunmen Peter Hitchens Blog Italys Populists Move Closer to Power, With Little-Known Pick for Prime Minister NYT China? Death by slow poisoning The Hindu (J-LS). New Cold War Trump Transition Realignment and Legitimacy Who is Stefan A. Halper, the FBI source who assisted the Russia investigation? WaPo. Perhaps Im being overly cyncial, but after reviewing Halpers career trajectory, Id replace FBI source with intelligence community asset. By Demanding an Investigation, Trump Challenged a Constraint on His Power NYT. Norms! The constitutional crisis is here Eugene Eugene Robinson, WaPo. One of the bedrock principles of our system of government is that no one is above the law, not even the president. I wish liberal goodthinkers like Robinson would stop gesticulating like this and take a moment to look around them. I mean, Gina Haspel tortured some folks and then wiped the server tapes, and now shes head of the CIA, with Democrat votes. Sadly, like bedrock principles, no one is above the law has become, if not an empty cliche, at least no longer the default, and within living memory. I wish very much it werent so, but it is so. Remember when Enron executives were actually prosecuted under the Bush administration? Happy days. It would be nice if they were here again. Teen who started fire that burned 48,000 acres ordered to pay $36 million CNN (UserFriendly). And Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon were ordered to pay were ordered to pay Well, Im having a hard time remembering the amount. Democrats in Disarray Texas congressional Democratic party primary runoffs, 2018 Ballotpedia If you think liberal Democrats in Clintons faction arent bitter, and arent clinging to deeply felt hatred for Sanders and Sanders supporters, then read this exchange with Clinton aide Philippe Reines: Cockroaches are the most popular insect in America. Cockroaches are the most popular insect in America. Cockroaches are the most popular insect in America. Cockroaches are the most popular insect in America. Cockroaches are the most popular insect in America. Cockroaches are the Philippe Reines (@PhilippeReines) May 22, 2018 (Bernie Sanders is the most popular politician in America (link) is an oft-repeated talking point on the Twitter.) Defending Digital Democracy Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Ive urged that the test for intellectual honesty on election security is treating hand-marked paper ballots, hand-counted in public, as a real option. Oddly, or not, this project, fronted by Robby Mook and Matt Rhoades (campaign managers for Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney) fails that test. (Note that DIgital Democracy, though catchy, is also question-begging; as one of Benteleys programming proverbs has it: The cheapest, fastest, and most reliable components of a computer system are those that arent there. In this case, the best way to ensure digital democracy is to remove the digital part.) From Backwaters to Major Policymakers: Policy Polarization in the States, 19702014 Perspectives on Politics Big Brother Is Watching You Watch Facebook Fracas Announcing New Election Partnership with the Atlantic Council Facebook. Sponsors of the Hamilton 68 dashboard Health Care Class Warfare Scientists find secret behind sweet sound of Stradivarius violins Guardian (DL; original). Quantum Physics May Be Even Spookier Than You Think Scientific American (original). Antidote du jour (via): Bonus antidote: recently learned about beekeeping dogs who are trained to sniff out deadly larvae in honey hives and therefore ensures I have safe honey pic.twitter.com/PXMI6OguR4 Maryellen Stewart (@Maryellen) May 17, 2018 See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. By Lambert Strether of Corrente. I try not to write clickbait headlines (This one reporter), but I didnt quite manage to do that this time, in the sense that I am over-promising and under-delivering. But wait! I can explain why. As readers know, I have priors, which please bear with me I am refining as I go: Im of the opinion that the American political class is facing a legitimacy crisis, driven by what political scientist Walter Dean Burham would call political realignment[0] (Walter Dean Burnham, The Changing Shape of the American Political Universe, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 59, No. 1, March 1965 Im studying up! ), in turn driven by changes in the electoral universe culminating in critical elections (think 1860 or 1932). This is a process, by no means complete i.e., 2016 was not a critical election, despite liberal yammering about the Trump Era for two reasons I can think of at least: (1) although Republican electeds and the party apparatus will have reconstituted themselves, mostly through resignations by 2020, (2)(a) the Democrat electeds and party apparatus have not, and (2)(b) while what I crudely label the liberal Democrat (national) establishment is deeply committed to (i) not expanding their electorate (they prefer to appeal to alienated Republicans) and (ii) incremental tweaks that (iii) do not give their donor class agita[1], while (2)(c) what I crudely label left Democrats are committed to all three: They wish to expand the electorate, reform (even non-reform reforms), not tweaks, and theyd like to cut the cord to the donor class. (Notice how all three reinforce each other with a $27 donor policy-driven party model). But while all the creative policy work, all the principled institutional work, and all the interesting candidates I can think of not shopworn, not mush-mouthed, not corrupt are on the left, the center of gravity in the Democrats party has not shifted to in their direction rather, the left has not had the power to shift it[2] and I dont care what WaPo says. And so we come to the Politico article: Bernies army in disarray, by Edward-Isaac Dovere, Politicos chief Washington correspondent. Modeling Dovere as a hack instead of the dedicated reporter we in all fairness should assume he is, the message of his piece is that liberal Democrats dont have to worry about the left in 2018, those losers. Fair enough, but and here Im starting the explanation part Im not sure that one years development work is all that significant. Standing up a left organization like Our Revolution (OR) in the face of near-universal opposition from the political class, and virulent (and in many cases well-paid) opposition from liberal Democrats, was never going to be easy. So Im happy to file everything in Doveres piece under growing pains. Second, and more importantly, my guess is that political realignment ruling out rapid descent into The Handmaids Tale, or On The Beach, or complete, top-to-bottom Third World-status has a decade at least to run (because the, er, contradictions arent nearly as sharp as they were after, say, the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, which led with extraordinary rapidity to the creation of the Republican Party). And Our Revolution is just one actor in that realignment, and there are other left actors, all new since 2016[3]: DSA, Brand New Congress, Justice Democrats, and Great Slate (among others, I am sure). So, if Dovere had wanted to so some real reporting, instead of a hit piece, he would have needed to assess all those organizations, and put them in the context of re-alignment. But thats not easy. For example, in respose to Doveres piece, this tweet: So, I just saw some interesting facts about Our Revolution and what they accomplished just in the first year (Aug 16-Aug 17). Note: There are now almost 600 Groups Worldwide including Puerto Rico, Canada, France & Austria. pic.twitter.com/QsFT10KFN1 Lumpy Louise, Squasher of Donuts (@LumpyLouish) May 20, 2018 Very good (kudos to OR for the new logo; the Sanders little bird was one of the few moments of pure happiness in 2016; and I like the OR has had the discipline to use it consistently). But and this is the final part of the explanation this tweet is in essence a press release (and kudos to OR for being able to release one). How on earth would Dovere, if he had the inclination, go about verifying it? And how would this humble blogger? For example, I follow Twitter closely, and (though I say it) I have a well-curated list of accounts that I follow, including every DSA chapter Ive been able to locate. But I missed DSAs impending success in Pittsburgh! Multiply that single failure by whatever scope that OR + DSA + Brand New Congress + Justice Democrats + Great Slate and however many others, and you can see the problem: How on earth does anyone (me, Dovere, anyone) know whats happening on the ground in this enormous country? The political class will be, literally, the last to know of any re-alignment that takes place; theres nothing in their Rolodexes or their contact lists that will keep them informed. Plus, local news has been decimated, the political blogosphere is in large part either purchased (Kos) or dormant, and Google search is utterly crapified when its not being outright censored. (BallotPedia is not a solution, unfortunately, because although its exhaustive, it isnt updated in near-real time, driven by the news flow.) And so, dear readers, I turn to you: What sourcing would you suggest for tracking electoral work on the left? Especially sourcing that isnt liberal Democrat?[4] And sourcing that doesnt make stuff up, no matter how important the cause? Is everything heaven forfend on Facebook or YouTube or podcasts? Maybe dedicated State House reporters doing round-ups, if there are any left? Are there still political blogs, just low-circulation ones I dont know about? Help! * * * And now, I turn to Politicos hit piece, Bernies army in disarray.[5] After donning my yellow waders and putting a clothespin on my nose I looked at the piece, and two issues leap to the eye. The first is the assumption that OR owes the Democrat Party deference and support. For example: Last week, Our Revolution endorsed actress Cynthia Nixon in the primary for New York governor after she filled out a questionnaire and did an interview with a local affiliate. But an aide to her opponent, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who last year was joined by Sanders at an event promoting a state initiative on the senators signature issue of free college, said his campaign knew nothing of the process and learned of the endorsement from a press release. Good. Great! I couldnt be happier. Board members and Sanders presidential delegates from 2016 have raised questions about whether the groups president, Nina Turner, is using her position[6] to settle scores with the Democratic National Committee from 2016. Good. You say settle scores, I say hold accountable. [OR] also sat out Doug Jones upset Senate win in Alabama last year, and Conor Lambs triumph in a Western Pennsylvania congressional district that Trump carried by 20 points. Good. Did either candidate support ORs policies? Our Revolution has frustrated Democrats by staying on the sidelines of so many races. First, good. When liberal Democrats produce candidates OR can support, it will support them. These Democrats seem to think that OR is an arm or rather, tentacle of the DNC. Second, great! OR is also supporting many candidates at the state and local level. Thats a good strategy, and will pay off. Its how the religious right started its march to power: With local school boards. And what Devere seems to think is the most damning indictment of all: Our Revolution has shown no ability to tip a major Democratic election in its favor In 2018, after less than two years of existence? (And, harking back to the long-winded introduction to this piece, contradictions not fully sharpened?) Lets talk in 2020 and 2022. The second is regarding the OR glass as half-empty when it is, in fact, half-full: Kleeb, who also serves as the Nebraska Democratic Party chairwoman, argued, We have about a 50 percent win record, which I think is a miracle given the fact that we usually endorse the underdog, or a woman, or a person who comes from a community of color. (The win record is closer to 40 percent.) Holy moly. This is like that WaPo dude who thought he had an enormous gotcha with Sanders because Sanders average donation was a little more than $27. I mean, come on. Also, retail campaigning and politics are a skill, and theyre learned; they probably cannot be taught. So ~45% of OR endorsements won. 100% of them ran, and some percentage will go on to win their next race, or their next. In other words, the left is building a bench. A second example: Monthly online fundraising totals have plummeted to just one-third of the groups take a year ago, based on an analysis of processing fees reported to the IRS by Act Blue, the tool Our Revolution uses, and verified by several people familiar with its finances. Our Revolution maintains that its still running a surplus and that repeat donations are steady. Maybe those totals would be higher if OR had endorsed Conor Lamb or Doug Jones. But then it wouldnt be OR, would it? If repeat donations are indeed steady, then OR is a going concern, which is what matters. I wish I had the time to do a really detailed takedown of Dovers piece, but I dont have to, because Common Dreams did, with The False Narratives Used to Try to Derail Bernies Army, which makes this critical point: The most damning criticisms of Our Revolution in the Politico piece are unquoted and unsourced. Quite right. In the lead-in to a series of damning bullet point, we get this: Among the findings of POLITICOs examination of Our Revolution, based on interviews with two dozen sources inside and outside the organization Well, of the two dozen, were 23 outside and 1 inside? How are we to know? Shouldnt each claim be attributed to a particular source? For example: The result has left many Sanders supporters disillusioned, feeling that the group that was supposed to harness the senators grass-roots movement is failing in its mission. But not one with a name? Or a title? Or this: Some Sanders stalwarts worry that Our Revolutions performance could have a harmful spillover effect if he runs again: Though Sanders himself continues to reshape Democratic politics, with many presidential contenders signing on to his Medicare for All bill and primaries across the country being fought further on the lefts turf than in decades, supporters warn that the senator himself will suffer if the group formed in his name is seen as weak and floundering. What the heck is a stalwart? Is that some kind of staffing position Ive never heard of? And these supporters? Are they kinda like Jobs comforters? Hard to know. Concluding, Devere has, in essence, written a Democrats in Disarray piece a well-known genre in the Beltway repurposed for Our Revolution. However, I should be more fair to Devere than I have been, sloppy though his sourcing is and tendentious as his views may be; I think its clear to anyone who pays attention that organizing at scale is not Sanders strong suit. Thats not to say that Sanders is sloppy: Clearly, as Mayor of Burlington he governed effectively; as a Representative and then a Senator he served his constituents well; and not only is Sanders message discipline enormous, hes very strategic about how and when to deploy it. Those skills are not the same as the skills needed to stand up a completely new electoral institution, outside the current party system, designed I would urge to secure and focus the on-going political realignment. I dont think that Sanders is the person to do that (nor is any other politician I can think of). Perhaps Nina Turner is not; time will tell. Put this another way: There remains enormous opportunity on the left. NOTES [0] Fundamental driver: Organic damage to the (non-owner, non-professional) working class that began with the neoliberal turn in the mid-1970s, and has now reached absurdly degrading, indeed lethal levels evident to anybody who cares to look out the Acela window, as most Acela riders do not, being too busy with their cell phones. [1] This was Clintons plan for 2016 (with an admixture of gaslighting and warmongering. The plan has not changed. Thats why liberals purged the left from the DNC Rules and Bylaws Commitee, the DCCC (or donors directly) are assaulting left candidates, and so on. [2] Here we bracket in the inside/outside strategy debate. Assuming your most minimal of goals is giving working people a New Deal, and youre a strong believer in an outside, third party, I think you still want oppositional forces (not team players) inside the Democrat Party. You cant just go around it! The South Carolina fire eaters, loathesome though their goals were, didnt do that. [3] Yes, DSA wasnt founded in 2016, but it only became a player because of the Sanders campaign of 2016. Im leaving out the various institutions inspired by the Dean insurgency in 2004; DFA, and so forth. [4] For example, PoliticsPA censored failed to mention that the four Pittsburgh winners were DSA-supported, so, sadly for a source seemingly so exhaustive, they arent trustworthy. [5] Note that the headline implies that OR and a Sanders campaign would co-ordinate, which is neither true nor legal (despite workarounds). TSB is beginning to resemble Humpty Dumpty. Readers might recall him from their nursery rhyme reading days. He could not, following his fall from a great height, be put back together again. TSBs management are resorting to the same approach which onlookers to his accident had. TSB had originally called in all the kings horses well, Accenture, anyway, who got the gig originally here being eulogised in what must now sound like happier times for TSB but that didnt work. So now they are in the midsts of calling in all the kings men IBM are having a go. So how are they getting on? Theres a persistent background grumbling on Twitter about missing payments and some of the mainstream media (MSM) are continuing to run reports highlighting features that have apparently stopped working such as fraud monitoring and alerting. But as its been pushed out of the MSM here in the UK by the Royal Wedding, Korea, endless Because Trump and Because Russia stories plus the inevitable Brexit nonsense we get fed, theres little bandwidth left for things like updating people on TSB. And for us Brits, we do tend to get browbeaten by dealing with this kind of situation and fairly quickly merely succumb to resigned acquiescence. Completely contrary to what, say, a New Yorker would do (theres a reason its called a New York Minute; the British Minute, if we had one, could easily last several days). As a TSB customer, I have been in the fortunate (?) position of having first-hand information on how the fault-fixing has progressed since the new TSB IT system went live a month ago. Once the scale of the problems had become apparent, I submitted a transaction on my TSB credit card, just to see what happened next. Here, by way of an update, and we will continue to keep readers informed of developments in the future, is the current position. First, the good news for TSB is that the basic system stability issues which either prevented TSBs customers from logging into their internet banking service or made access a lottery, seem to be if not completely resolved certainly a lot less of a problem than they were. In my albeit limited testing, I was able to log in without issues and didnt suffer from the random log offs which have made the internet banking service pretty much unusable for at least three weeks. Once I got access to my product holding, however, matters were just a bad as before. The transaction which I had generated by using my credit card at the end of April is showing as an outstanding amount on the card account. But that is fine for TSB in terms of them knowing what their customers owe them. For we customers who might be now trying to settle our accounts, TSB merely kicks the settlement can down the road and lands it with us. Unfortunately for TSB, in order to make a debt enforceable, the indebted party me in this case needs to be notified of the outstanding amount and how they can clear their obligation. For a credit card, this is served by sending the credit card account holder a statement. For my account the statement cycle should have been triggered on or around the 10th of the month (i.e. May 10th). For the past 10 days, then, I have been eagerly awaiting my statement to arrive (I never opt out of paper statementing) and even if the postal service had delayed it a bit, I should have received it last week. Nothing has arrived. Looking online confirmed my suspicions statement production is still not working: That statement unavailable message or other errors have been displayed on this product since TSBs IT migration. I always settle the balance in full anyway but Im tempted to just do nothing and see how TSB end up responding. If they dont bill me as per my instructions to them to do this by paper statements, theres no legal or contractual obligation for me to pay them. Any late payment fees or interest charges are unenforceable. And this is after a whole month. If something has broken and cant be fixed in a month, that shows either theres so much fire fighting to be done by TSB that anything which isnt an immediate problem, like money transmission (which needs to happen on the day of instruction), is put on the to-do list but not tackled right now. This would explain why fraud detection and notification or statementing arent working. Another possibility is that its simply not possible to fix those issues at all, or else if you fix them, you break something else as a result. Time will tell. So stay tuned, folks, for the next exciting installment! Leveraging imperfections to create better-behaved quantum dots (Nanowerk News) Potentially paving the way toward advanced computers, lasers or optical devices, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have revealed new effects in tiny electronic devices called quantum dots. In their work, published recently in the journal Nano Letters ("Mesoscopic Elastic Distortions in GaAs Quantum Dot Heterostructures"), the researchers developed and applied analysis methods that will help answer other challenging questions for developing electronic materials. We can now look at a set of structures that people couldnt look at before, says Paul Evans, professor of materials science and engineering at UW-Madison. In these structures, there are new sets of crucial materials problems that we previously werent able to think about solving. The structures Evans and colleagues looked at are thousands of times narrower than single sheets of paper, and smaller than the dimensions of individual human cells. In those structures, quantum dots form inside very thin stacks of crystalline materials topped by an asymmetrical arrangement of flat, spindly, fingerlike metallic electrodes. Between the tips of those metallic fingers are small spaces that contain quantum dots. Postdoctoral scholar Anastasios Pateras adjust an X-Ray instrument used to detect previously unknown defects in quantum dots. (Image: Sam Million-Weaver) Creating such precise structures and peering inside those tiny spaces is technically challenging, however, and quantum dots dont always behave as expected. Previous work by Evans collaborators at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, who created and extensively studied the crystal stack structures, led to suspicions that the quantum dots were different in important ways from what had been designed. Until now, measuring those differences wasnt possible. Previous imaging approaches and the modeling werent allowing people to structurally characterize quantum dot devices at this tiny scale, says Anastasios Pateras, a postdoctoral scholar in Evans group and the papers first author. Pateras and colleagues pioneered a strategy for using beams of very tightly focused X-rays to characterize the quantum dot devicesand that hinged on a new method for interpreting how the X-rays scattered. Using their approach, they observed shifts in the spacing and orientation of atomic layers within the quantum dots. Quantum dots need to be close to perfect, says Evans. This small deviation from perfection is important. The teams discovery indicates that the process of creating the quantum dotslaying down metallic electrodes atop a lab-grown crystaldistorts the material underneath slightly. This puckering creates strain in the material, leading to small distortions in the quantum dots. Understanding and exploiting this effect could help researchers create better-behaved quantum dots. Once you know these quantities, then you can design devices that take into account that structure, says Evans. Designs with those small imperfections in mind will be especially important for future devices where many thousands of quantum dots must all work together. This is going to be very relevant because, right now, there are multiple sources of decoherence quantum dots, says Pateras. The Rock of Cashel supported the Huntingtons Disease Association of Ireland by lighting up in purple for Huntingtons Disease Awareness week May 14 -18 to show their support for affected families in Co Tipperary. Huntington disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative illness which causes changes to movement, thinking and emotion. Symptoms gradually worsen over the 1025 year course of the disease. Eventually, people with HD will become completely dependent on others. Huntingtons Disease affects more than 750 people with over 3000 at risk in Ireland. Each child who has a parent affected has a 50% risk of inheriting the gene that causes Huntingtons disease. Currently there is no cure for Huntingtons Disease however recent advances in research bring considerable hope to the HD community. A new gene lowering treatment directed at the cause of the disease, has shown positive results in initial phases of an international human trial which concluded in December 2017. The drug developed by Ionis Pharmaceuticals is now under the control of pharmaceutical giant Roche and a larger and longer Phase 3 trial is currently being planned. While it will take several years to establish the end results of this gene-lowering trial it marks a very significant step in the fight against Huntingtons disease. While we know to tread carefully as its still early days, this announcement has brought an enormous amount of hope to so many people who didnt have much to be hopeful about before. Irish HD gene carrier. Huntingtons Disease Association of Ireland helps families living with HD through counselling, support and information. HDAIs Chairperson Thomas Lillis said We are delighted with the support received from Kerry County Council and from sites throughout Ireland and internationally who support this campaign. We hope that greater awareness will decrease the fear surrounding this neurological condition and encourage individuals and families impacted to seek the necessary health and social services. (Natural News) Middle school classes should start after 8 a.m. to help students get more sleep and be more awake during their morning classes, a new study published in the Journal of School Health suggested. In conducting the study, the research team analyzed data on 11 middle schools located in a large suburban mid-Atlantic school district during the 2014-2015 school year. Of the schools that they studied, eight schools with seventh- and eighth-grade students had later start times around 8 a.m., while three schools had seventh to twelfth-grade students and began classes around 7:23 a.m. Overall, the research team observed about 1,000 students. Parents and students also answered online questionnaires about the students bedtime on weeknights and weekends, school-day and weekend wake times, and length of sleep. In addition, the students rated their daytime sleepiness and described situations when they found it hard to stay awake or fell asleep during the day. The team found that students studying in schools that start classes before eight in the morning had an average of eight hours and nine minutes of sleep; while students at later-starting schools had eight hours and 23 minutes of sleep on average. For all students, the average bedtime was around 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that teens should get nine hours of sleep every day on average to promote optimal health. They also found that students studying in later-starting schools were less likely to report instances of daytime sleepiness and more likely to report being wide awake during the day. In addition, they had fewer chances of falling asleep during the day or struggling through afterschool activities. They gained around one extra minute of sleep for every two-minute delay in school. In total, they gained an additional 17 minutes of sleep per day or about 85 minutes per week. The 17 minutes of extra sleep could be helpful for students. Its important for school systems to know theres not a one-to-one association, said study lead author Deborah Temkin, director of education research for the non-profit research organization Child Trends in Bethesda, Maryland. To hit the recommended nine hours of sleep, school start times may have to move to 9:30 a.m. or later, which may not be feasible for many districts. Detrimental effects of earlier school start times Another study revealed the negative effects of earlier school start times. In the study led by the University of Rochester Medical Center, it was found that teenagers at high school who study in schools that start classes before 8:30 a.m. have a higher risk of depression and anxiety. This study is the first study to investigate how school start times impact sleep quality, even when a student is trying to get a good nights sleep. (Related: When A Teens Inability to Juggle School, Sleep, & Social Leads to Depression.) The research team used an online tool to gather data from 197 students across the U.S. between 14 and 17 years old. Both the students and their parents answered a survey on the teens level of sleep hygiene, family socioeconomic status, their school start times, and whether the child is a morning or night person. For one week, the teens were tasked to keep a sleep diary to keep a record of their sleep hygiene, levels of sleep quality and duration, and their depressive or anxiety symptoms. Our findings show that earlier school start times seem to put more pressure on the sleep process and increase mental health symptoms, while later school start times appear to be a strong protective factor for teens, said Jack Peltz, leader of the study. Read more news stories and studies on schoolchildren by going to HomeSchooling.news. Sources include: Reuters.com ScienceDaily.com (Natural News) The March For Our Lives gun-grabbers have convinced themselves that the only way to stop mass shootings in the United States is to prohibit law-abiding Americans from owning firearms. But what these brainwashed leftists fail (or willfully refuse) to acknowledge is the fact that almost every major shooting incident thats occurred in recent years is directly tied to the perpetrators use of mind-altering pharmaceuticals. We now know, for example, that accused Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz had been taking psychiatric prescriptions prior to allegedly shooting up Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. We also now know that authorities had been made privy to Cruzs drug-associated mental problems prior to the incident, but proceeded to do nothing to address them. An investigator from Floridas Department of Children and Families discovered back in 2016 that Cruz, who had just turned 18 at the time, had been talking on Snapchat about cutting himself, as well as trying to find help obtaining a firearm. This investigator reportedly told NBC News that Cruz clearly stated that he plans to go out and buy a gun, but that it was unknown what he is buying the gun for. Even Cruzs own mother admitted to authorities during the investigation that her son had behavioral problems suggestive of the fact that he had no business purchasing a firearm. She reportedly told investigators that Nikolas owned an air gun that she would take away from him when he did not follow rules about shooting only at backyard targets, to quote The New York Times (NYT). Despite all this, and the fact that Cruz was known to be on mind-altering behavioral drugs, the department declared Cruz to be low risk, and proceeded to close his case within two months of it being opened. This blatant failure to properly assess the situation is what many experts now believe resulted in the tragedy. Had Cruz been committed, under existing gun laws he would have become unable to legally buy a gun to carry out his murderous fantasies, wrote Dr. Peter Breggin in an article that was republished by GreenMedInfo.com. Alternatively, if he had been carefully and safely removed from his psychiatric drugs while receiving good psychosocial therapy, his escalating violent impulses might have abated. Instead, he was left on his own to face the death of his mother and his expulsion from school, while his murderous impulses were fueled by drugs. Guns arent the problem mind-altering drugs are the problem The drugs Cruz was taking, for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), have been connected to mass shootings in the past. One example of this was 15-year-old Hammad Memon, who reportedly shot and killed a fellow middle school student while taking the drug Zoloft for both ADHD and depression. More well known is the Columbine shooting in Colorado, one of the shooters of which was also on Zoloft, followed by another drug known as Luvox. Prozac is another common ADHD drug thats repeatedly been associated with acts of violence. A 16-year-old boy named Jeff Weise who was taking the drug shot his grandfather, his grandfathers girlfriend, and more than a dozen of his fellow students in Red Lake, Minnesota. And this is just one of many similar incidents, all involving Prozac, Zoloft, Ritalin, and/or a variety of other brain-bending pharmaceuticals commonly prescribed for depression and ADHD. Not only do psychiatric drugs add to the risk of violence, but psychiatric treatment lulls the various authorities and the family into believing that the patient is now under control and less of a risk,' warns Dr. Breggin. Even the patient may think the drugs are helping, and continue to take them right up to the moment of violence. Read ChemicalViolence.com for more details of the dangers of psychiatric drugs. Sources for this article include: GreenMedInfo.com NaturalNews.com The Food and Drug Administration just approved the first ever preventive medicine for migraines, offering hope to chronic sufferers of this ultra-painful type of headache. First Of Its Kind For the longest time, people plagued with migraines had no way of preventing these painful attacks. Patients can take various drugs meant for other ailments, but none have proven to be very effective and many come with side effects. Now, there's Aimovig. According to a press release from FDA, Aimovig works by blocking the activity of calcitonin gene-related peptide, which is involved in the bouts of migraine attacks. The treatment includes a monthly injection from a tool that's similar to an insulin pen. "Aimovig provides patients with a novel option for reducing the number of days with migraine," Eric Bastings, M.D., deputy director of the Division of Neurology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, says in a statement. "We need new treatments for this painful and often debilitating condition." Migraines happen three times more with women than men. Over 10 percent of people worldwide suffer from it, and it can involve other symptoms beyond pain such as nausea and vomiting. New York Times says that 2 percent of the world's population has to deal with chronic migraines. It's reportedly the third most common disease in the world. "The drugs will have a huge impact," Dr. Amaal Starling, a neurologist and migraine specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, tells New York Times. "This is really an amazing time for my patient population and for general neurologists treating patients with migraine." Price Lower Than Expected Developed by Amgen and partner Novartis, Aimovig will be available for $6,900 a year, which is hefty investment, but far lower than initially expected. Amgen's previously released drug Repatha had a less than ideal debut commercially with its $14,000 annual price tag. "The payers recognize that there is a clear and longstanding unmet need in migraine," Tony Hooper, executive vice president of global commercial operations at Amgen, says during a call with analysts Friday, according to NOLA. He adds that pharmacy-benefit managers and insurers have all expressed their support of their price. "Overall, we think their pricing strategy fits well into the current reimbursement environment," Jefferies analyst Michael Yee says, adding that the affordable pricing sends a good message. Aimovig will reportedly be available to the public within a week of FDA approval. Power poles around residential areas across the Bay Aea are under extra scrutiny because of their age and potential fire danger, according to state regulators. Old and poorly maintained power lines, like the ones suspected of causing the deadly fires in the North Bay in October, have been getting some extra attention. Officials with the California Public Utilities Commission were in the South Bay on Monday touring problem poles, including one in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood. On that particular pole, the lines are being secured with a rope, which could fray, instead of steel cable. Other issues observed Monday include unattached cables, new lines attached to old poles and duct tape used to secure equipment. The CPUC is now rethinking how millions of poles across the state are managed and inspected. "The follow through just isn't there, and some of these problems persist for years, posing a big risk to safety," said Catherine sandoval, former CPUC commissioner. The CPUC wants to establish a statewide database for power poles. "We know there is a potential for these poles being overloaded, but right now, there is not a single database that would establish where each pole is, what's on it and what it's condition is," CPUC President Michael Picker said. That type of documentation would indicate whether there was a recent fire or other damage at a given power pole. But some wonder if the database would be enough to spark better maintenance. Sandoval says despite complaints, not enough fines have been levied for poles violating safety standards. PG&E says it inspects its poles once a year. One challenge is the fact that cable and phone companies also use the poles. The CPUC held a public forum Monday evening in San Jose to talk about pole problems and what to look for. Motorists may soon have to pay $9 to cross the Bay Bridge if voters approve a ballot measure next month. Regional Measure 3 will add $3 to every Bay Area toll bridge except the Golden Gate Bridge. If approve, the $3 jump will be phased in over seven years and is projected to raise just over $4.4 billion. On Monday, the mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland held a press conference calling the measure an investment in the Bay Area's future. The bulk of the money from the measure would go to fun extensions and improvements of the Bay Area's Rapid Transit system. "Our trains are more crowded than ever before," San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell said. "Our buses are more crowded than ever before." Farrell on Monday was joined by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo in calling for infrastructure spending. But some motorists are not in favor of having to spend more to cross bridges. "It's crazy," said Diddy Sykes of Mission Viejo. "I think it's ludicrous for them to raise it up to $9." Election Day is June 5. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is under attack again. This time, however, it's not coming from President Donald Trump. A congressman from Iowa is proposing the Mayor Libby Schaaf Act of 2018, which would make it a crime to send out a warning in advance of a federal action in the wake of Schaaf's now-famous tweet of a suspected immigration raid in her city. In San Jose, a city where many local leaders often express support for helping undocumented immigrants, there were mixed feelings about what Schaaf did. The proposal by Republican congressman Steve King would ban officials from the purposeful broadcast of information related to any imminent action by a federal law enforcement officer or agent. Violators would face up to five years in prison. Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese, a supporter of sanctuary policies, scoffed at the proposal. "We dont fear these kinds of grandstanding laws," Cortese said. "Theyre not really laws as far as Im concerned. Theyre unconstitutional and have no chance of passing. Its just political grandstanding." Local law enforcement consultant and retired Justice Department officer Bob Cooke calls the proposal appropriate. "Some of these criminals are dangerous individuals," he said. "Some are gang members, some beat their wives, some sell and transport drugs and other crimes we dont know about. And, frankly, its insulting someone would do that to our cops." Schaaf has yet to not respond to the proposal, though over the weekend in an oped for the Washington Post, she wrote: "I wanted to make sure people were prepared, not panicked, and they understood their legal rights." The woman at the center of a video who called police on two black men barbecuing in Oaklands Lake Merritt has become a meme called BBQ Becky. She has sparked the hashtags, #BBQingWhileBlack and #CookingOutWhileBlack, been Photoshopped in black history moments (including MLKs famous I have a Dream speech) and even made an "appearance" in a Black Panther photo. And on Saturday night, "SNL" parodied her in its season finale, with Aidy Bryant making an appearance spoofing her in black sunglasses and a hoodie during Weekend Update as well as the ending credits. Although the womans name still remains unknown, the internet has dubbed her BBQ Becky. Hundreds of people gathered for a weekend cookout in Oakland, California, dubbed BBQing While Black in the latest response to the womans now infamous call to police to report African Americans barbecuing at a public park. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the festival-like event Sunday on the shores of Lake Merritt was organized to rally against racism. Music played and vendors cooked up racks of ribs, sausages and chicken. Three Sundays earlier at the same site, the unidentified woman called 911 to report a family using a charcoal barbecue. A video posted on social media by onlooker Michelle Dione sparked a national conversation about racism.[[483275551, C]] The woman said she called the police to report an African-American man who was using a charcoal grill in an area where they are not allowed. "They enacted rules for a reason and they should be followed," she can be heard saying in the video. On May 15, protesters gathered outside City Hall Thursday to grill Oakland City Council over what they say is the over-policing of African-Americans in the East Bay. "Think before you call police," Councilmember Abel Guillen whose district includes a part of Lake Merritt tweeted in response to the video. "Remember we are all neighbors in Oakland." "We cant say whats in the womens heart but we do know when the police are used," said community organizer Carol Fiffe. "Oftentimes when African-American people are involved, it leads to an escalation of police force." Protesters said people who use 911 as a tool to discriminate need to be held accountable. Demonstrators said the barbecue outside of City Hall held a symbolic message not just for Oakland, but for the county. "Weve seen it in Starbucks, weve seen it in the Waffle House in places all across the country and so in Oakland, Im proud of our city that is saying not here," Fiffe said. Oakland Councilmember At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan issued a statement regarding the Lake Merritt controversy: "Dear White People, please think carefully before calling the police, and be aware of the potential for issues of racial privilege and prejudice," she wrote. "If there is a gun involved or imminent risk of harm, then it is reasonable to call the police. But for minor community disagreements, we need to be careful and consider our actions before resorting to calling for an armed police response. We need our police to be able to focus on pursuing and solving serious violent crimes. On an interpersonal level, we should seek to reduce, not escalate, tensions. And to maintain and improve our awareness of the widespread racial disparities in law enforcement response, which continue to need to be remedied." The San Francisco Police Department held a town hall on Monday night to discuss the details of an officer-involved shooting May 11. Police released bodycam footage from officers at the scene. The shooting happened as officers were investigating an auto burglary at 12:59 a.m. near Steiner Street and Geary Boulevard, according to police. The officers detained one suspect, and a second suspect fled on foot to the area of O'Farrell and Webster streets, police said. No one was hurt in the shooting, but the actions of police were under review Monday. The fleeing man allegedly got into a parked white Hyundai sedan and drove off in the vehicle. Police said a "series of events occurred" in the 1500 block of O'Farrell Street, including a collision between the suspect's vehicle and two police radio cars. Police said an officer-involved shooting also happened at this location. No one was struck by gunfire, according to police. The suspect fled in the vehicle and police pursued him to the area of Polk and McAllister streets, where the suspect stopped the car inside Civic Center Plaza, police said. He was then taken into custody. Police said the suspect was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. An officer who was injured in the 1500 block of O'Farrell Street was treated and released at the scene, according to police. Police did not specify at the time as to how either person sustained the injuries. A 93-year-old woman was hospitalized with a broken hip after a purse snatcher knocked her to the ground last week at a bank in Concord. Police are searching for a man who approached two women from behind in a Bank of America parking lot Friday, grabbing their purses and shoving Ann Pedersen to the ground before racing off. The crime occurred in broad daylight as Pedersen was being escorted by a 63-year-old friend towards the bank. The suspect is described as 6 feet, 3 inches tall, with a large build, bald with a goatee. Concord Police Police said he made the mistake of going inside the bank, where there are several surveillance cameras. He was last seen fleeing the area in a white sedan, which is believed to be a Chevrolet Malibu, Concord Police said. Pedersen is a 45-year resident of Concord, according to her son. She remained hospitalized Monday after surgery for her broken hip. Her escort was uninjured. When Danielle Schumacher attended her first convention of marijuana activists about 15 years ago, she could count on one hand all the women in a room of older men. The lack of diversity struck the then-college student, who remembers feeling out of place but also determined to make her mark. "That feeling just really stuck with me that this isn't going to last. This is going to shift in my lifetime, and I want to be part of that," said the San Francisco-based Schumacher, who in 2014 co-founded THC Staffing Group, a recruitment firm that encourages a more diverse cannabis industry workforce. As marijuana has become more mainstream, Schumacher has seen a gradual shift, with more women working in the industry. Women-centric groups focused on networking or providing a space for women curious about cannabis have proliferated, too. But cannabis remains a male-dominated industry. How much so is unclear because the legal marijuana industry is so new. Since just nine states have broad legalization, there isn't much data on the so-called grass ceiling for women or minorities in leadership roles. One of those states, Massachusetts, plans a study breaking down license holders by race and gender and looking at possible barriers to getting into the industry. Licensing in that state is expected to start this summer. The trade publication Marijuana Business Daily surveyed 567 senior executives, company founders and those with ownership stakes in marijuana businesses, and found the percentage of women in executive roles fell from 36 percent in 2015 to 27 percent in 2017. One possible reason: the executive structure of more mainstream businesses, where men hold most senior-level positions, is seeping into the industry, said Eli McVey, an analyst with the publication. One way to boost investment in women- and minority-owned businesses is through more laws like the ones in some communities that reserve a certain number of marijuana licenses for those populations and by expunging criminal records for pot-related offenses, said Windy Borman, a Colorado-based filmmaker whose movie "Mary Janes: The Women of Weed" documents her evolution from skeptic to self-proclaimed "puffragette." She also advocates training for skills like business-plan writing for those wanting to shift from the black market to legal market, and increased mentorship. The industry must attract new consumers to expand, she said. Women generally make family decisions on health and wellness, and women have an opportunity to design products that fit with their lifestyle, she said. "We're not necessarily interested in the largest bong ever built," she said. "We need products that fit into our lifestyle that are more discreet and they're not going to be covered in Jamaican flags and big pot leaves and things like that." Jane Stinson, a self-described hippy during her 20s, worked for 20 years for an Alaska pipeline company. Her interest in cannabis was reignited when her mother was diagnosed with cancer and the family sought ways to help ease the side effects. At roughly the same time, Stinson was ready to retire, her son learned how to grow marijuana in California, and voters legalized adult marijuana use in Alaska. "The stars were aligned," said Stinson, who opened one of Alaska's first retail shops in Anchorage with her son and daughter. It hasn't been easy getting into the industry: Stinson works up to 14 hours a day. But she now has 15 employees and is looking to expand. There is less of a stigma around marijuana in Alaska than there was five years ago, she said. Stinson's shop has hosted meetings of Ellementa, an organization that promotes cannabis to women, focusing on wellness. Recent meeting topics have touched on insomnia and sex. Meeting participants range from their 20s to 70s, said Aliza Sherman, a web entrepreneur and Ellementa CEO, who began using cannabis to ease neck pain and insomnia. Her company holds meetings in 30 cities nationally and is expanding into Canada and Europe. Sherman, who lives in Anchorage, said women-owned businesses know what appeals to women. Gia Morn, daughter of a New York City police detective and child of the Just Say No-era, saw great potential in expanding her PR business to include cannabis. She was apprehensive at first but made the leap, believing she could bring value to the industry. In doing so, she pointed out instances where female representation was lacking, such as in the speaking lineup for Women Grow, a national networking group she now represents. "Now you're seeing more successful, leading women in this space that are not only making serious inroads, but they're going well beyond the ceiling that's been placed over our heads and saying, `We're more than this, and we deserve to be at the table,"' she said. What could be simpler than ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, which give mom and dad a low-cost alternative to child hauling? Trip to the movies? Call them an Uber! Staying late for band practice? Lyft will get them home! Those ubiquitous apps from the two biggest ride-sharing services are the answer to a parents prayers, right? Wrong. No one under 18 is supposed to be using Uber or Lyft without an adult on board. It says so right in each companys terms of service. And the drivers are not supposed to be taking any un-accompanied children. But an investigation by NBC 5 Investigates shows the rules are routinely ignored. Armed with an Uber license, NBC 5 producer Courtney Copenhagen set up base near schools throughout the city and suburbs. And on every single day she drove, she said she found no shortage of teen riders, who reacted with shock when they were informed they were too young to ride. Most insisted they routinely used Uber and Lyft to get around. In many cases, those same teens took out their phones and summoned another Uber as we watched. And when we sent a trio of girls out on the street in downtown Chicago to hail rides, nearly every Uber and Lyft driver they encountered welcomed them aboard, even after they informed those drivers they were only 12 and 13 years old. Only one driver, who worked for Lyft, said no. I think its obvious that Uber and Lyft are going to try to make money where they can, says Bryant Greening of LegalRideshare, a Chicago law firm specializing in cases involving the two big carriers. When Uber and Lyft came to Chicago I dont think anyone predicted how big it would be, and how quickly it would get there. Both companies insist the rules about children are hard and fast regulations. We take reports of unaccompanied minors seriously, Lyft spokesman Kate Margolis told NBC 5 by email. Violating this policy can lead to permanent deactivation from the Lyft platform for both passenger and driver accounts. On its website, Uber likewise suggests the policy is etched in stone: A rider must be 18 years of age to have an Uber account and request rides, the site states. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by someone 18 years of age or older on any ride. Uber actually rolled out a pilot program to allow teen licenses in Seattle, Columbus, and Phoenix. But that program was terminated, Uber saying it was examining other ways to best serve the needs of families. In shutting that program down, Uber declared, If you suspect a minor is using Uber, please let us know through your app and our team will investigate. So why have such rules, if they are ignored by riders and drivers alike? The rule is very well crafted to fit into their legal objectives, Greening says. What they want to make sure is that there is not some kind of law passed against the use of their app involving strict background checks, involving fingerprints, and by making the application available only to adults, they can get around some of those requirements. He refers to the security checks Uber and Lyft drivers must undergo. Both companies use a third party service which checks primarily for driving mishaps, criminal convictions going back seven years, and a check of a sexual offender database. Chicago cab drivers have long complained that they face a more rigorous fingerprint background check---and that rideshare drivers are getting off light. Indeed, when the Emanuel administration recently announced changes to security requirements designed to level the playing field, the cab drivers cried foul. That proposal, billed as strengthening security procedures, promised that rideshare companies would be required to have their drivers checked against the national sex offender database, and multi-state criminal records across state boundaries. But at the same time, they announced they were lifting the requirement for fingerprint checks for cab drivers. What we think the city should do is raise the standards---make them equal but lift them up, says Tracey Abman of AFSCME local 31 which represents some city cab drivers. We think it should continue for cab drivers, and should happen for rideshare drivers. In other words---keep fingerprint checks for cabbies, but start requiring them for Uber and Lyft. The citys saying we want to level the playing field, says Abman. Yes, lets level the playing field, but lets raise standards---not lower them! A spokesman for the Citys cab licensing agency, Lilia Chacon, declined to respond to AFSCMEs criticism. Drivers in the taxi and rideshare industries are subject to the same background check standard, she said in a statement. To ensure the publics safety, biometric and non-biometric background checks are conducted by third-party vendors and include checks of a nationwide criminal database, sex offender registry and global watch list. New York City requires both taxi and rideshare drivers to submit to fingerprint checks. Nationwide, Uber recently announced plans to begin re-running its contract background checks on drivers every year. In the meantime, Uber and Lyft both insist their policies on children have not changed. What we see is that a lot of drivers and a lot of users are not reading those termsreading those rules, says Greening, the Chicago attorney. We need to make sure that we are protecting our children and that theres the proper rules in place to effectuate that goal. One person was killed and three others wounded in a shootout at a gas station on Chicago's Northwest Side early Tuesday, according to police. The shooting occurred at around 2:44 a.m. at a Shell gas station in the 3000 block of West Belmont Avenue in the city's Avondale neighborhood, authorities said. The incident appeared to have begun as a fight between two groups in two different vehicles that escalated into a shootout, according to police. Seven people total were involved, officials said: two men and two women in a Nissan pathfinder and one man with two women in a Honda sedan. A verbal altercation between the groups turned into a fist fight, at which point two individuals pulled out guns and opened fire, according to police, who pieced together preliminary details after reviewing surveillance video from cameras on the gas pumps and at the store. Two of the shooting victims in the Honda tried to drive away after they were shot but pulled over two blocks west near North Albany Avenue and met an ambulance there, officials said. They were taken to an area hospital in critical condition. In total, four people were shot, according to police. A 25-year-old man was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was pronounced dead with multiple gunshot wounds to the body, officials said. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office did not immediately confirm the fatality and further details including his identity were not available. A 37-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the body, according to police, and was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was listed in serious condition. Authorities said a 20-year-old man sustained multiple gunshot wounds, and a 24-year-old woman was shot in the neck. Both were taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, officials said. Everyone who fired weapons was either wounded or killed, according to police. At least 30 shell casings were found at the gas station, officials said. Authorities said one woman from one of the cars was taken into custody for questioning. It was not clear whether charges would be filed in the case, and the investigation remained ongoing. More than 1,000 extra Chicago police officers will be patrolling the city over Memorial Day weekend as part of the Chicago Police Departments summer deployment initiative to be announced Tuesday morning. Over the weekend, residents can expect to see a heavier police presence throughout the city. Extra officers will be deployed on foot and on traffic initiatives downtown and through major thoroughfares, while bike patrols will focus on city parks and the lakefront. The departments Summer Mobile Team will also launch this weekend, deploying more than 100 officers to neighborhood patrols, according to Chicago Police Chief Communications Officer Anthony Guglielmi. Superintendent Eddie Johnson will announce the initiative with Chicago Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago, Illinois State Police Director Leo Schmitz, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx, United States Attorney John Lausch and the Chicago heads ot the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The announcement will take place at 11 a.m. at CPD headquarters, 3510 South Michigan Avenue. A woman who claimed to have been attacked by a group of women in Chicago's West Loop over the weekend falsified the incident after drunkenly falling into a planter, according to police. Authorities said Tuesday that the 49-year-old woman was intoxicated at around 5 a.m. in the 100 block of North Riverside Plaza, near the Boeing headquarters, when she took her pants off, fell into a planter and lost a tooth. She told police that she had been followed out of a home by at least four women, who she claimed removed her pants, beat her and left her with lacerations, bruises and lost teeth. A passerby found her on the ground and initially called in the attack as a sexual assault, according to police, who said she was not sexually assaulted. The woman was taken to Rush University Medical Center in stable condition, according to police. Further details, including the woman's identity, were not immediately available. Charges were pending Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. Three state parks remain closed almost a week after powerful storms, including tornadoes, came through Connecticut and caused extensive damage. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is warning people not to try and visit any of the closed parks. The following state parks are closed: Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden Kettletown State Park in Southbury Wharton Brook State Park in Wallingford The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said they are assessing when they can open Kettletown, and will provide an update Tuesday. State Parks Damaged by Storms Crews worked through the weekend and into Monday to clear up Kettletown which was hit by a downburst. DEEP staff is really focused on getting that park reopened and ready for the camping season," said DEEP spokesperson Chris Collibee. All the camping sites are sold out for the upcoming weekend. Sleeping Giant and Wharton Brook will remain closed through the Memorial Day weekend. DEEP Environmental Conservation police are doing extra patrols to enforce closures. PHOTOS: Look Back at Damage at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden Squantz Pond State Park in New Fairfield, which was also closed for days, reopened Monday, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Chatfield Hollow was closed after the storm, but reopened Friday morning. [NATL] Royal Wedding 2018: Best Moments From Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's Wedding DEEP told NBC Connecticut that it is too early to estimate how much all the cleanup will cost. For a full list of Connecticut State Parks, click here. A woman in Canton, Connecticut, saw the lights of her car go off Friday night and soon realized the culprit was not a burglar but an adult bear and the amount of damage it did was astounding. Linda Morad said she was housesitting for a friend who was on vacation when she saw the lights of her car going off. I had my phone on 911 and I came partially down toward the car, and I heard noise, so I hit the send button on the 911, Morad said. She did not see the culprit through the tinted glass and told police what she heard. Officers showed up in minutes. And from inside the house, I saw them open the door and let the bear out a full-sized bear, Morad said. PHOTOS: Bear Gets Stuck in Car in Canton and Destroys It Then, police warned her about the condition of her car. They said, Youre not going to believe what your car looks like. I thought, Well, Ill clean it tomorrow Morad said. Then she saw the damage. The dashboard, the leather seats, the trunk and the hatchback were all torn to pieces. I dont think this could be cleaned! Morad said. The bear had somehow gotten in through the unlocked drivers side door of the vehicle, according to Morad. And the door closed behind him, and apparently he was frantic, she said. [NATL] Unbelievable Animal Stories: Dog Befriends Abandoned Baby Giraffe Now Morad is borrowing a car, locking the doors and waiting on the insurance adjuster. She said she does not blame the bear. This is a fluke. Its like getting struck by lightning or hitting the lottery. How many times would it ever happen? Morad said. Bears are becoming more common in Connecticut as the population grows, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and they urge people to take some precautions to avoid attracting bears. That includes keeping garbage cans in the garage. See more tips here. In the past year, there have been nearly 6,900 bear sightings in Connecticut, including 201 in Canton. Both sides in the case of a Vermont man accused by his family of killing his millionaire grandfather and possibly his mother sparred over whether the case could continue in New Hampshire and the release of financial records. Nathan Carman, who represented himself Monday, also said he needed more time to raise money for an attorney. Carman has been called a suspect in the 2013 shooting death of real estate developer John Chakalos in Connecticut. No one's been arrested. He's been questioned about the day his boat sank with his mother, Linda Carman, aboard near Rhode Island in 2016. She's presumed dead. Carman has denied any involvement in either case. Carmen agreed to the release of the financial records. The judge said he'd consider Carman's motion to dismiss the case. Daniel Small of Holland & Knight LLP, who is representing the Chakalos family, released the following statement: "Unlike Nathan Carman, his aunts have taken lie detector tests, fully cooperated with the investigation into John Chakalos murder and promised to donate Linda Carmans inheritance to a charity in her name if they win the Slayer Action case. Nathans family has asked him repeatedly to cooperate with investigators and answer basic questions and discovery requests. Meanwhile, Nathan refuses to cooperate with the authorities, and even refuses to answer questions about the likely murder weapon, let alone produce it. Nathans attempt to attack the victims today is simply another desperate ploy to deflect attention from his guilty behavior. And finally, Nathan's decision to fire his lawyers was a strategic decision, not a money decision. New London had a big, white cruise ship docked at City Pier Monday the first passenger cruise ship to use the port of New London since 2014, according to the Connecticut Port Authority. The M/S Hebridean Sky is a foreign flag ship touring the East Coast. We havent had one at City Pier since (at least) 9/11 when nature of the world changed and security changed, said New London Mayor Michael Passero. The State Pier, also in New London, hosts foreign flag cargo ships frequently. But when the Hebridean Sky wanted to dock at City Pier, Passero said he, the Coast Guard, Homeland Security, the state Port Authority and Port security jumped into action. A process that could take three months took three weeks. It shows that were on the map. That people want to come here and that we have something very special to offer to the tourism industry, Passero said. Hebridean Sky Chief Officer George Hendry said the cruise operations company, Noble Caledonia, out of London, was looking for a new destination a little out of the ordinary. The amount of people who visited and thanked us for coming made it all worthwhile. Its been a very warm and welcoming place, Hendry said. The Hebridean Sky and its sister ships travel anywhere from Antartica up to the far Artic, according to Hendry. Monday the 110 passengers had the chance to hop aboard the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat and tour the Connecticut River, seeing landmarks like Gillette Castle and the Goodspeed Opera House. Weve never been in the state before at all so its a new experience for us. We didnt know what to expect but weve had a really lovely morning, said passenger Joyce Gape, of Welshpool, Wales. Its perhaps a bit more of the real U.S. outside the cities, passenger Tony Sherrard said. He lives in Buckinghamshire, England. New London businesses, like Muddy Waters Cafe, gave crew members that local taste Monday, too. I hope to get a few people to converse with me this afternoon. I always like to talk to people from out of the area to see what they think about New London, Owner Barry Neistat said. The Hebridean Sky will leave New London around midnight and travel up the East Coast. Hendry said the final destination of the 12-day tour will be in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Wallingfords Board of Education has voted to keep the end of the school year and graduation as scheduled, despite missing multiple days for snowstorms in the winter and again following storm damage when severe storms hit Connecticut. Students in Wallingfords Public School District went back to school Monday after missing three days last week because of the severe storm damage. The district already had 183 school days built into the school year, three more than the state requires, according to Superintendent Salvatore Menzo. The school board voted unanimously to forgive the three days and keep the end of the school year and graduation on the planned date, June 22. The superintendent also recommended and the board accepted adding language that says that should there be more unexpected weather or other unanticipated circumstances that lead to more missed days between now and the end of the school, the district will have to add additional days to the year because they would then fall under the state required 180 days. 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. A man suspected of trading wild bursts of gunfire with officers during a long standoff in the Florida Panhandle was found dead Tuesday in a gasoline-soaked apartment after an armored vehicle approached, authorities said. Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said at a news conference Tuesday that that the shooter, identified as 49-year-old Kevin Robert Holroyd, was found dead inside his Panama City apartment. It was not immediately clear how Holroyd died but Ford said officers heard a "muffled shot" inside the apartment before the scene went silent. "Luckily none of the good guys were hurt," Ford said. Police officers used an armored vehicle to break into the apartment and a robot had to be deployed to search the residence before officers could enter, finding the gunman's body. Ford said Holroyd had "booby trapped" the apartment and doused it with gasoline. No law enforcement agents were shot or wounded but one person leaving her apartment was injured after being grazed by a bullet and left in stable condition, he said. The sheriff described the dangerous situation that unfolded Tuesday in the tourist community as a "nightmare scenario for us." Holroyd was wanted in connection to the death of man in nearby Walton County, Florida. Ford said authorities responded to a 911 call reporting the smell of gas at the Briarward Apartments complex. When officers arrived, Holroyd opened fire on them with a rifle from a second floor apartment. Ford says several officers were pinned down by the gunfire for long periods of time. Several law enforcement agents had surrounded the apartment building and exchanged heavy gunfire with the suspect. According to Bay County Sheriff's spokeswoman Ruth Corley, deputies tried Tuesday to knock down the door to the apartment, but the suspect had barricaded the door from the inside. Nearby businesses and schools were evacuated and several police agencies responded to the incident in Panama City, where some witnesses reported hearing more than 50 shots. Video footage captured by a witness showed firefighters and others kneeling behind cars as heavy gunfire can be heard. Kim Allagood, owner of a nearby pizza restaurant, said "tons and tons" of police descended on the area and she locked down her restaurant for close to two hours amid sporadic shooting. The injured person was taken to a hospital, and while her identity was unclear, authorities said it was a civilian. During the day Tuesday, authorities elsewhere on the Panhandle said they discovered a suspicious death in Santa Rosa Beach, a community in neighboring Walton County about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest along the Florida coast. There, they said, 30-year-old Clinton Street was shot to death and authorities said they had connected that slaying with the Panama City standoff. The 6,000 AT&T employees in downtown Dallas will soon have a restaurant and retail attraction at their four-building complex, open to other downtown neighbors, as well. The $100 million 'Discovery District' is already under construction along Commerce Street where the curbside drop off area is being expanded outside the largest building in the complex, Whitacre Tower. That will be followed by a restaurant cluster, performance stage and a larger AT&T store. Employees saw renderings and virtual reality videos of the project for the first time Monday in the Whitacre Tower lobby. [[483242811 , C]] I think its great. I think its exciting. Its going to make for a great working environment and I think its good for the surrounding area, AT&T employee Jeff Jordan said. The City of Dallas has already approved closing portions of Jackson and Akard Streets to expand the plaza amid AT&Ts buildings. Our goal all along has been to create a destination place for visitors, downtown residents, along with our employees, said External Affairs Vice-President Michael Peterson. It also allows us to distinguish ourselves from our competitors who have built in sprawling suburban campuses. Our employees have told us they really like living and working downtown. The company competes for high-tech workers with other large companies and the new complex could make the AT&T campus more appealing. With this $100 million dollar investment were going to make, its just going to amplify the attractiveness of AT&T we believe, Peterson said. The company plans to complete the Discovery District by the end of 2019. Its going to be awesome to have wider variety, more options to choose from, right outside the door, said AT&T employee Jessica Shapinas. Several hotels nearby are receiving upgrades and four new downtown parks received bond money from voters last year. I believe Dallas is bursting at the seams. Its getting larger. It is cause for these kind of actions, this kind of comfort for employees and Im looking forward to it, said AT&T employee Tamecka Frazier. Dallas Police released a photo of a suspect in the most recent attack in the Oak Lawn neighborhood. The latest attack happened at 1:41 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Knight and Brown Streets. Investigators said two victims were crossing the street when a silver SUV pulled up to the stop sign. Witnesses told police that is when a woman inside the SUV started yelling homosexual slurs towards the victims. The woman and a man then exited the vehicle and began to assault the victims and stole a cell phone. The woman and man then got back in the SUV and drove off. The SUV is described as silver in color and believed to be a Nissan Murano with a partial Texas plate of KRK. The woman is described as white female, 5 foot 7 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds and between 20 and 30-years-old. She was described as having long brown hair and wearing a dark denim jumpsuit and wedge shoes. The man is described as a white male, 5 foot 8 inches tall, weighing 145 pounds and between 20 and 30-years-old. He was described as wearing a black t-shirt, black shorts and black sneakers. Dallas Police investigators have categorized this attack as a hate crime. If you have any information, you are ask to call Detective Reece at (214)671-3629. Two boys, ages 13 and 14, broke into a Fort Worth apartment on Friday and shot and killed the woman inside, authorities say. The boys names were not released because they are juveniles. The shooting happened just after 12 p.m. Friday at the Manitoba Apartments on the 8200 block of Calmont Avenue. Police said the teens burst into Yesenia Gutierrezs apartment to burglarize it and shot her when they encountered her inside, police Lt. Paula Fimbres said. Investigators say one of the suspects said they decided to break in after noticing a video game console through a window. Once inside police say that one of the suspects admitted to investigators that he shot Gutierrez in the back of the head. Gutierrez, 31, was shot in the neck and head, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiners office. "What is hard to digest is the age of these kids, 13 and 14 year old kids, they need to be in school, not out there committing these crimes killing innocent people, Fort Worth Police Officer Jimmy Pollozani said. The boys were arrested following a traffic stop in which police linked them to the shooting. Investigators discovered a 9mm pistol during the stop that was later forensically linked to the shell casings discovered in Gutierrez's apartment. Neighbors at the Manitoba Apartments say Gutierrez was a kind person who was always willing to help. It scared me because I have a two year old daughter and it scares me just to think that could be me, said one resident. In Texas, children ages 10 to 16 are considered juveniles. This year more than 130,000 children entered the juvenile justice system, according to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. Elementary school teachers at 10 National City schools voted Monday to authorize a strike after failing to reach a salary agreement with the district. The National City Elementary Teachers Association (NCETA), a branch of the California Teachers Association, represents educators at 10 National City schools. Of the 262 NCETA members that voted, 88 percent cast their vote in favor of authorizing the strike and 88 percent voted to honor the picket line if a strike was enacted. "Today you showed that we CAN stand together, and that it is important for you to be heard. We are sending a message to the district that we demand that they be respectful, be responsible, and reasonable in their proposals at the table," a statement posted on the NCETA Facebook page read in part. The National School District (NSD) and NCETA have been negotiating salary and other benefits for the 2017-18 school year for months but an agreement has not been reached as of Monday. The school district has offered a pay raise just over 5 percent, but the union is seeking 6 percent for the third year of their current contract and better benefits. The districts offer would also require 20 minutes of extra working time from teachers each day to compensate the pay raise, according to a negotiation fact sheet released by the district. Teachers with the National School District say they are overworked and underpaid and have not received the support they need from the district, according to NCETA. "I'm trying my darndest to be that best educator in the classroom and sometimes I'm not, because I don't have the materials and the support in the classroom, and it really is disappointing," NCETA President and school teacher Christina Benson said. The district says they do not comment on ongoing negotiations. NCETA and NSD have been in negotiation for months. Twice in January, elementary school teachers rallied outside district headquarters to bring attention to negotiations. The National School District Governing Board will announce its decision at a meeting Wednesday. What to Know Four former USC students sued the school and an ex-campus gynecologist who they accuse of molesting patients Two hundred faculty members have called on University of Southern California President C.L. Max Nikias to step down following accusations of sexual misconduct against a former physician at the school's student health center. The staff members sent a letter demanding Nikias' resignation to USC's Board of Trustees, stating that he "lost the moral authority to lead" after the gynecologist was kept on staff. "We, the undersigned faculty, write to express our outrage and disappointment over the mounting evidence of President Nikias' failure to protect our students, our staff, and our colleagues from repeated and pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct," the staff members said in the letter. "In his recent letter to the University community, President Nikias referred to the actions of gynecologist George Tyndall as a 'breach of trust.' With all due respect, President Nikias' own actions and omissions amount to a breach of trust. "He has lost the moral authority to lead the University, and in addition, to lead the investigation of institutional failures that allowed this misconduct to persist over several decades. President Nikias must step aside to allow new leaders to take the necessary steps to repair the damage." In a statement released Tuesday outlining the school's action plan, Nikias called the matter "profoundly troubling." The statement was released a day after 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. Two of the women involved in the lawsuit were at a news conference Tuesday morning with attorney Gloria Allred. "Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and on this basis allege, that defendant USC benefited financially from actively concealing myriad complaints of sexual abuse made by its female students against Tyndall by protecting its own reputation and financial coffers," according to the lawsuit. Allred read a statement from a former USC student who asked that her name be withheld. The former student claims Tyndall photographed her during an exam in the early 1990s. She says she complained at the time to the director of the health clinic and notified the university's advocacy office. "Assuming these allegations made by witness Jane Doe are true, USC was told as early as 1991 about Dr. Tyndall's sexual misconduct," Allred said. "The recent matter involving a former physician at our student health center has been profoundly troubling for our community, and has disturbed us all very deeply," Nikias said in the statement released Tuesday morning. "This matter has generated a fresh wave of discussions on our campuses, building on those related to one of our former deans. These discussions are imperative in recognizing deficits in our culture. Unacceptable behavior by anyone in our community is a profound breach of trust, and we must change the culture at the university, and instill a higher level of professionalism and ethics. We owe it to our students, to each other, and, indeed, to our entire community to do better. "I am truly sorry these events happened within our community, and deeply regret how much distress they have caused. From the sorrow comes determination to lead change in our culture." The Board of Trustees responded to the resignation demand with its first public statement since the removal of the campus doctor. The board said it was troubled by the accusations but has "full confidence" in Nikias. 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 Los Angeles 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, Officer Drake Madison told The Associated Press. 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" and "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, 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. A protest calling for the "resignation or board removal" of Nikias was scheduled for Tuesday evening on the USC campus. What to Know Both women are Mexican-American and fluent in Spanish Ana Suda said she felt uncomfortable and afraid and pulled out her cellphone to record the encounter The agent said in the video speaking Spanish "is very unheard of up here" U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials are reviewing an encounter between a Border Patrol agent and two U.S. citizens who were detained and questioned after speaking Spanish at a gas station in northern Montana, the agency said Monday. Ana Suda told NBC News she and her friend Mimi Hernandez made a midnight run Wednesday for milk and eggs at a gas station convenience store in Havre, a small city about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the U.S.-Canada border. Both women are Mexican-American and fluent in Spanish. Suda said they were chatting in Spanish while waiting in line to pay when the uniformed agent overheard them and allegedly asked them where they were born. "I looked at him and I said, 'Are you serious?" Suda told NBC News. "He said, "I'm very serious.'" Suda said she felt uncomfortable and afraid and pulled out her cellphone to record the encounter. In the video, Suda asks the agent why he asked them for their IDs. "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," the agent said in the video. Suda asked if they had been racially profiled and the agent responded, "No." Suda, 37, told NBC she was born in El Paso, Texas, but was raised in Mexico. She moved back to the U.S. 14 years ago. Hernandez was born in central California, she said. CBP spokesman Jason Givens declined to answer questions about the incident. He released a statement that said the incident is being reviewed to ensure that all appropriate policies were followed. "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 statement said. "They have the authority to question individuals, make arrests, and take and consider evidence." However, CBP policy also states that agents cannot stop or detain someone solely based on their race or ethnicity. Border Patrol agents are authorized by law to make warrantless stops within a "reasonable distance" from the border defined as 100 miles (160 kilometers) under federal regulations. That broad authority has led to complaints of racial profiling by agents who board buses and trains and stop people at highway checkpoints. Havre, which has just under 10,000 residents and is near two Native American reservations, has a mostly white population, with just 4 percent Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census. It is typically a quiet posting for the Border Patrol. Last year, the 183 agents in the Havre sector made 39 arrests just .01 percent of the 310,531 arrests made nationwide made by Border Patrol agents. Eleven of those 39 people arrested were Mexican. Suda said she was embarrassed by the encounter because everyone in Havre knows each other. "When you see somebody stopped by police, what do you think?" she added. The confrontation happened within a day of the posting of another video showing a New York attorney ranting against Spanish speaking restaurant workers and threatening to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement to have them "kicked out of my country." Allegations have been made before of law-enforcement officers in Montana racially profiling people to find out their immigration status. In 2015, the Montana Highway Patrol established a policy forbidding the detention of a person based to verify his status, settling a lawsuit alleging that troopers routinely pulled over people for minor infractions to do just that. What to Know The U.S. Fish and Wildlife is on the front lines at the JFK mail branch, where nearly 1 million packages come through The federal agents there are trained to look for suspicious packages, and find protected species illegally coming into the U.S. Last year, U.S. Fish and Wildlife investigated more than 10,000 cases, resulting in several arrests and $2 million in fines Lions, tigers, and bears: inside the countrys largest mail room tucked away at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens is a zoo of sorts. Every day, nearly one million packages come through the JFK mail branch, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife is on the front lines, protecting wildlife and humans. The dedicated group of 210 federal special agents and 120 wildlife inspectors knows what's on the front line. During a recent visit by News 4 for an exclusive report, the federal wildlife agents revealed the type of things they find daily. One package contained a black bear skin with a tag still on its leg, shipped under the guise of a rug. "This is a cited protected species. It requires to be accompanied by a permit," said Supervisory Wildlife Inspector Naimah Aziz. Inspectors also found boxes of chocolates hiding bags of dried seahorses. And a box labeled "jewelry" instead contained bats and birds -- a potential health risk to humans. Aziz said they would contact the Centers for Disease Control to give them oversight on that shipment. And some of the animals in packages discovered are very much alive. "Scorpions, millipedes, snakes, salamanders, you name it -- if it can fit in a box itll come through the mail," said Aziz. Fish and Wildlife recently rescued finches hidden in a purse, and saved tropical fish, lizards and king cobras. In 2017, this team inspected 28,905 shipments of wildlife and wildlife products. Live animals and some specimens are taken back to "The Lab" in Valley Stream. Inspector Aziz and the team have seen hundreds of different animals -- including the pangolin, which Aziz says is "the most trafficked mammal in the U.S., the most trafficked mammal in the world. This animal could not exist in 50 years if things arent done to protect them." U.S. Fish and Wildlife said the vast majority of the $4 billion wildlife industry is above board, but "there is a lawful way to import a lot of these things," according to the agency's Joe Rousseau. They also say many people inadvertently buy illegal wildlife while on vacation or online. U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents also have the same authority as other agencies -- they can go undercover and make arrests. "What were doing is making a huge difference," said Paul Chapelle, resident agent in charge of New York. "Weve put smugglers out of business." Last year, Fish and Wildlife investigated more than 10,000 cases, resulting in several arrests, with criminals facing more than 25 years behind bars and $2 million in fines. When it comes to protecting wildlife, the public can help play a role -- in fact, agents say some of their biggest cases were because people spoke up. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has an anonymous tip line: tips@fws.gov or 1-844-FWS-TIPS. What to Know Nearly 50 people have overdosed in New York City from synthetic marijuana, also known as K2, since Friday, sources say Bed-Stuy saw 25 overdoses with 15 people taken to the hospital this weekend; East New York saw at least 15 people overdose, sources say Sources say a bad batch across the area may be the culprit and the numbers of victims are expected to increase Nearly 50 people have overdosed in New York City from synthetic marijuana, also known as K2, in five separate locations since Friday, police say. NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said a particularly toxic batch of K2 have triggered 49 overdose cases at five different locations in Brooklyn. Over a dozen of them were transported to multiple area hospitals. "K2 is a dangerous, deadly drug, but this strain is especially threatening," Monahan said in a statement. "All residents who live near these five locations are warned about exceedingly dangerous K2 batches in circulation, and advised to avoid usage." The NYPD says it's arrested 13 people so far in K2 sales, and is investigating the specific source of the current K2 distribution. The area of Broadway and Myrtle saw 15 overdoses; Fulton Street and Alabama Avenue in East New York had 21; Ralph Avenue and Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights 7; Van Sinderen Avenue in Brownsville 2; and Atlantic Avenue and Sackman Street 4. With more overdose cases being actively investigated, the numbers of victims are expected to increase, according to sources. News 4 cameras captured one man apparently high on K2 stumbling down Atlantic Avenue in East New York, then falling to the ground, spasming, prompting a News 4 reporter to call police for help. Bedford-Stuyvesant restaurant owner Domingo Fernandez said people there were falling like flies. "Smoking, falling down; smoking, falling down," he said. "They need help. Lots of help." Kim Lee doesnt visit the corner of 22nd and Market streets in Center City very often. In fact, she avoids it. Her husband, Griffin Campbell, is the former demolition contractor slapped with a 15- to 30-year prison sentence for the infamous 2013 Salvation Army building collapse. In civil court, Campbell was determined to have played a small role in the accident. He was later found guilty of six counts of involuntary manslaughter during a criminal trial. My husband was one of the heroes, Lee recently told NBC10. He was the first one on the scene. It has been almost five years since that unforgettable day when a mushroom plume of smoke and debris filled Center City. Six people died and more than a dozen were injured. A memorial plaque now replaces the former thrift store, perpetually condemning the reckless demolition that caused those deaths. To have it written in stone on the wall thats kind of like a slap in the face, Campbells daughter, Amella Lee Campbell, said. In the days following the collapse, Campbell was inconsolable. His daughters remember him balled up on the couch like a baby, sobbing as he watched television coverage. His wife recalls Campbell calling her on the phone, hysterically crying, as he rushed to help victims. The Campbell family views him as the seventh victim of that building collapse, a cog trapped in the criminal justice system with no recourse other than to die in jail. He was not operating machinery that day and was only following orders to speed up the demolition, they said. Campbell recently spoke to NBC10 from prison and said that he will continue to fight his sentence. The billionaires all went home and I was sent to prison, Griffin Campbell said. I absolutely think the system has failed me. Excavator Sean Benschop was also sentenced to prison following the collapse. He admitted to being high on marijuana and percocet at the time of the botched demolition. Benschop received a 7.5- to 15-year prison sentence after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Meanwhile, Richard Basciano, the buildings owner, was never charged and architect Plato Marinakos was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony against Campbell and others. The lead building inspector, Ronald Wagenhoffer, died by suicide one week after the accident, blaming himself for the six deaths in a recorded video. Despite the tragic wake left behind by that accident, the Campbell family continues to hope for a legal miracle. Campbell has an upcoming hearing before the Pennsylvania Superior Court during which his attorney will ask for a new trial or early release. Campbells legal team has also enlisted the NAACPs help and recently met with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. Were just hoping and praying. Thats basically all that we can do, his daughter, Akea Campbell, said. As a family, we try to stick together and hold each other up. The Campbell sisters recently turned to the Free Meek Mill movement after the controversial rapper was released on bail following a lengthy legal battle. Mills perceived triumph in court re-energized their efforts, the sisters told NBC10. They hope to piggyback off his successful request for bail and raise more awareness for their father. There is absolutely no plan to change the sentence or agree with the request for a new trial, a source within the DAs office told NBC10. It is highly unlikely that we would agree to a new trial and any other changes in the case. The search for a missing man who fell in the water following a boat accident on the Delaware River between Delanco, New Jersey and Philadelphia has ended. Now crews are working on a recovery effort. The unidentified man was one of five people aboard a 16-foot recreational vessel Monday. The boat hit a wake around 5:40 p.m. and all five people fell into the water. The Coast Guard arrived at the scene and rescued four of the boaters. They were all taken to area hospitals. Officials have not yet revealed their conditions. The fifth boater, a man in his 20s, is still missing. The Coast Guard, Philadelphia Marine Police, New Jersey State Police, Philadelphia Fire Marine and other local agencies all searched for the man but have not found him. The search effort has now changed to a recovery effort. Officials have not yet released his identity. Every month, New Jersey resident Kimberly Deal has to decide which bills to pay and which to put off for another time. You rob Peter to pay Paul, she told NBC10. You call utility companies and beg them for mercy and get put on payment plans. Its the same every month. Sitting on the stoop of her Pleasantville, New Jersey, home, Deal pointed out one vacant house that had been foreclosed. On the other side, eviction crews emptied another home. Its been going this way in this area for some time now, she said. Housing insecurity burdens hundreds of thousands of Americans, especially people with lower incomes or those who live paycheck to paycheck. In Deals section of Atlantic County, 61 percent of residents pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing, according to U.S. Census data. The median income for her zip code is 41,802. On the Pennsylvania side, families in North Philadelphia are the most burdened by rent and mortgages. Half of residents pay at least 30 percent of their income on housing. And the median income for that area is well below the poverty line: $21,630 for a family of four, according to U.S. Census data. If I run out of food I cant do nothing about it because I have to pay my rent, Luz Valle, a mother of hour, said. Across the region, stagnant incomes are largely to blame for housing insecurity not gentrification. The 2018 State of the City report by Pew Charitable Trusts determined that while more jobs have been added in Philadelphia, that has not necessarily corresponded to higher wages. Nearly 45 percent of households still earn $35,000 or less annually, according to the report. And the poverty rate, as a whole, stood stagnant at 26 percent, more than double the national average. When youre spending 40 [or more] percent of your income on housing on any given day, you have to make a decision, Ira Goldstein of the Reinvestment Fund said. Those are the kinds of decisions Deal has to make constantly. Neighboring Mount Laurel, New Jersey, could present a possible solution. The Ethel Lawrence Homes is the states first suburban affordable housing community aimed at helping low-income residents. The development offers one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units for families earning between $8,150 to $48,900 for a family of four. Ethel Lawrence Homes even inspired a legal term in New Jersey. The so-called Mount Laurel doctrine requires communities to offer housing that reflects the full spectrum of incomes. This isnt a question of Can we solve this problem? We know how to do it, Kevin Walsh of the Fair Share Housing Center said. They can have the million dollar mansions if they want them. But they also have to make sure that theres more homes for people that are newlyweds, for people that are single mothers. An off-duty New Jersey state police trooper has been killed in a crash in Pennsylvania. Authorities say 30-year-old Brian McNally, of Bedminster, was alone in a vehicle that was eastbound on Interstate 78 in Greenwich, Berks County when the crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. Sunday. As he approached slowing traffic near a construction zone, authorities say McNally moved from the left lane into the right before rear-ending a tractor-trailer. His vehicle and the rear of the trailer caught fire, and McNally was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later. The truck driver was treated at a hospital for minor injuries. Authorities say McNally served in the Marine Corps reserve and was on his way home from weekend duty. He was stationed at the state police's Washington barracks in Warren County. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ordered flags in the state to be flown at half-staff in McNally's memory. Jose Ivan Nunez Martinez and his American husband, Paul Frame, thought they were walking into a routine green card interview in January. Instead, the 37-year-old Nunez Martinez, who was born in Michoacan, Mexico, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Nearly four months later, the pair is still fighting for Nunez Martinez's release. He has been detained at York County Prison without a bond hearing since Jan. 31. On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia law firm DLA Piper LLP filed a legal complaint on behalf of the couple, calling for an end to Nunez Martinezs detention. I am very worried for his well-being, Frame said. The level of anxiety and sadness that I feel when I think about him at the detention center or when I visit him is unreal. The couple first met in August 2014. Nunez Martinez had already been living in the United States for more than a decade working as a mechanic and janitor. Two years after meeting, Frame and Nunez Martinez got married. The freedom to do so was one of the driving factors behind his decision to emigrate from Mexico. Nunez Martinezs friend, also a gay man, was killed in 2001. That same year, Nunez Martinez fled to the border and only traveled back once in 2010 when his mother became ill. When he attempted to return, Nunez Martinez received an expedited removal order and was sent back to Mexico. He re-entered a few months later and ICE reinstated his prior order of expedited removal. Nunez Martinez was apprehended during a mandatory interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency responsible for processing immigration and naturalization applications. Frame had already submitted a petition to make his husband a legal citizen, a fairly routine procedure that thousands of couples undergo after a foreign national marries an American citizen. But before Nunez Martinezs case was heard, ICE arrested him. When an individual has been ordered removed and is encountered by ICE, ICE reactivates the prior order, Audrey Allen, one of the lawyers working on the case, told NBC News in February. Allen added that the only relief available to him would be a Withholding of Removal claim, which is similar to an asylum claim. The couple believes they have a valid claim to keep Nunez Martinez in the U.S. Not only are they already married, but Nunez Martinez fears for his life if he were to return to Mexico. He thought he would be safer here in the U.S., Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said. His detention is cruel and unjust, and it discourages people who have a legal path to staying here from pursuing it. Meanwhile, 49 foreign nationals were arrested in Philadelphia area in the past week, according to ICE. They include people from Jamaica, Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. A pregnant woman and her father were shot in Philadelphia on her wedding day during a confrontation with her new husband's ex-wife and two other men, police say. The 23-year-old woman, who is about 5 months pregnant with twins, posted on her Facebook that she was getting married to the father of her unborn children, according to investigators. When her husband's ex wife saw the post however, she showed up to the house of the victim's 74-year-old father Sunday around 10:30 p.m. with two other men, looking for a fight, police said. Investigators believe the two men who were with the ex pulled out weapons, prompting the victim's father, identified as Fredrick Waring, to jump into action. "I seen Mr. Fred come down with his daughter," one witness said. "He said nobody is gonna mess with his daughter and I don't blame him. No one messes with my daughter." Neighbors told NBC10 Waring jumped in front of his pregnant daughter as the two men fired at least 18 shots from two separate semiautomatic weapons. "The father came forward for his daughter as any father would do," Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker said. "Unfortunately he took the brunt of the injuries." Waring was shot in the arm, knee, buttocks and lower abdomen while his daughter was shot in the thigh and hip. The two were driven to a hospital in a private car and remained there Monday. The woman is in stable condition while her father is critical. Police are currently searching for the two men. They also want the ex-wife of the victim's husband to come forward for questioning. "If she doesn't, it's gonna make it harder on her," Lt. Walker said. "So she needs to come in and do the right thing and provide us with the information on what actually occurred here from start to finish." If you have any information on the shooting, please call Philadelphia Police. The White House is under criticism for issuing a coin commemorating the planned meeting between President Donald Trump and the North Korea leader, Kim Jong Un, just as the meeting seems in doubt with even Trump suggesting it might be delayed. North Korea has threatened to walk away from the June 12 meeting in Singapore over fears that it will be forced to give up its nuclear arsenal without receiving significant concessions in return. Last week it canceled high-level talks with South Korea amid military exercises involving the United States, a surprise move that came just hours before the talks were to take place. North Korea claimed the joint exercises were a rehearsal for an invasion. Trump told reporters Tuesday that the summit might not take place on schedule. You never really know, he said. It may not work out for June 12. .@realDonaldTrump says theres a substantial chance the summit with North Korea will not happen in June pic.twitter.com/ETDzBhfKb9 Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) May 22, 2018 Trump was meeting with South Koreas president, Moon Jae-in, on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming summit. A national security adviser to Moon had earlier downplayed suggestions that Trump had become nervous about meeting with Kim and said the summit was 99.9 percent done deal, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Meanwhile the U.S. Senate minority leader, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, chided the White House over including Kims face on the coin. I urge the White House to take Kim off the coin, the New York Democrat tweeted. Challenge coins are a time honored tradition and certainly appropriate in this situation, but Kim Jong Uns face has no place on this coin. He is a brutal dictator and something like the Peace House would be much more appropriate. The coins, dated 2018, show profiles of Trump and "Supreme Leader" Kim facing each other, with the two leaders' names, their countries and the words, Peace Talks. The Peace House, which is within the demilitarized zone on the border between the two Koreas, is where Trump originally suggested he meet Kim. The White Houses principal deputy press secretary, Raj Shah, responded that since 2003, members of the White House Communications Agency have ordered a limited number of commercially designed and manufactured souvenir travel coins for purchase. These coins are designed, manufactured and made by an American coin manufacturer, Shah said in his statement. These souvenir coins are only ordered after a trip has been publicly announced. The White House did not have any input into the design and manufacture of the coin. The White House Communications Agency is a military unit that provides communications support for the president and his staff. 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. A man is under police investigation after the News4 I-Team captured video of him selling Metropolitan Police Department visitor parking permits in D.C. The footage gathered by the I-Team showed the man selling the passes for $30 each, including in a congested residential neighborhood along 10th Street NW, north of the Washington DC Convention Center. The parking permits are issued by the police department and distributed to homeowners free-of-charge at police stations. They cannot be sold or traded for cash and must only be used by visitors to homes, according to D.C. regulation. It's a great concern that someone would be profiting on a system that's in place to benefit the residents of the District of Columbia, said D.C. Police Cmdr. Leslie Parsons. Parsons said the agency reviewed the I-Team's findings, tracked down the suspected seller and intend to seek $300 fines against the man for each confirmed sale. The I-Team report included a months-long review of the parking along 10th Street and showed a series of drivers who displayed the visitor parking permits and appeared to walk to work at nearby construction sites or the Marriott Marquis hotel. Drivers interviewed by the I-Team said they did not purchase the parking tags. However, the footage gathered by the I-Team showed notes left by the suspected seller on some car windshields said he had their new passes. The visitor parking permits allow drivers to park their cars for days at a time on dozens of designated streets throughout the District. In an undercover operation, the I-Team sought to purchase a parking pass from the suspected seller. A producer contacted the suspected seller using the phone number seen on the posted notes along 10th Street. The suspected seller, who declined to share his name, instructed the producer to bring $30 to a location in northwest D.C. I-Team cameras captured the exchange of cash and parking pass. The parking permit provided to the producer was later deemed to be an authentic D.C. parking permit secured by the suspected seller at the 3rd District police station. The I-Team never displayed the permit in a vehicle. Moments after making the purchase, the I-Team confronted the suspected seller to ask about his transactions. He denied making the sale or any others. If Im doing anything wrong, then you just come at me," he said. "That's all I can say. I'm not doing anything wrong. Neighbor Pam Chisholm told the I-Team she has suspected parking permits have long been abused on her street near the Marriott Marquis. I think they're being mishandled and sold to other people so they can park and not having to worry about getting a ticket for residential parking, Chisholm said. The I-Team monitored the parking in Chisholms neighborhood regularly over several weeks and approached uniformed construction or hotel employees to ask about their visitor parking permits. Though all denied purchasing the visitor parking permits, each acknowledged using them for easier access to their jobs and work sites, saying a family member or friend obtained the passes for them. D.C. police said they were able to quickly identify the suspected seller after watching the images captured by the I-Team. It is a violation of D.C. regulations," Parsons said. "It is a citation that carries a $300 fine. We have identified that suspect and he will be cited for his actions." Reported by Scott MacFarlane, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited Steve Jones. The man found fatally wounded inside a Jeep in Burtonsville, Maryland, Monday night has been identified as a Rockville man who was working as a pizza delivery driver at the time. Montgomery County Police are searching for a suspect in the death of Francesco Michael Digiovanni, 45. Detectives are investigating the case as a homicide. Neighbors in the area of Aldora Circle heard shots just after 11 p.m. Monday. The victim had just delivered a pizza for Domino's and managed to drive for a couple of blocks after he was shot. Digiovanni was found slumped over the steering wheel of his Jeep on Ballinger Drive at Autumn Glen Circle. First responders attempted life-saving measures but the victim died at the scene. "It's tragic," said Ed Traecy, who owns the Burtonsville Domino's franchise. "I'm having a hard time understanding why." The Domino's stayed closed Tuesday. The scene is just a block away from where a couple was shot to death inside their car three months ago. Gregory Terrell Jones, 24, of Martinsville, West Virginia, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Ashley Dickinson, 34, and Joshua Frazier, 29. Another suspect in the murders, Jones' 25-year-old cousin Tyshon Jones, was shot and killed by police in February, police said. Anyone with information about Monday's shooting is asked to call police at 240-773-5070. 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 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. Joseph Kekedi, an orchid grower who lives and works about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from where lava dropped into the sea, said the flow luckily did not head toward him. At one point, it was about a mile (asterisk)1.6 kilometers) upslope from his property in the coastal community of Kapoho. Residents can only stay informed and be ready to get out of the way, he said. "Here's nature reminding us again who's boss," Kekedi said. Scientists said the steam clouds at the spots where lava entered the ocean were laced with hydrochloric acid and fine glass particles that can irritate skin and eyes and cause breathing problems. The lava haze called "laze" from the plume spread as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of where the lava met the ocean on the Big Island's southern coast. It was just offshore and running parallel to the coast, said U.S. Geological Survey scientist Wendy Stovall. 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." 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 did not pose a threat to homes and hoped it would stay that way. On Saturday, the eruption claimed its first major injury when a man was struck in the leg by a flying piece of lava. David Mace, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency who was helping Hawaii County respond to the disaster, did not have further details about the man's injuries or his condition. 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. 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. Early Monday, a small eruption occurred at the Kilauea summit, producing an ash plume that reached about 7,000 feet (2,134 meters). Officials said wind carried the ash plume to the southwest, toward the communities of Wood Valley, Pahala, Naalehu and Waiohinu. Hawaii officials say lava from Kilauea later entered the property of a geothermal plant on the Big Island. Hawaii County spokeswoman Janet Snyder says the lava stalled behind a berm on the property boundary. She says it's 300 yards (274 meters) from the nearest geothermal well pad and hasn't moved. The plant harnesses energy from the volcano for electricity. Underground wells bring up steam and hot liquid, and the steam feeds a turbine generator. Plant workers as a precaution earlier this month removed 50,000 gallons (190,000 liters) of a flammable gas stored at the site. Scientists have said they do not 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 (274 meters) per hour. Hawaii tourism officials have stressed that most of the Big Island remains unaffected by the eruption and is open for business. Associated Press journalists Jae C. Hong and Marco Garcia contributed to this report. Three men allegedly decided to steal and drag a full-sized shed down a Maine road, but they didn't get too far. Maine State Police said they arrested the men Matthew Thompson of Lebanon, Maine; Timothy James of Pembroke, New Hampshire; and Robert Breton on Milton, New Hampshire on Sunday after troopers received a call about a shed that had been stolen from a foreclosed property on Pork Street in Lebanon. When troopers arrived at the scene on nearby Heath Road, they found a 25-foot shed being dragged by a pickup truck blocking half of the street. An investigation revealed that Thompson, James and Breton were stealing the shed. Troopers also found that Thompson had crystal meth and prescription pills, for which he did not have a prescription. All three were charged with theft, reckless conduct and criminal mischief. Thompson was also charged with two counts of unlawful possession in connection with the drugs. The trio was taken to York County Jail, where they were held on $5,000 bail. It's unclear if they have attorneys. A man from Vermonts Northeast Kingdom is behind bars, after being accused of beating a man with a pipe over money, then leaving him to die in a burning house. Allen Draper, 30, of St. Johnsbury, pled not guilty Tuesday to the accusations against him. The murder investigation was sparked last week by the discovery of a dead body in the debris left by a raging house fire on Crepeault Hill Road. Vermont State Police said a large team of investigators and dogged detective work led them to Draper, who walked into court Tuesday with crutches because of a physical disability. A defense attorney entered not guilty pleas on murder and arson charges that could bring life sentences if Draper is convicted. The suspect is accused of clubbing 52-year-old homeowner Tim Persons with a radiator pipe, because Persons wouldnt give him money for drugs. Draper allegedly then doused old rags in fuel to torch the property, leaving Persons dying inside. Investigators believe the victims volunteer work with a halfway house for men with substance abuse disorders is how the suspect knew about Persons and his home-based carpentry business. We ran into a lot of hurdles in this one, said Vermont State Police Capt. Dan Trudeau, describing the complexity of the investigation. In a police affidavit, detectives said Draper tried telling multiple stories and blaming other people, but eventually confessed. Detectives are still stitching together the timeline, Trudeau said, so anyone with potentially helpful information is asked to call the barracks in St. Johnsbury. Tim was a very giving personalways with a big smile, said Pastor Clifton Bullock of Union Baptist Church in Waterford, where Persons worshipped. Bullock remembered Persons as a man of deep faith whod always go out of his way to help others. We know that hes with the Lord, and thats the thing that gives us hope through this process of grieving, Bullock told necn. But we are very much hurt by everything thats taken place. There was no comment from relatives of Tim Persons after the arraignment Tuesday. Allen Draper is currently jailed without bail, at least until his next court hearing. A school district in Vermont will be closed on Tuesday after authorities say a student made a verbal threat. Police in Randolph said a parent notified them at about 11 p.m. Monday after their child said another student said they were going to "shoot up the school tomorrow." Investigators arranged to speak with the parent and student at the police station and determined that the statement was made during an altercation between two middle school students. Police notified Randolph Superintendent Layne Millington and other school staff of the potential threat. Due to the nature of the statement, officials made the decision to close all schools in the district for Tuesday. "At this time we do not believe any action will take place, but out of an abundance of caution the schools will remain closed and locked until Wednesday, May 23rd," police said in a statement. Authorities said the person of interest, a juvenile, is known and a threat assessment is being conducted. The investigation is ongoing. A baboon on his way to a South Texas wildlife sanctuary escaped his crate and kept officers busy for two hours at San Antonio International Airport. Officers shot the baboon named Dawkins with a tranquilizer dart. The ape got loose Monday afternoon shortly after arriving on an American Airlines flight from Chicago. The flight had originated in Boston. Airport spokesman Rich Stinson says officers managed to corner Dawkins in a baggage handling area outside the terminal. Stinson says the baboon never came close to travelers and was confined the whole time to a secure baggage area. Dawkins was being transported from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, to the Born Free USA sanctuary near Cotulla, Texas. A spokesman from Brown told WJAR-TV "the University's animal care professionals actively seek homes for non-human primates who are retired from research protocols." A family atmosphere with free drinks and cakes once again awaits lonely people in Kings Lynn as the Welcome Inn reopens its doors. A family atmosphere with free drinks and cakes once again awaits lonely people in Kings Lynn as the Welcome Inn reopens its doors. Do we really understand who Jesus is? Nigel Fox asks if we have an adequate view of Jesus as He is, and challenges some of our pre-conceptions. Read more Norwich audience hears plea to politicians after Covid 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. Read more 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 Defendants plead guilty to stealing 519 from victim's bank account A MAN and a woman pleaded guilty to stealing money from a man who lay dying in hospital. Sonja Chivers, 47, of Copnor Close, Woolton Hill, and Morris Chistopher Feane, 53, of Foxs Lane, Penwood, were in the dock at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on Monday. They had each previously denied two counts of theft by writing cheques using Ronald Thompsons chequebook when he was in hospital, but changed their plea to guilty minutes before the trial was due to start. James Burnham, prosecuting, said: They [the defendants] have had advice from counsel today and have done the right thing, but had they had advice sooner they would have done the right thing sooner. Mr Thompson, 80, was taken into hospital on December 10 last year with a urinary infection. He died on February 21 from organ failure. Mr Burnham said: While he was in hospital, the defendants had access to his house with a key. They wrote a total of four cheques two each in their names. The gentleman was in hospital pretty well unable to communicate successfully with the family, and not in a position to deal with and protect his financial affairs whilst in hospital. Mrs Chivers cashed cheques to a total of 214 and Mr Feane to a total of 305. In total, 519 was stolen from Mr Thompsons account. Mr Burnham added: The bank have not helped matters. They closed the deceaseds account without the money being placed back into the account. The presiding magistrate said: There was a certain degree of planning involved and some degree of trust. They knew the victim and had access to the property. It was somewhat opportunistic. Margaret Nesbitt, Mr Thompsons niece, said after the hearing: This has been devastating. We were gutted when we found out. My mum [Mr Thompsons sister] couldnt believe someone who had helped him would do that. She [Mrs Chivers] lived next to my uncle and he trusted her. He gave her a key. He obviously left his cheque book in the house with his bank card. I think they saw an opportunity. It was staring them in the face and they took it. I dont think he knew what they had done before he died. Mrs Nesbitt added: Its not about the money, its the principle. Both Mrs Chivers and Mr Feane were given a community order and must carry out 90 hours unpaid work each. Additionally, Mrs Chivers must pay 214 compensation and 50 court costs and Mr Feane was fined 305 compensation with 50 court costs. Teams searching for 35-year-old, who was last seen on Sunday CONCERN is growing for a veteran from the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment who has now been missing for more than 48 hours. Daniel Johnston, 35, was last seen on the morning of Sunday, May 20, while staying with family in Macklin Road, Bognor Regis. Mr Johnston, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment known as the Tigers told his mother he was going out but did not return and has not made contact with friends or family since. Teams are searching for him in the Winchester area, but fear he could be in West Berkshire or beyond. Matthew Rugman, chairman of the PWRR Associations Southern Branch, said: "The regiment is concerned about him. "Weve got people out looking for him on the South Downs, from Petersfield across to Winchester were just trying to make sure he is okay. We are putting things in place to care for the veteran community." On its official Facebook account, the Tigers said Mr Johnston was "in a bad way and needs help and support". Its appeal has been shared more than 5,400 times. Mr Johnson is white, 6ft tall, of medium build and with very short shaven hair. Thought Leaders Chi-En Lin Metrohm Young Chemist of the Year Award PhD Candidate, Arizona State University An interview with Chi-En Lin Metrohm Young Chemist of the Year, conducted by Alina Shrourou and James Ives Please give a brief overview of how we currently diagnose and manage complex diseases and their comorbidities. Why is there a pressing need for advancements in this field? Optical methods, such as ELISA, are considered state of the art. These analyze samples with fluorescent or other signaling labels and yield accurate detection, but the preparation is expensive and complicated, they require trained personnel and hi-tech instruments. In order to achieve point of care testing for personalized medicine, bio assays need to be able to detect biomarkers at a much faster, cheaper rate without sacrificing accuracy. Chi-En Lin 2018 Metrohm USA Young Chemist Winner Play Chi-En Lin 2018 Metrohm USA Young Chemist Winner. Chi-En Lin won Metrohms Young Chemist of the Year award for his research into optimal biomarker frequencies, not just the novelty of the research but how it can be applied. Determining optimal biomarker frequencies for multimarker biosensors has wide ranging uses from rapid cancer screening methodologies, dry diagnostics, providing personalized medicine and helping to detect comorbidities before they become a problem. What is the current gold standard for the development of biomarkers? What are the limits of the current state of the art methods? The current gold standard assays, besides optical methods like ELISA, include magnetic ones such as magnetic nanotags and beads, and Raman spectroscopy which has recently proved very popular. These all provide different advantages in terms of detection limits or modalities but they all share limitations on labelling and complicated sample preparation. Raman spectroscopy is good as it can achieve label free detection but its still an expensive piece of equipment. Ideally you want to achieve something similar to a blood glucose meter; easy to produce and very cheap. The test strips used to perform the test are less than one dollar per test strip, usually around five to ten cents. None of these technologies have the capability to reach down to that scale yet, however electrochemical methods of biomarker detection are much closer to reaching this level than other technologies. Please give a brief overview of your research that lead you to being named the Metrohm Young Chemist Award winner. I work in a highly interdisciplinary lab with Dr. Jeffrey La Belle, comprising of three core- subject areas: biosensors, wearable technologies and advanced manufacturing. When I first joined I managed around eight different projects, and while I learned a lot, it wasnt particularly focused. Dr La Belle has trained me to think about how to utilize the common themes among these projects as stepping stones to help me wade across the river and achieve a larger goal. We had a theory about the optimal frequency of a biomarker, which helps you achieve either a single biomarker detection or a multiple marker detection. I started to grasp this idea and use these projects to develop single or multimarker sensors for certain diseases. I learned what the commonalities and differences are that constitute this optimal frequency and figured out how to exploit these to achieve a better, more sensitive multimarker sensing platform. The award wasnt just for the scientific novelty, but that we created applications that can be applied to all kinds of diseases with a focus on commercial ability. Many of our collaborators are industry partners and we design and develop their second-generation products. We also work with doctors to get their inputs during the design process. How are the electrochemical biosensors produced and customized for complex diseases? We typically start with a gold electrode to get an idea of how this antibody or this biomarker will behave. Once we get an idea of the reagents were working with, we transition toward screen printed electrodes, either gold or carbon. Depending on the material, we then alter its surface chemistry to achieve good surface coverage and immobilization before trying to characterize and go through a series of designed experiments to find the optimal frequency of this biomarker, then we optimize the surface coating to ensure robustness against interfering species. Eventually we have our disposable test strips for this specific biomarker. The multimarker part requires a lot more work, because our multimarker approach is actually not a sensor array. In a sensor array you have different working electrodes and each working electrode has a different molecular recognition element. Our method involves immobilizing different analytes on the same working electrode. We focus on finding the optimal frequency of a specific biomarker, and once we find say two of them, we put both biomarkers on the same surface and monitor them just by looking at the optimal frequencies. What is electrochemical impedance spectroscopy? How can it be used to create sensitive and rapid biosensors? Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) inputs a sinusoidal signal which consists of a very broad frequency range of one milli hertz to 100,000 hertz. Some of the machines can go up to one megahertz. When these sinusoidal waves interact with the biomolecules, antibodies or antigens, we can measure the impedance change, the capacitance change and the frequencies. There is a recognized concept of an optimal frequency, which represents the molecular frequency of interactions between the molecular recognition element and the protein of interest. Once you find the optimal frequency, the impedance signals generated from that specific frequency can then be used to accurately detect the biomarker. By finding that frequency there's also an advantage in terms of shortening the assay time as you only need to search for a small frequency range, rather than the entire spectrum of one milli hertz to one megahertz. That would also drastically shorten the assay time. How do electrochemical biosensors differ from traditional means of detecting biomarkers (i.e. ELISA)? How can they be used to for the diagnosis of complex diseases and comorbidities? I would say the biggest difference would come from the labeling approach. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy features a label free option, meaning you don't have to mess with your sample. You can produce your test strip, then just place the samples on the test strip and let it run, which is very different from ELISA in terms of simple preparation. Another difference is the cost of the meter. ELISA requires very bulky, sophisticated and expensive instruments, whereas the EIS is very capable of developing miniaturized meters, just like blood glucose meters. We have been working on the EIS portable meters and we find that they are very easy to control, and it is easy to produce a meter cheaper than an iPhone. This, together with the low cost of under a dollar per test strip, will help to achieve personalized biomarker detection in healthcare. What advantages are there to multimarker platforms of electrochemical biosensors over single biomarker monitoring? What effect will these multimarker platforms have on the evaluation of complex disease states? Complex diseases often come with a lot of comorbidities, usually chronic diseases, that occur simultaneously. By the time we detect these chronic diseases its usually too late, so having a method for early diagnosis is very important. One reason for the late detection, is that from a patients perspective, unless they have a medical emergency or symptoms that drive them to see a healthcare professional, they probably wont spend hours in a hospital and wait weeks for test results. If we have a multiplexed biosensor that is easy to administer, can be performed in a primary care setting and doesnt take too long to produce results, we hope to increase screening rates and in that regard we could get a much more comprehensive view of the state of the disease than with a single marker. We can enhance that with the rapid multimarker bio assays. In the future, patients may be able to visit their doctor's office, have multimarker tests performed by a nurse and by the time theyre sitting with a doctor, the results would already be available. This would avoid lengthy hospital visits and contribute to a major increase in the efficiency of the healthcare. What are the limitations of multimarker platforms using electrochemical biosensors? Every biomarker is quite different. Some biomarkers are very highly concentrated in the body, some are very low, and some of the antibody antigen binding interactions take much longer, for example. To design a specific biosensor to take into account all these factors is very time consuming. In theory it's doable but in reality, every biomarker would involve a significant amount of work, so we will need sufficient resources to develop them. What does the future hold for your research? Right now, we are working with start-up companies to develop their second-generation products, for example, dry eye diagnostics and rapid cancer screening methodologies. Being able to see these go from development to reality is a very good achievement. For example, with cancer if rapid screening can become available or at least a convenient means for people to test whenever or not they have these biomarkers, will provide people with reassurance and comfort while also catching these diseases early enough that treatment is effective. Those are all the things that I'd really love to see come to fruition. Career-wise, I hope that this sensor platform can work towards personalized medicine, whether through start-up companies or using my expertise with big companies to further enhance their products. Regardless of which route is taken, hopefully we can all converge towards personalized medicine through increasing efficiency of healthcare. About Chi-En Lin Chi-En is a Ph.D. candidate at Arizona State University where he works under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey T. La Belle, Assistant Professor at the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering. Chi-En Lin was the 2018 recipient of the Metrohm Young Chemist Award. 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 anesthetics - all with different mechanisms of action - is 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. 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." At least nine individuals have died due to the deadly Nipah virus in Kerala, India. Over 25 have been infected with this virus in the outbreak say official sources. Nipah virus is a deadly virus that spread rapidly among populations and has a death rate of between 40 to 75 percent infected individuals in previous outbreaks. Nipah is a newly emerged deadly virus that is typically hosted naturally by fruit bats and there is at present no cure or vaccine against this infection. In the latest news at least nine persons in southern part of India have died due to this virus infection. This virus is known to jump hosts from fruit bats to other species such as humans. It is a major killer among the infected as there is no known cure for this infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) lists Nipah virus as a urgent research priority along with SARS and Ebola because of its potential to spread rapidly globally causing a pandemic. Among the nine killed in Kozhikode, Kerala, three have been confirmed to be due to Nipah. Six other cases of deaths are still under investigation. There are 25 other patients with suspected Nipah virus infection who have been admitted to hospitals. Nipah virus was first identified in Malaysia in 1998 when it infected 265 people. The infection led to brain inflammation or encephalitis and led to deaths in 40 percent of the infected (105 died during that outbreak). The infection was seen among contacts of the sick persons as well as those who came in contact with pigs. Since then there have been smaller outbreaks in India and in Bangladesh. The fatality rate has since then risen to 75 percent. While initially the hosts were identified to be pigs, fruit bats too were found to harbor the virus. Infections came into humans who drank saps of date palms that had be contaminated by the infected fruit bats, researchers found. The recent outbreak was caused due to consumption of mangoes bitten by infected fruit bats. These mangoes killed three persons from the same family. Fruit Bats. Image Credit: Jeffrey Paul Wade / Shutterstock Initial symptoms of the infection include headache and fever which is followed by confusion and drowsiness. There may also be flu like symptoms in some patients. Within a day or two, some of the patients might deteriorate enough to lapse into a coma. Survivors of the infection may also have problems including personality changes and convulsions or seizures. Months or years after exposure, the virus may be reactivated and may lead to illness or even death. The infection is spread commonly via the saliva of the infected person. At present the health officials are working to contain the infection and prevent its spread. They are trying to identify suspected cases and their contacts. Keralas health secretary Rajeev Sadanandan in his statement has said that one of the nurses treating the Nipah virus victims has succumbed to the infection. He said that the team has sent blood and body fluid samples from the suspected cases to National Institute of Virology in Pune, Maharashtra, India, for confirmation. A team from Indias National Centre for Disease Control is also at the coastal region of Kerala and Indias health minister, J.P. Nadda said in a statement that the situation is being closely monitored. How can we detect cancer and viruses with high sensitivity? Physical chemist Laura Fabris-;an associate professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and principal investigator of the Fabris NanoBio Group-;is addressing this very question. Her research focuses on the synthesis, functionalization, characterization, and application of tiny metallic nanoparticles. These "plasmonic" nanoparticles greatly enhance the intensity of the signals produced by a surface-sensitive technique for detecting molecules. Fabris and her research group use the transmission electron microscopes at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)-;a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory-;to visualize the nanoparticles and understand how to improve their morphology to improve clinical diagnoses. Plasmonics is the study of how free electrons at the surface of a material are excited by light to have collective charge oscillations. What are plasmonic nanoparticles, and why are they of interest in biomedicine? Traditionally, plasmonic nanoparticles are small metal particles that absorb light at different wavelengths depending on their properties-;for example, gold absorbs light at 520 nanometers and silver at 400 nanometers-;and amplify this light like a lens or concentrator does. Their strong interaction with light occurs because the electrons on the surface oscillate coherently with the light hitting them, in response generating an electric field that is locally much more intense than the original. This intense field can be taken advantage of downstream to increase the detection limit in a chemical analysis technique called Raman spectroscopy, which is used to identify the presence of biomolecules. My group focuses on understanding how the light-matter interactions change with the composition, shape, and size of the nanoparticles. For example, when electromagnetic fields interact with these metal nanoparticles, there is a high localization of the electric field in places with lots of curvature (corners, edges, tips). So if you can generate particles with lots of spiky regions, then there will be many areas-;"hot spots"-;where the electric field is enhanced. The electric field can be amplified anywhere from 1000 to 10,000 times, and this amplification is reflected downstream when we measure the intensity of the Raman signals. When molecules of interest are placed near the surface of these hot spots, the Raman signals can be enhanced by 10 or 11 orders of magnitude. This enhancement is sufficient for detecting single molecules. My group has synthesized gold nanostars-;spherical cores with many spiky tips like a sea urchin-;for this very reason. A lot of discovery science in the growth of nanoparticles is often done with gold because it is much more stable as compared to some other metals. Silver and aluminum oxidize very readily, and copper does not absorb light as intensely and its shape is harder to tune. In terms of applications, gold is of interest because it is not cytotoxic-;we can use it in cells without killing them. How does Raman spectroscopy work? What information does it provide, and why does the detection limit need to be increased? Raman spectroscopy is a technique used to measure molecular vibrations, providing a fingerprint of chemical bonds that are present in molecules. In this technique, light from a laser beam is directed at a sample. After molecules absorb this radiation, they are excited to a very short-lived, highly excited state. When the molecules relax to a lower energy level, they emit (scatter) light, which is collected by a detector that records the intensity. Any change in energy between the incident and scattered light is associated with specific molecular vibrations. Because each molecule has a unique vibration frequency, Raman scattering can be used to determine a material's chemical composition and crystal structure. This technique, which has been around for more than 100 years, works great for high concentrations of materials but it does not have the sensitivity to detect materials at low concentrations. For example, the concentration of proteins and other biomarkers in our body are too low for detection by regular Raman scattering. But in 1977, scientists understood that if a molecule of interest happens to be in close proximity to plasmonic nanoparticles, then the intensity of the Raman signal gets amplified. This phenomenon is due to the enhanced scattered electric field that results when the nanoparticles interact with the electromagnetic radiation from the laser. Molecules adsorbed onto the surfaces of plasmonic structures experience this strongly enhanced field, and the end effect is that the Raman scattering signal obtained from these adsorbed molecules is a lot more intense. This technique is called surface-enhanced Raman scattering, or SERS. How are you applying SERS in your research? My group is looking for ways to monitor biologically relevant events that could not be monitored in other ways. One area we are interested in applying SERS to is oncology, to identify and image individual cancer cells and understand how they change as the disease progresses or in response to treatment. MRI [magnetic resonance imaging], a commonly used tool in cancer diagnosis, has a resolution limit of one millimeter. Thousands of cells exist in a cubic millimeter. We need to be able to see individual cancer cells to catch the disease before its growth becomes uncontrollable. SERS is ideally suited for this task because it is very concentration-sensitive and space-resolution sensitive. My group has developed SERS tags-;a nanoparticle or nanoparticle assembly that is made of gold (so we can put it in cells), has a specific shape to ensure the field (and thus Raman signal) is enhanced a lot, and carries molecules that uniquely recognize cancer cells. When a cell is diseased, it has a high number of proteins in its membrane that are typical of cancer. On the Raman-active nanoparticles, we put antibodies or small peptides that recognize these proteins. Then, when the nanoparticles are added to a cell culture or the bloodstream, they specifically stick to these proteins. If we know the nanoparticle goes to a specific cell that we want to image and see that the enhanced Raman signal is coming from the same place where the cell is, we indirectly know that cell is cancerous. This approach has been picking up in the last few years by various groups, including those at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. I am currently working with Dr. Isaac Kim, an oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute, who provides tissues from his prostate cancer patients. Having access to these tissues will help us better design nanoparticles to specifically target those cancer cells and correlate the information that the nanoparticles give us to disease progression. The Fabris NanoBio Group consists of chemists, materials scientists, physicists, biomedical engineers, and electrical engineers who are developing new imaging tools to understand how cells evolve as a result of disease progression or treatment. This video explains how the group uses gold nanoparticles and surface-enhanced Raman scattering to assess the health of a single cell. Credit: Rutgers University Watch Video Another area we are focusing on is virology-;how can we detect and monitor viral mutations at the single-cell level with the SERS tags? I am collaborating with researchers from NC State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Duke University, and Montana State University through a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to understand how the influenza virus penetrates a cell and under what conditions it is induced to mutate. The flu and viruses in general have many different strains and mutate extremely rapidly, making them moving targets. How do you plan to detect and monitor something that is always changing? The influenza virus has eight different segments. Each segment has one highly mutated region and two highly conserved regions that never mutate. With our particles, we are currently targeting the conserved regions to make sure that our tool can effectively identify the viral particles. Right now, it is impossible to recognize the presence of a virus in a single cell. As a result, the behavior of the virus is studied at a population level, and you lose all the details you need-;such as how the behavior of a single cell correlates to the number of copies of the virus that are penetrating the cell. Once we understand how the virus enters a single cell and under what conditions, we will eventually be able to detect mutations. Though we will not be able to pinpoint which mutations will occur, we will be able to quantify how many base mutations there are, for instance. This information would help virologists assess how many mutations have to occur before the virus does not respond to a vaccine. In essence, we are trying to understand how mutations affect the ecology of a virus. With this understanding, we can develop synthetic vaccines that alter this ecology. Think of a population of bees: If we disrupt the bee colony (ecology) by injecting a synthetic vaccine that masks itself as a worker bee by looking like a virus but lacking the infectious parts, it could be possible to disrupt the mechanisms of interaction to the point where the queen bee or entire colony ceases to function. We are one year into the four-year project. If the tags are successful in detecting and monitoring the flu at the single-cell level, they could eventually be applied to other viruses. One of the major goals in cancer research today is to reduce the toxicity of traditional therapies by eliminating cancerous cells while preserving healthy tissue. How do you synthesize and functionalize the SERS tags such that they not only go where they need to inside the human body but also survive the harsh conditions? I teach a class on this very topic. Delivery is currently very inefficient. Only three to five percent of nanoparticles injected into the bloodstream of an animal reach the position they are supposed to. The kidneys, liver, and spleen clear the rest. My duty as a nanomaterials chemist is to design particles that will resist this circulation and exist for 24 to 48 hours without undergoing changes in their properties. Here is where the discipline of bioconjugate chemistry comes into play-;how can we make particles more resistant to enzymatic breakdown and more effective at reaching specific tissues and delivering drugs to those tissues? A few years ago, my group had some initial promising results with gold nanoparticles. We found that when they absorb electromagnetic radiation, they not only increase the field around them but also heat up substantially. Tumor tissue needs to reach 32 to 47 degrees Celsius [89.6 to 116.6 degrees Fahrenheit] to die. So if these gold nanoparticles are able to reach the cancerous tissue, the heat that is concentrated around the particles will propagate to the tissue, killing the cancer cells. Even more interesting is that when we bind a molecule of doxorubicin-;a chemotherapy drug that slows or stops the growth of cancer cells-;to these gold nanoparticles, bring the molecule-nanoparticle conjugate to the tissue, and apply heat, cancer cells are killed much more effectively. There is a cooperative effect between the two therapies. This method (technically known as photothermal therapy) is the only FDA-approved one with metal nanoparticles. So far, it is being used to target skin cancer. The near-infrared light used in photothermal therapy cannot deeply penetrate beyond the skin's surface into tissues because it gets absorbed and scattered (though to a lesser extent than visible light, which is readily absorbed by water in the body). My group is playing with this wavelength range (800 nanometers and up). When making particles, we need to make sure they absorb radiation in that window. That way, when we deliver the particles to the tissue, the light is effectively absorbed by the nanoparticle tags to increase sensitivity. The nanostars I mentioned can be tuned to absorb this light very well. A question I used to get at a lot of conferences regarding the gold nanostars was "Won't the spikes poke the cell and the cell will die?" I told one of the students in my group that we needed to do a detailed study to put this question to rest. Our yearlong study addressed whether the surface chemistry (what molecules we put on the nanoparticles), shape, or size of the nanoparticles is toxic to cells, and if the particles are more toxic to cancerous or healthy cells. We also investigated mechanisms of toxicity. My student ran 96 cell cultures in parallel with human glioblastoma and human dermal fibroblast cell lines, and we found that the composition (surface chemistry) determines toxicity. Compared to nanospheres and nanorods, nanostars coated with PEG [poly(ethylene glycol)] were the least toxic and most biocompatible. Without the PEG coating, the particles clump up. PEG creates a buffer that makes the cell believe that the particle is ok for the body-;kind of like a camouflage because the cell does not recognize the particle. Upon exposure to the nanoparticles, healthy cells die through necrosis and cancer cells through forced apoptosis (cell suicide). We observed higher viabilities in the PEG-coated gold nanoparticles. This result may be because most of the nanoparticles are taken up by the cells in membrane-bound vesicles, limiting their interaction with organelles and the nucleus and thus reducing toxicity. How would the SERS tags detect a cancer like leukemia, in which cancer cells circulate throughout the bloodstream and are not localized in a tumor mass? We have to figure out how to concentrate those cells circulating in the bloodstream. Circulating tumor cells are an important problem in oncology. My group recently figured out a way to enrich samples of cells with aptamer-functionalized platforms. Aptamers are DNA or RNA strands that are designed to work just like antibodies. In the presence of a specific target, they fold in a particular conformation and electrostatically bind the target molecules. For instance, proteins have epitopes-;pockets with a high charge distribution at the surface-;and when aptamers fold, they fit into the pockets of these proteins like a lock and key. The idea is to flow cells over a glass microscope slide coated with aptamers that have an affinity for cancer biomarkers. Any cells containing those biomarkers should then stick to the slide. Currently, this process is not very effective; we expect to capture only 50 to 60 percent of those cells. Have you investigated how the nanostars or differently shaped nanoparticles could be applied to other applications beyond the biomedical ones? While I was doing my postdoc at UC Santa Barbara, the research group of Professor Bazan, for whom I was working for, focused on organic solar cells. This group demonstrated that if you add certain molecules to a polymer mixture, you modify the conformation and create preferential alignment of the polymer chain such that you improve charge carrier migration to two electrodes. The thought that elongated nanoparticles might be able to do the same always tickled me. When I became an independent investigator, I started collaborating with scientists at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio to understand the synthesis and growth of gold nanorods, and presented an idea: if we have elongated gold nanoparticles like nanorods, can we induce morphology changes in the polymer layer to create preferential pathways in solar cells? My hypothesis was that the plasmonic effect would not be as relevant as the morphology effect in gold nanoparticles. In testing this hypothesis, I found that morphology alone enhanced the efficiency of the solar cells by 30 percent because of the alignment. Recently, my group started studying how nanostars can be used in catalysis. When you excite these nanostars with near-infrared radiation, you generate hot electrons at the spikes. Photocatalytic experiments have shown that in nanostars capped with the catalyst titanium dioxide, the location of the hot spots at the tip of the spikes enables the transfer of hot electrons through the metal-semiconductor barrier, improving photoreduction reaction rates. To confidently use these nanostars in catalysis, sensing, or imaging, we need to be able to estimate the fundamental physical and optical properties of the particles with different diameters, spike lengths and densities, and material compositions. In 2017, I published a paper in collaboration with other Rutgers researchers and CFN electron microscopist Huolin Xin on this topic. In particular, we used high-resolution transmission electron microscopes at the CFN to produce three-dimensional images of the structure of the nanostars. We transferred the resulting data into modeling software to understand the electric field properties and predict important properties-;such as volume and surface area-;of the nanostars. I am very excited about this work because our method could be used to understand the structure-property relationships of nanoparticles of any shape and chemical composition. Several scientists have contacted me to thank me for the method, and I am so happy to know that I have helped others move along in their work. What equipment do you use at the CFN, and what is it like being a CFN user? We use fluorometers to determine the presence and concentration of molecules in our samples and transmission electron microscopes to image our nanoparticles and understand how to optimize their morphology for cellular localization. I have been a user at the CFN since I started at Rutgers in 2009, and coming to the CFN was one of the best decisions I have made. I had known about Brookhaven Lab prior to that time, but my colleagues at Rutgers told me that my research seemed to be spot on for the capabilities at the CFN. At the CFN, you not only get access to top-notch facilities but also to scientists who help you with your projects or collaborate with you. Now, I recommend the CFN to every new professor to Rutgers. Personalized or precision medicine is a buzzword nowadays. Do you see the SERS tags becoming part of personalized cancer detection and treatment? First, we need to do a lot more work in understanding the genome of an individual person. Then a comparison of the genomes between family members could reveal patterns or mutations correlated with a specific disease. Even if the mutations are present in low concentration, the idea is that the SERS tags would be able to pick them up. My group is now gearing up to detect specific biomarkers in blood. Another buzzword today is exosome: a vesicle secreted by most types of cells, including cancer cells, to remove waste. Exosomes contain information about the cell itself because they have the same membrane, and they are quite concentrated in the blood. Some proteins are packaged into exosomes. From a personalized medicine standpoint, exosomes could serve as diagnostic tools and biomarkers for disease. How did you get into science and extend yourself to so many different areas? I was never one of those kids who said I want to be a scientist when I grow up. I think I wanted to be a scientist all along but just did not know it. I have always been very curious about how things work, and when I was little, I begged my mom for a microscope but she never bought me one. At my science high school that I attended in Italy, I got interested in chemistry. I remember there was a chemistry Olympiad, and my teacher told me that he did not take girls for the competition but he would allow me to go. I ended up doing better than anyone else! I studied physical chemistry as an undergraduate at the University of Padova, where I pursued my PhD in chemical sciences. Then I wanted to see how research works in the United States. My plan was to stay for a year to do a postdoc, but here I am 12 years later! All of the things that I do now are what I like to do. I am a physical chemist by training but I have incorporated my early interest in biology into my research. The SERS tags are very much physics and biology, and part of the reason that I started investigating the use of SERS for early cancer detection is that my grandfather died of brain cancer. I have been working on SERS in the context of cancer for the past decade. I guess you could say I have reached the thermodynamic minimum of my passions! Nanoparticles have always been at the core of my research, but I like to bring my expertise to different areas and challenge myself. I am always looking for how I can apply the SERS technique to other fields and enjoy being challenged by problems outside my area of expertise. Some of my research is also the result of serendipity. For example, the reason I got involved with the virology project at DARPA is because I had initially contacted a program manager about using the tags to detect small differences in the production of proteins in people who experience disruptions in their circadian rhythms-;such as soldiers who are awake during the night. The manager told me that program was ending but there was a new program in virology. I went to proposal day and ended up finding four other investigators who became part of the team on the virology project that DARPA funded. This project represents the first time that SERS will be used in virology. I constantly seek opportunities to put myself out there because I want to show the scientific community that the technique can be applied to solve a broad range of problems. 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 bornprematurely," 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. Metrohm is one of the worlds most trusted manufacturers of high-precision instruments for chemical analysis. Metrohm was founded in 1943 by engineer Bertold Suhner in Herisau, Switzerland. Today, Metrohm is represented in 120 countries by subsidiaries and exclusive distributors. The global Metrohm Group also includes the Dutch companies Metrohm Applikon and Metrohm Autolab, manufacturers of online analyzers and instruments for electrochemical research, respectively. Recently, the Metrohm Group was joined by Metrohm Raman, a leading manufacturer of handheld Raman spectrometers. Metrohm is the global market leader in analytical instruments for titration. Instruments for ion chromatography, voltammetry, conductivity, and stability measurement make the Metrohm portfolio for ion analysis complete. Instruments for Near-infrared and Raman spectroscopy are another, strongly growing segment of the Metrohm portfolio. Metrohm is a problem solver, both in the laboratory and within the industrial process. To this end, the company offers their customers complete solutions, including dedicated analytical instrumentation as well as comprehensive application know-how. More than 30% of the companys employees at the Metrohm international headquarters in Herisau work in R&D. Metrohm has been owned 100% by the non-profit Metrohm Foundation since 1982. The Metrohm Foundation, which does not exert any influence on the companys business operations, sponsors gifted students in the natural sciences, supports charitable and philanthropic purposes and, above all, ensures the independence of the company. Hyundai has silently launched the facelifted 2018 Elite i20 premium hatchback with CVT automatic transmission in India for a starting price of Rs 7.04 lakh (ex-showroom). The CVT automatic transmission is available in 2 trims Asta and Magna. While the Magna is priced at Rs 7.04 lakh (ex-showroom), the Asta is priced at Rs 8.16 lakh. (Ex-showroom). Under the hood, the 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 facelift continues to have the 1.4-litre diesel engine that produces 89bhp and churns out 220Nm of torque. The 1.2-litre Kappa petrol engine comes paired with a CVT automatic gearbox option. However, the lower variants will continue to use a 5-speed manual gearbox. Also Watch: 2018 Hyundai Creta SUV Facelift With Sunroof and Smart Key Band - Detailed Image Gallery The new 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 gets a new revised Cascading grille and bumper design at the front. Although the headlamps on the new i20 are the same it gets reshaped fog lamps. At the rear, the car gets bigger tail lamps and redesigned tailgate. The new 2018 i20 also gets new alloy wheels and will be available in 6 options. Don't Forget to Subscribe to the 'Tech And Auto Show' YouTube Channel Inside the cabin, the new 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 gets a new 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Except, the new infotainment system everything inside the new 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 is similar to its current generation. In terms of safety, the 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 comes with 6 airbags, parking assist and auto door lock at high speed. Also Watch: Harley-Davidson University - Feature | Cars18 New York: The New York Stock Exchange for the first time in its 226-year history will be led by a woman. Stacey Cunningham, who started her career as a floor clerk on the NYSE trading floor, will become the 67th president of the Big Board. Cunningham, who is the chief operating officer for the NYSE Group, becomes president Friday. Current NYSE President Thomas Farley, is leaving to head a special purpose acquisition company. Cunningham became NYSE's chief operating officer in June 2015 and managed the company's cash equities markets, relationship management, product management, and NYSE governance services. Farley will take up a new role as the head of Far Point, a new special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, backed by Daniel Loeb's hedge-fund firm Third Point LLC, WSJ reported. Reuters reported earlier this month that Third Point was in talks with investment banks about launching a "blank check" company that would raise money in an initial public offering to pursue an acquisition. The new investment vehicle would be the first of its kind to be raised by an activist hedge fund such as Third Point. The historically male-dominated financial industry has grappled with its own issues tied to the #MeToo movement. Last month it was announced that the "Fearless Girl" statue, which has become a global symbol of female business prowess, will be moved from her spot staring down Wall Street's bronze "Charging Bull" to a new home facing the New York Stock Exchange. American Rapper Kanye West's Twitter account is a world of its own. West, who re-emerged last month on Twitter after a year-long absence that followed a purported mental breakdown found himself on the receiving end of criticism after backing President Donald Trump. And it was just the beginning. Earlier this month, West sparked fresh outrage on microblogging site when he called slavery "a choice." West's Twitter account is back in news again, fortunately for him, this time it is for his random tweet on spiritual leader Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi or "Amma". The rapper posted a photo of Amma accompanied with a caption "Amma Mata had given more than 32 million hugs". His earlier tweet read, "sometimes we all need hugs." Amma Mata had given over 32 million hugs pic.twitter.com/OBotiHWZUU KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 21, 2018 sometimes we all need hugs KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 21, 2018 Amma, which means mother, is famous for the "healing power" of her hugs. As per her own website, Amma has blessed over 34 million people with her hugs. Ammas hugs and kisses should not be considered ordinary. When Amma embraces or kisses someone, it is a process of purification and inner healing. Amma is transmitting a part of Her pure, vital energy into Her children. It also allows them to experience true, unconditional Love. When Amma holds someone it can help to awaken the dormant spiritual energy within them, which will eventually take them to the ultimate goal of Self-realization. Amma According to a report in BBC, Amma once hugged 40,000 people in the Malaysian city of Penang over a period of 20 hours without taking a break. New Delhi: A 26-year-old man allegedly killed his parents, after they denied him permission to marry a woman who he befriended on Facebook, in southeast Delhi's Jamia Nagar, the police said on Tuesday. Abdul Rehman, the only son of his parents, killed them to take possession of their property. He was in a relationship with a woman from Kanpur. They became friends on Facebook two years ago, the police said. Rehman's first marriage had ended in a divorce. Later, he became friends with the woman from Kanpur. In 2017, he married another woman, conceding to the wishes of his parents. However, his extra-marital affair continued. He would meet his Facebook friend regularly and even promised to marry her, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said. Rehman told his parents that he wanted to marry his Facebook friend, but they objected to it. The accused worked at a call centre, but he lost his job due to drug addiction. He hatched a conspiracy to kill his parents and roped in two acquaintances Nadeem Khan and Guddu, Biswal said. Rehman promised them Rs 2.5 lakh for the task. On the day of the incident, Rehman called Khan and Guddu to his residence. The trio attacked the couple while they were asleep. Guddu caught hold of Taslim Bano (50) and Khan grabbed Shamim Ahmed (55). Rehman smothered them to death using their bedsheet and blanket, the DCP said. The bodies were found on the first floor of the house on April 28. The autopsies were conducted at AIIMS. The post-mortem report said that they died of asphyxia due to smothering. Subsequently, a case was registered. During questioning on May 21, Rehman admitted to killing his parents. He and his accomplices were arrested later. Noida: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reached western UPs Kairana Lok Sabha area to campaign for the upcoming by-elections. While addressing a rally in Saharanpur district, the CM lashed out at his predecessor and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, alleging that his hands were stained with the blood of innocents who died in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. Yogi also took a dig at Tabassum Hassan, the Samajwadi Party leader who is contesting the Kairana bypoll on a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket. SP will give its candidates on rent to different parties but Akhilesh Yadav will not come here to talk to you people as his hands are stained in the blood of people who were killed in the Muzaffarnagar riots. Today, criminals are running and the government is chasing them. Anyone who misbehaves with our daughters and businessmen will face the government, Adityanath said. The CM claimed that the BJP has created a positive mahaul (atmosphere) in the country. We dont work for any one particular community but instead, take everyone along with us. We plan to give 11 lakh houses to the poor in India. Earlier, investors would never come to UP but we are changing that, he added. The polls for Kairana Lok Sabha seat and Noorpur Assembly Seat will be held on May 28 and the counting of votes will take place on May 31. The Kairana Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after the death of sitting BJP MP Hukum Singh in February. Jats and Gujjars are the two of the largest chunks of voters in Kairana. While BJP leaders are confident that Gujjar voters will stick with the party out of sympathy for deceased MP Hukum Singh, a Gujjar, the Jat voter could prove to be the kingmakers of Kairana. After losses in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls, BJP leaders dont want to leave any stone unturned in Kairana. In this constituency, Hukum Singhs daughter Mriganka will be up against the member of another prominent political family from western UP. Tabassum Hassan, mother of Samajwadi Party MLA Nahid Hassan, who had defeated Mriganka in the 2017 UP Assembly Elections from Kairana. Tabassum is the joint candidate of the opposition parties. The Noorpur Assembly seat in Bijnor district also fell vacant in February when sitting BJP MLA Lokendra Singh died in a car accident. Chennai: Protests against Vedanta's Sterlite copper unit in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi took a violent turn on Tuesday with at least 11 people being killed in alleged police firing. Thirty others were left injured as a mob of 20,000 people went on a rampage here demanding the copper unit be shut down because it has been polluting the area. Chief Minister Palaniswami confirmed that nine people have been killed in police action at Tuticorin while sources say the toll has gone up to 11. Palaniswami has ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence while also announcing a compensation of Rs 10 lakh and jobs for the next of kin of the deceased. Injured persons would also be given a compensation of Rs 3 lakh each. The protesters were seen pelting stones and toppling police vehicles after they were prevented from marching towards the Sterlite plant. They even tried to gherao the Collectors office as well as the plant. Police officials resorted to lathicharge and tear gas to disperse the crowd. As the violence soon went out of control, police opened fire on the protesters leading to several deaths. About 20,000 people took out a procession towards the district collectorate and the copper plant with the intention of picketing them, demanding for its permanent closure, and resorted to violence, a government statement said. Some vehicles inside the Collectors office were also torched by the angry mob. With the situation being extremely tense, police have called for additional reinforcements. Over 2,000 police personnel have been rushed to Tuticorin from nearby districts to bring the situation under control. "The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence... police had to control the violence," Palaniswami, who holds the Home portfolio, said. "I was grieved to know nine persons were unfortunately killed in this incident," he said, and expressed his sympathies and condolences for the families of those killed. Locals have been protesting for quite some time now against the expansion activities of the Sterlite plant and also demanding the closure of the plant. Protesters have alleged that the plant is polluting ground water in the area. Police said section 144 of CrPc has been invoked in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security to the unit as per the orders of the Madras High Court. According to the statement by the Tamil Nadu government, the plant was in operation in Meelavitan in Tuticorin for the past 20 years. Following a gas leak in March 2013 in the plant, the then chief minister, the late J Jayalalithaa ordered its closure, following which the company moved the National Green Tribunal against the state government. The company later moved an Appellate Authority against this and the next hearing is slated for June 6, it said, adding, the TNPCB counsel had strongly argued against operations in the plant. The government said it was committed in respecting people's aspirations and was working towards it. Several political parties hit out at the AIADMK government with opposition DMK saying the state government was responsible for the clash. Taking to Twitter, DMK's working president MK Stalin said: AIDMK Government is responsible for the violence in Tuticorin. They never bothered to find a solution to the peoples problem in that area. They were negligent. I strongly condemn the government for not providing adequate security despite knowledge of the protests beforehand. In the wake of these protests, Tamil Nadu government should immediately ensure closure of sterlite plant. Congress President Rahul Gandhi called the violence an example of "state sponsored terrorism". He tweeted: "The gunning down by the police of 9 people in the #SterliteProtest in Tamil Nadu, is a brutal example of state sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured." The gunning down by the police of 9 people in the #SterliteProtest in Tamil Nadu, is a brutal example of state sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 22, 2018 Rajinikanth also condemned the violence and wrote in a tweet, This government does not respect the sentiments of the people. Its lackadaisical ways have led to the deaths of innocents. The government is responsible for the death of these innocent people. Kamal Haasans Makkal Needhi Maiam has condemned the police firing in Tuticorin. The peaceful protest by the people of Tuticorin against Sterlite, demanding justice was ignored by the governments. Negligence of the governments is the reason for all the unfortunate incidents. Citizens are not criminals. They are the ones who lose their lives; earlier due to Sterlite and now due to the governments orders. Everybody should maintain peace, said party chief Kamal Haasan. MDMDK Chief Vaiko too condemned the attack on protesters. Sterlite Copper represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 400,000 tonnes per annum-plant in Tuticorin. In a statement, the company expressed regret over the day's incidents. "It is with great sorrow and regret that we witnessed today's incidents around the protest at Tuticorin. The company has appealed to the government and authotities to ensure the safety of our employees, facilities and the surrounding community. The Sterlite Copper plant is currently non-operational as we await approval for the Consent to operate," it said. Kolkata: Bajrang Dal members went on a rampage and clashed with police in Purulia district of West Bengal on Tuesday after the right-wing outfits district co-convenor was arrested for an alleged objectionable Facebook post on the recently concluded Panchayat polls and his alleged role in armed Ram Navami processions in March. Following the arrest, the outfit called for a bandh in Purulia, put up road blockades and held pitched battles with the police at various locations. Police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the mob. Several people, including a woman, was injured in the clashes. A large contingent of police force was deployed in the area to maintain law and order. The Bajrang Dal also surrounded the police station where the FIR was registered to demand the unconditional release of its member, Gaurav Singh. Media-in-charge of VHP in Bengal, Sourish Mukherjee, condemned the arrest and said: We are protesting against the arrest of Gaurav Singh. We have gheroed the local police station and have demanded his immediate and unconditional release. Although he was booked under cyber-crime and in connection with Ram Navami processions, we smell conspiracy because the BJP emerged as a key player in Purulia in the Panchayat polls, he said. Bajrang Dal activists are also planning to hold a protest rally in Kolkata on Wednesday. In March this year, the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) had issued show cause notices to a few organisations, including the Bajrang Dal, for allegedly making schoolchildren participate in Ram Navami processions in Purulia during which weapons were brandished. The move was in defiance of a WBCPCR directive sent to all district magistrates of the state to stop children from participating in armed religious rallies. What is Citizenship Bill? This Bill amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 and defines who can be a citizen of India. The PRS Legislative Research points out to the three salient features of this Bill The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship. Under the Act, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14 years. The Bill relaxes this 11 year requirement to six years for persons belonging to the same six religions and three countries. The Bill provides that the registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders may be cancelled if they violate any law. It is the first and the second feature which has come under heavy criticism in states like Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. Apart from the fact that this law differentiates on migrants on the basis of religion, as most of the other communities except the Muslims become eligible for citizenship in India, it also makes it easy for the illegal immigrants to become Indian citizen, if they belong to any of the 6 communities mentioned above. Citizenship Bill & Assam Assam, a state which has seen decades of violence based on ethnicity, is again coming close to the boiling point over this new Bill. The state which is broadly divided into two parts the Barak and the Brahmaputra valleys has reacted differently to the Bill which was introduced in Lok Sabha in July 2016. The issue has come to the fore once again as the Joint Parliamentary Committee is conducting public hearings in Assam this month. Brahmaputra Valley: The dominant partner of the two valleys has been resenting the move of the central government to pass this Bill. The valley has seen violent protest in linguistic lines for decades. The protest is by the original inhabitants against the influx of Bangladeshis, who many claim take the advantage of porous orders to enter the state. The decades of anti-foreigners agitation in Brahmaputra valley was spearheaded by All Assam Students Union (AASU). It finally culminated into the signing of Assam Accord by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. As per the accord signed in 1985, the immigrants, who came to Assam after March 24, 1971, have to be detected and deported. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being updated by the state government based on that cut-off date. But the new proposed Bill threatens to dilute that. This would allow the Bengali Hindu immigrants to get citizenship, something which is being strongly opposed by the parties in Brahmaputra valley. Barak Valley: The story in this Bengali dominated region of Assam is completely different. Barak Valley which was part of Sylhet before the partition which led to the formation of East Pakistan and subsequently Bangladesh has a majority of Bengali speaking population. The state language in this part of Assam is Bengali. Here the Bill is welcomed with open arms, as many feel that this would finally lead to the end of the persecution of Bengali Hindus in Assam. In recent JPC hearings, hundreds of organisations petitioned in favour of the Bill. Unlike the rest of the Assam, the politicians across the party lines in these three districts, came out unequivocally in support of the Bill. Heat on BJP from allies & opposition Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is under extreme pressure over the Citizenship Bill. The BJP had fought the election on a strong anti-immigrant campaign. In fact the CM himself had come of age through the language movement. The BJP's main ally in Assam Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is a party founded on the issue illegal immigrants and its single point of focus has been the enforcement of the Assam Accord in letter and spirit. Thus they are vehemently against the new Bill and are now threatening to quit the alliance if the Centre goes forward with the Bill. Numerous leaders, including the former Chief Minister and once firebrand youth leader Prafulla Mahanta, have threatened to quit the government over the BIll. Tarun Gogoi, the former CM and Congress leader, has accused the BJP of playing politics in the name of religion. He has asked the party to take a stand against the migrants and not differentiate on the basis of religion. Tale of the two Bengalis The spirit of the Bill differentiates between the Bengali and Muslim immigrants. The Bill identifies the non-Muslim immigrants as refugees and the Muslim immigrants as aggressors. The non-Muslim immigrants are seen as victims of Partition and it is believed that they fled Bangladesh in the face of religious persecution. But this leaves Bengali Muslims doubly marginalised. Some of the most backward districts of Assam are the ones inhabited by the Bengali Muslims. So far they were fighting this battle of recognition in the state along with the Hindu Bengalis. But once this Bill is passed they would be left completely on their own. Since the language, food and culture of the Bengali Muslims are similar to that of Bangladeshis, even those who have been voting since 1950s, feel persecuted. Lucknow: Almost 10 year ago, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan had promised a college for the people of this village in Uttar Pradeshs Barabanki and even laid its foundation stone. The superstar and his family could however, not do anything more than that. The people of Daulatpaur in Barabanki district took it upon themselves and have now successfully established a degree college here. Amitabh Bachchan accompanied by Jaya, Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan bought a 10 bigha land and laid the foundation stone for a degree college. The family even named it Aishwarya Bachchan Kanya Mahavidyalay. After waiting for almost a decade for the Bachchans to pursue the project, the villagers decided to realise the dream on their own on a separate piece of land barely 500 metres away. A 40-year-old teacher from the village, Satyawan Shukla led the initiative with villagers and collected nearly Rs 60 lakh for the college. A 10,000 square metre land was donated by Shuklas father and brother for the college and now, Daulatpur Degree College is a reality. The college will be offering BA and BSc course and is affiliated to RML Avadh University, Faizabad. The Daulatpur College that now stands next to the plot bought by the Bachchans. The co-education college comprising 12 classrooms also houses a library. Villagers who donated the money are the members of the managing committee of the Daulatpur Degree College. Speaking to News18, Ramesh Chandra, a resident of Daulatpur said, When Amitabh Bachchan announced the degree college in their village, we were convinced that the fate of the village will change. But even after 10 years nothing has been done. So everyone decided to crowdfund the college as youngsters had to go for higher education and the nearest college here is 30 kilometres away. In 2008, the Bachchan family, along with former CM Mulayam Singh Yadav, Chandrababu Naidu, Farooq Abdullah and Om Prakash Chautala laid the foundation stone on the occasion of SP leader Amar Singhs birthday. Washington: A US Navy veteran, who is serving life in prison for killing Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and injuring two others at a suburban Kansas City bar last year, Monday pleaded guilty to hate crime and firearm charges. Adam Purinton admitted that he fatally shot Kuchibhotla in February 2017 after confronting him and another man Alok Madasani from India at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe. He is already serving life in prison on a state murder charge. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, which is the sentence that the prosecution and defense are jointly requesting. Sentencing is scheduled for July 2. "Hate crimes are acts of evil, and the Department of Justice has prioritized their zealous prosecution," said Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio. In this case, Purinton embarked on a murderous rampage with clear premeditation to kill on the basis of race, color, religion, and national origin, he said. "It was a hate crime, and he is being brought to justice. 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. And this prosecution sends a message across the nation: hate crimes will not be tolerated," Panuccio said. Several weeks before the shooting, Kuchibhotla and Madasani, his friend and fellow engineer at Garmin, were at Austins when Purinton saw them and made a comment to another patron. "Did you see the terrorists on the patio?" Purinton asked. The patron told him they were from India and they were not terrorists. On February 22, 2017, the two friends were once again having an after-work drink at the bar when Purinton approached and confronted them. He demanded to know where they were from, then poked Kuchibhotla in the chest, and called him a terrorist. "Get out of my country," he yelled. That's when bar patrons, including Ian Grillot, asked Purinton to leave and he was escorted from the business by employees. Purinton then went home, changed clothes and got his 9mm semi-automatic handgun. He returned to the bar, covered his face with a scarf to hide his identity and went inside. He then fired eight shots at the two Indian men. Kuchibhotla was hit by at least four bullets. Madasani was shot in the leg. As he fled from the shooting, Grillot ran after him. Purinton turned and shot him. Later, Purinton called a friend and and said he was on the run from police because he had shot "two Iranians." He was charged with murder in Johnson County and with the hate crimes in federal court. In March, he pleaded guilty in Johnson County to a charge of first-degree murder as well as two counts of attempted first-degree murder for wounding Madasani and Grillot. Earlier this month, a Johnson County judge sentenced Purinton to life in prison. New Delhi: The official website of Jamia Millia Islamia University was hacked late on Monday to display a greeting which said Happy Birthday Pooja. Your love. While no group claimed responsibility for the hacking attack, the website was restored on Tuesday morning. The Jamia Millia Islamia is a prestigious central university established in the capital in 1920. The cyber attack comes weeks after the official websites of the Home, Defence and Law ministries were hacked, raising questions on Indias ability to counter such threats. The varsity has condemned the hackers said it would be taking the issue seriously. "It is unfortunate that someone does such pranks to send personalised messages. We would be taking this issue seriously. There would be a meeting and we will decide future course of action," the varsity's media coordinator Saima Saeed told PTI. She said that the varsity received information about the hacking between 12 and 1 am. "Our first response was to restore it and we managed to do it in six hours," she added. In the past, websites of many educational institutions were hacked, including IITs of Delhi, Madras, Bombay and Kharagpur, Delhi University and Aligarh Muslim University. Twitterati had a field day wishing 'Pooja' a happy birthday. #JamiaOfficialWebsiteHaked jmi website hacked and the message is #HappyBirthdayPooja majnu ji is very serious and sensitive Ab tu maan jawo laila ji mera matlab pooja ji. #DigitalIndia pic.twitter.com/5KuWgTBKFn Abdul Aasim (@AbdulAasim6) May 21, 2018 So May 22 is Pooja's birthday and now the whole of Jamia knows about it ! Guess how ? The technical Aashiq has hacked the Jamia Millia Islamia website and wrote #HappyBirthdayPooja on the page ! Impressive isnt it ..cops some cupid work for you guys pic.twitter.com/GY6TdeOwi6 Qudsia Mushahid (@MushahidQudsia) May 21, 2018 Someone hacked Jamia Milia Islamia Universitys website with Happy Birthday Pooja GIF on it. Wow as if there is only one Pooja in entire world. Happy Birthday Btw pic.twitter.com/cwSeG7q3yq Godman Chikna (@Madan_Chikna) May 22, 2018 Some others questioned how the cyber attack was successful in the first place. @JamiaMillia The website has been hacked and reflect b'day wishes to some Pooja.JMI is a reputed institute. Its website must be secured enough.And the culprit must be punished for this for this offense. pic.twitter.com/IyisMTT1Bc Nouman Khan (@Nouman__Khan) May 22, 2018 Indore: The Ministry of External Affairs has asked Indore district authorities to show Geeta, a deaf and mute girl who returned to India from Pakistan in 2015, the 25 marriage proposals it has short-listed for her, an official said on Tuesday. Geeta was found alone on board the Samjhauta Express in Lahore when she was seven or eight years old. After a Facebook advertisement seeking a match for her, 50 men had sent marriage proposals. Of these, the MEA has found 25 proposals fit for her after scrutiny, district panchayat chief executive officer Neha Meena said. "The district administration has been asked to arrange a meeting for Geeta with the men so that she can make a choice," she added. She said the bio-data and pictures of the 25 men will be shown to Geeta. A social activist, Gyanendra Purohit, had put up a post on Facebook on April 10 seeking marriage proposals from "good and smart deaf" men above the age of 25 for Geeta. Geeta is staying in a facility run by Muk-Badhir Sangathan, an NGO, in Indore. The Madhya Pradesh government's social justice department is her caretaker. So far more than 10 couples from different parts of India have claimed that Geeta is their missing daughter, but none of them have been able to establish the claim. New Delhi: Indian Embassys camp office in Nepals Biratnagar will soon halt operations and be re-located. Two days after Kathmandu Post reported that Nepalese Prime Minister KP Oli had, at the first parliamentary party meeting of the newly formed Nepal Communist Party, conveyed that the temporary field office of the Indian embassy had outlived its purpose, the Ministry of External Affairs here confirmed that it was decision that was conveyed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit last week. The purpose for which this camp office was opened has been fulfilled. GoI (Government of India) had already decided to wind up the Camp Office and re-locate the personnel. This decision was conveyed by Prime Minister Modi to his Nepalese counterpart during his visit to Nepal last week. The PM of Nepal thanked PM (Narendra Modi) for informing him about this decision, MEA's official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. India was given permission to set up the office in 2008 to issue passes for vehicles that were plying on Indian roads after the devastating Koshi floods. According to those in the know of things, the consulate has also allegedly been a bone of contention within Nepal. Significantly, in April, a blast had destroyed the compound wall of the building in Biratnagar. One of the people to be arrested was Uday Rai aka Yugen who is allegedly the district secretary of Bikram Chand Biplav led CPN. The Kathmandu Post also reported that 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. Speaking to News18, Bhattarai said that the issue should not be blown out of proportion. If India wants another building, there can be diplomatic level talks and something can be facilitated, he said. (With inputs from agencies) Santiniketan/Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina will address the convocation at the Visva-Bharati University and hold bilateral talks there on May 25, official sources said. The two leaders will also inaugurate the Bangladesh Bhavan at the university. Hasina will arrive in Kolkata on the morning of May 25, sources at the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission said. She would then leave for Santiniketan in West Bengal's Birbhum district, about 160km from the state capital. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will also attend the programme at the university founded by Rabindranath Tagore. Modi, the chancellor of the university, will inaugurate the Bangladesh Bhavan with Hasina and hold a bilateral meeting there, the sources said. The prime minister is the university chancellor. The last time a chancellor was present at the convocation at Visva-Bharati was in 2008, when Manmohan Singh was the prime minister. There has been no convocation in the central university for the past four years, officials said. After the events in Santiniketan, Hasina is scheduled to leave for Kolkata, where she is likely to visit Jorasanko Thakur Bari, Tagore's ancestral home in north Kolkata, an official said. On May 26, Hasina will visit Kazi Nazrul University in Asansol in West Burdwan district where she will be conferred with an honorary D.Lit. Banerjee will be the chief guest at the convocation in the university. On her return to Kolkata, Hasina is likely to visit Netaji Bhavan, the ancestral home of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, in south Kolkata. "In Kolkata she is likely to visit both Jorasanko Thakur Bari and Netaji Bhavan," the official of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata said, adding that the dates were to be finalised. She will return to Dhaka on the evening of May 26. The Bangladesh Bhavan at Santiniketan will house a library, a state-of-the-art archival centre and a seminar hall, besides a sprawling space for cultural get-togethers. Apart from the literary works of Tagore, the centre will also showcase books and photographs on the Bangladesh Liberation War and India's role in it. Sabujkali Sen, officiating vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati, said the programme would be a historical one for the university, which would welcome the dignitaries with the traditional rituals of Santiniketan. A large delegation of people from Bangladesh, including media persons, would accompany Hasina, university sources said. It was not confirmed whether the university's highest award 'Desikottama' would be conferred at the convocation. An official of NBCC, which constructed the Bangladesh Bhavan, said the building combined tradition and modern facilities. "Everything has been made keeping in mind the Santiniketan flavour. The socio-cultural features of Bangladesh have been merged with it," the official said. A Visva-Bharati official said the central university would gift a replica of the first edition of Rabindranath Tagore's 'Gitanjali', which was published in 1912 in London, among other souvenirs to Modi. Sheikh Hasina would be gifted a set of 'Rabindra Chitrabali' Tagore's paintings in four volumes along with other gifts. Banerjee would be presented with a set of 'Rabindra Chitrabali' along with Tagore's photographs and a bilingual edition of 'Gitanjali', the official added. Bengaluru/Kochi: A rare virus spread by fruit bats, which can cause flu-like symptoms and brain damage, has killed 10 people in Kerala, health officials said on Tuesday, with at least nine more being treated. There is no vaccine for the Nipah virus, which is spread through body fluids and can cause encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. The usual treatment is to provide supportive care. The first death in the outbreak in Kerala took place on Friday, the state's health minister, KK Shailaja, said. "This is a new situation for us. We have no prior experience in dealing with the Nipah virus," she said. "We are hopeful we can put a stop to the outbreak." Of 18 people screened for the virus, 12 proved positive, Shailaja told a news conference, adding that 10 of the sufferers had died and the other two were being closely monitored. The central government has dispatched a team of officials from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to investigate the outbreak, it said in a statement. "Since all the contacts are under observation and steps to avoid exposure through animal vectors have been taken, there is no reason for people to panic," it added. While the cause of the outbreak is still being investigated, visiting national health officials tied the initial deaths to "many bats" in a well in Kerala from which the victims drew water, the government said. Samples from those bats were among the 60 sent to laboratories to be screened for the virus, it added. The WHO is in contact with government officials in the affected areas, Henk Bekedam, its India representative, said in a statement. Health experts stressed the need for early detection and infection control to arrest the virus's spread. "It will not spread like wildfire because it is not airborne, but it can be risky if they don't follow proper infection control procedures," said Dr D Himanshu, of King George's Medical University in the northern city of Lucknow. No fresh cases have been reported over the past 24 hours, said Shailaja, but two persons with symptoms of the virus have been hospitalized and are under observation in Mangaluru in neighboring Karnataka. Both patients are from Kerala and one of them had recently met with one of the people infected with Nipah virus in Kerala. Tamil Nadu has also started screening people travelling from Kerala for symptoms, while Goa has issued a warning. The cases provoked concern among residents, a local government official said. "A large number of people affected by fever, and even minor ailments, are swarming to hospitals, fearing they have contracted the disease," said U.V. Jose. Health officials in Kerala, which attracts many tourists, aims to soon issue a travel advisory, tourism official P Bala Kiran said. The Nipah virus was first detected in Malaysia in 1998, and India has suffered two outbreaks in the last decade, killing 50 people, according to the WHO. Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said the state government was happy to welcome dedicated doctors who volunteer to serve in Kozhikode district affected by outbreak of the Nipah virus that has claimed ten lives. Responding to a request of Dr Kafeel Khan, an accused in the BRD medical college infant tragedy case in Uttar Pradesh, in this regard, Vijayan said the government was happy to welcome doctors like Khan to work in the state. Vijayan in a Facebook post said "There are several doctors who serve in the medical field without any concern to their life and health. I am seeing Khan as one among them," Vijayan said. Vijayan asked him and other health workers who want to work in Kerala to get in touch with the Kozhikode Medical College Superintendent. Khan has said he was being wrongly framed by the administration in the case involving death of 63 children last August due to disruption of oxygen supply. Khan in a Facebook post requested the Kerala Chief Minister to allow him "to save innocent lives." He also praised the services of Lini, the nurse who succumbed on Monday to the virus. "After sehri n fajr namaz was trying to sleep but couldn't. Disturbed with increase no of mortality due to Nipah Virus (NiV )infection n rumors spreading on social media platforms," he said. "I request Kerala chief minister Mr Pinarayi Vijayan to allow me to serve at Calicut Medical college to save innocent lives. Sister Lini is an inspiration and I am more than willing to sacrifice my life for the noble cause," he added. Guwahati: Clear blue skies in Goa welcomed the all-women crew of INSV Tarini on Monday after successful completion of their epic voyage at sea. Among the six brilliant naval officers is Northeasts first woman sailor from Manipur Lieutenant Shougrakpam Vijaya Devi. Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh extended his greetings to the crew members of INSV Tarini, and especially congratulated Lt Vijaya on her performance. I wish to congratulate the entire team, and particularly Lt Vijaya on representing Manipur. I am so proud of her. Northeast is full of talent. Not only in sports, or art and culture, but we are excelling in every sphere. I believe Vijaya will now motivate many others from Northeast to join Navy, said N Biren. The expedition Navika Sagar Parikrama has been the first-ever attempt by an all-woman crew to circumnavigate the globe, covering more than 22,000 nautical miles. For 254 days starting September 10 last year, the team sailed across three Great Capes of the continents in the Southern Ocean - Africa's Cape of Good Hope, Australia's Cape Leeuwin, and South America's Cape Horn. They crossed the Equator twice, drifting in the van-de-stadt designed Tonga 56 boat captained by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, with her crew comprising Lieutenant Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and P Swathi, and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta. The Journey to Indian Navy From the dewy valleys and green hills of Manipur to the rough seas and distant lands - the journey wasnt quite easy for Lt Vijaya. She reveals that joining Indian Navy was a dream come true conditioned by destiny, hard work, and a subconscious desire to wear the white uniform. In the Northeast, the Army is more popular. We hardly see any naval officers in the region. Until I joined Indian Navy, my only exposure to bits of it was on television. I used to watch Doordarshan serials like Aarohan, Udaan and Sea Hawks. I never thought I would ever get to see the ocean, says Lt Vijaya. Looking back at the voyage, Vijaya feels overwhelmed. Her family could not join her in Goa, but is eagerly waiting to welcome her in Manipur. I have mixed feelings upon reaching home. No doubt, I am excited and happy at the thought of seeing my family and loved ones, but at the same time, I am a bit sad that our voyage has come to an end. I will be missing those moments at sea, and will forever cherish these memories, says Lt Vijaya. Vijaya was born into a family of five at Tera Khongshangbi Santhong Sabal in Bishnupur district of Manipur, 52km from Imphal. Her father, Sh Kunjakeshore Singh, had served in Manipur Rifles and her mother, Sh Binasakhi Devi, had been a school teacher before they shifted to Imphal for their childrens education. Being the only daughter, her parents were initially reluctant to send her for further studies. After graduating from Dhanamanjuri College of Arts in Manipur, she pursued her Masters in English from Delhi University. She subsequently graduated with a BEd degree before being commissioned into the Indian Navy in December, 2012. She was like a tomboy, being brought up around four brothers, but a very bright student. We are proud of her, says her mother while flipping through an old family album. Even as her parents had many a nervous moment hearing about cyclones and rough weather, Vijaya would regularly make video calls, send pictures and videos of her voyage from mid-sea to soothe their worries. Aboard INSV Tarini Lt Vijaya, 28, who has sailed for more than 30,000 nautical miles, recalls that it was her birthday celebration (December 21) on board Tarini in the middle of the Pacific that she would fondly remember from this incredible voyage. She also recalled the experience of giant waves surging up right in front of her. We watched enormous waves break over the top of the boat and sweep across the deck. A blast of saltwater soaked me completely on one such occasion. I ducked as it fell on the ground. The water gushed inside our living space, soaking all our clothes in sea water. It was such a mess. The six naval officers fought bravely tearing through rough waves and powerful gusts of wind, they have conquered unexplored lands. Another day, on January 8, we were hit by a storm it was scary to see very high waves, around 9-10 metres surging the boat at a wind speed of 60 knots. Though we were prepared for the storm, it was quite challenging for us. Mountainous waves were surging from behind, pushing us forward. Luckily for us, we were sailing downwind. We took turns in steering the boat, three of us were doing the watch at a time while the other three rested. It was so cold that it was difficult to stand outside for more than an hour. The storm lasted for 15 hours, remarks Vijaya. The task looked even more daunting for the fact that the vessel had to be manually manoeuvred while on the move. The job of steering the wheel, sometimes for long hours, or adjusting a 100 kilo sail according to the direction of wind while constantly battling fatigue was a test of strength and endurance. Built by Aquarius Shipyard at Goa, INSV Tarini was inducted into the Indian Navy on Feb 18, 2017. She runs solely on wind power, and is capable of enduring long durations at sea. All of 17.10 mtr in length and 5mtr breadth, the boats basic and uncluttered design caters for a good amount of food and water storage. Tarini also has an onboard reverse osmosis plant that is capable of generating 30 litres of water per hour, an electronic chart plotter with GPS and Weather Radar, two smart pilot self-steering systems, wind indicators for directions and speed, satellite communication for internet usage, a diesel generator and an engine. Tarini will always be our second home. We divided our day into three watches - at all times, two officers had to be on watch, observing the change in weather conditions. One watch lasted for four hours followed by an eight-hours break when we would rest and carry out maintenance or repair work, explains Lt Vijaya, whose seamanship expertise was put to good use on the upper deck of the boat. Vijaya appealed to the youth of Northeast to come forward and join the Navy. Being in a team of an all women crew to circumnavigate the globe is itself a wonderful feeling. It's my love for adventure which has got me here today, and I believe everyone is capable of doing it. Just that I did it - doesn't make much difference. Retired naval officer Captain Dilip Dhonde, who undertook India's first solo around-the-world expedition in 2009-10 on board INSV Mhadei, mentored the crew before they set sail. The first Indian non-stop solo circumnavigation was undertaken by Commander Abhilash Tomy in 2012-13. INSV Tarinis first port halt was at Fremantle, Australia, in October and the second at Lyttelton, New Zealand, in November last year. The vessel left Port Stanley on 4 February 2018 for onwards journey to Cape Town, South Africa. While returning from Cape Town, the team had a problem with their steering gear off Mauritius, for which they had to make an emergency stop and do the repairs. In the last leg of the journey, they set sail for Goa from Cape of Good Hope on March 15. Vijaya read and knitted during her free time at sea, and also learned the Harmonica. I now feel I have something to share with the world. At least, a story to tell our future generations, she says. The officers will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 23. New Delhi: Delhi Archbishop Anil Couto has defended a letter he wrote to all churches in the national capital calling for prayers ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, saying his request had nothing to do with the Narendra Modi government. In the letter dated May 8 and addressed to all Archdioceses of Delhi, Couto had called for a prayer campaign beginning May 13 in the face of turbulent political atmosphere threatening democracy and secularism before general elections next year. The letter also contained a prayer to be read at Sunday masses. It is our hallowed practice to pray for our country and its political leaders all the time, but all the more so when we approach the general elections. As we look forward towards 2019, when we will have new government, let us begin a prayer campaign for our country from May 13 (sic), the letter said. The prayer attached with the letter read as follows: May the ethos of true democracy envelop our elections with dignity and the flames of honest patriotism enkindle our political leaders. This is our cry, Heavenly Father, in these troubled times as we see the clouds eclipsing the light of truth, justice and freedom." The letter went on to call upon Christians to fast every Friday for the nation. 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 organise an hour of Eucharistic adoration every Friday at a convenient time in all our parishes, religious houses and institution specifically praying for our nation. The letter triggered controversy with BJP spokesperson Shaina NC saying it is wrong to try and instigate castes or communities. You can tell them to vote for right candidate or party but to suggest voting for one party and not another and term yourself as secular vs pseudo-secular is unfortunate," she said. Reacting to the letter, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, The Prime Minister is working towards inclusive growth without discriminating while breaking barriers of religion and caste. We can only ask them to think with progressive mindset. Reverend Couto, however, denied any political motive to the letter. Prayer for country is always there and it is a very private matter. We have only asked our churches to spend one day a week to pray and its a private matter and no one can interfere with it. We are concerned with atmosphere, issues plaguing the country. Its only a request from various people to pray for the country, he told News18. He also clarified that the letter did not pertain to the Modi government and that he was raising concerns as a citizen of India. This does not pertain to the government of Narendra Modi or anybody like that. In the last four years, so much has appeared in newspapers and media, with regard to eating habits of people, lynching incidents and also the four judges coming out in public and all these things happening at the level of judiciary causes concern and as a citizen of India, I am raising concerns. We are law-abiding citizens and therefore we are concerned, he said. He added that prayers had been held before general elections earlier as well. This is a letter which has been issued only for the Archdioceses of Delhi and it has come from the request of the people and Christian leaders. Elections are approaching which concerns the Christian community and everyone else. Every four years, we do have special prayers in the churches, said the Archbishop. Father Robinson, the Archbishops secretary, also said the letter was not political. The Archbishop's letter is not political, neither is it against the government nor against the honourable Prime Minister. Misinformation should not be spread. Its just an invitation for prayers and such letters have been written in the past too. Did the US really find the then most wanted man in the world Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden on its own or did the then Pakistan army chief Ashfaq Kayani divulge details about the dreaded terrorist? Is it just a coincidence that Kayani held a secret meeting with US officials just two days before Laden was killed in a spectacular raid in Abbottabad, 150 km inside Pakistan territory? Maybe America knew about Bin Ladens whereabouts through a mole in the ISI or was it part of a US-Pakistan deal? For the first time ex-ISI chief Asad Durrani spoke up about his information on the killing of Bin Laden. The statement is part of the conversation between Durrani and former RAW chief AS Dulat, which has been moderated by journalist Aditya Sinha in a book titled The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace. In a chapter titled The Deal for Osama bin Laden, Durrani speaks at length on the subject, How could Pakistan not know the US helicopters ingressing 150 km inside the country?... We are blamed for incompetence, for playing a double game; and what did we get in return? That is what I want to know. Durrani goes on to discuss allegations that the then Pakistani army chief gave away bin Ladens location for a lot of money. Kayani was my favourite student at the NDC [National Defence Course]. Though retired, he is keeping away from me lest I ask if he made a dealIf Kayani settled for some farms or a billion dollars then I myself will start a campaign against him, who I once liked and feel was one of our thinking chiefs. This is followed by a very interesting conversation between the two former top spies. Dulat: A couple of days before Osama was lifted, Kayani met with somebody, where was it? Durrani: On a ship. Dulat: Or at an airbase. There was a meeting which I thought significant in the context of what happened days later. Why did Kayani go to the meeting? Who was the US commander in Afghanistan then? Durrani: In 2011? [David] Petraeus. Dulat: It seemed like too much of a coincidence because two days later, Osama was bumped off. Durrani: I agree, its a reasonable deduction that these meetings concerned the raid. In a well-documented footnote on this meeting, journalist Aditya Sinha, who has moderated and compiled conversations in this book, notes Kayani met 1. Centcom [United States Central Command] chief General James Mattis on April 8. 2. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen on April 20. 3. US commander for Afghanistan General David Petraeus on April 26. On April 29, Oba signed the order for the raid on Osama bin Laden. On May 2 he was shot dead. The conversation resumes on the role of the doctor who was allegedly working for the US, in the garb of a polio vaccinator, found out about Osamas whereabouts, and on the CIA mole within ISI. Dulat: What was the role of the doctor whos locked up? Durrani: Under the cover of a polio programme he found where Osama bin Laden was. Dulat: So he was working for the Americans. It seems to me that the Americans found Osama via the doctor, and told Kayani that now we know. Are you willing to cooperate or should we do it on our own? Durrani: Yes, they said play ball. Kayani says, we will do it in this manner, and what do we get in return. They found out not only because of Dr Afridi [the polio vaccine doctor]. I have no doubt that a retired Pakistani officer who was in intelligence walked in and told the Americans. I wont take his name because I cant prove it and also I dont want to give him any publicity. How much of the 50 million dollars he got, who knows. But he is missing from Pakistan. I should know. The noted journalist Seymour Hersh, in his book The Killing of Osama Bin Laden for the first time, suggested that the entire narrative about the killing of the then chief of Al Qaeda was a blatant lie. According to Hersh, in August 2010 a former senior Pakistani intelligence officer approached Jonathan Bank, then the CIAs station chief at the US embassy in Islamabad, and offered to share the whereabouts of bin Laden in return for the reward that Washington had offered in 2001 $25 million. After the CIA confirmed that the Pakistani intelligence officer was telling the truth, Hersh says, negotiations between Pasha and the Central Intelligence Agency began. The intelligence officer and his family were relocated to America, where, according to Hersh, he now works for the CIA as a consultant. In an interview to CNN, Hersh claimed that the informant was paid $20 million of the $25 million bounty offered by the US and is right now living in the US with his family, and works as a consultant for the CIA. New Delhi: In what could turn out to be a step towards betterment of the bitter Indo-Pak relations, India is all set to participate in an anti-terror meeting in Islamabad. A statement issued by the Pakistan Foreign Office said that the Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) Legal Experts meeting would be held between May 23 and 25 in Islamabad. The meeting under the banner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization with Pakistan as the host comes almost a year after it became a member of the group in June 2017. Legal experts from the eight-member states namely China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan, as well as representatives of the SCO-RATS Executive Committee will participate in the meeting. The legal experts will discuss terrorist threats facing the region and ways and means to enhance counter terrorism cooperation between SCO member states, the statement read. The Ministry of External Affairs is yet to confirm or deny the development. Pakistans statement further states that it supports the SCOs efforts towards regional cooperation to fight terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime. It also said that it was willing to share its experiences in tackling the menace of terrorism via the SCO RATS. Indias participation would come as a significant move amid rising tensions between the two nations. Recently, despite tensions on the border, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that all statements on wanting peace would be taken seriously by India. RATS is a permanent unit of the SCO, headquartered in Tashkent. The meeting comes just weeks ahead of the SCO meet in Chinese city of Qingdao from June 9-10. Meanwhile, apart from the legal experts, national security advisors (NSAs) of the SCO countries met on Tuesday. Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) Rajinder Khanna and Pakistans NSA Naseer Khan Janjua met each other in China. New Delhi: In what is believed to be the first such confession to emerge from Pakistan, the countrys former spy chief Mohammad Asad Durrani has admitted that the Hurriyat was the creation of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Durrani, who served as the ISI chief from 1990-1992, the years when the armed separatist violence broke out in Kashmir for the first time on a mass scale, said, I think that the formation of the Hurriyat to provide a political direction to the resistance was a good idea. But what he didn't consider a good idea was giving up handle on the movement letting the factions do what they bloody well wanted to The statement is part the conversation between Durrani and former RAW chief AS Dulat, which has been moderated by journalist Aditya Sinha in a book titled The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace. In the book, Durrani is quoted at length discussing Kashmir, Hurriyat, Afghanistan, Osama Bin Laden, Pervez Musharraf, Ajit Doval, AB Vajpayee, the Agra Summit and Narendra Modi with Dulat. Incidentally, Dulat was serving as the joint director of the Intelligence Bureau in Kashmir in 1990 when Durrani was heading the ISI. In the book, Durrani has talked about ISIs role in the formation of the Hurriyat and its support to the early days of Kashmiri separatism in response to questions about the big failure of ISI against India. In his reply, Durrani said, The biggest failure was when the Kashmir uprising happened, we did not know how far it would go. These things usually run their course in six months or a year. When it became lasting, we wondered how to keep a handle on it. We didnt want it to go out of control, which would lead to war which neither side wanted, he added. Durrani went on to say that he met Amanullah Gilgiti, a resident of Kashmirs Kupwara district who went on to help found the first local armed separatist outfit of Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). I regret till today why we did not take Amanullah Gilgiti more seriously. His group led the uprising. His third option of independence was unnecessarily muddying the water. And what did independence mean anyway? Durrani added that the formation of the Hurriyat provided direction to the resistance. But going back to Kashmir uprising of the 1990s, I think the formation of the Hurriyat to provide a political direction to the resistance was a good idea. Giving up handle on the movement letting the factions do what they blood well wanted to was not. The ex-ISI chief may have implied that Pakistan did not remain in touch with Hurriyat and other separatist factions in Kashmir, but several reports have documented the active role that Islamabad played in arming and supporting the youth of Kashmir in the early days of militancy. Several of the early militants of Kashmir, including Gilgiti, and later Syed Salahuddin and Hafiz Saeed, continued to thrive in Pakistan. The book also quoted former RAW chief Dulat as saying that Pakistan was getting interested in Kashmir again. its now game-on again in the last three years because of the uncertainty that weve created. The status quo mess we create gets Pakistan interested again. In another section of the book, Dulat says, The Hurriyat is the Pakistani team.... India has its team, Pakistan has its team, and the Kashmiris are in between. In an interview to The Wire, Dulat stated that Pakistan has again become a player in fomenting unrest in Kashmir. Jammu: Its a usual morning in North Kashmirs Baramulla town. The streets are still deserted. The day hasnt yet started for the public. In its main market, right next to the river Jhelum, the crowd hasnt started to swell. Newspaper vendors and a few milkmen on their bicycles patrol its streets. A couple of CRPF men have tucked themselves inside a bunker their eyes scanning every possible movement outside. They are guarding the Raghunath Mandir a revered Hindu temple in the center of the town. As the suns rays filter through the morning mist, a small figure hurriedly enters the CRPF bunker and makes his way inside the temple. An elongated red vermillion on his forehead makes him stand out. He is one of the Pandits of Kashmir who never migrated from the Valley. There were more than 1,50,000 Kashmiri Pandits who resided in the Valley before 1990. Now, the number stands at a lowly 2,764. The Hindu minority in Muslim majority Kashmir shrank overnight following the days of threats and living in fear. The roots of the exile date back to 90s when Kashmiri Pandits were killed by militants, following the growing unrest in the Valley. This promoted a wave of fear among them which ultimately resulted in them migrating to the plains of Jammu region of the state. Thousands of Pandit families picked whatever little they could, leaving behind their homes, shops and their family members - and crossed the Banihal tunnel to reach Jammu. However, some stayed back. They stayed despite their relatives and neighbours leaving their homes; they stayed and decided to face whatever was in store. Ravinder, a Kashmiri Pandit from Kralhaar, Baramulla said that the 90s came like a wind that changed everything. When most Pandits were migrating, Ravinders family decided to follow as well. But for Ravinder, it was his friends support that made them change their mind. My friends showed extraordinary support, they suggested us not to migrate, they guaranteed our safety, convinced my father and sisters, and with Gods will we stayed and stayed for good," he said. Ravinder still remembers his school days. My friends were mostly Muslims, we used to wander around without any fear, regardless of our religions. Ravinder remembers those times as the best part of his life. The Curse of The Conflict When the series of brutality started, it looked like someone had cursed Kashmir. A militant organisation published an advertisement in AlSafa, an Urdu newspaper, openly threatening the Hindu community and asking them to migrate. This is the exact point when peace was torn in pieces. It was the time of test for the brotherhood that the Valley had long boasted about. "When a daily newspaper published Pandits should migrate within 72 hours my husband and brother went to meet the sarpanch and chowkidaar and asked for their suggestion, they assured us that no harm will be done to us and that gave us the courage to stay," said Sheela, a Pandit woman of Sheeri Baramulla in her sixties. "There was no guarantee of life. Once you would leave in the morning, there was no surety of your return, she said. Doors were closed at 4 pm and opened at 7:30 in the morning, she added, remembering the days of living in fear. But these Kashmiri Pandits also have fond memories. Rakesh Bhat from Krankshivan Sopore said when his father died the whole village gathered. They performed everything so well that we never felt that there was no Pandit here," he said. At that moment of loss, Rakesh was helped by strangers. They contradicted my assumption that there will be no one to shoulder the corpse of my father," he said. The Neighbours Sheela remembers the Eid of 1986 when the news of her brothers death spread in the village. Every house emptied their Eid dishes, ended their celebrations and joined us in our sorrow, she said. However, theres often a void on such occasions it takes their relatives and friends days to reach after hearing the news. And, not having people from their own community makes it worse. "Though neighbours here perform their parts well, but not having our community is difficult, said Ravinder Kumar. Too often, they have to arrange priests from Jammu to perform religious rites. Celebrating festivals has not been the same after the majority of Pandits migrated to the other side. The charm of the village on Shivratri was lost, and only a few houses are lit up on the eve Diwali. For Girja Devi, its the questions from her grandchildren thats most difficult. Devi, who lives in Baramulla, has taught her grandchildren about the pooja rituals that she does daily in her home. But, on days of festivals, her grandchildren often asks the whereabouts of their relatives. I remain speechless, she said. Even after years, the pain of being separated from friends and relatives is hard. During festivals and wedding, we really miss our relatives and friends. Whenever we see any of them, it's like a dream, said Sheela. The time when we lived together is like a dream that shattered. And, what about the conflict and protest? Venu Kumar, a resident of Sheeri, said that he was never asked to join any sort of protest, or pelt stones. There has been tremendous support from whole village, I never felt like I am from any other community, we never felt any danger or threat,'' he said. No plans or special packages It was in 2016 when the Jammu and Kashmir high court directed the state government to consider the plea of Valley based Kashmiri Pandits to extend the Prime Minister's package for creation of three thousand government jobs. However, the sacrifice of these families is yet to get any notice from the government of either state or Centre. The sympathies and promises were mere words, but no practical implementation has so far come into existence. Sanjay Tickoo, the president of Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), an organisation that looks after the affairs of the Pandits who remain in Kashmir, said that they conducted a survey in 2008 and found 808 families which consist of 2864 Pandits who have never migrated from Kashmir. But, Tickoo is disappointed with the government. There have been no special efforts for uplifting and employing our youth who stayed behind. We were expecting something from PMs special package as Manmohan Singh had promised us, but, we were left behind," he said. The KPSS President said that when their demand was about to be met, some people from the Sikh community filed a petition for their due share in the package. The special ordinance, issued in October this in 2017 by the government to carry out a special recruitment drive for the unemployed Pandit youth of the Valley was challenged by unemployed Sikh youth from Kashmir by filing a petition before the High Court. They argued that the Sikh community also deserves the benefits of the amendment. So, its still pending, Tickoo said. Rakesh Kumar, another Kashmiri Pandit from KrankShivan, Sopore, said that while the government is leaving no stone unturned to bring back those who migrated, nothing is done for those who stayed. We were the ones who showed courage to live here when it was a threatening time,'' he said. (Author is a freelance journalist based in Kashmir) The violence over Sterlite copper smelting plant in Thoothukudi, or Tuticorin as it is more commonly known, in which at least 11 people were killed on Tuesday in police firing was not the first time that the unit has captured national headlines for all the wrong reasons. Sterlite Copper, previously called Sterlite Industries, is part of Vedanta Ltd, which is a subsidiary of the UK-based metal conglomerate, Vedanta Resources. It is mainly involved in mining copper in Tuticorin. The city unit includes a smelter, a refinery, a phosphoric acid plant, a copper rod plant and three captive power plants. The plant was set up in 1997. Locals, as well as environmental rights groups, say that the unit is a major source of local groundwater and air pollution and that the smelter has caused severe environmental damage to the area. The Trigger The protests flared in March after the company announced plans to expand the plant and increase production of copper from the current 4 lakh tonnes to 8 lakh tonnes annually. The plant was closed on March 29 for 15 days for maintenance work. But it will remain shut until at least June 6 as Tamil Nadu pollution control board will not allow it to operate due to alleged non-compliance with environmental rules. Owing to the unrest, the pollution board has also refused to renew its initial 25-year license, which expires this year. The PCB cited six reasons for the non-renewal, including not meeting prescribed pollution control standards. Facing imminent closure, Sterlite lodged an appeal, but it was turned down. Currently, Sterlite Copper is fighting a case in the TNPCB Appellate Authority against the rejection of its renewal application. Chequered History This uprising in March, however, is not the first time the Sterlite plant has had a brush with controversy. Local residents have been protesting against it since the late 90s. The plant has faced legal questions right from its inception when Sterlite Industries sought and received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for setting up of the plant that was to produce 1200 tonnes of copper every day. No public consultations were conducted despite provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 necessitating public consultations in case of setting up of copper smelters. On May 10, 2016, the Madras High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging the decision to give clearance to the plant. The ministry cited the location of the plant as the reason for the dismissal. But the location of the plant itself has been a contentious topic. The plant is located just 25 km away from one of the four islands that make up the Gulf of Mannar. The region is identified to be a sensitive one in terms of its marine ecology and setting up of the plant is in direct violation of rules prescribed for its protection. Many such as environmental activist Nityanand Jayraman have also spent years analysing the role of state authorities in the allegedly illegal inception of the plant. Legal Hassles In 2005, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) submitted a report to the SC in which it found high concentrations of lead, copper, cadmium, chlorides, fluorides and arsenic in the samples of groundwater collected from residential areas surrounding the plant. In 2013, the plant had been shut down following orders from the National Green Tribunal after hundreds of locals reported breathing problems, throat congestion and infection and nausea following a gas leak. The Supreme Court also had in 2013 slapped a Rs 100 crore fine on Sterlite Copper for environmental damage over the years. The case had been led by Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief Vaiko. However, the SC later allowed the plant to continue operations. It defended its judgment saying that though the plant was indeed causing environmental damage in Tuticorin, it was also generating high employment and revenue for the Centre and the state. Vedanta Resources (London) is also facing charges internationally. Both Vedanta, along with its subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines are facing legal action in British courts by Zambian villagers who have accused the companies mining operations of having polluted the local water there and of destroying the livelihoods of hundreds of locals. Ahmedabad: A debt-ridden businessman in Ahmedabad shot dead his wife and two daughters on Tuesday after an argument over sending the elder daughter to Australia for higher studies, police said. Dharmesh Shah, 50, owns a construction business and lived with his wife and daughters at an upmarket area of the city, according to police. Shah was said to be under a debt of Rs 15 crore which his family was unaware of. The verbal altercation took place late on Monday over funding one of the daughter's studies abroad - which would have cost him Rs 70 lakh. "When the family went to sleep, Shah first shot his wife, Amiben, with his licensed pistol. He then killed both his daughters Heli, 24, and Khushi, 18, with a 12-bore gun. While he fired one round at his wife, he pumped in two rounds each in his daughters," Assistant Commissioner of Police SN Zala said. Shah then called up an engineer in his firm and some of his relatives to tell them he was going to commit suicide, according to police. However, he instead called up police control room and surrendered when the police arrived. Shah has been arrested on charges of murder and is being interrogated. New Delhi: A day after union minister Jitendra Singh said that the continued incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir despite the Centre putting in place a ceasefire have exposed terrorists and their sympathisers, the state's top cop gave a different take on it. DGP SP Vaid tweeted on Tuesday that the ceasefire has been successful thus far. "The initiative of Hon'ble PM has helped in general improvement in law & order. The situation especially in south Kashmir has eased and is serving as confidence building measure for families who want their boys to return back home," he wrote. The differing opinions of the minister and the DGP stem from the different figures of clashes and violence given by central government forces like the CRPF and the state police since the start of the Ramzan ceasefire. The CRPF figures accessed by CNN-News18 said that from May 17 to May 20, 21 incidents of stone pelting were reported in the Valley, injuring three CRPF personnel and damaging 28 vehicles. However, the J&K Police said only six incidents of violence have been reported between the said period. The Ramzan ceasefire has to be contextualised. Between April 1 and 5 this year, there were 92 incidents of stone pelting; comparatively, there have been only six since the ceasefire," the DGP said. Dr Jitender Singh, the minister of state in PMO, had told CNN-News18 that the continued incidents of stone pelting, violence, etc expose separatists who are egging the stone pelters on. "It shows 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 can't blame our forces," Jitender Singh said. But sources in the Jammu and Kashmir Police said that the figures have to be seen in proper context. "May 21 is a test case to see if the ceasefire is working. Every year violence erupts on this day when death anniversary of Abdul Gani Lone and Mirwaiz is commemorated. This year May 21 was peaceful. Even the PM's visit went off peacefully," a top J&K police officer said. Rebutting arguments that the ceasefire will help terrorists regroup, J&K police officials said that 4 LeT terrorists were killed on the May 19. Data released by CRPF showed that in the month of Ramzan violence usually goes down in the Valley. George Tannenbaum on the future of advertising, the decline of the English Language and other frivolities. 100% jargon free. A Business Insider "Most Influential" blog. Washington: The US Supreme Court has agreed to take up an appeal by Indian villagers against a power plant in Gujarat, funded by US-based international finance institution, which has allegedly resulted in environmental damages. "Petition granted", the US Supreme Court said on Monday. The case would come up for hearing in the next session, beginning October. The villagers, led by Budha Ismail Jam, along with several other farmers and fishermen, allege that coal-fired Tata Mundra Power Plant has resulted in widespread environmental damages. Washington DC-based International Finance Corporation, the financing wing of the World Bank, has provided $450 million in financial assistance to the project. The US Supreme Court said it would decide whether the IFC enjoyed immunity under the 1945 International Organizations Immunity Act. Jam and other petitioners knocked the door of the US Supreme Court this year after lower courts dismissed their petitions arguing that the IFC enjoyed immunity, like other foreign countries, under the 1945 International Organizations Immunity Act. In their petition, the villagers argued that the Tata Mundra Power Plant has failed to comply with international environmental standards. This has resulted in devastation of local environment. "International organisations play an ever-increasing role in the economic landscape of this country and the world. Therefore, the question whether they are absolutely immune from any kind of lawsuit no matter how strictly commercial their activities; no matter how egregious their actions; and no matter the views of the Executive Branch has great significance," the petitioners argued. In 2015, the applicants Indian farmers, fishermen, a trade union of fishworkers, and a local government entity sued the IFC in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. They brought claims for negligence, negligent supervision, public nuisance, private nuisance, trespass, and breach of contract. The petitioners lost the case before a district court in 2016 and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2017. Both the courts argued that IFC enjoys immunity. New Delhi: Its not often that former spymasters of two countries that have fought three major wars collaborate on a project. So, when ex-ISI chief Muhammad Asad Durrani and ex-RAW chief AS Dulat sat down for a conversation, it resulted in a treasure trove of anecdotes and insight on India and Pakistans fraught history and the way forward. The conversation, moderated by senior journalist Aditya Sinha, is part of a new book titled The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace. In the book, the two former spy chiefs discuss obvious topics such as Kashmir and surgical strikes, and some unspoken ones like moles and double agents. Heres a look at some of them: Modi did more in his first two years for India-Pakistan relations than his predecessor This remark was made by former RAW chief AS Dulat while comparing the foreign policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh. Dulat says that Singhs heart was in the right place, but he wasnt encouraged to bridge the differences between India and Pakistan by his bureaucracy. On Modi, Dulat says the PM has no problems overcoming the frictions and reservations that diplomats have. But both Durrani and Dulat agree that Modi is running out of time to mend relations and take bold steps. If Modi later finds failure is staring in his face externally and then wants to extend a hand, no one will take it seriously. When asked how Pakistan views Modis prospects, Durrani says that Modi is likely to get a second term. In the same exchange, Durrani also praises former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We would be happy if someone like Vajpayee was Prime Minister in Pakistan. Poet, philosopher, he could have been a good Prime Minister for us (sic). What if someone had reported that Osman, the son of a former ISI chief, was roaming around in Mumbai, which hadnt forgotten 26/11, without a visa? It was in May 2015 that Durranis son found himself in Mumbai, unaware that he needed special permission to travel from Kochi to Mumbai and caught by immigration officials. Though seven years had passed since the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the embers of that carnage were still burning bright in India. When Osman called his father and told him about his plight, Durrani panicked and wondered how safe his son was. This is where his old friend AS Dulat came to the rescue and having made some phone calls, got him out on the next flight to Germany, safely. A former RAW chiefs IB background helped a former ISI chief, remarks Sinha. I rang up Jeevan (his friend in IB) and thanked him profusely. Then I realised Id better thank my ex-colleague from RAW (whom Dulat had asked for help), so I rang him up. Not at all, sir...Its our duty, after all, he [Durrani] is also a colleague, he said. Interestingly, Dulat mentions in the opening chapter of the book that more substantively, in 2003 a tip-off from the RAW to the ISI had saved General Musharrafs life. Jadhav would eventually be back In a separate chapter on Kulbhushan Jadav, a former Indian Navy officer who is on death row in Pakistan for alleged spying, Dulat says the entire episode was mismanaged by both countries. It could have been kept quiet. In fact, it could have been used for goodwill. The NSA dialogues we keep hearing about, all General Janjua (current Pakistan NSA) had to do was call Ajit Doval up and say, weve got your guy but dont worry. Hell be taken care of. In due course you tell us what to do with him...but thats how good the ISI is, it put him straight on TV! Like we did during Kargil war, when we made public that intercept between General Musharraf and General Aziz. Dulat goes on to say that if this were a RAW operation and he was a RAW spy, then its a pretty sloppy operation. In another chapter, Dulat continues the conversation on Jadhav and says it should be easier to get Jadhav out of Pakistan than it would be to get him out of a more friendly country like the US. To this, Durrani replies, I agree with my friend that Jadhav would eventually be back, despite the poor handling of the case by us. A better way would have been to send a message to the RAW that we had him, extract all the overt and covert benefits, and at some stage return him at the right price. The biggest failure was when the Kashmir uprising happened we did not know how far it would go. Durrani says this while responding to moderator Aditya Sinhas question on what he felt was the ISIs biggest failure against India. He goes on to add that the formation of the Hurriyat to provide a political direction to the resistance was a good idea but laments that giving up handle on the movement letting the factions do what they bloody well wanted to. Durrani, however, may not have been completely candid about Pakistans role in controlling Hurriyat and the separatist movement in Kashmir in later stages. As Dulat himself remarks in the book, The Hurriyat is the Pakistani team, adding that, India has its team, Pakistan has its team, and the Kashmiris are in between. Incidentally, Dulat was serving as the joint director of the Intelligence Bureau in Kashmir in 1990 when Durrani was working as the chief of ISI. I have no doubt that a retired Pakistani officer, who was in intelligence, walked in and told the Americans (the exact location of Osama Bin Laden) Durrani admits this while talking to Dulat and Sinha about the alleged deal made by Pakistanis to hand over 9/11 attacks mastermind Osama Bin Laden to the United States. Heres a look at the conversation that follows: Dulat: A couple of days before Osama was lifted, Kayani met with somebody, where was it? Durrani: On a ship. Dulat: Or at an airbase. There was a meeting which I thought significant in the context of what happened days later. Why did Kayani go to the meeting? Who was the US commander in Afghanistan then? Durrani: In 2011? [David] Petraeus Dulat: It seemed like too much of a coincidence because two days later, Osama was bumped off. Durrani: I agree, its a reasonable deduction that these meetings concerned the raid. Elsewhere in the book, the former ISI chief says, I have no doubt that a retired Pakistani officer who was in intelligence walked in and told the Americans. I wont take his name because I cant prove it and also I dont want to give him any publicity. How much of the 50 million dollars he got, who knows. But he is missing from Pakistan. I should know. That Bin Laden was handed over to the US and wasnt killed in the spectacular circumstances most people are led to believe is a claim that investigative journalist Seymour Hersh made long ago in his book on the killing of Bin Laden. This is the first time that a retired ISI chief has officially confirmed it. Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government has passed an order to make it mandatory for all madarsas in Uttar Pradesh to start teaching in English and Hindi medium besides Urdu. They have also been asked to follow the NCERT syllabus prescribed for schools. Moreover, subjects like Science, Mathematics, English, Hindi and Social Science would also be introduced in the madarsa curriculum. The decision was taken in the cabinet meeting held here on Tuesday. The Arbi-Farsi Urdu Madarsa Board, in its meeting of May 15 suggested that all madarsas should teach English and Hindi along with Urdu. The cabinet has approved the suggestion of the Board, the government spokesperson said here. Earlier, the only medium of teaching in madarsas was Urdu. The spokesperson added that cabinet has also asked all madarsas to follow the National Council of Educational Research and Training syllabus and use books prescribed by the council. Earlier in January, the chief minister had said that "shutting down madarsas" cannot be the means to uplift the Muslims, rather, modernisation of these institutions is the need of the hour. He had said, "We should look at modernising them. Even Sanskrit schools should do the same. Also, madarsas need to be computerised. When we talk of minority welfare, a lot of questions arise in front of us." Former Samata Party president and textile revivalist Jaya Jaitly expressed her disappointment on Indian actor Priyanka Chopra's choice of outfit at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. "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 ex-American 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 And while this isn't the first time someone has expressed discontent on social media at actress Priyanka Chopra's sartorial choice, but it surely is a first when the global icon, who attended her long-time friend Meghan Markle's wedding sporting a Vivienne Westwood lilac dress suit, was defended by netizens for not having picked a 'saree' for the royal ceremony. In fact, social media users trolled Jaya Jaitly for having put out the 'wasteful' tweet and gave her lessons on what all Priyanka has been doing to put India on the world map. she is not there to represent, she's attending her friend's wedding. make your daughter wear saari. actually don't. let her wear whatever she wants \_()_/ (@Sense8Lady) May 20, 2018 Completely unfair criticism of a woman who has done enough and more to put India on the World Map. If she is creating an international image for herself, how is that sad? She isnt doing anything dishonourable. Would you ask why Modi doesnt go touring in Kurta pyjama? Srinivas Ramamohan (@srini_ramamohan) May 20, 2018 @Jayajaitly What a shame that most of our male politicians wear a suit on all foreign travels where they represent our country. They should wear hand woven dhoti kurta or an angvastram instead. A shawl on top to ward off the cold would be perfect Kanishka Chaudhry (@kchaudhry2010) May 22, 2018 How does wearing saree make you more of an Indian? What a wasteful argument.. Women like you makes it difficult for other women to flourish because the only weapon weapon is saree & sanskaar...intellect, independent, empowered is the new attire, not saree!!! Poonam Dhiman (@_PD_____) May 20, 2018 (With input from IANS) Despite A-List actors such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren and Asia Argento speaking out, sexual harassment and assault is still all too prevalent in showbiz. And, while Hollywood isn't the only place harassment happens, the recent surge, perhaps a tsunami, of allegations against high profile and powerful men in the American film industry have triggered a new wave of action worldwide, with more women coming forward with stories of sexual abuse on social media as #MeToo. In Bollywood, unfortunately, only a handful of celebrities have spoken against the toxic culture. Recently, actor Alia Bhatt was asked about her opinion on casting couch in the Hindi film industry. "All of a sudden the casting couch discussion has become a burning topic. However, I am of the opinion whenever such topics are discussed, the environment turns very negative. People start believing that the industry is bad," Alia was quoted as saying by Deccan Chronicle. Though the actor, who is currently basking in the success of her latest release Raazi, has not faced it herself, she did acknowledge its existence in the industry. "I know and do understand that at times, many boys and girls have to go through bad situations in order to be able to fetch some work. Everyone has to face their own battle of struggle in order to be able to get work in this industry. And during their struggle some people could use the strugglers for their benefit." Alia further said that the issue of casting couch is not just limited to Bollywood, but is a universal one "They should always believe in themselves. However, if at all they are confronted with this bad moment (casting couch) they need to immediately inform their parents. And thereafter go to the police." With Karnataka out of the way, the BJP has now turned its attention to Odisha. That is the message the party wanted to send out loud and clear when it announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would address a rally in the historic city of Cuttack on May 26 to mark the fourth anniversary of his government. Significantly, the announcement came on Saturday, the day BS Yeddyurappa resigned as Chief Minister after failing to prove his majority in the Karnataka Assembly. Read with party President Amit Shahs comment in the wake of the victory in Tripura that the golden period for the party would not arrive till it won in West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala, the announcement is ample evidence of the importance of Odisha in the BJPs scheme of things for the 2019 elections. Odisha is important for the BJP for two reasons. First, the party has been in power in the state, though only in alliance with the BJD, for nine years in the past and sees it as one of the states where it can gain a few Lok Sabha seats to partially offset the losses it is widely expected to suffer in its strongholds of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and other states in 2019. Second, the party is banking on an undercurrent of anti-incumbency against the Naveen Patnaik government that has ruled the state uninterrupted for 18 years, though there are no visible signs of it on the ground yet. The choice of the historic Bali Yatra ground, set against the majestic Barabati Fort in Cuttack, as the venue for the PMs rally is significant because it reinforces the BJPs scarcely veiled efforts to hark back to the glorious past of the state, a strategy that had paid rich dividends in the Assam elections last year. For those who dont know, Bali Yatra commemorates the ancient maritime tradition of Odisha that saw traders from the state sail off for the faraway land of Bali, Java, Sumatra and Borneo (in modern-day Indonesia) and Sri Lanka on Kartik Purnima day. This bid to work on Odia pride was seen earlier when the Modi government announced a year-long celebration of 200 years of the Paika Rebellion, billed by some historians as the real First War of Independence. On what would be his sixth visit to the state after coming to power, the Prime Minister would list out the achievements of his government in the past four years and ask for a report card from the Naveen government for its 18 years in power. Towards the latter end, the BJP released a charge sheet containing a list of 36 charges, including big-ticket corruption cases, against the BJD government on Monday, the day the Naveen Patnaik government is celebrating four years of its fourth successive term. On its part, the BJD has drawn up an impressive list of achievements of its own with which it would go to town. The party has already fulfilled 80% of the promises it had made to the people in its manifesto for the 2014 elections, BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb claimed on Sunday while party sources say it would launch a PR blitzkrieg to take these achievements to the people. In fact, the PR drive has already begun in right earnest with full-page, colour advertisements extolling the performance of the health department splashed across the front pages of all major newspapers on Monday. Not to be left behind, the petroleum ministry too has released full-page ads announcing the inauguration of an LPG bottling plant at Bolangir in western Odisha. For a while now, the Naveen Patnaik government and the Modi government have been engaged in a fierce, no-holds-barred ad battle to grab eyeballs. The battle is only going to get more intense as the elections draw nearer. Simultaneously, the Modi government is expected to let the CBI loose on some key functionaries of the BJD, including ministers and MLAs, accused in the mega chit fund scam in an effort to embarrass the ruling party. With the BJP and BJD alternatively blowing hot and cold, the Supreme Court ordered a probe into the scam of around Rs 10, 000 crore, has been in a limbo for quite some time now. BJP strategists believe the resurrection of the investigation at this juncture would help take the sheen off Naveen Patnaiks clean image in time for the next elections. Aware of such a possibility, the canny Naveen has taken care to ensure that he doesnt pit himself against Modi the way Mamata Banerjee or K Chandrashekar Rao have done. The fact that he had nothing to say on the political upheaval in Karnataka last week was not lost on anyone. Earlier, he had politely spurned the overtures made by KCR, forcing the latter to cancel his visit to Odisha to finalise the contours of the proposed Federal Front. It just went to show that for all his fulminations against central neglect, Naveen is not keen to make the Modi an implacable foe. Most political observers believe his oft-repeated rhetoric of equi-distance from the BJP and the Congress is nothing but a clever ploy to keep the doors open for possible negotiations with either of the two parties should the situation so demand after the next general elections. But the BJP, after treating Naveen Patnaik with kid gloves for quite some time, appears to be finally turning the heat on. With at least two senior Congress leaders former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das and former Odisha minister Sarat Rout hinting at the possibility of a Karnataka like the post-poll alliance with the BJD to keep the BJP at bay, the saffron party has realised that it is time to go for the jugular. While it knows its much hyped Mission 120 (winning 120 out the 147 seats in the Assembly) is no more than an idle boast, the BJP is in no mood to allow a walk over to the BJD in the simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections next year. ' (The author is a senior journalist. Views are personal) Over-speeding is fatal. So is overconfidence. The BJP top brass has learnt this the hard way in Karnataka as its efforts to install a government there not only floundered, but have coalesced their detractors the Left and the Right, the regional and the national at a time when the Lok Sabha elections are not far. The BJP strategy to quickly install the party's government in the key southern state has given a boost to the badly divided opposition to close ranks for diverse reasons, much to the shock of the ruling party which had its way in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya despite not emerging the single-largest party. While patience is key in politics, the BJPs attempt to take on the Congress and regional parties simultaneously in a bid to become a pan-India party before the general elections next year, has met with stiff resistance. Aggressive expansionist moves are fraught with risks of political isolation to the extent that is has forced the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress to shake off the NGO mindset to seek power wherever possible. In the current political dynamics, the BJP juggernaut is bringing the rival parties together and they will remain united at least till the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Barring the Shiromani Akali Dal, no regional party is seen trusting the BJP, not even the Shiv Sena. While the RJD, NCP and DMK have already moved closer to the grand old party, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP, too, have no reservation in working with Rahul Gandhi. As far as the Trinamool Congress is concerned, Rahul Gandhi will have to take a call on whether to go with Mamata Banerjee or the Left Front in West Bengal. The only exception to this developing camaraderie could be seen in Telangana as the Congress remains the prime challenger to the K Chandrashekhar Rao-led TRS. In Andhra Pradesh, with the opposition space now firmly occupied by Jaganmohan Reddy, the question is whether the TDP and the Congress can work together at the national level. This means Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to ward off a tough challenge from the regional parties and the Congress in eight major states Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and now Karnataka irrespective of whether the proposed front will have a leader or whether it remains leaderless. This is because regional parties influencing politics in these states do not know whether their political space will be protected in the Narendra Modi-led NDA. Therefore, the Karnataka elections have sent out a clear message to the BJP and the Congress that they cannot aspire to get power at the Centre without the regional parties. A political commentator put it aptly, contending that the Karnataka mandate has put everyone in a bind. There are no clear-cut winners, though there is an obvious loser the Congress. The mandate can be easily construed as being decidedly against the Congress, even though the partys popular vote share has gone up. Yet, it would be quite a stretch to suggest that the BJP has earned a clear-cut right to rule the state when it has polled 1.8% less than the Congress. But politics is not a static game. The power politics in Bengaluru will soon be converted into the issue of power in New Delhi. The post-poll alliance between the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress has thrown up an issue that can provide a glue to non-BJP parties to come together. If you fail to fight unitedly, you will be finished one by one goes the message to the detractors of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Developments in Karnataka will compel Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to re-do their electoral arithmetic. Rahul Gandhi has realised that 2019 could be a different ball game altogether notwithstanding the fact that he and his party are rooting for the Prime Ministers post. The BJP has brought the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) back to the NDA and is friendly with Jaganmohan Reddys YSR Congress, which is mainly confined to Andhra Pradesh. But these parties and the current allies like Ram Vilas Paswans LJP, Upendra Kushwahas RLSP and others know that they are marginal players while the AIADMK, the Biju Janata Dal and the AAP have yet to decide where they stand. The Shiv Sena has so far remained consistent in its opposition to the BJP despite sharing power with it at the Centre and in Maharashtra. But if Narendra Modi walks two steps forward and accommodates the Shiv Sena by contesting seats either equal or lesser than the Sena in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, the picture could be different in the Lok Sabha elections. The trust deficit between the BJP and its oldest ally in Maharashtra has only grown in the last four years. The dramatic developments in Karnataka have stirred the political pot. It would be naive and premature to assume that 2019 Lok Sabha elections would be a redux of 2014. After Karnataka, Delhi could see losers emerging as winners in the post-poll game. In politics, as in life, change is the only constant. (The author is a senior journalist. Views are personal) Shamli: As the dust settles over government formation in Karnataka, the political action now moves to western UP with a Lok Sabha bypoll in Kairana and an Assembly bypoll in Noorpur. The BJP, stung after bypoll defeats in Gorakhpur and Phulpur earlier this year, is not taking any chances. To stop the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) from transferring its vote share of mostly Dalit votes to the joint opposition candidate, the BJP is using the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to reach out to Dalit voters. This, a source said, would help create a Hindutva consciousness among Dalits. We should not have lost the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls. We got complacent and our biggest mistake was underestimating Maywatis influence among her supporters, said a senior BJP leader, adding, and this time, we are not going to repeat the same mistake. We have already sent out VHP and Bajrang Dal workers to the field to sit with Dalit voters, dine with them and convince them to vote BJP. A VHP leader told News18, We are using several of our Dalit leaders and activists. It is important that ahead of these polls, Dalits view themselves as Hindus. Even BJP MPs are canvassing for the party. For example, just this week, Rajya Sabha MP Kanta Kardam, who happens to be a Dalit herself, was on the ground visiting Dalits. Since she is a Jatav, a community that has usually voted for BJP, it will have an impact on the polls. Vivek Premi, VHPs student wing head in Western UP, said this was also part of a larger project for the organisation. We should not see this in connection with the elections. To create a larger Hindu consciousness is a larger project of the VHP. We have been creating caste-harmony from the very beginning. The last two months have witnessed caste tensions in western UP, first with the Bharat Bandh in opposition to the dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, then with the arrest of Dalit activists in the region and finally, with the death of a Bhim Army leaders brother in Saharanpur. Two of Kairana Lok Sabha areas 5 assembly segments fall within Saharanpur district. When asked if there was Dalit resentment against the BJP, the president of the party's Western UP unit Ashwani Tyagi, said, "All communities are with the BJP. Unlike the opposition, we are not doing caste calculations. Our workers are going to every house and are being welcomed with warmth." The largest group of voters in the Kairana Lok Sabha area is Muslims, with a total of 5.26 lakh voters. This puts the SP-RLD joint candidate Tabassum Hassan at an advantage over her BJP rival Mriganka Singh. Dalits, with 2.25 lakh votes, form the second largest chunk of voters. A senior Samajwadi Party leader and close confidant of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said, Dalits were already disenchanted with the BJP and SP-BSP coming together for bypolls has given them a viable alternative. With the recent events, of Bharat Bandh and the Saharanpur tension, this will give us a bigger advantage. The Kairana Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after the death of sitting BJP MP Hukum Singh in February. After losses in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls, BJP leaders dont want to leave any stone unturned in Kairana. In this constituency, Mriganka Singh is up against the member of another prominent political family from Western UP. Tabassum Hassan, mother of Samajwadi Party MLA Nahid Hassan, who had defeated Mriganka in the 2017 UP Assembly Elections from Kairana. Tabassum Hassan is contesting on a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket, is the joint candidate of the opposition parties. Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao gave the swearing-in ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy in Karnataka a miss on Wednesday, choosing to meet the JD(S) leader a day before instead. Rao travelled to Bengaluru on Tuesday evening and returned to Hyderabad at night. The Chief Ministers Office has said that Rao skipped Kumaraswamys oath-taking ceremony because of important engagements. Speculation, however, is rife that he didnt want to share the stage with leaders of the Congress, the regional rival of his party Telangana Rashtra Samiti. Rao was the first among opposition leaders to moot the idea of a federal front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but the JD(S) decision to enter into post-poll alliance with the Congress has put the TRS chief in a spot. Not wanting to be seen sharing the same space as Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi months before General and Assembly elections, KCR thus skipped the first big show of opposition unity, that too in a southern state. Besides the Gandhis, Kumaraswamys swearing-in ceremony is being attended by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu. Kumaraswamy was among the regional leaders KCR had met to gather support for his federal front idea and had even urged Telugu voters in Karnataka to back the JD(S). Reacting to KCRs move, the Telangana BJP said the federal front idea was nothing but parties uniting against the BJP. "KCR supported JD(S) and now they are going with the Congress. The JD(S) and the Congress even chose Hyderabad to shelter their MLAs in a bid to prevent poaching, with TRS support. The TRS hidden agenda is exposed. The federal front is nothing but parties uniting against the BJP. The TRS will become like the JD(S) here and help Congress, said Telangana BJP president K Laxman. For Chandrababu Naidu, the swearing-in ceremony is an opportunity to place itself among opposition parties, having quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) earlier this year. Mandsaur: Clearing the decks for June 6 public meeting of Congress president Rahul Gandhi at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, the district administration gave the permission for the said event on Tuesday. The Congress is all set to launch its Assembly poll campaign from Mandsaur on June 6, where five farmers were killed in police firing during a farmers protest last year. The Sub Divisional Magistrate of Malhargarh (Mandsaur) on Tuesday granted the permission for the rally, which will be organised at local college ground in Piplyamandi. The officer, however, tagged the permission with a list of 19 conditions. The Congress party has planned a series of events on the anniversary of Mandsaur firing. The farmers unions will hold indefinite stir beginning June 1 demanding loan waivers and better prices. The agitation this time would be of indefinite nature and farmers say they will cut off supplies to cities until their demands are met. To counter farmers anguish in Malwa region around Mandsaur, CM Shivraj Singh has already inducted Balkrishna Patidar, a prominent figure from Patidar community. The CM has also included onion and garlic into Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana, the crop price deficiency payment scheme which aims at making up for lack of MSP in mandis. The two crops are integral part of farming economy in the Malwa region. Washington and Beijing are nearing a deal that would remove an existing U.S. order banning American firms from supplying Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE Corp, two people briefed on the talks told Reuters. The people, who declined to be identified because the negotiations were confidential, also said the deal could include China removing tariffs on imported U.S. agricultural products, as well as buying more American farm goods. ZTE, hit by a seven-year ban in April which effectively crippled its operations, would gain a major reprieve after the world's two largest economies stepped back from the brink of a full-blown trade war following talks last week. Also Read: Canaan a Cryptocurrency Mining Rig Company Plans $2 Billion IPO The company did not immediately reply to requests for comment. White House advisors have said publicly that the ban against ZTE is being reexamined, but that the firm would still face "harsh" punishment, including enforced changes of management and at board level. One person told Reuters there was a "handshake deal" on ZTE between U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He during talks in Washington last week that would remove the U.S. Commerce Department's ban on American companies selling to ZTE in exchange for the purchase of more U.S. agricultural products. Also Read: Honor 7A And Honor 7C With Qualcomm Processors To Launch in India Today The second person said China may also eliminate tariffs on U.S. agriculture products it assessed in response to U.S. steel duties as a part of the deal, and that ZTE could still be forced to replace its corporate leadership, among other penalties. Both sources said the deal, while not yet cemented, was likely to be finalised before or during a planned trip by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to Beijing next week to help finalise a broader trade agreement to avert a trade war. The company, publicly traded but whose largest shareholder is a Chinese state-owned enterprise, had been hit with penalties for breaking a 2017 agreement after it was caught illegally shipping U.S. goods to Iran and North Korea, in an investigation dating to the Obama administration. Also Watch: OnePlus 6 First Impressions Review: All You Might Need in 2018 Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg will meet with leaders of the European Parliament on Tuesday to answer questions about how the data of millions of Facebook users ended up in the hands of a political consultancy. The meeting comes three days before tough new European Union rules on data protection take effect. Companies will be subject to fines of up to 4 percent of global turnover for breaching them. Facebook has come under scrutiny from politicians on both sides of the Atlantic after it emerged that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy that worked on U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign, improperly acquired the data of 87 million users, including up to 2.7 million in the EU. Also Read: MediaTeks New Budget Helio P22 SoC To Support Dual-Camera and 20:9 HD+ Display Zuckerberg has apologised for the leak in testimony to the U.S. Congress, but questions remain over how the company's data policies let the leak happen. Zuckerberg will stress Facebook's commitment to Europe, where it will employ 10,000 people by the end of the year, according to pre-released remarks. "I believe deeply in what we're doing. And when we address these challenges, I know we'll look back and view helping people connect and giving more people a voice as a positive force here in Europe and around the world," Zuckerberg is expected to say. Also Read: OnePlus 6 Review: The Amitabh Bachchan of Flagship Smartphones He will also apologise for failing "to take a broad enough view" of the company's responsibilities, "whether its fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing peoples information." Zuckerberg will meet with the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, the leaders of the parliament's political groups and the chair of the civil liberties committee, Claude Moraes. The meeting will be livestreamed after an outcry over plans to hold it in private. Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook has suspended 200 apps from its platforms as it investigates third-party apps that have access to large quantities of user data. Also Watch: Karbonn Titanium Frames S7 Review: A Decent Budget Deal For its updated news application, Google is doubling down on the use of artificial intelligence as part of an effort to weed our disinformation and help users get viewpoints beyond their own "filter bubble." Google chief Sundar Pichai, who unveiled the updated Google News earlier this month, said the app now "surfaces the news you care about from trusted sources while still giving you a full range of perspectives on events." It marks Google's latest effort to be at the centre of online news and includes a new push to help publishers get paid subscribers through the tech giant's platform. Also Read: Samsung Galaxy A6, Galaxy A6+, And Galaxy J6+ Go on Sale Today: Price, Specifications And More According to product chief Trystan Upstill, the news app "uses the best of artificial intelligence to find the best of human intelligence -- the great reporting done by journalists around the globe." While the app will enable users to get "personalized" news, it will also include top stories for all readers, aiming to break the so-called filter bubble of information designed to reinforce people's biases. "Having a productive conversation or debate requires everyone to have access to the same information," Upstill said. He said the "full coverage" feed would be the same for everyone -- "an unpersonalized view of events from a range of trusted news sources." Some journalism industry veterans were sceptical about the effort to replace human editors with machine curators. "There's been a fantasy of (algorithmic) personalized news for a long time," said New York University journalism professor Meredith Broussard. "Nobody has ever gotten it right. I think that news designers and homepage editors do a good job of curating already." Google and Facebook have also been criticized for scooping up most online ad revenues and for enabling false information to spread. Recently, News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson called for an "algorithm review board" that would "oversee these historically influential digital platforms and ensure that there is no algorithmic abuse or censorship." Also Read: Honor 7A First Impressions Review: A Great Offer at Rs 8,999 Changing news ecosystem: In the new app, Google's "newsstand" addresses some concerns by allowing users to sign up for subscriptions using their Google accounts, and will enable publishers to connect with readers directly. Dan Kennedy, a Northeastern University journalism professor, said the revamped news app appears to be positive for the news ecosystem. "For many years, Google refused to share ad revenues with news organizations on the grounds that Google was driving traffic to them, and that it was up to those organizations to figure out how to monetize that traffic," Kennedy said. Also Read: Facebook Tests a New 'Send to WhatsApp' Feature: All You Need to Know "Now, with more than 90 percent of all new digital ad revenues going to Google and Facebook, Google is finally acknowledging that it's time to try something else." Nicholas Diakopoulos, a Northwestern University professor specializing in computational and data journalism, said the impact of Google's changes remain to be seen. Diakopoulos said algorithmic and personalized news can be positive for "engagement" but may only benefit a handful of news organizations. His research found that "Google concentrates its attention on a relatively small number of publishers, it's quite concentrated." Google's effort to identify and prioritize "trusted" news sources may also be problematic, according to Diakopoulos. "Maybe it's good for the big guys, or the (publishers) who have figured out how to game the algorithm," he said. "But what about the local news sites, what about the new news sites that don't have a long track record?" Diakopoulos said that while AI can offer some advantages in news curation, "you still need people involved in many different ways. You need to reflect human values, editorial values... you can't quantify every aspect that might be important to an editorial decision." The growing importance of the platforms raise the questions of whether Google and Facebook are "media" companies and not simply technology firms, a moniker both have resisted. Diakopoulos said Google "is becoming more and more like a media company," although that is sometimes difficult to define. "Yahoo started as a tech company and became a media company, and maybe Google is headed in that direction," he said. Also Watch: OnePlus 6 First Impressions Review: All You Might Need in 2018 One of NASAs prime shippers, Orbital ATK, launched a fresh load of supplies to the International Space Station from Virginia on Monday. The Antares rocket blasted off from Wallops Island before dawn, treating early risers along the East Coast to a cosmic light show, at least where skies were clear. The area of visibility stretched from New England to the Carolinas, and as far inland as Pittsburgh and Charlotte. The 7,400-pound shipment a third of it research should reach the orbiting lab Thursday. A flight controller wished the Cygnus capsule a smooth trip on the rest of its journey. Very exciting morning. Earths newest spacecraft launched this morning in a column of fire and roar, NASAs space program manager, Kirk Shireman, said from Houston. Also Read: Honor 7A And Honor 7C With Qualcomm Processors To Launch in India Today The Cygnus holds a student cement-mixing experiment, as well as an atom-cooling chamber from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory that uses lasers to get temperatures colder than even space itself. Theres also equipment for a spacewalk next month, as well as computers and groceries for the six station astronauts. Named for the swan constellation, the Cygnus is making Orbital ATKs ninth contracted delivery for NASA. SpaceX is NASAs other supplier. Also Read: Flipkart Apple Week Sale: All Discounts, Cashbacks on iPhones, iPads, AirPods And More This particular Cygnus is called the S.S. J.R. Thompson in honor of the former NASA and Orbital ATK executive, who died in November. Launch controllers wore dark suits, white shirts and red ties in memory of Thompson, who dressed that way on the job. The space station is currently home to three Americans, two Russians and one Japanese. Three of them will return to Earth at the beginning of June, followed by the launch of three new crew members from Kazakhstan. Also Watch: OnePlus 6 First Impressions Review: All You Might Need in 2018 Stockholm, Sweden: A Danish minister known for her strong anti-immigration views on Monday called for Muslims to take time off work during the fasting period of Ramzan, saying the practice can be "dangerous for all of us". The comments from immigration and integration minister Inger Stojberg, a member of the centre-right Liberal Party, come after Ramzan, one of Islam's most revered holidays in which Muslims around the world fast from dawn until dusk, began last week. "I want to call on Muslims to take leave from work during the month of Ramadan to avoid negative consequences for the rest of Danish society," Stojberg wrote in a column for the BT tabloid. "I wonder if a religious order commanding observance of a 1,400-year-old pillar of Islam is compatible with the society and labour market that we have in Denmark in 2018." She said she feared the fasting could affect "safety and productivity," giving as an example bus drivers who have "neither had a drink nor eaten for more than 10 hours". "This can be dangerous for all of us," she said. Stojberg stoked controversy last year when she posted to Facebook a photo of her smiling and holding a cake to celebrate Denmark's 50th measure for toughening immigration laws. One of the strongest measures came into force in 2016, allowing police to seize valuables from refugees. The government's guidelines exempted wedding and engagement rings after the measure prompted international outrage and drew comparisons to Nazi Germany. Stojberg also drew criticism by launching a series of adverts in Lebanese newspapers in 2015 warning would-be migrants of the difficulties of seeking asylum in Denmark. Over the past 15 years, the country has tightened its immigration policies, insisting that migrants learn the country's customs and language in order to adapt to the labour market. Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was a "substantial chance" his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not take place as planned on June 12 amid concerns that Kim is not committed to denuclearisation. Trump raised doubts about the Singapore summit in talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who came to Washington to urge Trump not to let a rare opportunity with reclusive North Korea get away. If the summit is called off or fails, it would be a major blow to what Trump supporters hope will be the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency, and a huge disappointment for Trump. "There's a very substantial chance ... it wont work out. And thats OK," Trump told reporters. "That doesnt mean it wont work out over a period of time. But it may not work out for June 12. But there is a good chance that well have the meeting." Trump said whether the meeting will be held as scheduled will be determined "pretty soon." "North Korea has a chance to be a great country and I think they should seize the opportunity," he said. Trump's Oval Office remarks were the strongest sign from him yet about the possibility of a delay or cancellation of what would be the first-ever summit between the leaders of the United States and North Korea. It was unclear whether Trump was truly backing away from a summit that he is eager to hold or whether he was strategically coaxing North Korea to the table after decades of tension on the Korean peninsula and antagonism with Washington over its nuclear weapons program. "Trump doesnt want to look like he wants this summit more than Kim does," said Bonnie Glaser, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Its a smart move to say that he is willing to postpone. But to be credible, the president really has to be willing to walk away and Im not sure he is. " Moon Keen for Summit Aides said Trump has privately been wondering whether Kim is serious about the summit after an abrupt change in tone last week from North Korea, which suggested the meeting could be canceled if it was pushed toward "unilateral nuclear abandonment." Trump heaped praise on Moon as an "extremely competent" leader despite some concerns voiced by U.S. officials that Moon might be too willing to compromise with Kim. Trump on Tuesday reiterated comments from last week, saying Kim's safety would be guaranteed and his country would be rich if he denuclearised. But he said there are certain conditions that must be met and if North Korea refuses, the meeting will not take place. He said he would like a deal to commit North Korea to denuclearise over a "short period of time." Before seeing Trump, Moon met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton and urged them to speed preparations for the Trump-Kim summit. "We South Korean people ... expect much from you. Please take care of us," Moon said, according to a South Korean government statement, in an apparent joke that nevertheless signaled the importance he places on the Trump-Kim summit. A statement from the South Korean government said Moon sought to counter doubts about Pyongyang's intentions given its history of making promises and backtracking in international talks. "... This is the first time ever that 'complete denuclearisation' has been officially pronounced and the negotiation will be conducted with North Korea's top leader who wishes for security of the regime and economic progress, which makes it a different level from previous negotiations," Moon said, according to a government readout. Trump reiterated his suggestion that Kims recent meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping had influenced Kim to harden his stance ahead of the summit. The Trump administration is at odds with Beijing over trade. Trump on Monday urged China, North Korea's main trading partner, to maintain tight sanctions, tweeting that "the word is that recently the Border has become much more porous." Paris: Where others failed, sometimes spectacularly, French surgeon Emmanuel Martinod has helped people whose windpipes have been ravaged by cancer and other diseases to live and breathe normally again. At least one of his patients, sporting a new trachea, has taken up long-distance running. Since 2009, Martinod and his team at Avicenne Hospital near Paris have carried out more than a dozen trachea transplants using donor aortas reinforced with custom-made internal scaffolding, called stents. Hailed by one US throat surgeon as a "major advance", the reconstructive technique was detailed Sunday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and presented at a medical congress in San Diego, California. Previous efforts to rebuild the windpipe and airways from scratch had focused on using artificial tubes seeded with the patient's own stem cells. This approach was made famous -- and then notorious -- by disgraced Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, who performed synthetic trachea transplants on eight patients from 2011 to 2014. Seven died from complications, and the whereabouts of the eighth is unknown. It was later revealed that Macchiarini falsified results in published studies. Martinod struck on the idea of using aortas -- the largest artery in the body -- from deceased donors to replace damaged sections of trachea, the roughly 10-centimetre (four-inch) tube of cartilage and tissue that connect the larnyx to bronchial tubes feeding into the lungs. The thick walls of aortas are designed to withstand a lifetime of pressure, channelling blood pumped by the heart. FROM SURPRISE TO SURPRISE Harvested from donors, the arteries can be frozen to minus 80 degrees Celsius (minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit) and stored, ensuring an ample supply. The freezing process, Martinod discovered, had another huge advantage: it removed the need for a life-long regimen of medications to prevent the immune system from rejecting a transplanted organ or body part. Follow-ups on the first patients to receive new windpipes brought even more good news. "We went from surprise to surprise, because we saw a regeneration of epithelium," he told AFP. The inside of a healthy trachea is lined with a thin film, called epithelium, that moistens and protects the airways. It also functions as a barrier to disease and foreign particles transported toward the mouth by tiny, hair-like cilia. Unexpectedly, this crucial layer had appeared on the inner surface of the repurposed aortas. New cartilage had also begun to form. "That was the ultimate surprise -- the aorta transforming itself into a trachea," said Martinod. "It's not magic, but no one really believed it could happen that way." Eric Volery might disagree about the magic. The 40-year old Frenchman suffered from an acute narrowing of the windpipe called tracheal stenosis, and he was slowing choking to death. AN ELEGANT SOLUTION A tracheotomy a hole cut through his throat directly into a less constricted part of his windpipe was keeping him alive. "I had to put a finger over the hole to talk," he recalled. "I'll never forget the doctor who told me: 'Mister, your working days and love life are finished'." Martinod operated on Volery in 2011, replacing his trachea and reinforcing it with a stent. Within a few years, an epithelium has formed and the stent was removed. "He's in perfect health, and is fond of taking 45 or 50-minute runs," the surgeon said. Peers have reacted favourably to the findings. "This represents a major advance in the management of diseases affecting the central airways," commented Valerie Rusch, a surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, writing in JAMA. "This approach provides an elegant solution to challenges that have long bedevilled the field of tracheal surgery." In the study, Martinod and colleagues described the outcomes for 13 transplant patients: five tracheas, seven bronchi and one carina, which is where the trachea divides. The carina transplant patient died sometime after surgery. The other 12 are all survived at least 90 days, and 10 of them were alive after nearly four years. Eight of these ten are breathing normally. All the stents were removed, on average 18 months after the surgery. The Hague: The Palestinian foreign minister called on the International Criminal Court "to open an immediate investigation" into war crimes and apartheid against the Palestinian people. Riyad al-Maliki met for an hour with the ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the tribunal in The Hague, "to refer the situation in Palestine to her office". It was an "important and historic step towards justice for the Palestinian people who continue to suffer ongoing, widespread and systematic crimes," he told reporters afterwards. The ICC launched a preliminary probe into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and the Palestinian territories in 2015. But it has yet to move to the next stage and open a full-blown investigation which could possibly lead to charges being brought. "This step pursues justice by demanding accountability," said Maliki, adding those "responsible for the crimes, highlighted in the referral, must be held accountable for their actions without further delay". The meeting at the ICC comes amid heightened tensions in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, after more than 60 Palestinians protesting the US decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem were killed by Israeli fire last week. Maliki said the Palestinian move came "due to the intensity and the rate and the severity of the crimes against our people" including the targeting of "unarmed protestors in the Gaza Strip". The Palestinian referral highlighted the issue of settlements, which the delegation termed in a statement "the single most dangerous threat to Palestinian lives and livelihoods". "Israel maintains, expands and protects the settlement regime by committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people," the statement added. Amid much controversy, the Palestinian Authority joined the ICC in January 2015 signing up to the Rome Statute which underpins the world's only permanent war crimes court. But Israel is not a member of the ICC, and the Israeli foreign ministry on Tuesday said it "takes a severe view" of the referral, which it called "a cynical step without legal validity". "The ICC lacks jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian issue, since Israel is not a member of the court and because the Palestinian Authority is not a state," the Israeli ministry added in a statement. Bensouda vowed last week that she was watching the unrest in Gaza closely and would "take any action warranted" to prosecute crimes. "The violence must stop," she told AFP, urging "all those concerned to refrain from further escalating this situation and the Israel Defence Forces to avoid excessive use of force." Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump is willing to walk away from an unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for next month, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday, after North Korea called into question the meeting last week. Pence told Fox News that North Korea should not attempt to seek concessions from the United States for promises it did not intend to keep. "It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong Un to think he could play Donald Trump," Pence said according to excerpts of an interview made available by Fox. When asked if Trump could still walk away from the summit scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, he replied: "Well there's no question." Washington: President Donald Trump's South Asia strategy has shown few signs of progress this quarter, a U.S. government watchdog report said on Monday, despite public assertions by the U.S. military that Taliban militants were on the back foot. An inspector general report said that there had been few signs of significant progress by Afghan security forces and the Taliban continued to carry out deadly attacks. "Available metrics showed few signs of progress, and during the quarter, the Taliban and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria - Khorasan each launched high-profile attacks in Kabul that killed hundreds," a statement accompanying the report said. In August, Trump committed the United States to an open-ended conflict in Afghanistan, dispatching an additional 3,000 troops to the nearly 17-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands of Afghan civilians. Publicly, U.S. officials have presented an optimistic view of the situation in Afghanistan. U.S. Army General John Nicholson, who leads U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, in November said the country had "turned the corner." Nicholson was the latest U.S. military official to try and put a positive image on the war, despite few signs of an end to the conflict. "This quarter the Taliban continued to hold territory and launched devastating terrorist attacks in Kabul and across the country," the watchdog report said. The report covered the war in Afghanistan from January to the end of March and was compiled by the inspector generals from the Pentagon, State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development. A Pentagon spokesman said the military felt that progress was being made. "Chaos and progress can coexist and that is exactly what we feel is happening in Afghanistan," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Robert Manning said. In a sign of the precarious security situation, Taliban fighters closed in on another district in Afghanistan over the weekend, a development at odds with the positive image U.S. military officials have conveyed. "Given the different audiences that U.S. military officials have in mind when they make these (public) announcements, there is simply a very strong incentive to accentuate and even embellish the positives, (and) to minimize the negatives," said Michael Kugelman, with the Wilson Center think tank in Washington. "It is a war that many Americans don't support and don't understand and yet it is war that is probably going to continue for the foreseeable future ... it is just like Vietnam," Kugelman said. GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more 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 Unfortunate Pakistan violating ceasefire during Ramadan: Mehbooba Mufti Jammu : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday termed Pakistan's ceasefire violations during the holy month of Ramadan as "highly unfortunate". Visiting bereaved families in R.S.Pura sector where indiscriminate shelling by Pakistan last week left four civilians dead, she described the killings as highly unfortunate as they occurred when the holy month had just begun and people had heaved a sigh of relief due to the Central government's welcome step of halting security operations in the state. Interacting with the families, she said the way North and South Korea decided on peaceful engagement is an encouraging signal to the entire world that issues, no matter how complex these might be, can only be settled through negotiations, not violence. Mehbooba Mufti said the state's people, who have gone through very tough times in the past, want to live a peaceful life free from violence and killings. She said the Centre's move of halting security operations has generated a hope among people who expect positive reciprocation to it by all stakeholders to let the people come out of the zero-sum game of killings and uncertainty, noting that the world over people are coming to peaceful engagement of issues as acrimony and violence has led them nowhere except deaths, destruction and devastation. On the occasion, the Chief Minister disbursed cash assistance of Rs 1 lakh each among the families whose kin were killed in the cross-border shelling over the past few days. This assistance is over and above the ex gratia relief already paid to them through Jammu administration. She also directed the Jammu Divisional administration to prepare a report of the damages caused to houses and dwelling units during the shelling. Citing a need to focus on its core business, Maplewood Senior Living will shut down its Danbury-based in-home care division over the next two months. Maplewood at Home, which held a grand opening event at its Mountainview Terrace office in March 2017, had offered senior services, such as meal preparation, medication reminders and companionship. With the expansive growth expected for Maplewood Senior Living, including several brand new communities coming online in 2019, we have decided to focus all efforts on our core business of providing assisted living and memory care to residents living in our senior living residences, Gregory D. Smith, president and CEO of Maplewood Senior Living, said. Consequently, we will be phasing out Maplewood at Home. According to a filing with the Connecticut Department of Labor, the closure will result in 115 layoffs, taking effect July 17. Of current staff, only nine are full-time positions. There are many employment opportunities within our Maplewood Senior Living communities in Connecticut which we are offering to staff, Smith said. We are also working with our local home care provider partners to provide staff with opportunities to them if they so choose. Smith won the prestigious Cecil J. Previdi Award in 2017 from the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce. Maplewood opened its first senior living community 12 years ago in Danbury. It has since expanded with facilities in Bethel, Darien, Norwalk, Newtown, Southport and Orange. Its headquarters are in Westport. It also has facilities in Massachusetts and Ohio. Maplewood Senior Living is also launching a new, luxury urban brand called Inspir, which has its first location opening in 2019 on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It broke ground on the $300 million project last summer. Three years ago, the company launched Maplewood Healthcare, which develops medical offices. Last year, Maplewood Healthcare completed two buildings in Newtown. It is currently working on a project in Bethel. Smith said the company is working with clients and families to maintain continuity of care and minimize any disruptions in service during this period of transition. Maplewood at Home caregivers include registered nurses, nursing assistants, home health aides, personal care assistants, social workers, client service directors and companions. Other services it offered included transportation, shopping, light housekeeping, medical equipment coordination and personal care such as getting dressed and showering. The Maplewood at Home office Terrace included a training facility with a simulated studio apartment with bedroom and bathroom for hands-on learning. The writer may be reached at cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338 BROOKFIELD Some roads that were previously reopened after the storm will close again Saturday so that crews can make repairs. Silvermine Road between Dean Road and Pocono Road, Route 25 between Route 133 and West Whisconier and Junction Road between Route 25 and Stony Hill Road will be closed for the rest of the day Saturday, police said. 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. NEW HAVEN Moments after the Board of Education voted to close three high schools magnet school Creed and two of the citys three alternative high schools President Darnell Goldson said there was still work to do to remediate a proposed $15 million deficit for next year. Days later, the Board of Alders Finance Committee rerouted a $5 million increase to the schools budget in Mayor Toni Harps city budget to fund an increase to the employee health benefits line. On Monday, members of the committee brainstormed solutions to stretch an estimated $13 million in savings so far to extend to $20 million for the next fiscal year. Committee Chairman Jamell Cotto amended the agenda at the meeting, which had appeared to be a routine budget update from the agenda posted online, to include six schools for Superintendent of Schools Carol Birks to consider closing or consolidating: Quinnipiac Real World Math STEM School, Edgewood School, Barnard School, Wexler-Grant Community School, Troup School and West Rock STREAM Academy. When asked whether he thought it was fair to bring up those schools at the meeting without informing the communities, Cotto said he predicts hell see parents, faculty and students from those schools from now on. Cotto said he chose some of the schools for the list in part because of Birks stated reason for closing Creed: the district is at risk for sanctions if it does not meet minimum racial isolation standards. Several schools in the district do not have the required minimum 25 percent of white or Hispanic students in their population. Its not the first time the committee has included West Rock in the conversation: in the past, the school was shortlisted for Birkss consideration, as was High School in the Community. Ultimately, Birks recommended closing Creed, New Light and New Horizons schools. Were telling you, Dr. Birks, were willing to move on your recommendations once you give them to us, Goldson said. Following the board meeting when the vote against Creed was made official one week ago, Goldson, a former alder, said its not his job to consider whether the city could bear cuts of its own. I still would like them to pick up my trash, he said. On Monday, Goldson told Cotto he couldnt know the answer to the same question when a reporter inquired. Its my hope the alders reconsider their vote, Cotto said. We are making some drastic cuts. Goldson expressed bemusement at a quote by Alder Adam Marchand in the New Haven Independent that the move to potentially flat-fund the schools was to send a clear signal to the school board about exercising restraint, as days prior the board moved to shut a high school despite coordinated opposition from Creeds community. He also floated an idea that was unpopular with the surrounding community two years ago: charging suburban students using the citys magnet schools for tuition. A state law passed in 2016 the aftermath of the controversial idea requires districts to give at least a years notice before charging magnet tuition. Goldson said West Haven school officials communicated that if West Haven were totake back all of its students , it would have to build another school. New Haven ultimately is doing West Haven a favor, Goldson argued. I would like to review that proposal, Goldson said. Birks warned of the danger that, if West Haven calls that bluff, more of the citys schools are in danger of being out of compliance with the reduced isolation numbers that were cited as a reason to close Creed. brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com Blog Archive October 2021 (18) September 2021 (59) August 2021 (56) July 2021 (57) June 2021 (66) May 2021 (63) April 2021 (75) March 2021 (73) February 2021 (61) January 2021 (69) December 2020 (62) November 2020 (62) October 2020 (70) September 2020 (51) August 2020 (52) July 2020 (60) June 2020 (57) May 2020 (79) April 2020 (56) March 2020 (52) February 2020 (50) January 2020 (69) December 2019 (58) November 2019 (64) October 2019 (44) September 2019 (49) August 2019 (71) July 2019 (71) June 2019 (71) May 2019 (67) April 2019 (74) March 2019 (85) February 2019 (64) January 2019 (73) December 2018 (66) November 2018 (81) October 2018 (87) September 2018 (66) August 2018 (76) July 2018 (84) June 2018 (86) May 2018 (64) April 2018 (83) March 2018 (78) February 2018 (69) January 2018 (69) December 2017 (82) November 2017 (87) October 2017 (89) September 2017 (77) August 2017 (75) July 2017 (76) June 2017 (90) May 2017 (86) April 2017 (59) March 2017 (61) February 2017 (82) January 2017 (92) December 2016 (90) November 2016 (80) October 2016 (75) September 2016 (95) August 2016 (104) July 2016 (93) June 2016 (96) May 2016 (98) April 2016 (99) March 2016 (113) February 2016 (82) January 2016 (98) December 2015 (113) November 2015 (94) October 2015 (93) September 2015 (98) August 2015 (97) July 2015 (105) June 2015 (103) May 2015 (95) April 2015 (100) March 2015 (102) February 2015 (93) January 2015 (114) December 2014 (110) November 2014 (103) October 2014 (105) September 2014 (96) August 2014 (96) July 2014 (112) June 2014 (119) May 2014 (109) April 2014 (116) March 2014 (117) February 2014 (109) January 2014 (116) December 2013 (117) November 2013 (121) October 2013 (125) September 2013 (93) August 2013 (115) July 2013 (110) June 2013 (102) May 2013 (115) April 2013 (113) March 2013 (119) February 2013 (108) January 2013 (119) December 2012 (132) November 2012 (115) October 2012 (121) September 2012 (115) August 2012 (124) July 2012 (102) June 2012 (121) May 2012 (121) April 2012 (127) March 2012 (130) February 2012 (112) January 2012 (131) December 2011 (129) November 2011 (118) October 2011 (118) September 2011 (110) August 2011 (138) July 2011 (146) June 2011 (139) May 2011 (144) April 2011 (127) March 2011 (140) February 2011 (116) January 2011 (134) December 2010 (133) November 2010 (136) October 2010 (148) September 2010 (128) August 2010 (155) July 2010 (129) June 2010 (138) May 2010 (152) April 2010 (161) March 2010 (119) February 2010 (149) January 2010 (155) December 2009 (177) November 2009 (171) October 2009 (176) September 2009 (159) August 2009 (156) July 2009 (170) June 2009 (157) May 2009 (185) April 2009 (179) March 2009 (183) February 2009 (170) January 2009 (181) December 2008 (189) November 2008 (183) October 2008 (164) September 2008 (164) August 2008 (177) July 2008 (179) June 2008 (170) May 2008 (191) April 2008 (175) March 2008 (195) February 2008 (162) January 2008 (188) December 2007 (187) November 2007 (189) October 2007 (194) September 2007 (156) August 2007 (194) July 2007 (163) June 2007 (176) May 2007 (190) April 2007 (177) March 2007 (192) February 2007 (165) January 2007 (170) December 2006 (182) November 2006 (177) October 2006 (185) September 2006 (180) August 2006 (156) July 2006 (160) June 2006 (177) May 2006 (173) April 2006 (157) March 2006 (158) February 2006 (146) January 2006 (144) December 2005 (135) November 2005 (138) October 2005 (128) September 2005 (141) August 2005 (136) July 2005 (133) June 2005 (119) May 2005 (143) April 2005 (52) NEW HAVEN The young men and women walked in one-by-one through the crowd of well-wishers, backs ramrod straight, to take on a blessing and burden Monday afternoon, as the Yale Naval and Air Force ROTC units held a joint military commissioning ceremony. Chaplain Sharon Kugler offered an invocation to begin the proceedings, with the cadets and midshipmen sitting off to her left, resplendent in their uniforms, and the family members and friends that filled Battell Chapel before her. We understand this commissioning as both blessing and burden. Walk with us, as we seek to be light in the darkness striving to be generous, merciful and just. Enable us to act morally and with boldness, to defend and foster the equality of a person, the hopes of a people, the justice of the ages, said Kugler. May we be ever inspired by the spirit of service, on this day and all days. Ambassador Ryan Crocker served as keynote speaker for the affair, urging the young servicemembers to step out into the world with an open, eager spirit. As you go forward, as Colonel McCarthy said, leave lots of room for serendipity, for the essential spontaneity of choice not choices you make, but dynamics that may choose you. Raise your hand for absolutely everything, said Crocker. Crocker, the former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan and Syria, noted the complexity, danger and uncertainty of our world a place in which changes are occurring and need to be made and asked the young people to be aware of and partner with the civilians in their midst. Post World War (II), there are no purely military contingencies anymore as we look at Syria, Iraq, Afganistan, just to name a few in my part of the world. These are complicated, messy, political (and) military contingencies, said Crocker. As you seek to better our position, fulfil our goals, keep our nation safe, just bear in mind that some of those on your left and right will not be wearing uniforms ... they will count on you, and you will come to count on them. So, congratulations, Godspeed you go with our best wishes. After Crockers remarks, the young people came to the front of the hall and recited the Oath of Office, pledging to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which I am about to enter, so help me God. With that, the audience rose to its feet, and cheers and applause filled the sanctuary. The new officers looked on solemnly through the ovation, then stepped into the crowd as they were granted permission to join their family and friends for a moment of celebration. Hugs were exchanged, and photos taken, before the program continued. Each young person was called forward by name, their hometown, major, and assignment read aloud, to receive a commissioning certificate and pin from the Yale Veterans Association. They came from places such as Los Angeles, Hawaii, New Fairfield, Tarrytown, New York; they had earned degrees in economics, global affairs, mechanical engineering, physics and philosophy, and more; they were off to military outposts and bases in Virginia, Texas, Florida, and around the nation. After each had been recognized, the group stepped to the fore of the room once again, and the crowd stood as one, offering whoops and shouts of joy and one more round of applause, celebrating these young men and women as they began their lives serving in the Armed Forces. william.lambert@ hearstmediact.com ANSONIA Whether theyre defusing a threat of a potential school shooting, talking a despondent individual off a bridge or tracking down an elderly person with dementia who wandered away from home, members of the Ansonia Police Department know a thing or two about going above and beyond the call of duty. Because of those heroic actions and selfless acts of bravery, officers recently were honored during the departments annual awards ceremony held at Ansonia High School. Stories of lifesaving actions taken by Ansonias men and women in blue were told by Police Chief Kevin Hale, who was honored to present his fellow officers with awards. They rise to the occasion and run towards danger while most everyone else is running away, Hale said. Men and women become police officers, not for the money or fame, but to make a difference and to have a positive effect on the community where they work. Our officers have made a difference in the lives of so many people, and continue to do so on a daily basis. Hale said officers handle so many calls, and help so many people, that they often dont have time to think about the impact theyve actually made. Their actions and words may have had such a positive impact on another human, that that person will remember the officer for the rest of their lives, Hale said. Those are the day-to-day interactions that matter the most. And that is why it is so important to recognize these officers for their efforts and impact. Lt. Wayne Williams, for example, was cited for the time he noticed a prisoner attempting to hang himself in a cell. He called upon Sgt. Eric Sturges and Officer Christopher Kelley who stopped the prisoner from the act and transported him to the hospital for treatment. Then there was an incident in which Officer Jacquelyn Troesser rushed to the Maple Street Bridge to find a despondent woman threatening to jump. Troesser, along with ARMS Chief Jared Heon and Assistant ARMS Chief Ryan Hunt, talked the woman down and pulled her to safety. Another incident, in which an anonymous social media post threatened that students at Ansonia High School would be shot, was handled quickly and without incident by Officer Michael Barry and Detective Gerald Tenney (now retired). The two worked with the social media site to obtain GPS coordinates of where the suspect was when the threat was posted, and through interviews found the individual and arrested him. Numerous other stories were shared of various lifesaving acts and bravery. For all those actions, the following officers received awards and citations: Lifesaving Award: Officer Mark Clifford; Officer Bernard Oksenberg; Detective Richard Esposito; Officer Barry McMahon; Officer Jacquelyn Troesser; Lt. Wayne Williams; Sgt. Eric Sturges; Officer Christopher Kelley; Officer Allen Luna; Officer Paulo Soares; ARMS Chief Jared Heon; and ARMS Assistant Chief Ryan Hunt. Certificate of Recognition: Officer Mark Clifford; Detective Kristen Hunt; Detective Brian Harte; Detective Richard Esposito; Officer Joshua Roussel; Officer Michael Castillo; Officer Brendon Nelson; and Officer Peter Lovermi. 3rd Departmental Citation: Officer Michael Barry; Detective Gerald Tenney (retired); Detective Kristen Hunt; Officer Joshua Roussel; Detective Brian Harte; Sgt. Matrthew Kunkle (Shelton PD); DetectiveScott Nihill (Seymour PD, retired) ; Detective Todd Romagna (Seymour PD-retired); Officer Christopher Kelley; Officer Micheal Castillo; and Officer Paulo Soares. Medal of Valor: Chief Daniel J. Haynes (Ansonias first police chief and second police officer in states history killed in line of duty.) Civilian Awards were presented to residents Christian Radzion whose heroic actions prevented a major fire from turning tragic, and Cynthia Beall for helping police identify and catch a shooter. Years of Service: Officer Joseph Jackson , 30 years; Lt. Andrew Cota, 25 years; Sgt. Vincent Orlando, 20 years; Detective Stephen Adcox, 20 years; Detective Brian Harte, 20 years; Officer Barry McMahon, 20 years; Officer Mark Guillet, 20 years; Sgt. Jenifer Guisto, 15 years; Sgt. Eric Sturges, 15 years; Detective Jonathan Troesser, 10 years; Officer Paul Smith, 10 years; Officer Michael Sterling, 10 years; Officer Michael Castillo, 5 years; Officer Mark Clifford, 5 years; Officer Jonathan Edwards, 5 years; and Officer Brendon Nelson, 5 years. jean.sos@snet.net DERBY Mayor Rich Dziekan recently volunteered as a guest bartender at Bad Sons brewery, raising a total of $1,478 for the Valley Community Foundation. Dziekan has been volunteering his time two hours a month to various Derby restaurants and bars and donating the proceeds to various Valley nonprofits , including TEAM, Inc. and The Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital. Pouring drinks for a good cause is something Dziekan decided to do not only raise money for area nonprofits , but to shine a spotlight at local businesses, as well. I think it is amazing and a testament to Derby residents who come out in support of our local charities, Dziekan said. The City truly appreciates the partnership we have forged with local businesses and I hope to keep the momentum going. DERBY The Derby Public Library will host its monthly lunchtime book discussion at 12:30 p.m. June 27 on the featured book Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. The novel is based on the true story of a labor and delivery nurse who was prohibited from caring for a newborn because the father requested that no African-American nurses tend to his baby. A medical crisis results in the infant's death and a murder charge against a black nurse named Ruth Jefferson. Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassionand doesnt offer easy answers. Using the narratives of Ruth, the babys father, and the female public defender who takes Ruths case, Picoult examines multiple facets of racism. Viola Davis and Julia Roberts will star in the soon to be released movie version. Lunchtime Book Discussions are held the last Wednesday of the month and are free and open to the public. Multiple copies of the book will be available at the circulation desk. Drop-ins are welcome no registration required. For further information contact the Reference Desk at 203-736-1482. ANSONIA The Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center has announced the following programs for June: CONNECTICUT TRAILS DAY Sat. June 2, 9 am Join Nature Center Director Alison Rubelmann and Ranger Daniel Bosques for this morning walk. Discover the beauty of the Nature Centers typical New England woodland during the CT Forest and Park Associations annual Trails Day weekend. This moderate hike will also focus on the history of the land, and we will visit the settlement of the Paugasucks. Bring water, a snack, and bug spray and wear sturdy shoes. Suitable for older children and adults. FREE. FANCI ANNUAL MEETING AND POTLUCK SUPPER Wed. June 6, 5:30 pm If youre a FANCI member who cant make the regular meetings, now is the time to find out what weve been up to! Reports and the election of officers will take place. Bring your own table setting and a dish to share (12 servings), and your ideas and suggestions for next years activities. Please register in advance. CT DEEP FISHING EDUCATION PROGRAM-(2-day program) Classroom instruction: Sat. June 9, 9 -11 a.m. Fishing at Colony Pond: Tues. June 12, 5:30 - 8 .pm. The Nature Center is sponsoring this CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection C.F.E.P. (Connecticut Fishing Education Program) Family Fishing Class. The classroom instruction will be held on June 9 at the Nature Center; fishing with the instructors and DEEP representatives will take place at Colony Pond in Ansonia on June 12. All equipment and bait will be provided. Adults over the age of 16 must have a fishing license to participate in the fishing event. Please pre-register for this FREE program, open to 7 years old and up; children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. WILD EDIBLE HARVEST AND FEAST - Saturday. June 9, 1 p.m. Join Rangers Jessica and Dawn on an epic foraging adventure. Together we will explore the wilds of the Nature Centers property to learn about and harvest wild edible plants. The program will conclude with tasting prepared wild edible treats like garlic mustard pesto, knotweed crumble and dandelion fritters back at the building. For adults and children ages 9 and up. FEE: $6 per person. Please pre-register. SURVIVAL SCHOOL: Stay Dry, Stay Warm! - Sun. June 10, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. One of the basic necessities for a survival situation is shelter. Staying dry goes hand in hand with keeping warm. Join Ranger Dan in scouting for a suitable place to build a shelter, and help construct a hideaway made from the surroundings. We will be traveling off-trails, so insect awareness and terrain are your own consideration. Ages 14 and up. Class size limited, so you must pre-register. FEE: $10 per person. NATURE AND PLAY FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AND OTHER DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS - Sun. June 10, 2:30 pm Do you have a child aged 8-12 with autism and other developmental delays? Would you like to join a group playtime that meets once a month? Gently led by Ranger Amie, we will explore ways to introduce your child to playing indoors and outdoors at the Nature Center. Activities include meeting animal friends, taking a walk or easy hike, and nature crafts. Playtime begins at 2:30 pm and ends at 4:30 pm (or however long your child would like to stay). Children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the class. FREE. Pre-registration required; group limited to 10 children with adult. FIELD TRIP: Earth Tones Native Plant Nursery - Sat. June 16, 10 am (meet at nursery, 9:45 am) Join the Nature Center for a field trip to Earth Tones Native Plant Nursery in Woodbury. We will be provided a guided tour as we walk enjoying this beautiful rustic setting. Learn about New Englands grasses, ferns, perennials, shrubs and trees and how you can create an amazing landscape using natives. Space is limited so pre-registration is required. For directions, visit www.earthtonesnatives.com. We will meet in the parking area at the nursery at 9:45 a.m. CREATURE FEATURE: Meet Our Scaly Friends - Sat. June 16, 12 noon Snakes, lizards, and turtles, oh my! Come learn about the Nature Centers non-native and native reptiles. Get a chance to even touch some during the program. Take a short walk around the pond and to our snake boards to see what native species you can observe here in the park. This program is for all ages. FREE; please register in advance. Register now for SUMMER NATURE DAYS! Choose one or both of our week-long sessions, each held Mon.-Fri., 9 am to 3 pm. Dates: Aug. 6-10, Aug. 13-17. For children 6 to 11 years old who love the outdoors and wildlife, these popular classes are not only educational but also a chance to explore the parks 156 acres. We will visit a variety of habitats in the park such as wetlands, fields, and woodlands. Hikes, games, crafts, and cooking will be incorporated into our lessons. TUITION PER WEEK: $150 priority students (Ansonia residents and current family-level FANCI members), $175 all others. ***ONGOING PROGRAMS*** Saturdays Creature Features - 12 noon Come to meet our furry, scaly, and feathery animal ambassadors. Youll have the chance to touch and hold them in this FREE family program for all ages. Sundays Guided Hikes 1 pm Join a Nature Center guide on Sunday afternoons for fun, exercise, and learning about our trails! See the above listings for hikes with a specific theme. Mondays Night Trail Run, 5:30 pm Ranger Dan will lead you through our 156-acre network of trails while you burn off the weekend's extra calories. We guarantee that this FREE program is the best way to start off your week. Please pre-register and wear appropriate footwear Tuesdays Family Organic Garden Program, 3:30-5 pm Learn about growing a variety of fruits and vegetables. Dress appropriately; you will get water and/or soil on your clothing. FREE, with the potential to take home fresh local produce! Pet Loss Grief Support Group - By appointment Losing a beloved animal can be tragic and a very emotional time for humans. There are numerous resources to turn to for the loss of a human loved one; however, there are limited options for when we lose an animal. Susan Wilson has created this FREE support group for those who have lost an animal or have one in the process of moving on. Please call Susan at 1-802-379-4449 to set up an appointment. Compiled by Jean Falbo-Sosnovich. Guwahati, May 22 : Riding on rickshaw, cycle and pushing thela, the Congress leaders and party workers of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Tuesday had protested against Union government's failure to control fuel price in Guwahati. The Congress leaders reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP's 2014 Lok Sabha election slogan 'Bahut hui mehangai ki maar, ab ki baar BJP ki sarkar'. The protest was led by APCC president and Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora and over 1000 party workers participated in the protest rally. On Tuesday, per litre petrol price in Guwahati is recorded at Rs 79.03 while diesel price is Rs 71.07. On December 1, 2017, per litre petrol price in Guwahati was Rs 71.13 and diesel was Rs 60.88. APCC president Ripun Bora said that, fuel price was not hiked during the Karnataka assembly elections and when it was over price hiked by Rs 3 to Rs 3.50. Ripun Bora further siad that, all essential commodities price will be hiked after fuel price hike and common people will be definitely affected. On the other hand, Assam Congress leader Babita Sarmah said that, during election period they made one by one jumla. "Why they (BJP-led Union government) has not included fuel under GST," the Congress leader asked. North Augusta, SC (29841) Today Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 81F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Lindsey Hodges is a general assignment reporter at the Aiken Standard and North Augusta Star. Follow her on Twitter at @LindseyNHodges. Managing Editor Having lived and worked in Indy on and off since 1977, and currently living in Carmel, I've seen the city change a great deal. I love covering the arts in all its forms, and the places where the arts and broader cultural issues intersect. Viewed 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. Imphal (Manipur) : The Assam Rifles troops had recovered huge quantity of drugs worth of Rs 1.70 crore in Manipur on Monday, officials said on Tuesday. According to the reports, the troops of 12 Assam Rifles of 26 Sector Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (South) had launched an operation based on intelligence input regarding the smuggling of contraband items at Khudengthabi area near Moreh town along Indo-Myanmar border. A Silver colour Maruti Eeco Van travelling from Moreh to Imphal was stopped for checking at Khudengthabi. While frisking and carrying out thorough check of the vehicle and driver, a total of 230 grams of Heroin and 11000 numbers of WIY tablets worth Rs 1.70 crores were found hidden inside the tool kit bag of the driver of the Van, an Assam Rifles official said. Security personnel had apprehended one drug smuggler. During interrogation, the driver, resident of Tengnoupal district, revealed that he was carrying the contraband items to Churachandpur and he was promised a sum of Rs 15,000 on delivery at Churachandpur. The apprehendee along with recovered items was handed over to Moreh Police station for further investigation. Since January this year, Assam Rifles has seized contraband drugs worth Rs 43 crore along National Highway 102. Mr. Trump seems to bend all of the conventional rules of negotiation. He can be both belligerent and obsequious. He was both in his talks with China. His early talk on tariffs was so combative that Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska, said at the time, If hes even half-serious, this is nuts. Then the president suddenly became a China jobs booster, instructing his government to find a way to ease up on ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications company that the Commerce Department said had violated sanctions by selling equipment to Iran and North Korea. President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast, Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. Too many jobs in China lost. His tweet looked like a clear attempt to ingratiate himself with China before the trade talks, but it also broke Mr. Trumps own negotiating rule from The Art of the Deal: The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it. That makes the other guy smell blood, and then youre dead. Part of the problem for Mr. Trump is that it is difficult to negotiate when there is disagreement within your own team about the approach to take. White House officials would have you believe that they are singing from the same hymn sheet, but they are not. Mr. Mnuchin and Larry Kudlow, Mr. Trumps top economic adviser, are often at loggerheads with their more hawkish colleagues Robert E. Lighthizer, the United States trade representative, and Peter Navarro, the presidents chief trade adviser. If that isnt obvious, just look at the steady stream of anonymous quotes with each side sniping at the other over the past couple of weeks. Maybe thats the way Mr. Trump likes it. As I reread The Art of the Deal, I was struck by this line: I never get too attached to one deal or one approach, he wrote. I keep a lot of balls in the air, because most deals fall out, no matter how promising they seem at first. That may be a practical strategy in business, but it gets more complicated when it comes to trade. Or even more high-stakes matters, like North Korea. Seven years ago, Sony entered a complex deal with Abu Dhabi for control of the EMI Music Publishing catalog, a trove of more than two million songs that ranges from Over the Rainbow to hits from Beyonce. Now, Sony is buying out its partner in one of the biggest music deals in years. Sony announced on Monday that it had signed a binding agreement to acquire the 60 percent stake of EMI owned by a consortium led by the Mubadala Investment Company, a sovereign wealth fund of the government of Abu Dhabi, for about $2.3 billion. The deal will give Sony about 90 percent of the equity in the EMI catalog, with the remainder owned by the estate of Michael Jackson. Altogether, the deal values EMI at $4.75 billion more than double its price in 2011, when Sony, Mubadala and a handful of other investors bought it for $2.2 billion. It is the latest and splashiest deal to reflect a music business that has been revitalized by streaming. I believe this acquisition will be a particularly significant milestone for our long-term growth, Kenichiro Yoshida, the new chief executive of the Sony Corporation, said in a statement. Some series of problems get presented to them say, in the form of a parentless child landing on their doorstep or a new social wrong in their community. They see needs and respond with an instinctive and sometimes reckless series of yeses and later on figure out how theyre going to address them. Never look down to test the ground before taking the next step, Dag Hammarskjold once advised. Only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road. You often see such people expanding their ambitions in the face of hardship. Andrei Sakharov was a Soviet scientist who became so concerned with the radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons tests that in 1961 he wrote to Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev dismissed him, portending decades of government intimidation and eventually internal exile. But every time the Soviets punished him, he expanded his activism and widened his critique. Often, they have another strong back. Theres usually a team of peers around them sharing core tasks and carrying them when they cant carry themselves. Great moral leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King may get the bulk of attention, but they usually emerge from trusted small groups. People who lead these lives tend to possess an insane level of optimism, a certainty that history does change for the better and that achieving justice is only a matter of time. They remain undaunted even in the face of severe hardship and assume that every wrong is temporary. Finally, the direction of their lives moves almost invariably from fragmentation to integration. The fragments of their character have become integrated around one single-minded moral cause. They tend to be hedgehogs, not foxes. Their efforts are generally built around healing some rupture in society, reconciling differences, bringing the unlike together, a move from fragmentation to wholeness. However contentious the world may look, they have a mind-set that at our deepest level we are all connected in a single fabric. Some of these moral heroes even seem to sense that no matter how diverse their fields of work are, theyre all somehow part of the same big struggle. As one antipoverty activist put it to Colby and Damon: I also know that I am part of a struggle. I am not the struggle. I am not leading any struggle. I am there. And I have been there for a long time, and Im going to be there for the rest of my life. So I have no unrealistic expectations. Therefore, I am not going to get fatigued. Since President Trump renounced Americas commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal this month, the question has been what comes next. On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced what he expected to happen Iranian capitulation. In a belligerent speech to the conservative Heritage Foundation, Mr. Pompeo said the administration intended to use all of Americas economic and military might if Iran did not stop uranium enrichment, developing nuclear-capable missiles and supporting Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Iranian forces in Syria. The demands 12 points in all are so extensive that it is unlikely Iran could comply any time soon, even if it wanted to. And any benefits it would achieve in exchange sanctions relief, the re-establishment of diplomatic and commercial relations would be at some unspecified point in the future. Mr. Pompeo promised to bring unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime, to track down and crush Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies around the world, and to inflict bigger problems than theyd ever had before if Iranian leaders resume their nuclear program. After Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December, a number of companies gave their employees one-time bonuses, ostensibly sharing their new corporate windfall. As a PR stunt, these checks were a savvy investment; they allowed the companies to pander to the administration and made themselves look beneficent without incurring any long-term obligation to their workers. Critics of the new law tried to point out that one-time bonuses are not the same as pay increases, and that the overwhelming majority of corporate savings from the tax cut was likely to go to shareholders. Nevertheless, in parts of the media, the idea that Republicans had been vindicated took hold. Democrats scramble on taxes as Republicans gain steam, said a CNN headline. Democrats go on defense as the Republican tax plan grows more popular, said CNBC. Five months later, everything liberals said about the tax bill turned out to be true. Contrary to Republican claims, wage growth has been anemic. Instead of sharing the wealth with employees, companies have spent record amounts of money buying back their own stock. The tax cuts are creating larger deficits than Republicans predicted, and those deficits are now being cited as a pretext for cutting spending on the poor. They remain unpopular. Republicans in some districts have abandoned them as an election issue. Watching this unfold should have helped inoculate commentators against Trumpist bamboozlement. It has not. In March, Trump spontaneously accepted an offer, conveyed to him by a South Korean envoy, to meet directly with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. North Korea has sought a one-on-one meeting with a sitting American president for years, believing it would legitimate it as a global power, but previous administrations have refused. No American president has ever agreed to meet a North Korean leader before because that is a huge concession in and of itself, Robert Kelly, a political science professor at South Koreas Pusan National University, told me. A man who the authorities say fatally shot five people and wounded six others at an airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last year has agreed to plead guilty to several counts of committing violence in a deal that allows him to avoid the death penalty, according to documents filed in court on Monday. Prosecutors said that the man, Esteban Santiago, would plead guilty to 11 counts related to violence at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and would serve five consecutive life sentences, followed by 120 years in prison for the shooting rampage on Jan. 6, 2017. As part of the agreement, Mr. Santiago, 28, also waived his right to appeal and agreed to forfeit a pistol that he used in the shooting, the documents say. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining 11 counts of the indictment filed last year. A competency hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, though it appears possible that it could turn into a plea hearing at which the deal would be completed. Do prosecutors usually hold parents liable when children or teenagers shoot someone? In a recent review of news reports and police records of cases in which children under 12 either killed themselves or were shot and killed by another child, researchers found that about half of those deaths led to a criminal charge. But Daniel Webster, the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, said he was not aware of any systematic study of the matter. If a parent loses a child to unsafe storage, the harm is principally done within that family or home, he said. Prosecutors have something better to do than to prosecute those grieving parents. Charges would be more likely in mass shooting cases, Dr. Webster said. Which states have negligent storage laws? In addition to Texas, versions of the law are on the books in California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia. The laws generally apply when a gun owner knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Do any states require guns to be locked up even when there are no children in the home? Massachusetts is the only state that mandates that all guns be stored with a lock. In California, Connecticut and New York, a firearm must be kept locked up if its owner lives with someone who is not allowed by law to possess a gun, like a felon or domestic abuser. Other states are not as strict. A lot of the language in these laws give a lot of latitude, Dr. Webster said. He said that while some states have strengthened existing laws, there has been no new legislation on this question in a generation, and there are no federal statutes. WASHINGTON Mark J. Penn was one of the primary architects of President Bill Clintons re-election campaign in 1996 and served as chief strategist for Hillary Clintons presidential campaign in 2008. Few people have done more to advance the Clinton cause in the last couple of decades. Which makes it all the more striking that in his current campaign the longtime Democratic political consultant has essentially switched sides and accused associates of the Clintons of helping to orchestrate a politically driven, manufactured deep state investigation into President Trump that Mr. Penn says should be shut down. In a series of recent newspaper columns and appearances on Fox News, Mr. Penn has endorsed Mr. Trumps argument that the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, was instigated by secret Democratic intriguing. The inquiry, Mr. Penn said, has resorted to storm trooper tactics and has become a scorched-earth effort to bring down Donald Trump. This process must now be stopped, preferably long before a vote in the Senate, he wrote in a column in The Hill newspaper that was posted on Sunday evening and generated a lot of buzz in Washington. 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. WASHINGTON The White House brokered an agreement on Monday with intelligence and law enforcement officials that will allow Republican congressional leaders to view some of the most highly classified information related to the Russia investigation, administration officials said. For months, a small group of lawmakers close to Mr. Trump have been in a pitched fight with the Justice Department over access to some of its most delicate case files, including documents detailing the scope of the Russia investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel. They have trained their focus most recently on access to documents and information related to a secret informant used by F.B.I. agents to gather information from Trump associates who were overseas during the 2016 presidential campaign. Representative Devin Nunes, Republican of California and the House Intelligence Committee chairman, has threatened to hold Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who is overseeing the Russia inquiry, in contempt of Congress or to try to impeach him if he does not hand over the material. Until Monday, intelligence and law enforcement officials had strenuously resisted both demands, saying that the information was highly sensitive and that it was not appropriate to turn over the unredacted material to Congress, where they fear it could potentially become public or be used to undermine Mr. Muellers inquiry. They raised some of their concerns in a letter and then in a face-to-face meeting two weeks ago with Mr. Nunes. WASHINGTON When President Trump publicly demanded that the Justice Department open an investigation into the F.B.I.s scrutiny of his campaign contacts with Russia, he inched further toward breaching an established constraint on executive power: The White House does not make decisions about individual law enforcement investigations. Its an incredible historical moment, said Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School who helped write a coming scholarly article on the limits of presidential control over the Justice Department. Mr. Trumps move, she said, is the culmination of a lot of moments in which he has chipped away at prosecutorial independence, but this is a direct assault. Almost since he took office, Mr. Trump has battered the Justice Departments independence indirectly lamenting its failure to reopen a criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton that found no wrongdoing, and openly complaining that Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia inquiry. But he had also acknowledged that as president, I am not supposed to be involved with the Justice Department, as he told a radio interviewer with frustration last fall. As part of that pattern, he has also denied the account by James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director he abruptly fired, that the president privately urged him to drop an investigation into Michael T. Flynn, Mr. Trumps first national security adviser. Guwahati, May 22 : Banned militant group National Democratic Front of Bodoland Sangbijit (NDFB-S) is continuing their recruitment drive and also recruited minor boys and it was revealed after security forces apprehended six youths in lower Assams Kokrajhar district who were trying to go Myanmar to take arms training. According to the reports, based on specific inputs Assam police and army had jointly launched operation at Kokrajhar railway station on Monday evening (May 21) about information that, six youths are trying to go Myanmar to take arms training and join NDFB-S. The joint operations team succesfully nabbed 6 youths waiting to board a train to Rangiya. Among the nabbed youths three were identified as Thaika Narzary, Jyanendra Wari and Nabaraj Brahma and during interrogation they confessed to be working for NDFB-S as over ground workers. The remaining three youths identified as 19-year-old Swrangsar Basumatary, 15-year-old Swmkhwr Brahma and 16-year-old Nwrswn Mushahary and during interrogation they confessed to have been recruited for NDFB-S. Superintendent of Police (SP) of Kokrajhar district Rajen Singh said that, all six youths were travelling to Myanmar via Mon district in Nagaland for arms training. Based on specific input about information that, some youths have been tried to go Myanmar and take arms training and join in banned outfit NDFB-S, we have launched operation and nabbed six youths. NDFB-S is trying to recruit youths from this area and also strength their base. We have found that, the outfit group has recruited some minor boys and it is ringing an alarm bell, Rajen Singh said. The top Assam cop also said that, the outfit group has recruited some minor boys and give up arms training. Security personnel had recovered six mobile phone handsets, 10 SIM cards, Rs 2180 and one backpack. NDFB-S is active in lower and northern Assam districts and some parts of Arunachal Pradesh. WASHINGTON As President Trump and his allies repeatedly take aim at the Justice Department investigation into his campaigns possible links to Russias election meddling, Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general overseeing the inquiry, has mostly evaded the attacks through inventive maneuvers. To protect the inquiry, Mr. Rosenstein has agreed to meet increasingly onerous demands from Mr. Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. But legal scholars and former law enforcement officials fear that the measures Mr. Rosenstein has resorted to could weaken the Justice Departments historic independence, allowing the department to be used as a cudgel to attack the presidents political enemies. That dilemma intensified on Sunday when Mr. Trump demanded that the department investigate the F.B.I., infuriated by reports that a government informant had met with officials from his campaign in the early weeks of the investigation. Mr. Trumps request violated decades of established Justice Department independence from presidential intervention into what it investigates, and it targeted one of the law enforcement officials most sensitive secrets: the identity of a source. Nonetheless, Mr. Rosenstein responded by asking the departments inspector general to examine the presidents allegations. Mr. Rosensteins supporters said his response was a deft deflection that achieved three immediate needs: It neutered a troubling request, appeared responsive to the presidents demands and allowed Mr. Rosenstein to keep his job. But, some cautioned, his short-term strategy could have longer-term costs for the Justice Departments independence from the White House, which was established to prevent political meddling after Watergate. WASHINGTON Frustrated and impatient, fed up with waiting and eager to fight back, President Trump has embarked on what amounts to a two-prong strategy to contain the threat and undercut the credibility of the escalating investigations targeting him and his associates. The blizzard of Twitter messages combined with a string of public statements by his lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, in recent days seemed aimed at turning the focus away from the conduct of the president or his team to that of their pursuers while laying out a series of red lines to limit the reach and duration of the primary inquiry. I think were finally seeing some semblance of a strategy emerge, said Alan M. Dershowitz, the Harvard Law School professor emeritus who speaks with the president from time to time but has declined to join his legal team. They have now decided that they need to be more proactive, more aggressive and more anticipatory and I see that happening. While he has assailed the investigations for a year, Mr. Trumps latest assertion of bad faith by the Justice Department and the F.B.I. went beyond talk and resulted in an extraordinary meeting on Monday at the White House, where the president pressured intelligence and law enforcement officials to allow congressional Republicans to view highly classified information related to the Russia investigation that they had previously refused to divulge. 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. MELBOURNE, Australia An Australian archbishop was convicted on Tuesday of covering up a claim of sexual abuse dating back decades, and now faces a prison sentence of up to two years. Philip Wilson, the archbishop of Adelaide, is the highest-ranking Catholic official in the world to be convicted of concealing such crimes. The decision comes in the midst of a global reckoning for the Roman Catholic Church, as it grapples with a history of child sexual abuse and cover-ups. Cardinal George Pell, also an Australian and the Vaticans de facto finance chief, was ordered last month to stand trial on charges of historical sexual abuse. Archbishop Wilson, 67, was accused of covering up abuse by a priest, Jim Fletcher, in the state of New South Wales in the 1970s. Without Frank Stella, we wouldnt be collecting art, said Ron Pizzuti, who fell in love with a small Stella painting in Paris in the early 1970s but couldnt imagine spending $10,000 on an artwork. The Ohio native, then working in retail, got his initiation buying a Karel Appel print for $900 on installment in 1974 from a gallery closer to home, in Columbus. After he founded the Pizzuti Companies, a real estate and development concern, in 1976, he soon found he could buy Stella as well as Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Agnes Martin and Cy Twombly. Ron was born with the gift of a very aesthetic eye, Ann Pizzuti said, sitting with her husband in their Manhattan apartment overlooking Madison Square Park, where Mr. Pizzuti was recently honored for helping to steer its public art program. Ms. Pizzuti good-naturedly indulges her husbands obsession with collecting, now focused on contemporary, often politically charged works by artists including Titus Kaphar, Zhang Huan, Adi Nes and Simone Leigh. Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep and lets us get paid to watch comedy. If youre interested in hearing from The Times regularly about great TV, sign up for our Watching newsletter and get recommendations straight to your inbox. A Mole in Trumps Campaign? Seth Meyers blasted President Trump on Monday for suggesting that the F.B.I. had embedded a spy in his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump had said on Twitter that he would ask the Justice Department to investigate whether the F.B.I. infiltrated his campaign. He also sent out a six-part tweetstorm attacking what he has repeatedly called the witch hunt run by Robert Mueller, the special counsel. Dear Match Book, Im spending the summer doing a big road trip around the United States, and Id like to read my way across the country as I go. Im looking for books that speak to the heart of a place. Ill be traveling west to east and then back again. My route includes stops in Portland, Ore.; Glacier, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks; Denver and Breckenridge, Colo.; Kentucky, Washington, D.C.; and New York City. Some of my favorite books are East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith, and anything by Wendell Berry or Mary Oliver. Ive also enjoyed memoirs by Molly Caro May and J. D. Vance. Since I cant fit a whole library in my van with me, which books should I bring? CLAIRE CORNELL OAKLAND, CALIF. Dear Claire, Ive never gotten the hang of literary tourism. I lingered over the pages of Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway on South Beach and If on a Winters Night a Traveler, by Italo Calvino, outside Tulum. Environmental dissonance seems to fix books in my consciousness. However, your ambitious tour is both geographically and bookishly inspiring. With so many miles to cover (I hope youll consider packing audiobooks!) over such diverse terrain, I can see the joy and wisdom in letting literature act as your travel guide. Put a Bird on It As you kick off your trip in the Pacific Northwest, try a novel intended for younger readers with enough style and complexity to keep the attention of adults. Wildwood, the first book in a trilogy by Colin Meloy (with folksy, sylvan illustrations by Carson Ellis), follows the adventures of Prue, a 12-year-old vegetarian and vinyl enthusiast from Portland, as she sets out to rescue her baby brother, Mac, after he is kidnapped by a murder of crows and spirited away to a fantastical forest teeming with savage and noble creatures at the western edge of the city. Human Natures Two lyrical books, each rooted in history, weave together memoir and environmental consciousness hewing to both your route and your interests. Wild places can unwind a mind, remarks an Iraq War veteran to Terry Tempest Williams early in her collection of essays about American national parks, The Hour of Land. Williamss book winds its way through 12 nature reserves, including three of those on your tour: Grand Teton, Canyonlands and Glacier. Her sweeping views of the countrys protected lands (complemented by photographs by Lee Friedlander and Ansel Adams, among others) open up new ways of thinking about Americas contemporary divisions. Every business in the nation that wanted to be perceived as modern in that Art Deco era had to have neon, a neon preservationist and historian told The Times. By the late 1960s, neon was on the outs as the first lady Lady Bird Johnson started a national beautification campaign and communities passed anti-neon laws. Neon flickered back to life in the 1980s, but made a strong return in the 2000s in the United States. In Hong Kong, a city known for its glow, neon lights have slowly dimmed in recent years. Just as quickly as neon dies out, it can turn back on. Remy Tumin wrote todays Back Story. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. Sign up here to get it by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning. You can also receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. And our Australia bureau chief offers a weekly letter adding analysis and conversations with readers. Browse our full range of Times newsletters here. What would you like to see here? Contact us at asiabriefing@nytimes.com. 1. Theres a very substantial chance that it wont work out. President Trump cast doubt on his planned meeting next month with North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un, in Singapore. His comments came as he met with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea at the White House, above. Mr. Moon has acted as a go-between in the proposed talks, and South Korea had insisted on Monday that there was a 99.9 percent chance that the meeting would be held. If the North maintains its nuclear arsenal, can Mr. Trump still claim diplomatic victory? It will depend on how he redefines success and if he meets with Mr. Kim, our correspondent noted. While medical reform was supposed to make health care more accessible, industry analysts say the problem persists. In 2015, for example, national health officials recommended that for critically ill patients, hospitals had to first save them and then demand payment later. New parents are vulnerable, according to Chinese state media reports. In 2012, a couple in Shenzhen were denied access to their newborn twins for two months because they could not pay nearly $19,000 in fees. In 2011, a 57-year-old grandmother in Nanjing, whose son owed a hospital $2,800 in medical fees for his newborn, knelt and begged doctors and nurses to allow him to see his child. That same year, a hospital in Dongguan told the parents who owed it more than $1,600 that it had sent their newborn child to an orphanage in order to frighten them into paying. While the families inevitably get their babies back, hospital officials can use their demands for faster or fuller payment. Rebecca Taylor, an Australian breast-feeding counselor in Beijing, called Ms. Logbos case a ginormous violation of human rights. She added that separating Ms. Logbo from her babies could be almost catastrophic in terms of breast-milk production. Im saddened, disappointed and horrified, but Im not surprised, Ms. Taylor said. If anybody goes to a local hospital for anything, everybody knows you have to go to the A.T.M. first to carry a fistful of cash. You will literally not get things without paying. Ms. Logbo acknowledged that her situation complicated matters. Her boyfriend, also a Liberian and the father of her twins, has been detained in China since September, she said, accused of lending his Chinese bank account to a friend for a money transfer. At the Huadu District Peoples Hospital in Guangzhou, the demands for money came early. On May 5, as Ms. Logbo was going into labor, she had to pay $130 for an ambulance fee. After her C-section the next day, she had to pay a $790 deposit. Imphal (Manipur) : The troops of Assam had huge cache of arms and ammunition, explosives in Manipurs Ukhrul district, which were smuggled from neighbouring Myanmar into India. According to the reports, based on intelligence input, the troops of 6 Assam Rifles of 9 Sector Assam Rifles and 27 Assam Rifles of 10 Sector Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (South) had launched an operation and recovered huge quantities of arms, ammunition and explosives. An official of Assam Rifles said that, the consignment of the weapons and ammunitions which included two GSG-5 German rifles with four magazines, one Uzkon semi automatic shot gun with three magazines, two 9 mm Beretta pistols with four magazines, one 9 mm Sigsauer pistol with two magazines, cordtex, detonators and more than 6000 rounds of ammunition of various kinds was being transported from Ukhrul towards Imphal. The recovered arms, ammunition and explosives were smuggled from Myanmar by suspected militants. Over 17 militant groups including Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), Manipur Peoples Liberation Front (MPLF), Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), United National Liberation Front (UNLF), Coordination Committee (CorCom) (six valley based groups), Manipur Naga Revolutionary Front (MNRF), National Socialist Council of Nagaland -Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), People's United Liberation Front (PULF), Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) are active in Manipur and most of outfit groups have taken shelter in Myanmar soil. This persistent sense of threatened white identity raises a prickly question about the countrys direction. Mr. Trumps rise to the presidency prompted widespread efforts to understand the motivations of the white working-class voters who propelled him into the White House. It fueled scorching debates over the role that racism played in the presidential election. Economists proposed that workers in distress because of trade and technological shocks would embrace more nativist politicians. In one study, David Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, along with several other researchers, concluded that counties whose workers were more exposed to Chinese imports have shifted notably toward the right in presidential and congressional elections since the turn of the century. And yet some political scientists do not entirely buy the arguments. Diana C. Mutz of the University of Pennsylvania rejects the economic hardship idea to explain the 2016 election, proposing instead something called status shock. White voters fell for Mr. Trump, she argued, because they felt threatened by increasing numbers of minorities and the sense that the United States was losing its global dominance. Whether Mr. Trumps proposed barriers against imports and immigrants found support because of a sense of racial threat or out of distress over the loss of manufacturing jobs to China and other countries, ethnic unease is clearly shaping American politics and policy. The share of America defined as white and non-Hispanic is shrinking. The United States is expected to reach minority-majority status in the early 2040s. A Cornell University sociologist, Daniel T. Lichter, suggests that if the demographic profile of poverty remains constant, by 2050 over 70 percent of Americas poor will be from todays minority groups. Since its launch in January, the Times Up fund which is administered by the National Womens Law Center in Washington has raised about $22 million in donations to help pay for legal representation and other assistance for women facing harassment. So far, about 2,700 workers have contacted the fund, saying they have been harassed. The largest number of complaints, about 9 percent, have come from the arts industry, followed by workers in the federal government, education and health care. Retail workers made roughly 5 percent of the complaints. Volunteers at the National Womens Law Center, an advocacy group focused on womens rights, have been reviewing the online complaints and providing many workers with names of lawyers who might be willing to take on their case. The law center does not vet the facts of each case, but relies on the workers lawyers to make sure the claims are sound. When deciding on funding, the staff uses a set of priorities, including whether the worker is in a low-wage job or in a male-dominated occupation. We hope to send a message to employers, said Emily Martin, the law centers general counsel. Just because a woman doesnt have a lot of money or connections doesnt mean someone isnt going to stand up for them. The assistance from Times Up is relatively modest about $3,000 to help pay the initial lawyer fees. If the case goes to trial, the fund will provide up to $100,000 for fees. WASHINGTON The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday barred reporters from three news organizations from an event on the impact of toxic chemicals on drinking water at the agencys headquarters. The event, during which the E.P.A. administrator Scott Pruitt declared that addressing the impact of a class of man-made chemicals was a national priority, came at a time when Mr. Pruitt is the subject of at least 12 federal investigations. Among those denied entry from the morning session of the planned two-day event was a reporter from The Associated Press, Ellen Knickmeyer. When she requested to speak to an E.P.A. public affairs official, she was grabbed by the shoulders and shoved out of the building by a security guard, according to a report from the wire service. Also turned away were Corbin Hiar, a reporter for E & E News, and Rene Marsh, of CNN, along with a camera operator and a producer from the cable network. A former executive at Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and the onetime head of a small mail-order pharmacy were convicted on Tuesday of using a secret kickback arrangement to defraud the drugmaker. A federal jury in Manhattan found Gary Tanner, the former Valeant executive, and Andrew Davenport, at one time the chief executive of Philidor Rx Services, guilty on all charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement after the verdict that the two mens scheme was an exercise in bad faith. Mr. Tanner, Mr. Berman said, was entrusted by his employer to manage Valeants relationship with Davenports company, and that Mr. Davenport had exploited that trust by promising a massive kickback in exchange for betrayal. During our walk through Oakland, we passed a tiny vintage clothing store called Reginas Door, and its owner, Regina Evans, a congenial woman in a headwrap, emerged to hug Riley. In addition to selling clothes, the shop offers financial support and creative arts healing to survivors of sex trafficking and provides a venue for Evanss plays, which Riley has attended. She gave Riley a happy update on one of the women she helps support, then let him know about a new play she would be mounting soon in Berkeley. Its very weird and different, about a slave who kills herself and rebuilds her life with two spirits she cant really see but knows are there, Evans said. Writing it, I came to a standstill and got scared: I dont think this is gonna work. Then I started reading your movie reviews, and everyones saying, Its crazy but its awesome. I said, Well, Boots wrote a crazy script, and I started writing again. Thats beautiful, Riley said, nodding. Much of Sorry to Bother You seems outlandish on its surface. The film has a charmingly handmade ambience of hyperreality: puppetry, stop-motion animation and dozens of little offbeat details, like Cassius broken windshield wipers, which he must operate by yanking a piece of string. Dave Eggers sees the movie as carrying forward a tradition of dirty surrealism, where its not about perfect special effects, its about the rawness of the subconscious. Your dreams dont have high production values! Your nightmares are rough. Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry have done such incredible work in that realm, but until Boots, its been a while since anyone else has. In Rileys hands, these fantastical elements have a clear dramatic purpose. Cassius ability to speak with a white voice (provided by David Cross) is a way to poke fun at perceptions and performances of racial identity. The films central villain, a company with the innocuous name of Worry Free, signs laborers to unpaid lifetime contracts in exchange for a guarantee of meals and glammed-up prison-style housing bunk beds crammed beneath chandeliers. Worry Frees scheme seems a touch less far-fetched when considered alongside old company-owned mining towns, Foxconn City in Shenzhen or even tech campuses with their free amenities and napping pods, meant to blur the line between work and life and extract more value from employees in the name of providing perks. Eggers, a longtime San Franciscan, said: When I read Bootss script, Id just published The Circle a 2013 dystopian novel set in Silicon Valley and it struck me that we were both picking up on changes weve seen in the Bay Area. Theres this strangely sinister cast to life here sometimes, where its still idyllic and free and open but also theres a sense of consolidation of power, of wealth and of control that was never part of the Bay before. Cassius begins the movie broke and aimless, renting a room from his uncle Sergio (Terry Crews), who is facing imminent foreclosure. When the telemarketing firm rewards Cassius supernatural cold-calling prowess with promotions and praise, these represent a concrete means to save Sergios house and the first time in Cassiuss adult life that people in power have told him hes good at something even if that something turns out to be shilling for weapons manufacturers and Worry Free (whose sarong-sporting chief executive is played with slick, winking malevolence by Armie Hammer). Cassius comes to see his striking co-workers and his radical artist girlfriend, Detroit (a transfixing Tessa Thompson), as impediments to the blossoming of his own excellence, but Riley and Stanfield make it compellingly tough to dismiss his motivations here as merely selling out. Boots and I wanted to make sure he was relatable, Stanfield told me, a normal guy in an otherworldly situation that actually has a lot in common with real-world situations. Among the questions the movie raises is whether black success within capitalism is something to reflexively celebrate or whether the success of individuals who belong to an exploited class serves to ratify and consolidate rather than thwart or ameliorate the system doing the exploiting. Discussing this question, Riley used the example of the resolutely capitalist Jay-Z: When people listen to Jay-Z, theyre working all day or trying to work and pay their bills, and what they hear is someone whos free. Who doesnt have to worry about the electricity. But all were taught is that those who are rich deserve to be rich because they worked harder than the rest of us or theyre smarter. And this may be true of some of those folks, but there are definitely very poor people who are very smart and work hard. Its just that this system can only have a few people on the top. So Jay-Z is saying: You can do this, too, Im trying to give you game, and it ends up explaining poverty as a system of bad choices. Yes, maybe you can make better choices and be the crab that gets out of the bucket but thatll be at the expense of all the other crabs in the bucket. In the past, Riley has criticized Hollywood as abidingly reactionary in the stories it tells about black people: All these movies whether its Menace II Society or Boyz N the Hood the moral is Move some place else and everythings better, he has said. And the message is always Were destroying ourselves, and theres no mention of anything systematic. At one point, drinking coffee on stools in an uptown cafe, I brought up Black Panther. Riley told me that he admires Ryan Coogler and considers him a mentor, but his praise for that film came with an asterisk: It was great for a superhero movie. One of the best Ive seen. But I have a problem with superheroes in general, because, politically, superheroes are cops. Superheroes work with the government to uphold the law. And who do the laws work for? Riley answered this question with a smirk. Put it like this: We all love bank robbers, because we know that in the two sides of that equation, the robbers are the ones to root for, not the banks. Only in superhero movies and the news do they try to make us think were against the bank robbers! I am currently a senior in high school and am lucky enough to have been admitted to a prestigious private university. Im strongly considering attending this school because of its excellent academics and the other opportunities it offers me, and because my family can afford it. Both my parents attended this school at various points, so Im sure that being a legacy didnt hurt my application. But Im worried about the ethics of inserting myself into a system that so many criticize as racist, unfairly influenced by privilege like my race (Im white), the legacies that I have and my socioeconomic status. However, even if I were to turn down this school, Im sure someone else would take my place, and Id still most likely be attending a fancy private college; it seems unlikely that my individual decision would impact the overall system. Do I have an ethical obligation not to enter a system that is clearly deeply flawed, if it so happens that those flaws seem to have worked out to some degree in my favor? Name Withheld Many people consider the legacy system to be among the social mechanisms that generate significant inequality of opportunity in this country. This would seem to be your view too. You worry, more broadly, about how the other advantages you have smooth your way toward the collection of yet more advantages about what the Yale law professor Daniel Markovits calls snowball inequality. Fair enough. In dozens of elite colleges, there are more students from households in the top 1 percent than there are students from the bottom 60 percent. After a bumpy first two months on the campaign trail, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will arrive at the New York State Democratic convention this week with surer political footing. Hillary Clinton will deliver the keynote address on Wednesday and endorse Mr. Cuomos candidacy for a third term. He is widely expected to win the overwhelming support of party leaders to get an automatic spot on the ballot. And in a fortuitous twist, the person whom Mr. Cuomo most wants to center his campaign against in the primary President Trump will be only a few miles away speaking at an immigration forum, allowing the governor a ready-made contrast. His actual primary opponent, Cynthia Nixon, will be much closer: She plans to attend the Democratic convention (I wont be scared out of the room, she said in a statement), being held at Hofstra University on Long Island, but shell be playing on turf largely controlled by party officials appointed by and loyal to Mr. Cuomo. Later Tuesday, Mr. Freidman texted a New York Times reporter about the article that had been published about his guilty plea, calling it shameful and comparing it to a tabloid story. Michael is dear dear personal friend and a passive client! Thats it! he wrote. I am humbled and shamed! he said, adding that the guilty plea represented me taking responsibility for my actions. I had been an officer of the court in excess of 20 years and now I am a felon! he wrote. I hate that I have been grouped in this runaway train that I am not a part of! But asked if he was cooperating with the authorities, Mr. Freidman would not respond. After Mr. Freidmans guilty plea, his lawyer, Patrick J. Egan of Fox Rothschild, declined to comment. But earlier this year he said his client considers Michael a very good friend and a great client. Nonetheless, Mr. Freidmans agreement to cooperate in his tax fraud case in Albany could have larger implications. Mr. Cohen is facing an investigation by the United States attorneys office in Manhattan, which is examining his business practices. Anything that bolsters that inquiry could increase pressure on Mr. Cohen to cooperate with Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel who is investigating the 2016 election that led to Mr. Trumps victory. Last month, federal agents carried out search warrants at Mr. Cohens home, his office and a hotel room where he was staying. The search sought a wide range of materials, including documents related to his business associates and accountants, as well as a $130,000 payment to Stephanie Clifford, the adult film actress known as Stormy Daniels, who has said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen is best known as Mr. Trumps personal lawyer, a role given more prominence by the actor Ben Stillers recurring portrayal of him on Saturday Night Live. But he has a wide range of business interests of his own that have drawn scrutiny, from taxicabs to real estate to a failed casino boat. Mr. Schlossbergs rant angered activists for immigrant rights, who said it reinforced stereotypes that Spanish speakers are not citizens. And they worried that it perpetuated fear within immigrant communities of ICEs aggressive tactics to deport those who are undocumented. Most problematic, Mr. Espaillat said, the vitriolic video showed Mr. Schlossbergs inherent bias were he to represent a man who speaks Spanish. (His firms website lists services in four languages: Spanish, French, Chinese and Hebrew.) What if things did not go well for that particular client? Mr. Espaillat said. That client can assume that it was because of how he feels about people who speak another language. In the days after his outburst, Mr. Schlossberg received thousands of messages of protest on social media, and protesters gathered in front of both his office and apartment. Mr. Schlossberg did not in fact have a physical office in midtown, but he had an agreement with a company, Corporate Suites, to use the mailing address and business center at 275 Madison Avenue, said the president of the company, Hiyam Grant. Now, Mr. Schlossberg has even lost his virtual office. In an interview, Mr. Grant said he terminated the contract after Mr. Schlossberg made his comments because he was concerned about the safety and security of other clients and staff, many of whom are from all over the world. They speak many different languages, and just the fact that one person is very upset about foreign languages being spoken is very foreign to me running any business in New York, Mr. Grant said. Mr. Schlossberg was filmed hiding behind an umbrella to duck reporters last week. New Yorks Commission on Human Rights appeared at Fresh Kitchen on Friday to tell employees how to file a complaint. Kathmandu, Nepal: Alleged mastermind of the 33 kg gold smuggling case and related murder of carrier Sanam Shakya, Chudamani Upreti aka Gore of Urlabari, Jhapa has been arrested on Tuesday. Special team of Nepal Police arrested Gore from Gaurighat area of Kathmandu metropolitan City-8 on Tuesday morning. Following his arrest, he was made public before the media by organizing a press conference at the Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday afternoon. Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, a vigorous conservative voice in the Vatican and influential figure in the Latin American church who drew attention for seemingly playing down the churchs sexual abuse scandal, died on Friday in Rome. He was 88. His death was announced by the Vatican, which quoted Pope Francis as calling him a well-deserving servant of the Gospel. In 1999, shortly after he was proclaimed a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Castrillon was elegized in a Colombian magazine by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist and a fellow countryman, as a rustic man with the profile of an eagle and an unpredictable cross between popular Latin American culture and Renaissance reserve. Cardinal Castrillon, who spoke eight languages and had a doctorate in canon law, was nothing short of controversial particularly while he served in Rome as prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy, from 1996 to 2006, and as president of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei from 2000 to 2009. Clint Walker, a former merchant seaman and real-life deputy sheriff who roamed the West as a towering, solitary figure on Cheyenne, the first hourlong western on television, died on Monday in Grass Valley, Calif. He was 90. His death, at a hospital, was confirmed by his daughter, Valerie Walker, who said the cause was congestive heart failure. Mr. Walker lived in Grass Valley, about 60 miles northeast of Sacramento. Mr. Walker also appeared in the The Dirty Dozen and other movies, but he was best known for Cheyenne, seen on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show opened with a theme song that stuck to the brain with the strength of epoxy: Cheyenne, Cheyenne where will you be camping tonight?/ Lonely man, Cheyenne, will your heart stay free and light? Another of Mr. Hendrickss works was Dream Event (1972), which he described as a 48-hour piece where I was fasting, sleeping and writing down dreams, naked on a mattress, under a sheet, with a pitcher of water to keep me from getting dehydrated and a pot to pee in, and where people could come in to observe at any hour of the day or night. And there were Mr. Hendrickss headstands, which he performed all over the world standing on his head for extended periods, perhaps painted blue or with signage dangling from his feet. I got to seeing a headstand as kind of a bonsai performance, sort of the minimum of performance, he explained in an oral history recorded in 2016 for the Archives of American Art. It was dealing with the least amount of space that you could work with, and it was just simply positing yourself in one place, and then reversing yourself. Mr. Hendricks was, in short, an experimentalist of the first order. The artists associated with Fluxus tended to lead bifurcated art-lives, Barbara Moore, a historian of the movement, said by email, on the one hand, creating unclassifiable objects and performances that continue to undermine expected gallery and institutional presentation; and on the other, producing works that can be exhibited in more traditional ways. Geoff encompassed this duality brilliantly. Geoffrey Hendricks was born on July 30, 1931, in Littleton, N.H. His parents, Walter and Flora Bishop Hendricks, were writers who traveled in intellectual circles; his father was an English professor who founded Marlboro College in Vermont and several other educational institutions. Geoffrey attended the Putney School in Vermont and then enrolled at Amherst College, where he received a bachelors degree in 1953, when the Korean War was still in progress. Having been raised a Quaker, he applied for conscientious objector status and ended up doing alternative service teaching chronically ill patients at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. He pursued art studies at the same time at the Cooper Union, receiving his certificate there in 1956. HONG KONG Zhao Kangmin, an archaeologist who pieced together pottery fragments discovered by farmers and reconstructed the life-size terra-cotta warriors that have become one of Chinas best-known ancient wonders, died on May 16. He was 81. The state news media reported the death. His granddaughter, who declined to give her name, confirmed the death on Tuesday, saying the cause was a pulmonary infection. The thousands of warriors were made more than 2,000 years ago and buried at the vast underground tomb complex of Chinas first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, along with models of horses, weapons, chariots and other objects. Qin Shi Huang had united much of the country under the short-lived Qin dynasty, which is generally considered the origin of the name China. The warriors job was to defend him in the afterlife. Berlin On May 23, Germanys new foreign minister, Heiko Maas, will meet his American counterpart, Mike Pompeo, for the first time. The meeting will take place in rough times for trans-Atlantic relations, amid European worries over Donald Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and a looming trade war. If Germany truly is the centerweight of Europe, then it matters enormously what its leading figure on foreign policy thinks. The thing is, no one knows. Mr. Maas is no stranger to politics, but he is a novice when it comes to foreign policy. During Chancellor Angela Merkels last term, the 51-year-old Social Democrat served as the minister of justice and consumer protection, his first federal office. Before that, he spent nearly 20 years as a representative and government minister in the Saarland, a small state along the French border. And yet, in just the 10 weeks since Mr. Maas took charge, he has already begun to leave his mark. On March 26, only two weeks after he took office, Germany joined 28 other countries in expelling Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of a Russian-British double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter. A few weeks later, Mr. Maas flew to Moscow for his inaugural visit with Sergei Lavrov, his Russian counterpart. Mr. Lavrov is one of the worlds most experienced diplomats, and someone known to bring the proverbial gun to every knife fight. One can only imagine the flurry of briefing papers and meetings at the German Foreign Ministry to get their new guy up to speed. Princess Diana once famously observed that there were three people in her marriage, so it was a bit crowded. The same is true of Israelis and Palestinians. The third person in their marriage is Mother Nature and shell batter both of them if they do not come to their senses. Lets start with Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist organization that rules the Gaza Strip. If there were an anti-Nobel Peace Prize that is, the Nobel Prize for Cynicism and Reckless Disregard for Ones Own People in Pursuit of a Political Fantasy it would surely be conferred on Hamas, which just facilitated the tragic and wasted deaths of roughly 60 Gazans by encouraging their march, some with arms, on the Israeli border fence in pursuit of a return to their ancestral homes in what is now Israel. While the march idea emerged from Palestinian society in Gaza, Hamas seized on it to disguise its utter failure to produce any kind of decent life for the Palestinians there, whom Hamas has ruled since 2007. You hear people say: What choice did they have? Theyre desperate. Well, Ill give you a choice one that almost certainly would lead to an improved life for Gazans, one that I first proposed in 2011. Seminars at the honors program range from civil rights to environmental justice. These are high-expectations classes, which demand more reading and writing than undergraduates usually encounter. They are designed to connect whats happening locally to the wider world. Students in a marketing course, for example, are working for a company that promotes the citys Hire. Buy. Live. Newark initiative, and an art course delves into the lives of Portuguese immigrants. For the first time these students are learning about themselves and about that corner where they come from, said Engelbert Santana, the assistant dean of advisement. In a bookshelfs-worth of studies, psychologists have shown that imbuing undergraduates with a sense of belonging the realization that they can reach out to their peers and their professors when they need help or advice helps them cope with the predictable setbacks of college life. The same holds true for initiatives that develop whats called a growth mind-set, the willingness to keep plugging away, instead of giving up, when a problem proves challenging. While all students can benefit from such support, minority students gain the most. These insights underlie the emphasis on forging personal connections. When their classes seem too difficult, or personal problems overwhelm them, what one student called multiple check-ins keep them from going under. They can turn to a peer mentor, who understands, firsthand, what theyre going through; they can meet with one of the deans, who know them on a first-name basis; and they can go to their faculty adviser. The adviser is there to identify red flags whether its finances, academics or personal, Mr. Santana told me. That means helping a student with a full-time job whos majoring in biology deal with anxiety or helping a student get out of a toxic relationship. Taja-Nia Henderson, a Rutgers law professor, believes that if we hadnt been there, the students wouldnt have made it. They keep telling me: I dont have anyone else to talk to about this. The amount we get from everyone peers, faculty, administration, faculty is mind-blowing, said Adebimpe Elegbeleye, a student from Nigeria. The nurturing environment allows us to come to our full potential. I never thought that college could be like this. When I talk to friends at other universities and tell them whats going on, they say, Wow, you know this dean? You have what support? A minute later, he shared the video with me. I was with a friend in a cafe in New Delhi. I saw the first two frames and froze. I wanted to vomit and fought tears. My friend got me a glass of water. How could they? I threw up and burst into tears. I called a friend who worked in tech forensics. He said it was a clear fake, probably produced with a new app called Deepfake. His words did not console me. The video was on my phone and on numerous others across the country. Minutes later, my social media timelines and notifications were filled with screenshots of the video. Some commented on how prostitution was my forte. I went into a frenzy blocking them, but they were everywhere, on my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Some commenters asked what I charged for sex, others described my body. Many claiming to be nationalist Hindus sent pictures of themselves naked. I started getting screenshots from friends of a Twitter account created in my name. I was doxxed. A tweet with my name, picture, phone number and address was being circulated. I am available, it said. Someone sent my father a screenshot of the video. He was silent on the phone while I cried. After a while he spoke in a sad, heavy voice. I am surprised this did not happen earlier, he said. They want to break you. The choice is yours. I asked a friend to take charge of my Facebook account and send me screenshots and links of every message posted to my inbox. The reporter in me wanted the digital record, but I shuddered every time my phone beeped. I have no way of finding out who produced the video. What I do know is this: Most of the Twitter handles and Facebook accounts that posted the pornographic video and screenshots identify themselves as fans of Mr. Modi and his party, and argue for turning India into a Hindu rashtra a country for Hindus only, where religious minorities have almost no rights. I reported several of those accounts to the cybercrime section of the Delhi Police. That night the administrator of a Facebook page called Varah Sena wrote, See, Rana, what we spread about you; this is what happens when you write lies about Modi and Hindus in India. The comment was posted along with the concocted video on Facebook and Twitter. (The page was deleted after I filed the police complaint.) Nearly every day this month there has been a new attack, an attempted attack or an operation to prevent an attack. On May 15, a counterterrorism squad in Medan, in the northern part of Sumatra, shot two suspected terrorists, killing one. The next day, four men rammed a car into the gate of the polices headquarters in Pekanbaru, also on Sumatra, and then assaulted officers with long swords. One officer died, and the four attackers were shot and killed. Why this surge of activity now? Its Ramadan, typically a time of renewed militancy among extremists. (Local pro-ISIS groups took over the city of Marawi in the Philippines last year two days before the month of fasting began.) Other attacks may have been responses to exhortations sent via the app Telegram after the prison attack. One message in an aggressively pro-ISIS chat group read: Support in your own cities the mujahedeen who caused the riot! Burn the assets of nonbelievers, idolaters, apostates and hypocrites! Burn their malls! Destroy the economy of the nonbelievers by withdrawing your money from their banks! The momentum only comes once; dont fail to use it. Rivalry between different groups and one-upmanship may also have encouraged the violence; they have in the past. The recent attacks confirm the fact, already well established, that ISIS followers in Indonesia are hardly united. Many different local groups swore allegiance to the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after June 2014, when he declared the caliphate in Mosul, Iraq. And although the largest of these groups is a loose network known as Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, not all of the violence this month was committed by J.A.D. members and not all the J.A.D. action was coordinated. This lack of an overarching organizational structure makes ISIS ideology harder to eradicate, because some groups may cling to it even after others move on. One precedent is Jemaah Islamiyah, the regional terrorist organization responsible for the 2002 bombings in a tourist district of Bali. It was once partly funded by Al Qaeda, but after the Bali bombings some of its leaders decided that Qaeda-style attacks against Western tourists or iconic Western landmarks were counterproductive, because they had little public support and led to mass arrests. Still, a splinter group led by Noordin Mohammad Top continued to plan and carry out major bombings until he was killed in 2009. Even more important about the recent eruption of violence, however, is the fact that it confounds many assumptions experts held about what would happen to Islamist terrorism in Indonesia after the Islamic State was routed in the Middle East. One major concern had been over what ISIS fighters would do when they came home. Yet none of the terrorists involved in the past weeks attacks appears to have ever set foot in Syria or Iraq. The greater danger may come instead from the ISIS faithful whose illusions about the promise of the caliphate havent been dashed by the direct experience of hardship, discrimination, hypocrisy and corruption that fighters who went to the Middle East described when they returned. That includes deportees like the Surabaya preacher and the families who followed his teachings. Last month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on President Trumps travel ban, popularly known as the Muslim ban because of his statements, like one in 2015 calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. But Mr. Trump is far from the only Republican willing to discriminate against Muslims. BuzzFeed News reported in April that since 2015, Republican officials in 49 states have publicly attacked Islam, some even questioning its legitimacy as a religion. The only exception? Utah. In that state, where a majority of residents is Mormon, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, elected officials seem to have a deep understanding that an attack on the religious freedom of one group is an attack on the religious freedom of everyone. The rest of the nation should follow their example. Utahs politicians stand out against many of those whose statements BuzzFeed News chronicled, like an Oklahoma state representative named John Bennett, who in 2014 called Islam a cancer, and last year met with Muslim constituents only after they filled out questionnaires asking whether they beat their wives. A Nebraska state senator, Bill Kintner, proposed that Muslims be required to eat pork if they wished to enter the United States. A state senator in Rhode Island, Elaine Morgan, wrote that Muslim religion and philosophy is to murder, rape and decapitate anyone who is a non-Muslim and recommended that Syrian refugees be housed in camps. She later said she was referring only to fanatical/extremist Muslims. 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Imagine that there had never been any prompt for his investigation that Donald Trump hadnt blown all those kisses at Vladimir Putin, that the stooges and grifters around Trump hadnt swooned at the prospect of sucking on Mother Russias teat, or that thered been no offer of milk in the first place. What would we be focusing on right now? Maybe the just-published Politico report of Trumps deliberate, cavalier use of a cellphone that doesnt have strict security safeguards would be getting extra attention. The story outraged me, because its yet another glaring example of Trumps dual set of rules proper ones that apply to others and nonexistent ones that let him and his clan do as they please and it puts the lie to his supposed horror over Hillary Clintons sloppy email habits. Not for the first time or for the last, hes being a raving hypocrite. Without Mueller and Russia, Scott Pruitt would be closer to center stage, with an even brighter, harsher spotlight on him. Hes not exactly evading scrutiny, but hes being spared the relentless top-of-the-screen, start-of-the-newscast treatment that he would likely endure if lawmakers, journalists and other watchdogs werent so mesmerized by the convoluted twists of Mueller v. Trump. Perhaps more Americans would notice what Trump is doing to the judiciary, by which I mean stacking it, and to important government agencies, by which I mean gutting them. Nicola Gatta, the mayor of Candela in southeastern Italy (population 2,700), is desperate to reverse two decades of population decline and literally keep his town on the map. If you accept his invitation to move there, he will pay you about $2,300. Its probably no coincidence that mayors in small Italian towns are making such offers at about the same time as a populist coalition is on the verge of taking over Italys government. The last time that populism what we broadly define as political movements that ostensibly set the interests of ordinary people against elites as well as an other swept across Europe and the United States was marked by the same combination of slow economic and fertility growth that today prevails in advanced industrialized countries in the West and Asia. Economies have recently picked up some steam, but not before nearly a decade of sluggish economic growth and, in most of the world, declining fertility rates. The United States is no exception: The fertility rate among Americans has hit a 30-year low. They are suspected of killing all kinds of people who happened to cross their path: the administrative director of a newspaper, a van driver who refused to pay a toll, two men who deliver gas cylinders, many random witnesses of their crimes, a man who complained that militiamen were recklessly shooting in the air, several homosexuals, the president of a samba school, a member of their own group who did a live transmission of a favela invasion, teenagers caught smoking marijuana, and even a bird thief. They have tortured two newspaper reporters and their driver. They also kill within their ranks when necessary: In the last 10 years, 25 of the 226 members of militia groups who were criminally indicted in the 2008 investigation that Ms. Franco worked on have been killed. According to the civil police, the most powerful Rio militia, Liga da Justica (Justice League), raises an average of 300 million reais, or about $80 million, a year through extortion and other unlawful activities. Today, militias are growing faster than other kinds of criminal organizations, also according to the head of Rios civil police. They usually exploit distinct black-market niches and concentrate on areas different from those of the drug gangs, so we could say that both ventures are complementary. Drug gangs dominate favelas near the city center, the airport, the harbor and the main highways, from where its easier to control the distribution of arms and drugs. Militias are entrenched in more peripheral areas (like Baixada Fluminense) where they profit from the lack of basic services such as public transportation, water and gas distribution, internet and cable television. That said, drug gangs and militias have different opponents as well. While the natural enemies of drug overlords are honest police officers and sensible legislators who can understand drug abuse as a public health issue, and thus support the legalization of drugs, a thorn in the side of militia leaders is a politician who calls for more government presence and better public services in the outskirts of town. Either way, favela residents are tired of getting caught in the crossfire between heavily armed policemen, militia groups and drug gangs many of them claiming to defend the community itself. The residents dont need that kind of protection. They dont need the presence of politicians who legislate for their own interests. They need to be seen as citizens who deserve basic rights, and not as business opportunities. Marielle Franco knew that. This power mismatch between companies and workers is a long-running story. Corporate profits have surged since the 1980s, at the expense of pay and benefits for workers. The switch is equal to about 4 percentage points of G.D.P. which works out as $6,000 per household every year. Were talking about real money. One of the more important ways that companies have gained the upper hand over workers has been legal changes that have made it harder for workers (and consumers) to band together and exercise power. A very business-friendly Supreme Court has often been the source of these changes. That trend continued yesterday with a 5-4 ruling that will make it much more difficult for workers to fight back against companies they believe are engaging in wage theft, discriminatory pay practices or various other misbehaviors. The ruling allows companies to force (nonunionized, private-sector) workers to forfeit their right to sue collectively, as a condition of employment. Effectively, this means workers often cant sue at all, because individual employees usually dont have the money to hire lawyers and file a claim. Speaking from the bench yesterday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg predicted that the decision would lead to huge under-enforcement of federal and state statutes designed to advance the well being of vulnerable workers. The Supreme Court expert Amy Howe, writing on her blog, called the ruling a huge victory for employers. It is, indeed. Corporate America just became even more powerful, and workers less so. A reminder: This ruling would have gone the other way if the Senate had allowed President Barack Obama to fill an empty Supreme Court seat in 2016. Neil Gorsuch, President Trumps appointee, provided the swing vote and wrote the opinion. To the Editor: Re Rosensteins Attempts to Appease President May Hurt Justice Dept., Experts Say (news article, May 22): It is widely believed that Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, has acceded to the demands of President Trump to investigate the presidents investigators, and of House Republicans for disclosure of classified documents, in order to preserve his job and thus buy time for the special counsel, Robert Mueller, to complete his inquiry. The concern is that by complying with those outrageous demands, Mr. Rosenstein will have compromised the independence of the Justice Department and the sanctity of the investigative process. That outcome would damage bedrock principles of our democracy beyond repair. This Hobsons choice, between surrender or ouster, has been foisted upon Mr. Rosenstein by the cowardice or complicity of congressional Republicans. GERALD HARRIS, NEW YORK The writer is a former prosecutor and a retired New York City Criminal Court judge. At this point, its looking as if Trumps tough talk on China trade will turn out to be as empty as his tough talk on, say drug prices. Faced with the prospect of actually going toe to toe with powerful interests as opposed to doing harm to desperate immigrants, poor people who need health care, etc. Trump keeps backing down, ignominiously. But what happened to all that bluster about trade wars being good, and easy to win? I can think of four reasons Trump ran away: 1. Someone actually managed to explain the economics to him, and he realized that the trade war wasnt actually a good idea 2. He just lost his nerve, as he consistently does when confronting people who arent powerless 3. He was bribed, with China offering sweet deals to his personal business interests 4. The Chinese also have some kind of tape It tells you a lot about the state of American leadership that (1) is highly implausible, while 2-4 all seem quite possible. And this means that what Im about to say may amount to overthinking the issue. The presidents tweets referred to a Times report about Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, examining whether countries other than Russia, including Saudi Arabia, had offered assistance to the Trump campaign. After a White House meeting on Monday, intelligence and law enforcement officials agreed to disclose some sensitive documents from the Russia investigation to Republican congressional leaders. 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. How do I listen? If you dont see an audio player on this page or to subscribe to The Daily for free, follow the instructions below. From your mobile device: 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. The Reader Center is one way we in the newsroom are trying to connect with you, by highlighting your perspectives and experiences and offering insight into how we work. Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The New York Times, talked frankly about our coverage of the Russia investigation in an interview with Stephen Colbert that aired Monday night on The Late Show. He acknowledged that a 2016 headline that many readers have criticized Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia gave an air of finality to an investigation that was just beginning. Our mistake, to be frank, was that we wrote a headline that made it look like we knew more than we did, Mr. Baquet said to Mr. Colbert. SEATTLE In late 2016, Amazon introduced a new online service that could help identify faces and other objects in images, offering it to anyone at a low cost through its giant cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services. Not long after, it began pitching the technology to law enforcement agencies, saying the program could aid criminal investigations by recognizing suspects in photos and videos. It used a couple of early customers, like the Orlando Police Department in Florida and the Washington County Sheriffs Office in Oregon, to encourage other officials to sign up. But now that aggressive push is putting the giant tech company at the center of an increasingly heated debate around the role of facial recognition in law enforcement. Fans of the technology see a powerful new tool for catching criminals, but detractors see an instrument of mass surveillance. On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union led a group of more than two dozen civil rights organizations that asked Amazon to stop selling its image recognition system, called Rekognition, to law enforcement. The group says that the police could use it to track protesters or others whom authorities deem suspicious, rather than limiting it to people committing crimes. European lawmakers barraged Facebooks chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, on Tuesday with a litany of questions about his companys global power, its role in elections and its misuse of user data. One even raised the prospect of breaking up the social media giant. But the meeting in Brussels ended with members of the European Parliament complaining that Mr. Zuckerberg had used the sessions odd format to evade specific questions and just repeat statements he had made in the past. Several shouted follow-up questions out of turn, one complained that he had asked six yes-or-no questions to which he received no clear reply, and another argued that Mr. Zuckerberg had used the events structure to deliberately sidestep details. Before it descended into frustration, the meeting had been billed as part of Mr. Zuckerbergs apology tour for Facebooks mishandling of its users data. European authorities have emerged as the worlds most assertive watchdog of the technology industry, and many wanted a chance to publicly grill the chief executive after revelations in March that a British political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, had improperly obtained and used the information of millions of Facebook members. But the session with Mr. Zuckerberg, which was scheduled for one hour and 15 minutes, was set up so that lawmakers asked questions one after the other without a pause for answers. That left Mr. Zuckerberg only minutes to speak at the very end, allowing him to select which questions to address in a general way. SAN FRANCISCO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks chief executive, plans to strike a conciliatory note when he speaks to members of the European Parliament on Tuesday, in the latest stop on his apology tour for the social networks mishandling of user information. Mr. Zuckerberg is expected to stick to what has become a well-used script when he appears before European lawmakers in Brussels on Tuesday evening. The chief executive intends to say that Facebook did not do enough to prevent the social network from being used for harm, according to an excerpt from his prepared remarks viewed by The New York Times. Whether its fake news, foreign interference in elections or developers misusing peoples information, we didnt take a broad enough view of our responsibilities, Mr. Zuckerberg plans to say, according to the prepared remarks. That was a mistake, and Im sorry. The language closely mirrors what Mr. Zuckerberg told members of Congress last month when he went to Washington for a two-day grilling over how Facebook handled the data of tens of millions of its users. The Times and others had revealed in March that a British political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, had improperly used the information of Facebook members to build psychographic profiles of American voters, setting off a data privacy storm. The shift since 2008 is hard to untangle from other forces as well, said Juliana Horowitz, the lead researcher on the project at Pew. Its Obamas election, but its also the recession and the post-recession era, Ms. Horowitz said. As weve seen these different types of communities become increasingly different politically, weve also seen them become increasingly different in their demographics and their economics. The abrupt shift in 2008 does suggest that growing geographic polarization is not primarily about sorting, or rural Democrats moving to the city and urban Republicans heading for the country. Its unlikely that large numbers of partisans abruptly relocated in that moment. Recent research by Greg Martin and Steven Webster at Emory University confirms that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to move to denser, more urban places, and Republicans to move to less dense ones. But the effect of those preferences is small far too small to explain the level of geographic polarization we see in America today, as population density and voting results have become ever more tightly linked. There is sorting, Mr. Martin said. But this mechanism of sorting just doesnt explain it. So then there must be something else. People who stay put must be changing their political views. Or the parties, as they have done historically, have changed what they stand for or how they appeal to voters. Those two explanations, however, present another puzzle. Are politicians successfully tapping into an increasingly potent urban-rural divide among voters? Or do voters believe this divide matters because politicians (and the media) keep emphasizing it? The administrations approach might quickly reduce the headline level of the trade deficit, but it largely ignores the frustrations of American sectors that are the most promising sources for creating future good export-related jobs. American companies that make automobiles, semiconductors and other complex products bemoan Chinese government requirements that force American firms to form joint ventures with Chinese companies, sharing their technology. The U.S. companies accuse those partners of widespread theft of intellectual property as the Chinese try to catch up in advanced technologies. Many American firms face Chinese competition that receives heavy state subsidies. These are some of the most stubborn, longstanding issues in American-Chinese economic relations. But they arent likely to be fixed overnight, and even if the United States wins concessions, it wont necessarily affect the trade deficit especially in the next couple of years. This helps explain why some prominent advocates of a tougher stance toward China who applauded President Trumps tariff threats are critical of the turn the negotiations have taken. The tariffs the president threatened are designed to address Chinas technology theft and their plans to dominate advanced and high technology manufacturing, said Dan DiMicco, chairman of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, which advocates a hard-line stance, in a statement. By contrast, an agreement to sell agricultural and energy commodities is the result of bad negotiating and bad economic strategy. Exports of agriculture were directly or indirectly responsible for 524,000 jobs in 2014, according to analysis by the International Trade Administration; petroleum and coal products were responsible for an additional 255,000. But combined that is less than 7 percent of the jobs tied to exports that year. Sectors like computers and electronic products and machinery were responsible for substantially more export-related jobs. Its terrible, Chief Sheridan said on Monday afternoon. We are seeing something in this country that we have never seen before. Fifty-five law enforcement officers have been killed nationwide so far in 2018, a slight increase from the same period last year, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which tracks officer fatalities. In all of 2017, 129 officers were killed on duty, the second-lowest yearly total in the past six decades, according to the same group. Residents on Linwen Way in Perry Hall said the episode started when a neighbor spotted four men walking behind a home on the block. That neighbor called 911 to report suspicious activity and then called again when she spotted the men carrying items out of the house and into a dark-colored Jeep on the street, said Tony Kurek, who lives on Linwen Way. While three people were inside the house, Mr. Harris waited in the drivers seat of the Jeep, according to court records. As they started to pull out of the cul-de-sac, Officer Caprio, who was on patrol, pulled up and parked her car to block the Jeep, according to Mr. Kurek, whose son Dakota was in the front yard and saw the confrontation unfold. Her gun drawn, the officer stepped out of her car and ordered the men to exit the Jeep, Mr. Kurek said. They hit the throttle and went at her, Mr. Kurek said in an interview on Tuesday. The path that they took was right through her and they drove right over and out of the neighborhood. BENTON, Ky. The teenagers in rural Kentucky decided they were fed up after a 15-year-old with a handgun turned their high school into another killing ground, murdering two classmates. Like so many other students, they wrote speeches and op-ed essays calling for gun control, they painted posters and they marched on their State Capitol. The blush of activism made them feel empowered, even a little invincible. Then came the backlash. It started with sideways looks and laughter from other students in the hallways, they said. Friends deleted them from group chats and stopped inviting them over. On social media, people called the teenage activists retards and spoiled brats, and said they should have been the ones to die during a shooting in Marshall County High Schools student commons four months ago. In a more liberal city like Parkland, Fla., or at a rally in Washington, these students might have been celebrated as young leaders. But in rural, conservative parts of the country where farm fields crackle with target practice and children grow up turkey hunting with their parents, the new wave of student activism clashes with bedrock support for gun rights. Speaking out in a place like Marshall County, Ky., carries a price measured in frayed friendships, arguments with parents and animosity within the same walls where classmates were gunned down. The gulf between liberal and conservative Americas responses to mass shootings was on display again in Santa Fe, Tex., population 13,000, after 10 people were killed at the high school there on Friday. Republican leaders expressed no desire to pass gun restrictions. Many residents and students agreed with them, saying that gun control would not stop the bloodshed at Americas schools. If we had more guns on campus with more teachers armed, wed be a lot safer, said Layton Kelly, 17, a student who hid in a night-black classroom next to the scene of the shooting in Santa Fe. WASHINGTON Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, said on Tuesday that she did not believe that Russia had tried to help President Trump during the 2016 election putting her at odds with American intelligence agencies that found widespread meddling by Moscow. Speaking to reporters after briefing Congress on voting security, Ms. Nielsen said she believed that Russia had tried to sow confusion on both sides of the political divide. I do not believe that Ive seen that conclusion that the specific intent was to help President Trump win, she said. Im not aware of that. Ms. Nielsen was on Capitol Hill with Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, and Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, in a closed-door meeting to brief lawmakers about efforts to protect American voting systems from hacking in the coming midterm elections. Go here for results in Georgia. Go here for results in Texas. Go here for results in Arkansas. Go here for results in Kentucky. The race for the open governors seat in Georgia, a battle with implications for health care, gun control and other contentious issues, leads a slate of three primaries on Tuesday. Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, has reached his term limit, and Georgia Democrats are hoping the same political climate that has buoyed them in special elections will propel them in a state where they have not won the governorship in two decades. Also in play are two competitive House seats, including the Sixth District, a longtime Republican stronghold where a Democrat came close to winning in a special election last year. Elsewhere, Democrats are hoping to pick up House seats in Arkansas and Kentucky, which will also hold their primaries on Tuesday. And in Texas, which held its primaries in March, candidates for governor and for 17 House seats will be decided in runoffs. AUSTIN, Tex. Four days after the latest school shooting left 10 people dead at a Texas high school, Gov. Greg Abbott torn between his states reluctance to pass new gun control laws and his own frustration at the grim and growing tally of young deaths convened on Tuesday the first in a series of round-table discussions on ways to help protect schools from gun violence. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, whether you are pro-gun or believe in more gun regulations, the reality is we all want guns out of the hands of those who would try to murder our children, the Republican governor said as he opened the first day of talks in the State Capitol with lawmakers, school administrators and law enforcement officials. The question is what are we, the leaders of Texas, going to do to prevent this from happening again? During the afternoon-long session, school experts and law enforcement officials found broad agreement on a host of preliminary ideas, some of which could be put into place without legislative approval before the start of school, in August. The groups recommendations included increasing parental accountability and encouraging students to pass along information about potentially violent students. The governor strongly endorsed proposals to expand and strengthen training for school officials, create threat assessment and mental intervention programs, and evaluate entrances and exits to make schools more secure. Discussion of guns and gun laws was reserved for the session on Wednesday. But in the last year, the university has been dogged by a string of scandals brought to light by The Los Angeles Times. First came reports last summer that the former dean of the medical school had used drugs on campus and partied with prostitutes. Then, last fall, the man who had replaced him was forced to step down after the university admitted it had settled a sexual harassment case with one of his former researchers. Mr. Nikias had promised a full investigation of the scandal involving the medical school dean by an independent law firm last year, but several faculty members and university staff said they had grown impatient and angered that the results have so far been kept under wraps. Then came the reports last week of the decades-long history of misconduct allegations against the gynecologist, Dr. George Tyndall, and the universitys failure to report them to state authorities, former patients or the public. Dr. Tyndall has denied allegations of any misconduct. Its a clear pattern of something terrible happens and its allowed to go on for a long time, then theres secret settlement and no taking care of victims, no public accounting, said Ariela Gross, a professor of law and history who has been at U.S.C. for more than 20 years. Professor Gross began circulating a draft of the petition Sunday to tenured professors she knew and stopped when she had 200 signatories less than 48 hours later. We know all that we need to know to know that we need new leadership. Ive hardly been a consistent critic of our administration, but this is beyond the pale, she said. The faculty petition included many of the universitys most celebrated professors from more than a dozen schools, as well as former administrators. Still, it was unclear how much of an impact it would have. (U.S.C. has about 1,200 tenured faculty members.) Just one hour after the faculty letter was released to the public, the chairman of the board of trustees sent his own letter to students, staff and alumni affirming his full support of Mr. Nikias. The executive committee of the board has full confidence in President Nikias leadership, ethics, and values and is certain that he will successfully guide our community forward, wrote John Mork, who is an energy executive in Colorado. The letter added, We have zero tolerance for this conduct and will ensure that people are held accountable for actions that threaten the university student body. CARACAS, Venezuela Fresh off his re-election in what critics called a rigged vote, President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela on Tuesday ordered the top American diplomat and his deputy expelled, describing them as conspirators against his government. In a televised address, Mr. Maduro gave the diplomats, Todd D. Robinson, who is the United States Embassys charge daffaires, and Mr. Robinsons No. 2, Brian Naranjo, 48 hours to leave, declaring them both persona non grata. This is in protest, in defense of Venezuelan dignity! Enough with the conspiracies, Mr. Maduro said at an event where officials certified his re-election to a term ending in 2025. The State Department said in a statement, We reject completely the false allegations made by Maduro against Charge Robinson and Deputy Chief of Mission Naranjo. sacw.net - 22 May 2018 The process of nationalist self-imagining in India is likely to remain in a nebulous state so long as the destiny of regional politicians is etched by the calligrapher in New Delhi and determined by maneuvers in the murky den of centralized federalism. I recall going to an event organized for the anti-Indian National Congress Opposition Conclave in 1983 at Tagore Hall in Srinagar with my father. I was 11 at the time, and my father, who had gone to medical school in Calcutta, was particularly keen that I get Jyoti Basuas autograph in my little green autograph book. Jyoti Basu, member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 until 2000. At the time, my father thought the world of Jyoti Basuas politics and he conversed with him in impeccable Bengali. I remember being intimidated by Basuas stoic reserve and dignified bearing. The other two indefatigable regional powerhouses I met with that day were MG Ramachandran, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until 1987, and NT Ramarao, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over three terms. My father reiterated that they were forces to be reckoned with, because they had the grit to defy the then complacent Indian National Congress in order to strengthen their States. I found my tattered green autograph book a couple of months ago, and it all came back to me. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi didnat bat an eyelid before resorting to undemocratic and unconstitutional means to quell the relationship that was being forged between anti-Congress political forces across the country. The Indian National Congress, historically, has not been averse to mobilizing extremist religious rhetoric and forces for its benefit. In the early 1980s, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi attempted to bolster her political platform by making overt and covert appeals to Hindu majoritarianism against grossly exaggerated secessionist threats from Muslim and Sikh minorities. Indira Gandhias mobilization of Hindu fanaticism worked wonders for the Congress in some parts of Jammu and Kashmir as well. In 1983, the Congress won 22 out of 32 Assembly seats in the Jammu region. But the performance of the Congress in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley was dismal, where it won just 3 seats, and 1 in Ladakh. The National Conference had another landslide victory in the Valley, winning 35 out of 41 Assembly seats. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was not one to accept the unambiguous verdict given by the people of Kashmir in a democratic fashion. Her ire was particularly provoked by the alliance between the National Conference and other Indian parties in an attempt to unify anti-Indian National Congress forces as preparation for the parliamentary elections in late 1984. Prior to the Parliamentary elections in 1984, the Congress government in New Delhi orchestrated the formation of a new political party in Kashmir, comprising twelve National Conference legislators who unconstitutionally quit their party and formed a new government with the support of the Congress legislators in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. The beginning of representative government in J & K (in 1977) was summarily destroyed in 1984. New Delhi asserts, time and again, that a revitalized Indian federalism will accommodate Kashmiri demands for an autonomous existence. But, historically, federalism hasnat always adequately redressed the grievances of disaffected ethnic minorities. Autonomy, which, to my mind, is the most viable route to revive dialogue in conflict-affected Kashmir, would enable a greater degree of self-rule than traditional federalism. After several faux pas for which the electorate holds them accountable every five years, will the Congress and the BJP quit stalling the revival of the true spirit of parliamentary democracy and constitutionality in India, or will that remain a pipe dream as well? KANDAHAR, Afghanistan At least 16 people, including security personnel and bystanders, were killed on Tuesday as bomb disposal experts tried and failed to defuse explosives in a parked car in the southern city of Kandahar, Afghan officials said. Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar Province, said the car had been parked in an auto repair garage in the center of the city. Four of the 16 people killed were members of the security forces, Mr. Ahmadi said, adding that an additional 38 people were wounded. Most of the casualties were civilians, he said, and some were children. The Kandahar explosion came a day after the Taliban warned that they were planning attacks on government, police and intelligence facilities in Kabul, the capital, and asked civilians to stay away from such institutions. The statement included an unsupported claim that the insurgents had brought about an unprecedented decrease in civilian casualties. United Nations figures on civilian casualties in Afghanistan show a slight decrease in 2017 from the previous year, but the numbers remained at historically high levels, with two-thirds of them caused by the insurgents. Amid growing doubts about whether President Trump will meet with North Koreas leader on June 12, Kim Jong-un, the Trump administration came under criticism Tuesday over commemorative coins that were created to honor the planned meeting. The coins, issued by the White House Communications Agency, a military unit assigned to the president, feature likenesses of the two leaders, referring to Mr. Kim as Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Some faulted the United States for honoring a dictator who runs a repressive regime. KHAIRABAD, India On a recent evening just a few minutes before the sun went down, Sahreen Bano, a 10-year-old girl, walked into a sugar cane field to urinate before going to bed. A pack of wild dogs was waiting for her. The dogs formed a tight ring and then closed in, pulling her down as one dogs teeth sank into her neck. She screamed. Nearby farmers dashed in as fast as they could, rocks, sticks and hoes in their hands, yelling at the top of their lungs. Sahreen now lies on a hospital cot, a brown, bloodstained bandage wrapped around her neck like a scarf, eyes fluttering, most likely out of danger. But the attack on Sahreen was not an isolated event. At least 14 children have been mauled to death by dog packs around Khairabad in recent months. BANGKOK Amid monsoon downpours, pro-democracy demonstrators sang and danced at a police barricade in Bangkok on Tuesday, marking the fourth anniversary of an army coup that again plunged Thailand into military rule. The festive atmosphere, though, was undercut by police broadcasts over loudspeakers warning that the protesters, some of whom had wished to remain anonymous, had been identified through photographs and video footage. Security provisions imposed by the ruling junta have made any political gathering of more than four people illegal. Anyone participating in the demonstration could be considered to have broken the law. Many young people are scared to speak out because they are worried about their future, said Thanawat Prommajak, a youth activist whose voice had grown hoarse from yelling into a microphone. The military junta wants to crush us. Most of the protesters, who were calling for elections to be held this year, were contained at Thammasat University in Bangkoks old quarter, the site of a massacre of student activists four decades ago. But a breakaway group of dozens tried to march toward Government House, the seat of Thailands executive power. The police herded the organizers of that protest cell into vans and shoved away members of the media. A spokeswoman for the State Department, Heather Nauert, said: We are deeply disappointed that the Chinese government convicted Tashi Wangchuk. The Chinese Communist Party for decades maintained policies intended to keep ethnic minorities, especially Tibetans and Uighurs, under political control while giving them some space to preserve their own languages and cultures. But under Xi Jinping, the staunch Communist Party leader who came to power in 2012, China has adopted more assimilationist policies, designed to absorb these minorities into the fold of one Chinese nation. At his trial in January, Mr. Tashi, speaking in Chinese, rejected the idea that his efforts to rejuvenate the Tibetan language were a crime. He has said that he does not advocate independence for Tibet, but wants the rights for ethnic minorities that are promised by Chinese law, including the right to use their own language. After Mr. Tashis trial, six experts advising the United Nations on rights said, We condemn the continued detention of Mr. Wangchuk and the criminalization of his freedom of expression. They added: Free exchange of views about state policies, including criticism against policies and actions that appear to have a negative impact on the lives of people, need to be protected. Mr. Tashi studied for three years in a Buddhist monastery, and taught himself to write Tibetan with the help of a brother. He ran a shop in Yushu that sold local goods in person and online, and was shown in a promotional video in 2014 for Alibaba, the giant Chinese internet trader, as an example of entrepreneurial success. Yushu, called Gyegu in Tibetan, is one of the predominantly Tibetan areas of China that lie outside the official Tibetan Autonomous Region, and the government has encouraged increasing use of Chinese language in schools and official settings across these areas. SEOUL, South Korea Confronting growing doubts about whether a planned meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, North Koreas leader, would take place, a South Korean official said Monday that there was a 99.9 percent chance of it happening. Speaking to reporters aboard South Koreas Air Force One, Chung Eui-yong, a national security adviser to the countrys president, Moon Jae-in, played down recent reports that Mr. Trump had become nervous about meeting Mr. Kim in Singapore next month for a historic summit meeting. We have perceived none of that, Mr. Chung said, countering a New York Times report that cited Trump administration officials as saying that Mr. Trump has begun pressing his aides and allies about whether he should take the risk of proceeding with a meeting with Mr. Kim. Mr. Chung also denied that when Mr. Trump called Mr. Moon over the weekend, Mr. Trump asked why the Norths recent public statements seemed to contradict private assurances that Mr. Moon had conveyed after he met Mr. Kim on the inter-Korean border in late April. Thats not what the president is promising or what everybody is hoping for, but it would be really good and they should take it, said Jeffrey Lewis, a Korea expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Youre not getting rid of the weapons, but putting yourself on the path where someday they might not be needed. Maybe not in Kim Jong-uns lifetime, but it is still worth making that progress, especially because 2017 was really scary. Mr. Trumps desire for a quick, tweetable triumph could leave room for professional diplomats and nuclear experts to hammer out a longer-term agreement with North Korean officials, some analysts say. He will come out and say, Where is my peace prize? said Suzanne DiMaggio, a director and senior fellow at the New America research group who has been involved in unofficial talks with North Korea. He really just wants to emerge from the summit as saying, I got them to do what no other president could, and I think then he will probably lose interest. The less President Trump is involved in that process, Ms. DiMaggio said, the better. A vague promise to denuclearize would probably disappoint many in Washington, where there are memories of the North Koreans reneging on deals before. It would also fall far short of the demands of hawks like John R. Bolton, Mr. Trumps national security adviser, who has called for total and immediate denuclearization. And having recently pulled out of the Iran nuclear accord because it was a horrible one-sided deal, Mr. Trump has set expectations that he could get a better agreement from North Korea. Some analysts said North Korea was also unlikely to be satisfied by vague proclamations. Mr. Kim is likely to demand a clear guarantee that the United States would never attack, as well as quick relief from international sanctions. Mr. Trump has praised those sanctions for bringing Mr. Kim to the table in the first place. But even if Mr. Trump tries to hold firm on them, analysts said, he may already have lost that leverage, as both South Korea and, more crucially, China have indicated that they are willing to lower the pressure on the North. The North will count on the fact that they have opened up a track with the Chinese and the Chinese are not in a favorable mind towards Trump right now, said Christopher R. Hill, who negotiated with Pyongyang for several years during the George W. Bush administration. Theres a problem with U.S.-Chinese relations that the North Koreans will seek to exploit in the coming months. Mr. Trump has done little to hide his excitement about that prospect. The White House has even issued a commemorative coin for the meeting that depicts the two men, in profile, facing each other, and refers to Mr. Kim as the Supreme Leader. But inside the White House, one official said, there was confusion about what will happen on June 12 or whether a meeting will happen at all. Mr. Trump said he detected a change in Mr. Kim after he met Chinas president, Xi Jinping, this month in the coastal Chinese city of Dalian. He suggested that Mr. Xi, whom he described as a world-class poker player, encouraged Mr. Kim to harden his approach to the United States, in part to gain leverage in trade negotiations between China and the United States. There was a different attitude by the North Korean folks after that meeting, Mr. Trump said. I cant say that Im happy about it. The threatening words between Pyongyang and Washington have also raised the pressure on Mr. Moon, who has acted as a kind of go-between for Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim. His diplomacy set the stage for the Singapore summit meeting, and he has urged Mr. Trump to push for a historic breakthrough with the North, saying that such an achievement would make him a candidate for a Nobel Peace Prize. Turning to Mr. Moon, Mr. Trump asked him whether he believed that Mr. Xi was influencing Mr. Kim. Mr. Moon deflected the question, though he conceded there was skepticism in the United States about the prospects for a successful negotiation. He said Mr. Trumps participation set this process apart from previous ones. The person who is in charge is President Trump, Mr. Moon said. I have every confidence that he will be able to make a historic turnaround in this sense. Though Mr. Moons visit had been scheduled for weeks, Mr. Trump called him on Saturday, ahead of his visit, suggesting the depth of uncertainty he feels about the harsh words from Pyongyang. North Korea objected particularly to John R. Bolton, Mr. Trumps new national security adviser, who said recently he viewed Libya as a template for negotiating the denuclearization of North Korea. SYDNEY, Australia Australias hankering for a United States ambassador hit another snag on Tuesday when Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee announced that he had turned down the job. At the end of the day, I just felt like it wasnt the right fit and I still had work to do in the Senate, Senator Corker, a Republican, told Reuters. Talk about rejection. It was the second no, not me in less than a month. In April, President Trump withdrew the nomination of Adm. Harry B. Harris, the head of the Pacific Command, assigning him instead to South Korea. Australians have been reeling ever since. Why? From Australias perspective, this isnt the first offense. And Australia is not just any ally. Among those sentenced were Brig. Adm. Ibrahim Yildiz and Col. Hakan Biyik, who had admitted to ties with Mr. Gulens movement and served as secret witnesses during earlier hearings. Both men received sentences of 16 years and eight months, even after their cooperation with prosecutors was taken into account. Their testimony forms a key part of the extradition request that Turkish prosecutors have submitted to the United States. The Treasury Department is examining that request. Colonel Biyik told prosecutors that he had been at meetings to plan the overthrow in a villa in Ankara, according to Turkish news reports. He identified some of those present and said the meetings, called the Peace at Home Council, were organized by a theology lecturer, Adil Oksuz, who has been accused of playing a leading role in the coup attempt and remains at large. Prosecutors said they had found fingerprints in the villa of some of those he had named, the newspaper Haberturk reported. Admiral Yildiz has emerged as one of the most important witnesses of preparations for the failed coup. He also attended the meetings in Ankara and, according to the indictment, testified that at one, Mr. Oksuz had announced that he would take the plan to Mr. Gulen for his approval and that he had traveled to see Mr. Gulen in Pennsylvania three days before the coup, according to Hurriyet. Admiral Yildiz took part in the plot but gave himself up before the attempted ouster of the president was foiled. I am one of the first people who testified that Gulen was behind the coup, he said in court in March, the news agency Anadolu reported. He said he had been introduced to the Gulen movement by a fellow officer and had been drawn closer to it because of his Muslim faith, but he added that he had ultimately been deceived. I am just an Anatolian boy who became an admiral, he told the court. I want you to accept me as someone who is not trying to avoid a sentence but whose religious sentiments were abused and cheated by them. The Inner Sea [This was an essay written after reading Venkat Dhulipalas fascinating book (Creating a New Medina, Cambridge University Press) on how Pakistan came to be. After sending this essay to a few editors in mainstream press, from none of who I heard back, I abandoned the idea of getting this published. Over time, from afar, while reading reviews about the book some of them thinly veiled personal attacks on the author and some others as ideologically convenient valorizations I realized that the reception to this book itself has a short history worth telling. More than a year had passed after my missives into editors email inboxes went unanswered, when yesterday, I was reminded of the book by a mention on Twitter. Thought, some of you might find of interest.] Despite being a country of more than 200 million people, marked by a diversity of income, resources, and talents, Pakistan today is often reduced in popular media as athe most dangerous country in the worlda . With that descriptor comes further qualifications which stress that it marked by a atriple threat of terrorism, a failing economy, and the fastest growing nuclear arsenala . Irrespective of the truth of such dire assessments (usually from intelligence sources or foreign correspondents in search of a juicy story), what is agreed widely is the Islamization of its popular culture, public spaces, and political rhetoric over the past three decades. To many observers, this change can be traced back to Pakistanas alliance with the CIA and Saudi intelligence in the 1980s, when the ISI trained thousands of Pakistanis, Afghans, and foreign volunteers to fight the USSR. When that war ended a a war where violence, geopolitics, and messianism came together a the elaborate physical and ideological infrastructure of violent Islamism found itself other uses and proliferated. Much scholarly attention has been paid to what followed the 1980s and the changes in society that three decades of jihad culture had wrought. What is less remarked now is the ease with which the Pakistani State and its proxies were able to legitimate their use of Islam, its vocabulary, and creedal requirements to rally, organize, and sustain various factions for athe Great Gamea. In parts, the reluctance to press harder on this question of why or how of the maneuvering by the Pakistani State is that it forces us to reach back to the promises and tensions which birthed Pakistan in 1947. This inevitably means trying to wrap oneas head around the density of originary conviction in the minds of its citizenry and political elite that saw their country as an Islamic idyll separate from British India that had an Hindu majority. This self-portrayal as a sacrosanct space for believers of Islam, which was deployed by the Pakistani State repeatedly in the 1980s as a rallying call, has a history of reception itself, particularly in fellow Muslim countries. In 1953, merely six years after independence, Pakistan zealously projected itself as leader of the Muslim world, under the penumbra of the Suez Crises. Seeing this, the ousted King Farouk of Egypt famously quipped, aPakistanis believe[d] that Islam was born on August 14, 1947.a Seeing this dissonance between how Pakistanas official histories saw itself and how the rest of the world saw itself led some to introspect. A Pakistani Christian scholar Samuel Martin Burke explained the skepticism of others: asuch talk (of leadership) from a country (Pakistan), the rationale of whose creation was little understood at the time, and whose capacity to survive bore a large question mark, naturally [it] was not well received by other countries, proud of their [own] heritage.a To many like Burke, at the heart of the matter was a question to which few outside the immediate circles of British Indian politics had any answers: Why did Pakistan come to be? What conditions birthed this country? How was Pakistan to be a Muslim country when millions more Muslims still continued to live in India after 1947? To the outsider, the newness of Pakistan when juxtaposed against the seeming eternity of aIndiaa in popular imagination made the Partition of India into two countries seem like a petulant fraternal dispute that would eventually resolve itself. Echoing this, a few years before the Partition, in 1938, when told about the Hindu-Muslim divides and the idea of Pakistan, the leader of the Egyptian Wafd Party, Nahas Pasha replied incredulously, even if somewhat disingenuously: aIn our country (Egypt), Zaghlul Pasha settled the minority problem (involving Copts) and now we are a nation. Why cannot you settle your problems?a . The Question of Origins It is these set of questions a the originary conditions that led to Pakistanas creation a that Venkat Dhulipala attempts to answer in his extensively researched and fascinating new book aCreating a New Medinaa . It is as meticulous in its reading of little studied archival material as it is bold in its willingness to let evidence accrete even if this means leading us into discomforting cul-de-sacs of contemporary politics. The result is that, by the end of this study, Dhulipala radically undermines a in this readeras mind, without being didactic a many politically convenient historiographical pieties that have sought to efface the role of an Islamic vocabulary and imaginaries in the Partition of India and Pakistan. The implications of Dhulipalaas account is neither supportive of mainstream histories which flourishes in present day India and Pakistan as a thinly veiled versions of Big Man theory of historical progress (Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah, et al) nor does it kowtow to a psychologizing reading wherein Pakistan is seen as a consequence of the colonized internalizing an Orientalist discourse on religious differences, which was invented and exploited by the British colonizers. In Dhulipalaas telling, the individuals are real, their actions are contingent on their historical readings, their motivations are underscored by a particular kind of anti-colonialist agency, and they are self-aware enough to parse the lineaments of their own influences. In essence, Dhulipala writes a decidedly traditional historical narrative that speaks to understand a relatively modern object of historical enquiry: the formation of mentalities in Northern India of 1930s-1940s. What we realize by the end of the book is that the real force that dreamt up Pakistan was a set of sacerdotally inspired conceits that saw Islam as a separate epistemic, anthropological, religious, and existential category. This view was neither monolithic nor consistently held by all Muslims, nor was an idea only held by Muslims. But what we see in Dhulipalaas telling is how this view accreted in argumentative powers as a political strategy and became a means of self-definition, in parts as a response to immediate circumstances and in others thanks to the nostalgias for an Islamic past who histories were seen as unchanging and even transcendentally ordained. Many Histories of One Past In of itself, Dhulipalaas book would not have been out of the ordinary a after all, Pakistanis, non-Muslim and Indian scholars have been writing about Pakistan since its birth a had it not been for two separate tendencies that have dominated the history writing about Pakistan. One, the birth of Pakistan has often been reduced to the workings of great men. Elsewhere, the historian E.H. Carr called such an approach athe good queen Bess and the bad king Jack theory of historya : an overwhelming reliances on personalities to reduce the more complex linkages and negotiations into manageable metonymies for narrative purposes. So, depending on who the historian is, we have narratives of valorization or effacement. Second, in liberal, subaltern, feminist, or area studies on Pakistan a despite their diversities, there is a singular thematic thread that runs through them. For each of these approaches, Pakistan was foisted on unsuspecting masses by the elite politicians. In none of these approaches mentioned do we see a convergence of two key features that Dhulipala has successfully managed to cohere into a single framework. One, an effort to take identitatarian claims of Muslim consciousness in 1930s and 1940s among the Indian Islamic (not necessarily, Islamist) movements a who were, by no means, homogenous in goals, tactics, or even endgames a seriously as an object of scholarly investigation. And the second, to place these religious interventions within the competitive arena of democratic politics not just as a second order participant, but as a ideational fount that granted the vocabulary, imagery, and public legitimacy to any transient ideas about Pakistan. This willingness to trace the creation of Pakistan to the Islamization of democracy itself has led Dhulipalaas thesis to sit uncomfortably with present day Liberal Indian and Pakistani intellectuals, who in their struggle with their contemporary radical Islamist fellow-citizens aim to democratize Islam. The result is Dhulipalaas book, thanks to the voluminous evidence breaches the unspoken code among academics and politicians a especially in our age of aIslamophobiaa a to downplay Islamas potential as an organizational force encoded with the conceit of revolutionary change and hermeneutic readings that see violence as a legitimate tool. Ironically, over and beyond praise for his work from historians, sociologists and intellectuals from a variety of academies such as University of Chicago to the Center for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi, the one group that has (perhaps, unsurprisingly) found agreement with the historical primacy accorded to Islamic imaginaries in Dhulipalaas narrative are the social media wings of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The LeT is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department and an active partner of the Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI. It is this curious convergence of encomiums from the academic side for the narrative rigor, archival research, and breaking new ground and on the other end, from aggressively militant social groups for ideological reasons that one must wonder about. In a way, it points to the disconnect between mainstream historiography of Pakistan (dominated by elite, liberal historians in niche history departments, often in the US and UK) and the evolving understanding of how Pakistan came to be among the doctrinaire and religious in whose name the State had been originally bargained for. In a way, the bimodal success of Dhulipalaas work has confirmed the long standing suspicions (among the Pakistani religious Right, in particular) that the Pakistani elite who have captured the State and genuflect to Islam as and when convenient, have all but written out the religious establishment out of the official histories of their countryas birth. If one were to unpack Dhulipalaas sophisticated and complex causal arguments and reframe them temporally (a la a Fernand Braudel), they would be thus: Histoire AvAnementielle (the history of events): A Muslim reactionary backlash against a zealous misapplication of aprogressivea ideas on conservative Muslims by the Congress Party, in an effort to carve out a vote bank for the elections of late 1930s, created an existential anxiety among Muslim clergy which precipitated the demands for Pakistan. Conjoncture (history that binds the deep past with the history of events): New modes of mass communication (printing, publishing et al) following the end of 800 years of Muslim dynastic rule were used by conservative and orthodox Islamic religious figures in 1930s-40s to create an aimagined communitya which acted as the ballast for the Pakistan movement. Longue durAe (histories that evolve over the long duration): Millennia long Islamic historical imagination, vocabulary, and rhetoric acted as a springboard for ideas of purity and utopias, while still being capacious enough to have a tactically shape-shifting framework to accommodate various forms of secular power structures in pursuit of Pakistan. Any such narrative that straddles various temporalities which move concurrently, like geological plates, is not just ambitious also seeks (without explicitly saying so) to delineate the origins of something that is simultaneously more concrete and ephemeral: the creation of Pakistan, not just as a State in the post-colonial concert of newly born nations, but also as a creation of an identity. This is an identity that many Indians and Western pundits, browbeaten by the terror and violence emanating from contemporary Pakistani military establishment in recent decades, have resorted to defining as merely anti-Indian or anti-West. But what Dhulipala shows is that, in its original form, this was an identity that wasnat merely reducible to homilies but was complex, self-aware, and underscored by a density of thinking and borrowings from a common Islamic past (That this past is a mental space which Arab Muslims are reluctant to share with their darker skinned South Asian co-religionists on equal terms is a different issue.) While individual experiences in Pakistan is, like in any multi-ethnic country, a fluxion of affiliations, what is historically interesting is how the Pakistani State has grafted and grown an identity that is indistinguishable from the ideology that birthed the State. This is true of most post-colonial states, including India, Israel, or Indonesia. However unlike them, the Pakistani State was born in simultaneity with a Pakistani identity while in the case of others, their proto-identities often preceded State formation by centuries if not millennia. The consequence is that these sub-identities a Punjabi, Sindhi, Mohajirs, Seraikis et al a are catered, furthered, denied, and exploited by the State in so far it is subservient to this supra-category of affiliation called aPakistana. This is true of most states, including India in some procedural and practical sense, but what makes Pakistan interesting and difficult is the newness of this co-existence which precipitates the need to invent vocabularies and modalities that grants legitimacy to that one supervening category of affiliations. To speak of the birth of Pakistan then, is to speak of these identitarian forces a some contingent, some historic, some inevitable a that coalesced at a particular moment in an anti-colonial struggle. But unlike most anti-colonial movements, these forces refused to concede that its end goal was simply the eviction of the colonizers. Instead, these forces relied on terms of self-description borrowed from Islam and retained fealty to an idea of distinctness from their fellow anti-colonialists. Wresting Meaning From Methods At its simplest, Dhulipalaas narrative relies on three methodological moves that corrals the voluminous, but unwieldy, historical data from the 1930-40s into a steady narrative about causal forces in play. The first methodological set of shortcuts is with regards to how Dhulipala treats Islam itself. As can be imagined about any social phenomenon that has existed for a millennia a the history of Islam in India is variegated, complex, generous, opportunistic, cruel, textual, orthodox, compassionate, political, and even apolitical. But such an archipelago of diversity makes for an unwieldy analytical tool to describe a political project such as Pakistan which ostensibly claimed to speak for Muslim experience in undivided India. What can a scholar do? To this end, while Dhulipala acknowledges the denominational differences within Islam, for narrative and argumentative clarity, he treats Islam much in the same manner that the politicians of the day treated it while negotiating the terms of the Partition: as an anthropological object of enquiry around which discourse of independence and political facts can be wrapped. The benefits of relying on this homogenizing short cut is that the narrative doesnat need to constantly second guess itself. The downside however, of treating Islam thus is that the idea of Pakistan runs the risk of being reduced to and subsumed by a politically demarcated vision. To an extent, this is unavoidable and one can only empathize with Dhulipalaas effort to render a monumentally complex canvas of responses into a manageable field of causal forces. The second methodological move involves treating subgroups as stand-ins for political ideologies in the narrative. Thus, what we have are familiar groupings in Partition studies seen elsewhere: the Hindu Right (led by the Hindu Mahasabha et al), the Centrist-Liberal-Left (led by various factions within the Congress), and the Muslim League (led by Jinnah, and assorted Muslim landlords). The advantage of relying on such a taxonomy, over and beyond the fact that they are familiar constructs, is that they also help draw sharp reliefs on intra group differences. Nowhere is this seen more vividly than the differences chronicled by Dhulipala in the chapters on how the question and viability of Pakistan divided the Muslim religious clerics and the Urdu language press themselves. His third methodological move is the usage of chapters to speak to different constituent factors indexed over chronological time that accrete to give a sense of inevitability about Pakistan as an idea that transcended the immediate confines of political negotiations. This is in contrast to many prominent liberal historiographies that present the creation of Pakistan as a tenuous event (asleepwalking into historya ). More subtly, the unspoken implication of Dhulipalaas exegetical works is that we need to understand how the Islamist groups see themselves and anticipate their future to understand the real powers that move Pakistanas present day polity. The Pakistani elite may have borrowed constitutional liberalism from Westminster but what Dhulipala shows is that the country itself rested on an Islamic tradition of reading, contestation, and strategically deployed orthodoxies. A Matter of Group-Definition A natural question that arises with any study of the Partition is what did it mean to be Muslim, politically speaking a which leads to a set of responses that ranged from quietism to militant sectarianism. This kind of self-conscious questioning, a fashion in most contemporary history writing, is not something Dhulipala focuses on, except perhaps to allude that being Muslim meant being an active member in a acommunity of discoursea . This community of discourse, over and beyond the religious kind, also involved newspapers that typically had small circulation but disproportionate impact in a largely illiterate society as far as political attitudes were concerned. What Dhulipala shows is that even ideologically diverse newspapers in Urdu language run by Muslim proprietors a Al-Hilal, Urdu-i-Mualla, Hamdard, Zamindar, Jinnahas own Manshoor a that debated Pakistan often had to straddle between competing kinds of readerships: a community of co-believers who were vested in the idea of Pakistan and a community of readers who included non-Muslims. How newspaper editors arrived or evolved their particular stances is less clear. What Dhulipala has done implicitly is point to a fertile area of research for future historians who seek to study the dynamics of competing pressures a community, commerce , or both a on these Urdu newspapers. What we do learn is that the place of non-Muslims in the proposed Pakistan was often seen as a series of choices to be imposed a some outrightly exclusionary while others were governed by the calculus of demographics rather than some form of evolved idea of citizenship (notwithstanding what Jinnah himself had in mind). In essence, what Dhulipala patiently shows is that, even among secular newspapers by the very act of denying legitimacy to the idea of Pakistan as a religious space, they were implicitly granting legitimacy to it as an ontological category. From this foregrounding of religious identity, any subsequent prominence in political discourse that some religious groups or their vocabulary gains comes as no surprise. This is in contrast with Leftist historiography where the prowess of religious groups are often anomalies that the explanatory frameworks struggle to explain. Religion, as Dhulipala demonstrates, had become a legitimate mode of entering the debate about the creation of the Pakistan. This analytical strategy of taking religious voices as serious discussants allows Dhulipala to highlight critical dissents and reconciliations. Nowhere is this seen more than in the case of the Deobandis a a revivalist group which is part of the Hanafi Sunni school of Islamic jurisprudence. Most historiographies in India (where its own secular politics and fears of emboldening Hindu Rightists) have usually presented the Deobandis as monolithic and against the creation of Pakistan. Dhulipala challenges this and persuasively argues that the charismatic (and forgotten) persona of Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani was singularly responsible for the transfiguration of Pakistan from a political concept into something luminous in the Muslim imagination: the Medina of the mid-20th century Muslim mind in India. Usmani, in his 1945-46 tours made the argument that the first aPakistana in history was set up by Prophet Muhammad himself when he emigrated from Mecca to Medina. The imagery that Usmani uses is that of willfully relocating oneself from the midst of non-believers to find a geography blessed by the possibility of unadulterated worship of Allah. For Usmani, the creation of Pakistan a the political State a was merely an early step in the act of self-purification. For him, much like in Muhammadas time, this 20th century Medina would come about thanks to the muhajiroun (emigrants from India) and the ansar (helpers who reside in the areas of what was to be Pakistan). This force-fitting of Islamic history into 20th century post-colonial politics didnt mean that Usmani wasnat aware of the realities of geopolitics in 1940s. He acknowledged that while the world was indeed divided according to awatan (homeland), nasl (race), zabaan (language), or tamaddun (culture)a , in the end when all is said and done, the only taxonomy that mattered on Judgement Day was between the momin (believers) and the kufr (non-believers). This millenarian vision challenged the ideas of a composite nation (amuttahida quamiyata) a where Hindus and Muslims live together a that other Deobandi scholars (such as Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani) had pressed forth as an alternative conceptualization to what would follow when the British left India. This idea of composite nationality was mocked and critiqued by Islamist thinkers such as Iqbal and the pater familias of modern Pakistani Islamism, Maulana Syed Abu Alaaa Maududi as either a sign of weakness of men like Madani or as a self-evident impossibility. Usmani, who agreed with them, however also had one eye on the practicability of his ideas, and knew that the real challenger to his visions werenat the Hindus or the British, but the Constitutional liberal instincts of Jinnah and what he sought to build. Cognizant of the realities of gamesmanship necessary for achieving Pakistan first, Usmani however didnat seek to push his ideas in a manner that wouldave challenged Jinnahas primacy for the time being. In this sense, compared to Jinnah and his fellow Muslim League politicians who sought to usher in Islamic versions of constitutional liberalism, Usmani was content with playing a longer and patient game. For him, this patient approach too was courtesy a more careful reading of Muhammadas own life in Medina, where under the Prophetas guidance an embryonic Islamic culture progressively acquired its texture, tenor and mechanisms of Muslim governmentality. Keeping these lessons in mind, Usmani became the sharp end of a theological phalanx that sought to deflect or blunt criticisms leveled against the Muslim Leagueas demands for Pakistan by the other Muslim religious scholars. Lest one thinks that idea of Pakistan was entirely a Sunni Muslim creation, the lure of Pakistan also brought in fellow travelers as different as the Shia Muslims (whose leader, Raja Mahmudabad, had his own misgivings about the asectarian colora of Muslim League) and the Communist Party of India that decided to throw in its support behind the Muslim League candidates with Party theoreticians arguing that Pakistan was to be led by a vanguard of asecular Muslim salariata . That the Muslim League watched the Communist support warily, but for sake of electoral success was willing to go along, supplements the larger point that Dhulipala successfully makes repeatedly: under the big tent of Islamic identitarian politics, other groups including the Communists or Liberals found the requisite space to operate and negotiate in so far as they didnat challenge the idea of Pakistan. The Birth of a (Islamic) Nation On August 14, 1947 a Pakistan was born. It was poor(er) in resources than its neighbor India. The grounds that it stood on was blood soaked thanks to the violence of mass migration (a New York Times journalist called it athe most complex divorce in historya ). Its leaders were still untested in the very act of running a State after decades of fighting for independence or far less in thinking through what particularities would constitute the very act of governing a place larger than France and the UK combined. All of this may lead one to mistake its misshapen birth (East (eventually Bangladesh) and West Pakistan were separated by 1000 miles of India) for lack of some internally cohering logic, to see its presence as merely provisional at best or an act of cartographic dilettantism at worst by the British, to think of Pakistan as being ainsufficiently imagineda as Salman Rushdie evocatively, but inaccurately, described it. What Dhulipala however shows in this magnificent rereading of well-trod histories is that those who arrive at such conclusions have been looking at the wrong places. Beneath the veneer of moth-worn constitutionalism that Jinnah left behind, there lay a vigorously argued, sectarian in nature, historical informed, and ultimately a radically non-modern conception of community. That this conception continues to struggle to make peace with the Nation-State is another matter. Thus, irrespective of what one thinks about contemporary radical Islam and its violence, the birth of Pakistan was in a major way a consequence of contestation and disagreements from below, especially within religious groups that are often seen as opaque and homogenous. It is important to note that such a tradition of contestation however neednat mean an endorsement of Jeffersonian democracies, but rather a tradition of debate rooted in a born from a different historical parentage. What Dhulipala leaves unsaid, but is evident, is that any society that is born out of an illiberal ancestry, even if democratic, neednat be liberal, progressive, or capacious in its inclusiveness. The Islamism that permeated popular discourse in 1930s and 1940s maybe odious to many even then and to many liberal Pakistanis today. But Dhulipala shows that it gave the energies for the idea of Pakistan to take off and achieve escape velocity from the gravitational pull of a secular, cosmopolitan vision that Nehru, Gandhi, and even some members of the Deobandi schools had deemed necessary. This retelling is upsetting to many for it upends many favorite theories that both Indian and Pakistani liberals have found necessary to taper over to stem the righteous furies of Islamism. What Dhulipala however shows is that the Two Nations Theory a according to which Hindus and Muslims are two spheres of cultural being that can never live together a had votaries in the most unexpected of places (from Muslim theologians to the great liberal constitutionalist B. R. Ambedkar himself). Thus a pseudo-historic theory of racialist-cultural-religious uniqueness became a rallying call that upended nearly millennia of cohabitation and culture. None of this is, of course, reassuring for the future of Pakistan, where Islamists and sectarians progressively ratchet up violence often as an effort to reclaim the patrimonial contributions of the founding Islamists in the national narrative and eventually seize control of the State (with nuclear weapons). Implicit in Dhulipalaas reading is the prognosis that weaker the Pakistani State gets, the stronger will be its willingness to adopt Islamic vocabularies, the more likely is to be coopted by political parties that seek to reduce the multidimensionality of citizenship into a single axis of religiosity. Amidst such conflicting pulls of history, the art of liberal historiography has tried to shepherd constitutional democracy as and when it has found breathing space amidst military coups by elevating liberal heroes like Jinnah over above the religious voices. What Dhulipala, in a way, has done is broken ranks and written in a part for those who are deemed as villains of our progressive, liberal age a the Islamists. Irrespective of whether such a history writing comports with the political exigencies of today or not a athe world is what it isa wrote V. S. Naipaul in aA Bend In The Rivera a future scholars of Pakistan will find that theyall have to either supplement or critique Dhulipalaas work if they are to say something new about the politics of Pakistanas birth. Ignoring aCreating A New Medinaa is not an option. For a scholar and historian, nothing more could be rewarding Keerthik Sasidharan The Israeli response reflected Israels strong opposition to the courts potential entanglement in the protracted Israeli-Palestinian dispute and the possibility that Israeli leaders could be indicted even if by a court they do not recognize. The Palestinians used their upgraded United Nations status as a nonmember observer state to join the court three years ago, which subjected the Palestinian territories to court jurisdiction. They authorized the court to investigate the 2014 conflict in Gaza. Under the courts rules, any member country can request an investigation. The legal maneuver on Tuesday came at a moment of especially high tensions between Israelis and Palestinians after the United States formally relocated its embassy to Jerusalem and the fatal shooting of scores of Palestinians in Gaza whom Israel accused of trying to storm a border fence. Last week another international body, the United Nations Human Rights Council, considered a resolution to urgently dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry to investigate all alleged violations and abuses of civilians since the latest Gaza protests began on March 30. The Palestinian case against Israel is by far the most high profile and politically sensitive issue to reach the court since it opened in 2002. According to its website, the court is currently investigating 11 situations, the bulk of them in sub-Saharan Africa, involving allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Should the courts chief prosecutor, currently Fatou Bensouda of Gambia, seek to take up a criminal investigation of Israel, the case faces a series of time-consuming hurdles. Initially, the prosecutor may use open sources to build a case, and it is then up to the courts pretrial judges to decide whether the evidence is sufficient to approve a criminal investigation. Pictured: Dr. Ronald and Lou Kemp visit the Ronald N. and Lou T. Kemp Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic. Dr. Ronald Kemp, seated, visits with Dr. Canaan Crane, director of the MFT program at OBU. Lou Kemp, left, visits with Dr. Camille Lafleur, assistant professor of marriage and family therapy. OBU photos by Heather Horner. Alumni Provide Endowment Gift to Name OBU Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic May 22, 2018 Dr. Ronald and Lou Kemp visited the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University Wednesday, May 16, to support the new Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic. Both OBU alumni, Ronald in 1958 and Lou in 1957, the couple have spent their lives dedicated to serving others, with the latter part of their careers working in the field of marriage and family therapy in their clinic in Missouri. After OBU announced plans to open its new Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic facility, to serve not only the campus but also the community at large, the Kemps were moved to action. The couple generously provided a $250,000 gift to establish an endowment to help fund the operation of the new clinic. The Ronald N. and Lou T. Kemp Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic is located on Kickapoo, just south of the art building and art annex. It provides a welcoming space for MFT faculty and students to provide services to both the OBU and Shawnee communities. With the clinic having recently opened to use for the OBU campus community, the Kemps came for a visit to see the clinic firsthand. They spent part of the day touring the new facility, meeting and visiting with students, speaking with MFT faculty about OBUs MFT program, and reflecting on their hope that this gift will impact the training and education of future generations of marriage and family therapists for decades to come. Dr. Ronald Kemp first entered the world of therapy through pastoral care, specifically through his ministry work with prisoners. Chaplain Johnson was providing clinical training for us, and he wanted us to be able to do the kind of counseling with prisoners that you would expect of a professional, Kemp said. His wife, Lou Kemp, began her career as a kindergarten teacher, but soon found herself counseling the parents of her students. As a result, she began to pursue her masters degree in marriage and family therapy with an emphasis in play therapy. Their investment was a very personal way for the couple to support future generations of therapists. I found a real love for families and a belief that MFT was the way to go in terms of therapy, Kemp said. It became a legacy for us, especially after Lou became a marriage and family therapist. It was a way to give back to the therapy community. Dr. David W. Whitlock, OBU president, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the entire OBU community. You leave a legacy written on the hearts of thousands of students, he said, but it will be a legacy to impact tens of thousands of students in the future, and we are so appreciative. Before the ceasefire on Feb 24, Pakistan resorted to over 4,000 border violations 8-month-old infant killed in ceasefire violation by Pakistan India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar An 8-month-old infant was killed after being hit by a bullet reportedly during ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Keri Battal area of Akhnoor near Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday. Father of an 8-month-old infant, said, "He suddenly started crying. His clothes were drenched in blood. He died by the time we took him to hospital. What enmity Pak has with an 8-month-old?". He suddenly started crying. His clothes were drenched in blood. He died by the time we took him to hospital. What enmity Pak has with an 8-month-old?: Father of 8-month-old infant killed on being hit by bullet during ceasefire violation by Pak in Akhnoor's Keri Battal near LOC pic.twitter.com/VpLkjXOVUO ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 The incident occurred a day after Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that any comment on wanting peace will definitely be taken seriously. Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had called for peace 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. In a major decision, the Home Ministry announced last week announced that security forces will not launch any operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan but reserve the right to retaliate if attacked. 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. Jammu and Kashmir 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. (With PTI inputs) Indian Air Force, Navy to participate in an exercise with US CSG in Indian Ocean starting today Explained: The Indo-US high tempo exercise with an eye on China Indian Navy gets two MH-60R multi-role helicopters from US After historic global circumnavigation, all women Indian Navy crew returns to Goa India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff An all-woman crew commanding the INSV Tarini 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. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 8:49 [IST] Bluru police fail women again, deny help to techie in distress; give priority to netas India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff Bengaluru, May 22: While television studios were busy dissecting the Karnataka Assembly elections and results, the repeated pleas for help to the Bengaluru police by a young techie, who suffered two attempts of sexual assaults on a single night, went unheard. This story went out of the radar of the media till Tuesday, almost 13 days after the 23-year-old victim underwent horror of groping and attempt to rape by two separate gangs of miscreants, till Bangalore Mirror decided to write about it. According to Bangalore Mirror report, both the incidents happened in Bengaluru's posh locality, Indiranagar, on May 9. On the faithful night, the victim and her friend on their way home after dinner met a group of goons who groped the woman. When they approached the police at the Jeevan Bhima Nagar police station to file a complaint about the incident, police officials refused to do so saying they were busy with "election duty". The duo was asked to come back the next morning to file their complaint. Left without any help when they were returning home, again another gang kidnapped the woman and tried to rape her in a playground. Thankfully, passersby heard her screams and rescued her from the clutches of the rapists. Again, when they approached the Jeevan Bhima Nagar police station, the police reacted in a similar manner refusing to register their second complaint too on the pretext of being busy with "election duty". Finally, a complaint was lodged after the victim approached the police commissioner but seven days after the two horrific incidents happened to the techie. You can read the entire Bangalore Mirror report here. This is not for the first time when the Bengaluru police behaved callously when it comes to women safety. During the New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31, 2016, Bengaluru witnessed mass molestation on the bustling MG Road and Brigade Road. The role of police was also questioned at that time as a lot of police personnel were caught being silent spectators to the entire horror. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 12:45 [IST] To curb espionage, US moves bill to ban 10 year entry visa to China Bribe for visa case: MHA official 3 others arrested India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer 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. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 8:57 [IST] SNc Channels: Search About Salem-News.com May-21-2018 22:32 TweetFollow @OregonNews Oregon's Memorial Day Events Online Directory ODVAs annual Statewide Memorial Day Celebration will take place at 3:30 p.m., May 28th, at the Afghan-Iraqi Freedom Memorial in Salem. 2017 Statewide Memorial Day Celebration at Afghan-Iraqi Freedom Memorial in Salem. (SALEM, Ore.) - Want to know what Memorial Day events are being held in your area of Oregon? You can start online with the directory of Memorial Day ceremonies, parades and other special events that the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs maintains at www.oregondva.com/2018memorialday. The directory includes an interactive map as well as detailed information about each event. If you dont see your event listed, its not too late to share! Please visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/eventsubmissions and complete the brief questionnaire. Contact the ODVA communications team with any questions at 503-373-2389. ODVAs annual Statewide Memorial Day Celebration will take place later in the day this year. The celebration kicks off at 3:30 p.m., May 28th, at the Afghan-Iraqi Freedom Memorial in Salem. The memorial, which is dedicated to the men and women who died while serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is located just north of ODVAs offices at 700 Summer St. N.E. ODVA Acting Director Mitch Sparks will open the program and a keynote address will be given by Vietnam veteran Tom Owen. The program will include a color guard presentation by Western Oregon Universitys Army ROTC cadets, the playing of Taps, the pledge of allegiance and a reading of the 142 names of the Oregonians killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are inscribed on a granite wall at the memorial. Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in May to commemorate the men and women who have died while in military service. This month, Memorial Day will be observed for the 150th time. Originally known as Decoration Day, a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers (first held three years after the end of the Civil War), the date of May 30 is believed to have been chosen because flowers would be in bloom across the country. By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day observances were being held across the nation. In the year 2000, Congress passed and the president signed into law The National Moment of Remembrance Act, encouraging all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a moment of silence to remember and honor those who died in service to our nation. Source: http://oregondva.com _________________________________________ Oregon | Veterans | United-states | Most Commented on Articles for May 21, 2018 | Articles for May 22, 2018 CBSE Class 10th Results 2021: Board likely to declare results soon; here's how to check your roll number CBSE Class 10 and 12 results 2018 date update, check now India oi-Vikas By Vikas The CBSE Class 10 and 12 results 2018 will be declared soon. The results once declared will be available on the official website. An official of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has said that the re-test of the Class 12 Economics paper, held on April 25, nearly a month after it was leaked, will not delay declaration of results. The results are expected to be declared by May 30. All efforts are being made to declare the results soon. "The results will be declared on time as the evaluation is in advanced stage despite re-exam of economics paper. We have rigorously followed up with schools to send more evaluators than the required number," a senior Board official said. There were also reports of the CBSE's Class 10 mathematics paper being leaked, but the board decided against its re-test, saying class 10 was just an "internal segment" of school education system. The reports of leak of the CBSE papers had caused disappointment among students across the country last month. In Delhi, students held protests accusing the CBSE of negligence and demanded immediate action against the guilty. According to Delhi Police, the class 12 economics paper was leaked on 23 March - three days before the scheduled date of the examination. Investigators made arrests in several parts of the country in connection with the case, including in Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh. They claimed to have arrested the main conspirators behind the leak from Una in Himachal Pradesh. The three people were staffers of a school in the town. The results once declared will be available on cbse.nic.in. How to check CBSE Class 10, 12 results 2018: Go to cbse.nic.in Click on the relevant stream Enter required details Submit View results Take a printout For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 11:04 [IST] A change of guard in the ISI and what it would mean Ceasefire violation: 13 injured in firing across IB by Pakistani troops India oi-Vikas By Vikas Jammu and Kashmir's police chief SP Vaid has said that 13 people were injured in firing by Pakistani troops in Ramgarh sector. Of these 13, three are in critical condition, he tweeted. J&K DGP SP Vaid also said that Pakistani forces have been firing along the Jammu International Border in Araspura, Arnia, Ramgarh, Samba, Hiranagar sectors. Reports say that Pakistan has been violating the ceasefire for close to two days now. "Firing has been underway since past two days, 11 people were injured today, we have shifted 210 people from Samba," RS Tara, DC of Samba region in Jammu, told the media. An 8-month-old infant was killed after being hit by a bullet reportedly during ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Keri Battal area of Akhnoor near Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday. The incident occurred a day after Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that any comment on wanting peace will definitely be taken seriously. Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had called for peace talks with India. In a major decision, the Home Ministry announced last week announced that security forces will not launch any operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan but reserve the right to retaliate if attacked. 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. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, May 23, 2018, 2:02 [IST] Changes in civil service examination: Mamata calls it 'dangerous' India pti-PTI Kolkata, May 22: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday opposed the proposed changes in the allocation of services to candidates who clear the all India civil services examination, describing it as "dangerous". "What I have come to know about the (proposed changes for) civil servants is very dangerous. They (IAS and IPS officers) used to come through their merit list. Now, if you think that whoever will be an IAS or IPS because of a particular...recommendation, then don't you think it is a constitutional crisis?" Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat here. "It's a constitutional breakdown...There must be a limit to everything," she said. The Centre is considering a major change in the allocation of services to the successful candidates in the civil services examination. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has asked the department concerned to explore if the services can be allocated after the completion of the foundation course, according to an official communique. The duration of the foundation course for the officers of almost all the services is three months. At present, the service allocation to the candidates selected on the basis of the civil services examination, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), is made well before the commencement of the foundation course. The PMO has desired to explore if the service or cadre allocation to the probationers selected on the basis of the examination can be made after the foundation course, as per the communication sent by the Ministry of Personnel to the different cadre-controlling authorities. PTI Parameshwar to be HDKs deputy, Congress gets 22 berths, JD(S) 12 India oi-Vikas By Vikas Congress and JD (S) leaders held a meeting on Tuesday (May 22) evening to discuss the sharing of cabinet berths in the new coalition government. Out of the 34 ministries, the Congress will keep 22 while the JD (S) will get 12, said Congress' Karnataka general secretary KC Venugopal. Among other things decided in the meeting are that Congress' G Parameswara and KR Ramesh Kumar would be Deputy Chief Minister and Speaker, respectively. The portfolios would be allocated on may 24. "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 JDS. Portfolio allocation to be decided after floor test," Venugopal told the media after the meeting. Amid reports of difference between the two parties over the sharing of cabinet berths, CM designate Kumaraswamy said that "Everything is alright and there are no differences". "Today we took a decision regarding the expansion (of the cabinet). Speaker and deputy speaker would be elected on 25 May. Portfolios would be decided day after tomorrow," Kumaraswamy had said earlier today (May 22). Here is how the new cabinet may look like: CM - HD Kumaraswamy Deputy CM - Dr G Parameshwara Congress - 21-22 Ministers JDS - 12-13 Ministers Speaker - Ramesh Kumar from Congress As per reports, Parameshwara will take oath along with Kumaraswamy tomorrow. The ceremony to be held on Wednesday at 4.30 pm will be attended by BSP leader Mayawati, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, DMK leader M.K. Stalin, former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D. Raja, and NCP leader Sharad Pawar. Congress may settle for one deputy CM only India oi-Vicky Nanjappa It is almost certain that there would be only one deputy to H D Kumaraswamy. The Congress which has been demanding two deputy chief minsters is set to settle for one at least for the time-being. The Congress had proposed the name of a Dalit and Lingayat MLA for the post of two deputy chief ministers. However the JD(S) was opposed to the idea and said that at best one could be accommodated. H D Kumaraswamy who had met with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi held discussions at length on the government formation. During the meeting it was however agreed that the Congress would get to keep the post of Speaker. This was however demanded by the JD(S) at first, but following the intervention of Rahul Gandhi, the party decided to give up the demand. On Wednesday, Kumaraswamy will be taking oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka at a grand ceremony outside the Vidhan Soudha at 4.30 pm. He had earlier said that he would not be the only one taking oath. He did not however indicate whether a deputy CM would be taking oath with him. From what he said it appeared as though a few MLAs will be taking oath. He is scheduled to hold discussions with the Congress and then take a final call on the matter. He however added that no minister's name had been finalised as yet. The Congress is likely to finalise the name of KPCC chief, Dr. G Parameshwara for the post of deputy CM. However the likes of M B Patil have been demanding that the post goes to a candidate from north Karnataka, where the party fared badly in the recently concluded elections. Curfew in Ahmedabad extended till 6am on May 21; Night curfew to continue in 36 cities for another 3 days Into the deep: Ahmedabads Science City gets a boost! Nature Park, Aquatic, Robotic Galleries and more! Cops oppose Teestas anticipatory bail plea India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer The Ahmedabad crime branch has opposed an anticipatory bail plea of social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand at a sessions court in the Rs 1.4 crore alleged fund embezzlement case. City sessions court judge P J Tamakuwala concluded the hearing on the bail plea and reserved the order for May 23. Opposing the bail plea, the crime branch claimed that the couple had misused the money for their "personal and political cause". The crime branch is investigating the case on the basis of an FIR lodged in Ahmedabad on March 30 this year. In its submission, the crime branch said the accused misused the fund granted to their NGO Sabrang Trust by Union HRD Ministry between 2010 and 2013 for educational purpose, "to pay witnesses in serious cases in Gujarat (2002 riot cases) to make false deposition". During this period, Setalvad worked as field co-coordinator for her NGO Citizen for Justice and Peace, while her husband Javed Anand as the trustee of Sabrang Trust. The ministry had granted Rs 1.4 crore between 2010 and 2013 to the NGO for a scheme under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, as per the submission. Complainant Raees Khan Pathan had lodged an FIR against Setalvad, Anand and some unidentified officials of the HRD Ministry under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. In its submission, the crime branch stated that the investigation was at a sensitive stage and the accused were capable of affecting evidence against them if they were prevented from arrest. Under the 'Khoj project', the Sabrang Trust published literatures and pamphlets that spread communal hatred which were against the Constitution and judiciary, which is "dangerous for country's unity", it said. Setalvad pitched for the fund by misusing her position as a member of the Central Advisory Board of Education of HRD Ministry, it said. "Most of the fund was spent for personal use. Money was transferred in the personal account and used for personal and political works," the submission said. The Supreme Court had last month granted temporary relief to Setalvad and Anand by extending their interim protection from arrest and transit anticipatory bail from May 2 to May 31, granted to them by the Bombay High Court. The apex court had also directed the couple to approach the competent court in Gujarat for securing anticipatory bail, following which they filed the plea in Ahmedabad. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 8:43 [IST] Delhi could face power crisis, says Arvind Kejriwal in letter to PM Modi Centre has again denied permission to Delhi govt to implement ration delivery scheme: AAP Delhi: Collection agent looted at gun point India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer A collection agent was looted at gun point by three robbers when he was going to deposit Rs 2.5 lakh in a bank in Kaushambi colony of Indira Puram area, police said today. Sanjay Saini along with his associate Vineet was on his way to a bank when the robbers on a scooter snatched their bag containing Rs 2.5 lakh, Superintendent of Police (City) Akash Tomar said. A police team was monitoring CCTV footage to investigate the matter, Tomar said. Google honours Raja Ram Mohan Roy: What is Brahmo Samaj? India oi-Shubham By Shubham On Tuesday, May 22, Internet giant Google celebrated the 246th birth anniversary of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the 19th century pioneer of Indian renaissance. Roy's greatness lied in the role he played to show the path ahead in the pitch black darkness of socio-economic inertia. He did not care for the gigantic obstacles that he countered from his contemporary society and stood his ground to effect social reforms, even if that required cooperation from the British rulers of the day. When one talks about Ram Mohan Roy, a special mention should be made about Brahmo Samaj which was formed in 1828. It was a monotheistic religious reform movement among the Hindus. It was a call by Roy and his like-minded peers for reforms in thinking of the elitist (Kulin) Brahminism of the time which represented the highest order of Brahmins in the caste system. By stressing on social reforms like women's education, abolition of social evils like caste and even universal adult franchise at a time when independence was long distant, the Brahmo Samaj sowed the seeds of Bengal Renaissance and it eventually led to a complete social, religious and educational advancement of the Hindu religion. The Brahmo Samaj was publicly inaugurated in January 1830 and it subsequently gave birth to Brahmoism. The Brahmo Samaj reflected Bengal's Renaissance and also actively participated in social emancipation like scrapping of evil rituals like sati, dowry, child marriage and overall betterment of the women. The Samaj believed that all human beings are human first and should not be discriminated on grounds of caste, religion or gender. It spoke about the oneness of god and brotherhood and rejected idol worship and mundane rituals. The Brahmo Samaj succeeded in delivering a body blow to various social evils and Roy envisioned education as the best way forward for the society. To back his idea, Roy also established various colleges and contributed towards the development of various languages. Roy himself was a polyglot and mastered a number of European languages besides Urdu, Sanskrit and Persian. Roy's successful mission in banning the inhuman ritual of sati was assisted by Lord William Bentinck, the then governor general of India, in 1833. After the death of Roy, Brahmo Samaj suffered a split and two factions - led by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore and Keshab Chandra Sen - were formed. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 11:30 [IST] Government to set up Fast Track Special Courts in every state and UT to try rape cases India oi-Vinod By Vinod New Delhi: Very soon Fast Track Special Courts will be a reality across the country for quick disposal of rape cases. The Central government has written a letter to every state government and Union Territory of the country to constitute such Fast Track Special Courts for the quick disposal of the rape and sexual harassment cases. This is an attempt of capacity building measures in rape investigation, trial and prosecution matters. The way increasing number of rape cases in the country have been reported in the country, especially of the minors, now the government wants not just to expedite such cases but also wants other aspects of this matter to be taken care of in a very efficient manner. Sources said that first the government wants to set up Fast Track Special Courts where only rape matters will be prosecuted; Second the government is looking at making provisions for forensic kits; Third dedicated and trained manpower for investigation of such matters and fourth strengthening of forensic laboratories. Sources said that the scheme would have components coming under domain of a number of different departments of the government and agencies but scheme will be implemented in a mission mode with a full time Mission Director so that coordinated and focused attention is given to its implementation. The responsibility of the Mission Director would be to coordinate with different agencies to meet their requirement for setting up these infrastructures across the country. He will be coordinating with the Union home ministry. The government wants to do it as soon as it could. A senior government official will provide inputs in respect of gaps in forensic infrastructure and assessment of requirement for forensic laboratories and special forensic kits in respect to different states and Union territory. Sources informed that director National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) will provide data pertaining to pending rape cases separately for states and Union Territory and metropolitan cities including rape cases registered under POSCO. Sources also informed that director NCRB submit a detailed project proposal preparation of national database of sex offenders and link it with Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), with definite timelines for various activities and realistic financial requirements. The proposal would take into account the report prepared by Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) on the offenders' registry. Sources informed that a cabinet not will be prepared and sent to the cabinet for its approval. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 20:39 [IST] In Rs 456.63 crore loan default case, CBI chargesheets Rotomac promoters India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer The Central Bureau of Investigation following a three month probe has chargesheeted Rotomac Global Pvt Ltd and its promoters in connection with the Rs 456.63 crore loan default case involving the Bank of Baroda. 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. Taking the charge sheet on record, special CBI judge M P Chaudhari fixed May 30 as the next date of hearing. 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 Private 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. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 7:43 [IST] Seguin, TX (78155) Today Partly cloudy skies. High 87F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Centre renames 2 prominent institutes after Sushma Swaraj on the eve of her birth anniversary India does not believe in 'Me First' approach: Sushma Swaraj India oi-PTI External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday warned that the world was reeling under a storm of protectionism and said India did not agree with US 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 politics 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'. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 10:26 [IST] Intelligence reports suggest terrorist attack on camps of security forces in Anant Nag and Shopian India oi-Vinod By Vinod New Delhi: A unilateral ceasefire was announced by the Union Home Ministry in Jammu and Kashmir in view of the Holy month of Ramzan for Muslims, but the threat of a terrorist attack on the Army camps is looming large despite this initiative by the Government of India. As per intelligence sources, there is a possibility of an attack on camps of security forces in Anant Nag and Shopian. Intelligence agencies have information that a group of three terrorists might attack bases of the security forces in these two areas. Therefore, despite the announcement of a ceasefire in the state, security forces in Anant Nag and Shopian are on high alert. As per intelligence sources, terrorists don't want this ceasefire to succeed therefore they are trying every bit to disturb the peace in the region. They want to create such an environment that messages travels all across that ceasefire is not a solution to the problem and it is also not a right step in the same direction. Terrorist organizations have already declared they don't accept any such ceasefire. Sources in the security agencies said that due to Non-Initiation of Combat Operation (NICO), security forces are unable to conduct Cordon and Search Operations and Search and Destroy Operations. So the terrorists are able to execute their activities. During the ceasefire proper and enough intelligence reports are also not coming in which in turn benefitting terrorists. As per sources, in the year 2017 there were 860 incidents of ceasefire violation along the border and this year so far 881 ceasefire incidents have taken place so far. Sources in the security forces said that security forces are under pressure when there is unilateral ceasefire. This does not help armed forces rather terrorist get chance to regroup. There is a possibility of attack getting intensified during ceasefire because they want to spoil the environment and to give a message that it does not mean anything to them. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 22:06 [IST] Is BJP's Karnataka debacle a personal defeat of Amit Shah? India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff New Delhi, May 22: Generally, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) never likes to address "uncomfortable questions" especially when it showcases the saffron party and its top leadership in a bad light. In the last four years, since the BJP-led government came to power at the Centre, we saw whenever the country is in distress, be it mob lynching of Muslims and Dalits by Hindus, rapes and killings of women and girls and decline in the economy, to name a few disasters under the Narendra Modi government, the Prime Minister and his top cabinet colleagues turn "mum" literally till the storm calms down. The tactic adopted by the ruling BJP has been working well for the party, although "anti-nationals" continue to attack the Modi government over its various failures. Despite its many flaws and rampant misuse of institutions to carry forward its alleged "divisive politics", the BJP has been winning elections after elections across the country. Apart from being in power at the Centre, the BJP is currently ruling 21 states in the country. The BJP's "winning chariot" hit a bumpy road when it failed to form its government in Karnataka even after emerging as the single-largest party with 104 seats in the highly-contested Assembly elections in the southern state. To its utter shock, the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) joined hands to thwart the BJP's attempt to come to power in the southern state for a second time. After allegedly arm-twisting the office of the governor to help BS Yeddyurappa get sworn in as the chief minister despite the saffron party not having the numbers (whereas the Congress-JD(S) combine has it), the BJP got another blow when the Supreme Court asked the party to prove its majority on the floor of the house immediately. Since it failed to get the support of MLAs from the Congress and the JD(S), just minutes ahead of the floor test, Yeddyurappa decided to resign as the CM. Unconfirmed audio tapes and statements by the Congress and the JD(S) give a picture of how desperately the BJP tried to "poach" MLAs from the opposition camps to help remain in power. Now, governor Vajubhai Vala has invited the Congress-JD(S) alliance to form the new government in the state. JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is all set to take oath as the new CM on Wednesday. The BJP, which has hardly seen any defeat since 2014, found the whole Karnataka episode a "bitter pill to swallow". While PM Modi kept himself busy by visiting Kashmir and Russia in the last two days to forget the "nightmare" in Karnataka, where he ran a high-pitched campaign against the Congress, his "younger brother" BJP president Amit Shah seems to be raging within. On Monday evening, Shah decided to hold a press conference in the national capital where he claimed that the BJP did the right thing by staking its claim to form the government in Karnataka as the mandate was for the saffron party. He called the Congress-JD(S) alliance "unholy". When reporters asked him why the same logic (single-largest party forming the government after an election) is not applied in Goa and Manipur (last year) and Meghalaya (this year), the BJP supremo simply said the Congress (in all the three states the Congress had emerged as the single-largest party after the Assembly elections) did not stake its claim. Shah also rubbished allegations of horse-trading and poaching by the BJP. He said that the Congress has bought the entire stable (indirectly alleging that the Congress bought the entire JD(S)) when it was crying foul over horse-trading by the saffron party. He added that had the Congress-JD(S) MLAs were not locked up inside hotels and resorts than things could have been different. His comment has been construed by many as that the BJP would have easily bought the MLAs from the opposition camps if they would have been "roaming freely". The impromptu press meet of Shah was not a simple one where the vanquished throw charges against the victor. The press meet came two days after the BJP decided to avoid a floor test in Karnataka on Saturday. Shah did not say anything new in the press meet and just repeated the same old charges his party colleagues have been mouthing against the Congress-JD(S) alliance. According to reports, the whole Karnataka debacle of the BJP is a huge "personal blow" for Shah. The press meet was an attempt to "pre-empt any murmurs against him within the party", stated The Telegraph. Many inside the party have already started talking about Shah remaining the BJP president for a long time. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders seem to be unhappy with the way Modi-Shah jodi tackled the Karnataka episode. Many in the BJP and the RSS believed that the saffron party should not have taken the risk of forming its government in Karnataka which has brought a lot of bad name to the party ahead of the 2019 General Elections. As the entire Karnataka election was single-handedly manned by Shah, the whole blame now rests on him. Shah's supporters deny any opposition to him within the party. Many also feel he is the next prime ministerial candidate of the BJP. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 10:01 [IST] Is it water scarcity or govt apathy as Chhattisgarh villagers drink water from drain? India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff Raipur, May 22: Poor in India lead miserable lives. It is the poor and underprivileged who have to bear the brunt of any catastrophe first. The poor are the shields for the rich to tide over any tragedy. As the summer season is at its peak and temperatures are skyrocketing, water has become scarce. Again the poor and marginalised are suffering the most due to water paucity across the country. Women and girls walking several kilometers to bring home water in pots and buckets is a common site in many cities, towns and villages of India. However, water story of a village in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada will definitely leave you appalled. Since water is scarce, villagers are drinking water from a drain. A village in Dantewada is reeling under water scarcity. Locals are compelled to dig water from an area near a drain, reported ANI. Equally shocking is the reaction of the collector who merely said he would look into the matter as if it is a small issue. "We will look into the matter, if there is a shortage of hand pumps then we will install them," Saurabh Kumar, collector, told ANI. A village in Dantewada is deprived of water. Locals are compelled to dig out water from near a drain. Collector Saurabh Kumar says 'We will look into the matter, if there is a shortage of hand pumps then we will install them' #Chhattisgarh pic.twitter.com/BwdbH8Elci ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018 Pictures taken by photographers of ANI showed how little girls and women scooped the water out of the bottom of the drain. If these images also don't move our politicians and authorities, we don't know what would. "Nearly 63 million people in India do not have access to safe drinking water, and increased pollution of water-bodies and poor storage infrastructure over the years, has created a water deficit which may become unmanageable in the future. A WaterAid report in 2016 ranked India among the worst countries in the world for the number of people without safe water," stated a report by dailyo. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 11:29 [IST] JD(S) still not in favour of two Congress Dy. CMs in Karnataka India oi-Vicky Nanjappa The JD(S) is not in favour of having two deputy chief ministers as has been mooted by the Congress. The issue is still under consideration by the two parties and further discussions are expected in this regard. The JD(S) has agreed to give the Congress the post of Speaker, but is still not in favour of having two deputies. The JD(S) is however fine with the idea of having just one deputy, sources tell OneIndia. H D Kumaraswamy who will be sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday held a meeting with the Congress high command on Tuesday. The two parties have agreed to have a coordination committee to ensure the smooth functioning of the government. The Congress had proposed two deputies as it could accommodate a Lingayat and Dalit to the post. However on Monday, there were reports that the Congress is toying the idea of suggesting the name of D K Shivakumar to the post. He belongs to the Vokkaliga community. Shivakumar had said that he would be agreeable to whatever the high command says. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 7:22 [IST] When will schools reopen in Tamil Nadu for 1st to 8? Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth blame Tamil Nadu govt for violence India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan and Superstar Rajinikanth held the Tamil Nadu government responsible for the death of innocent people during anti-Sterlite protests in Tuticorin. The Anti-Sterlite protests turned violent on the 100th day of protests. Kamal Haasan said that he would stand for the people and offered his condolence to the grieving families. He said, "This is unpardonable. People of Tamil Nadu will not forget this violation against their dignity and life. I am very sure this could have been stopped before escalating it to such levels." "It was a non-violent protest which was going on for some time. Govt thought that by not giving them a shade to protest, it will dissipate and go away. But the will of the people was much stronger than the government," Haasan said. Actor Rajinikanth Tamil Nadu said the government's inaction is responsible for the violence in Tuticorin. He said, "Governments should take responsibility for the loss of life and violence in Tuticorin." More than 20 people suffered minor injuries in stone-pelting incident, some vehicles were set on fire, leading to tension in the area. Several shops in this town, Srivaikundam and Oddapidaram remained shut in support of the protest, police said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 19:39 [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. KCR meets Kumaraswamy, says won't be able to attend Wednesday's swearing-in function India oi-Vikas By Vikas Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao met Karnataka Chief Minister designate HD Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru on Tuesday (May 22) and said that he will not able to attend Wednesday's swearing-in function because of a prior commitment. Rao congratulated Kumaraswamy and also met former prime minister HD Deve Gowda in Bengaluru. "Tomorrow I have a Collector's conference in Hyderabad. So I thought I should meet Mr Kumaraswamy and extend my good wishes. Sometime later I will come but tomorrow I will not be there. Good luck to Mr Kumaraswamy, good luck to Karnataka," he said in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening. DMK working president MK Stalin will also not be attending the swearing-in function as he would visit Tuticorin where 9 people died after the protests demanding closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit took a violent turn on Tuesday. "I am going to Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) tomorrow to meet those who are affected due to and are protesting against the Sterlite Plant," Stalin said. Congress and JD (S) leaders held a meeting on Tuesday (May 22) evening to discuss the sharing of cabinet berths in the new coalition government. Out of the 34 ministries, the Congress will keep 22 while the JD (S) will get 12, said Congress' Karnataka general secretary KC Venugopal. Among other things decided in the meeting are that Congress' G Parameswara and KR Ramesh Kumar would be the Deputy Chief Minister and the Speaker, respectively. The portfolios would be allocated on May 24. Amid reports of difference between the two parties over the sharing of cabinet berths, CM designate Kumaraswamy said that "Everything is alright and there are no differences". The ceremony to be held on Wednesday at 4.30 pm will be attended by BSP leader Mayawati, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, DMK leader M.K. Stalin, former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D. Raja, and NCP leader Sharad Pawar. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, May 23, 2018, 1:04 [IST] Nipah Virus: Will get a report on possible impact and take action to control- Karnataka CM Kerala Nipah outbreak: Viral fever claims 10 lives, two others critical India oi-Deepika By Deepika The Nipah virus has so far claimed 10 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala while the condition of two persons undergoing treatment for the viral disease is said to be critical. Kerala Health Minister K K Shylaja said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been informed about the outbreak of the virus in Kerala. "As of now, we have test results of 18 samples. 12 of them have been tested positive for Nipah Virus. 10 of them have already died. 2 of them are in critical condition. No new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours" said the minister. Of the 18 samples sent for testing, 12 have tested positive for the virus, of which 10 people have died.Two deaths reported on May 20 from Malappuram - Sindhu and Sijitha, have tested positive for Nipah virus. The two had come to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital for treatment and had been in touch with one of the infected persons who had died of the virus, the minister said, adding that no fresh case has been reported so far. Considering the seriousness of the situation, the Centre on Monday rushed a high-level team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), including its director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh and Head of Epidemiology, Dr SK Jain. The team is expected to conduct a field visit to the hospitals and affected areas of Perambra village. Taking stock of the situation, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh said that there was no need for people to panic. He also added that the state health department has taken all precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Union Health Minister JP Nadda is also in close touch with the Kerala Health department. "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," Union Health Minister J P Nadda said in a statement from Geneva Monday. Kerala has been put on high alert after the rare Nipah virus claimed six lives in the state. More deaths with similar symptoms have been reported from the state and the authorities have sent the sample for tests. Also referred to as NiV, the infection spreads through fruit bats. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is also closely monitoring the situation. "All efforts are also being made to ensure that more lives are not lost," Vijayan said, adding that the government was handling the issue with 'utmost seriousness.' What is Nipah Virus? Know all about it As per a report on WHO website, Nipah is a newly emerging virus, which gets transferred from animals to humans, and it causes severe disease in both animals as well as humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the "Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus". On eve of planned House vote on FIRST STEP Act, NY Times editorial misguidedly asserts a "partial bill could end up being worse than nothing" | Main | Updated archive of European Union engagement concerning death penalty in the United States May 22, 2018 "Against Life Without Parole" The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Judith Lichtenberg available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: Over 40,000 people in the United States today are serving life without parole sentences (LWOP) more than triple the number in 1992. This figure understates the case, since parole has become increasingly rare for the 140,000 prisoners serving life sentences that ostensibly permit parole. I argue that LWOP sentences should be abolished. After reviewing the facts about LWOP, I show that of the standard reasons for punishment only retributivism can hope to justify it. I investigate the varieties of retributivism and argue that plausible versions do not entail or even recommend it. So, we can reject LWOP without abandoning retributivism an important point, strategically and perhaps morally as well. I then make the positive case for abolition, on three main grounds. First, few (if any) people are fully culpable for their criminal acts; we should mitigate their punishment accordingly. Second, abolishing life without parole and indeed all life sentences is likely to bring many benefits: to prisoners, their loved ones, the community in general, and to those who decide for abolition and who carry it out. Among these is the promotion of certain attitudes it is good for people to have, including faith in humanity. Finally, theres a certain pointlessness in continuing to punish a person who has undergone changes of character that distance them greatly from the person who committed the crime many decades earlier. May 22, 2018 at 09:45 AM | Permalink Comments "...parole has become increasingly rare for the 140,000 prisoners serving life sentences that ostensibly permit parole." That is not true in California. Under the Brown Administration (and the members of the Board of Parole Hearings he appoints), a lifer inmate (typically a murderer) who goes to a parole hearing now has a 1 in 3 chance of being granted parole. Posted by: Cal. Prosecutor | May 22, 2018 11:13:47 AM That "faith in humanity" is just faith in the author's belief. The biggest complaint I have about the legal academy is the sterility of intellectual thought. Everyone says the same thing over and over again. There's no intellectual growth in an echo chamber. Posted by: justme | May 22, 2018 1:28:57 PM Gem: "Would a 21-year sentence for the unrepentant Dylann Roof, who killed nine parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in June 2015, express disrespect for his victims and the rule of law? This is the kind of sentence Roof would get in Norway. It seems ludicrous to think that Norwegians do not value life to the same degree that Americans do, and thus that their shorter sentences express or represent a disrespect of humanity." That is called question begging. Posted by: justme | May 22, 2018 1:42:12 PM Again, Sweetie, the home address. All released murderers to your street. We are not dumping these toxic people into poor neighborhoods without political influence. Posted by: David Behar | May 22, 2018 3:30:36 PM Justine. The tradition is that after law school, the A students become professors. The C students then hire the B students to be legal practitioners. The C students are the ones not wasting a lot of time on grades in professional school, and hustling to start viable businesses. To be an A student in law school, one must memorize 7000 rules, and spend 80 hours a week studying. So one comes out knowing nothing about the real world. The Ivy law student had all A's to get in. So they spent 80 hours a week studying in college, and missed the social development of college. That is why they look, and speak as they do. Posted by: David Behar | May 22, 2018 3:55:03 PM Yes, if only we had your social skills, guy-who-spends-his- life-calling-for-the-beatings-of-lawyers-and-judges-on-the-internet Posted by: RW | May 22, 2018 6:27:00 PM North Carolina is one of only five states in the country that mandates all felony murder convictions are first degree murder and all convictions for felony murder must be punished by Life Without Parole. I am working on a post conviction motion arguing that such treatment violates the Eighth Amendment guarantee of "graduated punishment" set forth in Graham v Florida. In the case I am working on there was a robbery and a person was killed by a stray bullet. The jury sent a question out of the jury room during deliberation stating "Do we have to convict the def of first degree felony murder if we believe the killing was an accident?" The Judge told them "Yes." The Def is now serving life without parole, which means exactly that. In my last four murder trials I have stopped using the term "Life Without Parole" as the mandatory punishment. Instead, I tell the jury that the punishment is "Death in Prison." bruce Posted by: bruce cunningham | May 22, 2018 8:45:26 PM RW. The beating of judges has justification in formal logic. Formal logic has more certainty than the laws of physics. Most people support the killing of lawyers. I do not. They would just be replaced by grateful competitors. These would be the same. A beating will deter the insurrectionist lawlessness of judges making law. Judicial review is a violation of Article I Section 1. It grants "All" lawmaking power to the Congress. All executive branch regulation also violates that Section. Article 1 - The Legislative Branch Section 1 - The Legislature All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Do any of you lawyers need help understanding the language of that Section? Are tort and criminal liability a substitute for violence? All lawyers say, yes. Legal immunity is therefore a justification for violence. The contrapositive of a true assertion is always true. "All bats are mammals," is true. This animal is not a mammal. It is not a bat. Posted by: David Behar | May 23, 2018 10:29:57 AM Bruce. I read an article criticizing the support of the felony murder rule by OW Holmes. When I redid the arithmetic, it supported the deterrent effect of the Rule. OW Holmes has never, ever been wrong. Yes, he was a graduate of Harvard Law School. I understand that. People who care about victims support the felony murder rule. Posted by: David Behar | May 23, 2018 10:34:00 AM Professor Berman: How many more years are you going to platform this person's calls for violence, often impliedly against yourself and your users (see, the home address thread)? Behar: Whatever is going on in your life, it's not going to get better until you stop doing this. Posted by: RW | May 23, 2018 6:55:29 PM RW. Those are just personal attacks from your frustration by the facts. Posted by: David Behar | May 24, 2018 1:19:40 AM David: frustration with your repeated discussion of "beating of judges" and "killing of lawyers" and claims that "legal immunity justifies violence against the tortfeasors" does not stem from frustration with facts. It stems from a very justified disaffinity for your sophomoric rhetoric of physical violence, reflected in this ugly comment from a few months ago: "The place to start to remedy this ridiculous situation is to hunt and beat the asses of lawyer legislators and judges. Do not kill them. They will be replaced by grateful competitors. Beat their asses. To deter." That said, I have noticed a seemingly genuine effort by David to bring more substance and less vitriol to his comments. Other than his comment at 10:29 above, I had to go back a number of threads to find similar ugliness. Recent developments lead me to want to believe David can and will keep trying to be a more productive and less vile comment contributor. But he has disappointed me before, and I know it can happen again and I will take action as needed. Posted by: Doug B | May 24, 2018 11:07:03 AM I am just a member of the public and I like in the UK..my partner is American and is currently serving LWOP..He was 18 years old at the time of the crime he has spent 25 years in prison....before his crime he worked and had no previous convictions....he never actually killed the person but was at the scene. he is a black American...he deserves a chance of even a parole hearing to review him and his sentence.... Posted by: jacqueline slater | Jan 17, 2019 10:49:50 AM Post a comment Transcripts from retrieved black box to be available soon: DGCA on Kerala plane crash Kerala Nipah virus outbreak: Dr. Kafeel Khan offers help, CM accepts India oi-Deepika By Deepika Dr Kafeel Khan from Uttar Pradesh, who was infamously embroiled in a clash with the Yogi government following the infant deaths in Gorakhpur, has offered to serve at Kozhikode district in the wake of Nipah outbreak. Dr. Kafeel Khan has taken to Facebook to make a request to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to give him permission to serve at the Kozhikode Medical College under the circumstance of the deadly Nipah virus spreading in the state. His Facebook post reads: "After sehri n fajr namaz was trying to sleep but couldn't. Disturbed with increase no of mortality due to Nipah Virus (NiV) infection and rumours spreading on social media platforms." "I request Kerala Cheif minister Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan to allow me to serve at Calicut Medical College to save innocent lives. Sister Lini is an inspiration and I am more than willing to sacrifice my life for the noble cause. May Allah give me the strength/knowledge and skill to serve Humanity," it said. Responding to the FB post, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said that the state government is more than happy to allow persons like Dr Kafeel to work with the state. "It is heartwarming that several persons associated with the health sector were coming forward, extending their willingness to help the government in containing the Nipah virus. This includes doctors and health experts. Some had already arrived at Kozhikode. The state government is grateful to them," said Vijayan in his FB post. As per his post, the Chief Minister also said that the medical professionals who wish to offer their services in the state should either contact the Directorate of Health Services or Calicut Medical College Superintendent, to process their requests. It may be recalled that Dr. Kafeel Khan was arrested last year in connection with the death of about 63 infants following disruption of oxygen in Gorakhpur hospital. Huge protest arose across the nation following his arrest and he was finally released from jail after seven months in April 2018. Mumbai schools reopening: Classes to begin for students from this date Navratri 2021: BMC caps height of Durga idols, says no garba events in Mumbai Lalu Yadav arrived in Mumbai, to undergo treatment for heart problems India pti-PTI Patna, May 22: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad, serving sentences in fodder scam cases and out on provisional bail, left for Mumbai on Tuesday night to undergo treatment for heart-related problems. The former Bihar chief minister, who has been granted a six-week bail by the Jharkhand High Court, reached the Jay Prakash Narayan Airport in Patna on a wheelchair. He will be accompanied to Mumbai by RJD leader Bhola Yadav. Prasad (69), who had undergone a bypass surgery a few years ago, has sought an appointment with renowned heart surgeon Ramakant Panda at the Asian Heart Institute, sources close to his family said. From Mumbai, the RJD chief is scheduled to leave for Bengaluru for consultations with experts at the GBS Global Medical Institute for kidney-related problems. Prasad suffers from many ailments, including high blood pressure and diabetes. The former Bihar chief minister has been in jail since December 23 last year, after being sentenced in a fodder scam case. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to jail in two more fodder scam cases. PTI 'Could be murdered in future': Lawyer of Unnao rape victim seeks DM to grant weapon license Lawyer wants Bihar Governor to reveal names of Bofors scam accused India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer 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 prompted a lawyer and BJP leader to ask him to reveal the names of those 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. "After all, 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. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 7:54 [IST] Lingayats vs Veerashaivas: Congress has no magic wand and the ghost will continue to haunt it India oi-Chennabasaveshwar To stop Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from coming to power the Congress offered the post of CM to Janata Dal (Secular) to form the government. With this move, the grand old party succeeded in the first round of battle for power. As per the tradition, the Congress has to allocate portfolios keeping in view regional and community representation. But this time the challenge is far from easy. Former CM Siddaramaiah is already under attack from his colleague M Veerappa Moily for "wrong caste management" after the humiliating loss in the elections. Moily said the Congress should not have raised the Lingayat issue before the polls. However, in the post-election scenario, the Congress cannot ignore the issue as mere a 'lesson'. According to recent developments, it is clear that the ghost of Lingayat /Veerashiva will continue to haunt more during the distribution of portfolios. Of course, the Congress is in alliance with the JDS, but the party has to form an alliance of different sort with Lingayat /Veerashiva leaders in the party. Most importantly, 2019 general elections are fast approaching. If they want to beat the BJP in the general election, they have to pacify both the camps. Meanwhile, Veerashaiva Mahasabha wrote a letter to AICC regarding deputy CM post. Mahasabha has demanded at least five berths for the community including a Deputy Chief Minister post for its president Shamanuru Shivashankarappa. The Mahasabha has pointed that "of the 78 seats Congress has won, 16 belong to the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community and there are four MLAs of the community in JD(S). They are the largest community among those elected and they should get the biggest share in power," the letter said. Surprisingly, the list includes M B Patil's name, who is not in the good books of Veerashaiva/Lingayats, for his support to independent Lingayat religion. But there is no representation from Lingayat forum as prominent leaders have lost the elections. According to sources, few Lingayat leaders opposed MB Patil's name to Deputy CM post and threatened to resign if the party takes such decision. G Parameshwara's name has been finalized as the first Deputy Chief Minister. According to reports, MB Patil, SR Patil, and HK Patil are the front-runners for the second Deputy Chief Minister. If anybody from the Lingayat camps gets the top post, again the Congress party will be sending a wrong message to the community. Senior political analyst Mahadeva Prakash said, "Bavaraj Rayareddy, Vinay Kulkarni, Sharan Prakash Patil, who lost the election, all had better positions. But why did they fail to build the party in North Karnataka? So, on what basis the Congress should give important portfolios to Lingayats in the government?". "With Siddaramaiah's backing SR Patil may get Deputy CM and a portfolio nothing more than that," Mahadeva Prakash said. "Even if the Congress party gives CM post to the Lingayat candidate the community will not support the party. Still, the community accepts BS Yeddyurappa as leader," he added. In Mumbai-Karnataka region, the BJP has 30 out of 50 seats and the Congress 17, down from 31 it had won in the previous 2013 assembly polls. While out of 36 seats in central Karnataka region, Congress' tally dropped to 13 from 19, the BJP made steep gains by winning 15 seats, compared to three it won in 2013. In Hyderabad-Karnataka region also, BJP increased its tally from 10 seats to 15, even as Congress retained a lead with 21 out of 40 seats. At this juncture, the Congress has no magic wand to turnaround its prospect in North Karnataka. The fact is the Congress has run out of options to win over Lingayats after the assembly elections. Maharashtra Bandh 2021: What is Open, What is Closed Maharashtra: Woman cop gets nod for sex change India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer A 29-year-old woman police constable from Maharashtra's Beed district has got the go-ahead from authorities to undergo a sex change surgery. "We received the permission from the higher-ups recently. Accordingly, she has been conveyed the same," Beed superintendent of police G Sreedhar told PTI. The constable Lalita Salve, who now prefers to be called Lalit, had met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in March in this regard and was awaiting the state government's permission to undergo the surgery. She had also sent an application to the state Director General of Police (DGP), requesting permission to undergo the surgery. "I met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on March 21 in connection with my case. He assured me that the matter will be resolved on an urgent basis," Salve, who is posted at the Majalgaon Police Station in Beed, said. Salve had earlier approached the state police department to allow her leave to undergo the sex-change surgery. The department had then turned down her plea as the eligibility criteria for men and women constables are different, including height and weight. In November last year, she had moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the DGP to grant her leave to undergo the surgery. She had sought leave for a month to undergo the sex reassignment surgery, but the request was refused by Beed police authorities, following which she approached the High Court. However, the high court had directed her to approach the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal since it was a service matter. "I sought permission for the sex-change surgery, leave for the procedure and expressed my desire to be in the service as a male police constable after the surgery," she had said. She had also consulted doctors at the state-run J J hospital in Mumbai for the sex reassignment surgery. Salve, born in June 1988, noticed changes in her body about four years ago and underwent medical tests, which confirmed the presence of Y chromosome in her body, according to her petition filed in the high court. While men have X and Y sex chromosomes, women have two X chromosomes. Doctors had said she had gender dysphoria and advised her to undergo a sex reassignment surgery. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 8:38 [IST] Mamata Banerjee heads for victory with record margin in Bhabanipur, TMC ahead in two Murshidabad seats Killing Raj going on in UP: Mamata on Lakhimpur Kheri violence Mamata backs Delhi Archbishop's letter, says 'It's a fact' India oi-Vikas By Vikas West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has backed Delhi Archbishop Anil Couto's letter, which states that 'democratic principles' and 'secular fabric' of the country are under threat, to all parish priests. Banerjee said that "It's a fact". The letter has sent political temperatures soaring with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) terming it as a "direct attack on Indian secularism and democracy". "We respect all communities, castes and Archbishops across the country, including that of Kolkata. I think whatever they said, they correctly said. It's a fact," Banerjee said. Earlier today, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said India does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion or sect, and such things will never be allowed in the country. Commenting on the issue, BJP president Amit Shah said, "No one should say such things, when it comes to religion." Archbishop Couto's letter asked all parish priests to launch a prayer campaign and also appealed for fasting on Fridays ahead of the 2019 general elections. "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," the archbishop said 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. [2019 Polls: 'Turbulent atmosphere', let's pray for India, says Delhi Archbishop] The Archbishop's office has denied any political motive in the prayer, calling it a standard practice before elections. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 18:15 [IST] Mumbai: JJ Hospital doctors call off strike India pti-PTI Mumbai, May 22: Resident doctors of the state-run J J Hospital in Mumbai called off their strike on Tuesday after the Maharashtra government assured them of fulfilling their demands. The doctors were on a strike since May 19 after two of their colleagues were allegedly assaulted by the relatives of a patient following her death while undergoing a treatment. The striking doctors demanded sufficient security in the hospital to protect them against any outrage by patients' relatives. "Our main concern is security of doctors which has been assured of and we have decided to resume duty," said Dr Akash Mane, General Secretary, Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD). Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan met with the dean of J J hospital and the officers of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER). He also met a delegation of the protesting doctors. "We have decided to beef up security and some staff is deployed in the hospital. An alarm system will be set up inside the hospital wards so that doctors can seek protection. The resident doctors can use it. I am happy that doctors have resumed duty," the minister said. The doctors had earlier said they would not resume work unless security personnel were deployed inside the hospital. They said that hospitals were provided security guards following similar incidents earlier, but these personnel were manning the entrances. Two resident doctors, including a woman, of the J J Hospital, located in south Mumbai's Byculla area, were allegedly assaulted by the relatives of Zaida Sanaullah Sheikh (45) after she died while undergoing a treatment there. The accused were identified as Mohd Altaf Anulahak Shaikh (32), Sony Sanahullah Shah (23), Rihan Sanaullah Shah (22) and Salima Khatun Sanaullah Shah (20). The police had registered a case under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Service Act, 2010, and arrested four people in connection with the incident. They were later remanded to judicial custody till May 31. PTI Nipah virus outbreak: Karnataka on high alert India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Two persons reportedly affected with Nipah virus have been admitted to hospital in coastal city Mangalore on Tuesday. Their blood samples have been sent to KMC Hospital in Manipal for the test. Dakshina Kannada district Medical Officer Dr Ramkrishna Rao said that the infection of the virus has not been confirmed yet. Coastal Karnataka has been on high alert since Nipah virus outbreak has hit neighbouring state Kerala. According to the sources, health check-up of passengers arriving from Kerala has been ordered. The State Health Department has already informed the doctors about the causes, symptoms and detection of the infection. The Nipah virus has so far claimed 10 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala while the condition of two persons undergoing treatment for the viral disease is said to be critical. Kerala has been put on high alert after the rare Nipah virus claimed six lives in the state. More deaths with similar symptoms have been reported from the state and the authorities have sent the sample for tests. Also referred to as NiV, the infection spreads through fruit bats. As per a report on WHO website, Nipah is a newly emerging virus, which gets transferred from animals to humans, and it causes severe disease in both animals as well as humans. The natural host of the virus is fruit bats of the "Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus". For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 18:32 [IST] No ban on day-dreaming: Javadekar on Rahul's PM aspiration India pti-PTI Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi's remark that he is ready to be the prime minister, saying there is no ban on "day-dreaming". The Congress has lost 20 states and it is in power only in a couple of states now. "If on that basis, Gandhi is thinking of becoming the prime minister, then there is no ban on day-dreams in this country," Javadekar told a regional television channel, when asked about the Congress chief's remark. Gandhi had recently said he is ready to become the prime minister if his party emerges as the "biggest" party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Asked if Gandhi could pose a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the parliamentary elections next year, Javadekar said, "A smart tweet or big talk is not politics. It is much more than that." The BJP had only two MPs in the Lok Sabha in 1984 and it won 282 seats in the 2014 general polls. The Congress was then 400, which reduced to 44, he pointed out. "There are lessons to be learnt by the Congress from our example," he said. Asked about the recent political scenario in Karnataka, he said the southern state's governor had invited the BJP by acting within the constitutional framework. "When we realised that we do not have the sufficient strength, our chief minister (B S Yeddyurappa) stepped down," he added. On the Punjab National Bank scam involving diamond merchant Nirav Modi, the BJP leader said, "It happened during Congress period but we have arrested more than 13 people in connection with the case. We will seize their properties spread across the country." On the BJP's slogan of 'Congress-free India', the minister said it means a country free of "crony-politics, lobbying and passing on benefits only to selected people." "The bad culture in politics, introduced by the Congress, is what we have been opposing," Javadekar said. Asked about Rahul Gandhi using a similar slogan of "Modi-mukt Bharat", he claimed that it does not have any appeal among people. "Being so anti-Modi is negative politics which will never be successful in the country." Despite being a nationwide party, if the Congress was going to say it will only oppose (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, then it is negative politics, he said. Javadekar exuded confidence that the BJP will not only win the 2019 general elections, but its performance will also be better than earlier in West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. "We will also retain our current base in the country." To a query on how the Centre was going to check the black money and if any opposition leader from Maharashtra would face the heat, he said the Benami Property Transaction Act is going to be implemented from June onwards. "You will see many leaders of the Congress, the NCP and many more will face its heat. The properties and bungalows purchased in the name of some servants or non-existing person, all are going to be confiscated," he said. PTI Shaheen Bagh: Right to protest doesnt mean people can occupy public places says SC Farmers' Protest: Farmer unions to take a call on Centre's offer for talks today Right to protest: Cannot be anywhere, everywhere says SC Farmers' Protest: Farmers warn to take protests to Kolkata, rally on February 26 Protests erupt in North-East over Citizenship (Amendment) Bill India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer 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 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. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 8:23 [IST] Updated archive of European Union engagement concerning death penalty in the United States | Main | Two new short essays providing ideas in criminal justice administration to think about for a long time As regular readers know, I think there are an array of strong moral, social and political arguments for ending felon disenfranchisement. But this local article from Florida, headlined "Price tag for restricting felons' rights after prison put at $385 million a year," reports on an interesting effort to make an economic argument for a ballot initiative in the state to expand the franchise. Here are the details: Seven years after Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet voted to end the state policy that automatically restored the civil rights of nonviolent offenders after they complete their sentences, a price tag has emerged. Florida lost an estimated $385 million a year in economic impact, spent millions on court and prison costs, had 3,500 more offenders return to prison, and lost the opportunity to create about 3,800 new jobs. Those are just some of the conclusions of a new economic research report prepared by the Republican-leaning Washington Economics Group of Coral Gables for proponents of Amendment 4, the proposal on the November ballot that asks voters to allow the automatic restoration of civil rights for eligible felons who have served their sentences. The report was commissioned by the Alliance for Safety and Justice, a national criminal justice reform organization that works with crime survivors, to show the economic impact of approving the amendment. But the findings show more than the economic impact of what could happen if voters approve it. They also estimate the cost of the policy that was fast-tracked into law by the governor and Cabinet a month after taking office in 2011, its impact on crime and its cost to taxpayers. Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, and then-Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater repealed the automatic restoration of rights that had been in place for four years and replaced it with a plan requiring a minimum five-year waiting period before offenders could start the application process to have their voting and civil rights restored. The action reversed the policy approved by the Cabinet in 2007 at the urging of then-Gov. Charlie Crist. Now, the only way a convicted felon can regain his or her civil rights is to wait five years and apply for a review at the state Office of Executive Clemency, which has limited resources and can take years.... The proposed amendment would restore rights automatically, except for those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense. To come up with a price tag for the policy, economists looked at the data from 2007 to 2011 and compared it with current data. They focused on the recidivism rate, the number of released felons who returned to prison after being released and projected the costs and the impact those felons would have on the economy if they went to work instead.... By contrast, research shows that felons who have their voting rights restored, "have a greater ability to become full members of Floridas society and economy, leading to a reduced rate of recidivism,'' the report said. Before 2007, the recidivism rate for all felons was 33 percent, according to a 2011 report by the Florida Clemency Board. After Crist's policy, the average two-year recidivism rate for felons who had their rights restored was 12.4 percent, lower than the three-year average recidivism rate of all felons, which was 26.3 percent. Under Crist, 155,315 offenders who were released got their rights restored. Under Scott, just 4,352 offenders have had their rights restored. Of those felons who have had their rights restored, less than 1 percent of them returned to crime and the average three-year recidivism rate for all felons in Florida in 2013 the last year available was 25.4 percent. The governor's office disputes the claim that recividism rates dropped when more felons had rights restored. It argues the recidivism rate has been dropping in recent years in spite of the restrictive approach to rights restoration. Scott's office notes that the three-year recidivism rate has decreased from 30.5 percent for inmates released in 2007, the first year of Crist's policy, to 25.2 percent for inmates released in 2013, which is the latest data available and includes the last year of Crist's policy.... The report calculated the impact on the prison system and the courts using existing data on offenders and recidivism rates. It calculated the economic impact of their labor patterns on Florida using a model that considers the link between the demand one industry has on other industries. The report cites research that shows that felons earn less than average wages, and felons who do not have their voting rights restored earn 12 percent less than that. "With higher incomes, eligible felons would be able to afford living in less-disadvantaged areas, which is associated with better employment outcomes after release and less recidivism,'' the report states. It estimates that employed eligible felons who had their rights restored would see an $88 million direct increase in income. That will ripple through the rest of the Florida economy, the economists said, "ultimately benefiting employment in many industries and Household Income for Florida residents, not just for the eligible ex-felon population." Regional parties declared Rs 321 crore as annual income: Report India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Political parties have multiple sources of funding and thus accountability and transparency should be an important aspect of their functioning. It is essential to have comprehensive and transparent accounting methods and systems, which should reveal the true financial position of the parties. The Election Commission of India (ECI), in its letter dated 19th November,'14 addressed to the Presidents/General Secretaries of all political parties, stated that it was mandatory for the parties to submit details of their audited reports to the Commission. This report by the Association for Democratic Reforms analyses the total income and expenditure incurred, all over India, by the Regional Parties during FY 2016-17, as declared by the parties in their IT Returns submitted to the ECI. Status of submission of audited reports by the Regional Parties, FY 2016-17 The due date for submission of annual audited accounts for the parties was 31st Oct, 2017. Out of 48 regional parties considered, 12 had submitted their audit reports on time, while 20 have delayed their submission by several days, ranging from 13 days to 5 months or 147 days. Audit reports of 16 regional parties for FY 2016-17 are unavailable on the website of the ECI, till the date of preparation of this report. This includes some major Regional Political Parties like AAP, JKNC, RJD, etc. Hence, this report analyses the income and expenditure of 32 Regional Political Parties, who have submitted their audit report to the ECI, for FY 2016-17. Income declared by Regional Parties, FY 2016-17 The total income of all 32 Regional Parties for the FY 2016-17, was Rs 321.03 cr. SP reported having the highest income of Rs 82.76 cr, which forms 25.78% of the total income of all 32 regional parties, closely followed by TDP with an income of Rs 72.92 cr or 22.71% and AIADMK whose income was Rs 48.88 cr or 15.23% of the total income of 32 regional parties. The total income of top 3 parties amounted to Rs 204.56 cr, which comprised 63.72% of the total income of 32 Regional Parties, collectively. Comparison of Income of Regional Parties, FY 2015-16 and FY 2016-17 Out of 32 regional parties, 43.75% or 14 parties have shown a decline in their income from 2015-16 to 2016-17, while 40.63% or 13 parties have shown an increase in their income. 15.63% or 5 regional parties have not submitted their Income Tax Return to the ECI in FY 2015-16. Regional parties who have not submitted their audit report for FY 2015-16 are INLD, MGP, JKPDP, AIUDF, and KC-M. Total Income of 27 Regional Parties increased from Rs 291.14 cr in FY 2015-16, to Rs 316.05 cr in FY 2016-17, an increase of 8.56% or Rs 24.91 cr. Unspent Income of Regional Parties, FY 2016-17 There are 17 regional parties who declared a part of their income as remaining unspent for the year 2016-17 while 15 parties spent more than the income collected during the year. AIMIM and JDS have more than 87% of their total income remaining unspent while TDP has 67% of its income remaining unspent for FY 2016-17. DMK has declared spending Rs 81.88 cr more than its income while SP and AIADMK declared spending Rs 64.34 cr and Rs 37.89 cr more than their total income, respectively. Expenditure incurred by Regional Parties, FY 2016-17 Top 3 regional parties that have incurred highest expenditure are SP which had spent Rs 147.1 cr, followed by AIADMK which spent Rs 86.77 cr and DMK with Rs 85.66 cr. The total expenditure by SP is 33.78% of the total expenditure as reported by 32 regional parties. Expenditure incurred by the top 3 political parties is 73.38% of the total expenditure as reported by 32 regional parties. Observations of ADR Out of 48 regional parties considered, the audit reports of 2 regional parties (J&K NPP and UDP) are not available for 13 years (between FY 2004-05 and 2016-17) with the ECI. Complete reports are available only for 32 Regional Parties, for FY 2016-17. KJP, which gained recognition post Lok Sabha elections 2014, has not submitted its audit report since its inception. 4 regional parties (AJSU, HSPDP, JKNC and KCM) have defaulted 6 or more times in submitting their audit reports to the ECI, between FY 2004-05 and 2016-17. The income tax returns/audit reports of Regional parties were obtained from the Election Commission of India. The income tax returns of 20 out of the 48 regional parties (42%) analysed were unavailable at least once between FY 2015-16 and FY 2016-17. Audit reports of INLD, MGP, JKPDP, AIUDF, and KC-M are unavailable for FY 2015-16 for comparison. The income of 27 Regional Parties (whose details are available for both FY 2015-16 and 2016-17) for the FY 2015-16 was Rs 291.14 cr, this increased by 8.56% to Rs 316.05 cr in FY 2016-17. The expenses of these 27 Regional Parties for the FY 2015-16 was Rs 132.31 cr, this increased by 224% or Rs 296.64 cr to Rs 428.95 cr in FY 2016-17. The most common and popular source of income for regional parties across FY 2015-16 and 2016-17 are Grant/Donations/contributions/Gross Receipts and Interest Income (Bank, FD, TDR with Bank). The most common and popular item of expenditure for regional parties across FY 2015-16 and 2016-17 are election expenses and administrative and general expenses. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 14:16 [IST] UP government changes its earlier stand, allows Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi to visit Lakhimpur Kheri Rise up students, your future is at risk: Rahul attacks PM Modi on proposal to overhaul UPSC India oi-Deepika By Deepika Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the Prime Minister Office's proposal for a change in allotment of cadre to civil services qualifiers. In his tweet targeting the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the future of civil services aspirants was in danger as the RSS wants to 'manipulate' the system of cadre allocation. "Rise up students, your future is at risk! RSS wants what's rightfully yours. The letter below reveals the PM's plan to appoint officers of RSS's choice into the Central Services, by manipulating the merit list using subjective criteria, instead of exam rankings", tweeted the Congress President. Rahul alleged that PM Modi wants RSS to select officers of their choice. However, no mention of RSS was visible in the official document shared by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). At present, service allocation to the candidates selected on the basis of civil services examination, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), is made well before the commencement of the foundation course. The PMO had desired to examine if service allocation/cadre allocation to probationers selected on the basis of the examination can be made after foundation course, as per the communication sent by the Personnel Ministry to different cadre-controlling authorities. The UPSC conducts civil services examination in three stages, preliminary, main and interview, to select officers for various central services. Governance in K'taka completely collapsed, CM should pave way for new govt: BJP A 1,001 steps is what Shobha Karandlaje climbed for Yeddy to become CM Shobha Karandlaje demands probe into Congresss fake CD scam India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer The BJP's Shobha Karandlaje has demanded a thorough probe into the fake CD that was released by Congress MLC V S Ugrappa on Saturday. The demand for a probe came after Congress MLA Shivaram Hebbar clarified that no attempts were made by the BJP to lure him into their fold. This is evident from the recent clarification made by Congress MLA Shivaram Hebbar who denied any attempts to lure him through his family members and hence we demand a probe, Shobha also said. She said that the alliance between the Congress and JD(S) was an unholy one. This government would collapse soon as the mandate was not for them, she also said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 8:46 [IST] Anti-Sterlite protest in Tuticorin: 9 killed in police firing, Tamil Nadu CM announces ex-gratia India oi-Deepika By Deepika The protests going on for last several months demanding closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit took a violent turn on Tuesday with nine people killed and several injured in the clash between protesters and police in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin). Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has announced an ex gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for those killed during protest in Tuticorin and Rs 3 Lakh each for the injured. Government jobs for the family members of the deceasedhas also been announced. An inquiry commission will be set up for investigation into the incident, said reports. Police said section 144 of CrPc has been invoked in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security to it as per the orders of the Madras High Court. However, angered over not being allowed to take out a rally, the slogan-shouting protesters forcibly tried to push back the security personnel in riot gear. They then started hurling stones at police and also overturned a vehicle after which the security personnel lobbed teargas shells to disperse them, they said. While more than 20 people suffered minor injuries in stone-pelting incident, some vehicles were set on fire, leading to tension in the area, they added. Several shops in this town, Srivaikundam and Oddapidaram remained shut in support of the protest, police said. The district has been witnessing several protests by locals and others against the Sterlite Copper plant here and its proposed expansion. Protesters have alleged that the plant was polluting ground water in their area. Sterlite Copper represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 400,000 tonnes per annum-plant in Tuticorin. Over 4,000 police personnel have been moved to Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu from nearby districts to bring the situation under control. No one can sever our ties with BJP, DMK holding unnecessary protests, says AIADMK DMK holds all-party meeting over Cauvery management draft scheme India oi-Deepika By Deepika The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Tuesday held an all party meeting to discuss the future course of action on the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in the Cauvery water dispute with Karnataka at the party headquarters - Anna Arivalayam on Tuesday. The meeting was convened to discuss the Supreme Court giving the nod to Centre's draft scheme on Cauvery water management and directing the BJP-led government in New Delhi to implement it before the start of the monsoon season. Following the meeting, Stalin condemned both the state and central government for faileding to constitute a Cauvery board with all its statutory powers, reported news agency ANI. The Opposition DMK has urged the state government to establish cordial ties with the new government to be in place in the neighbouring Karnataka soon, and obtain Cauvery water due for Tamil Nadu by June 12. "With a new secular government to be in place in Karnataka in two or three days' time, the Chief Minister (Edappadi K. Palaniswami) should utilise the opportunity and establish cordial ties with the new government and obtain Cauvery water by June 12," Stalin urged. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisamy on Sunday said there was no need for convening an all-party meeting on the issue, as had been demanded by some Opposition parties. Speaking to mediapersons at the Madurai airport, he said the Opposition parties had "different objectives" and were unnecessarily raising doubts over the SC's judgment without reading it thoroughly. "The court has made it clear that the Cauvery Management Authority is to be constituted in accordance with the final verdict of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, barring the minor reduction in Tamil Nadu's share of water. It has also asked the Union government to implement the scheme immediately," he said. Chinese media rubbishes report of Chinese mining to threaten India relations International oi-Shubham By Shubham Is the rediscovered warmth in their relationship between India and China short-lived? A report published in South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Sunday, May 20, saying China has started massive mining operations in Lhunze country adjacent to the disputed border with India where a huge reserve of precious minerals valued by Chinese experts at US$60 billion has been found and it could lead to a fresh trouble. While the Indian media has brought back the focus on the issue which could snowball, China's Global Times said one Chinese expert who the SCMP quoted as saying that Beijing was planning to turn the (Himalayan mountain range) region into another South China Sea later refused to acknowledge that he mentioned the words "South China Sea". It published a piece headlined 'Dodgy report disturbs Sino-Indian ties'. It said Lhunze county is not disputed and falls under China's sovereign control. It said China's border dispute with India is different from the South China Sea problem and comparing the two was "quite farfetched". India and China of late are trying to bridge their differences. Following the serious military standoff at Doklam last year, the two have bettered their communication and coordination and last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping at an informal summit in Wuhan where among other things, the two leaders also spoke over improving the border affairs, especially the communication between the militaries of the two countries. "Both countries have no intention of provoking border disputes and China is unlikely to kick-start an aggressive plan on territorial issues," the Global Times added. Saying the SCMP report "poked a sensitive spot in Sino-Indian ties but severely lacked factual evidence" and was "coarse", the Global Times report also took a dig at the Indian media saying they were "extremely excited" by it. "But to many Chinese people, their first impression is that the report is not credible, given the vague facts, the geopolitical point quoted by a geologist and the denial by the expert. It made people doubt the author's motive and speculate that he may be seeking to disturb Sino-Indian ties," it said, adding that India would do a favour to its relationship with China by not getting provoked by the report and lose focus on the bigger picture. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 12:54 [IST] Explained: Why Pakistan moved World Bank over Indias Kishanganga power project International oi-Shubham By Shubham India and Pakistan were set for yet another institutional fight as Islamabad moved the World Bank (WB) on Sunday, May 20, to complain against India's alleged violation of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 signed between the two countries. The move came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 33-megawatt Kishanganga River hydropower unit, something India has been working on in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, overlooking Pakistan's protests. According to Pakistan, projects like these are against the WB-mediated water treaty on the sharing of water from Indus and its tributaries on which Pakistan's agriculture depends overwhelmingly. India, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the 1960 treaty okays its idea to build 'run-of-river' hydel projects that neither affect the river' course nor the water level downstream. Now, what is the Kishanganga River project issue? The Kishanganga dispute is over the hydroelectric power plant, which also includes a dam on the Kishanganga River - a tributary of the Jhelum River (known as Neelum in Pakistan) and located not far from the Line of Control. The project worth Rs 5.750 crore can generate 1,713 million units of power annually. According to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, the project will divert the water of Jhelum to an underground power house and for that, it will transfer the water from Gurez Valley, 123 kilometres from Srinagar, back into Kashmir instead of letting it flow into Pakistan. It said the Kishanganga dam will allow India to control a river that flows from Pakistan into "India-held" Kashmir and then re-enter its territory. Pakistan challenges that the Indus treaty gives Pakistan control over the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum rivers while India has control over Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. It said India might also use waters from the Pakistan-controlled rivers in "non-consumptive" ways but it takes this as a permission to build "run-of-river" hydel projects that does not affect the course of the river. Pakistan believes that India's Kishanganga dam not only changes the river's course but also depletes its water level. The latest move is not the first by Pakistan to protest India's Kishanganga project plan. According to the Dawn report, three years after India started working on the project in 2007, Pakistan raised the issue with the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague and the project was stayed till 2013. Then, the court ruled that Kishanganga was a "run-of-the-river plant within the meaning" of the Indus treaty and India might divert water from Kishanganga for generation of power. The court also said that India needed to ensure that the construction and operation of the dam are done in such a way that the water flow into the river is maintained even at a minimum (9cumecs), the Dawn report said. India agreed to lower the height of the dam from 98 m to 37 m and resumed the construction work although Pakistan alleged that India violated the treaty as against the court's ruling. It allegedly collected evidence too to support its stand. In August 2016, Pakistan appealed to the WB to set up a court of arbitration to review the designs of the projects in Kishanganga as well as Ratle, another project on River Chenab. India did not agree to it saying Pakistan's points were technical and the matter should only be presided over by a neutral expert. Pakistan also refused to buy India's line saying the call by a technical expert was non-binding and India would have no obligation to execute the expert recommendations. The WB tried several rounds of talks (till September 2017) to resolve the problem and after India announced its plan in April to make the project operational, Pakistan again moved the WB as a counter measure. A high-level Pakistani delegation also went to the US to have talks with WB officials on the issue. The Pakistani delegates are led by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf. Pakistan also built its own project on the Jhelum River and PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi inaugurated its (Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Project) first unit in April. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 13:50 [IST] North Korea denies entry to South Korean scribes headed for N-site dismantling event International oi-Shubham By Shubham The historic Korean Summit is not even a month old but already the relation between North and South Korea has started witnessing fresh fault lines. On Tuesday, May 22, journalists from the South were left out from the flight to the North as the Kim Jong-un regime took some 20 media representatives from four countries to witness the dismantling of its Punggye-ri nuclear facility, the Korea Herald reported. North Korea had announced earlier this month that it would conduct the dismantling in front of local and foreign journalists to ensure transparency of its denuclearisation initiative but after it cancelled an official-level meeting with South Korea on May 16 and also threatened to scrap the proposed June 12 summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump to protest the continuation of US-led air drill with South Korea on the Korean soil, things started to look gloomy again. The Kim regime blasted South Korea and subsequently cancelled permission to its journalists to attend the site dismantling event. Pyongyang did not issue visas to South Korean journalists who were initially invited to cover the event - which is expected to happen between Wednesday and Friday, but did not explain the reasons, the Korea Herald report said. The journalists who went to North Korea in a chartered plane from Beijing were from the US, China, Russia and the UK, the Herald said, adding that they went to Wonsan where a press centre would be located. The South Korean government tried to notify the North of the names of its reporters - eight of them through a hotline at the truce village of Punmunjeom, where Kim met South Korean President Moon Jae-in - on Tuesday morning but North Korean officials turned it down, according to a government official, the Herald report said, adding that South's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon expressed regret over the matter though still remained positive about the dismantling process. "Still, we note that the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, an initial step to denuclearization the North promised, is proceeding as scheduled, and we expect it to lead to a successful hosting of the North Korea-US summit," he said in a statement, the Herald said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 17:13 [IST] Nawaz Sharif's passport will be cancelled on Feb 16, says Pak minister Imran Khan, military generals to be responsible if anything happens to Maryam: Nawaz Sharif Sharif denies role in acquisition of properties in London International oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer Pakistan's ousted premier Nawaz Sharif has 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. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 8:00 [IST] Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump Thousands of terrorists might have been airlifted out of Kabul: Trump slams Biden Never in history has withdrawal from war been handled so badly: Trump Trade war: While Trump brags his feat against China, experts say he got peanuts International oi-Shubham By Shubham US President Donald Trump on Monday, May 21, posted a series of tweets defending himself against criticism that he was being too soft on China over trade despite his hard gesturing so far. Putting the blame on his predecessor Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, Trump tweeted: "Why didn't President Obama & the Democrats do something about Trade with China, including Theft of Intellectual Property etc.? They did NOTHING!" He added: "Fair Trade, plus, with China will happen!" In another tweet, Trump 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!" Observers said the US president was busy defending him and blaming others since many - including manufacturing experts and at least one Republican lawmaker - believed he might have ceded too much and too soon to the Chinese while making trade negotiations with them, said one Vox report. On Saturday, May 19, Washington and Beijing came up with a joint statement following their second round of discussion. The talks aimed at stopping China from using allegedly unfair trade practices against the US and also to lessen their trade deficit with the US and address other issues that made a trade war inevitable. As per the joint statement, China would raise its purchase of American energy and agricultural goods besides changing its practices on intellectual property. The statement didn't please the critics who felt Trump was giving up his country's position and Marco Rubio, the Republican Senator from Florida said in a tweet that the Chinese did not lose much since "in exchange they get no tariffs, can keep stealing intellectual property & can keep blocking our companies while they invest in the U.S. without limits." Vox said in its report that Trump found himself on a sticky wicket. On one hand, he seemed to have temporarily warded off the possibility of a trade war with China while on the other, the "vague terms of the agreement" that are now in the public domain suggest that he couldn't manage much success for the US despite making big claims. Trump's excitement over the fact that China will buy more agricultural products from the US also didn't convince the experts. According to Vox, the experts felt Trump was treating a small matter in a big way and the Chinese could offer that deal to any American president, it cited Brad Setser, an expert on China at the Council on Foreign Relations, telling the Washington Post. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 16:30 [IST] "Against Life Without Parole" | Main | Interesting report touts the potential economicy benefits of restoring felon voting rights in Florida May 22, 2018 Updated archive of European Union engagement concerning death penalty in the United States I have the great honor and pleasure of talking today about the application of the death penalty in Ohio to a delegation of the European Union to the United States. Prior to the meeting, the EU delegation drew my attention to this online archive of (past) EU engagement in the US on death penalty. This archive includes letters of appeal, official statements and the link, and it has been recently modified to update all the links, going back 18 years. Here is the description that sets up the links that follow: The EU unconditionally supports the right to life and the right not to be subject to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment standards recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, other international human rights agreements, and many national constitutions. Abolition of the death penalty is a prerequisite for EU membership, and the European Union actively promotes a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty and protests against the practice in individual cases throughout the world. The EU has insisted that bilateral extradition treaties with non-EU countries automatically preclude the use of the death penalty in all cases of extradited prisoners from EU Member States. As a global leader in the fight against torture and other forms of ill treatment, the EU works to prevent and eliminate torture and to end the impunity of those responsible. Through its Guidelines on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment, the EU strives to persuade non-EU countries to produce and apply effective measures to outlaw torture. The EU also champions anti-torture initiatives in international forums, consistently raises its concerns with other countries through political dialogue and bilateral initiatives, and provides substantial funding for relevant projects by civil society organizations. May 22, 2018 at 11:38 AM | Permalink Comments I doubt they understood or empathized with the rationale .... and why would they. Good that you have had the contact however. Posted by: peter | May 22, 2018 12:16:37 PM Prof. Berman. Were you proud, ashamed, or neutral about the death penalty in Ohio? Here is your opportunity to divulge your personal feelings. Not that interested in advocacy or policy arguments, just in your personal feelings. Posted by: David Behar | May 22, 2018 3:25:33 PM I have long been personally ambivalent about the death penalty, David, though I have long believed it would be wise for various reasons to limit its application to adult murderers indisputably guilty of intentionally killing at least two or more persons. Posted by: Doug B | May 22, 2018 9:15:32 PM Prof. Berman. Is it fair to categorize this feeling about the death penalty as retributionist, with its proportionality? Is it fair to say, you do not want public outrage to be a factor, for example, in the sexual abuse, torture for sexual gratification, and murder of one little girl? These questions are not to trick anyone, nor to disagree, but to clarify. You already know my views. Posted by: David Behar | May 23, 2018 9:23:25 AM No, David, I have no retributivist feelings whatsoever, and I think public outrage channeled through politics and legal reform is what we call democracy. My personal and political philosophy tends toward a consequentialist/Aristotlean vision of the human good to be maximized. That vision, influenced by my strong (historically contingent) commitment to democracy as a great modern means toward enhancing consequentialist/Aristotlean ends, makes me ambivalent about the death penalty, especially in cases in which there is only one victim (which will be cases that are more likely to raise questions about the guilt and/or motivations of the killer). Posted by: Doug B | May 23, 2018 10:31:11 AM Thank you. You are making me look things up. Posted by: David Behar | May 23, 2018 10:41:32 AM Post a comment Washington seeks strong sanctions; who are you, hits back Iran International oi-Shubham By Shubham The US and Iran traded barbs once again on Monday, May 21, over the latter's nuclear programme. After the US came up with a list of strong demands to be included in a new treaty with Iran to replace the one scrapped by the Donald Trump administration on May 8, threatening Tehran with "the strongest sanctions in history" if the latter didn't change its course, Iran rubbished the threats saying the world no longer cared to accept the US making calls on its behalf, reports said. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hit back at Washington asking who was they to decide for Iran and the world, several news agencies of the western country reported, according to AFP. Rouhani said every country has its independence today. Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a hardliner like President Trump who has been after Iran from the beginning, opined that a stronger agreement with Iran should require Tehran to stop enrichment of uranium and the latter would have to depart from core pillars of its foreign policy and that includes its role in countries like Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Lebanon. In all these countries, Iran is operating either against the US or against its ally(s) in the region. Defending the US's decision, Pompeo said it was not the US which created the need for a changed behaviour but Iran itself did, AP reported. Pompeo, who took over as the secretary of state after the ouster of Rex Tillerson and is deeply trusted by President Trump, said the current administration's approach should make it clear that Iran never gets access to the nuclear weapons, ever, AP added. It also reported Pompeo as saying that the US would "apply financial pressure" to make Iran negotiate. Iran's economy was crippled by long sanctions imposed before they were lifted by the deal of 2015 which saw Tehran complying with the agreement designed to stop it from developing nuclear weapons. Trump was always upset with the Barack Obama-era deal and abused it in all ways he could. He felt the deal was flawed and Iran was taking an undue advantage of that and subsequently, announced his decision to pull the US out of it, leaving the multilateral deal which also featured other big powers in trouble. Pompeo though promised that the US will help Iran diplomatically and economically under the new agreement but it is very unlikely that Tehran will accept Washington's demands that include, among others, giving "unqualified access to all sites throughout the country", AP reported. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 12:11 [IST] "Sex offender registry: More harm than good?" | Main | "Against Life Without Parole" May 21, 2018 On eve of planned House vote on FIRST STEP Act, NY Times editorial misguidedly asserts a "partial bill could end up being worse than nothing" The on-going debate over competing proposals for federal statutory criminal justice reform continues to fascinate me, but I am getting ever more troubled by suggestions from certain folks that the FIRST STEP Act is so bad and that the Sentencing Reform & Corrections Act is a so much better. This new New York Times editorial, headlined "The Right Way to Fix the Prisons," reflects this thinking, and here are excerpts with passages stressed that particularly concern me: For more than a decade, states of every political hue from Texas and Louisiana to Connecticut and California have been overhauling their criminal justice systems, to reverse the effects of decades of harsh and counterproductive policies. 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.... 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. The biggest problem with the First Step Act, however, isnt whats in it; its whats left out. Specifically, sentencing reform. Harsh sentencing laws passed in the 1980s and 1990s, like mandatory minimums of 10 or 20 years even for low-level drug crimes, have been among the main drivers of the nations exploding prison population.... Mr. Grassley is sponsoring the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, which would reduce the harshest sentences for nonviolent drug crimes and give judges more discretion to issue lighter sentences. The bill nearly passed Congress in 2016, only to be killed by then-Senator Jeff Sessions.... Mr. Grassleys bill has the support of top senators of both parties, as well as law-enforcement leaders and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 civil-rights organizations. Its not perfect, but its far preferable to the First Step Act, which could get a vote in the House as soon as this week. Meanwhile, liberal backers of the First Step Act, like Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the New York Democrat who is sponsoring the bill, argue that its better than nothing, especially in the current political environment. We have a Republican president. Republicans control the House of Representatives and the Senate, Mr. Jeffries wrote in letter to his colleagues on Friday. Those are the facts. Hes right. And yet a partial bill could end up being worse than nothing, especially if its benefits dont live up to expectations, and if Congress, which has many other pressing matters to attend to, decides its had enough of the topic. Get a bill to my desk, Mr. Trump said on Friday. I will sign it. If he means this, and if he genuinely cares about reforming the federal justice system, hell demand a bill that addresses the systems most pressing problems. Though this Times editorial references Rep. Hakeem Jeffries' extended letter defending the FIRST STEP Act, I wonder if the details of this important missive was fully understood. That letter highlights that many of the prison reform provisions are MUCH improved in the FIRST STEP Act as compared to the SRCA. Of particularly importance, the FIRST STEP Act includes the "Good Time Credit" fix, which serves functionally as a 2% across the board cut to prison terms for all current and all future federal prisoners. There is no proper way to claim that a permanent and retroactive 2% cut in all federal prison terms "could end up being worse than nothing." Moreover, it bears noting that the SRCA is anything but major sentencing reform, as it is only forecast to impact less than 5% of all cases annually under the US Sentencing Commission's estimates. In other words, the SRCA offers a worse version of prison reform cobbled together with a weak version of sentencing reform. Even on the substantive merits, I am not sure I would prefer SRCA to the FIRST STEP Act. (And of course, Congress has been trying to pass variant on the SRCA for now nearly half a decade to no avail.) Most critically, the passage of the SRCA would be much more likely to bring what the NY Times fears, namely a reform bill that does not live up to expectations and yet allows Congress to feel it can move on after having done something "comprehensive." In contrast, the FIRST STEP Act, if passed, will be in both name and spirit just what is needed here: a real improvement that is widely understood as only the first of many needed steps toward fixing a deeply flawed federal sentencing and prison system. Some of many prior related posts: UPDATE : This Politico article from Monday night, headlined "Trump-backed prisons bill DOA in the Senate," suggests that neither the FIRST STEP Act or the SRCA has much of a chance to make it through the Senate no matter what happens in the House. Though the headline of this Politico piece is disconcerting, the full article is not quite so pessimistic and reinforces that Judiciary Chair Senator Chuck Grassley and Senate Leader Senator McConnell are the critical players for the future of any federal statutory criminal justice reforms for the foreseeable future. May 21, 2018 at 05:34 PM | Permalink Comments Criminality is so rampant, the entire criminal justice system is close to irrelevant. It has a high false positive error rate, railroading thousands of innocents and petty criminals. Its false negative error rate ridiculous. It allows billions of crimes a year, to go unanswered. People should give up on government, and do their own crime management. Public self help is the sole universal factor that unifies all jurisdictions with low crime rates. Even public self help will become irrelevant, as 10's of thousands of criminals pass away from opiate overdoses. Crime is now undergoing a mass extinction. The subject of this blog will become as relevant as admiralty law, to the average citizen. The drama around this law is silly. Posted by: David Behar | May 21, 2018 7:39:35 PM "And yet a partial bill could end up being worse than nothing, especially if its benefits dont live up to expectations, and if Congress, which has many other pressing matters to attend to, decides its had enough of the topic." Two percent of prison terms by itself does not make this incorrect especially with the word "could" there. Posted by: Joe | May 21, 2018 8:11:50 PM The partisan politics around this bill is unfortunate but to be expected. The climate is so toxic. The first step act will not give one day of relief to any of the nonviolent marijuana offenders who have sentences of life without parole. They were all charged with conspiracy and chose to go to trial. This bill requires assistance. That said, there are thousands who would have some sentencing relief if it were passed. We haven't had the perfect yet, should we not consider something that is somewhat better? Eric Holder wrote an opinion for the Washington Post attempting to burnish the criminal justice reform of the previous administration, while criticizing the first step act. It would be acceptable if there had been significant reform. Unfortunately, there was not significant reform and thousands were left behind. Surprisingly, the population of the federal prison system has declined by about 10,000 since the beginning of the Trump administration. Posted by: beth | May 21, 2018 8:25:52 PM Hard to believe that Sessions has the job he does, oh boy. Mandatories may never get eliminated, reduced or softened, but its sure wirth co tinue effort. Politics as usual....While tens of thousands sit biggest and best part if their life on sudelines. But to get where they are, they screwed up pretty bad and not just once. Posted by: MidWestGuy | May 21, 2018 9:06:04 PM It is not easy to predict the outcome of sentence policy change. In general the outcomes are temporary. OTOH if you are able to keep the admission rate smaller than the release rate the population will decrease. For state systems about 20% of the admissions are because of probation revocations and another 20% are returns to prison from parole or residential work release. We are spending all of our time talking about federal sentencing policy when we should be asking why are we getting such poor results from community supervision at the county and state levels. A feature of our system is that the counties do not want to pay to incarcerate felons and the states do not want to pay to incarcerate misdemeanors and neither are willing to pay for pretrial supervision. If the feds need money for incarceration they borrow it so they don't care what it costs. Posted by: John Neff | May 21, 2018 10:02:50 PM Post a comment Estimated total investment is VND11,197 billion for expanding their terminals to increase traveler capacity in Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi. For detail, terminal T2 will be upgraded to receive 15 million passengers annually and terminal T3 is expected to welcome around 10 million annually. Additionally, more spending will be poured to build landings and other added construction to welcome 30 million passengers by 2020 and 60 million by 2030. Meantime, it is estimated that expanding of terminals and some constructions in Tan Son Nhat Airport will cost VND12,672 billion. After upgraded, the airport will be able to welcome 45 million yearly by 2020. For the first phase of construction of Long Thanh Airport by 2025, ACV scheduled to build one takeoff, landing and one terminal along with subsidiary constructions to receive 25 million tourists a year and 1.2 million tons of commodity yearly. According to its estimation, expenditure will be VND92,145 billion. At present, ACV has planned to allocate VND36,042 billion for Long Thanh Airport. According to ACV, the upgrade of airports aims to meet increasing travel demand. As per ACV, by 2021, 137 million travelers will arrive in Vietnam annually and the figure will rise to up 185 million a year by 2025. By BICH QUYEN - Translated by UYEN PHUONG NetEnt Appoints Therese Hillman Official New CEO of the Company Published May 22, 2018 by Ivan P Having served as the acting CEO for NetEnt since March, Therese Hillman will be taking over the leadership role in the company in the full capacity. In the press release published earlier today, NetEnt has confirmed that Therese Hillman has been appointed the new CEO of the company. Hillman, who's been NetEnt's CFO since 2017 and took over the role of the acting CEO in March, when the company's CEO of six years Per Eriksson left his position, will now be taking the leadership role in the full capacity. Taking On New Challenges In the March statement following Eriksson's departure, NetEnt emphasized the company was in need of a new driving force. It seems the board has recognized this new force in Hillman who was described in the PR as having a clear business focus and great leadership energy. Therese Hillman has a vast experience in the gaming industry, having spent a decade as the CEO of Gymgrossisten and also serving as one of the board members for Unibet. This experience and abilities are what company believes is required for the next stage of the growth. Creating More Value Accepting her new role, Hillman stated she was enthusiastic and humbled at the same time. She expressed her desire to continue leading the company on the path of the development, creating even more value for shareholders, customers, employees, and players alike. The last year was an eventful one for NetEnt. Although the company ended up with the overall revenue growth of 11.7%, the revenue during the last three months of 2017 was adversely affected by local regulatory changes, which forced the company to leave several markets, namely Czech Republic, Poland, and Australia. With the new CEO behind the wheel, NetEnt hopes to overcome any adversities and continue on the path of growth and expansion in the months and years to follow. With a strong leadership and the recognizable brand they've built over the years, the future certainly looks bright for the Swedish gaming giant. 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 FlaglerLive You can always depend on Israel periodically to mass-murder bunches of Arabs in proportions as lopsided and unforgiving as our own mass shootings in the United States, often more so. And as with mass shootings, which we now automatically blame on everything in the known and unknown universe but America's rabid debasement for guns, you can always depend on the American public to scapegoat Israel's war crimes, blame them on anything and everyone (terrorists, animals, Hamas ragheads, stone throwers and other synonyms for "Arab") but Israel's bigoted death machine. While Ivanka Trump was flashing the toothy grin of a flossed and fluorinated Marie-Antoinette at the opening of the American Embassy in Jerusalem this week, 60 unarmed Palestinians were getting massacred by the Israeli military a few miles away in Gaza. It was nothing new except for the scale of the massacre and its concurrence with Trump flipping the bird to anyone who still thinks Palestinian lives matter, or that there's anything left of the two-state solution. The Israeli army has been murdering unarmed Palestinian protesters for months now without a peep from Trump, only encouragement. Sixty Palestinians were killed Monday, But 112 have been killed since protests at the so-called fence began in March. Incredibly, the response from the United States has been either indifference or a defense of Israeli war crimes (it is a war crime for soldiers to kill unarmed protesters), using the sort of language last heard when white supremacists defended the massacres of black protesters and their supporters during the civil rights era. Blacks were compared to terrorists then, too. They were dehumanized, as they had always been, making killing them not only easier, but more desirable. So the killings went on until the sights of southern violence against non-violent protesters became too much for the nation's conscience. These days we hear that Palestinian protesters are violent because they throw stones or rush a fence built on their own lands. But in the words of the United Nation's Michael Lynk, who reports on human rights in the Palestinian territories, the blatant, disproportionate use of force by Israel is "an eye for an eyelash." And what, exactly, is that fence? American audiences have been led to believe that it's some sort of border, that by rushing or breaching it Palestinians are endangering Israelis on the other side. It's nothing of the sort. The New York Times described it this way: "The fence is actually two parallel barriers built by the Israelis: a formidable one of barbed-wire within Gaza and a 10-foot-high metal "smart fence" packed with surveillance sensors along the Israel demarcation line. A restricted buffer zone as wide as 300 yards is between them. Israel has warned that people in the zone without authorization risk being subjected to deadly force." In other words it's got more similarities with the East German army's Berlin Wall -- actually twin parallel walls -- and its no man's land during the Cold War. The difference is that first, the East Germans hadn't stolen West German soil to build their walls. Both of Israel's fences are on Palestinian land. Second, East Germans who approached the wall weren't gunned down. Only those who went into the no-man's land were. And in nearly 30 years of the Berlin Wall, 80 people were killed that way. Bad enough, but that's barely a month's tally on the Israeli army's watch. Israel murders Palestinians who so much as approach the first fence. That doesn't recall the Berlin Wall so much as Andersonville prison, the confederate death camp where the word "deadline" gained currency, because it marked the line, away from the prison fence, that marked the point where prisoners were killed the moment they crossed it. Keep in mind, no Palestinian breached either fence on Monday. They were shot only because they went too close, or tried to damage the first fence. No Palestinian came close to going into Israel because both fences are on Palestinian territory, And neither is a border fence, because Israel doesn't recognize any border there. Which makes the Andersonville comparison even more apt, even if we assume every fence-rusher was Hamas: they were unarmed. And in Gaza, the most ignored humanitarian disaster on the planet for the past two decades, 2 million Palestinians are held prisoner in the world's biggest open-air prison -- Gaza's size is exactly that of Bunnell: 140 square miles -- in endless poverty, without rights, without hope, and now without so much as the right to protest. When they do -- and god knows why they should, ingrates -- no rubber bullets for those animals, no water hoses, not even Bull Connor dogs or other non-lethal, slightly less barbaric means usually used against demonstrators. Only live bullets for that kind. Of course it's a propaganda coup for Hamas, of course Hamas is pulling strings, of course Hamas can be -- though not with nearly the savvy, the firepower, the sheer bloodthirstiness -- as cowardly as Israel's military. But to indict the whole Gaza catastrophe as a Hamas job is just another way of demeaning Palestinians, of denying them an identity of their own, a longstanding Israeli specialty (Israel has been denying Palestinians' right to exist since 1947). It's another way of saying that Palestinians have no mind or humanity of their own separate from Hamas, as if a Palestinian girl could not possibly be growing up wishing she were not living in a mass prison, as if a Palestinian boy could not possibly have aspirations more lofty than staring at a fence, separate and independent from Hamas. Why should they? They're not humans. They're Hamas terrorists, or terrorists in the making. Of course it's all Hamas. To humanize them would collapse the Israeli necessity of defining them exclusively as scum out to murder little Israeli boys and girls, whose individuality and innate virtue goes without saying. The dehumanization of Palestinians rings true with a segment of the American audience because we saw this with Black Lives Matter. A human rights movement pleading for the safeguarding of young black men -- our own Arabs, called much worse than ragheads to this day -- was perverted in the lense of Fox-type fabricators into a mob of terrorists. All it took was the odd hothead who happened to be black whose criminal acts, however errant or isolated, could be turned into emblems of Black Behavior, since we know that what one black man does is automatically representative of what all blacks do from here to Somalia and back. But have a mass of white supremacists marching down a University town, brandishing tiki torches and bellowing racist chants before actually murdering a counter-demonstrator the next day, and all of a sudden "some of them are fine people," in the words of our own president. Well, of course all Israeli servicemen are fine people, not just some, and all Palestinians are Black Lives Matter terrorists in rag: The existence of Hamas proves it. Apologists for Israel's brutality immediately pull the "how many Israelis have to die" argument, as if Israelis have been dying in this one-sided fight. They haven't. When Israel last clobbered Gaza, in 2014, 18,000 Palestinian homes were either demolished or damaged. In Israel? One home. More than 500 Palestinian children were killed. Israeli children? One. Since the protest at the fence began, 112 Palestinians have been killed. Israelis? Zero. As Marilyn Garson, who worked in Gaza for four years, wrote in Haaretz, the Israeli daily, this week: "Those ratios indicate that terms like 'war' poorly describe the nature of the violence that Gazans experience. 'War' suggests a reciprocal violence, tempered by mutual mortal risk. In Gaza, the violence, the mortal risk, and the damage are so one-sided that different language is needed to convey it. The actual ratios of loss convey that one side holds overwhelming power, and the other side lives with overwhelming threat." But we still buy into Israeli propaganda about the Palestinian "threat," as if those demonstrators at the fence are like so many thousands of Dick Hickorys and Perry Smiths, the felons of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," just waiting to break free and murder the Clutters beyond -- as if the most powerful military in the Middle East wouldn't slaughter them before they made it within miles of any Israeli home. As if the Israeli military didn't do precisely that. Not that demonstrators were felons. Or armed. Or without 2 million reasons to demolish the fence. They were unarmed. And they were murdered. Meanwhile we Americans applaud, plant a time bomb in the form of an embassy in Jerusalem, or look the other way. We are one with the murderers. 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 Counterpunch 'Thumb on the Scale,' (Image by S. Reynolds. (CC BY-SA 4.0.)) Details DMCA On May 10, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia informed the UN Security Council and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that Saudi Air Defenses intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles launched from inside Yemeni territory targeting densely populated civilian areas in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. No one was killed, but an earlier attack, on March 26, 2018, killed one Egyptian worker in Riyadh and an April 28 attack killed a Saudi man. Unlike the unnumbered victims of the Saudis' own ongoing bombardment of Yemen, these two precious, irreplaceable lives are easy to document and count. Death tolls have become notoriously difficult to count accurately in Yemen. Three years of U.S.-supported blockades and bombardments have plunged the country into immiseration and chaos. In their May 10th request, the Saudis asked the UN to implement "all relevant Security Council resolutions in order to prevent the smuggling of additional weapons to the Houthis, and to hold violators of the arms embargo accountable." The letter accuses Iran of furnishing the Houthi militias with stockpiles of ballistic missiles, UAVs and sea mines. The Saudis' letter omits mention of massive U.S. weapons exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Security Council resolutions invoked by the Saudis name the Houthis as a warring party in Yemen and call for an embargo, so the Houthis can't acquire more weapons. But these Resolutions don't name the Saudis as a warring party in Yemen, even though Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has, since March 2015, orchestrated Saudi involvement in the war, using billions of dollars of weapons sold to the Saudis and the UAE by the U.S. and the UK. The Saudis have an undeniable right to call on the UN to work toward preventing the Houthis from acquiring ballistic weapons that could be fired into Saudi Arabia, but the air, sea and water blockade now imposed on Yemen brutally and lethally punishes children who have no capacity whatsoever to affect Houthi policies. What's more, the U.S. military, through midair refueling of Saudi and Emirati warplanes, is directly involved in devastating barrages of airstrikes while the UN Security Council essentially pays no heed. As Yemeni civilians' lives become increasingly desperate, they become increasingly isolated, their suffering made invisible by a near-total lack of Western media interest or attention. No commercial flights are allowed into the Sana'a airport, so media teams and human rights documentarians can't enter the areas of Yemen most afflicted by airstrikes. The World Food Program (WFP) organizes a weekly flight into Sana'a, but the WFP must vet passengers with the Saudi government. Nevertheless, groups working in Yemen, including Amnesty International, Me'decins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Save the Children, Oxfam, and various UN agencies do their best to report about consequences of the Saudi-Emirati led coalition's blockade and airstrikes. On May 18, Me'decins Sans Frontieres (MSF) issued a report about airstrikes against the Saada governorate which notes that "in the past three years, the coalition has carried out 16,749 air raids in Yemen, i.e., an average of 15 a day. Almost a third of the raids have hit non-military sites." Earlier in May, MSF responded to a series of Saudi-Emirati coalition-led airstrikes on May 7, which struck a busy street in the heart of Sana'a, killing six people and injuring at least 72. "Civilians, including children, were killed and maimed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Joao Martins, MSF head of mission in Yemen. "No-one should live in fear of being bombed while going about their daily life; yet again we are seeing civilian victims of airstrikes fighting for their lives in hospitals." Lacking access to food, clean water, medicine and fuel, over 400,000 Yemeni children are, according to Save the Children, at imminent risk of starvation. "Most of them will never see a health clinic or receive treatment," says Kevin Watkins, the organization's UK Director. "Many of those who survive will be affected by stunting and poor health for the rest of their lives." Watkins says the Saudi-UAE led coalition is using economic strangulation as a weapon of war, "targeting jobs, infrastructure, food markets and the provision of basic services." On March 22, 2018, Amnesty International called for an end to the flow of arms to the Saudi-led coalition attacking Yemen. "There is extensive evidence that irresponsible arms flows to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have resulted in enormous harm to Yemeni civilians," their statement says. "But this has not deterred the USA, the UK and other states, including France, Spain and Italy, from continuing transfers of billions of dollars' worth of such arms." The UN Charter begins with a commitment to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. The UN Security Council has miserably failed the Yemeni people by allowing the scourge of war to worsen, year by year. By approving biased resolutions that neglect to even name the most well-funded and sophisticated warring parties in Yemen -- Saudi Arabia; the United Arab Emirates; the United States -- the Security Council promotes the intensification of brutal, apocalyptic war and enables western war profiteers to benefit from billions of dollars in weapon sales. Weapon manufacturers such as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing then pressure governments to continue selling weapons to two of their top customers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Earnest, honest and practical steps to stop the war are urgently needed. The U.N. must abandon its biased role in the Yemen conflict, so it can broker a peace in which the Houthi minority can retain some dignity and representation in majority-Sunni Yemen, which even before the Houthi uprising lacked any legitimate elected leader. The Houthis must be given an option to lay down arms without landing in any of the clandestine prisons operated by the UAE in Yemen, reported to be little more than torture camps. Even more urgent, the violence and economic strangulation by foreign invaders must cease. At the very least, citizens in countries supplying weapons to the Saudi-Emirati coalition must demand their legislators forbid all future sales. The time for determined action is running out in the U.S. as the State Department is already taking preliminary steps toward a massive, multibillion-dollar sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The package is said to include tens of thousands of precision-guided munitions from Raytheon. Yemeni civilians, especially children, pose no threat whatsoever to the U.S. Yet, U.S. support for airstrikes, blockades and the chaos inevitably caused by prolonged war threatens Yemeni civilians, especially vulnerable children. They have committed no crime but are being punished with death. Dairy Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their diaries after publishing them. To see if the diary was renamed or re-published, please click here. Quicklink Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them. To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here. Progressive Content Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their progressive content after publishing. To see if the progressive content was renamed or re-published, please click here. 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. Great Financial Schemers Huddle with Great Givers When in close combat with corporate-armored opponents, he responds with his deft political Ju-Jitsu, respected by friend and foe alike. However, he is wise enough to know that to win the battle for truth, justice, and the American way, he cannot be a Lone Ranger. To win, America's James Bond of politics realized at a young age that he must win many more of America's 330 million hearts and minds via building an army of informed public citizens. So, naturally, in the 1960s he took on America's Goliath auto industry, employer of decently-paid millions. Naturally, the unknown 32-year-old lawyer and his 1965 book "Unsafe at Any Speed" won and established the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966. Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed (Image by Ralph Nader) Details DMCA 1964 Aston Martin DB5 (Image by Michel Curi) Details DMCA Ninety-plus books later, to novelistically influence more hearts and minds, America's 007 public-policy wonk wrote and titled his 2009 first novel around one of his political tenets: Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us. England's undercover policy-making James Bond garnered some of his sexy dashing allure because of his killer Aston Martin wheels, while America's public policy making Bond financially crushed the auto industry's sex-alluring attempt by de-wheeling the killing Chevy Corvair. After gnashing out the first few of 736 pages on his Underwood typewriter, the James Bond of American politics (AKA Ralph Nader) concluded that the non-bloody Ju-Jitsu needed had to come from the likes of the fabled "M" of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, MI6. Josh Ricard, trusted adviser, editor, and poison-pen maker, lobbied that wild, dashing, and enigmatic Captain Outrageous of America's Cup fame, Ted Turner, should be his M main character. Supporting his premise, Josh argued, "It was Turner who said back in 1997 that 'There are so many rich guys in the world, billionaires... The world is awash in money and nobody knows what to do with it. We don't want the money they know what to do with, just the money they don't know what to do with.' " "With Turner as 'M' we could hook Jane Fonda to glamorize the movie," sweaty Josh added deliriously. However, with America's political 007 having been logically educated at Princeton and Harvard, Nader kept the poison pen Josh had stealthily designed for him but tossed his right-hand man's advice and cast the intricate "M" as a bifocaled, older, smiling man in a rumpled suit hanging a cherry Coke-stained necktie. In overalls, trading cherry for 30W oil, this guy could have passed as a Nebraskan farmer. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). 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 Smirking Chimp (Image by PHOTO: ICE.GOV) Details DMCA Families are being split up in the name of "zero tolerance" immigration policies. Jeff Sessions said, "[Your] child will be separated from you as required by law. If you don't like that, then don't smuggle children over our border." John Kelly, White House chief of staff, added, "The children will be taken care of -- put into foster care or whatever." Yes, he said "whatever." This isn't much different from slave-trading days. People then were forced INTO the country and families separated; now they're forced OUT OF the country and families separated. In both cases families have done whatever is necessary, in their own personal worlds, to survive and stay together and find happiness. And in both cases an institution of authority has made rules on behalf of the better-positioned segment of society, rules which impact the lives of those deemed somehow less valuable. This may not be the deadliest act committed by American leaders, but it's incomparably vile in its cruelty toward human beings who have been living among us, sometimes for many years. For conservatives who are always preaching the importance of stable families, it's shocking to see the little opposition to breaking up and turning out so many loving mothers and fathers and children. Destroying a Family 175 Years Ago In 12 Years a Slave, Solomon Northup tells us about Eliza, a slave woman with two young children, 10-year-old Randall and 7-year-old Emily, all three of them owned by a slave trader with the ironical name Freeman. When Randall was taken from her in a slave auction, Eliza, in a "paroxysm of grief," begged and beseeched the buyer to take all three of them, promising to be the most faithful slave that ever lived. But he couldn't afford them all. Eliza embraced her son passionately for the last time, kissing him again and again, until the threat of a whip on her back forced her to release him. His last words were "Don't cry, mama. I will be a good boy. Don't cry." Then another man came to buy Eliza herself, and this prompted Northup to narrate: "[N]ever have I seen such an exhibition of intense, unmeasured, and unbounded grief, as when Eliza was parted from her child. She broke from her place in the line of women, and rushing down where Emily was standing, caught her in her arms. The child, sensible of some impending danger, instinctively fastened her hands around her mother's neck, and nestled her little head upon her bosom. Freeman sternly ordered her to be quiet...Then, with a volley of great oaths, he struck her such a heartless blow, that she staggered backward, and was likely to fall. Oh! how piteously then did she beseech and beg and pray that they might not be separated. Why could they not be purchased together? Why not let her have one of her dear children? 'Mercy, mercy, master!' she cried, falling on her knees. 'Please, master, buy Emily. I can never work any if she is taken from me: I will die.'" The purchaser, taking pity on her, offered to buy both of them, but Freeman refused, as Northup recounts: "'I won't sell her. She's not for sale.' There were heaps and piles of money to be made of her, he said, when she was a few years older. There were men enough in New-Orleans who would give five thousand dollars for such an extra, handsome, fancy piece as Emily would be..." As Eliza cried out in anguish, Freeman "tore Emily from her mother by main force, the two clinging to each other with all their might. 'Don't leave me, mama -- don't leave me,' screamed the child...stretching forth her little arms imploringly. But she cried in vain. Out of the door and into the street we were quickly hurried. Still we could hear her calling to her mother, 'Come back -- don't leave me -- come back, mama,' until her infant voice grew faint and still more faint, and gradually died away..." Destroying a Family Today The Time story "No One Is Safe" tells about the family of Alejandro and Maria and their two young daughters, Isabella, who was just starting to talk, and Estefania, who was beginning to take her first steps. A third child was on the way. Early on a Friday morning, as he drove to his job of picking grapes, pistachios and oranges in California's Central Valley, immigration agents scrambled out of two cars at a stop sign and arrested him as a "fugitive alien" for overstaying his visa. When Maria got his call from the police station she immediately feared the worst. Despite having no criminal record, not even a speeding ticket, and for 10 years doing the punishing but essential field labor that most Americans avoid, and while just beginning a family that dearly depended on him for income, he was subject to immediate deportation to Mexico. He was gone in a month. Word of Alejandro's fate quickly spread through the neighborhood. Immigration agents were seen near the park. At times like this, people in a besieged community, some of them desperately poor, are afraid to even apply for food stamps for fear of being raided by government agents. And it terrifies the children. Six-year-old Angel Ortiz was getting ready for school when he saw immigration agents take away his father. Now when he sees DEA agents on TV, he yells out, "Those guys kidnapped my daddy!" It's reminiscent of another U.S. policy that targets people unwanted by American leaders, that of the drone wars, which caused a 13-year-old Pakistani boy to say, "I no longer love blue skies...The drones do not fly when the skies are gray." Alejandro's wife Maria now has three little daughters, all citizens, but she herself is undocumented, so she's in constant fear of being deported herself. "It's a cruel way to live," she says. One effect of the family split-up is that Maria herself has to work in the fields to support her three children. She talks about her little girls growing up without their father: "It's the worst thing that you can do to a family." When Alejandro calls on FaceTime from 1,000 miles away, Isabella, who is 2-1/2, tells her father that she loves him. She may not see him for years. Counting the Ways this is Inhumane Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). 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 One American analyst reportedly said "only half in jest" that South Koreans despise Bolton as much as North Koreans do By Jake Johnson, staff writer John Bolton - Caricature (Image by DonkeyHotey) Details DMCA Characterizing U.S. national security adviser John Bolton as a human "landmine," a South Korean lawmaker reportedly joined others who have made clear their belief that Bolton is the true culprit behind faltering diplomatic efforts ahead of a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next month. "There are several landmines on the way to the summit between North Korea and the U.S.," South Korean lawmaker Chung Dong-young told a Seoul-based radio show, according to the Washington Post. "One of those landmines just exploded: John Bolton." In a Facebook post last week, Woo Sang-ho -- a lawmaker in South Korean President Moon Jae-in's Democratic Party -- expressed a similar view, highlighting Bolton's "preposterous" invocation of the "Libya model" as a possible guide for America's approach to nuclear talks with North Korea. The South Korean lawmakers' comments on Bolton come as Moon is set to meet with Trump at the White House on Tuesday to help "shore up plans for a U.S.-North Korea summit that seem to be on shaky ground." As Common Dreams reported, North Korea has condemned Bolton and his "Libya model" remarks last week as a "sinister" regime change threat in a statement last week. "We shed light on the quality of Bolton already in the past, and we do not hide our feelings of repugnance towards him," said Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea's vice minister of foreign affairs. "We are no longer interested in a negotiation that will be all about driving us into a corner and making a one-sided demand for us to give up our nukes and this would force us to reconsider whether we would accept the North Korea-U.S. summit meeting." Bolton has a long history of calling for both regime change and a U.S. first strike on North Korea, warmongering that led Pyongyang to call him a "bloodsucker" when he was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. As the Washington Post's Anna Fifield notes, South Korean lawmakers and officials also "know the current American national security adviser's background all too well." "Many served under pro-engagement president Roh Moo-hyun, at a time when Bolton was a strong proponent inside the George W. Bush administration of the invasion of Iraq and of regime change in North Korea," Fifield adds. "After meetings with top officials [in Seoul] last week, one American analyst remarked -- only half in jest -- that the South Koreans detested Bolton as much as the North Koreans." This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License 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. Friends, You may be aware of a few recent incidents in Washington, DC: 1) A local African American city council member, Trayon White, said the recent bad weather in DC was the fault of the Rothschilds [a wealthy European Jewish family]. 2) He was challenged about the anti-Semitism in his remark and he then apologized to the Jewish community for his unaware comment. He was subsequently invited to attend a Unity Seder and was then invited to a special tour with a local rabbi of the U.S. Holocaust museum. A Washington Post reporter followed him on the tour, writing down every question/ comment he was making. And because of that--the council member abruptly left the tour early which then increased the upset of some local Jewish leaders. 3). After days of continued negative Washington Post articles about all of this --A support rally for this city council member was held on the steps of the City Council--- organized by a local Latino leader. The Latino leader was also a paid consultant in the city and apparently close to the mayor. The rally ended up including a Nation of Islam supporter who at one point stood next to the Latino organizer with a bullhorn and , without challenge attacked a Jewish city council member-- calling her a "fake Jew" and also calling Jews "termites". The Latino leader was criticized in the press and the mayor was asked to fire him. Shortly after these calls for the mayor to fire him--he resigned. All of these incidents were widely reported in the Washington Post with lots of meetings held afterwards with local Jewish leaders to try and deal with the ensuing upsets. Last night the D.C. Mayor, Muriel Bowser, held an invitation only, closed to the press session for about 40 community and faith leaders in the city. The event was organized by the Office of Human Rights here in the District. The evening was called: A Listening Lab. The director of the Office of Human Rights is a longtime ally of NCBI and we have an NCBI team housed at the Office, leading NCBI workshops in the city. I was asked to co-facilitate the session last night with the Mayor and our NCBI trained leaders facilitated small group table discussions. As a part of the evening-- I spoke for about 15 minutes about principles and practices for dealing with intergroup tensions around anti Semitism and racism. My talk follows. There have been so many painful moments recently that have ripped our community apart, with pain and strong accusations flying back and forth. There has been racism. Anti Semitism. Islamophobia; And gay oppression. What are the practices we need to put into place to make sure that these incidents don't drive a wedge between our peoples? There are 5 principles I want to offer us tonight to guide our work. 1). No matter how unbearable it gets --- We have to stay in the room! There is no other good choice. After one of my dozens of trips to Israel, I was leading a session in Boston with an Arab man, addressing a group of 500 -- modeling being Allies for each other's people's. At one point in my talk, I said I was proud of Israel. I never got to finish my talk. A Palestinian woman started shouting at me from the back of the room: "How dare you say you're proud of Israel." She continued to scream out awful things about what Israel was doing to the Palestinian people. Some of the things she said I agreed with. Many of her points I did not. But I did not interrupt her. And she kept screaming at me for 15 minutes. My insides were on fire. But I knew if I went back and forth refuting her, we would be in a losing battle. Fifteen minutes is a very long time when someone is attacking your people, but at the end of her speak-out, she looked up at me and said, "You're the first Jewish person who's ever listened to me. Can we meet for lunch?". The room was electric. Nadjua had come to the US because her ears had been impaired as a result of Israel's bombing at the time in Southern Lebanon. She and I met for the 3 months she was in the U.S. and as a result of that relationship building, we led the first ever dialogue between some members of the Israeli Knesset and the PLO when it was still illegal for them to meet. I knew there would be intense emotions flying in that session, and we made one requirement of each participant: that they had to sign a piece of paper that no matter how much they disagreed with what the other side was saying, they would stay in the room till the end of the session. This work is not easy. But if we abandon each other when harsh things are said-- we will never ever move forward. And God knows the oppressive forces in this current period want nothing more than that we remain divided. 2) We need to understand the specifics in what causes each other pain. This work cannot just be about standing shoulder to shoulder singing Freedom songs. Many of our peoples have had devastating histories and we need to be willing to learn about each other's trigger points. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). 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 Rolling Stone The divestment movement is having a big impact, and holdouts may be missing their one great chance to really change the world An envelope arrived from the New York State Comptroller's office the other day, with a check inside for $108. Apparently I'd left it sitting in some bank account years ago, and now it was being returned. Free money is good fun, and where we live $108 buys you the best dinner in town, which my wife and I enjoyed, raising a small toast to the efficiency of the Empire State's comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli. But only a small toast. Because as smoothly as DiNapoli seems to perform the basic duties of his office, he has so far whiffed on the one great chance he'll ever have to really affect the world. He's continuing to invest billions of pension dollars in big oil, even as the industry refuses to grapple seriously with global warming. Because of his high-profile insistence on "engagement" with the industry, he's become a stand-in for a thousand other political "leaders" who can't quite summon the nerve necessary to break with the fossil-fuel industry, even when science and economics are making it clear where the future must lie. It's so much easier to keep doing what you've always done -- but at this point inertia is the planet's most powerful enemy, and DiNapoli is threatening to become inertia's avatar. The movement for fossil-fuel divestment was partly born in the pages of this magazine six years ago, when an essay of mine went unexpectedly viral. That piece showed the new math of climate change: The big oil, gas and coal producers had reserves in the ground that contained five times the carbon any scientist said we could burn and stay below the catastrophic temperature rises that the planet's governments had pledged to avoid. That is, the business plans of Exxon and Chevron and Shell and the rest committed them to wrecking the planet -- simple math, simple physics and simple morality. That argument was enough to get the ball rolling. Students at hundreds of campuses around the world launched divestment campaigns that echoed the one against South African apartheid a generation ago. The first school to divest was tiny Unity College in Maine, which pulled its $13 million endowment in November 2012. By this winter, the University of California system, biggest in the hemisphere, had joined, along with a third of the universities in the U.K., and the World Council of Churches, and dozens of Christian denominations and Catholic diocese, as well as many of the biggest foundations on the planet. Even the Rockefeller heirs, who trace their fortune to the original oil baron, have sold their shares. By now endowments and portfolios worth more than $6 trillion have divested in part or in whole, and it's become by far the biggest effort of its kind in history. And intriguingly, most of the recent converts have been moved as much by self-interest as by moral fervor. As the years have gone by, the fossil-fuel sector has dramatically underperformed the rest of the economy. That's because it's under increasing and unrelenting pressure from new technology -- the ever-cheaper solar and wind power that everyone can see will take a huge chunk of their business away. So now it's also the largest insurance company in France that's divested, and the sovereign wealth fund of Norway (the biggest pool of money on Earth, earned from North Sea oil wells). When New York City decided to divest in January, the press conference was held in a building flooded by Hurricane Sandy -- clearly fear of climate change was the key reason for divestment, and they lit up the Empire State Building green that night to make the point. But the green, as Mayor Bill de Blasio was quick to point out, also stood for the money the city was saving its pensioners by ensuring that they weren't stuck paying for the fossil-fuel decline. There have been holdouts, of course -- Harvard, run by a "board of overseers" drawn heavily from Wall Street, refused to participate officially. And then there's DiNapoli, who's played the most intriguing role. So far he's failed to divest the state's $200 billion in pension funds from fossil fuels despite a demand from New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo that he do so, and despite the example set by the state's biggest city, whose own comptroller, Scott Stringer, has become an outspoken advocate for divestment. Though DiNapoli clearly has the political backing to divest the state's holdings, he's continued down a different path, promising to "engage" with the fossil-fuel companies instead, to somehow turn them green. In the meantime, it's business as usual. In fact, the state continues to run up its investment in Exxon, filthiest of them all -- it's now the fifth-biggest investment in New York state's portfolio. Shareholder engagement with companies can be a powerful tool: Big investors routinely use their clout to argue for, say, more diverse representation on company boards of directors, or for modest changes in the way they do their business. But it's an approach that's never made much sense with the fossil-fuel industry, where the problem is not some flaw in the business plan. The flaw is the business plan. Exxon exists to dig up hydrocarbons and sell them so they can be burned. DiNapoli apparently thought he could force real change: For years he and others sponsored resolutions at Exxon annual meetings demanding reforms. Finally, a year ago, the company grudgingly agreed to prepare a "climate risk report" showing how the fight against global warming might stress their business model. It wasn't much of a victory, but it seemed like something to show for all that work. DiNapoli, being a politician, issued a press release praising himself. "Exxon's decision demonstrates that investors have the power to hold corporations accountable and to compel them to address our very real climate-related concerns," he said. But he and his like-minded colleagues were being played for fools. Exxon took just a few weeks to prepare the report, and when it came out it showed the company hadn't changed one whit. Climate change posed essentially no risk to its future, Exxon insisted. It still planned on burning almost all its reserves, and indeed would go on exploring for new oil. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). 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 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. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License 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. (Image by Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General) Details DMCA The dust has started to settle in the wake of the Schneiderman resignation . Yet, you have played a key role in the Exxon lawsuit . Specifically, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently rejected the company's arguments that you were biased and that state courts lacked jurisdiction in the case. How do you see progress moving forward, both in the ExxonMobil case and the other pending lawsuits against the EPA? The work we do as state attorneys general isn't about just one person. It's about the dedicated women and men in offices across the country who enforce the law and protect people's rights. Our commitment to protecting the climate and advancing clean energy is unchanged and stronger than ever. Together, we are advocating on a number of fronts to protect the environment and human health, and that work continues. With regards to Exxon Mobil, our state's highest court has affirmed our office's authority to investigate the company and ordered it to turn over documents. We look forward to continuing our critical investigation. There is a coalition working to push back on the Scott Pruitt agenda to deconstruct the EPA. The group has already filed formal comments objecting to Pruitt's move to repeal the Clean Power Plan. Where does this currently stand? Last month, I joined with a coalition of 27 states, cities and counties calling on the EPA and Scott Pruitt to abandon their misguided and illegal effort to repeal the Clean Power Plan and instead to implement this vital rule that would protect our climate and public health, and would help grow the clean energy economy. Following up on a related filing we made in January , we recently presented EPA with additional evidence that Pruitt's involvement in EPA's efforts to repeal the Clean Power Plan has tainted the process with unfairness, given his repeated attacks against the Clean Power Plan while he was Oklahoma Attorney General and since his confirmation as EPA Administrator. We have been defending this critical rule in court for more than two years, and we are going to continue to fight to keep it on the books. Can you outline previous coalition successes via lawsuits in the area of methane emissions, vehicle fuel efficiency, and other proposed rollbacks? We've had a number of important wins so far: In June 2017, we intervened in a lawsuit against EPA for halting critical regulations of methane emissions and other harmful pollutants from new and modified oil and gas infrastructure. One month later, the D.C. Circuit Court issued an order blocking the EPA from suspending the regulations. Two days after we sued the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation for their illegal delay of a regulation that would lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles on federal highways, the Administration backed down and allowed the regulation to become effective. The Administration is proposing to roll back this regulation, and we filed comments opposing that move. After we sued the EPA for illegally delaying required actions to address harmful ground-level ozone, EPA decided to reverse the delay the next day and recently finalized those actions. We have fought to stop the Department of Energy from delaying vital energy efficiency standards for appliances. These standards are both pro-environment and pro-consumer. Following a lawsuit we filed, the Trump Administration reversed course and finalized the efficiency standards for ceiling fans as written. We also sued to protect a suite of energy efficiency standards on a range of appliances that will save consumers and businesses an estimated $11.6 billion over a 30-year period and cause major reductions in air pollution. One month later, DOE implemented some of the standards (for walk-in coolers and freezers). In February 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in our favor as to the other standards and ordered the Trump Administration to implement them. That ruling is now on appeal, and we are continuing to fight this illegal delay. What is your reaction to Pruitt's move to disallow certain research, many of the findings based on private databases? Specifically, studies that have served as building blocks of pollution legislation such as the Harvard 'Six Cities' Study of 1993, and the American Cancer Society 1995 study which linked air pollution to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as lung cancer? We will vigorously oppose this dangerous proposal. The environment and science are under assault by the Trump Administration. Trump and Pruitt have handed over decision-making to climate change deniers and lobbyists for polluting industries. They are more concerned with those industries' profits than our environment and public health. We will work with our partners to fight EPA's efforts to disregard science, and we will defend the well-supported EPA rules and regulations that are on the books now and are critical to public health and our clean energy future. The Trump administration is set to "reconsider" greenhouse-gas-emission rules for the nation's cars. How do you see this playing out, and will it create a precedent for states creating their own mileage standards in conflict with federal law? Earlier this month, I filed suit in the D.C. Circuit along with 16 other states to stop Scott Pruitt from trashing these common sense fuel emissions standards for cars built in the coming decade. We believe these limits on tailpipe pollution have done more than any other measure to improve air quality, reduce carbon emissions, increase miles per gallon fuel economy, and save drivers money at the pump. EPA itself found in early 2017 that these rules will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 450 million metric tons and save drivers $1,650 per vehicle. Since we know the transportation sector is the fastest growing source of greenhouse pollution in the country, these rules are more important than ever, and my office will continue to work with our partner states to defend them. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). 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 Smirking Chimp Then there was Eric Schneiderman. After using his office as a bully pulpit to ride the #MeToo wave, the now-former New York state attorney general is yet another boldface male name to succumb to charges of extreme misogyny. Four of his exes say he subjected them to physical abuse, including choking and slapping their faces. Schneiderman claims the violence was BDSM-related fun for all concerned, just "role-playing and other consensual sexual activity." Students of political crisis management will see something less than an uncategorical denial of guilt in Schneiderman's "serious allegations, which I strongly contest." "Strongly contest" resides far on the denial-o-meter from "it absolutely did not happen" and closer to nolo contendere -- which, considering that he resigned rather than stuck around to fight, it effectively is. Schneiderman's implosion followed the standard script of #MeToo: accusation leads to career loss. Only career loss. This is a radical departure from how American society deals with what are, after all, crimes: going to the police, filing charges, prosecuting in court. The legal system is getting cut out of the loop. In New York, slapping someone's face with the intent to cause physical injury is assault in the third degree, a felony punishable by up to a year in jail. Failing a documented sustained injury, prosecutors often downgrade the charge to a misdemeanor, either attempted assault or harassment. Former AG Schneiderman is having an unpleasant week. But he probably won't be arrested. More than a dozen men and teenage boys accused actor Kevin Spacey of sexual harassment (a tort), statutory rape and attempted rape. Prosecutors in Los Angeles and the UK are weighing whether to file rape charges, but so far the only actual sanctions have been professional, like Netflix's cancellation of Spacey's hit series "House of Cards." Even so, rehabilitation may be imminent. Legendary director Bernardo Bertolucci already says he wants to work with the disgraced actor. The only #MeToo casualties in serious legal jeopardy are the recently convicted mickey-slipping sexual-assaulting comedian Bill Cosby and predatory producer Harvey Weinstein, though Weinstein's problems aren't all directly attributable to the sordid behavior that destroyed his Hollywood empire. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, Jr. is also investigating whether Weinstein misused company money to pay hush money to his accusers. For the most part, #MeToo targets who stand accused in the court of public opinion for criminal acts will never face them in a court of law. Comedian Louis C.K. and PBS talker Charlie Rose are alleged to have committed indecent exposure (a misdemeanor that can get you 15 days in prison plus a $250 fine in New York, where Rose lived). Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore allegedly lured a 14-year-old girl into his car for sex, which would expose him to felony charges and 10 years in prison (but the statute of limitations has expired). If Today show star Matt Lauer used the secret Bond villain-like button under his desk to prevent a woman from leaving his office while he was hitting on her, that's unlawful detention in the second degree, a misdemeanor that carries a one-year prison term. These men lost their jobs. But there's no indication they're in danger of prosecution. #MeToo seems both too much and too little. Too much, because the loss of hard-won career success is no small thing. On February 10, 2018, President Trump asked aloud: "Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused -- life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?" Setting aside the hilarious incongruity of a person who kills with drones fretting over due process, Trump is correct in one respect: the #MeToo movement has claimed a lot of scalps in a very short time. The president probably wasn't thinking of Al Franken, but in his case the ratio of sanction -- being forced out of the Senate -- to seriousness of alleged offense -- butt-groping -- felt excessive to Democrats. As a liberal and self-professed feminist, however, the added charge of hypocrisy came into play. If you were raped or sexually assaulted, however, #MeToo sanctions may feel like too little. What even many thoughtful men fail to understand is that #MeToo is not, nor does it seek to be, a legal process. It is a cultural reaction to a legal system that fails women accusers. It is a workaround. It is a drive to change what constitutes acceptable behavior on a date, at the office, in the bedroom. It has nothing to do with due process -- because due process hasn't worked for women victims. Victims of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment who want to hold attackers criminally accountable face structural challenges: embarrassment, fear that their attacker will hurt them again, a culture of slut-shaming that questions whether a woman "asked" for "it," police personnel who discourage them from going forward and even threaten them with jail for lying, and the trauma of having to relive a terrible experience most people would rather put behind them. In part because of those obstacles about two-thirds of sexual assaults go unreported to police. 97% of rapists get away scot-free, a higher percentage than for other crimes. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). 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. By the time we come to the end of this series we will have been swimming in the primordial soup of the seeds for alternative forms of traditional capitalism! As I have long said, there is bad capitalism, the kind we have, and good capitalism, the kind we need Part 5 is an adaptation of my review of a book about six economies written by Riane Eisler. 1 She titled the book "The Real Wealth of Nations," which to me was a repartee to Adam Smith's magnum opus. Because she is absolutely one of my favorite authors I must begin by telling you about her. Riane Eisler (screen grab of youtube interview) (Image by Rob Kall) Details DMCA Escaping with her parents from the Nazis in Germany led her eventually to ponder how there could be a world so cruel, insensitive, and destructive when humans, she believed, have a great capacity for caring, consciousness, and creativity (we should highlight "capacity" for she could not say "habit"). She ultimately concluded that "we have to change present economic systems" for the sake of ourselves, our children, and future generations. Being trained not in economics but in sociology, anthropology, and law was, I'm convinced, an asset for her, not a liability, in doing the research and writing for this book. And I certainly agree with her when she quotes Einstein as having said that solving problems can't be done with the same thinking that created them, even though I hardly think it takes a genius to know that. In any case, Eisler has done some very creative and constructive thinking. She was selected as the only woman among twenty great thinkers including Hegel, Adam Smith, Marx, and Toynbee in recognition of the lasting importance of her work. 2 Her book, The Chalice and the Blade . recounting the transition from earliest egalitarian to later patriarchal societies, was an international best seller and acclaimed by Princeton anthropologist Ashley Montagu as "the most important book since Darwin's Origin of the Species." 3,4 Karl Marx once said about capitalists, "give them enough rope and they'll hang themselves" If only that would happen! Eisler isn't sympathetic to either Marx or Adam Smith. She contends that their theories and their application call for the control of natural resources and the means of production by a male dominated culture and as a consequence neither communism nor capitalism as we know it is capable of solving the chronic problems confronting society. Well, if you remember what I wrote about Marx in the previous part of this series, I would give him some slack here. 5 Her focus in her book is on explaining dysfunctional economic structures, rules, and practices, offering an alternative perspective for a new economics along with providing convincing evidence of its superiority, and proposing necessary reforms to change the present system. Whereas Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations focused on the market, she goes beyond it to reexamine economics from a larger perspective that includes the life-supporting activities of households, communities, and nature. "Ultimately," she says, "the real wealth of a nation lies in the quality of its human and natural capital" and the basic purpose of an economic system should thus be to "promote human welfare and human happiness," characteristics that are missing from our present economic system. She is obviously more in tune with Aristotle's thinking about economics than with Smith or Marx. 6 A central theme of her book is that since any economic system emerges out of a larger social, cultural, and technological context, a viable system can't be constructed without taking that broader context into account, and especially not without giving visibility and value to the socially and economically essential work of caring for people and nature. She defines care giving as "actions based on empathy, responsibility, and concern for human welfare and optimal human development." Our economic system is dysfunctional she contends because it, like its larger context depends on what she calls the domination model. It has four core components; a rigid top-down social structure, much abuse and violence, a male superiority premise, and beliefs that perpetuate domination and violence. This system, where people are either dominating or being dominated rests on several erroneous assumptions such as people being inherently untrustworthy, that fear of pain (as a psychologist, I disagree with this as a source of motivation) and scarcity are the main motivators for work, and that caring and care giving are impediments to productivity or at best irrelevant to economics. For example, with regard to the last misassumption, she points out that care giving isn't, but should be, included as a positive value in economic indicators such as the GNP, which, manifesting a domination system as it does, misleadingly includes war-related expenditures as positive values. She cites a Swiss survey and a UN report, the first, showing that the value of unpaid, care giving work accounts for 70 percent of the reported Swiss GDP, and the second, estimating in 1985 that the value of women's unpaid work amount worldwide and annually to 11 trillion dollars. Those are amazing findings! A functional economic system along with its larger context would be one she posits that depends on what she calls the partnership model of mutually respectful and caring relations. She leaves no stone unturned, no relevant field of inquiry unexplored in showing in various ways how this model is far superior to the other one. For example, she documents studies demonstrating that in business "it pays to care-in dollars and cents." Organizational psychologists like me would be familiar with the evidence presented that caring and empowering corporations do indeed give a positive return on investment in their human capital. She shows how the Nordic countries, the only ones coming close to her partnership model, are faring well economically and socially. Having a national capacity and resources for providing optimal human development is clearly necessary for having a healthy economy, and she persuasively links the domination form of child rearing (and thus suboptimal human development) to adverse consequences later in life that show up in the kinds of leaders and followers our society has, in our belligerent relationships with other countries, and in our diminished capacity for a functional and healthy economy. She presents neuroscientific evidence of how care giving rather than selfishness produces the most powerful reactions in the brain circuitry associated with pleasurable sensations. Finally, she shows how disastrous it could be if the domination model is played out with new and risky technological developments on the horizon. Her perspective and understanding are so broad that she conceptualizes not one but six economic sectors. The first sector, the core one, is the household economy from which the rest of the sectors spring because productivity depends so much on human activity, which starts at birth and is markedly shaped by what kinds of experiences there are throughout human upbringing. Her core economy is clearly reminiscent of Aristotle's thinking. 7 The second is the unpaid economy made up mostly of volunteers. The third is the conventional market economy. The fourth is the illegal economy like illegal arms trade (and I suppose she would include Karger's fringe economy summarized earlier in this series). 8 The fifth is the government economy that includes not just the large population of government workers but also the laws, rules, and policies that (should) govern the market economy. The sixth, the natural economy, is as basic as the first in that our environment produces natural resources used and misused by the market economy. The sectors are inextricably intertwined, and all must be taken into account in order to transform our economic system, our institutions, and our culture from the domination into the partnership model. The greatest challenge, she contends, is to develop economic models, measures, and rules where the first, second, and sixth sectors are recognized and highly valued. Our beliefs about what we value are largely unconscious, she continues, having been inherited from earlier times when anything associated with the female half of humanity, such as caring and care giving was devalued. If you scoff at this, you should read her book because I can't do it real justice here other than to say I know of no other living scholar that has evolved a new theory of economics after having spent 30 years of research combing the data from over 20 thousand or more years of history collected by herself and others from myriad fields of inquiry. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). 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 Trump/Pence regime is targeting immigrants as "animals," robbing women of basic reproductive rights, threatening war on Iran, celebrating while Israel massacres Palestinians, and more--all part of hammering into place a vicious, "make America great again" fascist regime. Millions are shocked, outraged, sick at heart, and they're being told that their best and only realistic hope is a so-called "blue wave" of Democratic victories in the November 2018 midterm elections, because if the Democrats take back the House and perhaps the Senate, this will begin to stop the horrors the Trump/Pence regime is raining down day after day. But what are leaders of the Democratic Party actually saying they're going to do? First, that impeaching Trump is off the table! Second, that Democratic candidates in Red State or closely contested elections shouldn't even talk about Trump--much less call out his crimes and condemn his regime for the heinous Nazis they are. Why? Nancy Pelosi says talk of impeachment wouldn't be "unifying" and could "tear the country apart." And refusing to mention Trump in close or Red State races is a naked appeal to Trump's base. "Democrats have tossed diversity overboard in favor of a white-guys-on-deck strategy," as one journalist put it. This isn't about election math. In spite of their differences with Trump, for the Democrats it's ACCEPTABLE to have an open, fangs-bared, warmongering, climate change denying white supremacist sitting in the White House, with the fate of the planet and the whole direction of U.S. society in his grabby little fingers. Why? Because just like the Republicans and Trump himself, the Democrats are ruling class politicians who represent the interests of the capitalist-imperialist system--not the interests of humanity! And their differences and infighting are over how to best maintain the legitimacy and stability of this system and advance its interests. For the Democrats, maintaining the order of this predatory system is more important than justice, even if that means the order of fascism. This is why key Democrats voted to confirm known torturer Gina Haspel to head the CIA, stand with the Trump/Pence regime in backing Israel's massacre of Palestinian protesters, and agree with Trump that America has the right to have thousands of nukes, but North Korea should be disarmed, and that if "border security" demands that hundreds of immigrant and refugee children be ripped from their parents, then so be it. The Democratic Party is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Voting for the Democrats and their so-called "blue wave" is not voting to stop the great crimes the Trump/Pence regime is carrying out. It's a vote to continue these crimes, accommodate to fascism, and legitimize the whole putrid system that carries out monstrous crime after monstrous crime, and gives rise to fascists like Trump and Pence. The "blue wave" isn't the answer. It's a poisonous polluted wave of slime and sh*t that will only leave people drenched in disappointment, accommodation, and complicity. (Article changed on May 23, 2018 at 02:36) 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 site encourages to support their vision. I encourage you to spread the word with the tabs on the top of OEN pages. On the 6th of May 2018 an event was organized an event in Munich with Glenn Greenwald, Jill Stein & Abby Martin under the title "Freedom & Democracy: Global Issues in Context 2.0". Scroll below to view the video of this event. This is the second installment of an event series that we started in 2017 in Munich that included Edward Snowden, Jeremy Scahill and other leading experts. [My main reason for posting this is to show any viewer what Jill Stein is all about. I particularly advocate this video in re Jill, starting at 40 minutes, in to see Jill. Both Abbey and Glen are well worth a look as well. dg] (Article changed on May 21, 2018 at 21:15) 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. Roger and Julian Lin before their arrest for fraud (Image by Taiwan Civil Government) Details DMCA The May 11 arrest of Roger Lin and his wife Julian in Taiwan for fraud is causing jitters in Washington, DC media circles. Roger Lin (also known as Lin Zhisheng) heads the organization Taiwan Civil Government which has been pumping money to influential media houses financing events, conferences, and dinners at swanky restaurants. The Congressional Quarterly's popular Roll Call Live video show scheduled for May 23 was canceled since the arrests. The show was to feature a Congressional panel discussion entitled Reshaping the State Department, A Fresh Start with East Asia. The show was paid for by "underwriting sponsor" Taiwan Civil Government. Roll Call CEO Meg Hargreaves explained the cancellation of the show, "This is due to the fact that two Members of Congress scheduled to appear at the event withdrew from the program." Hargreaves declined to name the two Members of Congress who got cold feet. On a prior Roll Call Live show following the 2016 Congressional elections, sponsored by Taiwan Civil Government, Julian Lin (also known as Lin Chih-an) took to the Roll Call podium and welcomed attendees. Taiwan Civil Government is a pro-United States advocacy group for Taiwanese independence. Lin's group is so ready for freedom from occupation by the exiled Republic of China that TCG is a government in-waiting. The group issues ID cards, vanity license plates, has a paramilitary Black Bear Squad, its own flag, wealthy donors who have purportedly bought governorships, and has been spending money buying influence in Washington. Taiwan's unresolved international status of "strategic ambiguity" has allowed a wide spectrum of opinion on how to build a country and TCG recognized the US role in combat with Japan left America as the chief occupying power when World War II was ended by the San Francisco Peace Treaty. The ruling exiled Republic of China was installed as a caretaker government by the US after the war and never left the island following defeat in 1949 by the People's Republic of China. Seven decades of ambiguity have left almost everyone confused. Elders still talk about Formosa, the youth speak of Taiwan, politicians push the Republic of China, and groups like the International Olympics Committee demand Chinese Taipei. TCG advocates for the United States to resolve Taiwan's status and is pushing for a role in the process by following the US military civil affairs manual on nation-building and making powerful friends in the news media. Republic of China in-exile authorities resist Roger Lin's advocacy, maintaining it offers false promises and is a financial scam based on political ideology. Lin's group was severely fractured several years ago with top leaders quitting over complaints about money. For years Lin cultivated the rumor that he was funded by the Central Intelligence Agency, an idea perhaps not so far-fetched. The CIA's dirty work in Asia out of Taiwan for a half-century has left the island awash with secret funds that have long been a staple of Taiwanese politics. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). VistaComms Agri-Insights Wins National Recognition from NAMA www.vistacomm.com www.vistacomm.com Sioux Falls, South Dakota, May 17, 2018 Every year, the Best of NAMA, sponsored by the National Agri-Marketing Association, honors the best in agricultural marketing. For 2018, VistaComms Agri-Insights magazine was honored by NAMA in the Merit Award category on both the regional and national level.Both companies and agencies submit their work for this competition which began at the regional level in October 2017. Entries were judged in one of six different regions. There were 1,250 entries in the six regions with 40 judges participating.First place and merit winners from each region were then eligible to advance to the national competition which included 497 entries in 68 award categories. VistaComms Merit Award at the national level for Agri-Insights magazine was in the Advertising to Agribusiness category for inhouse promotion to marketing professionals.National awards were presented at the Agri-Marketing Conference and Trade Show in Kansas City, MO, on April 11.About Agri-Insights and VistaCommAgri-Insights magazine is published by VistaComm, a marketing firm that helps businesses communicate better and grow faster. Solutions initiated by VistaComm have facilitated growth to the next level for some of the nations smartest and most successful businesses. The purpose of Agri-Insights is to provide VistaComms clients with a collection of the most profitable and best business practices. Topics are selected from VistaComms extensive library of solutions and profit-based experiences. To subscribe to Agri-Insights or to learn how VistaComm, located in Sioux Falls, SD, can help you meet your marketing challenges, visitVistaComm1401 N C AvenueSioux Falls SD 57104(866) 752-7707Maria Walz TiE Detroit presents Everything is a Presentation by Michael Angelo Caruso at Tech Town, Detroit www.detroit.tie.org The Detroit chapter of TiE, is organizing Everything is a Presentation by Michael Angelo Caruso at Tech Town Detroit, 440, Burroughs St., Detroit, Michigan on Thursday, July 26, 2018 - 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm.Michael is an extremely talented, powerful and innovative speaker. His dynamic style and unique combination of being able to entertain and train at the same time is awe-inspiring. We are excited to have Michael Angelo Caruso, address and ignite with the TiE entrepreneurial community, said Tel Ganesan, President TiE Detroit.Michael Angelo Caruso is an internationally recognized author and speaker. He's the founder of Edison House, a Michigan-based communications consulting company. He is a valued communication consultant to companies and organizations all over the world and teaches people how to be better speakers. Michael has delivered thousands of paid presentations and keynote speeches on the subjects of leadership, selling, customer service and presentation skills.He has spoken in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, South America, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and 49 of the 50 states. Michael educates and entertains, drawing on a previous career in the telecommunications industry and a decade as a professional musician.A fascinating dive into the hidden psychology that invisibly shapes your presentations. How to leverage the valuable currency known as "audience attention" and learn what it takes to succeed in the age of distraction. I look forward to see you all at TiE Detroit event, said Michael CarusoOnline registration and more information are immediately available at. All are cordially invited to attend the keynote and fireside chat with Michael Angelo Caruso. Admission is FREE but limited to the first 50 and registration is mandatory. Click Here to register directly., said Jacqueline Perry, Executive Director, TiE Detroit.About TiE DetroitTiE Detroit is a chapter of TiE- Global, the largest global not-for-profit organization fostering entrepreneurship. The Detroit Chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs is based in Farmington Hills, MI. TiE Detroit has been supporting entrepreneurs by offering education, mentorship, networking, and funding opportunities. The organization represents a diverse set of industries, including information technology, manufacturing, healthcare, financial services and other emerging markets. TiE-Detroit members leverage the global network of members from 61 chapters in 18 countries. TiE has 12,000 members throughout the world, and has contributed over $250B in wealth creation.TiE Detroit28230 Orchard Lake Rd #130, Farmington Hills, MI 48334248-254-4087Jacqueline Perry Aircraft Tyres Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2015 to 2021 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4260 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/4260 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Aircraft tyres are one of the most highly engineered products having significant complexity which require large number of raw materials pertaining to steel, cord fabric, artificial and natural rubber and other chemicals. Aircraft tyres have cords which serve as the reinforcing materials in the tyre that provide dimensional stability, supporting the aircraft weight, as well as keeping the tyres in shape different road conditions. Aircraft tyres play a vital role in the performance of the aircraft. Various reinforcement constructions are needed for different types of aircrafts based on their applications and load bearing requirements. They have different requirements of tyre fabrics and tyre cords as compared to other modes of transport such as light and heavy commercial vehicles, two wheelers, agricultural vehicles as they work on different road conditions, where each tyre has a different load bearing requirement.The global demand for aircraft tyres has been significant due to growth from the aircraft industry, particularly commercial aircrafts, which have witnessed huge surge in demand for advanced and new aircraft, which are largely influenced by certain factors such as network expansion by new airlines as well as entry of new airlines. Other prominent factors such as replacing obsolete aircrafts, rise air passenger traffic, growing demand for fuel efficient aircrafts and healthy economic growth shown by emerging markets has also contributed towards the growth of the aircraft tyres market.Request Report Sample@Large scale corporations such as Goodyear, Bridgestone Corporation, and Dunlop are significantly involved in the manufacturing of aircraft tyres that are eco-friendly, more intelligent, economical, safer and less noisy. They are consumed in significant quantities for various civil and military applications, where military operation hold huge demand on aircraft tyres where loads can be highly substantial with speed going more than 225 miles per hour.Large scale companies such as Dunlop have been involved in the industry as a key player which manufactures tyres used in military aircrafts from the well known Vulcan and Spitfire to the modern F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Heavy military aircraft such as C-130, the Tornado and the Hawk, and the latest A400M. The company serves various segments of the military aviation industry such as marine corps, naval forces and air forces across the world with tyres designed to give maximum operation characteristics in the fluctuating environmental conditions as well. In addition, Dunlop was awarded three year deal supply of aircraft tyres in July 2014 to Chinas privately owned airlines for the purpose of expending its footprint in regional airlines. Under the contract, Dunlop would be providing tyres for China Express Airlines Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen aircraft.Visit For TOC@In terms of agreements and joint ventures, The Triangle Group in 2012 collaborated with the Harbin Institute of Technology to design and manufacture arcraft tyres. Regionally, developed regions such as North America accounted for the largest market share in the aircraft tyres market, followed by Europe. Emerging regions such as Asia Pacific is likely to exhibit the fastest growth in the market owing to certain factors such as increasing disposable incomes of the individuals leading to rising air travel expenditures, entry of low cost airlines and infrastructure developments in economies such as India, Singapore and China.Bridgestone Corporation, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres, Goodyear, Michelin, and The Triangle Group are some of the key players present in the aircraft tyre industry.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Bubble Tea Market New Opportunities Due to hike in Demand 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=3467 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=3467 https://www.tmrresearch.com/bubble-tea-market Global Bubble Tea Market: OverviewThis report on the global bubble tea market is a comprehensive market intelligence study that brings forth the lucrativeness of the said market. Beginning with an executive summary that comprise a snapshot of how the demand for Bubble Tea has evolved over the recent past and where is it headed to in the future, the report delves into the analysis of various market dynamics, such as opportunities, trends, challenges, and drivers. A detailed overview of the said market with the analysis of porters five forces has been provided in a bid to present a concise and clear landscape of the market vendors to the readers. The market intelligence study also points at mergers, important conglomerates, numerous research and development activities, acquisitions, and corroborations. The said publication allows market stakeholders to study the market in detail and carefully and take well-informed decisions so as to optimize profit and minimize cost.The world market for bubble tea is expected to grow at a robust CAGR and is anticipated to attain a significant market valuation by the end of the period of forecast.Global Bubble Tea Market: Trends and OpportunitiesBubble tea comes with various different names such as boba tea, pearl milk tea, boba juice, bubble milk tea, or just bubble tea. It is made by making use of tea as the base component, whilst the addition of chewy tapioca balls can result in better experience to this beverage. Bubble tea is available in various different flavors with many different flavored tapioca balls. It comes with attributes such as anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties, low calorie and low-fat content, rich in antioxidants. A few of the most common flavors preferred by users in bubble tea comprise chocolate, passion fruit, honeydew, taro, plum, lychee, strawberry, ginger, coffee, peach, mango, and with fruit flavor being the dominant one and it is followed by chocolate and original flavor bubble tea.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Manufactures of this ready-to-drink beverage have maintained its cost-effectiveness, thereby driving the world market for bubble tea. In addition to this, the addition of fruits & jellies to the bubble tea together with the benefits of tea supplements the growth.Global Bubble Tea Market: Market PotentialThe market vendors have been forecasted to obtain new opportunities as there has been an increased emphasis on spending more on the work of research and development by many of the Bubble Tea manufacturing companies thereby driving further growth of the said market. In addition to that, many of the market participants are anticipated to make a foray into the emerging economies that are yet to be explored so as to find new opportunities.Request TOC of the Report @Global Bubble Tea Market: Regional AnalysisThe geographical segmentation of the world market for bubble tea is divided into Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. The Asia-Pacific bubble tea market is experiencing a rapid rate of growth, as bubble tea has garnered popularity owing to its low price, improved taste, and availability of varied and novel flavors. In addition to this, rapid urbanization and growth of ready-to-drink beverages in the region is set to drive the growth of the market.Global Bubble Tea Market: Competitive LandscapeA few leading market players that are operating in the world market for bubble tea comprise eminent names such as Fokus Inc., Gong Cha USA, Lollicup USA Inc., Bubble Tea House Company, Troika JC. (Qbubble), Boba Box Limited, Ten Ren's Tea Time, CuppoTee Company, Boba Tea Company, and Sumos Sdn Bhd.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com IP Telephony Market 2017-2023 Applications, Segmentation, Applications, Leading Players by: Mitel Networks, Panasonic, Mitel Networks, Cisco Systems, Panasonic https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5695 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/ip-telephony-market-5695 Market Overview:The need for reliable, secure, and consistent communications services have shaped the market growth of the IP telephony market. Market focused reports connected to the semiconductors & electronics industry among others lately have been made available by Market Research Future which circulates reports on this industry. The market is anticipated to develop with an encouraging CAGR of 9 percent in the duration of the forecast period.Development of the e-commerce industry, due to increasing consumer demand and higher buying potential has fuelled the growth of the market.The escalating usage of internet based communication has expanded the market scope to a great extent. The need for maintaining seamless communications has been the major motivating factor driving the expansion of the market. Additionally, the cost savings benefit derived from IP telephony has led to increased adoption rates which will benefit the long term growth potential of the market in the upcoming years.Get Sample Report @Industry Segments:The IP telephony market is segmented into the segments of connectivity, organization size, component, and vertical. The component based segmentation of the market includes softphones, hardware, and services. The hardware segment is further segmented into audio conference phones, IP desktop phones, and DECT phones. Also, the services segment is additionally segmented into professional services and managed services. The organization size based segmentation of the market consists of large enterprises and SMEs. BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, IT & telecommunication, retail, government, and others are the vertical based segments of the market. The connectivity segment of the IP telephony market is divided into wired and wireless segments.Regional Analysis:The IP Telephony Market globally covers regions such as Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. The North American region is likely to control the major share of the market, while the Asia Pacific region is likely to develop at a rapid rate during the forecast period. The growth of the market in the North American region is credited to increased adoption of IP telephony applications through various industry verticals, such as healthcare, BFSI, retail, and IT & telecommunication and technological advancements among others.Global Competitive Analysis:Companies are constantly trying to create financial leverage, to be better positioned to capitalize on market gains. The mounting interest for expansion within the business has indirectly permitted the businesses to employ several situations attainable in the market. Challengers are also devoting a certain amount in innovation to deliver a certain degree of innovation in the market and grow the avenues for development particularly in the duration of the forecast period. The market trends have also imposed the need to ensure financial sustainability to invest in growth prospects as and when they arise. The objective of the companies in the market to grow their shareholder's value, while improving the capability to power their competitive edge has fuelled the markets growth to a great extent. The probabilities for increasing revenue inflow in the business are expected to multiply through the forecast period.Major Key Players:Ascom Holding AG (Switzerland), Avaya Inc. (U.S.), Cisco Systems Inc. (U.S.), Gigaset Communications (Germany), LG Electronics Inc. (South Korea), Mitel Networks Corporation (Canada), Panasonic Corporation (Japan), Polycom Inc. (U.S.), Yealink Inc. (China), NEC Corporation (Japan), Grandstream Networks, Inc. (U.S.) among others, are profiled in Market Research Future analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the global IP Telephony market.Access Full Report @Industry Updates:Apr 2018 The enterprise communications company, Mitel has been acquired for $2 billion recently. The company announced that it has consented to be acquired by Searchlight Capital Partners in a deal that comprises of an all-cash transaction worth $2 billion following which the company will also be going private. Mitel has established itself as a legacy player in the world of enterprise communications and is well known in the market for its IP telephony solutions, and competes with the likes of Cisco and Avaya.Recently, Mitel has been on a long term mission to reposition itself as an integrated SaaS company which is cloud-based. This deal is a firm move in their multi-year transformation that has allowed Mitel to appear as an industry leader in the main markets around the world.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.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our 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 to answer all their most important questions.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.Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +91 841 198 5042Mail: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Hydrazobenzene Market Noticeable upto 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=10 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=10 https://www.tmrresearch.com/hydrazobenzene-market Global Hydrazobenzene Market: SnapshotHydrazobenzene is chemically studied to be a crystalline and colorless compound that when heated to decomposition discharges virulent nitrogen oxide fumes. It could find application in the manufacture of various pharmaceuticals while functioning as an intermediate. The dye manufacturing sector could engage hydrazobenzene primarily as an antecedent of benzidine, which is a dye intermediate. Based on experimental findings that prove the carcinogenicity of hydrazobenzene, it is rationally predicted to be a human carcinogen. Moreover, if humans are exposed to this compound, it can cause brain, kidney, and liver damage while irritating the lungs, throat, nose, and skin.Each country in the global hydrazobenzene market could have its own list of key suppliers. In both the U.S. and Europe regions, Chemos GmbH & Co. KG has been making its mark with more than 25 years of quality experience in the fine chemical industry. With a robust network incorporating chemical producers and custom manufacturing firms, Chemos operates as a strong support to the chemical companies and research institutions positioned in the aforementioned regions. Likewise, there could be Hangzhou Dayangchem Co. Ltd. and IBIS Chemie International operating as top companies in the Peoples Republic of China and India respectively.Request Sample Copy of the Report @According to the globally harmonized system of classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS), hydrazobenzene is very toxic to the aquatic environment with enduring effects to face and may even lead to cancer. Therefore, as per the laboratory chemical safety summary (LCSS), manufacturers and end users of this substance are required to follow certain regulations related to storage and handling, cleanup and disposal, exposure limit, first aid, and health and symptoms.Global Hydrazobenzene Market: OverviewThe rising number of applications of hydrazobenzene and the rising focus of key players on research and development activities are the key factors fueling the growth of the global hydrazobenzene market. Furthermore, the demand for hydrogen peroxide for the purpose of water treatment is anticipated to encourage the growth of the market.The research report provides analysis of the global hydrazobenzene market on a regional and global level. The study offers historical information and presents the forecast statistics between 2017 and 2025 in terms of revenue and volume. The key segmentation and the major factors encouraging the growth of the global hydrazobenzene market have been provided in the research study to provide a strong understanding for readers and new entrants. Furthermore, to provide a thorough view of the global market, the research study has included a detailed competitiveness analysis and a list of the leading company players.Request TOC of the Report @Global Hydrazobenzene Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe growing demand for hydrazobenzene from the pharmaceutical industry is the key factor expected to encourage the growth of the market in the next few years. In addition, the rising consumption of phenylbutazone and sulfinpyrazone in manufacturing different pharmaceutical products is expected to accelerate the growth of the global hydrazobenzene market in the forecast period. On the flip side, the carcinogenic properties of hydrazobenzene, which is considered as extremely harmful for human being due to prolonged exposure is one of the major factors projected to hamper the growth of the global hydrazobenzene market in the next few years. Nonetheless, the rising number of applications of hydrazobenzene and the growing demand from the automotive industry are likely to supplement the growth of the market in the next few years.Global Hydrazobenzene Market: Region-wise OutlookAmong the key regional segments in the hydrazobenzene market, Asia Pacific is estimated to witness rapid growth in the next few years. With the rising number of applications, this region is projected to account for a key share of the overall market and register a progressive growth. The high growth of this region can be attributed to the rising demand for hydrazobenzene from pigments and dyes industry.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @In addition, the swift development of the agro-chemical sector in Asia Pacific is projected to boost the demand for hydrazobenzene throughout the forecast period. The agrochemical application of hydrazobenzene as a de-suckering agent, especially in tobacco plants is likely to contribute substantially in developing economies of Asia Pacific, including China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and Thailand. Furthermore, the increasing number of players in this region is expected to encourage the growth of the hydrazobenzene market throughout the forecast period.Key Players Mentioned in the Research Report are:The research study on the global hydrazobenzene market offers a detailed analysis of the competitive landscape, presenting insights into the prominent players operating in the market. In addition, the company profiles, financial overview, contact information, SWOT analysis, and the recent developments have been discussed at length in the scope of the study. Some of the key players operating in the market are Alfa Aesar, IBIS Chemie International, Gihi Chemicals Co., Limited, Tokyo Kasei Kogyo (TKK), and Chemos GmbH.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Hospital Lighting System Market Size, Share, Growth, Technology, Application, Key Players, Market Trends and Demand by 2023 https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/hospital-lighting-market/report-sample https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/hospital-lighting-market www.psmarketresearch.com The hospital lighting system market is projected to reach $8.5 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 7.6% forecast to 2023. Hospital lighting system overcomes the built-in constraints of traditional lighting solutions, which use high-intensity discharge, incandescent and halogen lights. It offers numerous benefits over conventional lighting solutions, including energy-efficiency, longer lifespan and durability.Request free sample copy of this report @Hospital lighting systems are used for wide-ranging applications, including patient wards & suites, surgical suites, diagnostic & imaging center, lobbies, corridors and parking areas & garages. Price reduction of LED technology has elevated its demand in several application segments.The adoption of troffers is witnessing a rapid growth, as they are used in patient wards, corridors and stairs in hospitals. They offer superior color quality as compared to traditional hospital lighting, do not require ceiling alterations and offer high efficiency, thereby cutting energy consumption to 50%. Troffers light is the leading product category in terms of size. During the forecast period, surface mounted lights is projected to exhibit the fastest growth, attributed to flexibility, high performance and alluring designs.Based on technology, LED holds the largest market due to its application in multiple areas, as they offer energy efficiency with a longer lifespan of the product. The market for fluorescent technology is also expected to show a robust growth in coming years as they offer good selection of color temperature, offering uniform lighting with less harsh shadows. The hospital lighting system witnessed largest application in patient wards & suites. Government and private players of the healthcare industry in the developing countries are investing heavily in the hospital lighting system. During the forecast period, the market for surgical suites, which include wide range of lighting devices with different color rendering index, are expected to witness the fastest growth.The fastest growth in hospital lighting system market is expected in Europe. Hospitals in Europe are looking for lighting solutions that can reduce energy consumption to 60% and thus bringing down the operating cost of the medical facilities. The increasing investment in healthcare institutions by the government of various countries is a prime factor behind the growth of the hospital lighting system market.Explore report @Some of the major players also include Acuity Brand Inc., Cree Inc., Zumtobel Group AG, Hubbell Lighting, Inc., Herbert Waldmann GmbH & Co. Kg, Trilux Gmbh & Co. Kg, and Orion Energy System Inc.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports, business intelligence and research based consulting services across a range of industries.With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.Contact:P&S Market Research347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb: IIoT Market by Top Industry Players (Cisco Systems, Intel Corporation, Rockwell Automation, Siemens AG, Microsoft Corporation) and Global Forecasts to 2022 ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001787290/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001787290/discount Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Report classifies the Global Market in a precise manner to offer detailed insights about the aspects responsible for augmenting as well as restraining market growthThis report focuses on the top players in global market, likeABBARM HoldingAtmelCisco SystemsGeneral Electric Company (GE)International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)Intel CorporationRockwell AutomationSiemens AGMicrosoft CorporationRequest a Free Sample atThe study objectives of this report are:To study and forecast the market size of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in global market.To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.To analyze and compare the market status and forecast between China and major regions, namely, United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Rest of World.To analyze the global 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.Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can be split intoSolutionServicesPlatformMarket segment by Application, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can be split intoManufacturingEnergy & PowerOil & GasHealthcareLogistics & TransportAgricultureOthersCheck Discount Offers atList of Tables and FiguresFigure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Product ScopeFigure Global Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) (2012-2017)Table Global Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Global Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Share by Regions in 2016Figure United States Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure EU Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Japan Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure China Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure India Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Southeast Asia Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Global Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Share by Type in 2016Figure Solution Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Figure Services Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Figure Platform Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Figure Global Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Share by Application in 2016Figure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate in Manufacturing (2012-2017)Figure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate in Energy & Power (2012-2017)Figure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate in Oil & Gas (2012-2017)Figure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate in Healthcare (2012-2017)Figure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate in Logistics & Transport (2012-2017)Figure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate in Agriculture (2012-2017)Figure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate in Others (2012-2017)Table Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size (Million USD) by Players (2016 and 2017)Figure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size Share by Players in 2016Figure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Size Share by Players in 2017Table ABB Basic Information ListTable Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Business Revenue (Million USD) of ABB (2012-2017)Figure ABB Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Business Revenue Market Share in 2016Table ARM Holding Basic Information ListTable Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Business Revenue (Million USD) of ARM Holding (2012-2017)Figure ARM Holding Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Business Revenue Market Share in 2016Table Atmel Basic Information ListTable Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Business Revenue (Million USD) of Atmel (2012-2017)Figure Atmel Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Business Revenue Market Share in 2016Table Cisco Systems Basic Information ListTable Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Business Revenue (Million USD) of Cisco Systems (2012-2017)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.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Friction Modifiers Market Opportunity & Demand Analysis By Key Players 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=3476 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=3476 https://www.tmrresearch.com/friction-modifiers-market Global Friction Modifiers Market: OverviewThe global friction modifiers market is foreseen to gain momentum in growth due to its widening scope as a result of the rise of the transportation industry. Increase in the use of lubricants around the world could be one of the vital factors attaining support from the overall growth of the transportation industry. In the near term, market growth is anticipated to increase on the back of swelling demand for friction modifiers in South Korea, India, and other developing nations. Also known as antifriction additives, friction modifiers could improve their demand as strict government regulations offer strong growth prospects.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Friction modifiers could be offered in two main types, viz. inorganic and organic, where the former is foretold to secure a larger share of the global market in the near future. Compared to organic friction modifiers, their inorganic counterpart is said to be economically priced.Global Friction Modifiers Market: Trends and OpportunitiesInorganic friction modifiers offering exceptional friction reduction and outstanding performance are envisaged to collect massive demand in the global market. According to a study of market dynamics for friction modifiers, there could be telling growth prospects birthing on account of increasing vehicle parc and expansion of the automotive industry. Furthermore, magnifying demand for fuel-efficient lubricants is prognosticated to set the tone for valuable growth in the world friction modifiers market.However, increase in the use of alternative fuels and preference for electric vehicles could hamper the demand for friction modifiers. Moreover, there could be an adverse effect on the overall production cost of friction modifiers because of inconsistency in raw material prices. Nonetheless, developments in friction modifier additive technologies and massive research and development investments are prophesied to create a wealth of opportunities in the world friction modifiers market.Request TOC of the Report @Global Friction Modifiers Market: Market PotentialNovel crop enhancement business, Plant Impact Plc was acquired by Croda International Plc after the latter announced the completion of its purchase in March, 2018. Plant Impact is said to report into its acquisitors Life Science business following the acquisition. However, taking shape as a subsidiary within Croda Europe, the company will retain its identity after the acquisition, said a press release by Croda. President of Croda Life Sciences, Nick Challoner said that their strategy would be to maximize benefits offered by this integration.Global Friction Modifiers Market: Regional OutlookAt least until the completion of 2022, Asia Pacific is projected to take over a commanding position of the international friction modifiers market. It could be a larger region of the market taking advantage of favorable situations in prominent countries such as India, South Korea, Japan, and China. Considered as automotive hubs of the region, all of these country-wise markets could prove to be extremely vital for the overall growth of Asia Pacific.Europe and North America could bank on stringent emission standards required to be followed in the automobile industry. Besides their use in meeting these standards, friction modifiers find application in enabling efficient functioning of lubricants. For automotive and automotive lubricants manufacturing, the usage of fuel-efficient lubricants is mandatory in both the regions.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Friction Modifiers Market: Competitive LandscapeEntry of new players seems to be difficult with the need to keep up with current changes and developments in friction modifier technology, which requires vast investments in research and development activities. One of the go-to developmental strategies adopted by leading companies could be market expansion. In order to meet changing consumer demands, companies are expected to focus on launching cost-effective and new materials. Some of the key players of international friction modifiers market are Infineum, Afton, and Lubrizol.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Infrastructure as a Service Market 2022 SWOT Analysis by Key Brands - Google, Microsoft, AWS, Profitbricks, CSC, Rackspace with Global Forecasts ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011178526/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/global-infrastructure-as-a-service-market-professional-survey-report-2017 http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW00011178526/buy/3500 Infrastructure as a Service Market is a vital recent industry data which covers in general market situation along with future scenario for industry around the Globe. It also consist of major data along with forecasts of a global market along with clear presentation of diagrams (charts and tables).This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringFujitsuIBMVMwareCisco SystemsGoogleMicrosoftAWSProfitbricksCSCRackspaceRequest a Sample on Infrastructure as a Service Market atBy types, the market can be split intoHybridPublicPrivate CloudBy Application, the market can be split intoLargeMediumSmall EnterprisesBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaBrowse Complete Report on Infrastructure as a Service Market atKey Point from Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview of Infrastructure as a Service2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Infrastructure as a Service3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Infrastructure as a Service4 Global Infrastructure as a Service Overall Market Overview5 Infrastructure as a Service Regional Market Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E Infrastructure as a Service Segment Market Analysis-by Type)7 Global 2012-2017E Infrastructure as a Service Segment Market Analysis-by Application)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Infrastructure as a Service9 Development Trend of Analysis of Infrastructure as a Service Market10 Infrastructure as a Service Marketing Type Analysis11 Consumers Analysis of Infrastructure as a Service12 Conclusion of the Global Infrastructure as a Service Market Professional Survey Report 2017Purchase Complete Report atContact Information:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.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.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Cryopreservation Equipment Market Stoking Growth by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=80 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=80 https://www.tmrresearch.com/cryopreservation-equipment-market Cryopreservation Equipment Market: SnapshotCryopreservation equipment market has been gaining traction due to its widening applications. The increasing investments in research and development of stem cells is expected to fuel the growth of the global market in the near future. Rapid advancements in technologies and increasing healthcare expenditure have also been identified as the key factors likely to influence the trajectory of the global cryopreservation equipment market. The rising interest in bioengineered products for dealing with the various issues of the human body have also resulted in the soaring revenues for the global cryopreservation equipment market.On the downside, the global cryopreservation equipment market is likely to be hampered by the lack of skilled personnel to handle the equipment. The slightest slip in handling can lead to severe injuries, which is discouraging many to take up careers in this field. Furthermore, market is also likely to be hampered by the use of salts that can prove to be extremely toxic. However, growth of industries such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and contract research organizations are projected to offer the global cryopreservation equipment market several avenues for growth in the foreseeable future.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The growing number of government initiatives to raise awareness about preservation of stem cells has been noticed as the key emerging trend in the global market. If equipment manufacturers overcome the challenge of high cost and complicated operations systems, the global cryopreservation equipment market could have a wider consumer base. Companies are also expected to invest in product innovation to offer the global market a wider and a better choice of products.Global Cryopreservation Market: General OutlineCryopreservation refers to the preserving of intact biological cells and tissues at extremely low temperatures. It commonly involves the preservation of sperms, plant seeds, embryos and eggs are some of the most common applications of cryopreservation. Cryopreservation is when the cells or tissues are frozen off, generally in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of at least (-148) degrees. At this temperature, metabolic processes of the biological tissues slow down to a near halt and results in a delayed decaying process, successfully preserving them for future purposes and storage.During cryopreservation, however, there is a possibility of the destruction of cells as the liquids present in the cells may undergo anomalous expansion as they solidify. It is therefore essential to replace the liquid present in the tissue by cryoprotectants aids that increase the concentration of solutes in a system reducing the amount of ice at any given temperature. Dimethyl sulfoxide and glycerol are commonly used as replacements and are mixed with a media or serum in which the cells or tissues are suspended.Request TOC of the Report @Global Cryopreservation Market: Scope of the StudyThe media used in cryopreservation generally comprises protein sources, base mediums, and cryopreservative. The role of a cryopreservative is to protect the cell from both physical and mechanical stresses and also to reduce water content in the cells, thereby decreasing the creation of cell-lysing ice crystals. The optimum cell density required to freeze per 1 ml of cell suspension is dependent on the type of the cell to be preserved. For instance, mammalian cells are frozen at a concentration between 1x106 cells/ml and 1x107 cells/ml. The cryopreservation process is facilitated by the use of various cryopreservation equipment such as sample preparation, storage systems, and ultra-low freezers.The equipment in the global cryopreservation market can be segmented into freezers, storage systems, sample preparation systems, and accessories. Regulatory and approval policies are the core governing factors of the market currently. Geographically, North America and Europe exhibit a very high potential for growth in the global cryopreservation market, owing to the extensive use of preservation systems in various applications. Asia Pacific and the rest of the world show high promise to be lucrative regions for the growth and acceptance of these systems.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Cryopreservation Market: Key Trends and ProspectsThe top factors favoring the growth of the global cryopreservation market include a continuous rate of technological advancement, an increased use of cryopreservation equipment, and an increased investment by key players into the development of advanced systems that offer multiple freezing profiles and automated controls. However, high cost of cryopreservation systems, complicated operations and inaccessibility due to high costs of use are some of the factors that might restrain the global cryopreservation markets growth.Cryopreservation equipment holds multiple applications because of their growing utility in commercial and academic projects in stem cell research. These platforms are used in various setups, including stem cell banks, biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers, contract research organizations, and stem cells research laboratories. Currently, several players from the global cryopreservation market are introducing products with specific or custom advanced features that can be capable of providing multiple freezing profiles along with enhanced connectivity through microprocessor controls and printers.Global Cryopreservation Market: Companies Mentioned in the ReportThermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Praxair Technology, Inc., Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., Angioblast Systems, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim, Gmbh, Cryologic Pty. Ltd., Custom Biogenic Systems, Haimen United Laboratory Equipment Development Co., Ltd., Genzyme Corp., Cell Therapeutics, Inc., Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. and Millipore Corporation are some of the leading players engaged in development of the global cryopreservation market.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Diesel Fuel Market Astonishing by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=82 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=82 https://www.tmrresearch.com/diesel-fuel-market Global Diesel Fuel Market: SnapshotDiesel fuel is witnessing significant demand from various sectors, particularly automotive and transportation. The global market is set to witness interesting growth dynamics shaped by a wide spectrum of factors. The pricing of the fuel, technological advancements in the automobile industry, government regulations, and regional demographics are the crucial factors driving the shifts in the market. In addition, the emergence of alternative fuels, most notably natural gas, and improvements in various electric-based technologies such as regular hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and pure electric vehicles (EVs) are expected to alter the demand for diesel. These key aspects are instrumental in evaluating and understanding the demand patterns and supply dynamics in different economies. The rapid industrialization of emerging markets, coupled with the soaring use of diesel in non-transporting applications, such as for residential and commercial heating applications, has triggered the demand for diesel fuel across the regions.The market in leading industrialized regions such as the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, and Australia may witness a slowdown due to adoption of natural gas fuel alternatives in some sectors. However, as emerging nations in the process of industrialization undertake intensive oil extraction activities, they mainly undergo oil-driven economic expansion. The significant demand in emerging markets will make up for the slight slump in demand from advanced economies.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The reasons for declining demand in Europe and the U.S. vary widely. In the U.S., the bulk of the demand comes from commercial transportation while in Europe, diesel forms the key fuel in over half of the light vehicle fleets, and hence the demand for diesel majorly comes from private vehicles. Hence, stringent regulations related to fuel efficiency standards are expected to hinder the market growth in Europe to some extent.Global Diesel Fuel Market: OverviewThe growth of the global transportation industry is likely to increase the demand for diesel fuel over the coming years by a large extent. Gas oil, which is a heavy oil produced from fractional distillation of fuel oil, can be used for both automotive applications and heating purposes. Gas oil used for automotive purpose commonly known as diesel fuel or even the 35 second oil is quite the necessity in industrial, commercial and agricultural, and off-road vehicles applications.The dual application of diesel fuel depends on the type of diesel that is being used. Regular or white diesel can be used in automotive and industrial applications, while red diesel which is another type of diesel but mixed with a red dye can be used for domestic purposes. Red diesel is exempt of excise duty and the red dye makes it easy for users and authorities to identify which kind of diesel is being used. Diesel fuel can be segmented on the basis of source of production into bio-diesel, biomass to Liquid (BTL), petro-diesel, and gas to liquid (GTL).Request TOC of the Report @Global Diesel Fuel Market: Top TrendsThe global diesel fuel market is expected to grow in volume and revenue in tandem with the automobile industry, owing to the dependence of automobiles on diesel and the increasing reliance on newly proven technologies aimed at improving vehicle fuel efficiency. Vehicles running on diesel fuel are expected to deliver at least 20% to 40% more mileage per gallon then petrol or gasoline vehicles. Heavy-duty vehicles form the bulk of the demand volume in the global diesel fuel market. The commercial transportation sector is also improving swiftly around the world, especially in the developing economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America.Unreliable and low power supply is a problem plaguing a large number of nations today. Large power consumers whose daily operations are highly dependent upon a steady supply of electricity are opting for diesel fuel-based power backup systems in case the grid supply falters.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Diesel Fuel Market: Future ProspectsDiesel generator sets are the preferred form of decentralized backup generation for large or industrial consumers of electricity. They are likely to become the key area of opportunities in the global diesel fuel market over the coming years. Diesel generators are also used for supplying intermittent power to rural households, where renewable energy generation is not possible and drawing new grid connections is not feasible. Diesel also finds a high scope of use in space-heating and other residential purposes. Many countries in Europe consistently use diesel fuel as an integral part of meeting their domestic energy requirements.One of the key restraints acting on the global diesel fuel market remains its higher price than gasoline and the volatile price trends of the fuel in general. The reason for this higher price is that diesel is an international commodity and many countries rely on it. Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) specifications further increase the cost of diesel fuel. Additionally, the taxes imposed on diesel are also higher than gasoline. The end users of the global diesel fuel market can be segmented into transportation, domestic and commercial, and power generation.Global Diesel Fuel Market: Region-based AnalysisAsia Pacific is likely to be an extremely promising region for the proliferation of the global diesel fuel market in the forecast period. This can attributed to the increasing vehicular usage in the region and especially in commercial vehicles, coupled with the increasing need to decentralize rural electrification projects. Europe and North America are expected to continue being high-value regions for the global diesel fuel market in terms of both demand volume as well as rate of increasing in demand. However their transportation sector is likely to see a greater scale of penetration for fuels such as LPG, LNG, and CNG. The Latin American market is expected to show an attractive growth rate over the coming years, owing to its large rural population urban expansion.Global Diesel Fuel Market: Key PlayersOf the large number of players present in the global diesel fuel market, some of its leaders so far included Total, Exxon, Valero, Conoco Philips, and Shell.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Energy Harvesting System Market Size, Share, Growth, Application, Technology, Competitive Analysis, Market Demand and Opportunities by 2023 https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/energy-harvesting-market/report-sample https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/energy-harvesting-market www.psmarketresearch.com Global energy harvesting system market is expected to reach $659.6 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 11.0% during 20182023. Growing measures to reduce carbon footprints, lower dependence on fossil fuels, rising adoption of IoT and big data, and growing demand for power-efficient systems are some of the major factors driving the growth of the market.Request free sample copy of this report:Of all applications of energy harvesting systems, building and home automation has been contributing the highest revenue globally, with an estimated contribution of more than 35% in 2017. It is also expected to be the fastest growing category during the forecast period. This is due to rapid increase in implementation and installation of sensor-based technologies, and increase in demand for energy efficient power systems, from residential and commercial sectors.Europe has been contributing the largest revenue share to the energy harvesting system market, followed by North America. It is mainly attributed to the rise in automation of buildings and homes, and rapid growth of the industrial automation sector in these regions.Energy harvesting system market is developing well, and IoT and big data technologies have given it a real impetus. It is generally considered as the abstraction of operational power from the atmosphere to decrease the requirement of external power sources or batteries. Habitually, electricity is utilized to achieve some active sensing and interconnect the sensor data wirelessly over local area network (LAN) or wide-area network (WAN). In the coming years, millions or billions of devices are going to be connected to the internet. It is not surprising to allude that energy harvesting will be highly beneficial for IoT applications.The emergence of new energy harvesting techniques has been proven to drive energy in ultra-low power applications. This provides immense growth opportunities to the energy harvesting system market across the globe.Explore report at:Some of the key players in the energy harvesting system market are Arveni, Convergence Wireless, Cymbet Corporation, Powercast Corporation, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Fujitsu Group, ABB Ltd., Honeywell International Inc., STMicroelectronics N.V., EnOcean GmbH, Voltree Power, Inc., Bionic Power, Inc., Energy Partners, and Yantra Harvest Energy Private Limited.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports, business intelligence and research based consulting services across a range of industries.With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.P&S Market Research347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb: GCC and Qatar Cooking Oil Market Analysis & Future Trends Analyzed during 2017 2024 Market Research Hub https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=879393 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/cooking-oil-market-gcc-and-qatar-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-trends-and-forecast-2016-2024-report.html The cooking oil market across GCC has been experiencing steadfast growth since the past few decades. It has been noticed that, shifting lifestyle and elevated purchasing power has caused a rise in consumption of processed food; hence, benefitting the market for cooking oil. To understand the overall market scenario across GCC and Qatar, a new research report titled Cooking Oil Market - GCC and Qatar Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Trends and Forecast 2017 2024, has been included to the broad database of Market Research Hub (MRH). This evaluation tries to present a comprehensive overview of the cooking oil market in the mentioned regions, with the inclusion of valuable insights about the growth trajectory during 2017 and 2024.Request here for Free Sample Report@As per research findings, increasing investments across R&D for developing a new set of products is supporting the GCC cooking oil market. Furthermore, with the growth of the Qatar hospitality industry, the food processing industry has indeed benefitted. The expedition of international hotel chains aiming to back up rising tourism has supplemented the progress of cooking oils industry across Qatar. The research report starts with the research scope and research methodology, which helps in enlightening the readers about the actual motive of this assessment. Important facets such as GCC cooking oil market, revenue and volume for the forecasted period 2010-2024 has been carefully enclosed in this analysis. Furthermore, market drivers, impact analysis, market restraints and opportunities acquire a separate portion. In addition, specific data about market trends analysis across the concerned market can be easily accessed.Browse Full Report with TOC@Readers can learn about the insights associate to revenue growth strategies, market size and forecast values during the stated period. Moreover, primary winning strategies adopted by companies in the GCC and Qatar cooking oil market is formed on the basis of valuable perceptions on competitive outlook. Market segmentation on the basis of product and packaging type is part of the research report. Based on product type, palm oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and others are the prime divisions in the cooking oil market.The final section of the report covers the competitive landscape which talks about the various companies operating in the GCC and Qatar cooking oil market. United Foods Company, Emirates Refining Company Ltd., Savola Group, Hayel Saeed Anam Group and Co., Ghurair Resources Oils and Proteins, Asia Africa General Trading LLC, and Omani Vegetables Oils and Derivatives Co. LLC are the prominent companies that have been examined through this analysis.About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports of different sector like Food industry reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of industry reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.com Global Amorphous Fluoropolymer Market Study on Key Driving Forces and Future Opportunities Forecasted till 2023 Market Research Hub https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1737166 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-amorphous-fluoropolymer-market-2018-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and-application-forecast-to-2023-report.html A novel study, focusing on the current as well as future prospects of the global amorphous fluoropolymer market has been publicized to the online repository of Market Research Hub (MRH), which is titled as Global Amorphous Fluoropolymer Market 2018 by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023. This 109-page study offers a holistic outlook on the markets growth in terms of revenue in US$ Million and in terms of volume in thousand units across different geographical regions. Regions highlighted in this study are Asia Pacific, North America, Middle East & Africa, South America and Europe.Request here for Free Sample Report@Research Enclosure and Key HighlightsIn the initial section, this report encloses an elaborate executive summary that offers a quick snapshot of the entire market along with brief information about different market segments and their sub-segments. Apart from that readers can expect a wealth of qualitative and quantitative insights on the key factors that are influencing the global amorphous fluoropolymer market around the globe.About amorphous fluoropolymer, it has been analyzed that it is a completely non-crystalline transparent amorphous polymer, no obvious melting point, has good optical and electrical properties, but also has excellent resistance to chemical, heat resistance, good mechanical properties and physical properties. In the present time, AF fluoropolymers are widely used in industrial and commercial applications. In this research study, for the convenience and better understanding of the global market for amorphous fluoropolymer has been segmented by treatment type, application and region. Based on the type, the market is classified as Solid and Solution.Browse Full Report with TOC@Moving further, crucial applications of global amorphous fluoropolymer market are outlined in an individual way so that readers can grasp information about the growth area in the market. Also, it will help them to know that where the market stands to gain. On the basis of application, the study covers Optical Applications, Chemical Applications, Electrical Applications and others.Another important part of the research report is competitive landscape. It projects competitive scenario of the market, which helps the new entrants, as well as the existing key market players, understand the market dynamics and competitive landscape. Such details can help a business build their own market strategy that will help them compete efficiently. It offers a thorough analysis of the market share of each of the leading companies, including Chemours, Solvay and AGC. Overall, the research study is a holistic source of information and analysis on the global amorphous fluoropolymer market.About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports of different sector like Chemicals industry reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of industry reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.com Global Chitin Market Projected to Grow at a Robust Pace Owing to Surging Demand from Healthcare Industry MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4184 https://www.mrrse.com/chitin-market https://www.mrrse.com/ The global chitin market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.7% during the assessment period 2017-2027, according to a new research study added to the repository of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE). The report titled Chitin Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012 2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017 2027) projects the global market to reach US$ 2.9 Bn in revenues by the end of the forecast period.Download Sample Copy in a PDF Format @According to the report, global demand for chitin will be influenced by its growing applications in pharmaceuticals, biomedical applications, wastewater detoxification and organic farming. The report offers unbiased qualitative and quantitative analysis and insights on the chitin market, giving readers holistic and comprehensive analysis on the key factors influencing market growth. Growing use of chitin in the agrochemical sector, combined with wide ranging applications in the beverage industry are likely to fuel market growth during the assessment period. Although the outlook on chitin market is positive, negative perception with respect to its non-conformation to Halal food products is likely to impede market growth during the assessment period.In a bid to give readers detailed insights on the global chitin market, the report has segmented the market on the basis of region, application, end-use industry, and derivative. According to the report, glucosamine segment is projected to reach a valuation of nearly US$ 1.84 billion by the end of 2027. By end-use industry, the healthcare segment is projected to grow at a robust CAGR during the assessment period. The report projects the healthcare segment to grow at over 14% CAGR during the assessment period.Asia Pacific excluding Japan continues to be the largest market for chitin, and it is projected that the status quo will remain unchanged during the assessment period. Steady demand from China and India will continue to drive market growth, whereas Southeast Asian countries will complement demand during the assessment period. The report projects the APEJ chitin market to grow at nearly 14% CAGR during the assessment period.The report also offers detailed insights and analysis on the competitive landscape of chitin market. The key business and product strategies and developments of some of the notable players in the market has been analyzed. According to the report, some of the key players in the global chitin market include Meron Biopolymers, Panvo Organics Pvt Ltd., Bio21, CarboMer, Inc., DALIAN XINDIE CHITIN CO.,Ltd., Zhejiang Aoxing Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Golden-Shell Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Wellable, SHANDONG Yaizu Suisankagaku Industry Co., Ltd., Bayir Extracts Pvt. Ltd., Advanced Biopolymers AS, LAIZHOU HIGHLY BIO-PRODUCTS CO.Ltd., Tidal Vision, Primex ehf, Heppe Medical Chitosan GmbH, Kunpoong Bio Co. Ltd., and Mahtani Chitosan Pvt. Ltd.Browse Full Global Chitin Market Report with TOC :About (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence 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.ContactState Tower90, State Street Suite 700Albany, NY 12207 (United States)Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite: Epic Research Daily Agri Commodity Report Of 22 May 2018 http://www.epicresearch.co/ The Sugar industry has urged the government not to address falling prices by introducing the regulated release mechanism, which dictates how much Sugar factories can sell in the open market on a monthly basis. In a letter written to the consumer affairs, food and public distribution ministry, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said that the Sugarcane price to be paid by mills should be calculated on the basis of the revenue realised from Sugar and its by-product, and not the fair and remunerative price or FRP fixed by the Centre.The textile industry in the south expects the Union government to soon come out with relaxation of cabotage rules for movement of Cotton from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu by sea. Centre has plans to come out with relaxation of cabotage rules for certain agricultural commodities. Millers request centre to include cotton too for the benefit of Cotton farmers and the textile industry. Textile processing facilities are spread across clusters in different States and hence, transport cost is the key to determining the cost competitiveness of the industry. Mills in Tamil Nadu buy 60 lakh to 70 lakh bales of Cotton from Gujarat every year. The southern States account for almost 60% of spinning capacity in the country.Sowing in the current kharif season has commenced in right earnest with an area of 54 lakh hectares brought under cultivation till 18th May 2018, according to data released by the Agriculture Ministry. A total of 55 lakh hectares was covered during the same period last year. This is despite the fact that the total live storage capacity in 76 reservoirs used for irrigation stood at 22.66 billion cubic metre (bcm), which was 19% of the total capacity. As per the data released by Central Water Commission, the storage levels during the corresponding week last year stood at 23% of the total capacity.Economic NewsThe agriculture ministry on Wednesday said that farmer-friendly policy measures have helped reduce import of pulses, wheat and edible oils. Import of pulses declined by 10 lakh tonnes from FY17 to 56.5 lakh tonnes in 2017-18, resulting in saving of foreign exchange amounting to Rs 9,775 crore, the ministry said in a statement. As per the governments third advance estimate, output of pulses largely gram, urad and tur is projected at 24.51 million tonnes in 2017-18 as a result of significant increase in the area coverage and productivity of all major pulses. In 2016-17, production of pulses was pegged at 23.13 million tonnes. To check rise in price of pulses, the Centre has been taking steps to boost their output. India is the biggest producer, importer (4- 6mt) and consumer (26-27 million tonnes) of pulses in the world. To ensure that farmers get remunerative prices, the government has imposed import duty and put quantitative restrictions on the various varieties of pulses. Import duty on chickpeas has been fixed at 60%, while that for yellow peas is 50%, 30% for lentils and 10% for tur.The government has decided not to hike prices of foodgrains sold via public distribution system (PDS) for one more year, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today. Foodgrains via ration shops are supplied at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 3/kg for rice, Rs 2/kg for wheat and Rs 1/kg for coarse grains via PDS as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA). "The Prime Minister has approved to keep central issue price of rice, wheat and coarse grains unchanged at the rate of Rs 3/2/1 per kg, respectively for further one year," Paswan told PTI. By keeping the central issue price of food grains unchanged under the NFSA, the government has shown its commitment towards the well-being of depressed class, he said. Under the NFSA, which was passed in Parliament in 2013 during the previous UPA regime, there is a provision for revision of the issue prices of food grains every three years.Trading RecommendationsSELL CORIANDER MAY BELOW 4670 TARGET 4640/4600/4550 SL 4720BUY TURMERIC MAY ABOVE 7230 TARGET 7260/7300/7350 SL 7280SELL GUARGUM5 MAY BELOW 8140 TARGET 8110/8070/8020 SL 8190Epic Research Limited is a supreme level financial advisory services provider firm. We have designed services for different investors as per their needs like commodity tips , equity tips, agri tips and many more to serve our clients. We offer regular services for investors with less capital and premium services for massive investors looking for higher returns on investments with bigger targets.Want to take a FREE TRIAL? Visit our site link below and become a part of our Epic family. Happy trading.ormail us @ info@epicresearch.coAlso you can Whatsapp us at :7049084664Our Office:411 Milinda Manor, 2 RNT Road, Indore 452001411 Milinda Manor, 2 RNT Road, Indore 452001 Pain Management Drugs Highlights the Competitive Scenario of the Market, Major Pain Management Drugs Competitors, and Market Share https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/pain-management-drugs-market https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/pain-management-drugs-market/report-sample https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=pain-management-drugs-market https://www.psmarketresearch.com The growing geriatric population and increasing demand of innovative and advanced pain relaxing medications around the world are the predominant growth drivers for the global pain management drugs market. Additionally, the increasing number of hospitalization cases; unmet requirements for neuropathic pain management drugs; innovative and advanced applications of pain management therapies; increasing prevalence of various chronic diseases, such as cancer, and neurological problems; and increasing healthcare expenditure are also driving the growth of the global market. The growing numbers of mergers and acquisitions is a key trend observed in the market. Among the various therapeutic indications, the post-operative pain relief segment accounted for the largest share, and the low-back pain segment accounted for the second largest share in the global market.Access Detailed Report Summary:North America and Europe are the major markets, due to increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and growing awareness about various types of chronic pain conditions in these regions. The U.S. followed by Canada, is the largest market for pain management drugs in North America. Whereas, the U.K., Germany and France are some of the major countries holding significant share in the European pain management drugs market.Request to Get the Sample Pages at:The Asian market is growing with a significant rate, owing to huge pool of patients, and increasing healthcare spending in the region. In addition, the initiatives taken by various government associations to develop chronic pain rehabilitation centers, and increasing prevalence of various chronic diseases are also supporting the growth of the Asian pain management drugs market. The countries such as India, Japan and China, are the major markets in the region.Make Enquiry Before Buying the Report:Some of the major players operating in the global pain management drugs market include Purdue Pharma L.P., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Eli Lilly and Company, Forest Laboratories Inc., Endo International PLC, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., and Baxter International Inc.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports, business intelligence and research-based consulting services across a range of industries.With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.Contact:P&S Market Research347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb: Smart Medical Devices Global Market Outlook (2018-2023) Global Smart Medical Devices Industry https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3186878-global-smart-medical-devices-market-research-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3186878-global-smart-medical-devices-market-research-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.linkedin.com/company/wise-guy-research-consultants-pvt-ltd-?trk=biz-companies-cym Global Smart Medical Devices IndustryNew Study on 2018-2023 Smart Medical Devices Market Global Key Player, Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Forecast added to Wise Guy Reports DatabaseA smart medical device is an appliance; software, used for variety of therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. It has been used in a wide range of applications such as monitoring heart rate; glucose monitoring; pain relief; insulin delivery; and so forth. Smartphones play a significant role in operating these smart medical devices in the healthcare sector. The increasing adoption of smartphones across the globe, coupled with rising demand for the medical devices compatible with smartphones are major driving factors that are augmenting the growth of the global smart medical devices market. The market has been analyzed on the basis of product type, test type, and end users.Try Sample Report @Moreover, rising geriatric population is another factor fueling the market. There is an increased demand for smart medical devices due to growing geriatric population since elderly people are prone to chronic diseases such as CVD, Cancer and Diabetes. Major players are launching new products coupled with the advancement in the technologies to further accelerate the growth of the global smart medical devices market. Apart from these, rising population in the emerging economies and improvement in lifestyle standards of the people along with increasing disposable income will show a lucrative growth in the market during the forecast period. However, there are certain factors such as high cost of medical devices; and security and privacy concerns of the patients (for example: personal data of the patients can be hacked) are hampering the growth of the market.Based on the region, the global smart medical devices market has been divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World. North America dominates the global smart medical devices market owing to well-developed healthcare infrastructure and increasing advancement in technologies. APAC region is anticipated to be fastest growing market due to increasing population and rising disposable incomes.The companies contributing to the growth of global smart medical devices market include Abbott Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson Ltd., Fitbit Inc., Dexcom Inc., Medtronic plc, NeuroMetrix Inc., Olympus Medical systems and many more. Majority of key players are focusing on partnership, collaboration and merger and acquisition to gain a competitive edge over others and enhance their presence. For instance, in January 2015, Medtronic completed its acquisition of Covidien. This acquisition was aimed at the expansion of its product portfolio resulting in the increased market penetration and reduced production cost.Research MethodologyThe market study of smart medical devices market is incorporated by extensive primary and secondary research conducted by research team at OMR Secondary research has been conducted to refine the available data to breakdown the market in various segments, derive total market size, market forecast, and growth rate. Different approaches have been worked on to derive the market value and market growth rate. The OMR team collects facts and data related to the market from different geographies to provide a better regional outlook. In the report, country level analysis is provided by analyzing various regional players, regional tax laws and policies, consumer behavior and macro-economic factors. The numbers extracted from Secondary research have been authenticated by conducting proper primary research. It includes tracking down key people from the industry and interviewing them to validate the data. This enables the analysts to derive the closest possible figures without any major deviations in the actual number. Our analysts try to contact as many executives, managers, key opinion leaders and industry experts to get first-hand information. Primary research brings authenticity to our reports.Secondary sources include:Financial reports of companies involved in the marketWhitepapers, research-papers and news blogsCompany websites and their product catalogueThe report is intended for hospitals, medical device manufacturers, diagnostic centers, government and private organizations for the overall market analysis and competitive analysis. The report provides in-depth analysis on pricing, market size, and intended quality of the product preferred by consumers. The report will serve as a source for 360-degree analysis of the market thoroughly integrating different models such as PEST analysis delivering insights into the market for better business decisions.Market Segmentation:Global smart medical devices market by product typeGlobal smart medical devices market by test typeGlobal smart medical devices market by end usersThe Report covers:Comprehensive research methodology of Global Smart Medical Devices Market.This report also includes detailed and extensive market overview with Analyst insights & key market trends.Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the Global Smart Medical Devices Market.Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the Global Smart Medical Devices Market.Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues.Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.Some points from table of content:CHAPTER 1. REPORT SUMMARY1.1. RESEARCH METHODS AND TOOLS1.2. MARKET BREAKDOWN1.2.1. BY SEGMENTS1.2.2. BY GEOGRAPHY1.2.3. BY STAKEHOLDERSCHAPTER 2. MARKET OVERVIEW AND INSIGHTS2.1. DEFINITION2.2. ANALYST INSIGHTS &CURRENT MARKET TRENDS2.2.1. KEY FINDINGS2.2.2. RECOMMENDATION2.2.3. CONCLUSION2.3. REGULATIONS2.3.1. UNITED STATES2.3.2. EUROPEAN UNION2.3.3. CHINA2.3.4. INDIA2.3.5. REST OF THE WORLDFor Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @CHAPTER 3. MARKET DETERMINANT3.1. MOTIVATORS3.1.1. INCREASING ADOPTION OF SMARTPHONES AND SMARTPHONE COMPATIBLE DEVICES3.1.2. RISING DEMAND FOR BETTER CONVENIENCE AND FLEXIBLE HEALTHCARE DEVICES AMONG GERIATRIC POPULATION3.1.3. INCREASING HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURE3.1.4. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT SUCH AS EVOLUTION OF SMART SCALPELS AND SMART PROBES3.1.5. RISING TREND OF REMOTE HEALTH MONITORING3.2. RESTRAINTS3.2.1. HIGH COSTS OF SMART MEDICAL DEVICES3.2.2. PATIENTS PRIVACY CONCERNS MAY AFFECT MARKET GROWTH3.3. OPPORTUNITIES3.3.1. INCREASING INVESTMENT IN EMERGING ECONOMIES FOR SMART MEDICAL DEVICES3.3.2. RISING AWARENESS TOWARDS SMART MEDICAL DEVICES3.3.3. RISING NUMBER OF MARKET PLAYERS WITH A BROADER PRODUCT PORTFOLIOCHAPTER 4. MARKET SEGMENTATION4.1. GLOBAL SMART MEDICAL DEVICES MARKET BY PRODUCT TYPE4.1.1. DIAGNOSTIC AND MONITORING DEVICES4.1.2. THERAPEUTIC DEVICES4.1.3. INJURY PREVENTION AND REHABILITATION DEVICES4.2. GLOBAL SMART MEDICAL DEVICES MARKET BY TEST TYPE4.2.1. PORTABLE4.2.2. WEARABLE4.3. GLOBAL SMART MEDICAL DEVICES MARKET BY END USERS4.3.1. HOSPITALS AND CLINICS4.3.2. HOME CARE4.3.3. LABORATORIES4.3.4. OTHERSCHAPTER 5. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE5.1. KEY STRATEGIES5.2. KEY COMPANY ANALYSISCHAPTER 6. REGIONAL ANALYSIS6.1. NORTH AMERICA6.1.1. UNITED STATES6.1.2. CANADA6.2. EUROPE6.2.1. UNITED KINGDOM6.2.2. FRANCE6.2.3. GERMANY6.2.4. ITALY6.2.5. SPAIN6.2.6. REST OF EUROPE6.3. ASIA PACIFIC6.3.1. INDIA6.3.2. CHINA6.3.3. JAPAN6.4. REST OF THE WORLDCHAPTER 7. COMPANY PROFILES7.1. 3M LITTMANN7.2. ABBOTT LABORATORIES INC.7.3. APPLE INC.7.4. AUTONOMIC TECHNOLOGIES INC.7.5. BAXTER INTERNATIONAL7.6. BIOTRONIK INC.7.7. DEXCOM, INC7.8. F. HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE LTD.7.9. FITBIT, INC7.10. GOOGLE LLC7.11. JOHNSON & JOHNSON,7.12. MEDTRONIC PLC7.13. NEUROMETRIX, INC7.14. OLYMPUS MEDICAL SYSTEMS7.15. PHILLIPS HEALTHCARE7.16. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO7.17. SIEMENS HEALTHCAREContinued.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise 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 understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn: EMEA Beauty Devices Market 2018; Has Represented A Huge Scope for Opportunities in the Innovation of Beauty Devices with CAGR Of 7.4% By 2021 EMEA Beauty Devices Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/612 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/612 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/612 Worldwide EMEA Beauty Devices Market 2018 to 2021 Research Report implements an exhaustive study on Market Research Future. The beauty devices market has represented a huge scope for opportunities in the innovation of beauty devices. This Report Cover Key Market Driver, market size, growth rate, opportunities, market Dynamics and Overall Analysis.Market Highlights:It is estimated that EMEA beauty devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.4% during the forecast period 2017-2021. Over the past few years, the beauty devices market has represented a huge scope for opportunities in the innovation of beauty devices, as electronic devices for beauty purpose is not just up to makeover, but major health issues, such as, hair fall, acne, psoriasis and various other dermatological problems can be resolved using these beauty devices. In the present scenario, developing and under developed countries are investing to develop healthcare facilities.Avail Premium Sample copy @In the recent years, people have shifted their preference to at-home beauty devices to smoothen their daily beauty routines. A number of factors such as, increasing prevalence of skin and hair related problems, increasing aging population, and rising awareness about beauty devices are propelling the growth of EMEA beauty devices market. Furthermore, the increasing popularity of beauty devices and growing consumer demands are fuelling up the market to a great extent. In Europe, designer labelled high-end products have attracted great attention of the consumers.Despite the growth of beauty devices in the Middle East & Africa, a number of issues are also associated with EMEA beauty devices market such as presence of alternative low-priced beauty devices and the side-effects due to usage of the beauty devices may hamper the growth of market over the assessment period.EMEA Beauty Devices Market - Vital PlayersNu Skin Enterprises Inc., LOreal Group, Tria Beauty Inc., H.zone, Carol Cole Company, and Koninklijke Philips N.V.In the last few years, Europe has been experiencing a significant growth in terms of innovation, for instance, H.Zone Professionals (Renee Blanche) introduced a novel concept of mobile barber bus at Cosmoprof Bologna in Italy. The bus was equipped with the latest line of professional grooming products of the company.EMEA Beauty Devices Market is segmented in to 5 Key dynamic Segmentation:The EMEA beauty devices market is classified on the basis of product type, application, and end-user.Based on product type, market is segregated into hair care, skin care, oral care, and others. Hair care product are sub-segmented into hair removal devices, hair styling devices, hair growth devices, and others.The skin care products are further segmented into light/LED and photorejuvenation therapy devices, acne removal devices, cellulite reduction devices, and others.On the basis of application, the market is classified into domestic purpose, commercial purpose, and others.On the basis of end-user, the market is segmented into professional and personalized.EMEA Beauty Devices Market - By GeographyGeographically, the EMEA beauty devices market is classified into Europe (Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Rest of Europe), The Middle East (the UAE, Israel and Saudi Arabia) and Africa (Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria). Europe accounts for the largest share of EMEA beauty devices market due to the high demand for designer labeled high-end products and e-commerce channels. Additionally, German consumers spend more money on expensive regional and branded products, which, in turn, increase the demand for the beauty device market.Get Customized Report, with Latest Advancement @In Europe, under the sale of goods Act 1979, a beauty device or any medical device must go through some legal obligations. According to this act, any newly launched medical device will be sold out within the European Union (EA) or member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) only if it contains CE marking.The Middle East & Africa is the fastest growing region in EMEA beauty devices market. Beauty devices market in the UAE and Saudi Arabia together account for the highest market share in the Middle East region.Brief TOC of EMEA Beauty Devices Market Research Report - Forecast till 20211. Report Prologue2. Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 Limitations2.3 Market Structure2.4. Market Segmentation3. Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size Estimation3.5 Forecast Model4. Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restraints4.3 Opportunities5. Market Factor AnalysisTOC CONTINUEDKey Topics Covered In EMEA Beauty Devices Market Research Report:What will the market size 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 vendors?Avail Illustrious Discount @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.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Sendrakhi.com Makes Rakhi Shopping Easy with its Alluring Range to Send it Online https://www.sendrakhi.com/)to https://www.sendrakhi.com/rakhi-for-brother). Sendrakhi.com is back again with an eye-catchy range of Rakhi and gifts at one place. The e-portal gives an ease to buy or send Rakhi online so that people can enjoy hassle-free Rakhi Shopping experience in the minimum time frame.New Delhi, Wednesday, April 11, 2018:Today online shopping has become a preferred mode of shopping for any festival and occasion be it Rakhi or any others. Keeping in mind the variegated requirements of the valued customers, Sendrakhi.com aims to make this type of shopping experience a pleasurable and comfortable one. The holy relationships shared between brother-sister are best expressed by sending Rakhi online even if the two are far apart. Catering the various needs of people, this online portal offers Rakhi at varying price so that everyone can enjoy Rakhi shopping online with same ease.Sendrakhi.com is an online rakhi shop that presents a marvellous collection of Rakhi in different designs and patterns to meet every expectation of their esteemed clients. The website not only lets one Buy Online Rakhi but also provides an option to send Dryfruits along with sweets & alluring Rakhi without any issues. This is a wonderful place to shop for bhabhi, sister and brother to shop freely and confirm the order online for gifts and return-gifts for their dear & near ones.One of the official representatives of the online Rakhi store while a conversation regarding online Rakhi Shopping said, At Sendrakhi.com, we value the precious time of visitors who are looking for the best Rakhi online so that they can order a perfect rakhi in short span of time. To make the selection process easy for you, there are different categories of Rakhi such as Rakhi for Brother that is again segregated into a subcategory, making rakhi shopping an easy-going process for you. With a new and pleasing range of Rakhi, you can easily choose the best thread of love and Send Online Rakhi (anywhere in India and abroad in just a few clicks. Also, the online Rakhi stores do believe in the fact that its newest collection will surely be exciting for existing as well as new customers who have explored the website in search of best Rakhi for her Bhaiya (To impress dear younger brother, Big Bhaiya or even a kiddo brother, it is easy to Buy Online Rakhi that is available in different designs. It is very simple and easy to buy Fancy Rakhi, Lumba Rakhi, Designer Rakhi, Bracelet Rakhi, Mauli Rakhi, Zardosi Rakhi, Silver Rakhi, Rudraksha Rakhi, Kids Rakhi, Handcrafted Rakhi and many Rakhi Threads in an easy way. Choose from the set of Rakhi depending upon the requirements as these are available in a set of 2 Rakhi, set of 4 Rakhi, set of 8 Rakhi and many others.The portal ensures the customers meet their variegated Rakhi shopping requirements and thus, is not just presents a wonderful range of Rakhi but also gifts so that no one has to waste time in finding the one. Likewise, the portal presents, Rakhi Hampers & combo wherein one can send Rakhi with Chocolates, Rakhi with Cake, Rakhi with Sweets, Rakhi with cookies and much more.Sendrakhi.com, an online portal, established in the year 2006 is actively engaged in making Rakhi Shopping a pleasurable experience for online shoppers. This is a widely demanded online rakhi store that helps people stay connected with their dear ones living near or far away from each other. People looking for Kids Rakhi, Designer Rakhi, Bracelet Rakhi and many other types of Rakhi are easy to buy online. Buy Online Rakhi or Send Rakhi online with an ease and send it online through same day delivery option. You can also send online Rakhi via standard delivery, midnight delivery or fix time delivery based on the preference without any hassles. To get more information, visit the website of the online rakhi store.Email: info@sendrakhi.comContact No: 8510934032Address:Primo Gifts Pvt. Ltd.Mayur Vihar 1New Delhi-110091 Connected Mining Market 2016: Growing Market Trends with Technology Development Analysis by 2020 ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/global-connected-mining-market-2016-2020 http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001486822/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001486822/buying Connected mining refers to the use of technology to achieve better productivity and safety, as well as reduce operational costs for a mine site. Mining companies focus on improving the productivity by offering innovative solutions. Connected mining includes remote-controlled robotic machinery for mineral extraction, which is referred to as tele-robotic mining and reduces the risk for miners. For instance, Caterpillar uses robots at Gabriela Mistral mine in Antofagasta, Chile to enhance the efficiency of maintenance services. The rising demand for metals and minerals will result in increased mining activities globally, which in turn will aid in the growth of the global connected mining market over the forecast period.Publisher's analysts forecast the global connected mining market to grow at a CAGR of 17.46% during the period 2016-2020.For more information about this report:Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global connected mining market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated by surface and underground smart mining processes.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:-Americas-APAC-EMEAPublisher's report, Global Connected Mining Market 2016-2020, 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-ABB-Cisco-Komatsu-Caterpillar-Deere-HitachiRequest Sample Copy atOther prominent vendors-Accenture-Alastri-BT (EE)-Ericsson-Gemalto-Hexagon-Rockwell Automation-SAP-ThingWorx-TrimbleMarket driver-Increased availability of advanced aerial imagery.-For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge-Data privacy and security concerns.-For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend-Growing demand for big data analytics.-For a full, detailed list, view our reportInquire for ReportContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.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.Pune, India Global Direct Marketing Services Market 2018 Share, Trend, Segmentation and Forecast to 2025 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3181101-2018-global-direct-marketing-services-industry-depth-research-report https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3181101-2018-global-direct-marketing-services-industry-depth-research-report The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Direct Marketing Services industry market by types, applications, players and regions. This report also displays the 2013-2023 production, Consumption, revenue, Gross margin, Cost, Gross, market share, CAGR, and Market influencing factors of the Direct Marketing Services industry in USA, EU, China, India, Japan and other regionsMarket Analysis by Players: This report includes following top vendors in terms of company basic information, product category, sales (volume), revenue (Million USD), price and gross margin (%).RappEpsilonWundermanFCBAcxiomHarte-Hanks DirectOgilvyOneMerkleHarland Clarke CorpMRM//McCannDigitasLBiAimiaSourceLinkBBDOSapientNitroLeo BurnettRequest a Sample Report @Market Analysis by Regions: Each geographical region is analyzed as Sales, Market Share (%) by Types & Applications, Production, Consumption, Imports & Exports Analysis, and Consumption Forecast.USAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaSouth AmericaSouth AfricaOthersMarket Analysis by Types: Each type is studied as Sales, Market Share (%), Revenue (Million USD), Price, Gross Margin and more similar information.Direct MailTelemarketingEmail MarketingText (SMS) MarketingHandoutsSocial Media MarketingDirect SellingOthersMarket Analysis by Applications: Each application is studied as Sales and Market Share (%), Revenue (Million USD), Price, Gross Margin and more similar information.Business to BusinessBusiness to GovernmentBusiness to ConsumersOthersTable of Content1 Direct Marketing Services Market Overview1.1 Product Overview of Direct Marketing Services1.2 Classification of Direct Marketing Services1.2.1 Type 11.2.2 Type 21.2.3 Type 31.2.4 Type 41.3 Applications of Direct Marketing Services1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 31.3.4 Application 41.4 Global Direct Marketing Services Market Regional Analysis1.4.1 USA Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.2 Europe Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.3 Japan Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.4 China Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.5 India Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.6 Southeast Asia Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.7 South America Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.8 South Africa Market Present Situation Analysis1.5 Direct Marketing Services Industry Development Factors Analysis1.5.1 Direct Marketing Services Industry Development Opportunities Analysis1.5.2 Direct Marketing Services Industry Development Challenges Analysis1.6 Direct Marketing Services Consumer Behavior Analysis2 Global Direct Marketing Services Competitions by Players2.1 Global Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Players2.2 Global Direct Marketing Services Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2017-2018)2.3 Global Direct Marketing Services Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2017-2018)2.4 Global Direct Marketing Services Gross Margin by Players (2017-2018)3 Global Direct Marketing Services Competitions by Types3.1 Global Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Types3.2 Global Direct Marketing Services Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Type (2013-2018)3.3 Global Direct Marketing Services Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2013-2018)3.4 Global Direct Marketing Services Gross Margin by Type (2013-2018)3.5 USA Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.6 China Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.7 Europe Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.8 Japan Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.9 India Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.10 Southeast Asia Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.11 South America Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.12 South Africa Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type4 Global Direct Marketing Services Competitions by Applications4.1 Global Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.2 Global Direct Marketing Services Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Applications (2013-2018)4.3 Global Direct Marketing Services Price (USD/Unit) by Applications (2013-2018)4.4 Global Direct Marketing Services Gross Margin by Applications (2013-2018)4.5 USA Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.6 China Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.7 Europe Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.8 Japan Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.9 India Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.10 Southeast Asia Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.11 South America Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.12 South Africa Direct Marketing Services Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications5 Global Direct Marketing Services Production Market Analysis by Regions5.1 Global Direct Marketing Services Production (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Regions5.1.1 USA Direct Marketing Services Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.2 Europe Direct Marketing Services Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.3 China Direct Marketing Services Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.4 Japan Direct Marketing Services Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.5 India Direct Marketing Services Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.6 Southeast Asia Direct Marketing Services Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.7 South America Direct Marketing Services Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.8 South Africa Direct Marketing Services Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.2 Global Direct Marketing Services Production Value (Million USD) and Share by Region (2013-2018)5.3 Global Direct Marketing Services Price (USD/Unit) by Region (2013-2018)5.4 Global Direct Marketing Services Gross Margin by Region (2013-2018)6 Global Direct Marketing Services Sales Market Analysis by Region6.1 USA Direct Marketing Services Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.2 Europe Direct Marketing Services Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.3 China Direct Marketing Services Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.4 Japan Direct Marketing Services Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.5 India Direct Marketing Services Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.6 Southeast Asia Direct Marketing Services Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.7 South America Direct Marketing Services Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.8 South Africa Direct Marketing Services Market Consumption Present Situation AnalysisContinuedAccess 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 In Commercial Satellite Imaging Market Geospatial Data Acquisition & Mapping is the Largest Application Segment Globally https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/commercial-satellite-imaging-market https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/commercial-satellite-imaging-market/report-sample https://www.psmarketresearch.com Global commercial satellite imaging market size is expected to reach $6.8 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 11.2% between 2017-2023. The market is growing due to the surging adoption of location-based services (LBS) by various end-users, including commercial enterprise, government, defense, civil engineering, forestry & agriculture, insurance and energy. Geospatial data acquisition & mapping has been the largest application segment in the commercial satellite imaging market globally, accounting for a major share of the revenues in 2016. The market for disaster management is expected to grow at the highest pace during the forecast period. On the other hand, commercial enterprise has been the major end-user in commercial satellite imaging industry, whereas defense segment is expected to be the fastest growing end-user industry during forecast period.Explore Full Report Description at:Geographically, North America has been the largest market for commercial satellite imaging and Asia-Pacific had been the fastest growing regional market. North America is expected to account for over 40% of the global commercial satellite imaging market in 2023. By country, the U.S. stands as the largest market globally, whereas the commercial satellite imaging industry in India has been growing at highest pace. The anticipated growth in the Asia-Pacific market can be owed to factors such as rapid adoption of Earth imagery technologies, growth in industry digitalization and advancement in satellite image analytics across the region. Further, increasing regional government focus towards advancement of Earth imagery technology is expected to bolster the commercial satellite imaging market.The major trend observed in the commercial satellite imaging market include hyperspectral image processing for automatic target detection. Many military and civilian applications involve in detecting object or activity such as a movement of military vehicle or vehicle tracking, through hyperspectral image processing. Apart from this, the use of hyperspectral image sensors in imagery provide image data, containing both spatial and spectral information, which further can be rendered to detect various tasks such as military intrusion. Apart from this, advancement in high resolution satellite imagery for applications in data centric sectors such as agriculture and natural resource management, is also a factor significantly contributing to the growth of global commercial satellite imaging market.Download Free Report Sample At:Some of the key players operating in the commercial satellite imaging market are DigitalGlobe, Inc., Galileo Group, Inc., Spaceknow, Inc., Environmental Systems Research Institute, and Airbus Defence and Space.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports, business intelligence and research based consulting services across a range of industries.With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.Contact:P&S Market Research347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter | Google + | Facebook Web Werks Tailor-Made Jaw Dropping Hosting Offers to Host in India. www.webwerks.in Web Werks is all set to shower best hosting discounts on Outclass Dedicated Servers for its users to Host in India this Holiday Season.Mumbai, India 21 May 2018 | Web Werks, one of the most popular name in the Hosting industry, having state-of-the-art Data Centers, takes a step ahead with Dedicated Servers Hosting Offerings that brings with it World-class Infrastructure and experts that will help you monitor the health of your servers as well as notify as needed.With Web Werks "Host in India" initiative which will be focusing on Indian companies wishing to build an online existence has ensured that perfect hosting infrastructure is in place for their Indian clients to manage their websites.With this Initiative, Web Werks bare metal Dedicated Servers starting ranges of 3900 value dedicated servers is now discounted to 2999.00 and are very popular, well received and value for money servers.Web Werks Dedicated Server Hosting has the top-notch performance and holds the value for money. 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Offering Reliable hosting services on Dedicated Servers, Cloud, Virtualization, Co-location and Disaster Recovery Services along with 24x7 Rapid Action Support and 99.995% Uptime Guarantee.9th Floor, Sigma IT park, Sector 8, Rabale,Navi Mumbai Global Disposable Plates Market to Grow at 5.9% CAGR through 2027, North America Largest Market MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4624 https://www.mrrse.com/disposable-plates-market https://www.mrrse.com/ The global disposable plates market is likely to grow at CAGR of 5.9% through 2027, according to a new research report added to the repository of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE). The report is titled Disposable Plates Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012 2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017 2027) and offers holistic analysis and insights on the disposable plates market.Get Sample PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @The research report offers comprehensive analysis on the drivers, restraints, opportunities and threats in this market. According to the report, demand for plastic disposable plates will continue to remain highest among all the product types. Even though plastics are facing regulatory pressures from governments in various countries, low price and easy availability continue to fuel adoption. The report projects the plastic plate segment to grow at 5.7% CAGR and reach US$ 4 Bn by 2027.Considering the regulatory approval in various countries, manufacturers are focusing on developing alternatives to plastic disposable plates. Focus on bio-degradable disposable plates is growing among consumers which is likely to influence manufacturers to broaden their portfolio. It is highly likely that manufacturers will continue to invest in sustainable and environment friendly products to improve their brand reputation.The report offers segment wise analysis on the basis of product type, design, sales channel and region. By design, the demand for plain disposable plastics is the highest, however preference for compartment disposable plates is also growing steadily. By sales channel, B2B continues to be the dominant channel and is likely to reach nearly US $ 5 Bn in revenues by the end of forecast period.Access Complete Report with Table of Content @The report also offers analysis on the basis of region. North America and Asia Pacific Excluding Japan are among the leading markets for disposable plates globally. The demand for disposable plates in Asia Pacific is more towards plain design whereas compartment design is gaining popularity in North America. Europe is also likely to support the growth of the market during the assessment period.The report profiles some of the leading players operating in the market. Some of these players are Dart Container Corporation, Georgia-Pacific LLC, Seow Khim Polythelene Co Pte Ltd.,Pactiv Llc, Huhtamaki Oyj, D&W Fine Pack Llc, Hotpack Group, Jinhua Lansin Commodity Co., Ltd, Poppies Europe Ltd., HOSTI GmbH, NUPIK FLO U.K. Ltd., Fast Plast A/S, Dopla Spa, Ckf Inc., Duni AB, Polar Plastic Ltd., Genpak Llc and Vegware Ltd.About MRRSEMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence 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.ContactState Tower90, State Street Suite 700Albany, NY 12207 (United States)Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite: Artificial Insemination Market 2018 Global Share, Trend, Segmentation and Forecast to 2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3182802-global-artificial-insemination-market-2018-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3182802-global-artificial-insemination-market-2018-2022 www.wiseguyreports.com Global Artificial Insemination MarketWiseGuyRerports.com Presents Global Artificial Insemination Market 2018-2022 New Document to its Studies Database. The Report Contain 116 Pages With Detailed Analysis.DescriptionArtificial insemination is a procedure, where to achieve fertility, semen is inserted into a female reproductive tract, that includes a cervical opening, uterus, or fallopian tube, by using a medical grade syringe.The analysts forecast the global artificial insemination market to grow at a CAGR of 7.09% during the period 2018-2022.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global artificial insemination 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.Get sample Report @The market is divided into the following segments based on geography: Americas APAC EMEAThe Global Artificial Insemination 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 Church & Dwight INVO Bioscience Piramal Enterprises Rinovum Women's Health The Cooper Companies VitrolifeMarket driver Rising prevalence of late parenthood For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge High costs of fertility treatments services For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend Rising cases of prostate cancer 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?Complete 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: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPEPART 08: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY END-USER Segmentation by end-user Comparison by end-user Commercial users Market size and forecast 2017-2022 Individual users Market size and forecast 2017-2022 Market opportunity by end-userPART 09: REGIONAL LANDSCAPE Geographical segmentation Regional comparison Americas Market size and forecast 2017-2022 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 Rising cases of prostate cancer Growing online retail sales of home insemination kits Rising number of sperm donors at sperm banks..CONTINUEDAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, Industry research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK) Global 3D Head Mounted Displays Market 2018-2023 Sony Corporation, Oculus VR, Google, HTC 3D Head Mounted Displays Market Demand http://bit.ly/3D-Head-Mounted-Displays-Market-2018 http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-3d-head-mounted-displays-market-6250 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global 3D Head Mounted Displays Market" examines the performance of the 3D Head Mounted Displays market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the 3D Head Mounted Displays market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of 3D Head Mounted Displays market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global 3D Head Mounted Displays Market 2018 report includes 3D Head Mounted Displays market Revenue, market Share, 3D Head Mounted Displays industry volume, market Trends, 3D Head Mounted Displays Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, 3D Head Mounted Displays Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global 3D Head Mounted Displays Market 2018 :1. Sony Corporation2. Oculus VR3. Google4. HTC5. BAE Systems6. Thales Visionix7. Rockwell Collins8. VuzixCorporation9. Sensics10. Elbit System11. Recon Instruments12. Osterhout Design Group3D Head Mounted Displays Market : By ApplicationAviation & NavigationEngineering & ScienceClinical UsesGaming & VideoSportsTraining & Simulation3D Head Mounted Displays Market : By TypeResolution 1280x720Resolution 1280x1024Firstly, the report covers the top 3D Head Mounted Displays manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the 3D Head Mounted Displays report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of 3D Head Mounted Displays industry, 3D Head Mounted Displays industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. 3D Head Mounted Displays Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The 3D Head Mounted Displays 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 3D Head Mounted Displays market revenue worldwide.Finally, 3D Head Mounted Displays 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 Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@9dimenresearchstore.comWeb: Global Ammonium Bromide Market 2018-2023 Albemarle, Chemtura, ICL, Jordan Bromine Ammonium Bromide Market Forecast 2018-2023 http://bit.ly/Ammonium-Bromide-Market-2018 http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-ammonium-bromide-market-6252 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Ammonium Bromide Market" examines the performance of the Ammonium Bromide market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Ammonium Bromide market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Ammonium Bromide market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Ammonium Bromide Market 2018 report includes Ammonium Bromide market Revenue, market Share, Ammonium Bromide industry volume, market Trends, Ammonium Bromide Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Ammonium Bromide Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Ammonium Bromide Market 2018 :1. Albemarle2. Chemtura3. ICL4. Jordan Bromine5. Great Lakes6. Perekop Bromine7. Morre-TEC8. Dhruv Chem9. American Elements10. R.S.A Corporation11. Visual Pharma Chem12. Honjo Chemical13. Dhara Fine Chem14. Tenor Chemical15. Yogi Intermediate16. Sandvik Materials Technology17. Tanaka Ai18. Longwei IndustrialAmmonium Bromide Market : By ApplicationMedicalPhotosensitive EmulsionFire RetardantStone PrintingAmmonium Bromide Market : By TypePharmaceutical GradeChemical GradeFirstly, the report covers the top Ammonium Bromide manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Ammonium Bromide report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Ammonium Bromide industry, Ammonium Bromide industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Ammonium Bromide Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Ammonium Bromide 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 Ammonium Bromide market revenue worldwide.Finally, Ammonium Bromide 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 Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@9dimenresearchstore.comWeb: Automotive Cyber Security Market 2018 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3181095-2018-global-automotive-cyber-security-industry-depth-research-report https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3181095-2018-global-automotive-cyber-security-industry-depth-research-report The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Automotive Cyber Security industry market by types, applications, players and regions. This report also displays the 2013-2023 production, Consumption, revenue, Gross margin, Cost, Gross, market share, CAGR, and Market influencing factors of the Automotive Cyber Security industry in USA, EU, China, India, Japan and other regionsMarket Analysis by Players: This report includes following top vendors in terms of company basic information, product category, sales (volume), revenue (Million USD), price and gross margin (%).Intel CorporationMicrosoft CorporationRenault Nissan MitsubishiHoneywell InternationalLG Electronics...Market Analysis by Regions: Each geographical region is analyzed as Sales, Market Share (%) by Types & Applications, Production, Consumption, Imports & Exports Analysis, and Consumption Forecast.USAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaSouth AmericaSouth AfricaOthersRequest a Sample Report @Market Analysis by Types: Each type is studied as Sales, Market Share (%), Revenue (Million USD), Price, Gross Margin and more similar information.Software-basedHardware-basedServicesMarket Analysis by Applications: Each application is studied as Sales and Market Share (%), Revenue (Million USD), Price, Gross Margin and more similar information.Passenger CarsLight Commercial Vehicles (LCVs)Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs)Table of Content1 Automotive Cyber Security Market Overview1.1 Product Overview of Automotive Cyber Security1.2 Classification of Automotive Cyber Security1.2.1 Type 11.2.2 Type 21.2.3 Type 31.2.4 Type 41.3 Applications of Automotive Cyber Security1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 31.3.4 Application 41.4 Global Automotive Cyber Security Market Regional Analysis1.4.1 USA Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.2 Europe Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.3 Japan Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.4 China Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.5 India Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.6 Southeast Asia Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.7 South America Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.8 South Africa Market Present Situation Analysis1.5 Automotive Cyber Security Industry Development Factors Analysis1.5.1 Automotive Cyber Security Industry Development Opportunities Analysis1.5.2 Automotive Cyber Security Industry Development Challenges Analysis1.6 Automotive Cyber Security Consumer Behavior Analysis2 Global Automotive Cyber Security Competitions by Players2.1 Global Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Players2.2 Global Automotive Cyber Security Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2017-2018)2.3 Global Automotive Cyber Security Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2017-2018)2.4 Global Automotive Cyber Security Gross Margin by Players (2017-2018)3 Global Automotive Cyber Security Competitions by Types3.1 Global Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Types3.2 Global Automotive Cyber Security Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Type (2013-2018)3.3 Global Automotive Cyber Security Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2013-2018)3.4 Global Automotive Cyber Security Gross Margin by Type (2013-2018)3.5 USA Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.6 China Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.7 Europe Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.8 Japan Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.9 India Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.10 Southeast Asia Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.11 South America Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.12 South Africa Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type4 Global Automotive Cyber Security Competitions by Applications4.1 Global Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.2 Global Automotive Cyber Security Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Applications (2013-2018)4.3 Global Automotive Cyber Security Price (USD/Unit) by Applications (2013-2018)4.4 Global Automotive Cyber Security Gross Margin by Applications (2013-2018)4.5 USA Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.6 China Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.7 Europe Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.8 Japan Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.9 India Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.10 Southeast Asia Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.11 South America Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.12 South Africa Automotive Cyber Security Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications5 Global Automotive Cyber Security Production Market Analysis by Regions5.1 Global Automotive Cyber Security Production (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Regions5.1.1 USA Automotive Cyber Security Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.2 Europe Automotive Cyber Security Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.3 China Automotive Cyber Security Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.4 Japan Automotive Cyber Security Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.5 India Automotive Cyber Security Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.6 Southeast Asia Automotive Cyber Security Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.7 South America Automotive Cyber Security Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.8 South Africa Automotive Cyber Security Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.2 Global Automotive Cyber Security Production Value (Million USD) and Share by Region (2013-2018)5.3 Global Automotive Cyber Security Price (USD/Unit) by Region (2013-2018)5.4 Global Automotive Cyber Security Gross Margin by Region (2013-2018)6 Global Automotive Cyber Security Sales Market Analysis by Region6.1 USA Automotive Cyber Security Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.2 Europe Automotive Cyber Security Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.3 China Automotive Cyber Security Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.4 Japan Automotive Cyber Security Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.5 India Automotive Cyber Security Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.6 Southeast Asia Automotive Cyber Security Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.7 South America Automotive Cyber Security Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.8 South Africa Automotive Cyber Security Market Consumption Present Situation AnalysisContinuedAccess 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 Espire Infolabs to exhibit at Utility Week Live 2018 in Birmingham, UK Birmingham, UK May 22th, 2018 Espire Infolabs, a global technology services company, is ready to exhibit at this years Utility Week Live conference, which will be held from May 22nd 23rd, at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.Utility Week Live 2018, a two-day event, will aim to explore myriad opportunities, threats, disruptive technologies and innovation in the precinct of utilities. With 3,000+ utilities professionals, 500+ exhibitors and transformational innovators, this event will equip gas, water and energy professionals to stay ahead of the curve.At Utility Week Live Stand D-12, Espire with their business partner, Pitney Bowes, a global technology company, will be showcasing a full suite of technologies designed to help utilities professionals know their customers better and provide a personalised, multichannel experience that educates & engages customers, reduces attrition and drives new revenue opportunities spanning gas, water and energy sectors. Their global partnership with Pitney Bowes focusses on customer engagement strategies that helps reduce operational costs and improve the level and quality of customer satisfaction with real time personalised interactive communications as part of the customer journey experience.Espire enables business transformation by designing actionable customer journeys with a cross enterprise approach to deliver connected customer experiences. This is powered by their complete spectrum of digital experience solutions spanning multi-channel customer communication management, marketing automation which includes web content management and campaign management, enterprise applications, cloud computing, integration and analytics. Their key offering is Espires Customer Engagement Hub (CEH) framework driven by customer journey mapping combined with customer journey analytics to deliver personalised customer experiences, across digital & physical brand touchpoints and customer communication channels.To book a meeting and meet Espire with their business partner, Pitney Bowes at Utility Week Live, you can write to them at enquiries@espire.com.Espire Infolabs is a global IT services company empowering global businesses to drive growth and customer engagement with exceptional digital experience solutions through digital content management, multi-channel customer communication management, and enterprise applications, cloud computing, integration and analytics. It is a SEI CMMI Level 5 Ver 1.3 (Dev + SVC) Appraised, ISO 27001:2013, ISO 9001:2015, and ISO 20000-1:2011 and ISO 22301:2012 Certified Company. Espire Infolabs has offices in UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Development Centers in India (Gurgaon, Delhi and Pune).Espire Infolabs486, Udyog Vihar, GurugramAnuradha Boseanuradha.bose@espire.com+91-124-7173000 Global Embedded Security Product Market 2018-2023 Infineon, STM icro electronicsf, NXP, Gemalto Embedded Security Product Market Forecast 2018-2023 http://bit.ly/Embedded-Security-Product-Market-2018 http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-embedded-security-product-market-6253 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Embedded Security Product Market" examines the performance of the Embedded Security Product market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Embedded Security Product market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Embedded Security Product market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Embedded Security Product Market 2018 report includes Embedded Security Product market Revenue, market Share, Embedded Security Product industry volume, market Trends, Embedded Security Product Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Embedded Security Product Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Embedded Security Product Market 2018 : Infineon STMicroelectronicsf NXP Gemalto Microchip Samsung Texas Instruments IDEMIA Renesas Inside SecureEmbedded Security Product Market : By ApplicationWearablesSmartphones and TabletsAutomotiveSmart Identity CardsEmbedded Security Product Market : By TypeSecure Element and Embedded SIMTrusted Platform ModuleHardware Security ModuleFirstly, the report covers the top Embedded Security Product manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Embedded Security Product report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Embedded Security Product industry, Embedded Security Product industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Embedded Security Product Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Embedded Security Product 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 Embedded Security Product market revenue worldwide.Finally, Embedded Security Product 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 Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@9dimenresearchstore.comWeb: Universal Vulvar Cancer Market Synopsis with Leading Players Ono pharmaceutical co ltd, Qiagen, Celgene Corporation, Merck&Co. etc. Forecasts To 2023 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1423 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/1423 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/1423 Global Vulvar Cancer Market Research Report, by Types (adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinomas, melanoma, sarcoma), by Treatment (radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, drug treatment) and by End User (hospitals and clinics, cancer research institutes) - Forecast Till 2023Global vulvar cancer market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% during forecasted period of 2017-2023.KEY PLAYERS FOR VULVAR CANCER MARKETAbbott Diagnostics (US), Ono pharmaceutical co ltd (Japan),PDS Biotechnology Corporation (US),Becton Deckinson and Company (US), Siemens Healthcare (Germany), Qiagen (Germany), ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V. (Netherland), ORYX GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), PfizerInc(US),AmgenInc.(US), Johnson & Johnson (US), Novartis AG (Switzerland),F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Switzerland) and Celgene Corporation (US), Merck&Co.(US).Get Sample Report @MARKET HIGHLIGHTS FOR VULVAR CANCER MARKETVulvar cancer is squamous cell skin cancer that occurs in elderly women. It is one of the rare type of cancer and the 4th common gynecologic cancer. Human papillomavirus infection, vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, heavy cigarette smoking and many other things are major risk factors for this diseases. Beside these women suffering from HIV are also prone to develop vulvar cancer. The major driving factor for this market are increasing prevalence of vulvar cancer, continuous improvement in technology, growing consumer awareness and governments initiatives. While high cost, availability of HPV vaccines and side effect of the therapy are the major restraining factor for the growth of this market.As per region global vulvar cancer market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific along with Middle East and Africa. Due to increasing prevalence of cancer, growing technological development and improvement in treatment all these are responsible for making the North American vulvar cancer market as the largest market. Europe is the second largest market followed by Asia Pacific. Due to continuous development in the healthcare sector and continuously growing population all these has led to growth of this market in Asia Pacific region.SEGMENTATION FOR VULVAR CANCER MARKETGlobal vulvar cancer market is segmented on the basis of of vulvar cancer which includes adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinomas, melanoma, sarcoma and other. On the basis of treatment the market is segmented as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery and drugs treatment. Surgery is further sub segmented into excision, radical vulvectomy, and partial vulvectomy and other. On the basis of end user the market is segmented into hospitals and clinics, cancer research institutes and other.REGIONAL ANALYSIS FOR VULVAR CANCER MARKETOn regional basis the global vulvar cancer market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa. North America contribute the largest share in the market of vulvar cancer. Due to increasing prevalence of cancer in this region this market is expecting a swift growth. Europe is the second largest market followed by Asia Pacific. The outstanding development of healthcare sector in Asia Pacific region, it is responsible for the highest growth rate of this market in this region.Get Discount @MAJOR TOC FOR VULVAR CANCER MARKETCHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION1.1 DEFINITION1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS1.2.2.1 ASSUMPTIONS1.2.2.2 LIMITATIONS1.3 MARKET STRUCTURECHAPTER 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1 RESEARCH PROCESS2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH2.3 SECONDARY RESEARCHCHAPTER 3. MARKET DYNAMICS3.1 DRIVERS3.2 RESTRAINTS3.3 OPPORTUNITIES3.4 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORSCHAPTER 4. MARKET FACTOR ANALYSIS4.1 PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL4.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS4.3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS4.4 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS4.5 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES4.6 INTENSITY OF RIVALRYCHAPTER 5. GLOBAL PAIN MANAGEMENT DEVICES MARKET, BY DEVICE TYPE5.1 STIMULATORS5.1.1 NEUROMODULATOR DEVICES5.1.1.1 SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR5.1.1.2 INTRATHECAL PAIN PUMP5.1.1.3 PERIPHERAL NERVE STIMULATOR5.1.1.4 DORSAL ROOT GANGLION STIMULATION5.1.1.5 OTHER5.1.2 TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL NERVE STIMULATION (TENS) DEVICES5.2 PUMPS5.2.1 ANALGESIC INFUSION PUMPS5.2.1.1 PATIENT CONTROL INFUSION PUMPS5.2.1.2 EXTERNAL INFUSION PUMPS5.2.1.3 INTRATHECAL INFUSION PUMPS5.2.1.4 OTHER.5.2.2 OTHERTOC ContinuedAsk to Expert Inquire @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 Future, Office No. 528,Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar, Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Global Mining Automation Equipment Market 2018-2023 Atlas Copco, Caterpillar, Hexagon, Komatsu Mining Automation Equipment Market Trends 2018 http://bit.ly/Mining-Automation-Equipment-Market-2018 http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-mining-automation-equipment-market-6246 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Mining Automation Equipment Market" examines the performance of the Mining Automation Equipment market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Mining Automation Equipment market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Mining Automation Equipment market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Mining Automation Equipment Market 2018 report includes Mining Automation Equipment market Revenue, market Share, Mining Automation Equipment industry volume, market Trends, Mining Automation Equipment Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Mining Automation Equipment Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Mining Automation Equipment Market 2018 :1. Atlas Copco2. Caterpillar3. Hexagon4. Komatsu5. Sandvik6. Autonomous Solutions Inc.7. Hitachi8. RPM Global9. Trimble10. Fluidmesh Metworks11. Mine Site Technologies12. Symboticware (Canada)Mining Automation Equipment Market : By ApplicationMine DevelopmentMining ProcessMine MaintenanceMining Automation Equipment Market : By TypeAutonomous Hauling/Mining TrucksAutonomous Drilling RigsUnderground LHD LoadersTunneling EquipmentFirstly, the report covers the top Mining Automation Equipment manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Mining Automation Equipment report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Mining Automation Equipment industry, Mining Automation Equipment industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Mining Automation Equipment Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Mining Automation Equipment 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 Mining Automation Equipment market revenue worldwide.Finally, Mining Automation Equipment 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 Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@9dimenresearchstore.comWeb: Neonatal Thermoregulation Market to Surge at a Robust Pace in Terms of Revenue Over 2027 https://www.xploremr.com/report/389/neonatal-thermoregulation-market https://www.xploremr.com/connectus/sample/389 https://www.xploremr.com/cart/reports/buynow/389 https://www.xploremr.com/ Improvements in existing technologies to address public health problemsThere have been considerable advancements in developing monitoring systems for neonates. The companies operating in the neonatal monitoring systems market are developing upgraded and improved versions of products, thus ensuring safety and accuracy.Report overview @This has induced various tire I and tire II manufacturers of neonatal infant care equipment to offer value added products in order to sustain themselves in the changing dynamics of the neonatal infant care equipment market, and this is true especially for the U.S. Companies in the United States are focused on developing integrated neonatal infant care products that are portable.For instance, U.S. based companies such as GE Healthcare and Natus Medical Incorporated provide high-end technologies such as Giraffe OmniBed, which is the combination of an incubator and a radiant warmer that allows carrying out a clinical procedure without any disruption.Expansion of paediatric clinics and neonatal intensive care units in the U.S. boosting market revenue growthA limited number of paediatric clinics and specialists is a major problem encountered across various countries. For instance, in the United States, there are inadequate number of neonatal nurses and specialists due to the expenses of additional training. This has created a major shortage in the neonatal care industry in the country.This has resulted in major multi-chain hospitals focusing on increasing their footprint by opening paediatric clinics in various locations in the United States to further increase access to neonatal clinics or children hospitals. For instance, in 2013, Stanford Childrens Health established specialty service centres along with California Pacific Medical Centre in San Francisco and seven more areas in the San Francisco Bay area.The number of neonatologists and NICUs has increased in the United States since 2003. The first NICU was established in 1960s and presently there are more than 1,500 NICUs in the United States. According to JAMA Paediatrics, in 2012, there were about 43.2 NICU admissions per 1000 births. The study between the time periods of 2007-2012 concluded that the NICU admission rate increased from 64.0 to 77.9 per 1000 live births.Strict regulatory approvals in the U.S. are likely to hamper growth of the marketNeonatal incubators are regarded as class II high-risk medical devices by the U.S. FDA. Therefore, such kind of devices are subject to additional controls prior to receiving approval. Imposition of an excise duty of 2.3% on all medical devices is one of the clauses that is likely to restrain the growth of the market.Get a free sample request @Pre-marketing approval is a lengthy and an expensive process that impacts the growth of neonatal thermoregulation market as it makes the approval process lengthy and launch of new devices takes considerable time. However, such kind of stringent regulatory process is necessary to ensure the safety and efficacy of the medical products.As per the data provided by Future Market Insights, the North America neonatal thermoregulation market was estimated to be valued at nearly US$ 105 Mn in 2017 and is likely to reach a valuation of nearly US$ 160 Mn in 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.2% during the assessment period of 2017-2027.The Europe neonatal thermoregulation market was estimated to be valued at nearly US$ 97 Mn in 2017 and is anticipated to touch a valuation of nearly US$ 161 Mn in 2027, displaying a CAGR of 5.2% during the period of forecast.Buy Now Full Report @About UsXploreMR is one of the worlds leading resellers of high-quality market research reports. We feature in-depth reports from some of the worlds most reputed market research companies and international organizations. We serve across a broad spectrum from Fortune 500 to small and medium businesses. Our clients trust us for our unwavering focus onquality and affordability. We believe high price should not be a bottleneck for organizations looking to gain access to quality information.Contact UsXploreMR111 North Market Street, Suite 300San Jose, CA 95113, United StatesTel: +1-669-284-0108Email: sales@xploremr.comWebsite: Global Chromatography Software Market 2018-2023 Axel Semrau, Bruker BioSpin, Cecil Instruments Chromatography Software Market Forecast 2018 http://bit.ly/Chromatography-Software-Market-2018 http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-chromatography-software-market-6238 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Chromatography Software Market" examines the performance of the Chromatography Software market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Chromatography Software market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Chromatography Software market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Chromatography Software Market 2018 report includes Chromatography Software market Revenue, market Share, Chromatography Software industry volume, market Trends, Chromatography Software Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Chromatography Software Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Chromatography Software Market 2018 : Axel Semrau Bruker BioSpin Cecil Instruments GE Healthcare Life Sciences Gilson Hitachi High-Technologies Jasco KNAUER SEDERE Sykam Waters Ges.m.b.H SubmitChromatography Software Market : By ApplicationScientific Research InstitutionsTesting InstitutionsChromatography Software Market : By TypeNormal VersionCustomised VersionFirstly, the report covers the top Chromatography Software manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Chromatography Software report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Chromatography Software industry, Chromatography Software industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Chromatography Software Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Chromatography Software 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 Chromatography Software market revenue worldwide.Finally, Chromatography Software 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 Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@9dimenresearchstore.comWeb: Global Atomic Force Microscope Market 2018-2023 Bruker Corporation, JPK Instruments, NT-MDT, Witec Atomic Force Microscope Market Forecast 2018 http://bit.ly/Atomic-Force-Microscope-Market-2018 http://www.9dimenresearchstore.com/report/global-atomic-force-microscope-market-6239 http://9dimenresearchstore.com/ A market study "Global Atomic Force Microscope Market" examines the performance of the Atomic Force Microscope market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Atomic Force Microscope market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Atomic Force Microscope market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Atomic Force Microscope Market 2018 report includes Atomic Force Microscope market Revenue, market Share, Atomic Force Microscope industry volume, market Trends, Atomic Force Microscope Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Atomic Force Microscope Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Atomic Force Microscope Market 2018 :1. Bruker Corporation (USA)2. JPK Instruments (Germany)3. NT-MDT (Russia)4. Keysight Technologies (USA)5. Park Systems (Korea)6. Witec (Germany)7. Asylum Research (Oxford Instruments) (USA)8. Nanonics Imaging (Israel)9. Nanosurf (Switzerland)10. Hitachi High-Technologies (Japan)11. Anasys Instruments (USA)12. RHK Technology (USA)13. A.P.E. Research (Italy)Atomic Force Microscope Market : By ApplicationLife Sciences and BiologySemiconductors and ElectronicsNanomaterials scienceAtomic Force Microscope Market : By TypeResearch Grade AFMIndustrial Grade AFMFirstly, the report covers the top Atomic Force Microscope manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Atomic Force Microscope report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Atomic Force Microscope industry, Atomic Force Microscope industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Atomic Force Microscope Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Atomic Force Microscope 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 Atomic Force Microscope market revenue worldwide.Finally, Atomic Force Microscope 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 Us9Dimen Research Store is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@9dimenresearchstore.comWeb: Global Healthcare Analytics Market Worth 33.8 Billion USD By 2023 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/download-sample-report/?cp_id=3995 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/healthcare-analytics-market/ https://www.meticulousresearch.com/download-sample-report/?cp_id=3995 Meticulous Research leading global market research company published a research report titled Healthcare Analytics Market by Type (Descriptive, Predictive, Prescriptive), Component (Service, Software), Application (Clinical, RCM, Claim, Fraud, SCM, PHM), Delivery (On premise, Web, Cloud), End User (Payer, Hospital, ACO, MCO) Global Forecast to 2023.Download Free Sample PDF @According to this latest publication from Meticulous Research, the healthcare analytics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25.5% from 2018 to 2023 to reach USD 33.8 billion by 2023, driven by growing investments by venture capitalists, continued pressure to curtail rising healthcare costs, growing demand to improve care quality, the implementation of Affordable Care Act in the U.S., and trend towards value-based care. Moreover, growing digitization in emerging countries, improving HCIT infrastructure and adoption of HCIT solutions such as EMRs and HIE, increasing focus on personalized medicine, advancing IT & big data capabilities, government support for connected care, and proliferating accountable care organizations (ACO) further propels the adoption of healthcare analytics.The global healthcare analytics market is mainly segmented by type, component, mode of delivery, application, end-user, and geography.Browse in-depth Report onOn the basis of type, healthcare analytics market is segmented into descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive. Descriptive held the largest share as it is the most traditional form of analytics used in healthcare industry and it forms base for the effective application of predictive or prescription analytics.On the basis of component, healthcare analytics market is segmented into services, software, and hardware. Services forms the largest component, primarily attributed to growing demand for cloud-based analytics, recurring need for support services, and lack of IT skills in healthcare industry.Based on the mode of delivery, the healthcare analytics market is segmented into web-based, on-premise, and cloud-based models. Currently, the adoption of on-premises model is the highest, owing to concerns related to patient data confidentiality and security on remotely managed servers.On the basis of application, the healthcare analytics market is segmented into financial analytics, clinical analytics, operational analytics & administrative analytics, and population health analytics. Financial analytics held the largest share; whereas, clinical analytics is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This is mainly attributed to the growing adoption of analytics by the healthcare providers to reduce hospital re-admissions, curtail growing healthcare costs, be eligible for value-based reimbursements, increasing adoption of EHRs and rising availability of digital information, growing focus on providing quality care, and improving patient safety and satisfaction.On the basis of end-user, the healthcare analytics market is segmented into provider analytics, payer analytics, and ACOs & MCOs. Payer analytics were the largest end users; whereas, provider analytics segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This is primarily attributed to the growing health IT and EHR adoption, growing investments by venture capitalists, increasing pressure to provide quality care and control healthcare costs, rising big data in healthcare, and technological advancements.Geographically, the global healthcare analytics market is segmented into five major geographies namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America holds the largest share in the global healthcare analytics market in 2017, followed by Europe, and Asia-Pacific. This is mainly due to rising demand for information by healthcare stakeholders and increasing need to manage large, diverse data sets, and innovations ranging from precision medicine to value based care to population health management. Moreover, increasing need to curtail healthcare costs, implementation of the ACA, and significant growth in adoption of EHRs and growth in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and health information exchange (HIEs) further propels the adoption rate of healthcare analytics in this region.The key players in the global healthcare analytics market are Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (U.S.), Cerner Corporation (U.S.), CitiusTech Inc.(U.S.), Epic Systems Corporation (U.S.), Health Catalyst(U.S.), IBM Corporation (U.S.), Inovalon (U.S.), McKesson Corporation (Change Healthcare) (U.S.), MedeAnalytics, Inc.(U.S.), NextHealth Technologies(U.S.), UnitedHealthcare Group (U.S.), Oracle Corporation (U.S.), SAP SE (Germany), SAS Institute Inc. (U.S.), SCIOInspire, Corp. (U.S.), Tableau Software, Inc. (U.S.), TIBCO Software, Inc. (U.S.), Verscend Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), VitreosHealth (U.S.), and Wipro (India).Download Free Sample PDF @About Meticulous ResearchMeticulous Research is founded in 2010 and incorporated as Meticulous Market Research Pvt. Ltd. in 2013 as a private limited company under the Companies Act, 1956. Since its incorporation, the company has become the leading provider of premium market intelligence in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.Viren ShrivastavaAVP- Global Sales and MarketingMeticulous ResearchEmail: viren@meticulousresearch.comDirect Lines: +1-646-781-8004 (North America)+44-203-868-8738 (Europe)+91 744-7780008 (Asia-Pacific)Office No-402, 4th Floor, Pushpak Business Hub, Wakad, Pune-411057 Global Gas Meter Market Research Report: Size, Share And Growth Forecast Till 2023 https://www.imarcgroup.com/gas-meter-market https://www.imarcgroup.com/request?type=report&id=879&flag=B https://www.imarcgroup.com/conveyor-belt-market https://www.imarcgroup.com/luxury-furniture-market www.imarcgroup.com The global gas meter market has been witnessing a positive growth. This can be attributed to the advantages offered by gas meters which include provision of accurate bills and a guarantee of safe pressure from the gas main supply.The latest report by IMARC Group, titled Gas Meter Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2018-2023, finds that the global gas meter market reached the value of US$ 3 Billion in 2017. A gas meter is a flow meter which is used for measuring the volume of fuel gases including liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas. It helps to measure accurate volume irrespective of the quality and quantity of the gas flowing through the meter. In addition, meter assists in reduction of gas wastage across various end-user segments. These meters ensure safe pressure from the gas main supply and provide accurate bills. Over the past few years, the majority of the gas meters are being placed outside which were earlier installed inside the buildings.Highlights of the global gas meter market:The increasing consumption of gas across various sectors acts as one of the major factors for market growth.Basic gas meters exhibit a clear dominance in the market, accounting for the majority of share.North America represents the largest share in the market owing to stricter regulations regarding replacement of old meters.Get more Information about the market:Over the past few years, the use of gas has rapidly increased in both the industrial and residential sectors as a result of augmenting demand for energy and growing investments in oil and gas projects. In addition, on account of rising concerns about the environment, governments across various nations are taking several initiatives against oil and gas leakage. Moreover, expanding gas distribution network in developing regions has also added to the growth of the global gas meter market. Some of the other factors such as higher calorific value, low emission and easier operability of gas meters have also been proactive in maintaining the market growth. As a result of the aforementioned factors, the global gas meter market is further expected to reach a value of US$ 4 Billion, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.7% during 2018-2023.On the basis of type, basic gas meters dominate the market with the largest share, followed by smart gas meters. The major segments on the basis of application include residential, commercial and industrial. Region-wise, North America currently accounts for the majority of the total global share. This is due to the strict rules and regulations implemented by the governments towards the replacement of old meters. Other major markets include Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. The competitive landscape of the market has also been analysed with some of the key players operating in the market being Honeywell, Itron, Adaptor, Dieh Metering and Sensus.Request a free report sample:The report by IMARC Group has examined the global gas meter market on the basis of:Type:BasicSmartApplication:ResidentialCommercialIndustrialRegion:North AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle East and AfricaLatin AmericaKey Players:HoneywellItronAdaptorDieh MeteringSensusBrowse related reports:Conveyor Belt Market Research Report:Luxury Furniture Market Research Report:About UsIMARC Group is a leading market research company that offers management strategy and market research worldwide. We partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses.IMARCs information products include major market, scientific, economic and technological developments for business leaders in pharmaceutical, industrial, and high technology organizations. Market forecasts and industry analysis for biotechnology, advanced materials, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, travel and tourism, nanotechnology and novel processing methods are at the top of the companys expertise.Contact usIMARC Group309 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USAWebsite:Email: sales@imarcgroup.comUSA: +1-631-791-1145Follow us on twitter: @imarcglobal Surge in demand for advanced ocular drug delivery approaches The major factor that contributes to the growth of the ocular drug delivery market includes increase in number of people suffering from eye disorders such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, dry eye syndrome, and others. Moreover, rise in geriatric population, surge in demand for targeted ocular drug delivery techniques, and increase in the number of regulatory approvals for these techniques drive the market growth.However, higher cost of drug delivery devices and lack of awareness about the advanced ocular drug delivery techniques in the underdeveloped countries in Asia and Africa hamper the market growth. Conversely, untapped market opportunities in the emerging economies and development of cost-effective techniques are anticipated to provide numerous opportunities for market expansion.The report segments the market based on product, application, end user, and region. On the basis of product, the market is categorized into eye drops, ocular inserts, intraocular implants, in situ gels, and others. The applications covered in the study include glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy & macular edema, cataract, dry eye syndrome, macular degeneration, and others. By end user, the market is fragmented into hospitals, homecare settings, and others. Region wise, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East, and Africa.Presently, North America accounts for the highest market share of 46.06% of global ocular drug delivery market, due to upsurge in demand for targeted ocular drug delivery techniques and well-developed healthcare infrastructure. Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to increase in demand for targeted drug delivery methods, improvement in economic conditions, and increase in prevalence of ophthalmic diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy & macular edema.The report highlights the overview, business performance, key strategic moves & developments, and market share with respect to the key players operating in the market. The key players studied in the report include Alcon, Inc. (Novartis AG), Alimera Sciences, Inc., Allergan Plc. (Actavis Plc.), Bausch & Lomb Inc. (A Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.), Clearside Biomedical, Inc., EyeGate Pharma, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., OASIS Medical, Inc., and Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.The company makes use of primary corporate research and secondary inputs from trusted sources to build its own reference base. It maintains consistency in quality as it keeps itself updated with changes in market dynamics and gauging its net effect on global business trends.Reach UsMr. Shriram Dighe4th Floor, Unit 12, Marisoft III,West Wing, Marigold IT Park,Kalyani Nagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411014,India: +91 20 66346040Toll Free: + 1-888-906-9222help@progressivemarkets.com Peripheral Iv Catheter Markett Worth US$ 5,224.7 Mn in 2021 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3324 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/multiple-chapter/3324 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/3324 www.persistencemarketresearch.com Persistence Market Research delivers key insights on the Global Peripheral Intravenous Catheters Market in its latest report titled Global Market Study on Peripheral Intravenous Catheter: Increasing Use of Safety I.V Catheters to Drive the Market for Peripheral I.V. Catheters . The global peripheral intravenous catheters market is anticipated to expand at a healthy CAGR during the forecast period.By product type, the global peripheral intravenous catheters market is segmented into short PIVC and integrated/closed PIVC. Among these, integrated/closed PIVC segment is expected to register fastest CAGR of 8.9% during the forecast period. Short PIVC segment is expected to contribute a maximum share to the global peripheral intravenous catheters market. Non-ported PIVC product type sub-segment is expected to register fastest CAGR over the forecast period.By technology, the global peripheral intravenous catheters market is segmented into conventional and safety. Among these, safety segment is anticipated to be dominant throughout the forecast period and projected to account for around 66% share of the total global peripheral intravenous catheters market revenue by 2021.Request to Sample of Report @By end-user, the peripheral intravenous catheters market is segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, clinics, home use, and others. Among these, hospitals segment is estimated to be the largest segment in terms of share, at 60% of the total global peripheral intravenous catheters market revenue by 2015 end. Hospital segment is expected to register fastest CAGR over the forecast period. Ambulatory surgical centers segment is estimated to be the second most attractive segment of the global peripheral intravenous catheters market by 2015 end.Global peripheral intravenous catheter market growth is mainly driven by factors such as an increase in hospitalization rate in emerging countries such as India, China, Brazil, etc., enhancement in peripheral IV catheter technology, increasing the prevalence of diseases among the population, and increase in per capita healthcare expenditure across the globe. Technological advancements and increase in usage of non-irritant material in the manufacturing of peripheral intravenous catheters to avoid associated side effects are also expected to drive demand for peripheral intravenous catheters. However, complications associated with peripheral intravenous catheters such as venous puncture, blood exposure, and needle-related injuries, and the high price of safety peripheral IV catheter in developing regions such as APEJ, MEA, and Latin America are expected to hamper the growth of the global peripheral intravenous catheter market.This report covers the trend of each segment and its sub-segments along with an analysis of the potential of peripheral intravenous catheters market in these regions. North America and Asia-Pacific regions are estimated to collectively account for over 60% revenue share of the total peripheral intravenous catheters market by 2015 end. North America is estimated to contribute a maximum share to the global peripheral intravenous catheters market. Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing market due to increase in hospitalization rate along with improvement in healthcare facilities in the region.Request Report Multiple Chapter @Key players in the global peripheral intravenous catheter market include B. Braun Melsungen AG, Smith Medical, Terumo Corporation, Inc., Becton Dickinson and Company, Tangent Medical, Vygon Group, C. R. Bard, etc. Manufacturers of peripheral intravenous catheters are working in partnership with other key healthcare solutions and services providers in order to gain maximum market share.Get full report now @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Microrna Market Expected to Success US$ 666.7 Mn in 2025 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/3464 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/multiple-chapter/3464 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3464 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/microrna-market/toc https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/10/12/1144886/0/en/Global-MicroRNA-Market-to-Reach-US-666-7-Mn-by-2025-Persistence-Market-Research.html www.persistencemarketresearch.com Global microRNA market is expected to witness robust growth during the forecast period. This growth is expected to be primarily driven by increasing demand of microRNA re-agents and kits for various applications that could eventually translate into developing innovative therapeutic solutions for various difficult-to-treat illnesses. According to the new report published by Persistence Market Research titled, MicroRNA Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012-2016) and Forecast (2017-2025), which tracks the performance of global microRNA market for the period of eight years, i.e. 2017-2025, the global market is projected to register a CAGR of 7.9% in terms of value during the forecast period. The market is anticipated to be valued at US$ 666.7 Mn by 2025.Get full report now @Global MicroRNA Market: Restraints Poor reproducibility of research and specificity of products. Complication in vendor selection due to large product portfolios. Requirement of skilled personnel and limited availability of data analysis tools. In-house development of assays for microrna detection. RNA is more challenging to handle. High cost associated with microrna reagents and other similar products. Limited life science research infrastructure in emerging marketsGlobal MicroRNA Market: Forecast by Assay TypeOn the basis of assay type, the global microRNA market is segmented into PCR-based Assay, miRNA Arrays, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), and Immunoassay. Immunoassay segment is further segmented into Fluorescent Assays, Colorimetric Assays, and Chemiluminescent Assays. On the basis of assay type, PCR based arrays segment accounted for 34.9% market share in 2016 in terms of revenue, which is expected to increase to 36.9% by 2025 end. Next generation sequencing is expected to be the second largest segment in terms of revenue growth in microRNA market and is expected to register a CAGR of 8.1% over the forecast period.Global MicroRNA Market: Forecast by ApplicationOn the basis of application, the global microRNA market is segmented into Clinical Diagnostics and Research. Research is the largest segment in global microRNA market, which is estimated to represent US$ 275.7 Mn, or 76.1% share of the total market in 2017 and US$ 525.6 Mn, or 78.8% by 2025 end, expanding at CAGR of 8.4% over the forecast period. Research segment dominated the global microRNA market in revenue terms in 2016, and the trend is projected to continue throughout the forecast period. Research segment is expected to be the most lucrative among all end users, with attractiveness index of 1.6.Request Report Multiple Chapter @Global MicroRNA Market: Forecast by End UserOn the basis of end-user, the global microRNA market is segmented into Academic and Research Institutes, Biopharmaceutical Companies, Contract Research Organizations, and Diagnostic Centers. Academic & research institutes end user is the largest segment in global microRNA market, which is estimated to represent US$ 138.9 Mn of the total market in 2017 and is anticipate to be valued at US$ 255.9 Mn by 2025 end, expanding at CAGR of 7.9% over the forecast period. Academic & research institutes dominated the global microRNA market in revenue terms in 2016, and the trend is projected to continue throughout the forecast period.Request to Sample of Report @Global MicroRNA Market: Forecast by RegionFive regions have covered in this report such as North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC and MEA. North America is the largest region in microRNA market, which is estimated to represent US$ 140.3 Mn, or 38.7% share of the total market in 2017 and is projected to reach to US$ 245.9 Mn, or 36.9%, expanding at CAGR of 7.3% over the forecast period of 20172025. Europe is expected to be the second most lucrative market, with attractiveness index of 1.3 during the forecast period.Request for Table of Contents @Global MicroRNA Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players operating in the global microRNA market are Illumina, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Agilent Technologies, Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc.,Sigma Aldrich Corp., Qiagen N.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., HTG Molecular Diagnostics, Inc., Bioline GmbH (A Meridian Life Science Company), Rosetta Genomics Ltd., Dharmacon, a Horizon Discovery Group Co., BioVendor Laboratorni medicina a.s., Miltenyi Biotec, Kaneka Corporation (Eurogentec), Abcam Plc, GeneCopoeia, Inc., Promega Corporation, New England Biolabs, Inc., NanoString Technologies, Inc., and System Biosciences LLC.For more information @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Global Scar Treatment Market is Expected to Expand US$ 473.8 Mn in 2025 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/19357 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/multiple-chapter/19357 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/19357 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/global-scar-treatment-market-102017/toc https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/10/27/1159322/0/en/Scar-Treatment-Market-To-Reach-US-13-Billion-by-2025-Persistence-Market-Research.html www.persistencemarketresearch.com Persistence Market Research (PMR) delivers key insights and presents a revised forecast of the global scar treatment market for an eight year period from 2017 to 2025 in the report titled Scar Treatment Market: Global Industry Analysis 20122016 and Forecast 20172025. The revision in the market size and forecasts have been carried out taking into account the impact of various macroeconomic indicators and other industry-based demand-driving factors, as well as the recent developments of key market participants. The global scar treatment market is projected to expand at a healthy CAGR of 3.9 % in terms of value during the forecast period, revised from the previous CAGR of 3.8%, due to factors regarding which PMR offers useful insights in detail in this report.Key Market DynamicsThe prime drivers for the market include availability of attractive reimbursement facilities in developed markets and rising incidences of atrophic scars (primarily acne) in developing markets, primarily due to rapidly changing food habits and lifestyles. Furthermore, growing adoption of combination therapeutics is another factor expected to drive demand for various combinations of scar treatment product and treatments over the forecast period. Currently, there are no formalized guidelines for treatment of scars. All treatments are done on a best-effort basis, guided mostly through word-of-mouth by expert clinicians and surgeons. However, efforts are underway to formalize treatment guidelines at least for common scars. In this regard, under the U.K. governments cosmetic intervention guidelines, patient and patient parties need access to independent and evidence-based information to form their decisions. Many of these scar treatment and aesthetic beautification procedures are considered similar to consumer goods by both the purchaser and provider. A change in this perspective could help boost manufacturers and service providers potential revenue base.Get full report now @Barriers to the market include fragmented documented clinical evidences for popular topical products such as onion extract gels (containing silicone). This hampers the product uptake by the educated section of the patient base in both developed and developing countries. Other barriers include psychological issues such as fear of side-effects and consideration of scar treatment as a non-necessary expenditure item in the overall consumption basket. Even some of the well-known regulatory agencies do not accept scar treatments as medically necessary as they mostly are not life-changing in nature.Request Report Multiple Chapter @Market Segmentation & ForecastIn the report, the global scar treatment market is analyzed based on product-type, scar type, end-user (distribution channel), and region. Based on product type, the overall market has been segmented into topical products, laser products, surface treatment products, and injectable products. The topical product segment is further segmented into creams, gels, oils, and silicone gel sheets. The laser segment has been sub-segmented into CO2, excimer, and pulse-dyed lasers. Based on scar type, the market has been sub-segmented into atrophic scars, hypertrophic scars and keloids, contractures, and stretch marks. The distribution channels or end-users in the market include hospitals, private clinics, pharmacies and retail drug stores, and e-commerce. The market has been analyzed in terms of value. In the overall market, topical products and atrophic scars are the prime segments driving revenue growth currently. Accordingly, the topical product type segment is expected to reach a value of US$ 473.8 Mn by the end of 2025, registering a moderate CAGR over the forecast period.Request to Sample of Report @Regional ForecastBased on region, the market has been divided into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the MEA. Developed pharmaceutical markets such as the U.S. and EU are expected to emerge as the main markets for scar treatment products over the forecast period, while markets in Brazil and Central Asia are expected to witness growing adoption of laser treatments due to booming medical tourism and aesthetic corrective procedures in these regions. Increasing involvement of patients in treatment formulation processes is an important attribute being adopted by reputed physicians as it could lead to a marked improvement in adherence levels of prescribed treatments and increase treatment effectiveness. This report assesses the market trends, by product, scar type, end user and region, to offer analytical insights about the potential emerging demand for particular scar treatments in specific regions. North America is estimated to dominate the scar treatment market over the forecast period, accounting for maximum revenue share of the overall market by the end of 2015. Markets in Latin America and APAC region are estimated to expand at the most significant CAGR over the forecast period.Request for Table of Contents @Vendor LandscapeKey companies covered in this report include Smith & Nephew PLC, Merz Inc., Enaltus LLC, Occulus Innovative Sciences Inc., CCA Industries Inc., Cynosure Inc, Avita Medical Limited, Lumenis, Syneron Medical Ltd., Nutramarks Inc., Molnlycke Health Care, Pacific World Corporation, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (AC. Alma Lasers). These companies are primarily focused on enhancing their product portfolio through research and development and on the introduction of innovative and cost-effective advanced manufacturing procedures in order to gain higher market share and to strengthen their respective positions in the global market.For more information @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Biosensor Market Worth US$ 22,551.2 Mn in 2020 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3589 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/multiple-chapter/3589 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/3589 www.persistencemarketresearch.com According to a new market report published by Persistence Market Research Global Market Study on Biosensor: Asia-Pacific to Witness Highest Growth by 2020, the global biosensor market was valued at USD 12,963.6 million in 2014 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2014 to 2020, to reach an estimated value of USD 22,551.2 million in 2020.Globally, the biosensors market is witnessing significant growth due to increasing demand of point of care testing. In addition, rising prevalence of chronic and lifestyle associated diseases, growing geriatric population, increasing application of biosensors in various industries and growing application of nanotechnology in healthcare are also driving the growth of the market. In addition, emergence and demand of personalized medicine and non-invasive biosensors would also drive the growth for the market. However, strict regulatory requirements and reimbursement policy issues in healthcare system hamper growth of the global biosensors market. In addition, the regulatory process is not keeping pace with the rapid development of new medical technologies.The global biosensors market is anticipated to grow from an estimated USD 12,963.6 million in 2014 to USD 22,551.2 million in 2020 at a CAGR of 9.7% during the forecast period.Request to Sample of Report @In North America, growing aging population, increasing health awareness, rising chronic and lifestyle diseases, technological developments for various home use applications, and appropriate insurance coverage are driving the use of biosensor devices in the market.In Europe, the biosensors device market is driven by rising diagnostic requirements due to increasing lifestyle associated diseases, aging population and improving healthcare infrastructure. On the other hand, increasing healthcare costs has shifted the focus of healthcare from hospitals to home, which would increase the use of biosensors devices in the region.Request Report Multiple Chapter @However, Asia is becoming one of the most attractive markets for medical device companies. The growth for biosensor devices in Asia is much higher than developed countries due to widening health insurance penetration, large population base and up-gradation of health care systems.Abbott Laboratories, Inc, Siemens Healthcare, Nova Biomedical Corporation, Bayer AG, Johnson and Johnson, Medtronic, Inc. and Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd. are some of the major players of biosensors market.Get full report now @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Diabetic Nephropathy Market Worth US$ 3,145.9 Mn in 2020 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3594 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/multiple-chapter/3594 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/3594 www.persistencemarketresearch.com Diabetic nephropathy is a disease of the kidney glomerulus and one of the most significant complications in terms of mortality and morbidity for patients with diabetes. Diabetic nephropathy is mainly characterized by macroalbuminuria. The presence of over 300 milligrams of albumin in the urine in 1 day is known as macroalbuminuria. Globally, the diabetic nephropathy market is witnessing significant growth due to rise in the incidence of diabetes and obesity in different regions of the world. In addition, increasing R&D investments in drug discovery and development by various companies, such as Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma is also driving the growth of the market. However, stringent regulatory requirements and longer approval time for drugs as well as the lack of comprehensive therapeutic management for diabetic nephropathy are inhibiting the growth of diabetic nephropathy market. The global diabetic nephropathy market is estimated at USD 2,262.2 million in 2014. It is likely to grow at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2014 to 2020 to reach USD 3,145.9 million in 2020.Request to Sample of Report @North America has the largest market for the global diabetic nephropathy market. However, In terms of growth, Asia is the fastest growing region. Disease Modifying Therapies (DMT) is the largest and fastest growing mode of treatment, whereas ACE inhibitors, is the largest and fastest growing DMT of diabetic nephropathy.Request Report Multiple Chapter @North American market is estimated at USD 931.0 million in 2014 and is expected to reach USD 1,302.0 million in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2014 to 2020.The global DMT market is estimated at USD 2,093.5 million in 2014 and is expected to reach USD 2,929.8 million in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2014 to 2020.Get full report now @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: China Condom Market, Industry Development Scenario and Forecast to 2024 Market Research Reports Search Engine https://www.mrrse.com/sample/2102 https://www.mrrse.com/china-condom-market https://www.mrrse.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has recently publicized a new study to its vast repository, which is titled as Condom Market - China Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024. In this report, the global condom industry market is valued at USD 1.84 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 5.04 billion by the end of 2024, growing at a CAGR of 12.0% between 2016 and 2024.Click Here, To Get Sample Copy of New Research Market Report @The condom industry in China is expected to witness significant growth owing to the rising average income of consumers and the demand for a better quality of life. China is a huge market for international condom manufacturers and brand enterprises. In addition, emphasis on public education about the use of condoms in preventing HIV and other known sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is an imperative part of government supported efforts to stop AIDS in China. The countrys plan to control, treat, and prevent HIV/AIDS for the period 2011 to 2015 estimates that approximate 90% of the key population is at higher risk, and 85% of urban residents aged between 15 to 60, and 80% of rural residents of the same group should be made aware about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV by 2015. In order to implement this plan, the government has planned on providing condoms or condom vending machines in 90% of hotels and other unspecified public areas by 2015. Endorsement by popular celebrities about prevention of AIDS by using condoms is another effective method to educate the masses about safe sex.Moreover, female condoms are used as a contraceptive and as a preventive measure against sexually transmitted diseases. According to the Centre for Young Womens Health (CYWH) which is a partnership between the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine and the Division of Gynaecology at Boston Childrens Hospital, the accuracy of a female condom is almost 95% if used properly. These products are also effective in preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Their effectiveness as contraception and as a barrier for the entry of STI causing pathogens, coupled with female and active responsibility linked with female condoms for preventing pregnancy are some of the factors encouraging women to use female condoms.Further, a Chinese company Dahua Medical Apparatus Companyproducing female condoms has been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Population Fund for global distribution as another effective and safe form of contraception. Female condoms in China are on the governments purchase list and they are usually distributed by local family planning groups. Although market for female condoms is on the lower side, the demand is rising at a steady pace. Consumer preference for female condoms has shown a positive impact on the condoms market in China.Click here, To Get Complete Examined Research Report with TOC @In addition, strengthening economic conditions in China has led to an increase in the average income of consumers and that in turn has resulted in aspiration for a better quality of lifestyle among the residents of China. This factor has in turn fuelled the demand for condoms among the Chinese population, and the demand is only expected to go up in terms of quality and quantity. Therefore, China is considerable an attractive market for brand enterprises and international condom manufacturers.Polyurethane, polyisoprene, lamb skin and pu leather are some of the materials that are majorly used to manufacture condoms. PU leather accounted for the lowest market share among the material types of condoms accounting for less than 5% of the total condom market in China. Condoms are very sensitive to high temperature and can melt if exposed to direct sunlight or a direct heat source and they should not be carried around in a wallet which is placed next to the body. They should be stored at a room temperature, usually between 55 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.The key players operating in the China condom market are, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc England, U.K.), Ansell Ltd (Richmond, Australia), Karex Industries Sdn. Bhd (Johor, Malaysia), The Female Health Company Ltd. (Illinois, The U.S.), Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (Erwing, The U.S.), HLL Life Care Ltd. (Thiruvananthapuram, India.), Thai Nippon rubber Industru Co. Ltd (Sathon, Bangkok), Fuji Latex Co. Ltd (Tokyo, Japan), Geaphic Armor LLC (Florida, U.S.) and Sagami Rubber Industries. (Atsugi, Japan) among others.The Asia Pacific and Latin America sugar confectionery market can be segmented as follows;-China Condom Market, by MaterialLatexPolyurethanePolyisoprenePU LeatherLamb IntestineOthersChina Condom Market, by End UseMale CondomsFemale CondomsChina Condom Market, by Product TypeFlavoured CondomsStudded CondomsEdible CondomsWarming CondomsColoured CondomsOthersAbout Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market 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: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At: 34 More Institutes Besides NLUs to Accept CLAT 2018 Scores for Admission CLAT 2018 Delhi 22 May 2018 (Press Release) - Those who are interested to make the career in the field of Law must appear for CLAT. Common Law Admission Test is the national level entrance exam, for which around 50000 candidates apply.A general perception is that through CLAT, admission is allowed in NLUs, however, there are 34 more universities which acknowledge the score of the examination. These organizations have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CLAT office and use the scores for admission.To assist law aspirants, AglaSem presents the complete list of institutes which accept the CLAT score. Candidates can go through this list and choose their institute accordingly.Institutes other than NLUs which will accept CLAT 2018 score are:1. Alliance University, Bangalore2. Amity University, Uttar Pradesh3. Asian Law College, Noida4. K.N. Modi University, Rajasthan5. Faculty of Law, Marwadi University, Rajkot6. Geeta Institute of Law, Panipat7. Gitam School of Law, Visakhapatnam8. Harlal School of Law, Greater Noida9. ICFAI University, Tripura10. IIMT University, Meerut11. Indore Institute of Law, Indore12. Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad13. Institute of Legal Studies and Research, GLA University, Mathura14. ISBR Law College, Bangalore15. Jims Engineering Management Technical Campus (JEMTEC) School of Law, Greater Noida16. Kalinga University, Faculty of Law, Naya Raipur17. Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University18. Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida19. Maharishi University of Information Technology, Delhi NCR20. Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phoole University, MJRP Academy of Law, Jaipur21. Mewar Law Institute, Ghaziabad22. NIMT Vidhi Evam Kanoon Sansthan (NIMT Institute of Method and Law), Greater Noida23. Raffles University, Neemrana, Rajasthan24. Renaissance Law College, Indore25. Reva University, Bangalore26. RNB Global University, Bikaner27. Sandip University, Nashik28. Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary (SGT) University, Gurugram29. Siddhartha Law College, Dehradun30. SRM University, Haryana31. The NorthCap University, Gurgaon32. Unitedworld School of Law, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar33. Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur34. Xavier University, BhubaneswarEvery year, one NLU conducts the exam and next year the responsibility for organizing the exam is shifted to another NLU. In total, 19 NLUs accept the score of the examination but NLU Delhi conducts AILET for admission. It is a separate entrance examination, the score of which is only accepted by NLU Delhi for B.A., LL.B. and LL.M. admission.National Law Universities that accept CLAT score are:1. NLSIU Bangalore2. NALSAR Hyderabad3. NLIU Bhopal4. WBNUJS Kolkata5. NLU Jodhpur6. HNLU Raipur7. GNLU Gandhinagar8. RMLNLU Lucknow9. CNLU Patna10. RGNUL Punjab11. NUALS Kochi12. NLUO Odisha13. NUSRL Ranchi14. NLUJA Assam15. DSNLU Visakhapatnam16. TNNLS Tiruchirappalli17. MNLU Mumbai18. MNLU Nagpur19. MNLU AurangabadCLAT which is also the most competitive one. National Law Universities (NLUs) conduct the exam for UG Law admission in 3 and 5-year L.L.B courses. This year, CLAT 2018 held on May 13, 2018, in around 65 centres across India. It is estimated that more than 40000 candidates appeared for the exam. The exam held in online mode. The exam duration was of 2 hours, in which candidates had to solve multiple choice questions.Those candidates who qualify CLAT get admission in more than 2400 UG and 624 PG courses. The result of CLAT will be announced by May 31, 2018, and after it, the counselling will begin.CLAT is conducted by NLUs for LLB and LLM admission 19 NLUs consider the score of Common Law Admission Test but other than these 34 more institutes accept the score.For media contact Name: Kirti YadavContact No.: 0124-4717818Email Id: pr@aglasem.comAglasem is the largest student guidance portal, get updates and preparation material for school studies, entrance exams, college admissions, government jobs, talent search exams, Olympiads.Kirti Yadavpr@aglasem.com804 Park Centra,Gurgaon Sec 30,HaryanaPh: +0124-4717818 Market Trend : Craft Beer Market in the US Grow at a CAGR of 17.69% by Revenue During the Period 2017-2021 https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1267353 https://www.researchmoz.us/craft-beer-market-in-the-us-2017-2021-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/craft-beer-market-in-the-us-2017-2021-report.html https://marketinfo247.wordpress.com/ Albany, NY, 22nd May : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Craft Beer Market in the US 2017-2021" globally.Craft beer is the variant of beer that is brewed in a traditional fashion and is usually produced in small quantities. The production of craft beer usually takes place in microbreweries and regional craft breweries dedicated for craft beer manufacturing. Craft beer is usually made with traditional ingredients such as malted barley.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @The majority of Americans live within 10 miles of a craft brewery. The beer tourism promoted by craft breweries is gaining popularity among the consumers and is expected to attract more consumers to craft beer.Technavios analysts forecast the craft beer market in the US to grow at a CAGR of 17.69% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the craft beer market in the US for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the sale of craft beer to individual consumers.Technavio's report, Craft Beer Market in the US 2017-2021, 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.View Complete TOC with tables & Figures @Key vendorsAnheuser-Busch InBevBoston BeerD.G. Yuengling & SonsSierra NevadaNew Belgium BrewingOther prominent vendorsBell's BreweryBrooklyn BreweryDeschutes BreweryDogfish Head Craft BreweryMinhas BreweryNew Glarus Brewing CompanyOskar Blues Brewing HoldingStone BrewingSweetWater BrewingMarket driverIncreasing number of craft breweriesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeHigh price of craft beerFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendIncreasing dependence on technology throughout the value chainFor a full, detailed list, view our reportBrowse Report @Key questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 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 vendors?ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. Nachiket Ghumare,ResearchMoz,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States,Tel: +1-518-621-2074,USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948,Email: sales@researchmoz.us,Follow me on : Top IT Firm DCI Launches Infographic on Blockchain Technology https://www.dotcominfoway.com/blog/growth-and-facts-of-blockchain-technology Leading IT and digital marketing company Dot Com Infoway (DCI) has recently launched an infographic titled Blockchain: Growth, Use Cases & Facts, where it brings to fore the benefits and applications of blockchain in various industries including finance, healthcare, cloud storage, cyber security, etc.Blockchain, the technology that powered Bitcoin, offers a lot of exciting opportunities for the future. Blockchain technology can be used for inter-organizational data management that can iron out the creases in the supply chain as efficiently as it can be used to secure the process of digital voting. The possibilities are countless, says Mr. Venkatesh C.R., Managing Director, and CEO of DCI.The infographic employs simple language and interesting graphics to explain how a blockchain operates. It also shares examples of global giants such as Walmart, Maersk, British Airways, UPS and FedEx who are employing the technology in various processes to smoothen their operations. The research for the infographic has been sourced from JAXenter, TechRepublic and The Enterprisers Project.According to statistics, the global blockchain market is expected to be worth $20 billion in the year 2024. Yet, most of us remain ignorant about the applications of blockchain beyond Bitcoin, says Mr. Venkatesh. The infographic presents hard facts from around the world to demonstrate how businesses, as well as governments, are leveraging the technology for more secure transactions and seamless operations in the future, he adds.In addition to providing the best in class services to its clients, DCI works on the core philosophy of knowledge sharing. The company regularly publishes white papers, e-books, and infographics on new and emerging trends and concepts that are fun to read and easy to understand. The latest infographic covers information and uses of blockchain technology across the world. In addition to explaining what blockchain is all about and how it works, the infographic covers the growth of blockchain across industries that readers would find quite inspiring.View full infographic hereDot Com Infoway is an award-winning IT and digital marketing company with offices in US and India. The CMMI Level 3 company is a leading force in software development, web and mobile applications development and promotions and digital marketing. Since its inception more than 15 years ago, the company has served over 1,000 clients and is a constant path of growth and expansion.Plot No 3, Vaigai Colony I FloorAnna NagarMadurai - 625020 Glass Bottles Market to Grow at CAGR of 4.9% through 2022 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-5122 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5122 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Compared to plastic bottles, glass bottles demonstrate diminutive competency with respect to their characteristics as a packaging commodity. Despite this, the global demand for glass bottles continues to surge like the effervescence of carbonated drinks. Consumers in developed markets such as Europe still prefer buying beer, wine or non-alcoholic beverages in glass bottles. Unlike plastic bottles, glass bottles continue to be identified for their characteristic advantage in terms of hygiene, aesthetic appeal, durability, and being impermeable.Request For TOC @Manufacturers of food and beverage products are actively adopting glass bottles as their packaging solutions, considering how these bottles can keep the item intact and also retain its true flavour over a long time period. Being diffusion-resistant, glass bottles have also been viewed as vital containers for storing volatile compounds, highly-reactive detergents and bleaching agents. Such products are predominantly used by consumers in the form of pharmaceuticals, domestic surfactants, and cosmetic goods.According to Future Market Insights, the demand for glass bottles will soar steadily over the next five years. By 2022, the global glass bottles market is anticipated to have reached a value of US$ 71 billion, reflecting a CAGR of 4.9%. The report also projects that Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) will remain at the forefront of market expansion during the forecast period.APEJ to Showcase Promising Opportunities for Glass Bottle ManufacturersThe report reveals that APEJ will remain the largest market for glass bottles through 2022. The region will particularly exhibit higher participation of companies, considering the competitive advantage of manufacturing glass bottles in low-wage countries such as China and India. The APEJ region is also viewed lucrative for manufacturing of glass bottles owing to ample availability of resources, increasing production of raw silica, and favourable industrial regulations. Over the forecast period, the APEJ glass bottles market is anticipated to grow robustly by registering a CAGR of 6.6%.North America, on the other hand, will be exhibiting a moderate growth in its glass bottle sales. Despite the booming food & beverage consumption in the US, North Americas glass bottles sales are anticipated to procure close to US$ 15 billion revenues by the end of 2022. Europe is also anticipated to show sluggish growth in terms of glass bottle sales across packaging applications. The report further projects that by the end of forecast period, Japans glass bottle market will have reached a value of US$ 2.3 billion.Key highlights from the report:The report projects that application of glass bottles in packaging of ready-to-drink beverages will gain impressive traction in 2017 and beyondIn 2017, more than one-fifth share of global revenues procured will be accounted by application of glass bottles in packaging of beersThroughout the forecast period, manufacturers will focus on producing glass bottles through moulding processesRequest For Sample @Towards the end of the forecast period, tubular manufacturing of glass bottles will witness a considerable dip in terms of adoptionThe report has profiled leading manufacturers of glass bottles in the global market. Companies profiled in the report include: Central Glass Co., Ltd., Consol Glass (Pty) Ltd., Vitro SAB de CV, Frigo Glass Jebel Ali Fzco, Owens-Illinois, Inc., Hng Float Glass Limited, Ardagh Group SA, AGI Glasspack Limited, Vidrala SA, and BA Vidro, S.A. Over the next five years, several manufacturers are anticipated to adopt new bottle designs and innovative manufacturing process while striving to compete with the outpacing adoption of plastic bottles in the packaging world.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: The wait is almost over! DevOpsCon 2018 opens its doors next week in Berlin DevOps Conference takes place between May 28th and 31st, 2018 in Berlin. The conference features more than 50 sessions and keynotes by international speakers and industry experts.Berlin, 5/22/2018 DevOpsCon 2018 celebrates all the technologies that are essential to the current growth of high performance IT, from microservices and continuous delivery to container and cloud technologies. At DevOpsCon, you can learn more about modern lean business culture, innovative infrastructure, and agile processes through hands-on workshops, sessions, and keynotes.Cooperation between teams is essential for holistic product development. Switching to a DevOps approach means a world with shorter delivery cycles, faster changes of functionality and a higher software quality. Adopting DevOps is essential for staying competitive in the field. However, effectively bringing teams from different fields together is not so easy. Improve your DevOps skills at DevOps Con, with over 50 sessions, keynotes, and workshops in a wide variety of subjects.Participants at the DevOpsCon 2018 will be able to take in sessions across seven different DevOps tracks: Business & Company Culture, Cloud Platforms & Serverless, Container Technologies, Continuous Delivery, Logging, Monitoring & Analytics, Security and Microservices.DevOpsCon has a proven track record of satisfied attendees, which is why tickets are selling out fast! Tickets for our power workshops are nearly gone, so youd better hurry! Highlights from this years lineup include keynotes from Charity Majors, Observability for emerging infra: what got you here wont get you there; Greg Bledsoe, Use DevOps to identify, embrace, and drive exponential Change; Chad Arimura, CI/CD in a Serverless World; and Karsten Duch Production ready Kubernetes, easy as beatmaking. All our speakers are well-versed in DevOps environments: some as infrastructure experts or application developers in the cloud, others as transformation consultants for companies.Unlimited possibilities are waiting for our visitors at the DevOpsCon 2017! So get ready for a new fantastic edition of the DevOpsCon and join us at the conference on May 29th in Berlin!EXCLUSIVE SPECIALSCompany Team Discount: Receive an additional 10% discount when registering with 3+ colleagues.Extra Specials: Freelancers and employees of scientific institutions benefit from individual offers if youre interested, just send us an email to aushakova@sandsmedia.com.Software & Support Media is an international publishing house with the focus on the IT sector. The companys information and service offer is tailored to IT- professionals of all important technology markets.For many years Software & Support Media Group has been sharing its knowledge and is a reliable partner for the industry. Through our media offer, leading companies continuously find out about important impulses to further their innovations and development guaranteeing them a competitive advantage.Software & Support Media GmbHGustav-Meyer-Allee 2513355 BerlinGermanyAnastasiia Ushakova Flow Chemistry Market Overview, Product Type and Opportunities to 2022 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1714490 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Latest Research Report EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Flow Chemistry Market 2017 Forecast to 2022 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"In Flow Chemistry, two or more reagents are continuously pumped into a flow-reactor, where they mix and subsequently react under thermal control. Flow Chemistry has some major advantages. Mixing can be achieved within seconds and reaction temperature can raised above the solvent's boiling point, resulting in faster reactions. Flow Chemistry enables excellent reaction selectivity. The rapid diffusion mixing avoids the issues found in batch reactors. The high surface area to volume ratio (1000x greater than a batch reactor) enables almost instantaneous heating or cooling and therefore ultimate temperature control, resulting in cleaner products.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Flow Chemistry in EMEA market, covering Europe, Middle East and Africa, This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversChemitrixSyrrisVapourtecThalesNanoUniqsis LtdYMC EngineeringAM TechnologyHEL GroupFutureChemistryMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversEurope (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Turkey)Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran)Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria)Market Segment by Type, coversContinuous Stirred Tank Reactors (CSTR)Plug Flow Reactors (PFR)Micro reactor systems (MRT)OthersGet Sample Copy of this report @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoChemical industryPharmaceuticalAcademic & ResearchOthersThere are 13 Chapters to deeply display the EMEA Flow Chemistry market.Chapter 1, to describe Flow Chemistry Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Flow Chemistry, with sales, revenue, and price of Flow Chemistry, 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 EMEA market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Flow Chemistry, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, to analyze the market by regions, manufacturers, type and application, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 8 and 9, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 10, Flow Chemistry market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 11, 12 and 13, to describe Flow Chemistry research findings and conclusion, sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data sourceAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Multi-Depth Corrugated Box Market Will hit at a CAGR of 6.6% from 2017 to 2027 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-5242 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5242 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Corrugated material is manufactured of 3 different layers of paper such as outside liner, inside liner and fluting that is fixed in between these two liners. The corrugated medium also known as container board provides strength to the box.A recently released report on global multi-depth corrugated box market offered by Future Market Insights delivers key insights on the market over the forecast period. The global market is anticipated to grow at 6.6% CAGR throughout the assessment period (2017-2027). This growth of the market is attributed to number of factors that are influencing growth of the market, on which FMI delivers detailed insights in this report.Request For TOC @Segmentation of Multi-Depth Corrugated Box MarketThe market has been segmented based on capacity type, end-user board type, and strength type. Based on the capacity type, market has been fragmented into more than 300 lbs, 180 to 300 lbs, 80 to 180 lbs, and 80 lbs. Segmentation of the market on the basis of strength type includes heavy duty double wall (48 ECT), & heavy duty (44 ECT), standard (32 ECT), and normal (Below 32 ECT). Based on wall type, the market has been segmented into triple wall, and double wall & single wall. Moreover, the market based on end-user has been segmented into glassware & ceramics, home care & personal care, food & beverages, textiles, automotive, consumer electronics. The report includes trends fueling expansion of each segment at global level as well as delivers prospective takeaways that are likely to verify significantly useful for business partners of value chain, planning to enter into the market.The single wall segment, by board type is anticipated to retain its dominance in the market, in terms of market share, witnessing an estimated value share of nearly two-third by the end of 2027. This leads to the expansion of 110 basis points in the share of market over year 2917.Up to 80 lbs segment, by capacity type is anticipated to exhibit incremental opportunity of nearly US$ 480 Mn throughout the assessment period.The standard 32 ECT segment, based on strength is projected to remain popular in the market, reflecting high single-digit CAGR over the assessment period.The food & beverage industry, among end-user segments is forecasted to remain most lucrative, procuring more than two-fifth market share by the end of 2027.Regional OverviewThe market of multi-depth corrugated box in the North America consists of country level investigation for Canada and the U.S. Throughout the assessment period, the market in the U.S. is anticipated to expand at single-digit CAGR. The country level analysis of the Latin America market compresses Mexico, Brazil and rest of Latin America. The market in the Brazil is anticipated to expand at single-digit CAGR on the back of critical challenges confronted by the countries in the region, throughout the assessment period. Country level analysis of European market includes BENELUX, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Russia, U.K., and Rest of Europe. Russia, U.K., France, Germany and Italy secured substantial share of the European market. Moreover, the country level analysis of the Middle East and Africa region includes South Africa, North Africa, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Algeria, Turkey, and Rest of MEA. Owing to huge increment in food & beverage industry, the market in GCC region is experiencing considerable growth. The market in APEJ region includes country level analysis of India, China, New Zealand, Australia, and rest of the APEJ. APEJ is anticipated to remain most lucrative in the global market over the assessment period. The market in ASEAN and India is growing due to increasing trends for packaged food and shopping through e-commerce sites.Request For Sample @Competitive LandscapeThe report has profiled several leading players effective in the market such as Minnesota Corrugated Box, Inc., Georgia-Pacific LLC, Aylesbury Box Company, Oji Holdings Corporation, Acme Corrugated Box Co. Inc., VPK Packaging Group nv, Shillington Box Co., LLC, Great Little Box Company Ltd., Smurfit Kappa Group Plc, WestRock Company, Uline, Inc., Wertheimer Box Corporation, A.D. Inc. of Milwaukee, Bee Packaging, DS Smith Packaging Limited, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd, Pratt Industries, Inc., Action Box Inc., Shanghai DE Printed Box, and International Paper.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: Exosome Diagnostics and Therapeutics: Global Markets Forecasting to 2023 Key Players Codiak BioSciences, Evox Therapeutics, Exosome Diagnostics, Inc., HansaBioMed https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3186718-exosome-diagnostics-and-therapeutics-global-markets https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/3186718-exosome-diagnostics-and-therapeutics-global-markets https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=3186718 https://www.wiseguyreports.com Exosome Diagnostics and Therapeutics IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds Exosome Diagnostics and Therapeutics -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecast To 2023 To Its Research DatabaseInitially, exosome particles were considered garbage molecules secreted by cells. Today, many researchers are convinced that these tiny vesicles have unlimited potential in diagnostics and therapeutics, especially in oncology treatments.By definition, exosomes are small membrane sacs/vesicles, approximately 30 to 100 nanometers (nm) in diameter, that are released by both healthy and cancerous cells. Substances from cell cytoplasm, such as genomic DNA, various RNA species, proteins and lipids are encapsulated into exosomes and shed into the extracellular environment.Research shows that all fluids in the human body contain exosomes which can transfer cytoplasmic ingredients to other cells either locally or at distant sites. Once reaching the recipient cells, cytoplasmic ingredients can alter their biology.Scientists believe that various biomolecules in exosomes can be profiled and, consequently, may serve as useful biomarkers for different diseases. Nucleic acids such as RNA or DNA can be isolated from exosomes and further analyzed by various techniques.Overall, the market for the exosome approach can be divided into three main categories: diagnostics, therapeutics, and research tools and is evaluated at REDACTED (see Summary Table below), with the potential to increase to REDACTED in the next five years with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of REDACTED.This report evaluates the diagnostics market affected by exosome research and further potential of exosome-based tests and assays. Indeed, an exosomes approach represents the opportunity to expand and develop the liquid biopsy market, a growing sector in cancer diagnostics.This report also highlights developments in therapeutics and drug development sectors. There is a significant potential for using exosome depletion as a way of treating disease; cancer-generated exosomes can inhibit the immune response and stimulate angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels. Consequently, if these exosomes are removed, tumor growth might be inhibited, and anticancer agents can work more efficiently.Request for Sample Report @In addition, there is a potential for exosomes to be used as targeted delivery vehicles of therapeutic molecules to cancer cells; for example, delivering small interfering RNA-specific molecules (siRNA) for a particular oncogene expressed in a tumor cell.Life science tool companies develop unique research tools for exosome detection and isolation. Current products offered in this area of industry are discussed in this report.Although many scientific questions still need to be answered, exosomes serve as a novel and unique platform in the diagnostics and therapeutic sectors. Altogether, exosomes offer a new alternative to current diagnostics and drug development technologies.Report ScopeThis report represents a current and important business tool to evaluate new commercial opportunities in the exosome diagnostic, therapeutic and research tools markets. The geographic scope of this study covers the U.S. and companies worldwide. This market is complex and consists of a number of different sectors, each affected differently by scientific and technological development. The report identifies the main positive and negative factors in each sector and forecasts further trends and product and assay development in every category of this industry.Report Includes- 35 data tables and 35 additional tables- An overview of the global markets and related technologies for exosome diagnostics and therapeutics- Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2016 to 2017, estimates for 2018, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2023- Breakdowns of new and existing diagnostic methods- Evaluations of current therapeutics and those likely to be utilized in the near future- Analyses of the markets dynamics, specifically growth drivers, restraints, and opportunities- Company profiles of major players in the market, including Codiak BioSciences, Evox Therapeutics, Exosome Diagnostics, Inc., HansaBioMed, NonosomiX, Inc. and System Biosciences (SBI)CODIAK BIOSCIENCESEVOX THERAPEUTICS LTD.EXOSOME DIAGNOSTICS INC.HANSABIOMED LIFE SCIENCES LTD. (LONZA)NANOSOMIX INC.SYSTEM BIOSCIENCES (SBI)Leave a Query @Table of ContentsChapter 1 IntroductionStudy Goals and ObjectivesReasons for Doing This StudyScope of ReportInformation Sources and MethodologyIntended AudienceAnalyst's CredentialsRelated BCC Research ReportsChapter 2 Summary and HighlightsChapter 3 Market and Technology BackgroundChapter 4 Exosome Diagnostics MarketChapter 5 Exosome Therapeutic MarketChapter 6 Exosome Reagents and Research Tools MarketMarket OverviewIsolation Methodologies and Reagents for ExosomeDetection Methodologies and Reagents for Exosome ResearchCharacterization Methods and Reagents for Exosome ResearchEngineering Methods and Reagents for Exosome ResearchAdditional Products and Reagents for Exosome ResearchMarket Participants for Reagents and Tools for Exosome Research101BioAMSBIOCell Guidance SystemsCiloaEvomic ScienceExcytexExoCanHansaBiomed (Lonza)IZON ScienceNanoSight (Malvern Instruments)Nanoview BiosciencesSystem Biosciences (SBI)Additional Market Participants for Reagents and Tools for Exosome ResearchEvaluation of Current Tools and Reagents Sector in the Exosome MarketChapter 7 Impact of Exosome Research on Specific Biopharmaceuticals MarketChapter 8 Patent Review/ New DevelopmentsChapter 9 Market SummaryChapter 10 Company ProfilesCODIAK BIOSCIENCESEVOX THERAPEUTICS LTD.EXOSOME DIAGNOSTICS INC.HANSABIOMED LIFE SCIENCES LTD. (LONZA)NANOSOMIX INC.SYSTEM BIOSCIENCES (SBI)List of TablesBuy Now @Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)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 LtdPune 411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042 HbA1c Testing Device Market Overview, Product Type and Opportunities to 2022 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1714493 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Latest Research Report EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) HbA1c Testing Device Market 2017 Forecast to 2022 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"HbA1c levels, which reflect the average plasma glucose concentration over the preceding three months, play a pivotal role in the diagnosis, assessment, and monitoring of diabetes.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the HbA1c Testing Device in EMEA market, covering Europe, Middle East and Africa, This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversAbbott LaboratoriesRocheSiemensTosohDanaher CorporationBio-Rad LaboratoriesTrinity BiotechHUMAN DiagnosticsArkrayOSANG HealthcareErba DiagnosticsPTS DiagnosticsGREEN CROSS MEDISLiteon TechnologyDiaSys DiagnosticEKF DiagnosticsConvergent TechnologiesGet Sample Copy of this report @Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversEurope (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Turkey)Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran)Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria)Market Segment by Type, coversBench-topCompactPortableMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoHospitalHomecareOtherThere are 13 Chapters to deeply display the EMEA HbA1c Testing Device market.Chapter 1, to describe HbA1c Testing Device Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of HbA1c Testing Device, with sales, revenue, and price of HbA1c Testing Device, 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 EMEA market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of HbA1c Testing Device, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, to analyze the market by regions, manufacturers, type and application, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 8 and 9, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 10, HbA1c Testing Device market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 11, 12 and 13, to describe HbA1c Testing Device research findings and conclusion, sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data sourceAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global dermatology medical device market is expected to garner USD 16.8 Billion by the end of 2023 https://www.researchnester.com/sample-request/2/rep-id-229 https://www.researchnester.com/toc-request/1/rep-id-229 https://www.researchnester.com/reports/dermatology-medical-device-market-global-demand-growth-analysis-opportunity-outlook-2023/229 Dermatology medical devices are used in clinics and hospitals for the diagnosis of skin related diseases. These devices are also used to detect skin cancer. The global market for dermatology device is anticipated to be one of the staunchest markets in near future.Introduction of various compact dermatology medical devices in the global market is swelling the demand among hospitals and specialty dermatology clinics. The market of dermatology devices is majorly driven on the back of advanced and user-friendly devices. Positive growth in healthcare sectors backed by increasing investments in research and development is likely to help the manufacturers to introduce cost-effective and enhanced dermatology devices. These factors further strengthened the market of dermatology medical devices across the globe.Market size and forecastThe market of dermatology device was worth USD 6.6 Billion in 2015 and the market is further anticipated to reach USD 16.8 Billion by 2023. Further, the global dermatology device market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 10.6% over the forecast period i.e. 2016-2023. The hair removal segment is expected to reach USD 935.2 Million by 2023 on account of rising prevalence of polycystic disorders in women.The market of dermatology device is primarily impelled by the rising consumer awareness towards advanced dermatology devices. However, rising demand for dermatology devices for cosmetic surgery is driving the growth of dermatology device market globally.Request Free Sample Pages@The market of dermatology device is dominated by North-America followed by Europe & Asia-Pacific region. Rising awareness among the population and increasing demand for cosmetic surgery in the region of North-America is fostering the growth of dermatology device market. Likewise, increasing healthcare expenditure in Asia-Pacific region makes it the fastest growing market across the globe. Rising incidents of skin diseases and increasing geriatric population across the region is expected to spur the demand for dermatology devices during the forecast period i.e. 2016-2023.Urbanization and increasing penetration of smart cities across the globe are increasing the demand for advanced healthcare sector to minimize the burden of diseases. Awareness among the population towards skin diseases is probably increasing the patients in hospitals and clinic for diagnosis and treatment purposes. Hospitals and clinics are shifting towards sophisticated and advanced diagnosis and treatment technology devices to provide better cure and treat to the patients. Thus, dermatology devices are in demand in various specialty dermatology clinics and hospitals.Market SegmentationOur in-depth analysis segmented the global dermatology device Market in the following segments:By DevicesBy Diagnostic DevicesDermatoscopesMicroscopesImaging DevicesBy Treatment DevicesLasersFractionalDiodeInfraredPulsedRF DevicesLight Therapy DevicesElectro Surgical EquipmentMicrodermabrasion DevicesLiposuction DevicesCryotherapy DevicesBy ApplicationVascular LesionsTattoo RemovalHair RemovalWrinkle RemovalScar RemovalAcne RemovalSkin RejuvenationBody Contouring & Fat RemovalOther treatment applicationsBy End-UserHospitalsDermatology ClinicsPrivate ClinicsGrowth Drivers and challengesIncrease in aging population is predicted to trigger the prevalence of skin diseases such as melanocytes. Apart from this, rising cases of skin ulcers due to lack of awareness towards hygiene are some of the factors driving the market of dermatology devices across the globe.Additionally, factors such as introduction of cost-effective and portable dermatology devices and rising preferences by physicians towards dermatology devices are prompting the demand for dermatology devices. Rising popularity of dermatology devices on account of its features and wide scale application for skin diseases are expected to bolster the demand for dermatology devices over the forecast period i.e. 2016-2023.Growing prevalence of skin disorders is increasing the need for diagnosis and treatment. The dermatology devices offer the diagnosis and treatment facilities which help the physicians to provide appropriate and effective care to the patients. On the back of these features, dermatology devices are gaining traction among physicians and hospitals.Request Free Table of Contents Here:Moreover, increasing healthcare spending owing to growing concern towards cure and treatment of skin disorders, emphasize on early diagnosis and rising demand for cosmetic surgery are some of the major key elements swelling the demand for dermatology devices.However, high cost of treatment by dermatology devices, lack of awareness in under-developed nations, presence of complexities with dermatology devices, availability of low cost substitute medication facilities and lack of skilled healthcare physicians are some of the factors restraining the market of dermatology devices across the globe.Likewise, presence of stringent regulations from the government authorities on the manufacturing of dermatology devices is curbing the market growth by restricting the entry of new players into the market of dermatology device.This report also provides the existing competitive scenario of some of the key players of the global dermatology medical device market which includes company profiling of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., Cynosure Inc., Lumenis, Syneron Candela Ltd., Avita Medical Ltd., Lutronics Corporation, Carl Zeiss, Alma Lasers, Ltd., Cutera, Inc. and Solta Medical, Inc. The profiling enfolds key information of the companies which encompasses business overview, products and services, key financials and recent news and developments. On the whole, the report depicts detailed overview of the global dermatology medical device market that will help industry consultants, equipment manufacturers, existing players searching for expansion opportunities, new players searching possibilities and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to the ongoing and expected trends in the future.Read more Information:About Research NesterResearch Nester is a leading service provider for strategic market research and consulting. We aim to provide unbiased, unparalleled market insights and industry analysis to help industries, conglomerates and executives to take wise decisions for their future marketing strategy, expansion and investment etc. We believe every business can expand to its new horizon, provided a right guidance at a right time is available through strategic minds. Our out of box thinking helps our clients to take wise decision so as to avoid future uncertainties.Contact for more Info:Ajay DanielEmail: ajay.daniel@researchnester.comU.S. +1 646 586 9123U.K. +44 203 608 5919 Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa Rental Property Management Software Market Estimated to Reach US$ 337.43 Mn by 2022, due to Increasing Demand of Cloud Based Services during the Forecast Period. https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/request_sample.php?id=42 https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=42 https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/checkout?id=42 https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/ Absolute Markets Insights offers latest published report Rental Property Management Software Market by Deployment (Cloud-based and On-premise); by Software Licensing (Subscription License, Term License and Others); by End-User (Residential and Commercial); by Regional Outlook (France, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe, GCC Countries, Southern Africa, Rest of MEA, Brazil, Rest of Latin America) Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa Insights, Industry Trends, Price Trends, Growth, Size, Supply, Demand, Comparative Analysis, Competitive Market Share and Forecast, 2018 - 2026. The author of the report analyzed that the Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa Rental Property Management Software Market accounted for US$ 188.83 million in 2017. The rising demand for rental property management software globally owing to the improved services, better client response, greater efficiency has resulted in the expansion of real estate business and it is expected to increase the adoption of rental property management software over the forecast period.For sample :-Increase in population coupled with high metropolitan migration has led to a tremendous expansion in the number of housing campuses. The age-old methods of managing these apartments are not able to meet the tremendous demand and sizes of the societies. It is essential to facilitate the management an online cloud-based user-friendly platform. Software coupled with reliable hardware allows developers to create multitenant applications with relative ease.This software has the ability to handle unexpected maintenance requests, property damage, tenant files, resident complaints, payment problems, and accounting issues. The property management software enables accurate documentation and monitors risk management issues. The software also offers historical digital records. This enables property management firms to attach and refer documents, such as pictures, videos, and statements, to increase efficiency. Increase in cyber security threat and security concerns are hindering the market growth. Moreover, rapid urbanization and growth of real estate business is anticipated to present lucrative growth opportunities to the rental property management software market during the forecast period.Cloud based deployment Anticipated to be the Dominant Segment During the Forecast Period, 2018 - 2026Among deployment type, cloud-based deployment is a dominant segment holding the largest market share. There is increasing demand of cloud-based deployment due to rapid industrialization and growing need for accurate documentation. These are factors expected in increase the adoption of cloud communication platform in healthcare industry.Rising need for Technological Advancements in Rental Property Management Software to drive the Market in EuropeEurope is estimated to be the fastest growing region in rental property management software market. This region is mainly driven by the factors such as technological advancements such as AR and VR, by which we can view the property without moving from one place to other, which leads to increasing adoption of rental property management solutions and services in the region. Moreover, increasing digital marketing, internet penetration, and property management process automation are expected to drive the European market in coming years.Rental Property Management Software Market is Fragmented with the Presence of Regional PlayersSome of the key participants in regional market are Xotelia, HIG Capital, 123Landlord.com, Record360, Rentberry, Bia Creations, ADDA.IO, Doinn, Aptmark, Current- RMS Limited, Yardi Systems Ltd Arthur Online Ltd, ALTECiSys, Avantio amongst others. In August 2017, the leading software company Record360, for digital asset condition documentation and asset condition management, announced integration with ResMan, the fast-growing property management cloud-solution.For more enquiry : Rental Property Management Software Market By Deploymento Cloud-basedo On-premise Rental Property Management Software Market By Software Licensingo Subscription Licenseo Team Licenseo Others Market By End Usero Residentialo Commercial Market By Regiono Europe France The UK Spain Germany Italy Rest of Europeo Middle East and Africa GCC Countries Southern Africa Rest of Middle East and Africao Latin America Brazil Rest of Latin AmericaBuy now :Absolute Markets Insights is a global market research company taking into account leading businesses, colleges, universities, non-profit organizations, and government foundations. Absolute Markets Insights is dedicated to presenting you an ideal blend of data parameters. Our reports depend on the research and analysis that covers a magnitude of factors, for example, industry research, market sizing and forecasts, technological advancements, innovation trends, financial growth, pricing trends, competitive insights, and an in-depth study of market segments.Our analysts are focused on providing autonomous experiences, by helping you execute better strategies with unbiased insights and conclusions, consistent specifics, and right responses to every one of the inquiries you may have. We serve customers in every aspect of the strategy, including sustainability trends, customer insights, technology evolution, distribution channel assessment, product development, exploring new markets and taking advantage of lucrative growth opportunities.Company Name:Absolute Markets IsightsAddress:1 st Floor, The Work Lab,Model Colony, Shivajinagar, Pune, MH, Pin 411016Website: Global IoT Healthcare Market is Estimated to Reach US$ 14668.59 Mn by 2022, Due to Increasing Use of Telemedicines by Patients Iot healthcare https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/request_sample.php?id=41 https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=41 https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=41 https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/checkout?id=41 Absolute Markets Insights offers its latest published report IoT Healthcare Market by Component (Medical Devices {Implanted Medical Devices, Wearable External Medical Devices, Stationary Medical Devices}, Services {Professional Services, System Integration Services, Maintenance & Support Services}, Systems and Softwares {Data Analytics, Remote Devices Management, Network Bandwidth Management, Network Security, Application Security,}); by Application Type (Clinical Operations and Workflow Management, Telemedicine {Remote Patient Monitoring, Store & Forward Telemedicine, Interactive Telemedicine}, Connected Imaging, Medication Management, Inpatient Monitoring, Others); by Connectivity Technology (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, Near Field Communication (NFC), Cellular, Satellite); by End User (Clinical Research Organization (CRO), Government and Defense Institutions, Hospitals, Surgical Centers, and Clinics, Research and Diagnostics Laboratories); by Regional Outlook (U.S., Rest of North America, France, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe, China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia Pacific, GCC Countries, Southern Africa, Rest of MEA, Brazil, Rest of Latin America) Global Insights, Growth, Size, Comparative Analysis, Trends and Forecast, 2018 - 2026. The author of the report analyzed that the Global IoT Healthcare Market accounted for US$ 8232.18 million in 2017. A number of IoT cloud providers are currently entering into the market to provide suitable and specific IoT based services.There have been cases where IoT has been successfully implemented in remote monitoring of diabetes and asthma patients, coupled with high penetration of fitness and wellness devices. This has created strong demand for the IoT in the healthcare industry.The validity and reliability of wearable devices are not always proven, especially in the case of fitness and lifestyle markets. Devices are marketed under the promise that they will help improve general health and fitness, but the majority of the manufacturers provide no empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of their products. Also, many of the wearable IoT devices are not cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Owing to all such reasons, the government has imposed strict rules and regulations for the sale and manufacture of IoT healthcare devices. This is preventing the IoT Healthcare Market from growing.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Many small to midsize businesses (SMBs) are evolving. They are demanding a technology that will help them operate more proficiently and save money. With IoT, small and medium-sized businesses will have exceptional access to new technologies, new markets, suppliers as well as customers. So, many of them are trying to incorporate IoT in their business.The Telemedicine Segment of The IoT Healthcare Market Is Expanding at Greater Pace During the Forecast PeriodThe use of telemedicine for patient monitoring even when the patient is outside hospital premises is growing rapidly. Many patients have chats and video calls with their doctors for primary care rather that physically visiting hospitals or clinics. This is causing the segment to grow rapidly. Telemedicine can be beneficial to patients in isolated communities and remote regions, who can receive care from doctors or specialists far away without the patient having to travel to visit them. Recent developments in mobile collaboration technology can allow healthcare professionals in multiple locations to share information and discuss patient issues as if they were in the same place.For more Information:North America is Dominating IoT Healthcare Market as Many Companies Are Opening Up Their Offices in The RegionMany companies have been set up in North America. Even many foreign companies are opening up their centers or distribution sites in the region. For Instance, Breathometer, Inc., a California based company launched Mint, a breathometer device that works with smartphone to help understand and improve oral health. Also, Backbone Labs, Inc. founded in 2016 uses the technology of IoT to correct the postures of users. The company is also headquartered in California. Due to the increasing number of big and small healthcare centers, cloud service providers and wellness groups, the region is dominating the market.Market is Fragmented with the Presence of Small and Large CompaniesSome of the key participants in the global IoT healthcare market are Cerner Corporation, Diabetizer Ltd. & Co. KG, Infosys Limited, Medtronic Public Limited Company, Microsoft, PhysIQ, Proteus Digital Health, Qualcomm Life, Inc., SAP SE, STANLEY Healthcare Information Solution Ltd, IBM, Philips, AdhereTech Inc., Aeris, Apple Inc., Castlight Health, Cisco Systems Inc. amongst others.Get Discount on this Report @IoT Healthcare Market By Componento Medical Devices Implanted Medical Devices Wearable External Medical Devices Stationary Medical Deviceso Services Professional Services System Integration Services Maintenance & Support Serviceso Systems and Softwares Data Analytics Remote Devices Management Network Bandwidth Management Network Security Application Security IoT Healthcare Market By Application Typeo Clinical Operations and Workflow Managemento Telemedicine Remote Patient Monitoring Store & Forward Telemedicine Interactive Telemedicineo Connected Imagingo Medication Managemento Inpatient Monitoringo Others IoT Healthcare Market By Connectivity Technologyo Wi-Fio Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)o Zigbeeo Near Field Communication (NFC)o Cellularo Satellite Market By End Usero Clinical Research Organization (CRO)o Government and Defense Institutionso Hospitals, Surgical Centers, and Clinicso Research and Diagnostics Laboratories Market By Regiono North America U.S. Rest of North Americao Europe France The UK Spain Germany Italy Rest of Europeo Asia Pacific China Japan India Southeast Asia Rest of Asia Pacifico Middle East and Africa GCC Countries Southern Africa Rest of Middle East and Africao Latin America Brazil Rest of Latin AmericaGet Full Report @:Absolute Markets Insights is a global market research company taking into account leading businesses, colleges, universities, non-profit organizations, and government foundations. Absolute Markets Insights is dedicated to presenting you an ideal blend of data parameters. Our reports depend on the research and analysis that covers a magnitude of factors, for example, industry research, market sizing and forecasts, technological advancements, innovation trends, financial growth, pricing trends, competitive insights, and an in-depth study of market segments.Our analysts are focused on providing autonomous experiences, by helping you execute better strategies with unbiased insights and conclusions, consistent specifics, and right responses to every one of the inquiries you may have. We serve customers in every aspect of the strategy, including sustainability trends, customer insights, technology evolution, distribution channel assessment, product development, exploring new markets and taking advantage of lucrative growth opportunities.1 st Floor, The Work Lab,Model Colony, Shivajinagar, Pune, MH, Pin 411016 Biometric Authentication & Identification Market Segment and Trend with Global Foresight 2020 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/748676-global-biometric-authentication-identification-market-forecast-to-2020 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/748676-global-biometric-authentication-identification-market-forecast-to-2020 www.linkedin.com/company/4828928 https://twitter.com/WiseGuyReports https://www.facebook.com/Wiseguyreports-1009007869213183/?fref=ts IntroductionGlobal Biometric Authentication & Identification has emerged as one of the fastest growing market around the globe. As the population and organizations are becoming more concerned towards the cyber security and safety, biometric authentication and identification provides a secure terminal which helps to keep place and data safe from unauthorized access. In fast couple of years, the physical security breaches have increased and due to this the global market of Biometric Authentication & Identification has rose sharply. The global market of Biometric Authentication & Identification has been valued at US $11.76 billion in the year 2015 which is expected to grow at US $25.31 billion by end of forecasted period with CAGR of 16.56%.GET SAMPLE REPORT @By Geography, The market is dominated by North America which has been valued at US $3.78 billion in year 2015 and expected to become the second largest by the end of forecast period. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at rapid CAGR of 19.92% during the forecast period and also APAC region is expected to become market leader by the end of forecast period as the demand for Consumer Electronics is increasing in these regions. Asia-Pacific is expected to reach at market size of US $7.65 billion by 2020 from US $3.09 in 2015.Key PlayersThe Key Players in the market of are- 3M, Anviz Global Apple, Inc., Aware Inc., Bio-Key International, Inc., Cognitec Systems, Crossmatch Technologies, Diamond Fortress Technologies, Fingerprint cards AB, Fujitsu Global, Fulcrum Biometrics, HID Global, Iris ID Systems, Inc., Kaba Group, M2SYS Technology, Morpho S.A., NEC Corporation, Precise Biometrics AB, Sensory, Inc., S.I.C. Biometrics Inc., Synaptics Inc. and Tyco International Ltd. among others.Global Biometric Authentication & Identification Market Analysis & Forecast, From 2016 To 2022 To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 5 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the global Biometric Authentication & Identification market Upcoming technologies, high growth geographies and countries were identified Regional and country specific demand and forecast for Biometric Authentication & Identification were studied Key segments covered in the report are: Modality, Motility, Application and Geography. Unit breakdown for all different classification was finalized; and same was referred for forecasting, keeping few assumptions into factor For all the regions: forecast demand for all applications were identified and then with historical figure, data collected through primary and annual reports were triangulated to derive the regional market size Historical trend is identified to forecast and estimate the future value dataTarget Audience Biometric Device Manufacturers Biometric Device Suppliers Software Developers Government Private Institutions Security Service ProvidersKey Findings The Global Authentication & Identification Market is expected to grow at CAGR of 16.56% from 2015 to 2020. The fingerprint modality dominated the market in 2014 and is expected to grow over $10.90 billion by the end of the forecast period By Applications, The Government segment accounted for $5.1 billion in 2015 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.79% from 2015 to 2020 By Region, Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the market by end of forecast period.Regional and Country Analysis of Biometric Authentication & Identification Market Estimation and ForecastNorth America has been the largest contributor to the revenue in the global market and is expected to grow over $7.20 billion by 2020. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.92% from 2015 to 2020 and dominate the market. The demand of biometrics product in this region is due to the government initiative of nationwide enrolment and ID issuance in countries such as India and China. Also, in Japan a huge number of biometrics ATMS have been deployed and still the process is going on.Table of Content: Key Points1 MARKET INTRODUCTION1.1 INTRODUCTION1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS1.2.3 LIMITATIONS1.3 MARKET STRUCTURE:1.3.1 GLOBAL BIOMETRIC MARKET: BY MODALITY1.3.2 GLOBAL BIOMETRIC MARKET: BY MOTILITY1.3.3 GLOBAL BIOMETRIC MARKET: BY APPLICATION1.3.4 GLOBAL BIOMETRIC MARKET: BY GEOGRAPHY2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1 RESEARCH TYPE2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH2.3 SECONDARY RESEARCH2.4 FORECAST MODEL2.4.1 MARKET DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS & FORECAST2.4.2 MARKET SIZE ESTIMATION2.4.3 MARKET CRACKDOWN & DATA TRIANGULATION3 GLOBAL BIOMETRIC MARKET: OVERVIEW3.1 INTRODUCTION3.1.1 DEFINITION3.1.2 MARKET SEGMENTATION OF BIOMETRIC MARKET4 GLOBAL BIOMETRIC MARKET, COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE4.1 KEY STRATEGIES AND DEVELOPMENTS4.1.1 ACQUISITIONS4.1.2 PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS4.1.3 PRODUCT LAUNCH4.1.4 BUSINESS EXPANSION4.1.5 OTHERS4.2 PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS4.2.1 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS4.2.2 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS4.2.3 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS4.2.4 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES4.2.5 INTENSITY OF COMPETITIVE RIVALRY5 MARKET OVERVIEWContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India Global Cloud-based Payroll Software Market Estimated to Reach US$ 11.27 Bn by 2022, due to Cloud Backup Opportunity and Higher Efficiency. https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/request_sample.php?id=36 https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=36 https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=36 https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/checkout?id=36 Absolute Markets Insights offers its latest published report Cloud-based Payroll Software Market by Application (Government Sector, Defense Sector, Education Academia Sector, BFSI Sector, IT Sector); by Product Type (Free and Open-source software, Non-free Software); by Regional outlook (U.S., Rest of North America, France, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe, China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia Pacific, GCC Countries, Southern Africa, Rest of MEA, Brazil, Rest of Latin America) Global Insights, Growth, Size, Comparative Analysis, Trends and Forecast, 2018 - 2026. The author of the report analyzed that the Global Cloud-based Payroll Software Market accounted for US$ 8.19 billion in 2017. The rising demand for efficiency in payroll system globally has resulted in the expansion of software industries for payroll and HR services. The diverse work locations of employees and rising number of SMEs and small industries is driving the market.Rather than older disaster recovery model the organizations are opting for cloud-based services, which provides the option of entire system of payroll on cloud. Rise in data protection methodologies and cost effectiveness is driving more small and medium enterprise to opt for cloud-based service. These services combined with compliance management provides uniformity over different locations.Get Sample Copy of this Report @The government has now started encouraging the use of this software in a view to achieve transparency in taxation system. This is propelling the adoption of software for payroll. Moreover, investment required for the installation of these on-demand cloud-based are low as compared to one-time investments in purchase of this software.Government Sector is Anticipated to be the Dominant Segment During the Forecast Period, 2018 - 2026Among the applications, government sector is a dominant segment holding the largest market share owing to compensatory time offs, tax reports. The ability to handle perks calculation for employees who are availing government accommodation are some of the key drivers of the cloud-based payroll software market.For more Information:Comprehensive, Flexible Software Support Encouraging Usage of Payroll Software to drive the Market in North AmericaNorth America is estimated to be the fastest growing region in cloud-based payroll software market.Automatic calculation of resultant income for group-term life insurance and process unlimited direct deposits. Government segment dominated the market in North America in 2017 and is projected to be the most attractive segment.Cloud-based Payroll Software Market is Fragmented with the Presence of Global and Regional PlayersSome of the key participants in global market are Zenefits Software, Kronos Software, PDS Vista HRMS, Vibe HCM Software, FinancialForce Software, Ascentis HR Software, Paycor Software, Sage HRMS Software, BambooHR Software, Ceridian HCM, Inc. and Criterion Software among others.Ask for discount@ Cloud-based Payroll Software Market By Applicationo Government Sectoro Defense Sectoro Education Academia Sectoro BFSI Sectoro IT Sector Cloud-based Payroll Software Market By Product Typeo Free and Open-source Softwareo Non-free Software Cloud-based Payroll Software Market By Regiono North America The U.S. Rest of North Americao Europe France The UK Spain Germany Italy Rest of Europeo Asia Pacific China Japan India South East Asia Rest of Asia Pacifico Middle East & Africa GCC Countries Southern Africa Rest of MEAo Latin America Brazil Rest of Latin AmericaBuy report@Absolute Markets Insights is a global market research company taking into account leading businesses, colleges, universities, non-profit organizations, and government foundations. Absolute Markets Insights is dedicated to presenting you an ideal blend of data parameters. Our reports depend on the research and analysis that covers a magnitude of factors, for example, industry research, market sizing and forecasts, technological advancements, innovation trends, financial growth, pricing trends, competitive insights, and an in-depth study of market segments.Our analysts are focused on providing autonomous experiences, by helping you execute better strategies with unbiased insights and conclusions, consistent specifics, and right responses to every one of the inquiries you may have. We serve customers in every aspect of the strategy, including sustainability trends, customer insights, technology evolution, distribution channel assessment, product development, exploring new markets and taking advantage of lucrative growth opportunities.1 st Floor, The Work Lab,Model Colony, Shivajinagar, Pune, MH, Pin 411016 Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether Market Entry and Expansion Strategies https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1714499 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Latest Research Report EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether Market 2017 Forecast to 2022 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"This report studies the Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether market, Hydroxybutyl vinyl ether is a colorless liquid.Hydroxybutyl vinyl ether uses and applications include: Reactive diluent for radiation-curable coatings; comonomer in specialty coatings manufacturing; monomer for tackifying adhesives; functional monomer for weathering-resistant and radiation-curing paints.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether in EMEA market, covering Europe, Middle East and Africa, This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversBASFAshlandHubei XinjingChongqing RICIMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversEurope (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Turkey)Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran)Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria)Market Segment by Type, coversNormal ProductCustomized ProductMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoFluroresinModifiersOthersGet Sample Copy of this report @There are 13 Chapters to deeply display the EMEA Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether market.Chapter 1, to describe Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether, with sales, revenue, and price of Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether, 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 EMEA market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, to analyze the market by regions, manufacturers, type and application, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 8 and 9, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 10, Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 11, 12 and 13, to describe Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether research findings and conclusion, sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data sourceAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Automotive Exhaust Systems Market to Register Steady Growth at a CAGR of 3.9% by 2027 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-706 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/REP-GB-706 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ A new research publication titled Automotive Exhaust Systems Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012-2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017-2027) by Future Market Insights presents critical market acumen on developments, trends, key players, growth drivers and revenue forecasts across important regions. A detailed market segmentation is carried out that explores every angle of the global market for automotive exhaust systems.The global automotive exhaust systems market is segmented on the basis of product type, sales channel, vehicle type, engine type and region.In the product type category, the muffler segment is the largest with respect to market share. The catalytic converter segment is projected to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period owing to several advantages that the component offers in terms of reduction in carbon emissions and air pollutants. By sales channel, the aftermarket segment is expected to surpass the OEM segment in terms of growth rate. However, the OEM segment is likely to dominate the global market with a high market valuation.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @In the vehicle type category, the passenger cars segment is highly lucrative and is estimated to reach a significant market value by the end of the year of assessment. This segment is the fastest growing and is projected to grow at a value CAGR of 4.2% throughout the period of forecast.By engine type, the gasoline engine segment is expected to dominate the global market with a high market value as well as high growth rate throughout the period of assessment.Byregion, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is the most attractive market for the growth in adoption of automotive exhaust systems. The automotive exhaust systems market in this region is projected to grow at a noteworthy CAGR during the forecast period to reach a comparatively high market valuation by the end of 2027. The automotive exhaust systems market in MEA region is projected to grow at a rapid pace.As per this research report, the global automotive exhaust systems market is expected to reach a market valuation of about US$ 36 Bn by the end of the year of assessment in 2027, from a value of just under US$ 25 Bn in 2017. The global market for automotive exhaust systems is expected to rise at a value CAGR of 3.9% throughout the period of assessment.Advancements in technology in material science, innovations in exhaust systems to reduce air pollutants, increasing demand for fuel efficient automobiles, use of enhanced technology in the automotive sector and increasing use of automation systems to produce proficient exhaust systems, increasing lifespan of used automobiles expected to boost aftermarket sales, and growing investment in research and development have contributed to the growth of the global automotive exhaust systems market. However, increasing adoption of electric vehicles, rising fuel prices, high Co2 emissions, high initial and repair cost of exhaust systems, bulky design of components of exhaust systems are major aspects hindering the growth of the global automotive exhaust systems market.The research report on the global automotive exhaust systems market covers in-depth analysis on the key players involved in the manufacturing of automotive exhaust systems. Players like Faurecia S.A.,Tenneco Inc., Eberspacher Group, Friedrich Boysen GmbH & Co. KG, Benteler International AG, Futaba Industrial Co., Ltd., Yutaka Giken Co., Ltd., SANGO Co., Ltd., Bosal International N.V., Harbin Airui Automotive Exhaust Systems Co. Ltd., and Sejong Industrial Co., Ltd., have been profiled in this study.A sample of this report is available upon request @About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India. FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: CCHATTY: combining AI technology with Chinese learning content for online Chinese lesson According to the statistics released by the Confucius Institute Headquarters, Currently, there are about 100 million Chinese learners around the global. This number will hit 130 million by 2020. For instance, in South Korea, around 10 million people are studying Chinese; Russia and Finland have listed learning Chinese as examinable courses, either as a first foreign language or a second foreign language. Therefore, Chinese learning worldwide has become an incremental market. However, at present, the demand for teaching Chinese as a foreign language is still a highly fragmented one, which is not very professional and lacks large institutions.Meanwhile, online language training companies in China, led by VIPKID, are becoming bigger and bigger. And less and fewer people in the market are voicing their doubts about the effectiveness of studying a new language online because face-to-face interaction in the process of learning languages cannot be replaced, neither by learning software nor by any other tools. Therefore, future language learning process is very likely to be face-to-face and online.The standard features of these two trends are what CCHATTY is working on. They aspired to teach foreigners Chinese in small classes and face-to-face. And combining AI technology with Chinese learning content (textbooks, courseware, dictionaries, exams and paid courses), they will build a smart Chinese learning platform. On the one hand, they will attract online traffic through free content and then unify the market. On the other hand, they will strive to improve the quality of teachers courses.Now CCHATTYs website has been online for three months and begun the training for teachers. 30 teachers have already signed to the site. CCHATTY has also signed a training order with a Korean company in China. CCHATTY believe that their first, and most important, objective at present is to develop basic courses, which serves as preparations for rapid market gain in the future; their second objective is to perfect the training system for teachers of Chinese as a foreign language.The majority of the teachers who teach Chinese to foreign languages didnt major in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. They tend to teach foreign students as though they are teaching Chinese to Chinese students. For example, when teaching foreigners the phrase , it is not enough for the teachers to simply translate it into English (at the same time). It is difficult for people not living in a Chinese language environment to understand the usage of this phrase in real contexts. Teachers who have been trained in teaching Chinese, on the other hand, will use formula and situational decomposition, which allow foreign students to describe two things occurring at the same time and then encourage them to use " to connect the two actions in a sentence. In this way, the students would master the real usage of the phrase. VIPKID faces problems of teachers in English-speaking countries not being able to teach Chinese students English right away. Likewise, CCHATTY also needs to develop a large number of multi-media courseware to train teachers and assist teaching.Actually, VIPKID is also conducting businesses of online Chinese training, but they mainly target families with foreign nationalities who live overseas. The parents in these families want their children to maintain a connection with their ancestors land both in culture and language. Therefore, their demands are bigger than ordinary learners in English-speaking countries. So to avoid direct competition with VIPKID, CCHATTYs target clients are mainly adults.For foreign adult users, CCHATTY's products are divided into two parts: 1) Most Chinese learners are only learning by interest, so the willingness of these people to pay is not strong. For them, CCHATTY will only offer a wide variety of free, basic, and recorded courses related to culture and language, making them interact with the brand. 2) For users with actual application requirements, CCHATTY not only utilizes 1-on-1 live courses, but also offers more application-oriented CSP courses (Chinese for a specific purpose); Live courses can better guarantee the learning effect, and also enable the users who have rigid demands to pay higher prices.However, even in the field of teaching Chinese to adult foreigners online, there have been other players in the market, but the size of their business did not grow much. The reasons are twofold. On the one hand, the former business model is mainly based on full-time employment teachers, which is more expensive than the free part-time system. On the other hand, market demand may not have reached the point of outbreak.VIPKID is in a time when the anxiety of Chinese parents who are born in the 1980s about "dumb English" broke out. But it is hard to say whether there will be explosive growth in the demand for online Chinese teaching; CCHATTY argues that much depends on whether "Made in China 2025" can lead the world market. Now, CCHATTY does face a problem of acquiring a steady stream of customers and finding channels. Currently, they primarily seek opportunities from foreign companies in China or overseas colleges and institutions which are in need of learning Chinese. South Korean companies in China are an example since their promotion mechanisms for employees in China are directly linked to Chinese proficiency. CCHATTY can provide training for Chinese teachers, Chinese teaching courseware and CSP online Chinese courses.Although CCHATTY has yet to find an efficient way to get customers at the moment, they believe that they should first protect their business through free basic, courses and teacher training. As for the team, the founder and CEO have more than 10 years of work experience in SONY and Baidu, and the teaching supervisor has over 10 years work experience in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. They are seeking the VC for further development.CCHATTY HK LTD - Making Chinese learning and teaching easier through AI technology.CCHATTY HK LTDCCHATTY BEIJING : RM 2014, BUILDING 2, UNICORN HOUSE, CHAOYANG DISTRICT, BEIJINGCCHATTY HK : UNIT 04, 7/F, BRIGHT WAY TOWER, NO. 33 MONG KOK ROAD, KOWLOON, HONGKONGPresscontact: jacob ren (jacobren@cchatty.com) Laboratory Information Systems Market 2018By Identifying the Key Market Segments and Key players holding market share https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/840506-global-laboratory-information-systems-lis-market-development-and-forecast-to-2020 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/840506-global-laboratory-information-systems-lis-market-development-and-forecast-to-2020 www.linkedin.com/company/4828928 https://twitter.com/WiseGuyReports https://www.facebook.com/Wiseguyreports-1009007869213183/?fref=ts IntroductionLaboratory information system (LIS) is a comprehensive information system developed and configured to process, store and manage information pertaining to industrial and medical laboratories which include clinical and analytical laboratories. LIS plays an important role in streamlining the process and generating high-quality data to support effective clinical decisions. The LIS provides information that helps hospitals in diagnosis, prevention, management and treatment of diseases, and acts as an indicator for public health. The LIS has now emerged as a necessity for the laboratories of both small and large diagnostic and drug companies. Better management of data and incorporation of collaborative technological tools in their day-to-day operations, have become crucial for both clinical and analytical laboratories.GET SAMPLE REPORT @LIS, used in both large and small scale companies, provide a platform to automatically obtain, store and archive information, track samples, and generate reports, efficiently. The LIS products vary widely in terms of cost, sophistication, and industrial focus. As industrial and medical laboratories are diverse with different requirements, there is no standard information system designed for laboratories. Therefore, an LIS is customized, developed, and configured according to the unique requirements of each laboratory.There are various applications of LIS including drug delivery and clinical diagnostics. The LIS, in clinical diagnostics, include anatomic pathology systems, microbiology, genetic and molecular diagnostics support systems, blood bank systems, and billing or accounts receivable or revenue cycle management (RCM) systems.The major components of LIS are hardware, software, and services. Hardware mainly consists of servers, data input, output and storage devices. Software includes the interface of integrated LIS which helps in managing and analyzing data efficiently. The key delivery modes used for LIS are web-based, on-premise, mobile solutions, and cloud-based technology.Key PlayersThe leading market players in the global LIS market are Cerner Corporation (U.S.), Eclipsys Corporation (U.S.), LabVantage Solutions Inc (U.S.), LabWare Inc (U.S.), McKesson Corporation (U.S.), Medical Information Technology Inc. (Meditech) (U.S.), Merge Healthcare Inc (U.S.), STARLIMS Corporation (Abbott Laboratories) (U.S.), Sunquest Corporation (Roper Industries), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.), and others.STUDY OBJECTIVES OF LABORATORY INFORMATION SYSTEMS (LIS) MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND FORECAST TO 2020 To provide insights about factors, influencing and affecting the market growth. To provide historically and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to regional markets and their countries. To provide historically and forecast revenue of the market segments based on products, and sub-segment for global LIS market. To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their market share, core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market. To provide economic factors that influence the global LIS market.Target Audience Pharmaceutical companies Research Laboratories Hospitals & Clinics Service Suppliers Potential Investors Key executive (CEO and COO) and strategy growth managerKey Findings The global LIS market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.3% between 2015 and 2020, driven by growth in both developed and emerging markets. Clinical application will be one of the driving factors of numbers in the global LIS market. North America and Europe, contributed more than 75% of the global total market size in 2014. Emerging markets such as China and India are expected to generate a significant demand for LIS during the period, 2015-2020. Software accounts for most of the global LIS market in terms of components. Based on delivery mode, web-based solutions are expected to drive growth better than on-premise technologies. Implementation of cloud-based solution will help the LIS market to grow further in forthcoming years.Regional and Country Analysis of laboratory information systems (LIS) market development and forecast to 2020As per the MRFR analysis, the North American laboratory information systems (LIS) market is expected to reach $1,211.9 Million by 2020, with a growing CAGR of around XX% during the forecast period. The value of the European market was around $ 332.7 Million in 2014 and is estimated to reach $ 498.4 Million by 2020. Asia-Pacific continues to be the fastest growing region during the forecast period. The reports also cover country level analysis:Table of Content: Key PointsChapter 1. Research Scope & Methodology 111.1 Market Definition 111.2 Market Breakdown by Application, Component and Delivery 111.3 Market Breakdown by Geography 121.4 Research Methodology and Sources 13Chapter 2. Executive Summary 142.1 Key Findings 142.2 Research Summary 14Chapter 3. Market Outlook 17ContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India Global Smart Elevators and Escalators Market: Asia Pacific Most Lucrative Region MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4778 https://www.mrrse.com/smart-elevators-escalators-market https://www.mrrse.com/ Smart elevators and escalators are installed in mixed-used buildings, hotels, commercial buildings, IT parks, residential buildings, restaurants, and retail outlets among others. Aging population is likely to be the key factor driving the smart elevator and escalator market during the forecast period. In addition, increasing geriatric population in countries such as Japan and China is expected to fuel demand for smart elevators and escalators. Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a high rate which will affect the market positively during the forecast period 2017 2023.Get Sample PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @Factors such as the growth of the global urban population, aging population, changing demographics, and urbanization among others are likely to boost the growth of the market in the near future. Rapid urbanization in developing nations such as Middle East, India and China and migration of population from rural areas to urban areas is key factor fueling the demand for new installation of smart elevators and escalators market. One of the major factors driving the market is installation of smart elevators and escalators in mid-rise and high-rise buildings.Global Smart Elevators and Escalators Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThere has been an increase in construction activities in developing countries of Asia Pacific and RoW. The booming construction sector in countries such as China, India, Philippines and Indonesia is generating potential growth opportunities for the smart elevators and escalators market. In addition, industrial infrastructure in nations such as Indonesia, India and Brazil are witnessing major increase in demand for smart elevators and escalators in the last few years. This increase in demand is driven by large expenditure by public and private companies on airport development, housing, ports and rail transport. This, in turn, is likely to boost the growth of the smart elevators and escalators market during the forecast period.Ageing population in countries such as Japan, U.S., Mexico and China among others is the key factor driving the smart elevator and escalator market during the forecast period. In addition, Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a high rate during the forecast period of 2017 2023. Factors such as the growth of the global urban population and increasing number of population growth, aging population, changing demographics and urbanization among others are boosting the growth of the market in near future.Access Complete Report with Table of Content @Global Smart Elevators and Escalators Market: SegmentationsBased on type, the global market has been segmented into elevator and escalators. The smart escalators and elevators market is dominated by the elevators segment. The elevators market is further sub divided into elevator capacity types 450 - 1,150 kg, 1,150kg-1,500kg, 1,500kg-2,000kg and others. The escalators market is further classified into moving walkway escalators and moving stairs. Smart elevator is mainly driven by the increasing number of super tall and high rise building that demand energy efficient, secure and faster vertical transportation systems.The global market by application is segmented into eight types: commercial, hotels, retail, residential, transportation, hospital, parking building and others. The smart escalators and elevators market is dominated by the transportation segment, followed by residential application. This increasing demand of smart escalators and elevators in the transportation segment is driven by large expenditure on airport development, ports and rail transport.Global Smart Elevators and Escalators Market: Key Research AspectsA comprehensive analysis of market dynamics that include the market drivers, restraints and opportunities is included under the purview of the study. Market dynamics are the distinct factors which exert an influence on the growth of a particular market and therefore help in studying the current trends of the global market. Thus, this report offers an inclusive study of the global smart elevators and escalators market, along with providing the forecast of the market for the period from 2017 to 2023.Global Smart Elevators and Escalators Market: Competitive LandscapeKey players profiled in this report include Cisco Systems, Inc (U.S.), Toshiba Corporation (Japan), Otis Elevator Company (U.S.), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan), Schindler Holding Ltd.(Switzerland), Hitachi Ltd.(Japan), Fujitec Co., Ltd. (Japan), ThyssenKrupp AG (Germany), Kone Corporation (Finland), Kleemann Hellas SA (Greece) among others.The segments covered in the Smart Elevator and Escalator market are as follows:Global Smart Elevator and Escalator Market: By TypeElevator450 kg - 1,150 kg1,150kg-1,500kg1,500kg-2,000kgEscalatorMoving Walkway EscalatorsMoving StairsGlobal Smart Elevator and Escalator Market: By Application TypeCommercialHotelsRetailResidentialTransportationHospitalParking BuildingGlobal Smart Elevator and Escalator Market: By GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaMexicoEuropeU.K.GermanyFranceItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificIndiaChinaJapanRest of Asia PacificRest of the World (RoW)Middle EastLatin AmericaAfricaAbout MRRSEMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence 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.ContactState Tower90, State Street Suite 700Albany, NY 12207 (United States)Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite: New Trends of Water-Borne Inks and Paints Market Plying for Significant Growth During 2014 2020 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-188 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-188 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Solvent-borne paints occupy a major share in the global market, however, with international rules and regulations playing their own cards, the market is set to shift its paradigm towards water-borne paints. The paint industry is growing at a modest rate after the recent economic recession of the 21st century. Solvent-based paints, used primarily for different types of coatings,captures a very large market volume of paints. However, high cost of solvent-based paints along with stringentregulations imposed by government agencies across the globe are pushing the paint and coatings industryto shift their technology to water-borne paints.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Increasing use of aliphatic hydrocarbons, ketones and aromatic hydrocarbons as solventsisthe major cause of environmental and health concerns. Water-borne solvents areconsidered the best alternative source for paint industries. With almost nil environmental effect, it is seen to streamline the business operations of the paint and coatings industry in the near future.It is expected that the marketsoperating in the paint and coatings domain will see a moderateCAGR in between 2014 and 2020. The key driving factor behind this vertical surge can be attributed to the fact that end-user applications such as industrial, architecture, wood coatings, packaging, coil coatings, marine protective coatings and aerospace coatings aregrowing at an exponential rate. Of all these, architecture is the focused area for paint industries. It will determine the growth trajectory of the water-borne paint industry by 2020.China and India are potential markets for the water-borne paint industry in the Asia-Pacific region. By 2050, it is expected that population in the Asia-Pacific region will increase by 64%. Urbanization will be driven by infrastructure investment to meet the peoples aspirations which in turn will scale the market size of the paint industry in this region. The Indian government is framing new policies to boost infrastructure across various cities. It has allocated US $ 1.2 billion for the same. It opens a new gate for paint companies for gaining high revenues. It is because of end-user applications in infrastructure that the Indian paint companiesexpect in between 10 to 15% growth in business volume by 2015. Another largemarket in Asia-Pacific is China. With GDP of China projected to grow over 8%, Chinese government is heavily focused on urbanization.The country has planned to invest US $ 6.8 trillion to develop new cities in its current five years plan. Other potential markets for the water-borne paint industry are Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Japan.In Latin America, Brazil is set to witness a high growth in infrastructure primarily due to its high GDP growth and considerable investment in infrastructure. It is expected to further accelerate its growth because of its destined venue for the Olympics in 2016. Other potential markets in this region are Argentina and Mexico. Growth in infrastructure is set to scale the paint market vertically upwards in Latin America.The water-borne paint industry has a bright future in North America. With the US infrastructure reaching itsmaturity, it needs constant renovation to maintain its durability. Though the paint and coatings market was not flourishing, the industry is expected to review its growth to gain high momentum owing to huge investment in infrastructure maintenance in the future.In Europe, stringent regulations imposed by REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) are driving the market from solvent-borne paints to water-borne paints. With its historical cities, it fascinates tourists from every corner of the world to have a glance at its monumental buildings. Europe, like the US, too is witnessing a maturity. In the coming years, it will need support from end-user segments, including the paint and coatings industry, to support its monumental heritage. However, in Europe, a big role will be played by healthcare and automotive sectors. Europe accounts for in between 25 to 30% of the global market share in the paint and coatings segment. The market in Europe seems to be in the doldrums mainly because of its huge market debt and slow economic reforms.With government policies shifting their need towards water-borne paints and inks, the paint industry is set to be accelerated by water-borne paints in various geographical locations. The US and Europe have already imposed strict regulations and it is expected to be the same in other parts of global region. The water-borne paint industryisset to grow at a moderate CAGR from 2014 to 2019. It has already penetrated in between 12 to 15% of the global paint market and is set to capture the remaining market share of paints driven by solvent-borne technology, in the coming future. With water-borne paints, the paint and coatings industryis set to witness a high return on investment by 2019.A sample of this report is available upon request @About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India. FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: Sulphur Recovery Technology Market to Undertake Strapping Growth CAGR of 12.8% through 2027 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-1431 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1431 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ A greater number of refinery projects across the world should create an immense opportunity for sulphur recovery technology manufacturers to install their units in the plants. Upcoming refineries in the APEJ and MEA region are anticipated to be major contributors to the global sulphur recovery technology market. Future Market Insights has comprehensively assessed the sulphur recovery technology market in its report titled Sulphur Recovery Technology Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012 2016 and Opportunity Assessment 2017 2027. The sulphur recovery technology market is expected to have a value of over US$ 2.7 billion by end 2027.There is a close battle between the claus process and tail gas treatment technology in the sulphur recovery technology market with the former edging ahead. The claus process is predicted to record a CAGR of 12.8% for the decade. However, it would be unwise to ignore the tail gas treatment technology segment entirely in the sulphur recovery technology market as companies are focusing on it as well. For e.g. BASF has introduced tail gas treatment technology to increase plant efficiency and reduce sulphur technology. This helps decrease sulphur emissions and lowers operational expenditure because of lesser amine circulation rates and reboiler duties.The gas type segment has a market share of approx. two thirds of the global sulphur recovery technology market by source of recovery and is poised to lose 210 BPS going forward. However, gas recovery is unlikely to cede its pole position in the sulphur recovery technology market. An incremental dollar opportunity of US$ 1.1 billion can be tapped in the gas recovery segment of the sulphur recovery technology market. Increasing production and exploration activity, particularly in respect of shale gas, is fuelling demand for sulphur recovery units in refineries. Gas refining has great potential in the Middle East, Central Asia, and East Asia.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @The < 100 t/D capacity segment has a share of more than half the global sulphur recovery technology market by capacity at the end of 2017. The < 100 t/D segment is popular on account of having a lower emission footprint, being easy to upgrade, and relatively cost-effective as compared to other units. Several companies have invested in < 100 t/ D units such as Siirtec Nigi that has agreed to supply two Claus sulphur recovery units in Kuwait with a capacity of < 100 t/D each.Europe and MEA are the regions to look out for in the sulphur recovery technology market. Refinery projects in diverse nations such as Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, and Russia should boost the demand for sulphur recovery technology. These countries have ample oil reserves and are major global suppliers, making them lucrative for sulphur recovery technology unit manufacturers. The Europe sulphur recovery technology market is projected to push past US$ 720 million by end 2027.The companies profiled in the sulphur recovery technology market report are Jacobs Engineering Group, John Wood Group, TechnipFMC, WorleyParsons, Prosernat, Black and Veath Holding Company, Bechtel Corporation, KNM Group Berhad, CB&I, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil Corporation, KT Kinetics Technology SPA, Fluor Corporation, Linde AG, Chiyoda Corporation, and GTC Technology.Sulphur recovery technology unit manufacturers must take advantage of the refineries being set up across the globe. APEJ, MEA, and Europe could contribute a sizeable chunk of revenue in the sales of sulphur recovery technology units and companies are advised to target these regions with all guns blazing.Request Sample Copy of the Report @About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India. FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: Buckwheat Extract Market Regulations and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2025 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=27632 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/buckwheat-extract-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Buckwheat contains a flavonoid known as rutin which fortifies the blood vessels. Rutin has been identified as vitamin-P and is known for its ability to strengthen blood vessel and maintaining the elasticity. The use of buckwheat is varied and makes an important ingredient in supplements that aim at preventing disorders associated with blood vessels aging such as hypertension, myocardial infarction atherosclerosis and strokes. Other benefits of buckwheat extract include improving digestion, building immunity, and bone health etc.Download PDF Brochure @In Japan, buckwheat noodles being popularly used due its image as nutrient rich food product. The key ingredient in the noodles being rutin which has been recognized to be of great importance. The product placement by using the buckwheats key ingredient (rutin) is attracting manufacturers to introduce new products comprising buckwheat extract. Thus acting as a driving force in steering the global buckwheat extract markets growth.Buckwheat extracts diversified use in therapeutic herbal formulations providing benefits such as strengthening blood vessels and improving blood flow, also providing additional health benefits in diabetes management improving bone health and many more is expected to drive market growth during the forecast period. Additionally the buckwheat extract has the ability to blend with majority of food products providing an additional use in the food and beverage industries. The use of the extract in food as an additive is one of the key drivers for the growth of the global buckwheat market.Read Report Overview @Consumers preferences are noticeably on a shift towards the healthier options and the organic buckwheat extract is therefore expected to grow at a significant CAGR in terms of value and volume during the forecast period.The natural products offer a wide acceptance in use as cosmetic products attributed to the natural antioxidant nature of buckwheat extract. The application in cosmetics is anticipated to grow due to the increased awareness among consumers regarding the safety in use of the naturally derive herbal products.The rise in global demand of the herbal extracts has attracted many manufacturers to supply quality products and some of the key players participating in the global buckwheat extract market are; Martin Bauer GmbH & Co. KG, Nexira Inc., Oryza Oil & Fat Chemical Co., Ltd., JIAHERB, INC., Foodchem International Corporation.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.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Worldwide Analysis on Benzoin Essential Oil Market Strategies and Forecast, 2017 to 2025 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=27638 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=27638Scientific 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." ### 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. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Henkel, a leading supplier of adhesives, sealants and surface technologies, is providing a baffle package and paint shop seam sealer for the new 2019 Ram 1500. The baffle package significantly reduces air leakage in the vehicle body, decreasing unwanted noise in the passenger cabin. Additionally, the baffles provide manufacturing flexibility, achieving a variety of expansions from just one material, eliminating the need to invest in new tooling equipment. Henkel is also providing its next generation paint shop seam sealer, TEROSON PV 1098, on the 2019 Ram 1500. The sealer is used on body panels to prevent water, dirt and fumes from entering the cabin of the vehicle. "TEROSON 1098 is solvent-free, contributing to a significantly reduced environmental impact," said Paul Drzyzga, Global Key Account Manager, Henkel. "The technology also meets a broad range of applied width and thickness requirements, reducing expenses in terms of material usage and plant maintenance." FCA US LLC recognized Henkel with the Supplier of the Year award at MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit on Tuesday, April 24 in the category of diversity. The Supplier of the Year awards recognize automotive suppliers that have shown an extraordinary commitment to the Company. For more information on Henkel's automotive capabilities, visit www.na.henkel-adhesives.com/automotive. About Henkel in North America Henkel operates across its three business units Adhesive Technologies, Beauty Care and Laundry & Home Care in North America. Its portfolio of well-known consumer and industrial brands includes Schwarzkopf hair care, Dial soaps, Right Guard antiperspirants, professional hair care brand Sexy Hair, Persil, Purex and all laundry detergents, Snuggle fabric softeners as well as Loctite, Technomelt and Bonderite adhesives. North America is an important region for Henkel: With sales of around 5.8 billion US dollars (5.2 billion euros) in 2017, North America accounts for 26 percent of the company's global sales. Henkel employs more than 9,000 people across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.henkel-northamerica.com. About Henkel Henkel operates globally with a well-balanced and diversified portfolio. The company holds leading positions with its three business units in both industrial and consumer businesses thanks to strong brands, innovations and technologies. Henkel Adhesive Technologies is the global leader in the adhesives market across all industry segments worldwide. In its Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care businesses, Henkel holds leading positions in many markets and categories around the world. Founded in 1876, Henkel looks back on more than 140 years of success. In 2017, Henkel reported sales of 22.6 billion US dollars (20 billion euros) and adjusted operating profit of around 3.9 billion US dollars (3.5 billion euros). Combined sales of the respective top brands of the three business units Loctite, Schwarzkopf and Persil amounted to 7.2 billion US dollars (6.4 billion euros). Henkel employs more than 53,000 people globally a passionate and highly diverse team, united by a strong company culture, a common purpose to create sustainable value, and shared values. As a recognized leader in sustainability, Henkel holds top positions in many international indices and rankings. Henkel's preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX. For more information, please visit www.henkel.com. Contact Carrie McGuire Phone 248-840-6879 Email [email protected] SOURCE Henkel Related Links http://www.henkelna.com/index.htm HANNOVER, Germany, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hornetsecurity, a German-based cloud security solutions company that recently opened its first United States base of operations in Pittsburgh, has updated its Advanced Email Signature and Disclaimer service with new features that provide significant upgrades and additional user-friendly applications. Advanced Email Signature and Disclaimer offers an elegant solution for creating uniform company-wide content by ensuring all email signatures are attached in the same format, regardless of whether the message was sent from a PC, tablet or mobile phone. In the original version, some fields in certain signatures would remain empty. Thanks to this upgrade, users can create additional sub-signatures within existing signatures, including slogans, logos or banners that promote upcoming trade shows or new products a company wants to highlight within a specific timeframe. Companies can activate and centrally manage the sub-signatures on a group basis, as well as use them for targeted marketing campaigns. In addition, users can now include signatures and disclaimers not only within HTML emails, but also in plain text emails, significantly increasing the consistency and professional appearance of corporate email traffic. "The signature at the end of a professional email is like a digital business card and serves as an important branding tool for every company," Hornetsecurity CEO Oliver Dehning said. "With these newly added features, IT administrators and corporate marketing teams will have fresh opportunities to shape, sharpen and strengthen their company's image." About Hornetsecurity Hornetsecurity has been focused on cloud computing since 2007, when the company was founded by Oliver Dehning and Daniel Hofmann in Hannover, Germany, where it maintains its global headquarters. Today, Hornetsecurity has grown to more than 100 employees, offering comprehensive security solutions in the fields of email security, web security and data storage to more than 30,000 business customers around the world. In 2017, Hornetsecurity opened a United States base of operations in Pittsburgh. More information can be found at http://www.hornetsecurity.com and www.hornetdrive.com. SOURCE Hornetsecurity Related Links http://www.hornetsecurity.com HOUSTON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston American Energy Corp. (NYSE American: HUSA), a Permian Basin-focused E&P company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 12.5% working interest in a prospect covering approximately 650 gross acres (81.25 net mineral acres) in Yoakum County, Texas. The prospect is a Horizontal San Andres prospect located in the Northwest Shelf at the northern portion of the Midland Basin (which is a sub-basin of the Permian Basin) in west Texas. Principal features of the prospect include: Seller will serve as operator of the acreage with drilling of an initial well expected to commence during July 2018 targeting the potential resources in the San Andres Formation; targeting the potential resources in the San Andres Formation; Purchase price is $1,665 per net mineral acre, or a total of $135,329 ; per net mineral acre, or a total of ; Lease has a three-year primary term, expiring October 1, 2019 , and a 75% net revenue interest (9.375% net to our interest); , and a 75% net revenue interest (9.375% net to our interest); Four horizontal wells will hold the entire acreage block upon the establishment of production; Houston American will pay its proportionate share of actual costs of drilling and completing all wells; and will pay its proportionate share of actual costs of drilling and completing all wells; and Houston American's interest is subject to a reduction for a 10% back-in after payout for the benefit of the operator after Houston American recovers its purchase price and drill and complete costs for the first four wells to be drilled. John Boylan, Chairman and CEO of Houston American Energy stated: "We are very pleased to have identified and agreed to participate in the Horizontal San Andres prospect and to develop a long term relationship with another high quality operator in the Permian Basin. Our strategy of growing via relationship driven, affordably sized and lower risk drilling opportunities is in the works and we look forward to an active summer of drilling." About Houston American Energy Corp. Based in Houston, Texas, Houston American Energy Corp. is a publicly-traded independent energy company with interests in oil and natural gas wells, minerals and prospects. The Company's business strategy includes a property mix of producing and non-producing assets with a focus on the Permian Basin in Texas, Louisiana and Colombia. Forward-Looking Statements The information in this release includes certain forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate, including statements regarding the timing of commencement of drilling operations, the number of wells actually drilled, our ability to hold the entire acreage block with four horizontal wells and the ultimate results of drilling operations. Those statements, and Houston American Energy Corp., are subject to a number of risks, including risks relating to our ability to fund our share of drilling and development costs, our dependence on the operator with respect to timing of drilling, costs and ultimate drilling results and other risks common to oil and gas drilling operations. These and other risks are described in the company's documents and reports that are available from the company and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. For additional information, view the company's website at www.houstonamerican.com or contact Houston American Energy Corp. at (713) 222-6966. SOURCE Houston American Energy Corp. Related Links http://houstonamerican.com The Display Village/Action Zone centered at Lummus Park will span more than four city blocks on Ocean Drive, and will feature the Hyundai Hangar, a patriotically inspired consumer lounge honoring the U.S. Military and showcasing the U.S.-built Elantra , Sonata and Santa Fe models. The Hyundai Hangar, located on 13 th street, will feature a collaborative art mural, "Who is your hero?" art wall, to honor all veterans and first responders that will offer guests the opportunity to post memorials of family and friends who have served. Customized patriotic-themed live screen printing t-shirts and charging stations will also be available to guests visiting the Hyundai Hangar. Hyundai will also have several other activations and vehicle displays on 12 th and 14 th streets, including its all-new Kona and Veloster N . These onsite activations are being managed by Advantage . As part of its broader commitment to the U.S. Military, Hyundai is doubling the military incentive on all of its vehicles for U.S. service men and women. Any active or retired military personnel and their spouse can receive $1,000 toward the purchase of a new Hyundai vehicle through May 31, 2018. For additional details and eligibility, please visit: https://www.hyundaiusa.com/financial-tools/military-program.aspx "The National Salute to America's Heroes is one of the premier Memorial Day weekend events honoring those that sacrificed their life for the country," said Dean Evans, CMO, Hyundai Motor America. "This partnership also continues Hyundai's long-term commitment to supporting the U.S. Military and paying tribute to our servicemen and women who are America's bravest heroes." "It is thanks to the support of Hyundai that we are able to create an event that honors and pays its respects to the men and women of our military and first responders," said Mickey Markoff, president and executive producer, National Salute to America's Heroes. "There is no better time than Memorial Day weekend to pay tribute to our military, first responders, and those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our freedom." National Salute to America's Heroes The National Salute to America's Heroes presented by Hyundai is a nation-wide two-day celebration held on Miami Beach, Florida featuring the Air & Sea Show presented by Hyundai, Music Explosion presented by Hyundai and Salute 365 initiative. Held Memorial Day Weekend, the National Salute to America's Heroes presented by Hyundai focuses on the service and sacrifice the military and first responders make to protect the freedoms of all Americans. For more information visit http://www.usasalute.com. Hyundai Motor America Hyundai Motor America is focused on delivering an outstanding customer experience grounded in design leadership, engineering excellence and exceptional value in every vehicle we sell. Hyundai's technology-rich product lineup of cars, SUVs and alternative-powered electric and fuel cell vehicles is backed by Hyundai Assuranceour promise to deliver peace of mind to our customers. Hyundai vehicles are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide, and the majority sold in the U.S. are built at U.S. manufacturing facilities, including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. Hyundai Motor America is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Please visit our media website at www.HyundaiNews.com Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram SOURCE Hyundai Motor America Related Links http://www.hyundainews.com DUBLIN, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The "India Garment Steamer Market (2018-2024): Market Forecast By Types (Standing/Upright and Handheld/Compact), By End Users (Commercial and Household), By Regions (Northern, Western, Eastern and Southern) and Competitive Landscape" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. India Garment Steamer Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 10% during 2018-24 Standing/upright garment steamer segment contributed majority of the revenue share in 2017 and is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period as well. However, handheld garment steamer segment is projected to exhibit highest growth rate over the coming years owing to growing consumer acceptance of handheld garment steamers, especially by frequent travelers requiring portable and compact products which can be easily carried on tours. Consumers in India are becoming liberal on their spending habits as a result of increasing personal disposable income. Garment steamers are primarily used by commercial segment, however, over the past few years the product is gaining high acceptance across the household segment. The growth of garment steamer market in India is backed by surging aspirations of middle class population towards branded clothing. Garment steamers are ideal for delicate fabrics, in addition, these are also used for removing wrinkles and freshening of curtains, bed sheets, and upholsteries (seats & furniture covers). Moreover, growing product awareness, urbanization, and surging emphasis towards personal upkeep are further catalyzing the growth of garment steamer market in the country. Among different end user segments, the commercial segment including apparel showrooms, boutiques, and dressmakers remained dominant end users of garment steamers. Moreover, household segment is emerging with surging demand for garment steamers at homes for delicate fabrics required to remove wrinkles gently. Key Topics Covered: 1 Executive Summary 2 Introduction 2.1 Key Highlights of the Report 2.2 Report Description 2.3 Market Scope & Segmentation 2.4 Assumptions & Methodology 2.5 Assumptions 3 India Garment Steamer Market Overview 3.1 India Garment Steamer Market Revenues (2014-2024F) 3.2 India Garment Steamer Market Volume (2014-2024F) 3.3 India Garment Steamer Industry Life Cycle 3.4 India Garment Steamer Market Opportunistic Matrix 3.5 India Garment Steamer Market Value Chain Analysis 3.6 India Garment Steamer Market Porter's Five Forces Model 3.7 India Garment Steamer Market Revenue Share, By Types (2017 & 2024F) 3.8 India Garment Steamer Market Revenue Share, By End Users (2017 & 2024F) 3.9 India Garment Steamer Market Revenue Share, By Regions (2017 & 2024F) 4 India Garment Steamer Market Dynamics 4.1 Impact Analysis 4.2 Market Drivers 4.3 Market Restraints 4.4 Market Opportunity 5 India Garment Steamer Market Trends 5.1 Handheld Garment Steamers 5.2 Online Retail of Garment Steamers 6 India Garment Steamer Market Overview, By Types 6.1 India Garment Steamer Market Revenues, By Standing/Upright Garment Steamer (2014-2024F) 6.2 India Garment Steamer Market Revenues, By Handheld/Compact Garment Steamer (2014-2024F) 7 India Garment Steamer Market Overview, By End User Segments 7.1 India Garment Steamer Market Revenues, By Commercial Segment (2014-2024F) 7.2 India Garment Steamer Market Revenues, By Household Segment (2014-2024F) 8 India Garment Steamer Market Overview, By Regions 8.1 India Garment Steamer Market Revenues, By Northern Region (2014-2024F) 8.2 India Garment Steamer Market Revenues, By Eastern Region (2014-2024F) 8.3 India Garment Steamer Market Revenues, By Western Region (2014-2024F) 8.4 India Garment Steamer Market Revenues, By Southern Region (2014-2024F) 9 India Garment Steamer Market Opportunity Assessment, By Types and Applications 10 India Garment Steamer Market Competitive Landscape 10.1 India Garment Steamer Market, By Players' Revenue Share (2017) 10.2 India Garment Steamer Market, By Operating Parameters 10.3 India Garment Steamer Market, By Garment Steamer Types and End Users 11 Company Profiles 11.1 Bajaj Electricals Limited 11.2 Philips India Limited 11.3 Havells India Limited 11.4 Groupe SEB India Private Limited 11.5 Usha International Limited 11.6 Inalsa Appliances Limited 12 Key Strategic Notes 13 Disclaimer For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/8xtsxh/india_garment?w=5 Media Contact: 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 http://www.researchandmarkets.com NEW YORK, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Influencer marketing network, ACTIVATE, announced the launch of their new influencer selection platform, ACTIVATE Discover. The platform combines their data-driven search engine with expertly curated lists and influencer profiles, merging human strategy and technology, to support marketers in finding the best influencers for their campaigns. ACTIVATE Discover's enhanced influencer profiles include first-to-market data to assist marketers in crafting informed influencer strategy. New features include: Instagram Story Data With Instagram Stories driving significant conversion for brands, the platform introduces first-to-market story metrics and content previews, allowing marketers to take advantage of this successful format With Instagram Stories driving significant conversion for brands, the platform introduces first-to-market story metrics and content previews, allowing marketers to take advantage of this successful format Real Impression Data The platform adds the market's first real impression counts based on an influencer's average number of impressions for Instagram, Facebook and blogsno estimates involved The platform adds the market's first real impression counts based on an influencer's average number of impressions for Instagram, Facebook and blogsno estimates involved First-Party Audience Data Direct from Google Analytics, Facebook and Instagram, marketers can now see age range, gender and city level location breakdowns for influencers on Instagram, Facebook and blogs The platform's profiles also include engagement rates broken down by engagement-to-followers and engagement-to-impressions. In-depth analytics from ACTIVATE's network of influencers, who are opted-into the platform, allow for this combination of highly detailed audience data pulled directly from social platforms. Influencers also provide self-reported data including their favorite brands and samples of past work. In addition to new influencer profiles, ACTIVATE Discover introduces Curated Lists to inspire marketers with some of the best in the business. Categories range from "Decor Envy" to "Female Fitspiration," and the platform provides the option to create personalized and private lists from these categories, or starting from scratch. The platform will feature an "influencer of the day" and notable influencers of the week to introduce marketers to both new and established influencers, giving them additional exposure for collaboration opportunities. "The introduction of ACTIVATE Discover allows us to provide brands and marketers with an unmatched range of data, creating additional transparency in influencer search and selection. These highly detailed metrics will make it easier for brands to choose the influencers that will best support their specific influencer strategy and goals," said Kamiu Lee, CEO at ACTIVATE. "Our focus on humanistic relationships with influencers, combined with this data-driven approach, creates the opportunity for us to help brands make a measurable impact with influencer marketing." To learn more about ACTIVATE and ACTIVATE Discover, please visit https://try.activate.social/. About ACTIVATE ACTIVATE partners with brands and influencers to tell engaging and compelling stories across social media, at scale. They are a team of influencer strategists, technologists, data scientists, brand partners and operations professionals. Over the last year, the company has activated over 75,000 influencers and creators, to publish more than 6,500 pieces of sponsored content per month. ACTIVATE breathes life into each influencer partnership and welcomes brands and agencies to partner with them in one of two ways: through ACTIVATE Studio, which provides full white-glove services, or through the Activate platform, where marketers can have direct, self-serve access to the technology, data, and influencer network. The company launched Bloglovin', an online platform and community for creators, tastemakers, and 12MM+ of their most avid fans, in 2007. Through Bloglovin', they have grown as a leader in the industry, excelling at identifying emerging creators, what makes their content compelling, and how to run influencer partnerships at scale to fuel growth. As brands and marketers caught on to the power of these creators and influencers, they reached out to Bloglovin' to identify smart collaborations and build partnerships leading to the launch of the ACTIVATE technology platform in 2014. Activate is headquartered in New York City. SOURCE ACTIVATE The SCO accounts for nearly half of the world's population, over 60 percent of the Eurasian landmass, and more than 20 percent of global GDP. The organization's eight member states include China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Since the creation of the SCO in 2001, the summit has been held in China three times - twice in Shanghai and once in Beijing. Qingdao is the third host city. The summit will not only boost Qingdao's tourism, trade and convention and exhibition sectors, but also promote the emergence and expansion of new growth sources and enhance the quality of the city's economic development, according to the municipal commercial authority. The effects of hosting the SCO summit have already been felt during the past several weeks, as the amount of money spent by tourists visiting the city during the three-day Labour Day holiday surged 19.22 percent year-on-year to 7.32 billion yuan ($US 1.15 billion). The growth exceeded by a healthy margin the 14 percent increase in the city's tourism revenues for the full year of 2017. As a gateway city for the country's reform and opening up policy, Qingdao is also leveraging the opportunity to enhance economic cooperation with the countries of Central and South Asia. Last year, trade between Qingdao and the SCO's members, observer states and dialogue partners rose 12.5 percent to 39.02 billion yuan ($US 6.12 billion). As of the end of last year, Qingdao had invested 500 million dollars in 74 projects in the SCO-related countries, while the same group of countries had signed contracts to invest 475 million dollars in 226 projects in Qingdao. Contact: [email protected] SOURCE International Daily News (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/658690/International_NASH_DAY_Logo.jpg ) (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/658691/NASH_Education_Program_Logo.jpg ) "Our initiative will educate and activate physicians, patients, and populations at risk on a global scale," said Pascaline Clerc, PhD, U.S. Campaign Manager for The NASH Education Program. "We are thrilled that so many critical NASH stakeholders will join us in this global day of action." The growing coalition of partners supporting the first-of-its-kind International NASH Day on June 12, 2018 includes: The first International NASH Day will convene physicians, scientists, patients and community advocates across more than twenty cities around the world for a day of action against NASH. It will also centralize rich educational content on a dedicated platform, with interviews involving key stakeholders and the most prominent experts from the NASH ecosystem, as well as informative reports. An overview of all this educational content is available in three languages on the 1st International NASH Day website, which has launched today. It is estimated that almost 12% of adults in developed countries, 19% of Hispanics and 14% of Afro-Americans, Williams, 2011 suffer from NASH - most of them unaware that they do, as NASH is asymptomatic, or "silent," in presenting no symptoms until very late in the disease's damaging trajectory. NASH is associated with the type 2 diabetes and obesity epidemics, which are affecting an alarming number of adults, children and teenagers. NASH is a metabolic disease characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver, along with inflammation and the degeneration of liver cells. The disease is associated with long-term risk of progression into diminished liver function, leading to non-alcoholic cirrhosis, liver insufficiency and possibly even liver cancer. It is also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. By raising awareness on this disease, the NASH Education Program aims to encourage earlier diagnosis, giving patients a chance to control disease progression through sustained lifestyle changes. John Ratliff, Chief Executive Officer, Covance added: "It is extremely important for us, as a key player in the NASH space, to work with The NASH Education Program in the context of the 1st International NASH Day. We value this initiative and see it as a potential game changer in the NASH ecosystem. Patient voice really has to be heard much more than it is today, and all individuals at risk have to be informed about this silent but life-threatening disease. Really looking forward to June 12, 2018!" Claude Lenoir, CEO, Echosens said: "Echosens is proud to support The NASH Education Program's initiative. There is an urgent need to raise public awareness about this widespread silent epidemic and engage physicians well beyond the field of hepatology." Mark H. DeLegge, MD, Senior Medical Director, NASH Medical Strategy Lead, IQVIA GI Center of Excellence said: "NASH represents a clear and present public health issue around the world, with no current treatment and heavy consequences on healthcare systems. Disease awareness is absolutely paramount to making progress with patients, clinicians and other stakeholders who can make a difference. This is why we are thrilled to support and be a part of the 1st International NASH Day organized by The NASH Education Program. This is a groundbreaking initiative which will undoubtedly answer some of the key unmet needs and challenges holding us back." Pr. Adrian Gadano, Associate Professor Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Buenos Aires, chief of the Liver Unit and Medical Director, Transplant Unit, Italian Hospital, Buenos Aires; member of ALEH, The Latin American Association for the Study of the Liver and coordinator ALEH NASH Interest Group said: "As the major stakeholder in Latin America when it comes to liver diseases, we are extremely happy to support the 1st International NASH Day, as it represents a unique opportunity - and actually the very first one in the NASH space - to disseminate highly relevant knowledge about this disease to a population which is known to be at very high risk of developing the most severe forms of NASH ... but without knowing it! Hence the absolute need to educate and inform." Jeffrey Caballero, Executive Director of the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations commented: The NASH Education Program's commitment to raising awareness about this disease in the medical and broader community is in line with our mission to promote advocacy, collaboration, and leadership that improves the health of at-risk Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and other vulnerable populations served by our member health centers." Judi Rhys, Chief Executive, British Liver Trust added: "NASH is a public health epidemic that we must address on a global scale and across medical specialties, and we are thrilled to participate in the first International NASH Day. Patients deserve to be heard and to have access to more resources on NASH that this initiative will provide ." Dr. Yanira Cruz, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Council on Aging said: "The National Hispanic Council on Aging is pleased to partner with the NASH Education Program on this first International NASH Day. The prevalence of NASH in the Hispanic population is the highest. 80% of people with fatty liver don't even know they have it. Fatty liver diseases NAFLD/NASH are expected to become the number one reason for liver transplantation in the next 2 years in developed countries. We must inform our communities about this public health crisis and provide them with a support system. We thank the NASH Education Program for providing these resources and care for our communities." Dr. Elena Rios, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association added: "It is essential for our medical community to get the best information about NASH in order to better treat and guide our patients. We are thrilled to be part of the first International NASH Day and are looking forward to continuing this collaboration with the NASH Education Program until all our providers have a good grasp of this disease." Eric Le Boulch, Managing Director, CM-CIC Market Solutions commented: "NASH is a disease little known to the general public and there is currently no approved treatment for it. We support the first International NASH Day to help bring awareness to this disease in patients and medical communities These new partners join the first wave of supporters: ABOUT THE NASH EDUCATION PROGRAM The non-profit NASH Education Program defines and drives initiatives in collaboration with an independent scientific committee composed of four international key opinion leaders well-known and respected in the hepatic and metabolic disease ecosystems in the U.S. and Europe. To learn more, visit www.the-nash-education-program.com. [1] Williams, 2011 Contact THE NASH EDUCATION PROGRAM [email protected] or Pascaline Clerc - U.S. Campaign Manager | [email protected] PRESS RELATIONS Europe : Ulysse Communication | Bruno Arabian | [email protected] | +33-687884726 United States: SuSiglo Media | Maritza Puello | [email protected] | +1-917-886-3495 SOURCE The NASH Education Program LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross presented iTEP International with the President's "E" Award for Exports at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on May 21. 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. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross (left), presents iTEP International CEO Sharif Ossayran, and iTEP International President Jemal Idris with the President's "E" Award for Exports at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on May 21. "iTEP International has demonstrated a sustained commitment to export expansion," said Secretary Ross in his congratulatory letter to the company announcing its selection. "The 'E' Award Committee was very impressed with iTEP International's innovative marketing and sales strategies customized to individual markets. The company's use of partnerships to develop sales in 51 countries was also particularly notable. iTEP International's achievements have undoubtedly contributed to national export expansion efforts that support the U.S. economy and create American jobs." iTEP International is the creator of the International Test of English Proficiency (iTEP) suite of internet-based language assessment tools. iTEP exams are used by educational institutions, companies, and governments across 51 countries for admissions, placement, hiring, and progress tracking of non-native English speakers. "Since launching in 2008, iTEP has continually sought to expand what an English assessment tool allows for by creating a better user experience and richer data set," says iTEP International President Jemal Idris. "In doing so, we have expanded the market for English assessment tools as a whole, and we are honored to receive the "E" Award as a result of this work." While many education entities have been honored over the years, iTEP International is the first English assessment company to receive the President's "E" Award since it was established in 1961 by President Kennedy. 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. The award is based on four years of successive export growth in one or more international markets. iTEP International's largest international market is China with more than 100 test centers and partnerships with some of the largest education organizations in the country. Other key markets for iTEP include Mexico, Colombia, Japan, and South Korea. Media Contact: Jason Simms Phone: 860.322.4754 Email: [email protected] Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1hNMaDFTqI SOURCE iTEP International NEW YORK, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hotel Association of New York City announced its appointment of New York City based law firm Kane Kessler as general counsel, replacing McDermott Will & Emery. "Kane Kessler has represented the Hotel Association admirably and effectively as labor relations counsel for many years. We are delighted to elevate the firm as our general counsel, and look forward to continuing our complementary relationship," said Vijay Dandapani, President and CEO, Hotel Association of New York City. David R. Rothfeld, head of Kane Kessler's Labor and Employment Law practice group, leads the account. Established in 1878, the Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. is one of the oldest professional trade associations in the nation. Its membership includes 275 of the finest hotels in New York City, representing more than 76,000 rooms and 50,000 employees. http://www.hanyc.org/ SOURCE Hotel Association of New York City Related Links http://www.hanyc.org We can't seem to find the page you are looking for. You may have typed the address incorrectly or you may have used an outdated link. IRVINE, Calif., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kareo, the leading provider of cloud-based clinical and business management software for independent medical practices, today announced Kareo Analytics, a powerful yet intuitive business intelligence solution designed specifically for billing professionals serving distributed practices. Kareo's latest offering addresses the need for a comprehensive and cost-effective solution that delivers intelligence and actionable information to optimize billing workflows while enabling the best possible revenue cycle outcomes. Kareo Analytics is designed to help medical billing companies and billing professionals reduce complexity by delivering valuable insights and transparency. Kareo Analytics is changing how billing professionals work with data, allowing them to recognize the true potential of their information by tracking trends, identifying areas of improvement and communicating billing performance trends across multiple practices and providers concurrently. With Kareo Analytics, data from hundreds of medical practices can be loaded in seconds, while interactions with this data set, such as filtering or updating, is almost instantaneous. This is a substantial improvement over other methods of cross-practice data analysis, which can be extremely time consuming, often involving manual data extraction, consolidation and analysis. Kareo Analytics users can quickly access in-depth views of accounts receivable by CPT code, payer, payer scenario, date of service, payment posting, and other filtering options. They can easily identify unrealized revenue opportunities and prioritize activities based on the greatest financial impact. "To optimize profitability in today's challenging healthcare reimbursement landscape, medical billing professionals need an advanced revenue optimization strategy. The ability to access and interpret data quickly enables them to intelligently improve revenue cycle management operations," said Nitin Somalwar, general manager of the Kareo billing company business unit. "Kareo processes almost $20 billion in insurance claims through the Kareo platform annually. Operating at this scale has provided Kareo with in-depth knowledge of the value that business intelligence can play in revenue cycle management optimization. Kareo Analytics puts the power of enterprise-level business intelligence tools in the hands of medical billing professionals." For the first time, billing professionals working with independent practices have the same level of insight into revenue performance previously only available to large healthcare networks with dedicated departments for data analysis. Kareo Analytics provides advanced KPI dashboards and real-time customizable reporting functionality all within a streamlined, self-service solution. In addition, Kareo offers extensive support and training, allowing customers to quickly become confident explorers of their own data. "Kareo Analytics has really helped us," said Joshua Santillan, CEO and co-owner of Medical Billing Unlimited in El Paso, Texas. "Before, we had to piece different reports together to create our own dashboard manually. There was a lot of room for error or inconsistency it was very labor intensive. The process is easier with Kareo Analytics. We're able to develop the reports we need for the dashboard. Kareo Analytics helps me empower a core group of people at my company to help me with these reports. There's no way I would be able to run all these reports and still manage a growing office." Among many advantages, Kareo Analytics provides: Self-service data analytics tools that are intuitive and easy to use Integrated view of all revenue cycle data for all practices and providers Analysis of payer mix to inform which payers are top payers Ability to create custom benchmarks, metrics and visualizations Quick and responsive user experience In-app definitions of the formulas being used Access/exporting of source data used in any report Ability to curate data stories for further conversations More information on Kareo Analytics can be found at www.kareo.com/analytics. About Kareo Kareo is the only cloud-based medical technology platform purpose-built to meet the unique needs of independent practices in more than 45 specialties. Today Kareo helps over 45,000 providers in all 50 states run more efficient and profitable practices, processing more than 60 million patient records through the Kareo platform. Kareo is the first to help independent practices find more patients, manage their care with a fully certified and easy-to-use EHR, and get paid quickly all in one complete and integrated platform. Kareo has received extensive industry recognition, including the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, Inc. 5000 and Black Book's #1 Integrated EHR, Practice Management and Medical Billing vendor, as well as the top of the Leader Quadrant in the Frontrunners Software Analysis of EHR. Kareo's growth further demonstrates the expansion and vitality of the independent practice market in the U.S. With offices across the country, Kareo's mission is to help independent practices succeed in an ever-changing healthcare market. More information can be found at www.kareo.com. Contact: Lindsay Thompson Strategies [email protected] 714-656-0141 Cell: 949-280-5854 SOURCE Kareo Related Links http://www.kareo.com York states, "Our development of My Home Tests is based on the core philosophy that laboratory testing must be accessible to everyone, thereby empowering people to take control of their own lives and possible infections, whether silent or symptomatic. For years, the public has had access to clinics, central labs, and community centers that offer infection testing, yet STIs continue to spread at unprecedented levels. We need to change the rules of engagement. People can now start the testing process in the privacy of their own homes and within a few days receive reliable results on their phone. Our partnership with Kathy Ireland, a leading world-wide advocate for disease prevention, treatment, and whenever possible, cures, will expand consumer awareness of this modern access point. Too many people are unaware of what is going on inside of their bodies. The statistics on undiagnosed infections are staggering." Ms. Ireland commented, "There is no comfort in ignorance. Having experienced people facing unexpected, terminal diseases and deaths, which could have been avoided, is heartbreaking. There is treatment for every disease that My Home Tests reveals. Please, for your sake, and the sake of those close to you Know your status. If you need treatment, please seek it. This isn't something that is said often enough. The repetition is deliberate. Too many people are needlessly dying from infections. Elizabeth Taylor often said 'No one should die of ignorance.'" Molecular Testing Labs, through My Home Tests, provides customized lab results for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, herpes II, human papilloma virus (HPV), chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, and others. The direct-to-consumer testing kit may be comprised of a self-administered dry blood spot card, swabs, and/or urine collection tubes. Self-collected specimens are then delivered to Molecular Testing Labs for processing and reporting. The results are conveyed with the same sensitivity and specificity requirements of a clinical reference laboratory. Kathy Ireland, Chair, CEO, and Chief Designer of kathy ireland Worldwide, says, "Our company's Millennium Development Goals strategy was formulated with the sole purpose of improving the lives of people in our country and around the world. Please know your status. Easier access to infection testing is such an important need for our society, as early diagnosis often leads to early treatment, which can save one's life and the lives of the people they love. Part of living a responsible lifestyle that is, indeed, full of life, includes routine testing for people beginning an intimate relationship, and certainly for people who are neither celibate, nor exclusively monogamous. There is power in knowing your status. Through this partnership, we will be able to bring affordable testing to people's homes, forgoing the sometimes long and anxious waiting period of a clinic, or anonymous doctor's office visit. Routine testing is imperative in reducing the spread of infections, and My Home Tests gives people easier access and a more comfortable way of doing it. All of us at kiWW are looking forward to working with James and the incredible team at Molecular Testing Labs in bettering the lives of men and women in extraordinary ways." Ms. Ireland's commitment to life at every stage is a platform of her personal philanthropy, and includes the opening of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) throughout America, providing disaster relief to people devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and the opening of treatment facilities in Haiti and Honduras. Ms. Ireland brings awareness to state-of-the-art medical care in Israel at Sheba Medical Center, for both Jews and Arabs alike, and initiated a mentoring program for teenage single mothers, which includes prenatal care and has enjoyed support from numerous celebrities, including Tyra Banks, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Jackson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who said "Kathy Ireland not only possesses unique and personal gifts which help and empower others Kathy guides by example. Follow her leadership, you who are pioneers for change." Ms. Ireland is one of the top ten women's health advocates in America, according to UCLA. Continuing the tireless work, activism, and financial support of her close friend and mentor, Elizabeth Taylor, Kathy is Ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Kathy Ireland recently donated an additional $100,000 to ETAF, to fight the war on HIV/AIDS. Dr. Charles Sailey, MD, Molecular Testing Labs' Laboratory Director declares "STI testing has improved dramatically over the past decade and it is no longer necessary to endure the inconvenience and anxiety of visiting a clinic to have a physician collect a sample then re-visit a few days later to get results. This tedious process simply does not work anymore in a society that is used to convenience at their fingertips. The CDC is reporting the highest rates ever for some infections and there is an urgent need for increased testing and prevention. To encourage STI testing to the extent that a change is made, people need a quick, convenient and reliable way to get tested. Molecular Testing Labs is a leader committed to addressing this void with innovative, breakthrough products backed with customized and simplified lab results reporting that empowers consumers with knowledge and guides to take action." Molecular Testing Labs continues to be at the forefront of developing innovative, direct-to-consumer products. The most recent additions to My Home Tests' menu is an inventive Celiac Disease vs gluten sensitivity panel and a Heavy Metals panel. As always, My Home Tests provides private access to a variety of tests freeing patients from cumbersome, traditional office visits. About Molecular Testing Labs Molecular Testing Labs is a CLIA and CAP accredited, state-of-the-art, esoteric and reference laboratory. Specializing in high-complexity, molecular testing with an extensive portfolio of services including infectious disease, toxicology, targeted sequencing, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), and high-resolution immune profiling. Molecular Testing Labs offers a variety of clinical trial services comprising of assay development, trial site training, investigator support, and customized reporting. Molecular Testing Labs applies maximum level of control to obtain the most consistent and highest quality results. Molecular Testing Labs is founded on three guiding principles Compliance, Innovation, and Partnership. For more information, please visit our corporate website: https://www.moleculartestinglabs.com. For more information on products, please visit brand website: https://myhometests.com. About kathy ireland Worldwide (kiWW) kiWW is listed as one of the most powerful brands in the world by License Global Magazine. Kathy Ireland is named one of the 19 most influential women in licensing by License Global magazine and according to Fairchild Publications, Kathy Ireland is one of the 50 most influential people in fashion. Furniture Today names Kathy one of the most influential leaders in the furniture industry. Kathy graces the cover of Forbes Magazine twice (2012, 2016). kiWW is responsible for billions of dollars in retail sales. kiWW is the recipient of multiple awards including several Good Housekeeping Seals. Kathy and kiWW support many non-profits including: YWCA Greater Los Angeles for which she is an Ambassador, Dream Foundation, Providence Educational Foundation, 911 for Kids/AEF, and the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Kathy is named an Ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. SOURCE kathy ireland Keysight Technologies ascended to the top because of its diverse and deep product portfolio. The company's RF test equipment and software-integrated solutions address the challenges created by new, increasingly complex technologies. These solutions find application in every phase of the customer's workflow because they cover all types of instruments, including signal generators, spectrum and signal analyzers, network analyzers and emulation, and context instruments (power meters and electronic counters) in different form factors. "Having operated for nearly eight decades in the RF T&M market, Keysight has a significant installed base in the mobile communications and aerospace and defense industries that continuously demand new solutions to test the constantly evolving communication technologies," said Industry Director Jessy Cavazos. "Keysight is the only company in the RF T&M market that offers all form factors (traditional, modular, and portable) covering every stage of the product lifecycle, including simulation, research, development, design validation, manufacturing, and installation and maintenance." Looking to evolve from a hardware-centric company to a software-driven company, Keysight launched a software design center in Atlanta, Georgia in 2016. In 2018, the company introduced PathWave, a design and test software platform that integrates the customer's workflow, from design to manufacturing. Even though hardware remains a critical focus in the RF T&M space, Keysight's strategy of focusing on software is a winning move because it endows the company to align with the industry's increasing focus on software. In addition to working closely with industry leaders to advance 5G, Keysight has been collaborating with automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their suppliers to develop next-generation automotive technologies, especially those related to the connected car and autonomous driving concepts. In line with this goal, Keysight opened its Automotive Solution Center in Detroit, Michigan, in November 2017. "As test systems typically consist of multiple instruments, software integration is critical. The wider offering Keysight provides in terms of solutions, software, and instruments makes it a one-stop shop," noted Cavazos. Each year, Frost & Sullivan bestows this award upon the company that demonstrates excellence in customer value. Attaining loyal customers that become brand advocates allows the company to achieve and maintain a market leadership position. By committing to the customer at each stage of the buying cycle and continuing to nurture the relationship, the company is recognized with this award for its market leadership position over time. Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry. About Keysight Technologies Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) is a leading technology company that helps enterprises, service providers, and governments accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Keysight's solutions optimize networks and bring electronic products to market faster and at a lower cost with offerings from design simulation, to prototype validation, to manufacturing test, to optimization in networks and cloud environments. Customers span the worldwide communications ecosystem, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, semiconductor and general electronics end markets. Keysight generated revenues of $3.2B in fiscal year 2017. In April 2017, Keysight acquired Ixia, a leader in network test, visibility, and security. More information is available at www.keysight.com. About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, collaborates with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, Frost & Sullivan has been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector, and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion. Contact: Claudia Toscano P: 210.477.8417 F: 210.348.1003 E: [email protected] Geri Lynne LaCombe P: 303.662.4748 E: [email protected] SOURCE Frost & Sullivan Related Links https://ww2.frost.com CHESEAUX-SUR-LAUSANNE and THALWIL, Switzerland, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kudelski Group (SIX: KUD.S), the world leader in digital security, and u-blox (SIX: UBXN), a global leader in positioning and wireless communication technologies for the automotive, industrial and consumer markets, today announced the signing of an MOU to bring premium-grade security to IoT devices. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/552468/u_blox_Logo.jpg ) Kudelski and u-blox agreed to collaborate toward integrating the Kudelski IoT Security Suite into multiple u-blox product lines, thereby providing field-proven security technologies to empower businesses to sustainably secure their digital transformation, and optional services enabling further business growth. "Digital transformation and IoT projects can only achieve their objectives if security is designed from the start, and a long-term, security lifecycle management approach is taken," said Jean-Michel Puiatti, senior vice president of IoT at Kudelski "u-blox has pioneered positioning, connectivity and short range communications solutions that underpin the connected Internet of Things. By establishing this relationship with them, we will work together to enable business owners to securely drive new business models, features, efficiency and data analytics." Integration of Kudelski technology into u-blox modules will enable premium device protection and security lifecycle management including secure firmware over the air upgrades (FOTA), but also secure communications and application data protection. "u-blox provides premium products to its customers and security is no exception," said Andreas Thiel, u-blox Co-Founder and Executive Director Cellular Product Center. "Combining our leading wireless communication technology with Kudelski IoT Security Suite provides our customers with the benefits of both companies' expertise and experience in dealing with high-volume, security-sensitive environments. We consider security as fundamental to the success of our customers' business and are delighted to have an experienced and proven security partner such as Kudelski when building our security services." The Kudelski IoT Security Suite is a comprehensive set of solutions and services based on 30 years of Kudelski Group innovation in protecting digital TV content on more than 400 million devices, as well as its strong expertise in cybersecurity. It makes IoT security easy to embrace by providing secure control and protection of the key resources of any IoT solution: data, network, device, features, communications and applications. By leveraging state-of-the-art security hardware designed by Swiss engineers and its unique heritage in both pay TV and cybersecurity, Kudelski Group is uniquely positioned to provide companies with design, implementation and long-term security lifecycle management of their connected business models across a variety of industries. Swiss born 20 years ago, u-blox is now a global company well on the way to becoming the leading industry quality supplier of communications and positioning components and solutions for the Internet of Things. As the IoT takes hold across the automotive, industrial and customer markets, the importance of dependable connectivity and location-awareness is at an all-time high - and continuing to grow. u-blox's comprehensive portfolio of high quality chips and modules therefore help contributing to a more secure and sustainable connected world. For more information about Kudelski Group IoT Solutions and Services, please visit https://iot.nagra.com. Contacts: Christopher Schouten, Head of Marketing Kudelski Group-IoT Security Phone: +41-79-560-43-75 E-mail: [email protected] Cedric Alber, Senior Manager Media Relations Kudelski Group Phone: +41-79-647-61-71 E-mail: [email protected] Natacha Seitz, PR Manager u blox Phone: +41-44-722-7388 E mail: [email protected] SOURCE Kudelski Group and u-blox CHICAGO, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Landmarks Illinois, a statewide historic preservation nonprofit, is encouraging communities across Illinois to apply to the final round of funding through the Landmarks Illinois WWI Monument Preservation Grant Program. The two-year grant program launched in 2017 in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the U.S. entry into WWI and provides financial support to WWI outdoor monuments and memorials in Illinois in need of restoration to recover their dedication-era quality and appearance. Grant applications for the final round of funding are due August 15, 2018. "In honor of Memorial Day, we are bringing awareness to aging memorials that pay homage to those who fought in the Great War," said Bonnie McDonald, President & CEO of Landmarks Illinois. "Landmarks Illinois is proud to provide funding to help preserve and protect these local landmarks." Landmarks Illinois has so far awarded $28,000 to WWI memorial restoration projects in Illinois through its WWI Monument Preservation Grant Program. The "Spirit of the American Doughboy" statue in Herrin is one such project. In December 2017, Landmarks Illinois awarded a $10,000 matching grant to the Herrin American Legion Post 645 to help restore the doughboy. Originally dedicated in 1927, the WWI memorial made of copper and concrete has suffered degradation from the elements throughout the years. Chuck Parola, from the Herrin American Legion Post 645, said the grant funding from Landmarks Illinois will go toward the overall cost of the restoration project, which will include paying for a metalsmith to restore the statue. Parola said the restoration is scheduled to be complete by Veterans Day. "If you have a World War I monument in your community that is in need of restoration, I cannot recommend Landmarks Illinois' WWI grant program enough," said Parola. "Landmarks Illinois has been a great partner in our restoration efforts, providing a base of financial support to make saving this important historical marker possible." The Landmarks Illinois WWI Monument Preservation Grant Program is generously supported by the Pritzker Military Foundation. Nonprofits and government agencies are encouraged to apply to the grant program. Eligible scopes of work include monument/memorial cleaning, repointing and stabilization, replacement of missing elements, monument/memorial relocation or general repair work. Visit our website for full eligibility rules and additional guidelines for grant applicants. Learn more about previous grant recipients here. CONTACT: Kaitlyn McAvoy, 1-312-922-1742, [email protected] SOURCE Landmarks Illinois Related Links http://www.landmarks.org/ WASHINGTON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Proxy season is underway, and by the time it concludes in June, millions of votes will have been cast for and against thousands of individual shareholder proposals. But the focus of many of these proposals has shifted from improving business performance and financial returns, to advancing social or political causes. Unfortunately, the vast majority of retail investors have no ability to influence what's being done supposedly on their behalf or even know that it is happening. Today, a group of leading national financial, retirement and manufacturing associations announced the launch of a new education and advocacy organization focused on bringing reform to that system which continues to deny an adequate voice to more than 100-million retail investors in the United States with more than $16.9 trillion in assets. The new campaign is called the Main Street Investors Coalition. Leading the campaign from a day-to-day standpoint will be George David Banks, executive director of the Coalition and executive vice president of the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF). Banks most recently served in the White House as a special assistant to the current administration on both the National Economic Council and National Security Council. His career also includes stints on Capitol Hill, the State Department, and the Central Intelligence Agency. "The rise in low-fee passive investing has been a good thing for retail investors," said Banks, who also serves as an adjunct research scholar at Columbia University in New York. "But as the size and influence of these massive institutional holders has grown, so too has their ability to drown-out the voices and interests of Main Street investors who, despite controlling the single largest pool of equity capital in the world, have no ability to influence the decisions these funds make on their behalf, with their money." By investing through vehicles such as 401(k)s and mutual, index and exchange-traded funds, retail investors have lost the ability to exercise any meaningful influence or control over the way proxies act as stewards and managers of their money. Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has acknowledged what has become a significant problem, repeatedly emphasizing the need to protect "the long-term interests of the Main Street investor" since joining the agency. The Main Street Investors Coalition was created to raise investors' awareness of how the system works and currently is being abused and advance a reform agenda designed to help fix it. In addition to ACCF, the Coalition also includes the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the Equity Dealers of America, the Savings & Retirement Foundation and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. Other organizations are expected to be added to the roster soon. The Coalition will focus on advancing four key priorities over the next several months: Demanding that fund managers focus on maximizing performance not playing politics with other people's money; Ensuring that retail investors who own passive funds through 401(k)s have a say in how their shares are voted; Forcing third-party, "black-box" proxy-advisory firms to be more transparent about potential conflicts of interest; and Insisting that public pension funds meet the same basic regulatory and reporting standards as private pension funds "The financial security of Main Street investors, who own stock through their retirement accounts, depends on companies growing and expanding. For too long, the interests of mom-and-pop shareholders have been secondary to the political agendas of major financial industry players. "Manufacturers believe that when companies can invest for growth, the middle class prospers. Often that prosperity takes the form of more jobs and higher wages. But retirement account balances are an important component of American families' financial health. "When financial industry players push agendas that divert time, attention and resources toward their pet causes, it means that less can be invested to pursue the growth that Main Street investors deserve. It's time that someone stood up for the financial security of everyday, hardworking Americans," said Christopher Netram, vice president of tax and domestic economic policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), a member of the coalition. Banks and the broader Coalition will draw on the counsel and support of an impressive advisory committee of experts, academics and practitioners. The panel includes a former SEC commissioner (Charles Cox); a board member of a major state public pension system (Bret Swanson); a former chief economist for several committees of Congress (Ike Brannon); and Nan Barouth, a former journalist and financial services professional who, as a current Main Street investor, has been active in recent months in sounding the alarm on the consequences of the increasing politicization of finance and corporate governance. Chairing the advisory committee is Prof. Bernard Sharfman, who has written and lectured extensively on this specific set of issues for years. Prof. Sharfman is a member of the Journal of Corporation Law's editorial advisory board and former visiting assistant professor of law at the University of Maryland School of Law and the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. SOURCE Main Street Investors Coalition Related Links https://www.mainstreetinvestors.org/ Bracken, who led Lexus since 2013, will become executive advisor, Lexus, and will also report to Fay. Bracken will remain in that role until Aug. 1, 2018, and then retire after 40 years with the company. During Bracken's tenure at Lexus, the luxury brand embarked on an ambitious plan to introduce bolder designs and dynamic driving experiences in all its vehicles, including flagship models such as the LC performance coupe and the LS premium luxury sedan. Bracken also returned Lexus to racing with the RCF GT3 and launched Lexus Plus, a dealer-driven alternative to retailing. Christ joined Toyota in 1994 and has held several managerial positions at regional sales offices for Toyota Motor Sales. He has also held positions in distribution and customer retention. Christ was vice president, sales, at Toyota Financial Services and vice president, sales operations for the Toyota division, prior to joining Lexus earlier this year as vice president of sales operations. Replacing Christ as Lexus vice president of sales operations is Dejuan Ross, who joins Lexus from his role as general manager of Toyota's Chicago Region. Ross, who joined Toyota in 1995, has held numerous positions at the Toyota and Lexus regional sales offices including Lexus Central general manager and Toyota Chicago Region assistant general manager. Ross will be based in Plano, Texas and will report to Christ. About Lexus Lexus' passion for brave design, imaginative technology, and exhilarating performance enables the luxury lifestyle brand to create amazing experiences for its customers. Lexus began its journey in 1989 with two luxury sedans and a commitment to pursue perfection. Since then, Lexus has developed its lineup to meet the needs of global luxury customers in more than 90 countries. In the United States, Lexus vehicles are sold through 240 dealers offering a full line-up of luxury vehicles. With five models incorporating Lexus Hybrid Drive, Lexus is the luxury hybrid leader. Lexus also offers seven F SPORT models and two F performance models. Lexus is committed to being a visionary brand that anticipates the future for luxury customers. Contact: Nancy Hubbell, Lexus Communications [email protected] 469-292-4954 SOURCE Lexus Related Links http://www.lexus.com INDIANAPOLIS, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a label update for Taltz (ixekizumab) injection 80 mg/mL to include data in psoriasis involving the genital area.1 Taltz is the first and only treatment approved by the FDA for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis that includes such data in its label.1 Taltz was first approved by the FDA in March 2016 for the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy.1 In December 2017, Taltz was also approved for the treatment of adults with active psoriatic arthritis.1 "Up to 63 percent of psoriasis patients will be impacted by psoriasis involving the genital area over the course of their disease," said Pete Salzmann, vice president, Lilly Immunology. "However, there remains a serious unmet need for patients seeking treatment options. We are proud of this important milestone for Taltz, and remain committed to pursuing research that may improve outcomes for people living with this challenging disease." "It is common for patients with psoriasis to experience symptoms in the genital area at some point during the course of their disease," said Michael Siegel, Ph.D., senior vice president of research and clinical affairs, National Psoriasis Foundation. "This news is a significant step in providing patients with more options for treating their disease. We encourage patients to talk with their healthcare provider about their symptoms of psoriasis in the genital area." The label update is based on positive results from the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in moderate-to-severe psoriasis involving the genital area.1 In the study, 149 patients with plaque psoriasis who were candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy, and who failed to respond to or were intolerant of at least one topical therapy for the treatment of psoriasis affecting the genital area, were treated with Taltz or placebo.1 Patients were required to have a minimum body surface area involvement of 1 percent, a static Physician Global Assessment (sPGA) score of 3 and a sPGA of genitalia score of 3.1 Taltz demonstrated a significant improvement compared to placebo at 12 weeks in the severity of psoriasis affecting the genital area, as measured by sPGA of genitalia score; overall psoriasis, as measured by sPGA score; genital itch, as measured by the Genital Psoriasis Symptoms Scale (GPSS) Itch numeric rating scale (NRS); and in the patient-perceived impact of psoriasis involving the genital area on frequency of sexual activity, as measured by Sexual Frequency Questionnaire (SFQ) Item 2 (In the past week how often did your psoriasis involving the genital area limit the frequency of your sexual activity?) score.1 sPGA of genitalia score of "0" (clear) or "1" (minimal): 73 percent of patients treated with Taltz compared to 8 percent for placebo 1 Overall sPGA score of "0" (clear) or "1" (minimal): 73 percent of patients treated with Taltz compared to 3 percent for placebo 1 GPSS Genital Itch (4 point improvement): 55 percent of patients treated with Taltz compared to 6 percent for placebo 1 SFQ Item 2 score "0" (never) or "1" (rarely): 78 percent of patients treated with Taltz compared to 21 percent for placebo1 Taltz should not be used in patients with a previous serious hypersensitivity reaction, such as anaphylaxis, to ixekizumab or to any of the excipients.1 Taltz may increase the risk of infection.1 Other warnings and precautions for Taltz include pre-treatment evaluation for tuberculosis, hypersensitivity reactions, inflammatory bowel disease, and immunizations.1 The safety outcomes from this study were consistent with the overall safety profile of Taltz.1 See Important Safety Information below.1 "Psoriasis involving the genital area can significantly impact patients, yet it's not routinely examined by healthcare providers," said Caitriona Ryan, M.D., lead study investigator. "The results from this clinical trial may raise awareness around the topic among healthcare providers." "The trial results found that the majority of patients treated with Taltz achieved clear or almost clear genital skin at week 12," said Jennifer Clay Cather, M.D., Modern Research Associates, Dallas, Texas. "With these data, physicians can recommend Taltz as an effective treatment option for psoriasis in this area." Indications and Usage Taltz is approved to treat adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy.1 Taltz is also approved for the treatment of adults with active psoriatic arthritis.1 IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION CONTRAINDICATIONS Taltz is contraindicated in patients with a previous serious hypersensitivity reaction, such as anaphylaxis, to ixekizumab or to any of the excipients. WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Infections Taltz may increase the risk of infection. In clinical trials of patients with plaque psoriasis, the Taltz group had a higher rate of infections than the placebo group (27% vs 23%). A similar increase in risk of infection was seen in placebo-controlled trials of patients with psoriatic arthritis. Serious infections have occurred. Instruct patients to seek medical advice if signs or symptoms of clinically important chronic or acute infection occur. If a serious infection develops, discontinue Taltz until the infection resolves. Pre-Treatment Evaluation for Tuberculosis Evaluate patients for tuberculosis (TB) infection prior to initiating treatment with Taltz. Do not administer to patients with active TB infection. Initiate treatment of latent TB prior to administering Taltz. Closely monitor patients receiving Taltz for signs and symptoms of active TB during and after treatment. Hypersensitivity Serious hypersensitivity reactions, including angioedema and urticaria (each 0.1%), occurred in the Taltz group in clinical trials. Anaphylaxis, including cases leading to hospitalization, has been reported in post-marketing use with Taltz. If a serious hypersensitivity reaction occurs, discontinue Taltz immediately and initiate appropriate therapy. Inflammatory Bowel Disease During Taltz treatment, monitor patients for onset or exacerbations of inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, including exacerbations, occurred at a greater frequency in the Taltz group (Crohn's disease 0.1%, ulcerative colitis 0.2%) than in the placebo group (0%) during clinical trials in patients with plaque psoriasis. Immunizations Prior to initiating therapy with Taltz, consider completion of all age-appropriate immunizations according to current immunization guidelines. Avoid use of live vaccines in patients treated with Taltz. ADVERSE REACTIONS Most common adverse reactions (1%) associated with Taltz treatment are injection site reactions, upper respiratory tract infections, nausea, and tinea infections. Overall, the safety profile observed in patients with psoriatic arthritis was consistent with the safety profile in patients with plaque psoriasis, with the exception of influenza and conjunctivitis. Please click to access the Prescribing Information and Medication Guide. Please click to access Instructions for Use included with the device. IX HCP ISI 01DEC2017 About Taltz Taltz (ixekizumab) is a monoclonal antibody that selectively binds with interleukin 17A (IL-17A) cytokine and inhibits its interaction with the IL-17 receptor.1 IL-17A is a naturally occurring cytokine that is involved in normal inflammatory and immune responses.1 Taltz inhibits the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines.1 About Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis Psoriasis is a chronic, immune disease that affects the skin.2 It occurs when the immune system sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells.2 Psoriasis affects approximately 125 million people worldwide, approximately 20 percent of whom have moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.2,3 Psoriasis can occur on any part of the body, including the genital area.2 Up to 63 percent of psoriasis patients experience genital psoriasis over the course of their disease.4 The most common form of psoriasis, plaque psoriasis, appears as raised, red patches covered with a silvery white buildup of dead skin cells.2 Patients with plaque psoriasis often have other serious health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.2 About Eli Lilly and Company Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and www.lilly.com/newsroom/social-channels. P-LLY This press release contains forward-looking statements (as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) about Taltz (ixekizumab) in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, who also have psoriasis in the genital area, and reflects Lilly's current belief. Lilly considers patients with genital psoriasis as a sub-population of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. As with any pharmaceutical product, there are substantial risks and uncertainties in the process of development and commercialization. Among other things, there can be no guarantee that future study results will be consistent with the results to date, that Taltz will receive additional regulatory approvals, or be commercially successful. For further discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, see Lilly's most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Lilly undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release. 1 Taltz Prescribing Information, 2018. 2 Psoriasis media kit. National Psoriasis Foundation website. https://www.psoriasis.org/sites/default/files/for-media/MediaKit.pdf. Last Updated May 22, 2018. Accessed May 22, 2018. 3 Skin conditions by the numbers. American Academy of Dermatology website. https://www.aad.org/media/stats/conditions/skin-conditions-by-the-numbers. Last Updated May 22, 2018. Accessed May 22, 2018. 4 Ryan C, et al. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2015; 978-983. PP-IX-US-2099 05/2018 Lilly USA, LLC 2018. All rights reserved. SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company Related Links http://www.lilly.com NEW YORK, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Almost everyone is aware of the tear that lithium stocks have been on over the last couple years. Driven by the projected exponential increase of electric vehicles and coupled with broad-based, ever-increasing demand for lithium-ion (L-ion) batteries, many recognized names in the lithium mining sector tripled in value to reach all-time highs by the end of last year. Shortly after the start of 2018, lithium shares tumbled by 14 percent and more on a negative forecast by Morgan Stanley analysts. That forecast has since been widely derided by a wide range of lithium industry experts, which give the negative scenario less than a one percent chance of happening. Reflecting the true scale of the unfolding energy transformation, respected independent commodity forecaster Roskill recently tripled its demand forecast for lithium through 2026. Roskill originally forecast lithium demand would increase to 328,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent by 2026 and now predicts lithium demand to explode to over 1,00,000 tons within the next eight years (http://nnw.fm/C5n4e). Lithium-related stocks and ETFs have proved to be the best way to play our collective electric future in vehicles, electronics and high-density storage - all dependent on lithium batteries. Broadly diversified across the entire production chain, the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (NYSE: LIT) invests in the full lithium cycle from raw resource to battery production, reducing risk but limiting upside opportunity. Miners have been and should continue to be the best avenue to most directly and greatly profit from the burgeoning lithium demand and market imbalances. Even though lithium is trading near all-time highs, if demand increases 300 percent as many predict, miners in the renowned "lithium triangle," such as Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB), Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE: SQM), and FMC Corp. (NYSE: FMC) are likely to do well. However, given the location and value of its assets, a prospective junior miner, Lithium Chile (TSX-V: LITH) (OTC: LTMCF) (LTMCF Profile), may possibly outperform any other lithium player this year. The Motherlode Nearly 70 percent of the world's lithium comes from brine water sources, and the rest comes from hard rock spodumene that is much costlier to mine. Salar brines (salt lake in Spanish) are the underground reservoirs that contain exceptionally high concentrations of dissolved lithium. Chile's Salar de Atacama, the most renowned sector of the "lithium triangle," holds the largest and highest-quality proven lithium reserves in the world. Mineral-rich brines, scarce rainfall and high altitude scorching desert sun make it an ideal environment for brine mining with the lowest lithium production costs anywhere on the planet. Located in the heart of the lithium triangle, Lithium Chile (TSX-V: LITH) (OTCQB: LTMCF) is poised to explore and potentially develop what the company hopes will be the next big lithium discovery in Chile. Quietly and strategically, Lithium Chile has managed to amass over 148,000 hectares across 15 properties, surrounding the world's foremost lithium reserves. Lithium Chile's holdings represent the largest wholly owned lithium land package in all of Chile, outside of the government itself. Current land prices hover around $1,000 per hectare as evidenced by recent competitor land purchases, but Lithium Chile was able to acquire large tracts of prime lithium-bearing properties for only $3 per hectare by staking the claims. If drilling proves successful, one would expect land prices to increase dramatically, based on what happened to successful projects in neighboring Argentina. In 2014, commodity prices in precious and base metals were depressed, the country's economy was weak, and lithium mining was hampered by antiquated government strictures. Concurrently, neighboring Argentina elected a pro-mining government and eased foreign capital restrictions on lithium exploration and mining. However, in March 2018, Chile elected a pro-mining, pro-business government that is easing restrictions and cutting red tape. In fact, within a day of taking power earlier this year, the government issued the first new lithium production and export license in decades. The result is a lithium exploration boom. As exploration interest focused on Argentina, Lithium Chile turned to geologist Terry Walker's 26 years of mining experience in country. With the full financial backing and support from the company, which has raised CDN$12.7 million to date, Walker used comprehensive, previously generated technical data to identify salars that were prospective for high-grade lithium, good magnesium to lithium chemistry and close to critical infrastructure. Now an equity shareholder, vice president of exploration, and chief geologist of Lithium Chile, Walker continues to advance his mission: proving out Lithium Chile's prime properties. A Lithium Bonanza Lithium Chile has conducted sampling programs across its portfolio. The top six have returned high-grade lithium samples at and near surface, have good chemistry, great infrastructure - all for little more than $3 a hectare. Coipasa: 11,300 hectares Near surface samples from 310 to 1410 mg/L lithium Chemistry 3.9 Mg:Li Ollague: 2,200 hectares Near surface samples from 160 to 1140 mg/L lithium Chemistry 7.1 Mg:Li Helados: 30,100 hectares Near surface samples from 390 to 1280 mg/L lithium Chemistry 2.6 Mg:Li Atacama: 6,600 hectares Near surface samples from 210 to 1330 mg/L lithium Chemistry 2.6 Mg:Li Turi: 7,600 hectares Near surface samples from 290 to 740 mg/L lithium Chemistry 4.5 Mg:Li Talar: 3,500 hectares Near surface samples from 260 to 525 mg/L lithium Chemistry 7.8 Mg:Li Field tests so far have shown some of the highest lithium sample grades reported throughout Chile. To provide some perspective: typical lithium concentration needed for production in the United States is between 190 to 200 mg of lithium per liter. Some of Lithium Chile's properties have tested over 1000 mg per liter, and one sample returned 1410 mg per liter taken within three feet of the surface. Also, if the right brine chemistry doesn't exist, lithium extraction can be difficult and expensive. The chemistry tests on the six top products have shown excellent results. When Millennial Lithium first entered Argentina in 2016, it picked up its first project at $2,000 a hectare. Within six months of acquisition and after additional exploration, adjoining ground was selling for $3,000 a hectare. Once the project was proved to contain mineral resources that could be mined, adjoining ground was bought for close to $9,000 a hectare. Land values in Chile have already risen to $1,000 per hectare. If Lithium Chile proves up the potential of its holdings, the values could see a significant spike. The company continues to receive inquiries with respect to joint ventures and optioning on one of more of its properties. Lithium Chile's wholly owned assets include 66 square kilometers directly on the Salar de Atacama, Chile's largest mineral salt flat and home to about 30 percent of the world's lithium production. The Salar de Atacama offers multiple competitive advantages in lithium production including good infrastructure, high concentrations of salar brines, low processing costs, superior evaporation rates and favorable year-round weather. Following field test samples, the company initiated a TEM survey program on five of its properties, with encouraging results, including identifying multiple high-priority target areas on Lithium Chile's Atacama, Ollague, Helados and Coipasa projects. Drilling permits have already been applied for, and it is anticipated that drilling will commence before the end of the second quarter 2018. Tangled Triangle Over half of all the world's lithium resources are in the lithium triangle, which encompasses parts of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Of the three countries, market-friendly Chile has dominated world lithium markets for decades. Chile produced nearly 80,000 tons last year, almost twice as much as Argentina and Bolivia combined. Argentina is taking steps to increase activity while Bolivia has barely begun. In Argentina, FMC Corp. (NYSE: FMC) mines lithium brine at Salar del Hombre Muerto. Primarily a pesticides maker, FMC is planning to sell off around 15 percent of its lithium business in an IPO later this year, giving the business a market value of more than $3 billion. After the IPO, the company plans to spin out its remaining 85 percent stake in the lithium business to existing shareholders. Under leases signed in the 1980s, Chile's SQM and Albemarle of the United States currently extract brine in Chile's lithium-rich Salar de Atacama. Albemarle (NYSE: ALB), a global leader in specialty chemicals, is among the largest lithium producers in the world with operations in Australia, the United States and Chile, deriving over 40 percent of its total revenue from lithium sales. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE: SQM) is a large intriguing player in the global lithium quest. SQM has battled for years with CORFO, the Chilean economic development agency, and just ended a long-running dispute over royalties on the leased Salar de Atacama properties. SQM settled and will now be allowed to expand (http://nnw.fm/7TIg3) its annual lithium carbonate equivalent production to at least 216,000 tons by 2025. This comes after CORFO had blocked the sale of 32 percent of SQM to the Chinese, preventing China from controlling 70 percent of the world's lithium supply. Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) also came to terms with CORFO and received approval for an increase in the company's lithium quota to as much as 145,000 metric tons. Even with these increased quotas for major producers, it's still a far cry from the projected 1 million tons of lithium needed by 2026. Only new sources can make up the projected shortfall. Lithium is essential in the new energy revolution that looks to be larger and more transformative than the transition from steam power to petroleum. To profit from this L-ion powered transformation, investors need to adjust their portfolios accordingly. For more information on Lithium Chile, please visit Lithium Chile (TSX-V: LITH) (OTCQB: LTMCF). 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About IBN Over the past 10+ years we have consistently introduced new network brands, each specifically designed to fulfil the unique needs of our growing client base and services. Today, we continue to expand our branded network of highly influential properties, leveraging the knowledge and energy of specialized teams of experts to serve our increasingly diversified list of clients. Please feel free to visit the Investor Brand Network (IBN) http://www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com. Corporate Communications Contact: NetworkNewsWire (NNW) New York, New York http://www.NetworkNewsWire.com +1-212-418-1217 Office [email protected] Media Contact: FN Media Group, LLC [email protected] +1-(954)345-0611 SOURCE NetworkNewsWire CINCINNATI, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Answering the needs of today's online engineering customers, L.J. Star has launched its all-new online configurator, giving customers instant access to 3D CAD model downloads. Built by CADENAS PARTsolutions, the catalog of configurable 3D CAD models streamlines the process for engineers and designers to find, configure and download products on-the-fly, directly from L.J. Star. As a customer-focused company and manufacturer of process control and observation equipment, L.J. Star sets high standards for delivering an exceptional customer experience. By providing easy access to 3D CAD models for its visual flow indicators and its METAGLAS sight glass products that customers can download directly from its website (www.ljstar.com), the online configurator transforms L.J. Star's product-to-download process and digital customer experience. Customers can now find and download high-quality, configurable products with the speed, accuracy and deliverability that today's engineers and designers need. "Before, customers would call in their product orders so our team could draw up the model, or customers would go draw it themselves or send in another manufacturer's drawing. Time went on, and we received more and more requests for 3D CAD models," said Mike Curnutte, Director of Business Development at L.J. Star. "We wanted to make 3D models more readily available to our customers. This type of online tool made it easy for us to do that." The digital CAD catalog offers CAD downloads in over 100 file formats and versions, so engineers can download a native file of their desired products and test it directly in their designs. All the while, L.J. Star's information and the product data are built-in the downloaded part, ensuring customers can easily return to L.J. Star to purchase the exact product they need. About L.J. Star L.J. Star Incorporated provides an extensive line of process observation equipment sight glasses, lights, sanitary fittings, level gage instrumentation, as well as a wide variety of sight glass accessories. Product lines include METAGLAS Safety Sight Windows, Lumiglas Explosion Proof Lights and Cameras, Visual Flow Indicators, Sight Ports, Sanitary Clamps, Magnetic Level Gages and Gage Glass. METAGLAS is the No. 1 selling fused sight glass, proven in thousands of installations around the world. It meets stringent DIN 7079 and DIN 7080 quality standards, and it is approved for USP Type I use. For tutorials, specs and 3D CAD files, visit www.ljstar.com. About CADENAS PARTsolutions CADENAS PARTsolutions is a leading provider of next-generation marketing, sales and customer support tools for manufacturers, including 3D product catalogs with digital CAD download technology to help increase sales lead generation and to ensure that components get "designed in" to OEM products. For more information visit PARTsolutions.com Media Inquiries CADENAS PARTsolutions Adam Beck Marketing Manager 400 Techne Center Dr., Ste. 301 Milford, OH 45150 USA Phone: (513) 453-0453 Fax: (513) 453-0460 [email protected] www.partsolutions.com @partsolutions SOURCE CADENAS PARTsolutions Related Links http://www.partsolutions.com Ron Cushing has been busy filling his barn with New Zealand bred horses this year and is taking no prisoners when they hit the track. On Monday afternoon Cushing and his ownership partner Kevin Sywyk started two of their Heidi Gibbs-trained bearcats in the $14,000 Winners-Over feature pace at Plainridge Park and came away finishing first and second while taking two opposite routes to the wire. Delightful Offer N (Ron Cushing) bolted off the gate and took the lead before getting the race to the quarter in a brisk :26. At that Point, Kenrick N (Mitchell Cushing) who had gotten away fifth, pulled early and was slowly was making his way up the outside. Cushing tapped the brakes with Delightful Offer N and got a pedestrian :30 second quarter and as a result. Kenrick N who was floating third on the outside, was able to continue to advance in the outer flow and brought Grand Theft (Greg Merton) with him. Sitting chilly with his whip on his shoulder, Cushing rounded the final turn with Delightful Offer N and was pulling away without effort in deep stretch while stablemate Kenrick N was still game, holding off three late closers as they approached the wire. Delightful Offer N was a two-length wrapped-up winner in 1:51.2 ahead of Kenrick N. It was the second straight win at Plainridge Park for Delightful Offer N ($5.40) and also a new lifetime mark for the seven-year-old son of Bettors Delight. Shawn Gray put on a driving clinic on Monday, winning half the card. Gray was the victorious pilot with Straightoutaconsin (1:53.4, $3.00), Superbowl Party (1:52.1, $5.80), Duke Of Delray (1:54.1, $3.60), Jacksons Image (1:52.2, $3.20) and One To Draw To (1:51.1, $5.60). As a result of his performance, Gray shot past Drew Campbell into second in the dash driving derby, just behind the leading Greg Merton. With Campbell having two wins on the day and Merton getting shut out, Merton now leads with 32 wins, Gray is second with 31 and Campbell is third with 29. Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Tuesday afternoon with post time at 4 p.m. (Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts) COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- LogPoint, the next generation SIEM and Big Data Analytics company, has established its base for the North American operations in Boston, MA, preparing for rapid expansion across the market. Since a successful US soft-launch during the RSA Conference in April, the team led by LogPoint founder Soren Laustrup has onboarded senior executives and other key experts for the expansion. LogPoint expects to reach a team of 20 in the U.S. this year. LogPoint Boston will be the hub for the LogPoint North American management, Sales, Marketing, Pre-Sales, and Support. The first agreements with larger MSSPs are already in place and based on the response from potential customers, LogPoint expects to provide its SIEM platform to at least 100 U.S. corporations before the end of 2018. While LogPoint is new to the North American market, the company is already serving many European corporations and their operations in the U.S. "Key analysts, MSSP partners, and customers have encouraged LogPoint to enter North America as the market needs a real challenger. Our platform provides full-blown SIEM capabilities in a package easy to deploy and maintain. And it comes with a license model that is not based on data analyzed or EPS received, but rather based on the number of nodes in a 'all-you-can-eat' buffet, says Jesper Zerlang," CEO of LogPoint. "Our expansion into the North American market comes at a time where the key elements of our long-term growth plans are aligned. The LogPoint technology and business model has proven its value and our platform in high demand across Europe counting more than 600 customers in all segments." The power of the LogPoint SIEM platform has been recognized by customers and leading technology analysts for several years. LogPoint has a 4.6 point average in the Gartner Peer Insights review for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and received a Silver Award in the Gartner 2017 Customer Choice Awards, placing LogPoint ahead of the usual vendors in the SIEM market. "While we are naturally humbled by the magnitude and the maturity of the North American SIEM market, we at LogPoint are challengers by nature and innovation is a key part of our DNA," says Soren Laustrup, Founder and Managing Director of LogPoint Inc. "We were extremely well received at RSA in San Francisco and its very clear to me that US industry appreciates the flexibility and agility of our platform, the power of our analytics and visualizations and our attractive pricing model." The LogPoint platform combines the simplicity and flexibility by design with cutting-edge technology, including UEBA capabilities. The simplicity and flexibility of LogPoint do not only apply to the technical platform but also to the business model, which includes a licensing structure that drastically reduces the cost of deploying a SIEM platform whether it is local or global, hosted on-premise or in the cloud via our MSSPs. The attached photo of Jesper Zerlang can be used freely by the media. For more information, visit www.logpoint.com/press. For additional information, contact: LogPoint Media relations Tel.: +45 7060 6100 E-mail: [email protected] www.logpoint.com Mads Lindberg VP Communications Tel.: +45 3031 7141 E-mail: [email protected] Related Files LogPoint_Launch_America_final.pdf Related Links LogPoint website LogPoint Media Room SOURCE LogPoint Related Links http://www.logpoint.com SUGAR LAND, Texas, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Oil & Gas producers continue to be vexed by low prices for natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs), but chemical processors are welcoming the abundance of low-cost feedstocks for their products. Flat and stable prices for natural gas and NGLs are giving U.S. and Canadian chemical processors a competitive advantage over rivals who use naphtha for their feedstock. At current prices of about $70 per barrel, crude oil is about 24 times the price of natural gas on a BTU-equivalent basis. For details, view the entire article by subscribing to Industrial Info's Premium Industry News, or browse other breaking industrial news stories at www.industrialinfo.com. Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the www.industrialinfo.com "Contact Us" page. Brian Ford (713) 980-9393 SOURCE Industrial Info Resources, Inc. Related Links http://www.industrialinfo.com Marshall O. Larsen, lead director of the board, said, "Attracting Marvin is a great win for the entire Lowe's team. Marvin is an experienced retail CEO with extensive expertise in a complex omni-channel consumer-facing company. He also brings significant experience in the home improvement industry, with a proven track record of global operational excellence and driving results from both DIY and Pro customers. Marvin joins Lowe's at a critical inflection point as we work to enhance our competitive position and capitalize on solid project demand in an evolving consumer environment. We look forward to shepherding an exciting new chapter for Lowe's under Marvin's leadership." Ellison said, "I am thrilled to take on the role as Lowe's next president and CEO. Working closely with Lowe's board, management team and the more than 310,000 talented employees, I believe we will not just compete, but win in today's complex retail environment. Together, we will leverage Lowe's omni-channel capabilities to deliver the most simple and seamless customer experiences as we execute with purpose and put the customer first in everything we do." Larsen added, "On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Robert for his leadership and dedication to Lowe's over the last 25 years. Robert played a key role in driving our omni-channel strategy and positioning the company as a leader in home improvement. We wish him all the best in his retirement." Niblock said, "It has been an honor to serve as Lowe's chairman, president and CEO. I am confident in the company's prospects for growth and value creation under Marvin's leadership. I know that Marvin's deep appreciation for Lowe's culture, people and customers make him the ideal choice to serve as this great company's next leader, and I look forward to a smooth transition." About Marvin R. Ellison Marvin Ellison currently serves as chairman and CEO of J. C. Penney Company, Inc., and previously served as president and CEO-designee of JCPenney from 2014 to 2015. Prior to that, Ellison spent more than 12 years at The Home Depot, Inc., where he served as executive vice president of U.S. stores from 2008 to 2014 and was responsible for sales, profit and overall operations for 2,000 stores, more than 275,000 employees and $65 billion in annual sales volume. Prior to joining The Home Depot, Ellison spent 15 years at Target Corporation in a variety of operational roles. Ellison is currently a director of FedEx Corporation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the National Retail Federation. Ellison was named to Fortune's "World's Greatest Leaders in 2016" and recognized as the "2016 Corporate Executive of the Year" by Black Enterprise. Ellison holds a BBA degree in marketing from the University of Memphis and a MBA from Emory University. About Richard W. Dreiling Rick Dreiling joined Lowe's board of directors in 2012 and brings more than 40 years of retail industry experience at all operating levels. He is a past chairman of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and serves on the board of Aramark, Kellogg Company and PulteGroup, Inc. Dreiling served as CEO of Dollar General Corporation from January 2008 to June 2015, and as chairman from December 2008 until January 2016. About Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a FORTUNE 50 home improvement company serving more than 18 million customers a week in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With fiscal year 2017 sales of $68.6 billion, Lowe's and its related businesses operate or service more than 2,390 home improvement and hardware stores and employ over 310,000 people. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's supports the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. For more information, visit Lowes.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements including words such as "believe", "plan", "will", "strategy", "look forward" and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about Lowe's plans, objectives, priorities, expectations and intentions, and any statement of an assumption underlying any of the foregoing and other statements that are not historical facts. Although we believe that the expectations, opinions and comments reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and we can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. A wide variety of potential risks, uncertainties and other factors could materially affect our ability to achieve the results either expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements including, but not limited to (i) risks relating to management and key personnel changes and (ii) our ability to successfully execute on our strategy and implement our strategic initiatives. For more information about these and other risks and uncertainties that we are exposed to, you should read the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsCritical Accounting Policies and Estimates" included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and the description of material changes thereto, if any, included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or subsequent filings with the SEC. The foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, change in circumstances, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. SOURCE Lowe's Companies, Inc. Related Links http://www.lowes.com SPRINGFIELD, Ill., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. customer Stanley Black & Decker will be participating in the ASUG Sapphire June 4-7 in Orlando. Stanley Black & Decker will present the session titled From Spools to Enterprise Management with SAP Software: Lessons Learned at Stanley Black & Decker. They will be discussing LRS' VPSX/OutputManager software along with their SAP updates during the session. LRS technical staff will be available to field questions during the session. After working with SAP software for decades, Stanley Black & Decker converted spools from a local operating system service to an enterprise solution. The informative session will focus on how their conversions were automated, tested and verified as well as the visibility of output devices, resource usage and user experience. "We hope that many of our SAP customers will be able to attend this session and hear how Stanley Black & Decker has been able to successfully integrate VPSX/OutputManager into their SAP environment," says Jack Liner, Senior Systems Engineer for LRS. "We look forward to sharing this story with our SAP clients during Sapphire 18 and will be available to answer any questions following the session." The session From Spools to Enterprise Management with SAP Software will take place on Tuesday, June 5 from 2-3 p.m. in room S310F on the South Concourse, third floor. About LRS Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. (LRS) is a privately-held U.S. company with corporate headquarters located in Springfield, Illinois, USA. Remote offices are located throughout the United States and in key geographic regions around the world including Cheltenham, UK. More than half of the Fortune 500 and Fortune 500 Service companies rely on industry-leading LRS solutions, with products in use in over 30 countries. LRS keeps their businesses running with robust, highly scalable software that captures, stores and controls the huge volumes of document output they generate and reliably delivers it to hundreds of distributed locations regardless of format. With a ROI of less than 12 months, a 30-year track record of success and global sales and support organizationLRS is the market leader. Industry analyst groups recognize LRS as a global IT leader and Software Magazine consistently ranks LRS as one of the top software companies in the world. 2018 Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. All rights reserved. LRS, the LRS chevron logo and VPSX/OutputManager are registered trademarks of Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. SAP is a registered trademark of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries. Jack Liner [email protected] 217-793-3800 x7137 or Todd Poe [email protected] 217-793-3800 x1561 SOURCE Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. Related Links http://www.lrs.com "Our music program is different," said Onishi. "Our students are diverse, the music we play is remarkable, and we have fun while doing it." "I love the music department at LHS because people from every spectrum of a social or economic background come together and relate through music," said senior music department student Dillon Matthews. The incredible work of the students and teachers in Lynnwood High School's diverse music program stood out to Inspirus Credit Union, who wanted to share their music with the community. All ten ensembles that make up Lynnwood's music program are now on display at Inspirus in Lynnwood. "We invite the community to visit our Lynnwood branch location to see and hear the wonderful work the music students are doing inside and outside of the classroom," said Inspirus Credit Union President Scott Adkins. "It's amazing to see how devoted these students are to their classwork and music activities." Jazz band students begin the school day 6:20 a.m. practicing their music skills and then take a full set of classes once the regular school day begins. "Their willingness to work at the highest level at the most challenging hours, sets them apart in their commitment, dedication, and musical excellence," said Onishi. "Our students work hard in their classes and after school activities." In addition to playing, students in the music program give back to the community through civic engagement each year by hosting canned food drives for the Lynnwood food bank. "It makes me proud to work with students who are so eager to learn new things and want to give back to our community," Onishi said. Lynnwood High School students also host a Broadway Musical every other year to showcase their talents. This year, students performed Music Man, Directed by Lynnwood High School Music Director Amy Stevenson, with melodies played by the programs award winning musical pit orchestra. "It's inspiring to see students work so hard in the classroom each day and put in the extra hours outside of class time for rehearsal and civic engagement activities," said Stevenson. "I love working with our music students." The music program is currently on display at Inspirus Credit Union. Community members and fans are welcome to visit the Lynnwood branch location to learn more about the music program. To view Lynnwood High School's Music Program on display, visit Inspirus Credit Union at 3405 188th ST. SW, #201, Lynnwood, WA 98037. About Inspirus Credit Union Inspirus Credit Union (pronounced inspire-us) is where banking benefits education. When members use Inspirus for their financial services, they are furthering the credit union's mission and increasing contributions to Washington's education community. Nearly 80,000 member-owners share a passion for education that connects them to Inspirus and Washington classrooms. The credit union is a not-for-profit financial institution that returns earnings to members through lower loan rates, higher returns on deposit, and donates time, talents, and dollars to the communities it serves. With $1.2 billion in assets, Inspirus operates branches in Seattle, Spokane, and Lynnwood. For more information, visit inspirusCU.org. CONTACT: Morgan Cole Public Relations Specialist 206-628-5788 [email protected] SOURCE Inspirus Credit Union Related Links https://www.inspiruscu.org SAN ANTONIO, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Urban Bricks Pizza, a fast-casual restaurant franchise serving next generation, quick Artisan pizza, salad and paninis with unlimited toppings, announced plans to introduce the fun, millennial-driven brand and 'Brickin good' pizza to Panama, Arizona, Colorado and Illinois. Currently operating 14 locations in Texas and Ontario, Canada, Urban Bricks Pizza serves authentic, customizable Neapolitan pizza with an all-American attitude. Unlike other fast-casual pizza concepts, Urban Bricks offers delivery, drive-thru and full bar options. The brand offers multiple design options based on specific market demographics, but remaining consistent at all new Urban Bricks locations is the edgy and entertaining interior and the fresh made-how-you-want-it food. Expansion plans include: Panama : Urban Bricks will soon become the first Build-Your-Own pizza concept in Central America with the signing of a five-unit franchise agreement in Panama . The first location is set to open late 2018 in Panama City. A new location is set to open every year for the next five years, which will be run by a group of experienced restaurant owners who currently operate Subway restaurants and other franchise brands in Latin America . : Urban Bricks will soon become the first Build-Your-Own pizza concept in with the signing of a five-unit franchise agreement in . The first location is set to open late 2018 in Panama City. A new location is set to open every year for the next five years, which will be run by a group of experienced restaurant owners who currently operate Subway restaurants and other franchise brands in . Phoenix, AZ : Anish Patel has signed a franchise deal to bring three Urban Bricks Pizza locations to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area in the next three years. At just 26-years-old, Patel owns Super Cuts franchises and hotel franchises and is now expanding his portfolio to include the restaurant industry for this first time with Urban Bricks. : has signed a franchise deal to bring three Urban Bricks Pizza locations to the Metropolitan Area in the next three years. At just 26-years-old, Patel owns Super Cuts franchises and hotel franchises and is now expanding his portfolio to include the restaurant industry for this first time with Urban Bricks. Fort Collins, CO : Jason Wolf solidified a franchise agreement to introduce Urban Bricks to Colorado . After researching many restaurant concepts, Wolf landed on Urban Bricks because of its cool look and fun vibe. The Fort Collins location is set to open this summer at 2860 E. Harmony Road. Wolf plans to open a second location in Northern Colorado . : Jason Wolf solidified a franchise agreement to introduce Urban Bricks to . After researching many restaurant concepts, Wolf landed on Urban Bricks because of its cool look and fun vibe. The location is set to open this summer at 2860 E. Harmony Road. Wolf plans to open a second location in . Orland Park, IL : Urban Bricks corporate plans to open this location by summer at 7170 W. 159th St. in Orland Park , near the Tinley Park Shopping Center. Urban Bricks has more than 100 committed stores through individual and master franchise agreements. In addition to Arizona, Colorado and Illinois, the brand will continue to expand its footprint throughout its home state of Texas in 2018. Domestic expansion plans are also set for Florida, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina and Oregon. "In addition to delivering high quality pizza, salads and paninis with unlimited fresh ingredients at one, flat price, Urban Bricks has this incredible trendy vibe that can't be found anywhere else. I'm excited to share this with the Phoenix community because it's so different," said Patel. "From the lime green coloring, innovative technology and the two minute-cook time oven, Urban Bricks is changing the way customers eat and I just can't wait to be part of that." At Urban Bricks, each pizza and panini starts with fresh, never frozen dough, including a gluten-friendly version, made in-house every morning. Customers can then top their choice of menu item with over 30 freshly-prepared ingredients, for one flat price. Urban Bricks restaurants feature a stunning lime green rotating oven imported from Italy, which cooks pizzas and paninis to perfection in just two minutes. Restaurants also offers build-your-own salads, build-your-own paninis, wings, premium Italian gelato and dessert pizza, and with most locations offering a full-service bar, it is a one-stop shop for build-you-own anything with unlimited toppings, for one, simple price. Urban Bricks was founded in the Alamo City by build-your-own franchise veteran Sammy Aldeeb, who previously owned more than 20 franchise locations between Marble Slab Creamery, Subway and Great American Cookie Co. before launching his own brand. "We are excited to introduce our edgy restaurant concept into new markets across the country and internationally. Consumers everywhere are just loving customizable food right now, especially pizza. We're responding to demand and rapidly expanding our brand footprint," said Aldeeb. "To have proven successful entrepreneurs like these in Panama, Arizona and Colorado invest in our brand is a true validation of our business model." For those looking to invest in America's love for pizza, the total investment, from buying an Urban Bricks franchise to selling slices, ranges from $195,000 to $680,000. Previous restaurant experience is advantageous. Urban Bricks is the only fast-casual pizza concept to offer master franchise agreements for new markets. For markets where an Urban Bricks Pizza Bar is present, single unit agreements are available. To learn more about Urban Bricks and its franchise opportunities, visit www.urbanbrickspizza.com/franchising. About Urban Bricks Pizza Urban Bricks Pizza serves 'brickin' good' authentic, customizable Neapolitan pizza bar with an all-American attitude. With a culture that's edgy, outgoing and progressive, Urban Bricks Pizza allows guests to build-your-own pizza, panini and salad, choosing from more than 30 ingredients that are prepared fresh each morning. Urban Bricks Pizza is 100 percent natural with zero preservatives and uses a dough recipe designed by World Pizza Champion Michele D'Amelio. Founded in 2015, the San Antonio-based franchise is set to open more than 50 locations in the next three years. For more information, visit www.urbanbrickspizza.com. SOURCE Urban Bricks Pizza Related Links http://www.urbanbrickspizza.com MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI: TSX) (the "Company") today announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") has accepted the notice filed by the Company to establish a normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") program. The NCIB program commences on May 24, 2018 and will terminate on May 23, 2019, or on such earlier date as the Company may complete its purchases pursuant to a Notice of Intention filed with the TSX. Under the NCIB program, the Company is authorized to purchase up to 7,844,000 of its common shares (out of the 126,536,589 common shares outstanding as at May 11, 2018) representing approximately 10% of the public float as at May 11, 2018, by way of normal course purchases effected through the facilities of the TSX and/or alternative Canadian trading systems. The average daily trading volume for the six months ended April 30, 2018 was 162,404 common shares. Common shares purchased by the Company will be cancelled. Pursuant to the terms of a previous normal course issuer bid approved by the TSX on May 17, 2017, the Company was authorized to repurchase 8,200,000 shares. The Company repurchased an aggregate of 3,312,600 common shares on the TSX and on alternative Canadian trading systems at a weighted average price of $32.80 per share for cancellation during the period commencing on May 23, 2017 and ending on May 11, 2018. In deciding to establish the NCIB, the Company believes that the market price of the common shares may not, from time to time, fully reflect their value and accordingly the purchase of the common shares would be in the best interest of the Company and an attractive and appropriate use of available funds. Purchases will be made by the Company in accordance with the requirements of the TSX and the price which the Company will pay for any such common shares will be the market price of any such common shares at the time of acquisition, or such other price as may be permitted by the TSX. In connection with the NCIB program, the Company intends to enter into an automatic purchase plan with its designated broker to allow for purchases of its common shares during certain pre-determined black-out periods, subject to certain parameters as to price and number of shares. Outside of these pre-determined black-out periods, shares will be repurchased in accordance with management's discretion, subject to applicable law. For purposes of the TSX rules, a maximum of 40,600 common shares may be purchased by the Company on any one day under the bid, except where purchases are made in accordance with the "block purchase exception" of the TSX rules. Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading consumer protein company, making high quality, innovative products under national brands including Maple Leaf, Maple Leaf Prime, Maple Leaf Natural Selections, Schneiders, Schneiders Country Naturals, Mina, LightlifeTM and Field Roast Grain Meat Co. TM. The Company employs approximately 11,500 people and does business in Canada, the U.S. and Asia. The Company is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario and its shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (MFI). This document may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law including statements regarding future purchases of common shares under the NCIB. These statements are not guarantees of future events and involve assumptions and risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Some of these assumptions and risks and uncertainties are described in more detail in the Company's filings made with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking information and there is no assurance that any common shares will be purchased under the NCIB program. Maple Leaf does not intend to, and Maple Leaf disclaims any obligation to, update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. SOURCE Maple Leaf Foods Inc. Related Links http://www.mapleleaffoods.com FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Time is running out for investors to file a claim for recovery of losses in Breitburn Energy Partners and/or Linn Energy the Mark A. Tepper law firm announced today. In an Investor Alert at its website MarkTepper.com the law firm advised that any investors who in 2012 were advised by their stockbrokers to buy shares in Breitburn or Linn Energy, could be nearing ineligibility to file a claim for recovery. "Generally, eligibility to file a claim is six years from the investment purchase. Once the eligibility period ends, your claim is barred forever regardless of its merits," Attorney Mark Tepper, a former New York Assistant Attorney General and Chief Trial Counsel at the Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities, said. "Sometimes, the period can be extended depending on the facts but that is the exception and not the rule," Mr. Tepper added. Joy Rosen, a widow who recently recovered all losses in oil and gas securities including LINN Energy, LLC, and Breitburn Energy Partners, LP, has praised the Mark Tepper law firm for its work in representing her claim for damages against Wells Fargo [NYSE: WFC]. "We were so happy when I got the news that I had won, and all credit goes to my attorney Mark Tepper and his law firm," Mrs. Rosen said. A FINRA arbitrator awarded Mrs. Rosen compensatory damages, interest, attorney's fees, and filing fee reimbursement. For a free case evaluation from the Mark A. Tepper law firm, email attorney Mark Tepper at [email protected]om or call 954-961-0096. About Mark A. Tepper, P.A. (www.MarkTepper.com) Attorney Mark A. Tepper is the former Chief Trial Counsel at the New York Attorney General's Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities. He has earned the reputation of "Investor Advocate" while practicing law for over 35 years representing individual investors. FINRA arbitrators have upheld stockbroker fraud claims filed by Mr. Tepper against many brokerage firms. A member of the Florida, New York and California Bars, Mr. Tepper is peer-reviewed for 17 consecutive years as AV PREEMINENT for ethical standards and legal ability. It's the highest rating of lawyers in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. MEDIA CONTACT: Mark Hopkinson, NewsMark Public Relations 561-852-5767 [email protected] http://www.newsmarkpr.com SOURCE Mark A. Tepper, P.A. Related Links http://www.marktepper.com "As we planned for this mail order technology project, our main goals were to improve our prescription fulfillment quality for patients, achieve quicker turn-around times on our patient orders, and increase operational efficiency," said Steve Smith, R.Ph., executive vice president, MaxorPlus. "Innovation's high-volume technologies were at the head of the pack in various areas including process and logistics efficiency, quality protocols, scalability, and footprint." The Innovation high-volume system employs PharmASSIST Symphony for High Volume, an intelligent operations management platform that enables Maxor to perform dynamic prioritization and workload balancing to automatically adjust to changes in demand. The system also comprises two robotic dispensing pods, pneumatic vial/cap delivery, the PharmASSIST RxCollect for robotic order collation, a conveying system, and several workstations for manual filling, digital pharmacist verification (PV2), packaging, manifest/sortation, and shipping. "Maxor went about their search in a pragmatic and intelligent manner, taking advantage of our Pharmacy Intelligence service to analyze their data and simulate their process to develop their overall system design. We've worked closely with them throughout their implementation and look forward to a long-term partnership as they grow," said Doyle Jensen, executive vice president, global business development, Innovation. About MaxorPlus MaxorPlus is a market-leading Pharmacy Benefit Manager that offers innovative clinical management, analytics, and member engagement strategies to help clients optimize pharmacy spend and health outcomes. Maxor's PBM platform is complemented by Maxor Pharmacy Management & Consulting Services, a provider of outpatient pharmacy management solutions, and Maxor Specialty, a clinically-driven specialty pharmacy focused on rare and orphan diseases. These capabilities allow Maxor to offer customized solutions to diverse market segments including hospitals and health centers, employers, labor groups, and public entities. For more information, visit www.maxorplus.com. About Innovation Innovation is the leading provider of Pharmacy Intelligence and pharmacy automation to the retail, hospital, government, and mail order pharmacy markets. Our PharmASSIST family of pharmacy automation and process optimization solutions enable all types of pharmacies to increase operational efficiency, enhance patient safety, and provide a higher quality of patient care. For more information, visit www.innovat.com. SOURCE Innovation Related Links http://www.innovat.com TEL AVIV, Israel, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MaxQ Artificial Intelligence (MaxQ-AI), a global artificial intelligence (AI) healthcare company, today announced that it has received the CE Mark approval for its revolutionary Accipio software platform. MaxQ-AI has developed a broad machine vision and deep learning platform to support the assessment of multiple clinical indications. The first of these applications will be the detection of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), commonly known as a brain bleed. Accurate and timely detection of ICH is a critical step in clinical decision making for stroke assessment and head trauma. AccipioIx, the first of multiple Accipio versions, is now approved for commercial sale within the European Union. AccipioIx is based on deep learning technologies which automatically analyzes non-contrast head computed tomography (CT) images. The artificial intelligence AccipioIx algorithm is uniquely designed to be highly sensitive to the presence of ICH, identifying and prioritizing patients with ICH for the treating physician. It provides a case-level signal allowing rapid triage and prioritization of patient and can be natively integrated into PACS systems, medical imaging hardware, or healthcare clouds. When minutes count, Accipio makes all the difference. "We are delighted to receive the CE Mark for AccipioIx, the first of many global regulatory approvals." said Gene Saragnese, Chairman and CEO of MaxQ-AI. "At MaxQ-AI we are developing a suite of advanced clinical decision support and workflow tools for acute healthcare physicians and their patients on a global basis. Designed to provide actionable insights, our platform leverages the power of AI, combined with the skill of the physician, leading to better patient outcomes and improved healthcare economics." Working with its development and distribution partners, MaxQ-AI is on a mission to empower confident, life-saving decision support through AI-enabled tools at the point of care. The Company recently was the recipient of a Breakthrough Device Designation by the FDA to accelerate the development of the Company's intracranial hemorrhage software in the United States and has prior announced strategic partnerships with GE Healthcare, IBM, and Samsung Neurologica. About MaxQ AI, Ltd. Formerly known as MedyMatch Technology, MaxQ-AI, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Boston, MA. A leading medical AI company, MaxQ-AI's team of deep learning and machine vision experts, are working with world-class clinical and industry partners to yield unprecedented insights into medical data; empowering physician decision making to improve patient outcomes in acute medical scenarios. To learn more, please visit www.maxq.ai. Press Contacts: Michael Rosenberg MaxQ AI, Ltd. [email protected] SOURCE MaxQ AI, Ltd. Related Links http://www.maxq.ai Standardbred horseman James W. Bill Dailey, 57, of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, passed away on Sunday (May 20) at his residence at the age of 57. As a driver, Dailey sat behind 18,470 horses (latest in 2017) since 1978, winning 2,301 times with $10,231,234 in purse earnings. As a trainer, he sent 8,143 horses to the track with 1,287 wins with $12,348,085 in purse earnings. A memorial gathering will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Monday, June 4 in the 4-H Activities Building at the Champaign County Fairgrounds where a prayer service will begin at 8 p.m. Services are entrusted to Skillman, McDonald & Vernon Funeral Home, Mechanicsburg. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Bill Dailey. (USTA) INDIANAPOLIS, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ardagh Group, a leading producer of glass containers for the food and beverage industries in the United States, collaborated with McIlhenny Company, producers of TABASCO brand products, to introduce a 150th Anniversary bottle for the world's most famous pepper sauce. An American tradition since 1868, McIlhenny Company has a rich history of packaging its TABASCO Sauce in glass containers. Founder Edmund McIlhenny initially used discarded cologne bottles to distribute his TABASCO Sauce to family and friends, before purchasing them from a local glass supplier in 1868 when he started selling to the public. Over the last 150 years, nine bottle variations have been developed with embossments showcased on the bottom of the bottle. "Since our company's inception 150 years ago, McIlhenny Company has produced TABASCO Sauce in an extremely resourceful manner. Bottling our product in glass is just one part of that equation," said Harold Osborn, Chief Sustainability Officer and fifth-generation McIlhenny family member. "What began out of necessity to manage costs has continued to this day in an effort to minimize our environmental footprint. We are committed to protecting our homeland, my great-great grandfather's legacy and the important traditions to which we attribute much of our product's success and staying power." Originally introduced in 1927, the craftsmanship and versatility of the iconic, red-capped bottle with the diamond label is now sold in 195 countries and territories and labeled in 25 languages and dialects. The 5oz TABASCO Sauce Anniversary edition glass bottle is manufactured in high-quality flint (clear) glass by Ardagh Group, and features the words "150th Anniversary" in the shoulder of the bottle. "Ardagh Group's collaborative design environment makes it seamless for brands to create a custom bottle design," said Alex Robertson, Chief Commercial Officer of Ardagh Group's North American Glass division. "From ideation to conception, our designers worked alongside McIlhenny Company to create a memorable bottle for this special milestone. We value our long-standing relationship with McIlhenny Company, and are proud they continue to package their world-famous TABASCO Sauce in bottles manufactured at our Louisiana facility the same state where the bottles are filled." Glass bottles are 100-percent recyclable and rated Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the only packaging material to receive that rating for foods and beverages. During its 150th anniversary, McIlhenny Company is marking this historic milestone with a yearlong celebration dedicated to the people who have made TABASCO Sauce a staple in restaurants and kitchens, and an essential ingredient in recipes worldwide. To learn more about the 150th anniversary of TABASCO Sauce, visit TABASCO.com or follow the conversation on social media with #TABASCO150. For more than 125 years, Ardagh Group has been producing innovative glass bottles in the U.S., and is one of the leading glass suppliers to the U.S. food market. To learn more about Ardagh Group's glass packaging, go to www.ardaghgroup.com/glass. Further Information Gina Behrman, Director, Marketing & Communications at Ardagh Group, Glass North America, [email protected], 317.558.5717 Paula Polei, Manager, Marketing & Communications at Ardagh Group, Glass North America, [email protected], 317.558.5732 Jennifer Mestayer, Hunter Public Relations (New York), [email protected], 212.679.6600 Notes to the Editor Ardagh Group is a global leader in glass and metal packaging solutions, producing packaging for most of the world's leading food, beverage and consumer brands. We operate 108 facilities in 22 countries, employ approximately 23,000 people and have global sales of approximately $8.6 billion. www.ardaghgroup.com About McIlhenny Company McIlhenny Company produces TABASCO Brand products, which are sold in 195 countries and territories around the world and labeled in 25 languages and dialects. The 150-year-old company makes a line of pepper sauces, including its world-famous TABASCO Brand Original Red Sauce, Green Jalapeno Sauce, Chipotle Sauce, SWEET & Spicy Sauce, Habanero Sauce, Garlic Pepper Sauce, Buffalo Style Hot Sauce, and Sriracha Sauce. Download image. SOURCE Ardagh Group Related Links http://www.ardaghgroup.com MILWAUKEE, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) announced today that Patrick Sinks, Chief Executive Officer, will be discussing topics pertaining to the Private Mortgage Insurance industry at the KBW 2018 Mortgage Finance and Asset Management Conference. The discussion is scheduled to begin at 11:25 a.m. Eastern time on May 31, 2018, and the conference is being held at the Westin Grand Central hotel in New York City. The discussion will be webcast and can be accessed at the company's website, http://mtg.mgic.com/ or at http://wsw.com/webcast/kbw43/mtg. Material that may be referenced during this discussion can be accessed at http://mtg.mgic.com, under Newsroom at approximately 5 p.m. Eastern time on May 22, 2018. A replay will be available for 90 days. About MGIC MGIC (www.mgic.com), the principal subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corporation, serves lenders throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and other locations helping families achieve homeownership sooner by making affordable low-down-payment mortgages a reality. At April 30, 2018, MGIC had $198.5 billion of primary insurance in force covering more than one million mortgages. From time to time MGIC Investment Corporation releases important information via postings on its corporate website without making any other disclosure and intends to continue to do so in the future. Investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding new postings. Enrollment information can be found at http://mtg.mgic.com under Investor Information. SOURCE MGIC Investment Corporation Related Links http://www.mgic.com LAS VEGAS, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Suze Orman has been called "a force in the world of personal finance" and a "one-woman financial advice powerhouse" by USA Today. The two-time Emmy Award-winning television host and author of nine consecutive #1 New York Times best sellers will impart her wisdom at The MGM Resorts Foundation's 12th annual Women's Leadership Conference (WLC). The conference will be held Aug. 27-28 at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. "This is the year for women to truly own the power to control their destiny," Suze Orman said. "I want them to know that financial freedom is their birthright!" "We are elated to host Suze Orman in the WLC 2018 spotlight," said Phyllis A. James, Chief Diversity and Corporate Responsibility Officer for MGM Resorts International. "The mere mention of her name makes people's eyes light up because people know the value she brings. Suze can relate to what it's like being in the trenches, living paycheck to paycheck, and she will inspire the conference attendees with real world advice on how to get ahead when it comes to personal finance." Orman was the contributing editor to "O" The Oprah Magazine for 16 years and for 13 years hosted the award-winning Suze Orman Show, which aired every Saturday night on CNBC. Over her television career, Orman has accomplished what no other television personality ever has before. Not only is she among the most successful fundraisers in the history of public television, but she has also garnered an unprecedented eight Gracie awards, more than anyone in the entire history of this prestigious award. The Gracie Awards recognize the nation's best radio, television, and cable programming for, by, and about women. Orman has been named twice by Time Magazine as one of the TIME 100, The World's Most Influential People. Forbes named her one of the world's "100 Most Powerful Women" as well as 18th on their list of The Most Influential Women in Media. Orman was the recipient of the National Equality Award from the Human Right Campaign, the Touchstone Award from Women in Cable Telecommunications, and a Visionary Award from the Council for Economic Education. She was also presented with the Amelia Earhart Award for her message of financial empowerment for women. Orman has an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Illinois and an Honorary Doctor of Commercial Science degree from Bentley University. Orman, who grew up on the South Side of Chicago, earned a bachelor's degree in social work at the University of Illinois and at the age of 30 was still a waitress making $400 a month. Saturday Night Live has spoofed Suze six times which she considers one of her highest compliments. Conference background: The 2018 Women's Leadership Conference theme is "Women Inspiring Women." Registration is $499 which includes the two-day conference and all workshops and lectures, a networking reception, and continental breakfasts and lunches catered by MGM Grand Conference Center. Time is also allotted for attendees to build key professional relationships with others. The mission of WLC is to provide women, and men who attend, the developmental tools they need to continuously advance their lives and careers. Through WLC, women from all walks of life are offered a variety of ways to impact their personal and professional lives, including networking opportunities, educational workshops and exposure to other women who can serve as role models, heroes or mentors. The conference will offer a wide range of learning opportunities, career guidance and personal growth tools, including: Exposure to diverse and nationally recognized speakers and accomplished women role models Two days of career-oriented workshops that will give women hands-on opportunities to develop skills based on their career needs Three distinct learning tracks: Emerging Leaders, Emerging Executives and Executives Workshops for entrepreneurs who are well-established or just thinking of starting their own businesses WLC is open to women of all ethnicities, professions and social backgrounds, locally and nationally, and men who support them. The MGM Resorts Foundation is the conference's Presenting Sponsor. Each year proceeds from the conference after costs, are donated to one or more local nonprofit agencies devoted to the welfare and development of women and children. Participating sponsorships are available to organizations or companies who share the vision and goals of this conference. For more information about WLC, please visit mgmresortsfoundation.org/WLC. About the MGM Resorts Foundation The purpose of The MGM Resorts Foundation is to collect and distribute monies and assets donated by employees of MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM) for the aid and support of qualified community nonprofit programs, agencies or organizations designated exclusively by MGM Resorts' employees. In addition, the Foundation collects and distributes donations to the Foundation by third-party non-employees to support charitable, scientific, literary, and educational activities approved by the Foundation's Board of Directors and organized by MGM Resorts employees to benefit qualified non-profit charitable organizations designated by the Foundation's Board. SOURCE MGM Resorts Foundation Related Links http://mgmresortsfoundation.org "I am always humbled by the accomplishments of our scholarship winners and these six students are no exception," said Frank Penaranda, Chairman of NASA Federal's Scholarship Committee and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. "Our country's future is in good hands with them, and NASA Federal Credit Union is proud to contribute to their success through the Mitchell-Beall-Rosen Memorial Scholarship." The following outstanding seniors were recipients of this year's scholarship awards: Sarah Bowers of Damascus , MarylandWill study physics at University of Maryland, Baltimore County . of , MarylandWill study physics at . Benjamin Casey of Davidsonville , MarylandPlans to study history and economics at Kenyon College . of , MarylandPlans to study history and economics at . Jessica Dauphinais of Phoenixville, PennsylvaniaWill study a curriculum at The Pennsylvania State University in the biomedical engineering field that will prepare her for dental school and an eventual career in pediatric dentistry. of Phoenixville, PennsylvaniaWill study a curriculum at The in the biomedical engineering field that will prepare her for dental school and an eventual career in pediatric dentistry. Jordan Davis of Upper Marlboro , MarylandWill pursue a degree in finance at Howard University . of , MarylandWill pursue a degree in finance at . Cameron Hernandez of Lothian , MarylandLooks forward to studying forensics and criminal justice at Stevenson University. of , MarylandLooks forward to studying forensics and criminal justice at Stevenson University. Deanna Schwartz of Ellicott City , MarylandWill attend Northeastern University to study journalism. About the NASA Federal Credit Union Scholarship Program The Scholarship Program was established in 1983 in memory of Wilfred Mitchell and then renamed in 1991 to also honor Donald Beall. Both men are former NASA Federal Credit Union officials who were strong advocates of the education of our youth. In 2010, the name of the scholarship program was again changed, to the Mitchell-Beall-Rosen Memorial Scholarship Program, in honor of Eugene D. Rosen, who was instrumental in launching the program and served as its Chairman for 27 years. Mitchell, Beall and Rosen are fondly remembered for their commitment to the Credit Union movement and especially for their efforts to help young people succeed. About NASA Federal Credit Union NASA Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned entirely by its members and operated for the benefit of all who belong. Chartered in 1949, NASA Federal Credit Union serves the diverse needs of 155,000 members with a full array of financial services and the strength of $2.4 billion in assets. www.nasafcu.com SOURCE NASA Federal Credit Union Related Links http://www.nasafcu.com NEW YORK, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Envisagenics, Inc., a New York based biotechnology company, announced today that it was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This grant will provide $1.5 million over two years for Envisagenics' continued development of SpliceCore, a cloud-based drug discovery platform that analyzes RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data to accelerate RNA therapeutics discovery using innovative machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify new biomarkers and drug targets. Envisagenics focuses on RNA splicing, the molecular process that shapes the genetic message extracted from DNA to produce functional proteins required for our body to work. Errors in this process can cause devastating diseases: at least 370 genetic diseases identified to date can be caused by splicing errors, such as Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a neurodegenerative disease that kills more children than any other genetic disease. "The discovery of disease-causing proteins was at the center of pharma innovation for decades, but the new century brought us not only better knowledge of genetic information but also the computer power to interpret it," says Dr. Martin Akerman, Co-founder and CTO of Envisagenics. "The RNA splicing treatments that we develop target the flow of genetic information, so disease-causing proteins cannot be formed in the first place." The company was previously awarded a $225,000 Phase I SBIR grant in 2015. Funding was used to develop a scalable infrastructure to efficiently analyze massive amounts of RNA-seq data, to build the largest database of RNA-splicing events, and to develop machine learning algorithms to prioritize disease relevant splicing errors. The SBIR Phase II award will allow Envisagenics to substantially expand the platform's knowledgebase and predictive functions. A portion of the phase II work will be carried out at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as a collaboration with Dr. Adrian Krainer, a leader in the field of RNA splicing. Completing the investigative team is Dr. Thomas Tuschl, professor and Head of the Laboratory of RNA Molecular Biology at The Rockefeller University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. "We are grateful for the continued support from the NIH and for their recognition of the potential of AI drug discovery platforms like ours to discover novel therapies," said Dr. Maria Luisa Pineda, Co-founder and CEO of Envisagenics. "We're excited for the next stage of growth for the company to leverage the power of AI and RNA-seq data internally and in collaboration with biopharma partners to unlock new treatments." About Envisagenics Envisagenics was founded in 2014 as a spinout of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The company's mission is to reduce the complexity of biomedical data to accelerate the development of innovative therapeutic solutions through RNA splicing analytics and artificial intelligence. Envisagenics focuses on the discovery of RNA therapeutics. Over 30 million people in the US suffer from genetic diseases or cancer that could be caused by mutations affecting RNA splicing. 370 human diseases are known to be caused by splicing errors, and more remain to be discovered. Envisagenics' breakthrough technology, SpliceCore, is a cloud-based platform that is experimentally validated to predict drug targets and biomarkers through splicing discovery from RNA-seq data, using Artificial Intelligence. The company is using its software to identify splicing errors causative of diseases, identify the right drug-targets and develop RNA therapeutics through partnerships and collaborations with Biopharma. Envisagenics' in-silico RNA therapeutics discovery platform replaces expensive drug-target selection and lead design with efficient computer simulations, decreasing time, cost, and failure risk of drug development programs. For more information, visit www.envisagenics.com. 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 www.nih.gov. About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. Home to eight Nobel Prize winners, the private, not-for-profit Laboratory employs 1,100 people including 600 scientists, students and technicians. The Meetings & Courses Program hosts more than 12,000 scientists from around the world each year on its campuses in Long Island and in Suzhou, China. The Laboratory's education arm also includes an academic publishing house, a graduate school and programs for middle and high school students and teachers. For more information, visit www.cshl.edu. About The Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is the world's leading biomedical research university and is dedicated to conducting innovative, high-quality research to improve the understanding of life for the benefit of humanity. The university's unique approach to science has led to some of the world's most revolutionary and transformative contributions to biology and medicine. During Rockefeller's 117-year history, our scientists have won 25 Nobel Prizes, 22 Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards, and 20 National Medals of Science. Media and Investors Contact [email protected] SOURCE Envisagenics Related Links www.envisagenics.com NASHUA, N.H., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today NETSHIELD Corporation's President & CEO, Ed Wall, announced the Board of Director's appointment of Mr. Jason Syversen as its newest Director. NETSHIELD Board Chairman, Eric Evans commented "We are very excited at having someone with Jason's abilities and experience joining us on the board. He has made incredible impacts on the cyber security world and his visionary outlook will be key in the future of our company." NETSHIELD Corporation President & CEO Ed Wall said "Jason Syversen brings exceptional experience in the cyber security world and has personally led Siege Technologies from startup to acquisition" adding "Jason is not just a technology and business leader, but a man of incredible moral fiber. We will be working closely together as NETSHIELD expands our domestic and international markets while following our roadmap of product enhancements." Director Jason Syversen stated "I'm very pleased to have been invited to join the NETSHIELD Board of Directors. This is a great company that is primed for growth and I look forward to working with CEO Ed Wall, the rest of the board and the staff in charting the technological and business goals going forward." Director Syversen has deep experience in engineering, cybersecurity and early-stage companies. He spent over a decade working as a computer engineer/researcher at firms such as BIODE, Inc., Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company, BAE Systems and eventually joined DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) as a Program Manager in the Strategic Technology Office. In 2009, Mr. Syversen left DARPA and founded Siege Technologies in Manchester, N.H. The company grew ever since year one and brought numerous products to market through spinouts, direct sales and was successfully acquired by Nehemiah Security, a rapidly growing cybersecurity product firm based out of Tyson's Corner, Virginia. Additionally, Mr. Syversen is a member of 10X Ventures, which is an early stage and beyond investment group that commits operational experience and funding to a select portfolio of companies. Jason serves as an advisor to several startup companies and is an investor in a half dozen more. Jason and his wife, Bethanee, have six children and reside in the greater Manchester area, where they are very involved with their church and philanthropic leadership. Director Syversen holds B.S. Degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Maine and a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a concentration in networking and security. For more information, please contact NETSHIELD Corporation at [email protected]. SOURCE NETSHIELD Corporation IRVINE, Calif., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Netwrix Corporation, provider of a visibility platform for data security and risk mitigation in hybrid environments, today announced its results for Q1 2018, which indicate 26% global sales growth and substantial revenue increase across multiple sectors, including financial services, government and technology. Netwrix also reports sustainable growth in the UK, France and the DACH region; new partnerships; charity and research initiatives; and recognition from industry experts. Market momentum "The 2018 Verizon DBIR showed that hacking is now the most common cause of data breaches, and use of stolen credentials is the top method used. This demonstrates that many organizations still lack the visibility they need into what users are doing in their IT environments so they can protect their data from insider and outsider threats. With the deadline for GDPR compliance quickly approaching, companies have little time to provide evidence that their security measures are working and their systems and data are under control. As a result, we expect a surge of interest in products that empower organizations to keep track of user behavior, quickly detect suspicious activities and prioritize their security efforts to protect critical assets," said Steve Dickson, CEO of Netwrix. Netwrix reported 26% global sales growth compared to Q1 2017, as well as substantial revenue increase in EMEA (122%), the UK (156%), France (29%) and the DACH region (128%). (29%) and the DACH region (128%). The growing demand for solutions for data security enabled Netwrix to demonstrate growth across several sectors, including financial services (36%), government (46%) and technology (57%). Netwrix launched a new global channel program designed to accelerate growth across all regions and create a proactive partner community network for addressing all industry verticals, routes to market and sizes. Partnerships Netwrix announced a partnership agreement with Concept Searching to bring even more visibility into IT infrastructures through data discovery and data classification capabilities. Research In January 2018 , Netwrix released the 2018 Netwrix Cloud Security Report, which showed that 39% of organizations blame their own IT teams for security incidents in the cloud. , Netwrix released the 2018 Netwrix Cloud Security Report, which showed that 39% of organizations blame their own IT teams for security incidents in the cloud. In March 2018 , Netwrix released the 2018 Netwrix Cloud Security: In-Depth Report, which unveiled survey findings specific to various industries and regions. Industry recognition Netwrix and SysAdmin Magazine announced the winners of the 2018 SysAdmin Blog Awards, which recognize the most tech-savvy blogs for their commitment to sharing valuable knowledge with IT professionals worldwide. Netwrix became a finalist in the Best Database Security Solution category of the SC Awards for the third consecutive year. Netwrix was approved by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) to provide Continuing Privacy Education (CPE) credits and increase cybersecurity awareness in the IT community. Charity In January 2018 , Netwrix announced its support for UNICEF USA's "Hurricane Harvey: Help Children Weather the Storm" initiative, which helps children affected by Hurricane Harvey get back to school in safe learning environments. , Netwrix announced its support for UNICEF "Hurricane Harvey: Help Children Weather the Storm" initiative, which helps children affected by Hurricane Harvey get back to school in safe learning environments. In March 2018 , Netwrix co-founder Michael Fimin supported several non-profit organizations based in the company's home of Orange County, California , including Surfrider Foundation, Mission Hospital, Laguna Beach High School and San Clemente's Casa Romantica. About Netwrix Corporation Netwrix Corporation is a software company focused exclusively on providing IT operations and security teams with pervasive visibility into user behavior, system configurations and data sensitivity across hybrid IT infrastructures, empowering them to protect data regardless of its location and sleep soundly at night instead of worrying about security blind zones or yet another compliance check. Founded in 2006, Netwrix has earned more than 140 industry awards and been named to both the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. For more information, visit www.netwrix.com. CONTACT: Erin Jones Avista PR for Netwrix P: 704.664.2170 E: [email protected] SOURCE Netwrix Corporation Related Links http://www.netwrix.com LONDON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jake Gold, Abdullah Shoaib, Gopinath Gorthy, George T Grossberg US Neurology. 2018;14(1):41-46 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17925/USN.2018.14.1.41 Published recently in US Neurology, the peer-reviewed journal from touchNEUROLOGY, Jake Gold et al, discuss the physiological effects of vitamin D on calcium/phosphorus metabolism, which have been well studied since its discovery in the early 20th century. With recent advances in cellular and molecular biology, its role in maintaining normal brain functions and the protection of neurons via maintenance of cellular homeostasis, immune regulation, modulation of synaptic structure and function are more clearly known. Recently, its deficiency is increasingly implicated in major neurocognitive disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and vascular dementia. Older adults are particularly vulnerable not only because vitamin D deficiency becomes more prevalent with aging, but they also are often complicated with other comorbid illnesses. This new article reviews the role of vitamin D in maintaining normal brain functions, and implications for vitamin D deficiency in cognitive disorders. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/515766/Touch_Medical_Logo.jpg ) The full peer-reviewed, open-access article is available here: https://doi.org/10.17925/USN.2018.14.1.41 Disclosure: Jake Gold, Abdullah Shoaib, Gopinath Gorthy and George T Grossberg have nothing to declare in relation to this article. No funding was received in the publication of this article. touchNEUROLOGY (a division of Touch Medical Media) publishesUS Neurology, a peer-reviewed, open access, bi-annual journal specialising in the publication of balanced and comprehensive review articles written by leading authorities to address the most important and salient developments in the field of neurology. The aim of these reviews is to break down the high science from 'data-rich' primary papers and provide practical advice and opinion on how this information can help physicians in the day to day clinical setting. Practice guidelines, symposium write-ups, case reports, and original research articles are also featured to promote discussion and learning amongst physicians, clinicians, researchers and related healthcare professionals. www.touchNEUROLOGY.com "Touch Medical Media is a trading name of Touch Digital Media Limited, a private limited company registered in England and Wales at The White House Mill Road, Goring, Reading, England, RG8 9DD with registered number 08197142". For inquires please contact: Christina Mackins Crabtree, PhD, CMPP - Managing Editor [email protected] "Leading the Debate on the Advances in Healthcare" SOURCE touchNEUROLOGY PRINCETON, N.J., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NJHA is hosting a symposium on "Trends in Nursing Workforce: Strategies for Optimal Care" Thursday, May 24, from 12 noon to 3:30 p.m., at the NJHA Conference and Event Center in Princeton. Join us for an in-depth discussion on modern nursing workforce trends that promote high-value care for consumers. National experts, nursing leaders, policymakers and front-line RNs will join this important dialogue on healthy work environments, staff empowerment, shared governance and innovations in workforce. WHAT: Trends in Nursing Workforce Symposium WHERE: NJHA Conference and Events Center, 760 Alexander Rd., Princeton, N.J. WHEN: Thursday, May 24, 12 noon to 3:30 p.m. WHO: Keynote speaker Peter Buerhaus , PhD, RN, FAAN, Vanderbilt University Medical Center , PhD, RN, FAAN, Medical Center Featured speaker Robert G. Hess, Jr. , PhD, RN, FAAN, Founder & CEO, Forum for Shared Governance , PhD, RN, FAAN, Founder & CEO, Forum for Shared Governance Panels featuring policy, research and frontline experts. For more details and an agenda, visit http://www.njha.com/education/brochure/?id=1902. NJHA, based in Princeton, is a not-for-profit trade association that helps hospitals and other healthcare providers deliver quality, accessible and affordable healthcare. Its affiliates the Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey and the NJHA Institute for Quality and Patient Safety, also nonprofit, engage in programming and partnerships to improve healthcare quality and access. SOURCE New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) Related Links http://www.njha.com "We are honored to have Dr. Pucek join the Nova Medical Centers family. We believe his extensive expertise will further enhance our dynamic executive team and help lead the organization as we focus on providing the best occupational health care services in the nation and help expand our coverage to become a national entity by 2023," said Nova Medical Centers Founder and CEO Dr. Ulf Rohde. Dr. Pucek was previously with U.S. HealthWorks as their Chief Medical Officer for 4 years and prior to that as their Regional Medical Director for the Southwest and Southeast region for 17 years. Dr. Pucek has been a leader in the occupational health care community for many years with strategic experience in delivery of quality care, improved patient outcomes and implementing business processes and clinical operating procedures to achieve cost containment. Originally from Dickinson, Texas, Dr. Pucek received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston and attended The University of Texas at Austin for his undergraduate studies. "I am extremely honored to be named Chief Medical Officer with an innovative medical organization like Nova Medical Centers," Pucek said. "I look forward to contributing to the growth of the company while focusing on exceptional patient outcomes and Nova's vision of being a national leader setting the standard for occupational health care solutions." About Nova Medical Centers Home of Occuflex : As the largest 100% occupational health provider in the nation, Nova treats on-the-job injuries, conducts pre-employment services and screens, and offers preventative care services. Nova connects with employers to maximize employees' health and get America back to work better and faster. Nova Medical Centers operates 48 occupational medicine facilities across Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Indiana and has more than 700,000 patient visits and treats over 40,000 injured employees each year with an average claim closure rate of 14 days and a 97% same-day return to work rate. Nova Medical Centers provides work injury care services, pre-employment testing, drug screens, physical therapy and online medical reporting. Nova utilizes real-time web-based reporting through its proprietary electronic medical record system, Occuflex, which allows Nova's clients to remain constantly up-to-date with claim status. Nova Medical Centers continues to revolutionize occupational healthcare and strives to provide the best occupational medical services possible. SOURCE Nova Medical Centers Related Links http://www.n-o-v-a.com Groundbreaking Settlement Protects Religious Freedom in Senior Community Contact: Brad Dacus, Pacific Justice Institute, 916-616-4126 BAKERSFIELD, Calif., May 22, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- A court case that tested the application of civil rights protections to Bible studies and a worship service in a senior community has been favorably resolved through a settlement. Pacific Justice Institute represented the leadership of four religious groups that had been suspended in late 2016 by their homeowners' association (HOA). The suspension followed a complaint from one atheist in the retirement community, Solera at Kern Canyon. Other than the one complaint, the religious groups had become quite popular within the community, with approximately 100 weekly attendees of the four groups in a community of 558 homes. Like other interest groups, the Sunday morning worship service, men's Bible study and two women's Bible studies meet in the community center. After the Bible studies and worship service were suspended just before Thanksgiving of 2016, one attendee of the worship service and men's Bible studies filed suit, and the suspension was lifted at the end of that year. The HOA, however, continued to insist that it had done nothing wrong and possessed the authority to suspend the groups again at anytime, so litigation continued throughout 2017 and early 2018 to resolve that issue. PJI intervened in the suit last spring on behalf of the leadership of the Bible studies and worship service. PJI argued that, although the homeowners' association was not directly subject to the First Amendment, it owed residents similar obligations under the state's civil rights laws. The case was scheduled for trial in mid-May when the parties met on March 12 for mediation. In mediation, the HOA agreed to a number of concessions that will protect the seniors' religious rights going forward. Once the settlement was finalized over the next several weeks, the plaintiffs filed for dismissal of the case earlier this month. They were designated in the settlement as the prevailing parties. Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented, "We are thrilled with this tremendous victory on behalf of these courageous senior citizens. This may be the first time a group of residents have taken on their HOA in court to fight for their religious meeting rightsand won." Matthew McReynolds, the PJI attorney who led the group's litigation in the case, stated, "Throughout this case, their faith and dedication have inspired us. They are overcoming physical challenges and disabilities to spread the light in their community, and we couldn't have been more proud to represent them." PJI worked collaboratively in this case with attorney Doug Gosling of Braun Gosling in Bakersfield, who represented the other plaintiff. "The Board of Directors is excited to begin a new chapter with Kristin Shultz as she takes up the reins as our new CEO. She brings continuity from her experience as COO, and we're exceedingly confident in her abilities to take us forward into the exciting times ahead," Dr. Richard Bevilacqua, Chairman. The credit union headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, chose Shultz based on her extensive experience in the financial industry, as well as her proven leadership in her most recent role as Chief Operations Officer. During her first year as COO, the credit union saw loans grow more than 7.5% and membership by nearly 15%. She also oversaw multiple technology projects and hired a first-class team of executives. With more than 25 years of financial industry insight, Shultz brings unparalleled experience coupled with unbridled enthusiasm to her new role. "NRL Federal Credit Union is poised for greatness. Our credit union is ready to grow and to bring enhanced services, products, and experiences to our members," said Shultz. "I envision the credit union to remain financially strong and sustainable and to be recognized as a top employer." Shultz has a BA in Economics from University of Virginia and an MBA from Virginia Tech. Her career has included serving in nearly every leadership role in a credit union including Consumer Lending, Real Estate Lending, Retail Branches, Communication Center, eCommerce, Information Technology, Debt Management, Facilities, Marketing, Operations, and Card Services. Shultz says she will pay homage to the past but will keep a sharp eye to the future. She says the credit union is "informed by the past, inspired by possibility, and driven to discover." About NRL Federal Credit Union Founded in 1946 to serve the Naval Research Lab, NRLFCU is now a strong $465 million financial institution serving more than 23,000 members. Membership is open to employees of the Naval Research Laboratory and members of the American Consumer Council. For more information, visit NRLFCU.org. SOURCE NRL Federal Credit Union Related Links http://NRLFCU.org IRVING, Texas, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OKI Data Americas, a world-class printing technology leader, today announced the addition of Grant Graphics, a leading supplier of large-format printers, supplies and support to its ColorPainter Authorized Reseller Program. "Grant Graphics prides itself on providing wide format print entrepreneurs with the tools, resources and savvy to excel in the wide format print industry," said Skip Grant, Owner and Creative Business Developer at Grant Graphics. "Proper business education is a fundamental aspect of our customer relationship strategy, but it's not enough without providing our customers with the world-class equipment they need. We enthusiastically recommend the ColorPainter series to our customers with confidence." Located in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and serving customers in various industries across the Northeastern United States, Grant Graphics is a full-service print and cut solutions provider with a first-hand understanding of how the products it sells fit into the print operations of its customers. Grant Graphics has established formidable real-time service and support teams through a variety of communication channels (phone, email, video, and on-site)staffed by veteran technicians backed by more than 35 years of industry experience. "When we recruit new dealers into the ColorPainter Authorized Reseller Program, our most important requirement is that the dealer shares our dedication to educating each ColorPainter user and arming them with the business savvy to succeed in the wide format graphics business," said Lou Stricklin, Director of Marketing at OKI Data Americas. "Grant Graphics is a prime example of the high-caliber resellers we recruit for our ColorPainter dealer channel." As part of its commitment to customer education and community development, Grant Graphics has organized a series of Print & Cut Conferences in late May in Pennsylvania and New York. At each location, Grant's seasoned crew of print and cut experts will conduct two classes, a "100 Ways to Make Money With Wide Format Printing" morning session, followed by "Print & Cut Done Easy!," a live, hands-on learning experience focused on streamlining print production workflows and creating more efficient sales processes. About OKI ColorPainter Printers OKI's ColorPainter line of wide format inkjet printers for the sign and graphics market delivers rich, glossy color with unrivaled image quality at phenomenal speeds. With SX eco-solvent inks that last longer outdoors without fading, cost less per square foot and provide industry-best color density, ColorPainter printers are well suited for both indoor and outdoor applications including banners, backlit, fleet and vehicle graphics, as well as wallpaper, POP displays, floor and exhibit graphics and more. Backed by performance guarantees from well-respected media brands like Avery Dennison and 3M, ColorPainter printers enable print shops of any size to provide additional quality and assurance to their customers. Support and Availability OKI's ColorPainter printers are available through OKI's ColorPainter authorized dealer network. For additional information, visit www.oki.com/us/colorpainter. About OKI Data Americas OKI Data Americas, headquartered in Irving, Texas, is a subsidiary of OKI Data Corporation and is backed by Tokyo-based parent company OKI Electric Industry, a $4.0 billion multinational public corporation which has been a leader in telecom, infrastructure, and mechatronics systems since 1881. OKI began its innovation in the printing industry more than four decades ago, first marketing some of the earliest dot matrix printers before pioneering the LED print technology that continues to drive OKI's product portfolio today. With its catalog of Office Products, including single and multifunction digital color and monochrome LED printers, and serial impact dot matrix printers, OKI is a reliable presence in printing-intensive environments around the world. In the graphics and signage industries, OKI's Industrial Printers including the ColorPainter line of eco-solvent wide format printers and proColor series of digital production printers deliver world-class print output that is made to last. For more information, visit www.oki.com/us and follow OKI on Twitter at @OkiData. OKI OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd. proColor OKI Data Americas. ColorPainter is a trademark of OKI Data Infotech Corporation. SOURCE OKI Data Americas Related Links http://www.oki.com/us ONTARIO, Calif., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The summer travel forecast for Ontario International Airport (ONT) looks bright with more than 1.4 million airline passengers expected to travel through the airport, an increase of 12.1% over Summer 2017. The increase is driven largely by new domestic and international air service introduced in recent months. Based on current airline schedules and the number of airline seats available, airport officials anticipate 1,424,656 passengers will depart and arrive at ONT between Friday, May 25 and Monday, September 3. Inbound and outbound passengers totaled 1,270,830 during the same period from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day last year. "Summer is typically a high-volume travel period, particularly at Southern California airports, and that will certainly be the case at Ontario," said Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). "Ontario continues to post strong, steady gains in passenger volumes through our aggressive and persistent efforts to attract new air service, transform dining and retail concessions and provide amenities that are popular with business and leisure travelers." Frontier Airlines initiated daily service from ONT to Denver, Austin and San Antonio in October. Flights to the Texas airports continue to Washington Dulles International Airport, which enables ONT passengers to reach the East Coast without changing planes. China Airlines began service between ONT and Taiwan in March, the first daily, transpacific service in ONT's history. JetBlue recently announced non-stop service to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport beginning in early September. In the past month, highly popular brands including WPizza by Wolfgang Puck, Einstein Bros. Bagels and Rock & Brews Restaurant opened in ONT's passenger terminals, part of an ongoing $6 million effort to upgrade the airport's dining concessions. Other new brands coming to ONT include Cross Grain Brewhouse, a brewpub and restaurant featuring local craft beers; Harvest & Grounds, a Euro-American coffee shop and bakery; and Plane Box Grab & Go in Terminal 2. Wahoo's Tacos & More and a newly renovated Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will occupy space in Terminal 4. A separate initiative which includes a capital investment of at least $2.4 million is underway to similarly rebrand and remodel ONT's retail operations. Additional improvements have been made in recent months to further enhance the ONT customer experience. Late last year, a fifth security screening lane was added in Terminal 4, the airport's busiest terminal with two-thirds of all passenger activity, expediting traveler processing without compromising security. Valet parking, which has been a popular and much-utilized service at Terminal 4, was expanded to Terminal 2 earlier this month. Reservations can be made online here. The California Department of Transportation recently installed freeway signs in the vicinity of the airport to direct the attention of passengers and greeters to ONT AiRadio for around-the-clock, commercial-free programming. Broadcasts are heard at 620AM on car radios as travelers approach ONT and on the airport's homepage at flyONTario.com. "Whether our returning and first-time customers are coming to Southern California to work or play over the summer, we look forward to providing a memorable experience befitting the region's newest gateway airport," said OIAA Commissioner Jim Bowman. About Ontario International Airport Ontario International (ONT) Airport is located in the Inland Empire, approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California. It is a full-service airport with nonstop commercial jet service to 19 major airports in the U.S. and Mexico, and connecting service to many domestic and international destinations. There is an average of 66 daily departures offered by 8 air carriers. More information is available at www.flyOntario.com. Follow @flyONT on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram About the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) The OIAA was formed in August 2012 by a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Ontario and the County of San Bernardino to provide overall direction for the management, operations, development and marketing of ONT for the benefit of the Southern California economy and the residents of the airport's four-county catchment area. OIAA Commissioners are Ontario Mayor Pro-Tem Alan D. Wapner (President), Retired Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge (Vice President), Ontario Council Member Jim W. Bowman (Secretary), San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman (Commissioner) and retired business executive Julia Gouw (Commissioner). News Media Contacts: Atif Elkadi, Senior Director of Marketing, Communications and External Affairs, (858) 361-9319 [email protected] Steve Lambert, (909) 841-7527 [email protected] SOURCE Ontario International Airport Related Links http://www.flyontario.com SAN FRANCISCO, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Uber Technologies, Inc. is accused in a new lawsuit of retaliating against a former female software engineer for reporting allegations of discriminatory treatment and sexual harassment directed at her and other female employees, the Outten & Golden LLP law firm said today. Former Uber software engineer Ingrid Avendano sued today in California superior court, alleging that the company work culture was "permeated with degrading, marginalizing, discriminatory, and sexually harassing conduct towards women. This culture was perpetuated and condoned by numerous managers, including high level company leaders." Avendano worked at Uber from 2014 to 2017. The lawsuit alleges, "[E]ach time Avendano raised concerns regarding unlawful conduct, she was met with Uber's entrenched disregard for the rights of its women employees and a refusal to take effective steps to prevent harassment. Worse, she suffered blatant retaliation, including denial of promotions and raises, unwarranted negative performance reviews, and placement on an oppressively demanding on-call schedule that had detrimental effects on her health. She was also threatened with termination. Uber's failure to take effective remedial measures forced her to resign." Jennifer Schwartz, a partner in Outten & Golden LLP's San Francisco office, said, "I believe that Ingrid Avendano's actions demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the betterment of Uber. For years, she wanted to help make Uber a safe and just place to work for herself and other female employees. An employee who complains about unfair treatment should not suffer retaliatory conduct, costs to her career, or costs to her health. And such an employee should not be subjected to efforts to silence her or to force her to resign." Avendano alleges violations of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), the California Equal Pay Act (EPA), unlawful business practices under California Business and Professions Code, wrongful termination, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Avendano did not participate in the proposed settlement of class discrimination claims announced in March 2018. Her legal claims are separate from the pending settlement. The case is "Ingrid Avendano v. Uber Technologies, Inc.," Case No. CGC-18-566677 in the Superior Court of California, San Francisco County. Attorney Contacts: Jennifer Schwartz and Menaka N. Fernando, Outten & Golden LLP, 415.638.8800. SOURCE Outten & Golden LLP Acquisition of ~1,126 sq km of strategic conglomerate hosting exploration properties . . Pilbara total land portfolio now increased to approximately 2,227 sq km, which equates to ~18.6% in holdings when compared to the size of Novo Resources Corp. (TSXV: NVO) land holdings, of approximately 12,000 sq km. of approximately 12,000 sq km. Transaction will place Pacton as the 3 rd largest land holder in the Pilbara. in the Pilbara. Previous exploration indicates at least 90 km of prospective Fortescue Group conglomerates occurring at or near-surface on its granted licenses, in particular to the west and east of Marble Bar as well as close to the Beatons Creek gold deposit near Nullagine. Conglomerates identified are approximately the same age as the Witwatersrand Basin Gold deposits of South Africa . in particular to the west and east of Marble Bar as well as close to the Beatons Creek gold deposit near Nullagine. Conglomerates identified are approximately the same age as the Witwatersrand Basin Gold deposits of . Properties are directly adjacent and proximal to key exploration properties controlled by Novo Resources Corp. and Kairos Minerals Ltd. (ASX: KAI) . to key exploration properties controlled by . Rock chip results of up to 11.2 g/t gold occur at the Glen Herring Prospect 10 km west of Marble Bar in a gold-pyrite conglomerate that extends for 25 km. occur at the Glen Herring Prospect 10 km west of Marble Bar in a gold-pyrite conglomerate that extends for 25 km. Other gold-bearing conglomerates identified on or adjacent to the licences . . Access to the extensive regional knowledge and technical expertise provided by the Impact Team, led by Managing Director Dr. Mike Jones , who brings specific expertise in conglomerate-hosted gold, and who conducted his PhD studies on this style of mineralization in the northern source areas for the Witwatersrand Basin. "We are pleased to make accretive acquisitions that strategically place Pacton as the third largest land holder in Western Australia's Pilbara conglomerate-hosted gold region. Pacton continues to further consolidate the region through key property evaluations, and the addition of Drummond East increases our land holdings to 2,227 sq km," commented Alec Pismiris, Interim President and CEO of Pacton. "The Impact Minerals team, led by Dr. Mike Jones, have successfully assembled a significant portfolio of advanced gold projects that present excellent prospectivity for discovery upside for the shareholders of Pacton. The Impact transaction solidifies our presence in the region, and is directly in line with our mandate to become one of the leaders in the Pilbara Gold Rush. With a strong treasury and financial backers, we are aggressively reviewing other opportunities." Impact's Pilbara Gold Project and its Prospectivity The seven 100% owned and fully granted licences cover 1,126 sq km of ground prospective for conglomerate-hosted gold in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (Figure 1). They were staked after an extensive review by Impact, following the discovery of gold in conglomerates at the base of the Fortescue Group by Artemis Resources Limited (ASX: ARV) and the subsequent joint venture with Novo Resources Corp. The discovery by Artemis Resources indicated a significant breakthrough had been made in the search for conglomerate hosted gold deposits of a similar age to the Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa in the Pilbara. Impact aggresively applied for available prospective ground in the early stages of the Pilbara staking rush. A preliminary review and synthesis of previous exploration data and mapping by the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) indicates the two most prospective conglomerate horizons within the Fortescue Group occur within or immediately adjacent to the licences (Figure 2): Conglomerates of the Hardey Formation. These rocks host the Beatons Creek resource (Tetra Tech 08/31/15 Measured and Indicated 3.39 Mt at 2.7 g/t gold for 299Koz Au, Inferred 3.04 Mt at 2.7 g/t gold for 259Koz Au) held by Novo Resources Corp. near Nullagine (Figure 2). Measured and Indicated 3.39 Mt at 2.7 g/t gold for 299Koz Au, Inferred 3.04 Mt at 2.7 g/t gold for 259Koz Au) held by Novo Resources Corp. near Nullagine (Figure 2). Conglomerates at the base of the Mt Roe Basalt. The recent gold discovery at Purdeys Reward-Comet Well by Novo Resources Corp. and Artemis Resources Limited occurs within this unit (Figure 2). Previous exploration indicates that the prospective conglomerates occur over at least 90 km of trend at or close to surface within the licences, in particular to the west and east of Marble Bar, as well as close to the Beatons Creek deposit near Nullagine. West of Marble Bar, previous exploration in the district highlighted several gold occurrences associated with the conglomerate horizons on and along trend from Impact's licence applications EL45/4972 and EL45/4971 (Figure 3). Four main gold-bearing conglomerate occurrences have been discovered that demonstrate similar characteristics to those that occur within the Witwatersrand Basin including: Glen Herring Prospect : previous rock chip samples in 1989 returned assays of up to 11.2 g/t gold from a gold-pyrite bearing conglomerate within the Hardey Formation, which extends for 10 km of strike on licence EL44/4972 (Figure 3). : previous rock chip samples in 1989 returned assays of up to 11.2 g/t gold from a gold-pyrite bearing conglomerate within the Hardey Formation, which extends for 10 km of strike on licence EL44/4972 (Figure 3). Shady Camp Well Prospect: one diamond drillhole was completed by Western Mining Corporation in 1976 to test a surface gold and radiometric anomaly in conglomerate-sandstone and returned 0.9 m at 0.6 g/t gold from 174 m downhole in quartz pebble conglomerate with rounded pyrite in the matrix. The conglomerate occurs close to a carbonaceous shale unit. Further, radiometric gold-bearing conglomerates in the Hardey Formation have been identified by previous explorers for at least 10 km along strike from Shady Camp Well. The same conglomerates also extend for a further 15 km along strike to the southwest outside of Impact's licence, where historic assays returned up to 2.1 g/t gold (see Figure 3). Gold-bearing pyritic quartz pebble conglomerates have been identified at the base of the Mt Roe Formation by several previous explorers at the Contact Creek Prospect which lies 6 km west of Impact's licence E45/4971 with the the best rock sample result of 15.9 g/t gold by Novo Resources in 2013 (see Figure 3). This gold-bearing conglomerate extends to the east and occurs very close to surface over at least 4 km of strike on Impact's licence EL45/4971. Prospect which lies 6 km west of Impact's licence E45/4971 with the the best rock sample result of 15.9 g/t gold by Novo Resources in 2013 (see Figure 3). This gold-bearing conglomerate extends to the east and occurs very close to surface over at least 4 km of strike on Impact's licence EL45/4971. The Hardey Formation sandstones and conglomerates have been mapped by the GSWA over at least 25 km of strike on EL45/4971 and rock samples of conglomerate with very strong pyrite returned up to 0.26 g/t gold by CRA Exploration in 1987 (Figure 3). The chemistry and characteristics of the conglomerates from the four propsect areas are similar to those observed in Witwatersrand-style conglomerate-hosted gold deposits. These are significant observations and are very encouraging for further exploration on Pacton's newly acquired licences. These characteristics include: Widespread gold-bearing conglomerates in places. The identification of rounded detrital pyrite within the matrix between conglomerate clasts. The occurrence of black carbonaceous shale that occurs in close proximity to the conglomerates. LOI Terms Under the terms of the LOI, which will be formalized by a definitive agreement among the parties, the Company will purchase a 100% ownership interest in Drummond East by paying Impact a total of CAD$350,000 and issuing to Impact 2,125,000 common shares of Pacton. In addition, Pacton will pay a bonus (the "Discovery Bonus") to Impact of CAD$500,000 if Pacton publishes measured, indicated, or inferred gold resources of over 250,000 ounces on the Property. Pacton will grant Impact a 2% net smelter royalty in respect of the Property on standard industry terms to be agreed between the parties (the "NSR"). The parties agree that Pacton shall, at all times, retain an exclusive and unlimited right to purchase 50% of the NSR back from Impact for CAD$500,000. A finder's fee will be paid to COMVERJ Pty Ltd in respect of the transaction pursuant to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. This transaction is subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. About Pacton Gold Pacton Gold Inc. is a Canadian junior exploration company focused on acquiring, exploring and advancing mineral assets in key mining friendly locations globally. The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved Peter Caldbick, P.Geo., a director of the Company and a Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101. The qualified person has not yet verified the data disclosed, including sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the information or opinions contained in the written disclosure. On Behalf of the Board of Pacton Gold Inc. Alec Pismiris Interim President & CEO This news release may contain or refer to forward-looking information based on current expectations, including, but not limited to the Company acquiring an interest in properties controlled by Impact Minerals Limited and completion of the proposed transaction described herein, the prospect of the Company achieving success in exploring the Property and the impact on the Company of these events, including the effect on the share prices. Forward-looking information is subject to significant risks and uncertainties, as actual results may differ materially from forecasted results. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date hereof and we assume no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances. Neither TSX Venture Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange nor their Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Pacton Gold Inc. SEATTLE, NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, and LONDON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PitchBook, the premier data provider for the private and public equity markets, today announced its Associate Director of Products, Alex Legault, has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the University of Washington Information School's (iSchool) Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM) program for a three-year term. The advisory board is responsible for guiding the development of the MSIM program, which involves advising on curriculum and facilitating in recruitment, marketing and promotion. Legault was selected by the MSIM Advisory Board Chair, Sean McGann, because of his experience and leadership driving PitchBook's product roadmap, including massive dataset expansions and the rollout of more than 120 platform updates in 2017. "The iSchool's MSIM Advisory Board is an exceptional asset to the iSchool's students, faculty and alumni in providing timely insights into the ever-changing, fast-paced world of information," said Anind Dey, the Dean of the iSchool. "Alex is an inspiring and ambitious leader who brings a unique perspective through his success in leading the PitchBook product development team. We're looking forward to Alex's and Pitchbook's contributions to the advisory board, and iSchool, more broadly." The iSchool MSIM degree program was developed out of the need to address the information management challenges that all organizations face in today's digital economy. Under the leadership of MSIM Program Chair, Sean McGann, the program's advisory board is accountable for helping the School achieve its objectives as well as promoting the program in the broader community through engagement with industry, government, academic and non-profit partners. Legault joins a group of prominent Puget Sound business leaders that make up the board including Vanessa Pegueros, vice president and CISO of DocuSign, Raymond Chan, managing director of the IoT Practice of Accenture Digital and Agueda Sanchez, senior UX producer at Amazon. Throughout his tenure at PitchBook, Legault has led the strategy and execution of substantial platform updates for PitchBook's 15,000 clients including mass dataset expansions, a platform re-architecture and regular feature updates. His experience will further strengthen the board's ability to advance the curriculum across its various specializations including data science, business intelligence, user experience, information architecture and information security. "The iSchool does an exceptional job of preparing students to be leaders and innovators in the information space. In fact, several members of our product team are iSchool alumni," said Alex Legault, Associate Director of Products at PitchBook. "I'm humbled to have been asked to join this board and I will dedicate myself towards furthering the curriculum to develop the next generation of IT leaders." Click here for more information about PitchBook. About PitchBook PitchBook is a financial data and software company that provides transparency into the capital markets to help professionals discover and execute opportunities with confidence and efficiency. PitchBook collects and analyzes detailed data on the entire venture capital, private equity and M&A landscapeincluding public and private companies, investors, funds, investments, exits and people. The company's data and analysis are available through the PitchBook Platform, industry news and in-depth reports. Founded in 2007, PitchBook has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, New York and London and serves nearly 15,000 professionals around the world. In 2016, Morningstar acquired PitchBook, which now operates as an independent subsidiary. About the University of Washington Based in Seattle, Washington, the UW is one of the world's preeminent public universities. Its impact on individuals, the Pacific Northwest region and the world is profound whether it is launching young people into a boundless future or confronting the grand challenges of our time through undaunted research and scholarship. The UW, which was ranked No. 13 in the world in Shanghai Jiao Tong University's 2017 academic rankings, educates more than 54,000 students annually. It turns ideas into impact and transforms lives and our world. For more about the UW's impact, visit www.washington.edu. About the UW Information School The University of Washington Information School is a leading member of the iSchool movement and a model for other information schools around the globe. The UW iSchool's approach to information instruction and scholarship builds on the traditional roles filled by information professionals, and it infuses its programs with a strong emphasis on the technologies through which information is increasingly delivered. By tackling key social and technical problems in the information field, the iSchool has become an important link between users of information and designers of information systems, connecting society with the information it needs. To learn more, visit ischool.uw.edu. PitchBook Press Contact Bailey Fox PR Manager [email protected] +1 206.823.3022 UW Information School Contact Maggie Foote Director of Communications [email protected] +1 206-221-6182 SOURCE PitchBook Related Links http://www.pitchbook.com WASHINGTON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Parity for Main Street Employers coalition of national trade groups released model legislation to preserve the federal State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) for Main Street Employers organized as pass-throughs. This follows action by Connecticut last week to enact similar legislation, paving the way for other states to act. The federal tax reform law preserved the SALT deduction for C corporations but denied it to millions of businesses organized as pass-throughs because they pay those same taxes at the owner level. Those businesses remain able to deduct taxes that are paid at the entity level. The model legislation, like the Connecticut bill, would shift the tax paid by pass-through businesses from the owner to the entity, thereby preserving the SALT deduction. "Connecticut is to be praised for leading the way to address a huge disadvantage for Main Street employers," said Chris Smith, PMSE Executive Director. "S-corps, partnerships, and LLCs across America face a tax increase from the loss of the SALT deduction. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the tax hike from the loss of the SALT deduction is significantly bigger than the benefit of the 20-percent pass-through deduction. That's just not fair and is the opposite of tax parity. C corporations can continue to deduct their state and local taxes. So should pass-throughs." "There is a clear legal path for states to act to fix this problem," said Smith. "That's why we are also releasing today model state legislation to preserve the continued deduction of state and local taxes for pass-through businesses as a business expense. We are urging more states to follow Connecticut's lead and act." The model legislation would: Change the incidence of tax on pass-through business income from the owner to the entity, making those taxes deductible at the Federal level; Give those owners a credit for the taxes paid at the entity level; and Recognize the value of similar credits paid by other states to pass-through owners. These changes would restore the deductibility of these taxes, all at no cost to the state. To help additional states adopt this fix, we are providing model legislative text to assist in the drafting process. Contact: Christine Walizer Phone: (703) 856-0452 [email protected] SOURCE Parity for Main Street Employers Related Links http://mainstreetemployers.org/ FRANKFORT, Ky. and SCARSDALE, N.Y. and WASHINGTON and GREAT FALLS, Va., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Candleberry Candle Company, in business for 23 years and known for its famous Kentucky Bourbon and Hot Maple Toddy Candles, is now branching into the luxury candle market, by way of their newly created luxury candle brand, UnEarthed Candles. In development for three years and polished to perfection, UnEarthed, like the Candleberry brand, sets out to surpass all others of its kind by way of the company trademarked, Advanced Fragrance Technology development process and offering a "luxury" candle for a reasonable price. The new UnEarthed Luxury Candle brand utilizes a soy vegetable-based blend of waxes, proprietary to the brand and offers fragrances that are of the most desired qualities on the market. When Candleberry developed the UnEarthed line, they left no stone unturned, treating the burn quality of the candle as just as important as the wax blend, the fragrance quality and the power and range of fragrances developed. "We saw the quality of the average 'luxury candle' on the market today and realized we were already surpassing the standard by miles with the Candleberry line, so why wouldn't we give the luxury market the quality it struggles to produce?" says Lisa Clark, UnEarthed Product Designer, "Although there are some fine luxury candles out there, when we sampled a multitude of luxury candles available today, we realized we were looking at a big percentage of sub-par products, not worthy of their price tag. So, we made the decision to show the market what our version of a luxury candle is. The UnEarthed luxury candle consists of amazing quality, including a beautiful burn, packaging that will go with any decor, gift packaging that rivals all luxury candle brands and fragrance that travels through an entire household. They are made with zero dyes, zero added fragrance-diluting chemicals and zero microcrystalline. Although microcrystalline can make a pretty candle, it can also make for an uncomfortable allergic skin and/or respiratory reaction, due to an excessive production of carbon and trace amounts of nitrogen and sulfur during combustion. UnEarthed is simply a luxury brand, in which no expense was spared, for the ultimate in fragrance performance and quality." In the spring of 2018, www.UnEarthedcandles.com, featuring the entire UnEarthed Luxury Candle line, went live and shot straight to the top 7% of website traffic for companies launched within the same time period. Included in the UnEarthed lineup are Italian-inspired categories, Lusso, Luxury Gift Candle, Lusso Latta, Luxury Travel Tin, Luminare Vitrum, High Performance Candle, Magna Vitrum, Three Wick Candle and Minima Vitrum, 7-Votive Luxury Gift Set. The UnEarthed website product pages not only offer a nostalgic, descriptive prelude to a comprehensive fragrance note listing but it also sums notes into clear, smaller groupings for the novice scented candle user. Each product within the collection even lists suggested rooms for the corresponding fragrance. The market for the kind of quality offered by UnEarthed, at a realistic price, is expected to become the go-to household candle for the luxury market, over the next few years. UnEarthed Candle sales and distribution will hit peak performance, for 2018, during the upcoming candle season, which is early August through late December. To get an early jump on product availability, find more information at www.unearthedcandles.com. PRLog ID: www.prlog.org/12708490 SOURCE UnEarthed by The Candleberry Co. Related Links http://www.unearthedcandles.com NEW YORK, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Bernstein Liebhard LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of those who purchased or acquired the securities of PPG Industries, Inc. ("PPG" or the "Company") (NYSE: PPG) between April 24, 2017 and May 10, 2018, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit seeks to recover PPG shareholders' investment losses. To join the PPG class action, and/or if you have information relating to this matter, please visit our PPG SHAREHOLDER PAGE or contact Daniel Sadeh toll free at (877) 779-1414 or [email protected]. According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) PPG's consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 and the quarterly financial statements of 2017 contained improper accounting entries and could no longer be relied upon; (2) PPG failed to maintain adequate internal controls; and (3) as a result, Defendants' public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On May 10, 2018, during aftermarket hours, PPG revealed that an "investigation has found evidence that the improper accounting entries were made by certain employees at the direction of the Company's former vice president and controller." PPG further disclosed that "the Company's consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K and the related report of PwC, and for the quarterly and year-to-date periods in 2017, should no longer be relied upon." PPG reported these matters to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. On this news, PPG's stock fell $5.68, or over 5%, from its previous closing price to close at $100.43 on May 11, 2018, damaging investors. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 19, 2018. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member. Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years. Please follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bernstein-liebhard-llp/ and Twitter: https://twitter.com/bernlieb. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. 2018 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. The lawyer responsible for this advertisement in the State of Connecticut is Michael S. Bigin. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. Contact Information Daniel Sadeh Bernstein Liebhard LLP http://www.bernlieb.com (877) 779-1414 [email protected] SOURCE Bernstein Liebhard LLP Related Links http://www.bernlieb.com RENTON, Wash., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Answering the call to assist those most in need, not-for-profit health system Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH) invested more than $1.6 billion in charity and support for local communities in 2017. This investment addresses many of the most urgent health and social issues impacting PSJH's seven-state area. "Of all that we do across Providence St. Joseph Health, I have always been proud of our longstanding commitment to community benefit," says Rod Hochman, M.D., president and CEO of PSJH. "This commitment to giving back is rooted in our founders, the Sisters of Providence and Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, who inspire us to fund services for the poor and nurture vibrant, healthier communities. Each year, we fund many great expressions of this vision, not just assisting a few scattered programs, but by going deep into the communities we serve, impacting factors that truly contribute to healthier populations." PSJH was formed in 2016 by the coming together of Providence Health & Services and St. Joseph Health and has sustained its significant investment for two straight years. In both years, funds have been directed at free and low-cost care for those who require financial assistance, research, community services, grants, donations to support community partners, and alleviating shortfalls in government funding from Medicaid/Medi-Cal. "OLE Health truly values the relationship we hold with Providence St. Joseph Health. Through this long-standing partnership, OLE Health has been able to leverage PSJH's vast resources to maximize our impact in the community for our region's most vulnerable populations," said Alicia Hardy, chief executive officer with OLE Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center and PSJH community benefit partner in Northern California. The Catholic, not-for-profit health system attributes its focus on community needs to a 160-year-old heritage that began when Catholic Sisters built hospitals and cared for the poor amidst the harsh landscape of the American West. Today, the health system of 114,000 caregivers works with community groups and other innovative partners to continue bettering conditions for all. A major goal of PSJH's 2017 community investment is funding more than medical care and going far beyond the traditional hospital setting by addressing social factors that make a population healthy, such as education, housing and access to transportation and nutritious food. The intent is to focus on these issues "upstream," proactively helping communities to thrive and impacting the overall cost of care for all populations. To highlight the many ways the community benefit fund touches lives in need, a PSJH website chronicles the programs and people positively impacted. Examples include: Partnering to end homelessness in Alaska by funding long-term housing and providing much-needed medical care. by funding long-term housing and providing much-needed medical care. Screening patients for their ability to access nutritious food at family medicine clinics in Oregon the only state with rising rates of food insecurity and helping those in need put food on their tables. the only state with rising rates of food insecurity and helping those in need put food on their tables. Helping vulnerable Montanans breathe easier during wildfire season thanks to donated HEPA filters, and implementing an innovative Produce Prescription Program that helps patients who can't afford fresh fruit and vegetables on their own. Supporting counselors in Northern California's Humboldt County as they help families enroll in and navigate complex health coverage plans. as they help families enroll in and navigate complex health coverage plans. Connecting the homeless frequenting the emergency room at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, Calif. , with the resources they need to rebuild their lives. , with the resources they need to rebuild their lives. Addressing social isolation which impacts a high percentage of immigrant families in Los Angeles through the Building Stronger Families Program. through the Building Stronger Families Program. Sheltering those who are homeless and need physician-prescribed bed rest after ED discharge in Washington state . . Supporting Covenant Dental Clinic in Eastern New Mexico and West Texas , which repairs the smiles of thousands who lack insurance. About Providence St. Joseph Health Community Benefit Investment PSJH determines where help is needed most by conducting a local needs assessment in each of the communities it serves and identifying those programs and services that help create lasting solutions. Recent findings have shown the greatest needs across PSJH's seven-state service areas include: access to health care; mental health and substance abuse; food insecurity; housing and homelessness; services for the aging population; neighborhood violence and human trafficking. To learn more about how Providence St. Joseph Health assists those in need, visit PSJHealth.org/Cares. About Providence St. Joseph Health Providence St. Joseph Health is committed to improving the health of the communities it serves, especially those who are poor and vulnerable. With 51 hospitals, 829 physician clinics, senior services, supportive housing and many other health and educational services, the health system and its partners employ more than 114,000 caregivers (employees) serving communities across seven states Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. With system offices based in Renton, Wash. and Irvine, Calif., the Providence St. Joseph Health family of organizations works together to meet the needs of its communities, both today and into the future. SOURCE Providence St. Joseph Health Related Links http://www.psjhealth.org (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694780/Qure_ai.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694782/Qureai_Chest_X_ray_product.jpg ) Through this partnership, Qure.ai's chest X-ray technology will be integrated with Telerad Tech's proprietary RIS PACS platform - RADSpa that TRS uses to provide teleradiology services globally. "At Qure.ai, we are expanding the reach of our AI algorithms to help medical professionals deliver better outcomes to their patients," said Prashant Warier, Co-Founder and CEO, Qure.ai. "TRS and Telerad Tech are pioneers in their respective domains, and we are excited about the impact this partnership will have on the millions of patients' lives they touch." TRS has reported scans for over five million patients since inception in 2002, and currently caters to the requirements of 150 hospitals and healthcare centers in more than 20 countries, including the United States, Singapore, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Maldives and India. Telerad Tech's RADSpa platform is deployed in 24 countries and has processed more than 20 million studies and billions of images. RADSpa is FDA approved and CE certified. TRS's clinical expertise and Telerad Tech's RADSpa platform consolidates radiology report information from diverse sources so radiologists can review these reports from anywhere and anytime. By integrating Qure.ai's algorithms that automatically generate abnormality reports from X-rays and CT scans, radiologists and hospitals using RADspa will now have cutting-edge algorithms at their disposal to help prioritize care, make smarter and faster diagnoses, and reduce costs. This integration is expected to go live in the next four months in several Indian states where TRS provides teleradiology services. "Making sure that doctors and hospitals have the necessary and highest quality information has to be the topmost priority," said Dr Arjun Kalyanpur, CEO Teleradiology Solutions. "Diseases that are of public health importance worldwide such as tuberculosis, are within our focus of interest with a goal of providing high-quality diagnostics to facilitate early detection. Qure.ai, TRS and T2 have a shared vision when it comes to achieving this goal, and we strongly believe this will be highly beneficial for doctors, hospitals and patients alike." Qure.ai's chest X-ray solution can automatically screen for abnormal chest X-rays and tuberculosis. Qure.ai's automated reads can have a substantial impact on the screening protocol for tuberculosis globally. "Qure.ai's chest X-ray solution helps in early identification of probable TB cases and helps doctors in fast-tracking of TB patients for confirmatory diagnosis. It will act as a force multiplier for early and fast detection," says Dr. Shibu Vijayan, Director at PATH India, an NGO that has been working to improve TB outcomes in India for years. Founded in 2016, Qure.ai is funded by Fractal Analytics, a global leader in artificial intelligence and analytics that powers decision-making in Fortune 500 companies. For more information about Qure.ai, please visit: http://www.qure.ai. About Qure.ai (http://www.qure.ai) Qure.ai's mission is to make healthcare affordable and accessible using the power of artificial intelligence. Qure.ai's deep neural networks can understand and interpret medical images with unprecedented accuracy and enable machines to perform routine diagnostics, thus improving healthcare outcomes and costs. Qure.ai was founded in 2016, with funding from Fractal Analytics, and has a team comprising of computer scientists, deep learning experts, medical practitioners and bioinformaticians. About Teleradiology Solutions (http://www.telradsol.com) Established in 2002, Teleradiology Solutions is a global pioneer in remote radiology interpretation and telehealth. Headquartered in Bangalore, India, with offices and operations spanning USA, Singapore and Dubai, the company offers interpretation of all non-invasive imaging studies (CT, MRI, PET, Nuclear Medicine studies, Digitized X-rays, ECG, Angiography etc.), and 3-D reconstructions of CT scans. About Telerad Tech (http://www.teleradtech.com) Established in 2009, Telerad Tech (T2) is one of the pioneers in providing an AI-Enabled RIS-PACS Platform for teleradiology, and for medical imaging centers and hospitals of all sizes, globally. The company is headquartered in Bangalore, with an office in the USA, and is focused on providing best-in-class technology platforms at sustainable costs in radiology and telehealth. SOURCE Qure.ai BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The key to reducing the impact of disability for future generations is supporting individuals who are making a difference. Jesse Reiter, owner of Reiter & Walsh ABC Law Centers, has donated over $20,000 to be divided equally across six unique programs at Michigan Medicine in an effort to aid those making strides in disability treatment, care, and research. The programs include The Harbaugh Fund, The Child & Family Life Program, The Ataxia Research Fund, The Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Annual Fund, the Reach Out and Read program, and neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) research conducted by Dr. John Barks. "Jim Harbaugh" by Maize & Blue Nation is licensed under CC BY 2.0. "Kids with disabilities need all of our help. I can't think of a better way to support children with health needs than to give to the outstanding programs housed within Michigan Medicine," remarked Jesse Reiter. The Harbaugh Fund provides VR boxes to children at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, which can be used with various smartphone apps to give children an 'escape' from the stressors of the hospital environment. The Ataxia Research Fund provides Michigan Medicine with the means to research treatment strategies for ataxia disorders that are currently largely untreatable. Meanwhile, the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Fund supports the physical medicine and rehabilitation department. Dr. John Barks has dedicated his life to the study of neonatal neurology. Barks continues to research HIE and the impact of various factors on neonatal brain injury. His work will lead the way in medical treatment and care of neonatal brain injuries. Reiter & Walsh ABC Law Centers is thrilled to aid these programs and their advancement. The firm will continue to support the University of Michigan's medical school and their commitment to disability care, treatment, and research for years to come. About Reiter & Walsh, ABC Law Centers: Reiter & Walsh ABC Law Centers is a nationally renowned birth injury law firm based out of Bloomfield Hills, MI. Since the firm's inception in 1997, Jesse Reiter and the rest of the ABC Law Centers legal team have fought to protect the rights of children who have been injured at birth. Outside of the courtroom, the ABC Law Centers team promotes safer medical practices and advancements in disability treatment. Genevieve Kotasek Reiter & Walsh ABC Law Centers 248-593-5100 [email protected] SOURCE Reiter & Walsh ABC Law Centers Related Links https://www.abclawcenters.com NORMAL, Ill. and PLYMOUTH, Mich., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rivian extends its congratulations to United Way of McLean County and State Farm on hosting their volunteer-based 48in48 event on Sunday to revamp the websites of local nonprofit agencies. The event was held at Rivian's facility in Normal, IL and included over 200 volunteers and 100 web developers donating their time to update 48 websites. This spirit of community is one of the things that drew Rivian to the Bloomington Normal area. RJ Scaringe, Founder and CEO of Rivian stated, "We are happy to play a role in supporting the future success of local nonprofits and Rivian employees were proud to be part of the effort. As Rivian's business grows we look forward to increasing our involvement in other community activities, especially in working with the local education system on a variety of fronts from enhancing STEM programs to mentoring and job shadowing programs." The event included volunteers from Rivian, State Farm, Afni, IBM and Twin City colleges. About Rivian With the introduction of its first vehicle in 2020, Rivian is advancing the shift to electric, autonomous and shared mobility. Rivian vehicles will incorporate the company's cloud-based digital architecture, self-driving platform and advanced battery system. The company employs around 350 people and has vehicle design and engineering operations in Plymouth, Michigan, technology and engineering operations in San Jose and Irvine, California and manufacturing facilities in Normal, Illinois. For more information visit www.rivian.com. SOURCE Rivian Related Links http://www.rivian.com RMA-SoCal will operate in partnership with RMA's national network of fertility centers, including its U.S. flagship practice - Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey (RMANJ) led by Dr. Richard Scott . As a result, patients will benefit from the same cutting-edge fertility treatments based on scientific research. RMANJ is one of the largest and most successful fertility clinics in the U.S., with pregnancy and live birth rates more than 20 percent higher than the national average according to the most recent data released by the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART). The RMA-SoCal team will be led by an elite team of physicians including Medical Director Thomas J. Kim, MD, FACOG/HCLD, as well as Ellen H. Goldstein MD. FACOG, and Katherine Green, MD, FACOG. RMA SoCal is set apart from other fertility clinics by its rich scientific resources and a team dedicated to maintaining unsurpassed laboratory quality, backed by collective experience and proven results. "Modern fertility treatment is a discipline where leading edge technology meets medical practice at the front line. There are many ways to guide my patients to achieve their goals and I'm committed to walk with them on this leg of their journey to create a family," said Dr. Kim. Patients in the local area can access not only today's most distinguished doctors in the field but also technologies validated on the global stage. RMA is recognized as the industry leader in comprehensive chromosome testing, for which they have performed rigorous clinical validation studies. This technology is the best way to accurately detect healthy embryos that will result in delivery of healthy babies, making IVF more efficient, effective, and economical. RMA-SoCal will also support women by providing Egg Cryopreservation services at their new state-of-the-art laboratory. "I'm honored to be joining pioneers in the field Richard Scott and Thomas Kim in bringing RMA to the West Coast. What sets RMA apart is that we are the global leader in innovative research that continuously and directly improves our clinical practice. Additionally, we ensure that our patients feel valued, understood, and empowered by our careful attention to making their diagnosis and personalized treatment plan," said Dr. Ellen Goldstein. The greater Los Angeles community can look forward to reproductive medicine provided by a unique medical team dedicated to research, the highest level of laboratory quality, and personalized care with a continued collaboration with the national RMA group. For more information, please call 424 293-8841 or visit www.rmasocal.com SOURCE Reproductive Medicine Associates of Southern California Related Links http://www.rmasocal.com LONDON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS.A) (NYSE: RDS.B) announces the poll results on the resolutions at its Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday May 22, 2018 at the Circustheater, Circusstraat 4, 2586 CW The Hague, The Netherlands. Resolutions 1-18 were carried and resolution 19 (Shareholder resolution) was not carried. In accordance with the Listing Rules, a copy of all resolutions other than resolutions concerning ordinary business at the Annual General Meeting, will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will be available for inspection at: www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/nsm RESOLUTION VOTES FOR % VOTES AGAINST % VOTES TOTAL % of ISC VOTED VOTES WITHHELD 1 Receipt of Annual Report & Accounts 5,153,738,840 98.55 75,760,000 1.45 5,229,498,840 62.68% 10,345,425 2 Approval of Directors' Remuneration Report 3,886,764,832 74.78 1,311,138,457 25.22 5,197,903,289 62.31% 41,918,978 3 Appointment of Ann Godbehere 5,187,992,901 99.10 47,004,936 0.90 5,234,997,837 62.75% 4,822,696 4 Reappointment of Ben van Beurden 5,205,090,607 99.90 5,413,774 0.10 5,210,504,381 62.46% 29,329,055 5 Reappointment of Euleen Goh 5,048,629,738 96.49 183,429,396 3.51 5,232,059,134 62.71% 7,756,826 6 Reappointment of Charles O. Holliday 5,124,783,253 98.36 85,444,647 1.64 5,210,227,900 62.45% 29,601,922 7 Reappointment of Catherine Hughes 5,199,501,814 99.79 10,810,760 0.21 5,210,312,574 62.45% 29,515,871 8 Reappointment of Gerard Kleisterlee 5,044,343,136 96.87 162,791,041 3.13 5,207,134,177 62.42% 32,682,493 9 Reappointment of Roberto Setubal 5,167,672,381 99.30 36,595,480 0.70 5,204,267,861 62.38% 35,535,041 10 Reappointment of Sir Nigel Sheinwald 5,111,836,667 99.60 20,747,249 0.40 5,132,583,916 61.52% 107,228,335 11 Reappointment of Linda G. Stuntz 5,203,101,939 99.86 7,213,243 0.14 5,210,315,182 62.45% 29,485,907 12 Reappointment of Jessica Uhl 5,210,791,215 99.53 24,590,912 0.47 5,235,382,127 62.75% 4,418,709 13 Reappointment of Gerrit Zalm 5,202,358,226 99.85 7,609,969 0.15 5,209,968,195 62.45% 29,812,421 14 Reappointment of Auditors 5,217,719,675 99.81 9,742,622 0.19 5,227,462,297 62.66% 12,375,457 15 Remuneration of Auditors 5,230,632,876 99.92 4,329,783 0.08 5,234,962,659 62.75% 4,849,317 16 Authority to allot shares 5,137,141,227 98.16 96,540,608 1.84 5,233,681,835 62.73% 6,147,614 17 Disapplication of pre-emption rights* 5,187,202,025 99.15 44,252,487 0.85 5,231,454,512 62.71% 8,312,170 18 Authority to purchase own shares* 5,137,518,867 98.19 94,959,983 1.81 5,232,478,850 62.72% 7,312,193 19 Shareholder resolution* 268,063,768 5.54 4,567,121,334 94.46 4,835,185,102 57.96% 404,376,930 * Special resolution Please note that a 'vote withheld' is not a vote under English Law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of the votes 'for' and 'against' a resolution. STATEMENTS RESOLUTION 2 APPROVAL OF DIRECTORS' REMUNERATION REPORT We welcome the broad shareholder support for our 2017 remuneration report. Shareholder discussions and voting outcomes in recent years, including the 92% of shareholders who voted in favour of our remuneration policy at last year's AGM, suggest that our policy and approach to executive remuneration are appropriate. We work hard to actively solicit and react to all feedback from our shareholders, and hold an extensive engagement programme between a range of shareholders and senior management, including the Board. In these meetings we received a positive response to our decisions in respect of the execution of our policy for 2017 and its alignment with company performance. We also held constructive dialogue on, amongst other subjects, our strategy to thrive through the energy transition and its link to policy design. Notwithstanding this, we also note that a number of shareholders voted against this year's report. We respect the range of opinions that shareholders have and acknowledge the resources they can access to exercise their stewardship. We will continue to engage constructively with our shareholders to reflect carefully on any feedback we receive from them and would particularly welcome the opportunity to work with proxy advisors more closely in the future, to better serve shareholder needs. RESOLUTION 19 SHAREHOLDER RESOLUTION We believe the vote is a clear and strong display of confidence in Shell's wide-ranging and progressive approach to leading though the energy transition. It demonstrates not only support for our industry-leading strategy, but also clear trust in the ability of Shell's management to implement it. The transition towards a net-zero emissions energy system and a world where temperature increases are limited to less than 2C will unfold over several decades and will require concerted action by many, including Shell. We recognise there are many voices in the energy transition debate and we will continue to engage constructively as we implement our approach. But we must also recognise that the time for action is now Shell is committed to playing its part and, with the clear and ongoing support of our shareholders, we will continue to take sensible steps to help tackle climate change and ensure we thrive through the energy transition. May 22, 2018 Linda M. Szymanski Company Secretary Royal Dutch Shell plc LEI number of Royal Dutch Shell plc: 21380068P1DRHMJ8KU70 Classification: Additional regulated information required to be disclosed under the laws of a Member State. ENQUIRIES Shell Media Relations International, UK, European Press: +44-20-7934-5550 Shell Investor Relations Europe: +31-70-377-4540 United States: +1-832-337-2034 SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc Related Links www.shell.com BALI, Indonesia, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Running Remote 2018 is the world's biggest remote work conference. It is being organized by one of Forbes' top 10 co-working spaces on earth and some of their speakers include Buffer CEO Joel Gascoigne, Doist CEO Amir Salihefendi and Atlassian's Director of R&D Dominic Price. Running Remote Conference 2018: Build and Scale Your Remote Team to the Next Level Remote teams are growing at an extremely rapid pace. According to "The 2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce" report, 3.9 million people, or 2.9 percent of the total U.S. workforce, worked from home at least half the time in 2015, a 115 percent increase from 1.8 million back in 2005. A growing number of entrepreneurs and business leaders are looking for ways to improve their remote work operations. For the first time in the Southern Hemisphere, international experts will host a series of discussions about building, running and scaling remote teams. "This is the event we've been looking for, but it didn't exist until now. If you are serious about building and scaling your remote team, then join us in Bali this June," said Liam Martin, Time Doctor Co-Founder. The two-day conference on June 23 and 24, 2018, will be held at the luxury spa resort Fivelements Bali, Ubud, in Indonesia. Topics covered will include: Management styles, processes and technology for managing remote teams Latest collaboration tools and techniques Processing payments across several countries easily and without paying expensive transfer fees Hiring the right people who can perform well in a remote setting Promoting teamwork and building trust Staying productive, overcoming distractions and maintaining a work-life balance The speakers for Running Remote are: Joel Gascoigne: Co-founder & CEO, Buffer Sara Sutton Fell : Founder, Flexjobs : Founder, Flexjobs Amir Salihefendic: Founder, Doist Dominic Price : Head Of R&D and Work Futurist, Atlassian : Head Of R&D and Work Futurist, Atlassian Lara K Owen: Director, Global Workplace Operations, Github Liam Martin : Co-Founder, Time Doctor & Staff.com : Co-Founder, Time Doctor & Staff.com Indrek Pallo: Chief Representative, Enterprise Estonia Singapore, E-Residency Dmitriy Zaporozhets: Co-founder, Gitlab Justin Cooke : CMO, Empire Flippers : CMO, Empire Flippers Sarah Kuehnle: Head Of Product, Dribbble.com Andrea Loubier: CEO, Mailbird Stuart Jones : Founder, Coworkation : Founder, Coworkation Eiji Han Shimizu: Mindfulness Coach Steve Munroe: CEO, Hubud Omar Zenhom: CEO, WebinarNinja Trimikha Valentius: Lead Developer, Ogilvy Australia A number of Australian companies are attending the conference. The event is sponsored by a group of companies whose workforce entirely or substantially consists of remote employees: TransferWise, Transformify, Time Doctor, Empire Flippers, Visuer Interactive, Remote Work Hub, Newswire, WebinarNinja, Intellyo, Kinetic Business Solutions, Balsamiq, Slido, Estonia e-Residency, Crunchbase, Coworkation. About HUBUD Hubud is a co-working space in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. It is a collection of members at any one time that are freelancers, tech teams, creatives, video journalists, writers, dreamers and everything in between. Contact For media and other inquiries, please contact [email protected]. Fivelements, Mambal, Abiansemal, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80352 Related Links Speakers Schedule Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3Fsy_cvSDo SOURCE Running Remote Conference 2018 The highly anticipated restaurant is just 550 square feet, showing the brand's ability to take their concept to unique locations. This is their second store in the Ann Arbor market, their first location opened in December 2014 on the University of Michigan campus. Salads UP was founded by two University of Michigan class of 2013 graduates that thought their alma mater needed a healthy, quick restaurant alternative. Aside from its namesake salads, the restaurant offers panini-pressed wraps, warm grain bowls, smoothies and juices. "We are excited to continue our growth, specifically in the Ann Arbor market," said co-founder Max Steir. "Briarwood has always been a staple of Ann Arbor, a place where everyone goes to shop, eat, and hang out. We can't wait to bring it a healthy and fresh option that we know everyone will love." Co-founder Robert Mayer added, "At U of M we saw a need for a high quality, delicious meal that was fast and could fit into the busy lives of college students. All of our cooking and preparation is done on site every day, with an emphasis on featuring local ingredients. We want to carry on this mission for the customers at Briarwood." About Salads UP Salads UP was started in 2015 by two U-M graduates seeking healthier alternatives for college students. Robby Mayer and Max Steir opened the first location in downtown Ann Arbor in 2015. The privately owned company has now launched its third location, and is committed to local sourcing, high quality selections of salads, wraps, juices and bowls that are innovative and satisfying. For further information, visit http://www.saladsup.com CONTACT: Robert Mayer, 201-638-0691, [email protected] SOURCE Salads UP Related Links https://www.saladsup.com SAN FRANCISCO, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce.org, the philanthropic arm of Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), today announced it will donate $1.5 million to Hamilton Families' Heading Home Initiative to end long-term family homelessness in San Francisco. This gift will be matched by Marc and Lynne Benioff, who will give $1.5 million to the initiative. These donations to one of the city's most urgent causes are being made as part of the grand opening celebration of Salesforce Tower. As the largest technology employer in San Francisco, Salesforce is deeply committed to serving the community in which its customers and employees live and work. Since 1999, Salesforce and Salesforce.org have donated more than $200 million in grants toward community programs, including public schools, hospitals and organizations working to end family homelessness. In addition, Salesforce employees have spent more than 3 million hours volunteering in their local communities and with nonprofits around the world. Since 2016, Salesforce.org has given $3.5 million toward Hamilton Families' Heading Home Initiative, and Marc and Lynne Benioff have given $11.5 million. Heading Home aims to address family homelessness in San Francisco by providing housing for 800 families by 2020. Funding for Heading Home will be used to reduce the amount of time a family experiences homelessnessfrom today's average of 414 days to a maximum of 90 days. It will also provide wraparound support services to increase financial and housing stability and provide direct benefit to the more than 1,800 homeless students in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). The Heading Home Initiative is a $30 million joint effort conceived by the late Mayor Ed Lee between the City and County of San Francisco, the San Francisco Unified School District, Hamilton Families and private philanthropy. Today, Hamilton Families shared a progress update on the initiative, highlighting the more than 200 families who have been housed since it launched in 2016. Comments on the News: "At Salesforce.org, we are deeply committed to improving the communities where we live and work through grants, volunteerism and our technology," said Rob Acker, CEO of Salesforce.org. "The Heading Home Initiative is a great example of businesses, community leaders and the government working together to address the most critical issue facing our city and we're proud to be a part of the solution to get every family in the city into stable housing." "Homelessness is the most urgent issue we face in San Francisco and it is unacceptable for any child to sleep on the street," said Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, Salesforce. "As a city and community, we have a moral obligation to make sure that every person and family in our city has a home. Lynne and I are proud to support the tremendous work of Hamilton Families and the Heading Home Initiative to end family homelessness." "The donations we've received from Salesforce.org and Marc and Lynne Benioff through Heading Home have helped local families receive wraparound support since 2016," said Tomiquia Moss, CEO of Hamilton Families. "In addition to the monetary gifts directly impacting our community, we're proud to work side by side with Salesforce volunteers to support our overall work, resulting in tremendous impact." Supporting the San Francisco Community through Salesforce Tower To further Salesforce's commitment to the local community, Salesforce Tower will feature a unique hospitality floor, called the Ohana Floor, which will open in September 2018. Ohana is the word for "family" in Hawaiian, and represents Salesforce's family of employees, customers, partners and the community. Located on the top floor of Salesforce Tower, it will not only be a gathering space for Salesforce employees and customers to foster collaboration, it will also be available to nonprofits to host their own events on weeknights and weekends. With an exhibition kitchen, coffee barista bar, social and networking space, and sweeping views of San Francisco, this innovative floor design will help Salesforce serve its local community. Ohana Floors will launch soon in all named Salesforce Towers globally, including Indianapolis, New York and London. Additional Information To learn more about Heading Home, visit: https://hamiltonfamilies.org/ To learn more about Salesforce Tower, visit: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/ Connect with Salesforce.org Like Salesforce.org on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SalesforceOrg/ Follow @SalesforceOrg on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SalesforceOrg Read the Salesforce.org blog: http://www.salesforce.org/blog/ About Salesforce.org Salesforce.org was founded on the idea that the business of business is improving the state of the world. Founded on the 1-1-1 model, Salesforce.org is now both a nonprofit and a social enterprise that gives back to the community to invest in education to make sure youth are future ready. Everyone who wants to change the world should have the tools and technology to do so. Technology is the most powerful equalizer of our time, providing access to data, knowledge, andabove allconnections. Salesforce.org gets our technology in the hands of nonprofits, education institutions and philanthropic organizations so they can connect with others and do more good. As a social enterprise, the more missions our technology supports, the more we invest back into technology and communities, creating an endless circle of good. We're here to help; visit us at www.salesforce.org. About Salesforce Salesforce, the global leader in customer relationship management (CRM), empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For information, please visit www.salesforce.com. About Hamilton Families Hamilton Families is committed to ending family homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1985, Hamilton Families established San Francisco's first shelter for families experiencing homelessness. The organization's comprehensive and data-driven programs work to prevent homelessness whenever possible, provide temporary shelter for families in crisis and help families return to permanent housing quickly to restore the foundation for healthy lives. For more information please visit https://hamiltonfamilies.org. SOURCE Salesforce.org Related Links http://www.salesforce.org WALLDORF, Germany, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that the SAP Live Link 365 mobile service, a programmable communication service, is live with customers in Europe, Australia, the Asia Pacific region and North America. The simplified programmable digital interface (PDI) of SAP Live Link 365 allows developers and business professionals to use the interconnect services provided by the SAP Digital Interconnect group. These interconnect services enable them to incorporate messaging, authentication and e-mail functionality into their applications to connect to consumers around the world. Using RESTful application programming interfaces (APIs) and code samples, SAP Live Link 365 provides a full toolkit to help customers access interconnectivity features that can go live in minutes. "As requirements for digital businesses evolve, developers are looking for a single programmable digital interface to connect their applications and business systems to their end users," said Vaibhav Vohra, vice president and head, Product Management, SAP Digital Interconnect, SAP. "With SAP Live Link 365, we have provided an intuitive and supportive ecosystem that truly simplifies and streamlines connectivity to empower enterprises with intelligent multichannel capabilities that work across business needs and industry verticals." In addition to improving application innovation, SAP Link Live 365 provides benefits such as: Reduced time to value Easy-to-access resources, comprehensive enablement tools and intelligent notification services including SMS, e-mail and authentication accelerate development lifecycles. Easy-to-access resources, comprehensive enablement tools and intelligent notification services including SMS, e-mail and authentication accelerate development lifecycles. Improved productivity for developers Quick-start guides, interactive documentation and sample projects showcase various uses of messaging to help customers realize the potential of the APIs. Quick-start guides, interactive documentation and sample projects showcase various uses of messaging to help customers realize the potential of the APIs. Enhanced global reach The powerful global messaging network of SAP Digital Interconnect allows customer solutions to reach across the world. Developer tools, interactive documentation and application keys enable businesses including SAP companies, for example, Gigya to add communication capabilities, such as logistics notifications, utility reminders and other multichannel functions. SAP Live Link 365 allows customers to scale solutions across countries and add communication channels based on regionally specific consumer preferences. "SAP Live Link 365 provided a fast, intuitive way to integrate text messaging into our solution," said Johan Jober, CTO, Netmore, a new Swedish phone operator that offers customers local cell coverage and tailored Web site applications and solutions. "The easy-to-use RESTful APIs, developer portal and secure authentication method simplified the building process for our developers. And with the years of messaging experience that SAP Digital Interconnect has, we didn't have to worry about reliability, number portability or international routing. We know that as we build new applications and solutions, we can rely on SAP Live Link 365 and SAP Digital Interconnect for our SMS needs." SAP also recently announced that the SAP IoT Connect 365 mobile service, an Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity cloud-based service for operators and enterprises from SAP, now includes a newly launched narrowband capability. Businesses can now address scalability challenges early on to ensure their devices will automatically and reliably connect to mobile networks through a single, secure connection. The interconnect and messaging services from SAP reach nearly 99 percent of global mobile subscribers in more than 200 countries and territories. Find out more about SAP Live Link 365. To get more information, watch a live demo or speak directly with a service and support expert at the SAPPHIRE NOW conference, visit the Web site of the SAP Digital Business Services organization. Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews. About SAP As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 388,000 business and public sector customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com. Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. 2018 SAP SE. All rights reserved. SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/legal/copyright/index.epx#trademark for additional trademark information and notices. For customers interested in learning more about SAP products: Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24 United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727) For more information, press only: Martin Gwisdalla, SAP, +49 (6227) 7-67275, [email protected], CET SAP News Center press room; [email protected] Erin Albright, FleishmanHillard, +1 (617) 692-0543, [email protected], EDT SOURCE SAP SE Related Links http://www.sap.com Tricon CX version 11.3 continues the company's heritage of embedding the industry's strongest cybersecurity features within its flagship process safety system. Tricon CX version 11.3 is compliant with the IEC 62443 standard and is certified by TUV Rheinland for use in safety applications up to Safety Integrity Level 3. It is also ISASecure EDSA Level-1 certified, the industry's leading cybersecurity certification for control systems, safety systems and system components. As the industry's first dual-certified process safety instrumented system, Tricon CX version 11.3 meets stringent requirements for safety, cybersecurity, risk reduction and continuous operation in the oil and gas, refining, petrochemicals, power and other high-hazard industries. Protecting and securing real-time profitable safety with EcoStruxure "By virtue of its safety and security certifications and its compliance with the industry's most stringent standards, and because it was designed in accordance with our recognized Security Development Lifecycle process, Tricon CX version 11.3 is secure to the highest degree available," said Mike Chmilewski, vice president, Process Safety, Schneider Electric Process Automation. "We were the first supplier to achieve dual safety and cybersecurity certifications from TUV Rheinland, and Tricon CX version 11.3 strengthens our commitment to industry-leading cybersecurity and keeps our customers on a path to a safer, more secure future. It is the latest example of how our advanced EcoStruxure Triconex safety instrumented systemsthe most dependable in the industry with more than one billion hours logged without failureenable a safe, secure operation. Tricon CX version 11.3 protects and secures our customers' assets, people and environment while making profitable safety a reality." An integral component of Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure Plant architecture and platform, the secure-by-design Tricon CX version 11.3 delivers high performance, high capacity and a lifetime of flexibility. EcoStruxure is Schneider Electric's open, interoperable, IoT-enabled system architecture and platform. EcoStruxure delivers enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability and connectivity for its customers. EcoStruxure leverages advancements in IoT, mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics, and cybersecurity to deliver Innovation at Every Level. This includes Connected Products, Edge Control, and Apps, Analytics & Services. EcoStruxure has been deployed in 480,000+ sites, with the support of 20,000+ system integrators and developers, connecting over 1.6 million assets under management through 40+ digital services. Protecting and upgrading performance in high-hazard operations Leveraging the field-proven safety, availability and security features of EcoStruxure Triconex safety systems, the latest Tricon CX version 11.3 controller enables best-in-class availability and a lifetime of performance for safety-critical applications, including emergency shutdown, fire and gas, burner management, high integrity pressure protection and critical control. Integrating the compact design of Tricon CX, which reduces the original Tricon form factor by 50 percent, Tricon CX version 11.3 is ideal for high-hazard and extreme environments where footprint is at a premium. Additionally, the system is completely scalable so it can meet customer needs as they change and grow. It is capable of handling more than 750,000 physical I/O points, and because it leverages the same programming tools as the original Tricon, is easy to engineer, install, configure, operate and maintain for decades of continuous, safe operation. As a result, current users can protect their existing Tricon investments and expand as needed without disruption to their operations. New Tricon CX version 11.3 users benefit from the most powerful safety system that leverages the best of the proven Tricon and Trident Safety Integrity Level 3 systems with the ease of future expansion. Enhancing ROI with value-focused offers With improved ease of use, a smaller footprint, less design effort, fewer drawings to produce and less wiring, Tricon CX version 11.3 helps increase time to value by 25 percent, reduces installation costs by 30 percent and increases productivity by up to five percent. Additionally, Tricon CX version 11.3 is also compatible with multiple EcoStruxure Triconex safety systems applications, including: Safety Validator , which automatically tests, validates and documents EcoStruxure Triconex safety system application logicsaving up to 40 percent of software test hours. , which automatically tests, validates and documents EcoStruxure Triconex safety system application logicsaving up to 40 percent of software test hours. SIF Manager , which tracks and validates Safety Instrumented Function performance over the lifecycle of a plant. , which tracks and validates Safety Instrumented Function performance over the lifecycle of a plant. Safety View , a TUV-certified software application that enhances insight into high-priority alarms for operators, boosting their efficiency and effectiveness in responding to critical situations. , a TUV-certified software application that enhances insight into high-priority alarms for operators, boosting their efficiency and effectiveness in responding to critical situations. System Auditor , an essential tool for documenting EcoStruxure Triconex safety systems and managing alarms. , an essential tool for documenting EcoStruxure Triconex safety systems and managing alarms. Tricon, Trident and Tri-GP high-availability, high-integrity edge controllers. "With its value-focused features, Triconex CX version 11.3 can reduce our customers' total cost of ownership by up to eight percent," said Steve Elliott, senior marketing director, Process Automation Control and Safety offerings, Schneider Electric. "In addition, its triple redundant, high-availability architecture, inherent redundancy management, online module replacement and change/modification capabilities are proven to help process manufacturers increase ROI by 11 percent. "Our customers, especially those in heavy process and high-hazard environments, require the highest levels of safety performance, while maximizing profitability and business performance. Because it helps plant personnel better identify, plan and manage operating and business risks, Tricon CX version 11.3 not only reduces the likelihood of unexpected production outages and downtime, it also helps our customers move from managing their process safety as a cost center to controlling it as a profit center." For more information, please visit the EcoStruxure Triconex Tricon webpage. About Schneider Electric Schneider Electric is leading the Digital Transformation of Energy Management and Automation in Homes, Buildings, Data Centers, Infrastructure and Industries. With global presence in over 100 countries, Schneider is the undisputable leader in Power Management Medium Voltage, Low Voltage and Secure Power, and in Automation Systems. We provide integrated efficiency solutions, combining energy, automation and software. In our global Ecosystem, we collaborate with the largest Partner, Integrator and Developer Community on our Open Platform to deliver real-time control and operational efficiency. We believe that great people and partners make Schneider a great company and that our commitment to Innovation, Diversity and Sustainability ensures that Life Is On everywhere, for everyone and at every moment. www.schneider-electric.us Discover Life is On Discover EcoStruxure Hashtags: #Triconex #SafteyforLife EcoStruxure #IoT #LifeIsOn Follow us on: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Google Plus YouTube Instagram Schneider Electric Blog SOURCE Schneider Electric Related Links http://www.schneider-electric.com PLANO, Texas, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Conversant, the digital media arm of Epsilon, an Alliance Data (NYSE: ADS) company, today announced an expanded relationship with Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE: SIG), the largest specialty jewelry retailer in the United States. Conversant and Epsilon will provide digital marketing capabilities and data services that enable Signet to analyze, activate and measure digital advertising. Signet's agreement with Conversant is an expansion of its current agreement with Alliance Data's card services business, which was signed in 2017. Alliance Data currently provides private label credit cards and marketing services for Signet's United States jewelry banners, including Kay Jewelers, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, Zales and nine Signet regional brands. Additionally, Conversant and Epsilon have provided personalized marketing services for Signet's brands since 2016. Under the new agreement, Signet will leverage Conversant's digital marketing platform, MesobaseSM, to enhance its consumer data and extend its marketing programs across all channels. Mesobase, which does not include consumers' personally identifiable information, will create a single view of Signet's customers and enable cost-efficiencies by reaching those customers whether they shop online or in stores. Mesobase will also provide Signet with the ability to analyze the customer journey in order to determine where customers interact with the company's brands, and apply the appropriate decisions for marketing and analytic efforts. Epsilon will provide marketing data services to enable Signet to identify insights that inform its marketing strategy to drive sales across channels. Combining Conversant's Mesobase and Epsilon's data services will enable Signet to effectively reach key audiences with an interest in the banner, and provide accurate measurement to drive better marketing campaign performance. In addition to providing private label credit card programs, Alliance Data's card services business will provide dedicated, analytical expertise to activate the insights from Conversant's Mesobase and Epsilon's marketing data services. "Alliance Data's card services business, Epsilon and Conversant have become trusted partners. As an anonymous yet fully-transparent platform, Mesobase is a key tool that will enable our data science and marketing teams to transform the way Signet approaches its Customer First strategy," said Todd Birchenough, Signet's SVP of retail analytics. "As relevancy and value proposition become the hallmarks of the customer journey in an omnichannel environment, it is now possible to use deep data and analytics to personalize that unique benefit proposition between shoppers and the merchandise, in-store experience and marketing touchpoints across all of our store banners. This latest digital technology will enable Signet to engage with customers at each step in their purchase journey, across all devices, ensuring that they have a best-in-class, fully connected in-store and online experience. Working with hundreds and even thousands of characteristics of each anonymous individual, Signet is moving beyond segment-based communications to journey-based and trigger-moment-inspired outreach that focuses on the customer needs rather than the jewelry products within our stores." "We're excited at the opportunity to continue growing our relationship with Signet through the adoption of our new platform, Mesobase, which gives marketers complete control of their data so they can directly see the impact of their marketing efforts," said Bryan Kennedy, chief executive officer, Epsilon/Conversant. "CMOs want to know which of their customers are buying from the brand and which are not. Mesobase realizes the promise of one-to-one communication originally made by data management platforms (DMPs) and, most recently, customer data platforms (CDPs). However, unlike DMPs and CDPs, Mesobase's transparency assures marketers don't have to worry about the validity of their results." About Signet Jewelers Signet Jewelers Limited is the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry. Signet operates over 3,500 stores primarily under the name brands of Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples, Piercing Pagoda, and JamesAllen.com. Further information on Signet is available at www.signetjewelers.com. See also www.kay.com, www.zales.com, www.jared.com, www.hsamuel.co.uk, www.ernestjones.co.uk, www.peoplesjewellers.com, www.pagoda.com, and www.jamesallen.com. About Epsilon Epsilon is an all-encompassing global marketing innovator. We provide unrivaled data intelligence and customer insights, world-class technology including loyalty, email and CRM platforms and data-driven creative, activation and execution. Epsilon's digital media arm, Conversant, is a leader in personalized digital advertising and insights through its proprietary technology and trove of consumer marketing data, delivering digital marketing with unprecedented scale, accuracy and reach through personalized media programs and through CJ Affiliate by Conversant, one of the world's largest affiliate marketing networks. Together, we bring personalized marketing to consumers across offline and online channels, at moments of interest, that help drive business growth for brands. An Alliance Data company, Epsilon employs over 8,000 associates in 70 offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.epsilon.com and follow us on Twitter @EpsilonMktg. About Alliance Data Alliance Data (NYSE: ADS) is a leading global provider of data-driven marketing and loyalty solutions serving large, consumer-based industries. The Company creates and deploys customized solutions, enhancing the critical customer marketing experience; the result is measurably changing consumer behavior while driving business growth and profitability for some of today's most recognizable brands. Alliance Data helps its clients create and increase customer loyalty through solutions that engage millions of customers each day across multiple touch points using traditional, digital, mobile and emerging technologies. An S&P 500, FORTUNE 500 and FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For company headquartered in Plano, Texas, Alliance Data consists of three businesses that together employ approximately 20,000 associates at more than 100 locations worldwide. Alliance Data's card services business is a provider of market-leading private label, co-brand, and business credit card programs. Epsilon is a leading provider of multichannel, data-driven technologies and marketing services, and also includes Conversant, a leader in personalized digital marketing. LoyaltyOne owns and operates the AIR MILES Reward Program, Canada's most recognized loyalty program, and Netherlands-based BrandLoyalty, a global provider of tailor-made loyalty programs for grocers. Follow Alliance Data on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Forward Looking Statements This release contains 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. Forward-looking statements give our expectations or forecasts of future events and can generally be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "project," "plan," "likely," "may," "should" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe our business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. We believe that our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. Forward-looking statements, however, are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this release, and no assurances can be given that our expectations will prove to have been correct. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, factors set forth in the Risk Factors section in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year, which may be updated in Item 1A of, or elsewhere in, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed for periods subsequent to such Form 10-K. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and we undertake no obligation, other than as required by applicable law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events, anticipated or unanticipated circumstances or otherwise. Contact: Alliance Data Tiffany Louder Investor Relations Alliance Data 214.494.3048 [email protected] Shelley Whiddon Media 214.494.3811 [email protected] Conversant Josh Dysart Media 312-810-7496 [email protected] SOURCE Alliance Data Systems Corporation Related Links http://www.alliancedata.com DALLAS, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Silver Creek Midstream, LLC ("Silver Creek") announced today that Tailwater Capital, LLC ("Tailwater") has increased its equity commitment from $150 million to $300 million. Tailwater's increased equity commitment will be provided by both Tailwater Energy Fund III ("EF-III") and EF-III limited partner co-investors. Silver Creek will utilize the additional equity available to continue the buildout of its 100%-owned crude gathering system in the Powder River Basin. The wholly-owned gathering system will consist of up to 250 miles of crude oil infrastructure spanning Converse, Campbell, Johnson and Natrona Counties. With over 50-miles of existing gathering infrastructure already in place and 150,000 dedicated acres, Silver Creek expects the remaining gathering system and trunklines to be operational by February 2019 and allow for up to 175,000 barrels per day of capacity. J. Patrick Barley, CEO of Silver Creek, said, "We are excited to continue servicing the growing Powder River Basin through our upsized equity commitment from Tailwater. We believe our crude system provides producers with advantaged takeaway out of the Basin. By utilizing the Silver Creek gathering system in combination with the Iron Horse Pipeline, Silver Creek will provide producers, marketers and refiners with maximum optionality as they look to get their crude oil to Guernsey, Wyoming and into multiple downstream markets." Jason Downie, Managing Partner at Tailwater Capital, said, "We continue to see significant opportunities in Wyoming and are excited to increase our commitment to the Silver Creek team. Our successful co-investment capital raise from Energy Fund III limited partners demonstrates our ability to opportunistically scale up our equity commitments to pursue attractive growth prospects." About Silver Creek: Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Silver Creek Midstream is a private midstream company focused on providing crude oil gathering, transportation and storage services in Wyoming. Silver Creek Midstream is backed by a $300 million equity commitment from Tailwater Capital, LLC and Silver Creek management. To learn more, please visit our website at: www.scmidstream.com. About Tailwater Capital: Dallas-based Tailwater Capital is a sophisticated, growth-oriented energy private equity firm with a well-established track record, having executed more than 100 energy transactions in the upstream and midstream sectors representing over $18.6 billion in transaction value. Tailwater currently manages over $2.5 billion in committed capital and is actively pursuing midstream investment opportunities out of Tailwater Energy Fund II and Tailwater Energy Fund III, both midstream-focused private equity funds with a combined $1.5 billion of committed capital. Tailwater is focused on acquiring and growing midstream assets as well as participating in non-operated upstream opportunities in select basins. For more information, please visit www.tailwatercapital.com. Contact: John Spradling, Vice President [email protected] (214) 269-1183 SOURCE Silver Creek Midstream, LLC Related Links http://www.scmidstream.com SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Smart Cannabis Corp. (OTC: SCNA) has announced that SAP Investments, Inc., its recently formed subsidiary, has now secured a second Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire a cannabis cultivation license and provide full cannabis cultivation services in Northern California. Both LOIs have been rapidly secured in the opening days of the subsidiary launch. "On top of securing our first deal of SAP Investments just last week, we're pleased to have generated significant interest in our end-to-end services and quickly procured a second project. While we're thrilled by the interest generated this fast, we're only moving forward with most qualified clients who prove they're capable of project completion. That said, our team is motivated to tighten up contracts and orchestrate the expert services we offer in an expeditious manner. We all look forward to updating the public as notable progress is made," says John Taylor, President and CEO. SAP Investments was formed so Smart Cannabis Corp. can leverage its expertise across the cannabis spectrum, including special purpose real estate acquisitions, and the building, licensing, and management or sale of fully compliant turnkey facilities for cannabis-based products. The company plans range from building out cannabis specific business parks for sale or lease, to acquisitions of licenses and/or facilities for cultivation, nurseries, processing, and manufacturing. Learn more about SAP Investments at: www.SAPinvestments.com Smart Cannabis (OTC PINK: SCNA) is a public equity corporation advancing the agriculture and cannabis industries and growing through acquisition, strategic alliances, and proprietary intellectual property. The company's wholly owned subsidiary, Next Generation Farming Inc., provides turnkey, automated, commercial greenhouses systems that efficiently improve yields and decrease water consumption for cultivators of organic food and cannabis crops. The company websites are http://smartcannabis.com https://sapinvestments.com https://smartcannabis.com/nextgenfarming Disclaimer: The Company relies upon the Safe Harbor Laws of 1933, 1934 and 1995 for all public news releases. The company may make forward-looking public statements concerning its expected future operations, performance and other developments. Such forward-looking statements are estimates that reflect the company's best judgment based upon current information. All investments involve risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that other factors will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking statements. It is impossible to identify all such factors. Factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by the company include, but are not limited to, government regulation; managing and maintaining growth; the effect of adverse publicity; litigation; competition; and other factors which may be identified from time to time in the company's public announcements. Contact: Smart Cannabis Corp. Don Smith, Vice President [email protected] (424) 732-7646 SOURCE Smart Cannabis Corp. "I am excited to announce the launch of the YOUnion brand, which embodies the living experience students need to discover, learn, develop, connect and make lifelong relationships," said H. Michael Schwartz, chief executive officer. "YOUnion properties provide students with the correct blueprint the proximity to campus, study spaces, amenities and private, high-quality living quarters required to build the strong foundation on which they will succeed. From the smallest details to the largest, YOUnion properties are built to help students reach their potential during the most transformative time of their lives." All YOUnion properties are equipped with amenities like high-speed Wi-Fi, business centers, state-of-the-art fitness centers, relaxation areas, study areas, coffee areas, substantial bed-bath parity and more to provide students with fully furnished living spaces that they can call home. The brand's first student housing community, YOUnion @ University of Nevada, Reno, is two blocks from campus and features high-quality community amenities, including high-speed Wi-Fi, a two-story clubhouse with game lounge, state-of-the-art fitness studio, recreational pool, outdoor courtyards with barbeque area, private study rooms, computer lab, package concierge, climate-controlled shuttle stop, gated community with access control, covered parking and roommate matching. Located at 2780 Enterprise Road in Reno, Nevada, units at the community range in size from 821 square feet to 1,550 square feet. Watch a video about the brand, here. The YOUnion brand and supporting marketing materials were developed in conjunction with INK, a Laguna Beach, CA advertising agency that specialize s in brand development. To learn more about INK, visit inkagency.com. "YOUnion provides college students with a community full of individuals who are venturing on similar journeys," added Schwartz. "Our ultimate goal for YOUnion is to redefine student housing by connecting and allowing students to discover their full potential in a comfortable and convenient atmosphere." About SmartStop Asset Management, LLC SmartStop is a diversified real estate company focused on self storage, student housing and senior housing assets. The company has approximately $1.5 billion of real estate assets under management, including 115 self storage facilities located throughout the United States and Toronto, Canada, comprised of approximately 73,000 units and 8.4 million rentable square feet. SmartStop's real estate portfolio also includes five student housing communities with approximately 2,800 beds and 1.1 million square feet of space, as well as three senior housing communities with approximately 350 beds and 250,000 rentable square feet of space. SmartStop is the sponsor of four public non-traded REITs: Strategic Storage Trust IV, Inc., Strategic Storage Trust II, Inc., and Strategic Storage Growth Trust, Inc., all focused on self storage assets, and Strategic Student & Senior Housing Trust, Inc., focused on student and senior housing assets. SmartStop is also a national sponsor of Section 1031 exchange offerings using the Delaware statutory trust structure. Additional information regarding SmartStop is available at www.SAM.com and more information regarding SmartStop Self Storage in the United States and Canada is available at www.smartstopselfstorage.com. Contacts Julie Leber Lauren Burgos Spotlight Marketing Communications Spotlight Marketing Communications 949.427.5172 ext. 703 949.427.5172, ext. 704 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE SmartStop Asset Management, LLC Related Links http://www.smartstopassetmanagement.com NEW YORK, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SpotX, the leading video advertising and monetization platform, today announced the launch of an online resource library offering a variety of content to foster awareness and education about the implementation of data protection as it pertains to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The library can be found on the company's website (www.spotx.tv/data-privacy-gdpr) and is part of a wider educational initiative by SpotX to offer everything a publisher, media owner, or advertiser needs to know about preparing for GDPR compliance. Effective May 25, 2018, GDPR aims to strengthen and unify data protection for individuals in the European Union and applies to any company that processes personal data of subjects in EU member states, even if the data subject is not an EU citizen. The new regulations intend to give individuals control over their data and to simplify the regulatory environment for international business. Companies that do not comply with GDPR regulations face fines up to 4 percent of their annual global revenue, including its parent company or 20 million, whichever is greater. "As a global company, we are well aware that GDPR is a huge concern for everybody within the digital ecosystem, and the implications of non-compliance are massive," said Mike Shehan, co-founder and CEO at SpotX. "One of our company's missions is to support our partners by providing all of the necessary tools, information, and guidance they may need to effectively and efficiently execute advertising transactions." As part of its own GDPR compliance strategy, SpotX has created an internal, cross-functional, global GDPR Task Force to help train all SpotX employees on the new regulations and provide extensive guidance for every type of stakeholder. SpotX is also developing several tools and products that will allow its partners to manage their own privacy settings. SpotX's educational initiative includes plans for future case studies, roundtable discussions, social media campaigns, and more blog posts describing important GDPR information and recommended action items. For more information about SpotX's GDPR compliance strategy, please email [email protected]. SpotX is currently in the process of merging operational businesses with its sister company smartclip. SpotX's GDPR initiatives are all-inclusive of both organizations in their respective regions. About SpotX SpotX is the leading global video advertising platform that enables media owners and publishers to monetize premium content across desktop, mobile and connected TV devices. As a modern ad server with programmatic infrastructure, data enablement, and monetization solutions for OTT, outstream, and addressable TV, SpotX gives media owners and publishers the control, transparency, and actionable insights needed to understand buyer behavior, manage access and pricing, and maximize revenue. SpotX also provides advertisers with a direct pipeline to premium supply and innovative solutions for optimizing media efficiency, reach, and audience targeting. With best-in-class technology purpose-built for video, SpotX's holistic, brand-safe solution is employed by some of the largest media owners and publishers in the world including fuboTV, Microsoft Casual Games, Newsy, Samba TV, Sling TV, Vudu and partners with a variety of different companies within the digital video ecosystem including comScore, DoubleVerify, Integral Ad Science, JW Player, MediaMath, MOAT, Nielsen, Oracle, The Trade Desk, and more. Headquartered in Denver, SpotX has nearly 600 employees in 24 offices worldwide including Amsterdam, Hamburg, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, and Tokyo. In October 2017, RTL Group completed its 100% acquisition of SpotX which is currently combining its business with smartclip, a sister company. Learn more at www.spotx.tv and follow @SpotX on Twitter and LinkedIn. Media Contact: Tammy Blythe Goodman SpotX +1-303-345-6671 [email protected] SOURCE SpotX Related Links https://www.spotx.tv ST. CHARLES, Mo., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Orchard Farm School District unanimously voted to adopt the SafeDefend Active Shooter Response System Tuesday evening. In the wake of several recent school shooting tragedies, Superintendent Dr. Tom Muzzey of the Orchard Farm School Board and the district safety team had vetted numerous approaches to increasing the safety and security of their students and staff. After much review, the decision to adopt the SafeDefend system was an easy one. The SafeDefend Active Shooter Response System was developed by a former elementary principal. As a father of three and with 475 students under his watch, Jeff Green realized that schools were not addressing the four critical areas needed to protect students and staff. Those four priorities were: reducing law enforcement response time ensuring law enforcement and staff had real-time crisis information providing the ability for staff to effectively manage the crisis until help arrives realizing the biggest threat to our schools is already inside the building "We continue to see the traditional methods for protecting our students and staff fail us over and over again. Control access does not prevent violence from a student, former student or parent or former employee. These are the most likely perpetrators of violence in schools and all are either supposed to be in the building, will be let in or know how to access the building. We have to address the fact that we cannot lock the problem out. In addition, law enforcement needs critical, accurate information to perform effectively. We have seen a breakdown in communication and complete chaos in these last tragedies. SafeDefend addresses all of these weaknesses in our current approaches," said Jeff Green, founder and president of SafeDefend. Dr. Tom Muzzey concurs. "Safety in schools is a multi-layered approach. We need to ensure that the facilities are secure and we can manage our visitors appropriately. In addition, we realize that this does not provide the protection needed inside the building. After vetting several systems and approaches, we selected SafeDefend as our preferred active shooter protection approach. At a cost of around $100 per life, no other company that we found offers the protection, law enforcement compatibility, empowerment of staff and peace of mind to our community like SafeDefend. We look forward to our partnership with SafeDefend." Orchard Farm School District is located in St. Charles, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. Orchard Farm School District has approximately 2,500 students and staff. The cost for having the system in every classroom and other areas within all of the district buildings was $259,000. Contacts: Orchard Farm School District Dr. Tom Muzzey, Superintendent (636) 925-5400 SafeDefend LLC Jeff Green, President (913) 856-2800 (o) [email protected] Related Links SafeDefend Website SOURCE SafeDefend LLC CHICAGO, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sterling Trading Tech (STT) welcomes its newest international client to its global trading presence, Nova Futura, a leading independent Brazilian brokerage firm. Nova Futura is committed to offering its clients superior customer service with top speed and security and has served the Brazilian investment and trading community for over 30 years. As Latin America's largest economy, Brazil's MB&F Bovespa's stock index has more than doubled since 2016 reaching its all-time high three months ago. STT offers advanced, multi-language professional trading platforms that are available in Portuguese, English and Chinese. Its flagship platform, Sterling Trader Pro is the most widely used professional trading platform in the industry offering traders the capability to trade international equities in a single account from one platform. Foreign diversification and exposure to multiple markets is necessary in today's marketplace. To meet the global investing needs of STT's international clientele, traders can track P&L in the currency of their choice, view multiple international exchanges from the same window and open multiple order entry windows at once to place executions in different currencies in the platform. "Early last year we expanded our Sao Paulo data center to support our growing Brazil client base to provide fast, stable technology and outstanding customer service," states Andrew Actman, Director of Business Development for STT. "We are excited to add Nova Futura to our always expanding list of international clientele." STT provides the global professional trading community with trading platforms, risk and compliance tools, and infrastructure solutions. STT platforms are available for equity markets globally, and currently process 5% of the daily US equity volume. STT products are used in over 30 countries to trade international financial markets around the world. Additional information on Sterling Trading Tech and its products can be found at www.sterlingtradingtech.com or 312.346.9600. About Sterling Trading Tech (www.sterlingtradingtech.com) Sterling Trading Tech (STT) is a leading provider of technology solutions for the global equities, equity options and futures markets. With over 100 clients with thousands of traders including leading brokers, clearing firms and prop groups in over 30 countries and trading is supported in 10 countries, STT provides solutions tailored to our clients' needs including links to over 80 execution venues in the US. STT is committed to providing fast, stable technology along with outstanding customer service. Sterling Trading Tech Media Contact: Melinda Joseph (312) 517-3569 [email protected] SOURCE Sterling Trading Tech Related Links http://www.sterlingtradingtech.com SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A class of future automotive designers have envisioned new vehicle interiors that engage drivers and passengers in exciting ways as part of the ninth annual WardsAuto Interiors Student Design Competition, sponsored by International Automotive Components (IAC) and Lear. The transportation design students at the College for Creative Studies were tasked with designing vehicle interiors that use advanced technology to keep people involved in the driving experience. It's a timely challenge for automakers. As advanced driver-assist systems could soon turn cars and trucks into appliances on wheels this could cause bored passengers to zone out with their phones or watch movies to pass the travel time. The students will share their innovations on how to make transportation more entertaining and enjoyable, while keeping drivers and passengers interacting with their vehicles. The students presented their concepts which include seats that pivot from race to "chill" mode, pet-friendly interior spaces, and other outside-the-box ideas, to a panel of judges who work in design at major automakers. Winners were selected, and their work will be shown at the WardsAuto Interiors Conference on May 30 at Detroit's Cobo Center. The Interiors Conference will also host vehicle and supplier exhibits, as well as an awards ceremony for the annual Wards 10 Best Interiors winning design teams. Plus, attendees will choose from nine "deep-dive" panel discussions, each focused on specific aspects of the vehicle interior: from autonomous features to advanced safety systems to material innovations. A limited number of seats remain available, and individual session seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Exhibit space is also available for suppliers of interior technologies and materials to display their products. Registration, exhibit and additional information is available at http://www.AutoInteriors.com. About WardsAuto WardsAuto is a world-leading provider of automotive insights and analysis, having served the industry's information needs for more than 90 years. WardsAuto provides a forward-looking perspective on all aspects of the automotive business, from the tech center to the plant floor to the showroom. Its services include the premium WardsAuto.com resource and suite of customizable data reporting tools, the WardsAuto Interiors, WardsAuto User Experience and WardsAuto Outlook Conferences, digital newsletters and more. Subscribe to WardsAuto and attend its events by visiting http://www.wardsauto.com. About Informa WardsAuto is part of Informa, the international business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge and events group. Informa serves commercial, professional and academic communities, helping them connect and learn, and creating and providing access to content and intelligence that helps people and businesses work smarter and make better decisions faster. Informa has over 7,500 colleagues in more than 20 countries and a presence in all major geographies. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100. MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Lamphear Director of Marketing WardsAuto 248 799 2658 [email protected] SOURCE WardsAuto Interiors Conference BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Department of Ear Nose & Throat/Allergy at Summit Medical Group was part of a clinical trial that led the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to approve XHANCE (fluticasone proprionate), a nasal spray for the treatment of nasal polyps in patients 18 years of age or older. Nearly 10 million people in the U.S. suffer from the benign growths that block the nasal passages and cause congestion, pain and pressure, sinus infections, and difficulty breathing. "Nasal polyps are a notoriously difficult problem to treat. In the past, medications have not been completely effective and even when patients have surgery to remove the polyps they have a tendency to grow back," explains Kerry LeBenger, MD, Chief of Adult Medicine at Summit Medical Group and co-investigator on the XHANCE trial. "We are fortunate to have been an important part of investigating this new delivery system that can help shrink these polyps and not only benefit our patients, but patients everywhere that suffer from this debilitating condition." The XHANCE clinical trial is part of a larger initiative at Summit Medical Group to advance medicine. Summit Medical Group is involved in 31 active clinical trials, which are critical to the development of new therapies, including finding innovative treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and allergies. "If you want to be a leader in the health care industry, you have to do more than deliver high quality care to patients. At Summit Medical Group, our physicians stay involved in research that keeps us at the forefront of science," says Gary Pien, MD, PhD, Director of Research, Department Chair for Allergy & Immunology, Rheumatology and Infectious Disease at Summit Medical Group, and co-investigator on the XHANCE trial. "We are extremely grateful to be part of this study and proud of the physician-investigators, clinical trials staff, and volunteers who made this study possible. They are the key to finding new treatments that improve the quality of life for our patients." About Summit Medical Group Recognized as New Jersey's premier multispecialty medical group, Summit Medical Group has more than 80 locations in seven northern New Jersey counties. Summit Medical Group provides over 800 practitioners who cover more than 80 medical specialties and services, and are focused on delivering patient-centered and coordinated care. Summit Medical Group's unique care model recently expanded nationally with the founding of Summit Medical Group Oregon Bend Memorial Clinic and Summit Medical Group Arizona. Additionally, Summit Medical Group is the only healthcare provider in northern New Jersey to offer patients access to the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Network through Summit Medical Group MD Anderson Cancer Center. For more information, visit www.summitmedicalgroup.com. SOURCE Summit Medical Group Related Links https://www.summitmedicalgroup.com TALLAHASSEE, Fla., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Veteran owned company, Joe Manausa Real Estate is asking Tallahassee residents to open their hearts and their wallets this Memorial Day weekend. The company is spearheading efforts to raise $18,000 by Monday, May 28 through a GoFundMe campaign set up for Brian Fiore. Donate to GoFundMe to Assist Veteran Brian Fiore Brian, a young service-disabled US Army Veteran and Tallahassee resident, is in dire need of the community's help. While attending AIRBORNE school at Fort Benning in 2002, Brian suffered a severe injury to his head and neck while exiting the door of a C-130 during a nighttime training exercise. Then, just one year later in 2003, during a combat equipment airborne operation, his parachute was overtaken by extreme winds and he landed on top of a tree stump and then was dragged 25 meters across the ground before regaining control. In 2005, after multiple operations, Brian was honorably discharged from active duty. He went on to earn his Masters Degree in Finance from FSU and worked as a Senior Analyst at the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity until last year, when he had a near-fatal stroke (as a result of previous injuries he sustained) that has left him completely incapacitated. Since Brian can no longer speak and has difficulty with routine daily activities, he needs help fixing up his current home so he can move into a house that is more manageable. The cost to accomplish this goal is approximately $18,000. Thus far, $2,540 has been raised. Please donate to Brian's GoFundMe campaign and help this local veteran get into the home he needs. For more information or to schedule an interview to discuss Brian's condition with veteran business owner, Joe Manausa, please contact Lucille Asbury at (850) 512-7649 or by email at [email protected]. Joe Manausa Real Estate is a brokerage company headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida. Its unique business model provides specialists to both home sellers and home buyers, and the results speak for themselves. For more information, visit www.manausa.com. Related Links Donate to Brian's GoFundMe page More information about Joe Manausa Real Estate SOURCE Joe Manausa Real Estate Related Links https://www.manausa.com Investors and the media are invited to listen to the call through the company's website at investors.target.com (click on the link under "Upcoming Events") WHO: CHERRY HILL, N.J., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, announced today that its Education, Not-for-Profit and Government Finance Group in New England closed a $61.1 million tax-exempt direct purchase bond deal with Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. The bonds refinance existing debt and also provide $3 million in funding for the construction of a new campus Welcome Center. By refinancing the Series 2008 Bonds, which originally funded various construction projects on campus, the college will save more than half a million dollars in interest expense over the next five years. The new Welcome Center will serve as a dynamic campus entry, where new and prospective students and visitors can learn more about all that Saint Anselm has to offer. "TD Bank is pleased to partner with an institution that has an impressive history and reputation in the academic sector, and shares our interest in enhancing the local community," said Daniel F. Shimkus, Jr., Senior Vice President at TD Bank. "We look forward to working with Saint Anselm College as it continues to grow and prosper." Saint Anselm College, founded in 1889, is a Catholic, Benedictine liberal arts college that enrolls nearly 2,000 undergraduate students. Students receive an education that incorporates opportunities for professional and career preparation within a learning community that encourages the lifelong pursuit of the truth and fosters intellectual, moral and spiritual growth. "Saint Anselm College is thrilled to partner with TD Bank for all of its banking needs, and appreciates that it offers a local presence for our employees and students while providing the full range of services that come with a large, national bank," said Eric Norman, Chief Financial Officer, Saint Anselm College. About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,200 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US. TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit www.td.com. SOURCE TD Bank Related Links http://www.TDBank.com SAN FRANCISCO, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Smile, the developer of TextExpander, which empowers teams to maintain accurate and consistent communication, now offers enterprise-ready user onboarding with support for single sign-on (SSO) and Teams. TextExpander supports SSO authentication via SAML with specific support for Okta, OneLogin, Google G Suite and JumpCloud. With Teams, managers and team leads can easily and simply onboard their TextExpander users. SSO simplifies the user onboarding experience by allowing an administrator to manage TextExpander user access from one familiar location. TextExpander supports SSO authentication via SAML protocol. Specific support is provided for the Identity Provider (IdP) services Okta, OneLogin, Google G Suite and JumpCloud. TextExpander is currently in the app directories of Okta, OneLogin and JumpCloud. The introduction of Teams allows administrators to provide each user with all the content they need, in the form of snippet groups, with only a single step. Each department can maintain their own snippets, giving greater organizational flexibility. Within Teams, snippets are instantly shareable and discoverable. "We have grown TextExpander from a single-user utility to a full-fledged communication solution that teams can rely and depend on," said Philip Goward, Smile founder. "From support to sales, legal boilerplate to medical notes, even simple typos, TextExpander helps companies of all sizes communicate with accuracy and consistency. In that time, we've learned our enterprise customers have specific onboarding needs due to the sheer volume of employees, contractors, consultants, and staff they manage. And we've grown TextExpander to match. With the addition of SSO, and Teams, we know we can keep the companies happy who are so good at using TextExpander to make their customers happy." TextExpander for Teams is $7.96 per user per month. TextExpander for Mac requires macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or later. TextExpander for Windows requires Windows 7 or later. TextExpander for iPhone & iPad requires an iPad or iPhone running iOS 9 or later. Press Kit: https://textexpander.com/presskit ABOUT SMILE Smile develops productivity software for Mac, Windows, iPhone, and iPad. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Smile is a closely knit, geographically diverse company, with roots in the Mac community. We have proudly served our customers for over a decade. We create. We solve. We ship. CONTACTS: Maia Olson (+1-510-599-7070, PST) PR, Smile E-mail: [email protected] Greg Scown (+1-510-289-4000, PST) Founder, Smile E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE Smile Related Links http://www.smilesoftware.com KILLEEN, Texas, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Owners of recalled General Motors vehicles prior to the company's July 2009 bankruptcy can now rest assured that they will get relief from problems stemming from faulty ignition switches and defective power steering and airbags. The bankruptcy trust created by "Old GM", GUC Trust, proposed a settlement offer to a New York Bankruptcy Court that could total slightly more than $1 billion to a settlement fund for victims. If approved by the Court, postcard notices informing owners of affected vehicles about the settlement will be mailed in the coming weeks. Additionally, notices will go to anyone who has filed a lawsuit. While the filing deadline to be included in the settlement has yet to be announced, The Carlson Law Firm is investigating claims for individuals who were injured prior to July 10, 2009 in a defective GM vehicle. The Carlson Law Firm is assisting individuals: involved in a motor-vehicle incident in a recalled GM vehicle prior to July 10, 2009 who owned a vehicle with a GM Ignition-Switch Recall in a car accident with no airbag deployment who suffered injuries as a result of GM's defective product The lawsuit stems from GM's 2014 recall of more than 2.4 million vehicles with faulty ignition switches and airbags. Documents show that the company was aware of the problem as early as 2001, well before the company declared bankruptcy. If the proposed settlement is approved, GUC Trust would pay $15 million into a settlement fund. This settlement could also lead to New GM being prompted to fulfill its obligation to deliver 30 shares of common stock to the settlement fundessentially adding $1.14 billion to pay economic loss, personal injury and wrongful death claims. The New York Bankruptcy Court is scheduled to have a hearing on the matter on May 25. For remarks from the attorney representing injured GM victims, Carlson Law Firm Managing Partner, Craig Carlson, visit our website: https://www.carlsonattorneys.com/news-and-update/guc-trust-settlement/ Media Contact: Kazia Conway [email protected] SOURCE The Carlson Law Firm Related Links https://www.carlsonattorneys.com/ LONDON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Automotive Interior Ambient Lighting Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Dashboard, Footwell, Doors), By Vehicle Type (Conventional Cars, Green Cars), And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025 Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5399330 The global automotive interior ambient lighting market size is expected to reach USD 4.59 billion by 2025, according to a study conducted by Grand View Research, Inc., registering a 7.2% CAGR during the forecast period. The adoption of ambient lighting in automobiles is expected to increase due to rising awareness of energy-efficient lighting systems and growing sales of luxury vehicles equipped with navigation and infotainment systems. Rising demand for conventional and green cars in the automotive industry is driving the growth of the automotive interior ambient lighting market.Automotive interior lighting positively influences space perception, internal appearance of vehicles, safety and comfort, and alerting and mood lighting depending on a driver's mood. For instance, automotive interior lighting decreases a driver's fatigue while driving at night and illuminates passenger compartment for reading.These benefits are expected to drive market growth. However, high costs of OE integration are expected to hinder the market over the forecast period. The North America market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 5.4% over the forecast period. Prominent vendors in the market include OSRAM GmBH, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., SCHOTT AG, DRAXLMAIER Group, and Grupo Antolin. Further key findings from the study suggest: The automotive interior ambient lighting market is expected to register a CAGR of 7.2% over the forecast period By vehicle type, the green cars segment is estimated to generate a revenue of USD 562.8 million by 2025 The footwell application segment generated the highest revenue of USD 1.46 billion in 2016. The dashboard application segment, on the other hand, is projected to exhibit the highest CAGR of 8.5% over the forecast period Currently, North America is leading the market. However, Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the market by 2025 with the highest CAGR of 11.1% over the forecast period. This can be attributed to early adoption of the technology and growing sales of ultra-luxury vehicles in Asian countries such as India, China, and Japan Prominent players in the market include OSRAM GmBH, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., SCHOTT AG, DRAXLMAIER Group, and Grupo Antolin. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5399330 About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com LONDON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical Device Testing Services Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Microbiology & Sterility Testing, Chemistry, Biocompatibility), By Phase (Preclinical, Clinical), And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025 Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5399326 The global medical device testing services market size is expected to reach USD 13.4 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 11.5% during the forecast period. Increasing spending in preclinical phase of medical devices coupled with growing outsourcing rate is anticipated to help the market gain significant traction. Surging demand for in-vitro test is also projected to fuel demand for testing services as many CROs are developing novel in-vitro methods to replace traditional in-vivo methods, which require animal testing. Improvements in procedures for development and standardization of novel in vitro test methods, particularly for sensitization, cytotoxicity, and irritation, are also working in favor of the market. There has been a significant increase in preclinical spending for both pharmaceutical and medical devices. This trend is estimated to contribute to the demand for testing services by medical device companies. Stringent regulatory standards pertaining to user safety are supporting growing trend of outsourcing medical device testing services.Increasing demand for good quality products is poised to further trigger the demand for testing services by medical device companies. These companies are constantly trying to comply with stringent regulatory norms put forth by authorities across the globe. A significant consolidation in the CRO space has been observed in recent years. For instance, in October 2017, Sterigenics International LLC acquired Toxikon Europe N.V., the European division of Toxikon Corporation, to strengthen its preclinical service portfolio for pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Further key findings from the report suggest: The global biocompatibility testing market is anticipated to reach USD 4.1 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 11.3% from 2017 to 2025 In terms of service, the chemistry test segment is likely to show the fastest growth during the forecast period In terms of development phase, preclinical testing held the largest market share in 2016. The segment will continue to dominate the market throughout the forecast period, accounting for about two third of the overall revenue by 2025. Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the medical device testing service market during the forecast period. The regional market will post a CAGR of over 12.0% during the same period. Europe and North America held remarkable cumulative share in 2016 owing to well established manufacturing infrastructure for high end and complex medical devices The market is partially consolidated and competitive in nature. Some of the key companies present in the market are Toxikon, Inc.; SGS SA; Eurofins Scientific, LLC; Intertek Group plc; WuXi AppTec, Pace Analytical Services, NORTH AMERICAN SCIENCE ASSOCIATES INC.; Sterigenics International LLC; Charles River Laboratories International Inc.; American Preclinical Services; and Medical Device Testing Services. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5399326 About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com LONDON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Research Antibodies Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product, By Type (Monoclonal, Polyclonal), By Technology, By Source, By Application (Oncology, Neurobiology), By End-use, And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025 Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5399331 The global research antibodies market size is expected to reach USD 4.30 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period. The market is predominantly driven by growing number of R&D collaborations among various public and private organizations to promote technical advancements in product development activities and disease progression studies. Consistent recommendations and guidelines issued by regulatory organizations for laboratories to facilitate generation of accurate results and ensure high-quality standards are slated to enhance adoption of research antibodies over the coming years. For instance, in May 2016, the International Society for Stem Cell Research issued revised guidelines for cell-based therapies. The revised guidelines were issued with a focus to improve overall efficiency and quality of preclinical studies. In addition, prominent market players are entering into partnership with R&D entities that are anticipated to open new avenues. In December 2016, Bayer AG and Versant Ventures collaborated to invest around USD 225.0 million for the establishment of a stem cell research facility in Canada to encourage commercialization of regenerative medicine therapies. Increasing prevalence of breast cancer and soaring need for personalized medicine is stirring up the demand for advanced techniques, which in turn is creating ample growth opportunities for the research antibodies market. Further key findings from the report suggest: Primary antibodies were the most prominent product segment in 2016 owing to greater specificity leading to increased adoption in research activities. The segment is expected to account for more than 65.0% of the overall market revenue by 2025 On the basis of type, monoclonal antibodies captured substantial share of the market in 2016, owing to high sensitivity for detection of antigens and efficient staining properties with less background noise. The segment is anticipated to rise at a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period Western blotting commanded the leading share in the market, due to benefits such as better immunogenic response from infectious agents and higher cost efficiency. The immunoprecipitation segment is estimated to post the highest CAGR of just over 7.0% during the same period Mouse antibodies are relatively easier to produce and possess greater specificity, thus resulting in higher adoption in R&D and accounting for the largest market share in 2016. Oncology accounted for over 36.0% of the overall revenue in 2016 as a consequence of growing cancer population Pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies will be the leading end users of research antibodies owing to increased adoption in drug development and discovery. The segment is poised to represent more than 61.0% of the overall revenue by 2025. Contract research organizations are likely to be the most promising end-user segment during the forecast period owing to greater cost efficiency North America will continue to be the dominant revenue contributor throughout the forecast period owing to local presence of various biotechnology & biopharmaceutical manufacturers striving to compete in the market Some of the key players in the global arena are Abcam PLC; Agilent Technologies; and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. The research antibodies market is moderately consolidated and highly competitive due to low entry barriers. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5399331 About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com RICHMOND, Va., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hilb Group, LLC (THG) announced today the acquisition of New York based Bentson Insurance Group. The transaction became effective May 1, 2018. Founded in 1948, Bentson Insurance Group is a full-service property and casualty insurance agency specializing in home and business insurance as well as group benefits insurance. With its office in Staten Island, this acquisition will be the fifth location in THG's New Jersey/New York region. Bob Bentson, principal of Bentson Insurance Group, will continue to lead the agency's associates under their current name. "Joining THG will allow us to continue providing our community the same top-notch service with the expanded resources of a national organization," says Bentson. "With our core values and business goals aligned, it is hard to imagine a more suitable fit." "The addition of Bentson Insurance Group allows us to continue our growth in the region while bringing additional depth and expertise to our existing operations in the Tri-State Area," said Ricky Spiro, CEO of THG. "We have found a great partner within a great community and look forward to working with Bob and his fantastic team." About the Hilb Group: The Hilb Group is a leading middle market insurance agency headquartered in Richmond, Virginia and is a portfolio company of Boston-based private equity firm, Abry Partners. The Hilb Group seeks to grow through targeted acquisitions in the middle market insurance brokerage space. The company now has 58 offices in 17 states. Please visit our website at: http://hilbgroup.com. Media Contact: Margaret Clary 804-205-1209 [email protected] SOURCE The Hilb Group, LLC Related Links http://www.hilbgroup.com LAGOS, Nigeria, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Christ Embassy's Man of God, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, has concluded the 2018 Holy Land Tour. The church planned out the trip meticulously for the benefit of believers of Jesus across the world. Hundreds of the Pastor's followers joined him on this spiritual visit to Israel and Jordan. Each day on the itinerary was filled with sightseeing of holy places, to both Christians and Jews. The tour followed the journey Christ took in the Bible and scripture, allowing participants to walk in His footsteps and learn from His glory. LoveWorld incorporations were overwhelmed by the warm welcoming they got from the Jewish Land. Jews and Christians alike were delighted for the visit of Pastor Chris, highlighting the close connection Evangelicals have to the Holy Land and its people. The visit coincided with two monumental events for the state of Israel. The first is the marking of the 70th year of Independence for the Jewish Land. The second event was the move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Earlier this year the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, announced his intentions of moving the Embassy. The move aimed to signal to the international community that the US stands behind and recognizes the Holy City, Jerusalem, as the capital of the Jewish Land, Israel. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a celebratory reception in honor of the move. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome was personally invited to the event. The Pastor received a warm welcome and was embraced by members of government as well as a variety of Jewish individuals. The hosts were eager to welcome the world-renowned Evangelist Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and his entourage managed to visit numerous sites during the eight-day visit, including Caesarea, the Sea of Galilee, Abu Gosh, Mount Hertzel, and the Tomb of Lazareth. Additionally, one group was provided with the opportunity to visit holy sites in Jordan, witnessing the diversity of the Holy Land. Participants and local observers were also able to see Pastor Chris Oyakhilome minister many times throughout the trip. They testified that ministrations were "filled with gospel and glory, bringing all those involved closer to the Lord." The trip offered a lot of opportunities to the attendees and was designed to create a memorable experience. Selected moments from the 2018 Holy Land Tour are available at https://bit.ly/2I6BcRX and more information can be obtained from the blog: https://bit.ly/2rbI7UJ KingsChat application offers selected photos from the trip as well. Contact: 51-53 Kudirat Abiola Way Oregun Ikeja, Lagos P.O. Box 13563 ikeja, Lagos SOURCE Christ Embassy Church LORTON, Va., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Military Spouse Network (NMSN), the premiere organization supporting the professional and personal growth of the nation's military spouses, will host its first-ever NMSN Rocky Mountain Summit presented by USAA in Colorado Springs, CO June 11-12 and feature nationally-recognized speakers Nancy Belmont, CEO of Vessence Corp., and Employment Specialist and author, Janet Farley. The upcoming event, held at the Embassy Suites in Colorado Springs, will be the first of two career summits this year and is an expansion of the organization's highly-successful career-building national conferences for military spouses in all stages of service. The two-day programs focus on a wide range of topics important to military spouses, from active duty to civilian life. Following the Colorado Springs conference, the NMSN will hold its next career conference, the Capital Summit presented by USAA, October 12-13 in Springfield, VA. The Career Summit offers a jam-packed career-building program that concentrates on entrepreneurship the first day with an evening program including service members. Day 2 is squarely focused on building a career spouse tool kit. More information and registration details for the 2018 Military Spouse Career Summits presented by USAA can be found here. Organizations interested in learning more about becoming a program sponsor should visit the NMSN Summit website as well. "We are thrilled to hold the first of two Summits this year in Colorado Springs and to bring world-class speakers to the local military spouse community," said Sue Hoppin, founder and president of NMSN. "We have created a content-rich program that attendees will truly find inspiring and which will help them put their career plans into action. It is our goal to leave the community more connected than we found it." "Programs such as the Military Spouse Career Summits provide opportunities for military spouses to grow their networks, resources and personal brand," said Maggie Hahn, military advocacy director at USAA and military spouse. "Too often, the career challenges military spouses face are overshadowed by the other challenges of military life." Among the extraordinary speakers at the conference will be Nancy Belmont and Janet Farley. Belmont, who gained national recognition with the launch of The Courage Wall, is a leader of #WeLiveBig, a creative incubator for community-building initiatives. She focuses on promoting human flourishing, continually inspiring authenticity and increasing individual and collective consciousness for a more unified, vibrant world. Farley is a trusted voice within the greater military community and offers military service members, their families and others straightforward career management and job search advise. She is the author of ten books, including the recently published "Mission Transition: Managing Your Career and Your Retirement." These two leaders in the military spouse community will be joined by a roster of prominent national and local Colorado experts. The NMSN Summits provide career-focused military spouses with an opportunity to develop their professional skills and connections with like-minded spouses in a dynamic, hands-on environment that connects them with national business leaders, entrepreneurs and nationally-recognized industry experts who will discuss and examine a wide range of hot-button issues relevant to military spouses. The two-day events are designed to educate, mentor and inspire military spouses in all stages of military life and in their careers from active duty to transitioning to civilian life. In addition, the events are an important way for companies and educational institutions to connect directly with the military spouse community. About National Military Spouse Network Founded in 2010, the National Military Spouse Network (NMSN) delivers ongoing personal and professional development for military spouses by providing quality content, mentoring, networking opportunities and resources, including a monthly newsletter and free bi-annual digital magazine. NMSN creates a community of military spouse professionals, businesses, academics and media to share expertise and craft innovative solutions on both balancing a viable career with the military lifestyle and laying the foundation for a successful career post military life. For more information on NMSN, visit www.nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org. Follow NMSN on Twitter at @NMSNetwork or join the Facebook community at www.facebook.com/NMSNetwork. Media Contacts for NMSN: Gabrielle Torello [email protected]; 917-312-2832 Laura Liebeck [email protected]; 845-440-7974 SOURCE National Military Spouse Network Related Links http://www.nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org Micromax Informatics, Indias leading mobile brand, today announced the launch of its first Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphone -Micromax Bharat Go in collaboration with Bharti Airtel (Airtel). The launch is part of a partnership to bring low-cost smartphones powered by Android Oreo (Go edition) to the Indian market and enable more Indians to get online. Android Oreo (Go edition) is a configuration of the Android operating system specifically optimized for devices with 1GB of RAM or less. Android Oreo (Go edition) comes with a new range of apps designed to run faster while using less data. Devices running Android Oreo (Go edition) will also come with twice as much storage out of the box. Micromax Bharat GO will be available customer at an effective price of just Rs 2399/-, making it one of the most affordable smartphone options in the Indian market. The Android Oreo (Go edition) device, which has an MOP of Rs 4399 comes with a special cashback of Rs 2000 as part of Airtels Mera Pehla Smartphone initiative. The VoLTE ready Dual-SIM Bharat Go comes pre-loaded with apps like Gmail Go, Maps Go, Files Go, Chrome, YouTube Go, Assistant Go, Play Store and GBoard which will enable the device to run faster while using less data. It will also come with a vast storage option enabling users to have a seamless and enriching mobile experience. Delivering amazing value and a powerful smartphone experience at the entry level category, Bharat Go comes with a 4.5 inch screen and its compact size creates an ergonomic grip that enables comfortable one-handed operation. It boasts of a smart key that will enable the users to take screen shots, click pictures and switch the phone into silent mode. On camera front, it incorporates 5 MP rear camera + 5 MP front camera setup. To live up to power-efficient legacy, the phone comes with MediaTek Quad Core processor, that supports quality camera images and graphics with optimum speed. It has an optimization of power consumption that saves up to 30% power and users can seamlessly multitask. The phone packs 1GB DDR3 RAM and 8GB of internal storage that promises better performance at low power and lag free multi-tasking experience. Bharat Go is powered by 2000 mAh battery and the OTG support on the phone provides the users with mass storage, serial communications, keyboards/mice, game controllers, ethernet connectivity, camera controller and importing photos from a camera. SINGAPORE, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CGCX, a blockchain and digital currency platform with an ambitious new trading model, has recruited Thomas McAlister and Paul W. Bradley as advisors. McAlister brings invaluable expertise relating to blockchain identity verification, while Bradley offers insight into strategic planning and global growth. Both experts will contribute markedly to the success of CGCX. CGCX is a hybrid trading venture. Instead of limiting itself to exchanging cryptocurrencies, it offers four different platforms, so users have an unprecedented level of flexibility in how they invest and use cryptocurrencies. The company is also creating a host of unique features, including Multi-Wallets, smart contracts for real-world assets, and an efficient alt-coin voting infrastructure. These resources, paired with the fact that CGCX insures their wallets in case of cyber attacks, will allow investors to get involved in the cryptocurrency field more easily and securely than they ever could before. Bradley and McAlister can both contribute to these efforts in different ways. Bradley is an expert in strategic planning, having helped companies like Caprica International build alliances and expand globally. With this expertise, CGCX will have an easier time appealing to investors and getting involved in investment opportunities across the world. Meanwhile, McAlister is a blockchain architect with a history of finding innovative solutions to technical problems. He has the ability to help CGCX achieve their most ambitious technological goals, particularly that of offering comprehensive security for all customers. With these professionals on their team, CGCX should have no trouble thriving all over the world. New Contributors for CGCX In order to enhance cryptocurrency and blockchain investments, CGCX is offering a range of new features and resources, including: Hybrid Exchange - Rather than offer a single trading view, CGCX provides user-friendly interfaces for boht beginning investors and professional traders. This gives investors more flexibility and security in how they take part in this promising but hazardous market. - Rather than offer a single trading view, CGCX provides user-friendly interfaces for boht beginning investors and professional traders. This gives investors more flexibility and security in how they take part in this promising but hazardous market. Security Features - CGCX is designing a number of key features to keep their investors safe. Chief among these is a set of secure Multi-Wallets that let users store the platform's tokens and other cryptocurrencies safely and conveniently. - CGCX is designing a number of key features to keep their investors safe. Chief among these is a set of secure Multi-Wallets that let users store the platform's tokens and other cryptocurrencies safely and conveniently. Token Voting - CGCX users have the opportunity to vote on which cryptocurrencies will be listed on the exchange. This adds a new level of democratization, so that investors can decide for themselves which tokens are secure and viable enough to invest in. - CGCX users have the opportunity to vote on which cryptocurrencies will be listed on the exchange. This adds a new level of democratization, so that investors can decide for themselves which tokens are secure and viable enough to invest in. Merchant Services - Retail and e-commerce businesses will be able to easily accept cryptocurrency payments through CGCX's merchant solutions, which can easily integrate with existing payment systems. As a member of the CGCX team, Bradley will introduce a new level of strategic planning expertise. His experience expanding and founding business entities in multiple different countries will help him promote the platform to all potential participants. By developing and selling CGCX's unique features in a way that appeals specifically to each market, he will assemble a large pool of promising investors. While Bradley contributes to strategic development, McAlister can shore up the technical side of CGCX. He has extensive experience with security and verification, having patented a bio-identity encryption for use in blockchain applications. This will give him insight into designing more effective multi Wallets and other security features, so that CGCX users can be sure their funds are safe in all trades. SOURCE CGCX NEW YORK, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TradingView, one of the largest investing communities on the web, announced the close of a $37M Series B financing in a round led by Insight Venture Partners, with participation from Jump Capital and DRW Venture Capital. TradingView will use the capital to expand its valuable software product suite and to continue its rapid international growth. TradingView is one of the world's largest social networks for retail traders and investors, and combines web-based charting, analytics, and a trading platform with social features for users to communicate. Founded in 2011, TradingView went through TechStars Chicago in 2013 and secured $3.7M in financing previously from Irish Angels, TechStars, iTech Capital, and a number of prominent angel investors. "At TradingView we strive to build the biggest and best community of traders and give them the most powerful tools - immersive charting, easy sharing of trading ideas, instant data access from around the world, and trading through brokers they trust. It's a one-stop-shop for traders and we are extremely excited to partner with Insight Venture Partners, Jump, and DRW VC in this next stage of growth. Individually and together they bring an enormous amount of expertise and resources to the table," said Denis Globa, co-founder and CEO. "At its core, TradingView produces best-in-class financial charting software, and the community of traders and idea-sharing that has organically emerged around this platform represents one of the most active and valuable social networks we've seen," said Paul Szurek, Vice President at Insight Venture Partners. "We're very excited about what the near-term product roadmap will deliver in terms of new capabilities and broad market coverage, including equities, fixed income, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. We look forward to partnering with the management team, DRW Venture Capital, and Jump Capital to capitalize on the rapid growth in both the retail and institutional investing sectors." "TradingView has clearly emerged as the preeminent charting platform and social network for active traders," said Peter Johnson, Vice President at Jump Capital. "Their tools have become an invaluable resource to the trading community, as demonstrated by their rapid growth to over 8 million monthly users and integrations into thousands of leading exchanges and financial applications." "TradingView was built for non-professional traders, but its accessible trading tools and powerful-yet-intuitive charting capabilities have attracted the attention of institutional investors," said Kimberly Trautmann, Head of DRW Venture Capital. "As an investor, we are excited about the diverse cross section of the industry that TradingView has reached and its rapid growth. As a proprietary trading firm on an institutional level, we're looking forward to leveraging the platform and contributing to its further development." Paul Szurek, Lonne Jaffe and Steve Farsht are joining the board of directors of the company. About Insight Venture Partners Insight Venture Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth software companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight has raised more than $18 billion and invested in over 300 companies worldwide. Our mission is to find, fund and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on growth expertise to foster long-term success. Across our people and our portfolio, we encourage a culture around a core belief: growth equals opportunity. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit www.insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners. About Jump Capital Jump Capital is a venture capital firm specializing in series A/B and growth stage investments. Jump invests in data-driven software companies and provides institutional-level resources including access to its recruiting platform, operating partners, and research labs advancing the state of the art in high-performance computing, data mining, and machine learning. About DRW Venture Capital DRW Venture Capital is a private investor in financial and enterprise technology. Our team focuses on businesses that will benefit from our engagement beyond capital: as a client, as a liquidity provider, through our review of new products, and through our deep industry expertise. Our portfolio comprises 25 companies including BitGo, Droit, Pico, and OpenFin. About TradingView TradingView is the largest investing community on the web, with over 8 million active traders sharing ideas, providing feedback and using the free stock and forex charting trading platform every month. TradingView's open and free chart components are unsurpassed on the financial web and have been integrated into more than 40,000 stock and futures exchanges, websites and applications globally. For more information visit www.tradingview.com. For free charts for your website visit www.tradingview.com/widget. SOURCE TradingView SAN RAMON, Calif., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- When planning a road trip of any variety, there are a fair number of details that tend to make the trip as safe and efficient as possible. Besides planning the fun things to do, families should know where to find gas stations along the way so that there's never a worry of running too low, who is driving or whether that task will be split into shifts, whose car to take and potentially what hotels to stay at along the way. But even the best-laid plans can go awry. Gas mileage might be predictable, but bad weather or some sort of accident may occur to compromise the vehicle's performance. Financial Education Benefits Center (FEBC), a membership benefits company, offers a roadside assistance benefit to its members to help them deal with any accident or delay in their road trip. "Traveling long distances is a large part of what this country is known for. So road trips are something a majority of people have experienced, either for leisure or work. With anything involving a vehicle, it's important to take the proper safety precautions," commented Jennifer Martinez, manager at FEBC. While auto insurance is a legal requirement for all car owners in the U.S., roadside assistance is more of a best practice. However, roadside assistance can be very valuable, and not just in case of accidents. Common services include vehicle towing, occasional direct-over-the-phone assistance, fuel and fluid refills, and assistance getting into a locked car. Whether they're embarking on a trip across the state or cross-country, roadside assistance will be there to help make the trip to and from the destination a bit safer, or at least provide additional peace of mind. About Financial Education Benefits Center Financial Education Benefits Center is located in San Ramon, California. The membership company has already helped thousands save money and obtain the necessary education required to live a financially healthy life. Financial Education Benefits Center has partnered with several name brand third-party companies to expand the financial and educational products and services available to its members and to provide a variety of wellness services as well. Financial Education Benefits Center Newsroom Contact To learn more about Financial Education Benefits Center, please contact: Financial Education Benefits Center 2010 Crow Canyon Place Ste. 100 San Ramon, CA 94583 1-800-953-1388 [email protected] Related Images image1.png roadside-assistance.jpg Roadside Assistance Credit: Maria_Savenko/Bigstock Related Links FEBC home page SOURCE Financial Education Benefits Center Related Links http://febcp.com FRANKFURT, Germany, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Frankfurt is prepped and ready to host the 4th Edition of the prestigious World Blockchain Summit The 4th edition of World Blockchain Summit is set to touch down in the financial capital of Germany. The summit's venue aims to catapult the budding blockchain and cryptocurrency market of Germany, which has been thriving and, recently, flourishing within the European market. The summit is hosted by Trescon, and is taking place on 25 - 26 June 2018 at The Marriot Frankfurt. The summit is being officially endorsed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (giz), the Blockchain Bundesverband and the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center . (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/653609/Trescon_Logo.jpg ) International blockchain influencer and FinTech startup veteran Nick Ayton, who has close to 35 years of experience in the technology industry, said that "World Blockchain Summit series are important Crypto and Blockchain events on the International calendar and I am pleased to be involved. They focus on and discuss the important issues and factors that are shaping a new Crypto-Capital Market" in an exclusive telephonic interview. The summit also gives rise to blockchain startups to meet and interact with some of the biggest names in the industry, as well as meet international venture capitalists to whom they can pitch their ideas and secure the assistance to catapult their business further. Mohammed Saleem, CEO of Trescon, said that "The European market is a boiling plate ready to explode into the blockchain market. There are 30+ startups in Germany alone, and the rest of the continent is ripe, ready to be plucked. The summit will provide a platform for these enterprises to enjoy the fruit of their labour, as well as expose the continent to the blockchain race." Some of the notable personalities from the blockchain industry, scheduled to be present at the summit, include Taavi Roivas, Ex-Prime Minister of Estonia; Julie Maupin, FinTech advisor for the German Ministry of Finance and Antanas Guoga, Member of the European Parliament, are some of the names set to take the stage at the event. After Frankfurt, World Blockchain Summit Series will travel to Singapore, Canada, India, Dubai, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia to end the calendar year of 2018. About Trescon: Trescon is specialized in producing highly focused B2B events that connect businesses with opportunities through conferences, road shows, expos, demand generation, investor connect and consulting services. Media Contact: Nikita Prasad, Marketing Manager, Trescon Direct: +91-80-3911-3950 | Mobile: +91-9108217117 [email protected] --- SOURCE Trescon Global NEW YORK, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tusk / Montgomery Philanthropies today commended Governor Bill Haslam and the state legislature for enacting Breakfast After the Bell legislation in Tennessee. Breakfast After the Bell is a crucial hunger initiative that allows for schools across the state to provide nutritious meals to students in need. As a result of the budget amendment signed by the Governor, the program will be expanded to K-12 schools across the state, with schools having an option whether to provide the meals in the classroom before the school day begins, after first period, or through a "grab and go" option. The State of Tennessee also committed $500,000 in the state budget to help fund the program. The legislative effort was led by Tusk / Montgomery Philanthropies (TMP), the family foundation of venture capitalist and political strategist Bradley Tusk, along with local and national advocates. TMP focuses on funding and running anti-hunger campaigns across the country. Bradley Tusk said: "Kids across Tennessee will now have school breakfast thanks to Governor Haslam and the state legislature. In addition to the Governor's leadership, I want to thank Senator Bo Watson and Representative David Hawk for sponsoring the amendment. Today's victory in Tennessee, along with recent victories in New York and Washington this year, means more than one million students will have been fed and can focus on their schoolwork. We look forward to continuing this important work." In addition to today's legislative victory in Tennessee, TMP recently worked with legislative leaders and Governor Andrew Cuomo to secure Breakfast After the Bell for New York students. TMP has also worked to enact similar school breakfast legislation in Washington state, Illinois and Pennsylvania, with additional states currently in progress. About Tusk / Montgomery Philanthropies: Tusk / Montgomery Philanthropies funds and runs campaigns in states across the U.S. to increase funding for anti-hunger programs like school breakfast and food stamp enrollment. They are also working to create mobile voting - enabling people to vote in elections on their phones - including a first in the nation mobile voting blockchain pilot program in West Virginia for active duty service members. Contact: Patrick Muncie Tusk/Montgomery Philanthropies 212-966-5161 SOURCE Tusk/Montgomery Philanthropies NEUHAUSEN, Switzerland, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- "Shrink," otherwise known as a reduction in inventory due to shoplifting, employee theft or other errors, significantly impacts a retailer's bottom line. Tyco Retail Solutions, a global leader in data-driven loss prevention, inventory intelligence and traffic insights, today released the industry's most extensive study conducted in recent years, providing insights into the sources and impacts of global retail shrink. The Sensormatic Global Shrink Index is a culmination of research that measures world-wide retailer performance, allowing them to benchmark their shrink rates to others in the same vertical and region. Tyco commissioned global retail market intelligence provider PlanetRetail RNG to conduct the 2018 Sensormatic Global Shrink Index which included over 1,100 retail decision makers across four regions, 14 countries and 13 retail segments. Retailers surveyed operate over 229,000 stores, generated an estimated $1.56 trillion during 2017-2018 and account for 80 percent of total global retail sales. The retailers work in the world's leading economies, which account for 73 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The scope and coverage of the study includes how loss prevention professionals are measured and incentivized, the technologies and services being leveraged, the top stolen items and brands, and data elements being used to monitor and predict shrink. According to the Sensormatic Global Shrink Index, shrink cost retailers nearly $100 billion globally last year. Shrinkage across retail stores in the U.S. accounted for 1.85 percent of sales, slightly above the global rate (1.82 percent). Although the country ranked ninth in terms of a percentage of sales, its position as the largest global consumer market means this translates into the highest losses based on shrinkage value at $42.49 billion of sales almost half of the total across all country markets surveyed. Other key U.S. findings include: External theft/shoplifting, including organized retail crime (ORC), make up the most significant percentage of losses at 35.55 percent of lost sales, slightly above the global average, followed by loss due to internal shrinkage, including employee theft, at 24.54 percent. After Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS), alarm monitoring is the next most popular loss prevention investment, followed by access control systems, exception-based reporting and closed-circuit television (CCTV). Fashion and accessories have the highest rate of shrink by retail vertical at 2.43 percent of sales. These statistics highlight the magnitude of shrink's impact on retail and affords the opportunity to dive deeper into the sources of shrink, particularly in the U.S., as well as the loss prevention tools to help combat loss. "Best in class retailers are optimizing their physical stores by ensuring that operational controls are in place for growing problems such as retail shrink," said Catherine Walsh, senior vice president and general manager, Tyco Retail Solutions. "The Sensormatic Global Shrink Index benchmarks retailer performance globally and sheds light on other factors affecting loss prevention. Knowing the state of shrink helps retailers better assess the challenges and solutions to make merchandise secure yet accessible for a better customer experience." Tyco Retail Solutions is a globally trusted leader, helping retailers discover new ways to control loss and leverage it as an opportunity to increase profitability. To view the full report's findings, visit the 2018 Sensormatic Global Shrink Index here. PlanetRetail RNG is a global intelligence and advisory business exclusively focused on retail. For more information, please visit https://www.planetretailrng.com/. About Johnson Controls Johnson Controls is a global diversified technology and multi industrial leader serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries. Our 120,000 employees create intelligent buildings, efficient energy solutions, integrated infrastructure and next generation transportation systems that work seamlessly together to deliver on the promise of smart cities and communities. Our commitment to sustainability dates back to our roots in 1885, with the invention of the first electric room thermostat. We are committed to helping our customers win and creating greater value for all of our stakeholders through strategic focus on our buildings and energy growth platforms. For additional information, please visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter. About Tyco Retail Solutions Tyco Retail Solutions, part of Johnson Controls, is a leading provider of analytics-based Loss Prevention, Inventory Intelligence and Traffic Insights for the retail industry. Our solutions deliver real-time visibility and predictive analytics to help retailers maximize business outcomes and enhance the customer experience in a digitally-driven shopping world. Our more than 1.5 million data collection devices in the retail marketplace capture 40 billion shopper visits and track and protect billions of items each year. Our retail portfolio features the premier Sensormatic, ShopperTrak and TrueVUE brands, as well as a full suite of building technology solutions. For more information, please visit TycoRetailSolutions.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and our YouTube channel. SOURCE Tyco Retail Solutions Related Links http://TycoRetailSolutions.com NORTH RANDALL, Ohio, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul at Lee Road, a self-move store at 4182 Lee Road that has been serving Cuyahoga County customers since April 1977, will be closing its doors at the end of business today. Plans have not been finalized as to whether U-Haul will sell the property or lease the facility. Customers of the Lee Road location can find U-Haul products just 2.7 miles away at U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Beachwood at 21930 Miles Road near Interstate 480 in North Randall. Site of a former OrangeOnions warehouse that U-Haul acquired last year, the Miles Road store will soon offer 800-plus indoor self-storage rooms and U-Box portable storage in addition to a full line of U-Haul equipment and services. U-Haul at Lee Road operated on a small, landlocked site while offering truck and trailer sharing as well as hitch installation, according to Scott Ochocki, U-Haul Company of Cleveland president. In 2010, when the neighborhood was going through a reimage, this was among the businesses to embrace the initiative. The reimage included beautifying the grounds with landscaping and ornate fencing, painting, and fixing up the building. As a result of the closing, one full-time and eight part-time Team Members will be let go. Local U-Haul Companies are always exploring opportunities for growth as they pursue means to better meet the needs of customers, but sometimes find it necessary to close or relocate stores. Reasons for closures can include: long-term strategic plans; physical plant limitations; shifts in demographics; trends in migration; expansion of the U-Haul neighborhood dealer network; and proximity to other new or existing U-Haul stores. U-Haul Company's repurposing of a warehouse for U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Beachwood was driven by its Corporate Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul supports infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. The adaptive reuse of existing buildings reduces the energy and resources required for new-construction materials and helps cities reduce their unwanted inventory of unused buildings. Find U-Haul store and neighborhood dealer locations near you at uhaul.com/locations. About U-Haul Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 21,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 now offers customers access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the self-service options on their internet-connected mobile devices. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to more than 150,000 trucks, 112,000 trailers and 40,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 581,000 rooms and more than 51 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S. Contact: Jeff Lockridge Sebastien Reyes E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 602-263-6981 Website: uhaul.com SOURCE U-Haul The vision behind Ultrafabrics' first international showroom was developed by Danish interior design powerhouse OEO, in collaboration with creative strategist Teke Busk. The concept was to create an inspirational destination that pushes the boundaries of how fabrics are showcased and used, creating a bold, dynamic and unique spatial experience with a strong narrative that appeals to the human senses. The Quiet Power of Nature The design draws on perceptions of nature with an abstract Japan-inspired twist, which reflected the brand's heritage and is brought to life in the subtle details of the high-quality craftsmanship, delivered by UK/Tokyo based construction company, EDO. The zoning of the showroom ambiances has been carefully worked out to offer a journey, inspired by the elements of nature: water, fire, earth and air. Part of the floor, for example, is a cool blue resin with deep swirls and reflective flecks. A high shine aluminium base adds depth, creating the effect of walking on water. "We wanted to go beyond a traditional showroom format to deliver an engaging brand experience that speaks to and elevates the senses, while showcasing the creative potential of the fabric." - Clay Rosenberg CEO, Ultrafabrics Designed to inspire, communicate and stoke curiosity, the bespoke elements include tactile art installations masterfully twisted into organic and poetic shapes as well as highly functional pieces that borrow inspiration from Japan. The choice of materials throughout the showroom ranges from crafted ash wood to aluminium, two materials that combine beautifully with the fabrics. "OEO specialises in a design style rooted in a Japan-meets-West combination of craftsmanship, quality, style, functionality and attention to detail, which perfectly fits with the brand," says Creative Strategist Teke Busk, "not to mention the fact that OEO works with long-lasting materials and high quality components, which support Ultrafabrics' focus on sustainability." The vision of the Ultrafabrics company is for the showroom to serve as a stimulating and inspiring collaboration space for clients and a creative hub for the design community from the UK, Europe and beyond. Ultrafabrics is excited and proud to open the doors to the first showroom and with it a whole new world of intelligent fabrics. The Ultrafabrics showroom will open during Clerkenwell Design Week 22-24 May, 2018 About Ultrafabrics With decades of polyurethane craftsmanship, Ultrafabrics is reshaping the world of performance fabrics one surface at a time. Made by humans, for humans, our passion is the creation of unrivaled sensorial experiences and changing the definition and expectation for what a performance fabric can be, do and feel like. www.ultrafabricsinc.com About OEO Studio OEO Studio is a multi-disciplinary design studio, established in Copenhagen in 2003 and focusing on interior architecture, product design and brand innovation. The award-winning studio is headed by designer and creative director Thomas Lykke and managing partner Anne-Marie Buemann. With a great sense of respect and empathy, OEO Studio seeks to touch and inspire on an emotional level, to create engaging design. http://www.oeo.dk SOURCE Ultrafabrics Related Links https://www.ultrafabricsllc.com FREDERICK, Md., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLCA) announced today that it will release its second quarter 2018 financial results before the New York Stock Exchange opens on Tuesday, July 31, 2018. This release will be followed by a conference call for investors on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results. Hosting the call will be Bryan Shinn, president and chief executive officer and Don Merril, executive vice president and chief financial officer. Investors are invited to listen to a live webcast of the conference call by visiting the "Investor Resources" section of the Company's website at www.ussilica.com. The webcast will be archived for one year. The call can also be accessed live over the telephone by dialing (877) 869-3847 or for international callers, (201) 689-8261. A replay will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by dialing (877) 660-6853 or for international callers, (201) 612-7415. The conference ID for the replay is 13680439. The replay will be available through August 30, 2018. About U.S. Silica U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. is a performance materials company and is a member of the Russell 2000. The Company is a leading producer of commercial silica used in the oil and gas industry, and in a wide range of industrial applications. Wholly owned EP Minerals, a U.S. Silica Company, is an industry leader in the production of products derived from diatomaceous earth, perlite, engineered clays, and non-activated clays. Over its 118-year history, U.S. Silica has developed core competencies in mining, processing, logistics and materials science that enable it to produce and cost-effectively deliver over 1,500 diversified products to customers across our end markets. The Company currently operates over 25 mines and production facilities. The Company is headquartered in Frederick, Maryland and also has offices located in Chicago, Illinois and Houston, Texas. Investor Contacts Michael Lawson Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications 301-682-0304 [email protected] Nick Shaver Investor Relations Manager 281-394-9630 [email protected] SOURCE U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. Related Links http://www.ussilica.com EVELETH, Minn., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today announced its endorsement for Sen. Tina Smith to continue to serve the interest of Minnesota's working families on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. USW District 11 Director Emil Ramirez praised Sen. Smith for standing with working families on the issues most important to us throughout her career as a public servant. "She has supported our union in every sector in which the USW represents workers," Ramirez said. "Sen. Smith marched with miners struggling for a fair contract and has been a staunch, outspoken ally for those of us who hope to bring manufacturing jobs back to Minnesota." "Almost immediately after taking office, she met with USW members and sent a letter to the Trump administration supporting action on the Section 232 investigations into steel and aluminum to make sure we protect the industries we need for national defense and help return thousands of laid-off workers to their jobs," Ramirez said. USW District 11 Assistant Director John Rebrovich also pointed out that Smith, while serving as Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, stood with taconite miners in their fight for a fair contract. "She traveled to the nation's capital to speak up about the unfair and often illegal anticompetitive tactics our foreign trade partners use to drive American manufacturing companies out of business even bringing Denis McDonough, President Obama's chief of staff, to Virginia, Minn., to hear directly from laid-off workers," Rebrovich said. "Workers whose jobs were displaced by unfair trade received help securing unemployment compensation, health insurance and assistance for retraining thanks to Smith's hard work on their behalf." "Sen. Smith has a strong record of fighting and winning for our families," Rebrovich said. "Members of our union, other unions, their families, friends and neighbors should enthusiastically embrace this opportunity to make sure she continues to represent us and vote with confidence for her on Nov. 6, 2018." The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in manufacturing, metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector and service occupations. More information, contact: John Rebrovich (218) 744-2757; [email protected] SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW) Related Links http://www.usw.org The United States received intense international criticism on Monday when it celebrated the opening of its embassy in Jerusalem. It was the first country to make the "provocative" move from Tel Aviv. But on Wednesday, Guatemala joined the U.S. in moving its embassy to Jerusalem. More countries are preparing to make the leap. Paraguay's Foreign Ministry announced that its embassy will also relocate to Jerusalem, while the Czech Republic, Romania and Honduras reportedly considering the move. Paraguays President Horacio Cartes officially inaugurated his countrys new embassy in Jerusalem Monday, making Paraguay the third nation to relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the Israeli capital city. The move comes a week after the US unveiled its new embassy in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem. Two days later, Guatemala transferred its embassy to a temporary facility in an office building in the Malha neighborhood of southern Jerusalem. It is an honor for me to be here today, President Cartes said at the opening ceremony Monday. "This occasion is of special significance because it expresses the sincere friendship and brave solidarity between Paraguay and Israel." continued Cartes. "From the depth of my heart, I appreciate this country that courageously defends its right to live in peace and it is building a praiseworthy economically prosperous state that ensures its future and that of its children." First, it was the USA, now it's Guatemala and Paraguay's turn to show a fine step can be taken. First, here's the news about Guatemala from a few days ago And on that note, here's the news about Paraguay They've done the right thing too. It's to be hoped that more countries will be moving their embassies soon as well, and when they do, they'll be sending a positive message that any European country that won't move so far would do well to pay attention to and learn from. Labels: Europe, Israel, Jerusalem, Latin America, United States WASHINGTON, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Confucius Institutes across the state were honored by the Utah legislature at the state capitol on May 17. The legislature presented a citation of honor to a delegation from the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing (Hanban) attending the Eleventh National Chinese Language Conference. Senator Curtis Bramble (R - District 16) said that this citation recognizes the efforts of the people of Utah to advance Chinese language programs with the support of Confucius Institutes. Click to view Utah Legislature's citation. Citation of Honor Delivered to Confucius Institutes at Utah State Capitol. [Tweet this.] At the conference opening ceremony, Utah Governor Gary Herbert affirmed his commitment to advancing Utah's Chinese dual language immersion program, citing the value of Chinese language education for Utah's economic development and workforce employability. Since the establishment of the first Confucius Institute in Utah in 2007, more than 13,000 students have participated in Chinese language classes. Supported by Confucius Institutes, Utah's dual language initiative has become a leading program in American immersion language instruction, preparing Utahns to thrive in a globalized society. In his meeting with Utah students and educators, Senator Orrin Hatch (R) called the Confucius Institutes' programming "really critical and crucial" and said "learning [Chinese] ... is in [the US'] best interest." Senator Howard Stephenson (R - District 11) said that "the success of Utah's Chinese language program would not have happened without the Confucius Institutes and the caliber of teachers provided through these partnerships." He added, "I have never seen more dedicated teachers than those from the Confucius Institute." An advocate for dual language immersion in Utah, Sen. Stephenson claims "monolingualism is the illiteracy of the 21st Century." [Tweet this.] Memorandum of Understanding Signed Following the recognition, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Hanban and the Utah State Board of Education on May 18. The MOU recognized Utah's dual language Chinese immersion education program and the role of the Confucius Institutes in promoting people-to-people exchanges between the US and China. Hanban pledged ongoing support of Confucius Institutes to meet Utah's growing demand for Chinese language and culture classes. The Confucius Institute U.S. Center is a nonprofit organization that supports the teaching of Chinese language and culture in the United States and fosters educational exchanges between China and the United States. Media contact: Gao Qing - [email protected] SOURCE Confucius Institute U.S. Center Related Links http://www.ciuscenter.org SAN FRANCISCO, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Valimail, the world's leader in automating email authentication, announced it has raised a $25 million round of funding to accelerate its global growth and expand its portfolio of trust-based anti-impersonation services. Valimail provides the only automated email trust platform. Many leading organizations, including Yelp, Uber, Fannie Mae, Manulife, WeWork, and others, use Valimail to stop fraud, brand abuse, and data theft. The Series B investment is led by Tenaya Capital, with participation from existing venture investors Shasta Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, and Bloomberg Beta. "Valimail was founded to bring trust to the world's communications, starting with email. In a world of first-generation solutions with failure rates over 70 percent, we believed total automation was a necessary approach," said Alexander Garcia-Tobar, co-founder and CEO of Valimail. "The past three years have proven our thesis that the market both needs and values automated authentication. Now we're prepared to make our platform available worldwide." Impersonation-based email attacks are the #1 vector for cyberattacks of all kinds. Valimail's Identity-Driven Email Anti-impersonation (IDEA) platform stops these attacks by automating implementation and ongoing management of email authentication. Leveraging open standards, such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, the platform ensures that unauthorized senders using an organization's domains in email messages are automatically blocked globally. "Valimail's technology represents the perfect convergence of a huge need (stopping impersonation and restoring trust to email), a rapidly growing market, and a revolutionary technology led by an experienced, disciplined team," said Brian Melton, managing director at Tenaya Capital. "Valimail's automation platform is a best-in-class solution that's already found a substantial market and widespread recognition for its technical superiority. It will have wide application in the years to come," he added. A Growing Global Trend Both the private and public sectors now recognize email authentication as critical in preventing so called email "spoofing" or impersonation attacks. The Department of Homeland Security, for example, mandated in late 2017 that all federal agencies not only adopt email authentication based on DMARC, but implement it fully to prevent such attacks. Email authentication based on DMARC has hit an inflection point, although companies still struggle to implement it fully: DMARC is now supported by over 5 billion email inboxes worldwide. (Valimail's Email Fraud Landscape, Q1 2018) More domain owners have published DMARC records in the past six months than in the five previous years combined. (DMARC.org) However, successful deployment is extremely challenging: An analysis of one million DNS records shows that regardless of company size or vertical, about 80 percent of DMARC implementations fail to achieve enforcement. (Valimail's Email Fraud Landscape 2017) DMARC is recommended for all companies by the Federal Trade Commission, the Online Trust Alliance, the Global Cyber Alliance, and many other organizations. Automation Guarantees the Benefits of Authentication Gartner Inc. recommends that security and risk management leaders involved in fraud prevention should work with brand stakeholders to "Implement domain-level email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) as the strongest technical protection against exact-domain spoofing of domains owned or controlled by their enterprise." [Gartner: "Fighting Phishing: Protect Your Brand," November 2017, refreshed December 2017] Most companies deploying DMARC don't make it to enforcement, however. Valimail's enforcement guarantee ensures that customers get the benefits of authentication quickly and effortlessly so they can stop impersonation attacks right away. "After attempting email authentication with other solutions, I was amazed at the level of automation Valimail provides," said JJ Agha, VP of information security at WeWork. "It eliminates the need for two FTEs, so my staff can focus on other key priorities. I consider it a 'set it and forget it' solution for ensuring that our employees and executives can't be impersonated and that our email is trusted." As it expands, Valimail will be hiring multiple positions across a number of different departments, including engineering, sales, customer success, and marketing. For information on career opportunities at Valimail, visit https://www.valimail.com/careers/. About Valimail Valimail is the leader in automated email authentication, with a comprehensive platform for anti-impersonation, brand protection, and anti-fraud defense. Valimail's patented, standards-compliant technology provides an unrivaled, fully automated solution for DMARC enforcement to stop phishing attacks, increase deliverability, and protect organizations' reputations. Valimail authenticates billions of messages a month for some of the world's biggest companies, in finance, government, transportation, health care, manufacturing, media, technology, and more. Valimail is based in San Francisco. For more information visit www.Valimail.com. PRESS CONTACT: Dylan Tweney, Head of Communications, [email protected] SOURCE Valimail Related Links https://www.valimail.com ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Valpak, North America's trusted leading direct marketing company, today announces its partnership with Susan G. Komen (Komen) throughout this year's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. "Valpak is a trusted and iconic brand, and we're delighted to have their support," said Christina Alford, SVP of Development from Komen. "Breast cancer still claims too many lives, so it will take all of us doing something being More Than Pink to finally end this disease." Jennifer Glen, SVP of Sales and Partnerships for Valpak says, "We are thrilled to team with Susan G. Komen in this important partnership that encourages people to do whatever they can to help in the fight against breast cancer. Valpak is excited to develop this powerful campaign that will bring this important cause to nearly 36 million households and encourage donations from its over 40,000 loyal customers, all backed by a trusted brand. This initiative is personal for Valpak employees and we are determined to stand up and help find a cure for such an awful disease." The iconic Valpak Blue Envelope plans to go pink in support of the 1 in 8 women who will develop breast cancer at some point in her life, and the countless loved ones affected by the disease. With a significant number of corporate and franchise employees affected by breast cancer, Valpak is committed to working with Komen in their mission to save lives and end breast cancer by encouraging donations and supporting activations through key corporate partnerships willing to join in the envelope mailing. The collaboration marks the first-time Valpak has created a "Cause Month" envelope as "Valpak Goes Pink" and joins Komen in taking action and being "More Than Pink". Together the two organizations are dedicated to making October a month that makes a difference, by harnessing their collective involvement in communities across North America to do more together by taking action toward finding a cure for breast cancer. Valpak's commitment to Komen involves a uniquely integrated package that will include premium exposure on the outside of a pink-hued version of the Blue Envelope going to nearly 36 million households, designed to support this important cause. In 2018, Valpak will donate at least $50,000 to Komen in addition to activating its local salesforce of over 600 reps to encourage donations and participation from its network of over 40,000 advertisers. With a mailing scheduled to arrive in their customers' homes between October 1 and 31, Valpak is planning a two-tier level of partner inserts within the envelope. National businesses are encouraged to participate with co-branded Komen inserts with related offers, and local advertisers choosing to participate will be recognized in the envelope with a pink frame and the insignia pink Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon. Valpak also plans an extensive digital marketing campaign to include a customized landing page and social media and blog initiatives to promote even more support for the cause. In addition, Valpak and its local salesforce will be participating in select Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure events across the country. Businesses interested in joining Valpak and Susan G. Komen in this partnership by participating in the envelope mailing can find more information at www.valpak.com/komen, and on the Valpak YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/F6DZateKGqU. About Valpak Based in St. Petersburg, FL, Valpak is one of the leading direct marketing companies in the U.S. and Canada. We provide print and digital advertising through a network of 150 local franchises. From mailbox to mobile phone, Valpak brings exciting local business offers and opportunities to millions of consumers. Each month, our well-known Blue Envelope of savings is mailed to nearly 36 million demographically targeted households in 44 states and in three Canadian provinces. Our digital suite of products, including valpak.com, reaches more than 110 million users. About Susan Komen Susan G. Komen is the world's largest breast cancer organization, funding more breast cancer research than any other nonprofit outside of the federal government while providing real-time help to those facing the disease. Komen has set a Bold Goal to reduce the current number of breast cancer deaths by 50 percent in the U.S. by 2026. Since its founding in 1982, Komen has funded more than $956 million in research and provided more than $2.1 billion in funding to screening, education, treatment and psychosocial support programs serving millions of people in more than 30 countries worldwide. Komen was founded by Nancy G. Brinker, who promised her sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would end the disease that claimed Suzy's life. That promise has become Komen's promise to all people facing breast cancer. Visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN. Connect with us on social at ww5.komen.org/social. CONTACT: Trisha Davis Ballantines PR [email protected] 310.454.3080 SOURCE Valpak Related Links http://www.valpak.com "It's an honor for us to work with such a dedicated, elite group of industry professionals," said Magnus Koeck, Volvo Trucks North America vice president, marketing and brand management. "The America's Road Team embodies all the greatest elements of this industry. They're truly heroes and we're happy to support them with the best tools for the job, a new VNL 760 outfitted with our top safety, efficiency, comfort, and connectivity features." The new Volvo VNL 760 will be used by America's Road Team Captains to haul the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) Interstate One mobile classroom. The 53-foot show trailer, which is equipped with a conference room, seven presentation screens, a truck driving simulator and educational displays enables the Captains to deliver interactive trucking demonstrations on safety and the importance of trucking on daily live. "America's Road Team Captains speak to tens of thousands of people every year about the essential and safe role the trucking industry plays in the American economy, and being able to showcase industry-leading equipment like the Volvo VNL 760 really helps reinforce our message," said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. "Volvo Trucks' generosity is deeply appreciated by ATA and goes a long way toward helping us reach our goals as an association." After the ceremony, the America's Road Team Captains spent time familiarizing themselves with their new VNL 760 model, equipped with active safety technologies like Volvo Active Driver Assist with Bendix Wingman Fusion fully integrated into the Driver Information display. The new VNL 760 also features Volvo Enhanced Stability Technology, and a Lane Departure Warning system. The new tractor is powered by a Volvo D13 engine and is equipped with a 12-speed Volvo I-Shift automated manual transmission. Volvo's connectivity services, Remote Diagnostics and Remote Programming, supported by Volvo Action Service agents, help maximize uptime. The America's Road Team program is a national public outreach effort led by expert professional truck drivers who have logged millions of accident-free miles. The ATA created the America's Road Team in 1986, and Volvo Trucks North America has been the exclusive sponsor of the program since 2002. Volvo Trucks provides complete transport solutions for professional and demanding customers, offering a full range of medium to heavy duty trucks. Customer support is secured via a global network of 2,100 dealers and workshops in more than 130 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 16 countries across the globe. In 2017, more than 112,000 Volvo trucks were delivered worldwide. Volvo Trucks is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The Group also provides solutions for financing and service. Volvo's work is based on the core values of quality, safety and environmental care. For further information, please contact Brandon Borgna, Volvo Trucks, phone 336-823-2687, email [email protected] www.volvotrucks.us www.volvotrucks.ca SOURCE Volvo Trucks North America Related Links http://www.volvotrucks.us WILMINGTON, Del., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TD Bank's U.S. Partnerships business a leading U.S. credit card issuer announced today that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, a furniture company based in the Chicago metropolitan area. Through this partnership, TD will provide Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design clients with financing options through the retailer's SmitheCard. Clients are able to apply for the SmitheCard at the retailer's eleven showrooms across Illinois and Indiana, and on the retailer's website, www.smithe.com. "Presenting clients with financing options is just as important as offering quality products, steadfast warranties, and an impressive inventory it's something clients have simply come to expect and rely on," said Walter Smithe, III, President, Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design. "When we were reviewing our options for financing partners, we were impressed with TD's client-centric approach and their willingness to customize a program that works best for our clients while aligning with our business objectives. We prioritize the client experience, and so do they so this was an ideal fit for us." TD Partnerships recently conducted its inaugural Retail Experience Index survey and found that more than one quarter (27 percent) of consumers surveyed would be more likely to make a major purchase, defined as a single purchase of $500 or greater, if financing was offered. Recognizing just how important financing programs are to engaging today's customers, Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design has continued to provide clients with affordable options that enable them to furnish and enjoy their homes now, while paying over time. "Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design is truly an iconic brand in the Chicago area, and we couldn't be more pleased to partner with them," said Mike Rittler, Head of Partnership Programs, TD Bank. "We're excited to align and customize our offerings to contribute to the continued success of their business, while leveraging our own financing and marketing expertise to incorporate tools and solutions that will deepen client engagement and drive sales." TD Bank's U.S. Partnerships business (www.tdpartnershipprograms.com) launches and administers new credit card portfolios for merchants across all sales channels, and acquires retailers' existing credit card portfolios. About Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design Walter E. Smithe is dedicated to providing discerning clients with expert design guidance, quality furniture, and exceptional service. The company is unparalleled in its friendly and helpful client guidance. Clients may choose to be matched with a wide selection of designers who make shopping fun - assisting with the selection of furniture, accessories, fabrics, and finishes that precisely align with the client's unique aesthetic and budget. A Chicago icon, the beloved, family owned retailer was founded in 1945 on the city's northwest side. Walter E. Smithe, Jr. pioneered the concept of custom order upholstery in the area, a specialty in which the company continues to spur innovation. The warmest Midwestern memories of home include furnishings by Walter E. Smithe. Eleven showrooms are conveniently located across Chicagoland. About TD Partnerships TD Bank Group's credit card business is a top 10 card issuer in North America with over $24B in card receivables. TD Bank's credit cards are distributed nationally, leveraging our retail distribution network, direct response channels and through hundreds of partnership programs with financial institutions, retailers and other third party organizations. About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,200 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US. TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit www.td.com. SOURCE TD Bank Related Links http://www.TDBank.com LOS ANGELES, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Weavy, leading provider of enterprise collaboration tools and software development frameworks, today announced that CEO Rickard Hansson is joining the Forbes Technology Council, a community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Hansson becomes part of a curated network of successful peers and gets access to a variety of exclusive benefits and resources, including the opportunity to submit thought leadership articles and tips on industry-related topics for publishing on Forbes.com. Weavy Collaboration Framework CEO Rickard Hansson Joins Forbes Technology Council "It's a privilege to be invited to join such a distinguished community of business leaders. I'm excited to share what I've learned about enterprise technology via a platform as respected as Forbes. Today it's normal for big companies to leverage powerful, custom-built suites for unified collaboration just to keep pace with peers. It's important for me to show the startups and mid-market organizations that these tools are quite accessible for them, and that they need to be seamless and contextual to truly give them an advantage." -Rickard Hansson Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, says, "We are honored to welcome Rickard into the community. Our mission with Forbes Councils is to curate successful professionals from every industry, creating a vetted, social capital-driven network that helps every member make an even greater impact on the business world." Hansson has most recently contributed to The Startup. He is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience building successful companies like lemoon, Way2IT, damoon, and Incentive, developer of Weavy. About Weavy Weavy is an embeddable framework that allows organizations to easily "drop in" collaboration features on top of any web application s they use for work. The continuous and contextual UI enables seamless, cross-app sharing and communication. It eliminates the need for several standalone, disconnected solutions. Embedded collaboration empowers users, increases productivity, and centralizes content and conversations that would otherwise be scattered across applications. Included in Weavy are news feeds, file sharing and storage, instant messaging, team chat, task management, document collaboration, and more. Built-in integrations include Office 365, OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox. Developers can create custom integrations or design their own UI components with the Weavy API, as well as embed the framework in applications they have built themselves. Weavy is headquartered in Venice, California and is a Microsoft ISV Partner. Learn more about embedded collaboration . About Forbes Councils Forbes Councils combines an innovative, high-touch approach to community management perfected by the team behind Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) with the extensive resources and global reach of Forbes. As a result, Forbes Council members get access to the people, benefits and expertise they need to grow their businessesand a dedicated member concierge who acts as an extension of their own team, providing personalized one-on-one support. For more information about Forbes Technology Council, visit forbestechcouncil.com. To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit forbescouncils.com. Media Contact: Stuart Dixon 310-279-6983 [email protected] SOURCE Weavy PITTSBURGH, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC) announced plans to hold its second quarter 2018 earnings conference call on Thursday, August 2 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Dial-in details are as follows: Conference telephone number: US Participant Dial-in: 1-877-443-5356 International Participant Dial-in: 1-412-902-6614 Canada Participant Dial-in: 1-855-669-9657 Confirmation Code: Ask for the "WESCO" conference call US Replay: 1-877-344-7529 International Replay: 1-412-317-0088 Canada Replay: 1-855-669-9658 Replay available: From 2:00 p.m. ET on August 2 to 9:00 a.m. ET on August 9. Confirmation Code: 10120755 In addition, WESCO plans to present at the following investor conferences: The Electrical Products Group Conference in Longboat Key, FL on May 23 . The presentation is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. ET . The Stifel 2018 Cross Sector Insight Conference in Boston, MA , on June 11 . The presentation is scheduled to begin at 9:10 a.m. ET . The UBS Global Industrial & Transportation Conference in New York, NY on June 13 . The presentation is scheduled to begin at 3:45 p.m. ET . The live audio webcasts and presentation slides (where applicable) for each of these events will be accessible via WESCO's Investor Relations website, www.wesco.investorroom.com. The link to the webcast replay as well as the presentation slides will be posted in the Webcasts & Presentations section of WESCO's Investor Relations website. About WESCO WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC), a publicly traded Fortune 500 holding company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a leading provider of electrical, industrial, and communications maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) products, construction materials, and advanced supply chain management and logistic services. 2017 annual sales were approximately $7.7 billion. The company employs approximately 9,100 people, maintains relationships with over 26,000 suppliers, and serves approximately 70,000 active customers worldwide. Customers include commercial and industrial businesses, contractors, government agencies, institutions, telecommunications providers, and utilities. WESCO operates 10 fully automated distribution centers and approximately 500 full-service branches in North America and international markets, providing a local presence for customers and a global network to serve multi-location businesses and multi-national corporations. The matters discussed herein may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Certain of these risks are set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, as well as the Company's other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SOURCE WESCO International, Inc. Related Links http://www.wesco.com HOD HASHARON, Israel, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wize Pharma, Inc. (OTCQB: WIZP), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of ophthalmic disorders, announced today that at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2018 Annual Meeting on May 2, 2018 in Honolulu, Hawaii, new data was reported on a formula known as LO2A, a product that Wize has in-licensed certain rights to purchase, market, sell and distribute. The poster presentation titled, "The anti-inflammatory effect of isotonic glycerol in Sjogren's syndrome-related dry eye" was delivered by Dr. Huba J. Kiss and presented findings from a study conducted by him at the Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis University, in Budapest, Hungary. "Based on this study, data shows that using LO2A resulted in a significant improvement of the subjective and objective symptoms of the Sjogren's syndrome-related dry eye disease. This data supports our development efforts for LO2A in multiple markets including Israel where we are currently enrolling patients in a randomized, double-masked Phase IV study in this indication. LO2A is already approved in the Netherlands for this indication," stated Wize's Chairman, Ron Mayron. LO2A resulted in a significant improvement of the subjective and objective symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome-related dry eye disease in this study and importantly LO2A did so without the need for anti-inflammatory agents. Based on in vitro experiments, isotonic glycerol-induced decrease of HLA-DR expression may be responsible for this favourable effect. The data showed that a three-month long use of LO2A resulted in a decrease of the lid parallel conjunctival folds (LIPCOF) degree from the initial 2.480.75 on the right eye and 2.570.75 on the left eye to 1.330.73 and 1.380.67, respectively. P values for both the right and left eye were <0.001. Initial lissamine green staining of the eye surface also decreased significantly, with a P value of 0.001 for both the right and left eye from 1.760.89 and 1.950.86 to 0.290.56 and 0.290.56, respectively. There was a significant decrease, with a P value of <0.001, in the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) values from 55.8115.19 to 32.5419.51. Tear secretion did not change significantly, with a P value of 0.38 for the right eye and a P value of 0.45 for the left. 21 patients were enrolled in this prospective, unmasked, self-controlled study. About Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) and Sjogren's Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) is caused by the reduced production and/or improper quality of tear film. One of the causes of reduced tear production is Sjogren's, a chronic autoimmune disease that is estimated to affect up to 4 million people in the U.S. In patients with DES and Sjogren's, the absence of adequate tear production disrupts the normal function of the tear film in protecting the surface of the eye, resulting in increased friction that damages the integrity of the corneal and conjunctival surface About Wize Wize Pharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company currently focused on the treatment of ophthalmic disorders, including DES. Wize has in-licensed certain rights to purchase, market, sell and distribute a formula known as LO2A, a drug developed for the treatment of DES, and other ophthalmological illnesses, including conjunctivochalasis (CCH) and Sjogren's syndrome in the United States, Israel, Ukraine, China and have an option to purchase the rights to additional territories. Wize is currently conducting a Phase II trial of LO2A for patients with CCH and a Phase IV study of LO2A for patients with Sjogren's. LO2A is currently registered and marketed by its inventor in Germany and Switzerland for the treatment of DES, in Hungary for the treatment of DES and CCH and in the Netherlands for the treatment of DES and Sjogren's. Wize's strategy involves engaging local or multinational distributors to handle the distribution of LO2A. Forward Looking Statements Wize cautions you that statements in this press release that are not a description of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words referencing future events or circumstances such as "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," and "will," among others. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Wize's current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks related to the substantial debt that we have incurred; our needs for additional financing; our dependence on a single compound, LO2A and on the continuation of our license to commercialize LO2A; our inability to expand our rights under our license of LO2A; the initiation, timing, progress and results of our trials and product candidate development efforts; our ability to advance LO2A into clinical trials or to successfully complete our preclinical studies or clinical trials; our receipt of regulatory approvals for LO2A, and the timing of other regulatory filings and approvals; the clinical development, commercialization and market acceptance of LO2A; our ability to establish and maintain corporate collaborations; the implementation of our business model and strategic plans for our business and product candidates; the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering LO2A and our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; estimates of our expenses, future revenues, and capital requirements; competitive companies, technologies and our industry; and statements as to the impact of the political and security situation in Israel on our business. More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting Wize is contained under the heading "Risk Factors" included in Wize's Registration Statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on May 10, 2018, and in other filings that Wize has made and may make with the SEC in the future. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. Wize does not undertake any obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as may be required by law. For all investor enquiries, please contact: Noam Danenberg Chief Operating Officer +972-72-260-0536 [email protected] SOURCE Wize Pharma, Inc. IHG has signed a deal with Barnes Capital to open a striking Holiday Inn in Coburg, Melbournes up-and-coming northern suburb, in 2020. Holiday Inn Melbourne Coburg will enjoy views. It will feature a gym and large meeting facilities, as well as a bar and all-day dining. The 150-room new build hotel will show off a bold, new design statement for Holiday Inn, created by architects Hachem, with its mirrored glass design destined to become a landmark in the heart of Coburg, 20 minutes to Tullamarine. Holiday Inn Melbourne Coburg complements the 16 Holiday Inn hotels already open across Australasia. It is the IHGs second Holiday Inn signing in a week, and the latest in a string of signings including Sydney Central, Melbourne Werribee and Geelong. IHG currently has 47 hotels operating under four brands in Australasia, including: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, with another 17 in the pipeline, including Hotel Indigo Brisbane Fortitude Valley and Hotel Indigo Melbourne Docklands. Fitzroys Chris James and David Bourke have just sold 171-173 High Street for $4.175 million under the hammer, on behalf of private vendors that had owned the site for over 50 years. Owner occupiers and local and offshore investors competed at auction that was won by a local investor. The sale price reflected a 3.9% yield and land rate of around $14,752 per sqm. Six months ago, James and Bourke sold a Commercial 1-zoned 526 sqm concrete yard at nearby 226-232 High Street for $4.5 million to a local developer in an off-market deal. The 283 sqm site at 171-173 High Street comprises a double-storey 332 sqm building with two ground-floor retail spaces tenanted by ASX-listed Flight Centre and Onyx homewares shop, and a first-floor residence above. It returns $164,000 per annum plus outgoings from multiple income streams. James said the property is in the prime section of the High Street, Kew commercial precinct, at the junction of Cotham Road, and with an ASX-listed tenant tenants attracted more than 100 enquiries throughout the campaign. Bourke said the purchaser jumped at the primely positioned value-add opportunity in one of Melbournes most prestigious suburbs. The property backs onto Athaneum Place, the brick lane connecting Brougham and Walpole streets, which the City of Boroondara has been revitalising to enhance the amenity of the adjacent Kew Junction Shopping Centre with a contemporary and vibrant public space, he said. The new owner, a local investor, will look to activate the area at the rear of the property with a retail offering fronting the improved Athaneum Place. Dedicated to the Restoration of Progressive Democracy Designer and ethical pie bakery Princes Pies has secured 10 Howey Place in Melbournes CBD. Fitzroys Agency agent Ervin Niyaz negotiated the five-year deal with a five-year option. It is for the 22 square metre space at more than $2,300 per square metre. Princes Pies is operated by Matti Fallon, former head chef at DuNord and friend Nathan Holloway. Accompanying Matti will be a monthly rotating roster of renowned Melbourne chefs that will share a new take on the Aussie pie, including Nick Stanton of Ramblr, Daniel Dobra of St Ali, and Tom Jacobson of Changz. The shop will showcase classic pie flavours, pasties and sausage rolls, as well as pie styles aimed at foodies that include lamb, goats cheese and truffle pies. The business teamed up with an ethical farming family in Victorias Coldstream, the Little Creek Cattle Company, ensuring that the ingredients used as 100% natural and ethically farmed, and grown and sources from local providers. Niyaz said Princes Pies was looking to establish its business in a classic busy Melbourne CBD laneway space. The high level of pedestrian traffic in Howey Place is boosted further by position between Collins Street and Little Collins Street, at the rear of David Jones and 234 Collins Street Retail Centre, he said. The former Australia Post boss Ahmed Fahour has $40 million to $44 million hopes for the Hawthorn trophy home, Invergowrie. Fahour bought it off-market with wife Dionnie in 2013 for $22 million, when he was Australias highest-paid public servant. The Victorian record remains unchallenged as it sits at around $52.5 million for the Stonington mansion in Malvern. Its June 19 expressions of interest public marketing has surprised industry players since most record setters sell off-market or at private boardroom auctions. Its marketing was launched on the listing agent's instragram. Fahour, now executive chairman of packaging group Pro-Pac, had renovated the historic home that sits on a 1.11 hecatre block, having lodged $4.5 million renovation plans. Its features a five-bedroom main home, plus a three-bedroom brick house, a bluestone two-bedroom cottage and an old bluestone hall that can be used as a garage, gym or studio. He reinstated a tennis court. The property, once known as Burwood, features a working bell tower and a billiards room. Fahour is downsizing after recently buying a $16 million mansion in Kinkora Road, Hawthorn. Despite the negativity surrounding some aspects of the property market at the moment, I dont think theres been a better time in the history of Melbourne real estate to sell a prestige or trophy home, listing agent Marcus Chiminello told The Australian. It last traded when sold by Peter Hill, the skateboarding Globe International co-founder and his wife, Angela. The colonial-gothic style mansion on Coppin Grove home - once a finishing school for the city's young ladies - previously traded at $10.75 million in 2002. The first president of the Legislative Assembly, Sir James Palmer, began building the estate in 1846. He had been the Mayor of Melbourne in 1845. Invergowrie (pictured below) is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. At one time it was owned by theatrical entrepreneur George Coppin, who is said to have tried to demolish it. The building was saved when businessman Sir William McPherson bought it. Sir William (pictured below) rose to political heights as premier of Victoria in 1928. On his death, the property was handed over to the Association of Headmistresses of Independent Schools when it became the Invergowrie Homecraft Hostel and was later headquarters of the Victorian Post Secondary Education Commission. It was bought by the Coogi knitwear entrepreneur Jacky Taranto in 1992 for $2.7 million who sold in 2002 to the Hills. Chiminello said the vendor wanted to ensure the estate would be properly maintained and cared for. They dont want it to be handed over to someone who will leave it vacant for 10 months of the year. Images courtesy of the State Library of Victoria and The Invergowrie Foundation. Perth real estate agent Brian McKiernan has joined the national real estate network @realty. McKiernan is the former operations manager and national recruitment manager of Sell Lease Property, which was acquired in December 2017 by The Agency Group. At the time of acquisition, Sell Lease Property had 210 agents nationally and a revenue of $8.1 million. McKiernan said he made the move to @realty, which has recruited more than 500 agents nationwide over the past four years, to continue to operate independently with the support of an administrative team. "The Perth market is in a recovery phase - it's no secret that we are not in stride with the East Coast - and that's why it's even more crucial than ever to choose an agent who understands the local market and takes a tailored approach for each listing. "Having said that, there is plenty to be optimistic about, with the economy improving and projected population growth looking solid, paving the way for growth in the market over the coming years." @realty director JJ Taylor says it's a coup to have experienced agents like Mr McKiernan on board. "Our 500 agents have an average 9.6 years of experience, which shows that we are attracting some of the best in the industry," he said. "We offer commissions of 93 per cent compared to the industry average of 45 per cent, so there is a real incentive for our agents to work to their potential and to collaborate with other agents where necessary to get a faster result for the client. "We also offer hundreds of hours of training and workshops, free of charge, to our agents each year to allow them to upskill and keep pace with the latest skills and techniques required to perform at the top level in the fast paced industry." Purple Bricks and agency groups like them are not proper agents as their television ads claim, industry leader Hayden Groves has claimed. "They are not properly negotiating the sale on behalf of the seller, taking on the risks nor managing the sale through to settlement because theres no incentive for them to do so," he blogged this week. "Theyre not using ACCC approved contract documents either and if you want to use your own settlement agent, youre forced to pay extra. "Thats just weird," the Freemantle-based agent suggested on a blog which appeared on the REIA-funded website, the Real Conversation. It renewed the campaign by the Deputy President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia who had previously attacked pseudo agent models. Groves pointed out that proper agents are incentivised through the payment of a commission at settlement which ensures they work for their client from beginning to end to procure the best result possible. "That is our responsibility by law." Appropriately, an agent that fails to complete their task doesnt get paid, he said. "Comparatively, Purple Bricks charge no commissions but incentivises their agents to list your property for about $5,000 (including advertising), then effectively youre on your own unless you pay for extras. The REIWA governing council re-elected Hayden Groves as the Perth institutes president last October. Groves claims WA Purple Bricks agents are not employees of the parent company and therefore must hold their own agent license. He suggested of the 90 registered Purple Bricks participants in WA, "only three hold a license (sic) that enables them to act on a behalf of a seller; with the remainder (if not employees) breaking State laws." He pointed out Purple Bricks has fallen fowl of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in Queensland for alleged breaches of the Australian Consumer Law and Property Occupations Act (Qld 2004). Queenslands regulator claim consumers were misled by Purple Bricks about additional services offered by them, despite the agency advertising low, fixed fees for their services when selling property. "Purple Bricks also failed to fulfill some of it's regulatory obligations around properly accounting for funds held in trust and some other technicalities that proper agents need to comply with." The world's largest property owner Blackstone is selling its Top Ryde shopping centre. Bought from receivers five years ago for $341 million, the private equity group has spent about $90 million on the Top Ryde complex. Located 12 kilometres from the Sydney CBD, the centre includes a Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Kmart, Big W, Harris Scarfe, Event Cinemas, 20 mini majors, 200 specialties and kiosks, and parking for 2925 cars. Its total shopping area space is 76,958 square metres. Recent comparable shopping centre deals include AMP's purchase of Indooroopilly in Brisbane for $800 million and GPT's unlisted fund's $680 million purchase of a 25 per cent share in Highpoint, Melbourne. Both deals reflected sales prices of about 4.25 per cent. The Australian Financial Review suggests Top Ryde was likely to sell for about $700 million, a yield of about 5 per cent. The shopping centre was valued at $840 million in 2008, Property Observer noted on its last sale. Mel-O Africa Limited, a honey producer in Sierra Leone, announced today that Tim Harder has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer by founders Curt and Darcy Riess. Previously, Tim Harder was Vice President at Sweet Harvest Foods, one of the largest honey companies in the United States. Founder Curt Riess commented, Mel-O Africa Limited is excited to share the appointment of Tim Harder as CEO. Under his leadership, Mel-O Africa Limited will continue its growth and expansion within Sierra Leone. Both Tim and his wife Pauline are dedicated to the vision for Mel-O Africa Limited and will be moving to Sierra Leone full time late this spring to continue to build out this important poverty uplift endeavor. Pauline is temporarily giving up her special education career to volunteer in helping Mel-O Africas initiative to promote opportunity for women. We wish Tim and Pauline our best hopes and wishes during this journey and pray for Gods guidance and safety for them and for all our African Families and partners involved in this journey, adds founder Darcy Riess. According to Tim Harder, It is an honor and privilege to have this opportunity. The excitement of leading a startup and growth stage organization in an international market is a rare opportunity. While Mel-O Africa Limited is a for-profit company, the ability to experience first-hand the drastic quality of life improvements of thousands of Sierra Leonean citizens provides an extra motivation to be successful. Mel-O Africa Limited is supported through multiple partnerships, including General Mills, Sweet Harvest Foods and Partners in Food Solutions. General Mills currently purchases Mel-O Africa honey and uses it in products such as Honey Nut Cheerios and Nature Valley granola bars. The company continues to support its environmental and social sustainability efforts. Sweet Harvest Foods is a financial supporter and continues to support all aspects of Mel-O Africa Limited. Partners in Food Solutions, a non-profit that focuses on cultivating sustainable African food industries, has also offered future assistance as Mel-O Africa Limited continues to grow. About Mel-O Africa Limited Mel-O Africa Limited is a Sierra Leone for-profit company that believes doing good is good business. Starting in 2013, Mel-O Africa has recruited, developed, and trained more than 5,000 bee keepers in Sierra Leone along with creating 25 jobs resulting in over 20,000 people positively economically impacted. Recognizing that Sierra Leone is one of the poorest nations in the world, combined with the expansive floral source available, founders Curt and Darcy Riess selected Sierra Leone to start Mel-O Africa Limited. Through this market creation the subsistence farmers of Sierra Leone have been offered an opportunity to improve the lives of their families and communities. Mel-O Africa and its small holder farmers created an apiculture industry in Sierra Leone, which previously had not existed. For the first time in this small countrys history, Sierra Leone honey counts as an exported agricultural product. In brief, it may not be possible to return to the Golden Age of 1945-1970 but it is possible to avoid the dystopian future that we face if we do nothing. Many observers have been voicing growing uneasiness about the degradation in the conditions facing Americas working and middle classes in the past few decades. To what degree are stagnating wages, decreasing prospects for mobility and the hollowing out of the middle class attributable to immigration? More importantly, what can we do to halt the worsening of the condition of the countrys workers? According to a new research paper released by Negative Population Growth, the answer to those important questions will be largely determined by how successful our nation is in making critical changes to current immigration policies in the near future. The NPG Forum Paper, Immigration, Population and the Labor Market: Toward a Fair System for American Workers is authored by respected Boston-based consultant John Thompson. The paper focuses on immigration, human capital and economic development in the United States, especially in the mid-20th century when the corporate sector thrived, prosperity was broadly shared, and labor unions were powerful and how all of those pluses spun out of control in recent decades. Thompson cites major changes in immigration policies in the mid-60s as being the major catalyst for dramatic change, which as he notes, originally promised few changes at all. He states: The present system of immigration, which was introduced in 1965, was not envisaged as a return to high immigration but as a limited correction of perceived unfairness in the system of national quotas. The laws proponents assured legislators and voters that 1) overall immigration would remain steady, 2) no surge of immigration from nontraditional regions or of unskilled persons would take place and 3) the countrys ethnic composition would not be affected. All these assurances have been proven wrong. He continues: Quantitatively, the law has resulted in a surge in immigration far beyond anything foreseen in 1965, when less than 200,000 persons were entering the country each year. Even considering that the population has risen 50%, immigration would still only be 300,000 annually if it had risen in proportion to population rather than over 1 million as it is. In his paper, Thompson presents an array of demographic and wage information and notes: Since 1970, the American economy has been transformed from an economy with rising productivity, substantial social mobility and the highest wages in the world to the present situation in which the labor market is segmented into 1) an elastic supply of low-skilled immigrants who mostly do menial jobs, 2) a cadre of skilled workers who do fairly well under the system and 3) a marginalized group of medium to low-skilled natives with stagnating wages and diminished prospects for mobility. However, he adds: It would plainly be an exaggeration to place all of the blame for the degradation of the labor markets on immigration or to portray the present globalized economy in entirely negative termsEven in the absence of immigration, structural changes in the global economy would probably have worked against low to medium skilled workers. Whats to come? In looking to the future, Thompson stresses that After surging in the 1990s illegal migration dropped sharply after 2007. With minimal political resolve it should be feasible to maintain control of the border. However, the same coalition that supports higher legal immigration has also blocked enforcement of immigration laws. It is not inconceivable that if the present momentum of reform stalls, enforcement will also slacken. If global population trends unfold as forecast, hundreds of millions of persons from Africa and the Middle East are likely to try to enter the country as unlawful migrants or as refugees or asylum seekers. Thompsons assessment of the economic and social impact of lax immigration policies fits right in with NPGs goal to slow, halt, and eventually reverse Americas population growth. He concludes: The solution is simple: 1) reduce immigration to the point that it makes no net contribution to population growth and 2) select immigrants who are less burdensome. A merit-based system as in the Raise Act, which is currently before Congress, is plainly a step in the right direction. However, it is not clear why the country has any interest in accepting large numbers even of better-skilled immigrants. A reasonable objective would be zero net migration, i.e., the number of immigrants should be equal to those who leave the country. Future immigrants should consist mostly of children or spouses of citizens, with a small residual reserved for individuals of extremely high actual or potential accomplishment. At the end of his paper Thompson states: In brief, it may not be possible to return to the Golden Age of 1945-1970 but it is possible to avoid the dystopian future that we face if we do nothing. Founded in 1972, NPG is a national nonprofit membership organization dedicated to educating the American public and political leaders regarding the damaging effects of population growth. We believe that our nation is already vastly overpopulated in terms of the long-range carrying capacity of its resources and environment. NPG advocates the adoption of its Proposed National Population Policy, with the goal of eventually stabilizing U.S. population at a sustainable level far lower than todays. We do not simply identify the problems we propose solutions. For more information, visit our website at http://www.NPG.org, follow us on Facebook @NegativePopulationGrowth or follow us on Twitter @npg_org. 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. The diversity of trips and programming throughout the weekend means there is a chance for everyone whatever your age or experience level to learn about the wonders of birds and birding. Outdoor retailer L.L.Bean is partnering with Maine Audubon this weekend to host their fourth annual Birding Festival, May 25-27. The event will feature educational presentations on birds and bats, as well as guided birding walks in diverse ecosystems from Freeport to Mohegan Island. The featured speaker will be David Allen Sibley, author of The Sibley Guide to Birds, the fastest selling bird book in history, used by millions of birders from novices to experts. Sibley will speak on the psychology of bird identification at the L.L.Bean Flagship store on Saturday, May 26 at 6:00 p.m. Using photos, drawings, and tests, Sibley will demonstrate how human perception of the world around us both helps and hinders bird identification. Festival participants of all ages can take part in birding activities on the L.L.Bean Freeport campus all weekend, as well as venture out to nearby woods and waters with experts from Maine Audubon and L.L.Bean Outdoor Discovery Programs. "Maine Audubon is all about connecting people to nature," said Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox. "Every year, the Birding Festival is an excellent opportunity to do exactly that. The diversity of trips and programming throughout the weekend means there is a chance for everyone whatever your age or experience level to learn about the wonders of birds and birding." A full schedule of events and activities is online at http://www.llbean.com/birding About L.L.Bean, Inc. L.L.Bean, Inc. is a leading multichannel merchant of quality outdoor gear and apparel. Founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean, the company began as a one-room operation selling a single product, the Maine Hunting Shoe. Still family owned, Shawn Gorman, great grandson of Leon Leonwood Bean, was named Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2013. While its business has grown over the years, L.L.Bean continues to uphold the values of its founder, including his dedication to quality, customer service and a love of the outdoors. In the past five years, L.L.Bean has donated over $6 million toward conservation and land stewardship. L.L.Bean currently operates 39 stores in 17 states across the United States, along with 25 stores in Japan. The 220,000-sq. ft. L.L.Bean retail store campus in Freeport, ME, is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and welcomes more than 3 million visitors every year. L.L.Bean can be found worldwide at http://www.llbean.com, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram. About Maine Audubon Maine Audubon is building a community of people who understand that when Maines wildlife thrives, Maine thrives. Since 1843, we have been connecting people to nature through a science-based approach to conservation, education, and advocacy. The states largest wildlife conservation organization, Maine Audubon has seven chapters, eight wildlife sanctuaries, 10,000 members, and serves over 50,000 people annually. maineaudubon.org 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. Random Houses Crown Books for Young Readers imprint has announced plans to publish an anthology of personal essays, articles, and photographs by and about students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., the site of a school shooting in February that sparked a student-led movement advocating for gun control. We Say #NeverAgain: Reporting from the School That Inspired the Nation will be edited by MSD journalism and broadcasting teachers Melissa Falkowski and Eric Garner. The book will be released on October 2, 2018. Divided into three sectionsActivism, MSD Strong, and What Comes Nextthe collection will provide first-person accounts of the students experiences with trauma and learning to harness their voices for social activism. The book will feature contributions by MSD students, including Ryan Deitsch, David Hogg, Christy Ma, Nikhita Nikoola, Delaney Tarr, and members of the school newspaper, The Eagle Eye, and the school TV station, WMSD. Emily Easton, v-p and publisher at Crown, acquired North American rights from Rachel Horowitz at the Bent Agency and will edit. An audio edition will be released simultaneously by Listening Library. Falkowski said in a statement, Writing this book is empowering the journalism students at MSD to capture their experiences, both positive and negative, since the tragic events that unfolded at our school on February 14. We hope that writing these stories will inspire others to take up issues that are important to them and work toward positive change. Random House Childrens will make a donation to MSD in honor of the publication, and proceeds from the book will be donated by the contributors to the schools journalism programs. Led by author Chris Crutcher and a group of South Florida writers, MSD also recently launched a literary festival aimed at bringing the community together in the aftermath of the shooting. Published on: 21 May 2018 Dr Mar Encinas-Puente, Professor John London, His Excellency the Ambassador Jose Castillo Barrantes and Vice-Principal (International), Professor Colin Grant Dr Mar Encinas-Puente, Professor John London, His Excellency the Ambassador Jose Castillo Barrantes and Vice-Principal (International), Professor Colin Grant The event, which was hosted by Queen Marys School of Languages Linguistics and Film, was attended by language students at the university and secondary school students from four partner schools. Language is accessing another world Professor Colin Grant, Vice-Principal (International) at Queen Mary, introduced the afternoon with a talk that focused on why language has proved fundamental for his career. He said: Language is accessing another reality, society, culture and set of beliefs, and being able to translate across different beliefs and values is an incredible asset to any career. He encouraged the audience to "keep an open spirit" because learning languages "will translate in a metaphorical and literal sense across cultures and set you in a very good stance to be citizens and leaders of the world. His Excellency Jose Enrique Castillo Barrantes gave a speech that highlighted the importance of languages in culture, business and politics, and he urged the secondary school pupils to continue with their language learning. He also spoke about his background and outlined possible career paths for the Queen Mary languages students. Wherever you go, language is the key to understanding that country and its culture; it is the tool to express that culture, Mr Barrantes said. Lucia Rafferty, who now teaches languages at Stewards Academy in Harlow and graduated from Queen Mary with a degree in Hispanic Studies in 2014, also gave a brief talk about her time at Queen Mary and year abroad in Madrid, which formed part of her studies. She said: Studying a language has connected me to people from many different walks of life. I deeply admired the knowledge and passion of my teachers at Queen Mary, and I always felt fully supported during my year abroad. My degree also gave me a solid understanding of a variety of subjects that I wouldnt have even thought about before going to university. I hope that, one day, you can enjoy these experiences too. Following the talk, SLLF students and pupils danced to Latin music played by a live band. Mr Barrantes joined students and staff in a festive celebration of the end of the academic year. Ms Rafferty commented on the day: "The whole day was well organised and planned, and our careers advisor commented that he had never been on a trip where everyone was so friendly. The atmosphere of the whole day was superb." Americas Strategy Queen Mary currently has seven students enrolled from Costa Rica, the majority of whom are undertaking postgraduate taught degrees. Between 2015 and 2017, the university co-authored 12 publications with the Universidad de Costa Rica. Key research areas included medicine, genetics, immunology, microbiology and environmental science. The previous President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, visited Queen Mary in 2016 to learn more about its Life Sciences Initiative. Last month, academics from Queen Marys School of Law visited Latin America, as part of the universitys plans to develop its emerging Americas Strategy. The Strategy will involve increased engagement with alumni, higher education institutions, industry and policy-makers. Queen Marys School of Languages Linguistics and Film was ranked first in the United Kingdom with 100 per cent Overall Student Satisfaction for Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan at Queen Mary (National Student Survey, 2017). More information Globos unit Gloob has reached its first distribution agreement in Latin America with the sale of two animation titles to Uruguays TV Ciudad. Following the agreement between Globos kids content unit and Montevideos free-to-air signal, the series S.O.S. Hada Manu and Hora del Rock will start airing immediately on TV Ciudad.Latin America is special for us and we believe our products will be able to resonate in Spanish-language networks due to our cultural proximity, said Paula Taborda dos Guaranys, director, content and programming, for Gloob and Gloobinho networks.The shows are 26-episode each and have been dubbed into Spanish for the Uruguayan broadcast.The agreement with Gloob is the most significant of the last years and will allow us to consolidate the networks kids line-up Paseo Animado, said Federico Dalmaud, head of the public, FTA channel. Its an honour that Gloob has chosen TV Ciudad to start growing in the Latin American market. Read the full memo here. Introduction: Although the United States is withdrawing from the nuclear deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) retains both the right and the obligation to ensure the peaceful nature of Irans nuclear program. The Agencys responsibilities derive from United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 and from Irans Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA). All parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) must have a CSA with the IAEA. In other words, regardless of the results of Washingtons decision, Iran has a binding legal obligation to grant the IAEA access to all relevant sites, materials, equipment, documents, and personnel to resolve outstanding questions about the military dimensions of Irans past nuclear activities. While the IAEA has long been in possession of evidence that Iran once pursued a nuclear weapons capability, the cache of documents removed from a Tehran warehouse by Israels Mossad reportedly proves that the scope of Irans weaponization program was likely far greater than previously suspected. The fact that the regime in Tehran maintained this archive also indicates that Iran sought to preserve its ability to weaponize in the future. Pursuant to its mandate, it is now the IAEAs obligation to investigate fully the personnel, sites, equipment, and activities described by the archival materials, even if this requires inspections at military sites. For its part, Iran must comply fully with the Agencys investigation, lest it breach the NPT safeguards obligations. An additional excerpt from the FDD research memo follows: "Unquestionably, the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA has generated substantial tension between the U.S. and the EU-3, whose partnership is essential to creating a permanent solution to concerns about Irans nuclear program, not to mention to defending the broader nuclear nonproliferation regime. But rather than viewing the exposure of Tehrans atomic archive as a source of transatlantic discord, the U.S. and its European partners should approach it as a potential basis for building a new consensus. The path toward that consensus goes through the IAEA board of governors, where the U.S. and the EU-3 are all represented. Together, they should ensure that the IAEA secretariat carries out the Agencys obligations under the NPT and CSA, even if there is a risk of discovering Iranian non-compliance." Read the full memo here. Dr. Olli Heinonen is a senior advisor on science and nonproliferation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is the former deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and head of its Department of Safeguards. BG (Res.) Professor Jacob Nagel is the Former Israeli acting National Security Advisor and a visiting fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. This article appeared originally at Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Despite evidence of belated second thoughts by the principal players (see here and here), a summit meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim Jonga??un is still likely to occur in Singapore on 12 June. In a recent column for the New York Times, David Sanger outlined the US administrations super-sized expectations: that Kim will agree on denuclearisation, and accept a schedule that would see some number of nuclear weapons handed over during the following six months, while American inspectors would enjoy virtually unlimited access to oversee the closure and dismantlement of key North Korean production facilities. But Pyongyangs hostile reaction last week to talk of the Libyan model suggests that if Kim Jonga??un believes in North Korean denuclearization at all, its only on the never-never plan. He might well entertain his own inflated expectations. North Korea has long fancied a version of the USIndia nuclear deal for itself: one that recognises and accepts North Korea as a legitimate nuclear state; enmeshes the country in broader patterns of economic growth; and dilutes the security threat posed to the North by the presence of US forces in Northeast Asia. So what should we expect the summit to deliver? Some things are relatively clear: a summit that produces merely a statement of principles wont cut the mustard. Been there, done thatsee the joint declaration of principles agreed during the Sixa??Party Talks in September 2005. Writing it out again would be a waste of time, paper and ink. Similarly, an outcome that pushes all the big decisions down the track, and depends upon the long-winded meetings of factotums, would also be seen as a failurenot least because Trump has cast both himself and Kim as history makers, not as meeting convenors. True, the natural order of things has been inverted here, because successful summits usually followand are the products ofthe heavy lifting of numberless sherpas. Obviously in this case a successful summit would need to set in train a program of engagement and activity, but Trump and Kim would probably both want to be associated with a grander outcome than a call for sherpas to gather. So, not just a statement of principles, and not just a program of future meetings. Nor can it be a summit that merely rubberstamps actions already undertaken, such as the closure of the North Korean nuclear test site at Punggye-ri. Closing the site is a useful indicator of intent, but reversible. Some evidence suggests the North Koreans might be prepared to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, but I suspect theyd want a joint commitment from Washington to do the sameand that proposal would probably die in the US Senate. Then, of course, there are the tests that most commentators will apply to determine whether or not Kim is serious about restraining his nuclear program. For Washington, an outcome that doesnt bear down on the threat to the US homeland (from North Koreas Hwasonga??14 and Hwasonga??15 ICBMs) wont be acceptable. North Korea might not, in the first instance, have to surrender the missiles themselvesbut probably would have to surrender (in that elliptical phraseology) some number of guidance systems. Thermonuclear warheads might well fall in the same category. Complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation is clearly a bridge too far for Pyongyang, but the Americans will wantinitiallyto corral the North Korean program to the level of threat it posed in 2016, when it had a limited-yield fission warhead and no proven long-range ballistic missile capabilities. Washington has also got to be looking for a way of turning off the tap: stopping the production of fissile materials (plutonium and highly enriched uranium) and the manufacture of a range of different ballistic missiles. It may take some time to determine Pyongyangs existing fissile material and missile inventories, but a key priority will be to halt further growth in those inventories. Stopping plutonium production would be especially valuable because plutonium is a more energetic material than enriched uranium. On the missile side, the Americans are probably hoping to see a near-term dismantlement of the ICBM factory. Further down the track, theyre probably keen to see North Korea return to far more limited ballistic-missile capabilitiesthough Im wary of using the phrase the Libyan model, that models endorsement of Missile Technology Control Regime thresholds as an acceptable missile constraint might also apply here. Thats a huge agenda. How much of it will actually form part of a summit outcome? Probably less than wed hope. And even if all of it is on offer, it might well be at a priceUS withdrawal from the peninsula?that not all in Washington would be willing to pay (though Trump himself might be). Still, just as Goldilocks eventually found a bowl of porridge that was neither too hot nor too cold, we should anticipate a deal in Singaporeone that erases some of North Koreas recent gains in exchange for various rewards. Much less likely is the prospect of a grand bargain that shapes the future strategic environment in Northeast Asia. Neither side seems quite ready for that. Of course, its not quite as simple as finding a wina??win solution for Trump and Kim. Any deal is likely to touch on the interests of all parties to the Six-Party Talksso we can expect all of them to be leaning on Washington and Pyongyang to find a win-win-win-win-win-win solution. Thats a burden neither Trump nor Kim will be keen to embrace. On this day in 1936, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini gave a speech in Milan celebrating a new treaty of friendship with Germany and a political realignment of Italy. This Berlin-Rome protocol is not a barrier, it is rather an axis around which all European States animated by a desire for peace may collaborate on troubles, he said to a crowd of 250,000, flanked by a squad of Nazi officials. A transcription of his speech appeared in The New York Times the following day, along with a front page commentary that highlighted the axis comment. That particular speech was important not just for introducing the term axis, but because it indicated a profound shift in Italy's alignments in Europe. During World War I, Italy had been part of the AlliesBritain, France and Russiaand fought Austria-Hungary along its border. But in 1935, a decade into Mussolini's stint as dictator, he invaded the east African kingdom of Abyssinia, present day Ethiopia. It was an attempt to show his muscle and turn Italy into an empire. The Italians quickly conquered Ethiopia, but the power grab had consequences. The League of Nations, the world body created in the wake of WWI, condemned the invasion and placed economic sanctions on Italy. The British were especially displeased because they considered East Africa their sphere of influence. Update, May 29, 2018: Eric Greitens, the embattled Republican Missouri governor facing a sexual misconduct scandal and allegations of misuse of a charity donor list, has announced he will resign this week. - Fox News Eric Greitens was a novice political outsider when he won the Missouri governors race in November 2016, vowing to show the Show Me State a drained swamp. But even in his first year in office, Republican strategists and insiders were sizing up the former Navy SEAL as a future presidential contender. Eighteen months earlier, Greitens hadnt even been a Republican. And today, 18 months later, its unclear whether hell even finish his first term in office. In February a grand jury in St. Louis indicted Greitens on a felony charge of invasion of privacy. The charge stemmed from a compromising nude photo he allegedly took and transmitted of a woman with whom he had an affair in 2015. The governors trial was to begin May 14, but the prosecutor abruptly dropped the charge on that day and the case was dismissed. Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley, right, looking to a campaign against Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, left, has called on the Governor to resign. Despite this turn of events, Greitens still faces possible impeachment later this year by a state legislature overwhelmingly controlled by his own party. Accusations against Greitens including stealing a donor list from a charity he founded may or may not prove to be true. But what is already undeniable is that the governor has made enough enemies in his short time in office that the very establishment he pledged to confront has come for him with a vengeance. Attorney General Josh Hawley, for example, who wants to be the GOP nominee to contest Democrat Claire McCaskills Senate seat, has now called on Greitens to resign, after allying with the governor on key reforms last year. At this populist moment, when President Trump and his supporters complain about a rigged system that mostly serves the interests of those in power, the governors backers believe that whatever his personal flaws, Greitens is an illustration of how the status quo can punish reform-minded outsiders. He made the rookie mistake, they say, of attacking a sacred cow of both Democrats and Republicans. Greitens won the governors race by six percentage points the same night that Trump carried Missouri by nearly 20. A Missouri native, Greitens was new to politics and to the GOP. He publicly broke with the Democratic Party only in July 2015. Three months later, he announced his campaign for governor. On election night, then, one might have forgiven Republicans inclined to question his conservatism. But since taking office he has dispelled such doubts. He signed legislation making Missouri a right-to-work state, limiting unions ability to compel membership; ushered through tort reform to reduce large court damage awards; and pushed for choice in public education. And in December Greitens perhaps fatefully succeeded in shutting down, for this year at least, Missouris Low-Income Housing Tax Credit system. The governors allies firmly believe this was his real crime in the eyes of his adversaries. This and other tax credits have long been a red line for Missouri legislators, one that has allowed them to subvert the will of another group of outsiders the voters. Greitens navigates a SWAT obstacle course last year, and reminds Missourians of his Navy SEAL background. Back in 1980, at the start of the Reagan revolution, voters approved a constitutional amendment limiting state government spending to 5.6395 percent of the personal income of Missourians. But there was a loophole: Tax credits outside the appropriations process are excluded from the definition of total state revenue. So lawmakers discovered that the way to exceed the cap was to structure additional spending as tax credits to compensate developers, contractors and investors, not as checks doled out directly. Missouri had 63 such tax credit programs as of 2017, but the seven biggest account for more than three-quarters of the credits redeemed in recent years. In fiscal year 2016, the low-income housing credit alone accounted for 30 percent of credits redeemed. It also represents about 72 percent of outstanding creditsnearly $828 million worth. These are credits that have been issued but not yet redeemed, and whose redemption is to some extent at the discretion of the holder of the credit. Another $476 million in credits have been obligated to projects, but not yet issued. The low-income housing credit is easily the largest tax-credit program in Missouri, with its own powerful constituency. On a per capita basis its the largest state low-income housing program in the country. And its hugely inefficient. In 2017 the state auditor estimated that every dollar spent on the low-income housing credit produced just 12 cents of benefit to the state. Whats more, just $[0].42 of every credit dollar actually [goes] toward low income housing projects. The rest, according the auditors latest report, goes to investors, tax-credit syndicators and taxes owed the federal government. With credit redemptions averaging $150 million a year in recent years, thats $87 million diverted annually. Previous audits have returned similar conclusions and recommended reforms. Greitens two most recent predecessors both called on the state legislature to fix the program, to no avail. Greitens went further. He used his effective control of the 10-member board that oversees the tax credit the Missouri Housing Development Commission to zero them out. One of those commissioners was Jason Crowell, a former state representative, former Republican majority leader in the lower house and former state senator. Crowell relinquished his seat in January. If he had stayed, he says, the tax credit community would have killed my nomination, in part for his vote to kill the program for this year. Greitens with Speaker of the House Todd Richardson and Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, right. As a senator, Crowell was a vocal critic of the credit and actively campaigned for reform of the system. He says he has no problem spending money on housing programs for the poor. But if we spend a dollar on low-income housing, we want a dollar to go to low-income housing, as he puts it. Developers and syndicators that profit from the tax-credit program stand to gain if Greitens is impeached. He would be succeeded by Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, who voted against stopping the tax credits last fall and has long defended the program. Political action committees associated with Steve Tilley, a former speaker of the state house who is now a lobbyist representing beneficiaries of the program, contributed more than $10,000 to Parsons campaign vehicle, all of it coming after Greitens started to move publicly against the program. One Republican state representative, who asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation, described Parson as tight with the housing guys and Tilley. This representative supports Greitens goal of reforming or replacing the housing credit, but also believes he is guilty of taking the picture and of improprieties related to The Mission Continues, a charity Greitens founded before running for office. He is in favor of removing Greitens from office, and the sooner the better: Id rather have a governor I disagree with who isnt a crook, than a crook I agree with, he said. As for Parson, the lawmaker said he sells out to lobbyists the old-fashioned way, taking campaign contributions in return for policy support without crossing legal lines, in his view. Greitens announces his candidacy in 2015, with his wife, Sheena, and son Joshua. The governors supporters say that it is not just his actions, but his rhetoric, that has aroused the enmity of his party. In 2016 he ran hard on draining the swamp and driving off what he saw as the crooks running Jefferson City. After he won, he didnt let up on the language, even with his party in control of seven out of 10 seats in both houses of the legislature. State capitals are all, to some extent, old boys clubs. Former reps and senators hang about, converting their knowledge of the system into lobbying, or political consulting, or sinecures on state commissions and departments. Greitens stood outside all of that and has been determined to stay that way. He didnt open the governors mansion to legislators for regular social events during the legislative session, as his predecessors have done. Instead, he went to war. One longtime Republican strategist said, He gave a stiff-arm to the legislature from day one. He basically told the legislature [to] do what I want you to do and go f--- yourselves. Now a couple hundred people in the state house who have had to listen to their governor call them crooks for two years have an opportunity to return the favor. And even many who support his agenda seem to have little sympathy for his predicament. The state representative who called him a crook freely admits that the forces driving and funding the campaign against Greitens arent good people. Greitens' opponents include Scott Faughn, the owner and publisher of the Missouri Times, an insiders paper for the state government crowd, who delivered $50,000 in cash to the lawyer representing the ex-husband of the woman with whom Greitens had the affair in 2015. Scott Faughn, publisher of the Missouri Times and host of "This Week in Missouri Politics." Faughn has variously said he paid the money out of his own pocket to buy the ex-husbands tape of the womans account of the affair (even though the lawyer provided the recordings freely to other media) and that he was paying to retain the lawyer, Al Watkins. Faughn wrote in the Missouri Times on May 3 that [t]he money I used to buy the tapes was my money. There is no huge conspiracy, that is another lie and distraction tactic. Watkins has said that Faughn told him the money came from a wealthy Republican guy who wanted to ensure that the ex-husband had a soft landing. Watkins took a photograph of the neatly stacked and wrapped $100 bills and reported the money to the FBI because he couldnt be sure of its source. Watkins has not responded to a question about whether Faughn is his client. The House Investigative Committee has said it will subpoena Faughn to testify. Jay Barnes, the committee chairman, did not respond to a question about whether that subpoena has been issued. Under Missouri law, Barnes committee has 30 days from the end of the legislative session on May 18 to complete its work. Its clear that many in the legislature would like that work to end with a bill of particulars leading to impeachment. Crowell, for his part, doesnt see the need to rush. With the felony case in St. Louis dismissed but not dead the prosecutor said she could reopen it Crowell argues that the legislature can afford to let things run a bit, gather all the facts (including those regarding the bags of cash and the interest groups supplying them) and come to a considered judgment on whether to overturn the will of the voters. Early Sunday afternoon President Donald Trump elevated Twitter to a virtual Cabinet position in his administration. He used it, rather than the attorney general, to order a possible criminal investigation of a counterintelligence operation conducted by the Department of Justice and the FBI. Recent developments in Armenia, where a former presidentturnedprime minister, Serzh Sargsyan, hastily stepped down in the face of vigorous street protests on April 23, underscored the potential vulnerability of Russia's regional alliances. The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) has been a pillar of Russia's post-Soviet diplomacy since its formation in 2014, following two decades of various regionalist experiments with trade and Yes, everything has been written and said about how awkward, counterproductive, and dangerous U.S. President Donald Trumps decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal is. We have been warned that Iran, if deprived of the economic benefits it draws from the nuclear deal, will have no incentive to stop its enrichment of uranium or to slow the development of its ballistic missile program. Moreover, the argument runs, Trumps decision has strengthened the weight of hard-liners within Iran, much to the detriment of the so-called pragmatists of that countrys regime. As a result, Iran will be inclined and able to develop the bomb at a much faster pace than what the so-called sunset provisions of the 2015 nuclear deal would allow to. Conclusion: Only a misfiring mind could have conceived what President Trump has just done. But another reading is possible of the events surrounding Trumps withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Here is why. For starters, the aforementioned narrative neglects two key constraints on the resumption of Irans nuclear program: the countrys growing economic and social malaise, and the reluctance of the other signatories of the nuclear deal to sponsor or even tolerate Irans accession to the club of nuclear powers. Mismanagement, corruption, and economically unsustainable geopolitical ambitions have taken a heavy toll on the countrys economy. The regime has used much of the revenue secured through the 2015 nuclear deal not to improve the living conditions of its citizens and modernize Irans economy, but to finance terrorism, beef up its military involvement in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon, and try to destabilize Israel. All too naturally, social malaise has grown, the population is losing patience, and the street protests that started last December are gaining intensity nationwide. If protests keep mounting and the economic situation continues to deteriorate, the unity of the regime may be at stake. For all their gesticulations against Trumps decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal, European signatories cannot do much to salvage that agreement and thereby help reactivate Irans economy. The reason is simple: European firms will hardly dare make transactions with Iran for fear of losing access to U.S. goods and financial markets. They will prefer to remain on the sideline until an agreement between the United States and their governments is reached. Add to this the fact that Irans main allies, Russia and China, on which Tehran critically depends in both diplomatic and commercial matters, would not be at ease with a nuclear-armed Iran. They will willingly help Irans regime as it arm-wrestles with the United States, but not to the point of enabling Irans nuclear ambitions. In light of these considerations, the mullahs will likely be less than resolute in confronting Washington and resuming their nuclear program. The survival of their regime is at stake, and they surely know that. This explains the moderation of their reaction to the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. It is worth noting that in the days preceding Trumps decision, Irans president, Hassan Rouhani, went so far as to warn that the United States would face severe consequences if Trump pulled out of the deal. Yet once the withdrawal materialized, President Rouhani toned down his rhetoric and pointed out that his country would continue to stick to the deal so long as the other signatories kept their sanctions lifted. Irans regime has shown restrain, too, in the military realm. True, in the hours following Trumps decision there was an exchange of fire between Iran and Israel an exchange initiated and provoked by Iran. At the end, Iran turned out to be on the losing side: A number of its military installations were destroyed and Iranian troops were killed, while no casualty was registered on Israels side. Yet, rather than pursuing their provocations against Israel, the mullahs have adopted an attitude of restraint for now. Its caution shows that the Iranian regime knows it is not in Tehrans interest to assume a belligerent attitude against Trumps decision. This is all the more so as the U.S. president has warned that Irans regime would face very severe consequences if it resumes its nuclear program. And the mullahs may have noticed that Trump is the kind of politician who -- unlike his predecessor -- seeks to stand by his promises and red-line threats. Tax cuts, deregulation, relocation of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, and withdrawal from the Paris Accord and more recently from the Iran nuclear deal, form part of the electoral promises that Trump has not shied away from implementing. For all these reasons, should Irans regime wish to salvage and ultimately consolidate its power, its leaders will hardly find a better way of doing so than trying to enter into direct negotiations with the U.S. president and his representatives. This is why a U.S.-Iran summit cannot be ruled out. President Trumps advocacy of regime change in Iran might thus turn out to be a sort of bargaining chip, a threatening device aimed at inducing the mullahs to negotiate a new deal. For such a game-changing event to take place, however, Iran will have to be prepared to put on hold, or even relinquish, not only its nuclear program but also its support of terrorism, its expansionist adventures and, not the least, its attempts to destroy or destabilize Israel. This hypothetical turn of events, admittedly, may be difficult to imagine today. Not more and not less difficult, though, than it was to anticipate a few months ago the smallest glimmer ofthaw between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump. It may not be probable, but it is at least plausible. If and when a U.S.-Iran summit takes place, there will be something in it for everyone. The mullahs will be content with having salvaged their regime. Russia and China, as well as the European signatories of the 2015 deal, will gladly claim some credit for the breakthrough. Israel as well as Sunni States will feel some relief while remaining vigilant of course. Trumps supporters will applaud the prowess of their icon. Never-Trumpers and like-minded pundits, on their part, will be delighted to contend (in conformity with their customary practice) that silly Donald was caught in a trap set by the Iranian regime with the help of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. As the primaries wind down and the results are waiting to be announced, multiple mayoral and other candidates are hosting watch parties. At th On Saturday, June 9, nearly 500 Aspen Dental practices will open their doors to provide free care exclusively to as many as 5,000 veterans. Appointments are still available at the following locations: and Aspen Dental Associates of NE PC, 1692 E Main St., Torrington; Smiles By Suzy Dental PC, 1600 South East Road, Farmington; and Aspen Dental of Greater Hartford PC 1128 Farmington Avenue, Bristol. Veterans can call 1-844-277-3646 to schedule an appointment. Appointments are required and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Like millions of other Americans, veterans can struggle to find oral health care when they need it, and are not eligible for dental benefits through the Veterans Administration unless they are 100% disabled, have a service-related mouth injury or were a prisoner of war. This is Aspen Dentals fifth annual Day of Service and is part of Aspen Dentals Healthy Mouth Movement, a community-giving initiative that delivers free dental care to veterans. Since the Healthy Mouth Movement started, nearly 10,000 Aspen Dental team members have given more than $10 million in donated dentistry to over 17,000 patients in need. Local veterans can call 1-844-277-3646 to schedule an appointment at a participating office. Senior center holding AARP driving courses TORRINGTON The Sullivan Senior Center is hosting a series of AARP Smart Driver Courses on June 7, July 12, Sept. 6 and Nov. 1. This course is available to people age 50 and older. The 4 hour session must be completed to receive a certificate that entitles the student to a discount on auto insurance for 2 years. The cost is $15, $20 for non-members of AARP, payable by check only made out to AARP. Participants must bring their AARP card to show the instructor. If you do not have your membership card, call 888-687-2277 to obtain your number. All classes are held on Thursdays from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Call 860-489-2211 to register. Food bank seeks volunteers TORRINGTON Friendly Hands Food Bank is looking for people to be part of its board of directors. If interested, call Maureen Mo Hubert at 860-482-3338, Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or stop by Friendly Hands Food Bank on 50 King St,. Torrington. Painting club to meet June 8 NEW HARTFORD Shades of Northwest Hills Decorative Painting Club will meet on Friday, June 8th at 6:30pm at the South End Firehouse on Antolini Road in New Hartford. May Phillips, well know watercolorist, will be presenting a multimedia technique using rice paper, watercolors, acrylics and wax. Mays original design will be painted on an 8 x 8 inch deep canvas that can hang or stand. Painters need to bring the usual painting supplies. The club will furnish the paints, rice paper, wax and canvas. May Phillips love of painting is expressed in her work. The freshness of color is revealed in her watercolors, acrylics, and pastel paintings. She is equally proficient in pen and ink drawings. Jack Flynn, Timothy Clark, Carlton Plummer, Al Stine and other well-known artists have influenced her style. She attended and presented at numerous workshops and for many years has taught watercolor painting. Phillips has also done decorative painting which includes designing and painting wall murals. In 1991 and 1998 her original design Christmas Ornaments were selected to hang on the White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room. Her latest murals can be seen on Ninos Restaurant walls in Waterbury. Recently she had the honor to teach watercolor painting on a Carnival Cruise Ship. Her artwork has been exhibited in various Juried Art Shows and she has received several awards. She is a member of the Connecticut Watercolor Society and Watertown Art League. She has exhibited her artwork at the State of Connecticut Legislative Building, a variety of galleries, restaurants and business establishments. She has chaired and juried several Art Shows. Many of Mays artworks are included in numerous private collections. Her latest artwork can be seen at PS Gallery in Litchfield and Center Frame Art Gallery in West Hartford. A photo of the project and additional information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shades-of-Northwest-Hills/328349210522724 . Interested painters can contact Mary at 860-482-7416 Community hikes offered at Flanders WOODBURY Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust in partnership with Woodburys Parks & Recreation Department & the Woodbury Conservation Commission will be offering two community hikes on Saturday, June 2. These hikes are being held in association with the Connecticut Forest & Park Associations annual Connecticut Trails Days, a statewide initiative held annually to encourage people to explore the numerous diverse trails we have throughout the state. At 10 a.m., that day there will be a guided nature walk being held at the Whittemore Sanctuary. This 700 acre property belonging to Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust includes miles of diverse, interlocking trails as well as a bog and pond. The loop hike will begin west on White Trail and climbs some hills. Hikers will have the option of taking a 2.5 mile hike or decide on a shorter loop of approximately one mile. Parking is at the Whittemore Sanctuary lot which is located on Rt. 64 on the Middlebury/Woodbury line just west of Quassy Amusement Park. Then at 12:30 p.m., people are also invited to explore the world of orienteering in one of Woodburys newest parks, the Trolley Bed Preserve. This program is being led by Eagle Scout, Jared Niedermeyer from BSA Troop 54, and his fellow scouts. They will lead participants through the fundamentals of orienteering on a course they set out in this preserve. Or if you just feel like taking a hike, come and enjoy the natural beauty of this preserve, explore new trails and catch a glimpse of its natural wildlife! The 1.5 mile hike will conclude around 2:00 PM. The meeting place for this hike is at the intersection of Old Sherman Hill and Trolley Bed Road in Woodbury which is off of Route 64. More information and directions are available at https://www.ctwoodlands.org/ct-trails-weekend/events-2018. Walkers and hikers of all skill levels and every age are encouraged and welcome to attend either or both of the guided hikes! There is no charge for the hikes but people are requested to preregister by contacting Director of Woodbury Parks & Recreation, Jenifer Miller at: JeniferMiller@woodburyct.org or 203-263-3113. Heavy rain, stormy conditions cancel with last minute updates able to be found at woodburyparksandrec.org. Two Connecticut schools are on the prestigious Niche list of 25 best private high schools in the country. Choate Rosemary Hall, which has educated alumni like John F. Kennedy and dozens of celebrity children, is in Wallingford. Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen denied on Tuesday that 20 small and little-known political parties registered to compete in July 29 national elections were created by his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) to provide an illusion of political opposition in the coming polls. Speaking at a commencement ceremony at the Diamond Island Convention Center in the capital Phnom Penh, the Cambodian prime minister said that the parties listing on the ballot show that Cambodia has a functioning democracy. Twenty political parties will take part in this election, said Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia as prime minister and CPP party head for over 30 years. Some individuals consider that these parties are merely my own creations, and they look down on them, even daring to call them evil and saying that they consist only of their own leaders or are firefly parties [appearing only during the election season], Hun Sen said. We must continue our efforts to protect the peace [in Cambodia] and to ensure the existence of our multiparty, pluralistic democracy, he said. One party not appearing on the ballot is the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was dissolved by Cambodias Supreme Court last year following charges it was trying to topple the government and is widely regarded as the only viable opposition to Hun Sens rule. Former CNRP President Sam Rainsy, who is living in self-imposed exile to avoid convictions widely seen as politically motivated, and other party leaders have called on supporters to steer clear of the polls on July 29 to avoid legitimizing the election. Conflict of interest? Meanwhile, Cambodias defense minister and at least three senior military commanders have announced they will temporarily leave their posts to stand for election as CPP lawmakers in the national election in July, prompting accusations of political partisanship in the supposedly neutral national army. Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, will run as a candidate for the constituency of Siem Reap, while army generals Pol Saroeun, Kun Kim, and Meas Sophea will run as candidates in the constituencies of Preah Sihanouk, Oddar Meanchey, and Preah Vihear, respectively. Speaking to RFAs Khmer Service, Korn Savangsenior election observer for Cambodias Committee for Free and Fair Elections (COMFREL)said that the military leaders sudden turn from a position of official neutrality to open political involvement with the ruling party points to a conflict of interest. Like it or not, this may mean they will now consider the political benefit of their party over anything else, Korn Savang said. Such a thing cannot be avoided, since they will be serving as political figures [while still having ties to] the national defense department, the police, and the armed forces, he said. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Richard Finney. A top ruling Chinese Communist Party official in the Beijing city government has committed suicide, leading state media to conclude that he had suffered from long-term depression. Wang Xiaoming, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, was found dead on Monday after attending a work conference. He was 58. State media said police had ruled out any criminal activity, although an investigation into Wang's death is under way. Hospital diagnostic records show that Wang, who previously served as director of the Beijing municipal tax bureau, had long suffered from depression, media reports indicated. Wang's is the latest in a series of deaths of high-ranking Chinese officials. Last month, Feng Zhonghong, deputy mayor of Daqing city in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, died of unknown causes. In January, former deputy head of the municipal People's Congress standing committee, Mei Zhenxue, died just four days after taking office, while Xie Yaoqi, deputy mayor of Heyuan city in the southern province of Guangdong, died at his home last December. Beijing-based political commentator Zha Jianguo said pressures are intensifying on officials across China, who are struggling to find alternate sources of income to supplement their meager official salaries. "Official salaries aren't very high in China right now," Zha told RFA. "In the past, they have always relied on their official power [for additional income] because there wasn't much oversight of officials, and a lot of them were able make money on their own account." "Now, things are regulated much more strictly under [President] Xi's new regime for a strictly controlled party," he said. "It's much, much stricter than before." "There is also the matter of surveillance of public opinion and online expression, which is also much stricter than it used to be," Zha said. A hazardous job Shen Liangqing, a former state prosecutor turned rights activist in the eastern province of Anhui, said the pressures on officials gets worse the higher up the government ladder one climbs. "A former classmate of mine who became an official committed suicide because of depression," Shen said. "I think that psychological pressure played a part in that." "Chinese officials are actually in a hazardous job ... and it's not easy to keep on climbing the ladder, unless you already have [powerful] backing," he said. "Most of them pay a heavy price, trying to stay out of trouble and desperate not to put a foot wrong," he said. "They also have to curry favor." Shen said mental health issues are also widespread throughout the population, not just among officials. "I remember back when I was carrying out party disciplinary investigations, there was a deputy head of the Zhejiang People's High Court who committed suicide, apparently due to depression," he said. "But it turned out that when he was committing suicide, [his boss] was already being investigated by the party disciplinary system." "The party disciplinary investigation system is very harsh ... and officials are terrified of it, because they know very well that there is no rule of law in China." China's parliament in March passed a law ushering in a new era of "national supervision" to replace an internal party disciplinary regime, sparking concerns of further human rights abuses. Under watchful eyes Nationwide supervisory commissions now monitor the conduct of staff throughout the Communist Party, People's Congresses, government departments, judicial agencies, state-owned enterprises, and government-backed institutions, including state schools and higher education. The new system massively expands the number of people under the watchful eye of investigators charged with seeking out corruption and abuse of official power, merging the functions of the Communist Party's internal Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, administrative supervisory agencies, and some functions of state prosecution services. The commissions have the power to question witnesses, interrogate suspects, search properties, freeze bank accounts, and seize suspicious assets, and may detain suspects for up to six months "at a designated location" with the approval of higher-ranking commissions, and prevent people from leaving China. Rights groups warn that such arrangements allow for arbitrary and prolonged incommunicado detention without any meaningful oversight and increases the risks of torture and forced confessions. Reported by Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wang Yiwei for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Pressure is mounting on Beijing to release the widow of late Nobel peace laureate and political prisoner Liu Xiaobo, amid reports that she has "disappeared" from her Beijing home ahead of a trip to China by the German chancellor Angela Merkel. Liu Xia, who has been under house arrest since the announcement of her late husbands Nobel prize in October 2010, has repeatedly asked to be allowed to leave China, possibly for Germany or the United States, but the ruling Chinese Communist Party appears reluctant to allow this to happen. The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy in China reported on Tuesday that there were no lights on in Liu's Beijing apartment recently, although friends and rights activists said they were unsure if the report was accurate. The group said there is a possibility Liu may have been taken out of town on an enforced "vacation" by state security police ahead of Merkel's visit, as has previously happened at politically sensitive times. A relative who asked to remain anonymous said it was unclear whether Liu had left the Chinese capital on Tuesday. "There has been no change, so there hasn't been any need to contact her," the relative said. "But I don't know any more than you do [about whether the reports are true]." The Hong Kong Information Center had quoted Liu's brother Liu Hui as saying that she is no longer at home. Unstable condition Beijing-based rights activist Hu Jia said Liu is usually accompanied on trips away from home by her brother Liu Hui, owing to her unstable mental state. "Given that Liu Xia's mental health situation is very unstable, she is usually accompanied by Liu Hui if she is away for any length of time more than a day, for example if she is taken on an enforced vacation," Hu told RFA. "If they took her away on her own, the authorities would find it too hard to control her," he said. Su Yutong, an independent journalist living in Germany, said the Chinese authorities are probably nervous that Merkel's visit could generate negative publicity over Liu's continued detention. "The Chinese government is likely very worried that Merkel will try to visit Liu Xia during her trip to China," Su said. "Liao Yiwu, the writer living in exile in Germany, has called on Merkel to become the first Western head of state to visit Liu Xia." The trade and investment-focused visit will be the eleventh trip Merkel has made to China since she became chancellor in 2005, and she will be accompanied by around 20 top German business leaders. She will hold talks in China on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang, at a time of growing differences between Berlin and Beijing over trade, cybersecurity, human rights, and Chinese investment in Europe. But her visit comes after the U.S. announced it would withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and vowed to impose sanctions on Tehran. Activists detained Liu Xiaobo died in July 2017, weeks after being diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer, and after repeated requests from his family to seek medical treatment overseas were ignored. Police have since detained a number of activists who staged memorials in his honor, and his name is still a banned search term on China's tightly controlled internet. Mostly recently, Guangzhou-based activist Yu Qiyuan was detained by police after being picked up at Guangzhou Railway Station by facial recognition software. His current whereabouts are unknown. Sichuan-based rights activist Wei Xiaobing said nobody has managed to contact Yu since. "He was recognized by the digital facial recognition system when he went to Guangzhou Railway Station," Wei said. "Just before we lost contact, he sent out a message to his friends to say that he was on the way to the local police station ... he was eventually transferred to the Xinhui Detention Center." "He is the most recent arrest of someone who took part in the memorials [for Liu Xiaobo]," he said. "He will probably go through a similar process to the previous 12 people." Repeated calls to the Xinhui Detention Center rang unanswered during office hours on Tuesday. Comment declined An officer who answered the phone at the Xinhui district police department declined to comment on Yu's arrest. "If he was detained in Guangzhou, then you will have to ask for information in Guangzhou," the officer said. Ma Qiang was among the 12 others detained, and has since been released on police "bail." "I think the case against the people who took part in these seashore memorials has been ordered from higher up," Ma said. "The first anniversary is coming up, and they want to wrap these cases up, and detain everyone on the list." "My bail doesn't mean that the case against me has been dropped, not at all," he said. "It's quite likely they will detain us again ... that we could all be redetained." Reported by Wong Lok-to for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Gao Feng and Qiao Long for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Bangladesh has started distributing cooking gas cylinders to Rohingya refugees in response to scientists warnings that an environmental disaster could engulf camps where about 1 million people have been sheltering and using firewood from nearby forests for fuel, officials said Monday. Forest denudation in Coxs Bazar, a southeastern district that borders Myanmar, was an indirect consequence of a brutal military crackdown launched in the neighboring country last August, according to scientists and environmental conservationists. The Rohingya completely depend on firewood for cooking, Habibul Kabir Chowdhury, chief of the Rohingya section at the ministry of disaster management, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. Since last month, we have started providing them gas cylinders, he said. In the first phase, we have targeted to provide cylinders to 11,000 families. After deadly attacks on police outposts by Rohingya insurgents in Rakhine state, Myanmar security forces mounted counter-offensives that drove about 700,000 Rohingya to flee to safety in Bangladesh. Another 300,000 Rohingya, most of them undocumented, have also been living in Coxs Bazar after fleeing earlier bouts of conflict in northern Rakhine. The rate of the unprecedented refugee influx created an environmental crisis in Bangladeshs border district because of the Rohingyas dependency on firewood for cooking, officials said. Refugees have cut down trees and stripped away 1,650 hectares of forest land, according to the nations forestry department. What used to be lush forest hills in Coxs Bazar has been replaced by denuded mounds pockmarked with blue tarpaulin sheets on top of makeshift shelters, environmental activists said. The government projects first phase is continuing and, depending on its impact, the second phase will involve thousands of families receiving gas cylinders, Chowdhury said. He said the Indian government had shown interest in providing kerosene and stoves for the refugees. But we cannot accept the offer at this moment. This is because they want to give us loose kerosene. We do not have any depot near the refugee camps, he said, explaining that distributing kerosene in congested refugee camps could be a difficult and dangerous task. Danesh Mian, director of Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science at Chittagong University, told reporters in October 2017 that clearing forest and hills for firewood and settlements in Coxs Bazar could threaten bio-diversity and spawn landslides during the monsoon season. We fear rare animals such as the Asian elephant might get extinct, he said. Refugees burn more than 1 million pounds of wood daily Environmental activists applauded Dhakas move to distribute gas cylinders to the refugees, explaining that the Rohingya were burning at least one-half million kilograms (more than 1 million pounds) of dry wood daily. Mohammad Abul Kalam, Bangladeshs refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, told BenarNews that the international NGO Caritas had been providing funds for supplying gas cylinders to the refugees. With support from other agencies, the UNHCR has been thinking of providing gas cylinders to several thousands of families in the second phase, Kalam said, referring to the U.N.s refugee agency. We cannot save forests in Ukhia, Teknaf and neighboring areas if we cannot provide alternative fuel, he said. A BenarNews correspondent who visited a Rohingya camp last month saw massive deforestation in Ukhia and Teknaf areas in Coxs Bazar and the neighboring Bandarban district. Hundreds of Rohingya leave the camps in the mornings to cut down trees in the forest, returning around midday with bundles of firewood. Because of a huge demand for cooking fuel, makeshift shops have mushroomed at every corner of the refugee camps. Shah Alam, who lives at the Kutupalong refugee camp, told BenarNews that his seven-member family would consume at least five kilograms (11 pounds) of firewood every day to cook food. I have to spend 150 taka (about U.S. $2) every day if I buy firewood. So, we just go to the forest to gather it, he said. Another refugee, Mahmudul Islam, said each Rohingya man would chop off trees every day, a chore that could take at least five hours. Asked why he chopped down the whole tree, instead of merely cutting its branches for firewood, Islam replied: If I do not cut it, some other people will. As of October 2017, forest resources valued at about 1.5 billion Bangladeshi taka (U.S. $18 million) had been destroyed to accommodate the latest influx of refugees, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Farid Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, a joint initiative of the Bangladesh and the U.S. governments, told BenarNews that the Coxs Bazar area had many special trees, such as Dhakijam, Chapalish, Gorjon and Gamari. Alarmed by the forest denudation, the United Nations issued warnings in February that flash floods from monsoonal rains could wash away fragile shelters in congested camps in Coxs Bazar, threatening about 100,000 refugees. Since the arrival of the Rohingya, many forest lands in Ukhia and Teknaf have been destroyed, Ahmed said. The refugees have been cutting big trees for firewood, but the harsh truth is they have no other option. If a family burns five kilograms of dry wood per day, 100,000 families will burn half a million kilograms of dried wood, he said. How long we can protect the forest in the region if cutting of trees goes on in this scale? Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. A court in Myanmars central city of Mandalay sentenced two antiwar activists to two months in jail on Tuesday for failing to obtain permission to hold a public demonstration during which they called on Myanmar officials to rescue civilians stuck in conflict zones in Kachin state where the national army is engaged in hostilities with an ethnic armed group. Activists Aung Hmine San and Soe Moe Naing entered not-guilty pleas on charges of violating Article 19 of the countrys Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law during a previous hearing in Chan Aye Thar Zan Township Court. Police Officer Thein Naing from the townships No. 8 police station arrested the two along with third individual, Poet Kalint, for participating in a 40-strong protest on May 6, called for an end to fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). On May 10, Poet Kalint received a one-month sentence in Obo prison, while Aung Hmine San and Soe Moe Naing were scheduled to appear in court on May 18, according to the rights group Fortify Rights. We were arrested unfairly, and we are not guilty of any charge, Aung Hmine San told reporters after Tuesdays hearing. We didnt collaborate with the court because, as we have already said, we dont feel the judicial sector is free. The administration has interfered in it. The two are among the more than 50 activists who were arrested while participating in peaceful antiwar protests in Mandalay, Yangon, Kachins capital Myitkyina, and Bago regions Pyay and Nattalin townships in south-central Myanmar, on April 30 and in May. Most have been charged with violating Article 19, which requires demonstrators to obtain permission from local officials to hold marches or protests. Three Myitkyina demonstrators meanwhile have been charged with criminal defamation for statements they made during rallies. Intensified fighting this year in the long-running civil war between Myanmar forces and the KIA 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 and human rights violations have displaced more than 100,000 civilians in the state since June 2011, when a 17-year bilateral cease-fire agreement between the two sides broke down. When we have war, young men have to fight in battles, and young women are raped, abused, and hurt, said Ei Ei Moe, secretary of the youth political organization Generation Wave, who was among a group of activists charged under Article 19 for leading a 300-strong antiwar protest in the commercial capital Yangon on May 12. We want to stop war, and we want peace, she said. Thats why we have participated in the antiwar protests. Fighting needs to be stopped Ongoing civil wars, broken cease-fires, and the crisis in Rakhine state, where two crackdowns on Rohingya Muslims in October 2016 and August 2017 together displaced between 700,000 and 800,000 Rohingya, have stalled the Myanmar governments efforts to bring warring factions to the negotiation table for peace talks. Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who launched the 21st-Century Panglong Conference in August 2016, intended to hold talks every six months, but so far only two conferences have taken place, and one expected this month has been postponed. Myanmar political analyst Yan Myo Thein said the government should not take action against those who have tried to do something to stop war in the country and to forge peace. The truth is the fighting in Kachin and Shan states really needs to be stopped given that the government cant hold third Panglong Conference, and there are many difficulties tin holding Union-level political talks as well, he told RFAs Myanmar Service. Young people and others are trying to point out this truth by holding antiwar protests, and I see what they did as support for the countrys democratic transition and peace process, he said. Authorities have been charging many protesters, and it shows we have a lack of rule of law in the country. 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 Khaymani Win and Nay Rein Kyaw for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. A U.S. envoy has strongly rejected a call by China to withdraw special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) from an NGO that promotes the rights of minority peoples, based on its ties to the head of an exile Uyghur group Beijing accuses of terrorism. In a letter dated May 17, Chinas permanent mission to the U.N. urged the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations under ECOSOC to remove consultative status for Germany-based Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), after the group named World Uyghur Congress (WUC) President Dolkun Isa as its representative during the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in April. The Chinese delegation claimed that Isaa German citizen of Uyghur ethnicityhad been participating, inciting and funding separatism and terrorism for years, adding that while participating in regional dialogues at UNPFII he had indicated that he was representing WUC instead of STP, despite only having accreditation as an STP representative. All the above actions seriously violates relevant rules and regulations of the United Nations, the letter said, urging the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations to uphold the authority of the U.N. Charter and withdraw the consultative status of STP. During the resumed session of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations on Monday, the Chinese delegation reasserted its position that STPs status should be withdrawn, saying that the acts of this society run counter to the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter. In response to the request, Ambassador Kelley Currie, the U.S. Representative for Economic and Social Affairs to the U.N., said she was saddened to see the committee indulging in the Chinese delegation's Islamophobia, in which they conflate the efforts of an individual to advance the religious and human rights of a persecuted minority in China with terrorism, without providing any substantiated evidence. Currie noted that Washington has repeatedly asked Beijing to provide proof of its allegations that Isa was involved in terrorist activities in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), but had never been given any actionable intelligence that would indicate that what they are saying is true. This is not about the Society for Threatened Peoples and their contributions to the United Nations, this is about the temerity that [STP] have to allow an individual who is silenced in Chinaand a whole community, frankly, that is silenced in Chinato speak out on behalf of the rights of that community, the ambassador said, urging China to withdraw its request. Isnt this what the U.N. is all about, she asked. Isnt this whole organization here to promote self-determination? Currie said that reports of mass incarcerations in the XUAR were documented by looking at Chinese procurement requests on Chinese websites requesting Chinese companies to tender offers to build political re-education camps, and that Beijing was seeking to prevent Isa from speaking out about the issue, as well as other rights abuses there. This is what this is about todaylets please not make any mistake about what were talking about, she said. Lacking any evidence of terrorist activities, she added, Washington would stand by its decision to grant Isaa German citizen in good standing and without a criminal recorda multiple entry, 10-year visa to the U.S., and the right to continue to meet with U.S. officials. This is clearly an incident of the Chinese government using its position on this committee, and its friends on this committee, to engage in a reprisal against an individual, Currie said. Committee chair Jorge Dotta ruled that the U.N. would discuss Chinas concerns with STP and decide whether to withdraw the NGOs consultative status by May 25. Crimes against humanity Speaking to RFAs Uyghur Service on Tuesday, Isa said China seeks to cover up its crimes against humanity in the XUAR, where thousands of Uyghurs accused of harboring extremist and politically incorrect views have been detained in political re-education camps and prisons throughout the region since April 2017. That is why China is always afraid of the Uyghur issues raised at the U.N., he said, referring to complaints by Uyghurs of pervasive discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression under Chinese rule. It is no coincidence that China wants to prevent me from speaking at the U.N. by accusing me of terrorism, a bogus charge it has never been able to substantiate. In February, INTERPOL confirmed that it had deleted a Red Noticean international wanted person alertfor Isa, who fled China in the mid-1990s, for his involvement in peaceful Uyghur student protests in the late 1980s. Isa, who was granted refugee status in Germany in 1996 and later gained German citizenship, learned in 1999 that China had issued the Red Notice against him, demanding his arrest and extradition back to China to face charges. As a result of the alert, Isa said he had faced harassmentincluding detention and arrestby authorities in South Korea, India, the U.S., Turkey and Italy while advocating for human rights for the Uyghur people. Isa said that China attempts to silence all Uyghur voices, both at home and abroad, but cannot break our resolve to speak the truth of its brutal rule in East Turkestan, using the Uyghur name for the XUAR. I will speak in spite of Chinese harassment, resistance, and false accusations. I will continue to speak until the Uyghur issue becomes a central issue to be resolved at the U.N. and all world capitals. China's central government authorities have not publicly acknowledged the existence of re-education camps in the XUAR, and the number of inmates kept in each facility remains a closely guarded secret, but local officials in many parts of the region have in RFA telephone interviews forthrightly described sending significant numbers of Uyghurs to the camps and even described overcrowding in some facilities. Maya Wang of the New York-based Human Rights Watch told The Guardian in January that estimates of XUAR residents who had spent time in the camps went as high as 800,000, while at least one Uyghur exile group estimates that up to 1 million Uyghurs have been detained throughout the region since April 2017, and some Uyghur activists say nearly every Uyghur household has been affected by the campaign. Last month, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and U.S. Representative Chris Smiththe chair and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on Chinacalled on U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad to visit Xinjiang and gather information on the detention of Uyghurs, which they termed "the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today. Reported by Alim Seytoff for RFAs Uyghur Service and by Joshua Lipes. Translated by Alim Seytoff. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. A Vietnamese woman clears mud from typhoon rains outside her home in a village in central Vietnam's Quang Nam province, Nov. 7, 2017. About 10 Vietnamese women evicted by local government authorities in Dien Ban village in central Vietnams Quang Nam province chained themselves inside their homes on Tuesday to prevent police from forcibly removing them. The women chained themselves in protest against what they consider low compensation of 720,000 dong (U.S. $31.50) per square meter for their property, though the countrys 2013 Land Law specifies that the rate should be 3 million dong (U.S. $131) per square meter, Dang Quoc Minh, one of the evictees, told RFAs Vietnamese Service. The local government wrote on the womens official eviction notice that the land was supposed to be handed over on June 30, 2014, when in fact it was transferred between June and November 2015, she said. The countrys Land Law did not take effect until July 1, 2014. The women did not move out of their homes at the time because of the dispute over compensation. About 200 policemen arrived on the site on Tuesday to carry out the evictions, and at about 2 p.m., a digger started operating on the land, Minh said. They [the women] are still sitting in there waiting for the security forces to come in and evict them, she said. The women are fighting like they are in prison, she said. They have chained their arms and legs so the police cant arrest them. We dont oppose them [the officers]. We are only fighting for our rights. Minh said the evictees want to be paid the amount of compensation they are due according to the law. Nguyen Dat, vice chairman of Dien Ban Peoples Committee, was quoted by the state-run Danang police newspaper on May 21 as saying that the government will have to evict 14 households to prepare for upgrade work on a road that passes through the area. The upgrades to the road, which connects the coastal city of Danang city in central Vietnam with the town of Hoi An in Quang Nam province, will ease traffic congestion during morning and evening rush hours, the report said. The newspaper report also noted that the evictees had filed a complaint with the provincial Peoples Committee, and that Quang Nams government had resolved it on Oct. 2, 2017. The land appropriation and compensation for 14 households have been carried out in accordance with the law to ensure the rights and benefits of the people, it said. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Monitoring officials say clashes between Ukrainian forces and separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine have escalated in recent days to some of the fiercest fighting of 2018. Alexander Hug, the deputy chief of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's monitoring mission in Ukraine (OSCE-SMM), said it had confirmed that two civilians were killed and another three were injured last week, adding that "we have many more cases pending." "Last week was in many ways the worst we have seen so far this year," Hug said at a briefing in Kyiv on May 21. "In total, we recorded 7,700 cease-fire violations." Ukrainian officials said two soldiers were killed and another four were wounded in fighting near the village of Yuzhnoye early on May 21. The separatists in the Donetsk region accused Ukraine of using heavy artillery and tanks to shell residential areas. They said four civilians were killed and another four were wounded in Ukrainian shelling last week. The four-year-old conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted after Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and has killed more than 10,300 people and caused hundreds of thousands to be displaced. A 2015 peace agreement was signed in Minsk but daily clashes continue unabated. Based on reporting by AP and Interfax-Ukraine At least 32 people have been reported killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan and attacks in the country's east, as the Taliban pushed ahead with its annual spring offensive across the country. In the southern city of Kandahar, officials said at least 16 people were killed and more than 30 wounded when explosives placed inside two containers blew up as security forces were trying to defuse them. The National Directorate of Security (NDS) intelligence service said the explosives were discovered in a large open yard of workshops. It was initially reported that the explosives were packed in a minibus. Authorities at Kandahar's Mirwais hospital said the dead and wounded included both civilians and members of the Afghan security forces. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Kandahar Province is a major center of opium cultivation and a stronghold of the Taliban. Meanwhile, in the eastern province of Ghazni, officials said on May 22 that at least 14 police officers were killed in several attacks by the militants. Provincial council member Hassan Reza Yusufi said that seven officers were killed in one attack in the Dih Yak district, among them the police chief of the district, Sayedullah Tofan, and a reserve police commander. Arif Noori, a spokesman for Ghazni's governor, said another seven officers were killed in the Jaghatu district. Yusufi said the attacks started late on May 21 and fighting was still under way on May 22 in the Dih Yak, Jaghatu, Ajristan, and Qarabagh districts. Latifa Akbari, the head of the provincial council in Ghazni, confirmed that Taliban fighters attacked a number of checkpoints in Dih Yak and Jaghatu and there were more than 20 casualties among members of the security forces. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attacks. Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the Jaghatu district headquarters was captured as well as police checkpoints in Dih Yak. In the province of Paktia, also in southern Afghanistan, at least two police officers were killed when their checkpoint came under attack by Taliban fighters, said General Gul Agha Rohani, the provincial police chief. With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa Steve Bannon, a former senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, told an audience in Prague that NATO countries in Europe need to start paying more to protect themselves from Russia and stop being a "protectorate" of the United States. Speaking at a forum sponsored by a Czech defense contractor on May 22, Bannon said that while Russia is a "kleptocracy" being "run by bad guys," the real geostrategic threat to the world is China. PRAGUE -- A former adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, said that NATO countries need to start paying more to protect themselves against Russia, though he added that China is the biggest threat. Bannon said at an event held in Prague on May 22 that if European countries are "so worried about Russia, pay up." He added that Russia is not the greatest threat to Europe and is "not even in the top 5." Bannon, who was Trump's chief strategist and senior counselor for seven months last year, said that although Russia is a "kleptocracy" run by "bad guys who do bad things.... There are a lot of places like that." He added that the biggest geostrategic threat to the world is China. "The hate against Russia is 10 times what it was then [during the Cold War]," Bannon said. "It is going to take wisdom, and courage, and tenacity, but somehow...we're going to have to end the Cold War. Russia's economy today is the size of Italy's. It's smaller than [the economy of] New York state. We've made [the Russians] 10 feet tall. They're not 10 feet tall." Bannon said Europe should stop being a "protectorate" of the United States and said it is "demeaning" for the United States, considering the United States' participation in the two world wars -- to come with "a cup in the hand and ask Germany: 'Would you pay your 2 percent [of GDP for NATO]?'" He was especially critical of Germany, calling the country a "deadbeat" when it comes to the military and adding that German Chancellor Angela Merkel "will go down as the single-worst political figure in the 21st century" because of her immigration policies that allowed some 1 million refugees to enter the country in the past three years. Bannon appeared at the Prague forum with former Hillary Clinton campaign adviser Lanny Davis. It was sponsored by a Czech defense contractor. RFE/RL's John Mastrini contributed to this report The Trump administration's new Afghanistan strategy has made little progress against the Taliban insurgency since August, and the country remains a "dangerous and volatile" place after 17 years of war, a government watchdog report says. The conclusion by three U.S. agency watchdogs late on May 21 contrasted with assertions by the Pentagon that Afghan forces, with U.S. support, have "turned the corner" and captured momentum in the war against the Taliban. The report to Congress by the inspectors-general of the Pentagon, State Department, and U.S. Agency for International Development, in seeing "few signs of progress" in the three months ended on March 31, cited a series of deadly attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups. "The Taliban and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria-Khorasan each launched high-profile attacks in Kabul that killed hundreds," the report noted. "The Taliban continued to hold territory and launched devastating terrorist attacks in Kabul and across the country," it said. On May 21, the Taliban warned Kabul residents that it is planning more attacks in the Afghan capital and residents should avoid "military centers" to minimize civilian casualties. The Trump administration, in launching a new war strategy in August, said it was stepping up the U.S. military campaign against the Taliban in hopes that the increased use of force would convince the Taliban it cannot win the war and force it to join peace negotiations. But the inspectors-general said that "there was little publicly available evidence that the actions to increase pressure on the Taliban were having a significant impact." In February, the Afghan government offered to start a reconciliation process with the Taliban with no preconditions, but the militant group spurned the offer. The report also found no "significant" gains in territory by U.S. and Afghan forces, despite the White House strategy's goal to increase the territory under government control to 80 percent from 64 percent through intensified air strikes and ground operations. Beyond Afghanistan, the report said the White House's efforts to force Pakistan to take action against militants who launch attacks on Afghanistan from its territory also have not borne fruit. "Despite suspending between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in planned security aid to Pakistan, that country did not take any significant action to eliminate terrorist safe havens," it said. The report was also doubtful about progress being made through parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, which were originally scheduled for July and have been postponed until October. It questioned the extent to which balloting amid Taliban resistance will promote peace. "Given that the Taliban views the Afghan government as a U.S. puppet, it is unclear how U.S.-supported elections would increase the legitimacy of the Afghan government in the eyes of the Taliban and would pressure the militants to reconcile," the report said. The watchdog report also cast doubt on a decision to send a new set of military advisers this year to work with Afghan forces closer to the front lines. It said this move, combined with stepped-up Afghan offensives against the Taliban, "further raises the risk of civilian casualties, insider attacks, U.S. casualties, and other conflict-related violence." The United States has about 15,000 support troops in Afghanistan who provide military assistance but are not involved directly in combat. Asked about the report's grim assessment, a Pentagon spokesman, Army Colonel Rob Manning, said officials believed "chaos and progress can coexist" in Afghanistan. "That's exactly what we feel is happening in Afghanistan," he said. Manning said the Afghan armed forces are making important strides. He cited as an example the support that the Afghan air force provided in an offensive undertaken in Farah province in recent days to defeat Taliban forces that had attacked the provincial capital near Iran and overrun several security checkpoints. Manning also said additional U.S. military advisory units had arrived in Farah to assist Afghan forces. He said the Afghan government was now in full control of Farah. The inspectors'-general report agreed that Afghan security forces were improving, but found they had made minimal progress toward securing the population. It also said the number of Afghan fighting forces had continued to decline, raising concerns about their effectiveness. The number of active-duty Afghan troops stood at 313,728 at the end of January, it said, down from 331,708 a year earlier. The actual number of troops is 11 percent below the target level of 352,000, a gap that reflects difficulties in keeping Afghan soldiers in uniform as well as high Afghan casualty rates, the report said. With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters An Iranian government panel has concluded there is no evidence against environmental activists rounded up on spying charges in recent months, the country's environment chief says. Isa Kalantari, head of Iran's department of environment, was quoted by state media as saying on May 22 that the conclusion had been reached by a panel set up to investigate the allegations against the activists. The panel included the ministers of justice, interior, and intelligence, as well as the president's legal deputy, Kalantari said. "This four-member group has come to the conclusion that these detained individuals are in custody without having done anything and naturally they must be freed soon," Kalantari said. Iran detained several environmentalists and wildlife activists earlier this year on espionage charges. The total number of those arrested is not clear. Judiciary officials claimed that the activists were gathering sensitive information for foreign governments under the guise of scientific and environmental activities. Among those detained was Iranian-Canadian environmental activist and sociology professor Kavous Seyed Emami, who died in prison under disputed circumstances. The judiciary said the 63-year-old managing director of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, which works to protect endangered animals and raise public awareness about the environment, had committed suicide in prison. The claim has been questioned by his family and acquaintances. Kalantari's deputy at the department of environment, Kaveh Madani, fled the country last month amid pressure from hard-liners. Madani said last year he had returned to Iran "to create hope" and pave the way for the return of other expatriates. Based on reporting by ISNA and AFP Six Iranian ministers and two lawmakers, all members of the state committee in charge of blocking websites, have issued an open letter to the country's prosecutor calling for the unblocking of Twitter. The letter was issued in response to "the growing public demands for unfiltering Twitter to allow the activity of the youth and media in [it]," the government website Dolat.ir reported. The letter is signed by Communications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, Education Minister Mohammad Bathaee, Intelligence Minister Mahmud Alavi, Justice Minister Alireza Avayi, Science Minister Mansur Gholami, and Culture Minister Abbas Salehi, as well lawmakers Ramezanali Sobhanifar and Mohammad Kazemi. Twitter and Facebook are among the tens of thousands of social-media and news sites blocked by the Iranian establishment. Despite the blocking, many Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, use Twitter to reach out to supporters and spread their messages. Many Iranians also use Twitter to share news and information and express themselves. Iran recently blocked the highly popular communications app Telegram, believed to be used by half of the country's population. Yet, many Iranians are still accessing it through antiblocking tools. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Dolat.ir and ISNA BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan's highest court has upheld a suspended prison sentence against opposition politician and former Prosecutor-General Aida Salyanova. The Supreme Court heard Salyanovas appeal on May 22, after the Bishkek city court confirmed in February her suspended five-year prison sentence. Following that ruling, the Central Election Commission on March 3 deprived her of her legislative mandate. Salyanova, a legislator from the Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party, was initially convicted and sentenced in October 2017 by Bishkek's Lenin district court, which also ordered the confiscation of her property. However, the court postponed her imprisonment until her 2-year-old daughter reaches the age of 14. Salyanova was accused of illegally extending the license of a lawyer with links to then-President Kurmanbek Bakiev's son Maksim shortly before Bakiev's ouster in 2010. She was prosecutor-general at the time. Salyanova has maintained her innocence, saying the case against her was politically motivated. Her conviction came amid political tensions just five days before the October 2017 presidential election. Authorities targeted Salyanova in an investigation in March 2017, just days after Ata-Meken leader Omurbek Tekebaev was arrested on what his supporters say were trumped-up bribery charges. Tekebaev, who was nominated as Ata-Meken's presidential candidate shortly after his arrest, was convicted in August 2017 and sentenced to eight years in prison. His supporters say the conviction was aimed at preventing him from running in the election. In November, several masked men shot Salyanova's brother dead in his home, according to the Interior Ministry, which at the time overruled a political motive for the shooting. Deputy Interior Minister Kursan Asanov on May 18 said that two suspects in the killing of 42-year-old Ulan Salyanov had been detained in Kyrgyzstan and Russia. A third suspect, a Russian citizen, was still on the loose, Asanov said. Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered support for Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro after the United States, the European Union, and Latin American countries rejected his reelection as a "sham." "The Russian president wished Maduro good health and success in resolving the social and economic issues facing the country," the Kremlin said on May 21, calling for "national dialogue in the interests of the entire Venezuelan people." Russia came to Venezuela's rescue late last year with a debt-restructuring deal after it was driven to the verge of default by falling oil prices and tough U.S. sanctions -- sanctions that the United States ratcheted up further on May 21 to counter what Washington sees as Maduro's increasingly autocratic grip on his country. Maduro won 68 percent of the vote in an election on May 20 that was boycotted by Venezuela's main opposition groups, which were not allowed to put up their most popular candidates and charged the election was rigged. Even before the election, the United States, Canada, the European Union, and a dozen Latin American countries said they would not recognize the results. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called the election "a sham -- neither free nor fair." The United States announced a new round of sanctions against Caracas on May 21, with U.S. President Donald Trump calling on Maduro 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." But while a senior U.S. official said the Trump administration had had "pointed discussions" with Russia and China, Venezuela's two biggest creditors, demanding that they not counteract the sanctions, the Kremlin indicated on May 21 that it will continue to provide Maduro with critical support. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the position taken by the United States and its allies in rejecting Maduro's reelection 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. Maduro in a Twitter post thanked Putin for "recognizing our triumph," and pledged to continue working with Russia to "build a multipolar world." Also coming out in support of Maduro on May 21 despite criticism from most other states was Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who hailed the Venezuelan election as "true democracy." Russia and China are the two main creditors and allies of Venezuela, which owes them an estimated $8 billion and $28 billion, respectively. With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and Interfax YEKATERINBURG, Russia -- Yekaterinburg Mayor Yevgeny Roizman has announced his resignation, saying he refused to take part in the process of abolishing the direct election of the mayor in Russia's fourth-largest city. "Since I was elected by the city's residents, I defend the interests of the city's residents. We were put in a situation where we had to legitimize someone else's decision. I will not take part in this under any circumstances," Roizman said on May 22 during a meeting of the city council he chaired. "Today's meeting is closed. I declare to you that I do not want to participate in this and resign." Roizman made the announcement after refusing to put on the agenda of the meeting the introduction of amendments to the city's charter abolishing the election of the city's mayor. Speaking to RFE/RL about his decision, Roizman described the amendments as "a direct cheat on the people of [Yekaterinburg]." "This is Yekaterinburg -- people will understand me. It was the only way to come clean out of this situation," he added. "Step by step the local council is being stripped of everything -- authority, finance, direct elections." Meanwhile, the deputy chairman of the city's legislature, Viktor Testov, told reporters, "We need to gather and consult lawyers, so that we understand how to act further and whether a special session should be convened." The move comes after lawmakers in the Sverdlovsk region on April 3 passed a bill under which the mayor in the regional capital, Yekaterinburg, will be chosen by the city council from a list of candidates prepared by a commission -- a move that has met resistance from Roizman and protests by residents of the Urals city. Roizman has blasted the legislation, which was submitted by regional Governor Yevgeny Kuvaishev, saying the abolition of direct elections would deal a blow to democracy and hurt the city's interests. He also said it will be used by the authorities loyal to the Kremlin to "appoint" a pliant mayor. Critics say that President Vladimir Putin has rolled back democracy and tightened Kremlin control over electoral politics over about 18 years as president or prime minister. Roizman, who was elected mayor in 2013, is one of a very few regional or local officials who have openly criticized Putin and praised opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. His position is already largely ceremonial, as most executive powers in Yekaterinburg belong to the head of the city administration, Aleksandr Yakob. Roizman had called for a boycott of the March 18 presidential election, saying the polls were not free or fair. Putin was reelected by a landslide in the vote that critics say was marred by fraud and what international observers said was the lack of a genuine choice. With reporting by TASS and Znak.com In a political system tightly controlled by the Kremlin, Yevgeny Roizman was an outlier: a brash, independent mayor of a major Russian city who openly criticized President Vladimir Putin and offered support for opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. Now, Roizman is out as the mayor of Yekaterinburg, having resigned on May 22 rather than go along with the decision last month by lawmakers in Russia's fourth-largest city to abolish mayoral elections. And his options for a future in Russian electoral politics are meager, political analysts say. "I'm going home. We'll live our lives. This is only the beginning," Roizman told the Russian-language Current Time TV after announcing his resignation during a meeting of the city council that he chaired. Roizman's victory over his rival from Russia's ruling United Russia party in Yekaterinburg's 2013 mayoral election was one of the more curious and unexpected events in Russian electoral politics in recent years. A tough-talking populist who clashed with his region's Kremlin-backed authorities, Roizman made a name for himself in his native Yekaterinburg with his contentious City Without Drugs Program, built on the forced rehabilitation of addicts and vigilante raids against drug dealers. He also faced accusations of racism in his antidrug crusade, allegations he rejected. Roizman eventually won a seat in Russia's lower house of parliament beginning in 2003 and remained involved in a range of political movements after leaving office in 2007. Portraying himself as a champion of local rule and an opponent of diktats from Moscow, Roizman edged out his Kremlin-backed opponent in the 2013 mayoral election. At the time, Putin himself appeared to hold up Roizman's victory as an example of political plurality in a country where critics say the Kremlin has rolled back democracy and tightened the screws on political opponents. "He's a unique person," Putin said at the time. "A representative of the so-called 'nonsystemic' opposition. He went out there and won." Roizman's powers as Yekaterinburg's mayor were very limited, with most executive authority belonging to the head of the city administration. But he enjoys significant popularity in the city of 1.4 million and name recognition that is not dependent on his official position, said Yekaterina Shulman, a political scientist at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. "There are very few such people in our public sphere. You can literally count them on one hand. Public figures in current Russian politics increasingly tend to be nonentities, indistinguishable save their titles," Shulman told RFE/RL. Shulman said if Roizman, 55, intends to remain in electoral politics, his best bet would likely be to pursue legislative office. Any mayoral or gubernatorial ambitions would likely be shut down, she said. "Such elections are controlled very strictly, mainly by denying access [to the ballot]," Shulman said. Roizman, whose five-year term was set to expire in September, complained last year that a Kremlin-backed legal mechanism was used to keep him off the ballot in the gubernatorial election eventually won by United Russia candidate Yevgeny Kuyvashev -- a claim rejected by Russia's elections chief. Tatyana Stanovaya, head of the Paris-based think tank R.Politik, said Roizman is likely to ally himself with opposition forces -- such as Navalny -- who operate outside the Kremlin-approved political system. "I think that in the grand scheme of things, he only has one option: to embed himself with the nonsystemic opposition and those fighting against the regime, and continue his fight," she told RFE/RL. Roizman and Navalny both called for a boycott of the March 18 election that handed Putin a new six-year term in a ballot denounced by critics as a stage-managed affair lacking true competition. And he attended a May 5 rally in Yekaterinburg -- one of several organized nationwide by Navalny against Putin's inauguration two days later. Speaking on May 22 to Current Time TV, a project of RFE/RL in cooperation with Voice of America, Roizman slammed the decision by Yekaterinburg lawmakers last month to abolish mayoral elections as a "betrayal of the interests of the city and its citizens." "This is the problem of local councils all over. The local council today is simply being cornered. Step by step, the local council is being stripped of everything -- authority, finance, direct elections," Roizman said. "There cannot be a strong country when its cities are weak," he added. "A strong country is only possible with strong cities." Asked about his plans, Roizman told Ekho Moskvy radio following his resignation on May 22 that he is a "historian, researcher, and a writer," and that he has his own charity foundation that will keep him busy. "Politically, the field is dried up and destroyed. But nonetheless, there are already tons of offers. That I will be in demand, that's a certainty," Roizman said. The United States has announced sanctions on five Iranians it said provided Yemen's Huthi rebel group with expertise and weaponry used to launch missiles at Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that Mehdi Azarpisheh, Mohammad Jafari, Mahmud Kazemabad, Javad Shir Amin, and Sayyed Mohammad Tehrani are the people being sanctioned. It said the first four men worked with the Huthis through Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) by providing the rebel group with ballistic-missile related expertise and transferring "weapons not seen in Yemen prior to the current conflict." Tehrani was sanctioned for allegedly aiding in the financing of the IRGC. The fresh sanctions are part of the Trump administration's pledge to place tough new economic sanctions on Iran. The Treasury Department announcement comes one day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would soon crack down on Iran's support for the Huthis. Yemen's government has been fighting against the Iran-backed Huthi movement since 2015 in a war that has caused thousands of deaths and put the country on the verge of famine. Saudi Arabia blames the Huthi rebels for firing a string of missiles at its cities and oil infrastructure, most recently on May 9. With reporting by Reuters KYIV -- Ukraine has showcased the firepower of the Javelin antitank missile systems given to it by the United States last month in a performance President Petro Poroshenko called "a dream come true." "Finally, this day has come -- and today, on May 22, for the first time in Ukraine, a test of the third-generation Javelin antitank complex took place," a grinning Poroshenko told his soldiers in a video of the closed test published on his Facebook page. "Thanks to them, the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have increased significantly." RFE/RL was first to report the delivery of 37 Javelin launchers, including two spares, and 210 missiles to Kyiv in April. The U.S. State Department approved the sale of the Javelin systems to Ukraine at an estimated cost of $47 million in March. Poroshenko on May 22 personally thanked U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the U.S. Congress "for supporting Ukraine and adopting a decision to provide Javelin antitank missile systems." Kyiv and Washington have said that the Javelins will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity and keep Russian aggression at bay. Russia's Foreign Ministry warned that the weapons may further inflame tensions between Moscow and Washington and push Ukraine "toward reckless new military decisions." "Of course this is a defensive weapon and will be used only when there is an attack by the Russian Federation on positions of Ukrainian forces,' Poroshenko said at the test. The special U.S. envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, has said that the Javelins are being stored in a secure facility far from the front line of the conflict in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where government forces continue to fight Russia-backed separatists. In its fifth year, the fighting has killed more than 10,300 people. The Javelin test came amid what international observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE-SMM) in Ukraine said on May 21 has been the deadliest week of the year in the conflict zone, with heavy weapons banned by a tenuous peace accord agreed in February 2015 used against populated areas. In the test video, Poroshenko appears pleased with the performance of the missile, which is seen hitting a tank in a sprawling field. The president is shown smiling while lauding the "extremely high efficiency" of the weapon. "You saw the happy faces of soldiers," the president said. "Today, their dream has come true." "It has a very symbolic meaning," he added, "because it is a symbol of cooperation with our American partners." Body of another half-naked woman found in Cancun Cancun, Q.R. The body of another half-naked woman has been reported found in a vacant lot in the city of Cancun. Emergency 911 received the call at approximately 1:00 a.m. when someone reported finding the body of a woman in a vacant lot in region 227 near Campo de los Gemelos. According to preliminary information, the female was about 25 years old. She was found half naked with her pants down, implying that she may have been a victim of sexual assault. The neighbors of the area were the ones who made the discovery of the body. Paramedics from the Red Cross arrived at the scene and confirmed the death of the woman. Municipal and ministerial police were in charge of cordoning off the area for the corresponding investigations. There was no confirmation yet as to how the women died. The Attorney General of the State will be in charge of determining official details of her death. On Sunday, the body of a 17-year-old woman was found beaten and raped in a vacant lot near Avenue Rio Hondo in Cancun. Pictured with the life-saving equipment are (from left to right): Parkgate Shopping centre manager Janet Drury, health and safety advisor for the Canal River Trust Stephen Williamson, water safety practitioner for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Gary Willoughby, drowning victim Subhaan Alis mum Zaura Ali and DC Victoria Kenny. 180742 EQUIPMENT which could save lives has been installed next to a Rotherham canal where an 11-year-old boy drowned two years ago. Subhaan Alis mum Zaura Ali (pictured), of Eastwood, was at the unveiling of the throwline station behind Parkgate Shopping along with representatives from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (SYFR) and South Yorkshire Police. The specially designed station contains a throwline which is stored securely to avoid vandalism, with an access code given to callers by 999 operators in the event of an emergency. The equipment is one of more than 20 to be installed by SYFR at open water across South Yorkshire over the last two years including Ulley Reservoir and Thrybergh Country Park. The 630 throwline has been funded by Parkgate Shopping. Janet Drury, Parkgate Shopping manager, said: Although its not our land, its adjacent to Parkgate. We thought it would be a good thing to improve the safety of the canal area. A South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue spokesman said: Around 400 people needlessly drown in the UK every year and thousands more suffer injury, some life- changing, through near-drowning experiences. These stations provide quick access rescue capability for anyone who might find themselves in difficulties in the water. A coroner ruled Subhaans drowning was accidental. For more on this story see this week's Advertiser. But a solution was however found. After being threatened with new sanctions, Iran is surprisingly emerging as a cryptocurrency-friendly nation. In an official statement given by the Central Bank of Iran, the country is in advanced talks with authorities to develop means to catalyze the use of cryptocurrencies for daily transactions.Also more, the Parliamentary Commission for Economic Affairs of Iran views the use of cryptocurrency as a viable substitute for the U.S. dollar and SWIFTs interbank payment system. On the other way, Iran has established cooperation with Russia on the use of cryptocurrencies. We will be the first countries that use cryptocurrencies in the exchange of goods, Mohammad Reza Purebrahimi, an official of Central Bank of Iran (CBI), said during a meeting with the head of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Dmitry Mezentsev. Emblematic image from Iran Citizens of Iran are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies. Iranis can also consider the pioneer cryptocurrency as a relatively safe store-of-value, as the Rial continues to weaken against the U.S. dollar drastically. Irans ICT Minister Mohammad Azari-Jahromi confirmed the states effort to develop a state cryptocurrency powered by blockchain technology. Russia has been reported to be heavily involved in the development of Venezuelas petro, the worlds first state cryptocurrency. We can settle accounts with our counterparties all over the world with no regard for sanctions, Putins economic advisor Sergei Glazev told official. Hemu Adhikari Mumbai : Veteran film and theatre actor Dr Hemu Adhikaridied due to a lung ailment at his residence in Dadar here yesterday, family sources said. He was 81. Adhikari,known for his cameo in Rajkumar Hirani's "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" (2006),was suffering from a lung infection for the last one-and-a-half years. Hemu Adhikari dies Advertisement He acted in Sai Paranjpe's "Katha" and Marathi films like "Dhyaas Parya" and "Harishchandrachi Factory". His last rites were performed last night, the sources said. The actor is survived by wife, two daughters and a son. Noted Bollywood and Marathi film actor Sonali Kulkarni expressed her condolences on Adhikari's death. Actor Hemu Adhikari dies "Sad to know the demise of our dear friend, wonderful actor, sharp audience, deep thinker, passionate reader and a fearless, concerned citizen..RIP Hemukaka you'll be missed #RIP," Kulkarni tweeted. Passengers boarding passes will not be stamped by CISF personnel airports The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant impact on the aviation industry. It has resulted in travel restrictions, shut down of borders, restricted international travel and a slump in demand among travellers while a large number of planes are grounded. It has also come to light that more than 13 CISF personnel at Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad airports have tested positive for COVID-19 till date and hence countermeasures are being taken to contain its spread by zero touch/contact. These new regulations can be seen in the accompanying video (Credit India Today) at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport in Kolkata. Social distancing is maintained right from entry to the airport to boarding the flight and there is absolutely no contact throughout the checking in process. At the entrance itself, the passengers tickets and identification are to be put through a scanner for verification and will not be physically handled by the CISF personnel. The travelers masks will be opened for easy identification. Watch the detailed video below. Upon entrance to the airport, there are clearly marked lines and social distancing will be strictly adhered to at all times. There will be only 1 person at each counter which has been enclosed with a high glass partition. The boarding pass will be issued and luggage will have to be tagged by the passenger itself and placed onto the luggage belt. Hand wash for a good 20 seconds in automated machines will follow and even when belongings are kept on the tray, they will not be touched by the CISF as they pass through the scanner unless there is an urgent need. Security checks will continue with no face to face contact and with a metal detector with extended rod while the CISF personnel will all wear full PPE gear. In the security hold area, there will be a limited number of shops open which will cater to basic supplies. Travellers will not be allowed to do unnecessary movement inside the airport; as was done in the past. Passengers will have to head directly to their gates and wait in that area itself. For seating inside the cabin, every alternate chair will be open for seating of passengers while others will have red tapes across to prevent any seating so as to maintain social distancing. The earlier order was that passengers were not allowed more than 100 ml of liquid in the hand baggage, but the new order now permits passengers to board the aircraft with liquid sanitizer upto 350 ml. Proper CCTV cameras and infrastructure will have to be maintained through all points and recordings will have to be preserved for 30 days as per current regulations. Disclaimer The manufacturer (TVS Motor Company) has blacklisted Rushlane from its events/rides as a consequence of decisions based on restrictive practices. This blog is reliant on available UGC and customer input. There was a promo video of Royal Enfield Himalayan, which showed ace rider CS Santosh taking the bike through a dirt track. There were jumps as well. After taking one jump, and during the landing, the video by mistake showed the brake pedal of the bike falling, and for a split second, CS Santosh losing balance. Well, same is not the case with TVS Apache 310 here. But, yes, a brake lever did fall. As per the owner of this bike, Vasista Dutt says that he was riding through traffic when suddenly the brake lever fell on the ground. This is what he has said on a popular Facebook Group TVS Apache RR 310 (Akula) Im literally in shock for what just happened to my bike.I was riding in the traffic and suddenly the back brake of the bike just fell to the ground. One of the bolts connecting the brake pedal broke in half. I have ridden this bike for only 600km and I have never ridden it past 90 kmph. Has this happened with anyone else or am I the first victim?? The incident is surprising for sure. Cause the part which the rider is talking about is made of cast aluminum and it is not easy for parts that are made of cast aluminum to break in the manner shown by the owner. Also, this is the same part that is used by BMW in export-spec G310R and G310GS. Priced from Rs 2.75 lakh on road Bangalore, the new TVS Apache 310 is a rival to KTM 390. It is the flagship two wheeler of the company, which excels in selling rickshaws and mopeds. Update After the post went viral on social media, TVS decided to replace the broken part. But as they did not have stock of that part, the dealer decided to remove the part from a brand new TVS Apache 310 and install it in that of Vasistas bike. Below is the update posted by Vasista (he has deleted his old update). Feeling very happy with the customer service provided by TVS.They responded immediately and fixed the brake issue with my bike.My bike got repaired first thing in the morning free of cost.They said the spare part would take 5 days to arrive but instead replaced the part with one of the new bikes in the showroom.I even got a call from the head office of tvs as they saw the post in fb. They asked about the situation and the progress of the repair. Seems like TVS is actively following the facebook group TVS Apache RR 310 (Akula). If you have a problem, posting in this group could provide faster results. Another member, Souryarup Ghosh has posted in the group regarding part unavailability. This is what he says I dont know where this group is followed by any TVS officials or not but i want to share my experinece regarding the service and spare parts of the bike..I am from WestBengal.My dealer is Subh TVS, Howrah. On 20th April i have done the first free service of my bike where it is found that the condition of the rear disc pad of is poor. So the service advisor advised me to change the disc pad and not to ride anymore. I told them instantly to order the disc pad whatever the cost is..But till today i havent received the disc pad.. I use to call them frequently but everytime the reply is No, it is not arrived. They told me that they have done an emergency order but is this the example of an emergency order? Its more than 1 months a simple rear disc pad is not arrived ..for the last one month i cant ride my bike just for a simple disc pad. Its my request to the TVS family to look into this matter..We are not investing 2.5lacs to keep the bike in the garage. I dont know where the problem is with TVS or with SUBH TVS.. Please try to available the parts in the WestBengal region and help me to get my disc pad ASAP. Its a biggest disappointment from TVS..Its not at all expected from TVS. Lets hope the dealer has a brand new Apache 310 in stock so that he can replace it for Souryarup Ghoshs Apache 310. 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 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. 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." 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." 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." 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, PhD, 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. advertisement "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, PhD, 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, PhD, 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 body -- invisible 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. advertisement "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. 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. advertisement 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. A major new analysis reveals for the first time the likely cause of most cases of childhood leukemia, 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 leukemia (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 fetus and predisposes children to leukemia -- but 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 leukemia is particularly prevalent in advanced, affluent societies and is increasing in incidence at around 1 per cent per year. advertisement Professor Greaves suggests childhood ALL is a paradox of progress in modern societies -- with lack of microbial exposure early in life resulting in immune system malfunction. In a landmark paper published in Nature Reviews Cancer today (Monday), Professor Greaves compiled more than 30 years of research -- his own and from colleagues around the world -- into the genetics, cell biology, immunology, epidemiology and animal modelling of childhood leukemia. The research in his lab at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) was largely funded by the charities Bloodwise and The Kay Kendall leukemia Fund. Professor Greaves challenged previous reports of possible environmental causes, such as ionising radiation, electricity cables, electromagnetic waves or human-made chemicals -- arguing 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 leukemia. Professor Greaves suggests that childhood leukemia, 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 life -- potentially sparing children the trauma and life-long consequences of chemotherapy. advertisement 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 infection -- probably 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 leukemia-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 leukemia in mice -- with 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 leukemia, like that of most common cancers, is also influenced by inherited genetic susceptibility and chance. Secondly, infection as a cause applies to ALL specifically -- other rarer types including infant leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia 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 leukemia, 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 leukemia 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 leukemia 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 leukemia, 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 leukemia are likely to be preventable. 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'." 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 Greaves -- who is one of the UK's most influential and iconic cancer researchers. His work has cut through the myths about childhood leukemia 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 leukemia could become a preventable disease as a result of this work. Preventing childhood leukemia would have a huge impact on the lives of children and their families in the UK and across the globe." What is ALL? Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a form of cancer that affects blood-producing cells in the bone marrow. It happens when these cells don't mature properly, and grow too fast. Incidence Around 500 children in the UK are diagnosed with ALL each year ALL is the most common type of cancer in children ALL makes up four fifths of all the leukemia cases in children 1 in 20 children are born with the pre-leukemia mutation 1 in 2000 children develop leukemia Only 1% of children with the pre leukemia mutation go on to develop the disease The incidence is increasing by ~1% each year Treatment Scientists have found a new way of joining groups of atoms together into shape-changing molecules -- opening 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 isomers -- molecules made of the same atoms connected together differently -- were 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 PhD 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. advertisement Mr Canfield, who is undertaking his PhD 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 chirality -- a 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. advertisement "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 compounds -- molecules 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 energy -- we 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." We are all familiar with the drawbacks of dehydration, but we rarely hear about the harmful effects of overhydration. For one, excess fluid accumulation can lead to dangerously low sodium levels in the blood or hyponatremia -- a life-threatening condition that can result in brain swelling. Similarly, more is known about the mechanisms in the body that detect and drive thirst while little is known about how the brain detects a state of overhydration. "[Hyponatremia] occurs in common pathological conditions, including brain injury, sepsis, cardiac failure and in the use of drugs, such as MDMA (ecstasy)," says Dr. Charles Bourque, whose team from the Centre for Research in Neuroscience at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) uncovered a key piece to the puzzle of how our brains detect hyponatremia and regulate overhydration. The new study featured in Cell Reports unearths the fundamental mechanism of how hyponatremia is detected in the brain. "Our specific data will be important for people studying hydromineral and fluid electrolyte homeostasis, and clinicians who treat patients faced with hyponatremia," reports Dr. Bourque, who is a scientist in the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program (BRAIN) at the RI-MUHC and a professor in McGill's Department of Neurology. This condition is more common in elderly patients and can cause cognitive problems and seizures in this vulnerable group. While it remains uncertain how hyponatremia develops, a defect in the hydration sensing mechanism of the brain could be the culprit. No strangers to studying the mechanisms of hydration in the body, Dr. Bourque's team, located at the Montreal General Hospital, has also made several key discoveries in the past on how the brain detects and prevents dehydration; how salt intake increases blood pressure; and how the brain's biological clock stimulates thirst prior to sleep. In this instance, experiments by Sorana Ciura, a PhD student in Dr. Bourque's laboratory, who is now at the Institut Imagine, Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades in Paris, revealed that the brain's hydration sensing neurons don't detect overhydration in the same way that they detect dehydration. The new research shows that overhydration activates Trpv4, which is a cellular gatekeeper implicated in maintaining the balance of water in the body. Trpv4 is a calcium channel that can be found in glial cells, which are cells that act to surround hydration sensing neurons. "Our study shows that it is in fact glial cells that first detect the overhydrated state and then transfer this information to turn off the electrical activity of the [hydration sensing] neurons," explains Dr. Bourque. The researchers also found that it is the release of the amino acid taurine that acts to inhibit hydration sensing neurons. Essentially, when overhydration is detected by glial cells, the Trpv4 channel triggers the release of taurine, which acts as a trip wire to inhibit hydration sensing neurons. The brain's ability to detect excess hydration is essential to maintaining fluid balance in the body and preventing conditions like hyponatremia. "Preclinical models of hyponatremia will be used to examine if the mechanism we report is affected in this condition with the long-term objective of designing new treatments or diagnostic tools," concludes Dr. Bourque. Dr. Bourque is collaborating with Dr. Julie Marcoux, neurosurgeon at the MUHC on a study that aims to define the basis for the emergence of hyponatremia in a subset of patients that suffer from a TBI. Cranking up your headphones or scrambling for a front-row spot at rock shows could be damaging more than your hearing. New research from The Ohio State University has found that young people with subtle hearing loss -- the kind they aren't even aware of -- are putting demands on their brains that typically wouldn't be seen until later in life. "Hearing loss, even minor deficits, can take a toll in young people -- they're using cognitive resources that could be preserved until much later in life," said lead researcher Yune Lee, an assistant professor of speech and hearing science at Ohio State. "Most concerning, this early hearing loss could pave the way for dementia." The study appears online in the journal eNeuro. Lee and his collaborators recruited healthy men and women who were 18 to 41 years old so that they could monitor their brain activity while the subjects listened to various sentences. The structure of the sentences varied in difficulty because the researchers wanted the 35 participants' brains to have to work harder to comprehend some of the messages. The original study was designed to look just at brain differences when sentence complexity increased -- something that is possible with use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), technology that allows scientists to measure and map brain activity. advertisement But the research team stumbled upon a surprising discovery. Before the fMRI tests, the researchers tested participants' hearing to make sure there weren't any problems that would interfere with the study. Some of the young people had subtle hearing deficits, but nothing serious enough to exclude them from the research. As it turned out, those with minor hearing deficits had fMRI results that took an unexpected turn. Lee and his colleagues were expecting brain activity in the left hemisphere of the brain. But in the subjects with subtle hearing decline, the fMRI was showing activity in the right hemisphere as well -- in the right frontal cortex, to be exact. "This isn't about the ear -- it's about the brain, the cognitive process, and it shouldn't be happening until people are at least older than 50," he said. As part of the natural aging process, humans begin to use more of their right frontal brain to process language. But in healthy young people, the left side is wholly responsible for language comprehension. "But in our study, young people with mild hearing decline were already experiencing this phenomenon," Lee said. "Their brains already know that the perception of sound is not what it used to be and the right side starts compensating for the left." It's unclear what this means for people as they age, but Lee said he is concerned that tapping into the right brain so early in life could mean worse hearing comprehension with age. advertisement And he's especially worried about the link between hearing loss and dementia. "Previous research shows that people with mild hearing loss are twice as likely to have dementia. And those with moderate to severe hearing loss have three to five times the risk," Lee said. "We can't be sure, but we suspect that what happens is you put so much effort into listening you drain your cognitive resources, and that has a negative effect on your thinking and memory and that can eventually lead to dementia." Lee said young people should take their hearing health seriously and understand that there could be serious repercussions down the road if they don't. And it's important to recognize that risks arise from routine exposures, such as listening to music on portable players and attending live music events, he said. "Letting this process happen early in your life could be like spending your retirement money when you're in your 30s," Lee said. "You're going to need that down the road." This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here. David Iwanow is currently 36 years old and lives and works in London. He spends his time with his wonderful fiancee Fiona, who keeps him grounded, since she is not part of the SEO industry. He was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia. David is someone who is friends with almost everyone I know in our industry. He is super active on social media, always can be found at industry events, he is constantly contributing content to the industry publications and sharing his knowledge, freely and openly with everyone in our space. He even runs his own meetups locally, which is a huge deal. He has been involved in the industry since before it became an industry, in 1994. I don't think there is anyone in the space that has met David that can't say a nice thing about him. We are lucky to have him as part of our industry and community. Saijo George nominated David and wrote: David is very passionate about SEO and was one of the founding members of a monthly SEO meetup group in Melbourne. Without him, we might not have such a passionate bunch of SEO's hanging out and sharing info with each other in the southern hemisphere. He really is quite knowledgable when it comes to SEO and is such a down to earth, nice guy. David Iwanow Bio: David has been a web user since back in 1994 which sometimes makes him feel old, back then it was a very simple web. There was no Google it was just WebCrawler, Go.com, Lycos, Infoseek and every week or two you would download a new build of Netscape Navigator which would offer new exciting features such as support for images, background colours, JavaScript support, div tags, coloured font, animated gifs and later QuickTime video support. I actually mostly got into SEO by chance I returned to Australia in 2007 after a stint in London on a working holiday visa, and my mum's wedding celebrant business was struggling to gain traction, so I set about learning about Google Analytics (measure) and AdWords (targeted keywords) along with rebuilding her a brand new website with FrontPage. I was lucky that I had seen some early SEOs working in London such as Mike Hatcher when I was working at Belushi's London Bridge as assistant manager who shifted our dependence on HostelWorld for all our bookings to our own site by optimising page titles, but also involved a very slow and manual process of doing queries and logging ranking results in an excel document, he now works at Hive Minder. Back in 2006 in London I saw the raw power and potential of SEO then and decided I needed to start to learn more about it, back then it was heavily focused on reading as much as I could such as Aaron's SEO Book and forums such as WebmasterWorld. When I was back in Brisbane I was actually forced into making a decision to do SEO full-time after I was let go from my outbound sales job at WebCentral, I knew enough about SEO to get my sites ranked well enough in Google but most of the jobs I was applying for back then were mainly sales roles which required me to relocate to Sydney or Melbourne. I decided that I was going to give it a go on my own as my parents had run their own businesses so really how hard could it be? I was lucky enough to get a NEIS government grant to ensure I could afford to pay rent and afford food and set about spending the next 6 months researching the market, building my product offering and a huge amount of cold calling to agencies looking for them to handle freelance work. The early insights was that many web agencies were selling in SEO services to clients for many thousands of dollars a month only to do dumb things like failing to add redirects, not add page titles, use # in URLs so it looked like a single page website, mix internal links between www & non-www version but the scary thing was that many were not even using basic SEO tracking/reporting methodologies. I had many pointless meetings and presentations over this first year but it helped me understand a lot more about my competitors, where was the gap in the market but also created some of my strongest industry connections. It wasn't until my first big US SEO conference at SMX East in 2008 that I had my first chance to meet and hang out some SEOs such as Kate Morris, Brent Payne "BigWatah", Judith Lewis, Brent Csutoras, Bruce Clay, Lauren Vaccarello, Katie Greene, Andrew Goodman, Marty Weintraub,Thomas Rasinen, David Szetela, Randfish and many more amazing folks. It was actually twitter that allowed me to stay in contact with many of these amazing folks over the years. I was always impressed how open and willing to share tips/help along with mentoring these folks offered over the years, much of the many mistakes I could have made was reduced by having amazing and supportive marketers just a tweet away. I would have to say I've been working to improve my social interactions as I used to be an angry SEO when I got started back all those years ago and one role model over the years is Wil Reynolds who reminds me to be a better person along with a better marketer, if you get a chance to spend a few minutes with the man at any conference or event he is inspirational. Over the years I transitioned from agency contracts to my own clients to eventually taking the big plunge from working for myself to working for a comparison search engine in 2011, which I ended up leaving after a few months when I overspent on AdWords due to a rookie error restarting all the campaigns including the paused ones along with not discovering our Yahoo rep had enabled the publisher network and tanked the profit margin for that month. I decided then I didn't want to be a general web marketer but accepted my technical skills wasn't enough so I joined NextDigital a large web development agency based in Melbourne, Australia. It was actually only after a year that I transitioned to Razorfish where I worked on Suncorp one of the biggest insurance companies in Australia and helped on other projects such as Aussie Homeloans and Australia Post with a focus on content marketing and link building. This was an amazing team but I had a desire to see the world which took me to Amsterdam to join ebay classifieds group as SEO Product Manager looking after Benelux region which included Belgium and Netherlands. I decided to leave Amsterdam after 3 years to join a digital agency in London, and quickly discovered that it was a "challenging" place to work which provided me with a new challenge that I hadn't previous experienced. So after 1 year of working with some amazing clients such as Expedia, OKA, BetterGyms and WorldRemit and some amazing SEOs and project managers I made the decision to go back inhouse as SEO Manager for Schibsted Media Group staying in London. At the start of this year I received a promotion and after 11 years doing SEO full-time I can now be found working with Schibsted Media Group as Global SEO manager looking after our 50+ marketplaces in 22 countries around the world, which presents a whole bunch of new challenges with a combination of legacy and next generational platforms across 16+ different languages. Favorite thing about the SEM community? I would have to say the favourite thing is about our industry is how we are so quick to adapt, I do think we do have a bad habit of being a bit eager to jump on things and sometimes need to take things into perspective or take a step back. I'm also guilty of sometimes following the stamped as it's easy to get drawn into a tweet storm on a topic that is close to your heart. I also love how many amazing folks in our industry don't take themselves too seriously all the time and SEO is something of a big family. One piece of advice to the SEMs out there? Measure, wait and make decisions based on data where possible..... also its's great to share learning's where possible and stay positive. Favorite things in general? I would have to say travel is probably one of my favourite things to do for sure, I moved to Europe so travel would be easier and I love exploring and capturing moments with my camera. I do also try and work on writing more on my travel review site which is more of a place for creative output but I'm a bit behind with around 150+ articles still partly finished in draft. What you want to be known for in the SEM space? After returning from 6 months in NYC where there I was lucky enough to attend a few SEO meetups with some smart marketers like Frank Watson, Barry Schwartz, Ted Ulle, Matt McGowan, Vinny O'Hare, Christopher Hart and many more. I enjoyed this so much when I returned to Australia I re-started the SEO meetup group that meet once in 2008. I would hope that one of my legacies would be for helping expand SEO Meetups from a single event to a regular monthly event held in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. I did explore expanding the meetups to Europe but it's usually just more informal events such as #SEOsteak which is always a great relaxed event. I would have to say SEO Meetups wouldn't have grown to what it is today without the dedication from the local organisers Andy Henderson, Joe O'Brien, Rick Thompson, Chris Dimmock, Michael Jones, Chris Burgess, Peter Mead and Woj Kwasi. I would hope the idea of being more open, encouraging and trying to ensure everything you share is supported by examples/data is taken on by more folks in the digital marketing industry. To learn more about David, check out his travel blog, follow him on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn. This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here. Army 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr. was 21 years old on March 11, 1944, when he vanished from the sky. What happened was no mystery: On that day, the B-24 bomber Heaven Can Wait was shot down over a bay near Papua New Guinea, killing the Livermore native and 10 other crew members. But despite recovery efforts by the military, the planes precise location has remained unknown. Until now. Late last year, the front section, wing and tail assembly of the aircraft were found under 200 feet of water, with the help of underwater robots and scanning sonars. The discovery was the culmination of years of research by Kellys family and Project Recover, a nonprofit collective of scientists, historians, archaeologists, engineers and divers that works to locate missing service members. Scott Althaus, a cousin of Kellys, said he received the call from Project Recover on March 30. I expected the news would be encouraging, Althaus said. I did not expect to hear that they had found the plane. The few weeks delay allowed the searchers to meet government requirements for reporting such military finds. Kelly, a bombardier, and the rest of the crew of Heaven Can Wait were part of the 320th squadron of the Jolly Rogers 90th Bombardment Group. They had been in Papua New Guinea for four months when they were shot down on a mission to bomb Japanese anti-aircraft batteries around Hansa Bay, according to Project Recover. Todd Trumbull For Althaus, the mission began on Memorial Day weekend in 2013. As a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Althaus had been researching a topic that had a lot of heaviness to it public responses to war. Althaus decided to spend a few hours doing what he says every American should do on Memorial Day honoring family members who have been lost in wars. It began by just researching who his family members were Althaus knew he had two relatives who were killed in World War II, but he didnt even know their names. This portion of the hunt began with a Skype call to his parents. Althaus would learn that Kelly was raised in a ranching family and wanted to be a cowboy when he grew up. He enlisted in the Army Air Force in August 1942, just after graduating from Livermore High School. Relatives would recall that Kelly was passionate about enlisting in the Army and serving the country he loved. What started as a Memorial Day weekend talk with his parents turned into a 4-year project for Althaus, as he recruited family members to help him look through declassified reports, witness accounts and crew diaries to try to pinpoint the resting place of Kellys B-24. Then, last year, a family member heard about Project Recover, which specializes in locating service members who have been lost at sea. Eric Terrill, an expedition leader with the nonprofit, said a team of researchers was able to narrow the hunt to a 1-square-mile radius. After a two-week search, they found the plane. Its very humbling to be able to take the technologies and skills that have been developed over time, and bringing those together in a way that serve people, Terrill said. The families themselves have had a lot of sacrifices, and some of those losses are still felt today. 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. Althaus said the discovery was both exhilarating and painful for the family. The strange thing ... was that the whole weekend was an intense time of grieving for us, he said. We didnt expect that. Of the more than 400,000 Americans who died during World War II, 79,000 were unaccounted for at the time, according to the Defense Department. Only 7,000 have been found. Project Recover has reported its findings about Kellys B-24 to military officials, who will decide whether to try to recover the plane and any remains. Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy Marc Benioff isnt planning on waxing long about the gleaming glass sides, the pioneering height or the fancy light show at the top of his Salesforce Tower when it officially opens Tuesday. Hes got more down-to-earth things in mind for the dedication speech hes set to give. Hell be talking about solving homelessness particularly among children and families and how the Heading Home Initiative he helped create has met its fundraising goal and what it will do in the future. Making education the best it can be. Cleaning trash off the streets. These are causes he has personally given millions of dollars to address. And on the day he dedicates the tallest office building San Francisco has ever seen (61 stories), he wants to use this pulpit to pound home the ideas he has for making his hometown a better place. In my humble opinion, I have some priorities for the next mayor, Benioff told The Chronicle on Monday. Im talking about public education for our kids, and health care, helping our homeless people, particularly homeless kids. Making streets clean. Trust and safety. His list goes on to include fixing up school playgrounds and hospitals not just in San Francisco, but in Oakland and beyond reducing income inequality and marshaling the economic power of tech companies like his for the public good. As he rolls it out, his words come in an ever increasing rush this is clearly a passion of his, and one toward which he has personally steered his money since founding the software giant in 1999. Benioff and his wife, Lynne, have donated millions of dollars to causes from schools to hospitals, with $250 million alone going to the UCSF Benioff Childrens Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland. Salesforce and Salesforce.org, the foundation arm of the company, have given $220 million to community causes. These are the good times, when we should be focused on these things, he said. He doesnt want to run for San Francisco mayor Im pretty busy right now, he cracked but he definitely wants to push whoever is elected next month toward fixing the things he thinks need fixing the most. At the top of his list is homelessness. On Tuesday, Benioff will announce that the Heading Home Initiative, the family homelessness effort he and his wife helped found in 2016, has met its goal of raising at least $30 million in public and private funding. The Benioffs kick-started the program with $10 million, and on Tuesday they will also announce they are tossing in an addition $1.5 million to spur more donations. Theyre looking to raise $7 million more over the next year, and the goal is to end most family homelessness in San Francisco in the next few years. Over the past two years, Heading Home managed by Hamilton Families, the citys biggest family homelessness nonprofit has housed 235 families through rent subsidies. The goal is to put a total of 800 under roofs by 2020. Just as important is reducing the waiting time for homeless families in shelters to get housed from more than a year to just 90 days. Hamilton director Tomiquia Moss said 88 percent of the citys homeless families are now meeting that 90-day wait period goal, but to get them into housing, about 80 percent have to be placed outside of San Francisco. Rents went up 22 percent in the Bay Area over the past couple of years and pay is actually down 2 percent, so we have some real challenges and are charting some new territory here, Moss said. But we are excited. Getting people housed in 90 days has always been our goal, and I believe we can do that. Benioff said he is so encouraged by the Heading Home effort that hed like to see the model expanded to individual homeless people. I feel very optimistic about this model, he said. There is no reason why, in a great city like San Francisco, any child should be homeless. If that is not a priority here, I dont know what is. 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. With that same sort of concern for children, Benioffs company has granted more than $34 million to public schools in San Francisco and Oakland since 2013, and Salesforce workers have volunteered more than 25,000 hours of time as well. He credits that, at least in part, for a 2,000 percent increase in the enrollment of girls in computer science classes in San Francisco over the past year and a 6,000 percent rise in the enrollment of under-represented groups overall in computer science. He now wants the same kind of attention focus, focus, focus on making the citys streets clean, creating affordable housing for teachers and enlisting more tech companies to get involved in social change. The tech community can be a key partner with the city, but it needs to not be pointed out as a scapegoat, Benioff said. This city has been able to make tremendous changes throughout its history look at Bank of America, Levi Strauss, Warren Hellman people who really set the stage to show that we can solve problems. But we have to be working all together. Why spend so much effort on these causes, when running a multibillion tech company presumably takes a lot of attention to begin with? I think its hard-wired into me, he said. I feel very much committed to San Francisco, I went to public schools in the Bay Area. Ive just always felt this way. Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChron 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 from 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 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 See you in court: Political ads showing state Attorney General Xavier Becerra in staged scenes inside the California Supreme Court building in Sacramento were illegally filmed, his election rival Dave Jones said in complaints filed Monday. Jones, the state insurance commissioner, said Becerra skirted a state law barring public resources from being used by a politician for personal gain when he filmed election ads inside the state Supreme Court and state Third District Court of Appeal. Becerras campaign said it had received a permit to film and criticized the desperate attempt by Jones floundering campaign to bring sanctions against the attorney general. Jones campaign responded that a permit doesnt overrule state law and that the Film Commission couldnt grant access to shoot an ad in the appeals court, because no permitting process for that courtroom exists. 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. This unlawful act by Mr. Becerra is particularly egregious because the state law he is violating is one in which the attorney general is charged with upholding, Jones said at the offices of a downtown Sacramento law firm. Representatives of the Film Commission said a permit was issued to a production company filming the ads. Becerra was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to be state attorney general in 2016. His major opponents in the June 5 primary are Jones, who is termed out as insurance commissioner, and Republicans Steven Bailey, a retired El Dorado County judge, and Eric Early, a Los Angeles attorney. The top two finishers in the June 5 primary will move on to the November election, regardless of party. Jones filed complaints with the attorney generals office and Fair Political Practices Commission, which is the state campaign watchdog. He also demanded that Becerra stop broadcasting the ads and that television stations stop airing them. Becerras campaign manager, Dana Williamson, said the complaints have no merit and that the campaign had received valid filming permits, just as any private citizen is entitled to do. Dave Jones continues to have a Trumpian relationship with the truth, Williamson said. Melody Gutierrez Walking through the stream of daily commuters in San Franciscos bustling Powell Station, BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas looked around the bright corridors Monday with cautious optimism. Exactly one year has passed since he was sworn in as chief of the Bay Areas biggest regional transportation agency, and hes been busy tackling issues ranging from robberies, assaults and overt drug abuse to chronic fare evaders. And while BART hasnt seen sweeping improvements across its system since Rojas took over after leaving his position as top cop of the Santa Ana Police Department, things are incrementally moving in the right direction, he said. I believe weve made some progress, but I believe we have a lot more to do, Rojas said during a wide-ranging interview Monday with The Chronicle. We are seeing a downward trend in crime, and its definitely encouraging, and were seeing our officers being more visible and more proactive. He spoke as BART released its crime statistics for the first third of 2018 and as public scrutiny has intensified over increasingly overt drug users shooting up in the corridors of downtown San Francisco stations, including Powell and Civic Center. Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle The numbers show BARTs 229 sworn officers made more arrests between the beginning of January and the end of April this year than during the same time frame in 2017. Property and violent crimes have decreased overall compared with the same period last year. BART police arrested 148 people across the system for felony crimes and 410 for misdemeanors in the first third of 2018. Those numbers rose modestly compared with the 127 felony and 390 misdemeanor arrests during the same period the year prior. Violent crime, meanwhile, dropped 9 percent during the same period despite a 26 percent jump in the number of aggravated assaults and property crime dropped 2 percent. The numbers, Rojas said, are a move in the right direction after BART police saw a 24 percent increase in violent crime in 2017, driven largely by strong-arm robberies of electronic devices during train rides and on station platforms. In one particularly troubling April 2017 episode, one month before Rojas became chief, dozens of teens swarmed a train at Oaklands Coliseum Station, beating and robbing passengers. Since taking charge, Rojas said, hes deployed officers to work overtime to patrol in and around the Oakland station. Rojas took the helm of an agency that for the better part of the past decade has faced public criticism, including outrage over the 2009 police shooting of Oscar Grant, the 2014 death of an officer in a friendly-fire incident and the 2016 revelation that most security cameras on trains were decoys. The cameras were subsequently replaced. BART has faced larger questions about a lack of transparency, including in leveling with the public about crime. And as the agency works to stem an estimated $25 million-a-year problem of people riding trains for free, fare evaders continue to flout the rules, bypassing gates at every station. There have also been protests after an officer killed Sahleem Tindle, a man who was in an altercation outside the West Oakland station in January. After Rojas defended the officer, saying Tindle had already shot and wounded a second man, some criticized the chief for weighing in on a case that is still under investigation. As the chief and his command staff work to manage the ever-changing challenges across 46 stations in four counties, public pressure has more recently focused on people shooting up in San Franciscos stations. One solution BART hopes to implement is closing a notorious hallway at Civic Center Station thats become a haven for drug users. The plan just needs to be cleared by the state fire marshal. Station agents are also opening gates into the underground San Francisco stations later in the morning, delaying when people can file in before trains arrive. We have to be able to try different things, and if they dont work, you step back and try something else, said Rojas, who has been working with the San Francisco mayors office and Police Department to tackle the drug-use problem. The hotbeds for shooting up outside BARTs fare gates technically fall under the jurisdiction of both San Francisco and BART police, Rojas said. San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell said hes been meeting with BART officials in recent weeks and is finalizing plans for a team of city outreach workers from the Department of Public Health and other agencies to work inside the city stations. Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle Theyll be accompanied by San Francisco and BART police as part of a program to bring services to addicts and homeless people that he hopes will continue after he leaves office in June. At the end of the day, the condition of our BART stations in San Francisco is unacceptable, Farrell said. I want to make sure before leaving office that we have a plan in place that will have a dramatic effect. Rojas walked through Civic Center Station on Monday morning, and the floor of the notorious hallway recently cleared by the two non-sworn community resource officers who patrol Powell and Civic Center stations almost sparkled. But directly overhead in United Nations Plaza, a group of 50 or so people sat along a concrete ledge among scattered and soiled clothing. One man peered closely at brown fluid in a syringe, while another tightened a blue elastic band around his tattooed arm, readying a vein for a fix. Once police leave, many in the group will head back downstairs before the end of the day. Rojas said its up to BART and San Francisco police to establish a consistent presence at the stations to improve safety. We have to be very careful, because it turns into one of these games where youre chasing your own tail, and its not very effective or efficient for our officers to be doing that, Rojas said. So the coordination needs to be spot on. It isnt just the public that has grown frustrated with the rampant drug use. On Saturday, BART Director Bevan Dufty, whose district includes Civic Center and Powell stations, was getting on BART after seeing a show with his family at the Orpheum Theatre when he ran into five people getting ready to use drugs. Dufty said he called the chief and dispatchers, and police were there shortly after. I would say the chief has been responsive as it relates to changing the dynamics at the stations I represent, he said. I think that BART has turned a corner, and the rider experience is one of our most important qualities, along with safety and reliability. That progress, the chief emphasized, comes in baby steps. One goal for the coming year, he said, is to purchase electric motorcycles for San Francisco BART officers so they can quickly respond between stations. Currently, two officers patrol three station beats in San Francisco, and because of gridlocked street traffic, the fastest way to respond to an emergency is to take BART. If theres a critical incident, we want to be able to respond quickly, and while we have police cars, they are not as quick at getting around in the city as jumping on a motorcycle, Rojas said. In the coming year, he wants to hire 30 more officers to reach full staffing levels. Last year, BART hired 22 more officers the most since 2013 and the chief believes those fresh bodies have helped start to make BART safer and clean up stations. 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 2018 crime statistics, he hopes, are just the start. Im not looking for perfection. Im looking for progress in pursuit of perfection, Rojas said. Thats what I want our riders to know. Were trying to make this as safe as possible. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky Crime statistics reported by BART Police (for first 4 months of 2018) 2 Rapes reported this year, down from six in 2017. 92 Robberies, a drop of 16 percent from 2017. 43 Aggravated assaults, up 26 percent. 137 Overall violent crimes, down 9 percent. 148 Felony arrests, up 16 percent. 410 Misdemeanor arrests, up 5 percent. 0 Homicides in first third of both years. If the UC Berkeley doctoral student expected the university to investigate her claim that a professor sexually harassed her for years coming on to her, telling her his sexual preferences, describing a violent sex fantasy about a colleague she would have to write a detailed report on all that happened and persuade each witness to come forward herself. That was in 2009. The student got therapy instead. I was devastated, recalled the woman, who is now a tenured professor at another university and spoke on condition of anonymity. Having the university investigate her claim would require a Herculean effort on my part, and the risks exposure and retaliation within her field would almost singularly fall on me. Now, she and other women who say they were sexually harassed by UC Berkeley professors years ago are demanding belated justice. Inspired by the #MeToo movement and an earlier wave of campus activism that forced the university to make it easier for victims to report predator professors, alumnae and others are coming forward to file complaints with the university. The students may be long gone, or may never have attended UC Berkeley. But they want the university to investigate professors who are still teaching and advising. And the campus is complying. It recently concluded the investigation into the former doctoral students case and is looking into at least two others. There is no time limit for coming forward, said Janet Gilmore, a UC Berkeley spokeswoman. More than 1,000 people have complained about sexual violence or harassment at UC Berkeley since 2014. Gilmore said the campus doesnt track whether the complaints come from alumnae. Anecdotally, however, it does seem that the campus has been receiving more accounts from former students regarding incidents that occurred years ago, Gilmore said. Last spring, the former doctoral student filed a complaint against the professor who had been her adviser and co-chair of her dissertation committee, who is still at UC Berkeley. In February, a UC investigator found that he had sexually harassed his student over several years. She had been a doctoral student from 2003 to 2007, and a postdoctoral fellow from 2008 to 2009. Screen Grab/UC Berkeley The Chronicle obtained a copy of the investigative report, which identifies no one by name. But the former student confirmed that the professor is Alan Tansman in the department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. Messages for Tansman were returned by his lawyer, who confirmed that he was the subject of the report. In her 99-page report, investigator Suzanne Taylor called the professor well-known and highly respected in his field. She said his behavior was sufficiently severe and pervasive that it created a hostile environment and interfered with (the students) work. Taylor interviewed 38 witnesses, including five women former or current students and a former research assistant who said the professor also sexually harassed them or flirted repeatedly. Taylor found that he had made sexual overtures to the student, calling her sexy and propositioning her. In some of the professors more ominous comments, Taylor wrote, he told the student he fantasized about having violent sex with a colleague he didnt like, and said he regretted not having sex with a previous student who was emotionally disturbed. Students found it hard to object to the professors behavior, Taylor wrote, because he was in a position of influence. Taylor concluded that the professor had a history of projecting feelings of attraction to his graduate students and acting on that attraction. Tansmans lawyer, Andre Miltenberg, told The Chronicle: It is unfortunate that this confidential report which is not yet in final form and is based on 15-year-old allegations was leaked. Like all Americans, Professor Tansman is entitled to due process, Miltenberg said. The University of California considers such reports confidential until the disciplinary process has concluded, said Claire Doan, a spokeswoman for the UC presidents office. Miltenberg added: As this matter is not concluded, we trust that this improper leak will not deprive Professor Tansman of his rights, including those in accordance with UC Berkeleys policies and procedures. Ultimately, tenured faculty have the right to a confidential hearing before their peers on the Privilege and Tenure committee of the Faculty Senate. The process is an appeals court of sorts, and the panel can recommend a range of consequences, including recommending that the UC regents fire their colleague. Although people filing complaints have seen a transformation in the UC system for reporting misconduct and in how investigations are conducted, there has been little apparent change in what happens after tenured faculty are found to break the rules. COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California. In June, the California state auditor will issue a detailed study of how UC handles sexual harassment cases involving faculty and staff. At UC Berkeley, campus officials would not discuss the Tansman case. But Sharon Inkelas, the chancellors faculty adviser on sexual misconduct, described the options for tenured professors who sexually harass others in a recent opinion piece in the Daily Californian student newspaper. In such cases, she wrote, campus officials decide between a legal settlement with the professor or disciplinary charges. These might include a warning letter, salary reduction, suspension, demotion, changes to emeritus status or, in extremely rare cases, dismissal. In the 150-year history of the UC system, the regents have fired just eight tenured professors. If there is no settlement, the professor can have a hearing before the faculty Committee on Privilege and Tenure. Deliberation time can take many months from start to finish, Inkelas wrote. In 2016, UC began requiring nearly every employee to report all harassment cases to the campus Title IX office, named for the federal law that prohibits gender discrimination at schools that get federal funding. Changes in reporting sexual harassment also included better communication about the status of the investigation and its outcome, said Gilmore, the campus spokeswoman. She said UC Berkeley also has hired more counselors, improved staff training and added a website, http://survivorsupport.berkeley.edu, to explain how things work. Denise Oldham, director of UC Berkeleys Title IX office, declined to be interviewed. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov Seeing David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori jaywalk across Geary Street unencumbered by an entourage, you might not peg them as the creators of the most anticipated new show on the West Coast. Their play, Soft Power, opened the night before in Los Angeles to raves, and the two seemed giddy at this affirmation of four years of toil, with Hwang supplying the book and lyrics and Tesori the music. They were headed to the Curran (where Soft Power runs June 20-July 8) to discuss their collaboration at a special program put on by CAAMFest. An audience of 300, seated on the stage in temporary chairs arranged in a semicircle facing the empty theater, listened entranced for an hour and a half. Hwang began by saying that when he got the idea to do a play with a musical, he immediately wanted to bring in Tesori, whose work he knew of from the Tony Award-winning Fun Home and Shrek the Musical. While Hwang has contributed to opera and musical theater, notably restaging Flower Drum Song, hes famous for plays that rely primarily on dialogue, like Yellow Face, The Dance and the Railroad and M Butterfly, for which he won a Tony. Shrek allowed me to take risks, Tesori said, explaining why she was intrigued by Hwangs offer to create a musical that views East-West relationships through a Chinese lens. They soon fell into a congenial pattern where sometimes he would write a monologue for her to set to music, while other times she composed a song for him to supply lyrics to. They worked both together and alone in our Batcaves, she said. David is a gentleman, and that counts in this business, Tesori said. You want to be able to be brutally honest with each other without being brutal. One day during the creation of Soft Power, Hwang was walking in his New York neighborhood when he was stabbed in the neck. His assailant ran off. We were incredibly upset when David got stabbed, although he played it down, Tesori said. The stabbing had an astonishing effect on the fledgling play. By incorporating his frightening experience into it, he was able to bring together two disparate elements. One is set in the present and contains no music. The other is 50 years in the future after China has assumed world dominance and consists of a full-blown musical complete with a singing and dancing Hillary Clinton and a chorus of 19 Asians in whiteface. I just started writing about the stabbing, said Hwang, who created a character with his initials, DHH, who suffers the same injury. It ended up being the fulcrum that brings the two strands together. The Sundance Film Festival has nothing over CAAMFest when it comes to feting filmmakers and making them feel special. A brunch the first weekend at the Hotel Kabuki honored award-winning films. The table was set with those well-known Asian delicacies lox and bagels with all the trimmings. The documentary award went to Minding the Gap. Accepting the prize, the films producer Diane Quan said, Looking out at a room full of Asian filmmakers brings tears to my eyes. The cinematography award winner was Hao Wu for Peoples Republic of Desire. He said he couldnt afford a cinematographer, so he shot it himself, feeling all the while like a fake filmmaker. The prize vindicated him. There were also a late-night party and a karaoke event for filmmakers skimping on sleep during the festival. The event everyone is looking forward to is closing nights live performance by Bay Area storyteller Brenda Wong Aoki, set to music by Emmy Award-winning composer Mark Izu. Talking to festival organizers about her show, Aunt Lilys Flower Book: One Hundred Years of Legalized Racism, Wong Aoki said it basically puts together her familys story with that of Izus. I was blown away to find out that my grandpa had founded Japantown in San Francisco in 1897. All I knew is that I was a ghetto girl from Long Beach and then I find out that my grandpa was daimyo (a feudal lord), she said. Ruthe Stein is The San Francsico Chronicles senior movie correspondent. CAAMFest: Through Thursday, May 24, at venues in San Francisco and Oakland. www.caamedia.org Soft Power: June 20-July 8. $29-$175. The Curran, 445 Geary St., S.F. https://sfcurran.com Outside Lands will not only return to San Francisco this year with headliners like Janet Jackson, The Weeknd, Janelle Monae and Florence and the Machine, but there are also some new additions to the events sprawling culinary offerings. The festival is set to take over Golden Gate Park from Aug. 10-12 (tickets can be found here), a three-day window during which 83 restaurants, 41 wineries and 30 breweries from across Northern California will scatter across the park grounds selling their wares. San Franciscos Department of Public Health made a splash in January when it announced in this column that it would open the nations first two safe injection sites in July. Similar sites, where injection drug users can shoot up under supervision, have existed in Canada, Australia and Europe for years. Just last month, North Americas first safe injection site inside a hospital opened in Edmonton, Alberta. But while other American cities, including Seattle, Baltimore and Philadelphia, have talked about opening their own sites, none has actually opened. And details on San Franciscos sites remain sketchy. One reason? That pesky little detail known as federal law. San Francisco city officials widely agree that safe injection sites are worth trying, especially since the status quo people shooting up openly on our sidewalks is untenable. But theyre wringing their hands about the Trump Justice Department, run by the far-right Attorney General Jeff Sessions, placing an even bigger target on San Francisco. Federal law prohibits possessing illicit drugs and maintaining or providing access to a place where illegal drugs are used. That means federal law enforcement could theoretically raid safe injection sites, shut them down, and arrest anybody who authorized their existence, works at them or uses drugs in them. San Francisco city officials have rarely shied away from breaking the law to do what they think is right. Witness then-Mayor Gavin Newsoms same-sex weddings at City Hall back in 2004, before they were legal. But happy couples with bouquets and rings are certainly an easier sell than people jabbing needles into their necks. Mayor Mark Farrell said he supports opening safe injection sites, but that it would be malpractice to say when theyll open. They certainly wont open while hes mayor, so the ultimate decision will fall to whoever wins on June 5. There are significant legal issues with it, and were working through those legal issues right now, Farrell said. I wish it was as easy as snapping our fingers and just saying, Lets get the right people, the space and the funding to do it. Its a lot deeper than that. Barbara Garcia, director of the Department of Public Health, seems determined to move ahead. The departments spokeswoman, Rachael Kagan, said in a statement, We expect to open safe injection services in San Francisco in the summer or fall of 2018. We are focused on developing the program and operations, and addressing legal and siting issues. By siting issues, she means where the safe injection sites will be located. While theyre expected to open within nonprofits that already offer substance abuse services and needle exchanges, nobodys announcing details yet. To understand more about opioid addiction and how safe injection sites could help, I interviewed Dr. Phillip Coffin, the Health Departments director of substance-use research. He spends most of his time on research, but also treats patients. (Fun fact in this rather gloomy column: Coffins grandfather played a minor role as a beachgoer in the movie Jaws, and the family still collects royalties each month.) Coffins answers have been edited for space and clarity. To hear more of our interview, listen to the latest episode of my podcast On San Francisco. Q: When we walk around this city, we see so much injection drug use happening in broad daylight. Why has this epidemic taken hold so strongly in San Francisco and throughout the country? A: San Franciscos been a place where theres been a fair amount of substance use for a long time. Its been part of the nature of the city, and the citys always been very welcoming to anyone. That means that we have a fair number of people who sometimes arent wanted in other places. Nationwide, its a more complex story. There are two crises that happened. The first is the prescription opiate crisis that really started in the late 1990s. It was picked up on nationally in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when they noticed there was a skyrocketing opiate prescription overdose mortality rate. The interventions to try to address it began in 2010, which led to a reduction in prescribing, but by that point we had such a demand for opioids, there wasnt enough opium poppy in the world to fulfill the American demand, so fentanyl emerged. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that you can make in a bathtub, and its way more potent than heroin or any of the other prescription opioids. You end up with opiates on the street that are radically different, of radically varying potencies, and overdose rates that are way higher. Q: What is the effect of fentanyl on the body? What is it like to take that drug? A: Its a much sharper, more intense high. It passes really quickly into the brain. When you use fentanyl, the effect is even faster than heroin. Its going to last an hour. Its a more intense high, more edgy and shorter. 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. Q: For skeptical San Franciscans, can you describe how safe injection sites work and why theyre so beneficial? A: Generally there are three parts to such a service. One is where you enter and get triaged. You sign in and register. You answer a few questions. The service is going to want to know what type of drug youre going to be using, so if something happens, they know what to do. Then its the injection service itself. Most places have about seven stations where people can inject. A station is a little cubicle with a mirror and a chair and table. The mirror is there both because it can help the person whos injecting to find the right spot, but also so the people who are supervising the service can see if everythings going OK. Then theres a third room, which is a chill-out room. There might be some food there, there might be somebody engaged in a research study, or somebody offering services or a social worker might be there. One of the things its led to is increased enrollment in substance use treatment services and referrals to medical care. A lot of people who inject drugs have a lot of bad experiences with the health care system and a hard time trusting it. Theyve also been shown to reduce hepatitis C and HIV transmission, which is potentially life-threatening and very expensive. It gets people more interested in safer injection, and its definitely shown an ability to reduce overdose mortality. Q: And it seems like a benefit could be getting some of these needles off the streets if people are doing it inside? A: Injection services have been shown to reduce discarded needles. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf The communities living near the Cow Palace, the enormous state-owned exhibition hall in Daly City, overwhelmingly want the venue to stop hosting gun shows. The state Legislature has previously passed legislation designed to stop the shows. Yet the shows go on five times a year. The latest failure to curb the gun shows was in 2013. That year, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill from Mark Leno, then a Democratic state senator from San Francisco, that wouldve allowed the gun shows only if they were authorized by county officials, who were opposed to them. Since then, California voters have passed some of the countrys strictest gun control legislation, including registration requirements and new regulations on ammunition. This year has also brought a tragic string of school shootings, including last weeks massacre of 10 people at Santa Fe High School in Texas. So state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and state Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, are trying again. On Monday, surrounded by local students, the two legislators announced a new bill, SB221. It will ban the sale of guns and ammunition at the Cow Palace. We should not have gun shows in the heart of the Bay Area, said Wiener in a statement. The Cow Palace gun shows should have ended a long time ago. Better late than never. The reasons previous efforts have failed are complex. The Cow Palace has a history of financial struggle and troublesome events. During the states last major downturn, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger considered selling it; the state Legislature nearly passed a bill to unload it. In 2010, two people died and many others were hospitalized after consuming drugs at a rave in the Cow Palace. The disaster cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in law enforcement and medical costs, some of it borne by taxpayers. Compared with these difficulties, the gun shows offer easy money and a calm way for the Cow Palace to meet its financial obligations. Show organizers also rightly contend that they are obeying regulations and offering a legal service. But the community deserves a say, too, and Bay Area residents are overwhelmingly opposed to the shows. The state Legislature should heed their concerns, and so should the governor. 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. The office of Californias lieutenant governor is often referred to by the unflattering diminutive lite gov. But it can get even worse. When I was chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Gray Davis two decades ago, a group of fourth-graders came by our office in the state Capitol, across the hall from the governors office. Upon seeing the sign above the door that said Office of the Lt. Governor, one of the students innocently asked, So who is the lunatic governor, anyway? Looking at the history of the office and its occupants, one could be excused from thinking someone with political ambitions would have to be crazy to run for the job. Despite its status as sort of a vice president of the state, it has more often ended up being a dead end or a career ender than a stepping stone to higher office. If Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom succeeds in his campaign for governor, he will have pulled off a rare feat indeed. Since its founding in 1850, California has had 49 lieutenant governors. Eight have succeeded to the governorship by dint of the death or resignation of the governor under whom they served. But only two sitting lieutenant governors in 168 years have ever been elected governor in their own right. The first to do it was Republican C.C. Young in 1926. Then it was then 72 more years until Davis did it. Im quite familiar with that case, because I ran Davis campaign for governor in 1998. A review of the sad electoral history of other lieutenant governors shows: Lt. Gov. Glenn Anderson, a Democrat, lost his job in the Reagan sweep in 1966. Lt. Gov. John Harmer, appointed by Reagan to replace a resigned predecessor, lost the general election in 1974, even though he was the official GOP nominee. Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymally, Harmers successor, was elected with Jerry Brown leading the Democratic ticket, then himself lost the post just four years later to first-time candidate and recording executive Mike Curb. Lt. Gov. Curb caused all kinds of mischief when Brown was out of state campaigning for president in 1980. He was rewarded for his hijinks by losing the Republican primary race for governor in 1982. He came back four years later and ran again for lieutenant governor and lost that race to incumbent Democrat Leo McCarthy. Lt. Gov. McCarthy, a former speaker of the state Assembly, holds the record for longevity in the post 12 years. During that time, McCarthy ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate twice. Lt. Gov. Davis stepped up in 1995, and we know how that story ended. But Davis lieutenant governor, former Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante, also proved to be a victim of the curse of the office. Lt. Gov. Bustamante ran in the 2003 election that recalled Gov. Davis, but finished with only 31 percent of the vote, even though he was the only name Democrat on the ballot. Bustamante was then also defeated by a Republican in the 2006 race for state insurance commissioner the only Democrat running statewide to lose other than the gubernatorial candidate, who was thoroughly terminated by the Governator. California lieutenant governors have more often moved down. Just in the past 60 years, three second bananas have down-sized themselves by running for and being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives: Anderson in 1968; Dymally was elected and served 12 years in Congress after being defeated in 1978, even though Brown handily won re-election. Most recently, first-term Lt. Gov. John Garamendi gave up the seat mid-term in 2009 to run successfully for Congress. Given this ill-starred political history of the lunatic governors, keep your eye on Newsom. If he wins in November, he will be only the third second-in-command in California history to be elected governor in his own right and only the second Democrat. One for the California history books, to be sure. Garry South is a veteran Democratic political strategist. It seems improbable that the varied careers of veteran actors Richard Thomas and Pamela Reed have never intersected until now. The pair play longtime married couple Erik and Dierdre Blake in the national tour of Stephen Karams Tony Award-winning comedy-drama The Humans, which comes to the SHN Orpheum Theatre June 5-June 12. Thomas and Reed, both in their late 60s, are theater-first actors who have nevertheless thrived for decades on television in series and movies. Though the two have performed on the stage regionally and in New York City, its taken a rare national tour (his second and her first) to bring them together. The Broadway production of The Humans won four 2016 Tony Awards, including best play for Karam and best scenic design for a play for David Zinn. The Humans also was named best play by the New York Drama Critics Circle and the Drama League. The complete Broadway creative team was involved in mounting the tour, including director Joe Mantello. The play delves into the intimacy of contemporary family dynamics at a Thanksgiving dinner in a split-level New York City Chinatown apartment. It takes place in one continuous scene just under 100 minutes as the audience watches the six members of the cast come and go as if in a documentary. Families think they know each other, Reed said about the play. But there is the ripple effect that moves through everyone when discoveries are made or truths are shared that members of the family did not know. When Thomas and Reed first sat down and read the play together, it didnt feel like they hadnt ever met. It was like going back and working with someone you really loved working with but havent seen for ages, Reed said. Thats the sense of familiarity we have. Theyve arrived at similar places in their lives and careers through somewhat opposite paths. Thomas was born and raised in Manhattan, making his first Broadway appearance as a 7-year-old in 1958. He made his first television appearance a year later. His parents were both dancers with New York City Ballet and owned the New York School of Ballet. As a child actor, Thomas worked in live television dramas filmed in New York and daytime series produced there. He eventually moved to Los Angeles, becoming internationally known as John-Boy in the popular 1970s television series The Waltons. After completing his Waltons commitment, Thomas continued working in television but always kept an eye on his first love, the stage. The only decision I made a long time ago was that playing in the theater and ultimately getting to play a lot of wonderful plays in the repertoire thats something I would never give up, Thomas said. Returning to New York in 1981, Thomas was cast to replace Christopher Reeve in Lanford Wilsons The Fifth of July, then running on Broadway. He wondered if people might think, This television star, what does he think hes doing? The return was well received in every way. That was so important to me because it gave me my way back into my theatrical home in New York with some credibility in a great show with a great part. Hes had many more including a run of classics at Hartford Stage with Hamlet, Peer Gynt and Richard III, and on Broadway, he was featured in Michael Frayns Democracy and David Mamets Race. In 2017 Thomas received a Tony nomination for his performance in the revival of Little Foxes. Reed was making her mark in theater just after Thomas made his in television. She originated the part of Emma in the 1978 premiere production of Sam Shepards Curse of the Starving Class for the New York Shakespeare Festival. (She played Ella, Emmas mother, in the 2008 ACT revival.) Reed was the title character in a 1987 Carey Perloff-directed production of Elektra for the Classic Stage Company and also played Stevie in ACTs 2005 production of Edward Albees The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? In 1984 Reed received an Obie Award for sustained excellence of performance in theater. Her television presence came later in her career with recent recurring roles in the popular comedy Parks and Recreation and the police procedural NCIS: Los Angeles. Among her film credits are the roles of astronaut wife Trudy Cooper in The Right Stuff and Arnold Schwarzeneggers police partner in Kindergarten Cop. Reed and Thomas recognize how the tour makes regional specifics across the country more distinct. The Irish Catholic Blake family played much differently in Boston than it did in Dallas. You can really feel the character of the cities based on the responses in the house every night, Thomas said. Its wonderful to watch any group dynamic, but the family group dynamic is more universal and endlessly interesting, Reed said. Despite the specifics of the family onstage, the story resonates everywhere the production has gone. Theres something about what Steve Karam has done that allows people to feel that the play reaches into their life and it applies to them, Thomas said. Marcus Crowder is a Northern California freelance writer. The Humans: June 5-June 17. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m Friday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Sunday. $40-$150. SHN Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St. S.F. 888-746-1799. www.shnsf.com All that talk of a Democratic blue wave sweeping congressional races in California could be for naught if a new poll is on target: It shows President Trumps approval rating surging to 50 percent in Orange County, site of four tight races that could determine if Republicans hold the House. A more popular Trump is bad news for Democrats, who are trying to grab seven GOP-held congressional districts statewide that Hillary Clinton won in 2016, including the four in Orange County. That would give Democrats a big jump on their goal of flipping 23 seats nationally to regain the House. Democrats are banking on the presidents unpopularity to help them win those seats. In April, the nonpartisan Berkeley IGS Poll indicated that Trump had just 38 percent support in Orange County. A March poll from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California indicated that a mere 36 percent of all adults in Orange and San Diego counties approved of the president. Two months ago, Republican pollster John Thomas did a survey in Orange County that found Trumps approval rating at 43 percent. But last week, his poll of 450 likely voters in the county showed that 50 percent of respondents viewed the president favorably. The margin of error was three percentage points. One reason for the Trump uptick in the OC is that the number of voters who believe the country is on the right track has grown 10 percentage points over the past two months, Thomas said. He is advising Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson, who is running for the House seat held by soon-to-be retiring Rep. Ed Royce, R-Fullerton. If that holds and the trend line continues, Thomas said, then its buh-bye blue wave. Other surveys have found high approval for Trumps handling of the economy, which historically is a good indicator of overall satisfaction with a presidents performance. A CBS News poll released Sunday showed that 68 percent of the adults surveyed thought Trumps policies were responsible for the current state of the economy. But organizers for NextGen America, a progressive organization funded by billionaire former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, believe a Democratic sweep in November is still possible. The group is spending $350,000 to try to turn out 200,000 voters ages 18 to 35 in the four targeted Orange County districts. NextGen America is focusing on turning out people who dont typically vote in midterm elections. Statewide, only 3.7 percent of voters between ages 18 and 25 voted in the 2014 California primary, according to a UC Davis study. Theres nowhere to go but up, said Ben Wessel, NextGens deputy political director. While Thomas poll may have shown Trumps popularity rising among likely voters, Wessel said, we dont spend a lot of time talking to likely voters. And among the people were talking to, I can tell you anecdotally that his approval rating is more like 5 percent. Wessel says the group is trying to convert young adults concerns over issues such as high student debt, soaring housing costs and school violence into votes for Democratic candidates. Were having a November-level effort and its June, Wessel said. Its a life-or-death situation for progressives and were treating it like such. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli A truce has been negotiated in a nasty battle between two Democratic congressional candidates in a California district thats crucial to the partys hopes of winning the House this fall. The two Democrats are running for an Orange County seat that suddenly opened up when Rep. Ed Royce, the longtime Republican incumbent, took a look at the districts changing demographics and record of opposition to President Trump and decided 2018 would be a good time to retire. On paper, the contest for the 39th District looked like one that would be hard for Democrats to mess up. And yet they were well on the way to doing just that when party leaders stepped in to impose some order. We have some truly talented and accomplished individuals running as first-time candidates, said state party Chair Eric Bauman in announcing the agreement between Gil Cisneros and Andy Thorburn. One of the biggest concerns ... is that the competition in the primaries has become so heated and divisive it impedes our ability to unite behind the person chosen by the voters to represent our party in the fall campaign. Translation: Fight the Republicans, not each other. And if you lose in the June 5 primary, smile and suck it up. The Democrats have this problem in more than just the Orange County district. That seat is one of seven on the Democratic target list, part of the partys nationwide effort to flip 23 Republican seats and take control of the House. In all seven of the California districts, Hillary Clinton ran ahead of Trump in the 2016 presidential election. One of the most crucial indicators of Democratic enthusiasm that is driving the big blue wave heading toward Republicans this year is the unprecedented number of Democrats running for Congress in California and across our nation, Bauman said. Thats not all good news, though. Plenty of enthusiastic, well-funded Democratic candidates means those ambitious congressional wannabes all are competing against each other for whats likely to be a single spot on the November ballot. If those various Democrats slice their part of the political pie into enough small pieces, it opens for way for a second Republican candidate to sneak into the top two and create a GOP-only November election. But persuading a passionate candidate to step aside for the good of the party didnt work so well when national Democrats gave their blessing to Cisneros. And in other districts, it just made the unanointed candidates and their supporters mad at the party. We have so much enthusiasm this year, so many candidates running ... that in a jungle primary, if you have five Democrats and two Republicans, you can end up with a result that puts Republicans on top, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said last week. The Cisneros-Thorburn clash was worse than most, because each had the campaign cash to do serious damage to his rival and Democratic chances in the district. Cisneros, for example, has put $2 million of his own money into the campaign, while Thorburn is in for $2.3 million. Charges and counter-charges were flying for weeks and websites attacking the candidates were popping up before the candidates agreed to stand down and make nice. A sign of the change is that the andythorburntaxevader.com page was down for maintenance Monday. The opportunity to win this seat is too important for the two leading Democrats to squander it by focusing our fire on each other, the two chastened candidates said in a joint statement. In order to flip the 39th District, it is essential that at least one of us make it through the June primary. Leaders at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee shouted out a fervent Amen! to the statement, applauding the pair for a new focus on their positive visions of the district. But Bauman and the Democrats cant spend too much time congratulating themselves on a job well done. With just two weeks to go before the election, there are plenty of other Democrats in potentially winnable districts all too happy to spend those final days before the primary tossing rocks at each other. John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth Its a bit of a mystery. The entire Cascade Mountain range, which stretches from Lassen Peak in Shasta County up through British Columbia, is full of volcanoes, a landscape shaped by a violent geologic history. But the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway only covers about a third of that. Maybe its that even lava lovers have their limits. What isnt a mystery is why, of the 500-mile length of the scenic byway, the stretch from just south of the Oregon border up to (and around) Crater Lake makes an easy and impressive day-trip from Ashland a bite-size portion thats full of volcanoes, gaping river canyons, small towns with Old West history and one of the worlds most breathtaking lakes. Heres a little of what to expect along the way. John Blanchard//The Chronicle Start by at the very northern edge of California, where you can drive along the state border through rolling farmland, eventually entering the stark igneous fields and 700 caves that make up the Lava Beds National Monument. On the California-Oregon border, Lava Beds shares a visitor center with the Tule Lake Unit historic site, once the largest of Americas ten World War II relocation centers. The internment camp housed as many as 18,789 Japanese Americans in the early 1940s, actor George Takei among them. Also straddling the border is the Klamath Basin. Every year, more than 350 species of bird layover at this spot along the Pacific Flyway. Boardwalks abound and offer excellent opportunities for birders to stretch their legs. Pelicans and herons are on view in August and September, and 500 bald eagles roost here at Bear Valley in winter. An entire network of bird trails the Klamath Birding Trails go from California north to Oregons Diamond Lake. Once in southern Oregon the Volcanic Byway soon delivers the former timber town of Klamath Falls. Set just south of the vast 133-square-mile Upper Klamath Lake, the historic downtown features Gothic Revival and Art Deco architecture, artistic murals scrawled across building sides, and one museum, the Favell, with more than 100,000 Native American artifacts and works from more than 300 contemporary Western artists. There are no falls here, however. The town gets its name from a small rapid nearby. The town is, however, making a name for itself in beer. Set in what was once a dairy production center, Klamath Basin Brewing Company offers a range of vary Pacific Northwest beers on tap, plus a brewpub in the old creamery. Theres another opportunity to stretch your legs and take in the views at the Spence Mountain Trailhead, just off the Byway 15 miles north of Klamath Falls. Spence Mountain provides a haven for hikers and walkers, and especially for mountain bikers: 18 miles of trails offer overlooks of Upper Klamath Lake, as well as rollercoaster single-track rides. Nearby, at the northwest end of Upper Klamath Lake is the little resort town of Rocky Point, home to a 9.5-mile freshwater canoe trail. A 10-minute drive from here leads to a high cascade lake, Lake of the Woods, as well as the Pacific Crest Trail, for hikes short or long. Back on the scenic byway, roll north to the Oux Kanee Scenic Overlook. Located 37 miles north of Klamath Falls, the overlook offers views of the jagged cliffs that surround the headwaters of Spring Creek (more river than creek really), as well as vistas that stretch all the way to the 100,000-year-old Mount McLoughlin, a steep stratovolcano that is a near-perfect inverted ice cream cone on the horizon. Nearby is Fort Klamath, the first military outpost in the region. American Army soldiers arent the only ones honored here: the fort is home to the grave sites of Modoc Chief Captain Jack and three of his warriors, who held the U.S. Army at bay during the 1872-1873 Modoc Indian War. From here, its just six miles to the southern entrance of the vast, aquamarine Crater Lake and Crater Lake National Park. If the lake looks deep and cold, thats because it is. The surface is 6,178-feet above sea level, and its deepest point is 1,949 feet down. The lake was formed about 7,700 years ago, when the 12,000-foot Mount Mazama erupted and, within 48 hours, collapsed leaving in its wake a gaping crater that filled with rainfall and snowmelt. Today, the nations deepest lake the seventh deepest in the world sits at the center of this national park and is surrounded by 170,000 acres of old-growth forest, more than 40 caves, and the Vidae Creek waterfall, which drops 115 feet over a three-tiered bluff. on the west side of the lake, the cinder cone that is Wizard Island pokes above the surface. Also jutting from the surface is the Old Man, an ancient mountain hemlock tree that has been floating, upright, in the lake for more than 100 years. The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway follows the 33-mile route around Crater Lake, which is so bottle-clear that scientists have measured its clarity to as far down as 120-feet. Stop along the way, and you can traverse a 1-mile switchback trail to the waters edge. For a more passive exploration, park rangers offer 2-hour boat tours daily, late June through early September. At the north end of the park, in Rim Village, the historic Crater Lake Lodge features 71 rooms and overlooks the lake but can get booked out a year in advance. Nearby, at Boundary Spring in the northwest edge of the park, the Rogue River begins its westward journey and immediately flows into the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. In this forest, just west of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway and Crater Lake, the likes of Zane Grey, Jack London and President Herbert Hoover spent time at Union Creek Resort, which was built in 1922 on a trail used by pioneers crossing the Cascade mountains. Four years later, a pie stand opened here. Beckies Cafe, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, offers breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, as well as (more importantly) 15 different pies, including the homemade Oregon huckleberry. Nearby, too, is Prospect Dinner House, with hotel rooms and dinner service nightly. Begin with lava flows and end with waterfalls. From the northern end of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, travelers headed back to Ashland should turn south. Stretching between Roseburg (west of Crater Lake) and Gold Hill, to the south near Medford, the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway delivers dozens of waterfalls over just 172 miles. Julie H. Case is a freelance writer. Email: travel@sfchronicle.com If you go Klamath Falls is the choice for most visitors looking to discover Lava Beds, Crater Lake, and the wildlife refuges. Where to stay Running Y Ranch Resort: 5500 Running Y Road, Klamath Falls; (541) 850-5500; www.runningy.com/. Home to an 18-hole Arnold Palmer golf course, horseback riding and a spa. Rocky Point Resort: 28121 Rocky Point Road, Klamath Falls; (541) 356-2287; www.rockypointoregon.com/. Offers cabins as well as tent and RV sites near Upper Klamath Lake. Crater Lake Lodge: 565 Rim Dr., Klamath Falls, (in Crater Lake National Park); (888) 774-2728; www.craterlakelodges.com/. Lodge with 71 rooms. The Park Service also offers rustic lodging (no telephones, TVs or air conditioning) 7 miles from the lake at the Cabins at Mazama Village (www.craterlakelodges.com/). The dining room at the Lodge offers sunset views of the lake, Northwest fare and Oregon wines. Where to Eat Klamath Basin Brewing Company: 1320 Main St, Klamath Falls; (541) 273-5222; www.kbbrewing.com/. Offers brewpub eats and Pacific Northwest pints in a converted creamery in Klamath Falls. Beckies Cafe: 56484 Oregon Route 62, Prospect; (541) 560-3565; www.unioncreekoregon.com/. A 96-year-old cafe famous for its array of baked-daily pies. Vitals Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway map: www.volcaniclegacybyway.org/volcanoes. Travel Southern Oregon: www.southernoregon.org. Meet Me in Klamath: www.meetmeinklamath.com. ALBANY Disbarred New York City attorney and businessman Evgeny "Gene" Freidman, an associate of President Donald J. Trump's longtime lawyer Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony tax fraud in Albany County Court in a deal that reportedly requires he cooperate in state and federal investigations. Freidman, the chief executive officer of Taxi Club Management dubbed the "taxi king" of New York City, pleaded guilty before Judge Peter Lynch to resolve allegations he stole more than $5 million from the state and evaded taxes. The plea deal was first reported by The New York Times, which cited an unnamed source who said Freidman had agreed to assist in the state and federal probe. In June, prosecutors for now-former state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman charged Freidman - a native of Russia who allegedly boasted repeatedly of assets exceeding $130 million - with failing to pay the state $5 million between 2012 and 2015. On Tuesday, Freidman agreed to pay restitution and judgments totaling $5 million to New York State. He had managed more than 800 medallion taxicabs through four companies. "Today, the 'Taxi King' admitted that he built his empire by stealing from New Yorkers," said Attorney General Barbara Underwood in a statement. "Freidman pocketed money that should have provided much-needed investment in our transit system and he'll now have to pay back every cent. Our office will continue to hold accountable those who cheat the system." On May 5, a New York Times article headlined, "How Michael Cohen, Trump's Fixer, Built a Shadowy Business Empire," reported that Cohen and Freidman were business partners and mentioned the pending state case against Freidman in Albany. Cohen is under investigation by federal prosecutors, who last month conducted searches on his office and other locations. Material seized in those searches is being processed by a special master to prevent the disclosure of information covered by attorney-client privilege. Cohen's duties for Trump included setting up a $130,000 nondisclosure agreement with porn star Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, who has alleged she had a sexual encounter with the then-real estate mogul in 2006. The state tax case against Freidman was in Albany because tax returns are filed here. Almost every taxicab ride in the five boroughs is charged a 50-cent tax, money that helps fund the Metropolitan Transit Authority. The charges last June alleged Freidman and his chief financial officer, Andreea Dumitru, 42, of Queens, ran a scheme to withhold the funds by improperly filing or failing to file returns, failing to pay the tax on filed returns and by filing false returns which under-reported the actual number of taxable rides. At that time, Lynch ordered Freidman held on $500,000 bail on a five-count indictment accusing him and Dumitru of first-degree criminal tax fraud and first-degree grand larceny, which carried the possibility of 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison. Freidman later made bail. At that 2017 arraignment, Assistant Attorney General John Healy had asked Lynch hold Freidman without bail or on "no less than $5 million" given that Freidman had repeatedly boasted of assets exceeding $130 million. The prosecutor said Freidman, a dual citizen of the United States and Russia, owns two homes in the south of France where he often travels. "This defendant is the self-anointed taxi king of the city of New York," Healy said. Healy had noted the "serious and egregious nature of the charges," Friedman's exposure to prison time and ties outside New York. In 2015, Freidman put more than $60 million of his assets into offshore trusts with a trustee in Moscow, the prosecutor said. Healy said Freidman had a recent conviction for harassment and faced charges he made threats to an adversary in a civil suit. Under his plea deal Tuesday, Freidman is expected to receive five years' probation. Filipa Ioannou / The Chronicle The Coast Guard on Sunday rescued a man whose kayak began taking water through a hole in the hull, leaving him stranded on the Albion River in Mendocino County, officials said. The kayaker was out on a fishing expedition. His wife called Coast Guard Station Noyo River around sunset. She reported that her husband, who was supposed to return before dark, had not yet come back, the Coast Guard said in a statement. Story updated at 10:37 a.m.: After a thorough cleaning, the Oak Park Brewing Co. in Sacramento has passed a health inspection and reopened on the morning of May 22. "A health inspector was able to determine there's no threat to the public and they have been allowed to open," says Brenda Bongiorno, a spokesperson for Sacramento County's Environmental Management Department. "There's no active infestation." *** A popular Sacramento restaurant and brewery temporarily closed its doors to deal with the results of a health inspection report. An invasion of cockroaches, mice and weevils was discovered in the kitchen and brewing area of Oak Park Brewing Co. during a an unannounced inspection on May 18. The city suspended the brewery's health permit until the pests are eliminated. The establishment, housed in a 1925 building and known for its gourmet burgers and hoppy Broadway Pale Ale, has remained closed since the day of the inspection. MORE: These are the cleanest restaurants in Oakland and Alameda County, according to inspections The report includes mention of 20-plus weevils in a bulk container of masa and more than 60 German cockroaches alive and dead throughout the food-prep and brewing areas. There were also dead Oriental cockroaches. Rodent droppings were abundant: more than 20 in a bag of malt, more than 100 in the brewing area, more than 10 on the lid of the masa container. Two dead rodents were found stuck to a glue trap. The inspector returned the next day and discovered a dozen live and more than 20 dead cockroaches and more rodent droppings. Oak Park Brewing announced the temporary closure of its facility on Facebook on May 18 with no details regarding the health inspection. SFGATE reached out to Oak Park Brewing for comment and will update the story if we hear back. It seems appropriate that one of the first mentions of Noe Valley in a San Francisco paper is about real estate prices. An article in the February 1882 issue of the Daily Alta California, headlined "NOE VALLEY," described to readers one of San Francisco's newest neighborhoods. "One is delighted with the many little cottages and houses, generally white, forming a pleasant contrast with the hills in the background," the story reads. "Most of the dwellings present a neat, comfortable appearance and some make pretensions to elegance." But those wishing to move to the bucolic spot be warned: "Residents of the vicinity state that there are many purchasers of real estate," it cautions, "but the holders demand a high price, which is an indication of an expectation of increased value." ALSO: Everything you think you know about the Winchester Mystery House probably isn't true Noe Valley, formed out of the land that was once the rancho of alcalde Jose de Jesus Noe, was part of San Francisco's working class expansion. As San Franciscans moved west in the late 1800s, the neighborhood filled in with row houses. Predominantly Irish immigrants settled in, building the distinctive Victorian homes still seen today. Although some of the sweeping views have disappeared, obstructed by buildings or lost when hills were leveled, it's hard to argue with the Alta California's assessment of Noe Valley: "Portions of the neighborhood command some of the most picturesque views of the bay and the city that can be had," it wrote in 1882. MORE: See what Golden Gate Park looked like the decade you were born To see some of Noe Valley's streets in archive photos compared to what those spots look like today check out the gallery above. The body of a hiker who fell from the Half Dome cables in Yosemite National Park on Monday was recovered Tuesday afternoon, according to National Park Service officials. The fall occurred around 4:30 p.m., when the male hiker and a companion encountered a thunderstorm. Park rangers were notified and provided assistance to the second hiker, officials said. The cause of the incident remains under investigation. Adobe Systems agreed to buy e-commerce company Magento for $1.68 billion, in a bid to capture a bigger slice of the digital-commerce industry. The Photoshop software provider is making its third-biggest acquisition to create an end-to-end system for designing digital ads, building e-commerce sites and other online experiences and completing transactions, the San Jose company said Monday. Magento offers software to build and run web stores, handle online purchases, shipping and returns. The Campbell company also helps merchants sell products through social media ads and competes with Shopify. Magento technology supports more than $155 billion in gross merchandise volume, and customers include Canon and Rosetta Stone. EBay sold Magento in 2015 and it has been backed by private-equity firm Permira Holdings LLP since then. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of Adobes fiscal year, pending regulatory approval. Restaurants Starbucks: Youre welcome Starbucks has announced that any customer is welcome to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase. 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. The move comes after two black men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks as they waited for another man, Andrew Yaffe, who is white, for a business meeting on April 12 when police 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? 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. After protests, Starbucks apologized and CEO Kevin Johnson called the arrests a reprehensible outcome. The employee who called the police was fired. Starbucks is closing 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 settlement with Nelson and 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. Software Microsofts privacy move Microsoft says its committing to giving users worldwide the same data and privacy rights being offered to Europeans under new regulations there. That means no matter where you live, youll be able to see what Microsoft collects about you and correct or delete that information. Youll also be able to object to the use of data for marketing and other purposes. Some companies have been limiting those options to people in the European Union, where the new rules take effect on Friday. Facebook, for instance, has said its offering the same settings and controls worldwide, but has stopped short of promising European-style rights around the globe. Microsoft made its promise explicit in a blog post and new privacy policy Monday. Chronicle News Services CANNES, France Fifty years after filmmakers shut down the Cannes Film Festival, the prestigious Cote dAzur extravaganza was again shaken by upheaval. From the start to the finish, the 71st Cannes was dominated by protest and petition for gender equality, culminating in the extraordinary sight at the festivals closing ceremony Saturday of Italian filmmaker and Harvey Weinstein accuser Asia Argento vowing justice for sexual predators in the film industry. You know who you are, Argento told the audience. But more importantly, we know who you are. And were not going to allow you to get away with it any longer. Argentos excoriating speech had all the more effect because it was at Cannes 21 years ago that Weinstein raped her, she has said. Weinstein, for decades a ubiquitous fixture of the festival, has denied allegations of nonconsensual sex. Declaring that Weinstein would never again set foot at the Cannes Film Festival his hunting ground, she said Argentos speech was the final salvo in a festival bombarded by demands for change. The festival wrapped Saturday after 12 turbulent days of soul-searching and cinema and was defined as much by who wasnt there as who was. Weinstein, of course, was absent. So too was Netflix, which pulled its films from Cannes after the festival ruled films must have theatrical distribution in France to compete in Cannes main slate. With a few notable exceptions like Spike Lees Grand Prix-winning, rousingly received Ku Klux Klan drama BlacKkKlansman, American films were also largely AWOL, a casualty partly of Hollywoods increasing focus on a fall-festival launching pad for Oscar hopefuls. Selfies were banned, as was, back in Kenya, the lesbian drama Rafiki, the countrys first film at Cannes. Seats were left poignantly vacant for two filmmakers in competition, Irans Jafar Panahi and Russias Kirill Serebrennikov, whose home countries have prohibited either from traveling. The French filmmaking legend Jean-Luc Godard, who spearheaded the protests in 1968 that shut down Cannes amid nationwide strikes, didnt attend but called in via FaceTime. He still walked away with a first-time award that the jury dubbed the Palme dOr Speciale. And yet among the glaring absences, there were powerful presences. There were only three films directed by women among the 21 films in competition, but each was among the most talked-about films at the festival. Two of them took home awards: Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labakis neo-realistic child poverty drama Capernaum, which won the Jury Prize, and Italian director Alice Rohrwachers farm boy fable Happy as Lazzaro, which tied with Panahis Three Faces for best screenplay. Perhaps the festivals most indelible moment came ahead of the premiere of French filmmaker Eva Hussons Girls of the Sun, which is about a Kurdish battalion of women soldiers. Eighty-two women together walked the red carpet and stood on the Palais steps to, as Cannes Artist Director Thierry Fremaux said, affirm their presence. Their number reflected the sum total of female directors whose films have played in competition in Cannes 71-year history. Women are not a minority in the world, and yet our industry says the opposite, said jury President Cate Blanchett and, in French, Agnes Varda, from the top of the Palais steps. The stairs of our industry must be accessible to all. Lets climb. Issues of gender equality are especially acute in Cannes not just because it was for so many years a French Rivera playground for Weinstein. With elaborate red-carpet pageantry, Cannes is a massive, formally attired expression of tradition, one carefully guarded by etiquette and status. As Christopher Nolan said, introducing his glorious restoration of Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey, Cannes is the festival that cares the most about the history of cinema and the traditions of cinema. But in the era of #MeToo, its critics say, Cannes has remained too male. Only one female filmmaker (Jane Campion in 1993 for The Piano) has won the Palme. The inclusion in this years program of Lars von Trier, the Danish provocateur previously declared persona non grata at Cannes, was evidence to some that Cannes remains too much in the thrall of male auteurs. Yet it was hard to miss the sweep of change at this years festival. Just two days after the 82-women rally, a collection of womens rights groups including Frances 50/50 by 2020 and the U.S.s Times Up gathered in a crowded seaside tent just down the Croisette to press the festival to sign a pledge for improving gender equality. The atmosphere was electric. Blanchetts nine-member jury, including Ava DuVernay and Kristen Stewart, came and sat front row. They watched Fremaux and other festival leaders arrive and sign a pledge to make their selection process more transparent and take other measures to improve gender equality. The world has changed, said Fremaux. We must question our history and our habits. Jake Coyle is an Associated Press reporter. Rosalie Howarth, last of the longtime KFOG DJs, abruptly announced Sunday, May 20, during her popular show Acoustic Sunrise, that she was leaving the station after 34 years. Howarth, the senior announcer at the San Francisco station and only holdover from any number of staff purges, has finally been purged herself. Everything after year 30 at a radio station is icing on the cake, she said by phone Monday in Anaheim, where she went to visit one of her daughters and clear her head. I have nothing but a heart full of gratitude. Howarth, who has been involved in the Bay Area music scene since she ran away to Haight-Ashbury for the Summer of Love, was most grateful that she was the rare DJ who was allowed to give a farewell show. Her two-year contract expired on Monday, May 21, and when she drove in from her Walnut Creek home Friday to start work on her Sunday show, she was told that her contract would not be renewed and she could take the weekend off while syndicated programming took her 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday slot. Howarth would be ghosted, as is often the case in radio. But her program director, Mat Bates, stood up to management and Howarth was granted a farewell show. She was determined to make the best of it. As soon as she went on the air, with that soothing companion of a voice and the familiar handle Its me, Rosalie, she said, Its the last waltz for Acoustic Sunrise today, then played the Jack Johnson cover of the Bands recording of Bob Dylans I Shall Be Released. Every song was loaded, she said of her final show. Every song was an all-time favorite or had a wistful farewell message. During her last break, she gave a shout-out to all the beloved former KFOG voices, and where they can be heard, either on the Internet, at pop-up stations or out on the street Dave Morey, Dred Scott, Annalisa, Renee, Irish Greg and Webster. Then she played In My Life, by the Beatles, and finally closed with Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, from Monty Python. Her final words: You guys have been the best, and we were the luckiest ones. KFOG was bought in 2005 by Cumulus Media Inc. of Atlanta, one of the three largest owner-operators of AM and FM radio stations in the U.S. along with Entercom Communications and iHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel). At its peak, around 2007, KFOG rated seventh out of up to 40 stations, both AM and FM, a 2.7 share, according to Nielsen. But then Morey, who commanded the morning drive, suddenly quit in 2008 to move to the Michigan wilderness, and the long slow slide began. By 2016, KFOGs listenership had declined dramatically, which brought about the March Massacre, when four of the stations six full-time voices were laid off at once, along with part-timer Howarth. The format was shifted toward a younger demographic, and New York morning man Matt Pinfield was brought in under a promotional blitz. Two months later, Acoustic Sunrise was resurrected following a revolt by the Fogheads, as KFOG loyalists are known. Her new show outlasted Pinfield, the former host of MTVs 120 Minutes who went into rehab before departing KFOG in June 2017. The station now runs syndicated shows out of Atlanta and Los Angeles and did not make the top 20 in the March ratings. Its listener share has dropped to 1.5, and Cumulus Media filed for bankruptcy in November. Acoustic Sunrise lasted for 27 years and Howarth said she was unsurprised that she was finally let go. It doesnt make sense for them to pay for a product that doesnt fit with the sound they are going for, she said. KFOG management did not respond to a request for comment on Monday. During the course of Howarths final show, some 1,000 listeners sent their condolences by email or Facebook postings. Her old pal Morey said it best, writing from his new home in Palm Springs, where he runs a pirate radio station. Last one out, it read, in typical terse Morey fashion. Did you turn off the lights? Howarth left open the possibility that the lights could come back on someday, somewhere. Her archive of 6,000 acoustic recordings, many of them rare live benefit versions, went out the door with her. The songs are so potent that they have to be heard, she said. I cant imagine that they are silenced forever. Chronicle Radio Waves columnist Ben Fong-Torres contributed to this report. Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Instagram: @sfchronicle_art DENVER The owner of a South African hunting company was indicted this month in Colorado by federal prosecutors, who accuse the man of bribing Zimbabwean government officials while guiding a Colorado tourist on a hunt for elephants and working to have the ivory tusks of an elephant the group illegally killed inside a national park imported to the United States. Prosecutors said 44-year-old Hanno van Rensburg took a client to the area around Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe to hunt elephants in 2015. The Colorado client shot one elephant that did not die. The hunting party then tracked the animal into the national park but could not find it, according to prosecutors. An indictment unsealed last week said van Rensburg and the hunter bribed government officials with at least $5,000 to let the party shoot other elephants inside the park. Zimbabwean law does not allow hunters tracking a wounded animal inside the park to continue hunting other animals. Someone in the group shot and killed a different elephant and prosecutors say van Rensburg conspired with the client from Colorado to export ivory from the dead elephant, falsely claiming that the hunter was a resident of South Africa and that the elephant was not shot inside a national park. In 2015, U.S. law banned importation of the body parts of African elephants killed for sport in Zimbabwe. However, the Trump administration announced in March 2018 that requests to import elephant trophies would be approved on a case-by-case basis. Van Rensburg also is charged with violating a broader U.S. law the Lacey Act that make it illegal to transport or sell wildlife killed in violation of any foreign law. Officials said van Rensburg has not been arrested; an arrest warrant filed with the court orders any authorized law enforcement officer to take him into custody. The charges include wire fraud, conspiracy and violating the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Attorneys Office and our law enforcement partners work together to support global efforts to protect threatened and endangered wildlife from illegal poaching, Colorado U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer said. (Fish and Wildlife Services) and our prosecutors did an extraordinary job investigating this case. Kathleen Foody and Colleen Slevin are Associated Press writers. ATLANTA If you want to know where mass school shootings are most likely to occur, look no farther than small-town and suburban America. The massacre that killed 10 people at a high school in Texas last week was just the latest to happen in a small or suburban city. Of the 10 deadliest school shootings in the U.S., all but one took place in a town with fewer than 75,000 residents and the vast majority of them were in cities with fewer than 50,000 people. These are seemingly idyllic places to grow up: low crime rates, good schools and a sense of community where everyone seems to know your name. And its exactly those attributes, experts say, that are why small rural and suburban towns are a breeding ground for the next school shooter. Ironically, its people in small towns and suburbia who think it cant happen here. And that is exactly the type of place where it does happen, said Peter Langman, a psychologist who has been studying school shootings for years and operates a database of school gun violence in the U.S. and abroad. People tend to think of violence associated with cities, not violence associated with small-town America, but this type of violence is the one associated with small-town America. Experts say the phenomenon is due to a variety of factors that include easy access to guns and the copycat effect of disturbed suburban and small-town teenagers emulating each other. Its also blamed on the pressures of living in small towns that make it harder for disgruntled teenagers to adjust. In small-town America, its said everybody knows everybody, and thats well and good except when you dont want everybody to know whats going on with you, said James Alan Fox, a professor at Northeastern University who has been studying mass shootings for decades. If things are going downhill for you, you did something wrong or someone did something wrong to you and some girl dumps you, everybody knows. So its much harder to get away from it. Parkland, Fla., where authorities say a former student in February gunned down 17 people, had just recently been voted the safest town in Florida. Newtown, Conn., where a shooting in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School took the lives of 20 children and six adults, is a classic New England town, seemingly a world away from the crime and problems of nearby Bridgeport, one of that states largest cities. The site of the Columbine High School tragedy was a Denver suburb, the Virginia Tech massacre happened in a college town of about 40,000 people. The shooting last week took place in a town of 13,000 people about 40 minutes southeast of Houston. Lisa Marie Pane is an Associated Press writer. PERRY HALL, Md. A 16-year-old boy charged in the death of a Maryland police officer told detectives he drove at her when she confronted him as he waited in a vehicle while others were burglarizing a home, according to court documents. Baltimore County police Officer Amy Caprio was killed Monday afternoon while investigating a call about a suspicious vehicle in the Perry Hall community northeast of Baltimore, authorities said. Police have not confirmed how Caprio was fatally injured in a suburban neighborhood, but witnesses reported hearing a pop before seeing a Jeep run her over after a confrontation. A probable cause statement dated Tuesday identified the suspect in her death as Dawnta Anthony Harris of Baltimore. He has been charged with first-degree murder and held without bail by a judge who called him a one-man crime wave. Officials said three other teenagers had been taken into custody. Baltimore Countys public safety department tweeted Tuesday morning that the teenagers are suspects in area burglaries. The department did not say whether the three played any role in the officers death and have not released their identities. The probable cause statement said a caller told police Monday that she saw a black Jeep near her residence and that three suspicious people got out and were walking around homes. Soon after, the caller advised that the subjects had broken into a home, the statement said. Harris, who was arrested near where a Jeep was found abandoned, told a detective he had been waiting in the drivers seat of the vehicle as his associates were committing a burglary, the statement said. He tried to flee in the Jeep when he saw Caprio arrive on the block, but she followed him and ordered him out of the vehicle, the statement said. Harris told the detective that he drove at the officer, according to the statement. Scott Shellenberger, the states attorney for Baltimore County, said the teen has been charged as an adult. The Associated Press does not ordinarily identify underage suspects unless they face adult charges. Caprio won an Officer of the Month award for the Parkville precinct in December. Police said at the time that her investigation led to the identification and arrest of two suspects in numerous package thefts in eastern Baltimore County and neighboring jurisdictions. The officers death stunned the quiet, residential neighborhood, said Baltimore County Councilman David Marks, who lives nearby. The community I represent stands united in grief for this fallen police officer, and our hope is that all those involved are brought to justice, Marks said. David McFadden and Sarah Rankin are Associated Press writers. According to the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce, African-American businesses have grown at an exponential rate in the 21st century. Four months in and 2018 is already shaping up to be a banner year for African-American entrepreneurship. Currently there are nearly 2.6 million African-American-owned businesses in the U.S., and now there are countless platforms, programs, initiatives and conferences in place to support such exponential growth. Kezia Williams is a D.C.-based entrepreneur who currently leads a national program designed to cultivate the next generation of African-American entrepreneurs and innovators for the United Negro College Fund. She is also the founder of The Black upStart, a national initiative to train African-American entrepreneurs. According to Williams, The penalizing effects of racism robs black employees of fair and equal earned income simply because they are black. Therefore, entrepreneurship is not only necessary for black employees seeking to fully capitalize from their labor but also for black returning citizens who attempt legitimate employment despite policies that restrict their economic mobility and subsequent earning potential. Research shows that the gap in average wealth between African-American and white adults decreases from a multiplier of 13 to 3 when you compare the wealth of business owners by race. Related: 10 of the Most Successful Black Entrepreneurs There are several conferences taking place in this year specifically geared toward African-American entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. The 23rd annual Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit takes place in Charlotte, North Carolina, this summer with such speakers as Don Peebles and Byron Allen scheduled to present. The three-day conference brings together more than 1,000 of the countrys leading entrepreneurs, business-funding services and corporations. This summer Black Tech Week, which launched in Miami in 2014, is bringing the conference to several cities, including Washington D.C. and Charlotte, and will travel this fall to Atlanta, Detroit, Kansas City and Cincinnati. The goal of Black Tech Week is to partner with founders, corporations and the community to create an experience for investors and African-American entrepreneurs. The 3rd annual AfroTech Conference, the largest black tech conference, will take place in Silicon Valley this fall. AfroTech is a conference where founders and employees of some of the fastest-growing tech startups present the tactics and strategies they use to grow their products and businesses. Last years speakers included: Rodney Williams (CEO and co-founder of LISNR) as well as Diishan Imira (CEO and Founder of Mayvenn). This year the conference is expected to be the largest one yet. Another key conference, Black Wall Street: Homecoming, will also take place this fall. The networking conference, which takes place in Durham, North Carolina, is for early stage African-American entrepreneurs, focused on the intersection of content, connections and culture. Related: Black Is the New Black: An African-American Entrepreneur's Manifesto Several incubators specifically geared toward African-American entrepreneurship are also sprouting up throughout the country. Plans are currently underway for the Russell Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Atlanta. Named after the late Herman J. Russell, who founded Americas largest black-owned construction firm, the center will help aspiring entrepreneurs of color bring their business ideas to fruition by providing them with an array of resources. The center will launch a fundraising campaign this summer with plans to open its doors in 2019. Another unique incubator, the ACT House, helps prime young African-Americans for entrepreneurship. Launched in 2016, the ACT House, located in Tallahassee, places African-American student entrepreneurs in one house for one year to build a startup. The ACT House was founded in 2016 and, in 2017, launched its first 12-month residential accelerator cohort designed to disrupt traditional incubation models by focusing on building winning teams alongside a minimum viable product. Among other core components, the ACT team model mitigates startup failure through a three-pronged approach that incorporates experiential leadership, dynamics of team health and immersive prototype development. ACT House is preparing to launch new locations in Atlanta and Durham, where the local entrepreneurial ecosystems and minority serving institutions could benefit from such a collaboration. Ultimately, the goal is to create a pipeline that continuously deploys more minority entrepreneurs into local startup ecosystems. Countless apps and initiatives have also recently launched to help give African-American founders equal footing in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Announced this month, the venture capital firm Backstage Capital recently launched a $36 million fund that will invest in African-American women founders, $1 million at a time. Backstages founder and managing partner Arlan Hamilton refers to the fund as the Its About Damn Time fund. A new app, InvesU App, is also doing its part to infuse African-American ventures with capital. InvestU, a community investment fund for African-American founders, allows people to connect their debit and credit cards to the app, which then automatically rounds up everyday purchases and contributes it to a fund specifically geared toward African-American ventures. Less than 1 percent of venture capital funding goes toward African-American founders. Initiatives like the one taken on by Backstage Capital and InvestU seek to close the gap. When asked to describe the state of black entrepreneurship in 2018, Dominick Ardis, founder of ACT House said, I believe it's flourishing, yet it continues to find its footing while also building support nodes -- capital access, ecosystem support, enclaves for connection -- to do so. In the last five years, it's been an exciting process to observe. Policymakers are creating paths for African-American business owners to thrive, we've seen a notable uptick in Black VCs and investors, and a much-needed increase of black female founders. Confidence in the industry is increasing; however, an untapped opportunity exists to disrupt education models in black communities to infuse entrepreneurship as a tool of systemic change. Itll be interesting to see how the remainder of 2018 shapes up. Related: 6 Ways to Setup a Structure for Entrepreneurship A Shampoo that Convinced CK Kumaravel, and Others that Solutions for Hard Water Exist Raising Seed Funding? 5 Things you Need to Keep in Mind Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved The cast of Bharat gets bigger with Tabu After announcing the addition of Disha Patani to the ensemble cast of Salman Khan starrer Bharat, the makers announce Tabu joining the cast. Director Ali Abbas Zafar has been a fan of the celebrated actor and always wished to work with her. Details of Tabus character have been kept under the wraps however the national award winning actress plays an important role in the period drama. Delighted about welcoming Tabu to the cast, Ali Abbas Zafar said, Ive been a huge fan of Tabus work and always wished to work with her. After several meetings with her, I'm happy it is finally happening with Bharat and am looking forward to the shoot. Deepika Padukone creates ripples internationally Bollywoods leading lady Deepika Padukone has been creating waves not just in India but also internationally. Deepika Padukone was seen setting the red carpet on fire at MET Gala and Cannes leaving fashion police raving across boundaries. Recently, she 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. Deepika Padukone has been creating a splash with her stunning magazine covers. After mesmerizing the audience with her Filmfare Middle East cover, Deepika Padukone bowled us over with her sexy avatar on the TINGS London cover. 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. Deepika Padukone who 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. Syrian army, police celebrate recapturing all of Damascus Smoke rises after Syrian government airstrikes and shelling hit in Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood held by Islamic State militants, southern Damascus, Syria. AP, Beirut : Syrian state TV says the military and police forces are celebrating recapturing the last neighborhoods in Damascus that were held by the rebels and the Islamic State group. Al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast footage of a ceremonial police motorcade entering the Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood with sirens blaring on Tuesday, a day after the military declared they had recaptured the neighborhood from IS militants. The state broadcaster then showed a police ceremony taking place in the neighborhood, much of it left in ruins and rubble from the fighting. Syria's military announced it had recaptured Hajar al-Aswad from Islamic State militants on Monday, bringing the entire capital and its suburbs under full government control for the first time since the 2011. Syria's army said 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 IS, 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. 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. Erdogan hints Turkey may ban some Israeli goods because of Gaza violence President Tayyip Erdogan hints banning some Israeli goods because of Gaza violence. Reuters, Istanbul : President Tayyip Erdogan has hinted that Turkey might consider imposing a ban on imports of some Israeli goods over the killing of Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces on the Gaza border, media reported on Tuesday. Erdogan, who is campaigning for re-election in June, last week hosted Muslim leaders who condemned the events in Gaza and the opening of the United States embassy in Jerusalem. Speaking to reporters on a return flight from Bosnia on Sunday, Erdogan said the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had recommended that a boycott be imposed on Israeli goods. "I hope that OIC member countries implement a boycott decision in line with the recommendation. Consequently, no product should be brought from there any more. Naturally we will assess this situation in the same way," Hurriyet newspaper reported Erdogan as saying. A declaration by the OIC on Friday repeated a call for countries to ban "products of the illegal Israeli settlements from entering their markets", referring to goods produced in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Golan Heights. It did not seek a ban on all Israeli goods. The declaration also called for "economic restrictions (on) countries, officials, parliaments, companies or individuals" who followed the United States and moved their embassies to Jerusalem. U.S. President Donald Trump's move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and shift the U.S. embassy there reversed decades of U.S. policy, upsetting the Arab world and Western allies. Erdogan said last week that Trump's move had emboldened Israel to put down the protests at the border with Gaza with excessive force, likening the actions of Israeli forces to Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews in World War Two, when millions were killed in concentration camps. The violence in Gaza, where more than 60 Palestinians were killed on May 14 led to Turkey and Israel expelling each other's senior diplomats. Erdogan also traded barbs on Twitter with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel was the 10th-largest market for Turkish exports in 2017, buying some $3.4 billion of goods, according to IMF statistics. Data from Turkey's statistics institute showed that trade volume between the two was at $4.9 billion in 2017. Turkey, which has a trade surplus with Israel, imports plastics and mineral oils among other goods from there. Foreign media head to N Korea to witness nuclear site destruction Pyongyang invited a handful of international media to witness the dismantling of the Punggye-ri site. AFP, Beijing : Foreign journalists headed to North Korea on Tuesday to witness the promised destruction of its nuclear test site, a move seen as a goodwill gesture before a planned summit with the United States. Dozens of reporters from China, the United States and Russia departed on a charter flight from Beijing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN which is part of the contingent. It showed the journalists board a small plane emblazoned with the North's flag. The journalists will cover the demolition of the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site inside a mountain in the northeast of the country, which is scheduled to take place between Wednesday to Friday. Agence France-Presse and some other major media organisations were not invited to cover the event. The North has staged all six of its nuclear tests there beginning in 2006. The latest and by far the most powerful in September last year was said by Pyongyang to have been a hydrogen bomb. The North previously said South Korean journalists would be allowed to attend this week's ceremony, as part of a series of ice-breaking diplomatic moves following a summit between the two country's leaders last month. But Pyongyang refused at the last minute to accept a list of South Korean journalists. It has railed against the ongoing "Max Thunder" military aviation exercise involving the United States and South Korea, calling it "an act of provocation." Pyongyang has also threatened to cancel a summit between US President Donald Trump and its own leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12, despite weeks of tentative rapprochement. The North has accused the US of cornering it with a unilateral demand for denuclearisation. Meanwhile, 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. 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. The words "Peace Talks" are emblazoned at the top of the front of the coin with the date "2018" beneath. The back of the coin features a picture of the White House, Air Force One and the Seal of the President of the United States. 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. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) San Francisco police responded to three separate shootings on Friday and Saturday that left four people injured, including a 15-year-old boy. The first shooting occurred at 9:13 p.m. Friday, when two people got into an argument near Market and Larkin streets, according to police. One of the two men then shot the other and fled on foot. The victim, a 40-year-old man, was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening. The suspect, described as a man between 55 and 60 years old, was not apprehended, police said. Hours later, at about 1:10 a.m. Saturday, officers responded to another report of a shooting, this time in the 1100 block of Capp Street, according to police. There, officers learned that two people were walking to their car when someone fired a gun at them. The suspect fled in a vehicle, heading south on Capp Street. The victims, a 29-year-old and 25-year-old man, drove themselves to the hospital, both suffering from injuries not considered life-threatening, police said. A description of the suspect was not immediately available. At 8:53 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to a shooting in the 1700 block of Revere Avenue. According to police, the 15-year-old victim was driving on Revere Avenue when a vehicle with four males inside drove up to his vehicle. One of the occupants then shot at the teen's car. The suspect vehicle fled, while the underage victim was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, police said. The suspects remain at large. ANTIOCH (BCN) All lanes of westbound state Highway 4 in Antioch have been shut down after a multiple-vehicle collision tonight has resulted in more than one victim suffering major injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP said multiple calls about the collision - which involved at least three vehicles - came in at 10:35 p.m. today. All lanes were blocked and a Sig-alert was issued around 10:45 p.m. There is no estimated time of reopening. No further information was immediately available. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A woman armed with a machete stabbed another woman during an argument Monday afternoon in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, sending the victim to the hospital, police said. Around 4:25 p.m., officers responded to a report of a stabbing in the 400 block of Turk Street. There, officers learned that the 55-year-old victim was sitting on the sidewalk when the suspect, a 56-year-old woman, approached her. When the two women began arguing, the suspect pulled out a machete and cut the victim, according to police. The suspect then fled east on Turk Street. The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, police said. Officers were able to eventually able to catch up with the suspect and arrested her. Police did not release her name. Action was taken today to reverse a California trial court's ruling that put an end to the state's right-to-die law, according to the California Attorney General's Office. "We are taking action today to reverse the trial court's decision and keep the California End of Life Option Act in place during the appeals process," Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office said. A petition by Becerra's office to the 4th District Court of Appeal asks for an immediate stay of the decision by a judge in Riverside County Superior Court that overturned the act, which allowed terminally ill patients diagnosed with six or less months to live to take a prescription to end their life. "We thank Attorney General Becerra for filing his emergency request to reverse the lower court's ruling that seeks to take away the peaceful option of medical aid in dying for terminally ill Californian's," said John Kappos, an attorney with the O'Melveny law firm representing Compassion & Choices, which led the campaign to pass the law. Compassion & Choices is a nonprofit that aims to improve and expand health care options for the end of life, officials with the group said. The Riverside County judge invalidated the law because he said that it was not sufficiently related to the subject of a special legislative session in which it was passed, the petition says. According to the petition, the judge's ruling is incorrect because the act was part of a special session to "improve the efficiency and the efficacy of the health care system i and improve the health of Californian's," which is clearly what the act does. Between June 9, 2016, and December 31, 2016, about 200 terminally ill patients received prescriptions to end their lives, the petition says, citing a report by the California Department of Public Health. Upgrades to the Interstate Highway 680/state Highway 4 interchange in Pacheco, considered a bottleneck for traffic in Contra Costa County, are closer to reality after the California Transportation Commission approved $34 million in funding for improvements. "I've literally been working on this project since day one" of becoming an assemblyman in January 2017, Tim Grayson, D-Concord, said Monday. "I brought that project with me when I moved up to the capital." Grayson said he worked with the California Transportation Commission, Caltrans and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority to secure the funding needed to get the project started. The interchange upgrade money, plus funding for 12 other Bay Area transit projects -- more than $660 million in all -- were part of three CTC's competitive statewide programs established by Senate Bill 1, which went into effect in November, funded by a new gas tax. The Highway 680/Highway 4 funding, approved by the CTC last Wednesday, comes about two and a half years after a group of politicians, union leaders and transportation officials gathered in a parking lot near the interchange to decry the proposed cut of more than $750 million from planned transportation projects statewide. At that time, decreasing gas prices led to a corresponding decrease in gas tax revenues, prompting state transportation leaders to propose a 38 percent decrease in funding for the state's five-year transportation project plan. So what changed to make that funding a reality? SB 1, the 10-year, $52 billion tax package to fund hundreds of transportation projects statewide. The work for the interchange renovations, which will include modifications to accommodate express lanes on Highway 680 through the area, is about $78 million. Randy Iwasaki, executive director of the CCTA, said about $44.3 million from other funding sources was already in hand. If all goes well, he said, work on the improvements could begin in the fall. "This is a regional priority project that will be eligible for more funding if voters approve Regional Measure 3 next month," said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which oversees transportation planning and financing in the nine-county Bay Area. The measure would raise money through higher tolls for using the region's seven state-owned toll bridges. Even though a proposed repeal of SB 1 will be on the November election ballot, Iwasaki said the $34 million for the interchange project is secure. The Highway 680/4 interchange, first built in the 1960s, was built for traffic levels of that era, Goodwin said, but the area's housing growth both in eastern Contra Costa and southern Solano counties have helped to make it a weak link in the regional commute. Other projects funded by the CTC's Local Partnership Program, one of the three statewide competitive programs created by SB 1, include $20 million for San Mateo County agencies to extend express lanes on U.S. Highway 101. There is also $17 million for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to improve the Highway 101 and state Highway 237 interchanges with Mathilda Avenue; $15 million for Alameda-Contra Costa Transit to buy hybrid buses; $7 million for improvements to Jefferson Street in San Francisco; and $3 million to upgrade Rumrill Boulevard in San Pablo. SAN JOSE (BCN) San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo will face three opponents in his race for re-election on June 5. Quangminh Pham, Steve Brown and Tyrone Wade have qualified to run against Liccardo for the 2018 mayoral seat. Liccardo, who was elected as mayor in 2014, is touting the success he says San Jose has had during his tenure. "In less than three years under his leadership, San Jose has thrived," Liccardo's campaign website says. Pham is listed as a writer and a business owner and is running with a platform to make San Jose more affordable, according to the statement of qualifications that he submitted to run for the seat. "I believe that city leadership should have worked on generating solid revenue for its budget, and assisting residents, financially and in uplifting life standards, rather than just using authority to force them to pay incredibly high dues," Pham said in his statement. Brown, who lost to Sergio Jimenez for the District 2 council seat in 2016, is also running for mayor. However, according to city records, he did not submit a statement of qualifications. Wade is a retired marriage family and crisis counselor, according to his statement, and is running for mayor because he is "concerned that the rights and protections my parents fought for, were maimed and died for are being rolled back." Wade lists a lack of affordable housing, overwhelming debt and "failing" education as his main concerns that he would address as mayor. OAKLAND (BCN) A Republican congressman from Iowa has named a proposed law prohibiting public officials from warning immigrants about planned mass detention operations after Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. House Resolution 5884, also known as the Mayor Libby Schaaf Act of 2018, was introduced Monday by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. The three-page document, available online at https://bit.ly/2KL4yWF, would make it "unlawful" for government officials like Schaaf to "obstruct, hinder, delay or otherwise impede" the enforcement actions of a federal agency and includes the "purposeful broadcast" of information about impending actions. "Under my bill, government officials who tip off illegal aliens about imminent federal immigration enforcement efforts could face up to 5 years in prison," King said. "I want lawless, Sanctuary City politicians to hear this message clearly: if you obstruct ICE, you are going to end up in the cooler." He cited statements from Thomas Homan, acting deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, claiming roughly 800 "criminal aliens" were able to evade immigration agents during a mass-detention operation that resulted in 232 arrests, in part because they had been warned by Schaaf during a news conference on the evening of Feb. 24. Those claims prompted the resignation of James Schwab, who had been working as a spokesman for ICE's offices in San Francisco, and later described Homan's statements as "false" and "misleading" in interviews with local news media shortly after his departure from the agency in March. This week's legislative action follows months of sparring in the media between Schaaf, President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Just last Wednesday, Trump urged Sessions to look into filing charges against Schaaf for obstruction of justice during a roundtable at the White House with California leaders opposed to sanctuary city and state policies. Schaaf has since responded twice on Twitter, saying she was busy with her city's business rather than obstructing justice, but was not immediately available to comment today on King's bill. Her actions have been widely condemned in conservative circles, but King says there is some doubt in the legal community over whether they constitute a crime, and that his legislation would clarify the matter in future cases. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) The mayors of the three largest Bay Area cities today announced their support for a regional measure that aims to help solve the Bay Area's traffic woes by raising tolls by as much as $3 on the region's seven bridges. During a news conference at the San Francisco Ferry Building this afternoon, San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo all voiced their support for the measure. Regional Measure 3 would use revenue from a phased-in toll increase on the Bay Area's seven state-owned bridges to fund a $4.5 billion slate of highway and transit improvements in the toll bridge corridors and their approach routes. "Everybody in San Francisco knows that our infrastructure and transportation system is struggling. Our trains are more crowded than ever before, our buses are more crowded than ever before... our roads are more congested than they have ever been," Farrell said. "RM 3 is a game changer, not only for San Francisco, but for the Bay Area." Some the projects include the purchase of the new BART cars, extending BART's Silicon Valley service to Santa Clara, extending Caltrain to downtown San Francisco, expanding the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's bus fleet, expanded ferry service, building a direct highway connector between northbound U.S. Highway 101 and the Richmond San Rafael Bridge in Marin County and improving state Highway 37 between Sonoma and Solano Counties, among many other projects. "This region needs help. RM 3 is about saving the planet and saving our sanity. As commuters here in the Bay Area, we are tired of being jammed up and kept away from our families while we wait in traffic on Bay Area roads," Schaaf said. "When I look at these investments, it's not just as a mayor, but as a steward for this whole region," Schaaf, who is also a commissioner for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, said. "In Silicon Valley, we're certainly proud to lead in the development of supercomputers, but here in the Bay Area, we also lead in the supercommuters - commuters who spend at least 90 minutes to get to work on any given day," Liccardo said. "The time is certainly overdue for regional thinking and thinking action," Liccardo, who also serves as an MTC commissioner, said. "The Bay Area has very unique problems and requires specific, thoughtful and comprehensive solutions by and for the Bay Area." According to the measure, the region's state-owned bridges would see a $1 toll increase starting on Jan. 1, 2019, then another $1 increase in January 2022 and a final $1 increase in January 2025. Tolls haven't increased on the bridges since 2010. The Golden Gate Bridge, which is owned by a separate authority, would not be affected by the toll increase. Opponents of the measure have argued that the increase on bridge tolls would be a strain on middle-income Bay Area residents who travel on bridges daily to get to work. 554-6131 SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Despite having a policy in place that prohibits San Francisco police officers from shooting at moving vehicles, an officer fired his gun twice at a driver who struck a police vehicle during a pursuit earlier this month in the city's Western Addition neighborhood. During a town hall meeting tonight at the Hamilton Recreation Center at 1900 Geary Blvd., just two blocks from where the shooting unfolded, Police Chief Bill Scott and other police officials revealed new details of the shooting. On May 11 just before 1 a.m., officers on patrol near Geary Boulevard and Steiner Street heard a vehicle alarm. Upon further investigation, the officers saw broken glass on the sidewalk and two people walking away from a parked car with a shattered window. The officers tried to detain the two people, identified as Hershel Hale, 21, of Antioch and Maurice Jones, 23, of Brentwood. As Jones was being detained by one officer, Hale ran, running toward Webster and O'Farrell streets with an officer in pursuit, police said. Once near the intersection, Hale allegedly got into a parked white Hyundai Sonata and started it as the pursuing officer ordered him to stop. Police said Hale drove forward, striking the back of the car parked in front of him. As Hale exited the parking spot, a second police patrol car arrived with two officers inside. When the patrol car stopped, the officer in the passenger's side exited. Hale drove toward the stopped police vehicle and struck its right front side, police said. Hale allegedly drove past the patrol vehicle and toward the officer that had just exited it, but the officer retreated to a safe place. During this time, the officer who initially pursued Hale on foot fired his gun at least twice toward Hale's vehicle, as Hale was allegedly driving away. That officer has been identified as Officer William Reininger, police said. Hale allegedly continued driving toward the intersection of Webster and O'Farrell streets when he struck a police SUV that had just arrived on scene. Police said Hale again drove away and the officers in the SUV followed him to Civic Center Plaza where Hale's vehicle jumped the curb and stopped and Hale was taken into custody. One officer was treated at the scene for an injury, police said. While no one was struck by the police gunfire, Hale was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening. Hale was arrested on suspicion of burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, evading police, conspiracy and hit-and-run leading to an injury. Jones was arrested on suspicion of burglary and conspiracy, police said. Videos of the melee were captured on the body worn cameras of some of the officers at the scene, however, police said Reininger did not have his camera activated. When asked tonight whether he was concerned that the officer, who has served just one year on the force, appeared to violate department policies by not activating his body camera and shooting at a moving vehicle, Scott replied, "The policy is the policy. "If there is disciplinary action to be taken, we will take that. But we will do it in the right way, once the investigation is complete. I know it's really tempting at this stage to say how this is going to go, but it's really too early to begin to tell," he said. Reininger has been placed on paid administrative leave as the investigation continues. According to Capt. Joseph Engler from the department's Northern Station, Reininger and the other officer who initially encountered Hale and Jones were on the lookout for car burglars that night. "What we've been facing lately is an epidemic in car boosting, car burglaries, cars getting broken into when people are going to the movies, when people go to dinner, when people are picking up and dropping off their children from school... This is ground zero for car break-ins," Engler said. Police Commissioner Petra DeJesus attended the meeting and said that although Reininger appeared to have violated department policies, the circumstances surrounding those actions still need to be evaluated. "When we were doing the body cameras, one of the issues we had was why can't it just come on automatically in some fashion, when they're running, when there's some motion... Turning it on is very important, so how do we get that memory in place?" she said. "Policy can't anticipate every conceivable situation or exceptional circumstance and I think a car trying to mow people down is certainly within that area... All use of force is a case-by-case basis. So even though there is policy, policy allows for exceptional circumstances," DeJesus said. When asked whether she was concerned about the inability of the police commission to meet because of a lack of a quorum, DeJesus said, "It is concerning. It's a small delay but I understand that we will be up and running within a time frame." Scott said the police commission's current status will not affect the investigation into the shooting. Ship Tajuddin of Bangladesh Coast Guard left for India in a goodwill visit from Patenga in Chittogram yesterday. Photo : Coast Guard Measure R, a school bond measure on the ballots in both Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, seeks funding to restore a school district's facilities that were scorched by a fire nearly three years ago. On August 30, 2015, a group of teenagers went to Loma Prieta Elementary School, located at 23800 Summit Road in Los Gatos, with the intent to smoke marijuana on the premises. While the teens were there, they lit a cardboard box on fire to stay warm, a 17-year-old boy who admitted to being there that night told the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. The boy said he disposed of the ashes in a trashcan and thought that they were extinguished before he left. However, firefighters were called to the school at 11:10 p.m. that night and arrived to find smoke and flames coming from the school's building that was split between a gym and a community center, a Cal Fire assistant chief said the following day. The community center portion of the building, estimated to be about 6,000 square feet, was the center of the blaze and the building itself burned to the ground, fire officials said. Loma Prieta Elementary School and C.T. English Middle School, located nearby, were closed for a few days due to debris and air quality from the fire. The loss of the community center and two specialized classrooms for music and art negatively affected the schools, which make up the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District. District superintendent Corey Kidwell said funding to rebuild the damaged facilities and follow the district's 10-year facilities master plan is just now appearing on the ballot as Measure R because of the "extensive geological study" the community center underwent in partnership with California's Division of the State Architect. The Division of the State Architect manages building codes for California schools, and since the time that the last building code was enforced for the lost building, new fault lines have been discovered, Kidwell said. "Our district's name is Loma Prieta," Kidwell joked. "When that's your name, building a school building is really complicated." The district has full confidence that the new building will be built to last, since the original community center had been constructed before the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and it withstood the disaster. If the measure gets at least 55 percent approval, the $10.6 million in bonds adopted would also be used to update fire alarms and upgrade the school's water system. Kidwell said the land the school district sits on is the only public land in the mountainous area, which means that their holding tanks are drawn on for the public's fire needs as well. "We want to increase our capacity to both fight fires at the school and as a community," Kidwell said. "The issue of having enough water on the summit is always complex." The remaining revenue from the bonds would help with electrical/heating and plumbing systems, meeting health/safety codes and modernizing classroom technology. The published opponents of the measure, Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association president Mark Hinkle and Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County chair Jennifer Imhoff, question why the district is asking for more money if the district had fire insurance to cover costs from the blaze. They said the district already spends 17 percent more than the state average and has put six parcel tax or bond measures on the ballot since 2000. "Taxpayers have to live within their means. And so should the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District," the opponents said. "This tax-and-spend frenzy has got to end." The proponents of Measure R, in the official rebuttal to the ballot argument against the proposal, said the district does have fire insurance but "as many homeowners know, insurance does NOT cover all the costs to rebuild." They said Hinkle "doesn't live in our mountain community and has made it his mission to oppose every school measure on the ballot in Santa Clara County. Measure R is absolutely needed and is a sound investment for OUR community and children." VALLEJO (BCN) Six Flags Discovery Kingdom welcomed a newborn California sea lion to the park on Sunday, the park announced on Monday. The cub, which was born at 7 p.m. Sunday, was born to its 4-year-old mother Pebbles at the park's Seal Cove habitat. It's the first time Pebbles has given birth. Park officials do not yet know the newborn pup's gender. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office revealed more details and body camera footage today from a case near Santa Cruz last Friday in which a deputy shot and injured a woman who had escaped from handcuffs and rammed another deputy with a stolen patrol car. Sheriff Jim Hart led a news conference at the department's headquarters today to talk about the case, which started at 3:27 a.m. Friday when deputies were patrolling the end of the Ocean Street Extension near Paradise Park due to neighborhood concerns of illegal activity. Deputies found two cars parked in a turnout at the end of the road, one of which was a Honda reported stolen from San Jose. Jessica Lowe, 27, and a man were standing between the cars when deputies approached them. The pair were handcuffed and placed in separate patrol cars while they were being questioned, according to Hart. Deputy August Waltrip was searching the stolen car while another deputy was interviewing the man Lowe had been standing in the road with. At that time, she slipped out of her cuffs, reached through the rear window and opened the door of the other patrol car, according to the sheriff's office. Lowe jumped into the driver's seat and allegedly intentionally drove at the second deputy interviewing the man. Without warning, Lowe's car struck the deputy. Waltrip heard the crash and the second deputy screaming in pain as he approached the car Lowe had stolen, the sheriff said. Waltrip did not know if his partner was stuck underneath the car or was pinned between the two patrol cars. In fear for the second deputy's life, Waltrip fired twice at Lowe as he opened the driver's side door, where she was located, to try and stop her. Waltrip ran around the backside of the car driven by Lowe and could hear his partner yelling in pain. The vehicle's reverse lights flickered and the vehicle backed up at Waltrip. He fired again several more times, Hart said. Waltrip was able to move he and the injured deputy behind a tree until Lowe finally stopped the car. He gave Lowe verbal commands to exit the car and remain on the ground. She complied until other deputies arrived a few minutes later. Those deputies rendered aid to Lowe, who was struck by three bullets in the gunfire, Hart said. They helped for more than 10 minutes before the first paramedics arrived, and investigators believe this likely saved her life. Lowe was flown to a trauma center where she had one surgery and is expected to recover, sheriff's officials said. The injured deputy hit by the patrol car Lowe was driving was treated at a hospital and later released, although he will need future medical care for his injuries. When Lowe is released, she will be transferred to the county jail and be booked on suspicion of attempted murder of a peace officer, Hart said. The Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office is investigating the incident and Waltrip has been placed on routine administrative leave. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. A Republican congressman from Iowa has named a proposed law prohibiting public officials from warning immigrants about planned mass detention operations after Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. House Resolution 5884, also known as the Mayor Libby Schaaf Act of 2018, was introduced Monday by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. The three-page document, available online at https://bit.ly/2KL4yWF, would make it "unlawful" for government officials like Schaaf to "obstruct, hinder, delay or otherwise impede" the enforcement actions of a federal agency and includes the "purposeful broadcast" of information about impending actions. "Under my bill, government officials who tip off illegal aliens about imminent federal immigration enforcement efforts could face up to 5 years in prison," King said. "I want lawless, Sanctuary City politicians to hear this message clearly: if you obstruct ICE, you are going to end up in the cooler." Schaaf was not immediately available to comment today on King's bill. Speed was a factor in a head-on collision between two dirt bikes in East Oakland on Monday night that left one 21-year-old man dead and another 21-year-man injured, police said. Both riders, who are Oakland residents, were ejected from their dirt bikes and neither of them was wearing a helmet, according to police. The collision was reported in the 3200 block of Courtland Avenue at 9:12 p.m. Monday. Responding officers determined that one dirt bike was traveling south on Courtland Avenue and another dirt bike was traveling north on Courtland Avenue and both were speeding when they collided head-on, police said. Paramedics responded to the scene and provided medical treatment but one of the riders was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. The other rider suffered serious injuries, was transported to a hospital for treatment and is listed in stable condition, police said. Alcohol was not a factor in the collision, according to police. The name of the rider who died is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin. Oakland police said the collision is still under investigation and anyone who has information about it should call their traffic investigation unit at (510) 777-8570. A man who was found fatally shot in East Oakland on Friday morning was identified by police today as 26-year-old Michael McNair of Alameda. Officers who responded to a report at 6:15 a.m. Friday of a male who'd been shot in the area of MacArthur Boulevard and Parker Avenue found McNair suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. No arrests have been made in the shooting and a motive has not been determined. Two adults have been transported to a hospital following a three-vehicle collision on San Francisco's Treasure Island this morning, according to fire officials. The crash was reported just before 10 a.m. at California Avenue and Avenue H, according to Fire Lt. Jonathan Baxter. Around 10:30 a.m., Baxter was expecting traffic delays at the scene of the crash to persist for roughly an hour. The victims are expected to survive their injuries, but further information about their conditions was not immediately available. A 13-year-old boy was cited for allegedly making criminal threats against a middle school in Novato after several classmates overheard him talking about bringing a gun to "shoot up the school," police said. Novato police received a report at 6:25 p.m. that students at Sinaloa Middle School at 2045 Vineyard Road overheard the alleged threat. Officers contacted the students who overheard the threats and corroborated information provided to school administrators. Police then went to the home of the student who allegedly made the threat and he and his family denied him having any intentions to cause harm at the school. Officers searched his home and found a broken airsoft gun, but no other guns or weapons were found. The teen was given the citation for allegedly making the threats, and the case will be forwarded to the Marin County District Attorney's Office, police said. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom welcomed a newborn California sea lion to the park on Sunday, the park announced on Monday. The cub, which was born at 7 p.m. Sunday, was born to its 4-year-old mother Pebbles at the park's Seal Cove habitat. It's the first time Pebbles has given birth. Park officials do not yet know the newborn pup's gender. Residents in Vallejo and Benicia will see contractors hired by PG&E performing gas meter inspections through Friday, officials with the utility said Monday. PG&E officials said the contractors aren't their employees, but are contracted through Underground Construction. They will have a tablet or smartphone with them, and will have PG&E placards in their car door and windshield. The contractors will not enter your home during inspections, PG&E officials said. Anyone who has questions regarding PG&E's presence in their community can call (800) 743-5000. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. State Sen. Scott Weiner and Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, announced new legislation on Monday that would ban gun shows at the Cow Palace in Daly City Monday. 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 Monday. 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." Action was taken Monday to reverse a California trial court's ruling that put an end to the state's right-to-die law, according to the California Attorney General's Office. "We are taking action today to reverse the trial court's decision and keep the California End of Life Option Act in place during the appeals process," Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office said. A petition by Becerra's office to the 4th District Court of Appeal asks for an immediate stay of the decision by a judge in Riverside County Superior Court that overturned the act, which allowed terminally ill patients diagnosed with six or less months to live to take a prescription to end their life. "We thank Attorney General Becerra for filing his emergency request to reverse the lower court's ruling that seeks to take away the peaceful option of medical aid in dying for terminally ill Californian's," said John Kappos, an attorney with the O'Melveny law firm representing Compassion & Choices, which led the campaign to pass the law. Compassion & Choices is a nonprofit that aims to improve and expand health care options for the end of life, officials with the group said. The Riverside County judge invalidated the law because he said that it was not sufficiently related to the subject of a special legislative session in which it was passed, the petition says. According to the petition, the judge's ruling is incorrect because the act was part of a special session to "improve the efficiency and the efficacy of the health care system ... and improve the health of Californian's," which is clearly what the act does. Between June 9, 2016, and December 31, 2016, about 200 terminally ill patients received prescriptions to end their lives, the petition says, citing a report by the California Department of Public Health. Despite having a policy in place that prohibits San Francisco police officers from shooting at moving vehicles, an officer fired his gun twice at a driver who struck a police vehicle during a pursuit earlier this month in the city's Western Addition neighborhood. During a town hall meeting Monday night at the Hamilton Recreation Center at 1900 Geary Blvd., just two blocks from where the shooting unfolded, Police Chief Bill Scott and other police officials revealed new details of the shooting. On May 11 just before 1 a.m., officers on patrol near Geary Boulevard and Steiner Street heard a vehicle alarm. Upon further investigation, the officers saw broken glass on the sidewalk and two people walking away from a parked car with a shattered window. The officers tried to detain the two people, identified as Hershel Hale, 21, of Antioch and Maurice Jones, 23, of Brentwood. As Jones was being detained by one officer, Hale ran, running toward Webster and O'Farrell streets with an officer in pursuit, police said. Once near the intersection, Hale allegedly got into a parked white Hyundai Sonata and started it as the pursuing officer ordered him to stop. Police said Hale drove forward, striking the back of the car parked in front of him. As Hale exited the parking spot, a second police patrol car arrived with two officers inside. When the patrol car stopped, the officer in the passenger's side exited. Hale drove toward the stopped police vehicle and struck its right front side, police said. Hale allegedly drove past the patrol vehicle and toward the officer that had just exited it, but the officer retreated to a safe place. During this time, the officer who initially pursued Hale on foot fired his gun at least twice toward Hale's vehicle, as Hale was allegedly driving away. That officer has been identified as Officer William Reininger, police said. Hale allegedly continued driving toward the intersection of Webster and O'Farrell streets when he struck a police SUV that had just arrived on scene. Police said Hale again drove away and the officers in the SUV followed him to Civic Center Plaza where Hale's vehicle jumped the curb and stopped and Hale was taken into custody. One officer was treated at the scene for an injury, police said. While no one was struck by the police gunfire, Hale was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening. Hale was arrested on suspicion of burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, evading police, conspiracy and hit-and-run leading to an injury. Jones was arrested on suspicion of burglary and conspiracy, police said. Videos of the melee were captured on the body worn cameras of some of the officers at the scene, however, police said Reininger did not have his camera activated. When asked Monday night whether he was concerned that the officer, who has served just one year on the force, appeared to violate department policies by not activating his body camera and shooting at a moving vehicle, Scott replied, "The policy is the policy. "If there is disciplinary action to be taken, we will take that. But we will do it in the right way, once the investigation is complete. I know it's really tempting at this stage to say how this is going to go, but it's really too early to begin to tell," he said. Reininger has been placed on paid administrative leave as the investigation continues. According to Capt. Joseph Engler from the department's Northern Station, Reininger and the other officer who initially encountered Hale and Jones were on the lookout for car burglars that night. "What we've been facing lately is an epidemic in car boosting, car burglaries, cars getting broken into when people are going to the movies, when people go to dinner, when people are picking up and dropping off their children from school... This is ground zero for car break-ins," Engler said. Police Commissioner Petra DeJesus attended the meeting and said that although Reininger appeared to have violated department policies, the circumstances surrounding those actions still need to be evaluated. "When we were doing the body cameras, one of the issues we had was why can't it just come on automatically in some fashion, when they're running, when there's some motion... Turning it on is very important, so how do we get that memory in place?" she said. "Policy can't anticipate every conceivable situation or exceptional circumstance and I think a car trying to mow people down is certainly within that area... All use of force is a case-by-case basis. So even though there is policy, policy allows for exceptional circumstances," DeJesus said. When asked whether she was concerned about the inability of the police commission to meet because of a lack of a quorum, DeJesus said, "It is concerning. It's a small delay but I understand that we will be up and running within a time frame." Scott said the police commission's current status will not affect the investigation into the shooting. The mayors of the three largest Bay Area cities on Monday announced their support for a regional measure that aims to help solve the Bay Area's traffic woes by raising tolls by as much as $3 on the region's seven bridges. During a news conference at the San Francisco Ferry Building Monday afternoon, San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo all voiced their support for the measure. Regional Measure 3 would use revenue from a phased-in toll increase on the Bay Area's seven state-owned bridges to fund a $4.5 billion slate of highway and transit improvements in the toll bridge corridors and their approach routes. "Everybody in San Francisco knows that our infrastructure and transportation system is struggling. Our trains are more crowded than ever before, our buses are more crowded than ever before... our roads are more congested than they have ever been," Farrell said. "RM 3 is a game changer, not only for San Francisco, but for the Bay Area." Some the projects include the purchase of the new BART cars, extending BART's Silicon Valley service to Santa Clara, extending Caltrain to downtown San Francisco, expanding the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's bus fleet, expanded ferry service, building a direct highway connector between northbound U.S. Highway 101 and the Richmond San Rafael Bridge in Marin County and improving state Highway 37 between Sonoma and Solano Counties, among many other projects. "This region needs help. RM 3 is about saving the planet and saving our sanity. As commuters here in the Bay Area, we are tired of being jammed up and kept away from our families while we wait in traffic on Bay Area roads," Schaaf said. "When I look at these investments, it's not just as a mayor, but as a steward for this whole region," Schaaf, who is also a commissioner for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, said. "In Silicon Valley, we're certainly proud to lead in the development of supercomputers, but here in the Bay Area, we also lead in the supercommuters - commuters who spend at least 90 minutes to get to work on any given day," Liccardo said. "The time is certainly overdue for regional thinking and thinking action," Liccardo, who also serves as an MTC commissioner, said. "The Bay Area has very unique problems and requires specific, thoughtful and comprehensive solutions by and for the Bay Area." According to the measure, the region's state-owned bridges would see a $1 toll increase starting on Jan. 1, 2019, then another $1 increase in January 2022 and a final $1 increase in January 2025. Tolls haven't increased on the bridges since 2010. The Golden Gate Bridge, which is owned by a separate authority, would not be affected by the toll increase. Opponents of the measure have argued that the increase on bridge tolls would be a strain on middle-income Bay Area residents who travel on bridges daily to get to work. 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 Monday. 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 Uber driver was traveling in a 2015 Hyundai Sonata south on state Highway 29 north of Washington Street when a 2012 Dodge Avenger driving north on Highway 29 by a 53-year-old Angwin woman drove across double yellow lines on a right-hand curve and sideswiped the left side of a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 truck, California Highway Patrol officials said. The Avenger then struck the Hyundai head-on, killing Dock, according to the CHP. The Hyundai and Avenger drivers and Tashakorinia suffered major injuries and were taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center. The Dodge Ram driver was not injured. CHP officials said neither driver was impaired. The Dodge Avenger driver said she left work at a steakhouse in Napa before the collision, Blower said. The cause of the collision is under investigation. Measure R, a school bond measure on the ballots in both Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, seeks funding to restore a school district's facilities that were scorched by a fire nearly three years ago. On August 30, 2015, a group of teenagers went to Loma Prieta Elementary School, located at 23800 Summit Road in Los Gatos, with the intent to smoke marijuana on the premises. While the teens were there, they lit a cardboard box on fire to stay warm, a 17-year-old boy who admitted to being there that night told the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. The boy said he disposed of the ashes in a trashcan and thought that they were extinguished before he left. However, firefighters were called to the school at 11:10 p.m. that night and arrived to find smoke and flames coming from the school's building that was split between a gym and a community center, a Cal Fire assistant chief said the following day. The community center portion of the building, estimated to be about 6,000 square feet, was the center of the blaze and the building itself burned to the ground, fire officials said. Loma Prieta Elementary School and C.T. English Middle School, located nearby, were closed for a few days due to debris and air quality from the fire. The loss of the community center and two specialized classrooms for music and art negatively affected the schools, which make up the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District. District superintendent Corey Kidwell said funding to rebuild the damaged facilities and follow the district's 10-year facilities master plan is just now appearing on the ballot as Measure R because of the "extensive geological study" the community center underwent in partnership with California's Division of the State Architect. The Division of the State Architect manages building codes for California schools, and since the time that the last building code was enforced for the lost building, new fault lines have been discovered, Kidwell said. "Our district's name is Loma Prieta," Kidwell joked. "When that's your name, building a school building is really complicated." The district has full confidence that the new building will be built to last, since the original community center had been constructed before the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and it withstood the disaster. If the measure gets at least 55 percent approval, the $10.6 million in bonds adopted would also be used to update fire alarms and upgrade the school's water system. Kidwell said the land the school district sits on is the only public land in the mountainous area, which means that their holding tanks are drawn on for the public's fire needs as well. "We want to increase our capacity to both fight fires at the school and as a community," Kidwell said. "The issue of having enough water on the summit is always complex." The remaining revenue from the bonds would help with electrical/heating and plumbing systems, meeting health/safety codes and modernizing classroom technology. The published opponents of the measure, Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association president Mark Hinkle and Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County chair Jennifer Imhoff, question why the district is asking for more money if the district had fire insurance to cover costs from the blaze. They said the district already spends 17 percent more than the state average and has put six parcel tax or bond measures on the ballot since 2000. "Taxpayers have to live within their means. And so should the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District," the opponents said. "This tax-and-spend frenzy has got to end." The proponents of Measure R, in the official rebuttal to the ballot argument against the proposal, said the district does have fire insurance but "as many homeowners know, insurance does NOT cover all the costs to rebuild." They said Hinkle "doesn't live in our mountain community and has made it his mission to oppose every school measure on the ballot in Santa Clara County. Measure R is absolutely needed and is a sound investment for OUR community and children." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a freshman at Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek for creating an innovative solution to microplastic pollution. Melanie Quan was selected from a pool of 1,793 students who competed in the Intel Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh beginning on May 13. Her project is titled "Microplastics, Macro Problem," and aims to filter microplastics out of water using sustainable, low-cost technology. Microplastics are tiny plastic pieces smaller than 5 millimeters that can be harmful to aquatic life, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Quan's project suggests using a modified electrostatic smoke precipitator, a filtration system, to minimize microfibers in everything from laundry loads to commercial and industrial waste. "I can't believe I won a special award from the EPA," Quan said in a statement. "What an honor!" She said she hopes her project is an inspiration to other people who want to find solutions for microplastic pollution. With the award, Quan will receive funding to present her project at the EPA National Design Expo next year in Washington, D.C. All lanes of westbound state Highway 4 in Antioch were shut down for an extended period of time on Monday night after a multiple-vehicle collision resulted in three victims suffering major injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP said multiple calls about the collision - which involved at least three vehicles - came in at 10:35 p.m. Monday. All lanes were blocked and a Sig-alert was issued around 10:45 p.m. No update on any of the victim's conditions was immediately available this morning. Dr Mahathir crowned by people Dr. M Abul Kashem Mozumder and Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque : What a grand come back after a long layoff. In fact the builder of modern .Malaysia assumed the office as a symbol of responsibilities not as power . Now the people in this country can pin hope reposing trust on the newly elected incumbent as his appearance in the e scenario amounts to reincarnation of values that he nurtured. 'When Malaysians woke up on May 10, the world looked and felt different. For the first time in years, many Malaysians feel a sense of optimism that was missing in their lives. For the past six decades, Malaysians have been living under the rule of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).'UMNO had won every election since 1955. In the May 9 general elections, Najib Razak, UMNO's leader and prime minister, was not only confident, he was telling close aides that he was aiming for two-thirds of the seats in the 222-seat parliament. By the time the final vote was counted, UMNO had only 79 seats and lost power.' We may assign the following reasons to the defeat of Najib "First, his personal brand had become synonymous with kleptocracy. He was alleged to have received close to US$1 billion from a Malaysian sovereign fund via complex international transactions. It did not help that Najib's wife, Rosman Mansor, was widely regarded as a spendthrift with a passion for diamonds and designer bags.Second, Dr Mahathir Mohamad was no ordinary opponent. Mahathir was Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister, from 1981 to 2003, and had come out of retirement to fight Najib.Third, and perhaps most important, UMNO was simply seen as an organisation for political patronage, and a purveyor of racism and crony capitalism. It was no longer seen as a Malay nationalist party. In the past few decades, UMNO has been regarded as vehicle for making big money, government corruption and spreading hate towards the Chinese community in Malaysia." As reports said "The rural Malays, the mainstay of UMNO political power, could not stomach Najib's toxic reputation as "Mr Kleptocrat". They could see that under continued UMNO rule, their lives would be economically ruined. The GST brought in by the Najib administration was the last straw. Prices of basic necessities went up across the board despite Najib's insistence that the GST would bring down prices."There is tremendous goodwill towards Mahathir. Yes, he was dictatorial when he was prime minister , this time it will be different. Mahathir is 92, and it is obvious he is a transitional leader.He has said many times that once his jailed former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, can get a royal pardon and a seat in parliament, he will hand over power to Anwar. Many Malaysians believe he will keep his word: after all, he cannot be going for re-election when he is 98.Mahathir will also be constrained by the opposition's organisational structure. His party, Pribumi Bersatu, has the third-smallest number of MPs of the four parties in Pakatan Harapan (PH) (Alliance of Hope). He is not in a position to bully." Mahathir is a principled person now coming into ruling scenario as transitional leader. A transitional leader is a board- or executive-level individual brought in to tackle a corporate challenge with a defined purpose and direction. They are typically hired to lead a major transformation, such as a company restructuring, sale or turnaround, integration of an acquisition or the start-up of a new division. The transformation will be measurable and will affect the company's shape or its position. The role is one that calls for highly specialist, relatively rare board-level executives, arguably an alter ego for the chairman or chief executive, who are either recognised experts in their field, or who have multi-disciplinary expertise and multiple-industry experience. An early career in an investment banking or management consultancy advisory role is not unusual. This is not the same as interim management. The 'centre of gravity' of this market is gap-filling, holiday/maternity cover, 'holding the fort', and completing project teams. Immediacy, more often than not, is the primary focus. Typical interim candidates include long-term career interims; those 'between jobs' with an ambition to return to a permanent role; longer term 'betweenies', formerly known as independent consultants; and early senior retirees who no longer seek a permanent income, but wish to continue making a contribution The people of Malaysia have crowned Mahathir despite the fact he is aged 92. Malaysia is now in dire straits. There is absolutely no plan to put him through due process of justice in regards to the malicious political machinations that he had orchestrated during his rule. Some comments are worth mentioning : He is old and cannot cling on to power for too long, and the coalition realizes that he could die anytime now, which makes this notion patently morbid and politically disturbing. Anyway, he could still co-opt the authority and canonize his son or anyone he likes to premiership. Remember, he was a crony capitalist who appointed based on interests instead of pure merit alone. His petulance in recent months at the negotiation table is a testament to this attitude. He is arguably the best candidate to tip the rural constituencies in the opposition's favor. Literally no one else could do this as well as he. Nonetheless, the fact that he is now willing to work with DAP has significantly created a trust deficit among rural Malays. So this theory will be tested in the coming General Election I think the most glaring weakness of Tun M's nomination as the new boss is that there All Malaysians think about his return to politics It seems only through the systemic failure[6] of the monster of a system he had inadvertantly created did he realise the seriousness of his mistakes. Some Malaysians will certainly be suffering from a serious case of cognitive dissonance Dr. Mahathir would be the best person to identify and correct faults in the current system. But never again must Malaysians put their trust in an autocratic system where a single failure right at the top risk bringing the entire system down. Even in network security, it is a known fact that people is often the weakest link]. While a system with checks and balances[13] can be inefficient, discussions and disagreements may look like chaos, putting your trust in one human is pure insanity. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. (Dr. M Abul Kashem Mozumder is Pro-VC, BUP and Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, is a retired professor of Chittagong University) ACC quizzes businessman A K Azad The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Tuesday interrogated Ha-Meem group owner A K Azad, also ex- president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) over allegation of amassing wealth illegally. Director of ACC and investigator of the case Jainal Abedin Shibly quizzed Ha-Meem group owner A K Azad from 9 am to 1 pm at ACC's headquarters, said its Public Relations officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya. Commission secretary Shamsul Arefin said after failing to appear in the second round of ACC quizzing, Azad applied on May 9 to ACC for the time and then he was asked to appear on May 22. A K Azad denied making any comment on under trial issue.A K Azad, chairman and managing director of Ha-Meem group, is also the owner of two media outlets. Earlier, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) demolished parts of his Gulshan house for constructing it allegedly without any approved design. The cases were filed during the interim government in 2008 against him for acquiring illegal wealth. SC asks Citycell to clear Tk 128 crore dues Staff Reporter : The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Citycell to pay an amount of Tk 128 crore, the remainder of its fees, to telecom regulator in revenue sharing bid, spectrum charges, late fees and fine. A four-member bench of Appellate division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order after dismissing Citycell's plea seeking modification of its earlier order which had mandated the mobile operator to pay Tk 372 crore. The apex court said, Citycell will have to pay the money as per recommendation of an expert committee headed by Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury. Barrister Khandaker Reza-E-Raquib said that the Supreme Court in November 2016 formed the committee for assessing the relevant fees of Citycel payable to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). The committee submitted a report to the Appellate division in June last year. In the report, the committee asked the Citycell to pay Tk 372 crore to BTRC as its revenue sharing fees, spectrum charge, late fee and fine. Citycell has already paid Tk 244 crore as per the recommendation, Barrister Raquib said. It recently filed a petition with the apex court seeking its directives so that it is exempted from paying the remaining Tk 128 crore to the BTRC. On November 3, 2016, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court formed a special committee headed by Professor Jamilur Reza Choudhury, Vice-Chancellor of University of Asia Pacific, to settle the dispute between BTRC and Citycell over its due payment within 30 days. The SC also fixed Tk five lakh as honorium for the committee chief, while Tk 2.5 lakh each for the other members of the committee and asked both the Citycell and the BTRC to bear the honorium. The problems created by the cost and availability of child care in the Bay Area are profound. It is a significant contributor to an opportunity gap. The nonprofit group First 5 has found that just 44 percent of children are fully prepared to enter kindergarten. This is a crisis with social and economic consequences that merits a vigorous public-policy response. Alameda County has found a way to do it right. Measure A, on the June 5 ballot, would raise the county sales tax by a half cent to provide an anticipated 7,000 new scholarships to children in low-income families. The $140 million annual revenue from that tax would essentially double the funding available to child care in the county, according to Supervisor Wilma Chan, who has been a champion of the issue since her tenure in the state Assembly in the early 2000s. I see this as an economic development strategy, Chan said. The economic benefits of this measure would be direct and indirect. More parents, especially single ones, would be able to go to work or attend college. Thousands of families who cannot afford the full cost of child care are stuck on waiting lists. The increased subsidies would allow the county to require that child care workers be paid at least $15 an hour, which would reduce their reliance on public assistance programs. But, perhaps most of all, this would give more young children in the county a chance to succeed from kindergarten and later life. It really has to do with children and the future of Alameda County, said Angie Garling, the countys early childhood education administrator. This is really, really necessary to do. The county approached it with a requisite sense of purpose and diligence. The plan is laid out in a 40-page report that is available online for voters to review. It resulted from 100 listening sessions throughout the county. The spending would be subject to annual audits and reviews by a citizens oversight committee. Obviously, the same child care crisis exists throughout the region, but the contrast between the well-constructed Alameda County Measure A and San Franciscos more politically expedient Proposition C could not be more dramatic. Shortcomings of the San Francisco plan, promoted by mayoral candidate Jane Kim, include its reliance on a volatile and narrow tax on commercial rents and its set-aside of 15 percent of its revenue to the general fund a concession, Kim has admitted, to the San Francisco Labor Council. Those were among the reasons we have recommended rejection of Proposition C. We have no such reservations with Alameda Countys Measure A. The proponents have done their homework, presented a thorough and credible plan, and are dedicating all of its revenue to its stated purpose: to improve the quality and availability of child care. We recommend its passage. 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. About Measure A The proposal was put on the June 5 ballot by a unanimous vote of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors It would: Increase the county sales tax by a half cent for the next 30 years. The total current sales tax burden ranges from 9.25 to 9.75 cents, depending on the city. Generate about $140 million a year. Require that child care workers be paid at least $15 an hour. Provide scholarships for lower-income residents, defined as having an income of $71,064 or less for a family of four. Increase training and professional development programs for providers. Create a citizens advisory committee to annually review the spending of sales-tax funds, which would also be subject to an annual audit. Lassen Peak exploded 103 years ago Tuesday, flattening farmland with a stream of mud, launching boulders and spewing a five-mile-high cloud of debris that carried ashfall more than 250 miles to the east. The blast through side of the volcano crater's rim was the most powerful in a series of eruptions from 1914 through 1917, and on the day after the big event the San Francisco Chronicle Headline read, "Lassen Peak in Greatest Eruption: All previous performances eclipsed by latest awe-inspiring outbreak." The eruption led residents of the Hat Creek Valley to evacuate and in the town of Redding, folks climbed onto roofs and clambered telephone poles and trees to catch sight of the foreboding ash cloud. In the gallery above we share images of the eruption on May 22, 1915, as well as details on other volcanoes lining the West Coast and the eruption potential for each peak. ALSO, These are the California volcanoes most likely to erupt first As Kilauea continues to spew lava, ash and toxic gases, many on the West Coast worry about the volcanoes in their own backyards. A chain of about 40 volcanos runs along the West Coast between Canada and Mexico and all have the potential to become active, as reported previously on SFGATE. They've all erupted at least once in the past 10,000 years and they all have a supply of magma under them. Some of these are classic cone-shaped mountains with craters at their centers, while others are barren fields dotted with volcanic features such as steaming vents and hot springs, cinder cones and lava flows and tubes. Eighteen of those have threat potentials ranked "high" or "very high," and among them experts say Mount St. Helens is the most likely to blow. Lassen saw the most recent eruption in California and scientists believe it's among the most likely to erupt again in the Golden State, based on the current information available. To the south, the Long Valley Volcanic Region, where Mammoth Mountain looms, also demonstrates one of the greater risks. "What our research shows so far is that 1 chance in a few thousand annually for Lassen and Medicine Lake and 1 in a few hundred annually for Long Valley Volcanic Region," says the CalVO Scientist in Charge, Margaret Mangan. "Ongoing research will allow (us to assess) likelihood at the other moderate to very high threat California volcanoes (including Shasta, Clear Lake, Coso, Salton Buttes)." Grimes can respect a capitalist, especially one she's dating. The musician, nee Claire Boucher, defended her new boyfriend, Elon Musk, in a tweet exchange Monday night after a Twitter user told her to "please ask Elon to let his workers unionize." Grimes, a critically acclaimed songwriter and performer known for her avant-garde flair, defended Musk: "He has never prevented them from unionizing [heart emoji x2]." "Trust me," she continued, "I've investigated this heavily and even visited factories etc." GRIMES AND MUSK: A romance born of a shared love of AI The musician later deleted the tweet, saying the conversation "is way too nuanced" for Twitter. She promised to revisit the subject in a Reddit AMA ahead of a forthcoming music release and asked for people to "try to see me as a human being" and "not just an extension of another person." Musk was accused of union busting after a 2017 blogpost from Tesla factory worker Jose Moran revealed that he and fellow workers sought to unionize with the United Auto Workers. The post included allegations of high rates of injury and low wages at the factory, located in Fremont, Calif. The Tesla CEO acknowledged to the Guardian factory workers had been "having a hard time, working long hours, and on hard jobs," and said the company's safety record improved measurably over 2016 and 2017. "This is not some situation where, for example, we are just greedy capitalists who decided to skimp on safety in order to have more profits and dividends and that kind of thing," he said. The Twitter-sphere was hardly satisfied with Grimes' reply. Another user asked how Grimes could call herself "anti-imperialist" while also dating "one of the biggest and most prominent capitalists out there." Grimes' responded she "can respect a capitalist" when they "throw the phuck down" to create cheaper public transit (Musk's Boring Company), take humans to space (SpaceX), move the world toward clean energy (Tesla) and support a universal basic income. 'Every detail tells a story': Elon Musk talks helping Grimes design her Met Gala look People with "differing views on economics often hang out," she said, stressing whom she dates is "irrelevant to my music." Musk and Grimes caused a stir earlier this month when the duo stepped out as a couple at the annual Met Gala in New York City. Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf. CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries, which owns the Gordon Biersch restaurant location in San Jose, will shut down the brewery chain's eatery on E. San Fernando Street on June 3. The closure, which follows their other Gordon Biersch locations shuttering in Palo Alto and San Francisco, means that the small outposts at the San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose airports will be the last ones standing in the Bay Area. Rohingya children's future look bleak, help them: Priyanka UNB, Cox's Bazar : Bollywood actress and Unicef Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra says Rohingya children can have a chance at a future with help from all because right now, she thinks, their future is bleak. "For a lot of the Rohingya children, this ordeal will leave them scarred, physically and emotionally, for the rest of their lives. With your help, maybe these children can have a chance at a future," she said on Tuesday. Priyanka reiterated her call that the world needs to care. "We need to care. Please lend your support." "Across the river is Myanmar. It's empty now, but a few months ago this area, known as "Sabrang," was filled with hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar," she wrote on her verified Facebook page. Their trip here, she said, was filled with many hardships and tremendous danger and many of them made their journey on foot, walking for days through the hills, then floating across the Naf River or the Bay of Bengal on make shift boats. "Many of them injured, pregnant, elderly, etc. Their ordeal didn't end here...after entering Bangladesh, they would often have to wait for days, sleeping in the open fields with no food or water, for aid workers to reach them," she wrote. Priyanka visited a number of Rohingya camps in Teknaf upazila of the district. She first visited the camp set up at Hariyakhali Anchor point under Sabrang union of Teknaf upazila. Hariyakhali is known as the entrance point from which these refugees entered Bangladesh from Myanmar. Priyanka, from Hariyakhali, went to Ledha camp, where she visited a child development centre established by Unicef. She also visited the camp in Unchiprang area, where around 30,000 Rohingya people are currently staying. On Monday, the Bollywood actress, now on a four-day visit (May 21-24), has sought support for Rohingya children saying these kids are their future and the world needs to care about them. "These children are at the forefront of this humanitarian crisis, and they desperately need our help," she said while visiting Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar district. Hours after her arrival here in Dhaka on May 21, she left for Cox's Bazar by a private airlines flight. She said the world saw horrific images of ethnic cleansing from the Rakhine State of Myanmar. This drove nearly 700,000 Rohingyas across the border into Bangladesh - 60 percent of them children. "Many months later, they are still vulnerable, living in crowded camps with no idea when or where they will ever belong to...even worse, when they will get their next meal," she wrote on her Facebook page. And, she added, as they finally start settling and feeling a sense of safety, monsoon looms, threatening to destroy all that they have 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," Priyanka wrote. After spending two days in Cox's Bazar, Priyanka, who was named a global Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, after serving as a National Goodwill Ambassador to India for 10 years. SHANGHAI Global airlines are obeying Beijings demands to refer to Taiwan explicitly as a part of China, despite the White Houses call this month to stand firm against such Orwellian nonsense. The Associated Press found 20 carriers, including Air Canada, British Airways and Lufthansa, that now refer to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing considers Chinese territory, as a part of China on their global websites. There are just three days left for dozens of foreign airlines to decide whether to comply with Beijings orders, or face consequences that could cripple their China business, including legal sanctions. Many have already sided with Beijing. PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was grilled for more than four hours Tuesday over a corruption scandal that could lead to criminal charges against him, while the countrys new antigraft chief said investigations into the case were suppressed by intimidation during Najibs rule. Najib was summoned by Malaysias Anti-Corruption Commission nearly two weeks after the defeat of his long-ruling coalition in national elections, a loss partly blamed on public anger over alleged graft at the 1MDB state investment fund that Najib set up. U.S. investigators say Najibs associates stole and laundered $4.5 billion from the fund from 2009 to 2014, some of which landed in Najibs bank account. Swarmed by reporters, Najib looked calm and smiled as he was escorted into the commissions offices. He told reporters after he came out that he will return on Thursday to continue giving his statement. At a news conference, new commission chief Mohamad Shukri Abdull said criminal charges against Najib could come very soon. Shukri led investigations in 2015 of suspicious money transfers into Najibs bank account. But he flew to the United States after Malaysias attorney general, who was planning to press charges against Najib, was sacked and Shukri heard rumors that he himself would be arrested for an alleged conspiracy to topple the government. Najib has denied any wrongdoing since the scandal erupted in 2015. As prime minister, he sacked critics in his government and muzzled the news media to try to survive the fallout. Let the law take its course, Shukri said at the news conference. He said evidence for the domestic money trail has been completed, but that it could take a long time to investigate the money trail abroad and talk to witnesses. The findings of Malaysia and U.S. investigations are almost similar, he said. The former prime minister and his wife were barred from leaving the country after the new government reopened an investigation into the scandal. Police have raided Najibs home and other properties linked to him, seizing hundreds of expensive designer handbags and luggage stuffed with cash, jewelry and other valuables. The U.S. Justice Department said in a statement that it looks forward to working with Malaysian law enforcement in investigating the 1MDB case. 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. BEIRUT Syrias 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 Assads forces to move with allied militiamen on remaining rebel-held territory in the south near the border with Israel, as Syrias 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 Assads over-stretched forces recapture huge areas around Damascus and in the countrys center and north, building a military presence that has alarmed Israel and its U.S. ally, which is now looking to constrain Irans activities. 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. Iran and Russia have joined forces in Syria, providing crucial military support to Assads 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. Putins 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 and al Qaeda. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told reporters that no one can force Tehran to do anything it doesnt 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 Islamic State-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. Zeina Karam is an Associated Press writer. KABUL Rising global demand for cosmetics, marble and stainless steel is helping Taliban and Islamic State militants in Afghanistan fund their increasingly violent insurgencies, according to an investigation by Global Witness. The militant groups make millions of dollars annually mining talc, chromite and marble in the eastern part of the war-torn nation. The international NGO in a report on Tuesday estimates the Taliban earns $2.5 million to $10 million a year from mining talc alone. It is unclear how much the Islamic States local affiliate, which has fought and taken over mining areas from the Taliban in three districts of Nangarhar province, has managed to exploit the mines, according to Global Witness. The relationship between the Islamic State and mining is powerful and worrying, but it is only a case study for what is a much larger problem, said Nick Donovan, a campaign director at Global Witness. Not just insurgent groups but also a host of other illegal, semi-legal and legal armed groups across the country benefit from mining. The Taliban in Nangarhar province demonstrate this with particular force. Afghanistan, which the United States estimates has $1 trillion of mineral deposits, has failed to generate significant revenue or control over its mining industry. The administration of President Ashraf Ghani has been keen to promote the assets to potential investors despite widespread corruption and increasing violence across the country and capital, Kabul. Along with the Taliban, which is estimated to now control or contest nearly half the country, fighters affiliated to Islamic State emerged in eastern Afghanistan in 2014. The Global Witness report points to the dire state of Afghanistans mining industry, where revenue in 2016 supplied only 0.3 percent of the countrys $6.5 billion national budget, which comes mostly from donor nations. Plans to develop the countrys mineral resources have been stymied by insecurity, graft, weak governance, and a lack of infrastructure, a Pentagon watchdog said in January. Talc is used in producing cosmetics and paint, while chromium, produced from the chromite ore, is critical in the manufacturing of stainless steel. Washington has spent hundreds of millions of dollars since 2009 trying to stimulate and support mineral-resource development in Afghanistan without much success, according to the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. For the Taliban its a lucrative trade along with opium, its main revenue generator. The groups ability to fund itself effectively complicates President Trumps plans to end Americas longest war. It is a top challenge to stop various groups from illegally mining in Nangarhar, said Qadeer Khan Mutfi, a spokesman for the ministry of mines and petroleum. Although he wasnt able to confirm the amounts being siphoned off, Mutfi said the government has shut down at least a hundred illegal mines in the past year. Eltaf Najafizada is a Bloomberg News writer. 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Employers in the gig economy need to be particularly carefulas the new test could challenge their business models, which often rely heavily on contractors' work. In Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court adopted a three-factor test to determine whether workers are employees or independent contractors under the state's wage orders. The prior test was a multifactor analysis that primarily focused on who exerted control over the work. The new test is much narrower, said Lisa Pooley, an attorney with Hanson Bridgett in San Francisco. "At a minimum, it will require employers to take a hard look at how they classify their workers." The ruling will have a significant impact given the proliferation of the gig economy in California, said Jim Evans, an attorney with Alston & Bird in Los Angeles. Employees are generally entitled to certain benefits under California lawsuch as minimum wages, overtime pay, and meal and rest breakswhereas independent contractors are not. The new test may make it easier for independent contractors to claim that they have been misclassified and are entitled to such benefits. Michael Studenka, an attorney with Newmeyer & Dillion in Newport Beach, said employers that have been following the independent-contractor debate shouldn't be surprised by the ruling: "The employee versus independent contractor classification issue has been a hot topic for a long time, and at the end of the day, the court memorialized a standard." The gig economy has grown exponentially, and the law always has to catch up with technology, Studenka said. This ruling does that by establishing a test that examines how integral the job is to the business. The ABC Test The plaintiffs in the case were delivery drivers for Dynamex, which is a nationwide package and document delivery company. The drivers asserted classwide claims that they were misclassified as independent contractors and, as a result, that Dynamex violated provisions of the California Industrial Welfare Commission wage order No. 9, which governs the transportation industry. "It is appropriate to look to a standard, commonly referred to as the 'ABC' test, that is utilized in other jurisdictions in a variety of contexts to distinguish employees from independent contractors," wrote Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye for the court. Under the new California analysis, all three of the following factors must be met for a worker to be properly classified as an independent contractor: The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact. The worker performs tasks that are outside of the usual course of the hiring entity's business. The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity. Prong A has always been a test. Businesses generally understand that their level of control over the work that is being performed will be scrutinized, said Todd Scherwin, an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Los Angeles. He added that Prong B is the significant change that employers need to understand. It used to be that if a worker was doing something germane to the business, it would be difficult to show that that worker was an independent contractor, but the business could still argue that other weighted factors leaned toward an independent-contractor relationship. It will be much more difficult for hiring entities to show as an absolute factor for every independent contractor that the work performed is outside of the usual course of the business, Scherwin noted. For example, if a CPA firm hires a plumber to fix a sink, the plumber is going to be an independent contractor. The firm doesn't care what tools the plumber uses, it trusts the worker to get the job done, and it is not in the business of plumbing. However, a plumbing company would likely have a problem hiring a plumber as an independent contractoreven if the worker used his or her own tools and worked for other businesses. Pooley noted that the state high court's ruling applies to California wage orders that regulate wages, hours and working conditions. "One question is whether the new test will be applied beyond these wage orders," she said. It's possible that several tests could be used for one case, depending on what statutes and regulations were allegedly violated. What Now? "Employers in California should expect much tougher standards in litigation asserting misclassification of independent contractors," Evans said. The ruling could force companies to re-evaluate their use of independent contractors, he added. "Class-action litigation challenging independent-contractor classifications has become fairly common, especially for companies in the sharing economy." Any company that is just getting started, is growing or regularly works with independent contractors should consult with an expert to make sure it's classifying workers correctly, Studenka noted. Page Content On May 11, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed legislation restricting employers from making salary history inquiries. The new law, H. 294, effective July 1, prohibits asking a prospective employee about or seeking information regarding his or her compensation history. For these purposes, compensation includes base compensation, bonuses, benefits, fringe benefits, and equity-based compensation. Under the new law, employers are also prohibited from requiring that a prospective employee's current or past compensation satisfy minimum or maximum criteria for employment. If an employer discovers a prospective employee's salary history, the employer may not determine whether to interview the prospective employee based on this information. The Vermont bill carves out a few exceptions to these restrictions. If the prospective employee voluntarily discloses his or her salary history, the employer may seek to confirm or request that the applicant confirm the disclosed salary after making an offer of employment. An employer may also ask a prospective employee about general salary expectations. A String of Salary History Legislation Vermont's new law is the latest in a growing trend. Several other jurisdictions, both at the state and local levels, have passed similar bills or ordinances. The Vermont version includes elements of laws enacted in other jurisdictions. Like the laws enacted in Massachusetts, Delaware and Puerto Rico, Vermont's law allows the employer to confirm a salary history the applicant has voluntarily disclosed after the employer has made an offer. (Massachusetts and Delaware both further require that the offer be accepted before inquiring.) Vermont also borrows from an Albany County, N.Y., ordinance that prohibits requiring a prior salary to satisfy minimum or maximum criteria for employment. The exceptions to these salary history laws are notable. Like the ordinance enacted in New York City, most jurisdictions that have passed laws banning the use of salary history permit discussion or negotiation of salary expectations. Westchester County, N.Y. took the additional step of prohibiting retaliation against a prospective employee who refuses to disclose salary history. San Francisco requires employers to obtain written authorization from former employees before disclosing their salary to another employer. California also allows employers to consider and review salary history information made publicly available pursuant to federal or state law. Oregon passed a salary history law similar to Vermont's, but it allows the use of salary history when the employee is seeking a job transfer or promotion with a current employer. This legislative trend is expected to continue. Joseph Lazazzero is an attorney with Littler in Boston. Littler. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission. Crackdown spree on drug peddlers 11 more killed in 'shootouts' Staff Reporter : As the nationwide crackdown on drug and its dealers continues, 11 more suspected drug traders were killed in nine districts of the country on Tuesday. This takes the mark of alleged drug peddlers killed in "gunfights" to over 40 in the last nine days, drawing criticism and concerns from rights activists as well as opposition political parties. The law enforcers seized a jeep, some pistols with bullets, huge yaba pills and phensidyl during the drive in the districts. According to our local correspondents, yesterday's incidents of "gunfights" took place overnight on Tuesday in Nilphamari, Dinajpur, Cumilla, Feni, Chuadanga, Narayanganj, Chattogram, Brahmanbaria and Netrokona districts. In Nilphamari, Johni Islam, 34, and Shahin, 32, were killed in Islambag area under Saidpur municipality in the district. During the gunfight, four police personnel were also injured, said Ashok Kumar Paul, Assistant Superintendent of Police (Saidpur circle). Receiving a tip-off, police raided Golahat around 2:30am. Sensing police, the drug peddlers opened gunfire compelling the policemen to retaliate, the police officer said. The two drug peddlers were killed in line of fire and four policemen injured. Some Yaba tablets were seized. In Dinajpur, listed drug peddler Probal Hossain, 35, was killed in a gunfight in Birampur upazila, Abdus Sabur, Officer-in-Charge of Birampur Police Station said. One Sub-Inspector (SI) Khurshidul Alam was also injured. Police raided Damadarpur village around 2:15am and faced intense gunfire from the drug peddlers. A gunfight triggered when police retaliated. After the battle subsided, the body was recovered and a pistol, two bullets, and 93 bottles of phensidyl seized. In Cumilla, two persons-Peyar Ali, 24, and Sharif, 26 -- were killed in Sadar upazila's Aranyapur around 12:40am, said Abu Salam Mia, Officer-in-Charge of local Kotwali Police Station. After the gunfight, where four policemen were also injured, the team recovered the bodies and 400 bottles of Phensidyl, 50 kg hemp, a pistol with two round bullets and a Pajero Jeep. In Narayanganj, accused drug peddler Bachchu, said to be a top-listed man, was killed in Araihazar upazila. A stash of yaba tablets and guns were seized from his possession, said a text message issued from Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). In Chattogram, Shukkur Ali, 45, was killed in Dobarpara area in the city. He stood accused in more than 10 cases, read an SMS sent from Rab headquarters. A haul of yaba, arms and bullets were recovered. In Feni, Monjur Alam, 45, was killed on Lemua bridge area on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, said Rab-7 Squadron Leader Safayat Jamil. According to him, the deceased Monjur, a top listed peddler whose name was on the list prepared by the Home Ministry, was arrested previously in 2015 with over 5 lakh yaba pills. He stood accused in multiple cases, including drug and robbery. In Netrokona, an activist of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), Amzad Hossain, 32, was killed in "gunfight" with police. Netrokona Model Police Station OC Borhan Uddin Khan said that he was a listed drug peddler and accused in as many as 13 cases, including murder, arms and explosives. 500gm heroin, 305 pieces of yaba pills and a pipe gun were recovered from his possession, the OC said. Four police officials were injured during the gun-battle. They took treatment at Netrokona Sadar Hospital yesterday morning. In Chuadanga, a top drug peddler Kamruzzaman Sadu, 38, was killed in Alamdanga upazila, local police station OC Abu Zihand Mohammad Fakhrul Alam said. Police recovered one gun, two machetes and 40 bottles of phensidyl from the spot. According to records, Sadu was accused in 12 drug cases filed with Alamdanga police station in Chuadanga. In Brahmanbaria, a notorious drug peddler, Dhan Mia, was killed in a "gun battle" with RAB in Bancharampur upazila, according to a text message sent from its headquarters. 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 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 urbanization, sometimes it is found even in cities. While he did not rule out the possibility of an infected person traveling 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. Read more news: SpaceX set for over 300 missions in 5 years: Musk Government looking at steps to control fuel prices: Pradhan To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. 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! Rail Link Project gets costlier by Tk 4257.94 cr UNB, Dhaka : The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday approved revision of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project with an increased cost of Tk 4257.94 crore, raising the total project cost to Tk 39,246.80 crore. It also cleared 15 other projects, including the 4th Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-4) involving Tk 38,397.16 crore. The approval came from the regular weekly meeting of Ecnec held at the NEC conference room here with Ecnec Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. "A total of 16 projects were approved with an estimated cost of Tk 96,235 crore," said Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal while briefing reporters after the meeting. Of the overall estimated cost, Tk 52,685.05 crore will come from government funds, while Tk 43,221.17 crore as project assistance and Tk 328.55 crore from the own funds of the organisations concerned. Among the 16 approved projects, 12 are new while four are revised ones. The Planning Minister said the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project aims to establish rail links between Dhaka and Jashore through the Padma Multipurpose Bridge. As per the factsheet, the project will be implemented by June 2024. The original cost of the project was Tk 34,988.86 crore, which has now been raised to Tk 39,246.80 crore. Of the latest estimated cost, Tk 18,210.11 crore will come from the government's fund while the rest 21,036.69 as project assistance from China. Mustafa Kamal said the Directorate of Primary Education will implement the PEDP-4 across the country by June 2023. Of the project's estimated cost of Tk 38,397.16 crore, the government will provide Tk 25,591.57 crore, while the rest Tk 12,805.59 crore will come as project assistance from the World Bank, ADB, JICA, EU, DFID, Australian Aid, Canadian CIDA, Swedish CIDA, Unicef and USH loan, he said, adding that the government is giving importance to primary education for the development of human resources. The Planning Minister said the primary education sector needs continued and further investment as it is essential to strengthen the base to keep up the pace of human resource development. As per the Development Project Proposal (DPP), the net enrollment rate in primary education in 2010 was 87.20 percent which increased to 97.96 percent in 2016. The main project operations include providing teaching-learning-education equipment and textbooks in due time, appointment of 165,174teachers, imparting foundation, ICT and other trainings to teachers, and construction of 39,000male wash blocks and 39,000 female wash blocks. Mustafa Kamal said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the authorities concerned to focus on teaching foreign language alongside Bangla at the primary level as it is easy for children to learn several languages at this age. She also emphasised dissemination of knowledge about basic traffic rules among the children at the primary level, he said. Talking about the project of the Establishment of Effluent Treatment Plants in 14 state-owned Sugar Mills, he said the sugar mills can remain in production just for three months a year for lack of sugarcane in the country. Inhumanity of killing our people by our law enforcers is felt deeply as shameful Eleven more suspected drug peddlers have been killed as the spree of "gunfights" continues amid a countrywide crackdown on narcotics and its dealers. This takes the tally of drug peddlers dying in gunfights to 33 in the last eight days, drawing condemnation and concerns from human rights activists. According to report fresh incidents of "gunfights" took place overnight through Dinajpur, Cumilla, Feni, Chuadanga, Narayanganj, Chattogram, Brahmanbaria and Netrokona. In Dinajpur, listed peddler Probal Hossain, 35, was killed in Birampur upazila, Abdus Sabur, officer-in-charge of Birampur Police Station said. One sub-inspector Khurshidul Alam was hurt. In Feni, Monjur Alam, 45, was killed on Lemua bridge area on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway .According to RAB, deceased Monjur, a top listed peddler whose name was on the list prepared by the Home Ministry, was arrested previously in 2015 with over 5 lakh Yaba pills and stood accused in multiple cases including drug and robbery. In Netrokona, an activist of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), Amzad Hossain, 32, was killed in "gunfight" with police. Netrokona Model Police Station OC Borhan Uddin Khan said he was a listed drug peddler and accused in as many as 13 cases including murder, arms and explosives. 500gm heroin, 305 pieces of Yaba pills and a pipegun were recovered from him, the OC said. Four police men were injured during the gun-battle. They took treatment at Netrokona Sadar Hospital this morning. These incidents of crossfires is nothing new but the frequency of such attacks begs for unanswered questions causing alarm about the competence of our law enforcers. Even against drug dealers our law enforcers are so helpless that they open fire to kill them. Our law enforcers seem to lack pride as public servants of a free country. By feeling free to kill people without realising they are law enforcers not shooters to kill. They should not forget that our people enjoy protection of life by the supreme law, the Constitution of the country. By taking life without the trial in court each and every law enforcer can be tried as public servant accountable to law. Everything will not end today and no excuse of higher authority will act as defence. Crime is a crime whether committed by police or anybody else and can be punished today or any time in the future. Why were these peddlers killed specifically considering that crores of Yaba tablets find their way into Bangladesh every year? Where, then, are the rest of the peddlers? Why they were also not killed? Everybody knows including the police that the drug business is a big business and big people in police and government also enjoy protection. It has already come out in the press that some police officials have linked also. The police are law enforcers and not judges to decide who is a drug peddler and who is innocent. Such killings deny the Constitution and the process of justice system. Thus such lawless killings are anarchy and cannot be seen right and proper. We have highly educated and knowledgeable police officers who are fully aware that police are law enforcers and also linked to dangerous politics. We know our politics has become dangerous but we cannot cease to be civilised showing respect to life and liberty of our free people. Corruption and absence of good governance are to be blamed for increasing all sorts of crimes. The police are aware that crime and corruption are on the rise because real cause is not addressed. The chairman of NAB, Ken Henry, has slammed Australias business leaders for an unusual level of corporate complacency as their companies had let down the public in their treatment of customers. As the public hearings of the of Royal Commission into misconduct in the finance industry continue, the former Treasury Secretary described the process as necessary and important. The leaders of large Australian businesses have never been under greater scruitiny. All of us have a fair idea of the reasons for that. In short, we have, in several respects, fallen short of community expectations," he said. Speaking at an Australian Shareholders Association conference in Sydney on Tuesday, Dr Henry said cases heard had damaged reputations at an industry, organisation and individual level. Adanis Abbot Point terminal is a $2 billion facility situated in a deep water port about 25 kilometres north of Bowen in Queensland. Adani purchased a 99 year lease for the terminal in 2011. The Indian miner, which is planning to build the proposed Carmichael mine in Queenslands Galilee Basin, is also understood to be looking for a second investment bank to work on the sale, and has asked banks to pitch for it, according sources familiar with the matter. Indian mining heavyweight Adani has appointed investment bank Rothschild to sell a stake in its Abbot Point port operations in Queensland in a move sources said could help it raise funds for the controversial Carmichael coal mine. The port is an important asset on the Queensland coast and is used by the states coal industry including Anglo-Swiss miner Glencore. In 2016-17, about 25.4 million tonnes of coal mined by the Queensland coal industry was exported from it. So far this financial year, about 23.2 million tonnes of coal have been transported through the port. The Abbot Point terminal is integral to Adanis plans for the proposed Carmichael coal mine, because it is the port from which it would export the coal taken from the mine. Adani plans to transport the coal from the Carmichael mine to the port via a new rail line. Carmichael has faced political and environmental opposition while Australia's big lending banks are avoiding the project. Industry observers said selling a stake in its Abbot Point facility could be a shrewd way for Adani to buttress its Carmichael coal mine project. A partial sale of Adanis port facility could raise some cash to help fund the mine or associated infrastructure, while securing a new part-owner in the facility could be a way for Adani to gain at least some level of investment support for the mine, even at an indirect level. The executive overseeing department store David Jones and fashion chain Country Road has passed through the checkout after the retailers' owner removed his position in a corporate restructure. Woolworths Holdings' Australian regional chief executive officer John Dixon resigned on Monday after his role was discontinued following a "strategic cost review", the South African group said on Tuesday. John Dixon's job has been discontinued. Credit:Peter Braig The restructure means David Jones chief executive David Thomas and Country Road Group chief executive Scott Fyfe will report directly to the group's Cape Town based boss Ian Moir. "We would like to thank John for his stewardship of the business over the last two and a half years and wish him every success for the future," a Woolworths spokesman said. Desane has won a court action and been awarded costs against the NSW government over the proposed compulsory acquisition of its property. The NSW Supreme Court action centred on Desane's property at 68-72 Lilyfield Road, Rozelle, which was subject to being compulsorily acquired by the NSW Roads and Maritime Services, amid suggestions it was then to be used as a car park. Desane has won its legal battle to stop the compulsory acquisition of its property in Rozelle. Late Tuesday, a Roads and Maritime Services spokesperson said the NSW Crown Solicitor's Office advised Desane's lawyers, Levitt Robinson Solicitors, Roads and Maritime Services would seek to appeal the ruling. ''The decision to lodge an appeal was made after careful consideration,'' the spokesperson said. Harbour Energys China-backed takeover of Santos will be the first major test for Peter Duttons Department of Home Affairs Critical Infrastructure Centre amid concerns over ownership of key Australian natural resources. Harbour Energy on Monday announced an improved $14.45 billion bid for Santos only days after its first official tilt at the Adelaide-based oil and gas company, edging closer to an application to the Foreign Investment Review Board. The Treasury-controlled FIRB's approval is necessary for large foreign acquisitions. The Harbour tilt at Santos is the first official major test for Peter Dutton's Department of Home Affairs' Critical Infrastructure Centre. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Harbour's bid is supported by Santoss Chinese shareholders, ENN Ecologica and Hony, which hold a combined 15 per cent stake. The Chinese backing presents a potential political problem as any successful deal would give the Hong Kong companies a large stake in strategic assets such as oil and gas wells and LNG infrastructure. Any Chinese ownership of critical infrastructure will be assessed to determine if it poses a national security risk. Private hospital operator Healthscope will examine selling its hospitals and leasing them back as it tries to hold off dual bidders for the company. Healthscope on Tuesday announced a profit downgrade, the closure of two hospitals and a review of its property portfolio as it revealed it would not open its books for either the BGH Capital Fund-led consortium or its rival giant Canadian infrastructure player Brookfield Asset Management. Healthscope said the proposals from the two bidders undervalued the company in various areas including an expected improvement in its performance from 2019 onwards, the contribution from the soon-to-open Northern Beaches Hospital, and the value of its underlying property portfolio. Healthscope chairman Paula Dwyer said neither proposal reflected the long-term value of the company. Credit:Jesse Marlow It said each proposal was subject to numerous conditions and restrictions and so was not it was not in the best interests of shareholders to provide due diligence access to either party. A roadhouse manager has been fined $118,440 after allegedly trying to deprive an Indian employee of her government-funded parental leave pay by falsely claiming the pay was provided to the employees husband. The Fair Work Ombudsman said the employee, who is now an Australian citizen, worked as a chef at the roadhouse on a 487 skilled regional employer nomination visa. After she had a child, the Department of Human Services transferred $11,538 under the Paid Parental Leave scheme to the company called Noorpreet in April 2015 for it to transfer to the employee. Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James. Credit:Andrew Meares After making several unsuccessful requests for the payment, the employee complained to the Department of Human Services which referred the matter to the Fair Work Ombudsman. The Ombudsman said the former manager and part-owner of the United Petroleum roadhouse at Marrangaroo, near Lithgow was fined $19,720 and the company of which he was a director was penalised a further $98,700. I tuned in as soon as the ABC started streaming from Windsor, delighted to find Annabel and J-Fez had hooked up with a human peroxide bottle whose tendency to say exactly the wrong thing at just the right moment kept me from switching over to the commercial coverage, even when the ABC decided to cut away from Harry and Wills first appearance to a curtsey lesson with the reanimated remains of June Dally-Watkins. The wedding of Harry and Megs on Saturday night was surprisingly good fun. There are of course the professionally miserable hardcore buzzkills on both left and right, who went into the gig ready to tip industrial vats of concentrated snark and bile on the whole thing; the lefties because the royal fam doesnt just represent the apex predators of a colonial system that ravaged half the world, theyre still living large on the profits. And the born-again Nazis because Meghan Markle is biracial and the idea of tainting the blood royal made their tiny little minds explode like a throbbing Godzilla pimple on the end of Hitlers nose, squeezed in a sudden pincer movement between George Pattons armoured division and the Fifth Soviet Shock Army. Those loved-up crazy kids and their royal wedding. Im a fierce republican and I will send them to the tumbrels when the revolution comes, but that doesnt mean you cant enjoy a couple of hours of day drinking followed by an evening of dress-ups, celebrities and ridonkulous English nuff nuffs. Its all anecdata, of course, and theres an angry, torch-burning mob of Guardian columnists and neo-Nazis outside begging to differ, but it felt that most of the peeps I was watching along with on the Twitters were also enjoying themselves hugely, and many were even a little surprised. But why the surprise? George and Amal were there. And Sir Elton. And Oprah. And that preacher who set the pews on fire for fun. And lots of TV stars. And those three hundred kids surfing along on the bridal train. And Harry, whos always been the best of them, looked much more nervous to be getting hitched than he ever did flying Apache gunships in Afghanistan. But he seemed anxious for the best of reasons, because like a lot of very average blokes on their wedding day, he realised hed fallen arse backwards into a golden pot of luck and hed better not bugger it up. It was a strange couple of hours. A break from the awful realities of life here at the end of our civilisation. It was a shock, but a happy one to see so many Americans in such a fairy tale British setting, and an even happier astonishment to realise that so many of them were African-Americans. Maybe it meant nothing. But it felt, for just a little while, as though it could count for something. It was a great wedding, almost as good as mine, and if people want to wish them well, there is no harm in that. So much of the sorrow in this world comes from people wishing each other ill. It felt like a merciful release from all that for at least a couple of hours on Saturday night. Just to know so much of the world was watching and smiling for no good reason other than, as the marvellous Bishop Curry told us the power of love, the redemptive power of love, can make a new world of the old. Sydney is in for at least another week of dry and mostly unseasonably warm weather, as odds begin to tilt towards climatic conditions that would favour much more of that to come. The city's top temperature reached 24.6 degrees on Tuesday, the eighth time this month the typical maximum for May of 19.5 was exceeded by more than 5 degrees. The outlook for the coming week is for most days to reach 20 to 22 but nudge 23 degrees by early next week, with little chance of rain, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. John and Joy Haycock hand-feed their cattle on their dusty stud near Yeoval, as they have done for more than a year, amid a prolonged dry spell. Credit:Nick Moir Farmers are among those looking to the heavens for rain relief. The introduction of the contraceptive pill in the 1960s was a major milestone for female empowerment. It allowed women to separate sex from procreation, and to increase their participation in work outside the home. Now, more than 100 million women worldwide use the oral contraceptive pill to prevent pregnancy or control their menstruation. We usually focus on the physical health effects of the pill, yet the most common reason women stop or change the pill is mental health side effects. Credit:Stocksy But the pill and other hormone contraceptives are not without side effects. We usually focus on the physical health effects of the pill, yet the most common reason women stop or change the pill is mental health side effects. Depression is one of the most prevalent and debilitating mental disorders in Australia, and affects twice as many women as men. It is estimated that one in four women will experience depression in her lifetime. We teach children "thank you" is the magic word, but it seems families and friends across the world say "thank you" much less than you would expect. An international study, published in Royal Society Open Science, has shown expressions of gratitude are rare in informal conversations in familiar settings, occurring for only around one in 20 simple requests in this context. We teach children to say "thank you", but we rarely use it in the home. Credit:Stocksy However, researchers were hesitant to say this is the result of rudeness, instead suggesting our silence comes from an unspoken willingness to cooperate with others. University of Sydney linguistics professor Nick Enfield, who co-authored the study, said the results highlighted that some of our closest social connections involve little explicit expression of gratitude, noting that the results for people in less familiar relationships would probably be "very different". The law extends to much more than just consumer guarantees. For example, it prohibits unfair terms such as those found with gym memberships and phone plans. ACCC deputy chair Dr Michael Schaper says consumers often don't realise how many rights they have. Michael Schaper, the outgoing ACCC deputy chair, says many people don't realise the law trumps any manufacturers warranty and in many cases, statutory protection will apply for longer than the warranty. Dr Schaper says if the product is not of acceptable quality, consumers are entitled to remedies such as a refund, replacement or repair, at no cost to the consumer. These rights operate in addition to any express or voluntary warranties offered by businesses and cannot be excluded by a business terms and conditions of sale, he says. While the ACCC records complaints, it is the fair trading departments of the states and territories that can follow-up individual complaints with retailers. The ACCC's role is to follow up systemic issues. For example, in January 2016, it obtained penalty orders totalling $286,000 against 10 Harvey Norman franchises in respect of false or misleading representations regarding consumer guarantee rights. Harvey Norman Some staff at the Harvey Norman franchisees told consumers that the retailer has no obligation to fix the problem and they would need to pursue the manufacturer's warranty directly with the manufacturer. Some staff said they could not assist unless the consumer paid for some or all of the cost of their repair. Australian consumer law does apply to any overseas business selling to consumers in Australia. The competition regulator set a precedent for overseas suppliers last year when it obtained a $3 million penalty from the US-based Valve Corporation, one of the world's largest online game retailers. The ACCC is taking action against Apple over alleged misleading consumer guarantee representations. Credit:James Alcock It had made misleading representations about consumer guarantees and in certain terms and conditions. And the commission started court proceedings against Apple last year. The regulator alleges the tech giant routinely refused to look at or service defective devices if the consumer has previously had the device repaired by a third party, as happens when consumers have cracked screens replaced. The commission alleges Apple refused to fix problems with iPads and iPhones if they had been repaired by a third party, even where the repair was unrelated to the fault. Consumer guarantee rights under consumer law are not extinguished because a consumer has goods repaired by a third party. What's reasonable The time period for those rights, if it comes to a claim being settled in a state or territory small claims tribunal, for example, will depend on what is considered "reasonable". That would take into account the price and nature of the goods and statements made about the good by the retailer and the manufacturer. Australian consumer law gives longer protection than most manufacturer warranties. Goods that are meant to last for a long time and are relatively expensive can expect a longer statutory guarantee. Dr Schaper says a rule of thumb of what is reasonable is to ask yourself, would I have bought the product if I had known it was going to last for this length of time. He gives the example of a new fridge that breaks-down after three years. Consumers are not likely to buy a fridge if they believe it would only be three years before needing repairs. Extended warranties a complaints hot spot Alexandra Kelly, principal solicitor at Financial Rights Legal Centre, says if you think that it is reasonable the product be repaired or replaced, let the retailer know you are aware of your rights under the consumer law. Also let the retailer know that if you don't get satisfaction you will complain to the department of fair trading in your state or territory, she says. Extended warranties are a particular focus of complaints. Kelly says they can be a waste of money. She says some consumers are told they have an extended warranty for free, but don't realise that they have really paid for it through the price of the product. And some consumers obtain credit through the retailer to pay for it. An extended warranty would have to go above and beyond the protections under the law, such as providing a replacement item while yours is getting fixed or where it is "new for old" replacement, Kelly says. Sarah Agar, head of campaigns and policy at consumer group, Choice, says you need to ask what exactly does it give me that consumer law does not already give me. "There are, for example, some extended warranties for electronic goods that are like insurance in that if you drop it you get a replacement," she says. Another thing to watch out for is where the extended warranty applies only after manafuacturer's warranty period has ended. "You may think you are covered in the first two years of the extended warranty, but only find out when you take the good back that the terms and conditions says it does not come into effect until after the manafactuer's warranty period," Agar says. Buying insurance from a tech giant such as Amazon or Google could become the 21st century equivalent of buying it from the supermarket. The World Insurance Report 2018, released on Wednesday by Capgemini, suggests 29.5 per cent of customers globally are willing to buy insurance from big tech firms, which the report names as Amazon, Alibaba, Apple, Facebook and Google. Thats a big rise from 2015 when only 17.5 per cent of consumers were willing to consider buying insurance from a technology company. In the Asia Pacific region, which includes Australia but excludes Japan, 40.1 per cent of customers are willing to buy insurance from a tech company, compared with 25.1 per cent in 2015. Police are investigating the vicious killing of a wombat south of Canberra, described by a senior ranger as one of the worst incidents he's dealt with in 30 years on the job. ACT Parks and Conservation manager Brett McNamara has made a public appeal for information after rangers found the female wombat at Tharwa Sandwash, a popular swimming spot on the Murrumbidgee River, on Friday morning. A female wombat with 13 knife wounds lies dead in the middle of the road at Tharwa Sandwash, just south of Canberra. Credit:ACT Parks and Conservation Mr McNamara said an autopsy revealed the wombat had been stabbed 13 times, and had suffered no other injuries. He believed the animal had been attacked either late on Thursday night or in the early hours of Friday morning. The bitter battle over the estate of the bestselling Australian author Colleen McCullough has taken a fresh turn, with a potentially crucial document coming to light three years after the NSW Supreme Court dispute kicked off. McCullough's widower Ric Robinson is embroiled in a costly feud with his late wife's executor and a US university over her estate, which is estimated to be worth millions of dollars thanks to her art collection and royalties from her 25 books, including the 1977 hit The Thorn Birds. Author Colleen McCullough, in 2008. Credit:Danielle Smith The case has been dragging through the NSW Supreme Court since 2015, with Mr Robinson being accused of taking advantage of his late wife's ill health to change her will in the days before her death. He vehemently denies the claims and Tuesday marked the beginning of the final five-day hearing of the dispute. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson has been put on notice that he could expect a jail term after he was found guilty on Tuesday of concealing historical child abuse allegations against another priest. In a landmark decision that could have wide-reaching implications for other high-ranking clergy members, Magistrate Robert Stone found Archbishop Wilson had been told by a 15-year-old boy in 1976 that he had been indecently assaulted by notorious Hunter paedophile priest Father James Fletcher, but chose not to go to the authorities despite believing the allegations were true. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Edward Wilson leaving Newcastle courthouse after being found guilty of concealing historical child sexual abuse. Credit:Jonathan Carroll Archbishop Wilson, now the most senior Catholic cleric in the world to be found guilty of failing to report child sexual abuse to police, faces the maximum of two years in jail when he is sentenced on June 19. A garbage truck driver has been charged with dangerous and negligent driving, after the death of a man in a Redfern laneway on Monday morning. Police allege a 35-year-old man was driving a garbage truck along Bourke Lane about 8am when he drove onto the footpath, running over a homeless man who was sleeping on a mattress out the front of a home. The driver called emergency services, and police arrived to find the man critically injured. Despite the efforts of emergency services, the man died at the scene. Three men who are allegedly part of a syndicate that stole more than $1 million through identity fraud now face 80 charges after they were arrested on Tuesday. Police allege the syndicate transferred more than 100 mobile phone numbers to different providers and used the identification details of 200 people to fraudulently obtain the money. Police from Strike Force Ambleside arrested a 28-year-old man at Kingsford in part of their fraud investigation. Credit:NSW Police The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation by Strike Force Ambleside, which was established in 2016 to investigate fraud offences throughout Sydney. About 7.30am on Tuesday, police searched three properties in Kingsford, Rhodes and Waterloo. There seems to be a lot of talk about elections at the moment, without one in the immediate future. We often joke in the newsroom that we know when a politician is in campaign mode, because they are making public appearances wearing the fluorescent high-vis jackets and hard hats of the real workers, attending inspections of construction sites or Australian businesses. The federal budget wash-up period has been dominated by the tax debate - and the drawing of the battlelines for the next election. The government is pushing hard (at least for now) for the parliament to approve their full, seven-year tax plan. There will be no deals, they say, and theres a deadline of July 1 for MPs to vote for the entire package or risk it being taken off the table. Last Thursday night, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten revealed his budget plan, which pitched the ALP against the Coalition in a fight over tax, offering millions of workers a more significant tax cut than had been offered by Treasurer Scott Morrison. But even as they make their tax-cut pitches to the people, politicians on both sides may actually be ignoring the voters. On Monday we published our monthly Fairfax/Ipsos poll, which showed that if the government had hoped for a budget bump in the polls - and, subsequently, a snap election - they were sorely disappointed. In fact it lost ground with voters, and is now trailing Labor 46 to 54 per cent in two-party terms. A terror trial saw the drama go from the dock to the jury box after a juror complained their foreperson had thrown the rest of them under the bus. Two days into the Supreme Court trial of Ihsas Khan, accused of trying to stab a man to death in Minto, the jury was already so dysfunctional that it had to be discharged. CCTV released by the court of the alleged attack. The jurors gripes were laid bare in a letter published in a decision by Justice Geoffrey Bellew to start the trial afresh, in which she described the foreperson as a game player who was overstepping her role to the detriment of the jury panel. It is my recollection, that the job of the foreperson, is to pass notes to the judge on our behalf not, for example, announce to the jury panel 20 minutes before sitting that OK, there's 20 minutes to go. If anyone needs to go to the bathroom, they had better do it now, the juror wrote. The Liddell power station in the Hunter Valley. Credit:Janie Barrett When AGL politely refused Alinta's offer of $250 million for its Liddell power plant in the Hunter Valley earlier this week, that should have been the end of the Turnbull government's bullying of AGL over the future of the coal-fired generator. Instead, Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg switched to jawboning the company to hurry along with its other investments designed to replace Liddell after it is shut down in 2022. While Mr Frydenberg and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have restricted themselves to telling AGL how it should run its business, Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce have gone further. The two dumped Coalition leaders, rebadging themselves as socialists, have urged the government to force AGL to sell Liddell, even if that means compulsory acquisition. Mr Joyce and Mr Abbott even have a theory about why AGL wants to hold on to Liddell, then shut it down in 2022 and replace it with a mix of renewables and gas. Apparently the company wants to drive up the price of its product, electricity, by keeping its own costs artificially high unprecedented behaviour for a business operating in a competitive market. If a company owns an asset, it has a right to determine the future of that asset, including to decline offers from interested purchasers. These basic property rights underpin a successful market economy. They are widely accepted throughout Australian society, though apparently not in some pockets of the conservative Turnbull government. What this means is that every year we become more and more reliant on the very networks that have proven to be repeatedly susceptible to disruptions and outages. And thats hardly surprising, or even worrying for the most part at the end of the day for most of us a mobile service interruption for a few hours on a Monday isnt going to do anything other than delay us from checking Facebook for a while. But what if that delay wasnt just for a few hours, or what if you needed to make an emergency call? What these incidents emphasise is that the developed worlds unabated embracing of mobile-based technology might come at a potential cost that we havent really stopped to consider properly. Reliance on network-provided services is constantly increasing, and from banks and ATMs to emergency services and public transport, the cost of network outages can now easily be measured in millions of dollars, thousands of hours of downtime and potentially even lost lives. Thirty-six per cent of Australians no longer have a landline. Credit:Erin Jonasson So whats the solution to our mobile mass-dependence? Well right now there doesnt seem to be one. It seems that in the rush to cut the cord and become ever more portable, weve unwittingly created a single point of failure that increasingly puts us at more risk, and at the same time weve removed redundancies and upped our reliance on unstable networks. Although we dont yet know whether well learn our lesson the easy way or the hard way, if recent events tell us anything it may well not be too long before we find out. Jonas Lipsius is a lawyer in Sydney, who has interests in management, tech, privacy and legal issues. The tragic accident which killed a woman and left a bus driver in shock in Brisbane could have happened at any major intersection in the city, the bus union says. Police said preliminary information suggested a 51-year-old woman was crossing Ann Street near the intersection at Wharf Street when she was hit by a Brisbane City Council bus at 7am. The bus driver was being treated for shock following the accident at the intersection of Ann and Wharf Street in Brisbane City on Tuesday. Credit:Bianca Stone/7 News The Samford Valley woman died at the scene. A Brisbane City Council spokesman said the bus made a right-turn into Ann Street from Wharf Street. Journalist Nick Cater has been accused of omitting evidence possibly contradicting his "narrative" about the prominent Wagner family's blame for 12 deaths during the 2011 Queensland floods. Toowoomba-based brothers John, Denis, Neill and Joe Wagner are suing Cater, broadcaster Alan Jones, Harbour Radio and 4BC over 32 broadcasts about the floods between 2014 and 2015. Nick Cater leaves the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Tuesday. Credit:AAP The long-time journalist is a columnist for The Australian, where he was a former Weekend Editor, and writer with The Spectator Australia, as well as the executive director of the Menzies Research Centre. Prosecutor Tom Blackburn has suggested in the Brisbane Supreme Court that Cater left out in correspondence with Jones an interview with Grantham resident Graham Besley had cast doubt over the Wagners' alleged blame. A man wanted in relation to the alleged kidnapping of a 12-year-old schoolboy on the Gold Coast earlier this month has voluntarily handed himself into police. Sydney-based Yu (Sunny) Zhang, 20, attended the Cabramatta Police Station in New South Wales on Tuesday afternoon. Yu (Sunny) Zhang, who Queensland Police were seeking over the alleged kidnapping of a 12-year-old Gold Coast boy. Credit:Queensland Police Gold Coast police were expected to travel to Sydney on Wednesday to seek his extradition to Queensland. On Monday, police released images of Mr Zhang, the son of a 53-year-old man charged with the alleged kidnapping of the boy. From a Coroners Court witness box on Tuesday, the senior police officer in charge of the force's family violence response apologised for failing Joy Rowley, who was strangled to death in her Mornington Peninsula home. Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter spoke directly to Ms Rowley's three adult children, who sobbed as they sat in the front row as the inquest into the 60-year-old's death in 2011 came to a close. Mr McWhirter, who heads up the family violence command, accepted there were eight times that police could have changed the course of events leading up to Ms Rowley's death. Joy Rowley. "On behalf of Victoria Police, I'd like to apologise to Joy Rowley's family. There has been failure to comply with relevant Victoria Police policy prior to her death. There is no doubt about that," he said. Lawyers acting for a man charged with child sex offences following a cold case review will question whether the alleged attack ever actually happened. Shane John Anderton is on trial in Perth's District Court. He has pleaded not guilty to three sexual penetration charges that relate to a complainant who was 15 at the time, who says she was raped. Lawyers for a man accused of a child sex offence will argue DNA samples were mishandled during the investigation. Credit:Phil Carrick The offences are alleged to have happened nearly eight years ago when the Perth teenager had been approached by Mr Anderton while she waited for a bus at Fremantle train station. Representatives of American multinational Tesla, which specialises in electric vehicles and energy storage, will meet with West Australian Premier Mark McGowan and other ministers this week to discuss lithium battery technology. The US requires 35 raw materials to produce renewable energy storage batteries, and as WA can supply them all, eyes have turned to the states ability to value-add not just by mining but by processing, primarily in Kwinana, already an industrial area and the location of a future new port. Construction of Tianqi's lithium hydroxide plant is underway in Kwinana, WA. News of the Tesla meetings follows reports WA Lithium, a joint venture between Kidman Resources and Chilean-based producer SQM, has struck a deal to supply Tesla with lithium hydroxide from a refinery to be built in Kwinana. The partnership on May 4 announced it had secured rights from LandCorp to build on the 76-hectare Kwinana industrial area site, expected to begin operations in 2021, create 400 construction jobs and 150 ongoing jobs. Malcolm Turnbull and his government have good reason to shelve their company tax cuts after seeing their signature economic policy ripped to pieces in the Senate once again. The company tax bill was already blocked in the Senate before Pauline Hanson changed her view on the reform, but her decision puts the government policy even further out of reach. Hanson and her One Nation colleagues have confirmed their status as the most volatile force in Parliament, shifting position with the wind but always ready with a complaint. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was relying on One Nation's vote on the company tax cuts. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen How can the government possibly hope to negotiate with crossbenchers who cannot stick to them? Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is facing a new test over his contentious plan to cut company taxes after a spectacular backflip by Pauline Hanson left the reform stranded in the Senate and prompted Coalition backbenchers to warn the saga could cost them the next election. The damaging blow has fuelled fears across a nervous Coalition backbench about the political danger of sticking with the stalled policy, despite the Prime Ministers pledge to stand by it. The shock is also hardening resolve within the government to seek a Senate vote on its full $140 billion bid to cut personal income taxes, rejecting the idea of splitting the bill into stages given the turbulent experience of navigating multiple phases of the company tax reduction. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Parliament on Tuesday after Pauline Hanson delivered a shock blow to the government's company tax plan. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen One Liberal MP predicted the company tax cuts would cost the government support at the next election, while a second said it was time to shelve the plan because it could not get through the Senate. Home Affairs officials have confirmed Australias migration intake is falling well short of the 190,000 annual ceiling as they impose more rigorous visa checks using linked security databases. The revelation that this financial years intake is on track to fall about 20,000 below the annual cap came as One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said she was refusing to back the Turnbull governments business tax cut partly because of its failure to cut the immigration rate. Top bureaucrats from the Department of Home Affairs told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday that the intake had been 183,608 people in the 2016-17 year and stood at 138,086 as of April 30. Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Michael Pezzullo, and senator Mitch Fifield during Senate estimates. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer They said that visa applications in skilled migration, family and children categories were more complex than they used to be, partly because technology was increasing the amount of international data that could indicate risks to particular applicants. Herald subscribers joined Lisa Davies (editor) in conversation with our panel of experts - Peter Hartcher (political editor and international editor), David Crowe (chief political correspondent), and Jacqueline Maley (senior journalist) - at SMH Live: State of Politics, as they discussed what impact two years of poor polling has had on the government's favourability amongst Australian voters. Watch the full discussion of SMH Live: State of Politics, exclusive to subscribers. "Why if it's proven to work are they holding it back? I just don't understand what all the fuss is about." Surfer Mia Gabbedy had just finished a morning surfing session at Trigg Beach in Perth's northern suburbs when she noticed a pack of journalists circling a state government minister. He was there to talk about a new type of shark deterrent that could soon be subsidised in WA for surfers - but what Mia heard him explain to the press pack soured her attitude more than the split lip she'd just suffered in the water. Mia Gabbedy wants a personal shark deterrent for surfers available now. Credit:David Allan-Petale "I would use that shark deterrent right now if it was available, he's talking about getting a report" she said, standing with a number of other beachgoers listening in. Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of Congo: Two more people have died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said on Tuesday, as aid agencies battled to persuade sceptical residents about the severity of an outbreak that has killed 27 people since April. One of the deaths occurred in Mbandaka, according to a daily healthy ministry bulletin. A nurse also died in the village of Bikoro, the town near where the outbreak was first detected in early May, ministry spokeswoman Jessica Ilunga said. At the central market in Mbandaka, where vendors in colourful fabrics hawk smoked monkeys, some residents said they were unmoved by warnings not to consume bush meat since a case of Ebola was discovered in the city of 1.5 million last week. Attention now turns to Meghan's "new role", and how she will carry it out. But how will we, the public, respond as the Duchess of Sussex steps into her royal shoes? And how long will it be before our applause for the former Ms Markle's grace and composure - the cry that "she's a natural" - give way to a lament that she's "such an actress"? Because make no mistake, for all the rapturous post-wedding praise, the backlash, if it hasn't already started rumbling, is certainly about to begin. Even those of us who view the new duchess as a good thing - a feminist, who had a job and has been around the block - can see where the fault lines may start to appear. Credit:PA History suggests we have form here. At the outset, Diana, Princess of Wales, was deemed a suitably innocent future Queen. Before long she became a naive maniac. Sarah, Duchess of York was great fun - until she was rebranded as too much of it. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge was a picture-perfect bride but later dismissed as a "jointed doll" by the writer Hilary Mantel, and no one even spares a thought for Sophie, Countess of Wessex, praised for being an ordinary middle-class girl, before being ignored for being one. Even those of us who view the new duchess as a good thing - a feminist who had a job and has been around the block - can see where the fault lines may start to appear. Actress is top of the list - for the Duchess of Sussex is always acting, that's what makes her so good at it all. Consider the occasion when the "Fab Four" - William, Kate, Harry and Meghan - talked about mental health. The less fabulous three were frequently caught looking bored. Ms Markle's face was never other than rapturous with angelic interest. It was an incredible performance, but a performance nonetheless.